THE WEST SHORE.
February, 1880.
48
ARTIFICIAL OEMS,
Dr. Percy write to the Ixmdon Tinm with
regard to Mr. Maclean' alleged discovery : "1
agroo with Mr. Maskelyno in thinking there in
reason to expect that the diamond will some
dav he artifieiallv produced. Hut. if ho, poesi
bly a very long period will he required to form
a crystal of ullicicnt ir.o ami rjuulity to ho of
any commercial value. Alumina, tho substance
of aapphire anil ruby, ha long hcuu crystab
lised, yet to thia day no artificial aapphire or
ruhy worth a farthing haa appeared in the
market. The halan ruhy, or red spinel, wuh
formed almiit forty year ago hy Ehclmon, In
mall hut distinct eryHtala, of which I have
apecimena in my collection; yet, ho fnr an I am
aware, the natural m in alone known to jewel
cm. 'I'll' conditioua under which nature haH
oryatallizod oarlsm in the cuhical system miiHt
Ihi extraordinarily rare, seeing that a Hiuall room
would prohahly aulliue to contain all the dia-
monila that have hitherto I diHcovercd. The
Kiaeaaor of diamonda have not at present ;,ll
reaaon to fear that tho value of their property
will he lowered hy the crystallized carbon of
the chemical lalHiratory."
Id reply to Mr. Story-MaHkelyne'H letter mi
thia auhjcct, referred to in last week' Iron, Mr.
MuTcareay: "I have jut icon Mr. Maakolyno's
letter in tho 7'iWs, anil am nurptiacd to learn
hint from it of the negative reiulta Mr. M as
kclyno haa obtained, while an interview lietweeu
ui, tlxod hy him for Tueaday, fith innt. , in till
ponding, The HtatemontH in liin letter do not
provent me from allirming in the inoHt positive
manner that I have boon able to produce carbon
in the diamond modification. 1 have btHI able
on tho only two occasions I have tried tho ox
Hiriment to burn the Hiiiall translucent particloH
in oxygon g, and 1 have boon able with the
grcatoat oaao to acratch deeply both amethyat
ami topar. with them. Aa I do not despair of
convincing Mr. Maakolyuo himaelf of hia being,
to aay the loaat of it, promaturo in hia oonolu
iiona a to the problem of crystallization of
carbon having lieon auccoaafully aolved, and aa
it haa been acoompliahod hy ineana very aimilar
I" thiHH) which in thu concluding paragraph of
hia letter he ugiot aa being pnaaible, I truat
tho acientillc world will uapenil their judgment
until more ample evidence haa been laid before
them." At a recent meeting of tho GlaK"w
l'hiloaophieal Society, Kl. John Vincent Day
road a communication from Mr. Kolicrt Has. tor,
of Dundee, regarding the production of artilicial
diamonda. Mr. Haxtor began to experiment in
IH7(, but did not obtain auccoaaful reaulta till
April, 1.H77, when pure cryatal of carbon were
produced. The cryatal then obtained were all
L't through careleaa handling. Mr. Ilaxter
endeavored to procure more, but for aovoral
month did not lucoeod. Hi cryital had been
tested 'ii a manner leaving no doubt about their
genuiuenoaa. He had tried without aucceaa to
produce largo cryatala, hut eaw no reaaon to
preveut their ultimate production.
Motion, or tiik Gnot'sn. -It will bo re
membered that M. I'lautatnniir directed atten
tion aome time tinoe to certain displacement of
the bubble in a tixed anint level, indicating
inovemeiita of the ground. Ho ha now made
a year' oliaervation of thrao phenomena in a
cellar at Neoheron, with two apirit level, one
directed north ami outh, tho other caat and
west The reault i the manifeatation of peri
odic movements of rie and (inking of the
'iiii.l. which, in a general way, apiear to lie
termincd by the exterior teniierature. After
that the ooultgnratinn, and, perhaiw, alio the
nature of the ground, prolubly affect tho in
tensity of the inovemeiita.
A m w kiud uf erockeiy, deaigned to fill the
I lace of earthenware to aome extent, haa re
cently been introduced. It coniiat of cotton
pulp, or felt, glased with a MUmMm into
which dissolved glass largely enter. It is a
durable, elastic material, oaeeing neither the
Cart weight nor brittleneaa of eartheuware;
I ii haa yet to undergo tho test of general use.
PAPER HANGING.
Paper-hanging in quite a modern invention,
after all; that i, in its Western use. In the
East wall-papers had been known from time
immemorial; but it was only toward the end of
tlie neveuteeiith century that tliey Were brought
from China, imported into England anil Hol
land along with a multitude of other inilionnes
and chinoiseries. Francs took hold of tho idea
and perfected it, and haa hitherto produced the
lKt, while Germany and Belgium have given
the cheapeat papers; hut England has lately
come to rival Franco. Thero is now a vast
variety to choose from everywhere; mounting
from the rough kitchen fourpenny paper that,
put 00 wrong aide out, when its pattern is but
slightly stamped, present! a uniform gray sur
face like something a great deal moro expen
sive, and where the pattern is heavily stamped,
presents a damascened gray surfaco, to those
elaborate in art and material, whoso use in a
single room requires nn expenditure of a small
fortune.
There are the common satin-faced ones, the
gilded, silvered and bronzed grounds, embossed
gilt and mica, imitation of Bilks and tapestries,
cretonnes and chintzes, raised and stamped
velveta; there are some like delicate muslins
embroidered in chain stitch and lined with color,
at six dollars a roll and upwards; others like
the dark, old, embossed Spanish leathers but
toned to the wall, from nine to twelve dollars a
roll, according to present prices; thero are the
thick, Japanese papers, where the black ground
riots in fantastic assemblage of all rich colors,
where a cold ground carries birds and butter
Hies ami fans ill charming profusion, and those
of lighter, less marked and less agreeable char
acteristics, at about the same prico as the
leather papers; other yet more expensive,
thick ami heavy, a linoly-glaz.cd porcolain-like
representation of lilea of all sorts, for those
who will have them in imitation; and in addi
tion there are the frescoed papers, and thoso
for ceilings, for dadoes and for fricz.es. It
would he hard if out of such a variety ono
could not get up rooms that would bo satisfying
to the moat demanding sense of tho beautiful.
K n.i.kh BY A Murrain. As David Meisen
thalor, tho well-known stockman of Whitestono
township, was driving hi cows to the barn
about daylight this morning, he was atruck by
an aerolite and instantly killed. ItappcarBas
if the meteor had come from a direction a littlo
wct of South, and fell from an angle of about
IK) degree, for it lirst passed through a tall
maple, cutting tho limbs as clean as if it had
bcon a cannon hall, and then struck him appa
rently on or under the shoulder, passing
clean through him obliquely from below
the right shoulder to above the left hip,
and buried itaclf about two fast in the soft
black ground. The poor man' head and legs
were uninjuicil, but the greater part of his body
HUM to have been cruahed into tho oarth be
neath the terrilic aerolite, which is about the
ai.e of a common patent bucket, and apparently
of a rough round ahaie. It appears to he formed
of what i called iron pyrites Hurinu ().)
Journal.
Aluminum TaUQUra Wiiiks. Gorman
telegraph engineer have lately I wen experi
menting with aluminium aa a material for tele
graph w ire. Thii meUl caii easily tw drawn
out to a very much liner gauge than ia Mtiblo
with iron, and its oouduotibility is twice as
great aa that of iron wire. Its excessive cost
has hitherto prevented its use for tho purpe
indicated, but it i found that an alloy of alu
minium and iron can eaaily be made, which will
produce a wire both finer and trongcr, and less
uaceptihlo to atmoaphcric changes than iron
wire, while it is much Uerior as a conduct
ing medium.
MAGNITUDE OF LABOR.
There is nothing that has ever attained the
vast proportions that labor has acquired. It
extends over the entire globe, so far as the
operations of man arc concerned, and through
out the seemingly unlimited realms of space,
under the exertion of the Omnipotent Creator.
Leaving out of consideration the wondrous array
of stellar systems, and narrowing the view to
the work of the human race, tho field is still
too ample for a detailed narration. It can, even
in this scope only, be treated of in generalities,
The animals labor, but it is only to the extent
of self-preservation. Tho beaver builds his dam
across tho running stream; tho birds construct
their nests in the branches of tho trees; the
burrowing animals dig into the surfaoe of the
earth; and the insects spin their webs or con
struct their fragile cells each and all guided
by the natural law of permeation of their
progeny.
The labors of man extend to a higher and
nobler plane. Originating in self-preservation
and protection of offspring, they have risen to
the moro elevated rank of a creative power,
which has encompassed the earth and left no
spot upon its surface undisturbed by their mul
tifarious results.
In every phase of social life labor holds the
sole sustaining Influence, deprived of which tho
fabric of society would meet with annihilation,
and man descend to a scale below the heaver
and the bird in practical utility. In the ad
vancement of tho well-being of the human race,
labor has ever been tho motive force which has
accelerated its progress. It has stimulated the
intellect, and conferred aptness upon muscular
manipulations. It has given ideas to the brain,
and deftness to the hand. Its results have
pointed out new methods of attaining them,
which havo required less muscular action and
more brief periods of time, with greatly in
creased results.
Nothing can be effected without labor; with
it, all things can bo accomplished. When in
operation, it is vitality; when inactive, it be
comes inertia and death. It crosses continents
in its gigantic strides, steps over oceans and
traverses tho globe, carrying with it beneficial
results, and imparting as it goeB, ardent desires
for a continuing increase of its blessings.
It points out the track of the seemingly
erratic comets; it maps out the path of the sun,
moon and stars; it measures tho far-distant
worlds, and weighs them with positive accuraoy.
It has constructed instruments by which their
constituent forms of matter are made known.
It overleaps the confines of tho earth, and ex
tends its efforts to tho remotest regions of stellar
existence.
It razes mountains to the level of the plain, or
cuts its passage through miles of their base. It
deepens rivers, tills up lakes, makes fertile the
dosort. Earth is but ono of tho compartments
of its workshop, and in every section of that
compartment it demands and compels activity.
Its avocations aro unlimited, extending from
tho least to tho grentest productions, from the
sharpest point of a needle to tho massive form
of the pyramid; operating upon the formations
of bodies almost too fragile to be touched, and
working upon others of adamantine durability.
It is a magnificent tcmplo of God-like propor
tions, so vast, so extended that it embraces tho
w holo realm of creation; so perfect in its con
struction that defects are unknown; 10 endur
ing in its material, that it will still exist when
earth shall havo passed away; so wisely planned
that beauty and harmony are presented at every
point, and its resultant will bo the advanced
welfare of man. Omniscienco only oould have
invested labor with its grandeur and greatness,
and have stored it so fully with benefits and
blowing!. Its dome riioi to the highest heeveni
and 11 lighted by the itsri; its walli contain all
created matter, and its foundations rest upon
unswerving utility. Into thii vast hall all must
enter and perform their task, which to aomo
will lw hard to accomplish, to others, easy of
performance. There is no exemption from this
duty. M inimjand Sdtntific Press.