592 Meeting of the British Association. [Oct., 



distance, &c, of objects of interest visible from those summits, and 

 in the case of mountains, their heights above the sea-level. The 

 author recommends a circular table of stone or metal, on which 

 circles and radial lines should be engraved, showing in one case the 

 distances, and in the other the directions of the objects to be looked 

 for. A district thirty miles in radius would generally be found 

 sufficient, and for the names of all the objects of interest embraced 

 within that area a table of three feet would probably suffice. 

 Mr. Bazalgette also recommends that a revolving telescope be fixed 

 in the centre of the table, and a light ornamental place of shelter, 

 both for the indicator and the tourists. Such an indicator is being 

 erected by Mr. Bazalgette on the summit of the Malvern Beacon 

 Hill, Worcestershire, an elevation of nearly 1,500 feet above the 

 sea-level. 



The President highly commended Mr. Bazalgette's recommen- 

 dation as being simple and likely to be extensively followed, and 

 hoped the people of Dundee would show their appreciation of it by 

 forthwith erecting an indicator on the Law of Dundee, an admirable 

 place for such a useful thing. 



" The Construction and Works of the Highland Bailway " was 

 the title of the next paper, the author of which was Mr. Joseph 

 Mitchell, C.E. It embraced an elaborate account of the difficulties 

 encountered in constructing the railway, and many very valuable 

 data regarding the works. The Central Bailway from Dunkeld to 

 Forres, is a single line 104 miles long, with 8 viaducts, 126 bridges 

 over streams, 119 public and accommodation road-bridges, and 1,159 

 covered drains, from 18 to 36 inches square. The total cost per 

 mile was 8,860Z. The future utility of this railway may be estimated 

 by the fact that in one week the Company carried no fewer than 

 21,000 sheep over it. The summit of the line is 1,500 feet above 

 the level of the sea, or 500 feet higher than the summit of the 

 Caledonian line. Notwithstanding its high northern latitude and 

 its exposure to snow-storms, those of last winter in no way inter- 

 rupted the traffic on the Highland Line, and yet the traffic on 

 other lines in Scotland, England, and France was stopped for a 

 length of time varying from 12 or 16 hours to five or six days. 

 On this line screens are erected to intercept the snowdrifts in 

 exposed places, and where these are not sufficient snow ploughs are 

 used, one of them being able to clear a depth of 10 or 11 feet of 

 snow with the aid of four or five goods-engines. Another branch 

 of the Highland Bailway, from Invergordon to Bonar Bridge, 26-J- 

 miles long, has been constructed at a total expense of 5,888Z. per 

 mile. 



Professor Bankine, in proposing a vote of thanks to Mr. Mitchell 

 for his paper, said it was one of the most interesting that would 

 come before the Section, as the information contained in the great 



