NOTES BY THE EDITOR. V 



for its terminus. The old project of the North Atlantic is being 

 again mooted. That route was to go by Iceland, Greenland, and 

 so on to Canada and the United States, Denmark being the as- 

 sumed starting-point. The cable to India by the Red Sea is going 

 on satisfactorily, and an auxiliary line, one between Marseilles 

 and Malta, is spoken of. 



All these projects indicate increased convenience and gain to 

 the public. At present the use of the ocean telegraph is confined 

 to the commercial community ; but ere long, when the tariff is 

 reduced from Europe to America, and to India, the general pub- 

 lic will send messages as freely as they do by the land wires. We 

 may reasonably hope, too, that the cost of submarine cables will 

 be reduced by and by, and this will do more to cheapen messages 

 than anything else. 



In Northern Russia the construction of a land line is far ad- 

 vanced to connect St. Petersburg with the mouth of the Amour 

 River, on completion of which only a submarine link will be 

 wanting to complete the telegraphic girdle round the earth. 



Electricity and steam are the great agents of civilization. The 

 introduction of telegraphic lines and railways in Russia and Asia 

 is destined to revolutionize this part of the globe. We Americans 

 are apt to think ourselves the most progressive nation, and point 

 with especial pride to our Pacific Railway. Russia, however, is 

 making great strides; and the English railways in India com- 

 pete in difficulty of execution and magnitude with the Pacific 

 Railway. 



During the past year several improvements in railway carriages 

 have been brought before the public. 



Mr. Robert F. Fairlie has invented a steam carriage which will 

 round curves of 50 feet radius at 20 miles an hour, with, it is al- 

 leged, perfect safety. The carriage, instead of seating the usual 

 complement of 100 passengers (English car), seats only 66. The 

 English papers are enthusiastic in regard to this carriage. 



The Portmadoc and Festiniog Railway, in Wales, has also at- 

 tracted much attention, from the narrowness of its o:auo:e, — two 

 feet only. The Fairlie carriage and the narrow-gauge railway 

 will undoubtedly come into play in difficult countries. 



We are certainly far from perfection in the construction of our 

 railways in America. The fearful catastrophes that have taken 

 place from cars taking fire have reawakened an interest in new 

 methods of heating them. No method has yet been devised to 

 meet the difficulty satisfactorily. In this volume will be found 

 1* 



