April 21, 1870] 
NA TLORE 
631 
quent. The plains of Southern Russia, or of the Red 
River in Canada, with a comparatively rigorous climate, 
far excel Ireland as wheat-producing countries, because 
their short summer is one of uninterrupted fierce sunshine; 
their vegetation suffers no check ; the grain is ripened all 
at once, and the harvest gathered without delay or diffi- 
culty. The deficiency of ripening power in the Irish 
climate produces a secondary defect, which. meets with 
less attention than it deserves. The grain which lingers 
on the stem two or three months before it hardens is sure 
to be unequally ripened ; some of it is immature, while 
more is tending to decay. Consequently, it is bad seed, 
and the Irish farmer habitually sows perhaps six or eight 
times asmuch as Mr. Mechi would deem requisite. Under 
these circumstances, it is evident that the Irish farmer 
ought to cultivate cereals no further than is requisite for 
the economy of his farm, and to look to other productions 
for his profit. Fortunately, there is a husbandry for the 
pursuit of which he enjoys peculiar advantages. In 
green crops no country can compete with Ireland, where, 
nevertheless, they are still little known or esteemed by 
the multitude. From this it may be inferred that sheep 
and cattle ought to be the chief objects of Irish husbandry. 
In truth, the Green Isle, under proper management, 
could easily supply England with beef, mutton, poultry, 
milk, and butter, and grow rich by giving abundance at a 
cheap rate to her neighbours. But then this could be 
effected only under a system of large farms, The grazier 
and cattle dealer, to make their business profitable, must 
do it ona large scale. Butter of the best quality cannot 
come from a small dairy. The improvement of Ireland, 
therefore, as dictated by climate and natural capability, 
can be effected only under a system of large farms. The 
popular wish, however, is for small holdings. It is thought 
that the country, when divided into potato gardens and 
all covered with cottages, will be a paradise. But this 
poor man’s paradise, beginning with a few years of felicity, 
will assuredly lead to the pauperism of ages. The Legis- 
lature cannot countenance schemes opposed to the whole- 
some development of society, and which would make 
poverty an institution ; neither can it prevent their diffu- 
sion ; but it may counteract them by spreading enlighten- 
ment and by presenting plain truths to the common sense 
of the community. This might be done by the publication 
of some statistics, showing the relative amount of cost 
and production of wheat and of green crops in England 
and Ireland, with some illustrations of the gain derivable 
from large farms and the use of machinery. WiC: 
TEE TS RON E VAG, NE GIP Ts 
NE a recent meeting of the French Academy, two 
communications were read relatve to the dis- 
covery of relics presumably belonging to the Stone Age 
in Egypt. The one of these was merely a claim on the 
part of M. Arcelin to priority in the discovery of various 
localities abounding in such remains. The other, by 
Messrs. Hamy and Lenormant, while according priority 
in the discovery to M. Arcelin, gives a list of the various 
spots at present known in Egypt on which the manu- 
facture of flint implements was carried on in early times— 
or where aéeliers de fabrication have been discovered. 
For the benefit of our countrymen travelling in Egypt, we 
here reproduce the list, arranged in the order in which the 
places occur in travelling southwards. 
1. SAQQARAH, where have been found “scrapers” and 
other worked flints. 
2. NEG-SALMANI, a small afe/zey in the desert, at some 
distance from the Libyan chain, and to the north of 
the ruins of Abydos. Flakes of whitish flint have been 
observed here. 
3. HARABAT-EL-MADFOUNEH, another small atelier 
to the west of the great temple of Seti I., at the foot 
of the mountain. The worked flints, principally flakes, 
are of a fine texture, and pink in colour, 
4. BAB-EL-MOLOUK, at the entry of the Valley of the 
Tombs. M. Arcelin here found flakes, “scrapers,” &c. 
5. GEBEL-QOURNAH. Here are traces of the manu- 
facture on a large scale of worked flints of various 
types. Among these are said to be “lance-heads” of a 
curious character, like some of those from the Valley of 
the Somme, and the Cave of Le Moustier, arrowheads, 
knives with or without a shoulder, ‘‘ scrapers,” hammer- 
stones, and nuclei, not unlike those of Pressigny. The 
flint is brown or blackish, and fine in texture. 
6. DETR-EL-BAHARI, and 7, DEIR-EL-MEDINEH, at 
the foot of the mountain of Thebes. Nuclei and flakes, 
like those of Gebel-Qournah, are found here occasionally, 
and it is suggested may have come from some unexplored 
locality on the summit. 
8. EL-Kap, where, at the foot of the cliff, flakes, 
arrowheads, and other forms have been found. 
Besides these localities, where worked flints occur on 
the surface of the soil, there is ABOU-MANGA, where 
the containing bed is not superficial, and some spots in 
the plain of Thebes, where MM. Hamy and Lenormant 
have found implements comparable in type with those of 
St. Acheul, and in connection with the old alluvia of the 
Nile, the relative date of which has, howeyer, not been 
fixed. , 
It is stated that the instruments are not all of flint, but 
in some cases of porphyry, amphibolic rock, or other hard 
kinds of stone. J. EVANS 
THE PROJECTED CHANNEL RAILWAYS 
III. 
WE have already considered two modes of crossing the 
English Channel by a railway, viz. one above the water 
by a bridge, and another below the water by a tunnel 
through the chalk. The two shores might be also 
connected by a submerged roadway passing direct 
through the water. It might be constructed either on 
the bottom of the channel or at a certain distance below 
the level of the sea. Submerged roadways have been 
proposed, some of iron, others of concrete; of the for- 
mer of these we shall only consider such schemes as 
appear to have received sufficient attention from their 
originators. 
These structures may be simply called tubes, because 
of their circular shape, which is, we all know, the most 
favourable form to resist pressure against collapse. The 
various propositions for the construction of iron tubes 
may be divided in two classes, viz.: Ist, schemes in 
which the parts of the proposed submerged tube are to be 
constructed on shore in certain lengths, afterwards to be 
united under water to form the permanent structure. 
2nd, Schemes in which the whole tube is to be at once 
built in deep water. 
Among the designs which belong to the first class, the 
best and most elaborate is that of the late Mr. Chalmers. 
His design is well known from his publication on the 
Channel Railway, which we consider a meritorious and 
ingenious production. He proposes aline of tube between 
the Sonth Foreland and Blanc-Nez on the French coast, 
with a gigantic tower—or ventilator, as he terms it—mid- 
way in the channel in thirty fathoms of water. Having 
made this tower, he proposes to construct wrought-iron 
tubes on shore, each about 4oo feet long, closed at both 
ends by watertight bulkheads. These tubes are to be 
floated, one by one, to the tower, and to be there sub- 
merged, “ being drawn down by means of endless chains 
passing round pulleys or drums attached to massive 
anchor boxes on the bottom of the Channel.” The 
separate parts to be submerged at one operation are to 
have each a floating-power equal to about roo tons. A 
short description is also given how the ends of the tube 
about to be submerged should be drawn and attached to 
that part already permanently secured to the tower and 
the bottom of the Channel, 
