between a Machine and its Model. t55 



In the remarks which I have made, it has been my wish to 

 place the subject in such a light as might enable all to perceive 

 the importance of its bearings ; and I have refrained from being 

 practical, lest, in making myself better understood by some, I 

 had rendered my meaning obscure to others. My intention 

 throughout has been to inculcate the important truth, that no 

 machine ever can be enlarged or diminished in proportion. 



32. St Andrew Square, 

 \^th November 1832. 



On Fossil Woods Jrom Newcastle, New South Wales. With a 

 Plate. — By William Nicol, Esq. Lecturer on Natural 

 Philosophy. In a Letter to Professor Jameson. 



Dear Sir, , 



AviNG finished the examination of the fossil woods which the 

 Reverend C. P. Wilton sent to you from the coal formation in 

 the vicinity of Newcastle, New South Wales, I shall now give 

 you a very brief account of the result of that examination. 



The specimens operated on were fourteen in number. They 

 are all siliceous, most of them have the hardness of flint, and a 

 specific gravity of 2.759. Their colours are generally dark, but 

 some are grey, with occasionally a very slight shade of red and 

 brown. A specimen of the latter colour, marked No. 1. in 

 the catalogue from the Castle Hill at Newcastle, and 200 feet 

 above the level of the sea, is somewhat softer than the rest, 

 and has the property of absorbing water and other fluids to a 

 considerable extent. A portion of this specimen, weighing 120 

 grains when dry, weighed 126 grains after lying a few minutes 

 in water. It was then exposed to the air, and in the course of 

 a few hours the absorbed water had entirely evaporated. 



In one or two of these specimens, there is not the slightest 

 trace of organization. In all the rest, the organic structure is 

 sufficiently apparent, and there could be no hesitation in refer- 

 ring the whole to the coniferous order. Some of the specimens 

 retain the reticulated structure of the Coniferae in the greatest 

 perfection; others possess the perfect structure only in certain 

 portions, the remaining parts being modified in a very singular 

 manner. 



