The Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1849-1855, 1851-10-23
Il. III. All CORXyITH,

The wire of the Submarine Telegraph
between the English. aud French coasts, is
not yet finished, though 1t is being made at
the rate of a mile and half per day. IL
is thus described:
"The line of communication consists OF
four copper wires, OF the thickness of an or
binary bell-wIre, case,. in gutia percha, and
twined with corresponding number of
hempen strands stepped in a mixture Of tar
aud tgi.cw, into rope Of about an inch in
diameter. Another strand 'miary prepar-
ed is wound traverseiy round this aud final
w ten wires Of galvanized iron, about a
third Of an inch thick, are twined round this
central core, and form a solid and at the
same lime flexible casing. The whole, when
thus completed. has the appearance Of an
ordinary four AMI a quarter inch metallic:
cable. The machinery by which this is eff
fected is extremely simple, and the work
proceeds night ana day, with the utnos,
regularity. A huge coil is thus being form.
ed in one continuous piece, which will final
y attain the length of twenty-iour miles.
Tho weight Of the entire rope when flush
ell, il is estimated, viii lie from one hun
dred and sev enty TO one hundred and eighty
tons. From time 10 time, as the work pro-
eeeds, galvanic curren, is passed through
!
tested by galvanometcr.
"fhe starting point on the English coast
which has been fixed upon as The most ad-
yantageous. on account of the nature of The
beach and the comparative freedom from
the danger Of ships anchoring in The iiume-
date vicinity, is the South Portland The
line will be conducted down shaft in the
cliff, and along short tunnel, cen,inunica-
ting with il at right angles 20 the beach,
where it 10 proposed TO bury il at some con
siderable depth beneath the single, to the
lowest level of ebb tide. The SPOT selec ted
on the French coast, for similar reasons, is
situated about four miles TO the south Of
Calais, near the village Of Sanngate The
beach al this point consists entirely of sand
and ridge Of sand hills. The line from
the South ForelaBd 10 Sannsate, although
NOT the shortest that could be drawn be-
tween the two coasts, is that which presents
the fewest chances of accident. The points
at the two extremes are those where The low
water mark is nearest the high. and the
character Of the bed of the channe,. wing
between, as far as can be ascer,ainei nv
careful soundings, offers no peculiarities
likely to affect the integrity Of the conduct
ing line"
e. v
erence the other day, TO a new variety of
the sweet potato, believed to have been
brought from some par, Of South America.
Superiority as to size, flavor, &C., was
claimed for it over all other kinds. We
suggested that it vas probably the West IN
dia yam, which grows in most tropical coun-
tries, and Is frequently met with in the veg
etable market here. This has brought a
note from an esteemed correspondent who
knows something of this new variety. and
he intin,aies that we shall soon have an on.
porsnniiy ourselves of judging of It's merits.
"The fact 49," he says, "the root is differ
ent in growth and every quality from every
one we have here, and !, a. well as MANY
who have tasted them, outsider them en-
tirely superior. They grow either in the
shape OF thick ysin potato or like a tur-
nip--great proportion of the large size in
that form. For my own part, | consider
them the most elegant root on table that
know OF when prepared as the Irish potato:
and to me, they seem connecting link bc.
tween : fine DeaIy Irish and a swea, po,a
to."-I Mobile Herald.
INcoRRUprIBtL.rr OF CoRPsEsr IN THE
DEsERr.-Dr. Gand, the gentleman who re-
commended Mr.. w. and his brother to Achme,
died and was buried, touching which the subioin-
ed curious statement is made:
His body lay during the period Of whole wear
in the sand of the desert; then his family. who
were going TO France, dug it up to take with them.
Always very ta:n man, little more than skin
and bone. the burning sand had preserved him
ike mummy. There was 10 change in his an
pearance--not a HAIR gone from his mustaches
Strange is the confusion and alienation of life
aud death in that ardent and unwholcsonc land
Of Nubis. To-day IA full health. tomorrow pros
srate with fever, from hch yon recover onIy 10
he again attacked. Dead, in tweuty-tour hours
oc less. corruption is busy on the corpse: bury #
promptly III the sand, and in twelve month, yop
may isinter il, perfect as if cmballped.