\o \\

^■^^s-.

THE

EDINBURGH NllW

PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL,

EXHIBITIKG A VIEW OF THE

PROGRESSIVE DISCOVERIES AND IMPROVEMENTS

IN THE *

[ENCES AND THE ARTS.

CONDUCTED BY

Jl^fOBERT JAMESON,

kKiivi6.'fB.0rk^<*^JP^ NATURAL HISTORY, LKCTURBR ON MINJBRAI.0OY, AND KKBPXB OF
"^- ^'— — ■'^HR MUSEUM IN THE UNIVERSITY OV EDINBURGH ;

Fellow of the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh ; of the Antiquarian, Wemerian and Horti-
cultural Societies of Edinburgh ; Honorary Member of the Royal Irish Academy, and of the Royal
Dublin Society ; Fellow of the Royal Llnnean and Royal Geological Societies of London ; Ho-
norary Member of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta ; of the Royal Geological Society of ComwaU,
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 Geolc^ical Society of France ; of the
South African Institution of the Cape of Good Hope ; of the Franklin Institute of the State of
Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts ; of the Geological Society of Pennsylvania,
4-c. ^c.

APRIL... OCTOBER 1834.
VOL. XVII.

TO BE CONTINUED QUARTERLY.

EDINBURGH:

ADAM & CHARLES BLACK, EDINBURGH :
AND LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, GREEN, & LONGMAN,

LONDON.

1834.

g[>-f/'y

All.

PRIKTEP BY WEILL & COWPANV,
OLD FISBMARKKT.

CONTENTS.

Art. I. On Double Stars. By M. Abago, - - Page 1

1. What is to be understood by Double Stars ? - ib.

2. Why is it that these Double . Stars have suddenly be-

come an object of 'such as.siduous attention ? - 5

3. The consequences Mrhich-r^ultr from the nature of the

motions which are observed in the Double Stars.
And first, as they relate to the universality of the
Newtonian attraction, - - - - 11

4. When the distances of the Double Stars from the

Earth shall have been determined, then the masses
of those of the Stars whose relative motions are
known, may be easily compared with the mass of
the Earth or Sun, - - - - 12

5. The Observations upon the Binary Groups, composed

of independent Stars, may serve to determine the
distance from the Earth of one of the Stars of
which these Groups are composed, - - 20

6. The observations of Double Stars, properly so called,

may serve one day to determine either the distances
of these .binary groups from the Earth, or to fix a
maximum or minimum limit beyond which they can-
not be placed, - - - . . 27

7. Concerning the Colours observed in the Multiple Stars, 33

8. The Double Stars have become a means whereby we

may judge of the excellence of Telescopes, - 37

9. Of the part which the doctrine of Probabilities has ful-

filled in the question of Double Stars, - - 39

CONTENTS.

II. 1. Some Observations on a Note of M. A. Van Beek,

purporting to point out an Error in the Bakerian
Lecture of the late Sir Humphrey Davy *' On
the Relation of Electrical and Chemical Changes."
2. Some Observations on Euchlorine, relative to the
Question of its Decomposition. By John Davy,
M. D., F. R. S., Assistant Inspector of Army Hos-
pitals. Communicated by the Author, through Sir
James Macgrigor, - - - Page 42

III. Remarks on the Remains of a very large Oak Tree,

dug from a Peat-Moss near Lanfine, Ayrshire; and
on the Ancient Caledonian Forest in the West of
Scotland. By T. Brown, Esq. F. R. S. Ed.,
M. W. S. Communicated by the Author, - 53

1. Remarks on the Oak Tree, - - - ib.

2. On the Ancient Caledonian Forest in the West of

Scotland, . ... - 57

IV. Historical Account of Experiments regarding the In-

fluence of Colour on Heat, the Deposition of Dew,
and Odours. By James Stark, M. D. Edinburgh.
Communicated by the Author, - -65

1. On the Absorption of Heat by differently Coloured

Substances, - - - - - 75

2. On the Radiation of Heat by differently Coloured

Substances, - - - - - 77

3. On the Influence of Colour on the Deposition of Dew, 82

4. On the Influence of Colour on Odours, - - 83

V. On finding the Dew- Point, &c. from the Cold induced
by the Evaporation of Water. By H. Meikle,
Esq. Communicated by the Author, - 98

VI. Observations on the Loamy Deposit called " Loess"
of the Basin of the Rhine. By Charles Lyell,
Esq. F, R. S. Foreign Secretary to the Geological
Society, &c. Communicated by the Author, 110

Vll* On the Theory of the Elevation of Mountain Chains,
as advocated by M. E^ie de Beaumont. By Dr
Boue'. Communicated by the Author, - 123

VIIL An Attempt at a New Arrangement of the Ericaceae.
By David Don, Esq. Libr. L. S., &c. Communi-
cated by the Author, - * - 150

CONTENTS. Ill

IX. On Malaria, - - - Page 161

X. Observations on Ground-ice. By the Rev. E. Eis-

OALE. Communicated by the Author, - 163 T

XI. Notice of an Earthquake at Saena in Peru. By John

Reid, Esq. Communicated by the Author, 174

XII. On some of the Cetacea. By Professor Traill.

Communicated by the Author, - - 177 *

XIII. On Workman's Correction of Middle Latitude Sail-

ing. By William Galbraith, A.M., Teacher
of Mathematics, Edinburgh. Communicated by
the Author, ----- 180

XIV. Observations on the Structure of the Brain, &c. 183

XV. Chemical Analysis of an Indian Specimen of Mesolite.
By Robert D. Thomson, M. D. H. E. I. C. S.
Communicated by the Author, - - 186

XVI. Description of several Ne«^ or Rare Plants which

have lately flowered in the Royal Botanic Garden.
By Dr Graham, Professor of Botany in the Uni-
versity of Edinburgh, - - - 189

XVII. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

(Continued from Vol. XVI. p. 194.) - 191

1. On a New Species of Coloured Fringes developed be-

tween certain pieces of Plate-glass, exhibiting a new
variety of polarization, and a peculiar property which
renders them available for the purposes of Micrometry.
By MuNGo Ponton, Esq. ... 191

2. A General View of the Phenomena displayed in the

Neighbourhood of Edinburgh by the Igneous Rocks in
their relations with the Secondary Strata ; with refer-
ence to a more particular description of the section
which has been lately exposed to view on the south
side of the Castle Hill. By the Right Hon. Lord
Greenock, - - - - . 193

3. Researches on the Vibrations of Pendulums in Fluid

Mediums. By George Green, Esq. Communicated
by Sir G. Ffrench Bromuead, Bart. - - 194

4. Observations on the Fossil Fishes lately found in Ork-

ney. By Dr Traill, . . . .195

IV CONTENTS.

5. Notice of further Discoveries at Burdiehouse. By Dr

HiBBERT, - - - - Page 196

6. On the Investigation of Magnetic Intensity, by the Os-

cillations of a Horizontal Needle. By William
Snow Harris, Esq. F. R. S. - - - ib.

7. Experiments on Magnetic Intensity made at Liver-

pool and Manchester. By Dr Traill, - - 197

8. Description and Analysis of a Mineral from Faroe, not

before examined. By Arthur Connell, Esq. 198

XVIII. Premiums oflfered by the Wernerian Natural History

Society, ----- 199

XIX. Discovery of the Bones of the Iguanodon in a quarry
of Kentish Rag (a limestone belonging to the
lower greensand formation), near Maidstone, Kent.
Communicated by Gideon Mantell, Esq.F.R.S.
&c. - - - - - - 200

XX. Earthquake in South America, - - 202

XXI. New Publications.

1. ^lathematical and Astronomical Tables for the Use of Stu-

dents in Mathematics, Practical Astronomers, Surveyors, •
Engineers, and Navigators. Second Edition, greatly en-
larged and improved. By William Galbraith, A. M.,
Teacher of Mathematics, Edinburgh. - - 203

2. Illustrations of the Botany and other branches of the Natural

History of the Himalayan Mountains, and of the Flora of
Cashmere. By J. F. Royle, Esq. F. L. S. F. G. S. &c.
No. 2. Folio. - - - - 204

3. The Natural History of Animalcules ; containing Descrip-

tions of all the known Species of Infusoria, with instruc-
tions for procuring and viewing them, &c. Illustrated by
upwards of 300 Magnified Figures on steel. By Andrew.
Pritchard, Esq. ----- ib.

CONTENTS.

Art. I. Remarks on the Theory of the Elevation of Moun-
tains. By George Bellas Greenough, Esq.
F. R. S., &c. &c. &c. President of the Geological
Society of London, - - - Page 205

11. Remarks on a paper by Dr Stark, On the Influ-
ence of Colour on Heat, &c. in the Philosophi-
cal Transactions, 1833, pai't ii. ; and on an His-
torical Account of Experiments relating to the
subject, .in the Edinburgh New Philosophical
Journal, No. 33. By the Rev. Baden Powell,
M. A., F. R. S., Savilian Professor of Geometry,
Oxford. Communicated by the Author, 228

ni. Notice of some Experiments on Silicated Fluoric
Acid Gas. By John Davy, Esq. M. D., F. R. S.,
Assistant Inspector of Army Hospitals. Com-
municated by the Author, - - . 243

IV. Address to the British Association for the Ad-
vancement of Science, delivered on the occasion
of the Opening of the Fourth Generial Meeting
at Edinburgh, 8th September 1834. By James
D. Forbes, F. R. SS. L. & E., Professor of Na-
tural Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh,
and one of the Secretaries of the Association.
Communicated by the Author, - - 247

CONTENTS.

V. New Genera of Plants. Communicated by G. A.
Walker- Arnott, Esq. A. M., F. L. S., &c.
Communicated by the Author, - - 260

VI. Memoir on the Inquiry, Whether any Terrestrial
Animals have ceased to exist since Man's crea-
tion ; and whether Man was contemporaneous
with Species which are now lost, or which at
least do not appear to have representatives now
upon our globe. By M. Marcel de Serres.
(Continued from vol. xvi. p. 289.) - 268

VII. On the Seiches of the Lake of Geneva, - 285

VIII. Observations on the Origin of Mouldiness. By

M. Dutrochet, Member of the Institute, 305

IX. On the Change of Colour in the Chameleon. By

H. Milne Edwards, Esq. - - _ 313

X. First Essay, preliminary to the Series of Reports
on the Progress of the Useful Arts, ordered by
the Society of Arts for Scotland, - - 321

XI. Observations on the Hygrometer, - - 330

XII. Marine Insects destroyers of Wood, - - 340

XIII. Critical Notices of various Organic Remains hi-

therto discovered in North America. By Ri-
chard Harlan, M. D., &c. - . - 342

XIV. On the Structure and Uses of the Mammary

Glands of the Cetacea. By Professor Traill.
Communicated by the Author, - - 363

XV. Astronomy, - - - . « , - _ 364

XVI. Table of the Order of Stratified Deposits which
connect the Carboniferous Series with the older
Slaty Rocks in the Counties of Salop, Hereford,
Montgomery, Radnor, Brecknock^ Caermarthen,
Monmouth, Worcester, Stafford, and Gloucester.
By R. I. MuRcHisoN, Vice-Pres. Geol. Soc. and
Royal Geog. Soc, F. R. S., F. L. S., &c. &c. 365

CONTENTS. Ill

XVII. Proceedings of the British Association at Edinburgh,

September 1834, - - - - 369

Section A. — Mathematics and General Physics, 374, 390, 405, 418
B— Chemistry and Mineralogy, 376, 391, 407, 421, 441
C. — Geology and Geography, - 377, 393, 409, 423
D — Natural History and Botany, 379, 400, 410, 433

E — Anatomy and Medicine, 386, 401, 416, 434, 442

F — Statistics, ... - 387,403,417,437

XVIII. Freedom of the City of Edinburgh conferred on
M. Arago, Mr Brown, Dr Dalton, Professor
Moll, and Sir Thomas Makdougal Brisbane,
Bart., 449-- ^^(

XIX. Edinburgh Observatory — Letter to the Editor, 45i~ ^53

XX. Proceedings of the Society for the Encouragement

of the Useful Arts in Scotland, - - 46^ '^'-

1 . Report of the Committee appointed by the Society

to award Prizes for Communications read and

exhibited during Session 1832-33, - . 46^- ^^

2. List of Prizes offered by the Society for the Ses-

sion 1834-35, 457

XXI. New Publications.

1. A Treatise on Primary Geology. By Henrv S. Boase,

M. D., Secretary to the Royal Geological Society of Corn-
wall, &c. &c. -^9 "^ ^'

2. Elements of Practical Agriculture, comprehending the Cul-

tivation of Plants, the Husbandry of the Domestic Ani-
mals, and the Economy of the Farm. By David Low,
Esq. F. R. S. E., Professor of Agriculture in the Univer-
sity of Edinburgh, 459

3. Guide to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, including

Orkney and Shetland, descriptive of their Scenery, Sta-
tistics, Antiquities, and Natural History ; with nume-
rous Historical Notices. By Messrs George and Peter
Anderson of Inverness, with a Map engraved by Arrow-
smith, 45^ ^^'

4. Recherches sur les Poissons Fossiles. Par L. Agassiz, 460

XXII. List of Patents granted in Scotland from March

26. to September 19. 1834, - - - 461

Index, 465

THE

EDINBURGH NEW
PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL.

On Double Stars, By M. Ahago.

Many of our readers are probably aware that L? Academic
des Sciences has recently conferred its prize-medal on Sir John
Herschel, for his investigations concerning double stars. This
occurrence naturally directs attention to many curious inves-
tigations. Thus it may be inquired, what are we to under-
stand by double stars, and triple and quadruple ? and how is it
that these multiple stars have suddenly become so much the ob-
ject of assiduous research in the observatories of both hemi-
spheres ? Finally, what results do astronomers expect to de-
duce from the observation of these stars ? These are some of
the many inquiries which are involved in this subject; and we
shall now proceed to discuss them in a popular form, freeing
them as much as possible, if not from all mathematical techni-
calities, at least from such calculations as cannot be pursued
without a familiar acquaintance with the formulas of spherical
trigonometry, and the elliptical motions of the planetary system.

L What is to be understood by double Stars ?

Astronomers give the name of double, triple, quadruple, &c.
stars, to groups of two, of three, or of four stars, which appear
very near each other.

VOL. XVIT. NO. XXXIII. — JULY 1834. A

H M. Arago on Double Stars.

When we look at the heavens with a telescope, even in those
quarters where the stars are most abundant, as in the milky way^
the stars which are embraced in the fiL4d of vision are usually
distributed in a manner sufficiently uniform. The intervals
which separate them are nearly equal and vastly great. The
more this rule was general, the more the exceptions were likely
to attract the attention of astronomers. How, for example, was
it possible to avoid observing the star Castor (« Geminorum)
which to the naked eye appears single, and which, in truth,
had been so regarded by the Greek and Arabian astronomers,
but which is now found, when examined by a glass of sufficient
magnifying powers, to be composed of two stars of the third and
fourth magnitudes.'^

Among the double stars which are now known, there are
some, the component parts of which are exceedingly near to each
other. Before they can be observed or separated, it is neces-
sary to be supplied with first-rate glasses, of the largest dimen-
sions, and to be favoured with conditions of the atmosphere that
are but seldom found in these changeable climates. Of this
kind we may name s of Aries, y of the Crown, and tt of Her-
cules.

The late Sir W. Herschel, who first bestowed continued atten-
tion on the double stars, has divided them into four classes, not
according to their intensity, but according to, the angular dis-
tance, greater or less, of the two component stars. The first
class includes all the groups in which the centres of the two stars
are at least four seconds of distance the one from the other. The
second class includes the angular distances between four and
eight seconds ; the third those between eight and sixteen ; and,
finally, i\\ejhurtli class is composed of all the groups which are
not comprehended in the preceding classes, and where the angu-
lar distance of the two stars does not exceed thirty- two seconds.

Herschers first catalogue contained —

97 double stars in class 1

102 ....2

114 3

132 4

Making a total of 445 double stars.

Some time before his death, Herschel increased the number to

M. Arago on Double Stars. 3

above 500. Since that time it has been very considerably in-
creased, M . Struve, after making a general examination of the
heavens with an immense telescope of Fraunhofer, after con-
ducting his investigations to all the stars of the first eight mag-
nitudes, and even to the most brilliant of those of the ninth,
which are comprehended between the north pole and 15" south
of the equator, has distinguished and catalogued (those of Her-
schel included),

987 double stars of class 1

675 2

669 3

736 4

Making a total of 3057 double stars.

This number of more than 3000 is the result of the exami-
nation of about 120,000 different stars; and thus we find that
about one star infirty may be considered as double. *

Those observers who are favourably situated for the exami-
nation of the southern hemisphere, the astronomers of the Cape
of Good Hope and of Port Jackson, have also begun to direct
their attention to these multiple stars. Hence we may reason-
ably infer, that, in a very short time, the number of these stars
that will be subjected to an annual examination in the principal
observatories, will not be under 5000 or 6000.

The division of double stars into four classes, proposed by
Herschel, and adopted by his successors, besides being com-
pletely arbitrary, has a defect which makes it necessary it should
be wholly abandoned. In fact, we shall presently see, that ac-
cording to the period of observation, we should be led to place
the same group, now in the first class, then again in the second,
and sometimes again in the third class.

The triple and quadruple stars do tiot appear to be very nu-

• This proportion, as M. Struve has observed, changes with the brightness
of the stars. Thus, of 2374 stars of the first to the sixth magnitude which
Flamsteed had examined in the region explored by the astronomer of Dorpat,
230 double ones were discovered ; that is somewhat less than 1 in 10.

In the same region of the heavens, Piozzi has catalogued 3388 stars, which
the English astronomers had in part disregarded on account of their inferior
lustre. This group presents only 134 double stars; that is 1 in 25.

In repeating the process on still wnaller stars, only I in 42 is found.

A %

4 M. Arago on Double Stars,

merous. The catalogue of M. Struve, for example, does not in-
clude above 52 triple stars within the limits of the scale of an-
gular distances which compose the four classes of double stars
of Herschel. Of this number we may cite ? of the Crab, and
I of the Balance, in both of which the component stars are all
three sufficiently brilliant.

The two several stars of which the double star is composed,
have, in general, very different intensities. It even very often
happens that they are remarkable for a distinct difference of co-
lour. Often the brightest of the two is of a reddish or yellow-
ish colour; and more frequently still, the other is of a greenish
or bluish shade. We shall arrange in the following table the
names of a certain number of double stars which e?fhibit differ-
ences of colour, with the purpose of shewing that this kind
of star is by no means rare, and also because they furnish to the
curious, one of the most interesting subjects of examination. The
observations respecting the stars of the southern hemisphere
have been derived from the labours of Mr Dunlop, the astrono-
mer at Port-Jackson and New Holland ; the others are derived
from the catalogues of Herschel and South.

The 35th* of the Fishes. Larger star white ; smaller blue.

... X of Aries. white; ... blue.

... 13th of the Whale. yellow; ... blue.

... 26th of the Whale. white; ... greenish blue.

... y of Andromeda. ...... orange; ... emerald green.

... 59th of Andromeda. Both are bluish ; nearly equal in size.

... 32d of Eridanus. Greater star a straw colour ; lesser blue.

... *i of Perseus. , red; ... dull blue.

... e of Perseus. white; ... bluish.

... ^ of the Bull. red; ... bluish.

... 1 8t of the Camel-leopard. yellow ; .^> -y^^^ .^\ .blue.

... a; of the Charioteer. ^^ fwv granite colour ; ... blue.

... 62d of Eridanus. ''^^^' '^±*. .':*'" white ; ... blue.

... /3 of Orion. .,..«,, white; ... bluish.

... ^ of Orion. white; ... purple.

... ^ of Orion. yellowish; ... bluish.

... 8th of the Unicorn. yellow; ... purple.

♦ It may be useful to give here the signification of the cyphers and of the letters which are era-
ployed in distinguishing the stars.

When Bayer, in 1603, published his Celestial Charts, he affixed In each constellation a letter to
every star. The first letter of the Greek alphabet a was placed near the most brilliant star of the
ronntellation i the second, /3, at the next most brilliant ; and so on to the last letter o). The Greek
alphabet being thus exhausted, the letters of the Roman alphabet, a, b, c, and always in the same
order, were next employed. More lately, the number of the stars of all the constellations having
been so prodigiously increased by telescopic observations, we are obliged to place them in the cata-
logua with a common numeral. The numbers employed in this article, where nothing to the
contrary is specified, are those of the old catalogue of Flamsteed, well known under the name of
the British Catalogue.

M. Arago on Double Stajs.

The 38tli of Gemini. Greater star wlxite ; lesser blue.

... J of Gemini. white; ... blue.

... a of the Lion. white; ... bluish.

... 2d of the Canes Venatici red; ... blue.

... i of Cancer. a beautiful yellow ; ... indigo blue.

... I of Bootes. yellow; ... greenish blue.

... J of Bootes. white; ... deep blue.

... J of the Serpent. both blue.

... $ of the Crown. white; ... blue.

... /3 of the Scorpion. white; ... blue.

... X of Hercules. white; ... reddish.

... 43d of Hercules. red; ... bluish.

... a of Hercules. reddish; ... green.

... a of Opiachus. red; ... blue.

... 63d of Opiachus. Both blue ; very unequal in size.

... V of the Dragon. ... bluish ; have the same intensity.

... a of the Serpent. Greater star white ; lesser blue.

... 12th of Berenice's Hair. white; ... red.

... 24th of Berenice's Hair. reddish;... beautiful green.

... I of the Great Bear. white; ... bluish.

. N TT • 1 Both bluish ; and of the same intensity,

mce s Hair. ) ■'

... I of Lyra. Greater Star white ; lesser blue.

... /3 of Lyra. '^ ''*^'^'^'^'''' i^^ '''"iAA^i^- ^vlv'-WiiO;- </- '

... a of the Dragon* :^')^0 ;U'>'Jif'i^'iin:;;=d^if<id}>-,,.5i, W^

,., ^ of Lyra. white; ... blue.

... /S of the Swan. yellow; ... intense blue.

... •(/' of the Swan. white; ... clear blue.

*" H A ^ I Both bluish; very nearly equal.

... y of the Dolphin. ... whiti; ... yellowish.

Anonymous *. Both blue ; nearly of the same intensity.

Anonymous f. ... blue ; have the same lustre.

The 47th of Cassiopeia. Greater Star white ; lesser blue.

... »} of Cassiopeia. red; ... green.

... / of the Painter's Easel. white; ... blue.

... K of the Ceutaur. white; ... blue.

... £ of the Flying Fish. >;, ,.j<iw'- white; ... blue.

... K of Argus. .:'olo3 -^Ajti^rRff. Blue ; ... dull red.

... ^ of the Centaur. ;.U*,. yellow; ... blue.

2. Whi/ is it tJiat these double Stars Jiave suddenly become an object of
such assiduous attention 9

It has already been remarked, that the two distinct stars which
go to compose the double star, have generally intensities which
are exceedingly dissimilar. Each group in which these great
inequalities of intensity occur, along with a considerable differ-
ence in the distance of two stars, would furnish, as we shall pre-
sently see, a very simple means of observation by which to judge
pf t))Q distance of the more brilliant star from the earth. Even

• Right ascension, 19 h. 19' ; declination 20* 40' north.
f Right ascension, 19 h. 21'; declination 36' 10' north.

6 M. Arago on Double Stars.

Galileo had proposed this method. Dr Long put it into prac-
tice. A little later Dr Herschel applied it to those binary groups
that were catalogued in his time, and which seemed to promise
the greatest prospect of a successful result. But, as often hap-
pens to every one, though all have not the candour to avow it,
in seeking for one thing, the celebrated astronomer of Slough
found another. He discovered that usually the stars of unequal
sizes forming groups are not, as had been previously imagined,
independent stars, accidentally placed in two closely approxi-
mated visual lines ;— that their proximity within a very limited
space is not a simple effect of projection or perspective ; he dis-
covered that these stars are associated with each other ; — that
they form true systems ; — that their relative position is ever
changing ; — that^ in shorty ihe smaller stars revolve round the
greater, precisely as the planets Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, he. re-
volve round the sun.*

In virtue of these circulatory movements, the smaller star is
sometimes precisely to the east, and sometimes exactly to the
west, of the greater. At certain epochs this moving star will
be found exactly to the north of the more brilliant one, which
appears to be its centre of motion. And at other epochs, it will
be seen in the opposite position, or in the south.

These simple remarks will be sufficient to verify the relative
displacement of the two stars. But after that we have seen the
motion, we have naturally a desire to know by what law it is
effected. For the acquisition of this knowledge, we must multi-
ply observations, and give them a precise accuracy, by the help
of a plan which we shall now endeavour to explain.

Two very fine threads must be stretched through the focus of a

• Mathematically speaking, the two stars, the one as well as the other,
move round the common centre of gravity. And yet, the usual astronomical
observations exhibit only the successive positions of the smaller star in rela-
tion to the greater. But if we reflect on it, we shall perceive that, practically,
the elements of a relative motion — the orbit to which the discussion of these
elements will conduct — cannot also be other than a relative orbit. In a word,
it will be the curve along which an observer situated in the greater star, and
who imagines himself motionless, will perceive the lesser to move. Besides,
we do nothing more when we wish to determine the orbits of Jupiter, Saturn,
&c. In truth, we every day report the position of these planets in reference
to the sun, without considering if this luminary has or has not an especial
motion of progress in space.

M. Arago 07i Double Stars. 7

telescope. The one must pass across the centre of the circular
space, which is denominated the field of vision, and must he fix-
edy immovably fixed, to the tube. The other thread must turn
round the same centre, so as to coincide, when we wish it, with
the stationary thread, or to make with it, to the right or to the
left, upwards or downwards, every imaginable angle. These
angles are to be measured upon a graduatedcircle, placed either
interiorly or on the outside of the tube.

In making an observation, the more brilliant star is first
placed, as accurately as possible, at the point of the intersection
of the two threads. We then turn the moveable thread till we
get it accurately over the centre of the second star. Thus, in
reading off the degree at which it has stopt, we know the angle
which the direction of the fixed thread forms with the visual
line drawn from the centre of the greater star to the centre of
the less.

According to this method of preparing the telescope, and
owing to the particular direction which is given to the immove-
able thread, whatever the hour is at which the observation of the
angle is taken, the same number is invariably found.* More-
over, if the telescope is turned towards the star at the moment
when it has arrived at its greatest elevation in its nightly course,

• This result must needs astonish those who have remarked the apparent
changes which the constellations undergo betwixt their rising and their set-
ting. Nevertheless, we cannot think for a moment of doubting it. It is eveu
the peculiar characteristic property of those instruments, known in our ob-
servatories under the name of Parallactic instruments. In these, the move-
ment of the telescope is effected around a cylinder parallel to the axis up-
on which the starry sphere appears to execute its revolution. Well, then,
turn the telescope, thus mounted^ towards any constellation at the moment of
its rising. Let us suppose that, at this moment, one of the threads which it
incloses is parallel to the line which would join two of the stars contained in
the field of vision. This parallelism will exist at any hour whatever that
the observation may be repeated. It will be so at its rising, — it will be so at
its setting ;— at the moment of its passing the meridian, and at all interme-
diate epochs. Without doubt, betwixt the time of rising and that of setting,
the line connecting the two stars will take, in relation to the horizon, posi-
tions having very different inclinations ; but it will be also identically so with
the thread with which we compare it, since the starry sphere and the teles-
cope of the parallactic instrument move round one and the same axis.

We trust that these details will suffice to exhibit the possibility of the
species of observations which are alluded to in the text.

S M. Arago Ofi Double Stars.

that is to say, when it has arrived at the meridian, the immove-
able thread is horizontal.

The instrument, then, which is employed, gives for the mo-
ment in question, and for the moment of the passing the meri-
dian, the angle which a horizontal line proceeding from the
greater star, forms with the straight line that joins this same
star to the smaller. This is what is called the angle of 'po-
sition.

According to this method, the observations of different astro-
nomers, of different days, of different years, become objects of
comparison amongst themselves. The table of the successive
values of the angle of position, teaches at a glance whether the
lesser star revolves round the greater from west to east, or from
east to west ; if the movement is uniform or otherwise ; and what
are the points of the greatest and the least rapidity.

Another instrument composed of two threads, the one fixed,
the other moveable in parallelism with the former, an apparatus
which bears the name of a micrometer .^ enables us to ascertain if
the apparent distance of the stars be constant or variable, and,
when there is a variation, to what extent this variation is con-
fined.

This is all that observation supplies. But these data are am-
ply sufficient to enable us to determine, by the assistance of cal-
culation, the form of the curve described by each star, also to
know whether this curve is circular or elliptical ; and in the lat-
ter case what is the extent of the eccentricity.

Fou>r values of the angle of position, and of the apparent mi-
crometrical distances corresponding to known epochs, are, in ge-
neral, necessary to determine the form and the position of the
curve which the lesser star describes around the larger.

When it happens that the plane which contains the curve
passes through the earth, the movement of the satellite star
seems to take place along a straight line ; and then there are not
successive angles of position to be measured ; all is reduced to
micrometric observations of distances, and jive of these observa-
tions are necessary to arrive at the results which the^i^r supply
in the preceding hypothesis.

Finally, if the observer is not supplied with a micrometer, and
can thus observe only angular displacements, six angles of posi-

M. Arago on Double Stars. 9

tion corresponding to known epochs, will be indispensable in
calculating the form of the orbit of the lesser star.

It was not meant to give in this place even the slightest
idea of the algebraical calculations which serve for the solution
of the problems relative to the form and the position of the or-
bits of double stars. We must be content with reporting the
results. The first to which we have arrived, viz. the elements
of the orbit of the stellary satellite of | of the Great Bear, have
been obtained by M. Savary, of the Bureau des Longitudes, by
methods which are peculiar to himself. The others are the re-
sults of the labours of MM. Bessel and Encke, and of Sir John
Herschel.

Names of the Double Stars.

Period of a Re-
volution of tile
lesser Star round
the greater.

Half the Great-
er Axis, as seen
perpendicular-
ly from the
Earth.

Eccentricity
of the
OrbiL*

ti of the Crown, . .
lofthe Great Bear,
70 of Ophiucus, . .

Castor,

s of the Crown, . .
61 of the Swan, . .
7 of Virgo, . . .
y of the Lion . .

43 years.

58 ...

88 ...
253 ...
287 ...
452 ...
629 ...
1200 ...

3;8.

4.4.

8.1.

3.7.
15.4.
12.1.

0.42.
0.47.
076.
0.61.

0.83.

Amongst these stars, there is one, the consort of *j of the
Crown, which has accomplished the entire circuit of its orbit,
since Sir W. Herschel determined, for the first time, its angle of
position. It is already considerably advanced in its second re-
volution. The oldest observations of the Great Bear, re-

• This column contains theTatio of the eccentricity (that is the distance
of the centre of each ellipse from the focus) to half the greater axis. In our solar
system, the greatest values of these ratios are, for Mercury, 0.21 ; for Pallas,
0.24 ; for Juno, 0.25. In the other eight planets, the eccentricity is in each
less than 0.1. The orbits of the seven stars exhibited in the above table are,
then, much more elongated, much more different from a circle, than those of
the eleven known planets. This result is certainly worthy of remark, but
it ought not very much to astonish us. The masses of the planets of our
system are but very small fractions of the mass of the sun ; whilst in the
double stars, the satellite star and the central one may be bodies of equal di-
mensions, or at least of the same class of magnitude. We may add that agree-
ments of this sort may one^day become the true touchstone of cosmogonic
theories.

10 M. Arago on Double Stars.

garded as a double star, are of 1782. The duration of the pe-
riod beinp: fifty-eight years, the stellary satellite of | will have
accomplished its entire revolution, under our eyes, in 1840.

It has just now been remarked (p. 1.), that if it happened that
the plane in which the oibit of the lesser star is contained should
pass through the earth, — that if this orbit, to use a mechanic''s
term, should present itself to us, by its edge ; the satellite star
would appear to move, sometimes in one course, and sometimes
in the opposite, but always ahng the straight line passing
through the greater star. This variety has offered itself to the
attention of astronomers.

According to Sir W. Herschel, the star t of Serpentarius is
double. At the epoch at which this great astronomer formed the
first catalogue of multiple stars, the two distinct stars which com-
pose T were sensibly separated. At present they are so thorough-
ly confounded, — they lie so exactly the one over the other, that
Struve himself, though using the great telescope of Fraunhofer,
has not been able to discover the slightest semblance of its being
double. What would Bradley, Lacaille, and Mayer have said,
if, in their day, any one had taken upon him to assert that, in
that firmament which they had so thoroughly examined, there
were occultations of some stars by others.

^ of Orion has presented the counter-part to tt of Serpentarius.
At present it is a double star very easily cognizable. Herschel
formerly put it down in his catalogue as decidedly simple.

In y of Virgo, the plane of the orbit has such an inclination
to the visual line proceeding from the south, that the distance
of the satellite star from the central star which, in 1756 was 6". 5,
has been reduced, in 1829, to 1". 8. Since this latter date, the
distance is again sensibly increased.

The branch of astronomy which treats of the displacement of
the stellary system, is but of yesterday. We are not, then, to be
astonished, if little be known concerning the relative movements
oi triple stars. Already, however, observations have shewn,
that in ^ of the Crab, the two inferior stars revolve round the
principal one. Regarding -t^of Casiopeia, which is composed of
one star rather brilliant, and of two smaller ones extremely
near each other, it will probably be discovered that these latter
revolve round each other, and at the same time revolve toge-;
ther round their more brilliant companion.

M. Arago 071 Double Stars. W

9, The consequences which result from the nature of the motions which
are observed in the Double Stars. And first, As t/tey relate to the
universality of the Newtonian attraction.

The algebraical formulas, by the aid of which we have suc-
ceeded in elucidating (ill th curious elliptical movements of the
double stars, have been wholly based upon the hypothesis, that
the greater nid l«^sser stars attract each other in the inverse ratio
of the square of their distances. The determination of the orbit
of each star requires only four, five, or at most six measurements
of the angle oT posiiwin, together with the apparent distances.
With regard to any observations which have not been employed
in these primary calculations, whether they be anterior, posterior,
or intermediate, they become so many means by which to sub-
mit to a delicate and decisive proof, the hypothesis with which
we started. It is sufficient to investigate if they be in agree-
ment with an orbit which cannot be the true one, if we have
deduced its form from an erroneous supposition. We may
moreover add, that many of the comparisons have been made
betwixt the really observed positions of the satellite stars, and
the positions inferred from calculated ellipses. And any dis-
crepancies observed, have only been of that minute and trifling
character which is nearly inseparable from this difficult kind of
measurement.

Hence, it follows, that in admitting that even to the apparent
confines of the visible world, there exists an attractive power
which operates in the inverse ratio of the square of the distance,
those who calculated the oi-bits of the double stars only assum-
ed what was true ; — it follows, that the stars are governed by
the same power which, in our solar system, presides over all the
motions of its planets and their satellites ; — finally, it follows,
that this celebrated Newtonian attraction, the universality of
which has not hitherto been established beyond the limits in-
cluded within the revolution of the planet most removed from
the sun, that is to say, of Uranus, becomes universal, even to
the grammatical acceptation of the word.

It is not to be supposed, that without any hesitation we might
have given this indefinite extension to the discovery of Newton.
The existence of attraction in all parts of the system, formed by

12 M. Arago on Double Stars.

the sun and the planets which surround him, was a cardinal
fact whose laws we had discovered, and whose consequences we
had followed with a success truly wonderful. But it did not
thence follow that an attractive power was inherent in matter, and
that large bodies might not exist in other regions and in other
systems, without mutually attracting each other. Reason, how-
ever boldly strong, had no right to^ pronounce upon the uni-
versality of the law of the square of the distances. Now, how-
ever, we repeat it, thanks to the investigations concerning
double stars, this hesitation is for ever removed. And this alone
would suffice to justify the lively interest which the relative dis-
placements of the stars have excited among astronomers.

We now proceed to exhibit, in the succeeding chapters, some
of the other results which this new branch of the science pro-
mises to disclose, ^

4. When the distances of tlie Double Stars front the Earth shall have
been determined, then the masses of those of the Stars whose relative
motions are hnown, may be easily compared with the mass of the
Earth or Sun.

Of all the results which constitute the glory of modern astro-
nomy, none so much strikes the imagination of those who are
not acquainted with the laws of celestial mechanics, as the deter-
mination of the masses of the stars. Thus, if it happen that a
professor, whose business it is to analyze the various wonders of
the firmament to his auditory, is guilty of the mistake at the
commencement of a discourse, of citing the numerical values of
the planetary masses ; — if, for example, he says, we shall now
prove that, supposing we could place the sun in one scale of a
balance, to establish the equilibrium, it would require us to place in
the other scale 337,000 globes equal in size to the terrestrial globe,
—a lively feeling of incredulity would immediately pervade the
auditory ; and if subsequently there were any listeners, it would
be only to judge of the lecturer's ability to develope a sophism.
This is nevertheless the subject to which the natural order of
ideas inevitably conduct us. And we feel, without having
recourse to any algebraical formulas, that we cannot deny our-
selves the gratification of furnishing to our readers an idea, suf-
ficiently correct, of the method by whose help we are enabled

M. Arago on Double Stars. IS

to weigh the planets. And were we here to reveal all our mind,
it would be seen, although we have really to discuss all the
fundamental principles of the theory of attraction, that we less
fear not being understood, than to hear it remarked by those
who shall have the patience to follow the demonstration to its
close, " Why ? is that all !''

A body left to itself falls to the earth ; but an inert body, that
is to say, one having no will of its own, cannot move, cannot
fall, or rise, or stir in any direction, unless some power forces
it. All the elements of this power emanate from the material
particles which compose our globe. Their whole effect, their
result, is what is called attraction — gravitation — weight.

The total force which solicits any individually attracted par-
ticle, being the sum of the actions of each material particle of
the attracting body, it will be, so far as its intensity is concern-
ed, proportional to the number of their ultimate particles. Thus
suppose that the earth, without any change of its dimensions,
were to become one hundredth part more compact, — that it were
to come to include a hundredth part more matter in the same
volume, its attractive force over the bodies placed on its surface
would become one hundredth part greater than it was before.

There is now, then, no difficulty in comprehending the ex-
pression so often used — that the attraction is proportional to tJw
mas^ !

Inquire we now, how a variation in the mass, or, which is the
same thing, in the attractive power of our globe, will manifest
itself.'' We answer — by a correspondent variation in the velo-
city of falling bodies. This velocity (which daring exceedingly
short periods may be considered as uniform) ought in effect to
be proportional to the power which produces it; in other words
— the power is as the mass. The velocity, then, will also be
proportional to the mass. Under present circumstances, a heavy
body, at Paris, passes, in the first second of its fall, through
(4j^j5) 4*9 metres. But if the mass of the earth were to be aug-
mented one hundredth part, the space gone over in this first se--
cond would be increased by a hundredth part : instead of 4.9
metres, we should find it measured 4*9 and .049 ; which toge-
ther make 4*949. Is there now, then, any difficulty in perceiv-

14 M. Arago on Double Stars.

ing, how the velocities will lead to a valuation of the masses ?
But let us continue.

The space through which a body falls, by the earth's at-
traction, in the interval of a second, diminishes in proportion
as we are elevated above the surface. It is sensibly less at
the summit of a high mountain than at the level of the ocean.
The power which engenders this velocity, or, we would rather
say, the attractive force inherent in the material particles, dimi-
nishes then when the distance increases. And the law, accord-
ing to which this diminution operates, was desiderated. But
Newton has made this grand discovery ; he demonstrated, that,
at twice the distance, the attractive power of a body is two mul-
tiplied by two, or four times less than before ; that, at thrice the
distance, it becomes three multiplied by three, or nine times less
than it was ; and that, at ten times the distance, it has only one
hundredth part (10 multiplied by 10) of the attractive power.
As, then, in arithmetic, we call the square of a number the pro-
duct of a number multiplied by itself, we combine all the indi-
vidual results in this general formula : The attractive power of
a body diminishes in proportion to the square of the distances.

We shall presently perceive, that the measures of velocities
raay lead to the determination of the masses. In the mean
while, let us recognise that it is necessary not to forget, how far
the experiment regarding velocity has been conducted.

We shall now retrace our steps for a moment, to remove a dif-
ficulty which may occur to the mind of the reader, as to the mode
of taking the value of distances, in those cases where the attract-
ing bodies are of very large dimensions.

When any small body, after haVingb^en elevated, we shall
say to the height of SO feet, is abahdoned to itself, and so falls,
we are convinced that this happens in virtue of the individual
action exercised by each of the material particles of which the
earth is composed. But these particles are not, one and all, at
the same distance from the falling body. The particles ai the
surface, to which it vertically corresponds, are, according to our
hypothesis, removed only SO feet. In addition to this, there is
a distance of 1600 leagues to the central particles^ and nearly
twice as much to those situated at the opposite side of the globe.
It truly seems next to impossible to draw any thing like a

M. Arago on Double Stark. > . 16

simple result from the aggregate of the action of so many miU
lions of particles so differently placed. The problem is, in truth,
insoluble, when the attracting body is of an irregular form.
But when, on the contrary, this form is spherical, the calcula-
tion becomes of a remarkable simpUcity. For Newton has
proved, that the material particles^ when uniformly distributed in
the shape of a sphei-e, act^ on the whole, upon a point exterior to
them, as if they laere all united in its centre.

Thus, then, so far as we have to do with bodies which are
accurately spherical, or nearly so, we shall have no need to oc-
cupy ourselves with the distances, whether great, lesser, or least,
of the different attracting particles, to the point attracted. All
will then turn out accurately, as if the sum-total of these par-
ticles were actually at the centre of the sphere ; there will only be,
in virtue of an abstraction which the theorem of Newton legi-
timately involves, a single distance to consider, viz. that from this
centre to the point that is attracted.

There is yet another point, which, before proceeding to the
question of celestial physics, which is the proper object of this
chapter, it is necessary for us to examine, viz. How the attrac-
tive force of the earth exerts.itself, not so much on a body in re-
pose, as on a body in motion.

Let us supppse that a ciinnon, placed at a certain height, has
been pointed, in a direction perfectly horizontal. The bullet
would fly from the piece horizontally. But every one knows,
that it would very soon leave this direction, — that it would gra-
dually descend, — that, at length, it would fall to the earth. Nor
is it doubled by any one, that this gradual descent of the bullet
is the effect of the attractive power of the earth. It is not, how-
ever^ so generally known, whether this attractive power is modi-
fi^d^jlji^its effects by the rapidity of the course of the bullet. A
very simple experiment will teach us.

Let us suppose that, in fr9^1 of the cannon, there is a perpen,
dicular wall; and. that the distance of this wall shall be such,
that the bullet occupies exactly a second in flying to strike it.
Let us also mark the exact .point to which the axis of the can-
non is directed — the point which the bullet would strike, if ,it
moved ia a straight line — if, during its course, the earth didnpt
attract it. The vertical distance between the point thus marked.

16 M. Arago cwi Double Stars.

^nd that point, somewhat lower, at which the ball would really
penetrate the wall, is the measure of the effect which gravitation
produces in the interval of a second, upon a body which moves
with so great a horizontal velocity. The experiment gives for
this distance 4 metres 9 c. ; — precisely the distance which the
bullet taken up so high, and then abandoned to itself, falls ver-
tically in the same time.

Let us now place the wall at a somewhat greater distance from
the cannon. Let us suppose that the bullet does not reach it
till at the end of two seconds. The point which this bullet will
strike, we shall find much farther below the fixed point than in
the preceding experiment. But the distance betwixt the two
points will be exactly equal to the vertical descent of a body,
which, left to itself, is, for two seconds, subjected to the attrac-
tion of gravitation.

In general terms, the attractive power of the earth produces
precisely the same effect upon a body at rest, and a body in mo-
Hon, when this effect is measured in the direction correspond-
ing to that in which the attraction is excited.

The moon will now furnish us with an additional opportunity
of verifying this last law, and that of the diminution of the at-
tractive force in the ratio of the square of the distances. The
moon, in truth, in the eyes of an astronomer or geometrician, is
nothing more than a projectile, which, at the creation, has been
launched with a force sufficient to circulate indefinitely around
the earth, as would now happen, without the presence of an at-
mosphere, to a bullet projected horizontally from off the sur-
face of our globe with sufficient velocity.

Let C, for example, be the point T ____jl

occupied by the earth, round which
the moon revolves from right to left,
and A be the position of this lu-
minary. At the instant of quitting
the point A, the moon is moved in
the direction of a small element of
its curvilineal orbit, which passes
through the point A, that is to say,
in the direction of the straight line, the tangent A T. It is not,
however, in the point T that the moon will meet the radius CT,

M. Arago on Double Stars. 17

(in place of the radius we had almost said the perpendicular wall
CT, as in the case of the bullet), it is in M that the two meet.
But the moon could not quit the direction AT, according to which
it was moving, unless some power had turned it aside from this
first course.

But it is to be remarked, that this power is the energy of the
attraction of the earth placed at C ; — that this power, in acting
upon our satellite during the time it required to transport itself
from the radius CA to the radius CMT, has attracted it, — ^has
made it to fall the length of TM,— the distance, so to express
it, from the fixed point T to the point M, which is really struck
by the projectile moon.

To demonstrate the proposition, is to make the following ob-
servations and calculations. By the help of a direct experiment,
we determine the angle which the radius CA, directed from the
earth to the moon at a certain epoch, forms with the radius CM
carried towards the same luminary, a second of time afterwards.
The radius CA, that is the distance from the moon to the earth, is
known in leagues and yards. Hence it ought to be, or rather
it in fact is, easy to calculate for the angle ACM, the measure of
the angular displacement of the moon in the interval of a second,
how much the point T, the extremity of the tangent, is distant
from the point M, situated upon the small arc of the circle AM,
that is to say, by what fraction of a yard the moon has fallen
towards the earth in a second of time.

The space through which a body falls in a second, when it is
left to itself at the surface of the earth, when, in other terms, it
is 1600 leagues from the centre, is 4.9 metres. That we may
obtain the distance it would fall, if it were removed from this
same centre, even to the distance of the moon, we reduce the
preceding number in the ratio of the squares of the distances.

The result of this very simple calculation is found to be, with
an astonishing degree of accuracy, the numerical value of the
distance MT, such as it has been deduced from the velocity of
the moon, and the dimensions of her orbit. Thus it is nothing
but the power whose effects we daily observe at the surface of
the earth, — the power to which the falling of a body is owing,
that maintains our satellite in the curve which it describes
around our globe. This power alone, compared with its inten-

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIII. JULY 18B4. B

18 M. Arago on Double Stars.

sity at the surface of the earth, shews itself there diminished in
the proportion of the squares of the distances ; and we repeat it,
without our being required to take into consideration the state
of motion of the moon.

With these preliminary ideas, we may now address ourselves
to the question of the determination of the masses of the celestial
bodies.

Suppose that we set about finding how much more of a mass
the sun is,— how much more matter it includes — than our globe.
We shall take the space 4.9 metres, which a body falls at the
surface of the earth in the interval of a second ; we shall reduce
it in the proportion of the squares of the distances, so as to know
what would be (always by the action of the earth) the fall of this
same body, if its distance should become equal to that of the
sun. The result of this simple calculation will be proportional
to that of the mass of the earth. A luminary which, at the
same distance, would induce, towards its own centre, a fall
double, triple, or a hundred-fold — would evidently be a mass
double, triple, or a hundred-fold that of the earth. The ques-
tion is thus brought to this, How much does the sun, in the in-
terval of a second, cause to fall, towards its centre, a body
which is removed from it as far as our globe ? Moreover, this
last question, which, at its announcement, might appear un-
answerable, since we are not able to transport ourselves to the
surface of the sun, there to make experiments on the falling of
heavy bodies, finds its solution direct and immediate in the cir-
cumstances of the annual motion of the earth.

In virtue of this motion, our globe describes round the sun,
in 365J days, an almost circular curve, the radius of which
is 39,000,000 of leagues. Let[us divide the 360° comprehended
in this circle, by the number of seconds contained in 365^ days.
The quotient will be the very small fraction of a degree,' which
the earth goes round in its orbit in a second of time. Let us
now look back to the figure on page 16. Let us suppose the
sun in C ; the earth in A; let us consider the angle ACM equal
to the angular displacement which the earth undergoes in a se-
cond ; the radius of the orbit C A of the length of 39,000,000 of
leagues, and we can then easily calculate in fractions of a league
or in yards, the distance TM, which the sun, by his attractive
power, causes the earth to fall in a second. We have recently de-

M. Arago on Double Stars. 19

termined this space for our globe. We have seen how much it
would cause to fall in the same interval of time, a body which
would also be at the distance of 39,000,000 of leagues. The
distances in these two cases being equal, the falls must needs be
proportional to the masses. In searching, by a simple division,
how many times the fall towards the earth is contained in the
fall towards the sun, we should learn how many terrestrial globes
it would require to make a mass equal to that of the luminary
which illuminates it. It is thus fundamentally, if not formally,
that the number 337,000, already cited in page 12, is discovered.

What elements, then, have we employed to arrive at this re-
sult ? Only the quantity of the angular motion of our globe
around the sun in a second of time, and the value in leagues of
a radius of the terrestrial orbit, — none other. But the direct
observation of the double stars supplies us with the angular velo-
city of the lesser star round the greater ; if we had, in leagues,
the radius of the orbit which this lesser star tuns, we might
easily find what is, in the fraction of a league, or, in yards, the
distance which it falls in a second towards the central star. This
distance, compared to the fall of a body towards the earth, or to
the fall of a body towards the sun, since previously the three
numbers, as we have already explained, would have been redu-
ced to a common distance, by the inverse proportion of the
squares, would give the relation of the mass of the greater star
to the mass of the earth, or to that of the sun. Hitherto, un-
fortunately, we have known, respecting the radii of the orbits of
the stellary satellites, only the angles which they subtend, as
seen from the earth. To transform these angles into measures
of length in leagues and yards, it would be necessary to have the
value of the distances which separate us from the stars. When
these distances shall have been determined, the radii of the orbit
in leagues may be deduced, and the remainder of the calculation
will be accomplished without difficulty.

The science, in being enriched with a knowledge of the move-
ments of the double stars, has made an immense stride in the so-
lution of a problem which seems far removed above the intelli-
gence of man. The day in which the distance of a double star
shall be determined, will be the day in which it may be weighed,
in which we shall know how many millions of times it contains

b2

^^ M. Arago on Double Stars.

more matter than our globe. We shall thus penetrate into its
internal constitution, although it may be removed from us more
than one hundred and twenty billions (120,000,000,000,000) of
leagues.

We now hope, then, however dry this chapter may have ap-
peared, that it will be allowed, that we have at least endeavoured
to give, and without calculations, some idea of those recondite and
fruitful principles, from which astronomers and geometricians
deduce results altogether so astonishing*

-5. The Observations upon the Binary Groups, composed ofindepend-
^ ent Stars, may serve to determine the distance from the earth of one
of the Stars of which these Groups are composed.

We now proceed to endeavour to furnish, in this chapter, an
elementary view of the methods which astronomers have em-
ployed to ascertain the distances of the stars from the earth.
We can thus bring under review the advantage of that one of
those methods which is grounded upon the observation of the
double stars.

Let us suppose AB an indefinite horizontal straight line,
upon all the points of which, a person making observations may
transport himself, furnished with an instrument which astrono-
mers employ in measuring the angles contained in vertical planes,

• Mathematically speaking, the velocity with which a bullet falls towards
the earth, depends on the mm of the masses, both of the earth and bullet.
The fall of the earth towards the sun is also determined by the mm of the
masses of the sun and the earth ; it is from the result of these sums of
masses, and not merely the effect of an isolated mass, that the calculation is
effected. But it is evident, that, on account of the extreme smallness of the
bullet compared with the earth, and of the earth compared with the sun, that
we may, without any appreciable error, adopt the hypothesis insisted upon in
the text. It is not, however, the same with regard to the double stars.
Sometimes the satellite star differs'but very little from the central one (at least
if we may judge from the intensity of the lustre), so that we could not regard
the result of the calculation given above as giving the sum of the masses of
the two stars.

M. Arago on Double Stars. Hi

viz. one having a graduated circle furnished with a plummet-
line, or a level, and a moveable telescope. Let us suppose that
above the line AB, there is found at the unequal heights EL,
GH, two small objects E and G.

When the observer stands in C, the two objects E and G
will be situated, as an effect of perspective, on the same visual
ray. In the glass of the instrument, the nearer will cover the
more distant ; but as soon as the station C is abandoned, as
soon as the observer advances or retires, this state of things will
be wholly changed. If he remove to M, the object E will no
longer cover the object at G : it will appear more elevated, since,
after having seen it, it would be necessary to depress the tele-
scope to find G. A removal, on the other hand, towards N,
for example, would give an exactly opposite result ; the object
E, as the diagram clearly shews, would then exhibit it as un-
derneath G.

It thus, then, is clearly established, that the relative positions
of two objects, at different distances, necessarily change when
the observer alters his position.

But it is not enough for the science to have established the
existence of the relative apparent motions, which are deter-
mined by a change in the position of the observer ; it is requi-
site, moreover, to know what is, in the total apparent mo-
tion, the part which each of the two objects plays ; what is nu-
merically the share, in the phenomenon, which the distances of
these two objects from the observer bears, to the distance which
he himself has gone over in the course of the horizontal line.

All this results immediately from the simple inspection of the
analytic processes employed by astronomers in their calculations ;
but we must abstain from quoting any formulas, that we may
preserve for this contribution that popular character which we
have designed. We must be contented with pointing out, as
clearly as it is possible, the results which follow from them.

To avoid troublesome circumlocutions, it will be proper, at
once, to designate the angular elevation of an object, the angle
which is formed by the horizon, and the visual line proceeding
from the eye of the observer to that object. This is, besides,
the technical expression.

Let us consider the observer again placed in C, that is to say,

22 M. Arago on Double Stars.

in part of the line AB, where the two objects C and G have the
.same angular elevation, where these objects are covered the one
by the other. If he proceeds, for a certain space, towards the
left, these two heights will increase, at the same time, but un-
equally. If, on the contrary, he transport himself from C to-
wards the right, the angular heights will both diminish, and the
diminutions will not have the same value for the two objects.

Well, then, calculation and experience agree in demonstrating,
that, with regard to each angle of elevation, the variation de-
pends, solely, on the propoi'tlon there is betweeji the distances of the
object observed from the Vine AB, along which the movement is
effected, and the extent of this movement. When the extent CN,
along which the observer moves, is a considerable aliquot part
of the distance to the object E, the change of elevation is con-
siderable between the station C and the station N. If, on the
contrary, the line CN is almost infinitely small, compared to the
distance of the points to be marked, the angle of elevation will
be found to have sensibly the same value at the two points C
and N. Hence it may be understood, that if two objects, E
and G, which, seen from C, cover one another, the second is
at an immense distance, their relative changes of position will
depend only on the variations which, by the movements of the
observer, will be effected on the angular elevation of the object
which is nearest. These variations may thus be almost appre-
ciated by the naked eye, or, at least, without the assistance of a
large graduated instrument. Particular attention is requested
to this remark, as we shall presently again refer to it.

It has just been remarked, that the change which the angle
of elevation of an object E experiences, was dependent on the
space over which the observer has moved, and on the distance
EL, from the object to the line NCL, passing through the two
stations. But such is the intimate connexions of these three
quantities, that any twQ of them being given, we can always
from them very simply deduce the third. Thus, when the ob-
server, in moving from C to N, has measured with precision,
by the assistance of his graduated circle, the diminution to
which the apparent elevation of the object E has been subjected,
two lines of calculation enable us to pass from the numerical
value of this diminution, to the determination of the number of

M. Arago on Double Stars* 88

times that CN is contained in LE ; that is to say, to the know-
ledge of the distance of the inaccessible object E, for CN is
always measureable in leagues.

And now is the reader put in possession of the principle of
the method which astronomers habitually employ for the deter-
mination of the distances of the celestial bodies, and which they
denominate the method of parallaxes.

The method of parallaxes, every one may perceive, must give
results so much more precise, as in moving from the first to the
second station, the angular elevation of the objects shall have
more sensibly varied ; or rather, for it is the same thing in
other terms, as the traversed base CN, is a larger aliquot part
of the distance that is sought after, EL.

When the object E is a star ; where it is the stars, the dis-
stances of which we wish to measure, we take for our first station
N, one of the extremities of a diameter of the almost circular
ellipse which the earth annually describes round the sun ; and,
for the second station, C, the other extremity of this same dia-
meter. But the distance which then separates these two points,
C and N, is about 20,000,000 of leagues. Notwithstanding, so
vast a displacement does not sensibly change the angular ele-
vations of the star. The visual rays CE and NE, extended to
this star, from the two places separated by 20,000,000 of leagues,
form angles very nearly equal with the line which joins the two
places.

We have said the angles were nearly equal, for it rarely hap-
pens that there is not found, between the angular elevations
measured at the two extremities of the base, discordances, often
it is true, irregularities, to the extent of one, two, and even
three seconds. These quantities are unquestionably very small ;
scarcely do they exceed the errors of the observations ; and yet
they are of vast importance. If any one, for example, had suc-
ceeded in assuring himself, that for a star Uttle removed from a
visual line perpendicular to the diameters of the terrestrial orbit,
the angular elevation, from the extremity of one of these dia-
meters, really exceeded by three seconds the elevation from the
other extremity, calculation would give for the distance of this
star from the earth (5,000,000,000,000) five millions of millions
of leagues.

24 M. Arago oti Double Stars.

If the difference of the two angles was only two seconds, we
should find a distance one fourth greater than the preceding.

And, finally, if any one succeeded in establishing a difference
in the two angular elevations of a single second, the star would
be (16,000,000,000,000) sixteen billions of leagues from the
earth *

But some who have heard of the extreme accuracy of modern
observations, will be ready to exclaim against our admission of

• According to the notion, in general very plausible, that the most bril-
liant stars ought to be the least distant from the earth, astronomers formerly
agreed to examine the parallaxes, especially of the stars of the first and se-
cond magnitude. Latterly there has been some reason to suppose that cer-
tain stars, which are little remarkable for their intensity, might probably be
found amongst the nearest. We shall here mention a few of the consider-
ations which indicate this.

Formerly the stars were caXiedi fixed stars. But assuredly they do not merit
this appellation. All in fact progress, — all have an individual motion. Nor
are we here speaking of the revolution of a smaller star around a greater,
with the consideration of which we have been so long engaged ; but of a mo-
tion which, since it has been observed, has always been going forward in the
same direction ;— of a motion apparently destined, in the long run, to mingle
together the stars of the different constellations. It is natural to suppose that
the more rapid this individual movement is, the nearer will the star in which
it is observed be to ourselves. According to this principle, the 61st of the
Swan, which has a proper annual motion of more than 5 seconds, natu-
rally presents itself as probably offering a sensible parallax. With this in
view, we, along with M. Mathieu, have observed it with extreme care during
the month of August 1812, and during the following month of November.
The angular height of the star above the horizon of Paris at the second epoch,
did not exceed its angular height at the first, but by the small fraction of //o
part of a second. An absolute parallax of a single second would have neces-
sarily inferred a difference of \".2 between these two elevations. Our observa-
tions then indicated that the diameter of the terrestrial orbit,— that 39,000,000
of leagues could not be seen at the €lst of the Swan under an angle of more
than half a second. But a base, seen perpendicularly, subtends an angle of
half a second, when it is elongated 412,000 times its own length. The 61st of
the Swan, then, is at least at a distance from the earth equal to 412,000 mul-
tii)lied by 39,000,000 leagues. The number that results from this multi-
plication, indicates a distance which light could not penetrate in less than six
years, though it flies, as every one knows, §0,000 leagues in a second.

Another word, and we have done. The 61st of the Swan moves every year
in a right line more than five seconds. At the distance we are removed, a
second corresponds at least to eight billions (8,000,000,000,000) of leagues.
Every year, then, the 6l8t of the Swan moves at least 4,000,000,000,000 of
leagues. And this is what was called a fixed star !

M. Arago on Double Slavs. SS

the possibility of errors such as two or three seconds in the dif-
ferences of the measurements of the angular elevations of the
same star. And, it is freely granted that, with first-rate instru-
ments and long experience, such errors may be avoided in the
mean of a great number of observations ; in such, for example,
as the planetary diameters. But the observations of parallaxes
are a very different thing.

Let it be first remarked, that these observations require in-
struments of very considerable dimensions. Without this con-
dition, a second will not be visible upon the graduated scale. It
must be added, that the earth occupies six whole movihs in pass-
ing from one point of the terrestrial orbit to the point diame-
trically opposite ; — that, if the angular elevation of a star has
been measured in the first station in winter, it can only be mea-
sured in summer in the second ; — that if the whole apparatus is
not kept in exactly the same state during the six months, it will
be impossible to compare the observations; — and, finally, it
seems most difficult to avoid the slight bendings and smaller al-
terations which this instrument, so large, so massive, and com-
posed of so many separate parts, which, in the two epochs, must
be in thermometrical conditions entirely dissimilar, must neces-
sarily undergo, &c. &c. But in spite of all these obstacles, what
with consummate skill on the part of the artists, and care and
patience on the part of astronomers, we can now answer for a dif-
ference of the angular elevations of the same star, observed at
the distance of six months, within nearly two or three seconds.

This space, seen through the focus of the great telescopes of
our graduated circles, does not equal the thickness of the thread
of the spider ! Can we, after this, be astonished that there was
little prospect of surpassing this limit of precision by the usual
modes of procedure ?

We have, however, to add, that, in certain circumstances,
which we proceed to point out, the double stars would enable us
to value the change of the angular elevation, not only by three
whole seconds, but even to the accuracy of a tenth of a second ;
that is to say, thirty times more accurately than has hitherto
been done.

And now is the time to revert to a remark which was put in

S6 M. Arago (yti Double Stars.

reserve in page 22, concerning the relative change in position of
two objects at different distances.

Tliis change, we then said, depends'entirely on one of the two
objects, — on that which is the nearest ; whensoever the other is
at such a distance, compared with the space over which the ob-
server can move, that these variations of angular elevations are
insensible. Then the second object becomes the most exact of
marks with which we may compare the first, to recognize and to
measure its changes of elevation. Then, too, there is no need
either of a large mathematical instrument, which shall be un-
changeable during its transport from the first to the second sta-
tion, or of a level or plummet ; — then to know if there have
been a change of position, a simple coup (Toeil is sufficient, when
the objects are nearly in contact ; and then, besides, the extent
of this change is measured with the help of a little instrument
known under the name of a micrometer, and which, enclosed in
the telescope, is simply composed of two threads, the one fixed
and the other moveable, with the help of a screw.

If it be supposed, as is natural, that the difference of bril-
liancy between the two stars depends, in general, on the diffe-
rence of their distances from the earth; — that stars of the
seventh, eighth, and ninth magnitude, are much more dis-
tant than stars of the first, second, and third, we shall find in
the heavens many binary combinations which will satisfy the re-
quired conditions. Every amateur who is supplied with a power-
ful glass, may henceforward work for the determination of the
distance of the stars, with as much prospect of success as those
who are astronomers by profession.

This is in fact the method of observation of which we have for-
merly spoken. It is now evident, then, that no one should apply
himself to the observation of stars which almost seem to touch.
In the groups of this sort, the difference of the lustre of the two
stars avails so little as it regards the difference of the distance,
that, in describing its orbit, the lesser star, without ceasing to be
the lesser, interposes itself betwixt us and the greater. As to
the binary combinations, where a star of the first, second, or
third magnitude is remarked at the angular distance of three,
four, or five minutes^ from a star of the sixth, seventh, or eighth
magnitude, there are, without doubt, a considerable number

M. Arago on Double Stars, 4Bf

where the lesser star appears so, only on account of its much
greater distance. Whoever is fortunate enough to discover such
a combination, if he can furnish himself with a perfect micro-
meter, of a somewhat considerable magnifying power, will dc*
termine the real distance of the greater star from the earth ; pro*,
vided, always, that this distance does not surpass thai which will
be traversed by the light in thirty years. It is then indeed pos-
sible, in spite of the accuracy of the method, that we then only
obtain a limit on this side of which the star will not be situated.
But, when it is remembered that each year contains 365J
days, that each day is composed of 86,400 seconds, that during
each of these periods light moves 80,000 of leagues, we shall per-
ceive how prodigious this inferior limit of distance is, when a
ray of light will not traverse it in less than thirty years ! !

6. The observations of Double Stars, properly so called, may serve one
day to determine either the distances of these binary groups from
the earth, or to fix a maximum or minimum limit beyond which
they cannot be placed.

The method of parallaxes has not hitherto determined more
than the limit of distance (minimum distance) on this side of
which the observed stars are not. Thus the angular elevations
of 61 of the Swan, stated in page 20, have placed the two stars
which compose this group of 412,000,000 times, at least, more
distant than the sun. But that which it is necessary to add to
this inferior limit to know the real distance, remains wholly un-
known. If any one, for example, were to choose to suppose that
the true distance of 61 of the Swan were equal to 100,000,000
of times more than the inferior limit deduced by the method of
parallaxes, no one could contradict him, for this number is not
more inconipatible with the observations than a number a mil-
lion of times smaller, or than a number a million of times
greater ! In this state of the science, it was exceedingly desira-
ble to discover a method of placing a superior limit by the side
of the inferior one previously discovered. And this method
may, sooner or later, be deduced from the observations upon the
double stars, according to a process we now proceed to disclose.

When the curve (we shall suppose it exactly circular) which

28 M. Arago on Double Stars.

the lesser star of a binary group describes round the greater, pre-
sents itself exactly in front, that is to say, when the plane which
incloses it is perpendicular to a line drawn from the earth to the
central star, the satellite star, throughout the duration of its
revolution, continues constantly at the same distance from the
earth. The satellite star proceeds, in fact, to occupy succes-
sively, in virtue of its individual movement, all possible positions
on the circumference of the small circle. And no one doubts
that all the points of a circumference of a circle, viewed exactly
in front, are equally distant from the eye of the observer.

Through the centre of the circular orbit of the stellary satel-
lite, let us draw a horizontal diameter, which will divide this or-
bit into two equal parts, — one superior, the other inferior. Let
us then turn the plane in which the circuit is contained round
this horizontal diameter, and in such a way, for example, that
the lower part shall come to the front, or towards the observer,
whilst that the upper will be carried to the back part. Viewed
perpendicularly, the orbit of the lesser star was circular. Viewed
in its new oblique position, it will appear elongated ; and it is of
especial importance to remark, that these different parts will no
longer be found at the same real distance from the observer.
In the half circle which, on assuming the perpendicular posi-
tion, shall have come towards the front, there will necessarily
exist a point nearer to the earth than all the others. The point
diametrically opposed to this will be the most distant one. In
moving from the first point to the second, the satellite star will
then gradually recede from the observer. In returning from
this second point to the first, it will approach towards him. This
double circumstance, on account of the appreciable velocity of
light, may bring along with it sensible differences in the manner
in which the star shall seem to move along the two halves, — the
one the ascendant, the other the descendant half of its course.
Let us now proceed to examine in what forms we shall perceive
a luminous star, which is endowed with a proper motion.

Let us take this star in a certain determinate position. From
this position it will in all directions dart rays which will propa-
gate themselves in straight lines, and the prolonged directions
of which, whatsoever may be the place and the time in which

M. Arago on Double Stars. f&

they are observed, will indicate the place which the radiant body
occupied at the moment of their departure.

One of these rays will arrive at the earth. Suppose it has
taken a considerable time in coming, — say a month. During
this time the star will not have remained immoveable ; it will
have quitted its former station. Thus we shall see it in this first
position, when it is there no longer.

Let us now admit, that our ideas may be specific, that the star
has moved, at the same time withdrawing itself from the earthy
along the arch of a curve of a certain extent, — an arc, we shall
say of a circle, which, placed obliquely in space, is nearer to us
at one of its extremities than at the other.

We perceive the star moving, on this arc, at the extremity
nearest to the earth, thirty days, we have supposed, after that
it has quitted this spot. It follows from this, that it would re-
quire more than thirty days for the rays of light to reach us from
that extremity which is most distant from us. The star will have
reached this more distant extremity — it will have left this position
Jbr a longer period than thirty days at the time when, from
the earth, we see it as placed in that spot. When, then, from
the date of this latter observation, which is thus found posterior
by more than thirty days to the date of the real arrival of the
star at the extremity of the arc, we subtract the date of the ob-
servation of its departure, the error of which, by the hypothesis,
was only, and exactly, thirty days, the difference will be greater
than that which we find by subtracting the one from the other,
if the BEAL dates of the transits of the same star through the
observed points were known.

If, instead of making the moving star to start from the point
nearest to us, and so tracing it to the most distant, we had given
it the reversed course : if the point of the first observation had
been the more distant, it is evident, that the difference between
the observed transits, that is to say the transits as influenced by
the propagation of the light, instead of being greater, would be
smaller than the difference between the real transits.

In general terms, if, in its curvilinear course, a star is gradually
removed farther from the earth, the luminous rays which ema-
nate from it come more and more tardily, to shew us in what
positions it is successively placed. To go from one of these po-

$Q M. Arago (m Double Stars.

sitions to the other, it will appear then to occupy more time
than in reality it requires. The reverse of this necessarily hap-
pens, when, during its course, the star is approaching nearer to
us. But the two halves of the orbit of a double star are in pre-
cisely the condition which we have been describing, when the
plane which includes them is oblique, as it regards the visual
ray proceeding from the earth to the central star. Mathema-
tically speaking, the stellary satellite, viewed from the earth,
will employ then more time to run through the a&cendant half
of its orbit, — the half in which it is continually removing itself
from us, than to run through the other half, — that in which it is
approaching towards us. Well, then, we proceed to shew, that
the distance of the satellite from the earth may be deduced from
the difference observed between the direction of the ascendant
semi-revolution, and the duration of the opposite semi-revolu-
tion, whenever this difference shall have been observed with pre-
cision.

If we revert to the preceding explanations, it will be easily
perceived, that the duration of the ascendant semi-revolution of
the satellite surpasses the duration of the real semi-revolution,
by the number of days and the fractions of a day which the
light may employ to traverse the number of leagues by which
the distance of the satellite from the earth is increased during
this semi-revolution. It is not less evident, that the duration of
the descendant semi-revolution is less than the duration of the
real semi-revolution by the same number of days, and fractions
of a day, since, in its retrograde course, the satellite approaches
us quite as much as previously it had removed itself. Finally,
the two observed semi-revolutions differ from each other the
double of the time which the light takes to pass through the num-
ber of leagues by which the distance of the satellite from the
earth varies in these two extreme positions.

Let us, then, subtract the duration of two observed semi-revo-
lutions, the one from the other ; let us take the half of the dif-
ference ; let us, then, transform this half into seconds, at the rate
of 86,400 seconds for a day ; let us multiply the total number
of seconds thus obtained by 80,000, the number of leagues which
light moves in a second, and the product will be the valiLe, also
expressed in leagues^ of the quantity which the satellite star re-

M. Arago ofi Double Stars* M

moves from the earth in its passage Jrorn the point o/tJie orbit,
which is the nearest to the point which is the most distant.

The position and the dimensiwis of the orbit of a stellary sa-
tellite, are connected in a necessary way with the total quantity
which the satellite removes from the earth, and again approaches,
during each of its revolutions. When the dimensions of the
orbit are known, we may thence easily infer, by calculation, the
value of the changes of the distance. And, reciprocally, from
the value of these changes, we can mount up to that of the di-
mensions of the orbit. But we have just demonstrated how, in
certain cases, the astronomer experimentally determines, in
leagues, the changes which the distance of the satellite star under-
goes from the earth. In these same cases, the greater axis of the
elliptical orbit which the star seems to describe, may also be ex-
pressed in leagues. The inclination under which this axis pre-
sents itself to us, is deduced from the position of the plane of
the orbit. The micrometer enables us also to know its apparent
extent, or how many seconds it subtends. But after this, there
is not a land-surveyor who does not know how to determine the
distance at which he stands from a certain base, as soon as he
has learnt the inclination of that base to the visual ray, its ab-
solute length, and the angle at which he examines it. The as-
tronomer has exactly the same calculations to make. He only
operates on numbers to a vast extent greater. His base is the
diameter of an orbit which is traced by a star ; but still, that
which he is seeking, and that which he will find, is the distance
of this star from the earth.

M. Savary, to whom we are indebted as being the first to
point out the important part which the successive transmission of
light might one day play, as it respects the phenomena of the
double stars, fearing, without doubt, that it would be only with
great difficulty, on account of the slowness of the motion of
the satellite stars, that we could determine, with accuracy, the
difference of the duration of their ascending and descending se-
mi-revolutions, had contented himself with presenting the ob-
servations of these durations, as a mean of arriving, not at an
absolute distance, but only at a limit. We shall now show how
it is necessary to regard the method, if it be not wished to carry
it farther than this.

3^ M. Arago on Double Stars,

Suppose that it shall have resulted, from the minute exami-
nation of a series of measures of angles of position, that the du-
ration of the ascendant semi-revolution of a stellary satellite
only surpasses^ by twenty days, the duration of the descendant
<3emi. revolution, hence it follows, that the total quantity which
the star removes from, or approaches to, the earth, in proceed-
ing from the one of its extreme positions to the other, cannot^
in its turn, be greater than the number of leagues traversed by
the light in ten days.

Let us, for a moment, adopt this superior limit as the real
value of the total change of the distance of the star, and let us
enquire, as is done every day, for the extent in leagues, of the
axis of the stellary orbit. In parting from a hmit, it is a
limit which we must find. Thus, the calculation will give us a
number of leagues which the real length of the diameter in ques-
tion cannot surpass. In other words, it will conduct us either
to the real length or to a length greater than it.

Now, if we inquire, by the known methods of land-surveying,
to what distance must be extended a right line of a length
equal to that number of leagues which constitutes the superior
limit, that it may appear to us under the angle which the mi-
crometrical direct observations have assigned to the axis' of
a stellary orbit, what will be found will be, without other alter-
native, either the truth or a quantity greater than the truth ;
^he truth, if the number of leagues employed has happened to
be exactly equal to the diameter of the orbit, a quantity greater
in every other case, since then the number on which we have
operated will itself have been too great ; but that it may be
brought to subtend a certain determinate angle, a line must evi-
dently be transported further, as it is made longer. We are
thus, then, brought to the determination of a distance, beyond
which we cannot suppose the star situated, without placing our-
selves in opposition to the facts.

If, from another part of the investigation, the discussion of
the angles of position should permit us to affirm that the dura-
tion of the ascendant semi-revolution of a stellary satellite is su-
perior to the duration of the descendant semi-revolution, by
at least a certain definite number of days, the calculation ap-
plied to this new result, instead of a superior limit, would lead

M . Arago on Double Stars. 38

us to an inferior one, that is to say, to a distance on this side, of
which the star assuredly cannot be placed.

Every one may now understand how brilliant those discoveries
may be that will reward the astronomer, who, in modifying the
means of observation of the double stars actually known, shall
assign, with a new accuracy, the durations of the ascending and
descending semi-revolutions of the stellary satellites. The dis-
covery of the distance of the stars, and the determination of
their masses, will become the prize of such merit !

7. Concerning tlie Colours observed in the Multiple Stars.

When we remark, in the catalogue of double stars, that there
are so many binary combinations of red and greenish-blue, and
of yellow and blue, it naturally occurs, that the blue and greeu
tints of the lesser star are not the real shades, but the result of
an illusion, the simple effect of contrast. This opinion might
be supported by the observations which are found in all treatises
on optics, concerning accidental colours. In these works it is
stated, that a feeble white light appears green on the approach
of a strong red light ; and that it passes into a blue when the
neighbouring strong light is yellowish. These combinations
were, so frequently, those which exhibited themselves between
the more and the less brilliant parts of the double stars, that
we might think ourselves authorised to regard the coincidence
of the two phenomena that which really happened. It is, how-
ever, also true, that a great number of exceptions occur, and
they certainly ought not to be neglected. Thus it often hap-
pens, that a lesser blue star may be the companion of a bril-
liant white one. Number thirty-eight of Gemini is an ex-
ample of this ; « of the Lion is a second, and there are others.
In these instances there is no red star, and, therefore, the phe-
nomenon of contrast is out of the question. Consequently, the
blue tint cannot be considered an illusion. Blue, therefore, is
the real colour of some stars. This consequence flows also
directly from the observation of ^ of the Serpent ; for, in this
group, both the greater and the smaller are blue. Hence,
nearly ten years ago, we had many doubts whether the notion
of contrast satisfactorily accounted for all the facts.

Sometimes, unquestionably, it is the real cause ; the brilliant
VOL. xvir. NO. XXXIII. — July 1834. c

34 M. Arago on Double Stars.

star being red or yellow, the smaller one appears of a green or
blue tint. A very simple experiment is sufficient to distinguish
these cases from the others ; we have only to conceal the prin-
cipal star from our view by a thread or a small patch placed
on the glass. If, during the occultation of the greater star,
the smaller, which then appears alone, ceases to be coloured ;
if it becomes white, the green or bluish tint, with which it seemed
overspread when the two were seen simultaneously, was only an
illusion. When, on the other hand, the contrary happens, we
cannot refuse to consider these tints as real. Thus, then, the oc-
cultation of the greater star produces a disappearance of colour
in the smaller, only in a certain number of cases ; and most com-
monly, this occultation leaves the tint of the smaller star un-
altered, or, at least, induces only modifications that are insensible
to us.

The existence of so may blue or green stars in the binary
groups, known under the name of double sta7'S, is a fact the
more worthy of attention, because betwixt the 60,000,000 or
80,000,000 of isolated stars, whose positions the astronomical
catalogues make known to us, we believe there is not one to
which there is attributed any other characters, in regard to
tints, than white, red, and yellow. The inherent physical con-
ditions, then, respecting the emission of a blue or green light,
seem to be met with only in the multiple stars.

This phenomenon has been observed for too short a time *

• We have been anxious to find out what observer it was that first re-
cognised the existence of blue stars. Tlie ancients only speak of white and red
stars. In this last class they placed Arcturus, Aldebaran, Pollux, Antarus, and
a of Orion, and all these remain red to the present day. To this list, and this is
a circumstance which is worthy of remark, they add Sirius — whose whiteness
is now remarked by every body. It would seem then, that with time certain
stars change their colour. We shall now quote the first passage known to us
where mention is made of blue stars. It will be found in Le Traite des Cou-
leurs de Mariotte, which was published in 1686.

" II y a des etoiles," &c. " There are some stars that are very red, as the
eye of the Bull, and the heart of the Scorpion ; there are also others that are
yellow and blite :'* and again — " The stars that appear red and yellow must
needs be very luminous, but having their vivacity obscured by exhalations
which are spread over them ; and those which appear blue^ have a feeble light,
but pure and without exhalations."

In the catalogue which Mr Dunlop published in 1828, there will be
found in the Southern Hemisphere, notice of a group that has three and a

M. Arago on Double Stars, 35

to warrant us even to hope for a plausible explanation. We
must look to lime and accurate observations, to inform us if the
green and blue stars be not suns which are already in the pro-
cess of waning ;* — if the different shades of these stars does
not indicate that their combustion is proceeding with different
degrees of intensity ; and, finally, if the tint, with the excess of
the most refrangible rays, which the lesser star often exhibits, be
not owing to the absorbent power of an atmosphere, which the
action of the star, usually much more brilliant than that which
it accompanies, may develope. In the study of phenomena,
wherein, we must, without doubt, take into marked consideration
the action which two suns, equally luminous, and of unknown
physical constitutions, exert upon each other, we have no. longer

half minutes of diameter, and which is composed of a great number of stars,
all blue. The same astronomer speaks of a real nebulosity, that is to say,
a confused mass of radiant matter, the tint of which is also blue. Nothing
of this sort seems to have been observed on this side of the equator.

* If the new star of 1572 possessed the physical constitution of the perma-
nent stars, the explanation of the blue colour, by the enfeebling of the com-
bustion, ought to be discarded. This star, which at the time of its sudden
appearance, on the llth of November 1572, so far surpassed the most brilliant
stars of the firmament for lustre, that it was seen with the naked eye in full
day light : it was then of a perfect whiteness. In January 1573, its light, con-
siderably enfeebled, had become i/elloio ; somewhat later it assumed the red-
dish colour of Mars, Aldebaran, or a of Orion : to the red, as reported by
the observers of the time, succeeded the livid white of Saturn, and this last
shade continued till the entire disappearance of the star. In all this there is ,
no mention made of blue. The new star of 1604, in the same way, did not
exhibit this colour. It is therefore established, by two striking examples, that
a star may appear to come into existence, possessing the highest degree of in-
candescence, and then apparently diminish to its entire disappearance, without
ever becoming blue ! It is however to be remarked, that the disappearance of
the stars 1572 and 1604 having been observed with the naked eye, it might be
plausibly maintained, that the blue might have shown itself, but only when
being so far enfeebled, they could be found only in the class of telescopic stars.
And besides, there remains always this question — Are the new stars, and the
permanent ones of the same nature ? Perhaps the permanent stars, such as
our sun, only shine in virtue of a gaseous atmosphere which surrounds them,
and it is a property of a gas when combustion becomes feeble, that it should
then become blue. The absence of the principal prismatic shades, during the
different phases of the new and the changing stars, is a remarkable phenome-
non, whence important consequences regarding the velocity of the luminous
rays of the different colours may be deduced. This inquiry, however, must
be reserved for another occasion.

c2

36 M. Arago o?i Double Stars.

even analogy for our guide. In truth, the observations of na-
turalists could only put in comparison with the solar rays, things
terrestrial, and these at temperatures but little elevated. It is
then more than probable, concerning this question of the colour
of the star, that the great object of observers for a long time
to come, must be simply to collect facts. The satisfaction of
associating them with the known laws of physics, may probably
be reserved for our great-grandchildren. But this is only a rea-
son why we should redouble our efforts and our zeal. In the as-
tronomical phenomena, the accuracy of observations has often
compensated for want of time. And besides, when, after having
arrived at the termination of extensive labours, the hope of
some important generalization has not been realized, our disap-
pointment may find consolation in remembering, that the dis-
covery of a single fact^ well observed, well described, and well
appreciated, is unquestionably an advance in science ; whilst in-
genious and seducing theories which may be received with ge-
neral enthusiasm, are often nothing more than a retrograding.

Fontenelle, Huygens, Gregory, and others, have described, in
works which are very well known to the public, the appearance
and the movements of all the stars of the firmament, as they
present themselves to observers who might be placed on the
surface of the Sun — of the Moon — on the planet of Jupiter,
followed by his four satellites — of Saturn, surrounded by
his prodigious ring, and on Comets, with their eccentric or-
bits. Those who delight in these contemplations, have only to
transport themselves, in thought, to the planets with which the
double stars are unquestionably accompanied, and the united
actions of two of these suns with ellipses very eccentric, will
then become the occasion of a multitude of interesting researches-
The article has already extended itself so far, that we must be con-
tented now with simply directing the attention of those explorers
of distant worlds, to the binary and ternary groups of coloured
stars; to the simultaneous or successive presence of these diffe-
rent suns upon the horizons of the neighbouring planets ; to the
various combinations of white days, and red, and green days;
and to the thousand curious optical phenomena which must
be the consequence of all this. There is here something, which,

M. Arago 07i Double Stars. 37

for a time at least, may occupy the attention of the most fervid
imagination.

8. The double stars have become a means whereby we m^yjitdge of the
excellence of Telescopes.

The distinffuishiijff of the stars is for those astronomers who
may be called upon to pronounce upon the excellency of tele-
scopes, whether of a more common, or of the most superior kind
— a touchstone more sensible and precise, in certain respects,
than the observation of the disc of planets has hitherto been.
The expressions that the glass distinguishes well, — that with it
we distmctly see the belts of Jupiter and of Saturn, — that the
spots of Mars are clearly perceived, &c. &c. are vague, and pos-
sess a different value, as they are pronounced by an astronomer
more or less accustomed to use powerful and well-made instru-
ments. These expressions, whoever employs them, always im-
ply, in the mind of the speaker, a confused idea of comparison.
But if it be said, that with a magnifier of 200 times, for ex-
ample, a glass completely separates the two stars, now so near
each other, which together form <r of the Crown, there is sup-
plied, to any one who tries a similar experiment, the means of
ascertaining, without any hesitation, if his instrument be infe-
rior to the other. If we, in a word, recall to recollection the
fundamental principle of every telescope, the advantages of this
kind of test will at once become evident.

A telescope is composed of two glass lenses. The one large,
and turned towards the object, is called the object-glass ; the
other, quite small, and placed near the eye, is denominated the
eye-glass. The former lens forms, in a certain part more or less
distant from its surface, called the focus, an aerial image, — a
true picture of all the objects in view. It is this image — this
picture, which is enlarged by the help of the magnifying eye-
glass, just as if it were a natural object.

When the focal picture is distinct, — when the rays which,
proceeding from a point of the object, are again concentrated in
a single point in the image, the observation then made with the
eye-glass gives results most satisfying. If, on the contrary,
the rays which emanated from a point do not reunite at the fo-
cus in a single point ; if they there form a little circle, the ima-

iS M. Arago on Double Stars.

ges of two contiguous points of the object necessarily encroach
upon one another ; their rays are confounded together, and it
will be impossible for the ocular lens to dissipate this confusion.
The office which it alone fulfils is to magnify ; it magnifies every
thing in the image, the defects as well as the rest. The tele-
scope, we mean the united lenses, cannot then represent the ob-
jects well defined.

This defect of distinctness exists^ in different degrees, in tele-
scopes, according as the artist has succeeded in giving to the two
faces of the object-glass a regular curvature, more or less in ap-
proximation to the geometric form, which theory has established
as most suitable, and towards which the optician is always ap-
proximating, but which still always remains an abstraction. It
often happens, that with a single glance, whatever be the object
at which we look, we can know if the object-glass has been suc-
cessfully finished ; but this is not always the case. Astronomers
themselves, when called upon to compare two telescopes, how-
ever experienced they may be, sometimes feel difficulties,
if they have only examined large bodies, such as Venus, Jupi-
ter, Saturn, and Mars. In these cases, the double stars put an
end to all dubiety.

It is proved that the stars have not sensible angular diame-
ters. Those which they appear to have, depend, for the most
part, on the imperfections of our instruments, and also on
certain defects, certain aberrations of the eye itself. The more
a star appears small, every thing being equal, as it regards the
diameter of the object-glass, the magnifying power employed,
and the brilliancy of the star observed, the more perfect is the
telescope. But the best means of judging whether the stars
appear very small, if points, such as these, are represented at
the focus by simple points, is evidently, to examine stars which
are excessively near to each other, and to observe if their images
are confounded, if they encroach upon one another, or other-
wise, if they be perceived to be distinctly separated. We sub-
join a list, from the known double stars, of a certain number of
those in which the best glasses alone, furnished with strong
magnifiers, succeed in effecting a separation.

M. Arago on Double Stars. "SQ

36th of Andromeda. The distance between the two centres was 0".7 in 1831.

^ of the Crown. . . • 0". 8 in 1830.

^ of the Crown. 1 ".8 in 1830.

y of the Crown. One of the most difficult to distinguish, as much on account
of the extreme approximation of the two stars, as on ac-
count of their great difference of intensity.

I of the Ram. Very difficult to separate.

» of Hercules. Do. do. do.

T of Serpentarius. The telescope of Dorpat itself does not now distinguish
them. From older observations, however, we have
learnt that this is a double star.

That these observations might be complete, it was important
not to forget to point out the great advantage which may now
be derived, by the examination of double stars, in the trying of
great telescopes. On all accounts, we are persuaded that the
importance of the application will be recognised, when it is con-
sidered that the kind of these instruments which is indispensa-
ble for all the great observatories, costs eight hundred, a thou-
sand, or even sixteen hundred pounds, and this independent of
the expense of mounting.

9. Of the part which the doctrine of Probabilities ha^ fulfilled in the
question of dovhle stars.

The calculations of probabilities has enriched astronomy with
a great number of very remarkable results. Hitherto, however,
the doctrine has not assumed, either in teaching or in elementary
works, the place that is due to it. It would appear that there
has been a dread of darkening the truths of the science, whose
demonstration rests on the immediate union of direct observa-
tions, by associating them with deductions, which, without pos-
sessing altogether the same certainty, nevertheless merit, in the
mean time, to be held in high estimation. We may add, that
we do not know a question more fit than that of double stars, to
demonstrate how far observers would err in despising the lessons
taught by the calculation of probabilities.

As far back as 1767, a distinguished astronomer, John Mit-
chel, struck with the irregular distribution of the stars in the
firmament, examined if it were possible to believe that this dis-
tribution was the effect of accident. He took, as an example,
the constellation of the Pleiades.

This group is composed of six principal stars. On the whole

40 M. Arago on Double Stars.

expanse of the heavens, it is almost impossible to count more than
fifteen hundred which have an intensity which can be compared
to theirs.

The problem for solution, then, was this: Fifteen hundred
stars being thrown at hap-hazard over the extent of the firma-
ment, what probability is there that six of them will be united
in the confined space which the constellation of the Pleiades oc-
cupies. Mitchel found for this probabihty jooooo 5 that is to
say, that it was 500,000 to one that such an approximation of
six stars should occur. But since this concentration exists, in
spite of the one probability out of the five hundred thousand
which might lead to it, we ought to conclude that there has been
something erroneous in the ground-work of the calculation. But
on closer examination, we find there is only one hypothesis, viz.
that the stars are distributed over the heavens at hap-hazard.
Hence our hypothesis, the probable consequences of which are so
little in accordance with the facts, itself becomes improbable. It
is, therefore, the directly opposite theory which ought to procure
suffrage. And thus the six stars of the Pleiades are not so
closely concentrated by chance ; thus a physical cause has re-
gulated their union within so narrow a space ; and thus they are
in a mutual dependence upon one another ! But is not this pre-
cisely the same conclusion which, much later, has been deduced
from the tedious labours of astronomers on the double stars ?
Here, it will be perceived, the theory of probabilities had taken
the lead of direct observations.

In applying the same doctrine, remarks the English philoso*
pher, to the stars which appear double or triple only through the
telescope^ their connexion would appear established upon infi-
nitely greater probabilities. And what would Mitchel have
said, if in his time certain binary groups had been known, such as
ti of Hercules, and y of the Crown, in which the two constituent
parts can scarcely be separated with the help of the best telescopes
and the strongest magnifiers ? With a little more confidence in
the results of the calculations of probabilities, practical astrono-
mers would have commenced observations on double stars in 1767.
This confidence was possessed by the ingenious author of the
remarks to which we have been alluding, to such a degree, that he
even then spoke, in his memoir, of the existence of stars which

M. Arago an Double Stars. 41

x<>ere revolving' round each other, as one of the means by which
to resolve some of tlic difficult questions of physical astronomy.

Although the principles of probabilities begin no\v-a-days to
be more extended, we would even say more employed, and aU
though, on the other hand, the intimate union — the mutual de-
pendence of the t^vo constituent parts of a considerable number
of binary stars, is the result of direct and incontestable observa-
tions, yet iff is difficult not to concur in the remark of M. Struve,
that this union — this dependence, the fruit of so many delicate
researches, might have been inferred by all who have eyes to see,
from the simple inspection of the table, wherein is enumerated
the different classes of the double stars.

The four classes of Herschel, we ought on no account to for-
get, have nothing to do with the intensity of the stars; they have
only a relation to their angular distances. The first is composed
of all the binary groups, in which the constituent elements are at
least separated by a distance of four seconds. The second con-
tains those in distances of more than four, and less than eight,
seconds. The third commences with eight seconds, and ends with
sixteen. Finally, the fourth mounts up to thirty-two seconds.
Now every one will understand, that in seeking after the proba-
bility in which the stars scattered over the firmament without
any rule would present themselves in groups of two, — that this
probability, we say, would be less in proportion as the groups in
question would be confined within smaller limits. It is, in short,
as if we were to calculate what probability, in throwing a certain
number of barleycorns on a chess board, there would be of find-
ing them collected, in the squares, in groups of two. The pro-
bability must evidently diminish in the same ratio as the sizes of
the squares. In the proposed problem, the barleycorns are the
stars ; the chess-board is the firmament ; the squares, for the first
class of Herschel, are those with distances of four seconds at most
of diameter ; for the fourth class, the dimensions of the squares
extend to thirty-two seconds. In the hypothesis of an absolute
independence amongst all the stars with which the heaven is
sprinkled, the first class of double stars would be much less nu-
merous than the second, still more so than the third, and yet
more than the fourth. But the reverse of all this really occurs,
as may be seen by a reference to the table (page 3.). Wc

42 M. Arago on Double Stars*

are thus then again led, by the simple consideration of proba-
bilities, to conclude, that the stars which approximate to each
other, do so, not only in appearance, that is to say, not only ac-
cording to the laws of perspective or of optics, but, on the other
hand, that they really form individual systems.

I. Some Observations on a Note of M, A. Van BeeJc, purporting
to point out an Error in the Bakerian Lecture of the late Sir
Humphrey Davy *' On the Relation of Electrical and Che-
mical Changes y II. Some Observations on Euchlorine, re-
lative to the Question of its Decomposition. By John Davy,
M.D., F.R.S., Assistant Inspector of Army Hospitals. Com-
municated by the Apthor through Sir James Macgrigor.

The Note referred to above, occurs in a paper of M. Van
Beek, pubhshed in the 38th volume of the Annales de Chimie
et de Physique, and is as follows : —

" Dans le cours de mes experiences sur la preservation des
metaux, je me suis aperc^u d'une erreur grave que le celebre
chemiste Anglais Sir Humphrey Davy a commise, dans le
Bakerian lecture du 8 Juin 1826, ' On the relation of Electri-
cal and Chemical Changes,' public dans les Transactions Philo-
sophiques de 1826: il recommande d'employer le zinc ou Vetain
pour la preservation des chaudieres a vapeur, surtout celles des
bateaux a vapeur ou Ton fait souvent usage de Peau de mer.

" Des experiences decisives m'ont appris que Tetain, bien loin
de preserver le fer, est au contraire preserve par ce dernier
metal, et qu'ainsi un morceau d'etain introduit dans le chaudiere,
au lieu de preserver le fer de Toxidation et de diminuer par la
les dangers d'explosion, devrait puissamraent contribuer a sa
prompte destruction.

" Si Ton veut faire usage de cette application utile du prin-
cipe de la preservation reciproque des metaux, le zinc seul devra
etre employe/'

This statement is made so strongly by M. Van Beek, that
the majority of those who have read it, have probably been in-
clined to receive it as correct. Such at least was the impression
on my own mind, on a hasty perusal. But when I reflected on

A Note ofM. A. Van Beek. 43

the subject, doubts arose of its accuracy. It appeared very un-
likely that an inquirer such as my brother, who had devoted
so much time to electro-chemical research, and had just then
brought to a conclusion the investigation of the protection of cop^
per in sea-water by electro-chemical means, should have fallen in-
to so grave an error ; and considerations respecting the relation
of tin to iron in the scale of chemical affinities, came in confir-
mation of this opinion. To endeavour to satisfy myself, as far
as possibly to demonstration, on which side the truth was, I
had recourse to experiments ; and I now beg leave to commu-
nicate some of the results, with the conclusions to which they
led.

If M. Van Beek were correct, it appeared as a necessary
consequence, that tin would be negative in its electrical rela-
tion to iron. To ascertain the relation of these two metals in
this particular, I connected wires of them with a galvanometer,
and plunged them successively into the mineral acids, more or
less diluted with water, into sea-water, solution of potash, and
lime water. The result in every instance was the same ; the
tin proved positive and the iron negative.

Tin thus being positively electrical in relation to iron, it ap-
peared a necessary consequence, that it should exert a protect-
ing influence on the iron, and defend it from chemical action.
To ascertain this, three equal portions of tin wire were taken,
and three of steel wire, each weighing 1.6 grain, and muriatic
acid of the same dilution, in about equal quantities, was poured
into similar vessels.

Into one of these a tin wire alone was put, into another a
steel wire alone ; into a third, a steel wire and tin wire twisted
together.

In less than twelve hours, the steel wire unattached was dis-
solved. After three days, the tin wire was found to have lost
six-tenths of a grain, and the same both in the instance in which
it was alone, and in that in which it was connected with the
steel ; but, the steel in this latter instance had lost nothing, it
retained its lustre unimpaired, and, in brief, was perfectly pro-
tected by the tin. And the same result was obtained when the
tin and steel wires were boimd together by a fine silver wire.

The next necessary consequence appeared to be that tin

44 Dr Dav3r's Observations cyti

would protect iron, in contact with water, either cold or boiling,
or fresh or salt as my brother inferred it would, but which M.
Van Beek denies, maintaining, on the contrary, that the iron pro-
tects the tin, and the tin accelerates the corrosion of the iron.
To determine this experimentally, portions of steel wire, and of
tin unattached and attached, were kept in rain-water and sea-
Avater boiling for several hours. Neither the tin or steel had
lost ought ; the tin wire was not tarnished, and the steel very
slightly so; and, as well as I could judge, not more or less when
attached or unattached to the tin. This, then, was altogether
a negative result, seeming to shew, as I believe is true, that
neither tin nor iron has the power of decomposing water at its
boiling temperature ; and, therefore, that no protection is re-
quired for an iron boiler used for converting water into steam.

Wires similar to the preceding were next put into fresh water
and sea-water and left exposed to the atmosphere, in a room of
about the temperature of 60° Fahrenheit. Examined after
twenty-four hours, the steel wire exhibited rust, and in about
the same degree, whether attached to the tin wire or not at-
tached, the tin wires both remaining bright. The experiment
being continued, the rusting of the steel proceeded, and in a
few days a deposit of yellow rust had taken place, which
augmented in quantity from day to day. But not so the tin
wires ; even after some days they continued pretty bright ; no
deposit of oxide was distinctly formed on them, excepting in the
instance of the solitary wire in salt-water, which in two or three
places was very partially incrusted with white matter most pro-
bably oxide of tin, its surface remaining bright.

These results were different from what I expected : The
steel certainly was not protected by the tin. To what was this
peculiarity owing ? The rust on examination appeared to be
hydrated peroxide of iron. No disengagement of gas accom-
panied its formation. Reflecting on this, and the negative re-
sults in the experiments in which steel had been kept in boiling
sea-water, I was led to the conclusion that the oxide in ques-
tion was formed not by the decomposition of water, but by the
union of the iron with the oxygen of the air dissolved in the
water.

To put this to the tcbt of experiment, a portion of sea-water

A Note ofM. A, Van Seek. 4&

was deprived as much as possible of air by means of the air-
pump, with steel wire immersed in it ; and, after the exhaustion,
the bottle was corked and inverted in water to prevent the re-
admission of air. The result now was different ; after twenty-
four hours only a stain just perceptible appeared at the end of
the wire, where in contact with the glass ; and no more appeared
after several days, the wire generally remaining bright : Whence
it appears to me, it may be inferred, that the oxidation of steel
in water, is analogous in theory to its oxidation in moist air, or
in heated air, or in acid -vapour, in all which circumstances the
contact of a more electrically positive metal, even of zinc, does
not defend it ; no more than iron, tin or zinc defend copper com-
pletely when similarly situated.

The property of iron to rust in water and in moist air more
rapidly than tin, as is well known, and even than zinc, may per-
haps depend on the powerful affinity of the protoxide for oxy-
gen, to form the peroxide, — promoted by the predisposing affi-
nity of the latter to form a hydrate, a compound containing about
16 per cent., in two proportions of water, and in which the oxide
and water are united so firmly, that a temperature approaching to
a red heat is required to expel one proportion, and that of a red
heat to drive off the other.

Relative to the statement with which M. Van Beek concludes
his note, that zinc should be used in every instance in which it
is desirable to afford protection to iron in the boilers of steam-en-
gines, it \B necessary to be cautious in giving an opinion. That
zinc is capable of defending iron in water, and even in salt water,
from rusting, I have satisfied myself by experiment. But as
gas is disengaged from the iron, whilst the zinc oxidates, it may
be a question whether danger may not arise from the inflam-
mable gas mixing with the steam, and more than counterbalan-
cing any little saving of the iron from rusting, owing to the ac-
tion of the air on the water previous to boiling. In regard to
theory, this instance of the protection of iron in water by zinc,
may be considered analogous to that of iron by tin in a weak
acid, such as the diluted muriatic which is capable of dissolving
the oxide of tin as it forms.

After what has been brought forward, httle comment need be
made on M. Van Beek's assertion, that tin instead of preserving

46 Dr Davy's Observations on

iron, is on the contrary preserved by the latter metal, and the
destruction of the latter accelerated by it. I shall merely remark,
that though my experiments are not in accordance with his, I
can conceive circumstances in which the result may be as M.
Van Beek maintains, such for instance, as water capable of de-
positing matter in the tin, so as to cover it with a closely adher-
ing crust. In illustration of my meaning, I may offer the in-
stance of the action of very dilute nitric acid, on these two me-
tals in contact, in which the iron though negative compared
with the tin, yet dissolves first, in consequence being positive in
relation to the insoluble oxide that speedily envelopes the tin.

I shall conclude with the mention of a few particulars which
bear on the theory of voltaic electricity, and which have come
under observation in the course of this inquiry.

In the Bakerian lecture already referred to, my brother has
adduced an instance of decided electrical effect, indicated by
the galvanometer, under circumstances excluding chemical ac-
tion, and in which the sole cause appears to have been the con-
tact of the connecting platina wires with an acid and alkali,
separated by a neutral, imperfect, conducting fluid. This
he brought forward with many other facts in support of his
views relative to the primary production of voltaic electricity,
views nearly accordant with the original theory of Volta, and
which he adopted in preference to the purely chemical hypothe-
sis after careful consideration of the leading facts, a large num-
ber of which were the fruits of his labours.

Latterly, other experiments have been published in favour of
the same theory, two of which in particular have been considered
demonstrative by their authors ; I allude to those of M. Pfaff,
and of Matteuci, both given in Annales de Chimie et de Phy-
sique,* one, in which electricity is excited by a pile of zinc and
copper with cloth, moistened with a solution of sulphate of zinc
deprived of air ; the other, in which it is produced, as indicated
by the most delicate of all galvanometers, a prepared frog, by
zinc and copper and distilled water purged of air, circumstan-
ces in which it is supposed that no chemical action can take
place.

The objection to these instances appears to me to be, that proof

• Tom. xli. p. 246, and xlv. p. lOG.

A Note qf'M. A. Van DeeTc. 47

is wanting of the absence of chemical action. In experiments in
which zinc is concerned, much caution is required not to fall into
error relative to its effects. Though incapable, I beHeve, of de-
composing pure water, whether cold or boiling, like iron, yet it has
this power, when the water is strongly impregnated with saline
matter, as I have witnessed, on immersing polished zinc in a
strong solution of its sulphate, hydrogen being disengaged and
oxide of zinc formed ; and, farther though incapable of decompo-
sing water in a weak saline solution, such as sea- water, yet if asso-
ciated with another metal negative to it in electrical relation as
platinum, it acquires the power. I'his I have ascertained by
several experiments, using sea-water containing air, and also
deprived of air, both by the air-pump and by the action of iron.
Immediately, on the immersion of two wires of these metals,
joined, minute bubbles of gas appeared about the platina wire,
the disengagement of which rest on rather increasing in rapidi-
ty, and which when collected in sufficient quantity for examina-
tion, in the course of two or three days, proved to be hydrogen.

The application of these results to the instances in question
is obvious, especially to the experiment of M. PfafF, in which
were conjoined the two circumstances imparting power to the zinc,
namely, a strong saline solution and the contact of a negative
metal. In the other experiment, that of M. Matteuci, it is pos-
sible that the saline mater in the muscles of the frog, though
washed v/ith distilled water, or even merely the contact of the
muscles themselves, might have exercised a similar influence.

The only example I have met with in my own experience,
of electrical action, indicated by the galvanometer, referrible
merely to contact, independent apparently altogether of chemi-
cal change, or change of temperature, has been afforded by the
immersion of silver and iron wires in a solution of protomuriate
of tin, saturated with tin. Steel wire and platina wire previous-
ly introduced, had no effect on the galvanometer, indicating
therefore the absence of chemical action ; but, substituting a sil-
ver wire for the platina, a distinct though slight effect was pro-
duced on the needle ; and as the silver wire was negative, it may
be inferred to have taken place without chemical change.

The same result has been obtained, using a neutral solution
of muriate of zinc. Silver wire and steel immersed in this, aff-

48 Dr Davy's Observatmis on

fected sensibly the galvanometer, the silver being negative ; while
neither of these wires immersed in conjunction with platina wire,
produced any sensible effect on the needle. The solution of
zinc was formed by means of zinc wire and muriatic acid, the
former greatly in excess. After the violent effervescence was over,
a very gentle one continued, accompanied by the deposition of
oxide of zinc, to which there appeared to be no limit, depend-
ing on the decomposition of water. Before the solution was
used it was filtered, to rid it of any particles of the oxide or of
the metal, which present might have vitiated the result.

The effect of the contact of other metals applied to this so-
lution was hardly less decisive than the preceding, in exhibiting
electrical action, through the medium of the galvanometer with-
out apparent chemical action. Thus in every instance in which
a bright wire of zinc was immersed in it, together with another
metal, as platinum, gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, the needle was
moved, the effect being greatest with the most negative metal,
as platinum, and least with the one approaching nearest to zinc
in its electrical relation, as tin ; and, at the same time, not the
slightest tarnish could be perceived on the bright polished sur-
face of the zinc.

Even had a chemical effect taken place on the zinc, as the
electrical action varied according to the other metals employed .;
it may be considered a fact in favour of the theory of contact,
and belonging to the same class of phenomena as those lately
brought forward by M. A. Bouchardat* ; a class, probably,
which will become greatly extended, and will embrace a great
variety of effects, which at present appear so mysterious, as the
inflammation of hydrogen mixed with oxygen from the contact
of porous platinum, the conversion of starch into sugar and
mucilage, under the influence of a minute portion of sulphuric
acid ; the formation of nitric acid under the influence of car-
bonate of lime in rocks and soils, containing potash, on. expo-
sure to the atmosphere, and many other chemical changes not
less obscure, which hitherto have commonly been considered as
instances of predisposing affinity.
Malta,
\st March, 1834.

• Annales de Chimie et de Physique, torn. liii. p. 284.

( 49 )

II, Swne Observations on Euckloriney relative to the Question ofiti

Composition.

When my brother, the late Sir Humphry Davy, in 1815, dis^
covered that combination of chlorine and oxygen which has
since been called Deutoxide of Chlorine, he was in doubt whe--
ther to consider euchlorine a true chemical compound, or a mix-
ture of the new gas and chlorine. He remarked, " that two in
volume of this gas, and three in volume of chlorine, would pro-
duce by explosion the same products as euchlorine." The only
facts he was aware of opposed to this idea was, that Dutch foil,
which burns in a mixture of two volumes of common air, and
one of chlorine, remains unaltered in euchlorine, which could
hardly be expected unless the latter were a definite compound*
But, he adds, " The force of this argument is suspended, till it
be supported by an experiment, shewing that Dutch foil inflames
in a mixture of two of the deep yellow gas, and three of chlo-
rine." This experiment he had not an opportunity of making
at Rome, where he discovered the new gas, no foil of the kind
being procurable there ; but, on his arrival in England, a few
months after, he did not delay trying it. The result was nega-
tive ; the mixture, in the proportions above stated, had no effect
on Dutch foil ; and hence he concluded, " that the deep-co-
loured gas and chlorine have a chemical action on each other,
and that euchlorine is not a simple mixture of them." How-
ever, he drew this conclusion merely on the ground of probabi-
lity ; he intQi^ded to prosecute the subject, and hoped soon to
present some new results*. But this he did not accomplish,
his attention, almost immediately, having been directed to more
important objects of research, especially fire-damp and the safety-
lamp.

Since that time, the nature of euchlorine has remained an un-
settled question. The majority of chemists, and some of the
highest authority, as Berzelius and Gay Lussac, have considered
it a definite compound ; — whilst a few have more inclined to the
idea, that it is merely a mixture, founding their opinions chiefly

• Philosophical Transactions, 1816, p. 219.
VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIII. JULY 1834. D

50 Dr Davy's Observations on Euchlorine.

on the fact, that the condensation of the gases in euchlorine is
not in accordance with the rule of condensation witnessed in the
combination of the gases generally.

The latest and the ablest advocate of this latter opinion is M.
Soubeiran, who, in his elaborate and excellent paper, entitled
" Recherches sur quelques combinaisons du Chlore," publish-
ed in the 48th volume of the Annales de Chimie et de Phy-
sique, has brought forward some facts of an instructive kind, the
results of new experiments, and which are strongly in favour of
the view he takes.

Yet, even M. Soubeiran's researches have not removed all
doubt ; this I felt in reading his paper, and I perceived from Mr
Johnston's Report on Chemistry, published in the Proceedings
of the Oxford meeting of the Association for the Advancement of
Science, that he has been similarly impressed. I have been in,^
duced, therefore, to make some new experiments on the subject,
a few of the results of which I now beg leave to communicate,
trusting that they may be of some use in deciding the question
of the nature of this curious gas.

The first point on which I wished to satisfy myself, was the
degree and kind of action of mercury on euchlorine, both being
doubtful. As a preliminary, I thought it right to try the ac-
tion of chlorine on this metal, for the sake of comparison.

A retort charged with black oxide of manganese and muriatic
acid, had its beak plunged under mercury, a receiver full of
mercury being placed above it. As the gas was disengaged on
the application of heat, it was absorbed as it rose, so that, when
pure, very little of it reached the top of the jar, and that was
speedily absorbed, the thick crust which formed not preventing
it ; so rapid, indeed, was the absorption of the gas by the mer-
cury, that the mouth of the retort was several times clogged,
rendering it necessary to introduce a wire, to clear the passage.
The thick crust, the result of the absorption, of a very light-
gray colour, and not soiling the fingers, was a mixture of calomel
and corrosive sublimate.

To try the effect of euchlorine on mercury,, the same appara-
tus was used, excepting that the retort was very much smaller,
and charged with chlorate of potash, and muriatic acid diluted
with an equal volume of water. A large quantity of gas was

Dr Davy's Observations on Euchlorine. 5 1

disengaged, with the occasional aid of a gentle heat, and collect-
ed in different receivers over mercury. After standing twenty-
four hours, there was very little absorption of gas. It possessed
all the characters of euchlorine, as described by my brother : ori
agitating it, and transferring it from one receiver to another, the
effects were different ; sometimes it appeared to be pretty rapid-
ly absorbed, at other times very slightly, or, indeed, hardly per-
ceptibly, the surface of mercury retaining its lustre. The drier
the mercury was, and the vessels, the less tendency there was to
absorption. In some experiments, by repetition of transfers of
the same portion of gas in mercury not carefully dried, the
whole was absorbed ; and, in other experiments, stopt, when
about half the volume of the gas was absorbed. The residue had
less intensity of colour, coloured water less strongly when ab-
sorbed by it, and had ceased to be explosive on the application
of heat. The compound formed in the jars was bulky, of a
darkish-gray hue, and had somewhat the appearance of an amal-
gam. I could obtain no euchlorine from it, either by the action
of heat or of acids ; it soiled the fingers like black oxide of mer-
cury, and appeared to consist of calomel, corrosive subhmate,
and this oxide of the metal.

The inference I drew from the experiment was, that euchlo-
rine may remain in contact with dry mercury without altera-
tion ; and that, when it is absorbed, it is in consequence of its
decomposition, the liberated oxygen combining with the mercu-
ry at the same time that the chlorine did.

These results may tend to reconcile the apparently contradic-
tory statements of my brother and of M. Soubeiran. The for-
mer using dry mercury, and making his experiments, as well as
I recollect, at a cold season of the year, and being chiefly intent
on procuring the gas as pure as possible, for examination, was
most struck by its want of action on mercury, and justly so. M.
Soubeiran, on the contrary, viewing the gas as a mixture of
chlorine, and deutoxide of chlorine, rather looked for its absorp-
tion. He supposes that its action on mercury, '« a echapp^ k
H. Davy, sans doute parce que le protoxide de chlore pent etre
conserve assez long- temps sur le mercure a la faveur de la croute
superficielle qui recouvre bientot le metal, et le preserve d'une
alteration plus profonde :'' An explanation hardly to be admit-

D 2

5% Dr Davy's Obset-vatiojis cni Euchlorine.

ted, as there appears no reason why a crust should defend the
metal more from euchlorine than from chlorine.

M. Soubeiran states, that by agitating a small quantity of
mercury in euchlorine, under very cold water, the whole of the
chlorine is absorbed, and the oxygen left. In some trials, in ef-
fecting the absorption by agitation over mercury, I have also
witnessed a residue of oxygen. Why, in some instances, the
oxygen should be absorbed, and in others not, or only partially,
I have not been able to ascertain.

The next point it appeared to me desirable to ascertain was,
whether chlorine could be added to euchlorine, without materi-
ally altering its character. If it could not, the obvious infer-
ence would be, that euchlorine is a definite compound. A mix-
ture over mercury was made, of about two volumes of euchlo-
rine and one of chlorine. The colour of the mixture was a
little lighter ; silver-leaf immersed in it was slightly tarnished ;
bright rolled zinc did not appear to be acted on ; and after two
hours, it was not visibly absorbed by the mercury, and only very
slightly after twenty-four hours.

This result, then, is decidedly in favour of the conchjsion,
that euchlorine is rather a mixture of the deutoxide and chlorine
than a pure compound ; for the inference is obvious, that if
euchlorine can bear dilution with one-third its volume, without
being materially changed, the deutoxide, ajhrt'wriy may admit of
being diluted with chlorine, so as to reduce it to the strength of
euchlorine. And, the variable proportions of oxygen in the dif-
ferent specimens of euchlorine which I have examined, whether
made with a weak or a strong acid, is in accordance with the same
conclusion.

My brother's sole argument, as already mentioned, for consi-
dering euchlorine a definite compound was, that the deutoxide
deprived chlorine of the power of acting on the common metals.
The argument was apparently a good one, but far from con-
clusive ; nor did he consider it so. As euchlorine has the same
effect in a less degree, this argument now can hardly be admitted.
It is more reasonable to refer the effect either to the electro-che-
mical influence of the deutoxide, or to chlorine, similar to that
of iron (in a cast iron pneumatic trough) in preventing mercury

Dr Davy's Observations on Euchlorine. 53

being acted on by muriatic acid gas standing over it, or to the
miscellaneous class of obscure chemical facts daily augmenting,
which, in the present state of the science, baffle explanation.

Besides the objection Jast mentioned, which, if I do not de-
ceive myself, may be considered removed, I know of no other, to
the opinion that euchlorine is merely a mixture of the deutoxide
and chlorine ; — all its sensible, as well as all its chemical proper-
ties, so far as they have been ascertained, agree well with this
view. The colour of euchlorine, and its odour and taste, are the
same as those of the mixture ; and its effect on the skin, and its
explosive power, &c. are similar. To those who have any doubt
on the subject, I would recommend M. Soubeiran's able paper,
in which arguments of a different kind are adduced, and which,
it appears to me, are not easy to resist, supposing the difficulties
I have considered removed.

Relative to the name of the deep-coloured gas, as deutoxide
is manifestly improper, I would beg to propose for it that of
Euchlorine, on the same principle that it was applied to the
mixture before the true compound was discovered ; it is equally
suitable (the colour of the gas being greenish-yellow), and may
be considered now free from all danger of change. For per-
manency of nomenclature, it would be an immense advantage
could names such as this be generally used.

Remarks on the Remains of' a very large Oak Tree dug from a
Peat-Moss near Lanjine^ Ayrshire ; and on the Ancient Cale-
donian Forest in the West of Scotland. By T. Brown, Esq.
F. R. S. Ed., M. W. S. Communicated by the Author. *

I. Remarks on the Oak Tree.

When cutting drains through an insulated peat moss of
about five acres in extent, at Barhill, near Loudoun Hill, in
Ayrshire, the workmen laid bare the trunk of an oak tree. As
this appeared to me to be interesting, from its large size, and
from other circumstances connected with it, I had it carefully
removed and preserved.

The tree measured 48 J feet in length. The upper part of
it, for 16 feet, was, externally, quite entire. It was even nearly

• Read before the Royal Societ v of Edinburgh, April 7- 1834.

54 Thomas Brown, Estj. (yn a great Oak Tree

wliolly covered with thick undecayed bark. There were a
number of stumps of large branches issuing from the lower
part of this entire portion. The upper part of it divided into
several massive branches.

The remainder or lower part of the trunk, for 32| feet, was
much decayed ; it varied in shape and in dimensions till it gra-
dually tapered to a point at its lower extremity. In about one-
half of this decayed part, the woody fibres were straight and
uniform in their direction, as if no branches had arisen from it ;
but in the lower portion of it, in five different parts, the fibres
were twisted and assumed a circular direction, appearing dis-
tinctly to shew that large branches had issued from these. Be-
low this there was not even the least trace of root. The upper
entire part of the trunk was completely immersed in moist peat
earth, but around the decayed portion the peat was more dry
and scanty. The lowest tapering part of the stem was nearly
out of the peat, and lay on the edge of the bog, in contact with
a dry gravelly soil of considerable depth, sloping rapidly up-
wards from the moss. The tree had fallen to the south.

Sixteen feet from the upper extremity it measured ten feet
in circumference, even although from this portion the bark and
the soft wood had been decayed. Immediately below this seve-
ral large branches had arisen.

We could only form a probable conjecture regarding the di-
mensions of the decayed part of the tree, 32|^ feet in length, but
from its breadth at one part, and from the branches which in
five different parts appeared to have sprung from it, it must
have been very large. In fact it actually measured ten feet in
circumference at the height of S^\ feet from the ground.

I had this tree examined, separately, by an experienced
forester, and by a gentleman possessed of large plantations in
England, and well qualified to judge of the value of timber.
The former calculated that, when entire, it would have contain-,
ed 534 feet of measurable timber. The latter formed even a
higher estimate of its size when entire, and calculated that thirty
years ago it would have sold for L. 300.

Since there was no appearance of any root, for the lower part
pf the trunk was gradually wasted to a point, it is most likely

dug from a PeaUMoss in Ayrshire. 55

that the sleiii liad originally been of greater length than we
found it. But of course this is only conjecture.

As I was anxious to preserve this memorial of the ancient
forests of Scotland, I had it cut into pieces and removed to near
my residence, at the distance of three miles. The upper entire
part was then again united, by enlarging the hollow in its cen-
tre and fitting into it a strong square piece of timber. We at-
tempted to raise it on its end by means of pullies and proper
tackle ; but from its great weight, and from the unfavourable
:position in which it lay, we failed till we first raised it to the
sloping posture by means of levers. It was then elevated by
the strength of above twenty men, assisted by pullies fixed to a
neighbouring large tree. The entire part of the tree now stands
erect. The decayed part is placed extending horizontally from
it.

I am quite sensible that we have authentic accounts of trees
being found in mosses in Scotland, of greater length and cir-
cumference than the one which was found at Barhill, but I am
not aware of any record where a trunk of large size is said to
have been so entirely and so extensively covered with bark as
this one was. The entire state of one part of this tree affords,
therefore, a proper basis for reasoning ; at all events, I conceive
that several conclusions may be fairly formed from this decayed
tree, and from the situation in which it was found.

The peat moss formed dijlat circular surface, containing about
five acres, surrounded by dry gravelly ground. This margin
gradually rose from the level surface of the moss on all sides,
except at one point where a most abundant stream of water
issued. Around the edge of the moss there were several other
trunks of oak trees covered with the peat, but no one of these
was at all equal to the one which has been described. It appears
probable, therefore, that this oak tree, along with others, origi-
nally grew on the dry margin of a small shallow lake ; that, from
various causes, it, along with the rest, had fallen into the lake ;
that it had gradually become covered and embalmed in aquatic
plants, so as ultimately to fill up completely the hollow with
peat moss. We cannot account for the entire preservation of
the tree immersed in the moss, on any other principle than that
it had fallen into water, and become gradually covered with aqua-

<56 Thomas Brown, Esq. on a great Oak Tree

tic herbaceous plants and shrubs. The moss could not have
existed at the time of the fall, for if this had been the case, the
tree could not have sunk into it so completely as to have been
preserved even with its bark. The part of the tree covered
with the deeper water, and afterwards with the moss, was quite
entire ; but at the sloping edge of the lake, where the covering
was less complete, the trunk was more or less decayed, till on
the dry land no traces of it could be seen.

In the centre of the moss there were numerous trunks and
branches of birch, but although I sought with care, I could
not discover any appearance of oak. This was entirely con-
fined to the margin. The birch, most likely, had grown long
after the fall of the oak, on the moist mossy soil which had co^
vered it, and had, along with various shrubs and herbaceous
plants, at last filled up the cavity of the lake.

We may conclude, also, that this tree grew surrounded by
others, or in a wood, since we never see an oak, or, indeed, any
forest tree, attain a great height when it is solitary. The old
oaks at Chatleherault, near Hamilton, are of great girth, but,
from being in some respects solitary, their stems are short when
compared with the one found at Barhill. Their trunks do not
exceed from 12 to 18 feet in length, whereas the other was near
50. Most likely a wood covered the dry rising grounds which
surround this swamp ; and my impression is, that this tree could
not have grown quite close to the water, which, at one time,
filled the lake, but at some little distance. If this view be cor-
rect, the tree must have originally been of greater height than
we found it.

As the entire part of the tree was covered with bark, it proves
that it must have fallen before it had been long dead. The
hollow in the centre had certainly existed long before it fell
down, and, as this extended to the top of the stem, it proves
that the tree must have been in a ruinous state, though alive,
when it fell.

The situation in which this oak was found is elevated up-
wards of 500 feet above the level of the sea. I have ascertained
this by actual measurement of a part of the height, and by cal-
culation of the remainder. There are other trunks of oaks of large
^ize found in a moss about two miles from this, nearer the source

dug from a Peat- Moss in Ayrshire. dl

of the river Aven, where the altitude is probably 800 feet at least
above the level of the sea. In this situation I measured one
trunk out of several, 45 feet in length. This one was rauch de-
cayed, without any trace of either branches or root.

The remains of these trees are only found in situations more
or less hollow, covered and preserved by moist peat earth. In
some of these bogs, especially in such as are situated in deep de-
pressions, we may suppose that, in former times, lakes of greater
or less depth had existed ; but that, in other situations, in conse-
quence of the obstruction occasioned by fallen trees, water had
become stagnant, aquatic plants had vegetated, and, in the peat
earth produced by their decay, the fallen trees had been pre-
served. Accordingly, these moss trees are not found, where,
either from the slope of the ground, or from the porosity of the
soil, water does not stagnate.

We found, too, that where the trunk of our moss tree reached
the dry soil at the margin of the bog, it became completely de-
cayed and removed. Undoubtedly, however, these dry and po-
rous situations, from being much more favourable for the growth
of timber than moist soils, would in former times be covered
with trees even larger than are found in the mosses ; but when
these were laid prostrate on a dry soil, they would be speedily
decayed and removed from sight. They were only preserved
where they chanced to fall into a lake, or. where they formed a
morass.

II. On the Ancient Caledonian Forest in the West of Scotland.

These trees almost to a certainty were individuals of that part
of the Caledonian forest which by old records extended up
Avondale by Strathaven, passed over the high ground near
Loudoun hill, and covered a large portion of the upper part of
Ayrshire. Here, as well as in Avondale, there are many exten-
sive and bare districts, which, we are informed, were at one
time covered by trees ; and, from the few specimens which have
been preserved in small insulated bogs, we must form the con-
clusion, that these were of much larger size than those of mo-
dern times. I am not aware if there is any oak tree in Scotland
at present alive equal in size to that which this fragment must have
been ; and as it is surely very improbable that the largest, or
nearly the largest, tree of the forest should have grown at so

58 Thomas Brown^ Esq., on the Ancient

high an elevation above the sea, in a soil, we may conceive, ra-
ther too moist for vigorous growth, and should have had the
great luck to fall into a situation so favourable for its preserva-
tion, we may, without impropriety, conjecture that many larger
trees grew in soils and at elevations more favourable for great
increase of size.

I was at some pains to examine the dimensions of the annual
layers, in order to form an idea of the comparative rapidity of
growth of trees in former times with those of the present. It is
difficult, from the interlacement of the woody fibres in the oak,
to be certain of the limits in each annual layer ; but in seve-
ral parts of the transverse section of this tree I could distinctly
observe a few zones. These did not exceed a line in breadth.
In other parts the layers were so indistinct, that I could not dis-
tinguish them from each other. Certainly, however, there was
no reason from this single specimen to suppose that the growth
of the oak had been more rapid in those times than in our own.

We must suppose that these forests, which existed 500 years
ago in many other parts of Scotland as well as in Ayrshire and
Lanarkshire, afforded shelter and warmth to districts where these
are now very much needed. The wind, sweeping from the sea
over a bare country and a moist soil, though its temperature is
perhaps not actually lower, yet it is not nearly so kindly to ani-
mal, and even to vegetable life, as when its force is broken by
wood. We are informed, too, that in those times Scotland, from
its forests of oak, afforded shelter and food to the wild boar, to
the beaver, to the wolf, and to other animals which are now ex-
tinct in Britain.

Although we have no very certain means of ascertaining at
what period of Scottish history the woods in Avondale and Ayr-
shire were chiefly destroyed, yet there are many reasons for be-
lieving that this was in a great measure effected during the times
which followed the death of Alexander III. in the year 1285.

After this event, wars and various other causes continued to
ruin the woods, and even the agriculture and resources of Scot-
land, for nearly two centuries. In fact this country appears to have
been declining in prosperity even till the middle of the last cen-
tury. We believe; however, with some confidence, that the des-
truction of this part of the Caledonian forest commenced nearly

Caledonian Forest in the West of Scotland, 59

about the year 1300, and that from various causes the ruin was
soon completed, so that the country at length became almost
quite deprived of wood.

About the year 1300, Scotland was harassed by the selfish
and brutal policy of Edward I, when the succession to the Scot-
tish crown was disputed by Bruce and by Baliol. These " wars
of the succession," as they were properly named, continued
in various ways to injure this country for nearly two centuries.
Our impression, however, is, that this forest was destroyed near-
ly about the beginning of this period, that is, early in the 14th
century.

From the local situation in which the family estates of Bruce in
Galloway and in Ayrshire were placed, these districts were more
attached to his fortunes than any other part of Scotland, arid of
course these were more contested than any other. To destroy
the shelter afforded to the Scots by their forests, the English
soldiers would certainly, by cutting or burning, destroy as many
trees as they could. We are informed that this was the custom
in former invasions of Britain. For instance, under the Emperor
Severus, the Roman soldiers in great numbers Avere employed in
destroying those woods which afforded protection to the natives
of Scotland. Many proofs of this destruction were seen some
time since in the extensive mosses situated on the river Forth
above Stirling. Roman roads and other antiquities were found
below the moss. Even the marks of the hatchet were observed
on the moss oaks which were deeply covered with peat *. A si-
milar policy would assuredly influence the Kings of England
during their wars in Scotland ; but through this dark and
gloomy period of Scottish history, the written records are so few
and so very deficient, that we cannot obtain much information, or
place any great confidence in them.

Let us, however, make the probable supposition, that these
forests were partly destroyed by the invading enemies of Scot-
land. The wind thus admitted to tall and densely growing
trees would soon destroy the wood of a country. I had some
years since an opportunity of witnessing an event of this des-
cription, where a plantation of above 100 acres consisting of
trees of fifty years of age, was totally blown over or otherwise

• Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. xviii. p. 321.

60 Thomas Brown, Esq., on the Ancient

ruined, merely by cutting down those which formed a barrier
against the west wind. These trees covered a hill whose top
was about 800 feet above the level of the sea.

It is rather a remarkable circumstance, and we cannot refrain
from attaching importance to it, that within 300 yards of the
place where the large oak and other smaller ones were covered
by the moss, two small deposits of silver pennies, in"excellent pre-
servation, were discovered ; one of these on the south side, about
twenty years ago> and the other on the north, within these few
years.

A few of these coins were acquired, immediately after they
were found, by my predecessor in the country, and since that I
have been able to procure a few more from farmers in the neigh-
bourhood. I have now above twenty in my possession. These
are all silver pennies, either of Edward I. or of his unfortunate
son Edward II. There is one exception in a coin of Alexander
III. of Scotland. As Edward- II. was murdered in 1327, and
as no coins of a later reign were found, it becomes most pro-
bable that these coins were deposited [during the reign of
Edward II, soon before the battle of Bannockburn, which was
fought in 1314.

I have understood that the remainder of the coins which were
found in these situations, were exactly similar in appearance to
those in my possession. Almost the whole of these are in such
good preservation, they are in general so sharp in the impres-
sion, and of course they have been so little worn or used, that
we may be allowed to conjecture they had in part heen recently
issued from the mint. It is by no means likely that so many
fresh English coins, almost without any mixture of Scotch ones,
should have been in the possession of the poor and half naked
natives of Scotland, so far removed from the towns where they
had been coined. I am inclined to conjecture, that these had
been deposited by the English officers or soldiers during the des-
tructive and doubtful skirmishes of those times, and that they
had been hid soon after they had been acquired as pay. As the
English had but little footing in Scotland after the decisive
battle of Bannockburn, it is likely, as we have said, that these
coins were deposited previous to this event.

It is perhaps not out of place to mention here, that the coun-

Caledonian Forest in the West of Scotland. 61

try around Loudoun hill, about a mile distant from where the
coins were found, though at present bare and exposed, appears
in old times when the Caledonian wood existed, to have been
the field of several fierce contests.

A well formed Roman camp or station, containing about two
acres of ground, is situated about half a mile to the south of
Loudoun hill, close by the road to Ayr, on an insulated rising
ground. It is named by the farmers near this, " Wallace'*3
camp ;" but it is distinctly a Roman station, with its square form,
and with its usual enclosures and barriers. It is not mentioned,
as far as I know, in any account of the Roman antiquities in
Scotland ; but that it was a Roman camp is distinctly proved by
its form and by other circumstances. This is also confirmed by
a silver coin which was found on the field about a year ago.
The farmer who found it gave it to me. I was much gratified
to find that it was a coin of Augustus Caesar in excellent preser-
vation. I have also a silver coin of Antoninus, which was found
along with several other Roman coins at Torfoot, about two
miles nearer Strathaven.

Close by the Roman camp, to the north, (the high road lies
between them), a very large cairn of bulky stones existed thirty
years ago, which was named '* Wallace's cairn." I do not find,
however, that any exploit of our great national champion is
stated in history as having occurred on this field ; but I observe
it is mentioned by Barbour, that close by Loudoun hill Robert
Bruce defeated the English commander Aymer de Vallence in
the year 1307, — that is in the first year of the reign of Edward
II, who was at that time in Scotland. Although no coin nor
any other remains of antiquity were found below this cairn, yet,
from its situation, I have little doubt but it was intended as a
memorial of this battle.

It is well known that for several centuries, both before and
after the time of Robert Bruce, the records of Scotland are very
barren and unsatisfactory. In fact this country, instead of
advancing in the arts, and in agriculture and population, was
really declining in all of these. The natives, in every sense of
the word, were barbarians, perpetually fighting, and exposed to
the attacks of the English, and even of neighbouring lairds and
clans. The justly popular n^me of " Wallace,**"* who, in the

62 Thomas Brown, Esq. on the Ancient

midst of these times, terminated his patriotic career in 1305 on
a scaffold, is naturally, though erroneously, associated with
many more than his share of the antiquities in Scotland ; and,
among many others, we find that both the Roman camp and the
cairn near Loudoun Hill have been named after him.

From the immediate neighbourhood of the Roman camp, and
from its insulated and commanding situation, it is exceedingly
probable that Robert Bruce may have occupied it previous to
the skirmish at Loudoun Hill ; and in this way the Roman
name may have been lost. In fact, as we have already men-
tioned, the field of battle, as marked by the cairn, is close be-
side the Roman camp, and is not 200 yards distant from it.

This cairn was of great size, and the stones so large and use-
ful, that they were employed in building a stone-wall near the
place about 30 years ago. I have lately, however, had a new
collection of stones heaped on the spot, and, at present, though
small when compared with its former size, yet it is a well mark-
ed object, about fifty yards to the north of the road close by
Loudoun Hill. It is another monument which connects this
neighbourhood with the eventful fortunes of Robert Bruce.

I have already hinted at the idea, that Scotland, before the
wars of the succession, had a better climate, and, in some dis-
tricts, a greater number of inhabitants than for several centuries
afterwards, and, as far as we can judge from these relics, this
appears actually to have been the case. At all events, this dis-
trict seems to have been more fought for than its appearance at
present would merit. In these days, the wild look of the coun-
try around Loudon Hill certainly would not deserve a Roman
camp, nor much military contest ; and surely no one would now
dream of hiding a treasure of silver coins in the midst of what
was lately a bare uninclosed country. Five centuries ago, how-
ever, when it was in a great measure covered by a forest of gi-
gantic oaks, the aspect and the shelter must have been very dif-
ferent from the present *.

• It may be mentioned, however, that even in much later times, the
country around Loudoun Hill has been a field for contest. The celebrated
skirmish of Drumclog fought between the Covenanters and Graham of Cla-"
rerho\ise, took place within a mile of liOudonn Hill, in the year 1679.

Caledonian Forest in the West of Scotland. 63

We are quite sure that many of our peat bogs in Scotland
existed long before the period when the forests were destroyed,
and were, and indeed are still, produced by the decay of her-
baceous plants, or of small shrubs alone, without requiring the
destruction of any trees for their origin. I have merely wished
to bring forward some facts to assist in rendering it probable,
that some of our mosses originated, when the forests, which, five
or six centuries ago, covered large districts in Lanarkshire and
in Ayrshire, were destroyed.

I have also wished to form some probable idea of the im.»
mense oak trees which at one time were so abundant in Scotland.

This mossy piece of ground, which has been so frequently
mentioned, is now drained, and, last autumn, it produced an ex«-
cellent crop qf oats. It is nearly surrounded by extensive plan-
tations, about 25 years old, and it is agreeable to see, that among
all the trees which have been planted, no one is more vigorous
than the oak. It is remarkable for its silvery grey polished
bark, and for the length of its shoots. In future times these
oaks may rival those of the Caledonian Forest, which, in that of
Robert Bruce, surrounded the small lake ; and the chance is^
that their growth, in consequence of the improvements in drain-
ing, will he even more rapid in future than in those early
times.

These monuments of the oaks of former periods, which our
peat-mosses furnish, ought undoubtedly to have a considerable
influence in regulating our future plantations ; but it is really to
be regretted that they do not appear to have attracted so much
attention as they deserve. At present, how rarely do we ob-
serve an oak tree in Scotland even of six or eight feet in cir-
cumference. We have a few large ashes, sycamores, beeches^
yews, and lime trees, but we have scarcely any oaks worth no-
ticing, and these few, as those near Hamilton, are chiefly the
remnants of the ancient Scottish woods.

We are informed that our climate is so bad, that even acorns
do not arrive at maturity, and that, therefore, this country i&
not suited to the oak. But, surely, no one will say that the Ca-
ledonian Forest was planted, or that the new trees required for
its supply for thousands of years, were obtained from a nurse-
ry, or had been grown from English acorns. The succession of

64 Thomas Brown, Esq. (m the Caledonian Porest.

oak trees was decidedly continued by those acorns which fell, and
which were covered with the soil, and, in this way, escaped from
becoming the food of the wild boar, or of other animals.

In the present day, in Scotland, indeed, we have hardly any
oaks sufficient in maturity to produce a crop of ripe acorns, and,
of course, we must bring our seed from England, where adult
trees are abundant ; but this is no proof that our climate is in-
capable of producing acorns sufficiently ripened for growth. It
merely proves, that our adult trees are so few, that acorns can
be collected more easily in England, and that a greater propor-
tion of these, in consequence of superior climate and shelter,
are productive. We have a number of large plantations of oak
in different situations, but these are professed to be almost en-
tirely intended for copse wood, yet no tree seems to be more ad*
mirably suited to the moist atmosphere of the west of Scotland
than the oak ; nor more calculated to thrive almost on every
variety of soil, and even at a great height above the sea.

In these high situations, if they be even moderately sheltered,
we find this tree growing freely on dry gravel, as where the
large oak was found, on a spot consisting entirely of the diluvium
formed from the decay of trap rocks; but, in the immediate
neighbourhood, it grows almost equally well on very different
soils, on decomposed whin, on earthy loam, and on stiff clay, and
even at a height not less than 800 feet above the sea.

In common circumstances, the oak, for a ^^^^ years after be-
ing planted, chiefly in consequence of a bad mode of manage-
ment, is slow in its progress. It is soon overtopped by the
quick-growing Scotch fir, the larch, or the spruce fir, which are
very properly mixed with it. It is neglected, and very often
dies. With moderate care, however, it soon begins to grow ra-
pidly, and it keeps pace, nearly, with any other forest tre?.

In this essay, I am well aware that conjecture may appear
to have been too frequently employed ; but, at all events, our
large moss tree proves how favourable the climate of Scotland
was, and probably still is, for the growth of the oak.

( C5 )

Historical Account of Experiments regarding the Influence of
Colour on Heat, the Deposition of Dew, and Odours. By
James Stark, M. D. Edinburgh. Communicated by the
Author.

Descartes was one of the first — if not the very first — of the
modern philosophers who turned their attention to the subject
of colour in connection with light and heat. It is not my inten-
tion to take any notice here of his theory of Hght. But in the
course of his investigations, he observed that a black colour
suffocates or extinguishes the rays which fall upon it, while
white on the contrary reflects them *. Kepler, as quoted by
Dr Priestley, had indeed previously asserted, that the reason why
black objects grow hot sooner than white ones, is not properly
owing to any difference in the colour, but because those sub-
stances which are black are of a more dry and inflammable na-
ture, -f- But his conclusion from the known fact was but little
calculated to promote the advancement of scientific inquiry.

It remained for a philosopher of our own country, and one
to whom science is perhaps more indebted than to almost any
other individual of that age, for its subsequent progress, to
make the first correct experiments on the influence of colour
over heat. This was the Hon. Robert Boyle. His experi-
ments and observations upon colours were first published in the
year 1663, and form the basis of all that has since been written
on the subject.

To try whether white bodies reflect light more than others,
he held a sheet of white paper in a sun-btam admitted into a
darkened room, and observed that it reflected a far greater
light than paper of any other colour. Green, red, and blue,
were then compared together ; the 7^ed gave much the strongest
reflection, the green and blue almost the same. The yellozv
compared with the two last, reflected somewhat more light.
Red and purple compared together, the former seemed to reflect

* Dioptrics, p. 50.

t Priestley's History of Discoveries relating to Vision, Light, and Colours,
p. 141. Lond. 1772.

VOL. XVI F. NO. XXXIIl. .JULY 1834. E

66 Dr Stark on the Influence of Colour on Heat.

a little more light. Blue and purple compared, the former
seemed to reflect a little more light. * Mr Boyle also found
that common burning glasses will not for a long time burn or
discolour white paper exposed to their action. When he was a
boy (he says) he took great pleasure in making experiments
with those glasses, and was much surprised at this remarkable
circumstance. He observed also, that the image of the sun was
not so well defined upon white paper as upon black ; and that
when he put ink upon the paper, so as to blacken its surface,
not only was the moisture quickly dried up, but the paper which
he could not burn before would presently take fire. Mr Boyle
also found, that, by exposing his hand to the sun with a black
glove upon it, it was suddenly and more considerably heated,
than if he held his naked hand to the rays, or put on a glove of
white leather.

Mr Boyle, struck with these results, put the matter to the
test of further experiment. He took a large and broad tile, and
having coated one-half of its surface white and the other half
black, he exposed it to the rays of a summer sun. After expo-
sure for some time, he found, that while the whited part re-
mained cool, the portion that was black had grown very hot.
He further varied the experiment, by leaving part of the tile of
its native red ; and after exposing the whole to the sun for a
certain time, observed that this part grew hotter than the white,
but was not so hot as the hlach part.

The same fact as to the absorption and reflexion of caloric
had been previously observed in regard to black and white mar-
ble ; and Mr Boyle relates, in further proof of its accuracy, that
a friend of unsuspected credit informed him, that in a hot cli-
mate, he had seen eggs well roasted in a short time, by first
blacking the shells, and then exposing them to the sun -|-.

That indefatigable experimenter, Dr Hooke, afterwards re-
marked, that black and white marble being exposed equally to
the fire, the black will be found much hotter than the white,
because the white reflected back the rays which the other did
not ; and that a piece of white marble or stone, if one half of it

• Bojle's Works by Birch, vol. i. p. 725. I.ond. 1772.
t Boyle's Works, vol. i. p. 70C-7.

Dr Stark o?i i?ie Influence of Colour on Heat. 67

was coloured black, wouW, when exposed to the fire, be much
hotter on the black part than on the white *.

The subject of light and colours was now taken up by the
greatest of names in modern science, Sir Isaac Newton. His
discoveries were communicated to the Royal Society in a letter
early in the year 1672. He had ascertained by experiments with
the prism, that a beam of white light, as emitted from the sun,
consists of several different colours, which possess different de-
grees of refrangibility. These primary and simple colours are
red^ orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet He ob-
served that the red was refracted least, and the violet most
powerfully ; and was thence led to the conclusion, that the same
degree of refrangibility always belonged to the same colour, and
the same colour to the same degree of refrangibility ; that white-
nessor white light is a compoundof all the colours of the spectrum;
that blackness was a privation of all colour; and that the colours of
natural bodies are not qualities inherent in the bodies them-
selves, but arise from the disposition of the particles of each
body to stop or absorb certain rays, and thus to reflect more
copiously those rays which are not absorbed.

As my object, however, is not the investigation of the abstract
nature of colours, or their production, as connected with light,
but only to trace some of the modifications which coloured
bodies, as they exist in nature, or are produced by art, exert
over heat, I leave, for the present, the brilliant experiments of
Newton. As connected, however, with Sir Isaac**s analysis,
it may be mentioned, that Sir David Brewster has very re-
cently discovered that the prismatic spectrum consists of three
different spectra, viz. red, yellow, and blue, all having the same
length, and all overlying each other ; and that the seven as-
sumed colours are all compounded of these three simple and
primary onesf.

The more immediate subject of these observations was now
taken up by the celebrated Dr Franklin, who seems to have re-
peated most of Boyle's experiments, and detailed the results
in a letter to a friend in 1761. He observed that different parts
of dress, coloured black and white, imbibe the rays in different

• Birch's History of the Royal Society, vol. iv. p. 175.
f Edin. Trans, vol. xii. p. 123.

e2

68 Dr Stark 07i the Injluence of Colour on Heat.

degrees ; and that while the black part of the dress is quite hot
to the touch, the white will be quite cool. " Again," he says,
** try to fire paper with a burning-glass. If it be white you
will not easily burn it, but if you bring the focus to a black spot,
or upon letters written or printed, the paper will immediately be
on fire under the letters.*" He further remarks, that fullers and
dyers find black cloths, of equal thickness with white ones, and
hung out equally wet, dry in the sun much sooner than the
white, being more readily heated by the sun's rays ; and that
before a fire, heat penetrates black stockings sooner than white
ones.

This sagacious observer now made an experiment with patches
of different coloured cloths from a tailor's pattern-book. These
were laid out on the surface of the snow in a morning of bright
sunshine. The colours used in the experiment were black,
deep hlue^ lighter blue, green, purple, red, yellow, white, and
other colours, or shades of colour. In a few hours the black
had sunk so much as to be out of the reach of the sun's rays ;
the dark blue almost as low ; the lighter blue riot quite so much as
the dark ; and the other shades of colour less as their tint was
lighter ; while the white cloth remained on the surface of the snow,
" not having entered it at all." *

This experiment demonstrated, like all th^ previous ones, that
the calorific rays were absorbed much more abundantly by the
black than by any of the other colours ; that the intermediate
colours possessed a power of absorption in proportion as they
receded from the black colour ; and that the white portion of
cloth had reflected nearly the whole rays.

An experiment similar to this, but with coloured metals, was
made by Sir Humphry Davy, and the result published in 1799.
This celebrated chemist took six pieces of copper (each an inch
square, and two lines thick), of equal weight and density, and
coloured one of their surfaces zahite, one yellow, one red, one
green, one blue, and one black. On the centre of the under
surfaces was placed a portion of a mixture of oil and wax, which
became fluid at 76°. The plates were then attached to a board
painted white, and the coloured surfaces of all the pieces equally

• P'ranklin's Works, vol. ii. p. 100. Lond. 1816.

Dr Stark on the Influence of Colour on Heat. 69

exposed to the direct rays of the sun. The result was, that the
cerate on the black plate first began to melt ; then that on the
Hue ; next the green and red ; and lastly, the yellow. The
square coated with white was scarcely affected by the heat,
though the hlacTc had completely melted. *

The last of these experiments, though confirming as to co-
loured metals what Franklin had ascertained as to coloured
cloth, does not seem to have led to any further investigation as
to the modifying effect of colour on the absorption or emission
of heat.

Though I have mentioned the experiment of Sir Humphry
Davy in connection with, because it seemed more illustrative of,
Dr Franklin's experiment, yet it is proper to remark, that there
were previous inquirers into the subject of heat and colour.

The effect of a coating of black in raising the temperature of
substances induced Dr Watson, afterwards Bishop of Landaff,
to apply it to the thermometer in 1772. He exposed the bulb
of an excellent thermometer to the direct rays of the sun, when
the sky was perfectly free and clear. The mercury rose to 180°
Fahrenheit, and remained stationary. He then covered the bulb,
by means of a camel-hair pencil, with Indian ink. The mercury
sunk a few degrees during the application of the coating, and
the evaporation of the water ; but immediately afterwards rose to
118°, evincing a rise of ten degrees from the application of the
black coating. Dr Watson, though he does not seem to have
carried the investigation farther, concluded from this experi-
ment, that " if the bulbs of several thermometers were painted
of different colours, and exposed to the sun at the same time for
a given period, some conjectures respecting the disposition of the
several primary colours for receiving and retaining heat might
be formed, which could not fail of being, in some degree, inte-
resting t-'^

Count Rumford was the next writer of note who drew the
attention of scientific inquirers to the subject of heat. In a
paper read before the Royal Society in 1792, he detailed nume-
rous experiments on various substances to ascertain the cause
of the conducting and nonconducting powers of bodies with re-

* Beddoes's Contributions to Physical Knowledge, pp. 44-5. Bristol 1799.
t Phil. Trans. Abridg. vol. viii. p. 371.

70 Dr Stark on the Injluence of Colour on Heat.

gard to heat. He used for this purpose a mercurial thermometer,
the bulb of which was about j%% of an inch in diameter, and its
tube about ten inches in length. This was suspended in the
axis of a cylindrical glass tube about three quarters of an inch
in diameter, ending with a globe of 1 /^ inch in diameter, in
such a manner that the centre of the bulb of the thermometer
occupied the centre of the globe. The space between the in-
ternal surface of the globe and the surface of the bulb of the
thermometer was filled with the substance whose conducting
power was to be determined. The instrument was now heated
in boiling water, and afterwards, being plunged into a freezing
mixture of pounded ice and water, the times of cooling from 70"*
to 10° of Reaumur were observed and noted down.* The mat-
ters operated upon were raw silk, sheep's wool, cotton wool,
linen in the form of the finest lint, fur of the beaver, fur of a
white Russian hare, and eider down, sixteen grains in weight of
each. The difference in the results from these articles was ex-
tremely small, and much less than the Count expected to find
them, probably from all the articles being nearly of the same
colour, and though of the same weight of different bulk, or oc-
cupying a larger space. Of the seven substances, liare'^sfur and
eider down were the warmest ; after these came beaver'^s Jitr,
raw silk, sheep's wool, cotton wool, and lastly lint or the scrap-
ings of fine hnen.-f-

Hare's fur, . . . 1315" Sheep's wool . . . 1118"

Eiderdown, . . . 1305" Cotton, 1046"

Beaver's fur, . . 1296" Linen, 1032"

Raw silk, .... 1284"

In the year 1804, Count Rumford communicated to the
Royal Society another interesting series of experiments on the
nature of heat and the mode of its communication. These
experiments were made with hollow brass cylinders filled with
water, and coloured with various substances. A thermometer
was attached to the cylinder, and the rate of cooling marked.
Numerous experiments with the various substances used are de-
tailed ; but the most striking one, in the Count's opinion, was
that in which the cylinder was blackened, by holding it over

• Rumford's Essays, vol. ii. p. 430. Lond. 1798.
-f- Ibid. p. 437.

Dr Stark on the Influence of Colour on Heat. 71

the flame of a wax candle. In one instrument in which the sur-
face was naked, or of its natural colour, the time of cooling
through the standard interval of ten degrees was 55^ minutes ;
while in another with the surface blackened in the manner men-
tioned it was only 36j minutes. The black matter carefully
wiped off with a piece of linen rag, which was accurately weigh-
ed before and after the experiment, was found to be ^^ of a grain
Troy weight. It had covered a surface of polished brass equal
to fifty superficial inches. " How this very thin covering (says
the Count) which, if the specific gravity of the black matter
were only equal to that of water, would amount to no more than
17 ug ol' an inch in thickness, could expedite the cooling of the
instrument in the manner it was found to do, is what still remains
to be shown.""*

Count Rumford afterwards varied this experiment by cover-
ing the cylinders with an animal substance — gold-beaters' skin.
" Having covered," says he, " the two large cylindrical vessels
No. 3. and 4. with gold-beaters' skin, I painted one of them
black with Indian ink, and filling them both with boiling hot
water, I exposed them to cool, in the manner already described
in the air of a quiet room. No 4, which was blackened, cooled
through the standard interval of ten degrees in 23^ minutes ;
while the other (No. 3.) which was not blackened, took up 28
minutes in the same interval -f-."

The result of these and numerous other experiments was,
" that those substances which part with heat with the greatest
facility or celerity, are those which acquire it most readily or
with the greatest celerity J."

Count Rumford seems to have rested in this conclusion, and
does not appear to have extended his inquiries as to the effects
of heat or cold on other colours. This appears the more re-
markable, as he asserts, after relating the unexpected results of
these experiments, " that nothing should prevent him from mak-
ing the experiment of blackening his skin, or at least of wear-
ing a black shirt," if he were called upon to live in a very hot
country.

In connexion with this idea of Count Rumford, and leading

• Philosophical Transactions, 1804, p. 95, 96. t Ibid. p. 59.
+ Ibid. 1804, p. 128.

72 Dr Stark on the Itifliience of Colour on Heat,

to the same conclusion, I may here notice a series of experiments
made by Sir Everard Home at a much later period (18^0),
to ascertain why the rete mucosum of the Negro formed a de-
fence against the scorching effects of the sun's rays. He ex-
posed the back of his hands to the rays of the sun, one hand be-
ing covered with black cloth, the other naked. A thermometer
was placed upon each. After ten minutes the degree of heat
of each thermometer was marked, and the appearance of the
skin examined. This was repeated three different times with the
following results.

\st, Thermometer under black cloth 91° the other 85°

2d, 940 91°

3</, 106° 98*

The skin where uncovered was scorched ; the other hand had
not suffered in the slightest degree. In another experiment, the
back of a Negro's hand was exposed to the sun with a thermo-
meter upon it which stood at 100°; at the end of ten minutes
the skin had not suffered in the least.

An experiment with the rays concentrated by a lens for fifteen
minutes singed the black kerseymere with which Sir Everard's
arm was covered, but made no impression on the skin ; while
with white kerseymere in the same circumstances a blister was
formed. Even the rays concentrated on the back of the hand
of a Negro for fifteen minutes produced no sensible effect.*

Nearly about the period when the last experiments of Count
Rumford were made public, the celebrated Essay on Heat of
Sir John Leslie appeared. This work was published in 1804,
and included a series of experiments which have formed the
basis of what has since been written on the subject of heat.
Though the results of most of Sir John's experiments seem to
have been powerfully influenced by the black colouring of part
of the apparatus employed ; and though the differential ther-
mometer and photometer are constructed on the absorbent power
of a black-coloured ball, yet he expresses himself doubtful of
the influence of colour in producing these results. " The
last quality," says he, " which may perhaps have some influ-
ence in modifying the power of a substance to emit or absorb
heat is its colour. On colour the disposition to imbibe the
rays of light principally depend. Blacl<: is most absorbed of
* Phil. Trans. 1821, 3-5.

Dr Stark cwi the Injluence of Colour cm Heat 73

light, white discharges it most copiously, and scarlet is next in
order, its emissions being very bright and dazzling *."

«* In illustration of this,"' says Sir John, " I painted three sides
of a square tin cannister with lamp-black, whiting, and minium,
— each being worked up with as little size as would give con-
sistence to the pigment. Being presented to the reflector, the
eflPect of the black surface was 100% that of the white only 85%
and that of the red Wf."

Sir John made other experiments on the rate of cooling of a
globe of planished tin filled with warm water, in which a ther-
mometer was inserted. The air of the room was at 35° centi-
grade, and perfectly steady, and the progress of the ball in cool-
ing was carefully remarked. " From the station of 35° till the
internal thermometer sunk to the middle point or 25% the time
elapsed was 156'."" Sir John now painted the surface of the
ball with a coating of lamp-black, and again filling it with warm
water, scrupulously repeated the experiment. " The same
effect,*' says he, " was now produced, or one-half of the heat
expended, in the space of only 81' X-"^

Sir John appears evidently to have been struck with this re-
sult, though in perfect accordance with all the experiments
which had been previously made, of which, however, he does
not seem to have been aware. " The application of a coat of
pigment to a metallic surface, instead of retarding the effect,
almost doubles its discharge of heat. This fact," says he,
" equally curious and important, is most contrary to the preva-
lent notions, and seems not to have been observed. Had the
reverse taken place, we should have readily satisfied ourselves
with attributing it to the slow conducting power of the super-
ficial crust §.*"

Notwithstanding these results, Sir John rather inconsistently
concludes his remarks on the subject of colour, by saying, that,
*' on the whole, it appears exceedingly doubtful if any influence
of that sort can be justly ascribed to colour. But (says he) the
question is incapable of being positively resolved, since no sub-
stance can be made to assume different colours without at the
same time changing its internal structure ."||

• Essay on Heat, p. 93. t Ibid, p. 93, 94. t Ibid. p. 268.

§ Ibid. p. 270. 11 Ibid. p. 95.

74 Dr Stark on the Influence of Colour on Heat.

vi Four years previousto the appearance of Sir John Leslie's work,
and the Jater experiments of Count Ruraford, the investigations of
the late Sir William Herschel brought out some new facts regard-
ing the modification of heat by colour. This celebrated astrono-
mer, when viewing the sun through large telescopes by means of
differently coloured glasses, sometimes felt a strong sensation of
heat with very little light, and, at other times, a strong light
with little heat, — differences which appeared to depend on the
colour of the glasses used. This observation led to his researches
on the heating power of the prismatic colours, which were pub-
lished in the Philosophical Transactions for 1800. The experi-
ments made with a view to ascertain the heating power of the
different rays are detailed in the volume now referred to, and
afford very interesting results *.

In this unsatisfactory state the subject of heat, as connected
with colour, was left. Subsequent inquirers seem to have
adopted the sentiments of Sir John Leslie, and regarded farther
inquiry as hopeless. Even Sir Humphry Davy, though he had
instituted an experiment with coloured pieces of metal similar to
that of Dr Franklin with coloured pieces of cloth, and ascertained
the comparative powers of different colours in absorbing heat, did
not pursue the subject further. He appears to have acquiesced
in the general idea, that the thing was incapable of being demon-
fitrated, though, in one of his works, he distinctly states it as
probable that the colour of bodies is connected with their power
of absorbing heat. " The manner (says he) in which the tem-
perature of bodies are affected by rays producing heat, is diffe-
rent for different substances, and is very much connected with
their colours. The bodies that absorb, as it is called, most light,
and of course that reflect least, are most heated when exposed
either to solar or terrestrial rays. Black bodies in general are
more heated than red ; red more than green ; green more than
yellow ; and yellow more than white. Metals are less heated
than earthy and stony bodies, or than animal and vegetable
matters. Polished surfaces are less heated than rough sur-
faces -f*.""

The elementary writers on chemistry, since the date of Sir

• Phil. Trans. 1800.

+ Elements of Chemical Philosophy, vol. i. Lond. 1812.

Dr Stark on the Influence of^ Colour 07t Heat. 75

Humphry Davy's work, merely mention the subject in similar
terms to his ; and even Dr Edward Turner, one of the latest
and most acute chemical investigators, remarks, ** that the ab-
sorption of luminous caloric, whether proceeding from the sun
or a common fire, is very much influenced by colour ; it is most
considerable in black and dark coloured surfaces, while it is much
less in white ones. The influence of colour, on the contrary,
in the absorption of non-luminous caloric, is exceedingly slight :
it remains to be proved indeed whether any effect can be fairly
attributed to this cause. *""

Such is the present state of our knowledge of the influence of
colour upon the absorption and radiation of heat. The influence
of colour, at least of a black surface, though noticed by Boyle,
Dr Watson, and more lately by Count Rumford, and remarked
as an unaccountable circumstance in his results, failed to induce
that active experimentalist to make a trial of other colours. Sir
John Leslie was equally surprised at the result of a nearly
simultaneous experiment of the same nature, which he supposed
not to have been before observed, and remarks, not only that it
is contrary to the prevalent notions on the subject, but that the
question is incapable of being resolved. Dr Thomas Thomson,
in his late work, says, that " hitherto it has been impossible to
ascertain the efficacy of hardness and softness, or of colour, upon
the radiation of heat -f .""

I am far from thinking that the experiments I have made :j:
will solve all the phenomena observed, where colour may be sup-
posed to influence the results. All I maintain is, that colour ex-
erts a powerful influence over the absorption and radiation of
caloric, either luminous or non-luminous. Future experiments
may determine the extent of this modifying principle, which, till
now, has been doubted or denied by most of the writers who
have alluded to the subject.

I. — On the Absorption of Heat by differently Coloured Substances.

My first experiments were made with wool variously coloured,
and as nearly as possible of the same degree of fineness. These

* Elements of Chemistry, fourth ed. p. 18.

t An Outline of the Sciences of Heat and Electricity. Lond. 1830, p. 147.

X See Phil. Trans. 1833, p. 285. et seq.

76 Dr Stark on the Influence of Colour on Heat

coloured parcels of wool, of which equal weights were taken, were
wrapped severally round the bulb of a delicate thermometer,
graduated on the tube ; the thermometer was then placed in a
glasstube,the tube plunged into boiling water, and the time which
elapsed during the rise of the thermometer from one given point
to another noted. The apparatus was in fact nearly the same
as that employed by Count Rumford. With twenty grains by
weight of each wool, the result was that.

Black wool rose from 50" to 170° Fahr. in 6' 35"

Green, . . . . . 7 43

Scarlet, . . . . .83

White, . . . . . 8 45

The next set of experiments were made with the common
air thermometer, graduated to tenths of an inch in a descend-
ing series. The bulb was coated with the various colours as men-
tioned, and heat thrown on the ball by means of planished tin
reflectors about three inches in diameter, from a gas Argand
burner. At the commencement of the experiments the coloured
fluid always stood at 1°. Coated with blacking from a wax can-
dle, and the heat reflected as mentioned : —

The fluid descended in a mean of four experiments to 83°

Dark brown, a mean of three experiments to . 74

Orange-red, ..... 58

Yellow, .... . 53

White, ...... 45

Though the above experiments, and others detailed at length
in the paper alluded to *, particularly those with the coloured
wool, do not coincide exactly in minute particulars, the general
result of the whole is nearly the same as to the ratio of the ab-
sorbing powers. Minute difi^erences in experiments made at in-
tervals may be easily accounted for, from the various states of
aggregation of the wool, and its being placed equally, or not, all
round the bulb of the thermometer. The experiments with the air
thermometer are not liable to the same objection, and the mean
of a number of experiments made with this instrument would
afford a pretty correct estimate of the absorbent powers of diffe-
rent colours.

The experiments decidedly shew that colour, independently

• Phil. Trans. 1833.

Dr Stark on the Influence of' Colour on Heat. 77

of the nature of the substance employed, has a powerful influ-
ence over the absorption of caloric, and agree in a striking
manner with the results of the experiments made by Dr Frank-
lin and Sir Humphry Davy, upon bodies of very different
qualities.

II. — On the Radiation of Heal by differently Coloured Substances.

It has been stated, as a general principle, that the radiating
powers of bodies in regard to heat bear a proportion to their
absorbing powers ; that is to say, that the more quickly a body
is heated, the more quickly does it part with its heat. On the
contrary, it is known, that bodies which are the most powerful re-
flectors of heat, are those which, when heated, retain that heat the
longest. This has been more particularly noticed with regard to
the metals, in which, by diminishing the polish of the surface, it
was found that their reflecting powers were much reduced, while
their power of radiating or giving out heat was increased. No
experiments have, so far as I know, been made to prove the in-
fluence of colour in modifying the radiation of heat, except with
regard to metal balls and cylinders coated with black.

In these circumstances, it struck me that it would be import-
ant to ascertain whether colour, which exerts an influence so
powerful over the absorption of heat, might not exert an equal
influence over its radiation. To ascertain this point was now
the object of my investigation, and my anticipations as to the
result were fully realized, as the following experiments demon-
strate. If they are not so complete as could be wished, or the
best that could be devised, they prove sufficiently the general
principle, and may pave the way for more accurate investigations.

The first experiments which I made on the radiation of ca-
loric were with differently coloured wools. The colours were
black, red, and white, of each thirty grains weight. Having
rolled each round the bulb of the thermometer, as formerly
mentioned, and placed them in the tube, it was heated in boil-
ing water to the temperature of about 190° Fahr. ; and when
the mercury in the thermometer began to descend, and had
fallen to 180°, it was plunged into water at 45°, and the rate of
cooling accurately noted. The following were the results :

78 Dr Stark on the Influence of Colour on Heat.

Black wool fell from 180° to 50° Fahr. in . 21' 0"

Red, . . . . . . 26 0

White, . . . . . . 27 0

Another experiment with black, red, and white wools, twenty
grains of each, and with the temperature raised to 173°, gave
the following results :

Black wool fell from 170" to 60° Fahr. in . 15' 45"

Red, 17 0

\Vhite, 18 30

The next experiments were made with wheat-flour, coloured
black, brown, yellow, and white. The black colouring matter
was lamp-black ; the brown was the umber of the shops ; and
gamboge powder was the yellow. I took 100 grains of each
coloured flour, and placed them separately in a tube of about
three quarters of an inch in diameter, then sunk the bulb of the
thermometer into the middle of the flour, and heated the tube
to about 190° Fahr. When the mercury began steadily to de-
scend, and arrived at 180°, I plunged the tube into water at 45%
and observed the rate of cooling. The following were the re-
sults :

Black flour fell from 180' to 50° Fahr. in . 9' 50''

Brown, . . . . . 11 0

Yellow, 12 0

White, . . . . . 12 15

A third set of experiments was made by coating the ball of
the air-thermometer with various pigments ; but for these I must
refer to the paper alluded to *.

These experiments demonstrate, that differently coloured sub-
stances possess a specific influence on the absorption of heat or
caloric, both luminous and non-luminous, and that they give off"
their caloric in the same ratio as they absorb it.

The experiments may be varied to any extent, by using dif-
ferent substances ; and even water in coloured vessels cools more
or less quickly, according to the colour of the vessel in which
it is held. For instance, to ascertain this, I filled glass balls
about an inch and a quarter in diameter with water at 120° Fahr.
and placed a thermometer in the fluid. The time which elapsed
during the fall of the mercury through 25° was accurately noted ;
and the results were, that the ball coated with Prussian blue
fell through that interval in seventeen minutes ; the ball coated
• PhiL Trans. 1833, p. 294, et seq.

Dr Stark on the Influence of' Colour on Heat. 79

with orange-red in eighteen minutes; and that coated with white
in nineteen minutes. The temperature of the air in the room
was 50°.

The demonstration of the influence of colour on the absorp-
tion and radiation of caloric, may tend to open up new views of
the economy of nature, and perhaps suggest useful improve-
ments in the management and adaptation of heat. Dr Frank-
lin *, who never lost sight of practical utility in his scientific in-
vestigations, from the result of his experiments with coloured
cloths on the absorption of heat, drew the conclusion, " that
black clothes are not so fit to wear in a hot sunny climate or
season as white ones ; that white hats should be generally worn
in summer ; and that garden-walls for fruit-trees would absorb
more heat from being blackened.*"

Count Rumford and Sir Everard Home, on the contrary,
come to a conclusion entirely the reverse of this. The Count
asserts, that if he were called upon to live in a very warm cli-
mate, he would blacken his skin, or wear a black shirt ; and, in
point of fact, in the decline of his life, he astonished the Pa-
risians by appearing in the streets in winter entirely dressed in
white. Sir Everard, from direct experiments on himself and
on a negro's skin, lays it down as evident, that the power of the
sun's rays to scorch the skins of animals is destroyed when ap-
plied to a dark surface, although the absolute heat in conse-
quence of the absorption of rays is greater -f-. Sir Humphry
Davy explained this fact, by saying, that " the radiant heat in
the sun's rays is converted into sensible heat." With all de-
ference to the opinion of this great man, it by no means explains
why the surface of the skin was kept comparatively cool. From
the result of my experiments, it is evident, that if a black sur-
face absorbs caloric in greatest quantity, it also gives it out in
the same proportion ; and thus a circulation of heat is, as it
were, established, calculated to promote the insensible perspira-
tion, and to keep the body cool. This view is confirmed by the
observed fact of the stronger odour exhaled by the bodies of
black people.

The different shades of colour by which races of men inha-
biting different climates are distinguished, equally possess, there

« Dr Franklin's Works, vol. ii. p. 109. I.ond. 1806.
t Phil. Trans. 1821, p. 6.

80 Dr Stark on the Influence of Colour on Heat,

is reason to believe the quality of modifying the individual tem-
perature, and keeping it at the proper mean. This adaptation
of colour may perhaps be traced in the inhabitants of every de-
gree of latitude, and may be found to correspond with the causes
which limit the range of plants and animals. The effect of the
exposure to the sun in our own country in warm seasons is tem-
porarily to change the colour of the parts submitted to its in-
fluence, and to render them less susceptible of injury from the
heating rays.

The influence of colour, as modifying the effects of heat, is
also strikingly illustrated in other classes of the animal kingdom.
The quadrupeds, for instance, which pass the winter in northern
latitudes, besides the additional protection from cold they re-
ceive in the growth of downy fur, change their colour on the
approach of the cold season. The furs of various hues which
form their summer dress are thrown off", and a white covering
takes its place. Hence the white foxes, the white hares, and
the ermine of the arctic regions. Even in more temperate cli-
mates, and in our own country, the hare, in severe winters, of-
ten acquires a white fur ; and the stoat or ermine is found with
its summer dress more or less exchanged for a winter clothing
of pure white. Some writers on natural history state these
changes as means of protection to the animals from their ene-
mies, by assimilating their colour to the winter snow. Without
denying that this may be one final cause for the periodical
change of colour, I am rather disposed to consider it as accom-
modating the animal to the changes of season it undergoes.
The white winter coating, as is evident from my experiments,
does not throw off" heat so rapidly as any of the other colours;
and hence its use in preserving the animal temperature.

The feathered tribes which inhabit northern latitudes, afford
still more remarkable instances of the adaptation of colour to the
changes of temperature. The summer dress of many families
is so different from their winter plumage, as to have led man}'^
ornithologists to multiply species as the animal was described in
its winter or summer plumage. The ptarmigan is a familiar ex-
ample. Mr Selby remarks, that " the black deep ochreous yel-
low plumage of the ptarmigan in spring and summer gradually
gives place to a greyish-white ; the black spots become broken,

Dr Stark 07i (he Injfuence of Colour on Heat 81

and assume the appearance of zig-zag lines and specks. These,
again, as the season advances, give place to the pure immaculate
plumage which distinguishes both sexes in winter.*" *

The display of colours in the plumage of the birds of tropi-
cal climates is also in strict accordance with the observed facts
of the influence of colour over the absorption and radiation of
heat. The metallic reflexions and polished surface of the whole
family of humming-birds is admirably suited to their habits;
and the colours of the wings of the Lepidoptera in the class of
Insects, there is little doubt, serves some similar purpose, in
maintaining the temperature of the animals at a proper mean.
In proportion to the diminution of temperature, and the dis-
tance from the equator, a corresponding dilution of colour in
animals takes place, till, in temperate countries, it is almost uni-
formly of a sober grey. In the arctic regions, all colour ex-
cept white and black disappears, — modifications of which, with
very little variety of other colours, form the summer and winter
clothing of most of the northern tribes of birds.

In the vegetable kingdom, I am disposed to believe that the
colours of the petals of flowers serve some useful purpose, in re-
gard to preserving the temperature of the parts necessary for
reproduction at the proper mean, and that the varied pencilling
of Nature has thus an object beyond merely pleasing the eye.
In this view, the quality of colour, so widely extended, and so
varied and blended in every class of natural bodies, acquires a
further interest, in addition to its ministering to the pleasures of
sight, and affbrds a new instance of that benevolence and wisdom
by which all the arrangements of matter are calculated to excite
and gratify the mind directed to their investigation.

Even in the inorganic portion of Nature, and in northern cli-
mates, the portion of heat imbibed by the soil during a short
summer, is prevented from escaping by the covering of snow
which falls in the beginning of winter, and thus the temperature
necessary for the scanty vegetation is kept up. By this white
covering, vegetables are enabled to sustain a lengthened torpidity
without suffering from the injurious effects of frost, and the
ground is preserved from partial alternations of temperature,

• Selby's Illustrations of British Ornithology, part i. p. 312.
VOL. XVII. NO. XXXII. JULY 1834. F

82 Dr Stark (yn the Influence of Colour on

till the influence of the sun at once converts the northern winter
into summer, without the intervention of spring.

III. — On the Influence of Colour on the Deposition of Dew.

As connected with the preceding investigations, it may be
mentioned, that I had projected a train of experiments to ascer-
tain the proportions in which dew was deposited on variously-
coloured substances. Dr Wells found the deposition of dew
influenced by the radiating power of the substance employed ;
but neither he nor any of the philosophers who have treated of
the subject, seem to have been aware of the modifying effects
of colour on the absorption and radiation of heat. My avoca-
tions have hitherto prevented me from following out these ex-
periments ; but to shew that the influence of colour may be ex-
tended to moisture, and of course to dew, I shall give from my
notes the result of two experiments made to ascertain this point.

Jan. 16. 1833. — I exposed last night (the temperature ranging
from 28° to 30°, and with a dense fog) ten grains of black wool,
the same quantity of scarlet wool, and an equal weight of white
wool, on a black board, which was placed on the leads on the
top of the house. When taken in this morning, and carefully
weighed, the black wool had gained 32 grains, the scarlet wool
25 grains, and the white wool 20 grains, deposited on the wool
in the form of hoar-frost.

A few nights afterwards, after a slight thaw, and when to-
wards night the temperature fell to 31°, I again exposed four
colours of wool, ten grains of each, in the same manner. By
next morning, the black wool had gained 10 grains, the dark
green 9/(j grains, the scarlet 6 grains, and the white 5 grains.

Dr Wells had indeed made experiments on the deposition of
dew, with equal quantities of black and white wool ; and in four
out of five experiments, the black wool was found to have ac-
quired a little more dew than the white : " whence,'" says he, " I
concluded that it had also radiated a little more heat. But I
afterwards remarked, that the white wool was somewhat coarser
than the black, which might have occasioned the diff^erence of
their attraction for dew."" On another night, he made an expe-
riment with pasteboard covered with white paper, and paste-

the Deposition of Dew ^ and on Odours. 83

board covered with paper blackened with ink. At daylight,""'
says he, " I observed hoar-frost upon both pieces, but the black
seemed to have a greater quantity than the white."" ♦

These facts, it might have been supposed, would have led
Dr Wells to further experiments with different colours. But
the reverse was the case. He quotes Mr Leslie as to the hope-
lessness of success, without making a farther attempt ; '' since a
black body almost always differs from a white one in one or
more chemical properties, and this difference may alone be suffi-
cient to occasion a diversity in their powers of radiating h^at.""

IV. — On the Influence of Colour on Odours.

If the influence of colour over heat attracted but little the
attention of philosophers employed in the investigation of the
absorbing and radiating powers of different substances, even
when presented to their notice in anomalous facts, which could
not easily be explained on any other principle, it is not to be
wondered at, that the apparently far less appreciable influence
of colour on odours should have totally escaped notice. In
point of fact, I am not aware that the subject has hitherto been
investigated, and know of no recorded facts in which the in-
fluence of colour over odours has been pointed out. In at-
tempting to shew from experiment, that the colour of bodies in
imbibing odours is correlative with the power of colour over the
absorption and radiation of heat, I state a fact, which, though
new to science, is in admirable correspondence with the known
properties of light and heat. And though I may not be able,
from the nature of the substances subjected to experiment, ab-
solutely to determine the amount of this connexion, I trust my
imperfect investigations may form the basis of new and better
devised experiments, by directing the attention of men of science
to this hitherto untrodden field of inquiry.

Odour is that quality of bodies which is distinguished by the
sense of smell. This sense is nearly connected with that of taste ;
so much so, indeed, that they have sometimes been considered
as modifications of the same sensation. It has been remarked,
that what is agreeable to the olfactory organs, is in general a
• Wells on Dew, p. 106. Lond. 1814.

f2

84 Dr Stark on the Influence of Colour on Odours.

good index of what is pleasant to the taste, and fit for the pur-»
poses of nutrition. In the animal kingdom, and among many
of the Mammalia, it is the sense of smell that guides the still
blind young to the mother''s teat; and many of the beasts of
prey seem to be led to the haunts of the animals which form
their food, by intimations conveyed through their olfactory ap-
paratus. According to Scarpa, this sense, so acute in rapa-
cious birds, is very obtuse in the orders Gallince and Pas-
seres.* Reptiles possess the sense of smell; and it is said
that particular odours, such as that of rue {Ruta graveolens)
is disliked by serpents, and that the emanations from the
Aristohchia anguicida is even capable of killing the rattlesnake.
Perhaps the jugglers of Egypt and India may avail themselves
of such odours as enable them to handle with impunity the rep-
tiles which they display.

Odours also powerfully affect fishes, as is well known from
the different preparations of bait in use among anglers ; and
facts are stated, which indicate that the odours of substances in
many cases guide the insect races to their proper food. In the
vegetable kingdom, odours are sensible in the leaves, roots, and
particularly the flowers and seeds of many families ; and in the
mineral kingdom, many species are principally distinguished by
the odours they emit, when rubbed or breathed upon,— the heat
and moisture in this last case seeming to disengage the odorous
particles.

It may, therefore, be laid down as a general rule, though not
without some apparent exceptions, that every body in nature
possesses, in additiQU to its other distinctive qualities, an odour
or effluvium particularly its own.*f- In the animal kingdom, for
instance, not only has every species a characteristic smell, as the
horse, the ox, &c., but every individual may have an atmosphere
around it of emanations peculiar to that individual alone. In
the human race, not only is this the case, but even the differences
of age and sex are marked by peculiar odours. These emana-
tions may be produced or modified by food, occupation, climate,
the passions, personal cleanliness, or the reverse ; but it is not

• Osphre^siologie, ou Traitd des Odeurs, &c. Par Hippol. Cloquet, D. M.,
2d ed. Paris, 1821.

•| Haller, Elementa Physiologise, v. 154.

Dr Stark on the Influence of Colour on Odours. 85

the less true that they do exist.* It is by means of this special
odour, this individual atmosphere, that the dog follows the traces
of wild animals hours after they have passed ; and it is by this
that the same animal is enabled to iind the track of his master,
and to distinguish him at once among a thousand individuals.

Further, besides the odours or emanations of health, there
exist particular odours, characteristic of animal bodies in a state
of deranged action or disease. Thus in fever, small-pox, and
other eruptive diseases, a particular odour is exhaled from the
patient, typical of the affection ; and this, in many cases, is so
well marked, that the nature of the ailment may often be dis-
tinguished by the odour alone. The particular emanation which
arises in the ill-ventilated and often crowded apartments of the
poorer classes of society, and in prisons, is well known, when
concentrated, to be extremely dangerous ; and modifications of
this and similar effluvia, when more attention shall be directed
to the subject, may often afford the physician an indication of
lurking disease.

The remarkable diffusion of odorous particles through the
air, without the odorous body adding perceptible weight to the
medium by which it is communicated, was observed by the cele-
brated Mr Boyle. This philosopher had turned his attention
to odours, or effluviums^ as he has termed them, and made ex-
periments on certain odorous bodies, which are detailed in his
essay on " the strange subtilty of effluviums.*" This sagacious
experimenter, and almost the only writer on the subject previous
to Cloquet in 1815, treats the subject of effluviums under the
following heads : — " 1. The strange extensibility of some bodies
while their parts remain tangible. 2. The multitude of visible
corpuscles that may be afforded by a small portion of matter.
3. The smallness of the pores at which the effluvia of some bo-
dies will get in. 4. The small decrement of bulk or weight that

• " Les habitans du Quercy et du Rouergue se nourissent de froment,
d'oignons, d'ail, et boivent habituellement du vin. Ceux de la Haute-Au-
vergne ne vivent au contraire que de lait, de fromage, de seigle, de sarrasin,
et ne boivent que de Teau. Lorsque la saisou des moissons rassemble ces
peuples dans un meme canton, on distingue facilement les Quercinois et les
Rouergats k I'odeur fetide et ammoniacale qu'ils repandent autour d'eux,
tandis que celle des Auvergnats rappelle le pelit-lait aigri et tournant ^ la
putrefaction." — Osphresiologie^ p. 65.

86 Dr Stark on the Iivfluence of Colour on Odours.

a body may suffer by parting with a great store of effluvia
And, 5. The great quantity of space that may be filled, as to
sense, by a small quantity of matter, when rarified or dispersed.'"'
In illustration of these divisions of his subject, Mr Boyle in-
stances the extreme extensibility of gold ; and the expansion of
half a grain of gunpowder, which, when exploded, filled a space
500,000 times greater the powder. The dissolution of a grain
of copper in sal-ammoniac is still more surprising, communicat-
ing a tincture to 28,534 its weight of water ; a single grain gave
a blueness to above 256,806 pints of limpid water, and even a
perceptible colour to double that quantity.*

The results of these experiments with gold, gunpowder, and
the colouring matter of dissolved copper, seem to be stated for
the purpose of gaining credence as to the still more wonderful
dissemination of the particles of odorous bodies. As Mr Boyle's
experiments on odours or effluviums are, however, at the dis-
tance of nearly two hundred years, the only one which have been
made, I give the details in his own words : —

" Having, for curiosity sake, suspended in a pair of exact
scales, that would turn with a very small part of a grain, a piece of
ambergris bigger than a walnut, and weighing betwixt an hundred
and six score grains, I could not, in three days and ahalf thati had
opportunity to make the trial, discover, even upon that balance,
any decrement of weight in the ambergris, though so rich a per-
fume, lying in the open air, was like in that time to have parted
with good store of odoriferous steams. And a while after, sus-
pending a lump of assafcetida five days and a half, I found it
not to have sustained any discernible loss of weight, though, in
spite of the unfavourable cold weather, it had about it a neigh-
bouring atmosphere, replenished with fetid exhalations. And
when, twelve or fourteen hours after, perhaps upon some change
of weather, I came to look upon it, though I found that in that
time the equilibrium was somewhat altered, yet the whole lump
had not lost a quarter of a grain, which induced me to think
that there may be steams discernible even by our nostrils, that
are far more subtile than the odorous exhalations of spices them-
selves.*" -f-

• Boyle*8 Works, vol. iii. p. 661, 668. f Ibid. p. 672, 67:i.

Dr Stark on the Influence of' Colmir on Odours. 87

Keill, in his Introduction to Natural Philosophy, founding
upon these experiments of Mr Boyle, makes a calculation of the
number of odorous particles, which may thus be in a sphere of
five feet radius. He supposes that there is but one particle of
the odorous body in every part of that space, which part is equal
to the fourth of a cubic inch ; and though it is probable that
effluvia so rare would scarcely, if at all, affect the sense of smell,
yet upon this principle he calculates that in a sphere of the semi-
diameter of five feet there wilt be 57,839,616 such spaces, and
of course just so many odorous particles.*

In Mr Boyle's experiment with assafoetida, the mass exposed
to the air lost, in six days, the eighth part of a grain in weight ;
but since the flux of effluvia from an odoriferous body is conti-
nual, it is manifest it ought to be proportionate to the time ; and
therefore, in one minute'*s time, the weight of the effluvia flow-
ing from the assafoetida would be equal to ^gijo ^^ ^ grain, and
the magnitude of the particles equal tOj^gg^jjg^lo^cjjoooo
parts of a cubic inch.-|-

Haller,! for more than forty years, preserved 400 disserta-
tions, of forty pages each, which a single grain of ambergris had
perfumed, and at the end of that period they had lost nothing
of their odour. This learned physiologist has calculated that
each inch of the surface of the papers had been impregnated
with j^gi^V?oo?^ ^^ ^ grain. The surface of the paper was es-
timated at 8000 feet, and it lay in a bed of air at least one foot
thick for 14,600 days. Mr Boyle also mentions his having a
pair of Spanish perfumed gloves which preserved their odour
for nearly thirty years. §

Mr Boyle further remarks, in proof of the prodigious diffli-
sion of odorous effluvia through vast tracts of air, that a friend
of his sailing along the coast of Ceylon for almost a whole day,
at the distance of twenty or twenty-five miles, the wind blowing
from the shore, felt the air " manifestly odoriferous."* || Lord
Valentia, a late traveller, remarks of the same island, that at
nine leagues distance, the aromatic odour of the spices was dis-

• Keill's Introduction to Natural Philosophy, p. 48, 49. Lond. 1758.

t Ibid. p. 49, 60.

X Elementa Physiologiae, torn. v. p. 157. I^ausannse, 1769, 4to.

§ Boyle's Works, voL iii. p. 677- li Ibid. voL iii p. 677. .

88 Dr Stark on the Irtflumce of Colour on Odours.

tinctly felt. * Diodorus Siculus says something analogous of
the coast of Arabia ; and Bartholin states, that the odour of
rosemary was recognised forty miles from the coast of Spain. -j-

Certain odours, or odoriferous particles, it is well known,
combine with, or adhere in preference to, different bodies, and
the presence or absence of heat, light, moisture, &c. are known to
modify their action. Some odours are found to be more easily
retained by spirituous fluids ; other are attached by oils ; alcohol
is the best vehicle for balsamic substances ; and fat bodies absorb
best the odour of the LUiacece. Gloves and paper, as men-
tioned before, preserve for a long time the odour of ambergris ;
paper and cotton that of musk ; while wool is said to retain fetid
odours strongly. It is upon the knowledge of these facts that
the fabrication of essences, pommades, pastilles, &c. is founded ;
and it is by this means that the fragrance of spring and summer
is perpetuated through the winter months.

There is one quality in odours which requires to be particu-
larly mentioned, and that is, their capability of being acted upon
by moisture and heat. By whatever means this is accomplished,
whether by setting free or dissolving the latent odorous par-
ticles, or by merely increasing their intensity of action, the fact
is certain, and matter of ordinary observation. Every one must
have perceived the increased intensity of odorous emanations
in a garden or field after a summer's shower ; and the almost
insupportable fetid exhalations which arise from stagnant water
in ditches in the same circumstances, is equally well known.
The emanations from ditches, indeed, show the existence of mois-
ture in the atmosphere before rain, and afford the husbandman
an indication of the coming shower.

It is not my object here to enter into details concerning the
nature of the different odours, their classification, or particular
effects. Linnaeus has classed vegetable odours in seven sections^ ;
Fourcroy has divided them into five genera § ; Haller attempted
to class them in two divisions, as they were agreeable or the re-
verse; and others have classed odours, as they were produced

• Lord "Valentia*8 Travels. t Osphresiologie, p. 51.

X Amen. Acad. torn. iii. p. 195.

§ Annales de Cliimie, torn. xxvi. p. 232,

Dr Stark o?i the Influence of Colour on Odours. 89

from the animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdom. My aim is
only to show, that odours, like heat and dew, are influenced by
colour, and that the same laws which regulate the absorption
and radiation of heat and light, may be apphed with equal pro*
priety to the imbibition and emission of odorous particles.

My first experiments on odours, made some years ago, were
with articles submitted to the action of odorous substances, by
being inclosed with them in drawers or boxes for a certain pe-
riod, and the amount of attraction ascertained by the intensity
of smell. In all these experiments, however, reliance had to be
placed upon one sense alone, viz. that of smell, as none of the
substances employed had gained any appreciable weight. I was
therefore desirous that, if possible, at least one experiment should
be devised, which would show, by actual increase of weight, that
one colour invariably attracted more of any odorous substance
than another ; and upon considering the various odorous sub-
stances which could beeasily volatilized without change, and whose
odour was inseparable from the substance, I fixed upon camphor
as the one best suited to my purpose. In an experiment of
this nature, it was necessary that the camphor should be vola-
tilized or converted into vapour, and that the coloured substance
should be so placed as to come in contact with the camphor
while in that state. It was therefore of the first importance to
prevent currents of air within the vessel in which the experiment
was conducted, and with this view I used a funnel-shaped vessel
of tin-plate, open at top and bottom. This rested on a plate of
sheet iron, in the centre of which the camphor to be volatilized
was placed. The coloured substances, after being accurately
weighed, were then supported on a bent wire, and introduced
through the upper aperture. This was then covered over with
a plate of glass. Heat was now applied gently to volatilize the
camphor ; and when the heat was withdrawn, and the apparatus
cool, the coloured substances were again accurately weighed, and
the difference in weight noted down.

Proceeding on this plan, I arrived at the most satisfactory
and conclusive results. The deposition of the camphor in va-
rious proportions on the coloured substances submitted to expe-
riment, offered evidence of the particular attraction of colour
for odours, resting on ocular demonstration ; and when to this

90 Dr Stark on the Influence of Colour on Odours.

is added a positive increase of weight as ascertained by the ba-
lance, the conclusions previously drawn from the sense of smell
are confirmed in a singular and very satisfactory manner. I
have in this mode repeated all the former experiments with dif-
ferently coloured substances ; but shall here only detail a few, as
sufficient to show the general results : —

1. I took ten grains of white and the same quantity of black
wool, and having suspended them in the manner stated, vaporiz-
ed the camphor. When the apparatus cooled, I found, on weigh-
ing the wool, that the white had gained l/^ grains in weight, and
the black 1 ^^^ grains.

2. In a similar experiment, but using three colours of wool,
white, red, and black, I found the white wool had gained ^% of
a grain ; the red j% ; and the black l/g grains.

3. In another, where the heat was applied for about ten se-
conds, the white had gained no appreciable weight, and but little
smell ; the red had gained ^\ of a grain ; while the black had
acquired /^ of a grain.

4. In an experiment with black, red, green, and xvhite^ the re-
sults were: —

Black gained in weight f^ of a grain.
Green .... ^-^

To

Red ,\

White t'5

5. In an experiment with blacli, blue, green, red, and white,
10 grains of each, the result stood thus : —

Black gained in weight Ij^ of a grain.

Dark Blue . . . . \^^

Scarlet Red .... 1

Dark Green .... 1

White 0/5

In repeating this experiment the dark green was /j, while
the red was only -^^ ; the others in the order as before.

I now varied the experiment by employing square pieces of
card of equal size, coloured with different preparations of lead.
This was done with the view of ascertaining whether smooth
surfaces of equal density, and coloured as nearly as possible with
a pigment of the same nature, would absorb odorous particles
with the same facihty as loose portions of wool. The colours

Dr Stark on the Injlumct of Colour on Odours. 91

were mixed up with a solution of gum-arabic, and laid on the
cards as equally as possible with a camelhair pencil.

6. Pieces of card of equal size being coloured as mentioned
with various preparations of lead, viz. red, brown, yellow, and
white, and previously weighed, were exposed to the vapour of
camphor in the vessel before described. After exposure for some
time, and when cool, it appeared on weighing, that the

Red had gained 1 grain in weight.

Brown . . ^% of* a grain.

Yellow . . y's

White . . a trace.

The whole of the upper surfaces of the red, brown, and yellow
cards were covered with a fine light downy deposit of camphor.
The white had an extremely fine deposit on its surface, but inap-
preciable by a very fine balance.

7. Another experiment with cards coloured black, red, brown,
yellow, and white, exposed to the vapour of camphor, gave the
following results :

Black had
Red
Brown .

gained

1 grain,
/g of a grain.

Yellow .

.

A

White .

.

i%

8. In a similar experiment with cards coloured black, dark-
blue, dark-brown, orange-red, and white, the attractive powers
were as follow :

of a grain.

Black gained .

. A

Dark Blue .

. 1%

Dark Brown .

. A

Orange Red .

. 1%

White . .

• ^

In all these experiments, it was invariably found that the
black attracted most, the blue next ; then followed the green and
red ; after these the yellow and white. The heat was never con-
tinued so long as to warm the apparatus, else the whole cam-
phor would have been driven oflP*. Neither was such a quantity
of camphor used as would have given a thick coating to the
substances employed, as then the attraction of the coloured
surfaces might have been diminished.

92 Dr Stark on the Influence of Colour on Odours.

1. The next set of experiments were intended to ascertain
the comparative attraction of animal and vegetable substances.
The first of these was upon equal weights of black wool and
black silk, ten grains of each exposed to the vapour of camphor
in the manner already stated. The black wool gained 1 /^ grains,
the black silk 1^^ grains. From this experiment, it would ap-
pear, that of these two animal substances, silk possesses the
greater attraction for odours.

2. In equal weights of white wool and white cotton, the cotton
gained ,-« of a grain ; the wool ^^.

3. In another experiment with white silk, white wool, and
white cotton, ten grains of each, the result was,

Silk had gained 3/g grains in weight.
Wool .... 2/g
Cotton .... 2^%

4. In a similar experiment, with the usual weights of the
same articles,

Silk had gained I y*o grains in weight.
Wool . . . . T o <jf a grain.
Cotton . . . . j%

5. Another experiment, in which black silk, black wool, and
black cotton, were exposed in equal quantities of the usual
weight to the vapour of camphor, as before described, gave this

result.

Black silk gained j2_ of a grain.

Black wool • • I'o

Black cotton . . ^'^

6. In an experiment with white silk, white wool, white cottmi,
and white card, each weighing ten grains, and exhibited as be-
fore, the following were the results :

White silk had gained 1 /jj grains in weight.

White wool ... 1 ,^'5

White cotton ... 1

White card ... jS of a grain

These last experiments tend to shew, that different substances
attract odours in different proportions, and this independent

Dr Stark on the Influence of Colour on Odours. 93

of the texture or fineness of the substance employed. Wool,
though generally coarser in the fibre than cotton, has yet a
greater attraction for odours ; and silk more than wool. The
general conclusion would appear to be, that animal substances
have a greater attraction for odours than vegetable matters;
and that all these have their power much increased by their
greater darkness or intensity of colour. These experiments
seem also to establish, that the absorption of odours by coloured
substances is regulated by the same law which governs the ab-
sorption of light and heat. The analogy goes still farther, for in
other experiments which I made with a view to ascertain this
point, I invariably found, that the power of colour in radiating
or giving out odours, was in strict relation to the radiation of
heat in the same circumstances. My first experiments in this
branch were with differently coloured wools, inclosed for a cer-
tain time in a drawer along with assafoetida and camphor, and
afterwards exposed for a specific period to the action of the air.
Though one can easily judge by the sense of smell alone the
different intensities which these articles have acquired imme-
diately on being taken out of the drawer, yet, after exposure
for some time to the air, the difference of intensity is much
more difficult to be perceived. In general, it seemed to me that
the whole of the substances lost their sensible odour in nearly the
same space of time, though the odorous particles given out by
the black were, of course, much greater in quantity than in the
others. To demonstrate this, I took pieces of card, coloured
as before, black ^ dark blue, brown, orange-red, and white, and,
after having exposed them to the vapour of camphor, in the
usual manner, they were taken out of the vessel, weighed, and
exposed in the apartment for twenty-four hours. Upon care-
fully weighing the cards at the end of this period, it was found
that the black had lost one grain ; the blue nearly as much ; the
brown ^^ of a grain ; the red j^ ; and the white yo- In about
six hours afterwards, the black and blue had completely lost
their camphor ; the brown and 7'ed had the merest trace, inap-
preciable by a delicate balance ; while the white still retained
about 5^5 of a grain.

In another experiment with cards coloured dark blue, dark

94 Dr Stark on the Influence of Colour mi Odours.

brown^ orange red, yellow^ and white, they had gained in weight,
after exposure to the vapour of camphor.

Dark blue

^5 of a grain.

Dark brown

• ^

Orange-red

. /.

Yellow

. . A

White

.

After lying in the apartment for twenty-four hours, the cards
were again carefully weighed, when the camphor remaining was
found to be, in the

Dark blue

gijofagrain

Dark brown

. I's

Orange-red

. ^

Yellow .

• t's

White

• t'o

Hence in the same space of time the loss in each was blue ^ ;
brown li; red ^l ; yellow ^l ; white -^

The influence of coloured surfaces upon the absorption and
emission of odours, having, I trust, been satisfactorily shewn, it
only remains to state shortly some of the practical conclusions
which may be drawn from the experiments detailed.

If it be thus certain that odorous emanations have not only
a particular affinity for different substances, but that the colour
of these substances materially affects their absorbing or radiating
quality, the knowledge of these facts may afford useful hints
for the preservation of the general health during the prevalence
of contagious diseases. From their minute division and vast
range of action, latent poisonous exhalations or effluvia, inap-
preciable by the balance, may no doubt exist to a dangerous
extent, without being evident to the sense of smell. But in most
cases it will be found, that, when contagious diseases prevail to
such extent, the emanations from the sick will, if attended to, give
the surest indications of the contamination of the surrounding
air. Besides, even if we allow that infectious emanations have no
necessary connexion with odours, the preceding experiments will
aflPord the strongest possible presumption, that the emanations
of an infectious nature, in common with odours, vapours, and

Dr Stark on the Influence of Colour on Odours. 95

emanations generally, are emitted on the one hand, and on the
'.i\\ev received, according to the same general laws.

Experience has sufficiently proved, that emanations once ge-
/ierated in, or communicated to, the human body, may be con-
veyed from one individual to another, and even, through the
medium of clothing or merchandize, from one place to another.
This has been particularly observed in plague ; and hence in
countries where this disease is liable to occur or be imported,
the institution of quarantine establishments, to prevent personal
intercourse or the dispersion of goods, till a certain number
of days have elapsed, during which the disease, if existing,
should appear ; — articles of merchandize and clothing being at
the same time purified by exposure to the air, or fumigated.
Though this transport of disease has been more particularly ob-
served in plague, yet instances of the same nature have occurred
in other diseases, more particularly small-pox, and more re-
cently it has by many been supposed in cholera.

It is unnecessary to detail the means of purifying infected
goods, or fumigating the apartments of those who have been
known or suspected to labour under diseases supposed to be
communicated by contagious effluvia. It is sufficient to state,
that exposure to a high temperature, fumigation with chlorine
and sulphur, and free exposure to the air, are found amply suf-
ficient for the first ; and apartments are more generally recom-
mended to be purified with chlorine, and washed with caustic
hme. As to fumigations with chlorine, it cannot be denied that
this will destroy the effluvium floating in the air exposed to its
action ; but unless this fumigation be frequently repeated, it can
have but little effect, as the walls and furniture will be con-
stantly contaminating the air, by giving out the deleterious par-
ticles which they had previously absorbed. Lime washing has
generally been supposed to act in the same manner as fumiga-
tions, viz. by destroying the contagious emanations ; but from
the experiments of Guy ton Morveau, it would seem that caustic
lime, and indeed lime in any state, has no such effect. It merely
absorbs the gases which disguise the odour, but neither changes
its deleterious properties nor alters its real smell. He, therefore,
disregards lime-washing, except as a general mode of cleaning
walls, and attributes no other beneficial effect to it than as con-
tributing to cleanliness.

96 Dr Stark on the Influence of Colour on Odours.

The result of my investigations has led me to form a very
different opinion. It is to white-washing that I should attri-
bute much of the good effects that have been found to follow
the purifying means generally employed. In such cases I
should trust more to whitewashing the walls, personal cleanli-
ness, and free ventilation, for destroying or diminishing the
effects of supposed pestilential or hurtful effluvia, than any other
measures. Acid and other fumigations, except chlorine, only
disguise, but do not destroy, the property of animal effluvia to
produce disease.

In the late epidemic cholera here, it is well known that this
disease broke out in the village of the Water-of-Leith, situate
a little to the north-west of Edinburgh, and lying on both sides
of the stream of that name. Many of the inhabitants were
seized with the disease, and fell victims to its severity. If a
damp and low situation, with accumulated filth of all kinds,
render disease more fatal, this was certainly a place likely to
suffer severely, and at first it did so. But the Board of Health,
with that promptitude for which they were distinguished, quickly
got all the filth, so far as practicable, removed, the houses fumi-
gated, and the walls white-washed outside and inside. By these
means the disease seemed at once to be arrested, its virulence
was much abated, and it gradually declined. The fumigations
in this case could only act upon the deleterious emanations in
the air at the time ; but unless constantly renewed, could not
affect the fresh emanations generated from those labouring un-
der the disease. The necessary ventilation must also have
speedily carried off the chlorine. In white-washing, on the
other hand, although it had no specific influence upon the
contagious effluvium, yet, by constantly presenting a reflecting
surface, prevented the absorption of the emanations by the
walls, and thus tended with moderate ventilation to keep the
air of the apartment pure. Dirty-coloured walls, on the con-
trary, would readily, as has been demonstrated, absorb the
noxious odours, and as soon as the eflect of the fumigation
was over, gradually give them out again.

The good effects of white-washing appeared strikingly in
another instance at this particular time ; for I venture to assert,
that if human means had any influence on tlr's disease, Edin-

Dr Stark on the Influence of Colour an Odours. 97
burgh owes much of the mildness of its attack to the white-
washing of its steep and narrow lanes and closes, the walls of the
common-stairs, and most of the hovels inhabited by the lowest
classes of the community, — not to the partial fumigations and
sprinklings with chloride of lime, which the first breath of wind
carried off. The white-wasliing of the walls prevented them
from absorbing the deleterious emanations, and the currents of air
were thus enabled to sweep them away, before they had accumu-
lated to such a degree as to become an active source of disease.

Next, therefore, to keeping the walls of hospitals, prisons, or
apartments occupied by a number of individuals, of a white
colour, I should suggest that the bedsteads, tables, seats, &c.
should be painted white, and that the dresses of the nurses and
hospital attendants should be of a light colour. A regulation
of this kind would possess the double advantage of enabhng
cleanliness to be enforced, at the same time that it presented
the least absorbent surface to the emanations of disease.

On the same principle it would appear that physicians and
others by dressing in blacky have unluckily chosen the colour of
all others most absorbent of odorous and other exhalations, and
of course the most dangerous to themselves and patients. Facts
have been mentioned which make it next to certain, that con-
tagious diseases may be communicated to a third person through
the medium of one who has been exposed to contagion, but
himself not affected * ; and in fact the circumstance of infec-
tious effluvia being capable of being carried by medical men
from one patient to another, I should conceive one of the means
by which such diseases are propagated in the ill-ventilated and
dirty habitations of the poor exposed to their influence.

Even in my own very limited experience, I think I have ob-
served some melancholy instances of the effect of black dress in
absorbing the hurtful emanations of fever patients in a pubHc
hospital ; and many facts are incidentally noticed by medical
writers and referred to other causes, which I should not hesitate
to ascribe chiefly to exposure of this nature. Not to mention
individual cases, in the Sessions held at Oxford in July 1577,
" there arose amidst the people such a damp that almost all

• See Treatise on the Epidemic Puerperal Fever of Aberdeen, by Alex-
ander Gordon, M. D. liOnd. 1 796, p. 63-4.

VOf.. XVII. NO. XXXIII. JULY 1834. G

98 Dr Stark on the Influence of Colour ofi Odours.

were smothered.*" Lord Bacon attributes this effect to the
smell of the jail, where the prisoners had been close and nastily
kept ; and mentions it having occurred twice or thrice in his
time, " when both the judges that sat upon jail, and'numbers
of those who attended the business, or were present, sickened
and died." * A similar occurrence related by Sir John Pringle,
happened at the Old Bailey sessions in 1750, when four of the
judges were attacked and died, together with two others of the
counsel, one of the under sheriffs, several of the jury and others,
to the amount of about forty in the whole. My explanation of
the peculiar fatality of these emanations to the judges, counsel,
and jurors, was the peculiar attraction of their official black for
the putrid effluvium, as Sir John calls it ; and the escape of two
of the judges who sat on one side of the Lord Mayor, to the
current of air that was in the room not sending the baneful
odours in their direction.

On finding the Dew-Point, S^cjrom the Cold induced hy the
Evaporation of Water, By H. Meikle, Esq. Commu-
nicated by the Author.

I WAS happy to see this interesting subject taken up, and so
much forwarded, in this Journal for September last. The for-
mula and table there given for obtaining the dew-point from
the temperature of the air and depression of the moist thermo-
meter, agree so well with observation, so far as the comparison
has been made, that they appear to be by far the most accurate
that have yet been given for the purpose ; but it is much to be
wished that observations were furnished for verifying them, for
temperatures above 92° and below h^"", the limits of the range
compared. A perusal of that article, and of the observations or
experiments adduced in it, led me to revise and compare with
them a scheme, which had occurred to me about seven years
ago, for obtaining the dew-point from the same data, by merely
laying a ruler across certain lines or curves delineated on a
plane. From some rude sketches which I had then made, it
appeared that this object could be effected by means of straight
lines together with curves, which very much resembled hyper-
bolas ; but I had not then ascertained that the common or conic
• Priijgle's Observations on Diseases of the Army, p. 296.

Mr Mcikle onjindinff the Derv-Po'mt, ^c. 99

hyperbolas would answer so well for the purpose as I shall now
shew they do.

In this scheme, of which I shall at present only give an out-
line on a small scale, the Fahrenheit temperature is estimated
nearly in the same way as latitude is reckoned from the equator ;
that is, by the perpendicular distance from a straight line ZO
parallel to AG, the transverse axis of the two hyperbolas PAZ,
EGO. Thus the distance of a point P, in the hyperbola PAZ,
from ZO, which is at the zero of the scale, denotes the tempera-
ture of the air; while the distance of a point D, in the asymp-
tote CD, from the same line ZO, represents the temperature of
the moist thermometer ; and if a straight line, representing the
ruler above mentioned, be applied to P and D, so as to cut the
hyperbola EGO in any point E, the distance of E from ZO de-
notes the temperature of deposition, or the dew-point.

Through D draw DH parallel to AG, and upon DH let fall
the perpendiculars PH, CF, EI ; produce CA and PH to meet
in N. Through the centre C draw Cp parallel to DP, and
meeting the hyperbola AP in ^ ; on CN let fall the perpendicu-
lar pn. Then it is a known property of the hyperbola, that the
semidiameter Cp is a mean proportional between the segments
PD and DE ; and, therefore, because the three triangles PHD,
DIE, pnC, are obviously similar, pn is a mean proportional be-
tween PH and EI. By means of these properties we may find an
expression for EI in terms of PH, and other known or constant
quantities. It is evident that PH represents the depression of the
wet thermometer below the temperature of the air, and that EI
denotes the farther depression of the dew-point below that again.

Put a = AC the semitrans verse axis, and
b for the seraiconjugate ; then, from the

A'
known properties of ^the curve, PN* = —

(CN' — o2), and CN' = ^ PN« -I- a»; also DF

=^ ICF and DH = DF + CN = ^ CF +
6 0

n/

^ PN' + a«. Again, pn'

n

b^

5(Cn«-«t),

and Cn' = ^ j- x pn'^ + «* ; «nd because the
triangles PHD, pnC, are similar, we have

100 Mr H. Meikle onjinding the Dezv-Point, S^c,

D-v^--0^ t

and therefore pn^ = , ^ ^

[CF + */PN» + b^Y — PH«

Hence, because pw, as already mentioned, is a mean propor-
tional between EI and PH, we have

EI - ^' = ^^PH

PH [CF + VPN2 + 62P — PH2.

• Since a has entirely disappeared, this result is independent of
the value of the transverse axis, which may therefore be taken
of any magnitude most convenient ; but, in order to apply this
general expression, we must first, supposing EI to be known,
find, by means of the same equation, the value of 6', which,
after going through the necessary steps and reductions, will be
4PH XEI XCF _ /, CF

PH_EI

/ CF \

^ V "*'PH — EI/.

From examining the large Table, page 284 of this Journal
for September last, it appears that when t\ the temperature of
the wet thermometer, is 54° F, it is always nearly the arithme-
tical mean between t the temperature of the air, and f the dew-
point. ,Now, when the straight line or ruler PE, in the graphic
scheme, passes through the centre C of the hyperbolas, we have
always PH — EI, or f equal the arithmetical mean between t
and f. Hence, the transverse axis cuts this scheme in about
the 54° of Fahrenheit; and therefore CFrrjJ' — 54°; PN^
< — 54°. Also, when t = 56% and f z= 45°, we find f = 26° in
the Table; and consequently CF=r9; EI = 19 ; PH=rll,
which values being substituted for these quantities respectively
• in the general expression for 5^, it becomes

and b = 44°.7. Again, when t = 92°, and f = 70°, we find

f = 6l°-2in the Table;

--. ,, 4x22x8.8x16 /, . 16 \ „^^^ ^
Hence b^ = ^^ x (l + -^3^) = 2076.5,

and 6=45°.57. It thus appears, that the extremes of the
range, as yet compared with observation, would nearly agree in
making 6 = 45°; so that the conjugate axis corresponds to an

from the Cold induced by tJie Evaporation of Water. 101

interval of about 90° on Fahrenheit's scale. Putting, therefore,
PH = / — ^' = D, we get

[^'-_64 + >n/(^-64)«+2025]' — I> *

So far as the Table has been compared with observation,
this expression keeps very close to it ; and even in its extreme
case, where ^ =r 110°, and D = 34°, this formula makes the
dew-point 66°. 9, which is just 1° higher than in the Table.
At low temperatures, the difference is greater, though only on
greater values of EI ; but, in such cases, it would require expe^
riments to decide how far any of them may be right *. But,
independently of its use for comparing the two methods, this
formula, since it does not require the aid of any Tables of the
force, &c. of steam, will, (where it is wished to use a formula),
be found a convenient one for directly computing the dew-
point ; and will be still more easy, if, in place of the difference
of the squares in the denominator, we use the equivalent pro-
duct of the sum and difference of the quantities without squar-
ing. A similar formula, as also a similar diagram, would give
the temperature at which vapour of the same density as that in
the air would be at its maximum density, or in a state of satu-
ration ; but a method of obtaining both that and the dew-point
from one diagram or plate will be noticed presently.

Several of the lines in the diagram being only for illustrating
the foregoing investigation, would fall to be omitted altogether
on a large scale. But to render the project more complete, the
space between the two hyperbolas should be occupied by lines
parallel to AG ; and at the distance of a degree one from another,
or each marking a degree of temperature. Close to the right
side of the hyperbola EO, a set of divisions might be put, to

• Although it were turning out, from more extensive observations, that
the hyperbolas would not exactly answer for all temperatures, yet, from their
answering so well, as we have just seen they do, throughout the range compared
with observation, there seems little reason to fear, that no curves whatever
would suit, or even that the proper curves would differ much from hyperbo-
las. The effect could no doubt be considerably modified, by using two hy-
perbolas not exactly equal ; as also, by shifting a little the position of the
straight line CD, and of the parallel marked 54°, &c., and perhaps by slightly
curving these lines. But it will be soon enough to have recourse to any such
ex])edtent8 when they may be seen to be necessary.

102 Mr H. Meikle on finding the Dezv-Point,

note the force of vapour at the respective temperatures, and al-.
most close on the right of that, again, might be placed another
curve pretty similar to the hyperbola, and nearly equidistant
from it, for the purpose of the ruler marking on it the tempera-
ture to which, if the air were cooled without any diminution of
volume, it would be just in a state of saturation with moisture.
Or, if close on the right side of this new curve, a set of divisions
were put, to note at once the density of vapour at the respective
temperatures, the labour of finding the actual density, or weight
of vapour in the air, would be still farther abridged, or almost
avoided. On the left of the other hyperbola PZ, and as it were
parallel to it, several curves might be placed, and the more dis-
stant, respectively from it, as the barometric pressure was smaller.
These are meant to be used in place of PZ, when the pressure
falls short of 30 inches. When it exceeds 30, there is scarcely
any need for correction for pressure ; but that, too, could easily
be provided for by a similar curve on the other side of PZ.

Were this project realized, that is, if, by merely laying a ruler
across a plate, in the manner above mentioned, the force, den-
sity, &c. of the vapour in the air, could be indicated at once,
and without computation, it would obviously be the most con-
venient method yet employed for the purpose, and would su-
persede the use of troublesome and expensive instruments for di-
rectly observing the dew-point — often with a considerable de-
gree of indistinctness and uncertainty.

The ingenious author of the article above quoted, holds some
opinions which differ materially from my own. I cannot, for
instance, conceive how the wet bulb could continue to furnish any
heat for the formation of vapour, after the process has fairly com-
menced. When the instrument is first exposed to the drying
influence of the air, evaporation takes place, and lowers the tem-
perature of the bulb, by abstracting heat from it for the forma-
tion of vapour ; but a limit is soon set to the fall of temperature
by the warmer air, which, in successively touching the wet and
colder surface, bears a share of the loss of heat, or, in other
words, imparts heat by contact to the colder bulb, and also, no
doubt, by the warmer surrounding bodies throwing in a very
little heat upon it by radiation. The heat thus imparted and
thrown in, is, next to all that I can think of, as being s})ent in

from the Cold induced by the Evaporation of Water. 103

the formation of vapour. It might indeed be supposed, that
the stem of the thermometer should convey a little heat to the
bulb ; but this being of glass, is a very bad conductor, and any
heat which it supplies must be quite inappreciable, as it makes
no sensible difference whether we apply a wet covering to the
bulb alone, or continue it along a part of the stem. To me, at
least, it is as difficult to comprehend how the same piece of coal
could continue to burn for an indefinite period, as that the wet
bulb could continue to furnish any heat which it does not receive
from other bodies. But Dr Anderson certainly carries this idea
to perfection, in supposing the wet bulb alone to furnish, that
is, to create all the heat expended on the formation of vapour.

Without pretending to give a complete theory of the rate at
which thp depression varies in air of different densities, it does
not seem so very difficult as the other gentleman supposes, to
explain why the depression should be greater as the air is more
attenuated. When air is dilated, its capacity for heat, or the
absolute heat which a given mass of it can contain at a particu-
lar temperature, is no doubt increased ; but I am rather at a
loss to see what concern this has with the question. It is sure-
ly not the total or absolute heat of a given mass, but rather the
specific heat of a given volume, or the heat which that volume
of air can give out in being cooled through a small range that
is to be imparted to the bulb, and spent in saturating the same,
or an equal volume, with vapour*. Now, although the rarer
the air is, the fewer of its particles will touch the cold surface,

• Nothing is known, or likely ever to be known, of the total or absolute
quantity of heat contained in any body, or of the ratio which the absolute
heat of one body bears to that of another ; yet many chemical writers take it
for granted that both are perfectly ascertained, as also that the specific heat is
exactly proportional to the absolute heat, and that the former is the same at
every temperature. Of the fallacy of such assumptions we have abundant
evidence in the many examples which Mr Dalton has collected of the ridi-
culously different positions which computations founded on them give to the
absolute zero. In one case, however, a notable exception is made with re-
spect to the ratio between the absolute and specific heats : the absolute heat
of steam is obviously greater than that of water, and yet the specific heat of
the former, notwithstanding its vastly greater volume, is only reckoned about
a fourth of that of the latter ; which affords a strong presumption that en-
largement of volume does not increase the specific heat, however much it may
enlarge the capacity for the absolute.

104 Mr H. Meikle onjinding the T)ew^Puint, ^c.

yet a cubic inch of rare air is, ccet. par. just as capable of con-
taining vapour as an inch of it ever so dense. Hence, if neither
more nor less air be cooled down by its touching the wet ball
than is to be saturated with vapour, it should follow, that when
one cubic inch of air has only half the density of another, and
consequently only half the specific heat *, it must be cooled
down twice as far to give out heat sufficient to form as much va-
pour ; and therefore the depression, if affected by no other cir-
cumstance, should vary inversely as the density or barometric
pressure.

Such I presume to be what chiefly regulates the depression
in air of different densities, supposing the temperature of the
moist bulb constant ; but, to render the explanation a little more
complete, some reason should be given, why, in comparing cases
in which the temperature of the air is the same, the depression
should increase so much more slowly than the reciprocal of the
pressure, as we shall afterwards see from observation it does. It
is obvious that the greater the depression or excess of the tem-
perature of surrounding bodies over that of the wet bulb, the
greater propensity will these bodies have to radiate or throw in
heat upon it ; and, consequently, the greater will be the supply
of heat from radiation. At first sight, this might be supposed
to afford the reason of which we are in quest ; but evaporation,
as is well known, goes on more quickly in rarer air, which im-
plies a corresponding acceleration in the circulation of that air
over ihe evaporating surface ; and this acceleration again, which
no doubt is owing to the greater difference of temperature, and
increased force of evaporation, implies a correspondingly more
rapid influx of heat from the greater volume of air which, in a
given time, passes close over the cold moist bulb; for, as was
already noticed, the greater difference of temperature makes up

• In this Journal for September 1 82C, page 339, in the Annals of Philoso-
phy for November 1826, p. 368, and in Brande's Journal of Science for March
1829, page 65, it is shewn necessarily to follow from admitted data, that the
specific heat of a given mass of air, under a constant pressure, is the same
whether that pressure be great or small. The proof of this is the more satis-
factory, as it neither depends upon a particular scale of temperature, nor re-
quires the true scale to be previously known. Hence, at the same tempera-
ture, the specific heat of a cubic inch of air under a constant pressure, is as
its density. The same thing has been more recently advanced, and as quite
new too, by MM. De la Rive and Marcet.

from the Cold induced by the Evaporation of' Water. 105

for the smaller specific heat of rarer air. Hence radiation, be-
ing unaided by mere circulation, probably furnishes almost as
small a proportion of heat to the wet bulb, in rare air as in
dense *, compared with what the air' imparts to it by contact ;
so that there is little reason to think that radiation makes any
material alteration on the rate of the depression -|*.

Since, then, something farther seems necessary to explain why,
in comparing cases in which the temperature of the air is the
same, the depression should increase in a slower ratio than the
reciprocal of tire pressure. It occurs to me, that it is principally
owing to the following, which, as seems conform to observation,
would cease to have that effect on the comparison of cases where
the temperature, not of the air, but of the moist bulb, is the
same, namely, the smaller capacity which a given volume of air
is known to have for moisture, at a lower temperature : so that
less heat must be expended in forming vapour sufficient to satu-
rate that volume at a lower temperature, and therefore a less
cooling of the air, or a depression less than in the ratio of the
reciprocal of the pressure will suffice for furnishing that heat;
especially if, as is extremely probable, the specific heat of air is
greater at a lower temperature than a higher. For if a given
mass of air, under a constant pressure, expand in geometrical
progression, for equal increments of heat, the increments or de-
crements of heat for the degrees of Fahrenheit, and which are
usually called the specific heats, will be. inversely as their re-
spective distances from — 448° ; but when the volume and pres-
sure are given with a variable mass, the increment, decrement,
or specific heat for one degree of Fahrenheit will be inversely as
the square of the distance of that degree from — 448°, viz. in
the ratio compounded of the value of a degree of Fahrenheit,
and the density of the air under a given pressure, each of which
varies inversely as the temperature reckoned from — 448°.

Our views likewise differ a little respecting the correction for

• From the experiments of Dulong and Petit, it appears that the quan-
tity of heat propagated by radiation, is, cceteris paribus, independent of the
presence, density, or movements of any gaseous medium ; such being, of
course, free from opaque or gross particles floating in it.

f That any heat supplied by radiation to the moist bulb, must, in ordi-
nary cases, be very inconsiderable, appears from the dei)ression being so little
diflerent in the wind and in the calm.

IOC Mr H. Meikle on finding the Dew-pointy <^c,

B, the barometric pressure. In this Journal for December 1826,
I had proposed to multiply D, the depression of the wet ther-

mometer, by — ^ — ; from observing that, when the tempera-
ture of the air was constant, this reduced the different depres-
sions to one value, or made them likewise as if constant; and

therefore it was obvious that, by making t z=it —^ D, the

several cases became the same as if the pressure too had been
constant. There can be Httle doubt that this was nearly cor-
rect, for the particular series of experiments from which it wa.*
deduced, though perhaps for it alone, rather than cases in which
the air is more humid. But when we alter the value of ^, the
whole concern is unhinged, not one of the quantities continues
constant throughout that series of experiments, and we have no

evidence that the multiplier — ~^ is at all near the truth.

That gentleman's view of the matter, I readily grant, would
have been quite correct with respect to that series, had it been
the temperature of the moist bulb, and not of the air, that was
constant ; but then a much greater correction would have been
required, as 1 find the following experiments, where t is con-
stant, would give ^ "*" ^ for the multiplier.

B t

30 46M

10 59 .9

It is farther to be observed, that the actual temperature of
the air is much higher in the second of these cases than in the
first ; and it appears from Professor DanielPs experiments, that
when two equal vessels, the one containing water and the other
sulphuric acid, were put under a receiver on the plate of an air-
pump, at the temperature of 52°.3, the dew-point was 35°. 7, but
when the temperature was 60°. 7, the dew-point was no lower
than 48°.4 *. Hence there is reason to suspect, that the air at

• Meteorological Essays^ 2d edit. p. 498. There were seven experiments
of each sort, of which I have taken the mean ; and, in seeking for the mode
in which the dew-point varies with the temperature in the given circum-
stances, I find that the evaporating force (as Mr Dalton would call it, though
perhaps he would only name it so in air of the ordinary density), is the same

H

D.

35°. 1

11°

35. 1

24.8

from ilie Cold induced by the Evaporatmi of' Water. 107

the temperature of 59° 9» contained more moisture than at 46°.l ;
and that, had it contained as little, the depression would have
exceeded 24°.8. This renders it probable, that the proper

T>

multiplier should nearly equal 3q"» or follow the ratio of the den-
sity or pressure, agreeably to what we deduced above from theo-
retical considerations. In adopting this multiplier, I would of
course follow the author of the article in this Journal for Sep-
tember last, in applying the correction to the temperature of the
air, and not lo that of the moist bulb. But the result so ob-
tained would still differ widely from that of Dr Anderson, who,
though he uses the same multiplier, yet in effect applies the cor-
rection to the temperature of the moist bulb, and not to that of
the air, which generally renders the correction too great, and
often considerably so.

Professor Daniel has also given a series of experiments on the
rate at which the depression of a wet thermometer varies in air
of different densities, [Essays, 2d edit. p. 499). But, in these,
the wet bulb was evidently not so fully exposed to the drying
influence of the sulphuric acid as in my experiments ; because
the Professor not only kept a vessel with water under the receiver,
but placed it directly between the wet bulb and the acid. His
depressions are therefore much smaller than mine; and they
likewise increase at a slower rate, though perhaps both might
have observed more nearly the same rate had the temperature
of the moist bulb been constant *.

On another point still we differ. In this Journal for September,

in both cases ; that is, the excess of the maximum force of vapour for 60°.7,
over that for 48^4, equals the excess of the maximum force for 52^.3, over
that for 35°.7. This, however, can scarcely be the law of nature; for, if the
temperature of the air were lower than 31°, the force of vapour at the dew-
point would need to be negative, which looks rather paradoxical. The air
was exhausted, through every different pressure, to '15 inch, but the dew-
point may be said to have remained the same, at least it did not follow the
exhaustion.

• To increase the cold in a wet thermometer, Dr Lardner recommends
exposing it to the sun ; but whoever properly tries this, will find that the
sun, as well as the fire, has quite the contrary effect. Nay, it is obviously
just the same delusion, only on a greater scale, to expose, as the doctor di-
rects, bottles of wine, wrapped in wet cloth, to the sun, as a source of greater
cold.

108 Mr H. Meikle onjinding the Dew-pointy ^c.

the gentleman remarks, p. 286, " that t^ f and B being given,
the actual weight of moisture contained in a given volume of
air, is nearly the same as is sufficient to saturate the same vo-
lume at the temperature f — (.062 {t — f) + 1.12 (30 — B)),
and under a pressure of 30 inches.''

This will be found a very convenient and pretty close approxi-
mation, when the actual pressure is 30 inches ; but, in other
cases, it may deviate widely from the truth, and yet nothing is
more easy than to render it alike correct for every pressure. To
accomplish this, we have only to cancel the superfluous term
1.12 (30 — B), which is at best of no use : for, when the actual
temperature ^, and dew-point f are given, the weight of mois-
ture in a cubic foot is in effect given, because it depends on no
other condition, being precisely the same whatever be the at-
mospheric pressure B. The experiments of Deluc, Dalton,
Gay-Lussac, Daniell, and many others, have completely settled
this point, and placed it for ever beyond any doubt. In this
our author seems to have followed Dr Anderson, in his habit of
making the barometric pressure an ingredient in almost every
formula and computation connected with the subject, and with-
out appearing to be aware that such procedure was quite incom-
patible with the theory of Dalton, to which he professed to ad-
here. Thus in the Edinburgh Encyclopedia^ Art. Hygrome-
TRY, p. 578, Dr Anderson, in giving a table of the force and
density of steam, says it is adapted to a pressure of 30 inches,
and that when the pressure is different, the numbers in the ta-
ble (none of which denote atmospheres but grains and inches),
must be altered in the same ratio as the pressure. Now, nothing
can be more obvious than that steam in vacuo has no concern
with the external pressure. But it is as well known that the
maximum force or density of steam in air has nothing to do with
the density of that air, being the same as in vacuo^ and yet Dr
Anderson almost every where assumes the force or density of
steam in air to be proportional to the barometric pressure. I
readily grant that whilst air undergoes a change of pressure, the
force and density of the vapour in it are altered in that ratio,
provided the temperature is not altered, and none of the vapour
has been liquefied ; but this is obviously a case essentially diffe-
rent from those to which I refer, where the pressure, of what-

fr&m the Cold induced hy the Evaporation of Water. 109

ever intensity, is understood to be constant during the time of
observation. The Doctor also employs a formula to reduce the
force of vapour, at the dew-point, to the force which it has in
the air, at the actual temperature, although these, being under
the same pressure, and each of them forming the same propor-
tion of it, are precisely equal, and require no reduction what-
ever.— (Ibid, p. 581 ; and in this Journal, vol. xiii. p. 226, first
series). Neither Mr Dalton nor Mr Daniell ever think of using
any such reduction.

It has become a standard doctrine in almost every scientific
compilation, that a given weight of aqueous vapour or steam, in
a state of saturation, contains the same quantity of heat, what-
ever be its volume or temperature. But a doctrine'*s being ge-
nerally received, is not always a proof of its soundness; and so
it happens in the present instance : for, that a given weight of
saturated steam really contains more heat at a lower temperature,
and consequently under a larger volume, than at a higher tem-
perature, and of course under a smaller volume, appears from
this : — If we open a cock in the cover of a steam-boiler, when
the pressure within amounts to only one atmosphere, the vapour
which issues preserves its transparency till it get to some dis-
tance from the orifice •, but when the pressure within amounts to
two or three atmospheres, the steam issues cloudy and opaque
from the very orifice. This clearly shows that the same quan-
tity of heat which had been amply sufficient 1o maintain the
steam in the elastic^ and consequently transparent form, within
the boiler, is quite inadequate to do so under a larger volume
and lower temperature. M. Clement found that, on condensing
three equal weights of steam, having the unequal forces of one,
two, and three atmospheres respectively, in three equal quanti-
ties of cold water, the rises of temperature were equal ; and it is
upon this complex and fallacious experiment that the doctrine I
have questioned has been founded. It is, however, to be ob-
served, that when the stream of steam is very small, as it must
have been in his experiments, it has, while in the act of dilating
from under a pressure of two or three, to that of one atmosphere,
the opportunity of absorbing heat from the metal of the very
slightly open stop-cock and pipe, then much hotter than 212*,
the temperature to which the dilating is supposed to reduce the

110 Mr H. Meikle onjindin^'^ the Dew-point, ^c.

steam ; for this propensity of the steam to absorb heat, or rather
of the metal to part with it, must obviously be greater the higher
the temperature of the boiler and its appendages, that is, the
higher the original pressure of the steam. No wonder, then,
that equal weights of steam, at first so different in density and
temperature, should, when equally dilated, and received in equal
quantities of cold water, produce equal rises of temperature ; as
is shown somewhat differently in the Philosophical Magazine
for July 1826, p. 38. It would, however, be running still far-
ther into the opposite extreme to suppose that equal volumes of
saturated steam should, at different temperatures, contain equal
quantities of heat. There is no reason to doubt that the more
dense volume will always be found to contain more heat, though,
from what we have just shown, this cannot increase in so high
a ratio as the density does, because that would be precisely
Clement's doctrine over again.

Observations on the Loamy Deposit called " Loess"" of the Basin
of the Rhine. By Charles Lyell, Esq. F. R. S. Foreign
Secretary to the Geological Society, &c.* Communicated by
the Author,

During the last summer, I had opportunities of examining the
remarkable deposit called by the Germans " Loess,'' in several
parts of the valley of the Khine, between Cologne and Heidel-
berg, and also in some parts of the country of Baden, Darm-
stadt, Wurtemberg and Nassau. The observations made du-
ring this tour have caused me to modify some of the opinions
which I formerly entertained and published respecting the pro-
bable origin and mode of deposition of this formation, and its
relation to the newest volcanic products of the Lower Eifel. As
much has been already written on this subject, I shall confine
myself in this notice to what I saw during my late excursipn,
and shall give my observations nearly in the order in which I
made'them, pointing out afterwards the general conclusions to
which they appear to me to lead.

• Read before the Geol(^cal Society of London, May 7th 1834.

Mr Lyell on the Loamy Deposit of the Rhine. Ill

It may be as well to state, that the Loess consists of a pul-
verulent loam of a yellowish grey colour, containing a certain
quantity of carbonate of lime, according to Leonhard about a
sixth part. When not associated with gravel it exhibits no signs
of stratification. It contains almost everywhere imbedded ter-
restrial and aquatic shells of species still living in Europe, which
have usually lost their colour, but are for the most part entire.

The Loess is found with its usual characters reposing here
and there upon the gravel of the plains of the Rhine at Bonn,
where I first examined it with attention, and patches of it are
seen of much greater thickness on the flanks of the Siebengebirge,
on the right bank, and at a corresponding height near the sum-
mit of the low hills which border the plain on the opposite bank.
In all these localities terrestrial shells, chiefly Helix and Pupa,
are by far the most abundant.

I employed a collector for a fortnight in obtaining shells from
a deposit of Loess of considerable thickness, which is laid open
on the right bank of the Rhine about a mile and a half below
Bonn. The individual shells procured in an entire state amount-
ed to 217 in number, not a seventh part of which were of aquatic
species. The proportions were as follows :

Terrestrial — Helix 167, Pupa and Clausilia 18; 185 individuals; AqtiaHc^-.
Lymnea 17, Paludina 10, Planorbis 5; 32 individuals; — 217.

In order to compare these fossils with such shells as are now
drifted down by the Rhine, I made a collection of the latter at
low water from the mud and sand of the shore of the river for
several miles above and below Bonn. Along the beach is a line
of rubbish composed of small pieces of drift wood, leaves, weeds,
sand, and other matter, cast up principally by the large waves
raised by the steam-packets, as they cut through the water. Here
the greater number of drift shells occur, and I collected 273 in-
dividuals which were in the following'^proportions.

Terrestrial Helix 133, Pupa and Clausilia 12, Bulimu8 2; 147 indi-
viduals; Aquatic — Paludina 48, Planorbis 34, Neritina 28, Lymnea
and Succinea 5, Unio 6, Ancylus 3, Cyclas 2 ; 126 individuals ;— 273.

If I may be allowed to draw any general conclusion from this
comparison, it would appear that, in the waters of the Rhine,

112 Mr Lyell o?i the Loainy Deposit

as in the loess, the drift-shells belong chiefly to terrestrial spe-
cies, and in both the great mass of the shells are referable to the
same genera, the principal difference consisting in the absence
from the loess of species of the genera neritina, ancylus, and
unio. The only bivalve-shells I ever happened to meet with in
the loess, were Cyclas fontinalis, Drap *.

It may be well to observe here, that, in some places where the
bank of the river is wholly or partly composed of loess, the fossil
shells are often washed out, and may be found entire on the
shore ; and they might, in such cases, unless great caution were
used, be confounded with the more modern shells drifted down
by the Rhine. I was careful to guard against this source of
error, by collecting chiefly from spots far from the loess, and by
rejecting those which, by their want of colour, or by the circum-
stance of their being filled with loess, resembled the general cha-
racters of the fossils. The colour of the more modern specimens
affords in general a safe criterion for distinguishing them from
the fossils ; and I feel sure that there was scarcely any inter-
mixture in the sets above compared, or only two or three lym-
nea, at least, were doubtful.

The greater part of the shells drifted by the Rhine agree spe-
cifically with those which are buried in the loess ; and if I had
enlarged my collection, the correspondence would no doubt have
been much more perfect, for the shells of the loess vary in differ-
ent localities, and those now brought down by the Rhine probably
vary equally at different seasons. As the drift shells of the
Rhine agree with those of the loess, so the sediment of that river
bears a very close resemblance to loess. This was first pointed
out to me by Professor Noegerath, and it has lately been con-
firmed by Mr Horner's experiments on the quantity and nature
of the solid matter brought down in the waters of the Rhine at
•
• I found several specimens of this with both valves entire, together with
Valvata piscinalis, in the interior of an individual of the Lymnea ovata, in
loess at Odenau, near Bruchsal. Hard calcareous concretions, in the same
loess, contained shells of recent helix and clausilia, which were thus embed-
ded in solid limestone. In the third volume of my Principles of Geology,
Appendix, p. 58, 1 included Cyclas palustris, and C. lacustris, Draj). in a list of
loess shells ; but I afterwards ascertained that they had been brought to the
spot in mud used to fertilize the soil. Probably they are to be found in
loess.

Mr Lyell on the Loamij Deposit of the Rhine, 113

Bonn ♦. The circumstance must, in part, be ascribed to the
rapid degradation of loess, which is constantly going on througli-
out the valleys drained by the Rhine and its tributaries, but it
also shews that the waste of other rocks in the same districts
produces a sediment very similar in its nature to loess.

It is well known that the loess rests on the gravel of the plain
of the Rhine. This superposition is well seen on the left bank
of that river, about a mile above Bonn, where the loess fills up
hollows in the gravel, and presents the appearance represented
in the annexed sketch.

y^Y\

I conceive, that in this instance, small rills or torijents must
first have furrowed the upper beds of gravel, leaving small
trenches with vertical and occasionally overhanging walls, and
then the waters holding loamy sediment in suspension must
tranquilly have overflowed the spot and thrown down the loess
until it first filled up the cavities, and then formed a continuous
overlying mass.

The next subject to which my attention was called on my
way from Bonn to Mayence, was the relations of the loess to
some of the more modern volcanic formations of the Lower
Eifel.
' The volcanic hill called the Roderberg, situated on the left
bank of the Rhine, about four miles above Bonn, and imme-
diately opposite the celebrated Drachenfels, is well known. From
the perfect form of the crater at its summit, and the appearance
of its scori^R, it has always been supposed to owe its origin to
one of the most modern eruptions of this country. In the mid-

• See Proceedings of Geological Society 1834.
VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIII. JULY 1834. H

114 Mr Lyell on the Loamy Deposit of the Rhine.

die of the crater is a farm-house, where a well was sunk in July
1833: at that time I visited the spot in company with Mr Hor-
ner, and we found, to our great surprise, that the materials
passed through were loess, covered by a small bed of cinders and
cindery loam. The mass of pure loess was Q5 feet in thickness.
How much deeper it extended was not ascertained. We did
not find any shells, but we were only able to examine a small
quantity of loess which had been taken from the well. The
usual calcareous concretions were in abundance. Whether the
overlying cinders were alluvial or showered down from the air
during the eruption of some vent in the adjoining country, I
cannot pretend to decide. No eruption, however, can have
taken place from the Roderberg, since the hollow of the crater
became, in great part, filled up with a dense deposit of loess.

I was much strengthened by what I saw on this spot, in my
former opinion respecting the posteriority of the loess to the
more modern volcanic eruptions of the Eifel ; yet I found my-
self obliged, on revisiting Andernach, to admit that there had
been near that place some considerable falls of pumice, scoriae,
and volcanic sand, both during the period when the loess was
forming, and since its formation. I am aware how easily pu-
mice and other light volcanic matters may be drifted during
heavy rains, and that the waters capable of depositing the loess
might easily have washed away such transportable matter, had
any of it been already strewed over the land before the loess was
formed. In that case some alternations of volcanic cinders and
loess might undoubtedly have been caused, even though all vol-
canic eruptions had ceased before the deposition of loess began.
With due regard to these views, I compared with attention the
appearances near Andernach with those which I had seen in the
neighbourhood of active volcanoes, and concluded, contrary to
my original idea, that some volcanoes must have been in activity
while the formation of loess was still going on. In the hollow
way called the Kirchweg, immediately above Andernach, the
loess, having its usual characters, is still seen, with here and there
an included fragment of pumice, or a small quartzy pebble. I
collected several shells from it, and Mr Steininger gave me a list
of species which he procured from the spot. The thickness of
the loess in this and other adjoining places (as in the high road

Mr Lyell on the Loamy Deposit of the Rhine. 115

from Andemach to May en) is from 15 to 30 feet. In one place
the loess is clearly exposed, resting upon volcanic matter, and at
the junction it alternates with it. Small portions of pure loess
are there entangled in black volcanic matter. In many other
sections, the same loess is seen covered with beds of pumice,
trassy pumiceous sand, and small dark volcanic cinders, forming
upon the whole a mass from 10 to 15 feet in thickness, and
very like that which covers Pompeii. There is, in this instance,
no loess intermixed, nor any alternation at the point of junction,
as might have been expected, if the volcanic matter had been
washed over the loess by running water. At one place in the
Kirch weg I observed, in a perpendicular section, an aggregate
of small fragments of pumice resting on loess. The latter had
wasted away, so that the incumbent mass of pumice was under-
mined and overhanging. It thus exhibited its under surface,
projecting several feet from the face of the precipice, and it ap-
peared flat and even like the ceiling of a room, shewing that
tliere was an abrupt passage from loess to the pumice. It may
also be seen, on comparing several sections, that before this
shower of pumice fell, the loess already formed the slope of a
hill descending towards the valley of the Rhine, just as it does
now where no volcanic superstratum has been spread over it. I
conceive, therefore, that the valley of the Rhine had assumed its
actual shape, and that the loess had been considerably denuded,
before the occurrence of the eruption which produced the great
bed of pumice near Andemach.

I think it unnecessary to give more details respecting the sec-
lions near Andemach, because some of them have been faith-
fully described by Mr Steininger, Dr Hibbert *, and others ; and
these geologists have declared their conviction that some of the
volcanic eruptions were contemporaneous with, and others sub-
, sequent to, the deposition of the loess.

On descending the hill to the village of Plaidt, on the road
from Ochtendung, at the distance of about four miles from
Andernach, I saw loam resembling loess covered with eight
feet of volcanic matter, consisting of stratified beds of pumice,
dark volcanic sand, lapilli, &c. I found no shells in this loam.
" See Hibbert's extinct Volcanoes of Neuwied, p. 221.

h2

110 Mr Lyell cwi the Loaviy Deposit of the Rhine.

I conjectured that its height was about 600 feet above the level
of the Rhhie.

From Andernach I proceeded to Neuwied, and from thence
across a plain covered with pumice to Sayn. Near the latter
place, I saw the loess forming a terrace on the flanks of the hills
composed of greywacke, and at a lower level the country is
covered with volcanic ejections, which, according to M. von Oeyn-
hausen, are clearly seen in some sections to overlie the loess, a
facj: which I had not time to verify.

From Sayn I proceeded to Mayence, where the country on
the left bank of the Rhine is composed of tertiary limestone,
with green and white marls. This formation is overtopped by
loess, and both are cut off abruptly in the escarpment which the
high land presents towards the Rhine at Mayence, Oppenheim,
and other places.

The tertiary formation must here have undergone consider-
able denudation since the loess was superimposed. In an ex-
cursion through part of the Duchy of Darmstadt by Mayence,
Oppenheim, Alzey, Flonheim, Eppelsheim and Worms, I
found the loess spread almost everywhere over the country, and
the inferior tertiary strata and secondary red sandstone only ex-
posed to view in valleys, or where the country begins to rise' to-
wards the base of the Donnersberg.

At Heidelberg Professor Bronn, who has devoted much time
to the study of the loess, told me that he is persuaded that the
loess was not formed suddenly by a transient flood, but gradu-
ally by successive deposition. The absence of all appearance of
stratification, which formerly led me and others to a different
conclusion, is owing, he thinks, chiefly to the homogeneous na-
ture of the loamy deposit. In some places he has seen calcare-
ous concretions forming horizontal lines, marking the greater
quantity of calcareous matter which was thrown down when
some of the layers were accumulated. I had formerly imagined
that the loess must have subsided suddenly from a flow of
muddy water, like the Moya of the South American volcanoes,
in the same manner as I believe the unstratified trass of the
Rhine volcanoes to have been formed ; but I am now convinced
that Profess )r Bronn's view of the subject is more correct.
Among other places, the signs of successive deposition are well

Mr Lyell on the Loamy Deposit of the Rhitie. 117

seen in the deep gravel pits at the Manheim gate of Heidelberg,
where the following section is exposed.

1. Vegetable soil with gravel.

2. Loess without any appearance of stratification, and with
land and fresh-water shells.

3. Loess and gravel in alternating layers.

4. Sandy loess with shells.

5. Coarse gravel and loamy sand in horizontal strata, from
one to two feet in thickness.

This section shews that, after the loess with shells (No. 4.)
had been deposited, alternate strata of gravel and loess accumu-
lated to the thickness of 12 feet, and then pure loess.

In travelling from Heidelberg to Heilbronn, by Wiesenbach
and Sinsheim, a country composed of the bunter-sandstein,
muschelkalk, and keuper of the Germans, I found the loess at
various heights filled with both land and fresh water or amphi-
bious shells, — the Succinea elongata generally equalling or sur-
passing in the number of individuals all the accompanying land-
shells. I collected 158 shells from the loess between Heidelberg
and Heilbronn, of which 80 belonged to Succinea minuta, 68 to
the genus Helix, and 10 to the genus Pupa. Heilbronn is
nearly 500 feet above the level of the sea, and M. Titot of
Heilbronn informed me, that some of the loess on the hills
near Heilbronn lies about 300 feet above the Neckar. If
this is the case, the height of the loess must sometimes be more
than 800 feet above the sea. Part of the district here alluded
to, is within a few miles of that elevated table-land above the
Bergstrasse between Wiesloch and Bruchsal, which I had visited
the year before, where the loess attains the thickness of 200 feet
and upwards, and contains a great variety of recent shells, many
of them retaining their colour.

From Heilbronn I went to Stuttgardt, and, on the right bank
of the Neckar, near Canstadt, found loess containing its usual
fossils, overlying a deposit of tuff, travertin, and marl. This
fresh water formation extends for five or six miles along the
Neckar, by Canstadt and Miinster, and in part of it Professor
Jager has found the remains of a tortoise, and some plants which
appear to be of extinct species.

Whether the overlying loess is connected in age with the tra-

118 Mr Lyell on the Loaviy Deposit of the Rhine.

vertin, I was unable to determine ; but I was told by naturalists
at Stuttgardt, that the land-shells of the travertin were of recent
species, and the same as those in the loess. From Stuttgardt I
went to Goppingen and Boll in Wurtemberg, and between the
last two places saw loess resting on lias, after which I met with
no more of it in the course of a tour by Heidenheim, Steinheim,
Wasser Alfingen, Nordlingen, Solenhofen, Pappenheim, Ellin-
gen, Nuremberg, Pegnitz, Bayreuth, the cave-district round
Muggendorf, and thence to Forcheim and Bamberg. Between
Bamberg and Wurtzburg, in the valley of the Mayn, I again
found the loess, at Dettelbach, of a somewhat redder tint than
in Wurtemberg, but exhibiting the same want of stratification,
and containing the same terrestrial and aquatic shells, especially
Pupa and Succinea. The loess near Dettelbach is seen not only
in the Valley of the Mayn, but on the hills of muschelkalk,
five or six hundred feet above the valley, where its redder tint
is probably, in part, derived from the degradation of the red
hunter sandstein.

In the Spessart, and in the country immediately around
Aschafi'enburg, I observed no loess. The road which leads from
Frankfort to the foot of the Taunus, passes first over the low
flat plain of the Mayn, which is covered with yellow sand, for
the most part very barren. (See section. No. %) At Hochst,
on the Mayn, is a higher platform, composed of loess, and here
the soil is extremely fertile. This platform afterwards rises to
a still greater height between Hochst and Soden, which last
town is situated in a valley cut through the loess, at the bottom
of which the subjacent tertiary strata of the Mayence formation
are laid open. On quitting Soden, I ascended the steep flanks of
the Taunus mountains, and saw no loess. (See diagram, No. 2.)

Tauvrus

JPlain of R.MaT/ne> 4.^^ Tocrs

b Miocene tertiary. a Schist of the Taunus.

I then crossed the highest part of the Taunus, where the grey-
wacke passes into crystalline schists, and from thence descended
towards Esch and Walsdorf, where the more ordinary greywacke

Mr Lyell on the Loamy Deposit of the Rhine, 119

of the Rhine, a yellow argillaceous and sandy rock, is very ge-
nerally concealed under a deep covering of loam, which appears
to have resulted from the decomposition of this greywacke, and
not to have been transported from any distance. This loam has
precisely the ordinary colour of the loess, and contains a great
quantity of quartz pebbles.

The same alluvium is very genera 1 in the Westerwald, espe-
cially on the surface of that high table-land around Altenkirchen,
Uckerath, and between that place and Siegburg, a district lying
immediately behind the Siebengebirge.

No. 3.

a a Loess with shells. h b Beds of quartz pebbles.

The principal river which intersects the table-land of Nassau
is the Lahn, which I crossed at Limburg, about twenty miles
above its junction with the Rhine. The road from Limburg to
Freilingen passes first by Elz. On the north of this village is
a hill, which forms one boundary of the valley of the Lahn,
and here loess is seen with all its usual characters, with many
land and fresh-water shells; and alternating, as at Heidelberg,
with gravel. I observed, in particular, a horizontal layer of
white quartz peebles, a foot and a half in thickness, resting on
a mass of loess fifteen feet thick, and covered by another bed of
loess five feet in thickness ; the loess, in both situations, includ-
ing in it entire shells. Following the road, I found the slope
of the hill above to consist of horizontal beds of quartz pebbles,
which have a base of loess. Hence it appears that the valley of
thq Lahn, which is excavated through highly inclined grey«
wacke, has, at some period since its excavation, been partially
filled up with beds of gravel, alternating with loess, a great part
of which has since been removed by denudation. (See Section,
No. 3.) It appears that, during the accumulation of the mass,
fine loam was sometimes thrown down, containing unbroken
shells, then gravel, and then again the shelly loam.

On a review of the observations above mentioned, it appears

1 20 Mr Lyell on the Loamy Deposit of the Rhine.

to uie that the followhig conclusions may be legitimately de-
duced : —

1^/, The loess is of the same mmeral nature as the yellow
calcareous sediment with which the waters of the Rhine are now
commonly charged.]

2cZ/^, The fossil shells, contained in the loess, are all of recent
species, consisting par Jy of land and partly of fresh-water shells.

Sdly, The number of individuals belonging to land species
usually predominates greatly over the aquatic, and this seems
now to be the case with the modern shells drifted down by the
Rhine.

Wily, Although the loess in general evinces no signs of strati-
fication, we must yet suppose it to have been formed gradually,
for the shells contained in it are very numerous, and almost all
entire ; and sometimes beds of pure loess, fully charged with
shells, alternate several times with strata of gravel, or of volcanic
matter.

5thly, Although, in general, the loess overlies every forma-
tion, including the gravel of the plains of the Rhine, and the
volcanic rocks, which have the most modern aspect, yet in some
cases, as at Andernach, the volcanic matter is so interstratified
as to indicate that some eruptions occurred during the deposition
of loess.

These inferences seem to me sufficiently clear ; but if asked
to account for the manner in which the loess, considering it as a
fluviatile or lacustrine formation, was brought into the places
which it now occupies, I must confess that the more I have
studied the subject the more difficult I have found it to form a
satisfactory theory.

If we begin to study the loess near Strasburg, we see large
masses of it at the foot of the Vosges, on one side of the great
plain of the Rhine, and at the base of the mountains of the
Black Forest, on the other side. The intervening plains ex-
hibit here and there remnants only of the same formation rest-
ing on gravel, for the loess has evidently suffered great denuda-
tion ; valleys having been hollowed out in it, and small ridges
of intervening: hills formed, much like those seen on the surface
of older horizontal tertiary formations. On following the loess
from Strasburg to Mayencc, we may trace it covering the rocks

Mr I-.yell on the Loamy Deposit of the Rhine. 121

of every age along the borders of the great plain of the Rhine,
and we naturally incline at first to suppose that a vast lake has
existed, of which the barrier may have been somewhere near
Bingen, formed by the union of the mountains of the Hundsruck
and Taunus, before the deep and picturesque gorge of the
Rhine, between Bingen and Bonn, had been opened, or occa-
sioned by the choking up of that gorge by lava or ejections from
the volcanoes bordering the Rhine below Bingen. Of this lake,
the valleys of the Neckar and the Mayn would have formed
two great bays. According to this hypothesis, the depth of
water must have been sufficient to have allowed a loamy sediment
to be thrown down not only on the gravel of the Rhine, but at
the height of 600 feet or more above that level, on the boundary
heights. Afterwards, we must suppose that an opening was
made through the barrier, and the lacustrine sediment denuded,
until at length the original valleys of the Rhine and its tributa-
ries were re-excavated, and small patches only of loess left here
and there.

But this explanation is not sufficient, for when we pass from
Bingen to the country of Neuwied, we find masses of the same
loess rising to considerable heights above the Rhine, so that we
require another lake, or we must remove the barrier of the great
lake farther down than Andernach, If we then suppose it to
have been in some of the narrowest parts of the great gorge be-
tween Andernach and Bonn, we again encounter a similar ob-
jection ; for, on examining the Siebengebirge, we discover the
loess at great heights on its flanks, as also on the opposite hills
behind Poppelsdorf; and we are then under the necessity of con-
structing an imaginary dam, many hundred feet in height, which
should stretch across a wide part of the plain below Cologne.
Even if we are prepared to assume the former existence of one
or more such barriers, we have still to assign adequate causes
for their removal.

It is clear that no theory can account for the position of the
loess, which does not admit great revolutions in the physical
geography of the country now drained by the Rhine and its
tributaries, within a very modern geological period, when all
the existing testacca inhabited the country.

It seems also indispensable to assume that some barriers have

122 Mr Lyell on the Loamy Deposit of the Rhine.

existed, for those waters must have been at rest from which
the loess, with its unbroken shells, was thrown down as sedi-
ment. Probably the relative levels of different parts of the
country now covered by loess, have been altered by the eleva-
tion of some tracts, and the depression of others, since the loess
was formed. In order to possess data for speculating on this
point, we must have more accurate observations on the highest
levels which the loess ever attains above the Rhine and above
the sea.

This singular formation is so homogeneous in its mineral
character, whether it rests on gravel, volcanic matter, granite,
red sandstone, or any other rock, that it cannot be compared to
the local alluviums which different rivers and torrents may have
produced in various parts of the same hydrographical basin. It
may not all have been deposited at one time, or in one vast lake ;
but it seems to have been derived from some common source, as
from the sediment of one great river like the Rhine, continuing
to overflow a certain district, and always bringing down the same
kind of sediment.

I subjoin a list of the fossil shells which I collected myself,
from the loess of the various districts which I have mentioned
in this paper.

Helix fruticum,

Drap.

Pupa tridens,

Dw

arbustorum,

ib.

lubrica.

pomatia,

ib.

Clausilia bidens,

ib.

nemoralis,

ib.

plicata,

ib.

hortensis,

ib.

Achatina acicula,

ib.

ericetorum,

ib.

Succinea amphibia,

ib.

carthusianella,

ib.

elongata,

ib.

plebeium,

ib.

Planorbis marginata,

ib.

obvoluta,

ib.

carinata,

ib.

pulchella,

ib.

Ljmnea auricularis,

ib.

Pupa muscoruni,

Mont.

ovata,

ib.

(marginata, Drap.)

Valvata piscinalis,

ib.

dolium,

Drap.

Cyclas fontinalis,

ib.

frumentum,

ib.

( 1«8 )

On the Theory of the Elevatimi of Mountain Chains, as advo-
cated by M. Elie de Beaumont. By Dr Boue. Communi-
cated by the Author.

In Brochant's excellent French translation of De la Beche's
Geological Manual, M. de Beaumont has given a new and mo-
dified exposition of his theory and opinions, in regard to his
twelve or thirteen epochs of elevations or revolutions. His essay
may be considered as consisting of two parts, viz. an explanation
of the theory, and an account of the application of his system.

It is only to Mr Lyell that M. de Beaumont seems to stand
opposed in the first part of his essay. Every one knows and
acknowledges that most of the upheavings (redressemens) were
produced by a series of violent and rapid movements ; and this
view is rendered more probable by the extent of the effects of
elevation. In treatises and lectures on Geology, the Pyrenees,
the primary chains of Scotland, and some chains of Scandinavia,
have sometimes been brought forward as examples of this kind ;
and M. de Beaumont acknowledges this very fairly (p. 167).
On the other hand, Mr Lyell has shewn very well the vagueness
of the Hmits assigned by M. de Beaumont to his revolutions.
(See Principles of Geology, vol. iii. p. 343.) 1 believe that few
geologists would blame M. de Beaumont for rejecting Mr
LyelPs hypothesis, by which he endeavours to explain the up-
heavings, by the unlimited repetition of local and slow move-
ments ; although this view may be correct in the case of the ele-
vation of whole continents.

It must always be difficult to trace limits between a very
quick and a very slow movement ; as, for example, when one
speaks of an elevation which has taken place rapidly, does he
mean an instantaneous upheaving ? or are we to understand an
effect produced in a space of some months, or some years, or
even some centuries .? An upturning of strata may have taken
a considerable time for its completion ; and even such a period
as to have admitted of the deposition of strata on a part of the
earth different from that where the elevating force was in action.
In this way the geological demonstrations of the great revolu-

124 Dr Boue on the Elevation ()f Mountain Chains^

•

tions produced by elevation, would not be everywhere present,
a position which is just what M. de Beaumont admits.

It is probably to Mr Lyell that M. de Beaumont alludes, as
considering " les dislocations de couches qui caracterisent les
pays de montagnes, comme les resultats de phenomenes locaux,
qui se seraient repetes d'une maniere successive et irreguliere.""
(p. 260.) Unfortunately M. de Beaumont has not always at-
tended enough to the mean directions (directions moyennes) of
the various mountain ranges; and, on the other hand, leaving
these natural guides to the labyrinth of dislocations, he has re-
course to the indications afforded by maps, which are very often
erroneous. He has committed this error in regard to the
Apennine chain.

The study of all the possible intersections of M. de Beau-
mont's twelve or thirteen systems of elevation, would be most
useful in order to get a standard point of departure ; and to see
if, in the known parts of the earth, there are no similar accidens
which do not belong to any of the cases established a priori,
and which would render necessary the establishment of some
additional epoch of revolution.

According to M. de Beaumont, a paralleUsm of direction in
the dislocations of various countries had been long remarked.
Amongst the older writers, I shall rest satisfied with mentioning
Stenon, who wrote in 1667 (De Solido, &c.), and Bernhard
Varenius, who, in 1712, published his Geographia Generalis in
qua afFectiones generales Telluris explicantur (Cambridge, 8vo).
Werner, and after him Schmidt (Theorie d. Verschiebungen
alterer Gauge, Frankfurt, 1810), applied the idea to the dis-
tinction of metalliferous veins ; Humboldt did so to various
chains of Europe ; Jameson to the mountain ranges of Scotland ;
Hausmann, in 1808, to the mountains of Scandinavia, (Denk-
schriften d. Acad. v. Miinchen.) ; M. Brochant to the Jura
range, and also to the Alps ; Heim to the hills of central Ger-
many, and Von Buch, in 1824, to the chains of central Europe.
(Leonhard's Taschenbuch). " Cette notion de la contempor-
aneite des fractures paralleles entre elles et de la difference d'age
des fractures des directions differentes," (p. 621), was also an
axiom of the school of Freiberg ; " rien n'etait plus naturel,"*'
adds M. de Beaumont, " que de Songer a la generaliser, et a

as advucattd by M, Elie de Beaumont. 125

Tetendre a toutes les dislocations que presente Tecore minerale
de not re globe.^

A well marked distinction must be made between those who
reject totally the foundations of M. de Beaumont'*s doctrine, and
those who admit them, but at the same time do not think it
possible to push the consequences so far as he does. As a sup-
porter of the latter view of the subject, I am fully aware of all the
importance of the parallelism in the directions of mountain chains,
as well as of longitudinal and transverse valleys, when I have
limited countries under examination. These phenomena afford
important indications, when the geognostical positions have fur-
nished the key to the upheaving and upturning of the strata.
But I confess that in the yet infant state of the science, I dislike
travelling round the globe between the parallel lines of the same
elevation, without taking into consideration the incorrectness of
maps, and our complete ignorance about the stratification and the
nature of the strata in most chains of the earth. M. de Beaumont
may be right in his assumptions, but in this state of uncertainty
I prefer abstaining entirely from such speculative subjects. —
M. de Beaumont says, " le nombre des dislocations dans le sol
de chaque contree serait a peu pres egal a celui des directions
de chaines de montagnes nullement distinctes et independantes
les unes des autres, qu'on pourrait y distinguer.'' (p. 621.) For
my part I cannot admit this definition, because I take into
consideration the sinkings as well as the upheavings and up-
turnings; and, besides, I do not exactly understand the force
of the expression, " k peu pres."" The upraisings in a country
are indicated by the altered positions of the various series of
beds, and by the different directions of these changed positions.
Every upraising produced, either separately or simultaneously,
elevations, upturnings of the strata, depressions, and rents ;
thus the dislocations of a country will be marked by different
accidens ; first, by the variety of forms presented by chains of
hills, and by peculiarities in the position of the mineral masses
on their declivities ; secondly, by the upturning of beds even on
level plains, and at the level of the sea ; and, thirdly, by the
occurrence of f'epressions of the soil, rents, faults, veins, dykes,
open rents, and valleys. Ordinarily all these accidens of up-
raising and disturbing power can be classified into a certain

126 Dr Boue on the Elevation of Mountain Chains,

number of groups according to tlieir directions. This is a
longer definition than that of M. de Beaumont, and it is even not
so well Hmited, but I think it is more conformable to the phe-
nomena presented in nature, which, indeed, are of such a descrip-
tion as to baffle very strict classification.

On the other hand, M. de Beaumont contends, that " le
nombre des dislocations n'est jamais tres grand, qu'il est a peu
pres du meme ordre que celui des changements de nature et de
gisement que presentent les depots de sediment de chaque
contree, changements qui les ont fait distinguer depuis Fuchsel
(J. de Geolog. v. ii. p. 190) et Werner, en un certain nombre de
formations, et qui ont ete consideres comme etant chacune le
resultat d'un grand phenomene physique," (p. 621.) I agree
with Mr Lyell (Princ. vol. iii. p. 341,) that we should come
to some agreement as to the meaning of the words formation
and dislocation. If the first term were extended so far as that
we should consider as formations the gypsum of Montmartre and
the coarse marine limestone of Paris, we should not be able to
understand one another ; but yet I suppose M. de Beaumont
is of this opinion.

In regard to the word dislocation, it is synonymous with se-
paration and disjointing; and, taking this general designation,
it appears to me that the dislocations of the ground are not
nearly numerous enough to correspond with the directions of
the chains. But I enter into the abstractive idea of M. de
Beaumont, who, in this way, has only indicated those great phe-
nomena which have raised up ranges of hills, while he has
omitted the minor changes which have taken place. I believe
that, in the present state of our knowledge, the twelve revolu-
tions, or systems of elevation, are too few even for Europe,
small as it is, in proportion to the whole surface of the globe.

M. de Beaumont acknowledges that the number of systems of
elevation is by no means fixed for ever, (p. 123) ; and especially
in so far as the older formations are concerned. Indeed if we
include the whole surface of the globe, there seems to be nothing
against there being double or three times the number. Yet
there must be a limit to the greatest upraisings which have agi-
tated the crust of the earth, and M. de Beaumont has expressed
himself well on this subject (p. 661) : it is only in regard to the

as advocated hy M. Elie de Beaumont, 1 27

number of elevations that we differ, and I confess I have less
faith in the present state of our knowledge. To those philoso-
phers who, on the other hand, suppose an unlimited number of
epochs of elevation, we would, with M. de Beaumont, oppose
the logical deduction of Saussure and M. Brochant, viz. that
" La Constance de direction des couches redressdes dans un cer-
tain ensemble de montagne ou de terrain doit probablement re-
sulter de ce que toutes ces masses ont ete deplacees, en meme
temps par la meme operation naturelle." — (Btdlet, Univ. de Sc.
Nat. vol. xxi. p. 344.) Now, as these groups of deposits are
limited in number, in proportion to the small surface of our
planet, the opinion of an unlimited number of very great ele-
vations would seem to be excluded.

M. de Beaumont believes that, in his system, he has given
more than des apercus generaux et vugues, in regard to the mu-
tual relations of elevations and geological formations (p. 621);
but I believe with my excellent friend Mr Lyell, that he exag-
gerates the results of his views ; for, speaking only of Europe,
he considers merely the chains of mountains, and what he calls
boutonnieres. He has not yet ventured to trace, upon a map
of Europe, his twelve systems of elevations, although the facts
for such a generalization are not wanting. But, as such a map
is more striking than long descriptions, errors are more easily
perceived even by those who are not initiated in all the details of
geological geography, and in such a case retractations are more
painful.

In order to have given something more than limited views,
M. de Beaumont should have added to his ideas on the forma-
tions of mountain chains, and their directions, some considera-
tions on the formation of table-lands and plains or flat countries,
and also a greater number of geological and geogenical exposi-
tions, similar to those I offered on the nature and origin of the
European formations, (Memoires Geolog. et, Paleontol. 1832).
By followingthis plan, his essay would have been complete, while,
as it is, it cannot be considered as more than "des apercus generaux
et vagues ;" for the respective geographical limits of his systems
are not all traced ; whereas, according to my way of considering
and describing the geogeny of the crust of the earth, that of
taking formation after formation, every tolerably accurate map

128 Dr Boue on the Elevation of Mountain Chains.

gives a very fair idea of the changes which Europe has under-
gone at different times.

Some will say that I put too much weight on details ; and I
certainly do consider details as of great consequence, as it is
in this way that it is most easy to point out an error, which
might otherwise escape in the midst of generalizations. When
M. de Beaumont shall have classed the whole of the European
ranges and chains of mountains and the rest of that continent
under his twelve lines of elevations, then every one will recog-
nise with ease the truths as well as the errors of his doctrine.
To give a striking instance of this, it is only necessary to recall
to mind the line drawn by M. de Beaumont from north to south,
on Corsica, Sardinia, and Istria ; and for what reason ? probably
because their pointed extremities are turned to the south, as
those of almost all continents and large islands are ; for the di-
rection of the strata is quite different, and indeed nearly the re-
verse. Now, every person who had traced upon a map the di-
rection of the stratification of the mineral masses of these coun-
tries, would distinguish at once the important error committed
by the ardent imagination of the professor. In this way, I am
naturally induced to mention, as the greatest imperfection of his
theory, the not taking sufficiently into consideration the general
direction or strike of the beds. This omission, and the horo-
scopical interpretations of imperfect maps, are the chief objec-
tions I have to the application of the theory.

The formulary of M. de Beaumon^s system was and still is
*' Pindependance des systemes de montagnes diversement diri-
gees, (Recherches sur quelques unes des Revolutions du Globe,
&c. p. 303 ; and Manuel, p. 62^) ; that means that every sys-
tem of elevation has taken a different direction, sui generis.
Starting from that proposition, which I believe is only correct
within certain limits, he tells us of parallel lines of hills from
the Cape Ortegal to the Persian Gulf, from Tenessee in the
United States to Cape Comorin in India, (Bull. Univ. de Sc.
Nat. vol. 21. p. 355). From this he considers himself entitled
to co'^clude, what is in fact merely hypothetical, that " Tecorce
minerale du globe presente une serie de vides dont le parallelisme
semble indiquer que la production est instantanee," (Bull. p.
>i56.) In repeating last year my objections to these propositions

as advocated by M, Elie de Beaumont. 129

of M. de Beaumont, I concluded from the facts we possess, that
one could not admit the general coincidence betzveen the direc-
tions of' the beds and the chains^ the constant paralleUsm of the
dislocations of the same epoch, and of contemporaneous chains^
and the constant non-parallelism of chains and upraised strata
of different epochs, (See my Resume des Progres de la Geologie
for 1832 in the Bullet, de la Soc. Geol. de France, p. cxxii.)

M. de Beaumont still continues to explain the foundations of his
theory as formerly, and one would think either that he must
be correct, or that he kindly endeavoured to spare disgrace to me
and others who think as I do. In a case of this kind, the interests
of science should get beyond such trifling considerations. But
it strikes one with astonishment to find that his views, when
unfolded to us, do not at all correspond with his programme.

First, he thought it necessary to warn us, that, owing to the
spherical form of the earth, the lines of elevation must have
described sections of circles, and that they exist upon the tan-
gents of these last. In regard to small sections of circles, this
information was hardly necessary, but for those which are con-
siderable, as, for instance, that of the Apennines, the Carpa-
thians, (see Bullet, de la Soc. Geol. de France, vol. iv. p. 73),
and some chains of Asia, it is essential that M. de Beaumont
should explain himself clearly, and discuss the objections made
to his opinions ; a course which he has not followed.

Afterwards, when comparing his sections of circles with the
hnes of the meridian, he contends, in regard to the one, that he
has in view only small sections of great circles, (p. 633) ; and
as to the other, that he is not able to see the " limite k la dis-
tance k laquelle il serait possible de suivre des accidens de sou-
levement constamment soumis a une meme loi," (p. 622.) Now
M. de Beaumont himself says, " deux grands cercles se cou-
paht necessairement en deux points diametralement opposes ne
peuvent jamais etre paralleles dans le sens ordinaire de ce mot.""
(p. 622.) But I leave this discussion, fearing lest it should be
considered as belonging to the chicanery of words ; and I now
come to the facts and assertions by which it appears that M. de
Beaumont reconciles his doctrine deduced from the parallelism
of direction. I rest satisfied with transcribing the following four

VOL. XVIT. NO. XXXIII. .JULY 1834. I

130 Dr Boue on the Elevation of Mountain Chaifis,

citations. " La direction du septieme systeme, celui du Mont
Pilas, court en general k peu pres du N. E. au S. O. Cependant
il y a quelquefois des deviations suivant la direction de fractures
plus anciennes ; ainsi dans la Haute Saone, dans le midi de la
Cote d'Or, et dans le departement de Saone-et-Loire, on voit un
grand nombre de fractures de Tepoque qui nous occupe suivre
la direction propre au systeme du Rhin ;"" (at the end of page
638.) In explaining his system of the Pyrenees, the ninth re-
volution, the following decisive paragraph occurs : *' Dans le
nord de la France et le sud de TAngleterre, la denudation du
pays de Bray et celle des Wealds du Surrey, du Sussex, du
Kent, et du Bas Boulonais, ils (les memes caracteres de compo-
sition et de direction) paraissent avoir pris la place de protu-
berances du terrain cretace dues a des soulevements operes im-
mediatement avant le depot des premieres couches tertiaires,
suivant des directions generales paralleles a celles du Pyre-
xias, mais avec des accidens partiels, paralleles aux directions
d'autressoulevementsplusanciensf (p-^^^O Speaking of his tenth
system that of the isles of Corsica and Sardinia, " II est assez
curieux," saysM. de Beaumont, "de remarquer que les directions
du systeme du Pilas et de la Cote d'Or, de celui de Pyrenees, et
de celui des iles de Corse et de Sardaigne, sont respectivement
presque paralleles a celles du systeme du Westmoreland et du
Hundsruck, du systeme des ballons et des coUines du Bocage,
et du systeme du nord de TAngleterre. Les directions corres-
pondantes ne different que d'un petit nombre de degres, et les
systemes correspondants des deux series se sont succede dans le
meme ordre, ce qui conduit a Tidee d'une so7^te de recurrence pe-
riodique des mimes diiectwns de soulevement, ou de directix)ns tres
voisines ,•*" (646.) I think that this is clear enough ; but he adds
farther, in considering the objections made to him on the same
subject by Mr Conybeare (Phil. Mag. 3d Ser. August 1832, p.
118), " La direction des dislocations de File de Wight etant
sensiblement parallele k celle du systeme des Pays Bas et du
sud du Pays des Galles, on aurait un quatrieme exemple du
retour a de longs intervalles des memes directions, des dis-
locations dans le meme ordre; (voyez plus loin les*remarques
de M. de la Beche a ce sujet.) Le systeme des Alpes Oc-
cidentales compare au systeme du Rhin, dont il partage
la direction a quelques degres pres, pourrait fournir un cin-

as advocated by M. Elie de Beaumont. 131

qui^me terme a la s^rie de rapprocliements qui indique cette
singuliere periodicity? des directions des dislocations ;*" (p. 647.)
Now I ask any one, if, with these true propositions, one can still
talk of the " Independance des systemes de montagnes diverse-
ment dirigees ?" Does it not confirm those who had seen only
a misconception in that abstraction ? This important part of
M. de Beaumont's system is thus completely modified; and we
must take the retractation in the details, although in the gene-
ralization the contrary view is given.

Besides this, M. de Beaumont has not taken the trouble to
answer the objections made to his opinions by various geolo-
gists ; as, for example, in regard to the possible formation,
by elevation, of much curved or contorted chains (see Bullet,
de la Soc. Geol. de France, v. iii. p. 51.) ; the difficulties pre-
sented by chains of hills composed of horizontal beds, or beds
elevated together^, without being upturned, as in the German
Jura in Wurtemberg and Bavaria, a chain which presents also
to M. de Beaumont the difficulty of describing a curve from
Schaffhausen to Ratisbon, and thence to Cobourg ; the diffi-
culties presented by cavities filled by upraised masses; and,
lastly, the occurrence of chains in which the strike of the bed is
not parallel to the direction of the mountains, as, for instance,
in the Thiiringerwald, where Heim described the fact in 1798.
(Geol. Beschreib. v. ii. p. 18. See my Resume des Progres de
la Geologic pour 1832, p. cxviii to cxx, in the Bull, de la Soc.
Geol. de France.) To all these objections M. de Beaumont
answers nothing, and he does the same in regard to rhose made
by Thiirmann ; (Mem. de la Soc. d'Hist. Nat. de Strasbourg,
vol. ii.) ; Schwatz, (Natiirliche Geographie von Wurtemberg,
1832, T. S. Min. 1833, cah. i.) ; Pasini, (Ann. delle Sc. del
regno Lombardo Veneto, vol. i. fasc. 1) ; and Hibbert, (History
of the Extinct Volcanoes of the Basin of Neuwied, &c. 1832.)

With regard to the cataclysms and destruction of creations
produced by the elevation of the chains, that idea was mention-
ed by many old writers, of whom I need only allude to Fuchsel.
Mr Sedgwick was the first to object that some philosophers had
wished to separate in too decided a manner by revolutions,
creations which would seem to be connected with the other great
relations.

i2

132 Dr Boue 07i the Elevation of' Mountain Chains,

M. de Beaumont only answers to Mr Sedgwick, that " Lorsque
deuK formations semblent passer insensiblement Tune k Pau-
tre, il n'y a jamais qu'une tres petite epaisseur de couches, dont
la classification puisse rester incertaine, et lorsque certaines
espoces de fossiles sont communes k deux formations successives,
elles ne forment, en general, qu'*une fraction, souvent meme peu
considerable, du nombre total des especes de chacune des deux
formations C (p. 619.) Now, this uncertainty in the classifi-
cation remains to us not as a consequence of a want of exactness
in the system, but as a consequence of the gradual operations of
nature. Besides, the whole reasoning of M. de Beaumont re-
poses upon the acceptation given to the word formation. Does
it mean a deposit, a mass of various deposits, or a group of par-
ticular beings ? I suppose M. de Beaumont adopts the second
definition, but in that case, descending without fear from the
generalizations to examples, we shall easily demonstrate that, for
instance, some people have too hastily separated by general re^
volutions the zechstein and the coal formation ; and again, the
variegated sandstone, the muschelkalk, and keuper, three de-
posits, which, on a large scale, form only a single geological
mass. ^

M. de Beaumont, foreseeing the objections, agrees entirely
with our views, for he acknowledges that " entre les periodes de
diverses formations, il y a eu pour le moins des deplacements
considerables dans les lieux d'habitation de certains groupcs
d''etres organises, en meme temps que dans les lieux de depot de
certains sediments;" (p. 619 ) Every one will admit this kind of
anodyne revolution is widely different from those general cata-
clysms which were said to have produced such a change on the
surface of the earth, that new creations were necessary to fill up
again the spaces of the earth and seas, which were without beings
to inhabit them. The door remains in this way open to every
future correction, or to any addition to the actual system of the
paleontological distribution into epochs.

Let us now review the twelve systems of elevation of M. de
Beaumont.

The oldest system of elevation is that of Westmoreland and the
Hundsi'ucky and consists of what I consider to have been islands,
which had emerged before the formation of the carboniferous and

as odvocaUd by M. Kite de Bcaumord. 133

Dudley series of rocks. (See my Memoires Geologiques et Pal-
eontologiques, v. i. p. 18.) In that system, the strata have been
elevated in a line running a little to the E. of N. E., or a little to
the W. of S. W., or h. 3 to 4 of the miner's compass. It in-
cludes the older chains of the British isles ; those of the N. W.
of Germany; the Erzgebirge; the Sudetes ; a portion of the
Black Forest, of the Vosges, of Mount Pilas, and of Brit-
tany ; the Montagne Noire in Southern France ; the Mount Bi-
garre, and Mount Canigau in the Pyrenees ; also a part of the
centre of France, of the Maures, of Corsica, of Scandinavia
(Westmanland, Jemtland, Lappmark), and of Finland. Gneiss,
mica-slate, clay-slate, quartz-rock, and greywacke, constitute
these chains or first continents.

The elevation of these mineral masses must certainly have
taken place before the formation of the old red sandstone, and I
believe with M. de Beaumont, that it was anterior even to the
formation of the newer transition rocks. The horizontal or
gently inclined position of the limestone containing orthoceratites
and trilobites in Sweden, in Baltic Russia, and Podolia, are
much in favour of that idea. The beds with trilobites at Dudley
and Tort work, would also have been horizontal had they not been
affected by more recent dislocations. The same might be said
of the arenaceous and calcareous slates containing anthracite of
Southern Iceland, I may add, that, in regard to Canada, ex-
cepting the information we have as to directions, the only data
we have to go upon in determining the age of the first elevations
of the older rocks of that country, are derived from some hori-
zontal or slightly inclined masses of shelly limestone. The ho-
rizontality of the system in Northern Europe and in America,
forms the type of a peculiar geological zone. Before going fur-
ther, it is as well to remark, that there are in Europe other ele-
vations which have taken place in lines parallel to those which
we have already mentioned, and which, as we shall see, are of a
different age. On the other hand, there are in Europe upheav-
ings in completely different directions from that of which I have
spoken, and which must nevertheless have been produced at the
same period as the system which we are now considering. As
an illustration of this remark, I may instance the primary schistose
rocks of the Riesengebirge and the Eulengebirge, where the di-

134 Dr Boue on the Elevatimi of Mountain Chains,

rection of the strata is N.N. E. to S.S. W., or N.N. W. to S.S. E.,
and sometimes W. N. W. to E. S. E. Another example is the
primary part of the Bohmer-Wald-Gebirge, where the direction is
most generally E. N. E. to W. S. W. It was thus that the Con-
tinent was produced, which was afterwards covered with the in-
sular vegetation whose remains are now buried in the coaly beds
of Silesia and Bohemia. This, then, would be an example of
a variety of directions in the same system of elevation, and it
will be perceived, that, with my mode of reasoning, one can go
farther, and with more certainty, than when guided only by the
doctrine of directions of chains, and the parallelism of elevations.

If M. de Beaumont is skilful enough to decompose all these
various directions into as many systems, it remains for him still
to prove the chief point, viz. that all the upheavings besides that
from a little to the E. of N.E., to a little to the W. of S.W,,
have taken place at a subsequent period ; and this is the ques-
tion upon which I insist.

I believe that every epoch has resulted from several limited
movements, which have taken place in the same or in dif-
ferent directions ; but as yet our collection of facts as to direc-
tions and inclinations is not sufficient to enable us to subdivide
each period, but this may possibly be afterwards accomplished.

In sketching out the position of the European Islands before
the formation of the carboniferous series, I enumerated, after the
isles or emerged and upheaved masses, a series of submarine
chains or rocks placed at an inferior level, and composed of the
newest transition rocks, (Memoires Geologiques, et Paleontolo-
giques, vol. i. p. 19). M. de Beaumont has taken a part of these
last to construct his second system of elevation^ or that of the Bal-
lons (Vosges), and the hills of the Bocage (Calvados). This
system would also comprise a part of the interior of Brittany, a
portion of the south-eastern part of the Vosges and of the Lo-
zere, the anthracitiferous rocks of Southern Iceland, and some
hills of greywacke and slate in Devonshire and Somersetshire.
Lastly, M. de Beaumont has included in this system the hills of
greywacke to the N.W. of Magdeburg, the hills of Sandomirz
in S.W. Poland, and the formation of the N.N. E. escarpment of
the Hartz.

This elevation, anterior to the old red sandstone formation,

as advocated by M. ElU de Beaumont, ld5

would present anomalies in the direction of the dislocations.
*' La plus marquee probablement produite immediatement apres
le depot des roches suposees redressees court suivant des lignes
dont Tangle avec le meridien varie de 90° kiiT SCX (vers Touest),
mais qui sont toujours tres pres d'etre exactement paralleles k
un grand cercle qui passerait par le Ballon d'*Alsace (dans le
midi des Vosges), en faisant avec le meridien du lieu un angle de
74% ou en se dirigeant de PO 16° N., a PE., 16° S;* Now, Mr
Weaver assigns to the anthracitiferous rocks of Southern Ice-
land, a general direction from west to east, with an inclination
to the south and north. In Devonshire and Somersetshire, the
direction is W. 10°, N. to E. 10° S. We thus perceive the
pliableness which M. de Beaumont has given to his system, a
quality which makes it agree still less with systematic ideas.
On the other hand, he has thus been enabled to answer skilfully
the objection made by Messrs Sedgwick, De la Beche, and Con-
nybeare, in regard to the parallelism of elevation of the older
rocks in western England, and in the south of Ireland, where
these gentlemen think they have observed contemporaneous up-
heavings from the E. of N.E. to the W. of S.W., and from E. to
W. I have pointed out dislocations in Hungary which run from
E. to W"., and which are of a more recent age than the pre-
ceding. (See Bullet, de la Soc. Geol. de France, vol. iv. p. 75.)

The third system of elevation, that of the North ofEngland^
has been founded on the able observations of Mr Sedgwick, who
has shewn that England is traversed by a hilly carboniferous
axis, which runs from S. toN., but bends a little to the N.N. W.
" Les forces soulevantes auraient agi (non toutefois sans des de-
viations considerables), suivant des lignes dirigees a peu pres du
S. 5° E., au N. 5° 0;'' (p. 630). The consequence of this is the oc-
currence of great faults in Derbyshire, at the foot of Crossfell
and the Craven hills, as well as in the anticlinal line of the wes-
tern moors of Yorkshire. All these fractures have preceded the
formation of the old red sandstone, and indicate a violent and
momentary action with which Mr Sedgwick connects also the
eruption of the trap rocks and the toadstones.

M. de Beaumont thinks that traces of these dislocations are
to be found in the Malvern Hills, the neighbourhood of Briiito],
on the western coast of the department de la Manche, perhaps

ISiS Dr Boue on the Elevation of Mountain Chains,

in the hills of Tarere, the chain of Les Maures, and the primi-
tive hills of Corsica.

I have also given examples of fractures in the direction from
north to south in Hungary, Styria, and Carinthia, but of an entire-
ly different date; certainly more recent than the greensand. (See
my Resume for 1832, p. 121, and the Bulletin de la Soc. Geol.
de France, vol. iv. p. 75.) But my objections have become
useless, since M. de Beaumont now acknowledges the possibility
of the parallelism of upheavings (r?dressemens) which have taken
place at different epochs.

The fourth system of elevation is that of the Nethei'lands and
the Southern part of Wales. Freisleben and other geologists
have pointed out in the beds of the red secondary sandstone and
zechstein of Mansfeld, faults and inflections in a direction near-
ly from east to west. These accidens seem to M, de Beaumont
merely a peculiar case of those irregularities in stratification
which are common to all the sedimentary deposits not posterior
to the zechstein, from the river Elbe to Wales. In this way he
attributes to this system all those singular bendings of the car-
boniferous strata of the Netherlands and the Bristol Channel.
These movements were anterior to the formation of the secon-
dary conglomerates of Malmedy ; as well as that of the mag-
nesian conglomerate of England, a rock to which Sedgwick has
assigned a date posterior to that of the magnesian limestone of
the north of England.

The coal measures of Sarrebruck covered by the horizontal
beds of the Vosges sandstone, must have been affected by that
disturbance, and this subject deserves the further consideration
of geologists. Now, let us compare what M. de Beaumont
tells us about Belgium and the Sarrebruck country, with the ob-
jections I made to his first paper in 1830 (J. de Geol. vol. ii.
p. 347.), and the examples I gave of recent elevations in the
direction from east to west, (Bull, de la Soc. Geol. de France,
vol. iv. p. 76.) M. de Beaumont gets over the difficulties by
admitting completely his first system, and a return of the same
direction in the upheavings. Yet I still contend, that in the coal
measures there are irregularities in the stratification which have
had their origin in the mode of formation of the deposit, and
which arc not to be confounded with dislocations. (See Mem.

as advocated by M. Elie de Beaumont. 137

Geol. et Paleont, p. 28,-31 et 35). Professor Merian lucu-
tions direciions of stratification from east to west in the old-
er formations of the Black Forest, and there are similar ex-
amples in Southern Silesia, in Sudermanland and Smoland in
Scandinavia, and I do not see well how these accidens can be
made to agree with the epoch of elevation of which we have
now spoken.

The Jifth system of elevation is that of the Rhine. The
Vosges, the Hardt, the Bli^ck Forest, and the Odenwald, form
two symmetrical groups, which present two long steep acclivities
which are rather sinuous, but parallel to each other and also
to the bed of the Rhine, and having the direction of N. 2P
E. to S. 21° W. These lines are the type of Von Buch's
Rhine system.

The escarpments of the Vosges are composed chiefly of sand-
stone of the Vosges (gres vosgien), and variegated sandstone.
Muschelkalk and keuper come in contact with these rocks in
an unconformable position, a peculiarity which shows the epoch
of formation of this system of fractures. V^hile pointing out
this fact in regard to the Vosges, M. de Beaumont does not
extend the observation to the Black Forest, where the variegated
sandstone is found upon the inclined table land as well as at the
foot of the escarpment. (See Journ. de Geol. vol. iii. p. 349.)
We must also in this case compare Beaumont's views upon the
formation of the Vosges and the Black Forest, with those very
different ones adopted by my active friend M. Roget. The
latter maintains that these mountains are mere central masses
with diverging ramifications. (See Bull, de la Soc. Geol. de
France, vol. iv. p. 129, and his work on the Vosges now in the
press.)

M. de Beaumont thinks he can find traces of these disloca-
tions in the directions of some chains, as in the hills between
Saone and Loire, in the hills of the centre and the South of
France, and in the Mediterranean part of the Var department,
although the deposits between the coal measures and the va-
riegated sandstone are not present in these districts, (p. 635.)

The sixth system of M. de Beaumont is that of' the Thiirin-
gerwald, of the Bohmerwaldgcbirge^ and Morvan. I shewed
some years ago that the Jurassic rocks have been deposited in

138 Dr Boue on the Elevation of Mountain Chains ^

seas or great gulfs, (Mem. Geolog, vi. p. 48.) These deposits have
been formed in a horizontal or gently inclined position, and
while some of them have been subsequently upheaved, the rest
remained in their original position either in the form of a flat
tract of country, a low table land, or pretty high truncated hills
as in Bavaria.

M. de Beaumont assigns to this system a direction W. 40**
N. to E. 40° S. ; and the formations which were disturbed by
its elevation are the beds of the variegated sandstone, of the
muschelkalk, and of the keuper as well as the older rocks, and
these formations must have formed the steep walls (falaises) at
the base of which the Jurassic beds were horizontally extended.'
The movement took place between the period of the keuper
and that of the inferior lias sandstone. As examples, M. de
Beaumont mentions the north-eastern part of Germany, the
Thiiringerwald, the Western Bohmerwaldgebirge, the neigh-
bourhood of Autun and Avallon, and in Greece the Olympic
system of MM. Boblaye and Virlet. In north-east Germany
the floetz formations, from the variegated sandstone to the Jura
limestone, form curved beds or inclined masses ; and it might be
a subject of discussion whether these accidens are original, or if
all these deposits were at first horizontal. But entering into M.
de Beaumont's views, it would be at least necessary to date the
upheaving from the epoch of the middle part of the Jurassic
formation.

With regard to the Thiiringerwald, the Jurassic deposits and
even the lias beds do not touch its base at the west end, and they
do not exist between its eastern extremity and the Hartz ; and
the keuper only approaches its neighbourhood. If the zechstein
covers in nearly horizontal beds the secondary sandstone of Eise-
nach, we can observe near Ilmenau and elsewhere disturbances,
and especially singular faults (failles), which extend from the
older coal measures to the variegated sandstone. Voigt, Von
Hoff, &c. have described these minutely, and the last mentioned
distinguished observer, in a recent work on Thuringia, has ex-
pressed a suspicion that the muschelkalk has been dislocated
and contorted after its formation, and before the formation of the
succeeding deposits which occur in its valleys (Hohenmessungen
von Thuringen, 1833, in 4to.) In the Coburg country, the

as advocated by M. Elie de Beauviout. 139

lias marls and sandstone, as well as the lower Jura limestone, are
placed horizontally upon the keuper, which seems to occur in
cavities of muschelkalk, and this last is itself covered here and
there by the keuper. Near Blumenroth tiie upper part of the
keuper, with a subordinate bed of magnesian limestone, has been
upheaved.

The Fichtelgebirge and Bohmerwaldgcbirge are connected
with the Thu ringer wald by the Frankenwald ; and Von HofF
mentions that the strike of the beds of this last chain is from
N.E. to S.W., a fact which is also shewn by all geological maps.
(See Taschenbuch d. Mineral, of Leonhard, vol. vii. part i. p. 151.
et 159.) In the Fichtelgebirge and Western Bohmerwaldge-
birge, the direction of the strata is from E. N.E. to W. S.W.,
and the upheaving and upturning seem to have been antecedent
to the deposition of the older coal formation in Bohemia and
Bavaria. On the other hand, the Olympic system is the oldest
in Greece, and, according to MM. Boblayeand Virlet, it has af-
fected only the primary rocks.

The direction nearly from N.W. to S.E., is that of many
other chains of hills, as the Bleking in Scandinavia, a part of the
Hartz, the hills of A.lvensleben, the floetz chain in Westphalia,
the hills in Lusatia, a part of the Riesengebirge, the hills of
Southern Silesia, the chain of Southern Poland, the older part
of Sicily according to Hoffman, &c. The epochs of these ranges
of hills are very different from the epoch which, in the opinion
of M. de Beaumont, is characterised by this particular direction.

The seventh system of elevation is that of Mount Pilas in the
Forez, of the Coted'Or, and the Erzgehirge. It would also in-
clude the Cevennes and the table-lands of Larzac. M. de Beau-
mont finds traces of it from the Elbe to the Dordogne, and in-
vestigates its influence on the peculiar distribution of cretaceous
deposits, and in so doing points out considerations similar to
those offered in my Geological and Paleontological Memoirs
(vol. i. p. 48-50, and p. 53-56.)

The direction of this system is from N.E. to S.W., or from
E. 40° N. to W. 40=' S., pretty similar to the direction of the
first system. This boulversement is supposed to have taken
place between the deposition of the Jurassic formation and the
commencement of the cretaceous epoch.

140 Dr Boue on the Elevation of Mountain Charn.s,

Upon this point 1 must again urge my objections in regard
to the Erzgebirge, although I cannot now bring forward for this
purpose the position of the coal measures upon the older up-
heaved strata of that chain, because M. de Beaumont now ad-
mits these traces of his first system. As the direction of N.E.
to S.W. is frequent in the Erzgebirge, I do not see why this
chain should be regarded as belonging to the seventh rather than
to the first system. But I must still add, that the celebrated
Professor Naumann of Freyberg has given, as the mean direc-
tion of the slaty rocks of that district, h. 7.4, or from W. N.W.
to E. S.E.

After the primary slaty rocks were raised up in various di-
rections from N.E. to S. W., and from W. N.W. to E. S.E.
in the Erzgebirge ; from N.W. to S.E., from N. N.W. to
S. S.E., from N. N.E. to S. S.W., and from W. N.W. to
E. S.E. in the Reisengebirge ; and from E. N.E. to W\ S.W.
in the other chains of Southern Bohemia ; that last country
must, at a very early period, have formed a great cavity or Cas-
pian Sea, in which were deposited the old coal formation, red
secondary sandstone, chalky rocks, and some tertiary argillace-
ous beds, with lignite. Of all these formations, the greensand
and inferior chalk are the only ones which extend beyond the
basin to the flat country surrounding the circular mass of hills.
These peculiar circumstances of position prove as completely the
antiquity of the annular mass of mountains, as does the circum-
stance of its not having been anywhere cut through before the
deposition of the chalk ; so that none of the formations between
the secondary sandstone and greensand could have been de-
posited there. The only other supposition which suggests itself,
is to imagine that the Bohemian cavity which received the
chalk strata was formed by a sinking down before the cretaceous
period, and that it had previously been an undulating table-
land,— an hypothesis which would lead us to consider the coal
measures and the secondary red sandstone as fluviatilc and ter-
restrial deposits. But the presence of a trilobite limestone
would render an additional hypothesis necessary, viz. tile repeti-
tion of a sinking down, during which process an upheaving en
masse must have happened, and this is certainly a very compli-
cated explanation. (See my Mem. Geolog. vol. i. p. 71)

as advocated hy M, Elie de BeaumarU. 141

At the period of the deposition of the greensand formation,
a great rent running N. and S. separated the Erzgebirge from
the Iliesengebirge ; and an immense quantity of quartzy debris
accumulated there in the form of horizontal or gently inclined
beds, and corresponding to the configuration of the surface on
which they were deposited. Now, some geologists believe that
sienites made an eruption through the chalk and covered this
formation, and it is likely that these accidens were accompanied
by some disturbance. To such a cause I attribute the upheav-
ing of some inferior beds of the Jurassic system described by
Count Munster. (Deutschland of Keferstein, vol. vii. cap. i. p.l.)
Mr Naumann endeavours to connect with these igneous pheno-
mena the local dip of 45° — 70° of the greensand at Mariaschein,
Liesdorf, and Weilzen near Augsig, which would also be partly
the effect of a slipping down. At least we cannot yet draw
general conclusions from the facts, as the perfect, or nearly per-
fect horizontality of the greensand upon the older rocks, is the
predominating feature. Such seems to me to be the state of
the question. M. de Beaumont explains it according to his
own views, but it would be regarded in quite another light by
those who Hke Cordier, Naumann, Rozet, &c. have peculiar
ideas on the subject of slaty rocks.

If M. de Beaumont had. not given up his belief in the con-
stancy of the parallelism of direction for every system, I would
here point out to him the Western Carpathians running N. E.
and S. W., and composed chiefly of greensand beds, which are
upheaved in such a manner as to shew that they ought to be-
long to his eighth and not to his seventh system.

The eighth system is that of Mont V'lso. M. de Beaumont
admits with me, and in opposition to other geologists, that most
of the Alpine summits owe their height to a series of successive
elevations, (p. 640). The direction of the dislocation now under
consideration, is from N.N.VV. to S.S.E. ; and the examples
are found in the French Alps, the S.W. extremity of the Jura
from Nice to Lons le Saulnier, from Noir Moutiers to the south-
ern part of the kingdom of Valencia in Spain ; and in the Pindic
system, in Greece, pretty nearly parallel to a great arc of a great
circle passing through Mont Viso. These disturbances are sup-

142 Dr Bou^ on the Elevation of Mountain Chains^

posed to have happened between the deposition of the greensand
and chloritose chalk, and that of the marly and white chalk.

As 1 have already given examples of a direction from N.N. W.
to S.S-E., as in the Riesengebirge, one would thus have speci-
mens of the errors to which we are led by the theory of the
parallelism of elevations in the same epoch, unless M. de Beau-
mont can include such cases under his Mont Viso system.

The Pyrenees are the type of his niiith system of elevation,
which appeared between the chalk period and the commence-
ment of the tertiary deposits. All geographers have recognised
a uniform type of structure in the range of hills extending from
Cape Ortegal in Gallicia, to Cape Creuss in Catalonia. On
the great scale, it is to be regarded as a congeries of parallel
ranges running W. 18^ N. to E. 18° S., and in an oblique direc-
tion in relation to the line which joins the two extremities.

Pareto (See Bull, de la Soc. Geol. de France, vol. i. p. 64), and
I (T. de Geol. vol. iii. p. 353, andResume pour 1832, p. cxviii.)
maintain the union of the Apennines with the system of the Pyre-
nees, while M. de Beaumont persists in his first opinion on the
subject. We tell him, that in Italy the direction of the uphea-
ving, and also that of the igneous dikes and veins, is from S.W.
to N.E. ; while he finds, upon geolog^^al or geographical maps,
indications of fracture, which those who have been on the spot
have not been able to discover. On the other hand, if M* de
Beaumont would admit that his ninth system of elevation has,
like some of the other systems, taken place in different directions,
we should very nearly agree as to the respective position of the
tertiary rocks, M. de Beaumont lays much weight upon his
preconceived line of the igneous rocks, but their position does
not prove much, for, from their fluid or pasty state, they have
naturally filled up rents produced during elevations, and yet
these rents would be transverse to the axis of the principal move-
ment. Besides, M. de Beaumont himself acknowledges that the
ophites are in that particular case, and " qu''ils ont suivi les
directions de toutes les anciennes fractures et do tous les clevages
plus ou moins obliteres du sol,'' (p. Q5^).

The other examples given by M. de Beaumont, are the steep
wall of the Southern Alps; the Julian Alps; a part of Croatia,
Dalmatia, and Bosnia ; the Achaic system in Greece ; the

as advocated by M. Eire de Beaumont. 143

eastern part of the Carpathians ; some parts of the Hartz ; and
the denudations of the Bray country, of the Wealds of Surrey,
of Sussex, and of Kent. I shall not repeat here the distinction
it is necessary to make between the denudations and upheavings
of beds produced by elevation, and those denudations which re-
sult only from convex surfaces covered by gently inclined beds.
(See Bull, de la Soc. Geol. de France, vol. ii. p. 23 ; or Resum^,
pour 1832, p. cii. et. cxvi). To give an extreme example, I
may remark, that the denudations, elevations, or chalky craters of
elevation at Beine near Grignon, and at Meudon near Paris
(p. 655) y have not yet been admitted by geologists.

Other examples correspond exactly with what 1 have said
upon this subject in my Memoires Geologiques ; for every where
the greensand has been dislocated and elevated to a great height.
But the direction of these redressemens does not seem to be the
same in different countries ; and I do not see that coincidence
which M. de Beaumont perceives. For instance, in the eastern
Carpathians, the dislocations, as well as thejongitudinal valleys,
run N.W. and S.E., and these disturbances are contemporaneous
with those which have lifted up the other or western part of the
Carpathians from N.E. to S.W. (See Bullet, de la Soc. Geol. vol. iv.
p. 73.) M. de Beaumont has concluded, from the examination
of maps, that the chain of the western Carpathians is parallel
to the Western Alps ; and hence draws the conclusion that their
upheaving coincides. Now, if he had been on the spot, he would
know that the stratification of the beds forms a kind of diagonal
line with the direction of the higher part of the chain ; so that if
the last corresponds with the direction of the Western Alps, the
upheaving of the beds has taken place in a different line. One
of two things must be the case; either the strata intfac Western
Alps and Carpathians not being parallel, must belong to two
different elevations, or, what is more probable, these two ancient
table-lands were at the same epoch upheaved and upturned in
directions somewhat different. At the foot of the Carpathians
alpine blocks are unknown, and the old alluvium, as well as the
newest tertiary deposits, are horizontal, but the molasse has been
upheaved, as along the Western Alps.

I do not see how it is easy to get rid of the disagreviens of
partial accidens parallel to the directions of other older eleva-

144 Dr Bone on the Elevation of Mountain Chains,

tions (p. 643.) ; but with regard to the pretty sinuous line from
London to the mouth of the Danube, the southern border of an
immense sea, M. de Beaumont does well to remark that the line
is undulating, for I think it is so much so, that, leaving the
gulfs out of consideration, and supposing it parallel to his Py-
reneo-apennine direction, I do not see the conclusion he can
draw from it, unless he supposes that the configuration of the
whole of Europe was modelled at that period according to that
system, a proposition which has still to be proved. And M. de
Beaumont himself tells us, that " ce grand espace presentait
aussi des irregularites resultant de dislocations plus anciennes
et dirigees autrement," (p. 644).

The tenth system of elevation, is that of the islands of Corsica
and Sardinia, and its period of formation that between the de-
position of the inferior tertiary strata of Paris and the second
tertiary formation, commencing with the Fontainebleau sand-
stone. The valleys of the Loire, of the Allier, and the Rhone,
are supposed to have owed their origin to this system of disloca-
tions. Like Sickler (Idien zu e. Vulcanischen Erdglobus, Wei-
mar, 1812, 8vo.) M. de Beaumont connects with it some basal-
tic cones of Northern Germany ; while Keferstein arranges the
basalts of the same country in parallel zones, running east and
west (Die Basalte von Nord Deutschland 1820).

The tenth system seems to have been established on grounds
too unsatisfactory ; for the Islands of Corsica and Sardinia have
been too little examined to allow of their being taken as its tvpe.
( Journ. de Geol. v. 3. 355, and Resume for 1832, p. cvi.)

The direction N.S. is found also in the beds of a part of Scan-
dinavia (Wermeland, Dalecarlia) ; in the Oural ; the Aldan
hills in Siberia ; in the S.W. Hartz ; in the upper part of the
Leine valley in Hanover ; on the borders of the Weser and
Fulda; in some hills near Paderborn, &c. Now, the epoch
of all those upheavings does not accord with that at which M. de
Beaumont supposes that Corsica and Sardinia assumed their
present configuration.

In speaking of the eleventh system, or that of the Western
Alps, M. de Beaumont agrees with the geologists who preceded
him, in believing that this chain has been formed by a certain
numb,er of elevations, repeated at long intervals of time, and

03 advocated by M. Elie de Beaumont. 145

mostly in different directions. One of the most recent must
have produced the Mont Blanc chain, as we there find the er-
ratic blocks placed upon the uppermost molasse. Von Buch,
in 1811, and Von Raumer, in 1817, opposed this fact to the false
name of Protogine, which Jurine gave to the rocks of Mont
Blanc. (See my Memoir. Geolog. p. 357. and following.)

M. de Beaumont thinks it is easy to trace in the Alps the. in-
termixture of the systems of elevation, and he mentions in it
some circular elevated cavities like that at Lorieche, at Der-
barrens, and round Mont Blanc. If M. de Beaumont de-
ciphers so easily the intermixtures (entrccroissemens) of sys-
tems. Professor Studer would be desirous to have an answer in
regard to a range of hills in the Canton of Berne, where the
upheaved beds alter their directions without fracture or perceiv-
able intermixture of system. Studer is a well informed geolo-
gist, and one who seeks truth, and is not afraid of being contra-
dicted when he is wrong.

The upheaving of the Western Alps has taken place in a di-
rection from N.N.E. to S.S.W^, or more exactly from N. 26° E. to
S. 26° W. In the interior of the Alps the rides having been pro-
duced on ground already raised out of the water and hilly, the
dislocations have extended only to the chalk formation (com-
pare my Memoires Geologiques, p. 60.) ; but on the borders of
the Alps the middle tertiary rocks have been upheaved, as at
Superga near Turin, at the foot of the great Chartreuse in
Provence, in Entlibuch, &c. M. de Beaumont finds a relation
between the position of the cones of phonolite at Howentwiel
and the small island of Ilion ; but I think the asserting this is
at least hazardous.

M. de Beaumont also thinks that this system is connected
with the direction of the eastern coast of Spain, a chain in Mo-
rocco, &c. ; and he terminates his account of it by some consi-
derations on the configuration of Europe after this elevation.
(See my Memoires Geologiques, p. 61 — 75.)

According to M. de Beaumont, the hyaena, the ursus spe-
laeus, the Siberian elephant, the mastodon, the rhinoceros, and
the hippopotamus, perished during that cataclysm, — an hypo-
thesis which, in regard to some of the animals at leasl, requires
confirmation.

VOL. XVir. NO. XXXIII. — JULY 1834. K

1 46 Dr Boue on tfie Elevation of Mountain Chaim^

The molasses of the Entlibuch are upheaved and inclined,
but I do not know that they include the upper part of this de-
posit, where shells are so abundant, and in which the strata are
ordinarily horizontal, or very little inclined, as near Zurich, be-
tween Thun and Berne, in Argovia, and elsewhere.

M. de Beaumont still considers the nagelfluh of the Rigi as
part of the molasse; but the very height of the mountain (1875
metres), an elevation which the molasse nowhere else attains,
shews that the rock belongs to the inferior cretaceous series. M.
Bertrand Geslin has for a long time been of my opinion, and
found in it even the fucoidal sandstones of the greensand (see
J. de Geologie, vol. i.) : and the section given of the Rigi by
De la Beche confirms my suspicion (p. 268.)

M. de Beaumont repeats the error of Messrs Murchison and
Sedgwick, who maintain that tertiary rocks occur in the valleys
at the northern foot of the Eastern Alps (p. 650.). The Lig-
nite of Hering, in the Tyrol, would be the only case of the
kind, but I have already explained why that fluviatile or delta
formation is found at the outlet of the valley. (See my Me-
moires, p. 7.) On the other hand, the observations made on the
base of the Southern Alps near Coma and Vicenza, in the Ne-
therlands, and in the Pyrenees, go to confirm the objections I
made to the opinion that the Gosau deposit belongs to the ter-
tiary series. (See my Memoires, p. 185.)

If direction alone were to be attended to, we should include
in this eleventh system a part of Scandinavia (Upland, Smoland),
Northern Russia, a portion of the Riesenbirge, &c. Now, in
Scandinavia there are no rocks newer than the older transition
formation ; and Mr Ermann believes that the elevation in Rus-
sia took place after the formation of the first floetz deposits, an
opinion which does not correspond with Beaumonfs views.

The twelfth system is that of the great chain of the Alps from
the Valais to Lower Austria ; it has the direction E. I N.E. to
W. i S.W. ; and was formed between the period of the tertiary
deposits, or the terrain de transport ancien^ the old alluvium of
M. de Beaumont, and the older true alluvium. This elevation
caused the dispersion of the rolled alpine blocks, by the sudden
melting of snow on the Western Alps ; but the bodies of water
thus formed, and which transported these blocks, were " des

# as advocated by M. Eire de Beatimont. 1 47

courans diluviens qui n'ont rien de commun avec le deluge de
rhistoire." (P. 653.)

It is a singular fact, that, in going from west to east, these
blocks are not found further than the outlet from the Alps
formed by the valley of the Inn ; and their size diminishes ex-
ceedingly beyond the Rhine valley. In Austria, I have met
with no blocks — there are merely pebbles,

M. de Beaumont ascribes to a more ancient catastrophe the
dispersion of the rolled masses of northern Europe (p. 655.) ;
and here compare my Memoires, p. 77 and p. 359.

As examples of his Uvelfth system, M. de Beaumont men-
tions the hills of Sainte Baume, of Sainte Victoire, of Leberon,
of Ventoux, Mount Pilate, the two Mythens near Schwitz, &c,;
the lines of the higher hills of Spain, and the northern chain
of Sicily. He also connects with it the gypsum and the salt
deposits, and the salt spring, together with the eruptions of the
ophite or diorite in the Pyrenees and in Spain.

The shores of the seas of these early periods produced lines
pretty nearly parallel to the direction of the great chain of the
Alps. (P. 6oQ,)

M. de Beaumont acknowledges that this elevation produced in
the south-east of France a double inclined plane, on the one side
ascending from Dijon and Bourges to the Forez and Auvergne,
and on the other from the shores of the Mediterranean to the same
districts. He then makes out a line of culminating points from
Hungary to Auvergne, which would explain some of the ano-
malies in the geodesic measurements. Lastly, he connects with
it very well the formation of rents or great valleys in the Can-
tal and Mont Dore ; giving to some parts of the latter the name
of craters of elevation. (P. 654.)

Taking the direction as a guide, one would include in the
same system with the Alps the chain of Fogares in southern
.Transylvania and the Balkan ; yet in the former it is only the
greensand which is upheaved, and in the latter only the alpine
Jura limestone.

With regard to the parallelism or coincidence of origin which
M. de Beaumont has established between his epochs of eleva-
tion, and the formation of the various chains, I shall rest satis-
fied with a. few observations, as we yet possess too limited a col-
lection of facts, and our maps are so imperfect.

k2

1 4S Dr Boue on the Elevation of Mountain Chains

I do not see reasons for believing that the Alleghanys and the
Gaults of Malabar were elevated at the same time as the Py-
renees. No one has ever observed greensand on the summit of
the Alleghanys, a range of mountains composed of slaty rocks
which are more or less crystalline and arenaceous, or of older
schistose rocks. Some old coal measures occur at their base, and
at some distance, some red saliferous sandstones. The sections
of Maciure, Brown, Taylor, Hitchcock, and other American mi-
neralogists, show that this chain was elevated before the deposi-
tion of the old coal strata, but it has, perhaps, subsequently been
subjected to some dislocations. The Gaults of Malabar have,
according to Dr Hardie and other geologists, a direction from
north to south, or rather a little to the west of north to a little
to the east of south. They are composed chiefly of granite,
crystalline slates, and trap-rocks, a geological constitution which
at once excludes the idea of correspondence with the Pyrenees.
They are probably a continuation of hilly ranges, elevated be-
fore the deposition of the old coal measures, and before that of
the red saliferous sandstone of India; and regarding them in
this light, one does not see what relation they can have with the
present configuration of the Pyrenees. It is more likely that the
mountains of the Crimea and the Caucasus were connected with
the elevation of the Carpathians and Pyrenees.

The connecting the upheaved northern chain of Norway with
that of the Western Alps (an idea founded on the direction of
the chains given in maps) remains a mere hypothesis, as there
is a total want of floetz and tertiary rocks in Norway. From
the North Cape to the White Cape in Africa, the general line
of the European shores had, according to M. de Beaumont, the
direction of that elevation. The great Alps would be repre-
sented by the Atlas and by the central chains of the Caucasus
and the Himalaya. " Toutes ces chaines courent parallelment
a un grand cercle qu'on representerait sur un globe terrestre par
un fil tendu du milieu de Pempire de Maroc, au nord de Tempire
des Birmans," (p. 659.)

The Himalaya range has not the direction of the Eastern Alps,
as is well seen in the excellent map of Professor Ritter (Abh. d.
k, Acad. Wissensch, Berlin 1832.) According to that learned
geographer, this great range runs N.W. and S.E. (Entwurf

as advocated by M. Elie de Beaumont. 149

xu e. karte von ganzeii Gehirgssystem d. Himalaya, 1832, p.
10.) Dr Hardie gives it more accurately perhaps a direction
N. 25° W. to S. 25° E. If it were parallel to the chain of the
Alps, it would have a more easterly direction. The cretaceous
shelly deposits on its summits, and the gently inclined molasse
strata at its southern base, would lead us to suppose that its last
upheavings took place at the tertiary epoch, or perhaps after the
molasse. Excepting in the valleys, primary blocks have been
observed only on the sides of the Indau Kooh.

The analogy of position and fertility in Lombardy and the
valley of the Ganges, pointed out by Professor Ritter and M.
de Beaumont, is acoidental, and is the consequence of the direc-
tion of the waters of the Po and the Ganges in longitudinal
valleys at the base of high ranges of hills. It has been sup-
posed that the valley of the Indus communicates with that of
the Ganges by a narrow and strait neck ; and yet Dr Hardie
found, to the south-west of Delhi, between the two valleys, a
considerable chain of hills, the Neilgerrhi, 60 miles in length, and
sometimes attaining a height of 5000 feet.

M. de Beaumont now gives up his Deluge Historique men-
tioned in his first edition, and, like Mr Sedgwick, beheves that
it was only a local event (p. 661). He thinks with Mr Lyell,
and other geologists of the old and the modern schools, that " les
causes qui ont produit les phenomenes geologiques, subsistent
encore, et que la traflquillite dont nous jouissons aujourd'hui
est due k leur sommeil bien plutot qu' a leur aneantissement,"
(p. QQ%^ He differs, in this respect, from Brongniart's opinion
(Tableau des Terrains) ; but, in the mean time, he returns to the
ideas of this last geologist, and to my own, in supposing that the
creating or modifying causes have formerly shewn an energy su-
perior to that with which they have been acting since the esta-
blishment of actual societies, and that there have been periods
of comparative tranquillity, (p. 663.) In this respect he is far
from agreeing with Mr Lyell.

The elevation of mountain chains cannot be ascribed to the
continued operation of Plutonic action, but we must rather, with
Cordier, and other philosophers, seek for the cause in the " re-
froidissement seculaire," that is the gradual diffusion of the pri-
mordial heat to which our planet owes its spheroidal form, and

150 Mr David Don on a new arrangement

the generally regular disposition of the layers of the globe from
the centre to the circumference, in the order of their specific
gravity. The refrigeration would tend to establish a relation
between the capacity of the solid crust and the volume of the
interior mass still in a fluid condition; and the upheavings or pro-
minences would be the consequence of a diminution of the capa-
city of the solid crust, in consequence]of the " retraif produced
by the gradual refrigeration of the masses in the interior,
(p. 665). These are the views which M. de Beaumont enter-
tains.

AN ATTEMPT AT A NEW ARRANGEMENT OF THE ERICACE-E.

By David Don, Esq,, Libr, L. S., 8fc. Communicated hy
the Author.

Among the numerous families which compose the vegetable
kingdom, few surpass the EricacecB in the diversity of their
forms, beauty of their flowers, or in the extent of their geogra-
phical distribution, which verges upon the ultimate limits of ve-
getation in both hemispheres. The direction of mountain-chains,
and especially of particular strata, such, for example, as siliceous
and micaceous deposits, appears to exercise an equally important
influence on the distribution of this family with the circumstances
of latitude and elevation. Species of the groups of Andi'omedecB
and VaccimecB traverse the Andes from one extremity to the
other ; and in Asia they extend from the Frozen Ocean to with-
in the Tropics ; colonies of them being found in almost every
branch of the Indian Alps. The similarity of the vegetation of
North America and Central Asia is strikingly exemplified in the
groups of this family which are peculiar to both regions, such as
RJiodorecB, MonotropecB, PyrolecB^ VacciniecB, and the aberrant
Ei'icecB. Some species are common to both continents, such as
Pyrolapicta, Monotropa Mor'isoniana, Bryanthus Stelleri, Cas-
slope tetragona, and Andromeda poli/blia ; the two last forming
likewise part of the European Flora. Europe and Africa alone
contain the normal Ericece* well characterized by their persist-

• I ought, perhaps, to except the Calluna vulgaris., samples of which were
contained in a collection of dried plants from Newfoundland, given to me by
Mr Connack, who assured me they had been collected in that country.

of the Ericacea, 151

cnt corolla, the maximum of which is at the Cape of Good Hope,
a spot where so many families of plants are found huddJed to-
gether in strange confusion, as if Nature had at length deprived
herself of sufficient space for their more equal distribution. The
most easterly point to which this last group extends is the M au-
ritius, where the various species of Salaxis are found. The
maximum of Rhodorece, Vacciniea, PyrolecB, Monotropece, and
the aberrant Ericece, is found in North America ; these tribes, as
I have before stated, being also common to Asia. Van Diemen's
Land may be regarded as comprehending the majority of the
EpacridecB, Of all the genera of Ericacece, that of Gualthcria
is, however, the most extensively diffused, being met with in
almost every region of America, in New Zealand, Van Diemen's
Land, and other islands of the South Pacific, and in the East
Indies. The greater development of the calyx in this genus,
and its more or less adherence to the ovarium, considerably les-
sens the importance of the discriminating character of the Vac-
ci?iiece, and most satisfactorily shews that they constitute but a
group of the Ericacea, rather than a distinct order. As hap-
pens in other very natural families, the characters of the generic
groups in the Ericacea are not so strongly marked as in those
that are less so ; but we are not on that account to give up the
idea of dividing them, and to retain three or four hundred spe-
cies in one genus, as has been done in the case of Erica, which
I have here attempted to subdivide into a number of minor
groups ; and, whatever opinion may be formed of their title to
rank as separate genera, the arrangement of the species will, I
trust, be found more natural than any hitherto proposed.

The examination of this interesting family was undertaken
with the view of assisting my brother in the laborious underta-
king * in which he is now engaged ; and as a complete account
of the species will appear in the forthcoming volume of that
work, I have omitted most of them in the following pages, as
they would have extended the present paper beyond the limits
admissible in a periodical journal.

• General System of Gardening and Botan v. By George Don, F. L. S.
Vols. I. & 2. London, 1831-32. 4to.

152 Mr David Don on a New Arrangement

ERlCACEiE.

FLORES hermaphroditi, subsymmetrici, regulares.

CALYX 4- V. 5.divisus.

COROLLA rarius 5-partita.

STAMINA definita, corollae laciniis altema, insertione vari^

STYLUS et STIGMA indivisa.

CAPSULA libera, v. caljce adhaerenti aucto camoso baccata : loculis

plerumque polyspermis.
SEMINA albumine camoso.
EMBRYO erectus, axilis.
Plantae (per terrarum orbem ubique sparsce) polymorphse, plerumque

fruticosae.
Obs. — Ordo in phalangibus sex sequentibus optim^ dispositus.

Tribus 1. ERICEtE. Antherae biloculares. Ovarium liberum. Discus
hypogynus, nectariferus, nunc rarb squamis ornatus. Gemmatio nuda.
Folia ssepius raargine revoluta.

2. RHODOREiE. Antherae biloculares. Ovarium liberum. Discus hy-

pogynus, nectariferus. Gemmatio squamis imbricata, strobilina. Folia
plana, cost^ extremitate callosd.

3. VACCINIE^. Antherae biloculares. Ovarium adhgerens. Discus peri-

gynus, nectariferus. Fructus baccatus. Gemmatio nuda.

4. PYROLEiE. Antherae biloculares. Ovarium liberum. Discus hypo-

gynus, nudus. Semina peltata, samaroidea. Embryo dicotyledoneus.
Plantae foliatae, terrestres.

6. MONOTROPE/E. Antherae uniloculares. Ovarium liberum. Discus
hypogynus, nudus. Semina peltata. Embryo indivisus. Herbae aphyl-
lae, parasiticae.

6. EPACRIDEiE. Antherae simplices, uniloculares, longitudinaliter dehis-
centes. Ovarium liberum. Discus hypogynus, saepius lobatus v. squa-
mis 4 V. 5 ornatus. Folia plana.

Subtrib. 1. — Corolla Persistens. ERicEiE normales.

Gen. 1. ERICA. Cali/x 4-partitus, basi nudus. Corolla globosa v. urceola-
ris, limbo 4-loba. Stamina inclusa : filamenta capillaria : antherce bifidae :
loculis abbreviatis, foramine oblongo hiant'bus, basi aristatis v. cristatis,
rarb muticis. Stigma peltatum. Capsula 4-locularis, polysperma. Fru-
tices (Europ.^^et Africae) foliis sparsis v. verticillati^ acerosis. Flores termi-
nales, fasciculati v. racemosi. Pedicelli squamati.
Typus. E. cinerea, L.

• Antherce basi aristatce v. cristatce. Species normales.
2. Arborea; 3. pubescens; 4. persoluta; 5. articularis ; 6. obesa; 7. austra-
lis; 8. physodes; 9. absinthoides ; 10. guttaeflora; 11. gracilis; 12. re-
germinans.

•• AnthercB basi muticcs. Sp. aberrantes.
13. Ciliaris; 14, glutinosa ; 15. cerinthoides.

of the Erkcuece. \S$

It. GYPSOCALLIS. Calyx 4-partitu8, glumaceus, basi nudus. Corolia
campanulata v. breviter tubulosa, ore dilatata, 4.1oba. Stamina exserta :
filamenta complanata : antherce bipartitfle : loculia basi muticis, distinctis,
substipitatis ! foramine obliquo hiantibus. Stigma simplex. Capsula 4-
locularis, polysperma.

Fruticuli (Europ. et Africae) /o/iw subverticUloHsy acerosis. Flores laterale$ v.
terminales conferti.

Tjpus. G. vagans, Salisb. (E. vagans, L.)

• Antherce basi omninb miUicce. Sp. normales.
2. Multiflora ; 3. purpurascens ; 4. camea ; 5. raediterranea ; 6. manipuli-
flora ; 7* umbellata ; 8. nudiflora.

•• Anthera basi comicul<U<B. Sp. aberrantes.
9. Nigrita.

3. PACHYSA. Calj/a? profunde 4-partitus, coriaceus. Corolia subglobosa,

coriacea : ore coarctato, 4-lobo. Stamina inclusa : filamenta vald^ dilatata :
antherce bifidae ; loculis abbreviatis, basi cristatis, foramine obliquo hian-
tibus. Stylus basi dilatatus. Stigma simplex, obtusum. Discus hypogy.
nus elevatus. Capsula 4-locularis, polysperma.

Fruticuli (capenses) erecti. Folia laxe imbricata, compressa. Flores termi-
nales, subcorymbosi^ pedicellis bracteolatis.

Etymol. Ueex^h crassus. Corolla substantia crassa.

Typus. P. ardens (E. ardens, Andr.) 2. baccans ; 3. vernix.

4. CERAMIA. Calyx 4-partitus, glumaceus. Corolla urceolaris, limbo 4-

dentata. Stamina inclusa : filamenta dilatata, plana : antherce bifidae :

loctilis abbreviatis, basi comiculatis. Stigma capitatum. Capsula 4 locu-

laris, polysperma.
Fruticuli (capenses) erecti. Folia sparsa^ obtusiuscula, plana, subtus glauca,

Flores terminates^ subcorymbosi.
Etymol. Kt^cifiiovf urceolus. Corolla urceolaris.
Typus. C. urceolaris (E. urceolaris, Soland.) 2. marifolia.

6. DESMIA. Calyx 4.dentatus. Corolla globosa, ore coarctato, 4.dentato.
Stamina exserta : filamenta complanata : antherce loculis abbreviatis, fora-
mine oblongo hiantibus, basi omninb simplicibus, in filamentum conflu-
entibus. Stigma capitatum. Capstila 4.1ocularis, polysperma. Semina
scrobiculata.

Fruticuli (capenses) erecti. Folia sparsa, patiUa, subulata. Flores termina-
les, glomerati.

Etymol. Ai(rf/,ti, fasciculus. Flores glomerati.

Typus. D. conferta. (E. conferta, Andr.)

1. D. conferta, umbellis sessilibus fasciculatis, lilamentis angustis.
Erica conferta. Andr. Heath, v. 2.

2. D. cequalis, umbellis pedunculatis aggregatis, filamentis dilatatis.

3. D. polifolia, foliis temis aristatis, floribus fasciculatis, coroUis oblongis

fauce dilatatis, filamentis dilatatis, stigmate subsimplici.
Erica polifolia. Salisb. in Herb. Lamb.

164 Mr David Don on a New Arrangement

6. EURYI^EPIS. Calyx 4-partitus, coriaceus, basi bibrattteolatus. Corolla

tubulosa, eoriacea, basi ventricosa, limbo erecta, 4.fida. Stamina inclusa :
filamenta dilatata, canaliculata : antherce bipartitae : loctdis coriaceis, fora-
mine oblongo hiantibus, basi auriculatis. Stigma clavatum, disco 4-tuber-
culatum, annulo crenulato. Capsula 4-locularis, polysperraa. Placentcs
segmentis bilobis. Semina ovalia, ventricosa.

Fruticuli (capenses) diffuse ramosissimi. Folia sparsa, margine revoluta. Flo-
res ierminales, solilariit magni,

Etymol. Ev^vs, latus, et kiTu, squama. Squamae calycinse dilatatae.

Typus. E. Halicacaba (E. Halicacaba, L.)

• Antherce basi muticcB. Sp. normales.

2. Thunbergii ; 3. albens ; 4. sexfaria (stigma obtusum) ; 5. triflora.
* * Anthera basi aristatce. Sp. aberrantes.

6. MassonL

7. EUIIYSTEGIA. Calyx 4-partitus, amplus, glumaceus. Corolla urceo-

lata, ore coarctato, 4-dentato. Stamina inclusa : Jilamenta dUatata, com-
planata : antheroB bipartitae, foramine oblongo hiantes, basi biappendicu-
latae: appendiculis complanatis, decurrentibus, cristatis, erose crenatis.
Stigma capitatum. Capsula 4vlocularis, polysperma.

Fruticuli (capenses) dense ramosi. Folia lana^ subulata^ margine revoluta.
Flores subsolitarii, penduli, albi v. rosei.

Etymol. Ev^us, latus, et (rriy>:, tectum. Calyx amplus.

Typus. E. glauca (E. glauca, Andr.) 2. pomifera ; 3. andromediflora.

8. LOPHANDRA. Calyx 4-partitus, basi 4.bracteolatus : segmentis scario-

sis, rotundatis, extus ventricosis. Corolla campanulata, 4-loba. Stamina
inclusa : filamenta dilatata, complanata : antherce bifidae : loculis apice ro-
stratis, medio foramine oblongo hiantibus, lateribus alatis, cristatis, cre-
nulatis. Stigma truncatum. Capsula 4-locularis, polysperma.

Fruticuli (capenses) erecti, ramosissimi. Folia patentia, brevia^ obttcsa^ glauca.
Flores terminales, subterni, rosei.

Etymol. Ao(pos, crista, et av>7^, av^^ej, mas. Antherarum loculi cristati.

Typiis. L. pyramidalis (E. pyramidalis, Andr.) ; 2. cubica.

9. LAMPROTIS. Calyx 4-partitus, amplus, glumaceus, coloratus, basi bi-

bracteatus. Corolla urceolata : limbo parvo, 4-lobo. Stamina inclusa : fila-
menta capillaria : antherce loculis abbreviatis, longitudinaliter debiscenti-
t)us, basi muticis v. cristatis. Stigma capitatum. Capsula 4-locularis,
polysperma. Semina subrotunda, scrobiculata.

Fruticuli (capenses) ramosissimi. Folia opposita, adpressa^ subulata, glabra.
Flores copiosi, terminales, subsolitari.

Etymol. AafiT^oryis, splendor. Calyx nitidissimus.

Typus. L. calycina (E. calycina, L.) 2. lutea ; 3. tenuifolia ; 4. taxifolia.

10. CALLISTA. Calyx 4-partitus, foliaceus. Corolla hypocrateriformis :
limbo dilatato, patenti, 4-fido. Stamina inclusa : filamenta capillaria : an-
therce loculis abbreviatis, longitudinaliter dehrsccntibus, basi muticis. Stig-
ma capitatum. Capsula 4-locularis, polysperma.

of the Ericacea. 155

Fruticuli (capenses) ranumasimi. Folia aoerota, kuee imbrieaia. Floret termi-

nales, subsolitarii v. plures fasciculati.
Etymol. KetkXiffret, pulchemmus.
Typus. C. pellucida (E. Walkeri, Andr.). 2. denticulata ; 3. fragrans ;

4. comosa ; 6. ventricosa.

11. EURYLOMA. CWyo? 4-partitus, foliaceus. CoroZ/a hypocraterifonnia :
tubo elongato, filiformi, v. ventricoso : limbo 4-partito, dilatato. Stamina
inclusa : Jilamenla dilatata, membranacea, canaliculata : aniherce bipartitae :
hculis membranceis, longitudinaliter dehiscentibus, basi in calcar breve
tumidum productis. Stigma disco elevato, 4-loba Capnila 4-loculari8,
polysperma.

Frutioes (capenses) diffuse ramosissimu Folia adpressa, semicylindrica, pert-
pheriA minute denticulata, Flores terminalest solitarii v. temiy breviter pedun-
culati^ magniy spedosi.

Etymol. Ev^vs, latus, Xa^^tta, margo. CoroUae limbus dilatatus.

Typus. E. Aitoni (E. Aitoni, Willd.) 2. jasminiflorum.

12. CHONA. Calyx i.partitus, foliaceus. Corolla infundibuliformis, limbo

4-loba, revoluta. Stamina exserta : filamenta capillaria : anthera trun-
catae : loculis elongatis, parallelis, basi aristatis. Stigma simplex, obtu-
sum. Capsula 4-locularis, polysperma.

Fruticulus (capensis) diffusus. Folia terna, linearia^ aristata^ margine revo-
luta, setoso-ciliata. Flores terminalesj corymbosi, sanguinei,

Etymol, Xavn, infundibulum, ob coroUae figuram.

Typus. C< sanguinea.

13. SYRINGODEA. Calyx 4-phyllus, glumaceus. Corolla \ongh tubulosa,

limbo brevi, 4-lobo. Stamina plerumque inclusa : filamenta capillaria :
antherce bipartitae : loculis abbreviatis, obtusis, basi muticis v. aristatis, fo-
ramine oblongo hiantibus. Stigma simplex v. capitatum, in aliis annula-
tum, disco elevato. Capsula 4-locularis, polysperma. Semina ovalia,
compressa, laevia.

Frutices (capenses) erecti. Folia laxa, acerosa. Flores magni, speeiosi^ in
ramtdorum apicibus conferti, undique versi, stcbspicati.

Etymol, 2«^<7?, fistula, ob corollam longe tubulosam.

Typus. S. vestita (E. vestita, Thunb.)

• Antherce bcui mutica, Sp. normales.
2. longifolia ; 3. coccinea ; 4. filamentosa ; 6. sessiliflora ; 6. phylicifolia ;
7. versicolor ; 8. bicolor ; 9. Linnaeana.

• • Anthera basi aristaUs, Sp. aberrantes.
10. cruenta; 11. coronata; 12. abietina; 13. Leseana.

14. DASYANTHES. Calyx 4-partitus, basi bibracteolatus. Corolla tubu-
losa, hispida : limbo erecto, 4-lobo. Stamina inclusa : filamenta capillaria :
antherce bipartitae : loculis basi muticis, longitudinaliter dehiscentibus.
Stigma amplum, peltatum. Capsula 4-locularis, polysperma.
Fruticulus (capensis) erectus. Folia laxi imbricata, setose^ispida, marline
revoluta. Flores terminales^ fasiculatiy lutei.

156 Mr David Don on a New Arrangement

Etffmol. A»(rv(, pilosus, et uv^ot, flos. Corolla pilosa.
Typus. D. Sparrmanni (E. Sparrmanni, L.)

15. ECTASIS. Cali/x 4.phyllus, glumaceus. Corolla tubulosa, basi paulu-
lum ventricosa, limbo 4-dentata. Stamina longe exserta : filamenta vald^
dilatata : antherce bipartitoe : loculis elongatis, tubulosis, fissur^ longitudi-
nal! dehiscentibus, basi in filamentum omninb continuis ! muticis. Stig-
ma clavatum, truncatum. CapsiUa 4-locularis, polysperma. Semina ova-
ta, compressa, laevia, nitida.

Frutices (capenses) ramosissimi. Folia laxe imbricatay margine revoluta,

supra plana. Flores terminales, solitarii v. plures, laterales.
Etymol. 'EKretfft;^ extensio. Stamina longe exserta.
Typus. E. Plukenetii (E. Plukenetii, L.)

• Floribtis lateralibus, calycibus ebracteatis. Sp. normales.
2. Petiverii ; 3. bruniades.

• • Floribus, terminalibus, calycibus squamis pluribus basi arctl imbricatis.
Sp. aberrantes.
4. Banksiana ; 6. Sebana ; 6. imbricata.

16. ERIODESMIA. Calyx amplus, 4-partitus, basi bibracteatus. Corolla
campanulata : Umbo 4-lobo, revoluto. Stamina exserta : filamenta dilata-
ta, complanata : anthers bifidae, obtusae, undique papilloso-scabrae . loculis
foramine oblongo dehiscentibus, basi in filamentum continuis ! Stigma
capitatum. Capsula 4-locularis, polysperma. Semina angulata, nitida.

Fruticulus (capensis) diffuse ramosissimus. Folia terna, obtusa, pilosissima.

Flores terminales, solitarii v. terni, globosi, capituli hirsutissimi instar.
Etymol. E^iov, lana, et hfff/,yi, fasciculus, atque ad florum similitudiuem re-

fert nomen.
Typus. E. capitata (E. capitata, L.)

17. OCTOPERA. Calya^ 4-partitus, reflexus, basi nudus. Corolla globosa :
ore coarctato, obtuse 4-lobo. Stamina inclusa : filamenta complanata : an-
theroB loculis brevissimis, foramine amplo hiantibus, basi appendicula soli-
taria lanceolata acuminata auctis. Stigma peltatum. Capsula 8-locula-
ris ! loculis polyspermis.

Fruticulus (capensis) procumbens, pubescens, foliis verticillatis, floribus termi-
nalibus subumbellatis, pedicellis squamatis.
Etymol. Oxrw, octo, et -rn^u., saccus, ob capsulam octolocularem.
Typus. O. Bergiana (E, Bergiana, L.)

18. EREMIA. Ca/y.r 4-partitus, basi bracteis imbricatus : s^^men^w late or-
biculatis, ciliatis, coriaceis. Corolla urceolaris : limbo parvo, 4-lobo. Sta-
mina inclusa : filamenta capillaria : antherce bipartitse : loculis abbreviatis,
basi muticis, foramine oblongo hiantibus. Stigma capitatum. Capsula
4-locularis : loculis monospemiis ! Semina grandiuscula, elliptica, ventri-
cosa.

Fruticulus (capensis) diffuse ramosissimus. Folia patentia, undique hispide

setosa. Flores glomerati.
Etymol. E^tifAos, solitarius, ob semina in quoque loculo solitaria.
Typus. E. Totta (E. Totta, Thunb.)

of the Erivacea, 157

19. SALAXIS. Calyx 4-pbyllus, irregularis. Corolla campanulata, 4>fida.

Stigma peltatum. Capsula drupacea, 3.1oculari8, 3-8perma.
Frutices (mauritiani) /o/ti5 temis subsenutve margins revolutit^JUmbiu in apiee

ramulorum subracemom.
Typus. S. arborescens, Willd.
Obs. Genus distinctissimura a cl. Salisburio primum conditum fuit.

20. CALLUNA. Calyx 4-partitus, membranaceus, coloratus, basi 4-bracteo-

latus. Corolla cajyce brevior, campanulata, i-loba. Stamina inclusa :
filamenta dilatata : antherae bipartitae, basi biappendiculatoe : loctdis mucro>
nulatis, longitudinaliter dehiscentibus. Stigma capitatum. Capsula sep-
ticida dehiscens. Semina ovoidea, laevia.

Frutex (europaeus). Folia trigona, obtusa, brevissima, quadrifariam imbricatOf
margine revoluta, basi sagittata. Flores terminales, spicato-racemosu

Typus. C. vulgaris, Salisb. (E. vulgaris, L.)

21. BLiERIA. Calyx 4.partitu8. Corolla brevis, tubulosa, limbo 4-fida,
Stamina 4 ! : filamenta linearia, complanata, glabra : antherce bipartite :
loculis basi attenuatis, muticis, apice foramine oblongo hiantibus. Stigma
simplex, obtusum. Capsula 4-loculari3, polysperma.

Fruticuli (capenses) ramosissimi. Folia veriicillata, margine revoltUa. Flores
terminales glomerati.

Typus. B. ericoides, L,

Obs. 1. Genus Gypsocallidi affine, sed abund^ differt staminum serial inte-
rioris defectu. Semina matura in pluribus adhuc inquirenda.

Obs. 2. In Herbario Lambertiano plantae hujus tribus maxime singularis
conservatum est exemplar, in Promontorio Bonae Spei a Johanne Rox-
burgh lectum, cui calyx 4-phyllus, corolla alt^ 4.partita, fer^ 4-petala,
filamenta capillaria, antherae bifidae (loculis abbreviatis basi muticis),
stigma capitatum, capsula 4-locularis, semina compressa, caulis erectus,
folia conferta subulata obtusiuscula supra planiuscula, flores terminales
subsessiles glomerati. Anne genus sit distinctum, vel potius alicujus spe-
ciei descripti varietatem singularem ?

Suhtrib. 2. — Corolla decidua. Andromede^.

22. ANDROMEDA. Ca/yx 5-fidus : facinm acutis, basi simplicibus. Corolla-

globosa : ore coarctato, 5-dentato. Stamina 10, inclusa: filamenta bar-
bata : antherce loculis abbreviatis, uniaristatis. Stigma truncatum. Cap^
sula loculicido-dehiscens. Placenta 5.1oba: lobis simplicibus. Semina
elliptica, compressa, nitidissima, hilo lineari laterali.

Fruticulus (Europ. Asiae et Amer. boredL) Folia lineari-lanceolata, mucro'
nulata, margine magis miniisve revolutay integenimay subtus glauca^ costa ele-
vatA, venulisque reticulatis. Petioli brevissimij callosi. Flores terminales^
umbellatij pulcherrimi, mbicundi v, nivei^ bracteis ovatis semifoliaceis imbru
catis mu7iiti,

Typus. A. polifolia, L.

23. CASSIOPE. Calyx 5-phyllus: foliolis basi imbricatis. Corolla cainpa.

nulata, 5-flda. Stamina 10, inclusa: filamenta glabra: anthera loculis Ah"

158 Mr David Don on a New Arrangement

breviatis, tumidis, uniaristatis. Stylus basi dilatatus. Stigma obtusuaf.

Capsula loculicido-dehiscens : valvis apice bifidis. Placenta 6-loba ; lobu

simplicibus. Semina oblonga, compressa, nitida.
Fruticuli (Europ. Asioe et Amer. boreal.) ericoides. Folia parva^ imbricata.

Flores solitarii, pedunculati, rosei, laterales v. terminales.
EtymoU Cassiope Androraedae mater.
Typus. C. tetragona (Andromeda tetragona, L.)

• Foliis plants.

1. C. hypnoides, foliis acerosis laxis.

Andromeda hypnoides, L. Pall. fi. ross. p. 55. t. 73. /. 2.

2. C lycopodioides, foliis ovatis adpressis quadrifarikm imbricatia.

Andromeda lycoj)odioides, L. Pall. I. c. p. 55. t. 73. /. 1.

• • Foliis adpress^ imhricatis^ margine revolutis, tumidis, subbilocularibus.

3. C. tetragona, foliis obtusis muticis periphseri^ minute ciliatis, pedunculis
glabris.

Andromeda tetragona, L. Pall. I. c. p. 56. t. 73. /. 4.

4. C. ericoides, foliis aristatis periphserid setoso-ciliatis, pedunculis glabris.

Andromeda ericoides. Pall. I. c. p. 56. /. 73./. 3.
6. C. fastigiata, foliorum peripliseria apiceque elongato scarioso-membrana-
ceis, pedunculis lanatis.

Andromeda fastigiata. Wall. pi. asiat. rar. 3. t. 284.

24. CASSANDRA. Calyx 5-phyllus, basi bibracteolatus : foliolis basi im-

bricatis. Corolla oblonga: ore coarctato, 5-dentato. Stamina 10, inclusa:
filamenta glabra, basi simplicia : antherce loculis apice elongatis, tubulosis,
muticis. Stigma annulatum, disco S-tuberculatum. Capsula loculicido-
dehiscens. Placenta 5-loba : lobis simplicibus.

Frutex (Amer. Europ. et Asiae borealibus communis) sempervirens : ramu-
lis recurvatis, pubescentibus. Folia brevissime petiolata, elliptico-oblonga, den-
ticulata, coriacea, avenia, utrinque sqtutmulis peltatis lepidota ! juniora subtus
argentea. Flores axUlares^ in ramulorum apidbus racemi mode dispositi, bre-
vissime pedicellati^ cernui, nivei.

Etymol. Nomen poeticum. Cassandra Priami et Hecubse filia.

Typus. C. calyculata (A. calyculata, L.)

25. ZENOBIA. Calyx 5-dentatus. Corolla campanulata : limbo revoluto,

5-lobo. Stamina \Q: filamenta hievissmxdi^ glabra, basi dilatata : antheree
loculis elongatis, tubulosis, apice biaristatis ! Stigma truncatum. Capsula
loculicido-dehiscens. Placenta 5-loba : lobis cuneatis, crassis, subarcuatis.
Semina angulata, hilo oblongo, laterali.

Frutices (Amer. boreal.) sempervirentes. Folia sparsa, dilatata, margine scepe
dentata. Flores racemosi, pedicellis solitariis v. aggregatis.

Etymol. Zenobia Palmyrensis regina perillustris, virtute, doctrinS infortu-
nisque celeberrima.

Typus. Z. speciosa. (A. speciosa, Mich.)

26. LYON I A. Calyx 5-partitus. Corolla ovata v. tubulosa : ore coarctato,

5-dentato. Stamina inclusa : filamenta complanata, dilatata, brevissima,
puberula: antherarum loculis membranaceis, longitudinaliter dehiscenti-

of the Ericacea, 1 59

bus ! omninb muticis. Stylus robustus, 5-gonu8. S^ima simplex, ob-

tusum. Capsula 5.gona, 6'locuUris, loculicido-dehiscens : vaivularum

marginibus valvuld extemi tectis ! Semina acicularia.
Frutices (Amer. boreal.) foliis scepius membranaceis pubesoentitmsy floribus

pierwnque^ terminalxbus racemoso-paniculatis.
T^pus. L. paniculata, A'^iUt. (A. paniculata, L.) ; 2. frondosa ; 3. femigi-

nea ; 4. racemosa ; 5. mariana ; G. marginata ; 7> arborea ; 8. jamaicensis.

27. I.EUCOTHOE. Calyx S-phyllus : foliolis basi imbricatis. Corolla tu-
bulosa, 5-dentata. Stamina mclusa, : Jilamenta dilatata, complanata, pu-
berula : antherarum loculis abbreviatis, truncatis, muticis. Stigma amplum,
capitatura. Capsula loculicido-dehiscens.

Frutices (Amer. boreaL) sempervirentes. Folia coriaceat dentato-spinulota.
Flores racemosi, albi^ axillares v. terminales.

Etymol. Nomen poeticum.

Typus. L. axillaris (A. axillaris, Soland.) ; 2. floribunda.

18. PIERIS. Calyx alte S-partitus. Corolla tubulosa v. ovata: ore coarc-
tato, 5-dentato, revoluto. Stamina inclusa : Jilamenta dilatata, apice bise-
tosa ! antherarum loculis abbreviatis, incumbentibus, longitudinaliter de-
hiscentibus. Stylus robustus, 5-gonus. Stigma truncatum. Capsula lo-
culicido-dehiscens. Semina scobiformia.

Arbores v. frutices (nepalenses)/o/tw coriaceis^Jlorihus terminalibus racemosis.

Etymol. Pieris una Musarum.

Typus. P. formosa (A. formosa, Wall.) ; 2. ovalifolia ; 3. lanceolata.

29. PH YLLODOCE. Calyx 5-partitus. Corolla globosa : ore coarctato,
5-dentato. Stamina 10, inclusa : ^amenta gracilia, glabra : anthercs loculis
abbreviatis, truncatis, muticis. S(igma peltatum, 5.tuberculatum. Cap-
sula 5-locularis, septicido-dehiscens. Semina compressa, nitida.

Fruticuli (Europae, Asiae et Americae, regionibus borealibus communes),
sempervirentes. Folia lineariay obtusa, patula. Flores terminaleSf solitariiy
V. plures aggregati, subumbellati.

Typus. P. taxifblia, Salisb. (Andromeda coerulea, L.)

1. P. iaxifoliay foliis margine denticulatis, pedunculis aggregatis glandulosis,
laciniis calycinis lanceolatis acuminatis, antheris filamentia ter brevioribus.

Phyllodoce taxifolia. Salisb. parad. t. 36.

Menziesia coerulea. Swartz in Linn. Trans. 10. p. 37T. t. 30. /. a.

Engl. bot. t. 2469.
Andromeda coerulea. Linn, sp. pi. p. 563.
A. taxifolia. Pall.fl. rms. p. 54. t. 72./. 2.
Erica coerulea. Willd. sp. pi 2. p. 393.
In EuropS et Asia boreali. Ad Udse fontes. D. Laxmann, F7 (v. v. c.
et ^ sp.)

2. P. Pallasianay foliis margine denticulatis, pedunculis aggregatis tomen-
tosis, laciniis calycinis ovato-lanceolatis acutis membranaceis, corolli»
oblongis, antheris filamentis dimidio brevioribus.

Andromeda coerulea /J. viridiflora. Herb. Pall.
In Insulis Curilis. Steller. ]^ (v. s. sp. in Herb. Pallas, nunc in Mu^
Lamb.)

ICO Mr D. Don on a Nezc) Arrangement of ike KricacecB.

Frutex erectus, rigidus, spithamteus. Folia praecedentis, sed breviora,
margine copios^ denticulata. Flores in ramulorum apice numerosi, ag-
gregate Pedunculi breviores, ut et calyces, pilis sericeis ferrugineis
adpressis undique copies^ vestiti. Calycis lacinice ovato-lanceolatse,
acutoe, membranaceae. Corolla oblonga, vix calyce longipr, profundius
5.dentata. Antherce apice truncatae, biforaminulosae, filamentis dimi-
dio breviores.
3. P. empetriformis, foliis margine denticulatis, pedunculis aggregatis parc^
glandulosis, calycis laciniis ovatis obtusis, antheris filamentorum longi-
tudine.

Menziesia empetriformis. Smith in Linn. Trans. 10. p. 380 ; Spr. syst.
2. p. 202 ; Bof. Mag. t. 3176.
* In Americd boreali. Yi (v. v. c. et s. sp. in Herb. Smith, et Lamb.)

30. BRYANTHUS. Calyx 5.phyllus, imbricatus. Corolla profunde 5-par
tita, patula. Stamina 10, corolla breviora : filamenta complanata, glabra ;
anthercB loculis abbreviatis muticis v. postice aristatis, foramine terminal!
dehiscentibus. Stigma obtusum. Capsula 5-locularis, septicido-dehiscens,
polysperma. Semina ovoidea, nitida, raphe carinata.

Fruticuli (Asiae et Amer. boreal.) humifusi. Folia conferta, patentia, pla-

niuscula. Flores terminales, solitarii v. subracemosi.
Obs. Genus a Gmelino primiim conditum.
Typus. B. Gmelini.

1. B. Gmelini, ramulis prumosis, foliis marguie denticulatis, pedunculis
plurifloris glandulosis, antheris muticis, stylo filiformi.

Menziesia Bryantha. Swartz in Linn. Trans. 10. p. 378. t. 30./. b.
Andromeda Bryantha. Linn. mant. 238; Pall.fi. ross. p. hi. t. 74./. 1.
Erica Bryantha. Thunb. diss. n. 8 ; Willd. sp. pi. 2. p. 386.
Bryanthus repens, serpyllifolio, flore roseo. Gmel. sib. 4. p. 133. t 57.
/3.
In KamtschatM, circa portum Ochotensem, et in Insula Beringii. Stel'
ler. y\ (v. s. sp. in Herb. Pallas, nunc in Mus. Lamb.)

2. B. Stelleri, ramulis glabris, foliis margine obsolete crenulatis, floribus so-
litariis subsessilibus, antheris postice biaristatis, stylo conico.

Andromeda Stelleriana. Pall. I. c. p. 58. t. 74. /. 2. (bona).
Menziesia empetriformis. Pursh^fl. amer. 1. p. 265, nee aliorum.
In plag^ occidentali Americae borealis. Menzies. A cl. Stellero primum
detecta, sed de loco incertus sum.

31. DABCECIA. Calyx 4-partitus. Corolla ovalis, ventricosa, limbo 4-den-
tato. Stamina 8, inclusa : filamenta dilatata, glabra : antherce lineares,
basi sagittatae : loculis parallelis, apice solutis, longitudinaliter dehiscen-
tibus. Stigma simplex, truncatum. Capsula 4.1ocularis, septicido-de-
hiscens.

Fruticulus (Hibemiae et Vy ren?eor. ) sempervirens. Folia elUpticay plana!

sid)tus niveo-tomentosa. Flores terminales, racemosi, purpurei.
Typus. D. polifolia. (Andromeda Daboecii, L.)

Obs. Menziesia ferruginea et globularis genus omninb diversum con-
stituunt et ad Rhodoreas referendum.

( 161 )

On Malaria.^

An English naturalist, DrMacCulloch, maintains that plants,
and also water, give out the malaria as a peculiar poison ; and
that this matter can be transported, and consequently that the
sickness it causes may be produced in districts where there are
no plants, or where, after the harvest, there is only stubble re-
maining. If, in considering this subject, we place together the
marsh fever and the real malaria, we find that all the assertions
made regarding them turn upon this view, that putrid marshes
render impure the air which previously did not contain the con-
tagious poisonous ingredient which produces these diseases. As
for several centuries the malaria has actually prevailed to a great
extent in Rome during the summer season, and as, in later
periods, quinine has been employed as a remedy, the quantity
of that medicine consumed has been taken into consideration,
and the conclusion has been drawn that Home is becoming
more marshy every year. Those who saw the absurdity of this
opinion, for there is no district more dry than that of Home,
had recourse to the Pontine marshes. But as it was opposed
to this view of the subject, that these marshes are two days'
journey from Rome, and that several healthy towns and a ridge
of hills intervene, it was found necessary to maintain that the
malaria reached its destination by a circuitous route ; then it
was thought that the Tiber, by the diminution of its waters
caused by the heats of summer, must become impure, which,
however, is by no means the case. The idea of forming another
bed for the Tiber, had no other ground than that which has

• The guide books for Italy carefully point out suspected districts, and
enjoin travellers to drive rapidly through them, and not even to close an eye,
and much less to sleep, in them. The clamour upon thL<« subject is still
greater near such places, but it has its origin chiefly in the interested mo-
tives of innkeepers. The Neapolitan scientific men gave me whole lists of
suspected places, all which, however, lie near the great roads. About districts
in the interior I could learn nothing ; and I was unable to obtain more mi-
nute or solid information upon the subject, although I gave myself much
trouble for this purpose.

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXI ir. — :fULY 1834. i.

162 07i Malaria.

been so often' renewed since the time of Caesar, to conduct it
through the Pontine marshes, and so to remove it to a distance.
The opinion has now become prevalent, that the best remedy
for the evil is the growth of plants.

Whether the Pontine marshes had their origin after the time
of Tarquinius Superbus, by the sinking of the land and destruc-
tion of the twenty-three towns caused by an earthquake, is of
no consequence for our purpose. The attempts at improvement
made by Appius Claudius, Julius Caesar, Augustus, and Trajan,
afford no important facts. When Decius, under the Gothic
viceroy Theodoric, undertook the draining, many workmen be-
came ill and died, so that it was found necessary to give up the
work several times. The same happened under Pius the Fifth,
in 1585.

When, in the midst of the difficulties which oppressed his
territories, Pius the Sixth began the work with the greatest
vigour, new epidemic disorders broke out amongst the labourers.
Many died speedily, and others recovered as rapidly. A large
part of the district was drained, and in this respect there was
cause for triumph. Pius founded there a considerable colony,
with a parish church and a capuchin monastery. Of these marsh
diseases, no further trace shewed itself ; biit, on the other hand,
the real malaria appeared when the ground was thoroughly
drained. Many of the colonists and capuchins gradually be-
came pale, almost lost the power of speech, acquired a corpse-
like aspect, and at length died. Thus the whole colony was in
a short period destroyed. The handsome church has been con-
verted into the hay magazine of the present post-house. When
the crops are cut, the proprietor of the post-house and his family
remove to a more healthy situation ; and, paying high wages,
give the establishment in charge to their servants, of whom some
always fall a sacrifice to the malaria. I saw two such individuals ;
I took the cook with me in my carriage to Rome, where he found
aid in the hospital. He had not been at all aware that the dis-
ease had seized him, and remained nearly two years in service,
until his voice became as weak as that of a child, and he was
seized with a cough, accompanied by symptoms of great debi-
lity, under which in all probability he sunk. On the other
hand, several houses stand in the middle of the marsh ; and I

On Malaria. 103

learned that tlie real malaria had never appeared amongst the
people who inhabited them, hut that violent fevers are of fre-
quent occurrence.

It is well known that marshy districts, abounding in putrid
water, are very unhealthy, and that in these intermitting fevers
become epidemic ; so that the ships from Manfredonia, and
some other places on the Adriatic Sea, are obliged to serve qua-
rantine on arriving at other ports. I saw marshy districts of
this description at Basiento ; in the province of Otranto ; at
Crati ; near Miastro, Catania, Lentini, Agosta, &c. The real
malaria tracts of country are characterised by entirely different
features. In the year 1669, four villages were overflowed by
the lava which issued from the eruption of the M. Rossi on
Etna. The inhabitants built a new village on a beautiful
height between Paterno and jMotta. To the east and south
basalt may be observed, and to the north we meet with the old
seas of lava of Etna ; but the chief rock is a vesicular basaltic
tuffa. The village was called Castellino, and is now entirely
deserted ; and the houses appear as if they had suffered from
fire. Though excessively dry, the district abounds in rich fields
of corn. At a greater distance round this remarkable elevated
point, there is no marsh or other similar collection of water.
The first year the malaria showed itself after the harvest, and
under its influence the whole colony suffered ; so that at last
not an individual lived on the spot, while the neighbourhood
was abundantly inhabited. Notwithstanding this, however, a
few years ago, a rich inhabitant of Palermo built in that very
district some farm-houses, and a beautiful country house. The
farmers unfortunately heard the fate of the colony, and again
every thing was deserted, and the wood of the houses carried
away. One of the least moist districts is that round the village
of Florida, which lies on an extensive platform composed of
basaltic tuffa, and, like all other malaria tracts, is characterised
by the absence of vegetation. Soon after leaving Syracuse no
more trees are to be seen. In the long narrow limestone valley
bushes are to be met with, but when the height is reached ail
vegetation disappears after the harvest ; there is nothing but
dried up corn fields, in which nothing thrives amongst the
stubble. The village, which contains the only houses of the

l2

164 On Malaria:

district, is visible at a distance of fifty Italian miles ; but in the
upper and more beautiful part of it all the houses, and in the
remainder many of them, were deserted. When the harvest is
over, the richer part of the population remove, and again take
possession of their property in autumn. As I several times
wandered through the village, I saw a number of children
from five to twelve years old creepirig about, or lying, corpse-
like, in the burning rays of the sun. Amongst the grown
up there are fewer who are attacked by malaria ; but still, at
church, I saw a considerable number. Those who have passed
their fourteenth year are less liable to the disease ; but many
are seized by it, and especially, as is asserted, every newly ar-
rived stranger. At the inn there were three children and a
person advanced in life, who had been ill for several years, and
were apparently near dissolution. I saw several similar districts
in Sicily, and particularly between Caltanisella and Sulera, in
the centre of the country; In Calabria, Cosenza is especially
notorious, and is deserted in summer by nearly all the respect-
able inhabitants ; and it was there where I saw the fear for the
disease carried to the greatest extent. Neapolitans and foreigners
ascribe the malaria to the marshy districts ; and yet Cosenza is
a very dry place. There are certainly two rivulets which unite
below the town, but these run exceedingly rapidly over the
pebbles. It is only at a distance of many miles, and again
where Crati approaches the ancient Sibaris, that the ground be-
comes marshy, but still not to such an extent as to produce
fevers. Besides, malaria does not exist in a single place in this
valley of seventy miles in length, except at Cosenza, its highest
point. To the west of Cosenza there are conical hills of granite
and gneiss ; to the south, there are extensive strata of sand-
stone, under which appear fragments of limestone beds, and
traces of basaltic tuflPa and mud-like masses ; to the east, there
are traces of old mud volcanos, and tufFaceous tower-shaped
masses ; and to the north begins the highest part of the valley,
which descends for two days'* journey, and then terminates near
ancient Sibaris. The valley of the Negro presents similar fea-
tures ; the river flows into the Silaro, and in the lower region
renders marshy the district of Palla, and m^kes that of Basizza
so noxious, while in the highest and driest part, at the source

On Malaria. 166

of the river, and farther down on a hill at La Palla, the malaria
appears. When in the province Basilicata, we advance from
Molitano to the river district of Agri, we meet with large gypsum
craters, and more towards the Tarentine sea, white marly mud-
like masses, which, near Craco and Ilice, form innumerable
mud-hills or rather cones, which in summer resemble the ordi-
nary soil, but in winter become mud volcanos. In the most
fruitful part of that district, which is now an extraordinary
desert, for there is nothing human to be seen for a whole day's
journey, I found an old wall with an inscription announcing
that here Carolus dei gratia Hispaniorum Romanorum et Nea-
politarum Imperator had built a church in 1729, in order to
afford religious consolation to the inhabitants. But the malaria
and time have destroyed the church and the other buildings.
During my geognostical observations there, my servant, who
was an exceedingly strong and healthy individual, was attacked
by the malaria, and, according to the last letter I received, is
likely to sink under it. Rome seems to have much analogy to
the district I have described. The whole region is composed of
basaltic tuffa, which is continued as far as Naples, and there
unites with the pasilipo tuffa of the Pflegrean fields. To the
north this formation still continues ; and, as at Basilicata, ter-
minates with mud deposits. Over this whole extent of country
basalt or lava masses are frequent, and volcanic products are
accumulated in hills. Even the limestone of the Apennines has
in some places suffered alterations. The neighbourhood of
Rome is also very hilly, dry, and entirely without vegetation.
For days together, one sees nothing but desolate dried up corn
fields witliout trees, bushes, or wood of any description. In
^arly Umes Rome was surrounded by extensive sacred woods,
which were not suffered to be destroyed. At that period malaria
was unknown, though intermitting fevers were well known in
the Pontine marshes The avarice of the Popes, however, con-
verted these sacred woods into gold, and so desolated the re-
gion that not a tree or wood are to be met with around Rome.
With the commencement of this system of extirpation the malaria
appeared ; and has at length reached such a height that, yearly,
many are carried gradually off by it ; and in the summer months

166 On Malaria.

strangers and respectable inhabitants quit Rome, and thus the
gigantic city is half depopulated.

From all my observations, which at present I have not time
to develope, I believe I may deduce the following conclusions :
First of all, it is necessary to distinguish malaria from marsh
fevers ; and this we may do, either by considering the form or
the cause of the disease. To throw every thing together with-
out further proof, is to give rise to uncertainty, and to form a
chaos in the present state of our knowledge. When we take
into consideration all the phenomena of marshy districts, the
conclusion does not lie far distant, that the atmosphere is in dif-
ferent degrees rendered unfit for human organisation, not by
the passage of the water to the air, but by the decomposition
and solution of vegetable substances ; that thus those various
intermitting fevers, and even the plague itself, are produced by
the Adriatic Sea ; that the removal of those diseases, though
they certainly are most frequent in summer, is not connected
with any particular period ; and that, consequently, though
marshy regions are avoided, yet in these emigration does not in-
variably take place. In the case of real malaria, in opposition
to marsh fevers, the circumstances are different. So long as
the earth is covered with Uving vegetables, as for example with
corp, the air of the most suspected district is pure and healthy,
and no one fears being attacked by the disease ; but when
the prodigious crops, which in those volcanic, loose-soiled
districts are speedily brought to maturity, are removed, does
the surface of the earth become dead at the warmest and most
energetic period of its functions .? or does not rather a portion
of those substances, which were consumed by the leaves and
roots of plants, now go to the atmosphere and render it un-
favourable for the breathing of man, until all is again restored
to an equilibrium in higher or more distant regions. That car-
bonaceous matter is beneficial to the vegetable kingdom, is as
well known as that it is prejudicial to the breathing process in
animals. That in Rome the higher parts of the town, as the
Trinita del Monte, the Capitol, &c. are free from malaria, while
low-lying districts, as the campo vaccino, &c. are very danger-,
ous, is certain, and confirms the view we have given. On the
appearance of malaria the Pope leaves the low lying Vatican,

Rev. Mr Eisdale*s Observatiom on Ground Ice, 167

and inhabits for a certain period a palace placed on a higher
elevation. No educated person in Germany doubts the organic
function of he earth, to which also the cholera itself has been
ascribed ; and when a more general regard to nature advances
to the south, the sacred woods will again gradually surround
Rome, large vine branches entwine themselves round the elms, the
hills be thus again covered, and the malaria reduced within limits.
The fact is not without interest, that all real malaria districts
are of volcanic formation, and that they are often to be found at
the boundary of volcanic and non-volcanic rocks. That the
district of the Aderner sea was formerly exceedingly unhealthy
is certain ; and the same was the case with the Monte Gauro or
Ba?'baro, where at that period the best wine was produced, but
since the formation of the Monte Nuovo by a volcanic eruption
of 1538, between the sea and the hill, the spot has become
healthy ; but, at the same time, since that event it has been
found impossible to grow even tolerable ,wine in a place where
such nectar was formerly obtained. On the other hand, it is
known that it is only at a recent period that Monte Fiascone has
produced its nectar. Whoever may make the malaria the sub-
ject of his investigation will find a host of facts which he may
collect, and from them make out a history of this difficult and
little known subject.

Observations on Ground-ice. By the Rev. Mr Eisdale.
(Communicated by the Author *.)

On the 28th of December 1831, I read a paper at the meet-
ing of this Society, directing the attention of the members to a
particular kind of ice, which seems to be formed in direct oppo-
sition to the ordinary laws of congelation. The ice to which I
allude commences at the bottom of the water, and extends up-
wards to the surface, and it is produced only in the most rapid
and most rugged streams. This is exactly the reverse of the
usual process of congelation, which takes place in stagnant
water, commencing at the sides of the river or pond, and gra-
dually extending over the surface ; when it thickens downwards
towards the bottom, and if the frost is sufficiently intense, con-

• Read before the Philosophical Society of Perth, on the 28th Dec. 1831.

168 Rev. Mr Eisdale's Observations on Ground-ice.

verts the whole water into a solid ma&s of ice. The pheno-
menon did not seem to have attracted any attention in this
quarter; and the facts which I stated, and the speculations
which I advanced, seemed to excite some surprise : the ice in
question, however, is perfectly famiUar to every person in this
country, though I never had seen any attempt to account for
its formation, and had long puzzled myself in vain to form any
plausible theory on the subject. 1 was not ashamed to confess
this at the time, and I expressly declared that 'the theory which
I proposed was intended to elicit, rather than impart, informa-
tion, and especially to direct attention to the alleged facts which
had been com^municated to me, and on which I founded my ex-
planation of the process.

This kind of ice is well known in all northern climates, from
its annoying effects in obstructing all works which are carried
on by the impelling power of water. When ice collects on the
surface of mill-leads it is easily managed : it needs only to be
broken and floated down the stream : but when the ice of which
I am speaking forms, the case is perfectly hopeless ; the leads
are gorged up from the very bottom, and it is in vain to at-
tempt to remove the obstruction. This kind of ice is called in
Germany grund eis ; in France it is known by the name of
glace dejbnd ; and in the south of Scotland, it is called lappered
ice, an epithet which the common people apply to the natural
coagulation of milk. I am happy, however, that the pheno-
menon has now attracted the attention of some eminent philo-
sophers, particularly of the celebrated Arago in France, who
has been at great pains in collecting a variety of facts, and has
proposed a theory for the explanation of the appearance, which
I shall shew to be utterly inadequate for the purpose; and
which, with the modesty that characterises genuine philosophy,
he admits does not thoroughly satisfy himself.

I beg leave to call the attention of the meeting, for a moment,
to the phenomenon itself. Every inhabitant of Perth who has
witnessed the setting in of a severe frost, must have observed
that before the true ice, as I may call it, has made much pro-
gress in advancing from the sides to the centre of the river,
nearly the whole body of the stream above the bridge is oc-
cupied by large irregular masses of floating ice of very consider-

Rev. Mr Eisdale's Observations on Ground-ice. 169

able thickness, far beyond any thing that could be effected by
the natural operation of the frost in surface freezings. I be-
lieve it has seldom occurred to any observer to inquire how these
masses of amorphous ice were formed : they all come down the
river from a great distance ; and being stopped, at last, by the
flow of the tide, and closely compacted together, they are ag-
glutinated by the frost, and present great obstacles to naviga- *
lion. Now these masses are precisely the ice in question : they
are formed in the most rugged currents, adhering to the pro-
jecting rocks and rough inequalities at the bottom, and increas-
ing upwards, till their bulk and smaller specific gravity, as
compared with water, enable the stream to tear them from their
fastenings, and hurry them down the river.

I shall mention a few of the facts which M. Arasro has cd-
lected on this subject ; and it is curious enough to observe from
his statement, that, what is perfectly well known to every pea-
sant, is still called in question by the majority of the natural
philosophers of France: they deny the existence of groimd-ice.
M. Beaun, in 1788, wrote several dissertations chiefly to esta-
blish the existence of ground-ice^ from observations made by
himself and by the fishermen on the Elbe. He informs us, that
the latter declared that the baskets which they let down into the
river, for the purpose of catching eels, were often, when brought
to the surface, incrusted with ice ; that the anchors used for
mooring their boats, when lost during the summer, again ap-
peared in the following winter, being raised by the ascending
force of the ice at the bottom, with which they had been cover-
ed to such an extent as to render them buoyant ; and that this
ground-ice often raised up the large stones to which the buoys
were fastened by chains, and caused the greatest inconvenience
by displacing these useful signals.

Desmarest, a member of the French Academy of Sciences,
was among the first who made observations on the formation of
ground-ice ; but he advances no theory on the subject. He
says he had seen flakes of this ice formed at the bottom of run-
ning streams, increasing to the thickness of five or six inches in
a single night. A more extraordinary fact than this was com-
municated to myself about two years ago, when my first paper
was announced in the newspapers. A miller, in the western

170 Rev. Mr Eisdale's Observations on Ground-ice.

part of the country, wrote me a letter containing a theory of his
own, ascribing the phenomenon to the prevalence of particular
winds; in confirmation of which he mentioned, that, during a
severe frost, when his mill-lead was entirely free of any kind of
ice, he had occasion one day to lop some branches from a tree
which overhung the lead ; one of them fell into the water and
was left there, as he did not apprehend any consequences from
such a trifling occurrence. Next day, however, to his astonish-
ment, the water was turned entirely out of the lead, and had
overflowed a large portion of an adjoining meadow. On pro-
ceeding to ascertain the cause, he found that a solid barrier of
ice had been formed across the lead where the branch had fallen
in, so as completely to prevent any water from passing, whilst
the rest of the lead was free from ice. He ascribes this to the
prevalence of a very sharp north-east wind which had blown
durinff the nifjht. There can be no doubt that this is convert-
ing into a cause, what is merely an accidental concomitant, as I
shall shew hereafter.

On the 16th February 1827, M. Hugi, President of the So>
ciety of Natural History at Soleure, while standing on the
bridge of the Aar, and when the river was perfectly clear of ice,
observed in these circumstances, large icy tables continually
rising from the bottom of the river, in a vertical direction, and
with such buoyancy, as to rise considerably above the surface,
when they immediately sunk into a horizontal position, and
floated down the stream. A great many facts of the same kind
may be found in M. Arago's paper, which is given in the Edin-
burgh New Philosophical Journal for July last ; which is the
first paper on the subject of ground-ice that I have ever seen.

Let us now attend for a httle to the cause of these singular
phenomena, and I will be bold to say that no adequate cause
has yet been assigned for them ; Unless the hints which I for-
merly threw out on the subject as queries, rather than as ascer-
tained facts, shall be considered sufficient for the purpose. M.
Arago gives his theory as to the cause at great length. It is
simply this, that the different strata of water, in a running and
shallow stream, being all mixed together by the agitation caused
by the inequalities of the bottom, are all cooled down during an
intense frost to the freezing point, and that the stones there

Rev. Mr Eisdale's Observations on Ground-Ice. ITl

form proper points of attachment to facilitate the formation of
icy crystals. This is, in fact, the same answer that was given
to my theory, in some of the newspapers, two years ago ; but it
is altogether inadequate, for this plain reason^ that, according to
it, the phenomena of ground-ice ought to appear in every hard
frost, when the water reaches the requisite temperature. But
so far is this from being the case, that in the hardest frosts
which we have ever seen, not a particle of ground-ice was found
in the river. Take, for instance, the very severe frost of 1813-
14, when the Tay was frozen over for many weeks, yet no
ground-ice was to be seen. Some gentlemen present may re-
member to have skated down the stream and through below the
arches of the bridge, whilst the ice every where was clear as
crystal, and the bed of the stream entirely free from the white
spongy ground-ice.

Some now present will probably recollect that tjie theory
which I proposed, as a solution of these phenomena, was founded
on information which I had received from country people, and
others, whose operations depended on water-wheels, and whose
interests forced them to attend to appearances, which might
pass unheeded by others. The sura of their information was,
that the ground-ice was never formed but after a heavy rioiie,
or hoar-frost. If this is the fact, the explanation is obvious.
The hoar-frost, which is congealed moisture, precipitated from
the atmosphere, and falling into the river when the water is
cooled down to the freezing-point, cannot be dissolved. It re-
tains in the water the very shape in which it descends from the
air. When these small crystals fall on a deep unfrozen pool,
the water being above the freezing-point, the particles melt and
are incorporated with the water ; but in a shallow and agitated
stream, almost the whole water is brought, in succession, into
contact with the intense frost, and may thus be cooled down to
the freezing-point to the very bottom of the stream, before even
a pellicle of ice is formed on the stagnant pool. All the par-
ticles of hoar-frost, then, or frozen vapour which fall on such
a stream will remain unmelted ; and being tossed in all direc-
tions by the agitations of the current, will be brought into con-
tact with the rocks, or other substances projecting from the
bottom, to which they will readily adhere, and form a nucleus

172 Rev. Mr Eisdale's Observations on Ground-ice.

for that strange accumulation called ground-ice., which is found
nowhere but in streams.

I would not have brought forward this theory a second time,
had T not met with some facts collected by M. Arago, which
afford the strongest confirmation of the theory which I had ad-
vanced, though he himself scarcely seems to have had a glimpse
of their importance. He mentions an observation by Desmarest,
that in a cloudy sky the ground-ice accumulates uniformly, but
is interrupted when the sun shines. Now, what he calls a cloudy
sky I conceive to be an atmosphere loaded with hoar-frost, and
rendered hazy by its condensation ; for I do not think it possible
that a genuine cloud can exist in the atmosphere during a keen
frost. Here, then, this observer furnishes a fact in perfect ac-
cordance with the information on which I proceeded, viz. that
the ground-ice is formed only during a hazy state of the atmo-
sphere, ij3 other words, during a hoar-frost ; whilst he tells us
that the process was interrupted when the sky was clear.

But M. Arago quotes a passage from a paper of Mr Knight,
the celebrated botanist, in the 106th vol. of the Phil. Trans.,
which brings the matter nearer, if not altogether, to a demon-
stration, though Mr Knight himself proposes no theory. The
passage is as follows : — " In a morning which succeeded an in-
tensely cold night, the stones in the rocky bed of the river ap-
peared to be covered with frozen matter, which reflected a
thread of silvery whiteness, and which, upon examination, I
found to consist of numerous frozen spicula crossing each other
in every direction^ as in snow, but not having any where, except
near the shore, assumed the state of firm compact ice. The
river was not at this time frozen over in any part, but the
temperature of the water was obviously at the freezing point,
for small pieces of ice had every where formed upon it in its
more stagnant parts near the shore ; and upon a mill-pond, just
above the shallow streams, in the bottom of which I had no-
ticed millions of little frozen spicula floating upon the water.
At the end of this mill-pond, the water fell over a low weir, and
entered a narrow channel, where its course was obstructed by
points of rock and large stones. By these, numerous eddies
and gyrations were occasioned, which apparently drew the
floating spicula under water ; and I found the frozen matter to

Rev. Mr Eisdale's Observations on Ground- Ice. 173

accumulate much more abundantly upon such parts of the stones
as stood most opposed to the current (where that was not very
rapid), below the little falls, or very rapid parts of the river.'*

These are by far the most important observations that have
been made on the subject of ground-ice. M. Arago is so much
struck by them, that after having concluded his own theory he
says, " It is not certain that the little particles, mentioned by
Mr Knight, do not play an important part in this phenomenon,
which I have entirely overlooked." I verily believe they do ;
only one element is wanting in the catalogue of Mr Knight's
observations to decide my opinion, and that is, the state of the
atmosphere during the preceding night. I am persuaded that
it had been loaded with hoar-frost, and its precipitation into the
river formed the floating spicuta which he observed ; they could
have no other origin ; and their being brought into contact with
the stones by the gyrations of the stream, is exactly what I had
given two years ago as the theory of the formation of ground-
ice, by the congelation and precipitation of the moisture of the
atmosphere.

It is always delightful to explore the mysteries of nature, and
the Author of our being has provided in such researches un-
bounded exercise for the highest powers of our understanding
and reason. Even brute matter gives us some idea of the im-
mensity of its Creator ; for notwithstanding the immense strides
that have been made in investigating the properties of matter,
we may be said to^be at this moment only on the threshold of
science ; and future generations, if the mind goes on to improve,
will look back on our most profound researches merely as form-
ing the rude elements of that more perfect knowledge which
they will have reached. Perhaps much remains to be known
even with regard to the common phenomena to which I have
this day directed the attention of this meeting; and although I
think we have nearly reached the solution of our problem in the
process of freezing, yet that you may not think the mysteries
of congelation exhausted, I conclude with mentioning a fact,
which the illustrious Frenchman, whom I have so often quoted,
leaves without even attempting an explanation. " During the con-
gelation of the bottom of the Aar, M. Hugi immersed pitchers
filled with hot and cold water ; the first, on being brought up.

174 Mr Reid's Notice of an Earthquake at Saena in Peru.

was covered with a layer of ice one inch thick ; the other had
no marks of congelation. Bullets covered with cloth, warm as
well as cold, afforded similar results."

Notice of an Earthquake at Saena in Peru. By John
Reid, Esq. Communicated by the Author.

Sir, Saena, Wth November 1833.

The place from which I write is situated forty miles N.NW.
of the port of Arica, on the coast of Peru, and twenty-five miles
inland from the point of the bay of the same name, laid down
in our maps as the Morra de Sama. The surrounding country
is part of that hopeless waste which reaches along the coast
from Tumbey to the confines of Chili, on which nature in de-
nying it rain has set the impress of eternal sterility.

The Cordillera of the Andes, which runs nearly the whole
extent of this side of South America, parallel with the coast,
is distant only about twenty miles, and presents the sublime
summits of Tacora^ and three other nameless mountains, covered,
for several thousand feet> with perpetual snow, glittering under
the pure sunshine of a tropical sky. The climate, from our
proximity to the Cordillera on the one hand, and the Pacific
Ocean on the other, is one of the finest in the world : seven
years of almost constant observation have given me a medium of
63°, as the general average temperature of day and night. Rain,
in the proper sense of the word, is unknown in winter. We
have sometimes a drizzling mist during the night ; but even this
is rare, and wind, except in the slight southerly trade breeze,
which sets in about mid-day, and calms at sunset, is utterly un-
known. A small stream, dignified by the name of River, de-
scends from the Cordillera, and by its careful distribution, sup-
ports the luxuriant vegetation which environs the town, but
these advantages are more than counterbalanced by our exposure
to earthquakes.

On the night of the 8th of October 1831, at a quarter past
9 o'clpck, the first great " terremoto,"" for a period of nearly a
century, took place here. Its approach was announced by a
hollow rumbling subterraneous noise, not unlike, but much

Mr Reid's Notice of an Earthquahe at Saena in Peru. 175

louder, than distant thunder. This lasted for about ten seconds,
and was followed by a violent vertical movement of the earth,
which continued for nearly seventy seconds more. Many of the
houses were thrown down, the walls of others shattered in every
direction, and in some cases pieces of building were detached
from the middle of walls, leaving the rest of the edifice unin-
jured. This earthquake ruined the unfortunate town of Arica,
was felt at the very extremity of the republic to the south, and
as far north as Camana, a line covering seven degrees of la*titude
along the coast. It was also felt at sea, at a distance of 100
miles from Arica, and at Chuquisaca, 400 miles inland, shaking
to its centre not only the immense breadth of the main Cordil-
lera, but the lateral chain of Portosi, on the eastern extremity
of which Chuquisaca is situated. The great shock was followed
by two others at 11 p. m., and 5 of the following morning, and
the earth continued sensibly trembling for at least a fortnight
afterwards, up to the 7th of February 1832. I counted ninety-
seven distinct shocks, and from that day the greater part of the
earthquakes we have had have taken place without the noise
which used formerly to precede them.

On the morning of the 18th September last, precisely at 6
o'clock, another dreadful convulsion of the earth occurred here,
which entirely destroyed at least 1000 of the 1200 houses of
this unfortunate city, besides completing the utter ruin of Arica
and the other small towns of the province. This earthquake
commenced in its full force without any preceding noise. It lasted
forty-three seconds, and the movement of the earth was horizon-
tal, with two or three undulatory oscillations^ the most alarming
and dangerous of all. Those who, like myself, may have fre-
quently experienced similar things, will easily agree with me,
that it is no time for exactness in calculation, nor could I speak
with precision to the duration of this convulsion in which my
personal safety was in many ways threatened ; but for the fact
of having had my watch at the moment of its occurrence in my
hand, and having preserved presence of mind enough to note
the instant when it ceased, I am inclined to believe that three
oscillations occurred every second. The subterranean noise was
dreadful, infinitely louder than any thunder I ever heard, and
I have been in many thunder-storms on the summits of the

176 Mr Reid's Notice of an Earthquake at Saena in Peru.

Andes. Many poor people lost their lives, and all were driven
to the surrounding desert, to seek safety in distance from the
dangerous vicinity of walls and houses.

On the evening preceding the two earthquakes, of which I
have spoken, the atmosphere was very dense, an ominous inex-
plicable stillness seemed to prevail, broken only at intervals by
the breathing of an air of wind, which appeared to have no de-
termined direction, and was felt within doors the same as in the
street. The atmosphere appeared to be in a highly electrical
state, and many people taking notice of these things, were in
some degree prepared for the coming calamity. Nor was the
howling of the dogs and braying of jack-asses during the night
disregarded. In countries exposed to earthquakes people ac-
quire a habit of observing any thing considered as an indication,
as well as a delicacy in the perception, of the slightest shake,
Ivhich appears to a stranger ridiculous timidity. Two or three
circumstances came under my own observation, which seemed
to prove that some powerful agent is at work in the atmosphere
besides the hidden one below the surface. A great number of
empty glass phials I found next day standing where they had
been left, but the stoppers were scattered in all directions about
the room. A few others, containing different liquids, were thrown
from the shelves and broken, but no empty one had even fallen
on its side. On a highly varnished new table, at which I had
the night before been reading, the varnish became so fluid that
it passed through the boards of several books, and they next
day appeared as if glued to the mahogany. From several large
earthen jars sunk in the earth, the water was thrown in con-
siderable quantity over the mouths, although in none of them
was it nearer to the top than from 3 to 4 feet. One singularity
in the dog is remarked here, and it is, that immediately after a
shock, whether strong or weak, the whole dogs of the place
run to drink at the nearest water.

I had got this length when a messenger arrived from Arica
to inform us, that the vessel which takes our letters to England
positively sails in the morning, and they must leave this imme-
diately. I proposed giving a short historical view of the prin-
cipal earthquakes which have happened on the coast of Peru
since the conquest, along with a brief description of the princi-

Professor Traill on some of the Cetacea. 177

pal volcanoes in our neighbourliood. This I shall do by the first
opportunity, in the hope that it may not prove altogether unin-
teresting. I have greatly to regret the having, many years ago,
broken ijfy barometer in the interior, but I am in daily hopes
of receiving one I long since ordered from England. I am, Sir,
your most obedient servant, John Reid.

On some of the Cetacea. By Professor Tjraill. Communi-
cated by the Author.

It has, I believe, excited considerable surprise in this country,
to observe the keen discussions which have lately taken place
between Geoffroy St Hilaire and other French naturalists on the
nutrition of the Cetacea.

British naturalists have long considered the existence of
mammae, the secretion of milk, and the lactation of their young,
as among the best established facts in the natural history of that
order of animals ; but it would appear that, on the recent cap-
ture of a considerable number of a large species of Delphinus,
Geoffroy St Hilaire has endeavoured to throw doubts on the
received opinion on this subject, on grounds chiefly derived from
an observation some time ago made by Ba^r, that the mammae
of the Cetacea were analogous to the abdominal glands of the
Oenithorhynchus and Echidna, two animals which, from the
common termination of the foecal, urinary and generative organs,
Geoffroy had proposed the generic name of Monotremes. This
assertion of Baer seems to have been the origin of the scepticism
of that distinguished naturalist.

The questions which have been discussed in France are in-
volved in four propositions : —

1. Have the Cetacea mammce?

% If they have, do they secrete milk ?

8. Have they a nipple ? And,

4. Do the young derive their nourishment from the teats ?

The three first have been long ascertained by various na-
turalists.

The ancients appear to have had very correct notions re-

VOL. XVI I. NO. XXXIII. JULY 1834. M

178 Professor Traill on some of' the Cetacea.

specting these points, particularly in one genus of cetaceous ani-
mals, the Delphinus. Aristotle had remarked the striking af-
finity of the Cetacea to the Mammalia inhabiting the land ; and
states, " that young dolphins are nourished by the milk of their
mothers as they swim in company with them." Pliny is more
express when speaking of the same genus : " Nutriunt uberi-
bus, sicut Bcdeena!" " Quin et adultos diu comitantur ; mag-
num erga partum charitate."^

The fact of whales possessing teats is so well known to our
Greenland sailors, that I never heard it doubted by any of them
whom I have examined on the subject ; and I have repeatedly
heard them describe the milk which flows from the udder of the
female whale when it is pressed. Mr Scoresby, one of our most
accurate observers, thus describes the lactiferous system of the
great whale, Balcena mysticetus : " Two paps in the female af-
ford the means of rearing its young. They are situated on the
abdomen, on each side of the pudendum, and are two feet apart.
They appear not to be capable of protrusion beyond a few inches*
In the dead animal they are always found protruded.

" The milk of the whale resembles that of quadrupeds in its
appearance. It is said to be rich and well flavoured." (Arctic
Regions, i.)

I have had opportunities of examining several species of Del-
phinus, and can positively assert that the females have mammae,
which are furnished with teats or nipples^ and which secrete
milk.

It is known to some of my friends, that, in 1809, I de-
scribed, chiefly from the drawings and notes of the late Mr
James Watson of Orkney, a new species of dolphin^ to which
I gave the name of Melas from its glossy blackness; but
for which I afterwards proposed the trivial name of Deductor,
from its gregarious disposition and propensity to follow a leader.
The first description was published in the 22d volume of Nichol-
sorCs Journal; the second in Scoreshy's Arctic Regions. In
both, the fact of the young being nourished by sucking the
dams is noticed, but shortly, because it was considered as too well
established to admit of any doubt ; but I am enabled, from Mr
Watson's notes, now in my possession, to state more fully this
fact, as witnessed by him in the herd of 92 individuals of that

Professor Traill on some of the Cetacea. 179

species stranded at once in the Orkney islands ; from which, the
drawings and descriptions published by me were originally de-
rived.

In a letter, dated in 1807, Mr Watson thus writes : " On the
13th of December last, ninety-two whales of the Delphine ge-
nus were killed in the Bay of Scapay."" " They were of va-
rious sizes, from five to twenty feet in length ; the smallest were
destitute of teeth, and sucking their dams.'"

Another individual, who was then also present, and is now
with me while I write, gives the following account of that ex-
traordinary scene : — '< When the whales were driven on shore
in Scapay Bay, the young ones continued to swarm round their
dams, until the receding tide left them also dry. During this
interval I observed some of them clinging to the teats of their
mothers. When separated the milk flowed from the teats in
great quantity. It was white ; and, as it flowed, of the consist-
ence of thin cow's milk ; but, on standing, it seemed to throw
up cream, or to become more rich in appearance. As I walked
round the animals, pools of milk were here and there distinctly
visible. The moans of the mothers were most piteous, especial-
ly when their young were removed. This induced one of my
servants to lift a small whale, and apply it to the mother's teat,
of which it immediately laid hold. I cannot recollect that I
saw it absolutely sucking ; but it grasped the teat with its tooth-
less mouth, and my impression was that it sucked."

These facts were witnessed by hundreds of persons, among
whom I never met with one who thought differently on the lac-
tation of the Dclpliinus Deductor.

Among Mr Watson's papers I have found several measure-
ments of this species, besides those already published by me.

" The eye, 2 inches long, and fths broad, is placed about
18 inches from th6 point of the snout.

" On the back of the head, and in a line with the eyes, was
placed the spout-hole, of a semilunar shape, 4J inches in length
by 2 broad.

" Length of the animal" (from which the drawing was made)
«' 20 feet, and girth 11 J feet. Pectoral fins 5 J feet by 15
inches. Tail 5 J feet wide, by 2 feet deep.

" Teeth conical, about 1 J inches long, bent a little inwards;

M 2

180 Mr Galbraith on Workman's Correction

and in those under the largest size, there were 24 in each jaw ;
those Jidl grown seemed to have lost some of their teeth.*"

It seems to me probable, that the animal lately described as
a new species by the French savans, under the name of Del-
phinus Globiceps, is only my D. Deductor, which has a semiglo-
bular snout.

I may here remark, that, in my original description, by a
misprint, the pectoral fins were said to be Jrom (5 to 8, instead
oljrom 4 to (i feet long. Another, of which the measurements
were published in Scoresby''s work, had a length of ]9| feet,
and the free part of its pectoral fins was only 3 J feet by li foot.

In this species the spiracle has its cornua pointing forward.
Mr Scoresby has also published a figure and admeasurements of
Balana Rostrata, taken by Mr Watson from a stranded speci-
men. In Mr Scoresby''s work, the circumference is stated at
20 feet ; but in another set of admeasurements, in Mr Watson^s
handwriting, I find the girth given at 10 feet only.

This species of whale may be readily discriminated from the
young of the allied species, by the colour of its palatal laminae,
which are in it whitish^ while they are dark brown in the other
species.

A fine specimen of the B. rostrata was, about two months
ago, caught in the Firth of Forth, and exhibited in this city.
It agreed exactly with the Orkney specimen in its external ap-
pearance ; and a good account of its anatomical structure may
be soon expected from Z>r Knox, who has dissected the animal.

On Workman^s Correction of Middle Latitude Sailing. By
William Galbraith, A. M., Teacher of Mathematics,
Edinburgh. Communicated by the Author.

It has lately been the practice to introduce into several ele-
mentary books which treat of the principles of navigation, a ta-
ble by Mr Workman to adjust the arc called the Middle Lati-
tude, so as to produce the same course and distance as by Mer-
cator''s sailing, when the earth is considered to be a sphere.
This correction is, indeed, generally small, and by the nature

of Middle Latitude Sailing. 181

of this problem does not, in a practical point of view, confer ma-
terial accuracy on the results, even supposing the earth to be a
sphere. Besides, from the use of the log as generally construct-
ed, and the instability of the compass in an irregular sea, it is
not possible to steer with great nicety, seldom' to so much as
within a quarter of a point of the tenth. The errors, therefore,
to which a ship's place is liable by these causes are much great-
er than by any small inaccuracy in ordinary cases, arising from
the common method of computing the course and distance. In
addition to these, however, the earth is not a sphere but a sphe-
roid, of about yjy of compression, and since this is the case, it
appears to me to be an unnecessary refinement to take into ac-
count corrections which proceed on the spherical hypothesis.
On this account I think it needless to encumber a process with
any additional complexity, intended for the use of ordinary sea-
men.

Instead of entering upon any lengthened discussion on this
subject here, I shall merely refer to the third volume of De-
lambre's Astronomy, chapter xxxvi, for a demonstration of the
methods to determine the meridional parts on the spheroid, and
to Mendoza Rios' tables for the proper table. It is shewn by
the celebrated astronomer first named, that the meridian parts,
answering to the reduced latitude for a given ellipticity, are
those on the spheroid. Strictly speaking, then, the meridian
difference of latitude found in this manner ought to be employed
in determining the course and distance by Mercator's sailing,
and to the results from these, those by Middle Latitude sailing
ought to be made conformable. Suppose, for example, that the
middle latitude is 55°, and the difference of latitude 6° ; then,
on the spheroidal or true hypothesis to yj^ compression, the
correction of the middle latitude is — 7'. But by Workman's
Table this correction on the spherical hypothesis will be -f 6'.
The results would therefore have been more accurate in this
case, by omitting the correction than by applying it.

It may, consequently, be remarked, that, in Mercator's sailing,
the meridional parts should strictly be taken for the reduced or
geocentric latitudes, which are always smaller than the observed
or apparent latitudes. The reduction of the latitude is greatest

1S2 Mr Galbraith on Workman's Correction

at 45°, and diminishes towards the equator and poles. The me-
ridional difFcrence of latitude may therefore be augmented or di-
minished by correcting the latitudes for the spheroidal figure of
the earth. If they are both less than 45°, the meridional dif-
ference of latitude will be diminished ; if the one be less than 45°,
and the other greater, the meridional difference of latitude may
be the same on the spheroid and on the sphere ; and if they are
both greater than 45°, the meridional difference of latitude may
be increased.

These remarks will be rendered more palpable to practical
seamen, by an example wrought at length by both methods, and
then comparing their results, than by a direct demonstration.
Thus, taking Mr J. R. Young's example, page 126 of his Tri-
gonometry, lately published, and employing Mendoza Rios'
Table of Meridional Parts, —

1. App. Lat. Sl'lS' M. P. 3597.50 Red. Lat Lat. 51° T M. P. 3579.94

2. 37 0 2392.63 36 49 2378.87

Diff. 858 = 14 18 1204.87 1201.07

Hence the course is 33°5', to distance 1 024 miles.

As radius, . . . 10.000000 10.000000

Is to tan. 33' 5' . . 9.813899 9.813899

So is Mer. D. Lat. 1204.87 . 3.080939 1201.07 3.079568

To differ, of Long, 784.94 . 2.894838 782.50 2.893467

Now, by middle latitude sailing, not corrected by Work-
man's table, the difference of longitude is . ' 779 miles
Hence difference of longitude on the spheroid, 782.5

Error by the common method, — 3.5

Difference of latitude by Workman's table, . 786.6 miles
The same on the spheroid, . . . 782.5

Error by Workman's proposed correction, -}- 4.1

greater in excess than the uncorrected method is in defect.

The same results would nearly arise from a recomputation of
the example given by my friend Mr Riddle of Greenwich, in

of Middle Latitude Sailing. 1 83

page 175 of the second edition^of his excellent treatise ou Navi-
gation, published in 1831.

These remarks are given, not in the spirit of acrimonious cri-
ticism, but purely to shew the inutility of making unnecessary
corrections in our best works, usually in the hands of ordinary
practical seamen.
54. South Bridge.

Observations on the Structure of the Braiuy Sfc,

The " Annalen der Physik und Chemie" vonPoggendorfF, No.
7, 1833, contains an essay by Professor Ehrenberg of Berlin,
entitled, " The necessity of a minute mechanical examination of
the brain and nerves in preference to the chemical analysis illus-
trated by observations,'^ in which there is given an account of some
observations recently made by him with regard to the minute
structure of nervous tissue, as seen by the aid of a very power-
ful microscope.

Many attempts of a similar nature to examine the structure
of that fibrous-like texture which is in general seen in some
parts of a fresh brain, and which becomes more obvious when
tlie brain has been artificially hardened by steeping in alcohol or
a solution of the muriate of mercury, or by boiling in oil, have
been made ever since the microscope came into use, but these
attempts have led as yet to very unsatisfactory results.

A hasty repetition of Professor Ehrenberg's observations has
not shewn us the appearances described by him, but the well
merited character for accuracy and skilfulness in the use of the
microscope which that observer has acquired by his interesting
researches on the structure and functions of Infusoria, makes us
hope that they may be found to be correct, and satisfies us that
a short account of them will at all events be interesting to ana-
tomists and physiologists.

The discordance in the accounts given of the structure of the
brain and nerves by Leewenhock, Delia Torre, Monro, Barba,
Home, and others, and the unsuccess which has generally attend-
ed this investigation, may in some degree have proceeded from
unskilful management of the microscope on the part of some,—
from different modea^of examination having been adopted by

184 Observatiom on the Structure of the Brain.

others, — from a total ignorance with regard to the disposition
of the elementary texture in which the nervous matter of the
brain has been generally believed to be contained, — from the
supposition that has prevailed that a fluid or mucous matter
might constitute the matrix in which the nervous filaments are
deposited, — and from the circumstance that fibres of very differ-
ent magnitude have been looked for in the nervous texture by
different observers.

Professor Ehrenberg has shewn that the proper nervous sub-
stance of the Brain and Nerves does actually consist of very
minute fibres ; and he informs us that these fibres can only be
discovered by the aid of a magnifying power of 300 diameters,
and that he was sometimes obliged to have recourse to a much
greater magnifying power, as 800 diameters, in order to bring
them into view. He examined thin slices of the recent brain,
and states that the fibrous structure was in general most obvious
at the thin margins of the slices, when these were simply laid on
the object glass-holder of the microscope, and that gentle pres-
sure of the nervous substance between two thin plates of glass
generally rendered the fibres more apparent.

The great mass of the Cerebrum and Cerebellum consists,
according to Professor Ehrenberg, of very minute fibres irre-
gularly disposed in the cortical part, and there interspersed
with globules and plates, converging as they pass inwards from
the surface towards the centre of the brain. The greater
number of these fibres have not a regular cylindrical shape,
but present the appearance of strings of pearls, the swelled
portions being situated at some distance from one another,
and united by narrower parts which are continuous with them,
and are formed apparently of the same material. Besides these
fibres, which Professor Ehrenberg calls articulated, from their
knotted appearance, this observer states that towards the base
of the brain and crura cerebri, other somewhat larger fibres,
of a regular cylindrical form, are to be observed, interspersed
among the articulated or knotted ones. These two sets of fibres
are not held together by cellular tissue, nor fluid, nor mucous
matter, but appear to be nearly in juxtaposition with one an-
other, except where they are penetrated by the net-work of mi-
nute bloodvessels which are every where "distributed through

Observations o?i the Striicture of the Brain. 185

the brain. The cortical substance seems, according to Ehren-
berg's observations, to differ from the medullary or white sub-
stance chiefly in the want of the straight cylindrical fibres, and
in the articulated fibres being contained in a densel* net-work
of bloodvessels, and being covered by a layer of free granules
larger than the dilated parts of the knotted fibres.

In the brain, the fibres run for the most part parallel to one
another ; they are sometimes seen to cross, and, in a few instan-
ces, Professor Ehrenberg states that he has observed two fibres
uniting into one, but never any distinct anastomosis.

The larger straight Cylindrical fibres, he states, are manifestly
tubular, because it is possible to see the inner paries of the tul)e,
and on dividing some of these fibres and gently pressing them
between plates of glass, a granular medullary matter was made
to issue from them. In the Knotted or Articulated fibres he
never was able to discover a distinctly tubular appearance, nor
could any matter be pressed from their interior ; but notwith-
standing this, Ehrenberg considers these also as tubular.

Professor Ehrenberg has observed a remarkable difference in
the minute structure of some of the Nerves of special sensation,
the great sympathetic nerve, and the compound spinal nerves.
He finds that the olfactory, the optic, and the auditory nerves, as
well as the branches of the great sympathetic, are entirely com-
posed of knotted or articulated fibres, similar in size and appear-
ance to those forming the great bulk of the nervous matter
in the cerebrum ; while the nerves of motion and the regular
spinal nerves, are entirely composed of the straight cylindrical
tubular fibres.

The cylindrical tubular fibres of the spinal nerves and of the
nerves of motion coming from the brain, are considered by Pro-
fessor Ehrenberg as prolongations of some of the articulated
fibres of the brain itself, for he has observed at the origin of a
nerve of motion, that the articulated fibres gradually lose their
knotted appearance as they pass into the root of the nerve, and
increasing slightly in diameter, become the straight tubular cy-
lindrical fibres proper to nerves of this description.

The net-work of the retina affords an excellent opportunity
of viewing the articulated cerebral fibres, but in order that these
may be well seen, there must be removed from their surface, a

186 Observations on the Structure qft?ie Brain.

layer of coarse granules, nearly of the diameter of the nuclei of
the bloodglobules, and similar to those which cover the flattened
extremities of the articulated fibres, at the surface of the cortical
substance of the brain.

It remains still to be investigated, whether the knotted kind
of fibres are only to be found in the nerves above mentioned, or
are peculiar to all sensory nerves, while the cylindrical tubular
fibres are peculiar to motory nerves.

Both the cylindrical and the articulated fibres, as they pass
from the brain into the roots of the nerves, receive a nervous
covering or neurilema, which invests each individual fibre, and
each bundle of fibres, as well as the whole trunk of the nerve,
with a dense cellular and vascular coat.

The cylindrical fibres are stated to be about jj^ of a line in
diameter.

It must not be supposed, that Professor Ehrenberg has con-
founded the tubular appearance of the nervous fibre with that of
the neurilema, for he professes to have accurately distinguished
the limits of both these parts.

The Ganglia are described by Professor Ehrenberg as some-
what resembling the brain, in respect to the nature of the fibres
composing their nervous substance. They are formed by reti-
culated collections of both articulated and cylindrical fibres, in-
terspersed with granules and cellular texture. In some places
in the ganglia, he has also remarked a greater than ordinary en-
largement of the swellings of the articulated fibres.

These observations have been made on the human brain and
on that of some quadrupeds, of birds and reptiles, with nearly
the same results in all.

Chemical Analysis of an Indian Specimen of Mesolite. By
Robert D. Thomson, M.D. H.E. I.C.S. Communicated by
the Author.

This specimen of mesolite I obtained in Caranja, one of
tlie picturesque insulated islands in the harbour of Bom-
bay. In this locality, as well as in Salsette, it appears to occur
in considerable abundance in amygdaloid, which bears a striking

Dr Thomson's Chemical Analysis of an Indian Mesolite. 187

resemblance to the rocks at Dumbarton, from which so many
beautiful zeolites have recently been extracted. It may be fre-
quently observed in these islands, detached from its native rock,
among the debris with which the sides of the high lands are
always profusely supplied. This mineral has hitherto been
procured in considerable abundance in Scotland and Germany,
find specimens from each of these situations differ slightly in
their composition. It is from this circumstance, that the pre-
sent analysis is now submitted to the reader, as I find that the
Indian variety is characterised by an additional quarter atom
of water, a fact which will be more distinctly perceived in the
formulae.

The Indian specimen resembles the mesolites of Scotland in
its mineralogical characters, but has a lower density. Its specific
gravity, by a mean of two trials, is 2.262. Before the blow-
pipe per se curls up ; fuses with borax into a colourless bead
with difficulty. Ten grains reduced to a fine powder were
boiled with some pure muriatic acid, to which a little nitric acid
was added; by this means the powder was converted into a
jelly. Distilled water was now poured upon it, and the whole
solution evaporated to dryness. Very dilute acid being then
added to the dried powder, by digestion the silica alone remained
undissolved, Avhich was thrown on a filter and well washed.
When dried, heated, and weighed, it amounted to 4.27 grains.
Before the blowpipe, with carbonate of soda, this product fused
into a colourless glass, shewing that it consisted of pure silica.
The liquid which passed through the filtre was concentrated,
and caustic ammonia was added. The alumina, which fell in
fine white flocks, was thrown on a filter and washed with warm
distilled water. The precipitate, after being dried and heated
to redness, weighed 2.75 grains, which dissolved completely
when boiled in muriatic acid, demonstrating that no silica ex-
isted mixed with it. Caustic potash, when boiled with the so-
lution left no precipitate, shewing that no iron was present in
the mineral. The washings of the alumina were concentrated
on the sand-bath, and the solution rendered neutral. A solution
of oxalate of ammonia produced a copious white precipitate,
which was thrown on a filter. The carbonate of lime produced
1.36 grains, which is equivalent to .761 lime. The remaining

188 Dr Thomson's Chemical A7ialysis of an Indian Mesolite.

liquor was now evaporated to dryness, and the residue subjected
cautiously to a red heat, to dissipate the ammoniacal salts. A
white substance remained, which weighed 1.5 grains. When
dissolved, it yielded a precipitate with nitrate o' silver, but none
with muriate of platinum, or when boiled with carbonate of
soda. It was therefore chloride of sodium, equivalent to .70
soda. Ten grains of the mineral were rendered opaque by a
red heat, and lost of their weight 1.471 grains. The Indian
specimen of mesolite thus afforded,

Silica, .... 4.270 42.700

Alumina, . . . 2.750 27.50

Lime, 761 7-61

Soda, 700 7-00

Water, .... 1.471 14.71

9.952 99.52

The formula to represent its constitution most nearly, will be

3AS + aC + 4N) 8^ + 31 Aq.

which approaches closely to a Bohemian specimen analyzed by
Dr Freysmuth, with a specific gravity of 2.333.* The results of
three analyses of mesolite afford formulae differing in the rela-
tive proportions of soda and lime, and in the quantity of water.
These are in the order of their increase,

3 AS + (I C + ^N) S' + 2| Aq. Iceland. Fuchs.

3 AS +- (4 C + 4N) S' + 3 Aq. Bohemia. Freysmuth.

3 AS + (4 C + IN) S^ + 34 Aq. India.

which it is obvious may be resolved into the general expression,

3AS+(N)s^+3Aq.

These formulae are calculated according to Dr Thomson's
atomic weights, reckoning the atoms of silica % and that of alu>
mina 2.25. The mineral belongs to the V. Genus Alumina, of
his 2d Class Alkalies and Alkaline bases, in his new chemical
arrangement of minerals.

• Schweigger's Journal, xxv. 426. An. of Phil. xvi. 405.

( 189 )

Description of several New or Rare Plants ichich have lately
Jlowered in the neighbourhood of Edinhurgli, and chief y in
the Royal Botanic Garden. By Or Guaham, Professor
of Botany in the University of Edinburgh.

\Oth July 1834.
Alstrcemeria oculata.

A. oculata ; caule terete, volubile, glabro ; foliis ovato-oblongis, obtusis,
utrinque glabris ; petiolis tortis ; umbellis multifloris, pedunculis sub-
bifloris, pedicellisque glabris ; bracteis bracteolisque obovato spathu-
latis, crispatis; petalis nonconformibus, longitudine subaequalibus.

Alstrcemeria oculata, Loddiges' Bot. Cabinet, t. 1851 — Cuming's Herba-
rium, No. 345.

Desceiption — Stems numerous, flexuose, and voluble, green, glabrous and
shining, simple. Leaves ovato-oblong, many. nerved, crispid at the edge
in our specimen, glabrous on both sides, bright green above, glaucous
below, petioled ; petioles twisted, illustrating that beautiful arrangement
of nature to correct that lusus so common in this genus, by which the
upper and lower surfaces of the leaf are originally reversed. Umbel ter-
minal, several rayed, the rays generally bifid, and supporting two flowers.
BractecB and bracteolce corresponding in number to the primary and secon-
dary divisions of the umbel, obovato-spathulate, crispid and generally co-
loured in the edges. Corolla (9 lines long, 74 across) campanulate, red ;
petals subequal in length, the outermost the broadest, nerved, ovate, nar-
row so as to resemble a claw nearly in the lower half, notched at the
apex, somewhat revolute in their edges ; inner ones sandglass-shaped,
pubescent within on their lower half, connivent in the middle, so as to
close the throat which is whitish and surrounded by a broad dark purple
semilunar band, especially on the two uppermost (which are the broad-
est) of the three inner petals. Stamens shorter than the corolla, decum-
bent, filaments glabrous at their origin and near the apex, pubescent
and slightly swollen in the centre, immediately above which they are
sprinkled with small lilac tubercles. Anthers ascending, reddish-leaden
coloured, oblong, flat, bursting in the edges, when, as in the genus, they
become flattened in the opposite direction; pollen granules minute, green-
ish-leaden coloured. Pistil about as long as the stamens ; stigma trifid ;
style glabrous, with some small scattered lilac tubercles on its upper part.
Germen dark green, turbinate, triquetrous, angles rounded.

This extremely beautiful, though small flowered species, we received at
the Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, from Mr Knight in the beginning of
this year. It flowered in April. No native station was communicated
to us, but the specimens in Cuming's herbarium are from Valparaiso.
My specimen from this source differs from the cultivated plant only in
being more drawn out, in the peduncles being occasionally 3-flowered, in
the leaves being more oblong, less glaucous, and free from undulation
in the edge ; but in every essential particular they seem the same.

Gastrolobium retusum.

G. retusum ; foliis cuneatis, truncatis, utrinque lanato-pilosis, breve pe-
tiolatis, nervo medio in setam deciduam produclo ; stipulis setaceis
pilosis, persistentibus ; capituliss tipitatis, terminalibus axillaribusque.
Gastrolobium retusum, Lindleg, in Bot. Reg. 1647.
Descbiptigk. — Shrub erect; branches long, slender, round, pubescent,
dotted with green. Leaves (1 inch long, 4 inch broad) vertioillate, cu-
neate, truncate, reflected in the sides, covered above and below with long
subapuressed somewhat woolly hairs, shortly petioletl, middle rib pro-
longed into a deciduous bristle. Stipulce bristle-like, hairy, more than

190 Dr Graham's Description of New or Rare Plants.

twic^ as long as the petiole, persisting. Capitula dense, terminal or axil-
lary, in the latter situation 8-12.flowered, on peduncles (half an inch
long) solitary in each axil. Calyx bilabiate, upper lip bifid, lower 3-par-
tite. Corolla twice as long as the C2^y^x, orange-yellow, of deeper and
richer colour before expansion. Petals slightly unequal, the vexillum
rather the longest, the carina rather the shortest, on long claws ; vexil-
lum kidney-shaped, striated, reddish at its base ; alae elliptical, striated
with red at the base ; keel red, rather straight, emarginate and blunt at
the apex, its petals separated at the base. Stamens free, inserted into
the torus, imbedded within the keel ; filaments red, glabrous ; anthers
yellow, elliptical, pollen-granules yellow, very minute. Pistil as long as
the stamens, included within the keel ; germen hairy, green ; style gla-
brous, red, falcate, compressed laterally ; stigma simple, dorsal, white.
This pretty little shrub was first raised, at the Botanic Garden, Edin-
burgh, in 1831, from seed brought home by Dr Lang; and again in 1832,
from seed communicated by her Grace the Duchess Countess of Suther-
land. It first flowered in December 1833, and the same plant much
more fireely in March 1834.

Lysinema pentapetalum.

L. pentapetalum ; coroUis pentapetalis ; unguibus longitudinaliter dis-
tinctis, extus glabris, calyce longioribus, cumque segmentis ejus et
bracteis lanato-ciliatis.
Lysinema pentapetalum, Br. Prodr. 552. — Rmn. ^ Schult. Syst. Veget.

4. 383 Spreng. Syst. Veget. 1. 630.

Description — Shruh erect, with loose straggling branches, which are vil-
lous when young. Leaves very numerous, scattered, glabrous, shining,
bright green, fleshy, bluntly angled behind, flat in front, on short ad-
pressed petioles, linear-subulate, connivent at the apex, spreading, except
near the flowers, where they are suberect, often reflected at the lower
part of the branches. Flowers sessile, axillary, solitary, collected into
psuedo-spikes at the extremities of the branches. Bracteas numerous, imbri-
cated, linear, adpressed, brown, glabrous, lanato-ciliated, gradually larger
to the calyx. Calyx pentaphyllous, closely embraced at the base by the
bractese, from which it cannot be distinguished but by being rather longer
than the longest of these. Petals 5 ; laminse slightly reflected, white,
oblong, glabrous ; claws longer than the calyx, linear, brown, closely ap-
plied to each other at the apex, but without any organic union, glabrous
on the outside, woolly within. Stamens 5, alternating with the petals,
included ; filaments hairy, brown ; anthers oblong, somewhat pointed at
both extremities, attached by the backs above their middle ; pollen yellow,
granules globular. Hypogynmis scales 5, ovate, green, glabrous, alternate
with the filaments. Stigma obscurely lobed, fringed with hairs. Style
erect, rather longer than the stamens, red, hairy, green and clavate im-
mediately below the stigma. Germen round, sessile, tomentous, 5-locu-
lar. Ovules numerous, in two rows in each loculament, fixed to a green
central receptacle.
This plant was raised at the Botanic Garden from seeds collected at King
George's Sound, and communicated to me by Colonel Lindcsay along
with other seeds, and a valuable collection of dried specimens, in July
1830. It flowered freely in the greenhouse in March 1834.

Sphaerolobium medium.

S. medium; calycis tubo labiis dimidio breviore (corollis rubris) — Brown.
Sphierolobium medium, Br. in Hort. Kew. ed. 2d, vol. iii. p. 14. — De

Cand. Prodr. 2. 108 Spreng. Syst. Veget. 2. 350.

Description — Stem slender, branched from the base; branches ascending,
cylindrical, green, glabrous, rush-like, tough and woody. Leaves (34
lines long) linear-subulate, subappressed, glabrous, green, and slightly
spotted with black, opposite alternate or in verticels, caducous, the short

Proceedvtigs of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 191

adpressed petiole remaining. Flowers in verticelled terminal itpUces,
8j)ringing sin^^ly or in pairs, or three together from the axils of braetete
resembling the leaves. Pedicels (about one line long) nodding, bibrac-
teate at the apex ; bracteoke ovate, adpresstfd, caducous. Calt/x twice as
long as the pedicel, bilabiate ; limb twice as long as the tube ; upper lip
bidentate, teeth large and divaricated at the apex ; lower lip 3.partite,
segments linear ; the calyx, bracteolae, and pedicels green, and closelj
covered with minute dark spots. Corolla orange-red, all the claws short ;
vexillum twice as long as the calyx, broader than long, notched, yellow
at the base, reflected over the upper lip of the calyx ; alae as long as the
vexillum, projecting forward in the centre of the flower, and spread ho-
rizontally, their upper (inner) edges being in contact, and tne lower
(outer) slightly turned upwards ; keel blunt, shorter than the alae, claws,
and limb as far as the angle, free, in the fissure and at the teeth on the up-
per edge slightly ciliated, emarginate at the apex, lobes blunt, teeth blunt
and equal in length to the claws. Stamens 10 ; filaments free, glabrous,
the upper ones somewhat flattened near the base ; anthers greenish-yel-
low; pollen granules small, oblong. Pistil r&ther longer than the stamens,
like them included within the keel, green, glabrous ; stigma small, capi-
tate ; style ascending, expanded into a thin colourless sickle-shaped edge
on its upper side unuer the stigma ; germen oblong, stipitate ; ovules 2.
This plant, native of the SW. coast of New Holland, was introduced into
Britain, according to Mr Brown, by Mr Peter Good, in 1803, but has
never been common in collections, and perhaps was subsequently entirely
lost. It was raised at the Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, from seeds com-
municated by Mr Newmann in 1830, and flowered for the first time in
April 1834. Its habit is very similar to SphceroloUum vimineum^ but its
spikes are more clustered, its flowers are twice as large, and their colour
is much finer. It should of course receive in the greenhouse the same
treatment as iS'. vimineum.

Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh,
(Continued from Vol. XVI. p. 194.)

1833, Dec, 2. — Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane,
President, in the Chair. At this Meeting the following com-
munication was read : —

On a New Species of Coloured Fringes developed between
certain pieces of plate-glass, exhibiting a new variety of
polarization, and a peculiar property which renders them
available for the purposes of Micrometry. By Mungo
Ponton, Esq.

The author, when he first observed these fringes, found that they
presented the appearance of three rectilinear bands, each consisting
of black, white, and coloured stripes ; but the central band was after-
wards found to be composed of two united into one. There is thus
a band for each of the four surfaces of the plates, the two side ones,
appertaining to the uppermost and undermost surfaces, and the cen-
tre ones to the surfaces which are approximated. The peculiarities
by which they are distinguished are as follows : —

192 Proceedings qf'the Royal Society ()f' Edinburgh.

1st, They are confined to certain specimens of glass, but not to
■perfectly parallel plates.

2d, They are exhibitec^ while the plates are at a considerable dis-
tance from each other, provided their surfaces are preserved as nearly
parallel as possible ; and they are not alFected even by the interposi-
tion of another plate between those by which they are formed.

3d, They are destroyed by the application of Canada balsam or
oil of turpentine to any one of the four surfaces.

4th, They are of uniform breadth and appearance, so long as the
disposition of the plates remains the same, and are not affected by
pressure in whatever manner it may be applied. The Newtonian
fringes, on the other hand, are affected, both in breadth and direction,
by the manner in which the plates are pressed together, so that they
can be produced at right angles, or in any other position, with re-
spect to the new bands.

5th, The fringes under consideration are produced by the light
which is returned inwards upon the plates by reflection from their
anterior surfaces, so that the rays suffer three reflections and four re-
fractions before reaching the eye.

(yth. They present phases of revolution which follow a different or-
der according to the surfaces that are placed together, and varying,
as the revolution is made, from right to left or from left to right.
The bands revolve only at half the rate at which the plates move
during the first semi-revolution ; and during the last quarter of revo-
lution, when certain faces are together, there is a complete breaking
up of the rectilinear fringes, which spread themselves in curvilinear
forms over the whole surface of the plates.

'Jth, When viewed by homogeneous light, the fringes appear as
light and dark stripes, covering the entire surface of the plates, and
of uniform breadth which cannot be altered, except by changing the
arrangement of the plates ; but by turning one of these, both the
breadth and direction of the stripes are changed. Their number varies
from 10 or 12 to nearly 2000.

Sth, The plates which exhibit the fringes do not display any symp-
toms of possessing the doubly refracting structure, when viewed by
polarized light. The appearance of the bands, however, is the same
as that of the fringes, produced by crossing wedge-shaped plates of
sulphate of lime, and passing polarized light through them, as de-
scribed by Dr Brewster. It is therefore probable, that the new
fringes are occasioned by the intersection of oppositely polarized
pencils of light, whose polarity is induced by the repeated reflections
and refractions which they undergo in passing and repassing through
the plates — and it would seem as if each surface exerted an inde-
pendent and peculiar polarizing effect on the rays, — a hypothesis
which appears necessary to account for the phenomena attending a
change in the disposition of the surfaces.

9th, They possess a peculiar property, which the author conceives
will render them available for the purposes of micrometry. When
the surfaces of the plates are parallel, two of the bands are united
into one at the centre ; but if a film be introduced between the plates,
so as to cause them slightly to diverge, the two bands in the centre
will be separated, and move laterally from each other, still preserving

Proceedings of the Roycd Society of Edinburgh. 1 9^

their perfect parallelism. A film, jjgth of an inch in thickness,
causes the central bands to separate to a distance of an inch, so that
every ^\yth of an inch of separation is equivalent to loi^nj^^ ^^ ^"
inch of thickness. When smaller thicknesses are to be measured, re-
course must be had to the side bands, which are affected by a much
slighter degree of divergence than the centre ones. A thicknesp so
minute as that of gold leaf may be rendered sensible by the side
bands, and a scale for micrometry might be found, by introducing
successive leaves of gold of a known thickness.

1833, Dec. 16. — Sia Henry Jardine in the Chair. The
following communications were read : —

1. *' A General View of the Phenomena displayed in the
Neighbourhood of Edinburgh by the Igneous Rocks in
their relations with the Secondary Strata ; with reference
to a more particular description of the section which has
been lately exposed to view on the south side of the Castle
Hill.'' By the Right Hon. Lord Greenock.

The author, referring, in the introductory part of his paper, to the
views taken by Hutton of the structure of the earth's surface around
Edinburgh, explained, — That the prevailing rocks are strata of sand-
stone and shale of the coal formation, with occasional beds of lime-
stone ; and interrupted by insulated as well as grouped hills of igneous
origin, rising abruptly through them, — That the latter or trap-rocks,
seem in many quarters interstratified with the former, as if they
had burst while in a state of fusion between the strata of the second-
ary rocks, — That fragments of the secondary rocks are often seen
imbedded in the trap, as if they had been broken away from the
strata to which they belonged, and been hurried along by the fused
erupted mass, — And that the trap-rocks often present very different
appearances in the same hills, shewing that they were erupted under
varying circumstances at different periods of time. The author far-
ther explained, that the environs of Edinburgh seem to constitute a
great basin, surrounded by trap-rocks, which dip outwards in all di-
rections from a common centre, — the Pentland Hills forming the
southern boundary, the rocky coast of Fife at Burntisland the north-
ern, and Salisbury Craigs and Corstorphine Hill the eastern and
western limits.

The paper then proceeds to describe the appearances presented by a
late section of the southern face of the Castle Hill, where several of the
phenomena referred to above are very well illustrated. The great mass
of the Castle Hill rock is a dark compact greenstone. Towards the
south-west point, altered rocks are seen resting on the trap in a highly
inclined position ; and within the Castle wall, fragments of sandstone
are imbedded in the greenstone, shewing that the latter must have
burst in a state of fusion through the strata of the former. But at
the south-east point of the rock, beyond the walls, the section lately

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIIT. — JULY 1834. N

194 Proceedings of the Royal Society of' Edinburgh.

made in cutting the new south-west road has displayed appearances,
which, in the author's opinion, supply strong evidence that, subse-
quent to such eruption, the secondary and trap-rocks had been up-
lifted together by a common cause, probably acting on a great extent
of the face of the country. This section shews five or six beds of
sandstone, with alternate layers of slate clay or marl. Signs of
great confusion are found in these strata, more especially as they
approach the point of junction with the trap-rock, — their eastern ex-
tremity being thrown upwards, while their western portion is cast
down, so as to lie unconformably on the upturned strata ; and near
the point of junction with the greenstone, the ends of the strata of
sandstone and slate-clay are shattered, and have actually fallen over,
so as to come obliquely in contact with the tabular masses of the
greenstone. Yet it is remarkable, that the sandstone and shale pre-
sent no appearance of semi-fusion or intermixture, where they are
in contact with the greenstone ; nor does the greenstone here pre-
sent any imbedded masses of the secondary rocks, nor send out any
veins among their adjacent strata. At the time, therefore, when
the dislocation of the sandstone strata occurred at the point of junc-
tion with the greenstone, the latter could not have been in a state of
fusion 5 and the only rational explanation which occurs is, that both
rocks were raised, in a solid state, by some common cause, above the
level of the waters under which they were originally formed ; and
that the fault or dislocation in the sandstone strata was produced by
some subsidiary disturbing power acting at the same period.

2. Researches on the Vibrations of Pendulums in Fluid Me-
diums. By George Green, Esq. Communicated by Sir
G. Ffrench Bromhead, Bart.

The author proposes in this paper to resolve a particular case of
the motion of fluids, not previously noticed, and susceptible of prac-
tical application, namely, the circumstances of the motion of an inde-
finitely extended non-elastic fluid, where agitated by a solid ellipsoi-
dal body moving parallel to itself, according to any given law ; always
supposing the body's excursions very small compared with its dimen-
sions. The question here stated is considered by the author to ad-
mit of an easy general solution. As the principal object of his paper
is to determine the alteration produced in the motion of a pendulum
by the action of the surrounding medium, he insists more particu-
larly on the case where the ellipsoid moves in a right line parallel to
one of its axis ; and endeavours to prove that, in order to obtain the
correct time of a pendulum's vibration, it will not be sufficient merely
to allow for the loss of weight caused by the fluid medium, but that
it will likewise be requisite to conceive the density of the body aug-
mented by a quantity proportional to the density of this fluid. He
determines the value of the quantity last mentioned, when the body
of the pendulum is an oblate spheroid, vibrating in its equatorial
plane; and finds, that when the spheroid becomes a sphere, the
quantity is precisely equal to half the density of the surrounding
medium. Hence in the last case, the true time of the pendulum's

Proceedings of the Roijal Society of Edinburgh. 195

vibration is obtained, if it be supposed to move in vacuo, and its
mass be simply conceived to be augmented by balf that of an equal
volume of the fluid, while the moving force with which it is actuated
is diminished by the whole weight of the same volume of fluid.

8. Observations on the Fossil Fishes lately found in Orkney.
By Dr Traill.

The geologist has been for some time acquainted with the occur-
rence of Fossil Fishes in Caithness, and they have been more lately
found also in Orkney, especially near Skaill, the seat of W. G. Watt,
Esq. in Pomona.

The author describes these fishes as imbedded in a dark coloured
flag, which lies beneath three feet of soil and loose stone, and eleven
feet of solid beds of similar flag, but destitute of organic remains.
The fishes are contained in two strata, measuring together about two
feet in thickness. The upper stratum contains only fishes belonging
to the Carlilaginei, and seemingly the genus Raia ; the lower con-
tains numerous fishes that belong to the orders Thoracici and Abdo-
minales, most of them with distinct scales. Almost all of them lie
on their bellies or sides, none on their backs, and their attitudes ge-
nerally bespeak the energy of their final struggles. The fishes of
these two contiguous strata are never intermixed. The strata dip
about one foot in seven to the north-west. The author found only
a single specimen of a petrified vegetable with the fishes. It was
the leaf of a canna or a reed.

The Orkney Islands have much uniformity in their geological
structure. The principal rock is this sort of slate, which is connected
with sandstone, and has occasionally interposed thin beds of lime-
stone, that seldom contain any organic remains.

The only primitive rocks in Orkney are in a limited district around
Stromness, and in the contiguous small island of Graemsey. There
granite, and gneiss approaching to mica-slate, appear in the surface,
and have resting on them a coarse sandstone conglomerate. This
last is in immediate contact with the slaty rock described above.
The highest ridges in Orkney are the mountains of Hoy, which are
composed of thick beds of sandstone, in which the author lately dis-
covered a vast bed of trap. This sandstone, as well as that which
occurs in the other islands, belongs to the old sandstone ; and the
slaty rock is probably a newer part of the same formation.

There are not any distinct traces either of the mountain limestone
or of the coal formation in Orkney, unless we are disposed to consi-
der this slaty rock as the oldest member of the mountain limestone.
But from its connexion with the sandstone, it is safer to reckon it a
member of the old red sandstone series.

Specimens were exhibited to the Society illustrative of the author's
statements.

N ^

196 Proceedings of the Royal Society of' Edinburgh.

4. Notice of further Discoveries at Burdiehouse. By Dr
Hibbert.

The author announced that, since his former paper was read, on
the organic remains of the limestone quarry at Burdiehouse, disco-
veries of still greater interest had been made. These chiefly con-
sist of the remains probably of a large animal of the Saurian tribe,
namely, what appears to be the epiphysis of one of the vertebrae,
presenting, when broken across, the cancellated structure of bone —
several large scales obtained by Mr Connell, — and, in particular, a
large and beautifully perfect tooth, two inches and a quarter long, and
covered with its enamel, which is quite entire. The remains here
alluded to were exhibited and presented by the author and Mr Con-
nell to the Society's Museum.

1834, Jan. 6. — Sir T. M. Brisbane in the Chair. The
following Communications were read.

1. On the Investigation of Magnetic Intensity, by the Oscilla-
tions of a Horizontal Needle. By William Snow Harris,
F. R. S.

The chief disturbing causes by which the magnetic intensity, as
ascertained by the oscillations of the horizontal needle, are affected, are
!• Variations in the air in which they are performed ; 2. The influ-
ence of changes in the mechanical conditions incidental to the mode
of suspending the needle ; 3 Changes in the disposition and intensity
of the magnetism of the needle from heat and other causes-

These causes of disturbance the author proceeded to investigate.

I. He compared the oscillations of the needle vibrating in air, with
those of the same needle oscillating ifi vacuo ; and he minutely de-
scribed the apparatus which he had contrived for allowing the needle
to vibrate freely in an exhausted receiver, and his mode of deter-
mining the arcs of vibration. This apparatus enabled him to ap-
preciate the resistance of air to the oscillations of the needle, and its
effect in rendering unequal the duration of vibrations performed in
long and in short arcs. Hence he inferred the impossibility of ascer-
taining the alleged diurnal changes of magnetic intensity by the com-;
mon apparatus.

II. The second source of disturbance he endeavoured to obviate by
a more accurate mode of suspending the needle ; by which its centre
of gravity and point of magnetic neutrality should be made to coin-
cide. This tlie author proposes to accomplish by greater care in find-
ing its true centre, and in adjusting its horizontality by means of
small sliding counterpoises of platinum on each arm.

HI. The influence of increase of temperature on the magnetic
needle has generally been considered as lowering the tension of its mag-
netism ; and it has been represented as again restored by cold :
but the author's experiments seemed to prove the contrary, when the

Proceedings of the Royal Society ofEdmburgh. 197

comparative experiments were made in vacuo. He considers, how-
ever, that if the needle be prepared, by being previously exposed to
a variation of temperature from 212° to 0" of Fahrenheit, its tension
will not afterwards be affected by ranges of temperature within these
limits-
One of the most interesting parts of Mr Harris's paper is his mode
of determining changes of magnetic tension in a particular magnet.
It is well known that if a needle be made to vibrate within a ring
of copper, it will be more speedily brought to rest, than if vibrating
in open space. The influence of the ring of copper, therefore, might
be employed to detect changes in tension, provided the force which
induced motion in the needle, and that force by which it would eventu-
ally be reduced to rest without the ring, were both constant quantities.
This, however, is not the case ; but the author proposes to reverse
the experiment, and cause the ring to vibrate round the needle, placed
within it, so as just not to touch the ring. This will afford a com-
parative measure of the force of the needle at its poles, if we observe
the influence of the needle in reducing the ring to a state of rest. A
convenient mode of doing this he has given, and has deduced a ge-
neral formula for estimating the differences in magnetic tension thus
detected.

The author has also examined the influence of bright sunshine on
the suspended needles ; and has shewn that the difference observed
in the oscillations of the needle in sunshine and in the shade, may
be made nearly to vanish in the exhausted receiver ; and he has
rendered it probable, that the slight differences observed in bars
oscillating in the sun's rays, are not altogether dependent on mag-
netism.

Lastly, the author endeavoured, by an artificial electric aurora in
a luminous conductor, six feet long and four inches wide, to ascer-
tain whether there was any effect produced on a finely suspended
needle, placed within eighteen inches of the conductor ; but the os-
cillations of the needle were not affected by a stream of electricity
procured for twenty minutes from a powerful machine in this appa-
ratus,

2. Experiments on Magnetic Intensity made at Liverpool
and Manchester. By Dr Traill.

Dr Traill made a report to the Society of experiments made by
him in 1832 at Liverpool and Manchester on magnetic intensity,
measured by the oscillations of the horizontal needles belonging to
the Society, which had been sent to him for that purpose. The
' reporter also stated the result of a series of experiments made
by Professor Oersted and himself in Liverpool in J 823, which is
important, as having been made use of by Professor Hansteen in
constructing his isodynnmic magnetic lines for Great Britain.

The result of Dr Traill's experiments is, that Hansteen has estimated
the magnetic intensity of England a little too high, as Mr Dunlop
found he had that of Scotland ; and the reporter concluded that this
arose from the experiments on which Hansteen founded his calcula-

198 Proceedings of the Royal Society ofEdmlmrgh.

tion being affected by some degree of local attraction, from the con-
fined spaces in which the experiments were made.

The magnetic intensity, as deduced from the time of 300 vibra-
tions in the reporter's experiments with the Society's needles, is,
with Hansteen's cylindrical needle^

At Liverpool, mean of three series = 798''. 21
At Manchester, from one series . = 798.82

With Dollond's flat needle,

At lAverpool, mean of three series = 1052.83
At Manchester, from one series . =1051.76

The reporter also stated, that the magnetic dip at Liverpool, as
ascertained by several experiments made there by Lieutenant Allen,
R. N. and himself, with a needle furnished by the Board of Admi-
ralty, for the late expedition up the Niger, is = 72° 2' 24".

The experiments on the dip, as well as two other series on mag-
netic intensity with a horizontal needle belonging also to the Admi-
ralty, were made on the same spot as those with the Society's needles,
viz. an open space in the Botanic Garden at Liverpool.

3. Description and Analysis of a Mineral from Faroe, not be-
fore examined. By Arthur Connell, Esq.

The mineral in question was put into the author's hands by Mr
Rose, mineral-dealer of this city, as a substance supposed to be a
variety of mesotype. Mr Rose obtained it from Count Vargas Bede-
mar of Copenhagen, who had brought it from Faroe.

It has a pure white colour, with some opalescence and translucence,
a glistening vitreous lustre, and somewhat greater hardness than fluor.
Its texture is imperfectly fibrous ; but the fibres in some places diverge
with considerable regularity, shewing an approach to a crystalline
structure. The specific gravity is 2.362 ; it is remarkably tough and
difiicultly frangible, so as to require much time and labour to separate
a mass of it into smaller fragments.

It gives off water at a red heat ; and is fusible per se before the blow-
pipe only on the edges, without any swelling up. With soda it fuses
with effervescence into a semi-transparent glass ; with borax and
salt of phosphorus, gives colourless glasses ; and, with nitrate of co-
balt, presents no alumina reaction. It gelatinizes readily with muria-
tic acid when reduced to powder. The analysis was effected by
this reagent. After separating silica, the metallic oxides were thrown
down by ammonia, and the lime by carbonate of ammonia. The al-
calies were separated from one another by chloride of platinum, and
the water was determined by ignition. Its composition is as follows :

Silica 57.69

Lime - - . . _ 26.83

Water 14.71

Soda 44

Potash .23

Oxide of Iron 32

Oxide of Manganese - - - .22

100.44

Proceedings of' the Wernerian Society/. 199

This composition differs from that of all other minerals, so far as
the author's knowledge extends ; and shows the substance under
analysis to be a hydrated quatersilicate of lime, conformably to the
formula, 9 S * C + 16 Aq.

Sir David Brewster, who possesses a mass of the mineral which be
received from Count Vargas Bedemar, has observed crystallized faces,
but so near the general surface, that they cannot be separated. He
has also found that it possesses double refraction ; that it reflects a
bluish light, and consequently transmits a yellowish one ; and that it
possesses no pyroelectricity. He has no doubt that it is a new mi-
neral.

The author proposes to distinguish it by the name of DysclasitCj
[}vo xAflfw], as expressive of its remarkable tenacity and difficult fran-
gibility. It will, of course, be arranged with the Zeolites.

The Secretary read an extract from a letter, giving a short descrip'
tion of the Stalactitic Caves recently discovered in the county of
Tipperary, and exhibited various illustrative drawings.

Several additional specimens were exhibited from Burdiehouse
Quarry ; and Dr Hibbert read a short notice relative to the position
of the limestone there, and the relation it bears to the mountain-
limestone of Muirhouse and tlie neighbourhood. His observations
were to the effect that, by examining some sections of the strata be-
tween Burdiehouse and Loanhead, he had now satisfied himself that
the limestone of Burdiehouse lies beneath the great bed of mountain-
limestone formerly described by him as traversing the country from
Joppa towards the Pentland Hills. The order of the strata between
them is as follows : — Burdiehouse limestone^^shoXe and thin beds of
the same limestone,— sandstone and shale, — sandstone, coal blaes,
ironstone bands, and thin seams of codX~^ Mountain limestone — lime-
stone blaes — Coal measures.

Premiums offered by the Wernerian Natural Histoj-y Society.

Ediwburoh, 10/A May 1834.

The Wernerian Natdkal History Society offers the
following Honorary Premiums ; open unconditionally to all
scientific Naturalists : —

1. Twenty Sovereigns, or a suitable piece of Plate of that value,
for the best Geological Account, with a Geognostical INIap, Sections,
and Specimens, of the Three Lothians, with as much of the neigh-
bourhood as may be required for the elucidation of the districts.—
To be given in against December 1835.

SOO Bones of the Igiumodori.

2. Ten Sovereigns, or a piece of Plate of that value, for the best
Natural and Economical History of the Fishes — marine, fluviatile,
and lacustrine, of the River District of the Forth. A collection of
Specimens of the rarer Fishes will be desirable. — To be given in
against December 1835.

3. Ten Sovereigns, or a piece of Plate of that value, for the best
Account of the Entomology of the Three Lothians, and River Dis-
trict of the Forth ; with a Collection of Specimens, and Map of the
distribution of the Insects. — To be produced against December 1836.

4. Ten Sovereigns, or a piece of Plate of that value, for the best
Essay on the Botany of the Mountains of Scotland, in connection
with their Geological Structure and Composition ; with Specimens,
and a Map of the Distribution of the Plants. In this Essay, the
range of elevation, and the northern and southern limits of the dif-
ferent species, should be attended to, and any facts tending to illus-
trate the geographical distribution of plants carefully recorded. It
would also add greatly to the interest of the communication if it were
accompanied with a coloured Geognostical Map of the mountainous
districts examined. — To be produced against December 1837.

5. Ten Sovereigns, or a piece of Plate of that value, for the best
Account of all Avertebrate Animals, (with the exception of Insects
and their larvae), inhabiting the River and Firth of Forth, their tri-
butary streams, and the lakes included in the basin of the Forth ;
with a collection of Specimens.— To be given in against December
1837.

Communications may be addressed either to Professor Jameson, the
President, or to Mr Neill, Secretary of the Society, Edinburgh.

Discovery of the Bones of the Iguanodon in a quarry of Ken-
tish Rag (a limestone belonging to the lower greensand for-
mation) near Maidstone^ Kent. Communicated by Gideon
Mantell, Esq. F.R.S. &c.

Some time since a paragrapli appeared in the London papers,
stating that some gigantic antediluvian bones had been foimd in
a stone-quarry on Rockhiil, near Maidstone, belonging to a Mr
Prinsted ; that they had been inspected by the curious in the
neighbourhood ; but that no one could guess their origin, or to
what sort of animal they could have belonged. Mr Prinsted
had the politeness to inform Mr Mantel! of Brighton (late of

Bones of the IgiiamxJon. 201

Lewes) of the circumstance, and that 'gentleman visited Maid-
stone a few days since, and has communicated to us the follow-
ing remarks on those extraordinary osteological remains.

" The mass of stone in which the bones are imbedded will,
when united, form a surface of 8 feet by 7, its thickness vary-
ing from a few inches to 2 feet : it consists of the hard variety
of the limestone called Kentish rag, which is well known in the
south-east of England as an excellent building stone. It abounds
in the marine shells characteristic of the deposit, viz. GerviUuBj
TrigonicB^ Terebratuke, &c. The surface exhibits a confused
layer of large bones, more or less broken, and all of them, with
the exception of a few vertebra*, lying without any order or
connexion. The following were sufficiently exposed to admit
of their characteristics being determined.

"Two femurs or thigh-bones, each 33 inches in length.

" One tibia and fibula, about 30 inches in length.

" Several metatarsal and phalangeal bones.

" Two unguical or daw-bones (the distal pludangeal) : these
very closely resemble the nail-bones of a very large land tortoise,
and differ essentially from the claw-lx)ne figured in the Geology
of the South-East of England.

** Several caudal, and a lumbar vertebrae.

" Fragments of many ribs.

" Two of those extraordinary bones figured in the Geology
of the South-East of England, plate iv. figs. 1, J^, and which
probably are clavicles.

" A fragment of one tooth, and the impression of another,
decidedly of the Iguanoddn.

" There are portions of many other bones visible, and should
the proprietor clear away the surrounding stone with care and
skill, there can be no doubt that much additional light will Ix?
thrown on the osteology of the Iguanodon. Anxious to trans-
mit this hasty notice in time for the Edinburgh New Philoso-
phical Journal, I must not indulge in any remarks on this soli-
tary and interesting fact of the occurrence of the remains of the
gigantic lizard of the Wealds in the marine arenaceous beds of
the chalk.

Briohtox, Jum 12. 1834."

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIII. JULY 1834. o

Eai'thquake in South America *.

An oflficial account of the late dreadful earthquake in Ame-
rica was received on 7th June 1834. By this it appears
that not only was the city of Pasto, with a population of
15,000 souls, destroyed, but that that of Popayan, with
double the population, suffered the same fate. In Pasto all
the religious houses, the churches of Jesus de Roi and San
Andrew excepted, which escaped with the loss of their steeples,
were destroyed. The catliedral and the churches of San Fran-
cisco, San Sebastian, Santiago, with their convents, and Santa
Domingo, Mared, and Monjas had been completely dashed to
pieces. Only three or four houses escaped, and those with much
damage ; and in most of the buildings not a vestige even of the
foundation remained. The country around presented one scene
of desolation, and the houseless and wretched people were ex-
posed by day to the scorching sun, and by night to the chilHng
frosts peculiar to the climate. It appears the earthquake com-
menced at seven o''clock on the morning of the 20th January,
and that for four hours the motion of the earth continued. A
repetition of the shocks occurred on the S2d, and completed the
ruin. All the villages in the neighbourhood of Pasto, Laguna,
Mocondino, Buesquillo, Pejimdino, Puerres, Cunehalla, Ta-
mondino, Tongovito, Gualmatan, Pandraco, and Tescuel, had
been much injured, and the churches all destroyed. In the dis-
tricts of Malatuy, Vacuanquir, Tambo, Bucaco, Funds, and the
neighbouring parishes, great injury had been sustained. The
commissioners appointed by the Government had reported that
on the right of the large lake in the district of Sibundoy, a small
rising ground had been observed that vomited forth from its
bosom large pieces of rock, and that huge and perforated caverns
had appeared in the neighbourhood ; that of the surrounding
desert of Bondoniella half had been swallowed up, and the other
part so raised above the surface that it had formed a moun-
tain of great height, hke that lofty height between Sibundoy
and Ajuadrico, which, in its formation, overspread a great
deal of the original soil. The commissioners further state that
this mountain has, from further convulsions of the earth, moul-
dered away, and covered the high roads, causing the formation
of immense marshes in the neighbourhood; that portions of
• The above account is from one of the London periodicals.

Galbraith's Mathematical and Astronomical Tables. 203

the earth had precipitated themselves into the bed of the ri-
ver Baldayaco, and obstructed its course, the sudden and im-
impetuous overthrow of which had destroyed the lands and
houses of the people of Santiago, forming its waters even as far
as Put u mac, having been in its course increased by tributary
streams to the number of 90. The inhabitants had fled in great
terror to the highest mountains. Almost the whole of the can-
ton was overspread with large abysses, and the extreme of wretch-
edness prevailed throughout the country.

NEW PUBLICATIONS.

1 . Mathematical and Astronomical Tables for the Use of Students in
Mathematics, Practical Astronomers, Surveyors^ Engineers, and
Navigators, Second Edition, greatly enlarged and improved.
By William Galbraith, A. M., Teacher of Mathematics, Edin-
burgh. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd ; Simpkin and Marshall,
and J. W. Norrie «& Co. London.

On the publication of the first edition of this work, we re-
commended it strongly to the notice of those for whose use it
was intended, and its success has been in accordance with our
anticipations. The second edition is greatly enlarged by the in-
troduction of much valuable matter, seldom to be met with in
the usual publications on corresponding subjects. The author
appears to "have spared no pains in improving and enlarging his
work. The ordinary Logarithmic Tables are much superior to
those usually employed, by having proportional parts attached
to the greater part of them, and almost always differences when
the former are wanting. The table of sines, tangents, and se-
cants, is in accordance with the views of the committee of the
Astronomical Society of London, who have recommended double
arguments in both arcs and time to be subjoined to tables for
Nautical Astronomy, an advantage of great importance in
many computations where time is involved. The best edition of
Mr Ivory's Table of Astronomical Refractions is given by our
author, the most accurate perhaps of all others hitherto pub-
lished. The table of reduction of altitudes to the meridian, of
the reduction of the sun's observed declination to the solstice ;
tables for reducing mean solar to sidereal time ; for correcting
the mean places of the stars, of which a pretty extensive cata-
logue of 160 is given, comprehending almost all those to the

Y

404! New Publications.

third magnitude inclusive; and many other tables too numerous
to be particularly noticed here, are all of the best description,
and will be found to be highly useful in every case of accuracy
where the aid of such tables is required.

In short, this work contains one of the best small collections
of useful tables any where to be found, printed in a neat man-
ner ; and the permanent accuracy of the greater part is secured
by stereotype plates. We, therefore, confidently recommend it
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tains, for the accuracy of the tabular part of its contents, and
for the general utility of the whole, and that too at a very mo-
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2. Illustrations of the Botany and other Branches of the Natural His-
tory of the Himalayan Mountains^ and of the Flora of Cashmere,
By J. F. RoYLE, Esq. F.L.S., F.G.S., &c. No. 2. Folio.
Parbury, Allen and Company. London, 1834.

We have great pleasure in announcing the publication of the
second Number of Mr Royle''s beautiful and valuable work ;
which contains, independently of nine well drawn and accurate-
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terest the botanist and instruct the general reader.

.3. The Natural History of Animalcules ; containing Deseriptio7is of
all tJie known Species of Infusoria, with instructions for procuring
and viewing them, ^c. : Illustrated hy 300 magnified figures on
steel. By Andrew Pritchard, Esq. London : Whittaker
and Co. 8vo. Pp. 104. 1834.

The discoveries of Professor Ehrenberg in regard to the
form, structure, functions, and distribution of the Infusoria,
first made known to the British public through the Edinburgh
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of Mr Pritchard on the Infusoria will, we doubt not, be read
with pleasure, and constantly consulted by all those who may
engage in the study of this curious branch of Natural History.

THE

EDINBURGH NEW
PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL.

Remarks cni the Theory of the Elevation of Mountains. By
George Bellas Greenough, Esq. F.R.S., &c. &c. &c.
President of the Geological Society of London *.

Among the subjects which have for some years past engaged
the thoughts of geologists, none perhaps has excited so general
and intense an interest as the Theory of Elevation. I shall
avail myself, therefore, of the present occasion to lay before you
a connected statement of the scattered facts and opinions upon
which it rests.

On entering upon this subject, it is necessary to understand
distinctly what is meant by Elevation. Definitions have recent-
ly been decried, I think unwisely. The formation of definitions,
it has been said, and the estabhshment of unerring distinctions,
are among the last, and not the first steps of systematic know-
ledge. Equally true, and far more salutary, is the lesson that
science cannot be advanced by equivocation. As in trading con-
cerns fixed weights and measures are necessary guards against
fraud, so in philosophical investigation words of definite mean-
ing are indispensable securities against sophistry and self-delu-
sion. Euclid did not end, he began with defining. Mathema-
tical certainty has no other basis than mathematical precision,
and the greater part of those absurdities which from time to time
attach themselves to all other branches of knowledge, derive their
subsistence from ambiguity of language and a dearth of defini-
tion.

• These Remarks form part of Mr Greenough's lately published Address,
delivered before the Geological Society of London.

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIV. — OCTOBER 1834. P

206 Meaning of the Term Elevation.

A torrent brings down a quantity of alluvial matter, and the
plain on which it rests is said to be elevated.

An opening occurs in the earth ; ejected ashes, scoria9, and
lava accumulate around it ; a Monte Nuovo is formed ; and the
area it occupies is said to be elevated.

By the persevering labour of polypi, a coral reef gradually
attains the surface of the ocean ; and the fabric so constructed
is said to be elevated,

A porous rock covers a rock that is not porous ; the rain fil-
ters through the superincumbent bed ; springs break out in the
subjacent; and at last, for want of support, the porous rock,
originally horizontal, acquires an inclined posture, one end be-
ing directed upwards, the other downwards ; and the whole is
said to be elevated.

An earthquake takes place at the mouth of a river ; the sea is
violently affected ; a bar is formed at the entrance of a harbour
from the washing in of new alluvion, or from some obstruction
to the escape of the old ; where a ship floated, a barge is
a-ground ; and the land is said to be elevated.

Such instances of elevation are common and incontestible ;
but elevation of this kind is quite different from that which forms
the subject of my present inquiry.

By the term Elevation, I mean only the removal of any given
object from a lower level to a higher level ; consequently it is
necessary, before I speak of an object as elevated, that I should
be prepared to shew two things : first, the level at which it has
stood ; secondly, the level at which it stands.

That I might form a right opinion of the theory, the merits
of which I am about to investigate, I have endeavoured to de-
termine the site, the number, and the magnitude of those multi-
farious objects to which the attribute of elevation is continually
applied. The attempt has proved unsuccessful : they are inde-
finite in place, in form, and in dimension. That mountains
should be elevated is not surprising, but we are familiarized also
with valleys of elevation.* In ancient times an island (Delos,
for example), would alternately emerge from, and plunge be-

• Valleys of this nature are properly called by Mr Scrope " valleys of ele-
vation and subsidence," or more concisely, " anticlinal valleys." See Scrope
on Volcanoes, p. 213,

Upraismg of Land in Java douhkd. 307

neath, the sea. Extensive provinces, nay, entire kingdoms, now
perform the same feat. The existence of craters of elevation is
by some still considered doubtful ; but it is an accredited fact
that mountains and mountain chains hav^ risen, either ^£?r saU
tum or per gradus. All the strata have been raised ; and all
unstratified rocks would doubtless have been raised also, but
that some have risen of themselves. The bed of the sea has
been elevated again and again. Continents, too, have been
raised, though " by an operation distinct from that which raised
the primary strata."

The arguments advanced in favour of these doctrines are de-
rived either from observation, or from induction.

It is stated by Von Hoff, that, in the year 1771, several tracts
of land were upraised in Java, and that a new bank made its
appearance opposite the mouth of the river Batavia. The au-
thorities cited for the effect of this and several other earthquakes
mentioned in the same place by this author, are Sir Stamford
Raffles, John Prior's Voyage in the Indian Seas, and Hist. Gen.
des Voy, tooa. ii. p. 401. Mr Lyell has cited the first of these
only, but no such fact is noted in either edition of the work of
Sir Stamford Raffles. The other authorities adduced by Von
Hoff* I have been unable to consult ; but from the Appendix to
the Batavian Transactions (which contains an apparently authen-
tic account of all the recorded earthquakes that have taken place
in Java during a century and a half), it would seem, that, in the
year 1771, in which the uprising is said to have happened in
that island, there was no earthquake at all.

The earthquake of Chili in 1822 has been so much* insisted
on, that it requires detailed consideration. Of this event an ac-
count by Mrs Graham is inserted in our Transactions. I am
deeply sensible of the honour that lady conferred on the Society
by her obliging compliance with the request which elicited her
narrative, and it is only the importance of its contents which
could induce me to subject them to the test of rigid examina-
tion.

According to this account, " it appeared, on the morning af-
ter the earthquake, that the whole line of coast from north to

• Bakewell's Geology, edition 4, pp. 98, 504. Lyell, voL i. pp. 401, 455.
De la Beche's Manual, edition 2. Scrope on Volcanoes, p. 209.

p2

^8 Upraising of the Land of Chili denied.

south, to the distance of above 100 miles, had been raised above
its former level.*" But by what standard was the former level
ascertained ? Who, on the morrow of so fearful a catastrophe,
could command sufficient leisure and calmness to determine and
compute a series of changes, which extended 100 miles in length,
and embraced (according to a statement in the Journal of
Science), an estimated area of 100,000 square miles? How
could a range of country so extensive be surveyed while the
ground was still rocking, which it continued to do on that day,
and for several successive months ? What was the average num-
ber of observations per square mile ? Who made, checked, and
registered them ? By what means did the surveyors acquaint
themselves with what had been the levels and contour before
the catastrophe took place, by which, as we are told, all the
landmarks were removed, and the soundings at sea completely
changed ?

Mrs Graham states, that, by the dislodgment of snow from the
mountains, and the consequent swelling of rivers and lakes, much
detritus was brought to the coast ; and further, that sand and
mud were brought up through cracks to the surface. Amid so
many agents it should not be easy to assign to each its share in
the general result.

That fishes lay dead on the shore may prove only that there
had been a storm. In her published travels, Mrs Graham re-
presents them as lying on the beach, which may very well have
been thrown up, as the Chesil bank has been, by a violent sea.
Some muscles, oysters, &c. still adhered, she says, to the rocks
on which they grew ; but we know not the nature or dimen-
sions of these rocks, whether fixed or drifted. The occurrence
of a shelly beach above the actual sea-level is an observation
which must not be lost sight of. I propose to speak of it here-
after : in the mean time be it recollected, that these beaches are
said to occur along the shore at various heights, along the sum-
mit of the highest hills, and even among the Andes.

Neither in the paper of Mrs Graham, nor in the anonymous
account published about the same time in the Journal of Science,
can I find any paragraph to justify the position (which, from
the seductive character of the work * in which it appears, may,

• Lyell, vol. i. p. 473.

upraising of' the Land of' Chili denied. 209

if not now assailed, soon be deemed unassailable), that a district
in Chili, 100,000 miles in area, " was uplifted to the average
height of a foot or more ; and the cubic contents of the granitic
mass added in a few hours to the land.*" By what means we
get the average I do not know. Mrs Graham says the altera-
tion of level at Valparaiso was about three feet ; at Quintero
about four feet ; but the granitic mass ! has the geological struc-
ture of Chili been sufficiently examined to assure us that granite
extends over 100,000 square miles ?

In the well known work of Molina, a Jesuit who passed the
greater part of his life in Chili, and wrote a natural history of
that country, I find no ground for supposing that in any earth-
quakes which took place there from the time the Spaniards first
landed on its shores to the date of his publication, any similar
phenomena had been noticed. Moreover, the statement of Mrs
Graham, and of the writer before alluded to, respecting the ele-
vation of la7id which occurred during the earthquake of 1822,
has not been confirmed by Captain King, nor by any naval of-
ficer or naturalist who has since visited that region, though many
have visited it who had heard the circumstance, and who would
willingly have corroborated it if they could. But they saw no
traces of such an event ; and the natives with whom they con-
versed, neither recollected nor could be induced to believe it.

The 16th number of the " Mercurio Chileno,*" a scientific
journal, contains an account of' this earthquake, by Don Camilo
Enriquez, which I have not been able to procure. A later
number refers to this account, and to another published in the
Abeija Argentina, a work of considerable reputation, which, by
the kindness of Mr Woodbine Parish, I have been enabled to
consult. The account there given of the earthquake of 1822
is strongly recommended to the reader, " as a sensible straight-
forward description of what actually took place, without the
high colouring in which ignorance, and terror, and exaggeration
are apt to indulge.""

No notice is here taken of the permanent elevation of the land,
and the account concludes thus : —

" The earth certainly cracked in places that were sandy or
marshy. I saw cracks, too, in some of the hills, but mostly in
the low nook where much earth had run together ; the sea was

210 No Strata upraised by Vesuvius.

not much altered, it retired a little, but came back to its old
place. Don Onofri Bunster, who, on the night of the earth-
quake, was walking on the shore at Valparaiso, in front of
his house, had a mind to go up on the hill, but could not, so
great was the quantity of falling dust and stones: he repaired
to his boat therefore, and with some difficulty got aboard ; this
done, he made observations on the motion of the sea ; on sound-
ing, the depth was thirteen fathoms ; he heaved the lead a se-
cond time, and the depth was no more than eight fathoms : this
alternate ebbing and flowing lasted the whole night, but did not
the slightest harm on shored

These are the only cases I remember to have met with in
which the testimony of eye-witnesses has been adduced to prove
tJie rise of land by earthquakes. That such rise may have ta-
ken place at different times without being recorded, perhaps
even without being observed, is not very improbable ; but if I
am to pronounce a verdict according to the evidence, I believe
there is not as yet one well authenticated instance in any part of
the world, of a non- volcanic rock having been seen to rise above
its natural level in consequence of an earthquake.

Before I quit this subject, it may not be amiss to mention,
that, on comparing the times at which the successive shocks took
place in Chili, as given by Mrs Graham, and the other autho-
rities to which I have had occasion to refer, the discrepancy is
extraordinary.

I have already intimated in a few words, my opinion as to the
sense in which land can be said to he elevated by means of vol-
canoes. Of these, Vesuvius is, perhaps, the most constantly ob-
served ; and among the innumerable authors who have described
its effects, from the time of Pliny down to the present day, not
one pretends that the Apennine limestone, close at hand, has
been in the least raised by that volcano. We shall do well to
bear this in mind, when we have occasion to consider the height
at which tertiary shells are found on Etna. That those shells
belong to beds thrown up by Etna, is a doctrine founded upon
induction, not upon experience. As far as experience goes, we
have no reason to think that Etna, in its most violent paroxysms,
will ever raise those tertiary strata above their present level.

Leaving these scenes of paroxysmal violence, let us next in-

Rise of Scandinavia considered. 21 1

quire whether there may not be going on, in the calmest seasons
and in the stillest countries, a chronic and almost imperceptible
impulsion of land upwards.

As early as the time of Swedenborg, who wrote in 1715, it
was observed that the level of the Baltic and German Oceans
was on the decline. About the middle of the last century an
animated and long-continued discussion took place in Sweden,
first as to the cause of this phenomenon, and then as to its rea-
lity. Reliant of Tornea, who had been assured of the fact by
his father, an old boatman, and who afterwards witnessed it
himself, bequeathed all he had to the Academy of Sciences^ on
condition that they should proceed with the investigation : the
sum was small, but the bequest answered the purpose. Some
of the members of the Academy made marks on exposed cliffs
and in sheltered bays, recording the day on which the marks
were made, and their then height above the water. The Baltic
affords great facility to those who conduct such experiments, as
there is no tide, nor any other circumstance to afect its level,
except unequal pressure of the atmosphere on its surface and on
that of the ocean : this produces a variation which is curiously
exemplified at Lake Malar, near Stockholm. As the barometer
rises or falls, the Baltic will flow into the lake, or the lake into
the Baltic. The variation resulting from the inequality of at-
mospheric pressure, however, is trifling. In sheltered spots
mosses and lichens grown down to the water''s edge, and thus
form a natural register of its level. Upon this line of vegetation
marks were fixed, which now stand in many places two feet
above the surface of the water.

In the year 1820-1, Bruncrona visited the old marks, mea-
sured the height of each above the line of vegetation, fixed new
marks, and made a report to the Academy. With this Report
has been published an Appendix by Halestrom, containing an
account of measurements made by himself and others along the
coast of Bothnia. From these documents it would appear : — 1 .
That along the whole coast of the Baltic the water is lower in
respect to the land than it used to be. % That the amount of
variation is not uniform. Hence it follows, that either the sea
and land have both undergone a change of level, or the land on-

212 Rise of' Scandinavia considered.

\y ; a change of level in the sea only will not explain the pheno-
mena.

A quarter of a -century has now elapsed since Mr von Buch
declared his conviction that the surface of Sweden was slowly
rising all the way from Frederickshall to Abo ; and added, that
the rise might probably extend into Russia. Of the truth of
that doctrine the presumption is so strong, as to demand that
similar experiments and observations should be instituted and
continued for a series of years in other countries, with a view to
determine whether any change of level is slowly taking place in
these also. The British Association for the Advancement of
Science have already obeyed the call. A committee has been
appointed to procure satisfactory data to determine this question
as far as relates to the coasts of Great Britain and Ireland, and
I cannot but hope that similar investigations will also be set on
foot along the coasts of France and Italy, and eventually be ex-
tended to many of our colonial possessions.

The inductive arguments in favour of the elevation of land,
whatever the size, and whatever the amount of rise, are founded
chiefly on the following circumstances: — 1. The height of sedi-
mentary beds and marine bodies, whether corresponding or not
to those of adjacent seas, or of the actual globe. % The height
of terraces resembling sea-beaches. 3. The height of ripple-
marks. 4. The change of posture which horizontal strata un-
dergo in the neighbourhood of " unstratified rocks." 5. The
various heights at which the same rocks occur in different parts
of their course. 6. The anticlinal posture of strata frequent
in, though not confined to, mountain chains. 7. The arched or
domed configuration of some strata. 8. The occurrence of co-
ral, apparently recent, high above the present surface of the sea.
9. The position of ancient buildings, viz. the temple of Serapis
at Puzzoli, &c. I have not time to consider these arguments in
detail ; each deserves to form the subject of a separate treatise.
Some of them prove, not elevation, but only change of level,
which subsidence would explain equally well. Some prove lo-
cal disturbance, whereby one portion may have been thrown up,
the other down. Some, again, afford a fair presumption of real
heal elevation or ascent. Most of them are good to a certain
point : all are continually overstrained \ and I am frequently

Supposed causes of the Elevation of the Land. 213

astonished to observe how prodigious the weight,— how slender
the string that supports it.

The assigned causes of elevation are exceedingly various.
One author raises the bottom of the sea by earthquakes ; an-
other, by subterranean fire ; another, by aqueous vapour ; an-
other, by the contact of water with the metallic bases of the
earths and alkalis. Heim ascribes it to gas; Playfair, to expan-
sive force acting from beneath; Necker de Saussure connects
it with magnetism ; Wrede, with a slow continuous change in
the position of the axis of the earth ; Leslie figured to himself
a stratum of concentrated atmospheric air under the ocean, to
be applied, I suppose, to the same purpose.

It is impossible, within the narrow limits of this discourse,
that I can enter into the merits of these and other hypotheses
seriatim. I must therefore throw them into two classes, the
first of explosive forces, the second of sustaining forces ; they
are one and the same in Plutonic language, but still it will be
convenient to separate them.

That explosive forces exist, or may exist, under the surface,
no one can deny ; but I cannot adopt the opinion (however high
the authority from which it comes) that " in volcanic eruptions
we find a power competent to raise continents out of the ocean.*"
The force we find in volcanic eruptions is hmited in time, place,
and action ; it fuses bodies of easy fusibility ; it tosses up those
that are refractory, and thus forms either a current of lava
or a shower of stones, scoriae, and ashes. What resemblance
is there between this operation and the rise of a continent ?
With more propriety might it have been said, that in a mole-
hill we behold the action of a cause competent to raise moun-
tains.

If by continent is meant a whole continent, and nothing but
a continent, its rise, provided this happened only once, would
seem difficult to understand ; but to me still more incomprehen-
sible is the confident assurance we continually receive from
writers of high and deserved reputation, that this event has
happened again and again. Before we admit the submersion of
a continent, wo must admit either that, at a period immediately
preceding that catastrophe, there existed under the land a ca-
vity large enough to contain the continent about to be sub-

214 Supposed causes of the Elevation of' the Land.

merged, or that, during the process, the subjacent beds shrunk
in consequence of a reduction of the temperature, and to such
an extent that the contraction in a vertical line equalled the dis-
tance from the level of the highest tops of the continent to that
of the surrounding ocean. In like manner, before we can ad-
mit the elevation of a continent, we must admit either that, at a
period immediately preceding that catastrophe, there happened
an inroad of sustaining matter equal in thickness and in extent
to the continent about to be uplifted, or that, during the pro-
cess, the subjacent beds expanded in consequence of an increase
of temperature, and to such an extent that the expansion in a
vertical line equalled the distance from the level of the highest
tops of the continent to that of the surrounding ocean. These,
therefore, are the events which we are taught to credit, as having
taken place again and again, notwithstanding the tendency which
caloric has to diffuse itself, and the apparently unaltered dimen-
sions of the fissures and local caverns by which the strata are so
often separated or intersected.

I will not expend more of your time in arguing against such
doctrines. Ail men are more or less lovers of the marvellous,
but few, I think, will upon reflection approve such marvels as
these.

Solids, fluids and aeriform substances exist, we know, in the
interior of the earth, and expand by heat, which exists there
likewise. All of these, therefore, are fit agents of elevation^
subject to certain conditions.

Dr Daubeny attributes the liquefaction of lava, the throwing
up of ashes, and all other phenomena of disturbance attendant
on volcanic eruptions, to the action of water upon the metallic
bases. This cause is not opposed to experience, and appears
well proportioned to the efi^ect, which is sudden, violent, occa-
sional, temporary, accompanied by heat and by flame. To me,
at least, it seems far more satisfactory than the explanation of
those who ascribe the eff*ect to the elastic power of subterranean
fires, repressed in one place and relieved in another, or to the
undulations of a heated nucleus.

A heated central mtcleus is a mere invention of fancy, trace-
able, I believe, to no other source than the hope of obtaining a
good argument from the multiplication of bad ones. To the

The existence of a Central Heat not proved. 215

Huttonian and every other geological sectary who relies on this
postulate, I say, be cautious : " iricedis per ignes dolososJ"

The only observation I recollect to have met with in favour
of central heat is, that the deepest mines ai-e the warmest — be it
so ! Might not a geologist by jmrity of reasoning argue thus ?
In travelling from Rome to ClMuaonix, the country becomes
continually more and more mountainous ; some of the peaks of
Chamonix are from ten to fifteen thousand feet above the level
of the sea. Imagine, therefore, what they must be at Ham-
burgh ! !

If mines derive their temperature from heat lodged in the
centre of the earth, the temperature ought to vary with their
distance from the centre ; and, therefore, since the earth is an
oblate spheroid, the mines of Scandinavia ought at the same
depth from the surface to be proportionally warmer than those
of tropical countries ; a result which has never been, I believe,
even suspected.

The existence of central heat, in the sense and to the extent
assumed in the Huttonian theory, is contrary to all our expe-
rience. If heat there be in the centre of the globe, it must have
the properties of heat and none other. I ask not how the heat
originally was lodged in that situation, for the origin of all
things is obscure ; but I ask why, in the countless succession of
ages which the Huttonian requires, the heat has not passed away
by conduction, and if it has passed away, by what other heat it
has been replaced ?

Dr Chalmers, in speaking of Sir Isaac Newton, observes, tliat
it was a " distinguishing and characteristic feature of his great
mind, that it kept a tenacious hold of every position which had
proof to substantiate it ; but a more leading peculiarity was,
that it put a most determined exclusion on every position desti-
tute of such proof. The strength and soundness of Newton's
philosophy was evinced as much by his decision on those doc-
trines of science which he rejected, as by his demonstration of
those doctrines of science which he was the first to propose.
He expatiated in a lofty region, where he met with much to
solicit his fancy, and tempt him to devious speculation. He
might easily have found amusement in intellectual pictures ; he
might easily have palmed loose and confident plausibilities of

216 Refrigeration of the Earth.

his own on the world. But no, he kept by his demonstrations,
his measurements, and his proofs."

Gentlemen, let us, as far as is consistent with the nature of
geological investigation, show the strength and soundness of our
philosophy in the same manner.

That heat of considerable intensity prevails occasionally, in
certain places, at some depth, is all that we have as yet clearly
established. Whether that heat is permanent, whether it is ge-
nerally diffused, whether it is central, are questions of mere
speculation.

Intimately connected with the hypothesis of central heat is
that of refrigeration.

It has been observed by one of our members, that " the re-
mains, both of the animal and vegetable kingdom, preserved in
strata of different ages, indicate that there has been a great di-
minution of temperature throughout the northern hemisphere,
in the latitudes now occupied by Europe, Asia, and America ;
the change has extended to the arctic circle as well as to the
temperate zone ; the heat and humidity of the air, and the uni-
formity of climate, appear to have been most remarkable when
the oldest strata hitherto discovered were formed. The ap-
proximation of a climate similar to that now enjoyed in these
latitudes, does not commence till the aera of the formations
termed tertiary ; and while the different tertiary rocks were de-
posited in succession, the temperature seems to have been still
further lowered, and to have continued to diminish gradually
even after the appearance of a great portion of existing species
upon the earth."*' The little knowledge we have of the fossil
productions of countries south of the temperate zone, induces
me to believe that these observations are as applicable to the
southern hemisphere as to the northern.

This refrigeration, one of the most undoubted facts in geo-
logy, is supposed by the Huttonians, and, if I mistake not, by
M. Elie de Beaumont and others, to arise from a decrease of
the central heat ; an opinion, however, which cannot I think be
supported.

We know of one method only by which central heat, if it
exists, can pass from the earth, viz. by radiation. It cannot
pass by conduction. Conduction implies conductors, which in

Refrigeratmi of the Earth, 217

empty space are not to be procured *; but the radiation of heat,
at low temperatures, is so slight that it is scarcely sensible at
100° of Fahrenheit's thermometer, a temperature twice as great
as the medium temperature of the surface of the globe at this
time. The temperature of the earth's surface has been shewn
by Fourier to bo as constant as are the dimensions of its orbit,
and the period of its annual revolution. Laplace observes, that
our planet has undergone no contraction of size during the last
2000 years ; consequently there has been no sensible refrigera^
tion during that period, and the last seculum of M. de Beau-
mont has already extended to more than twice the length of a
millennium.

Another argument, or rather postulate, has been adduced in
favour of central heat, — the fusion of unstratified rocks, and
their forcible injection into the stratified.

Gentlemen, I have confessed to you again and again, that T
am not aware, nor has any one as yet informed me, by what test
stratified and unstratified rocks can be distinguished ; the only
test I know is the good will and pleasure of those who make the
distinction. The followers of Pluto seize and appropriate to
his use as many rocks as they think proper. By virtue of such
seizure, these rocks become necessarily unstratified : why so ?
because if stratified they would be no longer Plutonic. Strati-
fication I know is a question to be determined not by the senses
but by the fancy ; otherwise, I would say, that the magnificent
range of basaltic cliff, which extends from the county of Derry
along the coast of Antrim as far as Fairhead, is as distinctly
stratified as any mountain-limestone, oolite or chalk, in Great
Britain.

- However, I waive this objection, as it leads me away from
my subject, and return to the consideration of central heat.
Have those who believe in this agent ever taken into their ac-
count the nature of the substances said to have been fused ?
Many of the trap rocks, not all of them, (for the family is large,
and many of its members have been introduced into it, not by
nature but by adoption), I attribute to the agency of the causes
which have produced lava, causes which, comparatively speak-

• See Comparative View of the Huttonian and Neptunian Systems of
Geology.

218 Reiteration of the Earth.

ing, I do not believe to be very deep-seated. These rocks I
put out of consideration for the present ; the remarks about to
be offered apply to granite and its congeners, under which head
I would give to every one full liberty to include or reject quartz-
rock, gneiss, mica-slate, eurite, cipollino, hornblende-rock, ser-
pentine, &c. Some or all of these, it is the boundea duty of
central heat to fuse and to eject.

Such and so limited are the means of chemistry, that of many
substances thus brought within the sphere of our inquiries, the
point of fusion is at this day unascertained. The author of the
masterly publication before adverted to, brought together many
useful observations upon this subject. He observes that " La-
voisier could not melt a particle of carbonate of lime by the in-
tense heat of a burning mirror, and that quartz, according to
Saussure, requires for its fusion a temperature r=: 4043° of
Wedgwood's pyrometer, glass requiring at a medium only 30°
of the same scale."

That the difficulty which here suggests itself, of providing, in
the absence even of imaginary fuel, a supply of imprisoned heat
sufficient to fuse the substances I have mentioned and others
scarcely less refractory, may be mitigated by extending the time
employed in the process, or by the aid of compression and other
circumstances, I am ready to admit; but, in the most favourable
view of the case, the heat wanted (when we consider the thick-
ness and extent of these rocks, comprising entire mountains and
mountain chains), must be prodigious; and I cannot but admire
the singular taste of those geological speculators, who, enjoying
the free range of the globe, have deposited their caloric exactly
in that spot in which it can be of least use to them. The in-
convenience of this distribution becomes still more apparent,
when it is recollected that fusion is not all that is necessary, but
that, when fused, these substances must be propelled in a deter-
minate direction and wit)i sufficient force, in many instances, to
raise the bed of the sea to the height of an alpine chain. I will
not attempt to point out to you the way in which this is accom-
plished, but confess at once that I do not understand it.

And yet it appears certain that the surface of our planet has
become cooler and cooler, from the period when organic life
commenced to the tertiary epoch. If this cannot be explained

Refrigeration of the Earth. 219

by the escape of heat, there remains only one other mode of
explaining it, — a continually diminishing supply. The latter
k the explanation offered by Mr Lubbock. Sir John Herschel
also has brought into view causes within the range of physical
astronomy, which, independently of a loss of internal heat, pro-
duce a slow but certain diminution of temperature on the sur-
face of our globe*. These auxiliaries, however, are insufficient.
Mr Lyell has offered another solution of the problem, depend-
ing not on celestial but terrestrial causes. The chapter that
contains it abounds in valuable information and ingenious reason-
ing ; but when the author tells us that f in every country '* the
land has been in some parts raised, in others depressed, hy which,
and other ceaseless changes, the corifiguration of the earth'' s sur^
face has been remodelled again and again since it zvas the hahi"
tation of organic beings, and the bed of the oceaii lifted up to
the height of the highest mountains^"* I cannot but wish that
he had stated this as an opinion, not as a fact.

All these theories have one defect in common ; they do not
meet the whole of the case. We have to explain not only the
cooling gradual during the long interval that occurred between
the formation of the carboniferous beds and the chalk, but also
the sudden chill which followed, and seems to have continued
from that time to this. There is yet another element to be
taken into account. The coal-beds of Melville Island contain
various plants, natives of the country where they are found, and
which, if we may trust analogy, require for their healthy growth,
or for their growth at all, not only tropical heat |, but a tropi-
cal apportionment of the periods of exertion and repose. It is
a botanical impossibility that such plants could have flourished
in a region in which they must have been stimulated by months

• The Baobab tree of Senegal is supposed by Adanson to have attained
the age of 5150 years, and De CandoUe attributes to the Cupressus disiicha of
Mexico a still greater longevity. (Lyell, vol. iii. p. 99.)

If these opinions be correct, it seems improbable that any great change
either of level or climate can have taken place at these spots within the last
5000 years.

f Principles of Geology, vol. i. p. 113.

$ Since this passage was written,doubts have been expressed whether the
specimens of these plants preserved at the British Museum are suflSciently
distinct to warrant the inference.

2^0 Refrigeratim of the Earth,

of continuous light, and paralysed by months of uninterrupted
darkness. The distribution of light, therefore, as well as of
heat, must formerly have been different from what it is at pre-
sent.

To meet this further difficulty, recourse is had to physical as-
tronomy, which gives us the precession of the equinoxes, and a
shifting axis of rotation : but the periodical changes of astrono-
mers are insufficient to explain the phenomena to which I have
just drawn your attention. It has therefore been suggested that
a greater change may, in the course of ages, have been produced
on the axis of the earth^s rotation by some foreign cause, say the
collision of a comet.

Such change is undoubtedly possible, but of possibilities there
is no end, and we must circumscribe our researches to render
them useful. Sir John Herschel gives us no encouragement,
therefore, to proceed with this speculation. Mr Conybeare also
dissuades us from it, but by an argument which to me at least
appears inconclusive.

His argument, founded upon the lunar theory, is this, — that
the internal strata of the earth are ellipses parallel to its exter-
nal outhne, their centres being coincident, and their axes identi-
cal with that of the surface. The present axis of the earth must
therefore have been its axis from the beginning. It may have
been so, yet I should like to be told by what process the form
of the internal strata of< the earth had been so nicely determined.
Possibly, however, I may not understand the expression " in-
ternal strata'''' All I believe to be ascertained is, that of corre-
sponding sections of the interior the density is nearly the same,
and if so, my inference is, not that the earth has never changed
its axis of rotation, but that, if it has done so, the interior was
then sufficiently pliant to accommodate itself to the change.

A much more formidable objection to the employment of such
a cause is, that, if once called in, we must take it with all its
consequences. The effects produced by it will not be what we
wish performed, but what its nature obliges it to perform. In
explaining the phenomena of Melville Island, it might render
inexplicable those of the rest of the world. If we choose to
change the axis upon which the earth revolves, let us at least fix
upon the best time for doing it ; now. What is that time ? Im-

Internal Cavities of the Earth. 221

mediately after the formation of the carljoniferous series ? The
reduction of temperature at that epoch was inconsiderable ; tro-
pical plants and animals are found in the lias, in the oolite series,
in the chalk. A much, more convenient time would be on the
first appearance of the tertiary rocks ; but however satisfactory
it might be to trace to such a cause the violent changes and dis-
turbances which appear to have taken place about that period
in all other parts of the world, I aiti afraid our satisfaction would
be greatly diminished on finding that Gosau and Maestricht *
escaped unhurt.

Be the cause what it may, the effect is certain. The tempe-
rature of the crust of the earth must have been higher when the
coal-measures were deposited than now, and we have reason to
think it was still higher at antecedent periods. That a con-
siderable degree of heat still exists, either partially or generally,
at no great distance from the surface, appears from thermal
springs and volcanoes.

I am aware that the doctrine of internal cavities has been re-
garded as visionary ; and in the extent to which it was carried
by some of the old Cosmogonists it was so ; but thiat compara-
tively near to the surface there are, I do not say vacuities, but
large spaces unoccupied by solid matter, is not only probable,
but almost proved. It seems indeed to be a necessary conse-
quence of the structure of the crust of the earth. No miner has
ever got to the bottom of a vein, and a vein itself is often a half
empty pipe or fissure. The correspondence of the phases of
distant volcanoes, the continuous ranges of their eruptive open-
ings, the vast extent of territory shaken simultaneously by their
convulsions, are so many proofs of communication below the
surface. The bulk of the ejected matter cannot.be less than
that of the concreted ejections which we see ; for at the tempe-
rature of fusion it is greater than at a lower temperature, and
for every foot of matter ejected it is necessary to provide a sub-
stitute in the place which it occupied.

The continuous streams of lava which issued in Iceland, on
one occasion, attained the length of forty or fifty miles. But
the bulk of volcanic matter presented to view does not enable

• See the descriptions of these in GeoL Trans.

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIV. 0CT0BElM834. Q

2S2 The Rising (^'Scandinavia explained.

us to form a correct estimate of the quantity of matter ejected ;
we must take further into account the combustible substances
which have vanished, the gases which have escaped, the dust
and ashes which, projected into the air, have fallen many miles
distant from the place of explosion *. Then only can we enter-
tain a just idea of the cavities that must have been created in
the interior of*1:he earth by the escape of a mass of matter com-
petent to produce an Etna or a Chimbora^o. Such cavities are
ill suited to support such mountains ; La Metherie therefore
supposes cavities to be at a distance, and volcanic matter to flow
from these through long galleries and fissures of communication.
Nor have we in volcanic countries alone decisive evidence of the
existence of subterranean cavities. No rock is exempt from As-
sures : in thick beds of limestone, fissures and caverns are ex-
ceedingly abundant ; and the extent of these last is sometimes
prodigious. Who has not heard of the grotto of Antiparos ? of
the caverns of Carinthia and Carniola, the content of which
amounts to some hundred thousand cubic feet ? of the King-
ston Cave recently explored near Michelstown in Ireland .?

To the frequency of caverns and openings, by whatever name
designated, I ascribe many of the inequalities which vary the
surface of the earth ; such openings, I conceive, produce pheno-
mena sometimes of subsidence, sometimes of elevation. I can-
not entertain a doubt that many of the tilts and contortions of
strata usually ascribed to soulevejnent have been occasioned sole-
ly by want of adequate support.

The Duchy of Finland exhibits an endless series of lakes fill-
ing up the hollows of a granitic surface. Let me be allowed a
similar series of subterranean lakes occupying similar basins be-
neath the level of the Baltic, and receiving, by means of fissures
extending up to the summits of the Scandinavian chain, a con-
tinual supply of water which has no outlet ; in other words, let
me be allowed the use of hydrostatic pressure ; and without
having recourse to central heat or secular refrigeration, I think
I shall be able to account, without difficulty, not by a general
and uniform rising, but by a num.ber of unequal and partial

• In 1783, a submarine volcano off the coast of Iceland ejected so much
pumice that the ocean was covered to a distance of 150 miles, and ships were
considerably impeded in their course.

Ignecms Rocks viewed as Agents of Elevation. 223

risings, for the phenomena observed along the shores of the
Baltic. ^.''f'^' *'^ ■

Steam is often referred to as capable of producing the same
result, nor will I deny that it might do so under favourable cir-
cumstances ; but I apprehend steam rarely does act in nature
under such circumstances ; for its existence depends on the ac-
cess of heat, and its force on close confinement, contingencies
not very likely to occur in the porous and fissured strata of the
earth. Any of the various gases, if compressed, might also be-
come agents of elevation, but only under the same conditions as
steam.

;: I have reserved for the last the popular theory which accounts
for elevation by the forcible inroad of igneous rocks into sedi-
inentary.

To put this theory to the test, it is natural to inquire, what
igneous rocks are ? My answer is, whatever geological specula-
tors think proper to call so. The late Professor Dugald Stewart
cautioned us strongly, though, alas ! in vain, to avoid the lan-
guage of theory. " Appearances," he observes, " should always
be described in terms which involve no opinion as to their causes.
These are the objects of separate examination, and will be best
understood if the facts are given fairly, without any dependence
on what should yet be considered as unknown ; this rule is very
essential where the facts are in a certain degree complicated."

In dealing out to rocks the appellation of igneous^ some geo-
logists are more liberal than others. I have not time to enume-
rate the various rocks which enjoy this title, still less to investi-
gate their respective claims to retain it. I will therefore content
myself with observing, that in the scantiest catalogue they are
many in number, and consequently, if ejected in a state of fu-
sion, must have been ejected from different reservoirs and cauld-
rons, not from a central cauldron.

That any rock whatever was originally igneous, is a gratui-
tous assumption. Lavas themselves may be, and probably are,
in very many cases, rocks not originally igneous, but rocks
which have been exposed at one time or other to the action of
fire.

Granite is one of the rocks most usually considered as an
agent in elevation , for what reason I am at a loss to discover.

q2

224 Granite not an Jgefit of Elevation.

Solid granite has no inherent principle of motion ; if it «iove, it
can only be by virtue of the impulsion it has received from some
other body, not in consequence of its igneous origin or its want
of stratification. The disturbances of strata that adjoin granite
are not more constant, nor more striking, nor more extensive,
than those of strata far remote from it, as for instance the lime-
stone shales of Derbyshire or the coal-beds of Liege. Granite
veins are too small to raise mountains, and the changes or ano-
malies that take place at the junction of granite with other rocks,
whatever else they may prove, appear to me to have no bearing
on the question of elevation. On the other hand, the arguments
adduced against the doctrine that granite while fluid has been
forcibly injected from beneath into its present position, are, to
my mind, conclusive, especially that which is founded on the
frequent transition which takes place from granite to the rocks
that adjoin it. We find a continuous series from granite through
gneiss and mica-slate to clay-slates and the fossiliferous slates ;
and it is not possible to stop at any point of this progress, and
to say in which direction the tendency is strongest. If the gra-
dation were single, the difficulty would be great, but what shall
we say to a repetition of such gradations ? In Mr Weaver's pa-
per on the East of Ireland, two detailed sections are given, in
one of which, more than six layers of granite alternate with as
many of mica-slate, and in the other five alternations of the same
kind occur, the rocks in each instance forming bands from three
to seventy fathoms in thickness.

The reliance which some authors place on granite and other
unstratified rocks, as agents of' elevation, is to me very extraor-
dinary ; let one instance suffice. At Castrogiovanni in Sicily,
the Pleiocene beds attain an altitude of 3000 feet ; hence it has
been inferred, that si7ice these beds were deposited, there has been
formed and introduced into the beds .subjacent, a body of granite,
sienite, porphyry, or other crystalline and unstratified rocJcs,
SOOO Jeet in thickness. This supposition is said to be necessary,
but since I do not see the necessity, I will venture another sup-
position, viz. that Etna has not risen to the height of 10,000 feet,
without occasioning large cavities in its neighbourhood, some of
them submarine; that Castrogiovanni is situate over one of
these ; that the Pleiocene strata have closed the cavity and ren-

Shells of Living Species high above the Sea-Level 225

dered it water-tight, except on the side of Etna, from whose
lofty flanks and cloud-capped crater the caverns beneath are re-
gularly supplied by fissures with rain-water and melted snow.
Let the author grant me so much, — I ask no more. The hy-
drostatic paradox has tripped up the hills of the geological one,
and I behold my pleiocene beds mounted at once on a pedestal
3000 feet high, and capable of still further promotion. j^^J

If the explanation here offered meets the case of Castrogio-
vanni, it will equally account for the height of the tertiary beds
in different parts of the Val di Noto, and for similar phenomena
in every country which is or has been formerly the site of vol-
canic eruptions.

To the appearances on the Gulf of St Lawrence, described
by Captain Bayfield, I have already adverted.

My predecessor directed your attention, last year, to the ex-
istence in the Morea of four or five'distinct ranges of ancient sea
cliffs, marked at different levels in the limestone escarpments by
lithodomous perforations, lines of littoral and sea-worn caverns,
and other striking proofs of former tidal action. Similar ter-
races have been observed in Sicily, in Chili, in the Gulf of St
Lawrence, and various other places. At Uddevalla in Sweden,
are ancient beaches with shells of living species, 200 feet above
the level of the Baltic, a height strikingly disproportionate to the
very moderate rise ascertained to have taken place in other parts
of the Scandinavian coast : many examples of similar phenomena
have been found in Great Britain. It would be rash to offer a
solution of these phenomena in the gross. Every individual case
deserves separate exaniination. All I undertake at present is to
put a new key into the hands of the decipherer.

It was my intention, on commencing this address, to have dis-
cussed, at some length, the theory of M. Elie de Beaumont, but
there is not time now to do it justice. He belongs to that class
of authors whose opinions, right or wrong, always instruct me.
There is no part of his theory which does not evince thought
and diligence, a habit of correct observation, and an enlarged
mind. In some respects I differ from him, and it will not be
difficult to infer, from what I have already said, wherein the
difference consists. Should these observations engage his notice,
I would beg him to consider whether the disturbances in the

226 Diluvial Action.

Alps and elsewhere have not been generalized rather more than
they will bear, whether the tilts and upliftings may not have
taken place bit by bit at various epochs, and whether, if the se-
cular refrigeration of the globe cannot be estabhshed, and cen-
tral heat be an ignis fatuus^ his attention may not be usefully
directed to more partial but better ^authenticated sources of dis-
turbance and elevation. ({*Ȥ "^o v-

Allow me, in conclusion, to say a few words upon a subject
in connexion with which my name has of late been brought for-
ward much more prominently than I could have desired, — I
mean Diluvial Action.

Some fourteen years ago I advanced an opinion, founded al-
together upon physical and geological considerations, that the
entire earth had, at an unknown period, (as far as that word im-
plies any determinate portion of time), been covered by one
general but temporary deluge. The opinion was not hastily
formed. My reasoning rested on the facts which had then come
before me. My acquaintance with physical and geological na-
ture is now extended ; and that more extended acquaintance
would be entirely wasted upon me^ if the opinions which it will
no longer allow me to retain, it did not also induce me to rectify.
New data have flowed in, and, with the frankness of one of my
predecessors, I also now read my recantation.

The varied and accurate researches which have been instituted
of late years throughout and far beyond the limits of Europe,
all tend to this conclusion, — that the geological schools of Paris,
Freyberg, and London, have been accustomed to rate too low
the various forces which are still modifying, and always have
modified, the external form of the earth. What the value of
those forces may be in each case, or what their relative value,
will continue for many years a subject of discussion ; but that
their aggregate effect greatly surpasses all our early estimates, is,
I believe, incontestibly established. To Mr Lyell is eminently
due the merit of having awakened us to a sense of our error in
this respect. The vast mass of evidence which he has brought
together, in illustration of what may be called Diurnal Geology,
convinces me, that if, five thousand years ago, a deluge did
sweep over the entire globe, its traces can no longer be dis-
tinguished from more modern and local disturbances. The.

Diurnal Geology. 227

first sight of those comparatively recent assemblages of strata,
which he designates the Eocene ., Meiocene^ and Pleiocene For-
mations, (unknown but a few years ago, though diffused as ex-
tensively as many which were then honoured with the title of
universal), shews the extreme difficulty of distinguishing their
detritus from what we have been accustomed to esteem diluvium.
The fossil contents of these formations strongly confirm this ar-
gument. M. Deshayes has shewn that they belong to a series
unbroken by any great intervals, and that, if they be divided
from the secondary strata, the chasm can have no relation to any
such event as is called the Flood.

Further, the elephants and other animals once supposed to be
exclusively diluvial, are now admitted to be referrible to two or
three distinct epochs ; and it is highly probable that the blocks
of the Jura Mountains, of the north of Germany, of the north
of Italy, of Cumberland, Westmoreland, &c. are not the waifs
and strays of one, but of several successive inundations.

It is, Gentlemen, a well-known rule of such institutions as
ours, that the " authors alone are responsible for the facts and
opinions contained in their respective productions." Under that
feeling have I spoken on the present occasion, and having freely
set before you what has occurred to me on some points of gene-
ral interest to our science at this time, I think it my duty, in
concluding this address, to disclaim and deprecate any attempt
to connect what I have here expressed, with the general senti-
ments of the Geological Society. The opinions I have uttered
are my own, and I should be sorry that more importance should
be attached to them than they intrinsically deserve, from the ac-
cident of their having been delivered from this Chair. Had not
the whole responsibility fallen on myself, I should have hesitated,
or perhaps altogether forborne, to bring before you opinions, se-
veral of which, I know, are little in accordance with those of
' some of the most distinguished members of our Association.

( 228 . )

Remarks on a paper hy Dr Stark, On the Influence of Colour
on Heat, SfC. in the Fhilos, Trans. 1833, part ii. ; and on an
Historical Account of Experiments relating to the subject, in
tlte Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, No. 33. By
the Rev. Baden Powell, M. A. F.R.S., Savilian Professor
of Geometry, Oxford. Communicated by the Author.

On the appearance of the part of the Philosophical Transac-
tions just referred to, my attention was immediately drawn to
the contents of Dr Stark's paper, as belonging to a subject to
which, some years since, I had paid particular attention. Se-
veral remarks occurred to me on the first perusal of it, which I
conceived it might not be unserviceable to the cause of scientific
truth to bring forward, but which circumstances have prevented
me from putting into a form for pubhcation till now. Since the
greater part was written, I have seen the same author''s paper in
the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, and in adding some
remarks on that paper also, my observations may perhaps be
found to have assumed an irregular form, which I have not now
time to correct. To the general doctrine maintained by Dr
Stark I confess I entertain considerable objections; though I
most readily acknowledge the interest of his researches, and the
skill and ability displayed in them. The subject is one which
certainly no previous experimenter has attempted, though I be-
lieve such a conclusion as Dr Stark's has often been vaguely
stated by writers on the subject of heat ; but this portion of the
science of heat seems to have been in an especial degree aban-
doned to inaccuracy. It, in fact, is hardly yet recognised as a
separate science ; and it is so slightly connected with one or two
other branches, that it seldom meets with any original or pre-
cise discussion from systematic writers on those branches. I ob-
serve, however, that Dr Stark's conclusion has received the sanc-
tion of Dr Prout in his Bridgewater Treatise ; and as it certain-
ly possesses much plausibility, I conceive it the more necessary
to explain freely the nature of my doubts in regard to it. I can
only hope that nothing will be found in the manner of stating
my objections, which can reasonably give offence to the author;

Professor Powell on the Irifliience of' Colour on Heat. 2^9

and that he will perceive I have no other object than the endea-
vour to promote the cause of philosophical truth.
^ Without further preface, then, I will commence with some
general remarks, bearing on the nature of the whole inquiry,
before I proceed to consider the experimental evidence in detail.
After referring briefly to the labours of preceding experi-
menters, on the relations of substances to heat, the author re-
marks, that they have all stopped short as it were at the point
where the influence of colour comes into consideration ; and this
appears to have been in several cases owing to a conviction which
Dr Stark regards as unfounded, that the inquiry presents dif-
ficulties of a kind absolutely insuperable, and which are essen-
tially inherent in it. A quotation which he gives from Sir J.
Leslie tends to put these difficulties before us in the clearest
point of view : —

" On the whole, it appears exceedingly doubtful if any influ-
ence can be justly ascribed to colour. But the question is wi-
capahle of' being positively determined^ since no substance can
be made to assume different colours without at the same time
changing its internal structure." Notwithstanding this explicit
statement, the author expresses some surprise that Sir J. Leslie
and Count Rumford should have stopped short in their re-
searches at this point, when so wide a field of unknown proper-
ties lay in view.

The experiments of Sir J. Leslie have, I conceive, distinctly
established the general fact, that there is some pecid'iarity of tex-
ture^ or arrangement of the particles of the surface, which gives
an increased power of absorbing, and reciprocally of radiating,
simple heat. In my report on Radiant Heat, published in the
Reports of the British Association (i. 203), I have collected in
one point of view all the principal results. It is true that these
cannot be looked upon as possessing any high degree of preci-
sion ; chiefly from this circumstance, that the thickness, density,
&c. of the coating could not be in all cases precisely equalized ;
and thus other circumstances than the nature of the surface
must have afllected the results. In some cases I believe the dis-
tinguished author took particular pains to equalize the coatings
where their nature admitted of it ; as by taking precisely equal
quantities in the first instance, which were afterwards dissolved,

230 Professor Powell on the Influence of' Colour on Heat.

or spread on the surface. But as approximate results, in the
absence of any better, they are of the highest value. Now these
results extending through a considerable range of substances (as
I have remarked in my report) do seem to afford one or two
principles of classification as to increased energy of effect ; but
colour is evidently not one of them. We have some white sub-
stances near the head of the list, and some dark ones very low
in it. But to complete our view of the matter, let us only con-
trast the differences observable among such coatings in reference
to simple Jieat, with those which subsist when we expose them
to the heat accompanying, or belonging to, or excited by, light.
Here the case is clear, and not capable of misapprehension ; the
dark coloured substance (unless the effect be completely dis-
guised by its badly absorbing texture, as metallic polish, &c.)
absorbs the light, and thus greater heat is excited or developed.
I believe the most accurate method we at present possess for
making such comparisons, is that which I have adopted, viz. to
coat two thermometers with the substances to be examined, and
to observe the ratio of their risings when exposed to luminous,
and to nonluminous heat, or the comparative effects of the ra-
diation from a luminous source upon them, and their compara-
tive rapidity of radiating again the heat they have acquired.
An extensive series of such comparisons (which I have never yet
had leisure to make with the requisite accuracy,) would put us
in possession of most important data on a subject of which at
present we know hardly any thing. The main difficulty is that
of^ determmmg precisely the circumstances and properties wherein
the coatings differ. A very extensive induction perhaps, is the
only means open to us of ascertaining this, considering how to-
tally ignorant we are of the intimate nature and structure of
bodies, and above all, of the peculiarities on which their colour
depends.

In fact, this consideration has long appeared to me to present
a formidable, perhaps insuperable difficulty, in all experiments of
the kind ; and I will merely say further, that so fully have I been
myself impressed with its formidable character, that though at
one time I had devoted much labour and attention to extensive
inquiries of this kind, I felt compelled to relinquish them as
hopeless. Yet, as far as my observations have extended, they

Professor Powell on the Ivjluence of Colour on Heat. 231

exactly corroborate what all the previous results of Franklin,
Davy, and other philosophers lead us to expect, viz. that the
effects of the radiation from luminous sources, are in a totally
different ratio from those of simple radiant heat ; the former
always following the order of darkness of colour, even in the
midst of considerable diversity of otJier properties ; the latter
certainly not exhibiting any such constant or general relation :
but, as far as we can at present conjecture, the relation which
they do follow being one of an entirely different kind ; though,
of course, instances may occur when it presents an apparent,
and possibly in some cases a real, coincidence with the order of
colour.

Indeed, the reason assigned by Sir J. Leslie appears to me
perfectly satisfactory against the prospect of success in such ex-
periments. I would even go further, and maintain that if we
have any substance, in the first instance of its natural colour,
and then proceed to dye or tinge it in any way with another,
one of two things rnust take place : either, 1st, Some heteroge-
neous matter is now mixed up with it, and consequently the sur-
faces which it is the object of experiment to compare are not of
the same material ; or, 2dly, The mechanical disposition of the
particles of the original body is altered, and it has no longer
precisely the same texture. Either circumstance would to-
tally invalidate a conclusion as to any change in its radiating
power being due to its colour as such.*

Upon these grounds, I feel most forcibly the philosophical cau-
tion of the remarks of Dr T. Thomson and Dr Turner, which the
author has cited ; and, as the former has observed, the investiga-
tion in question " has hitherto been impossible,*" so, I am inclined
to think, that its impossibility is rendered nearly certain on the
ground first stated ; or rather, that though we may trace approxi-

• It should be observed, that Professor Forbes has pointed out the ne-
cessary connexion between absorbing and radiating power, as dependent on
the arrangement of the particles of the surface to be one of the mathematical
consequences from Fourier's researches on the subject. This circumstance,
perhaps, may be regarded as diminishing still further the probability of any.
relation to colour.

See Translation of M. Maurice's Abstract, &c. Lond. and Edin. Journal
of Science, Feb. 1833. Note p. 108.

^2 Professor Powell an the Influence of Colour on Heat.

mate relations between differently coloured botiies in their ab-
sorptive and radiating powers; yet it will be impossible to
distinguish whether such relations are dependent on colour^ as
suchy or only on certain states of the body which are the conco-
mitants of a particular colour.

In some cases such a distinction is readily made, even with
the degree of knowledge we already possess on the subject. For
example, coatings of lamp-black, or of the smoke of a candle,
have been used by all experimenters as highly efficacious ; but
in the case of simple heat it is more than questionable whether
it is the blackness which is the cause of the increased energy.
Where light is concerned, we have evidence of another kind that
it is so. But after the distinctions which, I conceive, I have
established (Phil. Trans. 1825) in the case of terrestrial heat,
we must recognise the highly absorptive texture as acting an
important part, and in the instance of simple radiant heat, with-
out light, the wliole increased efficacy is due to this property.

Perhaps the most valuable information yet obtained on this
point is the conclusion of MM. Nobili and Melloni, when qua-
lified by the considerations which I have ventured to suggest
(Report, p. 9>QQ), that the radiating powers are inversely as the
condticting. If this remarkable conclusion be admitted as_suf-
ficiently established, it will go far to explain many effects appa-
rently connected with colour. In particular, all those very nu-
merous cases in which carbon enters as an ingredient into black
or dark coloured pigments. This being one of the worst known
conductors, will, by the above law, be one of the best radiators;
and thus, lamp-black, soot, &c. &c. radiate and absorb simple
heat with great energy, not as being black, but as being carbon.

I cannot help observing, that, throughout this paper, its able
and ingenious author does not appear sufficiently to bear in mind
the distinctions just referred to between the different species of
heating eff^ects, if I may so term them ; or, more properly, the
different modes or channels by which, as it were, the same com-
mon effect, estimated by us in producing the same sensation of
heal, is conveyed. All these have been confounded together
under the one term Radiation, or radiant caloric, and, as I con-
ceive, no small confusion of ideas has sometimes resulted. In my
report on radiant heat, I took particular pains to place these dis-

Professor Powell on the Influence of Colour on Heat 233

tinctions in the most prominent light possible. If Dr Stark had
honoured that report with a perusal, I think either he would
not have fallen into one or two such misconceptions (as I esteem
them), or, if he considered my positions faulty, could not have
done less than have noticed and criticised them. The neglect
of such distinctions appears in several instances in the introduc-
tory part of the paper, and I shall notice some others in the
sequel. Thus, for example, (p. 286), he speaks of the experi-
ments of Franklin and Davy as referring to heat in general,
whereas they refer simply to the light of the sun, which, in the
act of absorption (whatever that be), in some way or other, of
which we are wholly ignorant, produces, excites, or sets free, a
certain quantity of heat.

This subject, especially when the rays are subjected to pris-
matic analysis, is involved in much uncertainty ; but the re-
searches of Sir D. Brewster, and of MM. Nobili and Melloni,
are probably those which will tend most to elucidate it. (See my
Report, p. 293). Before entering upon the detail of Dr Stark's
experiments, I may here take the opportunity of referring
briefly to the distinction between the two kinds of terrestrial
heat, because I am aware that my view of the matter, though I
conceived I had explained it, both in my several papers and in
the report alluded to, with sufficient perspicuity, has not even yet
been correctly understood. My fundamental experiment there
referred to, (see p. 279), if the numerical results are considered
entitled to any confidence, and if no adventitious cause of error
can be pointed out, involve, as a mathematical consequence, the
conclusion that two distinct heating causes or agents emanate,
at one and the same time, from a luminous hot body, which are
marked by possessing different properties. It is certainly re-
markable that this result should have been entirely overlooked,
or palpably misunderstood, in the various works embracing the
subject (which I have happened to see), which have appeared
since 1825 ; and yet no experimenter, as far as I have been able
to learn, has refuted the investigation, or even suggested any
objection which might invalidate the result. Yet it is certainly
of importance, that if that result be worth nothing, it should be
proved to be so. In a word, l)oth De la Roche's experiments
and his theory have been maintained by nearly all writers since

234 Professor Powell pti ifie Influence of Colour on Heat.

the publication of my experiments ; whereas, if those experi-
ments are worth any thing, his theorij is entirely overthrown,
while his experiments are verified, but explained on another
principle. Yet it is remarkable how little some of the few
authors who have alluded to my researches seem to have ap-
prehended this. And so long as this branch of science con-
tinues as it were disowned, equally by all the departments with
which it stands more or less connected, and elementary writers
are content to copy one from the other, without anv, or only the
most superficial examination, it is not surprising that the most
erroneous notions should obtain currency, and this in a tenfold
degree when the sanction of any great name has unfortunately
once been extended to a mistaken view of any point. I cannot
forbear referring to the striking instance of this afforded by the
misstatement of my experiments given in Dr Thomson's work
on Heat, which I endeavoured to correct in a paper in the
Annals of Philosophy, November 1830. I am not aware
whether, since that time, any amended edition has appeared ;
but certainly, views of the subject scarcely less vague and mis-
conceived, (as appears to me), have emanated from several quar-
ters from whence their appearance has greatly surprised me.

Having deviated a little from the precise line which 1 had
proposed to follow in this communication, I may perhaps be ex-
cused in diverging a little further, to introduce another remark
connected with the same subject, which is hardly worthy of a
distinct paper, and which may tend to render the present argu-
ment more complete to those readers who may not have the in-
chnation or opportunity to seek further for elucidation of my
views. I refer more particularly to the inferences made from
De la Roche's experiments, and my explanation of his results,
though denying that inference.

The results I allude to, and the inferences from them, are as
follows.

When the hot body was wori-luminous, the effect when a
plain glass was interposed was greater than with a blackened
glass ; but since the transmission of heat by absorption and sub-
sequent radiation must have been at least equal in the latter case
to that in the former, and most probably greater, the effect

Professor Powell on the Influence of Colour on Heat. 335

through the plain glass must have been, in part at least, a direct
continuance of radiation through the glass.

Finding in the subsequent luminous cases that this greater
effect through the plain glass increases in relation to that through
the coated glass, M. de La Roche infers that this is only an ex-
tension of the same phenomenon as in the non-luminous cases, and
thence adopts the general conclusion of increasing transmission.
On this point I would first remark, that, to whatever cause
the former phenomenon be owing, and if it be a direct transmis-
sion of simple radiant heat, it must not be confounded with the
subsequent phenomena, and the explanation of it must not be
extended to the latter effects.

The experiments given in ray paper in the Philosophical
Transactions 1825, are, I think, sufficient to prove that, in the
instances of luminous bodies, if the same partial transmission
still continue, yet the experimental conclusion above established
must still be admitted with respect to the principal heating ef-
fects, and there still remains the same distinction between the
two heatinoj agents to be maintained.

It is by no means improbable, or incompatible with any thing
I have advanced, that there may be a small direct transmission
of simple heat through glass at high temperatures ; or, on the
other hand, it may with equal probability be conceived, that
even from hot bodies which are non-luminous to our organs of
sight, a certain degree of light may emanate, and being trans-
missible through glass, may exert its heating influence on a
black surface like other light.

In the next place, I would observe, that the supposition it-
self, that the effect through the blackened glass ought ^06^ equal
to, or greater than, that through a plain, does not appear to me
by any means a necessary one. It is indeed from particular in-
stances, in which, from the nature of the surfaces employed, the
absorption and subsequent radiation were greater than when the
screen presented a plain surface, that Sir J. Leslie has mainly
established the doctrine of the effect of screens ; but, without at
all interfering with that doctrine, it is very possible to conceive
a screen so constituted as to be incapable of radiating heat on
one side in the same degree that it acquires it on the other ; it
is possible that some peculiarities of surface may produce greater

236 Professor Powell 07i the Influence of Colour on Heat.

lateral and less direct conduction of heat : or, again, if some
portion of the absorbing surface be not exposed to the direct
rays of heat, from that portion, a radiation of acquired heat will
take place on the same side. Now, on this principle I formerly
offered an explanation of the results.

De la Roche's apparatus consisted of conjugate reflectors:
in the foci were a heated ball and a thermometer, between them
the screen, having its coated side towards the ball. The por-
tions of the screen which fall without the area of the rays will
not radiate their heat so as to produce much sensible effect on
the thermometer : and they will at the same time give out their
heat more rapidly on the coated side, by virtue of its better ra-
diating power, and consequently abstract more from the other
parts on the same side, than when the glass was plain ; and the
same to a certain extent may take place even within the section
of the rays, since the central point of the screen will be that
most heated by the additional direct action of the hot ball.
With the plain glass there was neither so great an excess of
heat (from its less absorptive texture), nor such a tendency to
radiate it on one side rather than the other.

It would, however, be satisfactory to see whether experiment
will shew any instance of a screen having a more absorptive sur-
face exposed to the radiating body, and yet not acquiring a cor-
responding increase of temperature on its other surface ; or whe-
ther that surface would, even in any case, shew a less acquisition
of heat than when the exposed surface was plain, so that the re-
lative temperatures of the outer side in the two cases should at
all correspond with De la Roche's result of less transmitted ef-
fect with the more absorptive surface ; and thus the dependence
of the latter effect on the former as its cause, be in any degree
rendered more probable.

With this view, I may be permitted to mention a few experi-
ments which I tried long ago, comparing the temperature of the
outer surface of a plate of glass when the inner, or side exposed
to the source of heat, was respectively plain, or coated with In-
dian ink. The hot body was an iron ball heated and then cool-,
ed to just below visible redness in the dark. A small thermo-
meter was attached to the outer side of the glass, and its bulb
kept in contact by a wire spring ; before experiment, the ther-

Professor Powell on the Influence qf Colour on Heat. 237

niometer remained in contact long enough to acquire the tempe-
rature completely.

The following is a view of the results :—

Iron heated below visible redness, three inches from glass plate.
Thermometer in contact with outer surface at its centre.

lO >

Glass coated with

Indian ink towards

the Hot Iron.

Glass plain.

Exp.

Mln.

Differ.

Differ.

'•{

0
3

17.6
21.

3.5

17.5
21.75

4.25

M

0
3

21.5
26.

4.5

21.5
26.75

5.25

M

0
3

21.6
26.

4.5

21.5
27.

5.5

-{

0
3

21.25
26.

4.75

21.25
26.

4.75

In these experiments, the outer surface of the glass, when
plain, acquires a temperature at least equal to, and in most cases
greater than, when coated with Indian ink. To whatever cause
this may be owing, we must hence admit that it may also have
been the case in M. De la Roche's experiments. And a second-
ary radiation from the outer surface of the screen, which would
thus have a greater temperature, would sufficiently account for
a greater effect transmitted when the screen was used plain, com-
pared with that when the glass was coated with Indian ink ;
and thus the supposition of a direct continuance of radiation
through the glass is rendered unnecessary. It is true the dif-
ference here exhibited is not near so great as that of the trans-
mitted effects in M. De la Roche's experiments, but it is suffi-
cient to confirm the probability that some such cause may have
operated in producing them.

While upon the subject, I will add a brief remark on the
subject of extrenuly thin screens. It has been argued that heat
radiates directly through them,, because no difference is percep-

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIV. — OCTOBER 1834. R

238 Professor Powell on the Influence of Colour on Heat

tible with a change of distance in the screen from the hot body.
Now, it appears to me, that if the effect arise from secondary
radiation, the time of transmission of the effect, until it be as
great as if no screen were interposed, will depend upon the
thickness, conducting power, and state of surface. If the thick-
ness be of sensible magnitude, the time of conducting through
will of course vary with the distance, «. e. the intensity ; but if
it be insensible, the time, in any case, will also be insensibly
small ; and hence effect will not vary with the distance.

I have wandered far, however, fr€«n the proposed subject of
this communication, to which I must now return.

Dr Stark's first set of experiments (p. 287), is designed to try
the influence of the colour on the absorption of heat. He em-
ployed equal quantities of wool, dyed of different colours, filling
up the interior of a glass tube, containing a thermometer, and
noted the rapidity of communication of heat when the tube is
immersed in hot water ; the greatest effect was found with the
darkest coloured wool.

Here I would ask (independently of what I have just ob-
served relative to the change in the material employed), is there
not some confusion between the absorption of radiant heat (even
in any sense of the word), and its communication by conduction?
At any rate, it is the latter property which is here shewn to be
affected by that change in the nature of the wool (whatever it
may be), which is effected by the circumstance of its being dyed
black. I am aware that it is perhaps impossible to mark the
transition from one species of effect to the other, when we come
to insensible distances ; but nevertheless so many distinct proper-
ties characterize them, that we ought surely, in any investiga-
tion, carefully to point out whether we mean our conclusion to
apply to conduction or to radiation.

The next set of experiments would seem to be regarded as
referring to exactly the same class of phenomena as the last ; but
it does in fact belong to a totally different sort. The effect
tried is that of the compound radiation of lights with its power
of exciting heat, and of simple heat together (agreeably to my
conclusions), upon the bulb of a thermometer, coated with dif-
ferently coloured pigments. The lights of course, is most ab-
sorbed by the dark-coloured coating, and therefore more heat

Professor Powell on the Influence of Colour on Heat. 239

generated. Results of this kind, I think, must be considered
quite distinct from those which bear upon the absorption of heat^
as such.

In the experiments (p. 291), the tube containing coloured
wools as before, being heated to a given point, the time of cool-
ing a certain number of degrees was noted. The difference was
but small, but the effect more rapid with the darker wool. This
would be a consequence of the better conducting power which
the former experiment establishes.

Similar experiments, with a similar result, were tried with the
substitution of flour differently coloured.

These results, considered as referring to the conducting power,
and described with reference to the peculiarity, whatever it may
be, in the physical character of the substance connected with its
darkness of colour, appear to me an interesting addition to the
very few instances on record in which the conducting power has
been shewn to have any precise connexion with any one deter-
minate physical characteristic of bodies.

The results (p. 292), with differently coated bulbs, and
(p. 294) glass bulbs containing water, evincing a greater rapidity
of cooling with the darker coloured pigments, and greatest of all
with the smoke of a candle, are explicable in regard to the last
mentioned case by the consideration of its texture as well as its
blacJaiess. In regard to the different-coloured paints, though I
am far from denying that the general agreement of so many
different experiments is a strong circumstance, yet I conceive
the remark before made ought here to be borne in mind ; and
the conclusion can hardly be regarded as strictly verified, unless
we could be sure of all the circumstances attending the laying
on, as well as the nature of the paint, so as to ensure an absolute
and perfect equalitt/ of thickness, conducting power, &c. But
supposing the validity of the conclusion admitted, it appears to
me to amount to this : That certain paints, in proportion as they
c»ntain some colouring matter of a darker hue, sustain an in-
crease in their power of radiating heat. Is this substance car-
bon ? At any rate, I conceive the inquiry still remains. Whe-
ther such increase has ani/ real analogy with the increased ten-
dency to absorb light, which constitutes darkness of colour, and
which, as such, is really and constantly accompanied by a great-

r2

JMjO Professor Powell on tlie Influence of Colour on Heat.

er excitation of heat when the substance is exposed to the action
©flight.

Some experiments of Sir E. Home are next referred to as con-
tradictory to those of Franklin and others, while the author
deems the explanation given by Sir H. Davy as insufficient.
Here again I may be allowed to observe, that if he had referred
to my report (p. 288), he would have found what appears to
me a satisfactory explanation of the point, in accordance with
Sir H. Davy's suggestion. It was originally given in a paper
in the Annals of Philosophy. Sir E. Home's experiment, I be-
lieve, shews only this much, that the scorching effect on the
skin which sometimes takes place by the sun's rays through
semi-transparent white cloth or linen, is prevented by the absorp-
tive power of black cloth ; or, again, that it strikes through the
transparent skin of a white, but is absorbed by that of a Negro;
and thus, in either case, by the absorption of the black substance,
the effect is gradually converted into that of heat of temperature.

With regard to the highly interesting remarks of the author,
bearing on the flnal causes of the change to white, during win-
ter, of the hair and feathers of some animals, I would merely
observe, that what 1 before said with respect to the want of data
for discriminating between the " causa'''' and " non causa" to be
found in the circumstance of colour, or of some peculiarity in
substance and texture, will, I think, fully apply here. If, in-
deed, the difference of colour in hair depend upon any peculiar
colouring matter secreted, more or less copiously, or not at all,
according to circumstances, surely such difference in the actual
component matter of the hair will afford a sufficient cause to ac-
count for a greater or less radiating or conducting power in
a way strictly analogous to a variety of well understood cases,
which it would be more philosophical to adopt as an explana-
tion, rather than have recourse to a principle so little capable of
distinct apprehension, and so little referrible to any classes of
facts of which we have a satisfactory analysis, as the influence of
a disposition to reflect certain rays of light upon the emission of
heat.

It would be a mere repetition of what I have already urged,
to express my hesitation as to the same conclusion which the
author deduces respecting the influence of snow in preserving

Professor Powell aii the Injluence of Colour on Heat. 241

the temperature of the earth. It is a badly conducting^ substance
by virtue of its peculiar texture of flakes and spiculae ; and this
being accordant with a known general law of the effect due to
fiuch texture, I cannot conceive we are reasoning philosophically^
in having recourse to so remote a property as its white colour^
to account for the effect.

Similar remarks appear to me to apply with equal force to
the experiments on the deposition of dew ; and I must confess
myself entirely disposed to concur in the truly philosophical he-
sitation displayed by Dr Wells in prosecuting such an inquiry,
notwithstanding the author's implied censure of it, and to regard
the objection cited in the words of Sir J. Leslie as almost de-
cisive against the validity of any conclusion, until we shall have
a much closer insight into the actual structure and intimate na-
ture of bodies than we at present possess. " A black body al-
most always differs from a white, in one or more chemical pro-
perties, and this difference may alone be sufficient to occasion a
diversity in their powers of radiating heat." (P. 300.)

I have here restricted my observations to that portion of Dr
Stark's inquiry which relates to heat. The other part of it, in
which he endeavours to establish similar conclusions with respect
to odours, miasma, &c. refers to subjects in which I cannot pre-
tend to be so conversant. But I cannot help thinking that
many of the same cautions which I have ventured to suggest,
as far as they regard the philosophical character of the reason-
ing, might be found not less applicable in these cases also. The
same want of due distinction between the different sorts of heat-
ing effect runs through Dr Stark's historical Sketch in the Edin-
burgh New Philosophical Journal, (No. xxxiii, p. 65). The
earlier experiments to which he refers, of Des Cartes, Boyle, &c.
all refer not to heat in general, but to the sun's rays. Those of
Hooke and Franklin specially establish the analogy between the
solar rays and those from jlame. Those of Bishop Watson do
not, I would submit, refer to " the effect of a coating of black
in raising the temperature of substances ;" but to its effect in in-
creasing that particular development of heat which takes place
when the sun's light is absorbed, and' which is necessarily great-
est in dark coloured surfaces. Count Rumford's experiments
refer to two totally distinct inquiries : one the conducting^ the

34.5^ Professor Powell on tlie hifluence of Colour on Heat.

other the radiating, powers of different substances. To the ex-
periments of Sir E. Home, (here more fully stated), I have al-
ready referred ; and the same remark will apply to the sugges-
tion of a black dress as most suitable, not for a warm climate,
as such, but for exposure to the sun^ and the avoidance of scorch-
ing. Whether the accumulation of the same heat, in a more
equable manner, be more desirable, would be another question.

With reference to the often recited experiments of Sir John
Leslie, it appears to me that since his blackened balls were used
for the effects of the solar rays, there is none of that occasion
for surprise which the author seems to evince at his expressing
himself doubtful as to the influence of colour in simple heat.
Nor when he had tried the experiments referred to, does his
cautious inference from them seem to me more than is fully jus-
tified by the considerations I have already referred to. So far
from perceiving any of that " inconsistency"" with which Dr Stark
taxes him, I confess I am disposed to think his hesitation was
grounded on the most philosophical views. But even if Dr
Stark (as I presume) is an opponent of Leslie''s peculiar theory
of the radiation (or rather, as he would have termed it, pulsation)
of simple heat, yet surely he must allow the philosopher to be
consistent with himself, in doubting the influence of colour in
the latter case, which, according to his view, was not connected
even by any sort of analogy with the radiation of luminous heat.

The researches of Sir W. Herschel, I would suggest, were
not directed to the " modification of heat by colour,'' but to the
heating property of the sun's rays, as analyzed either by pris-
matic refraction, or absorption by coloured glasses. Again,
when Sir H. Davy speaks of " the temperature of bodies being
affected by rays producing heat," it is evident, from the whole
tenor of the passage, and of the experiments referred to, that he
means rays from luminous sources. The remark of Dr E. Tur-
il^r, quoted at length (p. 75), I regard as the most perspicuous
statement of the matter which can be given in a few words. In
short, upon the whole of this historical review, I venture to re-
mark, that the deficiency pointed out as existing in all previous
researches, seems to me rather inherent in the nature of the sub-
ject, whe» distinctly considered, than one which could have been

Dr Davy's Experiments oti Silicated Fluoric Acid Gas. 243

or probably will be, supplied by any extension of experiments of
the same kind as those referred to ; which can only be attempted
with a prospect of definite results when we shall have attained a
far more intimate knowledge of the structure of bodies than we
now possess, and in which every consideration of probability, as
far as we can judge, would rather discourage the idea of any
extension of the analogy of the relation which subsists between
the colour of surfaces, and the efiects of luminous heat upon
them, to the case of simple heat unaccompanied by light.

— ■■' ,/jti .. r !i ;ii:v n j >^ii. '

Notice (f some Experiments on Silicated Fluoric Acid Gas.
By John Davy, Esq. M. D. F. R. S. Assistant Insp€|2tQf i}f
Army Hospitals. Communicated by the A uthp^. ^ , t ^ j . .; .

The results which I now beg leave to communicate to the
JRoyal Society, wer^ obtained in experimenting on silicated flu-
oric acid gas, with the hope of acquiring further information re-
specting the fluoric principle.

Of the unsuccessful experiments the slightest notice may suf-
fice,— such as of the sublimation of phosphorus and sulphur,
and of iodine, in the acid gas ; the fusion of zinc, — the heating
to redness of iron and charcoal in it, and also of the chloride of
calcium ; the exposure of it to the sun's rays mixed with hy-
drogen ; and the decomposition by heat, in a retort filled with
this gas, of the chlorate of potash. In each of these instances,
no efiect whatever was produced on the gas, as had been before
found in several of them, both by MM. Gay Lussac and The-
nard, and also by my brother, the late Sir Humphrey Davy.

On the most probable hypothesis, that silicated fluoric acid
gas is a compound of a principle analogous to chlorine, and of
silLcium, it appeared not unreasonable to expect, that the fluo-
rine, even in combination with silicium, might expel oxygen from
lime and the other earths, for the bases of which it appears to
have a powerful affinity ; or, if not, that the acid gas might com-
bine with these bodies directly.

The first trial I made was on lime ; the result was remark-
^^, When perfectly caustic, lime was introduced into a warm

244 Dr Davy's Experiments cni Silicated Fltioric Acid Gas.

dry tube, and filled with clean and dry mercury ; on the admis-
sion of the silicated gas, the combination of the two was instant,
and accompanied by the bright ignition of the whole mass. If
the experiment was less carefully made, there was no immediate
action on the introduction of the gas ; it was either not absorbed
at all, or very slowly, and to a small extent ; and yet, when
heat was applied by means of a spirit-lamp, the combination was
sometimes effected rapidly with ignition. Occasionally, how-
ever, even a dull red-heat did not effect an union. In the in-
stances of failure, it appeared to be owing either to a superficial
crust formed on the line, connected with humidity, which de-
fended the interior from the action of the acid, or to the pre-
sence of some carbonate of lime, or even of its hydrate, which
had a similar eflPect. In the best experiments, I carefully
sought for oxygen in the residual gas ; but never found it ; the
little gas that remained proved to be either silicated fluoric acid
gas in mass, or common air that had adulterated it. This ab-
sence of oxygen proved, that the silicated fluoric acid gas had
united directly with the lime.

The compound of the silicated fluoric acid and lime, was
tasteless ; had no effect on litmus or turmeric paper ; appeared
to be insoluble in water ; before the blowpipe it phosphoresced,
emitting a brilliant bluish-white light, — and when urged by the
flame, softened, and the particles were agglutinated into a mass
of such hardness as to scratch glass. With strong sulphuric
acid it effervesced powerfully, almost like carbonate of lime, —
giving off silicated fluoric acid gas. Muriatic acid acted on it
slowly, converting it, I believe, into subsilicated fluate of lime
(the fluate of silica and lime of Berzelius), which was dissolved,
a little silica remaining undissolved in a gelatinous state.

From the quantity of anhydrous sulphate of lime which
has been obtained from it, when decomposed by sulphuric acid,
it appears to consist of two proportions of lime and of one of si-
licated fluoric acid ; thus, in one experiment, 1.9 grains of it gave
2.35 of sulphate of lime ; and, in another, 1 .65 of it afforded
2.04. The latter result I consider the best : however, the quan-
tity being so small, at best it can only be received as an approxi-
mation. As the idea of this composition, and considering fluor-
spar composed of one proportion of fluorine and of one of calcium

• Dr Davy's Eafperiments oii Siltcated Fluwic Add Gas. 245

^^-and, silicated fluorine acid, of two proportions of fluorine and
one of silicium, according to my brother'^s early views,* this sili-
cated fluate of lime will contain the same proportion of fluorine
as fluor-spar. <^^-oi; c:^ ,..:.< /; -v

Similar trials were next made of silicated fluoric acid gas on
magnesia, al amine, and barytes. With magnesia it united
readily, both when cold and heated, but without ignition. The
compound, judging from the slight examination which I made
of it, is analogous to that of lime ; without taste, insoluble in
water, infusible before the blowpipe, decomposed by the action
of the sulphuric and muriatic acids — the acid gas being ex-
pelled by the former, and by the latter the compound resolved
into a diliquescent subsilicate and free silica. With alumine
and barytes, it also united, but to a less extent ; and it was again
expelled by sulphuric acid.

On the action of the oxides of the common metals on silicated
fluoric acid gas, I have yet made but few experiments. In the
instance of peroxide of iron, of black oxide of manganese, —
the fusible oxide of antimony, the red oxide of mercury, on the
contact of the gas, a portion of it was absorbed ; and probably
combinations were formed superficially like the preceding. They
may be deserving of particular inquiry. The peroxide of iron
absorbed most gas, and gave it off" most readily when acted on
by concentrated sulphuric acid.

M. Berzelius, in an elaborate and able paper on the fluoric
compounds,"!* expresses it as his opinion, that silicated fluoric
acid gas is merely a fluate of silica, and states, that it is capa-
ble of entering into combination only with neutral fluates, with-
out suff*ering decomposition, — and that, when one portion of its
silica has been separated, it can be replaced only by an alkali,
an oxide, or by water.

The conclusion at which I have arrived from my own expe-
riments, is necessarily in opposition to that of this distinguished
chemist, and in accordance with the commonly received opinion,
namely, that the gas is an acid, and capable of entering into
direct union with certain oxides, as it was well known before to

• PhiL Trans. 1814.

t Annales de Chlmie et de Physique, torn. xxviL

S46 Dr Davy's Experiments on Silicated Fliwric Add Gas,

have done with ammonia. M. Berzelius expressly states, that
he failed in his attempts to combine it directly with lime. To
what circumstance this failure was owing, I shall not attempt
to point out. The negative result, no doubt, led him to adopt
the idea that the gas is not an acid.

In farther support and illustration of its acid nature, I may
mention, that it instantly reddens litmus paper introduced into
it, carefully dried ; and that, though the silicated fluate of am-
monia is decomposed by muriatic acid gas, silicated fluoric acid
gas being disengaged, and muriate of ammonia formed, it is
not decomposed by carbonic acid gas ; but, on the contrary,
the carbonate of ammonia is decomposed at the temperature of
sublimation by silicated fluoric acid gas.

From the similarity of properties of silicated fluoric and fluo-
boracic acid gas,'it seemed probable a priori^ that the latter dlso
might be capable of entering into union with lime, magnesia, &c.
directly ; and the single experiment I have made on the former
earth has confirmed the conjecture. As soon as the fluo-boracic
acid gas was introduced into a tube over mercury, containing
some quicklime, its absorption commenced, and was promoted
by the application of heat ; but, though pretty rapid, it was not
attended with ignition. The compound formed was very simi-
lar to the silicated fluate of lime, — but rather more easily fu-
sible. Acted on by concentrated sulphuric acid, it emitted the
peculiarly dense fumes characteristic of fluo-boracic acid vapour.

As regards the question of the nature of the fluoric principle,
the facts adduced are but of little weight ; however, their bear-
ing seems to be most in favour of the hypothesis which is now
most generally received, — the one already alluded to, that the
fluoric principle is analogous to chlorine.

Malta, April 2. 1834.

( 247 ) '^ B^«

Address to the British Association for the Advancement of
Science^ delivered on tJie occasion of the Opening of the Fourth
General Meeting at Edinburgh, 8th September 1834. By
James D. Forbes, F. R. SS. L. & E., Professor of Natural
Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh, and one of the
Secretaries of the Association. Communicated by the Author.

It having been suggested that the general view of the pro-
gress of the affairs of the Association, so ably executed last year
by Mr W he well, should annually be continued by the Secretary
for the time being, I have undertaken this portion of the duties
which devolve upon the Secretaries for Edinburgh, at the desire
of my learned colleague Mr Robison, who, on the other hand,
has engaged briefly to state the nature and motives of the prac-
tical arrangements for the present meeting, of which he has had
the kindness to superintend by far the most laborious part, ^l

I felt anxious that such a periodical report as I have men-
tioned should be continued, because of the necessarily fluctua-
ting state of our Body, and the small number of persons who,
by circumstances, have been enabled to attend all the meetings,
and to become acquainted with the actual operation of a some-
what complicated machine ; and I was ready to undertake that
duty, because I hoped that I might be able, by an appeal to
facts, in the Jlrst place, to put in a clear point of view, what
has not perhaps been enough insisted on, and has therefore
been very generally misunderstood, — the perfectly unique cha-
racter of this Association, and the high aims to which its efforts
are directed ; and, in the second place, to demonstrate that these
aims and objects are in the due course of attainment, that the
members, and especially the projectors of this institution, are
fulfilling the pledges, of no common character, which they gave
to the public, and this more especially in relation to the pro-
ceedings of the past year. i'«<t

The character of the Association, I have said, may be cofO-
sidered as unique. It is not to be confounded with those nu-
merous and flourishing institutions which have sprung up, es-
pecially of late years, for the simple diffusion of scientific truths.
Such diffusion does not even, properly speaking, include any

S48 Professor Forbes's Address to the British Association.

attempt at extension or accumulation : if in many cases it does
promote such extension, it is indirectly, and beyond a doubt
has sometimes had the opposite tendency. The intellectual
wealth of mankind is no more increased by this operation, than
is the weight of the precious metals under the hand of the gold-
beater. A greater display may indeed be attained, and a more
commodious application to the useful and the elegant purposes
of life ; but for actual increase of the stock which may here-
after be fashioned with ease and expedition by the hands of a
thousand artificers, we must recur to the miner toiling in his
solitary nook, and to the labourer who painfully extracts some
precious grains from the bed of the torrent. It is the further-
ance of this species of productive energy that the British Asso-
ciation claims for its capital object. The diffusion of a taste
for science amongst its numerous members is no doubt also one
of the most necessary and most desirable consequences of the
principles upon which it is founded ; but it is not the basis of
these principles. To teach those who have never pursued na-
tural knowledge but as an occasional amusement, — to feel that
for them a field lies open which to-morrow they may call their
own, — to lend them such aid as may promote the success of
their exertions, by removing the preliminary difficulties, and
pointing out the existing boundary betwixt the known and the
unknown, — to stimulate these exertions and those of others who
have already become, to a certain degree, familiarized with the
labours and with the results of intellectual toil, by enabling
them to mix with the veterans in each department who have
gained, and who still continue to gain, the highest rewards
which the investigation of nature confers, — who will point out
the methods which they pursued, the disappointments which
they met, and the difficulties which they surmounted, thus af-
fording at once the gratification which every generous mind
feels in personal communication with those who have signalized
themselves by intellectual achievement, and the instruction and
encouragement for the pursuit of a similar course which words
and words alone can impart, — these we hold out as amongst the
first and the most valuable objects proposed to be attained by
the institution of this Association.

No doubt societies for the promotion of Natural Knowledge

Professor Forbes's Address to tJie British Jssociatio?i. 249

have been in existence for near two centuries, and these have
(lone much to the due advancement of science itself, as well
as the promotion of a more general taste for its cultivation.
They were admirably adapted to the period of their institu-
tion, when the difficulties of ordinary communication, and
the want of scientific journals, made the Royal Society of Lon-
don the great centre of philosophical information, — when new
experiments were there first repeated, — when new theories were
there first discussed, — and when its transactions, and those of
the other academies of Europe — fraught with the literary trea-
sures which Hooke and Wren, and Boyle, and Leibnitz, and
the Bernouillis loved to display, and which Newton alone loved
to conceal— were the couriers which published to Europe the
intelligence of the successive intellectual victories of that mighty
age. Rarely even then, however, and latterly still less, did these
societies attempt to guide in any specific direction the investi-
gations of their members, or to form any school of science for
the initiation of fresh inquirers. The formation of such schools
of disciples who voluntarily combined under some philosopher
of eminence, partly did away with the necessity of this on the
Continent ; whilst the total want of any thing similar in our
own country, and the less specific objects of those honorary re-
wards which from time to time have been given by learned so-
cieties in aU countries, and which have occasionally drawn forth
all the powers of some master mind to the solution of a specific
difficulty proposed as a prize question, necessarily produced a
greater want of systematic co-operation amongst scientific men
in Britain than is to be found in several countries not her poli-
tical superiors.

The migratory Scientific Associations of Germany and Swit-
zerland— to which we gratefully acknowledge that our British
pne owes its rise,— embrace only one class of the objects to
which we have above alluded as characterizing this Body.
Their aim was simply to promote the intercourse of scientific
men, and to diffuse a taste for the prosecution of science.
Their existence is not permanent, — they execute no functions
but for the moments during which their members are once a-
year assembled, — they regard not the past, and have no cares

^0 Professor Forbes's Address to the British Association,

for the future, — they merely receive and consider the commu-
nications which the zeal of individual members places in their
way. Such was proposed to be the character of the Body this
day assembled, — an imitation of the foreign meetings having
been suggested by some individuals engaged in scientific pur-
suits, amongst whom Sir David Brewster was conspicuous ; but
the original idea, and the much more signal merit of bringing that
idea to bear, of establishing a permanent society, of which
these annual reunions should simply be the meetings, but which,
by methods and by influence peculiarly its own, should, during
the intervals of these public assemblies (whilst to the eye of
the world apparently torpid and inactive), be giving an im-
pulse to every part of the scientific system, maturing scientific
enterprize, and directing the labours requisite for discovery; —
the clear perception of the practicability of all this, and the
discovery and suggestion of methods for its fulfilment, were due
to one individual, and to one alone ; and I shall be borne out
by all those who have closely watched the progress of this So-
ciety from its birth to the present hour, when I say, that not
only for the idea generally, and the modes of carrying it into
effect, but for the actual construction of the machinery in its
whole details, we are indebted to the almost single-handed ex-
ertions of Mr William Vernon Harcourt.

If we now turn from the professions to the acts of the Asso-
ciation, we shall find gratifying proof that these sanguine anti-
cipations were not chimerical ; and that this primary machinery,
not destined itself to do the work desired, but to construct the
tools requisite for its performance, was wanting neither in effi-
ciency nor in permanence. The first and most signal proof
which we can cite, is the production of those Reports on the
Progress "of Science, which appeared to the founder of the As-
sociation one of the most important objects of such an institu-
tion, and one which, beyond all dispute, no existing society
could have attempted. To require of persons whose time was
in all cases more or less valuable, such a devotion of it as was
required for a systematic and precise detail of the recent pro-
gress of the sciences which they respectively cultivated, was to
make a demand, the boldness of which cannot perhaps weU be

Professor Forbes's Address to the British Association. 251

appreciated, but by those who have had experience in the labour
of bringing together the substance of detached, though often
profound, papers in the extensive range of scientific periodicals
and academical collections. Yet so obvious was the utility of
the proposed undertaking, that, in the very infancy of the As-
sociation, there were found several distinguished individuals^
and chiefly from the University of Cambridge, who had not
even been present at the first meeting, but who volunteered to
undertake some of the most valuable of those reports which
appeared in the first volume of the proceedings of the Associa-
tion. As Mr Whewell enumerated these in his last year's address,
I will not farther allude to them. It ought, however, specially
to be observed, that these reports differ entirely from the short
systematic treatise* on scientific subjects with which the press
teems. They are not primarily intended for the general reader
— they are not meant for the purpose of popularizing technical
subjects ; their main object is so to classify existing discoveries
as to lead the individual who is prepared to grapple with its
difficulties, to start with the most complete and accurate know-
ledge of what has already been done in any particular science,
not intended itself to contain that knowledge, but merely to
serve the purpose of a catalogue raismmie, by means of a lucid
analysis and arrangement, at the same time (and here is the
great necessity of securing the co-operation of persons distin-
guished in the several departments) that the report should
point out the most important questions which remain for solu-
tion, whether by direct experiment or by mathematical inves-
tigation.

The second volume of Reports has amply justified the ex-
pectations with which it was hailed ; and whilst the first was
chiefly occupied with reports upon great and leading divisions
of science, we have here several happy specimens of a still
greater division of labour, by the discussion within moderate
limits of some particular provinces. Thus Mr Taylor has
treated of one particular and most interesting question in Geo-
logy, the formation of Mineral Veins,— one of the most im-
portant, in a theoretical point of view, which could have been
stated, and which, from its intimate connection with commer-

252 Professor Forbes^s Address to the British Association.

cial speculation, might have been expected in a country like
ours to have been more specifically treated of than it has been.
It strictly belongs to the dynamics of the science, to which,
since the time of Hutton, but little attention has been paid un-
til very recently. By the exertions, however, of Mr Carne, of
Dr Boase, and Mr Hen wood of Cornwall, whose researches are
to form one point of discussion in the Geological Section at the
present meeting, the question of the origin of Mineral Veins,
though probably by no means decided, has been brought pro-
minently forward.

That Electric Agency was concerned in the disposition of me-
talliferous veins can scarcely be doubted ; and the connection
between electricity and magnetism, now so fully established, —
the connection between metalliferous veins and lines of ele-
vation, and between the latter and the isodynamical lines of
terrestrial magnetic intensity, as suggested by Professor Necker
of Geneva, — point out a bond of union between this subject and
that of terrestrial magnetism, on which we have a report by
Mr Christie, where the very interesting direct observations of
Mr Fox of Falmouth, on the electro-magnetic action of mineral
veins, are particularly noticed. Mr Christie's theory of the
diurnal variation of the needle, which he is desirous should be
submitted to the test of a laboratory experiment, is likewise in-
timately connected with the actual constitution of our globe *.
The whole subject of Terrestrial Magnetism, is one of the
most interesting and progressive of the experimental sciences.
The determination of the direction of the magnetic energy by
means of two spherical co-ordinates, termed the variation and
the dip, and the measure of the intensity/ of that force, are the
great objects of immediate research, as forming a basis of theory.
The existence of four points on the earth's surface, to which
the needle tends, has long been known ; and the position of two
of these (in Northern Asia and America,) has recently been
elucidated by the persevering efforts of Professor Hansteen and
Commander Ross. The precise numerical determination of the
elements just alluded to, acquires a deep and peculiar interest
from the multiplied variations which they undergo. Not only

" ' * Report, p. 122-3.

Professor Forbes's Address to the British Associaturn. 253

are these elements subject to abrupt and capricious changes,
which Baron Humboldt has termed magnetic storms ; but gra-
dual and progressive variations are undergone at different hours
of the day, at different seasons of the year, and throughout
longer periods, which may even perhaps bear a comparison with
the sublime cycles of Astronomy.

Natural History forms a more prominent subject in this volume
than in the last, though the reports of Professor Lindley " on
the principal questions at present debated in the Philosophy of
Botany ;*" and of Dr Charles Henry " on the Philosophy of the
Nervous System,'*"' refer only to particular departments of widely
extended subjects, which are again to be resumed in more ge-
neral reports, undertaken for the present meeting, — that by Mr
Bentham, on Systematic Botany, and by Dr Clarke of Cam-
bridge, on Physiology in general. We cannot but remark with
pleasure, that one of the points for inquiry particularly insisted
on by Professor I^indley, that of the influence of the chemical
nature of soils, and of the excretions of plants, was taken up at
an early period of the existence of the Association, by one of
its most zealous supporters, Dr Daubeny ; and that, in refe-
rence to the review by Dr Henry of the labours of European
physiologists, we may quote, as a national honour, the discove-
ries of our distinguished Associate, Sir Charles Bell.

On the general connexion and occasional apparent opposition
of Theory and Practice, I would refer to some very pertinent re-
marks in the Address of Mr Whewell, at the last meeting. The
importance of carrying on both simultaneously and independ-
ently, and of looking to our increased knowledge 'of both as the
only sure means of ultimately reconciling discrepancies, has been
manifested, by the desire of the Council of the Association to
procure two distinct reports on the Theory and Practice of Hy-
draulics, which have been drawn up with remarkable perspicuity,
and within a small compass, by Mr Challis and Mr Rennie.
Both of these gentlemen have shewn their zeal in the objects of
the Association, by promising to continue theirvaluable labours.
Mr Rennie, on that part of his subject which relates to the mo-
tion of fluids in open channels, and Mr Challis on some of those
exceedingly interesting branches of theory altogether modern,

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIV.— OCTOBER 1834 S

254 Professor Forbes's Address to the British Association.

which physically, as well as in their mathematical methods, have
the closest analogy to that case of the motion of fluids treated
of in the present volume, namely the Theory of Sound, and the
intimate constitution of liquids. When, in addition to these
reports, we shall have received that undertaken by Mr Whe-
well upon the mathematical theory of Magnetism, Electricity,
and Heafr, we shall undoubtedly possess the most complete out-
line extant, of a department of knowledge entirely of recent
date.

In the science of Hydraulics, indeed, some progress in theory
has accompanied the increase of practical information, at least
since the time of Newton ; but in the other strictly practical
report of the present volume, that of Mr Barlow on the very
interesting subject of the strength of materials, little or nothing
has been done of much theoretical importance since the days of
Galileo. Circumstances, which it would be easy to point out,
prevent our setting out, except in rare cases, from unimpeach-
able data ; but several very interesting conclusions of general
application are derivable from well conducted experiments, and
the Association may claim some credit for having brought into
general notice the ingenious investigations of Mr Hodgkinson
of Manchester, more particularly alluded to in this paper.

One report, and that the longest which has ever been printed
by the Association, remains to be mentioned. It is by Mr
Peacock on the present state of Mathematics. When we con-
sider the vast extent of the subject, and the extremely limited
number of persons, even in the whole of Europe, capable of
undertaking it, we must consider the production of a work of
so much labour as the present, which, as yet, is incomplete, but
which the author has promised to resume, as the best trophy
to which we can refer in proof of the entire efficiency of the As-
sociation, according to its original plan, — as a. proof of the
ability and the indefatigable industry which it has enlisted in
its service, — a? a proof that its aim is not the dissemination of
superficial literature, stamped with the effigy of science, and
lowered for the demand of the indolent and the careless, — but
that it is intended to refine the precious metal until it reaches
a state of chemical purity, not to alloy and coin it for the pur-
poses of a promiscuous and debased currency. Mr Peacock

Professor Forbes's Address to the British Association. 255

undertook his report in the early days of the Association, when
its friends were yet few and its success dubious ; its execution
has been delayed by the extent of the subject and labour of
the task. The report on the differential and integral calculus,
which was intended to form the basis of it, is delayed, and the
present one is devoted to a discussion chiefly of algebraic me-
thods, and a close examination of the metaphysical principles
upon which this interpretation of analysis is founded. The
author has thus been led to extend the views which, in his re-
cent systematic treatise, he had developed in regard to the signs
of aflPection of algebraic quantities, including those of imaginary
quantities, of discontinuous functions, and the interpretaticHis
of zero and infinity. The author has then treated of Series, as
regards their fitness for giving directly conclusive results, par-
ticularly when such series are divergent^ leaving to the other
part of the report a detail of the progress in the application of
series, which is more practical than metaphysical. The author
then treats historically of the elementary works in use on Al-
gebra and Trigonometry ; and devotes the last part of the re-
port, consisting of above fifty pages, to the Theory of Equar
tions, in which he has minutely analysed some of the most re-
markable papers on this abstruse subject. Altogether this re-
port (especially when completed), cannot fail to fulfil, in a
striking manner, the two great objects of such works ; first,
to supply those engaged in collateral branches of science
with the means of referring to and obtaining the information
they may require upon methods which perhaps are of daily
utility in physico-mathematical inquiries ; but with which, from
the vast extent of the science of pure mathematics, the short-
ness of human life prevents the possibility of a complete and
systematic acquaintance, unless it be made the special object of
study ; and, in the second place, to point out, where chasms of
reasoning occur, what mathematical methods are impregnable,
and what rest upon a still dubious basis, in a metaphysical
point of view, several of which are very specifically treated of
in Mr Peacock's report. It is much to be desired that nothing
may longer postpone the conclusion of a work which cannot
fail to reflect honour upon the Association,

s2

^56 Professor FoFbes*s Address to the British Association.

' Were these annual Reports the only fruits of the labours of
this Society, there would be no reason to complain. But yet more
specific results of its impulsive action on science may be quoted.
The questions suggested by the reporters and others, recom-
mended for investigation, have met with ready attention from se-
veral individuals capable of satisfactorily treating them. Profes-
sor Airy has himself investigated, from direct observation, the
mass of Jupiter, suggested as a desideratum in his report on As-
tronomy ; and, since the last meetingof the Association, has con-
firmed his first results by new observations, which give almost
the same mass by the observed elongations of the satellites, as
had been deduced from the perturbations of the small planets
by Jupiter. Hourly observations of the Thermometer in the
south of England have, in two instances, been commenced ; and
we are assured that the same desirable object is about to be at-
tained by the zeal of the Committee in India, where the Asso-
ciation has established a flourishing colony. A series of the
best observations, conducted for ascertaining the law which
regulates the fall of Rain at different heights, has been under-
taken at the suggestion of the Physical Section, by Messrs
Phillip and Gray of York, which have been ably discussed
by the former gentleman, in last year*'s Report, and have since
been continued. A regular system of Auroral observation, ex-
tending from the Shetland Isles to the LandVEnd, has been esta-
blished under the superintendence of a special committee, and
specimens of the results have been published. Observations
on the supposed influence of the Aurora on the Magnetic Needle,
have likewise been pursued in consequence of this proceeding.
The conditions of Terrestrial Magnetism in Ireland have been ex-
perimentally investigated by Professor Lloyd. An important in-
quiry into the law of Isomorphism has been undertaken by a Spe-
cial Committee, which has likewise reported progress ; and an ela-
borate synopsis of the whole Fossil Organic Remains found
in Britain is in progress, under the hands of Professor Phillips.
Many specific inquiries are besides going forward, under parti-
cular individuals, to whom they were confided ; whilst it is not
to be doubted that numberless persons, many of them perhaps
new to the world of science, are at this moment pursuing invcs-

Professor Forbes's Address to the British Association. 257

ligations recommended in general terms, in one or other of the
publications of the Society.

To others the Association has not scrupled to commit a por-
tion of the funds at their disposal, for the purpose of pursuing
objects which required an outlay, which might be deemed un-
reasonable by individuals. Among the most important of these
is the collection of the Numerical Constants of Nature and Art,
which are of perpetual recurrence in physical inquiries, and
which has been confided to the superintendence of Mr Bab-
bage. When objects of still more peculiar national importance
presented themselves, the Association has fulfilled its pledge, of
stimulating Government to the aid of science. Five hundred
pounds have been advanced by the Lords of the Treasury to-
wards the reduction of the Greenwich Observations, at the in-
stance of the Association ; and more recently the observations
recommended by the Committee on Tides, have been undertaken
by order of the Lords of the Admiralty, at above 500 stations
on the coast of Britain.

Individuals, as we have said, have been stimulated by the in-
fluence of the Association, but so may nations and great bodies
of men. Its published proceedings have found their way into
every quarter, and are tending to produce corresponding efforts
in distant lands. Our reports on science have produced some
very interesting counterparts in the literary town of Geneva.
America has taken the lead in several departments of experiment
recommended by the Association ; and the instructions for con-
ducting uniform systems of observation have been reprinted and
circulated in the New World. We must likewise consider it as
an especial proof of the influence and importance of the Associa-
tion, that a Report on the Progress of American Geology has
been undertaken and executed by Professor Rogers of Phila-
delphia. Similar contributions from some other foreign coun-
tries have been promised, which will extend the utility of the
Association, by making us acquainted with the more character-
istic state of science in the various parts of Europe. Nor can
we fail, on the present occasion, to consider, as a most auspi-
cious promise of the future success of the Association, that the
distinguished Secretary of the Institute of France has not only
honoured this meeting by his presence, but has promised to in-

258 Professor Forbes's Address to the British Association.

terest that powerful Body on behalf of the important objects
contemplated by the Association, which its co-operation might
effectually secure. The formation of a Statistical Section at Cam-
bridge was the prelude to the establishment of a flourishing
society, which acknowledges itself the offspring of this Institu-
tion, and which promises, by a procedure similar to that intro-
duced by the Association, to advance materially the greatly
neglected subject of British statistics.

Gentlemen, I shall be satisfied if, in the preceding hasty re-
view, I shall have given you some direct and tangible proof of
the working of a system, the excellence of which may best be
appreciated by such statements. Did it come within the scope
of these observations (which it does not), I could quote examples,
equally specific, of the powerful moral influence of the Associa-
tion. Yet, in conclusion, I will call upon you to remark, be-
cause I believe that it comes home to the breast of every one
who has habitually attended these our annual reunions, what a
spirit is infused into otherwise isolated and perhaps ineffective
exertions, when many minds, conversant with one class of ob-
jects, and aiming at one great end, unite in friendly and intel-
lectual converse. There is an impulse there which no system of
cold calculation can estimate. There is a bond in the sense of
community of purpose, which is the cement of society. There
has been, we fear, a general but most erroneous impression
abroad, that philosophers are incapable of enjoying, and stoically
superior to, the ordinary sociabilities of life, — that scientific ar-
dour dwells only in the mind of the solitary, and gives place to
narrow-minded jealousy, when another attempts to share the
prize. If, in a few cases, such allegations have not been with-
out a colouring of truth, it is to meetings like these that we
should look for a cure which no mere reasoning can effect. The
most striking feature of these meetings has ever been, the per-
vading sense which has thrown a peculiar character over them,
of the one great and exalted object which united so many dis-
tinct and unconnected individuals, — which not less, has drawn
into this great assembly, the single and unaided labourer in the
cause of science, from the solitudes of the country, or the still
greater intellectual solitude of some noisy and commercial city.

Professor Forbes's Address to the Br'Uuh Association. 259

and the phalanx of scholars who have shared the advantages,
and sustained the reputation, of the great academical founda-
tions of the country.

True it is that, looking merely to the moral influence of the
Association, some there are whose zeal for the promotion of
science places them above the necessity of such an external sti-
mulant. But we must not legislate for individual and such
rare cases. Those who have once trode the higher walks of
science, need perhaps no inducements to revisit these sublime
elevations. The footway may be sharp and narrow, surrounded
,,with precipices and occasionally enveloped in mists, — but they
have there breathed that pure and elastic air, which descends not
to lower regions, — and through the cloudy openings they have
caught rich and extensive views, shewing at once the configura-
tion and the bearing of the country, which less daring spirits
must painfully and partially explore. Such men are independ-
ent of any reward but that which the exertion itself bestows ;
yet, let it not be called an ignoble motive, if the traveller, em-
barked on the discovery of a new, and hitherto untrodden, path,
which leads to the point to which he aspires, feels fresh vigour
infused into his frame, by the consciousness that, in the valley
beneath, a thousand eyes are watching his progress, and that a
shout of applause unheard except perhaps in imagination by
him, will announce the arrival of the adventurer at the summit
of the alpine chain.

We look forward without anxiety to the future fate of the
Association. So long as it continues to be guided by the
same principles as heretofore, it cannot fail to confer a sub-
stantial benefit upon the science of Britain. We have enough
of energy in action to communicate to the many the know-
ledge of the few, but it is to prevent the stagnation of the
stream at the fountain-head, which should be our especial ob-
ject. True it is that but a few are able or disposed to de-
vote themselves unreservedly to those great enterprises which
require the whole man ; yet, though it is morally impossible
that any others should undertake the highest generalizations to
which we have just alluded, a division of labour is as practi-
cable in intellectual as in mechanical science. If one designing
mind direct the whole, distinct labourers may be engaged, un-

^60 Mr Arnott 01 1 Nexv Genera of Plants.

knowing each other's tasks, yet happy in the consciousness of
being more usefully and more honourably employed than in
imperfectly attempting the execution of works which they might
individually complete. The exquisite piece of mechanism which,
in the form of a watch, issues from the manufactories at Paris
or Greneva, has its various elements of its wheels and pinions,
its balance and fusee, collected from the detached cottages of
the peasantry of the Jura.

To combine individual effort, to render parts capable of com-
bination into a whole, to economize time, and thus virtually to
lengthen the lives of those whose exertions are valuable in the
cause of science, may be considered as humble, yet surely most
important, contributions to its advancement. We shall have
little reason to regret the want of a National Institute, whose
existence is the just subject of pride to our continental neigh-
bours, so long as individual exertion can supply the stimulus
which even the sunshine of wealth and patronage has sometimes
failed to excite.

New Genera of Plants. Communicated by G. A. Walker-
Arnott, Esq. A.M., F.L.S., &c. Communicated by the
Author.

Since the pubHcation of the paper on Indian plants in this
Journal, No. 29, by Dr Wight and myself, we have received
specimens in fruit of Bragantia WaUichii (p. 181.), which ena-
ble us to state that the pod-like capsule is not terete, as we de-
scribed it, on the authority of Rheede''s bad figure, but tetrago-
nal, with the angles very sharp : this plant, moreover, is pre-
cisely the same as Trimereza piperina, Lindl., in his observa-
tions under Aristolochia cymbifera, 1. 1443 of the Botanical Re-
gister. I may also here remark, that I have now ascertained
that the genus Bhesa, described by me also in this Journal,
No. 32, p. 315, is the Kurrimia of WaUich; that B. Moja, Ham.
is K. pukherrima., Wall. ! List, n. 4334 ; and that B. panicu-
lata is K. paniculata, Wall. ! L. n. 4336. I had no suspicion of
Kurrimia (which I only lately saw in Dr Hooker's herbarium)
being the same as Dr Hamilton's genus, partly from Wallich not
referring to Hamilton's specimens, and partly because /^e'« fnacro-

Mr Arnott (m New Genera of Plants. 261

phylla of Wallich ! in Roxb. Fl. Ind. (ed. Wall.) 2. p. 419, is
placed also in Kurrimia (K. ? macrophyUa, Wall. List, n. 7200),
while the structure and shape of the fruit is totally different from,
our species : this last, indeed, I still suspect to belong to Saxi-
frageae, and not to be distinct from Itea ; it is scarcely distin-
guishable from /. chinensis. Hook, and Am. in Bot. oT Bcechey's
Voyage, p. 189, t. 39.

Having lately occasion to re-examine the species of Ascle-
piadeae of the Peninsula of India, I observed among Dr Wight's
specimens of the order, a rather remarkable plant, collected by
Roxburgh at the Cape of Good Hope, probably on his final re-
turn to England. The following character is derived both from
Dr Wight's notes and my own observations.

I. ONCINEMA.

Ord. Nat. ASCLEPIADEiE. Brown.

Corolla carapanulata, 5-partita, tubo brevi. Corona staminea 5-phylIa;
foliolis tenuibus membranaceis planis obtusis intus simplicibus. Antherae
membrana terminatse. Massse pollinis compressse, anguste oblongae,
apice ad curvaturam affixae appendiculorum in apiculum adscendentem
desinentium, pendulae. Stigma conico-rostratum elongatum, apice sub-
biapiculato : corpuscula elongata apice capitellata. Folliculi

Frutex volubilis, glaber. Folia lineari-lanceolata, attenuata. Cymae diffxtste,
dichoionuB^ pauci/lora, interpetiolares.

1. O. Roxburghii Periploca Capensis, Roxb.! mst.

Hab. Ad Caput Bonae Spei ; Roxburgh, (v. s. spec, in herb. Wight,
ab amiciss. Dom. N. B. Ward communicatum.)

This appears a very distinct genus, much resembling in ge-
neral aspect Secamone emetica, except in the umbels or cymes
having fewer, much larger, and very differently shaped flowers.

The following descriptions of some new genera of Cyperaceae
are by Prof. Nees von Esenbeck, of Breslaw.

n. COURTOISIA, N. ab E,
Ord, Nat. CYPERACEiE, Juss Trib. CxPEREiE, N. ab E.

Spicula subbiflora, disticha. Squama inferior minor, sterilis; secunda et
tertia majores alato^arinatae, subaequales; secunda fertilis hermaphro-
dita ; tertia sterilis includens quartam hermaphrodito-masculam minorem
inversam ! Stamina tria, filamentis filiformibus ; antheris linearibus,
erectis, parvis, luteis. Ovarium triquetro-subulatum, longitudine filal
mentorum ; stigmata tria, filiformia, contorta, in apice ovarii subsessilia.
Perigynium nullum. Caryopsin non vidi.

Inflorescentia. Capitula composita e capittdis sett spiculis minoribus 3-5.ste.
chyis subsessUibus bracteolatisj disposita in umbellam Cyperoideam, (in nostra
specie simplicem^) involucratam^ ochreatamque. Involucella bracteaiia aw
gusta capitula fulciunt ct interstingunnt. Bracteolae seu squamulse proprice
membranace<Bj actiminatce, sub singula spicula singula^ spicula breviorcs. Spi-

262 Mr Arnott on New Genera of Plants.

culre ad bracteolarum situm relates, transversales ; inferiores globuU sin^uli
imperfectcB.
Est genus, quod ad formam spiculae 2Ltimet, Kyllingiam, omnino referens, quod
ad habitum et inflorescentiam Cyperum, quod ad situm spicularum ratione
bractese, Lipocarpham et Hypolytrum. Sed restat differentia gravissima,
communi harum plantarum structune adversaria, scilicet : Squamulam
infimam sterilemque ab utroque latere spiculae a bracteola magis aversa
positam et in centrali perfectiorique spicula baud raro deficientem si de-
mis, reslant squamae duae, alternae quidem, sed ad apicem aequales navi-
culares membranaceae, alte carinatae, semiovatae, longe mucronatae, tri-
nerves, purpureo-maculatae. Harum inferior florem in angulo foret per-
fectum, e starainibus tribus cum pistillo intermedio constantem. Stamina
lateralia lateribus ovarii incurabunt, anterius angulo ejus antico. Altera
squama, ejusdem structurae quidem, sed per se sterilis, oppositam sibi
includit squamam tertiam breviorem angustioremque extrorsum versam
et florem triandrum pistillo minus (ut puto) completo continentem.
squamarum fertilium steriliumque. Diu autem haesitavi, nee hodie om-
nino certus sum, numne aliter sese res habeat ; movet autem praesertim
ovarii, quod dixi, figura insolita in hoc ordine, elongato-triquetra, ac si
valvulam graminis superiorem ostenderet cum ovario in unum corpus
concretam. Quod si ita esset, geminum quasi florem, ad Graminearum
tjpum accidentem, haberes, quorum alter inferiorque nudus, alter termi-
nalisque squama tertio sterilique suffultus foret. Fatendum autem, me
frustra dissolvere ovarium et partes involucratas ab ovario proprie sic
dicto discernere tentasse.
Genus R. Courtois Professori Leodiensi dedicatum.
1. C. cyperoides (N. ab E.) — Wight. ! Cat. n. 1853. — Kyllingia cyperoides,

Roxh. Fl. Ind. \. p. 182; (ed. Wall.) I. p. 187 — Cyperus glomeratus, Herb.

Klein et Heyru

Hab. In Peninsula Indiae Orientalis.

Radix annua ? fibrosa pallida. Culmi \-\ pedem alti, crassitie pennae pas-
serinae, triquetri, laeves, erecti, plures ex uno radice cum foliorum fasci-
culis intermixti, basi foliosi. Vaginae laxae, membranaceae, glabrae, mol-
lissimae ; 1-2 infimae aphyllae ; 1-2 elongatae, pallide lutescentes, foliife-
rae. Folia longitudine culmi, linearia, acuminata, plana, laevia, lineam
unam lata, viridia, laxa. Involucri folia 3-4, alterna, erecta, culmi alti-
tudine, singula radium simplicem in angulo ferentia, culmeis similia.
UmbeUa nonnihil cernua, tri-4.radiata cum media sessili. Involucelli
foliolum lineare, margine scabrum, capitulum aequans aut superans.
Ochreae laxae, truncatae, membranaceae, pallidae. Capitula densa, pisi
majoris magnitudine, globosa. Spiculae majores 14 lineam longae, ovales,
valde complanatae. Bracteola et squamula infima albidae ; reliquae squa-
mae in fundo pallido sanguineo lineolatae et punctatae, membranaceae,
dorso viridulae acute carinatae trinerves, carina in mucronem viridem
excurrente. Bracteolae pleraeque in acumen gracile setiforme laxum
extenuantur.

III. ANOSPORUM, N. ah E.
Ord. Nat. CYPERACEtE, Juss.—Trih. Hypolytre^, N. ab E.

Spica composita. Bracteae undique imbricatae, singulae suffulcientes spi-
culam multifloram a basi fertilem. Squamae distichae. Perigynium cum
basi ovarii concretum et in ejus tunicam externam transiens, spongiosum,
per strias veluti in lacinias divisum. Stylus simplex, longus, retortus,
basi subulata ovario continua. Stamina tria; filamenta linearia, per-
sistentia; antherae lineares, mucronatae. Caryopsis compresso-trigona,
cuspidata, laevis, basi spongiosa pallida, supeme seminifera. Semen pedi-
cello in centro pericarpii surrecto et cum eodem hac parte concrete sub-
latum, pericarpio adhaerens.

Inflorescentia : Spicae aggregato-capitatce, involucro foliaceo cinctce.

Mr Arnott oti New Genera of Plants. 263

Proximum genus Melancrani Vahl, sed diveraissimum 8t}'lo slmplici et

perigynio cum pericarpio ita confluente, ut dubites, anne deficiat omnino,

ovarii basi sterili atque turaenti locum cedens.

1. A.tnonocephalum (N. ab E.) — Wight! Cat.n. 1855 — Cyperus monocepha-

lus, Roxb. Fl. Ind. 1. p. 188; (ed. Wall.) I. p. 193; Wall. Cat. n. 3441 — C.

monocephaloides, Roxb. in Cat. Merc. Ind. Or. mus. tab. 1318 (ex Am.). —

Schoenus triceps, Herb. Heyn. — Kyllingia triceps, Herb. Russell.

Had. In locis udis depressis Bengaliae ; Roxburgh. — Bengalia inferior,
et Silhet ; Wallich Peninsula ; Wight.

IV. HEMICARPHA, N. ab E.
Ord. Nat. CYPERACEiE, Jtws.— Trib. Hypolytre^, N. ab E.

Spicula undique imbricata squamis basi cuneatis apice rotundatis demum
deciduis unifloris. Flosculus sub singula squama singulus, univalvis.
Singulare sane videtur ejusmodi exemplum altemantium inter sese
squama propria communi opposita ovarium a tergo tegente et demum
cum fructu cohserente. Stamen unum, anterius magisque laterale.
Stylus ad basin fere bifidus. Caryopsis oblonga, biconvexa, styli basi
mucronulata.

Spica densissima ad speciem lateralis ob involucrum culmum continuans. Habi-
tus omnino Isolepidis setaceae et affinium, sed spicules adspectus qualis in
Lipocarpha, cui genus hoc nimis propinquum.

1. H. Isolepis (N. ab E.) Wight. Cat. n. 1856. — Scirpus haemisphericus,

Roth. ? N. pi. sp. p. 29.

Hab. In Peninsula Ind. Or. ; Wight.

Culmi fasciculati caespitosi, erecti, 1-2^ poll, longi, setacei, compresso-tetra-
goni, striati, glabri, glauci. Radices fibrosae, crispae. Vagina ad basin
plures culmos amplectens, scariosa, aphylla, ovato-oblonga, obtusiuscula.
Vagina propria ad basin singuli culmi una, 4-5 linearis, oblique truncata,
striata, glabra, foliolo praedita vix 3 lin. longo lineari angusto obtuso ca-
naliculato glauco. Spicula una, 1-1 4 lin. longa, elliptica, obtusa, teres,
ad angulum fere rectum patens. Involucri monophylli foliolum 2-4 lin.
longum, culmum continuans, incurvum, canaliculatum, obtusum, basi
protunde concavum margineque scariosum. Squamae densissime multi-
fariam imbricatae, ex obovato cuneatae, obtusissimae, uninerves, nervo in
mucronulum exiguum album desinente, basi albidae, apicem versus fusco-
purpureae, membranaceae, punctulatae. Valvula propria communi oppo-
sita et eadem paulo brevior, ovalis, cucullata, ovarium a dorso involvens,
membranacea, pallida, in juniori statu solubilis et tum vero apice quan-
doque emarginata, maturitatis tempore caryopsi ceu tenue integumen-
tum adherens. Squamula anterior nulla omnino, cujus loco stamen fila-
mento latiusculo, laterale. Stylus brevissimus, profunde bifidus, stig-
matibus recurvis capillaribus ; ovarium oblongum. Caryopsis ovali-ob-
longa, obtusa cum mucronulo, utrinque, praesertim extrorsum, convexa,
conlertim punctata, matura cinereo-nigra, tegumento accessorio deter-
gibili.

V. M ALACOCH.BTE. N. et Meyen.
Ord. Nat. CYPERACE--E, Jmss.— Trib. Scirpe^, N. ab E.

Spiculse undique imbricatae, squamis omnibus fertilibus. Perigynium
3-(>-pbyllum, foliolis Unearibus membranaceis hirtulis deciduis. Stamina
tria, antica. Stylus compressus, bifidus, deciduus. Caryopsis lenticularis
hinc planiuscula.

Inflorescentia corymhoso aut cymoso paniculata]; involucro communi recto, ad
speciem culmi apicem efficiente. Culmus triqueterj aut teres, nudus, basi va-
ginatuSy vagina brevi lamina terminata.

Setarum seu potius foliolorum perianthalium indole hoc genus abunde
differt a Scirpoy ubi setae cariilaginea; retrorsum hispidce persistunt, et

264 Mr x\rnott on New Genera of' Plants.

revera perigynii vices supplent. In nostro autem genere vera stamina
abortiva sunt ista foliola, linearia, moilia, piibescentia, siccando corru-
gata, fragilia facileque decidua. Quod quidem optime in specie nostra
Chilensi cemitur, ubi stamina tria antica cum phjllis totidem posticis,
seque longis filamentisque textura simillimis, at pubescentibus, seriem
duplicem staminum sex, plantis his debitam, vix unquam autem tribu-
tam, explent. Aliud argumentum praebit MaJacocfuBte scirpoides, quae
Pterolepis scirpoides Schrad. Etenim in hac setae tres exteriores cum
staniinibus tribus interioribus alternantes apicem versus plumolosae in
antheris apice simili modo barbatis parem utroruraque produnt originem.

1. M. peciinata (N. ab E. :) culmo tereti apice trigono, panicula composita,

laminis hypogynis cuneiformibus pinnatifido-ciliatis Wight. ! Cat. n. 1895 ;

Royle. herb. n. 56. — Scirpus pectinatus, Roxb. Fl. Ind. \. p. 218 ; {ed. Wallich)
1. p. 220 — S. campestroides, Roxb. in Cost. Merc. Ind. Or. Mus. tab. Tii (ex
ArruyS. plumosus, R. Br. Prodr. Fl. Nov. Holl. 1. p. 223 ?

Hab. In locis turfosis arenosis Peninsulae Indiae Or. ; Roxburgh ;
Wight. — Himalaya ; Royle.

Culmus 2-4 pedalis teres, spongiosus, apice obtuse trigonus. "Vagina ad
basin culmi una et altera, truncata, aphylla. Squamae spicularum latae,
ovatae, membranaceae, ciliolatae, apice eraarginato-bidentatae et nervo ex-
currente mucronatae, inferne albidae, apice medio totove testaceae et
fusco-testaceae. Squamulae duae laterales, duae vel una tantum posticae,
membranaceae, fuscae, apicem versus pulchre ciliolatae, basi cuneatae.
Stylus longus bifidus. Caryopsis obovata, lenticularis, laevis, mucro-
nulata, pallida.

Variat «, involucro (culmi apice) umbellam subaequante aut breviore, toto
trigono aut triquetro, spiculis obscurioribus, perigynii squamulis quater-

nis. Wight. I. c iS. Involucro umbella duplo longiori, incurvo, basi

tereti apice triquetro, spiculis pallidioribus, perigynii squamulis temis.
Royle., I. 0.

Sdrpum pltimosum R. Br. hujus loci esse baud improbabile quidem, id
autem dubia movet quod cl. Auctor cum Scirpo valido Vahl, similem
dixerit, cui in nostris speciminibus setae sunt filiformes, rigidulae, non-
nihil flexuosae et setulis reversis hispidissimae.

VI. HYMENOCH.ETE. P. de B.

Ord. Nat, CYPERACEiE, Juss.—Trih. Scirpe^e, N. ab E.

Spicula undique imbricata, squamis omnibus fertilibus aut infimis sterili-
bus. Perigynium 3-6-phyllum foliolis elongatis filiformibus membra-
naceo-mollibus hirtulis tempore maturitatis deciduis. Stamina tria,
antica. Stylus trifidus, filiformis, basi bulbosus, bulbo cartilagineo in
fructu superstite. Caryopsis trigona aut triquetra, ovalis, styli basi
conica coronata, matura basi nuda.

Inflorescentia: Corymbus compositus aut supradecompositits^ involucratus. Gra-
mina alta, culmo crasso triquetro, basi folioso. Folia et Involucri pleraque
foliola longa^ latitiscula., margine scabra.

Proximum genus Malacochate, a quo diff'ert : stylo trifido bulboso, setis
perigynii filiformibus, caryopsi trigona, culmo folioso, Scirpi sylvatici
habitu.

1. H. grossa (N. ab E. :) spiculis decomposito-corymbosis, involucro sub-
triphyllo culmi angulis laevibus. — Wight. Cat. n. 1896 — Scirpus grossus, Retg.

Obs. 5. p. 15 R. et Sch. S. V. 2. p. 141 ; Fahl, En. 2. p. 270; Roxb. Fl.

Ind, 1. p. 231 ; {ed. Wall.) I. p. 230 — Scirpus giganteus, Roxb. in Cost. Merc.
Ind. Or. Mus. tab. 764. (fide ^m.)— Scirpus, Wall. Cat. n. 3470.

Hab. In aquis dulcibus stagnantibus profiuidioribus ; Roxburgh. —

Nathpure ; Hamilton Wallajabad ; Wight. — Gongachora ;

Hamilton.

Mr Arnott on New Genera of Plants. ^65

VII. MORISIA. N. ah E.
Ord. Nat. CYP£RACE;E, Juss Trib. IlHYNCHOSPoaEiE, N, ab E.

Spicula monoica biflora, squamis senis distiche imbricatis, 4 inferioribus
sterilibus, quinta hermaphrodito-t'oL-mmea, sexta mascula, minore in-
clusa. Stamina 3. Stylus longus, simplex, tortus, a basi bulbosa deci-
duus. Perigynium nullum. Caryopsis biconvexa, basi sty 11 tuberculi-
formi obtusa coronata.

Inflorescentia : Spiculse terminales, capitata, capitulo involuorato.

Habitus Haplostj/lis, a qua defectu perigynii et fructu apice tuberculato
abunde differt. In uno flore autem setulara inveni brevem scabram
caryopsi ad latus adstantcm eade'mque multo breviorem. Inter spiculas
majores fertilesque minores occurrunt et steriles, probabiliter quandoque
masculae.

Morisius Professor et Academiae Turinensis membrum, Florae tani caeterae
quam patriae studio, operibusque pluribus botanici argumenti editis prae-
clarus.

1. M. Wallichii (N. ab E.)— Rhynchospora, Wall! Cat. n. 3422. a.
Hab. In Nepalia ; Wallich.

VIII. HAPLOSTYLIS. N. ab E.
Ord, Nat. CyPERACE^, Ji««.— Trib. RHYNCHOSPOREiE, N. ab E.

Spicula monoeca biflora, squamis distiche imbricatis, inferioribus sterilibus :
squama foeminea univalvis ; mascula terminalis, bivalvis. Stamina 3.
Stylus longus, simplex ; deciduus. Perigynium duplex : exterius mi-
nimum, membranaceum, ciliato-lacerum vel in setulas solutum ; interius
e setis 4-6 basi cohserentibus constans. Caryopsis biconvexa vel con-
cavo-convexa, calloso- aut membranaceo-marginata, basi setis persistenti-
bus cincta apice tuberculata vel in formam rostri compressi coangustata.

Inflorescentia : Capitulum terwiTiafe, involucratum, e pluribus spicularum fasci-
ctdis sessilibus conflatum. Habitus KyllingicBy sed textura spicularum rigi-
dior.

Diflfert a plerisque Cyperaceis stylo simplicissimo indiviso ; a Kyllingia in-
super perigynio setuloso ; a Carpha setis brevibus, non triquetra, spiculis
monoecis.

1. H. Meyenii (N. ab. E. :) involucro capitulum superante foliisque glabris,
styli basi pileiformi caryopsin biconvexam tuberculo claudente. — Wight. Cat.
n. 1903 — Rhynchospora, Wall. Cat. n. 3428. — Scirpus retusus, Kosn.

Hab. In China, Meyen ; Vachell^ n. 65 Ceylona ; Rottler ; Klein;

Koenig ; Macrae. — Amboina ; Lesson.

IX. CEPHALOSCHGENUS. N. ah\E.

Ord. Nat. CYPERACEiE, Jm**.— Trib. Rhynchosporeje, N. ab E.

. Squamae distiche imbricatoe, duae inferiores vacuae, supremae abortivae.
Perigynii setae 6, denticulis antrorsum spectantibus scabrae, caryopsi cum
rostro breviores. Stylus simplex, ovario articulo conjunctus ; medioque
articulo partibiles. Caryopsis compressa, basi styli longa angustaque
aristata,

Inflorescentia capitata, capitulo terminali solitario vel pluribus corymbosis.

Differt ab Haplostyli perigynio setoso longiori et styli basi longa angusta
rostriformi.

1. C. Zeylanicus (N. ab E. :) capitulis subtristachyis, axillairibus simpliciter
corymbosis, terminalibus duplicato-cprymbosis paucifloris, radiis foliisque
linearibus elongatis margine scabris.

Hab. In Ceylona insula; Macrae.

266 Mr Arnott on New Genera of Plants.

Affinis C. articulator sed diversus spiculis subternis, nee pluribus, alternatim
approxiraatis et adeo veluti spicatis fasciculatisque, corymbo multo
laxiori pauci3oro. Rhynchospora aurea Vahl, utrum ad R. corymbiferam
N. et. Mey., an ad hance nostram speciem referenda sit, in dubio relin-
quimus.

2. C. articulatus (N. ab E. r) spiculis, subcapitatis, capitulis fasciculatis corym-
bosis, corymbis axillaribus decompositis terminali superdecomposito multi-
floris erectis, ramulis tenuibus, bracteis inferioribus ramos sequantibus setaceis,
rostro caryopsi longiore, foliis lato-linearibus carina et margine scaberrimis —
Wight ! Cat. n. 1904 — Schoenus articulatus, Roxb. Fl. Ind. 1. p. 184 ; (ed.

Wall.) 1. p. 189 S. umbellatus, Roa,b. in Ccet. Merc. Ind. Or. Mus, tab. 703.

(ex Arn.) — S. corymbosus, Heyne — S. Surinamensis, Heyne — Rhynchospora,
Wall. Cat. n. 3424. — R. aurea, Herb. Heyne (minime Vahl.)

Hab. In locis uliginosis regionis montanae superioris Penins. Ind.
Or. ; Roxburgh ; Heyne ; Wight.
C. Zeylanico persimilis, differt siatura multo majori, foliis latioribus, caryopsi
duplo grandiori, rostro crassiori caryopsi duplo fere longiori, squamis spiculae
mollioribus.

X. CYLINDROPUS. N. ab E.

Ord. Nat. CYPERACE/E, Juss — Trib. Sclerie^e, X. ab E.

Spiculae diclines, monoecse, fceminea unifiora. Squamae distichae, inferiores
vacuae. Stamina tria. Stylus trifidus. Nux nilida, obtusa cum papil-
lula, basi perigynio cylindrico truncato constricta.

Differt a Sckria, cui omnino proxima, perigynio non lobato, basin nucis in
formam pedunculi cylindrici brevis constringente, et spiculis tam masc.
quam foem. distichis. Culmi apice longo tractu nudi.

1. C. junciformis (N. ab E.)

Hab. In Ceylona insula ; Macrae in Herb. Lindl. (inter specimina
Scleriae tessellatse.)

Culmus triqueter, ad angulos retrorsum scabriusculus ; ad basin diphyllua
(in uno exemplo). Vaginse trigonse, villosse : lobulus oppositifolius,
obtusus. Folia linearia, 1-1 4 lin. lata, plana, hirsuta, (in nostro apice
mutila). Involucrum monophyllum, erectum, culmum continuans, ca-
rinatum, hirtulum, 2 4 pollices longum. Spica basi subdivisa, dein sim-
plex, ad speciem lateralis, longitudine involucri. Rachis triquetra, hir-
suta, scabra, flexuosa. Spiculae glomeratae, ternse, quaternap, quarum
centralis una vel ultera fceminea, exteriores masculae et una earum pedi-
cellata, reliquae sessiles. Bracteolae lineari-selaceae, hirsutae, spiculas
duplo superantes. Spiculae florentes lanceolatse subdistichae, 3 lineas
longae. Masculae multiflorae, squamis duabus inferioribus vacuis, omni-
bus ovato-oblongis acutis carinatis fusco irroratis glabris. Stamina tria,
squamas excedentia. Spiculae foeminae squamae ejusmodi, sub fructu
majores. Nux terminalis, fere bilinearis, ovalis, papillata, alba, nitida,
striata, costis interjectis angustis obtusis remote obiterque tuberculatis.
Basis nucis dimidio angustior | lineae longitudine, cylindrica, hypogynio
concrete truncato margine parum tumidulo iutescente tecta.

Hujus generis, ni forte ejusdem speciei, esse existimo Scleriam poceformem
Retail non nisi fortunato aliquo jactu divinandam.

XI. HYPOPORUM. N.abB.

Ord. Nat. CYPERACE^, Juss Trib. SclebieuE, N. ab E.

Spiculae androgynae, trifariam imbricatae ; foemhiea infera, masculum termi-
nalem amplectens bivalvis; mascula corapressa, quadrivalvis, disticha,
triflora, foemineae opposita ceu valvula spiculae universalis tertia. Stamina
duo, vel unum. Stylus trifidus, deciduus. Perigynium nullum. Nux
basi contracta, supra partem angustatam trifariam porosa vel saltern
depressa ibidemque angulato-sulcata aut punctulata.

Mr Arnott on New Genera of' Plants. S67

Inflorescentia. Spica termiiudis. Spiculae SU4 glomercUtB^ bracteolis brevibiu
suffulta. SquamjE membranacecBy coloratcs, carinatcBy scepe hiria.

1. H. pergracile (N. ab E. :) culmo erecto filiformi simplici triquetro, glo-
merulis spicatis altemis paucifloris bracteam membraceam aequantibus, nuce
depresso-globosa mucronata tuberculato-echinata alba, subtus sulcis tribus
eporosis impressa — Scleria, Wall. Cat. n. 3406.

Hab. Silhet; Wailich.
Simile Hypoporo {Scleria) interrupto.

2. H. capitatum (N. ab E. :) culmo erecto simplici, spiculis capitatis foliis-
que hirsutis, nuce rugosa tuberculata basi trifariam biporosa, squamis masculis
apice fimbriato-laceris.

Hab. Ceylona ; Macrae in Herb. LindL
Radix fibrosa, sanguinea. Squama ovata obtusa, sanguinea, tomentosa, ad
basin culmi et fasciculorum. Culmus digitalis, erectus, acute triqueter,
circa genicula hirsutus, ad apicem foliosus. Folia linearia lin. 1 lata,
obtusa, plana, hirsuta, superiora culmum superantia, supremum involu-
crale erectum reliquorum forma et magnitudine. Capitulum basi nudum,
in pedunculo (seu potius culmi apice) nudo pollicari triquetro birsutoque,
nucis aveUanae magnitudine, ex aliquot spicularum fasciculis oligostachyis
constans, depresso-subglobosum. Spiculoe in fasciculo temae, lanceolatse,
compressse, aliis omnes foemincEe, adjecta in aliis mascula minore. Foe-
mineae 3 lin. fere longge, e squamis ovato-lanceolatis subulato-cuspidatis
rigidulis hirsutis persistentibus exstructoe, quarum duse inferiores duplo
minores, duae terminales florem includunt. Stylus longus,trifid us. Nux
globosa, obtusa, opaca, alba, tuberculis exasperata, seminis brassicae am-
bitu, basi ad \ constricta trigono-sexangularis et supra stricturam inferius
transversim trifoveolata singula foveola biporosa. Perigynium nullum,
nisi costse hypopodii. Spicula mascula 1^-2 lin. longa, linearis, squamis
angustioribus minus hirsutis ; duabis infimis vacuis lanceolato-acuminatis,
reUquis membranaceis convolutis apice in lacinias lineares plerumque 6,
filamenta castrata mentientes et fortasse ex eorundera coalescentia de-
rivandas, fissis, Superiores fertUes staminibus tribus, antheris angustis
flavis. Color spicularum pallide rufescens, acumine squamarum virente.

XII. TRILEPIS. N, ab E,
Ord. Nat. CYPEIiACE/E, Juss — Trib. Elyne.e, N. ab E.

Spiculae androgynae, undique imbricatae. Gluma (squama) univalvis, uni-
flora. Perianthium masculinum foemineumque bivalvia, valvulis glumae
parallelis superiori inferiorem amplectente; quandoque univalvia, sola
inferiori valvula obvia. Stamina duo-tria. Stylus trifidus. Perigy-
nium longe rostratum, ore truncato coarctato.

Inflorescentia. Spiculae pedicellatcB, fasciculatae^ vaginis pedunculos alte coer-
centibtis.

Differt a Cobresia perianthio masculino praesente, omnique habitu.

1. T. Royleana (N. ab E. :) triandra, spica composita densa, spiculis apice
masculis, squamula propria subsolitaria, foliis latiusculis falcatis culmique tri-
goni angulis scaberrimis. — Herb. Royle. Cyp. ti. 119.

Hab. In Himalaya ; Royle.
In flosculis foemineis quandoque occurrit altera valvula magisque interior,
extrorsa, duplo minor, linearis, primariae a latere glumae opposita, et ab ilia
una cum pistillo inclusa. Vides igitur in hoc stirpe non modo perigynii
Caricum communis originem, sed etiam setae accessoriae Unicaricum.

2. T. Lhotzkiana (N.'ab E.) ; diandra, spiculis simplicibus fasciculatis axilla-
ribus, squamulis propriis binis, foliis lineari-subulatis. — Carex Lhotzkiana,
Herb. Endl.

Hab. Brasilia, ubi in Corcovado Lhotxky invenit

( 268 )

Memo'r on the Inquiry, Whether any Terrestrial Animals have
ceased to exist since Man''s creation ; and zvhether Man was
cotemporaneous with Species which are now lost, or which
at least do not appear to have representatives now upon our
ghbe. By M. Marcel de Serres. (Continued from
vol. XVI. p. J^89.)

Concerning real Beings, naw existing, depicted on Antique Monu-
ments, whose Species we can recognise.

We have, on a former occasion, brought under the observa-
tion of our readers, not a few instances of existing animals
depicted in antique monuments; and we have taken leave
largely to insist on the extreme accuracy which the ancients dis-
played on these memorials of their skill. As, however, we learn
that the details into which we entered have not appeared suffi-
ciently numerous to many antiquarians, we now proceed to sup-
ply some additional ones ; at the same time remarking, that the
circumstances in which we are placed does not afford facilities
for the examination of the original monuments themselves. All,
then, that we can now do, is to allude to those examples which
are contained in the works to which we have access.

Previous to entering into these details, and in order to abridge
them, we may remark that there is a very considerable number
of animals which abound so largely upon the monuments of anti-
quity, that we shall point out, only in the general, the works in
which they are represented.

Of these we may enumerate among the terrestrial mammalia
which are most frequently figured, the various races of dogs, of
horses, of oxen, and of wild boars ; and, along with these, lions,
panthers, leopards, elephants, stags, and antelopes. Amongst
the birds we may mention the eagle, the hawk, the vulture, the
raven, the crow, the ostrich, the swallow, the lark, and titmouse,
the partridge, the pigeon, the peacock, the domestic cock and
hen, the swan, and the duck. As it regards reptiles, the croco-
dile, especially that of the Nile, and the various varieties of ser-
pents and tortoises, are most frequently depicted. And, in re-
spect to fishes, it may be remarked, that they are found not

On Animals ihpkted on Antique Monuinents. 269

nearly so frequently as the other classes. They are seen chiefly
upon the monuments of Pompeii and Herculaneum ; and they
might be reconciled with the living varieties, if it were quite cer-
tain that they had been represented with the whole of their cha-
racters, especially with all their lins, and these in their real po-
sitions.

An important branch of this subject consists in the determi-
nation of the various kinds of vegetables that are represented on
antiques ; and these are much more numerous than we had at
first imagined. These plants are generally figured with a de-
gree of accuracy quite sufficient for their classification, though
it often requires a somewhat minute examination. In truth, the
same kind of uncertainty which prevails whilst determining fos-
sil plants, exists here in a still greater degree ; the mutual bear-
ings of forms having neither the same importance, nor being
equally necessary to vegetables as to animals. But, in spite of
this difficulty, which is inherent in the subject, we believe we
can demonstrate that the plants so depicted are much more nu-
merous, not only as it regards individuals, but even species,
than has been hitherto supposed. This is a point to which, at
another time, we shall direct the attention of the geologist and
the antiquarian.

Respecting the animals above alluded to, they may be found
engraved in a great number of works upon antiquities, both
Greek and Roman. Of these we name the following, because
they contain the greatest number. First, Antonii Augustini
Antiquitatum Romanoruvi Hupanarumque, §*c. AntverpicB,
1617. Some very rare animals are here represented with great
accuracy, such as the antelope, oryx, and bubalis (the Barbary
cow, tab. 58 and 60), and also the hippopotamus. There is an-
other work of the same author, entitled Regum et Imperatorum
Romanorum Numismata, in which there is also a great number
both of wild and domestic species, equally well engraved. The
antique medals copied in this work demonstrate that the an-
cients had minutely distinguished the different races of the
horse, and the crosses betwixt the jack-ass and mare, and the
horse and ass. The mules represented in plates 26 and 32 are

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIV.— OCTOBER 1834. T

270 On Animals depicted on Antique Monuments.

sufficient evidence of this. Other examples may be seen upon a
Mosaic, engraved in a work with the following title, Li Antichi
Sepolcri ove Mausolii Romani ed Etruschi di Pietro Bartoli,
and printed at Rome 1696. Others will be found upon the
medals dedicated to Tiberius, and which are described in the
work of Bellori, entitled Adnotationes nunc primum evulgatce
in XII primomm Ccesarum numismata. Romae, 1730. Fi-
nally, upon the reverse of a medal dedicated to Julia Pia Au-
gusta, we observe two mules harnessed to a car. There is the
same design on a medal of Agrippina's, which is to be found, as
is the former, in the work of John Vaillant, entitled, Numisma-
ta Imperatorum Romanorum Prastantiora, and published at
Rome in 1743.

We see, then, that the ancients were acquainted with the
different crosses of the horse and ass. That between the jack-
ass and the mare, they denominated ov^iog mulus, mule, and that
between the horse and the ass, iwog hinnus, or ytno? ginnulus.
It is not less certain they distinguished the several races of the
horse. Judging from the statues, and the descriptions they
have left us, we perceive they recognised four principal varieties
of the race-horse, the war-horse, and the draught horse. These
races are, 1. the African; 2. the Apulian ; 3. the Thessalian ;
and, 4. the Sicilian. From these principal races proceeded the
various secondary varieties, which are so abundantly figured'
on the monuments of antiquity.

Their acquaintance with the genus Equus, horse, was very
extensive, and probably they attached much importance to it on
account of the great use they made of these animals. The
onager, or wild ass, was also well known to them, which is a
proof that the ancients had penetrated into the interior of Asia,
and to the west of Africa. This species, so well depicted by the
ancients, is now found to exist in its wild state in Persia. The
zebra, another species of the same kind, by Dion denominated
simply hippotiger, was also familiar to the ancients, consequently
they had also opened up communications with the countries of
South Africa, the native country of this variety. The zebra
which was exhibited in the games of the circus, astonished the
Romans as much by its agility as by the colour of its skin,
whence among them it received the name of Tiger-horse.

On Animals depicted on Antique Monuments. 271

The Dziggetai^ or Equus hemionus of naturalists, was also
known to them, for this species had been domesticated by the
Greeks in many provinces in Asia. If we are to regard the
Mosaic of Palestrina as authoritative, the ancients were also ac-
quainted with another species of the same genus, intermediate
between the preceding and the couagga (Equus quaccha). If
this species, as every thing seems to indicate, has really existed,
it must have totally disappeared and become extinct, as has hap-
pened with so many other races, the former existence of which
we know only by those remains of them that are found in the va-
rious strata of the earth.

But the ancients have bestowed not less attention to the va-
rious species of the dog than to the several races of the horse.
They appear even to have had dogs so large and powerful, that
they could harness them to their chariots. Thus Heliogabalus
made himself be driven in his chariot by four dogs of a prodigious
size; whilst, at other times, he preferred four stags, or it might be
lions or tigers*. It is not less true that their monuments exhi-
bit a crowd of other varieties of dogs, amongst the most common
of which we mention the greyhound, the mastiff, the pointer, the
harrier, the setter, and the spaniel. This last variety is found
upon a carnelian stone, and may be found represented in a work
of Agostini, published at Rome in 1686, under the title of the
Antique Gem. The other varieties may be seen upon divers
monuments which are copied in numerous works, among which
we shall only mention Le Rovine delta cittd di Pesto delta ancora
Posidonia (Roma, 1784) ; also Le pitture del Mtiseo in Portici
travatei incise da Baltassare Probst (Augusta 1795) ; and,
lastly, Le Antiche lucerne Sepolcrali, Jigurate da Belhri (Roma,

1691) t-

It will not be questioned that lions, tigers, panthers, leopards,
and bears, which were exhibited in such wonderful profusion in
the amusements of the Circus, or in the triumphal processions, are
found in abundance on the antique monuments. These, in fact,
are the most common. We shall mention, then, only a very few

• L'Antiquite expliqu^e, de Montfaucon, torn. iii. part ii. p. 271.

■f- The author last quoted, in reference to the various races of dogs, as well
as of other animals brought under his review, furnishes a list of forty-two
archeological worki^ which is here omitted.

T 2

272 On Animals depicted on Jntique MonnmenU.

of the principal works where copies of them may be found. In
doing otherwise we should soon become tedious. We may, how-
ever, in passing, remark, that the number of the larger carnivo-
rous animals which the ancients were in the habit of putting to
death in their public games, was so immense, that all the sove-
reigns of Europe, and of the whole world, would attempt in vain
to bring together as many. Thus Trajan, after his victory over
the Parthians, exhibited games in which were produced 11,000
wild beasts, all of which were put to death. Pompey, even at
the opening of his theatre, exhibited to the people a one-horned
rhinoceros, 410 panthers, and more than 600 lions, more than
300 of which had manes, and were of course males.

A knowledge of the immense number of animals that were
thus destroyed in the games of the circus, is, on more accounts
than one, interesting to the naturalist. It clearly shews that the
various savage races, and more especially the various carnivorous
animals, were formerly much more numerous than they are now.
Moreover, as finally all these animals were put to death, whether
in the circus or after their triumphal feats, the anxiety with
which the emperors, and other ambitious citizens, collected such
prodigious numbers, must have contributed rapidly to diminish
the noxious animals it was so much man's interest to destroy.

The effect thus produced was so much the greater, inasmuch
as those public shows of the destruction of animals, which at first
had only a political object, became ere long a favourite subject
of the almost inconceivable luxury of the rich. Among other
nations, as for example some of the Asiatic, a religious character
was given to the destruction of wild beasts. A favour, more
familiarly known under the name of an indulgence, was the re-
ward. Whoever destroyed a tiger or a rhinoceros procured an
indulgence for a hundred years, whilst he who slew a lion was
rewarded with one of a thousand years* duration. This differ-
ence was, without doubt, owing to the greater importance and
difficulty connected with the destruction of a lion. According
to this view, it may be supposed, that the same religious ideas
would allow only a month's indulgence to the killing of a fish or
a tortoise, and three months to the destruction of a crocodile *.

We now remark, that in the Thesaurus aniiqmtaUim Roma-

• Sec Asiatic Researches vel. v. p. 371.

On Animais depicted on Antique Monuments. 27.^

norum, a J, Grcevio, (Lugd. Bat. 1694-99), and in the supple-
ment entitled Nova Supplementa congesta ah Joanne Paleno
(Venitici, 1737), as also in his dissertation on the games of the
circus, may be seen a considerable number of the larger carni-
vorous animals, as depicted by the ancients, and combating with
men.

The medals called Antonian, which are figured in the work
of Morellianus, or of Sigebert Hauercampi (Familiarum Roma-
norum numismata omnia; Amstelodani, 1734^, present us with a
great number of lions. This is also true of the work of Gorius
(Tresor des pierres gravees Antiques)^ which we formerly had
occasion to quote when speaking of the chimaera. The lion is
also very often represented as an accompaniment to Bacchus on
antique monuments. Thus he is found on various bas-reliefs and
precious stones, noticed in the greater number of works which
speak of him, such as those of Montfaucon, d'Augustini, of
Gessner, Gorius, and of Bartoli.

It would appear that lions were so abundant at Carthage
and in Rome, that they succeeded in subduing and taming them.
Thus, Hanno had a lion at Carthage which was so tame, that it
followed him every where like a dog. Some years before the Chris-
tian era, Anthony had tame lions harnessed to his chariot; whilst,
on the other hand, Domitian exhibited to the people a woman
combating with a lion ; and, later still, in the same games of
the Circus, a tiger overcoming another lion. Quintius Scaevola,
as is well known, was the first who exhibited lion-fights in the
Circus to the people of Rome.

The true tiger — the Felis tigris of naturalists — is more rarely
represented in antiques than the lion, the leopard, and especially
the panther. The first which was brought to Rome was exhi-
bited in a cage, at the dedication of the temple of Marcellus.
Claudius exhibited four at a later period at the opening of the
Pantheon. A Mosaic which has come down to our days, re-
presents these tigers of the natural size, so that they can be
compared with the existing species.

The royal tiger is also very accurately figured on many
engraved stones, which are represented in tlie works we have
already named ; and also in those of La Chausse, of Mariette,
of Montfaucon, and of Ciampini.

274 On Animals depicted on Antique Monuments.

Ab to Panthers and Leopards^ they were more frequently re-
presented on antiques than the tiger. They were almost as com-
tnon as the lion. Very many of them were brought to Rome.
The first that were seen, were exhibited in the Circus by Mar-
cus Fulvius, 156 years before the Christian era. This ex-
ample was followed by Scipio Nasica and Publius Lentulus.
The latter succeeded in collecting sixty-three of these animals.
But this number was soon exceeded, first by Pompey, who, as we
have already noticed, sent four hundred and ten into the Cir-
cus; and afterwards by Augustus, who exhibited three hundred
and twelve of these animals to the people. Still later, Gordian
succeeded in increasing the number that appeared in the games
even to a thousand, although Probus, more than any other of
the Roman Emperors, collected a prodigious number of wild
beasts for the Circus shows.

Regarding ihe Elephant, it seems worthy of especial notice^ that
the ancients appear to have had more accurate ideas concerning it
than our great modern naturalists, including even Buffon and
Linnseus. In truth, Aristotle knew the organization of the ele-
phant better than BufFon, and what he has written of its history
and manners, is also more accurate. Nor is this all ; neither
Buffon nor Linnaeus had distinguished the two species of the
elephant; which, however, the ancient authors and statuaries were
well acquainted with. In the dissertation of Cuper, inserted in the
Novus thesaurus antiquitatum Romanorum of Sallengre, may
be seen some details as interesting as curious, concerning the
games in which the ancients employed the elephant, and con-
cerning the two species with which they were acquainted. Cu-
per also informs us, that Seleucus Nicator, King of Asia, pos-
sessed no fewer than five hundred of the Asiatic elephants ;
whilst the Ptolemies, on the other hand, never employed, either
in their wars or feasts, any other than the African variety. It
would also appear, that it was one of these Ptolemies, probably
Ptolemy Philadelphus, who introduced the art of hunting and
catching these animals.

This art speedily arrived at great perfection, for the number
which the Emperors and other grandees of Rome soon exhibited,
is quite astonishing, especially when we think of the difiiculty
there is in catching them. The first that were brought to

On Animals depicted on Antique Monuments, 275

Rome were put to death in the Circus by order of the Magis-
trates, 136 years A. C. At a later period they were used
in battle, and also, when tamed, in domestic life. Thus, in a
^/i^te given by Caesar, twenty elephants encountered, first five
hundred foot soldiers, and afterwards an equal number of ca-
valry. After the conquest of Macedonia, Metellus had one
hundred and forty two elephants conducted to Rome, all of
which were killed with arrows. During the night of that day
on which Caesar gave his grand fete, in which there was the com-
bat with the elephants, he went home, illuminated by elephants
carrying lanterns. Domitian exhibited to the people an elephant
which, after having vanquished a bull, came to prostrate itself
on its bended knees before the Emperor in token of respect.
Before this period, Germanicus, on the occasion of his triumph
over the Germans, exhibited elephants which had been taught
to dance, and which were not loth to exhibit their accomplish-
ments.

Be this as it may, however, the two species of the elephant
are most accurately represented in the Roman and Greek me-
dals, particularly on those of Alexander, of Commodus, of An-
toninus Pius, of Antiochus, and Alexander Severus. The Af-
rican species is easily distinguished by the round form of the
head, the prominence of its forehead, and the size of its ears, in
the medals of Regulus, and in some of those that are dedicated
to Julius Caesar. In a word, we may say that both the species
of the elephant, are drawn and engraven on an endless variety
of monuments. Sometimes they are represented as partially
clad, or laced with a variety of cords and nets.

The same general remark may be made of the other pachyder-
mata — as the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, and the wild-boar,
as also of the varieties of the hog, which, as is generally believed,
is derived from the last of these, animals. There is especially
one of these races of the hog, which must have been very com-
mon at Rome, if we may judge from the frequency of its ap-
pearance on the monuments. It is from Guinea, and is easily dis-
tinguished from any other by the remarkable bristles with which
it is covered on the neck and back, and which are continued
even to the loins. This variety has always been very common
in Africa, with which continent the Romans had the freest in-

276 On Animals depicted on Antique Monuments.

tercourse. In proof of the great frequency of this animal on
antiques, we may adduce the medals of Antoninus and other
Emperors, which may be seen in the works of Montfaucon, of
Patin, and Sallengre. We may also allude to the various dis-
coveries of Herculaneum. Some other races are scarcely less
frequently depicted upon these same monuments, as, for example,
that like to the hog of China, which is characterised by limbs
so short, that the abdomen of large dimensions touches the
ground. This race is very well figured in the 45th plate of the
fourth volume of the AntiqidUs d Herctdaneum^ which was pub-
lished in Rome in 1729.

It is quite ascertained, that the wild-boar, as well as the va-
rious races of the hog, was well known at Rome. The first
wild-boar presented entire appeared at a repast given in Rome,
by Servius Rullus. Anthony, at the period of his triumvirate,
caused eight of them to be served up, and all entire. The rhi-
noceros also was well known to the Romans, and they repre-
sented it on many of their monuments. The first double-
horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros Africanus), seen at Rome, was
in the reign of Domitian. Decidedly before that period, and
fifty-five years before the Christian era, Pompey, at the opening
of his theatre, had exhibited a single-horned rhinoceros (Rhi-
noceros Indicus, Cuvier) to the multitude. This species which
is engraved on the mosaic of Palestrina, is also represented upon
other mosaics and medals, and particularly on a stone en-
graved in the work of Thomas Mangeart, which has been al-
ready quoted.

Nearly the same remarks might be made of the hippopotamus,
which, though very inaccurately described by Latin authors,
has nevertheless been represented with much fidelity by the
statuaries of the same nation. It is designed with fidelity upon
the mosaic of Palestrina, and upon other monuments, such as the
medals which are dedicated to the Emperor Julius Philippus.
These medals have been copied in the works of Vaillant, Pata-
vini, and Mangeart. It is, moreover, known, that the first hip-
popotamus which was seen at Rome, was brought thither under
the direction of Emilius Scaurus, who, whilst Edile, took every
pains to exhibit to the people animals that bad never before been
seen in the Circus. It was he who also presented to them the

(Jn Anhnah depicted on Antique Monuments. JjJTT

bones of the animal to which it was said that Andromeda had
been exposed, and as one of these bones was thirty-six feet in
length, it is probable it was the lower jaw of a whale.

The ruminating animals had also attracted the attention of
Egyptian, Greek, and Roman statuaries. The Antelope Ga-
zella, which has been seen in Europe only within these few years,
is well represented on the monuments of ancient Egypt. This
is also the case with the Oryx^ or the antelope with straight
horns, which, figured in profile, and in the usual rude style o{
their artists, would probably be the origin of the fable of the
unicorn. We say the fable; for an animal with cloven feet, and
the middle of whose frontal bone is divided by a suture, cannot
have a horn springing from an osseous tissue in the mesial line
of its head. The Irish elk, so long regarded as a fossil species,
was also known to the Romans. At least Hibbert, if he has
not found its representation in the delineations of Pompeii and
Herculaneum, has at all events discovered it in an ancient paint-
ing and sculpture, which has been found in Rome. This spe-
cies, which the drying up of lakes and morasses has contributed
to extinguish, appears to have lived within the times of histori-
cal record, since Opian has very well described it, as has been
previously observed by Aldrovandus. Another circumstance that
very distinctly proves how recent the extinction of this species
must be, is that Hart has observed a callus on one of its bones
which was discovered in Ireland, — a callus which appeared to have
grown up after the infliction of a wound with some pointed and
cutting instrument. The Cervus euryceros of Aldrovandus, or
the stag with gigantic horns, is, then, a species which has be-
come extinct on the surface of our globe, within the period of
historical record, as is demonstrated not only by the painting
discovered at Rome, but also by the descriptions which are
found in Opian, in Munster, and also in Jonston. Rut more-
over, the bones of this elk being found mixed in the same muddy
deposits with the bones of the rhinoceros, the elephant, the hip-
popotamus, and the hyena, ought it not to have been the same
with them ? Ry no means ; and assuredly there is nothing con-
trary to the usual laws of nature in the contrary supposition.
Can it be regarded as contrary to the usual order of things, that
an animal that was continually pursued by the Romans, and

278 On Animals depicted on Antique Monuments,

great numbers of which they consequently destroyed, both in
their games and in their triumphal exhibitions, has finally dis-
appeared, through the effect of causes, which, though slow, were
not less continued and sure ? This species, which, on account
of the size of its horns, could not easily find a safe retreat, has
the more promptly disappeared, inasmuch as the swampy marshes
where it was wont to dwell, have themselves dried up and disap-
peared.

Besides these species, the ancients have represented a great
number of the other species upon their monuments. Thus we
recognise the common stag and the hind, the fallow deer and the
roebuck, the various gazelles, as well as the more common mem-
bers of this family, viz. the goat and the kid, the ram and the
ewe. Goats in an especial manner attend upon the satyrs, the
fawns, and all the rural divinities ; and as these are often repre-
sented upon antique cameos and medals, it is the same with the
animals peculiarly devoted to them.

The ancients have also well distinguished the two species of
the camel, viz. that with two humps (Camelus bactrianus, Linn.),
and that which has only one, and known under the name of the
dromedary (C. droTnedaritis, Linn.) We are soon satisfied of
this by glancing the eye upon the medals consecrated to Adrian,
to Commodus, to Caligula and Caracalla, all of which may be
seen in the work of Patin, to which we have previously alluded.
These animals are not less abundantly found upon the medals
copied into the, »vork of Hauercamps, and principally on those
which go under the name of Emilia.

It appears that the two species were presented to the peo-
ple in the fete which Ptolemy gave in honour of his father
Ptolemy Soter. It was in this fete, the triumph of Bacchus,
was represented, and in which a very great number of animals
were exhibited. Among these Athenaeus has distinguished the
elephant, the stag, the antelope, the oryx, an hundred and thirty
sheep of Ethiopia, three hundred of Arabia, and twenty of the
island of Euboea ; also white stags of India, and twenty Indian
oxen, remarkable for their brilliant whiteness, and eight others
of Ethiopia. There were, besides, a great number of leopards,
panthers, and white bears, of ostriches and parrots, as well as
a great crowd of Ethiopian birds. It also appears that there

On Animals depicted mi Antique Monuments. 279

were four lynxes, an Ethiopian rhinoceros, and a cajjieleopard.
What appeared still more remarkable was a pack of two thou-
sand four hundred dogs, and which was followed by twenty-four
male lions of consummate beauty.*

We have already spoken of the astonishment which was mani-
fested by modern naturalists, on the assertion that Ptolemy had
exhibited a white hear in the feast which he gave to the people
of Alexandria, on his accession to the throne. The same natu-
ralists have appeared equally surprised that Megasthenes has
stated in his voyages, fragments of which are preserved by
Strabo, Arrian, ^lian, and Athenaeus, that bears were to be
found in the south of India. In truth, for a long period, it
was not known that they really existed in that country' ; but
some little time since, many species have been discovered there,
among others the jungle bear, and it is only fair to do justice to
the accuracy of Megasthenes, as well as to other naturalists and
writers of antiquity.

Megasthenes has affirmed that most of our domestic animals
are to be found in a wild state in India, an assertion which has
more lately been confirmed by .^lien, and the accuracy of which
is now becoming more apparent and specific, as it regards many
animals. But, without dwelling on this, it is at all events cer-
tain, that the bear is found on antiques, quite as often as the
several large carnivorous animals of which we have already
spoken. They are also extremely well depicted, and can easily
be recognised. Respecting the species of the kind, they must
have been well known at Rome ; for Scipio Nasica and Publius
Lentulus exhibited more than fifty individuals at a time, and
Caligula alone caused 400 to be slaughtered in the Circus.

The btiffalo, the bison of the ancients, has been also repre-
sented upon many qf their monuments. It would even appear
that the Romans had succeeded in training them ; at least the
Emperor Domitian harnessed them to his chariots. At a later
period this animal appeared in the games of the Circus, and
amongst more than 400 animals that Septimus Severus present-
ed, as issuing forth from an immense machine, in those fetes

• See Athenaeus, lib. v. pp. 196, 203. Also the description of this Feast
in the History of the Commerce and Navigation of the Egyptians, under the
Ptolemies. By Ameilbon. Paris, 1766, p. 70.

280 On Animala depicted on Antique Monuments.

which he gave in honour of the marriage of Caracalla, many
bisons were observed, as were also wild asses. It may easily
be recognised that it is of no small importance in relation to the
question which now engages us, to know exactly the precise
epoch in which such and such an animal was known, from which
country he was brought, and in what number. Very many are
the inquiries that are made on these points, their solution can
be given only by entering into such details as these ; but their
further prosecution may properly be excused.

We shall here introduce another remark regarding one of the
Ruminantia, of which we have already spoken. We allude to
the sheep, and the fact before stated, that the ancients have sup-
plied but few representations of the ram and ewe, in compari-
son of those they have given of the goat, the kid, and the she-
goat. And this is the more astonishing, if we are to believe
Varro and some Greek philosophers, who maintain that the
sheep was the first animal man succeeded in domesticating.
From this opinion BufFon, and most of the modern naturalists,
dissent, and contend, on the contrary, that the dog was the first
animal he subdued ; and the immense number of representatives
of it on antiques seems rather to countenance this supposi-
tion. The comparative rarity of the sheep in the ancient sculp-
tures is the more remarkable, as, from the time of Varro, this
animal has been found in very many countries in its wild state.
Thus, in Phrygia and in Lycaonia, many wild sheep are found,
and it is the same of the goat in Samathracia. The details
which Varro has left us on this subject merit the greater confi-
dence, as his assertions have very recently been verified. Thus
he had informed us, that Thibet was the native region of the
onager or wild ass ; and, in fact, they are now found in the
Mountains of Taurus and the lower Kurdistan, in those moun-
tains which separate Persia from the Afghans. This animal
still exists there in its wild state, and hunting it is one of the
most common amusements of the Persian princes. It is also
known that oxen are found in their wild state in Mysia, Darda-
nia, and Thrace, and horses in certain parts of northern Spain.
The wild ass is figured not unfrequently on ancient monuments.
In proof of this we only quote the twenty-seventh plate of the
works of Micali, and the twenty-ninth of those of Caylus. 'J'o

On Animals depicted on Antique Monuments. 281

these engravings we might add a host of others, which have
been copied from antique medals.

A great number of the Rodentia have likewise been hand-
ed down to us. We clearly recognise the rabbit and common
hare^ and also that of Egypt, so remarkable for its long ears.
This species, which is very common on all the monuments of
Egypt, is scarcely less common on many antique stones, which
are to be found represented in the works of Micali and Mont-
faucon, as well as on many of the bronzes which have been dis-
covered at Herculaneum. This is also true of the beaver. This
class of animals attracted the larger attention of the ancients, in-
asmuch as many of them are such delicate articles of food. It
was for the purpose of perpetuating them, and augmenting
their numbers, that they conceived the idea of preparing parks
for the rearing and feeding of them. These parks seem first to
have been used by Fulvius Hirpinus, about the time of the
Second Punic War. They were with propriety denominated Le-
porina, because there were reared at least three varieties of the
hare, — the common one, the original one, or that from Spain,
and also the Alpine, a variety which, now-a-days, is almost ex-
tinct. In them also were reared the greater number of the fal-
low deer, which were found in the ancient forests, and with them
were also bred the mouflon or wild sheep.

The animals which were reared in these parks were all but
domesticated. They were taught to assemble at a given call.
Thus, Hortensius having invited a number of visitors to his
country residence, at the sound of a horn, a number of stags,
roebucks, wild-boars, and fallow-deer, speedily assembled. These
animals collected in crowds close by the apartment in which
they were dining. It is easy to perceive that the care which the
ancients thus took in rearing so many animals in their parks,
and those which they designed for the games of the Circus, must
have necessarily extended their knowledge of wild animals, and
led them to remark their predominant characteristics. We
may here remark, that there are many which they have very
well described, and which have often been regarded fabulous,
till they were afresh discovered. This was the case, for ex-
ample, among the Rodentia, with the prickly mouse, stated by

J^2 On Animals depicted 07i Antique Monuments.

Aristotle and by iElian as being found in Egypt and Lybia,
and which, till very recent times, has not been found in either
of these countries. In fact, this mouse had not been met
any where till the time of the French expedition into Egypt ;
and we may almost say that this expedition has fully con-
firmed the account of Aristotle, and proved that the ancients
were very careful never to advance any thing without being sure
of its truth. So has it been with the boar with the two tusks,
or the Babiroussa, of which ^Elian has spoken so largely in de-
tail : it was not discovered in any of the most distant countries
of India till after the revival of letters ; and previous to that
titae it was regarded as wholly chimerical and fabulous.

Finally, among the Rodentia, which were well known to the
ancients, we have still to name the grei/ dormouse^ which was
highly esteemed among the Romans. This animal was with
them an object of particular care ; and they fed it with much
attention, that it might be presented at the tables of the great.
It is well known how far the Romans carried this sort of luxury.
It was for its indulgence that, after the introduction of the parks
we have above alluded to, Lucius Strabo introduced aviaries,
and Lucinius Murena fish-ponds. In their grand repasts, such
was their sensuality, that they had dishes of the brains of os-
triches, the tongues of the flamingo, the grouse of Phrygia, the
cranes of Milos, and the pheasants of Colchis. Hence too it
was that the gourmand Hortensius constructed fish-ponds of
salt water, in which he fattened the most delicate fish, such as
soles, whitings, lampreys, gold and silver fishes fDorades), and
the shell-fish of the ocean. Other ponds intended for trouts,
pike, and salmon, were supplied with fresh water.

The luxury and ingenuity of this kind which was exercised
by the ancients is great indeed ; and excites our astonishment
at the number of fish they were accustomed to feed in their fish-
ponds. The quantity was so great that, according to Pliny,
Caesar borrowed from Irrius no fewer than six thousand lam-
preys for a feast which he gave to the Roman people. The
number which Irrius lent to Caesar was, according to Varro, not
so great as that specified by Pliny, but by the smallest calcula-
tion it would amount to two thousand. Even this number is so
prodigious, that it enables us to form an estimate of the height

On Animals depicted on Antique Monuments, 283

this species t)f luxury had reached, among all those whose object
it was to purchase minions, or to procure friends.

The luxury which led the Romans to collect so many fish in
their ponds, directed them also to assemble an immense number
of different birds in their yards and aviaries. These aviaries were
at a later period used for the rearing of the peacocks which Alex-
ander had imported from Greece, where they were merely con-
sidered as an object of curiosity on account of the beauty of
their plumage. Hortensius, however, judged differently, and he
ordered several of them to be served up in a splendid banquet,
which he gave to his friends. From this time peacocks multi-
plied prodigiously in Rome; and Ptolemy Phocion was as-
tonished with the number he saw there. This number became
latterly so great, that, if we may believe the ancient authors, An-
tidius Lucero made an income of nearly L. 600 by feeding this
beautiful bird.

Nor should we be surprised at this, at all events, if we were
to judge of it by the immense quantity of figures of this bird
which the ancients have left us. Nor are there fewer of a great
many others, among which it will suffice to specify the different
species of cranes, storks, herons, parrots, titmice ; of eagles,
vultures, hawks, owls, and ducks. Many of these birds are re-
presented with extraordinary perfection. In proof of this, we
particularize the bas-relief copied in the sixth plate of the work
of M. D'Agincourt*, which represents the eagle of Jupiter car-
rying Ganymede away, and being conscious, as the bas-relief
itself expresses it, of what he carried, and for whom (Sentiens
quid rapiat et cut Jerat). In accuracy and truth it is really
admirable, and allied to a sublimity which it is easier to feel than
to define.

As the number of birds here referred to is very considerable,
we will not endeavour at present to describe them, intending to
return to the subject at a subsequent time. And what we have
said on birds, we might state with equal safety of fishes and
reptiles. These, and especially the latter, are usually very ac-
curately represented ; and to be known, they only require con^
tinued attention, and a sufficient number of objects of compari-

• Recueil de Fragmens de Sculpture en terre cuite. Par S. d'Agincourt.
Paris, 1814.

284 On Animals depicted on Antique Monuments,

son. It is the same also with certain insects, for it would be a
mistake to suppose that the ancients had confined themselves to
supply representations of a few beetles (principally the Ateu-
chus sacer et impius), to which they had devoted particular
attention on account of their utility. On the contrary, their
attention was equally directed to a great variety of kinds, and
to nearly all the orders. So is it with the Crustaceae. The an-
cient mosaics, as well as the paintings found in Pompeii and
Herculaneum, include a great number, as we shall prove at
another time.

This review will assuredly be sufficient to prove with what
minute attention the ancients studied the various productions
of nature, inasmuch as they have left us such faithful repre-
sentations of them. They appear, however, to have neglected
some of them ; and among these we may chiefly mention shells
and their inhabitants. In fact, with the exception of the fretted
heliiv and the buccinum {Triton nodiferum), which they have
often applied to the mouth of their tritons and naiades, and other
sea divinities, shells are but rarely represented upon the antiques.
The number of varieties is very inconsiderable, especially when
compared with the Articulata, which appear to have attracted
the attention of their artists nearly as much as the vertebral ani-
mals of the most complicated organization. Before bringing
these observations to a close, we cannot resist the temptation of
alluding to the beautiful cameo, engraved in the fourth volume
of La Galerie de Florence, in which we observe a triton blow-
ing the shell. The head and breast are those of a man, whilst
the feet are those of one of the palmipede birds, and the rest of
the body corresponds to that of a fish. Every thing in this ca-
meo indicates the lot of this divinity, who, like certain birds,
palmipede and fishy, was to dwell upon the waters of the ocean.

These details demonstrate that the real beings depicted upon
antique monuments, are thus as numerous as they are accurate ;
that is to say, that each maintains its general characters and dis-
tinctive traits. If it were necessary to subjoin additional proofs
to a fact which no one, we hope, will dispute, our attention
might be directed to the crocodiles of the Nile, the first five
living specimens of which were exhibited to the Romans by
Emilius Scaurus. Let the sculpture of these animals be ex-

On the Seiches of the Lake of' Geneva^ 285

amined, and it will be found, that, like those which are discovered
from time to time in the catacombs of Egypt, they represent,
point for point, the crocodiles which still inhabit the Nile, that
river of high and ancient renown. Before that beautiful monu-
ment, the naturalist and the antiquary must stand astonished,
and render homage to the genius of the ancients, which led
them to throw as much sublimity as accuracy into their works.

On the Seiches of the Lake of Geneva. *

The term Seiches is an appellation which is given in the
neighbourhood to certain sudden elevations and depressions of
the surface, to which the water of the Lake of Geneva is subject.
The phenomenon itself has been long and generally known,
whilst no satisfactory explanation, nor even any accurate account
of the singular circumstance, is to be found in the works that
allude to it. Persuaded that further inquiry was desirable.
Professor Vaucher of Geneva undertook the investigation ; and
in the years 1803 and 1804? read to the Societe de Physique of
that city the result of his labours. Much general attention to
this interesting paper was not excited at the moment ; and we
are convinced that a complete publication of the document will
be received with interest. We shall here then supply as much
as our space admits, referring for the more minute details to the
memoir itself. (Memoires de la Societe de Physique et d'His-
toire Naturelle de Geneve, t. iv. part 1.)

' The waters of the Lake of Geneva, as well as those of all
the other lakes that are formed by the rivers which derive their
sources from the higher Alps, are subject to a variation, the
extreme limits of which usually correspond with the months of
August and February, the times of the greatest heat and greatest
cold of the climate.

But independent at' this regular and annual increase, the
waters of the lake are also exposed to sudden rises and falls, viz.
the Seiches,

This phenomenon, which is well known to all those who
dwell on the borders of the lake towards its western extremity,

• From the Bibliotheque Universelle.
VOL. XVII. NO. XXXTV. OCTOBEU 1834. U

286 On the Seklies of the Lake of Geneva.

where it is chiefly remarkable, at an early period excited the
attention of the naturalists of Geneva. About the commence-
ment of the eighteenth century, Fatio de Duilliers, a mathema-
tician and accurate observer, described it in a memoir which was
inserted in the second volume of Spon's History of Geneva, and
was entitled Remarqiies sur VHisloire Naturelle des Environs du
Lac. Shortly after. Professor Jallabert alluded to it in the Me-
moires de VAcademie des Sciences, Finally, M. Serre in the
Journal des Savans, Professor Bertrand in an academic disser-
tation which has not been published, and M* de Saussure in the
fifth volume of his Voyages aucc Alps^ have successively alluded
to it.

Three of these observers have attempted to furnish an expla-
nation. The first is Fatio de Duilliers, who imagines that strong
breezes of wind driving the waters towards the town of Geneva,
there more or less alter their level, which they do not at
once resume, but only after many oscillations. Jallabert having
remarked that the hypothesis of Fatio could not explain those
Seiclies which occurred in calm weather, attributes the pheno-
menon to sudden rises of the river Arve, retarding the course of
the Rhone, and consequently forcing it back on the waters of
the lake. Professor Bertrand having refuted both of these sup-
positions, proposes a third, in which he alleges that the Seiches
are produced by electrical clouds, which, attracting the waters of
the lake, produce pulsations, the effect of which is more apparent
where the opposite sides of the lake approach the nearest.

The contrariety of these explanations, which moreover were not
based on any series of observations, only excited (says Vaucher)
my curiosity. In truth, I thought less of discovering the causes
of the phenomenon, than of appreciating the value of the differ-
ent solutions which had been given of it ; whilst, at the same
time, it appeared to me almost a disgrace to our city, and more
especially to our scientific Society, that so singular a circum-
stance should occur every day under our eyes, without an en-
deavour to determine its true cause ; and sometimes I regretted
that Saussure himself, to whom the explanation almost of right
belonged, had never undertaken it.

There is almost an invincible interest in seeking after causes,
which often leads us away almost in spite of ourselves ; and
there was in this singular phenomenon even more than the usual

On the Seiches of the Lake of Geneva. 287

attraction. It might depend on some obscure law of physics or
of atmospheric electricity ; and the discovery of the cause could
not fail to be highly gratifying. I prepared myself then seri-
ously for the work ; and was really in that state of mind which
philosophers recommend'when in the search after truth. I had
not as yet formed any hypothesis upon the cause of the Seiches,
and my only knowledge about them consisted in the descriptions
of authors, and in the recollections of what I had seen of them
in my early youth.

My first observations bear date of the beginning of November
1802. Prepossessed with the idea that ihe Seiches did not occur
but at some short periods of the year, and especially at the time
when the waters were most abundant, I went often to the shores
of the lake, less for the purpose of observing the phenomenon,
than of establishing its absence at this season of the year. But
as on every occasion, instead of being stationary, the waters had
a marked rise and fall, I saw it was essential to give my obser-
vations the necessary accuracy. I shall here remark, before go-
ing further, that the movement of elevation and of depression of
which we are now speaking can never be confounded with that
of the waves. It does not at all exhibit itself by any agita-
tion on the surface of the water ; on the contrary, it is a calm
and simultaneous movement of the entire liquid mass. It alike
takes place when the water is agitated, and when it is calm ; but
to observe it accurately in the first instance, without any fear of
confounding it with the motions of the waves, I directed a por-
tion of the water into a small pool, where its tranquillity could
not by possibility be so affected.

I was not satisfied with observing in general the movements
of the water, whether rising or falling ; I was also solicitous of
marking the duration of their movements, and the laws they fol-
lowed. I therefore provided myself with a French foot-rule,
which I placed perpendicularly in the water, several inches
above its surface, so that I could perceive each minute, the
changes of the level. I thought it equally necessary to note, at
the commencement of every observation, the condition and me-
teorological circumstances of the atmosphere. With regard to
the height of the barometer, I followed the tables of the Biblio-
theque Briiannique, which supplies two diurnal observations.

2u

288 On the Seiches of the Lake of Geneva.

The thermometer and hygrometer were also examined, and their
indications marked.

In the memoir, we are presented with the details of ten ob-
servations made by Mr Vaucher in the manner he has described
above. The first, which was made only at one station, viz. at
Eaiuv-ViveSn on the left bank of the lake, quite close to the town,
went to establish the almost unceasing continuity of the oscilla-
tory movement of the waters of the lake, which never ceased
either to ascend or descend. In the second observation, Mr
Vaucher established a second station at Paquis, upon the right
bank of the lake, opposite to the former. We shall copy the
details of this second observation, that we may exhibit, by a
striking example, the progress of the phenomenon.

It was made SOth of December, commencing at 1 hour 10
minutes.

Barometer was 26.10.8. Thermometer -f 3. Hygrometer 82.

It- is to be observed that the two watches employed were in
exact correspondence ; also, that in the following table the letter
r. stands for rose ; the letter f. stands iovfill, and s. stands for
stationary.

At Paqi

lis. At Eaux-Vives.

At Paquis.

At Eaux-Vives.

At Paquis. At Eaux-Vives.

Min. Lines.

Min. Lines.

Min.

Lines.

Min. Lines.

Min. Lines.

Min. Lines.

11. r.

1

VI £3

31. f.

1

. ... S. 0

51. f. 3

. ... fl 3

12. r.

1

IS"S:aJ

32. r.

2

. ... r. 4

52. f. 6

. ... f. 2

13. r.

2

S-^^

33. r.

6

. ... r. 4

53, f. 7

. ... f. 4

14. s.

0

2 -t:?'S

34. r.

7

. ... r. 7

54. f. 3

. ... f. 3

16. f.

3

§ gs

35. r.

8

. ... r. 6

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The correspondence (Mr Vaucher remarks) betwixt the ob-
servations made in the two experiments struck me as remark-
able ; for, except in a single instance, that, namely, of the 49th
minute, in which the water fell in the one place, whilst it rose

On the Seiches of' the Lake of Geneva. S89

indie other, it habitually ascended and descended at the same
instant on the opposite banks of the lake. Besides, the space
over which it moved in each minute is usually the same, with
some trifling exceptions, owing, it might br, to the observer.
And, finally, the sum-total of the rise and fall at the two stations
is, within a line or two, precisely the same.

It is of importance to remark, that the kind of movement
might itself produce some anomalies ; for, as may be observed,
it was not accomplished in a regular and continuous way, but,
on the contrary, was effected rapidly, and as it were by fits and
starts. In the middle of a rapid rise, there would all at once
be a stop or a slow ascent, and then speedily another rapid rise.
Sometimes there was even a momentary fall in the middle of a
rise, or a rise in the middle of a fall ; and within the one minute
the water might both ascend and descend, one or more lines, so
that, in this case, it was only possible to mark the difference, and
this circumstance is no farther exhibited in the table than by
putting the letters r or y just as the rise or the fall, upon the
whole, predominated.

In the 3d, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 8th observations, still maintain-
ing the station of Eaux-Vives, the author removed the other
one to points more and more distant from the town, sometimes
on the left bank, and sometimes on the right, till he reached
Genthod, at the distance of nearly five miles. He observed,
that as he removed towards the eastern extremity of the lake,
the amount of the seiches was less and less considerable : and
other observations which were subsequently made at Celigny,
ten miles from the town, confirmed the conclusion.

In the 5th observation, he compared with the station of Eaux-
Vives another which was chosen on the Rhone, below the town,
, at the distance of nearly a mile from Eaux-Vives, following the
course of the stream, and he there found the oscillatory move-
ments much less. At the confluence of the Arve and the Rhone,
about a quarter of a mile further down, they could not be at
all detected.

The 9th and lOth observations were more particularly design-
ed to demonstrate the influence of the atmosphere upon the
phenomenon. Unfortunately, however, during the year in which
the observations of Mr Vauchcr were made, the weather was

290 On the Seiches of the Lake of Geneva.

uncommonly dry and free from storms. And as it is well known
that this settled state of the atmosphere is that in which the
seiches are the least considerable, the author had not an oppor-
tunity of observing any in which the oscillation was greater than
a foot.

The exact mode in which this rise and fall takes place merits
observation. It is more of a swelling up than any thing else,
without any agitation or any thing stormy : where the lake
communicates with any neighbouring pool, as for example in the
various ditches which surround the fortifications of the town,
the waters in these latter neither rise nor fall cotemporaneously
with the other, but they flow uniformly from the lake to the
ditch, or from the ditch to the lake, according as the waters of
the latter are rising or falling.

It may be remarked in passing, that a very erroneous idea
would be entertained of the phenomenon, were it conceived to
be owing to any transportation of the water from the large lake
into the contiguous pools ; for, as we have already said, the
water being often in a state of perfect repose during the occur-
rence of the largest seiche, it would be impossible, according to
this explanation, to assign a reason for the many momentary
variations, and especially to conceive how the seiches should not
accurately correspond, and manifest themselves at the same mo-
ment upon the opposite banks; and, finally, how the transport
of so much water could be effected without shewing itself in
some rapid current, flowing from the greater mass of waters in-
to the smaller, or the reverse.

It was not enough, continues Mr Vaucher, for the accom-
plishment of the task, to learn only the principal circumstances
connected with the seiches at the western extremity of the lake ;
it was of importance to ascertain also what happened at the other
extremity, that we might either confute or confirm the various
explanations which had been given of the phenomenon, and
finally to arrive at a discovery of the true cause.

I applied then to an inhabitant of Vevey, who had the kind-
ness, whenever his time permitted him, to make those observa-
tions which I requested. But he was never able to perceive a
sudden variation of the level of the waters of the lake to a
greater extent than a few lines. This result surprised me the

On the Seiches of' the Lake of Geneva. • 291

more, as it was opposed to the opinion of Saussure, who states
that the seiclies are observed at both ends of the lake. Hence
I took two journeys to the eastern extremity, to ascertain the
truth with my own eyes ; and I was never able to perceive va-
riations which extended beyond a Hne or two, even at the time
that corresponding observations in the neighbourhood of Geneva
shewed as many inches. The boatmen, and others who lived
on the shores, of whom I subsequently made inquiry, and who
were quite familiar with the phenomenon, as it is seen at Geneva,
have unanimously affirmed that they never observed any thing
similar, at either Evian, Villeneuve, or Vevey.

It appears then certain, that the seicJies are at their maximum
in the narrowest part of the lake ; that they go on diminishing
to the distance of from three to six miles ; that thence to the
eastern extremity they are not seen to a greater extent than a
few hnes ; that their appearance, which may be at any season of
the year, is never more marked than during great atmospherical
vicissitudes, and that ihey almost disappear when the barometer
is high, when the north-east wind blows, and when the clouds
are uniformly spread over the sky.

When I felt I had thus accomplished all that could be done
on the Lake of Geneva, I then thought of examining, with the
same object, the other lakes of Switzerland. I began with Zu-
rich. It was sufficiently large, and also, like Geneva, narrow at
one of its extremities. I had, moreover, in that Canton, a friend
who was as intelligent as obliging, to whom I could apply for
assistance. It was only, however, at my urgent solicitation that
he would comply with my request ; for he had previously inter-
rogated so many intelligent persons in the district, and their an-
swers were so uniform, that he was persuaded there was no such
occurrence on Lake Zurich.

It happened, however, that when he was at one time examin-
ing, at the beginning of January, the time at which the margin
of the lake was frozen, he was astonished to see that the water
was alternately rising and falhng. At this time he witnessed
air-bubbles issuing from, and air rushing underneath, the ice.
Being, after this time, satisfied of the existence of the pheno-
menon, he began to examine it with much care and interest,
and the following is the result of his researches : — The move-

On the Seiches ()fthe Lake of Geneva.

ment of the waters, which is denominated Stichc, is much less
considerable in the Lake of Zurich than in the Lake of Geneva.
It often happens that it cannot be perceived at all ; but, in the
months of February and March of 1803, it was often sensible,
though its maximum did not reach much above half an inch.
It was more considerable near the town than elsewhere, whilst
it could also be observed at a great distance. It was always
most considerable in summer, and more at the commencement
of a storm than in calm and serene weather. Under the former
circumstances, the movement has been observed to the extent of
eighteen lines, and the rises and falls succeeded each other ra-
pidly, and in an irregular manner.

As the Lake Annecy is the nearest of all those in the neigh-
bourhood of Geneva, I wished also to examine it, and I visited
its banks on the morning of Sunday, May 8. 1 804. The wea-
ther, which had been changeable and rainy the previous even-
ing, had become beautiful and very mild. The barometer was
at 26.10.8.; the thermometer in the shade -f 12; the wind was
at south-east ; the sun was shining at intervals, and there was a
perfect calm. This lovely lake, about ten miles by three, is
embosomed in lofty mountains, which are not, however, covered
with perpetual snows : it is supplied by the waters of a multitude
of little torrents which descend from the neighbouring heights ;
and consequently it has not a period of regular annual increase
and decrease, like the greater number of the Swiss lakes. It,
however, rises and falls irregularly many times a-year, accord-
ing as the season is wet or dry.' The river which issues from it
is but small, and has scarcely any current at its origin. It is
called The Fiers, and falls into the Rhon^, a little above Scissel.

At the time of my arrival, at half-past seven in the morning,
I could perceive no appearance of the seiche upon its banks. I
then walked a couple of miles from the town, where I watched
for it a whole hour, without any success. At another station I
selected, somewhat nearer, I perceived the waters to fall two
lines in less than five minutes. Half an hour afterwards, at
the end of the lake, it fell three lines, and had again risen four
and a half at the time I finished my observations. It was then
two oYlock ; the sun was very hot. Two hours afterwards it
began to rain, and continued to do so till I reached Geneva.

On t?ie Seiches of the Lake of Geneva. 293

1 had previously taken the trouble accurately to inquire of
the inhabitants if they were acquainted with the phenomenon of
the seiche, which I had used all pains to explain to them. They
unanimously answered, that the surface-level of the lake never
varied suddenly, but that the waters rose and fell on account of
rain or drought. It is notwithstanding certain, according to the
observations just alluded to, that this lake exhibits them, like
the others that have been noticed. They are undoubtedly less
than those of Geneva, but they also resemble them in that they
take place in the same intervals of time, and that they appear
more conspicuous towards the exit of the river than farther up.

The last lake which, in the year 1803, was examined at my
request, was that of Constance. This lake was of great import-
ance in the question, both on account of its size, and of its nar-
rowing, which gave it a resemblance to Geneva ; and I had
heard, in a casual way, that the seiches had been observed upon
it. I requested Mr Roux-Bordier, a distinguished amateur in
natural history and physics, who was at the time making a jour-
ney in the eastern parts of Switzerland, to have the kindness to
bestow some attention on the subject. This he promised ; and,
on his return, informed me that there were in truth seiches on
the Lake of Constance, and that the Messrs Macaires, respect-
able merchants in the town of Constance, and on the banks of
the lake, would supply me with all the information I could de-
sire. I wrote then, to these gentlemen, and received an ample
and precise answer. ' f

They stated thatlhere were seiches in the Lake of Constance,
but that they were more moderate and less frequent than those
of the Lake of Geneva. They believed that they could only be
seen close to the town, and at a small distance from it, and that
the rise never exceeded from 4 to 8 inches. They thought, too,
tliat their continuance was for a longer period than at Geneva;
but, on this point, they state that they have not made any ac-
curate observation. They also state, that there is a current in
the Lake. Constance, which begins to be perceptible at about
two-thirds of a mile from the town. I have consulted other
people who lived in Constance, and who all remember having
seen seiches there. They could not accurately assign their maxi-
mum, but they must have been to the extent of several inches,

294 On tJie Seiches of the Lake of Geneva.

to be remarked at all. They also say that the lake has a fall,
or marked declivity near the town, and that this declivity has
not hitherto been measured. Mr Escher, the same friend who
had the kindness to make the observations on the Lake of Zu-
rich, also undertook a journey to Stein, where the Rhine, after
being for a time broad, begins to grow narrow, and properly to
form a river ; but there he could discover no seiche, nor could
he learn that it had ever been observed. He only remarked that
the current near to this town was so strong that it was with diffi-
culty a powerful man could maintain himself erect, and not be
carried down the stream.

In the year 1803 I also procured some friends to make obser-
vations on the Lake of Neuchatel. The individuals to whom I
applied had the prejudices to which I have already alluded;
they imagined that the seiches were peculiar to the Lake of
Geneva ; but after having examined attentively, and under the
circumstances which I recommended, they also found variations
quite appreciable in the middle of the lake, and more consider-
able as they approached the spot where the waters discharge
themselves by the Theilla into the Lake of Bienne.

Finally, with the same object in view, in July 1804, I took
a journey to Italian Switzerland. I had especial hopes that the
lake, whence issues the Tessin, and which is nearly of the same
shape as that of Geneva, would present the same phenomena,
viz. the seiches, and more considerable in proportion as I ap-
proximated towards its southern extremity. Accordingly^ I
clearly perceived at Baveno, near to the islets Borromee, a varia-
tion of two or three lines ; but when I had descended as far as
Sesto, the waters were so strongly agitated, that I could not
make any observation ; and the persons of whom I inquired,
whether owing to the absence of the occurrence, or rather to their
not understanding me (for they did not know French better than
I spoke the Italian), seemed to have no knowledge of the phe-
nomenon. At a later period, however, I renewed my endea-
vours at Sesto, at the spot where the Tessin leaves the lake, and
I then noticed very marked variations. I may, in general teilns,
make the same remarks concerning the lake of Lucerne, near to
the Taun, as satisfactory testimony ha^ been supplied on the
point, by intelligent travellers.

On the Seiches of the Lake of Geneva, 295

On the Lake of Como also, I had the misfortune of being
disappointed. The lake was tempestuous, and, accordingly, I
could not make any investigation. It was otherwise at Lugaoo,
where 1 Jiad a favourable opportunity of observation in August
1804. The weather was hot, and a storm threatened, and I saw
four or five times, during the interval of two hours, the waters
rise several lines, and at one time in particular, at least five lines.
From all this I thought myself authorised to conclude, that the
phenomenon of the seiches takes place upon all lakes whatever ;
and if it be more remarkable on the Lake of Geneva than on
others, that this was owing to the cause which produced it, and
which exists every where, though not exercising all its power ex-
cept on the surface of the Lake of Geneva.

Here terminates the recital of the principal observations which
were made by Mr Vaucher, during the interval of two years,
upon the seiches of the Lake of Geneva, chiefly at its western
extremity, and also of those occurring on th^ lakes of Zurich,
Annecy, Constance, &c. &c. In a second part of his memoir, the
author proceeds to the conclusions which may be deduced from
his observations, and to the investigation of the cause of the phe-
nomenon.

He remarks. From all the facts which I have adduced, and
from others of which I have said nothing, I think I am entitled
to conclude in a general way,

1*^, That there are seiches more or less considerable upon all
lakes ; and regarding those on which they have not hitherto been
observed, I should conceive that this was owing to their not
having been sufficiently examined.

2d, That these seiches may take place at all seasons of the
year, and indifferently at all hours of the day, but that they are
in general most frequent in spring and autumn.

3d, That nothing appeared to exert a greater influence upon
the phenomenon than the state of the atmosphere, so that the
steadier the weather the less remarkable the seiches, and the more
unsettled the weather the more striking the seiches. All my ob-
servations, moreover, proved, that the movement was feeble, if
it at all existed, when the wind was from the north, or when the
weather was very steadily excellent, or when there was an uni*

296 Oil the Seiches of the Lake q/' Geneva*

versal mist, or when rain or snow were falling widely ; whilst,
on the contrary, the seiche was always considerable when the at-
mosphere was studded with formidable clouds, or when the
weather, otherwise serene, just preceded a storm, and when the
barometer was falling.

Asth, That, all other things being equal, the seiches are more
considerable in the Lake of Geneva in proportion as we approach
its dehouchement into the Rhone ; that they are most of all consi-
derable at this part, and from this spot decrease to the confluence
of the Rhone with the Arve, where they nearly wholly disappear.
That the same is true in proceeding towards the other extre-
mity of the lake, as far as Coppet, where they occur to the ex-
tent of only an inch or two, and as far even as Rolle, where they
are still less, but yet nowhere they do entirely disappear.

5thy That the eastern extremity of the Lake of Geneva does
not exhibit seiches more remarkable than other lakes, though the
opposite opinion seems established in the works of Saussure.

Qth, That although the seiches are more frequent in spring
and autumn than at other seasons, yet they are to a greater ex-
tent in summer, and especially towards the end of that season.
The largest that have been ever observed have always occurred
in the months of July and August, or at the beginning of Sep-
tember.

T^A, That the minimum of seiches has no limit, but that their
maximum never exceeds five feet. Amongst the most consider-
able are the four particularized by Fatio de Duilliers in his
Mk-nwire sur VHistoire Naturelle de Geneve, inserted at the end
of Spon's History of Geneva, and those which Messrs Serre and
De Saussure observed together on the 3d of August 1763.

Hth, Finally, that the duration of the seiche is very variable,
its higher limit seldom exceeding twenty or twenty-five minutes,
usually much less, whilst its lower is nothing.

And now to explain these different particular circumstances of
the phenomenon : —

1*^, There must be a cause whioh is capable of disturbing the
level of the surface of lakes which may act at all times, and with
different degrees of intensity, whose influence increases with
atmospherical variations, and especially at the approach of
storms.

Qn the Seiches of the Lake of' Geneva. 297

^l. This cause, which appears to be always acting, must be
rendered more powerful by local circumstances, which exist in a
remarkable degree on the Lake of Geneva, and in such a way
as to produce its maximum of effect at the neighbourhood of the
town, or the exit of the Rhone ; and that from that spot it con-
tinually diminishes, on the one side lo the confluence of the Arve
and the Rhone, and on the other to the widest expanse of the
lake, where it does not extend beyond a few lines.

It is concerning the nature of this cause, as we believe, that
those naturalists have deceived themselves, who have attempted
to give explanation of the phenomenon ; and who, with a paucity
of observations, or rather without any accurate observations at
all, have assigned causes for the seiches which could never have
at all produced them. I do not here allude to the hypothesis
of Jallabert, who attributed them to the melting of the snows,
nor to that of Fatio, who imagined that a breeze of wind, act-
ing obliquely or vertically upon the surface of the waters at some
distance on the lake, thus retarded their flow ; but I allude more
particularly to the opinion of M. Bertrand, who thought that
the seiches were produced by certain electrical clouds, attract-
ing and repelling the waters, and alternately producing those
risings and fallings which constitute the phenomenon. But in-
dependent of the fact, that it is difficult to understand how the
power of an electrical cloud could attract or repel a mass of
water, it must be conceded, that if this were the true explana-
tion, there would never be seiches when the sky was not charged
with clouds, nor >vould there be any in winter or autumn ; nor
would they be so peculiar as they are on the lake of Geneva.
Besides, the water which was thus attracted and repelled by the
clouds, instead of remaining, as it often does, in a state of quies-
cence on the surface of the lake, would, on the contrary, be agi-
tated and repelled with violence : suppositions, these, which are
wholly at variance with the observations which we have detailed.
I do not deny that, in certain circumstances, electricity may pro-
duce some effects somewhat similar ; that electrical water-spouts,
for example, which are observed on the sea, and sometimes al-
so on the lake of Geneva, neither agitate its surface, nor elevate
and abase its waters; but the method in which these water-
spouts act, so far at least as it is known, has no resemblance to

298 On the Seiches of the Lake of Geneva.

the gentle and periGdic movement of the seiches ; and it assured-
ly would not be correct reasoning to deny the action of electri-
city, in explanation of the seiches which occur during serene
weather, and then to admit this same cause in explanation of
those exhibitions of them which are observed when clouds are
scattered over the skies.

In reflecting upon the different agents which might produce
the seiches, according as we have described them, I have been
able to discover only one which explains their different appear-
ances in a satisfactory manner, and this is the agency of the at-
mosphere. Theory and observation alike agree in teaching us,
that many causes with which we are acquainted, and others of
which we are ignorant, contribute to change, almost continually,
the weight of the different columns which compose it. Let us
only suppose that clouds are unequally spread over the skies, and
that some of these intercept the solar rays from the lake, it will
result from this simple supposition, that there will be irregular
refrigeration among the different columns, and consequently an
inequality of density, so that they will press unequally upon the
surface of the lake ; but the liquid thus unequally pressed, and
ever having a tendency to maintain its equilibrium, will fall in
one place, and rise in another ; there will thus be alternating ris-
ings and fallings, which in all accuracy being effected on the
water of the lake, independent of all agitation of the air, can
thus be scarcely ever on an exact level. And if, instead of sup-
posing a simple refrigeration occasioned by the interception of
the solar rays, we suppose such a state of the atmosphere that it
rains at one place whilst it is fair at another ; and if, moreover,
we recognise the sudden and local variations which so often hap-
pen in the air at the approach of storms, and which are so vio-
lent that they may produce hail in the higher regions of the at-
mosphere, we may easily conceive how the waters of the lake
should be so unequally pressed upon, as to rise and fall.

These suppositions are far from being gratuitous. Saussure,
in his Hygrometrie, and principally in the chapter entitled Des
Variations du Barometre, after having discussed the causes of
general variations, then proceeds to more particular ones ; and
he mentions, that whenever a partial shower refreshes the air, it
is found that, on the spot where it fell, the barometer imme-

On the Seiches of the Lake of Geneva. 299

diatcly rises half a line or even a line, without the existence of
any general cause to produce this rise ; and according to his cal-
culation (Essai IV. chap. iii. p. 476), he finds that the simple
refrigeration of three degrees, in the whole extent of a column
of air, suffices to explain a variation of 0.85 of a line in the ba-
rometer.

But independent of these greater local variations, which occur
but seldom, there must exist lesser ones every moment, so to
speak, in the various regions of the atmosphere. And, in truth,
it is but seldom that we can suppose that the different columns
of which it is composed can have exactly the same temperature;
and whenever there is this variation, it is likewise impossible to
suppose that the liquid upon which they rest, shall be accurate-
ly on a level.

Observation comes in here in support of reasoning ; for Mr
Sencbier, to whom we are indebted for so many valuable works,
and who has bestowed a great deal of attention upon every thing
which affects the variations of the thermometer, has often as-
sured me, that when he observed this instrument, at ten minute
intervals, it seldom happened that he found the mercury at ex-
actly the same height, and it almost continually was varying tlie
sixteenth of a line and more. He had the kindness to observe
this instrument at the time that I was marking the variations on
the lake. I may also mention, that whensoever, in a variable
atmosphere, I attentively observed a very admirable barometer
which Mr Jurine had the kindness to lend me, I have scarcely
ever failed to discover variations as considerable as those speci-
fied above.

With the intention of carrying conviction on this point as far
as possible, I frequently transported this barometer to the shores
of the lake, to certify that its variations corresponded with
those on the surface of the water ; but a little reflection soon
convinced me that this experiment was not at all calculated to
supply the result I wished to obtain. In truth, when the water
was rising and falling at one spot, it was impossible to ascertain
whether the change was effected in virtue of the variation of that
column of the atmosphere which was perpendicular to it, or of
some of the neighbouring strata. Besides, there was nothing to
prevent the column which supported the barometer undergoing
a change, which change would not manifest itself on the surface

300 On the Seiches of the Lake of Geneva.

of the water which supported it ; and finally, the change might
even in certain cases be the very contrary to that which the va-
riation of the mercury in the same place, and at the same mo-
ment, might require. In truth, no one can pronounce any thing
upon the possible movements of the water in the spot where the
observations are making, without at the same time knowing the
condition of the neighbouring columns. And even were we to
suppose that many individuals were observing in different places
at the same moment, still their number could never be so multi-
plied as to obtain in this particular precise and accurate informa-
tion. We ought, then, to be satisfied with the knowledge, that
the weight of various columns may vary, and frequently in rea-
lity do vary, and that it is impossible for them so to vary, with-
out disturbing the level of the water ; so that, could we even ac-
count for the occurrence of the seiche from some other cause
than the atmospherical variations, we should still have to explain
how the diflPerent columns of air could vary unequally in weight,
whilst the water on which they reposed did not itself vary in
height.

However, it at one time did happen that I was more for-
tunate in this particular than could have been expected. Dur-
ing the tempestuous weather which brought the month of No-
vember 1803 to its close, and during which the barometer and
the temperature varied nearly equally alike, Sunday the 13th
was of whole time the most remarkable. At three o'clock in
the afternoon of that day there had been lightning, to which
succeeded, in about half an hour, rain, accompanied with tre-
mendous wind. I happened to be at Eaux-Vives at the moment,
and I observed one of the most remarkable seiches which I have
ever seen ; the water gradually lowered itself about a foot, and
it was still descending when I left the spot. This happened
exactly at the same time that certain of my friends had been ob-
serving the barometer, and who had previously observed it to
vary considerably during the course of the day : at this precise
time they saw it descend suddenly almost a line, and continue
its oscillations for a considerable time afterwards.

The local and instantaneous variations of the barometer be-
ing, under ordinary circumstances, to the extent of about j^
of a line, and reaching to a line, or even more, at the approach

On the Seiches of the Lake of Geneva. 301

of a storm ; in explaining by their means the phenomena of
seiches, we must consider the waters of lakes as forming a syphon
with an infinite number of branches, some one of which com-
municates with all the others. We must also suppose that this
central branch, communicating with all the others, shall be for the
moment charged with a column of air, the weight of which va-
ries. If, then, this column experiences an augmentation of weight
or of tension, which corresponds to a line of mercury, and con-
sequently to fourteen lines of water, the subjacent water will have
a tendency to fall fourteen lines ; and this quantity which it will
fall in the central branch of the syphon, will be the measure of
the extent it will rise in the other branches which have not been
subjected to any change of pressure, that so the equilibrium may
be maintained.

If, at the same time that there is an augmentation of pres-
sure on one column, there is also a diminution of pressure
on other columns, so that the mercury falls in one place, whilst
it rises in another, it is clear that in all these cases, and in
others of the same kind which may easily be imagined, the ef-
fects would be compounded and increased ; whilst at the same
time they would be dimthished or even destroyed when the
neighbouring columns are also augmented in weight, a circum-
stance which occurs whenever, in the middle of a regular ascen-
sion, the water becomes stationary or even descends.

These barometrical variations are sufficient to account for the
differences which are observed in the level of the most part of
lakes. True it is, it is usually imagined that these lakes do
not present the appearance ; and this arises from the circum-
stance, that in fact they are not very apparent. Thus it has
always been supposed, that the lakes of Zurich, Annecy, and
Neufchatel, and many others, never exhibited them ; but I have
shewn, that, with attentive observation, there might be detected
differences of the level of the surface, which, in ordinary cir-
cumstances, extended to two or three lines, and which, at the
approach of storms, might extend beyond an inch.

Upon the whole, then, it is difficult not to agree with M.
Vaucher ; and to perceive, in the ordinary and continued varia-
tions of the atmospherical pressure, the cause of the oscillations,
not less continual, which affect, in different degrees, the waters of

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIV.— OCTOBER 1834. X

302 On the Seklies of' tlie Lake of Geneva.

many of the Swiss lakes, and more remarkably that of Geneva.
But it still remains to explain how this cause should f)roduce
at the western extremity of the lake just named, effects which
are so much greater in their extent than those which are ob-
served in the others ; and it is of this fact, that M. Vaucher en-
deavours to give an explanation in the last part of his memoirs.

M. Vaucher remarks, that if we cast our eyes upon the map
of Switzerland, we shall find that, with the exception of the
Lake of Constance, the Lake of Geneva is that in which the nar-
rowing is most considerable at its extremity. Its width at
Thun is nearly eight times as much as it is at Eaux-Vives,
and it insensibly gets narrower all the way from Nyon to Gene-
va. Independent of this narrowing, it presents another phe-
nomenon which, according to the author, does not occur in any
of the others, at least to the same extent ; it is, that those wa-
ters at the place where they begin to acquire the movement by
whicli they escape, have already a sensible declivity, and this
at about the distance of three miles: According to some ob-
servations which are contained in the memoir already quoted of
M. Fatio de Duillier, and after a new measurement of the
levels executed by himself, M. Vaucher concludes, that the de-
clivity of the lake from Genthod to Geneva, being three miles of
distance, is when the waters are low about a foot ; that it is
more than double of this in the month of June ; and that it
attains its maximum in the month of August, when it may
extend to about four feet, when at its usual high level, or at all
events, on extraordinary occasions.

Moreover, continues M. Vaucher, so great a declivity is not to
be found in any other lake with which I am acquainted ; that of
Annecy has not even a sensible current where the river runs out
from it ; that of Zurich is under the same circumstances, and
that of Geneva itself, at its other extremity, has scarcely any
declivity ; for the Rhone, at its entrance, does not, on its cur-
rent, carry the boats farther than three hundred yards. The
only lake which seems to be an exception is that of Constance,
concerning which M. Macuaire informed me that the declivity
is apparent, and that it commenced about two-thirds of a mile
above the town of the same name. But this fall, which has
never, I believe, been n>easured, and which I have witnessed

On'jtk^:^eich^s bf Ou Lake of' Geneva. 905

when the waters, ^^el^e at their height, is far betieath what oc-
curs in thfl Lake uf Geneva. Another circumBtance. which is
peculiar to this) Jake is, that at both the right and left sides of
the current which issues fromit^ there ate -very icon sideraible; ex-
panses, !^)f water, which have absolut^ely nti mbvement whatever.
Suchj'-on ihq side of Faguis, ist ^he 'ditch vvhidi: goes to form
the Fosse- Vert, and those which extend to the) iadjaioent. fortifica-
tions; and On the side of Eaux-Vives particulacly, such is the
whole of the margin of the shore to a considerable distance from
the.town ; such is the HarboUr of La Eurterie, and the Wooden
Harbour, and such the extensive ditches of the fortifications
which surround the town on that side. I do not believe that
any of the lakes of Switzerland, or of the higher or lower parts
of Italy, presents, at the issuing of its waters^. any thing of a si-
milar configuration. :'.: ■■'■: ^■•; h
• Andi finally, to come to an explanation of the phenomenon as
it occurs at the extremity of the lake, I suppose that, in the cir-
cumstances of the atmosphere, which I have already pointed
out when rain threatens, or considerable/ barometrical changes
rapidly succeed each other, tlie waters of the lake, at some dis-
tance from the town, are depressed by a column of air which
has become heavier than those around it : at the same time, this
presatire raises the 'level of: the neighbouring waters, which it
may raise, we shall say, to two inches. But if these waters, in-
stead of being at the horizontal level, on the contrary, consist of
thbsewhich form the rapid fall of the stream, they will then be
subjected to two forces, viz. that of the fall, which is carrying
them along, and tliat of the atmospheric column which impels
them from their level. Under these circumstances, they will
follow the diagonal of the two forces, and in a direction which
it is not difficult to determine; and they will thus be more or
less elevated 5n; a considerable extent of the current. But they
caiinot, bd thus elevated, without the current being at the
same time diminisl^d, and the waters retarded in their course,
and of course augmented in quantity. And as the waters
of the • current are in equilibrium with the stiller waters that
surround them, they will swell them up, not truly by run-
ning over them, but by forming on all sides interior cur-

X 2

304 Chi the Seiches of the Lake of Geneva.

rents, such as M. Jurine formerly mentioned he had seen at the
Fosse- Vert, and such as every one may observe at all times un-
der the same circumstances. These flows will continue so long
as the pressure shall subsist with all its weight ; they will go so
far as to elevate the level of these still waters to the extent of
two feet and a half in the combination of circumstances that is
most favourable for their operation ; and then the pressure di-
minishing more or less rapidly, the swells moving along in some
other direction, it will speedily happen, that the waters may fall
as far as they before rose, if, at the same time, the amospheric
columns diminish in weight as much as previously they had in-
creased.

This explanation accounts for all the appearances which the
seiches exhibit. Here we perceive why they are at their maximum
at the place where the current is the strongest, and are provided
with reservoirs to receive their superabundant waters; — that
they diminish in intensity in proportion as the declivity is less
considerable, and that at Genthod, where there is scarcely any
fall, the seiche also is scarcely sensible. It may, moreover, be re-
marked, that those of the ditches that are fed by the waters of ,
the Rhone, below the bridges, such as Porte-Neuve, partake
of the phenomena of the seiche in the same way as the others.

From this explanation we also learn, how the seiches are much
more considerable in the Lake of Geneva than they are in others
which have not the same configuration at their lower extremity ;
and why in these different lakes, they are more remarkable in
proportion as the waters have a swifter current at their exit, and
have in their neighbourhood a greater number of reservoirs
which can receive their superabundance.

i When the atmospheric columns press unequally upon rivers,
and running waters of a considerable expanse, they do not pro-
duce seiches, at least any that can be perceived ; but they, at
the same time, retard or accelerate their course, according as the
waters are more or less pressed upon ; and they also produce,
without doubt, those refluxes, or counter currents, which can-
not often, as I believe, be explained on any other principle
And whenever the waters of a river, without any other probable
cause, are elevated or fall, we mav without hesitation conclude

On the Seiches of the Lake of Geneva. 305

that they are subjected to unequal pressures from different atmo-
spheric strata.

Here, then, I finish the explanation of the singular pheno-
menon of the seiches. Subsequent observations will either de-
stroy, confirm, or perhaps modify, the causes which I have as-
signed for them ; but the more I reflect upon them, the more
do I find it difficult to conceive any others which can furnish
so satisfactory a solution of the different appearances which they
present. I should certainly have wished to have examined with
greater care the several lakes of higher Italy, as also Lucerne and
Constance, which so much resemble Geneva ; and I would ven-
ture to solicit travellers, who may have favourable opportuni-
ties, to examine the subject, and so to correct and to confirm the
solution which I have ventured to propose.

Observations on the Origin of MonMiness. By M. Dutrochet,
Member of the Institute.

Water, which holds organic substances in solution, very fre-
quently developes living beings, viz. the infusores, which be-
long sometimes to the animal and sometimes to the vegetable
kingdoms. These substances, which have been regarded by
certain naturalists as the product of spontaneous generation,
ought to be considered, with greater propriety, as owing their
appearance to the development of certain invisible germs which
are scattered throughout nature with profusion, and which only
require favouring conditions to assume their being, and to de-
velope themselves. We may place among the vegetable in-
fusores that kind of white byssits which is composed of minute
branching threads, sometimes articulated, and sometimes not,
which frequently exhibits itself in water, holding various or-
ganic substances in solution. It is to this vegetable production
that the observations made by M. Amici refer, and which are
expounded in his memoir entitled Observations stir rjccroisse-
ment des Vegetaux* M. Amici having observed, in those little
wounds by which the vine, in spring-time, pours out an abundant
sap, a kind of yellowish byssus, examined this substance with

• Annales des Sciences Nalurelles, 1. xxi, p. 92.

306 M. Dulrocliet on ihe Origin of Mouldiness.

the microscope, and found it composed of branching threads and
articulations. He considered it as a kind of conferva. Anxious
to discover what might be the origin o^ this 'vegetable produc-
tidDj' he observed that it appeared in the «ap of the? vih6 Avheri
collected \in vessels, and that in then^ it developed 'itself with
rapidity* jHe.was thus led to consider this vegetable produc-
tion a^ owing it^ origin to a tendency which the sap of the vine
had t6 become organized, consequently as being the result of a
spontaneous generation. Starting with this supposition, M.
Amici is led to allow that it is by means of this tendency to spon-
taneous organization, that in general the sap produces wood, the
increase of which it is continually effecting. Passing by this hy-
pothesis, I wish to discover the class, and the conditions in which
this kind of vegetable filament exhibits itself, and of which M.
Amici only discovered a single variety. For the most part they
present themselves under the appearance of a white or rather
transparent kitid of felt, composed of 'a number of branching
filaments of the minutest delicacy ; they never exhibit the green
colour peculiar to the confervas and to the vaucheriae. Besides,
these vegetable filaments which we are now considering, do not
require the influence of the light that they may live and thrive;
th^y grow as' wdl in the dark as in the light. They are seen to
grow in water containing certain organic matters. I have seen,
as M. Amici did^ their development in the sap of the vine, also in
guiio water ; but they especially appear in abundance in water
in which a little isinglass is dissolved. In water, which holds
ifi solution a small <5uantity of the gelatine of strong glue, they do
not appear so frequently ; and when the water holds in solution
a little albumen from the egg^ they do not appear at all. lam
quite satisfied of this last fact from the many experiments which
I have made. And this fact will presently be of use when in-
vestigating the conditions under the dominion of which these in-
fusores vegetables appear. We must first, however, determine
their nature.

The vegetable filaments which we are here considering, ex-
hibit themselves, as I have just said, under the appearance of a
kind of felt, composed of branching threads. It is especially at
the bottom of the vessel, which contains the liquid in which they
appear, that they accumulate ^w^jilst we very frequently observe

M. Dutrochet ati the Origin of Mouldiness. 307

them also appear adhering to the sides of the glasses containing
the liquid in which they grow. Soon after their first appearance,
we observe their filaments radiating as from a common centre ;
at a later period, their ramifications cross and intersect each
other, and in every sense form a sort of felt. When the liquid
in which these infusores vegetables grow ha& but little depth,
and wh^n -consequently they rapidly attain to the surface of the
liquid, we perceive they are soon covered in the free air, with a
kind of white effervescence, which, examined in the microscope,
is found to be entirely composed of mould of the minutest di-
mensions, but composed of different varieties.

It was important to know if these moulds were parasite ve-
getables, accidentally implanted upon the filamentous infusores
vegetables which filled the water, and occupied its surface ; or
whether these same moulds were the production, in the air, of
these aquatic vegetables. To satisfy myself on this point, I
put small portions of these aquatic vegetables into small me-
nisca, that is to say, small glasses of the same shape as watch
glasses, not above four or six lines in diameter, and very flat.
Seizing one of the small menisca with common pincers, 1 plunged
it into the water which contained in suspension the small portions
of the filamentous vegetables above alluded to, and by this means
I got hold of them without in any degree inj uring them ; they
remained in the meniscus with the very small quantity of water
which it could contain. I then placed this meniscus under a
small glass bell, shut close by water, above which the meniscus
was elevated, by being placed on a small support. The fila-
mentous vegetable thus placed on the surface of the water, and
in a very humid atmosphere, was constantly covered with mould,
at the end of three or four days ; and it thus became easy for
me to transport them under the microscope without injuring
them.

fi- In this manner 1 have completely satisfied myself that mouldi-
ness is the growth in air of the aquatic filamentous vegetables,
which we are now considering. I have seen, in the most distinct
way, the aerial filaments of the mould springing from the stalks
of the aquatic filamentous vegetable ; sometimes by a production
from the side, and sometimes by the sprouting out of the extre-
mity of one of these aquatic filaments, which, in coming into the

308 M. Dutrochet on the Origin of Mouldvness.

air, become, by that alone, a filament of mould, and then as-
sumed an opacity which it had not so long as it continued an
aquatic filament. It is thus demonstrated that the aquatic fila-
mentous vegetables, now under review, are the thallus growth-
stalks of mouldiness. These thalluses, when they are entirely
under the water, grow indefinitely in this state. Their deve-
lopment is commonly radiated towards the commencement, but
frequently it advances in a way that is wholly irregular, so that
it truly produces a kind of felt, by the crossings of the filaments.
These filaments are sometimes provided with articulations, but
more frequently they have none.

The moulds which I have seen produced from the aquatic
thallus now under consideration, have all appeared to me to be-
long to the genera described by Persoon under the names of
Monilia and of Botrytis. I have observed that all the thallus,
whose filaments have joints like the Confervae, give origin to the
monilia, whose aerial filaments are also furnished with articula-
tions. It is, without doubt, to a thallus of this kind that the
observation of M. Amici refers, concerning the alleged conferva
which he saw grow in the sap of the vine. All the monilia,
however, are not thalluses with jointed filaments ; when the
filaments of these monilian thalluses are destitute of joints, the
aerial filaments of these microscopic vegetables are equally des-
titute of them. As to the filaments of the Botrytis thallus, they
are never articulated.

But one important question still remains for solution ; viz.
What are the qualities which a liquid must possess, ere it will
develope the thallus of mould ?* I have previously remarked,
that water holding a small quantity of albumen in solution never
produces these thalluses. From this fact I started, to discover
what chemical qualities it was necessary to give to this same
liquid, to make it produce the thallus of mouldiness. In these
experiments I used only distilled water, that I might be the
more certain of the results. I dissolved a drop of the most
liquid portion of the albumen of a new laid egg in an ounce of

• The term mould is here employed in the sense given to it by Bulliard,
that is to say, in the usual sense. Persoon has divided the genus mould
(A/wcor) of Bulliard into many genera, retaining the name mould to one of
them alone. '*

M. Dutrochet mi the Origin of Mouldiness. 309

distilled water, and put it into a flask. This liquid was pre-
served for a whole year, both exposed to the light and put into
the dark, but it never exhibited the least trace of the thallus of
mould. It did not even develope a single atom o^ greenish mat-
ter. Thus, it has been indisputably demonstrated, that this
albuminous liquid is wholly unfit for the production or the nu-
trition of the vegetable infusores. I then took six flasks, into
each of which I put an ounce of water, mixed with albumen as
above, and to each of them I added one drop of an acid. The
acids employed were the sulphuric, nitric, muriatic, the phos-
phoric, acetic, and oxalic. In less than eight days, the thallus
of mould appeared in the whole six flasks. These thai! uses
were simultaneously produced at the bottom and sides of the
vessels, and were observed to develope themselves in concentric
rays. I then took some of each of these thalluses, and I pro-
ceeded in the way described above, so that I might produce
their aerial moulds, and they all, without exception, produced
monilia of different kinds. ir.

Into separate flasks, containing the same albuminous water,
I put severally equal quantities of caustic potash, and soda, in
the proportion of 0.005 to the weight of the water. In both
the thallus of mould appeared, but it was not till about the end
of three weeks. In the aerial growths of these thalluses I could
only discover Botrytis of various kinds.

It would result from these experiments, that the acids exclu-
sively favour the production of the monilia, whilst the alkalies
conduce only to the production of the botrytis. But these re-
sults are not constant. They are altered by the employment of
other organic substances than albumen. Thus, if to distilled
water there be added a small quantity of aqua potassa, in which
^a little of the fibrin of the blood is dissolved, this liquid gives
origin to thalluses, which produce monilia. I have also seen,
that when phosphoric acid is added to the distilled water of let
tuce, the liquid gives origin to the thalluses of botrytis. In this
last experiment, there was in the water no other organic sub-
stance but that which had passed over with it in the distillation.
I have observed that this distilled water of lettuce, pure and
abundant in itself, deposits in the bottom of the vessels in which
it is contained a while substance, which is entirely composed of

310 M. Dutrochet on the Origin of Mouldiness.

microscopic globules, and which appear to me to be a vegetable
infusorus. But this water never produces the thallus of mould,
and this, because it contains neither acid nor alkali, conditions
which are indispensable, as it would appear, to the production
of these thalluses. But this distilled water of lettuce produces
these thalluses when a little of any acid is added. And when
the distilled waters of plants contain an acid which passes over
with them during the distillation, they never fail to produce and
deposit at the bottom of the vessels which contain them thalluses
of mould. It is thus that I have observed them in the distilled
laurel {Prunus Laurocerasus) water, which contains, as is known,
hydrocyanic acid.

These solutions of organic substances, which produce the
thalluses of mould without any addition of acid or of alkali,
assuredly owe this power to their naturally containing a free acid
or alkali, as also to this, that they have become acescent. This
last alternative is probably the case with the watery solution of
isinglass, which produces in such abundance the thalluses of the
monilia. I have, moreover, found that this solution, in which
these thalluses were developed, did not turn the vegetable blues
to red. But this is no sufficient proof that they did not contain
a free acid in a trifling quantity, sufficient, however, to deter-
mine the appearance of the thallus. I have, in fact, seen these
thalluses produced in albuminous water, to which I had myself
added a quantity of nitric acid, but so small that it did not red-
den the vegetable blues.

The subcarbonate of potash, which exists in almost all vege-
table products, is alkaline, and probably contributes to deter-
mine the development of the thallus of mould in certain solu-
tions of vegetable substances. This alkaline salt being added
to albuminous water, it then readily produces this thallus. I
have proved that the bi-carbonate of potash produces the same
effect ; but it is to be remarked that this salt is scarcely ever .
neutral, the alkali invariably slightly predominating. It may
be asked, how it happens that the albumen of the egg^ which
contains a small quantity of soda, does not, in virtue of this in-
gredient, provoke the production of the thallus of mould in the
water to which it may be added ? To this it may be answered,
that the soda in the albumen is not in a free state ; but that,

M. Dutrochet on tlie Origin of' Mouldincss, 31 1

according to the opinion of M. Dumas, it forms with the albu-
men a kind of compounded neutral — an albuminate of soda. I
here repeat, that the free condition of an acid or an alkali in
solution in the water, containing an organic substance, is abso-
lutely necessary for the determining of the growth of tlie thallus
of mould. The quantity of diese chemical agents necessary for
the production of the effect, cannot be determined as it respects
its minimum, for this, in reality, appears to be inappreciable;
it can, however, be determined as to its maximum. It is well
known that no living being can exist in a liquid which is
too acid or too alkaline. I have found that the thalluses of
mould are produced in albuminous water,, to each half ounce of
which a drop of the concentrated sulphuric, nitric, and muriatic
acid?^! is added. : Tliis. is bearly the maximum of the- acidity
which allows the production and the growth of the thallusv As
to the maximum when the alkalies are concerned, it appears to
me it has. been reached \vhen the liquid contains an hundredth
part by weight of caustic soda, or potash. 5 ua 'tu\ .^v^wi^i/..
When a neutral salt is added to the albuminous water, it does
not promote the appearance of the thallus- I make this state-
ment as the result of a great number of experiments.

When I made my first experiments upon the thalluses of
mould, I was ignorant of their nature ; and witnessing these
filamentous infusores vegetables appearing constantly in the al-
buminous water, rendered slightly acid or alkaline, and never
appearing in the pure albuminous water, I was tempted to think
that this living vegetable being was the product of spontaneous
generation, as M. Amici had done, as before stated. It ap-
peared to me probable that the invisible germs of the filamentous
vegetable were created by a chemical action of the acid or alkali
upon the organic matter dissolved in the water, and that they
then developed themselves in virtue of the vital action which
would have been the necessary attribute of that compound
chemico-organic moUculairey or of that germ. Such were the
ideas that led me astray, previous to my having discovered that
these filamentous infusores vegetables were the thallus of mould.
Before this discovery, all that had the appearance of the mar-
vellous disappeared, viz. the appearance, in certain liquids, of
hese infusores vegetables, which, as it would seem, I could

312 M. Dutrochet's o?i the Origin of' Mouldiness.

produce at pleasure. The various moulds have seeds, whose
diminutiveness is excessive, and which, scattered every where in
the atmosphere, and perhaps even contained in animal and ve-
getable liquids, develope themselves under the forms of fila-
mentous thallus, when they are placed in circumstances neces-
sary for their development. The presence then, of an acid or
of an alkali in an aqueous liquid containing some organic
matter, is thus nothing more but a condition of the development
of the thallus of mould. Experiment has proved the accuracy
of this theory, I have taken a small portion of the thallus of
mould, produced in an aqueous solution of isinglass, and I have
transplanted it into pure albuminous water, where it ceased to
grow. I have also put into pure albuminous water small por-
tions of the thallus of mould, which were taken from the albu-
minous water somewhat acid or somewhat alkaline ; and they
continued in it without any increase. These experiments have
proved to my conviction, that pure albuminous water is wholly
improper for the development of the thallus of mould ; and
that it is on this account that it never appears in this liquid
when left to itself This is also true of the albuminous water
united with the neutral salts.

Mercury, whether in the state of a salt, or of an oxide, com-
pletely obstructs the appearance of the thallus of mould in
liquids where it is found. Thus, for example, the solution of
isinglass, which so abundantly produces it, will produce it no
longer, if to the solution we add the smallest quantity of red
precipitate or of corrosive sublimate. This property of mercury
is very remarkable, and gives rise to some useful applications in
the arts.

Mercury in its metallic state, added to the water which holds
a little isinglass in solution, does not hinder the prompt produc-
tion of the thallus of mould ; the same is also true of the
(aethiops mineral) oxide of the black sulphurate of mercury.
The proto-sulphate of mercury (turbith mineral), completely
hinders the appearance of the thallus, as, in fact, do all the salts
of mercury.

Observing how efficacious the oxide of mercury was in pre-
venting the production of the thallus, even when used in a dose
of the most minute quantity, I wished to try if there were not

Mr Edwards on Change of Colour in the Chameleon. SIS

other metallic oxides whicli were capable of producing the same
effects. I added, then, various oxides to a watery solution of
i&inglass. I subjoin the results of these experiments. The
oxides of lead and tin appeared to quicken the development of
the thallus ; it appeared so soon as the second day. The oxides
of iron, antimony, and zinc, did not appear to me to exercise
any influence upon the development of these thalluses, which
appeared, as they usually do, at the end of four or five days.
The oxides of copper, nickel, and cobalt, considerably retarded
their appearance, for they did not show themselves until «the
twelfth or fifteenth day. Thus the oxide of mercury, appears
to be the only one which prevents the appearance of mouldi-
ness.*

On the Change of Colour in the Chameleon. By H. Milne
Edwards, Esq.

The little reptile which is known under the name of the
Chameleon, has been long celebrated for the sudden changes
which the colour of its skin undergoes. Hence it has become
the popular emblem of man's versatility ; and were we to be-
lieve ancient writers, it possesses the marvellous power of suc-
cessively assuming the colour of every object with which it
comes in contact. It is long, however, since naturalists have
stript the history of this little animal of all the fables with which
it was adorned ; but it is at the same time true, that, in denying it
the property of changing its colour almost without limit, it has
decidedly been established, that it undergoes truly remarkable
variations ; and is sometimes nearly white, sometimes yellowish,
and sometimes again almost black, according as it is asleep, or
in its ordinary waking condition, or is excited by anger.

This singular phenomenon was, without doubt, abundantly
calculated to excite curiosity ; and zoologists, of course, en-
deavoured to discover the cause of it. On examination, we
find that they have furnished a variety of hypotheses more or
less plausible ; but they have not, so far as I know, grounded
their opinions upon physiological experiments, or anatomical
* Annales des Sciences Naturelles. Janvier 1834.

814 Mr Edwards on Change of Colour in the Chameleon,

researches, and consequently we nowhere find the guarantee of
strict accuracy.

According to Hasselquist, these changes of colour depend on
a kind of disease; more expressly, a kind of jaundice to wliich
the animal is unfortunately subject ;< and especially when it is
put in a rage. ,.< • ; ' ' .. ''^ ?'"

Another author has more lately explained the phenomenon, by
stating that the blood of the chameleon is of a violet blue colour,
whilst the coats of the bloodvessels, and of the skin itself, are
yellow, so that the colour of the skin changes accordingly as it
is abundantly supplied with blood, or the reverse.

Cuvier regards the changes of colour as probably owing to
the immense size of the reptile's lungs ; and that according as
these organs are full or are empty of air, they make the whole
body more or less transparent, by forcing a larger or smaller
quantity of blood into the integuments, and even colouring this
fluid itself with hues more or less brilliant.

There are other naturalists, who, whilst they attribute these
changes to the respiration, explain the effect of the pulmonary
distentionon the skin in a different way. The common integu-
ments of the chameleon, as is generally known, is furnished with
a great number of small scaly granules which make it to re-
semble shagreen : it is said then, that these granules are of a
yellowish colour, whilst the deeper portion is of a dark red
tint, and if this membrane is much contracted, the granula-
tions alone are seen ; whilst, on the other hand, if the skin
be disturbed by the enlargement of the lungs, these same gra-
nules separate the one from the other, and thus exhibit the na-
tural colour of the skin, from which results all the various
hues which are ever presented.

'Mr Spittal, to whom we are indebted for some interesting
observations on these changes, regards them as connected with
the state of the lungs ; and Mr Houston, who has enriched
science by his researches upon the structure and motions of the
tongue in these strange animals, considers this phenomenon as
dependent on the vascular turgescency of the skin.

Finally, it might moreover to be inquired, whether these va-
riations in colour were not owing to some peculiar construction of
the scarf-skin, which, by itself changing, might act on the light

Mr Edwards on Chanige qf Colour intlie Cfiamekon. 315

in various ways, and might, in turn, reflect different rays, in
the same way as very slender plates of the metals produce a
succession of colours, according as their thickness is increased
or diminished.

Now, regarding all these explanations, it must at once be
seen, that they could be regarded in no other light than mere
hypotheses ; and the subject appeared to me so curious as to
demand a more complete solution. I accordingly anxiously
availed myself of the opportunity which was presented me by
M. Savart, of examining anew these changes of colour, and
of making researches as to the causes of so singular an occur-
rence.

About the month of June 1833, Mr Savart received two cha-
meleons from Algiers, which he preserved alive till towards the
end of October. One of these reptiles, M'hich we shall desig-
nate No. 1. was usually of a purplish grey colour ; but during
the night, when it was in profound sleep, it appeared of a whit-
ish-grey ; and occasionally it exhibited along its sides, spots of
a dirty yellow hue, aud sometimes there appeared on different
parts of its body, other spots which were red, or even of a deep
violet colour. Finally, some days previous to its death, it had
assumed a yellowish hue, and was covered with small black
miliary points, which by degrees extended, so as to form con-
tinuous spots, and to cover almost the whole body.

The chameleon No. 2. was usually of a deep bottle-green
colour, approximating to black. When it was sound asleep, it
became like the other of a pale dirty yellow ; and, during the
course of the day, there was often observed upon its sides, spots
of a lettuce-green colour, while the rest of the body was of a
bottle-green shade. When it was placed near to the window,
and a hope of escaping seemed to be excited, the tinge of let-
tuce-green extended itself over the whole body. Finally, when
it sickened, some yellowish spots appeared; but it maintained
till death the general colour of azure-green, which was habitual
to .it.

Ij'j-IThe chameleon No. 2. changed colour more easily than the
other ; but in both, these changes were effected only gradual-
ly. Besides, we can distinctly state, that they were entirely in-
dependent of any distention more or less considerable of the

316 Mr Edwards on Change of Colour in the Chameleon.

body of the animal. These chameleons often swelled up ex-
ceedingly, without exhibiting any change of colour, and at
other times these variations occurred, without their being pre-
ceded by any change of its size.

Thus then, direct observation destroys in a moment all the
hypotheses, by the help of which naturalists had endeavoured
to explain the changes in the chameleon's colour by the effects of
the distention, more or less considerable, of its lungs ; but they
had hitherto thrown no hght upon the real cause of the pheno-
menon. To obtain information on this point, I had recourse to
anatomy.

Immediately after the death of chameleon No. 1., I detached a
portion of the skin, upon which were to be found both the dark
and red colour already described, and a large yellowish-grey
spot, which I submitted to examination under a powerful mag-
nifying glass.

The surface of the skin is, as is well known, thickly set with
an immense number of small rounded tubercles, amongst which
much finer granulations are to seen. Some naturalists have
thought, as before stated, that the changes in the colour in the
chameleon depended on the circumstance that these tubercles
were yellowish, and the deeper parts of the skin of some other co-
lour ; and that when the skin was contracted, they alone were
seen, whilst by the distention of the integuments, their points
extended themselves, so to speak, over the inferior surface thus
brought into view. But the real fact is opposed to this suppo-
sition ; for, in those portions of the surface of the body which
were most deeply tinged, as well as in those that were clearest,
it was exactly underneath these tubercles that the local tint,
whatever it was, was the most distinct.

In those parts of the skin which were of a dark red colour,
it was easy to satisfy oneVself with the help of the magnifying
glass, that the yellowish-grey colour peculiar to the neighbour-
ing parts, had not entirely disappeared, but it was, as it were,
somehow marked by a countless number of minute points of a
purplish red, more or less deep ; each tubercle seemed covered
with a net-work, and, examined with the naked eye, these points
seemed to cover all the surface. Between the several tubercles,
points of the same colour were also visible, but of a much

Mr Edwards 07i Change of Colour in the Chameleon. 317

lighter shade. Finally, on the inner surface of the skin, this
deep hue appeared still more intense.

In those parts of the skin which did not exhibit this purple
colour, there was only to be seen, on the external surface, a yel-
lowish-grey tint, more decided over the cutaneous tubercles,
than in the intervals by which they were separated ; and in some
patches along the sides, and on the under part of the body, it
was whiter than elsewhere ; whilst on the upper parts of the
back it inclined more to pure yellow. When the skin was ex-
tended so as to stretch the tubercles with which it is studded,
no apparent change was produced on the colour ; but, on ex-
amining its inner surface, there was universally found the same
violet-red colour, approaching to black, which, in certain places,
was seen from without as well as from within.

It appears then evident, that there exists throughout, in the
integuments of this animal, two pigments which are quite dis-
tinct, viz. one of a grey colour, more or less yellowish or white,
according to the parts on which it is observed, and another of
a violet or blackish red ; and that the differences of colour which
I have noticed were owing to this circumstance — that sometimes
the latter membranous pigment was seen at the surface through
the scarfskin, more or less intermingled with the former, whilst,
again, at other times, it was hid under the greyish membrane.

This fact being established, it became probable that the for-
mation of the purple spots of varying hues which were ob-
served in a transient way during the life of the animal, and af-
terwards vanished altogether, depended on certain alterations in
the position of the lower membrane. The mixture of its tint
with the hue of the more superficial layer, can in truth easily
explain all the phenomena which are observed during life. And
I was only confirmed in this opinion by the change which
was exhibited a little while after death. As we liave pre-
viously noticed, the dark red hue extended itself nearly over the
whole surface of the body ; but on placing the animal upon
a marble slab which was somewhat cold, I observed that the
spots became paler, and in certain places vanished altogether.
In those points where the colour had undergone this change,
the darker pigment was no longer visible under the scarf-skin,

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIV. — OCTOBEU 1834. Y

818 Mr Edwards on Change of Colour in the Chameleon.

and was only to be found under the greyish pigment, by which
it was now again completely covered over.

When to the skin of the animal which had just died, I ap-
pHed some concentrated alcohol, the dark purple colour almost
immediately disappeared, and in its place was to be seen that
tint, which, during the life of the chameleon, unusually pervades
it during profound sleep. The greater part of the stronger
acids produced the same effect ; but when I applied a solution
of alkali to a part of the skin which presented the natural yel-
lowish-grey colour of the superficial pigment, the exactly oppo-
site change was effected, the colour immediately changed to a
dark red.

Finally, in small shreds of the skin which I detached from
the body, I could make the colour change from the yellowish-
grey to the violet-red by mechanical means alone, viz. by press-
ing the deeper pigment towards the surface of the skin ; and
when, after this, I examined these portions with the microscope,
I found them of the same appearance with those similar tints
resulting from the physiological actions respecting which it was
my object to discover the nature.

The results being the same, it might be presumed that the
causes were analogous, and it would then follow, that during
life, the deeper pigment, according as it was hidden in the sub-
stance of the skin, or shewed itself in a greater or less degree in
the midst of the more superficial pigment, occasioned the phe-
nomena of coloration or of decoloration of which we have al-
ready described all the appearances. But another inquiry yet
remains, viz. How this inferior pigment could now protrude in-
to, and now retire from, the more superficial one ? For the so-
lution of this question I again had recourse to an examination of
the structure of the skin.

Having digested for some time a portion of the skin in a
strong solution of alkali, for the purpose of dissolving or mak-
ing transparent the parts which concealed the position of the pig-
ment, I then dissected it under a strong magnifying glass, and I
distinctly perceived that the dark colouring matter was contain-
ed in a great number of small cavities which were situated in
the substance of the skin, from each of which originated very mi-
nute ramifications which extended to the scarf-skin, so traversing

Mr Edwards on Change of Colour m the Chameleon. 319

the superficial bed of greyish pigment, which appeared extend-
ed over the whole surface of the skin, and very well represented
the coat which by anatomists is denominated the rete mucosum.

This structure once recognised, it became an easy matter to
understand how the deep pigments could now mount up through
the middle of the superficial, and exhibit its own colour more
or less completely, or at another time might wholly be hid-
den beneath it. For the production of the first of these ap-
pearances, it would suffice that the lower part of these vesicles
should contract, or be compressed by the contraction of the
deeper parts of the skin, so as to cause the fluid contained in
their interior to flow into the minute ramifications with which
their surface is supplied, so as to render the fluid visible from
without. For the skin thus coloured to return to its yellowish-
grey tint, all that would be required would be the contraction
or the compression of these same superficial ramifications, which
thus emptying themselves into the vesicle below, would lose
their colour, and more or less completely disappear.

It may now be remarked that this phenomenon is not alto-
gether unique in nature. Many of the mollusca cephalopoda
exhibit something analogous. The skin of these animals is fur-
nished with a number of differently coloured spots, which alter-
nately appear and disappear ; and if a portion is put under a
microscope, it may be perceived that these changes depend on
the contraction of small vesicles filled with a coloured liquid,
which reach from the surface of the skin to a considerable depth.
When one of these spots appears, the liquid corresponding here
to the pigment in the other case, is propelled towards the super-
ficial part of the vesicle, and there displays itself; whilst during
its disappearance it is forced into the deeper parts by the con-
traction of this superficial point itself, which then becomes al-
most invisible.

The dissection of the second chameleon confirmed the results
obtained by the researches we have just been describing. For
here we found two very distinct pigments ; the one superficial,
yellowish or white, according to the portions of the surface which
were examined ; the other deeper, and of a bottle-green colour,
verging to the black. It is evident that the mixture of these

Y 2

320 Mr Edwards on Change of Colour in the Chameleon".

two colours, and the predominance of the one over the other,
could not but produce all the variations which were exhibited
during the life of the animal.

This greenish pigment appeared, moreover, to have the great-
est analogy with the purple one which was found in No. 1. It
underwent the same changes with the various chemical agents,
and as the light happened to strike upon it exhibited a very
deep green colour, or one which approximated to the violet.

It is known that there are many colouring substances, which,
viewed by the transmission of light, thus being transparent, or
by the reflection of the light, or, finally, examined in masses more
or less dense, change their hues. The reddish green colour of
Carthamus presents a remarkable example of this phenomena ;
and it appeared probable that the difference which existed between
the hues of the deeper pigment in these two chameleons, depend-
ed on some slight difference in its state of cohesion. If this hap-
pens, the same individual might present not only those changes
which we noticed, but also a change from green to purple.

However this may be, we see —

Ist, That the change in the colour of chameleons does not de-
pend essentially either on the more or less considerable swelling
of their bodies, or the changes which might hence result on the
condition of their blood or of their circulation ; nor does it de-
pend on the greater or less distance which may exist between
the several cutaneous tubercles ; although it is not to be denied
that these circumstances probably exercise some influence upon
the phenomenon.

2 J/z/, That there exists in the skin of these animals two layers
of membranous pigment, placed the one above the other, but
arranged in such a way as to appear simultaneously under the
scarf-skin, and sometimes so that the one may conceal the other.

3%, That every thing remarkable in the changes of colour
which manifest themselves in the chameleon, may be explained
by the appearance of the pigment of the deeper layer to an ex-
tent more or less considerable, in the midst of the pigment of
the superficial layer ; or from its disappearance underneath this
layer.

4^%, That these displacements of the deeper pigment can in
reality occur ; and it is probably a consequence of them that the

Essay on the Progress of the Useful Arts. 321

chameleon's colour changes during life, and may continue to
change even after death.

Bthly^ That there exists a close analogy between the mecha-
nism by the help' of which the changes of colour appear to take
place in these reptiles, and that which determines the successive
appearance and disappearance of coloured spots in the mantles
of several of the cephalopode mollusca.

First Essay^ preliminary to the Series of Reports on the Pro-
gress of the Useful Arts, ordered by the Society of Arts for
Scotland*

When we contrast the conditions of man at remote periods
of his history, we perceive an immense disparity between his
attainments ; and this disparity becomes the more remarkable
when we consider, that of, all the species of animals \^ hich exist
on the surface of the earth, man alone is liable to this fluctu-
ation.

Each individual animal attains the complete use of all its fa-
culties ; and this, even though the successive generations of the
tribe be separated from each other by a long lapse of time.
With many animals nothing in the shape of instruction is needed.
The insect tribes at once proceed in the course that nature has
designed for them. No sooner does the egg burst than the larva
sets itself about the business of its existence ; it swims expertly
through the water, and seeks out its appropriate food. Led by
an unerring instinct, it approaches the surface of the pool or
climbs the stalk of some aquatic plant, and, ere the spectator
has time to mai-k the change, it launches off in an untried ele-
ment, and is undistinguished amid the thousands that have had
the long experience of an hour. Some again wake to life in
the tough bark, and eat their vermicular way through the sap-
wood ; till, when the metamorphosis draws near, they seek the
outer rind, cut it with altered mandibles, elevate their elytra,
unfold from beneath them their delicate wings, and use, with
the utmost ease, their newly acquired powers and senses.

Ascend, as we call it, in the scale of existence, and the ele-

• Read before the Society, 6th September 1834.

322 Preliminary Essay to Reports on

ments of tuition appear. The birds, for the most part, educate
their young ; they lead them by short flights to seek their food,
and only abandon them after their powers are fully developed.
The same remarks hold of many of the quadrupeds. In all
cases, however, the powers arrived at are nearly the same with
each individual of a species. But when we reach the top of the
scale, how different ! The young of the human species receives
not merely that tuition which is common to all the mammalia,
but also a distinct kind of education, which conveys the fruits of
the experience of all the preceding generations. Man lives to
add to that experience, and though his physical powers reach to
their full development, the entire man knows nothing of ma-
turity. Powers of which our ancestors were ignorant, are now
wielded by us, while we, in our turn, may be opening the way
for other processes to be employed by our descendants.

The burrowing bee still uses the same instrument to pierce
the downright shaft, and to cluster round it the beautifully
smoothed cells. Still she selects the hard beaten soil, whence the
wind may sweep the dust that otherwise would betray her
labours. The sand-spider still uses the same cement to form
the walls of her retreat, and to weave her branchy net. But
man is found at one time burying himself in the ground, at
another tearing the rocks asunder to rear the magnificent pa-
lace. Here he draws his subsistence from the ocean, there he
cultivates the ground ; here he clothes himself in the skin of the
wild beast, there he weaves the delicate web, and prides himself
in the sleekness of his coat.

With man there is no permanence. Every thing is changing,
and each season adds to his powers and comfort. He seems to
possess an endless variety of appetites, that are only called into
action as opportunity offers for their gratification ; there seems
to lurk within him an immense variety of powers, of which
only a few are called into active use by any single individual.
Among the animals, the history of an individual is almost the
history of the tribe ; but the story of the life of man is ever
changing ; and the mode of living of one nation appears in-
credible to another.

In the present paper I intend to take a rapid view of the
general nature of those proctjsses by which man gradually

the Progresa ofUie Useful Arts, 323

changes his condition ; to examine into their tendencies, whether
for or against the increase of human happiness ; and to glance
at the method of encouraging their development.

Man is possessed of a highly muscular and pliable form, ca-
pable of enduring long continued and vigorous exertion; yet
the tenderness of his limbs prohibits the direct employment of his
powers. The animals are invariably supplied with instruments
fit for the various operations they have to perform. The bee has
the proboscis wherewith to reach the bottom of the nectary ; the
burrowing animals have claws for digging the earth, and the
beasts of prey for tearing their food. But man works entirely
by tools. Does he wish to throw the stone, he uses the sling ;
the spade enables him to dig the ground. The capability of
employing inanimate matter, of making it, as it were, a part of
himself, is almost peculiar to man ; only very faint traces of
that power are to be perceived among the animal tribes ; in
man it is completely developed ; for, on reflection, we will at
once perceive that almost every operation which we perform, is
done by the assistance of tools of one kind or another. When
we walk we protect our feet against the sharpnesses of the road,
and when we attempt to change the form of afty hard body, we
arm our hands with something harder still.

It is then not merely possible for man to employ tools in his
operations ; it is indispensable. His hands are admirably formed
for the wielding of such tools ; while with them alone he could
neither dig the earth nor fashion the softest timber. Taken in
the most general sense then, the arts are eminently useful to
our race. Some of them are necessary to our very existence.

Let us conceive man in his rudest stage, ignorant of every
latent power, and using only his own limbs. View him falling
before every attack of the lion, the tiger, or even of the wolf;
and then fancy that some fortunate individual hurls the stone to
crush his adversary. What rejoicings through the tribe ! with
what eagerness would they practise the new art ! what honours
would be heaped on its discoverer ! Suppose then, that chance
had revealed to them the nutritious qualities of some root ; and
that patiently they dug it with their fingers, till some one fa-
tigued, perhaps tortured, with continued exertion, seizes the flat

324 Preliminary Essay to Reports on

stone or the broken bough, and renders the operation at once
more rapid and more agreeable. It is clear that the discovery
of these simple tools, the missile and the spade, would increase
the security and augment the power of the race ; it is unde-
niable that with these assistants man would be happier and
more comfortable than before. The labour expended in pro-
viding sustenance and in defending life would be diminished,
and more time would be allowed for the gratification of higher
appetites. The spade, the sling, the club, or the bow, would
begin to be ornamented, and man would delight himself in the
symmetry and propriety of the ornaments.

On the first glance one might allow that the same principle
would extend itself to every subsequent discovery, and that
every means of enabling man to .produce a greater effect than
he could have produced before with the same labour, must
augment the enjoyments of the race. Such a general state-
ment, however, must be received with the utmost caution, since
the circumstances of human society are so varied that some of
them may even happen to convert the benefit that otherwise
would have accrued from such improvements, into an actual evil.
So long as each individual family provide for their own wants,
the principle has undoubted scope ; but when different indivi-
duals have betaken themselves to different crafts, and when the
community depends on the barter of good offices, an improve-
ment in any particular art may be highly injurious to some one
of the various classes. It seems clear that every improvement
is ultimately beneficial to the whole commonwealth ; but it is
impossible to shut our eyes to the misery which is, at times, in-
flicted on individuals. In the present highly artificial state of
society, these sinister effects are unfortunately too frequent and
too severe, and it is no easy matter for the sufferers to reason
themselves into the belief, that what has been productive of their
own ruin can at all be beneficial to the community.

The rapidity with which changes in the modes of operating
are now introduced ; and the competition which exists, not
merely between the fabricators of the same material, but between
those of different kinds of commodities, give an unprecedented
variability to the distribution of comforts and enjoyments; so
that when contemplating the advantage of same new process,

ihe Progress of the Useful Arts. 825

one shrinks from a view of the mass of misery which its intro-
duction may occasion. Many arts are acquired only after long
practice; the power of producing certain effects with rapidity
and precision, forms the capital in trade of many industrious
men. But when some new mode is discovered, that capital is
completely annihilated, and the unemployed workman can hard-
ly look with any thing but jealousy on the innovation. In the
old method of manufacturing paper, great dexterity was re-
quired in lifting a sheet, so that it might be of equal thickness
throughout, as well as similar to others of the ream. Good
workmen were scarce and received high wages ; but when the
thickness came to be regulated by machinery, these workmen
were either thrown idle or compelled to betake themselves to
some inferior employment ; a number, indeed, readily found
employment in the continental paper-works, yet still the distress
must have been great among that class of men. The members
of that craft, however, formed a small proportion of the po-
pulation, so that the elastic constitution of human society has
already accommodated itself to the new circumstances. But the
hand-loom weavers have suffered more severely and for a greater
length of time ; their number was more considerable, and of
course they experienced a greater difficulty in finding a new
employment ; and the circumstance, that the finer and more ex-
pensive looms were often their own property, has perhaps ren-
dered them unwilling to desert their old employment.

Painful though the contemplation of such sufferings may be
to the philanthropist, it is impossible that he can disapprove of
the cause. A small class of the present generation indeed suf-
fers, but a benefit is conferred not only on the population at
present existing, but on the whole future generations of the race.
The distress occasioned by the substitution of steam for hand-
spinning, was intense ; that, however, has passed away, and the
effect now is, that the peasant is able to purchase fabrics which,
a hundred years ago, would have excited envy among the wealthy.
The machines for forming the various parts of watches, threw,
no doubt, out of employment for a time, the handicraftsmen,
but a watch is not now considered as worthy the attention of a
Rupert. I might cite examples without number, for in almost
every instance, a decided improvement has been accompanied by

S26 Preliminary Essay to Reports on

temporary inconvenience, while the permanent effects have inva-
riably been an increase in the number of hands employed, and
an advance in the general condition of society.

There are, however, some exceptions. There have been im-
provements beneficial throughout to all parties concerned. Such
are those improvements in agriculture which augment the fertili-
ty of the soil ; or those in mechanics which have rendered prac-
ticable what before was impracticable. Mines and quarries which
could not have been profitably wrought, had the water and the
rubbish been removed by hand, have become at once productive
on the application of water, wind, or steam. And remote pas-
tures, whence the cattle could not be brought but at an expense
almost exceeding their value, now regularly supply our cities.
On such improvements the mind rests with unalloyed pleasure ;
not so when the improvement consists in the substitution of one
process for another.

Since the distress of one class of workmen is often the effect
of a general improvement, we might consider it fair that the
community charge itself with the relief of the sufferers. The
projectors of a canal or of a railway are taken bound to make
up any loss that may be sustained by the trustees on the ordi-
nary road ; and it really appears that, with equal propriety,
the inventor of some new process might be made liable for the
damage thereby occasioned to those who practised the old ones.
Such an enactment, however, imagining it capable of being put
in execution, would crush every innovation, and produce that
stagnation which we see in China ; it would prevent even the
changes of fashion, and the shawl-weavers would at present be
prosecuting actions against all the weavers of printed crape.
Since distress, as serious as that produced by any improvement,
is often occasioned by the caprice of the leader of fashion, with
as much propriety would we define the form and material of
dress, as restrain the most perfect freedom in the progress of
discovery. Relief need not be sought from legal enactments;
yet the case is a hard one, and demands alleviation.

The principal source of inconvenience lies in the difficulty
with which the workman acquires a new craft. Those work-
men who are accustomed to a great variety of processes, and to
a frequent change of tool, are almost secure ; but the situation

the Progress of the Useful Arts. Sill

of those who know only one process, is deplorable. He who
has never gone beyond the fixing of a pin's head, or the
sharpening of its point, would be rendered completely desti-
tute by the discovery of a method of forming a pin by ma-
chinery ; but the engine-maker has never felt any inconvenience
from the general introduction of slide-rests and planing-engines.
The philanthropist then, should rejoice to see the workman,
not contented with a single occupation, render himself master
of several crafts. A great deal of stress has been laid on what
is called the division of labour. Long continued practice in a
single art will indeed give at length great expertness ; yet I
question if one accustomed to vary his work, would not much
sooner reach proficiency. In passing from the grinding of knives
to the grinding of scissors, some little time indeed is lost, and a
i'ew minutes elapse ere the workman's hand has got, as he calls
it, into the way. But this only at first — after he has had fre-
quent occasion to make such transitions, his mind has stored
up the little incidents to be attended to, and no more time is
needed at a change of employment, than is necessary every
morning at the beginning of his day's labour. Not only would
this custom of acquiring several trades give security to the work-
man; it would at the same time greatly facilitate the march of
improvement. An interchange of methods and ideas would at
once lake place, and each craft would adopt some of the methods
practised by another. The wright, instead of forcing an ob-
stinate screw-nail, would use the chisel of the die-cutter to dress
the destroyed cut — thousands of applications would be made
of principles that otherwise would never be brought home to
the attention of the artizan.

If we run over the history of the great improvements that
have been made, we will find that almost all of them have come
from the minds of those who have attended to a considerable
variety of subjects. The great improver of the steam-engine
was not an engine maker, nor did the contrivance of the stock-
ing-frame come from one tired with the monotonous manipula-
tion ; and I question much if any of the users of the distaff ever
entertained the idea that it could be dispensed with. The me-
thod of co-ordinates of the higher geometricians, after improving
astronomy and geodetics, descended to plan the sHde-rest, and

328 Prelimmarij Essay to Reports on

the planing-engine ; and had no intercourse existed between the
art of working iron, and the abstruse science of applied algebra,
we might yet have wanted those excellent instruments. An ex^
tensive knowledge, in fact, of what can be done with materials
is essential to the contrivance of new modes of operating ; or
even necessary to the successful repetition of operations already
known.

From the general cultivation of the minds of the workmen,
we might therefore expect an increase to the stability of human
society, an improvement in the style of execution of the various
manufactures, and a more fertile inventiveness. We are apt to
imagine that the improvement of our manufactures goes on by
starts, and that a few names only need be mentioned in their his-
tory. The course of improvement is indeed marked by a few
more considerable steps ; but beneath these, and concealed from
the mere casual glance, there flows a calm but rapid current.
Minute facts are communicated from one workman to another,
and the craft proceeds by insensible gradations ; the skill of the
workman gradually advances, creates a taste in the consumer for
a better article, and receives again from that improved taste a
reflected stimulus. Unless we had workmen skilful to execute,
our best arranged schemes would fall to the ground ; and unless
the artizan himself were able to appreciate the beauty of execu-
tion, we would be shocked, at every turn, by deformity and im-
perfection. But when the mason plies the mallet, he delights in
contemplating the finished cornice, and not merely, as we are
apt to imagine, the prospect of gain, but also the anticipation of
a higher enjoyment cheers him through his toil. And perhaps
the gratification of the architect himself is inferior to the delight
felt by his better workmen when they retire to contemplate the
finished edifice.

While seeking the means for encouraging improvements in
the arts, we must not then imagine that our only business is to
reward the contriver of some important change. Of that task
the anomalous patent laws have eff'ectually relieved us. The
principal part of our employment should be to render public each
minute piece of detail, and to encourage the able workman to
communicate the results of his experience. We should endea-
vour to improve his taste by the exhibition of finer specimens

the Progress of the Useful Arts. 32^

of workmanship, and to excite his emulation b^ rewarding supe-
rior merit. Variations almost insensible, in the modes of oper-
ating, lead to important changes in the character of the effects.
Thus we attempt in vain to file a small surface flat while it is
held firmly in the vice, yet the operation becomes easy when a
small vibratory motion is allowed. Again, if we attempt to hone
a penknife with the thumb towards the back of the blade, we
soon produce a rounded edge, but on reversing the position of
the blade, a thin edge is preserved. The turning-graver when
held in one position, makes criddled work ; yet, when placed in
another scarcely different, it produces a clean surface. The
spokesheaver, when used by a beginner, is apt to round the end
of a piece of wood, but a very little deviation from the ruder
way of holding it preserves the proper outline. Thousands of
niceties such as these would form the workman's manual. Those
workmen who have constantly resided in an isolated district, are
often found ignorant of the simplest artifices of their craft ; while
those again who have had communication with numbers of their
own trade become, from that intercourse, expert operators.
Keeping facts such as these in view, our Society should gladly
receive the statements of the artizan, and should lend a willing
ear to communications^ though their subject might be of less im-
portance than a substitute for steam. By rendering this a place
where the workman might hear the different processes described,
and the principles of them explained ; where he might learn the
cause of the advantages of one method over another, and the
source of the imperfections of all operations, we would provide
an inexhaustible fund of instruction for ourselves, and, at the
same time, would give a powerful assistance to the progress of
invention.

Those improvements which seem likely to produce a decided
efi'ect, and those inventions that have required the concurrence
of great ingenuity and severe exertiouj merit our peculiar atten-
tion ; and considerable difference of opinion exists as to how we
ought to proceed in our attempts at encouragement. We may
either propose prizes for distinct objects, or may generally offer
rewards for such improvements as appear best deserving of them.
In the one way we attempt to lead the mind, in the other, we
only approve of what has been done. Of the first, we have

3S0 Observations ofi the Hygrometer.

had a notable example in the parliamentary offer of a reward for
a perpetual motion, — a reward, the hope of receiving which, has
led many ingenious men to ruin. The last approaches as near-
ly as possible to the natural state of things, where a meritorious
action works out its own reward. We have resolved on an amal-
gamation of the two, so as to combine all the advantages, but
all the disadvantages too, of both. This course will be attended
with one important result, that in a few years our own records
will furnish us with data wherefrom to draw a decision ; it will
then be proper to return to this important subject.

That encouragement, however, which we can give aggregate-
ly is trifling in comparison with that which flows from our in-
dividual exertions. It is in the power of each to recommend a
better article, or a more commodious instrument; and even
though the newer commodity be a little more expensive than
the old, it is the duty of every one to give the improved process
a fair chance, in order to accelerate, as much as possible, the
yet remote maturity of the human race.

Sept 4. 1834. Edward Sang.

Observations on the Hygrometer.

In a former paper *, a sketch was attempted of the theories
which have been proposed of the Hygrometer by evaporation ;
and a modification of Sir John Leslie's formula for finding the
dew-point was suggested.

The writer is gratified to find, that one so familiar with the
subject of that communication as Mr H. Meikle, has expressed
a favourable opinion of the Table of Dew-points which it con-
tains "I". With respect to some of the errors which that gentle-
man has pointed out, they are readily acknowledged ; especially
that of supposing a given volume of air, of given temperature,
to require more water for its saturation under a great, than un-
der a small pressure.

Mr Meikle, in the same paper, explains a mode, which he has
discovered, of expressing geometrically the relation between
• Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, vol. xv. p. 273.
-j- Ibid. vol. xviL p. 98.

On the Hygromtier. 331

the temperature of the air, of the wet thermometer, and of the
dew-point. This ingenious method seems to correspond re-
markably with the results of the formula, except when the air
is supposed to approach to dryness. The error then rapidly in-
creases, as will be apparent from the following example. Sup-
pose that in air absolutely dry, the wet thermometer indicated
54}°; the temperature of the dew-point would then be infinitely
low, and the line DE in the diagram would coincide with the
asymptote. But this would give to the air a temperature infi-
nitely high ; whereas, by the formula, it ought only to be about
114°.

The author regrets, that, before writing his former observa-
tions, he had not seen Sir James Ivory's paper " On the Hy-
grometer by evaporation,'' contained in vol. Ix. of the Philoso-
phical Magazine. That investigation seems to be so compre-
hensive, that, if the result does not entirely correspond with ex-
periment, the cause of the non-accordance must be sought for
in the inaccuracy of some of the data. But the only two data
not derived from experiment are, that the air in contact with
the wet bulb is fully saturated ; and, that the heat by which the
water is converted into vapour is entirely derived from the air.
The writer had at one time some difficulty in reconciling the
latter supposition with the phenomena, but now he sees that
they are strictly consistent ; and that, while, at the commence-
ment of the evaporation, the bulb supplies nearly the whole
heat, and the air scarcely any, the case is perfectly reversed by
the time the maximum cold is established. When the maximum
has been once attained, the film of water may be conceived to act
asa perfect non-conductor between the air and the bulb of the ther-
mometer; for, instead of transmitting to the latter the heat which
it receives from the former, a portion of it combines with that
heat, and both are dissipated in the form of vapour. With re-
spect to the other supposition, namely, that the air in contact
with the wet bulb is fully saturated, it will be considered at a
subsequent part of the paper. In the mean time, an attempt
will be made to trace the nature of Sir James Ivory's investiga-
tion.

It commences with the supposition, that, in a given volume
of air, of given temperature, and under a given pressure, va-

332 On the Hygiomeier.

}wur of some unknown tension is contained. The volume of
combined air and vapour is then supposed to sink in tempera-
ture, each successive portion of heat disengaged in so doing be-
ing entirely employed in adding to the quantity of vapour con-
tained in the air, until the saturation be completed.

The equation deduced from these data is somewhat compli-
cated. The complexity, however, arises chiefly from the condi-
tion that the mass to be cooled is composed of variable propor-
tions of air and vapour, having different specific heats, and also
from taking into account the difference of volume corresponding
to the difference between the original temperature and that of the
dew-point. But as these conditions, from the minuteness of the
quantities which they introduce, do not sensibly affect the result
of the formula. Sir James Ivory adopts a more simple equation,
which may be investigated as follows, on the supposition that
the air from which the heat is evolved is dry, and that its origi-
nal volume remains unchanged.

Suppose a given volume of air at the temperature ^, and un-
der the pressure B, to contain a quantity of moisture which
would saturate it at the temperature f. Further, that the
temperature of the given volume of air is reduced from t to
t — D = ^, and that the water converted into vapour by the
heat thus evolved, is exactly sufficient to raise the point of satu-
ration of the given volume from -^' to i'. It may be shewn,
1>

that if ^^ represent the weight of the given volume of air, the
30 •

weight of water to be converted into vapour will be very nearly

/— /

1. ^, where ^ andy\, denote the tensions of vapour at the

temperatures f and f respectively.

Again,the specific heatof air under a constant weight, and when
the pressure is B, being =: a', and the latent heat of steam being

T>

= Z, then a weight of dry air = — , in cooling D degrees, will
communicate to a weight of water = 1, sufficient heat to raise
its temperature degrees. Further, the same weight of wa-

On the Hygrometer. 333

ter = 1, will have its temperature raised .J-l ?^ degrees by

the heat required to convert into vapour a weight of water

f^—f^ ^ ^^ supposition, 5^ = ^('^f'^fed . cons6-
48 > ^ t'f '30 48

quently, when^. is the only unknown quantity, it may be found
by the equation

•^^""30 X -7- =-^'" ^^'^

As Sir James Ivory considered the above formula chiefly in
its application under the ordinary pressure, he substituted 1 for

B

— , and the specific heat of air under a pressure of 30 inches for

a'. But supposing that B differed considerably from 30, it
would be necessary to retain it in its original form ; or, instead
of a', to substitute a = the specific heat under a pressure of 30
inches, and to multiply it by a coefficient varying with B.

This being a subject upon which there is considerable di-
versity of opinion, the author is anxious to state the grounds on
which he proceeds in drawing any conclusion. With this view,
he takes the liberty of making the following quotation from a
paper by La Place *. " On peut deduire des rapports prece-
dens divers theoremes sur les gaz: tel est le suivant, qui s'accorde
avec les experiences faites sur cet objet, autant qu''on doit Tat-
tendre d'experiences aussi delicates. La quantite de chaleur
degagee par un volume de gaz, en passant, sous une pression
determinee, d'une temperature a une autre inferieure, est pro-
portionelle a la racine carree de cette pression.'' According,
then, to the theorem here enunciated, if c be the specific heat
of air under a constant volume, when the pressure is 30 inches,
and (f the specific heat when the pressure is B, it will follow

that c Y ( oA ) = ^* ^"*> denoting the specific gravity of air

under the pressure of 30 inches by s, and that under the pres-

sure B by 5 X — = / ; and having reference to the values of a

* Annales de Chimie et de Physique, torn, xviii. 185.

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIV. OCTOBER 1834. Z

334 On the Hygrometer.

c c'

and a' formerly assigned, it is evident that - = a and - = a'

s s

Hence, by substitution,

^ V(|)

SX

=:</Q=-VG)=-

30

Introducing the above value of a' into equation (1.) it be-
comes

/.-^-^>/(l)=4 <^->

or

/*'_.011448D^/(^)=/,,

by making a = .2669, and Z = 1119.

With respect to the correction for difference of pressure, the
author stated in his former paper, that the formula there pro-
posed gave correct results between the pressures of 30 and 22.9,

B + 27

when D was multiplied by

57

Although, as it appears,

this coefficient was adopted through a misunderstanding of what

Mr Meikle had stated, yet, if v/ ( ^ ) be the coefficient which

is truly deducible from theory, the accompany-
ing Table will explain how the other agreed so
well with observation ; for it is evident that,
at least as low as 22 inches, it would be in-
different whether the Table of Corrections

were calculated by means of y ( — )

B+27

or

57

And here it ought to be remarked.

B.

-'©

^

30

1.000

1.000

29

0.983

0.982

28

0.966

0.965

27

0.948

0.947

26

0.931

0.929

25

0.913

0.912

24

0.894

0.895

23

0875

0.877

22

0.856

0.859

that the numbers in the small table formerly

given are rather too large, an additional

correction having been joined with them,

with the view of obviating a source of error,

which, upon more careful consideration, it is found can have

no sensible effect. The subjoined is the correct Table : the

manner of using it is explained in the former paper.

On the Hygrometer.

hj^u

s|^

i ^_u

1

SSls

^5 1 L

IT

8 ?i =? 1 1 1 n

_J

S S;

^1 1 1

1

S|s^

=3 1

1 l~

g ^

S 2

S 5S

3 S 5.

~

S; ^

^8^2

s s. ^

s s 2 2 c.

s s.

5 w ^. t-: ^.

• ' r^ ^ Oi

s

S ^.

5 So <N <q o

• ^- ^ (M

a a

S ^ s

^^a- §

<* CO (N
N ci eo

s e q 2 2

"O CO O -»!'

M* (N ec ec

S3 " ■

o oi CO

O t^ O '^ CO c
• ^ _h' ^ C

N *C 05 CO CO

N (N (N eo eo

S ^ •

S § § ^ t- ,

• ^ ^ ^ (

-1 -^ t^ ^ -,*

N (N* (M* e«i eo

2 s s

o c2 1 ^ ffO ». <

D CO CO Oi eo
M (N <m" c4 eo'

2 ^ ^

3 g ^ C^. «5. C

°" S S IS m'

i: ^ =

q ^ § C5 »C t

>. O so CO OJ
H -M <M (M J<N

2 3 s

^ t§ s ^ ^ .

s " *

i ^ ^ S 2 "

"5 eo .-1 CO CO

H ^' (H (N <N

;* 2 g

! ^ ^ ^ 2 "

t< t>. Oi <M (N

4 ^- ^- c<i lei

2 n SS

t§ & § ^ c.

J CO CO O '^
; p4 ^* c4 (M*

2 2. S

^. ^ S o c^

1 -J< CO O -H

; ^- ^' „• c^-

^ is ^ S? ^

CO "5 b- OS

rH 1 .

1 .... ^

-H 1— 1 ,-« f^

2|? ^

so io S » c

!M. 'i; »o |r>.

^S.

53 ^ g ^ S

; -; 2 ^h

coh 2

S:^ '5. s § §

^ ^. c-1 '^

t^ g 2

^ ^ ^ § g2

Is ^ -^ c.

jo|j^

1 * * i-H r- <

c3 CO ^ S? g

(M (N -^

t^ 00 C?i O

*o Sj§

^ ^ JS ^ S3

§ 2 ^ S

^ ojo

'^ p- t- -«*< r^

'^ <N Csj eo -^ij

^ ^^ %

CO g ^

c^ s s

t-j J^, (N 55 ctj

^ ^ '^^

o|2 :^ 5::|c5

C<i CN eo eo

»H S §

§ ^ ^ §|2

2 ;2 iS ^

1 ?? ?J

^k ^ ^ ^

§1 ?1 c5 g'

Mri

! i

^

336 On the Hygrometer.

In deducing the correction for difference of pressure, the
writer has been led to adopt views regarding the specific heat
of air, as affected by pressure, differing from those entertained
by Mr Meikle. He has been influenced in doing so by the con-
sideration_, that while the experiments of Clement and Desormes
are opposed to the opinion that the specific heat of a given vo-
lume of air is directly as the density, they corroborate the law
theoretically deduced by La Place.

With reference to the experiments made by Professor Da-
niell and Mr Meikle^ for the purpose of determining the varia-
tion of D with the pressure, it seems evident, that when a ther-
mometer with a wet bulb is placed in the receiver of an air-
pump, the air cannot be perfectly dry, even when exposed to
the action of sulphuric acid ; for the very circumstance of there
being a portion of moisture absorbed at the surface of the acid,
proves that it pervades also the rest of the receiver. Supposing,
therefore, in the two experiments mentioned by Mr Meikle at
p. 106, of his paper, t" = — 14° and/_j^, = .031, then the va-
lue of D, calculated by means of the formula

(.22255 — .031) -gggy^g ^'faaTe? .~ ^ ^°-^^' 1st experiment; and

(.22255 - .031) X .S+Sx JCrd = "" •^' "'^ ^"-
periment ; the errors being -|- .08 and -|- .8. It appears from
the above formula how much the value of D may be affected
by the presence of a portion of vapour probably too small to
be detected by means of DanielPs hygrometer.

The author is still unable to show that the modification of
the dew-point formula which he proposed, is theoretically de-
ducible from the data. However, as one of these data is only
hypothetical, namely, the supposition that the air in contact with
the wet bulb is fully saturated, he would venture to propose in
its stead the condition, that the saturation of the air is not alto-
gether perfect, but that, for the same value of D, it is more and
more complete, as the temperature of the air increases. It is
easy to see, from a consideration of Sir James Ivory's formula,
that, on such a hypothesis, the value of D would need to be

On the Hygrometer. 337

increased as t diminished. A small Table of comparative obser-
vations is subjoined.

3.
1!
II

Difference be-
tween the dry
and wet Ther-
mometers.

i!

it

Error.

1

68.25

61.75

6.5

57.25

57.5

4- .26

2

56.25

54.5

1.75

53.26

62.75

— .5

3

64.5

59.0

5.5

54.5

64.8

+ .3

4

67.5

61.25

6.25

55.76

57.0

+ 1.25

5

67.25

61.0

6.25

56.75

56.7

— .05

6

63.0

59.0

4.0

56.25

55.8

^ .45

7

62.25

57.75

4.5

55.25

540

— 1.25

8

68.0

6I.75

6.25

67.26

67.65

+ .4

9

63.25

59.0

4.26

66.6

55.2

— 1.3

10

69.5

63.0

6.5

58.25

59.0

+ .76

11

68.75

61.0

7.75

56.25

55.8

_ .45

12

63.5

58.0

6.5

54.75

53.6

— 1.15

13

63.75

58.0

5.75

54.6

53.4

— 1.1

14

68.0

61.25

6.75

66.25

56.75

+ .5

15

65.5

59.75

5.75

65.25

65.6

+ .36

10

69.0

62.0

7.0

57.25

57.5

+ .25

17

66.5

61.0

6.5

57.5

67.2

— .3

18

66.25

61.0

5.25

57.5

57 6

0

19

67.0

59.5

7.6

54.6

54.6

+ .1

20

64.5

68.75

5.76

64.26

64.3

+ .05

21

64.75

58.75

6.0

53.75

54.2

+ .46

22

59.0

54.0

5.0

50.0

49.1

— .9

23

63.75

5775

6.0

53.75

52.9

— .85

24

63.5

57.25

6.25

62.25
49.25

52.1

— .15

25

59.75

54.75

5.0

49.9

+ .65

26

62.5

56.25

6.26

51.25

50.9

— .35

27

61.25

56.5

4.75

63.25

62.3

— .95

28

60.75

56.5

4.25

53.25

52.8

— .45

29

62.75

57.75

5.0

53.75

53.7

— .05

30

65.5

60.5

5.0

65.75

66.9

+ 1.15

31

64.75

61.0

3.76

58.26

58.36

+ .1

32

61.25

57.25

6.0

49.75

49.7

— .05

33

62.5

57.25

5.25

62.75

51.7

— 1.05

34

62.25

56.75

5.5

52.75

51.5

— 1.26

35

60.25

56.5

3.75

53.75

62.6

— 1.15

36

57.25

53.75

3.6

61.5

50.2

— 1.3

37

61.0

— .8

38
39

58.5
67.26

54.0

4.5
2.0

50.75

49.5

— 1.26

55.25

64.0

53.4

— .6

40

07.5

62.25

5.25

68.75

68.85

+ .1

S38 On the Hygrometer,

m

There was no barometer at hand when the observations were
made ; but the variations of pressure at the surface of the earth
are too small to occasion any sensible error, except when the
air is of a low temperature, and very dry.

From an inspection of the table, it appears that the maximum
errors in excess and defect were -|- 1.25 and — 1.3. Also by
comparing the 4th and 5th observations together ; the 6th and
9th; the 15th and 30th ; the 22d and 25th ; the 29th and 33d ;
the 36th and 37ih, — it will be seen that the observed dew-
point varied considerably, without a corresponding change in
the dry and wet thermometers, sufficient to account for the
difference. It is true that this circumstance does not determine
on which side the error lies ; but if the comparative difficulty of
making an observation in the two cases be considered, it seems
fair to attribute it to the uncertainty attending the use of Da-
niell's hygrometer. While the writer makes this remark, he is
of opinion that the original form of DanielPs hygrometer is de-
cidedly preferable to those proposed by Jones and Adie, from
the circumstance that the dew-point is confined to a zone of the
bulb only — the contrast between the clear and dim surface en-
abling the eye to mark the commencement of the deposition
much more accurately. The invention of M. Pouillet, noticed
by Professor Forbes in his Report on Meteorology, seems likely,
from its construction, to combine the separate advantages of the
above-mentioned instruments.

In a note at p. 107. of Mr Meikle's paper, already alluded
to, there is a remark regarding the effect of exposing a wet ther-
mometer to the sun. It happened, that, just before seeing that
observation, the writer had been making one or two experiments
on the same subject. Two thermometers, similar in every re-
spect, and having their bulbs covered so as to possess the same
power of absorbing and radiating heat, were exposed to the sun.
The bulb of one of them was then moistened, and when the
maximum cold was established, the temperatures of the dry and
wet thermometers, and also those of the air and of the dew-
point, were observed ; the latter by means of DanielPs hygro-
meter. The results are exhibited in the accompanying Table.

Oil the Hygrometer.

980

e^5

i)4.25

«8.25

80.0

70.25

83.0

74.5

71.5

69.75

67.5

09.5

Q-SH5

19.75

16.75

10.25

8.75

13.6

&ao

5a

ii

67.3

64.8

58.25 65.3

58.75 62.7

t

S

L

9.3

66.5

6.6

66.0

7.05 66.5

4.05 66.5

59.0 65.3

6.3 67.5

•8

5.0

4.6

4.9

4.7

5.2

Ii

14.7d

12.15

6.35

4.05

&3

According to these experiments, if the temperature of the
dry and wet thermometers exposed to the sun be respectively
denoted by T and T'; then the ratio of T — T' to <— ^ be-
comes greater as T — t increases. This, it is presumed, is what
Dr I^ardner intended, and not, as Mr Meikle supposes him to
mean, that T' is absolutely less than f . It may also be con-
cluded from these observations, that T — T' is Bot proportional
to j^, — •^,, but that it is more nearly so as T — t decreases.
The temperatures T' and If differ remarkably in this respect,
that the latter is not affected by a current of air, while the
former is considerably reduced by fanning the wet bulb for a
few seconds. This might have been anticipated ; for, in the
former case, the increased circulation of the air, while it pro-
motes evaporation, provides exactly in the same proportion the
requisite heat ; whereas, in the latter case, the source of heat
being constant, the cold increases with the rate of evaporation.
Besides, when T' is greater than t, the air abstracts instead of
contributing heat, and that in proportion to the quickness of its
circulation.

Before concluding this rather desultory paper, the writer will
make one remark regarding the process of evaporation. Ac-
cording to Dr Dalton, its intensity varies as y — /* under si-
milar circumstances. Now, if, as has been supposed, the air in
contact with the wet bulb of the thermometer is saturated at the
temperature ^, there seems no reason to doubt that it is also sa-
turated at ty when exposed to the surface of a body of water of
that temperature. But it is evident, that, supposing the dew-

S40 On t?ie Hygrometer.

point to be the same, and the circulation of air equally rapid,
the rate of evaporation in the former case to that in the latter
would be as f^ — f^, to f^ — f^,. Perhaps, therefore, the inten-
sity of evaporation has been found to be as f^ — j^,, from the
depth of water generally used in making the experiments having
been sufficient to preserve the temperature nearly at t Or, it may
be, that the difference of temperature t — t', by increasing the cir-
culation of air over the colder surface, compensates for the smaller
quantity of moisture which each portion of air contains, and
thereby renders f^ — f^, the true measure of the quantity eva-
porated in both cases. However, from the result of one expe-
riment, in which two moist surfaces were exposed, one in the
sunshine, and the other in the shade, the writer is led to think,
that the temperature of the evaporating surface affects the pro-

Marine Insects destroyers of Wood.

My dear Sir, Leith, Ut August 1834.

In my paper on the Limnoria terebrans, published in the Edin-
burgh Philosophical Journal for April last, I stated that the ravages
of that animal were first noticed at the Bell-Rock, by Mr Stevenson
in 1809 : and this, I believe, has been the general understanding
among zoologists for many years past. But I find, in the twenty-
second volume of the Journal de Physique (1783), an account by the
Abbe Dicquemare, of the destructive effects produced at Havre by
the agency of a minute crustaceous animal, which, from the descrip-
tion and figures given by the author, I have no doubt was of the
same species as that now called Limnoria terebrans- It is only with
the view of adding something to our acquaintance with the history of
an animal which is so interesting to us on account of the peculiarly
destructive effects of its habits, that I now direct your attention to
the paper by Dicquemare, above referred to. I enclose a translation
of part of it, which you will oblige me by inserting in the next num-
ber of your Journal, as a correction of the misstatement contained in
the account of the structure and habits of the Limnoria formerly pub-
lished. I am, my Dear Sir, yours most faithfully,

John Coldstream.

To Professor Jameson.

Marine Insects Destroyers of Wood. 341

** Marine Insects destroyers of Wood *. '*'

» « « « u J }jave already described some of those marine ani-
mals, which, by destroying the surface of stones, oblige us to re-
pair our harbour-sluices, and other works of the same kind. Let
us now attend to those which perforate, nearly in the same man-
ner, all sorts of wood. For a long time it had been the prac-
tice at Havre, to keep the fir-logs, of which masts are made for
the ships of war, in a basin called La Bare-floride. Some years
ago, it was observed that the surface of these logs was destroyed
by marine insects, which had bored in the softest parts to the
depth of an inch and a half, so that the diameter of each log
was diminished by three inches : it was feared that the timber,
being gradually softened by the action of the sea, would be en-
tirely destroyed by these insects, or at least rendered useless. I
know not whether any other measure was taken to remedy this
evil ; but soon after it was discovered, the Bare-floride was aban-
doned, and the logs removed to the ditches of the fortifications,
and to another basin, where the mast-yard now is. Having
heard, by chance, some time after the removal of the masts, of
this destruction of such valuable materials, I sought for the ene-
my secretly, in places to which I had greater freedom of access
than to the dockyard, and I discovered an old fishing-station
which was infested by it, where ash, elm, and even oak, had long
before been attacked, and in which the animals could be brought
to view by removing the surface of the wood. I took a few
from their holes, and placed them in sea-water, on different
kinds of wood, recently cut. They lodged themselves in these
within twelve hours. I had then no doubt of these being the
agents in the destruction of the mast-timber. The animal is
semicylindrical in form, or nearly so, covered with a scaly crust,
divided unequally into fourteen segments, of which the largest
are near the head, the smallest towards the tail, which is trun-
cated, and perforated by the anus. The head is rounded, and
terminated beneath by a kind of blunt beak, which, apparently,
serves the animal in boring the wood, as it inserts its head first,
and the debris which it forms passes between its feet under its
belly. This debris sometimes covers the back under the form

• Extract from a paper entitled, " Extraits du portefeuille de M. I'AbW
Dicquemarc ; Insects marines, destructeurs des bois."

34j3 On the Great Mastodon.

of a moist white dust. The head bears four antennae. There
are seven feet on each side, and a double appendage. The ge-
neral colour is a dirty white. I have obtained from some indi-
viduals five young ones completely formed ; from others fewer ;
but a peculiarity worthy of notice here presents itself, namely,
that I have seen some bearing eggs in different stages of deve-
lopment. The eggs and the young pass out by a triangular
opening, situated about the middle of the ventral surface. The
transparency of the crust admits of the young and the eggs be-
ing seen before they leave the body of their parent.

" To know our enemies is the first step — ^^to determine the
means of ejecting or destroying them is the last. To the latter
point I have directed my attention, and have made some expe-
riments bearing upon it. It would be very useful to have a po-
lice established in our ports, with the view of watching and pre-
venting the devastations of these animals."

Critical Notices of various Organic Remains hitherto discover-
ed in North America. By Richabd Harlan, M. D. * &c.

The author of the following observations has been led to the
undertaking by the urgent requests of many of his scientific
friends in Europe.

It will appear in the ensuing pages that many eminent Ame-
rican naturalists have occupied themselves in the successful pro-
secution of this most interesting department of human know-
ledge ; and yet very recent inquiries have satisfied us, that but
a small fraction of what has been published on this subject in
this country is adequately known to foreign naturalists. With
the exception of some few of our scientific journals, the limited
circulation in foreign countries of our scientific publications, is
a subject of just complaint among Europeans, who interest
themselves in works of this nature. We have been honoured
with the personal acquaintance of hundreds of transatlantic sa^
vans, to whom we are well assured the following pages, imper-
fect as they necessarily are, will prove an acceptable offering ;

• From the sheets of the volume of the Transactions of the Geological So-
ciety of Philadelphia, at present in the press, sent to the Meeting of the
British Association at Edinburgh.

On the Great Mastodon. 343

a motive in itself more than sufficient to impose upon us a more
difficult task, and the end satisfactorily attained, is more than
adequate compensation for tlie labour bestowed.

CLASS MAMMALIA.

ORDER PACHYDERMATA.

Gekus Mastodon, Cuv.
M. giganteum or maximus of Cuv.
Recherches but les Ossemens Fossiles, vol. i. 3d. edition ; S. L. Mitchiirs edi-
tion of Cuvier's Theory of the Earth ; Harlan's Fauna Americana ; Cooper's
Notice of Big-bone Lick, Am. Monthly Journal of Geology ; Peale's Account
of the Skeleton of the Mammoth, 4to. \ Trans. Am. Philos. Soc. ; Ann. of Lye.
Nat. Hist. N. York ; Syn. Tetracaulodon, of Godman, Trans. Am. Philos.
Soc. vol. iii. new series ; Mammoth of the Anglo-Americans, '■^ Father oj the
Buffaloes''' of the Indians, Animal d'Ohio of the French.

LocaZi/!^.— Confined to North America, principally in the
valley of the Ohio, Big-bone Lick, Kentucky, but occurring in
every state of the Union. Specimens of the teeth and bones
in most cabinets of natural history. A skeleton nearly com-
plete, both in the Philadelphia and Baltimore museums.

Place in the Geological Series, — Not yet ascertained with suf-
ficient accuracy. According to De la Beche, " Geolog. Manual,*"
occurring not later than his " Erratic Block Group,''' which also
includes the elephant or mammoth, and five other species of
mastodon, together with the genera Hippopotamus, Rhinoce-
ros, Tapir, Cervus, Bos, Hyena, Ursus, Megalonyx, Megathe-
rium, &c.

M. De la Beche remarks, p. 169 : — " The relative age of
the deposit in which the American Mastodons are found, can
not be considered as satisfactorily ascertained. Some geologists
are of opinion that these animals have disappeared more recently
than is commonly supposed ; that is, previous to the commence-
ment of the modern group."'

. In most instances, there is sufficient evidence that these ani-
mals died, and left their bones to become fossihzed in the pre-
cise situations in which they are now found; and that they
have been brought from a distance or exposed to the action of
running waters, which proves clearly that they have been de-
stroyed subsequently to the action of those causes which foimed
the beds of gravel or diluvial detritus, in and upon which they
are frequently found. . -r

344 On the Great Mastodon.

Not only are the teeth and bones of this animal unworn by
the action of running waters, but the skeleton is not unfre-
quently discovered in a standing position, just as the animal
has sunk into the marsh or mud, clay and sand. Such were
those from Great Osage river. — Cuv. An. Foss. vol. i. p. 222,
and in the skeleton noticed by Dekay and others. Ann. N. Y.
Lyceum.

In some instances, it would appear that the stomach itself,
with its vegetable contents, has been preserved. In a letter
addressed to Cuvier, by the late Professor B. S. Barton, there
is an account of the discovery of the remains of a mastodon in
Withe county, Virginia, five feet and a half beneath the soil,
on a bank of limestone. " But what renders this discovery pe-
culiarly curious,"" continues M. Cuvier, Anim. Foss. vol. i.
p. 219, " is that they collected from amidst these bones, a mass
of semimasticated small branches, grasses, leaves, &c., among
which it was thought a species of brier, still common in Vir-
ginia, was recognisable ; the whole of this being enveloped in
a kind of sack, which was regarded as the stomach of the ani-
mal, so as to leave little doubt that it consisted of the identical
substances which the animal had devoured.^"*

M. Cuvier further remarks, p. 222, " Indications of the so-
journ or passage of the sea over the remains of these animals
appear to be more rare than in the case of the elephant bones ;
I have never seen any remains of shells or zoophiles on the
bones of the great mastodon which I have examined.''

During the exploration made by Lieut.-Col. H. S. Long, at
Big-bone- lick, in 1824, great quantities of the remains of the
elk and bison, both recent and fossil, were disinterred along
with the bones of the mastodon.

From the facts and observations above detailed, together
with others of a similar nature, that might be produced, we are
led to the conclusion that the great mastodon, and other simi-
larly situated animals, must have ceased to exist, at a period
much more recent than is generally supposed. There are no
evidences of its existence prior to the last general cataclysm.
They may even have disappeared, together with the fossil elk,
or moose, of Ireland, since the creation of man, though long
previous to his earliest historical records.

On the Great Ma^itodon. 345

Much has been written of late by inexperienced individuals,
containing romantic descriptions of the remains of monstrous
extinct quadrupeds, disinterred in various parts of our country,
and which are calculated to produce much confusion when they
attract the attention of the uninitiated. Thus, in excavating
the canal around the falls of Ohio, the remains of portions of
several individual skeletons of the mastodon were exhumed
from the river banks, several feet beneath the surface of the
present soil. Several pairs of tusks were arranged in a circle,
within which were the remains of a fire and Indian tools ; va-
rious other bones of the same were scattered about this focus,
which had no doubt at some distant day been so arranged by
the native Indians. A writer in one of the Kentucky papers
presumed that all the bones were the remains of a single indi-
vidual, vrith its immense mouth filled with enormous teeth, and
armed with several pairs of huge tusks, and the whole animal
of course sufficiently large to swallow a forest at a meal.

Another account of a huge animal disinterred at Big-bone-
lick, 60 feet long and 25 feet high ! has gone the rounds, being
first published in our western papers, republished in those of
the Atlantic cities, and finally transferred to those of Europe.

Of a character somewhat analogous are the descriptions of
similar organic remains published by individuals supposed to
possess higher claims to science, in the Trans, of the Am. Philos.
Soc. vols. iii. and iv. At page 478. of the volume first refer-
red to, there is a description of the under jaw of a young mas-
todon, with a figure. This relique was found in Orange county,
New York, and is now in the New York museum.

The author of these remarks took an early opportunity to
forward plaster casts of this jaw to the Geological Society of
London, and to the Garden of Plants at Paris ; and on his re-
cent visit to the Jardin des Plantes, he was somewhat surprised
to observe that he had already been in some measure antici-
pated by a foreign naturalist ; this museum already contain-
ing the plaster cast of a portion of the lower jaw of a mastodon,
sent from Germany to Baron Cuvier, soon after the completion
of the last edition of his Animaux Fossiles. This specimen
also contained the inferior tusk, about which so much has been
subsequently written on this side of the Atlantic. The circum-

346 (hi the Great Mastodmi.

stance, however, elicited very little attention from the French
professors. Yet it is on the existence of this inferior tusk in
the jaw of the young individual from Orange county, above
referred to, that the author has attempted to found a new genus
of fossil quadrupeds, under the name of " Tetracaulodon."

Admitting that the genus had been established on a solid
basis, the name is not a proper distinction, as it is equally ap-
plicable to the camel, hog, horse, deer, hippopotamus, fossil
tapir, &c. all of which possess ^^ four tibsks^ or tusks in each
jaw.

It further displays inattention at least, if not ignorance of
established usages among naturalists, to found a genus on the
existence or absence of tusks in the lower jaw, independently
of any other specific differences in the organization of other
portions of the body. It is well known that the males of some
species of animals possess tusks in one or both jaws, whilst
the females of the same species are destitute of these teeth ;
just as some male animals possess hor7is whose females are des-
titute of them.

On the first appearance of this pretended " tetracaulodon,"
the inferior tusks were characterised by the best authorities on
this subject to characterise the young of the mastodon ; a sub-
sequent examination, however, of numerous jaw bones of the
mastodon in our various cabinets, soon demonstrated these in-
ferior tusks to be mere sexual peculiarities ; a goodly propor-
tion of the jaws of the adult mastodons being found to be thus
characterized, but in no one single instance were specific diffe-
rences observable in the jaw teeth, maxillary bones, or any
other portions of the skeletons.

Vol. iv. p. 317. of the Trans. Am. Philos. Soc. contains the
lucubrations of a neophite in these matters, whose laborious ob-
servations as historian of the'pretended " Tetracaulodon," would
lead us to believe that he had clearly elucidated this subject,
and had ended the dispute in question. The author occupies
twenty-three pages of this quarto volume in letter-press, be-
sides ten plates (with numerous figures). With a critical acu-
men and depth of research peculiarly his own, he has " actually
discovered," from the same materials previously examined in
vain by naturalists of less penetrating zeal, three " new species

On the Great Mastodon. 347

of mastodon," and two or three new species of " Tetracaulo-
don ! !"

We repeat, that with others, upon whose judgment reliance
is to be placed, we have repeatedly examined all the specimens
of fossil bones noticed in the memoir above referred to, and
have searched in vain for any specific differences, not to speak
of generic distinction. The jaw-bones, together with the va-
rious teeth connected with them, or separately existing, display
no peculiarities or varieties of structure, but such as are found
to exist in similar portions of the skeletons of any other species
of animal, recent or fossil, provided specimens are selected from
individuals of different sexes, and different ages ; no peculia-
rities or differences, in fine, worthy of notice, not fully describ-
ed by Cuvier, in his Ossemens Fossiles, where he has given
seventeen figures of the teeth and jaws of this species, and
which are thus noticed in vol. i. p. 226, of his last edition : —
" The differences of teeth of the * Grand Mastodcmte^ consist
principally in the number of their points, and in their length
and breadth.

" I recognise three kinds of them : those nearly square, with
three pairs of points.

" Rectangular, with four pairs of points. Others still longer,
rather contracted posteriorly, with five pairs of points, and an
odd spur.

" The first are generally found among those most used ; I
have observed many about half used, and several others worn
down even to the neck of the tooth.

" The latter, on the contrary, are very rarely used, and are
almost always, their posterior parts at least, entire.

" This circumstance at once indicates their relative position.
The teeth with six points are anterior, and are the first to ap-
pear ; those with eight and with ten points come after, and are
situated behind. Direct observation has confirmed this induc-
tion,''

Again, at page 227 : — " The disposition then of the jaw
teeth in the adult animal is as follows : Two with six points
and two with eight points above, and two with six points and
two with ten points below.

" But besides these eight molars which remain in the adult.

348 On the Great Mastodon.

there are others placed anteriorly to them in young individuals,
which are shed successively.

" Thus the number of effective jaw teeth, which can be
brought into action at one time, is eight in the young animal,
and four only in the old.

" The roots of these teeth, like those of other animals, are
not formed until after the croten is perfected. They are found
complete only in such teeth as are already somewhat used.''

After reading the above quotations from Cuvier's " Gssemens
Fossiles,*" let any one attentively examine the specific characters
of the " new genus and species'" in the memoir above referred
to, and judge for himself of their validity. But for such
readers as may not have it in their power conveniently to refer
to the memoir in the Transactions of the American Philosophi-
cal Society, we will now quote a paragraph in the author's own
words, which affords a fair specimen of his notions of specific
characters.

" The cabinet of our society (Am. Philos. Soc.) contains a
portion of an inferior maxillary bone, which differs in its form
from any of those hitherto described. This fragment consists
of the chin, the right ramus, with the posterior molares, and a
portion of the left ramus. The anterior molar has three denti-
cules, with two points each ; and a ridge posteriorly. The ra-
mus of this jaw is straiter and more cylindrical ; the height
from the base to the edge of the alveolae is less ; the groove for
the tongue broader and shallower^ and the direction of the teeth
less diverging than in the maxillary figured in plate xxiv. ;
the crowns of the teeth are also less elevated in the former
than in the latter." — Vid. vol. iv. Trans. Am. Philos. Soc.
p. 323.

" Height, breadth, depth, direction"^ ! &c.

On comparing a number of human jaws together, scarcely
two will be found to correspond exactly in these particulars.

The author of " Tetracaulodon" renown appears to pay no
regard to the principles of classification ; yet he ought to have
been aware, that, whether " labouring for bread, or doing
something for fame,"* writers on natural science are not per-
mitted to swerve from established laws.

• Vid. " Tetracaulodon" Memoir. Trans. Am. Philos. Soc. vol. iv. p. 318.

Great Mastodon. 349

We shall now close our observations on the remains of the
Mastodon giganteum, by one more quotation from an au-
thority which our author appears to esteem as conclusive in
such matters ; we allude to Mr William Cowper of New York,
whom our author states " has been long engaged in the inves-
tigation of the history of the mastodon ; has visited Big-bone-
lick for the purpose of obtaining materials ; and who, upwards
of a year since, communicated to the Lyceum of Natural His-
tory of New York, some observations on the dentition of that
animal.*"*

The conclusion to which Mr Cooper arrived after the
fullest and most complete investigation of the most extensive
collections of the mastodon bones, in this country, of the fa-
mous " Tetracaulodon"*' inclusive, will be found in the follow-
ing paragraph, and needs no comment : —

" The ' TetracaulodorC of the late justly lamented Dr God-
man, appears to me, after a careful examination of his speci-
men, to be another young individual, also of the common mas-
todon, but older than mine. I have stated my reasons for this
opinion, in a paper on the dentary system of the mastodon,
which I read to the Lyceum of Natural History, in April 1830.
It appears, however, from recent observations, that the lower
tusks which I supposed all the species to have possessed in
their youth, were in some instances permanent during the ad-
vanced age of the animal. But whether this was a sexual cha-
racteristic, or merely an individual case of anomaly, of which I
have seen other curious examples, / cannot recognise more than
one species of' mastodon among the great quantity of their re-
mains found in the United States^ which have come under my
observation^ those just alluded to included^ — Vid. " Notices of
Big-bone-lick, by Wm. Cooper,'* Monthly Am. Joum. of Geo-
logy and Natural Science, conducted by G. W. Featherston-
haugh, vol. i. p. 158.

Finally, in the original memoir, descriptive of this supposed
new genus, the author has himself expressed doubts of the va-
lidity of the characters on which it is proffered. He admits
that the specimens he has described are the remains of a young

• Ut Supra, p. 336.
VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIV. OCTOBER 1834. A a

S50 Fo,9sil Elepliant.

individual, and that *< in every view, this animal so strongly
resembles the mastodon, but for the singular difference of or-
ganization presented by the lower jaw and its tusks, we could
riot avoid concluding we had obtained a young animal of that
species!^ As regards this jaw itself and molar teeth, they cer-
tainly do resemble those of the Mastodon giganteum, as closely
as the same parts in any young animal resemble those of the
adult individual.

Note. — Mastodon angttstidens^ Cuv. and M. tapiroideSj Cuv. Indications of
the existence of these species in North America, were given in the Fauna
Americana, pp. 212, 213. Subsequent observations have not yet further
confirmed this indication.

Genus Elephas.

E. primogenitts, Blumenbach and Cuvier.

Ossemens Fossiles, 2d edition, t. 1, p. 75, pi. 2 ; Harlan's Fauna Americana^ and
Journal of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science ; MitchelPs edition
of Cuvier's Theory of the Earth.

Locality, — In Europe these remains abound irt the nbrthern
countries, also in France, Germany, and Italy. They are scat-
tered over a vast range of country in North and South Ame-
rica. The frozen bodies of these animals have been found en-
veloped in ice on the north-west coast of America, as well as
in Siberia. ( Vid. Kotzbue^s Voyages.)

Place in the Geological series. — The fossil bones of the ele-
phant, although they are found to exist contemporaneously
with those of the mastodon, rhinoceros, megalonyx, ox, deer,
&c. would appear to have belonged also to a geological period
more ancient than the last-named animals. According to Cu-
vier, " the isolated bones which are met with every where, are
often observed to have marine animals attached to them, which
establishes, in an incontestible manner, that since their disper-
sion they have been covered by the ocean, under which they
have been buried a considerable time."

These remains are most generally discovered in the diluvial
deposits which fill valleys, or on the borders of rivers.

It is probable that the immense mass of the fossil bones of
the elephant scattered throughout the world, include the re-
mains of several species ; they are generally found in a state of

Fossil Tapir. ^l

decay, tod imperfect for specific comparisons, the only perfect
skeleton of this animal known, being that in the museum of St
Petersburg, Russia. From observations that we have made on
the fossil elephant teeth, several years ago, and published in
vol. iii. of the Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences of Philad. there can
be little doubt but that two distinct species at least once exist-
ed in North America.

Specimens of the teeth and fragments of the skeleton of this
species abound in our cabinets both public and private ; more
particularly in the cabinet of the Academy of Natural Sciences
of Philadelphia, of the Philosophical Society, &c. &c. The
Geological Society of Pennsylvania possesses an enormous
fossil osfimoris of this animal, found near Moorestown, New
Jersey.

I have observed several specimens of elephant teeth, with
the enamel arranged like that of the African elephant, which
appeared to be fossilized ; two of these are in the museum at
Liverpool, one in my own collection. Their origin is uncer-
tain, and all such are considered as apocryphal by Baron
Cuvier.

Genus Tapirus.

T. mastodontoides, Harlati.

^auna Americana, page 224.

Loca^t^?/.— Big- bone-lick, state of Kentucky.

This fossil molar tooth displays considerable ahalogy to that
of the " small fossil tapir"" of Cuvier, differing only in th^
obliquity of the transverse eminences of the crown, and iti the
form of the disks of these, produced by detrition ; but as
subsequent and more extensive observation on the tapirs, in
the museum of the " Jardin des Plantes," at Paris, has Con-*
vinced us that similar differences in the form and direction of
the transverse eminences are displayed in the different teeth of
the same individual, we admit that little reliance is to be placed
on them, when regarded as specific characters.

The molar teeth of the tapirs, kangaroo, and manatus, bear
cttftsiderable analogy with those of the mastodon ; they are co-
vered in a similar manner with enamel, and furnished alike
with transverse mamillary eminences in the young animal,

Aa2

352 Fossil Horse,

which by detrition present disks, more or less resembling each
other in the teeth of these different animals. Thus, a superfi-
cial observer might readily confound our fossil tooth with that
of a young mastodon, was not its size at least one-half smaller
than the smallest of the milk molars of the mastodon that have
come under the observation of naturalists. Mr Cooper has
casually remarked (vid. Notices of Big-bone-lick. Am. Monthly
Joum. of Geology, p. 163, in a note), *' Among these (the
molars of the mastodon), I include one similar to the tooth, al-
so from Big-bone-lick, described by Dr Harlan, as having be-
longed to an extinct species of tapir. That it is a young mas-
todon's tooth, is evident, I think, from the milk teeth still re-
maining in the head on which the supposed genus Tetracaulodon
is founded, as well as from the small jaw above described.**'

It is difficult to conceive in what manner '' the milk teeth
remaining in the head" of this or that animal, could prove any
thing concerning the nature of the tooth in question. Mr C.
probably means to say that he compared the tooth of my fossil
tapir with those in the jaws of young mastodons ; I also have
made similar comparisons, and have carried comparisons still
farther. Taking the disputed tooth in question to Paris, I
compared it in presence of naturalists skilled for their observa-
tion, with the teeth of the various tapirs preserved in Cuvier's
collection of comparative anatomy. The tooth in question
proves to have belonged to the anterior socket in the upper jaw
of a tapir. The size of the tooth and the form and structure
of its roots, distinguish it from those of the mastodon.

Place in the Geological sci'ies. — Contemporaneous with the
fossil remains of the rhinoceros, elephant, mastodon, and other
pachydermatous quadrupeds. Hitherto the fossil tapirs have
been found only in Europe, whilst the recent species inhabit
only South America and Mexico, the peninsula of Malacca
and the isle of Sumatra.

Genus Equus.

E. caballm. The Horse.

The fossil remains of this quadruped are sparingly found

both in North America and in Europe. The late Dr S. L.

Mitchell, in his edition of Cuvier's Theory of the Earth, alludes

Fossil Rhinoceros. 858

to the fossil teeth and vertebrae of the horse, found near Never-
sink Hills, state of New Jersey.

The cabinet of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadel-
phia, also contains specimens, from the Valley of the Ohio or
Mississippi, and we have to acknowledge the receipt of others
from Col. I. J. Abert, of Washington, which were found in
excavating for the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, near George-
town, D. C, not far from the Potomac River.

Genus Rhinoceros.

RiNOCEBOiDES Alleghaniensts.

Vid. Am. Monthly Journal of Geology, &c. where, under this name is figured
and described a petrifaction which displays a considerable resemblance to the
bony snout of the rhinoceros. The original specimen was sent to London, and
the geologist who there examined it considered it of too doubtful a character
to be admitted as a fossil remnant-

For ourselves, we are disposed to wait for further discoveries
of this nature, previous to admitting the present specimen as a
part of our fossil fauna. The specimen is no less singular or
interesting to geologists, as demonstrating the very close analogy
of a mere lusiis nature of the mineral kingdom, if it be nothing
else, to a portion of the animal skeleton. One argument applied
to this and other similar specimens, in order to prove that it
could not be considered as an organic relic, viz. the total ab-
sence of bony material, I conceive to be by no means conclu-
sive; it being quite possible that the skeleton of an animal
might be so circumstanced as to become completely minera-
lized, or changed from its original structure, just as we observe
some vegetable structures to have changed. In ordinary in-
stances, we are well aware the very reverse of this, as regards
bones, is the fact ; even the animal matter in fossil bones would
appear to be, under some circumstances, as indestructible as the
rock in which they are entombed, some of which are compara-
tively ancient, such as the saurian bones contained in the cupe-
rose schists of Europe, and which were found on analysis to
contain animal mattei-.

354 Megatherium Cuvkri.

ORDER EDENTATA.

Genus Megath^^ju*^, Cuv.

M. Ctwieriy of authors.

Cuv. Ossesiens Fossilis, 3d ed. vol. v. part 1st, p. 174, pi. 16 ; Megatherium^ S. L.
Mitchell, Ann. of the Lye. N. York, vol. i. p. 58, pi. 6, and Wm. Cooper, ut
supra, vol. i. p. 114, pi. 7, and vol. ii. p. 267; Harlan's Fauna Americana^

p, soe.

Syn. Anitnal du Paraguay : Animal incognita.

Loccdity. — In South America, Paraguay, Lima, and in the
vicinity of the River Luxan, three leagues south-west of Bue-
nos Ay res, whence was obtained the skeleton nearly entire in
the Madrid Museum. In 1828, remains of this fossil animal
were first discovered in North America. Specimens from Skid-
away Island, Georgia, in the cabinet of tjie New York Lyceum,
a detailed account of which will be found in the volume of the
Ann. of the Lye. of N. York, abov^e referred to, by the late Dr
Mitchell, and by William Cooper, Esq.

Place in the Geological series, — The entire skeleton in the
Madrid Museum was obtained on the borders of the river
Luxan, South America, in 1789. The jbank in which it oc-
curred is only elevated about ten yards. These remains occur
most commonly in the great plains of South America, particu-
larly in the vicinity of Buenos Ay res; in that flat country,
washed by the Panama and its tributaries, the bones being
found sunk in the sand of the ancient alluvion, and sometimes,
during very dry seasons, when the waters are low, they appear
elevated above the surface ; such was the position of those fine
and valuable specimens of this fossil animal, recently brought
to London, and presented to the Royal College of Surgeons,
by Woodbine Parrish, Esq. The inhabitants of a remote disr
trict, we are informed, saw the pelvis of the animal appearing
above the water, and throwing the lasso drew it on shore, car-
ried it to the authorities of Buenos Ayres, from whom Mr Par-
rish obtained it, and subsequently sent 100 miles into the
country, and with great exertions in dredging and turning off
the water, succeeded in obtaining the greater portion of the
skeleton, including the massive scaly cloak of the animal, with
which it was covered somewhat in the manner of the Chlamy-
phorus and Armadillo, together with the caudal vertebrae, nei-

Megalonyx Jeffersoriii. 865

thpr of which had ever been previously found. The os femoris
is more than twice the thickness of that of the elephant. The
bones of \\i^ feet are raqre th^n » yard long and twelve inches
wide.

4^^ regaprds the positipn pf the remains of this animal disco-
vered in North America, we are indebted for all the informa-
tipn we possess o\\ the subject, to the observations of Mr Wil-
liam Cooper. — Vide Ann. of the Lyceum of New York, vol. i.
p. 124.

'f ^y inquiries haye not, ^ yet, enabled me to give any
very precise information respecting the locality of these bones,
or the character of the formation in which they were found :
their appearance, hpwever, indicate that they have been over-
flowed by the sea ; and they appear to have had one side im-
bedded in the earth or mud, while the other was washed by the
salt water. They are thinly incrusted in some places with
FlustrdE. and other zoophites, and have recent shells of the ge-
nus Balanus and Ostrea adhering to them. AH are remarkably
hard and heavy, and of a deep black colour ; they do not re-
tain any of their animal matter.'**

It is further stated : " These bones are still to be procured
in great quantity, by some labour and expense, at the same
place. Bones of the same kind may be obtained at two other
places : one called White Bluffs also on the sea coast of Georgia,
the other at some distance up the Savannah river.*"

We have only to remark, that the relative possession of the
bones above referred to, as regards the waters of the ocean,
appears to be due to accident, or recent exposure ; the fractured
surfaces of the bones still retain their angles, and in other re-
spects display sufficient evidence that they have not been exposed
to the action of running water; they apparently occupy the
situation in which they were originally deposited.

Genus Megalokyx, Jefferson.
M. Jeffgrsonii, Harlan, Fauna Americana, p. 201.
M. Jeffersoniiy Desm. Mammalogie, p. 336.
Megalokyx, Jefferson.
Trans, of the Am. Philos. Soc. vol. iv., old series, p. 246, and Wistar, same vol.
p. 626, pi. 1 & 2; Cuvier, Ossemens Fossiles, vol. v. part 1, p. 160, pi. 15, 3d
edition.

The characters pf the genus, being founded on a single mo-

356 Megalonyx Jeffersomi.

lar, the only one known when Cuvier wrote his notice of this
animal, will require revision.

Locality, — As yet only three localities for the remains of this
interesting fossil are known — all in North America, viz. —
Greenbriar county, state of Virginia, Big-bone-lick, and White
Cave, Kentucky.

Place in the Geological series. — The first notice we have of
the existence of this fossil genus is due to the late Mr Thomas
Jefferson, former President of the United States of North
America, who made them the subject of a memoir published in
the Transactions of the Am. Philos. Soc. of Philad. vol. iv.
p. 246.

Mr Jefferson compared these fossils with similar parts of the
lion, to which he considered his animal congeneric. Plaster
casts of these bones were sent* to Baron Cuvier, who was thus
enabled to estimate them at their true value, and to arrange
them as pertaining to an animal of the tardigrade family, and
as allied to the Megatherium.

The bones forwarded by Mr Jefferson to the American Phi-
losophical Society, consist of " a small fragment of the femur,
or humerus, a complete radius, a cubitus complete, broken in
two, three claws, and a half dozen other bones, belonging to
the foot or hand." A tooth and some other small fragments
were subsequently obtained by Palisot de Beauvois, from the
same cave.

Similar caverns to that in which these bones were found,
exist in great numbers throughout the western part of Virginia,
Kentucky, Tennessee, and other portions of the great valley of
the Mississippi river, in the cavernous limestone, which here
constitutes the surface rock for hundreds of miles. Some of
these caverns,, such as the mammoth cave of Kentucky, are
several leagues in extent, and appear to have once been the
channels of subterranean rivers, a circumstance which may pos-
sibly explain the comparative rare occurrence of organic re-
mains within them.

Nitre, or saltpetre, is not unfrequently found adhering to the
surfaces, and in the soil of clay, nmd, or stalagmite formed at
the bottom. The cave in Greenbriar county, Virginia, in which
the Megalonyx bones of Jefferson were found, is thus situated.

Megalonyx laqueatus. 357

and was formerly extensively worked for saltpetre ; the bones
were buried two or three feet beneath the surface of the floor of
the cave ; they are completely fossilized, very dense and heavy,
of a white colour, and are still very well preserved.

Meoalokyx laqueatus. Harlak.

Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, vol. vi. p. 269,
pi. 12, 13, 14. Also, in the American Monthly Journal of Geology and Natu»
ral Sciences, 1831 and 1832. " Description of the Jaws, Teeth, and Clavicle
of the Megalonyx laqueatus.'''' By R. Harlan, M. D. vol. i. p. 74. pi. 3.

Locality. — " White Cave," Edmondson county, Kentucky,
on the southern bank of Green river, fifty miles in a direct
northern line from the Ohio river, and about half a mile from
the mouth of " Mammoth Cave.""

The specimens of this highly important organic remain are
at present the property of John Price Wetherill, Esq., and have
been by him liberally deposited in the Cabinet of the Academy
of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. They consist of the fol-
lowing portions of the skeleton, viz. : two claws of the fore-feet ;
a radius, humerus, scapula, one rib, and several remnants of
ribs, OS calcis, tibia, portion of the femur ; four dorsal and one
lumbar vertebrae, a portion of a molar tooth, together with
several epiphyses, the bones being portions of the skeleton of a
young animal, all occasionally imperfect at their extremities.

Recent bones of the bison, the deer, the bear, and a meta-
carpal bone of the human finger, accompanied the specimens,
and were stated to have occurred in the same cave with those
of the Megalonyx ; the latter, strictly speaking, are not fossi-
lized ; they retain a very considerable portion of their animal
matter, are much more brittle and lighter than recent bones ;
most of the articulating surface are still covered, more or less,
with cartilage, tinged of a yellow colour. One of the unguial
phalanges still fetains the horny covering or nail, also tinged
of a yellow ochreous colour. These bones are stated to have
been found on the surface of the floor of the cave, uncovered by
earth or stalagmite. Not only the teeth, but other portions of
the skeleton, were found, on comparison with similar parts of
the Jefferson Megalonyx, to present differences estimated of
sufficient importance to constitute distinctive specific characters.
In the same collection there are a humerus, nearly perfect,

358 Cervus Americanua.

nineteen inches long, apd a metacarpal bone of an adult animal
of the same species, subsequently disinterred at Big-bone-lick ;
these are of a deep black colour, of a dense and solid structure,
like the soundest of the mastodon bones.

Still more recently, a large collection of fossil bones obtained
from Big-bone-lick, have been exhibited in the city of New
York ; among them were observed, the jaw, teeth, clavicle and
a tibia of the right leg of the Megalonyx laqueatus, the same
that are described and figured in the Amevicanci Monthly Jour-
nal of Geology and Natural Science of Philadelphia.

Place in the Geological series. — Contemporaneoqs with thp
Big-bone-lick fossils, and probably also with bones of the ca-
verns of Germany, England, France, &c. ; but judging from
the appearance of the Megalonyx bones from White Cave,
Kentucky, they are still more recent than those of any extinct
fossil species hitherto discovered, with the probable exception
of the " Elk of Ireland." I have seen, in the museum of the
Dublin Society of Natural History, the lower portion of the
fore-leg of a cervine animal, with the skin, hair, and hoof sim-
ply desiccated, fpund in the peat-bogs of Ireland, along with
the bones of the fossil elk, of which animal it was supposed to
form a part ; it bears the closest analogy to the s^me part of
the North American moose-deer, {Cervus alces, Linn.)

Most of the original specimens of the fossil bones of this ex-
tinct species are in the cabinet of Mr J. P. Wetherill, deposited
in the Hall of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.
Plaster casts have been taken, and the specimens thus multi-
plied are contained in many European cabinets ; among others,
we have furnished the " Jardin des Plantes,"" Paris, and the
Geological Society of London.

ORDER RUMINANTIA.

Gekus Cervus.

C. Americanusj Harlan,

Fauna Americana, p. 245 ; Wistar, Trans. Am. Philos. Soc. vol. i. new series,
p. 375, pi. 10, fig. 4. Fossil Elk of the United States of North America.

The present fossil species was first established on a mutilated
5>kull in the cabinet of the American Philosophical Society, pre-
sented by the late President Jefferson ; the species appears to

FosiU Oyvcn. 359

be liefest rel^itetl to the common elk of North America {Cervus
Canadevsis, Briss.), although it displays several characters which
distinguish it from all other species, living or fossil, hitherto in-
troduced into the systems. Judging from the skull, the animal
was larger than our common elk.

Locality,- — The bones of this fossil elk are not unfrequently
found in the celebrated morass near the Ohio river. Big-boner
lick, in company with the bones of the mastodon. Some fossil
bones were observed by Dr Bigsby in Canada, which, from de-
signs in his possession, are judged to have belonged to the fossil
elk.

Place in the Geological series. — Such as indicated by the
above mentioned locality.

Genus Bos.

B. bombifronsj Harlan,

Fauna Americana, p. 271 ; skull of a fossil Ox, Wistar, Trans. Am. Philos. Soc
vol, i. new series, p. 379, pi. xi. figs. 11 and 12.

This fossil species displays considerable analogies in such
portions of the skeleton as are known, to the bison {Bos Ameri-
canus) or common buffalo of the United States ; but the form
of the skull, and peculiar disposition of the horns in the fossil,
distinguish it as a nondescript species.

Locality. — Big-bone-lick and other similar morasses. The
fossil teeth of this species are very common.

B. latifronsj Harlan,

Fauna Americana, p. 273; Cuv. Anim. Foss. Ist ed. vol. iv. pi, 3, fig. 3, Broad.
headed Fossil Os.

This specimen, a mutilated skull of large dimensions, is in
the cabinet of the Am. Philos. Soc. Philad. It resembles in
many respects the skull of the Auroch, {Bos tirus, Cuv.) The
horn is twenty-eight inches in circumference at its base.

Locality. — State of Kentucky. According to Cuvier, similar
fossil skulls have been found in Europe, on the borders of the
Bhine, near to Cracovie in Bohemia, &c.

B. pailasii^ Dekay,
Ann. of the Lye. of Nat. Hist. N. York, vol. ii. p. 280, pi. 6.
Among a large collection of fossils presented to the Lye. of

360 Fossil Walrus.

Nat. Hist, of N. York, by the late Dr Mitchell, is a bovine
skull, which Dr Dekay has minutely described as above re-
ferred to, and compares it with the skull of the Bos moschatus,
which it most nearly resembles.

Similar fossils have been occasionally found in Siberia, which
it is supposed were probably carried there in ice from the
American continent. Vid, Cuv. Anim. Foss. vol. iv. pi. 3, fig,
9 and 10 ; also, Ozeretskovsky, Memoirs of the Royal Academy
of St Petersburg, 1809-10.

Locality. — " New Madrid, on the banks of the Mississippi
river, ejected by the earthquake of ISIS."

ORDER CARNASSIERS, Cuv.

Genus Teichecus, Lin. The Walrus.

T. rosmarus, Lin.

Cuv. Recherches sur les Ossemens Fossiles, torn. v. Cooper, Ann. Lye. Nat.
Hist, of N. York, vol. ii. p. 271.

Only slight indications of the existence of a fossil morse or
walrus have been hitherto observed in any country ; a few molar
teeth, and some fragments of bone found in France, have been
referred to this species. In the work above alluded to, Mr
Cooper has given a lucid account of a mutilated fossil skull in
the cabinet of the Lyceum, which, without doubt, belonged to
the walrus ; the skull is remarkably hard and heavy, the tusks
having become almost agatized. On comparison with similar
portions of the T. rosmarus of Linn., it displayed strong spe-
cific affinity.

Locality. — Accomac county, Virginia.

Place in the Geological series. — Atlantic tertiary .? along with
the fossil bones of Cetacea.

Captain Beechey brought home with him from the north-west
coast of America the fossil vertebrae of an unknown extinct
mammalia ; on comparing the fossil casts of these vertebrae
with the amphibious tribe of Carnassiers in the museum of the
Garden of Plants, the fossil appeared referrible to one of this
family.

Fosjiil Cetacea. S61

ORDER CETACEA.

Genus Manatus.

The fossil ribs and vertebrae of a large species of manatus
are contained in the cabinet of the Academy of Natural Sciences
of Philad. Vid. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences of Philad. vol. iv.
p. 32, " Notice of Plesiosaurus," &c., by Jl. Harlan, M. D.

Locality. — Eastern coast of the United States, Atlantic Ter-
tiary, Georgia, New Jersey, western shore of Maryland, &c.

The cabinets of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Phila-
delphia, and the Lyceum of Nat. Hist, of N. York, contain ribs
and vertebrae, &c. of fossil whales, or

Cetacea proper.

Such remains are by no means of rare occurrence in the
Atlantic tertiary.

In the estuary of the Mississippi river, numerous remains of
recent whales are daily discovered, the bones being observed pro-
jecting from the mud. The skull, jaws, and teeth of a very large
spermaceti whale were thus obtained by the fishermen some few
years since, and carried to New Orleans, where they were palm-
ed on the public as the fossil remains of some enormous nonde-
script monster. Numerous theories and ingenious speculations
arose on the subject, and were gazetted from one end of our
country to the other. The bones were purchased at consider-
able expense, and exhibited through the United States. The
late Dr Godman produced a memoir on the occasion, and an-
nounced to the American Philosophical Society " the discovery
of the remains of the largest ' saurian fossil' ever heard of,"
and proposed to designate it by the name " Megistosaurus,""
which stands at the present day registered on the minutes of
the Society. The animal was represented as possessing a long
horn several feet in length, projecting from the side of its head.
The fame of this wonderful monster found its way even into
the European newspapers — when lo ! and behold ! on the first
examination of these remains by a naturalist, they were imme-
diately perceived to form a portion of the skeleton of an im-
mense recent spermaceti whale ; the pretended horn being no-

3G'2 Fossil Birds.

thing more than one of the intermaxillary bones sawed of, and
fitted on the jugal bone of the right side.

Thus the remains at last met with an honourable burial, on
the eve of departure for England, where they would no doubt
have astonished the natives, both as to the gigantic fossil pro-
ductions of the New World, and as specimens of the critical
acumen of our scientific observers.

The articulating surface plates, or epiphyses of the vertebrae
of whales, are not unfrequently found separate, both fossil and
recent ; they have occasionally given rise to false notions, and
to the dissemination of error. The " New Fossil Genus'' erf
Raffinesque, named " Nephrosteon,^^ (Vid. Atlantic Journal,)
and the bone on which the genus is constructed, and which this
author considers as a portion of the head-plate of a fossil sau-
rian, has no other foundation than one of these epiphyses from
the remains of a recent spermaceti whale.

CLASS AVES.

The fossil remains of birds are of rare occurrence in any
country, but particularly so in America ; only one specimen
clearly ascertained has fallen under our immediate inspection.
This consisted in a femur, imperfect at its upper extremity, of
an individual allied to the genus Scolopax, obtained by the late
S. W. Conrad. The bone appears to be perfectly mineralized.
Cab. of the Acad. Nat. Sciences, Philad.

Locality^ from a " marl-pit"" in New Jersey.

CLASS REPTILIA.
ORDER CHELONIA.

Fossil bones and breastplates of turtles are not unfrequently
discovered in the Jersey " marl-pits," but are too imperfect to
admit of any satisfactory arrangement into genera or species ;
they occur principally in the Atlantic secondary. Specimens
preserved in the Cab. of A. N. S. and Lye. Nat. Hist. N. York.
( To he condttded in our next Number,)

Mammary Glands of' Cetacea, 368

On the Structure and Uses of the Mammary Glands of the Ce^
tacea. By Professor Traill. Communicated by the Author.

In perusing M. Geoffroy Saint Hilaire's interesting Frag-
ment on the structure and uses of the mammary glands of the
cetacea, it occurred to me that there was an obvious and easy
method of ascertaining how far we must admit the distinction
attempted to be established by that eminent naturalist, between
the process of lactation in terrestrial and aquatic mammalia.

M. Geoffroy Saint Hilaire describes the formation of the
void within the mouth of the young animal, and the flow of the
milk, in the usual manner ; but he conceives, that in the act of
swallowing, it is essential that the air enter by the nostrils to
supply the place of the mouthful of milk that is passing into the
stomach. His words are, " Pendant que Vair amhiant^ libre de-
sormais de traverser la route des narines, s''en vient remplir Var-
riere-bouche, et rendre a la langue et a ses parties accessoires
leur premiere aptitude a la deglutition du bol alimentaire^
p. 74. The want of this supply of air, he contends, must pre-
vent animals immersed in water from continuing the reiterated
efforts of sucking and swallowing without quitting the teat ; and
he arrives at the conclusion, that " Le cetace ne tete done point. "^

On reading these remarks, I immediately tried whether I
could not suck and swallow with my nose closed ; and found
that the process was not attended with any difficulty. I disc
ascertained that the same could be done when the face was im-
mersed in a basin of water.

But in order to render all the circumstances of the experi-
ment as similar as possible to those affecting the lactation of
aquatic mammalia, I furnished myself with a bladder, contain-
ing half an English pint of milk, and connected it with a short
glass tube, surmounted by a cow''s teat. I entered a bath, and
plunging the apparatus and my whole body below the water, I
found that I could suck and swallow, in successive efforts, as
readily as in the open air. There was so little difficulty, that,
on removing the cow's teat, I sucked up and swallowed all the
milk during four immersions, without any violent effort.

When such is the case with man, whose power of submer-

364 Astronomy.

sion rarely exceeds, half a minute, why should we doubt that ce-
tacea, accustomed to remain submersed in their own element for
a period of not less than fifteen or twenty minutes, without the
necessity of respiration, are able to reiterate the action of suck-
ing and swallowing while adhering to the mother''s teat ?

I may add, that to avoid any accidental chance of error, I
was assisted in these experiments by my friend Dr Gumming of
Chester.

10 Albyn Place, September 18. 1834.

Astronomy.

The Professorship of Practical Astronomy in the Univer-
sity of Edinburgh, which became vacant by the death of Dr
Blair in the year 1828, has now been filled up by the ap-
pointment to that office of Thomas Henderson, Esq. lately astro-
nomer at the Cape of Good Hbpe : he has also the title of Astro-
nomer-Royal to Scotland ; and is directed by his commission to
carry on a series of observations in the Edinburgh Observatory
on the Calton Hill, expressly with a view to the improvement
of astronomy, geography, and navigation, the results to be re-
ported twice in the year to his Majesty's Government. From the
zeal and intelligence manifested by Mr Henderson when at the
Cape observatory, where he made at least 10,000 observations in
the course of fourteen months, and the fact, that he has obtained
his present appointment expressly by the recommendation of the
Astronomical Society of London, and eminent individual members
of that body, we anticipate most favourably for the reputation of
ourEdinburgh Observatory. Mr Henderson has an assistant,and
has at his command a mural circle six feet in diameter, a tran-
sit instrument about eight feet in length, with an object-glass
six and a-half inches in diameter, and an azimuth and altitude
circle of which the vertical circle is three feet in diameter, and
the azimuth circle two feet. These three instruments, the first
and last of which were made by Troughton and Simms, and the
transit instrument by Repsold of Hamburgh, (the object-glass
by the late Frauenhofer), are inferior to no instruments in the
world.

( 3G5 )

On the. Upper Greywacke Series of England mid Wales,

TABLE of the Order of Stratified Deposits which connect the Car-
boniferous Series with the older Slaty Rocks in ilie Counties of Sa-
lop, Hereford, Montgomery, Radnor, Brecknock, CaermartJien,
Monmouth, Worcester, Stafford, and Gloucester. By R. I. Mur-
CHisoN, Vice-Pres. Geol. Soc. and Royal Geog. Soc, F.R.S.,
F.L.S., &c. &c.

The history of the nature and succession of the Upper Transi-
tion Rocks has long been a desideratum among; geologists, and no
attempt has hitherto been made to point out their order. Having
discovered, in the above-mentioned counties of England and Wales,
a series of deposits replete with organic remains, which seemed to
afford a complete key to a large portion of the rock formations
hitherto much neglected, the author has been led to devote himself
specially to the study of this branch of the science during the last
three years, during which he has coloured geologically all the sheets
of the Ordnance Survey which relate to this region, and has col-
lected a great number of organic remains which were previously
unknown to naturalists. Struck by the nature and objects of these
operations, and their importance to the completion of the geology
of England and Wales, many noblemen and gentlemen have requested
the author to publish his views in a separate work, accompanied by
a map, sections, and figures of the organic remains in each forma-
tion. He has consented to prepare such a work, and Mr John
Murray, Albemarle Street, has offered to receive the names of all
persons who will join as subscribers. This work will describe not
only the formations beneath the coal measures, but also all those
younger deposits which overlie them in the country under review,
as well as all the associated Sienitic and Trappean Rocks and their
effects. But the chief value of this work will consist in the esta-
blishment of complete types of the succession of these deposits in
the descending order, commencing with those strata which are
already well known, and terminating downwards with those slaty
rocks in Wales and Cumberland, with which Professor Sedgwick
has rendered himself so familiar, and of which he is about to under-
take the illustration ; the author having, conjointly with the Pro- '
fessor, examined such portions of the country as have enabled them
to connect clearly the upper system of the one, with the more deep-
seated rocks investigated by the other. The annexed tabular view
is offered, in the mean time, as a synopsis of part of the labours of
Mr Murchison.

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIV. — 0(TODER 1834. B b

a6()

DESCENDING

Maximu m

approxlnukte

thickness.

Carboniferous Lime-
stone.

Old Red Sandstone.

I, Ludlow Bocks.

Feet.
500?

10,000.

2000.

Subdivisions.

Limestone. Shale.

a. Red conglomerate
and sandstone.

h. Cornstone and argil-
laceous marls.

c. Tile stones, &c.

d. Upper Ludlow rock.

A vmestry and Sedge-
ley limestone.

/. Lower Ludlow rock.

Lithological Characters.

a. Quartzose conglomerate over-
lying thick-bedded sandstones.

b. Red and green, concretionary
limestones, with spotted argil-
laceous marls and beds of
sandstone.

c. Flaggy, highly micaceous,
hard, red and green sandstone.

d. Slightly micaceous, grey-co-
loured, thin-bedded sand-
stone.

e. Subcrystalline or grey and
blue argillaceous limestone.

/. Sandy, liver, and dark- co-
loured shale and flag, with
concretions of earthy lime-
stone.

II.WenlockandDud-J
ley Rocks. \

1800.

g. Wenlock and Dud-
ley limestone.

h. Wenlock and Dud-
ley shale.

g. Highly concretionary grey
d blue subcrvstalline lime-

an(
stone.

A. Argillaceous shale, liver and
dark gray- coloured, rarely mi-
caceous, with nodules of earthy
limestone.

III. Horderley and \
May Hill Rocks

2500.

«. Flags.

k. Sandstones, grits,
and limestones.

i. Thin-bedded, impure, shelly
limestone, and finely lamina-
ted, slightly micaceous green-
ish sandstone.

k.* Thin-bedded, red, purple,
green, and white freestones.
Conglomeritic quartzose grits,
Sandy and gritty limestones.

IV. Builth and Llan-
deilo flags.

1200.

V. Longmynd and
Gwastaden Rocks.

Many

thousand

feet.

/. Dark-coloured fl
calcareous, with
stone and schist.

igs, mostl
some san

t

Comprising all the slaty
system of South
Wales.

m. Hard, close-gram ed, gray
greenish and purple sand-
stone. Red and gray quart-
zose conglomerate. Slate-co-
loured and purple schists.
Coarse slates : little or no
calcareous matter.

« The sandstones (i, k, and m,) pass into quartz rock in the vicinity of certain trap rocks (Wrekin, Caer Caradoc, Blaen
PylVrin Ram, Uc.,) as will be explained in the Work alhwlcd to.

ORDER.

307

Characteristic Organic Remains.

A few Localities.

Corals differing in species from those of tlie for-
mations below. Producta hemisphrerica. P.
Martini. Spirifertriaiigularis, &c. (Defence
and teeth of fishes. Glee Hill, Salop.)

Lillcshall, Steeraways, Orleton, south end of Clee
Hills, and Llanymynech, Shropshire. The edge
of the South Wales Coal-basin.

a. No organic remains observed.

b. Fishes of undescribed genei^ tknta *^imy ,*

c. Avicula, n. s. Pileopsis, n. s. Small Or-
thocera. Small Ichthyodorulites ?

a. Caermarthen and Brecon Fans, SR part of Black
Forest, Brecknockshire ; flanks of the Brown Clee
Hill, Shropshire.

b. Central and north, parts of Herefordshire: eastern

part of Brecknockshire : Whitbach near Ludlow,
and base of the Clee Hills, Shropshire; Tenbury
and Alveley, near Kidderminster, Worcestersh.

c. Pontarlleche, C><Tndwr, Caermarthenshire: Clyro

Hills, Brecknocksh. : Tinmill Copse, near Down-
ton Castle, Herefordsh. : Clui> Forest, Shropsh.

d. Avicula, n. s. A. retroflexa, Hisinger. Atry-
pa (Dalman), n. s. Cypricardia, n. s. Ho-
monolotus Knightii,new genus, Konig. Lep-
tajna lata, V. Buch. Orthis, several new spe-
cies. Orbicula, 2 new species. Orthocera,
several new species. Pleurotomaria ? 2 new
species. Turbo, n. s. Gigantic serpuline bo-
dies, &c. &c.

e. Pentamerus Knightii, M. C. Pileopsis vet us-
ta, M. C. Bellerophon,n. 8. Lingula, n. s. A-
trypa, n. s. Tereoratula AVilsoni, M. C. Ca-
lamopora fibrosa, Goldf., and a few other
corals.

/. Phragmoceras, new genus, Broderip, 3 sp.
Asaphus caudatus. Ichthyodorulites ? small.
" Cardiola," Brod., new gen. 28p. Nautilus,
n. 8. Spirulites, 2n.s. Pentamerus. Atrypa
galeata, Dalra. n.s. Pleurotomaria, n. s. Or-
thocera pyriformis, n. s. ; and several others.

g. Corals and Crinoidea in vast abundance. Bel-
lerophon teuuifascia, M. C. Euomphalus ru-

Sosus. Eu. discors. Conularia quadrisculata,
I. C. Pentamerus, n. s. Natica, n.s. N. spi-
rata,M.C. Leptsenaeuglypha, Dalman. Spi-
rifer lineatus, M. C. S. n. s. Terebratula cu-
ncata, Dalm. Producta deprcssa, M. C. Or-
. thocera,8ev. sp. Asaphus caudatus. Calyniene
Blumenbachii. The BarTrilobite and others.
h. As. caudatus variety, C. Blumenbachii.
Lingula, n. s. Orthis, n. s., and others.
Cyrtia trapezoidalis, Dalm. Delthyris, n. s.
Orthocera, n. s. O. annulata, M. C. Cri-
noidea, &c.

d. Ludlow Castle, ^V^litcliffe, Munslow, Diddlcbury,
Larden, Shropshire: Croft Castle, Mortimer's
Cross, Titley, Kington, Fownhope, Stoke Edith,
Herefordshire: West flanks of Malvern and Ab-
bcrley Hills, Worcestershire : West flank of May
Hill : Presteigne, Pain's Castle, Radnorshire :
Treweme Hills, Corn-y-fan, Brecon, Usk Castle.

c. Avmestry, Croft Ambrv, Gatley,Brindgwood Chase,
l)ownton on the Rock, Herefordshire : Yeo Edge,
Shelderton, Norton Cfamp, Dinchope, Caynham
Camp, Shropshire ; Sedgeley, Staffordshire.

/. Escarpments of Mocktree and Brindgwood Chase,
Gatley, and valley of Woolhope, Herefordshire :
Marrington Dingle, Westhope, Hopedale, and
Long- Mountain, Shropshire : west side of Abberley
and Malvern Hills: escarpments in Montgomery,
Radnor Forest, Brecknock and Caermarthen shs.

g. Lincoln Hillj Benthall and Wenlock Edge, Shrop-
shire; Burnngton, Nether Lye, near Amestry,
Nash, near Presteigne, Old Radnor : PwU-Calch,
Caermarthenshire: valley of Woolhope^ Ledburv,
and west side of Malvern Hills : east side of Af>-
berley Hills, Dudley, Worcestershire: Long Hope,
near jVIav Hill, and Tortworth, Gloucestershire :
Prescoeci and Cil-na-Caya, near Usk.

//. Buildwa8,Hughley, Wistanstow, and Clungunford,
Salop : escarpments in Montgomery, Radnor,
Breclcnock, and Caermarthen siiires : west flank
of Malvern Hills, AltVick, Worcestershire: centre
of Wren's Nest, Dudley, &c. &c. "

i. Pentamerus la?vis, M. C. P. oblongatus, n. a.
Lepteena, n. s. Pileopsis, n. s. Orthis Cal-
lactis, Dalm., and several new species.

Terebratula, n. 8. 1

Tentaculites and Crinoidea, /* Corals rare,
abundant, *

k. Nucula, n. s. Pentamerus, n. s. Trilobites
of uirderscribed species, including the genus
Cryptolithus of N. America, and 14 species
of the genus Orthis have been found^ includ-
ing O. aperturatus, Dalm., all differing from
those of the overlying formations.

». Banks of the Onny, near Horderloy, Acton Bur-
nell, Chatwall: the Hollies near Hope Bowdler,
Cheney Longyille, Acton Scott: east -flank of
Wrckin and (CaerCaradoc, Salop: EastnorPark,
Obelisk, and centre of Woolhope Valley, Here-
forshire : May Hill, and Tortworth, Gloucestersh..

k. Horderly, Hoar Ed^e, Long. Lane, and Corton,
Shropshire: Ankerdme Hill, Old Storridge, How-
lers Heath, SW. of Malvern Hills, Worcestersh. :
Ma^' Hill, Glouceatersh. : and the same localities
as I in Shropshire: Powis Castle, Guilsfield, and
Alt.y-maen,Montgomery8h.: Castell Craig, Noeth
Grug, and Llandovery, Caermarthenshire.

/. Asaphus Buchii. A^ostus, Brongn.j unde-
scribed Trilobites orthree species ; differing
from those of the overlying formations.

/. Rorington and Hope, near Skelve, Shropshire :
Llandrindod and Wellfield, near Builth, Radnor-
shire: Tan-yr-Alt to Llandeilo, Caermarthenshire.

m. Few organic remains have yet been observed
in this great system, but it is underlaid bv
fossiliferous strata and limestones, whicn
will be described by Professor Sedgwick.

m. The Longmvnd, Linley, Haughmond, Lyth, Pul-
berbatch Hills, Salop : Gwastaden, east of Rha.
yader, Radnor, &c. &c. : hills west of Llandove-
ry, Caermarthenshire.

TTu

368 Mr Murchison on Stratified Deposits.

N.B. — No vegetable remains, except the Fucus serra (Brongn.),
and some very imperfect fragments of Fucoids ? have been found
in any portion of the deposits below the carboniferous limestone^
nor has any coaly matter been detectedj except small nests of An-
thracite. In this list of organic remains, only such individuals have
been mentioned as are characteristic of each subdivision. Others,
as, for example, the Terebratula affinis, M. C. (Atrypa reticularis y
Wahl.), which occurs in several formations, have been omitted in
this short Table, but will be given hereafter in a full and descrip-
tive account of all the organic remains. None of the species of
corals or shells are identical with those found in the true carboni-
ferous limestone.

fWe recommend this important tabular view, and conse-
quently the projected work of Mr Murchison, to the attention
of geologists of every country. His investigations have been
conducted in a manner worthy of general imitation. To the
geologists of Scotland, who know the different greywackes to
the north and the south of the Frith of Forth, as described by
Professor Jameson in his lectures and writings, the tabular
view will prove very useful.]

CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS IN THE LAST NUMBER.

On Mr Meihle's Paper on finding the Dew-pointy ^c.
Page 103, line 3 from bottom, /or a fourth read four-tifths
On Mr Don^s Paper on Ericacea.

Pag. 152, lin, 15, Gemmatio nuda. lege Gemmatio saep^ nuda.

152, 21, Gemmatio nuda. lege Gemmatio imbricata.

154, 14, Massoni. lege Monsoniana.

158, 26, adde Semina obovata, Igevia, raphe elevata callosa.

160, 12, Synonymon adde Menziesia ccerulea, Pursh, fl. Amer. i.

p. 265.

160, 6, a basi adde Capsula oblonga, submembranacea. Placenta

axilis, angusta, prismatica. Semina sub rotunda, ventri-
cosa, laevia, gilva, chalazS parva, intensius coloratS.

( 369 )

PROCEEDINGS OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION
AT EDINBURGH IN SEPTEMBER 1834.

President.

Sir THOMAS MAKDOUGALL BRISBANE, Bart., K. C. B.

F.R.SS.L.&E., &C.&C.&C.

Vice-Presidents. ■

Sir DAVID BREWSTER, and the Rev. J. ROBINSON, D. D.

Astronomer-Royal, at Annagh.

General Secretary.

Rev. W. VERNON HARCOURT, F.R.S.&G.S.

Treasurer.

JOHN TAYLOR, Esq. F. R. S., M. G. 8.

Assistant Secretary.

Professor PHILLIPS.

Local Secretaries.

JOHN ROBISON, Esq. Sec. R. S. E., and Professor FORBES.

Monday, Sth September.
The meeting was opened in the George's Street Assembly
Rooms, at eight o'clock in the evening, by the President of the
former year, Professor Sedgwick of Cambridge, with an ad-
dress.— The Association, he said, had exalted him to a po-
sition of great honour, which, at the time, he prized as above
all other power, and to which he would ever look back with
the greatest delight. From this situation he was now on the
point of retiring but he did so, however, with feelings of
exultation, if such feelings could be deemed appropriate on
such an occasion, as indeed they were, inasmuch as the trust
he held was about to devolve upon a gentleman of great
eminence, and who was more equal to the undertaking than
the person who now addressed them. The Association was
not one which was in a bankrupt state, or which was fall-
ing off in either power or members, but one which, on the con-
trary, was going on increasing in strength and in power, and
producing effects on the philosophic world which would be felt
in generations yet unknown, and promote the best interests of
humanity. Perhaps what he had said might be considered

570 Proceedings of the British Association.

enough, and if he concluded here by expressing his gratitude
for past honours, it might be as well. But he hoped they
would not think he was needlessly clinging to that Chair, if
he still detained them for a few moments longer, by touch-
ing on one or two topics connected with the Institution. He
begged, then, to congratulate them on their increasing numbers.
Even were it to be supposed that motives of vanity had brought
many of them together, yet under that view there was reason
to rejoice that the public feeling was with them ; for unless
they had the public sympathy, it was impossible, even for a
philosophical body, to go on with success. The professor
then proceeded to advert to the original institution of this As-
sociation; which, he said, had been started by a set of inde-
pendent men, with the best intentions, and with the most so-
ber views of future good and of the success of their scheme,
hardly knowing what constitution to give it, and never dream-
ing of the glorious success which it had now obtained. The
first meeting had been held at York ; the second at Oxford,
where a large accession of numbers was experienced ; the third
at Cambridge, where the numbers still further increased ; and
now it had reached the Scottish capital, where an addition had
been made to their number beyond all precedent. He then
went on to remark on the many circumstances connected with
this city, which tended to endear it to himself and others, — es-
pecially that of its having given birth to so many illustrious
philosophers, men who had investigated the obscurest relations
of physical science, and disentangled its phenomena.

The learned Professor then proceeded to expatiate on the ad-
vantages of an association of this nature. On his way hither
he had the good fortune to meet with M. Arago, the perpe-
tual Secretary of the French Institute, and Dr Vlastos from
Greece. M. Arago, in the departments which he had culti-
vated, was inferior to none in Europe. To meet' with men like
these, — to breathe the same atmosphere,— to partake of the
same sentiments, and enjoy their conversation and their friend-
ship, were enough to justify the institution of that Associa-
tion, were there no other advantages. But there were many
other circumstances which pointed out the use of these associa-
tions, among which was the power of combination. How
feeble and how powerless was man when alohie ; and. Oil the

Proceedings of the British Association. 371

other hand, how powerful and how forcible was he when acting
in combination ! The brute elements could then be brought
fully into subjection, and himself raised in the scale of intellec-
tual beings, — for as he gained knowledge he gained power.
Thus great good arose from combination, and from collision
with men of even conflicting opinions, and a power of concen-
tration was obtained which was unknown to a person acting by
himself. It was said in opposition to this, that the greatest
philosophic works had been achieved in private This was so
far true ; but the first germ of such works was not suggested
in private, but originated from the authors' having mingled
with men of similar pursuits. He instanced La Place, whose
intercourse with men of letters and science must have greatly
aided him in disentangling the phenomena of nature, — for in
all such cases when a point of experiment was reached, it was
always necessary to call in experimental men. The learned
professor next adverted to the published Transactions of the
Association, in illustration of the uses of the Association. Last
year a discussion had arisen on the aurora borealis, which had
been found to be connected with electrical phenomena, thus
becoming a link in physical science. Soon after that a beauti-
ful arch across the heavens was seen simultaneously at various
parts by, he believed, most members of the Association ; and
experiments having been made by Dr Dalton of Manchester,
as to the altitude of the arch, it was found to be about forty
miles above the surface of the earth.

The Association, at last meeting, had also recommended that
experiments should be made on heated bodies long kept in fu-
sion : in pursuance of which certain bodies were at present in
the furnace, and would probably be uncovered for examination
in the course of ten years. Now, but for this Association,
these experiments* would never have been attempted. He
also alluded to certain observations which had been made at
Greenwich, which were in a raw unreduced state, but which,
on application being made to Government by some mem-
bers of the Association, some hundred pounds had been ob-
tained to assist in preparing for the benefit of the world.
Observations on the tides were also in progress, from which
great good was expected. The Professor next proceeded to

372 Proceedings of the British Association.

combat the objections which had been urged against such as-
sociations. They were said to be dangerous in their ten-
dency, but he denied that the investigation of truth could ever
be injurious to mankind ; — this was a libel on the God of Na-
ture ; for, instead of impugning any of the grander truths, they
would, on the contrary, be more and more corroborated. He
urged most strenuously upon the Association the necessity of
keeping in mind the objects of its institution, and to confine
their researches to dead matter, without entering into any spe-
culations on the relations of intellectual beings ; and he would
brand as a traitor that person that would dare to overstep the
prescribed boundaries of the institution. If the Society should
ever be broken up — which God forbid — he would predict that
it would happen by some members imprudently and daringly
passing its boundaries. Before concluding, he made some com-
plimentary remarks on the fame which this city had always
enjoyed as a seat of learning and science ; and in allusion to
the monuments of Burns, Playfair, and Stewart, which had
been erected on the Calton Hill since last he (Mr S.) had vi-
sited this city, said, that, although he did not disapprove of
monuments to warriors who had fought the battles of their
country, yet he viewed with more pleasurable interest such mo-
numents as those — memorials as they were of peace — and
with which was connected neither shrieks nor wailings, heart-
breakings nor blood — they were the visible representation of
those feelings in which they participated. — He then moved,
that, in accordance with the resolution of the General Com-
mittee last year at Cambridge, Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Bris-
bane do take the Chair.

Sir Thomas Brisbane having taken the Chair, addressed the
audience in the following terms :

After the distinguished Nobleman who first filled the situa-
tion I have now the honour to hold, and after the two cele-
brated Professors who successively followed him — men of pre-
eminent talent and gigantic intellect, and who are recognised
as such all over Europe — I must confess, I appear before you
with the utmost diffidence, and must claim your indulgence ;
for I feel that I am quite inadequate to discharge in a becoming
manner, the various and important duties belonging to the situa-

Proceedings of the British Association. 373

tion which I now occupy, — which would require almost univer-
sal knowledge, — and for which I am indebted to the kind indul-
gence of the Association, and not to any merit of my own, — but
for which mark of high distinction I beg to express my unbound-
ed gratitude. I must also acknowledge the great obligations I
feel towards my learned and eloquent predecessor, for the kind,
though unmerited compliments, he has been pleased to bestow
upon me. Although Edinburgh cannot boast of the accom-
modation, or ever attempt to rival the boundless hospitality,
the Association experienced at the English Universities, still I
feel confident my countrymen will yield in no degree to them
in giving the Association the best possible reception, with a '
desire to uphold the national character for hospitality, as all
ranks must hail with enthusiasm and much gratification, men
who have done so much towards the extension of the bounda-
ries of human knowledge and comfort, as those who are now
assembled in this ancient capital, which has given birth to in-
dividuals who have done honour to human nature, and amongst
whom many could have been found who would have adorned
this Chair, in the place of the humble individual who has now the
honour to address you — indeed I need not go farther than my
nearest learned friend on the right (Sir David Brewster), one of
our Vice-presidents. It is but justice to the Principal and Pro-
fessors of the University to say, they have done all in their
power to afford every accommodation, and the free use of the
class-rooms and other public rooms in the College, which are ad-
mirably adapted for the sectional and other meetings. Other
public bodies have not been backward in the same offers. The
noblemen and gentlemen in the neighbourhood have expressed
their desire to promote the objects of the Association. — After
the luminous expose we have just heard from my learned pre-
decessor, he has left me no subjects to touch upon. Professor
Forbes has kindly undertaken the task of detailing the labours
of the Association since our last meeting ; and I need not say
it could not be in better hands. I shall therefore not waste the
time of the meeting, but conclude by congratulating the As-
sociation on its prosperous condition, and I have no doubt it
will go on progressively until its beneficial effects shall be felt,
not only over the whole of the united empire of Great Britain,
but even throughout Europe, or the globe we inhabit.

374 Proceedings of the British Associatio7i.

Mr Robison (one of the Secretaries), to whom the Associa-
tion is deeply indebted for its triumphant success in Edinburgh,
next gave a detailed account of the arrangements which had
been made for the accommodation of the members, and the ge-
neral order of the business for the week.

Professor Forbes (the other Secretary) then delivered an
address on the occasion of the opening of the fourth general
meeting of the British Association in Edinburgh, which is
printed in the preceding pages of this number of the Edin-
burgh Philosophical Journal.

Tuesday, 9th September.

MORNING IN THE UNIVERSITY.

The different sections having been organized, business com-
menced in each of them at 11 a. m. The following abstract
will convey to our readers a short but correct account of their
proceedings.

Section A. — iMathematics and General Physics.
Chairman — Rev. W. Whewell.
Deputy Chairmen — Rev. Dr Lloyd. Rev. Dr Robinson.
Secretaries — Professor Forbes. Professor Lloyd.
Committee, — M. Arago. Mr Baily. Sir David Brewster. Sir
Thomas Brisbane. Rev. Mr Bowstead. Mr Cooper. Lieutenant
Drummond. Professor Forbes. Rev. Mr Greswell. Professor
Hamilton. Mr Henderson. Mr Hopkins. Dr Jackson. Dr
Knight. Rev. Dr Lardner. Rev. Dr Lloyd. Professor Lloyd.
Professor Moll. Mr Murphy. Lieut. Murphy. Rev. Mr Peacock.
Dr Pearson. Professor Powell. Mr Ramage. Mr Rennie. Rev.
Dr Robinson. Mr Robison. Professor Stevelly. Professor
Thomson. Professor Wallace. Mr Wharton. Mr Wheatstone.

The Section having met, and the Reverend Dr Lloyd, Provost
Trin. Coll. Dublin, having been called to the Chair, Mr Whewell
read the report of Mr Challis on the theory of capillary attraction.

After some observations from Dr Robinson on the subject of the
report just read, Professor Moll noticed the experiments of M.
Lenck, published in Poggendorff's Annalen, and which appeared to
have been overlooked by Mr Challis.

Mr Whewell made some observations on the subject of the same
report, particularly with reference to the constitution of comets, and

Mathematics and General Phi/Hies. 375

to the conclusions of M. Poisson respecting the variation of den-
sity of the fluid near the surface in capillary phenomena, and the
atomic constitution of bodies generally. With reference to the
latter part of the subject, Professor Hamilton stated, that the ato-
mic discontinuity, considered by M. Poisson as necessary in order
to the physical explanation, did not appear to him mathematically
requisite to the investigation of these laws.

Mr Sang made some remarks on the effect of changes on tlie
surfaces of bodies, in illustration of the principles adverted to.

M. Arago spoke on the theories of Laplace and Poisson on mo-
lecular action, and observed that the conclusion of M. Poisson, re-
presenting the change of density near the surface of fluids, could
be put to an experimental test by the observation of the angle of
complete polarization at these surfaces.

Professor Powell then read a paper on the repulsion produced
by heat, as established by the contraction of Newton's rings, when
heat was applied to the glasses.

Professor Stevelly mentioned some familial- facts of a different
kind, in confirmation of the result obtained by Professor Powell.
Mr Sang also made some remarks on the same subject, and Pro-
fessor Forbes stated the result of his repetition of the experiment
of Professor Powell, and alluded to the explanation given by him-^
self of the vibrations of heated metals in connexion with the same
subject.

Mr Addams described certain phenomena of mobility in the parti-
cles of precipitated silica when heated, which he seemed to think
were due to the same repulsive force.

Mr Whewell read a letter from Mr Hailstone, accompanying a
table of barometrical observations, taken at short intervals.
- Professor Forbes remarked, that the momentary oscillations of
the barometer, adverted to by the author, had been already noticed
by other observers, and made some observations on the atmosphe-
ric waves, whose existence was doubted by the author.

Professor Forbes read a short communication from Mr Christie,
on a remarkable meteorological phenomenon observed by him at
Woolwich.

Mr Baily mentioned a similar phenomenon observed by him, and
described by ^Ir Faraday ; and Mr Whewell and Professor Powell
noticed the fact of the observation of the same phenomenon by
other observers.

376 Proceedings of the British Association.

Section B. — Chemistry and Mineralogy.

CJmirman — Dr Hope.

Deputy -CJiairmen — Dr D Alton. Dr Thomas Thomson.

Secretaries — Professor Johnston. Dr Christison.

Committee, — Dr Daubeny. Dr Turner. Dr Lloyd. Rev. W.

V. Harcourt. Thos. J. Pearsall, Esq. WiUiam Hatfield, Esq.

Dr Traill. Dr Gregory. Dr Thomas Clark. Thomas Graham,

Esq. Arthur Connell, Esq. Luke Howard, Esq. Dr Apjohn.

Charles Tennant, Esq. Charles Macintosh, Esq. William West,

Esq. Richard Phillips, Esq. George Lowe, Esq.

The Chemical Section having met at 11 a. m., the proceedings of
the Committee were read over, and Dr Hope took the chair, in
conformity with the request of the Committee.

The recommendations of the Chemical Committees of the former
meetings of the Association were then read over and severally con-
sidered.

In regard to the specific gravities of the gases, Dr Dalton stated
that he was not prepared with any results on this subject in a state
to be laid before the Section.

^ Dr Turner made some remarks on his experiments on atomic
weights, published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Lon-
don, and on the conclusion he had come to that the atomic weights
of bodies cannot be represented by whole numbers. On this sub-
ject a discussion of some length took place, in which many mem-
bers took part.

Mr Johnston and Mr Harcourt gave an account of the state of
the experiments they have respectively undertaken, on the compa-
rative analysis of iron in the diiferent stages of its manufacture, and
on the effects of long-continued heat.

In regard to the purity and specific gravity of mercury, Dr
Thomson stated that he considered the mercury as imported into this
country to be pure, and that he believed the determination of the
specific gravity of mercury, as given by Mr Cavendish, to be cor-
rect, as it agrees with that of Mr Crichton of Glasgow, lately de-
duced from a very great number of careful experiments continued
throughout a whole winter.

Dr Daubeny, on the subject of the seventh recommendation, viz.
an inquiry into the nature and quantity of the gases given off from
thermal waters, and the effects of season and other circumstances

Geology and Geography. 9Tt

on them, referred to his late paper in the Philosophical Transac-
tions, of which he gave an account, and announced his expectation
of continuing his researches.

Mr Low made some observations on the products collected in
the chimneys of smelting and other furnaces, and promised some
farther remarks on the recommendation of the Chemical Section of
last year relative to that subject.

Section C. — Geology and Geography.

CJiairman — Professor Jameson.

Depvty- Chairmen — Major-General Lord Greenock. G. B. Green-

OUGH, Esq. President of the Geological Society of London.

Secretaries — Professor Phillips. T. Jameson Torrie, E^q.
Rev. J. Yates.

Committee. — Dr Buckland. Dr Boase. J. Bryce, Esq. Major
Gierke. Professor Sedgwick. Colonel Silvertop. H. T. M. Witham,
Esq. William Smith, Esq. J. Taylor, Esq. W. C. Trevelyan, Esq.
Rev. J. Yates. R. L Murchison, Esq. William Hutton, Esq.
Charles Lyell, Esq. L. Homer, Esq. J. B. Pentland, Esq. B.
Griffith, Esq. William Copland, Esq. Dr Hibbert. R. Steven-
son, Esq. Lieutenant Murphy. William Clift, Esq. Sir Thomas
Dick Lauder. Sir George Mackenzie. Rev. Dr Fleming. Dr
Traill. Captain Maconochie. Henry Woolcombe, Esq. Dr E.
Turner. S. P. Pratt, Esq. M. Agassiz. William Nicol, Esq.
Rev. Mr Turner.

Professor Jameson in the Chjiir.

The recommendations of the Committee of Geology at Cambridge
were read, and the researches undertaken in compliance therewith
reported to the meeting. The communications presented to the
Section were enumerated, and, in consequence of a resolution of
the Section, the discussion on some views advocated by Dr Boase,
relating to Primary Rocks, was commenced by this gentleman stat-
ing some of these views, and finally limiting the subject of the dis-
cussion to the question, whether Primary Slates are, or are not,
stratified ?

In proposing this specific question, Dr Boase stated the difficul-
ties which occurred in liminey as to the meaning of the term stra-
tification, and noticed the various definitions of different geological
authors, depending on considerations of the parallelism of certain sur-
faces of division, on the curvatures and contortions existing in them,

378 Proceedings of the British Association.

on the alternation of beds of different mineral characters, and on
the circumstances observed with regard to the inclination of layers.
He stated, from his own observations, and referred to a recent pub-
lication for detailed descriptions, the fact, that all the characters
usually considered as characteristic of stratification in primary slates,
do also occur in granites, and that the essential structural charac-
ters of these slates are continued into the neighbouring granites,
thence inferring, that no real structural distinction existed between
the granites and the primary slates.

Professor Sedgwick entered on the question at considerable
length, and stated that, sixteen years ago, after a visit to Cornwall,
he had been led to adopt the opinions now held by Dr Boase, but
that his subsequent experience, and more especially his investiga-
tions in North Wales and Cumberland, had produced a considera-
ble change in his views. He discussed the principles upon which
questions of this nature ought to be considered, and particularly
stated the impossibility of giving definitions which w ould be ap-
plicable to all cases. The Professor stated as his belief, that it is
impossible to separate the lower and higher parts of the slate se-
ries ; and is of opinion, that it is generally quite practicable to dis-
tinguish between true stratification and laminar structure. He
mentioned particularly the assistance to be derived from the striped
appearance so common in the slates of Wales, and noticed the dis-
tinctions between certain structures of rocks, and the characteristic
marks of true stratification. Professor Sedgwick expressed it as
his opinion, that the laminar structure has been produced at a pe-
riod subsequent to that of the formation of the slaty rocks in which
it occurs.

Mr Greenough directed the attention of the Section to cases
where the lines of structure are not parallel to the seams of stra-
tification, and instanced the sandstone rocks at Crichton Castle and
in the neighbourhood of Roslin. He expressed his conviction, that
Lehmann and Arduino's definition of primitive rocks should still
be adhered to, and regretted that the innovations in the terminology
of geology had increased the difficulties of the present discussion.

Mr Lyell explained the definition of stratification he has given
in his Principles of Geology, and made some farther remarks on
the essential characters of stratification. ''

Professor Phillips observed, that the views of geologists on th#
defects of the stratification and other characters of primary strati, •
were commonly tinctured with peculiarities depending on the li-

Geology and Geography. ' 379

mits oi their inquiries, mid that while the symmetrical system of
division common in primary rocks of all kinds, was the most
attended to by one class of observers, and traces of stratification
were regarded by others, results apparently conflicting were
drawn from the examination of the same country. It was import-
ant to attend to the real distinctions between the two systems of
structure, because each was due to a proper cause ; but it was abso-
lutely essential to the production of a right general conclusion, that
partial truths thus disclosed should be contemplated together. • /

Mr Yates noticed some localities in Cornwall, where the sepa-
ration of the schistose rocks and granites is very marked.

Dr Buckland expressed his acquiescence in the views of Pro-
fessor Sedgwick and Professor Phillips, and referred the Section
for a fuller account of his opinions on the subject to his work now
in the press.

Dr Boase shortly replied, and referred to his recently published
treatise on Primary Geology for a more extended account of his
views. :ri miJ til »t;.»{3 n

A portion of Dr Rogers' Report on the Geology of North
America was then read, and a general account of the contents of
the remainder given by Professor Phillips. Illustrative maps were
exhibited.

Lord Greenock presented for distribution copies of a view of
the Castle Hill section.

Section D. — Natural History.

Chairman — Professor Graham.

Deputy- Chairman — Sir William Jardine, Bart.

Secretaries — Williaisi Yarrell, Esq. Professor Burnett,

.. Committee — G. A. Walker- Arnott, Elsq. Monsieur Agassiz.

Dr Adam. C. Babington, Esq. Robert Brown, Esq. D. C. L.

W. Christie, Esq. Dr Coldstream. Allan Cunningham, Esq. J.

Curtis, Esq. David Don, Esq. J. P. Duncan, Esq. Dr R. Dick-^

son. Dr Daubeny. Rev. L. W. P. Garnons. Dr Greville. B.

D. Greene, Esq. Boston, U. S. Professor Hcnslow. Dr Hooker,

Professor Jameson. Rev. L. Jenyns. Dr Richardson. J. F.

Royle, Esq. P. J. Selby, Esq. F. R. S. E. Colonel Sykes. W.

Spence, Esq. Richard Taylor, Esq. Dr Wasse. James Wilson.

Esq. William Thompson, E^q.

A report on the recent and present state of Zoology, by the Rev.
Leonhard .Jenyns.

380 Proceedings of the British Association.

An account of excursions in the neighbourhood of Quito, and
towards the summits of Chimborazo and Pichincha, by Colonel
Hall.

Professor Agassiz next delivered some very interesting observa-
tions upon the different species of the Genus Salmo which frequent
the various rivers and lakes of Europe, of which the following is
an abstract : —

The genus Salmo, as it has been established by Linnseus and
Artedi, or, I ought rather to say, by Rondeletius, has supplied
Cuvier with the type of a peculiar family, in which he has re-
tained the generic characters of Linnseus, viz. one dorsal fin with
soft rays, and a second one, which is rudimental and only adi-
pose. Cuvier places this family in his order Malacopterygii Abdo-
minaleSf between the Siluridce and the ClupecB; and he subdivides it,
on just grounds, into a great number of generic sections, which
comprehend a vast variety of exotic species. In my work on the
fishes of Brazil, I have added several new kinds to those which
Cuvier established ; and am of opinion that, in the natural classi-
fication, it is now absolutely necessary to unite the family of the
Clupese to that of the Salmones, since the only difference we find
between them consists in the presence or absence of an adipose
fin ; an organ assuredly too insignificant to constitute the distinctive
character betwixt two families, and the less so, as there are some
genera of the family which possess it, whilst in others it is completely
awanting, as for example, in the Siluridse. We may with equal
truth affirm, that all the real Salmones of Cuvier have not this adi-
pose fin, for in many species of the genera Serrasalmus, Myletes, &c.
it is composed of rays which are truly osseous.

Restricted to the limits which Cuvier has assigned to it, the
genus Salmo comprehends all the species of which the body is
somewhat lengthened, the mouth large, and supplied with teeth,
which are conical, pointed and formidable, implanted into all the
bones of the mouth, that is to say, into the interior maxillary bones,
both superior and inferior, into the vomer and palate bones, into
the tongue itself, and into the branchial arches. The margin of
the upper jaw is formed by the interior and superior maxillary
bones, and constitutes only a single continuous arch, as in the higher
classes of animals ; a conformation which in the class of fishes is
found only in the Clupeae. It is also singular that the number of
branchial rays is seldom exactly the same on the opposite sides
of the head, the number varying from ten to twelve. The pecto-

Natural History. 381

ral and the ventral fins ni'e of a middling size ; the latter placed
about the middle of the belly, opposite to the dorsal ; at their
base, and along their insertion, there is a fleshy fringe, somewhat
similar to the long scales which are found on the most part of the
Clupese. The caudal fin is attai^hed to a very fleshy root, and is
moved by very powerful muscles.

This elastic spring is to these fishes a most powerful lever; when
wishing to leap to a great height, they strike the surface of the
water with a kind of double stroke. By this means they overcome
obstacles which appear insui'mountable, and . leap over nets which
are intended to confine them. The most formidable waterfalls can
scarcely arrest them. The several species of this genus are found
in the northern and temperate regions of Europe, Asia, and Ame-
rica.

The fishes of this family are very ravenous, and feed principally
upon the larvae of aquatic and other insects, and of the small Crus-
tacea ; they also devour fishes of a smaller size. Their alimentary
canal is short, but the stomach is proportionally long and strait.
At its pyloric extremity may be observed a great number of ap-
|)endices, which are connected with the pancreas, and to which is
generally, but erroneously, applied the name of csecum. The
swimming-bladder of the whole of them is very large, and opens in-
to the oesophagus near the bottom of the gullet. Though I cannot
here enter into the subject very fully, I may in a word stat9, that I am
persuaded that this organ ought to be regarded as the lungs of fishes ;
— that the circulation of the blood in these animals has been in-
accurately interpreted, when it is supposed that in their heart there
may be traced a pulmonary course ; also, when their branchise have
been identified with the lungs of other animals ; and. finally, when
their great dorsal artery has been considered as analogous to the
aorta of the mammalia.

Most of the salmon varieties reside in fresh waters ; in summer
they pay a visit to the sea, and do not mount up again to the rivers,
unless for the purpose of there depositing their spawn. It is suffi-
ciently remarkable that most of our species deposit their ova in
November and December, and that the young fry of course comes
into existence in the coldest season of the year. From this cir-
cumstance we may suppose that it is owing to this habit of endur-
ing intense cold in the first days of their existence, that they can
subsequently support all that variety of temperature to which they
are soon to be exposed.

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIV. OCTOBER 1834. C C

382 Proceedings of the British Association,

In proportion as the genus Salmo is now circumscribed within it»
natural limits, so much the more is it difficult to characterise the
various species ; and I have no fear of being contradicted when I
affirm, that since no one has devoted himself to their history, so no
one has yet succeeded in determining, with any degree of precision,
their distinctive characters. The greatest obstacle to the solution
of this problem arises from our ignorance of the accuracy of the
characters hitherto employed to distinguish the several species, the
one from the other. We have especially attached ourselves to the
form of the head, and to the arrangement of the colours ; but these
two particulars are much too variable to supply precise charac-
ters. As to the variation in the colour, we may^^say it is infinite.
There are, however, two circumstances which especially modify
the tints of the salmon tribes, namely, their age, and the season of
the year. The younger fish are, in general, much more spotted
than the older ones, whose tints become more and more uniform.
The Salmo Hucho, for example, with violet spots more or less dis-
tinct, has, when young, large black transverse bands upon the back,
down to the middle of its sides. In the second and third years of
its existence, these band* break up into black spots, less deep in co-
lour, and they disappear more and more, till in its latter years the
fish acquires a colour which is almost uniform. The Salmo lacus-
tris of Linnaeus, when young, has large black and ocellated spots
upon all the superior parts of its body ; but from the third year
they diminish, and ere long they entirely disappear. The Salmo
Umhla^ so long as it is young, is of a uniform greenish-yellow co-
lour, with the abdomen white, and at a later period of life these
tints assume a deeper hue — of a more lively green, and finally pass
into a blackish-green. The abdomen soon becomes silvery-white,
afterwards yellow and orange coloured, and then of a golden lus-
tre. Its flanks are very soon adorned with ocellated yellow spots
more or less distinct, but ere long there are no spots at all. In
the Salmo Farioy the spots vary even more. In the young they
are found yellow, green, brown, even black and violet, also blacl^
and red, but in the long run they all entirely disappear. I have
also noticed that the seasons have an influence on the colours of
the difl^erent kinds of Salmo. It is during the autumn, and at the
time of the greatest cold, that is to say in October, November, De-
cember, and January, that their tints are most brilliant, and the
colours become more vivid by the accumulation of a great quantity
%£ coloured pigment*. We might almost say that these fishes be-

Natural History. S8d

deck tliemselves in a nuptial garb, as birds do. The colour of their
flesh varies according to the nature of their aliment. This family
of fishes feed, as we have said above, especially upon the larvae of
aquatic insects, and of small Crustacea. It is in the waters which
contain the most of these last, that the most beautiful salmon trout
are found. Direct experiments which were made in lakes, have
proved, to my satisfaction, that the intensity of the colour of the
flesh arose from the greater or smaller quantity of gammarinsB
which they had devoured.

As to the structure of the head, it offers, in the opercular bones,
in the surface of the cranium^ and in its proportions relative to
the whole body, very excellent characters ; but those, on the other
hand, which are taken from the proportional length and size of the
jaw-bone, are of no value at all, since the lower jaw is longer or
shorter than the upper, according as the fish opens or shuts its
mouth ; and this consideration introduced into the characteristics
of the family, has very considerably contributed to multiply the in-
stitution of species. The hook which forms the jaw of the Salmo
Salar is not even a peculiar characteristic of this species, since the
full grown males of all the species of the genus present a crooked
prolongation of their lower jaw, to a greater or less extent.

It results, then, from these observations, that the different species
of the salmon family, far from being confined within the narrow
limits of some small bodies of fresh-water, are, on the contrary,
very widely distributed. They also thrive in all climates, at least
in all elevations above the surface of the ocean, whether in fresh
water or in salt. It is also true, they prefer those situations where
the water is limpid.

Pi^ssessed of these facts, which I had collected with the most
minute and jealous precautions, I have tried to determine the va-
rious species which are found in the fresh waters of the Continent ;
grounding my examination upon the study of the interior organi-
zation, and upon the particulars already determined which the in-
teguments present concerning the structure of the scales. I have
also introduced the shape of the body, and the proportional size of
its internal parts, as important accessaries to the description of the
species. Of course I cannot enter at present into the details of a
minute description. This, in fact, is the investigation of which I
propose to give an account in my treatise upon the fishes of the
fresh waters of central Europe. I must here confine myself to a
short statement of the results I have obtained.

c c 2

384! Proceedings of the British Association.

It is a very singular fact, that those fishes which are the most
widely distributed, and those which are most highly prized, are
precisely those whose natural history is the most perplexed. The
opinions, too, which are so widely extended concerning their geo-
graphical distribution, are not at all in unison with the real state
of things. There scarcely exists a country to the which some
peculiar species of salmon has not been assigned, and I may add,
that even in the Regm Animal of Cuvier, we find many nominal
species, which are not even local varieties, as I purpose ere long
to demonstrate. The cupidity of the fishermen, the rivalry of epi-
cures, and the fastidiousness of the palate of salmon eaters, have,
without doubt, contributed to spread these opinions upon the nar-
row limit assigned to the haunts of the species of the Salmon.
There is especially a famous variety, in the annals of epicurism,
over which the g^-eatest possible obscurity has been cast, — it is Vom-
hre cJievalier, the char, or alpine trout. After having attentively
examined the continental varieties, I with eagerness availed my-
self of the opportunity I have lately enjoyed, of examining near
their native haunts several species of this genus which are found
in England. Through the kindness of Sir William Jardine and of
Mr Selby, I have also had an opportunity of examining all those
which they have collected from the Scottish lakes ; and the result
has been, that I have succeeded in determining the perfect identity
of many of them with the species found in other countries in Eu-
rope ; while, on the other hand, 1 am convinced, by the observa-
tions of these naturalists, that there are species peculiar to Scot-
land. Nevertheless, it is true, that systematic authors, from ha-
ving allowed themselves to fall into error by the prevailing opi-
nions circulated concerning the vast multitude of species oFthis
genus, have been investigating the characters of a great number of
merely imaginary species. But to the philosophical naturalist, the
distinctions upon which they support themselves in establishing the
difi^erences of species, are quite insufiicient, and the comparative
examination of these pseudo species admits of very different re-
sults.

I am convinced that all the fish belonging to this family, on the
Continent, may be reduced to the six following species :

li Salmo Umbla, Lin. the Char of England, — the Ombre Che-
valier of the Lake of Geneva, — the Rotheli of Swiss Ger-
many,— and the Schwarz Reutel of Saltzburg.

Natural History. 385

Synonyms : Salmo Salvelinus, Lin. Salnio alpinus, Lin. Sal-
mo Salmarinus, Lin. (but not the Salmo alpinus of Block.)

This fish is found in England and Ireland, in Sweden and
Switzerland, and in all the southern parts of Germany

2. Salmo Fario, Lin. — the Trout of brooks, — Common Trout,

— Gillaroo- trout, — and Par.

Synonyms : Salmo sylvaticus, Schrank. Salmo alpinus, Bhch.
Salmo punctatus, Cuvier. Salmo Marmoratug, Cuv, Erythri-
nus, Lin.

It is found as extensively as the first species.

3. Salmo Trutta, Lin. Sea-trout, — Salmon-trout. It is the

same as the Salmo Lemanus of Cuvier ; and the Salmo al-
bus of Rondeletius.
It is found as extensively as the two preceding.

4. Salmo lacustris, Lin. The same as the Salmo Illanca, and

the Salmo SchifFermulleri of Block.
Found in the lakes of Lower Austria, and in the Rhine above
Constance.

5. Salmo Salar, Lin. The true Salmon. The Salmo Hamatus

of Cuvier is the old fish, and the Salmo Gadeni of Bloch
the young fish.
Found in the Northern Seas, whence it ascends the rivers even
as far as the Swiss Lakes.

6. Salmo Hucho, Lin. Of the same species as the preceding.

Peculiar to the waters of the Danube.

It results then, from these observations, that the different species
of the Salmon family, far from being confined within the narrow
limits of some small bodies of fresh-water, are, on the contrary,
very widely distributed. They also thrive in all climates, at least
in all elevations above the surface of the ocean, whether in fresh
water or in salt. Nevertheless, they prefer those situations where
the water is limpid.

I may state, that it is not upon vague data that I have drawn
these several conclusions ; but upon the actual examination of living
specimens of all the species that have been named, and that I have
myself studied them in the localities where they were caught.

38C Proceedings of the British Association.

Section E. — Anatomy and Medicine.

Chairman. — Dr Abergrombie.
Depvty'Chairmen. — Sir Charles Bell. Professor Clarke.

Secretaries — Dr Roget. Dr William Thomson.
Committee, — Dr Alison, Dr Arnott, Sir G. Ballingall, S. D.
Broughton, Esq., Dr J. Campbell, Professor Clark, William Clift,
Esq., Dr Davidson, Dr Hodgkin, Dr Holme, Dr Home, Dr Mac-
lagan, Dr Roget, James Russell, Esq., Dr Thomson, Dr A. T.
Thomson, Dr William Thomson, Prof. Treviranus, Dr Turner,
Dr Yelloly.

The Medical Section met this day at eleven o'clock, when, on
the motion* of Dr Yelloly, Dr Abercrombie was requested to take
the Chair. Dr Yelloly then proposed that the Section should ap-
point Dr Abercrombie Chairman for the ensuing meeting, and Sir
Charles Bell, and Professor Clarke of Cambridge, Deputy- Chair-
men ; which proposal was unanimously agreed to, and Dr Aber-
crombie took the chair accordingly.

A letter from Dr Roupell was laid before the meeting, express-
ing his regret, that circumstances had interfered with his pursuing
the subject of the Operation of Poisons introduced into the animal
economy, of which he had been appointed at the last meeting to
undertake the investigation, in conjunction with Dr Hodgkin ; but
assuring the Section that he had not neglected the subject, and that
he trusts next year to exhibit the drawings he has made, and
to lay before the Section a joint memoir on the subject. It was
proposed and unanimously agi'eed to, that Dr Roupell and Dr
Hodgkin should be requested to prosecute their investigations, and
lay the results of them before the next meeting of the Association.

Mr Broughton read to the Section the results of the experimental
inquiry respecting the sensibilities of the nerves of the brain, which,
at the last meeting of the Association, Dr Marshall Hall and he
had been requested to undertake. The most important new fact
Btated in this paper was, that the 8th pair of nerves, in several ex-
periments on horses and asses, appeared quite insensible to ordinary
irritations, and no muscular contraction was observed to succeed its
irritation ; but when the trunk of the horse was compressed with
the forceps, or when it was cut tlu*ougli, and the lower portion of
the upper segment compressed in that way, a struggle, an inspira-
tion, a cough, and effort to swallow, were always observed. At

Anatomy and Medicim. 387

the conclusion of the paper, Sir Charles Bell made some observa-
tions on the impai'tial spirit in which such inquiries ought to be
conducted, and on the importance of their being prosecuted, under
the guidance of a minute knowledge of anatomy, and complimented
the authors of the memoir on the evidence it bore of these two
qualifications.

Dr Alison read a notice of some experiments by Dr J. Reid, illus-
trating the connection of the irritability of muscles with the nervous
system, with observations by himself. The result of these experi-
ments was (in confirmation of the doctrine of Haller and of Wil-
son Philip, and in opposition to that lately propounded by Mr J.
W. Earle), that the irritability of muscles, after it has been exhaust-
ed, or at least greatly diminished by galvanic irritation, may be re-
stored by rest ; although all their nerves be divided, and they be
rendered incapable either of sensation or of voluntary motion.
Some remarks having been made by Dr Allen Thomson on the
sources of fallacy to which he conceived experiments of the kind
detailed are exposed, it was resolved to appoint the following gen-
tlemen a Committee, to witness the repetition of these experiments
by Dr Reid, viz. Dr Bright, Mr Clift, Dr A. Thomson, Dr Hodgkin
and Dr Alison.

Dr Alison stated that he had a communication to lay before the
Section, on the vital powers of arteries leading to inflamed parts ;
but that he was desirous, as Mr Dick had at present some horses
which would afford an opportunity of shewing the phenomena, to
which he wished to call the attention of the meeting, that a com-
mittee should be appointed to witness these phenomena previously
to the reading of the communication. A committee was accord-
ingly proposed and appointed, consisting of Mr Broughton, Mr
Bracey Clark, Mr Dick, Dr Fletcher, Mr Clift and Dr Alison.

The meeting then adjourned till Wednesday the 10th, at eleven
o'clock.

Skotion F.— Statistics.
CAatrmaTi-^Sir Charles Lemon, Bart.
Deputy-Chairmen — Col. Sykes. Benj. Heywood, Esq.
Secretaries — Dr Cleland. C. Hope Maclean, Eisq.
Cwnmittee. — Howard Elphin^tone, Esq. Rev. E. Stanley. J.
is. Drinkwater, Esq. Rev. W. WTiewell. The Earl Fitswilliam.
Sir John Sinclair, Bart. Sir Thomas Acland, Bart. John Ken-
nedy, Esq. Captain Churchill. R. I. Murchison, Esq. John

388 Proceedings of the British Association.

Wishaw, Esq. Dr Chalmers. L. Horner, Esq. John Marshall,
Esq. Neil Malcolm, Esq. Francis Clark, Esq.

The Statistical Section assembled. The report of the Third
Meeting of the British Association, held at Cambridge in 1833,
contained two recommendations applicable to this Section, in re-
ference to which this Section has to state, that Col. Sykes has now
in progress some statistical returns, collected by himself in India,
relative to the Deccan, but that they are not yet in a sufficiently
advanced state to be laid before the meeting.

This Section has also to report, that Professor Jones has, in pur-
suance of the second recommendation of the Association, applied
for leave of access to the archives of the East India Company, and
that that Body, with its accustomed liberality, has afforded him
every facility in promoting his researches. This section has also
great satisfaction in reporting, that a Statistical Society has been
formed in London, the present condition and progress of which
will be laid before the meeting in the course of this week.

Mr Benjamin Heywood attended to announce the formation of a
Statistical Society in Manchester, which has been established since
the last meeting of the British Association ; and appeared on behalf
of that body.

An important communication issuing from that Statistical So-
ciety, " On the condition of the working-classes in certain districts
of the town of Manchester," was presented by him.

From this document it appeared that the number of families vi-
sited by three persons appointed by that Society, amounted to
4102, composing nearly 20,000 persons, occupying 3110 houses,
and 1002 cellars and apartments, of which only 689 were well fur-
nished, 1551 were comfortably furnished, and the very lai-ge num-
ber of 255 1 were described as uncomfortable. It further appears,
that, out of the above number of 20,000 persons, 7789 receive
wages, and only 158 pay a rent exceeding four shillings a-week.
The same paper stated that there were in the above district 8121
children under the age of twelve years, of whom only 252 attended
day-schools, while 4680 attended Sunday-schools, and nearly half
the children were without education. The number of parents who
stated themselves to be able to read amounted to 3114.

The next communication to which this Section directed its at-
tention, was a lecture on the science of Agriculture, and the means
of promoting its improvement, by the Right Hon. Sir J. Sinclair,

Proceedings of the British Association. 389

Bart. This Section, considering it to be the first and most essen-
tial rule of its conduct to confine its attention rigorously to facts,
and, as far as it may be found possible, to facts which can be stated
numerically, and arranged in tables, did not feel justified in enter-
ing upon the consideration of the contents of this paper.

EVENING — OEORGE S STREET ASSEMBLY ROOMS.

In the evening, at 8 o'clock, the general meeting of all the
Sections, with a brilliant display of the fair sex, took place in
the Assembly Rooms.

Sir Thomas Brisbane having taken the Chair, said, that, be-
fore commencing the regular business of the evening, Mr Tay-
lor, the treasurer, would report on the progressive increase of
the Association, from the commencement to the present period.

The Treasurer then stated, that the number of tickets issued
to new members on the present occasion, amounted to upwards
of 800, and that probably 150 would be added to-morrow.
The Association, at the commencement at York, numbered
350 members ; at Oxford they increased to 700 ; and at Cam-
bridge, last year, to about 1400.*

Sir Thomas Brisbane then requested the Association to at-
tend to the reports of the Presidents of the different sections as
to the proceedings of the day.

Professor Whewell read the report of the Physical Section ;
Dr Dalton, in absence of Dr Hope, the report of the Chemical
and Mineralogical Section ; Professor Jameson the report of the
Geological and Geographical Section ; Dr Graham the report
of the Natural History and Botanical Section ; Dr Abercrom-
bie the report of the Medical Section ; and Sir Charles Lemon
reported the proceedings of the Statistical Section.

After the Presidents of the Sections had thus reported pro-
ceedings, Dr Robinson read a letter from Mr Rumker of Ham-
burgh, which was accompanied by an ephemeris of the track of
the comet of 1682 and 1759, whose return is expected at the end
of this year. The Vice-President of the Association, Professor
Robinson of Armagh, then gave an interesting account of our

• We have been informed, that on the last day the number enrolled in
Edinburgh is 1298.

390 Proceedings of the British Association.

knowledge of the history and nature of comets. Professors
Whewell and Hamilton also took a discursive view of the co-
metary world in their usual characteristic manner.

The Association then adjourned, and the President intimated
that the next evening meeting would take place in the same
room and at the same hour.

Wednesday, \Qth September.

MORNIKG UNIVERSITY.

Section A. — Mathematics and General Physics.

The Rev. Dr Lloyd, Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, having
been called to the Chair, Professor Lloyd read to the Section a
portion of his report on physical optics.

M. Arago offered a few observations on some statements contain-
ed in that report, chiefly with reference to the hypothesis of trans-
versal vibrations, and advocated the claims of Dr Thomas Young,
as the first to propose it.

Mr Whewell read a paper by M. Challis, entitled " Theoretical
Explanations of some facts relating to the composition of the Co-
lours of the Spectrum." Mr Whewell also offered some sugges-
tions regarding Sir John Herschel's explanation of dispersion, ac-
cording to the undulating theory. Sir D. Brewster objected to the
validity of this explanation ; his objections being grounded on the
phenomena of the dark bands in the light transmitted through ni-
trous acid gas, and their alteration with the increase of tempera-
ture.

Professor Powell handed in a short paper " On the Achroma-
tism of the Eye," in continuation of a paper contained in the last
volume of the British Association.

Professor Powell then gave a brief view of the explanation of
dispersion of light in the undulatory theory, as afforded by the ma-
thematical analysis of M. Cauchy, and stated a condition which
seemed necessary to the validity of this explanation.

Mr Whewell, Professor Hamilton, and Dr Robinson also made
some observations on the same subject.

Professor Phillips then read the second report of the result of
twelve months* experiments on the quantity of rain falling at differ-
ent elevations above the ground, made by himself and Mr Gray.

Sir Thomas Brisbane made some observations on an anomaly in

Mathematics and General Physics. S9l

the quantity of rain registered under diiFerent circumstances of ob-
siervation. Mr Howard likewise made some observations.

It was then moved by Dr Robinson, that the Section should re-
turn its thanks to Mr Pliillips for the careful manner in which he
had executed the task entrusted to him by the Association, and re-
quest him to continue his observations during another year, with
the view of obtaining such results as might furnish the means of
deciding on the theories that had been proposed for the explana-
tion of the phenomena.

Mr Phillips thanked the meeting for the kind manner in which
his communication had been received, and professed his readiness
to comply with the request. Mr Phillips gave some further ac-
count of his mode of observation, with reference principally to the
remarks of Mr Howard.

Professor Stevelly read a paper, entitled " An attempt to con-
nect some well known phenomena in Meteorology, with well esta-
blished physical principles." The questions discussed in this paper
were, — I. The nature, origin, and suspension of clouds, and the im-
mediate effect of their formation ; 2. The manner in which rain is
produced, and the immediate effect of its production ; 3. The man-
ner in which wind results from the formation of cloud and rain ; 4.
The origin of hail.

Section B. — Chemistry and Mineralooy.

The Chemical Section proceeded to consider the recommenda-
tions of the Sections of the former meetings, having reference to
Mineralogy and Crystallography.

Mr Whewell made a communication on the progress of the in-
quiries entrusted to Prof. Miller on the forms of crystals, and to
the Committee appointed to examine the subject of isomorphism.
He stated that the German chemists and cr y stall ographers are ar-
dently engaged on this important subject. In regard to the pro-
perties of substances similar in constitution and form, he directed
the attention of the meeting to the important fact, that the optical
properties are often very different in substances considered to be of
the same species. And on this subject reference was made to the
case of topaz, on which some discussion took place, chiefly on the
observations made as to the relation of their optical axes at different
temperatures.

A paper was read by Dr Charles Williams, On a New Law of
Combustion. In this communication the author shewed, that many

392 Proceedings of the British Association.

organic substances exhibit in a dark place a pale lambent flame,
similar to that exhibited by dry phosphorus when heated in the air
to a temperature below incandescence, (as low as 300°), and that
this flame bursts out into that known to attend ordinary combustion,
when the substance is plunged into oxygen gas. This feeble com-
bustion commences in organic substances when vapours begin to
be evolved. This feeble flame has little heating power, and passes
to ordinary flame by a rapid transition, accompanied by a feeble de-
tonation. Some metals, as zinc and potassium, shew the same
phenomenon, though of shorter duration, probably from the forma-
tion of a coating of oxide. — As a practical result from his observa-
tions, he remarked on the danger of many manufactures, as those
of soap and candle-making, in which vapours are driven off from
organic substances, and this low combustion actually goes on dur-
ing the whole process of manufacture.

Dr Daubeny next brought before the meeting the economical
employment of coal-tar in connection with water as fuel, according
to the method lately suggested by Mr Rutter. A discussion then
arose as to whether the water in this case acts chemically or me-
chanically, or both, in facilitating tlie combustion of the tar. Mr
Macintosh stated, that by repeated experiments he had found,
that coal-tar gave no more heat when burned than an equal weight
oi splint codXy the kind preferred, where a long continued heat is re-
quired. Mr Low also stated, that from long experience he could af-
firm, that the use of water along with coal-tar was productive of no
benefit whatever, and that 3 gallons, or 33 lb. of coal-tar, give an
equal amount of heating effect fully to 40 lb. of coke, made from
the Newcastle coal of the Hutton seam.

From the discussion on this subject, which was protracted for
some time, it appears to be established, 1. That tar may be used as
fuel, but that it does not give much more heat than the same
weight of the best coal. 2. That when mixed with water, it flows
more easily through tubes, but does not appear to evolve more
heat than when used alone.

The next communication was an abstract of the discoveries of
Reichenbach, in regard to the products of the destructive distilla-
tion of organic substances. In this paper Dr Gregory detailed
the properties of Paraffine, Eupion, Kreosote, Pittakall, Pica-
mar, and Kapnomor, and exhibited specimens of several of them.
He also made some observations regarding the more common
products of destructive distillation, and stated that several of these

Geology and Geography. 393

substances are found in tlie naphtha of Rangoon ; the petroline found
by Dr Christison in that substance, being the substance afterwards
named Paraffin by Reichenbach. After a short discussion regard-
ing the products of the distillation of caoutchouc, the meeting ad-
journed to Thursday 11th, at 11 a.m.

Section C. — Geology and Geography.

Professor Jameson in the Chair.

Mr George Rennie communicated observations on the principle
of construction, and the practical employment, of an instrument for
taking up water at great depths. It was tried by Mr Rennie at
the estuary of the Tamer, near Plymouth, and found to succeed
completely.

An interim report by Mr Stevenson, " On the State of our
knowledge respecting the relative level of Land and Sea, and the
waste and extension of Land on the east coast of England," illus-
trated by charts and sections of the German Ocean, was read to the
meeting. Remarks were made by Professor Phillips, and a dis-
cussion ensued, in which Mr W. Smith related the results of his
personal investigations on this subject.

Mr Greenough remarked, that the question proposed by the As-
sociation to Mr Stevenson, related to changes in the relative level
of land and sea on the British coasts ; whereas the memoir of that
gentleman, which they had just heard, was confined to a description
of alterations of the coast due to the gain of land by new deposits,
or losses referable to the encroachments of the sea. Mr G then
observed that, with reference to alterations in relative level, Mr
Lyell would probably be able to communicate some interesting in-
formation to the Section, as he had just returned from a tour in
Sweden, purposely undertaken with a view to investigating that
point.

Mr Lyell stated that he was most willing to answer to this call,
though it would be impossible for him to give in detail all the proofs
of a change of level which he had observed. It was his intention
soon to read a paper on this subject to the Royal Society of London,
but he had no objection to give orally an outline of the principal
results at which he had arrived. It would be necessary to preface
his statement with a brief sketch of the state of the controversy
touching the gradual rise of Scandinavia, at the time of his visiting
that country. It was more than 100 years since the Swedish na-

394 Proceedings of the British Association.

turalist Celsius bad declared his opinion, that the level of the
waters, both of the Baltic and the ocean, were suffering a gradual
depression. In confii*mation of this phenomenon, Celsius had ap-
pealed to several distinct classes of proofs ; \st. The testimony of
the inhabitants on the northern shores of the Gulf of Bothnia, that
towns formerly sea ports were then far inland, and that the sea
was still constantly leaving dry new tracts of land along its borders.
2c?fy, The testimony of the same inhabitants, that various insulated
rocks in the Gulf of Bothnia, and on some parts of the eastern
shores of Sweden, then rose higher above the level of the sea than
they remembered them to have done in their youth. Qdly, That
marks had been cut on the fixed rocks on the shore some thirty
years or more before, to point out the level at which the waters of
the Baltic formerly stood when not raised by the winds to an un-.
usual height, and that these marks already indicated a sinking of
the waters. On the whole, Celsius concluded that the rate of de-
pression amounted to three or four feet in a hundred years. To
this conclusion it was objected, that there were many parts of the
Baltic where the level of the sea had riot fallen, as could be proved
by ancient pines and castles standing close to the water's edge, and
other natural and artificial monuments. It was remarked that the
new accessions of land were chiefly where rivers entered the sea,
and where new sedimentary deposits were forming ; and that the
marks were not to be depended upon, because the level of the sea
fluctuated in consequence of the action of the wind.

Von Buch, in the course of his tour in Sweden and Norway,
about twenty-five years ago, found at several places on the western
shores of Scandinavia, deposits of sand and mud containing nu-
merous shells referable to species now living in the neighbouring
ocean. From this circumstance, and from accounts which he re-
ceived from inhabitants of the coasts of the Bothnian Gulf, he in-
ferred that Celsius was correct in regard to a gradual change of
relative level. As the sea cannot sink in one place without falling
every where, Von Buch concluded that certain parts of Sweden
and Finland were slowly and insensibly rising. Mr Lyell, together
with Von Hoff and others, still continued to entertain doubts with
regard to the reality of this phenomenon, partly on grounds stated
by former writers, and above enumerated, partly because Sweden
and Norway have been, within the times of history, very free from
violent earthquakes, and because the elevation was said to take
place not suddenly and by starts, according to the analogy of the

Geology and Geography. 91^

intermittent action of earthquakes and volcanos, but slowly, con-
stantly, and insensibly.

Mr Lyell had visited some parts of the shores of the Bothnian
Gulf, between Stockholm and Gefle, and of the western coast of
Sweden, between Uddevalla and Gothenburg, districts particularly
alluded to by Celsius. He had examined several of the marks cut by
the Swedish pilots, under the direction of the Swedish Academy of
Sciences in 1820, and found the level of the Baltic in calm weather
several inches below the marks. He also found the level of the
waters several feet below marks made seventy or a hundred years
before. He obtained similar results on the side of the ocean ; and
found in both districts that the testimony of the inhabitants agreed
exactly with that of their ancestors recorded by Celsius. After
confirming the accounts given by Von Buch of the occurrence on
the side of the ocean, of elevated beds of recent shells at various
heights, from ten to two hundred feet, Mr Lyell added, that he had
also discovered deposits on the side of the Bothnian Gulf, between
Stockholm and Gefle, containing fossil shells of the same species
which now characterize the brackish waters of that sea. These
occur at various elevations, from one to a hundred feet, and some-
times reach fifty miles inland. The shells are partly marine and
partly fluviatile ; the marine species are identical with those now
living in the ocean, but are dwarfish in size, and never attain the
average dimensions of those which live in waters sufficiently salt to
enable them to reach their full development. Mr Lyell concluded
by declaring his belief that certain parts of Sweden are undergoing
a gradual rise to the amount of two or three feet in a century,
while other parts visited by him, farther to the south, appear to
experience no movement.

Lord Greenock, in name of the Highland Society, communicated
the desire of that body to give its assistance to geological investi-
gations ; and aunoujflced that, from information lately received firom
the Treasury, it is now certain that the Geological Map of Scotland
will speedily be published.

Lord Greenock then read a paper on the coal formation of the
central district of Scotland, which was illustrated by specimens,
sections, and maps. Lord Greenock is inclined to believe that or-
ganic remains such as those found in the coal strata at Stoney-
hill, near Musselburgh, will be found to become more rare, if
they do not entirely disappear, as we descend in the series, and
approach the limestone containing marine shells and encrinites, al-

396 Proceedings of the British Association.

though the reappeai*ance of such remains in an inferior position
at Burdiehouse is a circumstance not easily to be accounted for.
The author remarked that the flat seams contain the most valu-
able coals in the district ; but that they occur only partially in the
Mid- Lothian coal-field, and they ai*e not to be found to the south-
ward or westward of the road from Edinburgh to Dalkeith, as they
are said to have been thrown ofi^ by a dyke near Sheriff-hall, be-
yond which some of the edge-seams appear to have been brought
up and flattened : — and these are worked as flat seams at the Dal-
housie, Polton, and Eldon collieries. There seem to be sufficient
reasons to warrant the supposition that the coal district of the oppo-
site coast of Fife was originally connected with that on this side of
the Firth. At the same time, with the knowledge we possess re-
specting the two districts, it would be difficult to prove their exact
correspondence either by their lines of bearing or by the quality of
the coals. But it is not improbable that disturbing causes may have
operated to produce derangements and dislocations in those parts of
the coal formation now beneath the water, even to a greater extent
than in those on the shores of the Firth. From the reports of Mr
Landale and Mr Bald, it appears that the number of coal-beds is
nearly the same in the two coal-districts, and that the total thick-
ness of the coal in them is also nearly alike.

In the Fifeshire District. Edinburgh District

29 beds of coal. 20* beds, and probably 29.

119 feet. 109 feet.

The two seams of coal, the workings of which have lately been
resumed, on the estate of Captain Boswell at Wardie, have appa-
rently been thrown out of their natural position by some disturb-
ance.

The nodules of ironstone, of which there is a great abundance in
the bituminous shale of Wardie, are very remarkable ; for there is
scarcely one to be found that does not contain an organic nucleus,
either a coprolite or some portion of a fossil fish. Similar nodules
have been found on the opposite coast, and on Inchkeith.

A notice by Mr Menteath on the Closeburn limestone was read,
in which an account was given of the geological, mineralogical, and
chemical characters of that deposit.

Professor Sedgwick spoke of the services rendered to our know-
ledge of the geology of the north of Scotland, by the late Mr Mac-
culloch junior, and expressed the hope that the results of his inves-

Geology mid Geography. 397

ti^atlons would be employed and acknowledged in the Government
Map.

A notice was read by Mr Trevelyan on fossil wood frotn a bed
of clay lying above coal in Suderoe, the most northern of the Faroe
islands.

Dr Hibbert read a paper on the ossiferous beds contained in the
basins of the Forth, the Clyde, and the Tay.

He pointed out, in a general manner, the order of succession ob-
served by such beds as were deposited later than the primary and
transition schists. These were the peculiar grey micaceous sand-
stone, principally to be found on the north of the Tay, known by
the name of the Arbroath pavement ; the red sandstone, into which
the Arbroath pavement passes ; and the stupendous masses of con-
glomerate materials, formed by rolled fragments of primary and
transition rocks, which repose at the foot of the Grampians. It was
incidentally stated that, near Cratown, the conglomerate strata were
traversed by a trap rock, containing large crystals of glassy felspar,
which gave to it the exact character of one of the modem trachytes
of the Siebengebirge. The conglomerate rocks were supposed to
have been formed at two distinct epochs. The author expressed a
suspicion only that certain patches of sandstone, occurring both on
the east and west coast of Scotland, might be considered as New
Red Sandstones.

That the greywacke schist and its associate beds of limestone
contain organic remains, has not yet been shewn. The author ex-
hibited a specimen of the Arbroath pavement containing vegetables,
and he stated that Mr Lindsay Carnegie of Kinblythmont in
Angus, had presented to the College Museum some striking speci-
mens of remains inclosed in the Arbroath pavement, one of which
appeared to belong to a crustaceous animal. [These were subse-
quently exhibited to the Geological Section by Professor Jameson.]

But it was shewn that organic remains had been most abundant-
ly found in the later deposit of the carboniferous group, which the
author had previously described at the meetings of the Royal So-
ciety of Edinburgh. Certain limestones, for instance, namely, those
of Burdiehouse, East CiUder, Burntisland, &c. which he conceived
to be of fresh water origin, and belonging to the lower members of
the carboniferous group, severally contained both vegetable and
animal remains.

The limestone of Kirkton, near Bathgate, was remarkable for its
mammillated and ribbonncd structure ; which last peculiarity was

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIV.— OCTOBER 1834. D d

398 Proceedings of the British Association.

produced by thin layers of pure flinty matter alternating with Other
distinct layers, which were severally calcareous, argillaceous, or bi-
tuminous. This rock had a striking resemblance to the tertiary
limestones of Auvergne, which exhibit a similar character when
they come in contact with volcanic eruptions. And hence, as the
limestone of Kirkton is alternated with tufa, and is in the imme-
diate neighbourhood of trap-rocks, it probably owed its peculiar geo-
logical character to similar circumstances. This limestone contain-
ed numerous plants as well as the remains of a most remarkable
crustaceous animal, a nearly complete specimen of which the author
was enabled to exhibit to the Society, through the kindness of Dr
Simpson of Bathgate, into whose possession the relic had fallen.
The author remarked, that a larger head of the same animal had
been described by Dr Schouler ; but as this naturalist had unfortu-
nately not seen the extremity of the animal, the description was of
necessity imperfect.

[Incidental to this notice,- Mr Smith of Jordanhill, near Glas-
gow, exhibited to the Society the more perfect head of the
animal described by Dr Schouler. And Mr Jameson Torrie
placed in Dr Hibbert's hands a memoir just published by Dr
Harlan of America, in which fossil remains are figured of a
similar character, but of the diminutive size of five inches
only. The generic name of Eurypterus has been given to
the American specimen. Dr Hibbert announced that draw-
ings, accompanied by a description of this singular animal,
would be shortly published.]
The limestone quarry of Burdiehouse was very briefly described,
as many details regarding it had already been published by the
author. This limestone was a very deep-seated bed in the carboni-
ferous series. Above it were alternating beds of sandstone, shale,
and thin seams of coal. A limestone containing marine shells and
corallines followed, while the whole was surmounted by the coal-
measures of Loanhead. The Burdiehouse limestone contained a
variety of plants, minute Entomostraca and Conchifera (among
which there appears to be a Cypris and a Planorbis), various un-
described fish, the bones of gigantic animals, large scales and co-
prolites. Among the bones are pointed teeth of the extraordinary
length of three and three-quarter inches, and of the width of one
and a half inches at their base, which resemble those of Saurian
reptiles. These teeth were adorned with a most beautiful brown
enamel, as well as the large scales which are so plentifully found in
the quarry. There were also exhibited some bony rays of the ex-
traordinary length of fifteen inches, which must have belonged to
an huge fish.

Geoh)(fy and Geography. 399

The author amiouiiced that all the relics of lish hitherto discover-
ed at BiirdiehouHe would be submitted to the inspection of M.
Agassiz, who had studied fossil ichthyology with such splendid re-
sults, and who, in the invaluable work which he was publishing,
promised to fill up, with the success of a Cuvier, this great blank
in natural history.*

Dr Buckland, after making many comments on the relics of the
Burdiehouse quarry, introduced to the Geological Section M. Agas-
siz, who was one of the distinguished savans present at the British
Association, and requested his opinion on the specimens displayed
on the table.

M. Agassiz, agreeably to this invitation, explained the character
of the fish in a most luminous manner, which excited a very gene-
ral feeling of satisfaction. And after an examination, on tlie follow-
ing day, of the whole of the Burdiehouse specimens in the posses-
sion of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, he announced, that it was
one of the richest acquisitions which he had ever made in fossil ich-
thyology, as it contained several wholly undescribed genera.

With regard to the large teeth which had been concaved to be
Saurian (for such was the opinion entertained of them by some of
the first naturalists of London and Paris), M. Agassiz, after a re-
newed examination of them, became disposed to pass a different
opinion from that which he had at first view embraced. A close in-
spection of the minute jaw of one of the fry of this animal, led him
to the conclusion, that the relic rather belonged to a fish of a new
and extraordinary genus, which will probably prove to be more
Sauroid than any of the ancient fish which he has classified in his
« Recherches sur les Poissons Fossiles."

This naturalist now considers, as parts of this aninml^ all or most
of the large bones discovered in Burdiehouse quarry, including the
very large bony rays, as well as the large enamelled scales which
have been so abundantly found. These have been entrusted to his
care by the Royal Society of Eldinburgh, for the description which
he purposes to give of them in his invaluable work. M. Agassiz
has named the animal Megalichthys Hibberti.

The judgment thus pronounced upon these relics is calculated, in
the opinion of this naturalist, to excite questions of the most lively
interest respecting the characters possessed by the races of being»

• Dr Hibbert likewise displayed the teelh and other relics of a large fish,
which he had recently discovered in the black limestone of Ashford, in Derby-
shire.

Od

400 Proceedings of the British Association.

which lived during so remote an epoch. It would be a new era for
paleontology, as he observes, if it could be demonstrated, as it is
his belief it may be, that the fish of this period unite, in their par-
ticular organization, the characters of reptiles belonging to that class
oi animals which only [ippear in great numbers during later times.*

Several members of the Geological Section, particularly Dr Buck-
land, took this opportunity of acknowledging the eminent services
rendered to geology by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, in pre-
venting the relics of Burdiehouse quarry from being dispersed, and
thus lost to science. Nor was it forgotten that the object was main-
ly accomplished by the indefatigable and truly scientific exertions
of their General Secretary Mr Robison.

M. Agassiz and Dr Buckland have subsequently urged the im-
portance of the Royal Society continuing these exertions in the
cause of paleontology ; and it is grateful to think how much this
object has been seconded by the co-operation of Mr Torrance, who
at present possesses the lease of Burdiehouse quarry.

A letter'from R. Allan, Esq. inviting members of the Section to
inspect liis mineralogical collection, was read.

The two first numbers of the extensive work of M. Agassiz on
Fossil Fishes were exhibited, and were particularly recommended
to the attention of the members of the Section by the Chairman
and Dr Buckland.

Section D. — Natural History.

On the plurality and development of Embryos in the seeds of
Coniferae, by Robert Brown, Esq.

The earliest observations of the author on this subject, were
made in the summer of 1826, soon after the publication of his re-
marks on the female flower of Cycadea; and Coniferae. He then
found that, in several coniferae, namely, Pinus strobus, Abies ex-
celsa, and the common larch, the plurality of embryos in the im-
pregnated ovulum was equally constant, and their arrangement in
the albumen as regular as in cycadeae ; and similar observations,

• This investigation of Agassiz is confirmatory of the opinion, founded on
zoological and geognostical characters, of Professor Jameson, delivered in the
Wemerian Society, viz. that the limestone of Burdiehouse, Burntisland, &c.,
contains the remains of fishes, but none of Saurian animals, and that the
strata of these districts are not of fresh-water origin.

Natural History. 401

made during the present summer, on several other species, espe-
cially Pinus sylvestris and pinaster, render it highly probable that
the same structure exists in the whole family.

The first change which takes place in the impregnated ovulum
of the coniferae examined, is the production or separation of a solid
body within the original nucleus.

In this inner body or albumen, several subcylindrical corpuscu-
la of a somewhat diflPerent colour and consistence from the mass of
the albumen, seated near its apex, and arranged in a circular series,
soon became visible.

In each of these corpuscula, which are from three to six in num-
ber, a single thread or funiculus, consisting of several, generally of
four, elongated cells or vessels, with or without transverse septa, ori-
ginates. The funiculi are not unfrequently ramified, each branch
or division terminating in the minute rudiment of an embryo. But
as the lateral branches of the funiculi usually consist of a single
elongated cell or vessel, while the principal or terminal branch is
generally formed of more than one, embryos in coniferae may ori-
ginate either in one or in several cells, even in the same funiculus.

A similar ramification in the funiculi of the Cycas circinalis has
been observed by the author.

Instances of the occasional introduction of more than one em-
bryo in the seeds of several plants belonging to other families have
long been known, but their constant plurality and regular arrange-
ment have hitherto only been observed in Cycadeae and Coniferae.

Section E. — Anatomy and Medicine.

Dr Sharpey read a communication on certain peculiarities in the
circulation of the porpoise, which he illustrated with preparations.

The principal facts established by Dr Sharpey's investigations,
were, 1st, That the veins as well as the arteries of the porpoise,
present, in several regions of the body, a remarkable plexiform ar-
rangement ; and, in some places, plexures of both kinds of vessels
are combined or mingled together.

2d, That the arterial plexures are not confined to the thorax and
vertebral canal, (the situations in which they were particularly de-
scribed by Mr Hunter as occurring in whales, in his observations
on the structure and economy of these animals, published in the
Philosophical Transactions of 1 787,) but several are formed by the
rteries of other parts.

402 Proceedings of the British Association.

3d, The description given by Cuvier (Le9ons, vol. iv. p. 258),
of the division of the caudal portion of the aorta, requires to be cor-
rected, inasmuch as the vessel is not wholly and suddenly resolved
into small branches, which unite to form it anew, but is only di-
minished in size, and concealed in the midst of a plexus of small
vessels, from which it again comes out.

4th, Several arteries shew a tendency to divide into long parallel
branches, of which the arteries of the ploric viscera offer a striking
example.

5th, The brachial artery, as in taidigrade animals, divides into
many long branches, which unite again into a iew larger vessels,
after forming a plexus which is not convoluted.

Lastly, The internal carotid, which at its origin is as large as in
man, diminishes in a tapering manner, and without giving off
branches till it enters the skull, when it is scarcely thicker than a
pin.

Some remarks were made by Dr Roget, Mr Clift, Mr Dick, Dr
Cooke of Durham, and Mr Mackenzie.

A communication from Mr Murray of Hull, on the change of
colour in the Chameleon, was next submitted to the Section.

After pointing out that there are other animals besides the cha-
meleon, such as the agama or Mexican chameleon, and the polychlo-
rtiSj which display a change of colour, or variable intensity in the
tint on their skin, and noticing some of the more striking circum-
stances in the natural history of the chameleon, particularly the
manner in which it casts its skin every six months, the author pro-
ceeded to describe the circumstances in which he conceives the
changes of colour in the skin of this animal to depend. These he
conceives to be the electro-chemical action of the sunbeam on the
blood, through the cutaneous surface, as modified by its more or less
accelerated impulse, conjoined with the greater or less dilatation of
the investing membrane. According to the author, the skin, when
narrowly inspected, seems to be covered with small granulations of
variable size, and ever varying convexity, and which are capable of
receiving, through the agency of a plexus of contractile and expan-
sive fibrillae, a variable quantity of blood. As confirming the opi-
nion that the change of colour is intimately connected with the cir-
culation of the blood, Mr Murray refers to experiments which ap-
pear to hinv fully to prove, that the various shades of colour displayed
in patches on the skin of the chameleon, exhibit corresponding
I'hangcs of temperature, the tliermometer indicating, according to

Anatomy and Medicine. 403

his observation, a difference of 2° Fahr., viz. from 73" to 75« Fahr.,
when the ambient air was 72° Fahr.

This communication called forth some remarks from Dr Spittal
and Mr Edmonstone, on observations they had themselves made on
the chameleon ; from Mr Dick on the tongue of that animal ; and a
notice from Dr Allen Thomson, of some experiments made by him
on the change of colour observable in the cuttle-fish.

Dr Allen Thomson then exhibited to the meeting a series of
preparations made by Dr Sharpey and himself, of injections of
the lacteal and lymphatic absorbent vessels of the seal, por-
poise, turtle, and man — preparations which appear to them to
support the conclusions of Professor Panizza of Pavia, in opposi-
tion to the opinion of Fohmann, Lippi, and others, as. to the non-
existence of numerous communications between the absorbent?
and veins. It was resolved that the connexions of these two sys-
tems of vessels should be proposed to the General Committee as a
subject for experimental .inquiry.

Section F. — Statistics.

The Statistical Section having met at eleven, a discussion arose
on the paper presented by Mi* Heywood yesterday, in which seve-
ral members from the large manufacturing towns in England, and
from the mining districts of Cornwall and Wales, took a part.

The discussion turned principally upon the advantages of Sunday
and Infant Schools, especially as shewni in the reaction on the ha-
bits of the parents of children attending them. Many instances of
this were stated to be within the knowledge of members present,
who had directed their attention to this subject.

The possibility of ascertaining, by direct inquiry, the amount of
the earnings of the poorer classes was discussed, and the difficulty
of obtaining information of sufficient accuracy on this very impor-
tant head was strongly pointed out by the fruitless attempts which
had been made by the Statistical Society of Manchester, as also of
Dr Cleland in similar enquiries undertaken by him for the use of
Government.

Mr Taylor and his brother undertook, in conjunction with the
Committee, to draw up a series of questions upon the condition and
habits of the mining population in Cornwall and Wales, from which
they hope to draw a complete account of the statistics of that clas8
for the next meeting of the Association.

404< Proceedings of the British Association.

The Secretary next read a very interesting paper relating to tlie
statistics of Glasgow, drawn up by Dr Cleland for the British As-
sociation. In this paper was pointed out the great inaccuracies of
the parochial registers, and the instances here stated shewed that
these are wholly inadequate to form the basis of a correct census.

In the portion of this paper which relates to the probability of
liuman life in Glasgow, Dr Cleland stated his belief that that city
is a place of average health, and that no material variation in the
rate of mortality in that city has occurred between the years 1821
and 1831.

Dr Cleland found, as has been universally observed elsewhere,
that in Glasgow there are more males horn than females ; but that,
in every period above fifteen years of age, the proportion of living
females always preponderates.

It is unnecessary to allude at greater length to this valuable pa-
per, as Dr Cleland has printed it for the use of the Association, and
members may obtain copies of it by applying to the Secretaries of
this Section.

A letter from Professor Malthus was read, stating his regret
that his avocations at the East Indian College prevented him from
attending this meeting of the Association.

A letter from Mr Quetelet of Brussels to Professor Whewell
was read, respecting his necessary absence from this meeting, and
announcing the speedy publication of a work by that gentleman,
the most interesting portion of which will be devoted to an exami-
nation of the law of population. Mr Quetelet states his belief that
he has succeeded in reducing the examination of this law to the
discussion of mathematical fonuulse, and that those at which he has
arrived are in fact exactly similar in form to those employed in the
planetary theory. Mr Quetelet is aware how visionary this an-
nouncement may possibly appear, but requests that it may be tested
by the close accordance between the calculated results and those
furnished by observation in England, the United States, and else--
where.

The Committee took this opportunity of reminding the meeting,
that, in consequence of the recommendation of the Statistical Sec-
tion at the last meeting, a society has been formed under the name of
the Statistical Society of London. Several members of the council
of that society are present in Edinburgh, with power to elect new
Fellows. Those members of the Association who may be desirous
of joining that society, are requested to give in their names to the

Mathematics and General Physics. 405

Secretary of the Section, who will communicate them to the coun -
cil of the society. The Secretary can also furnish copies of the
prospectus issued on the formation of the society, its regulations,
and an imperfect list of the present members.

EVENING — George's street assembly rooms.

The reports of the different Sections having been read by
the Presidents, Sir Thomas Brisbane requested Dr Lardner to
explain the principle of Mr Babbage's celebrated calculating
machine. The learned Professor explained, in as far as possi-
ble without exhibition of models or the machine itself, its var-
rious properties. The meeting adjourned till next evening.

Thursday, Wth September.

MORNING — UNIVERSITY.

Section A. — Mathematics and General Physics.

The Rev. Mr Whewell having taken the Chair, Mr Rennie gave
the second part of his report on Hydraulics, containing the applica-
tion of the principles of that science to the subject of rivers.

Professor Hamilton then gave an account to the meeting of a
new method in Dynamics. After a brief review of the several
leading steps which had been successfully made in the advance-
ment of dynaminal science, and more particularly the labours
of Galileo, Newton, aud Lagrange, Professor Hamilton proceeded
to the consideration of the problem to be solved, which may be
stated to be the determination of the three co-ordinates of each
point by the moving system, as a function of the time ; and
after attending to the limitations of the solutions of the problem,
as hitherto given, he proceeded to explain his own method, and to
shew that the solution may be made to depend upon a certain func-
tion of the initial cind final configurations, analogous to that which
he has denominated a characteristic function in optics. In this
mode of treating the subject, the whole problem is reduced to the
research of this function. The author concluded by stating the de-
gree of success which had attended his own investigations respect-
ing the form of this function, in the case of a binary system in the
problem, by the determination of the orbit of a comet from the ini-

406 Proceedings of the British Association.

tial and final co-ordinates, and the intervening time ; and, lastly,
in the problem of three bodies.

Professor Phillips communicated a paper on a new form of the
Dipping Needle, constructed so as to afford the means of correct-
ing the error of the centre of gravity.

Colonel Sykes read a short paper entitled, Notes on the mean
temperature in India, which called forth some remarks from Sir
David Brewster and Professor Forbes.

Professor Lloyd gave an account of magnetical observations
undertaken in Ireland in pursuance of the recommendations of the
Association ; and of a new method of observation which he had
employed.

Dr Robinson stated to the meeting various objections to the site
of the present Observatory of Edinburgh, and suggested the pro-
priety of transferring that Observatory to some more suitable posi-
tion ; and of converting the existing building to the purposes of a
magnetical observatory. Dr Robinson concluded by stating the
proposition which he intended to submit on this subject to the Com-
mittee of the Section. Sir David Brewster also stated the result
of his own observations on the progress of destruction now going
forward in the object-glass of the transit instrument.

M. Arago made some remarks on the accuracy which may be at-
tained in usual methods of observing the dip of the magnetic needle.
He stated that, when the instrument was furnished with a micro-
meter, and the necessary cautions observed, he found it adequate
to the determination of the diurnal variation of the dip, contrary
to the opinion expressed by Professor Christie in his report on
terrestrial magnetism. M. Arago also stated the results of some
observations of his own on the decay of the object-glasses of te-
lescopes.

Professor Forbes read a short communication from Mr Jordan,
describing a mode of suspending the magnetical needle, which it is
supposed by the author would possess some advantages for observ-
ing variations in the direction and intensity of the earth's magnetism.

Sir David Brewster described to the meeting a remarkable co-
loration which he had observed in the space included between the
interior and exterior rainbow.

Mr Saumarez read a paper on light and colours, containing some
peculiar views respecting their nature and origin.

Mathematics and General Physics, 407

SUB-SECTION.

M. I. Brunei, Esq. in the Chair.

Mr Dent exhibited a chronometer with a glass balance-spring,
and presented an account of its rate kept at the Royal Observatory,
Greenwich, since the last meeting of the Association. He also
shewed a chronometer in motion, with a pure palladium balance-
spring, a table of the variations of gold, steel, palladium, and glass,
from 32° to 100° Fahr. ; and another table shewing the qnantities
respectively due to direct expansion, and to loss by elasticity in
steel and palladium.

Mr Adam gave a description of a Sextant Telescope of his in-
vention, furnished with a spirit level attached to its eye-tube, for
taking vertical angles or altitudes on sea or land, when the horizon
is invisible-
Mr Ramage read a proposal for constructing a reflecting teles-
cope, of greater magnitude than has yet been attempted, and exhi-
bited a model of the proposed instrument. Mr Cooper stated, that a
superior reflecting telescope had been constructed by Mr Grobe of
Dublin, at one-fifth of the usual cost, and expressed his perfect con-
fidence in the ultimate success of the invention.

Mr Alexander Gordon exhibited Muretz's modification of Fres-
nel's polyzonal lens, which (with a common Argand flame*) Mr Gor-
don proposes as an economical light for ports and harbours; and to
be adopted when a more intense flame is used for coast light-houses,
in situations where the use of parabolic reflectors is not absolute-
ly necessary.

Skction B. — Chemistry and Mineralogy.

The Chemical Section met at 11 a.m.

Mr West gave an account of his experiments on bar iron, shew-
ing that when dissolved in muriatic acid, sulphuretted hydrogen is
given ofl' from bar iron of the best quality. He inferred that sulphur
is present as a deteriorating substance in most malleable irons ; and
he suggested that the quantity of sulphur in such irons should be
determined more accurately. On the mode of ascertaining this
point, some discussion arose.

A notice by Sir David Brewster was then read regarding a large
specimen of amber from Ava, intersected by thin layers of carbon-
ate of lime.

408 Proceedings of the British Association.

Mr Van der Toorn next gave a determination of the amount
of water in crystallized sulphate of zinc. The total amounts to 7
atoms, of which 6 are given oflF at 110° C, the other atom remaining
as a necessary constituent of the salt. From this result he con-
cluded that sulphates, which at a red heat give off sulphuric acid,
contain an atom of water as an essential constituent. On this subject
some discussion arose, and Dr Clarke stated as a general law, that
when salts effloresce, they always form compounds containing a de-
finite number of atoms of water, which compounds may be obtained
regularly crystallized by submitting solutions to evaporation at dif-
ferent temperatures.

Some considerations were then submitted by Mi* Johnston on
chemical notation, which gave rise to a discussion in which many
members of the section took part. The result was, that the subject
of notation was referred to the Committee of the Section with
the view of introducing into this country a uniform system of no-
tation.

A model of a spirit of wine lamp of considerable power, by Mr
Trevelyan, was exhibited. After which a paper was read by Mr
Henry Hough Watson, on the amount of carbonic acid in the
atmosphere of the town of Bolton, and the country around.

His results were in 10,000 parts,

Max.
In the country, [12 observations] = 4.74
In the town, [19 observations] = 8 62

He could not discover any connexion between the variations of its
quantity, and season, and weather, as suggested by De Saussure.
The method adopted by Mr Watson to determine the point, did
not appear, however, entirely free from objection. In the course
of the discussion which arose, Dr Thomson stated as his opinion,
that the difference in the results obtained at different times, and by
different experimenters, arose from errors of experiment.

An extract of a letter was then read from Professor Hare of
Philadelphia, suggesting the propriety of appointing agents in the
different ports to assist the members of the Association in com-
municating with foreigners.

It was also stated by the Secretary, that an able report had been
received from Dr William Henry on the present state of our
knowledge regarding contagion.

An analysis of the oxichloride of antimony or crystallised pow-
der of Algaroth by Mr Johnston, was then read, after which the
meeting adjourned to Friday the 12th, at 11 o'clock.

Min^

Mean.

3.89

4.135

4.19

5.30

Geology and Geography. 409

Section C. — Geology and Geography.

Professor Jameson in the Chair.

Lieutenant Murphy exhibited some sheets of the Ordnance Sur-
vey Maps of Ireland.

Mr Nicol read a paper on the structure of recent and fossil woods,
in which he described the general results of his investigations. He
exhibited an extensive series of specimens illustrative of his obser-
vations, and explained his method of obtaining thin sections of re-
cent and fossil woods.

Professor Traill communicated some remarks on the geology of
the Orkneys. These islands consist chiefly of sandstone, and of a
sandstone flag much charged with clay, belonging to the old red
sandstone. Granite also occurs very like that of Sutherland, close
grained, and often approaching to gneiss ; and is covered by a con-
glomerate. The fossil fishes occur near Skaill in Pomona, about
two miles from the junction of the granite with the slate.

Mr Murchison spoke of the fossil fishes of Caithness, and said he
had formerly sent specimens to Cuvier, who had been disposed to
refer the families to which they belong to those of Mansfield and
the Thiiringerwald. Mr Murchison afterwards visited the spot with
Professor Sedgwick, and came to the conclusion, that the strata
containing the fishes are referable to a formation as old as the old
red sandstone, and perhaps ascending as high as the carboniferous
series.

Professor Sedgwick entered at considerable detail into the nature
of the sandstone deposits of the north of Scotland.

Dr Hibbert considers the fossil fishes in question as belonging to
a formation analogous to that of Mansfeld.

M. Agassiz expressed his opinion t hat the fossil fishes of Orkney
and Caithness belong to a period more ancient than the coal mea-
sures.

Mr Lyell agreed with Professor Sedgwick and Mr Murchison in
their opinions, and made some remarks on the geology of Forfar-
shire.

Mr Milne read a paper on the geology of Berwickshire, and de-
scribed the different fonnations of which that district consists, viz.
the greywacke, old red sandstone, coal measures, and trap. He
detailed the mineralogical and fossil characters, marking their dif-
ferent formations, and in particular alluded to the question as to

410 Proceedings of the British Association.

the place in the geological series to which the red sandstones, 8cc,
of Berwickshire are to be referred, and gave it as his opinion that
these strata are developments of the lower beds of the "Coal-field.
He also pointed out in detail the various elevations which have sue-,
cessively taken place on the land, by eruptions of trap at successive
epochs; accompanying his observations by a reference to specimens,
map, and sections.

Remarks expressive of the high opinion entertained of the value of
Mr Milne's paper were made by Professor Sedgwick, Professor
Jameson, Mr Greenough, and Mr Murchison.

The Secretary laid before the Section Dr Harlan's paper on the
fossil organic remains of the United States.

Section D. — Natural History.

On the functions and use of the orbital glands in birds of the
orders Natatores and Grallatores, by P. J. Selby, Esq.

On the birds observed and collected during an excursion in
Sutherlandshire, by P, J. Selby, Esq.

On the fishes obtained during the same excursion, by Sir Wil-
liam Jardine.

On the insects obtained, by James Wilson, Esq.

On a collection of insects recently received from Java, by James
Wilson, Esq.

On the change of colour of the fruit in a certain species of
elder, by the Rev. James Drake.

On the cultivation of Phormium tenax in Scotland, by John
Murray, Esq.

On the progress made in researches on the secretions from the
roots of vegetables, by Dr Dunbar.

On the distribution of the phenogamous plants of the Faroe
Islands, by W. C. Trevelyan, Esq.

Professor Jameson exhibited a splendid collection of coloured
drawings of the vertebrate animals of Great Britain and Ireland,
executed by Mr William Macgillivray, Curator of the Museum of
the College of Surgeons. The Professor remarked, that their pe-
culiar excellence consisted in their combining, with great beauty of
pictorial effect, very accurate representations of the shape of the
head, and of the structure, form, and modes of combination, of fea-
thers in birds, and scales and plates in fishes, amphibia, &c. The
drawings exhibited form part of a great collection, intended for

Natural History. 411

publication^ under the title of *' The Mammalia, Birds, Reptiles,
and Fishes, of Great Britain and Ireland."

Mr Graham DaWell next read a very valuable memoir on the
propagation of Scottish zoophytes, of which the following is a very
short abstract.

All the following animal products are aquatic, and, excepting the
last, inhabit the sea. Those less conversant with their formation
may be referred to the general aspect of the actinia now ranked
among the radiata ; and to the hydra^ as consisting of a soft fleshy
body with a dilatable mouth and stomach in the centre, surrounded
by tentacula serving the office of fingers or hands.

1 . A specimen of the Actinia equina preserved by me, produced
above 276 young in six years. The embryos are first exhibited to
the observer in the tips of the tentacula, whence they can be with-
drawn and returned, and are finally produced by the mouth, du-
ring great compression of the parent. A tip with its embryo ha-
ving been amputated, the latter began to breed in fourteen months,
and survived five years. The actinia is erroneously defined in the
Systema H^aturcB^ as having only one aperture. Streams may be
seen spouting from the tentacula of tbe Crassicornis, and each of the
thirty or forty tubercles of the equina, open to discharge purple
flakes after feeding.

2. The Hydra tuba or trumpet polypus, a new Scottish species, is
the largest of the Hydrm proper, extending about two inches in
whole, with its long white tentacula waving like a beautiful silken
pencil in the water. It propagates by an external shapeless bud
issuing from the side of the parent, and withdrawing, though very
long connected by a ligament, on approaching maturity. In thir-
teen months a single specimen had eighty-three descendants.
Singular and distorted forms appear from the successive and irre-
gular evolution of the buds, during subsistence of the connecting
ligament. Observations were protracted during five years on the
same group and the young.

8. The Tidmlaria indivisa is rooted to rocks and shells, by a
stalk above a foot high crowned by a scarlet head, resembling a
beautiful flower, with numerous external and central tentacula.
Splendid groups occur of fifty or even of 100 specimens. The
ovarium of this product consisting of several clusters like bunches
of grapes is borne externally on the head, from whence the ovum
or advancing embryo separates and falls to be developed below.

412 Proceedings of the British Association.

Prominences soon indicate the evolution of tentacula, then with en-
larged instead of acute extremities as in adults ; as they extend the
nascent animal elevating itself on them as on so many feet, but
with the body inverted, enjoys the faculty of locomotion. Appa-
rently selecting a site, it reverses itself to the natural position with
the tentacula upwards, and is then rooted permanently by a pro-
minence, which is the incipient stalk, originating from the under
part of the head. Gradual elongation of the stalk afterwards con-
tinues to raise the head, and the formation of the zoophyte is per-
fected.

It is obvious, therefore, that this product is primarily of animal
nature exclusively.

4. The finest specimens of Sertularice resemble luxuriant shrubs
in miniature, with stems, boughs, branches, and twigs, with thou-
sands of cells and their polypi. One species, however, provisional-
ly designed Sertularia Uber, rises towards three feet high from the
root, thus infinitely exceeding the dimensions hitherto ascribed to
the Sertularise. Certain specimens of this and various others bear
vesicles or small vascular bodies, three or four times the size of the
cells containing white, pink, green, or yellow corpuscula, of a sphe-
rical form, in their earlier stages. All preceding naturalists have
conceived the vesicle, the ovarium, and these spherules, the ova
whereby Sertularise are propagated. But a long series of obser-
vations, greatly diversified and continued throughout many suc-
cessive years, has not led to this immediate result.

The vesicle contains from one to thirty corpuscula, according to
species, which are spherical on the earliest recognition, through the
refining transparency of its sides. Their shape alters on approach-
ing maturity ; it elongates, becomes elliptical, next prismatic, and
at length each corpusculum issues as a perfect animal from the ori-
fice of the vesicle. Now in figure and in motion, together with the
exhibition of certain peculiarities, it bears much resemblance to the
plaiiaria. The colours are the same as were exposed by the transpa-
rency of the vesicle, which remains empty ; the dimensions of none
exceed a line in length. These animals may constitute a new ge-
nus, to be provisionally denominated Plaimla. Eight or ten species
of Sertulariae have affbrded them ; nor has any thing else been ever
obtained from the vesicle.

The animal crawls very actively at first ; but in some days its
motion relaxes, it becomes stationary, contracts, and dies, though
without speedy decomposition, as is incident to the planaria. Short-

Natural History. 418

ly afterwards, if many white or yellow planiilfie occupied a vessel, a
number of white or yellow spots, circular or spherical segments, and
of about what might be grossly computed of equal superficial area to
planulse, may be discovered in nearly the same place. Next, the sum-
mit of the segment rises in an obtuse spinous prolongation, which,
swelling into a cell as it advances, soon displays a living polypus in
full vigour. Other cells are formed by further extension of the
stalk, and by the divergence of the buds which constitute them, to
right and left. Meantime the original spot breaks into divisions
like radicles ; it is gradually attenuated, and at last disappears. The
first animal is quite as large as any of those succeeding it in the
growing product ; but probably the figure of later cells of some
species undergo modifications. Plantations of hundreds of Sertu-
lariffl may be easily obtained. According as the dying planula is
white or yellow, so is the circular root invariably white or yellow.
Although some important obscurities remain for elucidation, I have
been hitherto unable to recognise any other elements of the nascent
Sertularia.

5. The Flustra Carhasca resembles a leaf divided into subordi-
nate parts, one of the surfaces being studded with cells, and the
other exhibiting elevations or convexities corresponding to their
bottom ; and the whole product is of a yellowish colour. Each cell,
of a shuttle or slipper shape, level with the surface of the leaf, is
inhabited by a vivacious polypus, exercising a percussive faculty
both of the tentacula individually, and of the whole head. Some of
the cells are occupied occasionally by large, bright yellow, irregu-
larly globular, solid ciliated animalcula, subsequently quitting them
to swim heavily below. In several days they become motionless
like the former, and die also without immediate decomposition.
Next, there appears in just about the same spot below occupied by
the motionless animalculum, a yellow nucleus with a lighter diffu-
sing margin. This in its farther diffusion assumes a shuttle or slip-
per form ; it becomes a single cell, which afterwards displays a po-
lypus under the wonted figure and action. The adult flustra was
vertical^ for the leaf is always erect, but here the new cell is /lori-
zonfal. By a singular provision of nature, as only one side of the
adult is cellular, the original cell is necessarily a root, sole, or foun-
dation, to admit subsequent enlargement, which in such zoophytes
is always from a single cell. One end of the cell next rises verti-
cally, wherein a second cell with its polypus is soon displayed over-
hanging the first, and at right angles to the plane of its position.

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIV. OCTOBER 1834. E 6

414 Proceedings of the British Association.

But as if the purposes exacted by the existence of the latter were
now fulfilled, it dies while the existence of the second has scarcely
attained maturity, and as a third cell, beside the second, is form-
ing for a basis to further incerment.

All the preceding- inhabit the sea, and propagate though solitary.

6. The Cristatella mirabilis, an inhabitant of the fresh waters of
Scotland, is the most remarkable of polypiferous products, and per-
haps it should constitute the type of a distinct genus. Specimens
are of a longer or shorter oval figure, flattened, extending from six
to twenty-four lines in length, by two or three in breadth, and re-
sembling the external section of an ellipsoid. The whole of the
under, and the middle of the upper, surface are smooth, the latter
environed by a triple row of 100, 200, or 300 polypi, rising from
within the margin. This product is of a fine green colour, and soft
fleshy consistence.

Each polypus, though an integral portion of the common mass,
and incorporated with it, is a distinct animal, endowed of itself with
individual sensation and action. It consists of a fleshy stem issuing
from the mass, crowned by a head like a horse-shoe, which is bor-
dered by about 100 tentacula. Floating particles attracted by the
mouth are conveyed into the stomach and intestinal organ, which
are exposed within the body The common mass enjoys the facul-
ty of very slow locomotion, either extremity indifferently being in
advance ; and thus are 300 animals or more subjected to its voli-
tion, by bearing along the whole in progression.

On dividing a specimen asunder, each portion receded, as if by
mutual consent.

Twenty, thirty, or more, lenticular substances, imbedded in the
flesh, are exposed through the translucent green of the animal,
which may escape while it is vigorous, but which are liberated to
float on the water toward the end of autumn, by its decay and de-
composition. These are ova with a hard shell, and yellowish fluid
contents. Their surface is browp, and the circumference yellow,
begirt by a row of projecting double hooks.

In five or six months, one side of the liberated substance gapes
as an oyster-shell to protrude an originating polypus, which, by a
remarkable provision of Nature, floats with the head downwards,
for absorbing the aliment below. When it is enabled to aflix itself
on quitting the g^^, a second polypus appears beside the first, then
a third, and thus of others, while the common base remains dispro-
portionately large. Perhaps the earlier perfect formation is as a

Natural History. 415

row of polypi around the smooth fleshy centre. Breadth seems
diminished in proportion to the length of a specimen.

Thus it appears that the most luxuriant zoophyte — one composed
of a thousand animals — originates by a single polypus only ; and
that the earliest recognition of its elements is as a circular spot or
spherical segment.

Awaiting some future opportunity of illustrating the mode of in-
crement peculiar to zoophytes, I shall only observe that, in the first
stage of the Sertularia polyzonias, for example, a single enlarge-
ment forms the summit of the stalk. It is invested by a delicate
membrane, which, instead of including a solitary head, covers a
twin bud also. As the former increases, the latter forks off from
it ; next another from that which is the more mature, and thus with
the rest. The increment of the Tubularia ensues only during the
subsistence of the head. But the head is deciduous, falling in ge-
neral soon after recovery from the sea. It is regenerated at inter-
vals of fi'om ten days to several weeks, but with the number of ex-
ternal organs successively diminishing, though the stem is always
elongated. It seems to rise within this tubular stem from below,
and to be dependent on the presence of the internal tenacious mat-
ter with which the tube is occupied. A head springs from the re-
maining stem, cut over very near the root ; and a redundance of
heads may be obtained from artificial sections, apparently beyond
the ordinary provisions of natm*e. Thus 22 heads were produced
through the course of 530 days, from three sections of a single stem.
The reproductive powers of some animals are very great. It would
be worthy of investigation whether, in some of the Annuhsa^ as
they are now denominated, the whole elements of the entire ani-
mal do not reside in each segment. Fragments from the lower ex-
tremity of the largest specimens I could procure of the Amphiirite
VentilabrufHy and others of that genus, have regenerated both the
complex and beautiful plume, forming the branchiae before and the
secretory glands behind, as they may be conjectured, affording the
glutinous matter for fabricating the tube. But neither can the sin-
gidar niec/ianical properties of the former be used, nor do the lat-
ter seem of any avail under the artificial state of the redintegrated
fragment.

All the preceding results, together with many others alike sin-
gular, are illustrated by drawings from the pencil of skilful artists.

K e 2

416 Proceedings of the British Association.

Section E. — Anatomy and Medicine.

The Section met this morning at eleven o'clock, when the Chair-
man, Dr Abercrombie, after noticing the death of Dr Joseph Clarke
of Dublin, which had occurred since his arrival in Edinburgh to
attend the meeting of the Association, read a communication which
Dr Clarke had left behind with his friend Dr Jackson, State Phy-
sician for Ireland, and himself, containing an Abstract of a Registry
kept in the Lying-in-Hospital of Great Britain Street, Dublin,
from the year 1758 to the end of 1833, and which illustrates in a
very striking manner the importance of thorough ventilation in
such establishments, and the great diminution of mortality among
the children since this object has been attended to.

From that communication it appeared, that during the 73 years
mentioned, relief has been afforded to upwards of 129,000 poor
women ; that in 1781, every sixth child died within nine days af-
ter birth, of convulsive disease, and that after means of thorough
ventilation had been adopted, the mortality of infants, in five suc-
ceeding years, was reduced to nearly 1 in 20.

Dr William Thomson read a paper on the infiltration of the
lungs with black matter,- and on black expectoration, particularly
as occurring in coal-miners, iron-moulders, and other workmen ex-
posed by their employment to the inhalation of carbonaceous gases
and powders ; and he requested the co-operation of those medical
gentlemen, who may have opportunities of observing the diseases
of these classes of workmen in different parts of the country, in in-
vestigating the causes and nature of these morbid appearances.

Dr Thomson referred to a case of this kind, which had fallen
under the observation of his father and himself in the year 1825, in
a collier residing at Tranent ; to a case described by the late Dr
James Gregory, in the 109th number of the Edinburgh Medical
and Surgical Journal ; to two cases described by Dr William Mar-
shall of Cambuslang, near Glasgow, in the number of the Lan-
cet for 17th May 1834; and to various cases and observations
contained in two communications in the number of the Edinburgh
Medical and Surgical Journal now in the press, the one by Mr
Graham, lecturer on chemistry in Anderson's Institution, and the
other by Dr G. Hamilton of Falkirk, as well as in a number of hi-
therto unpublished communications received by his father and him-
self from professional gentlemen in different parts of the country.
The author exhibited also a number of preparations and drawings

Statistics. 417

illustrative of the appearances, nature, and seat, of this singular in-
filtration.

Dr C. J. B. Williams of London made a few observations on the
subject. >

Mr Dick next read a short notice on the use of the omentum or caul,
which he illustrated by a comparison between the structure of this or-
gan in the horse and in the sheep, shewing that in the horse, in which
the omentum is small, the intestines are fixed, and undergo compara-
tively little change of place. The facts adduced by Mr Dick seem-
ed to him to corroborate the opinion that the omentum served, by
i nterposition between the intestines and abdominal parietes, to fa-
cilitate motion.

Sir Charles Bell then delivered a discourse explanatory of his
views of the functions of the Nervous System, and of the manner
in which this department of physiology should be studied. The
further consideration of this subject was postponed till Friday at
one o'clock.

Section F — Statistics.

The Section met as usual at 11 o'clock. In the absence of Sir
C Lemon, Col. Sykes, V. P. took the chair.

The Secretary read a paper, communicated by Mr Gordon, the
Secretary of the Committee of the Society for the Sons and Daugh-
ters of the Clergy, on the origin and the objects of the new Sta-
tistical Account of Scotland, now publishing under the superintend-
ence of that society.

Earl Fitzwilliam suggested the expediency of furnishing more
minute details with respect to the agricultural part of the reports.
His lordship wished the statements to shew not only the total
amount of land in cultivation, but also the quantities allotted at
the time of the inquiry to the various kinds of produce, the number
and value of agricultural implements, the number of draught and
other cattle, and other similar details. His lordship stated that he
had succeeded in obtaining the returns from some parishes in his
own neighbourhood, and suggested that accurate and minutely de-
tailed information from only a small number of places, would fur-
nish more safe general inferences than could be obtained from a
much more widely extended, but less precise, inquiry.

Mr Stanley thought there would be considerable difficulty in
procuring such minute details, chiefly arising from the jealousy of

418 Proceedings of the British Association.

the land occupiers ; but undertook to prosecute such an inquiry in

his own parish, and to furnish the results at the next meeting.

Dr Brunton thought that no such difficulty would occur among
the tenantry of Scotland ; and stated, that the thing proposed had
been already done with commendable minuteness, as might be seen
on turning to any of the parochial accounts already published.

Col, Sykes stated, that the returns which he had himself collect-
ed in the Deccan, embraced the stock and implements, and land in
cultivation, and that the village constitution in India afforded pe-
culiar facilities for obtaining minute information on all these points.

Mr Holt Mackenzie remarked, it was most desirable that statis-
tical statements should be always the result of accumulated facts
rather than of computation j for that statements of computation were
only approximations to the mark, and in many cases lead to abso-
lute error. The discussion on the subject was continued, branch-
ing into a variety of details, until the Section separated ; in the
course of which it was suggested by Lord Jeffrey, that a recommen-
dation from the Section to the Society superintending the Statisti-
cal Account of Scotland, will not fail to meet with attention from
the Society ; and that a practical result of great value might thus
immediately follow from the discussion that had taken place. The
committee undertook to communicate with the Society in the man-
ner suggested.

EVENING — George's street assembly rooms.

The President having taken the chair, and the reports of the
various Sections having been read, Dr Buckland delivered a very
animated and instructive lecture on fossil amphibia and fishes ;
after which the meeting adjourned till the following evening.

Friday, 12th September.

MORNING — university.

Section A. — Mathematics and General Physics.

Rev. Mr Whewell in the Chair.

Dr Knight exhibited to the Section a method of rendering the
vibrations of heated metals perceptible to the eye.

Mr Russell gave an account of some recent experiments on the
traction of boats on canals, at great velocities.

Mathematics and General Pliysics. 419

Sir David Brewster communicated to the Seetion the results of
a series of experiments on the effects of reflexion from the surfaces
of crystals, when some surfaces have been altered by solution, and
exhibited a number of singular forms, produced by different crystals,
or by the same crystal under different circumstances.

Mr Graves presented a paper on the theory of exponential
functions, in further illustration of a memoir on the same subject,
which he bad laid before the Royal Society, and which had been
printed in its Transactions.

Professor Hamilton explained a new method of conceiving ima-
ginary quantities, and the principles of a theory which he denomi-
nated " the theory of conjugate functions." Professor Hamilton
stated, that he had confirmed, by the aid of the theory, the results
obtained by Mr Graves.

Mr Sang stated the results of some theoretical and experimental
investigations which he had made on the nature of those curves
traced by the extremities of vibrating wires fixed at the end, and
he exhibited drawings of the forms of the curves thus produced.

Mr Sang noticed a property of the successive integer numbers,
intended to facilitate the discovery of those that are prime.

Dr Williams read to the Section, a paper on the production and
propagation of sound.

Mr Campbell gave an account of his views respecting the anti-
lunar tides.

Professor Forbes having explained to the Section the principles
of the sympiesometer of Mr Adie, and the objections to which it
was subject, arising from the want of identity of temperature of the
mercury in the air; then stated a modification which he had intro-
duced in the construction of the instrument, whereby the correction
for temperature might be effectually obtained.

Mr Dick explained a new construction of an achromatic object-
glass, in which, by the refraction of the cementing fluid substance, he
had been enabled to correct the secondary spectrum. The author ex-
hibited a telescope with an object-glass formed on this principle.

Sir T. Brisbane made some verbal remarks on the subject of a
siliceous sand procured at New South Wales, and which has been
supposed to afford glass for optical purposes of a superior quality.

Mr Murphy stated the result of some recent observations of Mr
Snow Harris, on the retention of electricity on the surface of bodies
in vacuo.

Professor Lloyd took the advantage of the absence of other

420 Proceedings of the British Association.

business, to allude to an unintentional omission in his report ; and
he stated some important observations of M. Arago, which had
not been generally known.

Dr Robinson read a paper on the visibility of the moon in total
eclipses.

Mr Whewell submitted to the section a paper on collision by Mr
Hodgkinson.

SUB-SECTION.

M. I. Brunei, Esq. in the Chair.

Mr Murray gave a description of his apparatus for communica-
ting between a stranded vessel and the shore ; with a method of il-
luminating by night the path of the arrow and the vessel.

Mr Addams exhibited a new case of the interferences of sound*
produced by waves excited by a tuning-fork in two tubes placed at
right angles to each other.

Mr Dick communicated a description of a new elevated or sus-
pension railway, which he proposes to construct, and illustrated the
subject by numerous explanatory drawings.

Mr Brunei exhibited a model, and gave a description, of his new
mode of constructing arches. Having explained his plan at the
last meeting of the Association, he brought the subject forward on
the present occasion merely for the purpose of reporting the results
of his subsequent experiments. He stated, that the structure has
now stood two winters and two summers, without any sensible
alteration; that he is adding to his experimental model, with a
view to demonstrate how far it can be extended, not only in the
formation of arches, but likewise in other situations, such in parti-
cular in the great descents to the Thames Tunnel.

Mr Whewell exhibited and described a new instrument invent-
ed by Mr Saxton, for measuring minute variations of temperature
in metal rods, &c.

A view of the weather, drawn from a register of ten years kept
at Edinburgh, was laid on the table by Mr Adie, optician, in
which the state of the barometer and thermometer were shown by
undulating lines. The depth of rain was shewn on the day in
which it fell, by the height of a broad red line ; the thunder storms
by a scarlet mark ; the aurora by a blue one ; and part of the space
allotted to each day was tinted of a paiticular colour, to represent
the direction of the winds, so that the views of the weather for the
di£Feront years had only to be compared together, and it could im-

Cfi£vnistry and Mineralogy. 421

mediately be seen which of them had heen reihai kable for heat,
rain, steadiness, or the contrary.

A paper Was read by Mr Alexander J. Adie, civil engineer,
Edinburgh, on experiments made with a pyrometer heated by a
current of steam on the expansion of stone and other substances.
The quantities were measured by a micrometer, which reads the
thirty-thousandth part of an inch, and given in decimals of the
length for 180° F. He found that when a rod of straight-grained
well seasoned oak was kept dry, it only expanded at about the fif-
teenth part of the rate of platinum ; that the expansion of black
marble was about half as much as that of glass ; and that a rod of
sandstone from Craigleith Quarry expanded very nearly at the
same rate as cast-iron.

The Rev. G. Tough exhibited and described his celestial glass
sphere, containing the earth, sun, and moon, with their relative mo-
tions.

Mr Badnall made some observations on the friction upon rail-
ways.

Section B, — Chemistry and Mineralogy.

The Chemical Section met at eleven a. m.

The Secretary announced that a set of standard thermometers
by the first makers in London, Edinburgh, Paris, and Glasgow, — one
of which had been compared with the standard thermometer of the
Observatory at Paris, are at present placed by the Royal Society
of Edinburgh in the hands of the Council of the Association ; and
that an opportunity will be afforded to the members of the Asso-
ciation to compare their own thermometers with these, during the
week after the close of the meeting, on application being made to
the Secretaries of the Chemical or Physical Sections.

Mr Harcourt then described the objects of the experiments now
in progress under his superintendence, for determining the effect of
long continued heat on various mineral substances, and the various
methods adopted by him in disposing them beneath the iron fur-
naces of Yorkshire.

Dr Clark gave an account of Mr Nixon's process for smelting
iron by the aid of the hot-blast, and exhibited numerical results of
the advantages derived from the new process. The saving is so
great, that the total amount of coal now necessary to produce one
ton of iron, amounts only to 2 tons 14 cwt., whereas formerly, it

422 Proceedings of the British Association.

required 8 tons 1^ cwt., being a saving of 5 tons 8 cwt., for each'
ton of iron produced. This subject was discussed at considerable
length.

Dr Christison then gave an account of some observations in regard
to the action of various waters on lead, and of some practical re-
sults deducible from them, relative to the use of lead in the con-
struction of water-pipes and cisterns, and the manufacture of carbo-
nate of lead.

A communication was then read from Sir David Brewster, on
the optical characters of minerals, which gave rise to considerable
discussion.

Mr Graham gave an account of an investigation made by him
into the constitution of certain hydrated salts. He stated that he
had found,^ — That certain salts of sulphuric acid which crystallize
with 5, 6, or 7 atoms of water, contain 4, 6, or 6 of these as water
of crystallization, which are expelled at or below 212° under at-
mospheric pressure, and at 60° in vacuo : That one atom is left as
essential to the constitution of the salt : That this remaining atom
of water is expelled by a stronger heat, and is in general recovered
on exposure of the anhydrous salt to the air ; and that in every
instance of a sulphate so constituted, the essential atom of water
may be displaced by sulphate of potass, which, in the proportion of
one atom, occupies the place of the expelled water, constituting a
crystallizable sulphate, with a double base and six atoms of water of
crystallization. The salts possessing these properties are the sul-
phates of zinc, iron, nickel, manganese, copper, lime, magnesia,
cobalt.

Some applications of these and other facts were made by the
author, to the doctrine of Isomerism ; which led to a long and in-
teresting discussion between Drs Dalton, Thomson, Turner, Clark,
and Professor Johnston.

JVIr Kemp next gave an account of a paper on a new mode of
liquefying the gases, by which they may be obtained more easily,
and in much larger quantity. He detailed the properties of se-
veral of the gases in the liquid state, illustrating more particu-
larly the independent bleaching power of chlorine, and sulphuretted
hydrogen when in a state of liquid, the power of some of the
condensed gases as conductors of electricity, and the phenomena
resulting where the condensed gases are brought in contact with
one another, as well as with other substances.

The Section then adjourned till the 13th at half-past ten aj^.

Geohjfy wtd Geography. 423

Section C. — Geology and Gkogkaphy.

Professor Jameson in the Chair.

Mr Dunn exhibited and described his new clinometer.

Mr James Bryce read a notice of some caverns containing bones
near the Giants' Causeway.

Mr Horner, in reference to the same subject, read a communica-
tion from Mr Thomas Andrews, of Trinity College, Dublin, who
had recently discovered some extensive caves in the Island of Rath-
lin, situated four miles from the Antrim coast, with a sea of thirty
fathoms between. From the situation of the caves in Rathlin, it is
evident that the sea must have once entered them at a much higher
elevation than its present level.

Professor Phillips, in reply to a recommendation of the meeting
at Cambridge, gave a general statement of his views of the relation
of joints and veins. Rocks are too commonly considered merely as
stratified or unstratified, though certain remarkable parallelisms in
slate rocks, and the pillar form of divisions of trap-rocks, are too
obvious to be left unnoticed by those who attend to the structure
of rocks. Professor Phillips states it as a general law, that besides
the planes of stratification, there is in stratified rocks another struc-
ture— a series of divisions more or less regular, often called joints.
These are of various kinds.

1. Cracks \diich do not go through a whole bed of stone. Some
of these called by the workmen dry cracks, have their surfaces of-
ten marked by dendritic appearances, occasioned by infiltrated ox-
ide of iron, manganese, and other substances. Generally the sides
of a crack are in apposition, but sometimes separate.

They are sometimes empty, sometimes filled with carbonate of
lime, or other substances. That they have been produced since the
bed was deposited, is easily proved ; for the cracks sometimes di-
vide shells, that must have been included in the limestone rock be-
fore the crack was produced. In the Rigi also, on examining
the conglomerate, we find pebbles of various kinds, which are cross-
ed by fissures or cracks, splitting them through and through. The
stony matter interposed must be of later origin than the formation
of the crack, and still more subsequent to the deposition of the rock.
Metallic substances of the same kinds as those which occur in mi-
neral veins, are often found in these cracks.

2. Joints which go through a whole bed, or through several beds,
and even through the whole of the conformable beds. Where a

424 Proceedings of the British Association.

joint goes through limestone and shale, the opening is wider in the
limestone, narrower in the shale.

3. Fissures which go through a great variety of strata, though
very different, as sandstone, limestone, shale, &c. Viewing the mat-
ter on a horizontal plane, we find the divisions to be generally ar-
ranged in parallel lines. This is well seen in the vast limestone
scars which begird the mountains of Yorkshire ; certain of these,
which may be called master-joints, are seen to be much more regu-
lar than the other joints, sometimes empty to an immense depth,
sometimes filled by clay, holding a great proportion of pebbles.
The sides ai*e sometimes lined by calcareous spar and sulphate of
barytes, &c., and in some cases the deposition of calcareous spar has
gone to such an extent, that the whole cavity is filled with it. If
a bed of shale is interposed between beds of limestone, the fissure
is much wider in the limestone than in the shale. Carbonate of
copper, oxide of iron, and other substances, also occur in the joints.
A certain direction of the joints is common to the slate, to the lime-
stone, to the carboniferous series, and even to the oolitic rocks of
the north of England. Through the whole of the country examined
by Mr Phillips between the Tees and the south of Yorkshire, there
is the most general agreement, the direction of nearly all the mas-
ter joints being to the NN. W., which is now the direction of the
magnetic needle. Some general and long continued cause appears
to have been in operation, which has produced this constancy of
direction. Other joints very extensive, but less so than those rang-
ing NN. W., belong also to the division of master-joints.

In mineral veins in the north of England, a direction passing
from the east, but a little to the north of it, is tTie most common.
The miners call these right running veins. Other veins and rock
dykes and faults occasionally cross them, and these generally coin-
cide with the direction of the great master-joints. There is in one
part of Yorkshire an immense quantity of basalt. The metallic veins
pass nearly east and west through this, as they do through sand-
stones, limestones, shales, &c. Other portions (connected in the
opinion of Professor Sedgwick with this great mass) go off from it
in directions so nearly straight, that a surveyor might use them as
lines for the basis of his operations.

There is an analogy between the direction of the great mineral
fissures and the lines of convulsive movement in the north of Eng-
land. There is a general line of dislocation north by west, from
which passes another to the east, and another to the west south-

Geology and Geography, 425

west. Mineral veins are exceedingly numerous between these
lines, and especially near to that having the easterly direction. In
the valley of the Tyne they are parallel to the northern line, and
the cross courses, on the other hand, are parallel to the primary
line of dislocation.

Mr John Taylor states that this east and west direction of mine-
ral veins is common not only to the whole of Britain, but also to
Mexico ; and Professor Phillips, reasoning upon the whole of the
facts at present known to him, expressed his conviction that they
seemed to indicate the operation of important agencies as yet not
brought into account in geological reasoning.

Remarks were made by Mr Smith, Mr J. Taylor, and Dr Boase.

Mr Maclaren exhibited sections of the Pentland Hills, and made
some remarks on their structure. These hills, he stated, are about
fifteen miles in length, and from three to six in breadth. The
fundamental rock is transition slate accompanied by greywacke in
vertical strata, which are covered unconformably by conglomerate
and various felspar and claystone porphyries, in beds dipping to
the south-east, at angles varying from 10° to 35°. Beds of con-
glomerate, alternating with greywacke, abound in the western
part ; in the eastern, the greywacke is accompanied chiefly by
felspar, claystone porphyries, and amygdaloids. A vast mass of
sandstone forms the termination of the chain on the west, and rises
to the height of nearly 1800 feet in the two Cairn Hills. The age
of the hills, or the period of their elevation, is indicated by the po-
sition of the secondary rocks on their flanks. The sandstone of
the Cairn Hills inclines against the transition rocks, at a considerable
angle, on the north side, and at Craigintarrie appears in beds almost
vertical. On the south side, the older strata of the coal formation
are found at various places, in a position highly inclined or vertical,
while a newer portion of the same series is found in horizontal
beds, or dipping in towards the hills at a low angle, and in juxta-
position with the former. It follows that the elevation of the tran-
sition rocks took place at a period subsequent to the deposition of
the older, but previous to the deposition of the newer, part of the
coal formation.

Mr Murchison gave an abstract of Dr Rogers' report on the geo-
logy of North America, and read extracts from this valuable and
elaborate memoir. The following are the conclusions drawn by the
author.

426 Proceedings of the British Association.

i. The deposits of New Jersey differ from those of the southern
states, in being chiefly arenaceous, and in containing an immense
quantity of the pure chloritic mineral called green sand.

2. The organic remains hitherto discovered are nearly all, with
the exception of one or two species, peculiar to this continent.

8. The existence of great quantities of lignite, of the remains of
scolopax a shore bird, and the position of these beds in New Jer-
sey contiguous to the primary boundary or ancient coast, all indi-
cate that these beds were deposited in a comparatively shallow sea,
analogous in position to the present extensive line of soundings
which skirts the coast. The obvious shallowness of the portion of
the secondary ocean where these beds were formed, may perhaps
help to explain the remarkable discordance alluded to between the
American and European marine species of this period.

4. The calcareous masses of Alabama, at least the upper beds, are
possibly different in age from the marls and arenaceous beds of New
Jersey.

5. The marl formation of New Jersey is perhaps most nearly re-
presented by the European green sands. The limestone deposits
of the south, on the other hand, resemble more the upper members
of the cretaceous group, for example, the formation of the plateau
of Maestricht.

6. Thus far there is no evidence of the existence of true chalk in
North America. Genuine flints have not yet been found in any bed.

7. Volcanic forces, during this period, seem to have been nearly
dormant, which may perhaps assist in accounting for the absence of
the chalk.

8. The want of coincidence both in organic remains and mineral
character, between these beds and the cretaceous group of Europe ;
the difiiculty of deciding their identity at present, from the want of
a sufficient knowledge of the structure and superposition of our for-
mations ; and above all, the importance of pursuing our geology
free from the shackles of a nomenclature originally adapted to
another continent, render it desirable that we reject the terms in
use, and appropriate to this group of formations a name which
shall be independent of old associations, and yet express their posi-
tion in the geological series.

Mr Lyell expressed the high opinion he entertained of the la-
bours and theoretical views of Professor Rogers. As it appears
that a very small number of the tertiary fossils of North America
agree specifically with those of Europe, Mr Lyell coincides with
the author in thinking, that the only approximation that can at

Geology and Geography. 4^

present be attempted towards ascertaining the relative age of the
tertiary groups of the two continents, is that derived from a com-
parison of the relative proportion of recent to extinct shells. At
the same time, Mr Lyell fully concurs with Mr Rogers in his opi-
nion, that such a correspondence ought not to be insisted upon, as
affording any positive test of exact contemporaneous deposition,
since the rate of change in species cannot be assumed to have been
always equal, especially in remote regions, during equal periods of
time.

Mr Lyell, in speaking of the adoption by Professor Rogers, of
his (Mr Lyell's) nomenclature of the leading divisions of the tertiary
formations, remarked, that the principles of his classification had been
sometimes mistaken by geologists. Mr Lyell had used the nume-
rical proportion of recent to extinct fossil shells, as a useful term of
comparison between distinct tertiary groups, but never as the prin-
cipal character of a particular epoch. Thus, for example, the im-
portant character of the Eocene strata in Europe, was not the cir-
cumstance that those strata contain about three per cent, of living
species of shells, but that they contain 800 or more species peculiar
to the Eocene period, occurring in formations of that era in distant
regions, and not found in other tertiary groups.

Captain Maconochie, Secretary to the Royal Geographical So-
ciety, gave an account of the origin and progress of that Associa-
tion. He then communicated some details relative to the late ex-
pedition to the Niger, and to the expeditions which are about to be
sent out to the interior of Africa, and to British Guiana.

Lieutenant Allan, the fellow-traveller of Lander, exhibited some
panoramic views of the scenery of the Niger.

Mr Murchison presented a tabular view of the order of succession
of various formations of great thickness, and distinct from each other
in their organic remains and mineralogical characters, which rise
from beneath the old red sandstone of England and Wales. He then
dwelt on the series of fishes occurring tliroughout the old red sand-
stone of England, and pointed out Dr Lloyd of Ludlow as the
person who had first called his attention to them. These fishes, it
now appears, are common to the central portion of the old red
sandstone of Eingland, and the strata occupying the same geologi-
cal position in Forfarshire and other counties in Scotland. Mr
Murchison fiirther expressed his opinion, that the Arbroath pave-
ment is the equivalent of the Tile stones, or lower member of the
old red sandstone of England.

428 Proceedings of the British Association.

Professor Jameson exhibited a fossil fish, the Cephalaspis of
Agassiz, whicli lie had found in the old red sandstone (Forfarshire)
several years ago, long after he had determined that the sandstone of
Caithness, Orkney, Shetland, and of whole tracts of country on
the east and west of Scotland, were of the same geognostical age :
and Mr Blackadder exhibited a fossil fish from Glammis millstone
quarry, in the same district.

M. Agassiz made some observations on the fossil fishes of Scot-
land, and the following is a summary of the general conclusions he
has formed as to these remains.

The high geological antiquity of the greater part of the strati-
fied mountains of Scotland, gives a peculiar interest to the investiga-
tion of their organic remains ; as they lead us to the knowledge
of the condition of our planet, at a period in regard to which we
possess only a few insulated fragments of information. The mol-
lusca, zoophytes, &c. of these formations, have been examined by
many ; but the remains of vertebrate animals have been but little
investigated, and of fishes, we are acquainted with those only which
have been described and figured by Messrs Sedgwick and Murchi-
son, and which have also been noticed by Cuvier and Pentland.
The occurrence of a large number of these was known, but no par-
ticular information as to their nature was communicated. For a
long period I have been anxious to have an opportunity of exa-
mining these interesting fossils ; and this has been afforded me by
the meeting of the British Association at Edinburgh. I have jiow
to offer a short notice of the results of my examination, and at the
same time to thank geologists for the kindness and liberality with
which they have assisted me.

The collections which have afforded me the most important ma-
terials are the following : That of the Royal Society, which, through
the unwearied exertions of the Secretary, Mr Robison, contains
many remarkable remains from Burdiehouse ; the collection of Dr
Hibbert, which also is rich in fossils from the same locality; Dr
Traill's collection, containing many interesting fishes from Orkney ;
Lord Greenock's extensive series of ichthyolites, from the coal for-
mation, and especially from Newhaven. In Professor Jameson's
possession I saw a large head of a fish from the old red sandstone
of Forfarshire, and of which Messrs Murchison and Sedgwick have
shewn me a less perfect specimen, but one which exhibits the other
parts of the body. Mr Torrie submitted to my examination an
extensive collection of fossil fishes from Caithness, similar to those

Geology and Geography. 429

describ3(l by Messrs Sedgwick and Murchison ; and also some fishes
from Gamrie, of which Mr Murchison possesses a very perfect col-
lection.

Of the fossil fishes not from Scotland, which I have seen on the
present occasion, I shall take another opportunity to speak.

As to the determination of the Scottish fishes, I must remark, ge-
nerally, that they all belong to two orders of the Class, viz. some
to the order of Placoidian fishes, Agass. (Cartilagineux, Cuv.) ; but
the larger number to the division Ganoidian fishes, Agass., and two
to the section Heteocerei, in which the upper lobe in the caudal fin
is longer than the lower.

' In the old red sandstone, there are two species from Glammis,
Forfarshire, viz. one species of the genus Cephalaspis (Ganoidian),
which has hitherto been found in this formation only. The most
remarkable characters of this genus are the shield-like covering of
the head, and which is prolonged backwards in the form of two
horns as in the Trilobites, and the manner in which the eyes are
placed near each other on the head. The other species belongs
probably to the genus Hybodus (Placoidian), but of this I have seen
only an Ichthyodorulite.

The fishes from Caithness and Orkney approach one another most
nearly ; though amongst the latter there are several new genera,
and in all eight species. Those from Caithness seem to belong to
two species only. Amongst the Orkney fishes there are two very
remarkable genera resembling the Acanthodes of the coal formation,
also having very small scales ; but the new Cheiracanthus is fur-
nished with a spine in the pectoral fin only, and the other, the
Chirolepis, instead of having the spine is provided with a row of
small scales. I have been convinced by the examination of many
specimens, that the genus Dipterus has two dorsal fins. In Orkney
there are also species which have two dorsal fins and two anal
fins, which sometimes are opposite one another, and sometimes al-
ternate ; and these are types of two genera, the Diploptertts and the
Pleiopterns.

The fishes from Burdiehouse <ire also very numerous ; in their
characters they agree with those of the coal formation, but are
more removed from those of Saarbriick than are the remains found
at Newhaven. The most remarkable amongst them is an animal
which, from the structure of its teeth, might be considered as a
reptile, and which must have been of very considerable dimen-
«ions ; but which, from its skeleton and its scales, is decidedly a

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXiV. — OCTOBER 1834. F f

430 Proceedings of the British Association.

fish. This animal forms a new genus under the name Megalichthys\
and confirms the opinion I formerly expressed, that we observe
in older deposits organic remains which, with the usual characters
of their family, unite the characters of the types which have made
their appearance at a more recent period. Unfortunately no per-
fect specimen of the Megalichthys has been found, and it has not
been possible to bring together all the different parts of the skeleton.
Anotlier new genus, related to the Amblypterus, has a long dorsal
fin extending beyond the ventral fin and the anal fin, and may be
named the Euronotus. The other species belong to the genera
Pygopterus and Amblypterus. Very large Icthyodorulites occur not
unfrequently, and seem to belong to the genus Hybodus.

At Newhaven eight species occur, of which some bear a con-
siderable resemblance to the fossil fishes of Saarbruck ; though still
distinguished from them by some characters. They belong to the
genera Pygopterus, Amblypterus, and Palaeoniscus ; and there is
one species which will in all probability form a new genus, as it
diflers considerably from the genus Acrolepis. Placoidian fishes
are also found, but only in fragments, so that I have not been able
to determine them ; and there are two other species of which small
traces only have been obtained.

In the coal formation of Fifeshire a new specimen of Palaeoniscus
has been found.

It may appear strange that I should consider the Gamrie fossil
fishes as belonging to the coal formation, but they seem to be so
nearly related to that deposit that I cannot regard them as of
much more recent origin. There are three species, viz. one Cheira-
canthus, one Palaeoniscus, and a third of which perfect specimens
have not yet been obtained.

From this short notice, it must be evident how important the
study of fossil fishes of Scotland is for advancing our knowledge
of the beings which existed before the oolitic period, and how much
we may yet expect from future careful investigations.

Dr Knight of Aberdeen read a notice on the Flints found in
various parts of Aberdeenshire, and more especially in the vicinity
of Peterhead. He particularized the fossils found in them, and ex-
hibited an interesting series of specimens.

Mr Saul exhibited drawings of the incisors and canine teeth of
the fossil hippopotamus, from a gravel pit near Huntingdon.

Mr Hall's model of a part of Derbyshire was exhibited.

Geohyy and Geography. 431

The Secretary exhibited an impression of a fossil plant, supposed
to be new, from Ayrshire, and sent by Dr Thomson of Glasgow ;
also an unnsually large skull of the ox from a marl pit in Caithness,
sent for inspection by Mr Robison.

Dr Buckland laid before the Section a drawing by Mrs Turner
of Liverpool, of a large fossil marine plant, found in the new red
sandstone of that neighbourhood in 1829.

Although the paper of which the following is an abstract, was in
part read in the Natural History Section, yet, as its contents are
chiefly geological, we deem it preferable to give an account of it in
this place. It is entitled, " Account of the Natural History of the
central portion of the great mountain range of the south of Scot-
land, in which arise the sources of the Tweed." By W. Macgilli-
vray, Esq.

The mountains forming the most elevated part of this range
are situated in the parishes of Tweedsmuir, Megget, and Manner,
which form the southern and south-eastern parts of the inland
county of Peebles, and are continuous with the high land form-
ing the celebrated pastoral districts of Yarrow and Ettrick in
Selkirkshire, and with the higher parts of the parish of Moffat in
Dumfries. This region was described as composed of uniform,
smooth, rounded hills of greywacke, scarcely ever precipitous or
even abrupt, clothed to the summits with junceae, cyperaceae, grasses,
heath and pasture plants, and separated into groups or ridges by
long, narrow, straight valleys, which, although generally green,
seldom present any natural wood, even along the clear streams
that flow into the valley of the Tweed. The valley of Manner
water was taken as a characteristic specimen of the numerous de-
pressions by which the country is grooved. Whitecoom, Hartfell,
and other mountains, were described, and the alpine plants observ-
ed on them enumerated, with the view of contrasting this region
with the Grampian range. The vegetation of the cleuchs or ravines
was also described. The Tweed was then followed from its sources,
to Peebles, and finally to the moutlis of the Gala and Ettrick, in
thd whole of which space the rocks are composed of greywacke,
greywacke -slate, clay-slate, slate-clay, and occasional small beds of
limestone, none of which, however, are wrought. The districts of
Yarrow and Ettrick, which are of precisely similar geological struc-
ture, were then described, with reference to their scenery, vegeta-
tion, and animal productions.

Perhaps few districts in Scotland of equal extent present less

Ff2

432 Proceedings of the British Association.

varied geological phenomena than that which contains the source*
of the Tweed. The general direction of the strata is from S.-W.
to N.-R ; they are usually highly inclined, sometimes vertical, and
often horizontal, but present every degree of inclination ; the ge-
neral dip is to the north-west. The composition of the greywacke
exhibits considerable variety.

In form, the hills approximate in a considerable degree to many
of the gi-anite masses of Aberdeenshire, but they never present the
precipices and corries, which characterize the more elevated of the
latter. The whole district, with its rounded, smooth-sloped moun-
tains, connected in elongated heaps, its long, narrow, straight, or
slightly tortuous valleys, its argillaceous and pebbly soil, its clear
and rapid streams, and its grassy vegetation, with the absence of
natural and the scarceness of planted wood, forms a strong contrast
with the mountainous districts of the middle and northern divisions
of Scotland, in which peaked and serrated and ridgy mountains,
with precipices and corries, rugged and winding valleys, slopes co-
vered with debris, and patched with heath and bracken, brown or
limpid streams fringed with birch and alder, rivers and lakes with
cataracts and islands, dark forests of pines and thickets of briars,
with other remarkable features, still, and will for ages, give interest
to the ancient land of the Gael.

The object of this paper, was principally to shew the propriety of
taking the geology, botany, and zoology, of a district in connection,
the limited views which botanists too often take of the economy of
nature teaching them to consider as entirely destitute of interest
the rocks, the soil, the elevation, the temperature, and the animal
productions of the country whose vegetation they pretend to de-
scribe.

[The following short notice by W. Gilbertson, Esq., which, with many
others, owing to want of time, was not read, we now communicate to our
readers ; and at the same time we request the author to send to Edinburgh
the specimens alluded to.]

I beg leave to lay before you a few fossils for tlie purpose of illustrating
an elevation of the strata of this country since the creation of the present
existing race of animals. The situation is in the county of Lancashire, and
betwixt the Lune and the Mersey ; the greatest elevation at which these
fossils have yet been found is 350 feet above the sea, in the excavations made
by the Preston Water Company, at the foot of I^angridge Fell, and from
whose measurements this elevation was ascertained. The shells are interest-
ing, as being of the same species as those now found on our shores ; and
Abewing, therefore, that this elevation has taken place since the creatioii of

Natural History, 433

existing species; and the stations and roads of the Romans being upon this
deposit, prove that no change has taken place in the form of existing species
during the period that has elapsed since they occupied this country.

GEOLOGICAL EXCURSIONS.

Owing to the unfavourable state of the weather, the shortness of the period
of meeting, being only six days (it ought to have been twelve), and the pres-
sure of business in the Sections, the extensive geological excursions previous-
ly planned by Professor Jameson, and which he was to have led, were not
carried into effect. A few short geological walks, however, were made in the
immediate neighbourhood of the city.

Section D. — Natural History.

On the Coculus Indicus of commerce, by G. Walker- A rnott, Esq.
On the head of Delphinus deductor, on the laryngeal sac of
the rein-deer, and on a new species of thrush from Nepaul, by Dr
Traill.

Dr Allen Thomson exhibited some specimens of the following
reptiles : —

Ampiuma means (didactylus of Cuvier), Menopoma (of Harlan),
Menobranchus lateralis, and Proteus anguinus ; and made some re-
marks upon the place which these animals and the Csecilia hold
among the other Batrachian reptiles.

Dr Thomson then exhibited a few specimens and drawings of the
young of the common thornback, at the period when the external
branchial filaments exist. He described the connexion of these fila-
ments with the internal gills, and the circulation of the blood in
the single vessel running through each of the fifteen filaments that
project from the side of the neck ; which he had observed in the
animal, kept alive for some days.

Information regarding the progress made towards the publica-
tion of the posthumous works of Cuvier, by J. B. Pentland, Esq.

On the transformations of the crustacea, by J. O. Westwood,
Esq.

Mr Pentland, in contirmation of the observations which he offer-
ed at a preceding meeting of this section, on the physical configu-
ration of the Andes of Peru and Bolivia, and on the distribution of
organic life at different elevations, on the declivity of these gigan-
tic chains, entered into details on the reasons which have led him
to conclude that there existed at a comparatively recent period, and
between the 14° and 19" degrees <>f S. Lat. a race of men very dif-
ferent from any of tliose now inhabiting our globe, characterised
principally by the anomalous form of the cranium, in which two-

434 Proceedings of the British Association.

thirds of the entire weight of the cerebral mass is placed behind the
occipital foramen, and in which the bones of the face are very
much elongated, so as to give to these crania more the appearance
of certain species of the ape family, than that of human beings.
Mr Pentland entered into details to prove that this extraordinary
form cannot be attributed to pressure, or any external force,
similar to that still employed by many American tribes, and ad-
duced, in confirmation of this view, the opinions of Cuvier, of Gall,
and of many other celebrated naturalists and anatomists.

The remains of this extraordinary race are found in ancient tombs
of the mountainous districts of Peru and Bolivia, and principally in
the great interalpine valley of Titicaca, and on the borders of the
lake of the same name. These tombs present very remarkable ar-
chitectural beauty, and appear not to date beyond seven or eight
centuries before the present period.

The race of men to which these extraordinary remains belong,
appears to Mr Pentland to have constituted the inhabitants of the
elevated regions, situated between the 14° and 19° degrees of South
Lat. before the arrival of this present Indian population, which, in
its physical characters, its customs, &c. offers many analogies with
the Asiatic races of the old world.

Mr Pentland took occasion to defend M. Humboldt from some
accusations of inaccuracy in his measurements of the heights of
several points in the Andes of the neighbourhood of Quito, con-
tained in Colonel Hall's paper read on a previous day.

On some peculiar secretions and elaborations, viewed in con-
nexion with the ascent of the sap. By John Murray, Esq.

On a new species of pecten. By T. Brown, Esq.

On the progress of successive vegetation, at various heights, on
the Hymalayan Mountains. By J. F. Royle, Esq.

Some observations on the structure of feathers. By Sir David
Brewster.

Section E. — Anatomy and Medicine.

Dr Alison read a notice of some observations made by himself
and Mr Dick, veterinary surgeon, on the vital condition of arteries
leading to inflamed parts, referred to at Tuesday's meeting, and
one of which had been repeated by the Committee then appointed
for the purpose, with a short statement of inferences, as to the
essential nature of inflammation, thence deducible. The result of
these observations was, that the contractile power of the larger ar-

Anatmny and Medicine. 4S5

teries supplying inflamed parts, — both their elasticity, and that ad-
ditional power which they possess during life, and retain for some
hours after apparent death, — appears to be decidedly kss than that
of the corresponding arteries of sound limbs. The members of the
Committees resident in Edinburgh were directed to repeat and
vary the experiments detailed in both the papers by Dr Alison,
and to report the results of their observations to the Section at
next meeting.

Dr Macdonnell communicated the results of a long continued se-
ries of observations made by him since the year 1784, on the influ-
ence which posture exercises on the quickness of the pulse, and on
the connexion between the frequency of the pidse and of the respi-
ration both in health and in disease, and suggested certain practical
applications of these views to the distinction of diseases. — Dr W.
Thomson suggested, that as the pressure of business rendered it im-
possible to enter so fully on the consideration of this very important
subject as was desirable, Dr Macdonnell should be requested to pre-
pare a fuller account of his experiments and observations, to be laid
before the Medical Section at the next meeting of the Association,
which proposal was approved of.

Dr Bushnan exhibited some specimens of small animals which he
had found in liuman blood ; when some remarks were made by Dr
Anderson, suggesting doubts as to whether these animals had not
found their way into the blood subsequently to its being drawn
from the body. The Chairman suggested the necessity of farther
observations for determining whether the animals in question can
be regarded as entozoa.

Dr T. J. Aitkin communicated the result of his inquiries into the
varieties of mechanism by which the blood may be accelerated or
retarded in the arterial and venous systems of the mammalia. Af-
ter stating that his attention had for some time been directed to this
subject, which he conceived to be of great interest to the physiolo-
gist, he particularly drew the attention of the Section to four mo-
difications of arterial distribution, as indicated, 1*^, By the angle at
which a branch comes off^ from its trunk ; ^dly. The direction of the
vessel ; 3<%, The subdivision ; and Athly^ The formation of plexus.
In illustration of the first, or an^le of origin, he exhibited a prepa-
ration of the aorta of the tiger, in which the superior intercostals
arose at an acute, the middle at a right, and the lower at an obtuse
angle ; from which he inferred that the force and velocity of the
blood are rendered equal through the whole series. In speaking

436 Proceedings of the British Association.

of the second circumstance, or the direction, he adverted to the tor-
tuous entrance of the internal carotid and vertebral arteries into
the skull in the human subject, and shewed that it is still more re-
markable in the horse, which in feeding requires to have the head
for a considerable time in the dependent posture. But the best ex-
amples of the tortuous or serpentine course, are to be seen in the
spermatic arteries of the mammalia. This mechanism, he contend-
ed, adapts the circulation to the various positions in which organs
may be placed, and to their states of action and repose. In speak-
ing of the third modification, or the subdivision into numerous long
branches, he particularly alluded to the observations of Sir Anthony
Cal-lyle with respect to the arteries of the sloth, and shewed that a
similar ramification is found in the hedgehog, both in the arteries
of the panniculus camosus and of the mesentery. Of the last mo-
dification, the plexus, he shewed examples in the rete mirabile of
Galen in the internal carotid, and of Hovius in the ophthalmic ar-
tery, of the ruminantia. He inferred that this structure prevents
vascular turgescence, which would otherwise occur, during the long
period when these animals keep their head in the dependent posi-
tion while browsing. He also shewed that a rete mirabile exists
in the ophthalmic artery of the seal and goose, and considered it
probable that in them it is conducive to the alternate adaptation of
the eye to vision in air and water. He described the remarkable
plexiform arrangement which exists in the mesenteric arteries and
veins of the hog ; and instituted a comparison between these ves-
sels in carnivorous and herbivorous mammalia, concluding that
these modifications are in conformity with the transmission of the
blood through the liver, the rapidity of the peristaltic motion, and
the power of nutrition.

Dr Hodgkin read a part of the history of the results of the ex-
perimental inquiry respecting the action of poisons, the prosecution
of which was committed by the Association at its last meeting to
himself and Dr Roupell, so far as he himself had been able to pro-
secute the inquiry. Conceiving the object which the Association
had more particularly in view in calling for this report, to have
been to facilitate the recognition of the eft^ects of acrid poisons, with
a view to aid in judicial inquiries, Dr Hodgkin considered it as an
essential preliminary, to obtain an accurate and definite knowledge
of the different appearances which are presented by each part of
the alimentary canal witliiii the limits compatible with health; and
accordingly, in the first part of liis report, he entered at considera-

Anatomy and Medicine. 4S7

ble length into the consideration and description of these. Dr
Uodgkin's memoir was illustrated by wax models and drawings of
beautiful execution.

Dr Yelloly made some remarks on the importance of distinguish-
ing in morbid investigations between the redness produced by sim-
ple vascularity and that which results from inflammation, and illus-
trated the subject by a drawing of a portion of the spinal cord of
a person who met a violent death, when in the enjoyment of per-
fect health.

Dr Allen Thomson made some remarks on the development of
the human fcetus, and exhibited a preparation of a very small hu-
man embryo, which was contained in an ovum about a month'old ;
but which, from its structure, appeared to have been blighted at the
twelfth or fourteenth day. The structure of this foetus was illus-
trated by a reference to specimens of the fcetus of the cat, sheep,
and birds, at early periods, the object of Dr Thomson's remarks be-
ing to shew that the human embryo, in the early stages of develop-
ment, passes through changes similar to those ascertained to take
place in other vertebrated animals.

Sir Charles Bell continued his discourse on the principles which
should guide physiologists in investigating the functions of the ner-
vous system, referring particularly to the necessity of a knowledge
of the minute anatomy of the brain, to the ascertainment of the
functions of its several parts.

Professor Syme made some remarks on the operation of remov-
ing portions of the joints, and combated the objections urged against
this operation, as insufficient for the removal of the whole of the
diseased parts, and as leaving the patients in possession of a limb
rather cimibersome than serviceable. Professor Syme exhibited to
the Section several patients on whom the excision of the elbow and
shoulder-joint had been performed some time previously, in order
to prove that neither of the objections adduced was valid.

Setcion F. — Statistics.^

The Statistical Section met at 1 1 o'clock. Col. Sykes, V. P. in
the chair.

Mr Drinkwater gave an account of the origin and present state
of the Statistical Society of London. He stated that this society,
which wjis only founded in March last, already contained nearly
450 members, and that it was actively employed in encouraging

438 Proceedings of the British Association.

the establishment of similar societies in every part of the United
Kingdom, with a view, through their means, of conducting exten-
sive inquiries on a general and systematic plan.

Captain Maconochie gave an account of M. Guerry's Essai sur
la Statistique Morale de la France, and pointed out some of its
most striking results, illustrated by several maps of France, coloured
with different shades, so as to indicate the comparative amount of
instruction, and of crime against persons and property. He also
explained from what data these maps had been constructed, bear-
ing testimony to the absolute freedom of M. Guerry from any bias
towards particular systems.

It appears by a comparison of six following years, if the whole
of France be divided into five several divisions or regions, that the
proportion of all the crimes committed in France which belong to
each region is very nearly the same from year to year ; in no case
differing from the mean by more than ^oo ^" t^rimes against per-
sons, and Y§^ in crimes against property.

Captain Maconochie then went through a great many very inte-
resting details with respect to the various districts of the country,
the sex, the ages, and the season of the year, at which different
crimes are found to prevail. M. Guerry confirms what has been
already remarked by Mr Quetelet in Belgium, that the summer
months are much more productive of crimes against persons, and
the winter of crimes against property. It appears that crimes
against property are three times as numerous as crimes against the
person. M. Guerry sees no reason to believe that crime is in-
creasing in France, but justly remarks, that a more vigilant police,
and greater publicity given to those crimes which are committed
in. later times, may have given rise to this opinion.

It is also necessary, especially in comparing distant epochs, to
notice changes in the institutions and laws of the country.

M. Guerry mentions the large and increasing number of second
accusations, but observes, that a man once condemned to the galleys
seldom renders himself liable a second time to that punishment.

Almost every crime is committed more frequently by men than
women : crimes against children are equally divided between the
two sexes. In 100 crimes against persons, men commit 86, and
women only 14 : in crimes against property, men commit 79, and
women 21. Two-fifths, or nearly half of all the crimes committed
by women against the person are infanticides.

The greatest ignorance in France is on the west coast and in the

S/atislirs. 439

centre, and not in the south, as has been supposed ; the same dis-
tricts shew the least amount of crime. The greatest amount of
crime is in Corsica and Alsace.

In both sexes, the greatest number of crimes is committed be-
tween the ages of 25 and 30, which short period embraces nearly
one-fifth of the whole.

It is impossible to give an accurate notion o^ the various inte-
resting comparisons given in this work, without extending this re-
port too far.

M. Guerry concludes by warning his readers not to be too has-
tily led away to the conclusion that education hfis a tendency to de-
velope instead of repressing crime, remarking, that the utmost li-
mit warranted by his observations is, that education is a mighty in-
strument, powerful either for good or evil according as it is direct-
ed, and that, unless, \^'hilst we inform the intellect, we also take
pains to cultivate the moral sentiments, and to touch the affections
of the heart, we bestow only a doubtful advantage on its object.

Mr Auldjo read an account of Potindo's work on the revenue
and population of the kingdom of Naples, referring to that part of
the kingdom lying north of the Straits of Messina, giving details
of the state of the population, and the public institutions. These
statements shew the amount of population, the extent of the coun-
try, the quantity cultivated, uncultivated, in forest land, and capa-
ble of being cultivated ; giving comparisons in these respects with
the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the kingdom of Sardinia, and the
dominion of the Church. They also shew the number of landed
proprietors, renters of land, labourers, and paupers. An examina-
tion of the revenue shewed it to be in a prosperous state, and that
the funded debt of the nation would probably be redeemed in fif-
teen years.

The Secretary read a paper by Mr Murray, on the different rates
of mortality in the higher and lower classes of society, shewing
that the author's observations agreed with those of Dr Villerme in
representing the most opulent classes as the longest lived. Mr
Mun-ay hoped to lay the details of his observations before the next
meeting of the Association,

These remarks gave rise to some discussion, in the course of
which Mr Humby observed that in Lancashire and Cheshire those
receiving the highest wages in manufacturing towns were often im-
provident and dissipated, and consequently short-lived.
, The Secretary read a paper by Mr Grut, on the tables which

440 Proceedings of the British Association.

have been recehdy published by the Equitable Insurance Office
in London^ pointing out the vast importance of the results that
might be obtained from the experience of other similar societies,
and suggested schedules of inquiries that might with advantage be
submitted to them ; adding a list of insurance offices in London
and various parts of the country, with the dates of their establish-
ment.

EVENING — George's street assembly rooms.

The President having taken the Chair, the business com-
menced by reading the reports of the proceedings of the Sec-
tions. Dr Abercronibie, in concluding the report of his Sec-
tion, went on to say, " that, in thus concluding the reports of
the Medical Section, he found it necessary to state, that the
whole business of that Section had been conducted in the most
satisfactory manner, and that a great variety of most important
communications had been laid before them ; but, considering
these as not adapted for a mixed assembly, he had alluded to
them in very few words. Having, therefore,'' he continued,
" intruded but little upon your attention, I trust you will in-
dulge me for one minute while I express, in the name of the
Medical profession of Edinburgh, the high satisfaction we have
received from the meeting which is now drawing to a close,
especially by having been brought into personal intercourse,
and I trust personal friendship, with so many distinguished in-
dividuals, whose names have long been familiar to us as hold-
ing the highest rank in physical science. From their combined
labours we expect the most important results to every depart-
ment of human knowledge. I am none of those who anticipate
from the researches of physical science, any thing adverse to
the highest interests of man as a moral being. On the con-
trary, I am convinced that those who have made the greatest
attainments in true science will be the first to acknowledge their
own insignificance, when viewed in relation to that incompre-
hensible One who guides the planet in its course, and maintains
the complicated movements of ten thousand suns and ten thou-
sand systems in undeviating harmony. Infidelity and irreligion,
I am satisfied, are the oftspring of ignorance united to pre-
sumption ; and the boldest researches of physical science, if

Chemistry and Mineralogy. 441

conducted in the spirit of true philosophy, must lead u* to
new discoveries of the power and wisdom, and harmony and
beauty, which pervade all the works of Him who is Eternal.""

Professor Whewell then delivered a lecture on several cu-
rious phenomena connected with the tides ; and concluded his
remarks by expressing, in very warm terms, the feelings of
gratitude entertained by himself and other strangers of the
Association, for the kind and hospitable reception they had
met with in Edinburgh.

Professor Sedgwick gave a general account of the proceed-
ings of the Geological and Geographical Section, and expressed
his conviction that geology would benefit much from the dis-
cussion which had animated the Geological and Geographical
Section. He concluded by re-echoing the sentiments of Dr
Abercrombie, that the pursuits of science, instead of leading to
infidelity, had a contrary tendency, — that they went rather to
strengthen religious principles, and to confirm morals.

The President announced that the concluding General Meet-
ing of this Association would take place in the College Library
at three o'clock to-morrow.

Saturday^ 13M September.

Section B. — Chemistry and Mineralogv.

A communication from Mr Fox was read on the electro-magne-
tic condition of mineral veins, and the Section agreed to recom-
mend the continuation of tliese experiments.

Mr Stevelly explained the construction of a new vernier, and
its application to Dr Wollaston's scale of chemical equivalents.

Some observations by Mr Henry H. Watson on Sir John Les-
lie's hygrometer, were then read by the Secretary.

Professor Johnston gave a notice of the results of a paper he
communicated to the Section, on the dimorphism of the sesqui-
iodide of antimony.

Mr Low exhibited some interesting products of gas flues and
retorts, and of long continued heat.

Dr Gregory exhibited a series of specimens of organic principles,
— after which the Sectjon closed its meetings.

443 Proceedings of the British Associatioiu

Section E. — Anatomy and Medicine.

The reading of Dr Hodgkin's memoir on the action of poisons
was concluded.

In the second part of this report, Dr Hodgkin began with de-
scribing the general and local effects produced by injecting hot wa-
ter into the stomach of the dog. He next proceeded to direct at-
tention to the inferences which may be drawn from the situation of
the principal lesion of the stomach in poisoning, shewing, that where
the agent is intensely active, this is observed in the greater curva-
ture immediately opposite the orifice of the oesophagus, rather than
precisely at the cardiac extremity, where, in other cases, the most
intense injection is generally met with ; whilst, on the other hand,
if the poison be not sufficiently strong at once to destroy the powers
of the stomach, its effects will be found most conspicuous in those
parts which, under ordinary circumstances, are the most frequent
seats of injection. Another circumstance on which Dr Hodgkin
particularly insisted, was the occurrence in cases of inflammation of
the stomach, of an interstitial deposition of lymph, producing the
appearance of small, irregular, opaque whitish spots in the sub-
stance of the mucous membrane itself. This appearance he consi-
dered as of importance, as furnishing, in some instances, a ground
of distinction between the effects of decided inflammation and mere
congestion. The character of the secretion found on the surface
of the mucous membrane also, Dr Hodgkin considered capable of
throwing considerable light on the condition of the membrane be-
fore death.

Professor Clarke read to the Section a portion of the report which,
at the previous meeting of the Association, he had been requested
to prepare on the present state of Physiological Science. Dr Clarke
explained that it had been drawn up in the idea that it was intended
to be laid before a general meeting of the Association, and not be-
fore the Medical Section in particular, and that he had consequently
endeavoured to give it a more popular character than he otherwise
would have felt justified in doing.

A similar explanation was given by Dr Yelloly, respecting the
report on the state of Pathology, which he had been requested to
prepare.

Dr Yelloly, on the part of the Strangers of the Medical Section
of the British Association, proposed that a resolution should be en-
tered on the minutes, expressive of their warmest acknowledgments

Anatomy and Medidn^y^-^^'-^r^^^

for the very kind manner in which they have been received in Edin-
burgh, which was unanimously agreed to.

Dr Abercrombie concluded the business of the Medical Section
by an address, in which, . after some allusion to the subjects which
had more particularly engaged their attention, he expressed his
confidence in the zeal of the members in following out tlie investi-
gations which had been recommended to them ; and he impressed
upon them the importance of a zealous cultivation of pathology, as
the only foundation of certain knowledge resjjecting the phenomena
of disease. Dr Abercrombie then proceeded to make some obser-
vations on the interest and importance to the medical profession of
the study of Mental Philosophy. In alluding to this subject, he
said he was aware of the objections which had been brought against
admitting the philosophy of mind as one of the regular Sections of
the Association ; and to a considerable extent he admitted their
truth, as it might be difficult to preserve such discussions from those
hypothetical speculations by which this important science had been
so much obscured and retarded in its progress. But, by treating
it as a branch of Physiology, he trusted this might be avoided, by
rigidly restricting the investigation to a careful observation of facts,
and the purposes of high practical utility to which they might be
applied. Keeping in view the importance of these rules, he ear-
nestly recommended the subject to medical inquirers, as capable of
being cultivated, on strict philosophical principles, as a science of
observation, and as likely to yield laws, principles, or universal
facts, which might be ascertained with the same precision as the
laws of physical science. For this purpose, however, inquii'ers
must abstain from all vain speculations respecting the nature and
essence of mind, or the mode of its communication with external
things, and must confine themselves to a simple and careful study
of its operations. Some of these Dr Abercrombie alluded to under
the following heads : — the laws of the succession of thoughts, and
the remarkable influence of association ; — the voluntary power which
we possess over the succession of thought, the due culture of which
lies at the foundation of all sound mental discipline ; — the influence
of habit upon mental processes, and the means of correcting inju-
rious habits ; — the important relation between voluntary intellectual
processes and moral emotions, and between such intellectual pro-
cesses and the result of evidence in producing conviction ; — the laws
of reason or judgment — the means (»f cultivating it — and the ruin-

444 Proceedings of the British Association.

ous effects which result from the neglect of such culture. In con-
cluding these observations, Dr Abercrombie alluded briefly to the
moral phenomena of the human mind, and the impressions which
we derive from them, with a feeling of absolute certainty, respect-
ing the moral attributes of the Creator.

Respecting the means of cultivating the Philosophy of Mind as
a science of rigid observation, Dr Abercrombie alluded to the study
of mental phenomena and mental habits in ourselves and in other
men ; and the whole phenomena of dreaming, insanity, and deli-
rium, and the mental conditions which occur in connection with
diseases and injuries of the brain. The subjects of dreaming and
insanity, which have hitherto been little cultivated with this view,
he considered as capable of being prosecuted on sound philosophi-
cal principles, and as likely to yield curious and important results
respecting the laws of association, and various other processes of
the mind.

The practical purposes to which mental science may be applied,
Dr Abercrombie considered briefly under the following heads : —
(1.) The education of the young, and the cultivation of a sound
mental discipline at any period of life. In all other departments,
we distinctly recognise the truth, that every art must be founded
upon science, or on a correct knowledge of the uniform relations
and sequences of the essences to which the art refers ; and it can-
not be supposed that the only exception to this rule should be the
highest and most delicate of all human pursuits, the science and the
art of the mind. (2.) The intellectual and moral treatment of in-
sanity, presenting a subject of intellectual observation and experi-
ment, in which little comparatively has been done, but which seems
to promise results of the highest importance and interest, (3.)
The prevention of insanity in individuals in whom there exists the
hereditary predisposition to it. He gave his reasons for being
convinced that, in such cases, much might be done by a careful
mental culture, and that irremediable injury might arise from the
neglect of it. (4.) Dr Abercrombie alluded to the importance of
mental science as the basis of a Philosophical Logic, but did not en-
large on this part of the subject. He concluded his address by
some observations on the dignity and importance of medicine, as
one of the highest pursuits to which the human mind can be di-
rected ; as it combines with the culture of a liberal science, the
daily exercise of an extensive benevolence, and thus tends at once
to cultivate the highest powers of the understanding, and the best
feelings of the heart.

Froceedings of the British Association. 445

COLLEGE LIBRARY.

The last meeting of the Association was held in the large
and splendid hall of the College Library, the galleries of which
were set apart for the accommodation of ladies. The doors
were thrown open about half-past two o''clock, when a great
rush was made for admission, and, a little after three o'clock,
when the business commenced, the hall was filled. A short
time before this, the Lord High Chancellor Brougham made
his appearance on the platform.

It was announced to the meeting by the President, Sir Tho-
mas Makdougal Brisbane, that invitations to the British As-
sociation had been received from the Bristol Institution, the
Literary and Philosophical Society of Liverpool, the Royal
Dublin Society, the Royal Irish Academy, the Geological So-
ciety of Dublin, and the University of Dublin. That the ge-
neral committee, having considered the circumstances under
which the invitations were brought forward, had unanimously
resolved that the invitations of the constituted scientific autho-
rities in Dublin should be accepted, and that the next meeting
of the Association should be held in Dublin on Monday, 10th
August 1835. That the thanks of the Association had been
voted to the Bristol Institution, and to the Literary and Philo-
sophical Society of Liverpool.

The Officers and Council appointed for the ensuing year were
then announced, viz.

Dr Lloyfi, President Elect,

Lord Oxinantown and Rev. W. Whewell, F. R. S., Vice-Presidents Elect.

Professor Hamilton, F.G.S., Professor Lloyd, F.G.S., Secretaries for
the Dublin Meeting.

Treasurer to the Dublin Meeting, Dr Orpen, Treas. R.I. A.

Treasurer to the Association, John Taylor, F.R.S.

General Secretary, Rev. E. V. Harcourt, F.R.S.

Assistant Secretary, Professor John Philips, F.R.S.

The Secretaries for Edinburgh, Professor Forbes and J. Robison, Esq.,
were requested to continue their valuable services till the Dublin
Meeting.

The Council consists of —

Trustees. — Professor Babbage, Mr R. I. Murchison, Mr John Taylor.

Members elected. — Mr Robert Brown, Dr Bentham, Dr Buckland, Pro-
fessor Airy, Mr W. Clift, Mr Drinkwater, Dr Hodgkin, Mr S. Chris-
tie, Mr Greenough, Mr Lubbock, Dr Roget, Rev. G. Peacock, Mr
G. Rennie, Mr Yarrell.

Ex-officio Members. — The Officers of the Association.

Secretaries to the Council. — Dr Turner, Rev. J. Yates.

vol.. XVIl. NO. XXXI v. OCTOBER 1834. G g

446 Proceedings of the British Associatimi.

The Rev. Vernon Harcourt, general secretary, stated the re-
sults of the proceedings of the general committee on the sub-
jects brought before them for consideration by the sectional
committees, as to grants of money, requests for reports on the
progress of science, and recommendations of special subjects of
scientific inquiry. They had authorised the appropriation of
part of the funds of the Association for the purpose of prosecut-
ing particular researches in physical, chemical, geological, zoo-
logical, botanical, and medical science, to the extent of L.830.
They had authorised the application for the continuation of
reports on various branches of science to Rev. G. Peacock, Rev.
J. Challis, Rev. R. Willis, Mr George Rennie, Professor Ro-
gers, and Mr Stevenson ; for a report on the application of ma-
thematical science to the phenomena of heat, electricity, and
magnetism, — on electro-chemistry and electro-magnetism to Dr
Roget, — on the zoology of North America to Dr Richardson,
— on the botany of North America to Professor Hooker, — on
the geographical distribution of plants to Professor Henslow, —
on the geographical distribution of insects to Mr J. Wilson, —
on the pathology of the nervous system to Dr C. Henry, — and
on the effect of circumstances of vegetation on the medicinal
virtues of plants to Dr Christison.

Various recommendations of special subjects for inquiry were
sanctioned by the general committee, and ordered to be printed
in the next volume of the publication of the Association.

Dr Buckland then rose to propose the thanks of the Associa-
tion to the patrons and officers of the University, for the hand-
some and liberal way in which they had given up to them the
use of the rooms in the University. He said that throughout
the week they had been received in the metropolis of Scotland,
in a way which was worthy of the far-famed hospitality of the
nation. They had been welcomed to the houses and to the
tables of the inhabitants— nay, the very rocks of the country
had welcomed them by opening before them their valuable
treasures; they had seen that the Grampians had formerly
had spices waving on their tops, while at their bases the croco-
dile swam ; a!hd a thousand fishes had started from their rocky
sepulchre, to bid welcome to the members of the British Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Science. After some farther

Proceedings qft/it British AssocialiuH. 447

remarks, the learned Doctor concluded by proposing his ijio-
tion, which was seconded by Dr Lloyd, Provost of Trinity
College, Dublin.

Votes of thanks were also voted to the College of Physicians,
Highland Society, and Proprietors of the Assembly Rooms,
for their great liberality in accommodating the Association.

Votes of thanks were next voted seriatim to the Presidents
and other office-bearers of the Association.

The vote of thanks to the Presidents was proposed by Mr
Whewell, and seconded by Professor Hamilton of Dublin.
The latter addressed the meeting nearly as follows : —

I rise, in compliance with this call, to second the motion of
my friend Mr Whewell ; and I do so with the sincerest plea-
sure, though I should not have presumed, if uninvited, to come
forward on this occasion. How indeed, can I fail to feel deep
pleasure in seconding a motion, which directs your attention
and your thanks to a triad of men such as these — a triad con-
taining one, a countryman and friend of my own, who, along
with all that mathematical attainment, and all that scientific
diligence, of which Mr Whewell has spoken, combines a flow
of eloquence to which we all during this week have often been
delighted listeners, — a triad containing also another Vice-Pre-
sident, a native of Scotland, but whose name and fame are not
confined to Scotland, and who is known over the whole of Eu-
rope as the person who, by his experimental researches and sar
gacity, has done more perhaps than any living man for the
science of physical optics ; for that wonderful science, which, il-
lustrating each by each, the more beautiful phenomena of light,
and the subtlest properties of matter, enable us almost to feel the
minute vibrations, the ceaseless heavings and tremblings of that
mighty ocean of ether, which bathes the farthest stars, yet winds
its way through every labyrinth and pore of every body on
this earth of ours,— a triad, finally, containing as its head and
organ that scientific soldier, of more than European reputation,
who, while entrusted with the sword of his sovereign, and with
the glory of his country in a far distant land, had founded an
observatory in another sphere before he came to preside in this.
It would be difficult to narrate the benefit which has been con-
ferred on science by our President in the erection of that ob-

ogS

448 Proceedings of the British Association,

servatory. Had it not been for that observatory, the comet of
Encke, at one of its late returns, would have eluded human
scrutiny ; since, though it was then visible in the southern, it
was invisible in the northern hemisphere. Had it not been for
that observatory, we should want several of our most important
elements for determining the amount of astronomical refraction ;
that property of our earth's atmosphere, which, changing va-
riously the course of light, bends the rays of Sirius here to-
wards our pole, but bends them there towards the other. I
remember well, though I was then but a young astronomer,
the anxiety with which my dear and illustrious predecessor in
the astronomical chair of Dublin awaited the arrival of those
Paramatta observations ; the delight with which he received
them, and eagerness with which he proceeded to combine them
with his own, and so to form that union of northern and south-
ern observations, which will hand down together to the re-
motest ages of astronomical history, the names of Brinkley and
of Brisbane.

There is, however, another view of Professor WhewelPs mo-
tion, which my feelings will not permit me to pass by, though
it must have occurred to all of you, — that view in which our
Edinburgh President may be regarded as one of the represen-
tatives of the hospitality of Edinburgh. This hospitality has
indeed been often alluded to already, but it will bear to be
touched upon again ; especially if — endeavouring to rise above
that sense of personal obligation by which we all, all visitors
of Edinburgh, would feel ourselves almost oppressed, if that
splendid hospitality had not been as delicate as it was splendid
— we contemplate it for a moment in a higher view, as a sym-
bol of national union. This week the bond of scientific bro-
therhood has shewn to the world a new and striking picture —
has brought a new thing to pass, in the history of this Associa-
tion, nay more, in the history of this empire. I must not touch
so far upon forbidden ground as to bring to your remem-
brance a time which was not like this, — a time when English-
men and Scotchmen met, if they met at all, for other purposes,
and in another spirit, — a time when walls like these would
have rung with other shouts, with cries of national defiance,
with voices menacing a dire and doubtful struggle. That time

Proceedings of the British Association. 449

indeed has long passed, never to return. England and Scot-
land are not now two countries, distinct, independent, and hos-
tile ; they have been long one glorious nation, at unity within
itself, impregnable to the world beside. Yet, is it not a new
and touching sight, this festival of love, this solemn offering of
concord, this crowding of the invited might of England into
the metropolis of Scotland, this interchange not of peaceful
courtesy alone, but of zealous friendship, this active and ardent
cooperation in one high common cause ? We, too,^the repre-
sentatives of Ireland, have joyfully responded to the call, and
gladly gathered in this beautiful and ancient capital, and with
ungrudging hearts have seen it take precedency of our own
in the great work of hospitality to science, though in that
work we long to bear a part. And when we find our birth-
place, and its institutions, and its efforts for science, so held in
honour and regard, as your resolution to visit it has testified, we
feel a joyful and exciting hope that the reception which you
will let us give to you in Dublin, even more (if that be possi-
ble) than the reception which you have given to us in Edin-
burgh, shall symbolise and mark a more embracing unity, a close
and triple bond, and tend to make us «// in. heart and mind one
people.

Professor Sedgwick, in proposing the thanks of the Associa-
tion to M. Arago and the other distinguished strangers who
had visited them, made some pertinent and eloquent remarks
upon the advantages of science in smoothing the prejudices of
different nations, and linking together learned men of all coun-
tries, and paid a high compliment to the merits of M. Arago.

The Lord Chancellor rose, to second the motion. After apo-
logising for not sooner appearing at the meetings of the Associa-
tion, which he said was attributable to accident, he remarked
that he understood he owed the honour of seconding the motion
of his reverend and learned friend to the circumstance — one of
the proudest in his life — that he was a member of the National
Institute of France. It had been often remarked, that war was
a game, at which, if the people wete wise, governments would
not often play ; and he might add, that in encouraging and fos-
tering the exertions of men of science, who were of no party,

450 Proceedings oftfte British Associaiion.

ahd over whom the angry tempests of war passed innocuous, a
government was taking the best means to facilitate that which
ought ever to be their chief aim — peace on earth, and good will
among men. He might remark also, that as among individu-
als, the older they grew, they became the more sensible that
life was too short to be spent in personal quarrels ; so he was
happy to say, that the world was now too old, and too experi-
enced, for neighbouring states to engage in war with little or no
ground of quarrel. A great part of this softening influence was
to be attributed to science, which formed a bond of brother-
hood between learned men of all countries. It was, therefore,
on scientific principles, and on the principles of an enlightened
philanthropy, that he cordially seconded the motion of his re-
verend friend.

M. Arago returned thanks in a very energetic speech.

On the motion of the Rev. Dr Robinson, seconded by Sir
Charles Lemon, thanks were voted to the Rev. Wm. Vernon
Harcourt for his continued and unremitted exertions as General
Secretary.

The President then addressed the meeting as follows : —
Gentlemen, as the humble organ of this great intellectual body,
I rise to return thanks for the reception the Association has re-
ceived at Edinburgh. I have had the good fortune to attend
the whole of the meetings of the Association at York, Oxford,
Cambridge, and I am proud to think that Edinburgh has not
fallen short, but has far exceeded the most sanguine expecta-
tions of any member of the Association, which is most gratifying
to myself as a Scotchman ; and the pleasure is enhanced by the
honour I have this day received, namely, the Freedom of the City
which I now hold in my hands. I therefore, congratulate the
Association on its increasing prosperity ; but how can it be other-
wise, when so many distinguished individuals are found in our
society, and when even the Lord Chancellor attends our meet-
ing. The distinguished foreigners who have assisted in our
labours, have all expressed their desire to co-operate with the
Association in its different objects, and my friend M. Ar-
ago, who is a most distingufshed deputy of France, — a Philoso-
pher and Astronomer unrivalled on the Continent of Europe,
whose name is a host in itself, and whom I have had the happi-

Freedom of the City conferred on M, Arago, ^c. 451

ness of knowing these nineteen years, has desired me to convey
his own willingness and that of the Institute of France, to co-
operate in our labours, and what may not be accomplished by
such combination of talent ? I trust, therefore, that henceforth
these great nations, France and England, will never become ri-
vals but in emulating which of the two shall contribute most
to the comfort and happiness of the human race. To the whole
of the public authorities, our grateful acknowledgments are of-
fered, and I speak with confidence when I say none of us will
ever forget the reception that Edinburgh has given us. I have
now to perform the only painful duty which has been imposed
on me during the week, namely, to adjourn the society, which
ishcreby adjourned to the 10th August 1835, at Dublin.
The meeting then separated.

. ■ jiic. jk,,v'.'mw»Aj.iA ' '»' — ' •"' •' — ~— .

The Freedom of the City of Edinburgh coiif erred on M. Arago^
Mr Brown, Dr Dalton, Professor Moll, and Sir Thoina»
Mdkdougal Brisbane^ Bart.

An extraordinary meeting of the Town Council was held on
Saturday, September 13th, the Lord Provost in the Chair.
The Magistrates and Councillors having put on their robes of
office. Sir Thomas Brisbane, alongst with M. Arago, Pro-
fessor Moll, Dr Dalton, and Mr Brown, were introduced to the
Council by Bailie Thomson. They were attended by Professor
Jameson, Sir John Campbell, member for the city, and others.

The Lord Provost addressed these gentlemen, expressing
the high sense entertained by his Lordship and the Council of
the British Association, its importance, and its objects. It
could not fail to be gratifying to observe how individuals, emi-
nent for their learning, congregated together for the purpose of
promoting scientific investigations. In these " piping times of
peace,*" these men were now enabled to assemble from all quar-
ters, not of this country merely, but also of the continent of
Europe, and so to combine their efforts as to bring out results
at once beneficial to the present race, and to the posterity which
was to follow, the good accomplished not being confined to the
passing day, but extending to future times. Viewing the pro-

452 Freedom of the City conferred on M. Arago, ^c.

ceedings of the British Association in this light, the Council
had felt^anxious to do all in their power to mark their approba-
tion, by conferring the only honour which it was in their power
to bestow, upon some of the distinguished members of that body,
feeling satisfied, that, in so doing, they were conferring honour
on themselves, while they attempted to do so to them. In se-
lecting the individuals, they had certainly had much difficulty,
from the great number of men of the first-rate talents and ac-
quirements who had honoured their city by their presence.
His Lordship trusted, however, that the selection which had
been made, of the very distinguished President, and the four
accomplished Fellows of the Association, Messrs Arago, Moll,
Dalton, and Brown, would give universal satisfaction. Men
more eminent in their respective branches could not easily be
found. He, therefore, would now proceed to place in their
hands the extract of the Town Council, conferring upon them
the freedom of the Town. The extract was then read by the
clerk, and a diploma, as freeman of the city, presented to
each by his Lordship. His Lordship presented the diploma to
M. Arago as the chief of physical science on the continent of
Europe — to Mr Brown, as placed by the universal consent of
botanists at the head of botanical science — to Dr Dalton, as
founder of the atomic theory — to Professor Moll, as celebrated
for his discoveries and writings ; and to Sir Thomas Makdou-
gal Brisbane, famed as an astronomical observer and discoverer.

On its being presented to M. Arago, he craved leave to
address the Council, which he did in French. Sir Thomas
Brisbane begged leave to act as interpreter, and stated that
M. Arago expressed the high sense he entertained of the
very great honour now conferred upon him, of being enrolled
as a citizen of Edinburgh — a city which had been distinguish-
ed by such eminent names as Stewart, Leslie, &c. He now
felt as a citizen of Edinburgh, and should any of its sons
ever visit Paris, it would be sufficient for them to ask for M.
Arago, to receive the utmost attention he could bestow upon
them.

The diplomas granting them the Freedom of the City, ha-
ving been all delivered, Sir Thomas Brisbane addressed the
Lord Provost, expressing how highly honoured he felt in being

Edinburg'h Observatory. 453

placed at the head of the British Association. They had been
received here in the most handsome manner. He was not dis,
posed to make any invidious comparisons with the former meet-
ings of the Association ; but he might be allowed to say, that
the meeting at Edinburgh was fully equal to any which had
preceded it. As a Scotsman, he felt an interest in any thing
relating to Scotland or its capital ; but from the present moment,
and after the honour now conferred on him, he would feel that
a special tie connected him with the city of Edinburgh, in the
prosperity of which he would always take a deep and lively in-
terest, and be at all times ready to promote it. Sir Thomas
Brisbane then acknowledged the honour conferred upon the
Members of the Association, and the gentlemen retired.

EDINBURGH OBSERVATORY.

To the Editor oftlie Edinburgh Philosophical Journal.
Sir,

Knowing that an account of the proceedings of the British As-
sociation while assembled at Edinburgh, is to appear in your Jour-
nal, and that some remarks made in one of the meetings by Dr
Robinson on the Edinburgh Observatory will probably have a
place in that account, I beg leave to say a few words in reply to
the observations of the learned Astronomer of Armagh ; and I do
this, not from a wish to enter into controversy, but in compliance
with the recommendation of sonre friends who have for many years
taken a warm interest in the establishment of the Eklinburgh Ob-
servatory.

The whole of Dr Robinson's objections apply to the position in
which the Observatory is placed. Now, it is well known to every
person in Edinburgh, that it was utterly impossible to raLse funds by
private subscription for erecting an observatory in any other posi-
tion than that on which it now stands. The people in Edinburgh,
with a wish to improve science, have also a desire to adorn their
city with elegant structures. Those who erected the Observatory
judiciously availed themselves of this twofold stimulus, and direct-
ed it to a purpose creditable to Scotland, and beneficial to the whole
world. Dr Robinson's objections express merely his own opinion.
The Observatory has not yet been actively employed : it is only a

454 Edinburgh Observatory,

few weeks since an astronomer was appointed to it ; and its princi-
pal instrument has just been erected. Within the last twelve years
it has been visited by many astronomers, British and foreign. Of
the former, I may mention the late Mr Woodhouse and Professor
Airy of Cambridge ; Dr Brinkley (now Bishop of Cloyne), when
Professor of Astronomy in Dublin ; Sir Thomas Brisbane, and
various members of the Astronomical Society of London. Of
foreign astronomers, I recollect M. Gautier of Geneva, M. Tralles
of Berlin, M. Quetelet of Brussels. None of these raised any
objections such as were made by Dr Robinson. I believe I may
say with confidence, that M. Arago w as satisfied that the Observa-
tory will fulfil the purpose for which it was erected ; and that Pro-
fessor Moll did not in the least agree in the opinions brought for-
ward in the meeting of the British Association.

In this state of the case, it seems prudent to suspend farther dis-
cussion on the subject until the Observatory has had a fair trial.
The proposition to convert an elegant structure, that has cost
L. 5000, and that has been erected on a rock highly magnetic, into
a Magnetic Observatory, will, I believe, find no supporter?, and,
when duly considered, not even the sanction of the learned pro-
poser.

On the whole, I am confident, that, had Dr Robinson taken the
trouble to make himself acquainted with the difficulties that have
been surmounted in the erection of the Edinburgh Observatory, he
would have told the meeting, that the men of Edinburgh had done
for the improvement of astronomy what had been attempted before
in Britain, but never accomplished — witness the Glasgow Obser-
vatory, of which the instruments have been long ago sold by pub-
lic roup or private bargain, little to the credit of that opulent
city.

William Wallace.
Edinburgh, 2Ath Sept, 1834. Professor of Mathematics.

Proceedings of the Society for the Encouragement of the Useful
Arts in Scotland.

The following communications were laid before the Society
during the months of March, April, and May 1834.

March 12. — 1. A Map of the lievels of London and its Environs,
was exhibited, as a specimen of the mode of executing a proposed

Proceedings of the Society of Arts. 455

map of tlie levels of Edinburgh and environs ; which will be done by
subscription, if sufficient encouragement be given. By Mr William
Moffat, 8 Middle Row, Knightsbridge, London.

2. Description of a Portable Warm-Air Stove, heated with gas j
adapted at same time for other domestic purposes. Invented by Mr
Robert Ritchie, ironmonger, 241 High Street, and 86 George Street,
Edinburgh, Memb. Soc. Art^^-.

♦ 3. A Spring Slider for the Bottom of Doors, which, when the door
shuts, slides down, and prevents a draught of air into the room or
house. Communicated by C. G. Stuart Menteith, Esq. of Closeburn,
Memb. Soc. Arts.

4. Supplement to his Essay on Improvements on the Syphon. By
Mr Jonathan Davidson, ironmonger. High Street, Edinburgh.

A working model will be exhibited.

March 26. — 1. On the Source of the Advantages of a Long Screw-
Driver. By Mr Edward Sang, Teacher of Mathematics, Edinburgh,
Memb. Soc. Arts.

2. A Grand Orrery, representing the Solar System, and calculated
to convey an extensive and accurate knowledge of the Movements of
Celestial Bodies. Invented and constructed entirely by Mr John
Fulton, Fenwick, Ayrshire.

3. Suggestions regarding the substitution of Steam in place of the
Breath in Blowing Glass ; with a Sketch of the Apparatus. By T.
S. Largs*

4. Donation. — The first Number of the Architectural Magazine,
and Journal of Improvement in Architecture, Building, and Fur-
nishing, and in the various Arts and Trades connected therewith.
Conducted by J. C. Loudon, Esq. Hon. Memb. Soc. Arts. From the
Conductor.

Samuel Eaden, Esq. Red Hill, Sheffield, was admitted an Ordinary Mem-
ber.

April 9. — 1. Suggestions in regard to the Adaptation of the new-
ly-invented American Steam-Boat to Canal Navigation, By Mungo
Ponton, Esq. W. S., F. R.S.E. Memb. Soc. Arts.

2. A new Pivot Castor for Furniture, possessing the advantage of
retaining the Oil for an indefinite length of time. By John Robison,
Esq. F.R.S.E., Vice-Pres. Soc. Arts.

3. A Pocket or Portable Cooking Apparatus, used on the Conti-
nent, was exhibited in operation. By Mr Robert Ritchie, ironmonger,
&c. to their Majesties, 241 High Street, and 86 George Street, Memb.
Soc. Arts.

456 Proceedbigs oftlie Society for the

4. Donation. — Presentation copy of the Literary Gazette and
Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts and Sciences, &c. No. 888. From
the Publishers.

April 23. — 1. Description and Drawing of a Machine for Com-
pressing Air by means of the Rise and Fall of the Tide, communica-
ble to any distance. By Mr Thomas Aitken, Pittencrieff Street,
Dunfermline.

2. Model and Description of a Machine for facilitating the Cutting
of Curved Wood. By Mr William Kemp, Galashiels.

3. Description and Drawings of a Safety Frame for the Boilers
and Vats of Dyers ; and of a Safety Cover for the Boilers of Bleach-
ers and Brewers, &c. By Mr Thomas Johnston, 137 George Street,
Glasgow.

4. Letter from Mr James King, Sydney, N. S. Wales, dated 19th
July 1833, respecting the merits of a discovery of the superior fitness
of Sand, near Sydney, for the JManufacture of Flint and Plate Glass.
With a printed copy of a letter from him to Lord Viscount Goderich,
late Secretary of State for the Colonies, dated 1st July 1833; and
relative Testimonials, printed and written.

5. Eight Specimens of various Prepared Earths ; in particular of
one called Ethereal Blue, which possesses all the properties of the
Ashes of Ultramarine, has many advantages over it, and can be
manufactured and sold at about one-fifth of the expense. Prepared
by Mr Murdo Paterson, dyer, Inverness.

The following candidates were admitted Ordinary Members, viz.
John Hamilton, Esq. W. S., 1 Scotland Street.
Alexander Campbell, Esq., Greorge Square, Edinburgh.

May 21. — 1. Mr Ford of Bailey and Co. reported the result of
their Experiments in making Glass with the Sydney Sand ; and
Specimens were exhibited.

2. Dr D. B. Reid reported the result of his Experiments in ana-
lyzing the Sydney Sand, and the Lynn Sand.

3. Mr Watson Gordon reported upon Mr Murdo Paterson's Pre-
pared Earths, including his Ethereal Blue, he. ; and exhibited Spe-
cimens prepared with Oil, with their relative tints wlien mixed with
white.

4. Donation. — Specimens of Lithographic Printing. By Mr Sa-
muel Leith, Lithographer, Banff, Assoc. Soc. of Arts.

5. Donation. — Nos. 2 and 3 of the Architectural Magazine. From
the (Conductor, J. C. Loudon, Esq. lion. Member Soc. Arts.

Encourayeineiit of the Useful Arts. 457

The following candidates were admitted Ordinary Members, viz.

Robert Horsburgh, Accountant, 16 London Street, Edinburgh.
Captain Alexander Milne, R. N., Inveresk.

An extraordinary meeting of the Society for the Encourage-
ment of the Useful Arts was held in the Royal Institution, on
Friday the 5th September 1834, Sir David Milne, K.C.B.,
Vice-President, in the Chair.

The following communications were laid before the So-
ciety : —

1. Essay on the Useful Arts — preliminary to the Series of Annual
Reports regarding new Inventions and Improvements in the Arts
throughout Europe — ordered by the Society. By Edward Sang,
Esq. Teacher of Mathematics, and Lecturer on Natural Philosophy,
Edinburgh, Memb. Soc. Arts.

2. Drawing and Description of Improved Sextant Telescopes, for
taking Altitudes when the Horizon is invisible. By Matthew Adam,
Esq. Rector of the Inverness Academy, Assoc. Soc. Arts.

The Instruments were exhibited.

3. Specimens of Glass manufactured by Messrs Bailey and Co.
Edinburgh, from Sydney Sand and from Lynn Sand. Communi-
cated by Dr D. B. Reid, IMemb. Soc. Arts.

4. Donation. — On Differences and Differentials of Functions of
Zero. By William R, Hamilton, A.B., Royal Astronomer, Dublin,
Memb. Soc. Arts, for Scotland. From the Author.

5. Donation — Specimens of Lithography. Presented to the So-
ciety by Mr Samuel Leith, lithographer, Banff, Assoc. Soc. of Arts.

6. Donation. — Specimens of Lithography. By ditto.

7. Donation. — Nos. 4 and 5 of the Architectural Magazine. From
the Conductor, J. C. Loudon, Esq. Hon. Member Soc. Arts.

8. The Committee on Mr Smith's Instrument for cutting Coats
was continued — Mr Sang, Convener.

9. The Report of the Committee on Mr Fulton's Orrery was read
and approved of.

10. The Report of the Committee appointed to prepare a List of
Prizes to be offered by the Society for Session 1834-35 was read.

11. The following Report of the Prize Committee, awarding the
Prizes for Session 1832-33, was read, and the Prizes were delivered
to the successful Candidates, by the Vice-President, with appropriate
addresses, viz. : —

458 Proceedings of the Society for the

Report of the Comviiitce appoinled hy the Society of Arts for Scot-
land, to award Prizes for Communications read and exhibited
during Session 1832-33.

Your Committee having maturely considered the various com-
munications, together with the reports of the respective Committees
thereon, have, in terms of the remit made to them, awarded prizes to
the following individuals, viz. : —

1. To C. G. S. Menteath of Closeburn, Esq. Memb, Soc. Arts, for
his Model and Description of the lower part of a Limekiln with
Double Grates and Doors ; and for his Model and Description of a
Rail-road or Wheel-tracks for all sorts of Carriages : — both read and
exhibited 6th February 1833 — The Society's First Honorary iMedal.

2. To Mr James Ballingall, Manager of the Kirkcaldy and London
Shipping Company, and Purveyor of Shipping for the port of Kirk-
caldy— for his Plan for Improving the Mercantile Navy of Great
Britain and Ireland : — read 6th February 1833 — The Society's Se-
cond Honorary Medal.

3. To Mr James Catleugh, Millwright, Haddington — for his De-
scription and Drawing of a Machine for Bruising Corn and Malt : —
read 23d January 18.^3 — The Society's Third Honorary Medal.

4. To Mr Alexander Grant, Surgeon and Druggist, 1 1 Broughton
Street, Edinburgh — for his Model, Drawing, and Description of a
New Chimney-top or Can : — read and exhibited 26th February 1833
— The Society's Fourth Honorary Medal.

5. To Mr James Macdonald, tailor, 46 West Register Street,
Edinburgh — for his Drawing and Description of an Instrument for
taking the Dimensions of the Human Body, with precision, for the
purpose of fitting it, to absolute nicety, with Clothes : — read and ex-
hibited 20th March 1833 ; and, since that date, made by Mr Mac-
donald of full size, with sundry improvements, under the name of the
Andrometer — calculated to be of the greatest service in the army,
&c. &c. — The Society's Gold Medal, value Ten Sovereigns.

6. To William Austin and Co., formerly of 17 Waterloo Place,
Edinburgh — for their Description and Sketch of an Improved Fa-
mily Mangle — The Society's Silver Medal, value Five Sovereigns.

The Committee beg leave to report, that upwards of a dozen of
papers have been lodged by candidates for the prize of L. 20, offered
for the best Alphabet and mode of Printing for the use of the Blind.
Several of these papers are voluminous, and require much time and
attention for their consideration. In consequence of which, the Com-
mittee appointed to report thereon have not yet been able to make
up their report, and they are at present in correspondence with gen-
tlemen in England well qualified to judge of the merits of these
papers, with the view of enabling the Committee to fix upon the
Alphabet and mode of Printing which may appear to be that which
shall promise to be most extensively useful, and most generally de-
sirable for the whole of Great Britain and Ireland.

In the mean time, the decision of the prize must lie over till that
report is lodged, which will probably be early next session.

Eneouragenient of the Useful Arts. 459

The Committee, in conclusion, are sorry to be obliged to report,
that tliere has been no competition for the following prizes, viz. : —

1. The Keith Gold Medal of Twenty-five sovereigns.

2. The Society's second Gold Medal of Ten sovereigns.

3. The Lithographic Prize of Twelve sovereigns.

4. Ditto, ditto, Eight sovereigns.

i). Hats of fine quality, Honorary MedaL
7. Ditto of second quality, ditto ditto.

All which is humbly reported by

John Dunn, pro Convener.

Royal Institution^ Edinhurghy
7th June 1834.

The following distinguished men of science were proposed by the
Council for election as Honorary Members, and were unanimously
elected, viz. : —

1. M. Arago, Sec. Perp. de ITnatitut de France.

2. M. Payen, Membre de la Societe d'Encouragement pour Plndustrie

Nationale.

3. M. Francoeur, Membre de la Societe d'Encouragement pour ITndustrie

Nationale.

The Society then adjourned till next Session.

List of Prizes offered hy the Society for the Session 1834-35.

The Society for the Encouragement of the Useful Arts in
Scotland, offer the following Prizes for the Session 1834-35:

1. For the most important Discovery in Mechanics j — The Keith
Gold Medal, value Twenty Sovereigns.

2. For the [best set of Experiments on any branch of Practical
Mechanics; — The Society's Gold Medal, value Ten Sovereigns.

3. For the best Specimens of Busts, and other fine Ornamental
Castings in Iron ; — The Society's Gold Medal, value Eight Sovereigns.

4. For the best Specimen of Lithographic Drawing and Printing,
by Lithographic Artists resident in Scotland, of subjects in Civil and
Naval Architecture^ Landscape, Machinery, and Maps, from Ink
Drawings ; the size of each to be not less than 14 inches by 10.
Three impressions of each of these subjects to be sent ; — The Society's
Gold Medal, value Twelve Sovereigns.

5. For the best ditto ditto, of subjects in Portrait, Historical and
Lafidscape, from Chalk*' Drawings ; the size to be not less than 9
inches by 6. Three impressions of each of these subjects to be sent ;
— The Society s Silver Medal, value Eight Sovereigns.

N. B The two Prizes last mentioned are from a Fund furnished by the

Association for the Improvement of Lithography in Scotland. Specimens in-
tended to compete for either of tftese two Prizes must be lodged on or before the \st
of March 1835. The successful Candidates shall be bound to furnish, if re-
quired, 50 impressions of each subject which shall be found entitled to either

460 Proceedings of the Society of ArlH,

of the above Prizes, — for which they shall be paid an extra sum, to cover th?
outlay for paper and printing. The Society of Arts retain to themselves the
power of withholding the whole or any part of the above Prizes till a future
time, if there be not more than three competitors, or if the Specimens pro-
duced do not appear to be of sufficient merit.

6. For the best Paper on the treatment of Steel in the forming
and hardening Tools for different purposes ; — The Society s Silver
Medal, value Ten Sovereigns.

7. For other Inventions, Discoveries, or Improvements in the Me-
chanical or Chemical Arts ; or by which the Natural Produciiojis of
Scotland could be made more available to the Useful Arts than at
present, — the Society will be ready to expend a further sum, in Pre-
miums and Honorary Medals, of Ten Sovereigns.

General Observations. — The attention of Candidates is particularly
directed to the following subjects, as a specimen of what the Society would
desire to be brought before them ; but Candidates are by no means limited
to these subjects, viz. : — Best construction of Screw-plates, Taps and Dies,
&c. — Means by which the expense of Diagrams, &c. for Books of Science, &c.
may be lessened. — Economizing Fuel, Gas, &c — Observations on correct re-
presentations of Natural Objects, for the ornamenting of Ceilings and Walls
of Rooms, in the Printing of Cloth, Painting of China and Stone- ware, &c. —
Improvements in Balance or Pendulum Time-keepers — On the best Compo-
sition for Rollers employed in applying Ink to the Types in Letter-press
Printing, especially with a view to preserve their adhesive and elastic pro-
perties in as uniform a condition as possible during damp and other variable
states of the atmosphere — Steam-boats for Canals, somewhat on the principle
of the American Steam-Raft, and capable of sailing at the rate of 15 miles an
hour, &c.

The Society shall be at liberty to publish in their Transactions copies or
abstracts of all I'apers submitted to them.

In the event of any communication not being considered of sufficient merit
to entitle it to the whole Prize for which it competes, the Society reserve
the power of lessening the Prize.

The Society particularly request, that all communications intended to com-
pete for the above Prizes (except the 4th and 5th Prizes) may be forwarded
to the Secretary as soon after the Society meets in November 1 834 as possi-
ble, in order to insure their being read and reported on during the Session.
At same time, they will be received any time from July 1834 to 1st April
1835.

Communications. Inventions, and Models, to be forwarded to James Tod,
Esq. W. S. 21 Dublin Street, Edinburgh, Secretary to the Society; and it is
requested, that, in all cases, full descriptions of the Invention may be sent ;
and, where the nature of the communication requires it, that there be also
sent relative Drawings, Sketches, or Models, so as to enable the Society fully to
judge of the merits of the comnmnication.

RoYAi. Institution, Edinbur&h,
'l\st July \\iM.

( 461 )

NEW PUBLICATIONS.

1. A Treatise on Primary Geology. By Henry S. Boase, M. D.,
Secretary to the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, &c. &c.
8vo. Pp. 399. Longman and Co. 1834.

This interesting work, which excited so much attention in the
Geological Section of the British Association, lately held in
Edinburgh, ought to be in the hands of every geologist. Al-
though some of the positions of the author have been contested,
we are of opinion that much of the reasoning, and many of the
curious and important statements of Dr Boase, remain unaffected
by any thing that was said in the British Association at Edin-
burgh, or has been written on the subject of primitive geology.

2. Elemehts of Practical Agriculture^ comprehending the Cultivation
of Plants, the Husbandry of the Domestic Animals^ and the Eco-
nomy of the Farm. By David Low, Esq., F. R. S. E., Professor of
Agriculture in the University of Edinburgh. 8vo. Pp.695. Bell
and Bradfute, Edinburgh. 1834.

No work on agriculture has appeared in our lime which will
bear a comparison with this excellent, and we would say classi-
cal, work of Professor Low. It will become the manual of
practical agriculture for the British empire ; and the judicious
practical rules and sound views of our author, will unquestion-
ably prove beneficial to the agriculturists of other countries.

3. Guide to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, includiny Orkney
and Shetland, descriptive of their Scenery, Statistics, Antiquities,
and Natural History ; witJt numerous Historical Notices. By
Messrs George and Peter Anderson, of Inverness. With a
Map engraved by Arrowsmith. Small 8vo, pp. 760. Murray,
London. 1834.

We know the Highlands and Islands of Scotland well ; we
have walked through them repeatedly, not for a week or two,
but for months at a time, and for years in succession, and are
therefore prepared to give our opinion on any work illustrative
of that interesting portion of Great Britain. We now do so,
and hesitate not to say that the Guide of the Messrs Andersons
contains a greater variety of accurate and well arranged informa-
tion, illustrative of Highland scenery, history, adventure, na-
tural history, routes, and all the varieties of information expected

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIV. — OCTOBER 1834. Hh

4652 New Publications.

by the traveller in a Guide book, than any similar work hitherto
published. In short, we consider it as our best Guide to the
Highlands of Scotland.

4. Recherch£s sur les Poissons Fossiles. Par L. Agassiz. Neuchatel.
1834. 4to, with Coloured Plates.

In this work it is intended to give not only a description of
all the fossil species hitherto discovered, but also to combine
with it a general outline of the characters of the orders, families,
and genera of all living fishes. At the same time, the first vo-
lume will contain a full anatomical description of the scales, the
skeleton, and the teeth, and a comparison will be made with the
other classes of the animal kingdom.

In the geological account of fossil fishes, the most remarkable
organic remains of other classes, which are found associated with
them, will be mentioned, in order to point out the character of
the various geological periods, and to indicate the changes which
have occurred in the order of succession of animals.

It is thus evident, that the work is intimately connected with
zoology as well as with anatomy and geology. But for far-
ther information on this subject, we must refer our readers to
the preface to the first part.

The Geological Society of London, impressed with the im-
portance of M. Agassiz"* researches, accorded the highest mark of
its approbation and encouragement, by decerning to him the
Wollaston medal in 1834.

We are also happy to announce, that the British Association,
during its late meeting in this city, was so fully aware of the
value of the researches of M. Agassiz on fossil ichthyology, and of
the important results to be obtained from them for geology, that
it voted a sum of 100 guineas for the encouragement of this
branch of zoological science in Great Britain.

Two numbers have already been published, of which we shall
soon give a detailed account.

New Work on Geology.
We learn with pleasure that Professor Phillips has now in
the press a Guide to Geology, the object of which is to give
the elementary facts and generalizations, and to furnish correct
information as to the modern and actual state of the science.

( 463 )

List of Patents granted in Scotland from 9.Qth March to\^th
September 1834.

1834.
Mar. 26. To Samuel Hall of Basford in the county of Nottingham, cotton
manufacturer, for an invention of " certain improvements in
steam engines."
April 12. To Samuel Slocum of the New Road, St Pancras, in the countj of
Middlesex, engineer, for an invention of " improvements in ma-
chinery for making pins."
To Samuel Slocum of the New Road, St Pancras, in the county of
Middlesex, engineer, for an invention of " a certain improvement
or improvements in machinery for makmg nails."
To James Jamieson Cordes, of Idol Lane, in the city of London,
merchant, in consequence of a communication made to him by a
'late resident of the United States of America, now deceased, for
an invention ot " a certain improvement or improvements in
machinery for making rivets or screw blanks or bolts."
To James Jamieson Cordes, of Idol Lane, in the city of London,
merchant, in consequence of a communication made to him by a
late resident of the United States of America, now deceased, of
" a certain improvement or improvements in machinery for mak-
ing nails."
16. To Charles Attwood of "Whickham near Gateshead, in the county
of Durham, manufacturer of soda, for an invention of " a certain
pigment or certain pigments, by a certain process or certain pro-
cesses not previously used for such purposes."
24. To John Read of Regent Street, in the county of Middlesex, mer-
chant, and John Barton of Providence Row, Finsbury, in the
same county, engineer, for an invention of " certain improvements
in machinery or apparatus for raising and forcing fluids."
30. To Hooton DeverUl of Manchester, in the county of Lancaster, for
an invention of " a method of engraving and etching on cylindri-
cal surfaces for printing and other purposes."
To John Christophers of New Broad Street, in the city of London,
merchant, for " an invention of an improvement or improve-
ments on anchors."
May 7- To Miles Berry of 66. Chancery Lane, in the parish of Saint An-
drew, Holborn, in the county of Middlesex, civil engineer and
patent agent, in consequence of a communication from a foreigner
residing abroad, of an invention " for certain improvements in the
construction of weighing machines."
16. To Thomas John Fuller of the Commercial Road, in the county of
Middlesex, civil engineer, for an invention of " an improvement
in the shape or form of nails, spikes, and bolts."

464 List of Patents granted in Scotland.

Ma} 16. To Thomas John Fuller of the Commercial Road, in the county of
Middlesex, civil engineer, for an invention of " an improvement
or impovements in machinery or apparatus for making or manu-
facturing of nails."
20. To Janet Taylor of East Street, Red Lion Square, in the county
of Middlesex, for an invention of " improvements in instruments
for measuring angles and distances applicable to nautical and other
purposes."

To George Washington Wildes of Coleman Street, in the city of
London, merchant, in consequence of a communication made to
him by a certain foreigner resident abroad, of an invention " for
certain improvements in machinery for cutting marble and other
stones, and cutting or forming mouldings or groovings thereon."

To John Paterson Reid, of the city of Glasgow, merchant and power-
loom manufacturer, and Thomas Johnson, of the said city of Glas-
gow, mechanic, in the employment of John and Archibald Reid,
of the said city of Glasgow, power-loom manufacturer^ for an in-
vention of " certain improvements applicable to certain looms for
weaving different sorts of cloth."

26. To Benjamin Dobson of Bolton le Moors, in the county of Lancas-

ter, machinist, and John Sutcliff and Richard Threlfall, both of
the same place, mechanics, for an invention of " certain improve-
ments in machinery for roving and spinning cotton and other
fibrous materials."
June 14. To Henry Pinkus, lately of Pennsylvania, in the United States of
North America, but now of Wigmore Street, Cavendish Square,
gentleman, for an invention of " an improved method of, or appa-
ratus for, communicating and transmitting or extending motive
power, by means whereof carriages or waggons may be propelled
on railways or common roads, and vessels may be propelled on ca-
nals."
23. To William Morgan of the Kent Road, in the county of Surry, Esq.
for an invention of " improvements in certain kinds of steam-
engines."
To Philip Augustus de Chapeaurouge of Fenchurch Street, in the
city of London, gentleman, in consequence of a communication
made to him by a certain foreigner residing abroad, for " an inven-
tion for producing motive power, which he denominates a self-act-
ing motive power, and called in France by the inventor * volant
moteur perpetuel.' "

27. To Henry Hardingham Legget of Fulham, in the county of Mid-

dlesex, gentleman, for an invention of " certain improvements in
the art of printing in colours."

To Matthew Bush of Dalmonarch Printfield, near Bonhill, by Dum-
barton, North Britain, calico-printer, for an invention of " certain
improvements in machinery or apparatus for dyeing and printing
calicoes and other fabrics."

To Thomas Alcock, of the parish of Claines, in the county of Wor-

List of Patents g^ranted in Scotlmid, 4^5

cester, lace-manufacturer, for an invention of '^ certain improve-
ments in machinery for making lace or net, commonly called bob-
bin-net lace, part of which improvements will enable such machi-
nery to produce ornamental bobbin.net lace."
July 11. To Thomas Sharp, merchant, and Richard Roberts, engineer, both
of Manchester, in the county Palatine of Lancaster, in conse-
quence of a communication from a foreigner resident abroad, for
an invention of " certain improvements in machinery for grinding
com and other materials."
17. To Charles Wilson of Kelso, in the county of Roxburgh, in that
part of the united kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called
Scotland, for an invention of certain improvements applicable " to
the machinery used in the preparation for spinning wool and other
fibrous substances."

To William Septimus Losh of Walker, in ^the county of Northum-
berland, gentleman, for " an improved method of bleaching cer-
tain animal fats, and certain animal, vegetable, and fish oils."

To Joseph Shee of Laurence Pountney Place, in the county of
London, gentleman, for an invention of " certain improvements
in distillation.*'

To James Hamilton of Threadneedle Street, in the city of London,
civil-engineer, for an invention of " certain improvements in ma-
chinery for sawing, boring, and manufacturing wood, applicable to
various purposes."

21. To John Aston of Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, button-

maker, for an invention of " an improvement in the manu&cture
or construction of buttons."
To John Gold of Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, glass-
cutter, for an invention of " certain improvements in cutting,
grinding, smoothing, polishing, or otherwise preparing glass-decan-
ters, and certain other articles."

22. To Peter Wright, of the city of Edinburgh, manufacturer, for an

invention of " an improved method of spinning, twisting, and
twining cotton, flax, silk, wool, or any other suitable substance."

25. To Isaac Jacks junior of Bennet's Hill, in the city of London, gen-
tleman, for an invention of " an apparatus or machine for putting
or drawing on or off boots."

30. To Luke Hebert of the Hampstead road, in the county of Middle-
sex, civil-engineer, for an invention of " certain improvements in
machines or apparatus for and in the process of manufacturing
bread and biscuits from grain."
Aug. 1 . To Richard Simpson, late of Rouen, in the kingdom of France,
but now residing in Southampton Row, Bloomsbury, in the county
of Middlesex, gentleman, for an invention communicated to him
by a foreigner then resident in France, of " certain improvements
in machinery for slubbing and roving wool and cotton.
5. To William Higgins of Salford, in the county of Lancaster, ma-
chine maker, in consequence of communications made to him by a

466 List q/' Patents granted in Scotland.

foreigner residing abroad, for " certain improvements in machi-
nery used for making twisted rovings and yam of cotton, flax, silk>
wool, and other fibrous substances."
Aug. 5. To Henry Ewbank of Idol Lane, in the city of London, merchant,
in consequence of a communication made to him by a certain fo-
reigner residing abroad, for an invention for " dressing rough rice
or paddy, and certain other grain, by rubbing off its skin or pelli-
cle, and redressing or cleansing rice.'*
6. To Daniel Ledsam and William Jones, both of Birmingham, in the
county of Warwick, screw-manufacturers, for an invention of
" certain improvements in machinery for making pins, needles,
rivets, wood-screws, and nails.'*

18. To John Rapson of Penryn, in the county of Cornwall, engineer,

for an invention of " an improved apparatus for facilitating the
steering of vessels of certain descriptions."

26. To William Hale of Colchester, in the county of Essex, engineer,
for an invention of " certain improvements in or on wind-mills,
which improvements are applicable to other purposes."

29. To Joseph Whitworth of Manchester, in the county palatine of
Lancaster, machinist, for an invention of " certain improvements
in machinery or apparatus for cutting screws."
Sept. 12. To John George Bodmer of Bolton le Moors, in the county pala-
tine of Lancaster, civil- engineer, for an invention of " certain im-
provements in the construction of grates, stoves, and furnaces, ap-
plicable to steam-engines and many useful purposes."
To John George Bodmer of Bolton le Moors, in the county pala-
tine of Lancaster, civil-engineer, for an invention of " certain im-
provements in steam-engines and boilers applicable both to fixed
and locomotive engines."

19. To James Berrie and David Anderson, both of the city of Glasgow,

in Scotland, manufacturers, for an invention of " a machine or
machines for making a new or improved description of heddles or
healds to be used in weaving."

INDEX

Agassiz, L. his Recherches sur les Poissons Fossiles, 460

Agriculture, Elements of, by Professor Low, 459

Anderson, G. and P., their Guide to the Highlands and Islands of
Scotland, &c. 459

Animalcules, natural history of, by Andrew Pritchard, 204

Aniqials depicted on antique monuments, by M. Marcell de Serres,
268

Arago, M., on double stars, 1

Arnott, G. A. Walker, on new genera of plants, 260

Arts, useful, reports on the progress of the, by Mr Sang, 321

Association, British, address to the, by Professor Forbes, 247 — Pro-
ceedings of, 369

Astronomy, 364

Boase, Dr, on primary geology, 459

Boue, Dr, on the theory of the elevation of mountain chains, as ad-
vocated by M. Elie de Beaumont, 123

Botany of the Himalayan Mountains, by J. F. Royle, Esq. noticed,
204

Brain, observations on the structure of the, 183

Brown, T., Esq. his remarks on the remains of a very large oak
tree, 53 — on the ancient Caledonian Forest, 57

Burdiehouse, notice of further discoveries at, by Dr Hibbert, 196

Cetacea, on some of the, by Professor Traill, 177

Chameleon, on the change of colour in the, by H. M, Edwards, Esq.

313
City, freedom of the, of Edinburgh, conferred on M. Arago, &c. 449
Connell, Arthur, Esq. description and analysis of a mineral from

Faroe, 198

Davy, John, M. D., his observations on an error in the Bakerian
lecture of Sir H. Davy, pointed out by M. A. Von Beck, 42 —
observations on euchlorine, 49 — experiments on silicated fluoric
acid gas, 243

4(J8 INDEX.

Don, David, Esq. his attempt at a new arrangement of the Erica-
ceae, 150 4
Dutrochet, M., on the origin of mbuldiness, 305

Earthquake, notice of an, in South America, 202

-^— — notice of an, at Saena in Peru, by B. J. Reid, Esq., 174

Edwards, H. M., Esq. on the changing colour in the chameleon,

313. \

Eisdale, Rev. E., his observations on ground ice, 167
Euchlorine, observations on, by Dr Davy, 49

Forbes^ Professor, his address to the British Association, 247
Forest, Ancient Caledonian, remarks on the, by T. Brown, Esq. 7^
Fossil fishes, observations on the, lately found in Orkney, by Dr

Trail, 195
Fringes, coloured, on a new species of, by Mungo Ponton, Esq. 191

Galbraith, William, A. M. on Workman's correction of middle lati-
tude sailing, 1 80 — Mathematical and Astronomical Tables, se-
cond edition, 203

Geology, Primaryjr' by Henry S. Boasc, M . D. 459

Glands, on the structure and uses of the mammary, of the cetacea,
by Professor Traill, 363

Graham, Dr, his description of new or rare plants, 189

Green, George, Esq. his researches on the vibratipps of the pendulum
in fluid mediums, 194

Greenock, Right Honourable Lord, his observations on the igneous
rocks of the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, and their relations to
the secondary strata, 193

Greenough, George Bellas, Esq. his remarks on the theory of the
elevation of mountains, 205

Ground-ice, observations on, by the Rev. Mr Eisdale, 163

Harlan, Dr, his critical notices of various organic remains, 342
Harris, William Snow, Esq. on tli£ investigation of magnetic inten-
sity by the oscillations of a horizontal needle, 196
Heat, on the influence of colour on, by Professor Powell, 228
Hibbert, Dr, his notice of further discoveries" at Burdiehouse, 196
Hygrometer, observations on the, 331

Iguanodon, discovery of the bones of the, near Maidstone, Kent,
communicated by Gideon Mantell, Esq. 200

INDEX. 469

India, Illustrations of the Botany of, by J. F. Royle, Esq. 204

Low, Professor, his Elements of Agriculture, 359
Lyell, Charles, Esq. on the loamy deposit called ^' Loess " of the
Basin of the Rhine, 110

Magnetic intensity, on the investigation of, by the oscillations of a
horizontal needle, by W. J. Harris, Esq. 196

experiments on, by Dr Traill, 197

Malaria, on, 161

Mantell, Gideon, Esq. on the discovery of bones of the iguanodon
in a quarry of Kentish rag, near JVIaidstone, Kent, 200

Meikle, H., Esq. on finding the dew-point, &c. from the cold in-
duced by the evaporation of water, 98

Mesolite, analysis of an Indian specimen of, by Robert D. Thomson,
M. D. 186

Mouldiness, on the origin of, by M. Dutrochet, 305

Mountains, elevation of, remarks on the theory of the, by George
Bellas Greenough, Esq. 205

Mountain chains, elevation of, on the theory of the, as advocated by
M. Elie de Beaumont, by Dr Boue, 123

Oak tree, remarks on the remains of a very large, by T. Brown,

Esq. 53
Observatory, Edinburgh, letter to the editor on the, 451

Patents, list of, 461

Pendulums, vibrations of, in fluid mediums, by George Green, Esq,

194
Phillips' new work on Geology, 462

Plants, on new genera of, by G. A. Walker- Arhot, Esq. 260
Poissons Fossiles, Recherches sur les, par L. Agassiz, 460
Ponton, Mungo, Esq. on a new species of coloured fringes, 191
Powell, Professor, on the influence of colour on heat, 228
Pritchard, Andrew, Esq. on the natural history of animalcules, 204

Reid, John, Esq. his notice of an earthquake at Saena in Peru, 174
Remains, organic, critical notices of various, by Dr Harlan, 242
Royal Society of Edinburgh, proceedings of the, 191
Koyle, J. F. Esq. his Illustrations of the Botany of the Himalayan
Mountains, noticed, 204

Sang, Mr, on the progress of the useful arts, 321

VOL. XVII. NO. XXXIV. — OCTOBER 1834. r i

1.1

4?0 INDEX.

Scotland, Guide to the Highlands of, by G. and P. Anderson, 459
Seiches, on the, of the lake of Geneva, 285
Silicated fluoric acid gas, experiments on,, by Dr Davy, 243
Society of Arts, proceedings of.

Stark, James, M. D. his experiments regarding the influence of co-
lour on heat, &c. 65

Table, geological, by R. I. Murchison, Esq. 3G5

Tables, mathematical and astronomical, by Wm. Galbraith, Esq. 203

Thomson, Robert D., M. D. his analysis of an Indian specimen of
mesolite, 186

Traill, Professor, ou some cetacea 177 — his observations on the fossil
fishes lately found in Orkney, 195 — his experiments on mag-
netic intensity, 197 — on the structure and uses of the mammary
glands of the cetacea, 363

Wernerian Natural History Society, premiums ofl^ered by the, 195