Volltext Seite (XML)
from the difficulty of reaching this spot it is seldom seen. I had some trouble in obtaining a sharp negative of these trees, owing to the constant movement of the long pendu lous leaves. In the woods behind these Mr. Stollmeyer had the fortune, a few years ago, to discover an independent nugget of exceedingly fine glace pitch, which when shipped to England, realized a good price ; unfortunately, it was only a few tons. None of the same kind has since been found. The southern half of the lake is dotted with small islands, composed of small trees, amongst which grows the Moriche. It is supposed that these islands are formed on the apex of the earth’s undulations, which run under the pitch, and at these spots approach the surface. Clouds, which had been gathering eastward, now covered the lake, greatly increasing its gloomy appearance ; a cool wind blew in puffs; birds in hundreds flew over the lake westward; Nature seemed suddenly hushed; noise, like the falling of small pebbles over the forest, was now heard, and the burst of a regular tropical storm, which, in less than sixty seconds completely saturated every part of our clothing, and continued falling over a quarter of an hour, defying umbrellas and cloaks, and gave to the surface an appearance of a lake of rough ice, caused by the strong reflecting power of the water when covering the pitch. I obtained a view of the appearance just before the storm, and one immediately after. As I had seen everything interesting, and taken, in all, fourteen views, we now left the lake for the last time, and returned to Point Rouge. On the Saturday following we returned to La Brea, and at 4 p.m. embarked on board the return steamer for the capital, where we arrived at 10 o'clock. Observation has proved that the whole material of the lake is in a slow, but constant movement. During my conversation with Mr. Stollmeyer, I was led to inquire from him the probable origin of this wonderful work of Nature. It has not yet been clearly determined whether this asphaltum is a mineral or vegetable substance, Mr. S. takes it to be a link between the two; it appears to him to be the result of a distillation of vegetable fibre mixed with earthy matter under high preesure; but a circumstance which brought together such an enormous quantity of woody fibre to this particular spot, which, in its decomposition, produced millions of tons of asphalt must ever remain a secret. It is, however, not improbable that before the sepa ration of Trinidad from the mainland of South America, viz., before the Brocas’ and Serpent’s Mouth were formed by the waters of the Atlantic, the Gulf of Paria was a lake re ceiving the waters of the Orinoco and the Gurapiche rivers, quantities of timber, brought down by them, may have drifted to that spot, until successive layers reached above the level of the water, which must have been then much higher than the present level of the Gulf, if, as it is sup posed, the fertile valley of the Naparimas,which abounds in fresh-water shells, formed the bed of the river that delivered the water of the lake into the Atlantic Ocean. Whether the above hypothesis be correct or not, the existence of the Pitch Lake is a reality, and it is fairly to be supposed that at some future time it will become an important element in the prosperity of Trinidad. Upwards of 3000 tons were exported in the years 1860-61. Whenever enterprise and science take a firm footing in Trinidad, La Brea will become the Newcastle and Birmingham of the West Indies; and this black diamond of Trinidad will furnish the means of giving employment to thousands of industrious people, and wealth to many enterprising men. The whole of the land circumjacent to the Lake, with Point La Brea, is the property of the Earl of Dundonald, who also leases from the Colonial Government twenty acres of the lake. Various specimens of raw asphalt, and a few of the purposes for which it may be used, have been for warded to the International Exhibition. Proreedings of Societies. London PHOTOGRAPIIC Society. The first meeting of the Photographic Society for the session was held on Tuesday evening, at King’s College. Mr. Francis Bedford in the Chair. The meeting was a full and interesting one, and the table was liberally bestrewn with many excellent specimens for exhi bition and for presentation to the society. Amongst these were some fine largo pictures by M. Debedts, and a series by Mr. Clifford, illustrating a work entitled "Scrambles in Spain;” both sets being forwarded by Mr. T. Ross. Mr. Martin exhi bited a print and some negatives, intended to illustrate the excellent qualities of the bromo-iodized collodion—Messrs. Homo and Thornthwaite’s—with which they were taken; and he also called attention to Mr. Harmer’s two albums, containing speci mens of double printing and chromo-photographs, to which wo have before called attention. Mr. Hughes exhibited some charming cartes de visite. Mr. Dallmeyer exhibited some very beautiful examples of the work of his card lenses. The Stereo scopic Company sent a number of choice specimens of their photographs of the interior of the International Exhibi tion, by Mr. England and others. Mr. Warner exhibited a handsome allium, made to hold a dozen card portraits on one page ; the album was filled with specimens of views, &c., the introduction of which, in card size, Mr. Warner claimed. Mr. H. Cooper, jun., exhibited a fine collection of prints on resinized ■ paper, and some very fine photographic prints on white silk. The whole of these specimens, with some others, were examined with much pleasure and interest. The minutes having been read, the following gentlemen wero elected members of the society : Messrs. J. AY. Osborne ; Hale, of Eastbourne ; Reeves, of Falmouth ; Mayland, of Cambridge; Heisch, of Piccadilly ; and Clark, of uneaton. Mr. J. AV. Osborne then read a paper on “ Some of the Dif ficulties of Photolithography.” Presuming that members were familiar with his paper read at Cambridge, he called attention to points not before treated, and gave a brief description of the processes of other inventors. AVe shall give his paper in our next. At the conclusion of his paper he exhibited a series of interest ing specimens, illustrating his own process, and also specimens of photolithographs, photo-engravings, carbon prints, &c, by Poitevin, Talbot, Cutting and Bradford, Pouncy, Bretsch, Rani- age, and others, and by the process of photozincography, which he stated, though not identical with his own, was very similar. After a few words from the Chairman, Mr. Pouncy said he had listened with much interest to Mr. Osborne’s paper, but had hoped to have heard some detailed account of tho experiments by which he had arrived at his in vention. If either Mr. Osborne or Col. James wero the real inventors of the processes they claimed, they must have made many progressive experiments, the results of which would have been very interesting to see. However, Mr. Osborne had stated that he could not produce half tone, and that he did not know any one who could. Now he (Mr. Pouncy), could produce half tone, and was prepared to produce half tone on the face of a fine-grained stone, equal to that of a silver print. As he did not wish to challenge an opinion on his products by surprise, ho was willing to attend the meeting that day month, and bring with him the stones, on which he would place the image from any negative with which any gentleman would supply him, and he would produce impressions in printers’ ink of tho same, equal in half tone to silver prints of the same negative. He was there to assert that the prints he now produced were bona fide impressions direct from the negative, in bona fide printers’ ink, and he would produce impressions by the ink supplied by any printer in London with half tone equal to that of silver prints. Other prints he now produced were from the stone. Referring to tho letter of Col. James in the Times, announcing the discovery of half tone, Mr. Pouncy said ho doubted the truth of that statement. He did not believe that any one could produce half tone by tho method described. Various persons had boasted of having invented the carbon process, and among others his own apprentice. If they had, they could produce re sults, and this he challenged them to do. His object now was to have the matter settled, and was prepared to have his claims tested. He wished it to be proved he was wrong, or admitted that he was right. If his offer were accepted, and a decision given, the matter would be settled; if not, the question might be re-opened twelve months hence. He wished first for the decision as to whether ho had or had not obtained half tone ; the method and its details would be a question for after con sideration. If it were denied that he had obtained half tone then there would need no communication ; but if it were ad mitted that he had obtained it, it would then bo time to com municate how.