Monthly supplement of the penny magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of…
"Monthly supplement of the penny magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of…" is a general-interest periodical supplement produced in the early 19th century. It gathers short articles, reviews, and reports on architecture, engineering, public health, social conditions, and cultural notices, all aimed at spreading practical, “useful” knowledge to a broad readership. This issue surveys new public works and current ideas alongside literary and biographical pieces. It opens with a detailed architectural
account of the new Hungerford Market—its riverside fish-market, vast central hall with galleries, careful lighting and ventilation, and exact measurements—followed by a critique of The Village Poor-House that disputes its sweeping picture of rural misery and urges self-improvement over class resentment. A substantial review of C. Turner Thackrah’s study on occupations and health examines hazards from Sheffield grinding and filing to the indoor deprivations of shopkeepers, the anxieties of merchants, and the ennui of the idle, concluding with practical remedies—temperance, cleanliness, fresh air, exercise, cheerful recreation, and employer responsibility. Short notices describe the repurposed George IV’s Gate at Hyde Park Corner and present an extensive tour of the Liverpool docks, explaining wet, dry, and graving docks, their rapid expansion, facilities, and maintenance. The memoir of Felix Neff portrays a tireless Alpine pastor who combined religious teaching with practical reforms—chimneys, windows, irrigation, improved husbandry, schools, and winter teacher-training—using vivid, makeshift lessons in grammar, geography, and astronomy before his early death. The supplement closes with a note on a bronze statue of Major Cartwright and brief information on the magazine’s circulation and pricing. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
