on railroads doing a very extensive business, and where of course the engines are powerful and the trains large, the expenses per mile run are greater than on roads where the trade and travel are light.

TRAFFIC OF THE THE ERIE AND CENTRAL RAILROADS IN 1854 AND 1855. The returns of the New York Central and the Erie Railroads for the financial year of the Companies, which corresponds with the official railroad year of the State of New York, are complete, and exhibit the following result :—

MORRIS'S METHOD OF STEERING IRON SHIPS BY COMPASS.

The Boston Atlas says that Captain Griffith Morris, of the steamer R. B. Forbes, has discovered how to detect and measure the local attraction in any ship, and how to overcome it with absolute correctness, so that the compass may be relied upon under all circumstances. After ten years of patient experiment in an iron vessel, he has become thoroughly conversant with the influences which affect the compass, and during the past six years the steamer which he commands, and which is of iron, has been run by compasses adjusted by him, and they have never varied, even the eighth of a point, during the whole of that time. The captains of the steamers Joseph Whitney, William Jenkins, and Palmetto-the two first of which trade to Baltimore, and the last to Philadelphia-bear testimony to the value of Captain Morris's discovery, for he has adjusted all their compasses. In the passages between these ports and Boston, these vessels steer every point of the compass, and consequently any deviation from the chart courses by their compasses will be readily detected. Before Captain Morris adjusted their compasses, they were so much affected by local attraction as to be almost worthless.

BROOKLYN CITY RAILROAD COMPANY.

A. P. STANTON, the efficient President of this company, in reply to a note from Messrs. E. Whitehead, Son & Morrison, bankers and brokers, of New York, states that the "capital of the Brooklyn City Railroad Company is fixed, by an act of the last Legislature, at one million dollars ($1,000,000,) divided into 100,000 shares of $10 each. The amount paid in on the capital stock is $902,660.

"The number of shares of full stock issued is 80,532; the number of shares of scrip stock issued, 19,468-on which 50 per cent is paid.

"The number of miles of road built is about 18 of double track, or 36 single track, The company own 115 cars and 700 horses; also 5 stations, comprising some 80 lots of land, with barns, stables, car houses, repairing and blacksmiths' shops, &c. "The company owe no debts, have given no bonds, nor incurred any liabilities."

JOURNAL OF MINING AND MANUFACTURES.

ORIGIN OF WIRE ROPE: ITS QUALITIES AND ECONOMY.

At the British Association, Mr. Andrew Smith, C. E., of London, (who is the patentee of the wire rope,) read a paper on "Wire Rope: its various Manipulations and Appliances; its Commercial Value and National Economy." Amongst those manufactures to which might be given the appellation of "things of the day," was the invention of wire rope, and so he claimed a few moments of their valuable time. Few manufactures were entitled to more of their consideration than the manufacture of wire rope as a substitute for hemp.

It was in the year 1828 that the author of the paper first applied wire rope as a substitute for catgut, in aid of another invention of his for "metallic shutters." The rats had destroyed the strength of the catgut line by eating it; the position of the sheave or pully was so placed and made so narrow in the groove, that none but a small substance could be applied to that particular case. Necessity, after all, was the mother of this invention. Time rolled on, and the author anxiously watched the working of this experimental metallic cord; four years were spent in experimenting, in order to test its strength in comparison with hempen rope and chain, as regarded weight, size, strength, price, durability, and economy. This required time, patience, and a heavy outlay of capital. On the 12th of January, 1835, the first patent was obtained by Mr. Smith, and in 1839 he had obtained his fourth patent. At this time the wire rope had been applied to a great many purposes, but more particularly for the standing rigging of ships, both in the navy and the merchant service. In the year 1841 other makers came into the field, and the manufacture has increased much since that time in various profitable appliances-from the working of time-pieces to the working of intelligence through the agency of the submarine telegraph wire rope cable.

He exhibited two specimens, which he said formed the subject of his fifth and last patent for machinery for manufacturing submarine cables and wire ropes generally. In practice, they were found efficient in their operations, producing great facility in the manufacture, with very little friction in the rubbing and bearing parts. A tabular scale which he produced showed, he said, the utility and economy of wire rope as applied for standing rigging in the navy; from this it also appeared that at the time the estimate was made, a saving might be effected of £28,582 on £114,330, being more than one-fourth. This was at a time when the price of hemp was less than half its present price, it being then only £40 per ton, whilst it was now nearly £30; and the rope was then nearly half as dear again as at the present time, it being then £60 per ton, and now only £40.

Mr. Smith concluded by exhibiting and describing two models-one showing the applicability of the wire rope for standing rigging, and the other for mining purposes.

WHITENING PINS AND NEEDLES MADE OF IRON AND STEEL.

The subjoined account of the process of manufacturing and whitening pins and needles, is translated from the Bulletin de la Societie D'Encouragement :—

"It is well known that pins made of brass wire are deficient of strength and elasticity, and accordingly they have been replaced by pins made of iron or steel; but it is necessary to tin them over. This operation, however, cannot be performed equally

well with iron as with brass; the pins have a rough, uneven surface, which renders them inconvenient to use, as they are liable to tear the cloth.

"Messrs. Vantillard and Leblond, wishing to avoid this defect, formed the idea of first covering the iron with a thin coating of copper or other metal having a greater affinity for tin than iron has; but in order that this result should be satisfactorily attained, it is necessary to polish and pickle the pins before coppering them.

"The above-named manufacturers have most ingeniously effected the polishing, the pickling, and the coppering, by one single operation. To treat, for example, 2 kilogrammes (a little more than 4 lbs. 64 oz.,) 4 litres (about 7 pints) of water, 300 grammes (10 ounces drams avoirdupois, by weight,) of oil of vitriol, 30 grammes (15 ounces 13 grains avoirdupois) of salt of tin, 40 grammes (1 ounce 4 drams 17 grains) of crystalized sulphate of zinc-white copperas—and 7 grammes (about 108 grains avoirdupois) of sulphate of copper, are mixed together; this mixture is allowed to dissolve during twenty-four hours. The bath being thus prepared, it is to be introduced into a barrel of wood, made pitcher-like, and mounted upon an axis. Into this barrel-which has a capacity of about 35 pints-the pins are now to be put; it is then turned rapidly during half an hour, when the pins will be found to have received a pickling, a polishing, and a slight coppering. After the lapse of this time, 20 grammes (about 10 drams 8 grains avoirdupois) of sulphate of copper, in crystals, (blue stone) are to be added, and the barrel again turned during ten minutes, when a solid coppering will be effected, with a finely-polished surface. This done, the liquid in the barrel is to be decanted off, and may be used repeatedly for the same purpose; the pins are washed in cold water, then put in a tray containing a hot solution of soap, and agitated for about two minutes. The soap lye is decanted off, and the pins put into a bag with some fine sawdust and shaken, by which means the coppered surface assumes a brilliant appearance. The pins thus prepared may be tinned in the ordinary way. The articles made in this way are far more beautiful and useful than those made in the ordinary way.

"This process is the more deserving of attention at present, quite independent of the superior quality of the pins, in consequence of the exceedingly high price of brass wire."

SUPERIORITY OF AMERICAN IRON.

No man, says Mr. Henderson, of the Buffalo Democracy, of any experience in the working of the useful metals, will deny that our iron is better than the British. On the Reading Road, where careful examinations have been recorded, and with a tonnage unsurpassed by any railroad on the globe, ZERAH COLBURN says it is found that American iron wears out but from one-third to one-half as fast as English iron. The average of six years' wear of 60 lb. English rail was above 11 per cent annually. The average of four years' wear of the "Erie" (English) pattern was 16 per cent annually. Contrast with this the wear, in the same track, of the Phoenix and Danville rails. The rails of Reeves, Buck & Co., of Phoenixville, wore at the rate of 5 per cent a year for six years. The Montour or Danville rails at the rate of nearly 5 per cent for four years.

Whatever may be the quality of a rail, the Reading Road will prove its durability. No other test is needed-where fifteen millions of tons of freight and cars are passed over a road in the space of six years. If a rail is laminated, has soft spots, or is made inferior in any respect, it is bound to show itself, inside out, in a five years' test on the Reading Road.

BAR IRON. In all rolled iron the same general superiority of American is observ41

VOL. XXXIII.-NO. v.

able. Mr. Colburn cites the Juniata, the Sharon, the Tredegar, and other American charcoal irons against the Lowmoor, Bowling, Kirkstall, Cable, and other English irons -while, also, our general marks of anthracite iron are superior to ordinary English "refined" iron. For the same reasons that our rails are better, our bars are also better.

PIG IRON. There is not now any difference to speak of in the general market of Scotch pig and American No. 1 charcoal foundry pig. The American pig is both harder and tougher. Some of the leading locomotive builders will use no other than American, on account of its superior hardness, for cylinders, driving-wheels, etc. For car-wheels, where the best iron is indispensable, American pig is used, we believe, exclusively.

STEEL. The Adirondack Steel Company have made steel in Jersey City equal to any of English manufacture. We must, however, thoroughly get rid of foreign iron before we can expect to dispense with foreign steel.

THE ESSENCE OF COAL A SUBSTITUTE FOR OIL OF TURPENTINE. According to the Bulletin de la Societe d'Encouragement, M. Pelouze, the son of the distinguished chemist of that name, proposes to use an oily fluid consisting of a mixture of carbo-hydrogens, especially of benzoine, &c., as a substitute for oil of turpentine in painting. He obtains this fluid, which boils from 100° to 168° Centigrade, by the distillation of cannel coal by means of sur heated steam. This liquid is colorless, very fluid, and completely volatile, leaving no stain upon paper, and is not altered by exposure to the light. It has a penetrating smell, which reminds one of common coal gas; but this entirely disappears when it has evaporated. A number of comparative experiments have been made, with the object of comparing it with oil of turpentine, by a committee of the Societe d'Encouragement of Paris, all of which have resulted in showing that walls, wood-work, &c., painted with the essence of coal, dried far more rapidly, and the smell disappeared sooner, than where essence of turpentine was employed.

For example, in one case where the coal essence and oil of turpentine were respectively mixed with three times their volume of oil, and employed under exactly similar circumstances, the smell of the essence of coal was completely dissipated at the end of three days, while that part painted with the turpentine mixture had still a strong smell, and was not completely dry. The introduction of such an oil would be of great importance, not only in a commercial point of view, but in a hygienic one also.

NEW YORK HATS.

A cotemporary, in descanting upon hats made somewhere "down East," says there is something magical in a new hat. The gloss or sheen thereof seems to yield new cheerfulness to the visage of the wearer. It appears to shed a smile upon his lip— gives a smirk to his cheek-and superadded luster to his eye. Commend us to a new chapeau. Your hat of antiquity has always something melancholy and suspicious about it; it awakens sympathy for the unfortunate man who stands under the article, and leads to irresistible conclusions that he has seen better days. History has its accounts of hats, and of their wearers, too numerous to mention. The chapeaux bras, of great civic and military people, are as familiar to the world as was Napoleon's grey surtout to his soldiers. Whatever some people may imagine, there is no satisfaction -no positive enjoyment-in your real old hat. It palls, after a while, makes the forehead greasy, and resolves itself into a slouch that is unseemly to see. The disgrace of an ancient hat has driven many a man to despair. Who does not recollect

the nameless and venerable stranger, on a promontory near New York, who, in the pathetic words of the song

"All wildly looked-put on his old hat

Then madly rushed from Weekawk's brow,"

Thus burying his head and its covering in the dark waters of the Hudson. Undoubtedly it was the want of means to get a new envelope for his sconce, which impelled Such virtue is in a new hat-such is the that unhappy person to play Sam Patch.

misery to be without one.

There is a moral in this chapter. It serves as a prolegomenon, which heralds the way to some practical observations, and without further preliminaries, we may as well say, in this place, that the hats made in New York are unsurpassed in beauty and excellence either at home or abroad. As an illustration, we may mention the fact that an American gentleman in London recently dropped into the establishment of a manufacturer of hats, and while his hat was being brushed the manufacturer took occasion to remark:-"That, sir, is an American hat; we can't make such in London-so light, so elegant. Your countrymen, who are behind the Old World in the fine arts, seem to have transformed the useful into the fine." The hat which elicited this eulogium was from the manufactory of JoHN N. GENIN, of Broadway, New York.

ALCOHOL FROM BEET-ROOT.

It has already been stated in foreign journals and in the Merchants' Magazine that the distillation of alcohol from beet-root has been commenced on rather an extensive scale. The apparatus employed in the operation consists:-1. Of a distillery apparatus placed on a brick furnace. This costs 2,000 francs. 1. Of four wooden vats for fermentation, costing 480 francs. 3. Of six vats for maceration, 360 francs. 4. Of a cutter, 150 francs. 5. Of pipes, cocks, and various utensils, 2,010 francs; total, 5,000 francs. With this apparatus 2,250 kilogrammes of beet-root are operated on daily, and 180 litres (474 gallons) of alcohol and 1,800 kilogrammes of residue are obtained from them. The expense per day may be thus set down:--2,250 kilogrammes of inbeet root at 16 francs the 1,000 kilogrammes, 36 francs; labor and fuel, 10 francs; terest of capital at 10 per cent, 2 francs 50 centimes; repairs, 1 franc 50 centimes; total, 50 francs. The 180 litres of alcohol obtained from the beet-root are at 50 deg. and at the present rate of that article (95 francs the hectolitre) are worth 171 francs, The profit is consequently 121 francs a day. The residue of the beet-root operated on is taken hot from the vats and placed in other vats, when it is left to ferment for twenty-four or thirty hours. It is then mixed with small straw or hay chopped up, and is given to cattle; they eat it greedily, as the process does not deprive it of its nutritious qualities.

HOW LAGER BIER IS MADE.

An interesting lager bier trial came off in Petersburg, Virginia, recently, in which lager bier statistics were brought out on oath, and may, therefore be believed. Mr. Solomon Keyser was a defendant, and was charged with keeping a disorderly bier saloon. A very respectable German witness in the case defined what lager bier was. He said it was manufactured of malt and hops, and was made bitter by throwing an extra amount of the latter in-that was bier. This compound was placed in a barrel lined with a casing of rosin, and was laid in a cellar, from which laying in store was derived the word lager. This was lager bier, or "stock ale." The witness thought it might burst a man, but would not make him drunk. He had known German ladies in New York and Philadelphia to put seventeen to twenty glasses (pints) under their waistbands in one day, and never feel the effects.