442 ,9 CIENTIFIC MIS CELL A N Y. 



minutes, including stoppages. The entire cost of the enterjDi'ise will he 

 about 1,250,000 marks (300,000 dollars). 



ENGLISH RAILWAYS. 



Much has been written in praise of the thorough construction of Eng- 

 lish railways and the excellent condition in which they are kept. jSTo doubt, 

 as a rule, they are better built than American roads, and they are generally 

 well cared for ; but we have lately seen abstracts of a report made to the 

 Bristol Board of Trade on the condition of an important section of the 

 Great "Western Eailway, which shows that one of the leading lines in Eng- 

 land, and the one on Avhich the fastest trains in the world (5.3 to 54 miles an 

 hour) are run, is, or icas^ in a disgraceful and dangerous state. A serious 

 accident which had occurred on the line was attributed to the imperfections 

 of the permanent way. A competent agent was sent by the Board of Trade 

 to make an independent inquiry, and he inspected minutely, not only that 

 part of the way situated at the place of the accident, but the whole line 

 from Bristol to Exeter, 77 miles in length, carefully examining every rail 

 and every sleeper, and their adjuncts. While this inspection was proceed- 

 ing, the company set energetically to work on repairs, employing at one 

 time upward of 500 men in addition to their ordinary staff, and using up 

 £50,000 ($250,000) worth of materials. The conclusion reached by the in- 

 spector was, that when he commenced his examination there existed on the 

 Bristol and Exeter section of the Great Western 11,260 defective rails and 

 8,117 defective timbers, not to mention bolts, plates, and other accessories, 

 imperfectly connected and otherwise incapable of safely resisting the ex- 

 cessive strain of a heavy train rushing along at a speed of nearly a mile a 

 minute, and probably sometimes exceeding even that. Is it likely that so 

 bad a state of thing could be found on any American railway of equal im- 

 portance — say, on any of the great trunk lines from Boston or JSTcw York. 

 Journal of Chemistry. 



ASBESTOS 



It is only quite recently that this substance has risen from being simpl}- 

 a mineral curiosity to a quasi-important article of commerce. On account 

 of its peculiar qualities, being indestructible in fire or by acids, fibrous and 

 capable of being woven into cloth or made into paper, often as fine as the 

 finest flax or silk, or like spun glass, although strictly a mineral product. 

 In early antiquity it was made the subject of curious myths and strange 

 tales bordering on the fabulous. Practically its sole use then seems to have 

 been for winding sheets, in which to burn distinguished dead, or to be spun in 

 napkins which were used at exceptional feasts, and, to the astonishment of 

 the guests, afterwards thrown into the flames, to come out intact, white and 



