314 Scientific Intelligence , Sfc. 



mended rectangular canals. To make canals wide with sloping 

 banks was an evil. 



Mr. Whewell considered these observations to be of the highest 

 value and of the greatest importance. It must be recollected 

 that although the wave travelled, the current was not increased. 

 He was very anxious to have the velocity of waves at sea discovered. 



Pi'ofessor Mosely considered this might be adopted by taking the 

 velocity of a wave made by a steam vessel. 



Mr. Russell proi)osed that the wave should be measured in this 

 way. Let two vessak go out, and one of them be anchored ; have 

 a line attached from one to the other when the vessels were each on 

 the top of a wave, let the rope be drawn tight, and that would give 

 the width of the wave ; then when the vessels were both in the 

 bottom, a sight taken from the mast would give the height of the 

 wave, and by these means you might almost make a map of the 

 bottom of the sea. The farther vessels went the less would be the 

 resistance, and the Atlantic might thus easily be traversed by steam 

 vessels. 



The Chairman said the experiments were most important, and the 

 gratitude of the country was due to the young man who had made 

 them, Mr. Russell. 



Tuesday, 237'd Augxist. — 1. Mr, Hawkins read the following 

 paper on an Improvement upon Neper's Rods, for facilitating the 

 multiplication of high numbers, with little liability of error ; the 

 invention of J. N. Copham, Esq., of Bristol. — The invention 

 consists in cutting each of Neper's rods into cubes, and in stringing 

 the cubes together by means of pins passing through two perforations 

 in each cube, made at right angles from each other, parallel to the 

 figured side. By this arrangement the cubes may be readily placed 

 in such positions, in respect to each other, that the product may be 

 obtained by addition only, without the necessity of transcribing the 

 figures from the rods previous to the addition ; thus avoiding a great 

 liability to error, and effecting a great saving of time in the calcula- 

 tion. The pins are in two sets, with heads of two different shapes. 

 On the heads of one set of pins are marked 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 

 respectively, the same pin having the same number on each side of 

 the head, but the number on one side of the head is inverted in 

 respect to the position of the number on the other side. The heads 

 of the other set of pins are also numbered 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 6, 7, 8, 9, 

 but the pin having on one side of the head has 9 on the other side, 

 that having 1 on one side has 8 on the other, &c. The figures in 

 this set also are inverted in respect to those of the opposite side of 

 the head. The cubes are kept strung on those pins which have the 

 same figures on each side of the head, ten cubes on each pin repre- 

 senting one of Neper's Vods. On the pin marked 0, all the cubes are 

 marked on both sides. On the pin marked 1, the cubes are marked 

 0, 1; 2, &c., on one side, and 9, 8, &c., on the other side, the two 

 sides of each cube, on being added together, make 9 : on the pin 

 marked 2, the cubes are marked 0, 2, 4, &c., on one side, and 18, 

 16, &c., on the other side : the numbers on the two sides of each 

 cube, on being added together, make 18 ; and thus the numbers on 



