The Sun.
London, England, 1857-04-13 00:00:00

LONDON, MuND VENIN G, A PidLL 13,

THE ROYAL POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION.

On Saturday evening a private view took place of the
novelties intended for exhibition at this institution during
the Easter holidays, From the programme gone through
there is every reason to believe that the institution will
upon this occasion lose nothing of the large amount of
public patronage which has hitherto always been be-
stoWed upon it during the holiday season of the year.
Mr. Pepper has been indefatigable in his exertions to
retnrdel the whole of his entertainments, adding to those
which are retained from last season new features of in-
terest, and supplying the places of others with new sub-
jects, which, apart from the score of 'novelty, cannot
fail to be attractive on the it own merits. Foremost
among these is a new feature of daily concerts, which
will in future he given in the institution every morning
and evening by the celebrated Hungarian band, as-
sisted in the vocal department by Miss Leffler and Miss
4emmirg.
_ _

Mr. Pepper's new lectures upon applied chemistry
embrace several interesting subjects, more especially one
upon the use and abuse of the fire annihilator, in which
the chemical principles involved in that useful though
much abused and misunderstood instrument are
explained and illustrated by a series of interesting
experiments. Another lecture is devoted to the ex-
planation of Mr. Rose's (of Glasgow) newly invented
optical delusion, called the kalotrope. The instru-
ment exhibited a number -of very curious optical
delusions, obtained by taking advantage of the well-
known fact that an impression produced upon the retina
of the eye is retained there for a certain period after. the
object itself has passed away. This fact may be observed
by any person who swings round a piece of lighted char-
coal, when it will not appear like a single piece rotat
ing, butrwill assume 'the aspect of a circle of fire, the
impression produced from every succeeding portion of
the circle being retained by the eye at the same time.
Advantage.was taken of this phenomenon by Mr. Rose,
who contrived nseries of rapidly-rotating wheels, pro-
vided with a number of different devices. By the rapid
re, olution of these many curious and interesting optical
effects are -produced. Two new and very interesting
seriee of dissolving views are also added to the entertain-
ments. o.le illustrating China and the localities of the
' present war, which are accompanied by a lucid and
interesting lecture .on the manners of the Chinese, by
A. E. Spencer, Esq. The lecture derives additional
interest from the fact that it clears up many obscure
points relative to the civilisation of the Chinese people,
which have afforded matter .for considerable discussion
lately. The second series illustrates Egypt In the time
of the Pharaoh, comprising a series of pictures of the
manners and customs of the Egyptians and the Jews
at the, time of the captivity. An interesting original
description of the pictures, by Mr. Leicester Buck-
ingham, accompanies the series. The whole of the
views are executed by 'Mr. Hine in.the moss artistic
style, some of them being works of considerable merit,
the perspective in some cases being so perfect as to give
them almost' a stereo,conic appearance. A dioramic
effect of the Temple of Karnac, gradually growing out
of its ruined state into a perfect restoration, is really
very cleverly managed. The room in the building
which was formally occupied by the ornithologicaaol;
lection is now devoted to the exhibition of Steven's
luminous chromatic transparencies of China and various
perte of Europe. The scenes are very cleverly executed,
and are undoubtedly a great addition to the attractions
of the place. They were exhibited at the Paris Exhibi-

tion 'of 1855. Aniong the recent novelties may be also
noticed Lnysel's patent machine for making coffee,
which has just been erected in the refreshment depart-
ment. ' It has long been used both at the Crystal Palace
and in Paris, and it is, therefore, unnecessary to give a
particular decription of it. Suffice it to say that an
almost incredible quantity of either tea or coffee of a
very superior quality and flavour can be made in a few
minutes. In the case of tea the operation is much facili-
tated and !the flavour improved by grinding it. This
apparatus is used in all the military hospitals of the
French army, as it is equally applicable and useful in
making decoctions of medicinal herbs, as in making the
more homely beverage above mentioned. Altogether
the Easter novelties at the Polytechnic this year are of a
more diver-e and attractive nature than has hitherto
been, attempted at this institution, and they will not
ouiy afford amusement and instruction during one but
alapy visits.

CONVICTION OF BAKERS FOR US.LNG

ALUM.

On Saturday last, C. Parks, S. Marling, J. Gra
ham, and R. Pitla,ke, bakers, all of Croydon, ap
appeared on summons before the magistrates as
sembled in •petty sessions—viz., T. Byron, Esq.
(chairman), 3. W. Sutherland, Esq., and J. Gur•
ney, Esq., M.P. for Falmouth, charged with sell-
ing adulttrated bread.

Mr. Dart, inspector of weights and measures, his
son, and Sergeant Julian, deposedthat they pnrcbased
bread of the defendants, and conveyed it to Dr. Nor-
mandy, analytical chemist. Dr. Normandy seated
that he had analysed the bread produced in all the
cases, and that he had found it to contain a large
quantity of alum ; he described the process by
which he discovered traces of a'um, and stated it to
be decidedly injurious to the constitution, and also
afforded means to bakers of defrauding the public,
as by its aid, it having the property of absorbing
water, it increased the weight of bread, added to
which it also enabled the baker to use a commoner
flour giving it the appearance of bread of the first
quality, and considerably deteriorated its nutritious
propc ties., _ .

- The Bench fined all the defendants upwards of
101. each, including costs. Notice of appeal was
given in all the cases.

Mr. Byron, the chairman, on behalf of the ma-
gistrates, said they, would persevere in their endea-
vours to discover who were the adulterators of beer
and other articles of food in Croydon.
In his report as medical officer of health to the
Holborn district,. Dr. S. Gibbon gives the follow-
ing particulars to enable the purchaser to distin-
guish a loaf that does not contain alum from one
which does :—" Alum increases the whiteness and
firmness of the bread made from inferior flour, and
thereby causes it to resemble bread made from the
very best flour. The qualities which alum imparts
to a loaf are very unimportant, having reference
inerely.to the appearance, 6 lightness,' neatness, of
shape, &c. The. chemical action of alum on mois-
tened flour is analogous to tanning, and destroys in,
a considerable degree its nutritiveness. It converts
the gluten' (the most nutritious portion) of the flour
into a kind of tough tenacious wash leather,'
which is difficult of digestion. This gives the dough
a tenacity and firmness, enabling it to retain the
thousand of little air bubbles (given off by the
yeast) which constitutes t e 'lightness,' or spongy
porous character, of the bread. Hence flour that
will not 'rise' may be made to do so by means of
alum. Another object in the use of alum is that it
preserves the upright form of the loaves and pre-
vents them from adhering firmly together, thereby
enabling the baker to separate them more readily
on their removal fiom the oven—the 6 batch parts
clean,' as the expression is, without tearing. An
unalumed loaf is, with a little practice, distinguish-
able from an alumed one by its appearance alone ;
it is wanting in all those peculiarities which I have
mentioned as the effects of alum, it is not so bulky,
nor so symmetrical in its shape, its sides are rough-
ened and torn in being separated from the batch.
Unalumed bread bites short,' alumed bread_ 'bites
tough,' and the rough, sour taste of alum is slightly
perceptible in it. The most marked contrast, how-
ever, is apparent in crumbling,' when a day or two
old ; unalumed bread crumbles with the greatest
facility by rubbing it -between the hands; whereas
alumed bread, however old, crumbles' with -diffi-
culty. In the same way alum renders the new loaf
less liable to crumble when cut. These, then, are
the qualities and appearances in a loaf which I re•
commend the purchaser to disregard., I am not
prepared to say that these points can be fully relied
on as tests for the presence ofalum ; chemical tests
alone can justify one in declaring positively that a
loaf of bread contains alum."

The silence of the tel'e;graph from Trieste reSpect-
ing the Oneida' • while tnnouncirrg th;e arrival of the
Indian mail in Egypt, shows that the m,ssing Aus-
tralian mail packet had not arrivedlst Point de Gallo
on the 17th ult., nor a:t Aden on tEe 28th ult., nor
at Suez on the sth ins''., and she is -therefore 29
days overdue at all tholie places. As there is only
a monthly communication with the Mauritius, we
shall not have any news from thr;nce by mail packet
until the 26th of this month_ or -the Ist of May.
Many naval men are of opinion that the Oneida has
broken dOwn and t.ut back tc, Aus'ralia. It must
be remembered that only 18 ;days elapsed between.
,he departure of the Oneida and Sinila from Aus-
tralia. Suppose the foririe r broke down .1,000
miles at sea,- it is not at aproliable that Captain
Hyde might consider tha.,% he could get back to
Melbourne quicker than he could get to the Mauri-
tius or Galle, and yet emi6o at have been unable to
reach the first port untilji ast after the departure of
the Simla. Great anxie ~y will therefore be felt for
the arrival of the Europ eon with the next overland
Australian mail, due at Suez on .the 22d of this
`month, and the news 'of which will reach England
by telegraph from Mr a :seilles about the Ist proximo.
It is fully expected,' that the European will be
punctual to her, tiro, 9. The mails on board the
Oneida consisted off3fiiboxes for England from Mel-
bourne aloney cont. P.:Ailing 25,000 letters and 34,000
newspapers ; above 1,700 of the letters were
registered ones. She also had nearly 1,000
letters for India, some of them valuable -and
'registered ones; as id a -very large mail for Eng
land from the .
.other Australasian colonies,
besides the one frc.r a Melbourne. Altugether, per-
haps, her mail for England contained not less than
50,000 letters, ma my of them of great value, and
60,000 newspaper,e;.
In answer to r a any inquiries with respect to the
passengers on board the Oneida, the Australian
and IV ew Zealan!ci? Gazette supplies the following
list;—From Syd riey Lady Dowling and servant,
Mr. and Mrs. Russell, Mrs. and Miss Wilson, Mr.
Moss, Messrs. D.. P. M'Ewan, F. C. Ede, Lawson,
E. Norman Bremner, M'Michael, R. L. Garland,
-0. F. Logan Can ipbell, Assistant-Surgeon Popple-
well. From Melbourne : Mr. J. and Miss Cum-
ming, Mr. J. Lod Mrs. Nicholson and fatally,
Agnes, Euplaemitm, and Lucy. Dawson, Mrs. Taylor
and servant, Mr. David and Mrs. Caunan, Mr.
Walter, Mrs. and Miss Laura PoWell, Mr. and
Mrs. J. Wood skid child, Mr. Alexander Wood;
Dr. Rankin, .Mss Richardson, Mrs. Reynolds,
Messrs.- .A. aitsl H. Hallows, F. Wolk, A.
Callon, allurn, C.. M'Donald, Francis Clerk,
James Makin, Peter Martin, H. Vantres, George
Masen, J. J. Rearden, James Shepherd, Henry
Moore, James Laing,' Abbot Adelman, R. H.
Jewin, A. Matheuson, George Bartlett, William
Gray, Murray Powell, P. M. Bachellor.

HANDEL FESTIVAL, CRYSTAL PALACE

This important undertaking gradually ad-
vances, and promises a result which, if the festival
Of 1857 is to be simply a preliminary essay, to test
the possibility of still greater things in 1859 (the
centenary anniversary of Handel's death), will lead
to expectations with respect to, the latter by no
means easy to realise.
During the last few weeks material progress has
been made. The metropolitan division of the
chorus, appointed under the direction of subcom-
mittees for each vocal part—these sub-committees
receiving aid and counsel from competent profis-
sional advisers—has terminated in the selection of
1,100 picked voices. Each applicant for a place in
the chorus, before being adniitted, has been tried
at the pianoforte, the compass and quality of voices,
proficiency at sight-reading, and other essential
gifts being registered; so as to guarantee the ulti•
mate choice of the most efficient. The "1,100"
have already passed the ordeal of two rehearsals at

Exeter-hall, tinder the superintend ence of Mr. Costa,
in choruses of " Israel in Egypt" and " The Mes-
siah" respectively ; and on Wednesday evening the
third oratorio, "Judas Maccabaaus," will be sub-
mitted to a similar experiment. The effect produced
in the first-mentioned oratorios was pronounced by
all present to be -more than satisfactory. The
provincial branches of the chorus are forming in
the principal cities and towns of Great Britain
..under the guidance of professors and amateurs of
acknowledged ability.
The numbers and distribution of the orchestra
are already determined on. There will be 76 first
violins, 74 second violins, 50 violas, 50 violoncellos,
and 50 double-basses (in all 300 stringed instru-
ments) ; 9 flutes, 9 oboes, 9 clarioneta, 9 bassoons,
12 horn., 12 trumpets and cornets; 9 trombones,
3 ophicleides, 9 serpents and bass-horns, 3 drums,
and 6 side•drums (90 wind instruments)--a force
hitherto unprecedented.
The organ, constructed expressly for the occasion
by Messrs. Gray and Davison, will be one of great
power and on an appropriately gigantic scale. The
instrument being nearly in a state of completion,
the swell and great organs were recentlytried in the
manufactory ; but, as there was not space enough
even in the very extensive premises of the makers to
put up the pedal organ, it could not be heard on that
occasion. What was tested, however, was unanimously
approved by the connoisseurs present. The organ
will occupy a platform in the Crystal Palace of 40
feet wide by 24 deep, which will not only afford
sufficient room for the pipes to speak, but ample
passage between each division, so that any depart-
ment of the immense harmbnious structure can be
approached without difficulty and at an instant's
notice. The employment of "pneumatic" action
will insure immediate response to the touch, and
thus materially assist_the exertions of the per-
formance. The erection of the organ at the Crystal
• Palace is to begin on Wednesday morning. The
weight of the new instrument will be somewhere.
about 20 tons, which, as it is to remain a fixture,
will demand a platform of the most solid and durable
nature. A list of the stops, &c., may probably inte-
rest the vast number of our readers who are either
players upon the organ, or.admirers of it, as the
chief instrumental representative of sacred music.
We therefore append the following resume, premis-
ing that it has four rows of keys—CC to A in alt.

Great Organ—Double open diapason, 16 feet, double
dulciana 16 feet, open diapason 8 feet, flute a Parillon
8, ciaribel flute 8, flute harmonique 8, flute octavianto 4,
twelfth 3, super-octavo 2, flageolet harmonique 2. Mix-
ture, four ranks—Furniture 3, cymbal 5, contra-trom-
bone 16, posaune 8, trumpet harmonique 8, c!arion 4,
octavo-clarion 2.

Pedal Organ—Contra-bass 32 feet, open diapason
(wood) 16, open diapason (metal) 16, violin 16, octave 8,
twelfth 6, super-octave 4. Mixture, four ranks—Contra-
bombards 32, bombards 16, trumpet 8, clarion 4.
Choir Organ—Bourdon 16 feet, gamba 8, salcional 8,
voix celeste 8, clarionet 8, gems horn 4, olaribel flute 4,
spitz flute 2, piccolo 2. Mixture, three ranks—Cor Ang-
lais and bafsoon 8, trumpet 8.
Swell Organ—Bourdon 16 feet, open diapason 8, vox
humana 8, keraulophon 8, concert flute 8, octave 4, flute
octavianto 4, twelfth 3, super octave 2. Mixture, four
tanks—Furniture 3, piccolo harmonique 2, contra-ra-
gotta 16, cornopean 8, oboe 8, clarion 4, echo-tromba 8.
Tremulants.

Solo-Organ.—Flute barmonique, 8 feet, fiate octavi-
anto, 4. Mixture—two ranks. Corno di bassalto, 8 ;
grand tromba, 8.
Couplers. Swells to great manual and to choir.
Super-octave and sub-octave—swells to great manual.
Choir, octave, and solo, to great manual. Solo, great
choir, and swell manuals to pedals.
The above will give to those initiated on the sub-
ject some notion of the extent and variety of this
new great work from the manufactory of Messrs.
Gray and Davison. Of its absolute quality we
;mist take another occasion to speak, since that can
only be adjudged by oral experience in the locale
for which it is destined.

The orchestra, already completed, occupies a space
of 168 feet in width (just 38 feet wider than Exeter-
hall); and 90 feet in depth. The seats for the per-
formers are gradually raised, one above another, so
that every instrumentalist and vocalist can have a
full view of their conductor. The band will be in
front, the chorus at the back. The aspect presented
by this gigantic superstructure, crowded from roof to
base with singers and players, can hardly fail to be
one of the most imposing description. The whole
is contrived on the most improved principles for
the insuring strength and resistance. The beams
of timber, screwed and bolted together (there are
no nails), with their stage and struts and bearings,
present the appearance of a complete forest of
woodwork. The two upper rows, allotted to the
instrumental department of the orchestra, will be
consigned to the double-basses, &c: Between these
and 'the seats intended for the chorus- there is a
broad avenue for passage to and fro. in short,
the accommodation is so judiciously arranged that
every singer and player will be thoroughly at
ease, and thus better able to give to the ensemble
-the benefit of his talents, under favourable and com-
fortable circumstances. A photograph of the
orchestra, by Messrs. Nogretti, is on view, and
affords a capital notion of its appearance and pro-
portions.
Up to this moment we are informed that public
f -
curiosity has been excited to an unusual extent,
and that the disposalo vouchers, entitling pea