Polytechnic Association Proceedings, gn 



close under an iron roof, that heats up to a higher point than the 

 surrouudiuof air in the summer, and is a little lower than it is in 

 the winter. A man who winds and cares for about two hundred 

 clocks weekly, has varied experiences, whether he profits by them 

 or not. 



Experiences bring to mind a very wealthy and withal a very 

 profound gentleman, who lived in the East. This gentleman was 

 very fond of collecting wise sayings, of writing them down, and 

 repeating them to his neighbors. Now, he being very rich, and the 

 sayings being, many of them, remarkable for brevity and wisdom, 

 they were taken and handed down as law and gospel, even to this 

 day. Among tliese sayings was this: " Experience teaches a dear 

 school, but fools will learn in no other." Now, I don't like this. I 

 say that experience keeps the cheapest school that a man of sense 

 ever went to, • No teacher can learu a fool, and it is only so far as 

 men have wisdom that they learn in the school of experience. 



But there are exceptions to even my rules, for time is money to 

 the miser, and to mine uncle at the sign of the three balls. 



TUNGSTEN STEEL. 



At the conclusion of Mr. D. W. Bradley's paper, which was 

 received with applause, Dr, Feutchwauger exhibited a specimen of 

 tungsten steel, manufactured in Austria from cast iron and wolfram 

 ore. It is very close gndned, hard, and suitable for cutting instru- 

 ments, rock drills, &c. It cuts gliiss as readily as the diamond, 

 and is an excellent material for rails. Dr, reutcliwano:er showed 

 also a specimen of wolfram ore, generally called tungstate of iron, 

 which is used in the production of wolfram steel; and enumerated 

 the difierent tungsten compounds, 



GASSIOT'S TUBES. 



Dr. Preterre exhibited a chromic acid battery, which he used in con- 

 nection with a cheap form of telegraphic dial, an electro-plating 

 battery, and a simply constructed electric machine. He experimented 

 with some glass tubes of various construction, and coutainkig different 

 gases, which, being placed in connection with the electric machine, 

 showed the passage of electricity through them by differently colored 

 and very beautiful streaks of light, the brilliancy of the effect of 

 which was much enhanced by their rapid revolution on the cylinder, 

 to which they were attached. The tubes were of such a small size 

 as to be rather toys than anything else; but the exhibitor desired 



