The new apparatus which have just been devised by Mr. G. Bozerian permit of one's fanning himself all day long if he wants to, without any fatigue, and while he is eating, reading, writing, etc. In one of these apparatus, designed to be used in the open air (Fig. 1), we find a table, a tent, and a fan combined; but as each part is independent, we can have the table and fan without tent, or the fan and pedals alone without table or tent. Under the tent there is arranged a frame which pivots freely in apertures formed in the uprights that support both the tent and table. This frame is connected, through two levers, with the pedals upon which one's feet rest. The motion of the pedals is an alternating one like those of sewing machines; but while in the case of the latter a pressure has to be exerted that soon becomes very tiresome, the motion in Mr. Bozerian's apparatus is so easy that it is only necessary to raise the toes of each foot in succession in order to produce a swing of the fan through the weight alone of the foot that is pressing. The frame, which when at rest hangs perpendicularly, describes about a quarter of a circle when the extremity of the foot is raised about an inch. In consequence of the absence of passive resistances, motion occurs without any stress, and almost mechanically, giving air not only to him who is actuating the fan, but also to his vis-a-vis. Fig. 2 represents an apartment apparatus designed to be placed in front of a table or desk, in order that one can fan himself while eating or writing. Being mounted upon casters, it can be readily moved about from one place to another. At the extremity of a wooden support, whose height may be varied at will, there is arranged a flexible fan whose handle is fixed near a pulley. A small piece of lead forms the counterpoise of the fan, which is thus completely balanced. Over the pulley runs a cord, each end of which is attached to a pedal. It will be seen that the alternate motion of these pedals must cause a rotation of the pulley in one direction or the other, and that consequently the fan will rise or fall more or less rapidly, and give a quantity of air that varies according to the rapidity with which the toes are moved.--_La Nature_. * * * * * PUNKAS. [Footnote: Extract from a lecture recently delivered at Bombay.] By J. WALLACE, C.E. The function of a punka is to cause a current of air to pass the human body so that the animal heat may escape more rapidly. This has nothing to do with ventilation; for if the punka were used in a closed room, it would still produce a cooling effect on the skin.