Miscellaneous Intelligence. 95 



enough to discover the source from whence her uneasiness 

 proceeded. She placed her paw upon the hole through 

 which the air escaped, and thus prevented any more from 

 passing out of the receiver. All the exertions of the officer 

 were now unavailing ; in vain he drew the piston ; the cat's 

 paw effectually prevented its operation. Hoping to effect 

 his purpose, he let air again into the receiver, which, as soon 

 as the cat perceived, she withdrew her paw from the aperture ; 

 but when he attempted to exhaust the receiver, she applied 

 her paw as before. All the spectators clapped their hands in 

 admiration of the wonderful sagacity of the animal, and the 

 lecturer found himself under the necessity of liberating her, 

 and substituting another in her place, that possessed less 

 penetration, and enabled him to exhibit the cruel experiment.' 



Economical Fuel. * 



A GOOD fire, on a winter's day, at a mere trifling expense, is 

 of importance to a poor man. One penny worth of tar or 

 rosin water will saturate a tub of coal with triple its original 

 quantity of bitumenj (the principle of heat and light,) and 

 of course render one such tub of three times more value thaa 

 it was when unsaturated. 



A NEW Practice of Painting. 



[Communicated to the Royal Institution of Great Britain.) 



Mr. Robertson paints in water colors and upon paper. 

 He uses isinglass, dissolved in hot spirits of wine, between and 

 over his colors, by which they acquire the brilliancy and 

 force of oil; and when the picture is finished, he covers it 

 with a colorless copal varnish. The pictures, when large, 

 are covered with canvass and tin foil. The durability and 

 steadfastness of the colors appear to be extreme. 



Lamp Glasses. 



To prevent the cracking of lamp glasses, by a sudden ex- 

 pansion of heat; an eflfectual remedy ir found in running a 

 point of a diamond along the base of the tube. By this solu- 

 tion of continuity, it is relieved from the violence produced 

 by the sudden effects of the heat. A glazier can best perform 

 the operation with the diamond. — Jour, de Connois. Usuelles. 



