VARIETIES. 
479 
photoglyphic  engravings,  executed  by  a  new  process,  the  result  of  experi- 
ments made  by  Mr.  H.  Fox  Talbot.  By  means  of  his  invention,  common, 
paper  photographs  can  be  transferred  to  plates  of  steel,  copper  or  zinc, 
and  impressions  printed  off  afterwards  with  the  usual  printer's  ink.  .  .  . 
The  plates  engraved  by  this  mode  are  indeed  beautiful  in  themselves  as 
photographs,  and  will   bear    strong  microscopic  inspection,  the  most 
minute  detail  being  given  with  astonishing  fidelity  We  are  as  yet 
not  permitted  to  give  publicity  to  the  details  of  the  process,  but  we  can 
say  that  the  scientific  facts  upon  which  the  process  is  based  are  among 
the  most  striking  in  photography,  which,  as  our  readers  are  aware,  is  an 
art  fertile  in  singular  novelties.  The  specimens  which  Mr.  Talbot  has 
favored  us  with  of  this  new  branch  of  art  are  very  beautiful.  They  are 
free  from  many  of  the  imperfections  which  were  so  evident  in  former  at- 
tempts, and  the  manner  in  which  the  half-tones  are  given  is  really  won- 
derful ;  the  specimens  are  of  various  subjects,  showing  the  perfection 
which  can  be  obtained  in  any  branch  of  pictures.  Even  in  these  copies 
the  detail  is  so  fine  that  when  a  powerful  microscopic  power  is  brought  to 
bear  on  them,  we  are  enabled  to  trace  the  names  in  the  shops  in  the  dis- 
tance, and  easily  read  the  play-bills  in  the  foreground,  and  this  in  a  picture 
only  a  few  inches  square,  while  the  minuteness  in  architectural  subjects 
is  most  remarkable.  In  a  view  of  Paris,  there  is  all  that  can  be  desired 
in  half-tones,  and  the  perspective  is  almost  as  good  as  in  a  photograph. — 
London  Chemist,  from  the  Photographic  News. 
Poisonous  Effects  of  the  Leaves  of  the  Yew-Tree. — That  the  leaves  of  th® 
yew  are  of  pernicious  influence  was  known  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans, 
and  confirmed  by  later  authorities.  The  yew-tree  itself  may  cause  vertigo, 
lethargy,  and  even  drunkenness,  by  the  narcotic  exhalation  which  it 
emits.  We  now  read,  in  the  Journal  des  Landes,  that  three  horses  belong- 
ing to  the  squadron  of  cavalry  stationed  at  Mount  de  Maison,  died  there 
suddenly,  a  few  days  ago,  and  that  on  dissection,  it  was  found  that  they 
had  been  eating  plentifully  of  the  leaves  of  some  yew-trees  ;  the  coats  of 
of  the  stomach  evinced  marks  of  the  deleterious  effects  produced  by  this 
poison. — lb. 
Dangerous  Explosion  of  Muriatic  Acid. — The  Wheeling  (Va.)  Times  of 
the  15th  inst.,  says:  Yesterday  morning,  about  two  o'clock,  a  carboy  con- 
taining sixty-seven  pounds  of  muriatic  acid,  exploded  in  the  drug  store  of 
Mr.  Fundenberg,  under  Washington  Hall.  Mr.  Allen  Fundenberg,  who 
sleeps  in  the  store,  received  the  first  intimation  of  the  accident  by  finding 
a  great  difficulty  in  breathing,  which  increased  so  fast  that  he  sprang  out 
of  bed  and  started  to  the  front  door.  On  the  way  he  stepped  in  the  acid 
where  it  had  run  over  the  floor,  and  so  powerful  was  its  effect  that  the  skin 
on  the  bottom  of  his  foot  was  left  sticking  to  the  floor.    He  opened  the 
