REVIEWS, Ac. 



[1852. 



REVIEWS. 



The Anglo-American itagasine : Thomas Maclear, Toronto. — The fifth 

 number of this excelleut periodical has beea laid upon our table, and 

 coutinues to sustain its character as a very interesting and important 

 addition to Canadian Literature. Mr. Macleai' announces his intention 

 of introducing into succeeding numbere of the Anglo-American, a gen- 

 eral History of the American War of 1812, '13 and '14. We feel confi- 

 dent that a truthful relation of the stirring incidents of a war in which 

 the people of this country bore so active and honorable a part, will 

 secure for the enterprising proprietor of the Magazine, an extensive and 

 remunerative support from the Canadian public. 



The British Colonial Magazine : Hrmry Rowscll, Toronto. — Tlie sub- 

 joined extract fi'om the prospectus of this " Weelclu Jonrnal of Literature, 

 Science, Indruction and Amusement,'^ fully expresses its very compre- 

 hensive design : — 



"The projectors of this Periodical believe that the time lias airived 

 when, from the erfent of its population, progress and prosperit}', Can- 

 ada is capable of supporting, and should possess, a Literary Journal cf 

 its OAvn, and no longer remain dependant upon the United States for 

 the gratification cf a large portion of its intellectual necessities. Each 

 number of this Jouraal will contain 94 pages of the choicest reading 

 matter, selected fi'om every avaUable source, both Ancient and Modern, 

 comprising : — Original Articles ; Literary Intelligence from every quar- 

 ter of the civilized world — from the "Great Metropolis" to the "Celes- 

 tial Empire" ; Interesting Discoveries by Sea and Land ; Progress of 

 the Arts and Sciences ; Improvements in Manufactures ; Notices of New 

 Discoveries, and Investigations In History, Geography, Zoology, Botany, 

 Entomology, Conchology, Mineralogy, Chemisby, <fec. Nor will our 

 fair fi'iends be forgotten. Selections of the "Gems of Poesy" will be 

 made occasionally from the productions of the best "miters of the past 

 and present day ; and, as soon as practicable, arrangements will be 

 entered into for the contribution of Original Articles by some of the 

 &'st living Authors of Europe." 



We shall be delighted to find the British Colohial Magazine fulfil 

 the expectations which its liigh-sounding title, and the almost illimit- 

 able field of Literature it proposes to range over, naturally excite. It 

 has already reached its sixth number ; we shall, however, postpone 

 adverting to its vai'ied contents until future numbers confirm or modify 

 the opinions we have formed. 



Progress of Electric Telegraphing. 



The European Telegraph Company are consti'nctiug a new line from 

 Dover to London by the old coach road, leading through Deptford, 

 Greenwich, Shooter's-hill, Dartford, Gravesend, Kochester, Cliatham, 

 and Canterbury. The line is sunk in the old turnpike road. The 

 copper wires are encased in gutta jierclia, and deposited in a trough 

 cousti'ucted of kyanised timber, which is placed in trenches, eighteen 

 inches fi'om the surface of the ground. The trendies are dug and the 

 wires are laid at the rate of one and a half mile per day. Six sepai'ate 

 ■wues are deposited in each box, by from two liundred to three hundred 

 workmen. The Aviies are to be divided in the proportion of two for 

 the Paris, two for the Brussels, and two for the Mediterranean routes. 



The B.iitish Telegraph Company are constructing a line on the old 

 system between Glasgow and Greenock, on that railway. The line 

 would have been more important before the efforts made to establish 

 submarine telegraphs. Glasgow, by the steamers to Belfast, furnished 

 the latest tclcgrapliic intelligence to Ireland, and the formation of this 

 line would have brought each day 's intelligence one hour farther down. 

 By that route all Britisli telegraphic intelligence to four P. M. of the 

 previous day would have been published in the North of Ireland each 

 morning. 



We understand that n line will be formed fi-om Edinburgh to Perth, 

 Dundee, Aberdeen, niiil tli.' Nniili Kast of Scotland. That line appears 

 to be required, and will [jioIimIjIv answer as a commercial speculation. 

 The business and the |iii|)iil:ili(iii lo lie iicconiraodated by the line are 

 very considerable. A nicLiinlinlv cxamiilo of its necessity occurred on 

 the recent death of tljc Duke ni \Villini;ton. That event occurred on 

 the afternoon of Tuesdriy, llir 1 llli nil., and was known in Edinburgh 

 and Glasgow, a dist.anrc of 4(il) to 170 iiiili's, from the telegraphic 

 intelligence on the sainc ai'lcnHiini. The cli>taiK-e of Bidmoral by the 

 ordinary routes from cillicr Glasgow or Ediulnngli is 120 to 130 miles. 

 Its distance from Atirrdccu is JiO miles. The Court and the Premier 

 were at the date resilient .'it Balmoral. The information did not reach 

 the Royal residence inilil the afternoon of the 16th. If a telegraphic 

 line had been completed to Aberdeen, it is obvious that the intelligence 



might have been accelerated by six or seven hours. This event, was 

 not calculat<-d to produce great and immediate political results ; 

 although England contains not the remains of any man more generally 

 honoured than the late Duke of Wellington ; but it is obvious that 

 events requiring immediate me.asures might occur nnder the same 

 cii'curastances, and that, therefore, this proposed line is one of great 

 public importance, irrespective of its commercial merits, which are, we 

 think, sufhcieut to repay the outlay necessary in its formation. 



The following appears in the Times : — 



" An amalgamation between the Electiic Telegraph Company and 

 the Irish Submarine Telegraph Company, recently incorporated by 

 Royal charter, is being carried out for effecting this object. The prin- 

 ciple upon which the cable now manufacturing at the MiUwall works, 

 where the wire ropes for the Admiralty are made, is constructed, differs 

 from that hitherto adopted, and consists in insulating the interior wires 

 by means of India rubber as well as gutta percha. These, after being 

 laid up or twisted into a rope, are passed tnrough an anhydrous solu- 

 tion, and then covered with spun yarn, and formed into a hempen rope, 

 which is again passed through another, but different anhydrous solution. 

 The whole is then pa.ssed through a wire rope machine, worked by 

 steam, which encases the interior core in a metallic wire rope, formed 

 of twelve separate strands of six wires each, or seventy two wires, in 

 all forming a solid three inch cable. These plaits or close convolutions 

 of wire are thought preferable to the single spiral wire, as calculated to 

 give greater flexibility and sti'ength, and to prevent any portion of the 

 cable from becoming unstranded. As it is manufactured it is payed off 

 the machine and formed into a Flemish coil. The cable is seventy 

 miles long, allowing ten miles for contingencies, the distance from 

 shore to shore being only sixty miles. There are to be four wires, 

 making a total of two hundred and eighty miles of copper wire, and 

 of tills one hundi'ed and eighty miles are completed," 



On Wednesday a new line of pipe was being laid down along the 

 Strand to connect the General Post-office with the Admiralty, Houses 

 of Paiiiameut, and the Telegraph Station at Charing cross. 



The Gkeat Telescope on Wandsworth Common. — The following are 

 the particulars of the refractive powers and focal lengths of the lenses 

 in the great achi'omatic telescope at Wandsworth common, made by 

 Mr. Thomas Slater, of Somersplace West, Eustonsquare : — The object 

 glass is achromatic, consisting of plate and of flint glass. The plate 

 glass was cast by the Thames Plate Glass Company, and is a most 

 excelleut piece, bemg jjerfectly homogeneous and free of stiije. The 

 refractive index of this glass turned out to be 1 .5 1 03, and it is worked 

 to a positive focal length of 30 feet 1'., inch. The flint glass is a very 

 superior piece, and does great credit to the manufacturers, Messrs. 

 Chance, of Birmingham. It is of uniform density, and very trans- 

 parent ; its refi'active index is 1.6308, and it is made to a negative focus 

 of 49 feet lOKj inches. The combined focal length of the plate and 

 flint glass lenses is 76 feet to parallel rays ; the focal length will be 85 

 feet only to objects at about 700 feet distance from the object glass. 

 The diameter of the image of the fuU moon in this telescope is about 

 8 inches, and Mr. Slater has made an eye piece of that diameter, having 

 a magnifying power of 125 ; another eye piece, which takes in about 

 half the moon's diameter, has a magnifying power of 2.'>0 ; other eye 

 pieces are also made, the powers of which vary fi'om 500 to 3000. 



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