carry the same weight, for the same time, at two and a half miles per hour.' In the mail stages of our country, weighing about a ton, less than a ton of passengers and baggage is usually carried. To transport this load at the rate ordinarily travelled, the horses are changed every twelve miles. To carry the load, therefore, thirty-six miles, twelve horses are needed. At the rate of four miles an hour, four horses would transport this load in waggons. At a moderate speed, therefore, a load of magazines and books would be conveyed at one third the cost of transportation by rapid mail stages. But there is no advantage in my having many of the periodicals I receive by a rapid conveyance. A system of baggage wagons transporting small articles over the country at a cheap rate, would, therefore, greatly facilitate the diffusion of knowledge. I wish to take the Biblical Repository; and find that four numbers weigh two pounds and ten ounces. I live rather more than 100 miles from Boston; and the postage of the whole, comprising 50 sheets, would be $1,25; while the freight, at the rate at which goods are commonly transported in wagons, would be a little less than 2 cents. The postage of 40 numbers of the Temperance Recorder would be 60 cents; while the freight of the whole 40, if the papers were dried, and thus made light, would not be more than one cent. When the Post Office was established, there did not exist such a periodical literature as distinguishes the present age; and therefore the United States did not provide for such a conveyance of packets as is now needed. The law now in force, passed March, 1827, enacts, 'That no person, other than the Post Master General, or his authorised agents, shall set up any foot or horse post for the conveyance of letters and packets, upon any post road, which is or may be established as such by law. This law forbids such a system of conveyance of parcels as is contemplated in this article, unless it should be established by the Post Office department. But if it should not be thus established, it may be authorised by act of Congress. Why should booksellers, and printers, and publishers be shackled in their business, more than other classes of the community? A vast amount of the literature of the country is now periodical. We have our Weeklies, our

Monthlies, our Quarterlies, and our Annuals without number. We have our Libraries, too; the Christian's library, the select circulating library, and a variety of others. It is desirable that there should be a regular and cheap conveyance of such books. The difficulty of distributing periodicals over the country is of the nature of a heavy duty on them. The postage on a periodical, which does not convey news, and needs not be carried post haste, now greatly increases its cost, and checks its circulation. If shoes, and hats, and other articles of manufacture could be conveyed only by government lines, at the cost of 33 per cent on their value, the manufacturers would be exceedingly embarrassed; and the public, too, would be injured beyond calculation, especially if the manufacture could be carried on only in one place in a whole county, or in a whole state, as is the case with books and periodicals.

[From the Transactions of the N. Y. Lit. and Phil. Society.]

INDIGENOUS ANIMALS.

It has been doubted whether red foxes, mice, rats, the common black fly, the Hessian fly, the honey bee, fleas, moths, bed bugs, and cockroaches, are indigenous to this country.

It appears that the unanimous testimony of the Indians is, that the red fox did not make its appearance until after the Europeans had settled the country, and this was after an extraordinary cold winter, when all the sea to the northward was frozen. Hence it has been inferred that it came over from the north of Europe or Asia, on the ice. Another account is, that a gentleman of fortune, in New England, imported a number for the sports of the field, at the first settlement of that country, and that from this stock, was propagated the race. It is well understood that our red fox is the same as that of the old world. Kamschatka abounds with them; and when Commodore Bering landed on the western coast of America, he saw

several; and Lewis and Clarke also observed them on the west side of the rocky mountains. A very severe winter may have driven vast numbers from the regions of the north into the lower country, about the time mentioned by the Indians, as it frequently has other animals, and particularly squirrels, deer, and bears. Severe cold produces famine, and famine causes the migration of men, as well as of other animals. Little credit is to be reposed in the opinions of savages on such subjects.

Almost all the other animals have probably been imported, but this does not disprove their being also aborigines of America. Fleas have been found on gray squirrels and rabbits, killed in desert parts of the country, where no human creature ever lived; and in new settlements made on pine lands they abound. The cockroach, or blatta orientalis, is said to have been imported from the West Indies; but, on the other hand, it has been found in the midst of woods and deserts. The common mouse and the rat have also been seen, at an early period, in the crevices of stones and subterraneous grottoes in remote mountains, where no human being had ever been before. The black rat is, probably, a native of America, and the gray rat imported from Europe.

[Furnished for the Tracts and Lyceum.]

WATER POWER.

THERE falls in some parts of our country, annually, water in rain and snow to the depth of 35 inches. In Boston, in 1818, 38-24 inches fell; and in 1819, 35-47. In New Haven, in 1818, 38∙10 inches fell. Suppose that the quantity is 35 inches yearly. Then, on an acre there falls more than 219 millions of cubic inches, or, accurately, 127,050 cubic feet. If all this water could be secured on elevated ground, and made to operate for thirty feet in its descent, it would do the work of one man laboring 351 days, six hours a day. Considering the advantage that may be taken of this power, by employing it as you

please, it is worth one dollar per day; and deducting the cost of the dam, &c., and the wear of machinery, it will be worth fifty cents a day, or 175 dollars a year, or a capital of 2916 dollars. A space of ground 113 feet square and 10 feet deep would contain all this power at once. If but half the rain that falls could be collected, then what descends on two acres would do the work of one man through the year. If but a quarter part could be preserved, then four acres must be used to collect sufficient. I recently visited a saw mill; I descended into a deep valley to reach it; and there, a fall of a few feet carried the simple, but heavy and powerful machinery, which is so useful in preparing the growth of the forest for our habitations. I inquired of myself, while about this spot, why we suffered all this water to descend so far, before we availed ourselves of its power. Why do we allow it to descend 50 or 100 feet, and then stop it but 10 or 15 feet above the bottom of its descent? The practical philosopher, who shall teach our citizens how to avail themselves for practical purposes of the little streams of water that are now descending our hills with idle murmurs, will confer an incalculable favor on the nation.

The amount of water power in a small stream of water constantly running, is exceedingly great. Suppose that there is an orifice, an inch square in extent, in a cistern, and two feet and eight inches below the surface of the water in the cistern, which, by being constantly supplied, is kept at the same height; then in one sixth of a second, supposing there is no resistance from the air, and that water is a perfect liquid, twelve cubic inches of water will flow out; and in six minutes and four tenths a hogshead of 100 gallons would run out, or 225 hogsheads in 24 hours. This acting on machinery for 20 feet, that is, over a fall of 30 feet, would do in a day the work of twenty-five men laboring eight hours, according to Smeaton's estimate of the strength of ordinary English laborers.

This calculation will give us some idea of the great value of a small stream of water constantly flowing down a hill.

F. F.

MY DEAR SIR:

LETTER TO THE EDITOR.

SAVANNAH, (Ga.) Dec. 25, 1833.

By the circular and proceedings of the 'Teachers' Society of Georgia,' and by a few incidents I will mention, you will learn something of the state and progress of education in this state. The members of the Society are scattered over the great state of Georgia, some of whom travel from one to two hundred miles to attend its meetings. Among the members are some of the most spirited and able teachers in our country; highly qualified already, and, like every well qualified teacher, they are not satisfied with any present attainments. Their motto is Onward, and still onward and upward.

No subject which came before the Convention inspired the members with so much animation, or confidence, or courage, as County Lyceums. Most of those present gave a pledge that such societies should be organized in their counties, and that they would endeavor to induce their friends in other counties to 'go and do likewise.'

The manual labor system, which is a prominent object of County Lyceums, has already been so far tested in this state as to leave no doubt of its soundness, or of its general extension as the foundation of education in all its forms and departments.

Intimately connected with the manual labor system are circuit schools, to be held weekly, semi-weekly, or semimonthly, as teachers can be procured and sustained. This system has secured the confidence, so far as I know, of every individual to whom it has been suggested. It is thought to be admirably fitted to the south and west, and to every place in our country, and upon our globe, where the population is sparse and the means for daily instruction not abundant.

Three manual labor schools are already in successful operation in Georgia, and several others are in progress: and, if teachers could be procured, one, at least, might be established forthwith in nearly every county in the state. Several applications have been made to me for teachers by persons disposed and able to furnish all the pecuniary