such moonshine thoughts alone--still he persevered, though secretly,
and he met with the succes his peseverance deserved.

For the truth of his statement, Mr. Wattles refers to some of our
most respectable citizens residing at the west, and I am in hopes
that I shall be enabled to receive in time for this publication,
a confirmation from one or more of these gentlemen. Be that as it may,
I feel confident in the integrity of Mr. Wattles, and can give his
statement to the world without a doubt of its truth.

The following sketch of his experiments and their results will,
undoubtedly, be interesting to every American reader and although
some of the profound philosophers of Europe may smile at his
method of proceeding, it will in some measure show the innate
genius of American minds, and prove that we are not far behind
our trans-atlantic brethren in the arts and sciences.

Mr. Wattles says: "In my first efforts to effect the desired object,
they were feeble indeed, and owing to my limited knowledge of chemistry--
wholly acquired by questioning my teachers--I met with repeated failures
but following them up with a determined spirit, I at last produced,
what I thought very fair samples--but to proceed to my experiments."

"I first dipped a quarter sheet of thin white writing paper in a weak
solution of caustic (as I then called it) and dried it in an empty box,
to keep it in the dark; when dry, I placed it in the camera and watched
it with great patience for nearly half an hour, without producing
any visible result; evidently from the solution being to weak.
I then soaked the same piece of paper in a solution of common potash,
and then again in caustic water a little stronger than the first,