=Directories=--The later half of the century was even more distinguished in many other ways. The modern Directories were not popular or common till late in the last century. Even the rare London Directory of 1677 does not seem to have had many imitators, but about 1750 the increasing number of trades stimulated the demand. In Newcastle-on-Tyne, and in Sheffield and other towns, Directories appeared, and Birmingham was among the first, and one of great interest and value appeared in 1770, and probably earlier, followed by others, ever increasing as the population increased, but very curiously contrasting with the huge volumes of later days. =Cotton Spinning=--One of the most remarkable, perhaps, of the industrial schemes in Birmingham, was the establishment of a cotton mill, which still remains as a building and shows its origin, although now a rolling mill. It was the natural result of the genius of John Wyatt and of Lewis Paul, for in a room in the Upper Priory--now covered by the schools of the Society of Friends--the first cotton spinning machine was erected and worked, and the old distaff and spindle, and spinning machine doomed. Thomas Warren, Edward Cave, Dr. James, and others, took up the speculation of Lewis Paul, and mills were built at Birmingham and Northampton, but before the century closed they had failed to pay. =The Soho Works=--The most famous of all the classes of industrial enterprises in Birmingham was the famous “Soho.” From the manufacture of “toys”--steel toys, buckles, buttons, sword-hilts, &c.--in Snow Hill, Matthew Boulton had removed to Soho in 1763. There he erected machinery for water power, but by happy accident, James Watt visited the place, and Boulton was so struck with his improvements in the steam engine, which Soho only seemed able to produce, that a connection began which has immortalised the names of Boulton and Watt, and shed undying glory on the industrial history of Birmingham. The story has been too often told to require repetition, but even now it has scarcely been fully told. Soho itself has perished, scarcely a relic remains, but James Watt’s house at Heathfield still exists with relics which will ever be an honour to his genius, and will keep his memory green. All admirers of the genius of Watt will hope and desire that these remains of an industrial hero, a genius of the useful arts, may become a public trust, to show posterity how so illustrious a man of science was valued in his life, and is honoured by those who rejoice in the fruits of his genius and skill.