CRITICAL NOTICES OP NEW PUBLICATIONS. 315 



able : — Sixty-four Foreign Birds, from Mr. John Gould, F.Z.S. ; 

 Thirteen Silver Coins of Edward I., Edward II., and Alexander of 

 Scotland, found in the bed of the river at Tutbury, Staffordshire, 

 supposed to be part of the contents of the military chest of the 

 Duke of Lancaster, when in retreat before Edward II., which was 

 lost about that place, from C. C. Babington, Esq., F.L. and G.S. ; 

 a Collection of Fossils from the Chalk, &c., from C. C. Babington, 

 Esq. ; a large Collection of Roman and English Coins, from Sir A. 

 V. Corbet, Bart. ; African Pig, Doe and Fawn, numerous birds, 

 crania, fresh-water shells, &c., from T. C. Eyton, Esq. ; Historical 

 Register, 14 vols. 8vo., from the Rev. Canon Newling ; Collection 

 of dried specimens of British Rosce and Rubi from Edwin Lees, 

 F.L.S., M.E.S. 



CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 



Reports on the Explosion of Steam Boilers, by a Committee of the 

 Franklin Institute of Pennsylvania. Part I., containing the 

 first Report of Experiments made by the Committee for the 

 Treasury Department of the United States. Part II., containing 

 the General Report of the Committee. 



The Reports now before us, from a committee of the Franklin In- 

 stitute of Pennsylvania, are upon a subject of special interest to every 

 community where steam is extensively used as a motive power.* 

 They emanate from an institution which has been very active in the 

 promotion of the mechanic arts in the United States of North Ame 

 rica, and come to us with the sanction of a committee of its members, 

 and of its board of managers. The names of most of the gentlemen 

 composing the Committee have been more or less familiar to the 

 readers of the Journal published by the Franklin Institute.f 



• While this article was going through the press, the lamentable occur- 

 rence of an explosion of the boiler of a steamer at Hull renders it but too ap- 

 propriate. The ignorance displayed before the coroner's inquest by those 

 who were concerned in the management of the engine and boiler, shows 

 plainly that light has not yet reached those in whose care our lives are so 

 often placed. 



-f- Our cotemporary, the anonymous editor of the Magazine of Popular Sci- 

 ence, should at least have given himself the trouble to look into the facts of 

 the case, before he insinuated a doubt of the qualifications of these gentle- 

 men for the task imposed by the Franklin Institute. A reviewer should 

 bring both candour and knowledge to his task, and our cotemporary really 

 seems to have been wanting in both. We refer to the Journal of the Frank- 

 Un Institute to show that seven of the members of the Committee, whose 



