KEW ENGLAND PARMER. 



which be calls the receiver, where it flashes in- 

 to steam. The valve that confines tlie water in 

 this generating lube, is loaded with a inncl. 

 heavier weight tli'an the valve which conlincs 

 the steam in the receiver. Now, il the l"< ed 

 pump be stopped, the water in the coili.d 

 lube will also cease from snpplyinp; the receiv- 

 er, the steam at the same time, escaping I'roni 

 under its loaded valve. When the steam !;el- 

 So weak in the receiver by its diminished density 

 as not to raise the valve, the remain<ler uill 

 soon Ibrm an explosive gas, which will, whio 

 the ignition takes place, rend the receiver, al 





83 



The hands were Torcibly and irremoveahly fix- 

 ed to the breast, the distorted timbers hoino- bent 

 backward, forminaf an nrch over the swollen 

 mound at the joints. A little motion with the 

 ends of the finjrers was all the snfTcrer couhl 

 proihire ; and I was mnch impressed with the 

 iiKoniiliility of man to his ordinary blessinsfs, 

 when 1 saw this poor invalid call several times 

 lor a servant to brnsh ofT a lly that was biting 

 his leg unmolested. On his back was a large 

 running sore, which his fiiends were uncertain 

 whether to ascribe to disease, or to the effects 

 of lying so long in a horizontal and immoveable 



thongh the safety valve is only loaded at 1000 posture. The daily dressing of this sore, which 



lbs. ; at the same lime, it wotdd withstand a 

 steam pressure of 30,000 lbs. upon every square 

 inch. 



was performed while I was present, gave him 

 so great pain, that be was unable to sit up a 

 moment after it was completed. Three ser- 



This kind of explosion is too in?tantaneoi:s to vants took him up with all possible care, and 



be relieved by any safety valve. Several of 

 these accidents have taken place in Mr. Per- 

 liins' furnaces without the smallest itijnry, ex- 

 cepting that of spoiling tlie tube. '3he fact is. 



aid him on the bed ; while the excruciating 

 misery which this gentle movement produced, 

 filled the mouth of the sufferer with groans and 

 entreaties. Here he lay, bewailing his lot in a 



Mr. Perkins' vessels are so extremely strong,! hollow, piteous tone, and crying '^ O that thou 

 and the quantity of gas so very small, that the wouldst hide me in the grave, that thou vvouldst 

 elastic power is exhausted in producing the , keep tne secret, until thy wrath be past !" On 

 fracture. These gas explosions never took i inquiring tlie cause of his sufferings, 1 was told 



place while the engine was at work, they hap 

 pened while experimenting with the steam gun, 

 in consequence of the frequent stopping of the 

 feed pump, and the receiver conseqiienlly be- 

 came reu hot from wanting its regular supply ol' 

 water. 



In a note from Mr. Perkins, just received, we 



that three years ago, being afflicted with rheu- 

 matism, he took the advice of a quack to attempt 

 its cure by enormous doses of sulphur. With 

 this view, he mixed a pound of sulphur with 

 five quarts of water, and stirring it, took half a 

 pint three limes a day, until be had taken six 

 (lounds of sulphur. — Soon alter, commenced the 



have the following remarks : — " When I fii'^l ' pain and distortion of his limbs, which had sub- 

 heard of ihe acciilpnt on board the jElna, ( lelt jecled him to increasing and excruciating suf- 

 persuaded, that it was not the I'ffect of steam fei ings eversince. 



pressure that had produced the explosion, as I I ^ 



am well acquainted with Ihe boilers in ihat ves- 

 sel. I once had the satisfaction of wiinps-ins ' Cvrlovs Tree— The nia^ny, or moliiree \yh\ch 

 the effects of an explosion bv steam on board Ihe' 's ^■*"' <^""'"""' '" M'^^'co, yeilds to none in 

 .^tna, on her passage down the Delaware, and f'"'"' "' "''^''.v- " afTords water, wine, oil, vin- 

 it was only known to the passengers, -by ihe ' "S'"', honev. svrup. thread, candles, fee. kc— 

 proo-ress of the engines being stopped." i I' ''-'* ^'"'"^ ■''■"' "^''^'' '<"'Tes, withsh.irp points 



We cannot help again congratulaling the pub-'— "hich ..-rve tor needles ; and the points be- 

 lie on the perfect safety of Mr. Perkins' method ' '"? *°''" "'''' "'''''"- ''illows a tough kind ol hair. : 

 of generating steam, which from the above filforsewmg. When the trie is tappe.l, a li- 1 

 statements appears to be decisively satisfactory, I""'" '''"'^^ '"■■'''• ""'^'' '''^'' '"'''■■' '"■^'■' ""'' 1 

 whether a fracture in the vessels shall be occa-^ P'"'--' '•'*>'<■ ' '' ''"''^^^' " acquires the quality ol 

 sioned by either steam or gas. i »vine— and another P-^ocess turns the wme into, 



vinegar — if longer boiled, it becomes thick like I 



From SilUnwiCs Journal I honey — if only half boiled, it is not unlike sy- : 



I rup. The leaves serve for covering to the hou- 1 



Ises, and a fine yarn may also be spun from them 



for clothing, while, iVom the mots, strong ropes 



QUACKERY. 



DrearJfni effects of an excessive use of Sulphur. 

 Prole'^sor Olmsted, in a geological excursion 

 in the county of Wake, North Carolina, met 

 with the following fact, which ive present in 

 his own words: — "At Mr. Thompson's, where 

 1 dnied, 1 saw a fellow creature whose sufTer- 

 iiitrs made me truly thankful even for my on'n 

 imi-erfect iieallh. He was a son of Mrs. T. and 

 Tiearly fifty years of age. When I came into 

 the porch, he was silting before the entrance 

 in an elbow chair, surrounded with pillows, 

 with no clothing but a frock of linen, that came 

 halfway down bis knees. The ghastly image 

 of death was imprinted on every part of his 

 emaciated iVamo. 'l^he bones of his arms and 

 legs were hardly covered with flesh ; and the 

 joints of the knees, and the largest joints of the 

 ingers were increased to an enormous size. — 

 |-Iis knees we-re drawn together beyond the 

 power of separation, shortening the lelt leg so 



are manufactured. In short, there are nini!leen 

 dilferent services, to which the productions of 

 this tree may be applied. 



{"hat nothing but the toes touched the floor. — excellcni quality 



From Ihe Boston Centinel. 



The season now approaching a close, ha.s 

 been an abundant one in this section of the 

 Union ; particularly in tlie important products 

 of corn, hay, grain, and poialoes. 'i'hi^ last 

 has become an e.sscniial stajile of subsistence, 

 and tears vvere entertained in the early part ol 

 the sea'=on, that the growth would I.e a small 

 one — but that the latter rains, we learn, brought 

 it forwKrd. with a large yield. One oi" our m.]i- 

 ket men iiitVirms, tiiat from one acre of tlie farm 

 of Col. Griggs, of Brigliton, 800 bushels of fine 

 English whites have been dug, some ol' wh cli 

 we know weiehcd twenty ounces; and all of an 



From Ihe Jioslon Tehgrnph. 



AURORA BORE A LIS. 



The most inttrcstini; dcscriiitinn of tlus bf^nlifiil' 

 phenonitiion wliiih we icnumlHT to hrive seen i^ 

 containeil in llii: rrivale Journal of Cap . l.ron.'who 

 commaiidfMl the ship Ilecla, in Ihe po!ar Vxptriilion 

 under CA\>t. Pariy. It was the monlli ui DLCcinlir r, 

 and ia lat. 60 1 1 N. Ion. U'i 10 W. 



To desrrilir the colors of thofc clomllf ■•s lirtivciis 

 'would.be inipo!?ible, but llic delicacy and imrenes;" 

 I of the various Idcndod tints excelled any tliiiii; I ever 

 I saw, even in llalv. 'I'he sun sliims with a liitrinisli- 

 led lustre, so that it is possible to coiittmplutc if 

 ' without a paiufid Iteliiif.' to the eyts; yel, (he bliii-h 

 color AVhich in si vere frost ;i!w;.ys accomj.ar.ies if, 

 is, in my opinion, far more pleasing than Ihe jliltering 

 borders which are so profusely seen on the clouds in 

 warmer climates. The nights are no less lovely, i:i 

 consequence of the clearness of Ihe sky. 'the morn 

 and stars shine with wonderful lustre, and almost 

 persuade one to be jilcased with the surrounding 

 desolation. The aurora borealis does not appear a!* 

 fected by the brilliancy even of the full moon, but 

 its light continues still the same. The first appearance 

 of this phenomenon is generally in showers of falliuiy" 

 rays, like those thrown from a rocket, although not so 

 bright. These being in constant and agitated mo- 

 tion, have the appearance of trickling down the sky. 

 Large masses of light succeeded next in order, alti r- 

 nating from a faint irlow resemblins the milky way, to 

 the most vivid flashes, which stream and shoot ia 

 every direction with the effect of sheet lightning-, ex- 

 cept that, after the flash, the aurora still coutinies to 

 be seen. The sudden glare and rapid bursts of these 

 wondrous showers of fire, render it impossible to ob- 

 serve them, without fancying that they produce a 

 rushine sound : but I am confident tliat the re is no ac* 

 tual noise attending t!ie changes, and that Ihe idea 

 is erroneous. T frequently stood for hours together on 

 the ice, to ascertain this tact, at a distance from any 

 noise but my own breathing, and thus I formed my 

 opinion. Neither did I observe any variety of color in 

 Ihe flashes, which were to my eye always of the same 

 shade as the milky way and vivid sheet lightning. 

 The stars which gleam through the aurora, certainly 

 emit a milder ray, as if a curtain of the fine st gauze 

 were interposed. It is remarkable that whenever the 

 .weathtt'is ratni, the aurora has a tendemy to form 

 an arch, at whatever position it may occupy in' the 

 heavens. On the 29th of this month we were par- 

 ticularly gratified by a beautiful exhibition of this 

 kind at near midnight. A perfect arch was formed 

 at the southward, stretching from east to west', its 

 cntre elevated about two degrees above the horizon. 

 The niiiht was serene and dark, ■nhich added coi;sid- 

 erably to its effect, and the appearance continue d un- 

 chanjed for about a quarter of an hour ; but on a 

 slieht breeze springing up, small rays shot occasional- 

 ly to the zenith, and the arch became agitated with a 

 gentle and undulating motion, after which it spread 

 irrtriilarlv, and separating into the usual streamers, 

 soon diffiistd itself over the whole sky. In stoiToy 

 wiather. the northern lights fly with the rapidity of 

 liL'hlnins'. and with a corn spending wildness to the 

 gale which is Mowinj, giving an indescribable air of 

 marir to the whole scene. 



I have never contemplated the aurora without ex- 

 peri, 'irin? the most awful sensalions, and can readily 

 excuse the poor untutored Indians for supposing that, 

 in tbi restless .motions of Ihe northern lights, thny be- 

 hnbl tbi- spirits of Iheir fathers roaming iu freedom 

 through the land of souls. 



MICHIGAN. 

 r)KTnoiT, SEPT. 17.-r.rU. ! = fram the Indian Agent, 

 Mr. SchoolcrafI, give the particulars of the massacre 

 of a parlv of five Americans, by a gang of Chippewa 

 Indians, in .Tulv bist. on the upper Mississippi. The 

 Americans and Indians met accidentally, and encamp.< 

 ed near each other. In the nij-ht the Indians crept si- 

 lently to the tent of the Americans, seized their arms 

 aiu' then killed and scalped four of thim, the fifth at- 

 temptin:: t " 'Scape by swimnung the river was shot 

 by the savages on the opposite bank. 



