ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VIII, Issue 660, 29 November 1851, Page 3

ENGLISH EXTRACTS.

The new street, called Victoria-street, Pimlico, which connects the new palaces with each other—Buckingham palace and the Parliamentary palace at Westminster—will be opened on the Ist August, probably in the Royal presence. A most favourable account of the Canterbury eclony, New Zealand, was read at a meeting of t„e Association on the 7th, when a report from Mr. Godley, containing nearly all that could be wished, was read. A number of young women have departed on board the Northumberland, for one of the Australian colonies, under the patronage of the Society at the head of which is Mr. Sidney Herbert. The arrival of emigrants at New York exceeds an average of one thousand per day. The valuable sinecure office of Lieutenant Governor of the Tower has become vacant by the death of General John Sullivan Wood. The nephew of an Irish earl is one of the unsuccessful candidates for the situation of master of the Cashel workhouse. The fashionable world has been in a state of high excitement in consequence of the sudden separation of the wealthy Lord Ward and his young bride. I: is not six weeks since Lord Ward married Miss De Burgh, the daughter of Mr. Hubert de Burgh, and it is not quite a fortnight since the lady returned to her parents, and the noble lord set off for the continent. The lady has with her the sympathy of the public, and the noble lord is also iuiiiicd to pity ;~for if all be true that is said on the subject, it is his misfortune

rather than his fault that this untoward separation has become necessary. Origin of Mr. Paxton.—Some thirty years ago a young man, a gardener, who worked ror izs. a-weeK at a garden near the Duke of Devonshire’s villa at Chiswick, five miles west of Hyde-park, said or did something which offended the master-gardener and was turned off. He was standing unemployed one day near the Duke’s garden gate. His Grace in passing spoke to him, entered into familiar conversation, ascertained that he was a journeyman gardener out of work, and walking in the garden, the young man with him, he was pleased with his intelligence and manners. The Duke asked him to.call at Devon-shire-house the next day, and the young man did, and the call resulted in his being sent down to Chatsworth in Derbyshire. There he soon made way, and reached as a practical and scientific gardener the very head of his profession, which he had long maintained before he was known to the world as Mr. Paxton, the designer of the Crystal Palace. — ManChester Examiner. Novel Experiment.— Explosion at Thirty miles range.—On Wednesday, a series of extraordinary experiments were per- - formed at the Gutta Percha Company’s works, Wharf-road, City-road, calculated to show the. immense distance or long range at which an explosion can be produced by the galvanic battery, by which the electric spark is propelled along copper wires, insulated by a covering of gutta percha, of a similar construction to that used for the submarine telegraph. Mueh to the surprise of the spectators, the instantaneous ignition was produced through a length of no less than thirty miles of wire. The respective coils forming this length being 500 to 700 yards each, were immersed in the waters of the Regent’s canal, and attached to a barge moored off the company’s premises. The wire used for this purpose was what is called No. 16 guage, entirely enveloped in gutta percha, and the only parts not entirely under water were the small portions necessary for connecting the coils ; the perfection of the whole ■ arrangement, and the insulating properties of gutta percha being rendered apparent by the magical rapidity of the explosions, and the facility with which the connection could be severed. The discovery of this novel long range . is attributed to Mr. Stratham, the managing director, while experimenting upon heating platina wire for mining purposes, and the experiments of Wednesday show, that not only can this novel mode of blasting be applied to mining, but also to warlike purposes, and that distance is no object, as it could be equally effected with any length of wire, provided it were properly insulated. The experiments, n is understood, will shortly be repeated in the presence of high military authorities and scientific gentlemen.

The British Association.—Singular Experiment. —ln the chemical section on Monday, the ordinary list was disturbed by the arrival of M. Boutigny, whose popular experiment of freezing water in a red-hot platiuum crucible is familiar to most people. M. Boutigny delivered an eloquent address od the physico-chemical phenomenon of non-contact between fluids poured upon incandescent solid matter. Thus, he staled that the human hand, owing to the moisture upon it, might be plunged with the most pertect impunity into molten lead and iron—an experiment which, he said, he bad seen performed bv the delicate fingers of a whole schnnlfnl ' o f young ladies. The French savunt deeply regretted the non arrival of some apparatus which would have enabled him to illustrate this peculiarity of nou-contact, whereupon a gentleman (from America) suggested (hat M. Boutigny must have brought with him bis ten fingers, and that a pot of molten■ lead could soou be procured. No sooner had this proposition been made than another member rose to suggest the still better mode of demonstration afforded by the molten iron in the faundry of Messis. Ransome & May. M. Boutigny expressed himself perfectly happy to plunge his hands into a dish of molten iron or lead, at the pleasure of his audience. A member now rose to propose that a piece of ham or beef should be cut into the shape of M. Boutigny's ten fingers, and stand proxy for them. At this idea the French philosopher laughed. He repeated his perfect willingness to | lunge his hands into the glowing mass—if, indeed so palpable a fact as the innocence of the operation could need demonstration. It was, therefore, agreed that he should do so at seven o’clock in the evening. Accordingly, at a few minutes before seven o’clock, a large party assembled at the reception room, and proceeded with the French philosopher to the place of fiery ordeal. A pot of glowing meta], red hot from the furnace, being placed before M. Boutigny, this gentleman having damped his hand with a little water, ulunged it with perfect impunity into the mass. 1 he sensation, be assured the spectators, was one of cold rather than heat, and be gave the lo,lowing rationale of the phenomenon :—The moisture of the skin be-

came converted, by heat, into that peculiar condition termed spheroidal vapour, which, being a bad conductor of heat, effectually prevented the skin from being burned. The general committee have selected Belfast for the next meeting of the Association.