Written for Moore’9 Rural New-Yorker. 
GORILLA, AND OTHER ANTHROPOID APES. 
PEOPLE’S COLLEGE, 
BE PROMPT, BOYS. 
“ I am very sorry I kept you waiting, Uncle,” 
said George, with & blush, as he took his seat in 
the carriage for a drive; “I hope you have not 
been here long.” 
“Just thirty-five minutes,” 6aid the old gen¬ 
tleman, looking at his watch. Then carefully 
folding up his newspaper, he gathered up the 
lines and gave them a little admonitory Bhake. 
“ I am very sorry, indeed, but you see I was 
detained, and could not get here before.” He 
would have colored still deeper if obliged to 
explain the frivolous cause of his delay. 
“If it could not he helped,” said the other, 
“of course it is all right; but if it might have 
been avoided, why, then, it is another matter. 
Half hours are precious things, my boy, and you 
will find them so if you live long. Punctuality 
must be a young man's watchword, if he ever 
hopes to make anything of himself or his op¬ 
portunities. I had a young friend in New 
Haven once who went into business for himself, 
just as you hope to next fall, but he had this 
standing failing, he was always a little behind 
time. I remember once he had need of a thou¬ 
sand dollars to make a payment on a certain 
day. He could have gathered it up easily 
enough if he bad begun in time. But the day 
had arrived, and he was in great perplexity. 
Still there was an easy way out of the difficulty. 
He ran around to an obliging neighbor and bor¬ 
rowed the sum for three days. "Well, he felt 
quite at his ease after the bill was paid, and the 
three days slipped by thoughtlessly, and he was 
no more ready to pay the borrowed money than 
he had been the other. It could make no dif¬ 
ference with the merchant he was sure, and he 
hastened to him with abundant apologies. 
“ ‘ It will make no difference at all with me,’ 
said the gentleman, blandly, ‘ but it will make 
much difference with you.’ 
“‘How soP 3sked the other. 
“ ‘ I shall never lend to you again,’ he said, as 
politely as if it were a very pleasant fact he was 
communicating. I was young then, and I al- 
Nkar a century ago James Burnett, better 
known as Lord Monboddo, a learned lawyer and 
judge in Scotland, maintained the close relation¬ 
ship of monkeys to man, even that they belong 
to the species man. The recent account of 
Ourang-outan, or man of the woods, he then 
urged as strong confirmation of his views. He 
accounted for their destitution of articulate 
language, that they had never been taught. 
Similar views had been announced a century 
still earlier. These notions found little favor 
with the learned or the unlearned, till the dis¬ 
coveries of the last thirty years; and they are 
opposed now. 
The partial resemblance of the ape-tribe to 
the human race, is not. a modem discovery, and 
the structural likeness is now fully ascertained; 
the facts proved by actual anatomical compari¬ 
sons. The. Latins gave the name, Sirnia, to the 
whole tribe (probably from the word, similis, 
like,) from their likeness to man, or from their 
actions resembling those of man. The whole 
tribe is now distinguished into—1, Ape, or tail¬ 
less; 2, Baboon, or short-tailed; and 3, Monleey, 
or long-tailed; though in common language we 
hear all of them spoken of under either of these 
three. The first is called Ape, in many of the 
European languages, because the root means 
swiftness of malum, a point so prominent in the 
whole tribe. The tail-less, algo called manlike 
or anthropoid. are the Ouraiug-outan and 6ri/> 
bons, from Borneo and contiguous countries, and 
Chimpanzees and Gorilla, which are found near 
to and on each side of the equator, on the West 
coast of Africa, especially on Gaboon river and 
country. The last approaches mau most nearly 
iu structure or organism, and has become dis¬ 
tinguished iu these times. You have given it 
new interest by the splendid poetical address to 
the Gorilla in Prof. Ward's cabinet of animals 
in the University of Rochester. 
“ Are you the key, O Monkey! to unlock 
The scaled and scientific mystery? 
Were apes the parents of the human stock, 
Long ere the records of primeval history? 
What onntless ages did it take to span 
The ethnic chasm from baboon to man ?" 
Prof. Huxley, who believes in the close re¬ 
lationship of man and gorilla, and the probable 
origin of man from the apes, has given the fol¬ 
lowing characters of the gorilla: 
Height about live feet: very broad across the 
shoulders, and covered with coarse black hair, 
becoming gray with years; head large, heavy 
and uearly flat on the top, with small brain; 
neck short, heavy and thick; arms very long, 
extending some way below the knee; hands very 
large, the lingers smaller than the thumbs: up¬ 
per limbs larger and stronger; the gait is shuf¬ 
fling; the body is never upright as in man, but 
bent forward, and its motion is somewhat rolling 
or from side to side; the arms being longer than 
on the Chimpanzee, it does not stoop as much, 
and, like that animal, it makes progression by 
thrusting its arms forward, resting the hands 
on the ground, aud then giving a half jumping, 
half swinging motion between them; iu the 
walking posture, it balances it* huge body by 
flexing its arms upward; exceedingly ferocious 
and terrible; its skull differs immensely from 
man’s in shape, and the brain cavity of the lar¬ 
gest is about half that of the smallest man's; 
teeth of the number and kind like man’s, but 
not level like man's, and the eye-teeth awful 
tusks; its muscular power dreadful; hind foot 
ending with five toes, the hallux or great toe 
thumb-like and movable, and used much like a 
true thumb, and much diverging from the side 
of the foot. This originated the name ipiadim- 
mar.a for these animals; as if they had four 
hands, though Prof. Huxley asserts it as a true 
foot. Ou this description, the gorilla is a horrible 
monster. 
“ Fearless in strength, your brawny arm can twist 
To shapelessness a gun—a rod of iron 
You’d tie up like a string,—and, with your fist. 
Lay senseless on the ground the sturdy Lion.” 
After all, the gorilla Is a quadruped; a brute, 
or as “ thoroughly brutal." says Prof. Huxley, 
as a goat or horse. He also calls man the 
“only consciously intelligent denizen of this 
world.” However there may be some external 
likeness, here is a nobler characteristic than all 
material form, and with the moral power added, 
man becomes a man. No brotherhood with 
gorilla can exist. 
For, in MORK’fl language of 1662,—“ It is suf¬ 
ficient for a good man that he is conscious unto 
himself that he is more nobly descended” (than 
any ape,) “ better bred and born, and more skil¬ 
fully taught by the purged faculties of his own 
mind.” Even the poet need havo no apprehen¬ 
sion, but continue to sing in his happy strain: 
“ Was It by accident, or wise design. 
You failed to be a man, yet came so near; 
Slopping where Nature llmtis did assign 
To upward struggle for existence dear,— 
With all the power of * natural selection,' 
Failing to reach the summit of perfection?’’ 
To see the veritable gorilla affords great 
pleasure. In its awful animality, one reads the 
whole truth; it is a brute, and not a man. 
CENTRAL RAILROAD REPOT AT CHICAGO 
Esq., Division Engineer I. C. R. IL, for the 
data from which this article is prepared. 
This Depot was constructed by the Illinois 
Central Railway Company in the years 1854 and 
1855 at a cost of abuut $250,000. Its location 
was, previous to the commencement of the 
building, a part of Lake Michigan, the water 
being at some points, where now immense pas¬ 
senger trains come and go and receive and de¬ 
posit their live freight, twelve feet deep—where 
the smaller vessels could safely ride at anchor. 
The staking out of the building was all done by 
boats; and many of the line stakes were driven 
by the aid of a pile driver. 
The foundation of the outside walls of this 
building is of piles driven close together in three 
rows. Under the north end, or office part, (the 
front as seen in the engraving,) near the entire 
space was filled with piles on which rests the 
heavy masonry of that portion of the building. 
The piles were sawed off below the low-water 
line, capped and packed around with broken 
stone, mixed as concrete. Upon this as a foun¬ 
dation the masonry was commenced. 
The etone used in the construction of this 
building was procured from the Athens quarry, 
twenty-eight miles from Chicago, on the Illinois 
and Michigan Canal. It is called “Athens Mar¬ 
ble,’’ being a cream colored stone of which 
many of the finest buildings in Chicago are con¬ 
structed. The dimensions of this Depot are as 
follows:—Length 504 feet: width 166 feet 6 
inches; heigth of tower at the north end 87 feet 
6 inches. The north end of this building—a 
space 166 feet long and 40 feet wide—is devoted 
to offices. This part is three stories high. The 
first floor is used for waiting rooms, ticket offices. 
&e.. and is 20 feet between joints; the second floor 
is divided into general offices, and is 17 feet be¬ 
tween joints; the third floor is 14 feet 0 inches 
between joints. The second and third floors are 
occupied by the officers of the road—President, 
General Superintendent, General Freight and 
Ticket Office, Treasurer. Auditor, Engineer. 
Land Offices, &c. 
The Depot part of the building is 464 feet long 
by 166 feet 6 inches wide. The side walls 
are 27 feet high. The whole is spanned by a 
roof of one span, of a segmate of a circle form, 
constructed on the “Howe Truss” plan, with a 
rise or verse (?) sign at center of 25 feet 10$ 
inches. The top of the ventilator over the 
depot is 65 feet above the floor. The roof over 
tho offices is covered \\ i<h slate; over the depot 
with tin and glass. Tbe contract price of the 
roof over the depot (which was the only wo^k 
PARAGRAPHS NEW AND USEFUL 
Substitute for a Cork-screw. —Tie a string to 
an ordinary screw with which to pull out the 
cork after the screw is inserted in it. 
To Stop the Nose Bleeding, 
It is asserted that 
a piece of brown paper, folded and placed be¬ 
tween the upper lip and gum, will stop the 
bleeding of the nose. 
An Ink Plant.— Prof. Jameson, of the Uni¬ 
versity of Quito, uses the efpressed juice of the 
berries of the coriania thymifolia in preference 
to ordinary ink, because it does not corrode the 
steel pern 
The Tea used by the Poor. —Mr. Mathew, of 
London, asserts that about 78,000 pounds of ex¬ 
hausted tea-leaves, dried and mixed with cheap, 
genuine tea, are sold annually by small shop¬ 
keepers to the poor classes. 
Sugar from the Butternut Tree.— N. C. Ely 
recently stated before the Farmers’ Club in New 
York city, that the butternut would yield as 
much sugar as tbe sugar maple, and of better 
flavor in his opinion. 
Iodine as a Disinfector.— Dr. Richardson, of 
London, states that iodine, placed in a small box 
with a perforated lid, is a good means of destroy¬ 
ing organic poisons in rooms. He has seen it 
used with benefit in rooms occupied by small 
pox patients. 
To Save a Drowning Person.— If the drown¬ 
ing person is taken by the arm from behind, be¬ 
tween the elbow and the shoulder, he cannot 
touch the person attempting to save him, and 
whatever struggles he may make will only assist j 
the person holding him, in keeping his head 
above water. 
Iodine for Coloring Wools and Silk.—Frol. 
Hoffman, of Loudon, has patented a process 
which consists of mixing in certain proportions a 
substance called rosaniline with theioides of ethyl 
methyl or amyl, to produce a dye which may be 
used in the same manner as aniline colors. This 
new coloring matter dyes silk and wool a beau¬ 
tiful violet—blue or red violet tint. 
Unequal Power of the Organs of Haring.— It 
is stated that in making experiments with tun¬ 
ing forks by holding one to each ear at the same 
time, Herr FksSKL, of Cologne, has discov-1 
ered the ears do not possess an equal power of 
hearing. It appears that from numeous trials 
on various individuals the hearing is generally 1 
the best with the right ear. 
Valala.— This is a tree, growing in Guinea, 
which yleldsa juice which is used by the natives 
instead of milk in coffee. It is said this juice is 
capable of being worked into a product much 
more flexible than gutta percha and in every 
way superior to it. Dr. Paraialek, of New 
York, says:—“ It is not softened by immersion 
in hot water; it can be vulcanized, and seems to 
be intermediate between gutta percha and India 
rubber.” 
Substitue for Gunpowder. — It has recently 
been discovered that sulphuretted hydrogen in 
carbon forms a very explosive compound, it 
having blown a hole through a thick oaken 
bench upon which the first experiment was 
tried. The carbon being placed under a receiv¬ 
er imbibes 90 to 100 times its bulk of sulphuret¬ 
ted hydrogen aud becomes very explosive. It 
is believed that a substitute for gunpodwerffias 
been found which can be manufactured at less 
than half the cost of the article now in use. 
Pisciculture in England.— From the London 
Times we team that the effort to create an inter 
est in the culture of fish in England has com¬ 
pletely failed, except in the matter of salmon 
which are now furnished in comparative abund¬ 
ance. This failure is attributed to the popular 
dislike of fresh water fish as an article of diet. 
It is asserted that there is scarcely a fish in the 
streams which any man would care to eat who 
had the means of purchasing a bit of meat. 
Trout are but little eaten; eels are getting scarce; 
club, roach, dace, Ac., are considered worth¬ 
less ; and the fiuer varieties, such as pike, tench, 
aud gudgeon are treated merely as accessories to 
a dinner and not as substantial articles of food. 
bine Clay for Dressing Sores.—Dr. Sc hr k- 
ber, of l.elpzlc, recommends the use of clay as 
the most energetic, innocent, simple, and eco¬ 
nomical of palliative applications to surfaces 
yielding foul and moist discharges. He believes 
it accelerates the cure. Clay softened down in 
water, and freed tYorn all gritty particles, is laid, 
layer by layer, over the affected part to the 
thickness of about a line. If It becomes dry and 
falls off, fresh layers are applied to the cleansed 
surface. The irritating secretion is rapidly ab¬ 
sorbed by the day, and the contact of air pre¬ 
vented. The cure thus goes on rapidly. This 
clay-ointment has a decisive action in cases of 
fa ted perspiration of the feet or arm-pits, A 
single layer applied in the morning will destroy 
all odor in the day. It remains a long time sup¬ 
ple, and the pieces which fall off in tine powder 
produce no inconvenience. 
Boys, read and remember the following, 
from a sermon by Dr. CnariN, of New York: 
“I would speak 3tronglv against the common 
sin of profaneness. Are there any before me 
who are accustomed to use God’s name as an 
expletive, and to bandy it as a by word ? who 
who employ it in all kinds of conversation, and 
throw it about in every place? Perhaps, in 
their hearts they consider this an accomplish¬ 
ment ! think it manly and brave to swear! Let 
me say, then, that profaneness is a brutaljviee. 
He who indulges in it is no gentleman. I care 
not what clothes he wears or what culture he 
boasts. Despite all his refinement, the taking 
of God's name displays a coarse nature and a 
brutal will. Nay, he tacitly admits that it is 
ungentlemanly; he restrains his oath in the 
presence of ladies; and he who fears not to rush 
into the chancery of heaven and swear by the 
Majesty there, is decently observant in the 
drawing-room and parlor. But again, profane¬ 
ness is unmanly and silly. It certainly is not a 
grace in conversation, and it adds no strength to 
it. Finally, profaneness is an awful vice. Once 
more I ask whose name is it you so lightly use ? 
The name of God! have you ever pondered Its 
meaning? Have you ever thought what it is 
you mingle thus with your passions and your 
wit ? It is the name of Him whom angels wor¬ 
ship, and whom the heaven of heavens cannot 
contain. ” 
A Young Hero. —A gentleman, while pass¬ 
ing through a street inhabited by poor people in 
New York, heard an infantile voice from a base¬ 
ment crying, “ Help! help!” He rushed in and 
found a little five-year old hoy holding a bed- 
blanket around his little sister, years younger, 
who had caught her clothe* on fire; and the 
little hero had succeeded in extinguishing the 
flames. The boy, in answer to tbe inquiry why 
he so wrapped the bed-blanket around his sis¬ 
ter’s burning clothes, said his ma told him that 
was the best way to put out the fire; and as to 
why he hallowed “Help! helpl” that he was 
afraid that he could not succeed, and wanted 
some one to help him. He was then asked why 
he did not leave his sister and go into tho street 
and cry for help. He auswered, with tears in 
his eyes, and a fixed determination of counte¬ 
nances “ No, I never would have loft. She was 
my sister. Had she burned up, I would have 
burned up, too.” 
HOW STATUES ARE MADE 
A correspondent of the London Reader 
gives the following details regarding the produc¬ 
tion of statues: 
“ The sculptor, having designed a figure, first 
makes a sketch of it in clay a few inches only in 
height. When ho has satisfied himself with 
the general attitude, a cast is token of his sketch, 
and from it a model in clay is prepared of the 
full size he designs for his statue, whether half 
the natural height, or life-size, or colossal. 
The process of building the clay, as it is called, 
upon the strong iron armatura or skeleton on 
which it stands on its pedestal, and the beudiug 
and fixing this amatura into the form of the 
limbs, constitute a work of vast labor of a 
purely manual sort, for whose performance all 
artists able to afford It employ the skilled work¬ 
men to be obtained iu Rome. The rough clay, 
rudely assuming the shape of the intended 
statue, then pastes into tho sculptor's hands aud 
undergoes his most elaborate manipulation, by 
which it is reduced (generally after the labor of 
several months’! to the precise and perfectly 
finished form he desires should hereafter appear 
in the marble. This done, the formators takes 
a east of the whole, and the clay is destroyed. 
From this plaster cast again in due time the 
marble is hewn by three successive workmen. 
The first gives it rough outline, tire second 
brings it bv rule aud compass to close resem¬ 
blance with the cast, and the third finishes it to 
perfection.” 
A little Massachusetts boy was one day 
playing with some knitting-needles when he 
was about two years old His mother passed 
through the room, and said to him, “You 
rnusn’t lose those needles; they are not your 
needles, they are mine.” As she left tho room 
she heard the little boy saying to himself, “ No, 
I musn't lose these needles; they’re not my 
needles. If 1 should lose them I should be 
despised; and when I grow up to be a man, 
people would look at me and say, 4 Where's 
those needles?"* 
RAILROAD DEPOT ON LAZE MICHIGAN. 
We give herewith an engraving of the large 
Central Railroad Depot at Chicago. There are 
some facta connected with the construction of 
this magnificent railway structure that will 
luterest our readers -especially such as have a 
personal pride and interest iu the material pro¬ 
gress and prosperity of Chicago as a great com¬ 
mercial western center. We are indebted to 
the courtesy and kindness of T. M. Kellogg, 
As the mother-tongue in which we converse 
is the only language wo all talk, though few arc 
taught it, so the mother-wit, by which we act, 
is the only science that we never learn. 
Aspiration without attainment is better 
than contentment without desire. 
