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The Avondale Disaster. MESSERS EDITORS :My suggestion will be too late to help the unfortunate miners at Avondale, but may be of use in some future disaster. The plan I suggest is, to have close by each mine two or more complete diver's suits, with all attachments ready for instant use. To enable the miner to drag the necessary air hose along the levels, he would require a hose carriage similar to that used for the compressed Itir coal cutters in England. For some points, when the hose would be liable to entanglement, small vessels of compressed air, or compressod oxygen, would enable a man to work for a limited time. Some of the suits should be the ordinary deep- sea dress so that assistance could be carried through drowned parts of a level. The suits used merely to protect against gas conld be made almost as light as an ordinary suit of clothes. By this means a few men could be supplied with air and could get at once to points that now require days to reach in safety. My suggestion may not be practical in its present shape, but the principle of carrying the limited supply of air to the point when it will give its maximum useful effect in cases of di saster will bear working out by those who are practical miners. J. G. S. Philadelphia, Pa. Marks Produced by Lightning Strofte. MESSRS. EDITORS :1 noticE^.N article on page 170, current volume of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, on the subject of marks produced upon the body by lightning stroke. I wish to state an instance of the kind which occurred in the upper part, or western portion of Washington county, Md., some time in July, 1851, to which I, with several others, was an eye-witness. In an open lot near the residence of the late Captain John Ressley, about Iwo and a half miles northwest of the town of Hancock, in the county named, stood an oak tree of medium size, under which, during a thu nder storm, a sheep had taken shelter from the rain. On a limb or branch of the tree sat a robin, directly over the sheep ; a flash of lightning struck the tree, the robin, and the sheep ; killing both of the latter. We saw the sheep lying under t,h works I was too poor to buy, though they cost but a few frmcs a volume. Most conspicuous of all were twelve volumes of the new German Cyclopedia, presented to me by the publisher. I shall never forget, after his look of mingled interest and surprise at my little collection,his half sarcastic question as he pounced upon the great Encyclopedia : ' Was mochera Sie den rnit diescr E.s- e?s5rilcke.' What are you doing with this ass's bridge ?the somewhat contemptuous name given in Germany to similar compilations. ' I have not had time,' I said, • to study the original sources of learning, and I need a prompt and easy answer to a thousand questions I have, as yet no other means of solving.' ” It was no doubt apparent to him th at I was not over familiar with the good things of this world, for I shortly afterwards received an invitation to meet him at six o'clock in the • Gallerie V?tre«' of the Palais Royal, whence he led me into one of those restaurants, the tempting windows of which I had occasionally passed by. When we were seated, he half laughingly, half inquiringly, asked me if I would order the dinner. I declined the invitation, saying that we should fare better if he would take the trouble. And for three hours, which passed like a dream, I had him all to myself. How he examined me, and how much I learned in that short time! How to work, what to do, and what to avoid; how to live, how to distribute my time; what methods of study to pursue these were the things of which he talked to me on that de- • lightful eveningI do not mention this trivial incident without feeling that it may seem too familiar for the occasion; nor should I give it at all, except that it shows the sweetness and kindness of Humboldt's nature. It was not enough for him to cheer and stimulate the student; he cared also to give a rare indulgence to a young man who could allow himself few ENGLISH TELEGRAPHS.The Postmaster-General of England asks for £6,750,000 to buy up the electric telegraphs of the kingdom, and seems likely. JiQ get the money. In return, he not only promises cheap messages, a large increase in the number of offices, and other facilities, but after paying interest on the sum expended, he will have, in the first year, a surplus of £77,000. This surplus will of course increase with the increase in the number of messages dispatched. As regards the scientific part of the question, it is thought that the demand for improvements will be 00 eonstant, that invention will bo stimulated! and that We Bliall see a BUCCe88ion of methods fa,' applying the wondrous power of,Dl(1ctro=mag>wt« htn mtxtoHtog All hit]i,(.'Ho compared. 148-35 © 1869 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.