cation with the copper, is surrounded | copper. No notice was taken of this by a solution of salt in water. Now by at the time; but some days after, when this instrument, a species of electricity, examining the copper plate, he found called voltaic, from Volta, its discoverer, that crystals were formed upon all parts is developed; and thus many very curious of it excepting where the varnish had and interesting experiments may be fallen. "I at once saw," he says, "that made. For instance; if wires proceed- I had it in my power to guide the meing from the binding screws z', c', which tallic deposition in any shape or form are connected with the metallic plates, I chose, by a corresponding application be brought into a particular position of varnish or other non-metallic subnear a magnet, the electricity conveyed stance." Experiments were then imby them will cause it to deviate from its mediately commenced, and have led to magnetic position, chemical substances important results. may be decomposed, and light and heat be given out. The first attempt was made in the following manner:-A piece of thin copper was covered with a cement of bees wax, resin, and a red earth while hot; and the experimenter scratched the initials of his name upon it, when cold, taking care to clear away all the varnish, and leave the copper exposed. To this plate, a piece of zinc was attached by a copper wire, the former being immersed in a solution of sulphate of copper, the latter in a solution of salt. The vessel in which the experiment was performed, was a cylindrical glass, within which was placed a gas glass closed at one end by plaster of Paris, of a thickness of about three quarter of an inch. The solution of salt was thus prevented from mixing with the solution of sulphate of copper; and yet the substance was sufficiently porous to allow the electro-chemical action to go on. In a few hours, the action commenced, and Mr. Spencer was delighted to see that a bright metal was being deposited on the parts made bare by the scratches, and that no other portions of the plate were in any way acted upon. It may easily be imagined that the mind of the discoverer was agitated by many hopes and fears, expecting on the one hand to add a new and invaluable invention to the arts, and fearing on the other that his results might be rendered_altogether useless by some unexpected difficulty. The two questions which seemed to demand immediate reply were—Whether the deposition would retain its hold on the plate, and whether it would be of sufficient strength to bear working if applied to a useful purpose. Beside these, there was another point to be decided-the possibility of producing lines in sufficient relief to be printed from. Among the various experiments which have been performed, that of producing crystallized mineral substances is not the least interesting. To accomplish this, Mr. Cross, the gentleman who first made the experiments, and all other observers, had found it necessary to begin with a metallic nucleus; to provide in fact a base, upon which the crystallization could be effected. But at the Liverpool meeting of the British Association, in September, 1837, Dr. Golding Bird ventured an assertion, which has not yet been proved, that crystals of pure copper could be produced without any nucleus for their formation. Mr. Spencer seems to have made some careful experiments to ascertain if this could be done, and came to a conclusion which all other scientific men have arrived at that no metallic crystallization will take place, unless a metallic or metalliferous nucleus be present." These experiments, however, were the means of leading him to the happy discovery which we are about to explain; and it may therefore be necessary to give an account of the apparatus that was employed. The instrument consisted of a small piece of zinc and copper connected by a wire of the latter metal, but separated from each other by a thick disc of plaster of Paris, which divided the glass vessel that contained them into two parts. The cell which contained the copper was filled with a solution of the sulphate of that metal, perhaps better known to our readers as green vitriol, and that holding the zinc with a solution of common salt. To prevent any action taking place on the wire which united the copper and zinc, it was covered with sealing-wax In the course of experiments, made varnish; but when applying this resin- with a view to determine these imous compound, Mr. Spencer accident-portant principles, a serious difficulty ally dropped a small quantity on the arose, which was accidentally overcome. "There was one important, and to me discouraging circumstance, says Mr. Spencer, "attending these experiments, which was, that when I heated the plates to get off the covering of cement, the meshes of copper net work" (for it was in the form of net work that he was depositing the metal) "invariably came off with it. I at one time imagined this difficulty insuperable, as it appeared to me that I had cleared the cement entirely from the surface of the copper I meant to have exposed; but that there was a difference in the molecular arrangement of copper prepared by heat, and that prepared by voltaic action, which prevented their chemical combination. However, I then determined, should this prove so, to turn it to account in another manner. It happened, however, that upon the examination of the results of one experiment, a part of the copper deposition formed upon a coin adhered so tenaciously that it could not be removed; "indeed a chemical combination had apparently taken place. This," says the discoverer, 66 was only in one or two spots, on the prominent parts of the coin. I immediately recollected that on the day I put the experiment in action, I had been using nitric acid for another purpose, on the table I was operating on; and that in all probability the coin might have been laid down, where a few drops of the acid had accidentally fallen. I then took a piece of copper, coated it with cement, made a few scratches on its surface until the copper appeared, and immersed it for a short time in dilute nitric acid, until I perceived by an elimination of nitrous gas, that the exposed portions were acted upon sufficiently to be slightly corroded. I then washed the copper in water, and put it in action as before described. In forty-eight hours I examined it, and found the lines were entirely filled with copper. I applied heat, and then spirits of turpentine, to get off the cement; and to my satisfaction I found, that the voltaic copper had completely combined itself with the sheet on which it was deposited." One other quotation from Mr. Spencer's paper, read before the Liverpool Polytechnic Society, we must be allowed to extract, as it will be found to contain a valuable hint to those who may attempt a certain class of the experiments we shall have occasion here after to describe. "I then gave a plate a coating of cement, to a considerable thickness, and sent it to an engraver; but when it was returned, I found the lines were cleared out so as to be wedgeshaped, leaving a hair line of the copper exposed at the bottom, and a broad space near the surface; and where the turn of the letters took place, the top edges of the lines were galled, and rendered rugged by the action of the graver. This, of course, was an important objection, which I have since been able to remedy, in some respects, by an alteration in the shape of the graver, which should be made of a shape more resembling a narrow parallelogram than those in common use: some engravers have many of their tools so made. I did not put this plate in action, as I saw that the lines, when in relief, would have been broad at the top and narrow at the bottom. I took another plate, gave it a coating of the wax, and had it written on with a mere point. I deposited copper on the lines, and afterwards had it printed from." We have already mentioned an experiment in which a piece of copper (on which had been drawn lines in the form of net work) was used. Much difficulty was experienced in forming this design upon the copper, so as to expose the metal; for when the cement was soft, the lines were pushed into each other, and when of a harder texture, the intervening squares broke away from the surface of the plate. One difficulty, therefore, still remained, and it was the discovery of a proper cement or etching ground, one which should be capable of being cut to the required depth, without raising what is technically called a burr, and at the same time of sufficient toughness to adhere to the plate, when reduced to a small isolated point, which would necessarily occur in the operation, which wood engravers term cross hatching." Mr. Spencer, in his endeavour to obtain a suitable compound, tried a variety of experiments upon different compositions formed of wax, resins, varnishes and earth, and also with metallic oxides. At last he obtained one which for all his purposes seemed to be admirably suited; it was formed of virgin wax, resin, and carbonate of lead. With this cement, two plates, five inches by seven, were covered, and portions of maps engraven on them. This being done, they were dipped in dilute nitric acid, a process found in other instances so beneficial, and then introduced into the voltaic arrangement. The intention was to have formed metallic casts fit for printing, more especially with the view of presenting them and. the printed sheets to the British Association. When the process had been continued sufficiently long, heat was applied to the plate to remove the cement: but to the amazement of the experimenter the voltaic copper pealed off with the etching ground. The cause of this it was at first difficult to determine; but on cleaning the plate, a delicate tracing of lead was found on the line drawn on the cement previous to the immersion in the dilute acid. "The cause of this failure," says Mr. Spencer, was at once obvious; the carbonate of lead I had used to compound the etching ground, had been decomposed by the dilute nitric acid, and the metallic lead, thus set free, had deposited itself on the exposed portions of the copper plates, preventing the voltaic copper from chemically combining with the sheet copper. I was now obliged with regret to give up this compound; although, under other circumstances, I have no doubt it may be rendered available." 66 The cement which was ultimately adopted by Mr. Spencer, was formed of bees' wax, common whiting, resin, a small portion of gum, and plaster of Paris. This compound, he speaks of as answering the purpose tolerably, though he anticipates a better may be found. We cannot close this examination of the labours of Mr. Spencer, without an allusion to the results of his experiments in an attempt to obtain impressions in cameo and intaglio, although we intend in another number to explain the method in which the various experiments may be performed. From what has been already stated, the reader must be aware that no metallic deposition can be obtained by the action of voltaic electricity, without a metallic body, or we might more properly say a metallic surface, as a nucleus. Bearing this fact in mind, the following observations, by the discoverer of the process, must be read with interest. "I placed a very prominent copper medal in a voltaic circuit (as already described) and deposited a surface of copper on one of its sides to about the | thickness of a shilling. I then proceeded to get the deposition off. In this I experienced some difficulty, but ultimately succeeded. On examination, with a magnifying glass, I found every line was as perfect as the coin from which it was taken. I was then induced to use the same piece again, and let it remain a much longer time in action, that I might have a thicker and more substantial mould. I accordingly put it again in action, and let it remain until it had acquired a much thicker coating of the metallic deposition; but when I attempted to remove it from the medal, I found I was unable. It had apparently completely adhered to it. "I had often practised, with some degree of success, a method of preventing the oxidation of polished steel, by slightly heating it until it would melt virgin wax; it was then wiped, apparently completely off, but the pores of the metal became impregnated with the wax-I thought of this method, and applied it to a copper coin. "I first heated the piece, applied wax, and then wiped it so completely off, that the sharpness of the coin was not at all interfered with. I proceeded as before, and deposited a thick coating of copper on its surface. After the lapse of a few days, when I wished to take it off, I applied the heat of a spirit lamp to the back, when a sharp crackling noise took place; and I had the satisfaction of seeing that the coin was completely loosened. In short, I had a most complete and perfect copper mould of a halfpenny. "I have since taken some impressions from the mould thus formed; and by adopting the above method with the wax, I get them out with the greatest ease. "I was now of opinion that this latter method might be applied to engraving, much better than the method described in the first portion of this paper. Being aware that copper in a voltaic circuit deposited itself on lead with as much rapidity as on copper, I took a silver coin, and put it between two pieces of clean sheet lead, and placed them under a common screw press. From the softness of the lead, I had a complete and sharp mould of both sides of the coin. I then took a piece of copper wire, soldered the lead to one end, and a piece of zinc to the other, and put them into 192 GOD'S CHIEF GIFT-SALVATION-WEAKNESS OF HUMAN RESOLUTIONS. the same voltaic arrangement I have already described. I did not, in this instance, wax the mould, as I felt assured that the deposited copper would easily separate from the lead, by the application of heat, from the different expansibility of the two metals. "In this result, I was not disappointed. When the heat of a spirit lamp was applied for a few seconds to the lead, the copper impression fell easily off. So complete do I think this latter portion of the subject, that I have no hesitation in asserting that fac-similes of any coin or medal, no matter of what size, may be readily taken, and as sharp as the original. To further test the capabilities of this method, I took a piece of lead plate, and stamped some letters on its surface to a depth sufficient to print from when in relief. I deposited copper on it, and found it came easily off. "I now come to the conclusion of my experiments on this subject. As I stated at first, my object was to deposit a metallic surface on a model of clay, or other non-metallic body; as, otherwise, I imagined the application of this principle would be extremely limited. I made many experiments to achieve this result which I shall not detail, but content myself with describing that which was ultimately the most successful. "I took two models of an ornament, one made of clay, and the other of plaster of Paris; soaked them for some time in linseed oil, took them out, and suffered them to dry, first getting the oil clean off the surface. When dry, I gave them a thin coat of mastic varnish. When the varnish was as nearly dry as possible, but not thoroughly so, I sprinkled some bronze powder on that portion I wished to make a mould of. This powder is principally composed of mercury and sulphur; I had however a complete metallic coating on the surface of my model, by which I was enabled to deposit a surface of copper on it, by the voltaic method I have already described. I have also gilt the surface of a clay model with gold leaf, and have been successful in depositing the copper on its surface." GOD'S CHIEF GIFT. H. WHEN We reflect on the personal dignity of Jesus Christ, as the Son of God; on the unchangeable interest he had in his Father's love; and on the Father delivering him up to an execrable death for mere sinners, we cease to wonder that, with him, he freely bestows all spiritual blessings, without any regard to worthiness in them on whom they are conferred. Because the gift of Christ himself is the grand evidence of God's love to sinners, incomparably greater than that of authorizing the ungodly to believe in Jesus, or than that of his giving heaven to saints.-Booth. SALVATION. substituted himself in the place of sinOUR Saviour, Jesus Christ, having ners, suffered in his own person the declaration, "In the day that thou eatest punishment of sin, conformably to that thereof, thou shalt surely die." He came forth from among the dead in testimony that the threatening of God the acceptance of his sacrifice, and that was accomplished, and as a pledge of by his obedience unto death Divine justice was satisfied, the law honoured and awarded to those for whom he died, magnified; and that eternal life was whose sins he had borne in his own body on the tree, 1 Peter ii. 24. was quickened by the Spirit, by whom he was also justified, 1 Tim. iii. 16, from ́ every charge that could be alleged against him as the surety of them whose therefore, of his people, which includes iniquities he bore. The justification, not only the pardon of their sins, but He also their title to the eternal inheritance, fected in his resurrection. He wrought was begun in his death, and was pertheir justification by his death; but its efficacy depended on his resurrection. By his death he paid their debt, in his resurrection he received their acquittance. He rose to assure to them the right to eternal life, fully to discover it, and to establish it in his own person, his body.-R. Haldane. for all those who are the members of WEAKNESS OF HUMAN RESOLUTIONS. To attempt to resist temptation, to abandon our bad habits, and to control our dominant passions, in our own unaided strength, is like attempting to check by a spider's thread, the progress of a ship of the first rate borne along before wind and tide.—Waugh. 1 THE BEECH. creepeth on the earth," are placed under his dominion. "Every herb bearing seed, and every tree in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed," is given him for meat, either directly or through the medium of the cattle and feathered fowl on which he is permitted to feed. Nor are the treasures of the earth secured from his grasp; to him the mine yields her invaluable stores, and the forests of the antediluvian world their fossilized timber. "All are for health, or food, or pleasure given, And speak in various ways the bounteous hand of Heaven," though the products of a single tree would have sufficed to furnish him, not only with the necessaries, but even the luxuries of life. Witness that noble flowers. 6, male flower. c, female flower. d, ger- adorns their scenery, supplies the simtree the cocoa palm, which, while it Beech (Fagus sylvatica.) a, catkin of male men. e, capsule, or nut. NATURAL ORDER. Corylaceæ. LINNEAN ARRANGEMENT. dria. Fagus Sylvatica. Monœcia Polyan Barren Flowers in a roundish elongated catkin. Calyx of one leaf divided into five or six segments. Corolla none. Filaments from five to twenty, hair-like, longer than the calyx. Anthers, roundish or oblong, two-lobed. Fertile Flowers. Calyx double; the outer inferior, leathery, externally covered with simple prickles, divided into four, five, or six deep segments, and containing two or three inner calyxes or flowers, each superior of one leaf, with five or six deep segments, internally woolly Corolla none. Germens, two or three below the inner calyx, egg shaped, three or six celled with rudiments of two seeds in each. Styles three. Stigmas undivided, permanent. Nuts two or three, egg shaped, more or less angular, attached to the base of the outer calyx, and crowned by the upper. A large tree with smooth bark and spreading branches. Leaves, egg shaped, indistinctly serrate. Flowers in April and May. "The beech-of oily nuts prolific."-CowPER. "MAN wants but little here below;" food and water, raiment for his body, and shelter from the inclemencies of the weather; such are all his necessities, and if these alone were supplied, he would have no cause to murmur. Yet with what benevolent bounty has the Lord, whose "tender mercies are over all his works," provided not only for his wants, but for his pleasures; and caused the means by which the cravings of nature are satisfied to gratify the eye, the taste, the fancy, the love for variety, and all the other dispositions of the mind, by which this favoured object of creation is distinguished from the brutes that perish. "The beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea," with "every creeping thing that ple wants of the inhabitants of the tropics; and is capable, as Strabo tells us, of being applied to three hundred and sixty different purposes. Is clothing, food, and trencher, drink, and can, Boat, cable, sail, and needle, all in one." Hence he derives timber for the walls, and thatch for the roof of his hut, fuel for his fire, and weapons for defence the exhilarating spirit, the luscious sugar, the cooling milk, and the enlightening oil: in a word, nutriment, bevekindness," this gift of God is placed rage, and clothing. "With lavish in every soil and variety of situation within those regions it so greatly benefits. In the fertile valley, on the arid plain, waving in tufted groves, or beetling the craggy precipice, beside the rippling rill, or on the coral reef, washed by the spray of ocean,-in equal luxuriance its taper column and plumy foliage afford a pillared shade impervious to the vertical sun. But shall we envy the enervated inhabitant of the torrid zone his inestimable tree? Is the goodness of God limited to one particular clime, or confined to the natives of a single land? "Through the whole earth his bounty shines ;" and the productions of every country attest his unwearied beneficence and never-failing care, though too often disregarded and unacknowledged by those whom he thus benefits. Hundreds doubtless can recount the varied products of the cocoa-nut tree, and enumerate the many purposes to which they can be applied, who are ignorant that among the forests of Europe is to |