deflected by the current.  This, like Edison’s, is a direction meter; but a meter in which no regard is paid to the direction of the current can be made by help of an iron armature of such a shape that the force with which it is attracted to fill the space between the poles of an electro-magnet is inversely as its displacement.  Then by resisting this motion by a spring or pendulum the movement is proportional to the current, and a tangent wheel actuated by this movement causes the reciprocating cylinder on which it runs to integrate the current strength.  Mr. Boys exhibited two such electric energy meters, that is, machines which integrate the product of the current strength by the difference of potential between two points with respect to time.  In these the main current is made to pass through a pair of concentric solenoids, and in the annular space between these is hung a solenoid, the upper half of which is wound in the opposite direction to the lower half.  By the use of what Mr. Boys calls “induction traps” of iron, the magnetic force is confined to a small portion of the suspended solenoid, and by this means the force is independent of the position.  The solenoid is hung to one end of a beam, and its motion is resisted by a pendulum weight, by which the energy meters may be regulated like clocks to give standard measure.  The beam carries the tangent wheels, and the rotation of the cylinder gives the energy expanded in foot-pounds or other measures.  The use of an equal number of turns in opposite directions on the movable solenoid causes the instrument to be uninfluenced by external magnetic forces.  Mr. Boys showed on the screen an image of an electric arc, and by its side was a spot of light, whose position indicated the energy, and showed every flicker of the light and fluctuation of current in the arc.  He showed on the screen that if the poles are brought too near the energy expended is less, though the current is stronger, and that if the poles are too far apart, though the electromotive force is greater the energy is less; so that the apparatus may be made to find the distance at which the greatest energy, and so the greatest heat and light, may be produced.

At the conclusion of the paper, Prof.  W.G.  Adams and Prof.  G.C.  Foster could not refrain from expressing their high admiration of the ingenious and able manner in which Mr. Boys had developed the subject.

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A CANAL BOAT PROPELLED BY AIR.

A novelty in canal boats lies in Charles River, near the foot of Chestnut street, which is calculated to attract considerable attention.  It is called a pneumatic canal boat and was built at Wiscasset, Me., as devised by the owner, Mr. R.H.  Tucker, of Boston, who claims to hold patents for its design in England and the United States.  The specimen shown on Charles River, which is designed to be used on canals without injuring the banks, is a simple structure,