468 
VARIETIES. 
latter  designed  to  separate  the  metallic  particles, — the  filings  are  mixed 
with  a  solution  of  chloride  of  caleium.  The  other  pole  is  a  similar  mixture 
in  which  the  copper  is  replaced  by  zinc  filings.  These  two  preparations 
placed  in  a  vase  and  separated  by  a  porous  cell,  make  a  battery  which  has 
the  same  intensity  of  action  on  account  of  its  constant  humidity  and  the 
indefinite  number  of  its  elements. — American  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts. 
Paper  from  Jute. — M.  D.  L.  Nash,  writing  from  Chester,  makes  the 
following  suggestion  : — "  Jute  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  articles  of 
commerce  in  Liverpool.  It  is  an  East  India  grass  in  bales,  of  which  (ac- 
cording to  Braithwaite  Pool's  valuable  work  on  the  commerce  of  Liverpool,) 
there  are  nearly  100,000  bales  annually,  the  average  selling  price  £20  per 
bale.  This  grass  is  sent  to  Dundee  and  the  north,  and  the  fibre  so  resem- 
bles caterpillar's  thread,  that  it  is  used  to  adulterate  silk.  It  is  made  into 
coverings  called  "  baggings,"  to  serve  as  wrappers  for  the  American  cot- 
ton. It  is  sent  back  to  Liverpool  so  manufactured,  and  exported  to  South 
America,  where  it  is  filled  with  the  cotton,  sent  back  in  cotton  bales  to 
Liverpool,  thence  to  Manchester,  and  finally  finds  its  way  to  the  paper 
makers.  Now  there  is  no  reason  why  an  ample  supply  should  not  be  had 
for  paper  :  and  perhaps  a  notice  of  the  matter  may  obtain  the  attention  of 
the  scientific." — Liverpool  Northern  Times. 
The  Telegraph  in  Switzerland. — The  telegraph  in  Switzerland  is  an  in- 
stitution that  is  much  more  successful  than  its  polytechnic  school  promises 
to  be.  If  even  I  felt  competent  to  describe  its  perfect  technical  operation, 
I  should  not  enlarge  on  this  subject,  as  it  is  well  known  in  America;  but 
the  liberality  of  the  institution  and  the  pecuniary  results  obtained  from  it. 
are  worth  mentioning.  25  words  or  less  are  uniformly  paid  by  1  franc,  (17| 
cents,)  whether  the  message  has  to  go  150  or  only  2  miles.  The  public  are 
induced  by  this  cheapness  to  use  the  telegraph  as  freely  as  they  use  the 
mails,  and  the  result  is  that  the  administration  of  the  telegraph,  which  is 
under  the  control  of  government,  has  a  surplus  of  cash  in  its  coffers. 
Almost  every  small  town  of  3000  to  5000  inhabitants  has  its  telegraph 
office  ;  of  course,  it  would  not  pay  to  have  a  special  telegraph  office  in  each 
of  these  places,  and  therefore,  the  officers  appointed  by  the  central  post-office 
are  at  the  same  time  officers  of  the  telegraph,  though  their  duties  concern- 
ing the  expedition  of  letters  often  prevent  them  from  attending  to  the  tele- 
graph ;  but  as  the  administration  of  the  telegraph  pays  them  partly,  ac- 
cording to  the  amount  of  messages  received  at  their  offices,  they  have  to 
provide  for  the  performance  of  these  duties  ;  they,  of  course,  seek  to  sup- 
ply them  by  the  cheapest  clerks ;  they  can  have  and  find  them  in  their 
■wives,  sisters,  or  daughters,  and  I  have  been  assured  by  one  of  the  superior 
officers  of  the  telegraph,  that  at  those  offices  where  ladies  are  the  perform- 
ers, the  business  is  generally  done  more  perfectly  than  where  men  are  ex- 
clusively appointed  to  attend. — Journal  of  Franklin  Institute. 
