[ 260 ] 
[Oct. 1, 
\ 
VARIETIES, LITERARY AND MISCELLANEOUS. 
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npr Ferry across the Tay at Dundee, 
which was formerly subject to many 
inconyeniences and much danger from the 
passage-boats, now affords one of the finest 
proofs of the advantages resulting from the 
use of steam-boats. The boat employed 
at this ferry is what is termed a “twin 
boat,” or two narrow boats connected to- 
gether by the decks, so as to form a plat- 
form throughout their whole length. 
The interval between the sides is about 
eight feet, which allows a free passage to 
the water, and receives the paddle-work of 
the steam-engines, placed at the extremi- 
ties of the axle in each boat. At each end 
of the platform a space is railed off for cat- 
tle, and the intermediate space appropriated 
to foot passengers, with cabins for shelter 
in wet weather. Both ends of this vessel 
being similar in all respects, it is not ne- 
cessary to turn her on landing or embarking, 
Both the divisions of this twin-boat have 
perpendicular sides and flat bottoms; and 
the boat, though ninety feet long ‘and 
twenty-nine broad, only draws four feet 
and a half water, or five feet four inches 
when laden to the full, with 100 head of 
cattle and an equal number of passengers. 
It is said to be in contemplation to employ 
a similar steam-boat on the passage across 
the Severn. 
Voleano.—The only active voleano that 
has yet been discovered in the immense 
territories of the United States, is a small 
one (from which no lava has yet been ob- 
served to flow) about four miles west from 
Lake St. George, Essex county, state of 
New York. 
An Explosion of Inflammable Gas, at- 
tended with very remarkable circumstances, 
occurred a few weeks back in a well near 
the fort at Leith. Two men, while sink- 
‘ing a well, had arrived at the depth of 
eighty-seven feet without finding water. 
The strata cut through consisted of stiff 
dark-coloured clay, containing rounded 
pebbles of quartz, slate, hard sandstone, 
and coal. On driving their jumper (or 
working chisel) into the clay, they found 
it suddenly sink down about six inches into 
a cavity below, which was immediately 
succeeded by a tremendous rush of air from 
the hole, which even carried upward masses 
of clay above the heads of the men, who 
‘instantly gave the signal for being drawn 
up. One man being brought up, the buc- 
ket was lowered for the other, and the un- 
fortunate man was drawn up about thirty 
feet, when, he appearing to be almost insen- 
sible, and the men above apprehensive of 
his falling out of the bucket, it was again 
lowered to the bottom of the well. A man 
humanely offered to slide down by means 
of the rope to assist his unfortunate com- 
rade below: the oppressive nature of the 
noxious gas, however, prevented his pro- 
gress, and he was immediately obliged to. 
re-ascend. A lighted candle was now 
brought to the mouth of the pit, in order 
to detect (what might haye been most 
naturally expected in such a situation) the 
presence of carbonic acid gas. But, in- 
stantly on the approach of the light, a 
dreadful explosion took place, which filled 
the entire cavity of the well, and threw up 
a volume of flame to the height of forty 
feet above the surface of the ground, at- 
tended with a report equal to that of heavy 
ordnance. It was two hours before the 
unfortunate man was drawn out from the 
well—of course quite lifeless: and it was 
nearly a fortnight before the well could be 
purified from the foul gas—carburetted hy- 
drogen; though, from the powerful smell 
of sulphur, this substance was also pre- 
sent. The gas. continued to be evolved in 
considerable quantities for several days, 
and was repeatedly fired previous to the 
further ventilation of the well. Very sin- 
gularly, the gas seemed to increase in 
quantity in wet weather. From subse- 
quent workings, it was ascertained that 
the gas escaped from a large cavity (the 
size of which could not be determined), 
where it must have been long confined by 
the superincumbent pressure of-the strata. 
Doubtless, in a nearly similar way, though 
usually on a smaller scale, the blowers, .or 
jets, of inflammable gas originate in our 
collieries, occasioning the loss of many 
valuable lives annually, from negligence in 
not always using the safety-lamp, in any or 
every situation that is at all doubtful, or 
liable to the accumulation of fire-damp. 
Number of Christians.—By a calcula- 
tion ingeniously made, it is found that, 
were the inhabitants of the known world 
divided into thirty parts, nineteen are still 
possessed by Pagans; six by Jews and 
Mahometans; two by Christians of the 
Greek and Eastern Churches, and three by 
those of the Church of Rome and the ~ 
Protestant Communion. If this calcula- 
tion be accurate, Christianity, taken in its 
largest latitude, bears no greater proportion 
to the other religions than one to five ; and, 
according to a calculation made in America, 
and republished in London in 1812, the 
inhabitants of the world amount to about 
800,000,000, and its Christian population 
to only 200 millions, viz. the Greek and 
Eastern Churches, thirty millions; the 
Papists, 100 millions; and the Protestants, 
seventy millions, The Pagans are esti- 
mated at 461 millions; the Mahometans at 
130 millions; and the Jews at nine mil- 
lions. wer 
The destruction of inseets prejudicial to 
gardens has been accomplished :by freely 
using the following mixture, as a wash for 
the stems and branches of plants, in open 
weather in January or February, viz. 
Tobacco 
