The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1851-11-22
WHOLE NO. TAI.
DiscOvERIRH DURING TmR I.Asf
HALP CEN1.NhYI


invention n The last half century pro-
RreN nfinVeRlou b just a. marked, 10 other
departments a. discovery Loak Af that 'Ir,n
Horse Il1iiunpm of HE stable, screaming
and pAdstHs u start on his journey That
- the steam engino IN IL most perfect state
Il isA nnAr ptiprnach 10 lhr spiritual and
physical combiaAiion. BeholA bow easily hc
drapa the Pondcrous train vt the rate OF thirty
miles an bonr thus conveying bupdicds a.
passengers, IN eomiort and safety, 10 a dis-
tanee 10 an hour whieh. butA fsw years ago
would take them nearly whole day TO ae-
conpii.h W slsgrp Within three mosls
the Queen of EnglAnd Ens trAnAgiatird- -hnnl
the interior uf Scotland, a 'Astancu af fi'ur
hvnd,edmile', IN ,en hour, IL isoo, the
same journey could not he Ncomplishc,l 10
less than eight days. IN 1900 therc MAS not
Asingle elneaGaaiII4is. la-asl.ll-l
years afler, visi tho fhl ,iuy uf Oriohcr,iHRO,
tho d,y On which the "Rbckri" rn on Tho
4 Liverpool and Manchester Railway at ibr
Average rate of G6een miles peV hour froh
that momcnt We date the commcnccment ~
new and most astonishing era in the history
N discovery, In England there arc now Eve
thousand siS hundred miles OF railway con
strur,cd, and As many murr prunscd, NJ q
rnsF Of moro than $500 ooo, 900. In the Uni-
ted States thcrc are al least five Thousand srts
on hundred miles Of railway constructed. and
there cannot bo loss than twenty ,l,outand
two hundred nod 6fy mile. oC railroad now
in operation in Europe and America, for pei.
,hcr Asia nor Africa cAn buast of single
line completed. What were old Roman roads
in comparison to the ibotpaths N our iron
horses? In 1885 there were only 6liecn
miles Of midway in New York. nov there aru
about ono thousand five hundred, and trAv-
rllcr can now journey as FAR in one day ~ ho
could in eight day'n that year, Tho wealth
invested in railroads Is enormous, and their
influence upon mankind in cvcrj respect. be-
yond calculation. But this grand invention
is not the limit Of the great discoveries made =.
in our day. Among the grand discoveries
OF the Inst half century, the Electric Tolo-,
graph stands out in bold relief ID lias given
To Tah Ili6 power or transmitting his fTiougHtS
10 his fellow man thousands OF miles distant
in few sccuutn "Elcciricty lcayrs her
tlunder-l,olt in the sky, and, like a Mercury
disnrissc,l from Olympus, nctsNs letter carrier
and meSagc boy In 1897, when Morse
first proclaimed that he could write messages
10y electricity at any distance, wise people
shrugged their shoulders, and looked with
blank unbelier upon such daring PROPOSE.
tion; and when the proposal was before Com
gress, in fs3t, TO appropriate Sso,JUe To test
hia SFAiena of trlesrapLiaR, j. sast Hiil- -sasaa-
determined side cutS and stern opposition
from men, (and there arc n great number in
the word,1 who are conservatives in nothing
but scientific .discovery In is45' the irst
line OF telegraph was completed in our eoun-
try, between Washington and Baltimore, and
since that time the progress Of telegraph
wires has been most surprising and astound-
ing, if nything can nov surpri o ms in the
ahape Of discovery ALI the Important eities-
in our Union arc linked together by tho
tracks, and wherever VIC travel, there We be-
hold, suspended on slender poles, those atten-
uatcd thrcads,hlong which the lightning fleets
with its message OF love, boie, gain, or fear.
Before the beginning Of tho century, what
was the printing press in comparison what IL
single printing Press driven by steam, now.
there is not n paper with a large circulation
without it. From printing one thousandsnnd p
four thousand copies pcr hour, tho latest inn
proved prcss can print ten thousand, and tho
time is al hand when single press will DO
throwing oil sixteen thousand copies per hour.
In othcr departments of topography, the inn
provcmcnts have been equally striking and
beneficial.
In what may be termed minor machines,
the inventions and improvements have not
been of minor imporian'e. C. Fnecn years a.
90 pins we're all made 10y hand, each was
mAdc Of more than one piece, and number
of persons we're required TO finish every one.
A single machine now-completes the whole
operation from beginning to end; and in Wa
torbury, Conn, three millions thirty thous-
and arc finished every day, and the machins-
ry for counting and sticking thcm into Papers
is equally ingenious. In all kinds Of macbin4
cry for manufacturing tcxible fabrics, the inn
provements made, during the last century,
would require volumes to describe them in
all their numbcrlest variations, In weaving,
especially, we now behold the most beautiful
carpets, with the most intricate patterns, wo-
ven by a few rods and bodtfs, ~isliout the fin
ger of man touching them, after they are SET
in motion. The rich carpets Of Brussels are
now made by steam and iron fingers lap the
wires to raise the figures, with more accuraa
e5 and speed than the most accomplished
weaver In some departments Of rasnuiac-
turc, improvements haYo snccccdcd onc afr
other with snch rapidity that one set Of ma
ehincry has been calculated 20 last only a.
bout three or four years.
:. There Is moi single departmental science
aud art but has been greatly cnuched with
splendid discoveries, during thc last ffly
years; and those discoveries, although SO ma