Any improvement or advancement in the fine arts, at all times, has claims to attention; but where such applies more particularly to the delicacy, yet firmness, of the pencil, and the transparency or opaqueness of colors used in depicting machinery, such has a twofold claim on our attention. It is well known that, in the manufacture of water colors, gum has formed a component part, not only attaching brilliancy to the tone of color, but giving necessary firm ness, or compactness to the cake. It,

more »

... howev er, has been found, after much study, and at tention to the admixture of colors, and their manufacture, that the gum might be supersed ed by the employment of wax-at the same time renderi)1g the colors readily soluble with water, while the tone given nearly approaches an oil painting. One of the main features in this improvement may be said to consist in the power acquired of washing over the color once laid down without the dangcrto be apprehend ed fr om moving or destroying the transparency or brilliancy-a point which those acquainted with the mechanical drawings can well esti mate. The testimonials submitted to us, of the importance to be attached to the introduc tion of wax instead of gum, and now before us, embrace the principal historical and land scape pamter. of the day, whether in oil or water colors. Messrs. Reeves &-Sons have also lately introduced a superior black-lead pencil, manufactured fl'om the dust of pure Cum berland lead,-a step taken by them in consequence of the lead mine in Cumberland, from which the supply has heretofore been ac quired, having failed to produce the quality, if not the quantity of lead, which has been ex tracted from it in past days. The importance to be attached to the freedom of handling by the pencil, which depends mainly on the puri ty of the lead, while they are free from grit, and possess the scvcral varieties of hardness and tint that may be requir�d, forms one of the most prominent claims on attention. Having availed ourselves of the use of both of the pen cils and colors, we have no hesitation in add ing our humble testimoy to that rendered by the prineipal artists of the day.-Min. Jour. To make an unproductive Tree Bear. A lady of our acquaintance, took us into her gal'den, recently, where we were shown an apple tree which she informed us had been planted for ten or more years, but had never until last year borne any fruit. In looking over an old volume, she accidentally met with what puported to be a remedy for this unpro ductiveness , which was simply to cut from each limb, close to where it diverges from the trunk, a piece of bark about half an inch round the limb, one inch in width, immediately re place it by tying it on with a rag until it ad heres again. Early last spring, she tried this experiment upon the tree we speak of, leaving however, two or three limbs untouched. The result was, in the autumn it was filled with apples; but it is worthy of remark, that those limbs only which had been cut bore fruit. The operation is very simple, and as it has proved succassful in this instance, we have no hesitation in recommending its trial in sim ilar cases.-[Reading Gazette. The Otahelte Phenonunoft. Kotzebue, who 'Visited the island of Otaheite only a few years ago, was the flrst to communi cate to the world the singular law by which the tides of this island are regu.lated-namely, that the time of high water is precisely at noon and at.midnight all the year round. curate survey of the whole island was p1.ade by them. It has since been visited by hundreds of navigators from all quarters of the old and new world, yet pone ofthem (expect Kotzebue) have condescended to notice this wonderful phenomenon, though it is of a nature to attract he attention of the most car less observer. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. Prof". ()IO".,.es'fI Aritlunetlllal Proce .... We haTe been truly astonished at the facili ty with which Prof. Clowes performs the most difficult arithmetical process, and arrives at the moot accurate results. In introducing the subject, and speaking of the difficulty of en gaging the attention of the New York public to this immensely important improvement, and of giving instructi�n therein by a course of illustrative lectures, he appropriately remar k ed that if he should show the people of this City that he could whirl round sixty times. in a second, or play a tune on one string of a fiddle, or even teach some fan cy science in a foreign language, there might be less difficulty in ex citing attention or obtaining an audience, than when a time and labor saving mode of accom plishing a common business operation is offer ed. As an illustration of the extraordinary facility of the improved process we give below a few examples of arithmetical answers, which were given in our office, in less time than mn ordinary clerk would copy the numericals employed therein. First was required the square root of each numeral from 2 to 8 inclusive, which were given in about one mi nute to each question by Prof. Clowes, as follows: r2 is 1.414213562:3731.