, Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 151 



terial cannot admit of very general use, and on this account M. Al- 

 dini is endeavouring to substitute for it a manufacture of wool. 



Wool is naturally but little inflammable, and when steeped in a so- 

 lution of sal ammoniac and borax, or alum, burns to a cinder witli- 

 out inflaming ; it is also slowly penetrated by heat. It appears from 

 an experiment of M. Flourens even to have an advantage over 

 amianthus. That gentleman presented a finger covered with amian- 

 thus cloth to the flame of a wax candle, and afterwards repeated 

 the experiment, substituting a covering of the prepared wool of the 

 same thickness. In the first case he experienced the effect of the 

 heat sooner than in the latter. In point of ceconomy, facility of 

 preparation, and convenience, from its greater lightness and weaker 

 conducting power, the preparation of wool has the preference over 

 amianthus : and though its resistance to fire is less than the latter, it 

 is still sufficient in all ordinary cases, and may form a very sufficient 

 substitute. 



The experiments which we have related above, have been made 

 under the superintendence of M. Aldini at Milan, Turin, Geneva, 

 and Paris. M. Aldini has not only the merit of ingenuity in this 

 invention, but of indefatigable zeal in pursuing it. He has dis- 

 played the greatest industry in perfecting and bringing it to the test 

 of experiment ; and he has the satisfaction in return of receiving 

 the unanimous approbation of those most competent to judo-e of 

 the merits of his invention. M. Gay Lussac has subsequently moved 

 that the Academy, when it proceeds to the distribution of the Mon- 

 tyon Prizes, should offer a reward to .M. Aldini, worthy of his ho- 

 nourable exertions for the preservation and protection of human life. 



M. Aldini having lately arrived in England, has published a short 

 account of his experiments, and announces a more extensive work 

 with plates entitled, " The art of preserving firemen and workmen 

 from the action of flame, and of saving human life in cases of fire : 

 with a series of experiments performed in Italy, Geneva, and in Paris." 



WETHOD OF OBTAINING SKELETONS OF SMALL FISHES. 



Some time since I was employed in making observations on the 

 produce of some of the ponds in the neighbourhood of London ; and 

 I discovered that the Tadpole was a very serviceable animal in ana- 

 tomizing the very small fishes, as well as some of the larger sorts, 

 generally found in such places; the Tadpole acting in the same manner 

 as the .'\i)t. I have tried the experiment several times, and on various 

 sorts of fishes, and was always successful, particularly with that very 

 little one called by children Stickleback : even in these the skele- 

 ton was at all times perfect. My method is this : I suspend the fish 

 by threads attached to the head and tail, in a horizontal position, in 

 a jar of water such as is found in the pond, and change it often till 

 the tadpoles have finished their work, which if two or three tadpoles 

 are allowed to work on so small a fish as the species just mentioned, 

 they will complete in twenty-four hours. I always select the smallest 

 sort of tadpoles, as they can insinuate themselves between the 

 smallest bouts, without destroying their articulation. — T. Bluett. 



