ARCHEOLOGIA.

THIS month we have to record the discovery in the CITY OF LONDON of the remains of one of those noble TESSELATED PAVEMENTS which formed the floors of the principal rooms in the great Roman houses. For months the work of demolition has been going on to clear the way for the formation of the new street from Blackfriars to the Bank, but much fewer discoveries of antiquarian interest were made than might naturally be expected, for the line runs over very interesting ground. There can be little doubt that, in the Roman City of Londinum, the whole space extending from Bucklersbury and Cheapside, over Fenchurch-street, Leadenhallstreet, Bishopsgate-street, Broad-street, and Lothbury, and in the central part of which now stand the Mansion House, the Bank of England, and the Royal Exchange, was covered with the more stately of the Roman dwelling-houses. When excavations have been required in any of the localities just mentioned, to a sufficient depth, generally for sewers, or for the foundations of buildings which required deep cellerages, they have invariably brought the excavators upon the beautiful tesselated floors of the Roman houses. These lie at an average depth of from twelve to fifteen feet, varying according to circumstances attending the accumulation of the earth above them. Unfortunately for our archæological prospects, it has not been necessary to dig so deep in the process of laying the new street. Not many days ago, however, as the workmen were digging rather deeper than usual in what will be the extremity of the new street towards the Bank, on the site of the uppermost house in the Poultry, and close adjoining to the Mansion House, they uncovered a piece of very fine mosaic or tesselated work, which appears to have been the central ornament of a floor of some extent. It bears some resemblance to the centre of the pavement found in 1854 under the Excise office between Bishopsgate-street and Broad-street, of which an engraving is given in Mr. Roach Smith's valuable work, the "Illustrations of Roman London." It is, we believe, intended to uncover the remains with care, and to a greater extent, and we are very glad to hear that it is contemplated by the City authorities to cause this piece of pavement to be preserved by laying it down in the City Museum. On one side the remains of walls mark the extent of the room, which had-which is so often the case in some of the principal rooms in the Roman mansions-a semicircular apse at one end. There are reasons for believing that this semi

circular recess was separated from the rest of the room by a curtain, or something of that sort, and that it contained the images of the household gods, under whose protection the family had placed itself.

We are glad to state that Lord Lytton has accepted the presidency of the BRITISH ARCHEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION for the ensuing year. The annual congress will be held at St. Alban's, but the exact date has not yet been fixed. With a locality offering so much antiquarian interest, and at such a convenient distance from the Metropolis, there cannot fail to be a good meeting.

The papers announce some discoveries relating to FLINT IMPLEMENTS AND FLAKES, found in what is known as the "Hessle clay," at Kelsea-hill, in Holderness. Geologists have been greatly puzzled at finding these worked flints in a formation of the late post-glacial period, so immensely older than the wide river gravels of the paleolithic age. We are now informed that recent visits by the Rev. J. T. Rome, of Hull, the Rev. W. S. Symonds, of Pendock, Tewkesbury, and Sir Charles Lyell, have led to the discovery that the clay yielding these flint implements is not the Hessle clay proper, though derived from it. The deposit is regarded as consisting of the washings from old Kelsea-hill, and thus the highest geological authority gives a relative date to the clay which makes it probably not older, and perhaps more recent, than the flint-bearing wide river sands of York and Malton.

Signor Fontana, the sculptor, has just finished a colossal statue of JOSEPH MAYER, of Liverpool, the antiquary, and still more the friend of antiquaries. For many years past, Mr. Mayer has been well-known for his activity in purchasing, and saving from dispersion, and consequent loss, collections of antiquities of great value for the history of our country. It was he who bought the Faussett collection of Anglo-Saxon antiquities, dug from the Kentish barrows, presenting the most important mass of materials we have for the history of our Anglo-Saxon forefathers during their ages of Paganism. The Mayer Museum, at Liverpool, was known among antiquaries over the whole world, and few individuals could say, as he could, that, besides labour and time, he had expended, we believe, altogether considerably more than fifty thousand pounds, in what we cannot but consider as so patriotic an object. Mr. Mayer, as it is generally known, has given this magnificent collection to the town of Liverpool, where it now forms a permanent institution. The corporation, as a lasting mark of the town's gratitude, have

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resolved on placing a statue of Mr. Mayer in St. George's Hall; the execution of it was entrusted to his friend Giovanni Fontana, who has performed his task with extraordinary success. The statue of Mr. Mayer, which was on private view at Signor Fontana's studio, in King's-road, Chelsea, during the earlier part of the present month, is an admirable likeness, and the sculptor has given to it an amount of graceful elegance which has seldom been effected with the stiff costume of the present day. We believe that this truly fine work of art has by this time reached its destined home at Liverpool.

PROGRESS OF INVENTION.

MANUFACTURING GLASS.-Mr. John Kilner, of Wakefield, proposes to make glass in a reverberatory furnace instead of in glass pots, such as are at present employed. He claims, as his invention, a reverberatory furnace, in which the fire is at one end of the floor or bed on which the materials used in the manufacture of glass are placed, the chimney being at the opposite end. He asserts that perfect fusion is effected in less time than by the existing process, and that the glass can be easily kept in a workable state.

COMPOUND FOR TANNING LEATHER.-Messrs. Louis H. Dennis, and Otho R. Brown, of Stafford Springs, Connecticut, U.S., have patented a new tanning material. The invention consists in a combination of catechu, commonly known as cutch, with common lye in various proportions. This mixture can be used alone or together with colouring matter, such as alum, and with salt, or other material that will serve to plump the leather if so desired. The proportions in which these substances are used, vary with the kind of leather to be tanned.

For harness leather, 4 lbs. of cutch, 3 pints of common lye, 4 oz. of alum.

For wax leather (split leather), 3 lbs. of cutch, 2 pints of lye, 3 oz. of alum.

The

For calf skins, 2 lbs. of cutch, 1 pint of lye, 2 oz. of alum. For sheep skins, 1 lb. of cutch, 1 pint of lye, 1 oz. of alum. The cutch, by itself, will make the leather hard and brittle. lye will soften it. The alum being only used for colouring can be dispensed with, or other matter may be used in its place. The mixture is, in any case, boiled, and the leather is then immersed in it long enough to be thoroughly tanned, for which purpose, the harness leather should be steeped for from eighteen to twenty days; the wax leather from twelve to fourteen days; the calf skin during seven or nine days, and the sheepskins from two to four days.

SIGNALLING IN RAILWAY TRAINS.-Various methods of signalling in railway trains have been suggested; some include the use of electricity, others, various arrangements of the rope ordinarily in use. The invention now described appears to be one likely to accomplish the object proposed. It consists of a tube which extends from end to end of the train; this tube contains air, which can be either exhausted or compressed by means of a pump, bellows, or similar machine, worked by the axles of the tender or carriage, or from some moving part of the locomotive. A bell, or sounding apparatus, is fixed upon the engine or tender, and in each of the guard's vans, and is so arranged that it can be made to sound instantly, as long as the train is in motion; the power for working the apparatus being supplied by the wheels or other parts of the train in motion. A further arrangement is so made that whenever the vacuum or pressure is maintained, the bell, or sounding apparatus, is silenced either by its being thrown out of gear, or by the hammer being removed out of its reach. By this arrangement, so long as the train is in motion, and the vacuum or pressure is maintained, this sounding apparatus remains silent in consequence of its being out of the influence of the hammer; but if the guard, or passengers, in in any part of the train, destroy the vacuum or pressure, by opening a valve provided for the purpose, the bell immediately sounds, and a signal is given, and continues to be given, as long as the train is in motion. Mr. Josiah Clark, of Sydenham Hill, is the inventor of this apparatus.

MATERIAL FOR COVERING BOTTLES.-This invention is for the purpose of covering bottles of glass or earthenware, to render them less liable to be broken. The crude material employed is that which is generally known as spent hops. These are reduced to a soft mass, or pulp, to which glue and treacle are added, or, it may be, alkaline substances, alum, bichromate of potash, or any chemical substance, which will render the glue less brittle, and more elastic. When the pulp is prepared, it is rolled into sheets, and cut to the desired dimensions. When additional strength is required, some fibrous material, or, perhaps, paper, is mixed with it. To give the surface a finish, it is coated with paint or varnish. This material can also be used for forming vessels to hold water, such as jugs and drinking cups. The inventor is Mr. Edward Richardson, of Wapping.

BLAST FURNACES.-An apparently very excellent improvement in blast furnaces has been patented by Mr. John Watson, of Seaham Chemical Works, Sunderland. It consists, firstly, in contracting the blast furnace at one or more elevations, by which a support is afforded to the superincumbent mass, which prevents undue pressure on the materials in the lower part of the furnace, and thus avoids the existence of a dense mass through which the air has to pass; and by the same means the upper part of the furnace is considerably increased in internal capacity. The

second part of the improvement consists in a novel application of the waste heat of the furnace.

DOOR-MAT, OR SCRAPER.-This door-mat, or scraper, is made of castiron, steel, or other similar metal. Its form is that of a trellice, the upper edges of which are sharper than the lower. It can be laid on a box, to receive the dirt which falls off from the shoes. The openings of the trellice may be of various sizes. The invention seems likely to be of use; it is very simple, and, no doubt, will remove dirt from shoes or boots more effectually than the ordinary scraper. Mr. George Tidcombe, of Bushey, is the inventor.

COMPOSITION FOR BRICKS, ARTIFICIAL STONE, ETC.-Gravel, broken stone or bricks, slag, scoria, cinders-in fact, any hard, enduring material can be used for this purpose. The materials are cemented together in the following manner, which has, at least, the recommendation of novelty, time only will prove whether it has the essential property of endurance. One twenty-fourth part, by measure, of Portland cement is added to the materials to be bonded together, and with this is mixed a quantity of iron filings, or turnings, or the crushed slag or cinder from iron-works. These ingredients are wetted, and mixed with a weak solution of muriatic acid. When the ingredients are well mixed, they may be moulded in the ordinary manner, with the addition of pressure, to consolidate them.

MANUFACTURE OF GELATINE.-After bones have been subjected to the action of acids, for the purpose of removing their inorganic constituents, Mr. John Coudery Martin, of High Street, Barnes, suggests that the cartilage should be treated with successive washings in solutions of lime, or of lime and caustic soda. The solutions should at first be weak, but should be used stronger for the later washings. There should be alternate washings with pure water. The effect is to produce a soft, whitened material, soluble at a low temperature, which forms a clear, but strong tenacious jelly. He also uses as a bleaching material, after the cartilage has been treated with the lime solution, a salt of aluminum, either alone, or in combination with sulphurous acid, by which means a still purer and more transparent gelatine is obtained.

REGENERATING ALIMENTARY SUBSTANCES.-Dr. Alphonse Louvel, of St. Denis, France, has discovered a method, by which, it is asserted, that grain, seeds, berries, flour, fecula, dry vegetables, potatoes, etc., which have been spoiled by fermentation or excess of moisture, so as to render them unfit for food, can be so restored as to make them wholesome and agreeable. In order to produce this regeneration, as it is termed, and to arrest fermentation, produced by moisture or other causes, it is merely necessary to place the affected substances in an apparatus, from which the atmospheric air has been withdrawn by means of a pump (the vacuum need not exceed 65 to 70 per cent.), and to leave them there during a greater or lesser length of time, according to the degree of