The recent sudden death of James Harper, senior membe: of the celebrated publishing house of Harper Brothers, o this city, has taken away from us one of our most honorec and respected citizens. His death resulted from injuries re ceived by being thrown from a carriage while taking a drive His funeral, which took place upon the 30th of March, wai largely attended by the most prominent citizens of New York and was further honored by the closing of the different house in the book trade throughout the city. He was, in many re spects, a remarkable man, and his life was one long exampl of the beauty of all social and Christian virtues, combine with business and literary judgment, to a highly exceptiona degree. Applications of Steel Castings, A few days ago we saw a number of specimens of stee castings imported by Philip S. Justice, of this city, whicl showed a degree of tenacity and ductility seldom found i: steel forgings. The castings were of varying thickness, forir and weight, and had been subjected to forging, bending, pei cussion when cold, hardening, tempering, etc., all the test that would be used to determine the toughness of the bes wrought iron, and some that would be inadmissible with stee forgings. The result was wonderful. Cored castings wer brought together under the hammer, and drawn out withou showing any evidences of unsoundness. The castings showe no blow holes or evidences of want of homogeneousness, bu were in all respects as sound as any forgings. They finishe under the file or on the lathe elegantly. It is claimed the can be made as thin as one-sixteenth of an inch with facility Their solidity may be conceived from the fact that hydrauli cylinders, unlined, of fourteen inches inside diameter, two fee ten inches long, and only two and a half inches thick, stand a test to which one of cast iron eight inches thick, would succumb. These castings have been used in England for some time, but have only lately been introduced into this country. The applications of this method of working steel are numberless, or at least equal in number and similar in character to those of cast iron, and calculated to supersede wrought iron and steel forgings to a very great extent.