and its millions of pores need a daily ablution to perform their health-preserving office. Too much attention has been paid to the intellectual, to the neglect of the physical faculties. Our lunatic asylums are crowded with those whose physical energies were unable to sustain the excitement of the intellectual organs. Insane asylums are a modern necessity.

78-Ventilation. S. A.-An error to be noticed in ventilation, is the opinion that one small opening, such as a window slightly raised, or the chimney left open, will afford ample ventilation. Let these persons put their opinion to the following test: fill the room with smoke, leaving only the one usual opening, and they will find that it will take hours to remove the smell; and it must be borne in mind that all the sinoke will not be removed till long after it is so diminished that it does not smell. You cannot take air out at one place without admitting air at some other place. They well know it to be impossible to draw water freely from a barrel by merely making one opening, and it is equally impossible to draw air from a room which has but one opening. Therefore to ventilate a room there must be an opening to admit air to supply the place of that which you wish to remove; if these two openings are not provided, the regurgitation through one will be an operation miserably inefficient, utterly unworthy of being called ventilation. The majority of those who attempt ventilation are guilty of this mistake; they are living and sleeping in unventilated rooms, and never suspect it.

79-Precocity of Talent. P. D.- Precocity is a disease-a freak or accident of Nature-an unhealthy and unnatural state. Any premature development of the body, or of the faculties of the mind, is precocity. Instances of moral precocity are common. There are hundreds of children in London, who are infants in years, but veterans in evil and sin. On the other hand, there are children who are serious, pious, and conscientious far beyond their years. But the most common and most marked form of precocity is that of the mental faculties. Lope de Vega, the Spanish dramatist, composed verses almost from his cradle, and before he could write them. Dr. Crotch, the celebrated musician, began to play the organ soon after he entered his second year, and could transpose whatever he played into the most difficult keys before he was three years old. Mozart was a composer at the age of six. The precociousness of Chatterton, Goldsmith, Watts, Pope, Byron, Shelley, Kirk White, Keats, Cowley, Moore, and others, among the poets, is well known. Lord Brougham entered college at the age of twelve; Sir David Brewster, Dr. Chalmers, and Lord Campbell, at eleven. Similar instances of intellectual precocity are not uncommon, both in Europe and America.

80-Harmony of Nature. M. S.-No; Some insects have no defence, except the diversity of their motion. When the notopeda or elator is laid upon its back, it uses a spring hidden in its breast, and, like a skilful jumper, it falls upon his feet; the butterfly escapes from the birds by its zig-zag flight; the spider runs away from its enemies by letting itself down its thread; the gyranus describes with rapidity circles on the crystal waters, and the tipula lightly execute their dances there without wetting their paws.

If we cast a passing glance upon the fishes, we must perceive that the fluid which surrounds them serves as a means of conveyance; aided by their fins, they travel through their domains with ease and comfort. Nature has provided them with a bladder filled with air, which they have power to empty and again to fill at pleasure; and thus they diminish or increase the weight and volume of their bodies as they rise or fall in the water. It is generally known that some fishes, like birds, are provided with an oily gland; with this their scales are anointed with a substance which protects them from the relaxing effects of the water. But what is most surprising is, that this gland is placed on the head, in such a manner that the simple act of swimming causes the oil to slide over their bodies, and covers them completely. Without this admirable position, this gland would have been useless, as fishes have neither hands nor feet to anoint themselves with this oil.

81-How Glass Beads are made. C. H.-The small glass beads are fragments cut from pieces of glass tubing, the sharp edges of which are rounded by fusion. Glass tubes of the proper size are first drawn from one hundred to two hundred feet in length, and of all possible colours (in Venice they prepare two hundred different shades), and are broken into lengths of two feet. These are then cut, by the aid of a knife, into fragments of the same length as their diameters. They now present the form of beads, the edges of which, however, are so sharp that they would cut the thread on which they have to be strung. The edges have consequently to be rounded by fusion; and, as this operation must be performed upon a great number at once, and they must not be allowed to stick together, they are mixed in coal-dust and powdered clay, previous to their being placed in the revolving cylinder in which they are heated. The finished beads are then passed through sieves sorted to their size, and strung upon thread by women. The glass beads made in imitation of pearl for toilet ornaments, the invention of which dates from the year 1656, are very different from the preceding, both as regards their application, mode of production, and origin. These are small, solid glass beads, of the same size as native pearls, which they are made to resemble by a coating of varnish, which gives them a peculiar pearly lustre and colour. A maker of rosaries, by the name of Jaquin, was the first to discover that the scales of a species of fish (Cyprinus albunus) communicate a pearly hue to water. Based upon this observation, glass globules were first covered on the outside, but at a later period on theinside, with this aqueous essence. The costly essence. however, of which only a quarter of a pound could be obtained from the scales of four thousand, was subjected to one great evil, that of decay. After trying alcohol without success, in consequence of its destroying the lustre of the substance, sal-ammoniac was at length found to be the best medium in which to apply the essence; a little isinglass is also mixed with it, which causes it to adhere better. The pearls are blown singly at the lamp; a drop of the essence is then blown into them through a thin tube, spread out by rolling; and the dried varnish is then covered in a similar manner by a layer of

82-Tracing Paper. C. A.-This is made of the refuse of the flax-mills, and being formed into a semi-transparent stuff, yields a transparent paper. The same material is used for the paper of bank-notes; but for this latter purpose it is bleached with chlorinated lime.

83-Glances. A. C.-From the letter of this

correspondent, who pays us a high compliment for the "good feeling and sound sense generally displayed in our remarks, in this portion of the Family Friend, we take the following thought and simile. "Perhaps the short hasty gazes cast up any day in the midst of business, in a dense city, at the heavens, or at a bit of tree seen amid buildings-gazes which partake almost more of a sigh than a look-have in them more of intense appreciation of the beauties of nature than all that has been felt by an equal number of sight-seers enjoying large opportunities of sight-seeing, and all their time to themselves. Like a prayer offered up in every-day life, these short, fond gazes at nature, have something inconceivably beautiful in them."

84-The Desire to be Rich. P. U.-The desire to be rich is a natural one in the present state of society-for money now-a-days, unfortunately, is the accredited sesame to all doors, and nearly all hearts, while poverty is regarded too often as the index of dishonour. Still, though the desire is natural, it is unwise. Providence manages these things for us better than we should for ourselves. We have had the opportunity to sit on the fence, and watch the two extremes; and really, for pure happiness, it is about a penny toss-up which is preferable. "Give me neither riches nor poverty," said the wise man, and his prayer showed that he was a very sensible and observing old gentleman. The middle grade is, after all, the most comfortable. There is generally found the most contentment, the truest religious faith, the most permanent domestic love, and the highest physical health. Is it not so?

85-Currants and Gooseberries. E. A.-There is not a more beautiful shrub growing than the currant, properly propagated; and the same may be said of the gooseberry. Cultivators who pay any attention to the subject, never allow the root to make but one stock, or, as the English say, "make them stand on one leg "-thus forming a beautiful miniature tree. To do this you must take sprouts of last year's growth and cut out all the eyes, or buds, in the wood, leaving only two or three at the top; then push them about half the length of the cutting, into mellow ground, where they will root, and run up a single stock, forming a beautiful symmetrical head. If you wish it higher, cut the eyes out again the second year. This places your fruit out of the way of hens, and prevents the gooseberry from mildewing, which often happens when the fruit lies on or near the ground, and is shaded by a superabundance of leaves and sprouts. It changes an unsightly bush, which cumbers and disfigures your garden, into an ornamental dwarf tree. The fruit is larger, and ripens better, and will last on the bushes, by growing in perfection, until late in the fall. The mass of people suppose that the roots make out from the lower buds. It is not so they start from between the bark and wood, at the place where it was cut from the parent root.

86- Amiability of Temper. C. D. Your hand says you are a man, and we think you must be a husband; we therefore agree with you that an amiable temper is generally regarded, and most wisely so, as one of the highest qualifications in a wife. But unfortunately it is not deemed so necessary in a husband. As the power is quite as great as that of a wife to render her of a husband, however, to make his wife unhappy, husband miserable, a good temper on his part is quite as desirable, we think, as on that of the female. A handsome husband must grow ugly sooner or later; a rich one may become poor; a talented one can confer only distinction; but a husband with an amiable temper always continues the same, and never disappoints the expectations. If, to his good temper, he adds good sense, he is sure to render his wife happy, unless she is both a vixen and a dunce. It is not the man of showy qualities who will make the life of his wife a pleasant one; it is the man who has common sense and a good heart. qualities that wear well, not those which dazzle, are the qualities for domestic life. This may seem homely talk to you, and as trite as it is homely. But the advice we give, though its truth is self-evident, is too apt to be forgotten, and therefore requires to be recalled occasion ally. It is usually also given to ladies exclusively. We take the liberty, however, of offering it, in the present instance, to the gentlemen alone.

The

87-Nervous Temperaments. P. C.-People of strong nervous temperaments are great slaves to the whims and caprices of their imaginations; and hence, people of good mental, but of very ordinary physical acquirements are the most subject to this tyranny of mind over matter. Occasionally, a very ordinary sort of person-that is, an individual of considerable mind, but whose mental capacities are untrained, and so partially undeveloped -suffers from this peculiar faet, in a most distressing degree. No doubt (says the best physical authority) one half the ills that flesh is heir to, are superinduced by the fancy of the sufferer alone. Hundreds have died by mere symptoms of cholera, yellow fever, and plague, induced by sheer dread and fear of those terrible maladies. This leads us to ask you, if your ills are not more fanciful than real? A case is recorded wherein a felon, condemned to death by phlebotomy, had his arm laid bare to the shoulder, and thrust through a hole in a partition, while he was fast bound to the opposite side; the hidden executioner, upon the other side, applied the lancet to the arm with a click; the poor culprit heard the muddy stream outpouring, and soon growing weaker and fainter, he fell into a swoon, and died; when the fact was, not a drop of blood had been shed, a surgeon having merely snapped his lancet upon the arm, and continued to pour a small stream of water over the limb and into a basin. Such is the power of imagination.

-No,

88-To Cut and Grind Glass. D. E. the art of cutting glass is much more modern than that of painting and staining it. At present the richness and brilliancy of our vessels of glass, which contribute so much to the ornament of our tables, are owing, in a great degree, to the elaborate manner in which they are cut. The cutting is effected by wheels driven by con

siderable power, the glass being held to the wheels. The first cutting is with wheels of stone, then with iron wheels covered with sharp sand or emery; it is then polished in the same manner by putty, or oxide of tin. To prevent too much heat being excited by the friction, a small stream of water is constantly running on the glass. In large manufactories the wheels are urged by a steam engine. Glass may be ground by hand on any coarse-grained sand-stone, or with sand, or with emery and water. Panes, or flat pieces of glass, may be divided, when a glazier's diamond is not at hand, by making a notch with a file and carrying a piece of hot charcoal in the line in which it is wished the fracture should proceed. The charcoal must be kept alive with the breath. A red hot iron will also do. The art of casting in glass has lately arrived at such perfection, that many articles, such as small plates, salt-cellars, &c., now almost rival, at first sight, those that are cut; and glass casting has one advantage over glass cutting, that certain ornaments can be cast that could not be cut with the wheel; but no casting has yet quite equalled the sharpness and beauty of cut glass, and indeed cannot bear close comparison with it.

89-The vascular System of Leaves. D. F.Among the fallen leaves which have dropped into water, or which have been exposed to the action of the atmosphere in a damp place, we may sometimes pick up a very good specimen of a skeleton leaf, or a leaf in which the cuticular and cellular system has been entirely destroyed; and in which the vascular system, containing more earthy matter, and being therefore less liable to decomposition, remains. Generally speaking, however, these natural preparations of dissected leaves are imperfect, or have been injured by the depredations of insects, and much better specimens may be procured in the following manner. Take the leaves which have the strongest veins, such as those of the beech, or linden tree, and place them in a jar of water, for the space of six or seven months. By the end of this time the cuticle will be found to be separated from the veins, and may be easily removed. The leaf must then be placed on the palm of the hand, and with a camel's hair brush and a little water, the green cellular matter which has become decomposed, may be washed away from the vascular net-work: and if the operation be carefally performed, the most minute veins and veinlets may be preserved. These preparations enable us to trace more readily, than in the natural leaf, the various ramifications of the vascular and woody matter in the leaf; but, beyond this, they afford us no information, and we must have recourse to the microscope, if we would ascertain the true structure of the vascular system of leaves.

90-Common Sense. S. E. F.-As your letter is redolent of the spirit which we would wish to see pervade the universal Family circle of man, we beg to differ slightly with you, and say that common sense and a good heart are qualifications, for which others than literary people should look out, when forming a matrimonial connection. The best advice that we can give to a young lady, about to marry, is to prefer the man of sense and amiability before the man of genius and passion. And the best advice we can give a young bachelor, who wishes to become a Bene

dict, is to prize, in woman, common sense and a sweet temper above all things else. It has become the fashion, within the last generation, to undervalue common sense. People who possess no brilliant parts, however strong their common sense, are set down as very ordinary folk, not at all worthy of notice. Yet, in all the great transactions of life, it is the man of common sense, not the man of mere talents, who succeeds the best. Common sense, indeed, is practical senseevery-day sense-sense that is continually demanded in affairs of business. It is, in its analysis, the capability of judging accurately on all ordinary transactions. When conjoined with brilliant parts, common sense makes a man the leader of armies, the great statesman, or the distinguished author. And in the married relation-which is what we are considering at present -common sense is worth all the talents in the world, because it is just the quality which has to be called into daily exercise, and without which there can be little happiness.

91-Excessive Display of Jewellery. W. B.Your town, we fear, is not the only place where this fashion is carried to excess. Of late years the wearing of jewellery, in season and out of season, both by matrons and unmarried females, has increased vastly in some parts. It is an indication that the growing wealth of the people is not accompanied by a corresponding refinement; but that the love of vulgar show, the low pride of ostentation, takes the place of a pure and elevated taste. The emulation with fashionable dames now-a-days, so far from being, as with the Spartan women, to excel each other in household virtues, is to wear the largest diamonds. And in this ambition they forget fitness, beauty, taste, everything but the mere vulgar desire to shine. To be gracefully and elegantly attired, in short, is secondary to the desire to be a sort of jeweller's walking showcard. We do not oppose the use of diamonds and pearls altogether, as some persons might imagine from these remarks. A few diamonds, judiciously worn, look well, on proper occasions, on married women. But young girls rarely or never improve their appearance by the use of these dazzling jewels; and, as a general rule, the simpler the costume of a woman in her teens, the better. English females are usually pretty, up to the age of twenty, at least. Consequently, at this period of life, there are few whom an elaborate attire does not injure; a simple white dress, or a rose-bud in the hair, is frequently all that is required; and more only spoils that combination of youthfulness, grace, and modesty which it should be the highest ambition of the girl to attain: because, if she did but know it, it is her highest charm. Instead of this, however, we see gay females, scarcely freed from the nursery, wearing enormous jewelled ear-drops, or sporting on the finger, a diamond ring as large as a sixpence. Sometimes, too, ladies pretending to be well-bred, descend to receive a morning visitor of their own sex, glittering like a jeweller's case, with costly gems. In all this, we repeat, there is neither refinement nor elegance, but simply vulgar ostentation. Female dress has ceased to be a means of beautifying the person or displaying the wearer's taste, and has become instead, a mere brag of the husband's or father's wealth.

92-To Clear a Well of Foul Air. H. C.-Put a quart or two of unslacked lime into a bucket, and before lowering it into the well, put a suffieient quantity of water on the lime to slack it; then let it down to the water, but not so as to go into it. In a few minutes the well will be cleared of foul air, the slacking lime either taking up the noxious air or forcing it out of the well.

93-Robbing Peter to pay Paul. R. Y.-In the time of Edward VI. much of the lands of St. Peter, at Westminster, were seized by his majesty's ministers and courtiers; but in order to reconcile the people to the robbery, they allowed a portion of the land to be appropriated towards the repairs of St. Paul's church-hence the phrase, "robbing Peter to pay Paul."

94-To Ventilate a Stable. M. F.-To ventilate a stable generally, there must be two things. First, an aperture for the escape of the tainted air, colder than the stable, which will of itself pull out the impure air in the shape of a current : but, to render this complete, an opening near the ground should also be made, to drive off the carbonate acid or heavy gas, and to supply the vacancy its removal will create.

95-Trunks. M. O.-The inconvenience is now very easily obviated, trunks being manufactured in such a shape as to be small or large, Pat the pleasure of the traveller, and the quantity of articles he may wish to carry with him. The principle is very simple. The trunk is of two : independent parts, without hinges; one sliding over the other, and fastened with straps and padlocks. Of course its size will depend entirely on the quantity it contains.

96-Good Sense and Good Nature. R.O.-Good sense and good nature are never separated, though the ignorant world has thought otherwise. Good nature, by which we mean beneficence and candour, is the product of light reason; which of necessity will give allowance to the failings of others, by considering that there is nothing perfect in mankind; and by distinguishing that which comes nearest to excellency, though not absolutely free from faults, will certainly produce a candour in the judge.

97-Think. G. M. Thought engenders thought. Place one idea upon paper-another will follow it, and still another, until you have written a page. You cannot fathom your mind; there is a well of thought there which has no bottom. The more you draw from it, the more clear and plentiful it will be. If you neglect to think yourself, and use other people's thoughts, giving them utterance only, you will never know what you are capable of. At first your ideas may come in lumps-homely and shapeless; but no matter, time and perseverance will arrange and refine them. Learn to think, and you will learn to write-the more you think, the better . you will express your ideas.

with an abundance of soft, glossy hair, feeling like a bed of moss-and hence is ever termed a mossy skin. But a thick-set, hard, short hair, always handles hard, and indicates a hard feeder. 99-Isinglass. G. M.-Isinglass is a preparation formerly made only from the great sturgeon; but is now obtained from the entrails of most other fishes. When good, it consists almost wholly of pure gelatine, or glue, which is nutritious. It is free from taste and smell, and is soluble in warm water. Being nothing more than the membraneous parts of fishes, it can probably be made from the fish on the coasts in this country. The sounds or air-bladders of fresh water fish are generally preserved for this purpose. And it is best made in the warm season. It is sometimes used as a medicine; but boiled in milk it forms a nutritious jelly, and is the subcoffee, vinous liquors, and cider. stance of blancmange. It is also used for refining

100-The Value of Five Minutes. C. C.-You say, if you waste five minutes, it is not much; but probably if you waste five minutes yourself you lead some one else to waste five minutes, and that makes ten. If a third follow your example,

that makes a quarter of an hour. Now if there and if every one wasted five minutes in a day, were one hundred and eighty of you together, what would it come to? Why, it would be fifteen hours; and fifteen hours a day would be ninety and would give a year of four hundred days. "Do hours-about eight days working time in a week; you think such waste as that could be borne by any establishment? Now go and think how fast five minutes can be multiplied.

101-The Study of History. P. T.-The study of history is salutary to the young mind. To know what has been done in all countries, since man was placed upon the earth, is a laudable curiosity, and an ennobling pursuit. To form a correct opinion of the characters thus presented us, affords useful exercise to the judgment. Those who have delighted only to shed blood, and to build their fame on the misery of mankind, should not be admired though the world may pronounce them heroes. In reading of the truly wise and good, we should strive to imbibe their spirit and tread in their steps. The highest end of knowledge is to advance in goodness and piety, and to make the heart and life more acceptable to God.

103-Country Excursions. T.C.--There is truth and good sense in what you say, and we think further more that a short trip into the country, even for a single day, is exceedingly beneficial,

by diverting the mind from the ordinary objects of contemplation, and removing from it, for a time, that load of anxious cares, which, if suffered too long to remain, destroys its elasticity. At least once a year, a jaunt of a week or two should if possible be taken by every one; the communications by land and water to every part of the Country are now so abundant and economical that there are few, indeed, who could not afford it, if they wished; in the end, such expenditure would probably be the means of saving a larger sum, by improving the health, and enabling men to engage in the various occupations of life with greater energy.

104-What is requisite to the Formation of Moss? A. F.-In order that moss may be renovated, when dug, it is requisite that the pits be left full of water; that they be not too large nor deep, and that the water in them be stagnant. It appears that similar requisites are necessary to the original formation of that substance, either from ligneous or aquatic plants. Moisture seems to be absolutely requisite. Without it no moss is formed of these materials. Let a congeries of ligneous or aquatic plants be formed, however great that may be, if left dry, or not immersed in water, it never will be converted into peat. Such a mass indeed will, even in this case undergo certain chemical changes, and form new combinations, but the result will be different from that substance. When exposed to the influences of the atmosphere, it will undergo the putrid fermentation, and be reduced to vegetable mould. In this form it will be destitute of the distinguishing qualities of moss, inflammability, tenacity, and others.

105-Thin Soles. S.R.-We have named them before, and we never see a summer bird that has lingered late in the autumn, leaving its timid footprint in the first fall of snow, but it reminds us of that delicate fair one, in light thin slippers, on a cold icy pavement. The bird, however, can escape to a warmer clime, and in the spring it can re-appear; but the lady is on that journey from which there is no return. The music of the bird may again gladden its native tree; but her voice will not again cheer the hearth of her home. The badges of sorrow and the slowly returning hearse will soon tell what that slipper has done. It has taken from us in the bloom of life one that we loved, but would not listen to the voice of admonition. Her bright days are now past; the light of her countenance has fled, and the night of the grave curtains the deep couch of her repose. But a voice speaks tenderly from that grave to those whom she has left behind; it whispers the admonition which she disregarded. Shall that whisper not be heard? It is a sister's voice that pleads.

106-Planting Fruit Trees for Others. F. F.We will tell you what we think a simple and easy way of leaving something for the benefit of your fellow creatures when you are gone. The Spaniards have a maxim, that a man is ungrateful to the past generation that planted the trees from which he eats fruit, and deals unjustly towards the next generation, unless he plants the seed, that it may furnish food for those who come after him. Thus, when a son of Spain eats a peach or pear by the roadside, wherever he is, he digs a hole in the ground with his foot, and covers the seed. Consequently, all over Spain, by the roadsides and

elsewhere, fruit in great abundance tempts the taste, and is ever free. Let this practice be imitated in our country, and the weary wanderer will be blest, and will bless the hand that ministered to this comfort and joy. We are bound to leave the world as good or better than we found it, and he is a selfish churl who basks under the shadow, and eats the fruit of trees which other hands have planted, if he will not also plant trees which shall yield fruit to coming generations.

107-Activity and Energy. M. R.-Want of energy is a great and common cause of the want of domestic comfort. As the best laid fire can give no heat and cook no food, unless it is lighted, so the clearest ideas and purest intentions will produce no corresponding actions without that energy which gives power to all that is of value, which is, as it were, the very life of life, and which is never more necessary or available than in the mistress and mother of a family. Those who have it not, and many are constitutionally destitute of it, would do wel! to inquire of their experience and their conscience, what compensating virtues they can bring into the marriage state, to justify them in entering on its duties without that which is so essential to their performance. They should consider that the pretty face and graceful languor, which, as it is often especially attractive to the most impetuous of the other sex, gained them ardent lovers, wil not enable them to satisfy the innumerable requisitions, and secure the social happiness of the fidgetty and exacting husbands, into which characters ardent and impetuous lovers are generally transformed.

108-Places of Worship in England and Wales. W. B.-The whole number of Churches and Chapels in England and Wales, is computed to be 28,290. Of these, the Established Church has 14,000, the Presbyterians 150, the Independents 2,572, the Baptists 1,943, the Wesleyan Connexion 4,450, the Wesleyan New Connexion 281, the Primitive Methodists 1,662, the Wesleyan Methodist Association 322, Bible Christians 415, the Methodists 778, Lady Huntingdon's Connexion 30, the Unitarians 260, the Quakers 330, various minor Protestant sects 500, Roman Catholics 697. According to this statement, it appears that places of worship belonging to Protestants are 97.89 per cent., and those belonging to Roman Catholics 2.11 per cent. of the whole number, and that of the former, a fraction more than half (viz. 50-55) belong to the Established Church, the rest to Protestant Dissenters. The increase of the churches and chapels of the Established Church, for the last quarter of a century, is 2,175, or 18-39 per cent.; the increase of the Independents has been 732, or 39-78 per cent.; the Baptists 742, or 61.77 per cent.; the Methodists 3,997, or 102-19 per cent.; the Roman Catholics 222, or 59-20. The number of Protestant places of worship which have been built since 1831, as compared with the Roman Catholic places of worship which have been built since 1826, is as 34 to 1. In addition to the above mentioned churches and chapels, which are exclusively devoted to purposes of Christian worship. there are 7,474 "stations," that is to say, schools. or hired rooms, in which prayer meetings are held, and the gospel is preached by evangelical Dissenters.