172 



KE-PUliLICATION OF 1st VOL. CANADIAN JOURNAL— NOTICES OF BOOKS, &o. 



[1855. 



Republication of the 1st Voliune or Tlic Cauartian Joiinial. 



NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



The encouragement Tvhicli the Council of the Canadian Institute 

 have received from the Library Committee of both Houses of Parlia- 

 ment, as well as from numerous private individuals, in the publication 

 of the Canadian Journal, and to which attention was dr.awn in the annual 

 report, also in the circular addressed to the Secretaries of Mechanics' 

 Institutes, &c., induces the Council to announce their intention of 

 republishing a limited edition of the 1st Volume of the Canadian Jour- 

 nal, as soon as the number of subscribers whose names have been duly 

 transmitted to the Assistant Secretary of the Institute shall furnish a 

 guarantee that the sale will cover the expenses of publication. It is 

 proposed to reprint a fac-simile of the 1st volume, sewed, with paper 

 cover, for fifteen shillings. Members of the Institute, or subcribers 

 desirous of obtaining a copy of the 1st volume, should intimate their 

 wish to the Assistant Secretary, without delay. 



Meteorological Results at Hamilton diu^ins 1S54* 









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*' Lives of the Qncens of England before the Norman Coiiqtfest," by 

 Mrs. Matthew Hall. Philadelphia: Blanchard and Lea, 1854; 8vo., 

 pp. 469. 



The records of the period which the authoress of the work before 

 us enjoyed an opportunity of consulting, are so scanty, that it may 

 well be a matter of surprise that so much could have been written on 

 a subject respecting which so little is known. Mrs. Hall, however, has 

 made full use of traditional tales and romantic annals, and has woven 

 with her history many striking incidents of the age and remarkable 

 features of character, which we may receive as true or imaginary 

 according to fancy. We have no doubt, however, that this book will 

 be a general favorite, as it is pleasingly written. The subject is 

 attractive, and notwithstanding the mystery with which much of it is 

 enveloped, will suit many tastes, although it may not inform many 

 minds. 



" The American Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge, for 

 the year 1855." Phillips, Sampson & Co. : Boston. 



This is the twenty-sixth volume of the "American Almanac," an 

 admirable and concise exposition of the aifairs of the General and 

 State Governments of the United States ; of their Public Institutions, 

 Indian Affairs, Army and Navy, Commerce and Navigation, Revenue 

 and Expenditure, Post-Office, Mint, Public Lands, &c., &c. 



The Astronomical Department is highly valuable, having been pre- 

 pared by G. P. Bond, of the Cambridge Observatory. The European 

 portion of the work gives the several States of Europe, their form of 

 Government, the name, title and date of accession of the reigning 

 sovereigns, the area and population of the several countries, &c., &c. 



" The American Almanac" is a work which commends itself to Cana- 

 dians as well as to the people of the United States. The able critique 

 which appeared some years ago in a Boston Journal has had a bene- 

 ficial effect, and the name of Sir. Bond will be a security that errors 

 similar to those then noticed by the reviewer will not be found in the 

 present issue. 



On tile Soliditicatiou of Bodies lu&dev Great Pressure. * 



Mr. Fairbairn read a Paper which contained the results of a portion 

 of the experiments conducted by himself, Mr. Hopkins and Mr. Joule, 

 at the request of the Association, and by means of funds supplied for 

 that purpose by the Koyal Society. At the last meetiag at Hull, Sir. 

 Hopkins alluded to these experiments, and (hen explained the nature 

 of apparatus invented by Mr. Fairbairn for submitting the substances 

 to be operated on to the enormous pressure of 90,000 lbs. on the square 

 inch. In these inquiries the objects kept in view were, to ascertain 

 the exact laws which govern the cohesive strength of bodies in their 

 present physical condition, and how far a knowledge of those laws may 

 conduce to the reduction of the metals and their subsequent solidifica- 

 tion under circumstances whereby increased strength and density may 

 be obtained. The experiments commenced with spermaceti, bars of 

 which were cast and left to solidify at the same temperature, but under 

 different pressures. When pressure was applied to these bars, the one 

 that sustained a pressure of 40,793 lb. carried 7-52 lb per square inch 

 more weight than one submitted to a pressure of 6,421 lb., the ratio 

 being in favor of the more strongly compressed bar, in its power of 

 resistance to a tensible strain, as 1 to ■87G. It appeared from these 

 experiments that bodies when solidified under pressure have not only 

 their densities greatly increased, but their molecular structure is also 

 materially affected, so as to increase their adhesive power. Still further 

 to elucidate the subject, cubes of exactly one inch were carefully pre- 

 pared and loaded with weights till they were crushed. The first cube, 

 solidified under a pressui-e of 6,421 lb., was crushed with 213 lb. Tin 

 was then operated on ; a quantity of pure tin being melted and then 

 allowed to solidify ; first at the pressure of the atmosphere and 

 afterwards at a pressure of 908 lb. on the square inch. The same 

 quantity taken from the same ingot was subsequently submitted to a 

 pressure of 5,698 lb. on the square inch. The bars 'after being solidi- 

 fied and allowed to cool for upwards of fourteen hours, were subjected 

 to the usual tests of tensile strains. From these experiments there was 

 derived, as nearly as possible, the same law or measure of strength in 

 regard to the effects of pressure as obtained from the experiments on 

 spermaceti ; for with the same pressures of 908 lb, and 5,698 lb. upon 

 the square inch, the breaking weights were 4,053 lb. and 5,737 lb. or in 



* Meeting of the British .As.wciation in 1854. — Atha-.cntm. 



