270 



PLANETS JUPITER AND SATURN. 



[1853 



Upon minute examination, it will be found that the TTiXillen 

 maniiikcture of Irelancl, as a whole, is at a low fbb, and — with 

 one or two exceptions — much inferior to those of England and 

 the Continent. It was proved at the E.xhibition of 1851, that 

 the fine woollen cloths of France were, in a few instances, 

 suiipcrior to our own ; but, taking the general run of goods, we 

 Lad no sujierior, and scai-cel_v au equal. Ireland, on the conti-ny, 

 ranks nearly in the lowest scale of European woollen-manufac- 

 tures; and witli the exception of her friezes and elbinas, the 

 productions of her looms are scarcely entitled to the appellation 

 of a manufacture. The two exceptional kinds of cloth, howe\er, 

 just mentioned, she manufactures of a good qualitj', and turns 

 them out in a very marketable condition. There is, also, a ]ieculiar 

 character about the finer kinds of friezes and elbinas, which few 

 of our English woollen fabrics can lay claim to; they are honest- 

 ly put together, contain a true qualit}- of the raw material, and in 

 the wear maintain their beauty much longer than similar goods 

 imitated in England and elsew^liere. The same remark may 

 be applied to her blankets, for which Ii-eland is entitled to great 

 credit; they are generally finer in the texture than those of Eng- 

 land, are much warmer, and will wear longer, although a little 

 higher in price. One, if not the main, cause of the superiority 

 of the Irish blankets, ai-ises from the wool being less carded than 

 that of the English make, and, as a consequence, its wiry elasti- 

 city and its cohesi\e attraction are more effectually preseived. 

 Ireland, also, turns out some decent qualities of tweeds; but she 

 has little chance of competing with Scotland in the manufacture 

 of that article. 



The frieze is the most ancient Irish woollen manufauture we 

 read of. It is mentioned in several old Acts of Parliament; and, 

 so earlv as the year 1.382, it is stated that among the articles sent 

 to the Pope from Ireland were five mantles of cloth, one lined 

 with green, and one russet garment lined with Irish cloth. 



The principal woollen cloths at present manufactured in Ireland 

 consist of blankets, which are manufactured in several parts of 

 the island, but principally in Kilkenny; flannels, drugget-cloth, 

 hosiery, tweeds, elbinas, and friezes. Some of these, particularly 

 the last two, reflect much credit on the exhibitors. 



The manufacture of lace iti Ireland was introduced, we believe, 

 by Mr. C. Walker, of Limerick, in 1829, and the firm of which 

 he was then a member, employ at the present time upwards of 

 600 hands at that work. Preceding that period the manufacture 

 of lace, of the character ^yhich we are about to describe, was 

 principally confined to the Continent, as neither the Buckingham- 

 shire nor Northamptonshire pillow lace could be com]iared to it 

 in quality. France and Belgium had almost the exclusive sup- 

 ply of the finer kinds of thread-lace to this countr}-, antecedent to 

 its manufacture in Ireland ; and the very names of Vallenciennes, 

 and Brussels, are " familiar as household words" amongst the 

 consumers of that delicate article, and still characterise a cei'tain 

 quality of it, whei'cver it may be manufactured. , But Ireland 

 has step]ied beyond both these countiies, and now makes a 

 quality of lace of different kinds, which would find a ready sale 

 in the I''i-ench markets, weie there no prohibitory duties to pre- 

 vent it. The a]iplique, the guipine, the tambour, and, above all, 

 the beautiful Italian point, are all produced in Ireland, and are 

 highly creditable to her industrial skill and energy. The export 

 to England is considerable, and forms one of tlie most beautifid 

 articles of female attire \hat we can boast of, when comparing 

 our productions with those of foreigners. 



MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 



It must be confessed that Ireland throughout all her troubles 

 and with all her shortcomings of industry, has preserved a nice 

 appreciation of art. Whatever may be her delinquencies in other 

 respects, she pays great homage to the beautiful and intellectual 

 whether it be embodied in painting, in sculpture, or in music; 

 and no greater proof can be adduced of the warm sympathies 

 and mercurial feelings of the Irish character than the crowds 

 which linger in the jiictui'e gallery, and gather I'ound the several 

 pieces of statuary. Nor is music less admired among our lively 

 neighbours; for Dublin, we believe, is one of the most musical 

 cities of Europe, although she m.ay not indulge in so many public 

 concerts as her more affluent contemporaries. The truth is, that 

 music is cultivated in piivate life to a great extent in Dublin and 

 other places in Ireland ; and it is this kind of cultivation, more 

 than public concerts, that stamps the musical character of a 

 people. That this is the case in Dublin, there can be little doubt 

 for it is a well established fact that instruments of the most expen- 

 sive kind find a sale there, and that large numbers of moderate- 

 priced ones are annually disposed of. Upwards of one thousand 

 pianofortes are imported from the great London manufacturer 

 every year ; and that number is exclusi\'e of other kinds of musi- 

 cal instruments, for which there is a considerable demand. 



The display of musical instruments in the Exhibition is, there- 

 fore, somewhat imposing ; and deserves a more extended notice 

 than our space permits. 



Some Remarkson the Probal le Present Ccndit'on of the Planers 



Jupiieraist! Saturn, in reference to Temi erature, &c. 



By James Nasmyih. 



Read at the Meeting of the Royal Astronomical Socieii/. 



The remarkable appearances which characterise the aspect of 

 the planets Jiqjiter and Saturn, as revealed by the aid of very 

 powerful and excellent telescopes, have induced some reflections 

 on the subject of their probable present condition as to tempera- 

 ture. With a view to elicit more special and careful observation 

 of the phenomenon in question, and promote discussion on this 

 interesting subject, I have been tempted to hazard the following 

 remarks, which may perhaps prove acceptable to some of the 

 membere of the Royal Astronomical Society. 



" In a former communication, in reference to the structure and 

 condition of the lunar surface, I made some remarks on the 

 principle, which, as it apjieais to me, gives the law to the com- 

 parati\'e rate of cooling of the planets : namely, that while the heat 

 retaining quality was due to the mass of the planet, the heat- 

 dispensing property was governed by its surface; and as the 

 former increases as the cube of the diameter of the planet, while 

 the latter increases only as the square of its diameter, we thus 

 find that the length of time which would be required by such 

 enormous planets as Jupiter and Saturn to cool down from 

 their original molten and incandescent condition to such a tem- 

 perature as would be fitted to permit their oceanic matter to per- 

 manently descend and rest upon their surface, would be vastly 

 longer than in the case of such a comparatively small planet as 

 the earth. 



" Adopting the results which geological research has so clearly 

 established as the original molten condition of the earth, as our 

 guide to a knowledge of the condition of all the other planets, it 

 appears that we may in this way be led to some very remarkable 

 and interesting conclusions in reference to the probable present 

 condition of such enormous planets as Jupiter and Saturn, 

 tending to explain certain phenomena in respect to their a.spect. 



