LAKES AND CANALS.

Our Canadian neighbors have, with admirable foresight, accomplished a line of artificial navigation, so as to give a course of nearly 2,500 miles for small steamers or propellers. The capacity of the American lakes for internal navigation is shown in the following table, showing the length and breadth in miles, the depth of each in feet, the elevation of each above the sea level, and the area of each in square miles :

The Canadian Government has completed five canals, with a uniform depth of

By means, therefore, of these internal improvements of Canada, vessels drawing ten feet can be taken from Fond du Lac, on Lake Superior, to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, a distance of twenty-two hundred miles.

RAILROAD BUILDING IN RUSSIA.

A correspondent of Le Nord under date of St. Petersburg, September 14, 1858, states:-

To-day subscriptions for the bonds of the great railroad company began to come in. There was a crowd; six cashiers were hardly able to count and receive the subscribers' deposits. For each bond, a tenth of the nominal capital, or 50 roubles, must be paid down. As it is expected that the amount subscribed will be much greater than the capital required by the company, it is announced that the deposits for all the bonds not delivered will be restored.

It is said that on this, the first day, seven million roubles' worth of bonds were signed. The subscription is to remain open for ten days, and it is likely that more than one hundred million roubles will be subscribed during that time, for the number of subscribers usually increase during the last days. As the company desires but thirty-five millions, the bonds will evidently command high premiums in the market after the first day. This premium, like that for shares, will be more considerable for the bonds delivered than for the promises to deliver, (promesses d'obligations.)

A large proportion of the sales made to-day were upon speculation. The distribution among the individual proprietors is to be made subsequently. Hence, while the speculator who buys a promise to deliver, confines his speculation to

the premium which he can obtain by a subsequent sale, the holder of a bond entirely free will derive from it a much more considerable profit.

The holder of a promesse d'obligation by freeing it, is allowed a discount of 3 per cent per annum, something like 8 or 9 roubles a bond. By sending it then to Paris, for instance, to negotiate it there, (which is easily done, since the bonds will be indorsed 500 roubles, 2,000 francs, 80 pounds sterling, 536 thalers, and 944 Dutch florins, to facilitate transactions)-by selling there the bond merely at par, with no premium, and having the proceeds put into a draft upon St. Petersburg, the speculator will gain from 5 to 7 per cent, or 25 to 35 roubles. may therefore expect soon to see in the Paris market bonds delivered at St. Petersburg. On the other hand, it will naturally follow in course of time that the market price of these bonds in Paris will be lower than that which they will command here.

You

Now that we are speaking of railroads, let me say that the line from St. Petersburg to Peterhof is about to have a branch to Krasnoe-Szelo, the place were the camp of the Imperial Guard is pitched every summer, and where all the reviews take place. There will be no great amount of travel in winter, but in summer there will probably be not a little, without reckoning the employment of the road by the government for the transportation of troops, already a source of revenue to the main line from Peterhof. The grant is made, like that of the Peterhof road, in the name of the Baron Stieglitz.

JOURNAL OF MINING, MANUFACTURES, AND ART.

THE RELATIONS OF SCIENCE TO MODERN CIVILIZATION.

Whatever will best meet the demands of comfort and refinement by increasing the productive power of labor, by diminishing the cost of raw material, by adapting it to the greatest and widest utility, by quickening circulation and facilitating exchange, must necessarily advance civilization.

Let us see if science meets this demand. It has in some way contributed to every valuable process of modern industry. Take for example the single article of cotton; chemistry selects and prepares the soil; geology points out the hidden places of iron, lead, and carbon; chemistry, by the safety lamp, prevents explosions in coal mines, and dictates the most economical process of manufacturing raw materials into machinery; mechanical philosophy directs the construction of the cotton gin, which separates the filaments from the seeds; of the jenny, which spins them into threads; and of the power-loom, which weaves them. The process of bleaching, which formerly required five thousand hours, is now as thoroughly effected in one. The mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms pay tribute of their richest dyes; and the arts of design, engraving, and mechanics combined, tint the new-made fabric at the rate of two thousand yards per hour. Aided by chemistry, machinery metamorphoses the rags into paper, and stamps, with the symbols of thought, fifty newspapers per second.

Thus, in six short months from the planting of the cotton seed, the paper product, covered with news of the latest discoveries, improvements, controversies, hostilities, sentiment, and song, may be vivifying, energizing, and harmonizing the entire mind of the world.

We read our obligations to mathematics in the stupendous structures which span the briny flood of Menai, and the fathomless abyss of Niagara. We have not lost the lesson in the fall of the suspension-bridge of Rochester.

Of the living force which is now absorbed in productive work, nine-tenths are generated in the water-wheel and the engine. Man's puny arm is tasked but for the remaining tenth, necessary to accomplish the present triumphs of industry. Science has shown him that mind is the seat of all power-has taught him division of labor-has enabled him to command and harmonize the powers of antagonistic forces--it has elevated him from the drudge to the superintendent― has raised him from muscular toil to the evermore productive, ennobling, and refining effort of mind. The fabled spear of Holus had not so potent control of the elements, as, in the hand of man, has the lever. He touches it-a thousand spindles whirl, and shuttles fly, animated by the transmitted force of gravity. He springs the valve, and the steaming Pegasus whirls his articulated train across the landscape at a speed of fifty miles per hour.

The intelligent observer sees the potency of science in the indispensable utility and elevating influence of every appliance of modern civilization--in the gas, which drives crime from the midnight street-in the supplies of water, which flow through the iron arteries of our towns-in the window, which admits the light, and repels the tempest-in the retort, which reveals the secrets of alchemy-in the crystal edifices which in London, Paris, and New York, rear their princely domes, sacred to industry and art-in the microscope that reveals the complex and symmetrical structure of the animalculi-in the artillery of astronomy, which brings the denizens of infinite space within the sphere of human observation.

Political economy has brought to light those fundamental truths which regulate exchange-has disabused the civilized nations of the idea that individual or national wealth could result only from another's loss-has changed commerce from a source of hostility into a bond of peace.

Modern civilization is vigorous, radiant, all aglow under the genial influence of a universally extended commercial intercourse. Not only are the products of the material world thus brought under the laws of supply and demand, but a commerce of ideas exists to an extent hitherto unknown, vivifying humanity to the remotest parts of the globe.

But how were obtained the stupendous agencies requisite to carry on this gigantic exchange? What has enabled man thus to extend his dominion over the inanimate forces-to give them muscles of steel, and doom them to perpetual service? Why, in the last half century, have burst forth such great revolutions in agriculture, manufactures, commerce, literature, and art? How has material and immaterial nature thus suddenly a ten-fold capacity to administer to the convenience, taste, physical and mental well being of man? Whence the authority to appoint the goddess of the tides an omnipresent pilot of the deep-to arrest the thunderbolt in its path--to bid it mount the magic wire--dart athwart the land-plunge beneath the sea, and resume its terrene flight on foreign shores, an universal courier? What, we ask, has enabled the civilized nations of to-day thus to realize results more stupendous, magnificent, glorious, than imagination in its loftiest flights has ever before embodied? We have but to turn to the studies which have occupied the silent thoughts of scientific minds of the last three centuries for an answer.

When man has accumulated facts, and in studying their relations, abandons those speculations which transcend the limits of his capacity; when he places himself in harmony with the forces employed by his Creator, then his inquiries

are practical-science becomes a fit handmaid of Christianity in extending civilization, in purifying and developing the human mind, and in spreading over the world the blessings of industry and peace.

DIAMOND CUTTING.

By cutting, the peculiar brilliancy of the diamond is brought out, and its value fixed. Then the jeweler adds new beauty by tasteful setting. His skillful combination of various kinds of precious stones, so that the one may impart splendor to the other, makes the starry rays of the diamond sparkle with glory in the tiara, brooch, or necklace. During the last twenty years great progress has been made in the art of setting, of which splendid exhibitions were exhibited both at the London and Paris exhibitions. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds, are now formed into anemones, roses, carnations, tuilps, convolvuli, lilies, and other flowers. Probably, the idea originated with the glory which is seen, early on a summer morning, when the rising sun shines on the dewy flowers. The revolution in France, at the end of the last century, nearly ruined the jewelers of Paris, and for a time gave a check to improvement. Under the imperial government of Napoleon I., some progress was again made, but the art only began to flourish after the restoration. At first, they worked with stones of the second class, such as topazes, amethysts, and aigue-marines, with which trinkets of more appearance than value could be made. Afterwards, it was found that by imitating flowers, the number of precious stones, in proportion to the size of the jewel, could be reduced without injuring the effect; while diamonds of less purity, such as those of Bahia, could be more freely used. The practice of setting diamonds in silver, and rubies in gold, so as to impart an apparent increase of size to the one, and splendor of color to the other, became more general; and the most beautiful designs have been wrought out with the greatest neatness and taste. At no period in the history of the world have so fine specimens of the jeweler's art been produced as during the present century by the artists of London and Paris.

MACHINE-MADE WATCHES.

It is not more than twenty years since clocks were exclusively furnished to us by European countries, and their manufacture here, with very few exceptions, was almost unknown Now, however, they are daily manufactured here by thousands, through the instrumentality of machinery, which enables them to be constructed not only in a much superior and correct manner, but at one-twentieth the price originally demanded for them when manufactured by manual labor. The most ingenious machinery is now in operation for this purpose. The manufacture of watches is also now carried on upon the same principle, and by somewhat analogous machinery to that employed for the manufacture of clocks. Dies of the most exquisitely-delicate formation are employed for cutting the various wheels, as well as other intricate parts, and lathes and polishing-wheels for reducing the pivot-jewels to the proper size, and giving them the proper finish. And while the simplicity observed in the construction of the watch lessens its liability to stop or otherwise get out of order, any cause of disarrangement is more easily detected.

MINES AND FACTORIES OF PRUSSIA.

From official sources we gather that the entire mineral (iron) production of Prussia amounted last year to 18,064,326 cwt., being an increase of 1,030,490 cwt. compared with the figures of the year preceding. The production of cast iron rose from 7,072,768 to 7,721,833 cwt., of iron in bars from 5,333,730 to 5,494,100 cwt., of steel from 440,352 to 449,158 cwt., of zinc from 766,521 to 872,221 cwt., of gold and silver from 55,052 to 59,025 marks, (a mark, 8 ounces,) of lead from 245,719 to 265,678 cwt., of vitriol from 42,694 to 47,406 cwt., whereas copper experienced a decline of from 34,251 to 31,946 cwt., and the total value of the metals produced had fallen from 79,598,610 to 74,457,965 thalers. The number of laborers employed in the mines had increased to 59,198, being an excess of 1,000 against the previous year. At present Berlin is the great emporium of Germany for engine building, machinery, and iron works of every description. Orders are received not only from all parts of the interior, but also from abroad, especially from Russia, where everything appertaining to railways is now in great demand. The machine building factories of Berlin may be divided into two classes, the larger and the smaller establishments. The more extensive of them construct locomotives, steam engines, machinery for miners and furnaces, tubular bridges, iron steamers, and so forth; those of the second class furnish iron pipes for gas and water works, apparatus for heating greenhouses, saloons, &c., and many other articles. In spite of the flourishing state of our engine building trade, several establishments, particularly the smaller ones, suffered not a little from the effects of the crisis, but unlike most other branches of industry they soon recovered from the shock, and are now in full employment again. In a factory for building railway cars and wagons, belonging formerly to Herr Pflug, which has been purchased by a joint-stock company, no less than 3,702 workmen are engaged, so that, including the members of their families, 10,892 persons are maintained by this single establishment. The extensive works that owe their origin to the late John Frederick Borsig, I have adverted to in a former letter. Of the iron foundries-fifteen in number--which are mostly connected with machine building establishments, one belongs to government, and fourteen to private persons. In 1857 the royal iron foundry produced 29,623 hundred weight of cast iron articles, to the value of 168,253 thalers, and employed 176 workmen, whose families numbered 394 individuals. At the private foundries the castings amounted to 360,983 hundred weight, the value being 1,775,602 thalers, and occupying 740 workmen, whose families comprise 2,180 members. These figures will give some idea of the scale on which this branch of industry is carried on in our capital, and which must be considered very creditable to the enterprise of its inhabitants, when it is recollected that twenty-five years ago there was hardly a single private factory of the kind in all Berlin.

STRUCTURE OF ANTHRACITE COAL.

It has been ascertained that anthracite coal is susceptible of division into very thin laminæ, all of which, examined under the microscope, give evidence of their vegetable origin. During combustion in an ordinary coal fire the cinders which fly off are very good for these examinations; they easily split into thin layers and show vegetable tissues of various kinds. Even completely decarbonized coal shows this origin. The little white spots are the vessels. It is more difficult