were
.
AA AN
en ey
Vee as
ee
eve nialeledy

vw vy
qh) ve
ary

:
ae Rte ye Wg hy
vette 4 a tae

vous
veh ves by

ry May
PNAS eae ee
ery
- > 3-2,

int

Coen

.
-
pe

Abbe hoe gs
a ee oe oe eet
.

7

*a 22
PS baa ay
va" e

b m
Pay ote

eee. ay
Re) ag ue ia
>
PAAR SCS ee ee
ays,

ee nai vane ah is

y 7 hs he mh ey " m\ man ¥% A Ne i] Cars cid
a PM nant Ec ; it ( J Ww hb he ae ' nu ae t i

a ’ : rn ‘
7 hs | ry al - yi (ap Aa
| et aa ; 4 ah Cee MeO ;
, Ape a: i aoe he ak 1 7 vty Lod)
oe vai) eee eye Py : .
1.) aur site " ) ‘ AiG
‘Ava . re ,
i Ye) 7 ‘ P ‘3h ys
+2) ae v ‘
» U =
' Cad " Py
sod thks ‘
yan)
] ~~
‘ t
a)
rs
ies
&
F BS
a waurr
n ' af
‘oe
hana 9
vi
p as

THE

EDINBURGH NEW

PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL.

A,

av

JTAMAUOL ‘AAD ITISOROTTE ¥

e
os dal ¢ A
-#
} ad =
)
ca
i 4 i +
ray oe
| os eos ef
Le a =
iinet
eae aes .
+ : ‘
tA)
hag he i - .
BO Wes 3
ie,
eh or " F
$m Oe ate oy f
Yt } B
* Pal
‘ty
ive oy oe rm .
a Lk ete ’
ae «) - iv
i. ' = wae " -
ae sete , * ‘ : ;
yh iW id te hd "

<0) th 2) RRR) dy, OEE C1 wa
a ie Peal a i eR ah) aries.
iy ae Mean TT Or

7 ; wee . - ;

5 GS) psn FU Fan Ms - 4 ae
dare ah ne rire Sosa

THE

EDINBURGH NEW

fi

PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL,

EXHIBITING A VIEW OF THE
PROGRESSIVE DISCOVERIES AND IMPROVEMENTS

IN THE

SCIENCES AND THE ARTS.

CONDUCTED BY

ROBERT JAMESON,

REGIUS PROFESSOR OF NATURAL HISTORY, LECTURER ON MINERALOGY, AND KEEPER OF
THE MUSEUM IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH 3

Fellow of the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh; of the Antiquarian, Wernerian and Horti-
cultural Societies of Edinburgh; Honorary Member of the Royal Irish Academy, and of the Royal
Dublin Society; Fellow of the Royal Linnean and Royal Geological Societies of London; Ho- -
norary Member of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta; of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall,
and of the Cambridge Philosophical Society ; of the York, Bristol, Cambrian, Whitby, Northern,
and Cork Institutions; of the Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham, and New
castle; of the Royal Society of Sciences of Denmark; of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Berlin ;
of the Royal Academy of Naples; of the Imperial Natural History Society of Moscow; of the
Imperial Pharmaceutical Society of St Petersburgh; of the Natural History Society of Wetterau ;
of the Mineralogical Society of Jena; of the Royal Mineralogical Society of Dresden; of the
Natural History Society of Paris; of the Philomathic Society of Paris; of the Natural History
Society of Calvados; of the Senkenberg Society of Natural History; of the Society of Natural
Sciences and Medicine of Heidelberg; Honorary Member of the Literary and Philosophical Society
of New York; of the New York Historical Society ; of the American Antiquarian Society; of
the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia; of the Lyceum of Natural History of New
York; of the Natural History Society of Montreal; of the Geological Society of France; of the
South African Institution of the Cape of Good Hope; of the Franklin Institution of the State of
Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, &c. §c.

Vol.1]7
APRIL...OCTOBER 1831.

TO BE CONTINUED QUARTERLY.

EDINBURGH:

PRINTED FOR ADAM BLACK, NORTH BRIDGE, EDINBURGH;
AND LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, & GREEN,
LONDON.

1831.

Neill & Co. Printers, Edinburgh.

CONTENTS.

Page
Arr. I. Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposites. By
James Yates, M.A. F.L.S. and F.G.S. Com-
municated by the Author, ~ - - i
I. On the Preliminary Processes of Disintegration, not
immediately dependent upon the Action of Run-
ning Water, by which Materials are furnished for

the Formation of Alluvium, - - < 2

II. On the Distribution of Debris by Streams flowing
over inclined or level surfaces, = - é

Ill. Of Detritus conveyed by Running into Standing
Water, = - 2 2 = 30

IV. The case of a Stream which meets a Stream flowing
in another direction, . > - . 39

I]. Observations on the History and Progress of Com-
parative Anatomy. By Davin Craiciz, M. D.
&e. (Continued from former Volume, p. 307.),—
Secr. III. Early Zootomical Authors to Eusta-

chius. 1501-1576, - - - - 42

III. Thoughts regarding the Influence of Rocks upon
Native Vegetables. By ALEXANDER Murray,
M.D. & A.M. Aberdeen. Communicated by the
Author, - = i = ~ - 56

IV. An Account of some Experiments made to determine
the Thermal Expansion of Marble. By Mr Joun
Dunn and Mr Epwarp Sane. Communicated
by the Authors, = 2 = - 66

il CONTENTS.

Art. V. On the Acidification of Iodine by means of Nitric
Acid. By Arruur ConnELL, Esq. A.M. Com-
municated by the Author, - - és

VI. Observations on the Glaciers of the Alps. By Mr
F. J. Huai, Professor at Soleure. (Concluded
from p. 341. of preceding Volume), :

VII. On the Geology of the Secondary Formations of the
Meywar District. By James Harpy, Esq. Re-
sidency Surgeon, Oudeypore Meywar, Member of
the Asiatic Society, of the Medical and Physical
Society of Calcutta, &c. In a Letter to Professor
JAMESON, - - ~ - -

VIII. Biography of the late Ducatp CarmicnaerL, Esq.
Captain 72d Regiment, Fellow of the Linnean
Society, - - - . -

IX. Hunting the Cougar or American Lion ; and Deer
Hunting. By Joun James Avupuson, F.R.SS.
L. & E., M.W.S., &c. - z “

X. Account of a Human Body, in a singular Costume,
found in a high state of preservation in a Bog on
the Lands of Gallagh, in the County of Galway.
By Georce Perriz, Esq. =~ =~ “

XI. On the present Erroneous and Expensive Systems
of Life Assurance. By Mr W. Fraser, Edin-

burgh, - - - - =

XII. Improvements in the Navigation of the Mississippi.
By J. J. Aupuson, Esq. F.R.SS.L. & E. &e.

XIII. Thermometer and Barometer Tables, -
XIV. The Agricultural and Horticultural Society of In-

dia, ~ ~ = 2
XV. Account of the Arbusculites argentea, from the Car-
boniferous Limestone of Innerteil, near to Kirk-
caldy, in Fifeshire. By P. Murray, M.D. of
Scarborough. Communicated by the Author,

XVI. Table of the State of the Weather in the Isle of
Man, commencing January 1. and ending 31st
December 1830. By Colonel Stewart. Com-
municated by Principal Barrp, —« .

~I
2

oe)
vt

90

103

116

118

128

CONTENTS.

Arr. XVII. Table, shewing the Mean Temperature at Aber-

XVIII.

XIX.

XXI.

XXIII.

XXIV.

XXV.

deen for each Month of the last Eight Years,
—Mean Height of Barometer for 1830,—and
Rain fallen at Marischall College Observatory
during the last Two Years. By Mr Grorce
InnEs, Astronomical Calculator, Aberdeen,

On the Utility of fixing Lightning Conductors
in Ships. By W.S. Harris, Esq. Member of
the Plymouth Institution, . E

On the Proximate Causes of certain Winds and
Storms. By Professor E. Mircue.t, Univer-
sity of North Carolina, = :

. Further Notices in regard to the Bones found

in Wellington Country, New South Wales,

The Geological Age of Reptiles. By Gipzon
ManTELL, Esq. F. R.S. L. &c. - .

. Description of several New or Rare Plants which

have lately flowered in the neighbourhood
of Edinburgh, and chiefly in the Royal Bota-
nic Garden. By Dr Granam, Professor of
Botany in the University of Edinburgh,

Celestial Phenomena from July 1. to October 1.
1831, calculated for the Meridian of Edin-
burgh, Mean Time. By Mr George INNEs,

Astronomical Calculator, Aberdeen, .
Proceedings of the Wernerian Natural History
Society, ~ 4 ss -

List of Patents granted in Scotland from 14th
March to 13th June 1831, = a

iii

153

154

167

179

181

186

194

198

199

e*» Want of room prevents the notice of several Works, and also the
insertion of Literary and Scientific Intelligence.

¥ oe a ee rt Lae 4 :
; pr fv. ao iva } ¢ var
i's oT; Gotan ae oy. _*
a 7 - i> 7 ae te. kh 4
ar oy ae | oe
iF : a ‘ }
¢ eee ae > te
i ereaTYOD
ey t
A enoTk odd guivade side T

puso. wren tau] oe? to. ico sons tek neh
| bae—088) tt retemtom Yo aigioH aski~
iy gretevieedO spalioD Uadozite lf 20 ge
ee ansoat) iM 8 .vme¥ owT sank, oxlt at Pa dt
“2 v ers ete
WUD SSE 8 6asohrodA vtofaloole) lsviggouontek. «Ra nul

x LW, axotoulioD anital Ramo yl oslt, aO. uy i
Vale - to yoda pel eranall 2.07. yh agit ati i Be ti
ie 26! a - ris: oiswiten] dtsonaylS ais, » olen oll “ ie

iy bas ebaiW aietis> Yo cede) stamivedYedecO RRM | 7
() ngvia aanoriM 2 sosetitorT ye | -eerred®) I seieeens
wef ae pniforn ito to ie - ai

bandh, zona, old of huaget nb ono sods Ey >a
QTL esls¥ishta02 wet vgunnod dotgaillsW ai: “Agee

wouuto yi eelidqell ‘io sgh Incinolosd) edTt . :
- =f we LoD wR CAD ped waaecahl Dione:

re doidw ethelt sah 16 wo Inmate To colqnaaat Tee

booduwodityisa' a? ci’ Goriwol Yeiaf ovat "© :
-tfo4 layo off ct Pheri Hei ule tthtahs yw Cwm,

95 tocar Td eats) sO yd vioohmt? oft Pt ai |
Oat sss Yo QieioviaU ails gi -ynistod: er

-E-sadaieO of -I ylut tow enemionedd Isitealed .

‘ igie & eerie 3 96 eraibiteli \91') sot betaluolao’ [ser = ‘
. ee guuul ‘gonea0 1M yh omiT melt. Agee

y eer = srémobied A wotslualaD Issinzonotteh.

=F ae

Me . 2 *trolsith lowieVh calrs cb gs APenbibs ae

ON A a a
! ;

|) 3a L wot bnaltee? ni botany etiiateF, Io wi.» xX
a ere
ey - COL. Te tee og hSEL omul, A385, @ Qe a if. £ -

he Cae ae
RY ed ed a
Fal) e . fr eS a J
eS lc ete NS hs . my
ms sae fe a LA 5 7 :
3 eee as ,

; iil ote hae ctw? RAE <5 ite
an Mie renee: ob a Nf

CONTENTS.

Art. I. Analysis of Professor EnrENBERG’s Researches on the
Infusoria. By MerepitH GarrpNeR, M.D. Com-
municated by the Author, - -

I]. Plan for’Cooling Rooms, and Ventilating them in Tro-
pical Climates. By Captain Rosert Wavcnope,
R.N. Communicated by the Author. Plate III.
Fig. 1. - - . = =

III. On the Mountain-chains and Volcanoes of Central
Asia, with a Map of Chains of Mountains and Vol-
canoes of Central Asia. By M. De Humsotpr.
(With a Map), = - - .

IV. On the Ripple Marks made by the Waves, observable
in the Sandstone Strata of Sussex. By GipEon
ManTELL, Esq. F.R.S., F.L.S., &e. -

VY. Progress of Geology, —

Werner, according to Cuvier, Lyell, and MacCulloch,

Hutton, according to Playfair and MacCulloch, -
Antiquity of the Earth, - > -
VI. On the Discovery of Diamonds in the Uralian Moun-
tains, ~ - = = =

VIL. On the Characters and Affinities of certain Genera,
chiefly belonging to the Flora Peruviana. By Mr
Davip Don, Librarian of the Linnean Society ;
Member of the Imperial Academy Naturz Curioso-
sorum ; of the Royal Botanical Society of Ratisbon :
and of the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh, &c.
(Continued from p. 228. of former Volume),
VIII. Account of a Wooden Suspension-Dial used in the
Alps and Pyrenees. By Owen Sran.ey, Esq. R.N.
Plate IIl. Fig.2. Communicated by the Author,

Page

il

Art. IX.

XI.

XIII.

XIV.

XVI.

CONTENTS.

Extract of a Letter from Dr Turnsutit Curistie

to Professor JAMESON regarding the Bone Caves
of Palermo, &c. - = =

. On the Magnetic Properties of the Rock on the

Summit of Arthur’s Seat. By Mr Witiiam Gat-
BraitH, M.A. Communicated by the Author.
Plate III. Fig 3. = z =

On the Proximate Causes of certain Winds and

Storms. By Professor E. Mircne.., University
of North Carolina. (Continued from p. 179.)

. On Artesian Wells, and the employment of the

Warm Water brought up from a depth for eco-
nomical purposes, - ~ -

. Chemical Analysis of Metallic Works of Art

found in old graves and ancient fields of battle.
—2. On Change of Arragonite into Calcareous
Spar.—3. Chemical Examination of the Parme-
lia esculenta, a substance said to have been rained
from the Sky in Persia—4. Chemical Analysis
of Oil of Roses, ~ =

On the Utility of fixing Lightning Conductors

in Ships. By W. S. Harris, Esq. Member of
the Plymouth Institution. (Continued from
p- 167.), = “ = a

- On the Measurement of the Height of Carnethy,

one of the Pentland Range of Hills, in the vici-
nity of Edinburgh, and of the Peak of Teneriffe.
By Mr Witiram Garsrairn, M. A. -

An Account of the Tidal and other Zones observed

on the surface of the Limestone Rocks on the
Shores of Greece. By Staff-Captain Puitton-
Bosiaye. Witha Plate. (Pl. V.), -

XVII. Tables of the Population and of the Stock of Cattle,

Sheep, &c. of Suderde and Wagiée, two of the
Faroe Islands, in the year 1821. Communicated
by W. C. Trevetyan, Esq. M.G.S., M.W.S.,
&e. - “ - - “

XVIII. Notice of New Bone Caves discovered at Sal-

leles-Cabardes, in the Department of Aude, in
France, shewing that Man was probably con<
temporaneous with the extinct Mammalia found
in them ? - - ~ “

285

206

500

304

316

333

349

350

CONTENTS. iil

Art. XIX. The Mastodon formerly extended over {the en-
tire surface of the American Continent, and the
Horse was probably an original Inhabitant of

the New World ? - - - 352
XX. Observations on the History and Progress of
Comparative Anatomy. By Davin Craicie,

M.D. &c. (Continued from p. 56.),—

Sect. IV. Italian Zootomical School,—Columbus,

Fallopius, Aranzi, Varioli, Bittner and Coiter, 355
XXI. On the New Insular Volcano, named Hotham
Island, which has just appeared off Sicily ;
with a View of the Volcano, by one of the Of-

ficers of the Philomel. Plate VI. - 365
XXII. Notice of Plants observed in an Excursion made
by Dr Grauam with part of his Botanical Pu-
pils, accompanied by a few Friends, in August

last, = = - - = 373
XXIII. Description of several New or Rare Plants which
have lately flowered in the neighbourhood of
Edinburgh, and chiefly in the Royal Botanic
Garden. By Dr Granay, Professor of Botany

in the University of Edinburgh, = 376
XXIV. Celestial Phenomena from October 1. 1831 to
January 1. 1832, calculated for the Meridian
of Edinburgh, Mean Time. By Mr Georce

Innes, Astronomical Calculator, Aberdeen, 380

XXV. Screntiric INTELLIGENCE.

METEOROLOGY.
1. On Change of Climate. 2. On the Influence of Lightning
Conductors on Vegetation, - - - 383-6
MINERALOGY.

3. Chiastolite. 4. Magnetic Reaction of Platina. 5. Olizoner
Zircon of Breithaupt. 6. Specific Gravity of Datolite.
7. Professor Jameson’s Manual of Mineralogy and Geo-
logy. 8. Tremolite found in Teesdale, = 588-9

GEOLOGY.

9. Salt Spring of Birtley in Durham. 10. Deshayes’ New
Classification of the Tertiary Formations. 11. Univer-
sality of Formations. 12. Submarine Forest near Cul<
len. 14, Vast Extent of the Earthquake of 1827. 14.
Huge scattered Blocks of Granite, —~ - 389-92

iv : CONTENTS.

BOTANY.
15. Localities of rare British Plants. 16. Dimensions of a
Larch Tree, cut down at Wallington, Northumberland,
May 1831. 17. Ona New Vegetable Razor-Strap, 393-4
ZOOLOGY.
18. The Extinct Dodo. 19. Bengal Tiger found in Siberia.
20. Footmarks of Man and Lower Animals. 21). De-
struction of Live Stock by!Wolves in Russia, = 395-7

NEW PUBLICATIONS.

. Arrian on Coursing. The Cynegeticus of the Younger
Zenophon, translated from the Greek, with Classical and
Practical Annotations, and brief Sketch of the Life and
Writings of the Author; with an Appendix, containing
some account of the Canes Venatici of classical antiquity.

By a Graduate of Medicine; with embellishments from

the antique. London. 8vo. Pp. 314. - - 398
2. Ornithological Dictionary of British Birds. By Colonel G.
Montaau, F.L.S. Second Edition. By James Renniz,
A.M. Professor of Natural History, King’s College, Lon-

don, &c. 1 vol. 8vo, pp. 650. 1831, - - 402
8. Synopsis Reptilium, or Short Descriptions of the Species of
Reptiles. By J. Ep. Gray, Esq. F.L.S. &e. 1 vol. 8vo,

pp. 90. With Plates. London, 1831, - - ib.
4, Transactions of the Natural History Society of Northum-
berland, Durham, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Vol. I.

—

Part 2. Pp. 80. ~ - = - 405
5. First Steps in Botany. By Dr Drummonp, Belfast. With
numerous illustrative Wood-Cuts. 1 vol. 8vo, - 406

6. A Synoptical Table of British Organic Remains. By Sa-
MUEL WoopwarD, H.M.Y.P.S. 1830. Pp. 50. 8vo, ib.

7. Transactions of the Plymouth Institution. Vol. I. 8vo.
Pp. 360. 1830, . . 2 x ‘ ib.

8. A Geological Manual. By Henry T. De xa Becue, F.R.S.
F.G.S., &e. 1831. Pp. 550. 104 Wood-cuts. 8vo, 408

9. American Ornithology, or the Natural History of the Birds |
of the United States, by Witson and Bonaparte. 4vols f
Edin. 1831. Edited by Professor Jamzson, & * ’

Ant. XXVI. List of Patents granted in England from 15th nt
December 1830 to 2d February 1831, 09

XXVII. List of Patents granted in Scotland from ead |

June to 23d August 1831, ~ n ait |

|

THE

EDINBURGH NEW
PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL.

Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposites. By JAMEs
Yates, M.A. F.L.S. and F.G.S.* Communicated by the
Author.

A truovex the formation of alluvium seems to have been very
commonly regarded by geologists as a branch of their science
too simple and elementary to be worthy of minute attention,
yet in some respects it appears to claim a more exact study than
any other class of geological appearances. As we can only in-
fer the past history of our globe from our knowledge of the
powers which are now in operation, alluvial deposites must be
regarded as the proper index to guide our conclusions respecte
ing the origin of analogous but more ancient strata. In another
point of view they are also extremely interesting. By the cur-
sory observer, storms, torrents, and inundations are regarded in
no other light than as the agents of ruin and desolation : where-
as, if their effects be duly examined, they will be found to be
the very processes, by which the most barren rocks and inac-
cessible mountains are converted into scenes of fruitfulness,
beauty, and animation. The Aiguilles of the Alps in their un-
disturbed position, can scarcely sustain the life of a moss or an
insect. By a succession of changes, which will be described in
this paper, they are converted into the finest soil, removed into
cultivated regions, and made to support every conceivable form

* Read before the Geological Society of London in November 1830.
APRIL—JUNE 183]. A

2 Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposites.

of animal and vegetable life ; and, from the first origin of or-
ganized beings, similar processes must have been necessary to
afford the means for their growth and propagation. We may
further remark, that the laws of alluvial action form an indis-
pensable and very prominent part of the science of Hydrogra-
phy, and that without due attention to them, Comparative
Geography must remain exceedingly imperfect. Even the most
recent maps of the ancient world, edited by Reichard, Cramer,
and the Society for diffusing Useful Knowledge, are so delineated
as to remove ancient sea-ports to a great distance from the sea,
and to include in the Continent what were formerly islands, so
that many alluvial tracts in these maps are only ancient, in as
much as ancient names are written upon them.

The observations which T shall venture to offer to the So-
ciety, will relate to the four following branches of the sub-
ject :—

lst, The preliminary processes of disintegration, not imme-
diately dependent upon the action of running water, by which
materials are furnished for the formation of alluvium.

2dly, 'The action of running water in distributing these ma-
terials over level or inclined surfaces.

3dly, The effects produced, when such materials are con-
veyed by running into standing water.

A4thly, The case of a stream of water, which meets a stream
flowing in another direction.

eT

My views upon these subjects are founded upon observations
made both in this island and in various parts of the Continent,
but especially in Switzerland ana Savoy.

I.—On the Preliminary Processes of Disintegration, not immediately
dependent upon the Action of Running Water, by which Materials
are furnished for the Formation of Alluvium.

The question has often been debated, whether water, flowing
with the greatest possible velocity, or in the largest volume, is
sufficient by itself to erode the harder rocks, or to excavate in
them ravines and valleys. My own opportunities of observation
would lead me to answer this query in the negative. The un-
shaken solidity and durable forms of rocks and pebbles, which

Account of Landslips. 3

are exposed to the attrition of simple water, prove that its ac-
tion, where perceptible in any degree, is exceedingly slow, and
its effects inconsiderable. But very different are the appearances
exhibited, when a stream of water is charged with fragments of
rock, previously loosened and thrown: within its reach. Such
fragments not only impel and batter one another with tremen-
dous fury, but shake, loosen, and separate their kindred rocks,
which are in place, and destroy, toa much greater extent, the
softer strata, to which they are carried.- Hence the separation
of fragments of rock by agents, distinct from flowing water,
requires to be considered as the first step towards the formation
of alluvium.

The processes of separation are of two kinds ; in the one case,
great masses are detached suddenly, in the other, the progress
of disintegration is slow, gradual, and constant.

1. The sudden separation of a great mass is often called the
fall of a mountain: but the term Landslip appears more ap-
propriate. A slice from the side of a mountain is all that really
falls.*

In all mountainous countries, which are subject to earth-
quakes, and in Switzerland among the rest, these events are
sometimes attended by the sudden fall of great masses of earth
and rock. Thus an earthquake is said to have detached parts
of the mountain of Glarnisch, Canton of Glarus, in the year
1593. But such instances are very rare.

Landslips commonly take place, not in primitive mountains,
but in the more recent and distinctly stratified formations,
whether calcareous or sedimentary. The rocky strata of these
formations are occasionally separated by a bed of clay, and still
more frequently by a yielding shale or sandstone. Water,
slowly insinuating into the clay, converts it into mud, or it gra-
dually carries away portions of the soft shale or ‘tender sand-
stone. When this has been done, the superincumbent stratum
of rock, if destitute of support underneath, slips down, resolving
itself into innumerable fragments. It is accompanied in its fall
by rocks, woods, fields, houses, and whatsoever else rests upon

*See De la Beche’s Sections and Views, Plate 33. “ Fall of the Rossberg
(conglomerate) ; also Pl. 35. fig. 3. Pinhay Cliffs, Lyme Regis (chalk) ; and
PL 38. fig. 5. Diablerets (limestone).

aS

4 Remarks onthe Formation of Alluvial Deposites.

it. If the loosened strata fall into a valley, a large part of the
fragments is thrown across its bottom, and even to a consider-
able distance up the opposite declivity ; so that the appearance
of the ruin is that of an enormous wave, rushing down one side
of the valley, dashing up the other side, and there arrested and
fixed.

Another circumstance, by which we may recognise the ex-
istence of a landslip, is, that the large fragments are often com-
posed of several strata; whereas, by the more gradual processes
of disintegration, hereafter to be described, the strata are always
cleft asunder, and the form and size of the fragmentsis determin-
ed by the structure of separation of the parent rock, which is sub-
divided as minutely asis conformable to that structure. While
going through the pass of the Gemmi, in the Canton of Valais,
where it borders upon the Canton of Berne, I observed, amidst
the extensive ruins of a landslip, numerous masses of thinly
stratified limestone, bounded on four sides by cleavages perpen-
dicular to the planes of stratification, and hence bearing a strong
resemblance to square towers of mouldering masonry. ‘These
masses are thrown on every side in wild confusion, often lying
prostrate upon the ground.

The fall of mountain masses across valleys sometimes pro-
duces lakes, by arresting the water flowing from above. The
Oschenen-see in the Canton of Berne is a = example of such
alake. It occupies the head of a narrow valley, and is over-
hung by lofty mountains, the perpendicular sides of which con-
stitute its eastern boundary. Several cascades fall immediately
into it from the impending snows and glaciers. The dam,
thrown across the valley so as to form the western boundary of
the lake, consists of loose angular masses of limestone ; and, on
looking up to the mountain on the south, we see, directly above
the dam, the smooth surface of a stratum of limestone, totally
cleared of its former burthen of earth and rocks, and inclining
towards the valley. A considerable part of the dyke is now
covered with fir-trees, which prove the ancient date of the slip,
although the cleared and sloping stratum above remains desti-
tute of vegetation, in consequence of its great height. The
water of the lake escapes through the broken masses of the
dyke. Rather turbid, as it enters, it emerges in numerous

Effects of Frost and Oxtdation on Rocks. 5

clear springs, and forms a beautiful mountain stream, called the
Oschenen-bach.

On comparing those cases of landslips in the Alps, which are
attested by living witnesses, or by written records, with similar
appearances, such as those now described, respecting which his-
tory is silent, we are enabled to draw the conclusion, that land-
slips have occurred very frequently in the stratified mountains.

2. But, notwithstanding the frequency of landslips in the Alps,
and their very striking and terrific appearances, their supply of
materials for alluvial action is inconsiderable, compared with the
quantity furnished by those agents, such as frost and oxidation,
which separate rocks more gradually and more constantly.

No clearer examples of the agency of frost in disintegration
can be found than in the large masses which fall upon the sea-
shore from our own chalk-cliffs in the course of every winter.
Upon all rocks, in every situation, freezing water acts in a simi-
lar way. But in mountains of sufficient elevation, water freezes
only in the summer ; and then, by melting and freezing every
successive day and night, it must exert a proportionably greater
effect in loosening the rocks, into the exposed parts of which it
has penetrated. The more frequent freezing of water in a great
elevation is the necessary consequence of the nearer approach of
the ordinary temperature of the place to the freezing point, and
its effect is seen upon the glaciers, where, during summer, innu-
merable small pools are, in the morning, covered with a pellicle
of ice, and in the middle of the day converted into flowing rills.
We only need reflect on the corresponding daily change in the
surfaces of the rocks, by which these glaciers are surrounded, in
order to be satisfied that the effect of frost must be greater in
cold than in temperate regions.

The older rocks disintegrate more or less rapidly, in propor-
tion as they are more or less prone to oxidation. Hence we
sometimes find granite and other primitive rocks hard, smooth,
and tough, to the very moment when they fall; and, at other
times, the slightest blow of the hammer separates them into
flakes, or with the hand alone we may reduce them to coarse
sand. In all their various degrees of comminution, we find these
rocks upon the summits of the Alps as well as in lower situa-
tions, and hence we see different glaciers either embrowned with

6 Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposites.

gravel, or loaded with boulder-stones. An adventurous traveller,
Dr Hugi, states, that it is dangerous to walk at the foot of the
Lauteraarhorn, and some other ridges, on account of their ex-
treme tendency to decay*.

Rocks, which fall by these gradual processes, always divide
according to their natural structure of separation, and hence
every distinct concretion of the rock becomes a separate frag-
ment of its debris.

Two principal forms of mountain masses result from this law.

The first is that exhibited chiefly by all calcareous and all
conglomerate or sedimentary rocks. These are commonly ar-
ranged in strata, which approach more or less to an horizontal
position, and their cleavages, crossing one another in various di-
rections, are nearly perpendicular to the planes of stratification.
The fragments, separated from them, continually expose fresh
cleavages, and the mountain side exhibits the appearance of vast
walls, while its detached summits take the form of mighty tow-
ers. These walls can only be ascended by means of the projec-
tions of the strata, or of slight inequalities in the cleavages, and
hence Mont Blanc itself is more accessible than many Swiss
- mountains of less elevation, which consist in a great measure of
limestone. The debris of these rocks is disposed with great re-
gularity at the base of the vertical walls, its largest fragments
rolling or sliding to the bottom of the talus; and the conse-
quence is, that such an eminence is characterized by three prin-
cipal lines, viz. the summit of the wall, the summit of the talus,
and the base of the talus,—all parallel to the lines of stratification
in the rock.

(The drawing, Plate I. Fig. 1., is designed to show this form. It re-
presents part of the Selisberg, on the Lake of Lucerne).

The second principal form, resulting from the above law of
disintegration, is presented by many of the schistose rocks. The
strata are in this case highly inclined, and the cleavages meet
the planes of stratification at an acute angle. The distinct con-
cretions have the figure, often very exact, of rhomboidal crystals.
The outline of the mountain mass consists of pointed summits,
the form of which resembles that of the distinct concretions.

* Natur-historische Alpen-reise, 1830, pp. 236, 246, 367.

PLATH I. Ldin new Phil. Sour lol X1 po,

Hig.5.

- seer Se fee

ws

Statue

Nyy

Ladino new Phil. Sour lel. xi po.

Fig 19.

Forms of Mountains as connected with Cleavage. 7

One side of each peak is formed by the surfaces of the exposed
strata, the other side by the cleavages of the strata, and from
the latter side the fragments chiefly fall. The debris, discharged
from the bottom of the hollow, which separates two contiguous
peaks, assumes the form of a cone; and hence, in mountains of
this character, we sometimes see a row of conical masses of rock
in place, and below them a corresponding row of cones of debris
issuing from the intervening hollows. In this, as well as in the
preceding case, the largest fragments fall to the bottom of the
slope, and, in both cases, the angle of inclination approaches 45°.

This second form of ruined mountains is less obvious than the
first, because, to perceive it, it is necessary that the observer
should look along the planes of stratification and cleavage, which
he can do only from certain points of view. It is often found
in the slate on each side of the Rhine in Germany, and may be
discerned not only in the bare rocks, but in hills covered with
vegetation. ‘Thus, at Bad-Ems, we see it in the beautiful
wooded eminence on which the Moos-hiitte is erected, when we
stand on the opposite side of the Lahn.

The Acute Cone (as we may call this form of debris) often
exhibits, towards its summit, an approach to a spiral figure,
arising from the obliquity of the ravine to the mountain side,
down which it discharges its loose contents. ?

(The drawing, Fig. 2., shows part of a mountain on the south side of
the Col de la Seigne, on the confines of Savoy and Piedmont, with
a series of peaks, intervening hollows, and cones of debris. Fig. 3.
shows the modification of the Acute Cone, arising from the obli-
quity of the ravine to the mountain side.)

Rocks, which are either not at all or less distinctly stratified,
and the masses of debris emitted from them, assume forms, ac-
cording to circumstances, more or less approaching those which
have been described. Nothing is more common than to find a
ravine in the steep face, not only of schistose rocks, with an in-
ternal rhomboidal structure, but of granite, gneiss, mica-slate,
and other primitive rocks, and even of stratified limestone, grit,
or conglomerate: in all such cases, the earth and stones, dis-
charged from the ravine, will make an Acute Cone. If, on the
other hand, the unstratified rocks rise in long walls, as is often
the case with basalt and greenstone in particular, their debris wil}
form a regular talus. Nevertheless, the two forms of mountain

8 Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposites.

masses which have been described, are in nature strongly con-
trasted, and usually characterize the rocks to which I have as-
signed them.

In illustration of these preliminary processes, I shall only fur-
ther observe, that, in the highest mountains, the loosened earth
and stones fall upon masses of ice and snow, which carry them
many miles, and that, having been transported from their source,
they descend by their own weight into such slopes as have been
delineated.

II.—On the Distribution of Debris by Streams flowing over inclined or
level surfaces.

Fragments of rock and masses of earth, falling by their own
weight, rest in a steep slope. If the force of running water be
united to their weight, it carries them much farther, so as greatly
to diminish the steepness of the slope. Hence, if a ravine dis-
charges water as constantly as earth and stones, instead of an
acute cone of debris we see a cascade, which forms a basin
within the debris, and then a ravine across it; and through this
channel the torrent continually discharges both its water and its
solid contents. In such cases the form of the Acute Cone is al-
most obliterated by the removal of its upper and more charac-
teristic portion. (See the sketch, Fig. 4.) But the lengthened
talus, so commonly found at the base of calcareous, sedimentary,
or trap-rocks, retains its form, except that ‘it is scalloped or in-
dented by a ravine under each cascade. (See sketch, Fig. 5.)

The mass of debris is, however, chiefly acted on, not by water
thus accompanying it in its fall, but by streams meeting it trans-
versely. The materials carried, to borrow an expression from che-
mistry, in the dry way, and disposed into the form eitherof a talus,
or an Acute Cone, or perhaps originating in a landslip or in an
. earthquake, commonly fall down the sides of some glen or val-
ley, at the bottom of which flows a torrent. The torrent, fed
by numerous cascades, springs, and rivulets, exerts upon the
base of these masses a force proportioned to its depth and ra-
pidity. . Then, first, the angular fragments begin to be rounded
into boulder-stones and pebbles. By continually rubbing, grind-
ing, and beating upon one another, and upon the sides of their

Action of Streams on Soft Materials. 9

channel, and by the renewal of this action during their passage
through great distances, they are converted into all the varieties
of detritus from vast boulder-stones to the finest sand or mud.
In these varieties we find detritus reposing in all those parts of
glens and valleys which are sufficiently level and expanded to
afford it a resting-place; and, from these temporary resting-
places, it is liable to be removed whenever the volume of water
is sufficient to overcome the obstruction *.

The effects produced by a stream of water depend not only
on its depth, volume, and rapidity, and on the quantity of solid
materials with which it is charged, but also on the nature of
the channel through which it passes. A comparatively small
force being necessary to remove loose earth and stones, it will
chiefly carry forward the materials, furnished by the processes
which have been described in the former part of this paper, or
already deposited by the same stream in a previous period of its
action.

A case of the first description I had an opportunity of ob-
serving Jast summer in Savoy. The cliffs on the right hand of
the valley of the Arve, going from Servoz to St Martin, consist
of stratified limestone, with numerous softer beds of black sandy
shale. At this spot one of the greatest landslips occurred in
1751. The ruin covers more than a square league, and is
crossed by a small torrent, which is called the Nant Noir, in
consequence of its blackish colour. This stream, seemingly in-
considerable, is continually undermining its banks. At the be-
ginning of last July a greater quantity of rain than usual had
caused it to act more vigorously, so that its channel was exca-
vated to the depth of 100 feet, and the surface of the ground,
on each side of it, marked by fearful rents. Only a week be-
fore I saw it, the water, pent up for a short time by fallen
masses, in an instant broke through this barrier, and unfortu-
nately carried away the supports of a bridge, while two men

* Dr Hutton (Theory of the Earth, vol. ii. p. 154. Part ii. ch. iv.) denies
that reunded pebbles can be “thus worn by travelling in the longest river ;”
and maintains that the attrition, which produce 1 their furm, was that of the
waves of the sea upon some former coast. Nevertheless, we trace these peb-
bles through the valleys up to the rocks, from which they have fallen, and
every stream which rolls them exhibits an impelling force not inferior to that
of the ocean’s waves. 1

10 Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposites.

were passing over it. Ten years ago the passage of the Nant
Noir was interrupted by a similar accident.

Next to debris and detritus, the softer strata, which are in
place, yield to the action of flowing water. Beds of shale, si-
milar to those which occasioned the slip at Servoz, always give
to alpine torrents that traverse them the colour of the Nant
Noir; and in various instances, where quantities of water are
retained in the soft strata of clay or shale, they burst forth in
the state of thick mud, carrying variously-sized fragments of
rock, Even the softer kinds of graywacke and clayslate are very
quickly eroded, so that in the Eifel I have seen deep gullies
worn in such slate by the side of a newly made road, where
it could have been exposed but a few months to the action of
the rain-water.

The same law, which has been mentioned as regulating the
disintegration of rocks, independently of the action of streams,
also modifies the action of running water. The fragments
which it removes are very frequently portions, the forms and
boundaries of which are determined by the structure of separa-
tion, which characterizes the parent rock. ‘The ravine in the
annexed sketch (Fig. 6.) shows, on the one hand, a smooth
highly inclined plane, which is cither a seam or a cleavage in
the mountain mass ; while, on the other, the distinct concretions
are gradually worn away and cut through in every direction.
In the falls of Imatra, as represented by Mr Strangways *, the
same principle is well illustrated, the sides of the chasm being
formed by highly inclined strata of gneiss. In nearly all cases
the action of streams appears to be directed to those parts of the
rocks exposed to them, which have a natural tendency to yield
to their action. Hence we not only find that ravines follow the
course of pre-existent rents, but we observe valleys hollowed at
the junction of distinct formations, where, generally, the rocks
of each formation are more subdivided, more indeterminate in
their character, and more prone to disintegration. Thus, in
the long valley which forms the western boundary of the group
of Mont Blanc, extending from the Col de Bon Homme to St
Gervais, the Bon Nant separates the schistose from the calca-
reous mountains ; the same general fact is exhibited on a sub-

“ Geological Transactions, vol. v. Plate xviii.

Mode of Action of Streams on Granite, Porphyry, &c. 11

lime scale in the Allée Blanche; and in two of the lateral glens
of the Valorsine, the torrents of La Poyaz and Barbarine flow at
the junction of the granite and the slate. Another appearance,
also dependent upon structure, and upon the subordination of
aqueous action to that structure, is seen in the parallelism and
conformity of valleys excavated in the same mountain-ridge. If
we look along a straight valley situated at the base of such a
ridge, the summits of the minor ridges separating the lateral
valleys, which descend into the principal valley, form so many
parallel lines. The sketch (Fig. 7.) is an exact outline of seve-
ral of the ridges of Mont Blanc, as seen from the eminence of
La Flegere, and shows the similarity of the valleys which con-
tain the successive glaciers of Les Pelerins, Bossons, Taco-
naz, &c. :

On the harder and less separable rocks, such as limestone and
slate in thick solid strata, or granite and porphyry, the action
of streams is far more gradual, and is accomplished by a very
distinct and curious process. The stones, whirled round by the
water, form hollow cylinders at the bottom, and- segments of
such cylinders in the sides of the channel ; and these cylindrical
impressions go on multiplying, deepening, and enlarging, until
they intersect one another, or the seams and cleavages of the
rock, and thus separate it into fragments of all shapes and sizes.
The bed of the Avon, in Lanarkshire, a short way from its
junction with the Clyde, is thickly perforated with holes, about
the size and shape of a drum of figs. Traces of the same ope-
ration may be observed in the Clyde itself about Cora Linn.
A very fine example of a cylinder is now presented in a rock,
which divides the stream of the Hinter-Rhein, in the upper part
of the gorge of the Rofla, Canton of Grisons. We see here two
beautiful cascades in the middle of the river; one falls into the
cylinder, the other constitutes its overflow. Large and frequent
segments of cylinders are seen in the high walls of chlorite-
slate, which form the sides of this gorge. But nowhere pro-
bably can the phenomenon be better seen than by walking along
the scaffold, which leads at the bottom of the frightful gorge of
the Tamina, from the Hotel at Pfeffers-bad to the hot-spring,
through a distance of more than a quarter of a mile. The cliffs
of limestone here amount to several hundred feet in height, and

12 Remarks on the Formatton of Alluvial Deposites.

are marked, at frequent intervals, either by vast cylindrical im-
pressions, or by the cleavages which these impressions have in-
tersected *.

It is manifest that this peculiar action of stones in water de-
pends upon the structure of the channel. The distinct concre-
tions of the rock, and its less yielding portions, project in salient
angles, which drive the current, with its load of stones, against
the opposite wall, and, by repeated blows, it is chiselled into
the forms which we now survey. ;

Another characteristic circumstance of gorges thus formed,
is their astonishing depth and narrowness. In various alpine
valleys we see them some hundred feet deep, while the opposite
rocks are as near each other at the top as at the bottom of the
gorge, sometimes nearly touching, and never many yards asun-
der. This, however, manifestly results from the grinding ac-
tion of the stones, which, as they occupy the bottom of the
stream, must always tend to deepen the channel, not to widen it.

Here the question arises, If alluvial action produces only
deep and narrow gorges, is it not necessary to assign some other
cause for those more expanded valleys, at the bottom of which
they are situated + ?

Without presuming to deny the possibility of other modes of
action, it appears to me, that the formation of more expanded
valleys above the gorges (as represented in the section, Fig. 8.)
is a necessary consequence of the process which we are consider-
ing. Notwithstanding the extraordinary form of these gorges,
when excavated in remarkably hard and solid rocks, the time
must come when their walls, not only intersected by seams and
cleavages, but subject to the action of numerous lateral torrents,
and of powerful atmospherical influences, will collapse by their
own weight; and, as we see banks of sand, clay, or gravel, fall
in large flakes, as the stream undermines them, so the solid and

* See also the paper of Mr Strangways above referred to, Geological
Transactions, vol. v. p. 341, and Plate xviii., fig. 1. and 2., F. Sir T. D.
Lauder, in his instructive and valuable “* Account of the Great Floods of
August 1829,” 2d edition, p. 365, mentions the appearance of these “ circular
holes ” in the mica-slate of the Cuach, a tributary of the Dee in Aberdeen.

shire, “ the shaking of the rocks ” at one of the falls of this stream, and the
removal by it of “‘ immense masses” from the walls.

+ De la Beche’s Geological Notes. London, 1830. 8vo. No. III.

Description of Obtuse Conical Alluvium. 13

perpendicular walls of alpine gorges must in time give way
from the same cause, the erosion of their base. In all the gra-
dations from the hardest granite to the most yielding sand, it
will follow, that the more durable the banks of the channel, the
more deeply must that channel be cut before they will collapse ;
and hence in all valleys of erosion, as a general rule, the width
of the valley will exceed its depth, in proportion to the softness
of the materials composing its sides. One river meanders in an
expanded vale between banks of clay, sand, or gravel, a few
feet in height ; another flows at the bottom of a deeper valley
between cliffs of chalk or sandstone ; and a third at the base of
precipitous mountains, where it is often concealed from sight
between lofty walls of the older rocks.

The inclination of any mass of sediment is found to correspond
to the inclination of the current, by which it is deposited. Of
the forms of alluvium resulting from this law, one of the most
striking is the Obtuse Cone, which is to be seen in every alpine
valley, where streams enter it through ravines or smaller lateral
and more elevated valleys. The same form also frequently pre-
sents itself on the margins of Jakes at the termination of such
ravines or valleys. (See the Sketch, Fig. 9.)

The obtuse cone makes an angle with the horizon of from 5°
to 15°. In many cases its apex is not less than 500 feet higher
than its base, and its diameter 3 or 4 miles. It is distinguished
from the acute cone, not only by the obvious difference of form,
but by the circumstance that the largest fragments remain at the
top of the cone, and the finest are washed to the bottom ; where-
as, in the acute cone, the reverse arrangement takes place.

Every obtuse cone, in the present state of the Alps, exhibits
several varieties of surface. A space, enclosed by two radii pro-
ceeding from the apex, serves as the bed of the torrent. It ex-
hibits a sloping surface, consisting entirely of boulder-stones and
coarse gravel, over which the current takes various directions,
and continues to deposit its solid contents. Another large por-
tion, especially the higher part, consists of similar rough mate-
rials, but is covered either with a forest of firs, or with alders and
other coppice-wood.. Other parts are destitute of trees, and not
more productive than the stony flanks-of high mountains usually

14 Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposites.

are, bearing a little coarse grass intermixed with herbaceous
plants. A more fertile portion, occupying in general the lower
part of the cone, is covered with orchards and cultivated fields,
with cottages and hamlets. Some of the largest villages in the
alpine valleys are situated upon such cones near their base. The
path leading to the parish church of Chamonix, rises from the
village a short way up a very regular and richly cultivated cone.
Mayenfeld, a town in the Canton of Grisons, is on the declivity
of an obtuse cone, which is crossed by one of the great roads lead-
ing from Italy to Germany between Chur and Feld-kirch. Matt
and Linth are two villages, beautifully situated very near one
another, on an obtuse cone in the Linth-thal. These cones be-
ing at the base of ravines or lateral valleys, which descend ra-
pidly from the highest ridges, it is easy to trace the origin of
their materials. ‘Che Chamonix cone is formed by the excava-
tion of the Breven; that of Mayenfeld is in the same way de-
rived from the Falkniss. In going from Sitten (Sierre) to the
Baths cf Leuk, Canton of Valais, we see a splendid example of
the formation of an obtuse cone. Receding northward from the
Rhone up the transversal valley of the Dala, we observe, on
looking back, an obtuse cone of extraordinary dimensions, with
a vast ravine rising from its apex directly up the southern de-
clivity of the valley. As we ascend, we are able to trace fur-
ther and further the course of the stream which passes through
this ravine, until we see its whole length in one nearly straight
line. We view it issuing from its glacier, descending through
successive stages of the mountain ridge, and at length sei
itself over tlie: barren sector of the flattened cone.

The sketch No. 10, represents the head of the Lake of Bri-
entz. On the left is seen an obtuse cone, which terminates on
the border of the lake, and extends almost to the mouth of the
Aar. Krenholtz stands upon it, formerly a more important place
than the neighbouring village of Brientz, but once nearly oblite-
rated by the descent ofan unusual quantity of calcareous debris
and mud from the ravine above it.

With respect to the origin of the obtuse cone, it may be ob-
served, that its formation depends upon the comparative quantity
of water and debris brought down the ravine. If the quantity

Temporary Lakes formed by Obtuse Cones. 15

of water so much exceeds the quantity of debris as to carry
nearly the whole of it away, a cascade remains, as is represented
in Fig. 4, and seen in the well-known example of the Pisse-
vache. But if the quantity of solid matter is too great for the
water, an obtuse cone is formed with its apex at the mouth of
the ravine. If the torrent has yielding materials to work upon,
the quantity brought down by it is often so great as to make it
appear rather a solid than a fluid substance, and to overspread
the surface of the cone to an enormous depth. Hence the Alp-
bach above Meiringen, in the Canton of Berne, has twice proved
nearly fatal to that village by burying it in “ lias-marl,” not-
withstanding the vast mounds of stone, diverging from the apex,
which were built nearly a century ago to restrain its ravages.
A village near Aigue-belle, in Savoy, was enveloped by the same
process in 1752, so that only the tower of the church was left
rising above the sediment, which formed a stratum 15 or 20
feet thick *.

The obtuse cone often has the effect of obstructing the course
of a river, so as to produce inundations. The abundance of
earth and stones brought down by the lateral stream is occasion-
ally so great as to hem in the principal stream, which thus forms
a lake above the dam. But from the nature of the materials,
the obstruction is easily removed ; the principal stream swells
again, asserts its pre-eminence, rapidly tears away the base of the
encroaching cone, and sinks again to its former level. The
effect of this abrasion of obtuse cones by the principal stream
is seen in planes cutting across them near the base, and inclining
at an angle of about 45° to the horizon. These steep declivi-
ties, if we may judge from the forest trees growing upon them,
are often not less than 100 feet high. They occur more fre-
quently in proportion to the narrowness of the valley. In the
Linth-thal, which descends with uncommon rapidity, and has nu-
merous lateral valleys, the cones occur so frequently as to en-

* De Luc, Lettres sur’ Hist. de la Terre, t. ii. p. 75.—I have found De Luc’s
account of the alluvial and disintegrating processes in the 30th and 31st letters
remarkably correct and interesting. He designates the form of alluvium,
which I am describing, by the general term cone, and says, p- 67, that it has

the shape “ d’un pain de suere fort applati, coupé par son milien du sommet
a la base.” 1

16 Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposites.

croach on one another. Hence they must have operated more
effectually in producing occasional stoppages of the river, which,
on regaining the mastery, has cut away the bases on either hand.

This form of alluvium (Fig. 11) may be distinguished as the
obtuse cone truncated at the base.

After the clipping of the base, the obtuse cone becomes sub-
ject to a still further modification. The streams, which, in its
entire state, might have flowed in every direction pretty evenly
from its summit to its base, are diverted from their course on
arriving at the edges of its steep declivities. "They immediately
begin to cut through the edges, and thus intersect the declivi-
ties with ravines. A very beautiful and distinct example of an
obtuse cone thus modified is seen in the valley of the Reuss some
miles above Altorf. The high road passes over it a little below
Amsteg. The ravines formed in its truncated base are large
and verdant, and adorned, together with the other parts of the
cone, with fine walnut-trees and beeches. Diverging from the
apex, they give to the cone the appearance of being scalloped.
The materials carried out of one of these ravines are seen depo-
sited at its mouth in a very regular, but comparatively small ob-
tuse cone, and this cone also is clipt at its base. Another ex-
ample is presented in the valley of Schams. As we enter that
valley from the Via Mala, the high road passes under the clipt
base of a vast obtuse cone, and crosses the entrance (on the left
hand) of two or three ravines, by which it is furrowed. Look-
ing back upon this cone from the upper part of the valley of
Schams, the edges of the ravines strike the eye by their regulari-
ty and parallelism, and are more conspicuous than in the pre-
ceding case, because this cone is bare of trees.

We may call this form (Fig. 12) the obtuse cone truncated
at the base, and scalloped at the edges.

Still another form is impressed upon the alluvium of the al-
pine valleys from the same agency. When the valley is more
than usually expanded, the principal stream, winding round the
base of the obtuse cone, scoops out the level alluvium on the
opposite side of the valley, so as to form a steep declivity ar-
ranged as an are of a larger circle, parallel to the circular base
of the cone. A beautiful example of this presents itself a little
below Chamonix, the Arve flowing between the cone and the

Mode of Formution of Ledges in Beds of Rivers. 17
steep circling bank, which rises abeve a small and fertile plain,
like the side of an amphitheatre. (See the Plan, Fig. 13.)

Notwithstanding the frequency of obtuse cones in elevated
regions, this form of alluyial deposites is very rare compared with
that of even surfaces, which, under the denomination of haughs,
straths, plains, &c. indicating their various degrees of magni-
tude, recur continually in all valleys. through the whole of their
ramifications, and from their first sources to the standing waters
of lakes, seas, or of the ocean. ,

A body of water, flowing with a perfectly even stream, and
carrying solid particles of equal weight and dimensions, would
deposite them so as to form perfectly even slopes, corresponding
in their inclination to the inclination of the stream ; and, accord-
ingly, widely spreading rivers, charged with. fine siliceous or
clayey particles, leave behind them a surface of alluvium which,
to the eye, appears as level as a sheet of water... But, in ordi-
nary circumstances, the evenness of the slope.is liable to be dis-
turbed in consequence of inequalities either in the channel, or in
the.solid contents of the stream. We shall proceed to consider
the chief modifications of even surfaces, or plains of alluvium,
arising from the separate or combined. operation of these two
causes.

The successive slopes, often passing into perfect levels, which
are found along the course of every stream, are frequently sepa-
rated from one another by ledges, seldom exceeding a few yards
in height, and commonly very much lower, according to the
dimensions of the valley and the nature of the detritus. The
formation and destruction of these ledges appear to be among
the most important and curious processes in fluvial action.

If we throw a quantity of gravel or coarse sand into a clear
and rapid stream, we observe that the lighter and finer particles
are instantly washed away, that the larger follow them in con-
siderable quantity, but are soon arrested, and that, in a few mi-
nutes, all the loose pieces, of whatever size, either disappear, or
fix themselves in some permanent position. In this state things
remain, until the increase.or diminution of the water produces
a difference of force... The larger pieces shew a tendency to ar-
range themselves in a.ledge placed across the direction of the
current ; and the process, thus completed before our eyes, on a

APRIL—JUNE 1831. B

18 Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposites.

small scale, may enable us to account for similar results, the
steps of which necessarily escape our observation.

Among the pebbles, or other pieces of stone, carried in a
stream, some will, in consequence of their size, weight, and form,
be arrested and detained by inequalities in the bed of the stream.
Thus a flat stone is, for a while, carried swiftly along, moving
on its circumference like a quoit, but continually vacillating
with the varying impressions of the water. At length it im-
pinges against some projection in the bed, which turns its broad
surface against the stream, and there, if the projection be strong
enough to retain it, it will remain. (See Fig. 14.) Other stones,
whether flat, or approaching more to an oval or spherical form,
are often wedged between those above and below them, (Fig.
15); and a few strong points of support, thus provided, form
the basis of a natural dam or weir. Hence arise the numerous
minor waterfalls or rapids, which occur in rivers flowing over
beds of detritus, no less than in those which pass over rocks in
place. Pebbles and finer materials fill the hollow behind the
dam, as fast as it rises, until the bed of the river above it-be-
eomes perfectly level. ‘The ledge, thus produced, often crosses
the bed of the stream in a devious and serpentine form, because
the lateral action of the banks, or of imequalities in the bed,
forces portions of the stream from its direct course, and thus
hurls the stones sideways as well as downwards.

So long as the flood which has deposited these materials con-
tinues unabated, the dam and the level above it will extend un-
interruptedly across the river. It is remarkable that these firm
dykes are demolished, not by the increase, but by the subsidence
of the stream; and the action appears to be as follows.. During
a copious ftood, the whole is covered by a mass of flowing wa-
ter, so that each stone, being surrounded with water pressing it
in all directions, remains in its place. But, when the flood sub-
sides, the pressure is only from. behind. The whole mass of
stones and gravel being fully charged with water, that fluid

drives before it certain portions, which, though fixed with suffi-

cient firmness to keep their places, while aided by a pressure in
front, give way as soon as that is removed... The removal of
some masses occasions the removal of others which rest. upon
them, and all the waters now drain themselves through the

Sg

Se erp

Formation of Alluvial Islands in Rivers. 19

breaches in the dyke, and (working backwards, as in all hori-
zontal water-courses), cut deep and long channels in the allu-
vium, perhaps leaving islands between them. In this state
things remain, until another flood covers all again, and either
fills the channels with a part of its load, or sweeps away the
whole, and deposites it lower down in the course of the river. In
the valley of the Rhine, about Bonn, and in the elevated plain
between that river and Juliers, now watered by the Rohr, sec-
tions of the gravel sometimes exhibit such a channel filled with
sand (See Fig. 16); and, wherever this appearance is found,
although the deposites be called délwvium, on account of their
elevated situation, or any other vircumstance, it is evident that
they can only be the alluvium of'a former age.

There is another mode of action which modifies the even
slope of river deposites. Let us suppose a stream of any magni-
tude flowing between steep banks either of rock in place or of
alluvium. When the quantity of water is so great as to be sub-
ject to reverberation from the banks, it is driven with its load of
sand, stones, &c. from each side towards the middle of the cur-
rent, where, consequently, the water is deepest, and its action
most powerful. Hence the deposite will, previous to the sub-
sidence of the stream, be most considerable in the middle of the
bed, sloping from the middle towards the sides. On the other
hand, so soon as the subsidence commences, the middle will be-
come the most shallow and languid part, and the principal ac-
tion will be on the two sides. Ifa level part of the bed be suc-
ceeded by a declivity, it aids the removal of the sediment in such
a way that the central ridge of sediment is left terminating in a
slope both towards the two sides of the channel and towards the
declivity. (See Fig. 17). Over this tongue the water flows shal-
lower and shallower as it subsides, and at length the tongue
rises like an island between two branches of the river. Mean
while these two branches, to which the principal action is trans-
ferred, will, according to circumstances, either deposite their se-
diment so as‘to fill up, in part, the two channels between the
central ridge of sediment and the banks of the river, or they
will erode the base of that central ridge, and carry away its
materials.

Thus it appears that the same increase of water may, accord-

B2

20

Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposites.

ing to the form and. situation of the banks which confine it,
either produce the level, extending across the bed of the river,
and terminating in a steep ledge, or the central ridge termi-
nating in a gently inclined tongue. On the other hand, the
subsidence of the water will, in either case, produce new and
narrower channels.

The advance of rocks into the track of a river, though it
produces a very rapid fall, where the rocks intrude, has. the
effect. of a partial dam, retarding the current higher up, and
hence causing an abundant deposition. . Such appears to have
been the operation of that fine assemblage of insulated cliffs in
the valley .of .the Rhone, on one of which the Castle of Sion is
erected... The portion of. the valley above these cliffs, between
Sion and Leuk, is studded with numerous hills of an entirely
different. chavacter... They are very abrupt, frequently flat-
topped, and some of them 200 feet in height. They appear to
be the remaining fragments of a thick bed of gravel, which has
subsequently: been divided by numerous minor channels into
banks and islands. Another striking example of the same rela-
tion,of protruding masses of rock in place to deposites of allu-
vil; presents itself in the Canton of Grisons. In going from
Chur-to Reichenau we observe eight or ten very abrupt and
sharp-hills.of slate or limestone, rising through the plain, and
analogous,to the emimences about Sion; and beyond them a
ridge, which appears to have extended across the valley, as the
corresponding portions of it appear on the two opposite banks of
the-Rhine.. At. Reichenau occurs the well known bifurcation of
the Valley of the Rhine; and, in each branch, we see proofs
that, the water has formerly flowed at a much higher level oyer
its. own alluvium, which it has worn into deep channels. These
appearances are the,most remarkable in the Valley of Dom-
leschg, which is traversed by the Hinter-Rhein, The bed of
gravel, instead of, being diyided into an assemblage of hillocks,
as.is the. case: between. Sion and. Leuk, is here continuous,
though intersected to.the depth of some. feet.by ancient chan-
nels.»2Inone of. these channels, stands the village of, Bonaduz.
From, Reichenau we ascend by a road formed partly along this
ancient.channel, and.in another part cut obliquely up. the steep
border of the plain. .. The river now flows 150 feet.or more be-

4

Force of Running Water increases with its Depth. 21

low the level of the plain, the declivity between the plain and
the river forming an angle with the horizon of nearly 45°. Be-
sides the marks of ancient channels formed by the river, the
plain has been more recently intersected by ravines formed by
lateral torrents and by the draining of rain-water from its sur-
face. The subdivisions of these ravines, with the swelling pro-
minences between them, now covered with grass, exhibit in mi-
niature an exact copy of the forms of our chalk-hills. ‘The
steep declivity of naked gravel, with disseminated boulder-stones,
is worn at some places by the rain into the sharp spires known
under the names of Erde-pyramiden and Cheminées des Fées,
which are seen developed in the greatest abundance and magni-
tude in the valleys above Botzen, and in other parts of the
southern fiank of the Alps.

An instance of the same mode of action, though with some
remarkable modifications, is exhibited nearer home in the bed
of the Mersey above Liverpool. Opposite to that port the river
is so narrow, that the stream, mainly preduced by the rising
and falling of the tide, flows with great rapidity. Higher up the
Mersey opens, as Camden expressively states, ** patenti gremio,”
and assumes something of the aspect and nature of a wide lake.
The stream being here less active, in proportion to the expan-
sion of the channel, an abundant deposition takes place, and, at
low water, a very large portion of the bed is seen to consist of
banks of sand, which terminate before the narrowing of the
channel.

- Neither by consulting books, nor by conversing with scienti-
fic men, have T been able to arrive at clear and satisfactory
ideas respecting the rationale of the action of streams, in carry-
ing along heavy substances. The following law, however, ap-
pears to be supported not only by innumerable facts, but by
the authority of all hydraulic writers of the highest reputation,
viz. that, in the same channel, the increase of the depth of any
stream is attended by a corresponding increase of power to move
heavy bodies at the bottom. ‘The Italians considered the depth
and perpendicular pressure of streams as the main circumstances
on which their action depends. — Their doctrines are now'con-
sidered as exploded. But the law here stated is conformable to
the more modern, as well as'to the more ancient theory. - Miche-

22 Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposites.

lotti, one of the Italians, maintained, that “ the velocities of
streams increase nearly as the square roots of their depths,” and
this is admitted by Professor Robison, who embraces the new
theory. Du Buat, on whose authority the new theory princi-
pally rests, maintains, that, “ as the depth imcreases, the velo-
city at the bottom of the stream increases even in a higher ratio
than the velocity at the top,” and this is also the opinion of Pro-
fessor Robison*. The opponents of the old theory, who say
that the velocity is the essential circumstance to be considered,
must therefore allow, that an increase of depth in any stream
produces an increase of power to carry heavy substances at the
bottom, and this is all that is necessary for my present purpose.

The effect of increased depth, in augmenting the force at the
bottom of a stream, is evident in the case of water discharged
from any opening. Whether the water flow through artificial
spouts and conduits, or over natural channels of rock, we ob-
serve that it is emitted with a foree proportioned to its depth.
If the current be very low, it moves so sluggishly, that it does
not overcome the adhesion of its under surface to the surface of
its channel, and hence it discharges itself by trickling over the
edge, and will even move some distance backwards, if the edge
overhangs. If, by an addition to the quantity of water, or in
any other way, its depth be augmented, the current will dis-
charge itself mere freely and perpendicularly ; and, on a still
further increase, it will quite overcome the adhesion to its chan-
nel, and will fly off from it in a curve.

In this inquiry I leave out of view the inclination of the bed,
because it is my object to account for the distribution of allu-
vium over extensive tracts, which either have no inclination, or
none which is sufficient to account for the appearances. In any
case where there is a perceptible declivity, as in torrents, rapids,
and waterfalls, it is manifest, that the velocity of the water, and
of the earth and stones contained in it, is increased, because they
are urged to fall, not only by the force impressed, but by their
own weight. Nevertheless, the quantity of direct vertical mo~
tion thus acquired, is destroyed almost immediately by their m-
pinging upon various obstacles, so that, if we look at the water

* See Encl. Brit. Art. RIVERS, sect. ” & 77.

Effects of a Thunder Storm in the Alps. 23

of a river or torrent below any cascade or rapid, we find that,
so soon as the channel resumes its usual degree of inclination,
the stream resumes its ordinary velocity.

The principle being admitted, that, in the same channel, the
force of running water, exerted in carrying detritus, increases in
proportion to the depth of the water, Jet us now investigate
those causes, which, by producing variations in the volume or
mass of water, produce corresponding variations in its depth.
These are,

1st, Long continued rains, which fall upon extensive districts
of moderate elevation. They produce widely-spreading inun-
dations in the lower grounds, and, as we know from the expe-
rience of our own island, often wash away the alluvial banks of
rivers, and in various ways enlarge and deepen their bed. The
muddiness of the water indicates the vast quantities of earth
which they convey towards the sea, All tropical countries have
their rainy season, when they are deluged by such inundations.

2dly, Sudden heavy showers, especially thunder-storms. These
occur in summer, and produce as striking effects in elevated
regions as long-continued rains in low countries. A shower of
this description in the Alps, often swells the torrents in a few
minutes, so that they rush with irresistible fury, burst their or-
dinary limits, and carry down with them immense quantities of
sand and gravel, with large fragments of rocks. They subside
as quickly, leaving their channels almost dry. Being at Cha-
monix on the 16th of last July, I had the opportunity of wit-
nessing some of the effects of a thunder-storm among mountains.
It commenced after sunset, and lasted about three hours. The
noise of a torrent on the opposite side of the river was like con-
tinued thunder, being produced not only by the vast quantity
of water falling almost perpendicularly, but by great boulders
tossed over the precipices. Next morning the whole atmosphere
was clear, the Arve and its tributaries at their, usual height.
But all along the northern and western flanks of Mont Blanc,
the effects of the brief shower were visible in cottages deserted,
pastures and corn fields destroyed, and roads. washed away.
The obtuse cones, and the levels surrounding them, were strewed
with fresh deposites of boulders, pebbles, and sand, amounting
to the depth sometimes of several feet, and exhibiting various

24 Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposites.

degrees of size and coarseness, according to their proximity to
the centre of action, the apex of the cone, or to the middle of
some principal stream.

Sdly, The melting of Alpine snows and glaciers. In winter
the torrents and rivers, which flow immediately from the snows
and glaciers of the Alps, are nearly dried up. I saw them ina
state of vigorous action, and often remarked the peculiar thump-
ing sound of the boulders, which they drive along so as to keep
up an almost constant cannonade *. These stones are invisible,
in consequence of the opacity of the water, until, by its subsi-
dence, it displays their chiselled and whitened surfaces through-
out its bed.

Athiy, The breaking up of ice in rivers. In regions of such
a temperature as to contain rivers which freeze in winter, their
breaking up advances the progress of their alluvium, both be-
cause the pieces of ice cut away the banks, and because they
collect in certain parts, so as to keep back the water. Last
winter, at Winnengen, a short distance above Coblentz, the Mo-
selle, beng hemmed in by the accumulation of its broken ice,
rese 20 feet in an hour and a-half. Having overcome this bar-
rier, it carried away 300 yards of the road between Layen and
Mosel-weiss.. In the Rhine, débacles are produced by the same
eause. Through certain spaces of the river’s course, where the
stream is narrow, deep, and strong, the ice floats downwards.
It stops where the bed becomes broader, and the current conse-
quently more shallow and more languid. The broken pieces,
for the most part reared upon their edges, and crowding over
one another, rise to the height of many feet, and are consoli-
dated by the freezing of the water, which they intercept. At
the commencement of a thaw, the water, coming from above,
quickly accumulates, in proportion as the ice is disposed to
yield. It then breaks the dykes, and rushes forward with tre-
mendous force, overflowing the plains, breaking down the banks,

and carrying along immense quantities of mud, sand, and
stones.

* Sir T. D. Lauder, in his last work, gives an exact idea of the sound

to which I refer, when, in a similar case, he remarks that the stones were
muffled by the water.

Floods caused by the Bursting of Lakes. 25

5thly, The bursting of lakes. This takes place in summer,
and in elevated regions. _The lakes, which are liable to pro-
duce débacles*, are formed,

a. By landslips, as already explained, (p. 4).

b. By the advance of obtuse cones (p. 15). Every obtuse cone
truncated at the base indicates the previous existence of a lake
which has burst the barrier and produced a sudden inundation.
Above such cones, the traces of lakes are often very apparent.
In the verdant spot called the Combe de Taconaz, situated at the
junction of the Taconaz glacier-water with the Arve, we see ex-
tensive terraces which are nearly, if not altogether, upon a level,
and which indicate the former height of the water.

c. By the advance of glaciers and their moraines. The base
of every glacier is continually subject either to recede or to ad-
vance. In many cases, we now see the glaciers protrude their
moraines so as to form mounds across the valleys, and, in some
instances, they detain the water flowing from above. This ap-
pearance is magnificently displayed before the traveller, who de-
scends on the southern side of Mont Blane through the Allée
Blanche. The first glacier boldiy throws its rejected earth and
stones, so as to meet the opposite mountain, a rapid and copious
stream passing underneath the barrier. Next comes the enor-
mous refuse of the glacier of Miage, itself a mountain, which,
by barring the streams from above, gives origin to the Lake
of Combal. Having passed this barrier, we see before us, in
the third place, the termination of the glacier of Brenva, whose
moraine also forms a vast mound across the valley, but admits
the river to pass under it. The well-known débacle in the
Valley of Bagnes, A. D. 1818, was the discharge of a lake, caused
by the accumulation of ice, which fell from the glacier of
Getroz +. The following summer, a similar inundation was oc-

* It may be_proper to observe, that I always use the word Dédécle in its
strict sense, and not to denote a great rush of water, however produced. A
Débacle is a rush of water, produced by the sudden removal of a barrier. Tn
this sense the word is explained, and its etymology given, in Menage, Dict.
Etymologique de la Langue Franeaise, vy. Bacter and Depacten; and in

this sense it is, I believe, constantly used in those countries where French is
spoken. :

+ See Edinburgh Phil. Journal, No. 1. A. D. 1819,

26 Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposites.

casioned by the breaking down of the side of a glacier in the
valley of the upper Doron in Savoy. ‘The Lake of Aletsch,
Canton of Valais, stood formerly at the height of sixty or seventy
feet, being hemmed in by a mountain ridge on three sides, and
by the glacier of the same name on the fourth. The water,
having undermined the glacier, ran out with such violence as to
become very destructive. A canal has been recently formed
across the mountain ridge to prevent the lake from rising above
a certain elevation. ;

In the course of the Arve above Chamonix, we see proofs
that the two great glaciers of Bois and Argentiere have former-
ly blocked up that river so as to form two deep and extensive
lakes. The sketch, No. 19, is a view of the lower termination
of the glacier de Bois.. A ridge, distinguished by all the pecu-
liarities of a moraine, but of great size, and of such antiquity as
to be now clothed with a forest of firs, is seen immediately be-
yond it. The breach in the ridge, through which the Arve
flows, is also very conspicuous. Above this barrier, we find an
assemblage of terraces, which indicate three different levels in
the water, and three successive breaches in the dyke. The
sketch, No. 20, represents part of these terraces on the north
side of the valley.

On examining any recent moraine, we find that the glacier
itself so far penetrates into it, that it consists of ice as well as of
gravel, sand, and rocks. It is manifest how easily such a mass
must give way to the pressure of water from above, as soon as
a very hot summer arrives. Of all causes now in operation,
glaciers and moraines probably occasion the most sudden and
the deepest inundations,

Such are the causes by which rivers are liable to he swollen,
and which operate in different elevations, in different climates,
and in different seasons. The general effect of all these aug-
mentations in the depth of streams is, that the greater the depth,
the more abundant the whole quantity of detritus, and the larger
the single masses which are carried along,

It being proved that the carrying force at the bottom of
streams increases with their. depth, and causes being assigned,
Which alternately and in various degrees augment and diminish

Effects of the Contraction and Expansion of Rivers. 2

the volume of water, it remains to netice the variations in the
depth of the same stream, flowing in the same volume, which
are produced by differences in the form of its channel.

The most important of these differences consists in the com-
parative width or narrowness of the channel. The quantity of
water being the same, a narrow channel, by increasing its depth,
adds in the same proportion to its carrying force; whereas an
expanded channel, by diminishing its force, and diffusing its nflu-
ence, causes it to strew its contents over every spot of ground
which it reaches. If the depth be sufficiently increased, it acts
with all the force of a solid body, but with the advantage of
continually changing its direction. It may therefore be regard-
ed as a lever, not only of immense power, but of infinite flexi-
bility. In passing through a narrow gorge it is continually re-
flected from the sides and bottom, and hence it assails every
loose mass of stone with impressions upon all sides, and carries
it in the direction in which there is the least resistance.

Every river exhibits expansions and contractions in continual
alternation : but they are most evident, and their respective ope-
rations most distinct, in elevated regions. I have never seen
the contrast more strikingly displayed than in the upper part
of the Valley of Bagnes, on coming to a nearly circular expan-
sion, succeeded by a narrow and lofty gorge. In this scene of
desolation we observe the plain, which is more than a mile in
diameter, covered with large pebbles and boulder-stones, many
of them 6, 8, or 10 feet thick. These were carried through
the gorge in a few hours by the débacle of 1818; and it is, I
conceive, only by taking into account ihe extraordinary height of
the water, that we can explain the passage of such a vast quan-
tity of materials, containing pieces of so great size, in so short
a time, through a channel, which is nowhere more than a few
yards wide, and which is full of anfractuosities and projections.
The effect can only have been produced by the impinging of
the water against the various unevennesses of the sides and bot-
tom, which occasioned its reverberation upwards and sideways,
and which, being exerted with a force proportioned to the depth,
kept rocks and stones of: every size suspended and dancing’ in
the mighty ebullition.. On escaping suddenly from the gorge,

28 Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposites.

the stream, spreading itself out, shot the rocks over every part
of the plain, where we now find them dispersed.

Where the channel is moderately deep, the effect of reverbe-
ration is often very apparent in the curvature of the upper sur-
face of the stream. A section of one of the branches of the
Arve at Chamonix, as I saw it last summer, would exhibit the
form represented in Fig. 21*. The elevation of the middle
above the sides appeared to be about 3 feet; and the accele-
ration of the current down the middle, arising agreeably to the
law of the composition of forces from the union of all the minor
currents reflected transversely from the sides and bottom, was
perfectly manifest to the eye. These appearances seem to war-
rant the inference, that the minor oblique currents conveyed all
the transportable materials towards the middle, and that, if we
could see the interior of such a stream, when in vigorous action,
we should observe boulder-stones tossed along the bottom, peb-
bles shoved with them, and in a great measure suspended above
them, coarse sand floating still higher, and other particles in-
creasing in fineness in proportion as they reach the surface.
Even at the surface, where alone they are subject to inspection,
many of the particles are so large as to be visible to the naked
eye; and if, after the subsidence of the stream, we go to the ex-
panse, where its contents are deposited, we find all the varieties
distributed at different distances from the embouchure according
to their size and weight, the large stones being carried a very
little away, the pebbles forming a zone around them, masses of
coarse sand removed still farther, and the finest sand deposited
in bays and recesses, where the water must have been reduced
nearly to a state of quiescence.

The same mode of action is conspicuous both in the tongues
of alluvium above described, and in the slopes which form the con-
vex bank, wherever the stream, being diverted from its direct
course, destroys the high concave bank upon which it impinges.
In all these cases the reverberation from the steep bank carries
the detritus in the same direction, and causes its deposition as
soon as the force of the stream is overcome.

In proportion as the banks become lower or more remote,

* Buffon describes the same appearance in the Ary: eiron ; but Professor
Robison’s explanation of it is far from satisfactory .

.
,
Edin!new Lhil. Jour VAXIp 2.

LiG.23. a
5 |

EMitchelt sculpt

uniat iis sua a Ai hak, fe satis Hon é ina

; iy uF
ag: ge ae gia! ith 5m {7 SS 2T fiat : E Sirs 3] orige 4 if c
oe ant up) soubeheeiaeracn ve bagan ;

’ ; a Pr
eo AVVO 1) Por i ” , ; \) r i ict t

vin.

ey oe sad hiatus “ . 2 oh 98 ne ah eaal
} sane 99%). 2d (ai 13 et puaciatel Se
. Pee te Wiaah alkane : 3 ial fi
pe rf > ‘ et ; se aoe
c is Paes: 314.) be ote
; 20S i ORS see iM ip ego}
‘4 > aft Pedioy mae Sua he - eae 1 cranky bas! |
ab eat Zinio 73 1). detriate teee ace 4

Sas
as
ad

to poise 1h ar se riR Lees r : vey

=i adios. 3 pees miok Daats Tees Cite Site * nee,
“Att 992 11 wo Sits) TES LIA, 4 } 8 oo solegay sl
aastgode Bt 2ud) bas .elonticike JOE get ae eabite pel ano a
- ovad vont doliw ab ywatitich Xo “ey t. - AS. Sie yay UTES q

7)
¢

a
’

ey ~.. Dwevesed newt

: as mitt EGE 1 Snoraatiho yt ah PRE if Hous 7 s a -
Hows i eae ttie OSTsOis, 16 1 IFO SUA st 2/541 ok tee ‘a
qidtoiont taad tPA. ebaagsh om

| aideqee BIsITGE 3 i ¥ Sdn)

TE
¥

tf 02 apatinia. Atoes 13 Joyo ed 7
ah, pas. foorisiy monks 94 "d

4 Hype SRI UE? , BALE G i
ey ad riers ss fe to zbsod on 4
“eyed mod! walou beng sf bearsen 4

sharin ott Stat Thos, HOUT ase sat rite i |
hayow ys arenas esgaects $72) Nariw LeSorbiaminorm $a: ev iey SPAR, —
| re cae THIS ATR FF 16 ERNE SORD ett 1b LUE SER a i oh PSL .

in pohxting Vet des. Io eaedshaun: bie eslonties
Nee balld fiolxs sntabrmes » O} ise¢ artes Bee
i eh aysert, pies. bueonqne sd jaya
Pe eh ai

| evog piles

Buc “y > tp. nov Qa F> Sita fig

es esac chien sia

i fiad: ab sued Dies 318 nee pat

pe free: :

; : een e

Minor Channels formed by Subsidence of Streams. 29

the stream is more diffused, and its contents more evenly distri-
buted. _ It thus forms plains or gently sloping levels, termi-
nated by transverse ledges, (p. 18).

The tongues and levels, thus formed, would never move un-
less the stream were to subside. But after its subsidence they
are intersected by numerous smaller channels. (See above,
p. 18, 19). Hence when the water rises again, the depth of those
channels being added to the depth above the intersected tongue
or level, the force of the water within the channels is increased
in proportion. Even on the surface of the flood, the effect of
the increased depth is visible. As we learn from the observa-
tions of Major Rennell in India, and of Sir T. Lauder in Scot-
land, when a whole valley is inundated, and thus converted in-
to one vast channel, the course of the former channels may be
traced by the greater swiftness, turbulence, and discoloration of
the water above them, which indeed forms distinct currents tra-
versing the flood. These powerful currents work unseen up-
on the sides of the minor channels, and thus in a short time
carry way the entire masses of detritus, in which they have
been excavated.

Such appear to be the chief modifications in the action of
water carrying detritus over level or inclined surfaces, and such
the principles on which its action depends. If it be sufficiently
abundant, and if it rise and fall alternately, it appears capable
of conveying earth, stones, and rocks over the earth’s surface to
any distance. To this action of the atmospherical waters, we
may refer many of the greatest plains through which rivers
flow. For if in low lying plains the beds of alluvium be exhi-
bited on a vast scale, the agents concerned in producing them have
been powerful in the same proportion ; and it is to be considered,
that, under present circumstances, when the mountains, lowered
by the supply of alluvium during thousands of years, can no
longer furnish débacles and inundations of equal magnitude ;
when the ocean itself, having been to a considerable extent filled
up by these processes, must be supposed to have risen to a
higher level ; when, with the exception of regions of eternal frost,
the whole face of the earth is protected by its vegetable cover-
ing; and when human art and labour do their utmost to curb
the destructive influence of the atmospherical waters; that in-

30 Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposites.

fluence can bear no comparison with the vast effects which’ it
must have produced before population: was extended, before
man was created, and while this same agency was preparing the
bare and desolate lands for sustaining the growth of plants,
and was thus gradually rendering them capable of their present
methods of conservation.

Ill.—Of Detritus conveyed by Running into Standing Water.

Whenever a stream, charged with detritus, meets standing
water, a separation takes place between those parts of the detri-
tus which are sufficiently fine to be held in suspension by the
stream, and those which it pushes or rolls along the surface of
the ground. The stream, diffusing itself over the standing wa-
ter, until its impetus is destroyed by the resistance, carries with
it the fine particles, and lets them fall slowly in clouds to the
bottom ; whereas the larger and heavier particles, the moment
they reach the standing water, fall by their own weight, and
assume the two forms described in the former part of this pa-
per, 2. €. according to circumstances, either the lengthened talus
or the acute cone, the upper part of each form being, however,
modified by the water flowing over it.

An accidental occurrence afforded me, last summer, an op-
portunity of observing this process as distinctly as if an experi-
ment had been contrived on purpose to illustrate it. Among
other works recently executed on the Birmingham Canal, there
had been a deep cutting through a bank, which consists of a
mixture of sand, clay, and pebbles, and thus a fresh smooth
slope a b, Fig. 22, was exposed to the action of the atmosphe-
ric waters. At the bottom of this sloping bank, and between it
and the towing-path, there was at intervals a slight depression,
which held the water, so as to form small pools at the foot of
the bank. There had been very heavy rains a day or two be-
fore, and the bank bore traces of their influence in the nume-
rous furrows upon its surface. The water having sunk through
the ground, the pools were left dry. ‘There remained at the
bottom fa thin coat of glistening slime or mud, and along the
foot of the bank an even terrace, the upper slope of which 6 ¢
was nearly flat, whereas the lower slope © d was as highly in-

i nis

Formation of Lake- Terraces. 31

clined as the bank. above. The terrace consisted of grains of
sand and small pebbles, mixed with red clay.

Having been struck with the miniature resemblance of this
terrace to the parallel roads of Glen Roy, as described by Dr
Macculloch, and having reflected upon the way in which the
rain-water had produced it, I was soon led to form a general
conclusion respecting the conveyance of all kinds of sediment
by running into standing water, viz. that, if a 6 d, Fig. 23, in-
stead of representing merely the section of an artificial bank of
gravel, represent the side of a hill, a mountain, or any other de-
clivity, descending into a pool, lake, or any other piece of stand-
ing water, and, if water flow along a 0, carrying earthy mate-
rials of different degrees of fineness, its course will be changed
at the point 6, where it meets the standing water; that it will
diffuse itself over the surface of that standing water, carrying
with it the finest particles; that all the particles, which are too
large and heavy to be held in suspension, will fall by their own
weight; that, by the continuance of this process, a terrace will
be formed, having a gently inclined surface bc, over which the
stream will continue to roll and shove the coarser detritus; and
another surface c d, inclined at an angle of about 45°, down which
that detritus will fall, as it would in air; and that the line c d
will continually advance by the accession of fresh materials, pre-
serving always the same inclination until the pool is filled.

In several of the Swiss lakes I had an opportunity of finding
this view confirmed. For example, in the Lungernsee, Canton
of Unterwalden, nearly the whole margin is accompanied by a
terrace, which varies in breadth from 5 to 12 or 14 feet, sloping
very gradually under the water, and then terminating in a steep
declivity. The terrace is easily distinguished, even at a dis-
tance, by the brown colour of its stones, contrasted with the
green of the deep water. In some parts its extent is equally.
well defined by the reeds, rushes, and water-lilies, which grow
upon it, but do not pass beyond the edge of its steep declivity.
According to the observations of Dr Macculloch * and Sir Tho-
mas Lauder +, the mountain-lakes in Scotland and Italy, as
well as in Switzerland, have similar terraces along their shores.

* Trans. of Geological Society, vol.. iv. p. 369; 370.
t Trans. of Royal Society of Edinburgh, vol. ix. p. 16, 17.

32 Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposttes.

By a singular coincidence; these two gentlemen introduced
the subject to the notice of men of science nearly at the same
time, and each gave a separate account of the process, by which
he supposed the terraces tobe produced. Both conceived them
to be formed by the action of ,wayes, impelled.by wind against
the shores of an ancient lake; bat Sir T. Lauder (lc. pedda)
supposed the waves to form .the. terrace, by eroding the banks
along the edge of the water; and Dr Macculloch (l.-¢. —p: 371 »
by coniaiaia cheek: the pebbles as.on.a sea-beach.

To Sir T. Lauder’s explanation it may be sufficient to vonlsi
that such erosion. of the banks utterly exceeds the powervof
simple water, and that the banks above the margin of the lakes
do not exhibit the concavities, which would denote the erosive
action of waves, but descend into the water with the same forms
and appearances which are to be seen on mountain-sides in) or-
dinary circumstances.

To Dr Macculloch’s explanation it may be objected,

Ist, That many of the stones which lie upon the terraces, are
from one to four feet in length, and that the waves could never’
have moved them.

2dly, That the stones of which these terraces consist are
commonly angular, and as sharp as those on the mountain-side
above the terrace, and that rolled pebbles are only found where
brooks and torrents enter the lake over beds, likewise consisting
of rounded stones, which have been transported from a distance,
and so shaped in their passage.

3dly, That banks or terraces, thrown up a waves, are only:
found on gently sloping beaches, and then ouly where the: mo-
tion of the pebbles.is not impeded by their being envelopedin
clay. [.

4thly, That in the case of a terrace formed by the citinnte
waves, the edge of the water coincides with the top of the steep
declivity, so that, according to this explanation, the surface of
the Jake ought to reach only to the pomt c (Fig. 23.), instead
of rising above the slope from ¢ to 4, as it uniformly does.

There are undoubtedly cases, where the waves form terraces
on the borders of lakes as well as of the ocean. I saw an instance
of this on the shelving beach at Neuchatel, and remarked, that
the sound of the pebbles and the other. appearances were. the

Mode of Formation of the Terraces in Glen Roy, &c. 33

same, whicha few days before I had observed on the sea-shore
at Dover.» But the terraces, which are now the subject of in-
vestigation, are of a different class. All the cireumstances agree
with the supposition, that the loose earth and stones are washed
down by the rains, and in still greater profusion by the melting
snows; that they change their course on reaching the point 6
(Fig. 23.), and rush together over the inclined plane 6 c; that
the water then pursues its course, diffusing itself for some dis-
tance over the surface of the lake; and that all the larger par-
ticles, whether pebbles or sand, on arriving at the point c, fall
down the declivity towards d. I think it probable also, that
these terraces were chiefly formed, before the mountain-sides
were cultivated or much protected by vegetation. If any lake,
having such terraces, were drained, the appearances would ex-
actly agree with those in Lochaber and above Subiaco, which
Macculloch and Lauder have described with so much exactness
and ability*.

The formation of these lengthened terraces, with a submerged
talus, is, however, much less important in modifying the earth’s
surface than the production of those forms which are analogous
to the before mentioned acute cone, and which arise, wherever
the stream, instead of being diffused over a mountain side, di-
verges from a single point. As the heavier particles go on de-
positing themselves, they form a semicircular area, with a slope
from the centre, and with the different kinds of detritus arrang-
ed to a considerable degree in successive zones, according to their
comparative coarseness or fineness. The part of the area round
the centre continues to be raised, by successive depositions,
above the level of the standing water, while, on the other hand,

* My view of the origin of these terraces seems to obviate the various dif-
ficulties which Dr Macculloch states as attending his own hypothesis.
Judging from his maps, and those of Sir T. Lauder, and not having visited
the place, I think it clear, that there were, as Sir T. Lauder supposes, three
ancient lakes, Loch Gluoy, Loch Roy, and Loch Spean ; that the barriers,
which produced the two former, were obtuse cones, formed by the streams
which now issue from ravines, or small lateral valleys, immediately below the
termination of the terraces; that the discharge of each lake was caused, not
-by any “‘ convulsion,” but by the increase of the principal stream, which
carried away the base of the obtuse cone ; and that these valleys always dis-
charged their surplus water in the same direction as at present, and not from
their upper extremities, as Sir T. Lauder supposes.

APRIL—JUNE 1831. C

34 — Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposites.

its lower part always. extends with the stream to some distance
under the water, and then terminates in the usual steep decli-
vity... The form of alluvium thus produced is that of an acute
cone truncated by an obtuse cone.

I was enabled to observe this precess very distinctly in Savoy
and Switzerland, in consequence of a practice, common in those
countries, of conducting the surface-water of the rivers along
artificial channels into small enclosures, which are thus, in the
course of a few hours, filled with fine sand. .The sandis dug
out to improve the cultivated grounds, and the pool is left to
fill again. The appearances, of course, vary according to the
declivity of the channel, the swiftness and volume of the stream,
and the form of the reservoir. The plan and section, Fig. 24,
are designed to represent a case as free as possible from adventi-
tious circumstances : ab is a straight horizontal channel, through
whieh astream charged with sand constantly flows. The side
of the reservoir is also straight, and the stream meets it at right
angles at the point 6. The reservoir has an overflow at the
other end. The stream carries the grains of sand in nearly
straight lines, to all parts c of the circumference of the smaller
semicircle, from which, as soon as they have reached it, they
fall by their own weight down the steep declivity from e to d.

In natural lakes, we frequently observe the process effected
on a greater scale. A small rill, carrying down sand, shews it
most distinctly ; and I have seen the form, produced without
any artificial arrangement, quite as regular as is represented in
the figures. But, as the conoidal deposite is not removed from
natural lakes as it is from the reservoirs constructed by alpine
husbandmen, the depositions of the stream, retarded as it is by
meeting the standing water, tend continually to raise both its
own bed and the central part of the semicireular area, over which
it is diffused. Hence this area is gradually raised above the
level of the lake, although its border always continues to, dip
under it. After this the stream either flows (from 8) in a single
current, or divides into several channels, and, in process of time,
vegetation protects certain parts of the raised area, so that the
stream, instead of acting equally in all directions from the cen-
tre (6) comes to be more. or less confined, and hence the trun-
cated acute cone is more enlarged in some parts than in, others.

An obtuse cone, of great regularity, about half a-mile in dia-

Or

Obtuse Cones and Sectors on Shores of Lakes. 35

meter, and partly covered with coppice-wood, is formed in the
Lungern-see, by the depositions of a small river flowing from
the head of the valley. This obtuse cone extends a few feet
under the water, and is then suddenly cut off by the steeper
declivity of the acute cone, which descends to the depth of about
20 feet, and is seen to be strewed with fallen sand and pebbles
as far as the eye can reach. A semicircle of surprizing mag-
nitude is exhibited, where the Kander discharges itself into the
lake of Thun, through an artificial channel, opened A. D. 1712.
Within this time, an alluvial area has been formed of about 200
acres.. From the shallows along its border, the lake deepeus
suddenly to 600 feet. The border advances several yards in
almost every year. A work of the same kind was executed a
few years ago in the Canton of Glarus for the purpose of’ dis-
charging into the Lake of Wallenstadt the materials brought
down in overwhelming quantities by the Linth. In these and
similar cases, the newly formed area ‘is in parts covered with
various kinds of willow, alder, hypophiie, berberis, or viburnum,
and in other parts gemmed here and there with the brillant
colours of a solitary alpine plant, the seeds of which have been
breught by the waters from the high mountains.

. It is evident that the complete semicirele, Fig. 24, can only
be formed where the stream intersects a straight bank at right
angles. But the greatest streams, which flow into lakes, com-
monly pass through valleys, which become lakes wherever the
water is detamed by a barrier. The sides of a lake, therefore,
commonly converge in the direction from which the main stream
flows, so that, instead of a semicircle, it forms only the sector
of a circle, Fig. 26, dipping, as before, under the water, and
then passing into a steep declivity.: In this’ state things are
found at the head of nearly all great lakes. The advance of
the area c c, formed by the depositions at the head’of the lakes
of Geneva, Lucern, Neuchatel; Constance, Wallenstadt, and
many others, is both attested by historical records, and is the
subject of personal observation. In’ all these eases, as the are
which terminates the river advances, the older portion of its bed
is continually brought nearer’ and’ nearer to’an’exact level, and
becomes liable to’all the changes deseribed ‘inthe second part of
this paper.

co?

oO

36 Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposites.

All the deltas, as they are called, at.the mouths of the great-
est rivers, whether flowing into. seas or into the ocean, are, repe-
ttions.of the same.appearances upon a greater scale. The ap-
pellation Delta, though strikingly applicable in ancient times,to
the alluvium included between the branches. ofthe Nile, is less
descriptive.of those sectors, or irregularly, lozenge-shaped) areas,
which we observe at the mouths of the Volga, the Danube, the
Po, and other great rivers, All of these have their types in the
diagrams, Figs. 24 and 26, though various natural and artificial
agencies. produce modifications of them, which, on so great a
scale, may strike the observer as very important deviations. The
tendency of the apex of a delta (i. e. of the point 6 in Fig. 26,)
to move downward, as. remarked by Rennell, and exemplified
in the ancient and modern state of the Nile below Memphis, is
easily explained on the principles which have been illustrated.

M. De la Beche states *, that the pebbles carried into the
Mediterranean by the Var and Paglion, are immediately depo-
sited in deep water, where they remain undisturbed, extending
but a short distance seaward ; and, on the other hand, Sir. 'T.
Lauder observes +, that in sailing down Loch Linnhe, which. is
an arm of the sea, he found, on its south side, the same kind of
shelf, which occurs along the border of fresh-water lakes, but
on a larger and ruder his Bs

In the ocean, tides and currents modify both the regular co,
noidal forms of fluvial sediment, and the taluses exginiedl by
atmospheric, agencies along the shores; but whenever the sedi-
ment is conveyed to sufficiently deep and still water, it. obeys
the same laws which are observed to prevail in lakes and tide,
less seas. The soundings on the eastern coast of South Ames
rica prove, that the ground shelves gradually from St Mary’s
Point at the mouth of the La Plata to the distance of; about
100 miles out at sea, and then in about 75 fathoms water, sud-
denly passes into a steep declivity. This abrupt passage, from
comparatively shallow to very deep. water, 1s common along
sea-coasts, especially off the mouths of the great rivers.

Independently of the discharge of rivers into the ocean, its
own waves, tides, and currents, distribute the alluvium after the
same manner, not-only in estuaries, but upon all shores, and es-

* Geological Notes, p. 10. + Tr. of R.S. Ed. vol. ix. p. 17.

Distribution of Allwvium on Coasts. 37
pecially in ‘straits and shallows. In this view, the English
Channel itself'is analogous to an estuary ;’ or rather, it may be
considered as: oné branch of 2 still greater estuary, which also
includes the Irish Sea, the Bristol Channel, and St George’s
Channel. From the Straits of Dover, it deepens gradually
from 180 to rather more than 500 feet. Immediately beyond
this ‘even slope, the ground sinks to more than twice its former
depth. Here, then, we apparently come to the boundary, where
the currents of various kinds cease to sweep the bottom of the
ocean, and all the detritus consequently falls in a steep declivity.
The line which marks this sudden fall is an are,’ including the
south-western extremity of Ireland on the one hand, and the
north-western angle of France on the other. In going south-
ward, it preserves a very exact parallelism to the line of the
French coast, and seems to be analogous to the shelf which is
found beneath the margin of a fresh-water lake *.

With regard to the stratijication of these deposites, I can only
form a conjecture grounded upon the process of their formation.
It seems that the successive masses of detritus, varying, accord-
ing to the quantity and force of the stream, from the finest sand
to the coarsest gravel, and falling over the declivity ¢ d, Fig. 27,
must produce a stratification always parallel to that declivity.
In those Swiss lakes which are supplied by the melting of ice
and snow in summer, it is true, that, on the subsidence of the
water, which takes place every winter to the extent of about six
feet of perpendicular depth, masses often fall from the upper
part of the declivity, probably in consequence of the pressure of
the water with which the whole mass is charged, and which
bursts the sides of the declivity, wherever it is weakest and most
pervious to water. But the masses thus thrust out of their place
will fall over the lower part of the cone, making the stratifica-
tion more uneven, but without material! y altering its angle The
agitation of the water by winds must also wash down portions
from the top of the declivity, so as to round off the angle fc d ;
but these portions, in falling to d, will be inclined as before.
From other causes, however, a stratification nearly horizontal
will take place at the bottom and at’ the top of the deposite.
Agreeably to the observations formerly. offered, the largest
masses will fall continually to the bottom of the slope, and will

“ The French Coasting Pilot, London, 1805, 4to. Pl. 8 and 17.

38 Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposites.

thus produce nearly level strata d ¢, intermixed with the inclined
stratification. Also the materials deposited by the stream before
reaching the point c¢, will be in strata either horizontal or very
gently inclined, cf In proportion as the mass c¢ ¢ is allowed
scope to arrange itself in the complete semiconoidal form, Fig.
24, the successive strata will consist of distinet zones, all having
reference to the point (4) of the divergence of the stream as their
eentre. In the language of Werner, they will have the arrange-
ment of mantle-shaped formations. Where the field of action is
limited by the convergence or parallelism of the sides (Fig. 26),
as ‘at the head of lakes or in deep estuaries, the inclined strata
may be supposed to be nearly parallel planes, inclined at an
angle of about 45°. The submerged taluses, traced along the
margins of lakes, seas, and of the ocean, may be presumed to be
stratified in a similar way. . .

When we see a level plain between mountains, we are natu-
rally reminded of the surface of a lake, and the inference has
often been drawn, that such a level has been formed by the sub-
sidence of earthy matters to the bottom of the lake. This view,
however, will not bear examination. Water flowing at any depth
whatsoever is not a lake, but a river; and it is impossible to ac-
count for the distribution of detritus evenly over the bottom, ex-
cept by supposing the water to flow at the bottom. Even the
fine particles held in suspension are carried but a few miles into
the deep water, and can only form a thin film a little in advance
of the base of the sub-aqueous cone or talus; so that, if a deep
and extensive lake were drained after hundreds, or even thou-
sands of years, its bed would be found in many parts unchanged
by the action of its waters, scarce a pebble having advanced be-
yond the line which is to be traced along the bottom of all its la-
teral terraces and cones. By parity of reason, one of the funda-
mental positions.of the Huttonian theory, which supposes that
alluvium is carried into the depths of the ocean and strewn over
its bed, cannot be maintained, unless it be proved that there are
streams in the depths of the ocean.

That lakes have in numerous instances been filled up may be
readily granted ; but it can only have been by the processes
above described. The declivities, represented by the line ¢ din
the diagrams, advancing from every quarter of the lake in pro-
portion to the activity of the streams in supplying materials, the

Mode of the Filling up of Lakes. 39

alluvium. will contract the dimensions of the lake continually,
and_will then be traversed by those streams, which will go on
depositing their contents until the lake is obliterated, and one or
more gentle slopes or flat plains remain above its level. These
slopes and plains are what we find in nature. A tract of allu-
vium, which is regarded by many as the bottom of an ancient
lake, but which more nearly corresponds with its surface, is of-
ten seen either inclosed on every side by mountains, or having
on two sides the same elevated ridges, which stretch forward and
embrace beyond it a lake, or an arm of the sea. That this tract
is not a perfect level, is manifest from the circumstance, that, if
we compare its height at many successive points with the height
of the river flowing through it, we find that they are still at the
same distance the one beneath the other ; and, in addition to
this clear proof of the gradual declivity of the plain, we observe
its. successive portions to be divided by those transverse ledges
which are among the most characteristic features of fluvial action.

IV. The case of a Stream which meets a Stream flowing in another
direction.

At the mouths of rivers, where they enter the ocean, the cur-
rent of the rising tide comes directly against the current of the
river. Hence they destroy one another’s motion over a trans-
verse line, the exact position of which varies continually accord-
ing to the respective force of the two opposite currents. The
result is, that the water, being brought to a state of compara-
tive rest, deposites its solid contents, and thus forms a bar across
the mouth of the river. Where rivers enter lakes, the same ef-
fect is sometimes produced by the prevailing winds, which here
take the place of tides. The formation of banks by opposing
currents on the shores of the sea, such as the Chesil-bank, and
that by which St Michael’s Mount is joined to Merazion, are in-
stances of the same action.

Every case in which one stream falls into another on the same
level is so far similar, that the motion of one, at the moment of
junction, destroys in a greater or less degree the motion of the
other ; and the water being so far reduced to a quiescent state,
a deposition takes place at the angle between the two streams,
varying in its form and extent according to their respective force

40 Remarks on the Formation of Alluvial Deposites.

and quantity .of detritus: — ‘Phe: deposites thus formed, tend
continually to remove the point of junction lower down; and; to,
reduce ‘both streams ‘nearer to a state of parallelism. ; Thus,af
A.B, Fig» 28; be any stream flowing from Ato B,,and if: it be
met inithe point C by any other stream flowing from D, the ac-,
cumulation of detritus m the angle A C.D, accompanied -by.a
wearing away of the bank in the adjoimng angle B © D, causes.
the: pot |\C to:move lower down towards .B, the channel D.C
revolying round the point D.. ‘This constant tendency of two
rivers uniting into one to sharpen the angle of their confluence;
was) remarked by Guglielmini, and striking instances of \ity as
exhibited along the: course of the Ganges, are mentioned by
Rennell and »Colebrooke in -their accounts of the bed. of that
river *.

Not unfrequently the principal stream, being overpowered
by the tributary, is for a time hemmed in by the force of the
latter, and, rising to an unusual height, begins to work with great
power upon the bank opposite to the entrance of the tributary.
Of. this, several remarkable instances are mentioned in Sir T.
Lauder’s late work on the Floods of Morayshire. In such
cases DC, Fig. 28, becomes for a while the principal stream,
and A C, bearing to it the relation of a tributary, begins to re-
volve round the point A.

It is obvious that this action can only be rendered manifest
in alluvial plains, or where the banks are soft enough to be ea-
sily eroded. In descending from Rosen-laui to Meiringen, I
saw the results of a similar concurrence of two streams, where
the banks were hard and rocky. A lateral torrent, almost dry
when I crossed it, was suddenly swollen by a thunder-storm,
and brought down an enormous load of rocks, sand, and. mud.
On reaching the» principal stream, the Reichenbach, it threw
the largest rocks, two yards or more in thickness, across its
channel.) The smaller’ fragments, with the semi-fluid masses
of more-comminuted detritus, were diverted from their course
by the Reichenbach, and carried downwards to the Aar.

olf alateral’stream brings down a large quantity of detritus,
the frequent’consequetice is the raising of its bed, so that it fows
at a higher level than the principal stream. On meeting the

* Phil. ‘Trans: for 1781. As. Researches, vol. vii.

Effects produced by the Meeting of two Streams. 41

principal stream it is suddenly turned aside: - Every pebble and
all the smaller detritus which it brings, are also hurried down-
wards, so that the bed of the lateral stream is abruptly termi-
nated by a line, coinciding with the surface and direction of the
principal stream. .Thus by the joint action of the two streams
a‘talus is formed, similar to those beneath the margins of lakes,
but differing in this, that the edge of the steep declivity 1s m-
clined instead of being level... I have observed cases of this ac-
tion in the valley of Chamonix, where, supposing cdgh,
Fig. 29, to be a bank of ‘stones and gravel forming part of the
channel of the Arve, ic hk is partof the bed of a stream de-
scending through a lateral valley. The stones and other debris
brought down from the region of the snows and glaciers, as soon
as they reach the border of the principal stream ch, fall down
the steep declivity, and are hurried along with the solid mate-
rials of the Arve. In mountain valleys we often see a terrace of
this description, where the waters have been nearly or altogether
discharged, and the only method of deciding whether they have
been produced by a lake or a river, seems to be by ascertaining
whether the line c / is level or inclined.

As a case of similar action in the sea, may be mentioned the
entrance of the Southampton Water below Portsmouth *. The
sediment of this river has a tendency to form a semicircle pro-
jecting towards the Isle of Wight. It is cut off in a nearly
straight line passing from one headland to the other by the
strong current of the Solent, and terminates in a declivity ana-
logous to cd gh in Fig. 29. In estuaries and channels of the
sea, still more than in rivers, the actions of different currents
are infinitely modified. One portion of a stream may be con-
sidered as at rest relatively to another portion, which forms a
stream within it, and the minor streams conflict: and unite with
endless varieties of force and direction... The general bed of the
whole stream is consequently varied by numerous channels,
slopes, and terraces, formed by the contemporaticous action of
the included currents, and in its shoals and: banks it exhibits a
repetition, upon a larger and more expanded scale,.of the same

forms which are’ produced: by similar: influences: in the beds of
rivers.

* G. Tr. New Series, vol. i. pl xii and p. 92

=<

(42)

Observations on the History and Progress of Comparative
Anatomy. By Davin Craicise, M. D., &c. (Continued
from former volume, page 307.)

Section III.— Early Zootomical Authors to Eustachius. 1501-1576.

Hiizroxyme CarDAN, whose name has been introduced into
anatomical history by Douglas, and retained by» Haller ‘and
Portal, is with little justice entitled to that distinction.. He was
certainly a man of genius, as well as learning; and the number
ef sciences which he cultivated, with sufficient success to com-
mand the admiration of his contemporaries, indicates the activity
and comprehensiveness cf his intellectual powers, as well as the
ambitious and aspiring character of his mind. Besidés gram-
mar, rhetoric, music, history, and ethies, Cardan was ambitious
to excel in physics, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, astrology,
anatomy, medicine, and natural history. There are very few,
however, whose mental powers admit of this universality ; and
the expectation of excellence in all, is dearly purchased by the
sacrifice of useful and accurate acquaintance with several branches
of science. The genius of Cardan was more under the influence
of fancy than judgment. Almost void of accurate observation,
and utterly destitute of patient research, his habits of study:
were desultory and irregular; and he appears, in most of his
pursuits, to have been more solicitous of the glory and distine-
tion ascribed to superior knowledge, than of that pure satisfac-
tion which results from the discovery of truth, and the acquisi-
tion of useful information, His writings, which are bad copies
of the ancients, abound in puerile and fabulous stories, with
much of the astrological and geomantic physiology then fashion-
able. | His incidental sketches of the anatomy of animals con-
tain nothing new, original, or important ; and I should have
omitted him entirely, had I not found that he had observed a
fact in animal physiology which has exercised the observation of
Hunter and others,—that birds, and especially pheasants, are
liable to change sex.

The example which Rondelet set»in the finny tribes, was fol-
lowed as to the birds by his contemporary, Pierre Belon of
Mans, a learned trayeller, and an assiduous student of botany

History and Progress of Comparative Anatomy. 43

and zoology. Belon is the author of several works on zoology
and natural history, distinguished for numerous original and
accurate observations.

The first of these, on the Natural History of Fishes, consists
of two books, which appear to be merely preliminary sketches
of what he proposed todo*. In the first he gives short sketches
with illustrative figures of the sturgeon, the attilus or adano of
the Po, and which appears, from its projectile tubular mouth, to
be a species of sturgeon, probably the Acipenser huso, the tun-
ny, the citharus or sea-bream, the ¢rigla or gurnard, one which
he names the sea-serpent, and another the sea-boar. All these
he is at pains to distinguish from the dolphin, not only in habit,
but in structure and function.

The dolphin he distinguishes into three’ species, the dolphin’
proper or the sea-goose, so named from its long snout, (Delphi-
nus delphis, Lin.) ; the porpoise or sea-hog (Delphinus phoce-
na, Lin.) (phocena, Cuv.); and the grampus or orca (Delphi-
nus orca), characterized by a bent obtuse snout (bec camus et
moulce), and a less degree of corpulence than the dolphin. The
specimen from which his description of the latter animal is form-
ed, was caught in the sea on the coast of Freport in Normandy,
weighed 800 pounds, measured 3 paces, or at least 9! feet in
length, and 7 feet in girth at the thickest part of the body.
This animal, which he allows to be the largest fish he had seen,
had further 40 teeth in each jaw, exclusive of 4 rudimentary
fangs before.

In the second book he gives an account of the anatomical pe-
euliarities of the dolphin and porpoise, with occasional observa-
tions on the comparative characters between these and fishes on
the one hand, and mammiferous animals on the other. In both
he remarks the blowing tube above the head, the outlet of the
windpipe, though that of the dolphin is less advanced than that
of the porpoise. Both, he remarks, have lungs similar to those
of man, and differing only in being in two lobes or right ‘and
left, with the heart between them, instead of being rather infe-
rior to the lung, as in man.

The lungs, he states, are susceptible of inflation from the

“ L’Histoire Naturelle des Estranges Poissons Marins, avec la vraie

Peincture et Description du Daulphin et de plusieurs autres de son espece,
Observee par Pierre Bélon du Mans, A Paris 1551. 4to. Pp. 115.

Ah Dr Craigie’s Observations on the

blowing tube (fistula ow fluste) attached to the windpipe, with
the larynx above fixed in the tube much in the same manner a8
the reed of wind instruments (anches au cornemuse), aid co-
vered by a valvular membrane which he names at once epiglot-
tis and luette, with two productions on each side. his account
is, On the whole, accurate; and the slight mistakes are to be as-
eribed to the erroneous notions then entertained on the uses of
the parts: It shews that Belon was aware of the peculiar mode
of respiration in the cetaceous animals, and of their title to be
ranked with warm-blooded animals.

This accuracy is not less apparent in his account of the heart,
which, he remarks, is contained within the pericardium, and has
two auricles'‘and’ two ventricles, like that of man, to which, in-
deed, he represents it as altogether similar.

Though he appears to have examined carefully the alimentary
canal and abdominal viscera, both in the dolphin and porpoise,
and remarks the position of the stomach below the liver, he omits
its quadruple form; and the only approach which he makes to this
fact,is when he informs us that its portion termed pylorus, known
among the peasantry by the name of caillette, because it is used
for supplying rennet, is half a foot long, and contains as much
as the third part of the stomach. The jejunum and ileum form
numerous turns or convolutions, as in the intestine of the calf.
The want of cecum he accurately observes ; and that the intestine
for receiving the excrement, or colon and rectum, is more slen-
der than the rest of the canal, in opposition to what is observed
in other animals. ‘The connexion of the canal with the spine by
means cf the mesentery, as well as the site of the mesenteric
vessels, he also observes ; and though, like the anatomists of that
time, he does not distinguish the veins from the arteries, he cor-
rectly remarks the termination of the mesenteric veins in the
portal trunk, which, he observes, is distinct, and sufficiently ca-
pacious to admit the finger. - He distinguishes the situation of
the vena azygos on the right side of the spine and its tribu-
taries ; and though he marks accurately the situation of the
véna cava, he erroneously, like the ancient anatomists, represents
it to arise’ from the liver. Lastly, it is a remarkable proof of
the accuracy of his observation, that, while he mentions the si-
tuation of ‘the spleen and the liver, and:remarks that the latter
is in one mass in’the dolphin and porpoise, ‘as in =i and that

History and Progress of Comparative Anatomy. 45

in. young animals it is divided into lobes, yet that neither have
gall-bladder,..

_.The kidneys he mentions as large spongy organs, with the
ureters descendirg from them to the bladder, which he inflated
and filled, and found its. capacity equal to that of a chopin... He
further represents it to be as large as that of the sea-frog or
devil-fish.. The latter statement is another proof of, the |accu-
racy of Belon, and which shews that most. of, his|observations
are derived from personal inspection... The devil-fish.or angler
(Lophius piscatorius) is one of the few. fishes. which pessess:a
urinary bladder.

He appears to have been particularly 1 impr hen with the de-
velopment of the nervous system in, the dolphin, compared. with
other inhabitants of the deep; and that he regarded: it as ap-
proaching in this respect also to the class of. warm-blooded ani-
mals, must be inferred from the fact, that he represents the brain
and its ventricles and convolutions as similar. to that of man,
He also states that there are seven pairs of nerves, much more
distinct than in the human subject, some of which proceed:te
the nose, some to the eyes, some to the tongue, and others by
the lateral regions of the head into the ears. Deficient as this
description is, compared with the modern account, it is quite
equal to that of Vesalius ; and it shews, along with other cireum-
stances, that Belon had studied the anatomy of the human frame,
as well as most of his contemporaries.

The osteology of the dolphin he had an opportunity of stu degh
ing, in the skeleton of one which he found on the shore. of the
Cimmerian Bosphorus. From this it appears that he recognized
the resemblance between the delphinic and human, that is,. the
mammiferous skeleton, excepting the want of the bones. of the
pelvic extremities, a fact verified by subsequent observation,
and forming one of the organic distinctive characters, of the fa-
mily of cetaceous animals. He;reckons 24 vertebraey 12 ribs-on
each side, clavicles, and short or false.ribs and scapule;, adverts
to the shortness of the bones of the. thoracic extremities, in
which he mentions an arm-bone,, and radius and ulna,.and ter-
minating in a hand or paw, with five toes and articulations... He
remarks the round shape of the cranium,,which, both in-the dol.
phin and porpoise, he says, is similar.in shape.to.the human ¢cra-
nium, and has the same number of sutures ; and shews-the ac-

46 Dr Craigie’s Observations on the

curacy of ‘his observation, by informing his reader of the pecu-
liar and separate situation of the lithoid or petrous bones, in which
the nerve of hearing is distributed. . Iomay remind the reader,
that one of the peculiarities of the Ceracra is, that the lithoid-or
petrous portion is distinct: from the squamous: of the temporal
bone, and that this fact indicates: that the former is the preper
auditory bone.

He describes at considerable length the reproductive organs in
both sexes, and gives an accurate account of the manner of ge-
neration of the dolphin. Into this, however, my limits do not
allow me to enter.

Besides the subjects now mentioned, Belon introduces others,
with the view of illustration or explanation, all of which shew
with what accuracy and diligence he had observed natural
phenomena. When speaking of the mamme of the dolphin,
he informs his readers, that he dissected batsin the great pyra-
mid of Egypt, and within the labyrinth of Crete; that he had
observed the dams suckling the young bats by thoracic mam-
mz; that these animals build nests; and that they suspend
by their wings their young ones while sucking, as if they were
attached to the stone walls of the vaults. Multiparous animals,
or those which produce several at a birth, e. 9. moles, hogs,
hedgehogs, and porcupines, have several teats or nipples extend-
ing along the belly ; while those which rear only one at a time,
of which he enumerates the giraffe, elephant, camel, horse,
chamois, buck, &c. have only two. He had seen the heart pul-
sating, and the lungs moving, in the young of the camel and
other animals ; but he erroneously infers that the foetus breathes
within the womb. He wasaware of the viviparous character of
the angel fish (Squalus squatina), the great dog-fish, and the
small dog-fish (canicula ); and he mentions an instance in which
he found in the wterus of a specimen of the latter, eleven young.
He describes the uterus of the dolphin, remarks its cornua above
the ovaries at the side, and its orifice and connexion with the
vagina below, and describes and delineates a feetal dolphin within
the womb in situ. In this work also he delineates the ‘sea~fox
(S. vulpes), the hammer-headed shark (Squalus zygacna) the
hippopotamus, the nautilus, andthe mother-of-pearl shell.

The first book of the History of* Birds, is devoted to the ex-

planation of the anatomical structure, ‘The most important re-
]

History and Progress of Comparative Anatomy. 47

mark is,'that»birds are yoid of kidneys and bladder, and that
in place of the: former they have fleshy lobes (des charnures,)
resembling kidneys ; that all birds have not a crop for receiving
food »before’ entering the gizzard; that some have in place of
these organs a large and capacious gullet (gosier), named the
paunch (Cherbiere); some have a hard fleshy callous gizzard ;
and others neither crop nor gizzard. In the males, he remarks
the testicles (les genitotres) are contained in the belly near the
kidneys; the females have a thin delicate membranous matrix
(egg bed) above the intestines, with two cornua.

His account of the osteology is elaborate. He remarks the ab-
sence of sutures in the cranium; butas he allows that they are oc-
casionally seen, it is not improbable that he alludes to young birds
in which they are still visible. _The two bones which compose
the hyoid of quadrupeds, are situate in birds at the sides of the
tongue. He had recognised a greater number of the cervical ver-
tebre in Birps, than in the Mammatia; but as he allows them
to be twelve, it is probable that he had not dissected those ge-
nera in which they are more numerous, as the swan, ostrich, and
stork. The dorsal vertebrae he makes only six, which is inac-
curate, in so far as the most frequent number is seven, eight,
and nine. In fixing the number of ribs also at six on each side,
he shews that he had examined a small number of ornithologi-
eal skeletons only. The peculiarities of the sacral and_ iliac
bones he does not omit. But it is in the chest, he remarks, by
which he evidently means the sternum and its appendages, that
the greatest peculiarities are recognised. For besides giving a
large bone to support the muscles of the wings and_ protect the
lungs, and fixing the shoulder-blades firmly on the clavicles, na-
ture has given birds another additional bone, denominated in
French the spectacle-bone or forklike bone (la lunette or four-
chette). ‘* Car communement,” he continues, ‘ on la met dessus
le nez en forme de lunette; ou bien on le nomme le bruchet ;
car il prend- per devant J’estomach, et est conjoint au bout des
deux clavicules en Yendroit des epaules, et de l'autre costé est
joint au corselet. (sternum), c’est-a-dire, a los de la poistrine,
Car il est fait en maniere de fourchette.” This is at least a cha-
racteristic account of the bifurcated bone. The coccyx which
he names cropion, he represents to consist: of six separable por-
tions. . They are most frequently seven or eight.

48 Dr Craigie’s Observations on the

To illustrate more forcibly the comparative peculiarities of
the human and volucrine skeleton, he gives a representation of
each on opposite pages. ‘The human skeleton, however, is not
very well proportioned ; and Belon has not only made the hu-
man chest too narrow and the pelvis too wide, but he has made
the thigh bones preposterously short, and has failed to remark
the arched appearance of their diaphyses, though these peculi-
arities had been already indicated by Berenger and Vesalius.
He has also committed a more serious error in representing the
phalanges of the fingers and toes as terminating in claws.

In collecting his ornithological anatomy, Belon appears to
have been very assiduous and persevering ; for he assures us
that no animal fell into his hands which he did not dissect, and
that he must have examined the internal parts of at least 200
different species of birds, ‘on which account,” he observes with
much simplicity and some vanity, “it need not appear strange if
we describe the bones of birds, and delineate them with some
accuracy *.”

The work of Belon is illustrated with rude but spirited wood-
cuts, in which the different birds then known in Europe are
accurately represented. The second book is devoted to the
birds of prey, of the vulture and falcon tribe; and, among
other curiosities, we find some amusing observations on the
art of falconry. In the third he gives the history of the web-
footed swimmers (Palmipedes); and the last chapter con-
tains the description of the bill of a species of Toucan (Rham-
phastos ), either the Aracan or the Green, iliustrated by a
figure, then recently imported from the new world. The
fourth book is devoted to the river-birds without flat feet, or wa-
ders (Grallae), as the crane, heron, bittern, spoonbill, egrette,
night-heron, a black zis, not positively determined by mo-
dern zoologists (Cuvier), the stork, sea-pie, curlew, godwit,
spotted redshank, lapwing, spotted water-hen, water-rail, Jand-
rail, woodcock, purre or stint, king-fisher, and bee-eater. The

¢ “Onc ne tumba animal entre noz mains, veu qu’il fut en nostre puis-
ance, duquel n’ayons fait anatomie. Dequoy est advenu qu’ayons regardé
les interieures parties de deuxcents diverses especes d’viseaux. L’on ne doit
donc trouver estrange si nous descrivons maintenant les os des oyseaux, et les
portrayons si exactment.”—L’ Histoire de la Nature des Oyseaur. A Paris,

1955, Liv. I. chap. xii.

History and Progress:of Comparative Anatomy. 49

fifth, whichas devoted; tooland-birds chiefly, which build on the
»ground;:comprehends: the ostrich, ‘peacock, bustard, small bus-
‘tard or-bustarnelle; thick=knee, francolin, domestic cock;-gumea
fowl, turkey, cock of:the wood, grouse, pheasant, various species
of:partridge, plover and quail; the bunting, erested lark, field lark,
calandra; titlark,and snipe.» The sixth book contains the history
of those birds which find their food indiscriminately inal places ;
and:under this headBelon arranges the birds ofthe crow ‘and
raven family, the jay; "pie, hoopoe, parroquets, ‘parrots, pigeons,
and thrushes.. The seventh and last is devoted ‘to’ the: history
of the nightingales, linnets, grossbeaks, several of the passerine
birds; and a few of the swallows. It will be seen that’ the clas-
sification of Belon is very imperfect. But it must’ be remem-
bered that he was ‘the’ first scientific ornithologist in modern
times; and to him the science’ was new and unexplored. It
must further be observed, that, whatever be the defects of ‘his
arrangement, his descriptions are so distinct‘and accurate, that
it is, in general, easy to recognize the particular genera and
species understood by the author. That he is mentioned by
Portal only for some observations on the mode of making mum-
mies, and that his anatomiéal and ornithological services are-al-
together omitted, I think can be ascribed only to his work not
rte been seen by that learned anatomist.

“It is painful to think that this assiduous and enthusiastic ob:
server, after escaping the hazards, at that time not inconsidér-
able, ‘of travelling in Greece, Arabia, India, and Egypt, fell
under the dagger of an assassin in the vicinity of Paris in 1564

‘Among the pupils of Gonthier of Andernach, Michael Servet,
Revéz, or Renéz, born in 1509 at Villanova in Arragon, holds
@ conspicuous rank; and he merits a place in this sketch, be-
cause there is the strongest reason to believe that, in didedetndg
the lower animals ‘idee the eye of Gonthier, he began to form,
in tracing the course of the blood through the cavities of the héart
and pulmonary artery, those distinct notions which terminated in
his discovery of the small circulation. Servet was born two cen-
turies earlier than he ought to have lived, considering the fanati-
cism and bigotry of the times....In.an_eyil.hour he attempted to
discuss the mystery of the:'Trinity,-with the free spirit and. the
bold hand «with which*he investigated the structure of ‘material

APRIL—JUNE 1831. 7308

50 Dr Craigie’s Observations on the

bodies ; and, to escape the paternal authority which the Inqui-
sition exercises over her erring children, he fled from Spain to
France, where he studied anatomy and medicine, and taught
mathematics at Paris. From Paris he proceeded to Charlieu
near Lyons, thence to 'loulouse, and eventually travelled through
several of the provinces of Germany, every where propagating his.
opinions, and every where persecuted. It must have been some
time in the course of this erratic mode of life that he published
his first work denominated De T'rinitatis Erroribus, in 1531,
probably at Basil; for it is without place. From Germany he
returned to France, and was in the city of Vienne in Dauphiny
in 1553, when he published his second work, entitled Christian-
ismt Restitutio, and which is still more rare and valuable than
the former. It required not the publication of this work to
proclaim Servetus as the most impious of heretics, equally ab-
horred by the Catholic church and the new but not less violent
proselytes of Calvin. At the instigation of the latter, who
represented Servet as a wicked heretic, whose errors could only
be expiated by the sword, several Genevese apprehended him in
Vienne and conveyed him to Geneva, where he was brought to
the stake on the 27th of October 1553, at the age of 44. It is
impossible to doubt that this barbarous execution throws on the
character of Calvin a stain which all his services in the cause of
reformation cannot efface. Even Portal, who, like a good Ca-
tholic, remarks on this occasion, that one heretic put another to
death, cannot refrain from bestowing on the Genevese the civil
epithets of fourbe and ignorant, while he allows the victim the
merit of being one of the yreatest geniuses of Europe.

It is in the fifth book of his second work Christianismi Res-
titutio, and not in the treatise De Trinitatis Erroribus, which
has been vainly searched by many curious persons, that Servet
delivers his ideas of the small circulation. The work is ex-
tremely rare; and for my knowledge of his views I am indebted
to De Bure, who has faithfully transcribed the passage from the
original copy preserved in the Library of the President De Cotte,
—supposed to be the only one in existence *. From this ex-

* “ Vitalis spiritus in sinistro cordis ventriculo suam originem habet, ju-
vantibus maxime pulmonibus ad ipsius perfectionem. Est spiritus tenuis,
caloris vi elaboratus, flavo colore, ignea potentia, ut sit quasi ex puriore san-
guine lucens, vapor substantiam continens aquee, aeris, et ignis- Generatur

History and Progress of Comparative Anatomy. 51

tract it appears that Servet maintains the existence of a vital
spirit, which is seated in the heart and the arteries, and in the for-
mation of the spirit and its combination with the blood, he re-
presents life essentially to consist. The vital spirit, he continues,
which is thin, of a yellow colour, elaborated by heat, originates in
the left ventricle, but is chiefly completed in tie lungs by combi-
nation of the inspired air with the elaborated refined blood which
the right ventricle conveys to the left. This communication, how-
ever, he argues, does not take place through the wall of the
heart, which is impervious ; but by an ingenious contrivance the
thin blood is conveyed from the right ventricle of the heart by
a long channel through the lungs, where it is prepared, assumes
a yellow colour, and is transferred from the arterious vein (the
pulmonary artery) into the venous artery (the pulmonary veins).
Then, after being mixed with inspired air, and purified by ex-
piration from fuligo, it is attracted by the left ventricle, from
which, he afterwards remarks, it is distributed in the form of
vital spirit through the arteries. This course of the blood, he
concludes, is demonstrated by two facts, 1st, The communica-
tion of the arterious vein and venous artery in the lungs ; and,
2d, By the size of the arterious vein, which would not be so
considerable merely for nourishing the lungs.

It deserves remark, that this contains not only the elements

ex facta in pulmone commixtione inspirati aeris cum elaborato subtili san-
guine, quem dexter ventriculus sinistro communicat. Fit autem communi-
catio heec, non per parietem cordis medium, ut vulgo creditur, sed magno ar-
tificio a dextro cordis ventriculo, longo per pulmones ductu agitatur sanguis
subtilis; a pulmonibus preeparatur, flavus efficitur, et a vena arteriosa in ar-
teriam venosam transfunditur. Deinde in ipsa arteria venosa, inspirato aeri
miscetur, et exspiratione a fuligire expurgatur; atque ita tandem a sinistro
cordis ventriculo totum mixtum per diastolen attrahitur, apta supellex, ut
fiat spiritus vitalis. Quod ita per pulmones fiat communicatio et praeparatio,
docet conjunctio varia, et communicatio venz arteriosz cum arteria venosa in
pulmonibus. Confirmat hoc magpitudo insignis venz arteriosze, que nec talis
nec tanta facta esset, nec tantam a corde ipso vim purissimi sanguinis in pul-
mones emitteret, ob solum eorum nutrimentum; nec cor pulmonibus hac ra-
tione serviret, cum preesertim antea in embryone solerent pulmones ipsi ali-
unde nutriri, ob membranulas illas seu valvulas cordis, usque ad horum nati-
vitatem ; ut docet Galenus, &c. Itaque ille spiritus a sinistro cordis ventri-
culo arterias totius corporis deinde transfunditur, ita ut qui tenuior est,
superiora petit, ubi magis elaboratur, preecipue in plexu retiformi, sub basi
cerebri sito, ubi ex vitali fieri incipit animalis, ad propriam rationalis anime
rationem accedens.”’—Bibliographie Instructive, vol. i. p. 421.

pd

52 Dr Craigie’s Observations on the

of the small or pulmonary circulation, with a slight approach to
the large one, but the essential circumstances of the modern
doctrine of respiration, The idea of Servet of the combina-
tion of the blood with the air in the communicating branches
of the pulmonary artery and veins, is as distinctly expressed as
in the modern physiological authors ; and the notion that the
blood is purified from some foul or sooty material (fuligo), is
quite analogous to that of the separation or elimination of car-
bon from the venous blood. The rarity of his work, however,
and the melancholy fate of the author, appear to have kept
these valuable doctrines in a state of comparative obscurity for
nearly two centuries.

Hitherto anatomy, both human and animal, had been culti-
vated rather in a desultory and unsystematic manner, and with-
out great attention to precision and accuracy ; and even Vesalius
himself was by no means free from this defect. Some attempts
to rectify this evil were made, we have seen, by Ingrassias and
Cannani; but the individual who made the most strenuous ex-
ertions, and who further availed himself systematically of the
study of comparative anatomy, to illustrate the structure of
the human frame, is Bartholomew Eustachio of San Severino, in
the Anconese territory. This anatomist, who was not less dis-
tinguished, though greatly less fortunate in reputation, than
Vesalius, was professor to the Roman College, and physician to
Giulio della Rovere, Cardinal d’Urbino, not afterwards pope,
as stated by Portal; for that cardinal never attained the papal
dignity. Though assiduously devoted to the dissection of the
human body, he may be regarded as almost the first, and, for
a long time, the only anatomist who laboured on a rational plan
to extend the science by the study of animal anatomy.

The first subject investigated by Eustachio was the struc-
ture of the kidneys; and it is almost enough to say, that his
description of their granular and tubular portions, and the ar-
rangement of the vessels in both, is quite as accurate and distinct
as that of the best modern anatomists. The structure of these
organs he had investigated not only in man, but in the dog,
bear, and other animals. The granular or cortical matter, as it
has been named after him, is reddish in man, he remarks, but
whitish in the dog and other animals. A valuable observation
is, that he remarked the lobulated structure of the kidneys of

History and Progress of Comparative Anatomy. 53

the bear, the inequalities on the surface of those of the calf, and
of the foetus and infant of the human subject, thus recording
the fact, which is connected with the manner of development in
distinct tubular conoids or lobules, which are eventually united.

His researches on the teeth, which come next, shew that he
studied the structure and formation of these bodies attentively.
It is interesting to observe, that, in describing the formation of
the teeth in the foetus, he recognises the fact, that the dentife-
rous sacs contain not only the temporary but the permanent
set; and so accurate is his observation, that he remarks, that
the only difference between the two ranges is, that the ca-
nine teeth correspond with the large incisors of the second range.
He describes accurately the formation of the enamel, and re-
commends the anatomist to study it in the foetus and young
buck, if he has not opportunities of observing the process in
the human fcetus. The internal canals or nutritious tubes, and
their vascular pulp or sac, he describes from the human body,
the ram, and the ox, in which he allows that the process of
growth is most distinct. The whole description is most accu-
rate, and deserves the attentive perusal of the anatomical reader.

In a-subsequent account of the bones, he describes the osteo-
logy of the monkey with minuteness and accuracy, and com-
pares it with that of the human subject. The object of this es-
say is not quite so laudable as that of his other works; and I
regret to say, that his principal purpose appears to have been to
establish the fact, that the osteology of Galen is not derived from
the human skeleton. He has the courage in this treatise, how-
ever, to reject the human allantois.

In his chapter on the vena azygos, or vena sine pari, Eustachio
announces a discovery, which alone is sufficient to confer im-
mortality. The distribution of this vein he had studied in se-
veral animals ; and, im observing its structure and relations in
the carcass of a horse, he recognised, on the left side of the ver-
tebral column, a white vessel full of watery fluid, connected
above with the jugular vein, and with its lower end not yet as-
certained, and forming the large central trunk of the lacteals,
which was afterwards denominated the thoracic duct. This
memorable fact is so interesting, that I cannot refrain from
giving the description of the author.

54 Dr Craigie’s Observations on the

** Ad hance nature providentiam quamdam equorum venam
alias pertinere credidi; que, cum artificii et admirationis plena
sit, nec delectatione ac fructu careat, quamvis ad thoracem alen-
dum instituta, operz pretium est, ut exponatur. Ttaque in illis
animantibus, ab hoc ipso insigni trunco sinistro juguli, qua pos-
terior sedes radicis venz interne jugularis spectat, magna que-
dam propago germinat, qua, preeterquam quod in ejus origine
ostiolum semicirculare habet, est etiam alba, et aquei hwmoris
plena; nec longe ab ortu in duas partes scinditur, paule post
rursus coeuntes In unam que nullos ramos diffundens, juxta si-
nistrum vertebrarum latus, penetrato septo transverso, deorsum
ad medium usgque lumborum fertur; quo loco latior effecta,
magnamque arteriam circumplexa, obscurissimum finem, mihi-
que adhuc non bene perceptum, obtinet."-—De Vena sine Pari.
Antigr. xiii.

In the same treatise he describes the situation and appearance
of the large membranous fold in the right auricle, which still
bears his name, and the small one at the beginning of the’ co-
ronary vein.

His researches on the organ of hearing are original and in-
teresting. In the tympanal cavity he described the internal
muscle of the malleus, already delineated by Vesalius, and
named the tensor tympani ; the stapes and its muscles, and the
tympano-pharyngeal tube which communicates with the pha-
rynx, and which still retains his name. He first delineated
the cochlea and its osseous plate.

Important, however, as were these discoveries to anatomical
science, they form but an inconsiderable part of the labours of
Eustachio. Assiduously devoted to the cultivation of human ana-
tomy, and actuated also, we must admit, by a feeling of envy
at the growing reputation of Vesalius, he undertook to illustrate
the true and accurate structure of the human body, in a series of
delineations representing the shape, size, and relative position of
the different organs of which it is composed. This task, after
years of assiduous dissection, he completed, in thirty-nine plates,
in the 1552, nine years after the first impression of the work of
Vesalius. But it was unfortunate, both for his just reputation
and for the progress of anatomical knowledge, that he was un-
able to publish them during his life. At the period of ‘his
death, in 1574, he bequeathed them to his friend Pini, of the

History and Progress of Comparative Anatomy. 50
family of the Pope; and their seclusion in the Papal library till
the year 1712, when they were presented by Clement XII. to
Lancisi, who published them in 1714, has retarded for 150
years the progress of anatomical knowledge, and given celebrity
to many names which would have been known only in the veri-
fication of the discoveries of Eustachio.

At the period of their rediscovery, these plates were without
reference or description ; and it is believed that any descriptive
commentary which the author wrote, must have been lost. The
object of Eustachio, however, may be conjectured partly from
the delineations themselves, and partly from the observations
contained in the Opuscula, which may be regarded as the com-
mencement of the work. It appears that Eustachio undertook
the opposite and contradictory task of defending Galen, and
shewing the imperfection of the researches of those anatomists
who attacked the physician of Pergamus. As he proceeded, he
seems most fortunately to have lost sight of the first object, and
adhered rigorously to the second ; and the result has been, that
he has made a greater number of discoveries than any of his
predecessors or contemporaries ; and, by his individual efforts,
has done as much for the advancement, rectification, and improve-
ment of anatomy, as all the anatomists for nearly two hundred
years after him had jointly effected. He had, indeed, rectified and
improved the whole system of human anatomy so much, that,
as is justly observed by Lauth, had the author himself lived to
publish his delineations, anatomical knowledge would have at-
tained the perfection of the 18th century two centuries earlier
at least.

The imperfect form in which these figures were published by
Lancisi, in 1714, induced Cajetan Petrioli, a Roman surgeon,
to republish them in 1740. The confused manner in which
this author added notes and explanations on previous notes and
explanations, only shewed his incapacity for the task ; and, af-
ter various detached comments had been made by Morgagni,
Fantoni, and Winslow, a full and complete explanation, much
abler than any heretofore, was given in 1744 by Albinus. Even
after this commentary, however, Haller remarks, there are va-
rious unexplained topics in the plates on the nerves and blood-
vessels. In 1755, the first Monro superintended in this city
the publication of a series of posthumous commentaries by Dr

56 Dr A. Murray on the Influence of Rocks

George Martine, who had studied the Eustachian tables in the
edition of Lancisi, for the year 1720, and who had only relin-
quished the design of publishing them in 1740, by being sent
on the public service to America. Though their publication
was afterwards delayed on the announcement of the edition of
Albinus, it was found, on the appearance of that work, that
they were not superseded. 'The commentaries of George Mar-
tine constitute the most learned, acute, and critical treatise on
the Eustachian Anatomy that has yet appeared; and, though
the improved engravings of modern times have, to a great ex-
tent, superseded those of the Roman physician, they will always
be perused with interest by all who study the literary history of

anatomy.
(T’o be continued.)

Thoughts regarding the Influence of Rocks upon Native Ve-
getables. By ALexanpER Murray, M.D. & A.M. Aber-
deen. Communicated by the Author.

A centirman in this neighbourhood, who is in the habit of
seeing Loudon’s Magazine, some time ago directed my attention
to one of the late numbers, on account of its containing a paper
—wherein various interesting observations are to be found—
under the title of ** Remarks on the Relations subsisting be-
tween Strata and the Plants most frequently found in their su-
perincumbent Soils. By W.'Thomson.” As he brings forward,
in a prominent manner, certain observations of mine, published
in Professor Jameson’s Journal, I may be allowed to offer, on
the same subject, the following remarks, tending to a different
conclusion from that adopted by Mr Thomson—who believes
that the vegetable productions are largely influenced, if not in-
variably determined, by the rocks.

It will be readily admitted, that the existence of an unvarying
connexion between indigenous vegetables and the rocks over
which they grow, would be viewed as a beautiful association,
calculated to increase not a little the attractions both of geology
and botany; but the interest which would be attached to the
circumstance, though sometimes used apparently in place of an
argument, has, it is very evident, no bearing upon the question

upon Native Vegetables. 57

itself, which is, Whether or not vegetable species are regulated
by the subjacent rocks ? or, in other words, Whether native
plants, or a majority of them, spring up and thrive upon all
rocks indiscriminately, when other circumstances are favour-
able ; or, if they do so, some only over one rock, and others only
over another ? The interest belonging to the subject entitles it
at least to consideration; and notwithstanding the formidable
objections to the doctrine, there is undoubtedly, even on the
part of individuals whose opinions deserve much respect, an in-
creasing disposition to believe, that the indigenous vegetables
are frequently capable of disclosing the nature of the rock that
lies beneath them *.

An obvious difficulty presents itself in the consideration, that
though relations of the kind alluded to did in reality exist, no
one can hope ever to be able to specify in words the nature of
the connexion. This is certainly true, provided mineral masses
be viewed through the medium of the present systems ; wherein
the same name is often given, and perhaps of necessity, to sub-
stances widely different in structure and composition; and
wherein rocks are arranged and distinguished according to posi-
tion and connexions, rather than according to qualities by which
vegetables are likely to be influenced; these qualities being the
nature of the component parts of the rock, together with its
tendency to be converted into soil. Thus granite, it is well
known, at one time completely resists the weather for ages,
while at another it readily furnishes an abundant soil. Basalt,
too, is occasionally of the most obdurate description, though in
general it is copiously converted into one of our most fertile
earths. It isalmost unnecessary to add, that in the case of sand-
stones, conglomerates, breccias, and of amygdaloids, it must be
impossible to discover any unvarying relation between vegetables

* It has been also thought, that the native vegetation may indicate the
qualities of soils; and, indeed, attempts have been made to draw from the
same source several curious inferences. Of these, one of the most interest-
ing has been noticed by Clarke, the traveller, respecting Arundo Phragmites,
a plant not uncommon in this country, and other parts of Europe; and the
observation may be here mentioned, though not strictly connected with the
present object. ‘¢ Another criterion,” says he, “ of the sources of mephitic
exhalation, is the appearance of Arundo Phragmites. This plant in warm
countries may be reckoned a warning buoy.”

58 Dr A. Murray on the Influence of Rocks

and the rocks bearing those names, because in different in-
stances each differs entirely from itself.

Not only does the same rock differ materially ; but, on the
other hand, rocks whose geological and mineralogical characters
are dissimilar, may furnish a soil essentially the same. Thus,
the following branches of the primitive series: granite, gneiss,
mica-slate, clay-slate, when converted into soil, all usually give
rise to a sandy clay; and, with respect to the secondary trap-
rocks, they run into one another by insensible gradations, and
each of them will probably produce a soil similar to that from
any one of the rest.

In short, the varied forms of a particular rock may differ
from one another, in respect of the circumstances likely to influ-
ence vegetation, more than certain rocks do from others, which
are reckoned different in species,—a consideration which must
occasion serious practical difficulties to him who attempts to
connect plants with rocks. It might no doubt be alleged that
this objection is more apparent than real, and that we must not
class rocks together, which have little or no similarity but in
name; but with a reference to the present object must reckon
as the same those rocks only which have the same tendency to
crumble down, or to be chemically decomposed, and which
form soil of a similar description. Even with this modification,
which cannot be adopted in practice, the doctrine here com-
bated will be found to have no solid foundation.

_ In the first place, it cannot be denied that at the present day
rocks usually lie at so great a depth, that the roots of most ve-
getables cannot come into contact with them ; and it hence be-
comes probable that in general rocks have little influence upon
the vegetables growing over them,—at least, except when they
contribute materially to the superincumbent soil. Now, I be-
lieve, it will be admitted by all who have attended to the sub-
ject, that when an opportunity is afforded for making the ob-
servation, it is frequently apparent that the chief part of the
mineral ingredients of the soil is not derived from the subjacent
rock, but has been transported from some distance. These
changes of situation, I scarcely need to say, are ascribed to the
agency of water in various ways,—that is, rain and ice ; to rivers
particularly in a state of flood, from the deposites which take

upon Native Vegetables. 59

place in stagnant water; but most of all to that great revolu-
tion of the earth’s surface, which we believe to have taken place
at a remote period. The causes, however, concern not the
present object. It is enough to know, that many of our plains,
valleys, and the sides of mountains, are covered by a mass of
sand and mud, not derived from the fock immediately beneath.
The decay of vegetables, and the operations of agriculture,
are gradually increasing the foreign matters upon the surface,
and must be tending to separate the vegetable kingdom still
farther from the rocks.

Let us next examine the cases, and they are not very numerous,
wherein a considerable proportion of the soil is derived from the
rock immediately below. Itis, then, to be here mentioned, as an
argument against the influence of rocks, even in those instances,
that the mineral ingredients appear to perform a part which is far
from being very important to the vegetable economy. Thus Gio-
bert mixed together the earths usually found in fertile soils, and
in this artificial compound were placed seeds of various kinds,
which germinated indeed, but did not thrive, and soon perished.
Let this experiment be viewed in connexion with others, wherein
water alone was supplied. Du Hamel placed in moss or wet
sponges beans and pease, which flourished and produced fruit ;
and Bennet, by treating vines in a similar manner, found that
they produced excellent grapes. From these experiments, it
might be inferred, that water by itself is as conducive to the
nutrition of vegetables as pure mineral soil moistened with wa-
ter. Is there a probability that the principal use of the mineral
part of soil is to be a medium for conveying to plants moisture
along with matter derived from animal and vegetable sub-
stances ?

-All the foregoing considerations militate much against the
opinion that vegetable species are determined by the nature of
the subjacent rock ; and, indeed, they appear so strong as not to
be overcome unless by strong facts on the other side. In other
words, without strong facts the opinion appears to have no kind
of footing. Were it to prove to be possessed of a good founda-
tion, an interesting inquiry would be as to how the vegetable
species are arranged, with relation to particular rocks,—whcether
they are mingled in a miscellaneous manner, or grouped together

60 Dr A. Murray on the Influence of Rocks

according to genera or to natural orders, or upon any other
cognizable principle? No one, however, so far as I know, will
venture to answer these questicns, or to offer facts to connect
more than a few plants with particular rocks, the best, even if
fully admitted, not being comparatively more extensive than
the usual exceptions to every rule. On the contrary, it will be
found, that facts have an entirely opposite tendency.

There are various ways in which facts might be adduced to
illustrate our subject. It appears, however, to be the most sa-
tisfactory plan, to select rocks differing from one another in
structure and composition; but in other points, particularly in
elevation and latitude, not materially dissimilar, and to com-
pare their respective vegetations ; for it is clear, that if the ma-
jority of plants, which are common upon a certain description
of rocks, do also, cwteris paribus, grow and thrive upon a rock
entirely different, this circumstance would go far to set the
question at rest. I have therefore taken the native plants of a
primitive district in Aberdeenshire, thirty or forty miles in cir-
cumference, composed mainly of granite and gneiss, and com-
pared them with the vegetations of the secondary rocks around
Edinburgh, and also with that of the still newer formation in
the neighbourhood of Paris. These situations, in point of lati-
tude, differ to a certain extent, but, upon the whole, they are
for the present purpose very unexceptionable; as these respec-
tive rocks are, in the view of the chemist, mineralogist, and geo-
logist, as different, I may say, as is possible. It is necessary to
exclude plants depending upon local peculiarities, such as al-
pine and maritime species; since the fittest comparison is that
which respects species growing over rocks, which differ in no
material point unless their own nature.

A certain number of the more important genera and natural
orders of botany have been selected, and the plants common
in the Aberdeenshire district, belonging to those orders and ge-
nera, have been traced through the tract around Edinburgh,
and throughout the environs of Paris. The following obser-
-vations then have been made.

All the plants belonging to the order Composite, which can
with propriety be called common in the Aberdeenshire district
already alluded to, are these : Sonchus arvensis, 8. oleraceus,

upon Native Vegetables. 61

Leontodon Turaxacum, Apargia autumnalis, Hieracium Pilo-
sella, H. sylvaticum, H. paludosum, Hippocheris radicata,
Lapsana communis, Cnicus lanceolatus, C. palustris, C. arven-
sis, Artemisia vulgaris, Gnaphalium dioicum, G. rectum, G.
uliginosum, Tussilago Farfura, Senecio vulgaris, S. sylvatica,
S. Jacobea, §. palustris, Bellis perennis, Pyrethrum inodorum,
Achillea Millefolium, A. Ptarmica, Centaurea nigra, C. Cya-
nus. The above, I repeat, are all the common plants belong-
ing to the order Compositee found in the Aberdeenshire district.
Now, of these every one is abundant around Edinburgh ; and
they are likewise all considered common in the vicinity of Paris,
with the single exception of Hieracium paludosum, which is not
there to be met witb.

The following list comprehends all the plants of the order
Labiate, which are decidedly common in the Aberdeenshire
tract: Ajuga reptans, Teucrtum Scorodonia, Mentha hirsuta,
M. arvensis, Lamium purpureum, L. amplexicaule, Galeopsis
Tetrahit, G. versicolor, Stachys sylvatica, S. palustris, Thymus
Serpyllum, Prunella vulgaris. Of these plants, every one is
common near Edinburgh ; and, with the exception of Galeopsts
versicolor, which is wanting, all of them appear to be abundant
in the environs of Paris.

I shall next notice the important order Leguminosz ; but it
is unnecessary to continue to set down names. It is enough to
say, that all the Aberdeenshire species are common near Paris ;
and the same are met with abundantly in the vicinity of Edin-
burgh ; unless Genista Anglica, which in that situation is rare.

The common plants in the Aberdeenshire district belonging
to the orders Cruciferae, Umbelliferae, Asperifolize, Cyperaceze,
and Scrophularine, are all, with the single exception of Carex
binervis, abundant around Edinburgh ; and in the environs of
Paris, they are also equally common, with the following excep-
tions: in that situation Symphetum tuberosum has not been
found ; and Carex ampullacea, Cheerophyllum sylvestre, and
“Egopodium Padagraria, appear to be rare. I am farther
doubtful whether Myosotis palustris grows around Paris.

The following extensive genera not comprehended under the
preceding Natural Orders, have likewise been examined, name-
ly, Veronica, Viola, Juncus, Epilobium, Polygonum, Stellaria,

62 Dr A. Murray on the Influence of Rocks

Ranunculus, and Hypericum. It appears that all the truly
common species in the Aberdeenshire district belonging to those
genera are abundant near Edinburgh; excepting that Polygo-
num viviprrum, Juncus uligtnosus, and Rantinculus hederaceus,
appear to be but sparingly distributed; and all are equally com-
mon in the environs of Paris, unless Polygonum vivotiparum,
Viola palustris, and Ranunculus hederaceus. The first is not
found; the others are uncommon.

These extensive examples, which I believe are quite accurate,
and certainly they make a near approach to being so, may pro-
bably be taken as a fair representation of the similarity between
the entire Floras of the regions referred to. In short, the mass
of plants common in the Aberdeenshire district is equally so in
the vicinity of Paris and of Edinburgh. The plunte rartores
of those places might likewise have been compared, but this
plan would have been less useful than that which has been pur-
sued ; and the task, too, is one for which at present I have not
convenience *.

It is not to be concealed, that around Edinburgh not a few
plants are common which are wanting in the Aberdeenshire dis-
trict so often referred to; and there are still more species abun-
dant in the environs of Paris that do not belong to any part of
Scotland ; but this circumstance, when properly considered, has
no material bearing upon the question here discussed, as it is
probably unconnected with the nature of the rocks. It might
be explained by the climate graduaily becoming more favour-
able to vegetation as we approach the equator ; though, perhaps,

* In connexion with these remarks, it may not be uninteresting to ob-
serve, that above three-fourths of the flowering plants of all Scotland grow
also in the neighbourhood of Paris ; and if from the plants found in Scotland,
but not around Paris, the alpine, maritime, and rare species be extracted,
few indeed remain. In short, there are scarcely in Scotland more than twenty
truly common plants, which are not in the Flore des Environs de Paris. It
may be worth adding, that the plants wherein the French tract appears more
deficient, are Hieraciums and Saxifrages; and that the plants sometimes
reckoned characteristic of Scotland, viz. our heaths, broom, and furze, are all
found near Paris, where they appear to be common. I have also gathered,
on the banks of the Seine, Onopordum Acanthium, the plant which in this
country has occasionally a place in processions, from being considered that
thistle which is emblematic of Scotland. Near Paris it is common, whereas
in this country it is rare, appearing confined to a few stations in the south.

2

upon Native Vegetables. 63

‘ not a little of this difference in the number of species depends
upon the fact, that the neighbourhood of great towns has been
better explored than situations remote from the ordinary scenes
of botanical research ;, while another part of the difference may
arise from species not planted by the hand of Nature, having,
from various. causes, found a footing in the vicinity of towns.
Considering the obvious result from the rudiments of a parti-
cular species not having had access to a certain spot, we ought
not hastily to conclude, that the absence of a particular plant
arises from the station being unfavourable to it. Thus, when
we reflect upon the progress frequently made in the neighbour-
hood of gardens by plants which are not natives, it must be ap-
parent that a certain region may be sufficiently congenial to
various species never planted in it by the hand of Nature. It
should likewise be recollected, that it is sometimes possible to
detect, even in a limited space, a difference of vegetation with-
out any appreciable alteration in the reck, soil, elevation, or ex-
posure; on which account, when we meet with an example
wherein two neighbouring rocks of different natures are clothed
each with a vegetation differing from that which is found upon
the other, we ought not to attribute this circumstance without
hesitation to the dissimilarity of the rocks. Indeed it may be

_suspected that the apparently accidental circumstances which
regulate the dispersion of seeds are, much more than the condi-
tion of the rocks, concerned with the manner in which plants
are arranged.

Viewing, in connection, all the preceding facts and considera-
tions, it must be impossible to maintain, that with respect to
the great bulk of vegetables, particular species belong exclusively
to particular rocks. The opinion has nothing to render it @
priori probable, nor is it supported by any facts worthy of at-
tention; whereas the view which it has been here attempted to
establish, accords well both with reasoning and experience. It
has appeared that the mass of vegetables common in a portion
of the north of Scotland, are equally abundant in a southern
part of the kingdom, and no less so in a district of France.
The species, no doubt, increase in these two latter situations ;
but that circumstance, as already mentioned, ought to be im-
puted to considerations distinct from the rocks, particularly to

64 Dr A. Murray on the Influence of Rocks

the more genial climate. Climate, indeed, may he called the
master regulator of vegetables. On this account, when impres-
sion of vegetables, with a tropical aspect, are met with in the
south of Scotland, their dissimilarity to the species found at the
present day in the same situation, is attributed, ‘not to the’ dif-
ference of rock, but to the change which, ‘in these latter ‘times,
our climate must have undergone. Let any change of place be
made, short of that which is accompanied by a material al-
teration of climate, and the prevailing features of vegetable
nature do not undergo a change. Every thing around us may
have become different, while the native plants continue, in ge-
neral, the same 3) and, more than any thing, bring back to me-
mory the region which we have left. On the other hand, let
us remove to a remote latitude, or even a different elevation,
and however similar may be the rocks before us, a different
creation of vegetables prevails. It is well known that the gra-
nite in the higher parts of the Alps is clothed with a vegetation
different from that which covers the same rock in Cornwall ;
and no one will deny, that the plants growing upon the trap of
St Kilda, are different from those which are found in a trap
district of Hindostan.

In conclusion, it may be laid down as a general rule, that ve-
getable species are not limited and determined by the subjacent.
rocks ; but to this there may be a few exceptions. Thus, it is
certain that plants must be affected by rocks which influence the
moisture of the soil; and, considering the peculiar and energetic
properties of lime, it is not an improbable guess that it may be
eventually established that certain plants are confined to the
limestone rocks.

The title of this paper has been limited to the supposed’ in-
fluence of rocks upon native vegetables ; as it is not intended to
discuss, in any complete manner, the question as to relations
subsisting between soils and plants—a subject far more difficult
than the other to submit for examination, on account of the very
great variety of combinations which the ingredients of soil are
capable of forming. It may be permitted me, however, to say
briefly, that, in all probability, the native pints of any given
region will, when other circumstances are equal, grow and pros-
per in any soil, some exceptions being necessary, chiefly on the

2

upon Native Vegetables. 65

score of moistness. Depth, too, of soil ought to be taken into
aecount ; but that circumstance will be admitted to be of no vi-
tal moment by him who adverts to the admirable manner in
which roots adapt themselves to existing circumstances. So
marvellous sometimes is the manner wherein they do so, that he
niight almost. be excused,,who should ascribe to vegetables a
power of observation and reflectioa.

The earths are absorbed by vegetables but seldom, and in
very small quantities ; and as the usual mineral constituents of
soil, silica; alumina, magnesia, and lime, appear to exist every
where over the earth’s surface, it may be believed that every
soil has as much of each of them as is necessary for the consti-
tution of any vegetable. [t is also clear.that no soil can occur
without a certain quantity of moisture and carbonaceous mat-
ter, the usual and necessary food of plants. In the next place,
analogy, though far from being a safe guide, may be at least
attended to. It is, therefore, to be mentioned, that the limiting
of certain vegetables to certain soils, is favoured by no analogy
which can be drawn from animals, who live and prosper in
nearly all regions, and do so sometimes under circumstances
which might be said to be opposed to the fundamental qualities
of their natures *.

_ The preceding observations, whether relative to rocks or soils,
regard only indigenous vegetables, and perhaps do not by any
means apply to those which are in a state of culture. Vegetables
are cultivated for the sake of particular parts, as the fruit, root,
&e. ; and it may be that luxuriance will be fayoured by circum-
stances in the rock and soil which do not influence the simple
existence and propagation of native species +.

ABERDEEN, 19th January 1831.

* It is mentioned by some authors, that in one or more of the Western
Isles, the horse is occasionally fed on fishes.

+ Vide Prof. Jameson’s Memoir on soils, &c., in his Hlustrations of Cuvier’s
Theory of the Earth.

APRIL—JUNE 1831, E

( 66 )

An Account of some Experiments made to determine the Ther-
mal Expansion of Marble.* By Mr Jony Dunn and Mr
Epwarp Saxe. Communicated by the Authors.

Ly the construction of clock moyements and of metrical stand-
ards, we are constantly harassed by the expansion and contrac-
tion of the parts.

As soon as the fact that bodies expand by heat became known,
the question must have arisen, ‘* Does any substance exist which:
is not liable to this change of volume?” Many have been the
experiments made to determine the rates of expansion of dif-
ferent bodies ; but although some bodies have been found of
which the elongation is exceedingly small, in none, as yet, has
it been discovered to be awanting.

The construction, on the supposition that marble is inexpan-
sile, of a marble clock pendulum for the Royal Society of Edin-
burgh, a description of which was read at our last meeting,
and previously, we understand, before the Royal Society itself,
can hardly have failed to have excited a considerable sensation
among those who are practically acquainted with the many in-
conveniences which attend a change of temperature, or to have
created some curiosity about the manner in which such a singu-
lar fact was arrived at.

The analogy from which the inexpansibility of marble was:
deduced, at first sight plausible, will not bear a rigid examina-
tion. Granting, though it has not been confirmed, that a re-
gularly crystallized piece of calcareeus spar changes its shape
but not its volume on being subjected toa change of tempera-
ture ; this only shows that, when disposed in a peculiar man-
ner, the particles of carbonate of lime approach in one direc-
tion, and recede in others, so as to retain the same aggregate.
volume. We are by no means at liberty to infer, that irregu~
larly disposed particles, or even crystals of this substance, are
acted on in the same way ; the very fact of their accidental dis-
tribution destroys of itself the force of the analogy. Particles
of carbonate of lime, when regularly arranged, may obey one
law, while, for any thing that we know, the intimate const

* Read before the Society of Arts for Scotland, March/39, 1834.

~

On the Thermal Eapansion of Marble. 67
} ”

tution of matter, the same particles, when irregularly congre-
gated, may follow a very different one. Such an analogy
might have given rise to conjecture, and might have incited to
experiment ; but it should surely never have been regarded as
justificative of an inference which militates against all experience,
and gives to white marble so unique a place among solid bodies.

The appeal to direct observation can alone set the matter at
rest. Induced by the high importance of the subject, we have
made this appeal, and now propose to give an account of the
results of our experiments.

The difficulty of making any very accurate measurements of
the expansion of bodies by heat is best felt by those who have
essayed them. When the rate of expansion of one substance is
known, it is not a very difficult matter thence to determine the
expansibilities of others: the first determination is that which is
attended with the greatest difficulty. No substance is free from
expansion by heat, so that we can have no permanent standard
for measuring the magnitude of that submitted to observation,
unless by keeping some slightly expansive material at a fixed
temperature. Heat, however, is communicated with such rapi-
dity through even the most slowly conducting media, that either
the standard or the variable body changes temperature before the
measurements can be effected. Berthoud’s plan of lifting a heated
bar and placing it upon the plate of a pyrometer, is altogether
unfit for accurate purposes, nor is it easy to point out any me-
thod that may be entirely free from objections. The heating of
the substance, as well as the retaining of it for a considerable
time at a fixed temperature, is also attended with inconvenience ;
in fact, the sources of minute error are so involved, that no ob-
server can be certain of the accuracy of his results, and that it
becomes imperative on him to detail all the grounds on which he
has proceeded, and all the precautions which he has taken to
avoid error.

As we have already hinted, there are two methods according
to which we may proceed in determining the expansion of a sub-
stance: we may either compare its lengths, when differently
heated, with that of a body kept at a uniform temperature, or
otherwise with those of a body of known expansion subjected to
the same changes of temperature. ‘The latter method is attended

ER

68 Experiments made to determine

with comparative facility, and is worthy of the greatest relianees
if the expansibility of the standard substance has been »well-de-
termined.

The tabulated expansions.of few solid bodies ean be relied.on,
on account of the great change in expansion caused by, the
smallest admixture of any foreign substance. Mercury, from its
use in the construction of thermometers and barometers, has
been examined with considerable care ; yet, among the reported
expansions of the fluid metal, there are great differences, mostly
to be referred to inaccuracy in the determination of the glass
vessels in which it was contained. ‘That account of its variation
in which we feel inclined to place the greatest reliance, is given
by Laplace in his Systeme du Monde, where he states it to. be
100 parts in 5412, or 18477 im a million, from the temperature
of melting ice te that of boiling water.

The rod with which we compared’ the marble was of glass
tube, the rate of whose expansion we determined in the follow-
ing manner. Of a portion of the tube we formed a vessel with
a capillary stem. This vessel we filled with recently distilled
mercury, when at the temperature of melting ice: and after-
wards subjected it to the heat of boiling water, carefully collect-
ing all the expelled mercury. The weight of the mercury eject-
ed was 66.9 grains, the weight of that remaining in the vessel
being 4312.6 grains, giving for the excess of the expansion of
mercury above that of glass .015513; whence the expansion of
the glass is .002964 in bulk, or .000988 in length.

This result is rather above the expansion usually given in
tables, and is liable to a previous error in determining the ex-
pansion of mercury. Yet a little reflection will convince any
one, that the tendency of most of the errors of observation is.to
diminish the apparent expansions, so that an increased result
seems to afford some proof of the care with which the expansion
of mercury has been determined. The chance of error in the
weighings was very small, so that, in all probability, the expan-
sion named is very near the truth.

The glass rod was made to serve as beam toa beam-compass,
and was subjected to the same change of temperature with two
slabs, one of white Carrara, and the other of black or Lucul-
lite marble. At the same time, to afford a check on the process,

the Lhermal Expansion of Marble. 69

a wooden beam compass, kept as nearly as possible at one tem.
perature, was likewise compared with the marbles.

In each slab, at the distance of 31.5 inches, were inserted two
brass pins, one of which had a minute hole drilled in its centre,
for the purpose of receiving one point of the compass, while the
face of the other was smoothed, to allow of faint traces being
made on it with the remaining point.

The slabs and the glass compass were placed in a tin trough,
and surrounded with broken ice, a sufficient quantity of water
being poured in to perfect the communication between the ice
end the marble. At the end of an hour, when the marble might
be supposed to have attained the temperature of melting ice, a
sufficient space was cleared of icy fragments to allow of motion
to the glass compass, without raising it above the surface of the
surrounding fiuid, and faint traces were made with both com-
passes on the smooth pins in each of the slabs.

The ice and water were then removed from the trough, and
their place was supplied with hot water, which was kept boiling
at 211° Fahr. for an hour. At the end of that time, traces were
again made with each of the compasses, the alae compass ha-
ving remained completely immersed in the boiling fluid, and the
wooden one having been hastily brought from an adjoining apart-
ment, whose temperature had not varied. However, on account
of the short but unavoidable delay occasioned by the removal of
the upper slab, the wooden beam must have suffered some slight
increase of temperature and of length before the trace was made
on the pin in the Carrara marble.

The distances between tiie traces were then examined with a
microscope, and measured by means of a silver feather-edge,
whose markings could be depended on to the 3000th part of an
inch.

The total expansions given by the wooden compass were
382th of an inch for the Lucullite, and ,72,th for the Car-
rara marble, on a length of 31-5 inches, and for a change of
temperature from 32° to 211° Fahr.; that is, for the entire
change of 180°, an expansion in the black marble of -000350,
and in the white of “000837.

On examining the traces made. by the glass compass, it. was
found) that the Lucullite marble had expanded less than had

wit) Eaperiments madz to determine

the glass by 555th of an inch, so that its absolute expansion
must be 000426; while the white marble had lengthened more
than the glass had by 355th, so that its absolute expansion
came out 001072, or two and a quarter times that of the Lu-
eullite marble.

Here it may be noticed, that both of the expansions as given
by the glass are greater than those given by the wooden com-
pass, and that the discrepancy is greatest on the Carrara mar-
ble; and we are, therefore, warranted in inferring, that during
the time, short as it was, in which the wood was exposed to a
moist and heated atmosphere, it had suffered a sensible expan-
sion or twist.

The glass compass, having been furnished with two handles,
was never removed from the fluid which surrounded the marble;
its extreme lightness, when among water, and the shortness of
the attached points, removed all risk of the error arising from
bending ; so that the results obtained by its means seem worthy
of dependence, it being kept in mind that they are yet liable to
a very small imaccuracy that may exist in the determination of
the silines, of the glass itself.

The experiments just detailed formed the last of three series,
the results of all of which gave very nearly the same expansions.
We have given the last, not as made with greater care, but as
having had the advantage of additional experience in conduct-
ing them. In one of the former experiments, we heated the
water by means of two large choffers; yet, with all the assist-
ance which two pairs of bellows could give, we were unable to
sustain the temperature higher than at 197°. In the last expe-
riment we used seven spirit-lamps, and were not a little sur-
prised when, to restrain the too violent ebullition, we had to re-
moye, successively, four of them, and found that three spirit-
lamps kept up a brisk boiling in a trough whose dimensions
were 37, 4, and 31 inches.

The difference between the expansions of black and of white
marble is remarkable, considering the small difference which
exists between their chemical compositions; but, on inquiry, we
found that marble-cutters, aware not only of the expansion of
marble in gencral, but of the superior expansiveness of the

the Thermal Lapansion of Marble. 71

white varieties, are accustomed to guard against its effects in the
construction of chimney-pieces.

In estimating the fitness of any substance for the construc-
tion of clock pendulums, other considerations than that of its
thermal expansion must be taken. The variable buoyancy of
the air, and the changeable resistance which it offers to a mov-
ing body, must also be attended to; and it is evident that, in
regard to both of these, the dense has the advantage over the
rare material. Taking the specific gravity of marble at 2.7,*
it is 2268 times heavier than air; so that a variation of one inch
in the barometer will make a change in the length of a beat of
the ;;,550th part, that is, of éths of a second per day.

Estimating the expansion of white marble at .001, each de-
gree of the Fahrenheit thermometer will cause a change in the
clock’s daily rate of + of a second; so that the common deal-
rod pendulum, with a leaden bob, must, both from its smaller
elongation, and from the diminished hydrostatic influence and
resistance of the air, be superior to the marble one.

We cannot conclude a paper on the expansion of such bodies,
without pointing to the various expansibilities of the materials
used in building. It would, indeed, be a useful and an inter-
esting research to inquire into the actions of heat and moisture
upon the materials of houses; since, to varieties in these, more
perhaps than to chemical decomposition, the gradual dismem-
berment of edifices may be due. On marbles the effect of mois-
ture in producing expansion was imperceptible, and from some
incidental experiments, the Carrara marble was found to absorb
only about the 1800th part of its weight of water. However
small the expansions of such bodies may be, they are yet ac-
companied by enormous force, to prevent the effects of which
it is in vain to heap together strength and matter; since just in
proportion to the additional strength is increased also the de-
structive force.

EninBurGH, 30/1 March 1831.

* The white was.2.65, and the black 3.0.

On the Acidification of Iodine by means of Nitric Acid. By
Arruut Connect, Esq. A. M. Communicated by. the
Author.

"Tne methods which have been hitherto followed for the oxida-
tion of iodine with a view to the formation of iodie acid, may
apparently be reduced to three: first, The action of alkaline
solutions giving rise to the formation of a hydriodate and an
iodate, from the latter of which the jodie acid may be separated
by the original method of M. Gay-Lussac, and more perfectly
by the recent processes of M. Serullas*; secondly, The action
of euchlorine, as suggested by Sir H. Davy; and, thirdly, The
action of water on the perchloride of iodine, and subsequent
separation of iodic acid by means of alcohol, as also proposed
by M. Serullas +. The agency of nitric acid, under certain
management, offers another method, which I have been unable
to observe noticed any where, and which, perhaps, will be
found to equal in facility of execution any. of the preceding
processes.

This agency may be advantageously studied on the smal
scale. Ifa little iodine be boiled with a small quantity of nitric
acid in a common test tube about five inches jong, the iodine is
dissolved, and a red solution formed. If the liquid be now far-
ther boiled, and the orifice of the tube kept slightly stopped
with a piece of cork. the iodine sublimes, and condenses on the
sides of the tube. "The iodine is then to be washed back again —
into the liquid by agitation; the liquid again boiled, and the
sublimed iodine again washed back inte the fluid ; and this, pro-
cess is to be continued until no iodine any longer appears, and
the liquid is colourless. If the boiling be then continued, for a
little, so as to increase the concentration of the liquid, it usually
becomes milky; and if it be poured out and evaporated to dry-
ness, a white mass is left, which is iodic acid, retaining a little
nitric acid.

Having made these observations on the smal] scale, 1 pro-

* Annales de Chimie et de Physique. xliii. 127 & 217.

+ Ibid. xlv. 63.

Mr Connell on the Acidification of Iodine. 73

ceeded to try the process with larger quantities of the materials,
with a view to its employment as a method for the preparation
of iodic acid. The vessel I used was a rather large and tall
flask, having a narrow orifice. In one trial I used twenty-five
grains of iodine, and half an ounce measure of fuming nitric
acid; and in another, I employed twice these quantities of the
materials. After introducing the iodine and acid into the flask,
the liquid was made to boil. As soon as any iodine sublimed
and condensed on the sides of the vessel, it was washed back
again into the liquid by agitation. After the process had been
continued some time, a precipitation of white crystalline grains
was observed to take place; and the operation of boiling and
washing back the sublimed iodine was continued until the free
iodine had to a great extent disappeared. The whole was then
decanted into a shallow basin, and evaporated to dryness. Any
free iodine which had remained was soon dissipated by the heat,
The residue of the evaporation consisted of whitish crystalline
grains, which were icdic acid, retaining a little nitric acid, from
which they appeared to be freed by one or two solutions in
water, and re-evaporatiors, when they lost much of their crys-
tallime appearance, and became a whitish deliquescent mass, oc=
easionally with a slight purplish tint, from a tendency to de-
composition by the heat of evaporation.

The general properties of the matter thus obtaimed, suffi-
ciently identified it with icdic acid. Exposed to a sufficient
heat, it was decomposed, and iodine sublimed. Its solution in
water gave a precipitate with nitrate of silver, soluble in am-
monia. Saturated with potash, it gave by evaporation a salt
composed of grouped cubical crystals, and deflagrating on hot
charcoal.

‘The quantity of the acid obtained by this process, of course,
must vary, according to the care taken to prevent the dissipa-
tion and loss of iodine. Where no particular precautions were
taken to prevent its loss in the state of vapour, and where the
process was not continued until the entire disappearance of
iodine, the quantity of acid obtained approached that of the
iodine employed. In operating with the relative proportions of
iodine and acid which I have mentioned, I have no doubt that
a farther addition of iodine might be made to the liquid, after

74 On the Acidificution of Iodine,

the acidification of what had been at first introduced; and the
process might then be farther continued, as before.

I find, conformably to the observation of M. Serullas, that
iodic acid does not attack gold. Its solution seems to have no
action on that metal even when aided by heat. It is equally
inert in regard to platinum. Zine is at first attacked by it with
effervescence, especially when diluted ; but the action ceases al-
most immediately, apparently from the formation of a sparingly
soluble iodate; and when more zinc is added, the liquid be-
comes milky. No effervescence ensued when iron-filings were
thrown into the solution of iodic acid, whether concentrated or
diluted ; but when the liquid was boiled, a white powder preci-
pitated.

The solution of the acid reddened litmus paper permanently.
The permanency of the colour may possibly be owing to a trace
of nitric acid still adhering; as, according to Davy, the acid
ultimately bleaches vegetable blues.

Observations on the Glaciers of the Alps. By Mr F. J. Huet,
Professor at Soleure. (Concluded from page 341 of preced-
ing Volume.)

Osservartroy has furnished proofs of the existence amongst
the glaciers of the second kind of a progressive downward
movement, which ranges from 20 to 60 feet per annum. We
have evidence of this movement in the examination of the mi-
neral debris belonging to a superior repository, embedded in the
glacier, and gradually advancing even to the inferior extremity
of this glacier. Some authors imagined that this descent might
be attributed to the pressure exerted on the upper part by the
avalanches detached from the glaciers of the first kind. Mr
Hugi endeavours to combat this opinion, and relates, in refer-
ence to this, some curious observations concerning the meteoro-
logy of elevated regions. ** Avalanches,” says he, ‘ take place
only in low regions, at the limit of forests, and on the declivity
of valleys, whence they are precipitated into the bottom, and
often occasion terrible ravages. Elevated peaks are above the

Prof. Hugi on the Glaciers of the Alps. 75

ordinary abode of mists. Moreover, at an elevation of from
10,009 to 13,000 feet above the level of the sea, the clouds are
no longer discharged in great flakes of snow, as happens in an
atmospheric region lower and more charged with vapours. The
-snow which falls in the high regions is always fine, dry, and
crystalline. I have observed this every time I have been over-
taken by snow, or found it newly fallen. In proportion as I re-
descended I saw the flakes, as also the mass of deposited snow,
increase even to the limit of the woods where it terminated.
We may also infer, from some indications, that the snow does
not appear at this altitude but during spring and autumn, and
not at all in winter. The greatest quantity is found, as I shall
state, at the limit of the forests; thence it diminishes much
more towards the higher than the lower regions. ‘These are
facts perfectly known to all the inhabitants of the mountains,
Thence it happens, that the thickness of glaciers of the first
kind, those which cover very high peaks, is so inconsiderable,
although, from their undergoing but very slight changes from
melting, they should increase enormously ; hence it happens,
that avalanches rarely or ever take place in high regions.”

Other authors have endeavoured to explain this progressive
movement of the glaciers by supposing, that the crevices or
rents which traverse them are again filled with water, and that
this water expanding, in the act of congelation, pushed forward
the masses of ice. The simple inspection of the crevices de-
monstrates the futility of this hypothesis; they generally pene-
trate even to the soil, and consequently cannot contain water.
Moreover, the movement takes place chiefly in the summer,
that is to say, at a period when the crevices are perfectly
open, and, besides, the crevices are far from extending from one
border of the glacier to the other.

Others conjecture that the movement is caused by the expan-
sion of the ice of the glacier itself; but a more attentive exami-
nation of the nature of the crevices, and of the different pheno-
mena which accompany the movement, soon overthrows this
explanation. It is the same respecting that hypothesis on which
they account for the movement of the glaciers, by saying, that
they melt at their under surface, and that their weight is suffi-
cient to make them descend to the low regions. Entirely re-

76 Piofessor Hugi’s Observations on the

jecting this idea, Mr Hugi delivers some interesting details re-
garding the melting of the glaciers, which we may now mention.
“The fact,” says he, that the glaciers of the: two kinds melt
only at the lower surface, is a truth universally acknowledged,
and: concerning which no doubt exists; but it has been erro-
neously maintained, that in winter ‘the glacier) is attached, or
fixed to the soil by congelation.’ The pregressive »move-
ment of glaciers during winter. would ‘alone suffice ‘to mega-
tive this assertion, if the observation of the fact itself, and. that
of the heat of the soil at this depth, did not contradict it, | It
is ‘proper to remark, that the nature and bearing of the
strata of the mountain on which the glacier rests have a very
great influence on the melting of the lower surface... Among the
glaciers of the Uraz and of the Aar (superior) of Viesch and
Gastern, I have succeeded in penetrating to a considerable depth
below the mass of ice. Wherever a solid connected mass. of
rock was visible, the glacier rested securely upon it; the base of
the glacier melted, when by the general progressive movement
it had quitted the rock to descend upon the debris. The deeper
and more solidly based the rock was, the larger were the bases
of the glacier. Currents of warm air were observed issuing from
the depths of the earth. Butan observation which has surprised
me more, and which I have often repeated, is, that during the
day the teniperature under the glacier was always a half lower
than above, and that though the lower melted ten times more than
the upper surface. Perhaps this difference is owing to this, that
it is exposed each night to a fresh congelation, whilst the other is
constantly exposed to a temperature a little above 32° Fahr. It
may further probably be attributed to the action of the currents of
air which pass from the bottom of the ravine to the surface; to:re-
establish the equilibrium; but observations are wanting on the last
point. "The fact is, that there exists under the glaciers an extra-
ordinary humidity, by which they are moistened without receiv-
ing even a single drop of water. ‘On the contrary, there exists
at the upper a singular aridity, in consequence of which the ice
tends to evaporate, and also to exhibit asperities and cavities.
It rarely happens that the sun’s rays act so powerfully on the
glacier as to formy accumulations of water on. its surface.» The
streamlets of the glaciers generally proceed ‘from newly fallen

Glaciers of the Alps. vee

snow. From this contrast between the dry state of the upper
and the moist state of the lower surface, results, in my opinion,
the disproportion which exists in the melting of the two surfaces.

This, however, is the mode in which M. Hugi explains the
progressive movement of the glaciers. According to him, a gla-.
cier of the second kind is produced under this form, not at the
place where it is found, but in high regions, under a form of a
glacier of the first kind; then, by the gradual development of
its mass, it descends to the low regions, in which it attains the
Jast state of its constitution, and terminates by decomposition.
Let us pursue with our author the progress of this metamor-
phosis.

“<The snow which falls in the elevated regions,” says he, ‘is
very different from that which falls below the limit of glaciers of
the first kind, and which traverses an atmosphere denser and
more surcharged with vapours, in a word, less pure than that of
the high regions. This last snow appears to be in some degree
more aqueous, while the first, more crystalline and purer, is of
a dry and light nature. This, when the temperature rises,
seems to evaporate rather than melt, which is owing to the pre-
sence of air in its composition, and above all, to the aridity and
levity of the atmosphere in the regions where it is deposited.
The truth is, that the remainder of the snow of the high regions,
without becoming fluid, agglomerates under the form of grains ;
this agglomeration operates in a slow and irregular manner at
the height of 13,000 feet; at 11,000 feet the grains are better
formed ; at $009 feet they begin to be half melted. The gra
nulated mass thus formed is exposed during the summer to con-
tinual changes of temperature. The very keen cold of the night
renders it so firm that the foot does not make any impression on
it, and that it follows the same laws of expansion as the ice pro-
perly so called; the intense heat of the day separates anew what the
night has bound together. The grains are Joosened, the rain pe-
netrates into the interstices which are formed, and this water en-
larges each grain by congealing around it... This alternate ef.
fect of day and night, and the modifications which result from
it, reproduce themselves on a greater scale, and in a manner
more conspicuous, by the successiem of opposite seasons. .. The
result is a state of increasing tension through the mass. Each

78 Professor Huei’s Observations on the

year adds to the grains a new stratum ; thence’ the increase of
the whole mass, its rupture into crevices, and the observed ex=
pulsion of foreign bodies.

** In proportion as a glacier of the first kind (and not of’ the
second) receives increase at its upper surface, it generally dimi-
nishes at its lower; yet it exhibits irregular periods of increase
and‘extraordinary meltings. The inferior melting appears to
follow a more uniform course than the superior increase.

“ Whilst the mass is granulated, it does not form any crevice
at its surface. The heat of the day, and of the summer, easily
loosens all its parts without breaking them ; but, by a long suc-
cession of contractions, moistenings, and expansions, the gra-
nular mass begins to crystallize together, each grain presents
determinate faces, and encases itself between the grains which
surround it: in a word, we perceive the formation of the sys-
tem of interlacement of grains of which we have spoken above
(see article on Glaciers in last Number), and which consolidates
from that time more and more. ‘The grains are no longer isola-
ted, but conjoined into a compact mass, which forms the glacier.
Afterwards the heat has no more the power of decomposing the
mass into its grains, but of expanding it chiefly at its surface.
The resistance opposed by this mass to the dilatation is soon
violently overcome, and it rends.

“One day being on the inferior glacier of the Aar, durmmg an
intense heat, at three o'clock r. m., I heard a very peculiar noise.
I advanced rapidly from 30 to 40 paces, from the side where the
noise was heard; I felt the mass of the glacier shake by jolts
under my feet, and I soon discovered the cause. <A fissure was
formed in an instant, the aperture was elongated from 12 to 20
feet, so that I was unable to follow its formation. Sometimes the
operation seemed about to cease, and the mass separated itself
very slowly; then again the fissure continued to open quickly, and
by jolts. Many times I ran forward in time to see the separation
taking place under my feet. I followed in this way the formation
of the fissure over an extent of almost a quarter of a league, even
to the border of the glacier, where it stopped. The fissure open~
ed at first under the first concussion about an inch and a half,
but afterwards it again contracted, so that its breadth did not
attain to more than an inch, The interior of this fissure was

6

Glaciers. of the Alps. 79

rough and unequal ;.a part of the crystals were broken into two,
and others, almost untouched, formed projections to which there
were corresponding hollows in the opposite surface. I sounded
the opening with my axe to a depth of 6 feet; the fissure ex-
tended to.only 4 or 5 feet, and gradually diminished to this depth.
Its examination clearly demonstrated the influence of the atmo-
sphere, and the effect of a high temperature. At 11 feet distant a.
second fissure was formed ina direction exactly parallel to that of
the first ; I found it to be6 feet deep. Afterwards I have often
observed this phenomenon upon the glacier of Aletch, from the
Elsenhorn to the lake Mérile. I have seen three fissures take
place in anafternoon. Some of my guideshad more than a hun-
dred times witnessed this operation. The crevices are formed
during warm days only ; and generally previous to a change
of weather. None of them are formed during the night, or in-
winter ; but I have observed, on the contrary, that they con-
tract during the night, and completely disappear in winter.

** During the whole period of my stay on the inferior glacier
of the Aar, we were awoke every wight, twice or thrice, by the
subterranean noises which proceeded from the interior of the
glacier. ‘Twice the bed itself which we had dug in the glacier,
and which was lined with slates and moss, was viclently shaken
by jolts analogous to those which I had obseryed during the
formation of fissures ; but the shaking appeared so deeply seat-
ed, that we could not for a moment entertain the idea that any
rent or crevice would open at the surface. We heard and felt
directly that the effect had taken place from below upwards.
The noise was obtuse, of a particular nature, and was commu-
nieated to the atmosphere through the medium of the erystal-
line mass of the glacier. We have never found in the morning
a new crevice completely opened. I have heard the same subs
terranean noises during the nights which I passed on the glacier.
of Grindelwald, and. behind the Finsteraarhorn; but I have
never heard any of these dull subterranean noises during the
day, in my excursions on the glaciers. I have seen an inferior.
erevice when I penetrated under the glacier of the Viesch. _ It
was at least 5 feet wide below, and appeared to wedge out above
at a height of from 12 to 20 feet.. I have never been able todis-
cover. in this place, at the upper surface of the glacier, any fissure,

80 Professor Hugi’s Observations on the

which corresponded to this one. Moreover, it cannot be déubt-
ed that the lower crevices are rarer than the others; and they
are seldom found but in glaciers of the first kind, of some ex-
tent. I have seen a great number in my last journey on the
Finsteraarhorn. . é

‘* The upper fissures, that 1s to say, those formed by day,
are always the widest at the surface, and terminate towards
the bottom in an angular or wedge form. ‘This form is equally
observed in the case where the fissure reaches to the rock or
to the soil, at least when an inferior fissure does not meet with a
superior one. Among the elevated glaciers of the first kind, no
upper or surface fissure can take place, because this mass is
still imperfectly aggregated, and contains much air, so that the
changes of temperature easily effect the separation of the grains
from one another. Moreover, in years abounding in snow, no
fissures are observed. It is only when the mass of these glaciers
is deep, or when some time has elapsed without their having
been again covered with new strata, that the fissures which are
formed at the bottom during the night or winter, penetrate even
to the superior surface. But to speak properly, the fissure itself
does not penetrate higher than the third or fourth annual stratum
of snow ; and it is only when widened that the frozen ice which
again covers it crumbles and falls into the opening, or is reduced
to dust by the current of air which escapes from it. It is generally
acknowledged, that in the elevated glaciers of the first kind, all
the fissures widen towards the bottom, and contract towards
the top; and also, that these fissures are much more dangerous
than those of the lower glaciers which contract towards the
bottom, because the inferior crevices of these glaciers do: not
close in winter. In agreement with these facts, it is, as we have
already seen, that in a glacier of the first kind, its mass, on ap-
proaching the soil, where it is continually melting by means
of the heat of the earth, develops itself, arranges itself ‘and
becomes more and more like in its texture to a glacier of the
second kind.”

Weare entitled, from what precedes, to conclude, that the sue-
cession of the temperatures of day and night, summer and win-
ter, constitutes the upper and under surfaces of the glaciers into,
opposite states. The reheating produced during summer, and

6

Glaciers of the Alps. 81

by the periodical return of the heat of each day, determines in
the upper surface a state of tension opposed to the state of the
inferior surface, and the inverse effect results from the recool-
ing which affects the upper surface during the winter and the
night, whilst the temperature of the other remains always the
same. Consequently, by this opposition, the upper fissures are
formed during the day and during the summer, the lower cre-
vices during the night and winter. Each fissure presents at
the beginning but a small aperture formed in the upper or lower
surface of the mass of ice, in a state of tension. Its enlarge-
ment is gradual, as the influence of the atmosphere and the
course of the temperature in the interior of the glacier ; it often
finally traverses the glacier in its whole extent, and then it opens
further, forming a wide and frightful fissure. There is still to
remark concerning the course of fissures, that in the glaciers
nearly horizontal and very long, such as the inferior glacier of
the Aar and that of Aletsch, we never find them very wide. In
proportion as the declivity of the glacier is steep, the fissure
becomes wider. This appears to depend on the more or less
great resistance which the glacier has to overcome in its pro-
gressive movement.”

We shall terminate this article by relating some considera-
tions of the author concerning the periods of progression and
retrogression which he has observed in the glaciers, a subject .
which he proposes to study afterwards in a much more accurate
manner. <“‘ Each glacier of the second kind,” says he, “is, as we
have seen, originally a glacier of the first kind ; having arrived
at its second state, it advances to dissolution. When, by a series
of years abounding in snow, the glaciers of the first kind accu-
-mulate in an extraordinary manner, they produce equally to-
wards their lower border glaciers of the second kind of great
magnitude. ‘These colossal masses, more extended in all their
dimensions than they are in general, necessarily require a longer
time to dissolve ; and as their progressive movements continue,
they advance also much further into the inhabited valleys. On
the contrary, the glaciers of the first kind, which are not so
thick, never produce large glaciers of the second kind; then
those of less magnitude are dissolyed before they reach the
bottom of the valleys, and appear to contract themselves. More-

APRIL—JUNE 1831. E

82 Mr Hardie on the Geology of Central India.

over, the general temperature of the year has doubtless some
influence, but every thing demonstrates that this influence is al-
together of secondary importance.

‘* It is probable that all the glaciers extend themselves down-
wards with nearly the same rapidity ; if their velocity be known,
we might be able to calculate beforehand their future progres-
sion or retrogression ; which would be of great importance for
the cultivation of the Alps. It is difficult to appreciate what
would be necessary to allow in this calculation to the resistance
which the movement of the nearly horizontal glaciers expe-
riences. All the measures known to me of the progressive ad-
vance of the glaciers are false, because they are taken by the
distances from the inferior extremity of the glacier to a deter-
minate point, without taking into account the melting which
has taken place at this extremity. Therefore, since we attri-
bute in this manner to a glacier a progression of from 40 to 50
feet per annum, a more accurate measure would unquestionably
give a much more considerable distance. The points to choose
for this observation should be taken only on the glacier itself,
and on its two borders.” —Bibliotheque Universelle, 1850-1.

On the Geology of the Secondary Formation of the Meywar
District. By James Hanpie, Esq. Residency Surgeon,
Oudeypore Meywar, Member of the Asiatic Society, of the
Medical and Physical Society of Calcutta, &c. Ina Letter
to Professor JAMESON.

Sir,

"Txoven a long period of time has elapsed since you did me
the honour to publish in the “* Edinburgh New Philosophical
Journal” the paper to which this letter refers, 1 have had no
opportunity of perusing it in its printed form till very lately,
when the state of my health led me to visit Calcutta. I should
otherwise have long ere this made some reply to the queries con-
tained in your editorial notes. Since drawing up the paper in
question, I have had several opportunities of making new ob-
servations on the geology of Central India; and have thus been
enabled to correct many inaccuracies into which I at first fell.
I feel, however, that any thing I can communicate on this _in-

On the Bandeo Quartz-Rock. 83

teresting subject must, to say the least, be vague and unsatis-
factory. Situated as IT have been, in a remote corner of Hin-
dostan, I have been deprived of all means of reference to libra-
ries, museums, &c. and, inexperienced as I am, I feel that I must
have left much undone which even the opportunities of obser-
vation I have enjoyed might, if under more favourable auspiccs,
have enabled me to perform. But enough of this.

I shall now reply in as distinct and brief a manner as I pos-
sibly can, to the queries and observations embedied in your notes.
And, first, with regard to Note p. 334, Vol. VI. of your Journal.
You seem inclined to believe that, in describing the quartz-bed
near Bandeo, as being divided into horizontal strata, while the
including clay-slate strata are arranged in a vertical position,
I have confounded the natural joints which so frequently oceur
in quartz-rocks with the true planes of stratification. It may
be so; and I have often wished for another opportunity of veri-
fying my first observation, made while on a march with my
corps through an enemy’s country. This opportunity has as
yet been denied me, and I am unwillingly compelled to leave
the subject in its present unsettled state. I must, at the same
time, remark, that with the jointed or fissured appearance de-
scribed by Captain Dangerfield, as quoted by you, I am per-
fectly familiar. It is a most characteristic feature of the pure
white quartz-rocks of this district; many of which are so tra-
versed by cracks, that their original stratiform structure is com-
pletely obscured, and their whole mass resembles a congeries of
angular and rhomboidal fragments closely packed together, but
unconnected by any apparent cementing medium. The quartz-
rock of the Bandeo bed does not belong to this variety; it has
a schistose texture, and its stratiform structure is very distinctly
marked, nor is it, generally speaking, characterized by the joints
and fissures of the other. On the contrary, it is distinguished
by the immense extent and continuity of its tabular masses,
enormous slabs of which may be raised without difficulty, and
these, in some parts of India, are used in place of beams in
roofing, and are made to span from wall to wall, even in halls
of large size, without risk from fracture.

This rock Captain Dangerfield sometimes describes as horn-
stone, sometimes as flinty slate; but, by whatever name it may

: F2

84 On the Bandeo Quartz-Rock.

be distinguished, it is, in its mineralogical characters, more near-
ly allied to quartz than to any other rock, and is most exten-
sively distributed throughout Hindostan as a member of the
clay-slate series. In many situations it is found passing into
the pure white quartz-rock on one hand, and into the clay-
slates on the other. The horizontal position of the strata near
Bandeo appeared to me at the time to be very distinctly
marked; and, at an after period, I requested a friend to visit
the spot, and to favour me with his opinion on the subject.
His observation entirely coincided with what I had previously
supposed to be the fact, and he furnished me, at the same time,
with a sketch of the appearances presented, which led to a simi-
lar conclusion. It is but fair to state, that my friend had not
made geology his study, and in my own mind, I confess I am
not perfectly satisfied on the subject. This hesitation on my part
has arisen from after reflection ; at the period when I wrote the
account published in your Journal, I had not the slightest doubt
of the correctness of my statement. I have since been some-
times inclined to believe that the bed in question was a peculiar
modification of one of those numerous rectilinear quartz veins
which traverse this country in all directions, and which may fre-
quently be traced over a considerable stretch of surface, or
forming the spines of the hill ranges. These very generally
follow a direction parallel to the planes of stratification. In this
last case, the rock in the vein might have been horizontally stra-
tified, while the bounding clay-slates might have retained the
general vertical position of the strata of the neighbourhood.

I would now offer a few words in reply to the observations
contained in Note, p. 123. Vol. VII. And, in the first place,
I must plead guilty to the charge of having been obscure and
indistinct in describing the geology of the Cheetore Hill. The
fact is, my ideas on the subject were at that time very vague and
indefinite ; and, in endeavouring to avoid being too precise on a
point upon which I felt my own want of information, I have
fallen into a contrary extreme, and have presented you with an
account so indefinite as to render it utterly valueless. I shall
now endeavour to remedy this evil, though I must say that the
subject is still involved in much difficulty and obscurity.

The “ clay-slates,” or rather the sandstone slates and shales,
upon which repose the waved quartose strata of Cheetore, be-

On the Geology of the Cheetore Hill. 85

long apparently to that series of rocks which the late Dr Voye-
sy * proposed to distinguish by the general name of the “ Clay-
slate Formation ;” a formation distinct from the clay-slate of Ja-
meson (TJ'honschiefer of Werner). Captain Franklin +, how-
ever, has endeavoured to identify the rocks of this series with
the new red sandstones of England, and his ideas have been
very generally adopted in this country. The new red sandstone
formation is now described as being one of the most extensively
distributed surface formations of Hindostan; it consists of a
series of shales, slate-clays, some of which it is impossible, as far
as their mineralogical characters are concerned, to distinguish
from the older slates, sandstones, sandstone-slates, with asso-
ciated conglomerates and breccias. ‘This series reposes, some-
times directly, upon granitic rocks, sometimes on the clay-slates,
and sometimes upon rocks probably identical with the old red
sandstones; while, in particular districts, it overlies the coal
measures. It is characterized, in general, by the nearly hori-
zontal position of its strata, by the absence or great scarcity of
organic remains; and, to the west and north-west of Ajmeer,
by associated deposites of rock-salt and gypsum; but these last
have not, as yet, been discovered in Central India; nor have
they been found in connexion with the vast sandstone tracts
which form the southern and north-eastern barriers of the val-
ley of the Ganges and Jumna, &e.

Saline efflorescences, indeed, consisting principally of muriate
of soda, with associated sulphate of soda and carbonate of
soda in small proportion, are every where observed in these dis-
tricts, and the soil is also very generally impregnated to a great
depth with a similar saline compound, which is extracted by
lixiviation, and crystallized for common domestic purposes, under
the name of kharee Nimuk (i. e. bitter salt); but such soils do
not seem to be peculiar to the sandstone tracts, at least they
have been observed in situations where it would be difficult in-
deed to trace any connexion between them and the occurrence
of rocks of the formation under review. A less exceptionable
argument might perhaps be derived from the fact, that brackish
wells are frequently met with in the sandstone tracts, but even

* See Transactions of the Physical Class, Asiatic Society, Part I. p. 10.
+ Ibid, p. 103, also p. 121.

86 New, Red Sandsione of India.

these may have derived their saline properties from, the. soil ;
nor, is their occurrence. confined exclusively to such, tracts.
Many of, the saline soils of the Gangetic proyinces have un-
doubtedly| been transported from a great distance.

It is not my object at this time to give a minute deseription
of the Indian, new red sandstone formation, or to point out all
of the different forms in which the rocks composing it exist. It
will be sufficient for my purpose to remark, that, interposed. be-
tween the older and highly inclined strata, and a horizontally
stratified limestone series, which is supposed to be the type of
the lias of England, there occurs an, immense sandstone, depo-
site, which flanks, throughout the whole of India as yet exa-
mined, our great primitive districts, as well as our overlying trap-
rocks, to which latter it is subjacent ; and that to this great for-
mation the hill of Cheetore, as well as the neighbouring boun-
dary ranges between Meywar and Harvistee, belong. A com-
mon yariety of this sandstone resembles, in its mineralogical
characters, a nearly pure quartz-rock. It is hard, compact, and
is almost entirely composed of quartz, having very little of the
appearance of a re-united rock. Of this variety consist the
waved strata, which form the summit of the Cheetore Hill, and
a similar variety is observed topping the boundary ranges just
alluded to, and is also extensively distributed throughout the
whole of Harvistee, in which district it rises into low tabular
hills and ranges, and in some one or other of its modifications,
is spread over the greater portion of the plateau which this dis-
trict exhibits. It is occasionally concealed from view by irre-
gular patches of the lias limestone above alluded to.

The shales, sandstone-slates, slate-clays, &c., belong to the
same era. In many instances, the inferior shales much’ re-
semble those of the coal-measures, and future observation may
probably discover in some of them deposites analogous to those
described in the Geological Transactions, as underlying the mag-
nesian limestones of England, and which have been identified
with several remarkable continental formations. ‘This, however,
is a point for after consideration; and, in the mean time, the
whole series, mcluding slates, saadstones, Xc., we are in the
habit of considering as the type of the new red sandstone for-
mation, the phrase being understood in its most extended sense.

Old Red Sandstone of India. 87

The strata of this great series are, generally speaking, con-
formable one to another, though partial exceptions to this rule
may here and there be observed, more especially in the vicinity
of the highly inclined strata of the primitive class. The waved
appearance of the Cheetore strata 1s common throughout the
whole of Harvistee, and is also occasionally observed in the nortii
of Malwa, Meywar, &c. But the deflection from the usual ho-
rizontal position is trifling when considered on a large scale. The
strata forming the rocky summit of Cheetore, as well as the slates
of its base, both, I believe, exhibit this waved aspect. I had
not, however, an opportunity of ascertaining the pomt m a_per-
feetly satisfactory manner. Similar slates occur in the neighbour-
hood, arranged in a perfectly horizontal position.

The old red sandstones do not exist in this portion of the
country, as a well marked and characteristic formation. ‘There
are many rocks, however, which future observation may proba-
bly identify with members of this series as it exists in England.
There is a belt of quartzose rocks which flanks, a little to the
westward of Cheetore, the newer sandstones, and which is in-
terspersed between the latter and the primitive strata of Mey-
war. The rocks of this belt, consisting of alternations of a very
compact quartzose rock of a whitish or greyish colour, with a
kind of red felspathose porphyry of a crumbling nature, and
eccasionally somewhat conglomerated texture, dipping under an
angle of upwards of 45° under the nearly horizontal strata of the
north of Malwa, &c.; but their geology has not yet been mi-
nutely examined. A narrow linear range of hills (the Mokun-
dura Hills), composed of a coarse-grained sandstone, the predo-
minating colour of which is red, and which is arranged in strata
inclined hike the above at an angle of upwards of 45°, may be ob-
served in the south of Harvistee, and separating that district from’
Malwa. This range, a branch of the Cheetore tabular chain,
stretches in a direction NW. and SE. The strata composing it
basset out from beneath the horizontally stratified rocks of the
Harvistee plateau, and present a bold and bluff escarpment on
the Malwa side, the level plains of which latter district abut
against the range, and are, generally speaking, in this portion
of the country, covered with a deep alluvium, protruding
through which the newer sandstones and limestones are here and

88 Lias Limestones of India.

there observed, occasionally within a few yards of the basset
edges of the inclined sandstone strata.

Outcroppings of a similar formation of older sandstones may
also be traeed in the ranges which bound Harvistee to the north ;
and here a narrow belt of these rocks would seem to be inter-
posed between the newer series and the strata of the primitive
district, which branches off from Ajmeer east towards» Bhurt-
poor. Similar appearances have been described as presenting
themselves elsewhere; but, as surface rocks, the old red sand-
stones have a limited range, as contrasted with the other surface
formations of this portion of India; though, perhaps, we may
be entitled to conclude, from their occasional protrusion in situa-
tions so remote from each other, that there exists a great inter-
nal formation of rocks of this class.

The limestones which we are in the habit of describing as sy-
nonymous with the dias limestones of England over-lie the sand-
stones, and are arranged in horizontal, or nearly horizontal strata,
which are separated from each other by loose calcareo-argillaceous
partings. In their texture they are compact ; they are characte-
rized by their large conchoidal fracture. Their prevailing colour
is bluish-grey, sometimes they are reddish, more frequently yel-
lowish. They are very generally covered with beautiful den-
dritical delineations, and some varieties might be substituted for
the Cotham marbles in ornamental architecture. They are ar-
gillaceous limestones, and may be raised in slabs of any size and
breadth. They are remarkably free from veins, or fissures of any
kind ; the more compact varieties have been employed with suc-
cess in lithographic operations, and as building stones they are
invaluable.

The organic remains of these limestones are obscure and in-
distinct. This may perhaps be attributed to the compactness
of the rock ; at least, the best marked specimens are only disco-
vered on the weathered surfaces of blocks which have long been
exposed. They are rarely if ever found in the freshly quarried
slabs. Protruding from the surface of the strata into the calca-
reo-argillaceous partings, are frequently observed numerous lo-
bated and polymorphous bodies, apparently of an organic ori-
gin. Captain Franklin states (see his Geology of Bundelkhund,
in Transactions of Phil. Class, Asiatic Society), that he discovered

Lias Limestones of India. 89

in the lias what appeared to him to be the fragment of a gry-
phite. The only well marked specimen of a shell which I have
been enabled to procure, was a fragment of a bivalve, apparently
nearly allied to the Pecten; but on this subject I shall not en-
large at present. It is sufficient to observe, that it is more from
a consideration of their geological position and mineralogical
characters, than from their contained organic remains, the infe-
rence has been drawn, that these limestones belong to a forma-
tion identical with the lias. The subject is still involved in much
doubt and obscurity. Besides alumina and oxide of iron, these
limestones contain a small proportion of carbonate of magnesia,
associated with the carbonate of lime,—an association, however,
which appears common to almost all the limestone formations of
central India, from the primitive marbles or dolomites down to
the imperfect rock formation known best by its local name of
kunkur. A perfectly pure carbonate of lime I have not yet
observed, though I have analyzed a considerable number of spe-
cimens of our finest marbles, as well as limestones from different
parts of the country.

The formation under review is an extensively distributed one ;
it generally occupies plains and low lands through which pro-
trude hills of sandstone. The depth of its beds would not
appear, in any situation hitherto examined, to be great; and
it has probably been subjected in a most destructive degree to
the agency of those great denuding causes which are supposed
to have exerted their energies with such amazing force over the
whole surface of the globe. At least, this is the easiest way of
accounting for the total disappearance of such limestones trom
many of our sandstone plateaus, and for the irregularity of the
patches, often insulated and detached, in which they occur.
The limestone, as well as the sandstone strata, are occastonally
much inclined in the neighbourhood of the primitive rocks, and
im many sttuations have obviously been subjected to much vio-
lence and distortion.

To Professor JAMESON.

( 90.)

Biography of the late Ducary Carmicuarn, Esq. Captain 72d
Regiment, Fellow of the Linnean Society *.

Wars itis highly desirable that every country should have iis
just share of credit for the men of literature and science which
it has produced, there is no individual, considered in himself, to
whom the place of his birth has been less important in forming
his character, than the naturalist, and with whom, therefore, it
may be less necessary to record it. Not because his life reflects
no honour on its natal soil, nor because he is himself insensible
to the glow of patriotism ; but because the sympathies of the
naturalist extend beyond his own home, and Universal Nature
claims his attention. Amidst the multitude of organized beings,
the individuality of his own being is less to him than to others.
His eye ranges from pole to pole, while his hand is stretched
over mountain and valley, lake and wood, and the spot which
has presented him with a new genus or a peculiar formation,
becomes attractive to his thoughts as the dwelling-place of his
fathers. His breath seems as if first drawn where he experien-
ced the ecstacy that arises from the conviction of having disco-
vered what had escaped the observation of others, and which
stands hitherto recorded only in the annals of the Almighty in
creation. ‘The naturalist thus becomes the revealer, as it were,
of a little world, wherein the divine power and wisdom are dis-
played in new relations ; and, while accustoming his eye to be-
hold in every object a particular manifestation of infinite intel-
ligence, he sees in each law the operating hand of the Almighty ;
in each being the life of the Eternal; in each climate His
unity; in every distant planet His ubiquity; in every provi-
sion the fulness of His mercy; and in the constancy of their
action His truth; while in the struggle to grasp the whole in
his own finite comprehension, the naturalist possibly forgets or
loses sight of self.

The island of Lismore, in the county of Argyle, and one of

* In Dr Hooker’s well known and excellent “ Botanical Miscellany,”
there is a biography of our late excellent friend and pupil Carmichael, by
our former pupil, the Rev. Colin Smith, minister of Inverary. We extract
from Mr Smith’s memoir some of the more interesting particulars.—Enrr.

His Early Love of Observation. 91

the Hebrides, was the birth-place of Dugald Carmichael, in
1772. Born of parents who were in easy circumstances, he was
early designed for a learned profession ; and, though the oppor-
tunities which the parochial school afforded might not perhaps
be very great, nor calculated to enlarge the youthful mind, the
eye of genius is ever open, and ready to avail itself of every
advantage. While his schoolfellows were scattered over the
play-ground, pursuing their own wild gambols, young Car-
michael might be seen in some neighbouring field, gathering
and examining the flowers which grew there, or searching m
some fusse for the organic remains that were then plentifully
seattered throughout the mosslands of Lismore. Thus do the
amusements of the boy “ cast their shadows before,” and often
exhibit an outline of the pursuits of the future man. He was
regarded by other boys, generally, with contempt or astonish-
ment; and, had not his habits of silence and retirement been
occasionally broken by indications of spirit, which checked the
insolent and awed the timid, while he was characterized by uni-
form gentleness and a more than ordinary capacity for learning
the prescribed lessons, his schoolfellows would not have failed
to consider him a fool.

This love of observation and experiment, which so far over-
came bodily comfort, attended Mr Carmichael through life, ac-
companied with an equally strong mental characteristic, that
stamped him as an individual who listened principally to the
voice of experience, and made fact the ground of all his reason-
ings. From a very early age it was remarked of him, that he
only believed what he could see positive evidence for, so that
the fireside stories of apparitions and goblins that are firmly
credited in the Highlands of Scotland, and which caused the
hair of the aged natives to stand on end, only excited his laugh-
ter. He had never witnessed these appearances, and seeing no
use in them, he did not believe in their existence. But this in-
credulity was sometimes not comfortable to others; for, ac-
quainted with the spots that were famed as the haunts of fairies
and other preternatural visitants, he would slip out alone in the
evening, and carrying his violin, of which he was very fond, un-
der his arm, and concealing himself behind some tree or rock
that was celebrated for ghostly appearances, he would there

92 Biography of the late Captain Dugald Carmichael.

await the return of the servants from the fold, and alarm them
with sounds, which, being unexpected, induced the belief that
they proceeded from some unearthly inhabitant of the spot.

In 1787, Mr Carmichael was sent by his parents to the Uni-
versity of Glasgow, to attend the literary classes, and he seems
to have made a considerable proficiency in the Greek and Latin
languages; but it is not surprising if the mysteries of metaphy-
sical science should have but few charms for him, who looked
to things more than to opinions ; or that he should have turned
his attention to medicine, as a study more congenial to his pecu-
liar taste. What ardour he exhibited, or what progress he
made during the years spent in attending these classes, cannot
now be ascertained ; but it is probable that he did not make
any considerable acquisitions in science, in an university which
at that time afforded few facilities, and no stimulants to the stu-
dent of nature. To a much later period, Glasgow was almost
exclusively a school for logic and metaphysics; and those who
are now enabled, in an attendance there, to benefit by the in-
structions of some of the first teachers of natural science that
this age can boast, will hardly conceive the difficulties under
which the student laboured, who, a few years ago, might have
finished his curriculum without a master to inform him even of
the authors whom it was necessary for him to consult.

How detrimental this was to the progress of general know-
ledge cannot be estimated ; but though Mr Carmichael went to
Edinburgh to finish his studies, there is reason to believe that
he-deeply felt the disadvantage of not being earlier instructed in
the first principles of natural science. Several years afterwards
he writes,—‘ The plan adopted by several continental nations,
particularly the French and the Swedish, of making natural his-
tory a branch of education in the public schools, possesses many
advantages over the old Gothic system, to which we still cling so
pertinaceously on the English side of the channel. To those young
men who are destined to pass a great portion of their lives
in regions far removed from their native land, the study of na-
tural history affords intervals of pleasing recreation from the
fatigues of professional duty. This study, aided by a know-
ledge of a few of the modern languages, is the surest passport
to the best society. It oceupies those idle hours which would

Importance of a Knowledge of Natural History. 93

otherwise lie heavy on the hands of the young, or incite, per-
haps, to dangerous irregularities. It affords exercise to the
mind, and frequently adds to the sum of human knowledge.
It has also over every other study, this peculiar advantage,
that whithersoever fortune may direct our footsteps, materials
for it present themselves to our view. ‘The pathless forest, the
arid plain, the alpine rock, the desert island, tender by turns
their varied and inexhaustible stores, and demand of us only
exercise of body as the price at which they will furnish us with
food for the mind. Even the boundless waste of ocean, which
the common traveller views with an eye of apathy or apprehen-
sion, yields to the naturalist a rich harvest of amusement and
instruction. A man possessed of a taste for natural history, has
it in his power to amass a store of subjects, wherewith he can
associate a train of agreeable recollections sufficient to afford him
amusement during the remainder of his life; not to mention
the pleasure he must feel in sharing his discoveries with those
who have the same taste with himself, but who want the oppor-
tunity of indulging it.

** There is no denying that this branch of education may en-
gender a host of unfledged philosophers, who will fancy, on
their outset in life, that every thing must be new to others
which appears so to ourselves; and when such undertake to
visit remote countries, and communicate to the world the result
of their observations, we must be prepared to meet with a little
vanity and egotism, inflated language, extravagant theories, and
deductions not always the most legitimate. With these draw-
backs, however, the journal of a young traveller moderately
skilled in natural history, will prove infinitely more mteresting
to the intelligent class of readers, than that of a person who is
totally ignorant of that branch of science.”

After taking his diploma as surgeon, in the University of
Edinburgh, Mr Carmichael returned to reside with his father
at Lismore, where, as may be imagined, he again applied to his
favourite pursuits. But his circle of observation was limited,
for this island does not abound in such productions as attract
the eye of a young botanist. It is but little elevated above the
leyel of the sea, and entirely formed of a bluish coloured lime-
stone, more or less crystallized, which is occasionally traversed

94 Biography of the late Captain Dugald Carmichael.

by veins of greenstone, and once only by a vein of pitchstone,
scarcely an inch in thickness, and exceedingly friable. The soil
barely coats the rocks, which put forth their bald foreheads in
every portion of the best cultivated fields, giving to this fertile
island the appearance of a heap of stones, and rendering ‘the
spade as necessary an implement of husbandry as the plough.
The plants found on it are not numerous, consisting chiefly of
a few Orchideee, Primulaceee, Saxifrage, Crucifere, &e. ; and
though the neighbouring mainland presents a greater variety of
soil and elevation, we cannot believe that Mr Carmichael would
have made much progress in the knowledge of classification, far
less have acquired his quick botanical eye, in a situation where
he was excluded from the benefits to be obtained from books
and sympathy, and where the list of native vegetables is by no
means large. It is probable that his attention was at this time
turned rather towards mineralogy, and that his sight was not
indifferent to the majesty and beauty of the hills which form
the great glen of Scotland, nor his mind inactive in speculating
upon the manner of their formation. It was indeed a station
calculated to arouse the slumbering spirit of the geologist into
activity, and more callous observers than he who is the subject
of this memoir might have their admiration excited by those
mountains which enclose the island of Lismore, as in a mighty
amphitheatre, and which present so many and such varied as-
pects.

In 1796, being appointed assistant-surgeon to the Argyle-
shire Fencibles, then stationed in Ireland, Mr Carmichael had
an opportunity of extending his knowledge of the workings of
Nature. Yet he has not left behind him anything which enables
us to trace what progress he there made in science. When the
advantages of scientific instruction are wanting in youth, years
of after labour become necessary for the student, during which
we may find him labouring assiduously to compass the first ele-
ments of knowledge, and carefully treading the paths which
others have trodden before him, in order to ascertain what has
been already done, and what yet remains to be effected. For
nine years, during which he was stationed in Ireland, Mr Car-
michael seems to have been preparing his mind for future disco-

veries, and, by a fortunate coincidence, Robert Brown, the first
2

Forms an Intimacy with Brown, the Botanist. 95

botanist of this. age, held a similar appointment upon the same
station. That the advantages arising from this circumstance
were improved by Mr Carmichael, can hardly be doubted ;
and an intimacy was then formed between him and the great
British botanist, which was renewed in after life, when each had
risen io eminence in his respective line.

Whatever pleasure he may have received from society such
as this, his eye could only rest upon objects that others had dis-
covered long before, and so long as foreign lands lay untrodden
and unexplored, Mr Carmichael could not but have a longing
desire to visit them. He therefore gladly embraced the oppor-
tunity of entering the 72d regiment, in hopes of being sent to
some foreign station; and whether it was that he deemed it
most conducive to his interests to drop his profession as a sur-
geon, or, as is more probable, that he found his duties interfere
too much with his favourite pursuits, he exchanged the lancet
for the sword, and entered the 72d regiment as ensign. In
1805, his wishes were fully accomplished ; the corps to which he
belonged being one of those which formed the expedition under
Sir David Baird against the Cape of Good Hope; and, from
this period, he carefully noted whatever occurred to him that
was deserving of remark, keeping a diary, in which, from time
to time, he entered such observations on men, opinions, climate,
plants, &c. as might be instructive to others, or amusing to
himself. He was engaged in the action with the enemy which
took place on landing at the Cape ; and from the account which
he gives of it, as well as from his general description of military
movements and stations, we learn that he made his new profes-
sion his study, and that he was not contented merely with being
an officer, but brought his talents to bear on his occupations,
until he knew the general duties which he might have to per-
form, as well as the general rules of the military art. Colonel
Grant, who then commanded the 72d, seemed to have duly es-
timated his merits, and desired his promotion; but, having been
wounded in this engagement at the Cape, Carmichael lost, in
consequence, an active friend. He always spoke of his profes-
sion with a warmth of a soldier, and of his brother officers with
fondness; a fact, indeed, which also proves that his own deport-
ment was such as commanded their regard.

96 Biography of the late Captain Dugald Carmichael.

Of this brave action which terminated so favourably for the
British arms, we shall give the description in Captain Car-
michael’s own words.

“The expedition under the command of Sir David Baird,
which was destined to act against the Cape of Good Hope, con-
sisted of the 24th, 38th, and 83d regiments, commanded by
Brigadier-General Beresford ; and the 71st, 72d, and 93d, com-
manded by Brigadier-General Ferguson; three companies of
the Royal Artillery under General Yorke; and two squadrons
of the 20th Light Dragoons. ‘To this force must be added the
59th regiment, embarked for the East Indies, which was or-
dered to co-operate with us in the reduction of the Cape. The
naval force, commanded by Sir Home Popham, consisted of two
64 gun-ships, and one of 50 guns; two frigates, a sloop of war,
and two gun-brigs.

«« The expedition sailed from the Cove of Cork on the 2d
day of September 1805, and, on the 4th of October, the fleet,
amounting to about seventy sail, came to anchor in Funchal
Roads, off the Island of Madeira. We weighed anchor again,
and directed our course for St Salvador, on the coast of Brazil,
where we arrived on the 12th of November, with the loss of the
Britannia Indiaman, and the King George transport, with Ge-
neral Yorke on board, which were wrecked on the shoal called
the Racers, off Cape St Augustine. Leaving St Salvador on
the 26th of November, we made the Cape of Good Hope on
the 3d of January 1806; and, on the evening of the 4th, the
whole fleet came to an anchor in the channel, between Robin
Island and the Blueberg.

‘«‘ Early on the morning of the 5th of January, General Be-
resford’s brigade made an attempt to land ; but, on approaching
the shore, the sea was found to break with such violence, that
it was thought prudent to desist. As that part of the coast was
known to be subject to a heavy surge, and the situation of the
fleet was such as forbade any unnecessary delays, the Diomede,
with the transports carrying the 38th regiment and General
Beresford, was dispatched to Saldanha Bay, and the whole fleet
would have followed next day, had not the Highland brigade
been fortunate enough to effect a landing about six miles far-
ther to the southward, in Sospiras Bay. The enemy’s riflemen

3

Account of the Capture of Cape of Good Hope. 97

appeared lurking among the bushes, and showed a disposition
to annoy us; but they were speedily dislodged by a few shots
from the gun-brigs that covered our approach. The only serious
accident that occurred was the loss of one of our boats, having
on board about forty men of the 93d regiment, which was over-
set on a bank of shore-weed, and every soul Jost.

“The 7th of January was employed in disembarking the re-
mainder of the troops and the field artillery. Five hundred vo-
lunteers from the ships of war and Indiamen were also landed,
for the purpose of dragging the guns, a service which they per-
formed with their accustomed enthusiasm. At four o’clock, on
the morning of the 8th, we moved from the sand hills along the
road that leads over the shoulder of the Blueberg. When we
arrived en the crest of the hill, we perceived the enemy drawn
up on the other side. Our disposition was soon made. We
were formed in echellons of brigades; the left, or Highland
brigade, being about two hundred yards in advance of the
other. In this relative position we advanced, sometimes in line,
at others in file from the heads of companies, according to the
nature of the ground. We no sooner arrived within the range
of the enemy’s artillery, than he opened his fire on us from
twenty field-pieces, which were advanced considerably in front
of his line. The action, on our side, was begun by the grena-
diers of the 24th regiment, sent to dislodge a body of mounted
riflemen, which occupied a rising ground on our right flank.
This duty the grenadiers performed with great intrepidity, but
not without serious loss: Captain Foster being killed on the
spot, and fifteen men either killed or wounded.

*< The line, in the mean time, continued to advance over a
tract of ground where we were buried up to the middle in heath
and prickly shrubs. Owing to some misconception of orders,
we began firing before we had arrived within killing distance of
the enemy ; but this error was speedily corrected by the rapi-
dity of our movement, which alarmed him so much, that, by
the time we came within a hundred yards of his position, he be-
gan to retreat. ‘This he effected in very good order; for, to
tell the truth, we were in no condition to molest him. Fresh
from the cool bracing climate of Ireland, then cooped up for
five months on board of crowded transports, a march of six

APRIL—JUNE 1831. G

98 Biography of the late Captain Dugald Carmichael.

hours over the scorching sands of Africa, exhausted us to such
a degree, that even the exhilarating sight of a flying enemy
could not prevent immense numbers from escaping to the rear.

** Our force of every description in this action was about five
thousand men; that of the enemy three thousand. The loss
was nearly equal, being about three hundred in killed and
wounded. After the engagement, we advanced as far as Reitt
Valley, where we received from the fleet a supply of provisions
and water. Next morning we marched on towards Cape Town,
and had approached within a few miles of it, when we were met
by a flag of truce, demanding a cessation of hostilities for forty-
eight hours, in order to arrange terms of capitulation. Sir Da-
vid Baird returned for answer that they should have six hours
only, and that, if the place was not surrendered at the expiration
of that period, he would enter it by storm in the course of the
night. This menace had the desired effect, and the 59th regi-
ment marched in that evening and took possession of the lines.
The rest of the troops lay on their arms, at the mouth of the
Salt River, until three o’clock Pp. um. next day, at which hour
the British flag was hoisted on the castle, a royal salute was
fired by the ships of war, and the Highland brigade marched to
Wynberg.

“ We thus, without much difficulty, got possession of the
capital, but Jansen was still unsubdued. After the action at
Blueberg, he had retired with his whole force to the pass of
Hottentot’s Holland Kloof, where he designed to establish him-
self in such a manner as should cut off the communication of
Capetown with the interior. With a view to dislodge him
from this stronghold, the Highland brigade and 59th regiment
marched on the 12th to Stettenbock, and were followed, in a
few days, by Sir David Baird in person. After some prelimi-
nary overtures between the two generals, a negociation was set
on foot, which terminated in the formal cession of the whole
colony to the British arms.”

«“ The regiment being ordered to Capetown, Captain Car-
michael has time to describe its remarkable features.

“© The first thing which arrests the attention of a stranger, on
his arrival at Capetown, is the wonderful diversity in the fea-
tures, colour, and costume of the various descriptions of people

The varied Population of the Cape. 99

who crowd the streets. He feels himself amazed at finding
himself in a sort of Noah’s Ark, where he meets with more va-
rieties of one species than the patriarch had under his charge of
the whole animal creation. Here he may see the pure spotless
robe of the Hindoo rubbing against the painted kaross of the
Caffre and the soot-stained sheepskin of the Hottentot; here
the barefooted boor from the snow mountain stares at the po-
lished boots of the London cockney: here he may contrast the
crop of the Pennsylvanian with the pendant crown-lock of the
Chinese: here the Brazilian may shake hands with the Malay,
and the Guinea Negro with his brother from Madagascar. In
the midst cf this motley group, Europeans of every description,
either as traders or prisoners of war, pass in review before him.
The geographical position of the colony will account, in some
measure, for the concurrence of these heterogeneous elements of
population. The peculiar circumstances under which it was
originally established, facilitate the emigration of people from
all parts of Germany and the north of Europe. The revocation
of the Edict of Nantz drove numbers of French Protestant fa-
milies here for refuge ; the practice of discharging soldiers in
the settlement, after a certain period of service, few of whom
ever returned to Europe ; the extensive communication between
Europe and India, in the course of which numberless adventu-
rers were induced by hope, or forced by distress, to relinquish
their prospects in the east, and settle in the colony ; and, finally,
the salubrity of the climate, inviting the martyrs to tropical
diseases to repair hither for the re-establishment of their health :
such are the lights of the picture; the shades are furnished
from the coasts of Africa and the Indian Archipelago. »

** In a society so constructed, the manners must be as varied
as the materials of which it is composed; and ages must elapse
ere they can amalgamate and assume a national form. This
renders the colonists peculiarly prone to adopt the customs of
strangers; and as these adoptions are oftener the fruit of ca-
price than of sound judgment, they are apt sometimes to excite
a smile, Can there be conceived, for instance, a more awkward
or more ludicrous object than a huge boor heaving up his pon-
derous shoulders in imitation of a Parisian, twisting his neck,

and drawling out “ Ik wit neit,” whilst his utmost endeavours
G2

100 Biography of the late Captain Dugald Carmichael.

cannot throw the corresponding expression into a countenance
where the muscles are so deeply imbedded in blubber, that even
the convulsions of death could not produce any visible derange-
ment of features.

** No difference of ranks exists at the Cape; and, if the po-
pulation be not occasionally reinforced from Europe, the dis-
tinction of colour will soon vanish. The intermixture of Afri-
can with European blood can already be traced in some of the
first-rate families in the colony; the hue of the skin and the li-
neaments of the countenance unequivocally betraying their ori-
gin. The abolition of the slave trade, and the facility with
which the poorest inhabitants can, by ordinary activity and per-
severance, obtain a competency, will accelerate this union, and
it is probable that before two centuries shall have elapsed, all
the colours will be blended in one.

** The complexion of the Cape ladies is, in general, fair, per-
haps too fair. It is of that sickly delicate tint which indicates
exclusion from the air and light. It is altogether deficient in
the lively bloom which gentle exercise and exposure to the ele-
ments diffuse over the cheeks of the British fair. Great care is
taken, while young and single, of their figures ; they are accord-
ingly then light and elegant in their form; but they are no
sooner married than they begin to neglect their persons, and, by
indulging in the pleasures of the table, acquire a degree of obe-
sity that renders them objects of disgust. The habit of using
vegetable acids as seasoning to every article of food, soon de-
stroys the teeth. So universal, indeed, is this defect, that a fine
set of teeth never enters as an item into the catalogue of female
beauty ; and the total neglect of the brush renders such as they
have offensive to the sight of any person of delicacy.

*¢ Almost every private house in Capetown is open for the
accommodation of such strangers as have occasion to take lodg-
ings for any time in the town. This custom supersedes the use
of taverns; but, as it was originally the offspring of poverty
and necessity, it will fall into disuse in proportion as the inhabi-
tants become more opulent. The town may at present be aptly
compared to a large inn on a well-frequented road. The same
incessant routine of arrivals and departures; the same chaotic
medley of characters; and the same insatiable thirst of gain,

Sale of Slaves. 101

and disregard of reputation in the manner of acquiring it, are
characteristic of both.

** T happened, some days ago, to step into one of the Ven-
duties, or public sales, in Capetown, where, among other arti-
cles, I saw three or four slaves set up to sale. This was alto-
‘gether a new sight tome. I could not without pain remark
the anxiety with which those poor creatures regarded the per-
sons who were bidding for them. It seemed as if they wished
to trace the character of their future master in the lineaments of
his countenance, and showed indications of joy or fear, accord-
ing to the opinion they had formed of his disposition.

*¢ Among the terrible reactions produced by the slave trade,
none is perhaps more merited or more evident than the disso-
luteness of morals and ferocity of disposition which it creates
among the people who are concerned it. The cold-blooded cal-
culator of profit and loss, the prime agent in this unhallowed
traffic, feels its influence but in a remote and subordinate de-
gree. It is when we cast a view on those who are placed imme-
diately within the sphere of its action, that we perceive its dete-
riorating effects; their morals, their temper, their air, and their
very features confessing its malignant influence. The softer
sex, more especially, are transformed by it into cruel tyrants.
When you mix in female society, you look in vain for that
cheerful play of features which indicates a sweet disposition ;
in vain you listen for that harmonious tone of voice which is
mellowed by the habit of associating with one’s equals.

‘“* The slaves at the Cape are composed of more various races
than are to be met with in any other part of the world where
the traffic in human flesh is sanctioned. The coast of Guinea,
Mosambique, Madagascar, Malacca, and the islands of the
east, have contributed in their turn to supply the colony ; and
from the intermixture of this heterogeneous group, aided by a
dash of European and Hottentot blood, a mongrel race has
sprung up, which exhibits an astonishing diversity of feature as
well as of disposition. Of all the unadulterated race of slaves,
the Malay bears the most marked character.. He is cunning,
active, and intelligent; but, at the same time, implacably re-
vengeful. If a Malay commits a fault, and is punished for it,

102 Biography of the late Captain Dugald Carmichael.

there the matter terminates; but if be is only threatened, and
fancies the punishment still hanging over him, he will commit
the most atrocious actions to put an end to the misery of sus-
pense. Desperate under the influence of this impression, he
works himself into a state of delirium by swallowing opium ;
then draws his kriss or dagger, and stabs the whole family,
slaves and all. Having glutted his vengeance within doors, he
sallies forth into the street, and, plunging his weapon into every
living creature he meets, whether it be man or beast, he never
ceases until he is shot, or is otherwise disabled from doing far-
ther mischief.

** It is owing, in some measure, perhaps, to the dread of this
savage retribution, that the slaves are treated beyond comparison
better at the Cape than in any other European colony; though
it must be allowed that the very high price at which they are
usually valued, will prove, with most masters, a strong check
on harsh and inhuman treatment. The law does not entrust
the master with the infliction of corporeal punishment ; but di-
rects that the culprit shall be sent to the common trunk or pri-
son, where he receives a certain number of stripes, according to
the nature of his offence. It may readily be supposed, how-
ever, that this law is frequently evaded, even in the town, and
under the very eyes of the magistrates; and in the remote parts
of the country it necessarily goes for nothing ; the distance from
the seat of justice adding to the difficulty and expense of com-
plying with its mandates, in the same ratio that it insures im-
punity in the transgression of them.

‘* Before the British got possession of the colony, slaves con-
victed of capital crimes were sometimes put to the torture, be-
cause an acknowledgment of guilt, either voluntary or compul-
sive, was necessary to authorise the magistrate to pass sentence
of death on the criminal, But this inhuman practice has been
abolished by the British government, and the sentence of death
is executed now without any preliminary cruelties, The place
of execution is at the base of the Lion’s Rump, facing the Am-
sterdam Battery. Three pillars, erected in the form of a trian-
gle, support as many beams placed across them, and from these
beams the criminals are suspended, It was probably to a gal-

Condition of Slaves at the Cape 105

lows of this construction that allusion is made in Schiller’s play
of the Robbers, in which somebody says, ‘ Maurice, beware of

the beast that has got three legs.’ ”
(To be continued.)

Hunting the Cougar, or American Lion; and Deer Hunting.
By Joun James Aupunon, F.R.SS. L. & E. M.W'S., &c *.

1. The Cougar, or American Lion +.

Tuere is an extensive swamp in the section of the state of
Mississippi which lies partly in the Choctaw territory. It com-
mences at the borders of the Mississippi, at no great distance
from a Chicasaw village, situated near the mouth of a creek,
known by the name of Vanconnah, and partly inundated by the
swellings of several large bayous, the principal of which, crossing
the swamp in its whole extent, discharges its waters not far from
the mouth of the Yazoo River. This famous bayou is called
False River. The swamp of which I am speaking follows the
windings of the Yazoo, until the latter branches off to the north
east, and at this point forms the stream named Cold Water
River, below which the Yazoo receives the draining of another
bayou, inclining towards the north-west, and intersecting that
known by the name of False River, at a short distance from the
place where the latter receives the waters of the Mississippi.
This tedious account of the situation of the swamp is given
with the view of pointing it out to all students of nature who
may chance to go that way, and whom I would earnestly urge
to visit its interior, as it abounds in rare and interesting produc-
tions, birds, quadrupeds, and reptiles, as well as moluscous ani-
mals, many of which, I am persuaded, have never been de-
scribed.

In the course of one of my rambles I chanced to meet with
a squatter’s cabin on the banks of the Cold Water River. In

* It having been remarked, and rather sharply, that in our article on
“ Audubon’s Ornithological Biography,” we have overrated that gentleman’s
talents, we, in our own vindication, and as proofs of Audubon’s descriptive
powers, submit to the judgment of our readers the above sketches, taken at
random from his work.

+ Is the Felis concolor of Linnzus; the Felis puma of Trail, in vol. 4th
of Wernerian Memoirs.

104 Mr Audubon on Hunting the Cougar or

the owner of this hut, like most of those adventurous settlers in
the uncultivated tracts of our frontier districts, I found a per-
son well versed in the chase, and acquainted with the habits of
some of the larger species of quadrupeds and birds. As he
who is desirous of instruction ought not to disdain listening to
any one who has knowledge to communicate, however humble
may be his lot, or however limited his talents, I entered the
squatter’s cabin, and immediately opened a conversation with
him respecting the situation of the swamp, and its natural pro-
ductions, He told me he thought it the very place I ought to
visit, spoke of the game which it contained, and pointed to some
bear and deer skins, adding, that the individuals to which they
had belonged formed but a small portion of the number of those
animals which he had shot within it. My heart swelled with de-
light ; and on asking if he would accompany me through the
great morass, and allow me to becomean inmate of his humble but
hospitable mansion, I was gratified to find that he cordially as-
sented to all my proposals. So I immediately unstrapped my
drawing materials, laid up my gun, and sat down to partake of
the homely but wholesome fare of the supper intended for the
squatter, his wife, and his two sons.

The quietness of the evening seemed in perfect accordance
with the gentle demeanour of the family. The wife and chil-
dren, I more than once thought, seemed to look upon me as a
strange sort of person, going about, as I told them I was, in
search of birds and plants; and were I here to relate the many
questions which they put to me in return for those which I ad-
dressed to them, the catalogue would occupy several pages. The
husband, a native of Connecticut, had heard of the existence of
such men as myself, both in our own country and abroad, and
seemed greatly pleased to have me under his roof. Supper
over, I asked my kind host what had induced him to remove
to this wild and solitary spot: ‘ The people are grow-
ing too numerous now to thrive in New England,” was his
answer. I thought of the state of some parts in Europe, and
calculating the denseness of their population compared with that
of New England, exclaimed to myself, “* How much more dif-
ficult must it be for men to thrive in those populous countries!”
The conversation then changed, and the squatter, his sons, and

American Lion, and Deer-Hunting. 105

myself, spoke of hunting and fishing, until at length tired, we
laid ourselves down on pallets of bear skins, and reposed in
peace on the floor of the only apartment of which the hut con-
sisted.

Day dawned, and the squatter’s call to his hogs, which, being
almost in a wild state, were suffered to seek the greater portion
of their food in the woods, awakened me. Being ready dressed,
I was not long in joining him. The hegs and their young came
grunting at the well-known call of their owner, who threw them
a few ears of corn, and counted them, but told me that
for some weeks their number had been greatly diminished
by the ravages committed upon them by a large panther,
by which name the cougar is designated in America, and
that the ravenous animal did not content himself with the
flesh of his pigs, but now and then carried off one of his
calves, notwithstanding the many attempts he had made to shoot
it. The painter, as he sometimes called it, had on several oc-
casions robbed him of a dead deer, and to these exploits the
squatter added several remarkable feats of audacity which it had
performed, to give me an idea of the formidable character of
the beast. Delighted by his description, I offered to assist him
in destroying the enemy, at which he was highly pleased, but
assured me, that unless some of his neighbours should assist us
with their dogs and his own, the attempt would prove fruitless.
Soon after, mounting a horse, he went off to his neighbours,
several of whom lived at a distance of some miles, and appoint-
ed a day of meeting.

The hunters accordingly. made their appearance one fine
morning at the door of the cabin, just as the sun was emerging
from beneath the horizon. They were five in number, and
fully equipped for the chase, being mounted on horses, which
in some parts of Europe might appear sorry nags, but which in
strength, speed, and bottom, are better fitted for pursuing a
cougar or a bear through woods and morasses than any in that
country. <A pack of large ugly curs were already engaged in
making acquaintance with those of the squatter. He and my-
self mounted his two best horses, whilst his sons were bestriding
others of inferior quality. .

Few words were uttered by the party till we had reached the

106 Mr Audubon on Hunting the Cougar or

edge of the swamp, where it was agreed that all should disperse
and seek for the fresh track of the painter, it being previously
settled that the discoverer should blow his horn, and remain on
the spot until the rest should join him. In less than an hour
the sound of the horn was clearly heard, and, sticking close to
the squatter, off we went through the thick woods, guided only
by the now and then repeated call of the distant huntsmen. We
soon reached the spot, and in a short time the rest of the party
came up. The best dog was sent forward to track the cougar,
and in a few moments the whole pack were observed diligently
trailing, and bearing in their course for the interior of the
swamp. ‘The rifles were immediately put in trim, and the party
followed the dogs at separate distances, but in sight of each
other, determined to shoot at no other game than the panther.

The dogs soon began to mouth, and suddenly quickened
their pace. My companion concluded that the beast. was
on the ground, and putting our horses to a gentle gallop,
we followed the curs, guided by their voices. The noise of the
dogs increased, when all of a sudden their mode of barking be-
came altered, and the squatter, urging me to push on, told me
that the beast was treed, by which he meant that it had got
upon some low branch of a large tree to rest for a few moments,
and that should we not succeed in shooting him when thus si-
tuated, we might expect a long chase of it. As we approached
the spot, we all by degrees united into a body, but. on seeing
the dogs at the foot of a large tree, separated again, and gal-
loped off to surround it.

Each hunter now moved with caution, holding his gun ready,
and allowing the bridle to dangle on the neck of his horse, as it
advanced slowly towards the dogs. A shot from one of the
party was heard, on which the cougar was seen to leap to the
ground, and bound off with such velocity as to shew that
he was very unwilling to stand our fire longer. 'The dogs set
off in pursuit with great eagerness, and a deafening cry. The
hunter who had fired ‘came up, and said that his ball had hit
the monster, and had probably broken one of his fore-legs near

.the shoulder, the only place at which he could aim. »A slight
trail of blood was discovered on the ground, but the curs pro-
ceeded at such a rate that we merely noticed this, and put spurs

American Lion, and Deer-Hunting. 107

to our ‘horses, which galloped on towards the centre of the
swamp. One bayou was crossed, then.another still larger and
more muddy; but the dogs were brushing forward, and as the
horses began to pant at a furious rate, we judged it expedient
to leave them and advance on foot. These determined hunters
knew that the cougar being wounded, would shortly ascend
another tree, where in all probability he would remain for a con-
siderable time, and that it would be easy to follow the track of
the dogs. We dismounted, took off the saddles, set the bells
attached to the horses’ necks at liberty to jingle, hoppled the
animals, and left them to shift for themselves.

Now, kind reader, follow the group marching through the
swamp, crossing muddy pools, and making the best of their way
over fallen trees and amongst the tangled rushes that now and
then covered acres of ground. If you are a hunter yourself, all
this will appear nothing to you; but if crowded assemblies of
“‘ beauty and fashion,” or the quiet enjoyments of your “ plea-
sure grounds,” alone delight you, I must mend my pen before
I attempt to give you an idea of the pleasure felt on such an
expedition.

After marching for a couple of hours, we again heard the
dogs. Each of us pressed forward, elated at the thought of ter-
minating the career of the cougar. Some of the dogs were heard
whining, although the greater number barked vehemently. We
felt assured that the cougar was treed, and that he would rest
for some time to recover from his fatigue. As we came up to
the dogs, we discovered the ferocious animal lying across a large
branch, close to the trunk of a cotton-wood tree. His broad
breast lay towards us ; his eyes were at one time bent on us, and
again on the dogs beneath and around him; one of his fore-legs
hung loosely by his side, and he lay crouched with his ears
lowered close to his head, as if he thought that he might remain
undiscovered. Three balls were fired at him, at a given signal,
on which he sprang a few feet from the branch, and tumbled
headlong to the ground. Attacked on all sides by the enraged
curs, the infuriated cougar fought with desperate valour; but
the squatter advancing in front of the party, and almost in the
midst of the dogs, shot him immediately behind and beneath

108 Mr Audubon on Hunting the Cougar or

the left shoulder. ‘The cougar writhed for a moment in agony,
and in another lay dead.

The sun was now sinking in the west. Two of the hunters
separated from the rest, to procure venison, whilst the squatter’s
sons were ordered to make the best of their way home, to be
ready to feed the hogs in the morning. The rest of the party
agreed to camp on the spot. The cougar was despoiled of its
skin, and its carcass left to the hungry dogs. Whilst engaged
in preparing our camp, we heard the report of a gun, and soon
after one of our hunters returned with a small deer. A fire was
lighted, and each hunter displayed his pone of bread, along with
a flask of whisky. The deer was skinned in a trice, and slices
placed on sticks before the fire. These materials afforded us an
excellent meal, and as the night grew darker, stories and songs
went round, until my companions, fatigued, laid themselves
down, close under the smoke of the fire, and soon fell asleep.

I walked for some minutes round the camp, to contemplate
the beauties of that nature, from which I have certainly derived
my greatest pleasures. I thought of the occurrences of the day,
and glancing my eye around, remarked the singular effects pro-
duced by the phosphorescent qualities of the large decayed
trunks which lay in all directions around me. How easy, I
thought, would it be for the confused and agitated mind of a
person bewildered in a swamp like this, to imagine in each of
these luminous masses some wondrous and fearful bemg, the
very sight of which might make the hair stand erect on his head.
The thought of being myself placed in such a predicament,
burst over my mind, and I hastened to join my companions, be-
side whom I laid me down and slept, assured that no enemy
could approach us without first rousing the dogs, which were
growling in fierce dispute over the remains of the cougar.

At day-break we left our camp, the squatter bearing on his
shoulder the skin of the late destroyer of his stock, and retraced
our steps until we found our horses, which had not strayed far
from the place where we had left them. ‘These we soon saddled,
and jogging along, in a direct course, guided by the sun, con-
gratulating each other on the destruction of so formidable a
neighbour as the panther had been, we soon arrived at my host’s
cabin. The five neighbours partook of such refreshment as the

American Lion, and Deer-Hunting. 109

house could afford, and dispersing, returned to their houses,
me to follow my favourite pursuits.

spe 2. Deer-Hunting.

The different modes of destroying deer are probably too well
understood, and too successfully practised in the United States;
for, notwithstanding the almost incredible number of these beau-
tiful animals in our forests and prairies, such havoc is carried
on amongst them, that, in a few centuries, they will probably
be as scarce in America, as the great bustard now is in Britain.

We have three modes of hunting deer, each varying in some
slight degree, in the different states and districts. The first is
termed still-hunting, and is by far the most destructive. The
second is called fire-light hunting, and is next in its exterminat-
ing effects. The third, which may be looked upon as a mere
amusement, is named driving. Although many deer are de-
stroyed by this latter method, it is not by any means so per-
nicious as the others. These methods I shall describe sepa-
rately.

Sull-hunting is followed as a kind of trade by most of our
frontier men. To be practised with success, it requires great
activity, an expert management of the rifle, and a thorough
knowledge of the forest, together with an intimate acquaintance
with the habits of the deer, not only at different seasons of the
year, but also at every hour of the day, as the hunter must be
aware of the situation which the game prefers, and in which it
is most likely to be found at any particular time. I might here
present you with a full account of the habits of our deer, were
it not my intention to lay before you, at some future period, in
the form of a distinct work, the observations which I have made
on the various quadrupeds of our extensive territories.

Illustrations of any kind require to be presented in the best
possible light. We shall therefore suppose that we are now
about to follow the true hunter, as the still-hunter is also called,
through the interior of the tangled woods, across morasses, ra-
vines, and such places where the game may prove more or less
plentiful, even should none be found there in the first instance.
We shall allow our hunter all the agility, patience, and care,

110 Mr Audubon on hunting the Cougar or

which his occupation requires, and will march in his rear, as if
we were spies, watching all his motions,

His dress, you observe, consists of a leather hunting-shirt,
and a pair of trowsers of the same material. His feet are well
moccassined ; he wears a belt round his waist ; his heavy rifle
is resting on his brawny shoulder; on one side hangs his ball-
pouch, surmounted by the horn of an ancient buffalo, once the
terror of the herd, but now containing a pound of the best gun-
powder ; his butcher-knife is scabbarded in the same strap; and
behind is a tomahawk, the handle of which has been thrust
through his girdle. He walks with so rapid a step that, proba-
bly, few men besides ourselves, that is myself and my kind
reader, could follow him, unless for a short distance, in their
anxiety to witness his ruthless deeds. He stops, looks at the
flint of his: gun, its priming, and the leather cover of the lock,
then glances his eye towards the sky, to judge of the course
most likely to lead him to the game.

The heavens are clear, the red glare of the morning sun
gleams through the lower branches of the lofty trees, the dew
hangs in pearly drops at the tip of every leaf. Already has
the emerald hue of the foliage been converted into the more
glowing tints of our autumnal months. A slight frost appears
on the fence-rails of his little corn-fields. As he proceeds he
looks to the dead foliage under his feet, in search of the well
known traces of a buck’s hoof. Now he bends toward the
* ground, on which something has attracted his attention. See !
he alters his course, increases his speed, and will soon reach the
opposite hill. Now, he moves with caution, stops at almost
every tree, and peeps forward, as if already within shooting dis-
tance of the game. He advances again, but how very slowly !
He has reached the declivity upon which the sun shines in all
its growing splendour ;—but mark him ! he takes the gun from
his shoulder, has already thrown aside the leathern cover of the
lock, and is wiping the edge of his flint with his tongue. Now
he stands like a monumental figure, perhaps measuring the dis-
tance that lies between him and the game which he has in view.
His rifle is slowly raised, the report follows, and he runs. Let
us run also. Shall I speak to him, and ask him the result of
his first essay? Assuredly, reader, for I know him well.

4

American Lion, and Deer Hunting. 111

“« Pray, friend, what have you killed?” for to say, ‘“ what
have you shot at?” might imply the possibility of his having
missed, and so might hurt his feelings. ** Nothing but a buck.”
‘¢ And*where is it?” ‘Oh! it has taken a jump or so, but I
settled ity and will soon be with it. My ball struck, and must
have gone through his heart.” We arrive at the spot where
the animal had laid itself down among the grass in a thicket of
grape-vines, sumachs, and spruce bushes, where it intended to
repose during the middle of the day. The place is covered
with blood, the hoofs of the deer have left deep prints in the
ground, as it bounced in the agonies produced by its wound ;
but the blood that has gushed from its side discloses the
course which it has taken. We soon reach the spot. There
lies the buck, its tongue out, its eye dim, its breath exhausted
—it is dead. The hunter draws his knife, cuts the buck’s
throat almost asunder, and prepares to skin it. For this pur-

pose he hangs it upon the branch of a tree. When the skin is

removed he cuts off the hams, and, abandoning the rest of the
carcass to the wolves and vultures, reloads his gun, flings the
venison, enclosed by the skin, upon his back, secures it with a
strap, and walks off in search of more game, well knowing
that, in the immediate neighbourhood, another at least is to be
found.

Had the weather been warmer, the hunter would have sought
for the buck along the shadowy side of the hills. Had it been
the spring season, he would have led us through some thick cane
brake, to the margin of some remote lake, where you would
have seen the deer immersed to his head in the water, to save
his body from the tormenting attacks of moschettoes. Had
winter overspread the earth with a covering of snow, he would
have searched the low damp woods, where the mosses and lichens,
on which at that period the deer feeds, abound, the trees being
generally crusted with them for several feet from the ground.
At one time, he might have marked the places where the deer
clears the velvet from his horns by rubbing them against the low
stems of bushes, and where he frequently scrapes the earth with
his fore hoofs; at another, he would have betaken himself to
places where persimons and crab apples abound, as beneath these
trees it frequently stops to munch their fruits. During early

112 Mr Audubon on hunting the Cougar or

spring our hunter would imitate the bleating of the doe, and
thus frequently obtain both ber and the fawn; or, like some
tribes of Indians, he would prepare a deer’s head, placed on a
stick, and creeping with it amongst the tall grass of the prairies,
would decoy the deer within reach of his mifle. But kind reader,
you have seen enough of the still-hunter. Let it suffice for me
to add, that by the mode pursued by him, thousands of deer are
annually killed, many individuals shooting these animals merely
for the skin, not caring for even the most valuable portions of
the flesh, unless hunger, or a near market, induce them to carry
off the hams.

The mode of destroying deer by fire light, or, as it is named
in some parts of the country, forest light, never fails to produce
a very singular feeling in him who witnesses it for the first time.
There is something in it which at times appears awfully grand.
At other times, a certain degree of fear creeps over the mind,
and even affects the physical powers of him who follows the
hunter through the thick under-growth of our woods, having to
leap his horse over hundreds of huge fallen trunks ; at one time
impeded by a straggling grape-vine crossing his path, at another
squeezed between two stubborn saplings, whilst their twigs come
smack in his face, as his companion has forced his way through
them. Again, he every now and then runs the risk of breaking
his neck, by being suddenly pitched headlong on the ground,
as his horse sinks into a hole covered over with moss. But I
must proceed in a more regular manner, and leave you, kind
reader, to judge whether such a mode of hunting would suit
your taste or not.

The hunter has returned to his camp or his house, has rested
and eaten of his game. He waits impatiently for the return of
night. He has procured a quantity of pine knots, filled with
resinous matter, and has an old frying-pan, that, for aught I
know to the contrary, may have been used by his great grand-
mother, in which the pine knots are to be placed when lighted.
The horses stand saddled at the door. The hunter comes forth,
his rifle slung on his shoulder, and springs upon one of them,
while his son, or a servant, mounts the other, with the frying-
pan and the pine knots. Thus accoutred, they proceed towards
the interior of the forest. When they have arrived at the spot

1

American Lion, and Deer-Hunting. 113

where the hunt is to begin, they strike fire with a flint and steel,
and kindle the resinous wood. ‘The person who carries the fire
moves in the direction judged to be the best. The blaze illu-
minates the near objects, but the distant parts seem involved in
deepest obscurity. The hunter who bears the gun keeps imme-
diately in front, and after a while discovers before him two feeble
lights, which are produced by the reflection of the pine fire from
the eyes of an animal of the deer or wolf kind. The animal
stands quite still. ‘Toone unacquainted with this strange mode
of hunting, the glare from its eyes might bring to his imagina-
tion some lost hobgoblin that had strayed from its usual haunts.
The hunter, however, nowise intimidated, approaches the object,
sometimes so near as to discern its form, when, raising the rifle
to his shoulder, he fires and kills it on the spot. He then dis-
mounts, secures the skin, and such portions of the flesh as he
may want, in the manner already described, and continues his
search through the greater part of the night, sometimes until the
dawn of day, shooting from five to ten deer, should these ani-
mais be plentiful. This kind of hunting proves fatal, not to the
deer alone, but also sometimes to wolves, and now and then to a
horse or a cow which may have straggled far into the woods.

Now, kind reader, prepare to mount a generous full blood
Virginian hunter. See that your gun is in complete order, for,
hark to the sound of the bugle and horn, and the mingled cla-
mour of a pack of harriers! Your friends are waiting you un-
der the shade of the wood, and we must together go driving the
light-footed deer. The distance over which one has to travel
is seldom felt, when pleasure is anticipated as the result; so,
galloping we go pell-mell through the woods to some well-known
place, where many a fine buck has drooped its antlers under the
ball of the hunter’s rifle. The servants, who are called the dri-
vers, have already begun their search. Their voices are heard
exciting the hounds, and unless we put spurs to our steeds, we
may be too late at our stand, and thus lose the first opportu-
nity of shooting the fleeting game as it passes by. Hark again !
The dogs are in chase, the horn sounds louder and more ‘clearly.
Hurry, hurry on, or we shall be sadly behind.

Here we are at last ! Dismount, fasten your horse to this tree,
place yourself by the side of that large yellow poplar, and

APRIL—JUNE 1831. H

114 Mr Audubon on Hunting the Cougar or

mind you do not shoot me! The deer is fast approaching ; I
will to my own stand, and he who shoots him dead wins the
prize.

The deer is heard coming. It has imadvertently cracked a
dead stick with its hoof, and the dogs are now so near it that it
will pass ina moment. There it comes! How beautifully it
bounds over the ground !_ What a splendid head of horns ! How
easy its attitudes, depending, as it seems to do, on its own swift-
ness for safety! All is in vain, however, a gun is fired, the ani-
mal plunges and doubles with incomparable speed. There he
goes! He passes another stand, from which a second shot, better
directed than the first, brings him to the ground. The dogs,
the servants, the sportsmen, are now rushing forward to the
spot. The hunter who has shet it is congratulated on his skill
or good luck, and the chase begins again in some other part of
the woods.

A few lines of explanation may be requ'red to convey a clear
idea of this mode of hunting. Deer are fond of following and
retracing the paths which they have formerly pursued, and con-
tinue to do so even after they have been shot at more than once.
These tracts are discovered by persons on horseback in the woods,
or a deer is observed crossing a road, a field, or a small stream.
When this has been noticed twice, the deer may be shot from
the places called stands, by the sportsman who is stationed there,
and waits for it, a line of stands being generally formed so as to
cross the path which the game will follow. The person who
ascertains the usual pass of the game, or discovers the parts
where the animal feeds or lies down during the day, gives inti-
mation to his friends, who then prepare for the chase. The
servants start the deer with the hounds, and, by good manage-
ment, generally succeed in making it run the course that will
soonest bring it to its death. But, should the deer be cautious,
and take another course, the hunters, mounted on swift horses,
gallop through the woods to intercept it, guided by the sound of
the horns and the cry of the dogs, and frequently succeed in
shooting it. This sport is extremely agreeable, and proves
successful on almost every occasion.

Hoping that this account will be sufficient to induce you,
kind reader, to go driving in our western and southern woods,

American Lion, and Deer-Hunting. 115

I now conclude my chapter on deer-hunting, by informing you,
that the species referred to above, is the Virginian deer, Cervus
Virginianus; and that, until I be able to present you with a full
account of its habits and history, you may consult, for informa-
tion respecting it, the excellent Fauna Americana of my es-

teemed friend Dr Harlan of Philadelphia.

Analysis of the Compact Ferruginous Marl of Salisbury Craigs,
and the Limestone of Red Burn, near to Seafield Tower,
Fifeshire. By Witiiam Grecory, M.D.

Ll. Compact Feruginous Marl of Salisbury Craigs.

Silica, - = - = 14.52
Alumina, - - - - 9:42
Peroxide of Iron, - - 10.23
Oxide of Manganese, - - 1.54
Carbonate of Lime, - - 50.46
Carbonate of Magnesia, - 2.20
Water, . - . - _ 10.34

98.71

Owing to the quantity of water present, which is perhaps
only mechanically combined, the mineral decrepitates violently
in the fire.

2. Magnesian Limestone of Red Burn, near to Seafield Tower, coast

of Fife.
Carbonate of Lime, = awrursOcges
Carbonate of Magnesia, - 24.16
Alumina, - = - = 2.05
Oxide of Iron, = = — 1.47
Oxide of Manganese, - - 0.80
Carbonaceous Matter, - - 0.75
Silica, - « - - - A trace.

97.96
This limestone, which is of a grey colour and granular folia-
ted, occurs in contact with greenstone. Geologists conjecture it
may have derived its granular structure and magnesian contents
from the Plutonian trap-rock.
H2

( 116 )

Account of a Human Body, in a singular Costume, found in a
high state of preservation in a Bog on the Lands of Gallagk,
in the County of Galway. By Georcr Perrier, Esq.

Iw the summer of 1821, as stated in the Dublin Journal
of Science, the body of a man was found in a bog on the
lands of Galagh, now Newton-Bellew, the seat of C. D. Bel-
lew, Esq. in the county of Galway. The bog was about ten
feet and a half deep, and the body lay about nine feet below its
surface. It had all the appearance of recent death when first
discovered, excepting that the abdomen was quite collapsed, but
on exposure to the atmosphere it decayed rapidly. The face
was that of a young man of handsome features and foreign as-
pect, and his hair, which was long and black, hung loosely over
his shoulders. The head, legs, and feet, were without cover-
ing, but the body was clothed in a tight dress, covering also the
limbs as far as the knees and elbows. This dress was composed
of the skin’ of some animal, laced in front with thongs of the
same material, and having the hairy side inwards; and it is
not improbable that it might have been that of the Moose-deer.
He had no weapon; but near him, at each side of the body,
was found a long staff or pole, which it was supposed he had
used for the purpose of bounding over streams; and as the
body was found near a rivulet, it was further conjectured by
the peasantry, that the man had met his death accidentally in
some such manner.

The antiseptic power of bogs is well known, and the fre-
quent discovery of human bodies in a high state of preservation,
in those of Ireland, has been already recorded. (See Gough’s
edition of Camden’s Britannia.) The finding of this body would
not therefore deserye particular notice, nor would it probably
have excited much attention at the time, but for the singularity
of the costume. And this notice is the more necessary, as the
dress no longer exists, having been buried with the body—
an instance of ignorance and barbarism that could hardly have
occurred out of Ireland, and of which we may well feel
ashamed. _

The antiquity of these remains is shewn by the great depth
of bog under which they lay ; but as the growth of bog must

Account of a Human Body found in a Beg in Ireland. W7

depend on various circumstances, as situation, humidity, soil,
&e., that fact alone can give us no certain criterion of their
age. On this poirit, perhaps, the rude dress in which the body
was clothed, is likely to afford more satisfactory ground for con-
jecture.

That it belonged to a period antecedent to the arrival of the
English, may be concluded from the evidence of Gerald Barry,
who says, the Irish were but lightly clad in woollen garments,
barbarously shaped, and fer the most part black, because the
sheep of the country were usually of that colour: and from the
spirit of that author’s work, we have little reason to suppose,
that if any portion of the Irish in his time had been clothed
in skins in his time, he would have failed to notice it.

If we credit the early annals of our native Whiters, we would
believe that among the Irish, so far back as the reign of 7%-
ghernmas, in the year of the world 2815, the various ranks of
persons, from the king to the peasant, were distinguished by
the number of colours striped in their garments ; and so barren
are our ancient chronicles of any notice of skins being used for
dress, that Mr Walker (the ingenious author of an Essay on the
Dress of the Irish), expresses his belief, that the art of manu-
facturing woollen garments, and the fashions into which they
were shaped, were brought into this country by the Milesian
colony. Few, however, will give implicit credit to these autho-
rities; and we may well doubt the truth of accounts that make
the Inish so much more civilized than the Gauls and Belgic Bri-
tons, even at a later period. From Tacitus, it appears, that
the Germans, and from Cesar and Diodorus that the Belge,
wore the skins of some beast; the Braces, or party-coloured
woollen garments, being apparently confined to the higher or-
ders. In these customs, we may suppose the Belgic inhabitants
of Ireland, called Fir-bolg, agreed ; and it was in a district un-
questionably inhabited by that colony, that the body here no-
ticed was found (see O‘Flaherty’s Ogygia). But we must not
conclude that such a luxury was common to all the British and
Irish. We are told by Dion Cassius, and Herodian, that the
inhabitants of the northern parts of Britain went entirely naked ;
and it appears from numerous ancient monuments still existing,
that the Celtic tribes of the Irish for many centuries later were

118 Account ofa Human Body found in a Bog in Ireland.

dressed as Gildas describes the Scots and Caledonians in the
sixth century, that is, simply with a covering or Celé round their
middle, and occasionally a mantle across their shoulders. And
it is an interesting and important fact, not hitherto noticed, that
the names by which these two grand races in Ireland, the Celtz
and Belge, were known, were also used to designate the charac-
teristic articles of dress by which they were distinguished. Thus
Celt means a small petticoat, and Fir-bolg (literally a breeched
or bagged man) signified breeches (see O*Clery’s old vocabulary
MS.).

The skin dress of the Gauls and Britons called Sac, from
whence the Sagwm of the Romans is derived by Varro, is ge-
nerally thought to have been worn originally as a mantle, and
that the name was retained in after times to designate the wool-
len garment of the same form. But the dress on the body here
described gives reason to believe that supposition erroneous, and
that the Sac vriginally was a close dress, somewhat resembling
a bag, in which sense the word was used in the Hebrew and
Greek, and is still retained not only in all the Teutonic lan-
guages, but also in the Welsh and Irish. Perhaps in its origi-
nal signification it simply meant racan or skin.

This subject would admit of much illustration ; but it must
suffice to remark, that the long staffs found with this body will
remind the reader of the description of the Silures as given by
Tacitus, and the flowing hair with which the head was adorned
of the usage of the Swevi and other Gothic tribes, as noticed by
the same writer. The custom of wearing the hair long, in des-
pite of penal statutes, continued almost to our own times, in
some of the western parts of Treland.

On the present Erroneous and Expensive Systems of Life
Assurance. By Mr W. Fraser, Edinburgh.

Wars the great utility ot Life Assurance has now become
very generally known, and begun to be duly appreciated by all
classes of the community, the late Parliamentary investigations
regarding Friendly Societies, and the Government Annuitants,
have produced a great improvement in the details of the science.

On the present Systems of Life Assurance. 119

Most of the uncertainty and difficulty by which it has hitherto
been supposed to be attended have been cleared away, and Life
Assurance transactions may now be calculated and managed
with nearly the same accuracy and simplicity as those of any
common mercantile concern.

The case was very different in the earlier periods of Life As.
surance. Its principles were but very imperfectly understood :
and from this cause, as well as from the defective tables of mor-
tality in use, several institutions were founded upon very erro-
neous calculations, and have been since carried on upon any thing
but equitable or scientific principles, and others more recently
established have, with slight modifications, followed the same
plan. By all of these the premiums required for sums payable
at death are uniformly much higher than necessary. In proprie-
tory companies, the excess of funds thus occasioned is a complete
loss to the assured, as the proprietors appropriate it exclusively to
themselves; while in mutual guarantee associations, there arise
much trouble and expense, and a great inequality in the adjust-
ment, from the necessity of periodically apportioning to each in-
dividual a share of the large aggregate surpluses.

Two reasons are usually assigned for still exacting such ex-
cessive premiums. The proprietory companies allege, that, as
they guarantee the assured in payment of their policies by a large
subscribed capital, and for a long period after outset run a
great risk of loss, so, on the other hand, they are entitled to be
recompensed by the assured for such obligations. 'The mutual
guarantee associations, again, acknowledge that their premiums
are too high, but assert that this signifies little to the members,
or rather is beneficial to all concerned, because, while the insti-
tution is thereby rendered more secure, the accumulated sur-
plus is periodically added, under the name of bonuses, to the
policies of the subscribers.

Both of these reasons, however, are quite fallacious. The
risk at first is next to nothing. The chances are only about
100 to 1 against an ordinary life of thirty years of age failing
in one year ; 100 times 100, or 10,000 to 1, against two named
livesof that age both failing within the year; and100 times 10,000,
or a million to 1 against three of that age dying in the year.
But if among ordinary lives the chances are so small, as every

120 Mr W. Fraser on the present Erroneous and

institution begins with select lives the odds are still greater
against rapid mortality during the first few years of an establish-
ment. The celebrated Dr Price long ago stated, “ that it is not
to be expected that any Society can meet with difficulties in its
infancy ;” and experience has since amply demonstrated, that of
all undertakings, a Life Assurance association, from the pre-
miums being paid in advance, and from there being no risk of
bad debts, has the least occasion for capital at the commence-
ment; and, in proof of this, it may be affirmed, that no in-
stance can be given of any such institution, under proper man-
agement, ever requiring any part of a subscribed capital to make
good the policies of the assured.

For Mutual Assurance associations, the only preliminary pre-
cautions are, that the lives be select, and that the extent of the
individual risks at first be proportioned to the number and ages
of the members, so that their collective annual premiums may
of themselves, in one or two years at most, form a sufficient fund
for meeting every probable demand. With regard to the re-
quisite premiums, it is certainly proper that these should be al-
ways made such as fully to cover the risks assured, and to de-
fray the expenses of management ; but it is difficult to conceive
why they should be 40 or 50 per cent. more than necessary.
The value of the prospective claims against Life Assurance
Companies may now be calculated with very great accuracy (as
even the periodical computation of a surplus necessarily im-
plies) ; and hence there is no necessity for taxing the members
to accumulate a large surplus fund, merely for the purpose of
being again divided and distributed among them under the name
of bonuses.

Besides, the bonus system is any thing but a just or equita-
ble one. The surpluses have chiefly arisen from fewer deaths
occurring among the members of the middle and younger ages
than were calculated to happen by the mortality tables hitherto
in use, as in the more advanced ages these tables are pretty
nearly correct, and, consequently, little or no surplus then arises
from the contributions of the older members. Such being the
case, the latter should then also cease to derive any additional
benefit from a subsequent extra accumulation of capital ; where-
as the practice is for all, after a certain period of contribution,

Expensive Systems of Life Assurance. 121

to participate alike, in proportion to the sums assured, but with-
out any regard to their ages. Hence it follows, that the first or
youngest class of entrants secure to themselves all the benefit of
their own surpluses ; but while the excess from their premiums
must always centinue to decrease, and, after a certain age, cease
altogether, still they continue to participate in the surpluses of
every succeeding class of members. Thus the first class gain at
the expense of the second ; the first and second at the expense
of the third ; the first, second, and third, at that of the fourth,
and so on—the surpluses accruing to the last or youngest class
of entrants being always diminished in proportion to the num-
ber and ages of those who had entered before them. Young
and good lives, therefore, can have no inducement to enter such
a society.

It is usual for institutions of this kind to refer the public to
the large sums of bonuses which have been added to the policies
of the original members ; but it will be perceived that it by no
means follows that similar additions will continue to be made to
the policies of all futuremembers. So long as institutions upon
this principle can obtain an increasing number of young entrants,
the surpluses may at one or two successive investigations appear
to he of the same or perhaps even of an increased amount; but
should the number become stationary or decrease, or the ages of
the entrants be higher, while the ages, and consequently the
mortality, of the existing members increase, the surpluses would
soon begin to diminish, and ultimately cease altogether. It will
then be found by all but the first and second class of entrants,
that the additions to their pelicies will by no means be a recom-
pense for the heavy extra premiums to which they are subjected
through life.

But there is still another strong objection to the usual mode of
dividing the surpluses. To the sum specified in the policies, at
whatever time the death nay happen, the representatives of the
assured are justly entitled, because that is the nature and object of
the contract ; and the aggregate premiums of the long and the
short lived, should, if properly calculated, be made fully adequate
to the policies of both classes in the long run. But the right to
participate in a surplus fund depends on a very different prin-
ciple. Whether the excess of capital arise from a low rate of

122 Mr W. Fraser on the present Erroneous and

mortality, from profitable investments of capital, or from for-
feitures, it is obvious that no part of such surplus can in equity
belong to any member till such time as his premiums, with the
accumulation of interest, exceed the sum to be paid at his death.
All those who die previous to this period evidently create a loss
to those who live beyond it ; and as it isfrom the contributions
of the latter class that a surplus has actually arisen, it is only
but fair that they should have the benefit of it, instead of shar-
ing it with the representatives of those who may have died be-
fore paying perhaps one-fourth of the specific sums assured by
their policies.

In short, it is now universally admitted, that the awkward and
expensive system of superfluous exaction and subsequent increase
of policies is highly objectionable, and wholly unnecessary in the
present improyed state of the science of Life Assurance. ‘ My
view in all cases is,” said the very eminent mathematician Mr
Babbage, in his evidence before a Select Committee of the House
of Commons, ‘‘ let us get as nearly as we can the law of morta-
lity of the class for which we want to calculate, and add to the
prices computed from it some proportional part, sufficient to in-
sure the safety of the establishment which uses them. I strong-
ly object to using tables giving a greater mortality than is ex-
pected to take place, a course which has sometimes been defend-
ed on the ground of safety to the establishment. Safety is much
riore certainly secured by judging as nearly as possible the true
risk, and adding an additional sum for security. If tables not
representing the mortality of the class for whom they are de-
signed are employed, every step in the reasonings which are de-
duced from them is liable to increased error ; and if the calcu-
lations are at all complicated, the errors so introduced may not
improbably act on the opposite side to that which they were in-
troduced to favour.”

The primary object of every class of life assurers should be
to ascertain—from the most accurate tables of mortality, and
from the best authorities as to the probable rate of interest that
will be obtained for capital—the lowest premiums at which any
specified benefit at death can be safely secured, at the same time
adding a sufficient sum to the premium for safety and manage-~
ment, As the Northampton Table of mortality is now univer-

Expensive Systems of Life Assurance. 123

sally acknowledged to be unfit for the purposes of Life Assur-
ance, the Government Annuity Tables may be safely taken asa
guide, these having been very recently constructed, with the ut-
most care, and from the best data. Besides, as they have been
deduced from the rate of mortality found to prevail for a long
period among the State Annuitants, they will represent the mor-
tality likely to occur among a select class of Life Assurers more
accurately than any tables calculated from that of the communi-
ty at large. These tables, too, must very speedily become the
standard for all calculations connected with life contingencies in
Britain; and should it be alleged that they represent human
life as of too short duration, they must still on that account be
held the safer for Life Assurance.

The two Tables of Premiums annexed have been calculated
by an eminent actuary from the Government Annuity Tables,
10 per cent. having been added to the one for males, and 15 to
that for females, as an additional guarantee, and for defraying
the expenses of management. ‘These tables we would with per-
fect confidence recommend to any new Life Assurance associa-
tion, to be conducted with ordinary prudence and economy; but
this being the lowest rate of premium, consistent with security
to the assured, the public should by no means be led to expect
large returns in the shape of bonuses ; while at the same time,
should a surplus capital eventually arise, as there may be reason
to expect, from the addition which has been made to the requi-
site premiums, it should be apportioned periodically among the
members on whose contributions it has arisen,—and among them
alone. In this way no entrant would be told, that his represen-
tatives would in the first place be entitled to a certain sum should
he die before the first period of investigation subsequent to his
entry, and, in all probability, to an additional sum should he
survive to another period, and to a still farther sum should
he live to a third period, &c., while it is impossible to specify
the amount of such additions, as they are, in truth, extremely
contingent, and very distant at the best. But every one would
here at once be told the utmost sum which he could reasonably
expect for his premium, whether he died sooner or later; at
the same time, should he live long, and a surplus be found to

have actually arisen from his premiums and those of others of

124 Mr W. Fraser on the present Erroneous and

the same standing, there would be no chance of its being in a
great measure carried off on account of those who died early.
Stull farther to prevent individual loss, should any one, after be-
ing some time a member, find it inconvenient to pay the full
amount of his original premiums, or even to remain at all in the
institution, either the sum assured should be reduced, so as to
admit of a corresponding reduction in his annual payments, or
his interest in the capital at the time should be ascertained, and
a due proportion of it returned to him, in the case of his with-
drawing altogether from the society.

To whatever extent the premiums are found to be less in the
subjoined Tables than in those of the present institutions, the dif-
ference may be said to be just so much saved to the assured, and
upon premiums for large sums, it would afford at once a consi-
derable addition to the policies. The difference upon the pre-
miums of Females in particular will be found to be no trifle, from
the greater longevity known to prevail among them than among
males—a fact which has been long ascertained, but which has
been very seldom taken into view in calculations for Life Assu-
rance.

It needs only farther be noticed, that in commencing a
Life Assurance Society, a large number of members, or high
individual assurances, are by no means indispensable. A limit-
ed number, for sums from L. 100 to L. 500, should be only
expected in the first instance, and whose premiums might be
made payable either annually, half-yearly, or quarterly. Both
of these would without doubt be very speedily increased ; but
in such an institution, as indeed in any other concern, it is safer
to proceed upon a small scale at first, and advance gradually,
than to undertake high individual risks before a sufficient num-
ber of policies be issued to cover them.

The following Tables shew the value, both in single payments
and in yearly premiums paid in advance, of L. 109 to be re-
ceived six months after the death of a male and also of a female;
according to the Government ‘Tables, interest 4 per cent. ; in-
cluding the per-centage before mentioned for charges, and addi-
tional security to the assured.

Expensive Systems of Life Assurance. 125

TABLE I.—Shewing the Single and Annual Premiums for £100
at Death.

Single
Payment.

40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48

bo

eS arnriodrnwnnrndonnN © & @

Cwm Mm ROW BD OeH WO De ON OC

5
0
2
1
9
1
0
6
5
2
7
9
8
0

oODmDa a kr WO NO — OS
argon oOo

La)
—
oOo So
—
a)

BHRASIPLEL

A Male aged 30, may secure L.100, payable six months after his
death, whenever it may happen, either by a single payment of L. 36, 4s.,
or by an annual premium during life of L. 2:1: 6.

126 Mr W. Fraser on the present Erroneous and

TABLE I1—Shewing the Single and Annual Premiums for £100

at Death.
FEMALES.

Ace. | HL: oes Hees at maar popoeat. a

$8. dosh. > ight S12. tle 4 cae
18 | 2710 3|1 7 10 40 | 39 2 4 5. os
19 | 2717 8]1 8 4 41 | 3916 9|2 611
20 |28 5 O|1 810 | 42 | 401110 /2 8 8
21 | 2813 0|1 9 4]| 48 | 41 76/29 9
22 |29 1 2/3 911 44 | 42 9/211 8
23 | 29 9 9/110 6 || 45 | 48 010/212 11
24 2918 9/111 2|| 46 43 18 214 8
9% | 30 9 O| 1.11 9 || 47 | 4417 216 7
2% | 3017 81112 6] 48 | 4517 £ | 218
27 | 31 7 9/118 2] 49 | 4617 6/3 ON
28 | 3118 0/114 0| 50 | 471810 ]/38 3 8
299 |32 8 7/114 9] 51 | 49 1 5/8 510
30 | 3219 51/115 7 || 52 | 50 410/83 8 8
31 eS pa oe 51 9 2/811 8
92 | 34 2 51117 S| 54 } 5214 41314 10
338 | 3414 2/118 8] 55 | 54 0 £1818 4
$4 | 35 6 21/119 2] 56 | 55 6 2@|4 2 O
35 | 3518 4|2 0 2] 57 15612 9|4 510
36 | 3610 4/2 1 2] 58 | 571910 |410 O
37 1.37 2 8/2 2 2) 59 |59 7 838|4M 5
38 | 3715 4/2 8 8] 60 | 60 15 419 2
Re Re Pe es

EXAMPLE.
A Female aged 30, may secure L. 100, payable six months after her
death, whenever it may happen, either by a single payment of L. 32,
19s. dd., or by an annual premium during life of L. 1:15: 7.

Expensive Systems of Life Assurance. 127

It has been considered unnecessary to enter at present into
any detail regarding the late investigations into the law of mor-
tality in this country, or the rate of interest most likely to be
obtained for money. These subjects were formerly fully con-
sidered in the Numbers of this Journal for January and April
1828, and the views therein given have been since completely
confirmed, both by two legislative enactments regarding Friendly
Societies and the Government Annuitants, and by the institu-
tion of several Friendly Societies, under high patronage, upon
the principles recommended in the series of papers of which the
above two Numbers formed a part. To these papers, and to
the rules of these Societies *, we would therefore refer for such
an elementary or practical knowledge of the science of Health
and Life Assurance, as will enable any one to judge how far
the foregoing brief remarks and tables may be relied on, and
how far the public should continue to credit the contradictory
and fallacious statements in excuse for high premiums, contained
in the innumerable advertisements and reports of the present
Life Assurance Companies.

[ We understand that a number of individuals, to whom this article
has been shewn in proof-sheet, have already resolved to form
themselves immediately into an association for Mutual Life
Assurance. The tables of premiums here given are to be adopt-
ed, and the Society is to be conducted upon the most econo-
mical and popular plan. From the practical knowledge which
some of these individuals have already acquired in the forma-
tion and management of several properly constituted Friendly
Societies, we are inclined to augur very favourably of the suc-
cess of the Scottish Economic Life Assurance Society ; and,
the better to secure the confidence of the public, we would
strongly recommend that every facility should be given to the
members in general, for understanding the pecuniary and other
details of management. Much dissatisfaction and misconcep-
tion have long existed, owing to the closeness with which Life
Assurance matters have been hitherto managed ; but this is
now obviated in regard to Friendly Societies, by the statute
making it imperative upon them to publish periodical state-
ments of their pecuniary transactions, and we certainly do think
that similar publicity would be equally beneficial and satisfac-
tory to the higher classes of Life Assurers. ]

* Among other Societies here alluded to, may be mentioned the Edinburgh
Compositors’ Society, and the Edinburgh School of Arts Society,—the Rules
and Tables of the former may be safely taken as a guide for Societies of a li-
mited number of members, and those of the latter for Societies on a large scale.

1

( 128 )

Improvements in the Navigation of the Mississippi. By
J. J. Aupuson, Esq., F.R.SS. & E., &ec.

T ave so frequently spoken of the Mississippi, that an ac-
count of the progress of navigation on that extraordinary stream
may be interesting even to the student of nature. I shall com-
mence with the year 1808, at which time a great portion of the
western country and the banks of the Mississippi river, from
above the city of Natchez particularly, were little more than a
waste, or, to use words better suited to my feelings, remained
in their natural state. To ascend the great stream against a
powerful current, rendered still stronger wherever islands oc-
curred, together with the thousands of sand banks, as liable to
changes and shiftings as the alluvial shores themselves, which
at every deep curve or bend were seen giving way, as if crushed
down by the weight of the great forests that every where
reached to the very edge of the water, and falling and sinking
in the muddy stream, by acres at a time, was an adventure of
no small difficulty and risk, and which was rendered more so
by the innumerable logs, called sawyers and planters, that
every where raised their heads above the water, as if bidding
defiance to all intruders. Few white inhabitants had yet
marched towards its shores, and these few were of a class little
able to assist the navigator. Here and there a solitary encamp-
ment of native Indians might be seen; but its inmates were as
likely to become foes as friends, having from their birth been
made keenly sensible of the encroachment of white men upon
their lands.

Such was then the nature of the Mississippi and its shores.
That river was navigated principally in the direction of the
current, in small canoes, pirogues, keel-boats, some flat-boats,
and a few barges. The canoes and pirogues being generally
laden with furs from the different heads of streams that feed the
great river, were of little worth after reaching the market of
New Orleans, and seldom reascended, the owners making their
way home through the woods amidst innumerable difficulties.
The flat-boats were demolished, and used as fire wood. The
keel-boats and barges were employed in conveying produce of
different kinds besides furs, such as lead, flour, pork, and other
articles. These returned laden with sugar, coffee, and dry

4

On the Navigation of ihe Mississippi. 129

goods, suited for the markets of Genevieve and St Louis on
the Upper Mississippi,.or branched off and ascended the Ohio
to the foot of the falls, near Louisville, in Kentucky. But,
reader, follow their movements, and judge for yourself of the
fatigues, troubles, and risks of the men employed in that navi-
gation. A keel-boat was generally manned by ten hands, prin-
cipally Canadian, French, and a patroon or master. These
boats seldom carried more than from twenty to thirty tons.
The barges had frequently forty or fifty men, with a patroon,
and carried fifty or sixty tons. Both these kinds of vessels were
provided with a mast, a square sail, and coils of cordage, known
by the name of cordelles. Each boat or barge carried its own
provisions. We shall suppose one of these boats under way,
and, having passed Natchez, entering upon what were called
the difficulties of their ascent. Wherever a point projected, so
as to render the course or bend below it of some magnitude,
there was an eddy, the returning current of which was some-
times as strong as that of the middle of the great stream. The
bargemen, therefore, rowed up pretty close under the bank, and
had merely to keep watch in the bow, lest the boat should run
against a planter or sawyer. But the boat has reached the
point, and there the current is to all appearance of double
strength, and right against it. ‘The men, who have all rested
a few minetes, are ordered to take their stations, and lay hold
of their oars, for the river must be crossed, it being seldom pos-
sible to double such a point, and proceed along the same shore.
The boat is crossing, its head slanting to the current, which is,
however, too strong for the rowers, and when the other side of
the river has been reached, it has drifted perhaps a quarter of a
mile. The men are by this time exhausted, and, as we shall
suppose it to be twelve o'clock, fasten the boat to the shore, or
to a tree. A small glass of whisky is given to each, when they
cook and eat their dinner, and, after repairing their fatigue by
an hour’s repose, recommence their labours. ‘Phe boat is again
seen slowly advancing against the stream. It has reached the
lower end of a large sand bar, along the edge of which it is pro-
pelled by means of long poles, if the bottom be hard. Two
men, called bowsmen, remain at the prow, to assist, in concert
with the steersman, in managing the boat, and keeping its head
APRIL—JUNE 1831. 1

130 Mr Audubon on the Improvements

right against the current. The rest place themselves on the
land-side of the foot-way of the vessel, put one end of their
poles on the ground, the other against their shoulders, and push
with all their might. As each of the men reaches the stern, he
crosses to the other side, runs along it, and comes again to the
landward side of the bow, when he recommences operations.
The barge in the mean time is ascending at the rate not exceed-
ing one mile in the hour.

The bar is at length passed; and as the shore in sight is
straight on both sides of the river, and the current uniformly
strong, the poles are laid aside, and the men being equally divi-
ded, those on the river-side take to their oars, while those on
the land-side lay hold of the branches cf willows, or other trees,
and thus slowly propel the boat. Here aud there, however, the
trunk of a fallen tree, partly lying on the bank, and partly pro-
jecting beyond it, impedes their progress, and requires to be
doubled. This is performed by striking it with the iron points
of the poles and gaff-hooks. The sun is now quite low, and the
barge is again secured in the best harbour within reach. The
navigators cook their suppers, and betake themselves to their
blankets or bears’-skins to rest, or perhaps light a large fire on
the shore, under the smoke of which they repose, in order to
avoid the persecutions of the myriads of moschettoes which oc-
eur during the whole summer along the river. Perhaps, from
dawn to sunset, the boat may have advanced fifteen miles. If
so, it has done well. The next day the wind proves favourable,
the sail is set, the boat takes all advantages, and meeting with
no accident, has ascended thirty miles,—perhaps double that
distance. The next day comes with a very different aspect:
The wind is right a-head, the shores are without trees of any
kind, and the canes on the banks are so thick and stout, that
not even the cordelles can be used. This occasions a halt.
The time is not altogether lost, as most of the men, being pro-
vided with rifles, betake themselves to the woods, and search for
the deer, the bears, or the turkeys that are generally abundant
there. ‘Three days may pass before the wind changes, and the
advantages gained on the previous fine day are forgotten. Again
the boat proceeds, but in passing over a shallow place runs on
a log, swings with the current, but hangs fast, with her lea-side

in the Navigation of the Mississippi. 131

almost under water. Now for the poles! all hands are on deck,
bustling and pushing. At length, towards sunset, the boat is
once more afloat, and is again taken to the shore, where the
wearied crew pass another night. .

I shall not continue this account of difficulties, it having al-
ready become painful in the extreme. I could tell you of the
crew abandoning the boat and cargo, and of numberless acci-
dents and perils; but be it enough to say, that, advancing in
this tardy manner, the boat that left New Orleans on the 1st of
March, often did not reach the falls of the Ohio until the month
of July,—nay, sometimes not until October; and, after all this
immense trouble, it brought only a few bags of coffee, and at
most 100 hogsheads of sugar. Such was the state of things in
1808. The number of barges at that period did not amount to
more than 25 or 30, and the largest probably did not exceed
100 tons burden. To make the best of this fatiguing naviga-
tion, I may conclude by saying, that a barge which came up in
three months had done wonders, for I believe few voyages were
performed in that time.

If I am not mistaken, the first steam-boat that went down out
of the Ohio to New Orleans was named the ‘ Orleans,” and, if
I remember right, was commanded by Captain Ogden. This
voyage, I believe, was performed in the spring of 1810. It was,
as you may suppose, looked upon as the ne plus ultra of enter-
prise. Soon after, another vessel came from Pittsburgh; and,
before many years elapsed, to see a vessel so propelled, became
a common occurrence. In 1826, after a lapse of time that
proved sufficient to double the population of the United States
of America, the navigation of the Mississippi had so improved,
both in respect to facility and quickness, that I know no better
way of giving you an idea of it, than by presenting you with an
extract of a letter from my eldest son, which was taken from
the books of N. Berthoud, Esq., with whom he at that time
resided. 2

** You ask me, in your last letter, for a list of the arrivals and
departures here. I give you an extract from our list of 1826,
showing the number of boats which plied each year, their ton-
age, the trips which they performed, and the quantity of goods
landed here from New Orleans and intermediate places.

£2

132 On the Navigation of the Mississippi.

Tons. Trips. Tons.
“ 1823, from Jan. 1. to Dec. 31. . . 42 boats, measuring 7,860 98 19,453

1824, ditto “4. Nov. 25... 36 ditto 6393 118 20,291
1825, ditto 1. Aug. 15... 42 ditto 7,484 140 24,102
1826, ditto 1. Dec. 31... 51 ditto 9,388 182 28,914

‘¢ The amount for the present year will be much greater than
any of the above. The number of flat-boats and keels is be-
yond calculation. The number of steam-boats above the falls
I cannot say much about, except that one or two arrive at and
leave Louisville every day. Their passage from Cincinnati is
commonly 14 or 16 hours. The Tecumseh, a boat which runs
between this place and New Orleans, and which measures 210
tons, arrived here on the 10th instant, in 9 days 7 hours, from
port to port; and the Philadelphia of 300 tons made the pass-
age in 9 days 9} heurs, the computed distance being 1650 miles.
These are the quickest trips made. There are now in operation
on the waters west of the Alleghany mountains, 140 or 145
boats. We had last spring (1826), a very high freshet, which
came 43 feet deep in the counting-room. The rise was 57 feet
3 inches perpendicular.”

The whole of the steam-boats of which you have an account
did not perform voyages to New Orleans only, but to all points
on the Mississippi, and other rivers which fall into it. I am
certain, that since the above date, the number has increased,
but to what extent I cannot at present say.

When steam-boats first plied between Shipping-port and
New Orleans, the cabin passage was 100 dollars, and 150 dol-
lars on the upward voyage. In 1829, I went down to Natchez
from Shipping-port fer 25 dollars, and ascended from New
Orleans, on board the Philadelphia, in the beginning of Janu-
ary 1830, for 60 dollars, having taken two state-rooms for my
wife and myself. On that voyage we met with a trifling acci-
dent, which protracted it to 14 days; the computed distance
being, as mentioned above, 1650 miles, although the real dis-
tance is probably less. I do not remember to have spent a day
without meeting with a steam-boat, and some days we met seve-
ral. I might here be tempted to give you a description of one of
these steamers of the western waters, but the picture having
been often drawn by abler hands, I shall desist.

( 133)

Thermometer and Barometer Tables.

Tx perusing foreign scientific works, many of our readers must
no doubt have experienced considerable trouble in reducing the
degrees of the scales of Reaumur and Celsius or the centigrade,
which are generally used in continental works, to degrees in
Fahrenheit’s scale, which has been universally adopted in this
country. Similar difficulties will also have been experienced in
reducing barometrical measurements in the French measure to
equivalent measurements in the English scale. With the view,
therefore, of obviating these difficulties, we have been induced
to present our readers with three Tables, by which any given
degree in the scales of Reaumur or the Centigrade may be re-
duced to corresponding degrees in Fahrenheit’s scale, or vice
versa, by simple inspection. The other three Tables are for
reducing French barometrical measurement to English measure,
or the reverse.

Directions for using the Tables.
I. THERMOMETER TABLES.

1. If it be required to convert a whole number of degrees of any one of
the three scales into each of the others, it is done at once by simple inspec-
tion of that Table in which the proposed scale to be converted stands in the
first column. Thus, to convert —20° of Reaumur into degrees of Fahren-
heit, also of the Centigrade scale ;—by inspection of Table I. we find, that

— 20° Reaum. = —13°.0 Fahr. — — 25°.0 Centigr.
Again, to convert + 36° of Fahrenheit into degrees of the other two scales,
we see in Table II. that
+ 36° Fahr. = + 1°.8 R. = + 2°.2 Cent.

Lastly, to convert — 28° Centigrade into degrees of Fahrenheit and Reau-
mur, we find, by Table III. that

— 28° Cent. — — 22°.4 R. — —18°.4 Fahr.

2. If there be tenths in addition to the whole number of degrees to be
converted ; these must be changed by the supplementary Tables of Propor-
tional Parts, and added, observing the rule for the addition of quantities with
like or unlike signs: that is, when the signs are like, the sum is to be taken,
and the common sign prefixed; but when unlike, their difference, and the
sign of the greater prefixed.

Note.—The increments or decrements for the decimal parts have always
the same sign in all the three scales.

Examp. I. Convert + 37°.7 R. into degrees of Fahr. and also of Cent.
By Table I. + 37°.0 R. = + 115°.2 Fahr. = + 46°.2 Cent.
+ 0.7 Sg NLA =+ 0.9

The answer is, + 37°.7 R. = + 116°.8 Fahr. = + 47°.1 Cent.

Examp. II. Convert — 10°.6 R. into degrees of Fahr., also of Cent.
By Table I. — 10°.0 R. = + 9°.5 Fahr. = — 12°5 Cent.
— 0.6 =—13 =— 07

—10°.6 R. = + 8.2 Fahr. = —13°.2 Cent.

134 Barometer and Thermometer Tables.

Here, to find the degrees of Fahr. we subtract 1°.3 from 9°.5, because they
have opposite signs, one being + and the other —: In the other two cases,
we add, because the signs are alike, being both —.

Exampr. III. Convert + 13°.2 Fahr. into degrees of R. and Cent.
By Table II. + 13°.0 Fahr. = — 8°.4 R. = — 10°.6 Cent.
+ 0.2 =+ 01R=+ 0.1

+ 13°.2 Fahr. = —8°.3 R. = —10°.5 Cent.
Examp.1V. Find the degrees of R. and of F. corresponding to —6°.8 Cent.

By Table 1II. —6°.0 Cent. = —4°.8 R. = + 21°.2 Fahr.
— O.0 = — 0.7 =— 1.4
— 6°.8 = § 5 =-+ 19°8 Fahr.

Examr. V. Find the degrees of R. and F. corresponding to + 6°.8 Cent.
+ 6°.0 Cent. = + 4°.8 R. = + 42°.8 Fahr.
+ 0.8 Pag 1 4a

+ 6°.8 Cent. = +5°.5 R. = + 44°.2 Fahr.

Il. BAROMETER TABLES.

TABLE IV. p. 139.

1. It is required to express in metres and English measure the given
height 27 inches 3.5 lines Paris measure, of the mercury in the barometer.
We look in the first column, Paris measure, for 27 in. 3.5 lines, and find
opposite, in the column metres, and English measure, the equivalents, which
are 0.739 metres, and 29 in. 1.0 lines English measure.

2. If tenth parts of Paris lines are given, that do not occur in the Table,
the surplus above 0 tenth or 5 tenth is added to the English line. For the
metre, on the contrary, we take the number immediately preceding the Paris
line given. Thus, for example, we obtain for 319.2 Paris lines, in the first
place, in the column English measure, for 319 Paris lines,

28 in. 3.9 lines.
the surplus is + 0.2

28 in. 4.1 lines English measure, which is equiva-
lent to 319 lines Paris measure.
Next we obtain from the column metres, for the number that immediately
precedes 319.2, viz. 319.0 = 0.728 metres.

TABLE V. p. 140.

If it is required to give the barometric height of 0.740 metres in Paris and
English measure, we look in the column. metres for 0.740, and in the corre-
sponding columns Paris and English measure, we find 27 in. 4.0 lines Paris
measure, and 29 in. 1.6 lines English measure.

TABLE. VI. p. 141.

1. If it is required to give the mean barometer height of 356 English lines
im metres and Paris measure, we look in the column of lines of English mea-
sure, and will find the numbers 356.0, and opposite it in the columns Paris
measure and metres, 27 in. 10.1 lines Paris, and 9.753 metres.

2. If tenths of a line English measure afe given, that do not occur in the
Table, we proceed as in 2. under Table [V.—Suppose it is required to give
the metres and Paris measure Corresponding to 28 in. 3.8 lines of English
measure; we look first for 28 in. 3.5 lines in the column English measure,
and opposite, in the column Paris measure, is 26 in. 6.6 lines,
the surplus, > . : . ? ? + 0.3

26 in. 6.9 lines Paris mea-
sure, which is equal to 28 in. 3.8 lines English measure.
Secondly, 3.8 is near 4.0. We therefore, for 28 in. 4 lines English mea-
sure, find opposite in the column of metres 0.720.

Thermometer Tables. 135

TABLE I.

Reaum.| Fahren. | Centigr. || Reaum.

——<_—<— i a a a
—_—_—_—_

30 | —35.5| —37.5-] +
29 33.2| 36.2
28 31.0] 35.0
27 28.7 | 33.7
26 26.5 | 32.5
25 24.2} 31.2
24 22.0} 30.0
23 19.7| 28.7
22 17:5| 27.5
21 15.2| 26.2
20 13.0! 25.0
19 10:7| 28.7

+ 8.7 || +44 |+131.0 | + 55.0
10.0 45 | 1332| 56.2
11.2 46 | 135.5] 57.5
12.5 47 | 187.7| 68.7
13.7 48 | 140.0| 60.0
15.0 49 | 142.2| 61.2
16.2 50 | 144.5] 62.5
17.5 51 | 146.7| 63.7
18.2 52 | 149.0| 65.0
20.0 53 | 151.2] 66.2
21.2 54 | 153.5 | 67.5
22.5 55 | 155.7| 68.7

18 85| 22.5 23.7 56 | 1580] 70.0
17 62) , aie 25.0 57 | 160.2] 71.2
16 4.0} 20.0 26.2 58 | 162.5 72.5
15 107 18.7 27.5 59 | 164.7 73.7
i | 2.05) 15 28.7 60 | 167.0 75.0
13 27.) 162 30.0 61 169.2 | 76.2
12 5.0| 15.0 31.2 62 | 171.5 77.5
1] wo} . 1387 32.5 63 |. 173.7 78.7
10 9.5| 12.5 33.7 64 | 176.0] 80.0
9 11.7 11.2 35.0 65 | 178.2 81.2
8 14.0} 10.0 36.2 66 | 180.5] 82.5
7 16.2 8.7 37.5 67 | 182.7 83.7
6 18.5 75 38.7 68 | 185.0 85.0
5 20.7 6.2 40.0 69 | 187.2 86.2
4 23.0 5.0 41.2 70 | 189.5 87.5
3 25.2 3.7 42.5 71 191.7 88.7
2 27.5 2.5 43.7 72 | 194.0] 90.0
1 29.7 1.2 45.0 73 | 1962] 91.2
0 32.0 0.0 46.2 74 | 198.5 92.5

Le Ad 342 |+ 12 47.5 15 200.7 93.7
2 36.5 2.5 48.7 76 | 203.0] 95.0
3 38.7 3.7 50.0 77 | 205.2 96.2
4 41.0 5.0 51.2 78 | 207.5 97.5
5 43.2 6.2 52.5 79 | 209.7 98.7
6 45.5 7.5

53.7 80 212.0} 100.0

PROPORTIONAL PARTS TO TABLE I.

= ee ee eS eee
Reaumur. | Fahrenheit. | Centigrade.

0.1 0.2 0.1
0.2 0.4 0.2
0.3 0.7 0.4
0.4 0.9 0.5
0.5 Ll 0.6
0.6 1.3 0.7
0.7 1.6 0.9
0.8 1.9 1.0
0.9 2.0 1.1

136 Thermometer Tables.

TABLE IL.

Fahren. | Reaum. | Centigr. | Fahren. Reaum. | Centigr. || Fahren. | Reaum. | Centigr.

— 36 .|—30.2 | — 37.8 || +47 (= 6.6 8.4||—70 | +16.9 21.1
35 29.7 37.3 18 6.2 7.8 71 17.3 21.6
34 29.3 36.7 19 5.7 7.3 72 17.8 22.2
33 28.8 36.2 20 5.3 6.7 73 18.2 22.7
32 28.4 35.6 21 4.8 6.2 74 18.7 23.3
31 28.0 35.1 22 4.4 5.6 75 19.1 23.8
30 27.6 34.4 23 4.0 5.0 76 19.6 24.4
29 27.2 33.9 24 3.6 4.4 47 20.0 24.9
28 26.7 33.3 25 3.1 3.9 78 20.4 25.6
27 26.2 32.8 26 2.7 3.3 79 20.8 26.1
26 25.8 32.2 27 1.2 2.8 80 21.3 26.7
25 25.4 31.7 28 1.8 2.2 81 21.7 27.2
24 24.9 31.1 29 1.3 1.7 82 22.2 27.8
23 24.4 30.6 30 0. 1.1 83 22.6 28.3
22 24.0 30.0 31 0.4 0.6 84 23.1 28.9
21 23.6 29.5 32 0.0 0.0 85 23.5 29.4
20 23.1 28-9 33 | 4°04) + 05 86 24.0 30.0
19 22.6 28.4 34 0.9 11 87 24.4 30.5
18 22.2 27.8 35 1.3 1.6 88 24.9 31.1
17 21.7 27.3 36 1.8 2.2 89 25.3 31.6
16 21.3 26.7 37 2.2 2.7 90 25.8 32.2
15 20.8 26.2 38 2.7 3.3 91 26.2 32.7
14 20.4 25.6 39 3.] 3.8 92 26.7 33.3
13 20.0 25.0 40 3.6 4.4 93 Dy Bl 33.8
12 19.6 24.4 4] 4.0 5.0 94 27.6 34.4
1] 19.1 23.9 42 4.4 5.6 95 28.0 34.9
10 18.7 23.3 43 4.8 6.1 96 28.4 35.5

9 18.2 22.8 44 5.3 6.7 97 28.8 36.1
8 17.8 22.2 45 Ly 7.2 98 29.3 36.7
7 17.3 21.7 46 6.2 7.8 99 29.7 37.2
6 16.9 21.1 47 6.6 8.3} 100 30.2 37.8
5 16.4 20.6 48 7.1 8.9|| 101 39.6 338.3:
4 16.0 20.0 49 7.5 9.4 || 102 31.1 38.9
3 15.5 19.5 50 8.0 10.0|} 103 31.5 39.4
2 15.1 18.9 51 8.4 10.5 || 104 32.0 40.0
1 14.6 18.4 52 8.9 11.1 |} 105 32.4 40.5
0 14.2 17.8 53 9.3 11.6 || 106 32.9 41.1
+1 13.7 17.3 54 9.8 12.2|| 107 33.3] 41.6
2 13.3 16.7 55 10.2 12.7|| 108 33.8 42.2
3 12.8 16.2 56 10.7 13.3 || 109 34.2 42.7
4 12.4 15.6 57 11.1 13.8 |} 110 34.7 43.3
5 12.0 15.0 58 11.6 14.4]] 111 35.1 43.8
6 11.6 14.4 59 12.0 15.0} 112 35.6 44.4
7 11.1 13.9 60 12.4 15.6|) 113 36.0 44.9
8 10.7 13.3 61 12.8 16.1]| 114 36.4 45.6
9 10.2 12.8 62 13.3 16.7|| 115 36.8 46.1
10 9.8 12.2 63 13.7 17.2|| 116 37.3 46.7
11 9.3 11.7 64 14.2 17.8|| 117 S77 47.2
12 8.9 11.1 65 14.6 18.3]} 118 38.2 47.8
13 8.4 10.6 66 15.1 18.9|| 119 38.6 48.3
14 8.0 10.0 67 15.5| . 19.4]] 120 39.1 48.9
15 7.5 9.5 68 16.0 20.0 || 121 39.5 49.4

16 doll. 5.9 69 16.4 20.5 || 122 40.0 50.0

Thermometer Tables. 137

TABLE I1.—continued.

Centigr. \ Fahren. Reaum. | Centigr. | Fahren. Reaum. |
+ 50.5 14153 | +53.7| + 67.2 | +183 | + 67.1 |
51.1 154 54.2| 67.8 184 67.6
51.6 155 54.6} 68.3 185 68.0
52.2 156 55.1| 68.9]. 186 68.4
52.7 157 55.5] 69.4 ||. 187 68.8
53.3 158 56.0| 70.0|| 188 69.3
53.8 159 56.4| 70.5 || 189 69.7
54.4 160 56.9} 7J1.1)) 190 70.2
55.0 161 57.3| 71.6 19] 70.6
55.6 162 57.8 2.2 192 71.1
56.1 163 58.2| 72.7 193 71.5
56.7 | 164 58.7| 73.3 194 72.0
57.2 || 165 59.1| 73.8 195 72.4 |
57.8 || 166 59.6| 744 | 196 72.9 |
58.3 | 167 60.0| 75.0 197 73.3
58.9 168 60.4} 75.6) 198 73.8 |
59.4 | 169 60.8| 76.1] 199 74.2 |
60.0 170 61.3| 76.7|| 200 74.7
60.5 171 61.7| 77.2|| 201 75.1
61.1 172 62.2| 77.8 202 75.6
61.6 || 173 62.6| 783 || 203 76.0
81 62.2 |}. 174 63.1| 78.9 || 204 76.4
145 | -50.2| 62.7 || 175 63.5| 79.4) 205 76.8
146 50.7} 63.3 | 176 64.0! 80.0} 206 77:3| 96.7
147 51.1] 63.8 177 64.4| 80.5] 207 77-7| 97.2
148 51.6] 64.4 || 178 64.9] 81.1] 208 78.2| 97.8
149 52.0} 65.0 || 179 65.3} 81.6 209 78.6| 98.3
150 52.4] 65.6 || 180 65.8; 82.2] 210 79.1| 989
151 52.8) 66.1 | 181 66.2| 82.7} 211 79.5 | 99.4
152 53.3| 66.7 || 182 66.7| 83.3] 212 80.0) 100.0

PROPORTIONAL PARTS TO TABLE II.

Fahrenheit. | Reaumur .| Centigrade.

——

0.1 0.0 0.1
0.2 0.1 0.1
0.3 0.1 0.2
0.4 0.2 0.2
0.5 0.2 0.3
0.6 0.3 0.3
“0.7 0.3 0.4
0.8 0.4 0.4

0.9

138 Thermometer Tables.

TABLE IIL.

Centigr. | Reaum. | Fahren. || Céntigr. | Reaum. Fahren. | Centigr. | Reaum. | Fahren.

° ° ° ° ° ° ° ° °
—39 |—31.2|—38.2|| + 8 [+ 6.4] +46.4]] +55 + 44.0/+ 131.0
38 30.4 36.4 9 7.2 48.2 56 44.8 132.8
37 29.6 34.6 10 8.0 50.0 57 45.6 134.6
36 28.8 32.8 ll 8.8 51.8 58 46.4 136.4
35 28.0 3L0 12 9.6 53.6 59 47.2 138.2
34 27.2 29.2 13 10.4 55.4 60 48.0 140.0
33 26.4 27.4 14 11.2 07.2 61 48.8 141.8
32 25.6 25.6 16 12.0 59.0 62 49.6 143.6
3l 24.8 23.8 16 12.8 60.8 63 50.4 145.4
30 24.0 22.0 17 13.6 62.6 64 51.2 147.2
29 23.2 20.2 18 14.4 64.4 65 52.0 149.0
28 22.4 18.4 19 15.2 66.2 66 52.8 150.8
27 21.6 16.6 20 16.0 68.0 67 53.6 152.6
26 20.8 14.8 21 16.8 69.8 68 54.4 154.4
25 13.0 22 17.6 71.6 69 55.2 156.2
11,2 23 18.4 73.4 70 56.0 158.0

9.4 24 19.2 79.2 71 56.8 159.8

7.6 25 20.0 77-0 72 57.6 161.6

5.8 26 20.8 78.8 73 58.4 163.4

4.0 27 21.6 80.6 74 59.2 165.2

22 28 22.4 82.4 7s 60.0 167.0

0.4 29 23.2 84.2 76 60.8 168.8

+ 14 30 24.0 86 0 77 61.6 170.6
3.2 31 24.8 87.8 78 62.4 172.4
5.0 32 25.6 89.6 79 63.2 174.2
6.8 33 26.4 91.4 80 64.0 176.0
8.6 34 27.2 93.2 81 64.8 177.8

10.4 35 28.0 95.0 82 65.6 179.6
12.2 36 28.8 96.8 83 66.4 181.4
14.0 37 29.6 98.6 84 67.2 183.2

9 15.8 38 30.4} 100.4 85 68.0 185.0
8 17.6 39 31.2] 102.2 86 68.8 186.8
| 19.4 40 32.0} 104.0 87 69.6 188.6
6 21.2 4] 32.8] 105.8 88 70.4 190.4
5 23.0 42 33.6] 107.6 89 41.2 192.2
a 24.8 43 34.4] 109.4 90 72.0 194.0
3 26.6 44 35.2] 111.2 91 72.8 195.8
2 28.4 45 36.0} 113.0 92 73.6 197.6
1 30.2 46 36.8) 114.8 93 74.4 199.4
0 32.0 47 37-6} 116.6 94 75.2 201.2
1 33.8 48 36.4] 118.4 95 76.0 203.0
2 35.6 49 39.2] 120.2 96 76.8 204.8
3 37.4 50 40.0} 122.0 97 77.6 206.6
4 39.2 51 40.8} 123.8 98 78.4 208.4
5 41.0 52 41.6] 125.6 99 79.2 210.2
6 42.8 53 42.4) 127.4 100 80.0 212.0
7 44.6 54 43.2] 129.2

PROPORTIONAL PARTS TO TABLE III.

26 0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0

312.0
312.5
313.0
313.5
314.0
314.5
315.0
315.5
316.0
316.5
317.0
317.5
316.0
318.8
319.0
319.5
320.0
320.5
321.0
321.5
322.0
322.5
323.0
323.5
324.0
324.5
325.0
325 5
326.0
326.5
327.0
327.5
328.0

0.704
0.705
0.706
0.707
0.708
0.709
0.731
0.712
0.713
0.714
0.715
0.716
0.717
0.718
0.720
0.721
0.722
0.723
0.724
0.725
0.726
0.727
0.729
0.730
0.731
0.732
0.733
0.734
0.735
0.736
0.738
0.739
0.740

328.5 | 0.741
329.0 | 0.742
329.5 | 0.743

Barometer Tables.

TABLE IV.

27. 8.5
9.0

9.6
10.1
10.6
11.1
11.7

28 0.2
0.8

1.3

1.8

eessesesscs:
Oe oe oe oe
COonarkwnNnre >

Gr Or Gr Ot Gr Ot Cr Or Or

0.760

139

140 Barometer Tables.

TABLE V.

Ae HwUIwds PROUD

0.
1.
1.
l.
2.
2.
3.
3.
4.
4.

Barometer Tables. 141

TABLE VI.

English Paris Wetec English Paris

y :
measure, measure. measure, measure. fetres

Lines. | Inch. lin. Inch. lin. | Lines. | Inch. _ lin.
333.0 | 26 0.5 | 0.705 || 29 3.0] 351.0 | 27 5.4
333.5 x 0.706 3.5 | 351.5 5.8
334.0 5 0.707 4.0 | 352.0 6.3
334.5 : 0.708 - 352.5 6.8
335.0 i 0.709 : 353.0 7.3
335.5 2 0.710 .9 | 353.9
336.0 é 0.711 i 354.0
336.5 . 0.712 - 354.5
337.0 oe 0.713 : 355.0
337.5 0.714 4 355.9
338.0 0.715 : 356.0
338.5 0.716 : 356.5
339.0 0.717 .0 | 357.0
339.5 0.719 .5 | 357-5
340.0 0.720 : 358.0
340.5 0.721 le 358.5
341.0 0.722 . 359.0
341.5 : 0.723 : 359.5
342.0 a 0.724 le 360.0
342.5 x 0.725 5| 360.5
343.0 : 0.726 : 361.0
343.5 - 0.727 : 361.5
344.0 : 0.728 .0 | 362.0
344.5 : 0.729 . 362.5
345.0 : 0.730 R 363.0
345.5 " 0.731 363.5
346.0 . 0.732 . 364.0
346.5 oy 0.733 ‘ 364.5
347.0 3 0.734 a 365 0
347.5 A 0.735 5 363.5
348.0 : 0.737 2 366.0
348.5 ‘ 0.738 : 366.5
349.0 .2 | 0.739 2 367.0
349.5 - 0.740 367.9
390.0 : 0.741 4 368.0
350.5 - 0.742 3 368.5
369.0

rerere re ren
Or oe Orion gr Or
IS ODD

GOST ST > SD St Ot
SUR AHKoaws

Pe ie Cele BORO less
mm bo S71 to Sa bo

SOS 8 TS
f bOsT OO CO we DO Cr

_

(. 142)
The Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India.

Norwrrusraxpine the fertility, in some degree historical, of
the borders of the Ganges, and the numerous cottages of the
indigenous population, surrounded by verdure, which give to
Bengal the aspect of a garden, it appears that agriculture is
still very little advanced in that country, and that it has much
to gain from the judicious influence of Europeans.‘ 'To over-
throw,” says De Candolle, “ a blind routine, founded in the ig-
norance of the Indians and their division into castes; to shew
them that they can cultivate otherwise than they have done
during 2000 or 3000 years; to engage the principal among
them to occupy themselves with agriculture, which they des-
pise; to introduce more perfect agricultural instruments, and
species and varieties of useful plants, with which they are un-
acquainted :”"—such are the objects that the Society of Agricul-
ture and Horticulture, founded some years ago at Calcutta, pro-
pose, and whose first volume of Memoirs is now before us *.

This Society, patronized by the preceding Governor-General,
the Marquis of Hastings, as well as by his successor Lord Amherst,
is composed of British residents at Bengal, and of natives of rank.
The total number of the members in the first of July 1828
was ninety-seven, and it has probably increased since that pe-
riod. However barbarous such names as these may be to our
ears, Prusunnukoomur Thakoor, or Ubhuyachurun Bariojya,
which figure in the list of members, we mention them with plea-
sure, for they augur well concerning the future influence of the
society on the native population.

In an Introductory Discourse by the President, he points out
the utility of societies in general, and their influence on English
agriculture. He represents the Indian Agriculture as much in-
ferior to what it was in England two centuries ago ; and the in-
struments employed by the natives as miserable. They have
done nothing, he says, towards the cultivation of different and
abundant species of plants which might be cultivated with pro-

* Transactions of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India,
Vol. I. 8vo. Serampore, 1829.
2

The Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India. 148

fit; they neglect the forests; they could convert into pastures
the jungles of long grass, which only afford them at present ma-
terials for covering their houses ; in the winter they could have
crops of wheat, barley, flax, mustard, and different kinds of
pulse, in the immense districts which they altogether neglect,
because they are inundated during the rainy season. Even the
grasses that cover them, namely Andropogon muricatus and
two or three kinds of Saccharum, would make a valuable hay,
if mowed in the spring. In cultivating these districts, they
would drive away the dangerous animals with which they are
infested *, and which at present prevent their amelioration.
The President shows himself adverse to the proposed establish-
ment of experimental farms and horticultural gardens, being
convinced that the society would be obliged to support them,
and that the operations carried on there would not be applica-
ble at present to India. He wishes that they could engage the
principal proprietors to make experiments on agriculture, at
their own expense; and he believes that their example would be
profitable in the end. This opinion we consider a sound one.
The following passage of his discourse has struck us as applica-
ble to the amelioration of agriculture in Europe as well as that
in India. ‘‘ Conviction respecting the most obvious things,
must, however, be expected to make but a slow progress among
a people who are the slaves of custom, and whose want of cu-
riosity and energy are such as to prevent their inquiry into the
advantages and disadvantages of any new thing proposed to
them, and which operate so powerfully as to keep them in a
state of stupid contentment with their present miserable condi-
tion. The Society must not, therefore, expect too much at
first; but must patiently labour in hope. It must not be dis-
couraged by disappointments, but reiterate and increase its ef-
forts ; and, when the effects of its labours once begin to appear,
it may be reasonably expected that the adoption of the means
recommended will proceed with a gradually accelerated force,
until the result shall finally exceed the expectations of its most
zealous friends.”

* Tigers, which abound in the jungles, humid districts, covered with
coarse grass and shrubs, in the environs of Calcutta.

144 The Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India.

The introductory discourse of the President is followed by
a number of interesting memoirs. |

Dr Tytler, established at Allahabad, has studied the different
diseases that attack barley and rice; among others, one which
changes the latter salubrious grain into a true poison. It is a
blight, analogous to that of wheat, produced, as it appears, by a
superabundance of water in the rivers.

The society had communicated to its members a series of ques-
tions concerning the climate, the statistics, and agriculture of
the different provinces. Dr Tytler sent detailed answers con-
cerning the district of Allahabad; Mr Stirling concerning those
in the vicinity of Nurmuda; Mr C. H. Blake concerning that
of Poornea, where he has kept a regular journal of all the ope-
rations of agriculture during a year. Detailed descriptions of
the agriculture of the twenty-four Purgunnas, of Silhut, and the
neighbouring districts, have been communicated by Baboo-Rad-
ha-Kanta-Deva. General Hardwick communicated a note con-
cerning a species of very nutritive wheat, which is cultivated in
the districts annually inundated on the borders of the Jumna.
Details concerning certain varieties of rice, a dwarf pea, origi-
nally of Patna, and ropes fabricated with fibres of different
palms, are communicated by the President. Mr H. Piddington
has a short memoir on the hemp of Manilla, furnished by the
Musa textilis ; Mr G. Ballard one concerning the culture of
the grape-vine at Bombay ; on the cultivation of the sugar-cane
in different districts ; and on an improved plough. Dr Wallich
has communicated notices concerning the colony ef Prince Ed-
ward’s Isle, of the price of opium in that establishment, as well
as concerning the employment of lime as a manure, and on the
arborescent cabbage sent to the botanic garden of Calcutta by
Professor de Candolle of Geneva. D. Scott, Esq. has given a
summary of observations made during 22 years, as to the suc-
cession of the seasons at Bengal. The same gentieman has di-
rected the attention of the society to the obtaining grains from
Europe, by taking care to preserve them from humidity and the
rapid changes of temperature, by putting them into glass phials
with parched bran or burnt charcoal.

We observe in this volume the translation of an Indian book

on horticulture, which, although it may contain some useful di-
3

The Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India. 145

rections, shews the low condition of this interesting art in the East.
‘In it we are told that there are trees which bring good luck, and
others that bring bad ; how we ought not to sow and plant but
on certain days of the week and month; how we may change
the nature of the fruits of Mango, by putting grains into the fat
of the rabbit for the space of a month, &c. They moreover re-
commend to rub and to prick the roots with different substan-
ces, in order that they may carry fruit a longer time. To the
memoir is appended a list of names of plants in Hindoo and
Persian, corresponding to the botanical names.

A description of the gardens and the fruit-trees of Kashmeer,
by Mr Moorcroft, contains many interesting details. "The fruits
of this country are those of the south of Europe, such as apples,
pears, peaches, quinces, apricots, plums, cherries, walnuts, pome-
granates, almonds, &c.; but there are many varieties of these
fruits, and it appears that some are superior to those that have
been obtained in Europe. The author thinks that advantage
aight be taken of the vicinity of this country for introducing
many of them into British India. In the kingdom of Kash-
meer, where there are many lakes, they construct floating gar-
dens, in which they cultivate a great quantity of melons and
cucumbers.

Mr Mocrcroft, during his sojourning in Thibet, also inquired
as to the culture of the forage named Prangos*, a forage
very much sought after by sheep, and from which important
results are anticipated, if it could be naturalized in Europe, or
at the Cape of Good Hope. Packets of grains and roots of this
umbelliferous plant have been sent to different persons, and, in
particular, to Dr Wallich at Calcutta, but we are ignorant of
the results of this communication. The President found a new
mode of grafting in use in a western district of Bengal, which
he thus describes : “In the season of the year when the bark
easily separates from the wood, having previously cut off the
end of a smali branch which was considered unripe, about a
quarter of an inch above an eligible bud, he would then make
an annular cut round the bark about half an inch below the bud,

* This plant is the Prangos pabularia, described by Mr Lindley in the
Journal of Science of the Royal Institution of London, 1825. No. 37. p. 7.
APRIL—JUNE 183]. K

146 The Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India.

and then with a cloth in his hand, would forcibly pull off the
ring of bark, taking care not to injure the bud; after which, he
would proceed in the same way with the buds below. Having
collected a sufficient number, and kept them fresh in the hollow
of a leaf with a little water, he would proceed to the stocks to
be engrafted, and having cut off the head, where the stock ap-
peared of a proper size, he would.strip the bark in small shreds
all round to a sufficient depth, until a ring of the bark being
applied, very exactly fitted. The shreds were then collected
over the ring of bark and tied above, and bound together by a
little moist hay, taking care not to press upon the bud. ‘This
perhaps combines the advantages of being the most successful,
the most easy, and most simple mode of engrafting or budding.”

The Society of Agriculture and Horticulture of Calcutta has
imported from Europe many varieties of fruits and pulse, which it
has distributed among the native gardeners ; it has also awarded
prizes for successful culture. “ We cannot,” says M. de Candolle,
“¢ sufficiently praise the zeal and prudence that distinguish its ef-
forts for the improvement of Indian agriculture; and we must
also remark how much in this point of view the English domi-
nion, compared to that of preceding possessors, is a fortunate
circumstance for this vast country. We must not forget that
the impulse given to agriculture comes above all from the go-
vernment of the country, for the Botanic Garden of Calcutta is
the place where they make all kinds of experiments, and whence
a number of seeds and useful plants are distributed among prt-
vate individuals, and in the provincial gardens throughout Bri-
tish India. This magnificent establishment has enjoyed, during
many years, an annual revenue of L. 5000 (125,000 fr. de
France), which has enabled them to cultivate a very large tract
of ground, to pay travellers to the mterior of India, to correspond
liberally with the gardens of Europe, and to give a comfortable
salary to a skilful botanist charged with the direction of it.
The particular circumstances of the India Company have
forced it to diminish the income of the gardens ; but we trust
this system will not be pushed too far, for, without speaking of
the utility of the garden of Calcutta in a sense purely scientific,
it cannot be denied that it has rendered great services, whether
by introducing into India all the best fruits of the equatorial

The Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India. 147

regions, such as Mango, Litchee, Loquat, the Alligator pear,
&e., or in procuring the best varieties of potatoes of which Ben-
gal was formerly destitute ; or, finally, by furnishing fresh seeds
of coffee, which they now cultivate in many parts, and great
quantities of the Teak wood, so valuable for the mariner.”
Although the liberality of the India Company, in regard to
botany, is highly praiseworthy, we confess ourselves unable to
comprehend how the science of plants of all the branches of na-
tural history should be the one selected for exclusive patronage
by the Lords of our Eastern Empire. We now, however, know
so much on this subject, as to be entitled to say that when our
Indian affairs are finally arranged, this exclusive patronage of
one branch of knowledge will be entirely done away with, and
that Geology (in its most comprehensive sense), Mineralogy,
and Zoology, will also be brought forward in a manner worthy
the munificence of this great and liberal commercial company.

Account of the Arbusculites argentea, from the Carboniferous
Limestone of Innerteil, near to Kirkcaldy, in Fifeshire. By
P. Murray, M. D. of Scarborough. Communicated by the
Author.

Ts the carboniferous limestone of the extensive quarries near
Kirkcaldy, in Fife, may be observed, mingled with crinoidal re-
mains, very delicate vermiform bodies, in fragments of different
lengths, shining with metallic lustre, neither articulated nor cel-
lular, and resembling broken bits of silver wire. Very short
and minute pieces had been noticed among the coralloid fossils
of this limestone, collected by myself many years ago, when a
medical student at Edinburgh. But this winter, I have been,
through the kindness of Mr Murray of Edinburgh, supplied
with a specimen so much more perfect, as to induce me to call
the attention of geologists to it, as a fossil animal hitherto un-
described, and not exactly reducible to any known group.

It would appear to have been an attached Mollusca, dichoto-
mous at first, but afterwards sending out lateral branches, mo-

derately tapering, and with very distant and obscure (if any)
K 2

148 Dr P. Murray on the Arbusculites argentea, from the

articulations, grooved longitudinally, and composed of a bright
silvery cortical case, and a solid axis of carbonate of lime, fre-
quently crystallized. It differs decidedly from the crinoidal
animals, which are regularly articulated ; and varies nearly in
the same degree from the corallines, &e. by not displaying the
cellular structure characteristic of that family, from which I
should at once have separated this fossil, were I not fully aware
_ of the extreme minuteness of those cells, and that occasionally
they are lost to observation by the denuding of the cortical in-
tegument, or shrinking of the polype itself. Besides, the fos-
silized objects under consideration are so rare and so imperfect,
that it would be premature, nay presumptuous, as yet to re-
move them from all the known classes, until we shall be jus-
tified by careful and repeated examination of other and more
perfect specimens. I would therefore, for the present, prefer
placing it among the corallines, under the third order of the
first class of Lamouroux, which are ‘* Polypida plant-like, tu-
bular, simple or branched, never articulated; of a horny or
membranous substance, but sometimes slightly covered with a
calcareous layer, neither cellular nor porous. Polypida situated
at the.extremity of the stems.”

But as our Fifeshire fossil assuredly does not belong to any
of the genera of Lamouroux, we must class it as a new one, and
may give it the generic appellation of Arbusculites, from its
shrub.like appearance ; and, for a trivial name, argentea, from
its singularly metallic and silvery aspect. Pa

It occurs, as has before been remarked, in the mountain
limestone of the coal formation at Kirkcaldy, in Fife, and is re-
peatedly crossed by sections of encrinital stems and arms, which
abound in that locality. Indeed, I do not recollect ever to have
seen entrochial fragments, &c. in greater abundance than in the
grey carboniferous limestone of Innerteil, near Kirkcaldy. I
have said fragments of crinoidez ; for stems of any length, or
shewing side-arms, are but rarely there to be met with. How-
ever, various shells of the genera Producta and Spirifera, cha-
racteristic of the formation, are very plentiful, with Caryophyl-
ites; and occasionally a very delicate Retepora, which is beau-
tifully crystalline, and white, and finely displayed upon the
dark grey coloured limestone.

Carboniferous Limestone of Innerteil, near Kirkcaldy. 149

_ As far as can be ascertained by microscopical observation, the
structure of this animal has been of the most simple description ;
and probably it was attached, for security, to some solid heavy
substance, as a stone or shell; and also from the analogy of
some species of Actinia and Hydra, we may conjecture it to
have possessed a retractile power; and, under certain circum-
stances, it might occasionally have presented merely a very
shortened nacrous stem, or fasciculus of branches.

Probably, too, this zoophyte may be so far interesting to the
general naturalist, as offering another link of connexion in the
vast chain of nature; and may be that which runs between the
jointed Crinoidez and the Porous Corals, or between them and
the Annulosa.

References to the Drawing.

A, The Stem.

_B, The Side-arm, in botanical language, arising decurrent from the stem.
C, An imperfect stem, bifurcated from the first division, under which the
stem A passes, and is lost in the mass.
D, Section of an encrinite.

( 150 )

Table of the General State of the Weather in the Isle of Man,
commencing Jan. 1. 1824, and ending 31st December 1830.
By Colonel Stewart. (Communicated by Principal Baird.)

[Fahrenheit’s Thermometer, situated on a northern exposure, always
out, taken at 9 o’clock a.m. and at 11 o’clock p.m.—With reference
to the “* Wind,” the prevailing Point for the day is taken: if any
Rain, Snow, or Sleet during the day, not considered Fair.]

Medium of WIND. WEATHER. Ran —
Years. Thermometer. Number of Days. Number of Days. FALLEN.

A.M.| P.M.|| N. | S. | E. | W. |] Rain. | Snow.| Fair. |] Inch.|100th

——— || |} | ———— | —___ — ee
oe —— — SS

1824. H i
January, .......| 404 | 402 || 15 | 4 1 | Wa 8 oe 21 2
February, ...... 413 | 40 2) 3S ne 7 9 20 1
Marchi vécv.se 4l.| 392) D)...) 71 15 14] 8 14) 3
April, si... satst. 454/414 7) 8] sl oa 7] 21 and 4
Mia yiyssie ieee 523 | 48 9) s45).43 5 7 1 5 Ya) | ees
UNES soni owes ne 57 55 2 7\18 3 LOA exe 18 2
Jules eee 57 | 59 [4] 6 P>gteds|) 12]. fash
August, ......... 59 56 1 &8&| 10] 12 Wy aye 14 2
September, ....| 53 | 51 71 4)eb | Mi Wo) 27°18) G
October,......... 48 46 12 5 | 12 7A] (Bor) 11 6
November,......| 453 | 454 ]} 11} 5] 3] 11] 18 2 10 5
December,......,| 424 | 423 |} 14/ 2] ...] 15) 16] 3 | 12] 6

Gen. Medium, | 493 | 493 || 93 | 61 | 92 |120]} 150 | 15 | 201

1825.
January, .'...:- 46 | 43 8] 4) 3] 16) 1 20 | 3
February, ...... 39 =| 40 ll 7 4 6}| 11 2 15 2
Marchi «ac: 44} | 41 ie] fia: Ha fe 6 vf 1 23 2
April,ees. diay: 474 | 454 1... | 1/16] 13]] of... | 21 ff 1
Mays eunievers< 533 | 483 5 Se mea i: 6 iW 21 2
June, aliens 58 | 541 || 9| 8] 5] sil 12 18 || 2
Jilly; >see 641 | 59 “Ei eal WL 8 2 29 |i...
August, ......... 64 | 59 274 Fae! Vy fe Tes | 3 16 || 3
September, ....| 63 | 59 1a Se se PI eH Ve ie 14] 3
October,......... 52 | 523 7 | oF) 2 Ae dill, 080 1 10 6
November,...... 431 | 43 1B (Se NS Fhe Hae | ie i 10 7
December,...... 40 | 38 11 6] 5 9}; 13 2 16 2

Gen. Medium, | 512 | 483 || 80 | 62 | 97 |126|| 145 7 | 213 | 38

1826.
January, - ...... 39 35k 7 fel tae 8 5 7 1 23
February, ......| 443 | 43 Ah AS ba Li Os) aaky, 2 9
March,.. 43. \i4dt' || 6) 5 14 oh 6 | ae) ee
(Aprily. tues: 48 43 11 4 2 als 10 1 19
Wess eevee caezt 534 | 50 6| 2/19] .4] 3 28
Males letseccsece i ea |e ek I! Male As RE | ee 27
Sulliggesdeehe ze: 661 | 63 6/11] 4] lol] 1o 21
August, ......... 671 | 623 | 1/11] 1] 18} 14 17
September, ....) 583 | 53 bees: 2 6]} 11 19
October) cic.222. 554 | 493 CRs Leeter: et) 1 A Fy 14
November,...... 434 | 42 LOW ses 9 11 4 15
December,...... 44} | 44 ot ie 0 fe Se Hae 1-3 ia bf 1 13

LS eS SS ee

Gen. Medium, | 534 | 49} || 82 | 86 | 87 |110]| 126 | 12 | 227

Table of the State of the Weather in the Isle of Man. 151 -

Medium of WIND. WEATHER. RAIN
aes Thermometer. Number of Days. Number of Days. FALLEN.

A.M.| P.M. N. | s. | E.

1827.
January, - ree.
February, ......

September, ....
October,
November,
December,

Gen. Medium,| 50 | 48 ||105| 93/102] 65]

1828.

January, « o.oee.
February,

NwarsIS

September, ...
October,
November,
December,

5
4
6
5
8
0
0
8
2
&
7
9

CO Mmh Rs

Gen. Medium,} 51 113|}107| 82|| 147

1829.

JANUALY, <0.
February,

—

_
wm Hd CO Oo Or OH Or OW tO

September, . ...
October,........-
November,......
December,

—_
Mm bo GIST OO Coco:

Gen. Medium,| 48 | 46 | 102

152 Table of the State of the Weather in the Isle of Man.

Medium of WIND. WEATHER. RAIN
a ore Thermometer. Number of Days Number of Days FALLEN.
avM.| P.M.|] Nw. | os. | E. | ow. H] Rain. | Snow.| Fair. |\inch.|100th

1830. ,
January, « 393 | 37 17 Tims 2 5 4 22 Nese lina
February, ...... 38 37 5 11 5 7 8 yr! 13 2) 40
Wrarch,. %..f.¢... 444 | 47 5 £6) eh Da pike i i Seo Vien 1 | 95
April, saneeetebices 47 45 4 Sle 7 al 14 2 14 ating&
AVL sl onodh beh ns 52 49 el rts tei te 1533 19 "=e 12 3 | 94
BWC Kes vrediuase 5d 53 7 10; 3} 10 22 & 2 | 67
J uly, SRE. 42:56 56 57 5 15} 4 7 17 14 3 | 61
August, .........| 58 52-4] 6 7; 81.10 12 19 2 | 67
September, . ...| 54 52 es S4dO eS jal 17 13 6 | 83
Octobe&,......... 52 | 49 8) 4) 12] 71/1 45 16 || 3} 42
November,...... 49 | 45 | 5 7h hae 14 |e... | 16che-anleye
December,...... 39 38 16 Te 7 i 12 2 ify 237

Gen. Medium, | Pi ae 30) bpm 104| 84 | 94 || 167 15 | 183 || 38 | 55

( Highest state of Thermometer,............sccesseesees 68 64

Bah rr] Lowest, Soofiticssb heen dchecsebtndse detest th .cledesdreeeess + o2 32
1825 Highest state of Thermometer,...............ceseeeeee 2 68
=P BiLidwest, Bhi he,. oe to a ba eR le 30 «28
1826 § Highest state of Thermometer,............ssss00eeeeee 75 70
4 { Lowest, de sine veheceveduacoscpecss d-ccnectncndeneds semeostes 30 24
1827 Highest state of Thermometer,............ssceseseeees 70 64
- POWESE- To) mike. kee owee behets Mee Biel le aes 29 25
1828, Highest state of Thermometer,............c0000... «ee 67 64
Lowest, . die ahaa tha sb eobide seh POs oes ecicaawh Gude obalbtiam clas leven 32
1829 f Highest st state of Thetinonibter hanedpes dione hecsites 65 62
> { Lowest,....... Boaasereprews sn spistescrdaereweuent ervai renee 28 27
1830 Highest state of Thermometer,................e+...... 66 67
ARO WESERSrosretec coerce ese ece en eco en 25 26
Highest state of Thermometer during these seven years, 75 70
Lowest state of ditto during ditto,....... celsaploespaccesiecacedbes 25 24
GENERAL AVERAGE FOR THE SEVEN YEARS.
Medium of WIND. WEATHER. RaINn
Vie aes ‘Thermometer. Number of Days Number of Days FALLEN.
A. M.] P. M. || N. | Ss. | E. | W. || Rain. | Snow. | Fair. || Inch.|100th
18240 4.85... 49.9] 49.9] 93) 61| 92]120]] 150] 15 | 201 || 40 | 75
DE ZOMs ccidedhile ons 51.9| 48.6 || 80] 62) 971126) 145 7 |.213 || 38 | 68
| RP oe Se 53.3 | 49.3]) 82] 86] 871110 ]| 126 12.|. 227 i) 29052
30-7 Eo ae 50 48 105 | 93/102| 651}| 152 15 | 198 || 43 | 41
NODS S520 eete 51 49 64 |}113 |107 | 82]| 147 9 | 210 || 35 | 90
8 Ror rr 48 46 102} 914110) 62] 135 13 | 217 || 33 | 89
LSS) ws as .ds922 48.8 | 46.9 || 83/104] 84] 94] 167 15 | 183 || 38 | 55

Medium for 2} 50.5] 48.3|| 87187.1| 97|94.1|/144.4] 12.2| 207 || 35 \e1.3
Seven Years,

( 153 )

Table, shewing the Mean Temperature at Aberdeen for each
Month of the last Eight years,—Mean Height of Barometer
Jor 1830,—and Rain fallen at Marischall College Observatory
during the last Two Years. By Mr Gerorcr Innes, Astro-
nomical Calculator, Aberdeen.

Mean Temperature at Aberdeen fur each Month of the last Eight Years.

28. | 1829. | 1830.

January, -... 34 40 | 36 49

February, ... 38 69 | 35 83
March,...... 41 GO | 44 47
i 43 25 | 45 56

: 51 85 | 51 39

Seaeaaes } 2 56 43 | 52 9)

<8 58 56 | 60 22

Seeger J - 56 49 | 53 95

dl 57 | 52 83

ota 46 45 | 48 40
November,... 41 O01 | 43 00
December.,... 14 | 36 70

62

The Thermometer is fixed outside of a window which looks nearly east, be-
ing always in the shade before 8 a. m.: the bulb is 163 feet above the le-
vel of the ground. The nearest building eastward is 70 feet distant; and
there is no building to the northward for a considerable distance.

| Rain fallen at Ma-
rischal College Ob-
servatory.

Mean Height
of Barometer.

MonrTHs.

| 1829. | 1830

Inches. | Inches.

| 348] 1 51

Sic eae 0 99 1 34

edeaastades. dd 3°12 0 73

2 74 1 84

0 66 1 62

Ef op ae naaans ae age 1 54 2 82

RP Ce cA ae ES: 1 92 5 36

g aoe. 435| 3 90
September, . ......... 235] 3 38
WEtBHAS: 225025 <ceter 272) O 61
November,.........-.. 234] 3 62
December, ............ 245] 3 87
Mean, . 66 | 30 60

The Rain-Gauge, with the results of which I am favoured, is fixed on the
roof of the Tower of Marischal College, 74 feet above the level of the
ground. ‘The height of the basin of the barometer above the level of the

sea, at half flood, is 50 feet. Gai,

( 154 >)

On the Utility of fixing Lightning Conductors in Ships. By
W. S. Harris, Esq. Member of the Plymouth Institution.

1. A ruvnper-storm is the result of a great natural action
subsisting between an extensive stratum of cloud, and a corres-
ponding portion of the earth’s surface, together with the inter-
vening atmosphere ; and is the result of some powerful agency,
the nature of which is as yet undiscovered.

2. The active principle of a thunder-storm, however, may be
considered as an extremely subtle species of matter universally
pervading nature, and distributed in bodies, in quantities pro-
portionate to their capacities for it, so that when accumulated
in and about certain bodies, and abstracted at the same time
from other bodies, a tendency to regain the previous state of
proportionate distribution is marked by a certain train of phe-
nomena; thus, a concentrated action is frequently set up be-
tween the overcharged and undercharged bodies, which produces
all the effects of a violent and terrific expansive force, for the
original state of proportionate distribution is often restored
by a rapid explosion, at which instant the most compact bodies
are broken; whilst, at the same time, there is such an evolution
of heat, that substances directly in the line of action are some-
times inflamed, fused, and ignited.

3. This easy and elementary view of electrical action may not
be altogether useless; for to investigate any branch of physical
science with success, it is always advantageous to arrange our
ideas in some determinate order, by means of which the details
assume a clear and connected form; for although it must be
admitted, that every theory is merely a way of picturing to our-
selves the course of nature, it may be always sufficient, and ad-
missible, so long as it is consistent with the observed phenomena,
and not contradicted by any known fact.

4. In the progress of electrical inquiries, it has been found,
that some substances oppose but comparatively little resistance
to the passage of the electrical agency, whilst, on the contrary,
other substances seem to arrest its course altogether; a fact
which induced electricians to consider bodies as possessed of these
peculiar properties, and to classify them in relation to this con-

Mr Harris on Lightning Conductors in Ships. 155

ducting or non-conducting power. Substances which oppose
but comparatively little resistance to an electrical explosion,
have therefore been termed conductors, whilst those which offer
resistance to its progress, have been termed non-conductors, or,
occasionally, from the same cause, insulators. In the conduct-
ing class, we find, all the metals, concentrated acids, water, well
burnt charcoal, wood, diluted acids, and saline fluids, most
earths and stones, flame, smoke and steam. If any of these
substances resting on the ground, be put into contact with an
electrical machine, whilst a current of sparks is passing from
it, the sparks will immediately cease ; in consequence of the
electric matter being transmitted by them to the earth :—an
easy and striking experiment. Non-conductors of electricity, or
insulators, are all vitreous and resinous substances ;—dry, per-
manently elastic fluids, such as air; baked wood, silk, pure car-
bon, and most precious stones, oils, dry vegetable substances, as
also, dry marble, chalk, and lime, wool, hair, feathers, dry pa-
per, parchment, and leather. If, whilst a current of sparks is
passing from the electrical machine, any of these bodies be put
into contact with it, and rest as in the former instance on the
earth, little or no difference will be perceived, the sparks wil.
continue.

5. Although for general purposes, the various bodies in nature
may be considered as belonging to one or the other of these
classes, a gradation of effect is observable from one class to the
other ; so that the conducting or insulating power of some sub-
stances, compared with that of others, may be considered as im-
perfect : hence has arisen a third class, which consists of the re-
mote extremes of the other two, and which may be considered
in the power of arresting or transmitting certain electrical actions
as appertaining to either. Thus wood, hemp, stone, and the
like, may become insulators to a state of low electrical action,
and conductors to a high one.

6. The manner in which accumulations of atmospheric elec-
tricity proceed, may be referred to the following principle:
When two substances of the conducting class are directly opposed
to each other, and are separated by a substance of the non-con-
ducting or insulating class, leaving the one free and the other
insulated, the proportionate state of electrical distribution may

156 Mr Harris on the Utility of fining

become deranged to the greatest possible extent. Now, in na-
ture, the conditions of such an experiment are found in the re-
lative situations of the sea and clouds, and intervening air; so
that when, from any cause, an evolution of natural electricity
takes place, and heavy masses of vapour are present in the at-
mosphere, we have immediately an insulated conductor (a
cloud), directly opposed to a conductor in a free state (the sea
or land), and an intervening non-conducting or insulating me-
dium, the air; hence results a charged battery of enormous
power: the attraction of the opposite electrical states, therefore,
may become at length so powerful, that the electric matter
breaks down the intervening resisting air, with a terrific and dense
explosion—an effect perfectly analogous to the explosion which
frequently occurs at the time of conveying a high charge to an
electrical battery, and which is attended by a peculiar fracture
of the interposed glass *.

7. The year 1752, which marks an important era in electrical
science, from the celebrated discovery of the principle just men-
tioned, under the form of the Leyden jar, gave to the natural
philosopher an easy method of concentrating large quantities of
electricity produced by artificial means, so as to discharge it upon
or through bodies with an instantaneous and violent explosion.
From the time, therefore, that the cause of lightning became
identified with that of ordinary electricity, and that the gigantic
attempt of Dr Franklin and other philosophers, of actually
drawing down the matter of lightning from the clouds, was fully
accomplished, the effects produced on bodies by these minor
electrical discharges with their mode of action, acquired a new
interest ; and many important experimental researches into the
laws and operation of the great natural action, were successfully
carried on by means of the ordinary artificial one.

8. Amongst the many important results arrived at by such
inquiries, are the following :—

First, In every case of electrical explosion, there are univer-
sally two points of action, one from which the electric matter

“An explanation of some of the phenomena of thunder-storms on this
principle will be found in my printed letter to Sir T. B. Martin, K.C.B.
Comptroller of his Majesty’s Navy.

Lightning Conductors in Ships. 157

may be supposed to proceed, and another towards which it may
be considered as determined.

Secondly, At the instant before which an explosion takes
place, the stream of electricity moving to restore the equilibrium
of natural disposition, seems by a wonderful influence to feel
its way, and mark out as it were, in advance, the course it is
about to follow ; which course is invariably determined through
the line or lines of least resistance between the points of ac-
tion.

A few illustrations from experience of damage by lightning,
may serve to render these facts evident.

(a.) The brig Belisle, of Liverpool, in November 1811, was
lying afloat, abreast of Mr Evan’s yard, at Bideford, when a
vivid flash of lightning shivered her fore-top-mast and fore-mast,
tore up the forecastle deck, and struck a hole through her star-
board-side, starting several butts in the bends, whence it passed
into the sea.

(b.) The French ship Coquin, at anchor in the bay of Naples,
was struck by lightning in the afternoon of Christmas day 1820.
The electric matter passed, in this case, close to the main hatch-
way, upon a spare anchor, and from thence through her bottom
a little below the water’s edge on the larboard-side. The boats
of the squadron in Naples Bay, assisted to slip her cables
and run her ashore in the mole.

(c.) The United States ship Amphion, Blone master, of
and thirteen days from New York, bound to Rio, was struck
by lightning on the 21st of September 1822. The lightning de-
scended by her mizen-mast, destroyed the compasses and cabin
furniture, splintered and tore to pieces the ceiling, bulk-heads,
and rudder trunks, shivered two hold beams, and passed out
through the quarter into the sea, tearing off part of the sheath-
ing in its course *,

(d.) His Majesty’s frigate Palma, commanded by Captain
Worth, was struck by lightning in 1814, in the harbour of
Carthagena, Spanish America. The fore-top-mast was knocked
over the side, the lightning guttered or scooped its way, two
inches deep, and one inch and a-half wide, under the hoops of

* Extracted from the log of the brig Mirabiles, and given to Mr Lockyer,
Comptroller of the Customs at Plymouth.

158 Mr Harnis on the Utility of fiaing

the mast, without injuring them, as far as the main deck. Here
it fell upon the wet cable which had been just shortened in, and
was lying against the after-beam ; it knocked out a piece of the
beam, and passed by the wet cable out of the hawse hole, the
lead of which bore evident marks of the explosion. It was
perfectly calm at the time, and the lightning, besides striking
the ship, struck also down upon the sea several times, and with-
in a short distance of the ship.

(e.) The packet ship New York, in her passage from New
York to Liverpool, was struck by lightning twice in the same
day, April 19. 1827. The first explosion shattered the main-
royal-mast and mast-head, penetrated the deck, and demelished
‘the bulk-heads and fittings in the store-rooms below,—then di-
viding, one part fell upon a lead tube, which it traversed as far
as the side of the ship, and passed out into the sea, starting the
ends of three four-inch planks ; another portion passed into one
of the cabins, and shivered to atoms the plate of a large mirror,
without hurting the frame ; after this, it fell upon a piano-forte,
which it touched with no very delicate hand, and left it dis-
mounted and out of tune; from thence it passed through the
whole length of the cabin floor, which was damp at the time,
and out of the stern windows into the sea.

(ff) The operation of the second explosion was very diffe-
rent from this ;—it fell upun a spike at the mast-head, and from
thence passed down a small metallic chain, which it disjointed
and partly fused, into the sea, without doing any damage to the
vessel *.

(g.) His Majesty's ship Bellerophon, under the command of
Captain Rotheram, was struck by lightning at sea in August
1807. A violent explosion took place in several parts of the
ship at the same time; the main-top-gallant-mast totally disap-
peared, except the heel; the rigging of it was cut and burned
in pieces ; main-top-mast shivered in splinters from head to heel ;
main-mast damaged, and thirteen feet of the fish on the fore-
part disappeared. ‘The explosion also fell on the mizen-top-
mast, which it likewise shivered; it descended down the mizen-
mast in a spiral direction, broke the hoops, and damaged the

* This conducting chain had been set up immediately after the first ex-

plosion happened.

Lightning Conductors in Ships. 159

mast ; it passed through the coat of the mizen-mast on the lar-
board-side, and through one of the poop beams on the other
side ; it passed into the ward-room, into one of the officer’s
cabins, started the butt end of a plank in the ship’s side, and
split a rider underneath on the lower deck. The electric matter
on the larboard-hand went close into the ship’s side, in a per-
pendicular direction, and through the main and lower decks ; it
cut the clamp of the main-deck beams, entered the steward’s
room, where it ripped up the tin lining, and then passed
through the orlop-deck into the butter room. The vessel was
not damaged in the final escape of the electric matter mto the
sea.

(4.) In January 1830, H. M. S. Etna, under the command
of Captain Lushington, was struck by lightning, in the Corfu
Channel, in the Adriatic, at the time of coming to anchor.
In this instance three tremendous explosions came down a me-
tallic chain, attached to the main-mast, and passed into the sea,
without damage to the mast; the ship at the time seemed co-
vered with sparks.

9. It may be observed by an attentive examination of these
few cases, Ist, That the points to and from which the electric
matter is eventually determined, are out of the ship; and, ac-
cording with what has been stated in 1, 2, 6, are in the clouds
and sea, so that the vessel is merely, as it were, an intervening
object; the only action, therefore, which can be conceived to
belong exclusively to the ship, is that which may be required to
neutralize the opposite electrical state, induced upon the whole
mass of the vessel, as being a point of the great surface opposed
to the electrified clouds, and which is very small and of little
consequence, compared with the capacity of the surrounding sea.
Cases a, b,c, d, e, f, more particularly shew this. 2dly, That
the points through which the explosion is determined, are inva-
riably in the line or lines of least resistance between the points
of action—that is, through the best conductors. Cases d, fj h,
clearly illustrate this ; and the same may be traced in all the
others.

10. It may be also observed in these, as in every other case
of damage from lightning, more especially on ship-board, that

the greatest mischief occurs where good conductors cease ; the
l

160 Mr Harris on the Utility of fiaing

electric matter being then enabled to produce all the disastrous
effects of an expansive force, as if, whilst in the conducting
body, it was in a diffused and low state, and again condensed
and brought into a narrow focus, at the moment of leaving it.
The damage, therefore, may be in this case considered to hap-
pen, not where the best conductors are, but where they are not ;
so that the mariner has to contend with a constantly exploding
principle, which continues its devastations in all these points
where it ceases to be transmitted ; thus determining for itself a
passage between the points of action through such line or lines
as may, upon the whole, oppose to it the least resistance.

11. Such effects being constantly observed not only on ship-
board, but on shore, it became a grand question of scientific
consideration, how far it would be prudent to provide for the
electric matter an efficient conducting line, between the highest
points of a ship and the sea, so as to offer the least resistance to
the progress of such a powerful agency, and transmit it in a
state of low tension between the points of action; on the same
principle that persons, dreading an inundation, would provide a
channel to carry off the water as easily as possible; an idea, as
is well known, first suggested by the celebrated Dr Franklin,
and since carried into practice with considerable success; the
conducting line having the name of Lightning-Conductor or
Lightning-Rod.

12. Although the application of lightning-conductors to
buildings on shore is always judicious, and their advantages
very apparent, yet on ship-board, where the effects of lightning
are most to be dreaded, the introduction of this means of de-
fence has been slow and imperfect. The conductor hitherto
employed at sea consists of long flexible chains or links of me-
tal, about the size of a goose-quill, sometimes of iron : those em-
ployed in H. M. Navy, however, are of copper ; they are usual-
ly packed in a box, and are intended to be set up from the
mast-head to the sea when occasions require, so that, as observed
by Mr Singer, in his excellent work on electricity, partly from
inattention, and partly from prejudice, they frequently remain
in the ship’s hold during long and hazardous voyages quite un-
employed ; a remark, the truth of which is but too frequently

Lightning Conductors in Ships. 161

verified in the damage so constantly happening at sea during
lightning storms *.

13. The necessity of providing the best. possible security
against the effects of lightning on ship-board has been long ad-
mitted ; but continuous and fixed metallic rods have been
deemed inapplicable to ships, in consequence of their masts, the
only parts to which they can be attached, being exposed to
chances of injury, to motion in a variety of ways, to frequent
elongation and contraction, and to the necessity which frequent-
ly arises for removing the higher masts altogether, and placing
them on deck. It was probably from these causes that the
small flexible chains or links above mentioned were employed.
Such conductors, however, will probably, on examination, be
found less applicable than fixed continuous lines of metal, and,
in every point of view, inefficient substitutes for them. Their
great want of continuity, as well as their want of mass and sur-
face, is very unfavourable to the transmission of severe explo-
sions, the electric matter becoming sensible at the points of
junction, as is evident by the sparks which appear upon them
at the time of the discharge, so that in some instances they have
been actually disunited : they are likewise objectionable as be-
ing liable to every species of injury incident to a ship’s rigg-
ing, and much difficulty is experienced in keeping them in
their position, and unbroken, more especially during gales of
wind, and at night, when the ship is under sail, and when it is
perhaps required, as is already observed, to remove some por-
tion of the higher masts. It has therefore been long considered
desirable to apply, if possible, a permanent conductor, which
should be always in its place, and ready for action; and various
attempts have been made and suggestions advanced, at different
times, to apply fixed lightning-conductors in ships, as the sub-
ject from time to time has demanded further consideration.

14. To protect a ship effectually from damage by lightning,
it is essential that the conductor be as continuous and as direct
as possible, from the highest points to the sea—that it be per-

* Case (f.), p- 158. A minute account will be found in the Liverpool
Commercial Chronicle, in May 1827. . The conducting. chain, at the time of

the first explosion, was stowed away in its box below,- although set up in
time to prevent the effects of the second explosion. ;

APRIL—JUNE 183]. L

162 Mr Harris on the Utility of fixing

manently fixed in the masts, throughout their whole extent, so
as to admit of the motion of one portion of the mast upon ano-
ther; and, in case of the removal of any part of the mast, to-
gether with the conductor attached to it, either from accident
or design, the remaining portion should still be perfect, and
equivalent to transmit an electrical discharge into the sea.

15. To fulfil these conditions, pieces of sheet-copper, from
one-eighth to one-sixteenth of an inch thick, and about two feet
long, and varying from six inches to one inch and a half in
breadth, may be inserted into the masts in two amine, one over
the other; the butts or joints of the one being covered by the
central portions of the other. The laminz should be rivetted to-
gether at the butts, so as to form a long elastic continuous line;
the whole conductor is inserted under the edges of a neat groove,
ploughed longitudinally in the aft side of the different masts,
and secured in its position by wrought copper nails, so as to
present a fair surface. The metallic line thus constructed, will
then pass downward from the copper spindle at the mast-head,
along the aft sides of the royal-mast and top-gallant-mast, being
connected in its course with the copper about the sheeve-holes.
A copper lining in the aft side of the cap, through which the
top-mast slides, now takes up the connection, and continues it
over the cap, to the aft side of the top-mast, and so on as be-
fore, to the step of the mast. Here it meets a thick wide copper
lining, turned round the step, under the heel of the mast, and
resting on a similar layer of copper, fixed to the keelson. This
last is connected with some of the keelson-bolts, and with three
perpendicular bolts of copper, of two inches diameter, which are
driven into the main keel upon three transverse or horizontal
bolts, brought into immediate contact with the copper expanded
over the bottom. The laminz of copper are turned over the
respective mast-heads, and secured about an inch or more down
on the opposite side; the cap which cerresponds is prepared in
a somewhat similar way, the copper being continued from the
lining in the aft part of the round hole, over the cap, into the
fore part of the square one, where it is turned down and secu-
red as before, so that when the cap is in its place, the contact is
complete. In this way, we have, under all circumstances, a
continuous metallic line, from the highest points to the sea,

Lightning Conductors in Ships. 163

which will transmit the electric matter directly through the
keel *, being the line of least resistance.

16. From what has been already observed, it will be appa-
rent, that, in whatever position we suppose the sliding-masts to
be placed, whether in a state of elongation or contraction, still
the line of conduction will remain perfect, for that part of the
conductor which necessarily remains below the cap and top,
when the sliding masts are struck, is no longer in the dine’ of
action, consequently its influence need not be considered.

18. The following table exhibits the mean proportion of a
conductor thus constructed on one mast of a fifty gun frigate,
as compared with the copper links usually furnished to the Bri-
tish navy, together with the necessary equivalent in copper or
iron bolt, in order to obtain a conductor of the same mass.

The resulting quantities in the last line at the bottom of the
table, represent, with the exception of the proposed conductors,
the masses, surfaces, and diameters of cylindrical metallic rods,
supposed to extend the whole length of the mast. Thus in
column 2, we have the diameter and surface of a copper rod,
containing 2423 cubic inches of metal, being an equal quantity
of matter to that in the proposed conductors, and from which it
is calculated. The sums, therefore, are not the result of the
addition of the successive masts. 'The same may be observed
in column 3; taking the equivalent in iron. In the third and
fourth columns, we have the mass and surface of a eopper rod
of half an inch in diameter, generally allowed to be adequate to
any shock of lightning syet experienced: and, lastly, in eo-
lumn 4, we have the mass and surface in the conductors now
furnished to the British navy; which we find, as compared
with the mass in the proposed arrangement, is only as 94.4:
24.23.

* Since the mizen-mast does not step on the keelson, it will be necessary
to have a metallic communication at the step of the mast with the perpen-

dicular stancheon immediately under it, and so on to the keelson as before,
or otherwise carry the conductor out at the sides. of the vessel.

164 Mr Harris on the Utility of fixing

TABLE.

Equivalent in an iron
rod; taking conduct- face in a cop- | Mass and sur-

ing powers only a8 4/inch diame- | conductors.
x ter.

SUCCESSION OF

MASTS. 3 x
8 8 $
= J cS

os
E E oe:
Q A = D
cub, in.| sq. in. | cub. in.) sq. in.
Royal Pole.

Conductor 18 ft.
3 in. long, 2 in.
wide ; two lami-
nz, each .th of
an inch thick.

56 | 385] 216) 770| 1-12 343/ 105! 171

Top-gallant-mast.

Conductor 17 ft.
long, 2} in. wide;
two lamin, one y

ith of an inch ane). 160
thick, the other
jgth.

Topmast.

Conductor 50 ft.
long; copper 4
in. wide; two la-
minz, each ith
of an inch thick.

2070 | 2400 942| 19°2| 471

Lower-mast.

Conductor 93 ft.
long ; copper 6
in. wide; two la-
minz, each ith
of an inch thick.

1:38 | 4837 | 6696; 9675 219|1753| 54:7) 876

— ee

418 | 3358 | 94-4) 1678

19. The manner in which conductors here proposed are ap-
plied to the mast, gives the form of the whole,—that of a flat-
tened, conical surface,—wide at the base, and diminishing gra-

dually to a point.
It has been stated by one of the most eminent of the French

Lightning Conductors in Ships. 165

philosophers, that this form is the best possible for a lightning
rod.

20. The objections made to fixing lightning conductors in
ships, are for the most part such as have been urged against
lightning rods generally ; and are principally as follows :—It is
said, that by fixing continuous lines of metal in the masts, we
invite an electrical discharge from the atmosphere, and that by
means of an attractive power, which, it is assumed, the metal is
possessed of, the explosion is drawn exclusively upon the vessel;
that, inasmuch as we can never come to know the absolute
quantity of electric matter which may be discharged from a
thunder-cloud, it is possible that the transmitting power of any
conductors we can apply, may be inadequate to the end in view,
so that they may possibly become fused ; and hence it is infer-
red, that much damage may be the consequence :—That in
fixing lightning conductors in the masts, we can only have sur-

Jace; whereas, the properties of a conductor depend on the
mass, and not on the surface of the metal: hence the metallic
surface is calculated to do considerable mischief, by conducting
the lightning into the body of the vessel. Such are the princi-
pal objections to this application, and which, it is hoped, are
fairly stated. They are highly deserving serious consideration,
but they will be found, on examination, to be inconsistent with
experience, and with the known laws of electrical action. We
shall, however, by a candid inquiry, give these objections all
the attention which their connection with so important a ques-
tion demands.

21. The notion that a lightning rod is a positive evil, will
be found to have arisen out of the fact already mentioned (8),
namely, that lightning invariably passes through the line or
lines of least resistance between the points of action ; hence it
seizes on all those substances which oppose the least resistance
to its passage; metallic vanes, vane spindles, iron bars, knives,
and pointed metallic bodies, generally, will therefore be very
commonly found in the course of the explosion; and from this
circumstance, they have been considered to exert an attractive
force upon the matter of lightning, so as to draw it aside from
its destined course, to the destruction of the substances in con-
nection with them.

166 Mr Harris on the Utility of fixing

22. It will be found, however, that the action of pointed’ me-
tallic bodies is purely passive; that they only afford by the apt-
‘ness of their parts an easy transmission to the electric matter ;
so that they can no more be said to attract the matter of light-
ning, than a dike can be said to attract the water which neces-
sarily flows through it at the time of heavy rain; and, as in the
one case, the water is drawn down by a force not peculiarly ap-
pertaining to the dike, so, in the other case, the electric matter
‘is determined to a given point, in a somewhat similar way, by
a force not appertaining to the metal. Moreover, it may still
further be reasoned by analogy, that, as the quantity of water
transmitted will depend on the capacity of the dike, and the
final protection it gives in conveying the fluid on the length to
-which it is continued ; so, on the other hand, the protection af-
‘forded by a lightning rod will also depend on tts capacity, ‘and
the distance to which it-runs.. If, in both cases, ‘the length be
extended until the force in action be satisfied, the protection te-
ceived will be as the capacity for transmitting the current: af
‘both be perfect, the protection will be complete; if the dike. be
‘not present, the water must be supposed to run loose and undi-
rected ; or, if its continuity be frequently interrupted or nar-
rowed to a small compass, the damage must then be supposed
to happen in the intermediate spaces. Such is, in fact, the way
in which all bodies of the conducting class already mentioned
(4) operate in conveying electrical discharges ; and it must never
he forgotten as an important feature in this discussion, that,
whenever we erect an artificial elevation on the earth’s surface
in the ordinary way, we do, in fact, set up a conductor of elec-
tricity, upon which the electricity of the atmosphere will’fall,
and no human power can prevent it... Hence, if metallic bodies
be present, those’ will be first assaled ; if not, then the’ electric
matter will fall on the bodies next in conducting power, a
so on.

23. A curious illustration of this principle will be Scape in
an extract from the Memoirs of the Count de Forbin, which is
given in the forty-ecighth volume of the Philosophical: Transae-
tions. ‘“* In the night,” says the author of these memoirs, »“eit
‘became extremely dark, and it thundered and lightened -dread-
fully. As we were threatened with the ship being torn to

Lightning Conductors in Ships. 167

pieces, I ordered the sails to be taken in. We saw upon different
parts of the ship above thirty St Elmo’s fires; amongst the
rest there was one upon the top of the vane of the main-mast
more than a foot and a half in height ; I ordered one of the
sailors to take it down. When this man was on the top he
heard this fire; its noise resembled that of fired wet gunpowder.
I ordered him to lower the vane and come down, but scarcely
had he taken the vane from its place, when the fire fixed itself
upon the top of the main-mast, from which it was impossible to
remove it.”

24. Since, then, the conducting power of bodies differs only
in degree, and that the action by which they are assailed is the
result of a great natural agent quite independent of them, we
may expect to find all bodies liable to be assailed by lightning,
though the effects may be most apparent when the conducting
power is imperfect. ‘Thus we find cases on record, of ships
struck by lightning in which no metallic spindles were present,
or other iron work about the mast-head ;* moreover, it is by
no Means an uncommon circumstance to find trees and rocks
rent asunder by lightning, and to hear of men and quadrupeds,
even in a plain and open country, destroyed at the time of a
thunder-storm, when the electric matter strikes the earth’s sur-

face.
(To be continued.)

On the Proximate Causes of certain Winds and Storms. By
Professor E. Mircue.t, University of North Carolina +.

"Tue four following propositions may be regarded as statements
of general facts, which have been sufficiently established by
numerous observations in various parts of the world.

I. That part of the great oceans which lies between the 30th
parallel of latitude on both sides of the equator, is constantly
swept by a wind varying but a few points from the east.

II. Between the latitudes of 30° and 60°, in both the nor-
thern and southern hemisphere, westerly winds predominate

* See Philosophical Transactions, vols. xlix. and Ixix. damage done to the
sheer hulk at Plymouth, and on board the Atlas, East Indiaman.

+ From Silliman’s American Journal of Seience and Arts, vol. xix.

168 Prof. E. Mitcliell on the Prowimate

over those from the edst quarter, in a ratio probably somewhat
greater than that of 3 to 2. Ect

III. There is in all latitudes (a few tracts of Lepitcchi ates
where local causes have a decided effect excepted) a predomi-
nance of winds blowing from the poles towards the equator,
over those moving in the opposite direction;—but this predomi-
nance is not so well marked and decided as that of the westerly
over the easterly winds, between the latitudes of 30° and 60°.

IV. During the warm weather within the temperate, and at
all seasons within the limits of the torrid zone, the fall of rain
is often accompanied by lightning, thunder and violent winds,
constituting what is commonly called a thunder-storm. Thun-
der-storms generally commence between mid-day and sunset,
and move from west to east.

Other general facts might be added, but these are such as re-
quire to be viewed in connexion with the laws which regulate
the movements of the aérial currents over the surface of the
globe, and the origin of those currents are to be investigated.
The truth of the statements contained in these propositions will
first be shewn, after which an inquiry will be instituted respect-
ing the causes by which the facts asserted in them may be sup-

posed to be produced.

I. That part of the great oceans which lies between the 30th
parallel of latitude on both sides of the equator, is constantly
swept by a wind varying but a few points from the east.

The direction, velocity, permanence and other characters of
the trade-winds, are too well known to require any particular
remark. They are affected by a number of local causes. Near
the equator they blow from the east point, but at a distance
from it their course becomes inclined to the parallels of latitude,
so as to be at length from the north-east and south-east, near
their northern and southern limits. Their force and direction
are also influenced by the proximity of islands and continents.
Along the western side of Africa their direction is reversed ; to
the distance seaward of about three hundred miles, they blow
towards the land, and nearly at right angles to the coast.

Halley notices a tract between the 4th and 10th degrees of
north latitude, and the longitudes of 1'7° and 23°, “ wherein it

Causes of certain Winds and Storms. 169

were improper to say there is any trade-wind, or yet a variable
one, for it seems condemned to perpetual ‘calms, attended with
terrible thunder, lightning and rains, so frequent that our navi-
gators, from them, call this. part of the sea the Rains; the little
winds they have are only some sudden uncertain gusts of very
short continuance and less extent, so that sometimes each hour
there is a. different gale, which dies away into a calm before
another succeéds ; and in a fleet of ships in sight of one another,
each will have the wind from a different point of the compass.
With these weak breezes, ships are obliged to make the best of
their way to the southward, through the aforesaid 6°, wherein
it is reported some have been detained whole months for want
of wind *.”

Instead, however, of being confined to these longitudes, it
would appear that either a total cessation or a remission of the
force of the trades is observed between the latitudes specified
throughout nearly the whole extent cf both the Atlantic and
Pacific: the effect being, however, more distinctly marked and
perceptible in the former than in the latter ocean. A few quo-
tations are given ; it would be easy to add largely to their num-
ber.

*< The southern trade-wind being cooler in like latitudes than
the northern, usually passes the equinoctial into the northern
hemisphere. The northern trade-wind falls considerably short
of it, as earlier attaining the maximum of heat. Between them
is the region of variable winds, light airs and calms, attended
with frequent squalls and ram; an uncertain wavy zone lying
between the times of their influence. It is the tract in which
the highest temperature prevails throughout the year; not at
the equinoxes only, the sun being then vertical, but also when
he is distant at the tropics. In this warm and damp region of
the middle Atlantic, situated in the vicinity of the equator +,”
&e.

«© After a most rapid run of several days, we reached the

‘ swamp,” as the captain calls the calm and rainy latitudes, be-
tween the north-east and south-east trade-winds, a few degrees
north of the equator—clouds and tempests seem gathered before

‘ Philosophical Transactions for 1686.

+ Colebrooke’s Meteorological Observations in a Voyage across the Atlan-
tic, in Brande’s Journal.

170 Prof. E. Mitchell on the Prowimate

us. The “ swamp” was much less formidable than we expect-
ed; we have had but little rain, only a short calm, and no
thunder-storm, though the “ artillery of the heavens” has been
heard almost constantly at a distance. We crossed the Line yes-
terday morning, in longitude 24 degrees west *.”

*¢ About the period of the last date, we entered the north-east
trade winds, and have been rushing on before their freshness at
the rate of more than two hundred miles a day +.”

‘< We resumed our course to the north (from latitude 2° N.)
having fine weather and a gentle breeze, at east and east-south-
east, till we got into the latitude of 7° 45’ north, and the longitude
of 205° east, where we had one calm day. ‘This was succeeded by
a north-east by east and east-north-east wind. At first it blew

Saint, but freshened as we advanced to the north }.”

Between the longitudes of 160° and 172° east, ind in the lati.
tudes specified, Commodore Byron had ‘ only faint breezes
with smooth water’—“ we most ardently wished for a fresh
gale, especially as the heat was still intolerable, the glass for a
long time having never been lower than 81°, but often mp! to
84°.”

Il. Between the latitudes of 20° and 60°, in both the northern

and southern hemisphere, westerly winds predominate over those

From the east quarter, in a ratio probably somewhat greater than
that of 3 to 2.

(a.) Daniell states that, “ in Great Britain, on an average of
ten years, westerly winds exceed. the easterly, in the proportion
of 225. to 140 §.”

(0.) The Meteorology of Cotte, in 3 sols. 4to, is a vast repo-
sitory of facts in this. science, of very unequal value, It ap-
pears from the tables contained in the last volume, that, gene-
rally, in the central and western parts of Europe, and in, some
parts of Asia, westerly winds prevail. This is the case in most
parts of France, at Amsterdam, Berne, Berlin, Stockholm, St
Petersburg, Aleppo, Bassora and Bagdad—Copenhagen is the

* Stewart’s Journal in the Atlantic.

+ Stewart’s Journal in the Pacific, W. Long. 134°, Lat. 83°.

+ Cook’s Last Voyage. {| Hawkesworth’s Voyages, vol. i. p. 138,
§ Meteorological Essays, p. 114.

Causes of certain Winds and Storms. 171

only European capital of which an account is given, where this
is not the case. ‘* The wind is inclined to west at Paris,
(Young’s Philosophy, vol. ii. p. 255.) See also Annals of Phi-
losophy for July 1822, where it is stated that, at St Petersburg,
from 1772 to 1792, to which period, with the addition of 1818
and 1819, the observations are confined, “ the west wind pre-
vailed the most, and the south wind the least.” The numbers
expressing the ratios of the winds from the different quarters are
not given, except for the year 1818, when the westerly winds
were to the easterly as 178 to 111.

(c.) Westerly winds predominate over those from the east
quarter within the limits of the United States. See the different
meteorological tables furnished for publication in the former
numbers of this Journal, by Messrs Beck, Field, Hildreth,
Hitchcock, and especially the abstract of the meteorological re-
gisters kept at the several military posts of the United States,
drawn up ‘by Dr Lovell, and inserted in the 12th volume,
page 153, where the westerly are to the easterly winds, for a _
term of four years, in the ratio of 12.59 to 9.63.

(d.) That west and south-west winds prevail in that part of
the Atlantic Ocean which lies beyond the northern limit of the
trade winds, is so well known that quotations in proof of it ean
hardly be necessary, (See Bowditch’s Navigation.) “ Have we
not reason to believe that the almost constantly prevailing west
and south-west winds which cause the voyage from New York’
or Philadelphia to England, to be called down, and from Eng-
land back, up, as well as that which blows at the top of the
Peak, are the upper equatorial current which has here descend-’
ed, to skim the surface of the ocean * 2?”

(e.) Commodore Krisenstern, as quoted by Wallenstein ‘in
the Boston Journal of Philosophy, vol. iii. p. 282, ‘states that
‘gn the Pacific Ocean, from latitude 30° to the pole, the va-
riable winds are generally from the north-east and south-west.”

( #) The following statements are from Encyclopedias and
other compilations. During a term of sixteen years, the westerly
were to the easterly winds in Russia as 172 to 106. East
winds prevail in Germany. “West winds are most frequent on

* Von Buch, on the Climate of the Canary Islands, in Jameson’s Journal.

172 Prof. E. Mitchell on the Proximate

the N. E. coast of Asia. In Nova Scotia, north-west, and at
Hudson’s Bay west, winds blow for three-fourths of the year.

(g.) Our information respecting the winds of the southern
hemisphere is less ample. Cape Horn (lat. 56°), has long been
infamous amongst navigators for the violent westerly gales that
prevail there, rendering it sometimes almost impossible to sail
round from the Atlantic into the Pacific. (See Stewart’s Journal.)
«« The prevailing winds of this region are heavy gales from the
west, the direct course to be steered in passing the Cape, and
ships are often detained by them three times the period we have
been (twenty-one days), and meet with weather far more dan-
gerous and severe ; so much so, that many vessels, after striving
in vain for weeks here to make a passage into the Pacific, have
been obliged at last to bear away for the Cape of Good Hope,
and make their voyage across the Indian Ocean.”

(h.) In an account of the Falkland Islands by William Clay-

ton, Esq. inserted in the Philosophical Transactions for 1776,
it is stated that “ The prevailing winds are from the south to
the west for two-thirds of the year, and in general, boisterous
and stormy.”
_(@.) “In the southern Atlantic, at the extremity of South
Africa, the winds are periodical, consonant during summer to
the south-east trade, which constantly blows on each side of the
promontory ; but conforming in winter with the western wind
that prevail at all times in the Southern Ocean. In other
words, the fluctuating boundary of the western current of air
touches upon the extremity of the African continent in winter,
and recedes from it in summer *.”

III. There is in all latitudes (a few tracts of limited extent
where local causes have a decided effect excepted) a predominance
of winds blowing from the poles towards the equator over those
moving in the opposite direction ; but this predominance is not
as well marked and decided as that of the westerly over the
easterly winds between the latitudes of 30° and 60°.

(a.) Daniell states, that in Great Britain, upon an average of
ten years, ‘ the northerly winds are to the southerly as 192 to

* Colebrooke on the climate of South Africa in Brande’s Journal, vol. xiv.
p- 250.

Causes of certain Winds and Storms. 173

173,” and that “in the central parts of Europe the northern
winds are much more regular ; and there, especially in summer,
the Etesian breeze constantly prevails.”

(4.) Cotte’s tables do not indicate the predominance and
permanence of northerly winds in that quarter of the world
which is asserted by Daniell. Of the capital cities heretofore
mentioned, Aleppo, Bassora, Berne, Petersburg, and Stock-
holm, appear to have an excess of northerly winds ; Amsterdam,
Berlin, and Copenhagen, of southerly; whilst at Bagdad and
Paris the excess on either side is inconsiderable. These tables
were, however, published in 1788, after the work to which they
are attached had been in press for some years. The informa-
tion they afford respecting Germany is very meagre, whilst the
subject of meteorology appears to have excited an extraordinary
degree of interest in that country between the years 1781 and
1792, so that Daniell may have had access to documents by
which his assertions were fully warranted.

(c.) It is stated in the Encyclopedia Perthensis, that at St
Petersburg the northerly winds were found, during a term of
sixteen years, to be to the southerly as 133 to 119 (the westerly
were to the easterly as 133 to 92), and that in the Mediter-
ranean the north wind blows for nearly three-fourths of the
year. Other citations might be made from the same quarter;
but their bearing upon the question before us is doubtful, as
merely the point from which the wind blows during the greatest
number of days is specified without any notices by which the
relative proportion of northerly and southerly winds may be
determined.

(d.) In that part of the Atlantic Ocean lying beyond the
northern limit of the trade-winds between the United States and
Europe, it appears that southerly winds predominate*. Their
cause is probably analogous to that of the Gulf Stream.

(e.) Of the meteorological registers that have been published
in this Journal, some, as those of Messrs Field, Olmsted, and
Wallenstein, show an excess of northerly winds; others, as
those of Drs Beck, Lovell, and probably Hildreth, an excess of
southerly winds ; but in general the excess of the southerly over

* See the quotation from Von Buch.

174 Prof. E. Mitchell on the Proximate

the northerly where it obtains is less than that of the westerly
over the easterly. ‘Thus, in the abstract of Dr Lovell, the
westerly winds are to the easterly as 12.59 to 9.63; the south-
erly to the northerly as 12.59 to 11.60. On the whole, there
can be little room for doubt, that the wimds from the north pre-
dominate over those from the south within the limits of the
United States. This method of estimating the amount of wind
in any direction by the number of days it blows from that point,
is exceedingly defective, and may (as where the wind is com-
monly violent in one direction and gentle in another, and the
force with which it blows is altogether neglected) lead to the
most erroneous results. This happens to be the case in this
country. Our south-west winds prevail chiefly in the summer
season; they are mild breezes, subsiding often into a calm,
which continues during a considerable part of the day. Our
north-west winds, on the other hand, sweep over the continent
day and night, with a constancy and velocity which renders it
necessary to make a considerable allowance when we are esti-
mating the amount of movement in the atmosphere by the time
during which it occurs.

(f) * The north winds (los nortes), which are north-west
winds, blow in the Gulf of Mexico from the autumnal tosthe
spring equinox. These north wind hurricanes generally remain
for three or four days, and sometimes for ten or twelve *.”

(g.) If there be a predominance of either northerly or south-
erly winds in the North Pacific Ocean, it is not such as to have
attracted the particular attention of navigators. ‘ On the
north-west coast of America, from the Straits of Behring to 30°
of northern latitude, the winds are variable. Captiin Cook
found in March, in the 44th degree of latitude, a fresh and con-
stant north-west, which continued until the beginning of sum-
mer, with the exception of a south-east, which lasted, however,
only six hours; and La Perouse, Portlock, and Dixon did not
experience the south winds in the summer. According to Van-
couver and the Spanish navigators, the north and north: west are
the most prevailing. (Kriisenstern.) All this, however, applies
almost exclusively to the summer months. During the winter;

* Humboldt’s New Spain, book i. chap. 3. See also Poinsett’s Mexico, in
regard to the violence of these winds.

Causes of certain Winds and Storms. 175

Messrs Lewis and Clarke, at the mouth of the Columbia River,
had long continued gales from the south-west, and deluges of
rain.

(h.) The violent winds that prevail at Cape Horn are not ac-
curately from the west point, but from some other between the
west and south. ‘I cannot, in any case, concur in recommend-
ing the running into the latitude of 61° or 62° before any endea-
vour is made to stand to the westward. We found neither the
current nor the storms, which the running so far to the south-
ward is supposed necessary to avoid ; and indeed, as the winds
almost constantly blow from that quarter, it is scarcely possible
to pursue the advice *.”

(z.) Cook’s voyages into the high latitudes of the southern
hemisphere being made when the sun was in the neighbourhood
of the southern tropic, cannot be referred to as affording infor-
mation of unquestionable accuracy respecting the winds that
prevail in those seas.

IV. Thunder-storms generally commence between mid-day and
sunset, and move from west to east. +

(a.) Such persons as have paid any attention to the changes
of the weather in this country, must be well aware that our
thunder-storms begin in the after part of the day, and move from
west to east. They sometimes occur at night, but seldom after
midnight. The direction of their motion does not appear to de-
pend upon the predominance of the westerly over the easterly
winds, being much more constant and uniform than that pyedo-
minance ; but to be a result and a proof of a commotion excited
in the atmosphere at the time of their formation, and of a rush
of the air from the west towards the east, in consequence of some
new impulse just then communicated.

(2.) The author of the article «* Thunder,” in the Encyclo-
peedia Perthensis, states, that along the eastern side of the island
of Great Britain, it is more frequent in the month of July than
at any other time of the year, which he attributes to the circum-
stance that a wind from the west then succeeds to the east wind

* Cook, in Hawkesworth’s Voyages, vol. ii, See also Clayton’s account of
the Falkland Islands quoted above.

+ In an easterly direction, not in the plane of the prime vertical.

176 Prof. E. Mitchell on the Proximate

that had prevailed from April till the end of June. ‘ For the
most part, however, the west wind prevails, and what little mo-
tion the clouds have is towards the east, whence the common
remark in this country, that thunder clouds move against the
wind. But this is by no means universally true, for if the west
wind happen to be excited by any temporary cause before its
natural period when it should take place, the east wind will of-
ten get the better of it, and the clouds, even although thunder is
produced, will move westward.” That the most common and
natural course of thunder-storms in that country is from west to
east, is therefore very apparent.

(c.) Of the remarkable thunder-storms experienced in Eng-
land, from the year of the foundation of the Royal Society down
to 1800, and noticed in the Philosophical Transactions, there
are about thirty-five, the time of whose commencement, or in
general of their occurrence, is either distinctly stated or clearly
indicated in the abridgement by Hutton, Shaw, and Pearson.
Of these, the beginning of twenty-seven was between noon and
midnight ; generally it was about three or four o'clock in the
afternoon. One lasted all day, and the remaining seven were
in the morning. The direction of twelve is given. ‘Two came
from the south, three from the eastern, and seven from the
western quarter.

If the wind blow for a great length of time, or frequently at
intervals, from a particular point in any country, the fact will
be likely to be noticed by the traveller who may happen to be
u the spot, and stated in his journal ; whilst the direction of
~ the gust during a storm, in which he may be involved, will be
altogether neglected. For this reason it is more difficult to fur-
nish proof that thunder-storms follow a particular course, than
to establish the prevalence of certain winds in given latitudes.
It is but reasonable that this should be borne in mind, if the
evidence adduced in establishing our proposition should not be
regarded as in every respect satisfactory. The bare silence of
an Englishman or inhabitant of the United States, in regard to
the quarter in which a thunder-cloud rises, furnishes ground for
believing that it is the same as in his own country. Many sources
of information and argument, which would willingly have been
consulted, are not at hand.

(d.) Dr Young, giving the substance of a paper by Longford,

Causes of certain Winds and Storms. 177

in the Philosophical Transactions for 1698, on the hurricanes of
the West Indies, remarks from it, that ‘“ All hurricanes begin
between north and west. Their course is generally opposite to
that of the trade winds. Tornados come from several points.” *

(e.) ** This is the wet season, but the rains by no means de-
scend from morning till night, as in some other tropical coun-
tries, but commence generally every afternoon about four or five
o'clock, with a thunderstorm.—Formerly these diurnal rains
came on with such regularity, that it was usual, in forming par-
ties of pleasure, to arrange whether they should take place be-
fore or after the storm.—In the excursion made from Villa Rica
to Labara, it will be seen that violent thunderstorms were ex-
perienced almost daily ; and I could not help noticing the way
these storms commenced. The sky was perfectly clear until
about two or three o’clock, when some light white clouds were
seen approximating the sun with great rapidity. Sometimes
they all passed, but if one lingered as if within its influence,
thunder was heard, and in a few minutes no remains of a blue
sky were visible. The storm commenced directly.” Commen-
cing in the direction of the sun at two or three o'clock, these
storms of course begin in the west +.

(f) “ Thunder and lightning are ten times more frequent
than in Spain, especially if a storm comes from the north-west.
During my residence in Paraguay, several persons fell victims
to lightning, and in the city of Buenos Ayres, in a storm on the
21st of January 1793, it fell in thirty-seven different places, anil
killed nineteen people. These storms of wind, thunder, rain, and
lightning, cannot be attributed to the influence of mountains, as
there are none within one hundred leagues f.

(g.) ‘* Les vents de Nord N. de Nord-OQuest sont ceux que
aménent les gros temps et les ouragans dans les mois d’Avril,
Mai, Juin, Jouillet et Aout; mais ces ouragans, quelquefois
furieux ne sont pas fréquens.” The months specified, constitute

* Philosophy, vol.ii. p.458. It is hardly necessary to observe that a hur-
ricane is a violent thunderstorm.

+ Caldcleugh’s Observations in Brazil, in Brande’s Journal, vol. xiv.

+ Azara’s Travels in South America, quoted in the Anti-Jacobin, vol.
XXXiv. p. 456.
APRIL—JUNE 1831. M

178 Prof. E. Mitchell on the Proximate

the rainy season. ‘ La gréle ne tomb guére que dans la saison
pluvieuse: le tonnere ne se fait aussi entendre que dans cette sai-
“son mais rarement; on ne voit les éclairs de chaleur que par un
temps couvert et jamais par un temps chaud et serein comme il
arrive ordinairement en Europe.” De la Cailles’ Meteorological
Observations at the Cape of Good Hope, as quoted by Cotte.
Ouragan and hurricane are the same word, and stand for very
nearly the same idea in the two languages.

(A.) “Le méme Académicien (Guettard) a observé que le
vent le plus dominant (at Warsaw), est le Sud-Owest qui y cause
souvent des ouragans, ensuite le Sud et enfin le Nord et le Nord-
Ouest *.”

(2.), Russel states, that at Aleppo, in the month of September,
‘‘ Lightnings are very frequent in the night time, and if they
are seen in the western hemisphere, they portend rain, often ac-
companied with thunder.” _There is little room for doubt, that
all the thunderstorms that occur there come from the same quar-
ter, but I have met with no passage that is quite decisive +.

(k) Compare Joshua x, 11—1 Sam. vii, 10; and xii, 18—
1 Kings, xviii, 41 to 46—and Luke xii, 54, for the time and
course of the thunderstorms in Palestine; especially the latter
text: “* When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straitway ye
say there cometh a shower ; and soit is.” In the other cases there
was a particular interposition of the Deity, but in such, a way
doubtless as to produce effects according to the ordinary course of
nature. Hence, after there had been “ a sound of abundance of
rain” or thunder, Elijah went to the top of Carmel, and sent his
servant to look westward over the Great Sea: there arose at first
‘*¢ a little cloud out of the sea ike a man’s hand,” but the heaven
was soon ‘ black with clouds and wind, and there was a great
rain.” It is stated particularly that these occurrences were some
time after mid-day. Verse 29.

(2) ** In the beginning of April, and sometimes earlier, par-
ticularly in the south-eastern quarter of Bengal, there are fre-
quent storms of thunder, lightning, wind, and rain, from the
north-west quarter, which happen more frequently towards the

* Cotte, vol. i. p. 365.
+ See Calmet’s Dictionary, vol. iii. p. 497.

Causes of certain Winds and Storms. 179

close of the day than at any other time. These squalls mode~
rate the heat, and continue until the setting in of the periodicat
rains.” It is stated farther, that, “‘ during the dry season, the
heat of the middle districts is lessened by occasional thunder-
storms, named north-westers *.”

(m.) ** Thunderstorms are very frequent at Batavia, espe-
cially towards the conclusion of the Monsoons, when they occur
almost every evening T.”

(n.) It is stated by Veicht in the Philosophical ‘Transactions
for 1764, that in “ Bencoolen road, on the S. W. side of the
island of Sumatra, as well as in the strait of Malacca, you have
periodical winds, which blow for six months of the year from the
same quarter of the horizon, and the other six months from the
opposite quarter ; and itis observable that these thunder showers
and squalls of wind usually come contrary to these stated winds,
which are calmed during the thunder, but return to their con-
stant quarter as soon as the thunder and: rain are past.” Also
by Shorte in the Transactions for 1780, that at the mouth of
the Senegal River, during the rainy or sickly season, which be-
gins about the middle of July, and ends about the middle of
October, “ the wind is generally between the points of east and
south, the quarter from which the tornados come.”

It appears also from Major Denham’s account of the rainy sea-
son at Kouka, in Bornou, that in that country the thunder-
storms are generally from the north-east and south-east. These
are exceptions to our general doetrines, produced by local causes,
such as are perpetually occurring in every part of the-science of

meteorology.
f ( To be continued. )

Further Notices in regard to the Fossil. Bones Sound in Wel-
lington Country, New South Wales. By Major Mrrcuett,
Surveyor-General of New South Wales.

Tur account of the remarkable Bone District in New South
Wales, in the last number of this Journal, delivered to us by Dr
Lang of Sydney, we have inadvertently published as tie composi-

* Hamilton’s Account of Hindostan. + Stockdale’s Java, p. 36.
M 2

180 On the Fossil Bones in New South Wales.

tion of that gentleman, whereas it was only brought by him to
Europe from the author, Major Mitchell, in New South Wales.
The collection has been carefully inspected by Baron Cuvier and
Mr Pentland. The latter gentleman, also eminently skilled in
fossils, has sent to us the following note regarding these in-
teresting remains. ‘I have to apologize for not having writ-
ten to you sooner on the subject of the Fossil Bones from New
Holland, which you have been kind enough to send to Paris
for Baron Cuvier’s inspection and my own. I had, in fact,
drawn up a note on the subject, which I was on the point of
sending, when your nephew Torrie (at present in Auvergne),
informed me, that you had received several new specimens, and
had despatched a part of them to Paris by Mr Audubon. I
shall therefore defer, until I have examined this second collec-
tion, to send you any detailed views on the subject, which shall
accompany the several specimens on their return with our friend
Copland, who will take charge of them on his way from Au-
vergne. ‘The result of our examination of the bones brought
over by Dr Christie, has proved that they belong to eight species
of animals referrible to the following genera: Dasyurus or Thy-
Jacins; Hypsiprymnus or Kangaroo rat, one species ; Phas-
colomys, one species ; Kangaroo, two, if not three species ; Hal-
maturus, two species; and Elephant, one species. Of these
eight species, four appear to belong to animals unknown to zoo-
logists of the present day, viz. two species of Halmaturus; one
species of Hypsiprymnus and the Elephant. The three Kan-
garoos are difficult to distinguish from the living species of this
genus, owing probably to the imperfect nature of the speci-
mens, whilst the eighth animal, the Dasyurus, is doubtful, from
not possessing the head of the living species, to which the fossil
resembles by its size (the D. ursinus.)—Paris, 22d April 1831.”

In a subsequent note from Mr Pentland, 6th June 1831, he
says,—‘* I have not seen among the fossils you sent to Paris
anything resembling the Dugong; nor do I believe there is
aught in these specimens to warrant Dr Grant’s opinion (if
founded on inspection of similar specimens). The collection of
bones sent to you by Colonel Lindsay, from Wellington Coun-
try, contain remains of a species of Kangaroo exceeding by one-
third the largest known species of that genus.”

§:: 28>)

The Geological Age of Reptiles. By GipEon Manve tt, Esq.
FPR. 8 &esGe.

Aone the numerous interesting facts which the researches of
modern geologists have brought to light, there is none more ex-
traordinary and imposing than the discovery that there was a
period when the earth was peopled by oviparous quadrupeds of
a most appalling magnitude, and that reptiles were the Lords of
the Creation, before the existence of the human race! These
creatures of the ancient world, many of which, from their ex-
traordinary size and form, rival the fabled monsters of anti-
quity, existed in immense numbers, and in latitudes now too
cold for the habitation of modern oviparous quadrupeds. Their
remains occur in strata far more ancient than those which con-
tain the reliquiz of viviparous animals, and are found in ma-
rine as well as in fresh water deposites. Some of them, from
their organization, have been evidently fitted to live in the sea
only, while others were terrestrial, and many were inhabitants
of the lakes and rivers. The animal and vegetable remains with
which the fossil bones are associated, belong also to a very dif-
ferent order of things from that in which the modern oviparous
quadrupeds are placed; and we are compelled to conclude that
the condition of the earth, at the period when it was peopled by
reptiles, must have been wholly different from its present state,
and that it probably was then unfit for the habitation of animals
of a more perfect organization. It is, moreover, interesting to
remark, that some of these ancient and lost races are, as it were,
the types of the existing orders and genera; and that in the
pigmy Monitor and Iguana of modern times, we perceive strik-
ing resemblances to the colossal Megalosaurus and Iguanodon
of the ancient world.

It is also worthy of observation, that, as in the present epoch
the herbivorous quadrupeds are those of the greatest magnitude,
so at the period when reptiles were the principal inhabitants of
our planet, the herbivorous were those of the most gigantic pro-
portions. The geological period when the existence of reptiles
commenced must, according to the present state of our know-

ledge, be placed immediately after the formation of the coal meas

182 Mr Mantell on the Geological Age of Reptiles.

sures; the remains of Monitors having been found in the bitu-
minous slate of Thuringia; and those of a crocodile in the gyp-
seous red sandstone of England: but it is not till we arrive at
the Lias that the remains of reptiles occur m any considerable
quantity. At that period the earth must have teemed with ovi-
parcus quadrupeds ; and the enaliosawri, or those which inha-
bited the sea, appear to have been equally numerous with those
of the land and rivers. The prodigious quantity of the remains
of these animals which has, within a comparatively short period,
been found in England alone, is truly astonishing; and if to
these we add the immense numbers that have been discovered
in France, Germany, &c., and reflect that for one individual
found im a fossil state, thousands must have been devoured or
decomposed ; and that even of those that are fossilized, the num-
ber that comes under the notice of the naturalist must be trif-
ling compared with the quantities unobserved or destroyed by
the labourers, we shall have a faint idea of the myriads of
“ ereeping things” which inhabited the ancient world.

In England, the lias contains more especially the remains of
two extinct marine genera, the Jchthyosawrus (fish-lke lizard),
and Plesiosaurus (animal resembling a lizard), whose osteology
is most’ extraordinary, combining characters observable in the
cetacea, fishes, and saurians, but yet decidedly belonging to the
order of Reptiles. The Ichthyosaurus, of which several species
have been discovered, had a large head, enormous eyes, a short
neck, and very long tail; it was furnished with four broad
and ‘Hat paddles, and was evidently destined to live in the sea;
it sometimes attained a length of from twenty to thirty feet.
The Plesiosaurus, which in some respects resembled the Ich-

-thyosaurus, being also furnished with four paddles, but is yet
‘more nearly allied to the Saurians, differs, however, from it, and
from all other animals, by the extreme length of the neck, and
the great number of cervical vertebra. ‘The neck of reptiles is
in general composed of from three to eight cervical vertebree ;
and even birds (which have the maximum) have but from nine
to'twenty-three; while one species of Plesiosaurus (P. dolicho-
deirus) has thirty vertebrae. This extraordinary creature, un-
like the Ichthyosaurus, appears ‘to have been ‘but little calcu-
lated ‘to = rapid progress through the sea, and ‘was'still less

Mr Mantell on the Geological Age of Reptiles. 18$

fitted for progressive motion on the land; it is therefore pro-
bable that it swam on or near the surface of the water, carrying
its neck like a swan, and darting on its prey, its food consisting
of fishes, cuttle-fish, &c. Contemporary with the animals above
mentioned, were several herbivorous reptiles, whose remains have
been found in the lias at Boll, in Wurtemburg, also a species of
crocodile; and at Guildorf, a salamander of enormous size. The
remains of tortoises and turtles occur also, but very sparingly,
although, from the foot-marks observable in the red sandstone
at Corn Cockle Muir, in Dumfriesshire, this family of reptiles
must have existed at a still earlier period. In this bed also, se-
veral species of the Pterodactylus, or flying reptile, first make
their appearance; animals which, with the wings of a bat, and
the structure of a reptile, had jaws furnished with sharp teeth,
and claws with long hooked nails.
The entire series of deposites composing the oolite formation,
of which the lias is the inferior, or lower member, abounds
with the remains of the animals of this order, and these are as-
sociated with vast quantities of marine shells, principally belong-
ing to the ancient multilocular genera, namely Ammonites, Nau-
tilites, Belemnites, &c. the whole formation having manifestly
been deposited by an ocean. The only apparent exceptions to
this conclusion are the Stonesfield beds, composed of thin strata
of calcareous sandy slate, which occur in the lower division of
the oolite, and contain not only marine plants, shells, and bones
of reptiles, but also the outer cases or elytra of winged insects,
and jaws of animals allied to the opossum (Didelphis). The
occurrence of terrestrial mammalia in beds of this ancient epoch
has not been satisfactorily explained, and it would be foreign to
our present purpose to enter into any discussion upon the sub-
ject; the intermixture of terrestrial remains with those of marine
origin, may of course have been effected by the agency of a
river or current. In the Stonesfield slate we first meet with the
remains of that gigantic reptile the Megalosaurus (Great Lizard).
This monster, which, from the form of its teeth and skeleton,
is.evidently allied tothe Monitor, must have been nearly forty
feet,in length, and seyen or eight in height, and was probably a
terrestrial.animal._The crocodiles of this ancient epoch appear
itoshaye been exceedingly numerous, and belonged to species dis-

184 Mr Mantell on the Geological Age of Reptiles.

tinct from those of the present period, a great proportion being
referrible to the Gavials ; that division which has long slender
snouts.

In the fresh-water formations that intervene between the
oolite and the chalk, namely, the Purbeck, Hastings’ sands and
clays, and the 'Tilgate grit, the remains of several of the genera
of the reptiles we have before noticed, occur; but those which
are strictly marine, such as the Ichthyosaurus, are either alto-
gether wanting, or of very rare occurrence. At the period of
the formation of these deposites, turtles, both marine and fresh-
water, existed in great numbers, having for contemporaries the
Megalosaurus, one or more species of Plesiosaurus, several
species of Gavials and Crocodiles, and probably Pterodac-
tyles. At this epoch we have also an enormous herbivorous
reptile, essentially differing from any of the oviparous quad-
rupeds now existing, and surpassing in magnitude even the
Megalosaurus. This is the Iguanodon (so named from its
teeth resembling those of the recent Iguana). A thigh-bone
of this creature, twenty-three inches in circumference, has been
discovered in the grit of Tilgate forest; the teeth are as
large as the incisors of the rhinoceros, and the vertebra,
claw-bones, and other parts of the skeleton, bear the same
relative proportions. This creature, like some of the recent
species of Iguanas, had warts or horns on its snout, and an
appendage of this kind has been found of the size and shape
of the lesser horn of the rhinoceros! From the prevailing cha-
racter of the form of the bones, it is probable that this animal
was shorter in proportion to its bulk than the recent lizards, to
which it is more nearly allied ; and marvellous as it may appear,
we cannot but infer that some individuals attained a height of
nine or ten feet, and were from sixty toa hundred feet in length!
A circumstance even more extraordinary than its magnitude,
is that of its having performed mastication like the herbivorous
mammalia, its teeth, which are of a very peculiar form, being
in general worn down by the operation of grinding its food.

The vegetables associated with the remains of the Iguanodon
are all of a tropical character, and consist of various kinds of
ferns,"and (of large plants allied to the dragon-blood plant. The
strata in which they are found, unlike those of the oolite which
preceded,fand of the chalk which followed these deposites, have

Mr Mantell on the Geological Age of Reptiles. 185

clearly been formed in the bed of a river ; while those of Stones-
field, which contain a somewhat similar association of fossils,
have as evidently been deposited by a current which ran into the
ocean of the oolite, and carried with it remains of terrestrial and
fresh-water animals, the shells in the last named strata being, as
before remarked, marine, and precisely similar to those of the
deposites above and below them; while the shells of the Has-
tings’ beds are decidedly fluviatile or lacustral. Besides the re-
mains of the reptiles above mentioned, teeth and bones of other
gigantic oviparous quadrupeds have been found, but the charac-
ters and relations of the latter have not yet been accurately de-
termined.

In the extensive marine formation, the chalk, which’ covers
the Hastings’ beds, reptiles are less numerous, and the Megalo-
saurus, Iguanodon, and other herbivorous genera, disappear al-
together ; no traces of their existence occurring after the last
named strata were deposited. At the epoch of the chalk for-
mation, the Ichthyosaurus, and one or more species of crocodile,
and marine turtles, existed ; and another extraordinary reptile,
the Mososaurus (lizard of the Meuse), or fossil animal of Maes-
tricht, first appears. This creature, so celebrated in Orycto-
logy since the first discovery of its head and jaws by Hoffman,
attained the size of the crocodile, and held an intermediate place
between the Monitors and Iguanas. It appears to have been
aquatic, swimming in the manner of a crocodile, and moving its
vast tail from side to side as an oar. With the chalk, the
“< age of reptiles” may be said to terminate—the greater part of
the genera above noticed appears to have become extinct during
the changes which took place on the surface of the earth at that
period ; the crocodiles, turtles, &c. alone survived, a new order
of things commenced, and in the tertiary formations which suc-

ceeded, we perceive an approach to the modern condition of the
earth. .

( 186)

Description of several New or Rare Plants which have lately
flowered in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, and chiefly in
the Royal Botanic Garden. By Dr Grauam, Professor
of Botany in the University of Edinburgh.

10th June 1831.

Allium paradoxicum.

A. paradovicum ; folio (unico ?) plano, argute carinato, lanceolato-lineari ;
umbella bulbifera (uni?) pauciflora; pedunculis pendulis, spatham
membranaceam superantibus; scapo triquetro folium zquante ; petalo
oblongo, staminuibus uniformibus, duplo longiori.

Allium paradoxicum, Fischer, MS.

DeEscrRIPTION.—Bulb small, ovate, covered with a thin brown exfoliating
tunic, forming offsets at its base. Scape (6 inches high) erect, naked,
triquetrous. Leaf (solitary ?) lanceolato-linear, flat in front, sharply
keeled behind, equal in length to the scape, the base of which it em-
braces, and is itself encased by a thin membranous bluntish compressed
sheath. Umbel bearing several ovate, somewhat pointed, white shining
bulbs, few- (in our specimens only one-) flowered. Spathe thin, mem-
branous, colourless, transparent, splitting as the bulbs enlarge into
two or three acuminated segments. Peduncles longer than the spathe,
nodding or pendulous, nearly round, swollen at the apex. Corolla
white, having to a cursory glance the appearance of a Leucojum; pe-
tals elliptical, in two rows, the inner narrowest. Stamens half the
length of the corolla; filaments of rather unequal length, otherwise uni-
form, white, subulate, erect, attached by their backs at the base to the
petals; anthers small, yellow. Pisti/ equal in length to the stamens ;
stigma trifid, segments short, diverging; style straight, slightly taper-
ing, 3-sided, colourless ; germen trilobular, pale green, seated on a dark
green receptacle, which between the lobes has on each side a minute
yellow gland ; ovules placed in two rows, between which, in each cell, is
the suture. The whole plant has the strong garlic smell. '

To the often-experienced liberality, and obliging friendly attention of Dr
Fischer of St Petersburgh, I was indebted for this, and a variety of other
interesting bulbs in September last. It is a native of the banks of the
Volga, = flowered with us in the open border in the beginning of May.
If its pretty, pendulous, and pure white blossoms, shall fail to attract
the attention of the florist, perhaps its neat small bulbs may suggest to
another set of cultivators the propriety of inquiring whether it has other
qualities which may make it desirable as a pickle. It will probably pro-
duce bulbs in abundance. ' ’

Arbutus mucronata.

A. mueronata; caule lignoso diffuso ; foliis ovatis, cuspidatis, denticu-
lato-serrulatis, rigidis, utrinque nitidis ; pedunculis axillaribus, folia
subzequantibus, bracteatis, 1-floris, cernuis.

Arbutus mucronata, Forst.

DeEscriptTion.—Shrub much branched from the root; branches diffused,
round, bark brown and cracked; younger branches reddish, sparingly
pubescent, the hairs flexuose, subulate, arising from red glands, at first
white, and soon becoming yellow. Leaves (8 lines long, 4 broad) on short
petioles, scattered, turned towards the light, flat, naked and shining,
dark green in front, pale behind, coriaceous, with a distinct middle rib,

Dr Graham’s Description of New or Rare Plants. 187

but obscure veins, excepting on the old leaves, which are faintly reticu-
lated, ovate or lanceolato-ovate, denticulato-serrulate, and terminated
by a long rigid bristle. Flowers axillary, solitary, white, nodding. Pe-
duneles pale green, nearly as long as the leaves, sprinkled with reddish
pubescence, and having several scattered adpressed ovate bractez on
their lower half; Calyr naked, white, 5-parted; segments acute. Co-
rolla white, campanulate, similar in general appearance to the flowers of
Convallaria majalis, but smaller, somewhat transparent between the calyx
segments, 5-toothed, segments reflected. Stamens 10; filaments cordato-
ovate, white, and under a moderately powerful lens appearing rough ;
anthers attached by their backs to the apex of the filaments, erect,
brown, attenuated at their apices, where they open by two pores; bristles
very short, erect. Pistil included; stigma of five erect points; style
nearly half the length of the whole pistil, erect, cylindrical, pale yellow-
ish-green; germen equal to the length of the stamens, round, smooth,
reen.

We received a seedling plant of this species from Mr Mackay in 1828.
It flowered in May last for the first time. It is stated by Forster to
be a native of the Straits of Magellan. Mr Mackay’s seeds were received
from Mr Anderson, the indefatigable and most successful collector sent
to the southern parts of the continent of America by the establishment
at Clapton; but I do not know the exact station where it was found by

m.

Chorizema Baxteri.

C. Baxteri ; foliis omnibus integerrimis, lanceolatis, superne farinosis,
subtus adpresse villosis ; floribus terminalibus, verticillato capitatis.
Mirbelia Baxteri, Hort.

DEScRIPTION.—Stems very numerous, much branched, diffused, slender,
twiggy, round, covered with adpressed hairs. Leaves (14-2 inches long,
3~$ of an inch brvad) lanceolate or elliptico-lanceolate, somewhat fari-
Nose in front, covered with adpressed hairs behind. Stipules subulate.
Peduneles (4 an inch to 1 inch long) terminal. Flowers capitate, or in
two somewhat irregular verticels at the top of the peduncle, or some-
times drawn out into a secund raceme. Bractee small, subulate, single
at the base of each pedicel, and two opposite, at the apex of each; the
~ terminal pedicel has also generally a pair of opposite bractez about the
middle, from which point the peduncle is often prolonged, when the in-
florescenece becomes verticillate, or a raceme. Calyz, like the peduncle
and pedicels, covered with adpressed hairs, bilabiate, upper lip 2-toothed,
lower 3-parted, teeth of the upper lip ovate, acute, reflected at their apices,
and slightly diverging, segments of the lower ovate, acute, spreading at
right angles to the tube and to each other. Corolla orange-yellow, be-
coming paler as it expands; vexillum reniform, ‘emarginate, spreading
wide, reflected, slightly concave behind, in front near the threat having
a radiated deep red-orange horse-shoe shaped mark, claw clavato-linear,
shorter than the calyx; alz shorter than the vexillum, obliquely obovate,
claws linear; carina ventricose, of two petals, distinct at the claws and
apices, but slightly connected in the middle, each petal similar to the alz,
but rather smaller, and with rather a longer linear claw. “Stamens 10,
free, included; anthers incumbent, purple. Pistil equal in length to the
‘stamens ; stigma minute, terminal ; style subulate, hooked, smooth ; ger-
men substipitate, oblong, densely covered with silky hairs.

We raised this plant at the Botanic‘Garden from New Holland seed, com-
municated as a:species of Mirtelia by the Rev. David Landsborough of
‘Stevenston. It is known in gardens under the name of M. Barteri, and

a os very desirable addition to our’ greenhouse plants, flowering very
ag

188 Dr Graham's Description of New or Rare Plants.

Calceolaria angustiflora.

C. angustiflora ; caule suffrutescente, ramis diffusis, purpureo-maculatis,
foliisque oppositis vel ternatis pedunculatis ovato-oblongis duplicato
serratis pubescentibus subviscidis ; pedunculis axillaribus, umbellatis,
in paniculo terminali collectis ; corollz labio superiore nullo.

Calceolaria angustiflora. Ruiz et Pavon, Flor. Peruy. vol. i. p. 17, t. 28,

+ a.
Calceolaria verticillata. Hooker, Bot. Miscell. vol. ii. p. 233.

DeEscription.—Stem scarcely woody, very brittle, slender, much branched
and diffused; branches green, sprinkled with oblong purple spots, pu-
bescent, hairs spreading. Leaves (nearly 2 inches long, 1 inch broad)
petioled, opposite or ternate, ovato-oblong, doubly and unequally incise-
serrated, pubescent on both sides, as well as the branches subviscid, shin-
ing and bright green above, paler below, veined and wrinkled, veins pro-
minent below, channelled above. Peduwneles axillary, umbellate, forming
an oblong panicle at the extremity of the branches, the lower peduncles
generally supporting four pedicels, two of which are occasionally branch-
ed, the upper peduncles with fewer pedicels, or simple ; two bractee of
the structure and form of small leaves, but more entire, at the origin of
the pedicels; these, as well as the peduncles, pedicels, and calyx, pubes-
vent and subviscid; the whole scarcely exceeding the length of the leaf
in the axil of which they are placed. Calyx 4-parted, segments unequal,
lanceolate, the upper the broadest. Corolla yelluw, upper lip awanting,
there being only a ring, scarcely prominent, passing round the germen ;
lower lip extremely slender, and somewhat pubescent at its origin, tur-
gid below, and closed by a prolongation of its upper edge, turned up,
and brought into contact with the stigma. Stamens two, having their
origin from the lower half of the ring which forms the faux of the co.
rolla; filaments erect; anthers large, yellow, and, as in the other species,
bilocular, with the lobes greatly diverging, and bursting along the front.
Pistil rather longer than the stamens ; stigma minute; style somewhat
hooked downwards ; germen pubescent, and, as in other species, conical
and furrowed on two sides.

The only plant of this species which we possess, we received from the Bo-
tanic Garden, Glasgow, where it was raised from seed communicated
from Lima by Mr Cruckshanks. Its habit and appearance is very dis-
tinct from any of the species already in cultivation, and corresponds
with a native specimen which I possess through the kindness of Mr
Cruckshanks and with the figure of Ruiz and Pavon, sufficiently to in-
duce me to consider it as illustrative of the form to which these authors
gave the specific name which I have adopted ; but continued experience
of the tendency to the formation of mules in this genus, makes me more
and more sceptical about the title which very appreciable varieties of
form in it have to be considered specifically distinct. I noticed ina for-
mer Number of the Philosophical Journal some mules which had been
produced by Mr Morrison, gardener at Granton, near Edinburgh, by
artificially impregnating some of the most distinguishable forms of Cal.
ceolaria ; since then, the same cultivator and others have produced all
sorts of mixtures, and shaded species into each other through an infinity
of gradations.

In the figure of Ruiz and Pavon, the lip of the corolla is much less turgid
than it is either in the cultivated or in my native specimen; but the fi-
gures are not always correct in these details, and the station given by
Ruiz and Pavon for C. angustiflora, Canta, is the same as that in which
my native specimen was picked by Mr Cruckshank.

It is with great regret that 1 am forced to differ from my excellent and
accurate friend Dr Hooker, regarding the species to which this plant be-
longs, being fully aware of the risk of error which attends every dissent
from such authority; but the differences between this plant and C. ver-

Dr Graham's Description of New or Rare Plants. 189

ticillata seem to me more than enough to distinguish them. C. verticil-
lata is described as glabrous, erect, and all the leaves are said to be in
verticels of three: the whole of our plant is densely pubescent, and sub-
glutinous, diffused, and too slender to support itself, many of the leaves
are opposite. C. verticillaia is also described by Ruiz and Pavon asa
much larger plant than it is probable ours will ever become.

Dendrobium speciosum.

D. speciosum ; caulibus erectis, apice 2-3-phyllis; foliis ovali oblongis,
racemo terminali mullifloro brevioribus; petalis angustato-oblongis,
labello infra diversuram carina unica, lobo intermedio ecarinato dila-
tato.— Brown.

Dendrobium speciosum, Sm. Exot. Bot. 1. p. 17. t. 10.—Br. Prodr. 332.
—Hort. Kew. 5. 212.—Sprengel, Sp. Plant. 3. 738.—Lindley, Orchidex,
part i. p. 87.—Bot. Mag. 3074.

DEscriPTIon.—Stems (5 inches long, 1} inch broad) bulbous, ovate, atte-
nuated upwards, crowded, sulcated, green, with a somewhat silvery skin,
marked by three or four circular lines, its structure fibrous, and very
rigid, crowned at the apex with two or three leaves. Leaves (4-5 inches
long, 14 broad) stem clasping, contracted immediately above their origin,
erect, rigid, fleshy, oblong, concave, channelled, slightly waved, reflected
at the apex. Raceme (6 inches long) terminal, many-flowered, having a
few large clasping bractee at the base, and a small ovato-subulate mar-
cescent one at the origin of each pedicel. Pedicels (1} inch long) slightly
angled, ascending and secund, at least when the raceme is deflected.
Flowers perfumed slightly, nodding, looking towards the apex of the ra-
ceme. Perianth, three outer segments unequal, the two lower the short-
est, dilated and united at the base, falcate, the upper narrower, erect, li-
near-tapering: the two inner of nearly equal length, but narrower, and
linear: Lip unguiculate, without spur, claw covered by the united bases
of the outer segments of the perianth, 3-lobed; the central lobe the
largest, broader than it is long, emarginate, streaked transversely with
purple, especially on the inside, and at the edges both within and with.
out. An elevated ridge extends from the base of the middle lobe along
the inside of the claw to its insertion, becoming smaller downwards,
Column conics], fiat, spotted with purple in front, concave in front near
the apex. Anther terminal, resting upon a flat plate, stretched over the
hollow in the front of the column. Anther-case articulated behind, white,
blunt, slightly bordered, unilocular, with a ridge in the centre of the lo-
culament. Pollen-masses two, each bipartite, waxy, hard, sessile. Ger-
men small, green, 3-sided, immersed in the top of the pedicel, which di-
vides into three portions, passing to the base of the outer segments of
the perianth, adhering to the germen, the three angles of whch project
between the partitions.

This species was introduced into Britain by Sir Joseph Banks in 1801. It
is native of the tropical districts of New Holland, and likewise of the
neighbourhood of Port Jackson. It is generally kept in the stove, and
probably it is on this account that it rarely flowers. It has flowered very
freely in the greenhouse of the Botanic Garden this year. So many
splendid species of this genus have been made known to us of late, that
the specific name given to our plant, is not the one which would be se-
lected now, were it described for the first time; but still it is exceed-
ingly ornamental. The perianth is figured and described by Dr Hooker
as closed, from its having to a certain degree faded in its transmission
from Liverpool to Glasgow.

I have observed an unusual circumstance in drying this plant, which, if
not accidental, may be worth noticing, as possibly implying a peculiarity
of structure in the cuticle. Many plants which are thick and fleshy,
and very retentive of life, it is well known may often be rapidly dried

190 Dr Graham’s Description of New or Rare Plants.

by previously dipping them into boiling water, or even retaining them
there for some hours. I placed the specimen which I have described in
boiling water, in a vessel too shallow to admit it entirely. Nearly one-
half of each of the leaves was left above the water, and subsequently
dried rapidly under pressure: the portions which were submerged are
still (after six weeks) succulent and plump, though they have been al-
ternately placed under pressure and exposed to the air.

Fritillaria leucantha.

F. leucantha ; caule pauciflora, floribus axillaribus terminalibusque, so-
litariis ; foliis infimis oppositis ovatis apice attenuatis obtusiusculis
multinerviis, superioribus verticillatis lineari-lanceolatis carinatis apice
cirrosis.

Imperialis leucantha, Fischer, MS.

DeEscriprion.—Bulb round, lobed, covered with a thick brown coat, which
separates in large fragments, splitting along the furrows between the
lobes, Stem simple. Leaves (3-4 inches long) bright green or slightly
glaucous, somewhat crowded about the middle of the stem; the lowest
pair opposite, many-nerved, without conspicuous middle rib, ovate, ta-
pering towards the apex, which is rather blunt; the others more or less
perfectly verticellated, linear-lanceolate, few- (3-5-) nerved, nearly flat in
front, and with a strong middle rib behind, extended at the apex into a
simple cirrhus. lowers solitary, axillary or terminal, nodding, white,
at the base on the outside green, and within at the base sprinkled with
small purplish spots. Pefals tipped with a green, callous, slightly pubes-
cent apex, the three outer ovate, the three inner obovate and broader,
all gibbous on the outside near the base, and there on the inside each
having a round green conspicuous pit containing honey. Stamens in-
cluded ; filaments straight, white, collected together in the centre of
the flewer; anthers yellow, linear, erect, very loosely attached. Pistil
longer than the stamens ; stigma trifid, slightly diverging ; style straight,
somewhat clavate, 3-sided, twice the length of the anthers, colourless ;
germen green, with six prominent, brownish, somewhat waved longitu-

~ dinal angles. Ovules numerous, in two rows within each of the three
cells of the capsule, ovate, flattened, attached by their apices to the cen-

__ tral receptacle.

This species, which I conceive should follow F. pyrenaica in the arrange-
ment, is a native of Altaica, and was obligingly communicated in Sep-
tember last by Dr Fischer to the Botanic Garden, where it flowered in
the open border in the beginning of May.

Geranium albiflorum.

G. albifiorum; radice perenne; caule herbaceo, erecto, dichotomo, sub-
angulato, subvilloso, pilis reflexis ; ramulis subteretibus villosis; fo.
liis subpeltatis, 5-7-lobatis, lobis linearibus, multinervibus parce reti-
culatis, lateribus integerrimis, in radicalibus ad basin distantibus ; pe-
dunculis axillaribus, bifloris, folio longioribus calycibusque glanduloso
pubescentibus ; petalis emarginatis, introrsum infra mediam lanato-
hirsutum. jeu

‘Geranium albiflorum. Hooker, N..Amer. Flor.

DEscRiPTION.—Root perennial. Stem herbaceous, branched, erect, dicho-
tomous, shining, green, sparingly covered with reflected hairs, scarcely
angular, swollen at the lower part of the joints; branches towards the
extremities nearly round, and thickly covered with glandular pubescence.
Leaves opposite, subpeltate, supported on long petioles, gradually shorten-
ing to the uppermost pair, which is subsessile, lobed, lobes cuneato-li-

_ near, incised in their upper half, in their lower entire, bright green above
and pubescent, below paler, sparingly pubescent, and only on the nerves,

Dr Graham's Description of New or Rare Plants. 191

scarcely on the secondary veins; nerves very prominent behind, little
reticulated; radical leaves 7-lobed, with the outermost bifid, and distant ;
lower stem-leaves 5-lobed, the uppermost 3-lobed, and more acute; on all
the leayes the segments are mucronate, but the mucro is longest on the
stem-leaves. Stipule erect, ovato-linear, acute, persisting, becoming red.
Peduneles axillary, 2-flowered, scarcely longer than the leaves from which
they spring, erect, slightly compressed, glanduloso-pubescent, pubes-
cence spreading, red at the apex. Bractee subulate, connate in pairs at
the bifurcation of the peduncle. Calyr green, segments oblongo-linear,
5-nerved, glanduloso-pubescent, mucronate, membranous in the edges,
adpressed to the corolla. Petals twice the length of the calyx, spreading,
obovate, emarginate, undulate, white or very pale lilac, with somewhat
deeper veins, glabrous on the outside, woolly within for nearly the whole
of the lower half, especially at the sides, a portion in the centre being
nearly naked. Disk yellow, protuberant and fleshy between the petals.
Filaments hairy on the outside, those opposite to the petals in their lower
half bulging ontwards, the alternate ores adpressed to the germen; up-
per half diverging, reddish, subulate; hairs long, erect, simple. An-
thers linear, loosely attached by their backs, leaden coloured, pollen green-

. ish, granules spherical. Germen green, covered with simple erect hairs,
lobes keeled ; beaks densely covered with glandular hairs, similar to
those on the peduncle. Stigmata reddish, at first in contact with each
other, afterwards elongated, and slightly diverging. Fruit covered with
glandular hairs; cells 2-seeded.

We have had this plant in cultivation ever since the return of Captain
Franklin’s second expedition, and it exists in other collections. I-be-
lieve it has been variously called, Geranium maculatum, and a variety of
G. angulatum. It seems most nearly to resemble the last, but I think
may be distinguished from either. Geranium angulatum differs from
G. albiflorum, in its smooth filaments; its longer, narrower, darker co-
loured, much less hairy, and less expanded petals; its more angular, ra-
ther less hairy stem ; and its more wrinkled darker coloured leaves, their
lobes being much more serrated, and in the radical leaves the two at the
base generally touching each other, or even overlapping.

Ornithogalum fimbriatum.

O. fimbriatum; racemis multifloris, subcylindraceis; pedunculis divari-
catis, bracteo marcescente, subacuta longioribus ; floribus erectis, pe-
dunculos vix zequantibus; foliis omnibus radicalibus, linearibus, eana-
liculatis, scapo longioribus, marginibus nervisque dorso ciliatis.

Ornithogalum fimbriatum. Pers. Synop. 1. 364. ?—Marsch. Bieb. Flor.
Taur. Cauc. 1. 276. ?—Spreng. Syst. Veget. 2. 30. ?—Bot. Reg. 555.—
Bot. Mag. 3077.

Ornithogalum ciliare. Fischer, MS.

DescriPT10n.—Leaves (9 inches long) all radical, glaucous, linear, chan-
‘nelled, beautifully ciliated by equal straight and slightly reflexed hairs
on the margins and ribs on the back of the leaf, naked in front. Scape

(3 inches high), erect, nearly round, having similar hairs to those on the
leaves, and swelling upwards to the lowest peduncle, above this smooth,
angular, and becoming smaller as the peduncles are given off. Flowers
numerous, in a termina! raceme, which is preserved of nearly a cylin-
drical form by the stout, smooth and somewhat flattened peduncles be-
coming more and more divaricated as they elongate. Bractee membra-
nous, withering, subacute, shorter than the peduncles. Flowers always
erect ; petals white, green in the centre on the outside, spreading some-
what in their upper half, elliptic, the three outer the broadest. Stamens
half the length of the petals ; filaments erect, uniform, white, dilated at
the base ; anthers incumbent, yellow, versatile. Pistil scarcely so long
as the stamens; stigma forming three diverging lines upon the top of
the short, undivided, erect, white, 3-sided style; germen yellowish-

192 Dr Grahams Description of New or Rare Plants.

green, of six acute lobes, approximating at the apex in pairs, and di-
verging at the base to form pairs with the adjoining lobes. Interior of
the cells dry, with the numerous ovules in double rows.

Ornithogalum fimbriatum is a native of the Crimea, and was sent to the Bo-
tanic Garden, Edinburgh, by my ever liberal friend Dr Fischer of St
Petersburgh, under the name of Ornithogalum ciliare. It flowered in the
open burder of the Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, in the beginning of
May.

I have retained the specific name given to this plant in the Botanical Re-
gister and Botanical Magazine, and have made the references which are
made there to Marschall Bieberstein, Persoon, and Sprengel (the only
works quoted which I have it in my power to consult), but I have added
amark of doubt. I really cannot believe that the plant of Willdenow
and of these authors is the same with that now in the British gardens,
and which I have here described. Dr Hooker has well remarked, that
it is surely an error in Marschall Bieberstein, and Mr Ker to consider
this plant so closely allied to Ornithogalum umbellatum, that they can
scarcely be distinguished but by the hairiness of the leaves: they differ,
as Dr Hooker says, in many essential characters. In fact, Bieberstein
never could have made this remark if he had been describing our plant,
which much more nearly approaches Ornithogalum refractum. In the
Ornithogalum fimbriatum of Willdenow, the raceme is said to be sub-bi«
flowered, the peduncles spreading wide, hirsute, and scarcely longer than
the bracteze. Sprengel adds, that the leaves are flat. In the plant of the
Botanical Register, Magazine, and this article, the raceme, when the
specimen is vigorous, is many-flowered, the peduncles more and more
refracted as the flowering advances; they are perfectly smooth, except-
ing that a few of the lower ones have on their under side a few hairs,
and they are nearly twice the length of the bracteze; the leaves are
nearly half cylinders. In the statement regarding the proportional
length of the bracteze and peduncles, there is an inadvertent slip in the
Botanical Magazine, which the excellent figure will correct.

Notwithstanding my belief that this is not the Orniihogalum jfimbriatum of
Willdenow, I think it right to retain the name given to it, because it
has been generally adopted, and the figures identify it; whereas Willde-
now’s plant may, when better known, get another name without incon-
venience.

Papaver nudicaule-alpinum.

I am induced to mention this hybrid, on account of the peculiarity of its
appearance, and the circumstances in which it was produced.

A strong plant of Papaver alpinum grew in an open border in the Botanic
Garden last year. In the same spot this spring, three very strong plants
rose, with leaves precisely similar, perhaps a little less finely divided.
The flowers on expansion, however, were found not white, as in P. al-
pinum, but deep and bright yellow, with a greenish tinge in the heart.
For several years, many plants of P. nudicaule have blossomed freely in
the neighbouring borders. ‘The plant of P. alpinum had been impreg-
nated by these, had died, and been succeeded by its hybrid progeny.
The three plants are precisely similar, the flowers as large as in P. nudi-
caule, and very similar to this species in colour, the leaves, as I have
said, almost exactly those of P. alpinum.

“A remarkable monstrosity appears this year among some of the plants of
Papaver nudicaule. The flowers in some are semi-double, but in others
few of the outer stamens only remain, the filaments in general assuming
the form of fragments of a capsule, having hairs on their outer, and
ovules on their inner surface; the anthers are awanting, and their place
supplied by fragments of stigmata.

2

Dr Graham’s Description of New or Rare Plants. 193

Sieversia rosea.
S. rosea; foliis radicalibus, interrupte pinnatis, pilosis, pinnis subtrifidis,
base cuneatis, caule ascendente piloso, trifido.

DescripTion.—Root perennial. Stem ascending or erect, trifid, hairy,
nearly round, red when exposed to the sun, branches occasionally sub-
divided. Radical-leaves numerous, petiolate, shorter than the stem, in-
terruptedly pinnate, veined, pale green, especially behind, loosely co-
vered with long shining hairs, behind hairy only on the veins, and there
more obviously than in front ascending laterally from tumid bases; pin-
nz smaller downwards, subtrifid, and terminal segments tridentate.
Stem-leaves small, petiolate, opposite in the middle of the stem and at its
subdivisions. except where a single ultimate branch or peduncle arises,
when the leaf is solitary, stem clasping, pinnatifid, segments nerved,
lanceolate, incised or entire, smaller in successive divisions, the branches
and segments more narrow. Stipule lateral, accompanying the stem-
leaves only, adhering to the petiole, acuminate, entire or incised, re-
sembling the stipulz on the petioles of roses. Peduneles single-flowered,
at first nodding, afterwards erect, hairy. Calyx coloured, hairy, 10-cleft,
5 segments broader, shorter, ovate, acute, never expanding, reticulate,
5 lanceolato-linear, longer, spreading, cuticle of the tube detached, and
slightly inflated. Petals rhombeo-elliptic, keeled at the base, at first
yellowish, afterwards white where covered by the calyx, rose-coloured
where exposed, emarginate, and slightly diverging at the apex. Stamens
very numerous, inserted into the calyx within the corolla; filaments
hairy, nearly as long as the corolla, colourless ; anthers yellow, incum-
bent. Nectary an erect yellowish-green cup, its edge tooth-crenated,
surrounding the centre of the flower, immediately within the stamens;
pistils numerous, slightly stipitate, equal in length to the stamens;
germens silky; styles smooth except at the base, erect, colourless, per-
sisting and becoming red, their hairy bases being greatly elongated, form-
ing a feathered awn to the fruit ; stigmata blunt, greenish-yellow, ovules
solitary, erect.

Seeds of this species were gathered by Mr Drummond on the Rocky Moun-
tains, and sent by him to the Botanic Garden in 1827. It has been in
cultivation ever since, is very vigorous, and flowers most freely in a dry
border in May.

Vaccinium humifusum.

V. humifusum ; caule fruticoso, prostrato repente ; foliis sempervirenti-
bus, ovatis, subacutis, integerrimis utrinque glabris, ciliatis; pedunculis
axillaribus, solitariis unifloris, pluri-bracteatis ; antheris obtusis.

DEscripTion.—Stem woody, very slender, much branched, prostrate, czes-
pitose, rooting, round, grey; branches subpubescent. Leaves (half an inch
broad) ovate, smooth on both sides, ciliated, coriaceous, on short petioles,
of very unequal size, acquiring their full dimensions only towards the
apices of the branches, towards the origin of these being generally small,
subrotund, and, as it would seem, formed from the altered condition of
the scales of the bud at the extremity of the former year’s shoot. Flowers
solitary, axillary, nodding, on peduncles twice the length of the petioles,
along which are scattered four or five ovate, concave, entire bractee, en-
larging upwards. Calyr campanulate, persisting, closing when the co-
rolla falls, 5-cleft, segments ovate, acute, red, green at its base. Corolla
white, campanulate, 5-toothed, teeth reflected, often partially tinged red
on the outside. Stamens 10, included, rising from the base of the corolla
and falling with it; filaments subglabrous, dilated at the base, connivent ;
anthers attached by their backs near the base, brown-yellow, oblong, ob-
tuse at both ends, bilucular, opening by two pores at the apex, without
beaks. Pistil rather longer than the stamens; stigma large, capitate;
style short, straight, stout ; germen round, 5-lobed at the apex, green ;
ovules very numerous, placed round a 5-lobed central receptacle.

APRIL—JUNE 1831. N

194

This interesting little plant, which, though anomalous, especially in its

Celestial Phenomena from July 1. to Oct. 1. 1831.

habit, in the number of stamens, and in the absence of beaks to the an-
thers, I can still only look upon as a species of Vaccinium, was raised at
the Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh and Glasgow, from seeds gathered on
the Rocky Mountains of North America by Mr Drummond during Cap-
tain Franklin’s expedition in 1827. They were marked, “ Seeds of a

small creeping shrub resembling Mitchellia repens, producing a very fine
flavoured fruit ; not seen in flower.”
in the same invaluable collection, marked “ Edible Cherry.”

The plant grows sufficiently freely, but though in open dry borders it is
in svil and exposure very analogous to the situations in which it grows
naturally, as I learn from Mr Drummond himself, yet it flowers most
sparingly.

We have also seeds of this species

Celestial Phenomena from July 1. to October 1. 1831, calculated

COM KHTWWHOMAAH

PEE Cts Se CORO ra eet es ibs

Sor the Meridian of Edinburgh, Mean Time.

By Mr

GerorceE INNEs, Astronomical Calculator, Aberdeen.

The times are inserted according to the Civil reckoning, the day beginning at midnight
—The Conjunctions of the Moon with the Stars are given in Right Ascension.

JULY.
H. ‘ “ D. H. ‘ a“
0013 J%3sn 12 205650 fo)eX
122 d)oss 12 2220 7° gp?
23 13 8 Im. II. sat. 2/ 13. 19 20 44 dVeKNR
23 31. 12 ( Last Quarter. | 15. aN a7 og )3
Re pee: eo ae: 5. 1059 6 fg )Dly™®
21 59 53 dS)» 16. 17 55 44 ) First Quarter.
18 38 41 d ) 2 & Ceti. 19. 217 21 Im. I. sat. 2/
0 50 48 Em. ITI. sat. 2/ 19. ATS 3k oD) a
1 49 48 3 ) zw Ceti. 19. 8 51 52 Em. III. sat. 2/
J 4 4h" EVES 19 14159 f¢)yys
03323 S22 19. 2343 -~ Sup.d@s
164510 d)vt 20. 8 342 6) Oph.
175652 g)13 4% 22. 162216 G@enters 2
18 2432. 4 )jp23u 23. ods aru ae
23 526 fp)a 23. 15,2128 .6)adat
181937 62h 24001 (9 96s Leaps: Srgrogs
1854 - d%« DT 24. 20 57 56 = © Full Moon
1535 - do) 25. 12035 Im. IV. sat. 7/
181357 do)» 25. 6 326 Em. IV.sat. 2/
148 0 Im. II. sat. 2/ 25. 153716 ¢)j)H
13 39 32 @ New Moon. | 26. 8 5 28 df) yY
101344 <)é 26. 1252 9 Em. III sat. 27
0 2258 Im.I. sat. 7 27. 3 41 54 BErQ
Mol gued oil) Tam BEE gates Ys! of.) 201072 a5 Gi per oe
34022 6 Oe 27. 224028 Im.I. sat. 7
451 3 Em. III. sat. Y | 28. 628 2. d)eoss
10 3 56 BdDAezRN 30.0 14 53 - ? greatest elong.
14341 }S)h 31. 34523 ¢g)v

pew wep ny pee aD

a
.

PS. EO A ot oS. SL

Celestial Phenomena from July 1. to Oct. 1. 1831.

AUGUST.
D.
d ) 2 € Ceti. 12.
( Last Quarter. | 12.
3 ) # Ceti. 15.
SDE 15.
Em. III. sat. 2/ | 15.
Im. II. sat. 2/ 16.
d)r& 16.
dS )138 17.
d)238 19.
d 3 a R 20.
d)2zB 20.
Im. I. sat. 7/ 22.
B82 De
FAOF) 23.
Sd)» 23.
S near ¢ 24.
rh 24.
2 OH 24.
@ New Moon 27.
doh 27:
d)4Q2 27.
d)o 28.
S)h 28.
dS ») @ 2 28.
56 )e 29.
Em. III. sat. 2/ | 29.
Im. II. sat. 2/ 30.
d )e R 30.
Im. IV. sat. 2/ 30.
KOz 30.
Em. IV. sat. 2/ 30.
Em. I. sat. 2/ 31.
d )@ 31.
do) ry ™®
SEPTEMBER.
D.
d6)+ 6.
dSeKN 6.
Em. II. sat. 2/ 7h
gd HiV 8.
Em. I. sat. 2/ 8.
BDVeEQ 8.
dg or KN tk
SDER 12.
$d Dh 12.

H

23
10

7

14

é
39
14

15

47

24
10
47
13

56

20

23 36 48

195

éoh
Em. I. sat. 2/

) First Quarter.
é6)rv=
é)v=

d ) ¢ Oph.
Im. ITI. sat. 2/
Em. III. sat. 7/
spat
Em. I. sat. 2/
Em. II. sat. 2/
$6) H

5) ¥

© Full Moon.
© enters TY
Im. III. sat. 2/
é yrs

3b Doss
SD)

Im. IV. sat. 2/
Em. II. sat. /
d& ) 2 Ceti.
5 ) & Ceti.

ast Quarter.
2 &

greatest elong.

Im. III. sat. 2/

)
))
)
)
Li
)

20.

21.

On

Moon:

On
Moon:

Celestial Phenomena from July 1. to Oct. 1. 1831.

SEPTEMBER,—continued.

D. Bed gh ty
Em. I. sat. 2/ 24, 19 59 9
) First Quarter. | 25. 15 26 46
Im. ITI. sat. 2/ 26. 6 32 -
ggam 2. 1139 7
d)dt 26. 1253 18
6)H 26. 13 11 56
a yal a Re
Owais 26. 18 13 23
bd )oss 27. “43 5042
Em. I. sat. 2/ 2 23 44 52
Em. II. sat. 2/ 28. 15 35 45
Em. III. sat. | 28. 16 6 21
© Full Moon. 28. 21 28 45
dg)» 28. 22 21 16
© enters 29. 5 42 47
d ) 2 & Ceti. 29. 18 13 45
gd Od

d6)+°
( Last Quarter.
Em. III. sat. 2/
Em. II. sat. 2/
6)¢0

Em. I. sat. 2/

the 3d of August, there will be an occultation of Aldebaran by the

Immersion,
Emersion, . eats.

D. H. ‘
see 3 eee Tee
6 54, at 204

the 9th of August, there will be an occultation of Mercury by the

Immersion,

Emersion, .

D 4H.
9.
7

34, at 110°
59, at 156

The angle denotes the point of the Moon's limb where the phenomena will
take place, reckoning from the verter of the limb towards the right hand round
the circumference, as seen with a telescope which inverts.

197

Celestial Phenomena frum July 1. to Oct. 1. 1831.

eI 81 8E 06
OL 8I 8¢ 06

Le
PS
1¢
8F
bP
‘SF

SI 61 16
8T 6E 16
81 69 1%

8I CI GZ
, “H

*uRts1095)

€¢ 11 OF ST 1 21 GP b GI {&%
& Gi” IP St cI Sl Lee cE GI 106
8 aI 6 GI LE &1 1) 4 0 €1 {SI
SL GI OL FI ro &I 6h L 61 €L jOL
PS ZI 0¢ GI 6 Fl £1 9 Té £1 |¢
0€ GI ‘S$. 7S IT 8I FI "S GS P OE EL ott
‘ *H iY 2s / “H 7*gye , *y “a
“uInyes “SIR INL *"snua A *AMIIOY |

€U IT LT GI GL ET 69 ZG 0 6 ce PL 'S 0€ 0 8€ ET | gs
LZ 11 PE SL le 20 1% €@ 6S 9 Iv PL |i'N PP SG 9€ EL 10%
OF Il 1g aI L¥ 9t 8h €% 6 ¥ L¥ FI 6 9 of £1 {SI
v2 It 8 &€1 ce OL TI 0 PE SG €¢ FI 6€ 6 £2 €L | OL
liner 9% EI Ge OT €¢ 0 ‘S FI 0 Le FI 6 I re eo eT
‘N LI GI OF €I ‘S €L OL T¢ 0 ‘N 68 T 0 &I ‘"N Go CL 0 Be Le it
, °o 7 ‘H / ° / *"H / ° , “H / ° ‘2 ‘Hy “a
io. “nes = 5 So aed Er | ee *"SnUdA a *AINIIOW ez
“LSNYnAV
GE Zl cc CI 12 T ¢ €& ZI | Sz
LY ZI IP ST SF I c ZI Zl 102
6¢ ZI GE ST G¢ 6G 9 €P Il |SI
ite fei ZS ST 9% & 9 LY it {ol
a6 EI €1 ST Lv Z 9 cc OL |¢
"N O€ &1 Ss I vV~ $& G I? OL }TI
, ° , ° / °H , , *H “a
*uInyes "roydne "s nts, “AMOI Nes

"ATOAL

‘uornuyoay L194) pun ‘umpruayy ay, Sussod syaung ay} fo sau,

( 198 )

Proceedings of the Wernerian Natural History Society.—Con-
tinued from former Volume, p. 379.

1831, March 19—Dre R.K. GREVILLE, V. P. in the chair.
—Professsor Jameson read a notice communicated by Mr James
Smith of Jordanhill, regarding a subterranean forest discovered
in the coal formation near to Glasgow.

The Secretary then read Mr James Duncan’s introductory re-
marks to an extensive catalogue of coleopterous insects collected
in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, and likewise notices re-
specting the habitats of the rarer species, and descriptions of two
species new to the British Fauna. The specimens of rare and
new species were exhibited to the meeting. ‘This communica-
tion gave much pleasure to the Society, as affording an earnest
of the revival of the study of entomology in this place, where it
has been much neglected for a good many years past. It was
agreed that the thanks of the meeting be given from the chair
to Mr Duncan, who was present; and that he be requested to
allow his List of Edinburgh Coleoptera to be printed in the
forthcoming volume of the Society’s Memoirs.

1831, April 2.—Rev. Dr Brunton, V. P. in the chair.—Mr
William Galbraith being present, read extracts of his paper on
the mensuration of heights, by the barometer, and stated the
result of a trigonometrical measurement of the height of Car-
nethy, one of the Pentlands.—The Secretary then read a bo-
tanical communication from Mr William Macgillivray, entitled,
Remarks on the Phenogamic Vegetation of the River Dee,
tracing the zones marked out by the prevalence of alpine, sub-
sides and valley plants.

April 16.—Davip Fatconar, Esq. V. P. in the chair.—Pro-
fessor Jameson gave a discourse on fossil trees supposed in situ,
illustrating his remarks by sketches or diagrams, and shewing
that they have in general been floated into their present situa-
tions. The Professor also gave an account of bone caves in
New Holland, and of the general nature of the bones found in
these caves; one large bone evidently belonging to a quadruped
of the size of an elephant, and not now existing in New Holland.

The Rev. Dr David Scot of Corstorphine then read an essay
on the carob-tree and its fruit.

The Society, having completed its 24th session, adjourned.

& A199")

List of Patents granted in Scotland from 14th March to 13th
June 1831.

1831.
March 14. To Davip Narrer of Warren Street, Fitzroy Square, in the

county of Middlesex, engineer, and James & W1Li1am Napier
of Glasgow, machinists, for an invention of “ certain improve-
ments in machinery for propelling locomotive carriages.”

24. To Rozert StePHENson of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in the county
of Northumberland, engineer, for an invention of ‘‘ an improve-
ment in the axle and parts which form the bearings at the
centres of wheels for carriages which are to travel upon edge
railways.”

To Henry Pratt of Bilston, in the county of Stafford, miller,
for an invention of “ certain kiln-tiles made and manufactured
of clay, iron, and other metals and materials, for the purpose of
drying wheat, malt, oats, and other grain, and for various other
purposes, with the formation of the fire-place and kiln.”

April 22. To Tuomas Barrey and Cuartes Barrey, both of the town of
Leicester, in the county of Leicester, frame-smiths, for an in-
vention of “ certain improvements in machinery for making
lace, commonly called bobbin-net.”

27. To James Mixye of the city of Edinburgh, brass-founder, for an
invention of “an improvement or improvements on gas-meters.”

11. To Davin Napier of Warren Street, Fitzroy Square, in the
county of Middlesex, engineer, for an invention of “ certain
improvements in printing machinery, with a method of econo-
mising the power applied to the same, which method of econo-
mising power is also applicable to other purposes.”

29. To Joun Dickinson of Abbots Langley, in the county of Hert-
ford, paper-maker, for an invention of ‘‘ an improved method
of manufacturing paper by means of machinery.”

May 2. To Jon and James Porter of Smedley, near Manchester,
spinners and manufacturers, for an invention of “ certain im-
provements in machinery, or apparatus applicable to the spin-
ning or twisting of cotton, flax, silk, wool, and other fibrous
materials.”

3. To Witt1am RuTuHERForD junior, of Jedburgh, writer and bank
agent, for an invention of “a combination or arrangement of
apparatus or mechanism, to be used by itself, or applied to
locks and other fastenings for more effectually protecting pro-
perty.”’

18. To Samuex Moranp of Manchester, in the county of Lancas-
ter, in the kingdom of England, merchant, for an invention of
“ an improved stretching machine.”

J'o ANDREW Smit of Princes Street, Leicester Square, in the
parish of St Martins-in.the-Fields, in the county of Middlesex,
mech anist, for an invention of “ certain improvements in ma-

200

List of Scotch Patents.

chinery for propelling boats, vessels, or other floating bodies on
the water, and in the manner of constructing boats and vessels
for carrying such machinery, part of which said improvements
are applicable to water-wheels for driving mills or machinery,
and also to windmills.”

May 20. To Tuomas KNow1eEs of Charlton Row, in the county of Lan-

caster, cotton-spinner, for an invention of “ certain improve-
ments in certain machinery, by aid of which machinery spine
ning machines, commonly called mules, are or may be rendered
what is termed self-acting, that is to say, certain improvements
in certain machinery, by aid of which machinery spinning ma-
chines commonly called mules are or may be worked by power,
without requiring the usual application of the strength of the
spinners to give motion to the handles or wheels, and to such
other parts of mules as are commonly worked by the strength
of the spinners.”

To SamueLt Lampert of Regent Street, in the parish of St
James, Westminster, in the county of Middlesex, gold-lace-
man, for an invention of “ an improvement in throstle spindles
for spinning and twisting silk, cotton, wool, flax, and other
fibrous substances.”

June 2. To Sir THomas CocnrayE, Knight, commonly called Lord Coch-

rane, of Regent’s Park, in the county of Middlesex, for an in-
vention of “an improved rotatory engine to be impelled by
steam, and which may be also rendered applicable to other pur-
poses.”

To Sir THomas CocuraneE, Knight, commonly called Lord Coch-
rane, of Regent’s Park, in the county of Middlesex, for “* appa-
ratus to facilitate excavating, sinking, and mining.”

To Anprew Ure of Finsbury Circus, in the county of Middle-
sex, M. D., for an invention of “ an apparatus for regulating
the temperature in evaporization, distillation, and other pro-
processes.”

To Grorcr STEPHENSON of Liverpool, civil engineer, for an in-
vention of “an improvement in the mode of constructing wheels
for railway carriages.”

To ALEXANDER Craic of Ann Street, St Bernard’s, in the pa-
rish of St Cuthbert, and county of Mid-Lothian, in consequence
of a communication made by a certain foreigner residing abroad,
of an invention “ of certain improvements in machines or ma-
chinery for cutting timber into vineers or other useful forms.”

To MicuaEt Donovan of the city of Dublin, druggist, for an
invention of “ an improved method of lighting places with
gas.”

10. To Jouw Arrcuison of Clyde Buikdings, in the city of Glasgow,
and county of Lanark, merchant, for an invention of “ certain
improvements in the concentrating and evaporating cane juice

solutions of sugar, and other fluids.”
1

THE

EDINBURGH NEW

PHILOSOPHivaL JOURNAL.

Analysis of Professor Eurenserc’s Researches on the Infusoria.
By MerepiraH Gartrpner, M.D. Communicated by the
Author *. (With a Plate.)

Even since Hooke’s great discovery of the microscope, and a
partial acquaintance with the prodigious variety and number of
self-existent, self-moving, forms which it disclosed to the eye of
the scrupulous naturalist, the attention of physiologists and me-
taphysicians has been more or less excited at different periods,
with the hope that it might one day reveal the secret of the
living principle in the ultimate atoms of organized matter, or in
the minute animalcules, where it long seemed as if vitality was
reduced to its ultimate expression—voluntary motion. The ob-
servations of Leeuwenhoeck, Hartsoeker and Needham, on the
seminal animalcules, suggested to Buffon the idea that every
animal was made up of an aggregation of these almost invisible

* We have great pleasure in laying before our readers this excellent ac-
count of the admirable researches of Ehrenberg, hitherto known only in this
country by the short notices in this Journal. Our accomplished young friend
Dr Gairdner, during his late residence on the continent, paid a visit to Ber-
lin, where he cultivated the acquaintance of Ehrenberg, who explained to
him fully, by prelections and the exhibition of the animals, (in particular
the anatomy of the Vorticella citrina, Mill.; Rotifer vulgaris of Schrank ; and
Hydatina senta ), his important discoveries and views.

JULY—SEPTEMBER 1831. oO

202 Dr Gairdner’s Analysis of

~ creatures, and that the body of man himself was, as it were, on-
ly an accumulation of such monads ;—as if the aggregation of
myriads of these could explain the principle of life itself,—the
active moving agent in each individual monad.

Though, however, philosophers failed in the discovery of what
Nature seems to have for ever enveloped in an impenetrable
veil, the microscope did not fail to reward their labours by an
immense accession to their views of the magnificence of nature.
Like the telescope, it gave them a glimpse of a Milky Way of an-
other order, equally incommensurate by the powers of numbers.
Leeuwenhoeck calculated that, at the very lowest estimate, the
milt of a single fish must contain a number of living beings thirty
times greater than the whole population of the globe. Dr
Ehrenberg himself has described monads which are not larger
than from one-thousandth to two-thousandths of a line, and
which are separated by intervals not greater than their diameter.
Each cubic inch will, therefore, contain more than 800,000 mil-
lions of these animalcules, estimating them only to occupy one-
fourth of its space; a single drop brought under the field of the
microscope, and not exceeding one cubic line in diameter, will
contain 500 millions, equal to the whole number of human be-
ings on the surface of our globe. Let us only now reflect a
moment on the numbers which must be crowded intoa stagnant
pool or lake, or contained in the vast expanse of the ocean, which
the observations of Scoresby have shewn to be equally favour-
able to their development, and we will arrive at a result, which
leads us to the inevitable conclusion that the mass of organized
life is immeasurable. And yet all this is only visible to the
armed eye of the naturalist; but, from its immensity, must play
an important part in the economy of nature, and be a subject
worthy of the most profound scientific inquiries.

Every now and then, there are periods which may be consi-
dered as epochs in the sciences; whether from the promulga-
tion of some capital discovery, or from the direction they give
to the train of future researches. Of such a character, if I mis-
take not, are Professor Ehrenberg of Berlin’s recent discoveries
on the structure and functions of the animals commonly classed
under the denemination of Znfusoria, to which were referred in

Prof Ehrenberg’s Researches on the Infusoria. 203

common all animals possessed of a certain degree of minuteness,
without any further inquiry. For this term has been substi-
tuted the successive appellations of Animalculi, Animalia Mi-
croscopica, Phytozoa. But as there is none which is not liable to
some objection, perhaps it will be as well to retain the original
one conferred on these animals by the Danish naturalist Miller,
than whom none has a better ctle to the honour of conferring it.

I fancy my reader to }.. > at the mention of structure and
functions in animals, the discovery of whose existence merely
has been hitherto deemed the ultimatum of zoological research,
and regarding whom the sum-total of our knowledge has been
hitherto confined to a few details on their external forms and
active motions. Yet, in the midst of their transparent tissues,
the German naturalist has, by a peculiarly ingenious method of
observation, developed a highly complicated organization, which,
with those who arrange the animal kingdom in a linear series,
will remove them far from the extremity of the scale. The ex-
istence of a digestive, muscular, and generative apparatus, is es-
tablished beyond a doubt ; and organs have been also discover-
ed which bear great analogy with the vascular and nervous sys-
tems. The great changes which these facts must make in the
systematic distribution of these animals, are obvious. Nay, from
some circumstances, we are inclined to believe, that future ob-
servations may place these microscepic creations in a parallel
order with their more apparent prototypes, and with not less
varied and interesting gradations of structure.

Leaving, however, these speculative ideas, let us proceed at
once to a brief exposition of the leading facts demonstrated by
Dr Ehrenberg. But it will be necessary, to the full understand-
ing of the value of his discoveries, to give a short historical sum-
mary of the systems and observations which existed previously
on infusory animals. We shall, therefore, class our observations
under the four following heads. 1. History of Phytozoology.
2. Organization of Infusory Animals. 98. Their Classification.
4. Their Geographical Distribution.

I. History of Phytozoology.
Previous to the time of Miiller, observers seem to have had

o &

o

204 Dr Gairdner’s Analysis of

no fixed idea attached to the term an infusory animal ; and the
microscope was more devoted to the purposes of amusement or
astonishment, than to the prosecution of a connected series of
inquiries into the mysteries of organic forms. We can hardly
except from this censure the laborious investigations on ‘seminal
animalcules, which occupied the attention of the learned world
for so long a time after the discovery of this instrument. ‘They
were certainly instituted with the laudable view of throwing
some light upon the mysterious process of generation, but were
almost invariably preceded, accompanied, and ended in nothing
else than a few fanciful microcosmic views, which ministered to the
superstitious physiology of the age. Those who limited their in-
quiries more strictly to those animals which people the fresh and
salt waters on the surface of the globe, did not sufficiently dis-
tinguish between those which are proper to these fluids, and the
larvee of insects and crustacea, in their early stages of develop-
ment. We cannot, therefore, be surprised, when they ascribe
to them a mouth, ovaria, eyes, &c.

With Otto Frederick Miiller, who died in the year 1785, com-
mences a second epoch in this department of zoology, which has
scarcely advanced a single step beyond the point to which it
was at onee carried by its founder, notwithstanding the progres-
sive improvements and extension of the microscope. Specula-
tions and systems have been founded on his observations; but
very few additional facts were added to those which he first dis-
closed. He was the first who separated them as a distinct group
from all other animal existences; and, in his work entitled Ani-
malia Infusoria, &c., has described and figured, with much mi-
nuteness, no less than 378 species. He affords another example,
to the many on record, of a great man advancing to the very
threshold of a grand discovery, and proceeding no farther. He
was not ignorant of the importance of an attention to the inter-
nal organization of these animals, and even describes the mouth,
digestive and generative apparatus of many, and even their eyes.
Although he went so far as even to separate, under the title of
Bullaria, those who possessed such an internal structure, from
the Infusoria properly so called, in which there were no traces
of organization ; yet he has not the courage to found on this his

Prof. Ehrenberg’s Researches on the Infusoria 205

systematic division, but only enumerates these important cha
racters as collateral circumstances in his detailed description of
each species. We are certainly astonished that such important
glimpses escaped the acuteness of the Danish naturalist ; his
work, however, is posthumous, and we cannot help thinking,
that if he had lived to prosecute his investigations, Dr Ehren-
berg would have been anticipated in his discoveries. As it is,
Miiller takes the differences of the external organs as the bases
of -his division, and, in consequence, associates in the same ge-
nus, species far removed from each other. He unites, for ex-
ample, in the genus Vorticella, the complicated forms of the
Furcularia and Rotatoria, with the much simple forms which are
supported on a spiral peduncle. Similar examples are furnish-.
ed by the genera Paramecium, Kolpoda, and Cercaria, the last
of which alone Nitsch, in the year 1816, divided into 12 distinct
genera. ‘The genus Vibrio comprises not only the aceti and
fluviatilis, in which he describes an intestine and viviparous
generation, but also the simple dacil/us, in which he could not
detect a single ergan, and scarcely a trace of life. The same
observations apply to the genus T’richoda, and many others.

Such was the state in which the science was left by Miller,
furnished with a rich store of materials, and not a few valuable
hints to direct the path of later inquirers.

Schrank, the Bavarian, was the first who made any important
additions to our knowledge of infusory animals after the death
of Miller. He described in the Fauna Boica 18 new species,
but he still took the external form as the basis of his division,
and seems to have been quite unacquainted with their structure
and mode of development.

We may pass over Treviranus and Dutrochet, who treated
the subject more in an ideal manner—examining their relations
to other living forms—than by adding any thing new to what the
science already possessed.

The warm fancy of Oken in 1805, revived in part the idea
of Buffon, in regarding the infusoria as the primitive materials
of all organic bodies, both animal and vegetable; and that
growth is nothing but an increase to the already existing mass
of animalcules, which constitute the animal body. He does not

206 Dr Gairdner’s Analysis of

participate the ‘ideas of Treviranus, the last champion of the
generatio spontanea, on their mode of development.

The systematologists Lamarck and Cuvier only altered by
divisions and subdivisions the arrangement of the already deter-
mined species, but did not add to the existing stock of facts.
They even, in some measure, contributed to retrograde the
science by the propagation of the errors into which Miiller fell
from his ignorance of the organization of these animals. The
former even declared the ova to be gemmules, although Corti
had long before described and figured the exclusion of the young
from the ovum.

A more important accession was made by Professor Nitsch
of Halle, the most important by far of any which exist from
the time of Miller down to Dr Ehrenberg. His researches
were principally directed to the genera Cercaria and Bacillaria.
He rendered much more probable in the former the existence
of a mouth and intestinal canal, and in the Cercaria viridis re-
cognises distinctly the presence of eyes. This meritorious na-
turalist also divided this genus, as left by Miiller, into twelve
others from his own observations. In 1824, he compares the
structure of the genus Brachionus to that of the Entomostraci,
which, although it differs entirely from Savigny’s observations,
is much nearer the truth.

Schweigger of Kénigsberg, in 1820, communicated some in-
teresting observations on these animals; and formed an indus-
trious recapitulation of all that had been done up to his time.
Even at this late date, we find him stating at p. 245 of his
Handbuch der Naturgeschichte der Skeletlozen Thiere, that
*‘ the infusoria consist of mere gelatine, without any internal
organ. Their nutrition can be carried on in no other way than
by the surface. The same mode of nutrition has even been
pointed out in the Jnfusoria vasculosa, without being limited
to them. In some, (for example the Cercaria) Nitsch saw
oval suction,” &e. And again, on the subject of their propaga-
tion, he observes, p. 249, ‘ All increase of the infusoria seems
to result from the spontaneous separation either of their exter-
nal parts, as in the Parameecie and Bacillariz, or of their inter-
nal substance, as in the Vibrio and Volvox,” which shews how
indistinct was his conception ef these two last genera.

Prof. Ehrenberg’s Researches on the Infusoria. 207

In the year 1823, Losano described a great number of in-
fusoria in the Transactions of the Turin Academy, vol. xxix.
He has extended the genus Proteus, which Miiller only reckon-
ed to contain 2*species, and Schrank 4, as far as 69. And the
genus Kolpoda he has increased to 64 species, which was left
by Miiller with only 16.

The latest general classification of the infusoria is that given
by Bory de St Vincent in 1826, in the Dictionnaire Classique
de lHist. Nat. Jn this elaborate production, which is charac-
terized by the minuteness and spirit of system so prevalent
among his countrymen, the author has exclusively confined
himself to the artificial dismemberment and rejunction of the
species already known in the time of Miiller. He has added
no observations of his own on their structure or development ;
and bases his system, like his predecessors, on their external
forms. M. Bory seems not to have been aware of the observa-
tions of Nitsch, for in his definition of the class, he asserts them
to possess no trace of eyes, and that their nutrition is performed
by cutaneous absorption, and their propagation to be gemmipa-
rous ; all of which points had been previously shewn to be er-
roneous, notwithstanding the otherwise imperfect knowledge of
their organization. More profound views were entertained by
Professor Baer of K6nigsberg, in 1826, who published a trea-
tise, entitled Beitrége zur Kenntniss der Niedern Thierc, in
the 2d volume of the Nova Acta Acad. Ces. Leop. Car. x.
p. 702, 1826-7, which contains the following remarkable pas-
sages. P. 337, he observes, “* Who can deny that even the lowest
class ofanimals must agree with the others in being determined
by its organization ; since the first essential step towards the
organization of an animal body must consist in the separation
of an internal nutritive surface from an external circumscribing
one? Lamarck must certainly be in error when he considers the
want of a digestive cavity and of a mouth the character of his
first class of animals.” In prosecution of these simple and cor-
rect views, he again says: ‘* This first class of animals, which
must change the term of Infusoria given to it by many for
Goldfuss’s one of Protozoa, cannot be so circumscribed as Miil-
ler’s Infusoria. It appears to us rather that many fundamental

208 Dr Gairdner’s Analysis of

forms among the lower animals find their prototypes among the
Infusoria.”. He stops, however, at these speculative ideas, for
in another place he denies the existence of a nervous system,
and even of an intestine, and carries out his analogy merely
with the aid of the external form, which we will afterwards find
to be so fugitive and changeable a character.

The last additions of moment to Phytozoology, previous to
the publication of the labours of Dr Ehrenberg, are some addi-
tional observations by M. Losano, in the 30th volume of the
Turin Memoirs, where he has described and figured no less than
50 species of the genus Volvox, 77 of Cyclidium, 28 of Para-
mecium, and 26 of a new genus Oplarium. Unfortunately
the addition of so many species will be of little use to science,
since their characters are all founded on their changeable exter-
nal form.

Such was the state of our knowledge with regard to the
structure and functions of infusory animals, previous to the
communication of Dr Ehrenberg’s labours to the Berlin Aca-
demy; from which it will be seen, that we were only in pos-
session of a few scattered hints and isolated facts regarding the
existence or possible discovery of an internal organization, com-
municated by Miiller, Nitsch and Baer. For it is a question,
whether the systems of Gmelin, Lamarck, Cuvier, Goldfuss,
and Bory de St Vincent, founded as they were almost wholly on
the observations of others, did not tend rather to plunge the
subject into greater and greater obscurity. It is more than
twelve years since the Berlin professor first directed his atten-
tion to the structure of this order of organized beings. He
commenced his researches by ascertaining precisely the Miil-
lerian species which existed in the pools and stagnant waters in
the Thiergarten, and other places in the vicinity of the Prussian
metropolis. On his journey with Dr Hemprich into Egypt,
Libya, and Arabia, he pursued his inquiries into the forms
which characterize these burning plains, with a perseverance
which did not fail of being rewarded with some extremely interest-
ing views, and have laid the foundation already for a geographical
distribution of these microscopic forms. On his return to Ber-
lin from his tropical expedition, he repeated his former obser-

Prof: Ehrenberg’s Researches on the Infusoria. 209

vations with improved instruments. And finally, on his late
journey with Baron Alexander Humboldt into the vast steppes
of Siberia, even to the frontiers of China, and of the plateau of
Tartary, notwithstanding the extreme rapidity of his progress,
he made this highly interesting branch of zoography a principal
object of investigation. The entire reformation which these re-
searches have made in the classification of infusory animals,
will be shewn under our third division. But as a necessary
preliminary, and as constituting the most valuable part of Dr
Ehrenberg’s discoveries, we must give some account of the

II. Organization of the Infusoria.

Before entering into the detail of the individual systems, it
will be well to state briefly the method of observation employed
for their development.

This consists in nothing else than furnishing the Infusoria
with organic colouring matter for nutriment. Simple as this
may appear, it was not till after ten years’ observations that Dr
Ehrenberg succeeded in selecting the fittest substances, and in
applying them in the manner best adapted for the satisfactory
exhibition of the phenomena. Trembley and Gleichen long
ago had recourse to this method for the elucidation of the armed
hydrze, but without consequences of much importance for the
structure of these animals. The cause of the repeated failure
of all these attempts, arose from the employment of metallic and
earthy colouring substances, or such as had been submitted to
boiling in the preparation. These were found either to kill the
animals, or to be unfitted as articles of nutriment. Equally
unsuccessful were some attempts made with the indigo and lack
of commerce, which were found always to contain a greater or
less proportion of white lead. It was not till he used pure
indigo, that these experiments succeeded in a desirable man-
ner. Immediately on a minute particle of a highly attenuated
solution of this substance being applied to a drop of water con-
taining some of the pedunculated vorticellaee (which are most
adapted for the first observation), and placed under the object
glass of the microscope, the most beautiful phenomena present
themselves to the eye. Currents are excited in all directions by
the rapid motion of the cilia, which form a crown round the

210 Dr Gairdner’s Analysis of

anterior part of the animalcule’s body, and indicated by the
movements of the particles of indigo in a state of very minute
division in different directions, and generally all converging to-
wards the orifice or mouth of the animal, situated, not in the
centre of the crown of cilia, but between the two rows of these
organs which exist concentric to one another. The attention is
no sooner excited by this most singular and beautiful pheno-
menon, when presently the body of the animal, which had been
quite transparent, and bearing much resemblance in aspect to
some of the marine Rhizostomz, becomes dotted with a number
of distinctly circumscribed circular spots, of a dark blue colour,
exactly corresponding to that of the moving particles of indigo *.
In some species, particularly those which are provided with an
annular contraction or neck (such as the Rotifer vulgaris), se-
parating the head from the body, the indigo particles can be
traced in a continuous line in their progress from the mouth to
these internal cavities.

It is requisite in these experiments to employ colouring mat-
ter which does not chemically combine with water, but is only
ciffused in a state of very minute division. Indigo, carmine,
and sap green, are three substances which answer very well the
necessary conditions, and are easily recognised by the micro-
scope. But whatever substance is used, we must be very parti-
cular that it contains no lead, an impurity which very frequent-
ly enters into the colours of commerce.

The microscope which Dr Ehrenberg has used in all his in-
vestigations 1s one constructed by Chevalier of Paris; it pos-
sesses a power of 800. In very few cases, however, is it ne-
cessary to use this high power, and only to demonstrate the
existence of an internal cavity in those species which do not ex-
ceed from ;355 tO zap5 Of a line in diameter, such as the Mo-
nas termo, atomus, and lens, and which almost elude the power
even of so powerful an instrument. In almost all cases, a power
of from 300 to 400 is sufficient; and Dr Ehrenberg has made
all his observations and drawings of the structure of the Hyda-
tina senta with a power of 380.

* It is as well, however, before applying any coloured solution to the drop

of fluid under the field of the microscope, to take a general survey of the
species which we may expect to find in the portion under examination.

Prof: Ehrenberg’s Researches on the Infusoria. 211

In conformity with the great axiom of scientific observation,
to measure every thing which is capable of measurement, Dr
Ehrenberg has not neglected to express in numbers the dimen-
sions not only of the totality, but also of the integrant parts of
these beings, placed as it were at the verge of organized nature.
For this purpose he uses a glass micrometer, constructed by
Dollond, which gives directly the ten-thousandth part of an
inch, and permits of a much smaller quantity being correctly
estimated, as it contains the astonishing number of 400 equal
parts distinctly cut in glass within the space of half aline. By
means of a micrometer screw, which has been since constructed
by Pistor of Berlin, he has been enabled to measure directly
zsho0 Of an inch, or 725, of a line, a degree of minuteness
which is never necessary in actual practice.

1. Digestive System.—By the use of colouring matter in the
way above mentioned, a digestive system has been demonstrated
in all the genera of this class of animals, distinctly characterized
by Miiller. This fact Dr Ehrenberg states in the following
proposition: ‘* All true infusoria, even the smallest monads,
are not a homogeneous jelly, but organized animal bodies, dis-
tinctly provided with at least a mouth and internal nutritive
apparatus.” In none has the cuticular absorption of nutritive
matter ever been observed, which had been the opinion of all
previous writers upon the subject, not from any positive cbser-
vations, but merely from their inability otherwise to explain the
nutrition of these animals. Generations of these transparent
gelatinous bodies may remain immersed for weeks in an indigo
solution, without presenting any coloured points in their tissue,
except the circumscribed cavities above referred to; and when
in a state of activity, the minute particles of indigo and carmine
are seen to hurry rapidly over the whole surface of their trans-
parent bodies, in order to reach the mouth, generally situate at
one or other of their extremities. Indeed there is no necessity
of having recourse to such a supposition, when we can clearly
see the prehension of colouring particles, their reception into a
mouth, and conveyance from thence into an internal stomach or
stomachs.

The alimentary canal presents, as in the other classes of the

212 Dr Gairdner’s Analysis of

animal kingdom, the utmost variety in respect to form, situation,
and degree of complication. It is in the Monas termo, pulvis-
culus, and other larger monads, simply a round sac in the centre,
and occupying the greater part of their bodies. In the genera
Enchelys, Paramecium, and Kolpoda, it assumes the form of a
long intestinal canal, traversing the greater part of the body,
and at times convoluted in a spiral manner, which is furnished
with a great number of cecal appendages, or stomachs; this
singular disposition, of which no other example occurs in the
animal kingdom, is particularly distinct in the Leucophrys pa-
tula. ‘That these blind sacs are real stomachs, and do not at all
correspond to the caeca of other animals, is evident from the fact
of their being filled with colouring matter immediately on its
being received at the mouth, or anterior orifice of the canal,
The tubes which connect these sacs to the main canal of the
intestine, vary very much, both in length and in diameter, as
well among the different caeca, as in the same one at different
times, being usually in a state of great contraction, and at
times scarcely perceptible when the cavity to which it belongs
is empty, and may be supposed not to be in a state of activity *.
We can count from 100 to 200 of these sacs in the course of the
intestine of the Paramaciwm Chrysalis and Aurelia. When
they are filled with colouring matter, the common intestinal tube
is usually quite empty and transparent ; this, joined to the bluish,
reddish, or greenish tint which they often assume when empty,
may have been the reason that these sacs were mistaken by
Miiller for ova, and by Schweigger for internal monads still ad-
hering to the parent trunk. In other infusoria, as the Rotifer
vulgaris, the alimentary canal is in the form of a slender tube,
and extending nearly the whole length of the body, and termi-
nating at its anal extremity in a dilatation or cleaca for the re-
ception of the ova and the male seminal fluid, previous to its
termination at the surface of the animal. Others of larger di-

* Attention must be paid to this circumstance, as, from the colourless
transparency of the intestine when empty, and in a state of contraction, very
erroneous ideas may be formed of the number and connexions of the sto-
machs of some of these animals, when they are separately filled with colour-
ing matter. The alimentary canal, too, may be filled with water, and may
hen very much resemble some forms of the ovaria.

Prof. Ehrenberg’s Researches on the Infusoria. 218

mensions, as the Kosphora najas and Hydatina senta, and in
-general all the natural group of the Rotatoria, possess a single
cavity of considerable size and oval form, situate in the anterior
part of the body; the Zygotrochis nudis would seem to form
an exception to the general rule of this division ; for this animal,
when filled with colouring matter, presents a slender, spirally
convoluted intestine in the centre of the body. In this animal
also, the posterior cloacal dilatation is enlarged into a consider-
able cavity, which can retain the colouring matter for some time
previous to its being discharged by the anus.

The number of stomachs varies no less than their form. The
whole tribe of the Rotatoria, as already observed, possess but a
single cavity. In the Monas termo, four can be reckoned*.

The number of sacs, which are so many distinct digestive
cavities, although connected together by a common tube, varies
from 1 and 200 down to 36 in many Vorticelle. The largest
number is in the Paramecium chrysalis, Miill., where it
amounts to 120, and yet there is ample space for still more.

The anus is easily distinguished from the mouth, when the
animal is filled with colouring matter, by its discharge from this
orifice, in large irregular coherent masses, very different in ap-
pearance from the minute state of division in which it enters by

* Some ingenious speculations might be founded on the high degree of
attenuation of organized matter in some of these monads. By M. Ehren-
berg’s measurements the M. termo does not exceed ;2;; to 5,55 of a line in
diameter; and he states that the four stomachs did not occupy half the bulk
of the animal. Each stomach must therefore be about ;;, of a line in dia-
meter; and probably is capable of containing a large number of atoms of
colouring matter. Estimating, however, one to contain no more than three
atoms, and each of these to be of a globular form, this will prove the exist-
ence of particles of matter in water not larger than ;;15; of a line in diame-
ter, or z3s'5a5 Of an inch.

Some of Dr Ehrenberg’s observations tend to prove that the genus Monas
and some others are only the young state of some Kolpode, Paramacie, &c.
But supposing them to be perfectly developed animals, and that their ova
bear the same relation to the size of their bodies, which those of the Kolpoda
do, that is, 40 to 1, we must conclude the existence of young monads which
have a diameter of only 55355 of a line, or -5,'555 of aninch. Each of these
monads must possess a stomach and organs passing in dimensions the power
of numbers, and certainly giving us very magnificent ideas of the grandeur
of organized nature.

214 Dr Gairdner’s Analysis of

the mouth. Its position varies exceedingly; in the greater
number, such as the Hydatina senta, Rotifer vulgaris, and
Eosphora najas, it opens towards the posterior extremity of the
animal; in the first of these it is on the back. In the Kolpoda
cucullus it opens into the concave surface of the animal, close to
the mouth, from which it is only separated by a tongue-shaped
eminence. In some of the spirally pedunculated vorticelle, its
disposition is very singular, opening along with the mouth into a
common fissure, which is not situate in the centre of the circular
ranges of cilia which surround the anterior extremity of the
hott, but towards the margin, between two of these concentric
circles.

The mouth merits the notice of the systematologist, from the
very precise characters which he can draw from thence for his
subordinate divisions. This organ reaches its greatest compli-
cation in the Hydatina senta, where it consists of an orifice
opening in the centre of a globular head, and provided with
a pair of serrated mandibules, each resembling somewhat the
single mandibules of some of the mollusca, such as the com-
mon Helix pomatia, or those of the echini. When the animal
is in the act of taking its food, these mandibules are in perpetual
motion, opening and shutting with great rapidity, to absorb the
colouring particles brought within their reach by the currents
excited by the motions of the ciliz. This very singular organi-
zation is certainly one of the most curious phenomena visible in
their whole structure, and is perhaps one of the most important,
as shewing so close an approximation to animals far removed
from them in the zoological series. Each mandibule in the spe-
cies which I examined, possessed five distinct teeth, but the
number varies from two, three, as far as six. Dr Ehrenberg
has since succeeded in demonstrating their real nature, by the
use of very fine foliz of mica (the whole animal is not more
than one-eighth of a line in length), and has come to the con-
clusion that they are separate, simple, hard bodies, enveloped
with a fleshy covering, which are ingrained into one another like
the fingers of the hands when wine

The mouth of the other infusoria is a simple unarmed open-
ing, surrounded more or less closely with a greater or less num-
ber of ciliz. Its position generally determines their anterior

1

Prof. Ehrenberg’s Researches on the Infusoria. 215

extremity. In the genus Paramecium, however, it is in the
middle of the length of the animal. The Kolpoda cucullus
possesses a sort of lip surrounding its margin.

The ciliz play a very important part in the economy of this
class of animals. They may be considered as the principal or-
gans of taste, of touch, and of propulsion. When the animal
is at rest, they are often quite imperceptible, but on the addition
of a small proportion of colouring liquid to the drop of waiter,
they become very apparent, being in a state of great activity,
seeming to be the principal agents by which they excite those
currents which afford so beautiful a spectacle under the field of
the microscope*. In the Monas pulvisculus, and other larger
monads, their number amount to 10 or 20, and we may from this
conclude that they exist even in the smallest monad. They some-
times surround the mouth in a single row (Vorticella convalla-
ria, Rotifer vulgaris), sometimes in a double row (Vorticella
citrina) ; occasionally they extend in regular lines, or are irre-
gularly dispersed over the whole surface of the body. The for-
mer disposition occurs in the Leucophrys pyriformis and patula,
the latter in the Actinophrys sol. They occupy, in other cases,
only one side of the body (Kolpoda cucullus).

An esophagus can only properly be said to belong to those
which, like the Eosphora najas and Hydatina senta, possess a
notable contraction between the mouth and the stomach. This
is especially distinct in the latter, where I have distinctly traced
the passage of individual coloured globules along this narrow
canal from the mouth into the intestine.

Perhaps this is the most appropriate place to notice an organ
of a very obscure nature, which Dr Ehrenberg dignifies with
the name of a pancreas. It is in the form of two kidney-shaped,
greyish-white, glandular-looking, transparent bodies, which are
placed on each side of the upper extremity of the intestine,
firmly connected to, and closely embracing it. Dr Ehrenberg
regards them as bearing a greater analogy to the pancreas than

* One of the most favourable moments for seeing these ciliz to advantage,
particularly in those species in which they invest the whole surface of the
body, is when the drop of fluid under the microscope is nearly dry, when they
may be seen elongated to their utmost, in a state of great activity; or if the
animal be nearly expiring, in a state of rigid erection:

216 Dr Gairdner’s Analysis of

to the liver of the higher animals, from their colour, form, and
connexions. They must, however, be left to further inquiries.

2. Muscular System.—A fibrous muscular tissue being the
proper agent of all voluntary contraction in the animal king-
dom ; we might, a priori, expect its existence in the class of
infusoria, which are so remarkable for the rapidity and energy
of their movements of propulsion and translation. In the for-
mer they can only be compared with fishes, and in the latter
with insects. Contractility of tissue can never explain those
active voluntary efforts by which they avoid obstacles when
swimming in myriads in a single drop, convey the nutriment to-
wards the mouth, and perform the act of deglutition. Previous,
however, to Dr Ehrenberg, nothing like the muscular fibre had
ever been attempted to be shewn in these animals.

As yet, from their extreme tenuity, no distinct fibres have
been detected in the second and more minute division styled
by Cuvier Homogeneous Infusoria, and in the new system of
Dr Ehrenberg Polygastrica; although from their extremely vi-
gorous contractions, as well as from their presence in the divi-
sion of the Rotatoria, we are entitled to infer their existence.
In this last, distinct fibres are perceptible in the Eosphora najas,
Rotifer vulgaris, Philodina erythrophthalma and Hydatina
senta.

We shall select the muscular system of the latter, the Hyda-
tina senta, as a specimen, from its greater distinctness and com-
plexity. The perfectly transparent gelatinous body of this ani-
mal, when seen through the microscope with a power of 380,
appears to be traversed longitudinally by several narrow bands
of fibres, perfectly transparent, and of a greyish-white colour.
When the animal throws itself into its violent lateral contor-
tions, these fibrous bands are observed to shorten, become
broader and thicker (from their slightly diminished transpa-
rency), on the side towards which the contractions are made;
and on the convex to become so extremely elongated and at-
tenuated as to be almost, in some cases, quite imperceptible.
The real muscular nature of these organs, and that they are
the real agents in effecting the motions of the animal, is thus
placed beyond all doubt. These muscles never lose their appa-

Prof. Ehrenberg’s Researches on the Infusoria. 21%

rent state of tension, which they would undoubtedly do on
the contractions of the animal, if their nature was of another
description ; and when the two extremities of the body are
equally approximated to each other, none of the bands become
invisible, but all increase to nearly twice their former breadth,
with a corresponding diminution of their transparency. I have
entered into these details regarding the appearance of the mus-
cular fibres, for the sake of those who may not have had an op-
portunity of having seen the animal, for it is sufficient to see
them to be at once convinced of their true functions.

The envelope of the body of the hydatina consists of a double
transparent membrane, the two layers of which are in contact
with, and scarcely distinguishable from, each other, when the
animal is in a state of repose. But, upon the contractions of
two or more of the muscles, the internal membrane into which
they are inserted becomes separated to a greater or less distance
from the external. During the whole of these phenomena the
stomach, ovaries, and the whole of the viscera, are perfectly
visible through the transparent muscles.

These principal muscles are four pairs, which take their ori-
gin from the opposite ends of the animal, and proceed in a ra-
diated manner to be inserted by broad striated bands near the
middle of the body (between the fourth and fifth pair of twigs
given off from what Dr Ehrenberg calls the great dorsal vessel).
The four upper or anterior muscles rise by narrow insertions
from the junction of the head with the body at the root of the
rotatory organs ; the four posterior or inferior, from the point of
insertion of the bifid tail into the body. The extent of inser-
tion of these muscles is much greater in the EKosphora, Philo-
dina and Rotifer, than in the Hydatina ; in them it reaches at
’ Jeast from the second to the sixth of the above mentioned trans-

verse twigs *.
* The following are the names which Dr Ehrenberg gives to these muscles:

1. Musculus dorsalis anterior,
2d talonlaso ttce aed 2.Yeee - posterior.
3. Musculus lateralis dexter anterior,
7 Io eleeseocide SokitcocHoboterpenh ae posterior.
5. Musculus lateralis sinister anterior,
ge «ote een eee <Seearla vs alae posterior,
z Musculus ventralis anterior,

Seo BORNE IO Se posterior

JULY—SEPTEMBER 1831. Pr

218 . Dr Gairdner’s Analysis of

These great longitudinal muscles are distinct to the most un-
practised eye, but Dr Ehrenberg views as of a muscular charac-
ter, 1. The seventeen sections of the rotatory organ in the Hyda-
tina, which must be the principal agents in directing the motions
of the cilia; 2. A contraction or sphincter near the extremity of
the cloaca; 3. A striated organ behind the cloaca, which he
considers, from its situation, as an acceleration of the seminal
fluid, a musculus ejaculatorius. In none of these, however, ex-
cept the last, can the existence of a fibrous tissue be considered
as beyond a doubt; though, from their situation, it is more
than probable that this is their true nature. All of these parts
seem to be attached to the inner layer of the external double
membrane, and to be unconnected with the subjacent viscera.
It is not improbable that the tail may possess some proper
muscles, as its motions are not performed laterally in common
with the trunk, but by an alternate retraction and elongation.

3. Generative System.—The partizans of the generatio spon-
tanea vel primitiva, who so long stood their ground in the class
of Entozoa*, after being forced to relinquish this position, by
the discovery of the ova of these parasitic animals, took refuge
in the darkness and obscurity of the microscopic infusoria, where
they were almost secure of an undisturbed possession, while
there was nothing known concerning them except as a homoge-
neous mass of transparent jelly, endowed with a few active
motions ; and where their negative arguments could only be at-
tacked by analogical reasonings.

The candid and impartial mind of Miller himself, too rigid
an observer to be seduced by the allurements of theory, con-
sidered the infusory animals as furnishing an incontrovertible
argument for the existence of certain living forms, which are
neither of oviparous nor gemmiparous origin, but derive their
existence immediately from a certain indestructible living gene-
rative energy inherent to all matter ;—for this very plain reason,
that he had never witnessed the secrets of their origin. Such a
conclusion, though perhaps too hasty, is allowable in such an
observer. When, however, we see other men of distinguished

* We are surprised that this class should still be ranged under its ancient
category by the anatomical school of Halle.

Prof: Ehrenberg’s Researches on the Infusoria. Q19

talent, such as Treviranus and Oken, take up the question, where,
if it were possible, they ought to have ended, and assume at
once the existence of a mysterious power inherent in organic
matter of generating infusory and other molecular animalcules,
which form by their aggregation all organic living forms, and
into which the latter are, at the cessation of their proper vitality,
again resolved ; we cannot help referring them to the well known
maxim of Bacon, that “‘ Homo nature minister et. interpres
tantum facit et intelligit quantum de natura ordine re vel mente
observaverit : nec amplius scit, aut potest.”

The observations of Dr Ehrenberg have not only given an
additional extension to the great principle uf Harvey, omne
vivum ex ovo; but have, by a connected train of ocular de-
monstration, proved the existence in this class of the whole three
species of generation, the viviparous, the oviparous, and the
gemmiparous, and even of the simultaneous exercise of two of
these in the same individual, at different epochs of its existence.
Waiving at present the corroboration which this might give to
the view of infusory animals forming a parallel series to their
more apparent prototypes, let us proceed to state shortly a few
examples of each of these varieties.

In the interior of the Rotifer vulgaris we often see young
animals of a diminutive size (that of the parent varying from
zth to 3th of a line), perfectly formed, and near the period of
exclusion, which already possess the two red points (eyes) near
their anterior extremity, and a distinct mouth and head. They
assume various postures in the interior of the parent trunk,
being at times coiled up in a spiral form, or extended to their
whole length. These same foetus, if we may so call them, Dr
Ehrenberg has seen excluded in a living state from the parent.
All the individuals of the Hydatina are hermaphrodite, possess-
ing the completely formed male and female organs. The fe-
male consists of an ovarium, which, when in the unimpregnated
state, is an oval perfectly transparent bilobed bladder-like body,
closely embracing the lower part of the intestinal tube. When
in an impregnated state, it increases very much in size, being
augmented by the addition of two or more oval appendages, so
that the whole mass fills the greater part of the posterior half
of the body of the animal. When quite ready to burst it as-

p 2

ow

290 Dr Gairdner’s Analysis of

sumes a greenish-grey colour. These rounded bodies commu-
nicate by a canal, scarcely perceptible in the unimpregnated
state, broad and distinct when nearly ripe, with the cloacal di-
latation formerly noticed as existing near the anal orifice of the
intestine. That the ova are not internal gems, an opinion enter-
tained by many older observers, such as Lamarck and others, is
proved not only from the above mentioned development and
connections of their containing vesicles, but also by the distinct
existence of the three substances which in the ova of the Entozoa
M. Rudolphi considers as the chorion, allantois and amnion.
In the centre of many ova there can be recognised a darker
point, which is either the embryo, or eicatrix in which the latter
is developed.

The adult Hydatina possesses, besides, two organs which Dr
Ehrenberg considers as the male organs of generation, but the
real nature of which is a little more doubtful than that of the
preceding. ‘Fhey resemble very much in form the milt of fish,
eonsisting of two elongated bodies, extending nearly the whole
length of the animal, exterior to the ovaria, broader towards the
head, diminishng towards the tail. They terminate {a strong
corroboration of this view of their true nature) in a number of spi-
rally convoluted tubes, which finally open by two separate canals
immediately behind the oviduct. ‘Fhese spiral convolutions are
enveloped by an organ of a very singular nature, the function
of which is very obscure : it is oval, transparent, remarkable for
its irritability and sudden changes of form; at one time swell-
ing out into a vesicular form, at another contracting into a small
glandular looking organ. Dr Ehrenberg at one time considered
it to bear some analogy to an uterus; but it is more probably
connected with some office in applying the seminal fluid to the
ova previous to the exclusion. This organ is wanting in the
Rotifer and Philodina, where the male apparatus otherwise re-
sembles very closely that of the Hydatina.

In the Holpoda cucullus, the parent animal excludes the ova
in the form of extremely minute globules, bearing much simila-
rity to some of the species of the genus Monas, connected by a
number of filaments interwoven together in a reticular form.
In an animal j,th of a line in diameter, that of the ova was

sth of a line. ‘The young Kolpoda were ;1,;th of a line

Beas!
1006

Prof: Ehrenberg’s Researches on the Infusoria. 221

before they were distinctly seen to excite currents, and swallow
the coloured particles. In the genus Vorticella there seems to
be acombination of the oviparous and gemmiparous generations.
The single species Convallaria, has, from their entire ignorance
of its mode of development, been subdivided into no less than
six distinct genera, by different observers, according to the va-
riety in its form at different stages of its existence. It first
appears in the form of minute points, not more than ;,5 5th of
a line in diameter, scattered upon the peduncles of a group of
adult Vorticella. After a time these minute points enlarge in
size, and send out delicate peduncular prolongations to the larger
adult roots, in which state Schrank styled them Vorticelle mo-
nedice. When still more advanced, these peduncles become
coiled up in a spiral form. And when they may be considered
as having reached their complete organic development, though
still much inferior in size to what they afterwards attain, the
usual currents may be observed in the coloured solutions in
which they are immersed. The same species propagates itself
by gems, on the separation of part of its body from the parent
trunk. This is performed in three different ways, each of which
has been dignified with the title of a distinct form.

The first is the longitudinal division in which the animal di-
vides itself into two nearly equal halves. A fissure first appears
traversing the whole length of the body ; this becomes deeper
anteriorly, where two horns are now visible, each provided with
a distinct set of cilia, and a mouth, recognisable by the two
currents of colouring particles directed to the apices of the two
horns. The fissure becomes deeper and deeper, till they form
two distinct, perfectly formed animals, attached to the apex of
a single peduncle ; one of these is soon detached from the lat-
ter, when it agrees in form exactly with Lamarck’s genus Urceo-
laria. When the same animal moves with the hinder part for-
ward, it forms Schrank’s genus Ecclissa ; when the conical basis
by which it was attached to the peduncle, has not quite disap-
peared, it forms Bory de St Vincent’s genus Rinella ; and when a
little broader and more bell-shaped, with apparently only two
ciliz, it is the genus Kerobalanus of the same author; when
fully provided with ciliz, without any remaining vestige of the
conical appendage, it is the genus Craterina. This Vorticella

222 Dr Gairdner’s Analysis of

also passes through the same phases of a transverse division
into two equal independent animals. The third method is the
true gemmiform division, as in the Hydree and Planarie, in
which a small bud is given off from the posterior surface of the
animal, which is provided with cilia, and when separated from
the parent trunk, is still of a very diminutive size.

Such are a few of the observations on the generation of these
animals, from which it will be seen that they are but in their
commencement, and that much remains to the patience and la-
bour of future observers.

4. Vascular System ?—'The existence of a digestive, a mus-
cular, and a generative system of much complexity, and very
far from what we might consider as their simplest expression,
may now be viewed as an ascertained fact with regard to infu-
sory animals. The existence of the two systems which remain
for our attention, viz. the vascular and nervous, is as yet some-
what problematical. The organs on which Dr Ehrenberg con-
fers these appellations, are very apparent, but much doubt ex-
ists with regard to their real functions.

What has been denominated a vascular system is distinctly
visible only in the Hydatina senta. Traces of a similar arrange-
ment are now and then perceptible in the Eosphora, in particu-
lar positions of the animal, but they quite disappear when the
integuments are in a state of strong tension. In the former, a
series of transverse lines of a white colour, and inferior transpa-
rency to the rest of its body, succeed one another at regular in-
tervals, from the head towards the tail. These transverse strize
might at first be taken for muscles, but they differ from these
entirely in their aspect and connections. They are nine in num-
ber, exactly parallel to, and nearly at equal distances from, each
other. At first sight they seem to be complete rings encircling
the whole body; but, upon a closer inspection, they are ob-
served to diminish in breadth, and finally vanish on approach-
ing the inferior or abdominal surface of the animal. On the
contrary, they augment in diameter towards the back, where
they all terminate at right angles, in a line, of an exactly similar
appearance to themselves, running in a longitudinal direction
from the head to the tail. This longitudinal line or vessel is

Prof. Ehrenberg’s Researches on the Infusoria, 223

nearly twice the caliber of any of its tributary transverse
twigs.

It will be observed, that the disposition of this main dorsal
trunk, with its collateral branches, is almost exactly that of the
vascular system of the Ascidia, so beautifully demonstrated by
M. Savigny, which is a strong argument for their being of the
same character. No motion of an internal fluid is discernible in
their interior, nor has any pulsation, analogous to a heart, been
ever observed. Both these phenomena, which would decide the
question as to their true nature, Corti asserted that he had ob-
served in the Rotatoria and Brachionus, but he was deceived by
the tremulous motion of the canal, leading from the mouth to
the cesophagus. The same was the case with Gruithuysen,
who mistook the motion of the intestine in the Paramecium Au-
relia for that of a sap-like fluid. Itis worthy of note, that these
white striz are attached to the internal, not to the external tunic
of the integuments.

5. Nervous System *.—This name is given to a series of six
or seven round glandular-looking greyish bodies, which enve-
lope the upper or dorsal part of the esophagus of the Hydatina.
They are closely connected together, and are distinguished from
all the other viscera of the body by their darker tint. The up-
permost of these bodies (ganglia), or that situate in the mesial
place, is much larger than the rest, and gives off, from its apex,
a slender branch which proceeds upwards towards the integu-
ments at the back of the neck a little before the second pair
of vascular twigs, where it forms a slight enlargement (gan-
glion) ; it does not stop here, but returns back and unites
again, not with the large ganglion from which it was originally
given off, but in one of the adjacent smaller ones. A complete
circle is thus formed, bearing some resemblance to the nervous

* According to all our ideas of known physiological laws, the existence of
active voluntary motion presupposes the necessity of an animating nervous
system. Hitherto, however, no attempt had ever been made to prove its ex-
istence. But here again in these animals, excluded by their delicacy and
minuteness from the ordinary means of anatomical investigation, the trans-
parency of their tissues, as it has enabled us to discover the existence of a

muscular, has no less assisted us in the more than probable discovery of its
necessary appendage, a nervous tissue.

994. Dr Gairdiier’s Analysis of

circle, which encircles the cesophagus of the mollusca, except
that in this case the whole circle is situate on the dorsal or up-
per side of that canal. From the point of contact of this ner-
vous circle with the dorsal vessel, it gives off two very slender
twigs forward to the anterior part of the head, where, in other
forms of the Rotatoria, such as the Rotifer vulyaris, the two
red points (eyes) are situate. In some, such as the EHosphora
najas, a single large red point is situate on the back of the
neck, in the exact position of the ganglion at the apex of the
circle*. The above mentioned large mesial cesophageal. gan-
glion (brain) sends off posteriorly another branch of much larger
size, backwards along the abdominal surface of the animal,
which closely adheres to the internal layer of its double enve-
lope.

That these different filaments and ganglia, to which we have
given the name of nerves, are not muscles, is evident from their
form, their mode of insertion into the integuments, and because
in the contractions of the animal they are not shortened, but
assume a serpentine form, being apparently quite passive. . They
are not vessels, because no pulsation nor motion of a contained
fluid has been hitherto perceived through their transparent tis-
sues. If they are not organs of an entirely unknown nature,
the whole analogy of their form and position, compared with that
of the nervous system in other invertebrate animals, favours the
idea of this being their true nature.

We may here consider as appendages to the nervous system,
those coloured points situate in the anterior part of the head
of these animals, and most usually on the dorsal surface, which
have been considered as eyes. As already noticed, the first
discovery of these organs was made in 1816 by Nitsch, who saw
in the Cercaria viridis (now referred by Dr Ehrenberg to the
genus Euglena) three black scaliform points. In the Rotifer
vulgaris, their pigment is of a red colour, and they are three in
number, two small ones at its anterior extremity, and a single
larger one at the nucha in the situation of the apex of the

* The best view of the disposition and appearances of the cesophageal
ganglia, is got from the dorsal side of the animal, in a line with the great

dorsal vessal. The nervous collar given off from the brain, is however best
seen on a lateral view.

Wei x

ents

Rice! <4

* § ..

i

PLATE IIL. Edin’new Phil. JourVol XT p225.

/ = , Gnomon
XPT, 2+ 114
pl BE 19-9 | |
| 112.10 5 7h}—
i ie ue | oe
IA | 6.64} * re
Fig.?. ||| | | | | [yer 2
| 7-5 | 11) /
| | | | | /
i} | 1] | /
| | \ | he te, WA
| 8.4at— || 7 ms
| | F ( ;
i I | ¢
| | 5h
Wel 9.3
oe op \ lots
| | | HE
| | | y |
| 10.24—T | |)
} || | \/
| | | | |}
i 1 |
| | | a 4 /
| al | 1 q / |
mas ;
| | || g 7 | ||
ea eal | 2} —| ||
HI [eS eee!
Jaruay || S$ §) June if
ie 4 4
Decent © S| july

Yi

E.Mitcheil scalp

Prof. Ehrenberg’s Researches on the In Fusoria. 995

above mentioned nervous circle in the Hydatina ; and it is very
probable that the two filaments, which in the latter animal are
sent forwards from this ganglion, or even the ganglion itself,
subserve the purposes of vision. The number, disposition,
and colour of these pomts is the same in the Eosphora najas,
where the mesial eye is still larger and more distinct. In the
Philodina erythrophthalma their colour is the same, but they
are only two in number, (the most common disposition in this
class), much smaller, and situate more posteriorly. In the
Lepadella ovalis one only is visible of considerable size in the
mesial situation of the large one of the Eosphora *.
( To be concluded in our next Number.)

Plan for Cooling Rooms and Ventilating them in Tropical Ch-
mates. By Captain Rozperr Wavcuore, R.N. Commu-
nicated by the Author. (With a Plate.)

Norutye can be more simple than the plan adopted for warm-
ing houses in cold climates by means of heated air, to accom-
plish which requires no mechanical process whatsoever.

The reverse, however, is more difficult, viz. the cooling and
ventilating houses in warm climates, where the air in the inte-
rior of the house is always cooler than that which is outside. In
the dead calms of the tropics this can only be effected by me-
chanical means, first cooling the external air, and then forcing
it into the room by pressure. In India, indeed, the punka is
used; but this machine does not change the air in the room,
being merely a large fan, and is of no service for ventilating,
which is the great desideratum for soldiers’ barracks and hospi-
tals, &c.

The plan I propose for this purpose, which is shown by the
accompanying model and drawing (Pl. IV. Fig 1.), is as follows:

The pipes, which should be of about six inches in diameter,
are made of porous earthenware, and are connected by bent
pieces to their ends, as seen in the model, so that a blast of air
may pass freely from the lower pipe in connection with the bel-
lows or funnel, to the uppermost, which conveys it into the

* The Plate illustrative of Ehrenberg’s discoveries will be given in next
Number of Journal, along with the conclusion of the article

226 Captain Wauchope’s Plan for Cooling Rooms and

apartment to be ventilated. The pipes are piled, in the man-
ner shewn, round the fanners, which are worked by the gin;
these must be wetted from time to time, and in this way a very
great evaporation takes place on the outer surface of the pipes,
which cools the air in its passage through them. One pair of
fanners may in this way act upon three or four hundred yards
of pipe, as there may be a double or treble pile eonnected toge-
ther in the same way as the one represented in the model.

The pipes should be covered over by a shed, open at the
sides, with a flat roof of straw or leaves, impervious to the sun,
but not to the rain; so that during the rains, there need be no
necessity for wetting the pipes by hand: and should there be
any wind, the gin may be stopped, and the funnel will then
convey the air into the pipes; so that when there is any wind,
the air may be cooled and conveyed to the apartment without
any mechanical operation.

The gin, which is worked by a bullock, will be therefore only
required during the dead calms, when not a breath of wind is
stirring; and at such a time the cooled and refreshing air will
come as medicine to the sick soldier in his hospital, and impart
vigour and sound sleep to him in his barracks.

The cooled air should be introduced into the apartment
through a hole in the ceiling, with a screen, a few inches in
front of it, and of a larger circumference than the hole, to spread
the cooled air over the room, which will of course fall by its
greater specific gravity; and there ought to be openings in the
upper part of the wall of the room, to permit the hot displaced
air to escape.

Should the mode of wetting the pipes by hand be thought
too laborious, the best plan would be to have a cistern upon
the roof, filled by a pump made to work by the gin, and when
they required wetting, a valve might be opened, and the water
spread over them by the same means as that employed for wa-
tering the streets.

The hydrostatic bellows employed in the model was suggest-
ed to me by Mr Howel, as that which is easiest to work, and
the least friction. I also feel indebted to him for making the
model I have the honour of laying before you *.

* It is evident that this apparatus will work but imperfectly when the air
is very moist.—EDIT.

Ventilating them in T'ropical Climates. 227

Description of Plate IV.

ABCD Represents soldiers’ barracks, with the ventilating machine placed
at the gable end.

E The pipe conveying the cooled air, which enters the room through a hole
in the ceiling. nn a pipe connected with the hydrostatic pump P P, which
conveys the air to the pipe E, after having been cooled by passing through
all the continuous pipes of porous earthenware SS. In the pipe nz there

is a valve opening upwards, allowing the air to pass to E, but in no other
direction.

BB A pipe connected with the funnel F, which is fixed on the top of the
house, in the same manner as that used over a malt-kiln, made so as al. ©
ways to present its open side to the wind. It is connected at the bottom
with the pipe m7, and at its junction has a valve opening down, so as to
permit the air to pass down from the funnel, but not upwards: this pre-
vents the air passing up through the funnel in a calm, when the gin is
used, and the other valve in the pipe nm prevents the air escaping through
the pump pp, when the funnel only is used.

mm The fanners seen between the pipe S S, and round which they are coiled.
They are worked by the crank hh, which also works the pumps P P, by
means of the toothed-wheel 00, connected with the gin GG.

On the Mountain-chains and Volcanoes of Central Asia, with a
Map of Chains of Mountains and Volcanoes of Central Asia.
By M. pe Humpotpt*. (With a Map.)

Votcanozs, which demonstrate a perpetual communication be-

tween the earth which is fluid, or in a state of fusion, and the
~ atmosphere surrounding its hardened and oxidated surface, are,
by their connexion with the formation of beds of rock-salt, with
Salses (small conical hills, which in their eruptions emit mud,
naphtha, gases unfit for supporting life, and sometimes also, but
only for a short period, flames, vapours, and blocks), with hot
springs, earthquakes, and the upraising of mountains, an object
of so great importance for every thing which appertains to the
observation of nature, that they interest not only geologists, but
likewise natural philosophers, in the general acceptation of this
term. Leopold von Buch has already, in his great work on the

* This memoir we consider of high importance, as illustrating not only
the geography, but also the geognosy, of several interesting parts of Central
Asia.

228 Baron Humboldt on the Mouwntain-chains and

Canary Isles*, explained, with much talent, luminous ideas
upon the distribution of volcanoes, which are sometimes in isola-
ted groups around a central volcano, at other times arranged
longitudinally in a series) ‘The memoir which I now present
on these volcanic phenomena, situated at a great distance from
the sea, is certainly much less important; it treats of the local
phenomena of Central Asia, and of the interior of South Ame-
rica, concerning which I have had opportunities of collecting
information little known hitherto. We know still so little of
the kind of mysterious connexion of volcanoes in activity with
the vicinity of the sea, that every thing which relates to a vol-
cano of which we learn the existence very unexpectedly in the
interior of a continent, gives a very high interest even to a local
phenomenon.

The central and interior portion of Asia, which forms
neither an immense cluster of mountains nor a continued table-
land, is crossed from east to west by four grand systems of
mountains, which have manifestly influenced the movements of
the population ; these are, the Altai, which is terminated to the
west by the mountains of the Kirghiz; the Téen-shan, the
Kwan-lun, and the Himalaya chain. Between the Altai and
the Téen-shan, are placed Zungaria and the basin of the! Ele ;
between the Téen-shan and the Kwan-lun, Little or rather
Upper Bucharia, or Cashgar, Yarkand, Khoten, the great
desert of Gobi (or Cha-mo), Toorfan, Khamil (Ham), and
Tangout, that is, the northern Tangout of the Chinese, which
must not be confounded with Tibet or Se-fan; lastly, between
the Kwan-lun and the Himalaya, Eastern and Western Tibet,
where H’lassa and Ladak are situated.

1. The system of the Altai encompasses the sources of the
Irtish, and of the Yenissei or Kem; to the east, it takes the
name of Tangnu; that of the Sayanian mountains between
lakes Kossogol and Baikal; farther on, that of the lofty Kentai
and the mountains of Dauria; lastly, to the north-east, it joins
the Yablonnoy-khrebet, the Khingkhan and the Aldan moun-
tains, which stretch along the sea of Okhotsk. The mean lati-

* This splendid and very valuable work we trust to see translated into Eng-

lish. If published in octavo, it would be accessible to every geological reader,
and find a place in every library of Natural History in Britain.—Epir.

pbol ek

TeV
=
ie = © Koultche

S
re.
ta 2 i,, = a

Koolkun

F Noel ote nie

x

Fe aa AADPAADAA Wy

oN, Himalaya
Ata

Volcanoes of Central Asia. 299

tude of its course from east to west is between 50° and 51° 30’.
We shall soon have satisfactory notions respecting the geogra-
phy of the north-eastern part of this system, between the Baikal,
Yakutsk, and Okotsk, for which the world will be indebted to
Dr Erdmann, who has recently traversed those parts. The
Altai, properly so called, scarcely occupies seven degrees of
longitude; but we give to the northernmost portion of the
mountains encompassing the vast mass of high land of Inner
Asia, and occupying the space comprised between the 48th and
51st parallels, the name of the System of the Altai, because simple
names are more easily impressed upon the memory, and because
that of Altai is best known to Europeans, from the great metal-
lic wealth of these mountains, which now annually yield 70,000
marks of silver and 1900 marks of gold*. The Altai, in Turkish,
in Mongol, Altai-in-oola, ‘ gold mountain,’ is not a chain of
mountains, forming the limit of a country, like the Himalaya,
which bounds the table-land of 'Tibet, and which consequently
lowers itself abruptly only on the side of India, which is lower
than the other country. The plains adjoining lake Zaisang, and
especially the steppes near lake Balkashi, are certainly not more
than 300 toises (1968 English feet) above the level of the sea.
I avoid, intentionally, in this paper, conformably to the
statements I collected on the spot, employing the term Lesser
Altai, if this term is applied to the vast mass of mountains si-
tuated between the course of the Narym, lake Teletsky, the
Bia, Serpent Mountain, and the Irtis above Oustkamenogorsk,
consequently the territory of Russian Siberia, between the 79th
and 86th meridians east of Paris, and between the parallels of
49° 30’ and 52° 30’. This Little Altai is probably, owing to
its extent and elevation, much more considerable than the
Great Altai, whose position and existence as a chain of snowy
mountains are, perhaps, equally problematical. Arrowsmith,
and several modern geographers, who have followed the model
he has arbitrarily adopted, give the name of Great Altai to an
imaginary continuation of the Téen-shan, which is carried to
the eastward of Khamil (Hami) and Barkoul (Chin-se-foo), a
Manchoo town, and runs to the north-east, towards the eastern

“ A mark is equal to 4608 grains.

230 Baron Humboldt on the Mountain-chains and

sources of the Yenisséi and Mount Tangnu. The direction cf
the line of separation of the waters, between the affluents of the
Orkhon and those of the Aral-noor, lake of the steppe, and the
unfortunate practice of marking by high chains of mountains
where systems of streams separate, have occasioned this error.
If it be desired to retain on our maps the name of Great Altai,
it should be given to the succession of lofty mountains ranged
in a course directly opposite (parallel to the chain of the
Khangai*), or from the north-west to the south-east, between
the right bank of the Upper Irtish, and the Yeke-Aral-noor,
or Lake of the Great Isle, near Gobdo-Khoto.

“ There, consequently, to the south of the Narym and of the
Bukhtorma, which bounds what is called the Little Russian
Altai, was the primitive abode of the Turk tribes; the place
where Dizabul, their grand khan, towards the close of the sixth
century, received an ambassador from the Emperor of Con-
stantinople. This gold-mountain of the Turks, the Kin-shan
of the Chinese, a name with the same signification, bore hereto-—
fore also those of Ek-tag and Ektel, both of which probably
have an analogous meaning. It is said that more to the south,
under the 46th parallel, and almost in the meridian of Pijan
and Toorfan, a lofty peak is still called in Mongol Altainniro,
‘summit of the Altai.” If some degrees farther to the south,
this Great Altai unites itself to the Naiman-ula mountains, we
there find a transverse ridge which, running from the north-
west to the south-east, joins the Russian Altai to the Téen-shan,
northward of Barkoul and Hami+. This is not the place to

* “ Mount Khanggay-ula is to the north of the source of the Orkhon. Its
summits are lofty and considerable. This chain is a branching of the Altai,
which comes from the north-west: it extends to the eastward to the rivers
Orkhon and Tula with their effluents, and becomes the Kenteh of the
Khinggan. A branch of this chain separates to the west, and runs to the
north under the name of the Kuku-daban; it encompasses the Upper Selengga
and all its affluents, which take their origin in it, and then runs a distance of
1000 /e into the Russian territory. The Orkhon, the Tamir, and their af.

fluents, have likewise their sources in this chain, which is probably the same

which the Chinese distinguish by the name of Yang-jin-shan.—Kuaprora.
+ “ The Chinese (in their imperial geography of China), in tracing the direc-

tion of the Great Altai from the north-west to the south-east, make it almost

re-unite itself to the Téen-shan, which corresponds exactly with what M.
de Humboldt states.—KLarroru.

‘olcanoes of Central Asia. 231

~

develope how the system of north-western direction, so general
in our hemisphere, is traced in the beds of the rocks, in the line
of the Alps of Alghin, of the lofty steppe of the Chuya, of the
chain of the Jyiktu, which is the culminating point of the Rus-
sian Altai, and in the hollows of the narrow valleys, where flow
the Chulyshman, the Chuya, the Katunia, and the Upper
Charysh ; lastly, in the whole course of the Irtish from Kras-
noyarskoi to Tobolsk.

** Between the meridians of Oust-Kamenogorsk and of Semi-
polatinsk, the system of the Altai mountains extends from east
to west, beneath the parallels of 59° and 50°, by a chain of hills
and low mountains, for 160 geographical leagues, as far as the
steppe of the Kirghiz. This range, though of very small im-
portance in respect to size and elevation, is highly interesting to
geognosy. There does not exist a continuous chain of Kirghiz
mountains, which, as the maps represent under the names of
Alghidin-tsano or Alghidin-chamo, unites the Ural and the
Altai. Some isolated hills of 500 or 600 feet high, groups of*
small mountains, which, like the Semi-tau near Semipolatinsk,
rise abruptly to the height of 1000 or 1200 feet above the
plains, deceive the traveller who is not accustomed to measure
the inequality of the soil; but it is not less remarkable that
these clusters of hills and small mountains have been raised
across a furrow which forms this line of division of the waters
between the affluents of the Saras, or to the south in the steppe,
and those of the Irtish to the north: a fissure which follows
uniformly, as far as the meridian of Sverinagolovskoy, the same
direction for sixteen degrees of longitude.

“* In the line of division of the waters between the Altai and
the Ural, between the 49th and 50th parallels, is observable an
effort of nature, a kind of attempt of subterranean energy, to
force up a chain of mountains ; and this fact recalls powerfully
the similar appearances I remarked in the new continent.

‘** But the non-continued range of low mountains and hills of
crystallized rocks, by which the system of the Altai is prolonged
to the west, does not reach the southern extremity of the Ural,
a chain which, like that of the Andes, presents a long wall run-
ning from north to south, with metallic mines on its eastern
side : it terminates abruptly under the meridian of Svyerinogoy-

232 Baron Humboldt on the Mountain-chains and

loskoy, where geographers are accustomed to place the Alghinic
mountains, the name of which is entirely unknown by the
Kirghiz of Troitsk and of Orenburg.

“ II. System of the Téen-Shan-—Their mean latitude is 42°.
Their culminating point is perhaps the mass of mountain re-
markable by its three peaks, covered with eternal snows, and
celebrated under the name of Bokhda-ula, or ‘ Holy Mountain,’
in the Mongol-Calmuc tongue; which has caused Pallas to give
to the whole chain the denomination of Bogdo.. From the
Bokhda-ula, the Téen-shan runs easterly towards Barkoul,
where, to the north of Hami, it sinks abruptly, and spreads it-
self to the level of the high desert called the Great Gobi, or
Shamo, which extends south-west and north-east, from Kwa-
chow, a town of China, to the sources of the Argun. Mount
Nomkhun, to the north-west of the Sogok and the Sobo, little
lakes of the steppe, denotes perhaps by its position, a slight
swell, an angle in the desert; for after an interruption of at
least ten degrees of longitude, there appears, a little more to the
south than the Téen-shan, in my opinion, as a continuation of
this system, at the great bend of the Hwang-ho, or Yellow
River, the snowy chain of the Gajar, or Yn-shan, which runs
likewise from west to east, under the parallels of 41° and 42°,
consequently to the north of the country of Ordos.

« Let us now return to the neighbourhood of Toorfan and
the Bokhda-ula, and follow the western prolongation of the
second system of mountains; we shall perceive that it extends
between Gulja (Ele), the place whither the Chinese government
exiles criminals, and Kucha; then between Temoortu, a large
lake, the name of which signifies ‘ ferruginous water,’ and Aksu,
to the north of Cashgar, and runs towards Smarkand. The
country comprised between the first and second systems of moun-
tains, or between the Altai and the Téen-shan, is closed on the
east, beyond the meridian of Peking, by the Khingkhan-ula, a
mountainous crest which runs SSW. and NNE.; but to the
west it is entirely open on the side of the Chwei, the Sarasu and
the lower Sihoon. In this part there is no transverse ridge,
provided, at least, we do not regard as such the series of eleva-
tions which extend north and south, to the west of lake Zaisang,
across the Targabatay, as far as the north-eastern extremity of

2

Volcanoes of Central Asia. 233

the Ala-tau *, between lakes Balkash and Alak-tugulnoor, and
then beyond the course of the Ele, to the eastward of the Te-
moortu-nor (between lat. 44° and 49°), and which present the
appearance of a wall occasionally interrupted on the side of the
Kirghiz steppe.

It is quite otherwise with the portion of Central Asia, which
is bounded by the second and third systems of mountains, the
Himalaya and Kwan-lun. In fact, it is closed to the west in a
very evident manner by a transverse ridge, which is prolonged
from south to north, under the name of Bolor or Beloortagh +
This chain separates Little from Great Bucharia, and from
Cashgar, Badakshan and the Upper Jihocn or Amoodaria. Its
southern portion, which connects with the system of Kwan-lun
mountains, forms, according to the denomination used by the
Chinese, a part of the Tsung-ling. To the north it joms the
chain which passes to the north-west of Cashgar, and bears the
name of the defile of Cashgar (Cashgar-divan or davan), ac-
cording to the narrative of Nasaroff, who, in 1813, travelled as

* This is a name which has occasioned much confusion. The Kirghiz,
particularly those of the grand horde, give the title of Ala-tagh (Alatau,
‘ speckled mountains’) to a series of elevations extending from west to east,
under the parallels of 43° 30’ to 45°, from the Upper Sihoon (Syr-daria or
Jaxartes), near Tonkat, towards lakes Balkashi and Temoortu. The eastern
portion of the Ala-tau rises considerably at the great sinuosity made by the
Sihoon to the north-west, and connects with the Kara-tau (‘Black Moun-
tain’) at Taras or Turkestan. The natives likewise give the name of Ala-
tau to the mountains to the south of the Tarbagatay between lakes Ala-kul,
Balkashi, and Temoortu. Is it from these denominafions that geographers
have been in the habit of calling the whole second system cf mountains that
of Téen-shan, Alak or Ala-tau? The Oolug-tagh, or ‘Great Mountain,’
named on some maps Oulug-tag Ovlu-tau, and Ooluk-tagh, must not be con-
founded with the Ala-tau or Ala-taghi.

+ According to M. Klaproth, this transversal ridge is named in Ouigoor
Boolyt-tagh, ‘Cloudy Mountain’, on account of the extraordinary rains which
fall uninterruptedly in this latitude during three months. West of this
transverse ridge of Beloor, is the station of Pamir, nearly under the parallel
of Cashgar. Marco Polo has named after this station a table-land, of which
modern geographers have made sometimes a chain of mountains, sometimes
a province situated farther to the south. This district is still interesting to
the naturalist, on account of the celebrated Venetian Traveller having ae!
observed there a fact, which has so often occurred in my experience, at con-
siderable elevations, in the New World, namely, that it is extremely difficult
to light and to keep fire in there.

JULY—SEPTEMBER 1831, Q

79,4. Baron Humboldt on the Mountain-Chains and

far as Kokand. Between Kokand, Dervazeh and Hissa, conse-
quently between the still unknown sources of the Sihoon and
Amoo-daria, the Téen-shan rises previous to sinking again in
the Khanat of Bokhara, and presents a group of lofty moun-
tains, several summits of which, such as the Takt-i-Suleyman,
the crest called Terek and others, are covered with snow even
in summer. Farther to the east, on the road which runs from
the western bank of lake Temoortu to Cashgar, the Téen-shan
does not appear to me to attain so great an elevation; at least
no mention is made of snow in the itinerary from Semipolatinsk
to Cashgar. The road passes to the eastward of lake Balkashi,
and to the westward of lake Yssi-kul or Temoortu, and traverses
the Narun or Narym, an affluent of the Sihoon. At 105 versts to
the south of the Narun, it goes over Mount Rovatt, which is
pretty high, and about fifteen versts wide; it hasa large cavern,
and is situated between the At-bash, a small river, and the little
lake of Chater-kul. This is the culminating point previous to.
arriving at the Chinese post placed to the south of the Aksu, a
staall river of the steppe, the village of Artush, and Cashgar. This
city, built on the banks of the Aratumen, contains 15,000 houses
and 80,000 inhabitants, but is yet smaller than Samarkand.
The Cashgar-davan * does not appear to form a continuous wall,
but to offer an open passage at several points. M. Gens ex-
pressed to me his surprise that none of the numerous itineraries
of Bokharians which he has collected, make mention of a lofty
chain of mountains between Kokand and Cashgar. The great
showy mountains seem not to reappear till east of the meridian
of Aksu, for these same itineraries mention Jeparleh +, a glacier

* The terms davan in Oriental-Turki, dabahn in Mongol, and dabagan
in Manchoo, denote not a mountain, but a pass in a mountain; Cashgar da-
van, therefore, signifies only the pass across the mountains to Cashgar.—
KuapProrta.

+ This is the Moosar-tag, or glacier between Ele and Kucha. The ice
with which it is sheeted gives it the appearance of a mass of silver. A road,
called Mussar-dabahn, cut through these glaciers, leads from the SW. to the N.,
or, to speak more accurately, from Little Bucharia to Ele. The following is a
description of this mountain bya modern Chinese geographer: ‘'To the north
is the post station of Gakhtsa-karkai, and to the south that of Tamga-tash,
er Terma-Khada ; they are distant from each other 120 Ze. On proceeding

Volcanoes of Central Asia. 235

covered with perpetual snow, on the Kura road, on the banks
of the Ele at Aksu, nearly half-way between the warm springs
of Arashan to the north of Kanjeilao, a Chinese station, and
the advanced post of 'Tamga-tash.

The western prolongation of the Téen-shan or Mooz-tag, as
the editors of the Memoirs of Sultan Baber called it by pre-

to the south, after quitting the former, the view extends over a vast space
covered with snow, which in winter is very deep. In summer, on the top of
the ice, snow and marshy places are found. Men and cattle follow the wind
ing paths at the side of the mountain. Whoever is so imprudent as to ven-
ture upon this sea of snow is irrecoverably lost. After traversing upwards of
twenty /e, you reach the glacier, where neither sand, trees, nor grass can be
seen: the most terrifying objects are the gigantic rocks formed of masses
of ice heaped upon one another. When the eye dwells upon the intervals
which separate these masses of ice, a gloomy chasm appears, into which the
light never penetrates. The sound of the water rushing beneath the ice re-
sembles the report of thunder. Carcasses of camels and horses are scattered
here and there. In order to facilitate the passage, steps have been cut in
the ice, to ascend and descend, but they are so slippery that they are ex-
tremely dangerous. Too frequently travellers find their graves in these pre-
cipices. Men and cattle walk in file, trembling with alarm, in these inhos-
pitable tracts. If night surprise the traveller, he must seek shelter under a
large stone ; if the night happen to be calm, very pleasing sounds are heard,
like those of several instruments combined; it is the echo which repeats the
cracking noise produced by the breaking ice. The road, which is pursued
the day before, is not always that which it is convenient to follow the next
day. Ata distance, to the west, a mountain, which has been hitherto inac-
cessible, displays its steep and icy summits. The halting-place of Tamga-
tash is eighty /e from this place. A river, called Moossur Gol, rushes with
frightful impetuosity from the edges of the ice, flows to the south-east, and
joins the Erghew, which falls into lake Lob. Four days’ journey to the
south of Tamga-tash, is an arid plain, which does not produce the smallest
plant. At eighty or ninety /e further off, gigantic rocks still recur. The
commandant of Ushi sends every year one of his officers with oblations to
this glacier. The formula of the prayer recited on this occasion is trans-
mitted from Peking by the Tribunal of Rites. Ice is found along the whole
crest of the Téen-shan, if it is traversed lengthwise: but, on the contrary,
if it is crossed from north to south, that is in its width, ice is found only in
a space of a few /e. Every morning ten men are employed in the pass of
Mussar-tag, in cutting steps for ascending and descending ; in the afternoon
the sun has either melted them or rendered them extremely slippery. Some-
times the ice gives way under the feet of the travellers, and they are in-
gulfed, without a hope of ever seeing day-light again. The Mohamedans
of Little Bucharia sacrifice a ram previous to traversing these mountains,
Snow falls there throughout the year: it never rains—KLAPROTH.

Q 2

236 Baron Humboldt on the Mountain-Chains and

eminence, deserves a particular notice. At the point where
the Beloor-tag joins the right angle of the Mooz-tag, or tra-
verses as a vein this great system, the latter continues its
course without interruption from east to west, under the deno-
mination of Asferah-tag, to the south of the Sihon, towards Kho-
jand and Urateppeth, in Ferghana. This chain of Asferah,
which is covered with perpetual snow, and is improperly called
the chain of Pamer, separates the sources of the Sihon (Jaxartes)
from those of the Amoo (Oxus); it turns to the south-west,
nearly in the meridian of Khojand, and in this direction is
called, as far as near Samarkand, Ak-tag (“ White or Snowy
Mountain”), or Al-botom. Farther to the west, on the smiling
and fertile banks of the Kohik, commences the great dip or
depression of land, comprehending Great Bucharia, the coun-
try of Maveralnahar, which is so low, and where the highly-cul-
tivated soil and the wealth of the towns attract periodically the
invasions of the people of Iran, Candahar, and Upper Mon-
golia ; but beyond the Caspian Sea, nearly in the same latitude,
and in the same direction as the Téen-shan, appears the
Caucasus, with its porphyritic and trachytic rocks. One is in-
clined, therefore, to regard it as a continuation of the rent,
in the form of a vein, on which the Téen-shan rises in the east,
just as, to the west of the great group of the mountains of
Azerbaijan and Armenia, is observable, in Taurus, a continua-
tion of the action of the fissure of the Himalaya and the Hindu
Coosh. Itis thus that, in a geognostic sense, the disjointed
members of the mountains of Western Asia, as Mr Ritter, in
his excellent View of Asia, calls them, connect themselves with
the forms of the land in the east.

III. The System of the Kwan-lun, or Koolkun, or Tartash-
davan, enters Khoten (Elechi *), where Hindu civilization and
the worship of Buddha penetrated 500 years before it reached

* The: position of Kaoten is very incorrectly laid down in all the maps.
Its latitude, according to the astronomical observations of the Missionaries
Felix d’Arocha, Espinha, and Hallerstein, is 37° 0’; the longitude 35° 52’ W.
of Peking. This longitude determines the mean direction of the Kwan-
lun

Volcanoes of Central Asia. 237

Tibet and Ladak, between the group of mountains of Kookoo-
noor and Eastern Tibet, and the country called Kachi.

This system of mountains commence westward of the Tsung-
ling (“ Onion or Blue Mountains”), upon which M. Abel
Rémusat has diffused so much light in his learned History of
Khoten. This system connects itself, as already observed, with
the transverse chain of Bolor; and according to the Chinese
books, forms the southern portion of it. This quarter of the globe,
between Little Tibet and Badakshan, abounding in rubies,
lazulite, and turquoise, is very little known; and, according to
recent accounts, the table-land of Khorasan, which runs to-
wards Herat, and bounds the Hindu-Kho or Hindu-Coosh to
the north, appears to be a continuation of the system of the
Kwan-lun to the west, rather than a prolongation of the Hima-
laya, as commonly supposed. From the Tsung-ling, the Kwan-
lun or Koolkun runs from west to east, towards the sources of
the Hwang-ho (Yellow River), and penetrates, with its snowy
peaks into the Chinese province of Shen-se. Nearly in the
meridian of these sources, rises the great cluster of mountains of
lake Kookoo-noor, a cluster which supports itself, on the north,
against the snowy chain of the Nan-shan, or Ki-lian-shan, ex-
tending also from west to east. Between the Nan-shan and the
Téen-shan, on the side of Hami, the mountains of Tangout
bound the edge of the high desert of Gohi or Shamo, which
stretches from south-west to north-east. The latitude of the
middle portion of the Kwan-lun is about 35° 30’.

IV. System of the Himalaya.—This separates the valleys of
Cashmer (Serinagur) and Nepal from Butan and Tibet ; to the
west, it stretches by Jevahir, to 4026 toises (26,420 feet); to
the east, by Dhavalaghiri, to 4390 (28,809 feet) of actual
height above the level of the sea: it runs generally in a direc-
tion from NW. to SE., and consequently is not parallel with
the Kwan-lun; it approaches it so nearly, in the meridian of
Attock and Jellalabad, that between Cabul, Cashmer, Ladak,
and Badakshan, the Himalaya seems to form only a single mass
of mountains with the Hindu-Kho and the Tsung-ling. In
like manner, the space between the Himalaya and the Kwan-
lun is more shut up with secondary chains and isolated masses

938 Baron Humboldt on the Mountain-Chains and

of mountains, than the table-lands between the first, second, and
third systems of mountains. Consequently, Tibet and Kachi
cannot properly be compared, in respect to their geognostic
construction, with the elevated longitudinal valleys *, situated
between the chain of the eastern and western Andes, for ex-
ample, with the table-land which encloses the lake of Titicaca,
a correct observer of which (Mr Pentland) found that its ele-
vation above the sea was 1986 toises (13,033 feet). Neverthe-
less, it must not be represented that the height of the table-land
between the Kwan-lun and the Himalaya, as well as in all the
rest of Central Asia, is equal throughout. The mildness of the
‘winters, and the cultivation of the vine +, in the gardens of
H’lassa, in the parallel of 29° 40/,—facts ascertained by the ac-
counts published by M. Klaproth and the Archimandrite
Hyacinth,—proclaim the existence of deep valleys and circular
hollows. Two considerable rivers, the Indus and the Zzambo
(Sampoo +), denote a depression in the table-land of Tibet, to
the north-west and south-east, the axis of which is found nearly
in the meridian of the gigantic Javahir, the two sacred lakes of
Manassoravara and Ravana Hrada, and Mount Cailasa, or

“In the Andes, I found that the mean height of the longitudinal val-
ley between the Eastern and Western Cordilleras, from the cluster of moun-
tains of Los Robles, near Popayan, to that of Pasco, as well as those in 2°
20’ N. Lat. to 10° 30’ S. Lat., was about 1500 toises (9843 feet). The table.
land, or rather longitudinal valley of Tiahuanaco, along the Lake of Titicaca,
the primitive seat of Peruvian civilization, is more elevated than the Peak
of Teneriffe. However, according to my experience, it cannot be asserted
gencrally that the absolute height to which the bottom of the longitudinal val-
leys appears to have been raised by subterranean force, augments with the
absolute height of the neighbouring chains. In like manner, the elevation
of isolated chains above the valleys is very various, showing that at the
foot of the chain the raised plain is elevated at the same time, or has pre-
served its ancient level.

+ The cultivation of plants, whose vegetable life is almost limited to
the duration of summer, and which, despoiled of leaves, remain benumbed du-
ring winter, may be accounted for by the influence which vast table-lands
exert upon the radiation of heat; but it is not the same with the less
rigour of winters, when we refer to elevations of 1800 to 2000 toises
(11,812 to 13,125 feet) at six degrees to the north of the equinoctial zone.

+ The researches of M. Klaproth have proved that this river, which is
entirely separated from the system of the Brahmaputra, is identical with
the Irrawaddy of the Burmese empire.

Volcanoes of Central Asia. 239

Cailas, in Chinese O-new-ta, and in Tibetan Gang-dis-ri.. From
this nucleus springs the chain of Kara-korum-padisha, which
runs to the north-west, consequently to the north of Ladak, to-
wards the T'sung-ling ; and the snowy chains of Hor (Khor)
and Zzang, which runs to the east. That of Hor, at its north-
western extremity, connects itself with the Kwan-lun ; its course,
from the eastern side, is towards the Tangri-noor (“ Lake of
Heaven”). The Zzang, farther to the south than the chain of
Hor, bounds the long valley of the Zzangbo, and runs from
west to east, towards the Néen-tsin-tangla-gangri, a very lofty
summit which, between H’lassa and lake Tangri-noor (impro-
perly called Terkiri), terminates at Mount Nom-shun-ubashi.
Between the meridians of Ghorka, Katmandu, and H’lassa, the
_ Himalaya sends out to the north, towards the right bank, or
the southern border of the valley of the Zzang-bo, several
branches covered with perpetual snow. The highest is Yaria:
shamboy-gangri, the name of which, in Tibetan, signifies “ the
snowy mountains in the country of the self-existing deity.”
This peak is to the westward of lake Yamruk-yumdzo, which
our maps call Palteh*, and which resembles a ring, being al-
most filled by an island.

If, availing ourselves of the Chinese writings which M.
Klaproth has collected, we follow the system of the Himalaya
towards the east, beyond the English territories in Hindustan,
we perceive that it bounds Assam to the north, contains the
sources of the Brahmaputra, passes through the northern part
of Ava, and penetrates into the Chinese province of Yun-nan,
where, to the westward of Yung-chang, it exhibits sharp and
snowy peaks ; it turns abruptly to the north-east on the confines
of Ho-kwang, of Keang-si, and of Fuh-kien, and extends with
its snowy summits near to the ocean, where we find, as if it was
a prolongation of this chain, an island (Formosa), the moun-
tains of which are covered with snow during the greatest part of
the summer, which shows an elevation of at least 1900 toises
(12,469 feet). Thus we may follow the system of the Hima-
laya, as a continuous chain, from the Eastern Ocean, and track

* There can be no doubt that Palteh is derived from Bhaldi, the Tibetan
name of a town a little to the north, which has been corrupted by the Chinese
into Peiti or Peli-K ta PROTH,

240 Mr Mantell on the Ripple Marks made by the Waves,

it by the Hindu-Coosh, across Candahar and Khorasan; and
lastly as far as the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan, through an ex-
tent of seventy-three degrees of longitude, half that of the
Andes. The western extremity, which is volcanic, but covered
likewise with snow to Demavend, loses the peculiar character
of achain in the cluster of the mountains of Armenia, con-
nected with the Sangalu, the Bingheul, and Cashmer-dag, lofty
summits in the pashalic of Erzeroum. The mean direction of
the system of the Himalaya is N. 55° W.

(To be continued. )

On the Ripple Marks made by the Waves, observable in the
Sandstone Strata of Sussex. By GipEon ManTE Lt, Esq.
F.R.S., F.1.58., &c.

Tae deep undulations with which the surface of many of the
slabs of Horsham-stone are covered, must have been observed
by all who have noticed the pavements in the towns and villages
where that stone is employed. In some instances the slabs are
so rough as to be made use of for stable-yards and crossways,
where an uneven surface is required to prevent the feet of horses
from slipping when passing over. Obvious as the cause of this
curious appearance seems to be, yet it has been a subject of
dispute among men of science, the mind being but too apt
to seek for a mysterious agent, to explain effects which have
been, and still are being, produced by some simple operation of
nature.

In the case before us, it appears scarcely possible that any
one who examines the markings produced by the undulations of
water on sand and mud, on the margins of lakes, rivers, and
estuaries, or on the sea-shore, can doubt that characters so pre-
cisely analogous as those observable in the Horsham-stone have
been effected by a similar operation. In the description of the
fossils of 'Tilgate Forest, a short notice is taken of the phenome-
non under consideration : a recent examination of the quarries
of Horsham, in company with my friend Mr Lyell, induces me
to offer a few additional remarks on this subject.

observable in the Sandstone Strata of Sussex. 241

When a large surface is first exposed, a most interesting ap-
pearance is presented, and the spectator is struck with the con-
viction that he is standing on an ancient shore. In some places
the furrows are deep, affording evidence of the water having
been much agitated, and the ripple strong; in other instances
tke undulations are gentle, and are frequently intersected by
cross ripples, from a change in the direction of the waves. On
some parts of the stone there are slightly elevated longitudinal
ridges of sand, made up of gentle risings, disposed in a crescent-
like form, resembling most closely the sand ridges which are
produced by the little rills which flow back into the sea or
river at low water. Some of the slabs are covered with thin
angular ridges, irregularly crossing each other like the fissures
in septaria, and which have obviously been caused by the depo-
sition of sand into the crevices made in sand or mud by drying.
A very considerable portion of the stone (the flat as well as the
furrowed variety) is covered with small cylindrical bodies, which
have been moulded in the hollows produced by some species of
vermes. Similar forms of a larger size also occur; these re-
resemble the trails left by mussels, and have probably been oc-
casioned by some of the analogous bivalves whose remains are
imbedded in the strata of Tilgate Forest *.

Since, in some instances, the foot-marks of animals (supposed
to be reptiles) have been discovered in sandstone of England
and Scotland, we examined the slabs in the quarries at Horsham
with considerable attention, in the expectation that similar in-
dications might there occur; but although our researches were
not attended with success, yet as reptiles are known to have
existed in vast numbers on the land and in the water at the
period of the formation of these strata, and as the markings on
the surface of the stone is a proof that it was deposited in shal-
low water, and was occasionally left dry, it is more than pro-
bable that impressions will sooner or later be discovered. The
object of this brief memoir is to draw attention to the subject,
in the hope that persons of taste and leisure will pursue the

inquiry.

* This appearance is common in the sandstone quarries around Edinburgh.

( 242 )

1. Progress of Geology.—2. Werner according to Cuvier,
Lyell, and MacCulloch.—. Hutton according to Playfair
and MacCulloch.—4. Antiquity of the Earth.

1. Progress of Geology.
"Tus fortunes of this science, during the last half century, have
conducted it, by a very remarkable course, at the same time,
through four main divisions of its subject, and through the four
principal scientific nations of Europe.

Germany: Primary Geology.—The first form under which
this portion of knowledge was systematically presented, was
mineralogical geology, the cultivation of which had Germany
for its point of origin and activity. The disciples of Werner
received from their highly gifted teacher an arrangement of
rocks, which taught them to distinguish their kinds according
to the mineralogical character, and to look for the same succes-
sion of such members in every part of the world. As a doc-
trine generally applicable, nothing can be more hasty and base-
less than this. The generality of the type laid down by the
school of Freyberg, was an assumption perfectly gratuitous ;
nor could any progress be made in determining the order of
superposition of strata, till the distinction and identification of
them were made to depend on all their characters ; and of these,
the marks derived from their organic contents are incomparably
more important than those from their materials*. But to this

* The accomplished author of the above remarks will probably find, on
reconsidering his judgment, that it is rather a hasty one. Werner taught
that mineralogical, geological, and organic characters, were to be employed
in determining formations, and that probably the same general geological ar-
rangements would be found to prevail throughout the earth. But, he added,
the truth or falsity of this view, in regard to the similarity of formations,
can only be determined by the united labours of geologists continued for a
long series of years. He attached much importance to the mineralogical
and gevlogical characters, and in this he was right, notwithstanding all that
has been said to the contrary. What are modern geologists at this moment
doing, but following out the Wernerian mode of investigation, and his view
in regard to the universality of formations? Do not geologists in Britain
determine the characters of formations according to the Wernerian rules,
and is this not also the case on the Continent ?—are not the geologists of
England endeavouring to identify the formations of our island with those of
Germany, France, and Italy ?—are not the Americans doing the same ?—
and do we not find geologists tracing our old red sandstones, coal formations,
lias, oolites, &c. throughout India? What is this but attempting to prove
the universality of formations ?-EDitT.

Progress of Geology. 243

celebrated school we must not refuse the praise of having un-
dertaken the stratigraphical examination of Europe, in a spirit
of zeal, of acuteness, and of combination, worthy of the philoso-
phical character of the Germans, and of the vivid and compre-
hensive mind of the founder of the sect. And even yet we do
not possess, for the classification of primary rocks, those, namely,
which are not characterized by remains of organized beings, any
better means or rules than have proceeded from the Wernerian
investigators. Several of the divisions of the floetz or secondary
formations, as discriminated by Werner, have undoubtedly aiso
been retained by the most enlightened modern geologists. But
we conceive that this arrangement was undeniably constructed
at first without any clear or proper appreciation of that organic
evidence which alone can authorize its extensive application.
It is on this. account that we attribute to the Wernerians, as
their really valuable distinction, the cultivation of mineralogical
or primary geology.

England: Secondary Geology.—W e turn from them to notice
secondary geology, a wide department of the science which be-
longs in a very considerable measure to England. The con-
viction suggested by an intimate acquaintance with an immense
variety, details that the strata of this country may be distin-
guished by the shells and other fossils which are found in them:
that by this means even minute subdivisions of beds may be
traced from one end of the kingdom to the other, and recog-
nised unerringly under almost any mode of occurrence. This
discovery, so important in itself and in its consequences, is due
to Mr Smith; who, as a mineral surveyor, had his attention
early drawn to such views. We are informed, that Mr Smith
published his “ Tabular View of the British Strata” in 1790,
and there proposed a classification of the secondary formations
of the west of England; but the map of England, in which he
embodied the results of many patient and active years’ labour,
did not appear till 1815; and, in the mean time, others had
caught (some probably from him) the same spirit of investiga-
tion, and were verifying the same conceptions. The Geological
Society of London, founded in 1807, was at the same time an
evidence of the existence of these views, and a means of apply-
ing them to the analysis of every part of our soil and shore. It

2

244 Progress of Geology.

so happens, moreover, that our island exhibits, in a form singu-
larly condensed, and yet distinct, most of the members of the
secondary stratigraphical series of Europe; and our coasts af-
ford natural sections which eminently facilitate the examination
of these phenomena. From these causes it has arisen, as we have
already said, that England has hitherto been the head-quarters of
secondary geology—the country where its cultivators are most
active and successful, and where most of its leading and normal
exemplifications are sought.

France: Tertiary Geology.—The glory of the third great
branch of the subject, tertiary geology, belongs to France, and
forms one of the brightest pomts in the luminous path of dis-
covery which her men of science have trodden in our times.
We cannot sufficiently admire the happy conjunction which, at
this period of geological investigation, placed together the ex-
cavations of the Parisian district, so teeming with new and strange
facts, and the vast talents and profound knowledge of Cuvier,
so peculiarly adapted to create the new science which these phe-
nomena required for their solution. It was in 1808, that Cu-
vier and Brongniart began to publish those views of the mineral
geography of the neighbourhood of Paris, which soon became a
subject of leading curiosity throughout Europe. Their investi-
gations led them to the conviction, that the rock on which Paris
rests is composed of a succession of deposites, not extending
across the country like the secondary strata, but limited within
a certain circle or basin, and most remarkable for their contents.
It appeared that these rocks contain some beds, characterized
by remains, belonging entirely to land and fresh water animals ;
that above these were other beds, in which the organic remains
were exclusively marine ; that above these again were other
beds, containing bones and shells of fresh water origin, but of
kinds entirely different from those of lower fresh water forma-
tion. It appeared, too, that those fresh water formations con-
tain bones of various quadrupeds of great size, differing in a
curious manner from the animals which at present exist. Many
of these remains were of course very imperfect and obscure ;
and, in all cases, the structure and habits of the animals to which
they belonged, could be divined only by the most consummate
knowledge of natural history and anatomy. These requisites

Progress of Geology. 945

Cuvier brought to the task of such unparalleled interest which
thus devolved upon him; and he has so well executed it, that
in reading his works, and those to which his have given occa-
sion, we seem to be wandering in a land of enchantment. His
magical power has called from the slumber of ages the unwieldy
and marvellous forms of antediluvian life; and we find around
us an array of paleotheriums and anoplotheriums, of extinct
crocodiles and pelicans, which appear in all the bodily reality
that their present successors exhibit to us in Mr Wombwell’s
menagerie.

These discoveries were of the most attractive interest, even
if we were to confine ourselves to the zoological views which
they present, and they speedily led to similar investigations of
various spots in Europe, and to the discovery of other basins
and deposites more or less resembling those of Paris. But be-
sides this charm, there was another train of inference, or at least
of irresistible conjecture, to which they drew men’s thoughts.
There was contained in the succession of different races of ani-
mals, thus unbedded in the materials of our earth, the evidence
of changes and revolutions which had taken place in a manner
and order hitherto unguessed. Incursions and retreats of the
sea, changes in the form and elevation of continents, dislocation
and rupture of large portions of the crust of the earth; such
and many more were the operations of which the history was
read in the facts thus disclosed: and this violence and ruin
was interwoven as it appeared with the existence of dry land
supporting vegetables and quadrupeds, that were but one re-
move from those of our present world. The fascination of such
speculations would have been all-powerful if the phenomena had
not been incalculably better adapted to suggest problems and
perplexities, than to help us to their solutions. As the matter
was, geologists saw the futility of attempting at present to ex-
plain all these strange discoveries by hypothesis, and with an in-
tellectual temperance and self-command, very different from the
spirit of former times, went on with their labours, content to be
certain and clear in limited propositions, and leaving the true ge-
neral view of the connexion of those appearances to unfold itself
when the proper epoch should arise.

Still it must be allowed, that the almost universal impression
among geological speculators was, that the causes by which the

246 Progress of Geology.

earth had been urged from the state evidenced by one formation
to that exhibited in another, were different from any agencies
of which we have any experience. In the dislocation of provin-
ces,—in the elevation of hills from the bottom of the sea,—in the
comminution and dispersion of vast tracts of the hardest rocks,
—in the obliteration and renewal of a whole creation, they
seemed to themselves to see, without the possibility of mistake,
the manifestation of powers more energetic and extensive than
those which belong to the common course of every-day nature.
They conceive, that what even might be the causes which had
been at work in these former ages, their fury was now spent,
their task performed, their occupation gone.

They spoke of a break in the continuity of Nature’s opera-
tions ; of the present state of things as permanent and tranquil ;
the past having been progressive and violent. ‘They considered
the existing condition of the earth as separated by a vast chasm
from its previous convulsions. 'They could not imagine how
theorists were to pass by any known road from a creation in
which scarcely one species of animal (if one) was identical with
those which now live, to the world of our contemporary shell-
fish and crocodiles; or how the strata of the Isle of Wight,
thousands of feet thick, were by any usual machinery to be
overturned and set on edge. And these difficulties do no
doubt appear, even at this day, so formidable to most geognosts,
that they will not acknowledge themselves bound to account for
such alarming revolutions, nor do we believe that Mr Lyell,
stout-hearted as he his, would have ventured upon this perilous
expedition into realms of chaos, if he had not found a half-way
station in the fourth class of strata, the penultimate * formations
of which we now proceed to speak.

Italy: Penultimate Formations.—These formations consist of
strata more recent than the regular tertiaries to which we have
referred, and yet announcing, by their fossils or their position, an
antiquity greater than that belonging to the present condition of
our globe.

They thus seem to offer themselves as the results of the state
of things which last preceded that under which we live and
geologize, and indeed they are, in a greater or less degree, inter-
woven with the existing condition of things. It is curious that
this fourth class of phenomena carries us to Italian rocks and

* We would rather say Quaternary formations.

Progress of Geology. 247

Italian writers. n this way our still youthful science seems to
be completing the grand tour of Europe. The literary history
and the natural history of this part of the subject are equally
curious ; and these are, one and the other, admirably treated of
by Mr Lyell, who has, by singular good fortune, skill, and in-
dustry, beth collected a mass of new and important facts with
regard to this fourth class of strata in Italy, and also brought
into notice a number of very remarkable geological books and
authors, hitherto little known and heard of, at least in this part
of the world.— Whewell.

2. Werner according to Cuvier, Lyell, and MacCulloch.

(1) Werner according to Cuvier—The earth, in fact, is com-
posed of mineral masses, and modern observers have satisfied
themselves, that these masses are not thrown together at random.
Pallas, during his laborious travels to the extremity of Asia, had
remarked that their superposition could be referred to fundamen-
tal laws. Saussure and De Luc in traversing in many directions
the most elevated mountain-chains of Europe, had confirmed
their joint observations. Werner, without quitting his own
country, has carried the knowledge of these laws to its utmost ;
and he has been able to read, in the laws, the history of the
revolutions of which they are the work.

Tracing every bed throughout its whole length, without per-
mitting himself to be led astray by the interruptions which di-
vide it, by the mountain crests and different elevations which
arise above it, he has determined in some degree the different
ages, and the age of all the accessory matters which are inter-
mingled with the principal substances.

The different fluids by which the globe has been surrounded,
—the changes of their composition,—the violent movements by
which each change has been accompanied ;—all of these have
been found, written to his eye, in the monuments which they
have left.

A universal and tranquil ocean deposites, in great masses,
the primitive rocks,—those rocks which are distinctly crystal-
lized, and in which silica is the first predominating ingredient.
Granite forms the base on which all others rest. To granite
succeeds gneiss, which is only a granite beginning to be slaty.
By degrees, mica predominates. Slates of different kinds appear;
but in proportion as the purity of the precipitations is changed,

248 Werner according to Cuvier.

the distinctness of the crystalline grain is diminished. Serpen-
tines, porphyries, and traps succeed, in which this grain is still
less distinct, although the siliceous nature of these rocks evinces
the returning purity of the deposition. Intestine agitations in
the fluid destroy a part of these primary deposites: new rocks
are formed from their debris united by a cement. It is amidst
these convulsions that living nature arises. Carbon, the first of
these products, begins to shew itself. Coal, a mineral formed
Jrom vegetables, appears in vast quantities. Lime, which had
already been associated with the primitive rocks, becomes more
and more abundant. Rich collections of sea-salt, to be one day
explored by man, fill immense cavities. The waters, again tran-
quillized, but having their contents changed, deposite beds less
thick, and of greater variety, in which the remains of living
bodies are successively accumulated, in an order not less fixed
than that of the rocks which contain them. Finally, the last re-
treat of the waters diffuses over the land immense collections of
alluvial matters, the first seats of vegetation, of cultivation, and
of social life. The rents in the strata formed during these con-
vulsions become filled with rocks of various kinds, as granite,
trap, &c., thus forming veins or dikes. The metals, like the
rocks, have had their epochs and their successions. . The last of
the primitive, and the first of the secondary rocks, have re-
ceived them in abundance. They become rare in countries of
later formation. Commonly they are found in particular situa-
tions, in those veins which seem to be rents produced in the
great rocky masses, and which have been filled after their for-
mation. But they are not all of equal age. Those which have
been last formed are easily known, because their veins intersect
those of the more ancient, and are not themselves intersected. Tin
is the oldest of them all; silver and copper are the latest formed.
Gold and iron, those two masters of the world, seem to have been
deposited in the bowels of the earth, at all the different epochs
of its formation ; but iron appears at each epoch under different
forms, and we can assign the age of its different ores.

The necessity of abridging, obliges me thus to unite under
one view, results whieh we can easily imagine could only have
been obtained by many thousand observations. But Werner
made all these observations with so much care; he combined
them with such scrupulous correctness, that all these which

Werner according to Cuvier. 249

have since been made by others, have confirmed his, and if we
except his opinions respecting ignigenous rocks, most of his
ideas have only met with a temporary opposition.

Such, then, is the explanation of the geognosy, or of the position
of minerals above one another, and when they are considered
in their vertical situation. But there are other differences in
their horizontal position, that is, as they are placed by the sides
of each other, of which it is not less important to give an account ;
these form, therefore, a fourth point of view under which mine-
rals may be considered, and which Werner designated by the
name of geographical mineralogy.

Indeed, the latest formed rocks, or generally those which
cover the others, are generally less elevated ; they are pierced by
the more ancient rocks, which form the lofty mountains. From
this we conclude, that the fluid became lower in its level as its
solid productions were multiplied *. It divided itself into basins,
of which the productions were different. The surface of differ-
ent countries is different, and the more so, the more attentive-
ly their structure is considered.

But every mineral may be turned to some use; and on its
greater or less abundance in particular places, on the greater or
less facility with which it can be procured, depend frequently
the prosperity of a people,—their progress in civilization,—all
the details, indeed, of their manners.

It is thus that in Lombardy we see only houses of brick,
though contiguous to Liguria, which is covered by palaces of
marble. Its quarries of travertine made Rome the most beautiful
city of the ancient world. Those of coarse Jimestone (calcaire
grossiere) and gypsum, have made Paris one of the most agree--
able of the modern world. But Michael Angelo and Bramant,
could not have built at Paris in the same style as at Rome, be-
cause they could not have found the same materials; and the
same local influences extend to things of a very different nature.

Under the shelter of those limestone ridges which inter-
sect Italy and Greece, which are of all heights,—which are
ramified in all directions,—and which abound in springs ;—in

* Werner did not attempt to explain the sinking of the level of the ocean,
which some referred to the disappearance of the water, or cbanges in the at-
mospherical pressure, others to the rising of the land.—Enrr.

JULY—SEPTEMBER 1831. R

250 Werner according to Cuvier.

those charming valleys, rich in the productions of living nature,
Philosophy and the Arts first sprang to life. It is there that
those minds have arisen of which the human race has most
reason to be proud; whilst the vast deserts of Tartary and
Africa have always been inhabited by fierce and wandering
shepherds. And even in countries which have the same laws,
and the same language, a practised traveller is able, from the
manners of the people, from the appearance of their houses and
their clothes, to guess at the composition of the soil of each can-
ton; in the same manner as from this composition the philoso-
phical mineralogist conjectures what may be their manners,
their degrees of comfort and of instruction. Our granite dis-
tricts produce, upon all the arts of life, very different effects
from our calcareous. The natives of the Limousin, or of Lower
Brittany, are not lodged, they are not fed, we might even say
they do not think, like those of Champagne or of Normandy.
Even the results ef the conscription have been different, and
different according to a fixed law in the different districts.
Geographical mineralogy thus assumes a high importance, when
we connect it with what Werner called Economical Mineralogy,
or the history of the employment of minerals, for the wants of
man.

The comprehensive mind of this great professor seized equally
all these relations, and it was with an ever new delight, that
his hearers listened to his exposition of so much of them as his
public prelections embraced. But in his private conversa-
tions he traced their application a great deal farther. The
history of nations and that of their languages, was connected,
in his apprehension, with that of minerals, and he never con-
sidered himself as departing from his principal object, when he
gave himself up occasionally to those other inquiries. He traced
the various tribes in their migrations, according to the declivities
and directions of countries, and he thus connected their progress
and their stations with the structure of the globe. He connected
the different languages with families; he traced each fami-
ly to a common source, originating always in the most elevated
point of a mountain-chaitt : from that point he considered every
dialect as descending, dividing itself according to the directions
of the valleys, becoming soft or hard according as it became

Werner according to Cuvier. 951

stationary in a level or in a mountainous district, separating itself
in process of time from the neighbouring dialects, and becoming
always so much the more distinct, as the natural obstacles to
communication became more insurmountabie.

He endeavoured even to trace the laws of the military art by
those of geology ; and, if he had been to be believed, all gene-
rals should have begun by studying some time at Freyberg. In
a word, he connected every thing with the object of his own
passion, and as Tournefort, the illustrious botanist, had fancied
that stones vegetated, Werner imagined that stones could speak.
He imagined that he might interrogate them respecting the whole
history of the world.

Strangers who happened to be at Freyberg, and who expected
only to converse with a mineralogist, were astonished at his con-
tinual discussions respecting tactics, politics, and medicine. They
were sometimes tempted to treat these discourses as reveries of
a highly excited imagination. Indeed, we may allow that there
was something of exaggeration in generalizing so far the relations
of one object; but we ought also to recollect how powerfully these
ideas, so varied, and so inviting, presented always gracefully,
and often with eloquence, must have warmed the imagination of
youth. At that age, when we naturally dislike exceptions, and
when we pass so easily over difficulties, the disciples of Werner
plunged into a career which, as he showed it to them, was so
vast and profound. A mineralogy purely mineralogical, would
probably have disgusted many of them; but they gave them-
selves up with eagerness to this mineralogy, which seemed to
put into their hands the key of nature; and although as the
result of this analysis, there might only remain to them the
foundation of the science, would they not still have had reason
to bless the pleasant illusions by which they had been conducted
toit? Many individuals, who afterwards became great mine-
ralogists, had only wished to hear him, that they might gain a
summary idea of the science of minerals; but, having once
listened to him, that science became the profession of their lives.

It is to this irresistible influence that the scientific world has
been indebted for those discoveries and observations which have
rendered the names of Humboldt, Buch, and a host of other
geologists, renowned throughout Europe. We may say of

Ee

252 Werner according to Cuvier.

Werner, what had formerly been said with truth of Linnzus,
that every where Nature has been interrogated in his name.

Few teachers have enjoyed this pure and unreserved grati-
tude to the same degree; but perhaps no one ever better de-
served it by his paternal feelings. He grudged nothing for the
good of his scholars: his time, his exertions, were at their dis-
posal. If he knew any of them that were in occasional need,
his purse was open to them. When his audience became so
numerous that every one could not conveniently see what he
exhibited, he divided his students and repeated his lecture. His
door was never shut to them: his meals were commonly taken
with some of them in his company, as if it had been his wish
that not a moment should be lost to their improvement.

Such a master might safely devolve the care of his reputa-
tion upon his scholars; and they, accordingly, have been the
means of diffusing it. Like Socrates, in this respect also, to
whom he has been compared for so many other qualities, his
ideas were almost solely known from the notes which had been
taken during his prelections. Whether it was that he was
satisfied with the irresistible influence which his oral communi-
cations gave him, or whether the vivacity of his imagination
could not endure the ennui of writing, it was with the utmost
reluctance that he determined to publish a few tracts or to give
some articles for journals. He talked as much as any one de-
sired, and his conversation was always that of a man of genius,
as well as that of a man of kind feelings. During whole hours,
he would develope the boldest and best connected ideas; but it
was impossible to make him take up his pen. He had an an-
tipathy for the very mechanical art of writing,—an antipathy,
the excess of which rendered it very amusing. But the pub-
lic and posterity will have reason to lament this peculiarity
which prevented him publishing his works on mineralogy and
geognosy. It is said that his great work on mineralogy had
begun to be printed, and that the first sheet had been composed,
but that he could not endure the fatigue of correcting the proofs.

His life was therefore entirely passed: either in the elevated
regions of contemplation, or in philosophical or friendly conver-
sation,—ignorant of all foreign events, and without reading even
the literary journals, without being at the trouble to inform

Werner according to Lyell. 253

himself whether envy was not busy sometimes with his fame.
He might still have lived many years, for of all the methods
which he had studied, that of taking care of his own health
was not one of those which occupied him the least. Among
his little whims, his care never fo be between two different
-streams of air, was one of the most remarkable. But of all his
wise precautions, the wisest, without doubt, was the calm of a
peaceful mind, which did not even wish to be informed of any
thing that would excite within it any feelings of ill-will.

(2.) Werner according to Lyell.—W erner was named, in 1775,
Professor of Mineralogy in the “‘ School of Mines” at Freyberg
in Saxony. He directed his attention not merely to the compo-
sition and external characters of minerals, but also to what he
termed “ Geognosy,” or the natural position of minerals in par-
ticular soils, together with the grouping of those rocks, their
geographical distribution, and various relations. The pheno-
mena observed in the structure of the globe had hitherto served
for little else than to furnish interesting topics for philosophical
discussion; but when Werner pointed out their application to
the practical purposes of mining, they were instantly regarded
by a large class of men as an essential part of their professional
education, and from that time the science was cultivated in Eu-
rope more ardently and systematically.

Werner’s mind was at once imaginative and richly stored
with miscellaneous knowledge *. He associated every thing
with his favourite science; and, in his excursive lectures, he
pointed out all the economical uses of minerals, and their appli-
calion to medicine; the influence of the mineral composition of
rocks upon the soil, and of the soil upon the resources, wealth,
and civilization of man. The vast sandy plains of Tartary and
Africa, he would say, retained their inhabitants in the shape of
wandering shepherds ; the granitic mountains and the low calca-

* Our miners have been left to themselves almost without the assistance
of scientific works in the English language, and, without any “ school of
mines,” to blunder their own way into a certain degree of practical skill.
The inconvenience of this want of system in a country where so much capital
is expended, and often wasted, in mining adventures, has been well exposed

-by an eminent practical miner.—See Prospectus of a School of Mines in
Cornwall, by J. Taylor, 1825.

254 Werner according to Lyell.

reous and alluvial plains, gave rise to different manners, degrees
of wealth, and intelligence. The history even of languages,
and the migrations of tribes, had, according to him, been deter-
mined by the direction of particular strata. The qualities of
certain stones used in building would lead him to descant on the
architecture of different ages and nations ; and the physical geo-
graphy of a country frequently invited him to treat of military
tactics. The charm of his manners, and his eloquence, kindled
enthusiasm in the minds of all his pupils, many of whom. only
intended at first to acquire a slight knowledge of mineralogy ;
but, when they had once heard him, they devoted themselves to
it as the business of their lives. In a few years, a small school
of mines, before unheard of in Europe, was raised to the rank
of a great university, and men already distinguished in science,
studied the German language, and came from the most distant
countries to hear the great oracle of geology.

Werner had a great antipathy to the mechanical labour of
writing ; and he could never be persuaded to pen more than a
few brief memoirs, and those containing no development of his
general views. Although the natural modesty of his disposition
was excessive, approaching even to timidity, he indulged in the
most bold and sweeping generalizations, and he inspired all his
scholars with a most implicit faith in his doctrines. Their ad-
miration of his genius, and the feelings of gratitude and friend-
ship which they all felt for him, were not undeserved ; but the
supreme authority usurped by him over the opinions of his con-
temporaries, was eventually prejudicial to the progress of science;
so much so, as greatly to counterbalance the advantages which
it derived from his exertions. If it be true that delivery be the
first, second, and third requisite in a popular orator, it is no less
certain that, to travel, is of threefold importance to those who
desire to originate the just and comprehensive views concerning
the structure of our globe; and Werner had never travelled to
distant countries. He had merely explored a small province of
Germany, and conceived, and persuaded others to believe, that
the whole surface of our planet, and all the mountain-chains in
the world, were made after the model of his own province *. It

* Werner used to remark, The countries with which I am acquainted, (by-
the-by, a little more than Saxony), exhibit a certain series of geoonostical rela-

Werner according to Lyell. 255

was a ruling ebject of ambition in the minds of his pupils, to
confirm the generalizations of their great master, and to disco-
ver, in the most distant parts of the globe, his ‘* universal for-
mations,” which he supposed had been each in succession simul-
taneously precipitated over the whole earth, from a common
menstruum or chaotic fluid *. Unfortunately, the limited dis-
trict examined by the Saxon professor was no type of the world,
nor even of Europe: and, what was still more deplorable, when
the ingenuity of his scholars had tortured phenomena of distant
countries, and even of another hemisphere, in conformity with
his theoretical standard, it was discovered that “* the master” had
misinterpreted many of the appearances in the immediate neigh-

bourhood of Freyberg +.

(8.) Werner according to MacCulloch—lf Werner's system
first appeared about 1787, its subsequent modifications prevents
us from knowing with whom its several portions now rest. While
his audiences diffused it with the blind zeal of religious secta-
ries, his lectures became the endless treatises of all who sought
the fame of geological authorship. But to entertain an opinion
is not to form one; and hence the student, influenced by the
weight of numbers, should recollect that but one voice speaks
through all these organs. If, therefore, the leader should be
charged with the faults of his followers, it is the sect which is
the object of examination, while it is an idle office to settle the
contending claims to ignorance.

In an original fluid earth, the materials of all minerals were
tions, and it is probable similar (besides many still to be discovered) rela-

tions will be found in other quarters of the globe, and the globe may possibly
have the same general structure throughout.—Epir.

* Werner, when lecturing, used to say, The various stratified rocks
have been deposited from water; some from a state of chemical solution ;
others from a state of mechanical suspension ; and a third set appear to be
partly of a chemical, partly of a mechanical nature. The mechanical matter
he derived from the previously existing strata: in regard to the chemical
matter, he conjectured that it made its appearance in the universal ocean at
different times, but whether it came from below or from above he knew not.—
Epir.

+ The accuracy of this statement may be questioned ; allowing it to be
correct to the extent here stated, is there any thing deplorable in misinter-
preting, if Werner has misinterpreted, a few geological phenomena.

256 Werner according to MacCulloch.

dissolved in water. From this, granite was first precipitated, at
specific points, being followed by gneiss, and successively by
primary schists, in an “ invariable order,” though it is not ex-
plained why the former is irregular, and the latter stratified.
These rocks were ‘‘ primitive” and anterior to the creation of
animals; and they are purely chemical, as the produce of aque-
ous crystallization. Certain marine animals are then created ;
and the water having diminished in quantity new rocks are laid
bare. The precipitation which had ceased, is now renewed ;
while the fragments of these rocks, and the spoils of animals, be-
come intermixed with the new chemical precipitate, forming the
‘“< transition” class: and because the water continued progres-
sively to diminish, each succeeding rock appears at lower levels,
granite occupying the highest place, while all rocks occur,
throughout the globe, in the same order, constituting ‘* universal
formations.” More land becoming dry after the transition-
rocks, the “ flcetz” rocks are formed necessarily less inclined to
the horizon, and more regular; though the reasons why are not
given, any more than for their frequent erect positions at pre-
sent. And the creation of new animals accounts for the supe-
riority of their remains in these. After this, the waters rose
again to deposite the trap-rocks; thus once more covering even
the Andes, yet depositing them on such chosen places, as, in
subsiding, it let them fall on Britain and elsewhere. But, as
they lie among successive ** floetz? strata, the sea rose and fell
over the whole globe, as often as it was necessary to produce the
first, the second, and third “ fleetz” trap formations,” in the few
chosen spots where they exist. This being done, the super-
fluous sea vanishes for the last time, and man is created.

I have avoided a more minute account of this theory, out of
respect for this philosopher ; as it is unfortunately the less intel-
ligible the more it is explained. But of all the properties of
that which explains every thing in the most perfect manner, the
most perfect is, that it is peculiarly and exclusively consistent
with the Mosaic history, which it also proves. The reader will
judge whether those who assert, or those who believe in, this
marvellous property, are most worthy of marvel. But, as
Whiston says of his own, ‘ whether it be possible or not, such

is the fact.”

Werner according to MacCulloch. 257

If it has not accounted for the “ tertiary” strata, a sea so con-
venient might always contain the necessary rocks at the neces-
sary places; while so moveable a substance can ascend and de-
scend as often as is needful. ‘The minerals of mineral veins
were precipitated in the fissures, from the universal solutions.
Rock veins are contemporaneous with the including rocks, and
formed by crystallization, as are the fragments in the conglome-
rates; as contertions, fractures, elevations, and so forth, are
also modes of crystallization, and as are mountains and valleys ;
there being no subsequent process of denudation. The coal
deposites were formed by an elective attraction at those points
from carbon in solution; as the vegetable fragments also tend
to the same places. The induration of strata near trap, is the
result of imtermixture during crystallization ; though the former
were completed many ages before the latter were produced;
and, while volcanos are purely modern, and heated by coal,
pumice and obsidian are deposites from water.

This is a sufficient view of the “ Theory” under which all
Europe became a land of philosophical geologists, for which
much of Europe yet fights, and in which much of the rising
generation is still educated. We need not wonder at the pro-
gress of geology: when geology shall have forsaken all that
Freyberg or Werner taught, it will have a clear field.

3. Hutton according to Playfair and MacCulloch.

(1.) Hutton according to Playfair—Dr Hutton possessed,
in an eminent degree, the talents, the acquirements, and the
temper, which entitle a man to the name of a philosopher. The
direction of his studies, though in some respects irregular ana
uncommon, had been highly favourable to the development of
his natural powers, especially of that quick penetration and ori-
ginality of thought, which strongly marked his intellectual cha-
racter. From his first outset in science, he had pursued the
track of experiment and observation; and it was not till after
being long exercised in this school, that he entered on the field
of general and abstract speculation. He combined, accordingly,
throughout his whole life, the powers of an accurate observer,
and of a sagacious theorist, and was as cautious and patient in
the former character, as he was bold and rapid in the latter.

258 Hutton atcording to Play fair.

Long and continued practice had increased his powers of
observation to a high degree of perfection; so that, in discrimi-
nating mineral substances, and jn seizing the affinities or differ-
ences among geological appearances, he had an acuteness hardly
to be excelled. The eulogy so happily conveyed in the Italian
phrase of osservatore oculatissimo, might most justly be applied
to him; for, with an accurate eye for perceiving the characters
of natural objects, he had, in equal perfection, the power of
interpreting their signification, and of decyphering those ancient
hieroglyphics which record the revolutions of the globe. There
may have been other mineralogists, who could describe as well
the structure, the figure, the smell, or the colour of a specimen, .
but there are few who equalled him in reading the characters
which tell not only what a fossil is, but what it has been, and
declare the series of changes through which it has passed. .His
expertness in this art, the fineness of his observations, and the
ingenuity of his reasonings, were truly admirable. It would, I
am persuaded, be difficult to find in any of the sciences a better
illustration of the profound maxims established by Bacon, in his
Prerogative Instantiarum, than were often afforded by Dr
Hutton’s mineralogical disquisitions, when he exhibited his spe-
cimens and discoursed on them with his friends. No one could
better apply the luminous instances to elucidate the obscure, the
decisive to interpret the doubtful, or the simple to unravel the
complex. None was more skilful in marking gradations of Na-
ture, as she passes from one extreme to another; more diligent:
in observing the continuity of her proceedings, or more sagacious
in tracing her footsteps, even where they were most lightly im-
pressed. With him, therefore, mineralogy was not a mere study
of names and external characters (though he was singularly well
versed in that study also), but it was a sublime and important
branch of physical science, which had for its object to unfold
the connexion between the past, the present, and the future
condition of the globe.

The loss sustained by the death of Dr Hutton was aggravated
to those who knew him, by the consideration of how much of
his knowledge had perished with himself, and notwithstanding
all that he had written, how much of the light collected by a
long life of experience and observation was now completely ex-

Hutton according to Play fair. 259

tinguished. It is indeed melancholy to reflect, that with all
who make proficiency in the sciences, founded on nice and deli-
cate observation, something of the sort must unavoidably hap-
pen. The experienced eye, the power of perceiving the minute
differences and fine analogies which discriminate or unite the
objects of science, and the readiness of comparing new pheno-
mena with others already treasured up in the mind; these are
accomplishments which no rules can teach, and no precepts can
put us in possession of. This is a portion of knowledge which
every man must acquire for himself, and which nobody can
leave as an inheritance to his successor. It seems, indeed, as if
nature had, in this instance, admitted an exception to the rule, by
which she has ordained the perpetual accumulation of knowledge
among civilized men, and had destined a considerable portion
of science continually to grow up and perish with the individual.

A circumstance which greatly distinguished the intellectual
character of the philosopher of whom we now speak, was an
uncommon activity and ardour of mind, upheld by the greatest
admiration of whatever in science was new, beautiful, or sublime.
The acquisitions of fortune, and the enjoyments which most
directly address the senses, do not call up more lively expres.
sions of joy in other men, than hearing of a new invention, or
being made acquainted with a new truth, would at any time do
in Dr Hutton. This sensibility to intellectual pleasure was not
confined to a few objects, nor to the sciences which he particu-
larly cultivated: he would rejoice over Watt’s improvements on
the steam-engine, or Cooke’s discoveries in the South Sea, with
all the warmth of a man who was to share in the honour or-the
profit about to accrue from them. The fire of his expression,
on such occasions, and the animation of his countenance and
manner, are not to be described; they were always seen with
great delight by those who could enter into his sentiments, and
often with great astonishment by those who could not. With
this exquisite relish for whatever is beautiful and sublime in
science, we may easily conceive what pleasure he derived from
his own geological speculations. The novelty and grandeur of
the objects offered by them to the imagination, the simple and
uniform order given to the whole natural history of the earth,
and, above all, the views opened of the wisdom that governs

260 Hutton according to Play fuir.

nature, are things to which hardly any man would be insensible ;
but to him they were a matter not of transient delight, but of
solid and permanent happiness. Few systems, indeed, were
better calculated than his, to entertain their author with such
noble and magnificent prospects; and no author was ever more
disposed to consider the enjoyment of them as the full and ade-
quate reward of his labours.

Huttonian Theory of the Earth, according to Playfair.—
I. The object of Dr Hutton was not, like that of most other
theorists, to explain the first origin of things. He was too well
skilled in the rules of sound philosophy for such an attempt ;
and he accordingly confined his speculations to those changes
which terrestrial bodies have undergone since the establishment
of the present order, in as far as distinct marks of such changes
are now to be discovered.

With this view, the first fact which he has remarked is, that
by far the greater part of the bodies which compose the exterior
crust of our globe, bear the marks of being formed out of the
materials of mineral or organized bodies of more ancient date.
The spoils or the wreck of an older world are everywhere visi-
ble in the present, and though not found in every piece of rock,
they are diffused so generally as to leave no doubt that the
strata which now compose our continents are all formed out of
strata more ancient than themselves. |

II. The present rocks, with the exceptions of such as are not
stratified, having all existed in the form of loose materials: col-
lected at the bottom of the sea, must have been consolidated and
converted into stone by virtue of some very powerful and gene-
ral agent. ‘The consolidating cause which he points out is sub-
terraneous heat; and he has removed the objection to this hypo-
thesis by the introduction of a principle new and peculiar to
himself. ‘his principle is the compression which must have
prevailed in that region where the consolidation of mineral sub-
stances was accomplished. Under the weight of a superimcum-
bent ocean, heat, however intense, might be unable to volatilize
any part of those substances which at the surface, and under
the lighter pressure of our atmosphere, it can entirely consume.
The same pressure, by forcing these substances to remain united,

Hutton according to Play fair. 261

which at the surface are easily separated, might occasion the
fusion of some bodies which in our fires are only calcined.
Hence the objections which are so strong and unanswerable,
when opposed to the theory of volcanic fire, as usually laid |
down, have no force at all against Dr Hutton’s theory; and
hence we are to consider this theory as hardly less distinguished
from the hypothesis of the Vulcanists, in the usual sense of that
appellation, than it is from that of the Neptunists, or the disci-
ples of Werner.

ILI. The third general fact on which this theory is founded,
is, that the stratified rocks, instead of being either horizontal,
or nearly so, as they no doubt were originally, are now found
possessing all degrees of elevation, and some of them even per-
pendicular to the horizon; to which we must add, that those
strata which were once at the bottom of the sea, are now raised
up, many of them, several thousand feet above its surface.
From this, as well as from the inflexions, the breaking and
separation of the strata, it is inferred, that they have been raised
up by the action of some expansive force placed under them.
This foree, which has burst in pieces the solid pavement on
which the ocean rests, and has raised up rocks from the bottom
of the sea into mountains 15,000 feet above its surface, exceeds
any which we see actually exerted, but seems to come nearer
to the cause of the volcano or the earthquake, than to any
other, of which the effects are directly observed. The immense
disturbance, therefore, of the strata, is in this theory ascribed
to heat, acting with an expansive power, and elevating those
rocks which it had before consolidated.

IV. Among the marks of disturbance in which the mineral
kingdom abounds, those great breaches among rocks, which are
filled with materials different from the rock on either side; are
the most conspicuous. These are the veins, and comprehend not
only the metallic veins, but also those of whinstone, of porphy-
ry, and of granite, all of them substances more or less crystallized,
and none of them containing the remains of organized bodies.
These are of posterior formation to the strata which they inter-
sect; and in general also they carry with them the marks of the
violence with which they have come into their place, and of the
disturbance which they have produced on the rocks already

262 Hutton according to Play fair.

formed. The materials of all these veins, Dr Hutton concludes
to have been melted by subterraneous heat, and, while in fu-
sion, injected among the fissures and openings of rocks already
formed, but thus disturbed and moved from their original place.

This conclusion he extends to all the masses of whinstone,
porphyry, and granite, which are interposed among strata, or
raised up in pyramids, as they often appear to be, through the
midst of them. Thus, in the fusicn and injection of the unstra-
tified rocks, we have the third and last of the great operations
which subterraneous heat has performed on mineral substances.

V. From this Dr Hutton proceeds to consider the changes to
which mineral bodies are subject when raised into the atmo-
sphere. Here he finds, without any exception, that they are all
going to decay ; that from the shore of the sea to the top of the
mountain, from the softest clay to the hardest quartz, all are
wasting and undergoing a separation of their parts. The bodies
thus resolved into their elements, whether chemical or mechani-
cal, are carried down by the rivers to the sea, and are there
deposited. Nothing is exempted from the general law: among
the highest mountains and the hardest rocks, its effects are most
clearly discerned ; and it is on the objects which appear the most
durable and fixed, that the characters of revolution are most
deeply imprinted.

On comparing the first and the last propositions just enume-
rated, it is impossible not to perceive that they are two steps of
the same progression, and that mineral substances are alternate-
ly dissolved and renewed. These vicissitudes may have been
often repeated; and there are not wanting remains among mi-
neral bodies that lead us back to continents, from which the pre-
sent are third in succession. Here, then, we have a series of
great natural revolutions in the condition of the earth’s surface,
of which, as the author of this theory has remarked, we neither
see the beginning nor the end; and this circumstance accords
well with what is known concerning other parts of the economy
of the world. In the continuation of the different species of
animals and vegetables that inhabit the earth, we discern neither
a beginning nor end; and in the planetary motions where geo-
metry has carried the eye so far, both into the future and the
past, we discover no mark either of the commencement or ter-

Hutton according to MacCulloch. 263

mination of the present order. It is unreasonable, indeed, to
suppose that such marks should any where exist. The Author
of nature has not given laws to the universe, which, like the
institutions of men, carry in themselves the elements of their
own destruction ; he has not permitted in his works any symp-
tom of infancy or of old age, or any sign by which we may esti-
mate either their future or their past duration. He may put an
end, as he no doubt gave a beginning, to the present system, at
some determinate period of time; but we may rest assured, that
this great catastrophe will not be brought about by the laws
now existing, and that it is not indicated by any thing which we
perceive.

(2.) Hutton according to MacCulloch.—The theory of Hutton
is best known through the commentary of Playfair. I must
make the following sketch as brief as possible ; while by com-
mencing from the present state of the earth, it will easily be
seen that it is almost a transcript of Lazzoro Moro’s, with some
extension, and some aid from succeeding sources ; yet with some
important additions united to numerous and serious errors.

The action of the elements, and the flow of water, transfer
the materials of rocks to the lower lands and the sea; and the
same proceeding having occurred in former times, those alluvia
were the germs of the present strata, as the existing ones are
those of a subsequent earth. The ancient rocky strata have
therefore been produced from the waste of a former world ; as
their organic fossils are the evidences of former life. The cen-
tral ignited matter has protruded, as it does now in volcanoes ;
and, under different circumstances, has produced granite and
trap forming the unstratified rocks which have elevated the
older strata, and producing there several accidents, as in the
former system ; while the fluid matter, filling their fissures, has
generated rock veins. The consolidation of the strata is at-
tributed to the same cause; but wherever there are differences
in the action of this and of ordinary fire, it is attributed to pres-
sure from superincumbent weight ; under which the trap-rocks
are falsely said to be never cavernous; as limestones become
fusible. Lastly, having conceived no other division of rocks
but into primary and secondary, this theory traces but three

264 Hutton according to MacCulloch.

forms of the carth; namely that which anteceded the primary
strata, that which included these alone, and the present one;
though arguing for its past eternity, as it does for a future re-
novation, and to all eternity. In this simple view, this system
possesses an aspect which its author will soon injure by his de-
tails. With exception of the theory of trap-rocks and volcanoes,
he had borrowed well, and safely extended, what he had borrow-
ed, but, with the usual ambition to erect an entire theory,
though?ignorant of the necessary facts and sciences, he has, in
almost all else, levelled himself to the Werners ; while his com-
mentator has, unluckily for his fame, pursued the same course.
In arguing against subsidences, we trace equally the spirit of
hypothesis and antagonism, with a want of both geological know-
ledge and sound reasoning. Of some structure of discontinuity, if
not strictly cavernous, there is evidence in the lineal directions of
volcanoes; as coal, and more, are proofs of subsidences. Though
gneiss, and some other primary strata, are in their present condi-
tionfrom heat, this mode of consolidation cannot be admitted for all
strata. The theory of trap is untrue, because injudiciously rigid ;
while the anxiety of oppositicn has introduced inextricable confu-
sion into this part of the system ; under which also he has, by dis-
claiming demonstrated truths, forfeited one of his strongest sup-
ports, while maintaining a perpetual hostility agamst Dolomieu
and Faujas de St Fond, on the very facts by which he might
have profited, but did not understand. Knowing the igneous
rocks most imperfectly, he denies the existence of scoriform
traps, while having recourse to a most unhappy expedient for
explaining the amygdaloidal nodules. Perpeiually indeed mis-
applying a favourite principle, even though admitting water to
a large share in his operations, it is called on where neither
needful to the theory, nor reconcileable to the facts. Such is
the unnecessary fusion of carbonate of lime, with the igneous
origin of quartz, chalcedony and silicified wood ; while the theory
of flints is peculiarly infelicitous and unintelligible, as is that of
the septaria. But the whole theory of igneous secretion is with-
out excuse; as it compels us to deny that this writer was the
chemist he has been called. ‘The theory of coals equals the
very worst of the schemes of Werner; while it indicated that
narrow spirit of hypothesis which misapplies a sound principle

Hutton according to MacCulloch. 265

as often as the reverse; proving, that reasoning was, in any
case, a very doubtful cause of its successful application. If I
am to do justice to my readers, I am bound to protect them
from the assertion that he always proceeded on the legitimate
principles of induction ; for thus, under reputed authority, is
the young mind misled.

There is an equally unfortunate anxiety after the hypothesis,
where the present forms of the surface are concerned ; since ever
thinking of the slow action of feeble forces, he forgets that
elevations must have produced inequalities, and therefore, that
valleys must have existed before rivers. To deny, also, any
other alluvia than those of rivers, is not only to deny palpable
facts, but to overlook some necessary consequences of the very
theory ; while if we can pardon the zeal of the original theorist,
there is no excuse for the commentator. ‘The system which
assumes to be perfect, and whose pride will not yield, mistakes
its own interests. It is beaten at the bad outposts, which it is
resolved to defend ; while, by retiring to the citadel, it might
Jong have defied assault.

Such is a sufficient view of this theory, and such is all the
criticism which appeared due to the student in geology, while
I desire to avoid what is superfluous. It is sufficient, among
other things, to prove that this boasted theory is little more
than an hypothesis, where it is original; yet fortunate in having
borrowed a better foundation, and thus far almost only a
theory. Yet, wishing to do justice to all, I must point out
that which I believe to be original, or if not always original,
important. Such is the effects of pressure, but original as to
the carbonate of lime only ; and such is the igneous origin of
granite, since without that, there can be no theory of the earth ;
though it may be questioned how far the hint was taken from
Leibnitz and Buffon, as it is to believe that Lazzaro Moro would
have come to the same conclusion, had he known this rock.
Let Hutton, however, have the merit, though furnished by his
predecessors with all the analogous proofs in trap and in volca-
nic rocks. Yet, on the former, I must repeat, that his confu-
sion, added to his antipathy respecting their truly, if remote,
volcanic nature in many places, must make us doubt those
powers of philosophical generalization, for which he has been so

JULY—SEPTEMBER 183]. s

266 Antiquity of the Earth.

lauded ; an idol, like the predecessors to his own circle. Still,
the practical effects of thus reviving the forgotten Italian theory,
with those improvements, was great, though even yet limited ;
since it found all Europe believing that the ignorance of Werner
and his followers was philosophy and geology.

4. Antiquity of the Earth.

In his earnestness to assert “ the uniformity of nature on a
great scale,” Mr Lyell seems to thirst for an antiquity of this
earth even greater than that which is indicated by geological
phenomena themselves. When he maintains, after Hutton,
that we see in geology, as in astronomy, “ no mark, either of
the commencement or of the termination of the present order ;”
when he implies, that the strata seem to tell us the story of
a perpetual recurrence cf cycles of change of the same kind ;
he appears to forget that the geological series, long and myste-
rious as it is, has still a beginning. Is there the shadow of a
reason for asserting that the lowest stratified rocks, from the
crystalline mica-schist to the greywacke slates, were the result of
a series of operations, and of a condition of things like those
which gave rise to their successors ? Were these masses produced
from the previous continents and seas stocked with their re-
spective inhabitants ? If so, what is become of the remnants of
these continents, and why do we not see them still supporting
these schistose beds thus formed from them? And where are
the remains of the shell-fish and plants, which, according to the
analogy thus asserted, lived at that distant period ? In this case,
the phenomena are different from those of the succeeding epochs ;
by what rules of philosophising, then, can we assert the causes
and conditions to be similar ? Here we have, however remote,
a limit, an origin, a starting-place. Or, if Mr Lyell chooses to
have the granite older than slates, the argument is transferable
to that rock with still greater urgency. Is it not then most
gratuitous to maintain, that the Author of Nature, “ has not
permitted in his works any symptom of infancy or of old age?”
If man may go wrong, as Mr Lyell asserts of former theorists,
through a disposition to assume that the economy of nature was
formerly governed by rules quite different for those now esta-

Discovery of Diamonds in the Uralian Mountains. 267

blished, is it not possible also to err by holding, that the econo-
my of nature must have been the same at every period of the
earth’s existence, however strongly all appearances may pro-
claim a difference >—WHEWELL.

On the Discovery of Diamonds in the Uralian Mountains.

Diamonns in the Brazils are found in those tracts that afford
also gold and platina. Some years ago, platina was found along
with gold at Nishnei-Tura, in Uralian Russia ; a circumstance
which naturally led to the suspicion, that the diamond might
also be a native of that quarter of the old world. The late dis-
covery of the diamond in Russia has shewn the accuracy of this
conjecture. This gem was discovered in the Urals in a ravine
named Adolphskoi; which, besides the diamond, affords also
platina and gold. The district has many characters in common
with the diamond districts in Brazil; their comparison will pro-
bably enable us to answer the question, as to the original repo-
sitory of the most precious of all the gems. In M. Moritz von
Engelhardt’s very teresting account of the repository of the
Uralian diamonds, which he had the goodness to send to us,
there are many important details, some of which we shall now
present to our readers.

Black dolomite alternates in the ravine or valley of Adolph-
skoi, with silver-white tale-slate, with black limestone, contain-
ing embedded scales of talc, and with white limestone, with em-
bedded scales of talc, grains of quartz, and small ballsand cubes
of brown iron-ore. The limestone bed, when the embedded
quartz increases in quantity, forms the transition into itacolu-
mite.

From which of the above mentioned rocks are the diamonds
of the Valley of Adolphskoi derived? Not from the talc-slate
and limestone, because the alluvium, from their disintegration,
contains none; nor from the itacolumite (flexible quartz) and
the gold veins, the quartz of which seems little fitted for origi-
nating perfect crystals, such as the garnet dodecahedron of the
diamond ; therefore, probably, they occur in the black dolomite,

-or some other rock which has been removed by weathering or
3Q

268 On the Discovery of Diamonds

otherwise. The following observations will assist in determining
the point.

1. The minerals that occur im the descending or mountain al-
luvium, viz. the crystals of pure transparent quartz, the brown
ironstone and anatase, are sharp-edged, although these latter,
owing to their softness, would have been rounded ina very shert
course ; they have not therefore come from a distance, but must
have been derived from the neighbouring rocks.

2. The loose erystals of pure transparent quartz, and the ana-
tase, are derived from disintegrated dolomite ; the first resemble
the rock-crystals that occur in blocks of dolomite, and the latter
are attached to rock-crystals, as may be distinctly seen in the
impressions on the anatase crystals. The balls of caleedony
sometimes met with may have lain in the dolomite, for hollows
filled by infiltration with quartz occur in it The cubes and
grains of brown ironstone are from the foliated limestone, in
which indeed they are still found ; the gold and platina are pro-
bably from disintegrated veins of quartz.

8. The dolomite is probably the repository of the diamond ?
In the same manner as silica, carbonate of lime, and carbonate
of magnesia, have separated themselves in the form of rock-
erystal and bitterspar, so also might, according to Gobel, the
carbon in dolomite separate in the form of diamond. The per-
fect form of the diamond crystals is not against this opinion,
as we find embedded in the dolomite, single rock-crystals, in
which the prisms are acuminated at both extremities.

It is much to be desired, that the numerous blocks of that
black dolomite of the valley of Adolphskoi, which is_particu-
larly rich in druses of quartz and bitterspar, were carefully exa-
mined ; further, that comparative investigations were made on
the diamond district, as on the valley of the rivulet of Rudanka,
where already Mr Schmid found black dolomite and traces of
gold. If it results from these investigations, that diamond ac-
tually occurs in dolomite, the following question will have to be
decided.

If the dolomite already described always contains diamond,
may it occur in its different formations with or without gold and
platina? Or, if every gold and platina bearing formation is dis-
posed to afford diamond, when it contains a carbonaceous rock,

an the Uralian Mountains. 269

wnust the rock be delomite or not? The arrangements Engel-
hardt observed in the year 1821, in the government of Olonez,
where black dolomite, containing drusy cavities lined with bit-
terspar and rock-crystal, resembling that of the valley of Adolph-
skoi, may enable us to try the first question. They occur on the
north-west side of the Lake of Onega, along with greenstone,
which is the predominating rock.

In the Urals, Engelhardt, with exception of Kresdowos-
dwishenski, saw no black dolomite, probably it may be found
on careful examination in the brook of Suchoi Wissi, on the
west side of the mountains, where are situated the platina mines
of Nishnei-Tagil. The quartzy chlorite-slate which occurs
there, much resembles the itacolumite in the vicinity of the place:
where the diamonds are found, and both probably lie in the
same line of direction. If search was made there for diamonds,
although no dolomite or other carbonaceous rock was visible, it
would shew whether their appearance was always connected with
that rock formation or not.

According to Gobel, the black dolomite from Valley of Adolph-
skot contains 7.50 black powder, partly carbon, insoluble in
muriatic acid; 40.79 carbonic acid; 0.50 alumina; 6.28 oxide
of iron ; 30.65 lime ; 13.05 magnesia ; 1.20 water ; = 99.97.

Whether this rock, says Gobel, be viewed as of Neptunian
or Plutonian origin, the circumstance of its containing carbon
as one of its constituent parts, and the finding of diamonds
amongst its debris, is very remarkable. It may be asked if this
does not afford a hint as to the mode of occurrence, and the ori-
ginof the diamond? The carbon is disseminated in an extremely
minutely divided state, so that we cannot determine the geome-
trical form of its individual particles, and which therefore can
only be derived from decomposed carbonic acid, but cannot by
any means be considered as remains of burnt organic bodies.
During the formation of black dolomite, very probably a great
quantity of carbonic acid was present, and it is not improbable
that a part of it on coming in contact with the bases of the
earths and alkalies, and with iron, would be deoxidized, whereby
carbon in substance would be separated, and would, along with
undecomposed carbonic acid, unite with these oxides. The de-
composition of carbonic acid by kalium and sodium has been long

270 Discovery of Diamonds in the Uralian Mountains.

known ; and the experiments of Dupretz, have shewn the con-
version of carbonic acid into carbonic oxide, by means of iron,
zinc, and tin; why then should we consider as impossible, a de-
composition of it by means of more easily oxidizable metals, as
the bases of lime, alumina, and silica, and their oxides, which
occur in the dolomite here described? Is it not probable du-
ring the formation of this rock by the decomposition of carbonic
acid, and the high temperature induced by the oxidation. of the
metals already mentioned, a part of the separated carbon may
have been converted into carbonic vapour, which vapour may
have been afterwards condensed and crystallized in form of dia-
monds, in vesicular cavities in the glowing mass ?

No diamonds have hitherto been met with in the solid rocks,
but only in the alluvium formed by their decomposition, and this
because it was conceived that the rocks did not contain them.
The rock fragments and minerals of the diamond sand of Brazil
differ but little from those of Poludenka and Adolphskoi valleys
in the Urals. Diamonds are found in India as well as in Brazil,
always single, and never in nests or veins. Gold and platina ac-
company them in the Brazils and in the Urals. In India, gold
only occurs 5 is it probable that the platina has been overlooked ?
In general they are found in the alluvium, and never in the
true mother stone or matrix *. That the black dolomite of the
Urals, with its accompanying rocks, may form, by weathering, a
similar alluvium, is satisfactorily shewn by geognostical and che-
mical investigation, It is therefore very probable, that this do-
lomite, with its transition into talc-slate, is the hitherto unknown
matrix of the diamond ; that the diamonds found in the allu-
vium formed by its disintegration, had their place in the solid
rock, and that the government of Russia, if they considered it
for their advantage, and would permit searches to be made in
this rock for diamonds, might find that the inquiry would not
be in vain.

* It has been said that the diamond has been found in India, in the sand-
stones of the coal formation and new red sandstone. These accounts re.
quire confirmation.

( e711 )

On the Characters and Affinities of certain Genera, chiefly be-
longing to the Flora Peruviana. By Mr Davin Don,
Librarian of the Linnean Society; Member of the Impe-
rial Academy Nature Curiosorum; of the Royal Bota-
nical Society of Ratisbon; and of the Wernerian Society
of Edinburgh, &c. (Continued from p. 228. of former
Volume).

MOLINA INCANA axnp FERRUGINEA.

"Tuese are the Baccharis thyoides of Lamarck, and B. ferru-
ginea of Persoon, which form a very distinct genus, having no
particular affinity with Baccharis or Molina, except what might
be expected between plants of the same natural class. Perhaps
the Conyza bryoides and cupressiformis of Lamarck may also
be referable to it; but I have not had an opportunity of exa-
mining them, to determine this point. The Tafalla of Ruiz
and Pavon proving the same with the Hedyosmum of Swartz
and Willdenow, and no other genus having yet supplied the
place of the former in the annals of botany, I have availed my-
self of the opportunity which this circumstance has afforded,
of commemorating the labours of Don Juan Tafalla, a distin-
guished pupil of Ruiz, and his zealous assistant and successor
in the investigation of the Peruvian Flora. The genus had
been named, and its essential characters determined, by me seve-
ral years ago, when engaged drawing up an account of the South
American Composite, contained in the Lambertian Herbarium.

The points which essentially distinguish Tafalla from Bac-
charis, are the inclosed stamina, and the anthers being furnished
with two bristles at their base,—characters which it has im com-
mon with the rest of its tribe, but especially with Antennaria,
from which it is principally distinguished by the peculiarity of
its habit.

Most botanists, and it is believed also M. Cassini himself, have
referred Baccharis to Asteree, but they assuredly belong to the
Eupatoree, and to that portion of them that comes under Ver-
nonece, where their habit corresponds better, and in which the
stamina are also most frequently exserted, particularly in Va-
nillosma, a genus which may be regarded as establishing a con-

272 Mr D. Don on the Characters and Affinities

necting link between the Hupatoree and Labiatiflore. The Lia-
tridee, in which the accurate Richard thought he had remarked
a peculiarity in the stigmata sufficient to separate them as a
distinct group, must likewise be reduced to the Kupatoree ;
for there is not any thing, either in the form or structure of
their stigmata, differing from the normal group of that fa-
mily. While on this subject, I may mention a remarkable fact,
apparently of universal application throughout Composite, and
one which does not appear to have been before noticed,—name-
ly, that the stigmata of female flowers are uniformly smooth,
being destitute both of papille or bristles, which are only to
be observed in those of hermaphrodite flowers, as is well ex-
emplified in Baccharis and Antennaria, and certain other ge-
nera, where the capitula are exclusively composed of female
flowers, and in Aster, &c. where the ligulate florets of the cir-
cumference only are female; and it may be set down as an esta-
blished fact, that the presence of papilla on stigmata do not
necessarily prove their fertility; for in Aster, the florets of the
disk rarely perfect seeds, although the stigmata are thickly be-
set with bristly papillae, while the female florets of the cireum-
ference, with smooth stigmata, are uniformly fertile. These
smooth stigmata absorb the fecundating particles by means of
the numerous pores on their upper surface, which, in the early
stage of maturity, is always moistened with a glutinous fluid.
Haxtonia*, however, is an exception to the above rule, as in
this the florets, both of the circumference and disk, are equally
fertile.

* Haxtonra.—ZJnvolucrum polyphyllum, imbricatum. Receptuculum subfa-
vosum. loseuli radii foeminei, ligulati, stigmatibus linearibus, obtusis,
sulco exaratis, margine incrassatis! leevibus ; disci hermaphroditi, tubu-
losi, 5-dentati. Filamenta articulo superiore brevissimo crassiore. An-
there basi muticze. Stigmata hermaphroditis crassa, obtusa, subclavata,
copiosé papillosa, nec hispida. Achenia sulcato-angulata. Pappi radiis
persistentibus, apice penicillatis.

Frutices (Novae-Hollandiz) sempervirentes, pube plerumque stellata vestiti. Fo-
lia alterna, subtus tomentosa. Flores terminales, paniculati. Pappus sepé
TUFESCENS.

Hic Aster argophyllus, Lab., viscosus, Lab., phlogopappus, Lab., stellulatus,
Lab., tomentosus, Willd. et Hort. Kew.

Oss. Joannes Haxton hortulanus peritus Legationi Macartneiane ad
Chinam olim adjunctus.
Haxtonia nomen Asteri argophyllo Billardiert primtim imposuit b. Geor-
gius Caley,

of certain Genera in the Flora Peruviana. 273

I shall now proceed to give the characters and description of
Tafalla, and of the species already ascertained to belong to
it.

TAFALLA.

Baccuanripis sp. Lam. Pers.

Motinz sp. Ruiz et Pavon

Syst. Linn. SYNGENESIA POLYGAMIA SUPERFLUA.
Ord. Nat. COMPOSITA, Adans. Brown.

Fam. INvLE#, Cass.—Trib. GNAPHALIE.

Cuan. EssEntT.—Jnvolucrum scariosum, imbricatum. Recerptaculum nudum.
Flosculi dioici ; masculi infundibuliformes, 5-dentati; feminei filiformes,
limbo 5-fidi. Anthere basi bisetosee. Pappi masculi radiis apice peni-
cillatis ; feminei capillaceis.

Descr.—Capitula dioica! Involucrum polyphyllum, imbricatum : sguamis sca-
riosis, cartilagineo-membranaceis, coloratis. Receptaculum nudum, scro-
biculatum. F/osculi indefiniti; masculi infundibuliformes, fauce dilatati,
limbo 5-fido, laciniis elliptico-oblongis, obtusis, nervis primariis margine
incrassatis ; feminei filiformes, ima basi ventricosa callosa, limbo 5-fidi, la-
tere interiore profundius fissi: Zaciniis lineari-angustissimis, subzequalibus,
erectis. Stamina inclusa: filamenta capillaria, glabra; articulo superiore
brevi, teretiusculo: anthere in tubum coalitz, basi bisetosze, setis ramu~
losis, vix plumosis, appendicula ovata terminate. Stigma masculis in-
clusum, clavatum, bilobum, truncatum, minute papillosum; foemineis ex-
sertum, bipartitum : segmentis semicylindricis, obtusis, recurvatis, glabris.
Achenia otlonga, subpentagona, glabra, basi umbilico calloso prominenti
foraminulo verticali perforato instructa: disco epigyno planiusculo, vix
dilatato. Pappi radiis duplici ordine copiosissimis ; masculi apice clavato-
penicillatis ; feminei tenuissimis, capillaceis, scabris, ima basi connexis,
involucro longioribus.

Plantz (Peruvianz) suffruticose, Thujz v. Lycopodii facie. Folia alterna, ses-
siliz, disticha, parva, adpressé equitantia, carinata. Capitula solitaria, ses-
silia, foliis feré immersa, azillaria et terminalia. Tnvolucrum masculinum
subrotundum, squamis cartilagineis, lamina rotundata terminatis; foomi-
neum oblongum, squamis lanceolatis, acuminatis, membranaceis, subpellucidis.
Pappus cinereo-lutescens, supersistens ; foemineus pallidior.

1. T. thyoides, foliis lanceolatis, antherarum appendicula acuminata.

Baccharis thyoides, Lam. Encycl. 2. p. 90.—Iilustr. t. 697.—Persoon
Syn. 2. p. 425. Hook. Bot. Misc. 2. p. 224. t. 93.
Molina incana, Ruiz et Pavon Syst. Veg. Fl. Peruv. et Chil. 1. p. 211.

Hab. In Peruvie alpibus ad Pillao vicum, versus Silcay tractum.
Ruiz et Pavon. fF. Vulgo Palmito. Floret a Novembri ad Aprilem.
(V.s. sp. in Herb. Lamb.)

Planta suffruticosa, spithamzea, aut sesqui v. tripedalis, erecta, ramosa, ni-
veo-lanuginosa. Ramuli sparsi disticho modo dispositi, lineares, obtusi,
complanati. Folia alterna, sessilia, semiamplexicaulia, disticha, crebré
adpresseque equitantia, lanceolata, obtusa, compressa, carinata, integer-
rima, marginibus conniventibus, membranaceis coriacea, supra concava,
densé niveo-lanata, subtiis demiim glabra, nitida, viridia, 3-5 lineas longa,
versus basin caulis sparsa. Involucri masculi squamis 12, subtriplici ordine
dispositis, oblongis, scariosis, cartilagineis, nitidis, flavicantibus, apice las
mina rotundata, dilatata, fuscescenti, concav4, leviter erosa auctis ; Semi.

274 Mr D. Don on the Characters and Affinities

nei 15, 4-plici ordine imbricatis, lanceolatis, acuminatis, erosis, magisque
membranaceis. Appendicula antherarum ovata, apice contracta, acumi-
nata.

2. T. ferruginea, foliis ovatis, antherarum appendicula obtusa.

Baccharis ferruginea, Persoon Syn. 2. p. 425.
Molina ferruginea, Ruiz et Pavon |. ¢. 1. p. 211.

Hab. In Peruviz alpibus, in Tarmz, Cantze, et Huorocheri provin-
ciis. Ruiz et Pavon. hh. Vulgd Matara et Palmito. Floret a
Decembri ad Maium. (V. s. sp. in Herb. Lamb.)

Planta suffruticosa, tripedalis, erecta, magis robusta, fulvo-lanuginosa. Ra-
muli distiche modo dispositi, complanati. Folia alterna, creberrima, am-
plexicaulia, disticha, adpress¢ imbricata, ovata, apice attenuata et obtu-
sula, basi cucullata, duplo latiora quam in precedente, atque magis crassa
et coriacea, subttis convexa, carinata, demtim glabra, nitida, supra con-
cava, lanugine sordidé fulva copiosé induta, marginibus conniventibus,
obtusis, nec membranaceis, 4-5 lineas longa, ad basin 3 lineas lata.
Flores solitarii, terminales et axillares, omnind sessiles, folia propria cir-
cumcingentia vix superantes. Involucri masculi sguamis numerosioribus
elliptico-oblongis, cartilagineis, subzequalibus, triplici ordine digestis,
margine superné membranaceis, scariosis, apice lamina rotundata rigidi-
uscula, subinitegra auctis, lutescentibus, nitidis ; feminei lanceolatis, acu-
minatis, scarioso-membranaceis, pellucidis, margine leviter erosis. Flos-
culi feeminei basi angustiore, vix ventricos4: Jaciniis paulld brevioribus
quam in precedente. Antherarum appendicula elliptica, obtusa. Stig-
mata breviora. Cetera ut in genere.

Oxs. Involucri masculi squamee interiores szepé flosculis intermixtze, et
subinde paleas mentientes.

DESFONTAINIA, Ruiz et Pavon.

Syst. Linn. PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA.
Ord. Nat. GENTIANE! Nobis.

Calyx 5—4-partitus, persistens: segmentis subzequalibus, oblongis, obtusissimis,
cartilagineis, nervosis, zestivalione imbricatis. Corolla tubulosa, cartilagi-
nea, 5-nervosa, nervis per laciniarum axin excurrentibus, limbo 5—4-loba:
lobis rotundatis, retusis, venosissimis, margine ciliatis, zstivatione im-
bricatis. Stamina 5, rarits 4, epipetala, lobis corollze alterna, inclusa:
filamenta glabra, tubo corollze fereé omnind connata, apicibus liberis, cras-
sis, hine convexis, inde planiusculis: anthere erectze, innate, biloculares :
loculis linearibus, parallelis, intervallo perangusto sejunctis, connectivo
(filamenti continuationi) magno carnoso insertis, eodemque brevioribus,
longitudinaliter dehiscentibus: valvulis angustissimis, cequalibus, mar-
gine paululim involutis. Ovarium liberum, globosum, uniloculare : ovu-
lis creberrimis, inordinatis, horizontalibus, placentis septiformibus ad-
natis. Stylus filiformis, glaber. Stigma capitatum. Bacca globosa, uni-
locularis, polysperma. Placente 5 v. 4, parietales, septiformes (subinde
bacea quasi multilocularis), margine interiore liberis, incrassatis, trigonis,
lateribus reflexis seminiferis. Colwmella nulla. Semina numerosa, in-
ordinaté disposita, erecta, obovata, ventricosa, angulata, basi umbilico,
apice chalaza dilatata atrofusca, latere interiore raphe prominula callos4
instructa ; desta exterior coriacea, fulvescens, pellucido-punctata ; interior
membranacea, pallidior, nucleo adherens: albumen copicsum, carnosum,
album. £mbryo minutissimus, subrotundus, dicotyledoneus, lacteus, in
regione umbilicali, erectus: cotyledones brevissimze: radicula crassa, ob-
tusissima.

¥Frutices (Amer. Austr.) sempervirentes, sapore amarissimo. Folia opposita, den-

of certain Genera in the Flora Peruviana. Q45

inosa! Petioli ramis articulati. Flores terminales, solitarii, pedun-
culati. Pedunculi bibracteolati. Corolla coccinea, limbo lutea. Bacca alba.

1. D. spinosa, segmentis calycinis ligulatis foliisque glabris.
Desfontainia spinosa, Ruiz et Pavon Syst. Veg. Fl. Perwwv. et Chil. 1.
p- 59.—Fl. Peruv. et Chil. 2. p. 47. t. 186. (mala).—Gen. t. 5.
D. splendens, Humb. et Bonpl. Pl. Equin. Amer. 1. p. 157. t. 45.—
Kunth in Nov. Gen. et Sp. Pl. 7. p. 274.—Syn. 4. p. 267.
Linkia Peruviana, Persoon Syn. 1. p. 219.

Hab. In Peruvie nemoribus ad Churupallana presidium Tarmz, et
inter Muna et Pozuzo (Ruiz et Pavon) ; in Andibus Quinduensi-
bus et in Parama de Almaguer. Humboldt et Bonpland. hh. Flo-
ret Octobri et Novembri. (V.s. sp. in Herb. Lamb.)

Frutex biorgyalis, erectus, ramosissimus, rigidus, sempervirens, cortice levi
subfungoso lutescente annulatim deciduo. Rami brachiati, ferd articu-
lati. Folia opposita, petiolata, elliptico-oblonga, coriacea, glabra, viridia,
supra lucida, exsiccatione venosa, basi cuneata integerrima, margine den-
tato-spinosa : dentibus magnis, 7-14. Petioli internodiis plerumque dupld
vy. tripld breviores. Calyx glaber, pedunculo vix brevior. Corolla ca-
lyce 4-plo longior. Bacca alba, magnitudine Cerasi.

2. D. parvifolia, foliorum costa subtis pilosa, segmentis calycinis ovalibus
ciliatis.
Desfontainia spinosa, Herb. Ruiz, non Fl. Peruv.

Hab. in Peruvia ad Mune Montes. Ruiz. Fh (V. s. sp. in Herb.
Lamb.)

Frutex ramosissimus, compactus, frondosus, sempervirens, cortice flavi-
canti, nitido, deciduo. Ramuli quadranguli, subarticulati, angulis pro-
minentibus, demum cortice decidenti obliteratis, subinde teretes. Folia
opposita, petiolata, cuneata, 5 v. 7-dentata, rarils tricuspidata, denti-
bus mucronato-spinosis, margine callosis; coriacea, semiuncialia, basi
in petiolum alternata, supra glabra, nitidissima, subtis pallidiora,
costa pilosa. Petioli marginati, 3-4 lineas longi, intra bases, przeser-
tim novellorum, vagina (rudimento foliorum?) tenuissimé scarioso-
membranacea, alba, eyanescenti instructi. Peduneuli (ramuli modifi-
cati) brevissimi, uniflori, vix unguiculares, bracteis 2 lanceolatis, cari-
natis, mucronato-spinosis, basi connatis, margine costéque pilosis
muniti. Calyx 5-partitus, nune 4 v. 6-partitus: segmentis ovali-
oblongis, obtusissimis, concavis, multi-nerviis, coriaceis, margine mem-
branaceis, et, praesertim apicem versus, ciliatis. Corolla tubulosa,
pollicaris, coccinea, limbo 4-5 loba: J/obis rotundatis, ciliatis, nervosis.
Anthere subtrigonz, abrupté mucronulatz, dorso acuté carinate ; val.
vula interiore angustiori. Ovarium globosum: placentis 4. Stylus gla-
ber, inferné crassior, 4-sulcatus. Stigma exsertum, obtusum, leviter
4-tuberculatum, pruinosum.

Some groups of plants exist in whose external features there
is nothing that can lead to a knowledge of their affinities,
and among these may be ranked the remarkable genus now
under cofsideration. From observing the similarity in the dis-
position of the veins in the calyx and corolla, and the consist-
ence of these organs, as well as the nervation and dentation of
the leaves, I was led to conclude that it might be allied to
Theophrasta ; but a closer examination did not confirm that
conjecture, although, from remarking the nature of the albu.

276 Mr D. Don on the Characters and Affinities

men, and the structure and position of the embryo, I was after-
wards induced to compare it with the Gentianee, to which
family, I am now fully persuaded, it must be referred, not-
withstanding its toothed leaves and the greater number of its
placentze.

It is rather curious that my learned friend M. Kunth should
have also been led to believe it allied to T’heophrasta, but of
this fact I was not aware at the time when my observations
were made; and the circumstance is only mentioned now, to
show that there exist some striking analogies between these two
genera to have led us to the same conclusion.

Not the least trace of pubescence is discernible in the speci-
mens of Desfontainia spinosa in the Herbarium of Ruiz and
Pavon; but in the separate collection of Ruiz, there are speci-
mens of the second species, marked by himself D. spinosa,
wherein the calyx is beautifully fringed. It appears to me pro-
bable, therefore, that both plants are confounded in the descrip-
tion given in the Flora Peruviana, and that the pubescence is
an after addition, either in the drawing or engraving. The
figure is altogether very incorrect ; the peduncles are represent-
ed as axillary, and without bractez ; and the anthers, as if they
were unilocular, although rightly shown as alternating with the
lacinie of the corolla, and not opposite, as represented in the
Prodromus of the same authors.

BALBISIA, Cav.
LEDOCARPON, Desf.
Syst. Linn. DECANDRIA PENTAGYNIA.
Ord. Nat. FICOIDEE. Nobis.

The genus Balbisia was established by Cavanilles, in the
seventh volume of the Anales de Ciencias Naturales, published
at Madrid in 1804, where a very full description and figure,
including the details of the structure of the flower and fruit,
will be found. Fourteen years afterwards, namely, in 1818,
the genus was republished by M. Desfontaines, under the name
of Ledocarpon ; but as science belongs to no particular region or
country, there seems no reason why the name of Cavanilles is to
be superseded by the much more recent one of the distinguished
French Professor, especially as the Balbisia of Willdenow has

of certain Genera in the Flora Peruviana. Oye

been shown by Mr Brown to be identically the same with the
Tridax of Linnzus. Cavanilles considered the genus akin to
the Rutacee; by Ruiz and Pavon it was regarded as allied to
nothera; and by M. Desfontaines to the Oxalidee, in which
opinion he has been followed by Decandolle. It is clear, how-
ever, that in many points of structure it differs essentially from
either of these families. I had long ago been struck by the
resemblance of Balbisia to certain ficoideous plants, particu-
larly to Mesembryanthemum villosum of Linnzeus; and an
accurate comparison of its structure leaves no doubt on my
mind of its really belonging to the same natural family, con-
necting the latter with the small group of Reawmuriea. The
decandrous flowers may seem, at first sight, an objection to this
association; but it must be observed, that the stamina, in some
of the normal Ficoidea, although numerous, are nevertheless
really definite; their number being fifteen, forming a triplicate
of the lobes of the calyx.

The genus having been so well illustrated by the authors
above mentioned, and still more recently by Dr Hooker and Mr
Lindley, it seems quite unnecessary for me to give a descrip-
tion of it, and I shall merely content myself with adding the
characters and synonyms of the species.

1. B. verticiliata, foliis lineari-angustissimis margine revolutis, bracteis
subulatis.

Balbisia verticillata, Cav. Anal. de Cien. Nat. 7. p. 62. t. 46.

Ledocarpon chiloense, Desf. in Mem. Mus. 4. p. 251. t. 13. (optima).
Decand. Prod. \. p. 702.

(nothera scoparia, Herb. Ruiz et Pavon.

Hab. in Peruvia inter Obragilla et Canta (Ludov. Née, Ruiz et Pavon) ;
atque in Chili, Dombey, Ruiz et Pavon. hh (V.s. sp. in Herb.
Lamb.)

Planta suffruticosa, ramosissima, sericeo-incana, @nothere vy. Helian-
themi facie. Folia rectits, ut mihi videtur, simplicia, plerumque oppo-
sité fasciculata, 3 v. 4, nunc tantiim 2, basi coadunata, lineari-
angustissima, margine revoluta, subacerosa, apice mucronulo, obtuso,
nudo, internodiis szepitis longiora. Flores terminales, solitarii, pedun-
culati. Bractee plurimee, subulatze.

2. B. peduncularis, foliis lineari-oblongis obtusis planis subtiis venis conspi-
cuis, bracteis linearibus.
Ledocarpum pedunculare, Lindl. in Bot. Reg. t. 1392.
Cruckshanksia cistiflora, Hook. Bot. Mise. 2. p. 211. t. 90.
Hab. in Chili ad Coquimbo, Caldcleugh, Cruckshanks, Macrae. }y
(V. s. sp. in Herb. Lamb.)
Folia triplo latiora, plana, internodiis semper breviora. Pedunculi pariun

longiores, Bractee pauciores, lineares, plan. Calyx longior,

278 Mr D. Don on the Characters and Affinities

Dombey is said to have gathered his plant in Chile, and
there are specimens in the herbarium of Ruiz and Pavon,
marked from that country ; otherwise I should have been dis-
posed to believe that some mistake had been committed with
respect to that habitat. The fascicles of leaves, in both species,
are opposite, or, more properly speaking, approximate, than
alternate, in the native specimens.

In a former number of this Journal (January 1830), I have
proposed. to place Viviania (Macrea, Lindl.) next to Mollugo,
and Pharnaceum among the Caryophyllee ; and having again
directed my attention to the subject, I see no reason to alter
my opinion. With respect to its monophyllous calyx, and the
embryo being surrounded by albumen, if rightly represented
by Dr Hooker, both these characters occur likewise in genera, of
whose association with the Caryophyllee there can be no ques-
tion; for the seeds of Dianthus differ much more from its co-
ordinates, than Viviania, the embryo being perfectly straight,
and placed in the centre of the albumen; in which characters it
accords with Linee, and it ought perhaps to be regarded as the
connecting link between the two families. With respect to the
supposed affinity of Vivianiu, either to the Geraniacee or
Oxalidea, I must candidly confess that I have not been able to
detect any.

Cavanilles is sometimes wrong in the habitats he gives, and
I am therefore inclined to think that the Mexican station he
gives for Viviania marifolia is incorrect, and that the specimen
was collected in Chile, as it does not appear to be specifically
different from rosea; the calyx of which is but indifferently re-
presented in Dr Hooker’s otherwise excellent figure.

LUZURIAGA, Ruiz et Pavon, non Br.

Syst. Linn. HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA.
Ord. Nat. SMILACE#, Br.

Perianthium duplici ordine 6-phyllum, patens; foliolis exterioribus ovato-
lanceolatis, obtusulis; interioribus ovatis, dupld Jatioribus. Stamina 6,
hypogyna, distincta: filamenta brevissima, dilatata, complanata, sub-
membranacea: anthere erectie, longe, lineares, obtuse, biloculares, basi
sagittatze : Joculis parallelis, longitudinaliter dehiscentibus, basi produc-
tis: connectivo superné attenuato. Stylus acuté triqueter. Stigma tri-
gonum, obtusum, minute papillosum. Bacca globosa, trilocularis: Joculis

of certain Genera in the Flora Peruviana. 279

dispermis. Semina compressa, lutescentia, basi interiore umbilico in-
structa, hine carinata, inde plana, latere exteriore convexiuscula, sul-
cata: festa simplex, membranacea, nucleo arcté adhzrens: albumen du-
rum, cellulosum! Embryo parvus, axilis. Radicula ab umbilico remota.

Planta (Chilensis) suffruticosa, per arborum truncos, more Hederz scandens
et radicans. Caulis teres, inferné squamis (foliorum rudimentis ) emarcidis
glumaceis instructus. Rami tetragoni, flexuosi, convoluti, angulis elevatis.
Folia alternatim disticha, brevissimé petiolata, lanceolata, integerrima, apice
mucronulo calloso, cartilaginea, glabra, 6-12-nervia, petiolorum contortione
subresupinata ! pollicaria v. bipollicaria: nervis strictis, parallelis, utrinque
prominulis, ramulis transversis, connexis. Flores in ramulorum apice squa- .
mis (foliis abortivis) scarioso-membranaceis, vaginantibus, fuscis munitorum,
axillares, subgeminati, pedunculati. Pedunculi uniflori, filiformes, medio
articulati, unciales. Perianthium albido-lutescens, uti cum staminibus stylo-
que punctis lineolisque rubris notatum. Bacca rubra, magnitudine Cerasi
sylvestris.

1. L. radicans, Ruiz et Pavon Fl. Peruv. et Chil. 3. p. 66. t. 298.

Hab. in Chili sylvis et nemoribus ad Colium et Palomares, Ruiz et
Pavon. th Floret Septembri et Octobri. (V. s. sp. in Herb.
Lamb.)

Ors. Luzuriaga, Br. genere omnind diversa a planta Chilensi. In L. cy-
mosa, Br. foliola perianthii subzequalia, filamenta simplicia subcapillaria,
loculi antherarum vix basi producti, stylus filiformis plurimiim graci-
lior, pedunculus sub flore articulatus, testa seminis atra crustacea.

In Callixene, Juss. cui proximé affinis, perianthium 6-phyllum, pa-
tens, deciduum, foliolis exterioribus partim angustioribus, stamina basi
foliorum inserta, alternis parim brevioribus, filamenta dilatata compla-
nata, apice attenuata acuminata, antherze lineares incumbentes, ovarium
globosum triloculare membranaceum, ovulis in axi loculorum simplici
ordine numerosis, bacca globosa rubra pisi magnitudine subdisperma,
semina ovoidea, hinc gibbosa, fulvescentia erecta apice chalaza tuberculi-
formi instructa, testa simplex tenuissimé membranacea leviter rugulosa,
albumen magnum corneum solidum, embryo in regione umbilicali cylin-
draceus, albuminis dimidie vix longitudine zequalis, curvulus basi ob-
tusus.

LAPAGERIA, Ruiz et Pavon.

Syst. Linn. HEXANDRIA MONOGYNIA.
Ord. Nat. SMILACEA, Br.

Perianthium 6-phyllum, tubulato-campanulatum, petaloideum deciduum:
foliolis 3 exterioribus lanceolatis, acuminatis; interioribus longioribus,
cuneato-oblongis, mucronulatis, nervosis, nervis reticulato -ramosis,
Stamina 6, inzequalia, foliolorum perianthii basi inserta ; exteriora 3, bre<
viora: jfilamenta subulata, glabra: anthere long, basi subsagittata in-
sertze, erectz, biloculares, apice obtusze: /oculis parallelis, longitudinali-
ter dehiscentibus, basi paulld productis. Stylus elongatus, triqueter,
glaber. Stigma clavatum, obsoleté trilobum. Bacca oblonga, obtusé tri-
gona, trisulca, trilocularis, polysperma. Semina angulata.

Plarta (Chilensis) seffruticosa, scandens. Caulis teres, flexruosus, minuté tu ber
culatus, inferné squamis (foliis abortivis ) scariosis plurimis instructus. TRa-
muli vir enati squamis ovatis acuminatis fuscis imbricati. Folia alterna,
petiolata, cordato-oblonga, acuminata, intgerrima, 5-nervia, coriacea, glabra,
margine levia, cartilaginea, exsiccatione reticulato-venosa ! sesqui v. tripolli-
caria. Fetioli brevissimii, supra plani, basi dilatati. Flores in ramulorum

2

280 Mr D. Don on the Characters and Affinities, &c.

apicibus terminales, solitarii, subinde sepitis quasi avillares. Pedunculi
unifiori, obscure angulati, apice dilatato-discoideo cum flore articulati, bracteis
ovatis, acuminatis, sepé scariosis, nune aliis foliis magis consimilibus, fuscis,
subinvoluto -vaginantibus muniti. Perianthium bipollicare, roseum, intus
albo-maculatum. Bacca oblonga, pallida, pendula.

1. L. rosea, Ruiz et Pavon Fi. Peruv. et Chil. 3. p. 65. t. 297.

Hab. in Conceptionis Chilensium Rere et Itate provinciarum sylvis
per arbores et frutices scandens. Ruiz et Pavon, Caldcleugh, P.
P. King. TF) ~~ Filoret a Februario ad Maium. Vernaculé Copi-
hue. (V.s. sp. in Herb. Lamb.)

Oxs. Fructis pulpa dulcis est et incolis gratissima. Radix adstrin-
gens atque loco Sarsaparillee usus est. In Philesia proxima peri-
anthii decidui foliola 3 exteriora elliptico-oblonga mucronulata mem-
branacea calycina, interiora 3 5-pld majora cuneata mucronulata peta-
loidea, stamina 6 subzequalia, antheree lineares incumbentes, stylus
feré staminum longitudine, stigma dilatatum leviter trilobum, lobis
reflexis, ovarium trigonum triloculare, ovulis numerosis. Differt a
Lapageria praecipué foliolis perianthii exterioribus 8 brevibus caly-
cinis.

The limits which separate the groups of the Liliaceous class
are extremely ill-defined, the modifications of structure being
so various in all of them, that nothing certain beyond mere ge-
neric distinctions can be obtained. The four genera now under
consideration appertain to the group Smilacea, many of which
come so near to the Asphodelee, that I have formerly proposed
to unite all those whose fruit is a berry under the name of
Asparagee*, as it is clear no certain characters can be derived
from the consistence of the testa, which is found to differ much
in genera otherwise intimately allied. In Asphodelus, Allium,
Ornithogalum, Ruscus, Smilax, and Convallaria, the testa is
simple and membranaceous, and the albumen fleshy; while in
Asparagus, Dracaena, Cyanella, Anthericum, and T'ulbaghia,
the seeds are furnished with a crustaceous covering and carti-
laginous albumen. Much has been said respecting the disposi-
tion of the nerves, in the leaves of monocotyledonous plants,
as affording a good characteristic mark of the class; but the
whole of Arotdea, and several genera belonging to other families,
afford striking exceptions, and in that respect do not differ es-

sentially from the Dicotyledonee.
(To be continued.)

* Prod. FJ. Nep. p. 46.

(281 )

Account of a Wooden Suspension-Dial used in the Alps and
Pyrenees. By OwEen Stanvey, Esq. R.N. Witha Figure.
Communicated by the Author.

Tuts litttle wooden instrument is used in the neighbourhood of
Barege in the Pyrenees, and there it is called the Barege clock.
Calculated for that latitude, it was a mere object of curiosity in
our latitude; but conceiving that it might, if the shadow points
in the curves could be calculated for any latitude, become an
article of general use and ready sale, my friend the Rev. Mr
Stanley, who sent me specimens of these dials, and suggested
what has just been stated, transmitted for the Journal the fol-
lowing notice of the principle and mode of construction of the
instrument, drawn up by Mr Stanley, one of the officers of Cap-
tain King’s exploratory expedition; which is here subjoined.

Cylinder CK B, Fig. 2. Plate III., is suspended from the
point C bya thread, when the line AB (which is at night angles
to AD) will become horizontal, and coincide with the visible
horizon ABH.

The gnomon or index is fixed into the moveable head of the
instrument, so as to revolve round the cylinder at right angles
to its axis.

The dial is used as follows: Turn the gnomon round until
it is immediately over the line denoting the day of the month ;
let the cylinder hang freely from the point C, and turn it round
until the shadow of the gnomon falls on the line immediately
under it, then the end of the shadow will mark the hour by its
position with respect to the hour lines 2 E, 3 F, 4G, &c.

Construction—On the cylinder draw 18 parallel lines, at
equal distances; the extreme line at one end representing the
21st of December, at the other end the 21st of June, and the
intermediate lines every tenth day. On the line representing
the 21st of June, from the line AK, with a radius equal to the
length AB of the gnomon, lay off the tangents of the sun’s al-
titude corresponding to the hours 4, 5, 6, &e. the declination
23, 30, and the latitude of the place, (which altitudes may be
taken by inspection from Lynn’s Horary Tables). On the next
line to the right, which will represent the 11th of June or the
Ast of July, (because the sun will have the same declination on
JULY—SEPTEMBER 1831, T

282 Extract of a letter from Dr Turnbull Christie

those days), repeat the former operation, using the sun’s de-
clination corresponding to the Ist July in the computation of
the altitudes; do the same at all the other lines, and through
all the points thus determined draw the hour lines 2 E, 3 F,
4G, &c. and the dial will be completed.

Proof—The line AB is made to coincide with the line AH,
or the visible horizon in the construction; let S represent the
sun, then the angle SBH is equal to the sun’s altitude. But
the angle SBH is equal to the angle ABE, to which AE is
tangent, at the radius AB. But it is evident from the figure
that AE must be the length of the gnomon’s shadow when the
sun is at S, and as the point E is the tangent of the sun’s alti-
tude at 2 o'clock, the contact of the point of the shadow at that
line must be the hour required.

Extract of a letter from Dr Turnbull Christie to Professor
Jameson regarding the Bone Caves of Palermo, &c.

My Dear Sir, Palermo, 31st May 1831.

Norwitusranpre all the classical interest of Italy, I saw
nothing in it that gave me more real pleasure and satisfaction
than Vesuvius, which { saw to great advantage. To a geolo-
gist, his first view from the summit of that beautiful mountain
is one of the greatest pleasures he can expect to enjoy in this
hfe, and I saw it to perfection. It was exactly in such a low
state of activity as to enable us to walk down into the great
erater, and round the summit of the internal one, which was
thrown up in December last year, and which is at present only
emitting smoke, and occasionally a few ashes. It has now an
elevation, I should think, of about 300 feet above the bottom
of the large crater; and the highest point of the mountain,
which is on the north edge of the latter, I calculated, by a
single barometrical observation, in connection with one made at
the same time at Naples, to be 8677 feet above the level of the
sea. '

Hitherto I have looked upon my journey merely as one of
pleasure. It is from this place that the real business of my

regarding the Bone Caves of Palermo. 283

tour will commence, and that I will begin to make observa-
tions for myself. I have already seen much to interest me in
Palermo and its environs. 'The town, which is handsome, con-
taining two magnificent streets which run at right angles to
each other, and many fine public buildings, is situated in the
centre of a beautiful bay, which opens to the north-east, and is
flanked on both sides by steep rugged mountains coming close
down to the shore; behind it extends a rich plain, bearing
olives, figs, vines, a profusion of oleanders in full flower, the
aloé, the cactus, and other plants of a hot climate, and fields of
corn, great part of which is already cut; and this is encircled,
at the distance of from one to two miles from the shore, by a
fine amphitheatre of steep rugged limestone hills. The whole
plain is composed of horizontal beds of the newest tertiary, or,
if you please, quaternary system, containing in many places
numerous shells of existing Mediterranean species. The hills,
some of which have a very considerable elevation (I should
suppose at least 1500 feet), consist of magnesiferous limestone,
and, like the dolomites of northern Italy and Germany, present
scarcely any trace of stratification, but are split, generally at
very high angles, by numerous rents, and possessing in many
places the cellular and fissured structure of true dolomite.
They contain several caverns at no great distance from Palermo,
in some of which bones of the large extinct diJwvian quadrupeds
have been found. These were for a long time believed by the
good people of Palermo to have belonged to the ancient race of
giants who inhabited this island in early ages; but upon the
discovery of their being really the bones of elephants and hip-
popotami, they contended that they must be the remains of
these animals killed in the Roman games, and it was only lately
that Cuvier’s report upon a collection which had been sent to
him, forced them to adopt the orthodox creed of their antedilu-
vian origin. A memoir on one of the caves has just been pub-
lished by Signor Scina, Professor of Natural Philosophy in the
University of Palermo, which contains an accurate, although
not a very clear, description of it, and requires many additional
details to make it of value to the geological reader. I have al-
ready examined the caves, and have found them to possess the
greatest interest. They must be referred to the bone breccias
T2

284 On the Bone Caves of Palermo.

which occur so commonly along the shores of the Mediterra~
nean, rather than to the ¢rwe caves, such as those of England or
Germany. The most important is the Grotto di Santo Ciro,
about two miles to the south-east of Palermo, for the, bone
breccia is there found in connection with the recent quaternary
formations containing Mediterranean shells, which it distinctly
overlies. The quaternary beds extend up to, and even a con-
siderable way into, the interior of the cavern, and the breccia
not only covered them within, but is still seen extending a con-
siderable way beyond the mouth of the grotto, and forming,
along with blocks of limestone, a sort of talus, which slopes
from the side of the hill to the plain below. There are various
other curious facts connected with this very interesting deposite,
which will bear closely upon some of the prevailing theoretical
views regarding these recent formations, but which I must
unavoidably reserve for my notes on the geology of Sicily,
which I propose to send to the Geological Society of London
from Malta, after I have completed my journey through this
island.

June 2.—I have just returned from visiting another deposite
of bone breccia about four or five miles from here. Like the
former, it is partly within, partly on the outside, of a small cave
in one of the limestone hills; but there are no quaternary beds
near it, no marine shells, no holes drilled in the limestone by
lithodomi such as are seen in the other, in fine, no indications
of the sea having been there, so that it probably had its origin’
under different circumstances from those which accompanied
the formation of the breccia at Santo Ciro, and the comparison
of the two, therefore, becomes interesting. .

I intend to start from Palermo to-morrow, and to go by way
of Termini, Cefalu, from thence through the centre of the
island, by Castra Giovanni and the plain of Catania, to the
eastern coast ; after which I will ascend Mount Etna, and then
go to Cape Passaro, whence I shall cross over to Malta. Du-
ring this excursion I hope to have an opportunity of observing
the relations which the formations of Sicily bear to the lines of
elevation, and if possible to place these in connectien with the
great lines of Elie de Beaumont.

On the Magnetic Properties of the Rock on the Summit of Ar-
thurs Seat. By Mr Witttam Garsraitu, M.A. Com-
municated by the Author. Plate III. Fig. 3.

Tr has been long known that rocks impregnated with iron-ore
exert an influence on the magnetic needle, not only from the
iron which they contain, but also from portions of the natural
magnet imbedded in the mass. Basaltic rocks, in particular,
are frequently possessed of this property. One of the oldest in-
stances in this country recorded, so far as I know, is the rock
on which Dumbarton Castle is built. This circumstance is no-
ticed in Buchanan’s History of Scotland*. Professor Anderson
of the University of Glasgow, made repeated experiments on the
magnetism of this rock, and on the direction of its poles. On
the south side, near the top of the western peak, a large exposed
rock has been pointed out, on which many experiments have
been made, and from its situation is probably that alluded to
by Buchanan. It has been asserted by Mr Drysdale, the mas-
ter-gunner of the Castle, that it extends its influence to the op-
posite shore of the Clyde+.

* In superiore arcis parte ingens est saxum Magnesii quidem lapidis, sed
ita czeterze rupi coagmentatum et adherens ut commissura omnino non ap-
pareat. Liber xx. sectio 28.

+ The first distinct observations concerning the magnetic polarity of
rocks, were made by Baron Humboldt in 1796. He noticed it in a serpen-
tine rock on the Haidberg, near Celle, in the country of Baireuth. It was
afterwards observed in many other rocks, such as hornblende-slate, porphyry,
trachyte, basalt, &c. It is apparently confined to mountains containing mag-
netic ironstones, although the quantity of this admixture in itself does not
limit the intensity of the property ; as, indeed, it shows itself with different
purely magnetic ironstones, in the greatest variety of degrees of strength,
and there are some of these which show no magneto-polar action. Neither
is there any regularity in the position of the axes either in one and the same
mass of rock in general, or a fixed correspondence in the position of these
axes with the direction of the strata of the rocks. Bergmeister Schulze of
Duren, in an excursion in the Eifel, a region of greywacke and basalt, ob-
served from the top of the Nirburg Mountain (a basaltic cone 2000 Prussian
feet above the level of the Rhine), on an elevation in an eastern direction,
something resembling the ruins of a building. Instead of ruins, however, he
found it to be two small rocks, about three feet distant from each other in
their diagonals, about six feet high, with bases not far from three feet square;
one of them was six long and three feet broad; the other was a little shorter

286 Mr W. Galbraith on the Magnetic Properties of

Doubtless similar rocks will exert the same influence; and as
there is some analogy between this rock and Arthur’s Seat, it
should have occurred to geologists that the same consequences
might have been expected, as have Jately fallen under my own
observation, though previously, so far as is known to me, few
accurate observations of the kind have been recorded.

On the evening of the 10th of August 1831, I took a walk

but broader. Both rocks were stratified, with a dip of twelve degrees, and
parallel to the basaltic range on which they reposed. On presenting a mag-
netic needle to them, it was subject to sudden and violent changes. The cir-
cumference of one of them attracted the north pole through half its extent,
but repelled it for the remainder. The manner in which the needle was af-
fected by the other rock, may be understood by drawing a line lengthwise
through the centre of the upper plane of the rock, and another crosswise
through the same plane, so that the point of contact shall occupy the centre
of the plane; the north pole of the needle was attracted at the extremities
of the longer line, while the opposite pole was attracted at the extremities of
the shorter one.

M. Reuss of Bilin, observed the same property in a mountain of dark
greyish-black basalt, free from magnetic ironstone, in the Mittelgebirge.
The mountain, 1800 feet high, is covered with wood to its summit, and pre-
cipitous on all sides. Its polarity is so great, that the needle at its eastern
foot was moved 40°, and at the summit itself 90° W. At the western foot of
the rock, the contrary was the fact; but the polarity is shown not only in the
whole mass of the rock, but likewise in the larger detached pieces, and even
in the smallest fragments; the north point of the needle being at one end
distinctly attracted, and at the opposite end as distinctly repelled.

Many years ago, I noticed this property in the trap-rocks of the Island of
Canna, and in other trap districts in Scotland. A late writer remarks, that this
magnetic influence is occasionally limited to a space of three or four feet ;
but it is sometimes also extended to distances much more considerable, so as
to produce a decided effect on the variation of the needle. There is no doubt
that it has, where unobserved, been a frequent cause of error in maritime
surveying, as well as in surveys on shore, where the compass is used for the
observations, or when the position of the theodolite is regulated by the needle.
Independently of the local disturbances produced in the Western Islands by
the vicinity of masses of trap, there is a general irregularity of the magnetic
variation prevalent throughout the western coast, produced, doubtless, by
the combined influence of the larger tracts, whether of trap or of other rocks.
It is sufficiently sensible at sea to diminish materially the use of the compass
in navigating these islands ; fortunately that instrument is not often wanted,
as it rarely happens that some land cannot be seen. Ata period when the
general variation was stated at 26° west, it was found to be 19° in Loch Ryan,
36° on the east shore of Skye, and 21° near the Craig of Ailsa. The trials on
land were made with a needle elevated.as high as possible above the surface.

—EDITOR,

the Rock on the Summit of Arthur's Seat. 287

to the top of Arthur’s Seat, and, in order to look out for the
summits of some of the mountains in the Highlands, I deter-
mined their bearing previously, so that, by means of Schmalcal-
der’s surveying compass, I could tind their directions, referred to
some near fixed object, and would be enabled to examine the
horizon in the proper line of bearing, whenever the weather was
clear and highly favourable for distant views, required in such
cases. On placing the compass, however, on what was thought
a convenient place of the rock, I was struck with the remark-
able deviation of the sight vane of the compass from the direc-
tion in which I knew Benlomond should be found. On re-
moving the compass to a different position, the card was com-
pletely reversed, the north pointing to the south, and the south
to the north. The compass was then carried to different points
of the rock, where it still showed remarkable anomalies, the
north point of the card deviating sometimes to the west, some-
times to the east, and at other times it stood nearly in the me-
ridian. It was then resolved to make a more complete set of
observations on some future day.

On the 12th, the following table, derived from a mean of
two sets of observations by different compasses and different
observers, was completed. The one with Schmalcalder’s com-
pass, employed by myself, the other with a new surveying
compass by Mr Adie, and used by my friend Mr James Trotter,
who assisted me in making the necessary observations. The
angles are the bearings of the dome of the New Observatory,
and are marked to correspond with the same letters in the ac-
companying plan of the small rock on the summit of the hill,
on which the observations were made.

To obtain the true direction of the meridian, Mr John Adie
found, from observations with the new astronomical circle, on a
stone pillar terminating in the dome of the Observatory, that
the highest point of the rock bore S. 48° 11’ E.

Also the line A Q, 31 feet in length, from which ordinates
were drawn to the different puints where the observations were
made, formed an angle of 98°, with the magnetic meridian at
the point Q, that is, the point A bore N. 98° E. from Q.

Hence the position of the north point of the compass at each
point of observation may be found, and a few of the more pro.

9)

288 On the Magnetic Properties of the Rock, &c.

minent are laid down on the plan. That marked with a fleur-

de-lis denotes the true north, and Obs. the direction of the Ob-
servatory.

Table of Bearings of the Observatory.

G2. 207? 15? ih:
elt 30

I 305 =O

L

327. 0

Bia aS BB
M... 162 20

From an examination of the table, it will appear that the
greatest deviations take place at the points A, E, F, G, H, and
M. In this case, a reference may be made to the plan for the
purpose of giving a more distinct conception.

The more remarkable anomalies, it appears, take place at the
points G and H, where the needle is almost completely reversed.
This shows that the portion of the rock under the compass
there possesses the property of a natural magnet, having its
poles nearly in the direction of the meridian,—the north pole
being towards the north, and the south pole towards the south,
since, by a well known law in magnetism, the opposite poles at-
tract each other, while the same poles repel one another.

I have been more anxious to announce this fact, for the pur-
pose of calling the attention of geologists and others to it, than
to trace all its consequences, which must be left to future obser-
vation and research.

*,* On the 27th these experiments were repeated, and the

results confirmed, by M. E. G., a friend of the author.

On the Proximate Causes of certain Winds and Storms. By
Professor E. Mircueit, University of North Carolina.
(Continued from page 179.)

Of the Prevalent Movement of the Air in Winds and Storms.

Tr may be of use, before proceeding to account for the general
facts stated in the commencement of this paper, to turn our
attention to the general theory of winds, and the causes by

On the Proximate Causes of certain Winds and Storms. 289

which these movements in the atmosphere are generated. This
theory is indeed abundantly simple and familiar to philoso-
phers, but too much neglected by them when treating of meteo-
rological phenomena. Let AC, BD be two adja-| a | B

cent columns of air, of which AC rests upon a
sandy plain, 'and BD upon a forest or some other sub-
stance at D, less susceptible of being heated by the
sun’s rays. Let «», 0a, @@ be corresponding strata
of the two columns, of equal thickness and eleva-
tion. The pressure on the opposite sides of the
plain separating the two columns at « and », will
in the first instance be equal; but the portion ¢ of
the column AC being heated by its contact with
the hot sand at C, will be expanded so as to fill
both « and a part, greater or less, of 3. The strata
of air lying immediately above, will be lifted up z 4
out of their natural positions 3 into 6, and @ into « |~j__
The elevation will not be extended to the whole |< y

column, but limited to its lower strata, it being in © D

all cases the effect of the expansion of a given portion of air,
to produce a condensation and displacement of the air in its
neighbourhood, to which the immediate effect is confined : 9 will
therefore be condensed, and at the same time lifted into the po-
sition 8, where, exerting in the direction of 6 the same pressure
as when in its original situation, this pressure will not be fully
counteracted by the elasticity of ¢, but a part of 3 will flow into ¢.
Up to this time, there could be no motion in the lower strata «
and », the original pressure upon each remaining unchanged ;
but as soon as a part of 2 flows into ¢, the pressure upon < being
diminished, and the pressure upon » increased, <, the lighter, will
give way, and » move in to supply its place. At the same time
8, now in the position é, will descend into ». By a continuance
of the motion it will sink to », pass into «, and being heated
there, will ascend into its original position 3. The air thus set
in motion, retaining the momentum it has gained, and receiving
a new impulse from time to time, a horizontal whirlwind, mov-
ing with greater or less rapidity, will be formed. A person
living at the foot of the columns at C and D, and having no no-
tice of what is going on over the earth’s surface, in the direc-

290 Professor Mitchell on the Proximate Causes

tion ye. A similar motion of air, but in an opposite direction,
will be produced by the condensation of the air at «.

In every case of wind, the primary movement is upwards or
downwards in a vertical plain. Of this the horizontal current
felt at the earth’s surface, is only a secondary result. It is not
possible that it should be generated by those causes which affect
the condition of our atmosphere, except according to the me-
thods here represented; and we are warranted in laying down
the following proposition: The phenomena of winds and storms
are the result of a vortex or gyratory movement, generally of
no great extent, established in that region of the atmosphere
where they prevail.

To such persons as have been much conversant with writings
on the subject of meteorology, no apology will be necessary for
the formal enunciation of this proposition, and the subjoined
illustrations. They must be well aware that winds are generally
spoken of as long aerial rivers, flowing from one part of the
earth’s surface to another, with scanty and imperfect, if there
are any, notices of the fact, that they owe their existence to ano-
ther movement of the air at right angles to their own course.
These obscure and erroneous views of the nature of that motion
of the air which constitutes winds, seem to pervade most of the
meteorological speculations of an individual holding a high rank
amongst the philosophers of the age—Mr Leslie of Edinburgh.
See his investigation of the cause of the oscillations of the mer-
cury in the barometer, and his illustrations of the Huttonian
theory of rain,—that it is produced by the mingling of air of
different temperatures, charged with moisture, referred to by
Playfair (Outlines, vol. i. p. 316.) with approbation, as contain-
ing a correct exhibition of the rationale of falling weather.
“* To explain the actual phenomena, we must have recourse to
the mutual operation of a chill and of a warm current driving
swiftly in opposite directions, and continually mixing and
changing their conterminous surfaces*.” (Leslie on Heat and

* This passage appears a second time, without any alteration of the language,
in the article Meteorology, drawn up by the same author, for the Supplement
to the Encyclopedia Britannica, ten years after the publication of the account
of experiments respecting heat and moisture ; so that he seems to regard this
theory either as not admitting of, or not requiring, any correction. In the

of certain Winds and Storms. 2991

~

Moisture, p. 139.) If the two currents come from opposite
directions, the motion of both will be destroyed, or one will
drive the other back before it, along its former track. In either
case, there will be a mixture of the different portions of air only
at the plane where they meet; and this will be altogether ina-
dequate to the production of a copious rain. If their altitude
be different, so that the one may glide past the other, but in
immediate contact with it, there will be a more considerable
mingling of the two, but still not such as is commensurate with
the effect observed.

This hypothesis is besides encumbered with other difficulties.
Where shall we find the cause or causes that shall set two cur-
rents in motion, in opposite directions, and make them flow on
amicably together, and in contact with each other, for hundreds
of miles? If they are of nearly equal co!dness, no considerable
effect will follow from their mixture. If they differ greatly in
their temperature, their specific gravity will be so widely diffe-
rent that they will separate, the lighter flowing above, and the
heavier below. If we suppose that combination of circumstances

fifteenth volume of this Journal, at p. 12, is an “ Hypothesis on Volcanoes
and Earthquakes, by Joseph du Commun, of the Military Academy of West
Point.” It has the stamp of originality, and no one who reads it over will
doubt that it is the result of the unaided operations of his own mind ; but if
the author of that paper will examine this article of Leslie’s, in the Encyclo-
pzedia, he will find that he has been anticipated in all the points of his hypo-
thesis. Indeed if the writer who has furnished an analysis, with critical re-
marks of Professor Leslie’s speculations for Brande’s Journal, is to be be-
lieved, it did not originate with him, but with an individual whom we should
hardly expect to find engaging in this kind of speculation,—Dr Southey, the
Poet-Laureate.

“ We think this the wildest conceit that has ever figured in a sober work
on philosophy. It throws Bishop Wilkin’s schemes into the shade, and seems
to rival some of Mr Southey’s oriental fictions, from one of which, the Doun-
daniel Cavern, it is manifestly borrowed. We shall not consume our readers’
time with a serious refutation of this shower of atmospheric air-drops, pushing
themselves down the watery abyss, from five and a half miles beneath the
surface to the very bottom. Nor shall we alarm their fears for the respiration
of posterity, when this unceasing operation shall have smuggled the whole
atmosphere into its submarine vaults. We shall merely congratulate old
Ocean on the possession of this soft, elastic, and self-adjusting pillow. To
complete this new Neptunian theory, Mr Leslie should have shewn how, when
this pillow becomes over-stuffed, the surplus air could be squeezed out, as
occasion required, through one of Plato’s spiracles, to inflate the bellows of
the Cyclops.”—Journal for October 1822, p. 177-8.

292 Professor Mitchell on the Proximate Causes

which, according to these views, would produce a condensation
of the moisture of the atmosphere to happen occasionally, it
could not, like the fall of rain or snow, be an every-day occur-
rence. But if the air has commonly, in storms, a vertiginous
motion, the difficulty vanishes at once. The warm strata at
the surface will be carried upwards, and the cold strata brought
down from above, and as perfect a mixture of air, of very diffe-
rent temperatures produced, as any theory can demand.

Franklin draws his illustration of the movement of the air,
during our north-east storms, from that of the water in a canal,
when the gate by which it had previously been confined is
raised ; and, with his views, those of Dr Hare appear nearly to
coincide. Dr Hare appears to regard the warm moist air that
rises from the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, as the repository
from which the rain and snow are derived, the precipitation be-
ing caused partly by a diminution of capacity, undergone by it
in consequence of its rarefaction as it ascends, and partly by its
admixture with the under current of cold air that comes in from
the north-east, whilst it blows in from the south-west. The ac-
curacy of these views may be questioned on a number of diffe-
rent grounds.

1. The precipitation arising from a change of capacity produced
by rarefaction, must be confined to the immediate neighbour-
hood of the gulf, where the ascent and rarefaction take place.
The rain and snow descending upon the middle and northern
States, must therefore be ascribed simply to the lower surface or
stratum of the upper current of warm air flowing towards the
north-east, and the upper stratum of the current of cold air
coming from that quarter. 2. The objection just stated to the
doctrines of Mr Leslie, as advanced in his illustrations of the
Huttonian theory of rain, applies with great force here. The
source of refrigeration is altogether ,inadequate to the produc-
tion of the effect ascribed to it. Dr Hare remarks, that by
every fall of snow, twice as much: caloric is liberated as would
be yielded by an equal weight of red hot powdered glass. But
not only is the amount of rain or snow falling during a north-
east storm very great, but the weather itself often becomes in-
tensely cold. Let it now be supposed, that the north current
of air continues to move at the rate of thirty miles an hour, and
the upper south-west current at the same in the opposite di-

of certain Winds and Storms. 293

rection for twenty-four hours. The average velocity of the
wind during these storms never exceeds this estimate of forty-
four feet per second,—probably it never reaches it*. The result
will be simply that of bringing the air overhanging the eastern
part of Maine, and that overhanging the south-western part of
Georgia, into contact with each other over the state of Maryland.
The effect would be gradually produced, but the total amount
would be the same throughout the whole length of the Atlantic
coast, with that arising from an instantaneous application of the
under stratum of the air resting upon the Maine, to the upper
stratum of air resting upon Georgia. But this would be alto-
gether inadequate to the determination of a fall of snow several
inches in depth, and of weather at the same time intensely cold.
It is also to be remarked, that there is often almost a calm
when the rain or snow commences. It is only gradually that
the wind makes itself felt and rises to a gale +.

3. There are good reasons for doubting whether there be any
considerable transfer of the air from the north-east towards the
south-west, during the prevalence of a north-east storm. Sup-
pose a source of heat and rarefaction to exist over the Gulf of
Mexico; that the air overhanging it ascends; that the air of
Georgia on the Carolina side comes in to serve its place, and the
whole line of the Atlantic coast is affected by the drain esta-
blished in the south-west quarter. We might look for the fol-
lowing results. The wind would be most violent in Georgia,
and would continue to prevail there, until the cause of heat and
rarefaction was removed from over the Gulf. Inthe States more
remote, the wind would be feeble in proportion as the distance
was greater, and in Maine would be hardly felt at all. The
storm would cease when the cause by which it was produced
had ceased to act, and at nearly the same time throughout the
whole tract of country swept by it. The simplest doctrine of
equilibrium as applied to elastic fluids, force these conclusions
upon us. But the storm is found in fact to be as violent at the
north as at the south. It proceeds and is over in Georgia, and the
sun is perhaps shining there at the time when it is exerting its
utmost fury in Maine.

™ See the different tables of the velocity of the wind.

+ Vide Mitchell’s account of the NE. storm of February 1803, in the
Philosophical Magazine, vol. xiii. p. 273.

99 4 Professor Mitchel on the Provimate Causes

I can account for all the phenomena, only by supposing
that a vortex or horizontal whirlwind, or rather a succession -
of them, is established in Georgia, and passes gradually over
the United States. The existence of such a vortex creating
a wind from the north-east at the surface of the earth, is ob-
viously not incompatible with an actual transfer of the whole
body of the atmosphere, incumbent upon the United States from
the south-west. It is probable, however, that the transfer
is from the north-east. The warm air of the ocean saturated
with moisture is in this way brought over the land ; it is lifted
by the vertiginous motion that has been created, and _pro-
pagated along the coast into the upper regions of the at-
mosphere, and the intensely cold air of these regions brought
down to the surface, It is believed that in this way, and in
no other, we can account for the phenomena of our north-east
Storms. A (C) D B

During a nine days’ passage from New York to the Capes of
Virginia, in the summer of 1829, I had ample opportunity of
observing the movements of the air during the prevalence of
those light baffling breezes by which the ocean is occasionally
swept in calm weather. The water is seen roughened by the
wind in the direction from which it is afterwards found to blow,
as at C, every other part of the ocean probably, except the
tract immediately about C, being perfectly smooth. It is calm
at A beyond the place of the breeze, at B the place of the ves-
sel, and in the intermediate space at D. The roughness gra-
dually approaches the vessel, reaches it, fills the sails for a mo-
ment, and passes by. How are these appearances to be ac-
counted for? It is not a vacuum at B that urges the breeze
forward, for that would set the air overhanging the whole in-
termediate space, that at D for instance, in motion, before there
would be any movement at C. The effect is not produced by
a portion of condensed air seeking to expand itself, as that
would swell and escape equally in all directions. But upon the
supposition of a vortex rolling over the surface of the ocean,
the explanation is simple and easy.

The following statement, quoted by Daniell from the “ Ac-
count of the Arctic Regions,” of a fact apparently of common oc-
currence in those latitudes, places in a clear and strong light the

of certain Winds and Storms. 295

unsatisfactory character of the views of the nature of the move-
ment of the air during a wind that arecommonly taken. * Ships
within the circle of the horizon may be seen enduring every va-
riety of wind and weather at the same moment; some under
close-reefed topsails laboring under the force of a storm, some
becalmed and tossing about by the violence of the waves, and
others plying under gentle breezes, from quarters as diverse as
the cardinal points.” The same thing is witnessed near the
equator in part of the Atlantic called the Rains. See the pas-
sage heretofore quoted from Halley. ‘Two vortices, revolving
either in the same or in different directions, may exist in the
neighbourhood of each other, and of a portion of air that is per-
fectly calm and motionless, but except upon the supposition of
such vortices, these do not appear to admit of any explanation.

The phenomena of the common land and sea breezes are well
known, and easily accounted for. The land is more heated by
the sun’s rays during the day than the water; the air resting
upon it is rarefied and ascends, whilst that overhanging the sea
comes in to supply its place: during the night the land is more
cooled than the water by radiation, and the movement is in the op-
posite direction. But the fact is not commonly adverted to, that
these horizontal breezes niust owe their existence to vortices of
very moderate dimensions, which establish themselves around
the shores where these breezes prevail, and revolve in opposite
directions in different parts of the twenty-four hours. “ These
winds,” (the land breezes) “ blow off to sea a greater or less
distance, according as the coast lies more or less exposed to the
sea winds, for in some places we find them brisk three or four
leagues off shore, in other places not so many miles, and in some
places they scarce peep without the rocks.”—“ These land winds
are very cold, and though the sea breezes are always much
stronger, yet these are colder by far *.”

Now, it is well known, that even within the limits of the trade
winds, and in the seas where they blow with great violence, an
alteration of land and sea breezes is experienced in islands of
very moderate extent,—in the Sandwich Islands for example,
where does the land wind come from? The atmosphere over-
hanging the island would soon be exhausted. It must evidently

* Dampier’s Voyages.

296 On Artesian Wells, &c.

be poured down from above, and its great coldness is at once
accounted for. But it reaches an inconsiderable distance only
seaward ;—where does it go to? It must ascend, and having
traced it through three-fourths of its entire route, the remaining,
which we cannot reach to observe, it may safely be inferred ;
when the sea breezes prevail the motion is reversed, and pro-
bably also extends through a greater space. An ellipsis, whose
longer diameter is parallel to the horizon, or some other figure
of the kind, may be described.
( To be concluded in next Number.)

On Artesian Wells, and the employment of the Warm Water
brought from a depth for economical purposes.

W uence do artesian wells derive their water, and how do
they acquire their power of ascension, which sometimes occa-
sions in the middle of plains, at a distance from hills and moun-
tains, the surprising phenomenon of spouting springs? are ques-
tions which have been often proposed, and very variously an-
swered. The most natural explanation is undoubtedly that
which supposes the water of these wells, like that of natural
wells, to be derived from the atmosphere, and their power of
ascension the hydrostatic pressure of a more elevated reservoir,
with which the perforated canal or bore stands in connection.
Sometimes, however, the local relations are such that it is difficult
to refer the water to such a source, and then it is that the framers
of wild hypotheses stand forth with their absurdities. A late
observation, which affords a striking proof of the accuracy of
the above explanation, is therefore the more worthy of being
noticed.

At Tours, on the Loire, an artesian well, with a bore of 33
inches, which brought the water from a depth of 335 feet to the
surface, was damaged, and they were obliged (on the 30th of
January of this present year) to remove the tube till within 12
feet of the surface. ‘The water suddenly rushed out, increased
fully to a third more than its former quantity, and continued to
flow for several hours. It was now no longer clear as before ;
on the contrary, it brought along with it a great quantity of
fine sand, and, surprising enough, also numerous remains of

On Artesian Wells, &c. 297

plants and bivalve shells; branches of the thorn, several inches
long, and blackened, owing to their residence in the water ; fur-
ther, fresh stems and roots of marsh-plants, seeds of many diffe-
rent plants, and also fresh water shells, as Planorbis margina-
tus, also Helix rotundata, and Helix striata. All these re-
sembled those which are found after floods, on the sides of
smaller rivers and brooks. This fact is so remarkable, that the
truth of it might be called in question, had it not been accu-
rately determined. There result from it the following conclu-
sions :

1. The water of the artesian well of the city of Towrs must
occupy not more than four months in flowing through its sub-
terranean canals, because the ripe seeds of harvest have reached
the mouth of the well without being decomposed.

2. As the water carries along with it shells and pieces of
wood, it cannot reach its place by filtration through the layers
of sand, but must have flowed through more or less irregular
canals.

8. The source of this water is to be looked for in some moist
valleys of Auvergne and the Vivarais.

The remains of the plants and animals are deposited in the
mineral cabinet of the city. As soon as the seeds, five or six
in number, are referred to their plants, naturalists will, in
places situated higher than the basin of the Loire, be able to
make out the points where these subterranean waters are poured
out. :

It is to be wished that French observers would state how they
prove that the waters of this well come from Auvergne, about
130 miles distant. If this shall be proved, the considerable
rise of artesian water in other places, where no hills occur near,
or where they are bored in the most elevated points in the
neighbourhood, will loose every thing puzzling.

This rising is sufficiently remarkable to induce us to commu-
nicate some examples from Hericart. —

JULY—SEPTEMBER 1831. U

Height of the rise

Depth of the Well | above the level of
from the surface of | the Seine, at the
the place. Point de la Tour-
nelle.

Paris Feet. Paris Feet.
150.8 6.2
203.2 og Isl
166.2 24.6
Same, 207.8 33.8
Maison Blanche near Paris, ...... 121.6 64.6
Mount Rouge at Paris, 215.5 = - 80.0

The two last wells, exactly those which rise highest above the
level of the Seine, are bored on heights, and hence their water
remains considerably under the surface of the earth; also in
both the deepest of the bore-holes is still above the level of the
Seine, in the first seven metres, in the last about one metre.

In the work of Hericart, a fact is mentioned, which confirms
the view of artesian wells already given. Gulfs, in which rivers
and rivulets lose themselves, are very frequent in the Jura and
other similar limestone mountains, and there, where the up-
permost bed consists of a clayey soil, which opposes the sinking
down of the rain, sometimes prove very beneficial in agricultural
operations, by carrying away the superfluous water. In some
places, M. Hericart remarks, man has imitated this example set
by nature with great effect. The draining of the plain of
Palans, near to Marseille, is an example of this. This plain,
which is at present covered with beautiful vineyards, was for-
merly a great marshy basin, without outlet. It was drained by
means of great sink-holes, which were sunk down to the un-
derlying porous or cavernous stone, and were connected toge-
ther by means of a number of ditches or drains. The water
which was carried away by these shafts reached, by means of
subterranean canals, the harbours of Mion near to Cassis, where
it appeared again as spouting springs. Here, therefore, man,
without intending it, had artesian wells, not for the purpose of
obtaining water, but in order to get clear of it.

The following report, published by M. Bruckmann Kong],
Wiirtemberg. Baurath, in the Verhandlungen zur Beforderung
des Gewerbficisses in Preussen, 1830, Lieferung, No. 4., affords
a striking proof how varied the uses are of artesian wells. M.
Bruckmann caused to be bored, under his inspection, from

On Artesian Wells, &c. 299

August 1827 to December 1829, at Heilbronn, five bore holes
for fresh water, in order to obtain the necessary quantity of
pure water for the purposes of two paper-mills and a flax spin-
ning mill. Two of the bore holes were sunk to a depth of 60
feet, one to 90 feet, another to 100 feet, and one to 112 feet,
under the lowest level of the Neckar. In all of them the water
rose nearly 8 feet above the level of the Neckar, and on an
average each delivered 40 to 50 cubic feet. The purpose of
the borings was perfectly accomplished, even to overflow; but
the discovery was made, that the water of all the bore holes had
constantly a temperature of 54.5 Fahr. This fact led M. Bruck-
mann to a very important application of this water, viz. heating
the mills with it. The paper-mill contained 72,000 cubic feet,
a working hall over it 10,800 cubic feet. Both spaces, which
contained together 82,800 cubic feet, were the whole winter,
1829-1830, through, warmed by means of this water alone to
a temperature of 45°.5 F. and 47°.7 F., and when without, the
temperature was — 24.2 F. The thermometer in the mills did
not sink lower than 41° F. even when the doors were kept open.
Every miller knows well how much labour, time, and expense,
it occasions in hard winters to heat daily, and even in a scanty
manner, the water wheels, and with what risk of life it is attended.
It was reserved for Mr Bruckmann, by means of artesian wa-
ter, to free his water-mills from this burthensome evil. He
conducted the running water from the Hollander, which still
possessed a temperature of 52°.2 F., through tubes into the
Wassergasse, and had thus the satisfaction to find that his
water-wheels, the whole winter through, even when the external
temperature was as low as — 24°.2 F., never froze*.—Pogygen-
dorf’s Annalen, H. ii. 1831.

* The period will come when we will be forced to look out for a substitute
for coal. If, when that time arrives, no new means of procuring heat econo-
mically shall be discovered, we may be able to draw from the great subter-
ranean depository of caloric, and partly by means of the subterranean waters,
heat for our various wants.

( 300 )

1. Chemical Analysis of Metallic Works of Art found in old
graves and ancient fields of battle—2. On Change of Arra-
gonite into Calcareous Spar.—3. Chemical Examination of
the Parmelia esculenta, a substance said to have been rained
Srom the sky in Persia.—4. Chemical Analysis of Oil of
Roses.

1. Chemical Analysis of Metallic Works of Art found in old graves
and ancient fields of battle, by Professor Gobel.

T+ is well known that 400 or 500 years ago, the ancients, who
were ignorant of the mode of hammering cast-iron, employed,
as a substitute for steel, in the manufacture of their swords,
lances, spear-heads, &c. an alloy of copper and tin. It is also
known, that the Romans and Grecians alloyed copper with tin
or zinc, or with one of these metals, and lead, ‘&c. and used
them for all kinds of culinary vessels, bronze statues, medals,
sarcophagi, vases, and ornaments of various descriptions. It re-
sults from my examination, that the ancients did not employ
very determinate quantities in the formation of their alloys; but
that they knew well how, in a general way, by the addition of
more or less tin or zinc to copper, the alloy becomes more or
less difficultly fusible, more or less brittle, or softer, or more mal-
leable and brighter or darker in colour. Part of an old sarco-
phagus, brought by Professor Ledebour from the Altai, on the
borders of China, is cast, and composed of tin and copper, and is
as good as the cast arrow-heads of an Egyptian grave. They are
distinguished, however, from each other, by the proportions of
their constituent parts. The arrow-heads contain less tin than the
sarcophagus, but still as much as, by a certain degree of fusibility,
to acquire, after cooling, great hardness and solidity ; for the an-
cients generally employed one part of tin to from four to six parts
of copper. The ornamental articles still met with in old fields of
battle, are generally alloys of zinc and copper, with or without
tin; and the ancients appear to have known accurately, that, by
the addition of certain weights of tin, the alloy acquired par-
ticular colours; for although the object analyzed contained
little tin, yet it is not to be considered an accidental constituent
part.

Chemical Analysis of Metallic Works of Art, &c. 301

1. Fragment of a Chain, found along with different weapons at
Ronneburg, probably an ancient field of battle.—It contained
82.5 copper, and 17.5 zinc ; = 100.0. ;

2. Fragment of an Armlet, found in a grave near Naumburg, in
Thuringia.—It afforded 1.538 tin, 15.384 zinc, and 83.077
copper ; = 99.999.

3. Fragment of a Bronze Urn, froma grave in Liefland.—It
contained 4.78 tin, 7.50 zinc, 88.66 copper, and 1.05 silver ;
= AL 7

4. A well preserved Arrow-Head, from an Egyptian grave.—It
contained 22.02 tin, and 77.60 copper ; = 99.62.

5. Roman Silver Coin of the Sixth Consulate of Trajan, found
in a grave at Massel, in Silesia.—It contained 90. silver, 9.
copper, and 1. gold ; = 100.

6. A Greek Coin, found in Silesia (Av: cap. galeat barbat.—
Rev.: tropwum, §c.).—It contained 1.25 gold, 84.10 silver,
14.00 copper ; = 99.35.

7. Fragment of an ancient cast Sarcophagus.—It contained
19.66 tin, and 80.27 copper ; = 99.93.

8. Fragment of an ancient cast Sarcophagus.—It contained
26.74 tin, and 73.00 copper ; = 99.74.

Schweigger, Seidel’s Journ. 1831.

2. On the Change of Arragonite into Calcareous Spar.

Berzelius has given a very simple method for distinguishing
calcareous spar from arragonite. The arragonite, when brought
nearly to a red heat, swells, exfoliates, and lastly, forms a
powdery slightly coherent mass. If we put a fragment of cal-
careous spar and a fragment of arragonite in the same glass
tube, and heat both, so that they attain the same degree of heat,
we observe no change in the calcareous spar, while the arrago-
nite has fallen into powder. 10 grains of arragonite were heated
in the common apparatus used for determining the smallest
quantity of gas, it gave out, during its falling into pieces, no
gas whatever. ‘The change induced on arragonite by heating
is not, therefore, owing to any chemical change which has taken
place in it. This appearance is consequently of the same de-
scription as that of the change of the crystals of melted sulphur
at the common temperature ; the particles of the carbonate of
lime arrange themselves in a different manner from what is the
case in arragonite, and undoubtedly as in calcareous spar. It

302 On the Change of Arragonite into Calcareous Spar.

will be interesting to prove this by direct experiments. The
conditions under which carbonate of lime crystallizes, sometimes
as calcareous spar, sometimes as arragonite, have not been fully
developed. Calcareous spar is formed, not only when the car-
bonate of lime crystallizes from an aqueous fluid, as is the case
with cale-sinter, but also when it is melted, as is obseryed
in the masses of limestone which have been enveloped in, and
melted by, the lava of Vesuvius. So also the carbonate of lime,
in the form of arragonite, is deposited from the hot springs of
Carlsbad, and occurs also as arragonite in rock formations, which
have undoubtedly been in a state of fusion. It is probable that
the small dose of carbonate of strontites is the cause of the car-
bonate of lime crystallizing in a second, the prismatic form, as
similar examples occur in oxide of copper, &c. Only one ex-
ample, says Poggendorf, is known to him of the change of an
arragonite crystal into calcareous spar. It is frequently the case,
he says, that fragments of the walls of Vesuvius fall into the fluid
lava, by which the minerals of which they are composed are
more or less changed. This was the case, amongst many other
minerals, with a crystal of arragonite. The rock in which it is con-
tained has not been fused, but the arragonite was so strongly
heated, that the outer part of it is changed into calcareous spar,
while the internal part remained as arragonite, so that the whole
arragonite crystal retained its original form. The heat had acted
so long on it, that the parts changed into calcareous spar assumed
the form of that substance, so that the crust of the arragonite
crystal consists of a great many crystals of calcareous spar, in
which the rhomboidal planes are distinctly visible, and which,
before the blowpipe, exhibits the same characters as calcareous
spar.—Poggendorf’s Annalen, 1831.

3. Chemical Examination of the Parmelia esculenta, a substance said
to have been rained from the sky in Persia, by Fr. Gobel in Dorpat.

Dr Parrot gave me this lichen for analysis, with a note stating,
‘he had brought a substance with him frem his journey to
Ararat, which, in the beginning of the year 1828, rained in se-
veral districts in Persia to a depth of five or six inches, and was
eaten by the natives ; it appeared to him to be of organic ori-
gin.” .

Chemical Examination of the Parmelia esculenta. 303

The result of my chemical investigation convinced me that I
had analyzed either a lichen, or otherwise a diseased imperfect
plant, which was probably carried by an electrical wind from
its station, and deposited again in distant places, and as Parrot
said, it had rained. In order to gain more information respect-
ing it, I shewed it to Professor Ledebour. He recognised it to be
the Parmelia esculenta, which he had frequently met with in
his journey in the Kirghis Steppes, and in general in central
Asia, on a dead, loamy soil, or in the fissures of naked rocks, and
that it often suddenly shot out of the earth after rains. He is
of opinion that the Persian specimens had not been rained from
above, but rather that the plant, after a violent rain, had risen
suddenly from the earth.

Whether it has suddenly appeared in Persia in the one way
or the other, it remains remarkable on account of the great quan-
tity of oxalate of lime it contains, and also on account of the ab-
sence of all the saline and earthy matters usually met with in
plants, and may (as, according to Ledebour, it occurs abundant-
ly in the above mentioned countries) afford a cheap means for
obtaining owalic ucid, and owalates. It afforded in the 100 parts
the following ingredients :—

Oxalate of lime, : - ; ; : ; ‘ 65.91
Jelly, ° . : : : : : . : 23.00
Tnulin, ° . : . . 5 4 . 2.50
Epidermis of pikes ° - 3.25
Bitter substance, soluble in water ahd apliit of. wine, 1.00

Inodorous and tasteless soft resin, soluble in spirit of
wine, : : - 1.75
Soft resin, soluble in ies, : - : : : 1.75
99.16

Schweigger, Seide?'s Journal, 1831.

4. Chemical Analysis of true Oil of Roses, by Professor Dr Gobel
of Dorpat.

Through the goodness of one of my pupils from Taganrok,
on the sea of Asoph, I received a vial of true oil of roses, which
I dedicated to the following analysis.

It was nearly colourless, but in so concentrated a state, that
it gave out an insupportably strong offensive rosacious smell,
which caused headache ; but when dissolved in spirit of wine,

304 2 Chemical Analysis of true Oil of Roses.

it afforded a most delightful odour. A single drop was sufficient
to fill a room for several days with a most agreeable odour of
roses. It congealed into a white, foliated, transparent mass
when exposed to a temperature of 32° Fahrenheit, but became
fiuid again on raising the temperature to 72° Fahrenheit. Spirit
of wine of 0.815 sp. gr. dissolved at 65.1 Fahrenheit ;3; part
of it. A drop required for its perfect solution 8000 grains of
distilled water. Qwing to the small quantity of the oil in my
possession, amounting to not more than 15 grains, it was im-
possible for me to separate the different substances of which it is
composed, in order to analyze them. I was obliged to rest
satisfied with obtaining the proportions of the ultimate consti-
tuent parts, which is as follows. Carbon 69.66, hydrogen
16.06, oxygen 14.29; = 100.

The oil of roses met with in trade in Germany, is very often an
adulterated compound. I have about half an ounce of it, but
it differs in several respects from the pure oil. It congeals much
sooner than the genuine, and requires for its melting again a
higher temperature. It is only partially soluble in spirit of
wine, and is nearly insoluble in water.—Schweigger, Seidel’s
Jahrbuch, H. 4, 1830.

On the Utility of fixing Lightning-Conductors in Ships. By
W. S. Harris, Esq., Member of the Plymouth Institution.
Continued from page 167.

25. Eixrrenrence shews that lightning-rods have no such at-
tractive power as that attributed to them; and that ships are
equally open to atmospheric electricity, whether furnished with
lightning-rods or not. In proof of this position, we shall cite
the following cases :

(j) His Majesty’s ship Milford was struck by lightning, in
Hamoaze, in January 1814, and the temporary mast fixed in
her greatly damaged. This ship had not a lightning-conductor
at the time; but there were many other ships close by, and a
powder magazine, all armed with this means of defence, termi-~
nating in points: but these were not assailed by an explosion,
so that no damage whatever occurred to them.

Lightning-Conductors in Ships. 305
(k) His Majesty’s ship Norge, at anchor in Port Royal har-

bour, Jamaica, June 1815, was severely damaged by lightning,
so that she was completely disabled in her masts and rigging.
Several ships surrounded the Norge, but none were struck ew-
cept a merchant ship, which, like the Norge, had not a’light-
ning-conductor. All the other ships had lightning-conductors
up at the time. Amongst them was H. M. ship Warrior, of
74 guns; which ship was lying close to the Norge. The elec-
tric matter was observed, as appears by a very interesting ac-
count given by Admiral Rodd, “ absolutely to stream down
the conductor into the sea.”

(2) To the instance above given of H. M. S. Etna, struck by
lightning in the Corfu Channel (7) p. 159, may be added the
circumstance of H. M. ships Madagascar and Mosquito being
also near, and struck several times; the former having had her
fore-mast and mizen-top-mast much damaged.

(m) The Heckingham Poor-House, damaged by lightning,
an account of which may be seen in the Transactions of the
Royal Society, was struck at a point the furthest removed from
the conductors with which that building was furnished.

(n) In the 14th volume of the Transactions of the Royal
Society, there is a similar case of a long building, struck at one
end, a conductor having been applied to the other : that is to
say, the lightning also fell on a point, the furthest removed from
the conductor.

(0) The case of the New York Packet ship (e) (/), p. 158,
is also an instance of lightning having equally fallen on the ship,
whether furnished with a lightning-conductor or not.

26. It may be further remarked, that lghtning-rods have
now been in use for upwards of eighty years, and applied to
every magazine in Europe, without ill consequences, in virtue
of any attracting power assumed to belong to them; and like-
wise to buildings and ships in abundance; and from the whole
course of experience, it will be found, that atmospheric dis-
charges have almost invariably occurred where lightning-rods
have not been present; that in cases in which lightning-rods
have been present, and efficiently applied, the damage has been
avoided altogether.

27. Some further appeal to experience, from which we should

306 Mr Harris on the Utility of fixing

never depart in inquiries of this kind, will illustrate very satis-
factorily the operation of lightning-rods as a successful means
of defence in thunder storms—the cases (¢) (f), p. 158, already
alluded to, is a striking illustration: indeed, if a great natural
experiment could have been instituted for the purpose of deter-
mining the utility of a lightning-rod, such should have been the
conditions under which it should have been placed. In a me-
moir presented to the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris, in
the year 1790, by the celebrated French philosopher Le Roy,
we find two French frigates successfully protected by lightning-
conductors, which completely disarmed the fury of the vivid
flashes that assailed them, and transmitted the electric matter
securely to the sea. In Mr Kinnersly’s account of the stroke
of lightning which assailed Mr West’s house in Philadelphia *,
we find that the lightning-conductor effectually performed its
office. Charles’ church and steeple, at Plymouth, struck by
lightning a few years since, were protected in a similar way ;
the electric matter passed down in a dense stream over the con-
ductor, into the ground, tearing up the ground in its course.
It is worthy of remark, that, of six church-towers in Devon-
shire, struck by lightning within a few years, the only one
which escaped damage was the church at Plymouth, which last
was also the only one defended by a lightning-conductor, The
eases of the Warrior and Norge, already mentioned, are also
striking instances. In the fifty-second volume of. the Transac-
tions of the Royal Society, there is an instance mentioned, of a
ship, called the Generous Friends, twice preserved by a light-
ning-conductor. Captain Winn observed, that his chain-con-
ductor was broken for a short distance above the ship’s side,
leaving an interval of about three-fourths of an inch; over this
space the electric matter was observed to pass in the form of
sparks, during two hours and a half, at the time of a thunder-
storm +.

28. It is therefore by no means unreasonable to consider the
conducting power of a lightning-rod as arising, not out of any
attractive property faiee al in it, but from an action purely

* Priestley’s History of Electricity.
+ Transactions of the Royal Society.

Lightning-Conductors in Ships. 307

passive ; that is to say, the removal of resistance : indeed, in the
case of a vacuum, or rather a very finely exhausted medium,
which is found to answer the same purpose as a conducting
body, since the electric discharge is freely transmitted through
it, we must necessarily admit the truth of the above principle ;
the conducting power here evinced must arise solely from the
removal of a resisting medium ; for what is equivalent, in a com-
parative point of view, to the absence of all substance, cannot
be supposed to be endowed with any peculiar or positive quali-
ty. Now, the circumstances attending the conducting power
being precisely the same, whether we suppose the latter to be
peculiar to a void, or to a positive substance, it is a legitimate
deduction, and not contradicted by any known fact, that, in
either case, the conducting power is dependent on the same
cause, and is therefore a negative quality. In further confir-
mation of this notion, we find that an artificial discharge will
rather jump over an interval of air than pervade a very exten-
sive circuit of metallic wire; that is to say, when the resistance
of the metal becomes eveater than that offered by the interval
of air, the electric matter will no longer pass in the best conduc-
tor, for it is no longer the dine of least resistance.

29. With respect to the actual quantity of electric matter
which may possibly be discharged in a thunder-storm, aud the
effect likely to be produced on lightning-rods ; that must alto-
gether be determined by experience. It is by no means con-
tended that lightning-conductors operate as a charm or nostrum,
but that they are a useful means of defence against such cases
of damage as come within the experience of mankind, not
against convulsions of nature, when it would not be of great con-
sequence whether we had lightning-rods or not. It is therefore
against such cases of damage as may be reasonably expected to
occur, that we purpose to employ lightning-rods. Now, we
have the experience of nearly a century to guide us in this;
and from which we have every reasonable demonstration that
our proposed conductor is more than fully efficient. We do
not find in any case of damage by lightning at sea that a quan-
tity of inefal has been melted equal to that contained in a cop-
per bolt of half an inch diameter and six inches long, or other-
wise an equivalent quantity of any other metal more easily

308 Mr Harris on the Utility of fixing

fused by electricity * ; on the contrary, we find that very heavy
electrical discharges have been transmitted, without fusion, by
small masses of metal. Amongst many instances, may be men-
tioned the following :—In the explosion which struck Mr West’s
house +, the lightning fell upon a spike ten inches long and a
quarter of an inch in diameter—only three inches of the fine point
were fused. The spike of the conductor on the Packet ship,
New York, and on which a tremendous explosion fell, consisted of
an iron-rod, four feet long and half an inch in diameter—it was
only melted near its extremity for a few inches ; the chain-con-
ductor consisted of iron-wire, of one quarter of an inch in dia-
meter, yet only a few of the links were melted. In the case given
of the Etna, the whole explosion seems to have been transmitted

* It has been recorded, that the great conductors of St Paul’s Church,
in London, had marks of having been made red ,hot by lightning ; but it
seems, on consideration, that inasmuch as these conductors were not minute-
ly examined previously to the lightning which is suppcsed to have fallen on
them, we can never be certain that the marks were not there originaily, and
resulted from the forging of them : moreover, it is difficult to imagine that
a stroke of lightning should have fallen on this building capable of rendering
a stout bar of iron, six inches wide, red hot, and yet not have annihilated the
thin gilding about the ball and cross, and without the crash of the thunder
having been heard over the whole city—no mention of which is made.
When St Bride’s steeple was struck such was peculiarly remarkable. If,
however, we admit the evidence, it is highly conclusive as to the value of
lightning-conductors, since the former church of St Paul’s, not defended by a
lightning-conductor, was twice struck by lightning, and much damaged ; and
it would also tend to shew, that a flash of lightning, capable of rendering bars
of iron, six inches wide and one inch and a half thick, red hot, could not fuse
the small mass of thin copper covering the ball. The original ball and cross
on which this lightning is said to have fallen may be inspected at the Coli-
seum, London.

There is another case of the effects of lightning on an iron-rod, in Port
Royal, Jamaica, mentioned by Captain Dibdin, of a merchant vessel, and
given in the Transactions of the Royal Society, the evidence of which is by
no means complete. Two men are said to have been killed by a flash of
lightning near a church wall :—on looking inside the wall, a bar of iron, of an
inch thick and a foot long, was found to have been wasted away in many
places, so as to be reduced in size to a fine wire; but it does not appear that
the bar was examined before the lightning happened, so that we cannot infer
that the lightning was the cause ; more especially as the appearance described
is very common on bars of iron in church-yards, in this country, which have
evidently been the result of oxidation and time.

+ Priestley’s History of Electricity.

Lightning-Conductors in Ships. 309

without fusing the conductor. In the instance of the church
struck by lightning at Kingsbridge, a short time since, it was
observed, that the flash which rent the steeple passed over a
bell-wire, of about two-tenths of an inch diameter, without fus-
ing it. In the case of the Plymouth church, the conductor was
not fused, it was only disjomted. In the Transactions of the
Royal Society for 1770, there is an instance of a bell-wire ha-
ving conveyed a charge with safety, which knocked down a
chimney, and did other damage; and in the same valuable
work for 1772, there is an instance of a bell-wire having resisted
fusion in all the doubled or twisted portions. A house was
struck at Tenterden, and the whole flash fell upon a bar of iron,
three-fourths of an inch square, but produced no effect on it *.
Mr Calendrini was eye-witness to a flash of lightning which
struck a bell-wire, and was safely transmitted by it; more-
over, we never find that the vane spindles of ships become fused
by lightning. It is very remarkable, when the conditions are
favourable, how very small a quantity of metal is equivalent to
transmit heavy electrical accumulations. In the great experi-
ment of the French philosopher M. de Romas, an account of
which will be found in Priestley’s History of Electricity, the
electric matter of a thunder cloud was effectually discharged
over a small wire, wove in the string of a kite, and which be-
came sensible by insulating the string. In this case the electric
fire ‘“ assumed the shape of a spindle eight inches long and five
inches in diameter ;” another time, ‘ streams of fire, which ap-
peared to be an inch thick and ten feet long,” were observed to
dart into the ground witha crashing noise, similar to thunder
when very near.

30. Andrew Crosse, Esq. of Broomfields, near Taunton, a
gentleman of high scientific attainment, has employed a very
extensive atmospheric apparatus, from which similar effects have
been witnessed. During the passage of a thunder-cloud, a full
dense stream of sparks passes to the receiving ball, which at
every flash of lightning is changed to an explosive stream, ac-
companied by a peculiar noise; and it has been well observed
by Mr Singer, “ that during this display of electric power, so

* Transactions of the Royal Society. + Ibid.
I

310 Mr Harris on the Utility of fixing

awful to an ordinary observer, the electrician sits quietly in front
of the apparatus, conducts the lightning in any required direc-
tion, and employs it to fuse wires, decompose fluids, or fire in-
flammable substances ; and when the effects become too power-
ful to attend to such experiments, he then connects the insulated
wire with the ground, and transmits the accumulated electricity
in silence and safety *.”

$1. It may be laid down as an axiom, that a lightning-con-
ductor can always transmit a quantity of electricity equal to its
fusion. This is evident, because the fusion has been the conse-
quence of the quantity actually transmitted: now, on a review
of all the cases of damage by lightning, it cannot be said that
we have any evidence whatever to believe, that a conductor,
equal to a copper-bolt- of 1.3 of an inch diameter, and 210 feet
long, which may be taken as the mean value of the conductor
on one mast of a fifty-gun frigate, is at all likely to be fused.
If we add to this the conjoint action of the conductors on each
mast, and the favourable conditions under which they are placed,
—that is, their termination in points above, and in a free unin-
sulated base below,—we have every reasonable evidence that
such conductors are fully equivalent to the ends in view, and
that instead of the disastrous effects which are usually expe-
rienced from a stroke of lightning, the electric matter would be
transmitted in the greater number of instances in a state of low
tension to the sea, so that no explosion would occur at all. If,
on the contrary, we could reasonably suppose such conductors
to be destroyed, then it may still be inquired, (since even in this
case they must be supposed to have transmitted the lightning),
what would have been the fate of the vessel if such conductors
had not been present ?

82. It is a mistake to suppose, that, in fixing conductors in
the mast, we can only have surface, as will be seen by reference

* The authority of Professor Leslie has been quoted by some writers
against lightning-conductors, but this eminent philosopher has too high a
conception of great natural causes, to reason in the confined way attributed
to him. It is true, that from some very ingenious researches on the nature
of electricity, he is led to believe that lightning-rods are not of great avail ;
but he considers them to be quite harmless, and observes “ that they provoke
the shaft of heaven is the suggestion of superstition rather than of science.”

Lightning-Conductors in Ships. 31

to the table already given, (page 179): admitting that quantity
of metal is the great requisite for a conducting rod, it must be
equally efficient in any form. For the conducting power of the
mass must consist of the conducting power of all its parts; now
it would be absurd to suppose that a mass of metal, expanded
into any extent of surface, would not conduct in all its parts ;
indeed, our experience is positively conclusive as to this point,
since it is quite impossible to destroy one portion of a perfectly
homogeneous metallic surface by artificial electricity, without
destroying the whole ; nor is there any instance of the kind on
record in cases of damage by lightning. The case of his Ma-
jesty’s ship Badger, struck by lightning at Chatham in August
1822, is in point here; the electric matter, which shattered the
mast, &c. finally precipitated itself upon the copper lining of
the galley, and was immediately lost. We do not take into the
account any immediate edge or single point, upon which the
whole force of the explosion is at first concentrated, or the occa-
sional fusion of some points in metallic surfaces not perfectly
homogeneous ; since we know, for example, that a given elec-
tric explosion may be equivalent to fuse some metals and not
others.

$3. A further confirmation of this principle will be found in
the following experiments :—

Let an accumulation of artificial electricity be passed upon a
single wire, just powerful enough to fuse it; after which, let a
similar charge be passed upon two such wires as the former ; in
this case neither of them will be fused. If a charge be now ac-
cumulated equivalent to fuse both the wires, then, by adding a
third, the three will remain.

34. Let any number of wires be taken, and let a charge be
transmitted through them sufficiently powerful to fuse the
whole; if but one more be added in a similar arrangement,
they will all remain perfect: the charge, therefore, is equally
diffused upon them all. Suppose the wires infinitely near to
each other, and divide them infinitely so as to make up a sur-
face, and the result must be the same,—for this is but another
term for a surface. Now, a wire may be divided into any lesser
number of smaller wires, and still transmit a charge, without
being heated more than the oviginal wire from whence they are

312 Mr Harris on the Utility of fixing

derived, which may be shewn thus :—If a metallic wire be fixed
through the bulb of an air thermometer, and an electrical dis-
charge be transmitted through the wire, the rise of the fluid
will measure the heat evolved. Let the same wire be now
passed through a draw-plate until it be drawn into four times
the length. Let this wire be divided into four parts, and fixed
in the thermometer as before; on passing a similar charge, the
four wires will evolve the same heat as the original mass. A
similar result will be obtained if the original wire be flattened
by passing it between rollers, so as to expand it into a surface.
If the quantity of metal be present, therefore, it is of no conse-
quence as to the form under which we place it;—it cannot be
supposed that by rolling a metallic surface into a dense cylin-
drical form, we thereby make its conducting power greater than
it was before; consequently we do not diminish it, when, on the
contrary, we expand it into a surface.

35. It would seem, however, that if any advantage is to be
obtained by form, it is on the side of the superficial conductor.
Sir H. Davy found that the conducting power of a metal was
improved by exposing it to a cooling medium: now, in expand-
ing a mass of metal into a large surface, we expose it to a
greater extent of air, by which the heating effect of a discharge
is much diminished ; so that a quantity of metal formed into a
hollow tube might possibly, from this cause, escape in some par-
ticular instances, when the same quantity, in the form of a small
rod, might be melted. It is highly probable that, in electrical
conduction, the electric matter operates first upon the surface,
and so on in parallel strata untilit pervades the mass. If a ball
of wood be covered with one layer of silver or gold leaf, and a
charge be passed on it sufficient to destroy the metal, then, on
gilding the ball carefully with a double layer, we find that on
passing the same charge it will remain perfect, which shows that
the inner layer has transmitted some of the shock. If we sup-
pose the whole sphere to be made up of distinct layers in this
way, it is clear that the last will protect all the others, as in the
case of the surface of wires above mentioned ; the electric mat-
ter has evidently a tendency to pass first upon the outer stra-
tum, and then upon the next, and so on; the next in succes-
sion, taking up the superabundant quantity with which the

Lightning-Conductors in Ships. 313 .

others become charged, until it becomes equalized through the
whole *. Now this process, which amounts in other terms to a
general diffusion of the electric matter through and about the
whole mass of the metal, cannot go on in any case so readily as
in that of an extended surface; and it is doubtless on some
such principle as this, that we find mass is not requisite to elec-
trical accumulation. We can accumulate as much electric mat-
ter on a hollow sphere as on a solid sphere, so that at all times
it can more readily diffuse itself over a surface than penetrate
the mass.

36. The circumstance of the conductor passing through the
ship is not an objection of any moment, taking, as in the former
cases, experience for our guide. It has been well observed in
the Transactions of the Royal Society, that, in cases of light-
ning on shipboard, no mischief has occurred after the explosicn
has reached the well. That the action may be safely transmit-
ted through the keel to the water is evident; it is, in fact, by
the metallic fastenings, which allow the electric matter a free
passage, that most of the ships struck by lightning are protected
from damage in the hull. We find this peculiarly the case in
his Majesty’s fleet, where the metallic fastenings are in abun-
dance, and which being as it were connected with each other by
means of the mass of copper expanded over the bottom, the
whole action becomes rapidly equalized: it is not a little re-
markable, that the most common cases of damage in the hull
have occurred in merchant vessels, where such metallic protec-
tion is not common. In further illustration of this protection,
we may cite the cases of his Majesty’s ships London and Thetis,
both of which had their fore-masts shivered from the head to
the heel: now, as the electric matter did not stay in the ship,
how is it to be accounted for that the keelson and keel were not
split open as well as the mast, except for the reasons already as-
signed? At the step of the mast we have immediately all the
keelson bolts to operate as conductors, and which connect with
the copper expanded over the bottom. Even in merchant ships,
protection is derived near the keel in a similar way by such me-

* This is also well shewn by small lines of gold leaf stamped on strips of
paper, so as to place the strips ene over the other.

JULY—SEPTEMBER 189]. x

314 Mr Harris on the Utility of fixing

tallic fastenings as are near, and by the water which is usually
found in the vessel, and which operates as a conductor both in-
side and out, to equalize and disperse the action. The follow-
ing is an interesting case.

(m) In August 1790, a schooner, on board which Captain
White had taken a passage from Quebec to Halifax, experienced
a storm of thunder and lightning, in which the foremast of the
vessel was struck, and shivered from the top to bottom. Cap-
tain White immediately requested the people to sound the well,
in order to ascertain if the vessel leaked, not doubting but that
the electric fluid must have escaped through the bottom below
the line of flotation ; but it did not appear that any damage had
been done below.

37. That our conductors pass near the magazines is allowed,
but such is the case in every magazine in Europe defended by
lightning-rods,. and can be no objection whatever; indeed, it
renders the protection still more effectual, for we well know that
the electric matter will never leave a good conductor in the line
of action, to pass out of it upon detached or imperfect conduc-
tors out of that line*. We may therefore infer, that when-
ever the electric matter is fairly led to the keel, the danger is
passed.

38. The sum of what has been advanced concerning the con-
ducting power of bodies, then, amounts to this,—conductors of
electricity remove by the aptness of their parts that resistance
to the passage of the electric agency which it would otherwise
experience ; that, consequently, their action is purely passive ;
and that they can no more be said to attract or draw down
lightning upon a ship, than a dike can be said to attract the
water which of itself finds its way through it; that such passive
attraction as this cannot fairly be urged as an argument against
lightning conductors, which operate only in conveying away the
electric matter when it falls on them; that we must, therefore,

* On this principle, Dr Franklin found that a wet rat could not be killed
by a discharge of artificial electricity, but that a dry one might; and, on the
same principle, it seems desirable to pass some stout copper round and across
barrels of gunpowder, so as to facilitate the passage of the electric matter
over the surface, and not give it the chance of finding its way through the
barrel.

Lightning-Conductors in Ships. 315

make a complete distinction between lightning-attractors and
lightning-conductors ; that inasmuch as all the materials of
which a ship is composed are calculated to transmit electricity,
and that detached masses of metal are necessarily found amongst
them, and that too in a prominent way, such as studding-sail
boom-irons, spindles, iron-hoops, &e. &c., therefore we have
these passive metallic attractors of lightning already present ;
that if we were even to remove them, the next best conducting
body, such as the pointed yards and masts, would supply their
place (23); that finally, the continuous lightning-conductor is
made complete, to prevent that mischief which otherwise must
occur, in consequence of the electric matter making its way by
main force in an irregular and incomplete manner (10); and
that since we have no power to resist a stroke of lightning, it
must be considered as extremely fortunate that we have a power
to control it.

39. That it is of importance to a maritime country to give
ships this chance of escaping damage by lightning is very appa-
rent, as for example :—In the course of the last war great part
of the Mediterranean fleet, consisting of 13 sail of the line, em-
ployed in blockading an enemy’s port under Lord Exmouth,
were disabled by lightning; at this time there were no light-
ning conductors in the fleet ; but, in consequence of the damage
sustained, every ship was ordered to be furnished with them
Jrom Malta dock-yard. His Majesty’s ship Glory was in great
measure disabled by lightning a few days before the ships un-
der the command of Sir R. Calder met the combined fleets.
His Majesty’s ship Duke, of 90 guns, had her main-top-mast
shattered by lightning, beside other damage, whilst in action
under a battery. His Majesty’s ship Russel, was so disabled
by lightning on an enemy’s coast in October 1795, that, if the
squall had lasted but a very short time longer, she must have
been lost, since no sail could be carried either on the main or
mizen masts.

40. It is needless to adduce further evidence on this point,
and it must be admitted, that, in the present exposed state of
shipping to the effects of lightning, there is no fatal consequence
incident to their situation by which they may not be suddenly
and unexpectedly surprised. The importance of this question

x2

316 Mr Galbraith’s Barometric Measurements of Heights.

therefore, to a naval country like Britain, whose pre-eminence
on the sea is quite essential to its existence, cannot for a moment
- be disputed :—certainly its fleets should comprise in their
equipments all the advantages which science can obtain for
them.

41. Although this subject has not been fully appreciated by
many persons, under an impression that the chances of damage
from lightning are too few and inconsiderable, even to warrant
the little trouble and expense necessary to avoid them, yet on
a careful examination of the logs of His Majesty’s ships for a
few years only, it will be seen that such opinions are by no
means founded on reflection, and a judicious application of
lightning protectors on shipboard, is not only desirable for ship-
ping generally, but that in many cases it is absolutely essential
to their preservation.

On the Measurement of the Height of Carnethy, one of the
Pentland Range of Hills, in the vicinity of Edinburgh, and of
the Peake of Tencriffe. By Mr Wiit1aM Garpratta, M.A.

Since my last communication on the measurement of heights
by the barometer, I have reconsidered the whole, and have
given here a more accurate investigation of the formula of
which I had then chiefly indicated the general principles, in or-
der to deduce an approximate rule that might be readily ap-
plied, easily recollected, and sufficiently accurate for moderate
heights. Indeed, it might be employed for any heights, if ob-
servations were made at intermediate points; or by subdivid-
ing the observations, as has been suggested by Professor Leslie
in a neat practical rule which he has given in the notes append-
ed to his Elements of Geometry. This method, however, by
the additional observations or computations required to be
made, would give more trouble than the introduction of one or
two more terms of the series which will presently be given ; and
to make observations at intermediate points, might, from cir-
cumstances, be sometimes impracticable. As the shifting of the
decimal point and multiplication by the length of the mercurial
column, to obtain the necessary reduction of the mercury in the
upper barometer to the same temperature as that of the lower,

Mr Galbraith’s Barometric Measurements of Heights. 317

might prove a little troublesome to persons not very conversant
with such calculations, and the use of the centesimal thermome-
ter also, which it requires, is not very general in this country, it
appears that a formula, or rule deduced from it, depending up-
on calculations of an easy nature, and adapted te Fahrenheit’s
thermometer, avoiding the tedious process of obtaining the cor-
rection for the mean temperature of the air employed by Roy,
&¢. would be useful to travellers who might not have access to
tables, or when the operation is performed both ways, the one
might be a check upon the other.

General Investigation.

In most works which treat of the properties of logarithms, it is shown that

l+n
log 7, = 2M (n+ 3n34 pnd + pn’ t &e. ) ayers, Sey

N

B B—d ;
= 73 then n= Bobo whence by substitution,

Be aises (Bs B—4\5 B—s4\5 »
bg = 2M 1555 +1 (Ge) ti (Rea) tees: @
in which B expresses the height of the barometer in inches at the lower sta-

tion, 4 that at the upper, M is the logarithmic modulus, and consequently
2M =0.868589.

In order to simplify, let -* = ty a ms Z = and 2M =m; then
loga=m{sp+ie%+ so gt aan ek bpe+ipt+&.)... GB)

To abridge, let 1+ Ki p2?+1 64+ &c.=s, and equation (3) becomes
loga=mBs ... bth tratinlt h (be))
If e denote the expansion 59 air tor ie of Fahrenheit’s ‘thermometer, in which
the freezing point is at 32°, then formula (4) must be ‘multiplied by
l+e a — 32°) =142 (¢+¢/ — 64) =1—32e4+S(t+ 0) . - - (5)
in which ¢ and ¢’ are the temperatures of the air at the bottom and top, by
the detached thermometers.

Let ¢c = 60155 English feet, the factor nearly constant by which log z must
be multiplied at 32° to convert it into English feet, then log « x ¢ = H, the
height in feet ; consequently at any other temperatures of which the mean

i+?’

is 9
H=cms {1—32e+ (¢+?)} Bite, PSL AAP ANE ee eaeee sa (6:4)
This may be put in a different form :—
H=cm{1—32e+¢(¢+l)} hs - ss - Seb)
Now cx m= 60155 X 0.868589 = 52250 et,
According to Roy;’)-.- «see + 6 9 = 0.00245
ncacsdénbiensigenss 1 Ort Eee ae 0.00222
saxeaiis temas Deluc and Saussure, . - + - 0.00223

The mean of these gives 0.00230

318° Mr Galbraith’s Barometric Measurements of Heights.

Wherefore substituting these values of ¢, m and e in formula (7), then
H = 52250 {1 — 0.0736 + 0.00115 (¢+ 7) } Bs =
52250 {0.9264 + 0.00115 (t+) } 6s=

{484044+ 60(¢+2)} Bs . . 2 se ew ee (8)
in which such a number of terms of s or of 1 + 4 67+ 4 B*+ 4 2° + &c. may
be taken as are thought necessary.

This formula (8.) gives the height when the mercury in the barometer is
reduced to the same temperature at both stations, either by a formula or ap-
propriate tables. The absolute dilatation of mercury from the recent deter-

ei ahh :
mination of Dulong and Petit is 5555” for one degree of the centigrade scale,

1 1
oF 9990, equal to [Op99 Bearly of Fahrenheit. Whence if + be the tempera.

ture of the mercury at the lower station by the attached thermometer, and +’
that at the upper, then weet must be added to the height of the baro-
meter at the colder station (generally the upper) to reduce it to the same
temperature as that of B at the warmer station.

Now, this correction is in general a small fraction of an inch of mercury,
and it would simplify the operation to obtain its equivalent in feet to be ap-
plied to the approximate height, by finding the variation for 1 inch of mer-
cury, and of this taking a proportional part for the expansion for 1° of Fah-

B—d :
renheit. Thus K X >> = H’ will give a result in any circumstances suf-

ficiently correct for the difference of an inch between B and 4, in which
—-)b

K = 48400 + 60 (¢+ /’); therefore peel will give the fractional part of
H/ in feet, required to correct the result from formula (8) also in feet, for
the difference of the temperature of the mercury at the two stations.

poe fomtast\ih (r—<!)b
Therefore 1 inch: ~q0000. 2: H’: H’ x ~yp000—

B—i (c—r)d_ K wee —b
KXBa B ou, = T0000 * B+ 4X —7)o
Now, B —é and + — ~’ being each assumed at unity,
K B—d bb Ké
10000 x B + 3% (r+—-’) ecomes 10000 (B + b) . . . . . (9.)

But in this case also B, differing only by unity from 4 formula (9), becomes
without sensible error,

Aes Gay pede
[onus Se GUUtse ooeabeiones Pee

K __ 48400 + 60 (¢+ 7’) ae t+?
oF 50000 30000 = 2-42 + Haq, or, which will be found suffi-

3 thatis

ciently accurate in practice, x being the co-efficient of + — +’, then

t+v
BURA ee OU ls nt nS fe mie anal)

Whence the complete formula will become

* Laplace made this — which has been corrected as above.

Mr Galbraith’s Barometric Measurements of Heights. 319

H= £48400 + 60 (+) }os— {2424 8 Tome > nae

The terms of s will be readily obtained for heights exceeding 2000 or 3000

feet when they begin to become sensible, by deducing them from each other-
2
Thus foo = 6, whence is derived 6’, and —5 =P

4
Multiply by . 5 =3,

a &e.

7
Hence y + 3+++ &c. =; =the decimal by which the first approximation
must, when necessary, be multiplied to obtain the correction for great heights,
where alone they are required.
The formula in my last paper may be deduced from (12) by rejecting s,
tr 180°
and assuming =), 300 = 300 7 2-6 which gives 2.4 + 0.6 = 3, the coefficient

of (+ — +’). It is obvious that 180° for the sum of the temperatures, or 90°

t+?
for the mean, will generally be too great. Indeed, — will at a medium be

100°
about 359° = 0.33, and 2.42 + 0.33 = 2.75 feet, about a quarter of a foot less

than 3 feet, so that the error from this source must be small. By making
these changes, formula (12) will become nearly the same as formerly, or

H = {48100 + 60¢ +} S232 - (13.)

In the former paper 48000 was obtained partly by being derived from Roy’s
expansion of air, and partly by rejecting the three last significant figures,
from a desire to select round numbers easily recollected. However, if the
figures 48 be repeated, thus making the constant 48480, it would be as easily
recollected, and the results, if under 3000 or 4000 feet, would be sufficiently
correct for most purposes, if the computer finds it inconvenient to use the
more complete formula (12).

General Rule.

This rule is derived from formula (13), and is intended for those only who
are not very conversant with algebraic symbols.

Those who are, will, in all considerable heights, prefer formula (12).

1. Take the sum of the temperatures of the air at both stations, as shown
by the detached thermometers, and multiply that sum by 60.

2. To this result add the constant number 48400, (or even 48480 as men-
tioned above), the sum will be the correct coefficient.

3. Multiply the correct coefficient just found by the difference of the
heights of the mercurial columns in the barometers at the two stations, and
divide the product by their sum, the quotient will be the approximate height.

4. Take the difference of the temperatures of the mercury at the top and
bottom indicated by the attached thermometers, which multiplied by three,
will give the correction to be subtracted, if, as is generaily the case, the tem-
perature of the upper station be the colder, otherwise it must be added, and
the result will be the true height.

320 Mr Galbraith’s Barometric Measurements of Heights.

In this rule no notice is taken of the terms in the series above the first, as
it is supposed that the heights to which it is applied are moderate, such as
2000, or 3000 feet. If the height exceed this, but not much surpass 5000
feet, the second term ought to be retained, which may be easily done in round
numbers, in the following manner :—

Suppose that the barometer at the lower station is about 30 inches, and
that at the upper 25 inches, then the fraction formed from their difference
divided by their sum, simplified if possible, being squared, and the denomina-
tor of this multiplied by three, will give a fraction, of which the value being
taken of the approximate height already found, and added to it, will give the
true height.

30—25 5 1 B hid, cal ceed
ee 30 +25 55 1 4 X Ty X F= 363

Hence, if _ part of the approximate height be added to itself, the sum will

be the true height syfficiently near for almost any purpose. It will generally
be found, however, that this last correction in most cases that occur in prac-
tice, is too small a quantity to merit much attention.

The following examples are given for the purpose of illustration :—

Exampte I. The following observations to determine the height of the
Peak of Teneriffe, were made on the 8th of September 1824, by Lord Napier,
Captain R. N., and communicated by Captain William Robertson, R. N.
Height of the barometer at Santa Cruz, 40 feet above the level of the

sea, 4 : A - A 30.164 inches.
Attached and detached tise tab tean, : : 80° Fahr.

At the summit of the Peak, the barometer widos at. j 19.530 inches.
Attached and detached thermometers, : ; : 55° Fahr.

B = 30.164, r= 80°, ‘= g0°
b= 19.530, “= 55, ?¢ =55

B—6= 10.634 --"’=25 ¢4+2#=135 . . . 135°

0.45 — —— 60
B+ 6 = 49,694 2.42 300 ae
8100
x = 2.87 48400
c—_c'= 25
56500.0
1435 B — 4 436.01 reversed.
574 eb EN a
565000
correction = — 71.75 33900
1695
226
B+b= 49. 694)600821(12090. 4
* 49694 — 718
+ 40.0
105881

99368 120538.6
Appr. height.

4493
4472

21

Mr Galbraith’s Barometric Measurements of Heights. 321

This result 12058.6 feet is the approximate height without the smaller
corrections depending on the remaining terms of the series, or the effects of a
change of gravity depending on the latitude or the height of the upper baro-
meter. The effect of the remaining terms of the series may be found as
fullows :—

10.634

79.694 = 0.214 == =B5 3 slnsaitas = 0.015265 = y

a eas

4

= 0.000419 = 5

pe
7 = 0.000014 =<

_——___

Sum, = 0.015698 =>y+ 54,

Whence 12060 x 0.015698 = 189.79 feet. As the coefficients in the fore
mula are derived from measurements adapted to the mean latitude of 45°, the
effect of the change of gravity depending upon the latitude should also, strictly
speaking, be allowed for, which is derived from the factor 1 + 0.00268 cos 2 a,
where 4 is the latitude of the place of observation. Since the latitude of the
Peak of Teneriffe is about 283° N., this factor becomes 1 + 0.00268 x cos 57°
= 1+ 0.00268 x 0.545 = 1.00146. But 12058.6 + 189.8 — 12248.4; hence
12248 x 0.00146 — 17.9 feet to be added to 12248.4, making 12266.3 feet.

If an allowance be made for the diminution of the force of gravity of the
air on account of the height of the upper barometer above the lower, it
would be a third proportional to the radius of the earth and the approximate
height"; or if & be the correction on this account, r the radius of the earth,

h2
and hf the approximate height, k = ~; 7 may in general be taken at 20887680

feet. Hence k — + 7.2 feet, which being applied, the height is 12273.4 feet,
The last correction is the diminution of the gravity of the mercury for the
height. It is a fourth proportional to the radius of the earth, the approximate
height, part of formula (8.) or 48400 + 60(¢+2’). Let &’ be this correc-
h (48400 + 60 (¢+1#’)5- .
MAD ahaa: Now, % is about 12270, and

™ 12270 x 56500
48400 + 60 (¢+ é ) is 56500 ; eae k! =~30867680 33.2 feet, which

tion; then k’=

added to 12273.4, gives 12306.6 feet for the total height.

It is therefore evident, that in great heights, where all the more minute
corrections are sensible, the operation becomes very tedious. It would then
be more convenient to have logarithmic and special tables calculated ex.
pressly for the purpose. But in all moderate heights, where these smaller
corrections become nearly insensible, the formula or rule may be very advan-
tageously employed. It may be interesting to show the correspondence be-
tween different methods of calculation by various authors.

* Pjayfair's Works, vol. iii. page 70.

322 Mr Galbraith’s Barometric Measurements of Heights.
Height by the formulaabove, . - +». «© «© «© « 12307"

By the tables of Biot,. . . . 6 tere . - +12334
aatawefe soveeeseeeee Oltmanns, ° . . ‘ “ . ~ 12274
ovate atl wilt. dad oes Baily J ° - 12278

By a set of tables computed by niywle ‘dchidthg dew Sint lati-
tude, &c. and adopting Dalton’s hypothesis of the expansion of air, 12357

By that of an equable epee pao by ied iekbiai
Dulong, &e. : . 12463

Mean of the whole, ; - 12335.5

Whence it appears that Biot’s tables and my tables and formula agree in giv-
ing the same height nearly, while those of Oltmanns, Baily, and mine, adapt-
ed to an equable expansion of air, differ somewhat considerably, the former in
defect, and the last in excess. I suspect that the barometric observations,
and the trigonometrical operations, that have been made to determine this
height, have not been sufficiently numerous to show which of all these me-
thods is the more accurate.

A few determinations of the height of this Peak may be stated here, which
appear most worthy of confidence, as many of them seem to be performed in
such a manner, that the results can be only tolerable approximations.

Barometrical Measurements of the Height of the Peak caleulated from the Formula

of Laplace.
Father Feuillé, in 1724, - ~ ~ : : : : 12957 feet.
M. Borda, in 1776, : : - 5 : i 12646
MM. Lamanon and Monges, in 1785, : : : 4 12179
M. Cordier, in 1803, .- : - 5 : ‘ ; = 12284
Professor Smith, in 1815, : 3 ‘. 5 : 4 12188

Baron Von Buch, calculated by Dr pans F . . 12131
Mean of the whole, . 12397.5

This result does not differ considerably from the last; but the degree of
confidence to be placed in a mean from which the extremes differ so much as
266 feet, cannot be very great.

From the observations of Martini¢re, who accompanied Lapeyrouse, I
found by a mean of my tables mee - «+ 12346 feet.

Several geometrical measurements of this Peak hive been made, but those
taken under sail cannot be much depended on, nor can several of the more
early, from bases frequently too short that have been taken on shore. The one
most to be trusted, perhaps, was that by Borda in 1776, which gave 12188
feet, about 150 feet less than any of those means, and proves how difficult it
is to arrive at the truth, or to render the result of one observation strictly
conformable to that of another, except by a process of cooking, as Mr Babbage
appropriately terms such admirably consistent results.

Exampte II. Required the height of Carnethy, one of the highest of the
Pentland hills, from the following observations, being the means derived
from a series continued for several hours, on the 2d of August 1828, on the

Mr Galbraith’s Barometric Measurements of Heights. 323

top of Carnethy, and the Caltonhill of known height, 355 feet above the mean
tide at Leith, and the upper barometer 3.5 feet under the summit ?
By formula (12),

B— 29339, +<+=—662, t= 637
= 27.745, ¢! = 55.1, i= 55.4

B—6= 1.594,7-7,=11.1¢4+2#'=119.1 . . 119.1
28 119.1 a
B + 6 = 57.084 Oe SS —
888 2.4 300 7146
222 = 48404
BRS AC: enna

correction = — 31.08 B— 4 = 55550 reversed
495.1

55550

27775

5000

222
B+6= 57. 084)88547( 1551.2
57084 + 355.0
+ 3.5
31463 — 31.1
28542+ 0.5

1,594
Now, 57.084 = 0.03 nearly, and 2921 1879.1

79.
2854

0.03 x 0.03

— 3 = 0.0003, therefore ===

67
0.0003 X 1551 = 0.5 foot nearly 57

10
The true height is therefore 1879 feet.

So that the terms of the series formerly alluded to are in this case unne-
cessary, and the effects of latitude and height would be nearly insensible.
The calculation becomes in consequence remarkably simple.

The following are the heights of the same points, by a concise set of tables
accompanying this paper, which to those not fond of formule, and the arith-
metical operations thence required, will be useful :—

1. B = 30.164, 7 = 80°, t= 80°

5 = 19.530, 7=55, Y= 5d

e—-e'— 25 ,t+?—135

B = 30.100 gives, in Table I. : : : Siac 20335 feet.
60 proportional parts, . : : : : 52
Me ne : . - 3.4
30.164 gives . : : - - : . 20390. 4
6 = 19.500 gives 8993 feet
30 p. pts. 40

19.530 gives 9033
om — 25° Table II. + 67.1

Sum, 9100.1 - : 2 < : - 9100.1

Approximate height or difference, (Carried forward,) 11290.3

324 Mr Galbraith’s Barometric Measurements of Heights.

Approximate height or difference, (Brought stil 11290.3
t + t' = 135° gives factor (Table III.) reversed, . 6180.1

112903
9032
113

67

Product, 12211.5
To latitude 28}°, and height 12211 feet, Table IV. gives + 56.5

True height of the Peak of Teneriffe, . 5 : E 12268.0
a: B — 29.339, T= 66°.2, ‘= 63°.7
b = 27.745, q’=55.1, t’= 55.4

r— a Liiiorane

B = 29.300 gives in Table I., : : : , 19631 feet.
30 prop. parts, : : : : : : + 27
Dt . : : + : . ° aioe
29.230) : : ° : “ : : 19666
b = 27.000 gives 18164
40). jac 38
Oy. sa 5
eo et |) ee 29
TO2BG Gyr 5 « salts oe aera
Approximate height or difference, - - 1480 feet.
¢+t/ = 119.1 gives factor (Table III.) reversed,. -, 2360.1
1430
86
4
Height of the upper barometer above the lower, nearly : 1520 feet.
Height of the upper barometer above the Calton Hill barometer,
mearly © oO. . . : 1520 feet.
To latitude 56°, and height 1520, Table IV. i 4 3 ae yh
Calton Hill above the sea, . ‘ j F a 4 A + 355
Carnethy Cairn height, ; : . ‘ : : . - 3
Total height, . i881

Or about two feet more than that found by the formula.
The correction from Table V. is insensible in these examples.

Having been desirous of applying the sympiesometer to the
determination of this height, the following observations were
made with two instruments; one the same which I had carried.
without injury some hundred miles, and had used on Ben Nevis
in August last, was made some years ago, and had not been
examined since by the maker; the other was quite new, and
indicated, as will be seen by the following observations, a con-
stant difference of 4 or 5 fathoms. Designating the former by

Mr Galbraith’s Barometric Measurements of Heights. 325

A, and the latter by B, the succeeding observations were made
at Edinburgh, after standing together during the night, and on
the top of Carnethy after standing half an hour.

A. On Carnethy.

At 1» 10” p. or. S = 421 fathoms, t= 32°.4
1 20 = Si=sAzaGr 2s t¢— 32.0
Means, 1 15 421.5 ene

A. Nezr Edinburgh, 290 Feet above the Sea.

At 8' 30™ a, m. S/= 164 fathoms, t'= 44°.4
Hence; «.. = 421.5 t = 32°.2
S’ = 164.0 t’= 44.4
S— S’ = 257.5 t+ =76.6, and m=1.015
Whence, 257.5 x 1.015 X 6 = : ; : : : 1568 feet.
Correction for height of S’ above the sea, ° . - +290
True height by A, 1858 feet.

It was thought advisable to try whether, by exposing one of
the instruments, while the other was protected as much as con-
veniently could be, any very decided difference in the altitude
would be found, the temperature being the same nearly, and
the sun partially covered with clouds. The instrument denoted
by B was placed in a tolerably well protected position, along
with A, for the first set of observations on the summit of
Carnethy, when the same difference nearly was observed. That
denoted by B was then suspended on the top of a small cairn
on the other, exposed to a pretty strong north wind, and both
instruments were then read a second time without any relative
variation.

B. At 8" 30 a. S’ = 426 fathoms, t’— 31.8
1 15 P.M. S =169 ... t#=—444
ys pa pomnlly hind:
257 t'+¢t 76.2
gives m = 1.015
Therefore 257 X 1.015 x 6, 4 A 2 : ‘ : 1566 feet.
Correction as before, : : ; ; 4 ‘ 290

True height of Carnethy by B, 1856
These differ 20 or 30 feet from the former, which is re-
garded as correct, because cotemporancous observations were then
1

326 Mr Galbraith’s Barometric Measurements of Heights.

made at the top and bottom, which was not done here, though the
barometer was observed to stand steady during the interval.

From the method of graduating the sliding scale of the sym-
piesometer adopted by the inventor, the divisions are not quite
theoretically exact. In fact, there are only such a number of
points found by calculation and experiment in general as may
be thought necessary, and the intermediate spaces are then di-
vided into equal parts nearly, as the deviation from perfect ac-
curacy would, in most cases, be insensible, or at least less
than the errors arising from other sources, which cannot
easily be avoided. Indeed, the correction of part of the error
of graduation is in some degree obyiated by a sort of ten-
tative process; and, consequently, as appears both by the for-
mer examples and the present, the errors of the practical con-
clusions generally fall within the usual errors of observation ;
and the results may, I think, be estimated to be equal in accu-
racy to those by the Englefield barometer, while the instru-
ment itself is much lighter, and considerably more portable.

I have been inclined to think that it requires rather more at-
tention to operate accurately with the sympiesometer in certain
cases, especially in ravines, or water-courses thickly wooded.
In particular, I recollect that, in attempting to measure the
height of the romantic banks of the Esk, at the old mansion-house
of Hawthornden, the first observations appeared to be tolerably
correct, when both the upper and lower observations were made
near the house ; but as soon as I had gone down the river side
to a small field surrounded with wood, by some irregular influ-
ence, perhaps from strata of air of different densities, or tempe-
ratures more loaded with aqueous vapour in that confined situ-
ation, I soon found that it required the instrument to be pro-
tected, otherwise errors to a considerable amount would be pro-
duced, and that such a situation was very unfavourable for
these operations. As my observations were made in the company
of a friend from Liverpool, I had not sufficient leisure to exa-
mine the causes of this circumstance; but concluded, rather
hastily perhaps, that it agreed partly with a remark of Professor
Babbage of Cambridge, ‘‘ That when the lower observation is
made in a narrow or deep valley, situated at the foot of a moun-
tain range, the upper observation being made on an exposed

Mr Galbraith’s Barometric Measurements of Heights. 327

‘summit, the elevation thus determined falls short of its true
height.”. Dr Anderson of the Academy of Perth, attempts to
explain this in the following manner :—“ In such a case, it is
evident that the intermediate strata between the two stations are
placed in circumstances to be powerfully affected by humidity ;
of course, the great dilatation which they suffer from the influ-
ence of aqueous vapour, tends to increase the altiiude of the
mercury in the barometer at the upper station; and by thus
bringing the ratio of the pressures nearer to equality, diminishes
in a corresponding degree the computed heights by the common
formula.”

This seems, at least, to be a rational explanation of the diffi-
culty. However, it is proposed to continue our observations, in
order to throw some light, if possible, upon such anomalies,
arising, in a considerable degree, I am persuaded, from local
circumstances, or the partial effects of temperature.

It has already been observed, that the older made sympie-
someter stood at a height somewhat different from the new, and
may possibly be ascribed to a gradual deterioration of the instru-
ment. No doubt the oil must thicken ; and in the course of a
few years its motion must become more tardy. In this case, the
only remedy will be a removal of the oil, and a re-adjustment of
the instrument. But the sympiesometer is not the only instru-
ment which suffers deterioration by time. It has been repeat-
edly asserted that the mercurial thermometer, and barometer
also, become affected by causes for which it is difficult to ac-
count, after a lapse of some years. In particular, Mr Daniell,
in his Meteorological Essays, appears to prove from numerous
registers, that the mercury stands lower in barometers in pro-
portion to the age of the instrument, and proposes a ring of pla-
tina, with which the mercury has the property of coming in
perfect contact, to prevent the air from insinuating itself be-
tween the mercury and the glass, and rising into the vacuum
above, thereby shortening the proper height of the mercurial
column. It will require some time to verify this satisfactorily
perhaps, though the proposer seems, from his own experience, to
have sanguine expectations of success.

It has already been remarked, that the observations by the
barometer should be made simultaneously at the top and bot-

328 Mr Galbraith’s Barometric Measurements of Heights.

tom of the height to be measured, otherwise great errors may
be committed in the determination of the final results, if the
barometer be changeable.

L cannot illustrate this better, than by the measurement of
Ben Nevis, communicated in my last paper. On the morning
of the day preceding the day of ascent, on the morning of the
day of ascent, and on the evening after descent, from a number
of observations in the month of August 1830 :—

On the 28th, at 6" 37™ a. 0. B = 291.587, > = 51°.0, t= 51°.0
29 .. 6.0 am. B= 29 .889,7 = 50.4,¢=— 50.9
29 ... 8 15 pum. B=30. 112,7 = 53.0,¢— 53.0
29°... 1 «15 pmb = 25 .466, ¢’ = 37 .7,t= 37 0

Now, on comparing the observations made on the 28th, at
65 37" a.m., with those on the 29th at 65 O™ a.m., and
gh 15™ p.m., it will be found that the rise of the barometer
was tolerably regular, and that a mean between the two last
made on the morning and evening of the same day in which the
observations were made on the top at nearly equal intervals of
time, cannot be far from the truth. But if T had taken either
of these observations made at Fort William Inn, it is evident
that their height, resulting from a comparison with that on the
top, must have been erroneous to a considerable amount, either
in defect or excess, according as I had adopted 29.889, or 30.112
for the term of comparison.

Let B = 29.889, + = 50°.4, 2 = 50°9
b — 25.466, ~“ = 37.7,’ — 37.0, then the resulting height will
ber". : : : : - 4270 feet.
Again, let B = 30.112, + = 52°.7,¢ = 53°.0

b = 25.466, z/ = 37 .7, t’ = 37 .0
The height willbe - : 2 4476 feet.

The difference of these results is : 206 feet.
And therefore the half or error of each, is 103 feet.
From this examination, it appears that the difference of these
determinations is no less than 206 feet, giving a mean error of
103 feet for each. |
In like manner, the sympiesometer observations made simul-
taneously with the above, will,

By the first, give - SUP FF = > fer . , 4220 feet.

By the second set, - ‘ . . 3 ss d - 4488...
Difference, ; f s : - 268
Half, or mean error, Se 23s 134

Or only differing 31 feet from the other, by an cxpaliaiten mountain barome-
ter of the best construction.

Mr Galbraith’s Barometric Measurements of Heights. 329

Without due caution, therefore, these unavoidable errors aris-
ing from single sets of observations made after the lapse of some
hours, when the barometer is changing somewhat rapidly, may
easily, though improperly, be imputed to the faulty construc-
tion of the instruments employed instead of the proper source.

Lastly, I may remark, that it is of importance, for the sake
of accuracy too, that the lengths of the mercurial columns should
be correctly reduced to the same standard temperature which, in
a continued series of observations, is generally taken at the freez-
ing point, or $2° of Fahrenheit’s scale. I have therefore given
concise tables for that purpose in a former Number of this Jour-
nal, for 1828, because such reductions are often inaccurately
made by allowing the expansion of mercury in glass, instead of
the absolute expansion of mercury in barometers of the common
construction. In mountain barometers, the expansion of the
brass tube enclosing the glass one, on which brass tube the scale
for measuring the height is engraved, must also be taken into
account, which in these tables has likewise been attended to.

To enable observers to make a proper and accurate allowance
for capillary action, I have there likewise given a table, computed
from Mr Ivory’s formula, to every hundredth of an inch, be-
cause by the irregular variation, interpolation for intermediate
points cannot be accurately made by even proportion. I have
been induced to notice this here, because in books of some re-
putation, and in cotemporary Journals, these reductions are made
erroneously,—by that means forcibly bringing about coinci-
dences of apparent accuracy, when no such thing could be said
either of the instruments or the observations.

EXPLANATION OF THE TABLES.

Table I. The numbers in this table are derived from a table
of logarithms adapted particularly to barometric observations.
It is on the same principles as that of Oltmanns’, in English feet,
with proportional parts annexed. Since the numbers are given
to inches and tenths, the proportional parts for hundredths are
conveniently placed on the left, opposite the tenths.

The same proportional parts answer for thousandths, by strik-
ing off a figure from the right, increasing the last or units figure
remaining by 1, if the figure struck off exceeds 5. ‘Thus in all

JULY—SEPTEMBER 1831. Y

330 Mr Galbraith’s Barometric Measurements of Heighis.

eases, the numbers corresponding to inches, tenths, hundredths,
and thousandths of an inch of the height of each barometer,
may be readily found by simple addition, of which the differ-
ence forms the approximate height as shown in the examples,
p- 828, 324.

A very extensive table of this kind has also been published
by Mr Thomas Jones, the eminent mathematical instrument-
maker, Charing Cross, London, extending from 15 to $1 inches
of the barometer, and giving every thousandth part of an inch.
To those who use Fahrenheit’s Thermometer, our Tables II.
IIT. Part I. may be convenient, as the tables given by Mr Jones
are adapted to the centesimal thermometer alone, both for reduc-
ing the mercury in the barometers to the same temperature, and
for making allowance for expansion of the air by heat.

Table II. The second table is computed from the formula
(11.) adapted to a mean state of the atmosphere, and properly
varies according to the sum of the detached thermometers ; but
as the variation from this cause is small, it need hardly be at-
tended to, unless very great precision be required. ‘There are
two parts, one adapted to Fahrenheit’s scale, the other to the cen-
tesimal scale, so that either may be used as required.

As the method of computing the correction for the difference
of the mean temperature of the air from that of the freezing point
is somewhat troublesome, especially if Fahrenheit’s thermometer
be used, . ;

Table ITT. has been computed to facilitate this process, and
the_value’was derived from formula (7).

It may be remarked, that this table is now engraved on Mr
Adie’s sympiesometer, for the purpose of saving trouble, as the
only arithmetical calculation now required is the multiplication
of the difference of the numbers found from the sliding-scale
adapted 1o that useful instrument, by this factor, to give the
final result.

Table IV. gives the necessary allowance for the change of
gravity, depending upon the latitude of the place of observa-
tion, and the height of the elevation measured.

Table V. gives the correction for the elevation of the lower
barometer above the sea, when the height of the upper above
the lower is 10,000 feet, and consequently that for any other
number different from 10,000 by taking proportional parts. It

Mr Galbraith’s Barometric Measurements of Heights. 331

will always be a small quantity, however, and, in general, when
the lower barometer is not elevated considerably above the level of
the sea, it may be neglected.

Feet. |lp.p.| B. Feet. ||P. P- B.

+ |15.0 | 2138 | + /19.0 | $314| + 23.0 |13305]| + | 27.0 | 17496
17 1 | 2311 ||, 13 I | 8451] 11} 1113419] 9 1 | 17592
34] 2 | 2483 || 27 2| 8587]| 22; 2 |13532|) 19 2 | 17688
S1|° 3 | 2655 || 40) 3] 8723], 33) 3 | 13644) 28 3 | 17784
68| 4 | 2826 || 541 4 8859] 45| 4 |13756]) 38 4. | 17880
85| 5 | 2995 | 67| 5] 8993] 56) 5 |13868)) 47 | 5 [17975
102 6 | 3163 ||. 81 6 | 9127]| 67| 6 |13979)| 57 6 | 18070
119 7 | 3331 |} 94 7 | 9261] 78! 7 |14089|| 66 7 | 18164
136 8 | 3497 108 | 8 | 9393|| 89; 8 |14199)| 76 g | 18258
153 9 | 3662 | 121 9 | 9525 100 | 9 | 14308 || 85 9 | 18352
+ |16.0 + |20.0| 9656] + | 24.0 | 14417|/ + | 28.0 | 18446
16 1 13 1| 9787] 14 1 |14525|| 9 1 | 18539
32 2 | 26 2 9916]| 21 2 | 14633 || 18 2 | 18632
48} 3 38] 3 |10045]| 32 3 | 14741 |] 28 3 | 18724
64 4 | 51 4 }10173|} 43} 4 | 148491] 37 4 | 18816
80 5 64] 5 |10301]| 53 5 |14956|| 46 5 | 18908
96 6 77 6 | 10428 |] 64 6 | 15062 || 55 6 | 19000
112 7 | 90 7 1106554 || 75 7 |15168]| 64 7 | 19091
128 8 /102} $§|10680|| 86 8 | 15274] 73 g | 19182
144] 9 1115 9 | 10805] 96 9 | 15379]| 83 9 | 19272
~+4+ | 17.0 + |21.0 | 10929 || + | 25.0 | 15484|| + | 29.0 | 19372
15 1 12 1 |11053}} 10 1 |15588|| 9 1 | 19452
Soe 24) 21111771] 21 2 |15692 || 18 2 | 19542
45 3 37 3 }11300}) 31 3 |15796 || 27 3 | 19631
60} 4 49 4 |11422]) 41 4115899 || 36 4, | 19720
15 5 61 § |11544]] 51 5 | 16002]) 44 5 |19808
90 6 73| 61|11665)) 62 6 |16104]| 53 6 | 19896
105 7 85 7 |11786 || 72 7 |16206|| 62 7 119984.
120 8 98 gs |11907|) $2 8 | 16308 || 71 g | 20072
135 9 110} 9 |12026]| 93 9 | 16409|| 80 9 | 20160
+ | 18.0 + |22.0 |12145]) + | 26.0 |16510]| + | 30.0 |. 20248
14 1 12 1 | 12263] 10 1 |16610|| 9 1 | 20335
28 2 23| 2 |12381] 20 2 |16710]| 17 2 | 20422
43\ 3 35| 3 |12498]| 30 3 |16810]| 26 3 | 20508
57 4 AG 4, |12615|| 40 4 116909 || 34 4, | 20594
71 5 58| 5 |12731|) 49 5 |17008|| 43 5 | 20680
85| 6 70| 6 |12847\| 59 6 | 17106 || 52 6 | 20766
99 re 81 7 | 12962) 69 7 |17204|| 60 7 | 20851
114; 8 93|. 8 | 13077) 79 8 |17302|| 69 8 | 20936
129 9 104} 9 13191 | 89 9 | 17399 || 77 9 | 21020

$82 Mr Galbraith’s Barometric Measurements of Heights.

FAHRENHEIT’S THERMOMETER.

TABLE II. Taste III.

. +2] Factor. |/¢+2’| P.P.

es | ees | | ee | | | | ey | | me | | | |e

1°} 2.7 |} 11°] 29.3 |] 21°| 56.1 | 0.1°] 0.3 |] 507 0.9839 |} ic |. 11
2| 5.4/1 12 | 32.0 || 22] 58.7 ||0.2] 0.5 || 60] 0.9954 || 2 23
3/ 81113] 347 || 23 | 61.403] 08 || 70| 1.0069 | 3 34
4| 10.8 | 14 | 37.4 | 24] 641/04] 1.1 || 80] 1.0184 |] 4 46
5 | 134/15 | 40.0 | 25] 66.8) 0.5| 1.3 || 90| 1.0299 || 5 57
6 | 16.1 | 16 | 42.7 || 26 | 69.4 0.6 | 1.6 /100| 1.0414 || 6 69
7| 188} 17 | 454 || 27] 72.1/0.7 | 1.9 |[110} 1.0529 | 7 80
8| 21.5 || 18] 48.1 |] 28 | 748108] 2.2 |/120] 1.0644 || 8 92
9| 242 ]19] 50.7 |), 29 | 774/09] 24 |/130] 1.0759 || 9 | 103

10 | 26.7 | 20 | 53.4 || 30 | 80.1 140 | 1.0874

150] 1.0989

| 160| 1.1104

0.5 ||-10°| 0.9793
12 | 57.6 |} 22 | 105.6} 0.2 | 1.0 0| 1.0000
13 | 62.4 || 23 | 110.4) 0.3 | 1.4 |410] 1.0207
14 | 67.2 || 24 |115.2]0.4] 1.9 || 20) 1.0414
15 | 72.0 |} 25 | 120.0] 0.5 | 2.4 |) 30] 1.0261
16 | 76.8 || 26 | 124.8] 0.6 | 2.9 |} 40} 1.0828
17 | 81.6 || 27 | 129.6] 0.7 | 3.4 |} 50] 1.1035
18 | 86.4 || 28 | 134.4/0.8 | 3.8 || 60] 1.1242

—

°
LAs)
_

ODD Or & WO
_
S
io)

DOD AH Or &
0

ios} =

fos) (e'9)

_

_

o

Gr

0“

(e'9)

vo

—_

°o

—

—)

S

(o's)

S

—!

°

43.2 |} 19 | 91.2 || 29 | 139.2]0.9 | 43 || 70] 1.1449 186
1 48.0 || 20 | 96.0 |} 30 | 144.0 | 80 | 1.1656
TaBie IV.

HEIGHT. LATITUDE.

a

pay Fed ens. Bt

Pel eee

he arth a pe egies

ae a

3 tee|

oo
hae
i

avi’

?
*

Bud)

ge

:
;
re |

ie -¥

)

| if
:

. ;
:

ee
i

wm

—

QIUI) APMOT

[Legon Se ae Z
peur sadly

SMOMDO

‘euoz youyg

YP ‘me
(Mou guaz

av |

you
2qtUM sueysn)
crane auoz

ed
aD | soacos
| Qwmdou gu2eq0uy

Urpop 409 aL0ys 24) PP uomoos aannavduag

SULIADI
saqqiane Jo aury—

| PADD D

S049
dog Jo pod Jo apfouy ebry

GOO LK WAUNY RY] MIU; UIpT

WLDAIS [DITJLIA UI
27194PW A249

sadtg advo Hepa uoyva ry G bly

"A ULV Td

S222] CUMUIOQUOP DIDIILG
YIIM Pay eave pray querupy p
877248 bunsog hq pagpuafiad syoopg 0
#20049 Y
shpay PULDILQNE’ D
suogsauny qondiuo) 7
BIOMOL] YdIM DIDIALG SNOUT Va
spays Bas y sazqgad
amos yim aysnd Ancyoo
UD YgIM ayDIaUaghUay’ oe
LPYNUDLD PUI PUDS OVOP G
PLUS 220)'T

fo aopyi 241 fo asng ayy gw ysDoI 241 JO UDIYIAL’T ' har

Mr Galbraith’s Barometric Measurements of Heights. 333

Tasie V. For 10,000 Feet.

ARGUMENT.—HEIGHT OF LOWER BAROMETER.

An Account of the Tidal and other Zones observed onthe sur-
Sauce of the Limestone Rocks on the Shores of Greece. By
Staff-Captain Purtton-Bosraye. With a Plate *. (PI. V.)

Tus study of tle action of the sea on the rocks of the shore
will explain in a simple manner a phenomenon which has been
hitherto but little studied.

The following observations on this subject apply to the lime-
stones of the Grecian shore, and, of them, to marbles, dolomites
and compact limestones. The coarse limestones (calcaire gros-
slere) present facts sufficiently different to require being treated
separately.

In these researches I have paid that attention to the subject
which it appeared to me to merit ; but leisure, health, and se-
curity were so often wanting to the observer, that the inquiries
still remain very incomplete. Presuming, nevertheless, that
they deserve the attention of geological travellers, I venture to
recommend them to those who shall visit the south of France
and the Apennines: they will find on its shore the same geo-
logical relations, and be enabled to finish at leisure what I have
only glanced at.

Fig. 1. The calms so frequent in the seas of Greece, prin-
cipally during the summer months, permit the steepest shores
to be approached without danger; there then appears deli-
neated at their surface horizontal bands or zones of different
colours. An azure line sparkling with light marks the shore,

* Translated by Rev. Mr Ettershank from Boué’s “ Journal de Geo-
logie,” Feb. 1831.

$34 Captain Puillon-Boblaye on the Tidal and other Zones

and makes the dark colour of the zone, which exists immediate-
ly above the tides, more distinct. Numerous asperities, clefts,
and caverns contribute to make its base appear of an intense
black. Above the tint is softened, but the transition to the suc-
ceeding zone remains always strongly delineated.

The latter is generally of a dazzling white, yet, as it im-
presses its colour on the rocks themselves, it shows in some lo-
calities the blood-red colour, or flower of the peach, or the straw-
yellow of lithographic limestones. Above, there appears a zone
of a uniform grey, whatever be the nature of the rock: vege-
tation there commences, and is pointed out by some patches
of a dark green colour.

Finally, at an elevation much higher than the shore, where
much exposed to the violence of the tides, an elevation that
rarely surpasses from thirty-five to forty yards, there appears a
vegetation of a brilliant green, although a little dark, which ex-
tends even to the summits of the mountains, if the rapidity of
their acclivity does not prevent it. These are the different zones
which I am now to describe.

The Zone of the Tide.

The tides in the Mediterranean are so inconsiderable, that we
cannot distinguish by observation their effects from those of the
diurnal influences of breezes and variable winds, at least the at-
tempts that I have made in this respect have been fruitless.
Yet no one can doubt the existence of these tides, when in calm
weather he sails along the shore.

In fact, it appears that the tide balances itself constantly be-
tween the limits of a little zone which is not three decimetres in
height, but which is defined in a manner so conspicuous, that it
announces the influence of a permanent and regular cause.

In the localities where the tide has little energy, as in the
ports of Napoli and Navarino, it is characterised by a marine ve-
getation of a yellow colour, which detaches itself in a very con-
spicuous manner on the dark colour of the lower part of the
shore. On the contrary, wherever the mechanical action of the
tide, doubtless seconded by chemical actions, has been able to
attack the limestone, and this is a very general case, this little

observed on the Rocks on the Shores of Greece. 335

zone is delineated in a manner still more evident. It is a groove
more or less deep, and in which the rock is naked; its height is
not so uniform as in the preceding case, because it is often
formed by the reunion of little caverns or cavities, and thus its
height is elevated or depressed with them ; yet seen at a certain
distance, we recognise a constant mean height, and that within
the limits which I have assigned to it, a certain indication of a
permanent phenomenon, and of determinate limits.

The result of the breaking of the tides upon the shore pro-
duces, on the contrary, effects which are not well defined, are
without a determinate elevation, and, as we shall soon see, alto-
gether different from the former.

(Fig. 1. a). The lower part of this groove, of which I have
not yet spoken but to demonstrate the existence of a Mediter-
ranean tide, is attached to a nearly horizontal ledge or table,
which prevails at some centimetres beneath the level of the sea,
extends some yards in breadth, and terminates abruptly by a
sudden increase of the depth of the waters.

This ledge exists generally wherever the shore is rocky, yet
it is sometimes concealed by descending debris, and is scarcely
perceptible in very inclined shores, where it is confounded with
the submarine prolongation of these debris.

On the other hand, in the localities where the rocks are easily
destructible, as when greensand and its clays bound the sea, this
submarine horizontal ledge extends very far forward from al-
most vertical beaches. I have observed it in the bay of Modon.
There it extends out from 50 to 200 and 300 yards from
the shore, slopes gradually, and then it sinks rapidly to a
great depth. At its surface the sea is often only some inches
in depth. The bottom, perforated by funnels in which the tide
seems to produce the effect of a wimble, is again covered with
slimy soft argillo-calcareous mud, which often leaves bare the
vertical sections of the greensand strata ; thus it is not a slope
slightly inclined, formed by debris produced by the tide, but
the result of an action of long continuance. This table or ledge
forms a submarine bank on which the tide breaks, and of which
it weakens the force; consequently, the destruction uniformly
tends to cease, and we are convinced that it has attained its
limits in many places.

336 Captain Puillon-Boblaye on the Tidal and other Zones

On the shores where the old limestones prevail, which princi-
pally form the subject of this notice, the submarine table is never
more than some yards in breadth. Its surface is covered with
little rough inequalities, bent back on every side, and fretted in
such a manner as only to adhere to the rock in some points. It
is, besides, pierced through by deep cavities and sinuosities, di-
rected almost always in the plane of the fissures. I have found
some localities chiefly on the east side of Magna, where the
groove and the submarine table which reattaches itself to its lower
part were almost wholly wanting, and of which I was net able
to give a reason, the shore being otherwise rocky, steep, and ex-
posed to the violence of the sea. I should have been inclined to
attribute it to the recent subsidence of the land, and the more so
as the sea is very shallow, notwithstanding the steepness of the
shore, had not the following observation made me discover that
it must be attributed to another cause. ‘There is deposited in
these localities a concretionary limestone which encrusts the
rocks, however much they may be inclined, even to the superior
limit of the tide. Its surface is white, mammillated, and covered
with serpulz, with corals and other madrepores. The interior
is often formed by amass of little tubes, as those of serpule,
but of which the cavities penetrate even to the interior of the
crystalline limestone. This deposite which I had not been ac-
customed to see formed abundantly, but in those places where
the sea is little agitated, could it be here the cause of the pre-
servation of the littoral rocks ? or rather, could not these two ef-
fects result from the same cause, the rarity and the feebleness
of the winds in the easterly direction * ?

* This depot of concretionary limestone occurs wherever the sea is
tranquil, and wherever sands and muds do not change their natures, as in
road-steads and mouths of rivers. In the remote and shallow parts of rocky
bays, it envelopes many univalve shells to the superior limit of the tide. It
is more abundant the calmer and the deeper the sea. Thus, in the road-
stead of Navarino, the wreck of the fleet of Ibrahim, raised from a depth of
from five to six fathoms, was encrusted with it to a thickness of many milli«
metres, after about eighteen months’ immersion; oysters, serpulz, &c. were
adhering to it. Leaving out the sands and madrepores, there is a rising of
the bottom of nearly five millimetres in two years, which would give ten
metres of calcareous deposite during our historical period. We ought also to
add, that, in the same place, there is formed enormous muddy and sandy de-
posites, which have already obstructed two of the entrances of the road-stead.

observed on the Rocks on the Shores of Greece. 337

When the shore is composed of breccias, or of puddingstones
cemented with ferruginous matter, the groove acquires a great
depth, as at the foot of the Palamede de Napoli ; the tide dis-
integrates and undermines to a great depth, and penctrates un-
derneath, even to a distance of eight or ten yards from the shore.
Thence there results very extensive fissures parallel to the sea,
and outlets through which the tide, after having broken itself
under your feet, escapes in jets Teau.

(Figs. 2 and 3.) Perpendicular shores present some peculiar
circumstances in this zone. I shall take for example Cap-Gros,
the most remarkable place of this nature that I have had occa-
sion to observe. Its description belongs to the physical geogra-
phy of the Morea ; it will be sufficient to state here, that it is a
rock of grey marble, a league long, 200 yards high, and cut per-
pendicularly on the sea side and on the land side, and truncated
besides at its summit by a nearly horizontal plane. It is very sel-
dom that it can be approached without danger. The meeting of
contrary winds in the gulfs of Messina and Laconia, excite violent
tempests there, and rapid currents sweep along their banks, where,
in case of shipwreck, there could be no hope of safet y- If we add
to these causes of fear, the continual noise which the waters of
the sea make by engulfing themselves into the numerous caverns
which open at the foot of the rocks, a noise that can be com-
pared only to the distant rolling of thunder or artillery, we
shall be disposed to believe, that Cape-Tenares, which borders
on it, has usurped to itself the terrible reputation of the former*.
In a first voyage I was obliged to shear off, and could only re-
cognise the existence of this line of caverns and cavities which
prevails at the level of the tide, and in which the sea then roar-
ed in a terrific manner. Afterwards, in the month of June a
perfect calm permitted me to follow the foot of this enormous
mass, aud to penetrate into the interior of one of those caverns
inhabited by pigeons as in the time of Homer, (Messa abound-
ing with pigeons).

I observed here a submarine step or ledge, which in this place

* This succession of groanings or murmurings which issue from the interi-
or of the caverns of Cape-Gros, is undoubtedly that which the ancients meant
to express by the barking of the many heads of Cerberus.

338 Captain Puillon-Boblaye on the Tidal and other Zones

was only from one yard to one and a half in breadth. I saw,
besides, that the @roove hollowed at the base of the rock joined
every where at the level of the tide a succession of caverns and
cavities more or less deep, which the dimensions alone distin-
guished ; that to the one as well as to the other corresponded
the lines of fissures crossing in different directions, and that their
meeting in a greater number seemed only to have promoted
their enlargement, or the passage from the state of a cavity,
partly submarine, to the state of a littoral cavern.

An observation already made at Napoli, at the foot of the
fortress of Itskalé, was confirmed here. Cavities which were only
a yard in length, with a sinuous and rounded outline, attained
a height of from 30 to 40 yards. Their great axis, constantly
placed in the plane of a scarcely perceptible fissure, offered no
trace of erosion, nor the cavities any apparent continuity. I
mention them here for the purpose of noticing their relation to
the fissures, for I do not believe that they could otherwise be
the result of littoral influences. I believe them rather analo-
gous to bone-caves, produced partly by the flowing of conti-
nental waters. The interior of the cavern presented some pe-
culiar circumstances, which I have no doubt will be found in
all the littoral caverns. 'The rounded form of the inferior part
of its vault and its walls, showed that the fissures had only
acted by facilitating the chemical and mechanical action of the
tide, and afterwards hastening the fall of some angular parts of
the vault. The rock was grey marble, in thick layers almost
vertical, and perfectly homogeneous. We found at the surface
of the rock parts decayed, and again covered with black testa-
ceous matter, of which I shall speak soon.

No opening could be discovered either at the summit, or
at the most remote part where the rock was bare ; in a word, it
did not differ from the numerous cavities of the line of the tide,
but only by its greater dimensions.

The bottom, which rose quickly towards the interior, was
covered with sea-weeds, pieces of wood, and other bodies capable
of floating, and some rolled pebbles, all identical with the rock on
which they rested, a character very essential to be remarked.

It is not, then, one of those caverns of erosion, with succes-
sions of chambers and galleries, and with smooth walls, filled

observed on the Rocks on the Shores of Greece. 339

either by ancient or modern alluvium ; caverns as numerous in
the Morea as everywhere else, but which it is very difficult to
observe, because they still serve as an issue to the waters of ba-
sins shut up in the interior, and because their opening is almost
always beneath the level of the sea. It is not one of those ca-
yerns produced by falling in of rocks, so common in the sides
of valleys, a result of the destruction of loosely aggregated
strata, and which present in their roof the surface of more du-
rable strata, and in their walls surfaces constantly angular. It
is a third sort of cavern, which we may designate under the
name of littoral cavern, and which we ought to find in the inte-
rior of up-raised continents *. Their characters will be to exhi-
bit, in the same country, a nearly uniform level, walls rounded
in their lower part, and rocks decayed or rotten without being
angular, solid vaults, no communication by successive cham-
bers or galleries, but only by fissures widened at the bottom;
finally, a demi-vault cut through the face of the rock rather
than a complete one. They should doubtless likewise exhibit
peculiar zoological characters.

The limestone rocks are, then, everywhere hollowed at the
level of the tide; there thence results either a groove or a series
of cavities and caverns with peculiar forms ; and, in consequence
of this action, whatever it may be, continued since the sea as-
sumed its present limits, a submarine table, but narrow in mar-
bles and compact limestones, and much more extended in the
more easily decomposed greensand. These characters, and par-
ticularly the last, should be found in the old shores of our re-
cent formations. I believe I am able to refer to it a remarkable
fact, to which I call the attention of geologists who shall visit
the Mediterranean basin. It is the existence of four or five ho-
rizontal steps or ledges, perfectly delineated on the littoral rocks

* T could cite many other Jocalities where I have observed Jitéoral caves.
One of the most remarkable and best known is the Island of Sphacterie, and
particularly the long and narrow rock which forms the entrance of Navarino.
One of these caverns traverses the rock, and joins the ocean and the road-
stead by a rounded vault, fifty feet high. Large boats might pass through
it, if the shallowness did not prevent them. Saussure mentions caverns of
the same description in the environs of Nice; he is the first geologist, and
nearly the only one, who mentions grooves on limestone rocks.

340 Captain Puillon-Boblaye on the Tidal and other Zones

of Greece, whatever may be their nature in other respects,—a
fact which seems to announce as many up-raisings of the conti-
nent, or depressions cf the level of the sea, with a prolonged
continuance at each of these levels. It will not perhaps be im-
possible to connect the littoral alluvium of Argolis, the fahluns
of 'Toryne, and some other small deposites, with recent move-
ments of the land; perhaps even one day we may be able to
’ recognise their coincidence with some of the historic deluges of
the Mediterranean, as that of Ogyges or Attica, for example.
The deposites of shells of St Hospice, near Nice, those of the
borders of the Hellespont observed by M. Olivier, and a great
many more in the basin of the Mediterranean, belong probably
to the same phenomenon; but I do not know if terraces or
ledges such as those of which I have spoken have been ob-
served in these localities.

The Black Zone.

Above the superior limit of the tide, in its calm state, there
is a band of a very deep colour, passing from black to greenish-
brown. Its elevation varies according to the localities; it rises
much more in those places where the shore is most violently
beaten by the tide. At Cape Matapan it attains a height of
from seven to eight yards. It is the part of the shore washed
by the wave after it has been broken. In every part of this
zone, but chiefly in its inferior part, the rocks are so corroded,
that they appear only as rough branches twisted, and connected
together by some points. ‘Towards the points where these
branches again join to the mass of the rock, the tortuous ca-
vities, although always situated in the planes of the fissure,
sink to the depth of many yards. Although the traces of the
fissures may have almost entirely disappeared, so much are
they widened and broken up, it is evident that they have ex-
erted a great influence over the destruction of the limestone
rock. This destruction is more complete the nearer we ap-
proach to the level of the sea; again some efforts, and all this
part destroyed will joi itself to the submarine slope on which
it rests.

It is at this elevation that we remark, on all the sharp asperi-
ties which again cover the limestone, a smooth mammillated sub-

observed on the Rocks on the Shores of Greece. 341

stance, harder than limestone, of a shining blackish-brown, waxy
fracture, radiated, slightly translucent. It is found equally at
the surface of marbles, dolomites, and compact limestones. Its
brown colour contrasts in an evident manner with that of the
marbles, which afford no alteration at the point of contact.

When we have carefully examined this part of the shore, we
cannot fail to compare it to certain bands or zones of limestone,
perforated with cavities almost cylindrical, but sinuous and ir-
regular, which we meet at great heights in the interior of conti-
nents. They only differ from the former by the destruction of
the little asperities and sharp ridges which the rubbing of allu-
vial matters, and the action of atmospheric agents, have doubt-
less destroyed. We shall be much more induced to acknow-
ledge in it the trace of ancient shores, as these cavities are al-
ways superficial, exist independently of the nature of the rock,
and accompany other incontestible proofs of the sojourning of
the sea.

The White Zone.

Continuing to ascend, we enter into a zone which the broken
waves could not have reached, unless in the form of fine rain
carried by the wind. It may be designated the white zone ; in-
deed all vegetation there terminates, the brown colour of the
lower zone having disappeared by degrees, and given place to
the white tint natural to the rocks.

Everywhere the surfaces are unstained ; so that between the
part occupied by the marine vegetation, and that where the
lichens begin to appear, the first trace of terrestrial vegetation,
there is a zone entirely bare. It is divided in every direction
by very wide fissures, and, although far from being so deeply
decayed as the preceding zone, it exhibits such asperities that
it is difficult to walk over it, and above all to press the hand
upon it.

The examination of the surface shews that it is everywhere
perforated with little rounded cavities, of various depths, but
which never exceed from six to eight millimetres. They are
hollowed from beneath ; the entire surface is covered with them,
but the greatest are always observed on the little lines of fissures.
It is important to remark, that these cavities are found as fre-
quently on the vertical faces as on the horizontal or inclined ;

342 Captain Puillon-Boblaye on the Tidal and other Zones

which demonstrates that the first cause of the phenomenon is
independent of gravity.

The same surfaces present a phenomenon still more interest-
ing ; it is that of the numerous grooves rigorously directed
according to the lines of the greater declivity. We see them
arise upon every culminating ridge, scooped out and widening
as they descend towards the extremity of the inclined plane.
The ridges which separate the principal grooves become them-
selves the point of the departure of new grooves, which con-
verge towards the bottom of the former. We cannot better
compare these surfaces than to the plane én relievo of a moun-
tainous country.

The little cavities of from one to two millimetres, which cover
all the surfaces, are, in general, a little greater in the bottom of
the grooves than on the ridges. Some cavities, much larger
than all the others, but yet on a fresh surface, appear disposed
upon the lines of fissures, sometimes perpendicular to the direc-
tion of the grooves. Finally, and this observation is essential,
while the little cavities appear on ail the faces, the normal
grooves, cr those of the greater declivity, are not observed but
upon inclined faces; the horizontal planes are almost entirely
without them, and it is almost the same with the vertical planes.

The immediate cause of the formation of the grooves cannot
escape us, for the phenomenon passes under our eyes. We see
each of them forming itself by the union of cavities situated up-
on the same line of the greater declivity. We may affirm that
the vicinity of the sea is a necessary circumstance, for the phe-
nomenon in action presents itself nowhere in the interior of the
earth (not even in the vicinity of fresh waters, nor upon high
snowy peaks), and as, moreover, its sphere of action does not
extend on littoral rocks to more than 40 yards above the level
of the sea, and to 1000 or 1500 yards distance from the shore.
We can have little doubt, as shewn by these circumstances, that
the aura maritima, or the particles of the tide carried by the
wind, could have been the first cause of the phenomenon ;_ that
they act mechanically by absorption and crystallization, in the
manner of concentrated saline solutions upon the frozen rocks,
and, besides hygrometrically, by fixing humidity in the parts
which they penetrate. Cavities are thus formed on all the faces,

observed on the Rocks on the Shores of Greece. 343

and afterwards the rain-waters and dews produce grooves, by
flowing according to the direction of the greater declivity, and
carrying along with them the disunited parts.

The phenomenon is thus explained in a manner altogether
mechanical. Yet it might be possible that the waters of the sea
might have had a chemical action upon these limestone rocks,
which are almost all more or less mixed with magnesia, and
doubtless deposited in the waters under very different circum-
stances.

The Grey Zone.

When we ascend the upper part of this zone, we observe that
the bottom of the cavities begin to be covered with a greyish
lichen, with little scattered black globules, resembling grains of
powder; and if we break the rock, we very often see, at about
a millimetre under the surface, an embroidering of beautiful
emerald-green, which surprises us the more as between it and
the lichen the rock is not altered. One might be tempted to
see, in these circumstances, the proof of a destructive action,
which the lichens would exert on the limestones; but there is
nothing of the kind. A more attentive observation shews that
this green matter occupies only fissures invisible to the naked
eye, where it ceases at a certain depth. Thus vegetation here
exerts a conservative action ; it opposes the destructive action of
the awra maritima, and terminates by vanquishing it; quickly
every trace of erosion ceases, and the rock, still deprived of other
vegetation, is covered with a uniform grey tint.

I do not believe, after what has just been stated, it can be
supposed that the corrosion of these littoral rocks commenced at
an epoch anterior to ours; from those times, ‘* when, accord-
ing to some geologists, acid rains washed the surface of the
rocks, or torrents of acid water rushed from the bosom of the
earth, dissolved every thing in its passage, gave rise to diluvium,
and scooped out valleys ;"—opinions which appear to me to be-
long rather to the geology of the eighteenth than the nineteenth
century. Besides, the examination of historical monuments
would refute this objection. (I might cite many of these, but
these details will be placed with greater propriety in a work
upon the Morea.) A: great number of monuments, of high an-
tiquity, of Cyclopean or Hellenic construction, situated within

344 Captain Puillon-Boblaye on the Tidal and other Zones

the limits which I have assigned to the aura maritima, exhibit
traces of a deep erosion, while those of the same age built in
the interior are unaltered, as at the period of their erection ; and,
on the other hand, the monuments of the epech of the Cru-
sades, or of the French domination, situated on the shore,
already exhibit marks of erosion.

Some have been able to observe the effect of this action in
the same place, and on the same materials *, impressed at once
on monuments 600 and 3000 years old; and upon the rocks on
which they are built, rocks which in this place become to us the
historic monuments of the last Mediterranean movement, or of
the period of the settling of this sea into its present basin. This
order of phenomena, notwithstanding the smallness of its effects,
seems *to me favourable for the estimation of time, because the
effect being simple and constant, the effects ought evidently to
be proportioned to the time, while the phenomena of land gained
by the continued formation of alluvium depend on variable
causes, and causes which uniformly tend to annihilation, and
which can with great difficulty lead us to any approximation.

Grooves and Decayed Rocks of Ancient Shores.

My observations relative to the grooves of the greater decli-
vity, have hitherto been extended only to littoral rocks, and to
the actions exerted in our times. We shall find in the interior
of the continent, and even to the elevation of a thousand yards,
effects of the same nature, which will completely establish the
analogy which I have already hinted at between the ancient
shores and those of the present sea.

The action of atmospheric agents upon compact limestones
and marbles of the interior of the Continent, appears at this
time to reduce itself to fissures, which at length cause the de-
struction of some projecting parts, but otherwise there is no
erésion such as that on the shore. Yet we observe in many
places, and at great heights, grooves directed according to the
line of the greater declivity, analogous in all their characters to

* It is to be recollected that we here speak only of marbles and compact
limestones. The calcaire grossiere, or coarse limestone, of which the greater
number of the monuments of the Morea are formed, experience in eyery po-
sition a rapid destruction through atmospherical agency.

4

observed on Rocks on the Shores of Greece. 545

those above described. The circumstances which distinguish
this phenomenon from the analogous one upon the present
shores, are, 1st, the existence of a cuticle of lichen uniformly
covering the rock, which announces that the action that pro-
duced the erosion has ceased; 2dly, the obtuse form of the
ridges and of the borders of the cavities; 3dly, the much
greater dimensions of the normal grooves.

These groves, which on the border of the sea scarcely exceed
a few millimetres in depth, present in some localities in the in-
terior, principally upon the low valleys which border in the
sea, a breadth of from 1 to ? decimeters, with a corresponding
depth.

These grooves, in their course, often meet with cylindrical
irregular holes, which belong constantly to the limestones in the
same locality ; then they penetrate the limestone, and are de-
lineated at its surface. ‘Thus those cavities had already been
produced when the action which gave rise to the grooves still _
existed. The great dimensions of the ancient grooves would
be explained by the long continued action, and perhaps by dif-
ferent atmospherical circumstances ; the elevation and extent of
the surfaces upon which we observe them, by the movements of
the land and of the tide, as powerful then upon the Mediterra-
nean shores as upon tliose of the present ocean. In every plave
where these normal grooves exist, you will be sure to find be-
neath, and in general at a small distance, certain signs of the
existence of ancient shores. These are either the superior limits
of the tertiary district resting upon the ancient district, or
lines of pebbles and rocks im situ perforated by boring mol-
lusca; or, finally, surfaces of decayed limestones perforated
with numerous tortuous cavities with rounded surfaces. I be-
lieve that it may be established with certainty, that there is
an analogy between these surfaces, covered with grooves of
the greater declivity, and the white zone of the shore. I would
now establish the same analogy between the surfaces with tor-
tuous cavities of which I have just spoken, and the decayed
zone, in some manner beaten by the tide. Both sorts present
the same kinds of destruction, only the rocks of the interior
have lost their asperities; the cavities are not only rounded

JULY—SEPTEMBER 1831, Z

346 Captain Puillon-Boblaye on the T'dal and other Zones

but sometimes even polished. In supposing them to have the
same origin, we ought not to be astonished at this difference ;
it results principally from the action of atmospheric agents, and
from that of alluvial waters, which has filled them with ochrey
clay. he position in which these surfaces is observed is a
new proof of their origin; we see them either on the flat lands
(plateaux) at the foot of the mountains that constitute the limit
of the tertiary district, or at the summit of passes (cols), and
seldom on the sides of valleys. Besides, they are always su-
petficial, and I have never happened to see them in the in-
terior of the limestone, although I have travelled during a
period of two years through a country where we meet every-
where naked sections, many hundred yards in height. The soil
of Modon and that of Navarino, as well as the pass which sepa-
rates these towns, and above all the ditches of their citadels,
show that these cavities, scooped here in the nwmmulitic chalk,
are superficial, and that their level is superior to that of the ter-
tiary district, notwithstanding the contrary appearance produced
by the dislocation of the soil. I have already stated that I
have never seen these cavities filled with any other substance
than ochrey clay mixed with pebbles; the tertiary district has
never appeared to me to extend so far, and there is likewise im
it a breccia with a crystalline cement, which we meet always in
the vicinity of these decayed surfaces, and which I believe to
be of the tertiary epoch *.

These last observations would require to be verified with the
more care, as they alone would be sufficient to determine the
epoch of the excavating of these cavities, always nevertheless
attending to the difference of the levels, for they could not have
been filled, either because they are posterior to the deposition of
the recent formations, or because they occupied, at the time of
their formation, a higher level.

In recapitulation, we must conclude, from the existence of
normal grooves, or those of the greater declivity, that the

® Figure 1. shews a littoral cave near to Napoli, elevated from 5 to 6 fa-
thoms above the present level of the sea, filled with a ferruginous breccia;
this breccia belongs to the present epoch. It contains fragments of antique
pottery, and the cave itself belongs to a slight and very recent upraising of
the coast of this part of Argolis. j

observed on Rocks on the Shores of Greece. OAT

rocks on which they are found, if they are sharp and stripped of
all vegetation, appertain to the sphere of action of the aura ma-
ritima; that if they are edged with moss and again covered
with lichens, analogy induces us to suppose that, at an anterior
period, they were continental and littoral surfaces. We shall
then be able, by means of this character, in spite of all the dis-
locations of the soil, the absence of pebbles, and cavities formed
by boring shells, and the frequent disappearance of recent dis-
tricts, to discover the trace of sea-shores at different periods.
This fact being undeniably established will, moreover, serve to
throw light on the question of the return of the sea upon sur-
faces which it had abandoned. Indeed this character is not
susceptible of being destroyed by the violent return of the sea
to the surface of continents.

The direction of the grooves should be observed, if the sur-
face of the rock has permitted them to be developed to a great
extent. They will be in a normal direction to its horizontal
section, if the soil has not experienced great movements since
their formation. On the other hand, if their deviation be well
defined, it will enable us to discover the direction of the up-
raising disengaged from all the effects of anterior upraisings.
The examination of the surfaces of blocks imbedded in breccias
or of ancient alluvials, will demonstrate if already they had be-
longed to a terrestrial or a littoral surface. Touching induc-
tions relative to the time, which we can draw from the pheno-
menon of the erosion of the marbles and compact limestones, by
the effect of the aura maritima, I believe that, by reason of the
simplicity and the permanence of the phenomenon, they can ac-
quire a degree of probability as satisfactory as those derived from
a phenomenon operating on a greater scale, it is true, but much
more complex. It will be inferred, from the existence of small
horizontal terraces, lines of boring shells, and carious limestones,
imprinted on the more recent tertiary deposites, that the sea has
occupied many successive levels in the clysmian or diluvian
period, which had not been acknowledged owing to particular
systematic and religious opinions. The comparison of the black
or deeply carious littoral zone, with surfaces analogous in the
interior, will offer means still more evident of discovering traces
of ancient shores, of separating ancient littoral caverns from con-

z2

ww

348 Captain Puillon-Boblaye on the Tides, &c.

tinental caverns, whether formed by erosion, or by falling in of

-rocks. Finally, these observations will do away with the neces-
sity of having recourse to hazardous hypetheses for explaining
certain phenomena which are in great part conformable with the
present order of things. Notwithstanding, I shall repeat that I
am very far from wishing to attribute to marine and littoral
influences all the cavities of ancient limestones.

I have mentioned, as a proof of the contrary, the caverns with
bones, of which the Morea demonstrates the mode of formation,
and above all of the filling up, better than any other country.
Indeed in each of the inclosed basins in the irterior, the torren-
tial waters engulf themselves, and do not again appear but at
a great distance, and the greater part of the time beneath the
level of the sea. Numerous caverns with bones are filled up in
our times, and the gulfs or katavothrons of the Plain of T'ri-
politza, have swallowed up, in these last years, thousands of
human bones, mixed at the same time with ochrey clay, which
envelopes the clysmian or diluvial bones.

We may also cite certain cavities, partly empty and partly
filled with tertiary alabasters and breccias, which appear ow-
ing to the renewing of the same, which, in the same localities,
had before produced gypsums, iron-glance, and magnesian lime-
stones variously cracked or fissured. There are still acid ema--
nations and acidulous springs, of which M. Hoffman has shewn
the connection with the upraising of certain valleys, without
describing their effects upon the limestones which they traverse ;
it is a cause still producing mineralogical modifications, if not
geognostical, analogous to those which I have described, but
which doubtless ought to exhibit distinct characters.

My observations apply, then, but to a part of the phenomenon
of erosion, which I have endeavoured to explain by the effects
produced by it on our shores. If any one should think that I
have not attained this end, these last observations would remain
susceptible of new explanations, new inquiries, and interesting
applications, to which I call the attention of geologists.

349

‘agdee Ay JO uvurpeshg ‘uosorreyouy qoovp Aq ape
UINJaL B WOTZ 1OY}0 ayy £ puv[sy yyy Jo uPUMADIOTQ ayy “tajgoryOY ap Aq opwut duo wry pordoo | “So1opng-jJo puvysy oy} A0J UNjoxr OAOGR ay,

OT9LT
0zz¢ “Oz— 6 ‘Z—|1L e—
09zF “6I— I ‘61—|0t ‘6I—
oes ‘8I— G. Si=16 eI
oe ‘Lim tt A SS
O19 ‘OTST i g ‘OTst|4 ‘9I8I 99% CoG
“SINE SS ee ee a a es
oe cI 0299 0089 ZG £93 6% tP ¢£ | €81| Lo !| ssl} te
“TOUIUINS *pasn *1OJUIM. ‘S1aJIOH]
ur posyy wop[as ur pas() ‘ ees “AOOVM
“nexO b 410 GNV1s] |
"SOT Jo
ase ayy
ye porp 91 ISP
UvUL B "U0 [JS G (me cence, | e/a. |
gE oF 0% OFGE 5896 08 LOE | Leet uy 09 921 901 | 80g} ht] soe] Los
I g I 11g GLE 9 8z 16 g 9 9 81 8 61 1g ‘uate ] |
9 8 I 909 E891 eI £9 68 91 8% 61 oe 0g 0g 1st “2oquing
L g (1 SEP O6ST rat 9¢ £6 6 te PI OF Co Le SI “Kev
9 8 7 06! ZOLt SI 06 06 gt c% &% 6¢ 3 £9 OLT — |‘StrayI0g
g L P 1f6 GLO Il 08 c6 i, Il 8I Pg FZ €¢ GPL | ‘aoqporT
8 PI L 0&6 Oost 2G OST §6 1) ge 83 cB rE 98 ee | Seeqien®
"1281 Uy “STINE *SODUITA

F . ° 4 4 "la ‘ — ; = *savaX GT] ‘sxvoX g]) "sek gt|‘savoA gq] ,

s1zo y | “SIRO 9 sz B | porazysnerg | “dooys |fsxogioyy | ‘smog | “T68T UE | “OBI-OIST | “OZBT-9I8T | “s1vo 128 Ut
0 we 0 390 « Suosio gf sivoh ¢ sivak g Jopun | adoqe | sopun | eAoqe |.) -moumans
pe ge sea | ae dag | PS | conte | PUN | asopro | upsueac | ursmpare |sopewa,|soreurg| soren, | sorery |[PPHAPUT] TRCN TS |

29 "SMI “SDI “Dsy ‘NvaATaAmUy, “OQ *y Aq poyworunmM0g =‘, ZeT wah ay)
we ‘spumsy aounyy ay? JO 0at7 ‘agsnyy pun anuapny fo 09 ‘agaHNy ‘ATLLVD Jo X00Lg ay} fo puv ‘NoILVTAdOg 24} JO STTIVL

( 350 )

Notice of New Bone Caves discovered at Salleles-Cabardes, in
the Department of Aude, in France, shewing that Man was
probably contemporaneous with the extinct Mammalia found
an them.

Turse caves, lately discovered by MM. Marcel, de Serres and
Pitorre, and described in Boue’s Journal de Geologie, occur
in transition or mountain limestone. ‘The bones found in them
are fractured, but not water-worn. They lie as usual in a
reddish coloured marly mass, like those in the caves of Bize.
The bones are irregularly heaped together; thus along-side
a bear or a fox, we find bones of a deer or a horse. The popu-
lation of these caves, like those of Bize, appears essentially cha-
racterized by remains of deers and horses. ‘These domestic
races, like the wild races with which they are associated, are
found of different ages. This circumstance, joined to many
other circumstances, announce that the carrying so many bones
into the fissure of rocks has been purely accidental. For the
diluvial currents that carried in the mud, the fragments and
pebbles, may also have carried in such bones as they met with
in their way. It is at least certain that, at Salleles and Bize,
the carnivora could not have assembled all the bones we find
there; because remains of such animals are very rare in these
caves, and those that are met with do not belong to such species
as have the habitude of carrying into their retreats the animals
on which they feed. Bears and wolves, particularly the first,
have not this practice, yet they are the principal carnivora met
with there, It is true the tooth of a hyzena was found at Sal-
leles, but this was the only tooth met with; and, notwithstand-
ing extensive researches, only two pieces of album g@reecum were
found. It may, it is true, be objected that the carnivora of
the present time, that carry into their dens animals and their
remains, on which they feed, do not always leave traces of their
existence in these subterranean places. In regard to the album
gr@cum or coprolite, found lately in the caves of Bize, it does
not belong to the hyzena, but to wolves and foxes.

The following is a list of animal remains found in the caverns
of Salleles and Bize.

Notice of New Bone Caves in France. 351

Caves of Salleles—Ursus Pittorii, spelaeus, arctoideus, and
meles. Hyena, var. spzlea. Canis lupus and vulpes. Lepus
timidus and cuniculus. Mus species not determined. Eguus
caballus. Cervus Reboulii and Dumasii. Capreolus Tourna-
lii and Leufroyi. Antilope Christolii. Bos taurus and urus.
Bird size of sparrow hawk; another resembling the golden
pheasant, The shells were Natica millepunctata, Helix nemo-
ralis and aspersa.

Caves of Bize.—Vespertilio murinus and auritus. Ursus
arctoideus. Canis lnpus and vulpes. Felis serval. Lepus
timidus and cuniculus. Mus campestris. Sus scropha. Equus
eaballus. Cervus Destremii, Reboulii, and a species not deter-
mined. Capreolus Tournalii, Leufroyi, and a species not yet
determined. Antilope Christolii. Capra egagrus. Bos taurus
and urus. Of birds one species was the size of common owl,
another that of the sparrow hawk, a third resembling the com-
mon pheasant in size, and another the partridge and the Anas
olor *. The shells—Natica millepunctata. Buccinum unda-
tum. Pectunculus glycimeris. Pecten jacobeea. Mytilus edu-
lis. Helix nemoralis, hortensis, lucida, and nitida. Bulimus
decollatus. Cyclostoma elegans. Lastly, that which proves
the recent age of these deposites is, that the same mud which
cements together the bones, &c. of species considered as extinct,
and therefore viewed as antidiluvian, contains also human bones
and works of art, or, lastly, the bones of extinct animals that
appear to have been fashioned by man. To make our compa-
rison of the two sets of caves complete, the following may be
added.—

Caves of Salleles.— Bones of supposed extinct species, fashion-
ed, it would appear, by man. Pottery of very ancient dates.

Caves of Bize.—Bones of animals supposed to be extinct;
bones fashioned by man. Pottery of ancient date. Human bones.
—Vide Boués Journal de Geologie for particulars.

* The occurrence of fossil remains of birds resembling the common and
golden pheasant is a very curious fact : if they should be proved to belong to
these birds, the age of the deposite containing them will be made out, because
these birds are not natives of Europe, having been introduced by man from

the east. It still remains to be ascertained whether these bones, &c. have
been brought into their present situation at one or at different times.—Enir.

( 352 ) ;

The Mastodon Jormerly extended over the entire surface of the
American Continent, and the Horse was probably an origi-
nal inhabitant of the New World * ?

‘Tue committee beg leave respectfully to report, that these
bones having been janded only within a few days, sufficient
time has not been afforded them for the accurate determination
of every imperfect or mutilated fragment. The greater part,
however, belonging to well known animals, were immediately
recognized, and it is not believed that any thing of much im-
portance will be hereafter observed. They therefore submit,
this evening, a general account of this collection, reserving for
a future occasion such further particulars as may be deemed of
sufficient interest.

The remains of the great mastodon compose more than one-
half the entire quantity of which this collection consists. Among
them is a head, which, though not entire, is in better preserva-
tion than any of this animal heretofore discovered. It enables
us to form a better idea of the figure of this important part than
could hitherto be obtained. It is found to have the cranium
much depressed, in which it deviates remarkably from the ele-
phant. Both the tusks are preserved, one having been found
still in the socket, and the other lying at a short distance off.
Of other large tusks, there are besides, five that measure from
six and a half to twelve feet in length, and many more large
fragments of others. Six portions of upper jaws, all containing
teeth. Fifteen portions of lower jaws, twelve of which contain
from one to three grinders each. Besides these there are seventy-
three detached molar teeth of all sizes, some of them as large as
any yet discovered. Of the large bones of the anterior extre-
nity, there are five scapule, seven humeri, three ulne, and one
radius, more or less perfect. Of the posterior extremity, six
ossa innominata, ten femora, and five tidie. Some of these are
almost entire, others are much mutilated.

* The above is a Report of Messrs Cooper, J. A. Smith, and De Kay,
read on the 30th May 1831 to the Lyceum of Natural History, on a collec-
tion of fossil bones, disinterred at Big Bone Lick, Kentucky, in September

830, and recently brought to New York. ;

American Elephant. 353

It is necessary to observe, that although these large hones, as
well as the detached tusks, have been provisionally referred to the
mastodon, yet it is not improbable that, on a further comparison,
a part may be found to belong to the fossil elephant. The mu-
tilated condition of some renders it extremely difficult to pro-
nounce with certainty upon a slight examination.

The remains of the fossil elephant comprised in this collection,
are next in interest and number to those of the mastodon. The
first that we shall notice is a head of a young individual, more
complete than any knewn to your committee to have been ob-
tained in North America. It consists of the upper and lower
maxillary bones, with six molar teeth in good preservation.
Isolated grinders have been discovered in the United States in
numerous instances, but generally without any portion of bone
adhering to them. ‘There are also of the elephant, in this col-
lection, several other fragments of jaws, and twenty separate
molar teeth.

Of the horse, there are perfect teeth, and other portions found
under circumstances that favour the belief of their being of
equal antiquity with the extinct animals whose remains are as-
sociated with them in the collection. The teeth are remarkably
large and sound.

Of ruminating animals, there are skulls and some other parts
of the buffalo, Bos américanus ; of the extinct species named by
Dr Harlan, Bos bombifrons ; and of a large species of Cervus,
resembling C. Alces.

Finally, we have also discovered among these interesting re-
lics some considerable portions of the Megalonyx, whose osteo-
logy is still so imperfectly known. The most important of these
is a right lower maxillary bone, with four teeth in the sockets,
and another detached tooth which appears to have come from
the upper jaw. There is also the tibia of the right leg, and
perhaps some other bones which may prove to belong to the
same animal.

Remarks by Professor Silliman.—Having (since the above
account was received) seen this collection of bones, so accurately
described above, I cannot refrain from attempting to convey to
others something of the impression made upon my own mind

354 American Horse.

on entering the room containing this astonishing assemblage of
bones, many of which are of gigantic size. ‘They produce in
the beholder the strongest conviction that races of animals for-
merly existed on this continent, not only of vast magnitude, but
which must also have been very numerous; and that the masto-
don, at least, ranged in herds over probably the entire American
continent.

It is stated by the person who exhibits this collection, that
the skull, and tusks which it contains, weigh upwards of five
hundred pounds; that a pair of tusks now lying in the reom,
and supposed to belong to the same species, weighed six hundred
pounds when taken from the ground, and these are nearly per-
fect; and when we regard them as being merely appendages,
and sustained by the animal ata great mechanical disadvantage,
since they do not, like horns, rest upon the head, but project
from it laterally forward, we can easily imagine that it would
require the most powerful muscles to sustain and wield the en-
tire cranium, tusks, muscles and integuments. We shall be
happy to see additional illustrations from the able committee to
whom we are indebted for the previous statement of facts. We
will, however, venture to mention the extraordinary curvature
of the tusks. Those of the elephant, we believe, are always in
the form of a bent-bow, but these have almost the shape of a
sickle, with the blade curved to one side; they are sharp and
pointed. Many of the molar teeth of the mastoden in this col-
lection, as we have often observed elsewhere, are much worn by
erinding, and possess a high lustre from the polish produced by
friction ; they appear to have belonged to animals of very vari-
ous ages, and the smaller teeth are generally little or not at all
worn; in some of the teeth, the processes or ridges which are
so remarkably prominent in the mastodon, and so remarkably
contrasted also in this respect with those of the elephant, are
entirely worn away, and are replaced by a deep, egg-shaped ca-
vity, of extreme polish, as if it were varnished.

It is stated that this collection of bones contains upwards of
three hundred in number, besides twenty-two tusks, and that it
weighs in all jive thousand three hundred pounds. 'The bones
were obtained by Captain Finnel, at the Big Bone Lick, twenty
miles south of Cincinnati, in Kentucky. The deposite was

Dr Craigie on the History of Comparative Anatomy. 355

twenty-two feet below the surface, but bones appear to have
been found at various depths, as may be observed in the notice
of the Reverend Layres Gayley *, vol. xviii. p. 137 of this
Journal +. The discovery of bones of the horse is very extraor-
dinary, as this animal had been supposed not to be a native of
America, and the committee believe that they are of equal anti-
quity with the other bones; the great size of the teeth implies
very large individuals, if not a large species, in analogy with
similar facts on the eastern continents.
Silliman’s Journal, vol. xx. p. 370.

Observations on the History and Progress of Comparative
Anatomy. By Davin Cratciz, M.D., &c. (Continued
from page 56.)

Secrion I[V.—Italian Zoolomical School—Columbus, Fallopius,
Aranzi, Varoli, Bittner and Coiter.

Tae cruelty of fortune, I have already shewn, deprived Eus-
tachio of the place to which his researches entitled him among
the anatomists of the 16th century. Unpropitious, however, as
this circumstance was to him, it was in several respects fortu-
nate for two anatomists nearly contemporaneous, and whose ser-
vices, though highly meritorious, are certainly considerably en-
hanced by the accidental obscurity in which those of Eustachio
were involved. I allude to Columbus and Fallopius :—though
not the first anatomists of the Italian school, yet certainly the
first in whose time that school can be said to be firmly esta-
blished.

The period of the birth of Matthew Realdus Columbus is
unknown; but he was a native of Cremona, where he pursued
the occupation of a druggist, and he was the pupil and friend,
and eventually the successor, of Vesalius, when that anatomist

* Then anonymous, but since acknowledged by the reverend gentleman
who visited the spot.

+ This collection is at present shewn at the corner of Broadway and Pearl
Street, New York ; but it is understood that it will ere long be transferred to
London or Paris.

356 Dr Craigie’s Observations on the

went to the court of Charles V. in 1542*. From a passage in
the 15th book of his treatise De Re Anatomica, in which he
states that he had taught at the date of its publication, 1559,
for fifteen years, it must be inferred that he did not enter on
the duties of professor at Padua till 1544. Here he appears to
have continued for two years only, when he was appointed, in
1546, to the Theatre of Pisa, and where he was still teacher in
1548. After this period he is stated by some to have taught
in Florence, but this is doubtful; and all that can be regarded
as certain, is, that he was invited to Rome, where he taught for
several years, and while resident at which, he published at Ve-
nice, in 1559, the work above mentioned, inscribed to Paul IV.
Not much less doubt hangs over the period of his death than
over that of his birth. The Abbe Marini has adduced a strong
body of evidence to show that he died the very year in which
he published his treatise, 1559, even before the impression was
completed; and to this opinion Tiraboschi is inclined. Fabrucci,
on the other hand, proves that he was living in 1564; and by
others, as Haller and Portal, he is said to have died only in
1577. These circumstances, though insignificant in themselves,
it is important to determine; with the view of estimating the
justice of his claims to certain discoveries. The principal point
to be kept in view is, that his treatise was first published, not
at Rome, as stated by Tiraboschi, but at Venice in 1559.

The assiduity of Columbus in the acquisition of anatomical
knowledge was very great ; and he assures us that in the course
of asingle year he dissected fourteen bodies*,—a very great
number for that period, and considering the prejudices which
still existed against the dissection of the human subject. In
these researches he studied not only healthy anatomy, but al-
lowed no morbid deviation, or anomaly in structure, to escape
his notice. He is further distinguished for his assiduous study
of physiology by the dissection of living animals.

* “ Etenim cum Vesalius abesset ac diutius in Germania detineretur, ut
opus suum de humani corporis fabrica imprimendum curaret ; me tum Vene-
tiis primario chirurgo ac preceptori meo Joanni Antonio Leonico, gravi mor-
bo laboranti, omni officio ac potius pietate assistentem, universa schola Pa-

tavina dignum judicavit quem in Vesalii locum sufficeret, ac non contemnendo
preemio accersivit.”"—Lib. i. cap. 19.

+ “ Anno uno quatuordecim cadavera mihi dissecare contigit.”—_Lib. xv.

History and Progress of Comparative Anatomy. 357

Columbus, though chiefly devoted to the study of the human
structure, which he laboured to render precise and accurate, has
nevertheless made some valuable observations in animal anatomy
and physiology. In the first book, which is devoted to a more mi-
nute and accurate system of osteology than had been previously
given, among other observations, we find that he remarks, that
the superior jaw is fixed in man and all animals except the croco-
dile, in which it moves on the lower, and that in the parrot both
are moveable *. The former observation, however, is neither
new nor accurate. It was originally made by Aristctle, and has
been adopted or repeated by succeeding authors without exa-
mination of its justice. It is known that in the crocodile and
other reptiles, excepting the poisonous serpents, the lower jaw
alone is moveable, as in the mammiferous animals. The second
peculiarity, which is to a certain extent common to the whole
feathered class, is, however, most conspicuous in the psittacoid
tribe, by reason of the elastic plates by which the upper jaw is
articulated to the frontal bone. The claim of the discovery of
the stapes rests on very slender grounds; for that bone was
previously described by Ingrassias, and nearly about the same
time was recognised by Eustachio and Fallopius. He gives a
good description of the bones and different apertures of the cra-
nium, and impresses the necessity of preserving the turbinated
bones of the nasal cavities, which had been overlocked by Vesa-
lius. He gives the first minute description of the sacrwm and
coccygeal bones. A mistake of Aristotle, who insisted that the
bones of the lion were void of marrow, he rectifies, by showing
the large cavities in the bones of that genus, and which he
maintains can be for no other purpose than containing marrow.
(cap. xix.) In opposition to the opinion of all previous and
most subsequent anatomists, he represents the larynx as con-
sisting of a series, not of cartilages, but of bones; and this idea
he maintains on the ground, that, because in advanced life the
laryngeal cartilages are ossified, the natural state of these carti-
lages is the osseous in the human subject. It is in monkeys
only, and other lower animals, he argues, and in early life in
the human subject, that these constituent parts of the larynx
are cartilaginous.

In describing the human liver in the sixth book, he remarks

* Lib. i. cap. 8.

358 Dr Craigie’s Observations on the

the multifid arrangement of that organ in quadrupeds, and the
bifid arrangement in birds. The accuracy of these observations
will be recognised by the comparative anatomist. In most of
mammiferous quadrupeds, excepting a few of the monkey tribe,
the liver consists of four or five lobes, separated by very deep
fissures, so as to be completely detached from each other; and
in birds, the same organ consists of two lobes, which are gene-
rally nearly equal in size. But in his further account of the
organ, he is led to give a description of the venous system, in
which he repeats most of the errors of the ancients.

The account of the anatomy of the heart and brain is greatly
better, and indeed is the best part of the treatise of Columbus,
excepting one passage, where, in accordance with his views in
the sixth book, he represents the arterious vein to arise, not from
the heart, but from the liver. While he falls into this error,
however, he has the courage to show, in opposition, not only
to the authority of Galen, but of most anatomical teachers at
that time, that this vessel contains not air, but blood mixed
with air, which it receives from the lungs, and thus conveys to
the left ventricle. To these views he appears to have been led
chiefly by opening the bodies of living animals, and observing
the heart and vessels in action. He contends, in opposition to
Aristotle, that the blood is not formed in the heart; and he
justly remarks, that no bone is found in the human heart, as
in those of the ox, buffalo, horse, elephant, and other large
animals.

His sketch of the distribution of the arteries is correct, and
that of the course of the circulation shews that he was the first
who had formed ideas of that function rather more distinct than
those of Servet. He distinguishes two kinds of blood, natural
(sanguis naturalis), and aerated or prepared (sanguis spiri-
tuosus vel paratus) ; the first corresponding to the venous or
circulated, the second to the arterial or respired blood of modern
physiology. The first, he says, is received from the vena cava
into the right ventricle, while the second is received from the
venous artery into the left ventricle, while the membranous
folds or valves yield and allow its entrance. On the contrac-
tion of the heart, these valves are again shut, to prevent the
blood from receding; and at the same time the valves both of
the large artery, aorta, and of the arterious vein (pulmonary

History and Progress of Comparative Anatomy. 359

artery), are opened, and at once allow the aerated blood (sanguis
spirituosus) to escape and be distributed over the system, and
the natural blood to be conveyed tothe lungs. It is further re-
markable that, in his subsequent account of the structure and
uses of the lung, he shews-that he had formed a very distinct,
and on the whole, accurate idea of the nature of the process of
respiration. ‘‘ All these uses of the lung,” he continues, ‘ my
predecessors knew; but I add another of very great moment,
to which they have not even alluded ;—and this is the preparation
and almost generation of the vital spirits, which are finally com-
pleted in the heart. The air inspired by the nostrils and mouth
is conveyed by the windpipe through the whole lung, in which
it is mixed with that blood which, proceeding from the right
ventricle of the heart, is conveyed by the pulmonary artery (vena
arterialis) ; for this arterial vein is so large that it conveys blood
for other purposes as well as its own nourishment. (This, it
may be remembered, is one of the arguments already used by
Servet to demonstrate the true use of the pulmonary artery).
The blood thus conveyed is agitated by the constant motion of
the lung, attenuated and mingled with the air, which also in
this collision and refraction undergoes some preparation ; so that
the mingled blood and air are received by the branches of the
venous artery (arteria venalis) and are at length conveyed by
its trunk to the left ventricle of the heart; and so well are they
mingled and attenuated, that little is left for the heart to do;
and after this slight elaboration, as if it put the final hand to the
vital spirits, it then distributes them by means of the aorta to all
parts of the body*.” In his further prosecution of the subject,
he entreats his reader not to be influenced by the authority of
Aristotle, but to consider the size of the lung and the pulmonary
artery and veins, the last of which is evidently made, he argues,
to convey blood not, from the heart but ¢o that organ. To these
arguments, he adds the fact that blood is known to proceed
_ from the lungs not by coughing only, sed etiam quia floridus
est, tenuis et pulcher, ut de sanguine arteriarum quoque dicere
consueverunt medici. He concludes by recommending the candid
reader who searches for truth, to study the subject in the bodies

* De Re Anatomica, lib. xi. cap. 2-

2

360 Dr Craigie’s Observations on the

of brute animals opened alive, “ for in these,” he adds, “ you
will find the venous artery (the pulmonary) full, not of air or
smoky fumes, as the Aristotelians assert, but of natural blood.”

In the same book he describes accurately the distribution of
the peritoneum, and is the first who recognises its twofold ar-
rangement. . He gives a good description of the situation, figure,
and structure of the womb, and rectifies some mistakes of Mun-
dino, who had represented it as containing seven chambers or cells.

The fourteenth book is exclusively devoted to the subject of
vivisection, and the facts thus to be determined. If neither ape
nor bear nor lion is to be got, he prefers the dog to the hog,
first, because the latter are less convenient for distinguishing
the use of the recurrent nerves ; secondly, because they are too
fat ; and, thirdy, because the grunting noise of the animal is ex-
tremely disagreeable. Columbus, therefore, had recourse to the
dog, in which he recognised the motion of the larynx in voice,
- the alternate descent and ascent of the diaphragm in inspira-
tion and expiration, the motion of the heart and arteries, which
are dilated, he says, while the former contracts, and contracted
during the dilatation of the heart,—and the alternate heaving
and sinking of the brain, guod paucis notum est. He describes
with some minuteness the process for exposing the recurrent or
laryngeal nerves; the division of which, he observes, is followed
by loss of voice. And to prove that voice depends on the la-
rynx and its nerves, and not on the heart, as asserted by Aris-
totle, after tying the large vessels, he cut out the heart of a dog,
and shewed that the animal still barked and walked. On these
animals, also, he practised artificial respiration, with the effect
of exciting the action of the heart. Lastly, he recognised the
motion of the brain, which depends on arterial and cardiac pul-
sation.

In his fifteenth book he records all the singular deviations of
structure with which he had met; but these, as belonging ra-
ther to pathology, it is unnecessary to specify.

On the whole, it may be inferred that the great merit of Co-
lumbus consists in demonstrating the small or pulmonary cir-
culation, and making a very near approach to the true doctrine
of respiration, by means of the experiments which he performed
on living animals.

History and Progress of Comparative Anatomy. 361

Gabriel Fallopius of Modena, born in 1523, and cut off in his
fortieth year, in 1563, appears to have been teaching in Fer-
rara in 1547. In 1548, he informs us himself, he was ap-
pointed to the office of Professor in Pisa; and, in 1551, he was
invited to Padua, where he continued till the period of his death,
which took place in 1563. He is chiefly known for his re-
searches in human anatomy, in which he studied with great suc-
cess, the organ of hearing, the carotid and vertebral arteries,
the venous sinuses, both of the brain and spinal chord, the vena
azygos and its relations, the umbilical vein, the ductus arterio-
sus, the renal papillce, the utero-peritoneal tubes, since named
from him, and the distribution of the nervous system. In the
organ of hearing, his discoveries are most important; for, inde-
pendent of the tortuous canal, which has since been distinguished
by his name, he first recognised and described the cavity named
the vestibule, between the tympanum and labyrinth; the three
semicircular canals; the two, fenestrae, or apertures between the
tympanum and vestibule and cochlea; the nervous filament named
the chorda tympani; and, finally, the cochlea itself. The dis-
covery of the stapes, a third tympanal bone, he assigns to In-
grassias, although he himself had recognised it without being
aware of the discovery. He, nevertheless, has the merit of de-
monstrating the mutual articulations of these bones with the
greatest clearness and precision. He describes more accurately
than any of his predecessors the process of dentition, and the re-
lation between the temporary and the permanent set. The ana-
tomy of the muscular system also he rendered more accurate
than before, and first shewed that the internal intercostals only
are found at the sternwm, and that both orders have the same
action. He discovered the ileo-colic valve in the monkey.

Julius Cesar Aranzi, born at Bologna in 1530, and professor
of anatomy in that university, and Constantio Varoli, of the same
city, born in 154%, though chiefly known for their researches in
human anatomy, did not neglect that of the animal world gene-
rally. Both these anatomists supplied, by their researches,
much anatomical information to Ulysses Aldrovandus. Aranzi
describes the structure of the bustard (Otis tarda), (Ornitholo-
giz, lib. xiii.) ; and Varoli, with Flaminius Rota, has given that
of the Bohemian chatterer; (lib. xii.) In this bird Varoli re-

JULY—SEPTEMBER 1831. Aa

362 Dr Craigie’s Observations on the

cognised the horny structure of the inner membrane of the giz-
zard, and the facility with which it is detached from the mus-
cular layer, as also the hard and bony structure, with the bifid
appearance of the tongue. He remarks the great size of the
liver, and ascribes to this circumstance the voracity of the animal.
He observes also the great extent of the lungs, and the peculiar
arrangement of the ¢rachea, which is capacious and oval above,
narrow in the middle, and becomes again more capacious below.

Nearly about the same period, John Bittner, a Silesian by
birth, investigated, with much care, the structure of the parrot
family. In hisaccount of the cranium, he demonstrated the pe-
culiar manner in which the upper jaw bone is articulated to the
frontal, so as to produce motion of the former on the latter. He
seems also to have been well impressed with the peculiar situa-
tion and connections of the quadrilateral bone (os guadratum),
and the lever effect of its motion; but it is not to be wondered
at that his speculations on this subject are imperfect and unsatis-
factory. (Aldrovandi, lib. ix.)

The most diligent comparative anatomist of this period ap-
pears to have been Volcher Coiter or Koyter, who, though a
native of Groningen in Friseland, yet, as a pupil of Fallopius
at Padua, of Eustachio at Rome, and of Aranzi at Bologna, and
afterwards as a coadjutor of the indefatigable Aldrovandus, may
be regarded as one of the anatomists of the Italian school.
Born in 1534, after studying successively at Paris, Padua,
Rome, and Bologna, he taught, in the latter city, the structure of
the human body, and cultivated the study of animal anatomy with
extreme assiduity, in concert with Ulysses Aldrovandus. From
Bologna he proceeded to Montpellier, where he contracted an
intimate friendship with Rendelet, and continued to cultivate
his favourite pursuit of animal anatomy. After some time spent
in this agreeable manner, he obeyed an invitation of the muni-
cipal government of Nurnberg, that he would undertake the
office of public physician, Here, however, he did not long re-
main. Coiter was incapable of living an idle life, and his pas-
sion for incessant activity, with his desire of exploring the seats
of disease by dissection, found a ready gratification in the office
of military physician which the French armies then afforded.
Coiter, however, lived not to realize his hopes; and he died in
1600, ere lhe had accomplished his schemes.

History and Progress of Comparative Anatomy. 863

We are indebted to this anatomist for several valuable facts
in animal anatomy and physiology. He was among the first
who shewed the development of the chick in ovo, and distin-
guished the different parts of the foetus as they come into view.
He has traced also, with great accuracy, the growth of bone, the
junction of the epiphyses, and the different stages of the pro-
cess of ossification. He recognised the canal of the spinal chord,
and shewed that the matter of which it consists, though white
at the sides, is gray or cineritious in the centre, as well as its
fibrous structure. He distinguished the nerves of the spinal
chord into anterior and postericr rows. He discovered two
muscles of the nose. He described the quadruple stomach
of the ruminating animals, and the lungs of the oviparous qua-
drupeds, as the turtle, tortoise, and crocodile, were then named.
He gives minute accounts of the anatomical structure of the
tortoise, hedgehog, and bat; dissections of several birds, with
an account of their tympanal cavity, and remarks that they have
only one tympanal bone. He describes the tongue of the wood-
pecker, its stomach, crop, &c. ;"and, in investigating the anato-
my of the serpent tribe, he is the first who describes the poison-
vesicles or glands,—a discovery, the merit of which has been
unjustly ascribed to Rhedi.

He bad made numerous experiments on living animals to de-
termine the motion of the heart; and he found himself justified
in concluding that dilatation of the ventricles succeeds contrac-
tion of the auricles, and the converse ; that the apex approaches
the base during systole, and is removed during the diastole ;
and consequently that the heart is shortened during contraction.
Two facts also, not unworthy of the attention of modern phy-
siologists, he recognised in these experiments. The first, the
well known fact, that the right ventricle continues to contract
long after the death of the left ; and the second, that the base of
the organ continues to move long after all motion has ceased in
the apex. By exposing the brain in animals, as he occasionally
saw done by accidental injury in man, he recognised, with Co-
lumbus, the fact, that the pulsatory motion of that organ de-
pends on the action of its arteries. He had also remarked in
injuries of the head in the human body, that portions of brain
might be removed without serious injury to the functions. In

aa2

564 Dr Craigie on Comparative Anatomy.

imitation of these effects, he removed successive portions of the
brain in the lower animals, and shewed that so long as the ori-
gins of the nerves are unaffected, the great functions of the sys-
tem are unimpaired, and therefore that life is, within certain li-
mits, independent of the influence of the brain. ‘ Quod sum-
ma admiratione dignum existit,” says Coiter, in the genuine
spirit of an enthusiastic votary of science, * brutorum viventium
cerebra detexi, vulneravi, et intactis nervis eorundemque princi-
piis, et ventriculis mediis illaesis, exemi; at nullum vel vocis,
vel respirationis vel sensus, vel motus offensionis signum in lis
deprehendi. Aves absque cerebro aliquandiu vivunt, ut quilibet
m gallinis vel pullis gallinaceis, si rostrum superius cum dimidia
capitis parte absciderit, cerebrique majorem exemerit partem,
experiri potest.” In these experiments and deductions, Coiter
anticipates Haller, Zinn, Flourens, and Magendie; and, even
by the conclitsions which he has established, he throws nearly
as much light on this obscure subject as has been done by all
the researches of modern times.

His pathological observations equally demonstrate the acute-
ness and originality of his mind. Besides observing the palsy
which follows severe and probably lead colic, he had remark-
ed in persons who die’of fever, with delirium, convulsive, or
paralytic symptoms, not only that the cavities of the brain
contained limpid watery fluid, and its substance a watery and
bloody infiltration, but that the space between the membranes
of the spinal cord round the origins of the nerves, was distended
with the same limpid watery fluid. This may be regarded
as the first authentic instance in which proof was adduced of
changes in the cord, or its membranes, being the cause of con-’
vulsive or paralytic symptoms. Coiter further distinguishes
dropsical infiltration of the pulmonic tissue from effusion into the
pleura, or ordinary dropsy of the chest, and traces several in-
stances of dropsy to induration, or as he terms it, scirrhus of the
viscera.

Coiter is the first who gives figures of the skeletons of several
quadrupeds, birds, and reptiles. On the whole, he appears to
have been a person of great enterprise, indefatigable application,
and very considerable originality. All his observations bear the
impress of an observing, original, and inventive mind,

(To be continued.)

On the new Insular Volcano, named Hotham Island, which has
just appeared off Sicily; with a View of the Volcano, by
one of the Officers of the Philomel *. Plate VI.

Aurnovcn Europe at an early period was much convulsed
and changed through volcanic agency, at present these subter-
ranean actions are comparatively feeble. When therefore any
igneous matter is sent from below, its appearance does not fail
to excite a great degree of interest. A®tna, Vesuvius, and Hecla,
during our own times, have had repeated eruptions; but no new
island has been formed in the European seas, nor in any neigh-
bouring ocean, with exception of that off the coast of St Mi-
chael’s, when the temporary island of Sabrina rose from the
deep. It first showed itself above the sea on the 13th of June
1811, and continued to increase for several days, when it at-
tained a circumference of one mile, and a height of 300 feet.
It had a beautiful crater, with an opening 80 feet wide to the
south-west, from which hot water poured into the sea. Captain
Tillard, who visited the island on the 4th of July, has published
a drawing, with an account of it. In the month of October of
the same year, the island began gradually to disappear, and, by
the end of February 1812, vapour only was occasionally seen
rising from the spot where the island formerly stood.

On the 11th July last, an island very much resembling Sa-
brina, being composed of vesicular lava, scoriz, and volcanic
ashes, and which may have the same fate, made its appearance off
- the coast of the island of Sicily. Several accounts of this interest-
ing phenomenon have reached us, which, although but imper-
. fect, cannot fail to interest our readers.

The first notice of this new insular voleano was published in
the following terms, in the Messager des Chambres :—“< To-
wards ]1 o'clock of the 10th of July 1831, Captain John Cor-
rao, commander of the brig Thérésine, going from Trapani to
Girgenti, in Sicily, at the distance of about twenty miles from Cape
St Mark, perceived at the distance of a gun-shot a mass of
water, which rose 60 feet above the level of the sea, and pre-

* The accompanying engraving (Pl. VI.) is from a drawing by Dr Greville,
from the sketch by one of the officers of the Philomel.

366 = On the new Insular Volcano, called Hotham Island.

serited a circumference of nearly 400 fathoms; a smoke pro-
ceeded from it, exhaling an odour of sulphur. The preceding
day, in the Gulf of Y'rois Fontaines (Three Fountains) he
had seen a great quantity of dead fish and of black matter float-
ing on the water, and he heard a noise like that of thunder,
which the captain attributed to a volcanic eruption. He conti-
nued his voyage to Girgenti; and all the time that he was oc-
cupied in lading his ship, he saw a thick smoke rise incessantly .
from the same point, before which he arrived on the 16th, on
his return from Girgenti. A new spectacle was then presented
to him, namely, a tract of land, of the same circumference as
that of the mass of water which he had observed on his first
voyage. This island, which we shall call Corrao, from the
name of him who saw it formed, is elevated twelve feet ahove
the level of the sea; it has in the middle a kind of plain, and
the crater of a volcano, whence a burning lava is seen to pro-
ceed during the night. The island is bordered by a girdle of
smoke. ‘The sounding all around the island gives a depth of
100 fathoms. The Lat. is 37° 6’ N., and Long. 10° 26’ E. from
the meridian of Paris.”

In a letter from Dr Turnbull Christie to us, dated Malta,
23d July 1831, we have the following additional particulars :—

‘* T have much pleasure in communicating to you the highly
interesting intelligence of a new volcano having made its ap-
pearance only a few days ago, in the Mediterranean, and at no
great distance from this place. It is situated about half way
between the small island of Pantellaria and the adjoining coast of
Sicily. It has been preceded by several violent shocks of earth-
quakes, one of which threw down some houses, and killed se-
veral people at Sciacca. From the accounts which have been
already received, it would appear that the voleano commenced
on the 11th instant, when it was seen by the master of a small
vessel sailing towards Terra Nova, who describes it as having
had “ the appearance of a large rugged island, coming up and
falling with force back into the sea, so that the sea flew up to a
great height, and fell down in the form of foam.” This was
seen to be repeated, at short intervals, for nearly two hours.
The masters of two small vessels, one from Sardinia, and. the
other from Palermo, saw it on the 13th, and gave the fol-

On the New Insular Volcano, named Hotham Island. 307
>

lowing account of it: ¢ On the 13th instant, about two o'clock
p. M., being between Sciacca and Pantellaria, twenty-five miles
to the southward of Sciacca, we discovered three columns of
smoke, apparently issuing from the sea, which cannot but be
considered as a new volcano. On approaching it we heard a
great noise, like the rolling of the wheels of a steam-vessel. In
consequence of the continuance of calm weather, we remained
in that vicinity for three days, during which we constantly ob-
served the same appearance, and heard the same noise ; and we
only lost sight of it when about fifteen miles to the north-east
of Gozo. Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Hotham immediately sent
off the tender of the flag-ship, commanded by one of the lieute-
nants, and afterwards sent the Philomel, commanded by Cap-
tain Smith, to examine and ascertain the exact position of the
new volcano. Several other vessels, with a number of passen-
gers, are preparing for an excursion to it. You may easily
conceive how exceedingly disappointed I am at not being able
to visit it, being obliged to set sail to-morrow for Alexandria.”

«« P. §.—Since closing my letter, I have received the annexed
sketch of the voleano (PJ. VI), brought by the Philomel, which
has just returned. It has been named Hotham Island, in ho-
nour of Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Hotham. It is completely
circular, with an opening in the one side, which admits the sea,
and which is indicated in the drawing. The highest point of
the island was found to be eighty feet above the level of the
sea, and the circumference three-quarters of a mile.”

“ Report of Commander C. H. Swineurne, of his Majesty's Ship
Rapid, to Vice-Admiral the Honourable Sir Henry Horuau
K.C. B.

His Masesty’s Stoop Rarip, aT Marra,
< Sig, July 22. 1831.

« J have the honour to inform you that, on the 18th of July
1831, at 4: p. m., the town of Marsala bearing by compass E.
half N. nine miles, I observed from on board his Majesty’s sloop
Rapid, under my command, a highly irregular column of very
white smoke or steam, bearing S. by E. I steered for it, and
continued to do so till 8° 15™ x. ™., when having gone about

368 On the New Insular Volcano, named Hotham Island.

thirty miles by the reckoning, I saw flashes of brilliant light
mingled with the smoke, which was still distinctly visible by the
light of the moon.

* In a few minutes the whole column became black and lar-
ger; almost immediately afterwards several successive eruptions
of lurid fire rose up amidst the smoke ; they subsided, and the
column then became gradually white again. As we seemed to
near it fast, I shortened sail and hove-to till daylight, that I
might ascertain its nature and exact position. During the night
the changes from white to black with flashes, and the eruption
of fire, continued at irregular intervals, varying from half an
hour to an hour. At daylight I again steered towards it, and
about 5 a. m., when the smoke had for a moment cleared
away at the base, I saw a small hillock of a dark colour a few
feet above the sea. This was soon hidden again, and was only
visible through the smoke at the intervals between the more
violent eruptions.

‘* The volcano was in a constant state of activity, and ap-
peared to be discharging dust and stones, with vast volumes
of steam. At 7" 30™ the rushing noise of the eruptions was
heard. At 9, being distant from it about two miles, and the
water being much discoloured with dark objects at the sur-
face in various places, I hove to, and went in a boat to sound
round and examine it. I rowed towards it, keeping on the
weather-side, and sounding, but got no bottom till within 20
yards of the western side, where I had 18 fathoms soft bottom ;
this was the only sounding obtained, except from the brig, one
mile true north from the centre of the island, where the depth
was 130 fathoms soft dark brown mud. ‘The crater (for it was
now evident that such was its form) seemed to be composed of
fine cinders and mud of a dark brown colour; within it was to
be seen, in the intervals between the eruptions, a mixture of
muddy water, steam, and cinders dashing up and down, and oc-
casionally running into the sea, over the edge of the crater,
which I found, on rowing round, to be broken down to the level
of the sea, on the W.S.W. side, for the space of 10 or 12 yards.
Here I obtained a better view of the interior, which appeared to
be filled with muddy water, violently agitated, from which
showers of hot stones or cinders were constantly shooting up a

PLATE VI. Edin "new Phil. Jour Vol XIp.565,

HOTHAM ISLAND.
37° 7 30'N Ll 12°41 E Long

Drawn by D? Greville from a sketch by one of the 2

, ae
PP Us
wie

4, .

; rye ay
A. ik SA rp 4

y + ‘ps a

On the New Insular Volcano, named Hotham Island. 369

few yards, and falling into it again ; but the great quantity of
steam that constantly rose from it, prevented my seeing the
whole crater.

“ A considerable stream of muddy water flowed outward
through the opening, and mingling with that of the sea, caused
the discoloration that had been observed before. I could not
approach near enough to observe its temperature, but that of
the sea, within 10 or 12 yards of it, was only one degree higher
than ihe average ; and to leeward of the island, in the direction
of the current (which ran to the eastward), no difference could
be perceived, even where the water was most discoloured ; how-
ever, as a ‘ mirage’ played above it near its source, it was pro-
bably hot there. The dark objects on the surface of the sea
proved to be patches of small floating cinders. The island or
crater appeared to be 70 or 80 yards in its external diameter,
and the lip as thin as it could be consistent with its height,
which might be 20 feet above the sea in the highest, and 6 feet
in the lowest part, leaving the rest for the diameter of the area
within. These details could only be observed in the intervals
between the great eruptions, some of which I witnessed from
the boat. No words can describe their sublime grandeur. Their
progress was generally as follows:—After the volcano had
emitted for some time its usual quantities of white steam, sud-
denly the whole aperture was filled with an enormous mass of
hot cinders and dust, rushing upwards to the height of some
hundred feet with a loud roaring noise, then falling into the sea
on all sides with a still louder noise, arising in part, perhaps,
from the formation of prodigious quantities of steam which in-
stantly took place. The steam was at first of a brown colour,
having embodied a great deal of dust; as it rose it gradually
recovered its pure white colour, depositing the dust in the shape
of a shower of muddy rain. While this was being accomplished,
renewed eruptions of hot cinders and dust were quickly suc-
ceeding each other, while forked lightning, accompanied by
rattling thunder, darted about in ali directions within the co-
lumn, now darkened with dust and greatly increased in volume,
and distorted by sudden gusts and whirlwinds. The latter
were most frequent on the lee side, where they often made im-
perfect water-spouts of curious shapes. On one occasion some

4

870 On the New Insular Volcano, named Hotham Island.

of the steam reached the boat; it smelt a little of sulphur, and
the mud it left became a gritty sparkling dark brown powder
when dry. None of the stones or cinders thrown out appeared
more than half a foot in diameter, and most of them much
smaller.

« From the time when the volcano was first seen till after I
left it, the barometer did not fall or rise; the sympiesometer un-
derwent frequent but not important changes; and the tempera-
ture of the sea did not bespeak any unusual influence.

«« After sunset, on the 18th, soundings were tried for every
hour, to the average depth of 80 fathoms; no bottom. The
wind was NW., the weather was serene.

“ On the forenoon of the 19th, with the centre of the volcano
bearing by the compass S. by W. } W. one mile distant, good
sights, for the chronometer gave longitude 12° 41’ E.; and at
noon on the same day, when it bore W. by N. 3 N. by com-
pass, the meridian altitude of the sun gave the latitude 37° 7’ 30”
N.; an amplitude of the sun the same morning gave the varia-
tion of 1} point westerly. J¢ is worthy of remark, that on the
28th of June last, at 9° 30™ pv. Mm. when passing near the same
spot in company with the Britannia, several shocks of an earth-
quake were felt tn both ships. 1 have the honour to be, &c.

“ C. H. Swinzurne, Commander.”

In a letter to Professor Daubeny of Oxford, from Captain
Ballingal of the Royal Marines, dated “« H. M.S. St Vincent,
Malta, 27th July 1823,” which the Professor had the goodness
to send to us, is the following account of the volcano :

‘‘ The situation of the velcano is= Lat. 37° 10’ N., Long. 12°
44’ B. ; the crater of which above water is about 70 or 80 yards
in external diameter, and about 20 feet in height from the sur-
face of the sea, lying between the Island of Pantalleria and Cape
Granitula, on the south-west coast of Sicily. The eruption is
in a state of great activity. Large columns of fire, dust, and
dense smoke, are constantly emitted, accompanied every hour
and a half with an eruption of great velocity, throwing masses
of stone of several tons weight, with cinders and jets of mud and
water, to a height equal to the mast-head of a first rate man-of-
war. Prospero Schiffino, the master of the Santa Arona, a

On the New Insular Volcano, named Hotham Island. 371

coasting vessel from Sardinia, arrived here, and reported to
our Admiral that three days before, while off Cape Bianco, in
Sicily, he discovered the extraordinary phenomena of three dis-
tinct cclumns of smoke issuing from the sea, accompanied by a
submarine noise, which he compared to that made by the
** wheels of a vast steam-vessel.” In the evening of the same
day, a second report was brought by a vessel from London. No
appearance of lava was to be seen. ‘The Admiral instantly di-
rected two officers to proceed and verify the report. . On the
night of Wednesday the 20th instant, while proceeding on their
voyage, they first discovered it at 25 or 30 miles distant, shoot-
ing upwards rays and flashes to a great height. The next day,
observing that the intervals between the eruptions occupied al-
most a correct uniformity of time, viz. from an hour and a half
to an hour and a quarter, afforded them the chance to approach
at one time within 60 yards of the crater, where they sounded,
and found the side of the cone in 83 ratHoms, the armory of
the lead bringing up a small piece of black stone, being the only
substance, we got during three days’ constant perseverance, whose
specific gravity was greater than water, which I am sorry it is
not in my power to transmit; but I have secured some cinders
and ashes, which I shall have the pleasure to send home in the
Melville, which will leave this shortly for England. Since
writing the above, I have just learned that Lord William
Thynne, on the morning of the 19th, on his return from Gib-
raltar to this place, was enabled to approach within 20, and
to sound in 18 fathoms. At this time the island was just above
the surface, and on the 2lst my friend found it 20 feet in
height; and I have now Jearned that the day before yesterday,
viz. the 25th instant, it had acquired the height of 40 or 45 feet.
Any further information you may wish to acquire I shall be
able to collect, as I shall in a day or so visit the scene.”

The following report by the officers of the Philomel, has been
published at Malta, by Admiral Hotham :— The Philomel
brig of war, which left Malta Harbour on Tuesday afternoon,
the 19th of July, with the masters of the St Vincent and Ganges,
to ascertain the correct particulars, &c. of the new volcano island
forming off Sciacca, in Sicily, discovered the object at 1 a. m.
on Thursday the 21st. At 3, spoke an Austrian ship, from

372 On the New Insular Volcano, named Hotham Island.

Algiers, bound to Alexandria, the master of which reported,
that he had seen dense smoke and much fire issuing for the last
three days. At 6, observed a thick smoke issuing apparently
from the sea, the spot bearing north-west } west; and, on steer-
ing in that direction, fell in with the Hind cutter at 9, which
vessel had left Malta on Sunday the 17th, but had not yet
reached the new volcano, owing to calms. The island then bore
north-west by west, six or eight miles distant. At 9" 45™ the
Philomel hove to three miles to windward. Captain Smith,
with the two masters, and Colonel Bathurst, a passenger, left
the vessel in boats for the purpose of taking soundings as near
as they could approach with safety, but had scarcely got one
mile away, when the volcano burst out with a tremendous ex-
plosion, resembling the noise of a very heavy thunder-storm, and
flames of fire, like flashes of lightning. The boats were covered
with black cinders, which also fell on board the vessel, and all
around, to a distance of at least three miles from the volcano.
The eruption lasted in all its fury seven minutes, and when the
smoke had somewhat cleared away, the island had increased in
size twofold.

‘¢ The volcano bursts out regularly at about every two hours,
and emits all around it a suffocating sulphureous stench. On
first making it at a long distance, it resembles a cluster or grove
of cypress trees. The English brig Bootle of Liverpool, an Ame-
rican, and one or two foreign vessels, were off the place.

“ Its precise latitude is 87° 7’ 30” north, and longitude 12° 44/
east; the soundings in the vicinity, say eighty yards off the
island, bearing north-east, are seventy to seventy-five fathoms ;
west, a quarter of a mile, seventy-two to seventy-six fathoms.
At five and six miles distance they vary from seventy to eighty
fathoms. The volcano appears composed mostly of cinders of a
rusty-black colour, having only asprinkling of lava, of an oblong
shape ; and the island, as last seen on Friday the 23d, was not
less than three quarters of a mile in circumference. The north-
west point is the highest, say about eighty feet above the level
of the sea, and gets lower towards the southern extremity. The
south-east side of the crater has fallen in to the side of the sea.
The sea is drawn in with a very loud noise, and occasions an im-
mense volume of white vapour to rise up in the air, curling and

On the New Insular Volcano, named Hotham Island. $73

spreading high and wide; then succeeds rapidly the eruption of
cinders and lava, thrown to the height of from 400 to 500 teet,
and on some occasions to 1000 feet, forking and branching out
in all directions in its ascent, and afterwards falling and pouring
down in stupendous masses, with such violence as to cause a noise
like heavy thunder, and making the sea, for a considerable dis-
tance around, one entire sheet of foam—altogether a sight not
to be imagined.”

Malta, August 4.—Our reports respecting the volcano, since
the foregoing, are very unsatisfactory. There can be little
doubt, however, that the island continues to increase in size. A
boat, with five or six officers, returned yesterday afternoon, and
they assert that the island is at least three miles in circumference,
and from 200 to 300 feet high. They landed upon it, and, for
ostentation’s sake I suppose, hoisted the Union flag. The other
stories, as to the increasing dimensions of the place, are too vague
to speak on.

We learn from the coast of Sicily, that the town of Sciacca
has been entirely abandoned by its inhabitants, the reported
shocks, and trembling of the earth, leading to a belief that it will
sink into the sea.

Yotice of Plants observed in an Excursion made by Dr Granam
with part of his Botanical Pupils, accompanied by a few
Friends, in August last.

Tu greater number of the party went to Forfar, and from
thence through the valley of Clova. One division then crossed
the Capel Munth, and went by Glen Meik and Abergeldie to
Castleton of Braemar ; another followed the White Water to its
source, and crossing the ridge to Glen Callader, proceeded down
that valley to Castleton. A few gentlemen went by the steam-
boat to Aberdeen, and thence up the Dee to Braemar. From
this, as our head-quarters, we walked in various divisions to
Glen Callader, Ben-na-buird, Lochnagar, and the hills around
the head of Glen Shee. Some went through Glen Tilt to Blair,
others returned by Ciova to Edinburgh, having been absent
from the 29th July to 10th August. The weather was clear,
calm, and intensely hot, with occasionally very heavy thunder

O74 Notice of Plants observed in an Excursion

showers. The following is a list of the more important plants
observed ; the whole route abounds in the ordinary alpine ve-
getation of the Scottish mountains.

Ajuga alpina.—Stream falling into White Water, Clova, above the Falls.
Dr Hooker states, on the authority of Mr D. Don, that this is not un-
common in Aberdeenshire, but he himself never saw a British specimen,
and this is the first time I ever gathered it. I found only two speci-
mens.

Alopecurus alpinus.—This very rare grass was first observed by Mr Hewett
Watson on the sides of a stream leading from the South into the?White
Water, above the Falls. On following up the stream, we observed it
in great plenty, and it was afterwards found scattered along the course
of the White Water nearly to its source, and on various streams falling
over the ridge above Glen Callader. I had never before seen it except-
ing at Loch Whorol, the station alluded to by Dr Hooker in his British
Flora.

Apargia Taraxaci.—White Water, Clova. We found also on the White
Water the form considered on the Continent as A. alpina, which I had
never observed except in Sutherlandshire, and a remarkab/e_variety*in
which the hairs of the involucrum were yellow.

Azalea procumbens.—This is a very common plant on Scottish mountains ;
but Mr Macnab found on the top of the mountain forming the south
boundary of the valley of Clova, the larger variety with more loose habit,
which is in cultivation from America.

Carex atrata.—Sparingly on a cliff south side of Glen of Dole, Clova.

Carex rarifiora.—In the old station in Clova. Mr Watson and Dr Macfar-
lane also found it on high ground about two miles to the south-west of
this.

Carex Vahlii.—This was found in much larger quantity than last year, but
only on the same station, from top to bottom of a high cliff, but ex-
tending only a few feet laterally, at the top of Glen Callader.

Eleocharis multicaulis.—Gathered by Dr Greville in abundance in a bog be-
hind the Invercauld Arms, Castleton.

Epilobium alsinifolium.—This, though less common than £. alpinum, is still
by no means rare in the alpine districts of Scotland. Perfectly distinct
as the extremes of this and Epilobium alpinum are, I picked specimens in
several parts of our route which I find it difficult to distinguish from
either.

Erigeron alpinum.—tIn considerable quantity on cliffs south side of Glen of
Dole, Clova.

Galium pusillum.—Stony bank, south side of Glen of Dole, Clova.

Juncus castaneus.—In considerable quantity, especially along the upper
part of the White Water, and in the streams leading over the edge of
the cliffs in Glen Callader.

Juncus triglumis.—This is a very frequent plant in alpine districts. Be-
sides the equal elevation of its flowers, it is generally at first sight dis-
tinguished from J. big/umis by these overtopping the bractez; but I found
near the source of the White Water several specimens in which the brac-
tea is as long as in J. biglumis. ‘The same variety [ have from Feroe,
through the kindness of Mr Trevelyan.

Linnea borealis.—Gathered in flower by Mr Brand and Mr Barry at the
very edge of the precipice overhanging the south side of the White Wa-
ter, growing among short Vaccinia.

Malaxis paludosa.—A single specimen was picked by Dr Greyille on the side
of the hill above the village of Kirkton, Clova.

made in August 1831. 375

Phaea astragalina.—The addition of this genus to the British Flora, formed
the principal event in the botanical excursion of this season. It was
discovered on the same day (30th July) on a cliff near the head of the
Glen of the Dole, Clova, by Mr Brand, Dr Greville, and myself. ‘The
station is circumscribed, but, on recollection, after the plant was ascer-
tained, it was believed by Mr Watson and Dr Greville that they subse-
quently saw it in the station of Oxytropus campestris, though only in leaf:

Phleum alpinum.—This grass we found to be common on Ben-na-Buird,
Lochnagar, cliffs and banks of Glen Callader, but no where so abundant
as on the White Water above the Falls, and, above all, profuse on the
sides of the stream already mentioned, leading into this from the south.
Here we found it to grow in the wet ground at the edges of the swamps
immediately without the Eriophora, and immediately without this, on
rather drier ground, and among less coarse herbage, was the Alopecurus
alpinus.

Polytrichum septentrionale—We went to the same spot on Ben-na-Buird
where I had found this so abundantly in fruit last year, and there we
found a profusion of the plant; but the warm season, so different from
the cold wet weather of last year, had removed the snow, and only two
capsules were to be found, picked by Mr Christy.

Salix lanata,—we found to be very abundant on the south side of the Glen
of the Dole, and in Glen Callader.

Trifolium pratense.—A variety with a large pale rose-coloured flower is com-
mon at the road side towards Glenshee.

Veronica alpina,—is a very common plant on the south side of the Glen

of the Dole; in Glen Callader; on Ben-na-Buird; and on Lochnagar.

Veronica saxatilis—Abundant, especially on the cliff with the Phaca, and

on others in the south side of the Glen of the Dole.

Woodsia hyperborea.—Mr Brand gathered this in small quantity above the

station of Oxrylropis campestris.

We looked—but looked in vain—for the Saxifraga ccespi-
tosa, in the station on Ben-na-buird, where Mr Macnab found
it last year. The plant picked at that time is now perfectly
established in the Botanic Garden.

The unwearied zeal of Mr Barry has carried him, accompa-
nied by Mr James Macnab, back again to the country, from
whence he had just returned with the party. They have found
abundance of Phaca astragalina, in the station on which it was
first observed, and Juncus castaneus in the course of the White
Water, above the Falls, in such abundance that 250 specimens
were gathered on one little spot. Opposite to Kirkton, Clova,
and a little higher up the Esk, they have also found Malazis
paludosa in considerable abundance, and in excellent condition ;
Woodsia hyperborea and Carex rariflora sparingly, in the sta-
tions already mentioned

The above had scarcely gone to press, when Mr Barry did
me the favour to call at my house, having just returned from
his second visit to the mountains. Mr James Macnab had been

obliged to come home earlier, He has brought Saaifraga

376 Dr Graham’s Description of New or Rare Plants.

cespitosa, having gathered it on Ben-Avon, and requests me to
say, that the first specimen was picked by John Mackenzie, gar-
dener at Invercauld, who accompanied him as guide. The
plant grew on the west side of Slock More, chiefly among moss,
on disjointed portions ef rock, in a sheltered spot, about half-
way up the cliff. Mr Barry likewise found Alopecurus alpinus
in endless profusion, by a stream, which, from his description, I
think must lead from the hill to the south-west of the White
Water into Glen Prosen.

R. G.

Description of several New or Rare Plants which have lately
flowered in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, and chiefly in
the Royal Botanic Garden. By Dr Grauam, Professor
of Botany in the University of Edinburgh.

10th Sept. 1851.
Alstroemeria Neillii.

A. Neillii; caule erecto, flaccido folioso; foliis spathulatis, obtusis,
glauco-pruinesis, apice lateribusque reflexis, integerrimis ; petalis tri-
bus, exterioribus obovatis emarginatis zequalibus crenatis, interiori-
bus paulo longioribus spathulatis subintegerrimis; pedunculis um<
bellatis, bifloris.

Alstroemeria Neillii, Gillies MS.

Descriprion.—Stem simple, many from the same root, erect, flaccid,
round, very leafy, subglauco-pruinose, especially towards the top, more
green below. Leaves spathulate, reflected at the apex and sides, un-
dulato-pruinose, succulent, green, quite villous at the margin and particu-
larly at the apex, about 7-nerved, central rib hardly prominent behind,
except in the lower narrower half: Peduncles (3 or 4) forming a ter-
minal umbel, 2-flowered, dull purple, little longer than the leaves, which
are gathered in form of an involucre round their base. Perianth seg-
ments unequal, greatly attenuated, succulent, involute and ciliated at
the base, each with three primary nerves prominent behind, and 2 or 4
secondary nerves, scarcely reticulated; three outer segments equal, of
nearly uniform pale rose colour, rather darker in the middle of the out-
side, obovate, crenate, with a central green concave callous point ; three
inner segments rather longer than the outer, spathulate, with a green
callous apex, and oblong deep rose-coloured spots in the upper half; the
lowest is rather the shortest of the three, nearly flat, and arched back-
wards; the two others project in the centre of the flower, nectariferous
at the base, straight, except near the apex, where they are bent back-
wards, and immediately below this point they are marked by a broad
yellow transverse band. Stamens laid along the lower petal till the
pollen is ripe, when they become straight, nearly parallel to and almost
of equal length with the two central petals; filaments rose-coloured,
slightly tapering, pubescent at the base ; anthers greenish rose-coloured,
flattened, and, as in the other species, when the loculaments burst, be-
coming flattened in the opposite direction ; pollen reddish, granules very
small and vbleng. Stigma trifid, rose-coloured as well as the prismatic

Dr Graham’s Description of New or Rare Plants. 377

style, which is only green at its persisting base. Germen purple, ob-
ovato-turbinate, covered with minute shining tubercles, ribs strong and
preminent, 3-locular. Ovules numerous, attached in two rows within
each loculament to the central receptacle.

This extremely handsome plant flowered for the first time in Mr Neill’s
greenhouse at Canonmills, Edinburgh, in June 1831*. Mr Neill is un-
certain from whom he received the seed; but as seeds of Alstremeria
pallida were sent in the same packet, and as we have this, at the Bota-
nic Garden, collected by Dr Gillies at Los Ojos de Agua, it is probable
that A. Neillii was from him also. Dr Gillies believes he did send it,
and is of opinion that this is the species which at Mendoza is called Pe-
Zegrina, and of which he has various specimens in his herbarium. It is
possible that these are identical, though in the native specimens the
segments of the perianth are perfectly entire, the inner lanceolate, not
spathulate, the outer acute, not emarginate, and the peduncles single-
flowered. Dr Gillies found it on both sides of the Cordillera of the An-
des, between Chile and Mendoza. I alluded to it in the description of
A. pallida in the Edin. New Phil. Journal for September 1829, and conjec-
tured that when it flowered it might prove to be a variety of A. pallida.
The inflorescence, habit, and colouring give support to this conjecture ;
and increasing acyuaintance with South American genera throws in.
creasing scepticism into all inquiries as to the natural boundaries of spe-
cies ; but, till the period arrive when a revision of the whole genus A/-
stremeria shall warrant our greatly reducing the species, the characters
noted above will be considered as giving this form a better title to a
specific name than several others which are now held to be specifically
distinct.

I lately (Ed. New Philosoph. Journ. May 1831) mentioned the confusion
into which the species, or supposed species, of Cadceolaria, were falling,
by the multiplication of mules in cultivation. Another South Ameri-
can genus has run wild from another cause. Salpiglossis seems to re-
quire no admixture of pollen to produce great variety of form. It
sports, to use the language of florists, into many shapes and colours,
from mere instability of character. I now entertain no doubt that we
have but one species in cultivation. I have now (June 1831) flowering
in the Botanic Garden many seedling plants from S. atro-purpurea, which
are precisely S. straminea, though the size of the flower varies in the dif-
ferent specimens. I have also seedling plants of S. picta, in some of
which the corolla, though perfect, is not above a quarter of an inch long,
and pure white; in others, the corolla never appears at all, yet, both
last year and this, specimens of this description have produced abun-
dance of seed. I hope these blunders are excusable on the first intro-
duction of a little known genus into cultivation, as I myself contributed
to the confusion ; but the persevering in them would bé without apo-
logy. I learn from my accurate friend Mr Cruckshanks, that the forms
in Salpiglossis vary greatly in their wild state.

Gardoquia Gilliesii.

G. Gilliesii ; foliis lineari-spathulatis, integerrimis, utrinque glabris ; pe-
dunculis subtrifloris.

DEscriPTion.—Stem fruticose (about 2 feet high) much branched, branches
spreading, 4-sided, scabrous. Leaves opposite, linear-spathulate, con-
cave, entire, glabrous, dotted, shining and dark on the upper surface,
paler below, avenous, middle rib distinct. Peduncles axillary, generally
3-flowered, leafy, pedicels shorter than the peduncles, and like them
slightly villous. Calyx cylindrical, slightly curved, 13-ribbed, bila-
biate, 3-toothed, glabrous, naked within. Corolla lilac, twice the

* This very interesting establishment has recently sustained a great loss in the removal of the
gardener, Alexander Scott, whose professional talent and patient industry has been transferred to
a situation of more extensive usefulness. He has been appointed foreman to Mr Knight’s Exo-

tic Nursery, Chelsea, a situation for which he is especially fitted by his quiet unassuming man-
ner, and uniformly steady conduct.

JULY—SEPTEMBER 1831. Bb

378 Dr Graham’s Description of New or Rare Plants.

length of the calyx, throat slightly ventricose, bearded within, sprinkled
with numerous minute darker-coloured spots, lower lip of three nearly
equal entire lobes, those at the side reflexed; the upper lip nearly
straight, slightly emarginate, edges folded back. Stamens dark lilac,
scarcely projecting beyond the upper lip; filaments straight, distant,
but not spreading, glabrous, compressed ; anther-lobes diverging, naked.
Stigma bipartite, segments acute, the upper rather the shorter. Style
filiform and glabrous, rather longer than the stamens, Germen 4-lobed,
erect, on a small disk.

This species was raised by Mr Neill from seeds communicated from Chile
by the gentleman to whom I have dedicated it, and by whom, in con-
junction with Mr Cruckshanks, so new an appearance has within these
few years been given to our greenhouses.

Nierembergia linarizefolia.

N. dinariefolia; foliis spathulato-linearibus cauleque glanduloso-pubes-
centibus; caule herbaceo, erecto, ramoso.

DeEscription.—Root fibrous, annual? Stem herbaceous, erect, slender,
much branched, glanduloso-pubescent. Leaves very numerous, scat-
tered, spreading, flat, slightly channelled, spathulato-linear, the upper
smaller, and lanceolato-linear, middle rib prominent behind, scarcely
veined, glanduloso-pubescent. lowers solitary, opposite to the leaves,
peduncled. Peduncle erect, nearly as long as the leaf, glanduloso-pu-
bescent. Calyx 5-cleft, tube 10-ribbed, the alternate ribs going to the
apex of the segments, or parted to go along the edges of the contiguous
segments; segments lanceolate, concave, spreading. Corol/a hypocrateri-
form, glanduloso-pubescent on the outside, glabrous within ; tube (8 lines
long) very slender, purplish; limb slightly concave, of five unequal, irre-
gular, broad, short, overlapping, somewhat cordate segments, white, lilac
plicate and 3-ribbed in the middle; throat yellow. Stamens 5, arising from
the throat of the corolla, erect, included, unconnected, but contiguous
and closing the throat, unequal, 3 short, 2 long, one of the short ones
being placed between these last, and reflected ; filaments slightly pubes-
cent on the outside; anthers yellow, bilocular, bursting along their
edges; pollen paler, granules spherical. Pistil single; germen ovate,
seated in a thin cup-shaped white disk with ragged edges, purple, gla-
brous, 4-sided, with four prominent furrowed ridges, 4-valved, bilocu-
lar, septum in the very young state double, placenta large, central, at
length free; style slender, dilated flattened and kidney-shaped at the
apex, along which the broad green shining linear stigmatic surface is
marginal. Ovufes numerous.

A native of Chile, raised in Mr Neill’s garden at Canonmills, from seeds
sent by Mr Tweedie of Buenos Ayres.

Lobelia rebusta.

L. robusta; caule suffruticoso; foliis obovato-lanceolatis, acuminatis,
grosse dentatis, glabris, nitidis ; racemis terminalibus, simplicibus.
DeEscripT10oN.—Root perennial. Stem very stout, erect, half woody,
branched, green and glabrous, irregularly winged with the persistent
decurrent occasionally wavy bases of the leaves. Leaves numerous, scat-
tered, crowded towards the apex, falling off below, obovato-lanceolate,
acuminate, attenuated at the base, and decurrent for a little way along
the stem, glabrous, pale green and shining, waved, coarsely and sharply
toothed, veined, middle rib and veins prominent behind, and, especially
when young, lilac-coloured. Raceme terminal, gradually elongating, sup-
ported on a naked, slightly villous stalk. Flowers large, very numerous,
secund, crowded. Pedicels (1 inch long) compressed, finely villous, each
with one bractea at the base, and two nearly opposite below the middle.
Bractee linear, acute, villous, entire or sparingly toothed, the lowest
nearly as long as the peduncle, and decurrent, the others shorter. Calyx
5-parted, green, villous, persistent, segments deltoideo-linear, acuminate,
serrated, at length reflected at the apex. Corolla deep and dull purple,

Dr Graham’s Description of New or Rare Plants. 379

before the separation of the segments falcate, segments linear, acute, the
two upper becoming reflected laterally, the others scarcely altering their
form. Filaments pink, straight, flattened, ciliated, ciliz colourless.
Anthers leaden-coloured, cernuous, the two upper ciliated for half their
length. Stigma bilobular, pubescent, scarcely ciliated, pink. Style (1
ineh long) filiform, glabrous, slightly coloured. Germen inferior, ovules
numerous.

A native of Hayti. <A plant was received at the Botanic Garden, from
our excellent friend Dr Fischer of St Petersburgh, in 1830. It flowered
in August 1831.

Torenia? fimbriata.

T. fimbriata; caule erecto, subglabro ; foliis ovato-lanceolatis, medio sers
ratis, glabriusculis; calyce quinque-partito.
Torenia fimbriata, Hooker MS.

Description.—Root slender, tapering, having many branching lateral
fibres, annual? Stem erect, with very short, harsh, slightly reflected
pubescence at its base, perfectly glabrous above, chanuelled on two sides,
alternating at the joints. Leaves ovato-lanceolate, acutely serrated, en-
tire at the apex and base, subciliated, veined, scabrous along the veins,
behind soft, and subglabrous in front. Inflorescence a few-flowered ter-
minal cyme; peduncles erect, ebracteate, stout. Calyx smooth, regular,
5-parted, persisting, segments acute, mucronulate, spreading in their
upper half, closely imbricated below. Corolla (1 inch long, 1 inch across)
lilac and white, striated, glanduloso-pubescent, ringent, its limb dilated,
spreading, crenate, the upper lip two-lobed, the lower three-lobed,
the central lobe being the largest, and emarginate; tube campanu-
late, dilated on its lower side, somewhat flattened above, contracted and
having two pits without on each side towards its base, again dilated as
it covers the germen. Stamens didynamous; filaments hairy distant,
near the base, adhering to the corolla nearly as far as the throat, there
suddenly bent, the longer at right angles, the shorter at an obtuse
angle; the longer filaments, each having a clavate tooth at this angle,
pass horizontally round the throat of the corolla, and meet under the
stigma; the shorter, having a much smaller tooth at the angle, pass
obliquely upwards to the style, and meet below the others; anthers bi-
lobular, divaricating, lilac, at first free, afterwards cohering in pairs,
and bursting along the front. S%igma exserted, of two ovate, subacute,
diverging plates, the lower rather the largest. Style glabrous, filiform,
slightly flattened near the stigma, as well as the filaments and stigma
colourless, marcescent. Germen green, conical, slightly furrowed in the
sides. Ovules very numerous, attached to a large central receptacle.
Capsule ovate, tumid, tipped by the persisting base of the style, bilocu-
lar, bivalvular, valves entire, dissepiment parallel to the valves. Seeds
very numerous, ovate, dotted.

Seeds of this very pretty plant were sent from New Holland by Mr Fra-
ser last year, and communicated to the Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, both
directly from himself and by Sir T. Brisbane, in October and Novem-
ber. They were marked “ Ruellia, sp. nov. from the banks of the river
Brisbane, Morton Bay.” It is after a comparison which Mr Brown
kindly allowed me of his New Holland specimens, and chiefly on account
of the depth of the calyx-segments, that I have added the mark of doubt
regarding the genus.

Trichocladus crinitus.

Dahlia crinita, Thunberg, Dissert. Ed. Pers. 1. 108.—Jd. Prodr. Fl.
Capens. 1.—Zd. F1. Capens. 1. 35.
Trichocladus crinitus, Pers. Synop. 2. 598.—Spreng. Syst. Veget. 3. 899.
Descrirrion.—Siem woody, erect, branched; young shoots and petioles
covered with dark brown tomentum. Leaves petiolate, opposite, lanceo-
lato-elliptical, acuminate, peltate and rounded at the base, undulate,
veined, coriaceous, slightly hairy above, densely so below, hairs slightly

Bb

380 Celestial Phenomena from Oct. 1. 1831 to Jan. 1. 1832.

ferruginous, stellate. Capitulwm spherical, terminal, solitary, nearly ses-
sile. Flowers dicecious ? sessile. Calyx 5-parted, segments ovate, acute,
spreading, recurved at the points, hairy especially on the back, shining
and nearly glabrous in front. Petals 5, pale yellowish-green, linear, spa-
« thulate, folded and twisted, recurved, glabrous, scarcely ciliated, fleshy,
especially at the base. S*’amens 5, opposite the segments of the calyx,
and alternating with the petals; filaments very short, thick, and fleshy,
labrous ; anthers pale red, and equal in length to the filaments, bilocu-
ar, cells opening longitudinally by two unequal valves, the larger of
which spreads outwards, connective blunt and slightly projecting beyond
the anther-cells. Styles 2, channelled, and ragged along their inner side,
upper half glabrous, lower half (abortive germen ?) hairy.

This curious plant, the structure of whose flowers appears to me to have
been misunderstood *, we received from Kew, through the kindness of Mr
Aiton. It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, and flowered in the
greenhouse in the Botanic Garden during the summer and autumn.

* On reading this statement, Mr Brown did me the favour to refer me to his observations in
Abel’s Voyage to China, p. 374. I was not before aware that he had noticed the plant, but there,
with his uniform accuracy, he gives a just view of the parts, in the establishment of the natural
order Hamamelidee, in which he placed it.

Celestial Phenomena from October 1. 1831 to January 1. 1832,
calculated for the Meridian of Edinburgh, Mean Time.
By Mr Gerorce Innes, Astronomical Calculator, Aberdeen.

The times are inserted according to the Civil reckoning, the day beginning at midnight
—The Conjunctions of the Moon with the Stars are given in Right Ascension.

OCTOBER.
D. : Ci ee D. He! Ny Sin
2 11546 S)eQ 18. 943. gaol
2) 188, (2B Sew. HG 8 41 33 S¥1lymy
3. 93244 S)h 21. 144 1 oS)»
4), 21 40 27 SB VceSH ile 8 14 © Full Moon.
4. 14568 & * 6 ee 21. 214422 6 y 2 Ceti.
5 112838 ¢)¢ 22. (44436 6 )@ Ceti.
8 IVAGIB f Pe 22, 1830 4 Em. I. sat. 7/
5. 21 19 45 @ New Moon. 22. 23 38 37 SG )£fS
6. 20 929 Em. I. sat. 27/ 23. 844 —- g&9TP
8 1226 ~ Inf d@? 23. 1913 0 S)yxB
9. 4248 dpys 23. 192614 Em. II-sat. 2/
9 vere areas 23. 202449 g)ld¥
9 152053 ¢)yx 23. 2051383 f¢)23%
10. 73337 6) 9 Oph. 24. 483439 g)ed
32. 418 = % greatest elong. | 24. 3.35 15 © enters NL
2 «8695154 og )pet 2. 214045 dd)»
13 153758 g)dft 26. 112730 ¢)tu
13. 22 516 Em. I. sat. 2/ 6. 1932;, gthig
13. 23.33 10 ) First Quarter. | 27. 23 33 33 ( Last Quarter.
4. 4 1 = &neary Ty 28. 42957 og pias
15, 17 AGS we) ARE 292. 171855 )S)aeQ
15. 21440 fd)pyY 29. 20 25 53 Em. I."sat. 2/
16. 201841 Im. JV. sat. 2] 30. . 43417 d)eQ
V7 ee BBgack igaeee 30. 202041 ¢)h
18. 71358 d)oss 31. 33218 d)eQ

—

_
bo

25.

BS Ogee cme St: OF SP Gee cane The pai

Celestial Phenomena from Oct. 1. 1831 to Jan. 1. 1832. 381

NOVEMBER.
H. é “
13308 6)?
192756 g¢)y™
191518 Em. IIL. sat. 2/
5 49 32 d)¢
15 22 . d Ya
17 39 12 Im, III. sat. 2/
211119 Em. IIL. sat. ?/
2146 - d5 )&
13 9 3 @ New Moon
111837. ¢)vx
14 48 43 =. ) @ Oph.
1648 ~ 6 %24x%
17 317 d)2ef
221628 d)df
14033 ¢)H
2502 d)9K
@ ay 2 RS) Of
1817 6 ) First Quarter
946 - Sup. 6 © %&
16 40 - fe ee
18 46 24. Em. I. sat. 27/
1648 ~ ¢%xx
123020 Sd)»
83316 6 ) 2 Ceti
11 36 - 6 Gaz
15 31 34 d ) # Ceti.
Ce Ge ee ae) ate:
12 37 - Bd Sot
18 30 7 © Full Moon.
52228 d)y7B
6 29 33 d)13%8
65636 ¢)23¥
113427) d)a«ds
20 42 10 Em. I. sat. 2/
6 11 41 d6)+
1744 - ¢99%
192927 46)¢u
08 1 © enters f
11541 g)3o5
19 9 5 Em. II. sat. 7/
23026 fg)aeQ
10 210 ( Last Quarter.
19 33 - OG 22
5 16 42 dg Dh
85135 d)cQN
25237 6)?
17 650 Em.\L. sat. 7/

eee oewsw saga ge wwpw oo

DECEMBER.

H. / “

1748 — 46 %3Oph.
22332 g)é

952 - 4% B Oph.

17 36 15 d)vx=

7 25 16 @ New Moon
93317 6)
2244 1 S)let
232629 d)2ef
748 = 6d HSV

1 26 41 d)pxrft

5 15 47 djydft

19 2 27 Em. I. sat. 7/
922 1 g)sVr
94740 s)H

17 19 45 Em. III. sat. 2/
224241 of)?

11 35° = d¥a tt

1l 2 55 ) First Quarter.
22 2653- d)v

23 38 - d 3 Ce

15 39 = d¥c ff
191616 6) 2 Ceti.
22517 6) «Ceti.

LZ jij 27 Im. IIT. sat. 2/
21 29 16 dS )fs
165132 g¢)7B8
18155 G)13B8
1829 5 g¢)23B

23 4 34 d)D2zs

23 52 = Gilgen
15 - %vt

4 54 23 © Full Moon.
10 54 = 2 greatest elong.
171253 fg)
61036 6)2u

20 26 17 d ) 395

12 51 30 © enters 4

6 58 54 d)a

17 22 18 Em. I. sat. 2/
133827. ¢)h
154252 ¢)eKQy

940 - ® greatest elong.
23 56 3 ( Last Quarter.
18 55 44 d)e

93328 4 ¢g)yvy=
14542 4)é

315 4 d ) ¢ Oph.

1831 to Jan. 1. 1832.

382 Celestial Phenomena from Oct. 1.

€° GZ 96 EI
0% FG 1@ €L [02
6L 8% Ot €&t |ct
€b os 99 cI |Ol

or)
-cCcoConnnnt

ro rS
a md

69 LI I 91 ¥ 96 6% €F cl |¢
‘se 8st 9T 91 8 6F ve Ié ot |1
tn o ‘ ‘H , “x | ea

*snudA

*Aanos9 JN, |

“MAHWAH AON

ST 8I 6& 8T 6€ 8 FP 8 po LT 6P 8I LGeL |e €P 9 Lao ro ¢ T If |¢z
CT SI 8¢ 8T 0c 8 be 69 LI 8 6L 06 9 VE UL 06 8 66 OL ‘SPE SG eo OL 102
ST 81 61 6T 3) 6L 6 Le ow LZ 6I 6 ¢g Gz IT PL OL cc Ol IL 0 Sp OL |SI
SI 8I 6g 61 GL 6 Le 6 € 81 OP GT GP € 0€ TI OL GI re Il 0¢ TI cP OL {Ol
FL 8I 8¢ 6I Ve 6 ro G6 € 8! L 02 73 @ LE TT Ig €1 ro IT |i '°N LG T 9¢ OT |¢
. > . . . . ; 4 “ct 4 LJ ro S *c 9 0
SU St | PLOG | Nye G | g OL | Se st | 20s | Soot | grit || ‘sso yr | at at | ‘sor TAT {1
*ueTs1004) a *uamyes .- e rayrdne “S| “SIV IAL =e Eanua A = *AINDIOIA, ra

“MaAdtOLIO

‘uonnuyoagy ay) pun ‘unpraayy ay surssnd sjaunjg ay) fo soury

Celestial Phenomena from Oct, 1.1831 to Jan. 1.1832. 383

On the 24th of October, there will be an occultation of A/debaran by the
Moon:

D. H ‘
Immersion, . . . - s + « 24 0 45, at 75°

Emersion, . iit tke aN, atRies hace aaseate 286

On the 25th of November, there will be an occultation of Regulus by
the Moon:

D. H. ’
Immersion, . - - + «+ «© + 20+ ss oo under the horizon.

IMeErSion, se tet Po a on ia oe ecerae 2PPabl al Os

On the 27th of November, there will be an occultation of Saturn by the
Moon: :

D. He ‘
Immersion of centre, . . . - 27. 4 16, at 28°
MMMCESIGH sy fre. ste. eer se te) = 5 26, at 248

On the 17th of December, there will be an occultation of Aldebaran by
the Moon :

D. H. ‘
LIVANCTSION, 9 < Jsc [oa ot ens Vhs (22 36, ab. Oo

HERICISION, free nn toi ue mie 6 leh ses , otk, ON5. Ab oe
On the 23d of December, there will be an occultation of Regulus by the
Moon :
2 dD. He ‘
Emmecrsios a5, nih «i ait sah o, Cont Vaeat, 104”
PIMCENOHae fs vs -"s) so) abs Uist, cae LO touabe coe
The angle denotes the point of the Moon’s limb where the phenomena

will take place, reckoning from the verter of the limb towards the right hand
round the circumference, as seen with a telescope which inverts.

SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE.

METEOROLOGY.

1. On Change of Climate.—The principal apprehension at
present in Norway arises from the too rapid destruction of
their forests, to the existence of which they attribute, with appa-
rent reason, the superior mildness of their climate to countries
under the same latitude. (Life of Bishop Heber, vol. i. p. 80).
« The resemblance of the Tanais (Don) to the Nile has been re-
marked by many writers; but that these ample downs, whither
its fertilizing waters cannot extend, have not since degenerated
into a desert, like those of the Thebais, must be ascribed to the

384 Scientific Intelligence.— Meteorology.

difference of latitude, and the beneficial effects of a four months’
continued snow. ‘This rigour of climate is so greatly at variance
with those interested reports which, in the hope of attracting
settlers to her new dominion, were circulated by the Empress
Catherine ; andit differs so widely from that temperature, which
might be supposed to exist in the latitude of forty-six, in the
same parallel with Lyons and Geneva,—that, though the an-
cients observed and recorded it, the fact has been very slowly
admitted by the generality of modern inquirers. Even among
those who yield a respectful attention to the authority of poets
and historians, many have been anxious to suppose, that the
peculiarity they describe has long since ceased to exist; and
they have deduced from this supposed difference between the
ancient and modern climate of Scythia, a proof that, by the de-
struction of forests, the draining of marshes, and the triumphant
progress of agriculture, the temperature not only of certain dis-
tricts, but of the earth itself, has been improved *. But how
far all or any of these changes may be able to produce effects so ~
extensive, as it may reasonably admit of doubt, so it is in the
present instance superfluous to inquire; since in Scythia these
causes have never operated, and no apparent melioration of the
climate has taken place. ‘The country still continues, for the
most part, in the wild state painted by Herodotus and Strabo ;
and all the countries bordering on the Euxine Sea are still sub-
ject to an annual severity of winter, of which (though in a far
higher latitude) the inhabitants of our owncountrycan hardly form
an idea. ‘That water freezes when poured on the ground; that
the ground is muddy in winter only where a fire is kindled ; that
copper kettles are burst by the freezing of their contents ; that
asses, being animals impatient of cold, are found here neither in
a wild nor tame state,—are circumstances no less characteristic of
modern Scythia, than of Scythia as described by Herodotus and
Strabo +. Nor do I question the authority of the latter, when
he assures us, that the Bosphorus has been sometimes so firmly
frozen, that there has been a beaten and miry high-way between
Panticapeeum and Phanagoria; or that one of the generals of
Mithridates gained there, during the winter, a victory with his
cavalry, where, the preceding summer, his fleet had been suc-

* Howard’s Theory of the Earth. + Herodo. Melpom 28.--Strabo, L. vii.

Scientific Intelligence.—Mcteorology. 385

cessful. In the neighbourhood of the latter of these towns, by
the Russians since called Tmutaracan, a Slavonic inscription has
been discovered, which records the measurement of these straits
over the ice, by command of the Russian prince Gleb, in the
year 1068. But such events must, from the force of the current,
have at all times been of rare occurrence. By the best informa-
tion which I could procure on the spot, though the straits are
regularly so far blocked up by ice as to prevent navigation,
there is generally a free passage for the stream unfrozen. Across
the harbour of Phanagoria, however, sledges are driven with
safety ; and, on the other side of the Crimea, a Russian officer
assured me that he had driven over the estuary of the rivers Bog
and Dnieper, from Otchakof to Kinburn. But not only straits
and estuaries, but the whole Sea of Asoph is annually frozen in
November [!] and is seldom navigable earlier than April. This
sea is fished during winter, through holes cut with mattocks in
the ice, with large nets, which are thrust by poles from one to
the other; a method which has given rise to Strabo’s exagee-
rated picture, of “ fish as large as dolphins (apparently meaning
the beluga), dug out of ice with spades.” This remarkable se-
verity of climate on the northern shores of the Euxine, may in-
duce us to give a proportionate faith to what the ancients assure
us of its southern and eastern shores ; and though Ovid may be
supposed to have exaggerated the miseries of his banishment ;
and though religious as well as African prejudice may have
swayed Tertullian, in his dismal account of Pontus, it is cer-
tain that Strabo can be influenced by neither of these motives,
where he accounts for Homer’s ignorance of Paphlagonia, “ be-
cause this region was inaccessible, through its severity of cli-
mate.” To account for this phenomenon is far more difficult than
to establish its existence; and the difficulty is greater because
some of those theories by which the problems of climate have
been usually solved, will, in the present instance, apply. In
elevation above the sea, which, when considerable, is an obvious
and undoubted cause of cold, the downs of European Tartary
do not exceed those of England. Forests, the removal of which
has in many countries been supposed to diminish frost, have
here never existed; and though the custom of burning withered
grass in spring, which has been for so many centuries the only

386 Scientific Intelligence. — Meteorology.

secret of Scythian husbandry, may have produced in many parts
of this vast pasture a considerable deposite of saltpetre, it is not
easy to suppose with Gibbon, that a cause like this can produce
such bitterness of wind or such unvarying rigour of winter. It
may be observed, however, (and the observation, though it will
not solve the difficulty, may, perhaps, direct our attention into
the right train of inquiry), that it is only in comparison with
the more western parts of Europe, that the climate of Scythia is
a subject of surprise; and that in each of the two great conti-
nents, we discover in our progress eastward, along the parallel
of latitude, a sensible and uniform increase of cold. Vienna is
colder than Paris; Astrachan than Vienna; the eastern dis-
tricts of Asia are incomparably colder than Astrachan; and
Choka, an island of the Pacific, in the same latitude with As-
trachan or Paris, was found by the Russian cireumnavigators in
1805, exposed to a winter even longer and more severe than is
commonly felt at Archangel. In America, the same marked
difference is observed between the climate of Nootka and Hud-
son’s Bay ; and even in so small a scale of nature as that afford-
ed by our island, the frosts are generally less severe in Lanca-
shire than in the East Riding of Yorkshire. If, then, the
southern districts of European Russia are exposed to a winter
more severe than those of France or Germany, they may boast
in their turn of more genial climate than the banks of the Ural
and the Amur; while all are subject to a dispensation of nature
which extends too far, and too uniformly to be ascribed to any
local or temporary causes.—Life of Bishop Heber, vol. i. p. 582.

2. On the Influence of Lightning-Conductors on Vegeta-
tion.—It having been stated that plants grow most luxuriantly
near a lightning-conductor, and are there maintained in a
healthier condition than elsewhere, and that the maintenance of
the electric current between the earth and the heavens is con-
nected with the growth of plants, we are induced to notice some
experiments made by us two years ago, upon this supposed in-
fluence of electricity. We formed three conductors of tall
poles, with pointed iron rods, projecting eight or nine feet above
the poles, and with very thick iron-wire attached to the lower
end of the rods leading down to the ground: the rods and
wire as free of rust as possible—Experiment 1. We placed

Scientific Intelhgence.— Metcorology. 387

one of these conductors, from thirty to forty feet in height, in
the middle of a large barley-field newly sown, the field level,
and in a wide open flat country. We joined ten smaller wires
to the lower end of the large wire near the surface of the
ground, and fixed these down to the mould by wooden pegs,
distributing them over several feet of surface, taking care not
to trample nor disarrange the mculd near the wires. We at-
tended to the germinating, growth, and ripening of the barley,
and distinguished no difference between that among the wires
and the other parts of the field. The only thing remarkable in
this experiment, was, that portions of the wire became oxidated
(red rusted) externally, while other portions equally exposed to
the dew, rain, sun, changed only from a bluish to a whiter more
silvery colour, similar to the whiteness occasioned by a certain
degree of heat. We failed in satisfying ourselves of the cause.
—Experiment 2. We placed another conductor in a field of
oats, just brairded, fixing down the lower end of the large wire
about three yards along the surface of the ground.. The growth
of the oats along the side and at the end of the wire was in no
respect different from the rest of the field —Haperiment 5. In
spring we placed the other conductor by the side of an apple-
tree, about three feet distant from the bole: the top of the pole
and iron-rod extending high above the tree. We led the large
iron-wire round the bulb at about three feet distant, placed
four inches deep in the soil, immediately above the roots. This
tree shewed no difference in size or colour of leaf, or length of
annual shoot, from others of the same kind of apple, and same
age and size of tree near it—Ewzperiment 4. In spring we
procured a quantity of nails, about four inches in length, and
by means of small thin slips of wood, with a hole in the middle
to admit the nail, thus forming a T, and shreds of mat, we
fixed these nails to the branches and shoots of an apple-tree,
with the head of the nails touching the bark, and the point
standing out like thorny spikes, rendering the tree almost like
a hedgehog. We discovered no difference in the growth, leaves
or flowers, or fruit of this tree, during the season, from others
of its kind near it. There is one circumstance connected with
conductors, which has not perhaps been attended to. There is
generally a pit dug where the conductor is led into the earth,

388 Scientific Intelligence.—Mineralogy.

and new soil is turned up from the pit, and mixed with the su-
perior soil; this, as well as the deep stirring of the ground, ren-
ders the vegetation more luxuriant.—Communicated by P. Mat-
thew, Esq. author of Treatise on Naval Timber.

MINERALOGY.

3. Chiastolite—According to Dr G. Landgrebe of Marburg,
as stated in Schweigger-Seidel’s Journal, H. 5. 1830,*this mi-
neral contains silica 68.497; alurnina 30.109 ; magnesia 1.125 ;
water and carbon 0.269; = 100.00. The remarkable structure of
this mineral is well known; we may add from Weiss that many
salts, as muriate of soda for example, when dissolved in‘ fatty
substances, as butter for example, and again crystallized from
them, exhibit in their crystals the same structure as observed in
chiastolite.

4. Magnetic Reaction of Platina—In a piece of Russian
platina the size of a walnut, Gobel detected the two magnetic
poles. Its magnetism was so powerful that a middle-sized
needle was attracted by it, and a magnetic needle was, at a cer-
tain distance, set in motion by it. Many similar pieces of pla-
tina, from the size of a hazel nut to that of a hen’s egg, in the
collection of the Imperial Mining Academy of St Petersburg,
exhibit similar properties.

5. Olizoner Zircon of Breithaupt.—Colour pitch or brown-
ish black, seldom dark grey. Occurs in rolled pieces and in
hyacinth crystals. Lustre vitreous. Opaque. Fracture con-
choidal. Cleavage scarcely discernible. Hardness equal that
of orthoclase felspar. Specific gravity from 3.987 to 4.032.
From Island of Ceylon. The low degree of hardness, and the
specific gravity, render it probable that it forms a distinct
species.

6. Specific gravity of Datolite—Some late writers have
stated the specific gravity of datolite as high as 3.3. Brei-
thaupt, however, finds the generally given specific gravity to be
the correct one. In two varieties of datolite he found the spe-
cific gravity to be 2.9298, and 2.9911.

7. Professor Jameson’s Manual of Mineralogy and Geolo-
gy-—This work, which will form one or two compendious vo-
lumes, is now in the press.

Scientific Intelligence.— Geology. 389

8. T'remolite found in Teesdale.—In a granular limestone,
a member of the lead measures, near Caldron Snout, Teesdale,
Durham, I found, in 1829, tremolite, in small radiated crystals
of a greyish colour.—W. C. Trevelyan.

GEOLOGY.

9. Salt Spring of Birtley in Durham.—I have lately ex-
amined some water from the salt spring at Birtley in the county
of Durham, and have ascertained that it contains both iodine
and bromine.—The specimen was procured for me in Febru-
ary: I found its specific gravity at temperature 60° to be 1.072,
and calculating according to Kirwan’s formula given in Thom-
son’s Chemistry, 1072 — 1000 x 14 = 100.8 = saline contents
in 1000 parts of this water. I evaporated to dryness, but with-
out expelling the water of crystallization, 1000 grains of it, and
found the residuum to weigh 103 grains. Mr Winch, in the
Transactions of the Geological Transactions, vol. 4th, mentions
that this spring produces 26400 gallons in 24 hours; and that
when analyzed by Mr Woods, it was found to contain in 1000
grains, muriate of soda 87; muriate of lime 43; muriate of
magnesia, carbonate of lime, carbonate of iron, and silica, 4;
= 131 grains, which is considerably more than I found in it;
but perhaps it may vary at different seasons in the quantity of
saline matter.—A remarkable circumstance with regard to this
spring, and some others in the same district, is, that it occurs
in the coal-formation far below the well-known saliferous or new
red sandstone.—W. C. Trevelyan.

10. Deshayes’ New Classification of the Tertiary Formations.
—Mr T. J. Torrie informs us, that Deshayes classes the whole of
the tertiary deposits at present known, from the simple consider-
ation of their fossils (of which he possesses 3000 species) into
three groups. The most ancient embraces the London and Paris
basins, and the tertiary strata of Belgium, and contains more
than 1200 fossil species, of which only 38 are analogous to the
shells actually living. The second embraces the whole tertiary
deposits of Bordeaux, Dax, Touraine, Anjou, of the south-west
of France in general; the inferior part of those of Montpellier,
and probably the Calcaire mzlon of Marcel de Serres; those

390 Scientific Intelligence.— Geologry.

around Turin, of Vicenza and Verona in Italy. The num-
ber of fossils in this group may approach to 1000, but Deshayes
did not state the exact number, of which 180 are living species.
The third group comprises the greater part of the deposits of
Montpellier, especially of the blue marl,—the subapennine for-
mation of Italy and Sicily, &c.—those. of Vienna, and the basin
of the Danube, the crag of England, and certain modern con-
chiferous deposits along the west coast of South America.
The zoological character of this group is, that it contains 50
species analogous to the living, the greater part of which in-
habit the neighbouring seas. Deshayes has examined 600 Ita-
lian species; of 190 from Sicily, 188 are living species. A
similar classification was some time ago proposed by Elie de
Beaumont, founded on geological considerations,—the first group
he traces to an up-raising nearly north and south, the second to
an up-raising N, 25° E., and the third from W.S. W. to E.N.E.,
which raised the subapennine beds of Italy.

11. Universality of Formations.—If the primary and igne-
ous rocks are found all over the globe, we cannot as yet say so
much for those of the secondary class. Thus the great coal
formation appears to abound most under the polar circle, and in
the two temperate zones, but is rarer near to the equator ; a geo-
graphical distribution, probably connected with its mode of for-
mation. The deposits between this formation and the Jura
limestone, have scarcely been met with beyond the limits of
Europe,’excepting in India, when the new red sandstone and the
lias limestones are said to abound. ‘The deposites observed by
Pander and Eversman, between the lake of Aral and Bucharia,
are probably referable to these two secondary formations, If the
Jura limestone is infinitely more frequent, or better known in
the four quarters of the world, the greensand and chalk have only
been found well marked in America, as in Patagonia, at the en-
trance of the Straits of Magellan, and in the Atlantic portion of
the United States. The tertiary and alluvial deposits, on the
contrary, play a more important part on the surface of the earth.
It appears that at least throughout Europe, and in Russian and
Central Asia, the upper tertiary formation prevails in an eminent
degree. In the grand basin of the North of Germany, Von Buch
observed, by means of the fossils, a greater resemblance with the

Scientific Intelligence.—Geology. 391
subapennine deposits than with those of Paris, which con-
firms our idea of uniting as to age, these subapennine basins of
Gallicia and Poland, with those just mentioned. It is even pos-
sible that the inferior tertiary deposits may be rare beyond the
limits of Europe, the greater part of the tertiary lignites not
appearing to belong to them. The ancient and modern alluvi-
um occurs every where in the valleys, and in the plains, on the
hills, and upon some plateau that have been raised up after their
formation ; but they are wanting on the elevated acclivities, and
on the high mountain chains raised before the alluvial period.
These alluvia contain marine fossils only when they cccur on
the sea shore ; elsewhere, we observe only debris of land and
river shells, and bones of terrestrial animals. We defy the par-
tisans of the deluge to shew us any thing else, in all their pre-
tended dijuvium throughout Europe, and which nevertheless ac-
cording to their ideas ought to be characterized by marine fos.
sils. We believe in local cataclysms, of great lakes of fresh
water, and even probably of salt water; but there is nothing,
absolutely nothing in Europe, that can justify a general cata-
clasm during the alluvial period. As to the debris on the sides
of mountains, their angular form and their repository indicate
their origin and mode of accumulation by decomposition, sliding
down, carrying away by the passing rains, by avalanches and
the motions of glaciers. The calculations which it has been at-
tempted to found on the talus of debris, with the view of infer-
ring the age of the world, has never probably been done in earnest
by any practical geologist. Indeed, we do not see that the his-
toric times have any connection with the geological periods, even
the most recent of these. It is a well known fact, that deposits
of shells during the alluvial period occur on the coasts of the At-
lantic, and of the Nerth Sea, at a considerable height above the
level of the sea. It is also known that the same phenomenon is
repeated not only in Norway, and upon the shores of Britain and
France, but also according to Keilhau in the islands of Spits-
bergen; on some coasts in the United States uf Brazil (Bahia).
It appears also to occur in the Pacific Ocean, at least on the
American coast.—A. Boué, Journal de Geologie, t. ii. p. 205.

12 Submarine Forest, near Cullen.—Mr Christie of Banff
informs us that a submarine forest exists at the mouth of the

392 Scientific Intelligence.—Geology.

burn of Cullen, and along the bay about that point ; but as it
can only be reached at the lowest tides, it has not yet been fully
examined. It is said to contain oak trees in an erect posture,
rising from a bed of blue clay. We hope to hear more regard-
ing this interesting statement.

13. Vast Extent of the Earthquake of 1827.—On 16th No-
vember 1827, a violent earthquake was felt at Santa Fé de Bo-
gota, in Columbia, and on the same day at Ochotsk in Siberia.
It is stated 17th November in Siberia, which, however, consi-
dering the relative geographical situation, is the same day as at
Santa Fé de Bogota. It is worthy of remark, that the direc-
tion of the earthquake in Columbia was from SE. to NW., and
that this direction points towards Siberia. Not less interesting
is the circumstance that the line from Columbia towards Siberia
strikes the most remarkable volcanic region in Mexico, and is pa-
rallel to the principal range of American mountains. This may
be viewed as a proof that the operation of earthquakes is propa-
gated in a linear direction, it may be in great rents, or accord-
ing to the arrangement of chains of mountains, strata, or rocks.
It affords also a striking proof of the great depth at which the
process which gives rise to earthquakes is carried on.

14. Huge scattered Blocks of Granite.—Not far from the town
of Lovisa (which lies on the Finnish or northern shore of the
Gulf of Finland, about 200 miles east of St Petersburg), we
entered upon a level and extensive plain. For three or four
miles from west to east, we traversed this plain or steppe, which
is covered with huge blocks of granite, many of which must
weigh 200, 500, and even 400 tons. These masses of granite
are rapidly crumbling to the ground, and large heaps of the dis-
integrated matter lie piled at the base of each block. So exten-
sively has this decay of these rocks prevailed, that the roads of
the neighbouring district for several miles are metalled with their
debris alone. But what chiefly deserves notice is, that the de..
cay takes place on that side only which I found by compass
faces to the SW. From this quarter the wind is said chiefly to
blow,—a circumstance that, in connection with the luxuriance
of the wild vegetation of the neighbourhood, may favour the
idea that this decay of the rock is to be attributed to the action
of the wind impregnated with carbonic acid. Indeed, the

Scientific Intelligence.— Botany. 393

brushwood is extremely thick and tangled over the whole plain ;
bramble and juniper bushes grow in irregular patches over its
whole extent ; and the crowberry, whortleberry, cranberry, dog-
moss, and wood-sorrel, are very abundant. Ferns, of great size
and strength, also grow under the shelter of these rocky masses,
and by insinuating their roots, perhaps sometimes hasten the dis-
solution of their protector. The rock is itself generally coated
with large lichens, of green, purplish, and yellow colours. In
the neighbourhood of this plain the rocks are granitic, contain-
ing a large proportion of mica, and exhibit a slaty structure;
but the blocks which were strewed over this extensive plain were
not, so far as I remember, characterized by stratified appear~
ance. They are extremely coarsely grained, of a brownish co-
Jour, and contain a large proportion of mica——Mr Alan Steven-
son.

BOTANY.

15. Localities of rare British Plants —Chrysocoma Linosy-
ris, I gathered in 1824, near the road-side between Brighton
and Shoreham. Orobus tuberosus @ tenuifolius, near Blanch-
land, Northumberland, 1820. Chenopodium botryoides, near
Newhaven, Sussex. Equisetum variegatum, in wet sandy spots
on the banks of the Tees, near Middleton in Teesdale, Durham,
1829. Eriophorum pubescens and angustifolium are both abun-
dant in the same neighbourhood. Jungermannia cochlearifor-
mis, near the head of Waskerly Burn, near Wolsingham, Dur-
ham, 1829.—W. C. T.

16. Dimensions of a Larch Tree, cut down at Wallington,
Northumberland, May 1831—

CIRCUMFERENCE.
Feet. Inches.

At the base : : F : 8 4
#. “Siti feeta> 7 ll
Eee) aie 2 - : 7 5
Sy PES : B . ; 6 ll
per ew be 6 9
BL oh ae 5 10
oa da azote : . ° : a 3
ons GOs s,s . . = . 3

eee . : . 2 4

88 ... extreme length.

JULY—SEPTEMBER 1831. ce

394 Scientific Intelhgence.— Botany.

The age of the tree was about 80 years. There are several
larger still standing at the same place, which are supposed to
be some of the largest and oldest in England.—W. C. T.

17%. On a New Vegetable Razor-Strap—Having observed,
when at Buenos Ayres and Monte Video, previous to my re-
turn to Europe in 1828, that the barbers were in the practice of
giving a fine edge to their razors, by using instead of a razor-
strap a portion of the stem of a monocotyledonous plant, divid-
ed in the direction of its fibres, I made inquiry from whence
they obtained it, and was informed that it was procured from
Rio de Janeiro. Accordingly, on my subsequently visiting
that place, I took care to obtain a supply of it, and have not
only ever since used it myself as a razor-strap, but have induced
many of my friends to do so likewise, with the most satisfactory
results. From a belief at one time entertained, that the pre-
sence of minute particles of silica interspersed among the fibres
of this substance, might give rise to its peculiar property of
giving a fine edge and polish to cutting instruments, I was in-
duced to request of my friend Mr James F. Johnston to sub-
ject it to analysis, to ascertain whether it contained any silica;
but, after a most careful investigation, he could not find it to
contain the least trace of any siliceous earth. It is evident,
therefore, that its useful properties as a razor-strap depend on
the mechanical management of the numerous longitudinal fibres
of which it principally consists, and which, being surrounded
on all sides by a quantity of light cellular substance, is rendered
somewhat elastic. ‘This substance is of a dirty white colour,
with a specific gravity, according to Mr Johnston, of ‘09 in its
porous state, and about ‘3 after its being boiled in water to ex-
pel the air. To prepare it for use asa razor-strap, it is only re-
quisite to divide the portion of the stem to be used in a direc-
tion parallel to that of the fibres, and forming a flat surface,
which is rendered smooth. I have also understood that it is
likewise used as a substitute for cork to line boxes in which in-
sects are preserved, and some give to it a decided preference for
this purpose. I am likewise informed that it is sold for this
object at Guayaquil, on the Pacific coast, under the name of
Balsa Wood, which name it has probably obtained from its
great buoyancy. At Rio de Janeiro, I was informed that it

Scientific Intelligence.— Zoology. 395

was the stem of the Pita, by which name the Agave Americana
or American Aloe is known at Buenos Ayres, but am very
doubtful whether it is the stem of this particular species, as it
grows with great luxuriance at Buenos Ayres, where it ‘is in
common use in forming inclosures; yet the razor-straps used
there, I was informed, are brought from Rio de Janeiro. It
may therefore be presumed to consist of the stem of some other
of its congeners, which flourishes only in tropical America; or
is it only under the influence of a tropical sun that the Agave
Americana has its peculiar properties fully developed ?—Dr
Gilles.

ZOOLOGY.

18. The Extinct Dodo.—Naturalists have known for a long
time, but only through means of figures and descriptions, exe-
cuted in the sixteenth and the commencement of the seven-
teenth century, a great bird, incapable of flying, found in the
Isle of France after its discovery, but which appears to have
been since entirely extirpated. It was named Dronte, Dodo:
it is the genus Raphus of Meering, or the Didus of Linnzus.
All that is preserved of this bird is a head and a foot deposited
in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, and another foot, with a
figure painted in oil, after the livmg animal, which are in
the British Museum. Cauche, who also saw it in the Isle of
France, has given an imperfect description of it, in which he
says it had but three toes, which has caused some naturalists to
form a second species, under the name Didus nazarenus, the
first being called Didus ineptus. _Leguat mentions another
bird, resembling the dodo, found in the Island of Rodrigue,
and which has been named Didus solitarius. Cuvier had sent
him, by an excellent naturalist in the Isle of France, M. Des-
jardins, the large bones of a bird found in the Island of Ro-
drigue, in part encrusted with calc-tuffa, which Cuvier conjec-
tured might be those of the dodo. Judging from the cranium,
sternum, and very small humerus, the thigh-bone, and tarsus,
he supposed they belonged to a gallinacious bird. M. Blain-
ville, in a learned memoir, endeavours to shew that the dodo
was a kind of vulture, which, he says, it resembles in beak,
head, claws, and other circumstances of its organization. Du-

cc2

396 Scientific Intelligence.—Zoology.

ring his visit to England, Cuvier compared the remains of the
dodo preserved in the British Museum and in that of Oxford
with the bones sent to him by Desjardins, when he found that
the heads were identical, but the tarsus is more elongated than
that of the British Museum, which, again, is thicker, but short-
er, than that of Oxford. There is, therefore, some doubt as to
the tarsus, but none as to the head, which he therefore refers to
the dodo; and as this head, as also the sternum found along
with it, and also the humerus and femur, undoubtedly belong °
to the Galline, this bird falls to be placed in that tribe.

19. Bengal Tiger found in Siberia —Ehrenberg, during his
journey through Siberia, made a discovery of great interest for
the geography of animals, and in some respects for the history
of fossil bones, viz. the existence of the great tiger of Bengal in
Northern Asia, between the latitudes of Paris and Berlin. He
also describes a great panther, with long hair (Felis irbis), he.
met with in the Altain chain of mountains.

20. Footmarks of Man and Lower Animals.—Voltaire, in
Zadig, has attributed to his hero a sagacity in tracing footsteps,
which no doubt has often been considered an idle invention.
Such a power, however, appears to be possessed by the Arabs to a
degree which deprives even Zadig of the marvellous. The Arab,
says Burckhardt, “ who has applied himself diligently to the
study of footsteps, can generally ascertain, from inspecting the
impression, to what individual of his own, or ef some neighbour-
ing tribe, the footstep belongs, and therefore is able to judge whe-
ther it was a stranger who passed or a friend. He likewise knows,
from the slightness or depth of the impression, whether the man
who made it carried a load or not. From a certain regularity
of intervals between the steps, a Bedouin can judge whether
that man, whose feet left the impression, was fatigued or not,
as, after fatigue, the pace becomes more irregular and the inter-
vals unequal ; hence he can calculate the chance of overtaking
the man. Besides all this, every Arab knows the printed foot-
steps of his own camels and of those belonging to his immediate
neighbours. He knows by the depth or slightness of the im-
pression whether a camel was pasturing, and therefore not car-
rying any load, or mounted by one person only, or heavily
loaded. If the marks of the two fore feet appear to be deeper

Scientific Intelhgence.— Zoology. 397
in the sand, he concludes that the camel had a weak breast, and
this serves him as a clue to ascertain the owner. In fact, a
Bedouin, from the impressions of a camel’s, or of his driver’s
footsteps, draws so many conclusions, that he always learns
something concerning the beast or its owner; and in some cases
this mode of acquiring knowledge appears almost supernatural.
The Bedouin sagacity in this respect is wonderful, and becomes
particularly useful in the pursuit of fugitives, or in searching
after cattle. I have seen a man discover and trace the footsteps
of his camel in a sandy valley, where a thousand of other foot-
steps crossed the road in every direction ; and this person could
tell the name of every one who had passed there in the course
of that morning. I myself found it often useful to know the
impressions made by the feet of my own companions and camels ;
as from circumstances which inevitably occur in the desert, tra-
vellers sometimes are separated from their friends. In passing
through dangerous districts, the Bedouin guides will seldom
permit a townsman or stranger to walk by the side of his camel.
If he wears shoes, every Bedouin who passes will know by the
impression, that some townsman has travelled that way ;' and if
he walk barefooted, the mark of his step, less full than that of
a Bedouin, immediately betrays the foot of a townsman, little
accustomed to walk. It is therefore to be apprehended that the
Bedouins, who regard every townsman as a rich man, might
suppose him loaded with valuable property, and accordingly set
out in pursuit of him. A keen Bedouin guide is constantly
and exclusively occupied durmg his march in examining foot-
steps, and frequently alights from his camel to acquire certainty
respecting their nature. I have known instances of camels being
traced by their masters during a distance of six days’ journeys, to
the dwelling of the man who had stolen them. Many secret
transactions are brought to light by this knowledge of the
athr or footsteps; and a Bedouim can scarcely hope to escape
detection in any clandestine proceeding, as his passage is re-
corded upon the road in characters that every one of his
Arabian neighbours can read.”—Notes on the Bedouins and
Wahabys by Burckhardt.

21. Destruction of Live Stock by Wolves in Russia.—In the

398 New Publications.

government of Livonia alone, the following animals were de-
stroyed by wolves in 1823. The account is an official one :—

Horses, - 2 - 1841 Swine, = : : 4190
Sheep, : 3 . 15,182 | Sucking Pigs, . . 312
Horned Cattle, . ; 1807 Kids, . , , “ 183
Calves, ; : : 733 Dogs, “ : : 703
Lambs, F “ * 726 Fowls, - . . 1243
Goats, - : 2545 Geese, : : - 673

NEW .PUBLICATIONS.

1. Arrian on Coursing. The Cynegeticus of the Younger Zenophon,
translated from the Greek, with Classical and Practical Annotations,
and a brief sketch of the Life and Writings of the Author ; with
an Appendix, containing some account of the Canes Venatici of
classical antiquity. By a Graduate of Medicine, with embellish-
ments from the Antique. London. 8vo. p. 314. :

The amateurs of the leash, the naturalist, and the scholar,
will be delighted and gratified with this elegant translation and
richly illustrated edition of one of the most curious remains of
antiquity. It is addressed, says the translator, to the coursing
public alone, for whom the original was written thirteen centu-
ries ago, by their representative of old, a courser of Nicomedia
in Asia Minor; and for whose amusement and instruction the
same now assumes an English garb. The sportsman, fond of
the musical confusion of hounds and echo in conjunction, will
read it with indifference, as treating of a branch of rural sport
not congenial to his taste, and wonder that an attempt should
be made to bring under public notice so ancient a treatise on a
subject of such partial interest. But the Courser, it is humbly
conceived, the active patron of the xv» xsarixai, proud of his
greyhounds, that

“ are as swift
“ As breathed stags, aye fleeter than the roe,”
will peruse it con amore, and find in its pages much that is en-
tertaining and practically useful, and that utility enhanced in
the department of annotation. It is foreign to my purpose,

New Publications. 399

says the unknown but accomplished translator, “ to enter into a
prolix defence of the courser’s pursuit, against the objections of
its adversaries in the field or closet.” “ I would not goe about,”
in the words of Gervase Markham, “ to elect and prescribe
what recreation the husbandman should use, binding all men to
one pleasure,—God forbid ! my purpose is merely contrary : for
I know in men’s recreations, that. nature taketh to herselfe an
especiall prerogative, and what to one is most pleasant, to ano-
ther is most offensive; some seeking to satisfie the mind, some
the body, and some both in joynt motion.” We of the cour-
sing fraternity prefer the “ canis Gallicus,” and “ arvum va-
cuum” of Ovid, as instrumental to our choisest diversion :
“ camposque patentes
‘“* Scrutamur, totisque citi discurrimus arvis 3;

“Et cupimus facili cane sumere preedas :
** Nos timidos lepores——____”

but we do not forbid others,

“ imbelles figere damas,
“ Audacesve lupos, vulpem aut captam dolosam.”
For the refined diversion of coursing may be as disagreeable to
the foxhunter, whose only joy is when
“ The hounds shall make the welkin answer them,
“ And fetch shrill echoes from the hollow earth,”

Taming of the Shrew, Sc. I.
as it is delightful to the general amateur, on account of its
chaste and temperate, and contemplative quiet. King James,
in his Basamsy Adgo, (himself, according to Sir Theodore May-
erne, “ violentissimis olim venationis exercitiis deditus,)” praises

“the hunting with running houndes, as the most honourable
and noblest sort thereof,” and is supported by the high autho-
rity of Edmond de Langley, master of game ; adding, “it is a
thievish forme of hunting to shoot with gunnes and bowes, and
greyhound hunting is not so martiall a game.” But, on the
other hand, Sir Thomas Elyot, in “ The Governour,” speaking
of “ those exercises apte to the furniture of a gentleman’s per-
sonage,” and “ not utterly reproved of noble autours, if they be
used with oportunitie and in measure,” calls ‘* hunting the hare
with grehoundes a right good solace for men that be studiouse, or
theim to whom nature hathe not geven personage or courage

400 New Publications.

apte for the warres; and also for gentilwemen, which feare
nether sonne nor wynde for appayryng their beautie. And,
peradventure, they shall be thereat lesse idell, than they shold
be at home in their chammers.” And the author of “ The
Booke of Hunting,” annexed to Tubervile’s Kalconrie, con-
cludes his treatise with the following singular panegyric, “* con-
cerning coursing with greyhounds,”—“ the which is doubtlesse
a noble pastime, and as meet for nobility and gentlemen, as any
of the other kinds of Venerie before declared, especially the
course of the hare, which is a sport continually'in sight, and
made witheut any great travaile; so that recreation is therein
to be found without unmeasurable toyle and payne: whereas,
in hunting with hounds, although the pastime be great, yet
many times the toyle and paine is also exceeding great ; and
then it may well be called eyther a painfull pastime or a plea-
sant payne.”

Coursing, more than the other laborious diversions of rural
life, while it ministers to our moderate sensual enjoyment, ad-
mits also, during the intervals of the active pursuit of hound
and hare, much rational reflection, opportunities of conversa-
tion with our brethren of the leash, and mental improvement.
It tends, as Markham quaintly expresses himself, “ to satisfie
the mind and body in a joynt motion ;” for, in the beautiful
poetry of a living patron of the Celtic dog, there is no interval
of idleness with the well-read courser :

“ Nor dull between each merry chase,

*< Passes the intermitted space :

“ For we have fair resource in store,

“ In Classic and in Gothic lore.” Marmion.

But there are those who anathematise hunting and coursing,
and other rural recreations, either as sinful *, or indicative of

* The reader will be amused with Simon Latham’s epilogue to the third
edition of his “‘ Faulconry,” wherein he combats (for he wrote in ticklish
times, 1658), with his usual quaintness of style and illustration, the notion
of the sinfulness of rural sports, inferring that they may be “ lawfully and
conscientiously used with moderation by a magistrate or minister, or lawyer
or student, or any other seriously employed, which in any function heat their
brain, waste their bodies, weaken their strength, weary their spirits; that as
a means (and blessing from God), by it their decayed strength may be re-
stored, their vital and animal spirits quickened and refreshed, and revived ;

New Publications. 401

barbarism and mental degradation, in the ratio of the pursuit.
Like Cornelius Agrippa, they view venation in genere as the
worst occupation of the worst of mankind; and say with Philip
Stubes, that “ Esau was a great hunter, but yet a reprobate ;
Ismael, a great hunter, but a miscreant; Nemrode, a great
hunter, but yet a reprobate, and a vessel of wrath ;” and bid us,
in the poetic badinage of the poet of Cyrene, leave of coursing :

4 ‘
la xoonur nde Amyuods

an) vA er a
“© cigee Borxsobas ro ds ev weaxss noe Axywoi
ongesay 5

Swearing with the melancholy Jaques,
“ That we
Are mere usurpers, tyrants, and what’s worse,
To fright the animals, and kill them up,
In their assign’d and native dwelling-place.”
As You Like It.

But if “ some habites and customes of delight” are allowable
and indispensable to the “ contentment” of the human mind, and
** men of exceeding strickt lives and severity of profession,” have
indulged in rural diversions, why need we regard the severe re-
flections of the sensitive Monsieur Paschal, or his modern pla-
giarists ? Why think that wisdom loves not the courser’s sport ?
Or that man is degraded before the tribunal of sound reason, by
estimating aright the instinct of any of the creatures around
him? Or made sinful in the eyes of his Creator, by availing
himself of the adapted powers of the lowliest of the brute race,
for the subjugation of such wild animals as were originally de-
signed by a bountiful Creator for the sustenance and recreation
of man? “ Canum vero tam incredibilis at investigandum sa-
gacitas narium, tanta alacritas in venando, quid significat aliud
nisi se ad. hominum commoditates esse generatos.”"—Cicero, de
Nat. Deor. |. ii. ¢. 63.

The inference in regard to the chases, and field sports gene-
rally, is surely just, “* that man, by co-operating with such ani-
mals, employs both his and their faculties on the purposes for
which they were partially designed, tending thereby to complete
the bounteous scheme of Providence, the happiness and well-
being of all his creatures.

their health preserved, and they better enabled (as a bow intended for shoot-
ing) to the discharging of their weighty charges imposed upon them.”

402 New Publications.
“ 'The brute creation are man’s property,

Subservient to his will, and for him made.

As hurtful these he kills, as useful those

Preserves ; their sole and arbitrary king.

Should he not kill, as erst the Samian sage

‘Taught unadvised, and Indian Brachmans now

As vainly preach ; the teeming rav’nous brutes

Might fill the scanty space of this terrene,

Incumb’ring all the globe.” Somerville ; Chase, b. iv-

Mr Warton, the talented historian of English Poetry, a book-

ful Academic, and not a pabnzis xuvnyzcivy, acquits the hunter of
the chase of barbarism, and acknowledges that ‘ the pleasures
of the chase seem to have been implanted by nature ; and, under
due regulation, if pursued as a matter of mere relaxation, and
not of employment, are by no means incompatible with the
modes of polished life.” But our space is exhausted, and we
must now leave our readers to the delightful work itself, of
which by-the-by we observe only 250 copies are printed.

2. Ornithological Dictionary of British Birds. By Colonel G.
Monracu, F.L.S. Second Edition. By James ReEnNtg,
A. M. Professor of Natural History, King’s College, London,
&c. 1 vol. 8vo. pp.650. 1831.

The late Colonel Montagu’s Ornithological Dictionary, we
always considered a good book of its kind, and regretted it had
been so long out of print. The zoological public will feel much
indebted to Professor Rennie for the present elegant edition,
which he has enlarged by many additions, most of them of a
popular and amusing description. We are decidedly adverse to
some of the scientific views and nomenclatural changes of the
Professor, and cannot refrain from noticing, that Mr Rennie, we
truly believe inadvertently, says, ‘ that the descriptions of Lin-
neus are dry, lifeless, marrowless, and unphilosophical.”. Much
might be said on this head, all indeed very much to the disad-
vantage of those who think so loosely and so unphilosophically.

3. Synopsis Reptilium, or Short Descriptions of the Species of Rep-
tiles. By J. Ep. Gray, F.L.S. &c. 1 vol. 8vo. p. 90. With
Plates. London, 1831.

We have much pleasure in recommending to the attention of
naturalists this interesting monograph, descriptive of the different

New Publications. 403

known tribes of Tortoise, Crocodile, and Enalsosauri. The
practical zoologist, and those also who cultivate the geological
history of fossil organic remains, will find it a most useful guide.
Mr Gray gives the followmg amusing account of his volume :—
“« The collection of reptiles of the British Museum, the College
of Surgeons, and Mr Bell, have furnished the basis of this
work. The two first of these collections contain many of the
species which have been described by Dr Shaw; the College
of Surgeons contains the tortoises which were in the Leverian
Museum; but, in the part now published, I am most indebted
to the kindness of Mr Bell, whose collection of tortoises far ex-
ceeds that of any museum in Europe, and whose liberality, in
allowing me the use of it, I cannot too highly appreciate. It is
to be hoped that his monograph, for which he has collected
them, and for which he has kept and had drawn alive more than
two-thirds of the known species, will shortly appear.

“ 'To render the collection of species as complete, and the syno-
nyma as correct as possible, every opportunity has been taken,
during my visits to the continental museums, to examine and
take notes of the individual specimens whieh have been described
by the various foreign authors who have written on this subject.
Amongst the continental cabinets, that of the Garden of Plants
of Paris must be first mentioned, if not from its intrinsic value,
from the fact that most of the modern original writers on this
branch of natural history have used it as their type collection ;
witness the works of La Cépede, Latreille, and Daudin, among
the French ; and Oppel, Oken, and Schweigger, among the Ger-
mans. It is much to be regretted that many of the specimens
described by these authors should not have been more particu-
larly ticketed, and that the most cf the species collected by the
later expeditions, are not yet added to the public parts of the
collections. I have to thank Baron Cuvier, M. F. Cuvier, and
M. Dumeril, for their kindness in permitting me to examine
these subjects, and more especially the former, whose attention
to me on each of my visits to Paris, has been highly flattering
to my feelmgs. Besides the National Museum at Paris, by the
kindness of M. Blainville, I have been enabled to examine the
Museum of the Ecole de Médécine, containing several curious
reptiles, especially some from California.

404 New Publications.

“© The Royal Collection at Berlin having been recently re-
arranged, and the Royal Museum of Leyden, and the Museum
of the Senckenberg Society of Frankfort having been formed
within these few years, the greater part of the specimens are
quite fresh, and in the most perfect condition, and their history
is generally known, and accurately marked upon them. These
museums are the more valuable, as each of them is peculiar for
having the most complete collections from certain parts of the
world. That of Berlin excels in those of Buchara, of Mexico,
and of the Braziis; while the Leyden Museum is richest in the
productions of the Dutch colonies, as the Islands of the Indian
Archipelago, the Cape, and Surinam. That of Frankfort con-
tains the most complete collections of the animals of Egypt, and
the rest of Northern Africa, that was ever brought together,
having been entirely formed by the exertious of Dr Riippell,
during his travels in those countries, and extended by specimens
received from other museums in exchange for his duplicates ;
yet this monument of the industry of an individual, must rank
very high amongst the museums of Europe. After having laid
before the scientific public the novelties which he has discovered,
Dr Riippell has again left Europe (at his own cost) to extend
still farther the empire of science.

* IT hardly know how sufficiently to express my thanks to
Herr Temminck and Herr Schlegel] of Leyden; to Professor
Lichtenstein, and Herr Deppe of Berlin; to Drs Cretzrchmarr
and Riippell, and Senator Von Heyden of Frankfort for the
courtesy and attention which they shewed me during my visits
to the various museums under their direction; indeed with such
liberality, that it would be impossible, however desirable, to
imitate them in our more populous towns. In each of these
museums all the specimens were intrusted to me to describe,
draw, or examine them, as might best suit my purpose, without
any restraint, except that, at Leyden, Herr Temminck request-
ed that I would indicate in what museum I had seen it, and the
name under which it was described,—a rule which I hope I
have most faithfully kept. In Frankfort, some specimens were
even sent to my hotel, that they might be examined more at
leisure. I cannot here omit to mention the names of Sir James
MacGrigor, and Dr Burnet, for their kindness in allowing me

New Publications. 405

to examine the museum of Fort Pitt, Chatham, and of Haslar
Hospital, and to Dr Horsefield, for the facilities which he gave
me of seeing the reptiles in the Museum of the Indian House,
and more especially of comparing and copying the drawings
made under the superintendance of Dr Hamilton in India.

* Besides those who assisted me with specimens, I cannot for-
get the kindnesses shewn me by Prince Massena, Baron Ferus-
sac, and M. Deshayes, at Paris; Professor Reinwardt, at Ley-
den; Professors Kunth and Ehrenberg, at Berlin; and Herren,
Oken, Fischer, Otto, Boie, and numerous other German, Swe-
dish, and Danish naturalists, at Hamburgh, in whose society I
spent one of the happiest weeks of my life. The opportunity
of examining the museums of the north of Europe not occurring
till the body of the monograph was printed, I have been re-
duced to the necessity of adding the remarks and additional
species as an Appendix. To this Appendix have also been
added descriptions of some drawings of Chinese species, sent by
Mr Reeves to General Hardwicke, which will be shortly figured
ina work on the zoology of that country, now in the press; and
also the synonyma of Dr Wagler’s System der Amphibien,
which has but lately arrived in London.

*“‘ T have to regret that, after every inquiry and considerable
delay on its account, I have not been able to procure the last
parts of the Annals of the Lyceum of New York, in which I
understand M. Le Conet has given descriptions of the American
species of tortoises.”

4. Transactions of the Natural History Society of Northumber-
land, Durham, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Vol. i. Part 2. Ato.
Pp. 80.

Tuts Part of the Transactions of the active Newcastle So-
ciety, contains five memoirs; 1. Remarks on the Geology of the
Banks of the Tweed, from Carham in Northumberland to the
sea coast at Berwick; by N. J. Winch, Esq.—2. On the Red
Sandstone of Berwickshire; by Henry Witham, Esq. These
two memoirs embrace several points in common, and go, in the
opinion of the authors, to shew that the secondary rocks belong
to the coal formation.—3. Notice of the Edge Seams of Mid-

406 New Publications.
Lothian, with a description of Gilmerton Colliery; by Mr M.

Dunn. This also we consider a useful local piece of descrip-
tion, and the same is the case with 4., which contains a descrip-
tion of a group of Dikes called Rivers, discovered in the White-
haven colliery; by Mr W. Peile. And, 5. Mr Aitkinson’s
Biography of the late reviver of Wood Engraving in this
country will be read with interest. We are delighted to learn,
that, through the influence of this Society, there is a certainty
of the principal sections and plans of the mines in the north of
England being laid before the public.

5. First Steps in Botany. By Dr DrummMonp, Belfast. With nu-
merous illustrative wood-cuts. 1 vol. 8vo.

Many elementary guides for the study of popular botany
have of late years made their appearance in this country ; of
these, the most agreeably written, the most intelligibly illus-
trated, at the same time the most useful, is Dr Drummond’s in-
teresting volume.

6. A Synoptical Table of British Organic Remains. By Samuet
Woopwarp, H.M.Y.P.S. 1850. Pp. 50. 8vo.

WE have looked through this work, and although there are
some mistakes and omissions, it is creditable to the author.
Now that the subject of the fossil organic remains of this island
engages much of the attention of geologists, and also of botanists
and zoologists, the work of Mr Woodward cannot but prove
acceptable, and the author meet with the encouragement he so
well deserves.

%. Transactions of the Plymouth Institution. Vol. i. 8vo. Pp. 360.
1830.

Tue Plymouth Institution was founded in 1812, for the pro-
motion of literature, science, and the fine arts, in the town and
neighbourhood. Among other means adopted in furtherance of
the objects of the institution, it was deemed expedient, in the
18th year of its existence, to publish a volume of Essays, se-
lected from the lectures read during the meetings ef the society.
These Essays we consider highly creditable to the society, and
we doubt not the same opinion will be formed by others on
perusing this interesting volume.

New Publications. 407

The following papers are published :—1. A Discourse de-
livered at the opening of the Institution, by Robert Lamper,
Esq. A judicious and sensible address.—2. Geological Survey
of the Country around Plymouth, with a coloured geological
map; by J. Prideaux, Esq. As the country around Plymouth
is very interesting, this sketch and map cannot but prove ac-
ceptable to the geologist, who will find in it many of the most
remarkable geological features of the country described.—3.
Experimental Inquiries concerning the laws of Electrical ac-
cumulations; by Mr W. S. Harris. This valuable memoir is
already well known to philosophers through the Philosophical
Journals.—4. Mr Rendel’s account of the Cast-iron Bridge near
to Plymouth will interest the engineer—5. On the Rise and De-
cline of particular Mortal Diseases during the last twenty-five
years, with an attempt to ascertain the law of Mortality, in re-
spect of its distribution on various ages and in both sexes; by
Dr Ed. Blackmore. We purpose, if possible, in a future Num-
ber of our Journal, to take particular notice of this curious me-
moir.—6. Papers of Dr Leach, valuable to the practical zoologist.
—7. Antiquarian Investigations in the Forest of Dartmosr, De-
von; by Samuel Rowe, Esq. On this moor are to be found ex-
amples of the sacred circle, avenues, the cromlech, the kistvaen,
the rock idol, rock-basin, monumental pillar, the cairn or bar-
row, dwellings, and tract-ways. Of these several relics of for-
mer times, our author gives, in this paper, a variety of curious
notices, collected from personal observation.—8. On Persian
Poetry; by Nath. Howard, Esq. This very amusing paper
contains a sketch of the state of Arabian poetry before, and
about the time, of the Mahomedan conquest, with many in-
teresting details in regard to the soft and beautiful language of
Tran.—9. An account of the collection of Drawings of Major
Hamilton Smith, F.R.S. This account of the rise and progress
of a vast collection of drawings, ten thousand in number, made
by the intelligent author Colonel Smith, will be read with plea-
sure. It consists of three divisions: the first, of costumes of
all times and all nations ; the second, of shipping and scenery ;
the third, of objects of natural history —10. On the Ornitho-
logy of the South of Devon ; by Edward More, M.D., F.L.S.,
&e. ‘This is a good paper. We wish ornithologists in other

408 New Publications.

parts of the island would publish similar local lists, and illustrate
them in the same judicious manner as is done by Dr More. Our
space does not permit us to enter into details. We may, how-
ever, notice, that a specimen of that rarest of all British, even
of all European, birds, the Alca impennis or great awk, was
picked up dead near Lundy island. Was this the specimen Mr
Stevenson got in St Kilda, and which made its escape from the
highthouse-keeper of Pladda, when on its way to Edinburgh ?

8. A Geological Manual. By Henry T. De La Bercue, F.R.S.,
F,G.S, &c. 1831. Pp. 550. 104 Wood-cuts. 8vo.

’
ProFEssor JAMESON’s Works, and those of other British

geologists, being out of print, MacCulloch’s System of Geology,
being very abstruse, and therefore not fitted for the student, and
Mr Lyell’s Principles but in progress, the student and practical
geologist were in want of a guide for their studies and investiga-
tions. ‘The appearance, therefore, of a Manual of Geology,
from an observer so experienced as Mr de la Beeche, was most
opportune. We have given the “ Manual of Geology” full con-
sideration, and hesitate not, although it contains views and state-
ments to which we cannot subscribe, to recommend it to the at-
tention of geologists, as containing a very interesting and use-
ful view of the present state of geology, particularly of that de-
partment at present most studied, viz. the natural history of
alluvia, tertiary and secondary deposits, with their accompany-
ing plutonian and voleanic rocks. Its convenient size, indepen-
dent of its other merits, will secure it a place in the knapsack of
every travelling geologist; and even those who cultivate this
most fascinating branch of science only in their cabinet and
library, will find they cannot be without it.

9. American Ornithology, or the Natural History of the Birds of
the United States, by Wilson and Bonaparte. 4 vols. Edin. 1831.
Edited by Professor JAMESON.

Tuts delightful popular work is now before the British public,
and in a form which renders it in every way much more acces-
sible than the very expensive and unarranged American work.

Professor Jameson has been careful to see that this edition con-
2

New Publications. 409

tained the whole letter-press of the original, but arranged accord-
ing to a system, which is nearly that of the celebrated TIlliger.
The fourth volume contains the whole of Bonaparte’s Birds of
America, with many additional histories of the feathered creation,
from Audubon, and the still unpublished Arctic Ornithology of
Richardson and Swainson. To the scientific ornithologist the
views and arrangements of Brehm, almost unknown to the or-
nithologists of Britain, and here given for the first time, will be
read with interest. A general Index might have been ap-
pended, although not particularly wanted in a popular work,
where every volume has its table of contents; but we under-
stand the proprietors being unwilling to increase the expense of
the work to the public, the editor yielded to their wishes, and
closed the volume without the index. As a proof of the interest
this work is exciting, we may add, that the plates of the original
works are re-engraving and publishing. Three editions are now
in progress, one in folio, another in royal octavo, a third the
size of the Edinburgh edition of Wilson and Bonaparte, and,
as stated in the advertisement, intended to bind up with that

work.

List of Patents granted in England, from 15th December 1830,

to 2d February 1831.

1830.
Dec. 17. To B. Reprern, Birmingham, gunmaker, “ for a lock, break-off, and

trigger, upon a new and improved principle, for fowling-pieces,
muskets, rifles, pistols, and small fire-arms of all descriptions.”

To A. Grauam, a citizen of the United States of North America,
but now residing in West Street, Finsbury, London, gentleman,
“ for certain improvements in the application of springs to car-
riages.”” Communicated by a foreigner. eas

23. To D. Paprs, Stanley End, in the parish of King Stanley, Gloces-
tershire, machine-maker, “ for certain improvements in machinery
for dressing or roughing woollen cloths.”

To W. Woon, Summer Hill, Northumberland, near Newcastle«
upon-Tyne, “ for the application of a battering-ram to the pur-
pose of working coal in mines.”

To M. E. A. Pertins, No. 56, Rue du Bac, Paris, spinster, “ for
the fabrication or preparation of a coal fitted for refining and
putifying sugar and other matters.” Communicated by a
foreigner.

JULY—SEPTEMBER 183]. pd

410 List of English Patents.

Dec. 23. To J. Ferrasec, Shrupp Mill and Foundry, Strand, Gloucester-
shire, engineer, “ for improvements in the machinery for prepar-
ing the pile or face of woollen or other cloths requiring such a
process.”

1831.

Jan. 13. To J. Buacxwert and T, Ancocx, both of Claines, Worcester-
shire, machine-makers, and lace or bobbin-net manufacturers, “ for
certain improvements in machines or machinery for making lace,
commonly called bobbin-net.”

15. To S. Srawarp, Canal Iron-works, in the parish of All Saints
Poplar, engineer, “ for an improvement or improvements in ap-
paratus for economising steam, and for other purposes, and the
application thereof to the boilers of steam-engines employed on
board packet-boats and other vessels.”

To W. Parxenr, Albany Street, Regent’s Park, gentleman, “ for
certain improvements in preparing animal charcoal.”

18. To J. and G. Rocers, Sheffield, cutlers, and J. FEttows, jun.
New Cross, Deptford, gentleman, “ for an improved skate.”

22. To A. Smrru, Prince’s Street, Leicester Square, St Martin’s-in-the-
Fields, engineer, “ for certain improvements in machinery for
propelling boats and other vessels on water, and in the manner of
constructing boats or'vessels for carrying such machinery.”

To J. G. Unricu, Nicholas Lane, London, chronometer-maker,
“« for certain improvements in chronometers.”

To C. M. HannineTon, Nelson Square, Surrey, gentleman, “ for
an improved apparatus for impressing, stamping, or printing, for
certain purposes.”

To L. ScuwaseE, Manchester, manufacturer, “for certain processes
and apparatus for preparing, beaming, printing, and weaving
yarns of cotton, linen, silk, woollen, and other fibrous substances,
so that any design, device, or figure, printed on such yarn, may be
preserved when such yarn is woven into cloth or other fabric.”

29. To R. Wixcn, Gunpowder Alley, Shoe Lane, London, printers-
joiner, “ for certain improvements in printing-machines.”

31. To J. Barres, Bishopgate Street Within, London, Esq. “ for cer-
tain improvements in refining and clarifying sugar.” Communi-

_ cated hy a foreigner.

Feb. 2. ‘Lo. J. C. ScuwiERo, Regent Street, London, musical instrument-
maker, ‘“ for certain improvements on piano-fortes, and other
stringed instruments.”

( 411)

List of Patents granted in Scotland, from 23d June to 23d
August 1831.

1831.

June 22, To JamEs Starter of Salford, in the county of Lancaster, bleacher,
for an invention of “ certain improvements in the method of gene-
rating steam or vapour, applicable a3 a moving power, and to arts
and manufacturers; and also for improvements in vessels or
machinery employed for that purpose.”

To Mathew Uzielli of Clifton Street, Finsbury Square, in the
county of Middlesex, gentleman, fur an invention in consequence
of a communication made to him by a certain foreigner residing
abroad, “ for improvements in the preparation of certain metallic
substances, and the application thereof to the sheathing of ships,
and other purposes.””

27. To James CocuraNne of Greenside Lane, in the City of Edin-
burgh, brass-founder, for an invention of “ a certain improved
method of manufacturing tubes or pipes of lead, block-tin, copper,
or other metals.”

To Georce WitL1am TuRNER, of the parish of Saint Mary, Ber-
mondsey, in the county of Surrey, paper-manufacturer, for an in-
vention of “ certain improvements in machinery for making
paper.”

To Witt1am West Ley Ricuarps of Birmingham, in the county of
Warwick, gun-manufacturer, for an invention of “ certain im.
provements in the construction of touch-holes and primers suita-
ble to percussion guns, pistols, and all sorts of fire-arms fired up-
on that principle.”

July 6. To Ricnoarp Woop of New York, in the United States of Ame-
rica, but now of Bishopsgate Street Without, in the city of Lon-
don, being one of the people called Quakers, for an invention of
“an inking apparatus to be used with certain descriptions of
printing-presses.”

To GeoncE GooDLeET, residing in Leith, in that part of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called Scotland, and pro-
prietor of the London, Leith, and Edinburgh Steam-Mills, for an
invention of “ a new and improved steam-kiln for drying all kinds
of grain, beans, peas, malt, and seeds of every description.”

To Wiri1am GuTtTeEriner, of the parish of St John, Clerkenwell,
engineer, for an invention of “ certain improvements in apparatus
for distilling, and other purposes.”

22. To Henny LisTER Maw of South Molton Street, in the county of
Middlesex, Lieutenant in the Navy, for an invention of “ an im-
proved method of using fuel, so as to burn smoke.”

27. To Tuomas Sriney, of Cheltenham, in the county of Gloucester.
gas-engiueer, for an invention ofcertain improvements in appara
tus for manufacturing gas for illumination.”

412 List of Scottish Patents.

Aug. 18. To Grorcre Givinetr Bompas of Fishponds, near Bristol, Esq.
M. D., for an invention of “ an improved method of preserving
copper and other metals from corrosion or ozydation.”

To Isaac Hicer1ns of London Street, in the city of London, mer-
chant, for an invention in consequence of a communication made
to him by a certain foreigner residing abroad, “ of certain im-
provements in extracting sugar or syrup from cane-juice and
other substances containing sugar, and in refining sugar and
syrups.”
23. To BensaminN Arnswortu of the parish of Birmingham, in the
county of Warwick, button-maker, for an invention of “ an im-
provement in the making and constructing of buttons.”

Omitted last Number.

June 2. To Anprew Ure of Finsbury Circus, in the county of Middle-
sex, M.D., for an invention of “ an improved apparatus for
distilling.”

( 413)

INDEX.

AGRICULTURAL and Horticultural Society of India, account of, 142

Alluyial deposites, account of, 1

Anatomy, comparative, history of, 42, 355

Ancient metallic works of art, chemical analysis of, 300

Arbusculites argentea of Innerteil described, 147

Arrian on coursing, translation of it, noticed, 398

Arragonite, change of it into calcareous spar, 301

Asia, Central, account of, by Baron Humboldt, 227

Assurance, life, systems, erroneous and expensive nature of, consi-
dered, 118

Audubon, J. J., his account of cougar and deer hunting, 103—on the
navigation of the Mississippi, 128

Artesian wells, observations on, 296

Barometer Tables, 139

Boblaye, Puillon, his account of the tidal and other zones on the lime-
stone rocks of Greece, 333

Bone caves of Palermo described by Dr Christie, 282

at Salleles-Cabardes, in France, described, 350

Bones, fossil, found in Wellington county, New South Wales, account
of, 179

British plants, rare, localities of, 393

Carmichael, Dugald, Esq., biography of, 90

Celestial Phenomena from July 1. to October 1. 1831, 194—from
October 1. 1631, to January 1. 1832, 380

Chiastolite, notice of, 388

Christie, Dr Turnbull, his observations on the bone caves of Palermo,
282—his notice of the Hotham Island Volcano, 366

Climate, on change of, 383

Conducting rods for lightning, account of, 154, 304, 386

Connell, Arthur, on acidification of iodine, 72

Cooling houses in tropical climates, apparatus for, 225

Ald INDEX.

Craigie, Dr, history of comparative anatomy, 42, 355
Cuvier, his account of Werner, 247

Datolite, notice of, 388

Deshayes, his observations on tertiary formations, 389

Dial, wooden, used in the Alps, described, 281

Dodo, an extinct bird, notice of, 395

Don, David, on the characters and affinities of certain genera, chiefly
belonging to the Flora Peruviana, 271

Drummond, Dr, of Belfast, his first Steps to Botany, noticed, 406

Earthquake of 1827, vast extent of, 392
Ehrenberg, Professor, his observations on the Infusoria, 201
Elephant, American, notice of, 353

Fraser, William, on assurance systems, 118
Footmarks, notice of, in man and lower animals, 396
Forest, submarine, notice of, near Cullen, 393
Formations, universality of, considered, 390

Galbraith, William, on the magnetic properties of the rock on the sum-
mit of Arthur Seat, 285—on barometrical measurements, 316
Gairdner, Meredith, his analysis of Ehrenberg’s discoveries on the In-
fusoria, 201
Geology, progress of, 24,2
— manual of, by De la Beeche, noticed, 408
Glaciers, account of, by Hugi, 74
Graham, Dr, on new and rare plants in the Edinburgh Royal Botanic
Garden, 186, 376
account of rare plants collected during an excursion in
the Highlands, 373
Gray’s Synopsis Reptilium, noticed, 402

Hardy, James, on the geology of Meywar, 321

Harris, on lightning conducting rods, 155, 304

Horse, American, notice of it, 354

Hotham Island, volcano of, described, 365

Hugi, observations on glaciers, 74

Human body found in a peat-bog, account of, 116
Humboldt, Baron Alexander, on central Asia, 227
Hutton according to Playfair, 257; and MacCulloch, 263

INDEX. 415

Infusoria, Ehrenberg’s observations on, 201

Innes, Mr George, celestial phenomena, 194, 380—the mean tempe-
rature of Aberdeen, 153

Iodine, observations on its acidification, 72

Lightning conducting rods, observations on, 154, 304 386

Lyell, Mr, his account of Werner, 253

Mantell, Gideon, on the geological age of reptiles, 181

on ripple marks, 240

Mastodon, formerly distributed on the American continent, 352

Matthew, P., his experiments on the influence of lightning-conductors
on vegetation, 386

Meywar district, geology of, 32

Mineralogy, notices in, on chiastolite, magnetism of platina, olizoner
zircon, datolite, Jameson’s Mineralogy, tremolite, 389, 390

Mitchell, Professor E., on winds, 167, 288

Murray, Dr Peter, account of arbusculites argentea, 147

Newcastle Natural History Society's Transactions, vol. i. part 2,
noticed, 405

Oil of Roses, analysis of, 303
Ornithological Dictionary of Montague, noticed, 402

Parmelia esculenta, analysis of, by Gobel, 303

Patents granted in England, 409 ; in Scotland, 199, 411
Platina, its magnetic properties, notice of, 388

Playfair’s account of Hutton and his Theory of the Earth, 257
Plymouth Institution, its Transactions, noticed, 406

Razor-strap, vegetable, notice of, 394

Reptiles, their geological age considered, 181
Ripple marks in sandstone, account of, 240
Rocks, the influence of, on native vegetables, 56
Roses, oil of, analyzed by Gobel, 303

Spring of salt in county of Durham, notice of, 389

Stanley, Owen, account of a wooden suspension-dial used in the Alps
and Pyrenees, 281

Stewart, Colonel, his account of the weather of Isle of Man, 150

Stevenson, Alan, his remarks on vast blocks of granite in Finland, 393

416 INDEX.

Tertiary formations, new arrangement of, 391

Tidal and other zones on the limestone rocks of Greece described, 333

Tiger, common or royal, found in wild state in Siberia, 396

Thermal expansion of marble, observations on, 66

Thermometer tables, 133

Tremolite, notice of, 389

Trevelyan, W. C. his table of the population of several of the Faroe
Islands, 349

Volcanoes of Central Asia, account of, 227
Volcano of Hotham Island, 365

Wauchope, Captain, his apparatus for cooling houses in tropical cli-
mates, 225

Weather tables for Isle of Man, 150; Aberdeen, 153

Werner according to Cuvier, 247 ; Lyell, 253; MacCulloch, 255

Wernerian Society, proceedings of, 198

Winds, observations on, 167

Wilson and Bonaparte’s American birds noticed, 408

Woodward's table of fossil organic remains, noticed, 406

Yates, James, Esq. on formation of alluvial deposites, 1

Zircon, olizoner, notice of, 388

NEILL & Co. PRINTERS,
Old Rishmarket.

i £ by , ie
i , val % } ts)
| ae

. alt My |
7 iV i va

A aN
- : yy ) Ep

EA hae
a iy .

. ( 7 owe ee : i 4 af
2 i 7) gat! y : _ ) fo Te .
Th) iy ik | Tr, uy
hh Sie, nit i ‘ 7 - +4 -
my on 7 fs =. - i ny > :

Q The Edinburgh new philosophical
_ (oad Journal]
ae sy,
vel]

Physica} &
Applied Sei,

Serials
PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET
ae NS SSE ee. ee

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY

STOR, GE

yee
of

a
nee

.
3}

ees
a oe,

whe .
TRO eee ed ee yrs
7‘)

gate ty V4 :
Rey aay ye

Serre det
9 54 4's
ye ,

ters
eee)

~f . Le
paige fs
Sire

Se

eg re
Fe at

o

Sree
Nae AP POL

ATE aH ‘
hh Wie sean

s .
vi PL
Le hee r
af, Sy atk ba

iS KY SoS ak
+ ‘

ae a a
ae ee"
ae

‘ hs
7. 2 a OW
RDA »