222 Manufacture of Mosaic at Rome. VOL. I. Fancs. 9,349,000 this was chiefly on repairing and extending dtito 61,051,000 43,403,000 34,964,000 50,696,000 199,463,000 There are several rail-roads in France, but of no great extent; the principal are that of Andrezieux and Roanne, 50 miles in length; that of St. Etienne and the Loire, 15 miles; and that of St. Etienne and Lyons, 45 miles. vate associations, asking only aid and advances from the state. Independent of the finished works above stated, twelve great new canals are in progress. These are,-1. The Canal Monsieur, joining the Rhine and the Rhone by the Saone and the Doubs; length 180 miles. 2. Of Burgundy, joining the Saone to the Loire by the Yonne, 145 miles. 3. Of Angouleme, making the Somme navi- The departmental roads, in 1828, extended gable to Amiens. 4. A lateral canal along 7704 leagues, of which 6040 had been opened, the Loire, to avoid the difficulties of its navi-and to complete the remaining 1664 would gation, from Dijon to Briare, 120 miles. 5. require an expenditure of 112,000,000 francs. From Nantes to Brest, with a view of provisioning the ports of Britany, 220 miles. 6. Of Ille et Rance, joining Nantes to Brest and St. Malo. 7. Of Nivernais, joining the Yonne to the Loire. 8. Of the Duke of Berri, joining the Cher to the Upper Loire. 9. Ardennes. 10. Blanet. 11. Arles. 12. Oise. Several canals, on a still more magnificent scale, have been recently contemplated, and what the French call the studies of them are even far advanced: but no part of the works has yet been commenced. Doubts are even entertained if they will repay the immense expense required for their completion. The principal of these are,-1. A maritime canal from Paris to the sea, avoiding the circuitous navigation of the Seine, and admitting ships of large burden to that capital.The estimate is 150,000,000 francs, and 1,500,000 francs for a harbor at Paris. 2. A BRIDGES. Of the bridges of France several are handsome, as those of the Loire at Orleans, Tours, and Nantes; over the Seine at Paris, Neuilly and Rouen; over the Rhone and Saone at Lyons; and over the Garonne at Bordeaux. Bridges of suspension have been constructed at Paris in front of the Hotel des Invalides, and over the Rhone between Tain and Tournon. These operations have been entirely in the hands of Government. Manufacture of Mosaic at Rome. canal from Paris to Strasburg; which would of variously shaped pieces of colored glass become, as it were, the French Grand Trunk, enamel; and that when these pieces are ceand might easily be extended to the Danube.mented together, they form those regular and The length would exceed 300 miles. 3. The other beautiful figures which constitute tesPyrenean canal, from Toulouse to Bayonne, forming a more direct communication from sea to sea than at present. Length, 210 miles. The roads of France, at least the high roads, have been chiefly supported by government. They are broader, more spacious, more direct, and on the whole of grander aspect, than the English roads; but they have not been kept in such good condition for traveling. Roads have been made and repaired rather for political and military purposes, from solicitation and favor, than for objects of real utility. The system seems to have been, to neglect them as long as possible, till the clamor of the district became irresistible, and then to give them a thorough repair; to which Dupin justly prefers the system of keeping roads constantly in a good state by small repairs as the necessity arises. The French roads, however, have been greatly improved since 1810, and the maintenance of a great proportion of them has been undertaken by the departments; so that they are now divided into royal and departmental. The royal roads, in 1828, extended 8631 leagues, and there was xpended on them 199,000,000 francs; but sellated pavements. These pavements, the work of the ancient Romans, have frequently been dug up in England and other countries. in the present day, is at Rome, and belongs The principal manufactory of Mosaic pictures to his Holiness the Pope. The enamel, consisting of glass mixed with metalic coloring matter, is heated for eight days in a glass-house, each color in a separate pot. The melted enamel is taken out with an iron spoon, and poured on polished marble placed horizontally; and another flat marble slab is laid upon the surface, so that the enamel cools into the form of a round cake, of the thickness of three-tenths of an inch. In order to divide the cake into smaller pieces, it is placed on a sharp steel anvil, called Tagliulo, which has the edge uppermost; and a stroke of an edged hammer is given on the upper surface of the cake, which is thus divided into long parallelopipeds, or prisms, whose bases are three-tenths of an inch square. These parallelopipeds are again divided across their length by the tagliulo and hammer into pieces of the length of eighttenths of an inch, to be used in the Mosaic The Moorish Palace of Alhambra. 223 pictures. Sometimes the cakes are made || Nevada, is about half a mile from the city; thicker, and the pieces larger. its summits are covered with eternal snow, but the cold of winter is never felt at its base. The city was founded by the Moors; its present state may be contrasted with what it was in the time of its splendor. When the crescent rose above the mosque it contained above a circumference of three leagues, and was Gilded Mosaic is formed by applying the gold-leaf on the hot surface of a brown enamel, immediately after the enamel is taken from the furnace; the whole is put into the furnace again for a short time, and when it is taken out the gold is firmly fixed on the surface. In the gilded enamel, used in Mosaic, at Rome, there is a thin coat of transparent glass over the gold. The Moorish Palace of Alhambra. The following account of the Moorish Palace of Alhambra we take from the Ladies' Garland, Vol. 1, No 12. It will no doubt prove interesting to our readers. The province of Granada, in which the city of the same name is situated, is someHall of the Abencerrages.-Fig. 68. times called Upper Andalusia, and was the defended by more than a thousand towers.central seat of Moorish power and magnifi- The streets are narrow, the walls high and cence. It presents a wonderful combination gloomy-many quarters are deserted, and of all that is wild and sublime, and what is marks of decay and splendid poverty are evesoft and beautiful in natural scenery. Accord-ry where visible. Its population is now reing to Malte Brun, the walks on the banks of the Genil, the ancient Singilus, indicate the approach of Granada, through which the Daro flows it is encompassed by woods, and watered by limpid streams, while the gardens and groves on the neighboring heights diffuse their fragrance to a distance. The Sierra Gate of the Sanctuary of the Koran.-Fig. 69. noblest specimen existing of Moorish architecture; and nothing perhaps in Europe, out of Italy and Greece, can come into competi tion with it. The site is fine, resembling that 224 Education among Mechanics. VOL. I. of Windsor, on a hill above the river. Its || plaster. On entering the threshold, however, exterior structure, however, is the reverse of the visitor seems transported into a fairy beautiful: : a huge heap of ugly buildings hud-scene. He passes through a range of apartdled together, without the least seeming in-||ments; the baths; the Court of the Lions; tention of forming one habitation; the walls the Hall of Abencerrages; the Golden Saloon, only gravel and pebbles, daubed over with or Hall of the Ambassadors; the gate of the Koran; the Tower of the Two Sisters; with || and the mechanic who toils daily with his others, in which the various rescources of hands. Oriental pomp are displayed, along with all| When we speak of an educated comthat can refresh the eye or the sense in a sul-munity, we do not premise, that all will betry climate. The courts are all paved with marble, and surrounded with marble pillars, in a pure and beautiful taste; and the walls and pavement are profusely ornamented with gilded arabesque and mosaic, the colors of which, by an art which seems to have been lost with the Moors, are as brilliant as when they were first laid on, five hundred years ago. Water is made to spout into the air, or, in smooth sheets bordered with flowers, refreshes the interior of the apartments. After the expulsion of the Moors, Charles V. built on part of its site a new palace, the external architecture of which was much superior; but it was never finished. Education among Mechanics. We shall continually and earnestly look to the education of our mechanics, as the only successful means of their improvement. We hope that the strong efforts which are now making in the cause of education will not stop at partial results, nor be relaxed, till the whole mass of the community shall be thoroughly imbued with the leaven of sound and practical knowledge. It is now very generally understood and felt, that learning is not alone useful to the rich and independent, but to those who "eat their bread in the sweat of their brow," to the cultivator of the earth, come great or learned men; we do not anticipate a community, of literati or scientific experimentalists. There is a common-sense learning, a practical education, which every one can and ought to acquire, which will teach him his duty to himself and his fellow beings, and the best manner of performing that duty. There is an education which fits every one to the sphere of life in which he may be called to move; and this must be attained. It is rather a learning of observation, and the science of common things, than abstruse and deep processes of intellect, which are required for the every-day-man. It is rather general than particular knowledge. When we speak of learning and science, and the advantages of education, some think we talk of Greek and Latin, and Conic Sec tions; and they feel no interest in our remarks, and do not consider that our arguments come home to their case. But while we leave those to the divine, and the scholar, we call upon our fellow-citizens who, though in less eminent, are still in useful stations, to become learned in things which concern themselves, their business, and therefore, the general good of mankind.. There are those who are not prepared to comprehend the value of knowledge. That which the experience of those who have tried it has declared to be power,' they regard as No. 13. Improvements in the Iron Manufacture. 225 of little importance to them. These of course It will be alone when he has learned to care little for books, periodicals, or other now || think and to reason, that he will be able to numerous means of intellectual improvement. take a successful stand to maintain his integral We can aptly compare them to those who, rights. Then in the great Hall of Legisladeprived of the faculty of vision, are contented tion, will he come forth, and bring his sound with scanty information which the sense of and practical intellect into contact with the feeling imparts, of the objects within their more refined, and it may be, too theoretical, reach, not imagining how much greater sour-minds of many professional legislators. ces of knowledge and useful effort would be We feel that a change has even now begun afforded them by the use of eyes. to come over the face of a wide-spread com But we would appeal to the mechanic him-munity. If an era of rapid advancement in self on this point, to those, who are endeavor-science is already darting its noonday beams ing to raise themselves to a station in society upon the 19th century, an era, we trust, is of which they feel themselves deserving, and dawning, of the universal diffusion of general who have come to the inevitable conviction knowledge among the people, which may that without EDUCATION all efforts of this kind spread a life-giving light even over the world, must be finally unavailing. We ask them if and arouse the nations to see and to seek they have not seen, that for the very want of their own best good in the fulfilment of the this education, rash, injurious and ineffectual laws of their Creator. measures have been adopted by some among the producing classes, to remove a fancied or real degradation under which they lie. To realize the near and succesful accomplishment of such a revolution as this in the community, and to secure all the advantages of the general diffusion of useful knowledge it behoves not only those already high in intellectual advancement to use their efforts in sustaining the influence of the higher seminaries and colleges, and causing them to advance with the spirit of the age, but it is incumbent on every class of society to seek their own moral and intellectual improvement, in the highest degree and manner comporting with their various stations and occupations. The spirit of the love of knowledge must be diffused, and felt, among those who are now But that very inequality which they feel to be so oppressive, it is to be apprehended, is in a great measure owing to their inferior amount of intellectual strength. So long as in a free country the intellectual wealth of any class is inferior, so long will the superior intellect of the more educated portion be in danger of overbalancing them. If they endeavour, by combination of forces, to secure the rights and privileges which they claim as their due, a stronger counter-combination might be brought to bear like an overwhelming sea upon them. And though the mer-insensible to it; and men must learn, not only chant, and the professional man, and the independant landholder, may not organize under the banner of a constitution, to bear down the struggles of the operative in asserting his claims, the effect of a combination may as truly take place as though its spirit were present, from that self-interest in which men must be expected to act, in bringing their resources to bear upon their own private emolument, without regarding the general good. But should we accuse the mercantile man of appropriating his resources too exclusively to the increase of his capital, and the professional man of sometimes using his intellect to promote his own ends, to the neglect of the general good, if we have reason to believe, as we are told we have, that the operations of these classes have, in a measure, a tendency to injure a portion of the community, by causing the distribution of wealth to be disproportionate to the labor bestowed for it, by those of different occupations, we also blame the mechanic, for having been content to stand so low, and to exert so little influence. He is to be blamed for having forgotten that elevation of condition is only to be made permanent by a corresponding elevation of moral sentiment and intellectual power. that their hands, but their minds, are given them for all important purposes: and we trust that the portion of the community to whom we particularly address ourselves, will not fail to see that on their effectual labors will depend no inconsiderable portion of the happy results of the general diffusion of knowledge. Improvements in the Iron Manufacture. SMELTING IRON WITH HOT AIR BLAST. In France and Scotland, extensive and interesting experiments have been and are making, in regard to employing heated air in the iron furnaces. The reports are so long that we cannot even present them in an abridged form, and must content ourselves with general statements. The experiments seem to have been uniformly successful; and not only a greater portion of metal produced with less consumption of fuel, but it is of a better quality also. It is also believed, that by this improvement, certain kinds of coal can be employed in the smelting, which would otherwise be unfit for the purpose. Among the various statements, we give a ducted. VOL. I. If steel is fused with copper in the proportion of 1-20 of the latter, to 19-20 of the former, an ingot is obtained crystalized like cast steel, and resembling it in appearance, but useless for forge purposes, and incapable of receiving an edge. The affinity of iron to carbon tends to separate the two metals, or at least to prevent a chemical union; hence they cannot be alloyed At the Clyde works, in Scotland, a tabular statement gives an increase of from 6 to 9 tons per day in the quantity of iron manufac-in a blast furnace in contact with carbonured, besides a great economy in the proportion of fuel and flux required to reduce a given quantity of ore. The air is heated to 6120, or above the melting point of lead. It is also found that by this alteration, the work of the blowing machine is also made easier, and that less air is blown into the furnace. In works in the environs of Manchester, the consumption of coal has been reduced from 6 to 3 1-4 tons, per ton of iron. The expense of heating is seven cwt. of coal to the ton of iron. The quantity of flux is reduced nearly in the same proportion. [See page 57 of Mechanic's Register. ALLOYING IRON WITH COPPER. any aceous matter, and the union which may be formed in a close crucible can be obtained only in a small way; so that the alloy cannot be used for castings of considerable weight. He is, however, sanguine that he shall be able to overcome that difficulty by a different system of alloy, in which copper will form an essential ingredient.-Boston Mechanic. A Chapter on Dying. A beautiful, imperishable dye is an article which will never come amiss. A great proportion of the dyes which are in use are fading; others corrode the cloth, on account of the vitriol which they contain, and others, good as they may be, are very dear. Vegetable dyes, perhaps, always require a mineral mordant, to strengthen and fix the color; but with this aid, colors otherwise volatile are made permanent. Various materials, it is true, require different dyes, and some imbibe colors with difficulty; yet there is no doubt, that with suitable preparations, all articles may be made to receive permanent dyes. The possibility of uniting copper with iron in form of an alloy, has sometimes been denied. The London and Edinburgh Philosopher's Magazine and Journal of Science, contains an account of some interesting experiments on this subject, by David Musket, Esq. His object was to find a material for castings, which should possess the stiffness of cast iron, and also the malleability and strength of wrought iron. He states that the copper ores On account of the absence from the lists of England, are principally sulphurets of iron of patents for new and improved dyes, there and copper; and commenced his experiments is some reason to suppose either that the subby attempting the joint reduction of the ores ject is in a state of repose, or else, which does of the two metals to a metallic state with- not appear very probable, that perfection in out separation. After many failures, he the art is already attained. Now although states that he succeeded in reducing into we are not much in favor of spending money malleable metal, the contents of any given in useless experiments, and believe that far sulphuret. There was, however, a very great too much has already been spent in this way, uncertainty in relation to the strength of the especially in endeavoring to discover priningot. From his experiments, he infers that ciples in mechanics, and in natural philosophy, pure malleable iron, or that containing the which never existed, yet we are of opinion least possible quantity of carbon, will form that there is much room for useful experimenan alloy with copper, but that when carbon tation on vegetable dyes, especially from the is united with the iron, either in the form of productions of our own country. There is cast iron or steel, it will not form a perfect no reason to suppose that the natural wealth alloy with copper. He says, however, that of our country, in the vegetable kingdom, is in these experiments, when the proportion of fully developed, any more than in the mineral iron was greater than 5 or 7 per cent. no chem- kindgom, in which new and important disical union took place. As the result of ex-coveries are continually increasing our reperiments having for their object, the direct sources. union of copper with iron, he states that pure malleable iron may be united with copper in any proportion, till the quantities are equal. With 50 per cent. of iron, the alloy possesses great strength. An additional quantity of iron increased the hardness, but diminshed the strength of the alloy. It is well known to botanists, that there is a kind of grain, (called wild rice,) growing plentifully in marshes, in some parts of our country, which yields more abundantly than any kind of corn which has yet been culti vated. And yet none but birds and Indians have ever made any use of it, although it is |