SIR, An Alarum being a most useful piece of furniture, at one time or another, in every house, perhaps you will not think the above sketch of one, both cheap and simple as well as original, unworthy of your notice.

I think the Alarum of which you have given an engraving in a former Number of your work, and which is made to act by the running of sand, is liable to one great objection, viz. that, should it be required to run for ten or twelve hours together, the quantity of sand must be so great, or the passage so extremely small, with a proportionably fine sand, that either way it would be difficult, if not impossible, to make it answer the end proposed, unless it be made inconveniently large and cumber

G is a vessel, made of glass or tin, and suspended from F, to contain water, under which is placed the lamp, H.

By the heat of the lamp the water gradually evaporates or flies off in steam, which, lightening the vessel, G, allows the piece of wood, EF, moving on the hinge at E, to escape from under the point, F, of the piece of wood, FC, which flies up, from the strength of the spring of the bell, to the wheel or pulley, I, and thus sets the bell at liberty and causes it to ring. J is a bracket or triangular piece of wood, to prevent the vessel, G, from falling on the lamp after the bar, EF, has escaped from under it.

Observation.

The quantity of water for a certain number of hours, the size of the wick, &c. can be calculated, with ease, from a few hours observation. A slit should

present earth is nothing but the ruins of a former world; that islands are only the summits of vast mountains, and that the lower grounds had been dry valleys, previously to their having been subject to the irruption of the waters of the "great deep."

Without dwelling any longer upon generalities, let us confine ourselves to one particular fact. The stratum or bauk of hazelwood, in question, is of so extensive and fixed a nature, as not to admit of the hypothesis of its being foreign to its present situation. It will not admit the assumption, that it was removed from a former site to its present bed by a supernatural agency; hence it must be allowed, that its existing situation was once a fertile valley, where trees grew, and fruit flourished.

But it may be urged that, as in many instances in other countries, the waters of the ocean have gradually gained upon the Manx coast. This argument appears fair. In the case before us, however, it is neither tenable nor sound. Why? Because, had the waters gained gradually on the hazel plantation, there would have been no decomposed foliage-no perfectly ripe fruit? Whereas the ripeness of the fruit, and the remains of the foliage, indicate a sudden inundation, and attest, that God called for the waters of the sea, and poured them forth on the "face of the earth." Even the period of the year in which this terrible visitation occurred, is made abundantly apparent. The perfection of the nuts bears evidence it was autumn; and that it pleased him who "measures the waters of the sea in the hollow of his hand," and "who sitteth upon the flood," to devastate the earth when it abounded most in riches and beauty.

From the trend of the hazel bark to the coast of Wales, the natural conclusion is, that the Isle of Man formed the northern boundary of Wales. In respect to the material of the bark, the wood is not in a state of petrifaction; it is merely

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in a preserved condition-in such a one as may be attributed to the saline and marl strata on which it reposes, or with which it is incorporated throughout. So remote is the hazel-wood from a petrified quality, that it has not even lost its elasticity; on breaking, it first bends,

"EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE."

We have been much gratified by the perusal of a pamphlet under this title by Mr. Jas. Scott Walker. He embarrasses his subject a little, by bringing more facts to bear on the question than he is successful in showing do bear equally or sufficiently upon it; but, upon the whole, it is well calculated to enlighten and fortify the convictions of those who are already friendly to the universal spread of knowledge, and to make new converts to this noble cause. We shall quote, as a specimen of the work, a passage,which shows, in a very sensible manner, how groundless the apprehensions of those are, who imagine, that to make mechanics more intelligent and better informed, is to make them worse servants and members of society.

"Tis but to know how little can be known,

To see all others' faults, and feel our own."

"To those who are of opinion, that even the moderate share of intelligence which a mechanic may imbibe, from books or lectures, during the short cessation from his labour, would tend to render him proud, inattentive to his work, and insubordinate to his employers, it may be answered, that intelligence can no more inflate the mind with inordinate conceit, than it can debase it into abject servility. It has rather the effect of reducing overgrown pretensions, by convincing us how little we, in reality, know; how far we are removed from perfection; and how much we must struggle to attain ere we can satisfy our own honorable ambition,or

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command the lasting approbation of a discerning community. History, and the examples daily before his eyes, will convince the mechanic, that it is not by contemning his seniors, or neglecting their instruction, that a trade or craft, which is worth the learning, is to be acquired. To assume the master, without the master's skill and experience, were indeed a hazardous game; for, as Phacton, when he daringly took the guidance of the chariot of the sun, whose fiery steeds had been accustomed to a warier hand, was dashed to the burning earth for his temerity, so insubordinate pretension brings at once its overthrow and disgrace. But if there be still those who en

deavour to reconcile the anomaly, that a course of education, which comprises the instruction of the operative classes in their relative duties in society, would tend to render them attentive and insubordinate, happily they can be referred to the testimony of facts. There are few respectable masters, and surely none avowedly, who would not employ a workman of intelligence, rather than a man who had barely capacity for the performauce, under his own constant inspection, of the commonest branches of his trade, and in whom he can have no confidence when he is not on the spot. An intelligent workmao, too, may often become of the utmost value to masters or proprietors, in cases where extraordinary exertions are required, or where foremen or overseers fall a prey to sickness or death. There can be little doubt, but without some generally intelligent workmeu, extensive establishments, involving even a national interest, would frequently stand still. The selection from the workmen of a new overseer falls inevitably on the most intelligent and skilful, and affords a practical proof that intelligence enhances the utility of every labourer. The case will also ap ply to maritime life. A few months only have elapsed since it was announced in the New York papers,

that a fine and valuably laden ship belonging to Salem, and which had lost both captain and mate by sickness on a distant voyage, was safely carried to her port of destination by a young man of eighteen years of age, one of the crew, who, to his honour, though poor, had early applied himself to the study of navigation.*

"Again; the late combinations, in which violent or unmanly conduct has been resorted to (and there are only a few isolated cases), have been, without almost an exception, the work of the most ignorant men of the trade to which they belonged; and their proceedings have been publicly deprecated by the general body of workmen, amongst whom are many intelligent men, who have headed their fellowlabourers in urging their claims with temperance, and without infringing the law. The dictation to masters, the intimidation of men, and the absurd regulations of the London shipwrights,† have all been the result of ignorance, combined with the distresses arising amongst the workmen from the high prices of provisions; and in place of forming a ground for the discouragement of education amongst them, ought to urge those who have the means, the more strenuously to promote it. Were the men better informed, I do not say they would not combine-for cases have occurred, and will occasionally occur, where, in justice to themselves, they must use means to obtain a fair price for the only stock they have to dispose of--their labour; but combinations would assume no dangerous or violent character, and reasonable overtures would never fail to be met in a proper spirit. The men have, on this point, I am of opinion, sometimes been uame

*Mr. Brougham, the Rev. A. Wilson, and others, have lately furnished several examples of the advancement of workmen, in consequence of their attendance at Mechanics' Institutions.

On this point the writer seems not sufficiently informed.-Edit.

ritedly aspersed. They are not prone to combine. A strike is always attended with distresses to themselves, which they would not rush upon, but upon compulsatory occasions; and, in fact, the advances which many master tradesmen have made of wages, and some of them, to their honour, upon a bare requisition, are evidence of the general justice of the claims of the workmen. If they have, in some cases, been intemperate, let it be remembered that, as Lord Bacon says, there is no rebellion so terrible as the rebellion of the belly ; and it is to be hoped, that the liberty now enjoyed by both parties freely to dispose of their marketable commodity to the highest bidder, will speedily introduce amongst them a feeling of kindness and conciliation, which shall be productive of mutual benefit."

MR. VALLANCE'S DOUBLE CRANK. SIR. I should be much obliged to your ingenious Correspondent, Mr. Dixon Vallance, for a rather more detailed account of the action of his DoubleCrank; as to me it does not appear to offer any advantage like the double crank described in a paper I sent some time ago, extracted from Venturoli; but, on the contrary, appears to me, from the imperfect idea I can form from the drawing, to be calculated only to impede all motion whatever, inasmuch as the rods working the crauks are of different lengths.

I am,
Sir,
Yours respectfully,

F. O. M.

FIXING CRAYON COLOURS.

Apply drying oil, diluted with spirit of turpentine, to the back of the picture; after a day or two, when this is grown dry, spread a coat of the mixture over the front of the picture, and the crayon drawing will become literally an oil painting.

MR. WATT.

Dr. Alderson, President of the Hull Mechanics' Institute, in an address read to the members on

the 1st of June last, and now published, says "I do not give Mr. Watt any credit for his governors, or centrifugal regulators of valves, as some have donc. The principle was borrowed from the patents of my late friend Mead, who, long before Mr. Watt had adapted the plan to the steam-engine, had regulated the mill-sails in this neighbourhood upon that precise principle, and which continued to be so regulated to this day.