THE NE

W-YORK EXHIBITION ILLUSTRATED.

part by a slide, and it should extend up to the floor on which the gauge re ** s ’free action of the float and its connecting wire or cham may m,t l’obstructions falling into the box. Having so adjusted the wire 01 0 ^ ta]wn to

midway position on the paper to the record curve, particular car to the

Prevent its being altered, since any change in its length or pom s 0

to, relation of th. reeorf to ft.i f™— *“

records should be carefully referred to some permanent /eio, orout into the stone, or reference mass, and this Zero or bench ^ " h e ma rkand precisely described in the file of tide recoids, as a s « n m ra on staff

and in the Zero of the gauge itself, as referred to the mark.. and

guage should always be erected in connection with a self-regis ei o ^as near by as convenient; it being then simply necessary to obtam by carefullevelling, the reading of the bench mark on the staff, when it ie ^ ^ twQown reading level, and then to compare the simultaneous me ma^ ^gauges, for the starting point of the record curve lea mg . freez-

have such positions as" to receive the full effect of the ti e, an w^ ^ mllgtlug or other causes the registering gauge ceases to wor , e r. The

be used for hourly and high and low water observations m the usi■ .

record sheet should always bear upon it the names of the station ^ the

the number and scale of the gauge, the dates of beginning a and

record, the 12 M. dot of each fifth day clearly dated, and full notes ]ated

causes of all breaks in the record, and of all new starts, withstaff guage readings during the record gaps. u star ted, each

After taking these precautions and getting the mstrumen , g sur0

Coast Survey Observer is required to visit his station every day u 0

all is going right, when it is deemed sufficient ^ to which the

other day, observing the following directions. 1. and free from

recording pencil is attached, should always be kept per ec y being

rust; for this purpose it may be rubbed with oiled cloths every week ca^e b

take; that no oil be left on the rod, or allowed in ^ ^ t0 J°^2Zlonwhich support the pencil resting upon it. 2. If in consequencei u gj c ; en t to

of storms, the tide should fall so low as to render the counterp when

keep the chain well stretched, a small additional weig t m av some-

the rise and fall is great, or very much influenced byA e jm^^ looating

times be necessary; but as there is little strain upon t P ’ . , . em p r ace

»h. g„ g . tootod to th. ftat m.k. «h.

all but very extraordinary tides. Proper attention o cJock s h 0 uld be

graphs will insure an unobstructed motion of the P encl • ' , ue ces-

made to keep mean solar time, being corrected to this effec , w ^ b

sary, by a sun-dial or a meridian mark with the equation of: time ap^ed, oi 1>y

such other means as may be found available. L Should the c ocdered, it is not desirable for the observer to disturb any re

notice may always be given to the assistant in charge° from absolute

Pairs are needed. 5. The clock should never be s opp . stopped, the

necessity, or from some unavoidable accident. Wll ® ne T® 1 ' distinctly marked,time and corresponding hour dot upon the paper s ou corresponding

When ,, » .gto. to ..otto., to. tr,no : m ****“ J 6 »

time, should be noted m like manner. 6. Th , d The observer’s

o’clock M., upon the fifth day of every month shou ' fadure t0 comply

attention is particularly called to the last two paragrap s. dete0 |. ed when the^ith them will cause much confusion, and must inevita y oorr esponding

record sheets are sent to the office. 7 The sides of the isheet ^ ^ ^ ^to the high and low water should be marked respective y, • • the . at

beginning and end of the month. 8. When it is necessaiy > ^ ftn d

the beginning of the month, this should be done wit iou s o; tbe first

not near the time of high or low water. The time .corresponding to ^hour dot after the paper is changed, should of course e mai e ^ ^ g aU g e .sent to the office should bear the observer’s name and the num . ^ ^ cas0

This number, together with the scale, is branded on tie ins 111 staff gauge

the clock stops and cannot at once be started, obseiva ’° ns ^ observer, and°f the time and height of high and low water must be made y ^ n()te _

recorded on the registering sheet, with the date an leason telegraph to

U. When any such difficulty occurs, the observer will m all

"“W sheets are read in the office by the aid of

being run between two overlapping guides.and tin er a subdividing the

v ersely. A small transparent scale of radiating mes low

half hours, thus giving the means of very close readings about the big

Waters - , this instrument requires

In reviewing this description, it will be a PP ar ‘ th0g0 ;tg records must beeare and skill on the part of its attendant, but t n ^ reoor(] sheets aIrea dyof the most perfect kind. Such is the fact, an gtiv e*>f the varying

give perfect pictures of a month’s tides which ai y ^ t0 inter .

elements concurring in their production. Curve 1 _ . t 0 the eye.

Wet than numerical readings, for the na J 1 ™ 1 of minute quantities

The record curves are also much more delicate ex

than the simple gauge readings. . On the whole, the introduction of automatictidal records cannot fail to promote a critical study of tides, besides saving thedrudgery of mere unintelligent watching for the hours.

Self-registering tide gauges have been for some years in successful use at someof the British tide stations, and Mr. Saxton’s machine is not original in its generalidea. It is, however, exceedingly perfect in its details and nice in its operations,with several important points of originality, especially in the arrangements forusing a long record sheet and for marking the time on it. These reasons wellentitle it to a pre-eminence greater than we have given it, a pre-eminence whichwe anticipate it will fully vindicate by its prospective share in the work of eluci-dating the tides of our two ocean borders.

GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS OF ORNAMENTAL ART IN ENGLAND.

A LL countries whose industrial pursuits have arrived at that point at which theyare enabled to supply the necessaries of life, seek in any further development toadd the ornamental element to that of utility. To do this successfully, art-edu-cation is required, not merely that of the designer or originator of the forms to bewrought out, but also of the workman, by whose skill it is to be fashioned, andby whose intelligence or ignorance it is to be made or marred, in regard to thehigher qualities of art.

It is only within the last twenty years that attention has been practicallydirected to the importance of education as applied to art-manufacture inGreat Britain, and institutions founded in which the artisan, as well as theartist, may obtain systematic v 'instruction in the principles and practico of art asapplied to his particular pursuit. Nor lias this latter point been sufficiently at-tended to until very recently, and perhaps, oven now, there is much more to bedone than has been imagined. Under the singular misnomer of schools of design,*the early promoters of the institutions whose title has been lately changed to thatof schools of Ornamental Art, proceeded to take the initiative in a system, whichproperly carried out, was calculated to produce results of the most satisfactorycharacter, and even with all the mistakes, blunders, and perversions to which theseschools have been subjected, has done more than could have been expected.

Convinced of the importance of such institutions to the future well-being of themanufacturing interests of England, as well as the advancement of the people in ahigher grade of intelligence, a few earnest men, at the head of whom stood Mr. W.Ewart, then M. P. for Liverpool, obtained the appointment of a parliamentary com-mittee on “ arts and manufactures.” This committee sat, and examined witnesses,amongst whom were men the most eminent in Europe for scientific and artistic at-tainments, manufacturing skill, and commercial knowledge. They finally reported in1836, that measures for the promotion of artistic education amongst the manufacturingclasses ought to be at once taken, and that the government ought to assist by grants ofpublic money and the organization of a contral establishment in London. Accord-ingly the Government School of Design, Somerset House, was founded for the pro-motion of the latter object, and as a model establishment. A council of gentlemen,all of whom were eminent either as patrons of art, artists, men of science, Or manu-facturers, was appointed by the Board of Trade, under which the experiment wasto be carried out, and a sum of money having been granted, with the free use of therooms formerly occupied by the Royal Academy, the new institution commenced itscareer. Its progress was very slow. The title of the institution perplexed matter-of-fact-people, and it was supposed that none could attend but those who hadpreviously learned drawing; and that its object was to teach those whocould draw already, to design. The establishment of a school in Spitalfields, thefirst branch establishment, did much to make the matter bettor understood—inas-much as it took the weaver from his loom, and the youngest boy who assisted him,and proposed to teach them drawing as applied to the silk manufacture, not somuch with the expectation of making designers of them, as to make them moreintelligent and reliable workmen in the execution of the designs of others. Stim-ulated by the movement in London, a few leading men at Manchester took up thequestion, and established a school in that city, not, however, in connection withthe government, but ns a local experiment. Here the instruction had no referencewhatever to industry. It was simply a cheap academy of art in its more generalforms of study, and the student was loft to apply his knowledge, or blunder in hisignorance as he might, when desiring to apply his art to practical purposes inmanufactures. Of course this system failed, and the school at Manchester event-ually became one of the government schools subsequently established in the greatprovincial towns.

The progress of the school at Somerset House, under Mr. Dyce, appointed

* The fonnders of the English schools took tho French title, “Ecole de Dessin” and translating itliterally, forgot that in English “ design ” meant much more than “ dossln ” in French. By designing iareally meant originating.