98 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



by the French Government to make experiments upon the subject of the 

 construction and safety of steam boilers, the task executed by the two 

 philosophers was one of as much danger as difficulty. The bursting of 

 boilers, to which they were constantly exposed in a limited locality, was 

 more hazardous than that of shells upon a battle-field; and while military 

 officers who assisted them men of tried courage in the conflict grew pale 

 and fled from the scene, the savans proceeded coolly to make their calcula- 

 tions, and observe the temperature and pressure upon boilers almost at the 

 very point of explosion. 



PRICE OF SCENTS. 



Piesse, in his annals of chemistry, says : " The wealth of England is 

 aptly illustrated by showing what Britannia spends, and the duty she pays 

 to the Exchequer, for the mere pleasure of perfuming her handkerchief. 

 As flowers, for the sake of their perfumes, are on the continent principally 

 cultivated for trade purposes, the odors derived from them, when imported 

 into this country, in the form of essential oils, are taxed with a small duty 

 of Is. per pound, and are found to yield a revenue of just 12,000 per an- 

 num. The duty upon Eau-de Cologne, imported in the year 1852, wasy 

 in round numbers, 10,000, being Is. per bottle upon 200,000 flagons im- 

 ported. The duty upon the spirits used in the manufacture of perfumery 

 at home is at least 20,000, making a total of 42,000 per annum to the 

 revenue, independent of the tax upon snuff, which some of the ancient 

 Britons indulge their noses with. If 42,000 represent the small tax 

 upon perfuming substances for one year, ten times that amount is the very 

 lowest estimate which can be put upon the articles as their average retail 

 cost. By these calculations (and they are quite within the mark) we dis- 

 cover that Britannia spends 420,000 (about $2,000,000) a year in per- 

 fumery." 



MANUFACTURE OF PARAFFINE OIL. 



By the Edinburgh Witness, we learn that at a lawsuit lately prosecuted 

 in London, one of the parties, James Young, of Bathgate, on being sworn, 

 deposed, that "he manufactured and sold at the rate of 8,000 gallons a 

 week " of the Paraffine oil, which is procured from the Torbanehill new 

 mineral. 8,000 gallons a week are 416,000 gallons a year, and accord- 

 ingly Mr. Young's counsel, Mr. Bramwell, stated that his client sold (in 

 round numbers) " 400,000 gallons of this oil yearly," Mr. Bramwell 

 adding, " at 5s. per gallon." That is, Mr. Young stated, while his counsel 

 repeated the statement, that from the chemical works near Bathgate, which 

 prepare the Paraffine oil procured from the Torbanehill mineral, there are 

 sold of that valuable oil 100,000 (nearly $500,000) worth yearly, and it 

 is to be borne in mind that the greater portion of this very large yearly 

 bum is clear profit. It was also added, that Mr. Young was only one of 



