Mr. Carpenter's achromatic solar microscope has now a white circular area of nine feet in diameter, to receive the images of the objects upon, some of which are magnified to the enormous size of upwards of eight feet in length! Mr. Carpenter's lucernal microscopes are now arranged in a kind of temple, placed in the middle of a room, and illuminated by the light of one powerful Argand lamp, so as to be independent of all natural light; thus, in all seasons, even in cloudy weather, the objects are as brilliantly displayed as they could be last year when the sun shone.--_Gill's Repository_. _Beet Root Sugar._ There are now in France upwards of one hundred manufactories of beet root sugar, from which were produced last year upwards of 5,000 tons of sugar, worth 60 _l._ per ton, or 300,000 _l_.; the profit of which is estimated at 15 _l._ an acre; but, says one of the manufacturers, the process may be so far improved, that sugar will be made in France from the beet root at 30 _l._ per ton, which will increase the profit to 24 _l._ an acre. A writer in the _Quarterly Journal of Agriculture_ observes that "it is difficult to conceive that one half of the sugar consumed in Great Britain, or in all Europe, will not, in a few years, be home-made beet root sugar." * * * * * SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS * * * * * LORD BYRON AND SIR WALTER SCOTT AT WATERLOO. _By a Sexagenarian._ In his transit to Italy in August, 1816, Lord Byron visited Brussels (where I was residing) accompanied by Dr. Polidori. The moment I heard of his arrival, I waited on him, and was received with the greatest cordiality and kindness. As he proposed visiting Waterloo on the following morning, I offered my services as his cicerone, which were graciously accepted, and we set out at an early hour, accompanied by his _compagnon de voyage_. The weather was propitious, but the poet's spirits seemed depressed, and we passed through the gloomy forest of Soignies without much conversation. As the plan of the inspection of the field had been left to me, I ordered our postilion to drive to Mont St. Jean, without stopping at Waterloo. We got out at the monuments. Lord Byron gazed about for five minutes without uttering a syllable; at last, turning to me, he said--"I am not disappointed. I have seen the plains of Marathon, and these are as fine. Can you tell me," he continued, "where Picton fell? because I have heard that my friend Howard was killed at his side, and nearly at the same moment."