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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/15468-8.txt b/15468-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c13c102 --- /dev/null +++ b/15468-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3668 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Lectures on Popular and Scientific Subjects +by John Sutherland Sinclair, Earl of Caithness + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Lectures on Popular and Scientific Subjects + +Author: John Sutherland Sinclair, Earl of Caithness + +Release Date: March 26, 2005 [EBook #15468] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POPULAR AND SCIENTIFIC SUBJECTS *** + + + + +Produced by Clare Boothby, Josephine Paolucci and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + + + + +LECTURES + +ON + +POPULAR AND SCIENTIFIC SUBJECTS + + +BY THE + +EARL OF CAITHNESS, F.R.S. + + +_DELIVERED AT VARIOUS TIMES AND PLACES._ + + +Second Enlarged Edition. + +LONDON: +TRÜBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL. +1879. + +Ballantyne Press + +BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. + +EDINBURGH AND LONDON + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +COAL AND COAL MINES + +SCIENCE APPLIED TO ART + +A PENNY'S WORTH; OR, "TAKE CARE OF THE PENCE, AND + THE POUNDS WILL TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES" + +PAST AND PRESENT MEANS OF COMMUNICATION + +THE STEAM-ENGINE + +ON ATTRACTION + +THE OIL FROM LINSEED + +HODGE-PODGE; OR, WHAT'S INTILT + + + + +LECTURES ON POPULAR AND SCIENTIFIC SUBJECTS. + + + + +_COAL AND COAL-MINES._ + + +There are few subjects of more importance, and few less known or thought +about, than our coal-mines. Coal is one of our greatest blessings, and +certainly one originating cause of England's greatness and wealth. It +has given us a power over other nations, and vast sums of money are +yearly brought to our country from abroad in exchange for the coal we +send. Nearly £17,000,000 is the representative value of the coal raised +every year at the pit's mouth, and £20,000,000 represent its mean value +at the various places of consumption. The capital invested in our +coal-mining trade, apart from the value of the mines themselves, +exceeds £20,000,000 sterling, and the amount of coal annually extracted +from the earth is over 70,000,000 of tons. Taking the calculation of a +working miner--J. Ellwood, Moss Pit, near Whitehaven--we may state, that +if 68,000,000 tons were excavated from a mining gallery 6 feet high and +12 feet wide, that gallery would be not less than 5128 miles, 1090 +yards, in length; or, if this amount of coal were erected in a pyramid, +its square base would extend over 40 acres, and the height would be 3356 +feet. + +There are grounds for believing that the produce of the various +coal-fields of the world does not at present much exceed 100,000,000 of +tons annually, and therefore our own country contributes more than +three-fifths of the total amount. If we divide the coal-yielding +counties of Britain into four classes, so as to make nearly equal +amounts of produce, we find that Durham and Northumberland yield rather +more every year than seven other counties, including Yorkshire. +Derbyshire, again, produces more than eight other counties, and nearly +as much as the whole of North and South Wales, Scotland, and +Ireland--the yield of the latter being about 17,000,000 of tons, and +that of the two first-named about 16,000,000 of tons. + +In 1773 there were only 13 collieries on the Tyne, and these had +increased to upwards of 30 in 1800. The number of collieries in 1828 had +increased to 41 on the Tyne, and 18 on the Wear, in all 59, producing +5,887,552 tons of coal. The out-put of coal in Northumberland and Durham +in 1854 was no less than 15,420,615 tons, and now in these two counties +there are 283 collieries. Mining began on the Tyne and continued on the +Wear, where the industry has been largely developed. There are in all +about 57 different seams in the Great Northern coal-field, varying in +thickness from 1 inch to 5 feet 5 inches and 6 feet, and these seams +comprise an aggregate of nearly 76 feet of coal. Taking the area of this +field to be 750 square miles--a most probable estimate--we may classify +the contents as household coal, steam coal, or those employed in +steam-engine boilers, and coking coal, employed for making coke and gas. +Of household coal there is only 96 square miles out of the total 750, +all the remainder being steam or coking and gas coal. The greater part +even of this 96 square miles has been worked out on the Tyne, and the +supply is rapidly decreasing also on the Wear, where the largest bulk +of the household coal lies. The collieries of the Tees possess but six +square miles out of the 96, as far as we at present know. Turning, +however, to that part of the coal-field regarded as precarious, and +consisting of first, second, and third-rate household coal, we have for +future use 300 square miles. London was formerly supplied from the pits +east of Tyne Bridge, where is the famous Wallsend Colliery, which gave +the name to the best coal. That mine is now drowned out, and, like the +great Roman Wall, at the termination of which it was sunk, and from +which it derived its name, is now an antiquity. There is now no Wallsend +coal, and the principal part of the present so-called coal comes from +the Wear, but the seam which supplied that famous pit is continued into +Durham, and that seam, or its equivalent, sends a million or two of tons +every year into London. The supply, however, in this district is rapidly +decreasing. Careful calculations have been made as to the probable +duration of this coal, of which the following is a summary. The workable +quantity of coal remaining in the ten principal seams of this coal-field +is estimated at 1,876,848,756 Newcastle chaldrons (each 35 cwt.). +Deducting losses and underground and surface waste, the total +merchantable round or good-sized coal will be 1,251,232,507 Newcastle +chaldrons. Proceeding on this estimate, formed by Mr. Grunwith in 1846, +we may arrive at the probable duration of the supplies: taking the +future annual average of coal raised from these seams to be 10,000,000 +of tons--and this is under the present rate--the whole will be exhausted +in 331 years. A still later estimate was made by Mr. T.G. Hall in 1854, +and he reckoned the quantity of coal left for future use at +5,121,888,956 tons; dividing this by 14,000,000 of tons as the annual +consumption, the result would be 365 years; and should the annual demand +arrive at 20,000,000 of tons, the future supply of this famous +coal-field would continue for 256 years. The total available coal (1871) +in the British coal-fields, at depths not exceeding 4000 feet, and in +seams not less than 1 foot thick, is 90,207,285,398 tons, and taking +into account seams which may yet become available, lying under the +Permian, New Red Sandstone, and other superincumbent strata, this +estimate is increased to 146,480,000,000 of tons. This quantity, at the +present annual rate of production throughout the country--namely, +123,500,000 tons--would last 1186 years. Other estimates of various +kinds relative to our coal supply have been put forth: some have +asserted that, owing to increasing population and increasing consumption +in manufactures, it will be exhausted in 100 years, and between this +extreme and that of 1186 years there are many other conjectures and +estimates. + +In the United States there are about 120,000 square miles underlaid by +known workable coal-beds, besides what yet remains to be discovered; +while on the cliffs of Nova Scotia the coal-seams can be seen one over +the other for many hundred feet, and showing how the coal was originally +formed. With this immense stock of fuel in the cellars of the earth, it +seems evident that we need not trouble our minds or be anxious as to the +duration of our coal supply. Besides, the conversion of vegetable matter +into coal seems to be going on even now. In the United States there are +peat-bogs of considerable extent, in which a substance exactly +resembling cannel coal has been found; and in some of the Irish +peat-beds, as also in the North of Scotland, a similar substance has +been discovered, of a very inflammable nature, resembling coal. + +Yes! what could have produced this singular-looking, black, inflammable +rock? How many times was this question asked before Science could return +an answer? This she can now do with confidence. Coal was once growing +vegetable matter. On the surface of the shale, immediately above the +coal, you will find innumerable impressions of leaves and branches, as +perfect as artist ever drew. But how could this vegetable matter ever +accumulate in such masses as to make beds of coal of such vast extent, +some not less than 30 feet thick? It would take 10 or 12 feet of green +vegetable matter to make 1 foot of solid coal. Let us transport +ourselves to the carboniferous times, and see the condition of the +earth, and this may assist us to answer the question. Stand on this +rocky eminence and behold that sea of verdure, whose gigantic waves roll +in the greenest of billows to the verge of the horizon--that is a +carboniferous forest. Mark that steamy cloud floating over it, an +indication of the great evaporation constantly proceeding. The scent of +the morning air is like that of a greenhouse; and well it may be, for +the land of the globe is a mighty hothouse--the crust of the earth is +still thin, and its internal heat makes a tropical climate everywhere, +unchecked by winter's cold, thus forcing plants to a most luxurious +growth. + +Descend, and let us wander through this forest and examine it more +closely. What strange trees are here! No oaks, no elms, or ash, or +chestnut--no trees that we ever saw before. It looks as if the plants of +a boggy meadow had shot up in a single night to a height of 60 or 70 +feet, and we were walking among the stalks--a gigantic meadow of ferns, +reeds, grasses, and club-mosses. A million columns rise, so thick at the +top that they make twilight at mid-day, and their trunks are so close +together we can scarcely edge our way between them, whilst the ground is +carpeted with trailing plants completely interwoven. What strange trees +they are! Beneath us lies an accumulation of vegetable matter more than +200 feet in thickness--the result of the growth and decay of plants in +this swamp for centuries. All things are here favourable for the growth +of vegetation--the great heat of the ground causes water to rise rapidly +in vapour, and this again descends in showers, supplying the plants with +moisture continuously. The air contains a large proportion of carbonic +acid gas, poison to animals but food to plants, which, by means of its +aid, build up their woody structure. Winds at times level these gigantic +plants, for their hold on the earth is feeble, and thus the mass goes on +increasing. + +We are now on the edge of a lake abounding with fish, whose bony scales +glitter in the water as they pursue their prey. Lying along the shore +are shells cast up by the waves, and there are also seen the tracks of +some large animals. How like the impression of a man's hand some of +these tracks are! The hind-feet are evidently much larger than the +fore-feet. There is the frog-like animal which made them, and what a +size! It must be six feet long, and its head looks like that of a +crocodile, for its jaws are furnished with formidable rows of long, +strong, sharp, conical teeth. + +The continued growth and decomposition of the vegetation during long +ages must have produced beds like the peat-deposits of America and Great +Britain. In the Dismal Swamp of Virginia there is said to be a mass of +vegetable matter 40 feet in thickness, and on the banks of the Shannon +in Ireland is a peat-bog 3 miles broad and 50 feet deep. When conditions +were so much more favourable for these deposits, beds 400 feet in +thickness may easily have been produced. This accumulated mass of +vegetable matter must be buried, however, before we can have a coal-bed. +How was this accomplished? The very weight of it may have caused the +crust of the earth to sink, forming a basin into which rivers, sweeping +down from the surrounding higher country, and carrying down mud in their +waters, the weight of which, deposited upon the vegetable matter, +pressed and squeezed it into half its original compass. Sand carried +down subsequently in a similar manner, and deposited upon the mud, +pressed it into shale, and the vegetable matter, still more reduced in +volume by this additional pressure, is prepared for its final conversion +into shale. In time the basin becomes shallow from the decomposition of +sediment on its bottom, and then we have another marsh with its myriad +plants; another accumulation of vegetable matter takes place, which by +similar processes is also buried. Where thirty or forty seams of coal +have been found one below another, we have evidence of land and water +thus changing places many times. + +When vegetable matter is excluded from air and under great pressure, it +decomposes slowly, parting with carbonic acid gas; and is first changed +into lignite or brown coal, and then into bituminous coal, or the soft +coal that burns with smoke and flame. I have been in a coal-mine where +the carbonic acid gas, pouring from a crevice in the coal, put out a +lighted candle. The high temperature to which the coal has been +subjected when buried at great depths has also probably assisted in +producing this change; and where that temperature has been very high, +the coal by the influence of the heat having parted with its inflammable +gases, we have the hard or anthracite coal, which burns with little or +no flame and without smoke. It is indeed coal made into coke under +tremendous pressure, and this is the kind of coal which Americans use +exclusively in their dwelling-houses and monster hotels. + +It was at first supposed that the plants of the carboniferous times were +bamboos, palms, and gigantic cactuses, such as are now found in tropical +regions, but a more careful examination of them shows that, with the +exception of the tree-fern now found in the tropics, they differ from +all existing trees. A large proportion of the plants of the +coal-measures were ferns, some authorities say one-half. From their +great abundance we may infer the great heat and moisture of the +atmosphere at the time when they grew, as similar ferns at the present +day are only found in the greatest abundance on small tropical islands +where the temperature is high. Coal often contains impressions of fern +leaves and palm-like ferns--no less than 934 kinds are drawn and +described by geologists. Many animals and insects are found in the coal, +such as large toad-like reptiles with beautiful teeth, small lizards, +water lizards, great fish with tremendous jaws, many insects of the +grasshopper tribe, but none of these are of the same species as those +found now living on this globe. + +Wood, peat, brown coal, jet, and true coal, are chemically alike, +differing only in their amount of oxygen, due to the difference of +compression to which they were subjected. The sun gave his heat and +light to the forests now turned into coal, and when we burn it ages +afterwards, we revive some of the heat and light so long untouched. +Stephenson once remarked to Sir Robert Peel, as they stood watching a +passing train: "There goes _the sunshine of former ages_!" + + +COST OF WORKING. + +Having thus stated shortly the origin and extent of the coal of this +country, more particularly that of the northern coal-fields of +Northumberland and Durham, I think it may be interesting to say +something of the cost at which this valuable article is obtained, as I +am sure few are at all aware of the vast sums of money that have to be +expended before we can sit down by our comfortable firesides, with a +cold winter night outside, and read our book, or have our family +gathered round us; and few know the danger and hardship of the bold +worker who risks his life to procure the coal. The first step is to find +out if there is coal. This done, the next is to get at it, or, as it is +termed, to _win_ the coal. The process is to sink a shaft, and this is +alike dangerous, uncertain, and very costly. The first attempt to sink a +pit at Haswell in Durham was abandoned after an outlay of £60,000. The +sinkers had to pass through sand, under the magnesian limestone, where +vast quantities of water lay stored, and though engines were erected +that pumped out 26,700 tons of water per day, yet the flood remained the +conqueror. This amount seems incredible, but such is the fact. At +another colliery near Gateshead (Goose Colliery), 1000 gallons a minute, +or 6000 tons of water per day, were pumped out, and only 300 tons of +coal were brought up in the same time, and thus the water raised +exceeded the coal twenty times. The most astonishing undertaking in +mining was the Dalton le Dale Pit, nine miles from Durham. On the 1st +June 1840 they pumped out 3285 gallons a minute. Engines were erected +which raised 93,000 gallons a minute from a depth of 90 fathoms or 540 +feet, and this was done night and day. The amount expended to reach the +coal in this pit was £300,000. Mr. Hall estimates the capital invested +in the coal trade of the counties of Durham and Northumberland, +including private railways, waggons, and docks for loading ships, at +£13,000,000 sterling. + +The great difficulty in working coal, should these upper seams fail, is +not only the increase of cost in sinking further down, but the increased +heat to be worked in. At 2000 feet the mine will increase in heat 28°, +at 4000, 57°; to this must be added the constant temperature of 50° 5', +so that at 2000 feet it would be 78° 5', and at 4000, 107° 5' Fahr. By +actual trial on July 17, 1857, in Duckingfield Pit, the temperature at +2249 feet was 75° 5'. From this it may be conceived in what great heat +the men have to work, and the work is very hard. One may fancy from this +what can be endured, but it would be next to impossible to work in a +greater temperature. I can speak upon this from actual experience, as +when down the Lady Londonderry Pit the temperature was 85°, and here the +men worked naked. Another great source of expense and anxiety lies in +keeping up the roof, as, from the excessive pressure, the roof and floor +are always inclined to come together, and props must therefore be used, +and these in some pits cost as much as £1500 a year. To digress for a +moment, an amusing story is told of Grimaldi, the celebrated clown, when +paying a visit to a coal-pit. Having gone some way through the mine, a +sudden noise, arising from the falling of coal from the roof, caused him +to ask the reason of the noise. "Hallo!" exclaimed Grimaldi, greatly +terrified, "what's that?" "Hech!" said his guide, "it's only a wee bit +of coal fallen down--we have that three or four times a day." "Then I'll +thank you to ring for my basket, for I'll stop no longer among the wee +bits of falling coal." This "wee bit" was about three tons' weight. A +large proportion of the sad accidents in coal-mines is caused by these +falls of the roof, which give no warning, but suddenly come down and +crush to death those who happen to be near. + + +MODE OF WORKING. + +The cost of working having thus been given, I wish now to lay before you +an explanation of the method of working and bringing the coal to the +surface. It may not be uninteresting to mention how many men are +employed in this work, as the number is very large. Coal was not +formerly excavated by machinery, but it is so now, and therefore hands +must be had. The number of men employed in the mines of county Durham in +1854 was 28,000; of these, 13,500 were hewers, winning several thousand +tons of coal daily. Of the remainder, 3500 were safety-staff men, +having, besides, 1400 boys belonging to their staff; 2000 were off-hand +men, for bargain work or other duties; 7600 lads and boys, working +under the various designations of "putters," or pushers of coal-tubs, +underground "drivers," "marrows," "half-marrows," and "foals," these +latter terms being local, and significant of age and labour. For +Northumberland must be added 10,536 persons, and Cumberland 3579, making +a total for these three counties of upwards of 42,000 persons labouring +in and round our northern collieries. The average that each hewer will +raise per day is from two to three tons in thin, and three to four tons +in thick seams. The largest quantity raised by any hewer on an average +of the colliers of England is about six tons a day of eight hours. The +mode of working is very laborious, as the majority of seams of coal +being very thin--that is to say, not more than two feet thick--the +worker of necessity is obliged to work in a constrained position, often +lying on his side; and you can fancy the labour of using a pick in such +a position. To get an idea of the position, just place yourself under a +table, and then try to use a pick, and it will give you a pretty clear +idea of the comfortable way in which a great part of our coal is got, +and this also at a temperature of 86° in bad air. The object, of +course, of the worker is to take nothing but coal, as all labour is lost +that is spent in taking any other material away. The man after a time +gets twisted in his form, from being constantly in this constrained +position, and, in fact, to sit upright like other men is at last +painful. Then an amount of danger is always before him, even in the best +regulated and ventilated pits. This danger proceeds from fire-damp, as +one unlucky stroke of the pick may bring forth a stream of carbureted +hydrogen gas, inexplosive of itself, but if mixed with eight times its +bulk of air, more dangerous than gunpowder, and which, if by chance it +comes in contact with the flame of a candle, is sure to explode, and +certain death is the result--not always from the explosion itself, but +from the after-damp or carbonic acid gas which follows it. + +Upwards of 1500 lives are yearly lost from these causes, and not less +than 10,000 accidents in the same period show the constant danger that +the miner is exposed to. It would appear that England has more deaths +from mining accidents than foreign countries, as Mr. Mackworth's table +will show:-- + +Prussia 1.89 per 1000 +Belgium 2.8 " +England 4.5 " +Staffordshire 7.3 " + +This statement shows that more care is wanted in this last-named county +especially, as I find that the yield of coal in Belgium is half as much +as in England. Long working in the dark, if one may so speak, is a cause +of serious detriment to the sight, and the worker also suffers much from +constantly inhaling the small black dust, which in course of time +affects the lungs, causing what is known as "miner's asthma." Without +going further into the unhealthy nature of the miner's work, it may be +interesting to mention something of the actual process, and having +myself been an eye-witness of it, I will explain it as shortly as I can. +The workers having arrived at the pit-mouth at their proper hours--for +the pit is worked by shifts, and consequently is generally worked day +and night--the first operation is for each to procure his lamp from the +lamp-keeper, receiving it lighted and locked; this is found to be +necessary, as from the small light given by the Davy-lamp the men are +often tempted to open them, and some are even, so foolhardy as to carry +their lamp on their cap and a candle in the hand, and hence a terrible +explosion may take place. A few words on the Davy-lamp, which came into +use about sixty years ago, may not be out of place here. This +safety-lamp of the miner not only shows the presence of gas, but +prevents its explosion. It is constructed of gauze made of iron-wire +one-fortieth to one-sixtieth of an inch in diameter, having 784 openings +to the inch, and the cooling effect of the current passing through the +lamp prevents the gas taking fire. If we pour turpentine over a lighted +safety-lamp, it will show black smoke, but no flame. Provided with his +lamp, the miner takes his place with others in the tub, which conveys +him with great rapidity to the bottom of the shaft. Here landed, he +takes his way to the workings, some of these, in large pits, being two +miles from the bottom of the shaft. To a novice this is not easy, as you +have to walk in a crouching manner most part of the way. Once there, he +begins in earnest, and drives at his pick for eight hours, the monotony +only relieved by his gathering the products into small railway waggons +or tubs to be removed. This is done mostly by boys, but in the larger +mines by ponies of the Shetland and other small breeds. The tubs are +taken to a part of the mine where, if one may so speak, the main line is +reached, and then formed into trains, and taken to the shaft by means of +an endless rope worked by an engine in the pit. In accomplishing all +this work, great care has to be taken that the current of air is not +changed or stopped. This is effected by means of doors placed in various +parts of the mine, so as to stop the current and drive it in the +required direction. These doors are kept by boys, whose duty it is to +open and close them for the passage of the coal tubs. Those boys are +often allowed no light, and sit in a hole cut in the side of the road +near to the doors. Upon their carefulness the safety of the mine in a +great measure depends, as if they neglect to shut the door the current +of air is changed. I have been told that these boys are subject to +accidents no less than the workers, for, sitting in the dark, and often +alone for hours, they are very apt to go to sleep. To ensure being awoke +at the proper time, they frequently lie down on the line of rails under +the rope, so that when the rope is started it may awake them by its +motion, but at times so sound is their sleep, that it has failed to +rouse them in time, and a train of coal waggons has passed over them, +causing in most cases death. + +The coal having been brought to the pit-mouth, it remains to be shown +what becomes of this most valuable mineral, the consumption of which is +now so large in all parts of the globe. The next person employed in the +trade is the sailor, to convey it to the market, and the collier vessels +are a valuable navy to the country, proving quite a nursery of seamen +for our royal marine service. Newcastle, Sunderland, West Hartlepool, +and a large number of other ports along our coast, have an immense +amount of shipping employed exclusively in the coal trade--no less than +5359 vessels carrying coal having entered the port of London alone in +1873, and the average annual quantity of coal exported abroad during the +three years ending 1872 was 12,000,000 tons. + +I will not now detain you longer on the subject of the extent and +working of coal, lest I should tire your patience; but before concluding +I should wish to give some account of the uses to which this most +valuable product is applied. The main use of coal, as we all know, is to +produce heat, without which many a paterfamilias would grumble when the +dinner-hour came and he had nothing hot to eat. It not only, however, +supplies heat, but the beauty of the processes for lighting up our +houses is now mainly derived from coal. The immense consumption of coal, +among other things, is in the production of the vapour of water--steam, +by which our thousands of engines on sea and land are made to perform +their various appointed tasks. This production, formed of decayed +vegetable matter, which in ages past nourished on the surface of the +earth, as I have already shown, is again brought forth for our use, and +is a testimony of the goodness and kindness of God in providing for our +wants. By its heat some 10,000 locomotive engines are propelled, and +many hundreds of iron furnaces are kept in work, besides those for other +purposes. It moves the machinery of at least 3000 factories, 2500 steam +vessels, besides numerous smaller craft, and I cannot tell how many +forges and fires. It aids in producing delicacies out of season in our +hothouses. It lights our houses and streets with gas, the cheapest and +best of all lights--London alone in this way spending about £50,000 a +year. It gives us oil and tar to lubricate machinery and preserve timber +and iron; and last, not least, by the aid of chemistry it is made to +produce many beautiful dyes, such as magenta and mauve, and also, in the +same way, gives perfumes resembling cloves, almonds, and spices. + +The annual consumption of coal in Great Britain is reckoned to be not +less than 80,000,000 tons. The amount raised in 1873 amounted to +127,000,000 tons, and of this was imported into London alone 7,883,138 +tons--4,000,000 tons, or 15 per cent. of the total out-put of the +country, being sent from Durham alone. The cost of the Wallsend coal on +board the ship may be stated at 10s. 6d. per ton; to this must be added +the charge at coal-market of 2s. 8d., freight say 5s. 9d., profit 7s. +6d., so that a ton of coal of this kind will cost in your cellar in +London the sum of £1, 6s. 5d. + +I think it is now time to conclude this most interesting subject, for +though I have by no means exhausted it, yet I fear I have said as much +as a lecture will warrant. The subject shows us how mindful a kind +Providence has been of man, and to this nation in particular, for to our +coal we in a measure owe much of our greatness. So while we admire the +geology of our globe, let us not forget who made it and all that it +contains, and who, when He had finished the work, pronounced it all very +good. Let us so strive to live, that though we may be called away +suddenly, as 199 of our fellow-creatures were called by what is termed a +mining accident, we may be ready to meet Him who not only made us, but +made the coal, and who, when man, at first made perfect, fell away, was +pleased to send a Saviour to redeem us and bring us to that light which +fadeth not away. + + + + +_SCIENCE APPLIED TO ART_. + + +A resumé of science and art requires to set forth what they have already +done and what they are now doing--to trace them down to our own time, +and contrast their early stages with their present development. Giving +to art and science all that is their due, it must be evident to every +one that they are primarily not of human origin, but owe their existence +and progress to those inherent faculties of man which have been bestowed +upon him by an Almighty Being--faculties given not only to fathom the +works of creation, and adapt them for man's use and benefit, but also +that they might show forth the praise and honour of their Creator, as +"the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His +handiwork." To set forth science and art before an Institution like that +here met together, behoves one to enter upon the subject in a way which +will not only interest but also instruct. But this is only an opening +address, and the lecturers who will follow me in due course will bring +before you the special interests of those special subjects on which they +are to treat. These cannot fail to interest as well as instruct those +who attend, their object being profit to the mind, and hence not only +the furtherance of mental culture, but increasing capabilities for +material prosperity. + +To address a meeting in Glasgow gives one a feeling of pleasure; but, +before going further, I trust that when I have finished you may not be +able to say of me, as the two Highlanders did after leaving church--"Eh, +man! wasna that a grand discoorse?--it jumbled the head and confused the +understanding!" This city has brought forth one of the greatest of +men--though, like many others, he had to fight an uphill battle in his +early career--that man was James Watt. But what a career was his! and +what a benefit to all now living has proved the result of his +perseverance, for to his genius are we mainly indebted for the manifold +applications of the wondrous power of _Steam_! That word is enough; and +the engines it now propels are a powerful testimony to the talent of +the great man who brought this mighty power to bear on the vast +machinery, not only of this great country, but of the whole world. +Contrast, for one thing, the travelling facilities of Watt's early days +with those we now possess through his persevering industry. Fourteen +days was then the usual time for a journey from Glasgow to London, while +at present it can be performed in a less number of hours. + +Railways! what have they not done! We see towns spring up in a few years +where only a few cottages formerly stood, and wild glens transformed +into fruitful valleys, by means of railways in their neighbourhood +developing traffic and trade, and creating employment by placing them in +communication with larger towns, and thus opening up new sources of +material prosperity. Look at the magnitude of our railways. With respect +to locomotives alone, in 1866 there were 8125 of these, and the work +performed by them was the haulage of 6,000,000 trains a distance of +143,000,000 miles. As each engine possesses a draught-power equal to 450 +horses, these 8125 locomotives consequently did the work of more than +3,500,000 horses, and as the average durability of a locomotive is +computed to be about fifteen years, each will have in that time +traversed nearly 300,000 miles! Then, again, there have to be replaced +about 500 worn-out locomotives every year, at a cost for each of about +£2500 to £3000, entailing an annual expenditure of nearly £1,500,000 +sterling. All this money circulates for the country's benefit, keeping +our iron, copper, and coal mines, our furnaces and our workshops, all at +work, and our people well and usefully employed, and thus proving one of +the greatest advantages of applied science and art to this country and +the world at large. If it had not been for steam, this valuable +Institution might not have been in existence, having for its chief +objects the promotion of the growth and increasing the usefulness of the +applied sciences. + +We have now one of the greatest triumphs of engineering art in the Mont +Cenis Railway, and this, though worked out under great difficulties, has +proved a perfect success. Still more recently we have had brought under +our notice the bold scheme of connecting Britain and France by a tunnel +under the English Channel--a project which, but a few years ago, any one +would have been thought mad to propose; but science has proved that it +can be carried out; and it is only a few days since a large meeting was +held in Liverpool with a view of tunnelling under the Mersey, and thus +connecting Liverpool and Birkenhead. Nor do these schemes seem at all +visionary when we learn that our go-ahead Transatlantic cousins have a +project before the Legislature of New Jersey for laying wooden tubes +underground, through which the mails and small parcels will be forwarded +at the rate of 150 miles an hour! Through a similar tube, 6 feet in +diameter, laid under the East and Hudson Rivers, passengers are to be +transported from Brooklyn to Jersey city. A like scheme is in course of +construction under the Thames.[A] Another American engineering triumph +will be the railway suspension bridge proposed to be built across the +Hudson River at Peekskill, in the hilly district known to New Yorkers as +the Highlands, which is to have a clear span of 1600 feet at a height of +155 feet above high water. + +Another grand and comparatively recent application of steam is in its +adaptation to agriculture. Fields are now turned up by the +steam-plough--an invention as yet in its infancy--in a manner that could +never be done by mere hand-labour. Steam-culture has already penetrated +as far north as John-o'-Groats, where I have one of the ploughs of Mr. +Howard of Bedford, and but for its assistance I could not have taken in +the land I have now worked up. So great is the demand for +steam-cultivating apparatus, not only in Britain, but throughout the +German plains and the flat alluvial soils of Egypt, that the makers have +now more orders than they can readily supply. + +In all our manufactories steam proves itself the motive power, and there +is hardly a large work without it. This city can show its weaving, +spinning, bleaching, and dyeing works--all which have tended to raise +Glasgow from the small town of Watt's time to the proud position it now +holds of being the first commercial city of Scotland. In this city, +second only to Manchester in the production of cotton goods, it cannot +fail to be interesting to state, that in the first nine months of the +present year there has been exported 2,188,591,288 yards of cotton +piece-goods manufactured in this country--a larger quantity by nearly +150,000,000 yards than the corresponding period of 1867, the year of the +largest export of cotton manufactures ever known until then. Of course +Glasgow has had its share in this great branch of export trade, +rendering it large, wealthy, and populous--results which have mainly +followed from the application of science to art. + +Last, not least, see what steam has enabled us to do in regard to the +food for the mind, both in printing it and afterwards in its +distribution. Look, for instance, to Printing House Square--to the +"Times" newspaper. In the short space of one hour 20,000 copies are +thrown off the printing-machine, and, thanks to the express train, the +same day the paper can be read in Glasgow. Still further in this +direction, the value of steam is also shown by its having enabled us to +produce cheap literature, so strikingly instanced in the world-famed +works of Sir Walter Scott, which we are now enabled to purchase at the +small sum of sixpence for each volume--a result which well shows the +application of science to art. + +Let us now observe what a varied number of mechanical and agricultural +appliances are required to furnish us with this cheap literature. There +is agriculture, in the growth of the fibre that produces the material of +which the printing paper is made; then the flax-mill is brought into +play to produce the yarn to be woven; then weaving to produce the +cloth; after this, dyeing. Then the fine material is used for various +purposes too numerous to mention; and after it has performed its own +proper work, and is cast away as rags, no more to be thought of by its +owner, it is gathered up as a most precious substance by the papermaker, +who shows us the true value of the cast-off rags. Subjected to the +beautiful and costly machinery of the paper-mill, the rags turn out an +article of so much value that without it the world would almost come to +a stand-still. Yet further, we have next the miner, who by his labour +brings to the surface of the earth the metal required to produce the +type for printing; after this the printing-press; and next the chemist, +who by certain chemical combinations gives us the ink that is to spread +knowledge to the world, by making clear to the eye the thoughts of +authors who have applied their minds for the instruction and amusement +of their fellow-men. But we do not end here; consider also that each and +all, the farmer, the spinner, the weaver, the chemist, the miner, the +printer, and the author, must respectively have a profit out of their +various branches of industry, and does it not strike one forcibly what +a boon to the world is this all-important application of science to +art--putting within the reach of the poor man and the working man the +means of cultivating his mind, and so, by giving him matters of deep +interest to think over, keeping him from idleness and perhaps sin (for +idleness is the root of most evil), and making him a happy family-man +instead of a public-house frequenter. + +Many were strongly opposed to the introduction of steam, and would +rather have seen it put down, and the old coach and printing-press, +loom, spinning-wheel, and flail kept in use, fearing that machinery +would limit employment; and a hard fight it has been to carry forward +all that has hitherto been done. But what has proved to be the result? +Thousands are now employed where formerly a few people sufficed, and we +are all benefited in having better and cheaper goods, books, provisions, +and all things needful. There is therefore the satisfaction of knowing +that, by the thousand and one applications of steam, the physical, +mental, and even moral condition of the people has been greatly +ameliorated; in this way again proving a triumph for the application of +science to art. + +Glasgow is not only famous for its multifarious applications of water +in its finely divided gaseous form of steam, but it has made admirable +use of that element in its more familiar and fluid form, as shown in the +gigantic undertaking of bringing a water-supply into this thriving and +populous city. The peaceful waters of a Highland lake are suddenly +turned from their quiet resting-place, where they have remained in peace +for generations, the admiration of all beholders, and made to take an +active part in contributing to the health, wealth, and comfort of +Glasgow. The beautiful Loch Katrine has been brought into the city, +furnishing a stream of pure water to minister to the wants of all +classes of the people--an undertaking which a few years ago would have +been pronounced impossible; but here again science and art have +prevailed, and brought about this all-important object and greatly +desired and inestimable boon. The great capital of England itself cannot +boast of such an advantage, and must still be content to drink water +contaminated with impurities. Does not this speak volumes for the wealth +and energy of Glasgow? What so conducive to health and cleanliness (and +cleanliness is akin to godliness) as a pure and perfect supply of water +such as you now possess; and you have great reason to be grateful for +this beneficent application of science and art. With a worldwide +celebrity for your waterworks, you have cause also to be proud of your +chemical works, and that famous chimney of St. Rollox, one of the +loftiest structures in the world. There are few cities more highly +favoured than this. Would not Captain Shaw be glad if, in London, he had +the head or command of water such as you have from Loch Katrine to save +the great metropolis from the destruction by fire that they are in daily +dread of? In Glasgow we hardly want this--our grand Loch Katrine does it +all. + +Turn to your river, the beautiful Clyde, which eighty years ago could be +forded at Erskine, while Port Glasgow was as far as ships could then +come up--a striking contrast to what is now to be seen at the +Broomielaw, where the largest steamers and ships drawing thirty feet of +water are moored in the very heart of the city, discharging produce from +all parts of the world. What has done this but steam--the energy of man; +steam cutting a channel by dredging to admit of ships passing so far up +the river: and this has been to Glasgow a great source of wealth by the +promotion of commerce. Art has been permitted to work out great things +for your city, and I trust still greater things are in store. Take the +trade now in full progress on the banks of the Clyde. The shipbuilding +is fast leaving the Thames and finding its way here. It is a pleasure to +hear people say: "There is a fine ship--she is Clyde-built."--"Who built +her? Was it Napier, or Thomson, or Tod, or M'Gregor, or Randolph & +Elder, or Caird, or Denny of Dumbarton, or Cunliff & Dunlop?" Pardon me +if I have left out any name, for all are good builders. Then, again, it +may be asked: "Who engined these ships?"--"Oh, Clyde engineers, or those +who built them." I had the pleasure of being this year on board the +Trinity yacht "Galatea," on a cruise when fourteen knots an hour were +accomplished; and that yacht is a good specimen of what Clyde +shipbuilders can turn out. She was built by Caird. I have also had the +pleasure of a trip in the "Russia," one of the finest screw-vessels +afloat, built by Thomson; and she has proved herself perhaps the fastest +of sea-going steamers. Does not all this show what science applied to +art has done? + +Glasgow has also a College of the first order, one that is looked up to +as sending men of high standing forth to the world. Watt worked under +its roof as a poor mathematical instrument maker, and although enjoying +little of its valuable instruction, he produced the steam-engine--a +lesson as to what those ought to do towards promoting the application of +science to art who have the full benefit of a scientific training such +as your College affords. + +Each day brings forth something new--the electric telegraph, for +instance, by which our thoughts and desires are transmitted to all parts +of the world, so to speak, in a moment of time. When we think that we +are within an instant of America, it gives one a feeling of awe, for it +shows to what an extent we have been permitted to carry the application +of science to art. A small wire is carried across the great Atlantic, +and immediate communication is the result. The achievements of science +were shown to a great extent in the laying of this cable, and perhaps +still more in its recovery after it had been broken. A small cable is +lost at the bottom of the ocean, far from the land, and in water about +two miles in depth--a ship goes out, discovers the spot, and then +grappling irons are lowered. Science with its long arm, as it were, +reaches down the almost unfathomable abyss, and with its powerful hand +secures and brings to the surface of the ocean the fractured cable, +which is again made to connect the Old and New Worlds--thus verifying +almost the words of Shakespeare, when he speaks of calling "spirits from +the vasty deep." After splicing the cable, the vessel proceeds with the +work of paying it out, as it sails across the Atlantic; and once more +science and art find a successful issue, for Europe and America are +united. + +What the combination of science and art has done is, however, not yet +exhausted: witness the splendid specimens of artillery now produced by +Sir Joseph Whitworth and Sir William Armstrong--weapons by which +projectiles are thrown with an almost irresistible force. The beauty of +their construction is a triumph to art, and their mathematical truth a +triumph to science. One thing follows another, and no sooner have men of +originality and observation perfected the means of destruction, when +others press forward and furnish the means of defence. Our armour-clads, +such as the "Warrior" and others which lately visited these waters, have +thus been called into existence, and they are splendid specimens of +what science applied to art can achieve. + +The Menai Bridge is another instance of the power of man in applied +science. A railway bridge is required to further communication, but +Government demands that the navigation of the Strait shall not be +impeded. The mind of a great man is called into action, and by applying +scientific principles to engineering art, we have that wonder of the +world, the great tubular bridge over the Menai Straits. This work +required a mind of no ordinary nature, but such a one was found in the +celebrated Robert Stephenson. I am proud to say I was privileged to have +him as a friend, and I greatly lamented his death, not only as a friend, +but as an irreparable loss to the world of science. + +Another instance of science applied to art--and not the least +important--is the adaptation of glass to form the lens which enables the +flame of a lamp to be seen from a great distance. What this has done for +the mariner is shown in our lighthouses, which enable him to know where +he is by night as well as by day, for the lights are made to revolve, to +be stationary, or to show various colours or flashes, which reveal to +him their respective positions. The compass also, though ancient, is +still an application of applied science, and by it the mariner is +enabled to guide his ship safely over the ocean. A very beautiful +instance of applied science to art is electrometallurgy, in which metals +are deposited by means of the galvanic battery in any required form or +shape, and this process of gilding and plating is executed with +marvellous rapidity. All these various instances show what the mind of +man has done, and is doing; but the applications of science to art are +so endless, that even their simple enumeration could not be included in +the limits of an opening address, for there are few things to which +science cannot be applied. One of the most recent and beautiful is the +art of photography, where, by means of applied chemistry, aided by the +rays of the sun, there can be produced the most pleasing and lifelike +representations. This new application of chemistry is a most interesting +one, which shows that we do not stand still, and as long as arts and +science are permitted to be practised by us we are not intended to stand +still, but to exercise our minds to the utmost to unravel those +mysteries of nature that are yet to be developed. + +Chemistry, as a regular branch of natural science, is of comparatively +recent origin, and can hardly be said to date earlier than the latter +third of last century. The Greek philosophers had some vague yet +profound ideas on this subject, but their acquaintance was limited to +speculations _à priori_, founded on general and often inaccurate +observations of natural occurrences. Yet their acuteness was such, that +some of their speculations as to the constituent properties of matter +coincide in a wonderful degree with those which now prevail among modern +philosophers. It is not easy to define what chemistry is in a few words, +but it may be described as the science which has for its object the +investigation of all elementary bodies which exist in the universe, with +the view of determining their composition and properties. It also seeks +to detect the laws which regulate their mutual relations, and the +proportions in which these elements will combine together to form the +compounds which constitute the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, +as well as the properties of these various compounds. The ancients +admitted only four elements--earth, air, fire, and water. Chemists now +far exceed this number, and seek to show what these elements are +composed of by analysing them into the various gases, solids, and +liquids. + +Astronomy is the most ancient of all the sciences. The Chaldeans, the +Egyptians, the Chinese, the Hindoos, Gauls, and Peruvians, each regarded +themselves as the inventors of astronomy, an honour which Josephus +deprives them of by ascribing it to the antediluvian patriarchs. From +the few facts to be gleaned out of the vague accounts by ancient authors +regarding the Chaldeans, it may be inferred that their boasted knowledge +of this science was confined to observations of the simplest kind, +unassisted by any instruments whatever. The Egyptians, again, though +anciently considered the rivals of the Chaldeans in the cultivation of +this science, have yet left behind them still fewer records of their +labours, though it is so far certain that their astronomical knowledge +was even greater than that of the Chaldeans. The Phoenicians seem to +have excelled in the art of navigation, and would no doubt direct their +course among the islands of the Mediterranean by the stars; but if they +had any further speculative notions of astronomy, they were probably +derived from the Chaldeans or Egyptians. In China, astronomy has been +known from the remotest ages, and has always been considered as a +science necessary and indispensable to the civil government of the +Celestial Empire. On considering the accounts of Chinese astronomy, we +find it consisted only in the practice of certain observations, which +led to nothing more than the knowledge of a few isolated facts, and they +are indebted to foreigners for any further improvements they have since +adopted. + +The Greeks seem to have made the most early advances in astronomy; for +notwithstanding that the art of observation was still in its infancy, we +are indebted to the labours and speculations of ancient Greek +philosophers for raising astronomy to the dignity of a science. The +complicated but ingenious hypotheses of the Greek Ptolemy prepared the +way for the discovery of the elliptic form of the planetary orbits and +other astronomical laws by the German Kepler, which again conducted our +English Newton to the discovery of the law of gravitation. I am not, +however, desirous of giving this meeting a lecture on astronomy--I shall +leave that to Professor Grant. But it is singular that I should have +come here on a day on which one of the now known observations and +movements of the planets has taken place--the transit of Mercury. This +was calculated to occur this day by the science of astronomy, and it is +also known when it will again occur, namely, on the 6th of May 1878. I +will end this subject by saying, that the discoveries in astronomy in +the last and present centuries have been so many and interesting, that +it would be quite impossible for me to enter here minutely upon them. + +In conclusion,--What have science and art done for us? They have +cultivated our minds--they have made us think, wonder, and admire, and I +trust caused us to adore and reverence the Creator of this vast +universe. They have taught us the knowledge and value of time, and have +also shown the value of what man has been enabled to work out for his +own benefit and that of the world at large. + +The chemist deals with the various substances brought under his notice, +thereby acquiring a knowledge of their properties, enabling him to +produce results which are truly beneficial. This knowledge is power. + +The painter makes the features of Nature his study, and by his brush +delineates them on the canvas, and thus by knowledge of art he exhibits +power. + +The astronomer's science is one of vast magnitude and importance--the +study of it embracing both science and art: science in the various +intricate calculations he requires to make in connection with the +heavenly bodies. By his researches we have discovered the form of the +earth and other planets, their respective distances from each other, +their revolutions, their eclipses and their orbits, and, more wonderful +still, the precise time when the various movements of each occur. In +art, the astronomer has originated and perfected the many powerful and +beautiful instruments now required for taking observations, and these, +when compared with the instruments in use in bypast times, are excellent +evidences of modern progress in this direction. Our wonder is excited +when we look at the instruments formerly in use; that so much was done +through them, and the advance made by art in the perfection of those now +adopted, show us again that knowledge is power. + +The navigator, by a combination of astronomy and seamanship, is enabled +to plough the great deep, and at all times by mathematical calculation +to discover the exact position of his ship. What, however, would he be +without the aid of art? The compass, the sextant, or quadrant, &c., are +the means which enable him to attain these grand results, and to bring +his ship to the desired haven. The use of these is knowledge, and this +knowledge is power. + +Alike with all other things which science and art have called into use, +knowledge is power, and this power was given by the Almighty, as I said +at the beginning of this lecture, to enable man to fathom the works of +creation. Let us then so live that we may ever admire the results of the +labours of science and of art, and at the same time ever remember Him +who has given us the power to discover and use them for our +benefit,--thanking God, who first made all things and pronounced them +very good, for His great mercy toward us. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Now carried out. + + + + +_A PENNY'S WORTH_; + +OR, + +"TAKE CARE OF THE PENCE, AND THE POUNDS WILL TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES." + + +A penny seems a small sum to talk about, and with many, I am sorry to +say, is looked upon as so insignificant as to be considered almost +worthless; but I hope, before I have done, to show you something of the +great value of even a penny, and of the effects and products we have +been enabled to produce and dispose of with a reasonable profit at the +cost of one penny. A much smaller sum than this was looked upon and +regarded as of inestimable value by our blessed Saviour, when He saw the +rich men and the widow casting their offerings into the treasury, for He +said: "All these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of +God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had." + +Now what did this widow cast in? Two mites, which make one farthing. +Though this took place more than eighteen hundred years ago, it shows to +us even now the great value of small things when given with the heart +and used in the right way. + +Money is a most desirable thing, and without it the business of the +world would come to a stand-still, but how to spend it aright is a +matter of grave thought, for it may with ease be spent in luxury, but it +requires a mind to use it profitably. Both pleasure and profit may be +gained by prudent and proper expenditure, and to show how even a limited +income may enjoy great comfort at home (and there is, I hope you think, +no place like home, and one's own home-fireside), I have ventured to +bring before you at this time what can be done for one penny. + +The penny itself is a matter which leads one into thought. The vastness +of mind which has been brought to bear on the production of the coin is +itself worthy of consideration. Before any coin can be sanctioned by the +realm, it has to go through the ordeal of Her Majesty's Government, and +after all has been done to the satisfaction of the authorities, a little +bit of copper--though now, for the good of our pockets, mixed with an +alloy--is made to minister to our wants in ways which I hope to lay +before you as plainly and shortly as possible. First and foremost we +must have that great and valuable thing heat, for without heat generated +by fire we could have no penny. One of the first things required to +produce this heat is wood. Now the wood must be grown,--trees attended +to with care and at great cost. Years pass before they are either fit +for beauty or use, yet, during the time of their growth, the smaller +branches that are lopped off form just what is required to set on fire +the coal and coke to produce the heat which is necessary for smelting +and blast furnaces, for our own domestic fires, and various other uses. +A faggot of these lopped branches can be bought for a penny. Having thus +found out, as a beginning, one thing which can be obtained for a penny, +let us go on to see what has to be attended to and encountered before +this valuable coin can be made. Sums of money have to be spent, risks +very great have to be entered into, and beautiful machinery constructed +before it can be placed in our pockets. The mines of Cornwall have to be +reached for both copper and tin--a matter of great cost to the pockets +of speculators, and of anxiety to the minds of engineers, who lay +themselves out to gain the material. Furnaces have to be built to smelt +the ore and bring it into a workable condition. The Mint is then, after +the metal is ready, called into requisition to produce a coin which, +after all this labour and expense, is only a penny. + +I come now to tell some of the things which can be accomplished and +produced for a penny. One of the earliest publications of any note was +the "Penny Magazine," which is endeared to my memory as having shown me +the earliest of George Stephenson's great works--the Liverpool and +Manchester Railway. This magazine has now passed away, but it has been +amply replaced by others of equal merit, carrying out its principles of +giving a sound and cheap literature to the people; it was a boon to all +who cared for instruction, and at the same time had to take care of a +penny. Now we have our daily papers at a penny, and of the 1711 +newspapers issued (1876) in the United Kingdom, 808 are sold at this +small price. Look at those papers, the "Telegraph," "Standard," and +many others; are they not a light that has shone over our world, showing +what man has been enabled to do for his fellows, in being able to +disseminate the knowledge of what is transpiring over the world to their +readers, both near and far off, and all for only one penny! Has this +been done without labour? No. What has caused it but the earnest desire +to know the events of daily life in as short a time as possible. I do +not care to vouch for what I now say, but I should think that about +20,000 copies are thrown off of the "Daily Telegraph" in an hour, and +these can be bought for one penny each. This penny's worth has cost a +great amount of thought to bring about. Besides the various manufactures +which are required for this result, the daily paper also brings to its +aid the agriculturist as regards the paper; for though this was at first +only made of rags, we now produce it from straw, and I have made it from +thistles, whilst it has also been made from wood and other things. The +rags, of course, were derived from agriculture in as far as flax +required to be grown, but now the farmer gets his grain from the crop, +and the straw left is made into paper--the chief agent in distributing +through the world the thoughts of the learned in science, arts, +literature, and politics. With what eagerness do we look for our paper +in the morning, and with what pleasure do we pay our penny for it! A +penny's worth with respect to this material does not stop here. Look at +our beautiful and not costly decorations; see what a charming room we +can show, produced by a wall-paper at a cost of one penny a yard. Some +of these coloured decorations produce an eye-deception that quite, as +the Scotch would say, "jumbles the judgment and confounds the +understanding." + +We have not done with luxuries, and I will now bring one before you +that, like many others, if used aright, there is no harm in, and which I +look upon as a means of keeping up social good-fellowship among all. I +mean _smoking_. Now the use of tobacco in itself is harmless, but used +in excess is not only dangerous, but acts as a poison. I like a pipe, +but I find at the same time it is needful to have a light. The ingenuity +of man has supplied my want and wish, and I can now get a light from an +article which, to look at, seems only something black tipped with red. +The labour required to produce this small box of lights, as it is +called, is wonderful--the chemist, the wood merchant, the mechanician +(and I am sorry to say, also the surgeon, from the deleterious effects +of the phosphorus on the human frame), have all to bring their work to +bear on the production of this most useful article. Yet, after all, it +is sold and bought for one penny a box. Messrs. Bryant & May profess to +save your houses from fire for this sum by using their matches, and I +think they are right. Fire and heat are among our best friends, but are +also dangerous enemies; and I am sure a penny spent on Bryant & May's +matches is _well_ spent. I do not wish to disparage other makers--far +from it; but a match that will only ignite on the box is an article all +householders should procure, not only for their own protection, but also +for that of their neighbours. + +A very striking instance of the value of a penny is set before us in +that most wonderful system the penny-postage, the institution of which +was a boon to the kingdom that cannot be too highly appreciated. It +enables rich and poor alike to bring their thoughts and desires into +communication with each other, and so relieve anxious cares in regard +to the health and wealth, the joys and sorrows of friends in an easy +manner. A penny stamp can convey all our requirements, whether for good +or for evil, and many a large sum is now transmitted under its care. I +have been told that as many as 60,000 letters have passed through the +travelling post-office of the London and North-Western Railway in one +night. How could this great correspondence ever have been carried on but +for railways; and but for the foresight of Sir Rowland Hill this system +might still have been in the background. It is clearly in my +recollection when 1 s. 1-1/2 d. was the charge for a letter from London +to Edinburgh, and that was for what was then called a _single_ letter; +now you may send as much as you like under a certain weight for one +penny. + +Travelling is now also a thing within the reach of all, for you can +travel for one penny a mile, and this at a rate of speed that could not +be done a few years ago. So much for railways. + +Having begun with matters more especially affecting older people, it +would be hard indeed to leave out the younger branches, and the means +that are now employed not only for their comfort, but their amusement. +Among other requirements for them we may class their toys. They are in a +sense most needful, as well as useful, for our children, and from many +of the ingenious toys now-a-days we can acquire a great deal of +knowledge, useful to ourselves and of advantage to others. The beauty of +their manufacture is a striking instance of the ingenuity of man as +applied to small things, seeing that toys, so to speak, are only made +for a few days' enjoyment, and are then almost certain to be broken. But +for their short and transient existence what an amount of mental energy +has been brought to bear--the fancy of the child has to be studied and +provided for, in a way to please, gratify, and amuse, teaching the young +idea how to shoot: all this for one penny. Look at the carts, horses, +and other articles innumerable that are to be bought at the bazaars in +London for a penny, and do they not bring before us in a striking manner +what has been done for the benefit of the young. These toys, which only +cost a penny, have caused many hard and anxious thoughts, are the means +of giving work to thousands, and enabling these thousands to live an +honest and happy life by furnishing a paying living, while at the same +time they minister to the acquirements of those who when young require +amusement. All this is done for a penny's worth; but how divided is this +before the wonderful toy is produced! We have wood, iron, copper, tin, +lead--I may say, all the metals, even the most precious (for gold is +frequently used in the production of a toy that can be bought for a +penny), are employed. Not only have these to be utilised, but they have +first to be obtained--some by the growth of timber, others by mining, +then by the heat of the furnace, then by hammer and workman, then by the +chemist and colour-maker, then by the maker of the toy--many of these +employed at large wages; and yet you receive for your children an +article which not only gives instruction, but the greatest amusement, +all for one penny. + +An old saying, but a very true one, "Cleanliness is next to godliness;" +and this brings us to a luxury which, though long known in France, has +only been lately introduced here. This is the shoe-black. You come up to +him, dirty from the mud of the streets of London, and in a very short +time you have your boots shining for a penny. This penny's worth brings +before us a large amount of thought before it can be earned and paid +for. We have to begin with the farmer, who feeds the animal that, after +we have eaten a good dish from and think no more of, yet furnishes the +hair which is made into brushes by the brushmaker; the carpenter has to +make the box to hold them; the blacking-maker also comes to the service; +and the tailor to give the uniform red coat worn by the Shoeblack +Brigade--yet after all this, you can get your boots blacked, and that +well done, for one penny. Out of their earnings, at some stations the +boys--so I was told a short time ago--have to pay 2s. 6d. a day for +leave to stand at their station. + +I have gone a long way on things that can be obtained for a penny, but I +have not yet got to the greatest and most valuable--a thing which is to +be obtained for even less than the widow's mite. It is this: "Come ye, +buy and eat, without money and without price, for My word is meat +indeed, and My word is drink indeed." Christ says this, and man cannot +deny it. I am not going to preach a sermon, but as things have come +before me, I have put them down. + +Seeing what a penny can do, let us turn to some of the results. A penny +a week at a school, and what can be gained? A child is educated to use +the talents given him or her, so as to work out an honest living, and is +there taught what it can do for the life that now is and that which is +to come. The value of education is so great that it cannot be +over-estimated. A young man I knew got into a railway workshop. He saved +enough to go to Australia, where he has now made a large sum of money. +He left this country with less than £50 in his pocket. He knew work and +business, thanks to education, and had a determined desire to work his +way. I wish it was so all over England, for I know in the Midland +Counties every one will not leave home. You must leave home, at least +for a season, if you wish to get on in the world. Nothing is to be +gained in this world without striving for it. Here is work, but after +death there is rest, but not till then. So, in conclusion, let me say, +Let us all remember that while on earth it is a season for work. _Here +is work_--work for the body, work for the mind, and, above all, work to +prepare the soul for eternity. So that when we come to die, we may not +only be able to look back on a life in which we have spent a penny +aright, but be able to look forward to that life where is everlasting +peace and joy, through Christ in God. And may our last words be--_Here +was_ work, but _there is_ rest, through Christ our Saviour. + + + + +_PAST AND PRESENT MEANS OF COMMUNICATION_. + + +We may, I think, commence by saying, "Lord, so teach us to number our +days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom," for, as David says, +"What is man that Thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that Thou +visitest him? Thou makest him to have dominion over the works of Thy +hands, and hast put all things in subjection under his feet." The +difference of past and present means of communication are so great, that +it is no easy task to enter into a discussion on the subject; but it +leads one to gravely consider what is said in the 90th Psalm: "So teach +us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." To +address an association such as I have now the honour and pleasure of +doing, gives one a feeling of interest, as well as a feeling of +responsibility, for as I have been kindly asked to close the course of +lectures for this session, such an address is looked to in general with +expectation. Do not hope for too much from me; but I trust that, when I +have concluded, you will not be able to pay me the compliment an +old Highland woman did to her minister on seeing him after +church-service--"Ah, maister, this discoursing will never do, for I +wasna weel asleep till ye were done." Having said this by way of +introduction, I think it devolves upon me in some way first to explain +what is the meaning of the subject of Communication. It may be briefly +stated to be _a means to an end_--an intercourse or passage of either +the body from one place to another, or of the thoughts of one person to +another. And as I begin with the communication of the body, I cannot do +better than name some of the methods by which communication is carried +on, and shall commence with _Roads, Coaches, Railways, Canals_, and +_Steamers_. Then, for mind, I will take _Books, Printing, Letters, +Exhibitions_, and _Telegraphs_. + +Our age has so advanced, that though Methuselah lived nearly one +thousand years, yet he in his age did not live as long as we do now. +See what science and art have done for us. We now do more in one day +than could be done in a month some very few years ago; and, as far as +travelling about the world is concerned, I can say that I have been from +John-o'-Groat's House to Brighton, thence into Hertfordshire, thence +back to London, from there to Edinburgh, thence to John-o'-Groat's, and +here I am before you, without fatigue, or a thought that I should not be +present in time. What has enabled us to do this but the determination of +man to communicate with his fellow-men, and his thirst for the knowledge +of what is doing in places where he, as an individual, could not be +present. When there were no roads, it was no easy matter to move about, +so the people remained at rest. But the Romans, a people who aspired to +conquer the world, were not a people to sleep and let things stand +still. They began the making of roads in Britain, and to them we owe the +first of our greatness. They saw, as every wise man now sees, that the +first thing to the improvement of land and property is easy +communication, and facilities for bringing the things needed for the +improvement of the land, and the means also of export for the produce. +The earliest roads were, as we may say, right on end; and the Roman +roads, as I hear, have borne the traffic of two thousand years. I hope I +may say that even a Roman road would not bear the traffic of a town like +Greenock for anything like that period of time, or I fear the commerce +of this populous and most thriving town would be in a bad way. The great +Telford and Macadam are the persons to be thanked for our beautiful +system of road-making, and no person can, I am sure, deny the utility of +their plans. As I said, roads are a means of communication for the body, +and also for the mind; and therefore, now that their advantages are +seen, we should strive to further their advance in all districts. + +_Coaches_.--We come now to the means of communication on the roads for +the body, and also for the mind, as both must go together--viz., the +coach and the carriage or cart (for before the roads were made we had no +coaches). In the first place, these carts or carriages were rude and +heavy waggons, without springs or other comfort; but still they served +to convey the body, and the mind that went with it at last discovered, +by degrees, that conveyances could be constructed so as to cause less +wear and tear on animal life. The result of time and labour has been the +elegant constructions of the present day. The first hackney-coaches were +started in London, A.D. 1625, by a Captain Bailey. Another conveyance +for the body, the sedan-chair, was introduced first into England in +1584, and came into fashion in London in 1634. The late Sir John +Sinclair was called a fool because he said a mail-coach would come from +London to Thurso. I am glad to say that he _saw_ it, and it opened up a +communication for the body and mind that has worked wonders in the far +North. We now have a railway. + +_Steam._--We proceed next to the grandest stage--or, as it is said in +the North, "We took a start." What place have we to thank for this great +start, but the very town in which I have the honour to give this closing +address. Was not James Watt born here? The 19th January 1736 was a great +day for England, Scotland, and the world at large, for that day brought +into the world a man who, by his talents and by his observations of what +others had done before him, was the means of bringing to a workable +state that all-powerful and most useful machine, the steam-engine. The +people of Greenock may well indeed feel proud of being citizens of a +town that produced such a man; for though many places have given birth +to great and valuable men, and persons who rendered the world vast and +lasting service, yet, I may safely say, no one has surpassed James Watt +in the benefits he has bestowed on the world, on its trade, its +commerce, and its means of communication for both body and mind, as the +producer of the steam-engine. There were not even coaches in his time, +and his first journey to London was performed on horseback, a ten days' +ride, very different to our ten or twelve hours now-a-days. His life and +determination show what a man can do, both for himself and his +fellow-men, and are a bright example to be followed by all those +especially who belong to such associations as the one I now have the +honour to address. He not only thought, but carried out his thoughts to +a practical issue, and, though laughed at, he still stuck to his great +work, and by his perseverance gave to the world one of its greatest +boons, and certainly its greatest motive power--the steam-engine. The +first use of the engine, as you well know, was the pumping of water. +Rude were the machines made by Savory, Newcombe, and others, to achieve +the desired end, but Watt, in his small room in the cottage at Glasgow, +at last brought about a triumph that the world at large now feels and +acknowledges. I will not go further into the history of a man so well +known and appreciated, as his memory must be here, but will go on to say +something briefly on the results of the operations of the mind over the +material placed before it, to bring into form and make it practically +useful for the advantage of man. + +_Steamers_.--Greenock must see and value the great power at her disposal +in the steam-ship. She has now her large building yards, and it was from +her yards that, in 1719, the first ship--belonging to Greenock, and I +believe built there--sailed for America, and from that time the trade +increased rapidly. And I believe Glasgow launched the first Scotch ship +that ever crossed the Atlantic in 1718, only one year in advance of +Greenock. The large building yards of Greenock bring into the town sums +of money which, but for these yards, would go elsewhere, and deprive the +community of many comforts, not to say luxuries. They are the means of +carrying on the import and export trade of this thriving town in a way +that could not otherwise have been done; famous as this place is for +shipbuilding, spinning, and its splendid sugar-works. These latter you +have indeed reason to be proud of, for there are few finer. The increase +of importation of sugar is striking. In Britain in 1856, our imports of +this article were 6,813,000 lbs., in 1865 it was 7,112,772 lbs. Though +all this did not come to Greenock, yet from what you do in this trade, I +think the word holds good that we as Scotchmen are sweet-toothed. You +can now boast of a steam communication not only on the coast, but over +the world. I had last year the pleasure of a cruise in the Trinity yacht +"Galatea," and does not she speak volumes for what can be done by your +citizens? for that vessel was built by Mr. Caird, and even the ship +seemed to feel that she came from the beautiful Clyde. What a difference +now to the time of Henry Bell in 1812, who first started a steamer for +passengers on the Clyde! We have now in Great Britain 2523 steamers, +registering no less than 766,200 tons. Have not these improvements shown +what means of communication do for body and mind? + +_Railways_.--Having said this much about steamers, I will turn for a +short time to another means of communication for body and mind--I mean +the railways. Are not they a striking advance in science, and the +bringing to bear the power of mind to work on the material that has been +provided for our use by an all-wise God? It is but a few years since, +comparatively speaking, they came into existence, and yet, from the time +of George Stephenson (and his perseverance largely aided to perfect the +railway), see what vast sums of money have been spent, what magnificent +and noble structures have been erected, and what speed has been obtained +for the communication of body and mind. Instead of the thirty miles from +Manchester to Liverpool in 1830, we now have in Great Britain and +Ireland 13,289 miles of railway. The total capital paid in 1865 was +£455,478,000, and this has largely increased since then. An idea may be +formed of the difference of the rate of speed in travelling effected, +both before and after the introduction of railways, by such facts as the +following:--Two hundred years ago, King James's groom rode six days in +succession between London and York, and a wonderful feat it was deemed; +whilst now, the same distance is performed in five hours. About 1755 to +1760, the London and Edinburgh coach was advertised to run between these +cities in fourteen days in summer, and sixteen in winter, resting one +Sunday on the road. So much for the growing desire for speedy +intercourse for mind and body. + +_Suez Canal_.--There is an all-absorbing topic now before the public, +and it is one that brings strikingly before us the thirst for +communication of both body and mind to and from distant parts of our +globe. It is one of deep importance to all who take an interest in the +advancement of science--I mean the Suez Canal. The Red Sea cannot but be +familiar to us all--a sea of the most profound interest, for there did +the mighty Jehovah work one of His most stupendous miracles, when He +brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, and at the same time +destroyed Pharaoh and all his host. But in how different a manner did +the Lord work! By a word He caused the waters to go back, leaving a wall +on the right hand and on the left, so that the people of Israel went +through on dry land. This was not all. Were not His chosen people +accompanied by a pillar of fire to give light in the night season, and a +cloud of thick darkness to prevent the Egyptians coming near them during +the day? Does not this show that His mercy is over all His works? For +after He had brought out His people with joy, and His chosen with +gladness, He overthrew their enemies in the sea--in the same place where +He had performed such wonders for the preservation of His people. + +Often has the spot been crossed by our steamers; and though some may, +and I trust do, bring to mind the stupendous miracle, yet it, like many +other thing's, is regarded as a matter gone by. Here now we have the Red +Sea brought under our notice in a most striking manner, and one that +leads us not only to feel the greatness of the power of man over +material things, but I trust it may also lead us to see our littleness +when compared with Him who made us. We, that is the nations which +brought about this great canal, have had to spend years and vast sums of +money to carry out the end aimed at, and under the Divine aid it has +been brought to a successful termination. But see what God did! Did the +Almighty consult engineers, or take soundings and levels, or ask the +laws of Nature if He could or would succeed? Nay,--one word was enough. +He spake, and that was sufficient--the waters stood up in a heap. We, +however, have succeeded in bringing the Red Sea and the Mediterranean +into connection with each other--an achievement that strongly shows the +determination of man. It is a boon, indeed, to the commerce of this +country, and I hope also of many others, as by enabling ships to pass +through, the transhipment of cargo is now done away with, and the +distance to the other side of the globe reduced to its minimum. +Engineers may truly be proud of the day that brought this great and +noble work to a completion; and I trust they will thank the Lord who +hath crowned their strenuous efforts with success. + +_Books_.--Having got thus far as regards the conveyance of the body, we +must now turn to the communication of the mind, and the thoughts of one +individual as conveyed to another, and this leads one to speak of books. +What are they but the means of communication of the thoughts of great +men, and a distribution of those thoughts for the benefit of their +fellows, by bringing before them matters of interest in the history of +our own country and that of others. The great object to be looked to is +the selection of our books--the variety is now so great; and I grieve to +say (and I think I am right) that the sensational works of the present +day have a tendency to lead the mind into a train of thought that is +flippant and unsteady, and I would warn young people against them. When +we look to such works as those of Sir Walter Scott, Macaulay, and many +others of the same kind, we find food for the mind, the benefit of which +cannot be over-estimated. + +_Printing_.--The spread of knowledge through the world is indeed a boon +which cannot be too highly extolled; but the thoughts of man could not +thus have been circulated had it not been for the printing-press. See +what science and art have done for us in this most perfect and beautiful +machine! When we go only to one example, the "Times" newspaper, and +consider the amount of information it circulates each day through the +world, it strikes one forcibly what man has been allowed and enabled to +do for the benefit of himself and his fellow-men. What we have brought +the printing-press to, is shown in 20,000 copies of the "Times" being +thrown off in one hour, and the advantage it has been to the advancement +of literature in our now being able to buy such works as those of Sir +Walter Scott for sixpence a volume. + +Having gone so far, I must not detain you for more than a brief period. +You have had such an able and interesting course of lectures given by +men of high talent, that little remains for me except to close this +course with congratulation to the Association in being able to procure +those individuals to give their valuable time to this desirable object; +for what in life is more interesting than the imparting the knowledge we +may possess to others who desire to acquire it, seeing that there is no +way in which moral and social intercourse is more advanced and +developed. Still, before closing, I must ask for a short time to go into +one or two other subjects. And first, I will take one of the greatest +importance to the commerce of this country, and one that has shown what +the mind has done for communicating the thoughts of one person to +another at far distant places--I refer to the telegraph. The land is +not only covered with wires, but even the vast depths of the great ocean +are made to minister to our requirements. The world, we may say, is +encircled with ropes, and instant communication has been the result. +What has achieved these great results but the mind of man applied to +science! And see in what a multitude of ways this application of mind +has been made to work! What does it bring into play? Why, we have mining +to produce the metal to make the wire; we have the furnace, hammers, and +wire-drawing machines to produce the wire from the raw material. We have +the forest then to go to for gutta-percha, for land poles, and for tar +to preserve the cables. We have the farmer for our hemp. We have the +chemist, we have the electrician, we have the steamer, and a great +number of other requisites before the silent but unerring voice of the +needle brings the thoughts of one man in America to another in this town +in an instant of time. Accidents and mistakes will occur in the +best-regulated works of all kinds, but I hope not often. One as to the +telegraph I must tell that happened during the Indian Mutiny. The +message meant to say that "The general won't act, and the troops have no +head." The transformation was curious, namely, "The general won't eat, +and the troops have cut off his head." If men would only consider well +this grand achievement, they would be led indeed to say and feel, with +all humility and thankfulness, that God has truly given him dominion +over the works of His hands, and has put all things in subjection under +his feet. + +I had almost forgotten one other point of communication for mind, and, +though at the risk of trying your patience, I must mention it, as its +increase has been so large, and its advantages so manifold and untold. I +mean the penny-postage. I am not going to enter into it at any length, +but the increase of correspondence has been so large, that Sir Rowland +Hill's name should not be left out of a lecture treating on subjects +such as this one is intended to do. I will content myself by merely +telling the increase of correspondence, and leave you to judge for +yourselves as to its benefits. The number of letters in 1839, before the +penny-postage, was 82,470,596, and in 1866 it was 597,277,616. Judge the +difference! + +Coming to the results of communication, I have one subject to bring +before you, and as it has shown to such a large extent the benefits of +international communication, I trust a few words on it may not be out +of place. The subject is the great International Exhibitions that have +been held in various countries in the last eighteen years. The first +idea of holding such great exhibitions emanated from a man whose name +cannot be held in too great estimation by all. Few men were gifted with +such rare talents as he was, for there were few subjects, whether in +science, literature, or art, that he was not intimately acquainted with. +This man was the late Prince Consort. He conceived the idea that if the +products of the various countries of the world could be brought together +under one roof, the knowledge these would convey of the machinery, +cultivation, science, literature, and arts practised in the various +parts of the globe would tend to stimulate and advance the mind by +showing that we had not only ourselves to look to, but that in a great +measure we had to depend on others for the many blessings we now enjoy; +and also lead us to see how needful to our prosperity and comfort is a +constant communication with those who can communicate to us that +knowledge which otherwise we could not obtain. Certainly the results +have proved that he was right. Could anything have been more +interesting or instructive to all than a visit to the Great Exhibitions +of 1851 or 1862, or that of Paris in 1867. The public interest is at +once shown when I tell you that 6,039,195 persons visited the latter, +and the receipts in money were £506,100. There, all and every one had +before him at a glance the subject most suited to his taste, with a full +description of the country which produced it. From the largest machine, +the heaviest ordnance, the most brilliant and precious stones, the +finest silks, lace, furniture, carriages, the greatest luxuries for the +table, and, in fact, everything needful for the use of man;--all were +there, and all to be seen and studied by the inquiring mind, or to be +regarded as very wonderful by those who went to the Exhibition as a +sight. Few, I venture to say, ever left these buildings except wiser +than when they entered. It could not fail to strike one, if one only +gave it a moment's reflection, and asked himself, how has all this been +brought about, but that it was the result of the communication of the +minds of certain individuals with those of others, and by a +concentration of the products of various countries to enlighten the +mind as to the vast intelligence of the world at large. + +In conclusion, I feel now that I have spoken long enough for any +lecture, though I have not by any means exhausted the subject of +communication of either past or present; but I should feel grieved if I +exhausted your patience. All things, as we well know, must have an end, +except that life to which we are looking forward and striving to gain, +where we shall cease from our labours and be at rest. We have been +endued by our Maker with thought and mind, talents to be used for our +benefit, and not wrapped up in a napkin till our Lord's return, but to +be placed out so as to bring in either the five or the ten talents. And, +as you all know, we are answerable for the manner in which we employ +them. May the result prove that we have used them aright. + +The progress of means of communication of mind and body have been +gradual but steady, and I think may be represented by human life from +its childhood to manhood, as beautifully set forth in the 13th chapter +of 1st Corinthians 11th verse, where it is said, "When I was a child, I +spake as a child; I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but +when I became a man, I put away childish things." Is not this very much +in keeping with our growth in communication? At first it was small, and +we were content to hear of what others were engaged in without regard to +time, as one day earlier or later was of little consequence. But now we +are not children, but are become men in our interests and thirst for +communication with each other. What should we say if we found the +Express, as was written on the boy's post-bag, busily engaged in a game +of bowls on the road, regardless of the loss of time or money thereby +occasioned? I think we should be inclined to write to the papers. + +The results of communication are manifold, and day by day they are +brought before us in a manner which shows the untiring wish of man for +improvement both in social and commercial interests. These results are +strikingly shown in the various subjects I have endeavoured to bring +before you. Each and all of them are subjects for thought. What should +we now be without, I may say, any one of them? + +A well-regulated mind is the most desirable of all acquirements, and I +know no better means of gaining this than by meetings of such +institutions as this. Here you have intercourse with your friends, and +you can gain from one another by friendly intercourse stores of +knowledge, that to search for as individuals would take away much more +time than you could by any means devote, and at the same time attend to +the business of your calling. Here you have the means of amusement as +well as of gaining sound information, and I trust no one here will ever +have cause to regret the day when he came to associate with his friends, +and hear what others could communicate, for "in the multitude of +counsellors there is wisdom." + + + + +_THE STEAM-ENGINE._ + + +The many varieties of the world's manufactures--one might almost call +them wonders--are now so numerous, that to bring any particular one in a +single form before this meeting is a matter of no easy nature. To-night, +however, I have ventured to single out, and have the pleasure of +bringing before you, the steam-engine, as the prime mover at present of +our workshops and manufactories, as also the grand motive power of our +railways, now so different from the time when the great Stephenson was +said to be mad, because he thought it possible to drive a train at +fifteen miles an hour. For the first serviceable use of this grand +machine we are indebted to the great James Watt. He it was who first +wrought it so as to be under the useful and entire control of man, from +what it was in the time of Hero of Alexandria, about 120 years before +Christ. Our engineers have, since Watt's time, improved upon it year by +year, till at the present day, instead of having to go in a mail-coach +from London to Edinburgh, which formerly took fifty hours, we now go in +the express train in ten, a distance of 420 miles. If beyond this ten +hours, we grumble, and ask guards, porters, &c., at the various +stations, "What has made the train so late to-day?" forgetting that just +before the railways were first opened, the great Stephenson was urged +not to say too much as to the supposed power of the locomotive, in case +the cause of railways might be damaged. This was only some forty years +ago, and it shows us how times are changed, for in the present day we +consider thirty miles an hour anything but a fast train. + +The history of the steam-engine is a subject on which so much has been +written in books and magazines now before the public, that what I am +about to offer, though pretending nothing new, yet I hope may be looked +upon as containing something useful as well as instructive, both to the +practical and the amateur mechanic. I shall therefore, in as small a +compass as possible, trace the steam-engine from its first and early +stages up to its present perfect state as our grand motive power. The +first mention made of the vapour of water, as formed by the action of +heat upon it, is found to be as far back as 120 B.C., when one Hero of +Alexandria employed this vapour for the purpose of driving a machine. It +is a well-known fact that when water is brought up to a certain degree +of heat, called the boiling-point, that it sends forth a vapour, the +elastic properties of which, when in an open vessel, are not +perceived--as, for instance, in a common pan--yet if the vessel is +closed or shut up at the top, you will find that the vapour acquires +such a degree of elastic force, that, if not allowed to escape by fair +means, it would soon make a way or vent for itself by bursting whatever +vessel it was contained in. Steam is thus highly elastic, but when +separated from the fluid out of which it is generated, it does not +possess a greater elastic force than the same quantity of air. If, for +example, a vessel is filled with steam only at 212°, it may be brought +to a red heat without fear of bursting; but if water is also in the +vessel, each additional quantity of heat causes a fresh quantity of +steam to be generated, which adds its elastic force to that of the steam +already in the vessel, till the constantly accumulating force at last +bursts the vessel. + +This elastic vapour is called steam, and it is by this that that most +beautiful machine, the steam-engine, is driven. As you all know, by this +vapour or air--for it is invisible till it loses part of its +heat--enormous power is obtained in a small compass, and the labour of +man reduced to nothing compared with former ages. Many men laboured to +perfect machinery to be worked by this vapour of water, and many came +near the mark; but it remained for the great Watt, at the Soho Works, +Birmingham, to bring the engine to its useful and working state, for +though discovered as a motive power 120 B.C., it was yet reserved for +this truly great man to be what may be termed the inventor of the +steam-engine. + +In 120 B.C., Hero of Alexandria made a machine to be driven by steam. It +consisted of a hollow sphere into which the steam was admitted; +projecting from the sphere were two arms, from which the steam escaped +by three holes on the side of _each_ arm opposite to that of the +direction of its revolution, which, by removing the power from off the +one part of _each_ arm, caused it to revolve in the direction opposite +to that of the hole that allowed the steam to escape. This kind of +engine has been for some years in use by Mr. Ruthven of Edinburgh. There +are others who have followed very closely on Hero's plan in more ways +than one; for instance, it is the common Barker's mill, though with this +difference, that his mill is driven by water instead of steam: Avery, +also, made a steam-engine almost exactly the same. I may here, perhaps, +just be allowed to mention what a little water and coal will produce, as +it will show at once from whence our power is derived. "A pint of water +may be evaporated by two ounces of coal; in its evaporation it swells to +216 gallons of steam, with a mechanical force equal to raising a weight +of thirty-seven tons one foot high." A pound of coal in a locomotive +will evaporate about five pints of water, and in their evaporation these +will exert a force equal to drawing two tons on a railway a distance of +one mile in two minutes. A train of eighty tons weight will take 240 +passengers and luggage from Liverpool to Birmingham and back, each +journey about four and a quarter hours; this double journey of 190 miles +being effected by the combustion of one and a half tons of coke, worth +about twenty-four shillings. To perform the same work by common road +would require twenty coaches, and an establishment of 3800 horses, with +which the journey would be performed each way in about twelve hours, +stoppages included. So much for the advantages of steam. + +The Romans are supposed to have had some knowledge of the power of +steam. Among amusing anecdotes, showing the knowledge the ancients had +of steam, it is told that Anthemius, the architect of Saint Sophia, +lived next door to Zeno. There existed a feud between them, and to annoy +his neighbour, Anthemius had some boilers placed in his house containing +water, with a flexible tube which he could pass through a hole in the +wall under the floor of Zeno's dwelling; he then lit a fire, which soon +caused steam to pass through the tube in such a quantity as to make the +floors to heave as if by an earthquake. But to return. We next come to +Blasco de Garay (A.D. 1543), who proposed to propel a ship by the power +of steam. So much cold water seems to have been thrown on his engine, +that it must have condensed all his steam, as little notice is taken of +it except that he got no encouragement. We find that it has also been +used by some of the ancients in connection with their deities. +Rusterich, one of the Teutonic gods, which was found in an excavation, +proves how the priests deceived the people. The head of this one was +made of metal and contained a pot of water. The mouth and another hole +in the forehead being stopped by wooden plugs, a fire of charcoal was +lighted under this pot of water, and at length the steam drove out the +plugs with a great noise, and the god was shrouded in a mist of steam +which concealed him from his astonished worshippers. + +In 1629, Giovanni Branca of Loretto in Italy, an engineer and architect, +proposed to work mills and other machinery by steam blowing against +vanes, much in the same way as water does in turning a wheel. The waste +of steam in such a plan is so obvious, that it is not to be wondered at +that it did not produce any great results, as we all know that the +moment we let steam out of his case, the case is all up with him, and he +dies a natural death. He is a most delicate yet powerful agent, and +requires to be kept warm in all weathers--this fact does not seem to +have struck Mons. Branca when he let him out of his boiler. + +The next person we come to, and perhaps the first of any note, is the +Marquis of Worcester in 1663 (died 1667). He was a man who seems, as far +as history tells us, to have taken a great interest in furthering the +advancement of steam. He was not contented with one invention, but +published a book entitled "A Century of Inventions," and in this work he +describes a means of raising water by the pressure of steam. The Marquis +appears to have been a politician as well as an inventor, as we find he +was engaged on the side of the Royalists in the Civil Wars of the +Revolution, lost his fortune and went to Ireland, where he was +imprisoned. Escaping to France, from thence he returned to London as a +secret agent of Charles II., but was detected and imprisoned in the +Tower, where he remained till the Restoration, when he was set at +liberty. One day, while in prison, he observed the lid of the pot in +which his dinner was being prepared lifted up by the vapour of the water +boiling inside. Reflecting on this, he turned his mind to the matter, +and thought that this vapour, if rightly applied, might be made a useful +moving power. He thus describes his invention in his 68th Article: "I +have contrived an admirable way to drive up water by fire, not by +drawing or sucking it upwards, thirty-two feet. But this way hath no +bounds, if the vessels be strong enough." He then goes on to say, that +"having a way to make his vessels, so that they are strengthened by the +force within, I have seen the water run like a constant stream forty +feet high. One vessel rarified by fire driveth forty of cold water, and +one being consumed, another begins to force, and refill with cold water, +and so on successively, the fire being kept constant. The engineman +having only to turn two cocks, so as to connect the steam with the one +or the other vessel." + +In this engine, if it can be called an engine, we see that the Marquis +had a good idea of the power of steam, but he had none, you will +observe, as to the action of the condensation which would immediately +take place when the steam from the boiler was brought into contact with +the cold water to be raised. Therefore this plan would be most +expensive, on account of the great loss of steam by condensation. It +was, however, quite able to produce the effect, though only equal to +raising 20 cubic feet of water, or 1250 lbs., one foot high by one pound +of coal, or about the two-hundredth part of the effect of a good +steam-engine. After this, of course, it proved of no avail; but still we +may say that the Marquis of Worcester was among the first who tried to +make, and did do so, steam a moving power. + +Our next is Denys Papin (died 1710), a native of Blois, in France, who +was mathematical professor at Marpurg. To him is due the discovery of +one of the qualities of steam--its condensation, so as to produce a +vacuum, to the proper management of which our modern engines owe much of +their efficacy. Papin seems to have been the first who conserved the +idea of the cylinder and piston, which he made to act on atmospheric +principles--that is to say, he took a cylinder with a piston moving up +and down in it, and found that by removing the air from under the piston +in the cylinder, that the pressure of the atmosphere would drive it down +to the bottom of the cylinder: this he performed by admitting steam, and +then condensing it rapidly, so causing the required vacuum. The pressure +of the atmosphere is as near as may be 16 lbs. on every square inch of +surface on the globe: this is obviously the weight of the columns of +air extending from that square inch of surface upwards to the top of the +atmosphere. This force is thus measured: Take a glass tube 32 inches +long, open at one end and closed at the other; provide also a basin full +of mercury; let the tube be filled with mercury and inverted into the +basin. The mercury will then fall in the tube, till it gets to that +height which the atmosphere will sustain. This is nothing more than the +barometer used in all our houses. If the action of the tube be equal to +a square inch, the weight of the column of mercury in the tube would be +exactly equal to the weight of the atmosphere on each square inch of +surface. Thus Papin discovered a great step in the steam-engine, though +it was not much acted on for some years; he was also the first who +proposed to drive ships with paddles worked by steam. + +We now come to Thomas Savory, who got a patent in 1698 for a method of +condensing steam to form a vacuum. Savory describes his discovery in +this way:--Having drank a flask of wine at a tavern, he flung the empty +flask on the fire, and then called for a basin of water to wash his +hands. A little wine remained in the flask, which of course soon +boiled, and it occurred to him to try what effect would be produced by +putting the mouth of the flask into the cold water. He did this, and in +a moment the cold water rushed up and filled the flask, this being +caused by the steam being condensed and leaving a vacuum, which Nature +abhors, and rather than permit this the water rushed up and took the +place formerly occupied by the now condensed steam. We see by this in +how simple a way great ends are produced, and in the age in which this +happened, the result may be indeed be said to have produced a great end. +The engine of Savory was used for some years as a machine to raise +water. The principle of his engine was just as I have stated, and +consisted of two cases and other various parts, and this engine +possessed advantages over that of the Marquis of Worcester in sucking up +the water as well as forcing. + +Savory's engine consisted of two steam vessels connected to a boiler by +tubes; a suction pipe, or that pipe which leads from a pump of the +present day to the well, and communicating with each of the steam +vessels by valves opening upwards; a pipe going from these steam vessels +to any required height to which the water is to be raised. The steam +vessels were connected to this pipe by other valves, also opening +upwards, and by pipes. Over the steam vessels was placed a cistern, +which was kept filled with _cold_ water. From this proceeded a pipe with +a stopcock. This cistern was termed the condensing cistern, and the pipe +could be brought over each steam vessel alternately from the boiler. +Now, suppose the tubes to be filled with common air, and the regulator +placed so that one tube and the boiler are made to communicate, and the +other tube and the boiler closed, steam will fill one of the steam +vessels through one tube; at first it will condense quickly, but erelong +the heat of the steam will impart its heat to the metal of the vessel, +and it will cease to condense. Mixed with the heated air, it will +acquire a greater force than the air outside the valve, which it will +force open, and drive out the mixture of air and steam, till all the air +will have passed from the vessel, and nothing but the vapour of water +remain. This done, a cock is opened, and the water from the cistern is +allowed to flow over the outside of the steam vessel, first having +stopped the further supply of steam from it; this produced the +immediate condensation of the steam contained in it, by the temperature +being brought down again by the cold water, and the condensation thus +produced caused a vacuum inside the vessel. The valve will then be kept +closed by the atmosphere outside, and the pressure of the air on the +surface of the water in the well or reservoir will open another valve, +force the water up the pipe, till, after one or two exhaustions--if I +may so term it--it will at last reach the second vessel. Thus far the +atmosphere has done all the work, but at last the water fills the +vessel, and then comes the forcing point. Now the power of the steam +itself is used to drive the water up the pipe. The steam is again let +into the vessel, now filled in whole, or at least in great part, with +water; at first it will, as before, condense rapidly, but soon the +surface of the water will get heated, and as hot water is lighter than +cold, it will keep on the surface, and the pressure of the steam from +the boiler will drive all the water from the vessel up the pipe. When it +is empty the cock is again opened, and the steam, which the vessel by +this time only contains, is again condensed, and the same process which +I have just described is again commenced and carried out, thus making +Savory's engine a complete pump by the aid of the vapour of water as +raised by fire. + +Savory had the honour of showing this engine to His Majesty William III. +at Hampton Court Palace, and to the Royal Society. He proposed the +following uses, which perhaps may as well be mentioned, as they show how +little was then known of the real value of the power of steam:--1. To +raise water to drive mill-wheels--fancy erecting a steam engine now, of +say fifty horse-power, to raise water to turn a wheel of say thirty; 2. +To supply palaces and houses with water; 3. Towns with water; 4. +Draining marshes; 5. Ships; 6. Draining mines. There is one more thing I +may mention as curious, that though the steam he used must have been of +a high pressure, he did not use a safety-valve, though it had been +invented about the year 1681 by Papin. The consumption of fuel was +enormous in Savory's engine, as may easily be perceived from the great +loss of steam by condensation. Nevertheless, it was on the whole a good +and a workable engine, as we find the following said of it by Mr. +Farey:--"When comparison is made between Captain Savory's engine and +those of his predecessors, the result will be favourable to him as an +inventor and practical engineer. All the details of his invention are +made out in a masterly style, so as to make it a real workable engine. +His predecessors, the Marquis of Worcester, Sir S. Morland, Papin, and +others, only produced outlines which required to be filled up to make +them workable." + +I must not detain you much longer before I proceed to the great Watt, +but I will just name Newcomen, who invented an engine with a cylinder, +and introduced a beam, to the other end of which he fixed a pump rod +like a common or garden pump. He made the weight of the pump and beam to +lift the piston, and then let the steam enter below the piston and +condensed it by a jet of water, thus causing a vacuum, when the pressure +of the atmosphere drove the piston from the top to the bottom of the +cylinder and lifted the pump rods in the usual way. There were various +cocks to be opened and shut in the working of this engine for the right +admission of steam and water at the required moments, a task which was +performed by boys who were termed cock-boys. I will now mention an +instance which, though in practice not to be imitated, yet was one of +those happy accidents which sometimes turn out for the best. One of +these boys, like many, more fond of play than work, got tired of turning +these cocks day by day, and conceived the idea of making the engine do +it for itself. This idle boy--we will not call him good-for-nothing, as +he proved good for a great deal in one way--was named Humphrey Potter, +and one day he fixed strings to the beam, which opened and shut the +valves, and so allowed him to play, little thinking this was one of the +greatest boons he could possibly have bestowed on the world at large, +for by so doing he rendered the steam-engine a self-acting machine. + +We now come to a period which was destined to advance the cause of steam +to a far greater extent--in fact, the time which rendered the +steam-engine the useful and valuable machine it now is. This is the time +of James Watt. This great man, be it said to the credit of Scotland, was +born in Greenock, on the Clyde, on the 19th January 1736. His +grandfather was a farmer in Aberdeenshire, and was killed in one of the +battles of Montrose. His father was a teacher of mathematics, and was +latterly chief magistrate of Greenock. James Watt, the celebrated man of +whom I now speak, was a very delicate boy, so much so, that he had to +leave school on account of his health, and was allowed to amuse himself +as he liked. This he did in a scientific way, however, as an aunt of his +said to him one day: "Do you know what you have been doing? You have +taken off and put on the lid of the teapot repeatedly; you have been +holding spoons and saucers over the steam, and trying to catch the drops +of water formed on them by it. Is it not a shame so to waste your time?" +Mrs. Muirhead, his aunt, was little aware that this was the first +experiment in the way which afterwards immortalised her nephew. + +In 1775 Watt was sent to London to a mathematical instrument maker, but +could not stay on account of his health, and soon afterwards came back +to Glasgow. He then got rooms in the College, and was made mathematical +instrument maker to the University, and he afterwards opened a shop in +the town. He was but twenty-one years of age when he was appointed to +this post in the College, and his shop became the lounge of the clever +and the scientific. The first time that his attention was directed to +the agency of steam as a power was in 1734, when a friend of his, Mr. +Robinson, who had some idea of steam carriages, consulted him on the +subject,--little is said of this, however. In 1762 Watt tried some +experiments on high-pressure steam, and made a model to show how motion +could be obtained from that power; but did not pursue his experiments on +account of the supposed danger of such pressure. He next had a model of +Newcomen's engine, which would not work well, sent him to repair. Watt +soon found out its faults, and made it work as it should do. This did +not satisfy him, and setting his active mind to work, he found in the +model that the steam which raised the piston had of course to be got rid +of. This, as a natural consequence, caused great loss of heat, as the +cylinder had to be cooled so as to condense the steam; and this led him +at last, after various plans, to adopt a separate vessel to condense +this steam. Of course, if you wish to save fuel, it is necessary that +the steam should enter a heated cylinder or other vessel, or else all +the steam is lost,--or in other words, condensed,--that enters it, until +it has from its own heat imparted so much to the cylinder as to raise +it to its own temperature, when it will no longer condense, and not till +then does it begin to exert its elastic power to produce motion. This +was the great object gained by James Watt, when, after various +experiments, he gave up the idea altogether of condensing steam in its +own or working cylinder, and then made use of a separate vessel, now +called the condenser. + +The weight of steam is about 1800 times less than water. I may here +perhaps mention also that water will boil at 100 degrees Fahr. in vacuo, +whereas in atmosphere it takes 212 degrees to boil. There is also a +thing perhaps worth knowing to all who wish to get the most stock out of +bones, &c., that if they are boiled in a closed vessel, that is to say, +under a pressure of steam, a very large increase in quantity of the +stock will be produced, because the heat is increased. A cubic inch of +water, evaporated under _ordinary_ atmospheric pressure, will be +converted into a cubic foot of steam; and a cubic inch of water, +evaporated as above, gives a mechanical force equal to raising about a +ton a foot high. + +The next great improvement of Watt, in addition to the condenser, is the +air-pump, the use and absolute necessity for which you will understand +when I explain its action. Watt first used it for his atmospheric +engine. The piston of this engine was kept tight by a flow of oil and +water on the top, which tended to make the whole a troublesome and +bad-working machine. The cold atmosphere, as the piston went down, of +course followed it and cooled the cylinder. On the piston again rising, +some steam would of course be condensed and cause waste. If the +engine-room could be kept at the heat of boiling water, this would not +have been the case, but the engineman who could live in this heat would +also require to be invented, and so this had to be given up. Watt's next +and most important step was the one which brings us to talk of the +steam-engine as it now is in the present day. This important step was +the idea, of making the steam draw down the piston, as well as help to +drive it up; in the first engines it was raised by the beam, and steam +used only to cause a vacuum, so as to let the air drive it down. All +before this had been merely steps in advance, like those of children, +who must walk before they can run; so was it with the steam-engine. It +was uphill work for many years, and the top of the hill cannot be said +to have been readied till Watt worked out this grand idea. The first +engine could only be called atmospheric; now it was destined to become +in reality a steam-engine. Time would fail were I to attempt to go into +any details of all the experiments through which Watt toiled to bring +his ideas to perfection--enough to say that he did so; and I trust you +will be able, through the description I will endeavour to give, to +understand how well his labour was bestowed, and how beautiful the +result has proved for the benefit of the world at large. In 1773, Watt +removed to Soho, near Birmingham, where a part of the works was allotted +to him to erect the machinery necessary to carry out his inventions on a +grand scale. + +We must now proceed to some of the useful points of the engine, all I +have before mentioned simply relating to the inventors and improvers; +but having brought it so far, I may now, I think, proceed further. The +first use of the steam-engine was simply to raise water from mines, and +for long it was thought it could be used for nothing else; so much so, +that it was at one time used to raise water to turn wheels and thus +produce motion. One of its first uses after it became a really useful +machine was to propel ships, though many a weary hour was spent to bring +it to this point. There is a very pretty monument on the Clyde, +dedicated to Mr. Bell, who I believe was the first person who +successfully brought steamers to work on its waters. The first who used +steam for ships was Mr. James Taylor, in conjunction with Mr. Miller of +Dalswinton. The danger of the fire-ship took such hold on people's minds +that it was with great toil and difficulty they were persuaded to +venture on the face of the waters in such dangerous and unseamanlike +craft. But go to Glasgow Bridge any day, and you will see how time has +overcome fear and prejudice, for our ocean is covered with steamers of +all sizes. It is not many years ago since it was said that steamers +could never reach America; this has given way to proof, and even +Australia has been reached by steam. I know of a steamer building which +could carry the whole population of this place and not be full; she is +680 feet or 226 yards long, and a large vessel would hang like a boat +alongside her. + +The first attempt at giving motion by steam to ships was of course only +in one way--by a ratchet at the end of a beam, at one moment driving +and the next standing still. This was on account of the engine being +only in power one half of the stroke; but by the double-acting engine +being introduced, and the steam acting both ways, it became at last a +steady mover (without the aid of two or three cylinders, as in the first +engines, one to take up the other as the power was given off), by a +ratchet on the end of a beam or else a chain. This acted on the shaft +which moved the paddles. It is to Watt that we are indebted for the +crank and direct action, so as to give a circular motion to the wheels. + +We find in 1752 a Mr. Champion of Bristol applied the atmospheric engine +to raise water to drive a number of wheels for working machinery in a +brasswork, in other words, a foundry. Also, in Colebrokedale, +steam-engines were used to raise water that had passed over the wheel, +so as to save water. All these plans have, however, now passed by, like +the water over the wheel, and we now have the engine the prime +mover--the double action of the steam on the piston, this acting on the +sway beam, and the beam on the crank, which, by the assistance of the +fly-wheel on land or fixed engines, gives a uniform motion to the +machine. All these have now enabled us to apply the engine as our grand +moving power. One great and important point in the engine is the +governor, and the first modes of changing the steam from the top to the +bottom of the cylinder were cumbrous, till the excentric wheel was +devised. + +Boilers also have to be attended to--these were at first rude and now +would be useless. They were unprovided with valves, gauge-cocks, or any +other safety, all of which are now so well understood that nothing but +carelessness can cause a blow-up. One of the greatest causes of danger +is that of letting there be too little water in the boiler, and thus +allowing it to get red-hot, when, if you let in water, such a volume of +steam is generated that no valve will let it escape fast enough. Force +or feed pumps are also required to keep the water in the boiler at a +proper height, which is ascertained by the gauge-cocks. Mercury gauges +for low pressure act according to the pressure of the atmosphere; +high-pressure boilers of course require a different construction, as the +steam is greater in pressure than the air. + +Having got so far in my subject, I think before concluding I must devote +a short time in showing the first steps of the locomotive; the more so, +as I am speaking to those who are so largely engaged in the daily +working of that now beautifully perfect machine. Various and for a time +unsuccessful experiments were made to bring out a machinery or +travelling engine, as it was first called. A patent was taken by a Mr. +Trevethick for a locomotive to run on common roads, and to a certain +extent it did work. An amusing anecdote is told of it. In coming up to a +toll-gate, the gatekeeper, almost frightened out of his seven senses, +opened the gate wide for the monster, as he thought, and on being asked +what was to pay, said "Na-na-na-na!" "What have we got to pay?" was +again asked. "No-noth-nothing to pay, my dear Mr. Devil; do drive on as +fast as you can!" This, one of the first steam carriages, reached London +in safety, and was exhibited in the square where the large station of +the London and North-Western Railway now stands. Sir Humphrey Davy took +great interest in it, and, in writing to a friend, said: "I shall hope +soon to see English roads the haunts of Captain Trevethick's dragons." +The badness of roads, however, prevented its coming into general use. + +Trevethick in 1804 constructed a locomotive for the Merthyr and Tydvil +Rail in South Wales, which succeeded in drawing ten tons at five miles +an hour. The boiler was of cast-iron, with a one-cylinder engine, spur +gear and a fly-wheel on one side. He sent the waste steam into the +chimney, and by this means was very nearly arriving at the blast-pipe, +afterwards the great and important discovery of George Stephenson. The +jumping motion on the bad roads, however, caused it constantly to be +dismounted, and it was given up as a practical failure, being sent to +work a large pump at a mine. Trevethick was satisfied with a few +experiments, and then gave it up for what he thought more profitable +speculations, and no further advances were made in locomotives for some +years. An imaginary difficulty seems to have been among the obstacles to +its progress. This was the supposition that if a heavy weight were to be +drawn, the grip or bite of the wheels would not be sufficient, but that +they would turn round and leave the engines stationary, hence Trevethick +made his wheels with cogs, which of course tended to cause great jolts, +as well as being destructive to the cast-iron rails. + +A Mr. Blenkinsop of Leeds patented in 1811 a locomotive with a racked or +toothed rail. It was supported on four wheels, but they did not drive +the engine; its two cylinders were connected to one wheel behind, which +was toothed and worked in the cog-rail, and so drove the engine. It +began running on Middleton Coal Rail to Leeds, three and a quarter +miles, on the 12th August 1812, and continued a great curiosity to +strangers for some years. In 1816 the Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia saw +this engine working with great interest and expressions of no slight +admiration. An engine then took thirty coal-waggons at three and a +quarter miles in an hour. + +We next come to Messrs. Chapman of Newcastle, who in 1812 tried to +overcome the supposed want of adhesion by a chain fixed at the ends of +the line and wound round a grooved drum driven by the engine. It was +tried on the Heaton Rail near Newcastle, but was found to be so clumsy +that it was soon abandoned. The next was a remarkable contrivance--a +mechanical traveller to go on legs. It never got beyond its experimental +state, and unfortunately blew up, killing several people. All these +plans show how lively an interest was then being taken in endeavouring +to bring out a good working locomotive. Mr. Blackett, however, +persevered hard to perfect a railway system, and to work it by +locomotives. The Wylam waggon-way, one of the oldest in the North, was +made of wooden rails down to 1807, and went to the shipping-place for +coals on the Tyne. Each chaldron-waggon was originally drawn by a horse +with a man in charge, only making two journeys in the one day and three +on the following, the man being allowed sevenpence for each journey. +This primitive railway passed before the cottage where George Stephenson +was born, and was consequently one of the first sights his infant eyes +beheld; and little did his parents think what their child was destined +to work out in his day for the advancement of railways. Mr. Blackett +took up the wood and laid an iron plate-way in 1808, and in 1812 he +ordered an engine on Trevetbick's principle. It was a very awkward one, +had only one cylinder of six inches diameter, with a fly-wheel; the +boiler was cast-iron, and was described by the man who had charge of it +as having lots of pumps, cog-wheels, and plugs. It was placed on a +wooden frame with four wheels, and had a barrel of water on another +carriage to serve as a tender. It was at last got on the road, but +would not move an inch, and her driver says:--"She flew all to pieces, +and it was the biggest wonder we were not all blown up." Mr. Blackett +persevered, and had another engine, which did its work much better, +though it often broke down, till at length the workmen declared it a +perfect plague. A good story is told of this engine by a traveller, who, +not knowing of its existence, said, after an encounter with the +Newcastle monster working its great piston, like a huge arm, up and +down, and throwing out smoke and fire, that he had just "encountered a +terrible deevil on the Hight Street road." + +We now come to George Stephenson, who did for the locomotive what Watt +did for our other steam-engines. His first engine had two vertical +cylinders of eight inches diameter and two-feet stroke, working by +cross-heads; the power was given off by spur-wheels; it had no springs, +consequently it jolted very much on the then bad railways; the wheels +were all smooth, as Stephenson was sure the adhesion would be +sufficient. It began work on the 25th July 1814, went up a gradient of +one in 450, and took eight waggons with 30 tons at four miles an hour. +It was by far the most successful engine that had yet been made. The +next and most valuable improvement of Stephenson was the blast-pipe--by +its means the slow combustion of the fire was at once overcome, and +steam obtained to any amount. This pipe was the result of careful +observation and great thought. His next engine had horizontal connecting +rods, and was the type of the present perfect machine. This truly great +man did not rest here, but time would fail, as well as your patience, if +I were to proceed further. Enough to say, that he afterwards established +a manufactory at Newcastle, and time has shown the result and benefit it +has proved to the whole world at large. A short time before the +Liverpool and Manchester Railway was opened, Stephenson was laughed at +because he said he thought he could go thirty miles an hour, and was +urged before the House of Commons not to say so, as he might be thought +to be mad. This I have from person who knew the circumstances. +Nevertheless, at the trial, I believe the "Rocket" did go at the rate of +thirty miles an hour, to the not small astonishment of the world, and +especially to the unbelievers in steam as a land agent. The stipulation +made was that trains were to be conveyed at the rate of twelve miles an +hour. + +In our present perfect engines, the coke or fuel consumed per mile is +about 18 lbs. with a train of 100 tons gross weight, carrying 250 +passengers. A first-class carriage weighs 6 tons 10 cwts.; a +second-class, 5 tons 10 cwts., each with passengers; a Pullman car +weighs about 30 tons. Our steamers consume 5 lbs. of coal per +horse-power in one hour. And last, not least, one of the greatest +improvements we have had in steam propulsion is the screw. Again, I may +also name the great advantage derived from steam by our farmers in +thrashing out grain. The engines principally used in farm-work are what +are termed high-pressure, or of the same class as the locomotive. The +great saving in cost in the first place, the simplicity and ease of +action in the second, and the small quantity of water required to keep +them in action, are all reasons why they should be preferred. The danger +in the one, that is, the high-pressure, over the condenser, is very +small, and all that is required is common care to guard against +accidents. Steam being a steady power, is much to be preferred to +water, as by its constant and uniform action the tear and wear of +machinery is much diminished, and of course proportionate saving made in +keeping up the mill or any other machinery. + +Having now, to the best of my power, so far as a single lecture will +permit, brought the steam-engine from 120 B.C. to the present time, it +only remains for me to say, that it shows how actively the mind of man +has been permitted to work to bring it to perfection by the direction of +an all-wise Providence, "who knows our necessities before we ask, and +our ignorance in asking." A traveller by rail sees but little of the +vast and difficult character of the works over which he is carried with +such ease and comfort. Time is his great object. No age of the world has +conquered such difficulties as our engineers have had to deal with, and +the result is now before the eye of every thinking traveller. Our +engineers were at first self-taught, and many a self-taught man has had +reason to rejoice in the time he spent in his education. Of these men we +have examples in Brindley, who was at first a labourer and afterwards a +millwright; Telford was a stone-mason; Rennie a farmer's son apprenticed +to a millwright; and George Stephenson was a brakesman at a colliery. +Perseverance with genius, and a determination to overcome, made them the +great men they were. That you may so persevere and strive is the earnest +wish of him who has this evening had the great pleasure of giving you +this lecture, and who feels so greatly obliged to you for the very +patient hearing you have given him. + + + + +_ON ATTRACTION_.[B] + + +_Gravitation_.--Attraction, which may be illustrated by the effect a +magnet has on a piece of iron, may be viewed generally as an influence +which two bodies, say, exert on each other, under which, though at a +distance, they tend to move towards each other till they come into +contact. The force by which a body has weight, and, when free, falls to +the ground, is of this nature; and it is called, from _gravis_, "heavy," +the gravitating force of the earth, because it causes weight, and +because, though emanating in a small degree from the falling body, it is +mainly exerted by the earth itself. It is under the action of gravity +that a pendulum oscillates: it is by that unseen influence it begins to +sway alternately downward and upward as soon as it is moved to a side; +and it is only because it is withheld by the rod that the ball or bob +keeps traversing the arc of a circle and does not fall straight to the +earth. + +All material substances, however small, and however light, buoyant, and +ethereal they may seem, are subject to this force: the tiniest speck in +a sunbeam and the most volatile vapour, equally with the heaviest metal +and the hugest block, the particles of bodies as well as the bodies +themselves. The rising of a balloon in the air may seem an exception to +this law; but it is not so; for the balloon rises, not because the +particles of the gas with which it is inflated are not acted upon by the +earth's attraction, but because the air outside being bulk for bulk +heavier than the air inside, its particles press in below the balloon +and buoy it up, until it reaches a stratum of the atmosphere where, the +pressure being less, the air outside is no heavier than the air +within--a fact which rather proves than disproves the universal action +of gravitation; because the greater weight of the air in the lower +strata of the atmosphere is due to the pressure of the air in those +above, and the balloon ceases to ascend because it has reached a point +where the air outside is the same weight as the air within, and the +weight in both cases is caused by the attraction of the earth. + +And not only is the force of attraction universal, it is the same for +every particle; for though this may seem to be contradicted by the fact +that some bodies fall faster to the ground than others, that fact is +fully accounted for by the greater resistance which the air offers to +the falling of lighter bodies than to the falling of heavier. A +particles of bodies, and all bodies, tend to fall with the same +velocity, and, in fact, all do; for though, for the reason just stated, +a feather will take longer to reach the ground than an ounce of lead, an +ounce of lead will fall as fast as a hundredweight. And that it is the +resistance of the air, and not any diminution in the power of +attraction, which causes the feather to lag behind, may be proved by +experiment; for if you let a feather and a coin drop together from the +top of the exhausted receiver of an air-pump, they will both be seen to +descend at the same rate, and reach the bottom at the same instant; a +fact which may be demonstrated more simply by placing the coin and +feather free of each other in a paper cone, and letting the cone fall +with its apex downwards, so as to break the air's resistance; or by +suspending a piece of gold-leaf in a bottle, and letting the bottle +drop--of course short of the ground--in which case the included leaf +will be seen to have gone as fast and as far as the bottle. + +It is to be especially noticed that attraction is no lopsided affair; +that it is mutual; that, while the larger body attracts the less, the +less also attracts and moves the larger in proportion; and that, indeed, +every body and every particle attracts every other, far as well as near, +to the utmost verge of the universe of matter. Under it the moon +maintains its place with reference to the earth, the planets with +reference to the sun, and the solar system with reference to the +stellar. As for the moon, it maintains its orbit and revolves round the +earth under the action of two forces, the one akin to that by which a +ball is projected from the mouth of a cannon, and the other the +attraction of the earth, which, by its constant and equal operation, +bends its otherwise rectilineal track into a circular one, as we might +show if we could only project a ball with such a force as exactly to +balance the power of gravity, so that it would at no point in its course +be drawn nearer the earth than at starting. + +That the force we are considering pervades the solar system is +demonstrable, for it is on the supposition of it and the laws it is +known to obey that all the calculations of astronomy--and they never +miscarry--are grounded; and it is by noticing disturbances in the +otherwise regular movements of certain planets that astronomers have +been led more than once to infer and discover the presence of some +hitherto unknown body in the neighbourhood. It was actually thus the +planet Neptune was discovered in 1846. Certain irregularities had been +observed in the movements of Uranus, which could not be accounted for by +the influence of any other bodies known to be near it; and these +irregularities, being carefully watched and studied, gradually led more +than one astronomer first to the whereabouts, and then to the vision of +the disturbing planet. + +Notwithstanding what we said about the universality of this force, and +how it affects all forms of matter, it may still appear as if the air +were an exception. But it is not so; the air also gravitates. The fact +that it gravitates is proved in various ways. First, if it did not, it +would not accompany the earth in its movements round the sun; the earth +would sweep along into space, and leave it behind it. Secondly, if we +place a bottle from which the air is exhausted in a balance and exactly +poise it with a counter-weight, and then open it and let in the air, it +will show at once that the air has weight or gravitates by immediately +descending. Thirdly, if we extend a piece of india-rubber over the end +of a vessel and begin to withdraw the air from it, we shall see the +india-rubber sink in, under the pressure of the air outside, to fill up +the space left vacant by the removal of the included air. The fact that +air gravitates we have already taken for granted in explaining the +ascent of a balloon; and the proofs now given are enough to show that +the cause assumed is a real one. The lighter gas rises and the heavier +sinks by law of gravitation. + +_Gravitation and Cohesion._--Unlike the attraction of aggregation, or +cohesion, which acts only between particles separated from each other +by spaces that are imperceptible, gravitation takes effect at distances +which transcend conception, but it diminishes in force as the distance +increases. The law according to which it does so is expressed thus; its +intensity decreases with the square of the distance; that is to say, at +twice the original distance it is 1-4th; at thrice, 1-9th; at four +times, 1-16th, for 4, 9, 16 are the squares respectively of 2, 3, and 4. +To take an instance, a ball which weighs 144 lb. at the surface of the +earth will weigh 1-4th of that, or 36 lb., when it is twice as far from +the centre as it is at the surface; and 1-9th, or 16 lb. when it is +thrice as far; and 1-16th, or 9 lb. when it is four times as far. The +attraction of cohesion, on the other hand, as we say, acts only when the +particles seem almost in contact, and it ceases altogether when once, by +mechanical or other means, the bond is broken, in consequence of the +particles being forced too near, or sundered too far from, one another. + +One distinguishing difference between the attraction of gravitation and +that of cohesion is, that whereas the former is uniform, the latter is +variable; that is, under gravitation the attraction of any one particle +to any other is the same, but under cohesion, some sets of particles +are more forcibly drawn together than others. For instance, a particle +of iron and a particle of cork gravitate equally, but particles of iron +and particles of cork among themselves do not cohere equally. And it is +just because those of the former cohere more than those of the latter, +that a piece of iron feels harder and weighs heavier than a piece of +cork. + +Further, the attraction of gravitation is unaffected by change in the +condition of bodies, while that of cohesion is. It makes nothing to +gravitation whether a piece of metal is as cold as ice, or heated with a +sevenfold heat. Not so to the power of cohesion; withdraw heat, and the +particles under cohesion cling closer; add it, and both the spaces grow +wider and the attraction feebler. Thus, for example, you may suspend a +weight by a piece of copper-wire, and the wire not break. But apply heat +to the wire, and its cohesion will be lessened; the force of gravitation +will overpower it, rupture the wire, and cause the weight to fall. + +_Cohesion_.--That the action of the attraction of cohesion depends on +the contiguity of the particles in the cohering body, may be shown by +an illustration. Take a ball of lead, divide it into two hemispheres, +smooth the surfaces of section, then press them together, and you will +find it requires some force to separate them; thus proving the +dependence of cohesion on contiguity, although the effect in this case +may be due in some degree to the pressure of the atmosphere as well as +the power of cohesion. + +Heat is the principal agent in inducing cohesion, as well as in relaxing +its energy; for by means of it you can weld the hardest as well as the +softest substances into one, and two pieces of iron together, no less +than two pieces of wax. It is possible, indeed, by heat to unite two +sufficient waxed corks to one another, so as to be able by means of the +one to draw the other out of a bottle: such, in this case, is the force +of cohesion induced by heat. + +The power of cohesion exists between the particles of liquids as well as +those of solids, the only difference being that in solids the particles +are relatively fixed, while in liquids they move freely about one +another, unless indeed when they are attracted to the surface of a +solid--a fact we are familiar with when we dip our finger into a vessel +of water. The cohesive power of liquids is overcome by heat as well as +that of solids, only to a much greater degree, for under it they assume +a new form, acquire new properties, and expand immensely in volume. They +pass into the form of vapour, occupy a thousand times larger area, and +possess an elasticity of compressibility and expansibility they were +destitute of before. + +There is a beautiful phenomenon which accompanies the expansion of ether +under the influence of heat. Placed in a flask to which heat is applied, +the ether will go off in vapour; and as the heat increases, the vapour +will gradually light up into a lovely flame. The expansibility of air, +which is vapour in a permanent form, can be shown by experiment. If we +tie up an empty or collapsed bladder, and place it in a vessel over an +air-pump, we may see, as we withdraw the air from the vessel, and so +diminish its pressure, the bladder gradually expand and swell as it does +under inflation. + +The cohesive power of water is beautifully illustrated. Have a small +barrel or bucket so constructed as to be fitted with gauze at the top; +immerse it exactly, so that the water may form a film between the +meshes, and then open the tap at the bottom: the water will not flow +till the meshes at the top are broken by blowing on their surface. The +adhesion of the particles in a soap-bubble is another illustration, no +less beautiful, as well as more familiar; for the soap, which might be +supposed to be the cause of the phenomenon, serves only to prevent the +intrusion of dust between the particles, but by no means to intensify +their attractive power. + +There are some liquids the adhesiveness of whose particles is so perfect +as to bar out the access of air when we strew them on the surface of +other liquids; and on the Continent it is not uncommon to protect wines +against the action of the atmosphere by, instead of corking the bottle, +simply pouring in a few drops of oil, which, being lighter than the +wine, floats on the surface. It is parallel to the instance of the +barrel with the gauze-wire top mentioned above, that if we loosely plug +a bottle full of liquid with a piece of cotton-wool, and invert it, the +particles in contact with the wool will cohere so closely that the fluid +will not be able to escape. The adhesiveness of the particles of water +to a solid surface can be exemplified by allowing one of the scales of a +balance to float in water and leaving the other free; the one in +contact with the water will refuse to yield after we have placed even a +tolerable weight in the other which is suspended in the air. + +The power of cohesion is more rigorous in some bodies than others. In +some cases the body will rupture if it is interfered with ever so +little; in others, the particles admit of a certain displacement, and if +the limits are not transgressed, they return to their original position +when the compressing or distending cause is removed. This rallying power +in the cohesive force is called Elasticity, and it exists in no small +degree in glass. The spaces between the particles can, within limits, be +either lessened by compression or increased by distension, and the +particles retain their power of recovering and maintaining the relation +they stood in before they were disturbed. It is the power of cohesion or +aggregation which resists any disturbance among the particles, and which +restores order among them when once disturbance has taken place. And not +only does nature resist directly any undue interference with the +cohering force, but tampering with it even slightly has often a certain +deteriorating effect upon the physical properties of bodies. A bell, +for instance, loses its tone when heated, because by that means its +particles are disturbed; though it recovers its tone-power as it cools, +and as the particles return to their places. + +In organic bodies, both during growth and decay, the particles are more +or less in flux; but in feathers, after their formation, the attraction +of aggregation remains constant, and by means of it their particles +continue fixed in their places, not only with the life of the bird, but +long after. Nay, you may even crumple them up, and toss them away as +worthless, and yet if you expose them to the vapour of steam, they will +not only recover their form, but they can be made to look as beautiful +as ever. + +_Chemical Affinity_.--The attraction of the particles of bodies of +different kinds to each other is often striking and curious; as, for +instance, those of salt to those of water. The salt attracts the water, +and the water the salt, till at last, if there is a sufficient quantity +of water, all the salt is attracted particle by particle from itself, +and taken up and united to the water. The salt is no longer visible to +the eye, and is said to be dissolved or in solution; but this change of +form is due to its affinity for the water, and the resulting attraction +of the one to the other. The same phenomena are observed, and they are +due to the same cause, in other solutions; as when we infuse our tea or +sweeten it with sugar. The attraction of water, or one of its elements +rather, for other substances, sometimes shows itself in vehement forms. +When a piece of potassium, for example, is thrown into a vessel of +water, its attraction for the water is such, and of the water for it, +that it instantly takes fire, and the two blaze away, particle violently +seizing on particle until the elements of the water unite part for part +with the metal. It is the mutually attractive force that causes the heat +and flame which accompany the combination; and this force is most +violently active in the union of dissimilar substances. Unions of a +quieter kind, though not less thorough, occur even between solids when +placed in contact. For instance, sulphate of soda and sulphate of +ammonia, when placed side by side, will diliquesce, and in liquid form +unite into a new combination. Sulphuric acid, when we mix it with water, +generates great heat; and this is due to its attraction for the water. +Sometimes two fluids unite together, and, in doing so, pass from the +liquid into the solid form; as, _e.g._, sulphuric acid and chloride of +calcium. Attraction of this nature is called chemical: it takes effect +between dissimilar particles, and results in combinations with new +properties. It operates not only between solid and solid, solid and +liquid, and liquid and liquid, but between these and gases, and gases +with one another; and these as well as those combine into new +substances, and evince in the act not a little violent commotion. Thus, +phosphorus catches fire in the atmosphere at a temperature of 140 +degrees, and it goes on rapidly combining with the oxygen, burning with +a dazzling white light, and producing phosphoric acid. Indeed, most +metals have an affinity for the oxygen in the air, and oxydise in it +with more or less facility; and a metal, as such, has more value than +another according as it has less affinity for that element, and is less +liable to oxydise or rust in it. This is one reason, among others, why +gold is the most precious metal, and the conventional representative of +highest worth in things. + +There are some metals, such as lead, for instance, which oxydise +readily, but this process stops short at the surface in contact with the +air, and so forms a coating which prevents the metal from further +oxydation; so that here, as in so many things else, strength is +connected with weakness. + +_Electricity_.--This, in the most elementary view of it, is a more or +less attractive or repellant force latent in bodies, and which is +capable of being roused into action by the application of friction. It +is excited in a rod of glass by rubbing it with silk, and in a piece of +sealing-wax by rubbing it with flannel, though the effect is different +when we apply first the one and then the other to the same body. Thus, +_e.g._, if we apply the excited sealing-wax to a paper ring, or a +pith-ball, hung by a silk thread from a horizontal glass rod, it will, +after contact, repel it; and if, thereafter, we apply to it the excited +glass rod, it will attract it; or if we first apply the excited glass +rod to the paper ring, or pith-ball, it will, after contact, repel it; +and if thereafter we apply to it the excited sealing-wax, it will +attract it. The reason is, that when we once charge a body by contact +with either kind, it repels that kind, and attracts the opposite; if we +charge it from the glass, _i.e._, with vitreous electricity, it refuses +to have more, and is attracted to the sealing-wax; and if we charge it +from the sealing-wax, _i.e._, with resinous electricity, it refuses to +have more, and is attracted to the glass-rod; only it is to be observed +that, till the body is charged by either, it has an equal attraction for +both. From all which it appears that kindred electricities repel, and +opposite attract, each other. + +Two pieces of gold leaf suspended from a metal rod, inserted at the top +of a glass shade full of perfectly pure, dry air, will separate if we +rub our foot on the carpet, and touch the top of the rod with one of our +fingers; for the motion of the body, as in walking, always excites +electricity, and it is this which, as it passes through the finger, +causes the phenomenon; though the least sensation of damp in the glass +would, by instantly draining off the electricity, defeat the experiment. +What happens in this case is, that one kind of electricity passes from +the finger to the leaves, while another kind, to make room for it, +passes from the leaf to the finger; and the leaves separate because they +are both more or less charged with the same kind of electricity, and +kindred electricities repel each other. Ribbons, particularly of white +silk, when well washed, are similarly susceptible of electrical +excitation; and they behave very much as the gold leaf does when they +are rubbed sharply through a piece of flannel. Gutta-percha is another +substance which, when similarly treated, is similarly affected. + +This power is a very mysterious one, and of a nature to perplex even the +philosophic observer. Certain bodies, such as the metals, convey it, and +are called conductors; certain others, such as glass and porcelain, +arrest it, and are called insulators. It is for this reason that the +wires of the telegraph are supported by a non-conductor, for if not, the +electric current would pass into the earth by the first post and never +reach its final destination. Glass being an insulator, it was found +that, if a glass bottle was filled with water, and then corked up with a +cork, through which a nail was passed so that the top of it touched the +water, it would receive and retain a charge as long as it was held in +the hand; and this observation led to an invention of some account in +the subsequent applications of electricity, known, from the place of its +conception, as the Leyden jar. This is a glass jar, the inside of which +is coated with tinfoil, and the outside as far as the neck, and into +which, so as to touch the inside coating, a brass rod with a knob at +the top is inserted through a cork, which closes its mouth. By means of +this, in consequence of the isolation of the coatings by the glass, +electricity can, in a dry atmosphere, be condensed, and stored up and +husbanded till wanted. + +A series of eggs, arranged in contact and in line, give occasion to a +pretty experiment. In consequence of the shells being non-conductors, +and the inside conducting, it happens that a current of electricity, +applied to the first of the series, will pass from one to another in a +succession of crackling sparks, in this way forcing itself through the +obstructing walls. This effect of electricity in making its way through +non-conducting obstructions accounts for the explosion which ensues when +a current of it comes in contact with a quantity of gunpowder; as it +also does for the fatal consequences which result when, on its way from +the atmosphere to the earth, it rushes athwart any resisting organic or +inorganic body. + +_Magnetism_.--Unlike electricity, which acts with a shock and then +expires, magnetism is a constant quantity, and constant in its action; +and it has this singular property, that it can impart itself as a +permanent force to bodies previously without it. Thus, there being +natural magnets and artificial, we can, by passing a piece of steel over +a magnet, turn it into a strong magnet itself; although we can also, +when it is in the form of a horse-shoe, by a half turn round and then +rubbing it on the magnet, take away what it has acquired, and bring it +back to its original state. The magnetic property is very readily +imparted (by induction, as it is called) to soft iron, but when the iron +is removed from the magnetising body, it parts with the virtue as fast +as it acquired it. To obtain a substance that will retain the power +induced, we must make some other election; and hard steel is most +serviceable for conversion into a permanent magnet. + +The properties of the magnet are best observed in magnetised steel; and +when we proceed to test its magnetic power, it will be found that it is +most active at the extremities of the bar, which are hence called its +poles, and hardly, if at all, at the centre; that while both poles +attract certain substances and repel others, the one always points +nearly north and the other nearly south when the bar is horizontally +suspended; and that, when we break the bar into two or any number of +pieces, however small, each part forms into a complete magnet with its +virtue active at the poles, which, when suspended, preserves its +original direction; so that of two particles one is, in that case, +always north of the other; nay, it is probable that each of these has +its north pole and its south, as constant as those of the earth itself, +which, too, is a large magnet. + +The magnet acts through media and at a distance, as well as in contact; +and it has an especial attraction for iron, the more so when the +conducting medium is solid, such as a table; and so when the magnet is +horizontally suspended, or poised, in the vicinity of iron, its tendency +to point north and south is seriously disturbed. The disturbance of the +bar, or needle, in such a case, is called its _deflection_; and it is +corrected by so placing a piece of soft iron or another magnet in its +neighbourhood as to neutralise the effect, and leave said bar, or +needle, free to obey the magnetism of the earth. The needle, it is to be +remarked, does not point due north and south, neither, when poised +freely on its centre, does it lie perfectly horizontal; in our latitude +it points at present 20° west of north, which is called its +_declination_, and its north pole slopes downwards at an angle of 68°, +which is called its _dip_. + +By holding a rod of iron, or a poker, for a length of time parallel to +the direction of the needle, so as to have the same declination and the +same dip, it will gradually assume and display magnetic virtue, and this +will ere long become fixed and powerful under a succession of vibratory +shocks. There is a beautiful experiment in which a needle, when +magnetised, can be made to float on water, when it adjusts itself to the +magnetic meridian, and will incline north and south the same as the +needle of the compass. + +_The Chemical Action of Electricity and Magnetism_.--These agents +possess powers which develop wonderfully in connection with chemical +combination. Thus, if we suspend a piece of iron in a vessel which +contains oxygen gas, and apply to the metal an electric current, it will +immediately begin to unite rapidly, and form an oxide with oxygen, +emitting, during the process, intense heat and a bright flame. Zinc, +too, when similarly acted on, will ignite in the common atmosphere and +burn away, though with less intensity, till it also is, under the +electric force, reduced to an oxide. It is presumed that many other +chemical combinations take place because of the simultaneous joint +development of electric agencies, as in copper, water, and aquafortis, +nitrate of copper, &c. So also it happens that, when a plate of iron is +for some time immersed in a copper solution, it comes out at length +covered over with a coating of copper. And it is because there is +electricity at work that a silver basin will be coated with copper when +we pour into it a copper solution, and at the same time place in it a +rod of zinc, so that it rests on the side and bottom, though no coating +will form at all when there is no rod present to excite the electric +current. The same phenomena will appear if we deposit a silver coin in +the solution in question: the coin will come out unaffected, unless we +excite affinity by means of a rod of iron. It is under the action of an +electric current that one metal is coated with another. The metal, +copper say, is steeped in a solution of the coating substance, and +connected by means of wires with a galvanic battery, under the action of +which the metal in solution unites with the surface of the plate +immersed in it. Heat also is developed under magnetic influence, and +that often of great intensity. Thus, if we connect the poles of a +voltaic battery by means of a platinum wire, heat will develop to such a +degree that the platinum will almost instantaneously become red hot and +emit a bright light, and that along a wire of some considerable length. +A similar effect is noticeable when we substitute other metals, such as +silver or iron, for platinum. And the _electric light_, which flashes +out rays of sunlike brilliance, is the result of placing a piece of +compact charcoal between the separated but confronting poles of a +powerful galvanic battery, light, developing more at the one pole and +heat more at the other of the incandescent substance. + +Kindred, though much milder, results will show themselves under simpler, +though similar, contrivances. A flounder will jump and jerk about +uneasily if we lay it upon a piece of tinfoil and place over it a thin +plate of zinc, and then connect the two with a bent metal rod; which +will happen to an eel also, if we expose it to a gentle current from a +battery. + +By means of electric or magnetic action we can separate bodies +chemically combined, as well as unite them into chemical compounds; as +will appear if we place a piece of blotting paper upon tinfoil, and this +upon wool; if we then spread above these two pieces of test-paper, +litmus and turmeric, the one the test of acids, and the other of +alkalis, and saturate both with Glauber salt (which is by itself neither +an acid nor an alkali, but a combination of the two), and, finally, +connect each by means of a piece of zinc with the poles of a battery, +the test-papers will immediately change colour, as they do the one in +the presence of an acid simply, and the other of an alkali simply, but +never in a compound where these are neutralised; thus proving that the +compound has in this case been decomposed, and its elements +disintegrated one from another. + +A very powerful magnet can be produced by coiling a wire round a bar of +soft iron, and attaching its extremities to the poles of a galvanic +battery, when it will be found that its strength will be proportioned to +the strength of the current and the turns of the coil. This is +especially the case when the bar is bent into the form of a horse-shoe, +and the wires are insulated and coiled round its limbs. The force +communicated to a magnet of this kind, which is often immense, is the +product of the chemical action which goes on in the battery, and, in a +certain sense, the measure of it. How great that is we may judge when +we consider that, evanescent as it is in itself, it has imparted a +virtue which is both powerful and constant, and ever at our service. + +_Summary_.--Thus, then, on a review of the whole, we find all things are +endowed with attractive power, and that there is no particle which is +not directly or indirectly related, in manifold ways, to the other +particles of the universe. There is, first, the universal attraction of +gravitation, under which every particle is, by a fixed law, drawn to +every other within the sphere of existence. There is, secondly, the +attraction of cohesion or aggregation, which acts at short distances, +and unites the otherwise loose atoms of bodies into coherent masses. +There is, thirdly, the power by which elements of different kinds +combine into compounds with new and useful qualities, known by the name +of chemical affinity. And, lastly, related to the action of affinity, +aiding in it and resulting from it, there are those strange negative and +positive, attractive and repellant polar forces which appear in the +phenomena of electricity and magnetism, agencies of such potency and +universal avail in modern civilisation. + +On the permanency of such forces and their mutual play the universe +rests, and its wonderful history. With the collapse of any of them it +would cease to have any more a footing in space, and all its elements +would rush into instant confusion. What a Hand, therefore, that must be +which holds them up, and what a Wisdom which guides their movements! +Verily, He that sends them forth and bids them work His will is greater +than any one--greater than all of them together. How insignificant, +then, should we seem before Him who rules them on the wide scale by +commanding them, while we can only rule them on the small by obeying +them! And yet how benignant must we regard Him to be who both wields +them Himself for our benefit and subjects them to our intelligence and +control! + +FOOTNOTES: + +[B] This paper on "Attraction" is the substance of a lecture which I +composed on the basis of notes taken by me when. I had the honour of +attending the Prince of Wales at the course given, on the same subject +by the late Professor Faraday. The Professor, having seen the _resumé_ I +had written, warmly commended the execution, and generously accorded me +his sanction to make any use of it, whether for the purpose of a lecture +or otherwise, as might seem good to me. It is on the ground of this +sanction I feel warranted to print it here. + + + + +_THE OIL FROM LINSEED_. + + +Various processes have for a long time been in use for the purpose of +extracting the oils from different species of nuts and seeds, a few of +the more interesting of which are not unworthy of brief notice and +description. + +In Ceylon, where cocoa-nuts and oil-producing seeds abound, the means +employed by the natives in the last century for extracting the oils were +of a most primitive character. A few poles were fixed upright in the +ground, two horizontal bars attached to them, between which a bag +containing the pulp of the seed or nut was placed. A lever was then +applied to the horizontal bars, which brought them together, thus +creating a pressure which, by squeezing the bag, gradually expressed the +oil from the pulpy substance. This rude machine was at that time of day +one of the most approved for the purpose. + +The system of pestle and mortar was also in use, but as the process was +necessarily very slow, this method was seldom resorted to. An +improvement on this system was invented by a Mr. Herbert, whose design +it had been to construct a powerful and efficient machine which should +combine cheapness and simplicity. It consisted of three pieces of wood, +viz., an upright piece fixed in the ground, from the lower and upper +extremities of which there projected the two other pieces, the top one +attached to the joint of a long horizontal lever, and the lower one to +the joint of a vertical one. The fixed upright post and the horizontal +lever formed the press. The bag of pulp being put between the upright +one and the vertical, the pressure was obtained by suspending a negro or +a weight from the lever. + +In another press of the same or a similar kind, the bags were placed in +a horizontal frame, and a loose beam of wood pressed down on it by a +lever. + +Another form of press had cambs and wedges; also a modification of it by +Mr. Hall of Dartford, who applied the pressure by means of a +steam-cylinder. The cambs are arranged alternately, so that one is +filled while the other is being pressed. This brief notice will suffice +to give an idea of such machines as are wrought by lever pressure. + +We pass on, therefore, to later inventions and improvements. + +First, The Dutch or _stamper_ press, invented in Holland; second, the +_screw_; and, third, the _hydraulic_:-- + +(1.) _The stamper press_ is something like a beetling-machine, in which +wedges are driven in between the bags, containing, of course in a +bruised condition, the seed to be pressed. + +(2.) _The screw press_ has an ordinary square-threaded screw, and it +acts in the same way as press for making cider or cheese. + +(3.) _The hydraulic press_. Here the pressure is produced by means of a +piston driven up by the force of water, the immense power of which is, +in great part, due to its almost total incompressibility. This is by far +the most perfect form of press. Its power must be familiar to all who +remember the lifting of the tubes of the Britannia Bridge, and the +_launching of the Great Eastern_. + +An oil-mill is in form something like a flour-mill. The operation +begins at the top, where the seed is passed through a flat screw or +shaker and then through a pair of rollers, which crush it. These rollers +are of unequal diameter, the one being 4 feet, and the other 1 foot; but +they are both of the same length, 1 foot 4 inches, and make fifty-six +revolutions in a minute. By this arrangement it is found the seed is +both better bruised and faster than when, as was formerly the case, the +rollers were of the same diameter. A pair of rollers will crush 4-1/2 +tons of seed in eleven hours, a quantity enough to keep two sets of +hydraulic presses going. + +After the seed is crushed in this way, it is passed under a pair of edge +stones. These stones weigh about seven tons, are 7 feet 6 inches in +diameter and 17 inches broad, and make seventeen revolutions a minute. +If of good quality, they will not require to be faced more than once in +three years, and they will last from fifteen to twenty. They are fitted +with two scrapers, one for raking the seed between the stones, the other +for raking it off at the proper period. One pair of stones will grind +seed sufficient for two double hydraulic presses, and the operation +occupies about twenty-five minutes. The seed is now crushed and ground, +but before it is passed on to the press it is transferred to the +heating-kettle. + +The heating-kettle is composed of two cylindrical castings, one fitting +loosely into the other, so that a space is left between them for a free +circulation of steam all round both the sides and bottom of the interior +vessel. The internal casting is again divided horizontally into two +partitions, one above the other therefore, by two plates, between which +also there is a space left for the admission and circulation of steam; +and a communication is kept up between the upper compartment and the +under by means of a stripping valve. Besides this, there is a +communication from the internal kettle through the external one, and +also a shaft passes between the two horizontal parts to give motion to +the stirrer, which revolves thirty-six times a minute. A cover encloses +the top, and it is through this the vessel is charged. The upper portion +is filled first, where the contents introduced are allowed to remain ten +or fifteen minutes, after which the valve is opened and the whole falls +into the lower kettle, where it is kept till wanted. The seed is then +taken away from the lower kettle by an opening, and bestowed in bags of +sufficient size to make a cake of 8 lbs. weight after the oil is pressed +out of it. Indeed, the compartments of the heating-kettle are of a size +to contain enough to charge one side of a hydraulic press. These, +therefore, are so constructed as to render the operation continuous, the +upper one being discharged into the under as soon as its contents are +withdrawn to the press. The seed is heated to the temperature of 170 +degrees Fahr., when it is drawn off and placed in the bags. + +In another form of kettle the seed is heated on a hot hearth, and on the +top of the hearth is a loose ring, within which a spindle revolves to +stir the seed. After the requisite temperature has been reached, the +ring is raised and the seed swept into the bags, which are made of +horse-hair. There is great loss of heat in this method, however, as the +seed is exposed to the atmosphere, which of course cools it. + +We now come to the final operation, the mode of expressing the oil. The +screw press we do not need to describe, as it consists simply of two +plates, brought together by a screw, in the same way as the press used +for squeezing apples in the manufacture of cider, and the cheese press. +Let us look therefore at the stamper press. It consists of an iron box, +open at the top, at each end of which are two plates, capable of +containing between them a bag of seed which shall yield a cake weighing +9 lbs. To one of the inner plates of the box is attached a wedge, beside +which is inserted another filling up, and then the driving wedge is +introduced; and lastly, another block is let in between this wedge and +the other plate as soon as the bags have been placed vertically in the +press-box. A stamper of wood, worked by cambs on a revolving shaft, is +allowed to fall about 1 foot 10 inches, at the rate of fifteen strokes a +minute, for about six minutes. This stamper is 16 feet long by 8 inches +square, and falls on the head of the wedge, and drives it in to a level +at the top of the box. Another stamper is employed to drive down an +inverted wedge, so as to release the working one, and enable the +attendant to take out the cake. A press of this kind will turn out only +about 12 cwts. of cake a day. + +We come now to the hydraulic press. This is certainly the most approved +invention that has yet been adopted, and it is simply a Bramah press +adjusted for the purpose. It has been in use for about thirty years, +though it was, of course, at first less skilfully and scientifically +constructed than it is now. In one of the earliest of these presses, the +box which contains the seed runs on a tramway in order to facilitate its +removal from the heating-kettle, so that each time the bags have to be +replenished the whole box has to be removed; and this causes no +inconsiderable loss both of power and time, for it has, when filled, to +be replaced on the ram and lifted bodily upwards in order to bring it +flush with the top of the press, which fits the press-box and acts as a +point of resistance. In this arrangement there are introduced only one +press and one set of small pumps. + +The next press we come to is Blundell's, which is admitted to be by far +the most efficient in use to-day. Here there are two distinct presses, +or a double hydraulic press, fed by two pumps, one 2-1/2 inches and the +other 1 inch in diameter, both connected with the separate cylinders by +hydraulic tubing. The stroke of these pumps is 5 inches, and they make +thirty-six strokes a minute. The larger pump is weighted to 740 lbs. on +the square inch, and the smaller to 5540 the square inch. The diameter +of the rams is 12 inches, and the stroke 10 inches. Each press is fitted +to receive four bags of seed, and it produces 64 lbs. of cake at each +operation. After the heated seed has been placed in the bags, the +attendant proceeds to fill one press, and then he opens the valve +between the large pump and the charged press, which causes the ram to +rise till there is a pressure of forty tons, whereupon the safety-valve +of the large pump opens, and is kept so by a spring. While this +operation is going on, the attendant is occupied with filling the second +press; which completed, he opens the communication between the large +pump and the second press, taking care first to replace the +safety-valve. The ram of this press is then raised to the same height as +the other, after which the safety-valve rises a second time. The +attendant, as he closes the valve which opens the communication between +the large pump and the press, at the same time opens the valve between +the small pumps and the presses; and the pressure, amounting to about +300 tons, exerted by the small pump, is allowed to remain on the rams +for about seven minutes. From which it appears that, allowing three +minutes for emptying and charging the press, the process of expressing +the oil takes only three minutes in all; and it is done by this press in +this brief time in the most effectual manner. The oil, as it is +expressed, passes through the canvas and hair bags to a cistern, known +as the spill-tank, which is just large enough to contain the produce of +one day's working. The presses are worked by oil instead of water, as it +keeps both presses and pumps in better order. Each of them will produce +36 cwts. of cake per day of eleven hours, while the yield of oil is +about 14 cwts. The oil is pumped from the spill-tanks to larger ones, +capable of holding from 25 to 100 tons, where it remains for some time +in order to settle previously to being brought to the market. + +I do not intend to enter into the relative merits of the various +presses, but content myself with having explained to you the manner in +which the oil is produced. + +Before concluding, it may be interesting to give you some idea of the +vast extent of this manufacture. It appears, according to the official +returns, that in the year 1841 we imported 364,000 quarters of seed. + +THE OIL FROM LINSEED. + + ______________________________________________________ + | 1842 | 368,000 | 1847 | 439,000 | 1852 | 800,000 | + | 1843 | 470,000 | 1848 | 799,000 | 1853 | 1,000,000 | + | 1844 | 616,000 | 1849 | 626,000 | 1854 | 828,000 | + | 1845 | 666,000 | 1850 | 668,000 | 1855 | 757,000 | + | 1846 | 506,000 | 1851 | 630,000 | 1856 | 1,100,000 | + ______________________________________________________ + +Now if we take the last year's imports, we shall find that the produce +would amount to about 144,000 tons' weight of oil-cake, and above 56,000 +tons of oil. + +The cake is used for feeding cattle, and the oil for burning, +lubricating, painting, &c.; and a very large quantity is exported. + +We find that to crush the seed imported in 1856 it required from 150 to +160 double hydraulic presses, nearly 100 of which were in Hull. This +shows the extent of our commerce in the seed of flax, to say nothing of +its fibre; and is one more instance of the great results which may be +wrought out of little things. What a beautiful illustration of the +bounty of Providence; and what an encouragement to the ingenuity of man! +Who knows what treasures may yet lie hidden in neglected fields, or to +what untold wealth the human family may one day fall heir? + + + + +_HODGE-PODGE: OR, WHAT'S INTILT._ + +WRITTEN NOV. 20, 1875, AT STAGENHOE PARK. + + +The subject and treatment, as well as title, of this Lecture are +suggested by the answer of the hostess at a Scottish inn to an English +tourist, who was inquisitive to know the composition of a dish which she +offered him, and which she called Hodge-Podge. "There's water intilt," +she said, "there's mutton intilt, there's pease intilt, there's leeks +intilt, there's neeps intilt, and sometimes somethings else intilt." The +analysis was an exhaustive one, and the intelligence displayed by the +landlady was every way worthy of the shrewdness indigenous to her +country; but her answer was not so lucid to her listener as to herself, +as appeared by his bewildered looks, and his further half-despairing +interrogatory. "But what is _intilt_?" said he, impatiently striking in +before she had well finished. "Haven't I been tellin' ye what's +intilt?" she replied. And she began the enumeration again, only with +longer pause and greater emphasis at every step, as if she were +enlightening a slow apprehension,--"There's water intilt, there's mutton +intilt;" quietly and self-complacently adding, as she finished, "Ye +surely ken now what's intilt." Whether her guest now understood her +meaning, or whether he had to succumb, contented with his ignorance, we +are not informed; but few of my readers need to be told that "intilt" is +a Scotch provincialism for "into it," and that the landlady meant by +using it to signify that the particulars enumerated entered as +constituents _into_ her mysterious dish. + +My aim is to discourse on the same constituents as they display their +virtues and play their parts on a larger scale, in a wider economy; and +when I have said my say, I hope I may be able to lay claim to the credit +of having spoken intelligibly and profitably, though I must at the +outset bespeak indulgence by promise of nothing more than the serving up +of a dish of simple hodge-podge. The question I put in a wider reference +is the question of the Englishman, as expressed in the Scotchwoman's +dialect, What's intilt? and I assume that there enter into it, as +radically component parts, at least the ingredients of this motley soup. +Into the large hodge-podge of nature and terrestrial economics, as into +this small section of Scotch cookery, there enter the element of water, +the flesh of animals, and the fruits of the earth, as well as the +processes by which these are brought to hand and rendered serviceable to +life. The ingredients of hodge-podge exist in _rerum natura_, and the +place they occupy and the function they fulfil in it are no less +deserving of our inquisitive regard. + +Thus, there is water in it, without which there were no seas and no +sailing of ships, no rivers and no plying of mills, no vapour and no +power of steam, no manufacture and no trade, and not only no motion, but +no growth and no life. There is mutton, or beef, in it, and connected +therewith the breeding and rearing of cattle, the production of wool, +tallow, and leather, and the related manufactures and crafts. There are +turnips and carrots in it, the latter of such value to the farmer that +on one occasion a single crop of them sufficed to clear off a rent; and +the former of such consequence in the fattening of stock and the +provision of animal food, that a living economist divides society +exhaustively into turnip-producing classes and turnip-consuming. There +are leeks and onions in it, and these, with the former, suggest the art +of the gardener, and the wonderful processes by which harsh and fibrous +products can be turned into pulpy and edible fruits. And there are pease +and barley in it, and associated therewith the whole art of the +husbandman in the tillage of the soil and the raising of cereals, with +the related processes of grinding the meal, baking the bread, preparing +the malt, brewing the beer, and distilling the fiery life-blood at the +heart. + +Now, to discourse on all these, as they deserve, would be a task of no +ordinary magnitude, but the subject is an interesting one, and to treat +of it ever so cursorily might not unprofitably occupy a reflective +moment or two. Water is the first topic it is laid upon me to talk +about, and I begin with it all the more readily because it suggests a +sense of freshness, and thoughts which may float our enterprise +prosperously into port. + +I. Water, as already hinted, is an element of vast account in the +economy of nature, and is a recreation to the heart and a delight to the +eye of both man and beast. To have a plentiful supply of it is one of +the greatest blessings of God to the creature, and to be able to bestow +it wisely and employ it usefully is one of the most serviceable of human +arts. It is too valuable a servant to suffer to go idle, and many are +the offices it might do us, if, as it travels from the mountains to the +sea-board, we caught it in its course, harnessed it to our chariot, and +guided it to our aim. We should turn it to account every inch of its +progress, and compel it, as it can, to minister to our requirements by +its irresistible energy. Its merely mechanical power is immense, and +this is due in great part to its incompressibility; for it is in virtue +of this quality alone we can, by means of it, achieve feats not +otherwise feasible. How else could we have raised to its sublime height +that stupendous bridge which spans the Menai Straits, and which is the +wonder of the beholder, as it is the boast of the designer? It stands +where it does by the help of some mechanism indeed, but the true giant +that lifted it on his shoulders and bore it to its airy elevation was +the incompressible force of water, a fluid which is, strangely, the +simple product of the combination of two elastic transparent gases, +oxygen and hydrogen, neither of which apart has the thew and sinew of +its offspring. Nay, it is this single element, which, acted on by heat +or acting through machinery, fetches and carries for us over the wide +globe, and is fast weaving into one living web the far-scattered +interests of the world. + +Water was in primitive times utilised into a motive power by the help of +a mechanism of rude design, which yet is hardly out of date, and might +recently be seen in its original, still more in modified form, in +certain back-quarters of civilisation. A stream, guided by a sluice, was +made to play upon four vertical paddle-blades, attached to a shaft which +they caused to revolve, and which moved a millstone, resting upon +another through which it passed. It was a primitive mill, which +superseded the still more primitive hand-mill, or quern; and I myself +have seen it at work in the Shetland Islands, and even the north of +Scotland, though it is now done away with even there, still more farther +south, and its place supplied and its work done by overshot and +under-shot wheel-gear, and improved machinery attached, of less or more +complexity. One of the most recent improvements is the Turbine, a sort +of Barker's mill; it is of great power, small compass, and acts under a +good fall with a minimum expenditure of water-power. + +Passing from the consideration of water as a motive power in its natural +state, I ask you to notice briefly the gigantic force it can be made to +develop under the action of heat. In its normal form the power of water +is due, as I have said, to its incompressibility; in the state of +vapour, to which it is reduced by heat, its power is due to the counter +force of expansion. It was when confined as a state prisoner in the +Tower of London that the Marquis of Worcester began to speculate on the +possibilities of steam, though he little dreamed of its more important +applications, and the incalculable services it might be made to render +to the cause of humanity. Suddenly, one day, his musings in his solitude +were interrupted by the rattling of the lid of a kettle, which was +boiling away on the fire beside him, when, being of a philosophic vein, +he commenced to inquire after the cause; and he soon reasoned himself +into the conclusion that the motive power lay in the tension of the +vapour, and that the maintenance of this must be due to successive +additions of heat. The thought was a seed sown in a fit soil, for it led +to experiments which confirmed the supposition, and inaugurated others +that have borne fruit, as we see. It was a great moment in the annals of +discovery, and from that time to this the genius of improvement has +moved onward with unprecedented strides; and this in the application of +steam-power as well as the results, stupendous as these last have been. +For as there is no department of industry that has not made immense +advances since, none on which steam has not directly or indirectly been +brought to bear with effect; so there has been no end to the ingenuity +and ingenious devices by which steam has been coaxed into subjection to +human use and made the pliant minister of the master, man. All these +results follow as a natural consequence from the first discovery of its +motive power by the Marquis of Worcester, and the subsequent invention +of James Watt, by which the force detected was rendered uniform, instead +of fitful and spasmodic, as it had been before. And yet, important as +was the discovery of the one, and ingenious as is the invention of the +other, both are of slight account in the presence of the great fact of +nature observed by the English nobleman and humoured by the Scottish +artisan. The _genie_ whom the one captured and the other tamed, is the +great magic worker, apart from whose subtle strength their ingenuity had +been wasted, and had come to naught. + +But here I must restrain my rovings, and recall my purpose to descant on +other points. And indeed the uses of water are so numerous and varied +that the subject might well engross a lecture by itself; and I must +needs therefore cut the matter short. It is only Hodge-Podge, moreover, +I have undertaken to dish up before you, and I must keep my word. For, +fain as I am to dilate on the many economic virtues of water, I must not +forget that the pot contains other ingredients, and that the dish I am +serving out of it would yield but poor fare, if it did not. + +2. I come therefore to the next ingredient in the soup I am providing; +for, as the housewife said, "there's mutton intilt," and it is the most +important ingredient in the mess. But the animal which produces it, like +the kindred animals that produce the like, serves other purposes as +well, and these no less essential to the exigency of the race; and it is +of them I propose to speak. It is beside my design to enter on the +domain of the sheep-breeder, and attempt an account of the different +kinds reared by the farmer; enough to say that, numerous as these are, +they are all fed and tended for the benefit of the human family, and +that they minister to the supply of the same human wants. + +The child, as it frolics on the lawn, stops his gambols and steps gently +aside to coax, to caress his woolly-fleeced companion; and the mother +talks softly to her child of the innocent darlings, and asks if they are +not lovely creatures, and beautiful to look at, as they timidly wander +from spot to spot, and nibble the delicate pasture. So it is to the +lively fancy of childhood, and so it is to the mother whose affections +are naturally melted into softness in the presence of simplicity; but +when economic considerations arise, and the question is one of service +and value, all such sentimental and aesthetic emotions pass out of +court, and only calculations of base utilitarianism fill the eye from +horizon to horizon. No doubt the creatures are lovely and beautiful to +behold on the meadows and hill-sides of the landscape, which they +enliven and adorn; but man must live as well as admire, and unless by +sacrifice of the sheep he must not only go without hodge-podge to his +dinner, but dispense with much else equally necessary to his life and +welfare. The cook requires the sacrifice, that he may purvey for the +tables of both gentle and semple; the tallow-dealer requires the +sacrifice, that he may provide light for our homesteads, and oil for our +engines, both stationary and locomotive; and the wool-merchant and the +currier insist on stripping the victim of his fleece, and even flaying +his skin, before they can assure us of fit clothing and covering against +cold and rain for our bodies and our belongings. And what a wretched +plight we should be in, if the sheep, or their like, did not come to the +rescue, or the help they are fitted to render were not laid under +contribution! For not only might we be fated to go often dinnerless to +bed, and to live all our days in a body imperfectly nourished, but our +evenings would in many cases be spent without light, and our journeys +undertaken without comfort, and our outer man left to battle at odds, +unshod and unprotected, with the discomforts of the highway and the +inclemency of the seasons. Of all the services rendered by the sheep to +the race of man, perhaps the most invaluable is that which is accorded +in the gift of wool; and it is for the sake of this alone that, in many +quarters, whole flocks, and even breeds, are reared and tended,--so +great is the demand for it, and such the esteem in which it is held for +the purpose of clothing the body and keeping it in warmth. + +3. But, again, to advance a step further, there are, as the landlady of +the inn remarked, "neeps intilt." On this part of the subject, that I +may pass to the next topic on which I mean to speak, and which is of +wider range, I intend to say little. I have already referred to the +important place assigned to this vegetable by a living economist as +affording a basis for grouping society into two great classes. To the +farmer it is of equal, and far more practical, importance; for it is, by +the manner of its cultivation, a great means of clearing the land of +weeds; it is the chief support of sheep and cattle through the months of +winter; and it is one of the most valuable crops raised on British soil, +and of equal account in the agriculture of both England and Scotland. +The culture of turnips on farms involves considerable expense indeed, +and is sometimes attended with loss, and even failure; but they are of +inestimable value in cattle husbandry, as without them our sheepfarms +would soon be depopulated, and the animals hardly outlive a winter. One +function they, and the like, fulfil in nature, is turning inorganic +matter into vegetable, that the component elements may in this form be +more readily assimilated into animal flesh and blood; while their +introduction as an article of farming is of great importance as +rendering possible and feasible a regular rotation of crops. + +4. But I must, as I said, hasten on to another ingredient of the dish we +are compounding; I refer to barley, for that too, as our gracious +hostess would say, is "_intilt_." From this single grain what virtues +have been developed! what mildness, what soothing, what nourishment, and +what strength! What a source it is to us of comfort, of enjoyment, and +of wealth! There is barley-water, for instance, a beverage most +harmless, yet most soothing; meet drink for the sick-room, and specially +promotive of the secretions in patients whose disease is inflammatory, +and who suffer from thirst. Then there is barley-bread, extensively used +in both England and Scotland, than which there is none more wholesome to +the blood and more nourishing to the system; the meal of which is of +service too in the shape of a medical appliance, and, when so used, +acts with most beneficial effect. But its strength is not so pronounced +or decisive either in the form of an infusion or in that of bread, much +as in these forms it contributes to health and vigour: it is not when it +is put into the pot, or when bruised by the miller, that it comes out in +the fulness of its might; it is when it is immersed in water, and +subjected to heat, and metamorphosed into malt. In this form it can be +converted into a beverage that is simple and healthful, and, when used +aright, conducive to strength of muscle and general vigour of life; but +when it has undergone a further process, which I am about to describe, +it evolves a spirit so masterful that the weak would do well to +withstand its seductiveness, for only a strong head and a stout will +dare with impunity to enter the lists with it, and can hope to retire +from the contest with the strength unshorn and a firm footstep.[C] + +Whisky, which is what I now refer to as the highest outcome of the +strength of barley, is, like hodge-podge, of Scotch incubation, and +deserves, for country's sake and the fame it has, some brief regard. The +process by which the grain is prepared may be described as follows. The +grain is first damped, then spread out on a floor, and finally a certain +quantity of water and heat applied, when it begins to germinate, which +it continues to do to a certain stage, beyond which it is not allowed to +pass. At this moment a Government official presents himself, and exacts +a duty of the manufacturer for the production of the malt, the +authorities shrewdly judging that they are entitled to levy off so +valuable an article a modicum of tax. The grain thus prepared is now in +a state for further manufacture, and it passes into the hands of the +brewer or distiller, to be converted into a more or less alcoholic +drink. + +First the brewer produces therefrom those excellent beverages called +beer and porter, and so contributes to our refreshment, enjoyment, and +strength. These beverages are, in one shape or other, nearly in +universal demand, and the money spent upon the consumption of Bass and +XX almost passes belief. They are exported into every zone of the +world, and consumed by every class. And then the distiller takes the +grain in the same form, and, by slow evaporation and subsequent +condensation, extracts the pure, subtle, and potent spirit we have +referred to, and which, in more or less diluted form, we call whisky, or +Scotch drink. And this article also, in spite of cautions, is in large +demand and extensively exported, though perhaps not so much is consumed +among us as was fifty years ago. It is not by any means so bad an +article as it has a bad name; for when of good quality, and moderately +indulged in, it is perfectly wholesome; only when the quality is bad, or +the indulgence excessive, do evil results follow. And indeed such are +its merits when good, that it is said dealers sometimes export it to +France and other parts, from which it is imported again to this country, +transfused into splendidly labelled brandy bottles, and sold +untransformed as best brandy! + +Little do we think, when eating our quiet dinner at a Scottish country +inn, what power and wealth are represented in the hodge-podge which +belike forms one of the dishes, and which, by suggestion and in the +style of the housewife, we are now analysing. As we disintegrate the +mess, and resolve it into its elements, we may well bethink ourselves of +the cost of our board on the planet, and of the value of the articles we +are daily consuming. To help you to a clearer idea of this, in regard to +the article barley alone in the form of malt, let me commend to your +attention the following statistical statement:-- + +A Parliamentary return of 1876 shows that the quantity of _malt_ charged +with _duty_ during the year was-- + + BUSHELS. DUTY. +England, 54,655,274 £7,412,621 +Scotland, 2,927,763 396,241 +Ireland, 3,346,606 453,883 + ---------- ---------- +Total of United Kingdom, 60,929,633 £8,262,746 + +The quantity of barley imported into the United Kingdom during the year +was equivalent to 2,736,425 quarters. See how great a fire a little +spark, hodge-podge, kindleth! + +So much for the quantity of malt produced, and the revenue derived from +it, in a year in the United Kingdom. I have spoken of this malt as being +convertible into a form which possesses, among other virtues, the power +of quenching our thirst. I wish it did not also quench our thirst for +the knowledge we all ought to have of its production and really +serviceable qualities; that it would stimulate inquiry after such +things, and not smother it, as it is too apt to do; and, in general, +prompt us to a wiser study of our social wants, and the means at our +command for further social improvement; which we might prosecute with +less and less recourse to the stimulant virtues of malt in such forms as +whisky. And this we may do, if we limit our indulgence in it to the less +potent form of it in beer, which, while it is calculated to quench man's +bodily thirst, is equally calculated to quicken his mental. How much it +contributes to allay the former, and how many thirsty souls are +refreshed by it, we may estimate from the statistics of the sale of it +furnished by a single firm in London. I refer to the firm of the Messrs. +Foster, Brook Street, who are friends of my own, and to whom I should be +glad to refer all who may be in want of a wholesome beer, for theirs is +so good and genuine. The Messrs. Foster are among the most extensive +bottlers and exporters in the country; and I find from the information +they have kindly supplied me, that the beer bottled by them for export +purposes during the year 1874 was 6000 butts, of 108 gallons each; that +their contracts for the supply of bottles during that period represented +25,000 gross, or 5,040,000 bottles, which, if laid end to end, would +extend to about 1000 miles; and that their accounts with Bass & Co. +alone for that term amounted to £150,000. All, from the highest to the +lowest, drink beer in England; and when unadulterated and taken in +moderation, it is one of the most healthful beverages of which the human +being, man or woman, can partake. + +Though I have only partially gone over the ground contemplated at first, +I feel I must now draw to a conclusion, which I am the less indisposed +to do, as I think in what I have said I have pretty fairly set before +you the wonderful properties latent in a basin of hodge-podge. For it is +a habit of mine, which I have sought to indulge on the present occasion, +to analyse every subject to which my attention is directed, and in which +I feel interest, before I can make up my mind as to the proper +significance and importance of the whole compound. Thus, for instance, +set a dish of hodge-podge before me; it does not satisfy me to be told +that it is only a basin of broth, and that it is wholesome fare; I +must, as I have now been doing in a way, resolve the compound into its +elements, see these in other and wider relations, and refer them +mentally to their rank and standing in the larger world of the economy +of nature and of social existence. I am always asking "What's intilt?" +and am never satisfied, any more than the English tourist, with a bare +enumeration: I must subject the factors included to rational inspection, +and watch their play and weigh their worth in connection with interests +more general. + +And if, in the delivery of this lecture, I have persuaded any one to +regard common things in a similar light and from a similar interest, I +shall deem the time spent on it not altogether thrown away. Mind, not +water, is the ultimate solvent in nature, and everything, when thrown +into it, will be found in the end to resolve itself into it, or what in +nature is of kin to it. And if a Latin poet could justify his interest +in man by a reference to his own humanity, so may we rest content with +nature when we find that we and it are parts of each other. It is well +to learn to look on nothing as private, but on everything as a part of +a great whole, of which we ourselves are units; so shall we feel +everywhere at home, and a sense of kinship with the remote as well as +near within the round of existence. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[C] The Highlanders are said to be able to offer it a stout defiance, +for they can stand an immense quantity; and I have heard of an innkeeper +in the north, who, when remonstrated with on account of his excessive +drinking, so far admitted the justice of the charge implied, but pled +that he could not be accused of undue indulgence the night before, as, +whatever he might have drunk during the day, he had, after supper, had +only seventeen glasses! + + +THE END. + + + PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. + EDINBURGH AND LONDON. + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Lectures on Popular and Scientific +Subjects, by John Sutherland Sinclair, Earl of Caithness + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POPULAR AND SCIENTIFIC SUBJECTS *** + +***** This file should be named 15468-8.txt or 15468-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/4/6/15468/ + +Produced by Clare Boothby, Josephine Paolucci and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Lectures on Popular and Scientific Subjects + +Author: John Sutherland Sinclair, Earl of Caithness + +Release Date: March 26, 2005 [EBook #15468] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POPULAR AND SCIENTIFIC SUBJECTS *** + + + + +Produced by Clare Boothby, Josephine Paolucci and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + +</pre> + + + + + + +<h1>LECTURES</h1> + +<h1>ON</h1> + +<h1>POPULAR AND SCIENTIFIC SUBJECTS</h1> + + +<h2>BY THE</h2> + +<h2>EARL OF CAITHNESS, F.R.S.</h2> + + +<h3><i>DELIVERED AT VARIOUS TIMES AND PLACES.</i></h3> + + +<h3>Second Enlarged Edition.</h3> + +<p> +LONDON:<br /> +TRÜBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL.<br /> +1879.<br /> +</p> + +<p>Ballantyne Press</p> + +<p>BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.</p> + +<p>EDINBURGH AND LONDON</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> + +<!-- Autogenerated TOC. Modify or delete as required. --> +<p> + <a href="#LECTURES_ON_POPULAR_AND_SCIENTIFIC_SUBJECTS"><b>LECTURES ON POPULAR AND SCIENTIFIC SUBJECTS.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#COAL_AND_COAL_MINES"><b>COAL AND COAL-MINES.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#SCIENCE_APPLIED_TO_ART"><b>SCIENCE APPLIED TO ART.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#A_PENNYS_WORTH"><b>A PENNY'S WORTH; OR, "TAKE CARE OF THE PENCE, AND + THE POUNDS WILL TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES"</b></a><br /> + <a href="#PAST_AND_PRESENT_MEANS_OF_COMMUNICATION"><b>PAST AND PRESENT MEANS OF COMMUNICATION.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#THE_STEAM_ENGINE"><b>THE STEAM-ENGINE.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#ON_ATTRACTION"><b>ON ATTRACTION.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#THE_OIL_FROM_LINSEED"><b>THE OIL FROM LINSEED.</b></a><br /> + <a href="#HODGE_PODGE_OR_WHATS_INTILT"><b>HODGE-PODGE: OR, WHAT'S INTILT.</b></a><br /> + </p> +<!-- End Autogenerated TOC. --> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="LECTURES_ON_POPULAR_AND_SCIENTIFIC_SUBJECTS" id="LECTURES_ON_POPULAR_AND_SCIENTIFIC_SUBJECTS"></a>LECTURES ON POPULAR AND SCIENTIFIC SUBJECTS.</h2> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="COAL_AND_COAL_MINES" id="COAL_AND_COAL_MINES"></a><i>COAL AND COAL-MINES.</i></h2> + + +<p>There are few subjects of more importance, and few less known or thought +about, than our coal-mines. Coal is one of our greatest blessings, and +certainly one originating cause of England's greatness and wealth. It +has given us a power over other nations, and vast sums of money are +yearly brought to our country from abroad in exchange for the coal we +send. Nearly £17,000,000 is the representative value of the coal raised +every year at the pit's mouth, and £20,000,000 represent its mean value +at the various places of consumption. The capital invested in our +coal-mining trade, apart from the value of the mines themselves, +exceeds £20,000,000 sterling, and the amount of coal annually extracted +from the earth is over 70,000,000 of tons. Taking the calculation of a +working miner—J. Ellwood, Moss Pit, near Whitehaven—we may state, that +if 68,000,000 tons were excavated from a mining gallery 6 feet high and +12 feet wide, that gallery would be not less than 5128 miles, 1090 +yards, in length; or, if this amount of coal were erected in a pyramid, +its square base would extend over 40 acres, and the height would be 3356 +feet.</p> + +<p>There are grounds for believing that the produce of the various +coal-fields of the world does not at present much exceed 100,000,000 of +tons annually, and therefore our own country contributes more than +three-fifths of the total amount. If we divide the coal-yielding +counties of Britain into four classes, so as to make nearly equal +amounts of produce, we find that Durham and Northumberland yield rather +more every year than seven other counties, including Yorkshire. +Derbyshire, again, produces more than eight other counties, and nearly +as much as the whole of North and South Wales, Scotland, and +Ireland—the yield of the latter being about 17,000,000 of tons, and +that of the two first-named about 16,000,000 of tons.</p> + +<p>In 1773 there were only 13 collieries on the Tyne, and these had +increased to upwards of 30 in 1800. The number of collieries in 1828 had +increased to 41 on the Tyne, and 18 on the Wear, in all 59, producing +5,887,552 tons of coal. The out-put of coal in Northumberland and Durham +in 1854 was no less than 15,420,615 tons, and now in these two counties +there are 283 collieries. Mining began on the Tyne and continued on the +Wear, where the industry has been largely developed. There are in all +about 57 different seams in the Great Northern coal-field, varying in +thickness from 1 inch to 5 feet 5 inches and 6 feet, and these seams +comprise an aggregate of nearly 76 feet of coal. Taking the area of this +field to be 750 square miles—a most probable estimate—we may classify +the contents as household coal, steam coal, or those employed in +steam-engine boilers, and coking coal, employed for making coke and gas. +Of household coal there is only 96 square miles out of the total 750, +all the remainder being steam or coking and gas coal. The greater part +even of this 96 square miles has been worked out on the Tyne, and the +supply is rapidly decreasing also on the Wear, where the largest bulk +of the household coal lies. The collieries of the Tees possess but six +square miles out of the 96, as far as we at present know. Turning, +however, to that part of the coal-field regarded as precarious, and +consisting of first, second, and third-rate household coal, we have for +future use 300 square miles. London was formerly supplied from the pits +east of Tyne Bridge, where is the famous Wallsend Colliery, which gave +the name to the best coal. That mine is now drowned out, and, like the +great Roman Wall, at the termination of which it was sunk, and from +which it derived its name, is now an antiquity. There is now no Wallsend +coal, and the principal part of the present so-called coal comes from +the Wear, but the seam which supplied that famous pit is continued into +Durham, and that seam, or its equivalent, sends a million or two of tons +every year into London. The supply, however, in this district is rapidly +decreasing. Careful calculations have been made as to the probable +duration of this coal, of which the following is a summary. The workable +quantity of coal remaining in the ten principal seams of this coal-field +is estimated at 1,876,848,756 Newcastle chaldrons (each 35 cwt.). +Deducting losses and underground and surface waste, the total +merchantable round or good-sized coal will be 1,251,232,507 Newcastle +chaldrons. Proceeding on this estimate, formed by Mr. Grunwith in 1846, +we may arrive at the probable duration of the supplies: taking the +future annual average of coal raised from these seams to be 10,000,000 +of tons—and this is under the present rate—the whole will be exhausted +in 331 years. A still later estimate was made by Mr. T.G. Hall in 1854, +and he reckoned the quantity of coal left for future use at +5,121,888,956 tons; dividing this by 14,000,000 of tons as the annual +consumption, the result would be 365 years; and should the annual demand +arrive at 20,000,000 of tons, the future supply of this famous +coal-field would continue for 256 years. The total available coal (1871) +in the British coal-fields, at depths not exceeding 4000 feet, and in +seams not less than 1 foot thick, is 90,207,285,398 tons, and taking +into account seams which may yet become available, lying under the +Permian, New Red Sandstone, and other superincumbent strata, this +estimate is increased to 146,480,000,000 of tons. This quantity, at the +present annual rate of production throughout the country—namely, +123,500,000 tons—would last 1186 years. Other estimates of various +kinds relative to our coal supply have been put forth: some have +asserted that, owing to increasing population and increasing consumption +in manufactures, it will be exhausted in 100 years, and between this +extreme and that of 1186 years there are many other conjectures and +estimates.</p> + +<p>In the United States there are about 120,000 square miles underlaid by +known workable coal-beds, besides what yet remains to be discovered; +while on the cliffs of Nova Scotia the coal-seams can be seen one over +the other for many hundred feet, and showing how the coal was originally +formed. With this immense stock of fuel in the cellars of the earth, it +seems evident that we need not trouble our minds or be anxious as to the +duration of our coal supply. Besides, the conversion of vegetable matter +into coal seems to be going on even now. In the United States there are +peat-bogs of considerable extent, in which a substance exactly +resembling cannel coal has been found; and in some of the Irish +peat-beds, as also in the North of Scotland, a similar substance has +been discovered, of a very inflammable nature, resembling coal.</p> + +<p>Yes! what could have produced this singular-looking, black, inflammable +rock? How many times was this question asked before Science could return +an answer? This she can now do with confidence. Coal was once growing +vegetable matter. On the surface of the shale, immediately above the +coal, you will find innumerable impressions of leaves and branches, as +perfect as artist ever drew. But how could this vegetable matter ever +accumulate in such masses as to make beds of coal of such vast extent, +some not less than 30 feet thick? It would take 10 or 12 feet of green +vegetable matter to make 1 foot of solid coal. Let us transport +ourselves to the carboniferous times, and see the condition of the +earth, and this may assist us to answer the question. Stand on this +rocky eminence and behold that sea of verdure, whose gigantic waves roll +in the greenest of billows to the verge of the horizon—that is a +carboniferous forest. Mark that steamy cloud floating over it, an +indication of the great evaporation constantly proceeding. The scent of +the morning air is like that of a greenhouse; and well it may be, for +the land of the globe is a mighty hothouse—the crust of the earth is +still thin, and its internal heat makes a tropical climate everywhere, +unchecked by winter's cold, thus forcing plants to a most luxurious +growth.</p> + +<p>Descend, and let us wander through this forest and examine it more +closely. What strange trees are here! No oaks, no elms, or ash, or +chestnut—no trees that we ever saw before. It looks as if the plants of +a boggy meadow had shot up in a single night to a height of 60 or 70 +feet, and we were walking among the stalks—a gigantic meadow of ferns, +reeds, grasses, and club-mosses. A million columns rise, so thick at the +top that they make twilight at mid-day, and their trunks are so close +together we can scarcely edge our way between them, whilst the ground is +carpeted with trailing plants completely interwoven. What strange trees +they are! Beneath us lies an accumulation of vegetable matter more than +200 feet in thickness—the result of the growth and decay of plants in +this swamp for centuries. All things are here favourable for the growth +of vegetation—the great heat of the ground causes water to rise rapidly +in vapour, and this again descends in showers, supplying the plants with +moisture continuously. The air contains a large proportion of carbonic +acid gas, poison to animals but food to plants, which, by means of its +aid, build up their woody structure. Winds at times level these gigantic +plants, for their hold on the earth is feeble, and thus the mass goes on +increasing.</p> + +<p>We are now on the edge of a lake abounding with fish, whose bony scales +glitter in the water as they pursue their prey. Lying along the shore +are shells cast up by the waves, and there are also seen the tracks of +some large animals. How like the impression of a man's hand some of +these tracks are! The hind-feet are evidently much larger than the +fore-feet. There is the frog-like animal which made them, and what a +size! It must be six feet long, and its head looks like that of a +crocodile, for its jaws are furnished with formidable rows of long, +strong, sharp, conical teeth.</p> + +<p>The continued growth and decomposition of the vegetation during long +ages must have produced beds like the peat-deposits of America and Great +Britain. In the Dismal Swamp of Virginia there is said to be a mass of +vegetable matter 40 feet in thickness, and on the banks of the Shannon +in Ireland is a peat-bog 3 miles broad and 50 feet deep. When conditions +were so much more favourable for these deposits, beds 400 feet in +thickness may easily have been produced. This accumulated mass of +vegetable matter must be buried, however, before we can have a coal-bed. +How was this accomplished? The very weight of it may have caused the +crust of the earth to sink, forming a basin into which rivers, sweeping +down from the surrounding higher country, and carrying down mud in their +waters, the weight of which, deposited upon the vegetable matter, +pressed and squeezed it into half its original compass. Sand carried +down subsequently in a similar manner, and deposited upon the mud, +pressed it into shale, and the vegetable matter, still more reduced in +volume by this additional pressure, is prepared for its final conversion +into shale. In time the basin becomes shallow from the decomposition of +sediment on its bottom, and then we have another marsh with its myriad +plants; another accumulation of vegetable matter takes place, which by +similar processes is also buried. Where thirty or forty seams of coal +have been found one below another, we have evidence of land and water +thus changing places many times.</p> + +<p>When vegetable matter is excluded from air and under great pressure, it +decomposes slowly, parting with carbonic acid gas; and is first changed +into lignite or brown coal, and then into bituminous coal, or the soft +coal that burns with smoke and flame. I have been in a coal-mine where +the carbonic acid gas, pouring from a crevice in the coal, put out a +lighted candle. The high temperature to which the coal has been +subjected when buried at great depths has also probably assisted in +producing this change; and where that temperature has been very high, +the coal by the influence of the heat having parted with its inflammable +gases, we have the hard or anthracite coal, which burns with little or +no flame and without smoke. It is indeed coal made into coke under +tremendous pressure, and this is the kind of coal which Americans use +exclusively in their dwelling-houses and monster hotels.</p> + +<p>It was at first supposed that the plants of the carboniferous times were +bamboos, palms, and gigantic cactuses, such as are now found in tropical +regions, but a more careful examination of them shows that, with the +exception of the tree-fern now found in the tropics, they differ from +all existing trees. A large proportion of the plants of the +coal-measures were ferns, some authorities say one-half. From their +great abundance we may infer the great heat and moisture of the +atmosphere at the time when they grew, as similar ferns at the present +day are only found in the greatest abundance on small tropical islands +where the temperature is high. Coal often contains impressions of fern +leaves and palm-like ferns—no less than 934 kinds are drawn and +described by geologists. Many animals and insects are found in the coal, +such as large toad-like reptiles with beautiful teeth, small lizards, +water lizards, great fish with tremendous jaws, many insects of the +grasshopper tribe, but none of these are of the same species as those +found now living on this globe.</p> + +<p>Wood, peat, brown coal, jet, and true coal, are chemically alike, +differing only in their amount of oxygen, due to the difference of +compression to which they were subjected. The sun gave his heat and +light to the forests now turned into coal, and when we burn it ages +afterwards, we revive some of the heat and light so long untouched. +Stephenson once remarked to Sir Robert Peel, as they stood watching a +passing train: "There goes <i>the sunshine of former ages</i>!"</p> + + +<p>COST OF WORKING.</p> + +<p>Having thus stated shortly the origin and extent of the coal of this +country, more particularly that of the northern coal-fields of +Northumberland and Durham, I think it may be interesting to say +something of the cost at which this valuable article is obtained, as I +am sure few are at all aware of the vast sums of money that have to be +expended before we can sit down by our comfortable firesides, with a +cold winter night outside, and read our book, or have our family +gathered round us; and few know the danger and hardship of the bold +worker who risks his life to procure the coal. The first step is to find +out if there is coal. This done, the next is to get at it, or, as it is +termed, to <i>win</i> the coal. The process is to sink a shaft, and this is +alike dangerous, uncertain, and very costly. The first attempt to sink a +pit at Haswell in Durham was abandoned after an outlay of £60,000. The +sinkers had to pass through sand, under the magnesian limestone, where +vast quantities of water lay stored, and though engines were erected +that pumped out 26,700 tons of water per day, yet the flood remained the +conqueror. This amount seems incredible, but such is the fact. At +another colliery near Gateshead (Goose Colliery), 1000 gallons a minute, +or 6000 tons of water per day, were pumped out, and only 300 tons of +coal were brought up in the same time, and thus the water raised +exceeded the coal twenty times. The most astonishing undertaking in +mining was the Dalton le Dale Pit, nine miles from Durham. On the 1st +June 1840 they pumped out 3285 gallons a minute. Engines were erected +which raised 93,000 gallons a minute from a depth of 90 fathoms or 540 +feet, and this was done night and day. The amount expended to reach the +coal in this pit was £300,000. Mr. Hall estimates the capital invested +in the coal trade of the counties of Durham and Northumberland, +including private railways, waggons, and docks for loading ships, at +£13,000,000 sterling.</p> + +<p>The great difficulty in working coal, should these upper seams fail, is +not only the increase of cost in sinking further down, but the increased +heat to be worked in. At 2000 feet the mine will increase in heat 28°, +at 4000, 57°; to this must be added the constant temperature of 50° 5', +so that at 2000 feet it would be 78° 5', and at 4000, 107° 5' Fahr. By +actual trial on July 17, 1857, in Duckingfield Pit, the temperature at +2249 feet was 75° 5'. From this it may be conceived in what great heat +the men have to work, and the work is very hard. One may fancy from this +what can be endured, but it would be next to impossible to work in a +greater temperature. I can speak upon this from actual experience, as +when down the Lady Londonderry Pit the temperature was 85°, and here the +men worked naked. Another great source of expense and anxiety lies in +keeping up the roof, as, from the excessive pressure, the roof and floor +are always inclined to come together, and props must therefore be used, +and these in some pits cost as much as £1500 a year. To digress for a +moment, an amusing story is told of Grimaldi, the celebrated clown, when +paying a visit to a coal-pit. Having gone some way through the mine, a +sudden noise, arising from the falling of coal from the roof, caused him +to ask the reason of the noise. "Hallo!" exclaimed Grimaldi, greatly +terrified, "what's that?" "Hech!" said his guide, "it's only a wee bit +of coal fallen down—we have that three or four times a day." "Then I'll +thank you to ring for my basket, for I'll stop no longer among the wee +bits of falling coal." This "wee bit" was about three tons' weight. A +large proportion of the sad accidents in coal-mines is caused by these +falls of the roof, which give no warning, but suddenly come down and +crush to death those who happen to be near.</p> + + +<p>MODE OF WORKING.</p> + +<p>The cost of working having thus been given, I wish now to lay before you +an explanation of the method of working and bringing the coal to the +surface. It may not be uninteresting to mention how many men are +employed in this work, as the number is very large. Coal was not +formerly excavated by machinery, but it is so now, and therefore hands +must be had. The number of men employed in the mines of county Durham in +1854 was 28,000; of these, 13,500 were hewers, winning several thousand +tons of coal daily. Of the remainder, 3500 were safety-staff men, +having, besides, 1400 boys belonging to their staff; 2000 were off-hand +men, for bargain work or other duties; 7600 lads and boys, working +under the various designations of "putters," or pushers of coal-tubs, +underground "drivers," "marrows," "half-marrows," and "foals," these +latter terms being local, and significant of age and labour. For +Northumberland must be added 10,536 persons, and Cumberland 3579, making +a total for these three counties of upwards of 42,000 persons labouring +in and round our northern collieries. The average that each hewer will +raise per day is from two to three tons in thin, and three to four tons +in thick seams. The largest quantity raised by any hewer on an average +of the colliers of England is about six tons a day of eight hours. The +mode of working is very laborious, as the majority of seams of coal +being very thin—that is to say, not more than two feet thick—the +worker of necessity is obliged to work in a constrained position, often +lying on his side; and you can fancy the labour of using a pick in such +a position. To get an idea of the position, just place yourself under a +table, and then try to use a pick, and it will give you a pretty clear +idea of the comfortable way in which a great part of our coal is got, +and this also at a temperature of 86° in bad air. The object, of +course, of the worker is to take nothing but coal, as all labour is lost +that is spent in taking any other material away. The man after a time +gets twisted in his form, from being constantly in this constrained +position, and, in fact, to sit upright like other men is at last +painful. Then an amount of danger is always before him, even in the best +regulated and ventilated pits. This danger proceeds from fire-damp, as +one unlucky stroke of the pick may bring forth a stream of carbureted +hydrogen gas, inexplosive of itself, but if mixed with eight times its +bulk of air, more dangerous than gunpowder, and which, if by chance it +comes in contact with the flame of a candle, is sure to explode, and +certain death is the result—not always from the explosion itself, but +from the after-damp or carbonic acid gas which follows it.</p> + +<p>Upwards of 1500 lives are yearly lost from these causes, and not less +than 10,000 accidents in the same period show the constant danger that +the miner is exposed to. It would appear that England has more deaths +from mining accidents than foreign countries, as Mr. Mackworth's table +will show:—</p> + + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr><td align='left'>Prussia</td><td align='left'>1.89 per 1000</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Belgium</td><td align='left'>2.8</td><td align='left'>"</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>England</td><td align='left'>4.5</td><td align='left'>"</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Staffordshire</td><td align='left'>7.3</td><td align='left'>"</td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<p>This statement shows that more care is wanted in this last-named county +especially, as I find that the yield of coal in Belgium is half as much +as in England. Long working in the dark, if one may so speak, is a cause +of serious detriment to the sight, and the worker also suffers much from +constantly inhaling the small black dust, which in course of time +affects the lungs, causing what is known as "miner's asthma." Without +going further into the unhealthy nature of the miner's work, it may be +interesting to mention something of the actual process, and having +myself been an eye-witness of it, I will explain it as shortly as I can. +The workers having arrived at the pit-mouth at their proper hours—for +the pit is worked by shifts, and consequently is generally worked day +and night—the first operation is for each to procure his lamp from the +lamp-keeper, receiving it lighted and locked; this is found to be +necessary, as from the small light given by the Davy-lamp the men are +often tempted to open them, and some are even, so foolhardy as to carry +their lamp on their cap and a candle in the hand, and hence a terrible +explosion may take place. A few words on the Davy-lamp, which came into +use about sixty years ago, may not be out of place here. This +safety-lamp of the miner not only shows the presence of gas, but +prevents its explosion. It is constructed of gauze made of iron-wire +one-fortieth to one-sixtieth of an inch in diameter, having 784 openings +to the inch, and the cooling effect of the current passing through the +lamp prevents the gas taking fire. If we pour turpentine over a lighted +safety-lamp, it will show black smoke, but no flame. Provided with his +lamp, the miner takes his place with others in the tub, which conveys +him with great rapidity to the bottom of the shaft. Here landed, he +takes his way to the workings, some of these, in large pits, being two +miles from the bottom of the shaft. To a novice this is not easy, as you +have to walk in a crouching manner most part of the way. Once there, he +begins in earnest, and drives at his pick for eight hours, the monotony +only relieved by his gathering the products into small railway waggons +or tubs to be removed. This is done mostly by boys, but in the larger +mines by ponies of the Shetland and other small breeds. The tubs are +taken to a part of the mine where, if one may so speak, the main line is +reached, and then formed into trains, and taken to the shaft by means of +an endless rope worked by an engine in the pit. In accomplishing all +this work, great care has to be taken that the current of air is not +changed or stopped. This is effected by means of doors placed in various +parts of the mine, so as to stop the current and drive it in the +required direction. These doors are kept by boys, whose duty it is to +open and close them for the passage of the coal tubs. Those boys are +often allowed no light, and sit in a hole cut in the side of the road +near to the doors. Upon their carefulness the safety of the mine in a +great measure depends, as if they neglect to shut the door the current +of air is changed. I have been told that these boys are subject to +accidents no less than the workers, for, sitting in the dark, and often +alone for hours, they are very apt to go to sleep. To ensure being awoke +at the proper time, they frequently lie down on the line of rails under +the rope, so that when the rope is started it may awake them by its +motion, but at times so sound is their sleep, that it has failed to +rouse them in time, and a train of coal waggons has passed over them, +causing in most cases death.</p> + +<p>The coal having been brought to the pit-mouth, it remains to be shown +what becomes of this most valuable mineral, the consumption of which is +now so large in all parts of the globe. The next person employed in the +trade is the sailor, to convey it to the market, and the collier vessels +are a valuable navy to the country, proving quite a nursery of seamen +for our royal marine service. Newcastle, Sunderland, West Hartlepool, +and a large number of other ports along our coast, have an immense +amount of shipping employed exclusively in the coal trade—no less than +5359 vessels carrying coal having entered the port of London alone in +1873, and the average annual quantity of coal exported abroad during the +three years ending 1872 was 12,000,000 tons.</p> + +<p>I will not now detain you longer on the subject of the extent and +working of coal, lest I should tire your patience; but before concluding +I should wish to give some account of the uses to which this most +valuable product is applied. The main use of coal, as we all know, is to +produce heat, without which many a paterfamilias would grumble when the +dinner-hour came and he had nothing hot to eat. It not only, however, +supplies heat, but the beauty of the processes for lighting up our +houses is now mainly derived from coal. The immense consumption of coal, +among other things, is in the production of the vapour of water—steam, +by which our thousands of engines on sea and land are made to perform +their various appointed tasks. This production, formed of decayed +vegetable matter, which in ages past nourished on the surface of the +earth, as I have already shown, is again brought forth for our use, and +is a testimony of the goodness and kindness of God in providing for our +wants. By its heat some 10,000 locomotive engines are propelled, and +many hundreds of iron furnaces are kept in work, besides those for other +purposes. It moves the machinery of at least 3000 factories, 2500 steam +vessels, besides numerous smaller craft, and I cannot tell how many +forges and fires. It aids in producing delicacies out of season in our +hothouses. It lights our houses and streets with gas, the cheapest and +best of all lights—London alone in this way spending about £50,000 a +year. It gives us oil and tar to lubricate machinery and preserve timber +and iron; and last, not least, by the aid of chemistry it is made to +produce many beautiful dyes, such as magenta and mauve, and also, in the +same way, gives perfumes resembling cloves, almonds, and spices.</p> + +<p>The annual consumption of coal in Great Britain is reckoned to be not +less than 80,000,000 tons. The amount raised in 1873 amounted to +127,000,000 tons, and of this was imported into London alone 7,883,138 +tons—4,000,000 tons, or 15 per cent. of the total out-put of the +country, being sent from Durham alone. The cost of the Wallsend coal on +board the ship may be stated at 10s. 6d. per ton; to this must be added +the charge at coal-market of 2s. 8d., freight say 5s. 9d., profit 7s. +6d., so that a ton of coal of this kind will cost in your cellar in +London the sum of £1, 6s. 5d.</p> + +<p>I think it is now time to conclude this most interesting subject, for +though I have by no means exhausted it, yet I fear I have said as much +as a lecture will warrant. The subject shows us how mindful a kind +Providence has been of man, and to this nation in particular, for to our +coal we in a measure owe much of our greatness. So while we admire the +geology of our globe, let us not forget who made it and all that it +contains, and who, when He had finished the work, pronounced it all very +good. Let us so strive to live, that though we may be called away +suddenly, as 199 of our fellow-creatures were called by what is termed a +mining accident, we may be ready to meet Him who not only made us, but +made the coal, and who, when man, at first made perfect, fell away, was +pleased to send a Saviour to redeem us and bring us to that light which +fadeth not away.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="SCIENCE_APPLIED_TO_ART" id="SCIENCE_APPLIED_TO_ART"></a><i>SCIENCE APPLIED TO ART</i>.</h2> + + +<p>A resumé of science and art requires to set forth what they have already +done and what they are now doing—to trace them down to our own time, +and contrast their early stages with their present development. Giving +to art and science all that is their due, it must be evident to every +one that they are primarily not of human origin, but owe their existence +and progress to those inherent faculties of man which have been bestowed +upon him by an Almighty Being—faculties given not only to fathom the +works of creation, and adapt them for man's use and benefit, but also +that they might show forth the praise and honour of their Creator, as +"the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His +handiwork." To set forth science and art before an Institution like that +here met together, behoves one to enter upon the subject in a way which +will not only interest but also instruct. But this is only an opening +address, and the lecturers who will follow me in due course will bring +before you the special interests of those special subjects on which they +are to treat. These cannot fail to interest as well as instruct those +who attend, their object being profit to the mind, and hence not only +the furtherance of mental culture, but increasing capabilities for +material prosperity.</p> + +<p>To address a meeting in Glasgow gives one a feeling of pleasure; but, +before going further, I trust that when I have finished you may not be +able to say of me, as the two Highlanders did after leaving church—"Eh, +man! wasna that a grand discoorse?—it jumbled the head and confused the +understanding!" This city has brought forth one of the greatest of +men—though, like many others, he had to fight an uphill battle in his +early career—that man was James Watt. But what a career was his! and +what a benefit to all now living has proved the result of his +perseverance, for to his genius are we mainly indebted for the manifold +applications of the wondrous power of <i>Steam</i>! That word is enough; and +the engines it now propels are a powerful testimony to the talent of +the great man who brought this mighty power to bear on the vast +machinery, not only of this great country, but of the whole world. +Contrast, for one thing, the travelling facilities of Watt's early days +with those we now possess through his persevering industry. Fourteen +days was then the usual time for a journey from Glasgow to London, while +at present it can be performed in a less number of hours.</p> + +<p>Railways! what have they not done! We see towns spring up in a few years +where only a few cottages formerly stood, and wild glens transformed +into fruitful valleys, by means of railways in their neighbourhood +developing traffic and trade, and creating employment by placing them in +communication with larger towns, and thus opening up new sources of +material prosperity. Look at the magnitude of our railways. With respect +to locomotives alone, in 1866 there were 8125 of these, and the work +performed by them was the haulage of 6,000,000 trains a distance of +143,000,000 miles. As each engine possesses a draught-power equal to 450 +horses, these 8125 locomotives consequently did the work of more than +3,500,000 horses, and as the average durability of a locomotive is +computed to be about fifteen years, each will have in that time +traversed nearly 300,000 miles! Then, again, there have to be replaced +about 500 worn-out locomotives every year, at a cost for each of about +£2500 to £3000, entailing an annual expenditure of nearly £1,500,000 +sterling. All this money circulates for the country's benefit, keeping +our iron, copper, and coal mines, our furnaces and our workshops, all at +work, and our people well and usefully employed, and thus proving one of +the greatest advantages of applied science and art to this country and +the world at large. If it had not been for steam, this valuable +Institution might not have been in existence, having for its chief +objects the promotion of the growth and increasing the usefulness of the +applied sciences.</p> + +<p>We have now one of the greatest triumphs of engineering art in the Mont +Cenis Railway, and this, though worked out under great difficulties, has +proved a perfect success. Still more recently we have had brought under +our notice the bold scheme of connecting Britain and France by a tunnel +under the English Channel—a project which, but a few years ago, any one +would have been thought mad to propose; but science has proved that it +can be carried out; and it is only a few days since a large meeting was +held in Liverpool with a view of tunnelling under the Mersey, and thus +connecting Liverpool and Birkenhead. Nor do these schemes seem at all +visionary when we learn that our go-ahead Transatlantic cousins have a +project before the Legislature of New Jersey for laying wooden tubes +underground, through which the mails and small parcels will be forwarded +at the rate of 150 miles an hour! Through a similar tube, 6 feet in +diameter, laid under the East and Hudson Rivers, passengers are to be +transported from Brooklyn to Jersey city. A like scheme is in course of +construction under the Thames.<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> Another American engineering triumph +will be the railway suspension bridge proposed to be built across the +Hudson River at Peekskill, in the hilly district known to New Yorkers as +the Highlands, which is to have a clear span of 1600 feet at a height of +155 feet above high water.</p> + +<p>Another grand and comparatively recent application of steam is in its +adaptation to agriculture. Fields are now turned up by the +steam-plough—an invention as yet in its infancy—in a manner that could +never be done by mere hand-labour. Steam-culture has already penetrated +as far north as John-o'-Groats, where I have one of the ploughs of Mr. +Howard of Bedford, and but for its assistance I could not have taken in +the land I have now worked up. So great is the demand for +steam-cultivating apparatus, not only in Britain, but throughout the +German plains and the flat alluvial soils of Egypt, that the makers have +now more orders than they can readily supply.</p> + +<p>In all our manufactories steam proves itself the motive power, and there +is hardly a large work without it. This city can show its weaving, +spinning, bleaching, and dyeing works—all which have tended to raise +Glasgow from the small town of Watt's time to the proud position it now +holds of being the first commercial city of Scotland. In this city, +second only to Manchester in the production of cotton goods, it cannot +fail to be interesting to state, that in the first nine months of the +present year there has been exported 2,188,591,288 yards of cotton +piece-goods manufactured in this country—a larger quantity by nearly +150,000,000 yards than the corresponding period of 1867, the year of the +largest export of cotton manufactures ever known until then. Of course +Glasgow has had its share in this great branch of export trade, +rendering it large, wealthy, and populous—results which have mainly +followed from the application of science to art.</p> + +<p>Last, not least, see what steam has enabled us to do in regard to the +food for the mind, both in printing it and afterwards in its +distribution. Look, for instance, to Printing House Square—to the +"Times" newspaper. In the short space of one hour 20,000 copies are +thrown off the printing-machine, and, thanks to the express train, the +same day the paper can be read in Glasgow. Still further in this +direction, the value of steam is also shown by its having enabled us to +produce cheap literature, so strikingly instanced in the world-famed +works of Sir Walter Scott, which we are now enabled to purchase at the +small sum of sixpence for each volume—a result which well shows the +application of science to art.</p> + +<p>Let us now observe what a varied number of mechanical and agricultural +appliances are required to furnish us with this cheap literature. There +is agriculture, in the growth of the fibre that produces the material of +which the printing paper is made; then the flax-mill is brought into +play to produce the yarn to be woven; then weaving to produce the +cloth; after this, dyeing. Then the fine material is used for various +purposes too numerous to mention; and after it has performed its own +proper work, and is cast away as rags, no more to be thought of by its +owner, it is gathered up as a most precious substance by the papermaker, +who shows us the true value of the cast-off rags. Subjected to the +beautiful and costly machinery of the paper-mill, the rags turn out an +article of so much value that without it the world would almost come to +a stand-still. Yet further, we have next the miner, who by his labour +brings to the surface of the earth the metal required to produce the +type for printing; after this the printing-press; and next the chemist, +who by certain chemical combinations gives us the ink that is to spread +knowledge to the world, by making clear to the eye the thoughts of +authors who have applied their minds for the instruction and amusement +of their fellow-men. But we do not end here; consider also that each and +all, the farmer, the spinner, the weaver, the chemist, the miner, the +printer, and the author, must respectively have a profit out of their +various branches of industry, and does it not strike one forcibly what +a boon to the world is this all-important application of science to +art—putting within the reach of the poor man and the working man the +means of cultivating his mind, and so, by giving him matters of deep +interest to think over, keeping him from idleness and perhaps sin (for +idleness is the root of most evil), and making him a happy family-man +instead of a public-house frequenter.</p> + +<p>Many were strongly opposed to the introduction of steam, and would +rather have seen it put down, and the old coach and printing-press, +loom, spinning-wheel, and flail kept in use, fearing that machinery +would limit employment; and a hard fight it has been to carry forward +all that has hitherto been done. But what has proved to be the result? +Thousands are now employed where formerly a few people sufficed, and we +are all benefited in having better and cheaper goods, books, provisions, +and all things needful. There is therefore the satisfaction of knowing +that, by the thousand and one applications of steam, the physical, +mental, and even moral condition of the people has been greatly +ameliorated; in this way again proving a triumph for the application of +science to art.</p> + +<p>Glasgow is not only famous for its multifarious applications of water +in its finely divided gaseous form of steam, but it has made admirable +use of that element in its more familiar and fluid form, as shown in the +gigantic undertaking of bringing a water-supply into this thriving and +populous city. The peaceful waters of a Highland lake are suddenly +turned from their quiet resting-place, where they have remained in peace +for generations, the admiration of all beholders, and made to take an +active part in contributing to the health, wealth, and comfort of +Glasgow. The beautiful Loch Katrine has been brought into the city, +furnishing a stream of pure water to minister to the wants of all +classes of the people—an undertaking which a few years ago would have +been pronounced impossible; but here again science and art have +prevailed, and brought about this all-important object and greatly +desired and inestimable boon. The great capital of England itself cannot +boast of such an advantage, and must still be content to drink water +contaminated with impurities. Does not this speak volumes for the wealth +and energy of Glasgow? What so conducive to health and cleanliness (and +cleanliness is akin to godliness) as a pure and perfect supply of water +such as you now possess; and you have great reason to be grateful for +this beneficent application of science and art. With a worldwide +celebrity for your waterworks, you have cause also to be proud of your +chemical works, and that famous chimney of St. Rollox, one of the +loftiest structures in the world. There are few cities more highly +favoured than this. Would not Captain Shaw be glad if, in London, he had +the head or command of water such as you have from Loch Katrine to save +the great metropolis from the destruction by fire that they are in daily +dread of? In Glasgow we hardly want this—our grand Loch Katrine does it +all.</p> + +<p>Turn to your river, the beautiful Clyde, which eighty years ago could be +forded at Erskine, while Port Glasgow was as far as ships could then +come up—a striking contrast to what is now to be seen at the +Broomielaw, where the largest steamers and ships drawing thirty feet of +water are moored in the very heart of the city, discharging produce from +all parts of the world. What has done this but steam—the energy of man; +steam cutting a channel by dredging to admit of ships passing so far up +the river: and this has been to Glasgow a great source of wealth by the +promotion of commerce. Art has been permitted to work out great things +for your city, and I trust still greater things are in store. Take the +trade now in full progress on the banks of the Clyde. The shipbuilding +is fast leaving the Thames and finding its way here. It is a pleasure to +hear people say: "There is a fine ship—she is Clyde-built."—"Who built +her? Was it Napier, or Thomson, or Tod, or M'Gregor, or Randolph & +Elder, or Caird, or Denny of Dumbarton, or Cunliff & Dunlop?" Pardon me +if I have left out any name, for all are good builders. Then, again, it +may be asked: "Who engined these ships?"—"Oh, Clyde engineers, or those +who built them." I had the pleasure of being this year on board the +Trinity yacht "Galatea," on a cruise when fourteen knots an hour were +accomplished; and that yacht is a good specimen of what Clyde +shipbuilders can turn out. She was built by Caird. I have also had the +pleasure of a trip in the "Russia," one of the finest screw-vessels +afloat, built by Thomson; and she has proved herself perhaps the fastest +of sea-going steamers. Does not all this show what science applied to +art has done?</p> + +<p>Glasgow has also a College of the first order, one that is looked up to +as sending men of high standing forth to the world. Watt worked under +its roof as a poor mathematical instrument maker, and although enjoying +little of its valuable instruction, he produced the steam-engine—a +lesson as to what those ought to do towards promoting the application of +science to art who have the full benefit of a scientific training such +as your College affords.</p> + +<p>Each day brings forth something new—the electric telegraph, for +instance, by which our thoughts and desires are transmitted to all parts +of the world, so to speak, in a moment of time. When we think that we +are within an instant of America, it gives one a feeling of awe, for it +shows to what an extent we have been permitted to carry the application +of science to art. A small wire is carried across the great Atlantic, +and immediate communication is the result. The achievements of science +were shown to a great extent in the laying of this cable, and perhaps +still more in its recovery after it had been broken. A small cable is +lost at the bottom of the ocean, far from the land, and in water about +two miles in depth—a ship goes out, discovers the spot, and then +grappling irons are lowered. Science with its long arm, as it were, +reaches down the almost unfathomable abyss, and with its powerful hand +secures and brings to the surface of the ocean the fractured cable, +which is again made to connect the Old and New Worlds—thus verifying +almost the words of Shakespeare, when he speaks of calling "spirits from +the vasty deep." After splicing the cable, the vessel proceeds with the +work of paying it out, as it sails across the Atlantic; and once more +science and art find a successful issue, for Europe and America are +united.</p> + +<p>What the combination of science and art has done is, however, not yet +exhausted: witness the splendid specimens of artillery now produced by +Sir Joseph Whitworth and Sir William Armstrong—weapons by which +projectiles are thrown with an almost irresistible force. The beauty of +their construction is a triumph to art, and their mathematical truth a +triumph to science. One thing follows another, and no sooner have men of +originality and observation perfected the means of destruction, when +others press forward and furnish the means of defence. Our armour-clads, +such as the "Warrior" and others which lately visited these waters, have +thus been called into existence, and they are splendid specimens of +what science applied to art can achieve.</p> + +<p>The Menai Bridge is another instance of the power of man in applied +science. A railway bridge is required to further communication, but +Government demands that the navigation of the Strait shall not be +impeded. The mind of a great man is called into action, and by applying +scientific principles to engineering art, we have that wonder of the +world, the great tubular bridge over the Menai Straits. This work +required a mind of no ordinary nature, but such a one was found in the +celebrated Robert Stephenson. I am proud to say I was privileged to have +him as a friend, and I greatly lamented his death, not only as a friend, +but as an irreparable loss to the world of science.</p> + +<p>Another instance of science applied to art—and not the least +important—is the adaptation of glass to form the lens which enables the +flame of a lamp to be seen from a great distance. What this has done for +the mariner is shown in our lighthouses, which enable him to know where +he is by night as well as by day, for the lights are made to revolve, to +be stationary, or to show various colours or flashes, which reveal to +him their respective positions. The compass also, though ancient, is +still an application of applied science, and by it the mariner is +enabled to guide his ship safely over the ocean. A very beautiful +instance of applied science to art is electrometallurgy, in which metals +are deposited by means of the galvanic battery in any required form or +shape, and this process of gilding and plating is executed with +marvellous rapidity. All these various instances show what the mind of +man has done, and is doing; but the applications of science to art are +so endless, that even their simple enumeration could not be included in +the limits of an opening address, for there are few things to which +science cannot be applied. One of the most recent and beautiful is the +art of photography, where, by means of applied chemistry, aided by the +rays of the sun, there can be produced the most pleasing and lifelike +representations. This new application of chemistry is a most interesting +one, which shows that we do not stand still, and as long as arts and +science are permitted to be practised by us we are not intended to stand +still, but to exercise our minds to the utmost to unravel those +mysteries of nature that are yet to be developed.</p> + +<p>Chemistry, as a regular branch of natural science, is of comparatively +recent origin, and can hardly be said to date earlier than the latter +third of last century. The Greek philosophers had some vague yet +profound ideas on this subject, but their acquaintance was limited to +speculations <i>à priori</i>, founded on general and often inaccurate +observations of natural occurrences. Yet their acuteness was such, that +some of their speculations as to the constituent properties of matter +coincide in a wonderful degree with those which now prevail among modern +philosophers. It is not easy to define what chemistry is in a few words, +but it may be described as the science which has for its object the +investigation of all elementary bodies which exist in the universe, with +the view of determining their composition and properties. It also seeks +to detect the laws which regulate their mutual relations, and the +proportions in which these elements will combine together to form the +compounds which constitute the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, +as well as the properties of these various compounds. The ancients +admitted only four elements—earth, air, fire, and water. Chemists now +far exceed this number, and seek to show what these elements are +composed of by analysing them into the various gases, solids, and +liquids.</p> + +<p>Astronomy is the most ancient of all the sciences. The Chaldeans, the +Egyptians, the Chinese, the Hindoos, Gauls, and Peruvians, each regarded +themselves as the inventors of astronomy, an honour which Josephus +deprives them of by ascribing it to the antediluvian patriarchs. From +the few facts to be gleaned out of the vague accounts by ancient authors +regarding the Chaldeans, it may be inferred that their boasted knowledge +of this science was confined to observations of the simplest kind, +unassisted by any instruments whatever. The Egyptians, again, though +anciently considered the rivals of the Chaldeans in the cultivation of +this science, have yet left behind them still fewer records of their +labours, though it is so far certain that their astronomical knowledge +was even greater than that of the Chaldeans. The Phoenicians seem to +have excelled in the art of navigation, and would no doubt direct their +course among the islands of the Mediterranean by the stars; but if they +had any further speculative notions of astronomy, they were probably +derived from the Chaldeans or Egyptians. In China, astronomy has been +known from the remotest ages, and has always been considered as a +science necessary and indispensable to the civil government of the +Celestial Empire. On considering the accounts of Chinese astronomy, we +find it consisted only in the practice of certain observations, which +led to nothing more than the knowledge of a few isolated facts, and they +are indebted to foreigners for any further improvements they have since +adopted.</p> + +<p>The Greeks seem to have made the most early advances in astronomy; for +notwithstanding that the art of observation was still in its infancy, we +are indebted to the labours and speculations of ancient Greek +philosophers for raising astronomy to the dignity of a science. The +complicated but ingenious hypotheses of the Greek Ptolemy prepared the +way for the discovery of the elliptic form of the planetary orbits and +other astronomical laws by the German Kepler, which again conducted our +English Newton to the discovery of the law of gravitation. I am not, +however, desirous of giving this meeting a lecture on astronomy—I shall +leave that to Professor Grant. But it is singular that I should have +come here on a day on which one of the now known observations and +movements of the planets has taken place—the transit of Mercury. This +was calculated to occur this day by the science of astronomy, and it is +also known when it will again occur, namely, on the 6th of May 1878. I +will end this subject by saying, that the discoveries in astronomy in +the last and present centuries have been so many and interesting, that +it would be quite impossible for me to enter here minutely upon them.</p> + +<p>In conclusion,—What have science and art done for us? They have +cultivated our minds—they have made us think, wonder, and admire, and I +trust caused us to adore and reverence the Creator of this vast +universe. They have taught us the knowledge and value of time, and have +also shown the value of what man has been enabled to work out for his +own benefit and that of the world at large.</p> + +<p>The chemist deals with the various substances brought under his notice, +thereby acquiring a knowledge of their properties, enabling him to +produce results which are truly beneficial. This knowledge is power.</p> + +<p>The painter makes the features of Nature his study, and by his brush +delineates them on the canvas, and thus by knowledge of art he exhibits +power.</p> + +<p>The astronomer's science is one of vast magnitude and importance—the +study of it embracing both science and art: science in the various +intricate calculations he requires to make in connection with the +heavenly bodies. By his researches we have discovered the form of the +earth and other planets, their respective distances from each other, +their revolutions, their eclipses and their orbits, and, more wonderful +still, the precise time when the various movements of each occur. In +art, the astronomer has originated and perfected the many powerful and +beautiful instruments now required for taking observations, and these, +when compared with the instruments in use in bypast times, are excellent +evidences of modern progress in this direction. Our wonder is excited +when we look at the instruments formerly in use; that so much was done +through them, and the advance made by art in the perfection of those now +adopted, show us again that knowledge is power.</p> + +<p>The navigator, by a combination of astronomy and seamanship, is enabled +to plough the great deep, and at all times by mathematical calculation +to discover the exact position of his ship. What, however, would he be +without the aid of art? The compass, the sextant, or quadrant, &c., are +the means which enable him to attain these grand results, and to bring +his ship to the desired haven. The use of these is knowledge, and this +knowledge is power.</p> + +<p>Alike with all other things which science and art have called into use, +knowledge is power, and this power was given by the Almighty, as I said +at the beginning of this lecture, to enable man to fathom the works of +creation. Let us then so live that we may ever admire the results of the +labours of science and of art, and at the same time ever remember Him +who has given us the power to discover and use them for our +benefit,—thanking God, who first made all things and pronounced them +very good, for His great mercy toward us.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> Now carried out.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="A_PENNYS_WORTH" id="A_PENNYS_WORTH"></a><i>A PENNY'S WORTH</i>;</h2> + +<h4>OR,</h4> + +<h3>"TAKE CARE OF THE PENCE, AND THE POUNDS WILL TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES."</h3> + + +<p>A penny seems a small sum to talk about, and with many, I am sorry to +say, is looked upon as so insignificant as to be considered almost +worthless; but I hope, before I have done, to show you something of the +great value of even a penny, and of the effects and products we have +been enabled to produce and dispose of with a reasonable profit at the +cost of one penny. A much smaller sum than this was looked upon and +regarded as of inestimable value by our blessed Saviour, when He saw the +rich men and the widow casting their offerings into the treasury, for He +said: "All these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of +God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had."</p> + +<p>Now what did this widow cast in? Two mites, which make one farthing. +Though this took place more than eighteen hundred years ago, it shows to +us even now the great value of small things when given with the heart +and used in the right way.</p> + +<p>Money is a most desirable thing, and without it the business of the +world would come to a stand-still, but how to spend it aright is a +matter of grave thought, for it may with ease be spent in luxury, but it +requires a mind to use it profitably. Both pleasure and profit may be +gained by prudent and proper expenditure, and to show how even a limited +income may enjoy great comfort at home (and there is, I hope you think, +no place like home, and one's own home-fireside), I have ventured to +bring before you at this time what can be done for one penny.</p> + +<p>The penny itself is a matter which leads one into thought. The vastness +of mind which has been brought to bear on the production of the coin is +itself worthy of consideration. Before any coin can be sanctioned by the +realm, it has to go through the ordeal of Her Majesty's Government, and +after all has been done to the satisfaction of the authorities, a little +bit of copper—though now, for the good of our pockets, mixed with an +alloy—is made to minister to our wants in ways which I hope to lay +before you as plainly and shortly as possible. First and foremost we +must have that great and valuable thing heat, for without heat generated +by fire we could have no penny. One of the first things required to +produce this heat is wood. Now the wood must be grown,—trees attended +to with care and at great cost. Years pass before they are either fit +for beauty or use, yet, during the time of their growth, the smaller +branches that are lopped off form just what is required to set on fire +the coal and coke to produce the heat which is necessary for smelting +and blast furnaces, for our own domestic fires, and various other uses. +A faggot of these lopped branches can be bought for a penny. Having thus +found out, as a beginning, one thing which can be obtained for a penny, +let us go on to see what has to be attended to and encountered before +this valuable coin can be made. Sums of money have to be spent, risks +very great have to be entered into, and beautiful machinery constructed +before it can be placed in our pockets. The mines of Cornwall have to be +reached for both copper and tin—a matter of great cost to the pockets +of speculators, and of anxiety to the minds of engineers, who lay +themselves out to gain the material. Furnaces have to be built to smelt +the ore and bring it into a workable condition. The Mint is then, after +the metal is ready, called into requisition to produce a coin which, +after all this labour and expense, is only a penny.</p> + +<p>I come now to tell some of the things which can be accomplished and +produced for a penny. One of the earliest publications of any note was +the "Penny Magazine," which is endeared to my memory as having shown me +the earliest of George Stephenson's great works—the Liverpool and +Manchester Railway. This magazine has now passed away, but it has been +amply replaced by others of equal merit, carrying out its principles of +giving a sound and cheap literature to the people; it was a boon to all +who cared for instruction, and at the same time had to take care of a +penny. Now we have our daily papers at a penny, and of the 1711 +newspapers issued (1876) in the United Kingdom, 808 are sold at this +small price. Look at those papers, the "Telegraph," "Standard," and +many others; are they not a light that has shone over our world, showing +what man has been enabled to do for his fellows, in being able to +disseminate the knowledge of what is transpiring over the world to their +readers, both near and far off, and all for only one penny! Has this +been done without labour? No. What has caused it but the earnest desire +to know the events of daily life in as short a time as possible. I do +not care to vouch for what I now say, but I should think that about +20,000 copies are thrown off of the "Daily Telegraph" in an hour, and +these can be bought for one penny each. This penny's worth has cost a +great amount of thought to bring about. Besides the various manufactures +which are required for this result, the daily paper also brings to its +aid the agriculturist as regards the paper; for though this was at first +only made of rags, we now produce it from straw, and I have made it from +thistles, whilst it has also been made from wood and other things. The +rags, of course, were derived from agriculture in as far as flax +required to be grown, but now the farmer gets his grain from the crop, +and the straw left is made into paper—the chief agent in distributing +through the world the thoughts of the learned in science, arts, +literature, and politics. With what eagerness do we look for our paper +in the morning, and with what pleasure do we pay our penny for it! A +penny's worth with respect to this material does not stop here. Look at +our beautiful and not costly decorations; see what a charming room we +can show, produced by a wall-paper at a cost of one penny a yard. Some +of these coloured decorations produce an eye-deception that quite, as +the Scotch would say, "jumbles the judgment and confounds the +understanding."</p> + +<p>We have not done with luxuries, and I will now bring one before you +that, like many others, if used aright, there is no harm in, and which I +look upon as a means of keeping up social good-fellowship among all. I +mean <i>smoking</i>. Now the use of tobacco in itself is harmless, but used +in excess is not only dangerous, but acts as a poison. I like a pipe, +but I find at the same time it is needful to have a light. The ingenuity +of man has supplied my want and wish, and I can now get a light from an +article which, to look at, seems only something black tipped with red. +The labour required to produce this small box of lights, as it is +called, is wonderful—the chemist, the wood merchant, the mechanician +(and I am sorry to say, also the surgeon, from the deleterious effects +of the phosphorus on the human frame), have all to bring their work to +bear on the production of this most useful article. Yet, after all, it +is sold and bought for one penny a box. Messrs. Bryant & May profess to +save your houses from fire for this sum by using their matches, and I +think they are right. Fire and heat are among our best friends, but are +also dangerous enemies; and I am sure a penny spent on Bryant & May's +matches is <i>well</i> spent. I do not wish to disparage other makers—far +from it; but a match that will only ignite on the box is an article all +householders should procure, not only for their own protection, but also +for that of their neighbours.</p> + +<p>A very striking instance of the value of a penny is set before us in +that most wonderful system the penny-postage, the institution of which +was a boon to the kingdom that cannot be too highly appreciated. It +enables rich and poor alike to bring their thoughts and desires into +communication with each other, and so relieve anxious cares in regard +to the health and wealth, the joys and sorrows of friends in an easy +manner. A penny stamp can convey all our requirements, whether for good +or for evil, and many a large sum is now transmitted under its care. I +have been told that as many as 60,000 letters have passed through the +travelling post-office of the London and North-Western Railway in one +night. How could this great correspondence ever have been carried on but +for railways; and but for the foresight of Sir Rowland Hill this system +might still have been in the background. It is clearly in my +recollection when 1 s. 1-1/2 d. was the charge for a letter from London +to Edinburgh, and that was for what was then called a <i>single</i> letter; +now you may send as much as you like under a certain weight for one +penny.</p> + +<p>Travelling is now also a thing within the reach of all, for you can +travel for one penny a mile, and this at a rate of speed that could not +be done a few years ago. So much for railways.</p> + +<p>Having begun with matters more especially affecting older people, it +would be hard indeed to leave out the younger branches, and the means +that are now employed not only for their comfort, but their amusement. +Among other requirements for them we may class their toys. They are in a +sense most needful, as well as useful, for our children, and from many +of the ingenious toys now-a-days we can acquire a great deal of +knowledge, useful to ourselves and of advantage to others. The beauty of +their manufacture is a striking instance of the ingenuity of man as +applied to small things, seeing that toys, so to speak, are only made +for a few days' enjoyment, and are then almost certain to be broken. But +for their short and transient existence what an amount of mental energy +has been brought to bear—the fancy of the child has to be studied and +provided for, in a way to please, gratify, and amuse, teaching the young +idea how to shoot: all this for one penny. Look at the carts, horses, +and other articles innumerable that are to be bought at the bazaars in +London for a penny, and do they not bring before us in a striking manner +what has been done for the benefit of the young. These toys, which only +cost a penny, have caused many hard and anxious thoughts, are the means +of giving work to thousands, and enabling these thousands to live an +honest and happy life by furnishing a paying living, while at the same +time they minister to the acquirements of those who when young require +amusement. All this is done for a penny's worth; but how divided is this +before the wonderful toy is produced! We have wood, iron, copper, tin, +lead—I may say, all the metals, even the most precious (for gold is +frequently used in the production of a toy that can be bought for a +penny), are employed. Not only have these to be utilised, but they have +first to be obtained—some by the growth of timber, others by mining, +then by the heat of the furnace, then by hammer and workman, then by the +chemist and colour-maker, then by the maker of the toy—many of these +employed at large wages; and yet you receive for your children an +article which not only gives instruction, but the greatest amusement, +all for one penny.</p> + +<p>An old saying, but a very true one, "Cleanliness is next to godliness;" +and this brings us to a luxury which, though long known in France, has +only been lately introduced here. This is the shoe-black. You come up to +him, dirty from the mud of the streets of London, and in a very short +time you have your boots shining for a penny. This penny's worth brings +before us a large amount of thought before it can be earned and paid +for. We have to begin with the farmer, who feeds the animal that, after +we have eaten a good dish from and think no more of, yet furnishes the +hair which is made into brushes by the brushmaker; the carpenter has to +make the box to hold them; the blacking-maker also comes to the service; +and the tailor to give the uniform red coat worn by the Shoeblack +Brigade—yet after all this, you can get your boots blacked, and that +well done, for one penny. Out of their earnings, at some stations the +boys—so I was told a short time ago—have to pay 2s. 6d. a day for +leave to stand at their station.</p> + +<p>I have gone a long way on things that can be obtained for a penny, but I +have not yet got to the greatest and most valuable—a thing which is to +be obtained for even less than the widow's mite. It is this: "Come ye, +buy and eat, without money and without price, for My word is meat +indeed, and My word is drink indeed." Christ says this, and man cannot +deny it. I am not going to preach a sermon, but as things have come +before me, I have put them down.</p> + +<p>Seeing what a penny can do, let us turn to some of the results. A penny +a week at a school, and what can be gained? A child is educated to use +the talents given him or her, so as to work out an honest living, and is +there taught what it can do for the life that now is and that which is +to come. The value of education is so great that it cannot be +over-estimated. A young man I knew got into a railway workshop. He saved +enough to go to Australia, where he has now made a large sum of money. +He left this country with less than £50 in his pocket. He knew work and +business, thanks to education, and had a determined desire to work his +way. I wish it was so all over England, for I know in the Midland +Counties every one will not leave home. You must leave home, at least +for a season, if you wish to get on in the world. Nothing is to be +gained in this world without striving for it. Here is work, but after +death there is rest, but not till then. So, in conclusion, let me say, +Let us all remember that while on earth it is a season for work. <i>Here +is work</i>—work for the body, work for the mind, and, above all, work to +prepare the soul for eternity. So that when we come to die, we may not +only be able to look back on a life in which we have spent a penny +aright, but be able to look forward to that life where is everlasting +peace and joy, through Christ in God. And may our last words be—<i>Here +was</i> work, but <i>there is</i> rest, through Christ our Saviour.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="PAST_AND_PRESENT_MEANS_OF_COMMUNICATION" id="PAST_AND_PRESENT_MEANS_OF_COMMUNICATION"></a><i>PAST AND PRESENT MEANS OF COMMUNICATION</i>.</h2> + + +<p>We may, I think, commence by saying, "Lord, so teach us to number our +days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom," for, as David says, +"What is man that Thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that Thou +visitest him? Thou makest him to have dominion over the works of Thy +hands, and hast put all things in subjection under his feet." The +difference of past and present means of communication are so great, that +it is no easy task to enter into a discussion on the subject; but it +leads one to gravely consider what is said in the 90th Psalm: "So teach +us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." To +address an association such as I have now the honour and pleasure of +doing, gives one a feeling of interest, as well as a feeling of +responsibility, for as I have been kindly asked to close the course of +lectures for this session, such an address is looked to in general with +expectation. Do not hope for too much from me; but I trust that, when I +have concluded, you will not be able to pay me the compliment an old +Highland woman did to her minister on seeing him after +church-service—"Ah, maister, this discoursing will never do, for I +wasna weel asleep till ye were done." Having said this by way of +introduction, I think it devolves upon me in some way first to explain +what is the meaning of the subject of Communication. It may be briefly +stated to be <i>a means to an end</i>—an intercourse or passage of either +the body from one place to another, or of the thoughts of one person to +another. And as I begin with the communication of the body, I cannot do +better than name some of the methods by which communication is carried +on, and shall commence with <i>Roads, Coaches, Railways, Canals</i>, and +<i>Steamers</i>. Then, for mind, I will take <i>Books, Printing, Letters, +Exhibitions</i>, and <i>Telegraphs</i>.</p> + +<p>Our age has so advanced, that though Methuselah lived nearly one +thousand years, yet he in his age did not live as long as we do now. +See what science and art have done for us. We now do more in one day +than could be done in a month some very few years ago; and, as far as +travelling about the world is concerned, I can say that I have been from +John-o'-Groat's House to Brighton, thence into Hertfordshire, thence +back to London, from there to Edinburgh, thence to John-o'-Groat's, and +here I am before you, without fatigue, or a thought that I should not be +present in time. What has enabled us to do this but the determination of +man to communicate with his fellow-men, and his thirst for the knowledge +of what is doing in places where he, as an individual, could not be +present. When there were no roads, it was no easy matter to move about, +so the people remained at rest. But the Romans, a people who aspired to +conquer the world, were not a people to sleep and let things stand +still. They began the making of roads in Britain, and to them we owe the +first of our greatness. They saw, as every wise man now sees, that the +first thing to the improvement of land and property is easy +communication, and facilities for bringing the things needed for the +improvement of the land, and the means also of export for the produce. +The earliest roads were, as we may say, right on end; and the Roman +roads, as I hear, have borne the traffic of two thousand years. I hope I +may say that even a Roman road would not bear the traffic of a town like +Greenock for anything like that period of time, or I fear the commerce +of this populous and most thriving town would be in a bad way. The great +Telford and Macadam are the persons to be thanked for our beautiful +system of road-making, and no person can, I am sure, deny the utility of +their plans. As I said, roads are a means of communication for the body, +and also for the mind; and therefore, now that their advantages are +seen, we should strive to further their advance in all districts.</p> + +<p><i>Coaches</i>.—We come now to the means of communication on the roads for +the body, and also for the mind, as both must go together—viz., the +coach and the carriage or cart (for before the roads were made we had no +coaches). In the first place, these carts or carriages were rude and +heavy waggons, without springs or other comfort; but still they served +to convey the body, and the mind that went with it at last discovered, +by degrees, that conveyances could be constructed so as to cause less +wear and tear on animal life. The result of time and labour has been the +elegant constructions of the present day. The first hackney-coaches were +started in London, A.D. 1625, by a Captain Bailey. Another conveyance +for the body, the sedan-chair, was introduced first into England in +1584, and came into fashion in London in 1634. The late Sir John +Sinclair was called a fool because he said a mail-coach would come from +London to Thurso. I am glad to say that he <i>saw</i> it, and it opened up a +communication for the body and mind that has worked wonders in the far +North. We now have a railway.</p> + +<p><i>Steam.</i>—We proceed next to the grandest stage—or, as it is said in +the North, "We took a start." What place have we to thank for this great +start, but the very town in which I have the honour to give this closing +address. Was not James Watt born here? The 19th January 1736 was a great +day for England, Scotland, and the world at large, for that day brought +into the world a man who, by his talents and by his observations of what +others had done before him, was the means of bringing to a workable +state that all-powerful and most useful machine, the steam-engine. The +people of Greenock may well indeed feel proud of being citizens of a +town that produced such a man; for though many places have given birth +to great and valuable men, and persons who rendered the world vast and +lasting service, yet, I may safely say, no one has surpassed James Watt +in the benefits he has bestowed on the world, on its trade, its +commerce, and its means of communication for both body and mind, as the +producer of the steam-engine. There were not even coaches in his time, +and his first journey to London was performed on horseback, a ten days' +ride, very different to our ten or twelve hours now-a-days. His life and +determination show what a man can do, both for himself and his +fellow-men, and are a bright example to be followed by all those +especially who belong to such associations as the one I now have the +honour to address. He not only thought, but carried out his thoughts to +a practical issue, and, though laughed at, he still stuck to his great +work, and by his perseverance gave to the world one of its greatest +boons, and certainly its greatest motive power—the steam-engine. The +first use of the engine, as you well know, was the pumping of water. +Rude were the machines made by Savory, Newcombe, and others, to achieve +the desired end, but Watt, in his small room in the cottage at Glasgow, +at last brought about a triumph that the world at large now feels and +acknowledges. I will not go further into the history of a man so well +known and appreciated, as his memory must be here, but will go on to say +something briefly on the results of the operations of the mind over the +material placed before it, to bring into form and make it practically +useful for the advantage of man.</p> + +<p><i>Steamers</i>.—Greenock must see and value the great power at her disposal +in the steam-ship. She has now her large building yards, and it was from +her yards that, in 1719, the first ship—belonging to Greenock, and I +believe built there—sailed for America, and from that time the trade +increased rapidly. And I believe Glasgow launched the first Scotch ship +that ever crossed the Atlantic in 1718, only one year in advance of +Greenock. The large building yards of Greenock bring into the town sums +of money which, but for these yards, would go elsewhere, and deprive the +community of many comforts, not to say luxuries. They are the means of +carrying on the import and export trade of this thriving town in a way +that could not otherwise have been done; famous as this place is for +shipbuilding, spinning, and its splendid sugar-works. These latter you +have indeed reason to be proud of, for there are few finer. The increase +of importation of sugar is striking. In Britain in 1856, our imports of +this article were 6,813,000 lbs., in 1865 it was 7,112,772 lbs. Though +all this did not come to Greenock, yet from what you do in this trade, I +think the word holds good that we as Scotchmen are sweet-toothed. You +can now boast of a steam communication not only on the coast, but over +the world. I had last year the pleasure of a cruise in the Trinity yacht +"Galatea," and does not she speak volumes for what can be done by your +citizens? for that vessel was built by Mr. Caird, and even the ship +seemed to feel that she came from the beautiful Clyde. What a difference +now to the time of Henry Bell in 1812, who first started a steamer for +passengers on the Clyde! We have now in Great Britain 2523 steamers, +registering no less than 766,200 tons. Have not these improvements shown +what means of communication do for body and mind?</p> + +<p><i>Railways</i>.—Having said this much about steamers, I will turn for a +short time to another means of communication for body and mind—I mean +the railways. Are not they a striking advance in science, and the +bringing to bear the power of mind to work on the material that has been +provided for our use by an all-wise God? It is but a few years since, +comparatively speaking, they came into existence, and yet, from the time +of George Stephenson (and his perseverance largely aided to perfect the +railway), see what vast sums of money have been spent, what magnificent +and noble structures have been erected, and what speed has been obtained +for the communication of body and mind. Instead of the thirty miles from +Manchester to Liverpool in 1830, we now have in Great Britain and +Ireland 13,289 miles of railway. The total capital paid in 1865 was +£455,478,000, and this has largely increased since then. An idea may be +formed of the difference of the rate of speed in travelling effected, +both before and after the introduction of railways, by such facts as the +following:—Two hundred years ago, King James's groom rode six days in +succession between London and York, and a wonderful feat it was deemed; +whilst now, the same distance is performed in five hours. About 1755 to +1760, the London and Edinburgh coach was advertised to run between these +cities in fourteen days in summer, and sixteen in winter, resting one +Sunday on the road. So much for the growing desire for speedy +intercourse for mind and body.</p> + +<p><i>Suez Canal</i>.—There is an all-absorbing topic now before the public, +and it is one that brings strikingly before us the thirst for +communication of both body and mind to and from distant parts of our +globe. It is one of deep importance to all who take an interest in the +advancement of science—I mean the Suez Canal. The Red Sea cannot but be +familiar to us all—a sea of the most profound interest, for there did +the mighty Jehovah work one of His most stupendous miracles, when He +brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, and at the same time +destroyed Pharaoh and all his host. But in how different a manner did +the Lord work! By a word He caused the waters to go back, leaving a wall +on the right hand and on the left, so that the people of Israel went +through on dry land. This was not all. Were not His chosen people +accompanied by a pillar of fire to give light in the night season, and a +cloud of thick darkness to prevent the Egyptians coming near them during +the day? Does not this show that His mercy is over all His works? For +after He had brought out His people with joy, and His chosen with +gladness, He overthrew their enemies in the sea—in the same place where +He had performed such wonders for the preservation of His people.</p> + +<p>Often has the spot been crossed by our steamers; and though some may, +and I trust do, bring to mind the stupendous miracle, yet it, like many +other thing's, is regarded as a matter gone by. Here now we have the Red +Sea brought under our notice in a most striking manner, and one that +leads us not only to feel the greatness of the power of man over +material things, but I trust it may also lead us to see our littleness +when compared with Him who made us. We, that is the nations which +brought about this great canal, have had to spend years and vast sums of +money to carry out the end aimed at, and under the Divine aid it has +been brought to a successful termination. But see what God did! Did the +Almighty consult engineers, or take soundings and levels, or ask the +laws of Nature if He could or would succeed? Nay,—one word was enough. +He spake, and that was sufficient—the waters stood up in a heap. We, +however, have succeeded in bringing the Red Sea and the Mediterranean +into connection with each other—an achievement that strongly shows the +determination of man. It is a boon, indeed, to the commerce of this +country, and I hope also of many others, as by enabling ships to pass +through, the transhipment of cargo is now done away with, and the +distance to the other side of the globe reduced to its minimum. +Engineers may truly be proud of the day that brought this great and +noble work to a completion; and I trust they will thank the Lord who +hath crowned their strenuous efforts with success.</p> + +<p><i>Books</i>.—Having got thus far as regards the conveyance of the body, we +must now turn to the communication of the mind, and the thoughts of one +individual as conveyed to another, and this leads one to speak of books. +What are they but the means of communication of the thoughts of great +men, and a distribution of those thoughts for the benefit of their +fellows, by bringing before them matters of interest in the history of +our own country and that of others. The great object to be looked to is +the selection of our books—the variety is now so great; and I grieve to +say (and I think I am right) that the sensational works of the present +day have a tendency to lead the mind into a train of thought that is +flippant and unsteady, and I would warn young people against them. When +we look to such works as those of Sir Walter Scott, Macaulay, and many +others of the same kind, we find food for the mind, the benefit of which +cannot be over-estimated.</p> + +<p><i>Printing</i>.—The spread of knowledge through the world is indeed a boon +which cannot be too highly extolled; but the thoughts of man could not +thus have been circulated had it not been for the printing-press. See +what science and art have done for us in this most perfect and beautiful +machine! When we go only to one example, the "Times" newspaper, and +consider the amount of information it circulates each day through the +world, it strikes one forcibly what man has been allowed and enabled to +do for the benefit of himself and his fellow-men. What we have brought +the printing-press to, is shown in 20,000 copies of the "Times" being +thrown off in one hour, and the advantage it has been to the advancement +of literature in our now being able to buy such works as those of Sir +Walter Scott for sixpence a volume.</p> + +<p>Having gone so far, I must not detain you for more than a brief period. +You have had such an able and interesting course of lectures given by +men of high talent, that little remains for me except to close this +course with congratulation to the Association in being able to procure +those individuals to give their valuable time to this desirable object; +for what in life is more interesting than the imparting the knowledge we +may possess to others who desire to acquire it, seeing that there is no +way in which moral and social intercourse is more advanced and +developed. Still, before closing, I must ask for a short time to go into +one or two other subjects. And first, I will take one of the greatest +importance to the commerce of this country, and one that has shown what +the mind has done for communicating the thoughts of one person to +another at far distant places—I refer to the telegraph. The land is +not only covered with wires, but even the vast depths of the great ocean +are made to minister to our requirements. The world, we may say, is +encircled with ropes, and instant communication has been the result. +What has achieved these great results but the mind of man applied to +science! And see in what a multitude of ways this application of mind +has been made to work! What does it bring into play? Why, we have mining +to produce the metal to make the wire; we have the furnace, hammers, and +wire-drawing machines to produce the wire from the raw material. We have +the forest then to go to for gutta-percha, for land poles, and for tar +to preserve the cables. We have the farmer for our hemp. We have the +chemist, we have the electrician, we have the steamer, and a great +number of other requisites before the silent but unerring voice of the +needle brings the thoughts of one man in America to another in this town +in an instant of time. Accidents and mistakes will occur in the +best-regulated works of all kinds, but I hope not often. One as to the +telegraph I must tell that happened during the Indian Mutiny. The +message meant to say that "The general won't act, and the troops have no +head." The transformation was curious, namely, "The general won't eat, +and the troops have cut off his head." If men would only consider well +this grand achievement, they would be led indeed to say and feel, with +all humility and thankfulness, that God has truly given him dominion +over the works of His hands, and has put all things in subjection under +his feet.</p> + +<p>I had almost forgotten one other point of communication for mind, and, +though at the risk of trying your patience, I must mention it, as its +increase has been so large, and its advantages so manifold and untold. I +mean the penny-postage. I am not going to enter into it at any length, +but the increase of correspondence has been so large, that Sir Rowland +Hill's name should not be left out of a lecture treating on subjects +such as this one is intended to do. I will content myself by merely +telling the increase of correspondence, and leave you to judge for +yourselves as to its benefits. The number of letters in 1839, before the +penny-postage, was 82,470,596, and in 1866 it was 597,277,616. Judge the +difference!</p> + +<p>Coming to the results of communication, I have one subject to bring +before you, and as it has shown to such a large extent the benefits of +international communication, I trust a few words on it may not be out +of place. The subject is the great International Exhibitions that have +been held in various countries in the last eighteen years. The first +idea of holding such great exhibitions emanated from a man whose name +cannot be held in too great estimation by all. Few men were gifted with +such rare talents as he was, for there were few subjects, whether in +science, literature, or art, that he was not intimately acquainted with. +This man was the late Prince Consort. He conceived the idea that if the +products of the various countries of the world could be brought together +under one roof, the knowledge these would convey of the machinery, +cultivation, science, literature, and arts practised in the various +parts of the globe would tend to stimulate and advance the mind by +showing that we had not only ourselves to look to, but that in a great +measure we had to depend on others for the many blessings we now enjoy; +and also lead us to see how needful to our prosperity and comfort is a +constant communication with those who can communicate to us that +knowledge which otherwise we could not obtain. Certainly the results +have proved that he was right. Could anything have been more +interesting or instructive to all than a visit to the Great Exhibitions +of 1851 or 1862, or that of Paris in 1867. The public interest is at +once shown when I tell you that 6,039,195 persons visited the latter, +and the receipts in money were £506,100. There, all and every one had +before him at a glance the subject most suited to his taste, with a full +description of the country which produced it. From the largest machine, +the heaviest ordnance, the most brilliant and precious stones, the +finest silks, lace, furniture, carriages, the greatest luxuries for the +table, and, in fact, everything needful for the use of man;—all were +there, and all to be seen and studied by the inquiring mind, or to be +regarded as very wonderful by those who went to the Exhibition as a +sight. Few, I venture to say, ever left these buildings except wiser +than when they entered. It could not fail to strike one, if one only +gave it a moment's reflection, and asked himself, how has all this been +brought about, but that it was the result of the communication of the +minds of certain individuals with those of others, and by a +concentration of the products of various countries to enlighten the +mind as to the vast intelligence of the world at large.</p> + +<p>In conclusion, I feel now that I have spoken long enough for any +lecture, though I have not by any means exhausted the subject of +communication of either past or present; but I should feel grieved if I +exhausted your patience. All things, as we well know, must have an end, +except that life to which we are looking forward and striving to gain, +where we shall cease from our labours and be at rest. We have been +endued by our Maker with thought and mind, talents to be used for our +benefit, and not wrapped up in a napkin till our Lord's return, but to +be placed out so as to bring in either the five or the ten talents. And, +as you all know, we are answerable for the manner in which we employ +them. May the result prove that we have used them aright.</p> + +<p>The progress of means of communication of mind and body have been +gradual but steady, and I think may be represented by human life from +its childhood to manhood, as beautifully set forth in the 13th chapter +of 1st Corinthians 11th verse, where it is said, "When I was a child, I +spake as a child; I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but +when I became a man, I put away childish things." Is not this very much +in keeping with our growth in communication? At first it was small, and +we were content to hear of what others were engaged in without regard to +time, as one day earlier or later was of little consequence. But now we +are not children, but are become men in our interests and thirst for +communication with each other. What should we say if we found the +Express, as was written on the boy's post-bag, busily engaged in a game +of bowls on the road, regardless of the loss of time or money thereby +occasioned? I think we should be inclined to write to the papers.</p> + +<p>The results of communication are manifold, and day by day they are +brought before us in a manner which shows the untiring wish of man for +improvement both in social and commercial interests. These results are +strikingly shown in the various subjects I have endeavoured to bring +before you. Each and all of them are subjects for thought. What should +we now be without, I may say, any one of them?</p> + +<p>A well-regulated mind is the most desirable of all acquirements, and I +know no better means of gaining this than by meetings of such +institutions as this. Here you have intercourse with your friends, and +you can gain from one another by friendly intercourse stores of +knowledge, that to search for as individuals would take away much more +time than you could by any means devote, and at the same time attend to +the business of your calling. Here you have the means of amusement as +well as of gaining sound information, and I trust no one here will ever +have cause to regret the day when he came to associate with his friends, +and hear what others could communicate, for "in the multitude of +counsellors there is wisdom."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="THE_STEAM_ENGINE" id="THE_STEAM_ENGINE"></a><i>THE STEAM-ENGINE.</i></h2> + + +<p>The many varieties of the world's manufactures—one might almost call +them wonders—are now so numerous, that to bring any particular one in a +single form before this meeting is a matter of no easy nature. To-night, +however, I have ventured to single out, and have the pleasure of +bringing before you, the steam-engine, as the prime mover at present of +our workshops and manufactories, as also the grand motive power of our +railways, now so different from the time when the great Stephenson was +said to be mad, because he thought it possible to drive a train at +fifteen miles an hour. For the first serviceable use of this grand +machine we are indebted to the great James Watt. He it was who first +wrought it so as to be under the useful and entire control of man, from +what it was in the time of Hero of Alexandria, about 120 years before +Christ. Our engineers have, since Watt's time, improved upon it year by +year, till at the present day, instead of having to go in a mail-coach +from London to Edinburgh, which formerly took fifty hours, we now go in +the express train in ten, a distance of 420 miles. If beyond this ten +hours, we grumble, and ask guards, porters, &c., at the various +stations, "What has made the train so late to-day?" forgetting that just +before the railways were first opened, the great Stephenson was urged +not to say too much as to the supposed power of the locomotive, in case +the cause of railways might be damaged. This was only some forty years +ago, and it shows us how times are changed, for in the present day we +consider thirty miles an hour anything but a fast train.</p> + +<p>The history of the steam-engine is a subject on which so much has been +written in books and magazines now before the public, that what I am +about to offer, though pretending nothing new, yet I hope may be looked +upon as containing something useful as well as instructive, both to the +practical and the amateur mechanic. I shall therefore, in as small a +compass as possible, trace the steam-engine from its first and early +stages up to its present perfect state as our grand motive power. The +first mention made of the vapour of water, as formed by the action of +heat upon it, is found to be as far back as 120 B.C., when one Hero of +Alexandria employed this vapour for the purpose of driving a machine. It +is a well-known fact that when water is brought up to a certain degree +of heat, called the boiling-point, that it sends forth a vapour, the +elastic properties of which, when in an open vessel, are not +perceived—as, for instance, in a common pan—yet if the vessel is +closed or shut up at the top, you will find that the vapour acquires +such a degree of elastic force, that, if not allowed to escape by fair +means, it would soon make a way or vent for itself by bursting whatever +vessel it was contained in. Steam is thus highly elastic, but when +separated from the fluid out of which it is generated, it does not +possess a greater elastic force than the same quantity of air. If, for +example, a vessel is filled with steam only at 212°, it may be brought +to a red heat without fear of bursting; but if water is also in the +vessel, each additional quantity of heat causes a fresh quantity of +steam to be generated, which adds its elastic force to that of the steam +already in the vessel, till the constantly accumulating force at last +bursts the vessel.</p> + +<p>This elastic vapour is called steam, and it is by this that that most +beautiful machine, the steam-engine, is driven. As you all know, by this +vapour or air—for it is invisible till it loses part of its +heat—enormous power is obtained in a small compass, and the labour of +man reduced to nothing compared with former ages. Many men laboured to +perfect machinery to be worked by this vapour of water, and many came +near the mark; but it remained for the great Watt, at the Soho Works, +Birmingham, to bring the engine to its useful and working state, for +though discovered as a motive power 120 B.C., it was yet reserved for +this truly great man to be what may be termed the inventor of the +steam-engine.</p> + +<p>In 120 B.C., Hero of Alexandria made a machine to be driven by steam. It +consisted of a hollow sphere into which the steam was admitted; +projecting from the sphere were two arms, from which the steam escaped +by three holes on the side of <i>each</i> arm opposite to that of the +direction of its revolution, which, by removing the power from off the +one part of <i>each</i> arm, caused it to revolve in the direction opposite +to that of the hole that allowed the steam to escape. This kind of +engine has been for some years in use by Mr. Ruthven of Edinburgh. There +are others who have followed very closely on Hero's plan in more ways +than one; for instance, it is the common Barker's mill, though with this +difference, that his mill is driven by water instead of steam: Avery, +also, made a steam-engine almost exactly the same. I may here, perhaps, +just be allowed to mention what a little water and coal will produce, as +it will show at once from whence our power is derived. "A pint of water +may be evaporated by two ounces of coal; in its evaporation it swells to +216 gallons of steam, with a mechanical force equal to raising a weight +of thirty-seven tons one foot high." A pound of coal in a locomotive +will evaporate about five pints of water, and in their evaporation these +will exert a force equal to drawing two tons on a railway a distance of +one mile in two minutes. A train of eighty tons weight will take 240 +passengers and luggage from Liverpool to Birmingham and back, each +journey about four and a quarter hours; this double journey of 190 miles +being effected by the combustion of one and a half tons of coke, worth +about twenty-four shillings. To perform the same work by common road +would require twenty coaches, and an establishment of 3800 horses, with +which the journey would be performed each way in about twelve hours, +stoppages included. So much for the advantages of steam.</p> + +<p>The Romans are supposed to have had some knowledge of the power of +steam. Among amusing anecdotes, showing the knowledge the ancients had +of steam, it is told that Anthemius, the architect of Saint Sophia, +lived next door to Zeno. There existed a feud between them, and to annoy +his neighbour, Anthemius had some boilers placed in his house containing +water, with a flexible tube which he could pass through a hole in the +wall under the floor of Zeno's dwelling; he then lit a fire, which soon +caused steam to pass through the tube in such a quantity as to make the +floors to heave as if by an earthquake. But to return. We next come to +Blasco de Garay (A.D. 1543), who proposed to propel a ship by the power +of steam. So much cold water seems to have been thrown on his engine, +that it must have condensed all his steam, as little notice is taken of +it except that he got no encouragement. We find that it has also been +used by some of the ancients in connection with their deities. +Rusterich, one of the Teutonic gods, which was found in an excavation, +proves how the priests deceived the people. The head of this one was +made of metal and contained a pot of water. The mouth and another hole +in the forehead being stopped by wooden plugs, a fire of charcoal was +lighted under this pot of water, and at length the steam drove out the +plugs with a great noise, and the god was shrouded in a mist of steam +which concealed him from his astonished worshippers.</p> + +<p>In 1629, Giovanni Branca of Loretto in Italy, an engineer and architect, +proposed to work mills and other machinery by steam blowing against +vanes, much in the same way as water does in turning a wheel. The waste +of steam in such a plan is so obvious, that it is not to be wondered at +that it did not produce any great results, as we all know that the +moment we let steam out of his case, the case is all up with him, and he +dies a natural death. He is a most delicate yet powerful agent, and +requires to be kept warm in all weathers—this fact does not seem to +have struck Mons. Branca when he let him out of his boiler.</p> + +<p>The next person we come to, and perhaps the first of any note, is the +Marquis of Worcester in 1663 (died 1667). He was a man who seems, as far +as history tells us, to have taken a great interest in furthering the +advancement of steam. He was not contented with one invention, but +published a book entitled "A Century of Inventions," and in this work he +describes a means of raising water by the pressure of steam. The Marquis +appears to have been a politician as well as an inventor, as we find he +was engaged on the side of the Royalists in the Civil Wars of the +Revolution, lost his fortune and went to Ireland, where he was +imprisoned. Escaping to France, from thence he returned to London as a +secret agent of Charles II., but was detected and imprisoned in the +Tower, where he remained till the Restoration, when he was set at +liberty. One day, while in prison, he observed the lid of the pot in +which his dinner was being prepared lifted up by the vapour of the water +boiling inside. Reflecting on this, he turned his mind to the matter, +and thought that this vapour, if rightly applied, might be made a useful +moving power. He thus describes his invention in his 68th Article: "I +have contrived an admirable way to drive up water by fire, not by +drawing or sucking it upwards, thirty-two feet. But this way hath no +bounds, if the vessels be strong enough." He then goes on to say, that +"having a way to make his vessels, so that they are strengthened by the +force within, I have seen the water run like a constant stream forty +feet high. One vessel rarified by fire driveth forty of cold water, and +one being consumed, another begins to force, and refill with cold water, +and so on successively, the fire being kept constant. The engineman +having only to turn two cocks, so as to connect the steam with the one +or the other vessel."</p> + +<p>In this engine, if it can be called an engine, we see that the Marquis +had a good idea of the power of steam, but he had none, you will +observe, as to the action of the condensation which would immediately +take place when the steam from the boiler was brought into contact with +the cold water to be raised. Therefore this plan would be most +expensive, on account of the great loss of steam by condensation. It +was, however, quite able to produce the effect, though only equal to +raising 20 cubic feet of water, or 1250 lbs., one foot high by one pound +of coal, or about the two-hundredth part of the effect of a good +steam-engine. After this, of course, it proved of no avail; but still we +may say that the Marquis of Worcester was among the first who tried to +make, and did do so, steam a moving power.</p> + +<p>Our next is Denys Papin (died 1710), a native of Blois, in France, who +was mathematical professor at Marpurg. To him is due the discovery of +one of the qualities of steam—its condensation, so as to produce a +vacuum, to the proper management of which our modern engines owe much of +their efficacy. Papin seems to have been the first who conserved the +idea of the cylinder and piston, which he made to act on atmospheric +principles—that is to say, he took a cylinder with a piston moving up +and down in it, and found that by removing the air from under the piston +in the cylinder, that the pressure of the atmosphere would drive it down +to the bottom of the cylinder: this he performed by admitting steam, and +then condensing it rapidly, so causing the required vacuum. The pressure +of the atmosphere is as near as may be 16 lbs. on every square inch of +surface on the globe: this is obviously the weight of the columns of +air extending from that square inch of surface upwards to the top of the +atmosphere. This force is thus measured: Take a glass tube 32 inches +long, open at one end and closed at the other; provide also a basin full +of mercury; let the tube be filled with mercury and inverted into the +basin. The mercury will then fall in the tube, till it gets to that +height which the atmosphere will sustain. This is nothing more than the +barometer used in all our houses. If the action of the tube be equal to +a square inch, the weight of the column of mercury in the tube would be +exactly equal to the weight of the atmosphere on each square inch of +surface. Thus Papin discovered a great step in the steam-engine, though +it was not much acted on for some years; he was also the first who +proposed to drive ships with paddles worked by steam.</p> + +<p>We now come to Thomas Savory, who got a patent in 1698 for a method of +condensing steam to form a vacuum. Savory describes his discovery in +this way:—Having drank a flask of wine at a tavern, he flung the empty +flask on the fire, and then called for a basin of water to wash his +hands. A little wine remained in the flask, which of course soon +boiled, and it occurred to him to try what effect would be produced by +putting the mouth of the flask into the cold water. He did this, and in +a moment the cold water rushed up and filled the flask, this being +caused by the steam being condensed and leaving a vacuum, which Nature +abhors, and rather than permit this the water rushed up and took the +place formerly occupied by the now condensed steam. We see by this in +how simple a way great ends are produced, and in the age in which this +happened, the result may be indeed be said to have produced a great end. +The engine of Savory was used for some years as a machine to raise +water. The principle of his engine was just as I have stated, and +consisted of two cases and other various parts, and this engine +possessed advantages over that of the Marquis of Worcester in sucking up +the water as well as forcing.</p> + +<p>Savory's engine consisted of two steam vessels connected to a boiler by +tubes; a suction pipe, or that pipe which leads from a pump of the +present day to the well, and communicating with each of the steam +vessels by valves opening upwards; a pipe going from these steam vessels +to any required height to which the water is to be raised. The steam +vessels were connected to this pipe by other valves, also opening +upwards, and by pipes. Over the steam vessels was placed a cistern, +which was kept filled with <i>cold</i> water. From this proceeded a pipe with +a stopcock. This cistern was termed the condensing cistern, and the pipe +could be brought over each steam vessel alternately from the boiler. +Now, suppose the tubes to be filled with common air, and the regulator +placed so that one tube and the boiler are made to communicate, and the +other tube and the boiler closed, steam will fill one of the steam +vessels through one tube; at first it will condense quickly, but erelong +the heat of the steam will impart its heat to the metal of the vessel, +and it will cease to condense. Mixed with the heated air, it will +acquire a greater force than the air outside the valve, which it will +force open, and drive out the mixture of air and steam, till all the air +will have passed from the vessel, and nothing but the vapour of water +remain. This done, a cock is opened, and the water from the cistern is +allowed to flow over the outside of the steam vessel, first having +stopped the further supply of steam from it; this produced the +immediate condensation of the steam contained in it, by the temperature +being brought down again by the cold water, and the condensation thus +produced caused a vacuum inside the vessel. The valve will then be kept +closed by the atmosphere outside, and the pressure of the air on the +surface of the water in the well or reservoir will open another valve, +force the water up the pipe, till, after one or two exhaustions—if I +may so term it—it will at last reach the second vessel. Thus far the +atmosphere has done all the work, but at last the water fills the +vessel, and then comes the forcing point. Now the power of the steam +itself is used to drive the water up the pipe. The steam is again let +into the vessel, now filled in whole, or at least in great part, with +water; at first it will, as before, condense rapidly, but soon the +surface of the water will get heated, and as hot water is lighter than +cold, it will keep on the surface, and the pressure of the steam from +the boiler will drive all the water from the vessel up the pipe. When it +is empty the cock is again opened, and the steam, which the vessel by +this time only contains, is again condensed, and the same process which +I have just described is again commenced and carried out, thus making +Savory's engine a complete pump by the aid of the vapour of water as +raised by fire.</p> + +<p>Savory had the honour of showing this engine to His Majesty William III. +at Hampton Court Palace, and to the Royal Society. He proposed the +following uses, which perhaps may as well be mentioned, as they show how +little was then known of the real value of the power of steam:—1. To +raise water to drive mill-wheels—fancy erecting a steam engine now, of +say fifty horse-power, to raise water to turn a wheel of say thirty; 2. +To supply palaces and houses with water; 3. Towns with water; 4. +Draining marshes; 5. Ships; 6. Draining mines. There is one more thing I +may mention as curious, that though the steam he used must have been of +a high pressure, he did not use a safety-valve, though it had been +invented about the year 1681 by Papin. The consumption of fuel was +enormous in Savory's engine, as may easily be perceived from the great +loss of steam by condensation. Nevertheless, it was on the whole a good +and a workable engine, as we find the following said of it by Mr. +Farey:—"When comparison is made between Captain Savory's engine and +those of his predecessors, the result will be favourable to him as an +inventor and practical engineer. All the details of his invention are +made out in a masterly style, so as to make it a real workable engine. +His predecessors, the Marquis of Worcester, Sir S. Morland, Papin, and +others, only produced outlines which required to be filled up to make +them workable."</p> + +<p>I must not detain you much longer before I proceed to the great Watt, +but I will just name Newcomen, who invented an engine with a cylinder, +and introduced a beam, to the other end of which he fixed a pump rod +like a common or garden pump. He made the weight of the pump and beam to +lift the piston, and then let the steam enter below the piston and +condensed it by a jet of water, thus causing a vacuum, when the pressure +of the atmosphere drove the piston from the top to the bottom of the +cylinder and lifted the pump rods in the usual way. There were various +cocks to be opened and shut in the working of this engine for the right +admission of steam and water at the required moments, a task which was +performed by boys who were termed cock-boys. I will now mention an +instance which, though in practice not to be imitated, yet was one of +those happy accidents which sometimes turn out for the best. One of +these boys, like many, more fond of play than work, got tired of turning +these cocks day by day, and conceived the idea of making the engine do +it for itself. This idle boy—we will not call him good-for-nothing, as +he proved good for a great deal in one way—was named Humphrey Potter, +and one day he fixed strings to the beam, which opened and shut the +valves, and so allowed him to play, little thinking this was one of the +greatest boons he could possibly have bestowed on the world at large, +for by so doing he rendered the steam-engine a self-acting machine.</p> + +<p>We now come to a period which was destined to advance the cause of steam +to a far greater extent—in fact, the time which rendered the +steam-engine the useful and valuable machine it now is. This is the time +of James Watt. This great man, be it said to the credit of Scotland, was +born in Greenock, on the Clyde, on the 19th January 1736. His +grandfather was a farmer in Aberdeenshire, and was killed in one of the +battles of Montrose. His father was a teacher of mathematics, and was +latterly chief magistrate of Greenock. James Watt, the celebrated man of +whom I now speak, was a very delicate boy, so much so, that he had to +leave school on account of his health, and was allowed to amuse himself +as he liked. This he did in a scientific way, however, as an aunt of his +said to him one day: "Do you know what you have been doing? You have +taken off and put on the lid of the teapot repeatedly; you have been +holding spoons and saucers over the steam, and trying to catch the drops +of water formed on them by it. Is it not a shame so to waste your time?" +Mrs. Muirhead, his aunt, was little aware that this was the first +experiment in the way which afterwards immortalised her nephew.</p> + +<p>In 1775 Watt was sent to London to a mathematical instrument maker, but +could not stay on account of his health, and soon afterwards came back +to Glasgow. He then got rooms in the College, and was made mathematical +instrument maker to the University, and he afterwards opened a shop in +the town. He was but twenty-one years of age when he was appointed to +this post in the College, and his shop became the lounge of the clever +and the scientific. The first time that his attention was directed to +the agency of steam as a power was in 1734, when a friend of his, Mr. +Robinson, who had some idea of steam carriages, consulted him on the +subject,—little is said of this, however. In 1762 Watt tried some +experiments on high-pressure steam, and made a model to show how motion +could be obtained from that power; but did not pursue his experiments on +account of the supposed danger of such pressure. He next had a model of +Newcomen's engine, which would not work well, sent him to repair. Watt +soon found out its faults, and made it work as it should do. This did +not satisfy him, and setting his active mind to work, he found in the +model that the steam which raised the piston had of course to be got rid +of. This, as a natural consequence, caused great loss of heat, as the +cylinder had to be cooled so as to condense the steam; and this led him +at last, after various plans, to adopt a separate vessel to condense +this steam. Of course, if you wish to save fuel, it is necessary that +the steam should enter a heated cylinder or other vessel, or else all +the steam is lost,—or in other words, condensed,—that enters it, until +it has from its own heat imparted so much to the cylinder as to raise +it to its own temperature, when it will no longer condense, and not till +then does it begin to exert its elastic power to produce motion. This +was the great object gained by James Watt, when, after various +experiments, he gave up the idea altogether of condensing steam in its +own or working cylinder, and then made use of a separate vessel, now +called the condenser.</p> + +<p>The weight of steam is about 1800 times less than water. I may here +perhaps mention also that water will boil at 100 degrees Fahr. in vacuo, +whereas in atmosphere it takes 212 degrees to boil. There is also a +thing perhaps worth knowing to all who wish to get the most stock out of +bones, &c., that if they are boiled in a closed vessel, that is to say, +under a pressure of steam, a very large increase in quantity of the +stock will be produced, because the heat is increased. A cubic inch of +water, evaporated under <i>ordinary</i> atmospheric pressure, will be +converted into a cubic foot of steam; and a cubic inch of water, +evaporated as above, gives a mechanical force equal to raising about a +ton a foot high.</p> + +<p>The next great improvement of Watt, in addition to the condenser, is the +air-pump, the use and absolute necessity for which you will understand +when I explain its action. Watt first used it for his atmospheric +engine. The piston of this engine was kept tight by a flow of oil and +water on the top, which tended to make the whole a troublesome and +bad-working machine. The cold atmosphere, as the piston went down, of +course followed it and cooled the cylinder. On the piston again rising, +some steam would of course be condensed and cause waste. If the +engine-room could be kept at the heat of boiling water, this would not +have been the case, but the engineman who could live in this heat would +also require to be invented, and so this had to be given up. Watt's next +and most important step was the one which brings us to talk of the +steam-engine as it now is in the present day. This important step was +the idea, of making the steam draw down the piston, as well as help to +drive it up; in the first engines it was raised by the beam, and steam +used only to cause a vacuum, so as to let the air drive it down. All +before this had been merely steps in advance, like those of children, +who must walk before they can run; so was it with the steam-engine. It +was uphill work for many years, and the top of the hill cannot be said +to have been readied till Watt worked out this grand idea. The first +engine could only be called atmospheric; now it was destined to become +in reality a steam-engine. Time would fail were I to attempt to go into +any details of all the experiments through which Watt toiled to bring +his ideas to perfection—enough to say that he did so; and I trust you +will be able, through the description I will endeavour to give, to +understand how well his labour was bestowed, and how beautiful the +result has proved for the benefit of the world at large. In 1773, Watt +removed to Soho, near Birmingham, where a part of the works was allotted +to him to erect the machinery necessary to carry out his inventions on a +grand scale.</p> + +<p>We must now proceed to some of the useful points of the engine, all I +have before mentioned simply relating to the inventors and improvers; +but having brought it so far, I may now, I think, proceed further. The +first use of the steam-engine was simply to raise water from mines, and +for long it was thought it could be used for nothing else; so much so, +that it was at one time used to raise water to turn wheels and thus +produce motion. One of its first uses after it became a really useful +machine was to propel ships, though many a weary hour was spent to bring +it to this point. There is a very pretty monument on the Clyde, +dedicated to Mr. Bell, who I believe was the first person who +successfully brought steamers to work on its waters. The first who used +steam for ships was Mr. James Taylor, in conjunction with Mr. Miller of +Dalswinton. The danger of the fire-ship took such hold on people's minds +that it was with great toil and difficulty they were persuaded to +venture on the face of the waters in such dangerous and unseamanlike +craft. But go to Glasgow Bridge any day, and you will see how time has +overcome fear and prejudice, for our ocean is covered with steamers of +all sizes. It is not many years ago since it was said that steamers +could never reach America; this has given way to proof, and even +Australia has been reached by steam. I know of a steamer building which +could carry the whole population of this place and not be full; she is +680 feet or 226 yards long, and a large vessel would hang like a boat +alongside her.</p> + +<p>The first attempt at giving motion by steam to ships was of course only +in one way—by a ratchet at the end of a beam, at one moment driving +and the next standing still. This was on account of the engine being +only in power one half of the stroke; but by the double-acting engine +being introduced, and the steam acting both ways, it became at last a +steady mover (without the aid of two or three cylinders, as in the first +engines, one to take up the other as the power was given off), by a +ratchet on the end of a beam or else a chain. This acted on the shaft +which moved the paddles. It is to Watt that we are indebted for the +crank and direct action, so as to give a circular motion to the wheels.</p> + +<p>We find in 1752 a Mr. Champion of Bristol applied the atmospheric engine +to raise water to drive a number of wheels for working machinery in a +brasswork, in other words, a foundry. Also, in Colebrokedale, +steam-engines were used to raise water that had passed over the wheel, +so as to save water. All these plans have, however, now passed by, like +the water over the wheel, and we now have the engine the prime +mover—the double action of the steam on the piston, this acting on the +sway beam, and the beam on the crank, which, by the assistance of the +fly-wheel on land or fixed engines, gives a uniform motion to the +machine. All these have now enabled us to apply the engine as our grand +moving power. One great and important point in the engine is the +governor, and the first modes of changing the steam from the top to the +bottom of the cylinder were cumbrous, till the excentric wheel was +devised.</p> + +<p>Boilers also have to be attended to—these were at first rude and now +would be useless. They were unprovided with valves, gauge-cocks, or any +other safety, all of which are now so well understood that nothing but +carelessness can cause a blow-up. One of the greatest causes of danger +is that of letting there be too little water in the boiler, and thus +allowing it to get red-hot, when, if you let in water, such a volume of +steam is generated that no valve will let it escape fast enough. Force +or feed pumps are also required to keep the water in the boiler at a +proper height, which is ascertained by the gauge-cocks. Mercury gauges +for low pressure act according to the pressure of the atmosphere; +high-pressure boilers of course require a different construction, as the +steam is greater in pressure than the air.</p> + +<p>Having got so far in my subject, I think before concluding I must devote +a short time in showing the first steps of the locomotive; the more so, +as I am speaking to those who are so largely engaged in the daily +working of that now beautifully perfect machine. Various and for a time +unsuccessful experiments were made to bring out a machinery or +travelling engine, as it was first called. A patent was taken by a Mr. +Trevethick for a locomotive to run on common roads, and to a certain +extent it did work. An amusing anecdote is told of it. In coming up to a +toll-gate, the gatekeeper, almost frightened out of his seven senses, +opened the gate wide for the monster, as he thought, and on being asked +what was to pay, said "Na-na-na-na!" "What have we got to pay?" was +again asked. "No-noth-nothing to pay, my dear Mr. Devil; do drive on as +fast as you can!" This, one of the first steam carriages, reached London +in safety, and was exhibited in the square where the large station of +the London and North-Western Railway now stands. Sir Humphrey Davy took +great interest in it, and, in writing to a friend, said: "I shall hope +soon to see English roads the haunts of Captain Trevethick's dragons." +The badness of roads, however, prevented its coming into general use.</p> + +<p>Trevethick in 1804 constructed a locomotive for the Merthyr and Tydvil +Rail in South Wales, which succeeded in drawing ten tons at five miles +an hour. The boiler was of cast-iron, with a one-cylinder engine, spur +gear and a fly-wheel on one side. He sent the waste steam into the +chimney, and by this means was very nearly arriving at the blast-pipe, +afterwards the great and important discovery of George Stephenson. The +jumping motion on the bad roads, however, caused it constantly to be +dismounted, and it was given up as a practical failure, being sent to +work a large pump at a mine. Trevethick was satisfied with a few +experiments, and then gave it up for what he thought more profitable +speculations, and no further advances were made in locomotives for some +years. An imaginary difficulty seems to have been among the obstacles to +its progress. This was the supposition that if a heavy weight were to be +drawn, the grip or bite of the wheels would not be sufficient, but that +they would turn round and leave the engines stationary, hence Trevethick +made his wheels with cogs, which of course tended to cause great jolts, +as well as being destructive to the cast-iron rails.</p> + +<p>A Mr. Blenkinsop of Leeds patented in 1811 a locomotive with a racked or +toothed rail. It was supported on four wheels, but they did not drive +the engine; its two cylinders were connected to one wheel behind, which +was toothed and worked in the cog-rail, and so drove the engine. It +began running on Middleton Coal Rail to Leeds, three and a quarter +miles, on the 12th August 1812, and continued a great curiosity to +strangers for some years. In 1816 the Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia saw +this engine working with great interest and expressions of no slight +admiration. An engine then took thirty coal-waggons at three and a +quarter miles in an hour.</p> + +<p>We next come to Messrs. Chapman of Newcastle, who in 1812 tried to +overcome the supposed want of adhesion by a chain fixed at the ends of +the line and wound round a grooved drum driven by the engine. It was +tried on the Heaton Rail near Newcastle, but was found to be so clumsy +that it was soon abandoned. The next was a remarkable contrivance—a +mechanical traveller to go on legs. It never got beyond its experimental +state, and unfortunately blew up, killing several people. All these +plans show how lively an interest was then being taken in endeavouring +to bring out a good working locomotive. Mr. Blackett, however, +persevered hard to perfect a railway system, and to work it by +locomotives. The Wylam waggon-way, one of the oldest in the North, was +made of wooden rails down to 1807, and went to the shipping-place for +coals on the Tyne. Each chaldron-waggon was originally drawn by a horse +with a man in charge, only making two journeys in the one day and three +on the following, the man being allowed sevenpence for each journey. +This primitive railway passed before the cottage where George Stephenson +was born, and was consequently one of the first sights his infant eyes +beheld; and little did his parents think what their child was destined +to work out in his day for the advancement of railways. Mr. Blackett +took up the wood and laid an iron plate-way in 1808, and in 1812 he +ordered an engine on Trevetbick's principle. It was a very awkward one, +had only one cylinder of six inches diameter, with a fly-wheel; the +boiler was cast-iron, and was described by the man who had charge of it +as having lots of pumps, cog-wheels, and plugs. It was placed on a +wooden frame with four wheels, and had a barrel of water on another +carriage to serve as a tender. It was at last got on the road, but +would not move an inch, and her driver says:—"She flew all to pieces, +and it was the biggest wonder we were not all blown up." Mr. Blackett +persevered, and had another engine, which did its work much better, +though it often broke down, till at length the workmen declared it a +perfect plague. A good story is told of this engine by a traveller, who, +not knowing of its existence, said, after an encounter with the +Newcastle monster working its great piston, like a huge arm, up and +down, and throwing out smoke and fire, that he had just "encountered a +terrible deevil on the Hight Street road."</p> + +<p>We now come to George Stephenson, who did for the locomotive what Watt +did for our other steam-engines. His first engine had two vertical +cylinders of eight inches diameter and two-feet stroke, working by +cross-heads; the power was given off by spur-wheels; it had no springs, +consequently it jolted very much on the then bad railways; the wheels +were all smooth, as Stephenson was sure the adhesion would be +sufficient. It began work on the 25th July 1814, went up a gradient of +one in 450, and took eight waggons with 30 tons at four miles an hour. +It was by far the most successful engine that had yet been made. The +next and most valuable improvement of Stephenson was the blast-pipe—by +its means the slow combustion of the fire was at once overcome, and +steam obtained to any amount. This pipe was the result of careful +observation and great thought. His next engine had horizontal connecting +rods, and was the type of the present perfect machine. This truly great +man did not rest here, but time would fail, as well as your patience, if +I were to proceed further. Enough to say, that he afterwards established +a manufactory at Newcastle, and time has shown the result and benefit it +has proved to the whole world at large. A short time before the +Liverpool and Manchester Railway was opened, Stephenson was laughed at +because he said he thought he could go thirty miles an hour, and was +urged before the House of Commons not to say so, as he might be thought +to be mad. This I have from person who knew the circumstances. +Nevertheless, at the trial, I believe the "Rocket" did go at the rate of +thirty miles an hour, to the not small astonishment of the world, and +especially to the unbelievers in steam as a land agent. The stipulation +made was that trains were to be conveyed at the rate of twelve miles an +hour.</p> + +<p>In our present perfect engines, the coke or fuel consumed per mile is +about 18 lbs. with a train of 100 tons gross weight, carrying 250 +passengers. A first-class carriage weighs 6 tons 10 cwts.; a +second-class, 5 tons 10 cwts., each with passengers; a Pullman car +weighs about 30 tons. Our steamers consume 5 lbs. of coal per +horse-power in one hour. And last, not least, one of the greatest +improvements we have had in steam propulsion is the screw. Again, I may +also name the great advantage derived from steam by our farmers in +thrashing out grain. The engines principally used in farm-work are what +are termed high-pressure, or of the same class as the locomotive. The +great saving in cost in the first place, the simplicity and ease of +action in the second, and the small quantity of water required to keep +them in action, are all reasons why they should be preferred. The danger +in the one, that is, the high-pressure, over the condenser, is very +small, and all that is required is common care to guard against +accidents. Steam being a steady power, is much to be preferred to +water, as by its constant and uniform action the tear and wear of +machinery is much diminished, and of course proportionate saving made in +keeping up the mill or any other machinery.</p> + +<p>Having now, to the best of my power, so far as a single lecture will +permit, brought the steam-engine from 120 B.C. to the present time, it +only remains for me to say, that it shows how actively the mind of man +has been permitted to work to bring it to perfection by the direction of +an all-wise Providence, "who knows our necessities before we ask, and +our ignorance in asking." A traveller by rail sees but little of the +vast and difficult character of the works over which he is carried with +such ease and comfort. Time is his great object. No age of the world has +conquered such difficulties as our engineers have had to deal with, and +the result is now before the eye of every thinking traveller. Our +engineers were at first self-taught, and many a self-taught man has had +reason to rejoice in the time he spent in his education. Of these men we +have examples in Brindley, who was at first a labourer and afterwards a +millwright; Telford was a stone-mason; Rennie a farmer's son apprenticed +to a millwright; and George Stephenson was a brakesman at a colliery. +Perseverance with genius, and a determination to overcome, made them the +great men they were. That you may so persevere and strive is the earnest +wish of him who has this evening had the great pleasure of giving you +this lecture, and who feels so greatly obliged to you for the very +patient hearing you have given him.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="ON_ATTRACTION" id="ON_ATTRACTION"></a><i>ON ATTRACTION</i>.<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a></h2> + + +<p><i>Gravitation</i>.—Attraction, which may be illustrated by the effect a +magnet has on a piece of iron, may be viewed generally as an influence +which two bodies, say, exert on each other, under which, though at a +distance, they tend to move towards each other till they come into +contact. The force by which a body has weight, and, when free, falls to +the ground, is of this nature; and it is called, from <i>gravis</i>, "heavy," +the gravitating force of the earth, because it causes weight, and +because, though emanating in a small degree from the falling body, it is +mainly exerted by the earth itself. It is under the action of gravity +that a pendulum oscillates: it is by that unseen influence it begins to +sway alternately downward and upward as soon as it is moved to a side; +and it is only because it is withheld by the rod that the ball or bob +keeps traversing the arc of a circle and does not fall straight to the +earth.</p> + +<p>All material substances, however small, and however light, buoyant, and +ethereal they may seem, are subject to this force: the tiniest speck in +a sunbeam and the most volatile vapour, equally with the heaviest metal +and the hugest block, the particles of bodies as well as the bodies +themselves. The rising of a balloon in the air may seem an exception to +this law; but it is not so; for the balloon rises, not because the +particles of the gas with which it is inflated are not acted upon by the +earth's attraction, but because the air outside being bulk for bulk +heavier than the air inside, its particles press in below the balloon +and buoy it up, until it reaches a stratum of the atmosphere where, the +pressure being less, the air outside is no heavier than the air +within—a fact which rather proves than disproves the universal action +of gravitation; because the greater weight of the air in the lower +strata of the atmosphere is due to the pressure of the air in those +above, and the balloon ceases to ascend because it has reached a point +where the air outside is the same weight as the air within, and the +weight in both cases is caused by the attraction of the earth.</p> + +<p>And not only is the force of attraction universal, it is the same for +every particle; for though this may seem to be contradicted by the fact +that some bodies fall faster to the ground than others, that fact is +fully accounted for by the greater resistance which the air offers to +the falling of lighter bodies than to the falling of heavier. A +particles of bodies, and all bodies, tend to fall with the same +velocity, and, in fact, all do; for though, for the reason just stated, +a feather will take longer to reach the ground than an ounce of lead, an +ounce of lead will fall as fast as a hundredweight. And that it is the +resistance of the air, and not any diminution in the power of +attraction, which causes the feather to lag behind, may be proved by +experiment; for if you let a feather and a coin drop together from the +top of the exhausted receiver of an air-pump, they will both be seen to +descend at the same rate, and reach the bottom at the same instant; a +fact which may be demonstrated more simply by placing the coin and +feather free of each other in a paper cone, and letting the cone fall +with its apex downwards, so as to break the air's resistance; or by +suspending a piece of gold-leaf in a bottle, and letting the bottle +drop—of course short of the ground—in which case the included leaf +will be seen to have gone as fast and as far as the bottle.</p> + +<p>It is to be especially noticed that attraction is no lopsided affair; +that it is mutual; that, while the larger body attracts the less, the +less also attracts and moves the larger in proportion; and that, indeed, +every body and every particle attracts every other, far as well as near, +to the utmost verge of the universe of matter. Under it the moon +maintains its place with reference to the earth, the planets with +reference to the sun, and the solar system with reference to the +stellar. As for the moon, it maintains its orbit and revolves round the +earth under the action of two forces, the one akin to that by which a +ball is projected from the mouth of a cannon, and the other the +attraction of the earth, which, by its constant and equal operation, +bends its otherwise rectilineal track into a circular one, as we might +show if we could only project a ball with such a force as exactly to +balance the power of gravity, so that it would at no point in its course +be drawn nearer the earth than at starting.</p> + +<p>That the force we are considering pervades the solar system is +demonstrable, for it is on the supposition of it and the laws it is +known to obey that all the calculations of astronomy—and they never +miscarry—are grounded; and it is by noticing disturbances in the +otherwise regular movements of certain planets that astronomers have +been led more than once to infer and discover the presence of some +hitherto unknown body in the neighbourhood. It was actually thus the +planet Neptune was discovered in 1846. Certain irregularities had been +observed in the movements of Uranus, which could not be accounted for by +the influence of any other bodies known to be near it; and these +irregularities, being carefully watched and studied, gradually led more +than one astronomer first to the whereabouts, and then to the vision of +the disturbing planet.</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding what we said about the universality of this force, and +how it affects all forms of matter, it may still appear as if the air +were an exception. But it is not so; the air also gravitates. The fact +that it gravitates is proved in various ways. First, if it did not, it +would not accompany the earth in its movements round the sun; the earth +would sweep along into space, and leave it behind it. Secondly, if we +place a bottle from which the air is exhausted in a balance and exactly +poise it with a counter-weight, and then open it and let in the air, it +will show at once that the air has weight or gravitates by immediately +descending. Thirdly, if we extend a piece of india-rubber over the end +of a vessel and begin to withdraw the air from it, we shall see the +india-rubber sink in, under the pressure of the air outside, to fill up +the space left vacant by the removal of the included air. The fact that +air gravitates we have already taken for granted in explaining the +ascent of a balloon; and the proofs now given are enough to show that +the cause assumed is a real one. The lighter gas rises and the heavier +sinks by law of gravitation.</p> + +<p><i>Gravitation and Cohesion.</i>—Unlike the attraction of aggregation, or +cohesion, which acts only between particles separated from each other +by spaces that are imperceptible, gravitation takes effect at distances +which transcend conception, but it diminishes in force as the distance +increases. The law according to which it does so is expressed thus; its +intensity decreases with the square of the distance; that is to say, at +twice the original distance it is 1-4th; at thrice, 1-9th; at four +times, 1-16th, for 4, 9, 16 are the squares respectively of 2, 3, and 4. +To take an instance, a ball which weighs 144 lb. at the surface of the +earth will weigh 1-4th of that, or 36 lb., when it is twice as far from +the centre as it is at the surface; and 1-9th, or 16 lb. when it is +thrice as far; and 1-16th, or 9 lb. when it is four times as far. The +attraction of cohesion, on the other hand, as we say, acts only when the +particles seem almost in contact, and it ceases altogether when once, by +mechanical or other means, the bond is broken, in consequence of the +particles being forced too near, or sundered too far from, one another.</p> + +<p>One distinguishing difference between the attraction of gravitation and +that of cohesion is, that whereas the former is uniform, the latter is +variable; that is, under gravitation the attraction of any one particle +to any other is the same, but under cohesion, some sets of particles +are more forcibly drawn together than others. For instance, a particle +of iron and a particle of cork gravitate equally, but particles of iron +and particles of cork among themselves do not cohere equally. And it is +just because those of the former cohere more than those of the latter, +that a piece of iron feels harder and weighs heavier than a piece of +cork.</p> + +<p>Further, the attraction of gravitation is unaffected by change in the +condition of bodies, while that of cohesion is. It makes nothing to +gravitation whether a piece of metal is as cold as ice, or heated with a +sevenfold heat. Not so to the power of cohesion; withdraw heat, and the +particles under cohesion cling closer; add it, and both the spaces grow +wider and the attraction feebler. Thus, for example, you may suspend a +weight by a piece of copper-wire, and the wire not break. But apply heat +to the wire, and its cohesion will be lessened; the force of gravitation +will overpower it, rupture the wire, and cause the weight to fall.</p> + +<p><i>Cohesion</i>.—That the action of the attraction of cohesion depends on +the contiguity of the particles in the cohering body, may be shown by +an illustration. Take a ball of lead, divide it into two hemispheres, +smooth the surfaces of section, then press them together, and you will +find it requires some force to separate them; thus proving the +dependence of cohesion on contiguity, although the effect in this case +may be due in some degree to the pressure of the atmosphere as well as +the power of cohesion.</p> + +<p>Heat is the principal agent in inducing cohesion, as well as in relaxing +its energy; for by means of it you can weld the hardest as well as the +softest substances into one, and two pieces of iron together, no less +than two pieces of wax. It is possible, indeed, by heat to unite two +sufficient waxed corks to one another, so as to be able by means of the +one to draw the other out of a bottle: such, in this case, is the force +of cohesion induced by heat.</p> + +<p>The power of cohesion exists between the particles of liquids as well as +those of solids, the only difference being that in solids the particles +are relatively fixed, while in liquids they move freely about one +another, unless indeed when they are attracted to the surface of a +solid—a fact we are familiar with when we dip our finger into a vessel +of water. The cohesive power of liquids is overcome by heat as well as +that of solids, only to a much greater degree, for under it they assume +a new form, acquire new properties, and expand immensely in volume. They +pass into the form of vapour, occupy a thousand times larger area, and +possess an elasticity of compressibility and expansibility they were +destitute of before.</p> + +<p>There is a beautiful phenomenon which accompanies the expansion of ether +under the influence of heat. Placed in a flask to which heat is applied, +the ether will go off in vapour; and as the heat increases, the vapour +will gradually light up into a lovely flame. The expansibility of air, +which is vapour in a permanent form, can be shown by experiment. If we +tie up an empty or collapsed bladder, and place it in a vessel over an +air-pump, we may see, as we withdraw the air from the vessel, and so +diminish its pressure, the bladder gradually expand and swell as it does +under inflation.</p> + +<p>The cohesive power of water is beautifully illustrated. Have a small +barrel or bucket so constructed as to be fitted with gauze at the top; +immerse it exactly, so that the water may form a film between the +meshes, and then open the tap at the bottom: the water will not flow +till the meshes at the top are broken by blowing on their surface. The +adhesion of the particles in a soap-bubble is another illustration, no +less beautiful, as well as more familiar; for the soap, which might be +supposed to be the cause of the phenomenon, serves only to prevent the +intrusion of dust between the particles, but by no means to intensify +their attractive power.</p> + +<p>There are some liquids the adhesiveness of whose particles is so perfect +as to bar out the access of air when we strew them on the surface of +other liquids; and on the Continent it is not uncommon to protect wines +against the action of the atmosphere by, instead of corking the bottle, +simply pouring in a few drops of oil, which, being lighter than the +wine, floats on the surface. It is parallel to the instance of the +barrel with the gauze-wire top mentioned above, that if we loosely plug +a bottle full of liquid with a piece of cotton-wool, and invert it, the +particles in contact with the wool will cohere so closely that the fluid +will not be able to escape. The adhesiveness of the particles of water +to a solid surface can be exemplified by allowing one of the scales of a +balance to float in water and leaving the other free; the one in +contact with the water will refuse to yield after we have placed even a +tolerable weight in the other which is suspended in the air.</p> + +<p>The power of cohesion is more rigorous in some bodies than others. In +some cases the body will rupture if it is interfered with ever so +little; in others, the particles admit of a certain displacement, and if +the limits are not transgressed, they return to their original position +when the compressing or distending cause is removed. This rallying power +in the cohesive force is called Elasticity, and it exists in no small +degree in glass. The spaces between the particles can, within limits, be +either lessened by compression or increased by distension, and the +particles retain their power of recovering and maintaining the relation +they stood in before they were disturbed. It is the power of cohesion or +aggregation which resists any disturbance among the particles, and which +restores order among them when once disturbance has taken place. And not +only does nature resist directly any undue interference with the +cohering force, but tampering with it even slightly has often a certain +deteriorating effect upon the physical properties of bodies. A bell, +for instance, loses its tone when heated, because by that means its +particles are disturbed; though it recovers its tone-power as it cools, +and as the particles return to their places.</p> + +<p>In organic bodies, both during growth and decay, the particles are more +or less in flux; but in feathers, after their formation, the attraction +of aggregation remains constant, and by means of it their particles +continue fixed in their places, not only with the life of the bird, but +long after. Nay, you may even crumple them up, and toss them away as +worthless, and yet if you expose them to the vapour of steam, they will +not only recover their form, but they can be made to look as beautiful +as ever.</p> + +<p><i>Chemical Affinity</i>.—The attraction of the particles of bodies of +different kinds to each other is often striking and curious; as, for +instance, those of salt to those of water. The salt attracts the water, +and the water the salt, till at last, if there is a sufficient quantity +of water, all the salt is attracted particle by particle from itself, +and taken up and united to the water. The salt is no longer visible to +the eye, and is said to be dissolved or in solution; but this change of +form is due to its affinity for the water, and the resulting attraction +of the one to the other. The same phenomena are observed, and they are +due to the same cause, in other solutions; as when we infuse our tea or +sweeten it with sugar. The attraction of water, or one of its elements +rather, for other substances, sometimes shows itself in vehement forms. +When a piece of potassium, for example, is thrown into a vessel of +water, its attraction for the water is such, and of the water for it, +that it instantly takes fire, and the two blaze away, particle violently +seizing on particle until the elements of the water unite part for part +with the metal. It is the mutually attractive force that causes the heat +and flame which accompany the combination; and this force is most +violently active in the union of dissimilar substances. Unions of a +quieter kind, though not less thorough, occur even between solids when +placed in contact. For instance, sulphate of soda and sulphate of +ammonia, when placed side by side, will diliquesce, and in liquid form +unite into a new combination. Sulphuric acid, when we mix it with water, +generates great heat; and this is due to its attraction for the water. +Sometimes two fluids unite together, and, in doing so, pass from the +liquid into the solid form; as, <i>e.g.</i>, sulphuric acid and chloride of +calcium. Attraction of this nature is called chemical: it takes effect +between dissimilar particles, and results in combinations with new +properties. It operates not only between solid and solid, solid and +liquid, and liquid and liquid, but between these and gases, and gases +with one another; and these as well as those combine into new +substances, and evince in the act not a little violent commotion. Thus, +phosphorus catches fire in the atmosphere at a temperature of 140 +degrees, and it goes on rapidly combining with the oxygen, burning with +a dazzling white light, and producing phosphoric acid. Indeed, most +metals have an affinity for the oxygen in the air, and oxydise in it +with more or less facility; and a metal, as such, has more value than +another according as it has less affinity for that element, and is less +liable to oxydise or rust in it. This is one reason, among others, why +gold is the most precious metal, and the conventional representative of +highest worth in things.</p> + +<p>There are some metals, such as lead, for instance, which oxydise +readily, but this process stops short at the surface in contact with the +air, and so forms a coating which prevents the metal from further +oxydation; so that here, as in so many things else, strength is +connected with weakness.</p> + +<p><i>Electricity</i>.—This, in the most elementary view of it, is a more or +less attractive or repellant force latent in bodies, and which is +capable of being roused into action by the application of friction. It +is excited in a rod of glass by rubbing it with silk, and in a piece of +sealing-wax by rubbing it with flannel, though the effect is different +when we apply first the one and then the other to the same body. Thus, +<i>e.g.</i>, if we apply the excited sealing-wax to a paper ring, or a +pith-ball, hung by a silk thread from a horizontal glass rod, it will, +after contact, repel it; and if, thereafter, we apply to it the excited +glass rod, it will attract it; or if we first apply the excited glass +rod to the paper ring, or pith-ball, it will, after contact, repel it; +and if thereafter we apply to it the excited sealing-wax, it will +attract it. The reason is, that when we once charge a body by contact +with either kind, it repels that kind, and attracts the opposite; if we +charge it from the glass, <i>i.e.</i>, with vitreous electricity, it refuses +to have more, and is attracted to the sealing-wax; and if we charge it +from the sealing-wax, <i>i.e.</i>, with resinous electricity, it refuses to +have more, and is attracted to the glass-rod; only it is to be observed +that, till the body is charged by either, it has an equal attraction for +both. From all which it appears that kindred electricities repel, and +opposite attract, each other.</p> + +<p>Two pieces of gold leaf suspended from a metal rod, inserted at the top +of a glass shade full of perfectly pure, dry air, will separate if we +rub our foot on the carpet, and touch the top of the rod with one of our +fingers; for the motion of the body, as in walking, always excites +electricity, and it is this which, as it passes through the finger, +causes the phenomenon; though the least sensation of damp in the glass +would, by instantly draining off the electricity, defeat the experiment. +What happens in this case is, that one kind of electricity passes from +the finger to the leaves, while another kind, to make room for it, +passes from the leaf to the finger; and the leaves separate because they +are both more or less charged with the same kind of electricity, and +kindred electricities repel each other. Ribbons, particularly of white +silk, when well washed, are similarly susceptible of electrical +excitation; and they behave very much as the gold leaf does when they +are rubbed sharply through a piece of flannel. Gutta-percha is another +substance which, when similarly treated, is similarly affected.</p> + +<p>This power is a very mysterious one, and of a nature to perplex even the +philosophic observer. Certain bodies, such as the metals, convey it, and +are called conductors; certain others, such as glass and porcelain, +arrest it, and are called insulators. It is for this reason that the +wires of the telegraph are supported by a non-conductor, for if not, the +electric current would pass into the earth by the first post and never +reach its final destination. Glass being an insulator, it was found +that, if a glass bottle was filled with water, and then corked up with a +cork, through which a nail was passed so that the top of it touched the +water, it would receive and retain a charge as long as it was held in +the hand; and this observation led to an invention of some account in +the subsequent applications of electricity, known, from the place of its +conception, as the Leyden jar. This is a glass jar, the inside of which +is coated with tinfoil, and the outside as far as the neck, and into +which, so as to touch the inside coating, a brass rod with a knob at +the top is inserted through a cork, which closes its mouth. By means of +this, in consequence of the isolation of the coatings by the glass, +electricity can, in a dry atmosphere, be condensed, and stored up and +husbanded till wanted.</p> + +<p>A series of eggs, arranged in contact and in line, give occasion to a +pretty experiment. In consequence of the shells being non-conductors, +and the inside conducting, it happens that a current of electricity, +applied to the first of the series, will pass from one to another in a +succession of crackling sparks, in this way forcing itself through the +obstructing walls. This effect of electricity in making its way through +non-conducting obstructions accounts for the explosion which ensues when +a current of it comes in contact with a quantity of gunpowder; as it +also does for the fatal consequences which result when, on its way from +the atmosphere to the earth, it rushes athwart any resisting organic or +inorganic body.</p> + +<p><i>Magnetism</i>.—Unlike electricity, which acts with a shock and then +expires, magnetism is a constant quantity, and constant in its action; +and it has this singular property, that it can impart itself as a +permanent force to bodies previously without it. Thus, there being +natural magnets and artificial, we can, by passing a piece of steel over +a magnet, turn it into a strong magnet itself; although we can also, +when it is in the form of a horse-shoe, by a half turn round and then +rubbing it on the magnet, take away what it has acquired, and bring it +back to its original state. The magnetic property is very readily +imparted (by induction, as it is called) to soft iron, but when the iron +is removed from the magnetising body, it parts with the virtue as fast +as it acquired it. To obtain a substance that will retain the power +induced, we must make some other election; and hard steel is most +serviceable for conversion into a permanent magnet.</p> + +<p>The properties of the magnet are best observed in magnetised steel; and +when we proceed to test its magnetic power, it will be found that it is +most active at the extremities of the bar, which are hence called its +poles, and hardly, if at all, at the centre; that while both poles +attract certain substances and repel others, the one always points +nearly north and the other nearly south when the bar is horizontally +suspended; and that, when we break the bar into two or any number of +pieces, however small, each part forms into a complete magnet with its +virtue active at the poles, which, when suspended, preserves its +original direction; so that of two particles one is, in that case, +always north of the other; nay, it is probable that each of these has +its north pole and its south, as constant as those of the earth itself, +which, too, is a large magnet.</p> + +<p>The magnet acts through media and at a distance, as well as in contact; +and it has an especial attraction for iron, the more so when the +conducting medium is solid, such as a table; and so when the magnet is +horizontally suspended, or poised, in the vicinity of iron, its tendency +to point north and south is seriously disturbed. The disturbance of the +bar, or needle, in such a case, is called its <i>deflection</i>; and it is +corrected by so placing a piece of soft iron or another magnet in its +neighbourhood as to neutralise the effect, and leave said bar, or +needle, free to obey the magnetism of the earth. The needle, it is to be +remarked, does not point due north and south, neither, when poised +freely on its centre, does it lie perfectly horizontal; in our latitude +it points at present 20° west of north, which is called its +<i>declination</i>, and its north pole slopes downwards at an angle of 68°, +which is called its <i>dip</i>.</p> + +<p>By holding a rod of iron, or a poker, for a length of time parallel to +the direction of the needle, so as to have the same declination and the +same dip, it will gradually assume and display magnetic virtue, and this +will ere long become fixed and powerful under a succession of vibratory +shocks. There is a beautiful experiment in which a needle, when +magnetised, can be made to float on water, when it adjusts itself to the +magnetic meridian, and will incline north and south the same as the +needle of the compass.</p> + +<p><i>The Chemical Action of Electricity and Magnetism</i>.—These agents +possess powers which develop wonderfully in connection with chemical +combination. Thus, if we suspend a piece of iron in a vessel which +contains oxygen gas, and apply to the metal an electric current, it will +immediately begin to unite rapidly, and form an oxide with oxygen, +emitting, during the process, intense heat and a bright flame. Zinc, +too, when similarly acted on, will ignite in the common atmosphere and +burn away, though with less intensity, till it also is, under the +electric force, reduced to an oxide. It is presumed that many other +chemical combinations take place because of the simultaneous joint +development of electric agencies, as in copper, water, and aquafortis, +nitrate of copper, &c. So also it happens that, when a plate of iron is +for some time immersed in a copper solution, it comes out at length +covered over with a coating of copper. And it is because there is +electricity at work that a silver basin will be coated with copper when +we pour into it a copper solution, and at the same time place in it a +rod of zinc, so that it rests on the side and bottom, though no coating +will form at all when there is no rod present to excite the electric +current. The same phenomena will appear if we deposit a silver coin in +the solution in question: the coin will come out unaffected, unless we +excite affinity by means of a rod of iron. It is under the action of an +electric current that one metal is coated with another. The metal, +copper say, is steeped in a solution of the coating substance, and +connected by means of wires with a galvanic battery, under the action of +which the metal in solution unites with the surface of the plate +immersed in it. Heat also is developed under magnetic influence, and +that often of great intensity. Thus, if we connect the poles of a +voltaic battery by means of a platinum wire, heat will develop to such a +degree that the platinum will almost instantaneously become red hot and +emit a bright light, and that along a wire of some considerable length. +A similar effect is noticeable when we substitute other metals, such as +silver or iron, for platinum. And the <i>electric light</i>, which flashes +out rays of sunlike brilliance, is the result of placing a piece of +compact charcoal between the separated but confronting poles of a +powerful galvanic battery, light, developing more at the one pole and +heat more at the other of the incandescent substance.</p> + +<p>Kindred, though much milder, results will show themselves under simpler, +though similar, contrivances. A flounder will jump and jerk about +uneasily if we lay it upon a piece of tinfoil and place over it a thin +plate of zinc, and then connect the two with a bent metal rod; which +will happen to an eel also, if we expose it to a gentle current from a +battery.</p> + +<p>By means of electric or magnetic action we can separate bodies +chemically combined, as well as unite them into chemical compounds; as +will appear if we place a piece of blotting paper upon tinfoil, and this +upon wool; if we then spread above these two pieces of test-paper, +litmus and turmeric, the one the test of acids, and the other of +alkalis, and saturate both with Glauber salt (which is by itself neither +an acid nor an alkali, but a combination of the two), and, finally, +connect each by means of a piece of zinc with the poles of a battery, +the test-papers will immediately change colour, as they do the one in +the presence of an acid simply, and the other of an alkali simply, but +never in a compound where these are neutralised; thus proving that the +compound has in this case been decomposed, and its elements +disintegrated one from another.</p> + +<p>A very powerful magnet can be produced by coiling a wire round a bar of +soft iron, and attaching its extremities to the poles of a galvanic +battery, when it will be found that its strength will be proportioned to +the strength of the current and the turns of the coil. This is +especially the case when the bar is bent into the form of a horse-shoe, +and the wires are insulated and coiled round its limbs. The force +communicated to a magnet of this kind, which is often immense, is the +product of the chemical action which goes on in the battery, and, in a +certain sense, the measure of it. How great that is we may judge when +we consider that, evanescent as it is in itself, it has imparted a +virtue which is both powerful and constant, and ever at our service.</p> + +<p><i>Summary</i>.—Thus, then, on a review of the whole, we find all things are +endowed with attractive power, and that there is no particle which is +not directly or indirectly related, in manifold ways, to the other +particles of the universe. There is, first, the universal attraction of +gravitation, under which every particle is, by a fixed law, drawn to +every other within the sphere of existence. There is, secondly, the +attraction of cohesion or aggregation, which acts at short distances, +and unites the otherwise loose atoms of bodies into coherent masses. +There is, thirdly, the power by which elements of different kinds +combine into compounds with new and useful qualities, known by the name +of chemical affinity. And, lastly, related to the action of affinity, +aiding in it and resulting from it, there are those strange negative and +positive, attractive and repellant polar forces which appear in the +phenomena of electricity and magnetism, agencies of such potency and +universal avail in modern civilisation.</p> + +<p>On the permanency of such forces and their mutual play the universe +rests, and its wonderful history. With the collapse of any of them it +would cease to have any more a footing in space, and all its elements +would rush into instant confusion. What a Hand, therefore, that must be +which holds them up, and what a Wisdom which guides their movements! +Verily, He that sends them forth and bids them work His will is greater +than any one—greater than all of them together. How insignificant, +then, should we seem before Him who rules them on the wide scale by +commanding them, while we can only rule them on the small by obeying +them! And yet how benignant must we regard Him to be who both wields +them Himself for our benefit and subjects them to our intelligence and +control!</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> This paper on "Attraction" is the substance of a lecture which I +composed on the basis of notes taken by me when. I had the honour of +attending the Prince of Wales at the course given, on the same subject +by the late Professor Faraday. The Professor, having seen the <i>resumé</i> I +had written, warmly commended the execution, and generously accorded me +his sanction to make any use of it, whether for the purpose of a lecture +or otherwise, as might seem good to me. It is on the ground of this +sanction I feel warranted to print it here.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="THE_OIL_FROM_LINSEED" id="THE_OIL_FROM_LINSEED"></a><i>THE OIL FROM LINSEED</i>.</h2> + + +<p>Various processes have for a long time been in use for the purpose of +extracting the oils from different species of nuts and seeds, a few of +the more interesting of which are not unworthy of brief notice and +description.</p> + +<p>In Ceylon, where cocoa-nuts and oil-producing seeds abound, the means +employed by the natives in the last century for extracting the oils were +of a most primitive character. A few poles were fixed upright in the +ground, two horizontal bars attached to them, between which a bag +containing the pulp of the seed or nut was placed. A lever was then +applied to the horizontal bars, which brought them together, thus +creating a pressure which, by squeezing the bag, gradually expressed the +oil from the pulpy substance. This rude machine was at that time of day +one of the most approved for the purpose.</p> + +<p>The system of pestle and mortar was also in use, but as the process was +necessarily very slow, this method was seldom resorted to. An +improvement on this system was invented by a Mr. Herbert, whose design +it had been to construct a powerful and efficient machine which should +combine cheapness and simplicity. It consisted of three pieces of wood, +viz., an upright piece fixed in the ground, from the lower and upper +extremities of which there projected the two other pieces, the top one +attached to the joint of a long horizontal lever, and the lower one to +the joint of a vertical one. The fixed upright post and the horizontal +lever formed the press. The bag of pulp being put between the upright +one and the vertical, the pressure was obtained by suspending a negro or +a weight from the lever.</p> + +<p>In another press of the same or a similar kind, the bags were placed in +a horizontal frame, and a loose beam of wood pressed down on it by a +lever.</p> + +<p>Another form of press had cambs and wedges; also a modification of it by +Mr. Hall of Dartford, who applied the pressure by means of a +steam-cylinder. The cambs are arranged alternately, so that one is +filled while the other is being pressed. This brief notice will suffice +to give an idea of such machines as are wrought by lever pressure.</p> + +<p>We pass on, therefore, to later inventions and improvements.</p> + +<p>First, The Dutch or <i>stamper</i> press, invented in Holland; second, the +<i>screw</i>; and, third, the <i>hydraulic</i>:—</p> + +<p>(1.) <i>The stamper press</i> is something like a beetling-machine, in which +wedges are driven in between the bags, containing, of course in a +bruised condition, the seed to be pressed.</p> + +<p>(2.) <i>The screw press</i> has an ordinary square-threaded screw, and it +acts in the same way as press for making cider or cheese.</p> + +<p>(3.) <i>The hydraulic press</i>. Here the pressure is produced by means of a +piston driven up by the force of water, the immense power of which is, +in great part, due to its almost total incompressibility. This is by far +the most perfect form of press. Its power must be familiar to all who +remember the lifting of the tubes of the Britannia Bridge, and the +<i>launching of the Great Eastern</i>.</p> + +<p>An oil-mill is in form something like a flour-mill. The operation +begins at the top, where the seed is passed through a flat screw or +shaker and then through a pair of rollers, which crush it. These rollers +are of unequal diameter, the one being 4 feet, and the other 1 foot; but +they are both of the same length, 1 foot 4 inches, and make fifty-six +revolutions in a minute. By this arrangement it is found the seed is +both better bruised and faster than when, as was formerly the case, the +rollers were of the same diameter. A pair of rollers will crush 4-1/2 +tons of seed in eleven hours, a quantity enough to keep two sets of +hydraulic presses going.</p> + +<p>After the seed is crushed in this way, it is passed under a pair of edge +stones. These stones weigh about seven tons, are 7 feet 6 inches in +diameter and 17 inches broad, and make seventeen revolutions a minute. +If of good quality, they will not require to be faced more than once in +three years, and they will last from fifteen to twenty. They are fitted +with two scrapers, one for raking the seed between the stones, the other +for raking it off at the proper period. One pair of stones will grind +seed sufficient for two double hydraulic presses, and the operation +occupies about twenty-five minutes. The seed is now crushed and ground, +but before it is passed on to the press it is transferred to the +heating-kettle.</p> + +<p>The heating-kettle is composed of two cylindrical castings, one fitting +loosely into the other, so that a space is left between them for a free +circulation of steam all round both the sides and bottom of the interior +vessel. The internal casting is again divided horizontally into two +partitions, one above the other therefore, by two plates, between which +also there is a space left for the admission and circulation of steam; +and a communication is kept up between the upper compartment and the +under by means of a stripping valve. Besides this, there is a +communication from the internal kettle through the external one, and +also a shaft passes between the two horizontal parts to give motion to +the stirrer, which revolves thirty-six times a minute. A cover encloses +the top, and it is through this the vessel is charged. The upper portion +is filled first, where the contents introduced are allowed to remain ten +or fifteen minutes, after which the valve is opened and the whole falls +into the lower kettle, where it is kept till wanted. The seed is then +taken away from the lower kettle by an opening, and bestowed in bags of +sufficient size to make a cake of 8 lbs. weight after the oil is pressed +out of it. Indeed, the compartments of the heating-kettle are of a size +to contain enough to charge one side of a hydraulic press. These, +therefore, are so constructed as to render the operation continuous, the +upper one being discharged into the under as soon as its contents are +withdrawn to the press. The seed is heated to the temperature of 170 +degrees Fahr., when it is drawn off and placed in the bags.</p> + +<p>In another form of kettle the seed is heated on a hot hearth, and on the +top of the hearth is a loose ring, within which a spindle revolves to +stir the seed. After the requisite temperature has been reached, the +ring is raised and the seed swept into the bags, which are made of +horse-hair. There is great loss of heat in this method, however, as the +seed is exposed to the atmosphere, which of course cools it.</p> + +<p>We now come to the final operation, the mode of expressing the oil. The +screw press we do not need to describe, as it consists simply of two +plates, brought together by a screw, in the same way as the press used +for squeezing apples in the manufacture of cider, and the cheese press. +Let us look therefore at the stamper press. It consists of an iron box, +open at the top, at each end of which are two plates, capable of +containing between them a bag of seed which shall yield a cake weighing +9 lbs. To one of the inner plates of the box is attached a wedge, beside +which is inserted another filling up, and then the driving wedge is +introduced; and lastly, another block is let in between this wedge and +the other plate as soon as the bags have been placed vertically in the +press-box. A stamper of wood, worked by cambs on a revolving shaft, is +allowed to fall about 1 foot 10 inches, at the rate of fifteen strokes a +minute, for about six minutes. This stamper is 16 feet long by 8 inches +square, and falls on the head of the wedge, and drives it in to a level +at the top of the box. Another stamper is employed to drive down an +inverted wedge, so as to release the working one, and enable the +attendant to take out the cake. A press of this kind will turn out only +about 12 cwts. of cake a day.</p> + +<p>We come now to the hydraulic press. This is certainly the most approved +invention that has yet been adopted, and it is simply a Bramah press +adjusted for the purpose. It has been in use for about thirty years, +though it was, of course, at first less skilfully and scientifically +constructed than it is now. In one of the earliest of these presses, the +box which contains the seed runs on a tramway in order to facilitate its +removal from the heating-kettle, so that each time the bags have to be +replenished the whole box has to be removed; and this causes no +inconsiderable loss both of power and time, for it has, when filled, to +be replaced on the ram and lifted bodily upwards in order to bring it +flush with the top of the press, which fits the press-box and acts as a +point of resistance. In this arrangement there are introduced only one +press and one set of small pumps.</p> + +<p>The next press we come to is Blundell's, which is admitted to be by far +the most efficient in use to-day. Here there are two distinct presses, +or a double hydraulic press, fed by two pumps, one 2-1/2 inches and the +other 1 inch in diameter, both connected with the separate cylinders by +hydraulic tubing. The stroke of these pumps is 5 inches, and they make +thirty-six strokes a minute. The larger pump is weighted to 740 lbs. on +the square inch, and the smaller to 5540 the square inch. The diameter +of the rams is 12 inches, and the stroke 10 inches. Each press is fitted +to receive four bags of seed, and it produces 64 lbs. of cake at each +operation. After the heated seed has been placed in the bags, the +attendant proceeds to fill one press, and then he opens the valve +between the large pump and the charged press, which causes the ram to +rise till there is a pressure of forty tons, whereupon the safety-valve +of the large pump opens, and is kept so by a spring. While this +operation is going on, the attendant is occupied with filling the second +press; which completed, he opens the communication between the large +pump and the second press, taking care first to replace the +safety-valve. The ram of this press is then raised to the same height as +the other, after which the safety-valve rises a second time. The +attendant, as he closes the valve which opens the communication between +the large pump and the press, at the same time opens the valve between +the small pumps and the presses; and the pressure, amounting to about +300 tons, exerted by the small pump, is allowed to remain on the rams +for about seven minutes. From which it appears that, allowing three +minutes for emptying and charging the press, the process of expressing +the oil takes only three minutes in all; and it is done by this press in +this brief time in the most effectual manner. The oil, as it is +expressed, passes through the canvas and hair bags to a cistern, known +as the spill-tank, which is just large enough to contain the produce of +one day's working. The presses are worked by oil instead of water, as it +keeps both presses and pumps in better order. Each of them will produce +36 cwts. of cake per day of eleven hours, while the yield of oil is +about 14 cwts. The oil is pumped from the spill-tanks to larger ones, +capable of holding from 25 to 100 tons, where it remains for some time +in order to settle previously to being brought to the market.</p> + +<p>I do not intend to enter into the relative merits of the various +presses, but content myself with having explained to you the manner in +which the oil is produced.</p> + +<p>Before concluding, it may be interesting to give you some idea of the +vast extent of this manufacture. It appears, according to the official +returns, that in the year 1841 we imported 364,000 quarters of seed.</p> + +<h3>THE OIL FROM LINSEED.</h3> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">__________________________________________</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">| 1842 | 368,000 | 1847 | 439,000 | 1852 | 800,000 </span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">| 1843 | 470,000 | 1848 | 799,000 | 1853 | 1,000,000 </span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">| 1844 | 616,000 | 1849 | 626,000 | 1854 | 828,000 </span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">| 1845 | 666,000 | 1850 | 668,000 | 1855 | 757,000 </span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">| 1846 | 506,000 | 1851 | 630,000 | 1856 | 1,100,000 </span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">__________________________________________</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>Now if we take the last year's imports, we shall find that the produce +would amount to about 144,000 tons' weight of oil-cake, and above 56,000 +tons of oil.</p> + +<p>The cake is used for feeding cattle, and the oil for burning, +lubricating, painting, &c.; and a very large quantity is exported.</p> + +<p>We find that to crush the seed imported in 1856 it required from 150 to +160 double hydraulic presses, nearly 100 of which were in Hull. This +shows the extent of our commerce in the seed of flax, to say nothing of +its fibre; and is one more instance of the great results which may be +wrought out of little things. What a beautiful illustration of the +bounty of Providence; and what an encouragement to the ingenuity of man! +Who knows what treasures may yet lie hidden in neglected fields, or to +what untold wealth the human family may one day fall heir?</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="HODGE_PODGE_OR_WHATS_INTILT" id="HODGE_PODGE_OR_WHATS_INTILT"></a><i>HODGE-PODGE: OR, WHAT'S INTILT.</i></h2> + +<p>WRITTEN NOV. 20, 1875, AT STAGENHOE PARK.</p> + + +<p>The subject and treatment, as well as title, of this Lecture are +suggested by the answer of the hostess at a Scottish inn to an English +tourist, who was inquisitive to know the composition of a dish which she +offered him, and which she called Hodge-Podge. "There's water intilt," +she said, "there's mutton intilt, there's pease intilt, there's leeks +intilt, there's neeps intilt, and sometimes somethings else intilt." The +analysis was an exhaustive one, and the intelligence displayed by the +landlady was every way worthy of the shrewdness indigenous to her +country; but her answer was not so lucid to her listener as to herself, +as appeared by his bewildered looks, and his further half-despairing +interrogatory. "But what is <i>intilt</i>?" said he, impatiently striking in +before she had well finished. "Haven't I been tellin' ye what's +intilt?" she replied. And she began the enumeration again, only with +longer pause and greater emphasis at every step, as if she were +enlightening a slow apprehension,—"There's water intilt, there's mutton +intilt;" quietly and self-complacently adding, as she finished, "Ye +surely ken now what's intilt." Whether her guest now understood her +meaning, or whether he had to succumb, contented with his ignorance, we +are not informed; but few of my readers need to be told that "intilt" is +a Scotch provincialism for "into it," and that the landlady meant by +using it to signify that the particulars enumerated entered as +constituents <i>into</i> her mysterious dish.</p> + +<p>My aim is to discourse on the same constituents as they display their +virtues and play their parts on a larger scale, in a wider economy; and +when I have said my say, I hope I may be able to lay claim to the credit +of having spoken intelligibly and profitably, though I must at the +outset bespeak indulgence by promise of nothing more than the serving up +of a dish of simple hodge-podge. The question I put in a wider reference +is the question of the Englishman, as expressed in the Scotchwoman's +dialect, What's intilt? and I assume that there enter into it, as +radically component parts, at least the ingredients of this motley soup. +Into the large hodge-podge of nature and terrestrial economics, as into +this small section of Scotch cookery, there enter the element of water, +the flesh of animals, and the fruits of the earth, as well as the +processes by which these are brought to hand and rendered serviceable to +life. The ingredients of hodge-podge exist in <i>rerum natura</i>, and the +place they occupy and the function they fulfil in it are no less +deserving of our inquisitive regard.</p> + +<p>Thus, there is water in it, without which there were no seas and no +sailing of ships, no rivers and no plying of mills, no vapour and no +power of steam, no manufacture and no trade, and not only no motion, but +no growth and no life. There is mutton, or beef, in it, and connected +therewith the breeding and rearing of cattle, the production of wool, +tallow, and leather, and the related manufactures and crafts. There are +turnips and carrots in it, the latter of such value to the farmer that +on one occasion a single crop of them sufficed to clear off a rent; and +the former of such consequence in the fattening of stock and the +provision of animal food, that a living economist divides society +exhaustively into turnip-producing classes and turnip-consuming. There +are leeks and onions in it, and these, with the former, suggest the art +of the gardener, and the wonderful processes by which harsh and fibrous +products can be turned into pulpy and edible fruits. And there are pease +and barley in it, and associated therewith the whole art of the +husbandman in the tillage of the soil and the raising of cereals, with +the related processes of grinding the meal, baking the bread, preparing +the malt, brewing the beer, and distilling the fiery life-blood at the +heart.</p> + +<p>Now, to discourse on all these, as they deserve, would be a task of no +ordinary magnitude, but the subject is an interesting one, and to treat +of it ever so cursorily might not unprofitably occupy a reflective +moment or two. Water is the first topic it is laid upon me to talk +about, and I begin with it all the more readily because it suggests a +sense of freshness, and thoughts which may float our enterprise +prosperously into port.</p> + +<p>I. Water, as already hinted, is an element of vast account in the +economy of nature, and is a recreation to the heart and a delight to the +eye of both man and beast. To have a plentiful supply of it is one of +the greatest blessings of God to the creature, and to be able to bestow +it wisely and employ it usefully is one of the most serviceable of human +arts. It is too valuable a servant to suffer to go idle, and many are +the offices it might do us, if, as it travels from the mountains to the +sea-board, we caught it in its course, harnessed it to our chariot, and +guided it to our aim. We should turn it to account every inch of its +progress, and compel it, as it can, to minister to our requirements by +its irresistible energy. Its merely mechanical power is immense, and +this is due in great part to its incompressibility; for it is in virtue +of this quality alone we can, by means of it, achieve feats not +otherwise feasible. How else could we have raised to its sublime height +that stupendous bridge which spans the Menai Straits, and which is the +wonder of the beholder, as it is the boast of the designer? It stands +where it does by the help of some mechanism indeed, but the true giant +that lifted it on his shoulders and bore it to its airy elevation was +the incompressible force of water, a fluid which is, strangely, the +simple product of the combination of two elastic transparent gases, +oxygen and hydrogen, neither of which apart has the thew and sinew of +its offspring. Nay, it is this single element, which, acted on by heat +or acting through machinery, fetches and carries for us over the wide +globe, and is fast weaving into one living web the far-scattered +interests of the world.</p> + +<p>Water was in primitive times utilised into a motive power by the help of +a mechanism of rude design, which yet is hardly out of date, and might +recently be seen in its original, still more in modified form, in +certain back-quarters of civilisation. A stream, guided by a sluice, was +made to play upon four vertical paddle-blades, attached to a shaft which +they caused to revolve, and which moved a millstone, resting upon +another through which it passed. It was a primitive mill, which +superseded the still more primitive hand-mill, or quern; and I myself +have seen it at work in the Shetland Islands, and even the north of +Scotland, though it is now done away with even there, still more farther +south, and its place supplied and its work done by overshot and +under-shot wheel-gear, and improved machinery attached, of less or more +complexity. One of the most recent improvements is the Turbine, a sort +of Barker's mill; it is of great power, small compass, and acts under a +good fall with a minimum expenditure of water-power.</p> + +<p>Passing from the consideration of water as a motive power in its natural +state, I ask you to notice briefly the gigantic force it can be made to +develop under the action of heat. In its normal form the power of water +is due, as I have said, to its incompressibility; in the state of +vapour, to which it is reduced by heat, its power is due to the counter +force of expansion. It was when confined as a state prisoner in the +Tower of London that the Marquis of Worcester began to speculate on the +possibilities of steam, though he little dreamed of its more important +applications, and the incalculable services it might be made to render +to the cause of humanity. Suddenly, one day, his musings in his solitude +were interrupted by the rattling of the lid of a kettle, which was +boiling away on the fire beside him, when, being of a philosophic vein, +he commenced to inquire after the cause; and he soon reasoned himself +into the conclusion that the motive power lay in the tension of the +vapour, and that the maintenance of this must be due to successive +additions of heat. The thought was a seed sown in a fit soil, for it led +to experiments which confirmed the supposition, and inaugurated others +that have borne fruit, as we see. It was a great moment in the annals of +discovery, and from that time to this the genius of improvement has +moved onward with unprecedented strides; and this in the application of +steam-power as well as the results, stupendous as these last have been. +For as there is no department of industry that has not made immense +advances since, none on which steam has not directly or indirectly been +brought to bear with effect; so there has been no end to the ingenuity +and ingenious devices by which steam has been coaxed into subjection to +human use and made the pliant minister of the master, man. All these +results follow as a natural consequence from the first discovery of its +motive power by the Marquis of Worcester, and the subsequent invention +of James Watt, by which the force detected was rendered uniform, instead +of fitful and spasmodic, as it had been before. And yet, important as +was the discovery of the one, and ingenious as is the invention of the +other, both are of slight account in the presence of the great fact of +nature observed by the English nobleman and humoured by the Scottish +artisan. The <i>genie</i> whom the one captured and the other tamed, is the +great magic worker, apart from whose subtle strength their ingenuity had +been wasted, and had come to naught.</p> + +<p>But here I must restrain my rovings, and recall my purpose to descant on +other points. And indeed the uses of water are so numerous and varied +that the subject might well engross a lecture by itself; and I must +needs therefore cut the matter short. It is only Hodge-Podge, moreover, +I have undertaken to dish up before you, and I must keep my word. For, +fain as I am to dilate on the many economic virtues of water, I must not +forget that the pot contains other ingredients, and that the dish I am +serving out of it would yield but poor fare, if it did not.</p> + +<p>2. I come therefore to the next ingredient in the soup I am providing; +for, as the housewife said, "there's mutton intilt," and it is the most +important ingredient in the mess. But the animal which produces it, like +the kindred animals that produce the like, serves other purposes as +well, and these no less essential to the exigency of the race; and it is +of them I propose to speak. It is beside my design to enter on the +domain of the sheep-breeder, and attempt an account of the different +kinds reared by the farmer; enough to say that, numerous as these are, +they are all fed and tended for the benefit of the human family, and +that they minister to the supply of the same human wants.</p> + +<p>The child, as it frolics on the lawn, stops his gambols and steps gently +aside to coax, to caress his woolly-fleeced companion; and the mother +talks softly to her child of the innocent darlings, and asks if they are +not lovely creatures, and beautiful to look at, as they timidly wander +from spot to spot, and nibble the delicate pasture. So it is to the +lively fancy of childhood, and so it is to the mother whose affections +are naturally melted into softness in the presence of simplicity; but +when economic considerations arise, and the question is one of service +and value, all such sentimental and aesthetic emotions pass out of +court, and only calculations of base utilitarianism fill the eye from +horizon to horizon. No doubt the creatures are lovely and beautiful to +behold on the meadows and hill-sides of the landscape, which they +enliven and adorn; but man must live as well as admire, and unless by +sacrifice of the sheep he must not only go without hodge-podge to his +dinner, but dispense with much else equally necessary to his life and +welfare. The cook requires the sacrifice, that he may purvey for the +tables of both gentle and semple; the tallow-dealer requires the +sacrifice, that he may provide light for our homesteads, and oil for our +engines, both stationary and locomotive; and the wool-merchant and the +currier insist on stripping the victim of his fleece, and even flaying +his skin, before they can assure us of fit clothing and covering against +cold and rain for our bodies and our belongings. And what a wretched +plight we should be in, if the sheep, or their like, did not come to the +rescue, or the help they are fitted to render were not laid under +contribution! For not only might we be fated to go often dinnerless to +bed, and to live all our days in a body imperfectly nourished, but our +evenings would in many cases be spent without light, and our journeys +undertaken without comfort, and our outer man left to battle at odds, +unshod and unprotected, with the discomforts of the highway and the +inclemency of the seasons. Of all the services rendered by the sheep to +the race of man, perhaps the most invaluable is that which is accorded +in the gift of wool; and it is for the sake of this alone that, in many +quarters, whole flocks, and even breeds, are reared and tended,—so +great is the demand for it, and such the esteem in which it is held for +the purpose of clothing the body and keeping it in warmth.</p> + +<p>3. But, again, to advance a step further, there are, as the landlady of +the inn remarked, "neeps intilt." On this part of the subject, that I +may pass to the next topic on which I mean to speak, and which is of +wider range, I intend to say little. I have already referred to the +important place assigned to this vegetable by a living economist as +affording a basis for grouping society into two great classes. To the +farmer it is of equal, and far more practical, importance; for it is, by +the manner of its cultivation, a great means of clearing the land of +weeds; it is the chief support of sheep and cattle through the months of +winter; and it is one of the most valuable crops raised on British soil, +and of equal account in the agriculture of both England and Scotland. +The culture of turnips on farms involves considerable expense indeed, +and is sometimes attended with loss, and even failure; but they are of +inestimable value in cattle husbandry, as without them our sheepfarms +would soon be depopulated, and the animals hardly outlive a winter. One +function they, and the like, fulfil in nature, is turning inorganic +matter into vegetable, that the component elements may in this form be +more readily assimilated into animal flesh and blood; while their +introduction as an article of farming is of great importance as +rendering possible and feasible a regular rotation of crops.</p> + +<p>4. But I must, as I said, hasten on to another ingredient of the dish we +are compounding; I refer to barley, for that too, as our gracious +hostess would say, is "<i>intilt</i>." From this single grain what virtues +have been developed! what mildness, what soothing, what nourishment, and +what strength! What a source it is to us of comfort, of enjoyment, and +of wealth! There is barley-water, for instance, a beverage most +harmless, yet most soothing; meet drink for the sick-room, and specially +promotive of the secretions in patients whose disease is inflammatory, +and who suffer from thirst. Then there is barley-bread, extensively used +in both England and Scotland, than which there is none more wholesome to +the blood and more nourishing to the system; the meal of which is of +service too in the shape of a medical appliance, and, when so used, +acts with most beneficial effect. But its strength is not so pronounced +or decisive either in the form of an infusion or in that of bread, much +as in these forms it contributes to health and vigour: it is not when it +is put into the pot, or when bruised by the miller, that it comes out in +the fulness of its might; it is when it is immersed in water, and +subjected to heat, and metamorphosed into malt. In this form it can be +converted into a beverage that is simple and healthful, and, when used +aright, conducive to strength of muscle and general vigour of life; but +when it has undergone a further process, which I am about to describe, +it evolves a spirit so masterful that the weak would do well to +withstand its seductiveness, for only a strong head and a stout will +dare with impunity to enter the lists with it, and can hope to retire +from the contest with the strength unshorn and a firm footstep.<a name="FNanchor_C_3" id="FNanchor_C_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_3" class="fnanchor">[C]</a></p> + +<p>Whisky, which is what I now refer to as the highest outcome of the +strength of barley, is, like hodge-podge, of Scotch incubation, and +deserves, for country's sake and the fame it has, some brief regard. The +process by which the grain is prepared may be described as follows. The +grain is first damped, then spread out on a floor, and finally a certain +quantity of water and heat applied, when it begins to germinate, which +it continues to do to a certain stage, beyond which it is not allowed to +pass. At this moment a Government official presents himself, and exacts +a duty of the manufacturer for the production of the malt, the +authorities shrewdly judging that they are entitled to levy off so +valuable an article a modicum of tax. The grain thus prepared is now in +a state for further manufacture, and it passes into the hands of the +brewer or distiller, to be converted into a more or less alcoholic +drink.</p> + +<p>First the brewer produces therefrom those excellent beverages called +beer and porter, and so contributes to our refreshment, enjoyment, and +strength. These beverages are, in one shape or other, nearly in +universal demand, and the money spent upon the consumption of Bass and +XX almost passes belief. They are exported into every zone of the +world, and consumed by every class. And then the distiller takes the +grain in the same form, and, by slow evaporation and subsequent +condensation, extracts the pure, subtle, and potent spirit we have +referred to, and which, in more or less diluted form, we call whisky, or +Scotch drink. And this article also, in spite of cautions, is in large +demand and extensively exported, though perhaps not so much is consumed +among us as was fifty years ago. It is not by any means so bad an +article as it has a bad name; for when of good quality, and moderately +indulged in, it is perfectly wholesome; only when the quality is bad, or +the indulgence excessive, do evil results follow. And indeed such are +its merits when good, that it is said dealers sometimes export it to +France and other parts, from which it is imported again to this country, +transfused into splendidly labelled brandy bottles, and sold +untransformed as best brandy!</p> + +<p>Little do we think, when eating our quiet dinner at a Scottish country +inn, what power and wealth are represented in the hodge-podge which +belike forms one of the dishes, and which, by suggestion and in the +style of the housewife, we are now analysing. As we disintegrate the +mess, and resolve it into its elements, we may well bethink ourselves of +the cost of our board on the planet, and of the value of the articles we +are daily consuming. To help you to a clearer idea of this, in regard to +the article barley alone in the form of malt, let me commend to your +attention the following statistical statement:—</p> + +<p>A Parliamentary return of 1876 shows that the quantity of <i>malt</i> charged +with <i>duty</i> during the year was—</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 16em;">BUSHELS. DUTY.</span><br /> +England, <span style="margin-left: 12em;">54,655,274 £7,412,621</span><br /> +Scotland, <span style="margin-left: 12.5em;">2,927,763 396,241</span><br /> +Ireland, <span style="margin-left: 13em;">3,346,606 453,883</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 15.5em;">————— —————</span><br /> +Total of United Kingdom,<span style="margin-left: 6em;">60,929,633 £8,262,746</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>The quantity of barley imported into the United Kingdom during the year +was equivalent to 2,736,425 quarters. See how great a fire a little +spark, hodge-podge, kindleth!</p> + +<p>So much for the quantity of malt produced, and the revenue derived from +it, in a year in the United Kingdom. I have spoken of this malt as being +convertible into a form which possesses, among other virtues, the power +of quenching our thirst. I wish it did not also quench our thirst for +the knowledge we all ought to have of its production and really +serviceable qualities; that it would stimulate inquiry after such +things, and not smother it, as it is too apt to do; and, in general, +prompt us to a wiser study of our social wants, and the means at our +command for further social improvement; which we might prosecute with +less and less recourse to the stimulant virtues of malt in such forms as +whisky. And this we may do, if we limit our indulgence in it to the less +potent form of it in beer, which, while it is calculated to quench man's +bodily thirst, is equally calculated to quicken his mental. How much it +contributes to allay the former, and how many thirsty souls are +refreshed by it, we may estimate from the statistics of the sale of it +furnished by a single firm in London. I refer to the firm of the Messrs. +Foster, Brook Street, who are friends of my own, and to whom I should be +glad to refer all who may be in want of a wholesome beer, for theirs is +so good and genuine. The Messrs. Foster are among the most extensive +bottlers and exporters in the country; and I find from the information +they have kindly supplied me, that the beer bottled by them for export +purposes during the year 1874 was 6000 butts, of 108 gallons each; that +their contracts for the supply of bottles during that period represented +25,000 gross, or 5,040,000 bottles, which, if laid end to end, would +extend to about 1000 miles; and that their accounts with Bass & Co. +alone for that term amounted to £150,000. All, from the highest to the +lowest, drink beer in England; and when unadulterated and taken in +moderation, it is one of the most healthful beverages of which the human +being, man or woman, can partake.</p> + +<p>Though I have only partially gone over the ground contemplated at first, +I feel I must now draw to a conclusion, which I am the less indisposed +to do, as I think in what I have said I have pretty fairly set before +you the wonderful properties latent in a basin of hodge-podge. For it is +a habit of mine, which I have sought to indulge on the present occasion, +to analyse every subject to which my attention is directed, and in which +I feel interest, before I can make up my mind as to the proper +significance and importance of the whole compound. Thus, for instance, +set a dish of hodge-podge before me; it does not satisfy me to be told +that it is only a basin of broth, and that it is wholesome fare; I +must, as I have now been doing in a way, resolve the compound into its +elements, see these in other and wider relations, and refer them +mentally to their rank and standing in the larger world of the economy +of nature and of social existence. I am always asking "What's intilt?" +and am never satisfied, any more than the English tourist, with a bare +enumeration: I must subject the factors included to rational inspection, +and watch their play and weigh their worth in connection with interests +more general.</p> + +<p>And if, in the delivery of this lecture, I have persuaded any one to +regard common things in a similar light and from a similar interest, I +shall deem the time spent on it not altogether thrown away. Mind, not +water, is the ultimate solvent in nature, and everything, when thrown +into it, will be found in the end to resolve itself into it, or what in +nature is of kin to it. And if a Latin poet could justify his interest +in man by a reference to his own humanity, so may we rest content with +nature when we find that we and it are parts of each other. It is well +to learn to look on nothing as private, but on everything as a part of +a great whole, of which we ourselves are units; so shall we feel +everywhere at home, and a sense of kinship with the remote as well as +near within the round of existence.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_C_3" id="Footnote_C_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_3"><span class="label">[C]</span></a> The Highlanders are said to be able to offer it a stout defiance, +for they can stand an immense quantity; and I have heard of an innkeeper +in the north, who, when remonstrated with on account of his excessive +drinking, so far admitted the justice of the charge implied, but pled +that he could not be accused of undue indulgence the night before, as, +whatever he might have drunk during the day, he had, after supper, had +only seventeen glasses!</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2>THE END.</h2> + + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">EDINBURGH AND LONDON.</span><br /> +</p> + + + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Lectures on Popular and Scientific +Subjects, by John Sutherland Sinclair, Earl of Caithness + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POPULAR AND SCIENTIFIC SUBJECTS *** + +***** This file should be named 15468-h.htm or 15468-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/4/6/15468/ + +Produced by Clare Boothby, Josephine Paolucci and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Lectures on Popular and Scientific Subjects + +Author: John Sutherland Sinclair, Earl of Caithness + +Release Date: March 26, 2005 [EBook #15468] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POPULAR AND SCIENTIFIC SUBJECTS *** + + + + +Produced by Clare Boothby, Josephine Paolucci and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + + + + +LECTURES + +ON + +POPULAR AND SCIENTIFIC SUBJECTS + + +BY THE + +EARL OF CAITHNESS, F.R.S. + + +_DELIVERED AT VARIOUS TIMES AND PLACES._ + + +Second Enlarged Edition. + +LONDON: +TRUeBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL. +1879. + +Ballantyne Press + +BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. + +EDINBURGH AND LONDON + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +COAL AND COAL MINES + +SCIENCE APPLIED TO ART + +A PENNY'S WORTH; OR, "TAKE CARE OF THE PENCE, AND + THE POUNDS WILL TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES" + +PAST AND PRESENT MEANS OF COMMUNICATION + +THE STEAM-ENGINE + +ON ATTRACTION + +THE OIL FROM LINSEED + +HODGE-PODGE; OR, WHAT'S INTILT + + + + +LECTURES ON POPULAR AND SCIENTIFIC SUBJECTS. + + + + +_COAL AND COAL-MINES._ + + +There are few subjects of more importance, and few less known or thought +about, than our coal-mines. Coal is one of our greatest blessings, and +certainly one originating cause of England's greatness and wealth. It +has given us a power over other nations, and vast sums of money are +yearly brought to our country from abroad in exchange for the coal we +send. Nearly L17,000,000 is the representative value of the coal raised +every year at the pit's mouth, and L20,000,000 represent its mean value +at the various places of consumption. The capital invested in our +coal-mining trade, apart from the value of the mines themselves, +exceeds L20,000,000 sterling, and the amount of coal annually extracted +from the earth is over 70,000,000 of tons. Taking the calculation of a +working miner--J. Ellwood, Moss Pit, near Whitehaven--we may state, that +if 68,000,000 tons were excavated from a mining gallery 6 feet high and +12 feet wide, that gallery would be not less than 5128 miles, 1090 +yards, in length; or, if this amount of coal were erected in a pyramid, +its square base would extend over 40 acres, and the height would be 3356 +feet. + +There are grounds for believing that the produce of the various +coal-fields of the world does not at present much exceed 100,000,000 of +tons annually, and therefore our own country contributes more than +three-fifths of the total amount. If we divide the coal-yielding +counties of Britain into four classes, so as to make nearly equal +amounts of produce, we find that Durham and Northumberland yield rather +more every year than seven other counties, including Yorkshire. +Derbyshire, again, produces more than eight other counties, and nearly +as much as the whole of North and South Wales, Scotland, and +Ireland--the yield of the latter being about 17,000,000 of tons, and +that of the two first-named about 16,000,000 of tons. + +In 1773 there were only 13 collieries on the Tyne, and these had +increased to upwards of 30 in 1800. The number of collieries in 1828 had +increased to 41 on the Tyne, and 18 on the Wear, in all 59, producing +5,887,552 tons of coal. The out-put of coal in Northumberland and Durham +in 1854 was no less than 15,420,615 tons, and now in these two counties +there are 283 collieries. Mining began on the Tyne and continued on the +Wear, where the industry has been largely developed. There are in all +about 57 different seams in the Great Northern coal-field, varying in +thickness from 1 inch to 5 feet 5 inches and 6 feet, and these seams +comprise an aggregate of nearly 76 feet of coal. Taking the area of this +field to be 750 square miles--a most probable estimate--we may classify +the contents as household coal, steam coal, or those employed in +steam-engine boilers, and coking coal, employed for making coke and gas. +Of household coal there is only 96 square miles out of the total 750, +all the remainder being steam or coking and gas coal. The greater part +even of this 96 square miles has been worked out on the Tyne, and the +supply is rapidly decreasing also on the Wear, where the largest bulk +of the household coal lies. The collieries of the Tees possess but six +square miles out of the 96, as far as we at present know. Turning, +however, to that part of the coal-field regarded as precarious, and +consisting of first, second, and third-rate household coal, we have for +future use 300 square miles. London was formerly supplied from the pits +east of Tyne Bridge, where is the famous Wallsend Colliery, which gave +the name to the best coal. That mine is now drowned out, and, like the +great Roman Wall, at the termination of which it was sunk, and from +which it derived its name, is now an antiquity. There is now no Wallsend +coal, and the principal part of the present so-called coal comes from +the Wear, but the seam which supplied that famous pit is continued into +Durham, and that seam, or its equivalent, sends a million or two of tons +every year into London. The supply, however, in this district is rapidly +decreasing. Careful calculations have been made as to the probable +duration of this coal, of which the following is a summary. The workable +quantity of coal remaining in the ten principal seams of this coal-field +is estimated at 1,876,848,756 Newcastle chaldrons (each 35 cwt.). +Deducting losses and underground and surface waste, the total +merchantable round or good-sized coal will be 1,251,232,507 Newcastle +chaldrons. Proceeding on this estimate, formed by Mr. Grunwith in 1846, +we may arrive at the probable duration of the supplies: taking the +future annual average of coal raised from these seams to be 10,000,000 +of tons--and this is under the present rate--the whole will be exhausted +in 331 years. A still later estimate was made by Mr. T.G. Hall in 1854, +and he reckoned the quantity of coal left for future use at +5,121,888,956 tons; dividing this by 14,000,000 of tons as the annual +consumption, the result would be 365 years; and should the annual demand +arrive at 20,000,000 of tons, the future supply of this famous +coal-field would continue for 256 years. The total available coal (1871) +in the British coal-fields, at depths not exceeding 4000 feet, and in +seams not less than 1 foot thick, is 90,207,285,398 tons, and taking +into account seams which may yet become available, lying under the +Permian, New Red Sandstone, and other superincumbent strata, this +estimate is increased to 146,480,000,000 of tons. This quantity, at the +present annual rate of production throughout the country--namely, +123,500,000 tons--would last 1186 years. Other estimates of various +kinds relative to our coal supply have been put forth: some have +asserted that, owing to increasing population and increasing consumption +in manufactures, it will be exhausted in 100 years, and between this +extreme and that of 1186 years there are many other conjectures and +estimates. + +In the United States there are about 120,000 square miles underlaid by +known workable coal-beds, besides what yet remains to be discovered; +while on the cliffs of Nova Scotia the coal-seams can be seen one over +the other for many hundred feet, and showing how the coal was originally +formed. With this immense stock of fuel in the cellars of the earth, it +seems evident that we need not trouble our minds or be anxious as to the +duration of our coal supply. Besides, the conversion of vegetable matter +into coal seems to be going on even now. In the United States there are +peat-bogs of considerable extent, in which a substance exactly +resembling cannel coal has been found; and in some of the Irish +peat-beds, as also in the North of Scotland, a similar substance has +been discovered, of a very inflammable nature, resembling coal. + +Yes! what could have produced this singular-looking, black, inflammable +rock? How many times was this question asked before Science could return +an answer? This she can now do with confidence. Coal was once growing +vegetable matter. On the surface of the shale, immediately above the +coal, you will find innumerable impressions of leaves and branches, as +perfect as artist ever drew. But how could this vegetable matter ever +accumulate in such masses as to make beds of coal of such vast extent, +some not less than 30 feet thick? It would take 10 or 12 feet of green +vegetable matter to make 1 foot of solid coal. Let us transport +ourselves to the carboniferous times, and see the condition of the +earth, and this may assist us to answer the question. Stand on this +rocky eminence and behold that sea of verdure, whose gigantic waves roll +in the greenest of billows to the verge of the horizon--that is a +carboniferous forest. Mark that steamy cloud floating over it, an +indication of the great evaporation constantly proceeding. The scent of +the morning air is like that of a greenhouse; and well it may be, for +the land of the globe is a mighty hothouse--the crust of the earth is +still thin, and its internal heat makes a tropical climate everywhere, +unchecked by winter's cold, thus forcing plants to a most luxurious +growth. + +Descend, and let us wander through this forest and examine it more +closely. What strange trees are here! No oaks, no elms, or ash, or +chestnut--no trees that we ever saw before. It looks as if the plants of +a boggy meadow had shot up in a single night to a height of 60 or 70 +feet, and we were walking among the stalks--a gigantic meadow of ferns, +reeds, grasses, and club-mosses. A million columns rise, so thick at the +top that they make twilight at mid-day, and their trunks are so close +together we can scarcely edge our way between them, whilst the ground is +carpeted with trailing plants completely interwoven. What strange trees +they are! Beneath us lies an accumulation of vegetable matter more than +200 feet in thickness--the result of the growth and decay of plants in +this swamp for centuries. All things are here favourable for the growth +of vegetation--the great heat of the ground causes water to rise rapidly +in vapour, and this again descends in showers, supplying the plants with +moisture continuously. The air contains a large proportion of carbonic +acid gas, poison to animals but food to plants, which, by means of its +aid, build up their woody structure. Winds at times level these gigantic +plants, for their hold on the earth is feeble, and thus the mass goes on +increasing. + +We are now on the edge of a lake abounding with fish, whose bony scales +glitter in the water as they pursue their prey. Lying along the shore +are shells cast up by the waves, and there are also seen the tracks of +some large animals. How like the impression of a man's hand some of +these tracks are! The hind-feet are evidently much larger than the +fore-feet. There is the frog-like animal which made them, and what a +size! It must be six feet long, and its head looks like that of a +crocodile, for its jaws are furnished with formidable rows of long, +strong, sharp, conical teeth. + +The continued growth and decomposition of the vegetation during long +ages must have produced beds like the peat-deposits of America and Great +Britain. In the Dismal Swamp of Virginia there is said to be a mass of +vegetable matter 40 feet in thickness, and on the banks of the Shannon +in Ireland is a peat-bog 3 miles broad and 50 feet deep. When conditions +were so much more favourable for these deposits, beds 400 feet in +thickness may easily have been produced. This accumulated mass of +vegetable matter must be buried, however, before we can have a coal-bed. +How was this accomplished? The very weight of it may have caused the +crust of the earth to sink, forming a basin into which rivers, sweeping +down from the surrounding higher country, and carrying down mud in their +waters, the weight of which, deposited upon the vegetable matter, +pressed and squeezed it into half its original compass. Sand carried +down subsequently in a similar manner, and deposited upon the mud, +pressed it into shale, and the vegetable matter, still more reduced in +volume by this additional pressure, is prepared for its final conversion +into shale. In time the basin becomes shallow from the decomposition of +sediment on its bottom, and then we have another marsh with its myriad +plants; another accumulation of vegetable matter takes place, which by +similar processes is also buried. Where thirty or forty seams of coal +have been found one below another, we have evidence of land and water +thus changing places many times. + +When vegetable matter is excluded from air and under great pressure, it +decomposes slowly, parting with carbonic acid gas; and is first changed +into lignite or brown coal, and then into bituminous coal, or the soft +coal that burns with smoke and flame. I have been in a coal-mine where +the carbonic acid gas, pouring from a crevice in the coal, put out a +lighted candle. The high temperature to which the coal has been +subjected when buried at great depths has also probably assisted in +producing this change; and where that temperature has been very high, +the coal by the influence of the heat having parted with its inflammable +gases, we have the hard or anthracite coal, which burns with little or +no flame and without smoke. It is indeed coal made into coke under +tremendous pressure, and this is the kind of coal which Americans use +exclusively in their dwelling-houses and monster hotels. + +It was at first supposed that the plants of the carboniferous times were +bamboos, palms, and gigantic cactuses, such as are now found in tropical +regions, but a more careful examination of them shows that, with the +exception of the tree-fern now found in the tropics, they differ from +all existing trees. A large proportion of the plants of the +coal-measures were ferns, some authorities say one-half. From their +great abundance we may infer the great heat and moisture of the +atmosphere at the time when they grew, as similar ferns at the present +day are only found in the greatest abundance on small tropical islands +where the temperature is high. Coal often contains impressions of fern +leaves and palm-like ferns--no less than 934 kinds are drawn and +described by geologists. Many animals and insects are found in the coal, +such as large toad-like reptiles with beautiful teeth, small lizards, +water lizards, great fish with tremendous jaws, many insects of the +grasshopper tribe, but none of these are of the same species as those +found now living on this globe. + +Wood, peat, brown coal, jet, and true coal, are chemically alike, +differing only in their amount of oxygen, due to the difference of +compression to which they were subjected. The sun gave his heat and +light to the forests now turned into coal, and when we burn it ages +afterwards, we revive some of the heat and light so long untouched. +Stephenson once remarked to Sir Robert Peel, as they stood watching a +passing train: "There goes _the sunshine of former ages_!" + + +COST OF WORKING. + +Having thus stated shortly the origin and extent of the coal of this +country, more particularly that of the northern coal-fields of +Northumberland and Durham, I think it may be interesting to say +something of the cost at which this valuable article is obtained, as I +am sure few are at all aware of the vast sums of money that have to be +expended before we can sit down by our comfortable firesides, with a +cold winter night outside, and read our book, or have our family +gathered round us; and few know the danger and hardship of the bold +worker who risks his life to procure the coal. The first step is to find +out if there is coal. This done, the next is to get at it, or, as it is +termed, to _win_ the coal. The process is to sink a shaft, and this is +alike dangerous, uncertain, and very costly. The first attempt to sink a +pit at Haswell in Durham was abandoned after an outlay of L60,000. The +sinkers had to pass through sand, under the magnesian limestone, where +vast quantities of water lay stored, and though engines were erected +that pumped out 26,700 tons of water per day, yet the flood remained the +conqueror. This amount seems incredible, but such is the fact. At +another colliery near Gateshead (Goose Colliery), 1000 gallons a minute, +or 6000 tons of water per day, were pumped out, and only 300 tons of +coal were brought up in the same time, and thus the water raised +exceeded the coal twenty times. The most astonishing undertaking in +mining was the Dalton le Dale Pit, nine miles from Durham. On the 1st +June 1840 they pumped out 3285 gallons a minute. Engines were erected +which raised 93,000 gallons a minute from a depth of 90 fathoms or 540 +feet, and this was done night and day. The amount expended to reach the +coal in this pit was L300,000. Mr. Hall estimates the capital invested +in the coal trade of the counties of Durham and Northumberland, +including private railways, waggons, and docks for loading ships, at +L13,000,000 sterling. + +The great difficulty in working coal, should these upper seams fail, is +not only the increase of cost in sinking further down, but the increased +heat to be worked in. At 2000 feet the mine will increase in heat 28 deg., +at 4000, 57 deg.; to this must be added the constant temperature of 50 deg. 5', +so that at 2000 feet it would be 78 deg. 5', and at 4000, 107 deg. 5' Fahr. By +actual trial on July 17, 1857, in Duckingfield Pit, the temperature at +2249 feet was 75 deg. 5'. From this it may be conceived in what great heat +the men have to work, and the work is very hard. One may fancy from this +what can be endured, but it would be next to impossible to work in a +greater temperature. I can speak upon this from actual experience, as +when down the Lady Londonderry Pit the temperature was 85 deg., and here the +men worked naked. Another great source of expense and anxiety lies in +keeping up the roof, as, from the excessive pressure, the roof and floor +are always inclined to come together, and props must therefore be used, +and these in some pits cost as much as L1500 a year. To digress for a +moment, an amusing story is told of Grimaldi, the celebrated clown, when +paying a visit to a coal-pit. Having gone some way through the mine, a +sudden noise, arising from the falling of coal from the roof, caused him +to ask the reason of the noise. "Hallo!" exclaimed Grimaldi, greatly +terrified, "what's that?" "Hech!" said his guide, "it's only a wee bit +of coal fallen down--we have that three or four times a day." "Then I'll +thank you to ring for my basket, for I'll stop no longer among the wee +bits of falling coal." This "wee bit" was about three tons' weight. A +large proportion of the sad accidents in coal-mines is caused by these +falls of the roof, which give no warning, but suddenly come down and +crush to death those who happen to be near. + + +MODE OF WORKING. + +The cost of working having thus been given, I wish now to lay before you +an explanation of the method of working and bringing the coal to the +surface. It may not be uninteresting to mention how many men are +employed in this work, as the number is very large. Coal was not +formerly excavated by machinery, but it is so now, and therefore hands +must be had. The number of men employed in the mines of county Durham in +1854 was 28,000; of these, 13,500 were hewers, winning several thousand +tons of coal daily. Of the remainder, 3500 were safety-staff men, +having, besides, 1400 boys belonging to their staff; 2000 were off-hand +men, for bargain work or other duties; 7600 lads and boys, working +under the various designations of "putters," or pushers of coal-tubs, +underground "drivers," "marrows," "half-marrows," and "foals," these +latter terms being local, and significant of age and labour. For +Northumberland must be added 10,536 persons, and Cumberland 3579, making +a total for these three counties of upwards of 42,000 persons labouring +in and round our northern collieries. The average that each hewer will +raise per day is from two to three tons in thin, and three to four tons +in thick seams. The largest quantity raised by any hewer on an average +of the colliers of England is about six tons a day of eight hours. The +mode of working is very laborious, as the majority of seams of coal +being very thin--that is to say, not more than two feet thick--the +worker of necessity is obliged to work in a constrained position, often +lying on his side; and you can fancy the labour of using a pick in such +a position. To get an idea of the position, just place yourself under a +table, and then try to use a pick, and it will give you a pretty clear +idea of the comfortable way in which a great part of our coal is got, +and this also at a temperature of 86 deg. in bad air. The object, of +course, of the worker is to take nothing but coal, as all labour is lost +that is spent in taking any other material away. The man after a time +gets twisted in his form, from being constantly in this constrained +position, and, in fact, to sit upright like other men is at last +painful. Then an amount of danger is always before him, even in the best +regulated and ventilated pits. This danger proceeds from fire-damp, as +one unlucky stroke of the pick may bring forth a stream of carbureted +hydrogen gas, inexplosive of itself, but if mixed with eight times its +bulk of air, more dangerous than gunpowder, and which, if by chance it +comes in contact with the flame of a candle, is sure to explode, and +certain death is the result--not always from the explosion itself, but +from the after-damp or carbonic acid gas which follows it. + +Upwards of 1500 lives are yearly lost from these causes, and not less +than 10,000 accidents in the same period show the constant danger that +the miner is exposed to. It would appear that England has more deaths +from mining accidents than foreign countries, as Mr. Mackworth's table +will show:-- + +Prussia 1.89 per 1000 +Belgium 2.8 " +England 4.5 " +Staffordshire 7.3 " + +This statement shows that more care is wanted in this last-named county +especially, as I find that the yield of coal in Belgium is half as much +as in England. Long working in the dark, if one may so speak, is a cause +of serious detriment to the sight, and the worker also suffers much from +constantly inhaling the small black dust, which in course of time +affects the lungs, causing what is known as "miner's asthma." Without +going further into the unhealthy nature of the miner's work, it may be +interesting to mention something of the actual process, and having +myself been an eye-witness of it, I will explain it as shortly as I can. +The workers having arrived at the pit-mouth at their proper hours--for +the pit is worked by shifts, and consequently is generally worked day +and night--the first operation is for each to procure his lamp from the +lamp-keeper, receiving it lighted and locked; this is found to be +necessary, as from the small light given by the Davy-lamp the men are +often tempted to open them, and some are even, so foolhardy as to carry +their lamp on their cap and a candle in the hand, and hence a terrible +explosion may take place. A few words on the Davy-lamp, which came into +use about sixty years ago, may not be out of place here. This +safety-lamp of the miner not only shows the presence of gas, but +prevents its explosion. It is constructed of gauze made of iron-wire +one-fortieth to one-sixtieth of an inch in diameter, having 784 openings +to the inch, and the cooling effect of the current passing through the +lamp prevents the gas taking fire. If we pour turpentine over a lighted +safety-lamp, it will show black smoke, but no flame. Provided with his +lamp, the miner takes his place with others in the tub, which conveys +him with great rapidity to the bottom of the shaft. Here landed, he +takes his way to the workings, some of these, in large pits, being two +miles from the bottom of the shaft. To a novice this is not easy, as you +have to walk in a crouching manner most part of the way. Once there, he +begins in earnest, and drives at his pick for eight hours, the monotony +only relieved by his gathering the products into small railway waggons +or tubs to be removed. This is done mostly by boys, but in the larger +mines by ponies of the Shetland and other small breeds. The tubs are +taken to a part of the mine where, if one may so speak, the main line is +reached, and then formed into trains, and taken to the shaft by means of +an endless rope worked by an engine in the pit. In accomplishing all +this work, great care has to be taken that the current of air is not +changed or stopped. This is effected by means of doors placed in various +parts of the mine, so as to stop the current and drive it in the +required direction. These doors are kept by boys, whose duty it is to +open and close them for the passage of the coal tubs. Those boys are +often allowed no light, and sit in a hole cut in the side of the road +near to the doors. Upon their carefulness the safety of the mine in a +great measure depends, as if they neglect to shut the door the current +of air is changed. I have been told that these boys are subject to +accidents no less than the workers, for, sitting in the dark, and often +alone for hours, they are very apt to go to sleep. To ensure being awoke +at the proper time, they frequently lie down on the line of rails under +the rope, so that when the rope is started it may awake them by its +motion, but at times so sound is their sleep, that it has failed to +rouse them in time, and a train of coal waggons has passed over them, +causing in most cases death. + +The coal having been brought to the pit-mouth, it remains to be shown +what becomes of this most valuable mineral, the consumption of which is +now so large in all parts of the globe. The next person employed in the +trade is the sailor, to convey it to the market, and the collier vessels +are a valuable navy to the country, proving quite a nursery of seamen +for our royal marine service. Newcastle, Sunderland, West Hartlepool, +and a large number of other ports along our coast, have an immense +amount of shipping employed exclusively in the coal trade--no less than +5359 vessels carrying coal having entered the port of London alone in +1873, and the average annual quantity of coal exported abroad during the +three years ending 1872 was 12,000,000 tons. + +I will not now detain you longer on the subject of the extent and +working of coal, lest I should tire your patience; but before concluding +I should wish to give some account of the uses to which this most +valuable product is applied. The main use of coal, as we all know, is to +produce heat, without which many a paterfamilias would grumble when the +dinner-hour came and he had nothing hot to eat. It not only, however, +supplies heat, but the beauty of the processes for lighting up our +houses is now mainly derived from coal. The immense consumption of coal, +among other things, is in the production of the vapour of water--steam, +by which our thousands of engines on sea and land are made to perform +their various appointed tasks. This production, formed of decayed +vegetable matter, which in ages past nourished on the surface of the +earth, as I have already shown, is again brought forth for our use, and +is a testimony of the goodness and kindness of God in providing for our +wants. By its heat some 10,000 locomotive engines are propelled, and +many hundreds of iron furnaces are kept in work, besides those for other +purposes. It moves the machinery of at least 3000 factories, 2500 steam +vessels, besides numerous smaller craft, and I cannot tell how many +forges and fires. It aids in producing delicacies out of season in our +hothouses. It lights our houses and streets with gas, the cheapest and +best of all lights--London alone in this way spending about L50,000 a +year. It gives us oil and tar to lubricate machinery and preserve timber +and iron; and last, not least, by the aid of chemistry it is made to +produce many beautiful dyes, such as magenta and mauve, and also, in the +same way, gives perfumes resembling cloves, almonds, and spices. + +The annual consumption of coal in Great Britain is reckoned to be not +less than 80,000,000 tons. The amount raised in 1873 amounted to +127,000,000 tons, and of this was imported into London alone 7,883,138 +tons--4,000,000 tons, or 15 per cent. of the total out-put of the +country, being sent from Durham alone. The cost of the Wallsend coal on +board the ship may be stated at 10s. 6d. per ton; to this must be added +the charge at coal-market of 2s. 8d., freight say 5s. 9d., profit 7s. +6d., so that a ton of coal of this kind will cost in your cellar in +London the sum of L1, 6s. 5d. + +I think it is now time to conclude this most interesting subject, for +though I have by no means exhausted it, yet I fear I have said as much +as a lecture will warrant. The subject shows us how mindful a kind +Providence has been of man, and to this nation in particular, for to our +coal we in a measure owe much of our greatness. So while we admire the +geology of our globe, let us not forget who made it and all that it +contains, and who, when He had finished the work, pronounced it all very +good. Let us so strive to live, that though we may be called away +suddenly, as 199 of our fellow-creatures were called by what is termed a +mining accident, we may be ready to meet Him who not only made us, but +made the coal, and who, when man, at first made perfect, fell away, was +pleased to send a Saviour to redeem us and bring us to that light which +fadeth not away. + + + + +_SCIENCE APPLIED TO ART_. + + +A resume of science and art requires to set forth what they have already +done and what they are now doing--to trace them down to our own time, +and contrast their early stages with their present development. Giving +to art and science all that is their due, it must be evident to every +one that they are primarily not of human origin, but owe their existence +and progress to those inherent faculties of man which have been bestowed +upon him by an Almighty Being--faculties given not only to fathom the +works of creation, and adapt them for man's use and benefit, but also +that they might show forth the praise and honour of their Creator, as +"the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His +handiwork." To set forth science and art before an Institution like that +here met together, behoves one to enter upon the subject in a way which +will not only interest but also instruct. But this is only an opening +address, and the lecturers who will follow me in due course will bring +before you the special interests of those special subjects on which they +are to treat. These cannot fail to interest as well as instruct those +who attend, their object being profit to the mind, and hence not only +the furtherance of mental culture, but increasing capabilities for +material prosperity. + +To address a meeting in Glasgow gives one a feeling of pleasure; but, +before going further, I trust that when I have finished you may not be +able to say of me, as the two Highlanders did after leaving church--"Eh, +man! wasna that a grand discoorse?--it jumbled the head and confused the +understanding!" This city has brought forth one of the greatest of +men--though, like many others, he had to fight an uphill battle in his +early career--that man was James Watt. But what a career was his! and +what a benefit to all now living has proved the result of his +perseverance, for to his genius are we mainly indebted for the manifold +applications of the wondrous power of _Steam_! That word is enough; and +the engines it now propels are a powerful testimony to the talent of +the great man who brought this mighty power to bear on the vast +machinery, not only of this great country, but of the whole world. +Contrast, for one thing, the travelling facilities of Watt's early days +with those we now possess through his persevering industry. Fourteen +days was then the usual time for a journey from Glasgow to London, while +at present it can be performed in a less number of hours. + +Railways! what have they not done! We see towns spring up in a few years +where only a few cottages formerly stood, and wild glens transformed +into fruitful valleys, by means of railways in their neighbourhood +developing traffic and trade, and creating employment by placing them in +communication with larger towns, and thus opening up new sources of +material prosperity. Look at the magnitude of our railways. With respect +to locomotives alone, in 1866 there were 8125 of these, and the work +performed by them was the haulage of 6,000,000 trains a distance of +143,000,000 miles. As each engine possesses a draught-power equal to 450 +horses, these 8125 locomotives consequently did the work of more than +3,500,000 horses, and as the average durability of a locomotive is +computed to be about fifteen years, each will have in that time +traversed nearly 300,000 miles! Then, again, there have to be replaced +about 500 worn-out locomotives every year, at a cost for each of about +L2500 to L3000, entailing an annual expenditure of nearly L1,500,000 +sterling. All this money circulates for the country's benefit, keeping +our iron, copper, and coal mines, our furnaces and our workshops, all at +work, and our people well and usefully employed, and thus proving one of +the greatest advantages of applied science and art to this country and +the world at large. If it had not been for steam, this valuable +Institution might not have been in existence, having for its chief +objects the promotion of the growth and increasing the usefulness of the +applied sciences. + +We have now one of the greatest triumphs of engineering art in the Mont +Cenis Railway, and this, though worked out under great difficulties, has +proved a perfect success. Still more recently we have had brought under +our notice the bold scheme of connecting Britain and France by a tunnel +under the English Channel--a project which, but a few years ago, any one +would have been thought mad to propose; but science has proved that it +can be carried out; and it is only a few days since a large meeting was +held in Liverpool with a view of tunnelling under the Mersey, and thus +connecting Liverpool and Birkenhead. Nor do these schemes seem at all +visionary when we learn that our go-ahead Transatlantic cousins have a +project before the Legislature of New Jersey for laying wooden tubes +underground, through which the mails and small parcels will be forwarded +at the rate of 150 miles an hour! Through a similar tube, 6 feet in +diameter, laid under the East and Hudson Rivers, passengers are to be +transported from Brooklyn to Jersey city. A like scheme is in course of +construction under the Thames.[A] Another American engineering triumph +will be the railway suspension bridge proposed to be built across the +Hudson River at Peekskill, in the hilly district known to New Yorkers as +the Highlands, which is to have a clear span of 1600 feet at a height of +155 feet above high water. + +Another grand and comparatively recent application of steam is in its +adaptation to agriculture. Fields are now turned up by the +steam-plough--an invention as yet in its infancy--in a manner that could +never be done by mere hand-labour. Steam-culture has already penetrated +as far north as John-o'-Groats, where I have one of the ploughs of Mr. +Howard of Bedford, and but for its assistance I could not have taken in +the land I have now worked up. So great is the demand for +steam-cultivating apparatus, not only in Britain, but throughout the +German plains and the flat alluvial soils of Egypt, that the makers have +now more orders than they can readily supply. + +In all our manufactories steam proves itself the motive power, and there +is hardly a large work without it. This city can show its weaving, +spinning, bleaching, and dyeing works--all which have tended to raise +Glasgow from the small town of Watt's time to the proud position it now +holds of being the first commercial city of Scotland. In this city, +second only to Manchester in the production of cotton goods, it cannot +fail to be interesting to state, that in the first nine months of the +present year there has been exported 2,188,591,288 yards of cotton +piece-goods manufactured in this country--a larger quantity by nearly +150,000,000 yards than the corresponding period of 1867, the year of the +largest export of cotton manufactures ever known until then. Of course +Glasgow has had its share in this great branch of export trade, +rendering it large, wealthy, and populous--results which have mainly +followed from the application of science to art. + +Last, not least, see what steam has enabled us to do in regard to the +food for the mind, both in printing it and afterwards in its +distribution. Look, for instance, to Printing House Square--to the +"Times" newspaper. In the short space of one hour 20,000 copies are +thrown off the printing-machine, and, thanks to the express train, the +same day the paper can be read in Glasgow. Still further in this +direction, the value of steam is also shown by its having enabled us to +produce cheap literature, so strikingly instanced in the world-famed +works of Sir Walter Scott, which we are now enabled to purchase at the +small sum of sixpence for each volume--a result which well shows the +application of science to art. + +Let us now observe what a varied number of mechanical and agricultural +appliances are required to furnish us with this cheap literature. There +is agriculture, in the growth of the fibre that produces the material of +which the printing paper is made; then the flax-mill is brought into +play to produce the yarn to be woven; then weaving to produce the +cloth; after this, dyeing. Then the fine material is used for various +purposes too numerous to mention; and after it has performed its own +proper work, and is cast away as rags, no more to be thought of by its +owner, it is gathered up as a most precious substance by the papermaker, +who shows us the true value of the cast-off rags. Subjected to the +beautiful and costly machinery of the paper-mill, the rags turn out an +article of so much value that without it the world would almost come to +a stand-still. Yet further, we have next the miner, who by his labour +brings to the surface of the earth the metal required to produce the +type for printing; after this the printing-press; and next the chemist, +who by certain chemical combinations gives us the ink that is to spread +knowledge to the world, by making clear to the eye the thoughts of +authors who have applied their minds for the instruction and amusement +of their fellow-men. But we do not end here; consider also that each and +all, the farmer, the spinner, the weaver, the chemist, the miner, the +printer, and the author, must respectively have a profit out of their +various branches of industry, and does it not strike one forcibly what +a boon to the world is this all-important application of science to +art--putting within the reach of the poor man and the working man the +means of cultivating his mind, and so, by giving him matters of deep +interest to think over, keeping him from idleness and perhaps sin (for +idleness is the root of most evil), and making him a happy family-man +instead of a public-house frequenter. + +Many were strongly opposed to the introduction of steam, and would +rather have seen it put down, and the old coach and printing-press, +loom, spinning-wheel, and flail kept in use, fearing that machinery +would limit employment; and a hard fight it has been to carry forward +all that has hitherto been done. But what has proved to be the result? +Thousands are now employed where formerly a few people sufficed, and we +are all benefited in having better and cheaper goods, books, provisions, +and all things needful. There is therefore the satisfaction of knowing +that, by the thousand and one applications of steam, the physical, +mental, and even moral condition of the people has been greatly +ameliorated; in this way again proving a triumph for the application of +science to art. + +Glasgow is not only famous for its multifarious applications of water +in its finely divided gaseous form of steam, but it has made admirable +use of that element in its more familiar and fluid form, as shown in the +gigantic undertaking of bringing a water-supply into this thriving and +populous city. The peaceful waters of a Highland lake are suddenly +turned from their quiet resting-place, where they have remained in peace +for generations, the admiration of all beholders, and made to take an +active part in contributing to the health, wealth, and comfort of +Glasgow. The beautiful Loch Katrine has been brought into the city, +furnishing a stream of pure water to minister to the wants of all +classes of the people--an undertaking which a few years ago would have +been pronounced impossible; but here again science and art have +prevailed, and brought about this all-important object and greatly +desired and inestimable boon. The great capital of England itself cannot +boast of such an advantage, and must still be content to drink water +contaminated with impurities. Does not this speak volumes for the wealth +and energy of Glasgow? What so conducive to health and cleanliness (and +cleanliness is akin to godliness) as a pure and perfect supply of water +such as you now possess; and you have great reason to be grateful for +this beneficent application of science and art. With a worldwide +celebrity for your waterworks, you have cause also to be proud of your +chemical works, and that famous chimney of St. Rollox, one of the +loftiest structures in the world. There are few cities more highly +favoured than this. Would not Captain Shaw be glad if, in London, he had +the head or command of water such as you have from Loch Katrine to save +the great metropolis from the destruction by fire that they are in daily +dread of? In Glasgow we hardly want this--our grand Loch Katrine does it +all. + +Turn to your river, the beautiful Clyde, which eighty years ago could be +forded at Erskine, while Port Glasgow was as far as ships could then +come up--a striking contrast to what is now to be seen at the +Broomielaw, where the largest steamers and ships drawing thirty feet of +water are moored in the very heart of the city, discharging produce from +all parts of the world. What has done this but steam--the energy of man; +steam cutting a channel by dredging to admit of ships passing so far up +the river: and this has been to Glasgow a great source of wealth by the +promotion of commerce. Art has been permitted to work out great things +for your city, and I trust still greater things are in store. Take the +trade now in full progress on the banks of the Clyde. The shipbuilding +is fast leaving the Thames and finding its way here. It is a pleasure to +hear people say: "There is a fine ship--she is Clyde-built."--"Who built +her? Was it Napier, or Thomson, or Tod, or M'Gregor, or Randolph & +Elder, or Caird, or Denny of Dumbarton, or Cunliff & Dunlop?" Pardon me +if I have left out any name, for all are good builders. Then, again, it +may be asked: "Who engined these ships?"--"Oh, Clyde engineers, or those +who built them." I had the pleasure of being this year on board the +Trinity yacht "Galatea," on a cruise when fourteen knots an hour were +accomplished; and that yacht is a good specimen of what Clyde +shipbuilders can turn out. She was built by Caird. I have also had the +pleasure of a trip in the "Russia," one of the finest screw-vessels +afloat, built by Thomson; and she has proved herself perhaps the fastest +of sea-going steamers. Does not all this show what science applied to +art has done? + +Glasgow has also a College of the first order, one that is looked up to +as sending men of high standing forth to the world. Watt worked under +its roof as a poor mathematical instrument maker, and although enjoying +little of its valuable instruction, he produced the steam-engine--a +lesson as to what those ought to do towards promoting the application of +science to art who have the full benefit of a scientific training such +as your College affords. + +Each day brings forth something new--the electric telegraph, for +instance, by which our thoughts and desires are transmitted to all parts +of the world, so to speak, in a moment of time. When we think that we +are within an instant of America, it gives one a feeling of awe, for it +shows to what an extent we have been permitted to carry the application +of science to art. A small wire is carried across the great Atlantic, +and immediate communication is the result. The achievements of science +were shown to a great extent in the laying of this cable, and perhaps +still more in its recovery after it had been broken. A small cable is +lost at the bottom of the ocean, far from the land, and in water about +two miles in depth--a ship goes out, discovers the spot, and then +grappling irons are lowered. Science with its long arm, as it were, +reaches down the almost unfathomable abyss, and with its powerful hand +secures and brings to the surface of the ocean the fractured cable, +which is again made to connect the Old and New Worlds--thus verifying +almost the words of Shakespeare, when he speaks of calling "spirits from +the vasty deep." After splicing the cable, the vessel proceeds with the +work of paying it out, as it sails across the Atlantic; and once more +science and art find a successful issue, for Europe and America are +united. + +What the combination of science and art has done is, however, not yet +exhausted: witness the splendid specimens of artillery now produced by +Sir Joseph Whitworth and Sir William Armstrong--weapons by which +projectiles are thrown with an almost irresistible force. The beauty of +their construction is a triumph to art, and their mathematical truth a +triumph to science. One thing follows another, and no sooner have men of +originality and observation perfected the means of destruction, when +others press forward and furnish the means of defence. Our armour-clads, +such as the "Warrior" and others which lately visited these waters, have +thus been called into existence, and they are splendid specimens of +what science applied to art can achieve. + +The Menai Bridge is another instance of the power of man in applied +science. A railway bridge is required to further communication, but +Government demands that the navigation of the Strait shall not be +impeded. The mind of a great man is called into action, and by applying +scientific principles to engineering art, we have that wonder of the +world, the great tubular bridge over the Menai Straits. This work +required a mind of no ordinary nature, but such a one was found in the +celebrated Robert Stephenson. I am proud to say I was privileged to have +him as a friend, and I greatly lamented his death, not only as a friend, +but as an irreparable loss to the world of science. + +Another instance of science applied to art--and not the least +important--is the adaptation of glass to form the lens which enables the +flame of a lamp to be seen from a great distance. What this has done for +the mariner is shown in our lighthouses, which enable him to know where +he is by night as well as by day, for the lights are made to revolve, to +be stationary, or to show various colours or flashes, which reveal to +him their respective positions. The compass also, though ancient, is +still an application of applied science, and by it the mariner is +enabled to guide his ship safely over the ocean. A very beautiful +instance of applied science to art is electrometallurgy, in which metals +are deposited by means of the galvanic battery in any required form or +shape, and this process of gilding and plating is executed with +marvellous rapidity. All these various instances show what the mind of +man has done, and is doing; but the applications of science to art are +so endless, that even their simple enumeration could not be included in +the limits of an opening address, for there are few things to which +science cannot be applied. One of the most recent and beautiful is the +art of photography, where, by means of applied chemistry, aided by the +rays of the sun, there can be produced the most pleasing and lifelike +representations. This new application of chemistry is a most interesting +one, which shows that we do not stand still, and as long as arts and +science are permitted to be practised by us we are not intended to stand +still, but to exercise our minds to the utmost to unravel those +mysteries of nature that are yet to be developed. + +Chemistry, as a regular branch of natural science, is of comparatively +recent origin, and can hardly be said to date earlier than the latter +third of last century. The Greek philosophers had some vague yet +profound ideas on this subject, but their acquaintance was limited to +speculations _a priori_, founded on general and often inaccurate +observations of natural occurrences. Yet their acuteness was such, that +some of their speculations as to the constituent properties of matter +coincide in a wonderful degree with those which now prevail among modern +philosophers. It is not easy to define what chemistry is in a few words, +but it may be described as the science which has for its object the +investigation of all elementary bodies which exist in the universe, with +the view of determining their composition and properties. It also seeks +to detect the laws which regulate their mutual relations, and the +proportions in which these elements will combine together to form the +compounds which constitute the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, +as well as the properties of these various compounds. The ancients +admitted only four elements--earth, air, fire, and water. Chemists now +far exceed this number, and seek to show what these elements are +composed of by analysing them into the various gases, solids, and +liquids. + +Astronomy is the most ancient of all the sciences. The Chaldeans, the +Egyptians, the Chinese, the Hindoos, Gauls, and Peruvians, each regarded +themselves as the inventors of astronomy, an honour which Josephus +deprives them of by ascribing it to the antediluvian patriarchs. From +the few facts to be gleaned out of the vague accounts by ancient authors +regarding the Chaldeans, it may be inferred that their boasted knowledge +of this science was confined to observations of the simplest kind, +unassisted by any instruments whatever. The Egyptians, again, though +anciently considered the rivals of the Chaldeans in the cultivation of +this science, have yet left behind them still fewer records of their +labours, though it is so far certain that their astronomical knowledge +was even greater than that of the Chaldeans. The Phoenicians seem to +have excelled in the art of navigation, and would no doubt direct their +course among the islands of the Mediterranean by the stars; but if they +had any further speculative notions of astronomy, they were probably +derived from the Chaldeans or Egyptians. In China, astronomy has been +known from the remotest ages, and has always been considered as a +science necessary and indispensable to the civil government of the +Celestial Empire. On considering the accounts of Chinese astronomy, we +find it consisted only in the practice of certain observations, which +led to nothing more than the knowledge of a few isolated facts, and they +are indebted to foreigners for any further improvements they have since +adopted. + +The Greeks seem to have made the most early advances in astronomy; for +notwithstanding that the art of observation was still in its infancy, we +are indebted to the labours and speculations of ancient Greek +philosophers for raising astronomy to the dignity of a science. The +complicated but ingenious hypotheses of the Greek Ptolemy prepared the +way for the discovery of the elliptic form of the planetary orbits and +other astronomical laws by the German Kepler, which again conducted our +English Newton to the discovery of the law of gravitation. I am not, +however, desirous of giving this meeting a lecture on astronomy--I shall +leave that to Professor Grant. But it is singular that I should have +come here on a day on which one of the now known observations and +movements of the planets has taken place--the transit of Mercury. This +was calculated to occur this day by the science of astronomy, and it is +also known when it will again occur, namely, on the 6th of May 1878. I +will end this subject by saying, that the discoveries in astronomy in +the last and present centuries have been so many and interesting, that +it would be quite impossible for me to enter here minutely upon them. + +In conclusion,--What have science and art done for us? They have +cultivated our minds--they have made us think, wonder, and admire, and I +trust caused us to adore and reverence the Creator of this vast +universe. They have taught us the knowledge and value of time, and have +also shown the value of what man has been enabled to work out for his +own benefit and that of the world at large. + +The chemist deals with the various substances brought under his notice, +thereby acquiring a knowledge of their properties, enabling him to +produce results which are truly beneficial. This knowledge is power. + +The painter makes the features of Nature his study, and by his brush +delineates them on the canvas, and thus by knowledge of art he exhibits +power. + +The astronomer's science is one of vast magnitude and importance--the +study of it embracing both science and art: science in the various +intricate calculations he requires to make in connection with the +heavenly bodies. By his researches we have discovered the form of the +earth and other planets, their respective distances from each other, +their revolutions, their eclipses and their orbits, and, more wonderful +still, the precise time when the various movements of each occur. In +art, the astronomer has originated and perfected the many powerful and +beautiful instruments now required for taking observations, and these, +when compared with the instruments in use in bypast times, are excellent +evidences of modern progress in this direction. Our wonder is excited +when we look at the instruments formerly in use; that so much was done +through them, and the advance made by art in the perfection of those now +adopted, show us again that knowledge is power. + +The navigator, by a combination of astronomy and seamanship, is enabled +to plough the great deep, and at all times by mathematical calculation +to discover the exact position of his ship. What, however, would he be +without the aid of art? The compass, the sextant, or quadrant, &c., are +the means which enable him to attain these grand results, and to bring +his ship to the desired haven. The use of these is knowledge, and this +knowledge is power. + +Alike with all other things which science and art have called into use, +knowledge is power, and this power was given by the Almighty, as I said +at the beginning of this lecture, to enable man to fathom the works of +creation. Let us then so live that we may ever admire the results of the +labours of science and of art, and at the same time ever remember Him +who has given us the power to discover and use them for our +benefit,--thanking God, who first made all things and pronounced them +very good, for His great mercy toward us. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[A] Now carried out. + + + + +_A PENNY'S WORTH_; + +OR, + +"TAKE CARE OF THE PENCE, AND THE POUNDS WILL TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES." + + +A penny seems a small sum to talk about, and with many, I am sorry to +say, is looked upon as so insignificant as to be considered almost +worthless; but I hope, before I have done, to show you something of the +great value of even a penny, and of the effects and products we have +been enabled to produce and dispose of with a reasonable profit at the +cost of one penny. A much smaller sum than this was looked upon and +regarded as of inestimable value by our blessed Saviour, when He saw the +rich men and the widow casting their offerings into the treasury, for He +said: "All these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of +God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had." + +Now what did this widow cast in? Two mites, which make one farthing. +Though this took place more than eighteen hundred years ago, it shows to +us even now the great value of small things when given with the heart +and used in the right way. + +Money is a most desirable thing, and without it the business of the +world would come to a stand-still, but how to spend it aright is a +matter of grave thought, for it may with ease be spent in luxury, but it +requires a mind to use it profitably. Both pleasure and profit may be +gained by prudent and proper expenditure, and to show how even a limited +income may enjoy great comfort at home (and there is, I hope you think, +no place like home, and one's own home-fireside), I have ventured to +bring before you at this time what can be done for one penny. + +The penny itself is a matter which leads one into thought. The vastness +of mind which has been brought to bear on the production of the coin is +itself worthy of consideration. Before any coin can be sanctioned by the +realm, it has to go through the ordeal of Her Majesty's Government, and +after all has been done to the satisfaction of the authorities, a little +bit of copper--though now, for the good of our pockets, mixed with an +alloy--is made to minister to our wants in ways which I hope to lay +before you as plainly and shortly as possible. First and foremost we +must have that great and valuable thing heat, for without heat generated +by fire we could have no penny. One of the first things required to +produce this heat is wood. Now the wood must be grown,--trees attended +to with care and at great cost. Years pass before they are either fit +for beauty or use, yet, during the time of their growth, the smaller +branches that are lopped off form just what is required to set on fire +the coal and coke to produce the heat which is necessary for smelting +and blast furnaces, for our own domestic fires, and various other uses. +A faggot of these lopped branches can be bought for a penny. Having thus +found out, as a beginning, one thing which can be obtained for a penny, +let us go on to see what has to be attended to and encountered before +this valuable coin can be made. Sums of money have to be spent, risks +very great have to be entered into, and beautiful machinery constructed +before it can be placed in our pockets. The mines of Cornwall have to be +reached for both copper and tin--a matter of great cost to the pockets +of speculators, and of anxiety to the minds of engineers, who lay +themselves out to gain the material. Furnaces have to be built to smelt +the ore and bring it into a workable condition. The Mint is then, after +the metal is ready, called into requisition to produce a coin which, +after all this labour and expense, is only a penny. + +I come now to tell some of the things which can be accomplished and +produced for a penny. One of the earliest publications of any note was +the "Penny Magazine," which is endeared to my memory as having shown me +the earliest of George Stephenson's great works--the Liverpool and +Manchester Railway. This magazine has now passed away, but it has been +amply replaced by others of equal merit, carrying out its principles of +giving a sound and cheap literature to the people; it was a boon to all +who cared for instruction, and at the same time had to take care of a +penny. Now we have our daily papers at a penny, and of the 1711 +newspapers issued (1876) in the United Kingdom, 808 are sold at this +small price. Look at those papers, the "Telegraph," "Standard," and +many others; are they not a light that has shone over our world, showing +what man has been enabled to do for his fellows, in being able to +disseminate the knowledge of what is transpiring over the world to their +readers, both near and far off, and all for only one penny! Has this +been done without labour? No. What has caused it but the earnest desire +to know the events of daily life in as short a time as possible. I do +not care to vouch for what I now say, but I should think that about +20,000 copies are thrown off of the "Daily Telegraph" in an hour, and +these can be bought for one penny each. This penny's worth has cost a +great amount of thought to bring about. Besides the various manufactures +which are required for this result, the daily paper also brings to its +aid the agriculturist as regards the paper; for though this was at first +only made of rags, we now produce it from straw, and I have made it from +thistles, whilst it has also been made from wood and other things. The +rags, of course, were derived from agriculture in as far as flax +required to be grown, but now the farmer gets his grain from the crop, +and the straw left is made into paper--the chief agent in distributing +through the world the thoughts of the learned in science, arts, +literature, and politics. With what eagerness do we look for our paper +in the morning, and with what pleasure do we pay our penny for it! A +penny's worth with respect to this material does not stop here. Look at +our beautiful and not costly decorations; see what a charming room we +can show, produced by a wall-paper at a cost of one penny a yard. Some +of these coloured decorations produce an eye-deception that quite, as +the Scotch would say, "jumbles the judgment and confounds the +understanding." + +We have not done with luxuries, and I will now bring one before you +that, like many others, if used aright, there is no harm in, and which I +look upon as a means of keeping up social good-fellowship among all. I +mean _smoking_. Now the use of tobacco in itself is harmless, but used +in excess is not only dangerous, but acts as a poison. I like a pipe, +but I find at the same time it is needful to have a light. The ingenuity +of man has supplied my want and wish, and I can now get a light from an +article which, to look at, seems only something black tipped with red. +The labour required to produce this small box of lights, as it is +called, is wonderful--the chemist, the wood merchant, the mechanician +(and I am sorry to say, also the surgeon, from the deleterious effects +of the phosphorus on the human frame), have all to bring their work to +bear on the production of this most useful article. Yet, after all, it +is sold and bought for one penny a box. Messrs. Bryant & May profess to +save your houses from fire for this sum by using their matches, and I +think they are right. Fire and heat are among our best friends, but are +also dangerous enemies; and I am sure a penny spent on Bryant & May's +matches is _well_ spent. I do not wish to disparage other makers--far +from it; but a match that will only ignite on the box is an article all +householders should procure, not only for their own protection, but also +for that of their neighbours. + +A very striking instance of the value of a penny is set before us in +that most wonderful system the penny-postage, the institution of which +was a boon to the kingdom that cannot be too highly appreciated. It +enables rich and poor alike to bring their thoughts and desires into +communication with each other, and so relieve anxious cares in regard +to the health and wealth, the joys and sorrows of friends in an easy +manner. A penny stamp can convey all our requirements, whether for good +or for evil, and many a large sum is now transmitted under its care. I +have been told that as many as 60,000 letters have passed through the +travelling post-office of the London and North-Western Railway in one +night. How could this great correspondence ever have been carried on but +for railways; and but for the foresight of Sir Rowland Hill this system +might still have been in the background. It is clearly in my +recollection when 1 s. 1-1/2 d. was the charge for a letter from London +to Edinburgh, and that was for what was then called a _single_ letter; +now you may send as much as you like under a certain weight for one +penny. + +Travelling is now also a thing within the reach of all, for you can +travel for one penny a mile, and this at a rate of speed that could not +be done a few years ago. So much for railways. + +Having begun with matters more especially affecting older people, it +would be hard indeed to leave out the younger branches, and the means +that are now employed not only for their comfort, but their amusement. +Among other requirements for them we may class their toys. They are in a +sense most needful, as well as useful, for our children, and from many +of the ingenious toys now-a-days we can acquire a great deal of +knowledge, useful to ourselves and of advantage to others. The beauty of +their manufacture is a striking instance of the ingenuity of man as +applied to small things, seeing that toys, so to speak, are only made +for a few days' enjoyment, and are then almost certain to be broken. But +for their short and transient existence what an amount of mental energy +has been brought to bear--the fancy of the child has to be studied and +provided for, in a way to please, gratify, and amuse, teaching the young +idea how to shoot: all this for one penny. Look at the carts, horses, +and other articles innumerable that are to be bought at the bazaars in +London for a penny, and do they not bring before us in a striking manner +what has been done for the benefit of the young. These toys, which only +cost a penny, have caused many hard and anxious thoughts, are the means +of giving work to thousands, and enabling these thousands to live an +honest and happy life by furnishing a paying living, while at the same +time they minister to the acquirements of those who when young require +amusement. All this is done for a penny's worth; but how divided is this +before the wonderful toy is produced! We have wood, iron, copper, tin, +lead--I may say, all the metals, even the most precious (for gold is +frequently used in the production of a toy that can be bought for a +penny), are employed. Not only have these to be utilised, but they have +first to be obtained--some by the growth of timber, others by mining, +then by the heat of the furnace, then by hammer and workman, then by the +chemist and colour-maker, then by the maker of the toy--many of these +employed at large wages; and yet you receive for your children an +article which not only gives instruction, but the greatest amusement, +all for one penny. + +An old saying, but a very true one, "Cleanliness is next to godliness;" +and this brings us to a luxury which, though long known in France, has +only been lately introduced here. This is the shoe-black. You come up to +him, dirty from the mud of the streets of London, and in a very short +time you have your boots shining for a penny. This penny's worth brings +before us a large amount of thought before it can be earned and paid +for. We have to begin with the farmer, who feeds the animal that, after +we have eaten a good dish from and think no more of, yet furnishes the +hair which is made into brushes by the brushmaker; the carpenter has to +make the box to hold them; the blacking-maker also comes to the service; +and the tailor to give the uniform red coat worn by the Shoeblack +Brigade--yet after all this, you can get your boots blacked, and that +well done, for one penny. Out of their earnings, at some stations the +boys--so I was told a short time ago--have to pay 2s. 6d. a day for +leave to stand at their station. + +I have gone a long way on things that can be obtained for a penny, but I +have not yet got to the greatest and most valuable--a thing which is to +be obtained for even less than the widow's mite. It is this: "Come ye, +buy and eat, without money and without price, for My word is meat +indeed, and My word is drink indeed." Christ says this, and man cannot +deny it. I am not going to preach a sermon, but as things have come +before me, I have put them down. + +Seeing what a penny can do, let us turn to some of the results. A penny +a week at a school, and what can be gained? A child is educated to use +the talents given him or her, so as to work out an honest living, and is +there taught what it can do for the life that now is and that which is +to come. The value of education is so great that it cannot be +over-estimated. A young man I knew got into a railway workshop. He saved +enough to go to Australia, where he has now made a large sum of money. +He left this country with less than L50 in his pocket. He knew work and +business, thanks to education, and had a determined desire to work his +way. I wish it was so all over England, for I know in the Midland +Counties every one will not leave home. You must leave home, at least +for a season, if you wish to get on in the world. Nothing is to be +gained in this world without striving for it. Here is work, but after +death there is rest, but not till then. So, in conclusion, let me say, +Let us all remember that while on earth it is a season for work. _Here +is work_--work for the body, work for the mind, and, above all, work to +prepare the soul for eternity. So that when we come to die, we may not +only be able to look back on a life in which we have spent a penny +aright, but be able to look forward to that life where is everlasting +peace and joy, through Christ in God. And may our last words be--_Here +was_ work, but _there is_ rest, through Christ our Saviour. + + + + +_PAST AND PRESENT MEANS OF COMMUNICATION_. + + +We may, I think, commence by saying, "Lord, so teach us to number our +days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom," for, as David says, +"What is man that Thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that Thou +visitest him? Thou makest him to have dominion over the works of Thy +hands, and hast put all things in subjection under his feet." The +difference of past and present means of communication are so great, that +it is no easy task to enter into a discussion on the subject; but it +leads one to gravely consider what is said in the 90th Psalm: "So teach +us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." To +address an association such as I have now the honour and pleasure of +doing, gives one a feeling of interest, as well as a feeling of +responsibility, for as I have been kindly asked to close the course of +lectures for this session, such an address is looked to in general with +expectation. Do not hope for too much from me; but I trust that, when I +have concluded, you will not be able to pay me the compliment an +old Highland woman did to her minister on seeing him after +church-service--"Ah, maister, this discoursing will never do, for I +wasna weel asleep till ye were done." Having said this by way of +introduction, I think it devolves upon me in some way first to explain +what is the meaning of the subject of Communication. It may be briefly +stated to be _a means to an end_--an intercourse or passage of either +the body from one place to another, or of the thoughts of one person to +another. And as I begin with the communication of the body, I cannot do +better than name some of the methods by which communication is carried +on, and shall commence with _Roads, Coaches, Railways, Canals_, and +_Steamers_. Then, for mind, I will take _Books, Printing, Letters, +Exhibitions_, and _Telegraphs_. + +Our age has so advanced, that though Methuselah lived nearly one +thousand years, yet he in his age did not live as long as we do now. +See what science and art have done for us. We now do more in one day +than could be done in a month some very few years ago; and, as far as +travelling about the world is concerned, I can say that I have been from +John-o'-Groat's House to Brighton, thence into Hertfordshire, thence +back to London, from there to Edinburgh, thence to John-o'-Groat's, and +here I am before you, without fatigue, or a thought that I should not be +present in time. What has enabled us to do this but the determination of +man to communicate with his fellow-men, and his thirst for the knowledge +of what is doing in places where he, as an individual, could not be +present. When there were no roads, it was no easy matter to move about, +so the people remained at rest. But the Romans, a people who aspired to +conquer the world, were not a people to sleep and let things stand +still. They began the making of roads in Britain, and to them we owe the +first of our greatness. They saw, as every wise man now sees, that the +first thing to the improvement of land and property is easy +communication, and facilities for bringing the things needed for the +improvement of the land, and the means also of export for the produce. +The earliest roads were, as we may say, right on end; and the Roman +roads, as I hear, have borne the traffic of two thousand years. I hope I +may say that even a Roman road would not bear the traffic of a town like +Greenock for anything like that period of time, or I fear the commerce +of this populous and most thriving town would be in a bad way. The great +Telford and Macadam are the persons to be thanked for our beautiful +system of road-making, and no person can, I am sure, deny the utility of +their plans. As I said, roads are a means of communication for the body, +and also for the mind; and therefore, now that their advantages are +seen, we should strive to further their advance in all districts. + +_Coaches_.--We come now to the means of communication on the roads for +the body, and also for the mind, as both must go together--viz., the +coach and the carriage or cart (for before the roads were made we had no +coaches). In the first place, these carts or carriages were rude and +heavy waggons, without springs or other comfort; but still they served +to convey the body, and the mind that went with it at last discovered, +by degrees, that conveyances could be constructed so as to cause less +wear and tear on animal life. The result of time and labour has been the +elegant constructions of the present day. The first hackney-coaches were +started in London, A.D. 1625, by a Captain Bailey. Another conveyance +for the body, the sedan-chair, was introduced first into England in +1584, and came into fashion in London in 1634. The late Sir John +Sinclair was called a fool because he said a mail-coach would come from +London to Thurso. I am glad to say that he _saw_ it, and it opened up a +communication for the body and mind that has worked wonders in the far +North. We now have a railway. + +_Steam._--We proceed next to the grandest stage--or, as it is said in +the North, "We took a start." What place have we to thank for this great +start, but the very town in which I have the honour to give this closing +address. Was not James Watt born here? The 19th January 1736 was a great +day for England, Scotland, and the world at large, for that day brought +into the world a man who, by his talents and by his observations of what +others had done before him, was the means of bringing to a workable +state that all-powerful and most useful machine, the steam-engine. The +people of Greenock may well indeed feel proud of being citizens of a +town that produced such a man; for though many places have given birth +to great and valuable men, and persons who rendered the world vast and +lasting service, yet, I may safely say, no one has surpassed James Watt +in the benefits he has bestowed on the world, on its trade, its +commerce, and its means of communication for both body and mind, as the +producer of the steam-engine. There were not even coaches in his time, +and his first journey to London was performed on horseback, a ten days' +ride, very different to our ten or twelve hours now-a-days. His life and +determination show what a man can do, both for himself and his +fellow-men, and are a bright example to be followed by all those +especially who belong to such associations as the one I now have the +honour to address. He not only thought, but carried out his thoughts to +a practical issue, and, though laughed at, he still stuck to his great +work, and by his perseverance gave to the world one of its greatest +boons, and certainly its greatest motive power--the steam-engine. The +first use of the engine, as you well know, was the pumping of water. +Rude were the machines made by Savory, Newcombe, and others, to achieve +the desired end, but Watt, in his small room in the cottage at Glasgow, +at last brought about a triumph that the world at large now feels and +acknowledges. I will not go further into the history of a man so well +known and appreciated, as his memory must be here, but will go on to say +something briefly on the results of the operations of the mind over the +material placed before it, to bring into form and make it practically +useful for the advantage of man. + +_Steamers_.--Greenock must see and value the great power at her disposal +in the steam-ship. She has now her large building yards, and it was from +her yards that, in 1719, the first ship--belonging to Greenock, and I +believe built there--sailed for America, and from that time the trade +increased rapidly. And I believe Glasgow launched the first Scotch ship +that ever crossed the Atlantic in 1718, only one year in advance of +Greenock. The large building yards of Greenock bring into the town sums +of money which, but for these yards, would go elsewhere, and deprive the +community of many comforts, not to say luxuries. They are the means of +carrying on the import and export trade of this thriving town in a way +that could not otherwise have been done; famous as this place is for +shipbuilding, spinning, and its splendid sugar-works. These latter you +have indeed reason to be proud of, for there are few finer. The increase +of importation of sugar is striking. In Britain in 1856, our imports of +this article were 6,813,000 lbs., in 1865 it was 7,112,772 lbs. Though +all this did not come to Greenock, yet from what you do in this trade, I +think the word holds good that we as Scotchmen are sweet-toothed. You +can now boast of a steam communication not only on the coast, but over +the world. I had last year the pleasure of a cruise in the Trinity yacht +"Galatea," and does not she speak volumes for what can be done by your +citizens? for that vessel was built by Mr. Caird, and even the ship +seemed to feel that she came from the beautiful Clyde. What a difference +now to the time of Henry Bell in 1812, who first started a steamer for +passengers on the Clyde! We have now in Great Britain 2523 steamers, +registering no less than 766,200 tons. Have not these improvements shown +what means of communication do for body and mind? + +_Railways_.--Having said this much about steamers, I will turn for a +short time to another means of communication for body and mind--I mean +the railways. Are not they a striking advance in science, and the +bringing to bear the power of mind to work on the material that has been +provided for our use by an all-wise God? It is but a few years since, +comparatively speaking, they came into existence, and yet, from the time +of George Stephenson (and his perseverance largely aided to perfect the +railway), see what vast sums of money have been spent, what magnificent +and noble structures have been erected, and what speed has been obtained +for the communication of body and mind. Instead of the thirty miles from +Manchester to Liverpool in 1830, we now have in Great Britain and +Ireland 13,289 miles of railway. The total capital paid in 1865 was +L455,478,000, and this has largely increased since then. An idea may be +formed of the difference of the rate of speed in travelling effected, +both before and after the introduction of railways, by such facts as the +following:--Two hundred years ago, King James's groom rode six days in +succession between London and York, and a wonderful feat it was deemed; +whilst now, the same distance is performed in five hours. About 1755 to +1760, the London and Edinburgh coach was advertised to run between these +cities in fourteen days in summer, and sixteen in winter, resting one +Sunday on the road. So much for the growing desire for speedy +intercourse for mind and body. + +_Suez Canal_.--There is an all-absorbing topic now before the public, +and it is one that brings strikingly before us the thirst for +communication of both body and mind to and from distant parts of our +globe. It is one of deep importance to all who take an interest in the +advancement of science--I mean the Suez Canal. The Red Sea cannot but be +familiar to us all--a sea of the most profound interest, for there did +the mighty Jehovah work one of His most stupendous miracles, when He +brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, and at the same time +destroyed Pharaoh and all his host. But in how different a manner did +the Lord work! By a word He caused the waters to go back, leaving a wall +on the right hand and on the left, so that the people of Israel went +through on dry land. This was not all. Were not His chosen people +accompanied by a pillar of fire to give light in the night season, and a +cloud of thick darkness to prevent the Egyptians coming near them during +the day? Does not this show that His mercy is over all His works? For +after He had brought out His people with joy, and His chosen with +gladness, He overthrew their enemies in the sea--in the same place where +He had performed such wonders for the preservation of His people. + +Often has the spot been crossed by our steamers; and though some may, +and I trust do, bring to mind the stupendous miracle, yet it, like many +other thing's, is regarded as a matter gone by. Here now we have the Red +Sea brought under our notice in a most striking manner, and one that +leads us not only to feel the greatness of the power of man over +material things, but I trust it may also lead us to see our littleness +when compared with Him who made us. We, that is the nations which +brought about this great canal, have had to spend years and vast sums of +money to carry out the end aimed at, and under the Divine aid it has +been brought to a successful termination. But see what God did! Did the +Almighty consult engineers, or take soundings and levels, or ask the +laws of Nature if He could or would succeed? Nay,--one word was enough. +He spake, and that was sufficient--the waters stood up in a heap. We, +however, have succeeded in bringing the Red Sea and the Mediterranean +into connection with each other--an achievement that strongly shows the +determination of man. It is a boon, indeed, to the commerce of this +country, and I hope also of many others, as by enabling ships to pass +through, the transhipment of cargo is now done away with, and the +distance to the other side of the globe reduced to its minimum. +Engineers may truly be proud of the day that brought this great and +noble work to a completion; and I trust they will thank the Lord who +hath crowned their strenuous efforts with success. + +_Books_.--Having got thus far as regards the conveyance of the body, we +must now turn to the communication of the mind, and the thoughts of one +individual as conveyed to another, and this leads one to speak of books. +What are they but the means of communication of the thoughts of great +men, and a distribution of those thoughts for the benefit of their +fellows, by bringing before them matters of interest in the history of +our own country and that of others. The great object to be looked to is +the selection of our books--the variety is now so great; and I grieve to +say (and I think I am right) that the sensational works of the present +day have a tendency to lead the mind into a train of thought that is +flippant and unsteady, and I would warn young people against them. When +we look to such works as those of Sir Walter Scott, Macaulay, and many +others of the same kind, we find food for the mind, the benefit of which +cannot be over-estimated. + +_Printing_.--The spread of knowledge through the world is indeed a boon +which cannot be too highly extolled; but the thoughts of man could not +thus have been circulated had it not been for the printing-press. See +what science and art have done for us in this most perfect and beautiful +machine! When we go only to one example, the "Times" newspaper, and +consider the amount of information it circulates each day through the +world, it strikes one forcibly what man has been allowed and enabled to +do for the benefit of himself and his fellow-men. What we have brought +the printing-press to, is shown in 20,000 copies of the "Times" being +thrown off in one hour, and the advantage it has been to the advancement +of literature in our now being able to buy such works as those of Sir +Walter Scott for sixpence a volume. + +Having gone so far, I must not detain you for more than a brief period. +You have had such an able and interesting course of lectures given by +men of high talent, that little remains for me except to close this +course with congratulation to the Association in being able to procure +those individuals to give their valuable time to this desirable object; +for what in life is more interesting than the imparting the knowledge we +may possess to others who desire to acquire it, seeing that there is no +way in which moral and social intercourse is more advanced and +developed. Still, before closing, I must ask for a short time to go into +one or two other subjects. And first, I will take one of the greatest +importance to the commerce of this country, and one that has shown what +the mind has done for communicating the thoughts of one person to +another at far distant places--I refer to the telegraph. The land is +not only covered with wires, but even the vast depths of the great ocean +are made to minister to our requirements. The world, we may say, is +encircled with ropes, and instant communication has been the result. +What has achieved these great results but the mind of man applied to +science! And see in what a multitude of ways this application of mind +has been made to work! What does it bring into play? Why, we have mining +to produce the metal to make the wire; we have the furnace, hammers, and +wire-drawing machines to produce the wire from the raw material. We have +the forest then to go to for gutta-percha, for land poles, and for tar +to preserve the cables. We have the farmer for our hemp. We have the +chemist, we have the electrician, we have the steamer, and a great +number of other requisites before the silent but unerring voice of the +needle brings the thoughts of one man in America to another in this town +in an instant of time. Accidents and mistakes will occur in the +best-regulated works of all kinds, but I hope not often. One as to the +telegraph I must tell that happened during the Indian Mutiny. The +message meant to say that "The general won't act, and the troops have no +head." The transformation was curious, namely, "The general won't eat, +and the troops have cut off his head." If men would only consider well +this grand achievement, they would be led indeed to say and feel, with +all humility and thankfulness, that God has truly given him dominion +over the works of His hands, and has put all things in subjection under +his feet. + +I had almost forgotten one other point of communication for mind, and, +though at the risk of trying your patience, I must mention it, as its +increase has been so large, and its advantages so manifold and untold. I +mean the penny-postage. I am not going to enter into it at any length, +but the increase of correspondence has been so large, that Sir Rowland +Hill's name should not be left out of a lecture treating on subjects +such as this one is intended to do. I will content myself by merely +telling the increase of correspondence, and leave you to judge for +yourselves as to its benefits. The number of letters in 1839, before the +penny-postage, was 82,470,596, and in 1866 it was 597,277,616. Judge the +difference! + +Coming to the results of communication, I have one subject to bring +before you, and as it has shown to such a large extent the benefits of +international communication, I trust a few words on it may not be out +of place. The subject is the great International Exhibitions that have +been held in various countries in the last eighteen years. The first +idea of holding such great exhibitions emanated from a man whose name +cannot be held in too great estimation by all. Few men were gifted with +such rare talents as he was, for there were few subjects, whether in +science, literature, or art, that he was not intimately acquainted with. +This man was the late Prince Consort. He conceived the idea that if the +products of the various countries of the world could be brought together +under one roof, the knowledge these would convey of the machinery, +cultivation, science, literature, and arts practised in the various +parts of the globe would tend to stimulate and advance the mind by +showing that we had not only ourselves to look to, but that in a great +measure we had to depend on others for the many blessings we now enjoy; +and also lead us to see how needful to our prosperity and comfort is a +constant communication with those who can communicate to us that +knowledge which otherwise we could not obtain. Certainly the results +have proved that he was right. Could anything have been more +interesting or instructive to all than a visit to the Great Exhibitions +of 1851 or 1862, or that of Paris in 1867. The public interest is at +once shown when I tell you that 6,039,195 persons visited the latter, +and the receipts in money were L506,100. There, all and every one had +before him at a glance the subject most suited to his taste, with a full +description of the country which produced it. From the largest machine, +the heaviest ordnance, the most brilliant and precious stones, the +finest silks, lace, furniture, carriages, the greatest luxuries for the +table, and, in fact, everything needful for the use of man;--all were +there, and all to be seen and studied by the inquiring mind, or to be +regarded as very wonderful by those who went to the Exhibition as a +sight. Few, I venture to say, ever left these buildings except wiser +than when they entered. It could not fail to strike one, if one only +gave it a moment's reflection, and asked himself, how has all this been +brought about, but that it was the result of the communication of the +minds of certain individuals with those of others, and by a +concentration of the products of various countries to enlighten the +mind as to the vast intelligence of the world at large. + +In conclusion, I feel now that I have spoken long enough for any +lecture, though I have not by any means exhausted the subject of +communication of either past or present; but I should feel grieved if I +exhausted your patience. All things, as we well know, must have an end, +except that life to which we are looking forward and striving to gain, +where we shall cease from our labours and be at rest. We have been +endued by our Maker with thought and mind, talents to be used for our +benefit, and not wrapped up in a napkin till our Lord's return, but to +be placed out so as to bring in either the five or the ten talents. And, +as you all know, we are answerable for the manner in which we employ +them. May the result prove that we have used them aright. + +The progress of means of communication of mind and body have been +gradual but steady, and I think may be represented by human life from +its childhood to manhood, as beautifully set forth in the 13th chapter +of 1st Corinthians 11th verse, where it is said, "When I was a child, I +spake as a child; I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but +when I became a man, I put away childish things." Is not this very much +in keeping with our growth in communication? At first it was small, and +we were content to hear of what others were engaged in without regard to +time, as one day earlier or later was of little consequence. But now we +are not children, but are become men in our interests and thirst for +communication with each other. What should we say if we found the +Express, as was written on the boy's post-bag, busily engaged in a game +of bowls on the road, regardless of the loss of time or money thereby +occasioned? I think we should be inclined to write to the papers. + +The results of communication are manifold, and day by day they are +brought before us in a manner which shows the untiring wish of man for +improvement both in social and commercial interests. These results are +strikingly shown in the various subjects I have endeavoured to bring +before you. Each and all of them are subjects for thought. What should +we now be without, I may say, any one of them? + +A well-regulated mind is the most desirable of all acquirements, and I +know no better means of gaining this than by meetings of such +institutions as this. Here you have intercourse with your friends, and +you can gain from one another by friendly intercourse stores of +knowledge, that to search for as individuals would take away much more +time than you could by any means devote, and at the same time attend to +the business of your calling. Here you have the means of amusement as +well as of gaining sound information, and I trust no one here will ever +have cause to regret the day when he came to associate with his friends, +and hear what others could communicate, for "in the multitude of +counsellors there is wisdom." + + + + +_THE STEAM-ENGINE._ + + +The many varieties of the world's manufactures--one might almost call +them wonders--are now so numerous, that to bring any particular one in a +single form before this meeting is a matter of no easy nature. To-night, +however, I have ventured to single out, and have the pleasure of +bringing before you, the steam-engine, as the prime mover at present of +our workshops and manufactories, as also the grand motive power of our +railways, now so different from the time when the great Stephenson was +said to be mad, because he thought it possible to drive a train at +fifteen miles an hour. For the first serviceable use of this grand +machine we are indebted to the great James Watt. He it was who first +wrought it so as to be under the useful and entire control of man, from +what it was in the time of Hero of Alexandria, about 120 years before +Christ. Our engineers have, since Watt's time, improved upon it year by +year, till at the present day, instead of having to go in a mail-coach +from London to Edinburgh, which formerly took fifty hours, we now go in +the express train in ten, a distance of 420 miles. If beyond this ten +hours, we grumble, and ask guards, porters, &c., at the various +stations, "What has made the train so late to-day?" forgetting that just +before the railways were first opened, the great Stephenson was urged +not to say too much as to the supposed power of the locomotive, in case +the cause of railways might be damaged. This was only some forty years +ago, and it shows us how times are changed, for in the present day we +consider thirty miles an hour anything but a fast train. + +The history of the steam-engine is a subject on which so much has been +written in books and magazines now before the public, that what I am +about to offer, though pretending nothing new, yet I hope may be looked +upon as containing something useful as well as instructive, both to the +practical and the amateur mechanic. I shall therefore, in as small a +compass as possible, trace the steam-engine from its first and early +stages up to its present perfect state as our grand motive power. The +first mention made of the vapour of water, as formed by the action of +heat upon it, is found to be as far back as 120 B.C., when one Hero of +Alexandria employed this vapour for the purpose of driving a machine. It +is a well-known fact that when water is brought up to a certain degree +of heat, called the boiling-point, that it sends forth a vapour, the +elastic properties of which, when in an open vessel, are not +perceived--as, for instance, in a common pan--yet if the vessel is +closed or shut up at the top, you will find that the vapour acquires +such a degree of elastic force, that, if not allowed to escape by fair +means, it would soon make a way or vent for itself by bursting whatever +vessel it was contained in. Steam is thus highly elastic, but when +separated from the fluid out of which it is generated, it does not +possess a greater elastic force than the same quantity of air. If, for +example, a vessel is filled with steam only at 212 deg., it may be brought +to a red heat without fear of bursting; but if water is also in the +vessel, each additional quantity of heat causes a fresh quantity of +steam to be generated, which adds its elastic force to that of the steam +already in the vessel, till the constantly accumulating force at last +bursts the vessel. + +This elastic vapour is called steam, and it is by this that that most +beautiful machine, the steam-engine, is driven. As you all know, by this +vapour or air--for it is invisible till it loses part of its +heat--enormous power is obtained in a small compass, and the labour of +man reduced to nothing compared with former ages. Many men laboured to +perfect machinery to be worked by this vapour of water, and many came +near the mark; but it remained for the great Watt, at the Soho Works, +Birmingham, to bring the engine to its useful and working state, for +though discovered as a motive power 120 B.C., it was yet reserved for +this truly great man to be what may be termed the inventor of the +steam-engine. + +In 120 B.C., Hero of Alexandria made a machine to be driven by steam. It +consisted of a hollow sphere into which the steam was admitted; +projecting from the sphere were two arms, from which the steam escaped +by three holes on the side of _each_ arm opposite to that of the +direction of its revolution, which, by removing the power from off the +one part of _each_ arm, caused it to revolve in the direction opposite +to that of the hole that allowed the steam to escape. This kind of +engine has been for some years in use by Mr. Ruthven of Edinburgh. There +are others who have followed very closely on Hero's plan in more ways +than one; for instance, it is the common Barker's mill, though with this +difference, that his mill is driven by water instead of steam: Avery, +also, made a steam-engine almost exactly the same. I may here, perhaps, +just be allowed to mention what a little water and coal will produce, as +it will show at once from whence our power is derived. "A pint of water +may be evaporated by two ounces of coal; in its evaporation it swells to +216 gallons of steam, with a mechanical force equal to raising a weight +of thirty-seven tons one foot high." A pound of coal in a locomotive +will evaporate about five pints of water, and in their evaporation these +will exert a force equal to drawing two tons on a railway a distance of +one mile in two minutes. A train of eighty tons weight will take 240 +passengers and luggage from Liverpool to Birmingham and back, each +journey about four and a quarter hours; this double journey of 190 miles +being effected by the combustion of one and a half tons of coke, worth +about twenty-four shillings. To perform the same work by common road +would require twenty coaches, and an establishment of 3800 horses, with +which the journey would be performed each way in about twelve hours, +stoppages included. So much for the advantages of steam. + +The Romans are supposed to have had some knowledge of the power of +steam. Among amusing anecdotes, showing the knowledge the ancients had +of steam, it is told that Anthemius, the architect of Saint Sophia, +lived next door to Zeno. There existed a feud between them, and to annoy +his neighbour, Anthemius had some boilers placed in his house containing +water, with a flexible tube which he could pass through a hole in the +wall under the floor of Zeno's dwelling; he then lit a fire, which soon +caused steam to pass through the tube in such a quantity as to make the +floors to heave as if by an earthquake. But to return. We next come to +Blasco de Garay (A.D. 1543), who proposed to propel a ship by the power +of steam. So much cold water seems to have been thrown on his engine, +that it must have condensed all his steam, as little notice is taken of +it except that he got no encouragement. We find that it has also been +used by some of the ancients in connection with their deities. +Rusterich, one of the Teutonic gods, which was found in an excavation, +proves how the priests deceived the people. The head of this one was +made of metal and contained a pot of water. The mouth and another hole +in the forehead being stopped by wooden plugs, a fire of charcoal was +lighted under this pot of water, and at length the steam drove out the +plugs with a great noise, and the god was shrouded in a mist of steam +which concealed him from his astonished worshippers. + +In 1629, Giovanni Branca of Loretto in Italy, an engineer and architect, +proposed to work mills and other machinery by steam blowing against +vanes, much in the same way as water does in turning a wheel. The waste +of steam in such a plan is so obvious, that it is not to be wondered at +that it did not produce any great results, as we all know that the +moment we let steam out of his case, the case is all up with him, and he +dies a natural death. He is a most delicate yet powerful agent, and +requires to be kept warm in all weathers--this fact does not seem to +have struck Mons. Branca when he let him out of his boiler. + +The next person we come to, and perhaps the first of any note, is the +Marquis of Worcester in 1663 (died 1667). He was a man who seems, as far +as history tells us, to have taken a great interest in furthering the +advancement of steam. He was not contented with one invention, but +published a book entitled "A Century of Inventions," and in this work he +describes a means of raising water by the pressure of steam. The Marquis +appears to have been a politician as well as an inventor, as we find he +was engaged on the side of the Royalists in the Civil Wars of the +Revolution, lost his fortune and went to Ireland, where he was +imprisoned. Escaping to France, from thence he returned to London as a +secret agent of Charles II., but was detected and imprisoned in the +Tower, where he remained till the Restoration, when he was set at +liberty. One day, while in prison, he observed the lid of the pot in +which his dinner was being prepared lifted up by the vapour of the water +boiling inside. Reflecting on this, he turned his mind to the matter, +and thought that this vapour, if rightly applied, might be made a useful +moving power. He thus describes his invention in his 68th Article: "I +have contrived an admirable way to drive up water by fire, not by +drawing or sucking it upwards, thirty-two feet. But this way hath no +bounds, if the vessels be strong enough." He then goes on to say, that +"having a way to make his vessels, so that they are strengthened by the +force within, I have seen the water run like a constant stream forty +feet high. One vessel rarified by fire driveth forty of cold water, and +one being consumed, another begins to force, and refill with cold water, +and so on successively, the fire being kept constant. The engineman +having only to turn two cocks, so as to connect the steam with the one +or the other vessel." + +In this engine, if it can be called an engine, we see that the Marquis +had a good idea of the power of steam, but he had none, you will +observe, as to the action of the condensation which would immediately +take place when the steam from the boiler was brought into contact with +the cold water to be raised. Therefore this plan would be most +expensive, on account of the great loss of steam by condensation. It +was, however, quite able to produce the effect, though only equal to +raising 20 cubic feet of water, or 1250 lbs., one foot high by one pound +of coal, or about the two-hundredth part of the effect of a good +steam-engine. After this, of course, it proved of no avail; but still we +may say that the Marquis of Worcester was among the first who tried to +make, and did do so, steam a moving power. + +Our next is Denys Papin (died 1710), a native of Blois, in France, who +was mathematical professor at Marpurg. To him is due the discovery of +one of the qualities of steam--its condensation, so as to produce a +vacuum, to the proper management of which our modern engines owe much of +their efficacy. Papin seems to have been the first who conserved the +idea of the cylinder and piston, which he made to act on atmospheric +principles--that is to say, he took a cylinder with a piston moving up +and down in it, and found that by removing the air from under the piston +in the cylinder, that the pressure of the atmosphere would drive it down +to the bottom of the cylinder: this he performed by admitting steam, and +then condensing it rapidly, so causing the required vacuum. The pressure +of the atmosphere is as near as may be 16 lbs. on every square inch of +surface on the globe: this is obviously the weight of the columns of +air extending from that square inch of surface upwards to the top of the +atmosphere. This force is thus measured: Take a glass tube 32 inches +long, open at one end and closed at the other; provide also a basin full +of mercury; let the tube be filled with mercury and inverted into the +basin. The mercury will then fall in the tube, till it gets to that +height which the atmosphere will sustain. This is nothing more than the +barometer used in all our houses. If the action of the tube be equal to +a square inch, the weight of the column of mercury in the tube would be +exactly equal to the weight of the atmosphere on each square inch of +surface. Thus Papin discovered a great step in the steam-engine, though +it was not much acted on for some years; he was also the first who +proposed to drive ships with paddles worked by steam. + +We now come to Thomas Savory, who got a patent in 1698 for a method of +condensing steam to form a vacuum. Savory describes his discovery in +this way:--Having drank a flask of wine at a tavern, he flung the empty +flask on the fire, and then called for a basin of water to wash his +hands. A little wine remained in the flask, which of course soon +boiled, and it occurred to him to try what effect would be produced by +putting the mouth of the flask into the cold water. He did this, and in +a moment the cold water rushed up and filled the flask, this being +caused by the steam being condensed and leaving a vacuum, which Nature +abhors, and rather than permit this the water rushed up and took the +place formerly occupied by the now condensed steam. We see by this in +how simple a way great ends are produced, and in the age in which this +happened, the result may be indeed be said to have produced a great end. +The engine of Savory was used for some years as a machine to raise +water. The principle of his engine was just as I have stated, and +consisted of two cases and other various parts, and this engine +possessed advantages over that of the Marquis of Worcester in sucking up +the water as well as forcing. + +Savory's engine consisted of two steam vessels connected to a boiler by +tubes; a suction pipe, or that pipe which leads from a pump of the +present day to the well, and communicating with each of the steam +vessels by valves opening upwards; a pipe going from these steam vessels +to any required height to which the water is to be raised. The steam +vessels were connected to this pipe by other valves, also opening +upwards, and by pipes. Over the steam vessels was placed a cistern, +which was kept filled with _cold_ water. From this proceeded a pipe with +a stopcock. This cistern was termed the condensing cistern, and the pipe +could be brought over each steam vessel alternately from the boiler. +Now, suppose the tubes to be filled with common air, and the regulator +placed so that one tube and the boiler are made to communicate, and the +other tube and the boiler closed, steam will fill one of the steam +vessels through one tube; at first it will condense quickly, but erelong +the heat of the steam will impart its heat to the metal of the vessel, +and it will cease to condense. Mixed with the heated air, it will +acquire a greater force than the air outside the valve, which it will +force open, and drive out the mixture of air and steam, till all the air +will have passed from the vessel, and nothing but the vapour of water +remain. This done, a cock is opened, and the water from the cistern is +allowed to flow over the outside of the steam vessel, first having +stopped the further supply of steam from it; this produced the +immediate condensation of the steam contained in it, by the temperature +being brought down again by the cold water, and the condensation thus +produced caused a vacuum inside the vessel. The valve will then be kept +closed by the atmosphere outside, and the pressure of the air on the +surface of the water in the well or reservoir will open another valve, +force the water up the pipe, till, after one or two exhaustions--if I +may so term it--it will at last reach the second vessel. Thus far the +atmosphere has done all the work, but at last the water fills the +vessel, and then comes the forcing point. Now the power of the steam +itself is used to drive the water up the pipe. The steam is again let +into the vessel, now filled in whole, or at least in great part, with +water; at first it will, as before, condense rapidly, but soon the +surface of the water will get heated, and as hot water is lighter than +cold, it will keep on the surface, and the pressure of the steam from +the boiler will drive all the water from the vessel up the pipe. When it +is empty the cock is again opened, and the steam, which the vessel by +this time only contains, is again condensed, and the same process which +I have just described is again commenced and carried out, thus making +Savory's engine a complete pump by the aid of the vapour of water as +raised by fire. + +Savory had the honour of showing this engine to His Majesty William III. +at Hampton Court Palace, and to the Royal Society. He proposed the +following uses, which perhaps may as well be mentioned, as they show how +little was then known of the real value of the power of steam:--1. To +raise water to drive mill-wheels--fancy erecting a steam engine now, of +say fifty horse-power, to raise water to turn a wheel of say thirty; 2. +To supply palaces and houses with water; 3. Towns with water; 4. +Draining marshes; 5. Ships; 6. Draining mines. There is one more thing I +may mention as curious, that though the steam he used must have been of +a high pressure, he did not use a safety-valve, though it had been +invented about the year 1681 by Papin. The consumption of fuel was +enormous in Savory's engine, as may easily be perceived from the great +loss of steam by condensation. Nevertheless, it was on the whole a good +and a workable engine, as we find the following said of it by Mr. +Farey:--"When comparison is made between Captain Savory's engine and +those of his predecessors, the result will be favourable to him as an +inventor and practical engineer. All the details of his invention are +made out in a masterly style, so as to make it a real workable engine. +His predecessors, the Marquis of Worcester, Sir S. Morland, Papin, and +others, only produced outlines which required to be filled up to make +them workable." + +I must not detain you much longer before I proceed to the great Watt, +but I will just name Newcomen, who invented an engine with a cylinder, +and introduced a beam, to the other end of which he fixed a pump rod +like a common or garden pump. He made the weight of the pump and beam to +lift the piston, and then let the steam enter below the piston and +condensed it by a jet of water, thus causing a vacuum, when the pressure +of the atmosphere drove the piston from the top to the bottom of the +cylinder and lifted the pump rods in the usual way. There were various +cocks to be opened and shut in the working of this engine for the right +admission of steam and water at the required moments, a task which was +performed by boys who were termed cock-boys. I will now mention an +instance which, though in practice not to be imitated, yet was one of +those happy accidents which sometimes turn out for the best. One of +these boys, like many, more fond of play than work, got tired of turning +these cocks day by day, and conceived the idea of making the engine do +it for itself. This idle boy--we will not call him good-for-nothing, as +he proved good for a great deal in one way--was named Humphrey Potter, +and one day he fixed strings to the beam, which opened and shut the +valves, and so allowed him to play, little thinking this was one of the +greatest boons he could possibly have bestowed on the world at large, +for by so doing he rendered the steam-engine a self-acting machine. + +We now come to a period which was destined to advance the cause of steam +to a far greater extent--in fact, the time which rendered the +steam-engine the useful and valuable machine it now is. This is the time +of James Watt. This great man, be it said to the credit of Scotland, was +born in Greenock, on the Clyde, on the 19th January 1736. His +grandfather was a farmer in Aberdeenshire, and was killed in one of the +battles of Montrose. His father was a teacher of mathematics, and was +latterly chief magistrate of Greenock. James Watt, the celebrated man of +whom I now speak, was a very delicate boy, so much so, that he had to +leave school on account of his health, and was allowed to amuse himself +as he liked. This he did in a scientific way, however, as an aunt of his +said to him one day: "Do you know what you have been doing? You have +taken off and put on the lid of the teapot repeatedly; you have been +holding spoons and saucers over the steam, and trying to catch the drops +of water formed on them by it. Is it not a shame so to waste your time?" +Mrs. Muirhead, his aunt, was little aware that this was the first +experiment in the way which afterwards immortalised her nephew. + +In 1775 Watt was sent to London to a mathematical instrument maker, but +could not stay on account of his health, and soon afterwards came back +to Glasgow. He then got rooms in the College, and was made mathematical +instrument maker to the University, and he afterwards opened a shop in +the town. He was but twenty-one years of age when he was appointed to +this post in the College, and his shop became the lounge of the clever +and the scientific. The first time that his attention was directed to +the agency of steam as a power was in 1734, when a friend of his, Mr. +Robinson, who had some idea of steam carriages, consulted him on the +subject,--little is said of this, however. In 1762 Watt tried some +experiments on high-pressure steam, and made a model to show how motion +could be obtained from that power; but did not pursue his experiments on +account of the supposed danger of such pressure. He next had a model of +Newcomen's engine, which would not work well, sent him to repair. Watt +soon found out its faults, and made it work as it should do. This did +not satisfy him, and setting his active mind to work, he found in the +model that the steam which raised the piston had of course to be got rid +of. This, as a natural consequence, caused great loss of heat, as the +cylinder had to be cooled so as to condense the steam; and this led him +at last, after various plans, to adopt a separate vessel to condense +this steam. Of course, if you wish to save fuel, it is necessary that +the steam should enter a heated cylinder or other vessel, or else all +the steam is lost,--or in other words, condensed,--that enters it, until +it has from its own heat imparted so much to the cylinder as to raise +it to its own temperature, when it will no longer condense, and not till +then does it begin to exert its elastic power to produce motion. This +was the great object gained by James Watt, when, after various +experiments, he gave up the idea altogether of condensing steam in its +own or working cylinder, and then made use of a separate vessel, now +called the condenser. + +The weight of steam is about 1800 times less than water. I may here +perhaps mention also that water will boil at 100 degrees Fahr. in vacuo, +whereas in atmosphere it takes 212 degrees to boil. There is also a +thing perhaps worth knowing to all who wish to get the most stock out of +bones, &c., that if they are boiled in a closed vessel, that is to say, +under a pressure of steam, a very large increase in quantity of the +stock will be produced, because the heat is increased. A cubic inch of +water, evaporated under _ordinary_ atmospheric pressure, will be +converted into a cubic foot of steam; and a cubic inch of water, +evaporated as above, gives a mechanical force equal to raising about a +ton a foot high. + +The next great improvement of Watt, in addition to the condenser, is the +air-pump, the use and absolute necessity for which you will understand +when I explain its action. Watt first used it for his atmospheric +engine. The piston of this engine was kept tight by a flow of oil and +water on the top, which tended to make the whole a troublesome and +bad-working machine. The cold atmosphere, as the piston went down, of +course followed it and cooled the cylinder. On the piston again rising, +some steam would of course be condensed and cause waste. If the +engine-room could be kept at the heat of boiling water, this would not +have been the case, but the engineman who could live in this heat would +also require to be invented, and so this had to be given up. Watt's next +and most important step was the one which brings us to talk of the +steam-engine as it now is in the present day. This important step was +the idea, of making the steam draw down the piston, as well as help to +drive it up; in the first engines it was raised by the beam, and steam +used only to cause a vacuum, so as to let the air drive it down. All +before this had been merely steps in advance, like those of children, +who must walk before they can run; so was it with the steam-engine. It +was uphill work for many years, and the top of the hill cannot be said +to have been readied till Watt worked out this grand idea. The first +engine could only be called atmospheric; now it was destined to become +in reality a steam-engine. Time would fail were I to attempt to go into +any details of all the experiments through which Watt toiled to bring +his ideas to perfection--enough to say that he did so; and I trust you +will be able, through the description I will endeavour to give, to +understand how well his labour was bestowed, and how beautiful the +result has proved for the benefit of the world at large. In 1773, Watt +removed to Soho, near Birmingham, where a part of the works was allotted +to him to erect the machinery necessary to carry out his inventions on a +grand scale. + +We must now proceed to some of the useful points of the engine, all I +have before mentioned simply relating to the inventors and improvers; +but having brought it so far, I may now, I think, proceed further. The +first use of the steam-engine was simply to raise water from mines, and +for long it was thought it could be used for nothing else; so much so, +that it was at one time used to raise water to turn wheels and thus +produce motion. One of its first uses after it became a really useful +machine was to propel ships, though many a weary hour was spent to bring +it to this point. There is a very pretty monument on the Clyde, +dedicated to Mr. Bell, who I believe was the first person who +successfully brought steamers to work on its waters. The first who used +steam for ships was Mr. James Taylor, in conjunction with Mr. Miller of +Dalswinton. The danger of the fire-ship took such hold on people's minds +that it was with great toil and difficulty they were persuaded to +venture on the face of the waters in such dangerous and unseamanlike +craft. But go to Glasgow Bridge any day, and you will see how time has +overcome fear and prejudice, for our ocean is covered with steamers of +all sizes. It is not many years ago since it was said that steamers +could never reach America; this has given way to proof, and even +Australia has been reached by steam. I know of a steamer building which +could carry the whole population of this place and not be full; she is +680 feet or 226 yards long, and a large vessel would hang like a boat +alongside her. + +The first attempt at giving motion by steam to ships was of course only +in one way--by a ratchet at the end of a beam, at one moment driving +and the next standing still. This was on account of the engine being +only in power one half of the stroke; but by the double-acting engine +being introduced, and the steam acting both ways, it became at last a +steady mover (without the aid of two or three cylinders, as in the first +engines, one to take up the other as the power was given off), by a +ratchet on the end of a beam or else a chain. This acted on the shaft +which moved the paddles. It is to Watt that we are indebted for the +crank and direct action, so as to give a circular motion to the wheels. + +We find in 1752 a Mr. Champion of Bristol applied the atmospheric engine +to raise water to drive a number of wheels for working machinery in a +brasswork, in other words, a foundry. Also, in Colebrokedale, +steam-engines were used to raise water that had passed over the wheel, +so as to save water. All these plans have, however, now passed by, like +the water over the wheel, and we now have the engine the prime +mover--the double action of the steam on the piston, this acting on the +sway beam, and the beam on the crank, which, by the assistance of the +fly-wheel on land or fixed engines, gives a uniform motion to the +machine. All these have now enabled us to apply the engine as our grand +moving power. One great and important point in the engine is the +governor, and the first modes of changing the steam from the top to the +bottom of the cylinder were cumbrous, till the excentric wheel was +devised. + +Boilers also have to be attended to--these were at first rude and now +would be useless. They were unprovided with valves, gauge-cocks, or any +other safety, all of which are now so well understood that nothing but +carelessness can cause a blow-up. One of the greatest causes of danger +is that of letting there be too little water in the boiler, and thus +allowing it to get red-hot, when, if you let in water, such a volume of +steam is generated that no valve will let it escape fast enough. Force +or feed pumps are also required to keep the water in the boiler at a +proper height, which is ascertained by the gauge-cocks. Mercury gauges +for low pressure act according to the pressure of the atmosphere; +high-pressure boilers of course require a different construction, as the +steam is greater in pressure than the air. + +Having got so far in my subject, I think before concluding I must devote +a short time in showing the first steps of the locomotive; the more so, +as I am speaking to those who are so largely engaged in the daily +working of that now beautifully perfect machine. Various and for a time +unsuccessful experiments were made to bring out a machinery or +travelling engine, as it was first called. A patent was taken by a Mr. +Trevethick for a locomotive to run on common roads, and to a certain +extent it did work. An amusing anecdote is told of it. In coming up to a +toll-gate, the gatekeeper, almost frightened out of his seven senses, +opened the gate wide for the monster, as he thought, and on being asked +what was to pay, said "Na-na-na-na!" "What have we got to pay?" was +again asked. "No-noth-nothing to pay, my dear Mr. Devil; do drive on as +fast as you can!" This, one of the first steam carriages, reached London +in safety, and was exhibited in the square where the large station of +the London and North-Western Railway now stands. Sir Humphrey Davy took +great interest in it, and, in writing to a friend, said: "I shall hope +soon to see English roads the haunts of Captain Trevethick's dragons." +The badness of roads, however, prevented its coming into general use. + +Trevethick in 1804 constructed a locomotive for the Merthyr and Tydvil +Rail in South Wales, which succeeded in drawing ten tons at five miles +an hour. The boiler was of cast-iron, with a one-cylinder engine, spur +gear and a fly-wheel on one side. He sent the waste steam into the +chimney, and by this means was very nearly arriving at the blast-pipe, +afterwards the great and important discovery of George Stephenson. The +jumping motion on the bad roads, however, caused it constantly to be +dismounted, and it was given up as a practical failure, being sent to +work a large pump at a mine. Trevethick was satisfied with a few +experiments, and then gave it up for what he thought more profitable +speculations, and no further advances were made in locomotives for some +years. An imaginary difficulty seems to have been among the obstacles to +its progress. This was the supposition that if a heavy weight were to be +drawn, the grip or bite of the wheels would not be sufficient, but that +they would turn round and leave the engines stationary, hence Trevethick +made his wheels with cogs, which of course tended to cause great jolts, +as well as being destructive to the cast-iron rails. + +A Mr. Blenkinsop of Leeds patented in 1811 a locomotive with a racked or +toothed rail. It was supported on four wheels, but they did not drive +the engine; its two cylinders were connected to one wheel behind, which +was toothed and worked in the cog-rail, and so drove the engine. It +began running on Middleton Coal Rail to Leeds, three and a quarter +miles, on the 12th August 1812, and continued a great curiosity to +strangers for some years. In 1816 the Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia saw +this engine working with great interest and expressions of no slight +admiration. An engine then took thirty coal-waggons at three and a +quarter miles in an hour. + +We next come to Messrs. Chapman of Newcastle, who in 1812 tried to +overcome the supposed want of adhesion by a chain fixed at the ends of +the line and wound round a grooved drum driven by the engine. It was +tried on the Heaton Rail near Newcastle, but was found to be so clumsy +that it was soon abandoned. The next was a remarkable contrivance--a +mechanical traveller to go on legs. It never got beyond its experimental +state, and unfortunately blew up, killing several people. All these +plans show how lively an interest was then being taken in endeavouring +to bring out a good working locomotive. Mr. Blackett, however, +persevered hard to perfect a railway system, and to work it by +locomotives. The Wylam waggon-way, one of the oldest in the North, was +made of wooden rails down to 1807, and went to the shipping-place for +coals on the Tyne. Each chaldron-waggon was originally drawn by a horse +with a man in charge, only making two journeys in the one day and three +on the following, the man being allowed sevenpence for each journey. +This primitive railway passed before the cottage where George Stephenson +was born, and was consequently one of the first sights his infant eyes +beheld; and little did his parents think what their child was destined +to work out in his day for the advancement of railways. Mr. Blackett +took up the wood and laid an iron plate-way in 1808, and in 1812 he +ordered an engine on Trevetbick's principle. It was a very awkward one, +had only one cylinder of six inches diameter, with a fly-wheel; the +boiler was cast-iron, and was described by the man who had charge of it +as having lots of pumps, cog-wheels, and plugs. It was placed on a +wooden frame with four wheels, and had a barrel of water on another +carriage to serve as a tender. It was at last got on the road, but +would not move an inch, and her driver says:--"She flew all to pieces, +and it was the biggest wonder we were not all blown up." Mr. Blackett +persevered, and had another engine, which did its work much better, +though it often broke down, till at length the workmen declared it a +perfect plague. A good story is told of this engine by a traveller, who, +not knowing of its existence, said, after an encounter with the +Newcastle monster working its great piston, like a huge arm, up and +down, and throwing out smoke and fire, that he had just "encountered a +terrible deevil on the Hight Street road." + +We now come to George Stephenson, who did for the locomotive what Watt +did for our other steam-engines. His first engine had two vertical +cylinders of eight inches diameter and two-feet stroke, working by +cross-heads; the power was given off by spur-wheels; it had no springs, +consequently it jolted very much on the then bad railways; the wheels +were all smooth, as Stephenson was sure the adhesion would be +sufficient. It began work on the 25th July 1814, went up a gradient of +one in 450, and took eight waggons with 30 tons at four miles an hour. +It was by far the most successful engine that had yet been made. The +next and most valuable improvement of Stephenson was the blast-pipe--by +its means the slow combustion of the fire was at once overcome, and +steam obtained to any amount. This pipe was the result of careful +observation and great thought. His next engine had horizontal connecting +rods, and was the type of the present perfect machine. This truly great +man did not rest here, but time would fail, as well as your patience, if +I were to proceed further. Enough to say, that he afterwards established +a manufactory at Newcastle, and time has shown the result and benefit it +has proved to the whole world at large. A short time before the +Liverpool and Manchester Railway was opened, Stephenson was laughed at +because he said he thought he could go thirty miles an hour, and was +urged before the House of Commons not to say so, as he might be thought +to be mad. This I have from person who knew the circumstances. +Nevertheless, at the trial, I believe the "Rocket" did go at the rate of +thirty miles an hour, to the not small astonishment of the world, and +especially to the unbelievers in steam as a land agent. The stipulation +made was that trains were to be conveyed at the rate of twelve miles an +hour. + +In our present perfect engines, the coke or fuel consumed per mile is +about 18 lbs. with a train of 100 tons gross weight, carrying 250 +passengers. A first-class carriage weighs 6 tons 10 cwts.; a +second-class, 5 tons 10 cwts., each with passengers; a Pullman car +weighs about 30 tons. Our steamers consume 5 lbs. of coal per +horse-power in one hour. And last, not least, one of the greatest +improvements we have had in steam propulsion is the screw. Again, I may +also name the great advantage derived from steam by our farmers in +thrashing out grain. The engines principally used in farm-work are what +are termed high-pressure, or of the same class as the locomotive. The +great saving in cost in the first place, the simplicity and ease of +action in the second, and the small quantity of water required to keep +them in action, are all reasons why they should be preferred. The danger +in the one, that is, the high-pressure, over the condenser, is very +small, and all that is required is common care to guard against +accidents. Steam being a steady power, is much to be preferred to +water, as by its constant and uniform action the tear and wear of +machinery is much diminished, and of course proportionate saving made in +keeping up the mill or any other machinery. + +Having now, to the best of my power, so far as a single lecture will +permit, brought the steam-engine from 120 B.C. to the present time, it +only remains for me to say, that it shows how actively the mind of man +has been permitted to work to bring it to perfection by the direction of +an all-wise Providence, "who knows our necessities before we ask, and +our ignorance in asking." A traveller by rail sees but little of the +vast and difficult character of the works over which he is carried with +such ease and comfort. Time is his great object. No age of the world has +conquered such difficulties as our engineers have had to deal with, and +the result is now before the eye of every thinking traveller. Our +engineers were at first self-taught, and many a self-taught man has had +reason to rejoice in the time he spent in his education. Of these men we +have examples in Brindley, who was at first a labourer and afterwards a +millwright; Telford was a stone-mason; Rennie a farmer's son apprenticed +to a millwright; and George Stephenson was a brakesman at a colliery. +Perseverance with genius, and a determination to overcome, made them the +great men they were. That you may so persevere and strive is the earnest +wish of him who has this evening had the great pleasure of giving you +this lecture, and who feels so greatly obliged to you for the very +patient hearing you have given him. + + + + +_ON ATTRACTION_.[B] + + +_Gravitation_.--Attraction, which may be illustrated by the effect a +magnet has on a piece of iron, may be viewed generally as an influence +which two bodies, say, exert on each other, under which, though at a +distance, they tend to move towards each other till they come into +contact. The force by which a body has weight, and, when free, falls to +the ground, is of this nature; and it is called, from _gravis_, "heavy," +the gravitating force of the earth, because it causes weight, and +because, though emanating in a small degree from the falling body, it is +mainly exerted by the earth itself. It is under the action of gravity +that a pendulum oscillates: it is by that unseen influence it begins to +sway alternately downward and upward as soon as it is moved to a side; +and it is only because it is withheld by the rod that the ball or bob +keeps traversing the arc of a circle and does not fall straight to the +earth. + +All material substances, however small, and however light, buoyant, and +ethereal they may seem, are subject to this force: the tiniest speck in +a sunbeam and the most volatile vapour, equally with the heaviest metal +and the hugest block, the particles of bodies as well as the bodies +themselves. The rising of a balloon in the air may seem an exception to +this law; but it is not so; for the balloon rises, not because the +particles of the gas with which it is inflated are not acted upon by the +earth's attraction, but because the air outside being bulk for bulk +heavier than the air inside, its particles press in below the balloon +and buoy it up, until it reaches a stratum of the atmosphere where, the +pressure being less, the air outside is no heavier than the air +within--a fact which rather proves than disproves the universal action +of gravitation; because the greater weight of the air in the lower +strata of the atmosphere is due to the pressure of the air in those +above, and the balloon ceases to ascend because it has reached a point +where the air outside is the same weight as the air within, and the +weight in both cases is caused by the attraction of the earth. + +And not only is the force of attraction universal, it is the same for +every particle; for though this may seem to be contradicted by the fact +that some bodies fall faster to the ground than others, that fact is +fully accounted for by the greater resistance which the air offers to +the falling of lighter bodies than to the falling of heavier. A +particles of bodies, and all bodies, tend to fall with the same +velocity, and, in fact, all do; for though, for the reason just stated, +a feather will take longer to reach the ground than an ounce of lead, an +ounce of lead will fall as fast as a hundredweight. And that it is the +resistance of the air, and not any diminution in the power of +attraction, which causes the feather to lag behind, may be proved by +experiment; for if you let a feather and a coin drop together from the +top of the exhausted receiver of an air-pump, they will both be seen to +descend at the same rate, and reach the bottom at the same instant; a +fact which may be demonstrated more simply by placing the coin and +feather free of each other in a paper cone, and letting the cone fall +with its apex downwards, so as to break the air's resistance; or by +suspending a piece of gold-leaf in a bottle, and letting the bottle +drop--of course short of the ground--in which case the included leaf +will be seen to have gone as fast and as far as the bottle. + +It is to be especially noticed that attraction is no lopsided affair; +that it is mutual; that, while the larger body attracts the less, the +less also attracts and moves the larger in proportion; and that, indeed, +every body and every particle attracts every other, far as well as near, +to the utmost verge of the universe of matter. Under it the moon +maintains its place with reference to the earth, the planets with +reference to the sun, and the solar system with reference to the +stellar. As for the moon, it maintains its orbit and revolves round the +earth under the action of two forces, the one akin to that by which a +ball is projected from the mouth of a cannon, and the other the +attraction of the earth, which, by its constant and equal operation, +bends its otherwise rectilineal track into a circular one, as we might +show if we could only project a ball with such a force as exactly to +balance the power of gravity, so that it would at no point in its course +be drawn nearer the earth than at starting. + +That the force we are considering pervades the solar system is +demonstrable, for it is on the supposition of it and the laws it is +known to obey that all the calculations of astronomy--and they never +miscarry--are grounded; and it is by noticing disturbances in the +otherwise regular movements of certain planets that astronomers have +been led more than once to infer and discover the presence of some +hitherto unknown body in the neighbourhood. It was actually thus the +planet Neptune was discovered in 1846. Certain irregularities had been +observed in the movements of Uranus, which could not be accounted for by +the influence of any other bodies known to be near it; and these +irregularities, being carefully watched and studied, gradually led more +than one astronomer first to the whereabouts, and then to the vision of +the disturbing planet. + +Notwithstanding what we said about the universality of this force, and +how it affects all forms of matter, it may still appear as if the air +were an exception. But it is not so; the air also gravitates. The fact +that it gravitates is proved in various ways. First, if it did not, it +would not accompany the earth in its movements round the sun; the earth +would sweep along into space, and leave it behind it. Secondly, if we +place a bottle from which the air is exhausted in a balance and exactly +poise it with a counter-weight, and then open it and let in the air, it +will show at once that the air has weight or gravitates by immediately +descending. Thirdly, if we extend a piece of india-rubber over the end +of a vessel and begin to withdraw the air from it, we shall see the +india-rubber sink in, under the pressure of the air outside, to fill up +the space left vacant by the removal of the included air. The fact that +air gravitates we have already taken for granted in explaining the +ascent of a balloon; and the proofs now given are enough to show that +the cause assumed is a real one. The lighter gas rises and the heavier +sinks by law of gravitation. + +_Gravitation and Cohesion._--Unlike the attraction of aggregation, or +cohesion, which acts only between particles separated from each other +by spaces that are imperceptible, gravitation takes effect at distances +which transcend conception, but it diminishes in force as the distance +increases. The law according to which it does so is expressed thus; its +intensity decreases with the square of the distance; that is to say, at +twice the original distance it is 1-4th; at thrice, 1-9th; at four +times, 1-16th, for 4, 9, 16 are the squares respectively of 2, 3, and 4. +To take an instance, a ball which weighs 144 lb. at the surface of the +earth will weigh 1-4th of that, or 36 lb., when it is twice as far from +the centre as it is at the surface; and 1-9th, or 16 lb. when it is +thrice as far; and 1-16th, or 9 lb. when it is four times as far. The +attraction of cohesion, on the other hand, as we say, acts only when the +particles seem almost in contact, and it ceases altogether when once, by +mechanical or other means, the bond is broken, in consequence of the +particles being forced too near, or sundered too far from, one another. + +One distinguishing difference between the attraction of gravitation and +that of cohesion is, that whereas the former is uniform, the latter is +variable; that is, under gravitation the attraction of any one particle +to any other is the same, but under cohesion, some sets of particles +are more forcibly drawn together than others. For instance, a particle +of iron and a particle of cork gravitate equally, but particles of iron +and particles of cork among themselves do not cohere equally. And it is +just because those of the former cohere more than those of the latter, +that a piece of iron feels harder and weighs heavier than a piece of +cork. + +Further, the attraction of gravitation is unaffected by change in the +condition of bodies, while that of cohesion is. It makes nothing to +gravitation whether a piece of metal is as cold as ice, or heated with a +sevenfold heat. Not so to the power of cohesion; withdraw heat, and the +particles under cohesion cling closer; add it, and both the spaces grow +wider and the attraction feebler. Thus, for example, you may suspend a +weight by a piece of copper-wire, and the wire not break. But apply heat +to the wire, and its cohesion will be lessened; the force of gravitation +will overpower it, rupture the wire, and cause the weight to fall. + +_Cohesion_.--That the action of the attraction of cohesion depends on +the contiguity of the particles in the cohering body, may be shown by +an illustration. Take a ball of lead, divide it into two hemispheres, +smooth the surfaces of section, then press them together, and you will +find it requires some force to separate them; thus proving the +dependence of cohesion on contiguity, although the effect in this case +may be due in some degree to the pressure of the atmosphere as well as +the power of cohesion. + +Heat is the principal agent in inducing cohesion, as well as in relaxing +its energy; for by means of it you can weld the hardest as well as the +softest substances into one, and two pieces of iron together, no less +than two pieces of wax. It is possible, indeed, by heat to unite two +sufficient waxed corks to one another, so as to be able by means of the +one to draw the other out of a bottle: such, in this case, is the force +of cohesion induced by heat. + +The power of cohesion exists between the particles of liquids as well as +those of solids, the only difference being that in solids the particles +are relatively fixed, while in liquids they move freely about one +another, unless indeed when they are attracted to the surface of a +solid--a fact we are familiar with when we dip our finger into a vessel +of water. The cohesive power of liquids is overcome by heat as well as +that of solids, only to a much greater degree, for under it they assume +a new form, acquire new properties, and expand immensely in volume. They +pass into the form of vapour, occupy a thousand times larger area, and +possess an elasticity of compressibility and expansibility they were +destitute of before. + +There is a beautiful phenomenon which accompanies the expansion of ether +under the influence of heat. Placed in a flask to which heat is applied, +the ether will go off in vapour; and as the heat increases, the vapour +will gradually light up into a lovely flame. The expansibility of air, +which is vapour in a permanent form, can be shown by experiment. If we +tie up an empty or collapsed bladder, and place it in a vessel over an +air-pump, we may see, as we withdraw the air from the vessel, and so +diminish its pressure, the bladder gradually expand and swell as it does +under inflation. + +The cohesive power of water is beautifully illustrated. Have a small +barrel or bucket so constructed as to be fitted with gauze at the top; +immerse it exactly, so that the water may form a film between the +meshes, and then open the tap at the bottom: the water will not flow +till the meshes at the top are broken by blowing on their surface. The +adhesion of the particles in a soap-bubble is another illustration, no +less beautiful, as well as more familiar; for the soap, which might be +supposed to be the cause of the phenomenon, serves only to prevent the +intrusion of dust between the particles, but by no means to intensify +their attractive power. + +There are some liquids the adhesiveness of whose particles is so perfect +as to bar out the access of air when we strew them on the surface of +other liquids; and on the Continent it is not uncommon to protect wines +against the action of the atmosphere by, instead of corking the bottle, +simply pouring in a few drops of oil, which, being lighter than the +wine, floats on the surface. It is parallel to the instance of the +barrel with the gauze-wire top mentioned above, that if we loosely plug +a bottle full of liquid with a piece of cotton-wool, and invert it, the +particles in contact with the wool will cohere so closely that the fluid +will not be able to escape. The adhesiveness of the particles of water +to a solid surface can be exemplified by allowing one of the scales of a +balance to float in water and leaving the other free; the one in +contact with the water will refuse to yield after we have placed even a +tolerable weight in the other which is suspended in the air. + +The power of cohesion is more rigorous in some bodies than others. In +some cases the body will rupture if it is interfered with ever so +little; in others, the particles admit of a certain displacement, and if +the limits are not transgressed, they return to their original position +when the compressing or distending cause is removed. This rallying power +in the cohesive force is called Elasticity, and it exists in no small +degree in glass. The spaces between the particles can, within limits, be +either lessened by compression or increased by distension, and the +particles retain their power of recovering and maintaining the relation +they stood in before they were disturbed. It is the power of cohesion or +aggregation which resists any disturbance among the particles, and which +restores order among them when once disturbance has taken place. And not +only does nature resist directly any undue interference with the +cohering force, but tampering with it even slightly has often a certain +deteriorating effect upon the physical properties of bodies. A bell, +for instance, loses its tone when heated, because by that means its +particles are disturbed; though it recovers its tone-power as it cools, +and as the particles return to their places. + +In organic bodies, both during growth and decay, the particles are more +or less in flux; but in feathers, after their formation, the attraction +of aggregation remains constant, and by means of it their particles +continue fixed in their places, not only with the life of the bird, but +long after. Nay, you may even crumple them up, and toss them away as +worthless, and yet if you expose them to the vapour of steam, they will +not only recover their form, but they can be made to look as beautiful +as ever. + +_Chemical Affinity_.--The attraction of the particles of bodies of +different kinds to each other is often striking and curious; as, for +instance, those of salt to those of water. The salt attracts the water, +and the water the salt, till at last, if there is a sufficient quantity +of water, all the salt is attracted particle by particle from itself, +and taken up and united to the water. The salt is no longer visible to +the eye, and is said to be dissolved or in solution; but this change of +form is due to its affinity for the water, and the resulting attraction +of the one to the other. The same phenomena are observed, and they are +due to the same cause, in other solutions; as when we infuse our tea or +sweeten it with sugar. The attraction of water, or one of its elements +rather, for other substances, sometimes shows itself in vehement forms. +When a piece of potassium, for example, is thrown into a vessel of +water, its attraction for the water is such, and of the water for it, +that it instantly takes fire, and the two blaze away, particle violently +seizing on particle until the elements of the water unite part for part +with the metal. It is the mutually attractive force that causes the heat +and flame which accompany the combination; and this force is most +violently active in the union of dissimilar substances. Unions of a +quieter kind, though not less thorough, occur even between solids when +placed in contact. For instance, sulphate of soda and sulphate of +ammonia, when placed side by side, will diliquesce, and in liquid form +unite into a new combination. Sulphuric acid, when we mix it with water, +generates great heat; and this is due to its attraction for the water. +Sometimes two fluids unite together, and, in doing so, pass from the +liquid into the solid form; as, _e.g._, sulphuric acid and chloride of +calcium. Attraction of this nature is called chemical: it takes effect +between dissimilar particles, and results in combinations with new +properties. It operates not only between solid and solid, solid and +liquid, and liquid and liquid, but between these and gases, and gases +with one another; and these as well as those combine into new +substances, and evince in the act not a little violent commotion. Thus, +phosphorus catches fire in the atmosphere at a temperature of 140 +degrees, and it goes on rapidly combining with the oxygen, burning with +a dazzling white light, and producing phosphoric acid. Indeed, most +metals have an affinity for the oxygen in the air, and oxydise in it +with more or less facility; and a metal, as such, has more value than +another according as it has less affinity for that element, and is less +liable to oxydise or rust in it. This is one reason, among others, why +gold is the most precious metal, and the conventional representative of +highest worth in things. + +There are some metals, such as lead, for instance, which oxydise +readily, but this process stops short at the surface in contact with the +air, and so forms a coating which prevents the metal from further +oxydation; so that here, as in so many things else, strength is +connected with weakness. + +_Electricity_.--This, in the most elementary view of it, is a more or +less attractive or repellant force latent in bodies, and which is +capable of being roused into action by the application of friction. It +is excited in a rod of glass by rubbing it with silk, and in a piece of +sealing-wax by rubbing it with flannel, though the effect is different +when we apply first the one and then the other to the same body. Thus, +_e.g._, if we apply the excited sealing-wax to a paper ring, or a +pith-ball, hung by a silk thread from a horizontal glass rod, it will, +after contact, repel it; and if, thereafter, we apply to it the excited +glass rod, it will attract it; or if we first apply the excited glass +rod to the paper ring, or pith-ball, it will, after contact, repel it; +and if thereafter we apply to it the excited sealing-wax, it will +attract it. The reason is, that when we once charge a body by contact +with either kind, it repels that kind, and attracts the opposite; if we +charge it from the glass, _i.e._, with vitreous electricity, it refuses +to have more, and is attracted to the sealing-wax; and if we charge it +from the sealing-wax, _i.e._, with resinous electricity, it refuses to +have more, and is attracted to the glass-rod; only it is to be observed +that, till the body is charged by either, it has an equal attraction for +both. From all which it appears that kindred electricities repel, and +opposite attract, each other. + +Two pieces of gold leaf suspended from a metal rod, inserted at the top +of a glass shade full of perfectly pure, dry air, will separate if we +rub our foot on the carpet, and touch the top of the rod with one of our +fingers; for the motion of the body, as in walking, always excites +electricity, and it is this which, as it passes through the finger, +causes the phenomenon; though the least sensation of damp in the glass +would, by instantly draining off the electricity, defeat the experiment. +What happens in this case is, that one kind of electricity passes from +the finger to the leaves, while another kind, to make room for it, +passes from the leaf to the finger; and the leaves separate because they +are both more or less charged with the same kind of electricity, and +kindred electricities repel each other. Ribbons, particularly of white +silk, when well washed, are similarly susceptible of electrical +excitation; and they behave very much as the gold leaf does when they +are rubbed sharply through a piece of flannel. Gutta-percha is another +substance which, when similarly treated, is similarly affected. + +This power is a very mysterious one, and of a nature to perplex even the +philosophic observer. Certain bodies, such as the metals, convey it, and +are called conductors; certain others, such as glass and porcelain, +arrest it, and are called insulators. It is for this reason that the +wires of the telegraph are supported by a non-conductor, for if not, the +electric current would pass into the earth by the first post and never +reach its final destination. Glass being an insulator, it was found +that, if a glass bottle was filled with water, and then corked up with a +cork, through which a nail was passed so that the top of it touched the +water, it would receive and retain a charge as long as it was held in +the hand; and this observation led to an invention of some account in +the subsequent applications of electricity, known, from the place of its +conception, as the Leyden jar. This is a glass jar, the inside of which +is coated with tinfoil, and the outside as far as the neck, and into +which, so as to touch the inside coating, a brass rod with a knob at +the top is inserted through a cork, which closes its mouth. By means of +this, in consequence of the isolation of the coatings by the glass, +electricity can, in a dry atmosphere, be condensed, and stored up and +husbanded till wanted. + +A series of eggs, arranged in contact and in line, give occasion to a +pretty experiment. In consequence of the shells being non-conductors, +and the inside conducting, it happens that a current of electricity, +applied to the first of the series, will pass from one to another in a +succession of crackling sparks, in this way forcing itself through the +obstructing walls. This effect of electricity in making its way through +non-conducting obstructions accounts for the explosion which ensues when +a current of it comes in contact with a quantity of gunpowder; as it +also does for the fatal consequences which result when, on its way from +the atmosphere to the earth, it rushes athwart any resisting organic or +inorganic body. + +_Magnetism_.--Unlike electricity, which acts with a shock and then +expires, magnetism is a constant quantity, and constant in its action; +and it has this singular property, that it can impart itself as a +permanent force to bodies previously without it. Thus, there being +natural magnets and artificial, we can, by passing a piece of steel over +a magnet, turn it into a strong magnet itself; although we can also, +when it is in the form of a horse-shoe, by a half turn round and then +rubbing it on the magnet, take away what it has acquired, and bring it +back to its original state. The magnetic property is very readily +imparted (by induction, as it is called) to soft iron, but when the iron +is removed from the magnetising body, it parts with the virtue as fast +as it acquired it. To obtain a substance that will retain the power +induced, we must make some other election; and hard steel is most +serviceable for conversion into a permanent magnet. + +The properties of the magnet are best observed in magnetised steel; and +when we proceed to test its magnetic power, it will be found that it is +most active at the extremities of the bar, which are hence called its +poles, and hardly, if at all, at the centre; that while both poles +attract certain substances and repel others, the one always points +nearly north and the other nearly south when the bar is horizontally +suspended; and that, when we break the bar into two or any number of +pieces, however small, each part forms into a complete magnet with its +virtue active at the poles, which, when suspended, preserves its +original direction; so that of two particles one is, in that case, +always north of the other; nay, it is probable that each of these has +its north pole and its south, as constant as those of the earth itself, +which, too, is a large magnet. + +The magnet acts through media and at a distance, as well as in contact; +and it has an especial attraction for iron, the more so when the +conducting medium is solid, such as a table; and so when the magnet is +horizontally suspended, or poised, in the vicinity of iron, its tendency +to point north and south is seriously disturbed. The disturbance of the +bar, or needle, in such a case, is called its _deflection_; and it is +corrected by so placing a piece of soft iron or another magnet in its +neighbourhood as to neutralise the effect, and leave said bar, or +needle, free to obey the magnetism of the earth. The needle, it is to be +remarked, does not point due north and south, neither, when poised +freely on its centre, does it lie perfectly horizontal; in our latitude +it points at present 20 deg. west of north, which is called its +_declination_, and its north pole slopes downwards at an angle of 68 deg., +which is called its _dip_. + +By holding a rod of iron, or a poker, for a length of time parallel to +the direction of the needle, so as to have the same declination and the +same dip, it will gradually assume and display magnetic virtue, and this +will ere long become fixed and powerful under a succession of vibratory +shocks. There is a beautiful experiment in which a needle, when +magnetised, can be made to float on water, when it adjusts itself to the +magnetic meridian, and will incline north and south the same as the +needle of the compass. + +_The Chemical Action of Electricity and Magnetism_.--These agents +possess powers which develop wonderfully in connection with chemical +combination. Thus, if we suspend a piece of iron in a vessel which +contains oxygen gas, and apply to the metal an electric current, it will +immediately begin to unite rapidly, and form an oxide with oxygen, +emitting, during the process, intense heat and a bright flame. Zinc, +too, when similarly acted on, will ignite in the common atmosphere and +burn away, though with less intensity, till it also is, under the +electric force, reduced to an oxide. It is presumed that many other +chemical combinations take place because of the simultaneous joint +development of electric agencies, as in copper, water, and aquafortis, +nitrate of copper, &c. So also it happens that, when a plate of iron is +for some time immersed in a copper solution, it comes out at length +covered over with a coating of copper. And it is because there is +electricity at work that a silver basin will be coated with copper when +we pour into it a copper solution, and at the same time place in it a +rod of zinc, so that it rests on the side and bottom, though no coating +will form at all when there is no rod present to excite the electric +current. The same phenomena will appear if we deposit a silver coin in +the solution in question: the coin will come out unaffected, unless we +excite affinity by means of a rod of iron. It is under the action of an +electric current that one metal is coated with another. The metal, +copper say, is steeped in a solution of the coating substance, and +connected by means of wires with a galvanic battery, under the action of +which the metal in solution unites with the surface of the plate +immersed in it. Heat also is developed under magnetic influence, and +that often of great intensity. Thus, if we connect the poles of a +voltaic battery by means of a platinum wire, heat will develop to such a +degree that the platinum will almost instantaneously become red hot and +emit a bright light, and that along a wire of some considerable length. +A similar effect is noticeable when we substitute other metals, such as +silver or iron, for platinum. And the _electric light_, which flashes +out rays of sunlike brilliance, is the result of placing a piece of +compact charcoal between the separated but confronting poles of a +powerful galvanic battery, light, developing more at the one pole and +heat more at the other of the incandescent substance. + +Kindred, though much milder, results will show themselves under simpler, +though similar, contrivances. A flounder will jump and jerk about +uneasily if we lay it upon a piece of tinfoil and place over it a thin +plate of zinc, and then connect the two with a bent metal rod; which +will happen to an eel also, if we expose it to a gentle current from a +battery. + +By means of electric or magnetic action we can separate bodies +chemically combined, as well as unite them into chemical compounds; as +will appear if we place a piece of blotting paper upon tinfoil, and this +upon wool; if we then spread above these two pieces of test-paper, +litmus and turmeric, the one the test of acids, and the other of +alkalis, and saturate both with Glauber salt (which is by itself neither +an acid nor an alkali, but a combination of the two), and, finally, +connect each by means of a piece of zinc with the poles of a battery, +the test-papers will immediately change colour, as they do the one in +the presence of an acid simply, and the other of an alkali simply, but +never in a compound where these are neutralised; thus proving that the +compound has in this case been decomposed, and its elements +disintegrated one from another. + +A very powerful magnet can be produced by coiling a wire round a bar of +soft iron, and attaching its extremities to the poles of a galvanic +battery, when it will be found that its strength will be proportioned to +the strength of the current and the turns of the coil. This is +especially the case when the bar is bent into the form of a horse-shoe, +and the wires are insulated and coiled round its limbs. The force +communicated to a magnet of this kind, which is often immense, is the +product of the chemical action which goes on in the battery, and, in a +certain sense, the measure of it. How great that is we may judge when +we consider that, evanescent as it is in itself, it has imparted a +virtue which is both powerful and constant, and ever at our service. + +_Summary_.--Thus, then, on a review of the whole, we find all things are +endowed with attractive power, and that there is no particle which is +not directly or indirectly related, in manifold ways, to the other +particles of the universe. There is, first, the universal attraction of +gravitation, under which every particle is, by a fixed law, drawn to +every other within the sphere of existence. There is, secondly, the +attraction of cohesion or aggregation, which acts at short distances, +and unites the otherwise loose atoms of bodies into coherent masses. +There is, thirdly, the power by which elements of different kinds +combine into compounds with new and useful qualities, known by the name +of chemical affinity. And, lastly, related to the action of affinity, +aiding in it and resulting from it, there are those strange negative and +positive, attractive and repellant polar forces which appear in the +phenomena of electricity and magnetism, agencies of such potency and +universal avail in modern civilisation. + +On the permanency of such forces and their mutual play the universe +rests, and its wonderful history. With the collapse of any of them it +would cease to have any more a footing in space, and all its elements +would rush into instant confusion. What a Hand, therefore, that must be +which holds them up, and what a Wisdom which guides their movements! +Verily, He that sends them forth and bids them work His will is greater +than any one--greater than all of them together. How insignificant, +then, should we seem before Him who rules them on the wide scale by +commanding them, while we can only rule them on the small by obeying +them! And yet how benignant must we regard Him to be who both wields +them Himself for our benefit and subjects them to our intelligence and +control! + +FOOTNOTES: + +[B] This paper on "Attraction" is the substance of a lecture which I +composed on the basis of notes taken by me when. I had the honour of +attending the Prince of Wales at the course given, on the same subject +by the late Professor Faraday. The Professor, having seen the _resume_ I +had written, warmly commended the execution, and generously accorded me +his sanction to make any use of it, whether for the purpose of a lecture +or otherwise, as might seem good to me. It is on the ground of this +sanction I feel warranted to print it here. + + + + +_THE OIL FROM LINSEED_. + + +Various processes have for a long time been in use for the purpose of +extracting the oils from different species of nuts and seeds, a few of +the more interesting of which are not unworthy of brief notice and +description. + +In Ceylon, where cocoa-nuts and oil-producing seeds abound, the means +employed by the natives in the last century for extracting the oils were +of a most primitive character. A few poles were fixed upright in the +ground, two horizontal bars attached to them, between which a bag +containing the pulp of the seed or nut was placed. A lever was then +applied to the horizontal bars, which brought them together, thus +creating a pressure which, by squeezing the bag, gradually expressed the +oil from the pulpy substance. This rude machine was at that time of day +one of the most approved for the purpose. + +The system of pestle and mortar was also in use, but as the process was +necessarily very slow, this method was seldom resorted to. An +improvement on this system was invented by a Mr. Herbert, whose design +it had been to construct a powerful and efficient machine which should +combine cheapness and simplicity. It consisted of three pieces of wood, +viz., an upright piece fixed in the ground, from the lower and upper +extremities of which there projected the two other pieces, the top one +attached to the joint of a long horizontal lever, and the lower one to +the joint of a vertical one. The fixed upright post and the horizontal +lever formed the press. The bag of pulp being put between the upright +one and the vertical, the pressure was obtained by suspending a negro or +a weight from the lever. + +In another press of the same or a similar kind, the bags were placed in +a horizontal frame, and a loose beam of wood pressed down on it by a +lever. + +Another form of press had cambs and wedges; also a modification of it by +Mr. Hall of Dartford, who applied the pressure by means of a +steam-cylinder. The cambs are arranged alternately, so that one is +filled while the other is being pressed. This brief notice will suffice +to give an idea of such machines as are wrought by lever pressure. + +We pass on, therefore, to later inventions and improvements. + +First, The Dutch or _stamper_ press, invented in Holland; second, the +_screw_; and, third, the _hydraulic_:-- + +(1.) _The stamper press_ is something like a beetling-machine, in which +wedges are driven in between the bags, containing, of course in a +bruised condition, the seed to be pressed. + +(2.) _The screw press_ has an ordinary square-threaded screw, and it +acts in the same way as press for making cider or cheese. + +(3.) _The hydraulic press_. Here the pressure is produced by means of a +piston driven up by the force of water, the immense power of which is, +in great part, due to its almost total incompressibility. This is by far +the most perfect form of press. Its power must be familiar to all who +remember the lifting of the tubes of the Britannia Bridge, and the +_launching of the Great Eastern_. + +An oil-mill is in form something like a flour-mill. The operation +begins at the top, where the seed is passed through a flat screw or +shaker and then through a pair of rollers, which crush it. These rollers +are of unequal diameter, the one being 4 feet, and the other 1 foot; but +they are both of the same length, 1 foot 4 inches, and make fifty-six +revolutions in a minute. By this arrangement it is found the seed is +both better bruised and faster than when, as was formerly the case, the +rollers were of the same diameter. A pair of rollers will crush 4-1/2 +tons of seed in eleven hours, a quantity enough to keep two sets of +hydraulic presses going. + +After the seed is crushed in this way, it is passed under a pair of edge +stones. These stones weigh about seven tons, are 7 feet 6 inches in +diameter and 17 inches broad, and make seventeen revolutions a minute. +If of good quality, they will not require to be faced more than once in +three years, and they will last from fifteen to twenty. They are fitted +with two scrapers, one for raking the seed between the stones, the other +for raking it off at the proper period. One pair of stones will grind +seed sufficient for two double hydraulic presses, and the operation +occupies about twenty-five minutes. The seed is now crushed and ground, +but before it is passed on to the press it is transferred to the +heating-kettle. + +The heating-kettle is composed of two cylindrical castings, one fitting +loosely into the other, so that a space is left between them for a free +circulation of steam all round both the sides and bottom of the interior +vessel. The internal casting is again divided horizontally into two +partitions, one above the other therefore, by two plates, between which +also there is a space left for the admission and circulation of steam; +and a communication is kept up between the upper compartment and the +under by means of a stripping valve. Besides this, there is a +communication from the internal kettle through the external one, and +also a shaft passes between the two horizontal parts to give motion to +the stirrer, which revolves thirty-six times a minute. A cover encloses +the top, and it is through this the vessel is charged. The upper portion +is filled first, where the contents introduced are allowed to remain ten +or fifteen minutes, after which the valve is opened and the whole falls +into the lower kettle, where it is kept till wanted. The seed is then +taken away from the lower kettle by an opening, and bestowed in bags of +sufficient size to make a cake of 8 lbs. weight after the oil is pressed +out of it. Indeed, the compartments of the heating-kettle are of a size +to contain enough to charge one side of a hydraulic press. These, +therefore, are so constructed as to render the operation continuous, the +upper one being discharged into the under as soon as its contents are +withdrawn to the press. The seed is heated to the temperature of 170 +degrees Fahr., when it is drawn off and placed in the bags. + +In another form of kettle the seed is heated on a hot hearth, and on the +top of the hearth is a loose ring, within which a spindle revolves to +stir the seed. After the requisite temperature has been reached, the +ring is raised and the seed swept into the bags, which are made of +horse-hair. There is great loss of heat in this method, however, as the +seed is exposed to the atmosphere, which of course cools it. + +We now come to the final operation, the mode of expressing the oil. The +screw press we do not need to describe, as it consists simply of two +plates, brought together by a screw, in the same way as the press used +for squeezing apples in the manufacture of cider, and the cheese press. +Let us look therefore at the stamper press. It consists of an iron box, +open at the top, at each end of which are two plates, capable of +containing between them a bag of seed which shall yield a cake weighing +9 lbs. To one of the inner plates of the box is attached a wedge, beside +which is inserted another filling up, and then the driving wedge is +introduced; and lastly, another block is let in between this wedge and +the other plate as soon as the bags have been placed vertically in the +press-box. A stamper of wood, worked by cambs on a revolving shaft, is +allowed to fall about 1 foot 10 inches, at the rate of fifteen strokes a +minute, for about six minutes. This stamper is 16 feet long by 8 inches +square, and falls on the head of the wedge, and drives it in to a level +at the top of the box. Another stamper is employed to drive down an +inverted wedge, so as to release the working one, and enable the +attendant to take out the cake. A press of this kind will turn out only +about 12 cwts. of cake a day. + +We come now to the hydraulic press. This is certainly the most approved +invention that has yet been adopted, and it is simply a Bramah press +adjusted for the purpose. It has been in use for about thirty years, +though it was, of course, at first less skilfully and scientifically +constructed than it is now. In one of the earliest of these presses, the +box which contains the seed runs on a tramway in order to facilitate its +removal from the heating-kettle, so that each time the bags have to be +replenished the whole box has to be removed; and this causes no +inconsiderable loss both of power and time, for it has, when filled, to +be replaced on the ram and lifted bodily upwards in order to bring it +flush with the top of the press, which fits the press-box and acts as a +point of resistance. In this arrangement there are introduced only one +press and one set of small pumps. + +The next press we come to is Blundell's, which is admitted to be by far +the most efficient in use to-day. Here there are two distinct presses, +or a double hydraulic press, fed by two pumps, one 2-1/2 inches and the +other 1 inch in diameter, both connected with the separate cylinders by +hydraulic tubing. The stroke of these pumps is 5 inches, and they make +thirty-six strokes a minute. The larger pump is weighted to 740 lbs. on +the square inch, and the smaller to 5540 the square inch. The diameter +of the rams is 12 inches, and the stroke 10 inches. Each press is fitted +to receive four bags of seed, and it produces 64 lbs. of cake at each +operation. After the heated seed has been placed in the bags, the +attendant proceeds to fill one press, and then he opens the valve +between the large pump and the charged press, which causes the ram to +rise till there is a pressure of forty tons, whereupon the safety-valve +of the large pump opens, and is kept so by a spring. While this +operation is going on, the attendant is occupied with filling the second +press; which completed, he opens the communication between the large +pump and the second press, taking care first to replace the +safety-valve. The ram of this press is then raised to the same height as +the other, after which the safety-valve rises a second time. The +attendant, as he closes the valve which opens the communication between +the large pump and the press, at the same time opens the valve between +the small pumps and the presses; and the pressure, amounting to about +300 tons, exerted by the small pump, is allowed to remain on the rams +for about seven minutes. From which it appears that, allowing three +minutes for emptying and charging the press, the process of expressing +the oil takes only three minutes in all; and it is done by this press in +this brief time in the most effectual manner. The oil, as it is +expressed, passes through the canvas and hair bags to a cistern, known +as the spill-tank, which is just large enough to contain the produce of +one day's working. The presses are worked by oil instead of water, as it +keeps both presses and pumps in better order. Each of them will produce +36 cwts. of cake per day of eleven hours, while the yield of oil is +about 14 cwts. The oil is pumped from the spill-tanks to larger ones, +capable of holding from 25 to 100 tons, where it remains for some time +in order to settle previously to being brought to the market. + +I do not intend to enter into the relative merits of the various +presses, but content myself with having explained to you the manner in +which the oil is produced. + +Before concluding, it may be interesting to give you some idea of the +vast extent of this manufacture. It appears, according to the official +returns, that in the year 1841 we imported 364,000 quarters of seed. + +THE OIL FROM LINSEED. + + ______________________________________________________ + | 1842 | 368,000 | 1847 | 439,000 | 1852 | 800,000 | + | 1843 | 470,000 | 1848 | 799,000 | 1853 | 1,000,000 | + | 1844 | 616,000 | 1849 | 626,000 | 1854 | 828,000 | + | 1845 | 666,000 | 1850 | 668,000 | 1855 | 757,000 | + | 1846 | 506,000 | 1851 | 630,000 | 1856 | 1,100,000 | + ______________________________________________________ + +Now if we take the last year's imports, we shall find that the produce +would amount to about 144,000 tons' weight of oil-cake, and above 56,000 +tons of oil. + +The cake is used for feeding cattle, and the oil for burning, +lubricating, painting, &c.; and a very large quantity is exported. + +We find that to crush the seed imported in 1856 it required from 150 to +160 double hydraulic presses, nearly 100 of which were in Hull. This +shows the extent of our commerce in the seed of flax, to say nothing of +its fibre; and is one more instance of the great results which may be +wrought out of little things. What a beautiful illustration of the +bounty of Providence; and what an encouragement to the ingenuity of man! +Who knows what treasures may yet lie hidden in neglected fields, or to +what untold wealth the human family may one day fall heir? + + + + +_HODGE-PODGE: OR, WHAT'S INTILT._ + +WRITTEN NOV. 20, 1875, AT STAGENHOE PARK. + + +The subject and treatment, as well as title, of this Lecture are +suggested by the answer of the hostess at a Scottish inn to an English +tourist, who was inquisitive to know the composition of a dish which she +offered him, and which she called Hodge-Podge. "There's water intilt," +she said, "there's mutton intilt, there's pease intilt, there's leeks +intilt, there's neeps intilt, and sometimes somethings else intilt." The +analysis was an exhaustive one, and the intelligence displayed by the +landlady was every way worthy of the shrewdness indigenous to her +country; but her answer was not so lucid to her listener as to herself, +as appeared by his bewildered looks, and his further half-despairing +interrogatory. "But what is _intilt_?" said he, impatiently striking in +before she had well finished. "Haven't I been tellin' ye what's +intilt?" she replied. And she began the enumeration again, only with +longer pause and greater emphasis at every step, as if she were +enlightening a slow apprehension,--"There's water intilt, there's mutton +intilt;" quietly and self-complacently adding, as she finished, "Ye +surely ken now what's intilt." Whether her guest now understood her +meaning, or whether he had to succumb, contented with his ignorance, we +are not informed; but few of my readers need to be told that "intilt" is +a Scotch provincialism for "into it," and that the landlady meant by +using it to signify that the particulars enumerated entered as +constituents _into_ her mysterious dish. + +My aim is to discourse on the same constituents as they display their +virtues and play their parts on a larger scale, in a wider economy; and +when I have said my say, I hope I may be able to lay claim to the credit +of having spoken intelligibly and profitably, though I must at the +outset bespeak indulgence by promise of nothing more than the serving up +of a dish of simple hodge-podge. The question I put in a wider reference +is the question of the Englishman, as expressed in the Scotchwoman's +dialect, What's intilt? and I assume that there enter into it, as +radically component parts, at least the ingredients of this motley soup. +Into the large hodge-podge of nature and terrestrial economics, as into +this small section of Scotch cookery, there enter the element of water, +the flesh of animals, and the fruits of the earth, as well as the +processes by which these are brought to hand and rendered serviceable to +life. The ingredients of hodge-podge exist in _rerum natura_, and the +place they occupy and the function they fulfil in it are no less +deserving of our inquisitive regard. + +Thus, there is water in it, without which there were no seas and no +sailing of ships, no rivers and no plying of mills, no vapour and no +power of steam, no manufacture and no trade, and not only no motion, but +no growth and no life. There is mutton, or beef, in it, and connected +therewith the breeding and rearing of cattle, the production of wool, +tallow, and leather, and the related manufactures and crafts. There are +turnips and carrots in it, the latter of such value to the farmer that +on one occasion a single crop of them sufficed to clear off a rent; and +the former of such consequence in the fattening of stock and the +provision of animal food, that a living economist divides society +exhaustively into turnip-producing classes and turnip-consuming. There +are leeks and onions in it, and these, with the former, suggest the art +of the gardener, and the wonderful processes by which harsh and fibrous +products can be turned into pulpy and edible fruits. And there are pease +and barley in it, and associated therewith the whole art of the +husbandman in the tillage of the soil and the raising of cereals, with +the related processes of grinding the meal, baking the bread, preparing +the malt, brewing the beer, and distilling the fiery life-blood at the +heart. + +Now, to discourse on all these, as they deserve, would be a task of no +ordinary magnitude, but the subject is an interesting one, and to treat +of it ever so cursorily might not unprofitably occupy a reflective +moment or two. Water is the first topic it is laid upon me to talk +about, and I begin with it all the more readily because it suggests a +sense of freshness, and thoughts which may float our enterprise +prosperously into port. + +I. Water, as already hinted, is an element of vast account in the +economy of nature, and is a recreation to the heart and a delight to the +eye of both man and beast. To have a plentiful supply of it is one of +the greatest blessings of God to the creature, and to be able to bestow +it wisely and employ it usefully is one of the most serviceable of human +arts. It is too valuable a servant to suffer to go idle, and many are +the offices it might do us, if, as it travels from the mountains to the +sea-board, we caught it in its course, harnessed it to our chariot, and +guided it to our aim. We should turn it to account every inch of its +progress, and compel it, as it can, to minister to our requirements by +its irresistible energy. Its merely mechanical power is immense, and +this is due in great part to its incompressibility; for it is in virtue +of this quality alone we can, by means of it, achieve feats not +otherwise feasible. How else could we have raised to its sublime height +that stupendous bridge which spans the Menai Straits, and which is the +wonder of the beholder, as it is the boast of the designer? It stands +where it does by the help of some mechanism indeed, but the true giant +that lifted it on his shoulders and bore it to its airy elevation was +the incompressible force of water, a fluid which is, strangely, the +simple product of the combination of two elastic transparent gases, +oxygen and hydrogen, neither of which apart has the thew and sinew of +its offspring. Nay, it is this single element, which, acted on by heat +or acting through machinery, fetches and carries for us over the wide +globe, and is fast weaving into one living web the far-scattered +interests of the world. + +Water was in primitive times utilised into a motive power by the help of +a mechanism of rude design, which yet is hardly out of date, and might +recently be seen in its original, still more in modified form, in +certain back-quarters of civilisation. A stream, guided by a sluice, was +made to play upon four vertical paddle-blades, attached to a shaft which +they caused to revolve, and which moved a millstone, resting upon +another through which it passed. It was a primitive mill, which +superseded the still more primitive hand-mill, or quern; and I myself +have seen it at work in the Shetland Islands, and even the north of +Scotland, though it is now done away with even there, still more farther +south, and its place supplied and its work done by overshot and +under-shot wheel-gear, and improved machinery attached, of less or more +complexity. One of the most recent improvements is the Turbine, a sort +of Barker's mill; it is of great power, small compass, and acts under a +good fall with a minimum expenditure of water-power. + +Passing from the consideration of water as a motive power in its natural +state, I ask you to notice briefly the gigantic force it can be made to +develop under the action of heat. In its normal form the power of water +is due, as I have said, to its incompressibility; in the state of +vapour, to which it is reduced by heat, its power is due to the counter +force of expansion. It was when confined as a state prisoner in the +Tower of London that the Marquis of Worcester began to speculate on the +possibilities of steam, though he little dreamed of its more important +applications, and the incalculable services it might be made to render +to the cause of humanity. Suddenly, one day, his musings in his solitude +were interrupted by the rattling of the lid of a kettle, which was +boiling away on the fire beside him, when, being of a philosophic vein, +he commenced to inquire after the cause; and he soon reasoned himself +into the conclusion that the motive power lay in the tension of the +vapour, and that the maintenance of this must be due to successive +additions of heat. The thought was a seed sown in a fit soil, for it led +to experiments which confirmed the supposition, and inaugurated others +that have borne fruit, as we see. It was a great moment in the annals of +discovery, and from that time to this the genius of improvement has +moved onward with unprecedented strides; and this in the application of +steam-power as well as the results, stupendous as these last have been. +For as there is no department of industry that has not made immense +advances since, none on which steam has not directly or indirectly been +brought to bear with effect; so there has been no end to the ingenuity +and ingenious devices by which steam has been coaxed into subjection to +human use and made the pliant minister of the master, man. All these +results follow as a natural consequence from the first discovery of its +motive power by the Marquis of Worcester, and the subsequent invention +of James Watt, by which the force detected was rendered uniform, instead +of fitful and spasmodic, as it had been before. And yet, important as +was the discovery of the one, and ingenious as is the invention of the +other, both are of slight account in the presence of the great fact of +nature observed by the English nobleman and humoured by the Scottish +artisan. The _genie_ whom the one captured and the other tamed, is the +great magic worker, apart from whose subtle strength their ingenuity had +been wasted, and had come to naught. + +But here I must restrain my rovings, and recall my purpose to descant on +other points. And indeed the uses of water are so numerous and varied +that the subject might well engross a lecture by itself; and I must +needs therefore cut the matter short. It is only Hodge-Podge, moreover, +I have undertaken to dish up before you, and I must keep my word. For, +fain as I am to dilate on the many economic virtues of water, I must not +forget that the pot contains other ingredients, and that the dish I am +serving out of it would yield but poor fare, if it did not. + +2. I come therefore to the next ingredient in the soup I am providing; +for, as the housewife said, "there's mutton intilt," and it is the most +important ingredient in the mess. But the animal which produces it, like +the kindred animals that produce the like, serves other purposes as +well, and these no less essential to the exigency of the race; and it is +of them I propose to speak. It is beside my design to enter on the +domain of the sheep-breeder, and attempt an account of the different +kinds reared by the farmer; enough to say that, numerous as these are, +they are all fed and tended for the benefit of the human family, and +that they minister to the supply of the same human wants. + +The child, as it frolics on the lawn, stops his gambols and steps gently +aside to coax, to caress his woolly-fleeced companion; and the mother +talks softly to her child of the innocent darlings, and asks if they are +not lovely creatures, and beautiful to look at, as they timidly wander +from spot to spot, and nibble the delicate pasture. So it is to the +lively fancy of childhood, and so it is to the mother whose affections +are naturally melted into softness in the presence of simplicity; but +when economic considerations arise, and the question is one of service +and value, all such sentimental and aesthetic emotions pass out of +court, and only calculations of base utilitarianism fill the eye from +horizon to horizon. No doubt the creatures are lovely and beautiful to +behold on the meadows and hill-sides of the landscape, which they +enliven and adorn; but man must live as well as admire, and unless by +sacrifice of the sheep he must not only go without hodge-podge to his +dinner, but dispense with much else equally necessary to his life and +welfare. The cook requires the sacrifice, that he may purvey for the +tables of both gentle and semple; the tallow-dealer requires the +sacrifice, that he may provide light for our homesteads, and oil for our +engines, both stationary and locomotive; and the wool-merchant and the +currier insist on stripping the victim of his fleece, and even flaying +his skin, before they can assure us of fit clothing and covering against +cold and rain for our bodies and our belongings. And what a wretched +plight we should be in, if the sheep, or their like, did not come to the +rescue, or the help they are fitted to render were not laid under +contribution! For not only might we be fated to go often dinnerless to +bed, and to live all our days in a body imperfectly nourished, but our +evenings would in many cases be spent without light, and our journeys +undertaken without comfort, and our outer man left to battle at odds, +unshod and unprotected, with the discomforts of the highway and the +inclemency of the seasons. Of all the services rendered by the sheep to +the race of man, perhaps the most invaluable is that which is accorded +in the gift of wool; and it is for the sake of this alone that, in many +quarters, whole flocks, and even breeds, are reared and tended,--so +great is the demand for it, and such the esteem in which it is held for +the purpose of clothing the body and keeping it in warmth. + +3. But, again, to advance a step further, there are, as the landlady of +the inn remarked, "neeps intilt." On this part of the subject, that I +may pass to the next topic on which I mean to speak, and which is of +wider range, I intend to say little. I have already referred to the +important place assigned to this vegetable by a living economist as +affording a basis for grouping society into two great classes. To the +farmer it is of equal, and far more practical, importance; for it is, by +the manner of its cultivation, a great means of clearing the land of +weeds; it is the chief support of sheep and cattle through the months of +winter; and it is one of the most valuable crops raised on British soil, +and of equal account in the agriculture of both England and Scotland. +The culture of turnips on farms involves considerable expense indeed, +and is sometimes attended with loss, and even failure; but they are of +inestimable value in cattle husbandry, as without them our sheepfarms +would soon be depopulated, and the animals hardly outlive a winter. One +function they, and the like, fulfil in nature, is turning inorganic +matter into vegetable, that the component elements may in this form be +more readily assimilated into animal flesh and blood; while their +introduction as an article of farming is of great importance as +rendering possible and feasible a regular rotation of crops. + +4. But I must, as I said, hasten on to another ingredient of the dish we +are compounding; I refer to barley, for that too, as our gracious +hostess would say, is "_intilt_." From this single grain what virtues +have been developed! what mildness, what soothing, what nourishment, and +what strength! What a source it is to us of comfort, of enjoyment, and +of wealth! There is barley-water, for instance, a beverage most +harmless, yet most soothing; meet drink for the sick-room, and specially +promotive of the secretions in patients whose disease is inflammatory, +and who suffer from thirst. Then there is barley-bread, extensively used +in both England and Scotland, than which there is none more wholesome to +the blood and more nourishing to the system; the meal of which is of +service too in the shape of a medical appliance, and, when so used, +acts with most beneficial effect. But its strength is not so pronounced +or decisive either in the form of an infusion or in that of bread, much +as in these forms it contributes to health and vigour: it is not when it +is put into the pot, or when bruised by the miller, that it comes out in +the fulness of its might; it is when it is immersed in water, and +subjected to heat, and metamorphosed into malt. In this form it can be +converted into a beverage that is simple and healthful, and, when used +aright, conducive to strength of muscle and general vigour of life; but +when it has undergone a further process, which I am about to describe, +it evolves a spirit so masterful that the weak would do well to +withstand its seductiveness, for only a strong head and a stout will +dare with impunity to enter the lists with it, and can hope to retire +from the contest with the strength unshorn and a firm footstep.[C] + +Whisky, which is what I now refer to as the highest outcome of the +strength of barley, is, like hodge-podge, of Scotch incubation, and +deserves, for country's sake and the fame it has, some brief regard. The +process by which the grain is prepared may be described as follows. The +grain is first damped, then spread out on a floor, and finally a certain +quantity of water and heat applied, when it begins to germinate, which +it continues to do to a certain stage, beyond which it is not allowed to +pass. At this moment a Government official presents himself, and exacts +a duty of the manufacturer for the production of the malt, the +authorities shrewdly judging that they are entitled to levy off so +valuable an article a modicum of tax. The grain thus prepared is now in +a state for further manufacture, and it passes into the hands of the +brewer or distiller, to be converted into a more or less alcoholic +drink. + +First the brewer produces therefrom those excellent beverages called +beer and porter, and so contributes to our refreshment, enjoyment, and +strength. These beverages are, in one shape or other, nearly in +universal demand, and the money spent upon the consumption of Bass and +XX almost passes belief. They are exported into every zone of the +world, and consumed by every class. And then the distiller takes the +grain in the same form, and, by slow evaporation and subsequent +condensation, extracts the pure, subtle, and potent spirit we have +referred to, and which, in more or less diluted form, we call whisky, or +Scotch drink. And this article also, in spite of cautions, is in large +demand and extensively exported, though perhaps not so much is consumed +among us as was fifty years ago. It is not by any means so bad an +article as it has a bad name; for when of good quality, and moderately +indulged in, it is perfectly wholesome; only when the quality is bad, or +the indulgence excessive, do evil results follow. And indeed such are +its merits when good, that it is said dealers sometimes export it to +France and other parts, from which it is imported again to this country, +transfused into splendidly labelled brandy bottles, and sold +untransformed as best brandy! + +Little do we think, when eating our quiet dinner at a Scottish country +inn, what power and wealth are represented in the hodge-podge which +belike forms one of the dishes, and which, by suggestion and in the +style of the housewife, we are now analysing. As we disintegrate the +mess, and resolve it into its elements, we may well bethink ourselves of +the cost of our board on the planet, and of the value of the articles we +are daily consuming. To help you to a clearer idea of this, in regard to +the article barley alone in the form of malt, let me commend to your +attention the following statistical statement:-- + +A Parliamentary return of 1876 shows that the quantity of _malt_ charged +with _duty_ during the year was-- + + BUSHELS. DUTY. +England, 54,655,274 L7,412,621 +Scotland, 2,927,763 396,241 +Ireland, 3,346,606 453,883 + ---------- ---------- +Total of United Kingdom, 60,929,633 L8,262,746 + +The quantity of barley imported into the United Kingdom during the year +was equivalent to 2,736,425 quarters. See how great a fire a little +spark, hodge-podge, kindleth! + +So much for the quantity of malt produced, and the revenue derived from +it, in a year in the United Kingdom. I have spoken of this malt as being +convertible into a form which possesses, among other virtues, the power +of quenching our thirst. I wish it did not also quench our thirst for +the knowledge we all ought to have of its production and really +serviceable qualities; that it would stimulate inquiry after such +things, and not smother it, as it is too apt to do; and, in general, +prompt us to a wiser study of our social wants, and the means at our +command for further social improvement; which we might prosecute with +less and less recourse to the stimulant virtues of malt in such forms as +whisky. And this we may do, if we limit our indulgence in it to the less +potent form of it in beer, which, while it is calculated to quench man's +bodily thirst, is equally calculated to quicken his mental. How much it +contributes to allay the former, and how many thirsty souls are +refreshed by it, we may estimate from the statistics of the sale of it +furnished by a single firm in London. I refer to the firm of the Messrs. +Foster, Brook Street, who are friends of my own, and to whom I should be +glad to refer all who may be in want of a wholesome beer, for theirs is +so good and genuine. The Messrs. Foster are among the most extensive +bottlers and exporters in the country; and I find from the information +they have kindly supplied me, that the beer bottled by them for export +purposes during the year 1874 was 6000 butts, of 108 gallons each; that +their contracts for the supply of bottles during that period represented +25,000 gross, or 5,040,000 bottles, which, if laid end to end, would +extend to about 1000 miles; and that their accounts with Bass & Co. +alone for that term amounted to L150,000. All, from the highest to the +lowest, drink beer in England; and when unadulterated and taken in +moderation, it is one of the most healthful beverages of which the human +being, man or woman, can partake. + +Though I have only partially gone over the ground contemplated at first, +I feel I must now draw to a conclusion, which I am the less indisposed +to do, as I think in what I have said I have pretty fairly set before +you the wonderful properties latent in a basin of hodge-podge. For it is +a habit of mine, which I have sought to indulge on the present occasion, +to analyse every subject to which my attention is directed, and in which +I feel interest, before I can make up my mind as to the proper +significance and importance of the whole compound. Thus, for instance, +set a dish of hodge-podge before me; it does not satisfy me to be told +that it is only a basin of broth, and that it is wholesome fare; I +must, as I have now been doing in a way, resolve the compound into its +elements, see these in other and wider relations, and refer them +mentally to their rank and standing in the larger world of the economy +of nature and of social existence. I am always asking "What's intilt?" +and am never satisfied, any more than the English tourist, with a bare +enumeration: I must subject the factors included to rational inspection, +and watch their play and weigh their worth in connection with interests +more general. + +And if, in the delivery of this lecture, I have persuaded any one to +regard common things in a similar light and from a similar interest, I +shall deem the time spent on it not altogether thrown away. Mind, not +water, is the ultimate solvent in nature, and everything, when thrown +into it, will be found in the end to resolve itself into it, or what in +nature is of kin to it. And if a Latin poet could justify his interest +in man by a reference to his own humanity, so may we rest content with +nature when we find that we and it are parts of each other. It is well +to learn to look on nothing as private, but on everything as a part of +a great whole, of which we ourselves are units; so shall we feel +everywhere at home, and a sense of kinship with the remote as well as +near within the round of existence. + +FOOTNOTES: + +[C] The Highlanders are said to be able to offer it a stout defiance, +for they can stand an immense quantity; and I have heard of an innkeeper +in the north, who, when remonstrated with on account of his excessive +drinking, so far admitted the justice of the charge implied, but pled +that he could not be accused of undue indulgence the night before, as, +whatever he might have drunk during the day, he had, after supper, had +only seventeen glasses! + + +THE END. + + + PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. + EDINBURGH AND LONDON. + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Lectures on Popular and Scientific +Subjects, by John Sutherland Sinclair, Earl of Caithness + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK POPULAR AND SCIENTIFIC SUBJECTS *** + +***** This file should be named 15468.txt or 15468.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/4/6/15468/ + +Produced by Clare Boothby, Josephine Paolucci and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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