The absence or exhaustion of the zinc in any one cell in a battery is indicated by the appearance of a red insoluble chromic salt of mercury, in a finely divided state, floating in the faulty cell. It is then necessary to drop in some pieces of zinc. The state of the zinc supply may also be ascertained at any time by feeling about in the cells with a stick. When not required, the battery may be washed by simply charging the top reservoir with water, and leaving it to circulate in the usual manner, or the solution may be withdrawn from each cell by a siphon. A very small flow of the solution is sufficient to maintain the required current for telegraphic working, but if the flow be stopped altogether for a few hours, no difference is observed in the current, although when the current is required to be maintained in a conductor of a few ohms resistance, as in heating a platinum wire, it is necessary that the circulation be maintained [heating a piece of platinum ribbon]. The battery furnishing the current for producing the effect you now see is of five cells, and as that number is reduced down to two, you see a glow still appears in the platinum. The platinum strip employed was 5 inches long and 1/8 inch wide, its resistance being 0.42 ohm, cold. That gives an idea of the volume of current flowing. I have twelve electro magnets in printing instruments joined up on the table, and [joining up the battery] you see that the two cells are sufficient to work them. The twelve electro-magnets are being worked (by the two cells) in multiple arc at the same time. The current from the cells which heated the platinum wire is amply sufficient to magnetize a Thomson recorder. I have maintained five inches of platinum ribbon in a red hot state for two hours, in order to make sure that the battery I was about to bring before you was in good order. The cost of working such a battery when waste solution cannot be obtained, and it is necessary to use specially prepared bichromate solution, is about 2¼d. per cell per day, with a current constantly active in a Thomson recorder circuit, or a resistance of 1½ ohms per cell; but if only occasionally used, the same quantity of solution will last several weeks. A comparison of this with another form of constant battery, the Daniell, as used in telegraphy, shows that six of these cells, with a total electromotive force of 12 volts and an internal resistance of 0.84 of an ohm, cannot be replaced by less than 71 batteries of 10 cells each, connected in multiple arc, or for quantity. This result, however large it may appear, is considerably below that which may be obtained when working telegraphic lines. A current of 0.02 weber, or ampere, will work an ordinary sounder or direct writing Morse circuit; the cascade battery is capable of working 100 such circuits at the same time, while the combined resistance of that number of lines would not be below that in which it is found that the battery is constant in action.