Ill 



BRKATH FI01 



INC. 



bait resistance, and they mark themselves upon the glass before the 

 trincipal diaoharge takes place. That such is the case is evident from 



- 



^ 



NefstlTeside. 



the {act, that if the plate be too Urge, or too thick, or the jar not fully 

 charged, or the electricity deficient in tension, no disruptive discharge 

 take* place, but the plate becomes covered with these ramifications, 

 while the charge still remains in the jar. A corresponding action takes 

 place in nature. Just before a ship has been struck by lightning, the 

 people on board sometimes speak of the well-known electrical sensation 

 as if a cobweb were being drawn over the face ; they also hear a hissing 

 roaring noise, and perceive brushes of light These sensations are also 

 sometimes experienced when, from some cause or other, no discharge 

 takes place. This class of roric figures admirably illustrates the 

 phenomena of lightning, or that form of discharge known as ribbon or 

 ekai lightning. It descends from the thunder-cloud to the earth iu 

 the same jagged trembling line as here represented, sometimes dividing 

 into two or three main branches, and these bi-f urcations or tri-f urcations 

 are often admirably produced on the glass plates. The writer of this 

 article has made several attempts to render these figures permanently 

 visible on the glass, but he has not yet succeeded in doing so. The 

 vapour of mercury, Ac., brings out only the principal lines of discharge ; 

 while a coating of collodion, candle-smoke, 4c., does not receive the 

 details of the impression. The discharge appears to produce some per- 

 manent change on the surface of the glass, so that while the breath is 

 enndsnseH on the portions unacted on, it does not condense on the 

 parts occupied by the figure. When onoe the figure has bean formed, 

 it is difficult to get rid of it, the ordinary methods of washing and 

 rubbing (ailing to do so effectually. There are many points connected 

 with UMM figure* which are still open to inquiry. It is curious also to 

 notice the various modes in which the breath condenses <n the platen, 

 according to the temperature of the air and the amount of humidity or 

 dryness, the tension of the electricity, and the state of health of the 

 experimentalist. Daring the warm humid weather which occurred 

 oa certain days at the end of Kay and the beginning of June, 1859, 

 it was almost impossible to produce UMM figures. Then again in 

 breathing on the plates a quantity of organic matter is deposited, 

 which varies with the kind of food, the Urn* that it has been taken, 



and the slate of health of the individual. Tho breath more 

 differently deposited when projected by different individuals. Tl,. 

 state of the breath is known to Lavo a considerable influence iii ph !,. 

 graphy, and it has been noticed in other arts. In an <>M I'n-n li 

 treatise on Enamel Painting (' Diet des Arts et Metiers,' Lyou, 1801), 

 the artist is cautioned not to let any one approach his work who has 

 been eating garlic or taking mercurial medicines. 



BREATHING. [RMPIIUTIOX] 



BKKAST- WHEEL. [HvDBAUUCs.] 



BREEDING! is the art of multiplying the domestic animals rapidly, 

 and at the same time improving their qualities. 



Any breed of an I main will perpetuate itself, if a sufficiency of 

 proper food be provided; and the varieties found in a wild state 

 must depend in some degree on the climate and the products of 

 the country in which they are found. Care and domestication also 

 produce varieties, which are much more useful or profitable than the 

 wild breeds ; and in the selection of the best individuals to propagate 

 a useful race, and in the rearing of the young, consists the art of the 



Without entering into particulars, which vary with every species of 

 animal, and with the different varieties of the same species, we shall 

 lay down certain principles which experience has proved to be correct, 

 and which being attended to will greatly promote the improvement of 

 all the different animals usually bred for the use of man, whether for 

 his sustenance or for his pleasure. The first thing which is to be kept 

 in view is the chief purpose for which the annual is reared, whether 

 for labour and to assist human strength, or for speed, to convey us 

 rapidly from one place to another; whether merely for a supply uf 

 animal food, or to produce the raw materials of manufacture. In each 

 of these cases distinct qualities are required ; and it is seldom that two 

 of these objects can be combined in the greatest perfection. 



Having then determined the purpose for which any species of 

 domestic nnimal is designed, every quality must be attended to which 

 furthers this view ; and, except under very peculiar circumstances, the 

 animals intended to keep up the stock by their produce must be 

 chosen with those qualities in the greatest perfection which are essen- 

 tial to the end. In all miim;i] a perfect conformation of the bodily 

 frame is essential to the due performance of the vital functions. The 

 skeleton of the animal should therefore be as perfect as possible. The 

 capacity of the chest, and the healthy nature of the lungs, are points 

 which must never be overlooked, whatever may be the purpose for 

 which the nnimal is bred ; for although a defect may in some measure 

 be counteracted by a judicious choice of the individual coupled with 

 the defective animal, it is only where there is no alternative or choice 

 that any defect in the bodily frame of an animal kept for breeding 

 should be overlooked. In spite of every care, the defect will appear in 

 the offspring; sometimes not till after several generations. If it were 

 possible to find individuals without fault or defect, no price would bo 

 too great for them ; and for those that have been carefully selected for 

 several generations, it is real economy to give a very liberal price. In 

 horses bred for racing or for the chase, experience has fully proved the 

 truth of this rule ; and no one who pretends to breed race-horses would 

 breed from a mare which had a natural defect, or a horse whose whole 

 pedigree was not free from fault. For mere swiftness the shape of the 

 animal, whether horse or greyhound, must combine strength with great 

 activity. The chest must be deep, the lungs free, and the digestive 

 organs sound but small, to add as little weight to the body as is con- 

 sistent with the healthy functions of nature. The legs should be long 

 and slender, and the bones compact and strong ; but the principal thing 

 to be attended to is the courage, and no quality is so hereditary. A 

 horse or hound of a good breed, if in health, will die of exertion sooner 

 than give up the chase. Any defect in courage in on animal intended 

 for great occasional exertion, renders him unfit to be selected to con- 

 tinue an improved breed ; and whatever may be his pedigree he has 

 degenerated. 



With respect to animals whose strength and endurance are their 

 most desirable qualities, a greater compactness of form is required, a 

 greater capacity of the digestive organs, and, according to the climate 

 to which they may be exposed, a more suitable covering. Whether it 

 be to ward off cold or great heat, a thick covering of hair is equally 

 serviceable iu both cases. Hardiness of constitution is hereditary, like 

 other qualities ; and the manner in which the young are reared tends 

 greatly to confirm or diminish this. An animal of which the breed 

 originally came from a warm climate, like a tender exotic plant, wants 

 artificial warmth for the healthy growth of its limbs ; while the indi- 

 genous and more hardy breeds may be left exposed to the elements. 

 An abundance of wholesome food and pure water is essential to the 

 healthy state of every animal, as well as exercise proportioned to its 

 strength. These are circumstances which it is obvious must be care- 

 fully attended to. There ore others, the result of long experience, 

 which are equally necessary to be known, Imt which are not so obvious. 

 These vary according to the species aud variety of the animals bred ; 

 and it is seldom that the same breeder is equally successful in rearing 

 different species of animals. 



In the animals selected to breed from there are points, as they arc 

 called, which are peculiar conformations, some of which are connected 

 with the natural formation of the skeleton, and others appear to be the 

 result of an association derived from the known qualities of certain 



