the other side of the river, just above Brunswick. A bar along in its wake was apparent in sixty days; and ever since, the channel of the Missouri has been bearing over on this side permanently. The steamer Dart sunk, some fourteen years ago, in the swift bend below Glasgow. It struck a snag in what was then deep water, and has since formed a permanent sand bar, fifty yards long. The steamer Euphrasia sunk with a load of tobacco in 1841, in sight of Glasgow, producing what is now called the Euphrasia bar, and throwing the channel on the opposite side. The Weston, Capt. Littleton, sunk in 1843 or 1844, in the bend below Dozier's, after burning to the water's edge, with a load of hemp. The water had been cutting in fast into the bank, but stopped, and so remains. The St. Louis harbor bar, which caused so much inconvenience, until counteracted lately by an expensive dike, is said to have been caused by the sinking of a boat, a long time ago. The fine steamer Plowboy, which sunk below Rocheport, in 1848, prevented the river from cutting in any more into the bend. The Little Missouri, which sunk the same year near Sullivan's, below us, made a sand bar which destroyed the woodyard landing. And the Mustang, which sunk last fall near Hibler's, a short distance down the river from Brunswick, has divided the Missouri into two channels, and materially altered its hydrography.

The action of the sea, on the low sandy shores of Holland, has been effectually restrained. We are not sufficiently acquainted with their system of diking or damming, to describe it, nor is it material to our purpose. The accidental sinking of steamboats on our river, and their uniformly filling with sand and becoming a controlling barrier to the current, permanent and immovable as the bluff rock, is a "fixed fact." We have only to imitate nature, and to sink our cribs, sand-tight, at the proper places and at the proper angles, beginning at the mouth of Grand river, to make a permanent bank the whole front-length of Brunswick.

An intelligent gentleman from Vicksburg, Mississippi, tells us that a similar plan has been successfully tried there. The Mississippi river had encroached a hundred and fifty yards on the front of the town, year after year, when, four years ago, two large flat boats, heavily loaded with rock, were purposely sunk at the upper part of the falling-in bank. The river has not cut in any more since; the sand has accumulated some eight feet on the top of the sunken boats, and the spot is now made the regular upper ferry landing.

Some years since, the river was rapidly carrying away "Natchez under the hill," on the lower Mississippi, and a general impression prevailed, that all the town site below the bluff would tumble into the water. By accident, we believe, a flat boat was sunk at the upper part of the falling-in bank, and soon after a sand bank was observed to be forming below it, and the ri

This suggested

ver ceased to cut into the landing any more. the sinking of several other flatboats in a line below, and the citizens had a permanent wharf for a good while, till "once on a time," the whole front began to crack and to careen into the river. Workmen, however, continued to fill up the chasm with rubbish; and by and by, the flats seemed to have gained the lowest depths, where they rested on the bed of the river, and the whole front of Natchez under the Hill seems now to be a permanent embankment.

This last difficulty need not occur, in placing cribs in the Missouri river, as we always have low water in the fall and winter season, and the floors can and must be placed at once below the lateral sweep of the water current. The cribs thus placed, cannot be undermined; and if the first one is placed high enough up the river to break the first force of the current, which beats against the bank, there is no danger of the water cutting around it. The only thing to be guarded against, is, not to change the angle of the ri-. ver too suddenly, for fear of throwing sand bars too far out, and thus injuring the landing. But a competent engineer can easily tell what position to give the wooden abutments, so as to control the current all along the front of our town, ribbing the soft alluvial soil with sand walls, as permanent as rock, and saying to the river, which chafes against its side: thus far shalt thou come and no farther.

The facts which we have adduced above, are given from memory, and from the information of others. They may not be strictly correct in all their particulars; but many similar ones, it is believed, might be hunted up, all going to prove the general proposition, that a vessel with a bottom soon fills with sand in the Missouri river, and as certainly changes the current as a rock of the same size. Spiling has been tried, and will not do, because the water washes around it. Nor will pens nor piers without bottom do, because the rubbish or stone, which is filled in, will be undermined and tumble out. But a succession of large cribs or flats, hewed out of our cotton wood, and sunk at low water mark, would, we are confident, be an immovable barrier. The experiment of putting in two or three at the upper part of a bend which is tumbling into the river, would cost a mere trifle, and would test the value of the project.

The high water is gone, and the banks are falling in no more this year. But we need not "lay the flattering unction to our souls," that the danger is over. The same prediction has beenmade every year since 1844, and yet this year we have lost more front than ever at this place. We should look at Old Franklin, and learn a lesson in time. We have town lots and property in the bottom, worth hundreds and thousands of dollars, which might be made secure at an expense of some two or three thousands.

The intelligent editor of the St. Joseph Gazette thinks the plan

worthy of serious consideration, and says, he has conversed with several gentlemen of that city, and all agree in opinion that, if the project were carried out, it would keep the banks from falling in. He urges the "city fathers" to take the matter in hand immediately, and do, what they consider the interests of the place require. He says, "it is well known, that they have made several attempts at St. Joseph, and expended thousands of dollars to secure the banks, but the late high water has convinced all that the expenditure has been of no advantage whatever." Our project addresses itself not only to St. Joseph, but to many places and to many interests on the western waters.

We

At Brunswick, the work cannot be undertaken by the "city fathers," because much of it would be out of the corporation; yet we do not see, why the city might not subscribe stock in furtherance of the object, as every taxpayer is more or less involved in the interests of the success of the enterprize. propose here a joint stock company who will undertake the job, in consideration of receiving the river front or esplanade, which they will save, and make valuable in the operation-a sufficient bonus, we think, to secure all the stock which will be needed.

(For the Western Journal.)

ARTICLE V.

DAGUERREOTYPEING SIMPLIFIED.

BY J. H. FITZGIBBON, OF ST. LOUIS, MO.

It is a well known fact, that until very recently a veil of secrecy, has been thrown over many of the manipulations of this beautiful art, so as to mystify its operations to the new beginner in such a manner that the more he experimented the more he got lost in a labyrinth of uncertainty and doubt, until at last he abandoned its pursuit, fully convinced in his own mind of the inutility of further prosecuting a system of experiments wherein he could not hope to attain any thing like success. One chief reason of this is the complete want of confidence amongst operators.-A total absence of that esprit du corps which should invariably accompany the pursuit of any of the liberal arts or sciences; but, this want of confidence among Daguerreotypists can readily be accounted for by the ease with which almost any person can enter the profession and assume to himself the title of artist. Like the pro

fession of the Law its gates are thrown wide open to all alike who wish to enter; the consequence of which liberality is, that its temple is desecreted and its altars polluted by any pretender that has not the slightest love for the beautiful in either art or nature. Until very recently, if a Daguerrean should by accident put a few drops more or less of acid in his Bromine, or a little fodine or any other ingredient which is used in the preparation of Quich or sensitive, he immediately announced to the Daguerrean world that he had made a wonderful discovery, and for a consideration varying from ten to fifty dollars was ready to impart his profound knowledge to those verdant practitioners who are thirsting for wisdom. A dozen instances could be adduced of the grasping and insatiate avariciousness of disposition of some of the fraternity who have made and still make money by the sale of their recipes "for removing spots off pictures", "the prevention of pictures from blueing", "How to make chlorid of gold", "To galvanize plates" "To keep dampness out of Iodine", "To make Black Polish", "To take the chemical focus", "To clean Buffs", "How to color pictures" and many other things which new beginners have to pay well for ere they can be properly inducted into the mysteries of Daguerreotypeing. How then can we wonder at the number of inferior pictures, or the hords of indifferent and bad operators that now flood the land in every direction? Where there is no intercommunication, no free interchange of thought or opinion, there can be no confidence between operators, the consequence of which must necessarily be a system of unsatisfactory experiments without producing the slightest benefit to themselves or the fraternity at large. *)

I would here state that ever since I commenced the practice of the profession, I have endeavoured to do away with every thing like mystery and confine myself to the most simple method possible. To my pupils and the community of St. Louis-I leave the question to be answered how far I have succeeded.

In proceeding to elucidate my process, I will divide it into six parts, the first three of which will be confined to plate cleaning; the fourth to coating with chemicals; the fifth to mercurying and chemicals, and the sixth to finishing with general remarks.

First. Take the very best plates **) you can procure and turn

*) There have lately appeared some valuable works on Daguerreotypeing from the pens of a few of our own artists, containing much useful information, among which are "Hill's treatise on Daguerreotypeing", Suelling's art of Photography and Humphry's system of Photography, also two works, one by S. D. Humphy, published semi-monthly in New York, called the Daguerrean Journal, and an other called the Photographic Art Journal by H. Snelling, published monthly.

**) In a former paper I stated what I knew from practicable experience to be the best, and I now reiterate it, notwithstanding the opinions to the contrary of others, that there are no plates equal to those manufactured by the Scovill Manufacturing Company.

down the edges if they are not already turned down, then slightly burn them with the spirit lamp and leave them to cool on a slap; then take your plate and fasten it down on your plate cleaning block, then take two ounces of pure rain water, to which add twenty drops of nitric acid and shake them well together, and it is fit for use. Then take some of the finest or best of cotton cloth or fine carded cotton, prepared on purpose, which comes in rolls; you then take some of the finest rotten stone (some use tripoli). With these three articles your plates must be cleaned. After dusting the rotten stone on your plate, put on a few drops of the acid water, then take a small quantity of the cotton, form it into a pallet and rub your plate with a circular motion, occasionally putting on more acid-water and rotten stone; while the plate is still damp, take another piece of cotton and rub the plate well until you take that entirely off; you must still continue to rub for some time until you feel that it is clean. If you have any doubt about it, blow your breath slightly on the plate, when, if not thoroughly clean, it will shew for itself. After it is thus far cleaned, take your plate off the block, being careful while doing so not to lay hold of any part but the edges. A small piece of cotton is now used to wipe the edges with, so as to remove all foreign substances which may have got on while cleaning, which, when done, the plate is put in the box until you are ready to buff it.

Second: Your buffs, whether hand or wheel buffs, should be kept perfectly free from dampness, as moisture is a great enemy to daguerreotypeing. Heat should be applied to your buff holders, and the first thing to be done every morning upon entering your laboratory should be to apply heat, through means of the spirit-lamp, to your buff holder and keep it there during the day. Two buffs, one made from prepared buckskin, I am in the habit of using, on which the finest rouge which I can possibly procure is powdered after having burned it very well on a piece of sheet iron. The other I cover with a piece of drab cotton velvet, this should be very well rinsed in scalding hot rain water before using it, on this buff put some calcined Lamp-black, commonly called coal; after having been well burned in a sand-crucible,buff with the buckskin buff first and then the velvet one to finish on. After putting the plate on the holder, particular care should be taken to remove every particle of dust which may have settled on the plate, by means of a gum blower. You now proceed to buff lightly, first with one buff, then with the other until all the cotton marks are obliterated. The small plates, medium and quarter, should be buffed about five minutes; a longer time is required for the larger ones. The same care should be observed in handling the plates after buffing, as before. You must also be particular to brush the buffs well, at least once each day, and must not let them get clogged up with too much rouge or coal.

Third Galvanizing is as necessary to plate cleaning as a good