66 Proceedmgs of the British Association. 



On the Glasgow Asjdum for the blind ; by Mr. Alston. 



On the application of Statistics to moral and economic science; by Dr. Chalmers. 



Illustrations of the practical operation of the Scottish system of the manage- 

 ment of the poor ; by Dr. Alison. 



On the comparative vital statistics of Edinburgh and Glasgow ; by Mr. Watt. 



On the bill circulation of Great Britain ; by Mr. Leatham. 



On the excess of population, and on emigration as a remedy for it in the High- 

 lands of Scotland ; by Prof Ramsay. 



On the vital statistics of Glasgow ; by Dr. Cowan. 



On the state of education and crime in England and Wales ; by Joseph Bentley . 



On Pawnbroking in Ireland ; by Mr. Porter. 



Tables containing a comparative view of the state of crime in London, Dublin 

 and Glasgow. 



On the state of crime in the borough of Calton ; by Mr. Rutherglen. 



On the state of crime in the district of Gorbals ; by Mr. Richardson. 



On the state of crime in the suburban burgh of Anderston ; by Mr. Findlater. 



Report of the Manchester Statistical Society on the state of education in the 

 borough of Kingston-upon-Hull. 



On the population of certain parts of Africa ; by Mr. Saxe Bannister. 



Sect. G. Mechanical Science. 



Mr. Wallace offered a paper on extinguishing fire in steam 

 vessels. This he proposes to effect by steam itself. The plan 

 has been some time before the piibUc, and many successful ex- 

 periments have been made in the presence of scientific men. 

 Among the most important was the following, made on board 

 the Leven steamboat : — On the cabin floor, a space of 10 feet by 

 14 was covered with wet sand, on which were laid iron plates, 

 and on these a fire was kindled with about 4J cwt. of very com- 

 bustible materials, such as tar barrels, &c. A hose 34 feet long 

 and 2| inches in diameter, extended from the boiler of the engine 

 to the cabin, and when the fire had been sufficiently kindled, so 

 that the panes of glass in the windows of the cabin began to 

 crack by the heat, the steam was let in, and the doors of the 

 cabin shut. The fire was extinguished in about four minutes. 

 Several trials were made, and all with like success. On another 

 trial, a metal pipe of a greater diameter than the hose was con- 

 nected with the steam-boiler, and extended into the cabin. A 

 small square hatch was cut in the deck, immediately above the 

 cabin, and through this opening were lowered down into the 

 cabin two movable grates, each containing a blazing fire, well 

 kindled, of about 1 cwt. of coals. The hatch on the deck, and 

 the cabin doors were then shut, and the steam let in, and in fif- 

 teen minutes the small hatch was opened, and one of the grates 

 hoisted up, when the whole mass of coal and cinders, which had 



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