JOURNAL OF EDUCATION

15th. Lightning, thunder and rain on 15th, 19th, 27th. Strawberries cypress tree (Thuja gigantea), drawn through it, a long round on 22nd. Storms of wind 4th, 18th, 28th. Fogs on 15th, 21st dense. needle made of hard wood being used for the purpose; it is then Rain on 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 18th, 19th very heavy storm lighted and burns steadily until consumed. I have read comfortwith rain, 22nd, 27th. Vegetation at first very late, but showers abund-ably by its light; the candlestick-literally a stick for the candleant and vegetation afterward very rapid; crops good; grass unusnally consists of a bit of wood split at one end, with the fish inserted in heavy. Health generally good except among children. the cleft. These ready-made sea-candles-little dips wanting only PETERBOROUGH.-On 6th, a rocket-like meteor observed crossing southern part of zenith from SE to W, leaving a trail which lasted about five a wick that can be added in a minute-are easily transformed by seconds. Lightning on 6th in W horizon from 9.27 pm. till 11.15 p.m. heat and pressure into liquid. When the Indian drinks instead of 12th, lightning, 25th, lightning in SSW horizon from 9.47 p.m. till 10.50 burning them, he gets a fuel in the shape of oil, that keeps up the p.m. 27th, lightning. Lightning (forked) with thunder at 7.12 p.m., on combustion within him, and which is burned and consumed in the 14th. Lightning and thunder on 18th. Ón 22nd and 24th, faint auroral lungs, just as it was by the wick, but only gives heat. It is by no light with a few slender streamers-the streamers each night disappearing mere chance that myriads of small fish, in obedience to a wondrous in about 15 minutes. Rain on 2nd, 3rd, 12th, 14th, 15th, 18th, 20th, 26th. instinct, annually visit the northern seas, containing within themSTRATFORD.-Abstract of entries in regard to the storms of June 2nd: selves all the elements necessary for supplying light, heat, and life 1st storm at 2.40 p.m thunder, sky 0 with cu piled in masses and nim in to the poor savage, who, but for this, must perish in the bitter cold N and S; at 3.15 p.m. rain; wind N, velocity 7; thunder loud and of the long dreary winter. lightning vivid; from 3.20 pm. to 3.42 p.m. hail very heavy and stones large; at 3.45 p.m. lightning vivid; wind SE, velocity 4; at 4 p.m. lightning and thunder ceased, wind S2; at 4.40 p.m. rain ceased, depth.8911 in.; thunder in NW, wind SW, velocity 3: 2nd storm-at 5.25 pm. distant thunder in NW, sky clear; nimbi strati and cumuli form, wind NE, 3; at 6 p.m. thunder in continuous peals; this storm passed off to the eastward with a good deal of thunder and lightning; rain from 6.40 to 7.20 p.m. 6th, lightning in NH at 8 30 pm. 7th, a very severe storm of thunder, lightning, hail, rain and wind from 2.40 to 4.40 p. m.; very brilliant and perfect primary and secondary rainbows at 7.25 p.m. 12th, lightning, thunder and rain. 13th, lightning at 8.30 p.m.; imperfect lunar halo at 9 pm. 14th, thunder and lightning at 1.30, 5.30 and 9 p.m. with rain. 17th. thunder, lightning and rain from 7 to 10.30 p.m. Thunder and lightning 25th and 27th. Fogs, 1st, 13th, 26th. Lightning 30th. Rain on 2nd, 3rd, 7th, 11th, 12th, 17th, 26th, 27th. WINDSOR.-On 6th, heavy hail storm, lasting an hour and a half and covering the ground with hail stones, some of which measured two inches in circumference; wind exceedingly variable during the storm, shifting from S to N, and from N to NE, to SE, to S and to SW; barometer fell slightly during the progress of the storm. Rainbows on 6th and 12th, though on the latter of these days no rain fell here. Lightning and thunder with rain 17th. Lightning with thunder on 12th, 13th, 25th. Rain on 1st, 2nd, 6th, 11th, 17th, 24th. Barometer remarkably steady during the month, and no large ranges. Thermometer shows an unusually high temperature during the month.

None of the observers report frost during this June.

ST. JOHN, NEW BRUNSWICK-We extract the following form a report sent by an observer at this point:-For the month of June the corrected mean readings of Barometer were at 8 a m. 30.036, at 2 p.m. 30.016, at 10 p.m. 30.013, means 30.022. Highest, 30.242 on 11th, lowest, 29.564 on 4th and 30th; range .678. Temperature: mean at 6 am. 50°.97, 10 a.m. 589.61, 2 pm 62.17, 6 p.m. 599.37, 10 p.m. 55°.33. Highest, 720 on 17th, and 27th, lowest 43° on 10th; range 290. Greatest daily range 12°, on 9th and 27th. Least daily range 19. Warmest day 17th, mean 62.3; coldest 10th, mean 50°. Tension of vapour, mean at 8 a.m. .344, 2 p.m.383, 10 p.m. .356; mean .356. Humidity, mean at 8 a.m. 85, 2 p.m. 78, 10 p.m. 88; mean 79. Wind, E to SW 26 days, and N to NE 4 days. Rain, 5 days and 7 nights, total fall 8.445.

2. COMETS AND SHOOTING STARS.

A curious theory on the "Probable connection of Comets with Shooting Stars" is explained by Mr. W. T. Lynn in the Intellectual Observer. It seems that the November shower of meteors moves round the sun in an orbit almost identical with that of a comet observed in 1866, that the August meteors follow the track of a comet seen in 1862, and the April meteors that of another observed in New York in 1861. Can it be that the comets partially shed their tails on their road, leaving their orbits more or less completely traced out in a ring of fiery dust? That, at any rate, is the first notion which these facts, if thoroughly established, would suggest. -London Guardian.

IV. Papers on Scientific subjects.

1. THE CANDLE FISH.

Mr. John Lord, an Englishman, who went to British Columbia as scientific member of the commission appointed to mark the boundary line between British and United States territory, has published in London an account of his travels, in a volume entitled "The Naturalist in Vancouver Island and British Columbia." Among his stories is the following account of an extraordinary fish:

"I have never seen any fish half as fat and as good for Arctic winter food as the little candle fish. It is next to impossible to broil or fry them, for they melt completely into oil. Some idea of their marvellous fatness may be gleaned from the fact that the natives use them as lamps for lighting their lodges. The fish, when dried, has a piece of rush-pith, or strip from the inner bark of the

"As soon as the Indians have stored away the full supply of food for the winter, all the fish subsequently taken are converted into oil. If we stroll down to the lodgings near the beach, we shall see for ourselves how they manage it. The fish reserved for oil making have been piled in heaps until partially decomposed; five or six fires are blazing away, and in each fire are a number of large round pebbles to be made very hot. By each fire are four large square boxes, made of the trunk of the pine tree. A squaw carefully piles in each box a layer of fish about three deep, and covers them with cold water. She then puts five or six of the hot stone upon the layers of fish, and when the steam has cleared away, carefully lays small pieces of wood over the stones; then more fish, more water, more stones, more layers of wood, and so on until the box is filled. The oil-maker now takes all the liquid from this box, and uses it over again instead of water in filling another box, and skims the oil off as it floats on the surface. A vast quantity of oil is thus obtained; often as much as seven hundred weight will be made by one small tribe.

"The refuse of the fish are not yet done with, more oil being extractable from them. Built against the pine tree is a small stage made of poles, very like a monster gridiron. The refuse of the boxes, having been sewn up in porous mats, is placed on the stage, to be rolled and pressed by the arms and chests of Indian women; and the oil thus squeezed out is collected in a box placed underneath. Not only has nature, ever bountiful, sent an abundance of oil to the redskin, but she actually provides ready-made bottles to store it away in. The great seawrack, that grows to an immense size in those northern seas, and forms submarine forests, has a hollow stalk, expanded into a complete flask at the root end. Cut into lengths of about three feet, these hollow stalks, with the bulb at the end, are collected and kept wet until required for use. the oil is obtained it is stored away in these natural quart bottles, or rather larger bottles, for some of them hold three pints."

2. AMBER.

As

This word is derived from the Arabic. The well-known substance so called is a fossilized resin of certain unknown coniferous trees, of the fir or pine genus. Great virtues were attributed to it by the ancients. Pliny tells us that Sophocles held amber to be the petrified tears which the birds of Meleager dropped to the memory of that great hero of mythology. Amber has been among the moderns a subject of great discussion. The mystery in which it was involved was increased by the circumstance that Hebrew and Arabic characters were often found engraved upon it, in a perfectly legible state. Dr. Thomas, of Koenisberg, has given us the explanation of this singular fact by stating that the pieces of amber so engraved were neither more nor less than seals. Many of them are preserved in the Museum of Portici, but chiefly brought thither from Herculaneum. It is certainly astonishing that, having invented seals, the Romans should not have followed up the idea, and invented some sort of painting process for their writing. Never was there a broader hint given to man, and yet it took a thousand years to bridge over the gulf which lies between two seals and moveable types. The largest known deposit of amber lies on the Prussian coast of the Baltic; it is found in a bed of lignite, which is supposed to extend far under the sea. Another deposit of amber lies almost horizontally on the outskirts of Dirschheim, at a depth of only four feet from the surface. Pieces of amber are often found lying on the coast after a storm: thus, on the first of January, 1848, upwards of 400 kilos of this substance were thrown out of the sea within a very small space. Amber has been known from the highest antiquity, and important medical properties were attributed to it; even now it maintains its place in our pharmacopoeias, together with the oil distilled from it, as a stimulant, an astringent, and an antispasmodic. Amber necklaces have been found in Celtic tombs both in England and Brittany. Regnard tells us that in his time the Margrave of Brandenburg presented the Emperor of Russia, with an

arm-chair entirely of amber, and the Dauphin with a mirror of the Nearly all the judges of the Superior Courts who were in the city same material.

V. Biographical Sketches.

No. 20.-LORD JUSTICE TURNER.

It is not long since the resignation of Lord Justice Sir James Knight Bruce, the senior of the two eminent judges who long held the position of Lord Justices of the Court of Appeal in the English Court of Chancery. We have now to record the sudden death, on the 9th July, of the Hon. Sir George James Turner, the able associate of Sir J. K. Bruce. Lord Justice Turner was the son of the late Rev. Richard Turner, of Great Yarmouth, and was born February 5, 1798. His father's family was large. Among them one, Mr. R. J. Turner, is the accountant and referee of titles of our Court of Chancery. The deceased judge was educated at the Charterhouse school and Pembroke college, Cambridge, graduating ninth wrangler in 1819. He was called to the bar in 1821, and made Q.C. in 1840. He entered parliament as a member for Coventry in 1847, and was appointed Vice Chancellor by Lord John Russell, though opposing him in politics, in 1851. He was elevated to the higher office of Lord Justice, on Lord Cranworth becoming Chancellor in 1853, and has held this important post ever since. He was a Privy Council and a Fellow of the Royal Society. The name of Lord Justice Turner is well known throughout the British dominions, and wherever English laws are quoted, as that of an impartial, able judge, and a good man. None of the many able men who have lately adorned the English bench were more unvary. ing in assiduous attention to duty. His demeanor was kind and courteous to the profession. His judgments were full and satisfactory and seldom over-ruled. It is stated that Sir John Rolt will probably succeed to the vacancy occasioned by Sir George's death, Lord Hugh Cairns being the other Lord Justice.-Leader.

No. 21.-JUDGE HARRISON.

attended, together with a large number of the members of the bar, the Council of Public Instruction, and leading citizens. The corteye moved from the residence of the judge about ten o'clock, and passed along Queen Street to Parliament Street, and thence to St. James' Cemetery, where the remains were deposited.

Prior to the hour at which the funeral was to take place, a meeting of the bar of the County of York and City of Toronto was held at Osgoode Hall, Mr. T. C. Galt, Q.C., in the chair, at which the following resolutions were carried unanimously :— Mr. D. B. Read, Q.C., moved, seconded by Mr. M. R. Vankoughnet, and

Resolved-That the bar of the County of York and City of Toronto desire to express their extreme sorrow at the recent death of the very esteemed judge of the County Court, the late S. B. Harrison, and to record their sense of the great loss the bar have sustained in the loss of one who was at once so impartial a judge and upright a man.

Mr. A. Crooks, Q.C., moved, seconded by Mr. S. B. Harman, and

Resolved-That the members of the bar of the county and city also desire to express their heartfelt sympathy with Mrs. Harrison, in the great loss she has sustained in her heavy bereavement. Mr. James Patterson moved, seconded by Mr. T. A. Ince, and Resolved-That the above resolutions be engrossed on parchment and forwarded by the chairman to Mrs. Harrison, with a letter of condolence. The Council of Public Instruction met at 9 o'clock on the morning of the funeral, and adopted the following Minute:Ordered :

Honourable Samuel Bealy Harrison, Q. C., Judge of the County That this Council learn with the deepest regret the decease of the and Surrogate Courts of the County of York; who, as member of Lord Sydenham's administration, and Secretary of the Province, introduced, and carried through the Legislature, in 1841, the first general School Bill for United Canada; who was a member of this Council since its first organization, in 1846, and its Chairman during the last nineteen years; and who, by his intelligence and enlarged views, and by his interest in public education, conferred great benefit upon the country at large, and contributed largely to the efficiency of the proceedings of this Council while, by his courtesy and kindness, he added much to the pleasure of its deliberations.

That the members of this Council sincerely condole with Mrs. Harrison and her family, under their sore bereavement, and resolve to attend, as a body, the funeral of their late lamented chairman. That a copy of the foregoing minute be communicated to Mrs. Harrison.-Leader.

No. 22.-REV. DR. McMORINE.

Hon. S. B. Harrison, Judge of the County Court of York, Chairman of the Quarter Sessions, and Judge of the Surrogate Court, died 23rd July. Mr. Harrison was a member of the Executive Council from the 10th March, 1841, to the 30th September, 1843, during which period there were no less than ten different phases of Administration, six of which were mixed or Coalition, and the remaining four Reform. Out of 84 members, there had been returned only 24 avowed supporters of the Government; and yet Lord Sydenham made such a combination as prevented the opposition from being formidable to the Government, so skilful a use did he make of the unpromising materials with which he had to work. Besides the 24 Government members, there were 20 French members, most of them ill-reconciled to the new condition of things; 20 moderate Reformers and five others of that school: Dr. John McMorine was born in Sanquhar, Dumfrieshire, Scotthe Compact party had been reduced to seven, five were doubtful land, in the year 1799. He received his early training in the grambefore being tried; there was one special return and one double mar school of his native town, and his education for the ministry return. Out of these materials Lord Sydenham formed a powerful in the University of Edinburgh, at a time when Edinburgh had Government, by combining the strength of different parties; and many attractions for divinity students, but the chief of which he did this, at first, without the aid of the French Canadians, centered in the grand-souled Chalmers, whose elevating and stimuwhom he left out altogether, on account of their hostility to the lating instructions he was wont to speak of in terms of the highest Union Act. Of this Government, Mr. Harrison was a member. enthusiasm. In 1837, he came to Canada, and after assisting Mr. No French Canadian was admitted till July, 1842, when M. Lafon- Clugston, then minister of St. John's, Quebec, he took a mistaine became a member of the Cabinet. It was one of the errors sionary tour through Western Canada, but settled down in 1839, as of Lord Sydenham's Administration, that he left the French Cana-minister of Melbourne. He was translated to Ramsay, in 1846, dians out of the account at first; an error which cost him the resig-where he continued to labour for upwards of twenty years, with nation of Mr. Baldwin, on the 13th June, 1841. great acceptance and usefulness.

During all the time he was a member of the Executive, Mr. Harrison was Provincial Secretary, and from the 21st December, 1841, to the 3rd October, 1844, he was a member of the Board of Works. He represented Kingston, in the first Parliament of United Canada, from the 1st July, 1841, to the 23rd September, 1844. In the second Parliament, he was member for Kent, from the 12th November, 1844, to the 3rd January, 1845.

Mr. Harrison's title to renown will rest upon the assistance he gave to Lord Sydenham against those who wished to embarrass the carrying out of the Union Act. Lord Sydenham, as his biographer remarks, was saved by his own firmness and courage, "and by the honest, straightforward generosity with which the moderate Reformers came to his support. In a crisis of this kind, firmness and courage, aided by the right feeling of the community, always win.

"

Mr. Harrison has long occupied the position of County and Surrogate Judge. He was a man of high integrity, and was universally respected.

The funeral took place on the morning of the 25th, and was one of the largest that has occurred in Toronto, for several years past.

The University of Queen's College, in which he took a warm interest, and of which he was long a trustee, showed its appreciation of his high attainments and great personal worth by bestowing upon him, in 1865, the honorary degree of D.D. His scholarship was far above that of many of his brethren in the Ministry. If circumstances had been favourable to the indulgence of his natural tastes and capacities, he would have early attained eminence in the study of physical science. He died on 22nd May, in the 68th year of his age, and the 31st of his ministry in Canada. He was for many years a local superintendent of schools.-Presbyterian.

VI. Historical Papers.

1. THE CONQUEROR AS A BENEFACTOR. Rev. S. Predeaux Tregelles, an English scholar, has been making an extensive tour of exploration in Brittany and Normandy, among the descendants of the ancient British emigrants who went to France in the sixth and seventh centuries. In his travels ho