Miscellanies. 363 



7. Paint, made of lampblack is best suited to lightning rods, this 

 substance being a better conductor than other kinds of paints. 



With regard to the failure in lightning rods mentioned in the fore- 

 going letter, it is probably owing chiefly to the dryness of the soil ; 

 and therefore, in that region, particular care will be required in fixing 

 the bottom of the rod, so as to make it convey off the electricity in 

 the best manner, and this is most effectually secured by a thorough 

 metallic communication with moist earth, or better with permanent 

 water. 



In addition to tlie above remarks, drawn up by my request by Prof. 

 Olmsted, it may be suggested, that, as the. gold leaf on lightning 

 rods is in a few years removed by the weather, it would be better 

 to terminate the rods with solid silver, or better still with the platina 

 points prepared by Mr. Lukens of Philadelphia. — Ed. 



See the paper of Dr. Jer. Van Rensselaer on lightning rods. 

 Vol. IX. p. 331 of this Journal. 



4. Practical penmanship, being a developement of the Carstairi- 

 an system; 5?/ B. F. Foster. Illustrated by twenty four engravings. 

 Albany, Little and Cummings. pp. 112. 



This is the title of a work recently published in this country, which 

 is as is professed to be, a developement of the system of Carstairs 

 for many years well known, and extensively popular in England and 

 France. From an examination of the present publication, we find 

 that this system has received the favorable notice of several scien- 

 tific individuals in both those countries, and in the latter, it has re- 

 ceived the attention of the Society for elementary instruction, and by 

 a public ordinance has been adopted in all the colleges of the Uni- 

 versity. These are measures which are highly gratifying, and we 

 trust the time is not far distant when it will be neither unfashionable 

 nor scientific to write a fair and legible hand. 



The system of Carstairs is the only one, within our knowledge, 

 that presents any thing like a philosophical view of the art of wri- 

 ting. The defects in the old system appear to have attracted his 

 attention about thirty years since, and after studying the manner in 

 which accomplished penmen execute their tasks, he found that they 

 use the fore arm and hand as much and as readily as the fingers. 

 While on the other hand, according to the old method of teaching 

 this art, the pupil is permitted or directed to rest the wrist, and gener- 

 ally also the third and fourth fingers, and to execute the writing with 



