weight of the leather hose serving to raise it when the cord K is slackened.

The apparatus in fig. 3, plate 8, is the invention of a Mr Brown, an architect here, and The sole seems to be superior to the other two.

A B is composed of two pieces of plank, fixed about five inches apart from each other. The short upright C D is half the length of the sole, and is hinged by a bolt at D. When the pole H G is to be erected, the upright C D is brought to a perpendicular position, and fixed there by the ladder G B and the two supports C E and C F; the end of the pole G H is then carried up the ladder and passed through the two rings of the moveable joint I, until the portion passed through is equal to the length of the short upright C D. The end G of the pole G H is then weighed down to D, and there fixed. The director is next attached to the slide M M; which slide is elevated by a cord passing through a pulley at H. The point of the director is depressed by another cord O. P is an iron handle, which serves to turn the whole pole H G, and along with it the director. To the handle To the handle P is affixed the cord which elevates the director; and by turning the handle a considerable power is given for this purpose. When the street is too narrow to admit of the supports C E and C F being extended, a stretcher is used, which is fixed at C, and can be lengthened or shortened at pleasure, so as to support the pole against the sides of the houses. Again, when the street is not level, the ladder C B

can be moved along the sole A B, until the pole stands in a perpendicular position. One advantage which this machine possesses over the other two is, that by it the director may be elevated or lowered to any point between I and H.

Independent altogether of a mistaken principle of usefulness, one insuperable objection to all these machines, is, the difficulty of conveying them with the necessary celerity, and the impossibility of packing them on the engine in such a manner that it may be worked without their being taken off, as it seems to me that every description of apparatus which cannot be conveyed along with the engine, is likely to be left behind when most wanted. It is notorious, that parish fire-ladders are, for this reascn, seldom or never made use of.

Many people object to going inside a building on fire on account of the danger. It ought never to be forgotten, however, that the danger increases with the delay; and that although at first there may be no danger, if the opportunity is not promptly seized, it may become very considerable.

In Edinburgh, where the invariable practice is to enter the building on fire at all hazards, there has, during the last four years, been but one serious accident in consequence; this was occasioned by the falling of a stone stair, by which one of the men had two or three of his ribs broken. Several of the men have at different times fainted, or become stupified, from the want of fresh air; but as no one is ever allowed to enter singly, they have been,

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in all cases, immediately observed by their comrades, and relieved.

Another objection has been raised in the alleged difficulty of persuading men to risk their lives in this manner, for the small consideration which is allowed them. The truth is, that any persuasions I have had occasion to use, have been generally on the other side.

To hold the director is considered the post of honour; and when two engines are working together, I have sometimes difficulty in preventing the men from pressing forward farther than is absolutely necessary. This forwardness is not the result of pecuniary reward for the increase of risk, the pioneers having only five shillings a quarter more than the men who work at the levers of the engines; but a spirit of emulation is at work, and the man intrusted with this branch of duty, if found drawing back, would be completely disgraced.

I do not recollect a single instance, during the last four years, of the firemen being obliged to retreat after having once gained a position inside. They generally, for a few minutes after having first entered, withdraw for a little on account of the steam, but seldom longer than three or four minutes. A retreat, however, should in all cases be kept open, to provide against any accident that may occur; and as this may be done in almost all cases by means so easy and simple, there can be no excuse for its omission. If the fire is above the streetfloor, a single chain hung over the window will be

quite enough for an expert fireman; and none other should be permitted to enter where there is personal danger.

The danger to which firemen are most exposed is catching cold, from their being so frequently drenched with water, and from their exposure to the sudden alternations of heat and cold. A man is turned out of bed at midnight, and in a few minutes after quitting it he is exposed to the sharp air, perhaps, of a frosty winter night; running to the fire as fast as he can, he is, from the exercise, joined to the oppressive heat inside the place on fire, in a few minutes in a state of the most profuse perspiration; and, while in this state, he is almost certain to be soaked with cold water. The smoke is sometimes so thick, that he comes under the range of the director of the engine, without being aware of it till the water strikes him. If he escape this chance, the water rushing on some other object, recoils on him, and produces the same effect; and if the fire be in the roof of the apartment, he must lie down on his back on the floor, and in this manner gets completely steeped.

A bath of this sort is neither very safe nor pleasant; and the only preventive of injury to the health is to keep the men in constant motion. When they are allowed to stand still or sit down, the danger is considerable. When the fire is extinguished, or in two or three hours after its commencement, I make it a rule to give every man a dram of spirits. If it be necessary to leave an en

gine on the spot, those of the men who are to remain, are sent home to change their clothes; the captains, sergeants, and pioneers, being each provided with two jackets and two pairs of trowsers. I have only known of one man, within the last four years, who died of cold caught in this way.

GENERAL REMARKS.

It is now pretty generally admitted, that the whole force brought together for the extinguishing of a fire ought to be under the direction and control of one individual. By this means, all quarrelling among the firemen about the supply of water, the interest of particular insurance companies, and other matters of detail, is avoided. By having the whole force under the command of one person, he is enabled to form one general plan of operations, to which the whole body is subservient; and although he may not, in the hurry of the moment, at all times adopt what will afterwards appear to be the best plan, yet it is better to have some general arrangement, than to allow the firemen of each engine to work according to their own fancy, and that, too, very often in utter disregard whether their exertions may aid or retard those of their neighbours. The individual appointed to such a situation ought not to be interfered with, or have his attention distracted, except by the chief authority on the spot, or the owner of the premises on fire. Much valuable in