FARMERS' REGISTER— GEOLOGICAL. 



529 



most safe. Next to this is the wooden wheel, witli 

 wrought iron rims, similar to those used on the 

 Liverpool road, and adopted on the Camden and 

 Amboy railroad. An interesting- experiment is 

 now being made on the Trenton road, of'a new kind 

 of wheel made of gun-metal, which is thought to 

 possess so much tenacity as to render it safe from 

 the danger of breaking, and if the abrasion is not 

 too great, must he a very valuable improvement 

 in wheels for railroad carriages. 



The danger from obstructions in the road is in a 

 great measure obviated by the guards which have 

 been adopted on most of the engines, and as regards 

 the turnouts, the only security lies in passing them 

 at a very moderate speed. 



Now, as it is well understood by those familiar 

 with the subject, that the danger lies not in the 

 simple act of the car getting off the road, but from 

 its being forced on in this situation by (he momen- 

 tum of the train, andthe power of the engine,- until 

 the car is literally broken to fragments, and the 

 lives of the passengers endangered, I would suggest 

 to those having the management of railroads, that 

 much of the danger to be apprehended in such ca- 

 ses might be obviated, provided some plan could 

 be devised of attaching the cars to the engine, and 

 to each other, which when the resistance became 

 increased in a certain ratio beyond that required to 

 start or keep them in motion on the road, the car 

 to which any accident might occur, should be self- 

 detached from those which preceded it. This idea 

 has been suggested to my mind from having wit- 

 nessed two instances of cars getting off the ro.ad. 

 In one of these, the cars were attached to the en- 

 gine by a rope, which broke the moment it met with 

 increased resistance by the car getting off the road, 

 and although this car contained tiiirty passengers, 

 no injury was sustained except the brcakingof the 

 car. In this case I have not the least doubt that had 

 the attachment of the cars to the engine been per- 

 manent, the car which was off the road would have 

 been dragged on by (he momentum, and the power 

 of the engine, until it had beeii entirely broken to 

 pieces, and most of the passengers killed or maimed. 



The other instance to which I refer occurred un- 

 der similar circumstances, with this exception, that 

 the attachment of the cars to the engine was more 

 l)ermanent, and the result much more disastrous, 

 the carriage being entirely destroyed, and several 

 of the passengers maimed for life. 



To obtain this important desideratum in attach- 

 ing the cars to each other and to the engine, I have 

 thought that a spring might be used which should 

 operate so as to detach itself whenever the power 

 of traction was increased to a certain point ; the 

 strength of the spring to be graduated in propor- 

 tion to the working resistance, those next the en- 

 gine being the strongest, and thus having a propor- 

 tionate decrease of strength, to the endof the train. 



The importance of rendering this mode of con- 

 ve5''ance, as safe as it is expeditious and convenient 

 will, I havenodoubt, call forth and enlist in its ac- 

 complishment the mechanical talent of the country , 

 and it would afford me the highest gratification, if 

 I could flatter myself thnt the suggestions I have 

 here offered, should in the smallest degree contri- 

 bute to this desirable result. 



New- York, Nov. 20, 1833. 

 Vol. I.— 67 



E. L. MILLER. 



For tlie Farmers' Register. 

 GEOLOGICAL. 



[ Continued from No. 8, p. 474.] 

 Another argument is brought forward by Mr. 

 Cuvier, to j)rove that the species and genera of the 

 ocean have changed. He thinks the remains of 

 organized bodies found in various strata, differ from 

 the animals which now inhabit the ocean. It is 

 true there may be found in the strata organic re- 

 mains differing from animals that now exist, but 

 this does not prove a new race of beings : it only 

 goes to prove that we are unacquainted with all the 

 animals that inhabit the ocean. I am willing to 

 admit that many animals are extinct that once ia- 

 habited the ocean, but am unwilling at the same 

 time to believe that a new race differing in genera 

 and species have been formed. Many species of 

 land animals have liecome extinct ; this is proven 

 from the great number of large bones found in high 

 latitudes If they are not extinct, they must have 

 dwindled for want of subsistence. 



The Noachian deluge did not continue long 

 enough to form all the organic fossil matter found 

 in the various strata. If fossil matter owes its ori- 

 gin to the general deluge, there would be a confus- 

 ed mixture of all animal relics, from man down to 

 the most insignificant animal, but this is not the 

 case ; for when organic fossil matter imbedded in 

 lime or gypsum is minutely examined, it is found 

 to lie of marine productions, such as shell and fish. 

 Why there should be such a mass of fossil marine 

 matter, and no relics of man and other animals that 

 inhabit the earth, has never been explained. Ma- 

 rine productions have l)een discovered on the tops 

 of lofty mountains. The fossil remains of the fox, 

 the deer, the cow, the horse, and the mastodow, 

 have been discovered at the height of sixteen thou- 

 sand feet, on the Hymalaya mountains. Of the 

 interior of the earth, we know nothing. M. J. A. 

 Chaptal is of opinion that the central part, consists 

 of the stone known by the name of granite: he in- 

 fers that this is the case from excavations which 

 the art of man and currents of water have made in 

 its surface. 



Granite he considers to be the nucleus of the globe, 

 on which all matters of posterior formation rest. 



The earth, when first formed, was in a state of 

 chaos and probaldy contained a large portion of ve- 

 getable, animal and mineral matter, diffused among 

 various other principles, all of which were blended 

 with water. Heavy substances first /bund their 

 way towards the centre of gravity, and excluded 

 lighter bodies. In thisoider of things, water made 

 its way upwards, filtering tin-ough grosser materi- 

 als and ultimately found its way to the surface, which 

 it completely covered. Heat then acted upon the 

 surface and volatalized it ; oxygen, nitrogen and 

 other gasses united and formed an atmosphere. 

 Heavy substances having taken possession of the 

 centre, lighter bodies must occupy higher regions, 

 so that tiie most volatile matters are to be found 

 floating on the upper surface of the 'atmosphere, 

 and the earth more dense as we proceed towards the 

 centre. But here a question naturally arises, why 

 do v,e find ponderous rock and mineral matter on 

 the earth's surface ': Why have they not progress- 

 ed and found their way to the centre .' The rea- 

 son appears obvious, they were small and detached 

 in comparison to larger masses, and of course re- 

 tained by the intervention of other matters. If then 

 it be admitted that gravitv brings down all bodies 



