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CH EA P ED ITIO N . T h e fo llo w in g E x t r a c t w a s ta k e n fro m the “ B irm in g h a m W eek ly M e rc u r y ” o f F e b r u a r y ISth , 1890, a n d m u s t h a v e been first p u b lish e d v e ry so o n a fte r th e exp erim en t on th e B e d fo rd C a n a l, w h e n t h a t P r o fe s s o r frau d u len tly a p p r o p r ia te d th e s u m o f £ 1 ,0 0 0 , on th e g r o s s ly fa lse plea th a t he h a d p ro v e d a c u r v a t u r e on s ix m ile s o f the su r fa c e - w a te r o f th a t C a n a l. “ An Engineer of Thirty Years Standing” writes to a magazine in 1874 quoting the following sentences as the result of his experience in the construction of railways, more especially :—“ I am thorou^lily acquainted both with the theory and practice of civil engineering. How ever bigoted some of our professors may be in the theory of surveying according to the prescribed rules, yet it is well known amongst ua that such theoretical measurements are incapable of any practical illustration. All our locomotives are designed to run on what may be regarded as tnie levels or flats. There are, of course, partial inclines or gradients here and there, but they are always accurately defined, and must be carefully tra versed. But anything approaching to ‘ eight inches in the mile, increasing as the square of the distance,’ could not be worked by any engine that was ever yet constructed. Taking one station with another all over England and Scotland, it may be positively stated that all the platforms are on the same relative level. The distance between the eastern and western coa.st» of England may be set down as three hundred miles. If the prescribed curvature was indeed, as represented, the central stations say at Rugby or Warwick, ought to be close upon three miles higher than a cord drawn from the two extremities. If such was the case, there is not a driver or stoker within the kingdom that would be found to take charge of the train. As long as they know the pretended curve to be mere theory, they do not trouble themselves about what may be stated in the tables of the geo graphers. But we can only laugh at those of your readers and others who seriously give us credit for such venturesome exploits, as running trains round spherical surfaces. Horizontal curves on levels are dangerous enough; vei tical ones would be a thousand times worse, and, with our rolling stock constructed as at present, physically impossible. There are several other reasons why such locomotion on iron rails would be as im practicable as carrying the trains through the air.”— Sckveyor. Ju st P u b l i s h e d , i n M o n o c e o m e , A SKETCH OF TH E WORLD AS A CIR C U LA R P L A N E ; SHOWING SOUTHERN ICEBBKGS, Size, 15 by 15. Price, 2Jd. ONE HUNDRED PROOFS THAT the : e a r t h zs NOT A GLOBE. 33eO ica,tecL to S?,ICX 3:.A .I^X 3 E»ca.. “ Tlw Greatest Astronomer oi the Age.” B y W M. CA.Tir*E]SrTEIl, Referee fo r John Hampden, Ssg., in the Cel^ated Scientific Wager, in 1870; Author of 'Common Sense’ on Astronomy, (London, 1866;) Proctor'> Pktnet Earth; WaUace'i WoTuierful Water; The BdutKm of the Da^, &c,, &e. “UPRIGHT, DOWNRIGHT, STRSIGHTFORWIRD. aA Shilling's worth o f P a p ers ( various) sent on receipt o f Seven Stamps, and a larger assortment for Thirteen. BALTIMORE: P R iN T E D A ll C o m m u n ic a tio n s m a y be a d d r e s s e d to the Secretary , 3, P a r k S tre e t, C roy d on , S u rre y . F E B ., 1895. AND P U B L IS H E D BY T H E A U T H O R , No. 71 Chew Street. 1885. | ) n t r 0 ilw t t o n * » PARALLAX,” the Pounder ot the “ Zetetic” philosophj[, is dead; and it now becomes the duty of those, especially, who knew him personally and who labored with him in the cause of Truth against Error, to begin anew the wo