The daily Minnesota pioneer. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1854-1855, 1854-10-19
From our Regular New York Correspondent.
Matters and Things i'm New York.

Autumn is fairly inaugurated, and the
" brown autumnal feeling" which denotes its
approach, hot noon-times, and the demand for
soda water, have gone together. The sunlight
streams slantingly thro' the feecy haze which
wraps the woody shores of the Bay in its blue
folds, and dreamily winds itself into the streets
of the city. A dry leaf occasionally Autters
to the sidewalk, with sad premonition of the
time when all leaves shall have left. Peaches
have disappeared from the fruiter's stalls, and
the spectral placards warning Park-loungcrs
off the grass, begin to wear hooking aspect,
as if they regarded what they were saying in
the light of good joke. The Hotels are
crowded from the palatial St. Nicholas, with
its row of genteel idlers standing at all hours
before the entrance flor the express objects, it
would seem, of selfexhibition, and by force of
broadclOth, much hair and more brass, to stare
bashful lady premcnaders out of countenance,)
to the less pOrtentious houses of Cortlandt ST..
where country merchants most do congregate.
All sections of the country are fully represent
cd at these, and a lover of the picturesque
could not fail to be gratlfed at dinner scene
at one of them, say the Western. AS the
hour approaches the entrances to the hall arc
thrOnged. and at the sound of the gong the
seats are filled in a twinkling, and shade of
Apicius what eating is here Flocks of tur-
kies with brown, shiny legs, and plump, fra
grant breasts, dwindlc instantaneOusly into
handful of boncs-tomatoes, succOtash and
sweet-potatocs, melt away like butter in the
sun, and whole rows of pastry arc bowled
down with ten-strikcs. The almonds and raj
sins escape-thcre is no time for dessert and
in twenty minutes from the time each sat down,
he may he seen, tooth-pick in mouth, urging
his way to some business appointment.
Among the numerous discoveries of our pro-
life age, which are every day applied to gen.
eralize luxury and multiply comforts, cannot
resist the temptation to notice substitute for
flag stones, which is just coming into use, and
which promises to form an important feature
at no very distant day in the beauty and con-
venience of our streets. We refer to the kind
of Tagging in which the mineral substance
called asphaltum, forms the new and principal
element. We have had an opportunity re-
Gently of observing the construction of a piece
of sidewalk of this peculiar character and feel
willing to accord to it a superior merit The
asphaltum is mel ted, and while in a state of
fusion, mixed with quantities of SILICA, and we
believe some other foreign substances but the
ingredients, as we'll as their proportions in the
composition, are held in secret by the patent
ees, until the whole acquires consistency and
peculiar quality, which fits it for its purpose
as mineral cement. A layer of broken stone,
of the size used for Matchmaking, is spread
upon the earth to the thickness of three or
four inches, and the compound formed as above
is poured upon it until the interstices are
mostly flied and while the liquid is cooling the
pavier's rammer is called into requisition to
consolidate the mass. After this is fairly
cooled, and become perfectly hard, covering
of the semi-Auid as imposed from two to three
inches thick and smothed, leveled, and pressed
with instruments so as to form continuous
surface uninterrupted by joints to any extent
of area required, which becomes in an hour as
hard as granite. 1t is claimed that this resists
all vicissitudes of the weather as we'll as rock,
and that it is no more liable to be broken by
the superpositi0n Of weights or the rolling of
loaded vehicles than paving stones of the same
thickness. We are inclined to admit this
claim from what We have seen Of it, and GER
tainly it forms a most beautiful sidewalk, obvi-
ating in rainy weather if it be- properly sloped,
the disagreeablo necessity which the pedestri-
an finds, Of continually plunging into puddles