AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
75 
TERRIBLE ENGINES OF DESTRUCTION. 
TO BE USED BY THE ENGLISH FLEET SENT TO RUSSIA. 
The following article is from the French cor¬ 
respondent of the Cincinnati Gazette. If the 
terrible engines of war described by him, prove 
half as effectual as represented, it will be mere 
boy’s play for the combined English and French 
fleets in the Baltic and Black Seas, to destroy all 
the Russian ships afloat. War is a dreadful 
evil, and terribly destructive to every thing good. 
How much better would it be for humanity, if 
the means employed for destruction, were turned 
to the advancement of agriculture, and the 
moral and intellectual culture of mankind. 
The new invention for the more rapid des¬ 
truction of human beings, which the war is 
bringing to light, especially in England, will 
surpass all expectations. The arsenals of Eng¬ 
land have for a long time been closed to visitors, 
even to the members of Parliament, while these 
new and terrible machines were being con¬ 
structed and experimented upon, and no know¬ 
ledge of their existence even was permitted until 
now called forth by actual service. Many years 
ago the English Government had a proposition 
before them to adopt Wagner’s floating gun, 
and hesitated. A member of Parliament ex¬ 
claimed : “ He demands but £300,000, and yet 
you hesitate! Hasten to buy this machine, de¬ 
clare war against France, and you will destroy 
her marine in a few days time!” No attention 
was paid to this apostrophe at the time in 
France, and apparently none in England. But 
this terrible invention, of which the public has 
ceased to talk, and which was even ridiculed at 
the time, has been maturing in concealment in 
the arsenals of Woolwich, and is now ready to 
go out on its work of destruction. 
The Count Lavalette, captain of military ma¬ 
rine in France, who knew the construction of 
this gun, it is said made endeavors to have it 
adopted by the minister of marine under Louis 
Philippe. It is simply a long Congreve gun, 
which glides along on the water in a straight 
line till it strikes the vessel at which it is direct¬ 
ed, when it thrusts into its sides its iron head, 
containing two pounds of fulminating powder 
of mercury. When the fire attains this reser¬ 
voir, it explodes, blowing a hole in the vessel 
ten or twelve feet in diameter, which it is im¬ 
possible for them to close up, as they do the 
round holes made by cannon balls. 
In admitting that the Russian fleets shall re¬ 
tire under the inapproachable fortresses of Cron- 
stadt and Sebastopol, they cannot be in safety 
from this terrible Congreve gun, which carries 
to almost any distance within reach of the aim, 
and far beyond the reach of any other gun. It 
cannot be prevented from passing through the 
most contracted straits where ships pass. 
The submarine boats are so perfected at this 
moment, that they can reach and attach a 
burner to an enemy’s ship without the least 
danger. Experiments are also being made with 
an asphyxiating ball, which does not kill, but 
which paralyzes an entire crew for several 
hours, or until they are made prisoners. They 
are embarking also a large number of burning 
explosive balls, which explode invariably when 
they strike, even in the body of a horse, for 
they inflame at the moment of discharge from 
the gun, and fly burning like small Congreves 
until the moment of explosion, when they may 
apply fire to the ammunition chests and other 
inflammable material, as easily and as surely as 
if they were to fall in a stubble-field. 
They are. furnishing also two small steam¬ 
boats of a singular appearance, which will carry 
only two enormous Paixhan guns, placed on 
the fore part of the vessel. The walls of these 
little vessels have a thickness of six feet, made 
of oak, standing upright, and this covered with 
a mattress of cotton substance, a foot and a half 
thick, which is impenetrable to a bullet, and 
this again covered with a sheeting of iron and 
lead. Its prow has the angular form of a cui¬ 
rass, intended to turn bullets ; the roof or deck 
is covered in the same way, so as to allow the 
bombs to glide into the sea without doing dam- 
age. 
The fire-ship—very heavy, and a bad sailer— 
will bo towed and let loose at the proper mo¬ 
ment, to approach near the enemy’s vessel, 
either when at anchor or lying to, which it wifi 
attack fore and aft with bombs thrown between 
wind and water, and sprinkling the ship with a 
shower of Grecian fire. One of these burners, 
taking by surprise a fleet of vessels in a calm, 
could with case destroy the whole fleet, and yet 
it only requires the labor of ten determined 
men to operate it. 
The Peace Society have agitated the question 
in England of how far a nation is justified in 
employing other and more destructive methods 
in war than those employed by the enemy. Ad¬ 
miral Napier has replied to these propositions 
with irony : “If you fear to hurt the enemy, 
put into your guns balls of cotton, and into 
your cannon cakes of rice!” 
The English fleet is largely provided with 
balloons, intended to carry inflammable mate¬ 
rials to scatter over towns, villages, and fleets, 
when the wind favors such operations. 
Another invention, still more terrible than all 
the rest, but of which the construction has 
not yet been made known, except to a very 
small number of persons, is about to be sent 
out to destroy the Russians. All these inven¬ 
tions are highly curious and interesting in 
the history of the war, but rather afflicting for 
humanity. 
Gone Right Over it. —I have a friend, whose 
ready wit often enlivens the social circle, and 
sometimes, also, faithfully serves the cause of 
truth. One Sabbath morning, as lie stepped 
from his house to go to church, he met a stranger 
driving a heavily-loaded wagon through the 
town. He turned upon him, stopped, lifted 
both hands, and stood in a tragic attitude, gaz¬ 
ing upon the ground beneath the vehicle, and 
exclaimed, “ There! there! you are going right 
over it! You have gone right over it /” The 
traveler hastily gathered up his reins, drew in 
his horses, came to a dead stand, and began 
looking under his wheels to see what little in¬ 
nocent child, or dog, or pig, might have been 
ground to jelly by their heavy weight. But 
seeing nothing, he looked anxiously up to the 
man who had so singularly arrested his pro¬ 
gress, and said, “Over what?” “ The fourth 
commandment,” was the quick reply, “ Remem¬ 
ber the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” It was 
hard starting those wheels again, and hard 
hauling that load all the rest of the day.— Nor¬ 
wich, Examiner. 
Unanimity.— “ We must be unanimous,” said 
Hancock, on the occasion of singing the Declar¬ 
ation of Independence; “there must be no pull¬ 
ing different ways.” “ Yes,” answered Franklin, 
“ we must all hang together, or most assuredly 
we shall all hang separately." 
A gentleman who did not trust to his mem¬ 
ory wrote in his pocket-book : “ I must be 
married when I get to town.” 
There is a phrenologist in Philadelphia, who 
can tell the contents of a barrel, by examining 
its head. 
Dogs vs. Ministers. —If we may believe the 
census, every fifth person in the United States 
owns a horse ; and every tenth a dog. And it 
costs more to support the dogs than it does the 
ministers! 
“I remember,” says Lord Biden, “Mr. Jus¬ 
tice Gould trying a case at York, and when he 
had proceeded for about two hours, he ob¬ 
served : 
“Here are only eleven jurymen in the box; 
where is the twelfth ?” 
“ Please you, my Lord,” said one of the 
eleven “he has gone away about some other 
business, but he has left his verdict with me /” 
■ I ■ II . ' .-1 u l ! " - > ' 
GETTING ON TOO FAST. 
A pious old slave had a wicked master. This 
master had much confidence, however, in the 
slave’s piety. He believed he was a Christian. 
Sometimes the master would be serious and 
thoughtful about religion. One day he came to 
the old slave, with the New Testament in his 
hand, and asked if lie could explain a passage 
to him. The slave was willing to try, and ask¬ 
ed what it was. 
“It is here in Romans,” said the master. 
“ Have you done all it tells you to do in Mat¬ 
thew, Mark, Luke, and John?” inquired the 
slave seriously, fixing his eyes upon his mas¬ 
ter’s. 
“ No, I haven’t” said he. 
“ Then you’re getting on too fast—too fast, 
master. Go back to the beginning of the book. 
Do all it tells you, till you get to Romans, and 
you will understand it easy enough then; 
for the good book says, “ If any man will do my 
will, he will know the doctrine.” 
If any of our readers ever heard any body 
arguing about a hard text in Romans, or some¬ 
where else, and worrying to know what it 
means, just tell him this story about “getting 
on too fast .”—Juvenile Instructor. 
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They are much better and more appropriate or¬ 
naments, than gilded volumes of trashy maga¬ 
zines or novels. 
ONE WORD MORE.—We thank our friends 
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tending the circulation of the Agriculturist. 
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Number 27 begins the second volume, or half 
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name. If you cannot get your neighbors to 
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