, and still used in Europe by the Gipsies. Many of the hills composed
of claystone are neatly devoid of vegetation; their surface being bare and
smooth, and of a red or black colour. The soil produced by the action of
the atmosphere is not very productive; and so liable is it, in some
places, to consolidate, when deprived of its moisture, that, if it be not
constantly cultivated, it soon becomes hard and bare, and checks all
vegetation.

_Public Improvement_.

The spirit of general improvement pervades every part of the continent,
and is even more active in France than in Britain. In Britain, the spirit
of improvement is chiefly evinced in public works, and in the useful arts
and manufactures, and its efforts are characterized much more by
superfluity of wealth than by science or refinement: in Germany this
spirit is evinced in public buildings, in a superior taste, in
agriculture, and education--_Gard. Mag_.

_The Himalaya Mountains_.

This vast accumulation of sublime peaks, the pinnacles of our globe, is so
extensive, that a plane, resting on elevations 21,000 feet, may be
stretched in one direction as far as the Hindoo Cosh, for upwards of 1,000
miles, above which rise loftier summits, increasing in height to nearly
6,000 feet more.

_To make Gold Size_.

Melt one pound of asphaltum, and pour into it another pound of linseed
oil, rendered drying by litharge; add also to it half a pound of red lead
or vermilion. When the varnish becomes thick or pasty, thin it by adding
one pound, or a pound and a half of spirit of turpentine; as more is
required in winter than in summer.

_Indian Corn_.

Mr. C. Hall Jessop, of Cheltenham, asserts that he "was the first who
recommended the Indian corn for field culture in this country," which he
did "in a letter to G. Talbot, Esq., of Guiting, seven years ago."

_Polishing Stones_.

The Hindoos polish all kinds of stones by means of powdered _corundrum_,
mixed with melted lac. The mixture being allowed to cool, is shaped into
oblong pieces, of three or four inches in length. The stone is polished by
being sprinkled with water; and at the same time rubbed with three oblong
masses; and the polish is increased by masses being used successively with
finer grains.

_Sensitive Plant_.

Mr. Burnet and Mr. Mayo have found, that at the moment the sensitive plant
is touched, so as to occasion motion, it _changes colour_. They have also
found that when a