Professor Silliman's last journal contains a very important article,
illustrative of the practical application of this mineral; and the vast
quantities of it that may be found in Great Britain renders the
information highly valuable to our manufacturing interests. In no part
of the world is anthracite, so valuable in the arts and for economical
purposes, found so abundantly as in Pennsylvania. For the manufacture of
iron this fuel is peculiarly advantageous, as it embraces little sulphur
or other injurious ingredients; produces an intense steady heat; and,
for most operations, it is equal, if not superior to coke. Bar iron,
anchors, chains, steamboat machinery, and wrought-iron of every
description, has more tenacity and malleability, with less waste of
metal, when fabricated by anthracite, than by the aid of bituminous coal
or charcoal, with a diminution of fifty per cent. in the expense of
labour and fuel. For breweries, distilleries, and the raising of steam,
anthracite coal is decidedly preferable to other fuel, the heat being
more steady and manageable, and the boilers less corroded by sulphureous
acid, while no bad effects are produced by smoke and bitumen. The
anthracite of Pennsylvania is located between the Blue Bridge and
Susquehannah; and has not hitherto been found in other parts of the
state, except in the valley of Wyoming.

_Holly Hedges._

At Tynningham, the residence of the Earl of Harrington, are holly hedges
extending 2,952 yards, in some cases 13 feet broad and 25 feet high. The
age of these hedges is something more than a century. At the same place
are individual trees of a size quite unknown in these southern
districts. One tree measures 5 feet 3 in. in circumference at 3 feet
from the ground; the stem is clear of branches to the height of 14 feet,
and the total height of the tree is 54 feet. At Colinton House, the seat