PROCEEDINGS OF THE POLYTECHNIC ASSOCIATION. 421 



Pennsylvania, or Virginia, or Ohio, does a vein of cannol coal 

 ever run into bituminous coal, or a vein of bituminous coal ever 

 run into cannel coal. But sometimes a cannel coal will lie 

 beneath or above a bituminous coal. 



Siibjecis for next Meefi?ig. — Mr. Rosevelt stated that at the 

 next meeting he would read a paper upon the " Constitution of 

 Nature." 



The subject of "Piers and Docks" was continued for discus- 

 sion at the next meeting. 



Adjourned. 



American Institute, Polytechnic A 



Prof. Cyrus Mason in the chair. 



SSOCIATION, ) 



October 10, 1861. J 



THE CONSTITUTION OF NATURE. 



Mr. Roosevelt read the commencement of a paper upon the con- 

 stitution of Nature — to be concluded next week. 



THE GREAT EASTERN. 



Mr. Cleveland, who Tvas a passenger in the Great Eastern, in 

 her recent disastrous voyage, described the method devised by 

 Hamilton E. Towle for steering the vessel after her rudder-head 

 had been broken. Mr. Towle, after the engineer had been at 

 work two days and a half endeavoring to repair the mischief, 

 succeeded in obtaining admission to see the work that was going 

 on. He found that the body of the rudder was supported by a 

 collar resting upon friction balls. The engineer was endeavor- 

 ing to unscrew this collar, but had not succeeded in raising it 

 more than an inch and a half. Mr. Towle, fearing that there 

 was no other support to the rudder, went to the captain and told 

 him that he feared, if the engineer should succeed in getting the 

 collar off, the whole rudder would be lost. The captain examined 

 it, and stopped the work. Mr. Towle then attempted to convince 

 the captain thai chains could be fastened around the rudder- 

 head, just above the collar, with sutKciont friction to steer the 

 ship, if suitable means were applied for moving them. The 

 captain gave him every facility to try the experiment, but 

 had so little faith in its feasibility that he, also, devised a 

 method which he proceeded to try. This consisted in applying 

 chains to the rudder itself, and leading them to the two sides of 



