Journal oj Fasts., 



671 



diseases have not been proportionally in- 

 creased. The diminution in th aggre- 

 gate mortality of the English nation has 

 been derived wholly from the diminution 

 of the mortality of children. 



Railway from Vienna to Milan. The 

 railroad from Vienna to Milan is approved 

 by the emperor, and all the shares are 

 disposed of. It will commence on the is- 

 land on which the custom-house is built, 

 and be carried over arches to the main 

 land. It is calculated that the journey 

 from Vienna to Milan will be performed 

 in six hours. 



Earthquake in Greece. The Venice 

 Gazette of April 17, gives details of a 

 second earthquake in Greece, which has 

 had the most deplorable consequences. 

 It happened on the 1st of April, in the 

 four islands of Hydra, Spezzia, Poros, 

 and Santorino. The shocks continued a 

 week, and it seems that the central point 

 from which they proceeded was the last 

 island, almost the whole of which has dis- 

 appeared. It is said that above 4,000 per- 

 sons perished ; but we hope that these ac- 

 counts are greatly exaggerated, The 

 accounts from Trieste of the 18th have 

 news of the 3rd of April, received from 

 Athens, which give a dreadful picture of 

 the disasters of Santorino, the town and 

 its inhabitants having been swallowed up 

 by the sea, and no vestige remaining. 



Female Education in France. In the 

 elementary schools, the present number 

 of which is 43,951, the total number 

 of childrea attending is 2,453,954, of 

 whom 1,627,110 are boys, and 826,844 

 girls. By a reference to the population 

 returns, it will be seen that the girls thus 

 educated do not amount to one-sixth of 

 the female population between the ages 

 of four and fifteen : hence it cannot be 

 doubted that there still remain as many 

 as 13,000,000 females not enjoying the 

 blessings of public education. Central 

 Society of Education. 



London and Birmingham Railway. 

 The Watford tunnel on this railway is 

 now completed. It is one mile and 

 seventy yards in length, twenty-five feet 

 high, and twenty-four in width. The 

 greatest portion of it is through sand and 

 gravel mixed, which render the work 

 difficult and dangerous. The embank- 

 ment along the Coin valley, Watford, 

 seventy feet in .height, is also finished. 

 We understand that a few miles near 



town are to be opened for the running of 

 carriages during the present month (June) 



Origin of Savings Banks. The firs, 

 bank of this nature in Europe was opened 

 at Berne in 1787; and its object was to 

 induce'the domestic servants of that place 

 to husband their savings. The sphere of 

 its operations was soon enlarged, and in 

 1829 the deposits amounted to 831,000 

 francs (33,240) of which about one-fifth 

 belonged to mechanics. The institution 

 set up at Geneva about the same time 

 failed for want of encouragement. The 

 savings bank at Basle, still existing, was 

 established in 1792. The earliest in 

 England was that at Tottenham opened 

 in 1798. 



Consumption of Coal in England. The 

 following statement is taken from Mr. 

 M'Cullock's Statistics of the B. Empire. 



Tons 



Domestic consumption, &c. . . 15,000,000 

 Production of 700,000 tons 



of Iron 3,850,000 



Cotton manufacture 



(240,000,000 Ib, 800,000 



Woollen, linen, silk, &c, 500,000 



Copper-smelting, lead-works, 



brass-working, &c, 450,000 



Salt-works 300,000 



Lime-works 500,000 



21,400,000 

 Exports to Ireland, colonies, &c 1,350,000 



22,750,000 



Agricultural Schools. The general 

 adoption of such establishments would 

 be a great boon to the peasantry of this 

 country, if at least it be the most im- 

 portant business of education to train 

 children to honest and industrious habits. 

 We are happy to see schools destined for 

 country children established and in active 

 operation atEaling, Winkfield nearj Wind- 

 sor, Chelmsford, Ockham in Surrey, Lind- 

 field near Cuckfield in Surrey, and one or 

 two other places. That boys should be 

 taught gardening and the use of tools 

 that they should learn, in short, those 

 common businesses which are calculated 

 to make them adroit and independent ru- 

 ral labourers is highly desirable ; and 

 the success which the plans pursued 

 in the above places have met with, ought 

 to induce persons throughout the country 

 to forward such philanthropic measures. 



