No. 149.] 157 



its chemical nature, being nearly allied to starch, furnishes the 

 ordinary material of food in another form. 



Pottery. A potter, in Cornia, has lately introduced fine fila- 

 ments of the asbestos into the mass of kneaded clay. By this 

 process the articles are said to be lighter, less brittle, and better 

 able to bear the sudden efiects of heat and cold, than those of 

 the common fabric. 



Porpoise leather and oil. At the Montreal industrial exhibition, 

 Oct. 1850, some porpoise skins, tanned and curried, were shown, 

 the appearance of which denoted a firmer texture than calf-skins. 

 They have been used in manufacture of shoes ; and the Hudson 

 Bay Company prefer this new leather for their straps in prefer- 

 ence to all others, for toughness and durability. 



The porpoise is very common in the St. Lawrence and the 

 Gulf, and yields considerable oil, which on analysis has been 

 pronounced equal to best whale, and has been used as such in 



the light houses. 



Gentlemen, 



With much respect, i 



your very obedt, 



E. G. LANGDON. 



December 2, 1850. 



RELATIVE TO IMPROYEMENTS IN AMERICAN PRINTS. 



The following letter from Messrs. J. Bunnell & Co., of Paw- 

 tucket, R. I., in reply to a letter of enquiry, contains important 

 information relative to the pursuit in which they are engaged. 

 We approve their suggestions, and regret our inability at the 

 present time to embrace fully the propositions intimated. We 

 trust It will be in our power before long, and our friends may 

 rest assured that no time will be lost by the American Institute 

 in applying all the means placed at its disposal for the encourage- 

 ment of the arts, and the protection of labor in our own land. It 

 is indeed lamentable that the stimulants required in the various 

 departments of productive labor, calculated to induce improve- 



