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EDINBURGH NEW
PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL.
hipaa 7’
ce A a UC i EAP t
ral
THE
EDINBURGH NEW
PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL,
EXHIBITING A VIEW OF THE
PROGRESSIVE DISCOVERIES AND IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE
CONDUCTED BY
ROBERT JAMESON,
REGIUS PROFESSOR OF NATURAL HISTORY, LECTURER ON MINERALOGY, AND KEEPER OF
THE MUSEUM IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH;
Fellow of the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh ; Honorary Member of the Royal Irish Academy ; of the
Royal Society of Sciences of Denmark ; of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Berlin ; of the Royal Academy of
Naples ; of the Geological Society of France; Honorary Member of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta; Fellow of
the Royal Linnean, and of the Geological Societies of London ; of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, and
of the Cambridge Philosophical Society ; of the Antiquarian, Wernerian Natural History, Royal Medical, Royal
Physieal, and Horticultural Societies of Edinburgh ; of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland ; of
the Antiquarian and Literary Society of Perth; of the Statistical Society of Glasgow ; of the Royal Dublin
Society ; of the York, Bristol, Cambrian, Whitby, Northern, and Cork Institutions ; of the Natural History So-
ciety of Northumberland, Durham, and Newcastle ; of the Imperial Pharmaceutical Society of Petersburgh ; of
the Natural History Society of Wetterau ; of the Mineralogical Society of Jena ; of the Royal Mineralogical So-
ciety of Dresden ; of the Natural History Society of Paris ; of the Philomathie 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 Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanical Arts ; of the Geological
Society of Pennsylvania ; of the Boston Society of Natural History of the United States ; of the South African
Institution of the Cape of Good Hope ; Honorary Member of the Statistical Society of France ; Member of the
Entomological Society of Stettin, &c. &c. &e.
OCTOBER 1847 .... APRIL 1848.
VOI XIV.
TO BE CONTINUED QUARTERLY.
EDINBURGH :
ADAM & CHARLES BLACK, EDINBURGH:
LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN & LONGMANS, LONDON.
1848.
ee
EDINBURGH:
PRINTED BY NEILL AND COMPANY, OLD FISHMARKET,
Art. I.
Il.
Ill.
EY:
CONTENTS.
An Attempt to classify the Phenomena in the Glens
On
of Lochaber with those of the Diluvium, or Drift,
which covers the face of the Country. By Sir G.
S. MackENzIE, “Bart, FRS., V.P.R.S.E., &c.
With a Map. Communicated by the Author,
the Comparative Physical Geography of the
Arabian Frontier of Egypt, at the earliest Epoch
of Egyptian history, and at the present time. By
Miss Fanny Corpaux. With Two Plates. Com-
municated by the Authoress,
On the Specific Gravity of the Water of the Sea off
the Coast of British Guiana. By Joun Davy,
M.D., F.R.S., Lond. & Ed., Inspector-General of
Army Hospitals, &c. Communicated in a Letter
addressed to Professor JAMESON,
the Urinary Secretion of certain Animals, consi-
dered in connection with their Temperature, Food,
&c. By Joun Davy, M.D., F.R.S., Lond. &
Ed., &c.,
PAGE
13
43
46
il CONTENTS.
PAGE
V. Observations on the Petrifaction of Shells in the Me-
diterranean. By MM. Marcer pre Serres and
L. Ficurer, : : ; ‘ ‘ 9 200
I. On the mode in which Organic Bodies became Petri-
fied in Historical and Geological Eras, . 2 50
II. Facts which prove that Petrifactions are now forming
in the bosom of existing seas, analogous to those of
Geological times, : : ; . ; 53
‘III. On the progress and different degrees of the Petrifac-
tion of Shells, . ‘ F ; : : 55
IV. On the Chemical Composition of Shells, considered in
a fresh and also in a petrified state, during Histo-
ricaland Geological times, . : . : 58
Table of Analyses of Living Shells, and of such as
have been petrified in Geological and Historical
eras, : ; ‘ ; ‘ : ‘ 59
Of the Shelly Sandstones now forming in the Medi-
terranean, : - : : : . 61
V. Have the Physical Phenomena of the Ancient World
any Analogy with the Phenomena now taking place? 63
Conclusions, ° : r é = ; 64
VI. On the Silurian Rocks of Bohemia, with a few Re-
marks on the Devonian Rocks of Moravia, in a
Letter to Professor LEonnarp from Sir RopEricx
I. Murcuison. With a Plate. Communicated
in Manuscript by the Author, through M. Lron-
HARD, for the Edinburgh New Philosophical
Journal, . : ‘ A : : ~) 2166
VII. On the Height of the Aurora Borealis, By G. A.
RoweEt., . : : : ; : so ao
VIII. On the Aurora Borealis. By G. A. Rowext, « ee
IX. Biographical Sketch of the celebrated ALEXANDER
BRONGNIART, 4 : F : * 3 = OZ
XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
»
XVI.
Sy iT:
XVIII.
CONTENTS.
. On the Changes of the Vegetable Kingdom in the
different Geological Epochs. By M. Apo.pHe
BRONGNIART,
Observations on the Relative Position of the Forma-
tions of the Western Swiss Alps, and of the Alps
of Savoy. By Professor Favre,
A Description of the Glaciers of the Pindur and
Kuphinee Rivers in the Kumaon-Himalaya. By
Lieut. R. Srracney, Bengal Engineers,
Note on the Temperature of the Spider; and on the
Urinary Excretion of the Scorpion and Centipede.
By Joun Davy, M.D., F.R.S., Lond. and Edin.,
Inspector-General of Army Hospitals,
Description of a new Pyrometer. By Mr Atex.
Miter, Liverpool. With a Plate. Communi-
cated by the Author,
Meeting of Association of American Geologists and
Naturalists, held at Boston, September 27, 1847,
On the Zeuglodon—Koch’s Hydrarchos,
On the Malayan and Polynesian Languages and Races.
By Joun Crawrurp, Esq., F.R.S.L., Conductor
of the Embassy to Siam. Communicated by the
Ethnological Society for the Edinburgh New Phi-
losophical Journal,
Notice of some Plants which have flowered recently in
the Edinburgh Botanic Garden. By J. H. Bat-
rour, M.D., Professor of Botany in the University
of Edinburgh. Communicated by the Author,
ili
PAGE
97
101
108
123
126
131
152
155
200
iv CONTENTS.
PAGE
XIX. Memoir on the Changes in the mean direction of the
Wind, in the Annual Period, in North America.
By M. Dove, . : 1 ‘ : . 205
XX. New Diluvian Formation of the Vosges, ; 207
On Artificial Quartz—Llamas and Alpacas in Holland—Diseases arising
during the manufacture of Brussels Lace.
Paris Academy of Sciences.—Dec. 6.—M. Ebelmen submitted to the Academy
some specimens of artificial quartz. Amongst them are some to which he has
given various tints by mixing colouring substances with the silicic acid. The
specimens impregnated with chloruret of gold are remarkably beautiful. At
the end of a certain time the chloruret of gold is decomposed, and streaks of
gold appear in the entire mass, The decomposition is accelerated by the action
of the solar light, and under its influence also bright colours are obtained—
sometimes blue, sometimes red, and sometimes violet, By a modification of his
process, M. Ebelmen obtains a true natural mineral, the hydrophane, It is a
siliceous, porous, and opaque substance, which becomes perfectly diaphanous as
soon as it is plunged in water. M.Ebelmen has ascertained that this substance
absorbs gases a8 powerfully as charcoal— A communication was received from
M. Christian Bonafoux, giving an account of the attempt made, by order of the
King of Holland, to acclimatize the llamas and alpacas of Chili. Four years
ago thirty-four of these animals, males and females, were imported into Hol-
land, and put into the royal park, Scheviningen, near the Hague, where they
have propagated freely. The climate does them no injury, and they merely
seek the shelter prepared for them when there is snow on the ground.—M.
Gaudichaud laid before the Academy his opinion on the disease which has lately
been so destructive to the potato.—M. Blanchet gave an account of the serious
consequences resulting from the process of whitening Brussels lace to the per-
sons employed init. In this process the carbonate of lead is used; anda large
portion of it is carried into the atmosphere, where it is inhaled, and thus pro-
duces a serious affection of the intestines. Itis also very injurious to the sight
and to the hearing.—M. Leroy D’Etiolles submitted a new and improved litho-
tritic instrument.—Athenceum, No. 1051, p. 1306.
Miss F. CorBAvx’s Coloured Map of Egypt will be given
in next Number.
CONTENTS.
Art. I. On the Comparative Geography of the Arabian
Frontier of Egypt, at the earliest Epochs of
Egyptian history, and at the present time. With
a Map. By Miss Fanny Corpaux. Communi-
cated by the Authoress. Continued from page
42,
IJ. The Bubis, or Edeeyah of Fernando Po. By THomAs
R. Heywoop Tuomson, M.D. Communicated
to the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal by
the Ethnological Society of London, ,
Supplement.—_Upon the Edeeyah Vocabulary of
Thomas R. Heywood Thomson, M.D. By R. E.
Lartuam, M.D., : : :
III. On the Gamboge of the Tenasserim Provinces. By
the Rev. F. Mason, A.M.,
IV. On the Distribution of the different species of Rocks
in the Erratic Basin of the Rhone. By M. A.
Guyot. Communicated by the Author,
V. Latitudinal Distribution of Reptiles inhabiting the
Malayan Peninsula and Islands, and other locali-
ties. By Turopore Cantor, M.D., Bengal Me-
dical Service,
Altitudinal Distribution of Reptiles inhabiting the Ma-
Jayan Peninsula and Islands, and other localities,
PAGE
209
232
244
246
249
CONTENTS.
c PAGE
VI. Gutta Percha. By Tuomas Oxy, Esq., A.B.,
Senior Surgeon of the Settlement of Prince of
Wales Island, Singapore, and Malacca, . +, 286
Properties of the Gutta, . : : : »- 290
VII. On the Use of Gutta Percha in Electrical Insulation.
By Micuart Farapay, F.R.S., Foreign Asso-
ciate of the Academy of Sciences, &c., . . 295
VIII. Communications respecting Scandinavia. In a Let-
ter from Herr Kart Bruner Jun., to Professor
SrupER, . : d : ; 3 ee |
On the Metamorphoses of Rocks, ‘ 2 -| 998
On the Erratic Phenomena, : . ; - S08
IX. On the Use of the Marine Hydrometer. By Grorce
Bucuanan, Civil Engineer, F.R.S.E., President
of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts. Commu-
nicated by the Royal Scottish Society of Arts, 307
X. On the Normal presence of different Metals in the
Human Blood, . ; 2 : : 1 809
XI. On procuring Crystallisations in the Dry Way, as
explained in a Memoir laid before the French
» Academy of Sciences, and reported on by MM.
Beupant, BertHier, and Durrenoy. By M.
EBELMEN, : : : : ; Sol
XII. Zoological Researches. By Professor Acassiz, 316
XIII. Topography of the Pennine Alps, and Primitive Site
of the Principal Species of Rocks found in an er-
ratic state in the Basin of the Rhone. By M. A.
Guyor. Communicated by the Author, . otf
XIV. On Shooting Stars. By Sir J. W. Luszock, Bart., 330
XV. Further Progress of Mr Jameson’s great Tea-Plant-
ing Operations in India, under the Patronage and
Direction of the Honourable The East India Com-
pany, J , : : 3 : : 932
CONTENTS. ili
PAGE
XVI. A Discourse on Draining and Irrigation, delivered be-
fore the General Agricultural Society of Barba-
does, at its Fourth Half-yearly Meeting, on the
22d of December 1847. By Joun Davy, M.D.,
F.R.S., Inspector-General of Army Hospitals,
Honorary Member of the Society. Communicated
by the Author, . : : ; : . 336
XVII. The Present Condition of the Indian Archipelago, 348
XVIII. On Mineral Metamorphism, : : ; . 364
Metamorphism, Definition, t : . 864
Metamorphosis of Rocks by Heat and Peace, 865
Metamorphosis of Rocks by Vapours, . : : 868
Metamorphosis of Rocks by Injection, 4 369
General Metamorphic Processes, : = : 370
Massive Rocks, s = B71
XIX. Tabular View of au econ of Minerals, founded
on Physical and Chemical Characters.. By Pro-
fessor JAMESON, te . : 5 Be
XX. Notice of Plants which have flowered recently in the
Royal Botanic Garden, and other Gardens near
Edinburgh. By J. H. Batrour, M.D., F.L.S.,
Professor of Botany in the University of Edin-
bargh, Communicated by the Author, . ole
XXI. Abstract of Meteorological Observations for 1847,
made at Applegarth, Dumfriesshire. By Rev.
Wn. Dunzsar, D.D., . i ; : . 383
XXII. Screntiric INTELLIGENCE :—
ANTHROPOLOGY.
1. Ona Universal Language. 2. Caffers described. 3.
Hottentots described. 4. Fingoes described. 5.
“ Ceaird” the Celtic appellation for “ Gypsies.” 385—387
ZOOLOGY.
6. On the Skulls of adult and aged Male and Female
Chimpanzees. 7. Voices of Birds, - : - 388
BOTANY.
8. Distribution of Plants, } ; - » $889
GEOLOGY,
9. Geology and Physieal History of the Globe. 10. De-
composition of Rocks, 11. On the Position in the
iv CONTENTS.
PAGE
Cretaceous Series of Beds containing Phosphates of
Lime. By R. A. Austen, Esq. 12. On the Presence
of Phosphoric Acid in the Subordinate Members of the
Chalk Formation. By J.C. Nisbet. 13. On the Fossil
Remains of Birds, collected in various parts of New
Zealand. By W. G. Mantell, Esq, 14. On the Orga-
nic Remains found in the Skiddaw Slate; with some
Remarks on the Classification of the Older Rocks of
Cumberland and Westmoreland. By the Rey. Pro-
fessor Sedgwick. 15. Coral Island. 16. Vale of
Sharon, . 5 ‘ : : : 390-397
HYDROGRAPHY.
17. Gradual Diminution of Temperature of the Air and
the Sea as we approach the Land, : 5 5 ESOT
ARTS,
18. On the Curiosities of Glass Manufacture. By Mr
A, Pellatt. 19. House-Painting. 20. Preparation of
a Substitute for Horn. By M. Rochon, 21. On the
Colouring Principles of some of the Lichens. By Dr
J. Stenhouse. 22. Stereochromy. 23. Melon Wine,
398-402
XXIII. New Publications received, : : : . 408
XXIV. List of Patents granted for Scotland from 22d Decem-
ber 1847 to 22d March 1848, s ‘ . 405
INDEX, : 4 : ; : : . 409
TO CORRESPONDENTS.
We regret that the very interesting letters on Dolomization, addressed to M.
De Beaumont, by M. De Morlot, and sent by the author to us through Dr Boue,
did not reach Edinburgh in time for the present number of our Journal.
ERRATA.
Page 82 line 34, for was to seen read was seen, or, was to be seen
83 — 37, for on which read in which
84 — 5, for 80° read 18°
88 bottom line, for or 8 or 9 miles xead and 8 or 9 miles
89 — for such little appearance read such appearance
THE
EDINBURGH NEW
PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL.
An Attempt to classify the Phenomena in the Glens of Lochaber
with those of the Diluvium, or Drift, which covers the face of
the Country. By Sir G. 8S. Mackernzin, Bart., F.R.S.,
V.P.R.S.E., &e. With a Map. Communicated by the
Author.
‘THE notion respecting the origin of the terraces or shelves
in the Glens of Lochaber, which was entertained on their
being first discovered, viz :—that they were productions of
art, is scarcely worthy of being mentioned, except for the
purpose of remarking as singular, that they still retain the
name of “the Parallel Roads,” indicating that the impression
of their being artificial had been exceedingly strong. When
it came to be universally admitted that the formation of the
shelves was natural, and that the operating power had been
water, difficulties presented themselves in every inquiry into
the mode in which the water had been brought to act, and
into that by which it had been removed. Geologists are as
far from coming to an agreement as ever; and the interest
in the phenomena is reviving.
It is now more than twelve years since I briefly announced
in Sir David Brewster’s Philosophical Journal, a new expla-
nation of the origin of these terraces, which occurred to me
during a conversation with him, when he resided on the banks
of the Spey. In January, 1842, I read a more extended ac-
count of my views before the Royal Society of Edinburgh,
in which I noticed Mr Darwin’s theory; but I delayed to
publish my observations, in the expectation of being able to
VOL. XLIV. NO. LXXXVII.—JAN. 1848. A
2 On the Shelves of Lochaber.
collect additional facts to support my ideas. During the
time that has since elapsed, the observations of geologists
of the travelled and water-worn materials which so abun-
dantly cover the globe, have been considerably extended ;
and the results have contributed to confirm me in the belief
that my explanation was well-founded. Mr David Milne
has made an extensive and careful examination of the Loch-
aber phenomena, and has given the result of it to the public
in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and
in Jameson’s Journal. As all that he has decribed appears
to me to favour my own views, a nearer approach to truth
may be made, if I now submit these views to the considera-
tion of those who take an interest in the discussion.
Every one who proposes a new theory being bound to shew
that preceding ones are insufficient, Mr Milne has entirely
set aside that of Mr Darwin. I should not, therefore, now
notice the theory of the latter gentleman, were it not to point
out that an objection he stated, unfounded, against mine, is
applicable to his own, though it has been received with much
favour by the English geologists; and perhaps the ease with
which he rejects the theories of others, without taking the
trouble to disprove them, may have contributed to gain the
favour of those who are more accustomed to the simple effort
of describing facts, than to the more complicated one of ac-
counting for them. Mr Darwin appealed to Dr MacCulloch’s
elaborate argument to shew that no sudden change could have
taken place in their formation ; and against the objection that,
as the shelves were separated from each other by considera-
ble distances, a sudden movement in the rising of the land
was necessary to the formation of each shelf, Mr Darwin af-
firmed that the force which acted upwards pushed up only the
space occupied by the shelves, and, of course, he imagines it to
have been so carefully regulated as to preserve them un-
broken. If the space including these shelves had been ex-
clusively elevated somewhere about 1800 feet above the level
of the sea, it is singular that Mr Darwin did not seek for,
find, and point out, the boundary of the elevated space, since
. it ought to stand out clear of the surrounding country from
which it had been separated. One would imagine, that the
‘
On the Shelves of Lochaver. 2
shock necessary for such a separation would have effec-
tually disturbed, if not obliterated, the parallel shelves.
How Mr Darwin could adopt such an idea, after affirming
that no sudden change could have taken place, I am at a loss
to understand.
Mr Milne’s theory requires a more detailed examination ;
and, fully sensible of this, I went to Lochaber shortly after
his paper was read before the Royal Society of Edinburgh ;
and while I found a confirmation of the objections that had
occurred, | met with nothing which did not appear to con-
firm my own views. I am not, however, so unphilosophically
wedded to them as to imagine they will withstand the as-
saults which the observation of others may enable them to
make on them. At all events, the time has not yet come for
the final settlement of any physico-geological question.
Mr Milne goes back to a period long antecedent to the
formation of the shelves, in order to pave the way for them ;
and if I have not rightly understood him, the fault must rest
with me ; for, both in conversation and correspondence, he
has, with the greatest readiness, answered every question.
He has, too, materially helped in the construction of the map,
so that by its assistace both of us may be ae understood
than we would have been without it.
Mr Milne assumes—
1. That our island had been submerged in the ocean, where
it acquired its present aspect.
2. That during the period of submergence, the hollows be-
tween the mountains were filled with boulder clay, gravel,
sand, mud, &c.
3. That after the hollows were filled the land began to rise.
These three conditions are preliminary to the action by
which the existence of the shelves is attempted to be ex-
plained. They involve some important considerations, ren-
dering some special hypothesis necessary for their explana-
tion. We may pass over the first assumption; but the
second scems to require some consideration before it can be
atlmitted as a postulate. The hollows between the moun-
tains are all filled up; and the mass of loose matter employ- -
ed for that purpose is far too great for being collected by any
+ On the Shelves of Lochaber.
ordinary natural cause. We see indications of great violence
in the rounding of large boulders, and in the reduction of
rock to the state of gravel and sand. To render his theory
complete, Mr Milne should, perhaps, have instructed us
whence, and by what means, the loose materials were brought
to fill up the valleys. An appeal has no doubt been made to
oceanic currents. I am not, however, aware of any known
current that proceeds at such a rate as to enable it to carry
boulders and gravel along with it. An extraordinary force
appearing requisite, its nature and origin should have been
explained, before its effects were assumed hypothetically. In
Mr Milne’s paper, on page 410 of the 16th volume of the
Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and page
355 of Jameson’s Journal for July and October 1847, we
find him thus expressing himself :—‘‘ These facts, taken in
connection with the undoubted fact that detrital matter has
been spread over Scotland, to a height of at least 1500 feet
above the sea, pretty clearly indicate that detrital matter not
only may have been, but actually was spread over the Loch-
aber district, and filled its several valleys to the height of at
least the highest of the Glen-Roy shelves, thus affording am-
ple blockage for its lakes.”’
We have now an extensive mountainous district under the
sea, having its valleys filled with detritus to a specified ele-
vation. It is next to be raised out of the water by a process
so carefully managed, that the levels and parallelism of the
shelves, to be formed one after the other as the land rose,
were not to be disturbed. Supposing the land elevated to
the height necessary to lay the surface of the detritus dry,
we have then a desert plain, extending some hundreds of
square miles. We may next suppose that water issued from
some points of the higher ground, to the amount of the
existing streams, and inquire to what quarter it was to
flow in order to join the sea? According to the theory
under examination, the valleys were filled up with detritus
to the height of the highest shelf; consequently, there could
be no hollows for the formation of lakes, when the land was
raised so as to expose the surface of the detritus. Mr Milne
has not pointed out any limit to the detritus. The water,
On the Shelves of Lochaber. 5
however, would find its way to whatever point of the com-
pass the surface might lean, and however tortuous the course.
Every one who has observed the action of rivers on loose
materials knows that when a stream flows over an extended
surface, it cuts but little away, until it comes to an edge or
slope; and then it cuts backwards, throwing before it such
loose matter as it has power to move. This process is in-
compatible with the formation of a lake.. To form a shelf,
there must have been a considerable depth of water under
the line of surface where it was to be shaped out; but in the
case before us there could be no such thing.
Such, I conceive, to be the simple mechanical result of Mr
Milne’s filling the valleys with detritus. He makes no pro-
vision for hollows to form lakes ; but he evidently assumes
them, though inconsistently with the statement with which
he sets out. But I am not disposed thus to limit the theory
in question. I will admit that there were hollows left free
when the detritus filled the rest of the country. I will take
Glen-Roy as an example, and suppose that the detritus ex-
tended but a little way up the Glen, all the rest being empty.
Now, while the land was submerged, according to Mr
Milne’s hypothesis, what is now Glen-Roy must have formed
part of the bottom of the sea; and we cannot doubt that, in
such a case, it would be inhabited by marine animals com-
mon to the latitude. It is obvious that when the land rose
above the level of the sea, Glen-Roy would be, at first, a salt
water lake, and the creatures inhabiting it would be caught,
as it were, in a trap. The fresh water running into this
Jake would gradually free it from salt, and the animals would
perish. As the process of emptying the lakes is supposed
by Mr Milne to have been gradual, the remains of these ani-
mals, bones and shells, being uninjured and undisturbed,
ought to have been left behind in sufficient quantity to indi-
cate the catastrophe that had befallen them, just as we find
such exuvice in what are called elevated sea-beaches. No-
thing of the kind has hitherto been observed.
The chief difficulty which to me appears to meet Mr Milne's
theory is, howto getrid of the enormous mass of materials which
he has accummulated. For, to produce the shelves, to clear
6 On the Shelves of Lochaver.
the country so as to make it present its existing aspect, by
the means which nature has placed at his command, seems
to me an utter impossibility. There never could have been
any means consistent with his theory, other than the waters
issuing from the district. The Great Glen which is supposed
to have been filled along with the others, presents a special
difficulty in the great depth of its lakes. How this glen, and
the basins of the lakes were cleared out, Mr Milne leaves us
to conjecture. Until they were cleared out, there was no-
thing to direct us to the point where the Lochaber streams
might have reached the sea; and their courses are not un-
important to his theory. If we suppose the clearing of the
Great Glen to have been accomplished as far as its present
relative position to the level of the sea, it would still remain
to shovel out the detritus from its lake basins, to the depth
of some six or seven hundred feet; to a depth, indeed, ex-
ceeding that of the North Sea.
The foundation of Mr Milne’s theory does not admit of
barriers placed here and there as occasion might require.
The whole was filled with detritus to the height of the high-
est shelf, which must have been the highest level of the sup-
posed lake ; and if we admit of lakes at all, the water in them
must have been retained by a fall or slope of the great mass
covering the whole country. Let us, however, imagine a
barrier extending a mile or two across a valley, and of breadth
proportioned to its height. The operation of a stream, such
as that of the Roy, commencing its work at the top of the
barrier, would be to cut from the edge of the outer slope
backwards. After the cutting had proceeded to a certain
depth, the sides would fall in, giving the stream additional
labour to perform. This would, in course of time, be repeat-
ed, till the slope of the sides became sufficiently low to pre-
vent their falling in. Following out, then, the simple me-
chanical operation of water on masses of loose matter, and
considering the immense amount of such matter assumed by
Mr Milne, we must conclude that some traces of that aceu-
mulation, and some unequivocal marks of the progress of the
streams should have remained to this day, as well as the
Shelves. No such traces or marks appear; and I deny the
On the Shelves of Lochaber. 7
possibility of clearing the country of the assumed mass of
detritus, so as to give its present aspect, by the means which
nature has furnished. Supposing that such a mass had existed,
it may be asked, what has become of it? Have the streams
of the district such power as to warrant the idea that they
carried it back to the region whence it was brought? I can-
not think that any one who has seen them, even in a state of
flood, will answer in the affirmative.
I now proceed to state what I have long entertained as the
most probable cause of the production of the shelves.
It is now admitted, I may say almost universally, that the
evidence of water having flowed over the land, and in this
country in a direction from between west and north to be-
tween east and south, is complete. As we find detritus de-
posited at fully 1500 feet above the sea, the water which
carried it must have had its surface greatly more elevated.
Some suppose, as Mr Milne, that this deposition took place
while the surface was under the ocean. The permanency and
parallelism of the Lochaber shelves, together with all the phe-
nomena of the diluvium or drift, including the absence of
marine exuviz from the latter, persuade me irresistibly,
that when they were formed, the land had acquired its pre-
sent general relative position to the level of the sea; admit-
ting, nevertheless, that partial and local, though not exten-
sive, gradual elevations may have taken place. Every one
who has given attention to what goes on at the bottom of
rivers, on the margins of lakes, in estuaries, and on the sea
coast, knows that loose matter may assume under water
various forms, often fantastic, according to the direction,
foree, and interference of currents with each other. The ob-
servations made during a long series of years have not led
me to swerve from the conviction, that, after the land had
assumed its present aspect and position in relation to the
sea, or at the time when the land was broken up into its present
condition, a vast body of water has passed over it. It is little
short of half a century since Sir James Hall made me ac-
quainted with the facts which led him to the conclusions
which he published in the Edinburgh Transactions ; and no-
thing I haye seen or been informed of since has contributed
to change my views in reference to his conclusions; though
8 On the Shelves of Lochaber.
in regard to many other points of geology, I may declare, as
the last survivor of the old Huttonian school, that I have
seen ample reason to call in other agents, besides those em-
ployed by that school, to account for them.
The apparent difficulty of assigning a cause for such a flood
as the debacle theory assumed, has. probably deterred many
from adopting it. Buta careful examination of effects, and
a patient investigation of their modifications, during the szdé-
sidence of such a flood, by the local configuration of the land,
might satisfy every observing mind that the flood had oc-
curred, whatever might have been its cause. We are satis-
fied with many things without pursuing a chain of causation
at all. Any one meeting with a stream of cold lava, or a
mountain composed of cinders and slags, though unacquaint-
ed with volcanic phenomena, concludes at once that heat had
dealt with them. So when we meet water-worn masses at
great elevations, we are satisfied that water had brought
them to their resting-place ; and we do not inquire either for
the cause of heat in the one case, or whence the water had
come in the other. In reference to our present subject, it is
not impossible to assign a cause sufficient to raise a wave vast
enough to break over the highest portions of our island. On
this subject I read a paper to the Royal Society of Edinburgh,
in February 1847; but it is unnecessary to enter into the
subject at present, farther than to state that, from various
facts which have presented themselves to their knowledge,
several of our most eminent geologists have expressed their
conviction that a continent existed in the space now occupied
by the Atlantic Ocean, of which the British islands, the Faroe
islands, and Iceland are remnants. The sudden sinking of
much less than the whole of such a continent, could be shewn
to be sufficient to raise a wave of ample dimensions to break
and flow over the British Islands, and to extend its influence
much farther. Assuming then that such a flood as the de-
bacle theory assumes had happened, I will now endeavour
to shew why I am of opinion that the shelves of Lochaber
are proofs of that theory.
Assuming what has in reality been proved, that the quar-
ter from whence the wave proceeded was as mentioned above,
On the Shelves of Lochaber. 9
let us carefully attend to a most important peculiarity con-
nected with the Lochaber glens, and which suggested the
theory to which I have been so long attached. It will be ob-
served, on inspecting the map, that Glen-Gluoy opens into
the Great Glen, its streams flowing into Loch-Lochy. Glen-
Roy, ineluding its offsets, opens into Glen-Spean, and the
latter opens towards the Great Glen.
The next fact to be kept in view is, that the Great Glen is
at a right angle with the direction of the flood, being NE.
and SW., the flood having passed from NW. to SE.
Let us néw suppose the flood passing over the land. As
soon as it subsided below the mountain tops, it would neces-
sarily be divided into currents and eddies, taking courses in-
to which the water would be forced by the opposing eleva-
tions ; and this circumstance should be kept in mind, when
the forms and position of drift matter are contemplated.
When the waters had subsided a little below the summit level
between Glen-Gluoy and Glen-Roy (1, on map, Plate I.), the
former would become, not precisely a lake, but an arm of
the waters, protected on all sides from violent agitation, and
in a condition to form the upper shelf, No. 1. which we find
coincident with the summit level. While the waters flowed
over this level into Glen-Roy, no shelf could have been form-
ed on account of the violence with which the water advanced.
The waters continuing to subside, as soon as the summit
level between Glen-Roy and the valley of the Spey (2.) be-
came exposed, this glen would become an extensive, and well
protected arm of the waters; and, accordingly, we find No.
2 formed a very little way below the second summit level.
I may here remark that the shelves should be found to ter-
minate near to the locality where it would appear the waters
continued to be greatly agitated ; and this is seen to be the
case.
Mr Milne, during his active researches, discovered a sum-
mit-level between the head of Glen-Glaster (3.), (a glen over-
looked by former observers,) and Glen-Spean ; and shelf No.
3, which had been a stumbling-block, is now found in cir-
cumstances precisely similar to those above it, in relation to
the summit-level.,
10 On the Shelves of Lochaber.
The next summit-level (No 4.) is that which separates
Glen-Spean, and all the comparatively low country extend-
ing from the eastern side of Ben Nevis to the mountains
forming the glens in question, from Strathspey. When the
waters had subsided below this level, all this district would
be filled with water little agitated, except in the vicinity of
the Great Glen, through which the waters must have con-
tinued to flow both towards the NH. and SW. Accordingly,
we find shelf No. 4. commencing at the summit-level, and
stretching towards the Great Glen, disappearing where we
may presume the waters were too much agitated to admit
the formation of a shelf. It should be observed that when-
ever the flow of water over a summit-level ceased, the sub-
sidence of the waters would be checked for a time, they hay-
ing to take a new and circuitous course, and thus ample time
would be afforded for the formation of a shelf.
Mr Darwin has remarked the probability that the forma-
tion of the shelves was somehow connected with these sum-
mit-levels ; and it appears to me that there cannot be a doubt
of the fact, that the nature of the connection is as I have
stated. It is clearly more natural that the waters had sub-
sided to the levels, than that the land was raised from the
sea ; for, in the latter case, it would have been necessary to
lift the land to a certain point, and then stop until the first
shelf was formed ; then to lift it again rapidly thatno formation
should take place during the interval, and to stop till the next
shelf was formed ; and so on—a process not likely to pre-
serve the levels. Itmust be remarked, too, that the shelves
are not shaped precisely as if the matter forming them had
been deposited by water in a state of absolute rest. Their
upper surfaces slope downwards, and the edges are rounded
off to the steeper slope, indicating the action of waves of con-
siderable power.
We have now seen the effects of the peculiarities of the
locality of Lochaber on the waters of the great flood, forcing
it to leave behind it traces of its action, having very marked
relations among themselves. These are altogether indepen-
dent of the effects of the flood in other localities (not having
similar peculiarities,) where we find the effects, as indicated
by the drift, to be precisely what we should expect from the
On the Shelves of Lochaver. 11
courses which the water must have taken through the valleys,
and from the eddies caused by the meetings of currents.
Wherever glens may exist having the same peculiarities, in
reference to the direction of the great flood, there we may
expect to find similar shelves. Partial appearances of shelves
may be seen here and there, which may not exactly accord
with the circumstances of those in Lochaber. But when we
contemplate the operations of such a flood as has been
supposed, and consider that its movements over the uneven
surface, and through the sinuosities of the land, must have
subjected it, and the materials carried along by it, to very
variable conditions, we may reasonably expect to find effects
which cannot instantly be accounted for. Many of the ter-
races we find in valleys have been formed in a manner differ-
ent from the operation of waves throwing materials against
aslope. It appears in many places that the gravel, sand, and
boulders have been deposited in the valleys so as to leave a flat
surface. As the waters subsided and formed powerful streams,
this flat surface has been cut through, and much of what had
been deposited carried away, leaving fiats, more or less ex-
tensive, with faces sloping towards the streams.
Another probable result of the passage of the flood may be
considered, in reference to those portions of the island
towards the eastern coast, which are open and comparative-
ly free of mountainous elevations. In such localities the
waters must have spread out, still, however, flowing and ed-
dying in its general direction, and retaining its general level.
Of this level, in its variations in elevation, wherever we may
suppose the water to have been more quiet, (as it must have
been in the Lochaber glens) we may expect to find traces.
If in the North Highlands and elsewhere there be spaces over
which the waters could spread, and be less agitated; or
glens, such as those of Lochaber, or others in which they were
confined, their general level and its traces would be the
same in all similar localities, though distant from each other.
I have only farther to observe, in reference to the attempt-
ed assimilation of the shelves and terraces we have been con-
sidering to sea-beaches, by Mr Darwin and others, that the
materials composing the former are the same with those
com posing the general diluvium or drift; whereas ewisting
12 On the Shelves of Lochaber.
sea-beaches—those formed, and forming under our eyes, are
very differently compounded, and generally different in form.
If any ordinary beach, on which the sea now operates, can
be shewn to possess characters in all respects the same with
the Glen-Roy shelves, and other shelves and terraces, then
there will be an end of the question. No advocate of the
beach theory has ever attempted this, so far as I know.
That shells may have been deposited by the operation of the
great flood at considerable elevations, and whales thrown up-
on the land in some localities on the east coast where their
exuvie had been found, I think may be shewn. Yet I by
no means deny the existence of facts tending to demonstrate
the partial elevation of the land. I myself saw, many years
ago, while wandering among the sandhills near Forres, and pro-
bably about ten or twelve feet above the sea, a beach which
was recognisable at a glance. But I must still maintain that
the sea-beach possesses characters that plainly distinguish
it, from shelves of diluvium. Until they be proved identical,
the theory of raised beaches, as applied to the Lochaber and
other shelves, cannot be supported. This proof is the very
first thing to be given to provide a foundation for the theory.
When it is made known where the proof is to be seen, I will,
if at all able, gladly travel to see it, and with sincere plea-
sure will acknowledge it.
I will conclude by remarking, that, if the conjecture be
correct (as I hold it to be) that a great Atlantic Continent
has disappeared, and that the British Islands are remnants
of it, one effect of sinking would necessarily have been to
lower the general level of the ocean. ‘This would afford
means of explaining the phenomena of what have been called
raised sea-beaches ; only the title would have to be changed,
the sea having left them.
Should these surmises mect the eyes of American geolo-
gists, they may consider whether the sinking of an Atlantic
Continent, and the consequent production of an enormous
wave, can account for the diluvial terraces in the western
hemisphere. The component parts of the diluvium in Ame-
rica should, in such a case, be nearly similar to those of the _
European ; for the loose matter in both must have been, in
great part, derived from the sunken surface.
auton)
On the Comparative Physical Geography of the Arabian Frontier
of Eqypt, at the earliest epoch of Egyptian history, and at the
present time. By Miss FANNY CorBAUX. With Two Plates.
Communicated by the Authoress.
The sections (Plate V.,) are constructed from the measurements of the I'rench
Scientific Survey, for which vide Descr. de ’Egypte, Et Mod., vol. xi., Journal
du Nivellement de l’Isthme. The degrees of the levelling operations are re-
tained in the diagram, to facilitate reference. They consist of French feet,
inches, and lines, reckoning downwards from an imaginary standard point, 150
feet above the high-water mark at Suez. The measures and calculations in the
memoir always suppose French feet, when it is not otherwise stated. This is to
avoid the confusion likely to arise from the use of two different standards.
Twelve French feet are about equal to thirteen English.
A comparative scale of the perpendicular and horizontal measurements is
given in the plate. In such a delineation, one cannot avoid giving a very ex-
aggerated idea of the heights as compared with the distances of the respective
points. To obtain a section on a true proportional scale, it would be necessary
to make it about 1500 times as long as the engraving, the height remaining the
same,
Introduction.
The geography of a country is often the index of its history.
Its physical peculiarities exercise a sensible influence in form-
ing the manners, customs, and character of its inhabitants,
and in regulating their internal and external policy. This
was peculiarly the case with ancient Egypt. Hemmed in on
all sides by natural barriers which no hostile neighbour could
overpass, we find all her historical remains testifying how,
from the remotest antiquity, she had cultivated the arts of
peace. The numerous Syrian tribes beyond her frontier had
not time to become nations. They wasted their energies in
mutual strife for small tracts of land; Egypt looked on, at-
tacked them, and seized the prize they were contending for ;
took to herself the lands and souls of her captives, and made
them the tools of her pride, in recording their own degrada-
tion on the walls of the gigantic monuments reared by their
forced labours.
On one side only was this favoured country open to foreign
intrusion ; her Arabian frontier. It seems to have been the
persevering aim of the rest of Egypt for cenvuries, to gain
possession of this tract, and to expel its early colonists, tribes
14 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
nearly allied to the Egyptians in blood, but who maintained
their simple pastoral habits and hardy independence to the
last. A race, who not only were able to resist Egypt for
several centuries, but even to subdue a considerable part of
that country for a time, as is recorded of these shepherd
people, must have been numerous; and their country could
not then have been the sandy, barren, and marshy desert that
we now find it. It must have possessed some very important
resources and advantages; for it was only after the expulsion
and dispersion of this people, that the power of Egypt began
to be felt externally, and soon reached its highest pitch of
eminence. Her commercial and military ascendency only then
passed the limits of her river, and began to exert its influence
over the rest of the known world. Not long afterwards, the
family of the patriarch Jacob went to settle in Egypt. The
country of “ the Goshen” must then have been very different
from what it appears to be, since Joseph availed himself of
the inveterate prejudices of the Egyptians, which extended
even to the land their dangerous and hated adversaries had
so long occupied, and to the manner of life they had Jed, to
obtain its rich pastures as a settlement for his beloved family.*
In fact, unless we admit that very considerable physical
changes have taken place on the face of this important dis-
trict, the frontier state of Egypt, the ancient LAND OF
GOSHEN, we can form no idea of its position and boundaries,
its agricultural, commercial, and pastoral advantages, and its
commanding position as a military state, in the remote ages
of early Egyptian history. or it is in the very regions on
the primitive condition of which its chief value as a settle-
ment depended, that it will be found to have undergone a
thorough revolution.
It was in the hope of throwing additional light on some
of the doubts and difficulties attaching to a few early pas-
sages of Egyptian history, that the succeeding inquiry was
entered upon. The principal event of which that land was
the scene, in those remote ages, is one that has a sacred
* Vide Gen. xlvi., 33, 34; xlvii., 6, 11.
Ox the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. 15
and universal interest in the eyes of all to whom the Holy
Scriptures are the history of religion. It was the place of
refuge of the Hebrew Church for more than two centuries ;
and, in the days of her temporary oppression, the momentous
events of her deliverance and Exodus were enacted there.
Yet the scenes of those events have hitherto remained a
matter of doubt and unsupported conjecture !
The great difficulty which Biblical crities encounter in their
attempts to refer the events of the Mosaic account of the
Exodus to any definite localities, arises from their having
framed their hypotheses from the land as it és now, with-
out taking into account the probable extent of the changes
wrought in its physical geography,—partly by the slow, but
certain operations of nature,—partly, as we shall have rea-
son to discover, by the interference of man. Those only who
are correctly informed concerning the actual state of the
country, can estimate the formidable difficulty of reconciling
the Mosaic narrative with such positions as its present topo-
graphy affords. The few detached and unsupported conjec-
tures, wholly at variance with each other, hitherto published
on the geography of the Exodus, attest both the extent of
this dificulty, and the doubtful success of every attempt to
propose a theory on the subject. Before we can judge whether
the account of Moses can be made to square with the topo-
graphy of the land through which he led the host under his
guidance ;—before we can appreciate, as a subject so sacred
and important deserves, the extraordinary geographical ac-
curacy of the minute detail included in that account;—we must
go back 3500: years, and restore the land to its primitive con-
dition, by inquiring into the changes that may have been
effected in it since then, by determining their period, and
ascertaining their causes.
The results of an inquiry to this effect are embodied in the
map.* It differs in four essential points from any former
attempt to illustrate the geography of the Mosaic period.
* See Plate LV.
16 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
1°. In the limits of the Red Sea, which has retired 30 miles
from its former head.
2°, In the Mediterranean coast region, where nearly 25
miles of land beyond the shore have been converted into a
large lake and barren unhealthy marshes.
3°. In the region of the river, where, besides restoring to
their primitive position the branches of the Nile known to
have changed their course or become extinct, I have intro-
duced another branch, unknown to ancient geography, and
situated on the frontier, to the east of the Pelusiac ; it is mark-
ed on the map as the ETHAM éranch.
4°. It differs in the position of the cities and sites enume-
rated by the Sacred historian as the stations of encamp-
ment.
In our common Bible-maps, these stations are generally
placed at random along the line of desert between Cairo and
Suez. This distance, owing to the difficulty of the route,
would amount to a four days’ journey for such a multitude,
encumbered with goods, children, and cattle; and there is
not a spring or a well all the way. So that a track along
that road is physically impossiéle.
Dr E. Robinson* has seen this difficulty, without obviating
it. He proposes another plan, liable to objections almost as
serious as those he has sought to avoid, and that are fatal
to his hypothesis. He places “ RamzsuS,” the starting-point
of the assembled multitude, in the Valley of Seven Wells,
where there is a ruin of a former frontier-city ; and pro-
poses to bring the Hebrew host to Suez by coasting the (so-
called) Bitter Lakes. But as two days of this journey would
be equally destitute of water, the indifferent wells at Ajrad
being then the only supply, the difficulty is not sufficiently
lessened by this hypothesis to counterbalance the unquestion-
able claim of the ruin he takes for “ RAMESES,” to represent
quite a different place, the ‘‘ Hero” of the Antonine itinerary,
the position of which,—in respect of several other sites
enumerated in this itinerary, and all exactly corresponding
* Biblical Researches in Palestine, &., by E. Robinson, D.D., and the Rey.
Eli Smith, vol. i., p. 74-86.
On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. 17
with existing ruins,—is too well fixed by this correspondence
to admit of doubt or controversy.* And if this be the cele-
brated maritime city known to ancient geography as Herowm,
Heroon, and Heroopolis,t which it would be absurd to
__. eR eee eee ee ee ea
* All the roads introduced in the map are comprehended in the subjoined
extracts from the Itinerary of Antoninus. As the roads are graduated in Ro-
man miles, according to the scale, the cities they lead to will be easily found ;
and (with only one exception, Tasacarta) correspond to ruins still to be seen.
Roap I. From Pelusium to Memphis.
Pelusio to Daphne,* M.P., xvi.,—to Tasacarta, xviii..—to Thou, xxiv.,—to
Scenas Veteranorum, xxvi.,—to Heliu, xiv..—to Memphi, xxiv.
* Remark.—The position of Tel Defenneh, the remains oféDaphne, enable us
to detect and rectify an error—probably of copy—a deficient x in the Ro-
man numerals. Tel Defenneh is exactly xxvi. M.P. from Farama, the
remains of Pelusium.
Roap II. From the Serapeum to Pelusium.
Serapiu to Thaubasio, M.P. viii..—to Sile,* xxviii.,—to Magdolo, xii..—to
Pelusio, xii.
* Remark.—There is here another error analogous to the above; a redundant
x in the Roman numerals, which the ruins enable us to rectify. The dis-
tance between the vestiges of Sil and Thaubasio is xviii. M.P.
Roap II. From Babylon to Clysmo.
Babylon to Heliu, M.P. xii..—to Scenas Veteranorum, xviii.* (some copies
have xvii.),—to Vico Judezorum, xii.—to Thou, xii.,—to Hero, xxiv..—
to Serapiu, xviii..—to Clysma, L.
* Remark.—Two slight discrepancies in this road may be easily removed by
the position of the ruins, which correspond exactly with the distances as-
signed to them by Road I. The xvii. M.P., which some copies have, be-
tween Heliu and Scenz, seem a copyist’s error for xiii, And, since there
are xxvi. M.P. between Scenz and Thou, as well by the ruins as by Road
I..—and the true distance between Scenz and the intermediate station,
Vicus Judxorum, is nearly xii. M.P., in which the present road coincides
with the ruins,—it follows that there ought to be more than xii. between
Vicus Judsorum and Thou, and that the repetition of xii. here must be
a copyist’s error. The real distance, by the ruins, is a little above xiv.,
which exactly makes up the total of xxvi. to Thou.
Roan IV. Part of road from Gaza to Alexandria.
Pelusio to Heracleus, M.P. xxii.,—to Tanis, xxv.,—to Thmuis, xxii.,—to
Cyno, xxv., &e.
+ Strabo renders the name of this city by ray Heway rors, of which “ City
of Heroes” seems the literal translation. Hero or Heron was an Egyptian
god. It is possible that the Egyptian name, the true orthography of which
is unknown, might have had a plural termination, that led this geographer
into what rather appears, than is, an error, as this form given to the proper
name may be only emphatic, no notion of plurality being necessarily in-
tended. The corresponding Hebrew name Hiroth has likewise a fem.
plural termination. A curious mistake of the Septuagint may fairly be ad-
duced in proof that, when this version was made, a city known to them as
Hiroth existed in Egypt on the road to Palestine, and that it was called in
VOL. XLIV. NO. LXXXVII.—JAN, 1848. B
18 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
doubt ;—and further, if the said ‘“‘ Hero” be indentical with
the Hrrots of Scripture, a place which, from the last en-
campment near it being called <‘ Pi-ha-hiroth,’ must have
also been near the Sea,—and which the result of this inquiry
will prove really was the case, it will be evident that the
site thus chosen by Dr Robinson for the starting-point, must
in fact have been near the end of the journey.
Mr Sharpe, in his History of Egypt (vol. i., pp. 30-32),
proposes another hypothesis. By an ingenious etymological
analysis, he identifies the principal stations of the Mosaic
account, by name, with certain cities on one of the lines of
the road particularized by the above mentioned itinerary.
This theory further supposes the Arabian Gulf to have
occupied at that time the site of the saline marshes, generally
—but, as we shall hereafter find, erroneously—supposed to
be the “ Bitter Lakes” of Strabo’s geography. Thus the last
encampment at Pi-ha-hiroth, might ¢ien have been near the
sea, though that site is now nearly 35 miles from it.
It is a very satisfactory coincidence in support of the
positions thus suggested by Mr Sharpe, that the researches
of MM. Dubois-Aymé and Le Pére* led them to conclude,
on the best physical and historical grounds, that the extent
of the Red Sea, wp to beyond the time of Herodotus, had been
such as he had conjecturally assigned to it. This view was
approved by all the contemporaneous scientifie men except-
ing M. Roziére, who pleaded a physical objection} to this
Greek Heroopolis. The translators appear to have read from a MS. in which
(Gen. xlvi., 28) the first two letters of the infinitive horoth PY7\F{ “ to guide or
“direct” being imperfectly formed, looked like MVM ’Hiroth ; which they ac-
cordingly rendered by “ Hercopolis.” Josephus, following this reading, informs
us that Jacob sent Judah to meet Joseph at Heroopolis in Goshen. The Sep-
tuagint translators would hardly have committed this mistake, had no such
city existed in that situation ; for the false reading would have been obvious,
and thay would have rectified it. To have read any other word than “ horoth,
i.e., to direct,” would have made the entire passage unmeaning.
* Deser. de l’Higypte. Ht Mod., vol. xi.
Tt Deser. de l’Eg, Ant., vol. vi.,p. 272. M. Roziére supposed the low plateau
(marked “ Pi-ha-hiroth” in the map) in the centre of the Isthmus to be lower
than the Red Sea (Vide also sect. i.) ; and as the whole valley of the canal, and
nearly all the Delta, are also much lower, he urged, that if in historical times
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Garo ‘ P
- 5 7, Ce At
pave On or Heliopolis Onion Oe (Es
= a te Tel et Jehug Laoumel El Menayr Belbew Abbasich
Nilometer of Roda I. Beg.of Canut Abou Menedyy d
ISOS
Shibbeen Ureat dvke
=;
o~
ay
Edin! New Phil. Journ. Vol. 44 pJ9.
P90 on, § .
Rede esa on Point eb the Fussage etsinoe —- Clysma
of the Red Sca Pilgran route Ser
Present extent of the
Gulph of Sues
Pe ee. a P
7a \ igh water at Sucx | of fo)
as These measures are gwen tt
Turis fed, and reckoned donn
ie : M0 00wards from a point 150 feet abore
[i046 Great Shoat E #e “
} the level of the High water at Suex
15.3.0
G0.0.0.
IE 1800.0
vi
fa
it
Te) Section of the kthimus of Suez, by the Gocodile lakes, lo Ras-de Vaoych dhallah
x
Athoum ttkero g
(Ethan) . S Hireth = p
olbes Abbasich Tel ed Wady — Wady Toomilat has dl Wady Aboukeshgd or _ Moukfar Besidl of the river to the WE.
Dykes Widy dyke E Sayer Valley of Seven Wells into the Crocodile Lakes
>
On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. 19
theory, which was most satisfactorily refuted by MM. Le
Pére and Dubois-Aymé ; who produced the results of actual
measurements in their appendix. Descr. de l’Eg. vol. xviil.,
Pt. i.
A brief sketch of the physical structure of the Isthmus of
Suez, may here be of interest to such as are not familiar with
the characteristic features of this remarkable though inhos-
pitable tract. The survey of Messrs J. M. and G. Le Pere,
St Genis, and Chabrol,* furnishes the data for the dia-
gram illustrating this subject, Section No, 1. shewing the
line of the lowest points across the Isthmus of Suez, from
the present head of the Gulf to the north side of the plateau
in question. This line is the bottom of a valley, flanked on
both sides by a table-land of barren rock and sand. It forms
an irregular trough, lower than the Red Seain every part, ex-
cepting two low plateaus of very small extent. Both of these
were once only shoals extending across a narrow strait, t
along which the Mediterranean and Red Seas mingled their
waters, which then had the same level. At some period more
remote than historical records can reach, the gradual eleva-
tion of the land must have brought up the central shoal to
eight feet above the water’s surface, by which a natural dyke,
about five miles across, was formed, separating the two seas.
The northern haif of the Isthmus, and the whole Delta, owe
their existence as dry land to the formation of this barrier.
For, the Mediterranean having thereby become a large in-
the Red Sea had reached the limits assigned to it by MM. Dubois-Aymé and Le
Pere, it would have gone farther, and submerged all lower Egypt. He there-
fore concludes of the theory “ C’est une hypothése ; tandis que ?abaissement du
plateau est wn fait positif ; en effet, qu’ importe le reste 9”
In answer to M. Roziére, M. Le Pére gave the measurement of every station
of the survey across this plateau, 12 in number, proving that it rises 8 feet above
the highest tides of the Red Sea; so that the elevation of that critical point, and
not its depression, is the “ fait posit#f”’ Thus the sea could, and did, for perhaps
thousands of years, reach that limit, without the disastrous effects predicted by
M. Roziére. The result of these measurements are given in the section No. L,
where the principal stations only are delineated. On so small a scale, more de-:
tail would have produced confusion.
* Deser. de Egypte, Et Mod., vol. xi., and App., vol. xviii., pt. i. The line:
of both sections is coloured on the map.
+ Lyell’s Pr. of Geology, book ii., p. 1., chap. viii.
20 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
land gulf, subject to a greater evaporation than the current
that sets in from the Straits of Gibraltar can replace,* its
waters sank, at the eastern end, to a permanent level of equi-
librium between these two opposite agencies,—which is about
30 feet lower than the Red Sea at high water.
It is evident that this central plateau must have conti-
nued to form the northern boundary of the Red Sea, until
another shoal, near Suez, was raised above the water’s edge
by the simple process of accumulation, forming a second
natural dyke across the gulf, that stopped out the water
from the upper gulf-basin, and left a hollow nearly 60 feet
deep, which became a salt lake, and is now a dangerous
marsh. This second shoal begins about 20 geogr. miles south
of the head of the former gulf, and its length, to near Suez,
is about 113 miles ;f but it is only a space about 23 miles
of its southern end that is actually Aigher than the sea; be-
yond this, it slopes downwards about 10 feet to the edge of
the upper gulf-basin. The process by which the surface of
this shoal was raised to its present height, may be seen still
going on in the Red Sea. The coral banks that grow up
rapidly in its shallows, rise to the low-water mark; and then
the lithophytes cease their operations. The enormous quanti-
ties of drift-sand, blown into the shallow gulf, are washed up
by the waves, and deposited, with broken shells and gravel,
on the top of these shoals; where, from the quantity of cal-
careous matter which the water of this sea contains, they form
hard banks up to the high-water level. It was at the foot of a
height on which Ptolemy Philadelphus built the marine sta-
tion of Arstnoé, that a line of sand-banks began to form on a
shoal of this description, at its southern end, the one most
exposed to the winter-tides, which are always 3 or 4 feet
higher at that season, because then the prevailing winds blow
from the south. It will be seen by the section that this end
of the bank is scarcely 3 feet above the ordinary winter high-
water mark of the Red Sea, and only a few lines above its
excessive tides in stormy seasons.
Thus far, Mr Sharpe’s positions appeared to be sustained
* Lyell’s Pr. of Geology, book ii., p. 1., chap. vii.
} Its extent is indicated by a dotted line on the map, Plate IV.
On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. 21
by the coincidence of the Red Sea’s former extent, prior to the
time of Herodotus. But it was still open to the old and fatal
objection that, in the time of Moses, there was no visible sup-
ply of water for those cities along which the Hebrews’ route
was supposed to pass; and that cities could not exist without
water. The corresponding Egypto-Roman cities were on the
banks of a canal, but the date of the construction of this
work, the famous Red-Sea canal, is well fixed by history:
it was only begun by Pharaoh-Necho, who lived 870 years
after Moses. Some traditional accounts refer the commence-
ment of the undertaking to “ Sesostris ;”? but Sesostris is a
fabulous personage. And though Sir Gardner Wilkinson*
very judiciously argues, from a monument of Remeses II.
being found at ‘‘ Hero” on the canal, that this monarch may
be the “ Sesostris’’ referred to in this legendary account—
and it is historically admitted that he cut numerous canals
to drain and irrigate Lower Egypt—we are not helped out
of the difficulty; since the most accredited chronological ar-
rangements tend to place his reign about 200 years after
Moses.
But when we consider that the principal Egyptian canals
are only restorations of natural channels that have either
moved off or died away, we are tempted to suspect that such
may have been the case with this particular canal ; and that
if it was commenced only by Necho, or by Sesostris, it was
because the natural stream did not fail tili then. M. Le-
pere distinctly recognises tokens of the Nile having flowed
in the valley of the canal, at some period unassignably re-
mote. And as the inundations of the Nile are reported even
now to penetrate occasionally far into the valley, such an
hypothesis might appear very plausibly sustained. But the
possibility of an hypothesis being true, is no proof that it zs
so. And to verify a geographical theory; to establish it as
a fact that may in its turn be used in confirmation and illus-
tration of history in general—and of sacred history in parti-
cular—we require positive evidences—physical proofs.
I therefore propose, in the succeeding dissertation, to de-
* Modern Egypt and Thebes, vol. i., p. 312.
22 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
monstrate that such a boundary arm of the Nile did actually
exist at the time of which the map is supposed to represent
the geography, and that it was then the connecting link of a
highly important chain of ancient Egyptian frontier cities
and fortresses ; among which will be found the places Mr
Sharpe proposes to identify with the stations of the Mosaic
itinerary.
As this inquiry involves a question entirely new to ancient
geography, it will be necessary to enter upon a very minute
consideration of the physical facts from which the proofs we
require may be deduced, and of the historical details by
which our conclusions appear to be supported.
The first step in this investigation will be, to study the line
of this river’s supposed course, in order to ascertain whether
the present condition of the valley in which it ran affords a
clue to the physical causes of its decay. A correct delinea-
tion of the present structure of the land, and its relation to
the water-levels, is here the first desideratum. And for this,
the invaluable data contained in the “ Journal du Nivelle-
ment” of the French Commission—designed for the restora-
tion of the ancient canal—furnish all the materials we re-
quire.
ON THE ANCIENT FRONTIER CHANNEL OF THE NILE,
The section, No. 2, taken along the line of lowest points
from Cairo to the end of the Valley of Seven Wells, in which
are the Crocodile lakes, delineates the present state of the
valley through which this ancient frontier channel had its
course. In this section we have, as it were, the country itself
before our eyes: we have both the means of arriving at a con-
clusion, and of judging whether it be supported by fact or
not.*
This section exhibits a double series of levels along the
whole line, to shew the relative positions of the land and the
water.
* The survey of this district was effected by Messrs Devilliers, Duchanoy,
Tévre, and Alibert. Tor the details of the measurement, &c., vide Deser. de
VEgypte, vol. xi.; Extrait du Journal du Nivellement, To avoid confusion,
the leading and characteristic levels alone are indicated in the section.
i i
On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. 23
From Cairo to Abbasieh, where the canals that are still
open terminate, the principal and most significant levels are
those of the water’s surface along the canals early in Decem-
ber, that is, three months after the height of the inundation.
Above this are seen a few leading points upon the banks, to
shew the general elevation and form of the land itself along
the edge of the.water-courses. The points selected are :—near
Boulak ;—the foot of the ‘“‘ Tel el Jehud’’ mounds of ** Onion’’
and “ Scenw,” near Shibbeen ;—and at Abbasieh near the ves-
tiges of “ EtHAM or Thoum,” Here, the further course of
the water is cut off by dykes. Beyond this point the level in-
dicated by the dark dotted line is that of the bottom of
“ Wady Toomilat,*” at the extremity of which, “ Ras el
Wady” is another large dyke. We next come to the Valley
of “ Seven Wells ;’’} and, following the course of the ancient
canal past two very remarkable ruins, that of HirovTH or
Hero, and that of a commercial outpost or magazine belong-
ing to it, about three miles distant, called “ Moukfar” in
the great French map, we find that the ground-line, after
rising gradually from near Hero to Moukfar, suddenly sinks
again, and the valley terminates in the large basin contain-
ing the Crocodile lakes.
Necho’s canal ran along the north bank of the Wady Too-
milat; and, besides the lowest ground-line, some points on the
ruined dykes of this ancient canal are indicated, along the
whole length of the valley, by a lighter dotted line.
As standards of comparison, I have introduced the nilo-
meter of Roda in its place—the levels of the two seas—and
also a diagram of the canal Moéz near Bubastis,{ in order to °
shew the relative height and true proportions of its embank-
ments, its bed, and its water at various seasons. All these
are taken from Le Pére’s “ Tableau des échelles compara-
tives,” and adapted to the scale of the section. (Vide Plate
xiv., Deser. de ’Egypte, vol. i. Et Mod.)
* This is the modern name of the part of the valley between Abbasieh and
“ Hero.”
} The remainder of the valley, to the Crocodile lakes inclusive.
} The Canal Moéz now occupies the site of the Tanitic branch of the Nile,
from near Athribis to Zoan,
24 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
~ The first thing that strikes one as remarkable, in this sec-
tion, is the abrupt fall of the water-line just beyond Tel el
Jehud: and this would be much more remarkable, if the river
had not already sunk to half its maximum height, when the
measurements were taken. This reduced level continues
along about twenty miles of canal, till the further progress
of the water is arrested by the dykes of Tel el Wady near
Abbasieh.—To irrigate the Wady, the water is occasionally
let out as far as the great dyke at Ras el Wady, as all this
part of the valley, and even the bed of the old canal, are cul-
tivated ground; but this does not take place every year.
One cannot look at this sudden interruption of the water-
line, in connection with the great depth of the valley beyond it,
without suspecting that some artificial restraint must be em-
ployed to keep the water lower than the line of its natural
flow; and that, without such restraint, a branch of the Nile
would probably run along this valley at the present time.
The great inundation of 1800 proved this fact, and much
besides, more conclusively than any argument. It fortu-
nately happened while the survey by the French engineers
was in progress, so that the results were observed and re-
corded by them. The Nile rose so rapidly to an unusual
height, that it broke through its embankments, and filled the
whole length of the valley to the Crocodile lakes. The depth
of the water, between Abbasieh and Ras el Wady, varied
from 15 to 25 Paris feet. Every road from Belbeis to the
north was stopped, being rendered impassable for months,
from the quantity of water, except at “ Moukfar,’” where
the bottom of the valley rises and its sides contract. There,
the course of the water was confined to the bed of the an-
cient canal, which is in tolerably good preservation, though
so much choked up by sand and alluvial matter that the
depth of the water was only five feet; so that there was
at that place one fordable passage. Beyond this spot, the
water began to flow downward with a very rapid current ; it
filled the lagoons of the Crocodile lakes, passed through
an opening at the north-eastern end of the basin enclosing
the lakes, and there was lost in a line of low saline marshes
On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. 25
that now extend northwards from these lakes to Lake Men-
zaleh.*
Now if we compare the height of the water at the nilome-
ter of Roda Island during the inundation of that year, with
the height it generally attains in an average favourable in-
undation, the difference is under eighteen inches. Hence,
it is quite clear that what happened in 1800, might happen
every year, minus that small difference. As surely as water
will run into a hollow and rise in it to its own level, so
surely would the Nile run into this valley to this very day,
and fill it annually to a considerable depth, if no restraint
were imposed on its course. There would be about 14 feet
(English) of water near Abbasieh,—and 24 at Ras el Wady,
(as may be seen by the two upper slanting water-lines,— Vide
section 2.) Even when the Nile is at its lowest point,—as in-
dicated by the lower slanting line extending from the mea-
surement of that point on the nilometer to the end of the
valley,—there would be about 12 feet of water in the deep
parts of the ancient river’s course, nearly up to the spot
where the vestiges of Hero are found. If the waters rose in
the valley up to the point of 1800, once, it was through an
accident by which, that once, the river was enabled to attain
its natural level.
When we connect the facts brought to light by this irrup-
tion, with the construction of the valley as exhibited in the
section, the inevitable conclusion thereby forced upon us is
rather startling. For while we have before us physical proof
that art alone prevents a considerable river from flowing in
its natural channel to this day, it is equally certain that the
* [Those who wish to go over the very remarkable and interesting details
of this inundation, will find the particulars,—Descer. de l’Egypte, Et Mod., vol.
xi., pp. 82-86, Mém. sur le Canal des 2 Mers, by M. J. M. Le Pere.—Appen-
dix, vol. xviii., pp. 349-355, Mém. M. Dubois-Aymé.—Extrait du Journal de
M. Devilliers, ibid., pp. 379-382.—And vol. v. Ant., Descr. des Ant. de l’Isthme,
by the same, p. 134-158.]
t The waters of 1800 rose to 30 Paris feet and a few inches above the point
0 of the nilometer, 3 digits above the 18th cubit over the capital of the column;
and this measure is adapted to the scale of the levelling operations, in the sec-
tion. A rise of 29 feet above the point 0 is regarded as the measure of an
abundant inundation,
26 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
peried when the restraint of art was first imposed on its
waters, must be more remote than the most ancient histori-
cal records extant. For Herodotus mentions the Pelusiac
branch, as being, in his time, the most eastern arm of the
Nile. And one naturally asks, how so vast a work as cut-
ting off in its prime a stream as deep and broad as any re-
maining secondary arm of the Nile, should ever have been
undertaken ?—and also, when can it have been done ?—by
whom ? and to what purpose ?
The bed of the ErHAM river offers some remarkable phy-
sical anomalies that are only to be accounted for by the man-
ner of its formation. And as these may serve, in their turn,
to lead us towards a satisfactory answer to these inquiries,
we must look back a little, and consider what it was during
the ante-historical period.
The Ern Am river does not appear to have been an ordi-
nary Delta-channel along the whole of its course, hollowed
out of the alluvial soil with an even and downward slope to
the sea, like the other arms of the Nile. Part of its bed lay
along the bottom of a valley in the rocky district out of the
true Delta, and part of the bottom of this valley has a slope
just the contrary way. This remarkable acclivity is to be
seen at the spot called “ Moukfar” (wide section 2), where it
is highest; the slope upwards begins a little before Hero.
Much of this is the result of recent accumulations of sand and
alluvium in the most narrow and exposed part of the valley, but
not al/,aswe shall hereafter have occasion to remark more par-
ticularly. A certain amount of inequality—a slight swell of
ground all along the cleft in the rocks that form this remark-
able valley,—must always have existed, forming a consider-
able impediment to the course of the Nile along it; so that
the water, after it had reached Hero, had to rise above the
level of the obstacle, before it could flow off through the val-
ley by the downward passage already adverted to, which is a
natural opening in the hills, in the direction of the northern
marshy tract, and where the current, during the great flood of
1800, was so extremely rapid.
The general level of the ground, all along the valley, from
near Belbeis to the Crocodile lakes, being much /ower than
On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. 27
the Red Sea; while the rocky plateau capped with sand-hills
rises suddenly on both sides from 30 to 50 feet adove it, shews
us that, before the first central shoal in the strait that once
separated Egypt from Arabia had risen to the water’s edge,
and parted the Mediterranean from the Red Sea the whole
valley formed another narrow strait nearly at right angles to
the first, so that the hilly tract north of the valley was a
large island.
The sediment of the Nile being drifted into it, as in other
contiguous parts of the sea, while the whole of the present
Delta was yet under water, this part of the strait would end
in having a smooth ground corresponding in level to the other
parts of the Delta. So that afterwards, when the seas were
divided by the rising of the central shoal,* and the waters
of the Mediterranean began to evaporate, and the Nile be-
gan to send out arms towards the retiring sea in all pos-
sible directions, one of these arms might well make its way
along the low ground of this valley, till it reached the point
where the bottom of the strait had been originally higher
than the Delta, which is near Hero. But over this natural
obstacle, the water could not pass, at that remote epoch,
when the Nile was low. For, as the soil at the apex of the
Delta was then considerably lower than it is now, so the level
of the water-line was proportionally lower. It was only during
the inundation season that the river could attain a sufficient
height to form a superficial current over this acclivity, so as
to run into the basin of the Crocodile lakes,—and out of these
again along the low marshy tract left by the retiring northern
sea.
One consequence of this formation is, that the annual de-
posits of the Nile must, fur a considerable part of the year,
have been accumulated exclusively in the western half of the
valley, known as Wady Toomilat. Indeed, at a remoter pe-
riod than that represented by the map, this may have formed
a long shallow lake, with a river flowing part of the year
into it, and the other part through it. We cannot conclude
any thing positive on this state of things, from the mere fact,
* At the spot marked Pi-ha-hiroth in the map.
28 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
that 15 feet of the alluvial soil have been dug through with-
out reaching the bottom ;—because either all this, or more,
or only a part of it, may be of submarine formation like the
Delta ; and unless we could determine the precise period when
the Mediterranean retired; and had also an opportunity of
subjecting the contents of the deposits to geological scrutiny,
it would be fruitless to stop to conjecture how far the hollow
between the two rocky plateaus that form the sides of the
valley may have been filled up while yet under the sea ;—and
how much the raising of its surface may be due to the sub-
sequent depositions of such a lake as the Nile would form
there, if the sea had retired before the hollow was filled up.
And such a conjecture would be quite useless to the present
inquiry, which requires nothing more than the undeniable
physical fact, attested by the present form of the land as de-
lineated in the section, that, whereas the water-line dis-
tinctly shews that the Nile must have run through the vyal-
ley, and would do so still if it were allowed to haye its own
way ;—nevertheless, the dand-line as distinctly shews, that
when it ceased to flow in and through the valley, é¢ had not
done so long enough to fill up the entire hollow. For, consider-
ing the present depth of this hollow, compared with the
height of the swell that terminates it, we must see that, had
the river that flowed through it, been allowed to flow on, it
must have continued open naturally, until its deposits had
brought up its whole bed along the valley to the level of the
obstacle. It must at last have made for itself an even and
shallow bed with an insensible slope towards the sea, like
that of the defunct Pelusiac. The form of the valley alone
compels us to conclude, that, if the river has ceased to flow
there, it cannot have ceased from a natural stoppage, but
must have been intercepted abruptly, whether by art or by
accident, at a time when the level of its course was only
sufficiently raised and equalized to make its channel along
the valley merely a little wider and deeper in parts than an
ordinary Delta channel ; so as even to form in two or three
places, considerable pools, not to say lakes, but of no very
great depth.
In addition to these considerations, we shall find other rea-
On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. 29
sons to be satisfied that the Etham branch cannot have been
naturally extinct in the time of Moses and the older Pharaohs.
If we compare the level of the bed of the river at the time of its
excision (which is displayed by the section)* with the height
of the waters of the Nile at the remote period represented
by the map, (which can be estimated with considerable pre-
cision), we shall be convinced that it must then have yielded
a deep and useful channel, both for navigation and irrigation,
along the whole inhabited region of the valley. We must
subtract from the height which the Nile now attains during
the inundation, the amount added to the river’s bed, in the in-
terval, by the annual sedimentary depositions ;—and the nilo-
meter of Roda Island affords a sure index to the height gained
by the point of the Delta, from this cause, in a given time.
In an average favourable inundation, the water now rises
about 35 inches above the 16th cubit of the nilometer, that
marked such an inundation—one of 16 cubits—when the
column was erected and graduated. This was about A.D.
860.+ Thence we may conclude that about a yard in 1000
years is the amount of rise in the bed and banks of the Nile,
by its depositions at Roda Island. For we are not reckoning
from a local measurement of the quantity of matter deposited
in one given spot ina given time, which is liable to the greatest
variations, according as the spot lies high or low with respect
to the adjacent lands, and according to the depth of the water ;
but we have a natural index susceptible of the strictest accu-
racy, the actual height of a water line that covers and in-
cludes all these possible variations, and that thus gives us a
natural average far more precise than any one could obtain
by computation.
At the rate of a yard of increase in 1000 years, a favour-
able inundation of the Nile, 3500 years ago, must have been
lower by about 3} yards, with respect to the invariable mean
level of the sea, then it is at the present time at the point of
the Delta. The slope to the sea being less by so much, the
water would be unable to flow farther than Hero, except
during the season of inundation.
* Section 2,—between Abbasieh and “ Hero.”
t Vide Sir G. Wilkinson’s Modern Egypt and Thebes, vol. i., pp. 279-282.
30 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
We are thus led by a chain of natural indications to a fact
which will enable us to account for the conflicting statements
of some ancient authors, relative to the canal that afterwards
occupied this valley. For, even after we have made due al-
lowance for the recent accumulations in the narrow gorge of
the valley, where the ground rises so strangely, we shall still
find that its height above the bottom of the river must have
been sufficient to render some amount of artificial excavation
necessary at the earliest period to which history will permit
us to ascend ; otherwise, great injury might have been done
by every inundation of the Nile to the habitations and plan-
tations of the early settlers in the valley where so many
ruins are found. Although the force of the water, when
pressed forward by the rising inundation against this point,
would have enabled it at last to excavate a way for itself,
the effects of such efforts would be devastation to the neigh-
bouring district, until the hand of man came to the rescue.
A very smail amount of labour, a mere deepening of the
river’s annual channel between Hero and the point of its
rapid descent towards the Crocodile lakes, a space of only
six miles, would effectually remove this formidable obstacle to
their comfort and prosperity, by keeping the river open all
the year round. We cannot reasonably suppose that so ne-
cessary as well as easy a work, would have remained undone
by the most enterprising and industrious of ancient people,
since the tract could hardly be habitable until it was done.
The natural bend of the river, a little beyond the part where
its channel might thus have required easing, brought it so
near the foot of the low plateau that separates the Crocodile
lakes, into which it ran, from the Red Sea, that there are only
eight miles distance between that bend and the actual head of
the gulf, which, at that time, was near BAAL-ZEPHON (sub-
sequently known as the Port Daneon, whose ruins are close
to the Serapeum of the Antonine itinerary). Since we admit
that such a city as BAAL-ZEPHON must have existed on the
sea-shore in the time of Moses (which was the golden age of
Egyptian history, when its civilization, arts, commercial en-
terprise, and warlike renown, had reached a point they never
afterwards surpassed) we can scarcely doubt that a partial
On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. 3l
prolongation of the water-course towards BAAL-ZEPHON may
have been attempted, even at that early period, to supply
the city more easily with water; and that we have thus a
natural verification of the accounts transmitted by Pliny and
Strabo, who doubtless derived them from some more substan-
tial authority than idle tradition, that the famous canal of
the Red Sea was begun by some ancient Pharaoh, whose
name is lost to history, and whose deeds have gone to swell
the fame of the fabulous “ Sesostris.’? For reasonable in-
ference alone must satisfy us that the safety, prosperity, nay,
the very existence, of every city and settlement between
“ ETHAM” and the sea, depended on that work being so far
executed, at an earlier date than systematic historical records
can lead us up to. Nature had not only done three-fourths
of the work, but she actually compelled man, in self-defence,
to execute a considerable portion of the remainder ; and what
she did not thus actually compel, she suggested, by the physi-
cal features of the tract, that were singularly favourable to
the execution of this great national undertakiug.
On the strength of these various considerations, I had been
inclined to favour the conjecture that the direct communica-
tion of the channel of ETHAM or Hero with the Red Sea,
by means of such a short branch canal, might have been
effected wholly, at this early period; and that the mouth of
this canal, being at the head of the gulf, seemed to explain
the etymology of the Scriptural name of the site, P1-wA-
"HIROTH, MT? the “ mouth’ or “ opening” of Hirotn. But
the amount to be deducted from the present height of the
water-line at the point of the Delta, to give its height at
that time—and of which I had not formed a fixed esti-
mate, seems conclusive, that although such a work would be
practicable now, it was not possible then for the canal to
run into the sea. It is the sea that would have run into
the canal. For, if we calculate downwards at the rate above
mentioned :—as the highest point now attained by the Nile
during the flood season, at Cairo, is only about nine to ten
feet above the Red Sea, it must, in the time of Moses, have
been nearly level with the sea at the point of the Delta;
and, therefore, as much lower, at the termination of the canal,
32 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
as the difference caused by the downward slope of the lands
through which the water had to run.
But the commercial importance of this great undertaking
lost nothing material by stopping short of actually piercing
through the central natural dyke of the isthmus to which
the Delta owes its existence ; since that spot is only a low
plateau between the hills, five miles or thereabouts in length,
and eight feet above the sea in its highest part. A short and
easy overland transit like this, over a narrow plain only five
miles long from the end of the canal to the sea, could be no
serious obstacle to commerce and traffic, when the line of
navigation by the river on one side, and by the sea on the
other, was wholly uninterrupted.
Nor does etymology require that the canal should run
into the sea, to identify this site with the PI-HA-HIROTH of
Scripture, near which the Hebrew army encamped “ by the
sea.” For that compound expression would quite as correct-
ly designate any kind of opening or outlet, as that of a
stream, natural or artificial And when we consider the
position and configuration of this spot,—that this overland
passage is flanked to the right and left by a steep ascent,
which forms the table-land, capped with sand-hills, of the ori-
ginally divided continents of Asia and Africa, we can under-
stand why it was called "72 the “ mouth” or “ opening
of Hiroth ;’—the pass or gorge in the hills, forming the only
opening that leads from the sea to that celebrated ancient
city, vid the canal of the same name. It is the very expres-
sion employed by Herodotus, when he speaks of the canal
being completed by Darius, who cut it across this spot;
“ and where a mountain opens towards the south, it is dis-
charged into the Arabian Gulf.’ The formidable obstacle
presented by the great height of the Red Sea rendered its
completion too difficult to be worth running the superfluous
risk of the undertaking, while there was such an easy natural
road as the “ opening of Hero;” until another obstruction
to commercial traffic was presented, by the gradually in-
creasing height of the great shoal between the upper gulf
and the open sea. This necessitated a second overland
journey across an inhospitable and much longer tract,—for
On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. 33
this shoal is 113 geogr. miles long. So that Darius found it
necessary to make the opening for the canal, which his prede-
cessors had not required. The Persepolitan characters found
on the fragments of ruins at the north end of this shoal,* tes-
tify that his operations were sufficiently important to be re-
corded on its monuments; and that a marine station existed
in his time—if he did not build it—at the very spot where
such a station would be absolutely necessary for the accom-
modation and protection of commercial bands, if, in his time,
the sea was no longer navigable at that spot.
As we see no further reason why we should not admit the
accounts of Strabo and Pliny, who ascribe the commence-
ment of this great enterprise to a much earlier period than
that mentioned by Herodotus, we may now proceed to inquire
why such a canal as the latter ascribes to Necho, was re-
quired along a valley so well watered by nature and by art
scarcely 900 years before, that it is utterly contrary to phy-
sical possibility for the river to have failed naturally during
that interval.
In proportion as the soil over which the Nile flows is
raised by its depositions, the waters of the inundation spread
over a greater area of land than before. Such a hollow as the
valley of the KTHAM river presents, must have filled faster
than any other channel of the Nile, since little or no alluvial
deposits could be borne by the current beyond the acclivity
where we_have seen that the excavated channel begins. In
the time of Necho, a much greater area of land must have
been laid under water at every inundation than in the time of
the early Pharaohs; and where the course of the Pelusiac
branch was so near that of its ETHAM derivation, its waters
were sufficient to irrigate the upper district of the ETHAM
river's course; so that the latter, there, could be dispensed
with as useless, while the rest was worse,—very mischievous.
For the great height to which the water rose in the valley
must have destroyed—instead of fertilizing—the land conti-
* he site of those ruins is indicated on the map, though the name of the
place is not known.
VOL. XLIV. NO. LXXXVII.—JAN. 1848. Cc
34 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
guous to the cities that lay all along it; besides causing great
inconvenience, by the stoppage of all the roads.*
The causes of this river’s disappearance, as well as the
era and purpose of such an undertaking, are thus revealed,
simply by the make of the land. Necho did not construct his
canal because there was no¢ water enough in the valley for
navigation and irrigation, but because there was too much !
His object was, on the one hand, to keep up the communi-
cation so important to commerce, by means of a water-course,
and which, under proper restraint, might fertilize the soil
without swamping it; and yet, on the other hand, to reclaim
and bring into cultivation a large tract of land lying waste
under a mass of equally waste and useless waters.
It is quite clear that such a purpose could not be carried
into effect without beginning by draining the valley. The
operations of cutting a canal and building up embankments,
eannot be carried on in a place which every annual inunda-
tion converted into a lake from 12 to 20 feet deep (exclu-
sive of the central channel of the river), for that must have
been the amount of the rise in the valley in Necho’s time.
No one but he who intended to replace the river by such a
canal as Necho constructed, would do such a thing as to cut
off the only possible supply of water from a chain of the most
important frontier cities of Egypt, extending from ETHAM to
Miepou. It is, therefore, not unreasonable to ascribe to
Necho the excision of this part of the ETHAM channel. For
it is an inference necessarily arising out of certain facts—the
physical fact of the construction of the land, that reveals the
expediency of the undertaking—coupled with the historically
recorded faet, that Necho made this part of the canal. The
conclusion that he cut off the corresponding part of the river,
requires no other proof than is afforded by those facts.
A strong embankment thrown across the ErHAM branch
at its point of junction with the Pelusiac, would effect this, by
* Mém. sur le Canal des deux Mers. Lepére; Ht Mod., vol. xi., p.83. During
the accidental irruption of the waters in 1800, the entire valley, from Abba-
sieh to Ras el Wady, had the appearance of a sea—the palm trees near Abba-
sieh were so immersed in water, that only the tops of their leaves were visible,
On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. 35
throwing the course of the waters wholly into the Pelusiac
channel. It could easily be done when the Nile was low, for
a reference to the section No. 2 will shew that at that season
the canal Moéz near Bubastis only has 4 feet of water; and
most probably the depth of the Pelusiac, and of its tributary
the ErHAM channel, near the same locality, were not more
than that of the Tanitic, which the canal Moéz replaces.
Under these circumstances, the most convenient point for
the new canal to begin would be where the account of Hero-
dotus places it :—“ The water was derived from the Nile: it
entered it a little above the city Bubastis, near Patumos, the
city of Arabia ; and it terminated in the Erythrean oe ae
They began to sink this canal in that part of Egypt which
is nearest to Arabia; contiguous to it is a mountain which
stretches towards Memphis, and contains quarries of stone.
Commencing at the foot of this, it extends from west to east
through a considerable tract of country, and where the moun-
tain opens towards the south, it is discharged into the Ara-
bian Gulf.” +
The only portion of this canal that needed excavating was
the junction of the Pelusiac near Bubastis, with the valley.
The part of the canal that lay along the valley itself, did not
even follow the bed of the intercepted river ; it must have had
the character of a gigantic aqueduct, that entirely confined
the waters to the north bank of the valley, and restrained
them, during the flood season, to a mere fraction of their ori-
ginal breadth, until they fell into the narrow and high natu-
* quros 0: dmb rou Nefdou rd Vdwe é¢ wdray' haros 02 xarbaegde OAiyov
BovBdorios wbrs0s, rages Tlaroduov shy Agu Biny wor eobyer O2 eg riy
Egulejy darAucouy.—tlerodotus ; Euterpe, clviii.
+ Werodotus further says, that “in the prosecution of this work under Necho,
no less than 120,000 Egyptians perished ;” but does not say how. The cause
of such a catastrophe may however be surmised from the very nature of the
operations. We have only to suppose a very probable casualty—that an un-
usually high inundation of the Nile broke through the newly made embank-
ments, and suddenly overwhelmed the workmen and the works, to see through
the truth of a statement which, under the ordinary process of digging a canal,
would appear alinost fabulous.
36 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
ral channel beyond Hero. It is in that situation that the
ruins of the canal occur, and not in the central depression of
the valley where the river originally flowed. The diagram
of the canal Moéz, introduced into the section, will give an
idea of the height of embankments requisite to convey the
waters along the valley without overflowing, even when the
Nile rose to its highest point. By a glance at this delinea-
tion, in which the true proportions of the parts are given, we
see at once the verification of Pliny’s account, that the canal
was in some parts 30 feet deep. He reckoned from the top
of the embankments.
But although Necho replaced the river by a canal, from
the Nile to Hero, the river remained én statu guo beyond that
point. The physical indications that such was the state of
things remain ; the following remarkable extract from Le-
pére’s “ Mémoire sur le canal des deux mers,”* will speak for
itself. “* Les digues du canal sont totalement effacées quel-
ques cents toises aprés Moukfar ; la vallée devient plus étroite
i Saba-Byar,t et l'on doute si le canal a existe dans cette
partie, que les sables n’ont pas encore envahie.”—P. 73.
Here, from the original elevation of the soil, so remarkable
as hardly to admit of the river’s passage at all times of the
year, without the aid of additional excavation, it is clear that
no dykes were ever necessary, since the highest inundation
possible did not even carry the water out of the bed of the
river (or canal) at Moukfar.
Lepére continues thus :—‘“ C’est un peu au dela de ce point
que le crue de 1800 présenta un courant extrémement rapide,
(p. 73), * * * courant dont la vitesse extréme devait resul-
ter d’une pente considérable.” (P. 85.)
This is the part beyond which no further artificial excava-
tion was necessary, the water having cut its way through a
natural opening in the hill, and afterwards, by a sudden
bend to the north-east, making its way into the basin of the
Crocodile lakes.§ “ L’eau, aprés avoir fait un grand détour
* Descr. de Egypte, Et Mod., vol. xi.
t i.e, Valley of Seven Wells.
§ At the place where the two sections join, vide Pl. V.
On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. 37
a gauche, se répand dans deux vastes bassins qu’elle rem-
plit. Ces bassins ont 6 4 7 lieues de circonference.”*
It is necessary to remark that both the depth of the water
along the ETHAM valley, and the height of the acclivity be-
yond “ Hero,” appear greater in the section of the present
staie of the valley, than they were with respect to the plain
of the Delta when the channel was first cut off. And the
reason is this :—in all the parts from which the inundations
of the Nile have not been purposely excluded, the surface of
the soil has continued to rise by the annual deposits of the
river ; whereas the general level of the valley from which the
free access of the waters has been restrained for more than
24 centuries, has not been raised in any thing like the same
proportion. The bottom of the bed of canal Moéz is now from
six to eight feet higher than the general surface of the valley,
and shews the difference that may be made to obtain the genc-
ral ground-line along the water-course. The beds of the small
canals open to near Abbasieh, are also about 9 feet higher.
Conversely, near Moukfar, where the acclivity appears so
exaggerated as to be more like a dyke across a river than a
part of its bed, the fact that there was only 5 feet of water,
during an extreme inundation, in the bed of the old channel
that formerly was navigable all the year round, shews that
owing to the great accumulations of sand and soil in the hol-
low of the narrow gorge, during many centuries of neglect,
the height of the acclivity must be much greater, in a section
that includes all this, than it was when the bed of the river
was open.
After allowing for all these circumstances, we still find
that the great depth of the valley from ETHAmM to Hero com-
pared with the other parts of the river’s course, must have
caused its channel here to be much broader than the other
parts, as well as deeper, so as even to form several pools.
Besides which there must have been a lake at Ras el Wady,
with an island in it, upon which are some unidentified ruins.
Another shallower lake may have existed in front of HERo.
* }xtrait du Journal de M. Devilliers, Descr. de l’Hg.; vol. xviii, App. pant ds; |
p. 579-882, Vide aleo the Mém, of M, Dubois-Ayme, ibid,, pi 350-851... 5,, 7
38 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
The remains of another near ETHAM are still called “ Birket
el Haj el Kadim,” the former Lake of Pilgrims.
In making these allowances for the effects of time between
the relative positions of the variable and invariable levels, it
may also be as well to remark, that although the present
general surface of the same valley may represent the ave-
rage level of the corresponding parts of the Delta about
Bubastis, in the time of Necho, the difference between this
average surface at that time, and at the earlier period repre-
sented in the map, cannot have been very considerable, be-
cause the sedimentary depositions of the river, in a district
so constituted, would sink into the deep hollows, and equalize
the form of the bottom, rather than elevate its general sur-
face. Hollows which in the time of Moses were deep lakes,
may have become the slight depressions we now find them.
But, owing to the subsequent elevation of the surfaces of
land and water, in the parts which the inundations have been
allowed to reach, since their exclusion from this valley
twenty-two centuries ago, it has become—relatively to them
—so much lower, that if the Nile were now freely readmitted
into the valley, it would form a long shallow lake.
As we can now hardly entertain a doubt of the former ex-
istence and artificial excision of the ETHAM branch of the
Nile, since the main fact that it would still exist, were it not
artificially suppressed, stands upon physical proofs that speak
for themselves, the secondary task of following it up along
its entire course, from the extreme points of its origin and
its embouchure, will not present any material difficulties ; as
of these, satisfactory tokens are by no means wanting.
There is a great dyke connecting the mound of Onion with
that of Scenw, at “ Tel el Jehud.” Beyond this point, the
water-line, as we before remarked, is intentionally kept down
to a very much lower level than is natural, along a series of
small and shallow canals of irrigation, one of which is the
remains of the canal made by Ptolemy Philadelphus, that fell
into Necho’s canal at Thowm (or EtHAM) near the modern
Abbasieh. At this place, the water is now altogether cut off
from the remainder of the valley, after having been reduced
in height by other intermediate dykes.
On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. 39
We may be sure that where those dykes begin, there the
danger to the valley would begin, if the dykes did not exist.
Since the great dyke of Tel el Jehud is the first artificial im-
pediment to the free course of the Nile, there the valley of
the EvHAmM branch must be too low for a free passage of the
waters to be safe ;—which is as much as to say, there the
ErHam branch parted from the Pelusiac.
The Pelusiac channel, now represented by the canal of
Abou-Menedgy, flowed somewhat to the west of the Onion
mound, and then ran off northwards to Bubastis; while the
Erm branch bent off to the north-east, skirting the base of
the “ Arabian Mountain.” Here, then, Necho, in order to
drain the valley effectually, must have cut off its course
through the valley of Belbeis, and confined the course of the
Nile exclusively to the Pelusiac arm.
Theory and fact agree to mark this point as the junction
of the Pelusiac and EKtham branches. For it was a little to
the south of the great dyke of Tel el Jehud, and between it
and Abou-Zabel, that the water first broke through in 1800,
upon the astonished inhabitants of the valley. In some in-
teresting particulars of this irruption, that occur in Mr Devil-
liers’ ** Mém. sur les antiquités de l Isthme,”* we find:—*< L’eau,
s’échappant est d’ Abou-Zabel, s’est enfoncée fort avant dans
le désert, et est arrivée,—suivant une direction gu’on ne se
rappelait pas lui avoir vu prendre, auprés de El-Menayr. Le
village de Zaoumel a été entiérement tourné par les eaux du
canal Abou-Menedgy.” (These two places indicated in the
section are near the mound “ Scenz.’’) And in another part,
the same observer remarks, that the inhabitants of a village
near Abbasieh saw, equally to their consternation and sur-
prise, the water flowing in upon them doth ways—from Bubas-
tis and from the south.
Thus, the course of the southern half of the ErmAm branch
is as clearly manifested by the phenomena attendant on this
accidental irruption, as if it still flowed along its forsaken,
obliterated, and forgotten channel.
* Deser. de Hg. Ant. vol. v.
40 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
The latter part of its course, from the Crocodile lakes to
the Mediterranean, is still tolerably well defined; although
a great portion of the district through which it flowed has
undergone a change of level, from other causes than me-
chanical deposition, which it is necessary to point out.
Though the historical interest of this change is inconsider-
able, its geographical and geological interest may warrant a
brief reference to the phenomena it has produced, were it
only to justify the omission of Lake Menzaleh in a map pro-
fessing to represent the physical geography of the Egyptian
frontier during the remote Mosaic age, and the introduction
of water-courses in directions where now, owing to those
changes, water could not possibly flow.
The Lake Menzaleh* appears to have been formed by the
depression of a considerable tract in the north of the Delta,
several feet below its former level, that has taken place since
the occupation of Egypt by the Romans, ¢. e., within the last
1500 years. The waters of the Mediterranean now cover
what, in the time of Strabo, was an expanse of marshy plains
interspersed with lakes, across which the Mendesian, Tanitic,
and Pelusiac arms of the Nile, ran into the sea. The adjoin-
ing tract, participating less in the depression, has been con-
verted from cultivated or pasture land, into unhealthy and
inaccessible marshes. Ruins of cities, that in the time of
the Romans were populous and flourishing, Tanis, Mendes,
Thmuis, Heracleus (or Sethrum), Daphne, Pelusium, Sile,
Diospolis-Parva ; all these are now found in places accessible
only to wild boars and water-fowls; and one city, Tennes-
sus,} formerly described as situated on the Tanitic channel,
is now a heap on an island in the middle of the lake.
The natural tendency of the soil of the Delta is to rise by
the annual depositions of the river ; to drain marshes, by rais-
ing their level; and to fill up lakes—not to form and extend
them. And this tendency is very sensibly observable on the
western coast of the Delta, where it has not been affected
by a counteracting downward movement. It is therefore evi-
* A dotted line in the map shews the present extent of Lake Menzaleh.
+ Called also Tennees, or Tenesi. It must be the HAves of Isaiah xxx., 4.
On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. AL
dent that this entire tract must have sunk below its former
level since those cities were habitable.
Owing to this depression having cut across the Pelusiac
arm, its waters could not follow the old channel up to its
mouth, had it remained open. _ During the flood season, the
surplus water still flows along the extinct arm, as far as
Fakkoos (Phacusa), beyond which it is conveyed under the
sand in a direction considerably to the south of the former
channel, dividing near Salahieh into two branches that ter-
minate in the marshy lake Ballah, which forms part of Lake
Menzaleh at that time of the year.
The waters of the ETHAM branch would also run no further
than this lake, were its course to be now restored. It is there
that they were lost, in the accidental irruption of 1800. Mr
Devilliers, in his journal, says, ‘‘ Un sheik nous dit: ‘ Ras el
Moyeh el-Ballah a vu l’eau du Nil cette année.’ (vol. xviii.,
p- 380.) But before any additional depression of that already
very low tract had taken place, the centre of the hollow
formed by the continuation of the ancient strait northwards,
and now occupied by a line of salt marshes and by the above
mentioned Lake Ballah, must have marked the bed of the river,
as far as MiGDOL, and it may then have passed round the
hill of MrGpoL, and run into a lake now dried up and filled
with sand, which is the Lake Seréonis of Herodotus. During
the inundations, a line of sweet water under the sand, appa-
rently the continuation of a deep eastern inlet of Lake Ballah,
and along which there are several wells, seems to point out the
position of a former water-course extending in the direction
of the modern village of Katich. The firmness of the soil
along this line, and abundant vegetation, seem to countenance
this supposition. Nevertheless, I must acknowledge that
this course of the river beyond MiGDoL rests wholly on in-
ferences drawn from such physical indications as a map
esteemed a masterpiece of topographical accuracy in details,
affords—for such the great French map of the Delia is ad-
mitted tobe. The survey of the northern half of the Isthmus
did not follow the line of the lowest points. It cut across
two considerable swells of ground, at the base of which the
water courses lay. A special observation alone can deter-
42 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
mine whether the above indications are truly vestiges of a
former water-course ; or whether the termination of its course
beyond Mrepou must be referred to the only possible alter-
native, that would make it follow the middle of the southern
arm of Lake Menzaleh, so as to become reunited to its pa-
rent, the Pelusiaec channel, about half-way hetween TAun-
PANES and SIN or Pelusium,
Strabo’s account of the entire tract about Pelusium, brief
as it is, shews clearly that it must have been a very low re-
gion, flat, and full of minor hollows, which are now all in-
cluded in Lake Menzaleh. “ Beyond the Tanitic and Pelusiac
mouths, there are lakes, and great and continuous marshes,
in which are many villages. Pelusium itself is surrounded by
marshes and pools, which some call clefts (or pits) (Bagauden).”*
That part of Lake Menzaleh is now very shallow, averaging
from three to eight feet only.
Such an alteration in the most unimportant part of the
Etham river’s course, would, however, in no wise affect the
main proposition of our. geographical theory, that such an
eastern frontier channel of the Nile existed, and was natu-
rally open and navigable till two centuries before the time
of Herodotus ; and would continue so to this day, had it not
been kept ever since then, and did it not still remain, sup-
pressed by art.
(To be continued.)
* Strabo, Geog., lib. xvii., § 802.
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( 48 )
On the Specific Gravity of the Water of the Sea off the Coast of
British Guiana. By Joun Davy, M.D., F.R.S., Lond.
& Ed., Inspector-General of Army Hospitals, &e. Com-
municated in a letter addressed to Professor Jameson.
My DEAR SiR,—Conceiving that some useful results might
be obtained by determining the specific gravity of sea-water
at different distances from the land, along the shores of which
large rivers pour out their waters, such as that of British
Guiana, on a return voyage which I recently made from that
Colony, viz.—in the first week in June,—I had specimens of
water taken up for the purposed trial. They were put into
phials provided with glass stoppers, and their specific gravity
wasdetermined after arrival in Barbadoes in the ordinary way,
using a very delicate balance: each specimen was numbered
at the time it was obtained.
No. 1 was taken from the shore at George Town, where
the Demerara river meets the sea, and where the water is
only just perceptibly saline. Its specific gravity at 36° Fahr.
compared with rain-water of the same temperature, was
10-036 to 10-000.
No. 2 taken up, where the mail steamer, in which I em-
barked, was at anchor, about a quarter of a mile from the
shore, was of specific gravity, 10-991.
No. 3, from about 11 miles from the shore was of specific
gravity, 10-210.
No. 4, about 19 miles off, was of specific gravity, 10°236
— §, = 1 27 4 : e : : 10°2495
— 6, — 35 , * 5 iS P 10°236
— 7, — 43 F . P é A 10°2495
— 8, — Sl 5 4 - 5 10°258
= 2 ee , 3 - : 10°266
This last mentioned specific gravity was of water taken up
when the sea had acquired, or nearly so, the blue colour of the
ocean, andis a near approach to that of sea-water generally in
the West Indies, The highest that I have ascertained hay-
ing been 10:278, which was of water from of the coast of
44 Dr Davy on the Specific Gravity of the Water
Antigua, towards the end of an unusually dry season ; the
lowest that of 10-260, was of water from near the shore of
Barbadoes, taken up after a good deal of rain had fallen dur-
ing the preceding three months.
With the exception of Nos. 6 and 7, there is a regular
and well marked increase of the specific gravity of the water
with the increasing distance from the land. In these two in-
stances, it is probable that the slight diminution in the one,
and the no augmentation in the other, compared with the
preceding No. 5, may have been owing to some heavy
showers of rain which fell on that part of the sea, about the
time that the steamer was passing.
For practical purposes in navigation, no doubt, it is desir-
able that more numerous observations should be made on the
specific gravity of the water off the coast of British Guiana,
and with all possible accuracy as to intervals of distance,
position and distance, from the shore. Should it be found,
that in all seasons there is a certain and partly regular
diminution of the specific gravity of the water in nearing
the coast, may not the circumstance be turned to use-
ful account, especially by the mail steamer? Provided
with a hydrometer, even in the darkest night, aided by
soundings, it is probable the position of the vessel might
be determined with accuracy within the range of a very
few miles, so as not to be under the necessity of lying
to, perhaps sixty miles from land, as is now often the
case, and even in nights not particularly dark,—a necessity
connected with the lowness of the coast-line of this vast
alluvial district, there being on it no conspicuous land-mark,
and even the light of the lighthouse in George Town being
often obscured by mist.
Reflecting on the subject, it naturally occurs to one, whether
the hydrometer might not be useful to navigators, not only
in making land where the well-known coast is at all similar
to that of British Guiana, as regards rivers and lowness, but
also in exploring expeditions off unknown coasts, where the
existence of rivers is uncertain, and they are anxiously sought
for. In reading the accounts which we hear of the surveys
of the coast of New Holland, I have fancied that had a hydro-
of the Sea off the Coast of British Guiana. 45
meter been used for ascertaining the specific gravity of the
water, where the proximity of the river has been conjectur-
ed and laboriously sought for, the enterprising navigators
would have had a great aid in solving the problem. It may
be said, that the coast of British Guiana is almost peculiar, on
account of the many and large rivers by which it is broken.
This is true; and, the diminution of the specific gravity
of the water of the sea there is, in proportion, remarkable.
Where fewer and smaller rivers have their outlet, there a less
diminution, but some diminution, may be expected to be found
on approaching land, appreciable by the hydrometer and an
indication of the cireumstance,—the difference being only in
degree.
In conclusion, I may remark, that the sea for many miles
off the coast of British Guiana is more or less discoloured ;
near the land itis the colour of the Thames at-London bridge,
—light brown. This, with increasing distance from the shore,
acquires a greenish hue; the pure blue of the ocean is hard-
ly observable within eighty miles of the land. In all the
specimens of sea-water which I had taken up, with the ex-
ceptions of Nos. 8 and 9, there was, on rest, a minute sedi-
ment (the cause chiefly of the discoloration), diminishing
withthe distance at which each was collected. Observed under
the microscope, this sediment, in each instance, appeared to
consist of granular matter, the granules commonly less than
zoboo inch in diameter, and of minute lamine of irregular
form, seldom exceeding 5155 inch in diameter. The exceeding
firmness of this discolouring matter is not surprising, when
it is considered that the rivers which are the carriers of it,
flow for many miles with a very sluggish course; and that
the bottoms of many of them, perhaps of all of them, in part,
are actually below the level of the sea. The discolouring
material is, no doubt, chiefly earthy matter, and probably
mixed with very minute portions of vegetable and animal
matter: this seems to be indicated by the granules being
collected together in little masses. Resting on the sediment
in the specimen of water taken up close to the shore, was a
mucor-like substance. And, it may be, that to the presence
of a portion of animal and vegetable matter, the alluvial soil
46 Dr Davy on the
of British Guiana, so productive without manure, in part
owes its fertility, as well as in part to the extreme minute-
ness of division of the inorganic earthy portion, its principal
constituent. Believe me, my dear Sir, very faithfully yours,
J. Davy.
BaRBADOES, August 15, 1847.
On the Urinary Secretion of certain Animals, considered in
connection with their Temperature, Food, §c. By JOHN
Davy, M.D., F.R.S. Lond. & Ed., &e.
1. It is well known that the urinary secretion in the in-
stance of many birds,—animals exceeding all others in tem-
perature,—consists chiefly of lithate of ammonia. So far as
my inquiries have extended, I have not met with a single ex-
ception ; even in the case of birds, as the parrot and the dove,
living in confinement, restricted to a diet entirely vegetable,
IT have found it the same. The dove, in the particular in-
stance to which I allude, was fed on Guinea and Indian corn,
the parrot on bread and fruit, chiefly the plantain ; and other
parrots of several kinds, the urine of which I examined in
Ceylon many years ago, and was found similar, were fed
chiefly on rice and plantains.
2. Insects, with a variable temperature, varying, it would
appear, with the degree of their excitement, or energy of ac-
tion, or of respiration, whether living on vegetable or animal
matter, or on a mixture of the two, have, according to my ex-
perience, a urinary secretion like that of birds, composed
chiefly of lithate of ammonia and lithic acid.
3. Spiders, of low temperature, but of considerable activity,
living entirely on insects, secrete a urine of a different kind,
being composed, as I have found it, of xanthic oxide.
4, Serpents, of low temperature, a few degrees only above
that of the atmosphere in which they live, occasionally, like
the spiders, making great muscular exertions, and, like them,
capable of living a long time without food, and their food be-
ing entirely animal, have their urinary secretion composed
chiefly of lithate of ammonia.
Urinary Secretion of certain Animals. AT
5. Lizards, with a temperature like that of serpents, and,
like them, living entirely on animal matter, resemble them
also, so far as my experience allows me to speak, in the com-
position and quality of their urine. The trials I have made
of it have been limited to that of three or four different spe-
cies.
6. The frog and toad, both of very low temperature, living
entirely on animal matter, and capable of long continued
fasts, have a urinary secretion different from that of any of
the preceding. In all the preceding instances, this secretion
would appear to pass from the secerning organs,—the kidneys,
—in a semifluid state (granules of lithate of ammonia, mixed
with a little watery fluid), and to become solid before it is
voided, or shortly after, in consequence of the absorption of
the aqueous part in the cloaca serving as a urinary recep-
tacle, or its loss by evaporation in the open air. But, in the
instance of these Batrachian animals, it is secreted by the
kidneys, in a liquid state, and very dilute, and is commonly,
after passing into the cloaca, received into a very thin, and
dilatable, and contractile bladder, which communicates by a
large longitudinal opening, provided with a valve,” with the
lower part of the intestinal canal,—the cloaca,—in which the
waters terminate.t The dilute liquid urine of these animals
consists chiefly of water holding, in solution, urea and a little
saline matter, and, in its composition, may be considered as
an approach to the human urinary secretion. Many years
* JT am not aware that the valvular structure alluded to above has yet been
described ; it is a semiluna fold of the delicate lining membrane of the cloaca,
extending across, not unlike the valve of a vein in its form, and, in position, in
regard to the opening into the bladder, not unlike that of epiglottis in relation
to the glottis. When pressed down, as by the pressure of a probe moved to-
wards the anal opening, it completely covers the aperture into the bladder. It
is perfectly well adapted to allow a fluid, descending from the waters, to pass
when the sphincter ani is closed, and to prevent fecal matter from entering the
bladder in its descent through the cloaca, where it never lodges, a sphincter
above keeping it in the large intestine.
+ As difference of opinion exists amongst high authorities in comparative
anatomy relative to the termination of the waters of these animals, I may men-
tion that I have passed a fine leaden probe through the water of the toad into
its cloaca,
48 Dr Davy on the
ago, I found this to be the nature of the urine of a large spe-
cies of frog, and of a toad which I examined in Ceylon.*
Lately, I have found the urine of the toad of this island (Bar-
badoes), which is of the same species as the common toad of
Europe (Rana bufo), of like composition.
What are the bearings of these facts in their physiological
relations? Do they not prove that neither the temperature
of the animal, nor its activity, nor even its food (that is, the ©
physiological conditions connected with respiration, muscular
action, digestion, &c.), affect, materially, the nature, as to
composition, of the urinary secretion? And does it not fol-
low that the quality of this secretion, therefore, must depend
chiefly on the intimate structure of the secerning organs ?
This is a view which, for a long while, has appeared to me
most consistent with established facts ; though, I believe, it
has never been generally adopted, and, recently, other views
have been taken, theoretically very different, which have been
supported by much ingenuity of reasoning, but not, I appre-
hend, equally by facts.
I have spoken of the toad and frog as having a urinary
bladder. The function of the organ I allude to, and its pro-
per denomination, have, for a long while, been a subject of
difference of opinion; some inquirers holding it to be a re-
ceptacle for urine, others, the receptacle of a fluid not derived
from the kidneys, but rather the product of cutaneous absorp-
tion. Even recently, I find that two English physiologists
maintain this latter opinion; one of them seems to ground
it chiefly on the anatomical argument, that the vesicle, the
bladder of these animals, is the “‘ unobliterated remains of
the allantois of the embryo.” Granted that it is so, if it be
found to have increased in size with the growth of the ani-
mal, and to be so modified as to answer the purpose of a
urinary bladder, fitted to receive this fluid, and to let it es-
cape when necessary, and that the fluid which is found in it
is actually of the nature of urine, as regards chemical com-
* The results will be found in a paper published in the Philosophical Trans-
actions for, I believe, 1817, and in the first volume of my Researches.
7 Professor Rymer Jones, in his “General Outlines of the Animal Kingdom,’
p- 535. London, 1841.
Urinary Secretion of certain Animals. 49
position, must it not be considered, having the functions of a
urinary bladder, to be such in reality? Moreover, apart
from the chemical composition of the fluid, it appears to me
difficult to conceive how, on the supposition of absorption (the
ground on which the other physiologist supports his opinion),*
it can find its way into the bladder, inasmuch as this organ
is provided with few bloodvessels from which an inhalation
can take place ; nor does it appear to possess the property of
imbibition or endosmosis, by which fluid could be drawn into
it from the cavity of the abdomen; for when immersed in wa-
ter, empty and collapsed én situ, immediately after the deca-
pitation of the animal, it does not become distended.
Before concluding, I would make one remark, which is,
that though I believe the quality of the secretion of the kid-
neys to depend chiefly on structure, I am also of opinion that
this secretion is affected, in a minor degree, by circumstances
of diet, and of atmospheric temperature, and especially in
man. In acold or cool climate, using a diet chiefly of ani-
mal food, lithic acid and lithate of ammonia are found com-
monly, in a vegetable proportion, in the human urine ; but
not so in a hot climate, not even when the diet is the same;
and, in consequence, within the tropics, where least oxygen
is consumed in respiration, the ailments depending on the
formation of gravel and calculi are almost unknown. In the
instances of other animals, no doubt, the proportion of the
urinary matter, the quantity secreted, depends very much on
the quantity of food taken ; and, when, as in some instances,
it is a mixture of animal and vegetable matter, and the urine
secreted is semifluid or concrete highly azotised matter, as in
some birds or insects, it depends also on the quantity of the
former that is consumed.
BARBADOES, September 6, 1847.
* Professor Bell, in article Amphibia , Cyclopedia of Anatomy and Physiology,
p- 104.
VOL. XLIV. NO, LXXXVIL—JAN, 1848. D
( 50 )
Observations on the Petrifaction of Shells in the Mediterranean.
By MM. MaArceEL De SERRES and L. Figur.
All the researches of modern geology seem to prove that nothing
is changed in the order of nature, and that the same causes which
operated in the first ages of the world, are still influencing the oc-
currences that take place under our own eyes. Certain facts, how-
ever, have hitherto appeared not to be referable to this common
origin; and the petrifaction of organic remains, in the midst of
geological formations, is daily adduced as one of the most weighty
arguments against this general law.
Few persons, indeed, will be ready to admit what, however, is an
indisputable fact, that there are now forming, in the bosom of seas,
petvifactions which, in the double respect of chemical composition
and mode of petrifaction, are altogether analogous to those which
are formed in the bed of the ancient sea. The object of this me-
moir is to demonstrate this general fact, and to study the pheno-
mena by means of which it is brought about.
We hope to prove, at the same time, that the sandstones contain-
ing the molluscous remains which cover, as is well known, spaces of
such vast extent in the tertiary formations, have their analogues in
the shelly rocks of recent formation, which are formed, in our own
day, in the middle of the Mediterranean.
I. On the Mode in which Organic Bodies became Petrified in
Historical and Geological Eras.
If we reason according to the facts which occur in our own day,
certain conditions seem necessary to produce the petrifaction of
organised bodies, or, in other words, these petrifactions are not ob-
served but where these conditions are united. We may admit, with-
out deviating too much from probability, that the same cireum-
stances were necessary to produce this phenomenon during the geo-
logical epochs.
is order that organic remains may become petrified, that is to
say, in order that the organic matter they contain may be replaced
by a mineral substance which preserves their forms and most deli-
cate lineaments, it is necessary, in our opinion, 1s¢, that these remains
should be sunk in great masses of water ; Qdly, that the waters
should contain, in certain abundance, calcareous or siliceous salts.
It is easy to conceive, that the first of these conditions must have
been constantly present during geological times, as well in respect
to the organised species deposited in seas, as in regard to those
existing in fresh waters. ‘lo be convinced of this, it is sufficient
to compare the extent occupied by seas at periods when there was
no human witness, with that which they now occupy.
Observations on the Petrifaction of Shells, Se. 51
In fact, the waters which filled the basin of the seas of geological
times, not only occupied very large spaces, but they also possessed a
more energetic dissolving property, if we may judge from the great
quantity of substances which they have deposited on the surface of for-
mations. A similar comparison between the fresh waters of the old
world, and those which now fill the lakes and lowest points of con-
tinents, will lead to the same conclusion. Indeed, it does not ap-
pear that existing fresh waters can produce such considerable de-
posits as those which have been left by the rivers and lakes of the
old world.
The important part which carbonate of lime and silex have per-
formed in the phenomenon of petrifaction, appears from a simple
examination of facts. The greater part of geological petrifactions
have been produced by means of carbonate of lime. ‘This pheno-
menon is always more complete when the waters among which it
takes place contain this salt in abundance. When the gypseous
formations contain organic remains, which rarely happens in regard
to the mollusca, they are found to be in a state of incomplete petri-
faction, as may readily be seen by examining the bones found in
such places. It is the same with the most part of the arenaceous for-
mations and deposits of clay, where the shells preserve their distinct
appearance as well as in the gypseous formations. It is, in fact,
among marls and sands that the remains of the life of geological
times are best preserved and most frequently found.
After the carbonate of lime, silex is the most frequent agent of
petrifaction ; it is superior even to the carbonate of lime in the
fidelity and delicacy with which it reproduces the finest lineaments
of organic remains.
Besides, certain peculiarities of these organized bodies appear to
have been not without influence on the siliceous pseudo-morphoses,
Thus, the parts of bodies of sufficient consistency to preserve their
form during the time necessary for petrifaction, are almost always
in the calcareous state, and those of less consistency have passed
into the siliceous state. We often see the ligaments of Gryphee
changed into silex, although the head be petrified with calcareous
matter. The greater part of the fossil Aleyons and Sponges are
almost always transformed into silex. In like manner, the nuclei
of these shells are more frequently metamorphosed into silex than
their heads. The Ananchites and the other Echinides of the green
sandstone, whose head is almost always calcareous, have a siliceous
nucleus in the interior, which often fills the whole space. One would
say, that the animal matter has sometimes issued from it as if squeezed
out by mechanical pressure. Finally, the siliceous zoophytes are
often found disseminated throughout caleareous rocks, which seems
to indicate a kind of electrive attraction of the animal matter for
silex.
Carbonate of lime and silex are not the only substances which
52 Observations on ihe Petrifaction of Shells
have concurred in the petrifaction of the organized bodies of the old
world, The peroxide of iron, anhydrous or hydrated, and the sul-
phur of iron have co-operated. Indeed Ammonites are sometimes
transformed into Oligiste or Limonite. Many of these Ammonites,
partly ferruginous, are not less calcareous, like the formations in
which they are found; often they are even converted into pyrites.
To this explanation of the petrifaction of the remains of organized
bodies, by means of previous dissolution, it will perhaps be objected
that the carbonate of lime and silex, which are the most ordinary
agents in producing this phenomenon, are naturally insoluble in
water. But we know that the carbonate of lime dissolves in an ex-
cess of carbonic acid, particularly when aided by an increase of pres-
sure, and the bicarbonate of lime is met with in sea-water in con-
siderable proportion. With regard to silex, the action of alkalies,
the elevation of temperature, the gelatinous or nascent state induce its
dissolution, as is well known, The solubility which it acquires in these
circumstances may be conceived to admit of the formation of the zeo-
lithes and amygdaloids, which we so frequently meet with in the
neighbourhood of igneous rocks, Finally, in certain circumstances,
the silex is taken away from the rocks that contain it by the heat
of the water alone. It is to an effect of this nature that we must
refer the origin of these siliceous deposits, found in such great
quantities in Iceland, at the bottom of the Geysers. MM. Dumas ad-
mits that, in these particular cases, the silex is dissolved by the re-
peated shock of the steam escaping from the warm springs. The
thermal springs of that country, indeed, contain a considerable
quantity of silex in a state of dissolution, caused by the double effect
of heat and alkalies.
An increase of pressure is not perhaps without influence on the
solubility of this earth. We are tempted to believe this, on witness-
ing silex existing in a state of solution in the greater part of subter-
ranean waters, such as the mineral springs applied to medical pur-
poses. Lastly, when we remark that a great number of vegetables
contain notable quantities of silex in their stalks, and in certain of
their members, and when we find silex in a dissolved state in the
waters of many rivers, we are led to believe that the greater part of
fresh waters contain small quantities of this substance.
If we decline to admit the fact of a real dissolution of silex in the
waters which have petrified shells in geological times, it will be suf-
ficient, for the explanation of the phenomenon, that we admit its
gelatinous state. If it be necessary that silex should be in a state
of dissolution before it can produce rock-crystal, it is evident that,
by solidifying to the gelatinous state, it has produced the silices, and
particularly the agates and calcedonies.
The preceding observations authorise us, therefore, to refer the
phenomenon of the petrifaction of organic remains, during the geo-
logical and historical epochs, to a mineral substitution brought about
in the Mediterrancan. 53
by means of substances dissolved in waters, where they are found in
a gelatinous state.
II. Facts which prove that Petrifactions are now forming in the
bosom of existing seas, analogous to those of Geological times.
The shells in the bottom of the Mediterranean, abandoned by the
animals which formed them, there meet with the conditions indica-
ted above as indispensable to their petrifaction. They are sunk in
considerable masses of water, holding notable quantities of carbonate
of lime in solution. Accordingly, to the calcareous carbonate which
composed the shell in a fresh state, a new quantity may be added or
substituted, furnished by the waters of the sea, and which replaces
the animal matter, and the carbonate of the original lime. This is
just what we observe, and in different degrees, according as the
petrifaction is more or less advanced, ~ We shall afterwards study,
with the necessary details, the whole of the different degrees of this
phenomenon. Let us now confine ourselves to the simple announce-
ment of the fact, which we shall immediately examine in such a way
as to remove all doubts.
But it is not on our own coasts only that we find shells brought
to a state of petrifaction in our own era; we have received from
Algiers masses of shells transformed into a crystalline limestone of
a peculiar whiteness and brilliancy, similar to alabaster. We find
in these shell-rocks, as they may be called, small rolled pebbles, en-
erusted with a stalagmitic and crystalline coating. This same
coating appears to be the cement which has agglutinated the rolled
pebbles ; the latter are siliceous or calcareous. Among the shells
composing these masses, we notice only genera and species of our
own epoch, particularly Pectunculus and Cardium ; more rarely uni-
valves. The officers who have brought us these shell petrifactions
from the neighbourhood of Algiers, assure us that they are formed in
our own times, and in the historical epoch. But as we have not our-
selves observed these masses of shells inthe places where they occur,
we cannot very positively assert that such is really their origin.
We may add, that it is not shells alone which may be thus
brought to the state of petrifaction in the midst of salt waters. It
is easy to produce examples of vegetable petrifactions formed in
recent times. We may first refer to the curious observation of M.
Lyell. This geologist found grains of chara petrifying, in the pre-
sent day, into calcareous matter in the lakes of Scotland, just as
seeds of the same vegetable petrified into calcareous matter in the
lacustrine waters of the old world. Captain Baux observed a fact of
the same kind in the island of Mogador, Stalks of fucus, belonging to
the same species as those living in the surrounding sea, have become,
as it were, centres of attraction for the calcareous and siliceous salts,
These substances have precipitated themselves on the stalks, around
which they are moulded. Some of these stalks, as yet incompletely
54 Observations on the Petrifaction of Shells
petrified, shew some traces of vegetable tissue. M. Baux could
compare them with the fuci of the neighbouring sea, and he found
that the petrified fuci were identical with Fucus natans.
M. Blast, of Bombay,* has discovered, in the neighbourhood of
Cairo, an entire forest converted into silex ; the vessels, medullary
rays, and even the most slender fibres, are distinctly visible. The
petrified trees are from 16 to 18 metres in length, This phenome-
non extends over a surface of many hundred miles. The whole de-
sert which is crossed by the road from Cairo to Suez is strewed with
these trees, which seem to have been petrified on the spot, and in
the existing era. At least this forest is covered by nothing more
than sand and gravels. The latter, and the trees embedded in
them, rest on calcareous limestones, which contain oysters with
their texture and colour so little altered, that one would believe that
they had been but recently left by the waters of the sea. It is
therefore probable that these substances belong to our own era; and
we may adduce this interesting fact as tending to prove the trans-
formation of living shells into new calcareous carbonate.}
‘We may add, in the last place, that the waters of the sea are not
the only ones which can cause the petrifaction of shells in the exist-
ing period. In India, in the territory of Kurneel, there is a ther-
mal spring which forms abundant calcareous deposits, and in which
numerous fresh water shells of the genera Melania and Planorbis are
found. These shells, in different states of petrifaction, are some-
times entirely converted into calcareous spar, while others preserve
only their interior mould; and, lastly, there are some of them
covered with quartz crystals, while in others these crystallizations are
in a rudimentary state. The shell deposites formed by the thermal
spring of Kurneel, have a consistency analogous to that of the sili-
ceous tufas of the warm springs of the Geysers in Iceland. The
transformation of the shells of living Melania and Planorbis into
siliceous matter is a much more surprising fact than the conversion
of the shells of the Mediterranean into calcareous matter different
from that of which they were primitively constituted.
The facts which we have passed in review sufficiently demonstrate,
in our opinion, the reality of the phenomenon of the petrifaction of
shells in the present day, and impart to it besides a remarkably
general character. We must now examine the phenomenon more
closely, by following the progress, and pointing out the differences
which present themselves according to the diversity of the species.
* L’Institut, April 1846, p. 116.
t Along with these facts, which we are unable to give on our own autho-
rity, we may add the two following, which are of great value in reference to
the question now before us :—
The Cardium edule, in a petrified state, is said to form considerable banks at
the mouth of the Sommé.
At Caucale, oyster-shells, which have been thrown into the sea after having
appeared at table, there become petrified like our shells in the Mediterranean.
If this statement be correct, it is evident that it meets all objections.
in the Mediterranean. toy,
III. On the progress and different degrees of the Petrifaction of
Shells.
The indispensable condition for shells becoming petrified in our
epoch is, that they remain for a very long period submerged in the
sea. When merely left on the shore they exfoliate and become
disintegrated, but never petrify. The whole is then reduced by a
slow but total destruction, the rapidity of which depends on the ex-
ternal circumstances to which they are subjected. But the process
is very different with those which remain sunk in the water.
The shells abandoned by the animals which inhabit them, and
principally such as are left near the shore, are for a long time tossed
about by the waves. The first modification they undergo is in the
alteration of their colours. Thus discoloured, they are often thrown
out on the beach, where they are found in great plenty after rough
weather and violent winds. The loss of their natural colours is the
first effect produced on the shells and the solid and calcareous tubes
of the Annelides, then on the stony masses of the Polypi; the se-
cond, and the more considerable, consists of the alteration of their
substance. ‘This alteration first appears most evidently on the shells
provided with angles and elevated ridges. The grooves and promi-
nent parts disappear, and the surface becomes uniform. This is
particularly observable in the large ribbed Buccini, such as Cardium
album, trebberea, tuberculatum, and aculeatum. The prominent
ribs, and the osseous interstices, which are so conspicuous in the
fresh shells, scarcely leave sensible traces of their existence when
the alteration is somewhat advanced. This first modification is par-
ticularly obvious in the Pectunculi, in which it often exposes their
singular structure beneath the external covering. The Citheree
likewise lose their external coat, and exhibit the structure of their
interior layer.
In proportion as these modifications advance, sand is precipitated
into the interior of the valves of the shell-bearing Molluses, where it
becomes agglutinated and hardened, occasionally enclosing more or
less considerable remains of small shells in the interior of their
masses. ‘he calcareous matter which, by the effect of this mineral
substitution, is precipitated into the very substance of the shells,
often becomes there a kind of sphere of attraction for salts of every
kind existing in a state of solution in the sea-water; in consequence
of this attraction, the carbonate of lime is precipitated on the exterior
surface, as well as on the interior of the shells, and there forms a
crystallization often well-marked, and sometimes of considerable re-
gularity. ‘Lhe form of these crystals is referable, for the most part,
to the inverse variety of Haiiy.
We have collected a considerable number of shells, in which the
original snbstance has almost wholly disappeared, and is replaced by a
carbonate of crystalline lime, the aspect, colour, and transparency of
which have no relation to that which at first composed the shell. The
55 Observations on the Petrijaction of Shells
difference is so great, that if the carbonate of crystalline lime had
not preserved the general form of the shell, it would be impossible to
recognise the origin of their new bodies. We have also found a Tri-
ton, the modiferum of Lamarck, which presented singular cireum-
stances. All the inequalities found on the surface in a fresh state
have completely disappeared, and it has become quite smooth ; it is
wholly transformed into a crystalline limestone. One of its sides
has lost a part of its substance; and this opening seems to have
served as a passage to the lapideous liquids which have penetrated
into the interior of its cavity, and by accumulating there, have given
it a very great density and hardness. We likewise possess a curious
specimen of a mass of shells petrified and agglutinated together,
found in the neighbourhood of Algiers. We can distinguish among
these shells, Murex tranaclus and arentinus, Natica cruentata,
Venus verrucosa and gassina, Cardium tuberculatum and eduli,
Pecten glaber, and Pectunculus glycimeris. We likewise notice a
Lucina, not sufficiently entire to be determined ; and, lastly, a cast
resembling Mytilus afer, which is known to live on the coasts of
Barbary. Among the most remarkable individuals of the last men-
tioned localities, and which, like these just spoken of, have been trans-
formed into crystalline alabaster, we may mention particularly a
Triton modiferum of large size ; it is almost double the dimensions
of those belonging to our coasts; numerous inverse crystals of car-
bonate of lime are deposited in its interior. We likewise possess ano-
ther fragment about 40 square centimeters, composed almost entirely of
the agglutinated valves of Petcunculi, which are likewise transformed
into crystalline alabaster. The valves are soldered to each other by
a gluten of the same nature, the whole as solid and brilliant as that
composing the valves themselves. ‘This specimen, the origin of which
is unknown to us, appears, however, to come from our own coasts,
for it existed in the collection of the Faculty of Sciences, long before
we had formed settlements in Algiers.
All the shells in the bosom of seas do not undergo the same kind
of alterations. For the most part, Oysters and Pectens receive the
lapidific fluids only between the leaves of their lamina, which renders
them more solid and stony than in their fresh state. Often the
species of this genus not having very thick valves, such, for example,
as Ostrea cristata, are impregnated with a calcareous gluten, which
solders the valves together, in the same manner that takes place in a
great number of fossil species, particularly those of the secondary
formations. Sometimes the stony valves of large oysters, particu-
larly those of Ostrea edulis in the Mediterranean, are covered on the
outside with crystals of the carbonate of Jime. When this quantity
is considerable, it renders these oysters as dense as those of geolo-
gical times. The superior valves of the Pectens, are likewise covered
with small calcareous or sandy deposits; but the latter are never
abundant, the valves of these shells not being of sufficient thick-
ness,
in the Mediterranean. 57
When the petrifaction has reached its last stage, the carbonate of
lime which composed the shell in its fresh state, has totally disap-
peared. It has been replaced, pretty generally, by a crystalline cal-
careous substance, which retains, more or less, the form and struc-
ture of the shell in which it was formed. We pretty often see shells
metamorphosed in this manner into new limestone, encrusted with a
layer of sand, more or less thick, and always indurated.
All kinds of shells do not appear susceptible of petrifying in the
same degree ; we have hitherto observed very few species of the genus
Venus in this state. A certain number, however, are to be found
in the Mediterranean, among which we may mention, as the most
common, Venus decussata, virginea, rugosa and galinea. This cir-
cumstance is so much the more remarkable, as this genus is ex-
tremely frequent in the tertiary formations, where it is petrified, like
the greater number of the species of this formation. The same thing
may be observed of the small Tellinze, so numerous in the Mediter-
ranean, and which, notwithstanding, are very rarely petrified.*
There is, lastly, another kind of alteration presented by shells, and
of which we shall only say a few words, because it is not connected
very directly with the question under discussion ; and which, more-
over, takes place among fresh as well as petrified shells. When
shells, or rocks containing shells, remain a long time in the mud or
in puddles of brackish water, such as are very often found along the
shores of the Mediterranean, they become of a black or deep blue
colour, more or less intense. This change in the colour does not ex-
tend much further than the exterior surface. To be convinced of
this, we have only to break an oyster, or some other shell thus dark-
ened, when we perceive that the shade of colour does not go beyond
afew millimetres beneath the surface; the rest of the shell presents
the white colour of carbonate of lime. This alteration is owing to
the sulphur of iron, which is formed at the expense of the oxide of
iron, forming part of the shell, and the sulphuretted hydrogen spon-
* We believe that the facts contained in this chapter, afford a sufficient an-
swer to an objection which has been made to us by some geologists, and which we
shall now state. It is alleged that the petrified shells found on the shores of
the Mediterranean may come from geological formations; the waves may have
detached these shells from the tertiary formations, in places where these forma-
tions formed the bottom of the sea, and they may have been thrown up on the
bank. The two following remarks are suflicient to destroy this argument :—
1. We find, in the Mediterranean, shells in every stage of petrifaction, from
simple discoloration to their complete transformation into carbonate of cerys-
talline lime.
2. The molecular structure of the petrified shells of the present day is often
very different from the structure of fossil shells. The former most frequently
have a crystalline texture ; the latter are always in a compact state.
Besides, the facts which we shall afterwards mention, in reference to the mo-
dern shelly sandstone now preduced in the Mediterranean, do not leave us any
roonr to doubt the reality of the important phenomenon we are illustrating in
this memoir.
58 Observations on the Petrifactions of Shells
taneously disengaged from the mud in the midst of which the shells
are lying. Indeed, if we scrape the black part of the shells, and
treat them with diluted chlorhydric acid, suspending a paper sa-
turated with acetate of lead in the phial in which the gas is dis-
engaged, the paper blackens in a few instants.
IV. On the Chemical Composition of Shells, considered in a fresh and
also in a petrified state, during Historical and Geological times.
It is necessary, in order to complete the preceding observations,
to submit the shells petrified during the two great epochs in the his-
tory of the earth, to a chemical examination,
In order to render the results at which we arrive comparable,
we must examine the same species found petrified in geological for-
mations and in our own seas, for it would be illogical to compare, in
respect to chemical composition, a Belemnite or an Ammonite, for
example, with a Mactra, a Buccinum, or any other genus of a modern
formation. Among the genera petrified in present times, we have
chosen particularly those fouud most frequently in that state, that is
to say, Oysters, Pectunculi, and Buccinum. Finally, as none of
these shells, with the exception of Ostrea, from the ocean, have
hitherto been subjected to analysis, we have thought it right to ana-
lyse chemically all these species taken in a fresh state.
The following are some of the processes followed in these anslyses,
The animal matter has been determined in the following manner ;
10 grammes of the shell were taken, reduced to powder, and de-
prived of the water it contained by prolonged exposure to a heat of
about 150 degrees, till the weight of the matter ceased to undergo
any change. ‘hese 10 grammes of matter, perfectly free from water,
were then calcined to a red heat in a porcelain crucible, in order to
destroy the organic matter. As the read heat had necessarily de-
composed a part of the carbonate of lime of the shell, the calcined
matter was then moistened with a concentrated solution of carbonate
of ammonia ; a heat, below a red heat, was then carefully applied, in
order to recompose the carbonate of lime destroyed, at the expense
of the carbonate ef ammonia. On again weighing the matter after
this treatment, the loss undergone by the 10 grammes of matter em-
ployed, represented the organic matter destroyed. We have at-
tempted to determine the animal matter by another process, for the
difficulty of drying the shell thoroughly, without altering the animal
matter, may leave some doubt. The shell, dried only by a heat of
100 degrees, has been dissolved in hydrochloric acid, the precaution
being taken to add this acid in small portions, in order to prevent
the liquor becoming heated. ‘The shell dissolved, leaving only the
insoluble animal matter under the form of filaments or delicate mem-
branes, just in the same manner as when bones are treated with
hydrochloric acid in order to extract the gelatine.
By operating in this manner, we have always obtained a smaller
in the Mediterranean. 59
quantity of animal matter than by calcination ; probably because a
art of the organic matter was dissolved in the chlorhydrid acid.
We know, indeed, that in the dissolution of the gelatine of bones by
acids, it is impossible to prevent the dissolution of a small quantity
of the organic substance. This method, however, served to check
the results of the first method, and to shew that the relative numbers
obtained by the two methods followed in the experiments were the
same. We may observe, however, that the last mentioned process
could not always be followed in regard to shells recently petrified.
These often retain a little sand between their lamine, of which it is
impossible to deprive them. After the action of the acid, this sand
remains mingled with the animal matter, which, besides, is in very
small proportions.*
The phosphate of lime has been treated by evaporating the solu-
tion of shells in chlorhydric acid nearly to dryness, again taking it
up in water, evaporating it anew, and slightly calcining the residuum.
Taken up with water, the latter leaves a mixture of phosphate and
sulphate of lime. As the sulphate of lime would have required too
many washings to be freed from the phosphate of lime, the mixture
was weighed, dissolved in chlorhydric acid, and the sulphuric acid
precipitated by a salt of barytes. The weight of the sulphate of
barytes indicated the quantity of the sulphate of lime, and the dif-
ference between the weight of the sulphate of lime from that of the
primitive mixture, indicated the quantity of the phosphate of lime.
The other constituent principles of shells have been determined
by the ordinary means, agitating the solution in chlorhydric acid.
Table of Analyses of Living Shells, and of such as have been
petrified in Geological and Historical eras.
OYSTERS.
Ostrea, nearly
- Vi.
Oe = eee Ostrea edulis. | related to Ostrea
Lamarck, living in| "27: ©. petrifiegin| hippopus of the
aa ae the Mediter superior marine
3 ranean. tertiary formations
ranean. f
(Pliocene.)
% Se
Animal Matters, . . 3 1:5 0-8
Carbonate of Lime, . : 96:3 96:5
Carbonate of Magnesia, ; O1 14
Sulphate of Lime,. . : 07 0:5
Phosphate of Lime, . y ene $!
Oxide ofIron,. . . (traces) Ld 0:8
100-0 100°0 100°0
* The animal matter obtained from shells is azoted, and presents the character
of coagulated albumen.
60
Observations on the Petrifaction of Shells
ee SS
PECTENS
Animal Matters,
Carbonate of Lime, 3
Carbonate of Magnesia,
Sulphate of Lime, .
Phosphate of Lime, A
Oxide of Iron, Sehr
Pecten glaber,
living in the
Mediterranean.
Pecten of the
superior marine
tertiaryformations
Pecten glaber,
petrified in the
Mediterranean.
(Pliocene.)
3:0 0:9 O7
96:0 97:3 96:7
(traces) 078 0-4
0:7 05 08
0-3 Ae ots
(traces) 0:5 14
100°0 100-0 100-0
Venus semilis, of
Venus virginea, Venus virginea, ¥ : A
living in the petrified in the Poe tee
Mediterranean. Mediterranean. |'© (Brochi.) rons
Animal Matters, 3:0 1:0
Carbonate of Lime, 96°6 97°9
Carbonate of Magnesia, (traces) ae
Sulphate of Lime, . 06
Phosphate of Lime, . : sii
Oxide of Iron, hes oi (traces) 0:5
100:0 1000
PECTUNCULI.
| Peet. alycimeris | Peet. glicimeris | Pectunculus pulvi-
| and famulatus, | and famulatus, natus of the
| living in the | petrified in the superior marine
Mediterranean, | Mediterranean. |tertiary formations
Animal Matters, 2-4 | 07 0:8
Carbonate of Lime, 97-2 99:0 98-4
Carbonate of Magnesia, (traces) oie state
Sulphate of Lime,. . O-4 0:3 0-4
Oxide of Iron, (traces) O-4
100-0 | 100-0 1000
\
CARDIUMS, *
Cardium tubercu- | C.tuberculatum, | Cardium of the
latum, living in the| petrified in the superior marine
Mediterranean. Mediterranean. |tertiaryformations
Animal Matters, * . 2-0 Os 0-5
Carbonate of Lime, 97°8 98-7 98:8
Carbonate of Magnesia, (traces) (traces) OrL
Sulphate of Lime,. . 0-2 0-5 0°3
Oxide of Iron, Betes (traces) (traces) 0:3
100-0 100-0 100-0
in the Mediterranean. 61
The result of these analyses sufficiently shews the remarkable re-
semblance that prevails, in respect to their composition, between the
shells petrified in geological times, and those petrifying in the Medi-
terranean. The small quantity of animal matter contained in both
is pretty nearly the same ; shells recently petrified offer only a slight
excess over fossil species, which, however, is never considerable.
The phosphate of lime existing in certain of these shells in a living
state, such as the Oysters, Pectens, and Venus, is not found in petri-
fied shells, whatever be their date. This peculiarity perfectly ac-
cords with the geological observations mentioned above.
It will be remarked, finally, that all the shells examined contain
sulphate of lime. Although this salt is found in pretty considerable
proportion, it had not been indicated in the analyses of oysters, as
given by Vauquelin, Bucholz, and Brandex. The existence of this
earthy salt cannot, however, be doubted ; for if we calcine the shells
of Oysters, Pectens, and Venus, and dissolve the residue of this cal-
cination in chlorhydric acid, the liquor will discharge sulphuretted
hydrogen in abundance.
Of the Shelly Sandstones now forming in the Mediterranean.
We ought, in conclusion, to direct attention to those shelly sand-
stones, which we observe in our own day on the shores of the Mediter-
ranean, and which we have already referred to as representing the
analogues of the shelly sandstones met with in such abundance in
geological formations, particularly of the tertiary epoch.
It often happens that the sands of the Mediterranean, when they
become cemented together, incorporate in their masses a great number
of shells in a more or less advanced state of petrifaction, and thus
form true banks of shells. These modern shelly sandstones differ
from the shelly sandstones peculiar to the geological formations only
in their small extent. They are found disseminated in the midst of
sea-sands, forming scattered insulated blocks, without continuity, and
at very unequal distances.
It las appeared to us interesting to ascertain the nature of the
gluten which gives adherence and solidity to these sands, and which
produces the numerous arenaceous agglomerations the sea throws up
on its shores, By separating the shells and their debris from these
shelly rocks, and treating them with chlorhydric acid, which dissolves
the smallest detritus of the shells not separated by mechanical means,
a residuum remains, which presents the physical qualities of clay.
This kind of mineral gluten, then, is analogous to Roman cement ;
like it, it is very plastic, and hardens and solidifies under water. We
may add that a clay quite analogous, and which produces the same
effects, is found on the shores of the ocean, principally on the coasts
near Havre, where one of us observed it.
Although these shelly rocks are found on the shores only in small,
and almost always insulated masses, it is yet probable that they con-
62 Observations on the Petrifaction of Shells
stitute, in the middle of the seas, large and extensive masses, of
which we find only the fragments. It cannot be doubted that they
are formed in the middle of the salt waters, when we remark, that
the part which does not rest on the bottom is often covered, not
only by Annelides of the genus Serpula, but also by different Zoo-
phytes. We sometimes also find Barnacles upon them, as on many
of the fossil remains of terrestrial mammifera which have been car-
ried into the sea in geological times.
The formation of these shelly sandstones presents a great number
of curious circumstances, which we shall rapidly point out. Metallic
objects remaining long in the sea, become, as it were, centres of at-
traction for the substances in solution in the waters. These sub-
stances are precipitated on their surface, and cover them with a coat-
ing often of very considerable thickness and hardness.
We possess a musket which appears to have lain long in the sea.
It is covered with a sandy shelly layer, from 5 to 6 centimeters thick,
and of great hardness. In our collections we possess many iron in-
struments, shewing the same peculiarities. | We have exhibited to
the Academy the blade of a knife, still adhering to its handle, which
has been surrounded by a layer of shelly sand nearly 4 centimeters
in thickness. Besides the fragments of shells collected by us, and
hardened by means of a ferruginous cement, which compose this kind
of rock, we also observe small pebbles in it, like those generally found
in the sea. We can easily perceive, from the examination of the
knife thus encased, the influence which the oxide of iron has exerted
on the production of the cement which agelutinates the sand, the
shells, and small pebbles. The iron composing the blade and the
nails of the handle is converted into limonite or hydrated peroxide,
and, by spreading through the mass of sandstone, it has communi-
cated a considerable solidity and hardness to this new rock.
The phenomenon which we have seen exemplified on small objects,
is likewise produced on a large scale, and in circumstances too curious
not to be at least rapidly noticed. In 1827, by the advice of Davy,
the English Admiralty caused the copper sheeting of vessels to be
covered with a certain number of plates of zinc, in order to oppose,
by a galvanic action, the rapid corrosion of the metal in sea-water,
particularly in some parts of the coast of Africa. But this expedient
had soon to be abandoned, because considerable deposits of shells and
agglutinated sand encrusted the vessel so rapidly, that its progress
was retarded. Here the galvanic action accelerated the phenomenon.
The copper, rendered negatively electrical by the pile formed by the
superimposed zinc and copper, attracted the insoluble bases, the mag-
nesia and lime held in solution iu the sea-water, and the sides of the
vessel began to be covered with carbonate of lime and magnesia ;
the shells and sand were then precipitated on these earthy deposites.
The electrical action induced and accelerated the phenomenon, but
it is evident that it is entirely of the same order as those we have
been examining.
in the Mediterranean. 63
V. Have the Physical Phenomena of the Ancient World any
Analogy with the Phenomena now taking place ?
The preceding facts prove that the petrifaction of shells is not a
phenomenon peculiar to past ages, since it is still observed in our
own days. ‘This phenomenon cannot, therefore, be brought forward
against the opinion of the actual permanence of the causes which
have operated in the geological epochs. But it may be asked, whether
this fact be unique, and whether the other phenomena of the mate-
rial world concur with it in inducing us to admit that there is no
change in the operating causes, unless it be that they exercise their
action with less intensity, and in a less general manner. It forms
no part of our intention to discuss this question,—one of the most de-
licate and important connected with geology, in all its details,—in this
place. We shall confine ourselves to examine briefly whether other
facts do not strengthen that one we have been studying, and, like it,
prove that the same effects have been always produced on the surface
of the globe.
If we turn our attention to peat-mosses, the most abundant de-
posites of carbon we now possess, they will give us, in their alternate
beds of marl and sand, a very accurate idea of the conversion of ancient
forests into coal. Besides, immense rafts of wood, which the great
rivers of America bring down to their mouths, are often transformed,
when subjected to great pressure, into a carboniferous matter analo-
gous to coal itself. Lastly, when wood is found in suitable circum-
stances, such as an elevated temperature, or a considerable pressure, it
is converted into lignite, very nearly in the samemanner as trees were
under the same conditions, in geological times. There are no longer
formed, it is true, deposites of ferrate of iron similar to those wrought
in Sweden ; but ferruginous deposites have by no means ceased to be
produced, for they are daily forming in lakes and marshes. These
consist principally of limonite (hydrate and peroxide of iron), which
is found sometimes in suspension in marshy or lacustrine waters, some-
times disseminated through sandy formations. To the examples of
this previously known, M. Daubrée has recently added another, which
he has described to the Geological Society of France (1846.) This
fact is not less remarkable than those which had formerly been noticed.
On the other hand, the numerous stony beaches filled with marine
shells, forming every day in so many different places, represent, in
the whole of their characters and texture, the coarse limestone or
calcaire moellon, both so replete with the remains of molluscs ; they
are both solid and hard. Among the deposites produced every day
under our own observation, we may mention those of the Straits of
Messina, the harbour of Copenhagen, coasts of Ceylon, the Bay of
Sea Dogs, of New Holland, and Guadaloupe. The Antilles also
afford many examples of these modern formations. It is the same
with those of the Island Anastasius (Santo Anastasio), near the east
coast of Florida, opposite the Port of St Augustin, The solid marine
64 Odservations on the Petrifaction of Shells
beds which are constantly precipitated, and envelop the living shells,
compose agglomerations which harden so rapidly as to admit of being
employed for building. These stones are even much sought after, on
account of their lightness and solidity: they have the advantage of
resisting the action of projectiles without cracking, balls sinking into
them.
The shelly sandstones of geological times have their analogues, not
only in those produced in our own day in the Mediterranean, but
also in the siliceous banks formed on the shores of the ocean. M.
De la Béche cites a very remarkable example of this on the north
coast of Cornwall. ‘These sandstones are so solid that, in a steep
shore which is formed of them, they have dug out caverns at New
Park to afford shelter during embarkation. They have even built
the church of Crantoch, which is very near, of this material.
Banks of pudding-stone, so numerous and extensive in geological
times, are still forming in the present day. One in particular is
mentioned between Dives and the mouth of the Orne. ‘There is a
vast collection of rolled pebbles, mingled with shells which have still
the freshness of living species. These agglomerations are cemented
with carbonate of lime, formed in part by the triturated debris of
some of these shells, as MM. Constant Prevost and Huot have ob-
served. In like manner, siliceous sediments are deposited every day
from mineral springs in an indefinite number of places. These sedi-
ments correspond to similar deposites of geological times.
Modern travertins remind us in every respect of the travertins of
geological epochs. The former form layers as distinctly stratified as
the latter, which shews, as Mr Lyell remarks, that they have been
produced by the same cause.
No doubt these facts are insufficient to prove that all the pheno-
mena of the old world are continued in the present day, but they
are calculated to make us presume so in regard to the majority of
such as are best known to us. Now, it is rational to suppose that
such also must be the case with respect to those facts to which we
have not yet directed our attention. It is then extremely probable
that the same laws have always regulated physical phenomena, to
whatever epochs they belong, for unity has been at all times the es-
sential character of the works of Nature.
Conclusions.
The facts we have stated lead to the following conclusion :—
1st, Shells which have lain for a long time in the Mediterranean
petrify there, just as they petrified in the basin of the ancient seas.
2d, The fossilization of the shells of the old world, and the petri-
faction of shells in the basin of existing seas, were effected in the
same manner, and constitute two similar phenomena.
3d, The petrified shells of the old world, and those now met with
in the same state on the shores of the Mediterranean, are almost
identical in regard to their chemical composition,
in the Mediterranean. 65
4th, The difference which exists in the mode of substitution in
the present day and in geological times, consists in this, that the
petrifaction formed at these two epgchs have a different texture and
molecular constitution; it is essentially crystalline in the former,
while it is compact in the petrifactions of the old world.
5th, Shells petrified in the present day do not arrive at this erys-
talline texture till after they have passed through a certain number
of stages, easy to be observed. They begin by losing their colour ;
then the inequalities, asperities, and expansions of their surface dis-
appear, and they become quite smooth. Finally, the penetration of
the calcareous fluids causes their transformation into a stony mass,
most commonly crystalline, and sometimes having the appearance of
alabaster.
6th, Univalve shells petrify less easily than bivalves. The loose
and foliated structure, such as is observed in oysters, seems to facili-
tate the penetration of the lapidifying liquids,
7th, The black tint which shells often acquire by lying in sea-mud,
arises from the reaction of sulphuretted hydrogen, spontaneously dis-
engaged from the mud, on the oxide of iron which these shells con-
tain. This phenomena has no connection with petrifaction.
Sth, The phenomenon of petrifaction is very little perceptible on
bones in modern times. By lying in the Mediterranean, they merely
acquire greater density and solidity.
9th, There are formed, in our own day, in the middle of the waters
of the Mediterranean, banks of shelly sandstones which represent the
analogues of the shelly sandstones proper to geological formations.
10th, These shelly sandstones are produced with great facility
around all metallic objects which remain pretty long in the sea.
11th, The phenomena which we have proved as existing in the
Mediterranean probably take place in the ocean; and it will be easy
to ascertain this when naturalists turn their attention to it.
The facts contained in this memoir concur, then, with many others,
to prove that nothing is changed in the order of Nature, and that the
thread of her operations is not broken.*
* From Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Jan. 1847, p. 21.
VOL. XLIV. NO. LXXXVII.—JAN. 1848. E
( 66 )
On ‘‘ the Silurian Rocks of Bohemia,” with a few Remarks on
the Devonian Rocks of Moravia, in a Letter to Professor
LEONHARD from Sir Roprrick I. Murcuison. With a
Plate. Communicated in Manuscript by the Author,
through M. Lreonuarp, for the Edinburgh New Philoso-
phical Journal.
MY DEAR Sir.—I avail myself of a day of leisure, to give
you a brief general view of the Silurian system of the centre
of Bohemia, as it has been most correctly named by M.
Barande.* To you who have kindly undertaken to make
better known to the scientific public of Germany, the results
of the researches of my colleagues, M. De Verneuil, Count
Keyserling, and myself, I have only to refer to the first chap-
ter of our work, to remind you of the very great importance
which is there attached to the labours of M. Barande. I
first visited Prague in 1829, secondly in 1843, and now I have
spent a fortnight there in company with M. De Verneuil, in the
latter part of which we were joined by Count Keyserling. Dur-
ing the first visit, I knew nomore of the succession of the palzo-
zoic series of rocks and fossils beneath the mountain or ear-
boniferous limestone (lerg-ka/k), than any of my brother geolo-
gists of Europe; and my fellow-traveller on that occasion,
Professor Sedgwick, and myself, having chiefly in view the
development of the structure of the Eastern Alps,} we satis-
fied ourselves with an excursion along the left bank of the
Moldan, where, under the guidance of the able mineralogist
Professor Zippe, we saw that large masses of limestone with
trilobites were subordinate to rocks which were then, with-
out distinction, termed “ grauwacke,” or “ transition.” With
the exception of a few trilobites, chiefly those described by
Count Sternberg,t the museum of Prague then offered few
paleozoic fossils. Time rolled on, during which, by several
oD ee, Ore NYS! Sel
*® See Notice Preliminaire sur le Systeme Silurien, et les Trilobites de Boheme
par Joachim Barande. Leipsic, 1846, p. 1.
+ See Transactions of the Geological Society of London, New Series, vol. iii.,
p- 301, and Philosophical Magazine, New Series, vol. viii., August 1830.
+ See two Notices of Count Sternberg 1825 and 1838, in the Verhandbenger
des Vaterlandesches Museum, Prague.
On the Silurian Rocks of Bohemia, 67
years of researches in England and Wales, I established the
Silurian system as a true natural “terrain,” which, charac-
terised by peculiar organic remains, is separated from the
mountain limestone above it, by the great deposit of the old
red sandstone. This first step was the prelude to the sub-
sequent labours of Professor Sedgwick, M. Landale, and my-
self, whereby the “ Devonian system ” of fossiliferous lime-
Stones, schists, sandstones, &e., was shewn to be the equiva-
lent of the old red sandstone. In this manner the relations
of the older series of fossiliferous strata having been unra-
velled, the next step was to apply this basis of classification
as exhibited in Britain to Europe and other countries, and
see how it would there stand the test. You know the part I
have borne in carrying out this project; and I only allude to
it to inform you, that it was on my return from Poland and
Silesia in 1843, whilst I was making certain additions to the
work on Russia, that I next visited Prague, and then, for
the first time, became really convinced of the fact, that to
whatever extent the Silurian rocks were to be recognised in
Germany (the strata beneath the carboniferous limestone of
Belgium and Rhenish Prussia chiefly representing the De-
vonian system), there could be no doubt that M. Barande
had succeeded in demonstrating, that the palzeozoic rocks of
the tract around Prague were of true Silurianage. He had,
in fact, even in 1840 (and immediately after the publication
of my classification), communicated to me his opinion, that
the Bohemian deposits were of the same age as those I had
described and classified. After making an excursion with
him to view the order of the limestones and shells, I never
shall forget the surprise and delight I felt in seeing the
‘rooms and cabinets of this accomplished private gentleman, ab-
solutely loaded with organic remains, nine-tenths of which had
certainly never before been laid before geologists ; nor did I
hesitate a moment in confirming the conclusions at which
M. Barande had already arrived, by comparing his fossils,
and the rocks in which they are embedded, with the animal
forms and sections of my Silurian system. Since that time,
M. Barande further communicated to me, that there existed
68 On the Silurian Rocks of Bohemia, and
a very clear distinction between the upper and lower Silurian
rocks of Bohemia, in mineral character and superposition, as
well as in organic remains ; and hence, I had no hesitation
in announcing the fact in the opening chapter of the work
on Russia. I always intended, however, to enjoy the plea-
sure of examining in detail the best transverse sections of
the Bohemian basin, and little persuasion was required to in-
duce my colleague, De Verneuil (who, in the interval, has
brought the Silurian and other paleozoie rocks of North
America into an exact parallel with the European series),
to join me in an excursion, during which he might rigorously
scrutinize the collections of M. Barande. Having also been
joined, as before said, by my other colleague, Count Keyser-
ling, so distinguished by his writings on the palzeozoic rocks
of the wild regions of the Petechora, I confidently assert, in
the name of my friends and self, that the collection of Silu-
rian fossils, made by M. Barande, is by far the richest yet
made known to any one region of Europe—if not in the
globe. I am therefore naturally anxious to offer a brief
sketch of so remarkable a basin, the most striking points of
which I have now explained. Admiring the beautifully di-
versified animal forms which M. Barande has brought to
light, my friends and myself cannot too much extol his la-
bours of the last ten years, nor adequately commend the spi-
rit of enterprize and love of science which have sustained an
unaided French gentleman, who, by the very liberal employ-
ment of his own pecuniary means, has opened out many
quarries in search of these ancient. medals of creation; and
who, by a sound judgment and penetrating discrimination,
has himself successfully classed, and is now describing nearly
800 of the Silurian fossils, each group of which distinguishes
a well-marked physical horizon. The extreme precision with
which M. Barande has handled this difficult portion of his
subject is, indeed, beyond all praise; and whether I consider
his labours in a field full of complication, or in the cabinet,
and behold their fruitful and well-digested results, I must,
in justice say, that his work, when completed (82 of its 120
plates of fossils being already finished), will be one of the
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the Devonian Rocks of Moravia. 69
very best and most interesting monographs which has ever
enriched geological science.*
Referring your readers to the annexed transverse section
across the broadest part of this Bohemian basin which con-
tains fossils, and excluding from our view those inferior
rocks in which no fossils have been discovered, it may be
stated that, so defined, the Silurian rocks there extend from
NE. to SW., through a distance of about 10 German miles,
and have a maximum breadth of about 3} miles from NW.
to SE. This direction of the major ellipse of the Bohemian
basin is the same as that of the typical Silurian rocks of
Britain, and, like the British type, consists of two great di-
visions. The outer zone, representing the lower Silurian
rocks, and composed of schists, shale, conglomerate, and
quartzose rock, encircles and dips under an ellipsoid of lime-
stone and shale, which represents the upper Silurian. The
external zone, or that in which the oldest fossils have been
found, is marked in its lowest stage by an earthy schist of
greyish and dull green colours, (¢ of section, Plate II.) which is,
in truth, a very good representative of the ‘‘ mudstones” and
“ rotch”’ of the Silurian Regions, like which, it is devoid of any
distinct slaty cleavage. At the places where we examined
this rock, (Ginetz on the one.side, and Skrey on the other side
of the basin) it is scarcely to be distinguished from other
schists (6) which underlie it quite conformably, and are in-
tercalated in quartzose and conglomerate greywacke, similar
to that which at Skrey is seen to overlie the fossil stratum
(e.) These underlying rocks, (a and 6) which M. Barande
has very properly distinguished from the overlying by their
* Since M. Barande issued his “ Notice Preliminaire,” and gave the first
correct general sketch of the Silurian basin of Bohemia, with an account of
115 species of trilobites, MM. Haule and Corda have published a prodromus of a
publication on the Bohemian trilobites, in which I regret to observe that no
allusion is made to the meritorious discoveries of M. Barande. I leave to
paleontologists to decide eventually on the value of a work in which the au-
thors profess to describe 329 species of Crustaceans! but, on the part of my
friends and self, I must protest against their geological view, that all these di-
versified and finely laminated strata were contemporaneous or nearly so, and
tannot be separated into groups of successive ages.
70 On the Silurian Rocks of Bohemia, and
want of fossils, seem, however, to me to be so allied by mi-
neral characters, and conformity of dip and strike, to those
which overlie them, that they must be considered to form as
truly the natural bottom of the Silurian basin of Bohemia,
as the siliceous sandstones and arkose of Sweden, and the
lower shale of St Petersburg (both equally void of all fossils
except fucoids), constitute the base of the Silurian rocks of
these countries.
Amid the numerous species of trilobites contained in the
lower schists (c), it is worthy of remark, that one species
(the Paradoxides Tessini) is identical with a form which spe-
cially characterises the lowest fossil band in Scandinavia,
like which it is also associated with the Pattus or Agnostus.
The specimens of the latter genus exceed in consolidation
and perfection any thing which the rest of the world has
offered, and have been the first to explain the true form of
this most curious crustacean, with its rounded head and py-
gidium united by two body segments only. Among the few
Orthide discovered in this band of trilobites, is the Orthis
Romingert (Barr.), which is very closely allied to the O. zestu-
dinaria, so characteristic of the lower Silurian rocks of Bri-
tain and other parts of Europe, and which M. De Verneuil
has recognised as one of the surest types of the lowest Silu-
rian strata of North America.
These trilobite schists are surmounted by quartzo-schistoze
masses (d d* and d”* of the section.) This order is clearly
seen near Ginetz on the one side of the basin, and at Skrey
on the other, in the gorge of the Beraun, to the west of that
village. At the first mentioned places, the rock overlying the
schist is a slighly ceyloneritic quartz rock, which passes up-
wards into a great mass of siliceous strata, constituting a
lofty ridge, usuaily occupied by forests ; but those relations to
the superjacent, as well as to the subjacent strata, are well
exposed in the deep narrow valleys of the Beraun and Litawka
on either flank of the basin. On the right bank of the Be-
raun, near Skrey, the ceylonerite above the trilobite beds is
composed of coarse materials, for the most part rounded,
of white quartz and black lydian stone, varying in size from
that of small pebbles to the dimensions of a man’s head. The
the Devonian Rocks of Moravia. 71
matrix is chiefly made up of the detritus of the underlying
schist, in one of the harder fragments of which I observed a
portion of a Paradoxides. With some local exceptions and
numerous dislocations towards the north-eastern extremity of
the tract, there is a more perfect symmetry in the ascending
series, on whatever side the section be made, than any other,
of the same dimensions and age, with which I am acquainted.
I will not here speak at length of the porphyry, kiesil-schifer,
hornstone (dc), &c., which occur on the north-western side of
the basin, which with certain bands of heavy, dark, quartzose
grauwacke, give a peculiar aspect to the lower portion of this
division, as seen between Nyschburg and Skrey ; but I must
observe that the iron ores in it are scarcely to be distin-
guished in mineral aspect from those of Dillenburg and
other places in Nassau. There Bohemian pisolites are, how-
ever, quite distinct from those of the Lahn and Rhine, both
in geological position and zoological contents ; for they occur
in the very heart of the lower Silurian Rocks, and instead of
Devonian fossils they contain Echinosphientes, belonging to
Cystidez, those earliest crinoids which have alone been detect-
ed in the lower Silurian strata, and which have been so ad-
mirably described by Leopold von Bueh. Although this is
not the occasion to treat of the influence produced on the
marine deposits by the eruption of porphyry, greenstone, &c.,
with which this tract abounds, nor of the varied structure
and contents of the mineralized district near Przibram, I
shall, however, presently allude to some igneous evolutions
intimately connected with the sedimentary succession. The
superior masses of the quartzose series are chiefly character-
ised by a profusion of trilobites, the type of which is the
Trinucleus—one species being, in my opinion the JT. carac-
tact (mihi), and another the 7’. ornatus (Sternberg). These,
with various forms of Phacops, Calymene, Asaphus, and
Odentopleura, &c. are associated with the Orthis redux (Barr.),
a form similar to one of my Caradoc fossils. It is specially
where these quartzose rocks begin to pass upwards into al-
ternation with soft black schists, that a new source of interest
awaits the geologist. He is here on the upper limit of all
those rocks to which the term ‘“‘ Lower Silurian” has been
72 On the Silurian Rocks of Bohemia, and
applied, whether in Europe or America ;* and in proceeding
from that protozoic division to the next in ascending order, he
cannot fail to remark, that many masses of eruptive rocks are
interpolated, some of which have been most certainly formed
contemporaneously with the ordinary sedimentary strata. The
lowest of these eruptive rocks contains already more lime,
whether inamygdaloids or disseminated, than is to be detected
in all the subjacent lower Silurian strata ; and each superior
course of this eruptive matter is more and more charged with
carbonate of lime in a basis of felspathic greenstone. In truth,
when the rock alternates with the graptolite schist and lower
limestone of Barande, (e of section), it is perfectly undistin-
guishable from many of those bands of “‘ schaalstein” which
are familiar to you, as well as other German geologists in
Nassau, and is not unlike some of the contemporaneous Silu-
rian volcanic grits described by me in Shropshire and Rad-
norshire, or the “ volcanic ash’’ of De la Beche. In Nassau
the “ schaalsteins” are subordinate to true Devonian rocks,
but in Bohemia they occur in the lowest stage of the upper
Silurian division (e). This stage is instructively displayed
on the left bank of the river Beraun, below the town of that
name, where it is clearly seen to repose on the schists and
quartzose rocks, or upper beds of the lower division, and is
surmounted by the limestones (f, gy. and #). The bottom
beds contain numerous forms of the most beautiful grapto-
lites I ever saw. Thin layers of black limestone occur, and
then the shales contain round and spheroidal nodules of
black earthy limestone, in which M. Barande has found
many of his best fossils. Bands of “ schaalstein,” passing on
the one hand into a coarse-grained greenstone, and on the
other into amygdaloidal trap, succeed, until the group gra-
duates upwards into a solid limestone, usually of dark colour,
which is absolutely loaded with Orthoceratites, Phragmoceras,
and other chambered shells, and is also peculiarly distin-
guished by containing Cardiolw. The surfaces of the upper
portion of these lower limestones are marked by numerous
* De Verneuil’s Table of Classification of the Paleozoic Mossils which mutu-
ally occur in North America and Europe. Bulletin dela Soc. Geol. de France,
1847,
the Devonian Rocks of Moravia. 73
corals, including the Cenfenipora escharoides, 80 characteristic
of the Silurianrocks,and which has neveryet been found in the
Devonian, togetherwith the Terebratulu linguataand T. imbri-
cataor marginalis of Dalman, which occur in the upper Silurian
rocks of Wenlock and Dudley in England, and of Gothland in
Sweden.* In speaking of the contemporaneity of the trap-
rocks of this part of the Silurian series of Bohemia, to youwho
have so distinguished yourself in this department of our
science, I must explain myself. Some of the greenstones and
amygdaloids in question have certainly been erupted in
amorphous masses, which have broken irregularly through
the limestone and shale, and have often, to a great extent,
fractured, indurated, and altered them. Such masses have,
therefore, fairly burst through pre-existing strata; but this
eruption having terminated, the bottom of the sea in which
the phenomenon occurred, evidently resumed, to a great ex-
tent, its tranquillity ; for the upper portion of the plutonic
rock assumes a bedded form, and is followed in the ascend-
ing order by numerous thin courses of “ schaalstein,’’ inter-
laminated with black schists and nodular limestone, all of
which strata are conformable over considerable areas. This
phenomenon, which I have studied in other countries, even
Siberia, in company with De Verneuil and Keyserling, |
have always thought can only be explained either by sup-
posing that the cinders or ashes derived from the eruptive foct
were regenerated into deposits with alternating courses of
calcareous mud, or, as is more probable, that successive par-
tial disturbances of the sea-bottom furnished fresh subma-
rine volcanic materials during a certain period, until the
yolcanie action entirely ceased+ The lowest member of the
upper Silurian Rocks of Bohemia is overlaid by limestones of
considerable thicknesses, which M. Barande has very pro-
perly divided into two formations (/ and g of section), by ob-
serving, that however united in physical aspect, each is dis-
* See Murchison’s Description of the Silurian Rocks of Sweden, Journal of the
Geological Society of London.
+ Here, as in the Rhenish provinces, Britain, and elsewhere, organic re-
mains occasionally occur in the “ Schaalstein.”’
74 On the Silurian Rocks of Bohemia, and
tinguished by fossils peculiar to it, and distinct from those of
the underlying limestone. The middle limestone (/) is, for
the most part thin-bedded ; but at Karlstein and other places
it assumes a nodular or concretionary structure ; even then,
however, it only partially contains the thinnest films of shale
between the beds of limestone, and is usually a hard sub-
crystalline united congeries of thin strata, having a thick-
ness of 300 or 400 feet, the colours of which vary from whitish
to light grey, and reddish, and occasionally even to blackish
tints. Its chief fossils are Brachiopods and Trilobites, and
of the former, I may enumerate Terebratula princeps, (Barr.),
and its associates ; 7. Wilsond, with Pentamenes, Sperifer,
Lepteena, &e.
The upper limestone is more compact and thick-bedded,
and is of about the same thickness as that beneath it. Ina
transverse section, which passes from the deep gorge of St
Iwan to Hostin, as in a few other places, this rock is seen to
be overlaid by brown-grey shale, very slightly micaceous,
alternating with a few courses of very thin-bedded psammite,
and very impure limestone. This upper band is distinguished
by a few Trilobites only, one of which is the well-known
Phacops Hausmanni. In his “ Notice Preliminaire,’” M. Ba-
rande has compared these three stages of calcareous strata
with the upper Silurian subdivision, as given in my original
work ; and has ably pointed out, that although agreeing on
the whole with the upper Silurian of the British isles, the
Bohemian division is characterised by local peculiarities in
the distribution of the fauna. This observation of so good
an observer is well worthy of notice. So far from invyali-
dating the conclusions at which I arrived twelve years ago,
when I published my first Synopsis of the Silurian system,*
it confirms them in the strongest manner. I then, and in
every subsequent publication, specially requested geologists
to consider my swé-divisions of upper, middle, and lower
Ludlow, and upper and lower Wenlock, as mere local British
examples, which, even in my own country, were not minera-
logically nor zoologically traceable for any great distance.
* See Philosophical Magazine, London, June 1835,
jh, . tae
eS
the Devonian Rocks of Moravia. 75
I emphatically requested all those who would apply my classi-
fication to distant parts, to look to #vo great natural portions
only, into which the Silurian system might be expected to
divide itself in other countries, viz. “ Lower and Upper Si-
lurian,” the local distinctions in each of which would probably
be found to be various in different countries ; whilst the ge-
neral distribution of the fauna in each would, I hoped, be
proved to harmonize with the physical and zoological arrange-
ment of one great natural system. It is in this point of
view that the Silurian system has since been applied to va-
rious parts of Europe and North America, and has been
found to stand the test. But however the smaller subdi-
visions of distant countries may differ from each other, I
would here remind geologists, that in these ancient rocks, as
well as in those of secondary age, similar types of organic
life frequently occur on the same horizon in distant lands,
when similar mineral conditions are repeated. Thus, in the
lowest fossilliferous schists of Ginetz and Skrey, we are re-
minded of the Llandeilo flags and schists of England, and of
the Alum-Slates of Sweden, by the development of large Tri-
lobites, and the genus Battus, which, together with Orthidee
and Cystidez, peculiarly mark these deposits. In the over-
lying quartzose rocks of Bohemia, we cannot fail to be struck
with their analogy to the Caradoc sandstone (even in Britain
often in a quartz rock); and so impressed was I with this
resemblance of these siliceous flagstones of Bohemia, which
are loaded with Tvrinuclet, to my British types, that if I had
seen these specimens in any cabinet, I would have said that
they came from the Caradoc group of the lower Silurian
rocks of my own country.
Then, as to the upper Silurian, it strikingly resembles the
British division of the same age, in being like it eminently
characterised by a multitude of chambered shells (Orthoceras,
Phrogmoceras, Cyrtoceras, Lituites, &c.), some of the charac-
teristic species of which are most abundant in the very heart
of this upper division in England; viz. in the shale between
the Ludlow and Wenlock rocks. Again, the middle group of
the upper division of Prague contains large Pentamenes, one
of which is undistinguishable in external form from the pen-
76 On the Silurian Rocks of Bohemia, and
tamenes Knightii of the middle limestone of the Ludlow rock,
and in Bohemia, as in England, it is associated with the
well-known Terebratula WVilsoni. In reference to the trilo-
bites which occur in the wpper Silurian of Bohemia, I hope I
may be excused for saying, that I was peculiarly gratified
to observe, that the lower stage of the limestones of this
age contains, as in England, the Bumastus (mihi); and that
of the two species collected by M. Barande, one is scarcely
distinguishable from my B. Barriensis. Now, while I state
with some confidence, that no such species has been found in
the lower Silurian rocks, I equally maintain (mere geologist
as I may be), that, despite of the criticism of the learned
naturalist Barmeister, the genus Bumastus, as defined by
me, is well established, and never can be united, as he sug-
gests, with the true lower Silurian genus I//e@nus, from which
it is at once distinguished, by its completely round and per-
fectly untrilobed (without trilobation) pygidium, whilst it is
as absolutely separated from Nileus, by the number of seg-
meats in its body.
If time permitted, I could now run on in enumerating a
remarkable number of additions to the natural history of
geology, which will be made known and illustrated by the
work of M. Barande; but intending to give you a mere out-
line of what may be expected from him, I may inform you,
that amid many analogies and identities, to some of which I
have already alluded, the Brachiopoda alone offer about 30
species which are absolutely identical with British and Silu-
rian types.
I will now conclude this letter, by informing you that Count
Keyserling, De Verneuil, and myself, have examined the tract
around Olmutz, subsequent to our visit to Prague. When
Professor Glochar of Breslau, sent to your Journal a brief
communication on the nature of the limestone of Rittberg,
and the environs of Olmutz, surmising that it was of Silurian
age, your valued coadjutor, M. Brown suggested, in a note,
that it was probably, however, of Devonian age, as the fossils
were like those of the Eifel. Since then, some additional
* See Jahrbuch, 1842, p. 42.
the Devonian Rocks of Moravia. 77
fossils were collected from Rittberg, to the SW. of Olmutz, by
M. Geveril and Koch, and having been sent to the young M.
Hornes of Vienna to be named, my friend Count Keyserling at
once said that they must belong to a Devonian group. Still
the tract required examination, and it is after a circuit by
Nebetein to Grosse, Luttein, Rittberg, Cyllechowitz, and
Ollscham, and after collecting a good many fossils, that we
came to the conclusion without a doubt, that these rocks be-
long to the Devonian system. The fossils which have been
scrupulously examined, are Bronteus, two species, Trilobite
(pygidium only of a small species), Turritella, Macrocheilus,
closely allied to the MW. arculatus, and to the species of the
Hartz, Bellerophen tuberculatus, Maclurites, (species undeter-
mined), Luomphalus two species, one of which most resemble
one of the Hifel, Lucina proavia, L. Dufrenoyi, andt wo
other species, Modiola (species undetermined), Terebratula re-
ticularis, 7’. concentrica (small variety), T. pugnus (a variety
which occurs in the Hartz, T. mycrorynchus ?) T. smooth spe-
cies of the 7. virgo, Strigocephalus Burtini, Spirifer heteroclitus,
S. species undetermined, Leptzena depressa, Porites inter-
stincta, Favosites Gothlandica, T. spongites, Lithodendron
cespitosum, Cyathophyllum turbinatum, Fenestella antiqua,
Cystiphyllum, &e.
In these fossils we recognise at once, some of the most
characteristic types of the Devonian age, such as the Strigo-
cephalus, associated with Lithodendron cxspitosum, and
others, which are above named in italics. The trilobites and
chambered shells of the upper Silurian rocks, are no longer
present, and with the exception of two or three shells, and
a few corals which are common to the upper Silurian and De-
vonian, the type is on the whole very distinct; no really
characteristic Silurian species being present, and the Cateni-
pora escharoides, that true Silurian coral, not being obsery-
able.
As to the character of the limestones of Olmutz, I would
repeat the observation which has been made by Professor
Sedgwick and myself, as to the British and Rhenish deposits
of the same age, viz.:—that though of posterior date, they
have often a more ancient aspect, and more resemble pri-
78 On. the Silurian Rocks of Bohemia, and
mary limestone, than any portion of the upper Silurian masses.
This is so remarkably the case in the little ridge between
Nebetein and Olscham, which is thrown up in an anticlinal
form, and where the highly veined hard and sealy crystalline
limestone is so associated with taleco-micaceous schists, that
if we had not found fossils in it, we might have well presum-
ed that it was of much higher antiquity. At Rittberg, bands
of whitish hard quartzose conglomerate dip under the
black Strigocephalus limestone, and thus represent the sand-
stones, grits, &e., which occupy a similar place in the Rhen-
ish provinces ; whilst, at Gross Luttein, the limestone is
overlaid by a coarse grit and hard sandstone, in parts con-
glomeritic, whose exact relations we had not time to deter-
mine. This last mentioned rock occupies the higher wood-
lands, and in mineral character is not unlike some varieties
of the Carpathian grit; but not being able to observe a june-
tion, we forbear from attempting to determine the point. In
the mean time, it is enough to observe, that as up to the present
day, the grauwacke and limestone of the environs of Olmutz,
have not been dissociated on geological maps from the grau-
wacke and limestone of Bohemia, so is the value of the palzo-
zoic classification made apparent. From what I already
know of the existence of true Devonian rocks in Upper Silesia,
and the country of Glatz, and from noticing great masses of
ancient stratified rocks on the western borders of Moravia,
which, on the whole, plunge under the Devonian rocks of Ol-
mutz, I have little doubt that a zealous geologist, who could
devote a summer to the task, would be able to demonstrate
that strata of true Silurian age, like those of Bohemia, are
also to be detected in Moravia, and on the south-eastern
flanks of the Riesengebirge, and in the tract between Trop-
pau and Olumtz. Atall events, it is to be hoped that the types
of both these systems being now pointed out in this ceutral
region of Germany, the time will shortly come, when their
respective limits will be accurately laid down.
I presume you are aware, that since Professor Sedgwick
and myself indicated the existence of certain large Producti,
&c., of the carboniferous age near Bleiberg in Carinthia,
which there surmount crystalline rocks, with encrinites of the
the Devonian Rocks of Moravia. 79
Tauern Alps,* other paleozoic fossils have been found on
the northern side of the crystalline axis of the Eastern Alps,
and notably at Dienten, to the south of Salzburg.
Having inspected some of these fossils from Dienten, kind-
ly shewn to us by the Chevalier V. Hauer, which are in Mon-
tanishtische Museum of this place, M. De Verneuil and my-
self are of opinion, that they belong to the upper Silurian
group ; and my friend further believes, that they are of the
same age as the Silurian schists of Feugerolles in Normandy.
We are now about to proceed into the Austrian Alps, on our
way to the meeting of the Italian Naturalists at Venice, and
in this journey we hope to gain some additional information
on this interesting point ; it being now evident. that the Alps,
as a whole, are not composed of rocks of a more recent date,
but they exhibit towards their centre, sufficient evidence that
numbers of the masses of schist, grauwacke, and limestone,
now in a highly metamorphic condition, and which are
flanked on both sides by limestones of Liassic and Jurassic
were originally members of a regular paleozoic series.
Believe me to be, my dear Professor Leonhard, your faith-
ful friend,
RopERIcK I. Murciison.
VIENNA, August 5, 1847.
On the Height of the Aurora Borealis.
By G. A. ROWELL.
In a paper I submitted to the British Association at the
late meeting, I endeavoured to shew the correctness of the
theory which I first submitted to the Ashmolean Society in
Noyember 1839, on the cause of the aurora; that is, that
electricity rises with the vapour in the torrid regions, and is
carried thence by the superior trade-winds towards the colder
* See Transactions of the Geological Society of London, vol. iii. p. 307.
80 On the Height of the Aurora Borealis.
parts of the earth, where, at times, the air, during severe frosts
is rendered so dry and non-conducting, that tho electricity is ©
prevented from escaping from the clouds and vapour to the
earth in those parts ; and therefore accumulates, till it flashes
back through the upper and rarer air towards the warmer
and more negative parts of the earth, and thus causes the
aurora.
The opinion so generally received, that the aurora is at
times at such heights as to be far above the limits of our at-
mosphere, is so directly opposed to this theory, that one or
the other must be erroneous; I therefore suggested that the
observations which give such altitudes to the aurora, may
be incorrect, either from some error in the observations, or
from some other luminous meteor being taken for an aurora,
or from some optical illusion in the observations.
At the conclusion of my paper, Professor Challis stated
that he had (at Cambridge), in conjunction with Professor
Chevallier (at Durham), taken the altitude of an aurora, which
gave positive proof of its being at least 160 miles high, and
consequently far above the limits of the atmosphere. I, of
course, could not doubt the correctness of these observations ;
but as I was not convinced that my own views were wrong, I
have been led by several reasons to conclude that the error
must be owing to some optical illusion.
In the first place, the fact, that the auroral corona is never
seen except in or near the zenith, shews that it is an appear-
ance only, and not in reality a convergence of auroral streams
to one point, as in that case it would at times be seen at every
point of the compass, according to the situation of the obser-
ver; and auroral streamers would at times be seen crossing
the sky in an oblique direction, instead of always rising nearly
perpendicular to the horizon.
It is shewn by Lieutenant Hood, that auroral arches are
only so in appearance, “as the aurore which filled the sky at
Cumberland House, from the northern horizon to the zenith,
with wreathes and flashes, assumed the shape of arches at
some distance to the southward ;” and I belieye the reports
on the aurora of the 24th of October, by Professors Challis
On the Height of the Aurora borealis. 81
and Chevallier, in the Athenzum for November 6; by Mr
Glaisher, inthe philosophical Magazine for the present month;
together with my own observations in the Oxford Herald for
October 30, will prove that no calculations founded on the ap-
parent altitude of an aurora can be depended on ; that Auroral
Coronas, Streamers,and Archesare only appearances and optical
illusions; and that no two observers can see any of these Au-
roral phenomena at exactly the same time and place, any
more than two persons can see exactly the same halo; or,
when looking at the same cloud, can see exactly the same
rainbow. There are many discrepancies in these reports, both
as regards time and appearances. Professor Chevallier says,
“bright streamers, some white, others of a light green, were
seen shooting upwards from the northern and north-western
parts of the sky before half-past six o’clock ; and at intervals
a slight crimson flush was observed alternating with the
streamers, and diffused over the neighbouring parts of the
sky.” Mr Glaisher states, that “about 6" 30", a bright red
streamer was seen to spring up from the north-west ; at 6" 40™
another streamer was seen in the north-west ; and at the same
time one sprung up from the north, both of which were of a
beautiful red.’ Whilst at Oxford, “ about a quarter past six
o'clock, a faint red colour overspread the north-western ho-
rizon, and at the same time a slight appearance of Auroral
streamers in the north. These appearances continued to in-
crease, but more especially the spreading of the glowing red
colour, till the north-western sky was covered with large
patches, which increased and decreased in size, appeared and
disappeared, with a rapidity which was truly surprising;
about seven o’clock it became cloudy.”
Professor Chevallier says: “Soon after eight o’clock similar
phenomena (to those he before described) were observed ;
but the streamers now rose to a greater height, some attain-
ing even the zenith, and the rose-coloured tinge of the sky
was still more remarkable”? Mr Glaisher takes no notice of
any glowing red-coloured patches ; but states, that, from ‘“ be-
tween 7) 30™ and 9" 40™, there were occasional streamers,
both ved and white.” Whilst at Oxford, at about eight o’clock,
VOL. XLIV. NO, LXXXVIL—JAN. 1848. F
82 On the Height of the Aurora Borealis.
and for some time afterwards, the red colour became less than
it had been for the hour and half previous.
Professor Chevallier says, that “at 8° 29, mean Green-
wich time, a faint but sufficiently well-defined corona was
formed by the apparent convergence of beams of light to a
point about 70° of altitude, and 26° eastward of south.” I
have seen no notice in any other report of a corona having
been seen at this time, and I believe no such appearance was
seen at Oxford. No allusion is made to the strange misty
appearance of the sky as seen here, although it was visible for
some hours, commencing about eight o’clock (the time when
the red colour of the sky began to disappear). I have seen
no notice of the curious curtain or fringe like lights, as they
appeared here at about 9" 43™, although I think they were
too striking to escape the notice of any observer at the time ;
nor is any notice taken of the dark arch under the hazy part
of the sky. There are discrepancies, also, as regards both
time and appearances of the grand auroral phenomenon at
about ten o’clock ; while the beautiful appearance, as seen
at Oxford from 11" 45™ to twelve o’clock, is not noticed by
Professors Challis and Chevallier ; and Mr Glaisher describes
a very different phenomenon, as seen at Blackheath ; as he
says, “ The phenomenon at midnight exhibited an appearance
as beautiful as any of those that had preceded it. An arch
appeared extending from the north-west to the south-east ;
from this arch very bright and flickering pencils of light
darted out, both upwards and downwards. At 12" 30™ the
streams were frequent; the arch now extended from the north
by west to the east by north, and at every part of this arch
an occasional streamer, with its taper-like form, sprung up ;_
and this appearance continued till after 13".” Of this arched
appearance I saw nothing, as after the disappearance of the
beautiful fan-like rays which commenced at 11” 45™, and
ceased at twelve o’clock, Oxford mean time, nothing was to
seen here except “a tinge of red on the north-east and west-
ern horizon, with an occasional streamer from the north,
which continued when I left the scene at Malf-past twelve
o'clock.”
These discrepancies are far too great to be accounted for
On the Height of the Aurora Borealis. 83
as mere errors of description, and a due consideration of them
is of great importance, as regards the subject in question. In
the last case, at midnight, at two places not sixty miles apart,
with a perfectly cloudless sky, totally dissimilar appearances
were seen. Now, had the appearance at Oxford been similar
to that at Blackheath, and the height of the arch, as it ap-
peared at each place, been accurately taken, a calculation
might have been made from these observations, and the height
of the aurora been considered as fairly ascertained ; whereas
the two arches may have been as totally distinct, and no more
to be referred to one point, than the appearances above de-
scribed ; consequently, the result could in no way be depended
upon, and I cannot conceive that any two observers, at a
distance from each other, can ever be certain that they are
looking at the same appearance, or at an appearance in one
and the same place.
But the most important point, and one that I believe will
fully bear out my opinions, is the difference in the observa-
tions of Professor Chevallier at Durham, and Professor Chal-
lis at Cambridge, on the position of the centre of the corona,
as seen at those places.
Professor Chevallier says, “ But the most brilliant spec-
tacle was presented at ten o’clock. At this time the whole
of the south-western part of the sky was ‘glowing with rose-
coloured light; while bright streams arose from all sides,
especially from a little south of west to a little east of north,
passing beyond the zenith, and converging in a flickering
corona in the same part of the sky as before, the bright star
Mirach (2 Andromedz) forming now nearly the central point.”
Professor Challis says,—* The most remarkable feature
of the phenomenon was the distinct convergence of all the
streamers towards a single point of the heavens, situated a
little to the east of the meridian, and to the south of the
zenith. Around this point a corona, or star-like appearance,
was formed, the rays of which diverged in every direction
from the centre,—leaving a space about the centre free from
light, on which I noticed at one time the rapid formation and
disappearance of part of a circular luminous ring. It was
easy to fix on the central point.
84 On the Height of the Aurora Borealis.
“ According to an estimate made conjointly by myself and a
friend at 10" 10™ Cambridge mean time, it preceded the
bright star Mirach, or 8 Andromede, 10™ in right ascension,
and had greater north polar distance by two degrees: conse-
quently, by calculation, its azimuth was 80° 41’ from south
towards east, and its altitude 69° 51’. The azimuth appeared
not to vary with the diurnal motion of the heavens.”
Here, then, are two observations on an auroral appearance,
the most distinct and unmistakeable. First at Durham (lat.
54° 46’ 80”) a corona is seen, the centre of which is in a line
with the star Mirach. At Cambridge (lat. 52°13’) about the
same time a similar corona is seen, and its position in the
heavens distinctly marked out in reference to the same star.
Nothing could be more satisfactory for the determination of
the height of the aurora, as the places of observation were
distant full 23° the one from the other; the object of obser-
vation had been noted carefully, and was not a mere fleeting
point; as at Durham a corona had been seen “ in the same
part of the sky” about an hour and a half previous, and at
Cambridge the corona was seen for some time, and its “ azi-
muth appeared not to vary with the diurnal motion of the
heavens.”
Under these circumstances there can be no doubt, that had
the corona been observed at Cambridge to the north of Mi-
rach, these observations would have been taken as sufficient
to determine the height of the aurora. But instead of the
corona appearing some 60° north of Mirach, as it should have
been, had the height of the aurora been 160 miles, and
more or less, according to its height, the corona appeared
2° south of that star ; thus having very nearly the same alti-
tude as at Durham, and therefore giving the most convincing
proof that no dependence can be placed on any observation
on the apparent altitude of an aurora, for the purpose of de-
termining its height from the earth.
I intended, looking over the various reports on aurore,
given in the Philosophical Transactions, to see how far they
coincided with the opinions I now advance; but have only
had time to go through Halley’s celebrated report on the
aurora of March 6, 1716; and although this report is often
referred to, to prove the great height of aurore, yet I believe
On the Height of the Aurora Borealis. 85
that it will not only strongly support the opinion that no de-
pendence can be placed on observations on the altitudes of
aurore; but that it also proves in a great degree that the
aurora takes place at a very little height, compared with that
which has generally been ascribed to it.
It is stated in the report, that ‘“‘ there was very little dif-
ference from what appeared in London and Oxford, unless
that in the north of England and Scotland the light was
somewhat stronger and brighter.” Yet this justly celebrated
philosopher gives the following hypothesis in explanation of
the various appearances reported in the many accounts of
this aurora, sent to the Royal Society. After describing the
perpendicular beams as caused by the rising of the magnetic
fluid, in columns perpendicular to the surface of the earth,
and the corona as caused by the beams ascending to such
heights ‘as to emerge out of the shadow of the earth, and
to be illustrated by the direct beams of the sun; whence it
might come to pass, that the first corona was seen coloured
and much brighter than what appeared afterwards in some
places, where the sight thereof was more than once repeated,
after the sun was gone down much lower under the horizon ;
hence also it will be easily understood that the corona was
not one and the same in all places, but was different in every
differing horizon ; exactly after the same manner as the rain-
bow seen in the same cloud is not the same bow, but different to
every eye.
In another place, he gives strong evidence of the mere local
appearance of auroral phenomena ; as he says, “ the light had
now put on a form quite different from all that we have
hitherto described, and had fashioned itself into the shape of
two lamine or streaks, lying in a position parallel to the
horizon, whose edges were butillterminated. They extended
themselves from the north by east to the north-east, and
were each about a degree broad ; the undermost about‘eight or
nine degrees high, and the other aboutfour or five degrees over
it ; these kept their places for a long time, and made the sky so
light, that I believe a man might easily have read an ordinary
print by the help thereof.’ Now, although these lights were
so different from all that had preceded them, and were so
86 On the Height of the Aurora Borealis.
bright, yet, they do not seem to have been seen by any other
observer, as farther on he says, “ I have thought fit to annex
a figure exhibiting the particular appearance of the two
lamine which I saw at London, between 10 and 11; more
especially, because I do not find, among the many relations I
have seen, any one that has taken notice of it.”
From these extracts, I think it may be fairly inferred, that
on this occasion, (as also during the late aurora), although
auroral action was going on simultaneously over a great space,
and presented generally similar appearances, yet the same
appearances were not in reality seen at different places ; and
thus one of the great arguments in support of the opinions
which ascribe such great elevation to the aurora, is removed.
This extraordinary aurora was seen over all the north of
Europe, from the west of Ireland to the confines of Russia
and Poland on the east; as also on the north-west coast of
Spain. From this it has been considered that its elevation
must have been exceeding great, but I cannot think it proves
more than that the auroral action was going on simulta-
neously over these countries.
And in fact, there is strong evidence to the contrary, as in
another article on the subject, (p. 430), there is the following
passage : “ In our last, we endeavoured to give the public
‘as good an account of the late surprising meteors seen in the
heavens on the 6th of March last, as could be gathered from
the several relations of very distant spectators, which had
come to the Royal Society’s notice ; and since then, we can
only add thereto, that at Paris, the light was so énconsider-
able, that it was not regarded.”
This fact, that the auroral light was not seen at Paris,
tells strongly against the theory of the great elevation of the
aurora. But to this evidence, it may be objected that clouds
may have prevented the light being seen at Paris. If this
had been the case, it surely would have been noticed by
Halley, as the subject excited so much interest at the time
as to produce a special report at the request of the Royal
Society.
There is another instance of an aurora mentioned by Dr
Halley, which may also be advanced, #. ¢., “ That of the year
On the Height of the Aurora Borealis. 87
1621, on the 2d of September, seen all over France, and well
described by Gassendus in his Physicks, who gives it the
name of the Aurora Borealis. This, though little inferior to _
what we lately saw, and appearing to the northward both of
Rouen and Paris, is nowhere said to have heen seen in Eng-
land, over which the light seemed to lie.”’
From a consideration of the points I have advanced, together
with the fact, that the aurora takes place in the frigid
regions, about the ordinary height of the clouds, or even at
less heights, as proved by the observations of Franklin,
Richardson, Parry, &c. I submit that there is no sufficient
ground for assuming that the aurora ever takes place above
the earth’s atmosphere, and I believe it does at times take
place in England, at heights very little above the higher re-
gions of the clouds. I again beg to suggest a trial of the ex-
periment I proposed to the British Association, at the Glas-
gow meeting, #. e., for causing the aurora by raising electric
conductors by the aid of balloons, to the height of the clouds
in the frigid regions during severe frosts ; and as I suggested
similar experiments with electrical kites, to Sir John Frank-
lin, previous to his leaving England, I have hopes that some
farther light may be thrown on the subject on his return.
G. A. ROWELL.
November 22, 1847.
Since writing the foregoing, I have read in the Philosophi-
cal Transactions, the paper of the late Dr Dalton on the
height of the aurora of March 29, 1826; and I think there
are many points in it which tell in favour of my views.
On that evening an auroral arch was seen at Edinburgh,
and several intermediate places thence southward to War-
rington, on the south border of Lancashire, and itwas assumed
that the same arch was seen at each place.
Dr Dalton first gives the account of it as seen at Edinburgh,
and then the accounts from Jedburgh, Hawick, and Kelso,
places about 40 miles south of Edinburgh. These accounts
seem to be drawn up with care, but Dr Dalton remarks,
« From this it would seem that the arch, instead of appearing
low from the last mentioned places, as it must have done if
83 On the Height of the Aurora Borealis.
situated only five or even ten miles above the carth’s surface,
appeared as far to the south of the zenith as at Edinburgh, or
rather further.” —“ Unfortunately the Edinburgh and Hawick
observations do not harmonize together ; however, those at
Jedburgh, a place of nearly the same latitude as Hawick, seem
to shew that both the others are wrong, or rather, perhaps,
that they had not been contemporary with each other and
the rest of the observations. The Hawick altitude is probably
too low, and that at Edinburgh considerably too high.”
From the seeming impossibility of arriving at any conclu-
sions from accounts with such discrepancies, the Doctor re-
jects these observations altogether, although, apparently,
they were otherwise entitled to full credit, as the situation of
the arch is pointed out in reference to certain stars, &. ; and
he adopts the observations at Whitehaven and Warrington as
the basis of his calculation.
At Whitehaven the altitude seems to have been taken with
no more care than at the former places, as it is said that at
8" 45™ the arch was about 15° south of the zenith. “ At 92 6™
the arch moved southward.”
At Warrington, the method of taking the altitude is very
unsatisfactory. Dr Dalton says, his friend, Mr Crossfield, in-
formed him that “ he saw the arch about nine o’clock, or be-
tween that and ten. At the first glance he took it for the
milky way, but soon discovered his mistake. The direction
of the arch was from WSW. to ENE., passing to the north
of the zenith. The western branch was longer and more bril-
liant. He saw no northern lights at the time, neither did he
apprehend the phenomenon was connected with them. On
elevating the pole of a celestial globe till the axis passed
through a series of angles with the horizon, I desired him to
fix upon an elevation which he judged most nearly to coincide
with the elevation of the centre of the luminous arch. On
examination, the angle was found to be 61°. I fixed the
angle at 70°; this he was almost certain was too high. When
it was fixed at 50°, he was still more certain that it was too
low.”
From these observations, Dr Dalton calculated the areh
was 100 miles high. or 8 or 9 miles in width.
G. A. Rowell on the Aurora Borealis. 89
Altitudes taken by such means as these, are but very little
to be depended upon, and there seems to be no proof that the
observations were simultaneous ; as at Whitehaven, it seems
to have been taken between 8" 45™ and 9" 8™, this being the
time the arch moved southward ; and at Warrington, the arch
was first seen at about nine o’clock, or between that and ten.”
I therefore submit that, in this case, there is no sufficient
evidence that the aurora is at any great elevation, and that
the discrepancies in the observations at Edinburgh, Jedburgh,
Hawick, &c., shew the local character of such phenomena ;
the little dependence which can be placed on observations of
such little appearances; and the probability, that, as regards
such phenomena, no observers at a distance from each other,
can ever be certain that they see exactly the same appearance,
or an appearance in exactly the same place.
In conclusion, I beg that I may not be thought presump-
tuous in making these remarks on a paper by this revered
and eminent philosopher ; and I believe that, were he living,
he would have been pleased with any observation, which, by
exciting farther investigation, may tend in the least degree
to increase our knowledge on this interesting subject.
G. A. ROWELL.
December 4, 1847.
On the Aurora Borealis. By G. A. ROWELL.
Srr,—The aurora which appeared on the evening of Sunday last
(the 24th inst.), was, I believe, by far the grandest and most extra-
ordinary which has occurred for many years—if, indeed, it was ever
equalled in these parts. I have seen accounts of its appearance in
several parts of England, i. ¢., London, Brighton, Cambridge, &c.,
but they all fail in conveying anything like an idea of the magnifi-
cent display as seen at Oxford. I therefore beg to submit the fol-
lowing account, as I had the gratification of observing the phenomenon
with but slight intermission for upwards of six hours. I fear, how-
ever, that my description will fall short of conveying an adequate
idea of the grandeur of the scene.
About a quarter past six o’clock I saw a faint tinge of red colour
overspreading the north-western horizon, and at the same time a
slight appearance of auroral steamers in the north. ‘These appear-
90 G. A. Rowell on the Aurora Borealis.
ances continued to increase, but more especially the spreading of the
glowing red colour, till the north-western sky was covered with large
patches, which increased and decreased in size, appeared and disap-
peared with a rapidity which was truly surprising. About seven
o’clock the sky in those parts became overcast with dark clouds, and
rain fell for some time ; after which the patches (which were between
a pink and crimson colour) appeared more distinct than before.
About eight o’clock these patches gradually disappeared, except on
the north-western horizon, where the crimson light continued de-
creasing at times till almost invisible, when it burst out again with a
bright glowing light, sometimes to the height of thirty or forty de-
grees, having the appearance of the light from a large fire at a dis-
tance. At the same time there was an appearance of the red tinge
in the north-east, but not so bright as that in the north-west. This
coloured patch was some ten or twelve degrees above the horizon, and
extended thence towards the zenith, at times ten, twenty, or thirty de-
grees ; this light decreased gradually till it faded away about half-past
eight o’clock. About eight o'clock there arose from the north an
ill-defined band of five or six degrees in depth, of a light misty ap-
pearance, having somewhat the form of an auroral arch with its
centre about midway between the magnetic and the true meridian.
It continued to rise gradually till the lower side of the centre of the
arch had an elevation of fifteen or eighteen degrees, while it had so
increased in width as to rise almost to the pole star; but the upper
part was so ill-defined that it had the appearance of a fine hazy
cloud ; so much so that I believe no one would have thought it other-
wise, but for the presence of the auroral lights above alluded to, and
since at times faint flashes of auroral streamers appeared in the haze,
and disappeared again instantaneously. About nine o’clock a bright
crimson patch appeared on the horizon, a little north of east, the stars
Castor and Pollux being sometimes within the light, and at other times
the light being a little farther towards the north. This light, as also
that in the north-west, continued till the grand appearance at a quar-
ter to ten o'clock. The hazy appearance in the north had now in-
creased till it had quite the look of a cloud, except that the stars
were visible through it ; the dark arch below jt had the look of a black
cloud, but I am convinced that it was only the clear sky rendered
more dark from the contrast with the light above it. About seven-
teen minutes before ten o'clock there appeared suddenly in the haze
singular patches of whitish light, looking as if two curtains or fringes
of light were hanging across the heavens, the one above the other,
and parallel with the horizon: they were each about five or six de-
grees in depth, and perhaps ten or twelve degrees long, the lower
one being just above the dark arch—this continued for a minute or
two, when a scene presented itself so grand that I fear I can only
give a very inadequate description of it. Suddenly from the body
of light on the eastern horizon, bright crimson columns or streamers
G. A. Rowell on the Aurora Borealis. 91
flashed up with inconceivable velocity towards a point ten or twelve de-
grees south of the zenith, while from the hazy cloud in the north, si-
milar columns, but of a yellow light, shot towards the same point south
of the zenith, and reaching northward to near the top of the dark
arch ; and from the west the columns were of such bright crimson
and flame colours as to render the scene in that direction truly mag-
nificent ; in the part of the sky to which the several columns con-
verged, there appeared a sort of irregular circular space of four or
five degrees diameter, into which the several columns seemed to be
pouring volumes of fiery smoke, which appeared to wave about simi-
lar to the motion of flames in an oven, or under the action of winds
blowing from all and every direction, the whole having the appear-
ance of a half canopy or tent spreading over the northern portion of
the heavens. During this appearance flashes of light were continually
passing up the columns, as if a film of steam was projected up them
with the greatest velocity, or as if the whole canopy had been shaken
by the wind, and the light was reflected and glancing off from its
surface.
This sublime spectacle continued for ten or fifteen minutes, when
it gradually faded or rather crumbled away, disappearing in a very
singular manner about ten o’clock. From this time I observed
nothing particularly striking, except an occasional tinge of crimson
in the north-west and north-east, and a few flashes of streamers from
the north through the hazy part of the sky, till at about a quarter
past eleven o’clock, when very bright crimson streamers flashed from
the eastern horizon as before, which soon faded into a dull crimson
haze. About the same time streamers of a very singular appearance
began to flash from the north towards the south; they seemed like
columns of light smoke or steam darting with the velocity of lightning
along the sky, having something the appearance of water thrown with
great violence from a syringe. About a quarter to twelve o’clock
columns of a more regular form began to appear from the north-east
to the north-west, and in a few seconds formed one of the most beau-
tiful scenes that I believe was ever witnessed; from the eastern ho-
rizon, a few degrees north of Castor and Pollux, bright crimson co-
lumns arose to within six or seven degrees of the zenith, or rather as
before to a point ten or twelve degrees to the south of it ; from these
crimson columns others of a bright whitish light spread over the whole
of the northern part of the sky to north-west, where other crimson
columns formed (the star @ Aquile being a little to the south
of them), the whole having the form of a large fan of lioht spread
over the northern portion of the heavens ; but the rays did not meet
in the centre, but terminated in points about six degrees from it. I
may perhaps describe it better, as representing the tail of a bird
spreading over the northern sky to above twenty or thirty degrees
from the northern horizon, and spreading on each side till it meets
92 Biographical Sketch of Alexander Brongniart.
the horizon at the points described, the features being of a whitish
colour, except the outer ones, which were crimson.
The scene at this time was beautiful in the extreme, the dark arch
on the northern horizon contrasting strongly with the bright appear-
ance above it ; while to the south of the zenith the sky was pertectly
cloudless, the full moon (with her attendant Mars) shone brightly ;
and as she was at the time very nearly on the meridian, and only a
few degrees south of the point to which the auroral rays converged,
it seemed as if the rays of light emanated from the moon (but this
only owing to her peculiar position at the time); the planet Jupiter
shone brilliantly in the east, together with the stars of Orion, &c.;
and thus was formed one of the most delightful scenes, one indeed
that can never be forgotten by those who had the pleasure of wit-
nessing it. This appearance continued with slight alteration till about
twelve o’ clock, after which there continued a tinge of red on the north-
east and western horizon, with an occasional streamer from the
north, which continued when I left the scene at half-past twelve
o'clock.
It may perhaps be worthy of notice that patches of crimson light
similar to those seen in the earlier part of the evening, were seen
during an occulation of Mars some ten or twelve years since, and
that an occulation of Mars took place on the 24th also—I am,
yours, &c.,
G. A. RoweEtt.
October 28, 1847.
Biographical Sketch of the celebrated ALEXANDER
ERONGNIART.*
M. Brongniart was born at Paris in 1770. His father was
justly celebrated for his attainments in the fine arts. His
mind developed itself in the midst of that brilliant society,
belonging to the end of the eighteenth century, which his
father was accustomed to draw around him. He then de-
rived from conversations with Franklin the germ of that mild
and practical philosophy which he never abandoned; from
those of Lavoisier, his earliest notions of chemistry, which
formed one of the foundations of his scientific career. He
gave early indications of that clearness of elocution which
* At the funeral of M. Alexander Brongniart, which took place on Saturday
9th October, M. Elie de Beaumont gave an address, from which the above is an
extract.
Biographical Sketch of Alexander Brongniart. 93
formed one of his merits as a professor; and it is related
that Lavoisier himself took pleasure in listening to a lecture
on chemistry delivered by Brongniart, when he was scarcely
fifteen years of age. He soon concluded his earliest scientific
studies at the School of Mines in Paris, which Louis XVI.
had founded, and where Sage taught him mineralogy. At
twenty years of age, in 1790, he undertook a scientific journey.
He visited England, where the mines and picturesque scenery
of Derbyshire made a strong impression on his mind, and from
whence he brought back the elements of a memoir on the art
of enamelling. His uncle, who was chemical demonstrator in
the Jardin des Plantes, took him to be an assistant, and ini-
tiated him in the practice of chemistry. He likewise studied
in the Ecole-de-Medecine, where he was thrice enrolled, and
when the first requisition called every Frenchman to the fron-
tier, he was connected with the army of the Pyrenees, in the
capacity of apothecary. A stay of fifteen months among these
mountains gave him the opportunity of studying a rich and
varied field of nature, as a zoologist and botanist. He likewise
made geological observations which, at a later period, took
their place in the science, and which he often took pleasure in
recalling ; but he there encountered dangers which his youth
did not suspect, and he was imprisoned under suspicion of hav-
ing favoured the escape of the skilful naturalist Broussonnet,
who avoided certain death by fleeing by the breach of Rol-
land. Restored to liberty after the 9th thermidor, he re-
turned to Paris, where, on the recommendation of Fourcroy
and Coquebert de Montbret, then occupied with statistical
mineralogy, he was attached to the agency of mines, in the
capacity of mining engineer. Soon after he was called to
the Professorship of Natural History in the central school of
Quatre-Nations; he became a contributor to the best scien-
tific collections of the period ; and a little after the 18th bru-
maire, in 1800, he was nominated director of the Porcelain
manufactory of Sevres, on the recommendation of Berthollet.
When the imperial University was organised, M. Brong-
niart was entrusted with the composition of an elementary
treatise on mineralogy. This work, which appeared in 1807,
was one of the best, and, in particular, one of the clearest
94 Biographical Sketch of Alexander Brongniart.
and most practical, which had been published on this science,
hitherto so difficult of access. There was remarked in it,
what we remark in it still, a peculiar originality of exposi-
tion, and a penetrating clearness, worthy of forming a model
to others desirous of rendering the sciences level to the ca-
pacity of youth. This work was of important service, and
became the text-book, assiduously improved, of the instruc-
tions which M. Brongniart for a long time gave to the Fa-
culty of Sciences, as assistant to M. Haiiy, and which he
continued in the Museum of Natural History, when he was
called to replace this illustrious master in that establishment.
But M. Brongniart did not confine himself to mineralogy.
His works exhibit the same variety as his studies. He long
continued to occupy himself with zoology, in which his first
undertakings have not been forgotten. It is to him that we
are indebted for the division of reptiles into four orders ;
and the naturalists of the whole world have adopted after
him, according to the example of Cuvier, the names of Saw-
rians, Batrachians, Chelonians, and Ophidians—names which
now appear so natural, that we often repeat them without
remembering who was their author. At a later period he
likewise created the name Trilobites, and fixed the basis of
classification for these singular crustacea, strangers to all
modern creations, in a learned memoir which has been the
starting point for all the works relating to this immense
family.
Independently of the honour he derived from them, M.
Brongniart owed perhaps to his zoological labours one of the
happinesses of his life, his intimate connection with the illus-
trious author of the Regné Animal and of comparative ana-
tomy. When M. Cuvier was brought to Paris, M. Brong-
niart appreciated from the first the high caste of his intel-
lect. He soon became one of his most faithful friends and
most sincere admirers; and this noble feeling continued, in
the greatest intensity, to the last day of his life. But he did
not confine himself to admiration, and he was enabled to
contribute, in his own proper sphere, to one of his friend’s
greatest works.
The masters of science have declared, that Cuvier’s dis-
Biographical Sketch of Alexander Brongniart. 95
coveries respecting the fossil bones of the chalk formations
of Montmartre, are the most original of all those which will
preserve his name to future ages. These discoveries could
not be placed in their proper category ; it was even impos-
sible to deduce the resulting principles from them, until the
formations in the neighbourhhod of Paris should be examined
mineralogically, and classed geologically in the order of their
position. The eminently judicious mind of Cuvier felt the
need of being assisted in carrying out, in the most complete
manner, researches having such a special object. M. Brong-
niart had travelled in 1808, in Auvergne, where he had
pointed out formations as being made in fresh water, in-
asmuch as they contained only river shells in a fossil state.
This was an entirely new application of zoology to the
study of mineral deposits. M. Cuvier at once perceived
the fellow-labourer which nature had destined for him,
not as another Daubenton, (in itself a connection so glo-
rious), but as a mind of similar complexion and wonderful
originality, adapted to his own. Already prepared for thie
task by his previous studies of the Montmartre gypsum and
Champigny limestone, himself the chief of the school, and
seconded in certain details by pupils, then young, and since
become celebrated professors, M. Beudant, M. Constant
Prevost, and the younger M. Desmarest, M. Brongniart
presented to the first class of the Institute, in the month of
April 1810, in concert with M. Cuvier, the Essay on the Miner-
alogical Geography of the Neighbourhood of Paris, which first
appeared in the Journal des Mines, and soon became so cele-
brated. Reprinted in 1811, with additional development,
this work, in which the first rules for the application of zoo-
logical determinations, for the purpose of characterising for-
mations are laid down, and which has ever since continued
to be the classical type of works of the same kind, opened to
M. Brongniart, in 1815, the doors of the Academy of Sciences.
He replaced in that institution the indefatigable explorer of
the voleanoes of Auvergne, Desmarest, whom he surpassed
in reputation.
M. Brongniart never knew repose. His admission to the
Academy redoubled his activity, Animated with an enthu-
96 Biographical Sketch of Alexander Brongniart.
siasm, as judicious as fruitful, for the vast field which he had
so sagaciously entered, he became in a few years, the legis-
lator in this branch of geology, then so new and important.
He settled the laws of it, by examples which, in such a case,
are the most solid of all precepts. Like that Greek philoso-
pher, in whose presence motion was denied, M. Brongniart
advanced in this career with an intelligent and indefatigable
ardour, and every one of his steps has been an important
discovery. A conqueror in a new field, M. Brongniart set out
in 1817 for Switzerland, tiie Alps, and Italy, accompanied by
his son, and one of his most skilful pupils, M. Bertrand Geslin.
In these countries, where Saussure had already immortal-
ized himself, he fixed, in the most unexpected manner, land-
marks which are still standing, and which no longer give
place but to discussions in detail, without which no work on
natural history can be perfect. Who has not been struck
with the boldness, as fortunate as it was surprising, with
which M. Brongniart associated the black limestones of the
mountain of Fis, in Saxony, with our chalk formations of the
north of France! In 1822, all the results of this kind which
he had obtained, were inserted in a second edition of the Geo-
logical Description of the Neighbourhood of Paris, which thus
became more especially the monument of his genius.
But he did not limit himself to the modern formations, the
particular object of this great work. Later, in 1824, M.
_ Brongniart visited Norway and Sweden with the same view.
He was warmly received by M. Berzelius, who wished to act
as his guide and interpreter in a country whose language
was unknown to him. He there laid down the first founda-
tions of a classification of the most ancient fossiliferous for-
mations. It was likewise in this voyage to Scandinavia,
that he united the elements of a memoir on erratic blocks,
which happily associated his name with those of the Saus-
sures and De Buches, in the study of a phenomenon on which
the extent of the revolutions of the globe are inscribed in
the most striking characters.
I ought also to speak to you of his remarkably original
memoir on the Ophiolithes of the Apennines, his clear and
ingenious views on volcanoes, and Vesuvius in particular.
Hi
On the changes of the Vegetable Kingdom, Sc. oF
But you do ‘not expect of me, gentlemen, that I should re-
mind you, in this short sketch, of all the treasures with
which the labours of sixty years have enriched the sciences.
M. Brongniart by no means confined himself to a single
branch. Neither did he limit himself to theoretical specu-
lations, The cares, labours, and investigations which occu-
pied him for forty years, as the Director of the Royal Manu-
factory of Porcelain at Sévres, would have worthily filled up
the life of an ordinary man of science. He undertook nu-
merous journeys, in order to become acquainted with the
great manufactories of the same kind in other parts of Ku-
rope, and all the sources from which they derive their first
materials ; and thus obtained the elements of a beautiful geo-
logical and chemical memoir on the Kaolins, which lately
appeared. Faithful to his earliest researches on the art of
enamelling, he revived at Sévres the almost lost art of paint-
ing on glass, the magnificent results of which we have all
had occasion to admire.
M. Brongniart, at nineteen years of age, was one of the
founders of the Societé Philomatique—a society as scientific
as unpretending, whose device is Science et Amitie. It was
the centre of many useful communications, and, at the period
of proscription for all of a higher class, kept alive the sacred
flame of science.*
On the Changes of the Vegetable Kingdom in the different Geo-
logical Epochs. By M. ADOLPHE BRONGNIART.
The changes which have taken place in the nature of liv-
ing beings, since their first appearance on the globe till the
period when the surface of the earth, having assumed its
present form, has been covered by the creation which now
occupies it, constitute one of the most interesting depart-
ments of geology: it is the history of life and its metamor-
phoses.
The progress of modern geology presents to us the surface
* From I’Institut, No. 719, p. 336.
VOL. XLIV, NO, LXXXVII.—JAN. 1848. G
*
98 On the Changes of the Vegetable Kingdom
of the globe becoming renewed many times since the period
when life first appeared upon it, under the influence of Crea-
tive Power. At each of these modifications—every time that
a great bed of mineral matter covered a portion of the ear th’s
surface, or a shaking of the crust of the globe wrinkled this
surface, and produced new chains of mountains, the living
beings which inhabited our earth, destroyed and buried in
these sedimentary deposits, were replaced by a new creation
more or less different from the preceding.
It would be a difficult task at this moment to fix precisely
the number of these successive creations of animals and
vegetables ; but science is every day leading us nearer to this
result, although it requires more detailed facts to enable us
to reach it.
At certain epochs, however, great changes in the physical
state of our planet have been followed by modifications
equally great in the nature of the beings which inhabit it.
These are the very decided changes which alone deserve
our attention in the present instance ; for, on the one hand,
they shew us each of the two organic kingdoms passing
through varied forms, of which the different degrees are of
great interest, owing to the remarkable order in which they
succeed each other; and, on the other, the nature of the
beings which correspond to each of these great geological
periods, may afford us most valuable indications respecting
the physical state of the earth, and its climate, at these dif-
ferent epochs, illustrative of the history of the formation of
our globe.
From the most remote historical times, the vegetables
inhabiting our globe have undergone no change. ‘This is
proved by the comparison of grains and plants preserved
in the tombs of Egypt, with those which now grow in that
country.
On the contrary, the plants of the latest geological periods,
—those which occupied the earth before the last revolution of
its surface, and whose remains are enclosed in the deposits
named tertiary formations,—differ very considerably from such
as now grow in these same places. Theyare, in general, species
no longer existing in a living state, and their differences, re-
in the different Geological Epochs. 99
latively to the plants now living on the same ground, are
so much greater as they occur in the most ancient beds of
these tertiary formations. The most recent indicate a cli-
mate differing little from that of temperate Europe; the
most ancient announce a warmer climate than now occurs in
that region.
But in all these beds, which are very vecent when com-
pared with the other parts of the crust of the globe, we find
vegetation, as a whole, agreeing in all its principal features
with the mass of the vegetable kingdom which still inhabits
the surface of the earth; there are the same classes, the
same natural families, often the same genera. The general
characters of this extinct vegetation are the same as those of
the existing vegetation, and we might suppose ourselves only
transported to another quarter of the globe. Viewed as a
whole they are the same; the details only are different.
But if, on the contrary, we descend more deeply into the
layers composing the earth’s crust, and go back to the more
ancient periods of the creation ; if we consider the vegeta-
bles preserved in the formations named secondary, which have
preceded those of which we have spoken by many ages, we
shall find the vegetable kingdom reduced to a much less
considerable number of those natural groups which we name
families or classes.
This variety of form and aspect, which gives such a charm
to the existing vegetation, did not then exist ; and, to cha-
racterise in a word the vegetable kingdom of those remote
periods, we may say that the plants composing it, much less
yaried and numerous than those now covering our ground,
were all deprived of what constitutes their greatest orna-
ment, namely, those flowers with brilliant envelopes which
belong to almost all the plants of our period. All the
vegetables of the first geological periods were in fact analogous
to our firs and ferns, whose habit and elegant foliage form
all their beauty.
In these ancient times of geological history, we may far-
ther distinguish two great periods ; the one nearest our own
times, during which terrestrial vegetation, almost entirely
limited to three families, the ferns, conifer, and cycades,
100 On the Changes of the Vegetable Kingdom, ¥c.
presented only species so far analogous in their most essen-
tial characters to those now existing, that they may be easily
classified in the natural families I. have just named; the
other, more ancient, to which the vegetables belong whose
remains have produced great deposits of coal, and numerous
remains of which accompany beds of this combustible. The
latter recede much more widely from actually living forms,
enter with more difficulty into known families, evidently con-
stitute other families altogether distinct from those of our
actual creation, families whose existence has not been pro-
longed beyond this first geological period.
The singular organisation and great dimensions of these
first inhabitants of our soil, have long thrown much obscurity
over the great classes of the existing vegetable kingdom.
Every day, however, the study of them is advancing, and
now we can no longer doubt that these gigantic vegetables,
so remarkable by their extraordinary forms and by their
structure, constitute special families, allied, however, to the
ferns and conifere ; (that is to say, belonging to the great
divisions of vascular cryptogams, and gymnospermous pha-
nerogams.)
In conjunction with many true ferns, often arborescent.
and with some conifer, very different from those of our
climate, these vegetables must have formed vast forests grow-
ing on a turfy soil, produced by their detritus, and to which
our coal owes its origin.
Thus, briefly to recapitulate ; during the earliest periods of
the creation of living beings, the vegetable kingdom was
composed only of plants belonging to the two classes of that
kingdom distinguished by the simplest structure. These
plants had then special forms, were of considerable dimen-
sions, and the greater part constituted families now extinct.
At a later period, these two great classes still continued
to exist alone on the earth, but their forms approached more
to those which they present in the present vegetation ; the
families peculiar to the most ancient epochs were already
destroyed, and the numerous and varied families which were
to appear in the tertiary epoch did not yet exist.
Lastly, during this latter period, vegetation assumes cha-
On the Formations of the Western Sniss Alps. 101
racters analogous to those it now presents. Those more per-
fect vegetables, known by the name of angiospermous pha-
nerogams, appeared in great numbers, and the vegetable
kingdom is not distinguishable from that now existing but by
characters of detail, or by differences analagous to those
which diversities of climate still produce on the earth.
If we now compare the vegetables of the families which,
like the ferns and conifers, have been perpetuated during
all the geological periods, from the most ancient up to the
present, we perceive that such as belong to the most re-
mote creations, approach particularly plants of these same
families which now inhabit regions of the earth having a cli-
mate very different from our own ; and that such, on the
contrary, as we meet with in the most recent beds, become
so much the more analogous to the species which still grow
in these same countries, as the geological period to which
they belong approaches nearer our own.
Everything, therefore, proves, on the one hand, that the dif-
ferent vegetable creations which have succeeded each other on
the globe have become more and more perfect; on the other
hand, that the climate of the surface of the earth is greatly
modified since the earlier times of the creation of living beings
up to the commencement of the present epoch. *
Observations on the Relative Position of the Fcrmations of the
Western Swiss Alps, and of the Alps of Savoy. By Profes-
sor FAVRE.
If we take a rapid glance at the formations of the Western
Swiss Alps and the Alps of Savoy, with the view more espe-
cially of determining the relations of position existing be-
tween them, we shall find that these mountains are composed
in the following manner :—
1. Crystallised formations, formed of rocks of a very varied
character, very generally known, and on which we need not
make any further remarks.
* rom L’Institut, No. 714, p. 289.
102 On the Formations of the Western Swiss Alps,
2. Metamorphic rocks. These are gneiss, mica-schists, schis-
tose protogines, &e. These rocks rest, in an irregular man-
ner, on the crystallised formation.
3. Pudding-stone, or the Valorsine system, in large strata,
often containing anthracite. In general, this system is
formed at its upper part by schists, sandstones, or very ar-
gillaceous limestones, exhibiting many impressions of ferns.
Sometimes these latter rocks are wanting, because, in great
upheavings, the argillaceous rocks are more easily compressed
than the others, and disappear.
I have not hitherto observed in Savoy any discordance be-
tween this anthracitie system and the metamorphic rocks.*
4. Above the Valorsine system come the limestones, and
the more or less argillaceous schists of the jurassic formation,
terminated at the lower part by a bed of Cargneule, or cellu-
lar magnesian limestone. This jurassic formation has a
stratification not conformable with that of the Valorsine sys-
tem ; and may be seen on the right bank of the Rhone, be-
tween Bex and Martigny. The valiey of the Rhone there
forms an immense section, very nearly perpendicular to the
direction of the formations of the Alps. We there observe
that the crystalline and metamorphic formations form two
parallel chains, which run under the secondary formations of
the northern chain of the Valais.
The Valorsine system is compressed between the two
chains, and covers them only in part, while the cellular mag-
nesian limestone, surmounted by the jurassic formations, en-
velop them entirely; and it may be said that these forma-
tions, notwithstanding the accidents to which they have been
subject, form a kind of vault, which extends from the baths
of Lavey to Saillon, in the Valais, and rises in the mass of
mountains crowned by the Dent de Morcles.
The stratification of the jurassic formations, moreover, is
transgressive in relation to that of the Valorsine system.
5. The cretaceous formation rests on the jurassic formation.
It is divided in the following manner :—
* This discordance, however, has been pointed out in the Alps of Dauphiny.
See Bulletin de la Société Geologique de France ; meeting at Grenoble, 1840, XI.,
and my Memoir on the Anthracites of the Alps.
and of the Alps of Savoy. 103
a. Neocomian, which is characterised by the Holaster
complanatus, the Gryphees, and Crioceras. The last men-
tioned fossils have been found only in erratic blocks.
6. First zone of the rudistes, or limestone with Hippurites
or Chama ammonia; nummulites are never observed. This
bed is the one which has most influence on the relief of the
surface in the cretaceous districts of the Alps. It forms, in
general, dentated crests, very arid, and of great elevation.
ce. Albian formation, gault or green sandstones, very rich in
fossils, which, in certain localities, seems to alternate with
beds of limestone.
d. M. Studer has described a formation, occurring in the
centre of Switzerland, under the name of Seeven limestone ;
but this formation does not exist either among the Western
Alps of Switzerland, or in those of Savoy. At Diablerets,
for example, we may place the hand in such a manner, that
one of its extremities rests on the green sandstone, and the
other on the nummulites limestone: it often even happens
that the fossils of these two beds are mingled. This obser-
vation, made in many other localities, is a good proof of the
non-existence of the Seeven limestone in these regions.
All these stages of the ecretaceous formation are confor-
mable with each other, but their stratification is not confor-
mable with the jurassic formation. The latter, indeed, have
been subject to dislocations before the deposition of the cre-
taceous formation ; these dislocations are indicated by great
contortions.
These are seen in the bottom of some of those deep val-
leys, which permit us to obtain a view of the interior struc-
ture of mountains. These contortions, or rather this contor-
tion, for it is a single accident which we observe in different
localities, is placed on a line very nearly straight and paral-
lel with the Alps. I have observed it for a length of about
13 leagues: the most northern point is the Dent de Daily,
above the baths of Lavey (on the right bank of the Rhone).
These contorted beds pass below the great mass of the Dent
du Midi, and re-appear on the south-east, under the glaciers
of Mont Ruan, at the bottom of the Combe de Sixt.
They are likewise found in the lower part of the mountains
104 On the Formations of the Western Swiss Alps,
of Fiz, on the side of Sixt, at a place called Faucilles du
Chantet.
This contortion runs across below the mountains of Fiz,
and is seen at the celebrated waterfall of the Arpenaz, on
the banks of the Arve. Lastly, a fifth locality, where the
Same observation may be repeated, is found near Giétaz, in
the valiey of Megéve. :
In all these localities, the contortion of the beds is situated
in the jurassic formations, while the cretaceous formation
covers these dislocations without having shared in them.
6. The nummulites limestone, which participates in all the
dislocations which have given relief to the cretaceous grounds.
Besides the characters indicated by M. Leymerie for this for-
mation in the Corbicres,* it furnishes us, among the Alps,
with the opportunity of making two important observations.
We observe, in the first place, that this formation contains
a bed of coal so considerable as to be wrought at some points.
These localities, advancing from NE. to SW., are the chain
of Titlis ;t at the extremity of the cantons of Berne and Un-
terwalden, the heights of Beatenberg and Habkeren,} to the
north of the Lake of Thun, and the Mittaghorn, to the south
of Frutigen ; these localities are indicated by M. Studer.
There are others besides, which I have visited myself, namely,
—the celebrated bed of Diablarets, where the coal is associ-
ated with Cerithium diaboli and other fossils. The mine of
Pernant, not far from Arrache, on the right bank of the Arve ;
this mine was described by M. Necker in 1826.§ I shall only
add to his observations, that the bed of fossils is in contact, and
below the true nummulitic limestone, and forms part of that
formation. The coal-mine of Petit-Bornant near Bonnevilles,
and that of Entrevergne on the southern shores of the lake
of Annecy.|| These eight localities running nearly in a line
* Memoires de la Société Geolog. de France: Archives, 1846, t. i. p. 107.
t Studer, Mem. de la Soc. Geolog. de France, t. iii., p. 394. This is merely a
carburetted schist.
¢ Studer, Zbid. iii., 388. The coal has been mined these 40 years.
§ Necker, Bibl. Univ. de Geneve, Sc. et Arts, xxxiii., 90.
|| Bulletin de la Société Geolog. de France. Extraordinary meeting at Cham-
bery, 1844; t. i., p.G01, &e.
and of the Alps of Savoy. 105
parallel with the Alps, shew that, at the period of the depo-
sition of the nummulitic limestone, a carboniferous formation
was made of great extent, which has been subjected to inun-
dations and immense dislocations.
A second character of the nummulitic formation, of greater
theoretical importance, is the following :—this formation is
independent, in the mode of tts arrangement, of the cretaceous
formation which is inferior to it. This important fact merits
some details.
The nummulitic beds, as I have stated, lie above the albian
formation, and the first zone of therudistes. But at Voirons,
near Geneva, the nummulitic rocks, under the form of grés,*
rest on a thin bed of jurassic limestone, the exact age of which
is undetermined, but which lies above a kind of limestone,
which is unquestionably the Oxford limestone.
A similar disagreement has been pointed out by M. Cha-
mousset in the chain of Nivolet near Aix, where the nummu-
litie rocks rest on a coralline limestone. He states that he
has also observed them in the Valley of Thénes, in contact
with a black Oxford limestone, and that M. Sismonda has seen
them among the maritime Alps, resting sometimes on the lower
chalk, sometimes on the Neocomian, sometimes on jurassic beds,
which he presumes to consist of lias.} On the other hand, Pro-
fessor Studer has found the nummulitic formation, in the
canton of Appenzell, resting on the Seeven limestone, which,
as I have said, is superior to the albian formation; in the
neighbourhood of the lake of Thun, resting on rudistes lime-
stone, and at Mont-Faudon, near Gap, on the Oxford clay.
All these instances evidently prove, therefore, the indepen-
dence of the nummulitic formation of the Alps.
7. The Flysch or Macigno, is formed by fine micaceous or
talcose sandstone, by coarse quartzy sandstone, by schists or
calcareous breccia, which always present a most remarkable
* Many years since, M. Boué pointed out the nummulites in these sandstones
at Voirons. Guide du Voyageur Geologique, iii. 395. Ihave made the same ob-
servation. The grés of Valerette at the foot of the Dent du Midi, near Saint-
Maurice in the Valais, likewise contains nummulites.
Tt Bulletin de la Soc. Geolog. de France, Second Series, i. 624.
106 On the Formations of the Western Swiss Alps,
resemblance to lias rocks. Nearly for a third of its thick-
ness, this formation contains cargnules and gypsum in beds.
I never found nummulites in the macigno, but in some loca-
lities, the remains of fishes are abundant: in it these are,
scales, fins, and small jaws. M. Agassiz regards some of
these fragments as characterising the fishes of the cretaceous
epoch.*
This formation seems to be identical with the Italian ma-
cigno, although M. Pilla in his new observations, on the hetru-
rian formation, places it below the nummulitic limestone.t
Like him, I have ascertained its independence. Indeed, while
travelling from Saint-Jeoire to Samoens in Savoy, we per-
ceive that this macigno or flysch runs in layers very nearly
horizontal, although undulated, along the right bank of the
Giffre. These layers rest, to the north-west, on the jurassic
beds, and to the south-east, on the nummulitic limestone,
which is itself placed on the Chama ammonia limestone. This
observation proves that the macigno is independent of the
nummulitic limestone. Consequently, the nummulitic lime-
stone and the macigno are both independent of the cretaceous
formations, and independent of each other.
The point of Marcely, which rises to about 1280 metres
above the little town of Tanninge, is wholly formed of the
nearly horizontal layers of which I have just spoken. This
number gives an approximate idea of the thickness of the
flysch formation. Now, as it has been subjected to all the
dislocations which have formed the relief in the formations of
he Alps, it is probable that, in order to get, the true height
to which many of the calcareous chains of the Alps arose in
ancient times, we ought to add to the actual height of the
needles and cones with which they are covered, the thickness
of the formations which have been subjected to the same mo-
difications. Thus, it is necessary to add to the enormous
height of the Pointe Percie,{ formed by the Chama ammonia
limestone, the thickness of the nummulitic formation and that
of the macigno. And to the Buet, the peak of which is ju-
* Bulletin de la Soc. Geolog. de France, 1844, i., 626.
+ Mém. de la Soe. Geol. de France, 1846, ii. 163, and Archives, 1846, i. 107.
+t From Supplement a la Bib. Univ. de Geneve, No, xviii. p. 120.
-
and of the Alps of Savoy. 107
rassic, we must add the cretaceous and nummulitic forma-
tions, as well as 1300 metres of macigno.
The macigno rocks being somewhat friable, a part must
have fallen down at the time of projection ; but it is probable
that at some points they have continued unimpaired, and that
it is only by degrees, by the effects of denudation and falling
down, that certain aiguilles have been lowered to the still
considerable height which they now occupy.”
* [his elevated summit is situate at the end of the valley of the Reposoir,
and has never been measured. See Saussure, Voyages, § 285 and 1977.
Norr.—Glance at the Geology of Switzerland, Extract of a Discourse pronounced
at the Jubilee of the Society of Natural History of Zurich, on the 30th November
1846, by M. Arnold Escher de la Linth.—M. Escher, after referring to the works
of some Swiss Naturalists, such as Scheuchzer, Saussure, Ebel, Charpentier,
Studer, &c., explains the geological phenomena of the Alps. He first adverts
to the distribution of the two great masses of mountains, as pointed out by M.
Studer; then the fan-like structure of the central chains, the metamorphism,
age, and dislocation of the deposits of the Alps, the geographical limits of the
formations, their relative position, and the conclusions which may be drawn
from the geological history of this country. According to tke author, there does
not exist in it any formation more ancient than the las; on it all the forma-
tions even to the upper chalk, rest with a conformable stratification. No dis-
location, therefore, took place during the whole time these immense deposits
were forming; but there was a convulsion between the deposition of the jlysch
(at the end of the cretaceous period), and the molasse. It is impossible to ex-
plain otherwise the absence of molasse among the Alps. It was at this period
that the metamorphic action was exerted, and that many of the sedimentary
rocks became crystalline. But after the molasse period, during which the Rhi-
noceros, Mastodon, Stag, &c., lived, another revolution took place, the principal
effects of which were the formation of the basins of lakes, and the opening of
the transverse valleys of the Reuss, Linth, &c., valleys which commence in the
centre of the chain of the Alps, and are continued in those districts where the
ground is formed by molasse. It is at a later period that the erratic formation
was spread abroad, the transportation of which M. Escher ascribes to the gla-
ciers.—(Bib. Univ. de Geneve, May 1847, p. 418.)
( 108 -)
A Description of the Glaciers of the Pindur and Kuphinee
Rivers in the Kumaon-Himalaya. By Lieut. R. STRACHEY,
Bengal Engineers.
The existence of glaciers in the Himalayas being appa-
rently still considered a matter of doubt by the natural philoso-
phers of Europe, I have thought that some account of two most
decided glaciers, which I have just visited (May 1847}, in these
mountains, in about lat. 30° 20’, may not be uninteresting. 4
As there is probably nothing specially worthy of note in
these individual glaciers, I wish to explain, that, my object
being to shew that these phenomena exist in the Himalaya,
under forms apparently identical with those observed in the
Alps, it has been necessary that I should enter into details,
which, under other circumstances, would have been super-
fluous. As these are the first glaciers that I have ever seen,
it is right to add, that I am only acquainted with those of
the Alps through the medium of Professor Forbes’s accounts ;
and that, as I lay no claim to originality, I have not scrupled
to adopt freely the ideas, and perhaps expressions, of a per-
son so infinitely better acquainted with these phenomena
than I canbe. To guard against mistakes, I would also men-
tion, that the glaciers were selected for examination only on
account of their accessibility, and that, consequently, no in-
ferences should be drawn from them of the general extent of
glaciers in the Himalaya.
The Pindur River is the most easterly tributary of the
Bhagiruttee, or that stream of the Ganges that issues into
the plains of India at Hurdwar. It rises from the south side
of one of the great snowy ranges of the Himalaya which con-
tains the cluster of peaks of which Nunda Devce* is the
* The heights of these peaks are as follow :—
No. 10. 15,805 English feet.
11, 20,758 a
ie oe a
13. 22,385 £2
14, 25,741 f
15. 22,491 -
— Vide Asiatic Researches, vol. xiii., p. 306.
“ Nunda Devee’’ is the “ Jowahir” of the maps. “ Jowahir,” or more correctly
On the Glaciers of the Himalaya. 109
centre. At the head of the Pindur is one of the glaciers I
am about to describe: the other gives rise to the Kuphinee,
the first considerable affluent of the Pindur.
The Pindur and Kuphinee, rising on opposite sides of the
peak called Nunda Kot, unite about 7 miles south of it. A
small tolerably level space between them, close to their con-
fluence, is called Diwaélee. The lower end of the glacier of
the Pindur is about 8 miles, and that of the glacier of the
Kuphinee about 6 miles above this place.
The valley of the Pindur, at the termination of the glacier,
is about a mile across between the precipitous mountains
that bound it. From the foot of the rocks on either side its
bottom slopes inward with a moderate inclination, leaving in
the middle a hollow about 300 yards wide and 250 feet deep,
with very steep banks, at the bottom of which flows the river.
This comparatively level space, between the central hollow
in which the river runs and the precipitous sides of the valley,
its surface running nearly parallel with the present bed of
the river, but from 200 to 300 feet above it, can be distinctly
seen for a mile or more below the end of the glacier. The
plateau itself, as well as the steep banks between it and the
bed of the river, are considerably cut up by water-courses
running across them from the sides of the valley, but every-
where they have an almost perfectly rounded outline.
The whole of the bottom of the valley is covered with grass,
or those species of plants that grow in these elevated regions,
excepting where beds of snow, rocks, or the debris of the
mountains interrupt the vegetation. i
The glacier occupies about two-thirds of the whole breadth
of the head of this valley, leaving between itself and the cliffs
on the east an open grassy slope, which extends lgngythe foot
of the moraine for upwards of a mile and a half above the
“ Jwar” or “ Joohar,” is the name of a district (Purgunnah) which consists of
the upper part of the valley of the Goree River. Nunda Devee is on the
boundary of this district, and has been erroneously named after it in many
maps, the word “ Joohar” being never applied to designate this particular peak,
though the portion of the range in which it is has undoubtedly been called the
Mountains of Joohar.
110 On the Glaciers of the Himaiaya.
source of the river, and which seems to be a continuation of
the plateau I before mentioned.
The first appearance is remarkable: it seems to be a vast
rounded mass of rocks and ground, utterly devoid of any sign
of vegetation, standing up out of a grassy valley. From the
foot of its nearer extremity, the river, even here unfordable,
rushes in a turbid torrent out of a sort of cave, the top of
which, when I saw it, was but a few feet above the surface
of the water. The end immediately over the source of the
river is very steep, and of a dull black colour. It is consider-
ably fissured, the rents appearing to arise from the lower
parts tearing themselves from the upper by their own weight.
On a closer examination, this abrupt end proves to be a sur-
face of ice, covered with sand and gravel, and curiously striped
by the channel made by the water that runs down it as it
melts. Behind this, the glacier rises less steeply, like a bare
gravel hill, to its full height, which is probably about 590 feet
above the water of the river, when it leaves the cave; in
some places, however, are seen great fissures both vertical
and horizontal, the latter evidently made by the separation
of regularly stratified layers. The last thing that might be
expected of such a dismal coloured and monotonously rounded
hill is, that it should be composed within of the purest ice.
The cliffs that form the immediate bounds of the valley
where the glacier lies are of no great height ; but the moun-
tains of which they are the foot, rise many thousand feet above
them, though with much monotony of appearance. Many
grassy slopes are still seen considerably above the glacier ;
but bare rock and snow much predominate, and are soon left
in sole possession of these inhospitable regions. Two peaks*
which rise, one to the north-east and the other to the north-
* The peak on the north-west is the most easterly of the three smaller peaks
which are seen from Almorah, below Nunda Devee. That on the north-east is
the point at the end of the range that descends from Nunda Kot to the north»
and appears on its left from Almorah. Between these peaks is the pass called’
after Mr Traill, over which he went into Joohar, or the valley of the Goree.
It is, perhaps, rather gratuitous to call this passage a pass, as no one has gone
over it since, and certainly never will go, unless from curiosity. 'To the right
of the north-east peak is another depression in the range, over which, I was
told, Mr Traill attempted to go, but failed.
On the Glaciers of the Himalaya. 111
west of the valley, probably to a height of 20,000 feet above
the sea, are fine objects in themselves, and the frozen snow on
their summits shines gloriously in the sun; but they are not
sufficient to prevent the general impression from the scene
being one of disagreeable monotony, and of desolation com-
plete indeed, but without sublimity.
The glacier is formed by the meeting of two ice-streams,
from gorges, one coming from the north-west and the other
nearly from the east, which meet about two miles above the
source of the river.
The feeder from the north-west is larger than that from
the east, and its surface is at a considerably higher level for
some hundred yards below their first junction. It descends
with a great inclination, entirely filling the gorge down which
it comes, in what Professor Forbes aptly terms a cascade of
ice. It assumes the general appearance of a confused mass
of irregular steps, which are again broken up transversely
into peaks of every shape.
The feeder from the east is formed by the union of two
smaller glaciers, one coming from the north-east, the other
from the south-east: the latter is the larger of the two, and
descends in ice-cliffs to some little distance below the rocky
point which intersected my view of its upper parts. The
north-east tributary is not so steep, its surface, as far as I
could see, being continuous, excepting immediately at its
union with the other, where it seems to be a good deal broken
up. I did not goto any of these glaciers, and describe them
as they appeared from the upper parts of the united glacier.
Another small tributary glacier also falls into the main one
from the north-west. Its inclination is very great, but it
perfectly maintains its continuity of structure to the bottom.
The lateral moraine of the west side of the northern branch
of the glacier shews itself as a black band along the edge
of the ice, which, in other parts of the fall, is quite white.
The moraine is small at one point ; at another, it very rapidly
increases, and in its lower parts is a chaos of desolation, such
as I never saw before. This great addition to the size of the
moraine is owing to the quantity of debris brought down by
the small glacier, over the lower parts of which stones were
112 On the Glaciers of the Himalaya.
constantly rolling on to the upper end of the moraine during
the whole time we were near it. We were thus here enabled
to see the actual formation of a moraine. The ice below the
junction of this tributary with the main glacier being much
broken up by crevasses ; rocks and gravel, from the moraines
on the two sides of the tributary, are scattered over the space
between them, and the moraines, at first sight, appear to lose
their distinct form ; but although there is no clear ice between
the moraine that originates on the east of the tributary and
the west side of the glacier, the identity of that moraine is
sufficiently marked by its colour, and by the regular rise, above
the general surface of the glacier, of its top, which remains
tolerably even for some way down, being beyond the limit of
the disturbance caused by the crevasses along the edge of
the glacier; about half way down to the lower end of the
glacier, however, the full action of these crevasses reaches the
whole of the moraine, and it is scattered or lost sight of in
the general confusion of surface.
An epoch of peculiar destructiveness to the mountains
passed by the glacier is marked on one part of this moraine
by an accumulatien of huge masses of rock, from 20 to 30 feet
Square, and as much as 15 feet high, and the stones found
on it are generally larger than those on any of the other mo-
raines; the true west lateral moraine, below the tributary
glacier, is not very large, nor is its top much elevated above
the bottom of the valley, excepting quite at its end. This.is pro-
bably owing to the level of the valley on this side being higher,
rather than to the top of the glacier boing lower. The bottom
of the valley slopes from the cliffs at its sides inward. On the
east, the edge of the glacier is at some distance from the cliff,
and the bottom of the valley has dipped considerably where
it meets the foot of the moraine, the summit of which, on
that side, is high above the valley. On the west side, the
glacier edge is close to the cliff: the bottom of the valley
will therefore be higher. I did not notice any difference of
level in the two sides of the valley.
The lateral moraine of the south-east side of the glacier is
very large. Its top rises, on an average, probably 250 feet
above the bottom of the valley. Along its foot runs a stream,
On the Glaciers of the Himalaya. 1138
gradually increasing in size, that collects the drainage of the
open part of the valley, and of the outer slopes of the moraine.
The lower part of this slope is a mass of loose stones and
earthy gravel, which rolls down from above, as the face of
ice, which is visible in the upper 50 or 60 feet of the slope,
melts and recedes. This process is seen constantly going on.
On the inner side, the top of the moraine is 40 or 30 feet above
the level of the clear ice of the glacier.
Besides these lateral moraines is a medial one, which, simi-
lar to several described by Professor Forbes, is first seen as
a dirty stripe among the white ice-cliffs of the fall at the head
of the north glacier. As it comes down the level ice, it gra-
dually begins to assume the decided appearance of a moraine,
and, increasing by degrees, at last becomes very large. It
continues in a well-defined form for some short distance beyond
where the western moraine is dispersed; but there it is also
scattered over the ice, and the two become blended together,
and ultimately extend to meet the debris which is similarly
dispersed by the eastern moraine from the opposite side of
the glacier.
The whole of the moraines in the middle of the length of
the glacier, where it is most regular, are very considerably
raised above the general surface of the ice, which in some
parts is, I should think, as much as 100 feet below the tops
of the western and medial moraines. It is not to be supposed
that this great elevation is caused to any considerable extent
by the mere mass of rocks andrubbish collected in the mo-
raine ; it results from the ice below the mass being protected
by it from external melting influences, which constantly de-
press the level of the clear ice beyond the moraine. On the
very tops of the moraines pure ice was often seen hardly
covered by the stones.
The protection given to the ice by the great lateral mo-
raines, raises the sides of the glacier so much, that a very
considerable hollow is caused in its middle, which is a strik-
ing feature in the first appearance of its lower extremity.
The ice of which the glacier is composed, agrees most ex-
actly in its nature with the Alpine glacier ice, as described by
Professor Forbes. It is perfectly pure and clear, but where
VOL. XLIV. NO, LXXXVII.—JAN, 1848. H
114 On the Glaciers of the Himalaya.
seen in considerable masses, stripes of a darker and lighter
bluish-green are distinctly visible. It is composed of bands
of ice, containing small air-bubbles, alternating with others
quite free from them. In many places the surface presents
a striated appearance, arising from the different degrees of
compactness of these differently ecloured bands, and their
consequently different rates of melting.
The direction of these coloured veins, as seen in crevasses,
or in the striated surfaces of the ice, follow laws exactly simi-
lar to those observed in the Alps. The dip was most dis-
tinctly inwards, 7. e., towards the longitudinal axis, and up-
wards, z.e., towards the origin of the glacier in every part ;
the stratification being more perpendicular near the head,
and more nearly horizontal in the lower parts. The direction
of the strata was also very clearly marked in many parts of
the ice, and was plainly in curves, having their branches
nearly parallel to the sides of the glacier, and their apices
directed downwards ; the curvature in the centre not being
at all sudden. I nowhere could perceive “ dirt-bands.”’
The crevasses (perhaps owing to my visit having been made
somewhat early in the summer) were much less numerous and
terrific than I had expected. Although considerable detours
were at times necessary in crossing them, I remember no
place that I thought dangerous or difficult to pass. They are
developed across the direction of the glacier's length, along
both of its sides, commencing from the small tributary on
the west side, and from the union of the eastern glacier on
the other, and continuing almost to the end, those on the west
side being, I think, the largest. They are generally wider
towards the edges of the glacier, closing up as they approach
the centre. They are nearly vertical, and are directed from
the sides upwards or towards the head of the glacier, those
on the west bearing nearly east and west, those on the east
bearing nearly north and south, thus forming angles of about
45° with the axis of the glacier.
Many pools of water (the Baignoirs of the Alps) were seen
on the surface of the ice ; some of the largest were said by our
guides, who are in the habit of visiting the glacier, to be found
in the same place every year. The clear surface of the ice
On the Glaciers of the Himataya. 115
everywhere assumes a more or less undulating form, from the
action of the water that drains from it as it melts; and the
small streams into which the drainage collects, end, as in the
_ glacier of the Alps, by falling into some of the crevasses. The
remains of the last winter’s snow was hardly perceptible on
any part of the glacier.
The occurrence of stones standing up on bases of ice (gla-
cier tables) above the general surface of the glacier, is com-
mon; but all that I saw were small. I also observed what
appeared to be imperfect glacier cones, or the remains of
them, but these also were small.
T examined the effect the glacier produced upon the rocks :
I found it covered with grooves or scratches, sloping in about
the same direction as the surface of the ice at the spot. These
grooves extend to 20 or 30 feet above'the present level of the
glacier. Lalso observed, that almost everywhere a space was
left between the rock and the ice, the latter appearing to
shrink from contact with the former. This was, of course, the
effect of the heat of the rock melting the ice. I regret that
an attempt that I made to measure the actual motion of this
glacier proved ineffectual, owing to circumstances which it is
not necessary to detail.
The valley of the Kuphinee, for a mile or two below the
end of the glacier, has much the same general character as
that of the Pindur, but is more rugged and desolate in ap-
pearance. A fine peak of pure snow (probably Nunda Kot)
is seen from below the glacier, but is lost sight of behind an
intermediate point, on a nearer approach.
The direction of the glacier is almost due north and south,
and the whole breadth of the valley, in its upper part, about
* of a mile, is occupied by it. It commences about two miles
above the river’s source, in a very precipitous fall of ice. We
went up about 200 feet, by the lower part of this, much be-
yond which it would probably have been impossible to ascend,
owing to the excessive steepness above. A cliff of ice about
60 or 70 feet high, rose immediately above the point which we
reached. The ice was perfect, with the ribbon structure quite
visible; the bands were very highly inclined, and I think
further apart than in the lower parts of the glacier. The
116 On the Glaciers of the Himalaya.
direction of the structural lines was in no degree parallel to
the sides of the glacier, but much more nearly perpendicular
to them. The precise contrary of this was observed by Pro-
fessor Forbes, under apparently similar circumstances, in the
Glacier du Talefre, in the Alps.
From the foot of the fall, the surface of the glacier was
on the whole very even, though its slope downwards was very
considerable. It still had remaining, on its upper half, a good
deal of unmelted snow, which was disagreeable to walk over,
as it was seldom strong enough to make us indifferent to
what was under it.
The main glacier is joined by two small tributaries on the
east, and by one on the west; all are highly inclined, and
bring down considerable quantities of debris. The moraines
are altogether confined to the sides of the glacier, though
many small stones are scattered over every part of the ice.
Here, as in the glacier of the Pindur, the protection given by
the moraines to the ice on the sides, raises them greatly, and
leaves a deep hollow in the middle of the glacier at its end.
The crevasses here also are most strongly marked near the
sides, and are inclined at an angle of about 45° from the
longitudinal axis, downwards. The structure of the ice is in
all respects precisely as was seen in the Pindur glacier. I
am unable to offer any decided opinion as to whether these
glaciers have ever varied considerably from their present
limits. During the very short period of my visit to these
regions, | saw no direct evidence of it. The shepherds who
take their flocks to the pastures in the valleys near the
glaciers during the summer months, (for there are no fixed
habitations within 14 or 15 miles of them), have no idea of
any motion in the glacier, but say, that they suppose the ends
of them to be gradually receding. Their statements are, how-
ever, of a very vague nature, and, as far as I could judge, are
founded on their views of what ought to be, rather than what
really is. Some very decided change in the state of things
is however certainly indicated by the long plateaux, which I
before mentioned, running for a mile or two below the
present terminations of both glaciers, nearly parallel to the
rivers, but several hundred feet above them. I consider it to
On the Glaciers of the Himalaya. 117
be impossible, that these level banks above the rivers, have
been caused by deposits from the ravines in the sides of the
valleys, for such deposits would have had very irregular sur-
faces; and indeed their present effect in destroying the re-
gularity of the plateaux is everywhere visible. Had the same
appearance been noticed in any other part of the river’s
course, it would at once have been attributed to the action of
the water at some former period; and it would have been
supposed that the bed had afterwards been excavated to its
present depth. If this was the case, the glaciers, while the
plateau was forming, must either have terminated consider-
ably higher up the valleys, or have stood altogether at a
much higher level; in either of these ways, the water could
have been delivered at a level sufficiently high to form the
plateau. But it may admit of doubt, whether the quantity
of water in the rivers, as they are at present, is sufficient to
account for such an extent of level deposit, or for such a
depth of erosion of their beds; for at this great elevation,
they are not subject to those violent floods that occur lower
down ; for nearly half the year, too, they must be almost
inert.
The only other way that occurs to me of accounting for the
appearance, is, that it has been occasioned by an extension of
the glacier, and that the level top of the plateau shews the
limit to which the tops of the moraines reached, as the glacier
gradually receded. From the very cursory nature of my ex-
amination of the matter, however, I am unable to do more
than point out the fact, and what possibly may have caused it.
There is another circumstance relating to these rivers,
which is also worthy of notice, namely, that in the upper two
or three miles of their course, their fall is considerably less,
than in two or three miles immediately succeeding those.
Thus, in the Kuphinee, the average fall in the first three
miles is about 400 feet, in the next four miles, about 650 feet
per mile; but, as the average is only about 160 for the next
eight miles, it is highly probable that the fall in the fourth
and fifth miles will be considerably greater than in the sixth
and seventh. I therefore infer, that it is quite possible that
the fall in the fourth and fifth miles may be as much as 800
118 On the Glaciers of the Himalaya.
feet per mile, or even more, which the appearance of the
rivers would fully justify.
Smaller extensions of the glacier of the Pindur were visible
in many places. They were marked by mounds of a rounded
form covered with grass, projecting from the modern mo-
raines in a curved direction concave to the glacier. I did
not remark them at the Kuphinee. I would here observe,
that in this climate, where we are subject to periodical rains,
persons should be cautious in concluding that piles of rocks
in long lines are moraines, even though their edges are in no
way water worn. On both of these rivers Isaw many instances
of such heaps of rocks which might very easily have been
thought moraines ; and though from their immense extent,
and the great size of the blocks they contain, it is not easy
to believe that they have been formed by the action of water,
more particularly as the rocks have perfectly sharp edges,
and as there is often no appearance of water ever having
been near them; yet they have certainly been brought down
by torrents, and may be easily traced up to ravines in the
mountains.
The.term snow-bed having been hitherto applied by tra-
vellers in these mountains, (with one exception,*) both to
true glaciers, and to mere beds of unaltered snow, I will
shortly explain what is meant by it when used in the latter,
which is the correct, sense. In many parts of the higher
valleys real beds of snow lie far below the limit of perpetual
snow for the greater part of the year, and some would pro-
bably be permanent at very low elevations were they not de-
stroyed by the rain during the rainy season. These snow-
beds are formed by avalanches, as is sufficiently proved by
their form and position. On the Kuphinee river we have a
fine example of a snow-bed, which occurs at an elevation of
10,800 feet.
It came down from a ravine, and entirely covered the
river, which flowed under its whole length. The snow ex-
tended but little beyond the upper side of the ravine, but was
prolonged far down the river on the lower side. Its surface
* [ allude to Major Madden, who has given a short account of the glacier of
the Pindur in a late Number (176) of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of
Bengal.
On the Glaciers of the Himalaya. 119
was marked by curved hills. This is evidently precisely the
form that would be assumed by snow falling down the ravine
into the river. The slope of the river bed being great, the
avalanche would naturally continue its course down it, after
having filled the channel immediately in front of the ravine.
The fall of an avalanche in the upper part of this valley,
gave me an opportunity of seeing the motion of loose snow
in large masses ; it was very similar to that of a fluid body,
the snow appeared rather to flow than to fall. So here, the
snow descending through the ravine, gradually filled the river
channel, the main supply moving with the greatest velocity
down the middle, but sending off, all along it as it went on,
particles to the sides. Its head would therefore advance in a
convex curve, as the central particles moving directly for-
ward would always keep in advance of those that spread out
to the sides. The end of the snow-hbed takes the curved form,
and a succession of smaller avalanches would mark its sur-
face with numerous curves of the same sort.
In the last two miles of the approach to the Kuphinee
glacier we crossed two snow-beds, both of which were up-
wards of a quarter of a mile wide, and extended from the ra-
vines in which they originated, right across the valley from
side to side, entirely covering up the river.
The surface of many of the snow-beds has a sort of rippled
appearance, caused by the protection given by grass and
leaves blown upon the snow to the parts immediately under
them. The snow itself is generally firm, and receives but a
slight impression from the foot of a man walking over it.
I have estimated the heights of these glaciers from obser-
vation of the boiling-point of water as follows; the results
will certainly be within 500 feet of the truth.
Feet above
the Sea.
Lowest point of the glacier of the Pindur and source of the
river, : ; 3 ‘ f 11,300
Surface of the glacier at the commencement of smooth ice, 12,000
Lowest point of the glacier of the Kuphinee and source of the
river, 7 ° A ; ; ‘ 12,000
Surface of the glacier at the commencement of smooth ice, 15,500
Diwalee, union of the Pindur and Kuphinee, - A 8,200
120 On the Glaciers of the Himalaya.
The limit of perpetual snow here being about 15,000 feet
above the sea, in the one case the glacier comes down 3700,
and in the other 3000 feet below it. At the Kuphinee gla-
cier, a mass of Rododendron campanulatum, a shrub six or
eight feet high, was growing within thirty yards of the ice.
There were no shrubs of any size at the Pindur glacier, but
grass and fiowers were at both places flourishing considerably
above the level of the ice.
Having now concluded the record of my own observations
on the two glaciers seen by myself, I will add two extracts
from the journals of travellers in these mountains, which
most clearly prove the existence of two other glaciers, both
of great size ; one at the source of the Bhagiruttee or Ganges,
the other at that of the Goree, which is one of the main
feeders of the Kalee or Gogra. The first extract is from a
journal by Captain Hodgson, of a visit to the source of the
Ganges, in the year 1847 (Asiatic Researches, No. xiv., 4to,
pp. 117-128.) Captain Hodgson thus describes the first ap-
pearance of the glacier, from which the river rises.
“ The Bhagiruttee or Ganges issues from under a very low
arch at the foot of the grand snow-bed.”’—* Over the debouche
the mass of snow is perfectly perpendicular, and from the
bed of the stream to the summit, we estimate the thickness
at little less than 300 feet of solid frozen snow, probably the
accumulation of ages ; it is in layers of some feet thick, each
seemingly the remains of a fall of a separate year. The
height of the arch of snow is only sufficient to let the stream
flow under it.”
He ascends the glacier: “ This vast collection of snow is
about 14 mile in width, filling up the whole space between
the feet of the peaks to the right and left; we can see its
surface forward to the extent of four or five miles, or more.”
—‘ General acclivity, 7°, but we pass small hollows in the
snow, caused by its irregular subsiding; a very dangerous
place ; the snow stuck full of rubbish and rocks imbedded in .
it. Many rents in the snow appear to have been recently
made, their sides shrinking and falling in.”—“ Ponds of water
form in the bottom of these.”
«Tt was remarked above, that the snow of the great bed
On the Glaciers of the Himalaya. 121
was stuck, as it were, with rock and rubbish, in such a man-
ner, as that the stones and large pieces of rock are supported
in the snow, and sink as it sinks ; as they are at such a dis-
tance from the peaks as to preclude the idea that they could
have rolled down to their present places except their sharp
points had been covered, it appears most likely” that they
came down like snowballs with avalanches. “ It is not easy to
account for the deep rents which intersect this snow-bed, with-
out supposing it to be full of hollow places.” The source of
the Ganges is stated by Captain Hodgson to be 12,914 feet
above the sea.
The next is an extract from a journal of Lieutenant Weller,
printed as a note to a journal of Captain Manson, (Journal
of the Asiatic Society, No. 132.)
* | went to see the source of the Goree River, about a mile
north-west from Milum. The river comes out in a small but
impetuous stream, at the foot of apparently a mass of dirt
and gravel some 300 feet high, shaped like a half-moon. This
is in reality a mass of dark coloured ice (bottle-green colour),
extending westward to a great distance, and covered with
stones and fragments of rock, which, in fact, form a succes-
sion of small hills. I went along this scene of desolation for
a long space, but could not nearly reach the end. Here and
there were circular and irregularly shaped craters (as it
were), from 50 to 500 feet in diameter at top, and some of
them 150 feet deep; the ice was frequently visible on the
sides, and at the bottom was a dirty sea-green coloured pool of
water, apparently very deep. The bases of the hills on either
side, and frequently far up their faces, are one succession of
landslips; but, from their distance, I do not believe it pos-
sible that the debris in the centre of the snow-bed valley can
have fallen there from the side hills.”” Lieutenant Weller
also says of the same glacier in his journal, published in the
Journal of the Asiatic Society, No. 134 :—* The mass of desola-
tion, as described at the source of the Goree, continues thus far
up, thatis, about four miles, and how much farther no one will
or can tell me. The fissures hereabouts are narrow, instead
of being crater-like, and the ice, when visible, is more nearly
the colour of snow. On the opposite (south) side, hnge ae-
122 On the Glaciers of the Himalaya.
cumulations of ice and gravel are to be seen in the openings
between the hills. Once on either side I had a view of the
old ice high upon the hills; its light sea-green colour, with
strongly defined and fantastical lines of shape (castles, stairs,
&c.), formed a very pleasing and grand appearance.” This
glacier is known to be six or seven miles long; its lower ex-
tremity is at 11,600 feet above the sea.
In the published journals of travellers in the Himalaya
that I have seen, I have not met with any other accounts of
glaciers sufficiently distinct to be worth quoting, though we
not unfrequently come across a snow-bed that seems suspi-
cious. Iam, however, fully satisfied of the actual existence
of many other glaciers, both from the verbal accounts of Mr
Batten, who has been a resident in Kumaon for many years ;
of my brother, Mr H. Strachey, who visited several of the
passes into Thibet last year; and of the Bhotians (the natives
of the valleys immediately below the snowy ranges); and
from having myself had distant views of several.
From these sources I am able to affirm positively the ex-
istence of glaciers at the heads of the following rivers, viz. :
—the Vishnoogunga (near Budrinath) ; the Kylgunger, the
Koourgurh the Soondurdoonga, all rising from the northern
side of Tresool and Nunda Devee ; the Ramgunga (that which
falls into the Surgoo, not the great river of the same name);
the Piltee, an affluent of the Goree; and the Gonka, which
rises near the Oonta-doora or Joohar, pass into Thibet.
I therefore conclude, that in the Himalaya, as in the Alps,
almost every valley that descends from the ranges covered
with perpetual snow, has at its head a true glacier ; and’.in
spite of Mr Elie de Beaumont’s ingenious fact, that the
seasons here “have no considerable variations of tempera-
ture,” and that “ the thaw and frost do not separately pene-
trate far enough to conyert the snow into ice,” I am of opinion,
that the very great intensity of all atmospheric influences, in-
cluding variations of temperature, should render these moun-
tains one of the most favourable fields for the investigation
of glacial phenomena.— Journal of the Asiatic Society of Ben-
gal, New Series, No. viii., p. 794.
(1985
Note on the Temperature of the Spider; and on the Urinary
Excretion of the Scorpion and Centipede. By JOHN Davy,
M.D., F.R.S., Lond. and Edin., Inspector-General of Army
Hospitals.
In a former communication made to this Journal, I have
spoken of spiders as belonging to the class of cold-blooded
animals. Though this I believe is generally admitted as a
fact, I am not aware of any precise observations that have
been made and published confirming it. I am induced in
consequence to give the following, which, although the num-
ber is very limited, may in part at least supply the supposed
deficiency.
The subject of the first trials I shall mention was a large
species of Mygale, not uncommon in Barbadoes, the body of
which was about an inch long. A small thermometer, with
a projecting bulb, applied to its abdomen, was stationary at
86:25° Fahrenheit, when a similar one placed under the glass -
vessel in which the spider was confined stood at 86°. The
following day, the difference between the two thermometers
was a little greater; that in contact with the spider was
§8°5°; that under the glass 88°. On this occasion the spider
was placed on cotton-wool, and the bulb of the instrument
was between this bad conductor of heat and the abdomen of
the animal. I may add, that the previous nights it devour-
ed the soft parts of a beetle, and voided a considerable quan-
tity of urinary excrement, consisting almost entirely of xan-
thic oxide. The trial of the thermometer on this spider
was repeated several times, and with the same result.
In Trinidad, as well as in some of the other West Indian
islands, a very large spider (4. avicularia, Linn.?) is met
with. At my request, Mr Longmore, assistant-surgeon of
the 19th regiment, stationed in Trinidad, was so good as to
institute some trials on it, to determine its temperature. In
the first he made, he informed me that a delicate thermo-
meter, the bulb of which was grasped by the spider so as to
be surrounded, rose in one instance from 85° to 863°; in an-
other from 83° to 85°. In some other trials, made on the
124 On the Temperature of the Spider ; and on the
same spider, taking precautions which I suggested to him,
he found the thermometer under the abdomen, and in con-
tact with it, from one-half to three quarters of a degree
higher than in the air of the box in which the spider was
confined; and he stated that the same results followed the
experiment when made at different atmospheric tempera-
tures. ‘These last results, of course, I consider, as did also
Mr Longmore, the most accurate.
In connexion with its temperature, I have thought it worth
while to ascertain the proportion of carbonic acid formed by
the spider in a certain time. The spider, the temperature
of which I had tried, was confined in a glass jar, over water
of the capacity of 23 cubic inches, and holding this quantity
of common air. After 243 hours, (the temperature of the
room the same at the beginning and end of the experiment),
calculating the absorption that had taken place, the dimi-
nution of the volume of air, and the after diminution by agi-
tation with lime-water, it was found that there was a total
diminution of 2:11 cubic inches of air, so that about this
quantity of carbonic acid, it may be inferred, had been form-
ed. Ina second experiment, on another species of Mygale,
about half the size of the former, after three days confine-
ment in 13°6 cubic inches of atmospheric air, nearly a cubic
inch (:97 of a cubic inch) appeared to be formed. The spider,
at the end of three days, was alive and active. These re-
sults, on the quantity of oxygen consumed by these spiders,
in the formation of carbonic acid, or the animal-heating pro-
cess, may be considered in accordance with the degree of
temperature they have been observed to possess.
I have mentioned, that the spider first used in the trial
on temperature, devoured the soft parts of a beetle: of this
I satisfied myself by careful examination of the remains.
And, I may add, that from repeated observations, Iam sure,
that spiders do not, according to popular belief, feed on the
juices of the animals they make their prey, but on their
muscle and other soft parts. The same remark, the result
also of observation, applies to the scorpion.
As regards this last mentioned animal, there is another
popular belief, which I have no doubt is equally ill-founded,
Urinary Excretion of the Scorpion and Centipede. 125
viz., that if an attempt be made to confine it, it will destroy
itself by thrusting its sting into its head. I apprehend that
most scorpions that die shortly after they have been placed
in confinement, have been hurt in being taken, and die in
consequence. The committing of self-destruction on loss of
liberty, excepting it be done instinctively, implies not only
a reasoning power and process, but a knowledge of the effects
—that is, of death,—a knowledge which we can hardly sup-
pose any animal but man to possess. But, apart from this
general consideration, I may mention, that the only scorpion
T have had, that I have taken uninjured, has lived, and is
now living in confinement, and feeds well, eating the soft
parts of flies, and of small cockroaches, which it kills, and
seems to be in the enjoyment of perfect health, and nowise
repining under the loss of liberty.
This scorpion, a small brown one, with transverse stripes
on its back of a lighter hue (S. americanus), has enabled me
to make trial of its urinary excrement. Like that of spiders,
it is voided in a semifluid state, shortly becomes solid from
the evaporation of the aqueous part; is of a greyish hue ; un-
der the microscope is seen to consist chiefly of spherical
granules, of from about soo to rzdo0 Of an inch in dia-
meter; and examined chemically, is found to have the pro-
perties of the xanthic oxide. I have never been able to detect
in it any traces of lithic acid, and have sought for it in
several specimens. It is remarkable that almost the whole
of the excrement of this animal appears to be urinary. It
is voided often, and, in proportion to the size of the scor-
pion, in large quantity. A like remark is applicable to the
spider, but not to the centipede. Hitherto my observations
on this secretion of the scorpion have been limited to one
example; and, in the instance of that of the centipede, they
have been equally limited.
The centipede (Scolopendra morsitans), from which some ex-
crement was obtained for examination, was about six inches
long: it died, after having been about a fortnight in confine-
ment without eating ; it had been hurt in being taken. During
this time it twice voided excrement—a dark small cylindri-
cal mass, partially covered with a whitish incrustation. This
126 Mr Miller’s Description of a New Pyrometer.
whitish matter, separated and examined apart, was found to
consist chiefly of lithate of ammonia: under the microscope,
it was seen to be composed of granules of about 55 inch
in diameter, and acted on by nitric acid and heat, it yielded
the purple compound characteristic of lithic acid. The dark,
almost black matter, composing the principal part of the
excrement, under the microscope appeared as a very mixed
debris, amongst which sand, in very fine grains, was ob-
servable, but nothing else, well defined. No doubt, it was
feecal matter, and it would seem to indicate that the centi-
pede is a coarse feeder.
BARBADOES, October 31, 1847.
Description of anew Pyrometer. By Mr ALEX. MILLER, Liver-
pool. With a Plate. Communicated by the Author.
Thermometers being found inapplicable to the measure-
ment of the higher ranges of heat, Musschenbroek, about the
year 1750, was led to make use of the expansion of metal
rods instead of that of mercury. Since that period pyrome-
ters and metallic thermometers, with few exceptions, have
been made on the same principle, though varying in form ;
the expansion of the rods being assumed as proportional to
the temperature.
The exceptions to Musschenbroek’s method may be briefly
noticed. Wedgwood’s pyrometer is founded on the property
that clay possesses of contracting by heat. Achard’s resem-
bled the common thermometer, semi-transparent porcelain
being substituted for glass, and a fusible alloy for mercury.
Mr Prinsep, assay-master of the mint at Benares. proposed
the employment of alloys of various metals, in different pro-
portions, which melted at various degrees. The expansion
of air by heat has also been employed in the measurement of
high temperatures.
The principle of the pyrometer that forms the subject of
this communication, in the opinions of those* in whose judg-
* Professors Faraday and Melson.
Mr Miller’s Description of a new Pyrometer. 127
ment I have more confidence than in my own, is new in its
application, and correct in theory; but the practical utility
of this contrivance remains to be tested. . The difficulty that
attends the invention of an instrument of this kind, that in
its use is submitted to the torture of fire, may be inferred
from the disagreements found in tables of temperatures above
the boiling of mercury.
My aim has been to make the mercurial thermometer sub-
servient to the measurement of high heats. As in mecha-
nics, a comparatively small weight, placed on the lever of a
steelyard, counterpoises and determines the weight of the
load, it seemed also possible by some method to determine,
by the thermometer itself, temperatures beyond its range.
With this view experiments were first tried with a short
cylinder of iron, of one inch diameter, a tube of sheet-iron,
and a thermometer, proceeding as follows :—The iron cylin-
der, after being heated, was dropped into the tube ; the ther-
mometer, graduated on the stem, was suspended at a small
distance above it, and at the same distance in all experi-
ments, to receive the impression of radiated heat; the rise
of the thermometer during a given time was observed. It
was supposed that the thermometer would be affected ac-
cording to the intensity ;—that if the iron heated to 100°
above the atmospheric temperature caused the thermometer
to rise 12° in four minutes, 200° would cause it to rise 24°
in the same time.
The following improvement was made on this arrange-
ment. The thermometer was bent to a right angle about an
inch from the bulb, which was afterwards imbedded to the
depth of about half an inch in sand, contained in a metal
cup,; the thermometer stem was passed through a hole in the
side of the cup, and fixed in an upright position: a cylinder
of iron weighing about six ounces, with a thin handle, was
heated in mercury to various known degrees, and then ap-
plied to the shielded bulb. In each experiment, the degree
to which the thermometer rose during four minutes, was
noted, and the numbers passed over were counted. The re-
sults with moderate heats were tolerably uniform; an in-
128 Mr Miller’s Description of a new Pyrometer.
crease of 100° in the cylinder producing an increase of about
12° in the ascent of the thermometric column. From re-
sults with known heats, a scale was obtained, by which un-
known and higher heats were inferred. But as the capacity
of iron for heat increases rapidly, all determinations with this
metal must be too great in the higher ranges.
In practice, this method was attended with some inconve-
niences. The sand that surrounded the bulb of the thermo-
meter imbibed moisture from the air in the driest weather:
when the cylinder was applied at a red heat, the moisture
was converted into steam, and the thermometer quickly rose
from perhaps 70 or 80 degrees to the boiling point of water.
There was also difficulty in marking the time by a seconds
watch, and the ascent of the thermometer at the same in-
stant. A new plan was suggested, in which ééme does not
enter as an element in the investigations, and the operation
is thus in some measure simplified.
The pyrometer, in its present form (Plate III.), consists of
a platinum* cylinder, weight about four ounces ; about thirty
ounces of mercury, contained in a vessel of sheet-iron, placed
in one of wood, with charcoal between; a thermometer, gradu-
ated on the stem to 600°. The iron vessel has a cover of the
same material ; an iron tube, closed at the lower end, and of
rather greater diameter than the platinum heater, is secured
to the cover by a lip or flange, and passes through the mer-
eury to about one-eighth of an inch from the bottom of the
vessel.
The procedure is similar to the above ; differing in this,
that instead of estimating the heat by its partial effect dur-
ing a short and given period, it is estimated by its total effect
on a mass of mercury.
The platinum after receiving the temperature of the fur-
nace, melted metal, &c., is dropped into the tube, sand is
poured quickly over it, and the tube closed with a non-con-
ducting stopper. A lid of wood is pressed down on the outer
* Platinum has two desirable properties not possessed by wrought iron; it
sustains intense heat, without being oxidized, and its capacity for heat is not
a rapidly increasing one, nor irregular.
Mr Miller’s Description of a new Pyrometer. 129
case, through this lid, and the one of iron under, are holes to
admit the thermometer to the mercury, the scale is exposed
from 30° upwards.
The weight of the platinum is about one-ninth of that of
the mercury and sheet-iron surrounding it. Mercury, which
forms the chief part of the weight, has nearly the same spe-
cific heat as platinum ; the temperature, therefore, when dif-
fused over, or diluted in, the mass is lowered to one-tenth,
not one-ninth, as the platinum retains its share; thus, a tem-
perature of 2000° (on the supposition that the atmosphere is
at zero) would become 200°, and be measurable by thermo-
meters. The diffusion of all heats is completed in the same
time, viz., in six minutes when the thermometer becomes sta-
tionary.
The scale, it will have been observed, is determined by the
relative weights of the mercury and platinum, and may be
altered by increasing or diminishing either ; it may be found
by calculation, but more accurately and easily by experiment.
A seale of 1°to 10° of Fahrenheit has been chosen, partly for
the sake of ready notation ; by the addition of a cipher to the
number of degrees through which the thermometer has risen,
and the addition afterwards of the atmospheric temperature,
the original heat is obtained.*
As far as the thermometer served to check and carry out
the experiments, the results were found uniform and consis-
tent, or nearly so; 100 clear degrees imparting 10° to the
mass, 200°, 20°, and so on.
The boiling point of linseed oil, estimated at 600° was in-
dicated at 594°. The heat of an ordinary fire varied from
about 1200° to 1600°, according to intensity, which is depen-
dent on draught. The heat of a parlour fire is set down by
the late Professor Daniell at 1141°. The difference here ex-
hibited was unexpected, nor does it seem to be clearly ac-
counted for by attributing an excess in my determination to
* Example.—With the atmosphere at 50°, let it be supposed the thermome-
ter has risen to 145°, the number of degrees passed over is 95; a cipher an-
nexed makes 950, and the weather temperature of 50° added, gives 1000° as
the original heat.
VOL. XLIV. NO. LXXXVII.—JAN. 1848. I
130 Mr Miller’s Description of a new Pyrometer.
the increasing specific heat of platinum, for this might be
supposed nearly balanced by the increasing rate of expansion
of platinum in the other determination of 1141° with the re-
gister pyrometer. The increasing capacity, and the expan-
sion of metals in general, seem to bear a relation to each
other, and in platinum both are small. If the temperature
assigned to an ordinary fire by this pyrometer be really too
great, the error, I apprehend, can be ascribed only to pro-
gressive specific heat; yet, no such increase was shewn in
the previous experiment with boiling oil, that gave a result
rather under 600°, the temperature indicated by an open ther-
mometer.
The fusing point of copper, and the white or welding heat
of iron, were also shewn at higher ranges, but much under
those assigned by Morveau in his corrections of Wedgewood’s
scale.
Itis worthy of remark, that the determinations by Daniell’s
first pyrometer (described in Brande’s Quarterly Journal)
were higher when pulleys were used to magnify expansion,
than those afterwards given by the register pyrometer, in
which a lever is used instead of pulleys. The melting point
of cast-iron by the former was 3479", by the latter 2786°.
Dr Brewster, in his edition of Ferguson’s Lectures, has
pointed out a singular oversight in the construction of Fer-
guson’s pyrometer, with respect to the lever employed to
increase expansion to the eye. He says, in a note (vol. i. p.
20), “It is wonderful how the author and other writers on
natural philosophy should have overlooked the striking de-
fect in the principle upon which this new pyrometer is con-
structed.” The error is then pointed out, with references to
the drawing of the instrument in the book of plates. Dr
Brewster adds, “As the arms of the two levers, therefore,
are continually changing their proportion, every pyrometer
constructed upon the principle of the lever must give a very
inaccurate result.’’*
* The error in Ferguson’s pyrometer might be rectified by a scale of equal
parts, laid down, not on the arc, but on a tangent to it, parallel to the expand-
ing bar.
Association of American Geologists and Naturalists. 131
The levers in Ferguson’s pyrometer act like levers of the
third kind; in Daniell’s, like one of the first kind: but it is
difficult to decide, by mere inspection of the diagram that ac-
companies the description of the register pyrometer, whether
an error similar to that in Ferguson’s arrangement, or in-
deed, whether any error exists in Daniell’s scale. I have
not had an opportunity to inspect the instrument itself.
All who have brought forward pyrometers endeavour to
connect them as supplements to the thermometer, which, it
is now generally admitted, is not really consistent with it-
self from its lower to its higher limits ; an approximation to
an accurate continuation of Fahrenheit’s scale is therefore
all that can be expected. The difficulties that stand in the
way of a solution of the problem, seem to arise from the
small expansion of the metals employed, which thus requires
the intervention of levers and pinions, that may not “ per-
form with theoretical accuracy ;” from unequal expansions
by equal increments of heat; and in the method now sub-
mitted, from the increasing specific heat of metals. At pre-
sent, to me it seems possible to determine, within 100° at
least, a temperature not greater than 1200°, or double that of
boiling oil, by means of the fusible alloy, and by a method
(perhaps unsuitable for a permanent instrument) in which
those suspected causes of error may be evaded. If opportu-
nity be afforded, and if the inquiry be attended with even mo-
derate success, I may, with permission, take leave to return
to this subject.
Meeting of Association of American Geologists and Naturalists,
held at Boston, September 27, 1847.
This Association met, according to adjournment, in the Marl-
borough Chapel, Tuesday morning, at 10 o'clock.
The meeting was called to order by Dr John C. Warren, of this
city, chairman, pro tempore. The proceedings of Monday were
then read by the secretary, Dr J. Wyman. Professor Silliman, of
the Standing Committee, after making a few remarks relative to the
death of Dr Binney, nominated Professor William B. Rogers as
permanent chairman of the present meeting, and he was unani-
132 Association of American Geologists and Naturalists.
mously elected. Previous to the commencement of the regular pro-
ceedings, Mr Teschmacher of this city, informed the members that
large masses of the Lake Superior copper-ore were left at the Pro-
vidence Railroad Depot, and that individuals interested might have
an opportunity of examining them.
A paper was presented by Mr B. L. C, Wales upon the forma-
tion of the Mississippi Bluff, near Natchez. This paper, in the
absence of Mr Wales, was read by the secretary. It went to ex-
plain the respective agencies of diluvium and glaciers in the forma-
tion of the Bluff.~ It also explained the manner in which animal
remains had been found in the ravines, near the locality, shewing
that land slides and floods were continually depositing in the ra-
vines bones and other articles from the higher regions, and which
from time to time had been dug up and exhibited. There was a
large number of specimens from the locality, consisting of fossil
woods, favosites, carnelians, jaspers, and ochres, &c.
Mr P. A. Browne, of Philadelphia, read a paper, entitled ‘* Ani-
mal Torpidity.” He first treated of the respiration of hibernating
animals. With mammals the respiration does not cease at once,
but gradually, and no oxygen is consumed by the animal in a com-
pletely torpid state. The respiration of the torpid state may be
only imperfect, as, for instance, when the animal breathes and then
ceases from breathing for minutes, and it may be for hours. Ani-
mals, when about to enter the torpid state, seek retirement. The
mammals roll themselves up into as small a compass as possible,
and retire into holes or caverns; the mollusca retreat into their
shells; flies, spiders, &c., creep into holes.
A Hamster kept in a box of straw, in a sufficiently cold place, did
not become torpid; but when buried in the ground he became torpid,
and revived as soon as he was dug up. Hamsters have been kept in
a cage and fed, eating during the season when they usually hibernate.
Opinions are various upon the point of the total extinguishment of
respiration during torpidity. Some naturalists assert, that in hiber-
nation animals do not breathe, while others contend that respiration
is not extinct. A torpid animal immersed in carbonic acid gas will
not die. The respiration of animals is subordinate to temperature
—in summer quick; in autumn slow; in winter, none at all.
Experiments have shewn that hibernating animals consume oxygen,
considerable in volume, when in an active state; that the consump-
tion diminishes as the temperature falls; that they can exist in an
air which will neither support life nor combustion ; that in a torpid
state the consumption of oxygen is small; and that in a perfect state
of torpidity no oxygen is consumed, and there is no respiration.
The Alligator, when about to hibernate, takes a pine or cypress
knot in its mouth, completely closing it ; it then retires into holes
under water, where it remains until the warm weather in the spring
slssociation of American Geologists and Naturalists. 133
comes on. |
HOkY TIAL.
On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. | 221
the large basin in question never can have formed more than
one lake after its separation from the main. The form of the
ground, in the section 1, places this point beyond dispute.
Secondly, So small a body of fresh water as any artificial
canal, (even if it had run freely into the lake, which this par-
ticular canal did not), never could pour into it a sufficient
quantity to sweeten the contents of such a basin of sea-water
as this, full 20 miles long, averaging 5 in breadth, and 60
feet deep in the middle. The canal could only restore to its
own level, whatever water the lake lost by evaporation. But
as salt does not evaporate, the lake would always remain as
salt as before, unless it had an outlet, by another canal, into
a sea lower than either the canal or the lake; then, there
being a current through it, the salt water might gradually
be replaced by fresh.
Thirdly, But in the time of Strabo, no such eit existed.
It went no farther than Arsinoé. Its final junction with the
present Gulf of Suez, across the remainder of the newly
formed barrier, was not effected till a century after Strabo
wrote, by the Roman Emperors Trajan and Hadrian.* Al-
though earlier authors than Pliny speak of the canal as be-
ing finished by Ptolemy Philadelphus, it is obvious that they
only spoke from report, and confound the first termination of
the canal with the second ; the author of the one with that of
the other ;+ but that the account given by Pliny is the true
representation of the state of things tn is own time ; he takes
up the matter where Herodotus broke off, and therefore, as
the last contemporaneous authority, whose testimony has
stood the ordeal of minute analysis, he is the most to be
* Trajan’s canal completed the restoration of the southern part of the Etham
branch as a water-course. Beyond Scenx to Heliopolis, it followed a de-
serted course of the Pelusiac, deflected from its former position to the present
site of canal Abou-Menedgy, by the action of the same causes that have thrown
the Canopic into the Sebennytic branch, From Heliopolis to Babylon, the rest of
Trajan’s canal, which is now the canal of Cairo, was an entirely artificial cut-
ting,—its object, to raise the level of the water to that of the sea at Clysma,
where it ended. Hence Claudius Ptolemy, the geographer (B. iv., ¢. 5.), says
of it, that it flowed through Babylon and Heroopolis. (Vide Plate VI.)
+ Vide Note to page 219.
222 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
credited. And the reason Pliny gives for Ptolemy’s not at-
tempting to cut his canal through the second barrier,—the
greater height of the Red Sea,—is the very thing that would
prevent the canal from flowing ¢hrough the lake, had it been
cut.
Fourthly, For, even if the junction were effected, the inter-
vening canal could never possibly be made to convey water
from the dower basin into the higher sea. The greatest pre-
cautions must, on the contrary, be taken to prevent the sea
from pouring into the lower basin, via the canal, more salt
water than it contained already; since the low basin would
then replace what it had lost by evaporation, partly with salt
water from one end, partly with fresh from the other, instead
of doing so wholly with fresh as before. Thus, the tendency
of such a junction, when effected, would rather be to increase
the saltness of the lake, than to sweeten it.
Lastly, The large crystalline masses of salt,* found on the
plains and marshes that now remain from this dried-up gulf
basin, in such enormous quantities, that the Arabs of the
desert have for centuries past made it a productive article of
commerce, continue an unquestionable physical proof to this
day, that would, in itself, suffice to certify—that the waters
of that lake have never been sweetened at all.
There being so many conclusive reasons against assigning
this position to the “ so called Bitter Lakes” of Strabo ;—the
only hollows in the vicinity through which the canal could
have flowed, are the Crocodile lakes,} through which the
Etham river itself had flowed.
* Descr. de l’Hg., Journal, vol. xi., 323, 324. Mém. de Le Pére, ib. p. 122.
Mém. De Dubois-Aymé, vol. xviii. p. 354; and of Devilliers, ib. p. 380, 381.
+ This position has been assigned to the Bitter-lakes by M. Dubois-Aymé,
and I regret not being able to coincide beyond this point with his hypothesis
on the ancient geography of the district; neither as to the period when the open
sea was cut off from the gulf-basin, nor as to the site of Pliny’s “ Bitter foun-
tains.” The former event he supposes may have been posterior even to the
time of Hadrian. In that case, an open sea, accessible to the tides, must have
extended to the Serapeum, in the time of Ptolemy ; thus, any excavations on the
shoal above Arsinoé would have been impossible, however shallow the water ;
and the 374 M.P. of Ptolemy’s canal operations must be found exclusive of
this spot. This, M., Dubois-Aymé is obliged to do. He suggests that the
On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. 223
But if the river ran through them, ow could they have
been bitter ? It is evident that the communication of the Nile
must have been cut off, or they would always have been
sweet, as when after this canal was introduced. That the
river did flow through them has been physically proved.
That Strabo’s lakes could be situated nowhere else, will now,
I hope, be readily granted. That the river, if cut off at all,
must have been cut off before the time of Herodotus, is un-
deniable. That the construction of the land rendered such
an operation expedient for the successful execution of the
works of Darius, has also been demonstrated. And if, after
the river was intercepted, and these lakes had remained in-
sulated some time, the canal was re-introduced into them be-
fore the age of Strabo, and we can find vestiges of such works
having been executed at the very time our theory requires,—
then, I hope, the chain of circumstantial evidence will be as
complete as can be desired, and far beyond what one could
have anticipated, in an endeavour to elucidate a subject so
obscure. For it is well known that the exudations of the
soil throughout this region, in which the Nile no longer flows,
have the property of imparting a disagreeable, bitter, and
acrid quality to the water that collects in its hollows by fil-
tration through the sandy soil. The wells now in the valley
partake of it more or less ; but the saline plains and marshes
to the north of the Crocodile lake basin, are decidedly of that
62 M.P. being the distance from the sea to the Nile, the canal of Ptolemy, be-
ginning from the Nile near Bubastis, must have ended a little beyond Ras el
Wady, where he, accordingly, places the “ bitter fountains.” Now, unless we
entirely set aside the valuable contemporaneous testimony of Herodotus, who
not only has described, with a degree of circumstantial precision, which a glance
at the map (Plate VI.), will enable us duly to appreciate, the very place where
the canal was begun by Necho, and its entire course as completed by Darius to
the Arabian Gulf, into which it was discharged ; the hypothesis of M. Dubois-
Aymé will amount to this,—-that Ptolemy dug 37 miles of a canal, along a valley
where a canal had existed for 330 years ;—that he left off for fear of the greater
height of the sea, at a place that the sea had never come to within 20 miles of ;
—and that he then and there, and on that account, left unfinished, a work that
was finished up to the sea 200 years before he was born. Vide Descr. de l’Kg.,
Kt Mod., vol. xi., and App., vol. xviii. Mém. of Dubois-Aymé, “ Sur les
anciennes limites de la Mer Rouge.”
224 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
that character. Therefore the lakes themselves, if insulated,
would not remain exempt from a quality that resides in the
very soil they lie upon.
Here, then, is the topographical proof that such a succes-
sion of operations were executed, in the locality mentioned,
and during the interval we require. We must follow M. Le-
pére along the traces of the ancient canal. Having passed the
spot east of Hero, where he remarked that “ no canal seemed
ever to have existed,’’ since he found no dikes,—and where we
now understand why none ever could be required—because
there had existed a natural stream, flowing rapidly down-
wards between high banks, through the opening of the hills,
(vide Plate VI., N to S.), he now leaves the point where the
waters of 1800 bent off northwards into the lakes; and he
continues his search along the remains of the artificial channel
that branched out of the true river at this point, in a some-
what SW. direction, begun, as some ancient authors assert,
by Sesostris,” and continued by Darius to the sea (vide
Plate VI., S,S,D). When he came to the place where the
canal of Darius may have begun (S), he remarked the re-
appearance of dykes. ‘‘ Dans cette partie, la vallée est plus
ouverte; le cété nord est remarquable par un abaissement
du sol, et une végetation trés abondante, qui a aspect d'un
bois taillis.”” (This is the large circular basin enclosing the
Crocodile lakes.) “On retrouve encore dans cette partie la
dérivation d’un canal dirigée au nord sur un monticule de
décombres qui a dia étre le site d’une ancienne ville.” This
site coincides in position with the Thaubasio of the “ Itine-
rary,” viii. M. P., from the Serapeum.* The mound is an
eminence in the middle of the valley enclosing the lakes.
“ Une des digues se prolonge a lest, et semble séparer le
bassin des lacs d’une plaine basse et saline qui se dirige au
nord vers le Ras-el-Moyeh.” +
These are precisely the indications we required. As this
* j. e. V M. P. along the sea-canal, across the opening of Hero, and iii., along
the little branch canal above described.
+ Mém, sur le canal des deux mers. Descr. de l’Hgypte, bt. Mod., vol. xi. p.
120, 121.
On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. 225
short branch canal, leading through the lakes, begins about
two miles beyond the ancient river’s point of natural entrance
into them, the very fact of an artificial communication having
been opened, presupposes that the natural entrance must
have been closed up at a former period ; otherwise, another
entrance had neither been wanted nor made.
The remains of a large embankment across the north-
eastern opening of the low basin enclosing the lakes, and
separating it from the still lower saline plains to the north,*
reveal with equal clearness the fact, that there the waters
were confined by art within that basin, at the place where
originally, the river flowed out of them. It appears then
demonstrated by these remains, that although the water of
the river, after having been excluded from the lakes at one
point,t was re-admitted into them at another, by means of
this little branch canal,t it was not allowed to go beyond the
basin ; shewing that the same purpose had been kept in view
in both operations—of keeping up the level of the water in
the canal by stopping out the final course of the river, only
from a different spot.
The succession of events, and the periods to which they
are referable, no longer admit of a doubt. When the pur-
pose of Darius required that the only outlet of the waters
should be the Arabian Gulf, let us suppose he merely cut
off their farther progress downwards in a contrary direction,
at the place where the stoppage would be most easily effected.
This brings us up to the age of Herodotus—and the Etham
branch of the Nile has ceased to exist. The lakes, being
now so far separated from the channel of the Nile, as to be
fed only by the filtration of its waters through the sandy soil
of that district, would then become “ dé¢ter lakes”’ —their
waters of inferior quality for drinking, although still answer-
ing the purpose of irrigating and fertilizing the beautiful val-
ley that enclosed them in its bosom.
Another monarch (which can only have been Ptolemy Phil-
adelphus, whose extensive operations relative to the canal,
so variously recorded, preceded the era of Strabo by three
* Vide Plate VI. t Vide S. Plate VI. —_ Vide PP. ibid.
VOL XLIV. NO. LXXXVIIJ.—APRIL 1848. P
226 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
centuries), may have thought of turning those lakes to better
account, by converting them into a reservoir during the inun-
dation, to supply the canal when the Nile was low—a pro-
ject by no means of difficult execution, from the advantageous
position of the lakes ; since it was only necessary to re-open
a communication with them, and to transfer the stoppage of
the river’s course from its place of entrance to its point of
exit. The first was effected by the little branch canal—the
latter by the great transverse embankment. This brings us
up to the time of Strabo, and he might then well say of these
lakes, that “formerly they were bitter;” but “had been
made sweet by the canal that flowed through them.”
And, in conclusion, the little canal between 2 and 3 M. P.
long, would just make up the complement of the 373 of works
attributed to Ptolemy Philadelphus by Pliny’s account.
This last circumstance is the only direct indication from
which the supposed operations about the “ bitter Jakes’ may
be referred personally to Ptolemy, as part of a connected
series of works, all essential to the success of his canal en-
terprise; but where direct proof, in the satisfactory form of
an authentic historical statement, is wanting, we must be
content with a reasonable degree of indirect evidence. The
vestiges of these operations, by themselves, prove nothing ;
but considered in connexion with Strabo’s account concerning
these lakes, they unquestionably indicate that after the Nile
had been excluded from them, before the time of Herodotus,
it was re-admitted into them by means of a canal, before
Strabo wrote; and even though we had no further clue to
the authors of these works, the main object of this inquiry
would be proved, namely, that the ETHAM arm of the Nile
was cut off from its course at a particular time, and at a par-
ticular spot. Whether this was done by Darius and Ptolemy
themselves, or by their immediate predecessors or successors,
is quite a secondary question; its solution may be a matter
of curious interest, but is not indispensable to establish the
point at issue, which is, the former existence and intentional
suppression of this river. But when, upon a critical analysis
of the levels of land and water, we find that all the works
connected with this suppression were indispensable to the
On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. 227
success of the canal enterprise of Darius and Ptolemy, it
would be a very unusual coincidence of error to find such dis-
tinct evidences of the time and place of this operation, com-
bined with such proofs of its necessity as the structure of the
land displays, if, after all, these monarchs had not executed
the works this theory attributes to them.
Since the partial restoration of the river under Ptolemy
and Trajan, it has always been regarded as a canal—a work
of art—a decayed monument of national enterprise, illustrat-
ing the triumph of human perseverance over the most for-
midable natural difficulties, and whose origin is lost in the
gloom of fabulous antiquity. After the canal fell into ruins
from disuse and neglect, the summary process of turning the
course of the waters another way, by the dykes of Tel el
Jehud,* was resorted to; and the manner in which the river
remains suppressed to this day, so effectually, that its former
existence is not even suspected, is thus too obvious to require
further explanation. The flood of 1800 threw the valley
out of cultivation for two years. No wonder, then, that it
should be more expedient to keep the water low by means of
dykes, and to exclude it altogether from the valley, than to
let it take its natural course. To restore the entire canal,
so that the waters could be conducted safely through it, as
in ancient times, is a work which the recent condition of
Egyptian affairs has offered as yet no motive for attempting.
Mohammed Ali has replaced a piece of Necho’s canal. up to
near Abbasieh, but only for irrigation. The supply of water
can never surpass the low level to which the canal Abou-
Menedgy, from which it is drawn, is itself artificially kept
down near Shibbeen ; unless, by design or accident, the dykes
that confine its waters should be removed, and present again
the unexpected, but perfectly.natural, phenomena of 1800,
by which so startling and convincing a proof was afforded to
confirm my conclusion, that an arm of the Nile, which, in
the remotest ages of historical antiquity, was the natural
frontier fortification of Arabian Egypt, has been sacrificed to
the exigencies of man; that it has been removed out of its
* Vide ante, p. 38, and Plate V., section 2.
228 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
course, partly or wholly, on repeated occasions and in various
ways, to minister to his purposes; and that, to this day, it
continues to be held in abeyance, but is not naturally extinct.
CONCLUSION.
A very few additional remarks will suffice to dicate the
application of the results brought to light by this geographi-
eal inquiry to the illustration of Ancient, and especially of
Sacred History. In an extensive tract now uninhabitable,
never visited by travellers, consisting partly of unhealthy
marshes, partly of a barren sandy waste, and entirely desti-
tute of running water, we discover what was, 3500 years ago,
a land endowed with a variety of natural advantages both
for commerce and defence, of peculiar importance to a fron-
tier state, and seldom found united in a district of such limited
extent. While the river that formed its eastern limit, and
flowed to within six miles of the Red Sea, was the axis of its
prosperity, by connecting a line of fortified frontier cities, si-
tuated in the most commanding positions, and whose begin-
ning is lost in the remotest antiquity. The abundant ruins
scattered over the Egyptian “ Arabia,” as well as the histo-
rical records of works carried on along its boundary line, re-
main unquestionable tokens that its natural capabilities were
duly appreciated by the lords of the land ; and that these were
snfficient to bear out the fragmentary intimations handed
down by historical tradition, concerning the power once ac-
quired by its earliest colonists, the ‘“ Hyk-sos,” or royal
Shepherd tribes, whose encroachments on their neighbours’
territories it required the united efforts of the king of Thebes
and all the rest of the Egyptians to subdue ; and when this
coalition had compelled them to yield their ground, we are
at no loss to understand the motive of the Egyptian monarch’s
policy (Exod. i. 9,10). The Egyptians saw another people
of similar simple and pastoral habits, increasing rapidly in
the country from which the ancient rivals of their power had
been expelled with so much difficulty, and who, from their
position, even more than from their numbers, might become
dangerous neighbours, should they increase sufficiently to
assert their independence. Such a national calamity the
On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. 229
kings of Egypt hoped to avert by the summary expedient re-
corded in the opening chapters of Exodus.
And when, after the long course of oppression systemati-
cally practised against the children of Israel, in pursuance of
this barbarous policy, these were finally delivered by the
manifest interference of the Divine Power, we need no longer
wonder how so vast a body—including the mixed multitude
that shared their fortunes—were sustained on the way, as
they went out of the land of Egypt “ witha high hand ;” since
that way is no longer the doubtful and improbable track
hitherto assigned to them, in defiance of possibility and geo-
graphy, through stations marked out at random, at impracti-
cable distances from each other, across the heart of a desert
without water or vegetation. The ingenious identification of
some of these stations, suggested by Mr Sharpe, being so
well borne out by all that the minutest inquiry can elicit re-
specting the former condition of the country as to amount
to a complete demonstration, satisfies us that their track was
an orderly progress along that line of ancient frontier-cities
about which their own tent-villages were clustered, and our
conception of this important passage of sacred history is in-
vested with a clearness and certainty it never possessed be-
fore. We can now appreciate, as it deserves, the cireum-
stantial fidelity of the Mosaic narrative, in agreeing with
every peculiarity of position which the primeval geography
of the land, now rescued from the gloom and oblivion of ages,
reveals. The road followed by this great multitude turns
out to have been the same kind of road as all ancient and
modern Egyptian roads, the banks of a river or canal. The
spots where they encamped were near cities, the remains of
which still exist, all at an easy day’s journey from one an-
other ;—the object of their progress, the very natural one of
gathering together the residue of their numbers that might
yet be scattered through the villages near these cities, prior
to their final evacuation of the country.
Rameses,*
Having started from { Heliopelis,
\ and passed through
* Wxod. xii. 37.
230 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
Succoth Etham or Pithom,* 1 ah
{ Scene 27d { Thoum or Patumos, } where, utter skiruny
Hiroth,
Heroopolis,
the second and only remaining frontier route, and re-en-
tered the wilderness,t to encamp in face of the heights of
{ Baal-zephon,
Port Daneon and Serapeum,
ceive by the map,{ that, if they left this, their last encamp-
ment, in the morning, just as the host of Pharaoh appeared
in sight, an easy day’s journey would bring them to a spot
which satisfies all the conditions required by the Mosaic
narrative of the passage of the Red Sea.§ This spot is ex-
actly opposite the unidentified ruins where the Persepolitan
remains were seen; at the northern end of the great shoal,
separating the upper gulf-basin from the present Gulf of
Suez, and about 12 geographical miles, or a day’s journey,
from the site to which, hitherto, the passage of the Israelites
has most generally been referred. The strait, there, can
hardly have been more than two miles wide, which would
admit of the whole army crossing over “ before the morning
watch,” “ when the sea returned to its strength.” The pass
is even now 10 feet below the level of the Red Sea. It
may not have gained materially in height since this memor-
able event; as the southern end of the shoal was the one
most exposed to the effects of the accumulations, which finally
cut off the sea from the gulf-basin. In the time of Moses,
the sea there must have been much too deep to be fordable
under any ordinary circumstances. But on this one moment-
ous occasion, when the effects of a supernatural strong wind||
were permitted, by the manifest interposition of DIvINE
PROVIDENCE, to combine with the excessive tides of the
equinoctial season, the entire strait must have been laid dry
under so unsual and unexpected a combination of circum-
stances, which it required a miraculous special interference
to produce, and a no less miraculous special guidance to be,
like Moses, prepared for.
the neighbourhood of { | they turned out of
} by the sea; we shall per-
* Bxod. xiii. 20. ¢ Ib. xiv. 1-9. { Vide, Plate IV.
§ Vide, Section 1 Plate V. || Exod. xiv. 21-27.
On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt. 231
It may not be unworthy of a passing notice to add, in con-
clusion, that by comparing the present state of the Egyptian
frontier district with its primitive condition, as deduced from
the numerous historical and topographical details upon which
this inquiry is founded, we obtain a natural explanation of a
very remarkable passage in Isaiah, intended as a prophetic
intimation of the desolate state in which the land, once so
familiar to the Hebrews, was destined to remain during the
latter days preceding the final restoration.
« And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lorp will
again set his hand a second time to recover the remnant of
his people. * * * And the Lorp will utterly destroy
(or dry up) the tongue of the Egyptian Sea, and with his
mighty wind He will wave his hand over the river, and smite it
in the seven streams, so that one may walk over in sandals ;
and there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people,
that are left of Assyria, as there was to Israel in the day
that he ascended out of Egypt.”—(Isaiah, ch. xi., ver. 11-15.)
Sir Gardner Wilkinson* has already suggested the possi-
ble application of the last clause in ver. 15, to the present
physical condition of the river of Egypt. May not its be-
ginning be deemed an equally significant allusion to the fu-
ture condition of her sea, under the same stage of the great
providential dispensation? If it has really come to pass,
that all the natural mouths of the Nile are so reduced as to
be, literally, crossed over “in sandals ;” the only channels
remaining navigable all the year round being the two which
Herodotus says were the work of art; it is equally true that,
since the days of Isaiah, “ the tongue of the Egyptian Sea”
has ceased to exist. For whether we read, as in the present
state of the Hebrew text, po4ny74,t incorrectly translated,
* Modern Egypt and Thebes, vol. i.
+ Gesenius follows the present text, and takes it in the sense of a threat or
imprecation. This is not far from the radical sense of the word ; which is to de-
vote, excommunicate, anathemize, a sentence which, in some cases, did involve
he destruction of whatever had been so devoted ; but the word does not in itself
mean “ to destroy,” and, therefore, does not seem a fit expression to apply to a
ea in the present case. The slight difference in the formation of the final
letter, which would alter its signification to“ dry up,” is supported by the
Chaldee version that has %5}9 dry up. The Septuagint translators also must
have read 5JYPJ74, since they render this word in the passage in question
232 On the Arabian Frontier of Egypt.
“utterly destroy ;” or whether we adopt the more critically
correct expression, as restored by the learned Bishop Lowth,
2°97 rendered, in his beautiful translation, ‘‘ smite with a
drought”—the fact is before us—in an arm of the sea 35
miles long, changed into a waste of sand and saline marsh,
and remaining, to this day, a speaking and instructive in-
stance of the literally accomplished doom, pronounced on the
land by the inspired voice of Prophecy, in the days of her glory
and pride.
The Bubis, or Edeeyah of Fernando Po. By Tuomas R.
Heywoop Tuomson, M.D. Communicated to the Kdin-
burgh New Philosophical Journal by the Ethnological So-
ciety of London.*
Of the different localities in Western Africa, visited by
the Niger Expedition in 1841 and 1842, perhaps no one pre-
sented a greater number of new and interesting features to
the inquirer than the island of Fernando Po, in the Bight of
Biafra. Lying between 3° 12’ and 3° 67’, north latitude, and
8° 46’ and 8° 57’ east longitude, it forms, towards the southern
extremity, an oblong square, about 35 miles in length, and 22
in breadth. The land is high, and in many parts precipitous.
Two principal mountain ranges intersect the island in a north-
east direction, of which Clarence Peak, rising to a height of
by egjwoes, “ make dry, barren, or desolate,” as in all other passages which it
occurs; moreover the expression “ drying up the sea” is frequent in prophetic
poetry, whether intended to be taken figuratively or literally.
This conformity between the two most ancient versions leaves scarcely a
doubt that the original reading was, ‘“ And JEHOVAH will dry up the tongue
of the Egyptian Sea.” Although the separation of the gulf-basin dates from
the last century of the Persian domination in Egypt, and upwards of three cen-
turies after Isaiah wrote the above, “ the tongue of the Egyptian Sea’? was not
* dried up” until the power of Egypt had reached its lowest stage of decadence
under the Moslem rule, when the canal was left to fall into ruins, and its
waters were turned off another way.
And that very shoal, which once was made “an highway for Israel, when he
ascended out of Egypt,” has become a permanent highway for the people. The
Mecca pilgrims’ caravan route from Cairo, through the desert, crosses it a little
north of Arsinoé.
* Read before the Ethnological Society of London, 8th Dec, 1847,
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COMPARATIVE PROPORTIONS OF THE VILE. Periods of Necho Dortus and Peolemy IT
Diagram B
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Stone at Monkefor Bitter Lakes
GROUND PLAN OF THE ANCIENT SEA CANAL
The Bubis or Edeeyah of Fernando Po. 233.
11,000 feet, forms the leading feature ; while a less elevated
range, at the southern end, separates Melville Bay and Cape
Badgely. The appearance of the island is picturesque in the
extreme, being well wooded, even towards the higher ranges ;
while, skirting the sea, may be observed numerous varieties
of high and umbrageous trees, among which the graceful
palm and the towering bombax, or cotton tree, stand forth
conspicuous. At most of the little ravines, a stream of good
clear water is found; but in no part of the island could be
discovered any marsh or alluvial deposites. The rainy season
lasts from May to December, when it is followed by the
“ smokes,’’ a peculiar dense vapour which envelopes the
island, and extends for some distance to seaward.
The object of the present paper is to bring under consi-
deration the physical and moral condition of the “ Edeeyah.”’
It is unnecessary, therefore, to dwell at greater length on the
characteristics of the island; suffice it to say, that whether
we examine its animal, its vegetable, or mineral productions,
novelty is written on all. Little notice has, however, been
taken of this small portion of Western Africa, although it is
only 20 miles from the mainland of Cameroons, and many of.
the vegetables, and nearly all the animals, are peculiar to it-
self; while the natives offer, in their language, customs, and
even in their physical appearance, such distinctions to their
continental neighbours, as fairly entitle them to be placed by
themselves.
It may be proper to state, that the nature of the country
* is So mountainous, and covered with such impenetrable forests,
that the natives of its opposite sides are almost unknown to
each other, which rendered it impossible for me, with my limit-
ed means, to visit in person all the native towns to be men-
tioned ; but the information on each was received, with due
precaution, from creditable and competent persons, who, in
trading speculations, had passed some time among them.
Altogether there are about fifteen native towns and villages
situated at different points of the island, and in some of them
the dialects spoken are so peculiar and distinct as to be quite
unintelligible to their neighbours.
Thus at Banha-pa, Bassi-poo, Bassi-li. Rebol-la, Bario-batah,
Bassa-pi, Bi-dtonos, Tapullé-palla, the language or dialect
234 The Bubis or Edeeyah of Fernando Po.
spoken is that given in the accompanying vocabulary, under
the head of Edééyah. At West Bay, Bi-illi-pa, Bario-bi, there
is another quite as distinct, while at another native town,
name unknown, on the south-east side, another obtains ; and
in bartering with the Bubis, who go round from the neigh-
bourhood of Clarence to purchase the earthen pots and jars
made there, the traffic is carried on by signs. We saw seve-
ral during our sojourn at Clarence Cove, who could not make
themselves intelligible to the Edeeyahs.
Thus, it is evident there are two or more dialects, if not
distinct languages, in this small island; and it is to be re-
gretted that the opportunity did not occur to procure voca-
bularies, as no doubt a comparison would have removed any
questions as to their common origin, which we are inclined
to believe, from the general resemblance of their physical
characters.
The Edeeyah have mostly been spoken of, by such persons
as have seen them, under the name of Bibis, from their usual
salutation on meeting a stranger—of Bibi, the Edeeyah term
for friend. They are for the most part well made and mus-
cular, with an average height of 5 feet 6} inches, as deduced
from the measurement of fifteen men taken indiscriminately
as they passed through Clarence ; round the chest 373 inches,
and from trochanter major to the sole of the foot 322 inches ;
across the head, from one meatus auditorius extreme to the
other, 13% inches ; from occipital protuberance to nasal pro-
cess 32} inches. Facial angle, 72. The face is more inclined to
be round, the cheek-bones not so high, the nose less expanded,
the lips thinner, and the mouth better formed than in most
other Africans, The eye is at once expressive of intelligence
and good-humour. The hair is softer and longer than in
any of the West Africans, and although there is a tendency to
curl, it is not crispy as in the other Negroes. The skin is not
so black ; it is more of an olive shade, and is soft and unctuous.
The lower extremities are particularly powerful, and the
muscles strongly developed; and from this probably arises
the appearance as if the body was unnaturally long, and the
legs, from the pelvis downward, shortened.
The continual exercise on foot, as well as the habit of sit-
ting with the legs doubled up to the chin, must tend to pro-
The Bubis or Edeeyah of Fernando Po. 235
duce this unusual development of the lower extremities, which
is so striking a feature that the most careless observer can
scarcely fail to notice it. The hands and feet are, for the
most part, smaller than in other Africans. In many of the
females they are beautifully proportional ; and, indeed, the
general symmetry of some Edeeyah girls at Bassapoo was
perfect. The women have generally a soft and rather plea-
sing expression of countenance, which even the horrid prac-
tiee of cutting strong lines across the face does not remove.
This is usually done when young; andin both sexes, to come
up to the Bubi idea of beauty, the marks on cicatrisation
should be raised and corrugated. It must be, indeed, a pain-
ful operation ; but, like civilised nations, much must be sacri-
ficed to the prevailing taste or fashion. Palm oil is much
used about their persons, mixed either with clay or ferru-
ginous earth, with which they daub themselves in various
ways, So as to produce a savage and wild appearance, quite
inconsistent with their gentle and harmless disposition.
They have several modes of arranging the hair, which is
done up into a greater or less number of knobs, with red
clay. and with which they sometimes unite small bones of
the dogsormonkeys. In some, the hair is made up into one
large mass with red clay, weighing many pounds, which one
would suppose to be a painful sacrifice to fashion; but the
simple Edeeyah prides himself on his coiffure, and willingly
submits to what will enhance his appearance.
No tribe of Africans have such antipathy to European
clothing as this singular people. Notwithstanding the fre-
quent intercourse many of them have had with our settle-
ment at Clarence, no article of dress has been adopted. The
little bunch of grass suspended between the thighs, and the
flat or conical grass hat, are the only attempts at covering
they have ventured on. Their ornaments consist of little
chains of grass, neatly woven, the vertebre of snakes, mon-
keys, and dogs, and, in the richer persons, a lump of suet, in-
closed in a portion of intestine, and suspended round the
neck, is a choice ornament, as well as a supposed charm.
Country money, a small species of limpit, made round, and
strung in long lines, is also a favourite addition, fastened
round the arms and legs; so that one can judge of the wealth
236 The Bubis or Edeeyah of Fernando Po.
of many of them by the quantity of this ornament. Among
the chiefs, the head and horns of a goat, or of the golden
rood-bocke, is secured to the hat. Nearly all have little grass
bracelets and armlets, in which they secure the knife, a most
useful article, and almost the only European one they care for.
The first impression conveyed to the observer on seeing an
Adeeyah in his native woods, is certainly anything but fa-
vourable. The face cut and disfigured by transverse stripes ;
the hair done up with red knobs ; the body painted, or rather
bedaubed, into red and yellow clay; a bunch of grass to
cover those portions of the person which even savages are
averse to display ; a little flat grass hat, fastened to the head
by a skewer; the long wooden spear raised on high as if to
be brought into immediate use, seldom fail to produce the
conclusion that here is the very acme of barbarous and savage
life. A little inquiry, however, into the native character and
the laws by which they are regulated removes the prejudice,
and we feel deeply interested in a race presenting such an
anomalous combination of the wisest and most civilised laws,
with the rudest and most untutored state of nature. On the
testimony of George Ireland, a liberated African, and a very
intelligent person, who lived among the Edeeyah for eleven
years, and had visited most parts of the island, they are de-
scribed as being most hospitable and generous to strangers,
humane, and kindly-disposed towards each other in their se-
veral communities, both in health and sickness, willing to
assist each other in difficulties, brave, yet forbearing, and re-
luctant to spill the blood even of their enemies; and these
good traits we can vouch for, not only on general authority,
but from our own observations among them.
Their battles are not attended with cruelties; their reli-
gious rites untainted by human blood,—in this affording a
notable difference between them and most Africans, who
make their fellow-creatures the grand victims for conciliat-
ing the jujis, or fetishes. Murder is unknown among
them; so much so, that a chief near Clarence received the
cognomen of Cut-throat, for an attempt made on the life of
one of his subjects, whom he discovered in the act of steal-
ing from a vessel of war’s boat, during Captain Owen’s visit
in 1825. They are remarkably honest. We have seen them
The Bubis or Edeeyah of Fernando Po. 237
exposed to such temptations as few Africans can resist, and
yet not betray the confidence placed in them.
In Lieutenant Botelar’s narrative of the survey under Cap-
tain Owen, in H.M.S. Leven and Banacouta, he says,—‘*‘ Our
intercourse with savages of various tribes and nations, for the
last four years, has far exceeded that which generally falls to
the lot of navigators or travellers overland, yet never did we
meet with a people more savage in appearance, or more sin-
gular in their customs, than the people of Fernando Po. In
stature, they were generally low, yet of perfectly symmetri-
cal form, and, in many cases, of Herculean mould. In hue
they varied much, some being black, and others of a copper
colour. Their features were all of exactly the same cast, so
that I cannot imagine the latter had sprung from intercourse
with the white.”— Their features were pregnant with intel-
ligence.” Again, he says,— In no place that we visited did
the natives appear to be in a state of such barbarism as at
Fernando Po; yet they manifested the greatest horror of
theft, which would have done credit to people more advanced
in civilisation ;”’” and “they made signs that the person who
had committed the theft should atone for it by the loss of
one or both hands.”
Botelar also says, p. 464,—* The further insight into the
character of the Fernando Po people, gained on our second
visit to the island, tended to shew that, however barbarous
they appear to strangers, yet among themselves they have
very salutary regulations, not less apparent in their civil go-
vernment than in a military point of view.”
Neither foreign nor domestic slavery is tolerated; indeed,
a spirit of independence is discernible in their very bearing
and look. The Spanish colonists were driven from the
island during the end of the seventeenth century, for en-
deavouring to carry on the slave-trade, and to entrap the in-
habitants. Each town and village has its king or chief, who
with the head men and jaja men, or Buyeh-ripis, settle all dis-
putes. The only acknowledgment made to the more powerful
chiefs is that respect which their superior power ensures.
They have no traditionary account of their origin or settle-
ment on the island.
The religion of these strange people is paganism ; while at
238 The Bubis or Edeeyah of Fernando Po.
the same time they believe in and worship as the great head
of their religion, an unknown great spirit whom they call
Riupi, and whom they believe to be the sovereign ruler of the
world. The idols (different wooden and earthen figures) are
ealled “ Mohs,” while the priests or Jiji men, of which there
are always two to each village and town, are styled Buyeh-
Ripis. It is needless to say that these latter possess un-
limited confidence and control, and are in fact the principal
movers in all unusual events, since nothing can be commenced
or carried on without consulting the ‘‘ Mohs” or idols, a pre-
rogative only granted to the Buyeh-Ripis. The offerings to
the mohs or idols are portions of cooked meat, venison,
ground pig, fowl, and palm wine or topi. Like most Africans,
the Edeeyah always spits out the first mouthful of spirits,
or any beverage he is about to partake of, as a portion for
the Moh! or god. The principal religious festival is just be-
fore planting the yam, and not at the completion of the har-
vest as in other parts of Africa. At the season just spoken
of, they make up a large hunting party in each village or
town, for the capture of a sort of buffalo which is said to be
found in the mountains. It resembles a bullock, but is larger ;
it is black above, with some white about the belly. It is
wild, scarce, and difficult to be procured, also for the golden
roode-bocke and philatumba (two species of antelope), monkeys,
a species of large rat, called a ground pig, for the purpose of
making a great peace-offering to the unknown god Riupi,
through the mediation of the mohs or idols. The meat is
roasted and placed before them; after which the tribe par-
take of the remainder, eating almost to a surfeit. They be-
lieve by this feast the deities are conciliated, and a good yam
season insured. Topi, or palm wine, is freely partaken of on
such occasions, and is then kept prepared in its most exhila-
rating form.
On the decease of any member of a tribe, lamentation is
made for seven suns or days. The body is covered with a
sort of white clay, and buried the day of decease. A hole
is dug just large enough to receive the body placed on its
side in a sitting posture, with the legs doubled up, and the
head laid toward the Peak of Clarence, the highest moun-
tain point. Whether this may have any connexion with the
The Bubis, or Edeeyah of Fernando Po. 239
belief entertained by many of them, that the rupi visits the
peak occasionally (when, they say, fire is seen), it is difficult
to ascertain.
Tke whole term of mourning, or remembrance of the de-
parted, is one month, or twenty-eight suns or days, during
which the relatives assemble in one place, where they eat
together, and drink the fermented topi or palm wine. Thus,
though held to be a period of mourning, it is rather one of
great rejoicing. At the end of the month, four of the sons
— if the deceased has that number, or, if unmarried, four re-
latives—are obliged to go out hunting to procure the favourite
food of the Edeeyah, the bush pig, which, when cooked in a
small earthen vessel, is partaken of by those only who were
engaged in the hunt; after which, some of it, with yam and
palm-oil and topi, are placed on the grave for the supposed
use of the dead. To touch the foot of a deceased person is
considered a most unfortunate and distressing circumstance,
and almost certain to be followed by the death or some sad
calamity of the party, and that very immediately. Their rude
ornaments are buried with them. The money (a small spe-
cies of patella), as also the yams or other property, are di-
vided equally among all the children, if he has any; if not,
among the other relatives.
Like the Jews, and some other eastern nations, the Edee-
yahs have a system of betrothal, which must continue for
two years before sexual connection is permitted, during
which time, the aspirant to the fair possession is obliged to
perform all the labour which would otherwise fall on his in-
tended wife, viz., planting yams, carrying water, palm-oil, &c.
This is only observed in the case of the first wife. The
courtship or betrothal commences generally at thirteen or
fourteen years of age, but connection is not permitted until
the conclusion of the two years ; and should frail nature yield
before the specified time, the offence is treated as seduction,
and the youth severely punished, as well as exacting heavy
fines from the offender’s relatives. Indeed, to seduce an
Edeeyah girl is one of the most serious offences; and they
sometimes even destroy the dwelling of the relatives, as well
as seizing their yams and other property. After the term of
240) The Bubis, or Edeeyah of Fernando Po.
betrothal, the female is obliged to remain in the hut, from
which she is not allowed to wander out until there are un-
equivocal signs of pregnancy. If this does not take place,
she continues under observation in her hut for eighteen
months or moons. On her first appearance, or joining the
tribe as a married woman, a feast is held by the friends.
Polygamy is universally permitted, the number of wives de-
pending much on the circumstances of the party. Two and
three are the usual number ; but some of the chiefs have large
harems, a few upwards of 100. Bulloka, king of Barid-batah,
a town seven miles from Clarence, is said to have upwards of
200: how far correct, I know not. Still it appears that fe-
males are much more numerous than males; which the na-
tives admit to be the case.
Adultery is considered a very aggravated crime against
their social system. For the first offence both parties are
punished by the loss of a hand; but in the case of the man,
he can only lose one: the punishment for the second offence
being severe chastisement and heavy fines, extended even to
the property of the relatives. The woman loses her remain-
ing hand for a repetition of the adultery ; a third offence dis-
qualifies for a continuance in the village or town. These un-
fortunate women mostly take refuge with the Kroomen. I
noticed several who had forfeited both hands, living in the
care of the Kroomen at Clarence. Adultery is said to be
very unfrequent. The amputation is performed with a com-
mon knife, and is done at the wrist-joint. After the opera-
tion, a vegetable stringent is applied, which is said to control
the hemorrhage. Clay is put over all, and the arm held up-
right by a relay of friends. The body is covered with clay
and palm-oil, to keep the sufferer as warm as possible. I
examined the stumps of several of these unhappy offenders
against the Adeeyah system of morals, and they looked as
well as if done by the most accomplished surgeon. Death
seldom results from the operation. Of the number of inha-
bitants collectively, or in the respective towns and villages,
it would be hazardous to surmise, since no authentic infor-
mation can be procured on the subject. Some have stated
5000 to be the probable estimate ; but, judging from the well-
The Bubis, or Edeeyah of Fernando Po. 241
known harems of some of its chiefs, as also the population
of some of the smaller towns near Clarence, I should say
15,000, not to exceed. Bassa-pdo and Ban-na-pa, though small
towns, would seem to have not less than 1000 to 1200 each,
from what we noticed on visiting them.
The dwellings of the Edeeyahs are most primitive and un-
comfortable. At many of the villages and towns we visited,
the greater number of the huts were formed simply by
spreading a coarse matting of palm-leaves over four rude
posts, just large enough to screen the tenants from the dew
and part of the rain, but open to all the winds of heaven.
The more wealthy have, however, their domiciles of wicker-
work of a square form, and even plastered with mud. Such
obtain in the villages and towns near Clarence chiefly, and
have probably been imitated from those of our Sierra Leone
settlers there. A pillow, hewn out of a block of palm-tree,
an earthenware pot to boil yams, a pipe for smoking, and a
topi calabash, make up the list of their furniture.
When we remember the variable nature of the climate, and
its heavy rains from May to December, it is truly surprising
how anything human could exist under such circumstances ;
and yet they are not only robust, but enjoy good health ; and
except smallpox, from which they suffer dreadfully when
once introduced, they have few disorders of a rapid or serious
character. The principal diseases are light fevers, and skin
affections; psora, in its worst and African form; and some
eases of dracunculus, or guinea-worm; but now and then a
case of elephantiasis of the lower extremity is seen. I need
not mention that, once that scourge of mankind (especially
the black portion), the smallpox, commences, it spreads with
rapidity through the tribe, and carries off great numbers.
As yet, little has been done to introduce the vaccine among
them, as their Buyeh-ripis or priests are the doctors, and they
regard with distrust and ill-feeling anything which is likely
to remove or weaken their influence among the tribes. They
use a few vegetable remedies; and anointing certain parts
of the body with clay and palm-oil near a fire, is a common
means for headaches and skin diseases; but the chief re-
VOL. XLIV. NO. LXXXYVIIL—APRIL 1848. Q
242 The Bubis, or Edeeyah of Fernando Po.
liance is placed in the propitiatory powers of the priest to
invoke the mohs or idols; and if the sick person dies, it is
only considered to be the operation of the gods, who did not
wish him to be retained any longer in the tribe. We omitted
to state in the proper place, that the females have a fair
portion of labour assigned to them, such as planting and col-
lecting the yam, preparing and carrying the palm-oil to the
traders, &c.; but they ave certainly treated with greater
consideration and kindness than in any part of Africa we
visited, and they appear to be much attached to their hus-
bands and children.
The Hdeeyahs are expert hunts; they use the spear and
sling with great precision, and kill squirrels, lizards, and
birds this way. When a tribe is engaged in a hunt, the
sight is novel and exciting in the extreme. On one occa-
sion, we had a party of 200 natives from Bannapa, who came,
agreeably to their promise, to let the White man see ‘* Bubi
hunt.” They first secured a number of nets, very strongly
made of bark, to the surrounding trees; after which, the
juju man, or Buyeh-rupi, began to vociferate loudly, using the
most absurd gesticulations, in which he was occasionally fol-
lowed by the others. Their strangely painted bodies, the al-
most unity of voice with which the party responded to the
Buyeh-rupi, as well as the frantic manner in which they threw
their arms about from time to time, formed a scene of the
strangest interest ; nor was it the less so, as being enacted
under the waving palm, and lofty hombax or cotton-trees.
After waiting about half an hour, by which time the juju man
had got the mohs into a favourable humour, at a given sig-
nal each person rushed to a small tree, from which he
plucked some leaves, and commenced rubbing them briskly
between the hands; some were put into the grass armlets.
The chief also placed some in the button-holes of our shoot-
ing-coats. On inquiry, we found it was intended as a token
of good feeling among all pres ent; that if any should be
killed or wounded in the hunt, it was not to be considered as
intentional, but the result of accident. The whole party then
separated into two long lines, and commenced beating the
bushes to drive the deer and game down to the nets. Such
The Bubis, or Edeeyah of Fernando Po. 243
of vis as had guns were placed at the spots they expected the
golden roode-bocke, or larger deer, to break through.
Unfortunately a tornado came on, and the party was
obliged to break up without having secured much game.
The Edeeyah mode of dancing is both strange and uncouth.
On festive occasions they fasten dry palm-leaves, &e. all over
their persons ;—these, tossed about in their frantic evolutions,
cause a rustling noise, which, with a sort of pavior’s grunt, eh!
eh! eh! eh! eh! eh! is the only accompanying music, if the
word can be so employed. Spear in hand, they spring about
observing a certain regularity of time and figure—rude but
amusing. They are frequently under the influence of spirit-
ous liquors at such times, and this adds to their look of
wild excitement. One peculiarity in the Edeeyah is the in-
clination they feel to work, hunt, or amusement in unison.
Thus, whenever it is necessary to employ them on any work,
a whole village or town must be employed ; in this way, in a
few days an immense deal is cleared away, when they can be
persuaded to come together.
Mr Scott, a respectable coloured man, who usually super-
intended their labours for the West African Company at
Fernando Po, informed me that trees of the largest size were
easily transported by them to the beach, merely by the habit
they have of employing their force simultaneously. Even
in the vocal exertions they observe this, and when they chant
their incantations to Rupi, either at a feast or hunt, or be-
fore working, they use their voices in such exact unison, that
it sounds like one stentorian effort, and produces an extra-
ordinary effect on the ear. The first time we heard them
thus occupied, it struck us as the most singular unison of vo-
cal power we ever listened to, On such occasions the Buyeh-
rupi uses a sort of wooden rattle, with which he keeps up a
noise during the intervals of the performance. The only
other instrument of a musical character used by the Kdeeyah
is a sort of small gourd compressed in the centre, and open
at both ends. By blowing more or less forcibly into this, and
regulating the fingers or hand at the bottom, such a variety
of tones is produced as to enable them to communicate with
each other at a distance, and even to hold musical dialogues.
244 The Bubis, or Edeeyah of Fernando Po.
In the still woods of Fernando Po, they are said to be able
to communicate with each other at the distance of two or
three miles. Having been a witness to some of these at-
tempts, we can quite credit the statement.
Such are a few particulars of this singular people; their
classification in the African family will be a matter of future
consideration, when a careful examination of the language and
comparison with others shall have afforded further data. It
only remains to state that, having. seen something of the
African race on the eastern coast and Mosambique, and not
a little of many of the West African subdivisions, we regard
the Edeeyah people as at once the most rude and barbarous
in appearance, and the most civilised in their laws and social
system. When we say appearance, we do not allude to their
physical characters, which are superior to most if not all
Africans. What is meant, is the rude external adornment
of the untutored savage. That they are capable of reaching
a high state of improvement cannot be doubted,—their wise
and salutary laws go half way to meet the missionary or
philanthropist in his exertions; and the amiable dispositions
and friendly feelings towards white men would, if expanded
by a proper system, soon attach them to their benefactors.
We hope we may not be deemed to anticipate too much
when we express the belicf that, from the at present little
known and centrally-situate island of Fernando Po, much of
the civilization of Western Africa will at some future day
proceed.
Supplement—Upon the Edeeyah Vocabulary of Thomas R.
Heywood Thomson, M.D. By R. E. LAtHaAm, M.D.
The vocabulary of Dr Thomson of the Kdeeyah language
of Fernando Po, enables me to institute a comparison between
it and the languages of the Continent opposite.
My comparison entirely verifies the statement of Dr Thom-
Son of its being an independent language.
With one of the dialects of the Continent, the Bimbia,
The Bubis, or Edeeyah of Fernando Po. 245
Dr Thomson’s own vocabularies furnish a comparison ready-
made. Here there is no affinity on the surface.
With the language of the Cameroons River, the same
statement holds good, although it must be borne in mind
that we have no accessible Cameroons vocabulary of any
length. The longest one known to the present writer is one
that was for some time in the library of the Asiatic Society,
in MS., and which is now in possession of the original col-
lector.
The Gaboon vocabularies are also scanty. Such as they
are, however, they afford no signs of any of the Gaboon dia-
lects being Edeeyah.
As to the language of the Delta of the Niger, we have a
multiplicity of specimens in various dialects, the Ibo, the
Moko, the Old Calabar, &c. collected by Robertson, Mr Kil-
ham, Mr Daniell, and others. None of these exhibit any
special affinity with the Edeeyah.
With the Benin and Yaruba tongues, the affinity is still
less evident. .
Such is the view of the Edeeyah of Fernando Po, considered
in a practical point of view. Ihave no doubt of its being
unintelligible to every tribe of the Continent.
Nevertheless, as it may be this, and yet be no more unlike
to such languages than English is to Dutch, or Dutch to Dan-
ish, the farther question as to its more general affinities stands
over.
Upon this I can safely say that it is by no means an iso-
lated language ethnologically speaking.
It has miscellaneous affinities, with almost all the lan-
guages between the Gambia and Gaboon; in other words, it
belongs to that great class which, from comparing the Ibo,
Ashantee, and other tongues, I call Ibo-Ashantee. The paper
that proves this is at present in the printers’ hands, for the
report of the present author upon the present state of Afri-
can Ethnographical Philology for the British Association. I
have only to add that Dr Thomson's vocabularies both for
the Bimbia and Edeeyah are unique, and that they fill an
important hiatus in African philology.
( 246°)
On the Gamboge of the Tenasserim Provinces. By the
Rev. F. Mason, A.M.
In conversation with a distinguished medical officer, and
member of the Asiatic Society, I found that he was not at all
aware that the Tenasserim provinces produce gamboge. It
has, therefore, occurred to me that a brief notice of the gam-
boge of these provinces might not be unacceptable to the
readers of the Journal, and would contribute its influence to
draw attention to a most interesting portion of the British
provinces in the east ; one that is exceeded by few in the rich-
ness and variety of its natural productions.
Three works in my possession describe gamboge, each as
the product of a different tree ; a fourth represents all to be
wrong ; and a fifth suggests a different plant still. One re-
fers it to Cambogia gutta, a plant which, as described by Lin-
nus, has probably no existence. He described a Ceylon
plant, and it is now quite evident, says Dr Wight, ‘that
the character of the flower and ovary is taken from one spe-
cimen, and that of the fruit from a different one, owing to
the imperfection of his specimens, and his not being aware
that the lobes of the stigma afford a sure indication of the
number of cells of the fruit.”
Another refers it to Garcinia cambogia; but Dr Wight
says that the exudation of this tree is “ wholly incapable of
forming an emulsion with the wet finger ;” a statement which
the writer knows to be correct. The tree is very common
in the Tenasserim provinces, but the bright yellow exuda-
tion it produces is certainly not gamboge.
A third refers to Stalagmitis cambogioides ; but Dr Wight
remarks, “ the juice of this tree differs so widely in its qua-
lities from good gamboge, that it can never be expected to
prove valuable as a pigment.”
Dr Graham has described a Ceylon tree under the name
of Hebradendron cambogioides, which is said to produce good
gamboge; but no gamboge has ever been exported into the
English market from Ceylon. Thus it would appear, to use
On the Gamboge of the Tenasserim Provinces. 247
the language of Dr Wight, that “the tree or trees which
produce the gamboge of commerce is not yet known.”
Dr Helfer, who was employed by Government as a scienti-
fic naturalist in these provinces, at an expense of 1300 rupees
per month, reported, “ the gamboge of this country dissolves
very little with water, and consequently does not yield that
yellow emulsion as the common gutéifera. It will never
serve as a colour, but promises to give a very beautiful var-
nish.” ‘This statement was controverted by a writer in our
local periodical at the time, who said he had obtained ‘fine
gamboge of the very best description” from our jungles : in
which he was no doubt correct ; but he erred when he added
that it came from the “true Stalagmitis cambogioides.” A
yery small amount of botany would have served to preserve
him from falling into this error; for the plant has a quinary
arrangement of its flowers, while the arrangement of the
flowers in those that produce gamboge in these provinces is
quaternary.
The hills that bound the valley of the Tavoy river, on both
sides, from their bases to their summits, abound with a tree
which produces a fine gamboge. It is Roxburgh’s Garcinia
pictoria, which he knew produced gamboge, but which he said
was liable to fade. As soon as I satisfied myself of the iden-
tity of the trees by an examination of the inflorescence of
our plant compared with Roxburgh’s description, I coloured
a piece of paper, one band with this gamboge, and another
with the gamboge of commerce; and subsequently exposed
both to the weather equally for more than twelve months,
but without being able to discover that one faded any more
than the other. South of the latitude of the mouth of Tavoy
river, and throughout the province of Mergui, there is found
on the low plains at the foot of the hills, and on the banks
of the rivers, almost down to tide waters, another species of
garcinia that also produces good gamboge. Ihave no doubt
but it is the tree from which Dr Griffiths furnished Dr
Wight with specimens, and which the latter says, “ I refer
doubtfully to Wallich’s G. elliptica.’” We will call it then
G. elliptica, w species which Dr Wight has on his list of
‘species imperfectly known.” The foliation and female
248 On the Gamboge of the Tenasserim Provinces.
flowers are, however, very well described; and to complete
the description, I may add, the male flowers are peduncu-
lated, but the peduncles are shut, and they might be cha-
racterised as subsessile. The anthers, like those of the
female flowers, are sessile, depressed, or flattened above,
and dehise circularly. The ripe fruit is globose, and not
furrowed. As I send along with this paper specimens of
both the male and female flowers, any of your botanists will
be able to correct me at a glance, if I be in error.
Neither Wallich, Wight, nor Griffiths appear to have
been at all aware that this species produces gamboge.
Dr Wight, in a recent number of his Neilgherry plants,
says—“‘ Two species of the genus Garcinia are known to
produce gamboge, most of the others yield a yellow juice,
but not gamboge, as it will not mix with water.” The spe-
cies which he has described as producing gamboge, and. to
which I suppose he refers, are G. gutta or H. cambogioides
(Graham), and G. pictoria (Roxburgh). That others may
be enabled to judge of the character of the gamboge pro-
duced by this tree, I have the pleasure to send specimens of
its exudation. In its appearance to the eye, and in its pro-
perties as a pigment, I have failed to discover the slightest
difference between it and the gamboge of commerce. It
serves equally well to colour drawings—-the Burmese priests
often use it to colour their garments, and the Karens to dye
their thread. It is also used by the native doctors in medi-
cine, but I think not extensively. Dr Lindley, in his new
work the “ Vegetable Kingdom,’ says,—‘ The best gamboge
comes in the form of pipes from Siam, and this is conjec-
tured to be the produce of Garcinia Cochinchinensis.” As
G. elliptica is spread all over the province of Mergui, is it
not probable that it extends into Siam, and that the Siamese
gamboge is the produce, in part at least, of this tree?
There are several other species of Garcinia indigenous to
the province, but I know of no others producing anything
resembling gamboge, except Gambogia; the exudation of
which, though it will not dissolve in water, dissolves in
spirits of turpentine, and forms a very beautiful yellow var-
nish for tin and other metallic surfaces.—(Journal of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal, New Series, No. vii., p. 661.)
( 249 )
On the Distribution of the different species of Rocks in the Er-
ratic Basin of the Rhone. By M. A. Guyot. Communi-
cated by the Author.
We now know, and my preceding communications have, I
think, demonstrated, that the erratic Alpine formation is di-
-vided into a certain number of groups of rocks, or into erratic
basins, whose respective limits are perfectly distinct. But
the question is more difficult to answer, whether, in the in-
terior of each of these basins, we can determine a certain
order in the distribution of the different rocks there met with.
This subject, indeed, can scarcely be said to have been con-
sidered at all. Among the few authors who have occupied
themselves with the study of the erratic formation, M. J. A.
Deluc enumerates a multitude of facts, carefully arranged,
without endeavouring to deduce from them any argument for
or against the existence of a law of distribution. MM. de
Buch and Charpentier have slightly touched the question as
it relates to the basin of the Rhone. The former seems to
answer it inthe affirmative, with regard to the granites of Mont
Blane and the pudding-stones of Valorsine. The latter, who
admits a law of distribution for the erratic rocks in the interior
of the valley of the Rhone, appears to deny all regularity in
the appearance of the same species which cover the plain ;
but M. Studer, on the contrary, believes that he has found
one in the basin of the Aar, in the space which lies beyond
the high Alps. The facts which I have observed in all the
erratic basins, and especially in those of the Rhine, the Reuss,
and the Rhone, have led me to these results :—
1st, That the distribution of the species of erratic rocks in
the interior of each basin is subject to a law which has the
same influence in the plains as in the valleys.
2dly, That this law is the same in all the basins.
But it is of the last only of the basins I have named that
I wish to speak at present.
The variety of rocks, differing as much in appearance as in
mineralogical character, presented by the basin of the Rhone,
and the large scale on which the phenomenon is exhibited, ren-
250 M. A. Guyot on the Distribution of Rocks
der this basin an excellent field for a study of this nature. On
the other hand, its double divergeney and double outlet, on the
east and west, complicate the question, by introducing an
element not found in the other basins, and which it is ne-
cessary to be particularly careful in taking into account. I
shall first notice briefly the principal species of rocks which
distinguish the basin of the Rhone, then examine what is the
mode of association and distribution peculiar to each of them,,.
Characteristic species—The rocks which I consider as truly
characteristic of this basin, without belonging to species very
distinct, nevertheless form everywhere groups identical with
themselves, and perfectly recognisable, They are essentially
the following :—
1. A species of granite, or, if the term be preferred, taleose
syenite, of a yellowish-green colour, composed of a talcose,
chloriteous, and most frequently slaty mass, intermixed with
numerous crystals of quartz, felspar, and amphibole, and
sprinkled here and there with very small crystals of sphene.
Pretty frequently it affects the structure of gneiss, or even
slate; in the latter case, the quartz and amphibole, and
even the felspar, gradually disappear, and the rock passes
into a sort of chloriteous slate. This rock is the talcose
granite of M. De Charpentier, the sphenitic rock of M. De
Buch; I shall designate it by the single word Arkesine, a name
which M. Jurine has given to a rock very analogous, of which
I have found some specimens in the collection deposited in
the museum of Geneva.
2. A species of gneiss, very rich in white felspar imper-
fectly crystallised, with broken or undulated scales of chlorite,
of a fine light green, sprinkled with very shining particles,
and containing crystals of quartz, few in number, and irre-
gularly distributed. By the disappearance of the quartz,
which is often wanting, this rock passes into a sort of chlori-
teous leptinite ; by the diminution of the felspar to a very
minute quantity, and the predominance of the chlorite, it ap-
proaches to a simple chloriteous slate. I shall call it chlori-
teous gneiss.
3. Chiorites, of a light or dark bluish-green, usually slaty,
appearing as if regularly pricked with a great number
of granules of white or yellowish felspar, of very variable
in the Erratic Basin of the Rhone. 251
size. It is these chlorites which I have hitherto named
roches de Bagnes, because they constitute, in a considerable
degree, the great chains which traverse the upper part of this
valley and its neighbourhood.
These three species are found too uniformly together
throughout the whole extent of the basin of the Rhone not
to have primitively belonged to the same localities, They
form a group by themselves, which I shall call, by way of
eminence, the Pennine rocks ; for I have satisfied myself that
it is in the highest summits of the Pennine Alps that they
have their primitive seat.
M. De Charpentier had announced, on hearsay, that arke-
sine, or talcose granite, came from the valley of Binnen, in the
Haut-Valais, and especially from the chain which separates
this yalley from Val-Antigorio. I have traversed this valley,
and the Col de Albrun, which leads to Antigorio, without
meeting with a single fragment which reminded me of this
well-marked rock. MM. Studer, Escher, and Desor, have
examined the two chains which border this valley, from Va-
lais as far as Val-Divedro, without finding it. I was there-
fore ignorant, when starting on my last expedition among
the Alps, whither I should go to seek for it. Guided by the
law of distribution which I had recognised in the plain, and
by the constant association of this rock with those of Mont
Rosa, I directed my steps to the bottom of the valleys of this
enormous mass, and there, above the Glacier of Zmutt, I at
last found it in great abundance, forming a vast moraine on
the left flank of the valley, at the very limit of the polished
rocks, at a height of 9000 feet. This train, which I followed
for the space of a league, evidently came from the near re-
gions of the Dent Blanche and Dent d’Erin,
I again found the arkesine in the Val d’Erin in equal abun-
dance. The only two specimens of this rock in the rich col-
lection at Berne, were brought, the one from these same
regions of the Dent d'Erin, where it was found by M. Forbes,
the other from the bottom of the valley of Bagnes, from the
Glacier of Chermontane, where it was procured by M. Studer.
At the Glacier of Zmutt, as in the Val d’Erin, the chloritic
gneiss, with all its varieties, accompanies the arkesine. We
252 M. A. Guyot on the Distribution of Rocks
may therefore assert that these rocks belong to the great
metamorphic chain which, according to M. Studer, constitutes
the greater part of the enormous masses of the Pennine Alps
from the valleys of Bagnes and Entremont, as far as that of
Viege and beyond it.*
With regard to the granular chlorites, or Bagnes rocks,
their original site is determined long since. Although de-
scending in greatest abundance by the valleys of Bagnes and
Entremont, they are found throughout the whole extent that
T have indicated, all varying much. They pass by different de-
grees to slates, more or less talcose, often with a filamentous
structure, and they are found under these diverse forms in the
southern chain as far as the Haut-Valais. The arkesine, on
the contrary, and the chloriteous gneiss, never appear higher
than the valley of Viege, which is occupied by the rocks which
have descended from the valley of Saas.
We may join to this group of the Pennine rocks, properly
so called, that of the rocks of Mont Rosa, which likewise
contains three species particularly characteristic.
4. The Euphotides of Saas are here placed in the first
rank. This beautiful rock, whose varicties, more or less rich
in Saussurite, Smaragdite, and yellow or white tale, are very
numerous, is distinguished from the rare euphotides or gra-
nitones of the basins of the Isére and Rhine. It is spread
over almost the whole surface of the basin of the Rhone,
and is, notwithstanding, known to be derived from the valley
of Saas alone. It descends the high ridges of Saasgrat by
one route, the glacier Alalein, behind which I could not per-
ceive a single fragment. This exclusive origin, joined to its
* These conclusions have been fully justified, and placed beyond all doubt,
by my investigations last summer (1846). I traversed the whole high chain
of the Pennine Alps, still so little known, from Mont Blane to Mont Rosa. I
either reached or crossed the ridge at five different points. I examined the
bottom of all the valleys on the northern side, from the valley of Bagnes to that
of Saas, as well as a part of those on the southern slope; and I had the great
satisfaction of discovering at last, in these almost inaccessible peaks, the pre-
cise site of all the characteristic rocks of the erratic basin of the Rhone which
are here enumerated, and to collect them in sitw. I shall give an account else-
where of the result of these researches, which complete the series of my studies
on the Swiss erratic formation,—Scee p. 319.
in the Erratic Basin of the Rhone. 253
great diffusion, renders it of much value for distinguishing
the basin of the Rhone from contiguous basins.
5. The Eclogites, faithful companions. of the euphotides,
and not less characteristic, also come exclusively from the
same localities. The base of this rock seems to be a sort of
granular amphibolite, of a greyish-green, imperfectly slaty,
sprinkled regularly with small grains, from one to four
millimeters in diameter, so numerous that they form an essen-
tial part of the rock, and with brilliant spangles of silvery
mica, likewise numerous, of the same size, and remarkable
for their regular distribution and generally rounded form.
This rock, as widely distributed as the euphotide in the form
of pebbles and small blocks, is seldom found in blocks of
large size, although it descends, like the euphotide, by the
glacier Alalein; I have likewise found it to the west of Saas-
grat, in the moraines of the glacier of Finnelen.
6. The Serpentines, compact and slaty, belonging to the
mass of Mont Rosa, may be ranked among the rocks
characteristic of this great Pennine chain, and of the basin
of the Rhone. For, although it may be alleged that some of
_ them are likewise found in the neighbouring basins of the
Arve and Isére, they will always afford distinct indications,
by their particular varieties, abundance, and association with
rocks of a less questionable origin than themselves.
The two preceding groups represent, in the plain, the great
central or Pennine chain ; the following species essentially
represent the lateral masses of Mont Blanc and of the Ber-
nese Oberland.
7. The granites of the basin of the Rhone, forming gigantic
blocks scattered on the declivities of the Jura, and which
having been the first to attract the attention of the learned
world, it is natural that they should have been considered
as the principal and most characteristic rock of this basin.
Such, however, is not the case; for not only are they less
generally diffused than the Pennine rocks, but some of them
are common to it with the basin of the Arve, and others are
very analogous to those of the basin of the Aar.
These granites are essentially of two sorts.
One of them has a base of white felspar, sometimes very
254 M. A. Guyot on the Distribution of Rocks
slightly tinged with violet, in large parallelopipedal crystals,
often mdcles, or twin crystals, with quartz faintly violaceous ;
amphibole and a chloriteous substance usually replace the mica,
which is rare, and form here and there masses of a dark-green,
the size of which varies from an inch to a foot and upwards.
We should then be disposed to say that a fragment of a foreign
rock was imbedded in the mass of granite. Lastly, a taleose
substance of a light-green, with an earthy appearance, com-
municates its colour to a part of the mass. These are the
protogines of the chain of Mont Blanc, of which there are
many varieties, owing to differences in the development of
the crystals, in the structure, and in the abundance of the
talcose parts. Although these varieties seem to be found in
many parts of the chain, it may be said, in general, that the
protogines which are distinguished by the disproportionate
size of their crystals of felspar and gneissitic structure, be-
long to the needles of Chamounix, on the north-west decli-
vity of the chain ; those of Val Ferret, on the north-east de-
clivity, have a more equal grain, although the crystals are
still very much developed. The protogines with small grains,
poor in talcose portions, or passing into true gneiss, are
found chiefly in the extreme north, between St Maurice and
Martigny, as in Mont Catogne.
The second kind of granite differs from the preceding in
many characters. ‘The crystals do not exceed a medium size ;
they are also more confusedly crystallised, and are never
méacles, or twin erystals.. The mica, or the substances which oe-
cupy its place, is more disseminated and of a lighter green:
These granites rarely contain dark masses imbedded in their
substance: when they do, they are inconsiderable, and less
distinctly defined on their edges. The talcose portions are
often by no means abundant, and the aspect of the rock gene-
rally whiter. These granites come from the glacier of the
Rhone and the mass of the Bernese Oberland, descending by
the glaciers Viesch and Aletsch, and following the right bank
of the Valais, whence their analogy with those which issue
from the same masses by the valley of the Aar.
8. The Pudding-stones of Valorsine, which the beautiful
observations of Saussure have rendered celebrated, are one
ae
in the Erratic Basin of the Rhone. 255
of the kinds of rock most distinctive of the basin of the Rhone.
They are composed of a sandstone, often slaty, of a fine grey,
yery micaceous, sprinkled here and there with slaty spots, of
greater or less size, and of a deep and dull black, interposed
between the lamine. These sandstones contain pebbles and
fragments of quartz, gneiss, and other primitive rocks, the size
of which varies from that of fine gravel to the bigness of the
head. These pebbles are usually so numerous that the slaty
structure disappears, and they are so firmly cemented that
the hammer cannot detach them without breaking their bed,
and at the fracture they appear like spots whose edges are
not always clearly marked. The whole forms a rock of great
hardness. Their primitive site is not confined to the valley
of Valorsine; the rock is likewise cv si¢w on the right bank
of the Rhone, above Outre-Rhone, near the Dent de Morcles,
and on the mountain of Foully. In two localities it is ac-
companied with conglomerates and schists of wine-red, be-
longing to the same formation. It is from the latter, that is,
the right side of the valley, that the greater part of the nu-
merous blocks of this species which are in an erratic state in
the basin of the Rhone, seem to have been detached.
9. We must, in the last place, indicate, as a character of
the basin of the Rhone, which no other neighbouring basin
shares with it, at least in the same degree, the remarkable
abundance of pebbles of all sizes, of a quartz usually yellow-
ish, which are distributed over the entire surface, and the
presence of which, at the outskirts of the basin, invariably
announces the proximity of other erratic rocks.
Distribution of the Species.—The distribution of the spe-
cies I have named in the plain is by no means accidental.
Here also there is no disorder, no absolute mixture, but an
order and a method, which takes place according to certain
laws. No doubt we cannot look here for distinct limits of
distribution, like those which separate the different basins,
but we can lay down the following propositions :—
1. A particular species abounds in one region of the basin,
and is found rarely, or not at all, in another.
2. The blocks of diverse species, on leaving the place of
their origin, have a tendency to form parallel series, and
when they reach the plain, they spread considerably, but do
256 M. A. Guyot on the Distribution of Rocks
not fail to preserve a respective disposition, analogous to that
which they occupied in their primitive sites. The blocks of
the right flank of the valley occupy, in the plain, the right
side of the basin; those of the left flank, the left side ; those
of the most central valleys cover the central regions of it.
3. Groups composed each of a single species of rock to the
exclusion of every other, are found here and there in the
midst of rocks of various species, but always in conformity to
the conditions of the preceding rule.
A word on the distribution of each of the species I have de-
scribed will afford proof of this.
The Pennine rocks, the arkesine, chloriteous gneiss, and
granular chlorites, are by far the most widely diffused ; they
cover three-fourths of the surface of the basin. We have
said that they always go together, and form a group which
conducts itself almost like a single species. If we take them
at their point of departure from the mouth of the valley of
Viege and Val d’Erin, we see them follow the left flank of
the valley of the Rhone, without ever passing to the opposite
side. At the outlet of the valleys of Entremont and Trient
they are joined by the granites of Mont Blanc, which accom- —
pany them, and form the outer border. On issuing from the
valley of the Rhone, they spread themselves in the plain in a
vast fan-shaped expansion, and fill the basin of Leman, and
that of the lakes Neuchatel and Bienne. We find them at
the same time along the exterior slopes of the Chablais
chains, at the foot of the Saléve, in the whole of the plain of
Geneva ; they crown Mont De Sion with prodigious blocks.
They constitute the great majority of the large blocks sus-
pended on the back of the Jura from Fort Ecluse to the foot
of the Dole, as well as the less numerous blocks scattered in
the plains in the country of Gex and the heights of De la
Cote, as far as the vicinity of Lausanne. Further to the east,
these same rocks, but in blocks of smaller size, and compara-
tively less frequent, strew the slopes of the Jura, and form,
along with the granites of Mont Blanc, the superior limit of
the erratic formation. In the plains, where granites scarcely
appear, they again predominate, and cover with their debris
the whole plain of the Aar, the molassic hills between Soleure
in the Erratic Basin of the Rhone. 257
and Berne, and extend to the environs of Zoffingen and Ar-
bourg, where measurable blocks of chlorites may be consi-
dered the last representatives of the Pennine rocks, and mark
the extreme limit of the extension of the basin of the Rhone.
Still further, these rocks are the only ones which pene-
trate into the interior of the high valleys of the Jura. Be-
yond the superior limit of the erratic formation, indicated in
the Jura of Neuchatel and Vaudois by large blocks of gra-
nite and the existence of polished surfaces, beyond the two
or three first chains, and still further, we encounter in the
bottom of the high valleys, at a height of more than 3500
feet, an erratic formation, composed of fragments and blocks,
the largest of which scarcely measure a metre, accompanied
with numerous quartz pebbles.
These fragments are usually very angular, yet have an in-
describable appearance of great age ; the rock seems greatly
altered. They appear to have been buried for a longer or
shorter time under the earth, where they are still found for
the most part. Yet the rocks composing this erratic forma-
tion, which may well be called insulated and distinct from the
rest of the basin, are still exclusively the Pennine rocks.
Not one granite from Mont Blane, nor one pudding-stone of
the Valorsine, penetrates into this inclosure, defended by the
high chains of the Jura. The valleys open towards the plain,
such as those of Vallorbe, Val de Travers, Val de Ruz, are
the only ones of the Jura into which the latter penetrate.
The quartz only, in numerous pebbles of all sizes, accompa-
nies the Pennine rocks into the interior of the Jura, and thus
become, along with them, the last and most distant repre-
sentatives of the Alpine rocks over the whole of this extre-
mity.
But although these three species of rocks thus act a com-
mon part, we can, nevertheless, remark a difference in their
distribution, which confirms the law indicated above.
The granular chlorites, which come in greatest abundance
from the lower part of the valley of the Rhone, have a ten-
dency to preserve their exterior position along the left bank
of the basin. They are found in greatest plenty, and in
blocks of the largest size, in the western part of the basin.
VOL, XLIV. NO, UXXXVIM.—APRIL 1848. R
258 M., A. Guyot on the Distribution of Rocks
They ascend very high on the chains of the Chablais, with-
out, however, attaining the height of the granites, but leav-
ing below them the arkesines, which occupy chiefly the foot
of these heights. They still appear in blocks of many metres
on Mont de Sion. Above the country of Gex, on the con-
fines of the Vaudois and Neuchatelese Jura, on the Suchet
and Chasseron, they reappear more frequently and in large
blocks. But more to the east the blocks ave smaller and
less numerous, and more talcose varieties, in which all gra-
nulation gradually disappears, become substituted for the
true granular chlorites.
The chloriteous gneiss, although abundant, rarely forms
large blocks; its presence is more intimately connected with
that of arkesine ; and we may consider what we are about to
state as to the distribution of the latter rock, as applicable to
it also,
The arkesine, with its analogues, is the most widely spread
of these three rocks ; its true domain is the south-west part
of the basin. We find it along the Savoyard side of the Lake
of Geneva; it forms the great majority of the blecks on
Mont de Sion, Vouache, and the country of Gex. More to the
east, it accompanies the granites of Jura, in blocks still nu-
merous, but of much smaller size. Inthe plain we find it
abundantly between Neuchatel, Fribourg, and Berne; it forms,
almost by itself, some leagues from Soleure, the largest blocks
known, not only in the basin of the Rhone, but in all Switzer-
land, such as the great block of Stienhof, and, quite near to
that, those of Steinberg.
Thus, then, the Pennine rocks are found almost through-
out the whole extent of the basin. No region is exempt,
unless it be the right side of the valley of the Rhone, and be-
yond the Alps, the countries situate at the foot of the moun-
tains of Gruyére. Everywhere the chlorites abound, particu-
larly on the left bank of the Lake of Geneva, while the arke-
sines, along with the chloriteous gneiss, prevail in the central
portion of the basin, especially, on the one hand, on Mont
de Sion and in the country of Gex, and, on the other, at the
extremity of the north-east, in the plain to the south of Soleure.
The respective situation of the regions where the one or other
a
in the Erratic Basin of the Rhone. 259
of these three erratic species predominate, is thus, beyond
the Alps, the same as is observed to exist among the Alpine
valleys whence they derive their origin.
The rocks of Mont Rosa, in like manner, act as if they
were one species. They follow very nearly the attraction of
the Pennine rocks, and accompany them almost everywhere
in the state of pebbles; but they do not follow them to the
greatest heights, appearing to prefer the plain or the lower
sides. The considerably-sized blocks of these rocks are found
chiefly in the western part of the basin. The plain of Geneva,
and the slopes which bound it, the country of Gex, and par-
ticularly the neighbourhood of Nyon, are their true domain.
There only we meet with blocks of euphotide from two to
five metres in length, and masses of serpentine still longer.
Beyond this limit, in the eastern part of the Pay de Vaud,
and further to the east, blocks of euphotide become very rare ;
the most remote I have met with on the sides of the Jura,
were found above Neuchatel and Neuveville, and they scarcely
reach the dimensions of a metre. The same thing may be
said of the serpentines. Both of these rocks, however, and
the serpentines in particular, reappear in abundance and in
large blocks between Berne and Bourgdorf, where they give
a character to an entire region of the basin. Withregard to
the eclogites, I am acquainted with no large blocks of it. It
is usually found in blocks of small size, searcely measurable,
and most frequently in pebbles of very variable dimensions.
We see that the two regions in which the rocks of Mont
Rosa are most abundant, are both on the right of those in
which the Pennine rocks predominate. Here, also, we again
find in the plain a disposition of the erratic rocks which
recalls the relative situation of the valleys from which they
descended.
The distribution of the granites of Mont Blanc presents
some remarkable characters. We find them, at the same time,
at the superior limit of the whole erratic formation, along
the left side of the basin, on the heights of Chablais, and
along the opposite declivities of the Jura. This latter loca-
lity even appears to be, contrary to all expectation, the spe-
cial domain of this rock. From La Dole to beyond Soleure,
260 M. A. Guyot on the Distribution of Rocks
in the neighbourhood of Niederbipp and Aarwangen, not only
do blocks of granite predominate both in number and size,
but they are arranged in continuous bands with well-defined
limits, excluding everywhere all other species of rock. This
takes place more especially in the Neuchatelese Jura, where
this disposition is more distinctly exhibited than in any other
place.
On the flanks of the Chaumont chain, indeed, the upper
limit of the erratic formation is composed of a zone of granite
blocks, the largest of which measures ten metres. This zone
is prolonged, always becoming lower to the east side, on the
heights of Chaumont to the foot of Chasseral, near Nods and
Ligniéres, then by the valleys of Orvins and Vauffelin. It
is mingled with numerous blocks, but relatively of small size,
of the Pennine rocks. Below this first zone is an interval of
upwards of a thousand feet in height, altogether destitute of
large blocks: with difficulty we observe here and there a
few representatives of the Pennine rocks. But we soon meet
with a second zone nearly twenty minwées broad, which covers
the plateaux of Pierre-a-Bot with a quantity of blocks quite
as large and numerous as those of the former zone. It is to
this zone that Pierre-a-Bot belongs ; it is eighteen metres
in size, and there are a great number of others almsot of
equal dimensions. This band is prolonged to the east and
west in all the country of Neuchatel, and forms, a little
above Boujeau, near Bienne, one of the finest deposites of
this kind to be met with on the declivities of the Jura.
Two species of rocks only form this train of huge blocks,
namely, the protogine of Mont Blane, with very large crystals
of felspar, coming from the needles of Chamouni, and, in gene-
ral, the western declivity of the chain, accompanied by a kind
of grey gneiss or very hard mica-slate, of which I have
found examples in the chain of the red Aiguilles of Chamouni.
The inferior limit of this zone, which, in the vicinity of Neu-
chatel, is five hundred feet above the plain, is distinctly
marked. After passing it, we immediately find the arkesines,
chlorites, euphotides, &c., reappear.
These two zones may be followed to a distance, to the east
and west; but they are not everywhere so distinct. The
in the Erratic Basin of the Rhone. 261
upper zone always forms the superior limit of the erratic
formation ; it turns round Chaumont, enters the Val de Ruz,
at the bottom of which it is marked by an accumulation of
large blocks near the village of Pasquier, follows the heights
of Planches, the foot of the Pic de Tete de Rang, the elevated
meadows of Champs-devant, passes into the Val de Travers,
where it forms everywhere the circumference of the valley,
as far as the tower of St Sulpice, where there is a crown of
blocks at the same level. The granites extend to the entrance
of the valley of Verricres, without entering it, and terminate
suddenly below Céte-aux-Fees without ascending the pla-
teau, while these two valleys contain pretty numerous frag-
ments of altered Pennine rocks.
The zone of granite then ascends the mountain of Boudry,
describes a semicircular curve in the bottom of the hollow of
Provence, of which the Prises and high pasturages are as it
were inundated with immense blocks, notwithstanding the con-
tinual efforts of the agriculturalist to destroy or to bury them.
In this anfractuosity, the interval between the two zones dis-
appears, but their position is still indicated by a greater
abundance of large granitic blocks at the summit and bottom
of the side. This double cincture continues to be drawn,
with the analogous phenomena, on the flanks of Mont Aubert ;
the granites rise to the village of Mont Borgeais, near which
the great block of Pidouse indicates nearly the upper limit.
The latter attains its maximum height on the plateau of
Bullets, whence it gently descends by Sainte Croix on the
eastern declivities of the Aiguille de Beaumes. From that
point, the large blocks of Suchet, those of Granges de Valorbe,
which measure twenty metres, the numerous blocks of the
plateau De Premier, those of Mont la Ville, celebrated for
their great dimensions, and lastly, those which conceal the
forests of Mont Richer, by their numbers, everywhere mark
out the permanence of this grand girdle of granites, which
gradually descends lower, and becomes more and more in-
termixed. Still further, toward the west, these same granites
do not cease, but from Déle more especially, the blocks be-
come less numerous, much smaller, and yield the prepon-
derance tothe Pennine rocks. We still find them, it is true,
262 M. A. Guyot on the Distribution of Rocks
throughout the whole extent of the plain of Gex and Geneva,
but they are sporadical, mixed, and no longer in the zone of
the large blocks like that we have just described.
In this girdle of the large blocks of the Jura, it is the
varieties which must have issued from the valley of Trient
which predominate. Those of the Val Ferret are rarer,
and are found rather below the two zones towards the plain.
This arrangement, and the fact that the lower limit of the
zone of blocks is distinctly defined, even in the midst of the
forests and uncultivated rocky places, prevents us ascribing,
as has been done, the absence of the large blocks in the
plain solely to the hand of man and the progress of cultiva-
tion.
The granites of Haut Valais, or those on the right flank
of the valley, occupy a very secondary place in the plain.
Pretty numerous in the Valais on the right bank of the Rhone,
in the plain they are superseded by the pudding-stones of
Valorsine towards the interior of the basin. They follow a
curved line which passes along the Jorat between Lausanne
and Vevey, turn slowly to the east on the plateaux which
surround Moudon, then follow the heights to the north of
Romont, and rejoin the Alps of Fribourg at the foot of La
Barra. The greater part of the granites which are scattered
in small numbers to the north of this line, as far as the neigh-
bourhood of Neuchatel, Fribourg, and Berne, seem to have
this origin.
On the other hand, I think I may rank in this class a con-
siderable number of granite blocks, met with on the plateaux
which overlook Morges, near the village of Bussy, and as far
as Aubonne and the plains of Biére. These blocks might
form a second zone running from the east to the west on the
heights of Jorat, parallel to the banks of the lake, as if to re-
join the Jura.
The pudding-stones of Valorsine, along with the red or wine
coloured conglomerates, have a more distinct domain than any
other rock. They occupy by themselves the right side of the
basin, from the mouth of the valley of the Rhone, and cover
the plateau of Jorat, as far as the environs of Lausanne. The
red conglomerates keep almost exclusively at the upper limit
in the Erratic Basin of the Rhone. 263
of the erratic formation, along the extreme right side on the
heights of the chain which overlook Semsale, on the Moleson
and La Barra. We again encounter them even beyond Goug-
gisberg. The blocks of Valorsine, properly so called, occupy
the heights which overhang Vevey, to the exclusion of aliost
every other rock. They form a broad zone, which, on issuing
from the valley, bends to the north-east, and covers all the
country between the Alps on the one side, and the heights to
the north of Rue and Romont, to the neighbourhood of Fvi-
bourg and Guggisberg. We likewise find them very nume-
rous, and even predominating, but mingled with the Pennine
rocks and granites, on the plateau between Lausanne and
Yverdon, and on all the southern bank of the lake of Neucha-
tel. They are rare on the northern bank of this lake and at
the foot of the Jorat, where they rarely ascend to any height.
We may mention, asa phenomenon, a block of this rock, of
two or three metres, situate 400 feet above the lake of
Neuchatel, in the little valley of Vert, near Boudry. To the
east of Berne and Aarberg the Valorsines are very thinly
scattered.
The western part of the basin is by no means entirely desti-
tute of them; they occur to the west of Lausanne and Yver-
don, as far as Aubonne, and near the Jura. A few appear
here and there in the plain of Geneva; but these no doubt
come from the left bank, from the valley of Valorsine and
Trient. In no part of these regions are they so abundant as
to impart a character to it, and the size of the blocks is never
very remarkable.
Quartz Pebbles. If I have given a place to quartz pebbles
among the most characteristic rocks, it is because there are
few rocks so generally and uniformly distributed in the basin
of the Rhone. The quartz, however, appears most ready to
accompany the Pennine rocks. Beyond the limits of the
blocks, on the Jura, when every other rock has disappeared,
we still find a quartz pebble here and there, even to a height
of 4000 feet, as on the summit of the chain of Creux du Vent,
between Provence and Motiers; on the ridge of the chain of
Tete de Rang, between Val de Ruz and the valley of Sagne ;
on the heights of Pery and Du Monto; on the chain which
264. M. A. Guyot on the Distribution of Rocks
separates the valley of Langenbruck from Cisingen, and else-
where.
The quartz pebbles are thus the only vestiges of the erratic
formation which connects the region of the exterior blocks of
the Jura with the erratic formation, as we find it insulated in
the bottom of the high valleys of this chain. Here they are
associated with the Pennine rocks as usual, but they are pro-
portionably more abundant. Lastly, no rock appears in more
numerous fragments, nor so far from the Alps. When placed
beyond the erratic basin of the Rhone, we approach the re-
gions which it occupies in Savoy, in the Jura, as in Argovia ;
everywhere we encounter, on the outer margin, the quartz
pebbles as the avant-coureurs of the Alpine rocks. It is in
this way, that at the eastern extremity of the basin, and most
remote from the primitive sites, in the vicinity of Urkheim =
and Zofingen, not far from the spot where we leave the predo-
minating erratic rocks of the Reuss, a great abundance of
quartz pebbles suddenly announces the approach of the basin
of the Rhone. They are alone at first, but a few hundred
metres further on, some granular chlorites shew themselves ;
the tale schists and granites finally succeed these, and no
longer leave any doubt that we are in the basin of the Rhone.
This abundance of quartz pebbles is so much the more re-
markable, because the blocks of this rock are rare and of
small size. Perhaps their number is owing to their almost in-
destructible nature, and the absence of large blocks to their
being produced by veins rather than from massive rocks.
To shew briefly the distribution of the species of rocks in the
basin of the Rhone, let us cut the basin transversely to the
east at first, than to the west of the outlet of the valley from
which they issue, each time leaving the Alps to emerge on
the Jura; each of these sections will shew us clearly the
order of succession which the rocks observe. I draw the
first from the neighbourhood of Bulle to Mont de Boudry,
near Neuchatel; the second from Fourches d’Aberre, in
Chablais, to Marchairu.
On leaving the Alps, above Bulle, we find, on the height,
the wine-coloured conglomerates which form the superior
limit of the erratic formation and the extreme right bank of
in the Erratic Basin of the Rhone. 265
the basin. Along with these the Valorsine region of blocks
commences. Beyond Romont and the valley of La Glane,
on the heights which separate this valley from that of La
Broye, some whitish granites of the Haut Valais mingle with
the pudding-stones of Valorsine; we then see the euphotide
blocks of Saas, accompanied with the talcose chlorites and
serpentines of Mont Rosa. In the space comprised between
Broye and the banks of the lake of the Neuchatel, the arke-
sines and chloriteous gneiss are joined to the preceding
rocks. On the north bank, beyond the lake, the latter and
the chlorites become predominating; the Valorsine rocks
have almost disappeared. On ascending the sides of the
Jura, from five or six hundred to a thousand feet above the
lake, and not till then, the granites of Mont Blanc make their
appearance. It is the inferior zone of large blocks.
Lastly, above a space of nearly a thousand feet in height,
in which almost all the Alpine rocks disappear, the superior
zone of the large blocks of Mont Blane, with which the
Pennine rocks are intermixed, forms the most elevated limit
of the erratic formation.
We must therefore distinguish three principal regions in
this section; that of the Valorsine pudding-stones along the
Alps ; that of the blocks of Mont Blane along the Jura; and
those of the Pennine rocks, preceded by some granites of the
Haut Valais and rocks of Mont Rosa, in the centre.
The section across the western part gives us an analogous
series.
The heights of Chablais, in the neighbourhood of the
outlet of the Dranses, shew us the granites of Mont Blanc,
less numerous, however, than might be expected in the upper
part ; and allied to the chlorites which rise almost to the same
level. Further down, the arkesines and chloriteous gneiss
form a junction with them, on the slopes which overlook
Thonon, Evian, and La Tour Ronde; but the euphotides and
serpentines are still rare. Beyond Leman, to the south of
Aubonne, and near Nyon, the rocks of Mont Rosa are very
abundant. Lastly, at a greater distance, towards the Jura,
we meet with the white granites of Haut Valais, the pudding-
stonesof Valorsine, and granites of Mont Blanc, mingled with
the preceding rocks, but preduminating.
266 M. A. Guyot ow the Distribution of Rocks
Here, again, we observe the rocks succeed each other in the
same order as in the preceding section ; and this order is that
in which these same rocks have advanced from below up-
wards into the principal valley. First, the granites of the
left bank and of the lower part of the valley; then the
chlorites of Bagnes, the arkesines and chloriteous gneiss
of Val d’Erin, the serpentines of Mont Rosa, and the
euphotides of Saas, and lastly, confusedly mixed, the rocks
of the right bank with the granites of Mont Blane, which
belong, as we shall afterwards see, to the effusion of the
eastern part.
It is therefore correct to affirm, as I did at the outset, that
the distribution of the species of erratic rocks is subject to
a law, according to which the transported debris of rocks of
the same species preserve in the plain a determinate position,
which is assigned to them by the respective situation of the
valleys from which they issue. The rocks which proceed from
the lateral valleys, nearest the opening of the principal valley,
keep the margin on one side or the other; such as proceed
from the most remote tributaries remain in the centre.
This law of distribution I have also observed to hold true
in the basin of the Rhine, and more distinctly still in that of
the Reuss, which is more simple than the two others; but a
circumstance which is peculiar to the basin of the Rhone is the
double divergency of which I have spoken. We may perceive
that each of the two branches, eastern and western, repre-
sent, in their order, the rocks of the valley of the Rhone
considered collectively. Now this disposition compels us to
admit two periods of divergency. During the first, the issue
took place only on the north-east side, that is to say, on
the most open side of the great valley lying between the
Alps and the Jura. In a second epoch, the effusion must
have taken place by the much narrower basin of Leman, to-
wards the plain of Geneva and the country of Gex.
The analogy between this distribution and that of the mo-
raines of a glacier, is evident, and must strike every one.
The arrangement in linear series, which the superficial mo-
raines affect, the uniformity of the respective situations they
preserve, in spite of all the angles and contours of the val-
in the Erratic Basin of the Rhone, 267
ley, their expansion, and gradual, but always incomplete mix-
ture, in the lower part where the glacier spreads itself; all
these phenomena, so distinctly marked on the surface of every
one of our existing glaciers, are precisely those presented,
though on a gigantic scale, by the surface of the erratic basin
of the Rhone. Let us imagine for a moment, the existence
of this vast glacier of the Rhone, and let us take it at the in-
stant, when, in consequence of its progression, it has carried
the rocks of the Alps to the extreme limit where we now
find them, and let us observe what would be the distribution
of the superficial moraines which we find on the surface, ac-
cording to the acknowledged laws of the mechanism of
glaciers.
In a primeval era, that of its greatest extension, all the
space comprised in the acute angle formed on the south-west
by the union of the Alps and Jura, is encumbered with masses
of ice, fed by the valleys of the Isére, the Arve, the Dranse,
and the Rhone. The outlets are insufficient ; escape by this
side is almost impossible, at least for the ice of the valley of
the Rhone. A divergency, therefore, takes place by the north-
west, where the plain opens and becomes broader by the gra-
dual retirement of the two chains. The principal mass of
the glacier rests upon the Jura, which throws it back towards
the plain, in which the ice spreads itself more at ease, and
seems even to recoil slightly towards the Alps. Here it meets
with a new obstacle, the glacier issuing from the valley of the
Aar, which presses against the glacier of the Rhone, and com-
presses it, without otherwise arresting its progress. Lastly,
the ices of the Valais, diminishing more and more, at length
terminate not far from Aarwangen and Zofingen. Such, then.
is the prodigious glacier of the Rhone.
The moraines distinguishable on this glacier are, 1st, The
right lateral moraine, composed almost exclusively of numer-
ous blocks of Valorsine pudding-stone, detached from their
principal site on the declivities of the Dent de Morcles ; they
extend along the Alps from Fribourg as far as Singine. 2d,
The moraine of Haut Valais, characterised by the white gra-
nites, from the southern declivity of the Bernese Oberland
and the Galenstock. 3¢, The moraine of Mont Roga, with
268 M. A. Guyot on the Distribution of Rocks
its euphotides and serpentines, among which a few Pennine
rocks are already mingled. 4h, The moraine of the Pen-
nine Alps as far as the foot of the Jura. 5th, The left late-
ral moraine, formed by the granites of Mont Blanc, which
have united themselves, by way of Martigny and the Valley
of Salvan, to the other rocks of the basin.
This last moraine is of much greater length than the right
lateral moraine. This circumstance, as well as the general
inflexion of the interior or superficial moraines, is the ne-
cessary consequence of the movement imparted to the ice by
the configuration of the bed in which it moves ; we have seen
it above.
The line which leaves the foot of the Alps of Guggisberg,
forms the limits of the basin of the Rhone, at its contact with
that of the Aar, and extends even beyond Aarwangen, is not,
in spite of appearances, the continuation of the right lateral
moraine, but rather the frontal, which, at first sight, one
would have been disposed to seek on the opposite side, on
the Jura itself. It is not that we find here, any more than
elsewhere, an accumulation which reminds us of the frontal
moraines of many existing glaciers; but it is on this line
that all the moraines we have named have rested a-breast.
Instead of finding only the rocks of the right side on this
boundary, as would be the case if it were only a prolonga-
tion of the lateral moraine, we find, in passing along it, the
rocks of all the rest, and in the order indicated: the Valor-
sines at Guggisberg; the granites of Haut Valais, between
Schwarzenbourg and Koniz ; the euphotides and serpentines
in the neighbourhood of Berne and Bourgdorf; the arkesines
and their companions, at Seeberg and Steinhof; the granites
of Mont Blane near Arwangen.
At a posterior epoch, the flow of ice took place nearly
in a south-west direction by the basin of the lake of Geneva,
and the same phenomena are here repeated. Here, as in
the eastern part, the blocks of Mont Blanc, coming down by
Salvan and Martigny, form the left lateral moraine. In
the Valais and in Chablais, the chlorites mingle with them,
soon become predominant, and form the limit at the bottom
of the Voirons, on the northern declivity of the Saléve, and
in the Erratic Basin of the Rhone. 269
as far as Mont de Sion. The Pennine rocks form a large
central moraine, partly immersed in the waters of the lake,
and which covers the plain of Geneva, and Pays de Gex, as
far as Mont de Sion and the Jura. The moraine of Mont
Rosa, marked by a greater abundance of euphotides, serpen-
tines, and secondary rocks of the same group, passes along
the vicinity of Nyon and Coppet, running in a westerly di-
rection as far as the very foot of the chain. The moraine of
Haut Valais, characterised by numerous and huge blocks of
white granite, is the beginning of the right lateral moraine,
passing by Morges, Bussy, Aubonne, and Biére. Lastly, the
Valorsines, particularly numerous in the environs of Lau-
sanne and Cossonay, and often in connexion with limestones,
form the extreme right lateral. The granites of Mont Blanc,
which are found in the latter regions, and as far as the Jura,
undoubtedly belonged to the left lateral moraine during the
period of the first divergency, and must have been carried to
the west at the time when the change of direction in the
progress of the glacier took place.
In this part of the glacier, we may consider the blocks ac-
cumulated at the extreme limit of the basin, on the summit
of Mont de Sion, from the road to Frangy, along the declivi-
ties of Vouache and the Jura, as far as the vicinity of Fau-
cille and Divonne, as the frontal moraine; for, in the whole
of that space, we scarcely meet with anything else than the
Pennine rocks and those of Mont Rosa.
Here, again, as in the eastern part, the left lateral moraine
is more extended than the right lateral moraine ; but the dis-
proportion is far from being so great, a circumstance per-
fectly accounted for by the relief of the basin.
It is thus that we explain, by this successive effusion of
the glacier in two opposite directions, the complicated but
still normal distribution of the species of erratic rocks of the
basin of the Rhone. The order of succession appears to me
fixed, not only by the nature of the reliefs, as I have ex-
plained above, but still further by that of the rocks them-
selves. Although the characteristic rocks are the same in
the eastern as in the western portion of the valley, yet we
searcely find among the former any others but the species
270 Distribution of Rocks in the Erratic Basin of the Rhone.
which come from the highest summits of the Alps; while, in
the latter, these same rocks are accompanied by a much
greater variety of rocks, which I call secondary, and which
generally proceed from a part of the mountains below the
elevated summits. We ought thence to infer, that the rocks
of the eastern part were detached when the highest summits
rose alone from the bosom of the ice, while the rocks of the
western part have fallen on the glacier when the inferior
rocks were uncovered, and yielded their contingent of very
varied rocks. Now, the whole mode of the deposition of the
erratic formation, and the angular blocks it contains, pre-
senting themselves like a phenomenon of continued retreat
since the period of the greatest extension of the diluvian ice,
it follows that the deposites of the eastern part of the basin
represent the beginning, those of the western part the end,
of this long erratic period.
Conelusions.—The facts which have been explained autho-
rise us, in my opinion, to affirm—
1st, That the distribution of the species of rocks in the in-
terior of the basin of the Rhone is subject to a law.
2d, That this law is, in all respects, conformable to that
which regulates the arrangement of moraines on an actual
glacier composed of many tributaries.
3d, That the great glacier which the extension and ar-
rangement of the Alpine debris, which constitute the erratic
basin of the Rhone, presupposes, had its head in this prodi-
gious mass of the Pennine Alps and Mont Rosa, the most ele-
vated, most extensive, and richest in snowy peaks and pro-
found valleys—in a word, the most colossal of all those which
convey their tribute to the valley of the Rhone; a vast re-
ceptacle of eternal snow and ice, which, even in the present
day, knows no rival among the Alps; insomuch that the
whole of Haut Valais, on the one hand, and the valleys
which descend from Mont Blanc on the other, act simply as
its affluents.
Thus we explain the grouping of the species of rocks in
parallel and linear zones, their distribution in special locali-
ties, and their respective situation, always conformable to
the position of the valleys from which they have issued.
On the Latitudinal Distribution of Reptiles. 271
Thus, by means of the law of central or median moraines,
we give an explanation of the remarkable fact, that the blocks
which come from the most remote valleys and the most ele-
vated peaks, such as the Pennine rocks, are likewise those
which, notwithstanding their often enormous size, stray the
greatest distance from their primitive sites. According to
this hypothesis, the preservation of the blocks, their angular
forms, or striated surfaces, their passage across lakes, their
elevated position on the sides of mountains, for which no
other hypothesis gives any probable account—in a word, the
erratic phenomena—are no longer in our eyes an impene-
trable mystery.
a i ee ee ee
Latitudinal Distribution of Reptiles inhabiting the Malayan
Peninsula and Islands, and other localities. By THEODORE
Cantor, M.D., Bengal Medical Service.
[Sp. prefixed to localities signifies that they are inhabited by species of which
varieties occur in Malayan countries.]
1. Geoemyda spinosa,
Gray.
to
. Emys crassicollis,
Bell, ms.
3. Emys
Gray.
platynota,
4, Emys __ trivittata.
Dum. and Bibr.
. Cistudo amboinensis
(Daud.)
or
6. Tetraonyx
Cantor.
afinis,
7. Gymnopus gange-
ticus (Cuy.).
8. Gymnopus cartila-
gineus (Boddaert)-
9. Gymnopus indicus,
(Gray).
CHELONIA.
Pinang.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Singapore, Malay-
an Peninsula,
Pinang.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula,
Sumatra.
Sumatra, Java.
Sumatra.
Bengal, Assam.
Jaya, Amboina, Philip-
pines, ‘Tenasserim Pro-
vinces.
Rivers and Bay of Ben-
gal.
Java, Dukhun, “ India,”
« China.”
Rivers of India, Philip-
pines.
272
10. Chelonia virgata,
Schweigger.
11. Chelonia imbricata,
(Linné).
12. Chelonia olivacea,
Kschscholtz.
10.
ine
12,
13.
14.
. Platydactylus
. Crocodilus vulgaris,
Cuy. Var. B. Dum.
and Bibr.
. Crocodilus porosus,
Schneider.
. Platydactylus lugu-
bris, Dum. and
Bibr.
. Platydactylus gecko
(Linné),
. Platydactylus sten-
tor, Cantor
mo-
narchus, Schlegel.
. Ptychozoon homato-
cephalum(Creveld)
. Hemidactylus pero-
nti, Dum. & Bibr.
. Hemidactylus coctwi,
Dum. and Bibr.
Hemidactylus frena-
tus, Schlegel, ms.
Hemidactylus pla-
tyurus (Schneider).
Gymnodactylus pul-
chellus (Gray).
Varanus nebulosus,
Dum. and Bibr.
Varanus flavescens
(Gray).
Malayan Seas.
Malayan Seas.
Malayan Seas.
SAURIA.
Malayan Peninsu-
la and Islands.
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula,
Pinang.
Malayan Penin-
sula.
Pinang.
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang, Singa-
pore.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula,
Pinang.
Pinang, Singa-
pore,
Pinang.
Pinang.
Dr Theodore Cantor on the
Teneriffe, Rio Janeiro,
Cape of Good Hope,
New York, Indian
Ocean, Red Sea.
Atlantic
Ocean,
and Indian
Bay of Bengal, China
Sea.
Java, Sumatra, Tenasse-
rim, Bengal, Coroman-
del, Malabar.
Seychelle Islands, Timor,
Java, Sumatra, Tenas-
serim, Bengal.
Otaheite.
Philippines, Java, Tenas-
serim, Burmah, Ben-
gal, Coromandel.
Philippines,
Borneo.
Amboina,
Ramree Island (Arra-
can).
Isle of France.
Bengal, Bombay.
Amboina, Timor, Java,
Marian Isles, Ceylon,
Bengal, Assam, South
Africa, Madagascar.
Philippines, Borneo, Ja-
ya, Bengal, Assam.
Java, Siam, Bengal.
Bengal, Nipal.
Latitudinal Distribution of Reptiles.
15. Varanus — salvator
(Laurenti).
16. Bronchocela crista-
tella (Kuhl),
17. Lophyrus armatus
(Gray).
18. Dilophyrus grandis
(Gray).
19. Draco-volans (Linné),
20. Draco
(Gray).
21. Leiolepis bellii (Gray),
maculatus
Eumeces punctatis
(Linné) Var,
. Euprepis rufescens
(Shaw),
Var. D. Dum.
and Bibr.
Var. E. Dum.
and Bibr.
Var. F. Dum.
and Bibr.
Euprepis — ernestit,
Dum. and Bibr.
- Lygosoma chalcides
(Linné).
i)
or
1. Pilidion lineatum,
(Boie.)
2. Typhlops nigro-al-
bus, Dum. and
Bibr.
3. Typhlops braminus
(Daudin).
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula,
Pinang,
pore.
Pinang.
Singa-
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula,
Pinang.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang, Singa~-
pore.
OPHIDIA.
Innocuovs.
Pinang, Singa-
pore,
Pinang, Singa-
pore.
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula.
273
Philippines, Moluccas,
Amboina, Jaya, Ben-
gal, Assam.
Amboina, Island of Buru,
Jaya, Sumatra.
Cochin-China.
Rangoon.
Philippines, Borneo, Ja-
va.
Tenasserim.
Cochin-China,
Sp. Coromandel, Mala-
bar, Bengal.
Sp. Sandwich Islands,
Philippines, Timor,
Celebes, Borneo, Java,
Coromandel, Bengal.
Java,
Jaya.
Jaya.
Sumatra.
Canton Province, Philip-
pines, Guam (Marian
Isles), Java, ‘Tenasse-
rim, Bengal, Assam,
Coromandel, Ceylon,
Malabar.
VOL. XLIV. NO, LXXXVIIT.—APRIL 1848. 8
274
4. Cylindrophis rufus
(Laurenti).
5. Xenopeltis unicolor,
Reinwardt.
6. Python reticulatus
(Schneider).
7. Acrochordusjavani-
cus, Hornstedt.
8. Acrochordus granu-
latus (Schneider).
9. Calamaria lumbri-
coidea, Schlegel,
Var.
Calamaria linnet,
Boie, Var. Schle-
gel.
Calamaria — longi-
ceps, Cantor.
Calamaria sagitta-
ria, Cantor.
. Coronella baliodei-
ra, Schlegel.
. Xenodon purpura-
scens, Schlegel.
15. Lycodon aulicus
(Linné).
Var. A.
Var. B.
Var. C.
Var, D.
16. Lycodon platurinus
(Shaw).
17. Lycodon = effrenis,
Cantor.
18. Coluber fasciolatus,
Shaw.
Singapore.
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula.
Malayan Peninsu-
la and Islands.
Pinang,
pore.
Singa-
Rivers and Sea of
the Malayan
Peninsula and
Islands.
Pinang,
pore.
Singa-
Pinang.
Penang.
Malayan Penin-
sula,
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Malayan Penin-
sula.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Malayan Penin-
sula.
Dr Theodore Cantor on the
Java, Tranquebar, Ben-
gal?
Celebes, Java, Sumatra.
Chusan? Amboina, Java,
Banka, Sumatra, Bengal?
Java.
Bay of Manilla, New Gui-
nea, Timor, Java, Su-
matra, Coromandel.
Sp. Celebes, Java.
Jaya.
Bengal, Assam.
Java.
Java, Tenasserim.
Var. Chirra Punji, As-
sam, Darjeling, Mid-
napore (Bengal).
Bengal, Coromandel.
Bengal.
Java, Tenasserim.
Pulo Samao, Timor.
Bengal.
Java, Bengal ?
Coromandel.
Latitudinal Distribution of Reptiles.
19. Coluber radiatus,
Schlegel.
20. Coluber korros,
Reinwardt.
. Coluber hewagonotus,
Cantor.
2. Dipsas dendrophila,
Reinwardt.
Dipsas multimacu-
lata, Schlegel.
24. Dipsas
Cuvier.
cynodon,
25.
26.
Dipsas boa, Boie.
Herpetodryas
cephalus
wardt).
owy-
(Rein-
Lo
~T
. Dryinus prasinus
(Reinwardt).
Var. A.
Var. B.
Var. @.
Leptophis pictus
(Gmelin).
Var. A.
29. Leptophis caudali-
neatus, Cantor.
30. Letophis ornatus
(Shaw).
Var.
31. Tropidonotus um-
bratus (Daudin).
Var.
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang.
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula,
Pinang.
Pinang.
Malayan Peninsu-
la and Islands.
Same localities.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Malayan Peninsu-
la and Islands.
Malayan Penin-
sula,
Pinang,
pore.
Singa-
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Malayan Peninsu-
la and Islands.
275
Java, Sumatra, Cochin-
China, ‘Tenasserim,
Assam.
Jaya, Sumatra, Arracan,
Tenasserim.
Celebes, Java.
Celebes, Java, Tenasse-
rim, Bengal.
Java, Tenasserim.
Jaya.
Celebes.
Celebes, Java, Cochin-
China, Siam, Burmah,
Tenasserim, Arracan,
Bengal, Assam.
Same localities.
Manilla, New Ireland,
Waigiou, Amboina,
New Guinea, Pulo
Samao, Java, Sumatra,
Jochin-China, Tenas-
serim, Burmah, Ben-
gal, Assam, Coroman-
del.
Bengal, Assam, Ceylon.
Sp. Bengal, Ceylon.
Java, Sumatra, Tenasse-
rim, Arracan.
Sp. Bengal, Assam, Coro-
mandel, Ceylon,
Java, Bengal.
276
32. Tropidonotus stola-
tus (Linné),
33. Tropidonotus schis-
tosus (Daudin).
Var.
. Tropidonotus cera-
sogaster (Cantor).
. Tropidonotus jun-
ceus, Cant.
- Homalopsis rhin-
chops (Schneider),
. Homalopsis buccata
(Linnd),
. Homalopsis Siebol-
di, Schlegel.
. Homalopsis — enhy-
dvis (Schneider).
. Homalopsis
bea, Boie.
plum-
. Homalopsisleucoba-
lia, Schlegel, Var.
. Homalopsis hydri-
na, Cantor.
43, I. Elaps melanurus
(Shaw).
44, Il. Elaps intestina-
lis (Laurenti). Var.
45. III. Elaps nigro-
maculatus, Cantor,
46. IV. Elaps bivirga-
tus, Kuhl, Var.
47. V. Lungarus flavi-
ceps, J. Reinhardt.
VI. Bungarus can-
didus, (Linné).
48.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Malayan Penin-
sula,
Same locality.
Malayan Penin-
sula.
Pinang.
Malayan Peninsu-
la and Islands.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Malayan Peninsu-
la.
Malayan Peninsu-
la and Islands.
Pinang.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Sea off Pinang,
and the Ma-
layan Peninsu-
la,
VENOMOUS.
Malayan Peninsu-
la.
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula,
Pinang,
pore.
Singa-
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang.
Malayan Peninsu-
la.
Dr Theodore Cantor on the
Philippines, Tenasserim,
Bengal, Assam, Nipal,
Coromandel, Ceylon,
Bombay.
Philippines, Tenasserim,
Bengal, Madagascar.
Same localities.
Bengal, Assam.
New Guinea, Amboina,
Timor, Sarapua, Java,
Sumatra, Tenasserim,
Bengal, Coromandel.
Jaya.
Bengal.
Java, Tenasserim, Ben-
gal, Coromandel,
Jaya.
Sp. Timor.
Tenasserim, Nerva (Co-
romandel),
Sp. Java, Malwah (Cen-
tral India).
Sp. Jaya, Sumatra,
Jaya.
Java, Tenasserim, Ben-
gal, Assam, Coroman-
del, Ceylon, Malabar.
Latitudinal Distribution of Reptiles. 277
49, VII. Bungarus fas-
ciatus (Schneider).
50. VII. Hamadryas
ophiophagus, Can-
tor,
51. IX. Naja lutescens,
Laurenti.
Var. D. (Dau-
din).
Var. negra,
52, X. Trigonocephalus
gramineus (Shaw).
Var.
53. XI. Trigonocepha-
lus swmatranus
(Raffles) Var.
- AIL. Trigonocepha-
lus puniceus,Rein-
wardt.
. XI. 8 Laticauda
scutata, Laurenti.
56. XIV. Hydrus stria-
tus (Laccpéde).
. XV. Hydrus nigro-
cinctus (Daudin).
Var. ?
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula,
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang,
pore.
Singa-
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula.
Sea of the Malay-
an Peninsula
and Islands,
Sea of Pinang,
Malayan Pen-
insula,
Sea of Pinang,
Singapore, Ma-
layan Peninsu-
la.
Sea off Pinang.
Java, Tenasserim, Ben-
gal, Coromandel.
Java, Sumatra, Bengal,
Assam, Coromandel.
Sp. Countries between
the Sutlej and Cape
Comorin, Ceylon, Hin-
doostan to Cape Ro-
mania, Sumatra, Java,
Ternate, Borneo, Phi-
lippines, Chusan.
Bengal, Coromandel.
New Holland, Timor,
Pulo Samao, Celebes,
Eastern Java, Banka,
Sumatra, Tenasserim,
Bengal, Chirra Punji,
Nipal, Coromandel,
Ceylon.
Sumatra, Tenasserim.
Sp. Sumatra.
Jaya.
Bay of Bengal, Sea of
Timor, Celebes, Mo-
lucea, and Liewkiew
Islands, New Guinea,
Tongataboo, China
Sea.
Sea of lLiewkiew Is-
lands, Timor, Suma-
tra, Bay of Bengal.
Bay of Bengal, estuaries
of the Ganges,
278
58. XVI. Hydrus gia-
cilis, Shaw.
59. XVII. Hydrus schis-
tosus (Daudin).
60. XVIII. Hydrus pe-
lamidoides (Schle-
gel).
XIX. Hydrus bico-
lor (Schneider),
61.
1. Ichthyophis glutino-
sus (Linné.) Var. ?
2. Rana leschenaulti,
Dum, and Bibr.
3. Rana tigrina, Dau-
din.
4. Megalophrysmonta-
na, Wagler, Var.
5. Limnodytes eryth-
veeus, (Schlegel).
6. Polypedates leuco-
mystax, (Graven-
horst).
7. Bufo melanostictus,
Schneider.
- Hyledactylus bivit-
tatus, Cantor.
io)
Sea of Malayan
Peninsula and
Island.
Sea of Malayan
Peninsula and
Islands.
‘Sea of Malayan
Peninsula and
Islands.
Sea of Malayan
Peninsula,
BATRACHIA.
Singapore.
Malayan Penin-
sula.
Malayan Peninsu-
la and Islands.
Pinang.
Malayan Penin-
sula,
Pinang, Singa-
pore, Malayan
Peninsula.
Malayan Peninsu-
la and Islands.
Malayan Penin-
sula.
Dr Theodore Cantor on the
Bay of Bengal, Malabar,
Sumatra, Borneo.
Bay of Bengal, Malabar,
Sumatra.
Bay of Bengal, Sea of
Celebes, Molucca
Islands, China Sea.
Bay of Bengal, Sea of
Sumatra, Java, Ce-
lebes, Moluceas, China
Sea (to 27° N. L.)
Otaheite, Bay of Port
Jackson (33° 55’ §.
L, 154° 25" EB. T:)
Sp.Java, Ceylon, Assam.
Bengal, Pondicherry.
Coromandel, Bengal, As-
sam, Tenasserim, Ja-
va, Sumatra, Timor,
Philippines, Canton
Province.
Sp. Java.
Java, Tenasserim, Arra-
can.
Bengal, Coromandel,!Ma-
labar.
Jaya, Tenasserim, Ben-
gal, Coromandel.
Altitudinal Distribution of Reptiles inhabiting the Malayan Pen-
insula and Islands, and other localities.
[The extra-Malayan localities have necessarily been confined to such
of which the elevation has been specified by authors, the Malayan are
given from personal observation. |
Altitudinal Distribution of Reptiles. 279
Prince or Waters Istanp (Puno Prvana), 5° 25’ N. L., 100° 19’ E.
Valley: Mean annual temperature, 80°03 Fahr, Average monthly
range of the thermometer, 11°; greatest daily range, 13°. Annual
quantity of rain 55°5 inch. (145 days.)
Hills: Granite. Highest elevation (Western Hill), 2500 ft. Mean
annual temperature 71°. Average monthly range of the thermometer
10°; greatest daily range, 9°. Annual quantity of rain, 116°6 inch
(174 days.) Vegetation, even for a tropical, distinguished by luxuriance,
beauty, and variety. Characteristic features : Filices. (Alsophila con-
taminans, Wal.—Schizea dichotoma,—Newroplatyceros (Acrostichum)
biforme, Desvontaine. Polypodiwm Horsjieldii, Bennett.)
Pandanacex. (Hreycinetia.)
Taccacee. (Zacca cristata, Jack.)
Palmacee. (Areca catechu, Willd. Arenga saccharifera, Labill. Nipa
fruticans. Euoplus tigillavia, Jack. “ Pinang Lawyer.”* Calamus.)
Scitaminee, (Hedychiwm swmatranum, Jack. Amomum biflorwm,
Jack).
Orchidacez.
Taxacee. (Dacrydium. Podocarpus.)
Gnetacew. (Gnetwm gnemon. Gnetum brunonianum.)
Artocarpee. (Phytocrene palmata, Wal. Phytocrene bracteata,t
Wal.)
Nepenthacex. (Nepenthes distillatoria. Nepenthes ampullaria,
Jack.)
Gesneracee. (Didymocarpus crinitus, Jack.)
Euphorbiacee.
Corylacee. (Quercus racemosa, Jack. Lithocarpus javensis, Blume.)
Begoniacerx. (Begonia orbiculata, Jack.)
Sterculiacee. (Sterculia coccinea, Roxburgh. Durio Zibethinus, Lin.)
Dipteracee. (Dipterocarpus.)
Aurantiacee. (Murraya puniculata, Loar.)
Anacardiacee, (Stagmaria verniciflua, Jack.)
Connaracee. (Eurycoma longifolia, Jack.)
Garciniez.
Melastomacee. (Melastoma bracteata, Jack. M. ewigua, Jack.
M, glauca, Jack. Sonerila moluccana, Rob.)
Myrtacee.
Stncapore Isianp, 1° 24’ N. L., 104° E. Mean annual temperature,
80°. Greatest daily range of theremometer, 10°. Annual ‘number of
rainy days, 185. Surface gently undulating. Sandstone hills, indicat-
ing remote convulsion ; highest hill (Bukit Timah) 530 ft. In the val-
leys oceur vegetable and animal forms, which at Pinang have been ob-
served at or near the summit of the hills, but not in the plains. Thus
at Singapore, occur Alsophila, Schizea, Tacca cristata, Gnetum, Ne-
penthes, Begonia, Ewrycoma, and others, which at Pinang appear to affect
a much greater elevation. Instances of Reptiles in common to the plains
of Singapore and the hills of Pinang are, Ptychozoon homalocephalum,
ie
* An undescribed dwarf palm, hitherto supposed to be confined to the hills
of Pinang. Sir William Norris found it on Mount Ophir in 1847.
+ This species appeay's to be confined to the lower part of the hills and the
valleys.
280 Dr Theodore Cantor on the
Gymnodactylus pulchellus, Lygosoma chaleides, Pilidion lineatum,
Typhlops nigroalbus, Calamaria lumbricoidea. Var. Leptophis cauda-
lineatus, Elaps intestinalis, Elaps nigromaculatus.
Maayan Peniysuta. Geographically, not politically, from 12° N. L.
between 98° and 104° E., computed to be about 80,000 square miles, or
about 4000 square miles less than Great Britain, zoological informa-
tion has hitherto been confined almost exclusively to the plains of the
western part. The productions of the chain of mountains dividing the
Peninsula, and terminating in Cape Romania in 1°17’ N. L. (Point
Barus in 1° 15’ N. L.) are almost entirely unknown. The late Mr
Griffith on a visit in the early part of 1842 to mount Ophir (Génong
Lcdang, in about 2° 30’ N. L. on the eastern boundary of the district of
Malacca granite, and computed about 4000 ft.) made the interesting dis-
covery, that from 1500 ft. and upwards, the vegetation changes com-
pletely, and in many respects assumes a Polynesian or Australian cha-
racter. arly in 1847 Lieutenant-Colonel James Low visited Keddah
Peak (Génong Jerai), opposite to the town of Keddah, in about 6° 5’ N. L.,
which he observes is not granite, but stratified, abounding in minerals.
According to observation of the boiling point of water, the summit, a small
platform on the edge of the strata, is 57054 feet above the sea. Towards
the summit the vegetation becomes very stunted, and partakes of Austra-
lian character.* Colonel Low further observes, that during the ascent,
he did not see a single animal, but found foot-prints of a Rhinoceros,
smaller than usual, he supposes, up to the very summit. ‘To a casual
visiter of the Malayan hill forest, during the day, the paucity of animals
is a striking feature. The noonday light, subdued by the dense foliage
of the towering stems, gives to the scene a sombre character, heightened
by the unseen denizens. Their presence is manifested in the shrill vi-
brations of Cicadz, one of which on the Pinang hills is noted for its re-
semblance to the cavalry trumpet, the callof the Tupai, the dismal tap of
the gigantic wood-pecker, the creaking flight of a Buceros, or the retreat
of frightened Semnopithees.
CHELONIA.
SPECIES, HILLS. PLAINS.
Geoemyda spinosa,Gray. Pinang.
Emys crassicollis, Bell, Ponds and rivulets Ma~-
MS. layan Peninsula, Pin-
ang.
Emys platynotu, Gray. Malayan Peninsula, Pin-
ang.
Emys trivittata, Dum. & Ponds and rivers Malay-
Bibr. an Peninsula; Pinang,
Bengal.
* A collection of plants from the summit of the mountain, with which Colonel
Low favoured me, were examined by Captain Munro, H.M. 39th Regiment, the
only botanist at present in Calcutta, previously to their being despatched to the
Royal Gardens, Kew.
Altitudinal Distribution of Reptiles. 281
SPECIES.
Cistudo amboinensis,
(Daud).
Tetraonya afinis, Cantor.
Gymnopus gangeticus,
(Cuvier).
Gymnopus cartilagineus,
(Boddaert).
Gymnopus indicus,
(Gray).
Chelonia virgata, Schw.
Cheloniaimbricata (Lin).
Chelonia olivacea, Esch-
scholtz.
Crocodilus vulgaris, Cuv.
Var. B. Dum. , and
Bibr.
Crocodilus porosus,
Schneider.
Platydactylus lugubris,
Dum. and Bibr.
Platydactylus gecko,
(Linn‘<).
Platydactylus
Cantor.
stentor,
Platydactylus monarch-
us, Schlegel.
Ptychozoon homaloce-
phalum, (Creveld).
Hemidactylus peronit,
Dum. and Bibr.
Hemidactylus — coctai,
Dum. and Bibr.
Hemidactylus frenatus,
Schlegel, MS.
HILLS.
SAURIA.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
PLAINS.
Ditto, ditto.
Sea off Pinang.
Rivers and sea-coast Ma-
layan Peninsula, Ben-
gal.
Ponds and rivers, Malay-
an Peninsula, Pinang,
Java, Dukhun, “ In-
dia,” * China.”
Rivers, estuaries,and sea-
coast, Malayan Penin-
sula, Pinang, India,
Philippine Islands.
Sea.
Rivers, estuaries and sea-
coast, Malayan Penin-
sula and Islands, Java,
Sumatra, Tenasserim,
Bengal, Coromandel,
Malabar.
Ditto,ditto, and Seychelle
Islands, Timor.
Pinang.
Malayan Peninsula, Ben-
gal,
Pinang, Malayan Penin-
sula, Singapore.
Singapore.
Pinang.
Pinang, Bengal.
Pinang, Singapore, Ma-
layan Peninsula, Ben-
gal,
282
SPECIES.
Hemidactylus platyurus,
(Schneider).
Gymneodactylus pulchel-
lus, (Gray).
Varanus nebulosus,
Dum. and Bibr.
Varanus flavescens,
(Gray).
Varanus salvator, (Laur-
enti).
Bronchocela cristatella,
(Kuhl).
Lophyrus armatus,
(Gray).
Dilophyrus grandis,
Gray.
Draco volans, Linné.
Draco-maculatus, (Gray).
Leiolepis bellit, (Gray).
Eumeces punctatus
(Lin). Var.
Euprepis, rufescens,
(Shaw).
Var. D. Dum.
and Bibr.
Var. E. Dun.
and Bibr.
Var. F. Dum.
and Bibr.
Euprepis ernestii, Dum.
and Bibr.
Lygosoma chalcides,
(Linné).
Pilidion lineatum,
(Boie).
Typhlops nigro-albus,
Dum. and Bibr.
HILLS.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
OPHIDIA.
Innocuovs.
Pinang,
Pinang.
Dr Theodore Cantor on the
PLAINS.
Pinang, Bengal.
Singapore.
Bengal.
Pinang, Bengal.
Malayan Peninsula, Ben-
gal.
Malayan Peninsula, Sin-
gapore.
Pinang, Singapore.
Pinang, Malayan Penin-
sula.
Pinang, Malayan Penin-
sula.
Pinang, Malayan Penin-
sula, Singapore.
| Pinang, Malayan Penin-
sula, Singapore.
Pinang, Malayan Penin-
sula.
Singapore.
Singapore,
Singapore.
Altitudinal Distribution of Reptiles.
SPECIES,
Typhlops braminus,
(Daudin).
Cylindrophis rufus,
(Laurenti).
Xenopeltis unicolor,
Reinwardt.
Python reticulatus,
(Schneider).
Acrochordus javanicus,
Hornstedt.
Acrochordus grenulatus,
(Schneider).
Calamaria lumbricoidea
Schlegel, Var.
Calamaria linnet, Boei,
Var, Schlegel.
Calamaria longiceps,
Cantor.
Calamaria sagittaria,
Cantor.
Coronelia baliodeira
Schlegel.
Xenodon purpurascens,
Schlegel.
Lycodon aulicus (Linné),
Var. A.
Var, B.
Var. C.
Var. D.
Lycodon platurinus
(Shaw).
Lycodon effrenis, Cantor.
Coluber fasciolatus, Shaw.
HILLS.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula,
Pinang.
Pinang.
283
PLAINS.
Pinang, Singapore, Ma-
layan Peninsula, Ben-
gal, Assam.
Singapore,
Bengal.
Tranquhar,
Singapore, Malayan Pen-
insula,
Pinang, Singapore, Ma-
layan Peninsula, Ben-
gal?
Singapore, Jaya.
Rivers and sea-coast of
Malayan Peninsula
and Islands, New
Guinea, Timor, Java,
Sumatra, Coromandel,
Bay of Manilla.
Singapore,
Java,
Malayan Peninsula, Ben-
gal.
Jaya.
Pinang, Malayan Penin-
sula, Bengal.
Pinang, Bengal.
Pinang, Malayan Penin-
sula.
Pinang, Malayan Penin-
sula,
Malayan, Peninsula,
Bengal.
Bengal ?
Malayan Peninsula, Co-
romandel,
284
SPECIES.
Coluber radiatus, Schle-
gel.
Coluber korros, Rein-
wardt.
Coluber hewagonotus,
Cantor.
Dipsas dendrophila,
Reinwardt.
Dipsas multimaculata,
Schlegel.
Dipsas cynodon, Cuvier.
Dipsas boa, Boie.
Herpetodryas oxycepha-
lus (Reinwardt).
Dryinus prasinus (Rein-
wardt).
Var. A.
Var. B.
Var. C.
TIILLs.
Pinang.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Malayan Penin-
sula and Islands.
Ditto.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Leptophis pictus (Gmelin). Malayan Penin-
Var. A.
sula and Islands.
Ditto.
Leptophis caudalincatus, Pinang.
Cantor.
Leptophis ornatus (Shaw), Pinang.
Var.
Tropidonotus umbratus
(Daud.), Var.
Tropidenotus stolatus
(Linn®).
Tropidonotus schistosus
(Daud.).
Var.
Tropidonotus cerasogas-
ter (Cantor).
Tropidonotus junceus,
Cantor,
Homalopsis.
Pinang.
Dr Theodore Cantor on the
PLAINS.
Pinang, Singapore, Ma-
layan Peninsula.
Pinang, Singapore, Ma-
layan Peninsula.
Pinang, Singapore, Ma-
layan Peninsula, Java.
Malayan Peninsula.
Malayan Peninsula.
Jaya.
Malayan Peninsula and
Islands.
Ditto.
Malayan Peninsula and
Islands, Bengal.
Ditto.
Singapore.
Malayan Peninsula.
Malayan Peninsula and
Islands, Jaya, Bengai.
Pinang, Malayan, Penin-
sula, Bengal, Nipal,
Coromandel, Bombay.
Malayan Peninsula, Ben-
gal.
Ditto, ditto.
Malayan Peninsula, Ben-
gal.
All the Malayan species
inhabit fresh water
rivers, estuaries, or the
sea-coast, as noted un-
der each,
Altitudinal Distribution of Reptiles.
SPECIES.
Elaps melanurus (Shaw).
Elaps intestinalis Lau-
renti), Var.
Elaps nigromaculatus,
Cantor.
Elaps bivirgatus, Kuhl.
Var.
Bungarus flaviceps, J.
Reinwardt.
Bungarus candidus
(Linné).
Bungarus fasciatus
(Schneider).
VENOMOUS.
TI1L.ks.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Pinang.
Hamadryas ophiophagus, Pinang.
Cantor.
Naja lutescens. Laurenti.
Var. D. (Daud. ) ;
Var. nigra.
Trigonocephalus grami-
neus (Shaw).
Var.
Trigonocephalus swma-
tranus (Raffles), Var.
Trigonocephalus puni-
ceus, Reinwardt.
Laticauda Hydrus.
Ichthyophis glutinosus
(Linn*), Var.
Rana leschenaulti, Dum.
and Bibr.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
Pinang.
_ Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula, Chir-
ra Punji.
Pinang, Malayan
Peninsula.
BATRACHIA.
285
PLAINS.
Malayan Peninsula, Te-
nasserim, Nerva.
Singapore, Malayan Pen-
insula, Sp. Java, Mal-
wah (Central India).
Singapore.
Malayan Peninsula.
Malayan Peninsula, Ben-
gal, Coromandel, Ma-
labar.
Pinang, Malayan Penin-
sula, Bengal, Coroman-
del.
Singapore, Malayan Pen-
insula, Bengal.
Pinang, Singapore, Ma-
layan Peninsula, Ben-
gal, Coromandel.
Pinang, Singapore.
Pinang, Singapore, Ma-
Jayan Peninsula, Ren-
gal, Nipal.
Pinang, Singapore, Ma-
layan Peninsula.
Pinang, Singapore, Ma-
layan Peninsula. Sp.
Sumatra,
Pinang, Singapore, Ma-
layan Peninsula.
All species inhabit the
sea or estuaries.
Singapore.
Malayan Peninsula, Ben-
gal, Pondicherry.
286 Mr Thomas Oxley on Gutta Percha.
Rana tigrina, Daudin. Malayan Peninsu- Malayan Peninsula and
la and Islands. Islands, Bengal,
Megalophreys montana, Pinang, Sp. Java,
Wagler, Var.
Limnodytes erythraus Malayan Peninsula.
(Schlegel).
Polypedates leucomystax Pinang, Malayan Singapore, Malayan Pe-
(Gravenhorst). Peninsula. ninsula, Bengal.
Bufo melanostictus, Malayan Peninsu- Malayan Peninsula and
Schneider. la and Islands. Islands, Bengal.
Hyledactylus bivittatus, Malayan Peninsula.
Cantor.
—Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, New Series, No. 10, p. 1067,
Calcutta, 1847.
Gutta Percha. By THOMAS OXLEY, Esq., A.B., Senior Sur-
geon of the Settlement of Prince of Wales Island, Singa-
pore, and Malacca.
Discovery of the Gutta Percha by Europeans— Botanical Description
—Range, habitat, mode of procuring—Properties, uses, appli-
cation to the practice of Surgery—Great superiority to bandages
and splints in cases of fracture—Capsules for vaccine virus—
Patents in England for cleansing the Gutta, and removing its
acidity— Means of procuring it pure where it is produced.
Although the trees yielding this substance abound in our
indigenous forests, it is only four years since it was disco-
vered by Europeans. The first notice taken of it appears to
have been by Dr W. Montgomerie, in a letter to the Bengal
Medical Board, in the beginning of 1843, wherein he com-
mends the substance as likely to prove useful for some sur-
gical purposes, and supposes it to belong to the Fig tribe. In
April 18438, the substance was taken to Europe by Dr D’Al-
meida, who presented it to the Royal Society of Arts of Lon-
don, but it did not at first attract much attention, as the Society
simply acknowledged the receipt of the gift ; whereas shortly
after they thought proper to award a gold medal to Dr W.
Montgomerie for a similar service. Now, as the discovery of
both of these gentlemen rested pretty much upon the same
Mr Thomas Oxley on Gutta Percha. 287
foundation—the accidental falling in with it in the hands of
some Malays, who had found out its greatest peculiarity, and
availed themselves thereof, manufactured it into whips, which
were brought into town for sale—there does not appear any
plausible reason for the passing over the first, and rewarding
the second. Both gentlemen are highly to be commended
for endeavouring to introduce to public notice a substance
which has proved so useful and interesting. The Gutta
Percha having of late attracted much attention, and as yet
but little being known or published about it, I would now
propose to supply, to the best of my ability, this desideratum,
and give a description of the tree, its product and uses, so
far as it has been made available for domestic and other pur-
poses in the place of its origin.
The Gutta Percha tree, or Gutta Tuban, as it ought more
properly be called,—the Percha producing a spurious article,
—belongs to the natural family Sapotez, but differs so much
from all described genera, having alliance with both Achras
and Bassia, but differing in some essentials from both, that
I am disposed to think it is entitled to rank as a new genus.
I shall, therefore, endeavour to give its general character,
leaving the honour of naming it to some more competent
botanist, especially as I have not quite satisfied myself re-
garding the stamens from want of specimens, for observa-
tions.
The tree is of a large size, from 60 to 70 feet in height,
and from 2 to 3 feet in diameter. Its general appearance
resembles the genus Durio, or well-known Doorian, so much
so as to strike the most superficial observer. The under sur-
face of the leaf, however, is of a more reddish and decided
brown than in the Durio, and the shape is somewhat differ-
ent.
The flowers are axillary, from 1 to 3 in the axils, sup-
ported on short curved pedicles, and numerous along the ex-
tremities of the branches.
Calyx inferior, persistent, coriaceous, of a brown colour,
divided into six sepals, which are arranged in double series.
Corolla monopetalous, hypogenous, divided like the calyx
into six acuminate segments.
288 Mr Thomas Oxley on Gutta Percha.
Stamens inserted into throat of the corolla, in a single
series, variable in number, but, to the best of my observa-
tion, the normal number is twelve, most generally all fertile ;
anthers supported on slender bent filaments, opening by two
lateral pores.
Ovary superior, terminated by a long simple style, six-
celled, each cell containing one seed.
Leaves about four inches in length, perfect, entire, of a
coriaceous consistence, alternate, obovate, lanceolate ; upper
surface of a pale green; under surface covered with close,
short, reddish-brown hairs ; midrib projects a little, forming
a small process or beak.
Every exertion of myself and several others have failed in
procuring a specimen of the fruit of the Gutta. Iregret being
compelled to omit the description of it in the present in-
stance; but hope to rectify this omission in a future number
of the Journal. It is quite extraordinary how difficult it is
to obtain specimens of either the flower or the fruit of this
tree, and this is probably the reason of its not having been
earlier recognised and described by some of the many bota-
nists who have visited these parts.
Only a short time ago the Tuban Tree was tolerably abun-
dant on the island of Singapore; but already all the large
timber has beet felled, and few, if any, other than small
plants are now to be found. The range of its growth, how-
ever, appears to be considerable ; it being found all up the
Malayan Peninsula, as far as Pinang, where I have ascer-
tained it to be abundant; although, as yet, the inhabitants
do not seem to be aware of the fact; several of the mercan-
tile houses there having sent down orders to Singapore for
supplies of the article, when they have the means of supply
close at hand. The tree is also found in Borneo, and I have
little doubt is to be found in most of the islands adjacent.
The localities it particularly likes are the alluvial tracts
along the foot of hills, where it flourishes luxuriantly, form-
ing, in many spots, the principal portion of the jungle. But
notwithstanding the indigenous character of the tree, its ap-
parent abundance and wide-spread diffusion, the Gutta will
soon become a very scarce article, if some more provident
Mr Thomas Oxley on Gutta Percha. 289
means be not adopted in its collection than at present in use
by the Malays and Chinese.
The mode in which the natives obtain the gutta is by cut-
ting down the trees of full growth, and ringing the bark at
distances of about 12 to 18 inches apart, and placing a cocoa-
nut shell, spathe of a palm, or such like receptacle, under the
fallen trunk to receive the milky sap that immediately exudes
upon every fresh incision. This sap is collected in bamboos,
taken to their houses and boiled, in order to drive off the
watery particles and inspissate it to the consistence it finally
assumes. Although the process of boiling appears necessary
when the gutta is collected in large quantity, if a tree be
freshly wounded, a small quantity allowed to exude, and it
be collected and moulded in the hand, it will consolidate per-
fectly in a few minutes, and have all the appearance of the
prepared article.
When it is quite pure the colour is of a greyish-white ; but
as brought to market it is more ordinarily found of a reddish
hue, arising from chips of bark that fall into the sap in the
act of making the incisions, and which yield their colour to
it. Besides these accidental chips, there is a great deal of
intentional adulteration by sawdust and other materials.
Some specimens I have lately seen brought to market could
not have contained much less than one quarter of a pound of
impurities ; and even the purest specimens f could obtain for
surgical purposes, one pound of the substance yielded, on
being cleansed, one ounce of impurities. Fortunately, it is
neither difficult to detect or clean the gutta of foreign matter,
it being only necessary to boil it in water until well softened,
roll out the substance into thin sheets, and then pick out all
impurities, which is easily done, as the gutta does not adhere
to any thing, and all foreign matter is merely entangled in its
fibres, not incorporated in its substance. The quantity of gutta
obtained from each tree varies from five to twenty catties, so
that, taking the average at ten catties, which is a tolerably
liberal one, it will require the destruction of ten trees to pro-
duce one picul. Now, the quantity exported from Singapore
to Great Britain and the Continent, from 1st January 1845 to
VOL. LIV. NO. XLXXXVIIT.—APRI 1848. ™
290 Mr Thomas Oxley on Gutta Percha.
the presentdate, amounts to 6918 piculs, to obtain which 69,180
trees must have been sacrificed. How much better would it
_therefore be to adopt the method of tapping the tree prac-
tised by the Burmese in obtaining the caoutchoue from the
Ficus elastica (viz., to make oblique incisions in the bark,
placing bamboos to receive the sap which runs out freely),
than to kill the goose in the manner they are at present doing.
True, they would not at first get so much from a single tree,
but the ultimate gain would be incalculable, particularly as
the tree seems to be one of slow growth, by no means so
rapid as thelicus elastica. I should not be surprised, if the
demand increases, and the present method of extermination
be persisted in, to find a sudden cessation of the supply.
Properties of the Gutta.
This substance when fresh and pure is, as already men-
tioned, of a dirty white colour, and of a greasy feel, with a
peculiar leathery smell. It is not affected by boiling alcohol,
but dissolves readily in boiling spirits of turpentine, also in
naphtha and coal-tar. A good cement for luting bottles and
other purposes, is formed by boiling together equal parts of
gutta, coal-tar, and resin. I am indebted for this hint to Mr
Little, surgeon, and the above were his proportions. I have,
however, found it necessary to put two parts of the gutta,
that is one-half instead of one-third, to enable the cement to
stand the heat of this climate. When required for use, it
ean always be made plastic by putting the pot containing it
over the fire for a few minutes. The gutta itself is highly
inflammable, a strip cut off takes light, and burns with a
bright flame, emitting sparks, aud dropping a black residuum
in the manner of sealing-wax, which in its combustion it very
much resembles. But the great peculiarity of this substance,
and that which makes it so eminently useful for many pur-
poses, is the effect of boiling water upon it. When immersed
for a few minutes in water above 150° Fahrenheit, it becomes
soft and plastic, so as to be capable of being moulded to any
required shape or form, which it retains upon cooling. If a
strip of it be cut off, and plunged into boiling water, it con-
tracts in size both in length and breadth. This is a very
Mr Thomas Oxley on Gutta Percha. 291
anomalous and remarkable phenomenon, apparently opposed
to all the laws of heat.
It is this plasticity when plunged into boiling water that
has allowed of its being applied to so many useful purposes,
and which first induced some Malays to fabricate it into
whips, which were brought into town, and led to its further
notice. The natives have subsequently extended their manu-
factures to buckets, basins, and jugs; shoes, traces, vessels
for cooling wine, and several other domestic uses; but the
number of patents lately taken out for the manufacture of
the article in England, proves how much attention it has al-
ready attracted, and how extensively useful it is likely to be-
come. Of all the purposes, however, to which it may be
adapted, none is so valuable as its applicability to the prac-
tice of surgery. Here it becomes one of the most useful
auxiliaries to that branch of the healing art, which of all is
the least conjectural. Its easy plasticity and power of re-
taining any shape given to it when cool, at once pointed it
out as suitable for the manufacture of bougies, and accord-
ingly, my predecessor, Dr W. Montgomerie, availed himself
of this, made several of the above instruments, and recom-
mended the use of it to the Bengal Medical Board. But, like
many other good hints, for want of sufficient inquiry, I fear
it was disregarded. The practice, however, has been con-
tinued by me, and I find many advantages in the use of this
substance. It also answers very well for the tubes of syring«
which are always getting out of order in this country, when
made of caoutchouc. But my late experiments have given it
a much higher value, and proved it the best and easiest ap-
plication ever yet discovered in the management of fractures,
combining ease and comfort to the patient, and very much
lessening the trouble of the surgeon. When I think of the
farago of bandages and splints got rid of, the lightness and
simplicity of the application, the gutta would be no trifling
boon to mankind were it to be used solely for this and no
other purpose. The injuries coming under my observation,
wherein I have tested its utility have, as yet, only been two
compound fractures of tie leg, and one of the jaw. But so
admirably has it not only answered, but exeeeded my expec-
292 Mr Thomas Oxley on Gutta Percha.
tations, that I should think myself culpable in not giving the
facts early publicity. Its utility in fracture of the lower jaw
must at once strike any surgeon. So well does it mould it-
self to every sinuosity that it is more like giving the patient
a new bone than a mere support. A man lately brought into
hospital, who had his lower jaw broken by the kick of a
horse, and which was so severe as to cause hemorrhage from
the ears, smashing the bone into several fragments, was able
to eat and speak three days after the accident, and felt so
well with his gutta splint, that he insisted leaving the hospital
within ten days. My mode of applying this substance to
fractures of the leg is as follows :—
The gutta having been previously rolled out into sheets of
convenient size, and about one-fourth of an inch in thickness,
is thus kept ready for use. When required, a piece of the ne-
cessary length and breadth is plunged into a tub of boiling
water. The limb of the patient is then gently raised by as-
sistants, making extension in the usual manner. The sur-
geon, having ascertained that the broken bone is in its place,
takes the sheet of gutta out of the hot water, and allows it
to cool for a couple of minutes. It is still soft and pliable as
wash leather. Place it whilst in this state under the limb,
and gently lower the latter down on it. The gutta is then
to be brought round and moulded carefully to the whole of
the back and sides of the leg, bringing the edges close toge-
ther, but not uniting them. If there be any superfluous sub-
stance, it can be cut off with a scissor, leaving an open slit
down the front of the leg. You have now the leg in a com-
fortable, soft, and smooth case, which, in ten minutes, will
be stiff enough to retain any shape the surgeon may have
given it, and which will also retain the bone in siéu. Place
the leg so done up on a double inclined plane, and secure it
thereto by passing three of the common loop bandages around
the whole ; that is, one at the top, one in the middle, and one
at the lower end. Let the foot be supported by a foot-board,
and a ease of gutta put over the dorsum of the foot, to bear
off the pressure of the small bandage generally used to se-
cure it to the board. Having done this, the surgeon need
not cause his patient another twinge of pain until he thks
Mr Thomas Oxley on Gutta Percha. 293
he can use the leg, or he deems the bone sufficiently united
to bear the weight of his patient. If it be a compound frac-
ture, it will be only necessary to untie the loop bandages,
separate the edges of the gutta splint to the required dis-
tance, wash and cleanse the limb without shifting any thing
except the dressings, and having done so, shut it up again.
The most perfect cleanliness can be maintained, as the gutta
is not affected by any amount of ablution ; neither is it soiled
or rendered offensive by any discharge, all which washes off
as easily from the gutta case as from oil-cloth. I have had
a patient where the tibia protruded through the integu-
ments fully two inches, walking about in six weeks from the
injury, with a leg as straight and well formed as ever it had
been. It is quite obvious, therefore, that if it answers so
well to compound, it will answer equally, if not better, for
simple fractures; and that any broken bone capable of re-
ceiving mechanical support can be supported by the gutta
better than by any other contrivance. For it combines light-
ness and smoothness, durability, and a capability of adjust-
ment, not possessed by any other known substance. All
new expcriments have to run the gauntlet of opposition, and
I do not suppose that these recommendations will prove an
exception to the rule. But all I ask of any surgeon is to try
the experiment ere he argues on its propriety, and I feel fully
convinced that all other splints and bandages will be con-
signed to the tomb of the Capulets. There are some other
uses for which I have tried this substance, viz., as capsules for
transmission of the vaccine virus, which ought to keep well
when thus protected, for it is most perfectly and hermetically
sealed ; but I have not had sufficient experience in this mode
of using it to pronounce decidedly on its merits. I am at
present trying the effects of it on ulcers, by inclosing the ul-
cerated limb in a case of gutta so as to exclude all atmos-
pherie air, and, so far, the experiment promises success.
Since writing the foregoing observations, I have had an
official intimation from Penang of the vaccine virus trans-
mitted in the gutta capsules having been received in good
order, and of its having succeeded most satisfactorily. I have
also opened a capsule containing a vaccine crust that had
been kept here for one month, and it also seems to have lost
294 Mr Thomas Oxley on Gutta Percha.
none of its efficacy, as the case inoculated has taken. This
will appear the more striking when it is recollected that, to
preserve the vaccine virus hitherto in Singapore, even for
a few days, has been almost impossible ; that this settlement,
notwithstanding every exertion on the part of both private
and public practitioners, has been without the benefit of this
important prophylactic for an interval sometimes of two
years; and that at all times, the obtaining and transmitting
this desirable remedy has been a cause of trouble and difficulty
to all the medical officers I have ever met with in the Straits.
I observe in the Mechanics’ Magazine for March 1847, a
notice of several patents taken out for the working of this
article, by Mr Charles Hancock, in which an elaborate pro-
cess is described for cleaning the gutta, as also mention of its
having a disagreeable acid smell. The gutta, when pure, is
certainly slightly acid, that is, it will cause a very slight effer-
vescence when put into a solution of soda, but is unaffected by
liquor potassa. The smell, although peculiar, is neither
strong nor unpleasant, so that the article experimented upon
must have been exceedingly impure, and, possibly, derived
a larger portion of its acidity from the admixture and fer-
mentation of other vegetable substances. Again, it appears
to me that, if the gutta be pure, the very elaborate process
described as being necessary for cleaning it, is superfluous.
The gutta can be obtained here in a perfectly pure state by
simply boiling it in hot water until well softened, and then roll-
ing it out into thin sheets, when, as I have before said, all
foreign matter can be easily removed. I would recommend
that the manufacturers at home should offer a higher price for
the article if previously strained through cloth at the time of
being collected, when they will receive the gutta in a state
that will save them a vast deal more in trouble and expense
than the trifling addition necessary to the original prime cost.
—(From a very promising Periodical printed at Singapore,
which we trust will be very generally encouraged, The Journal
of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia, No.1, July 1847,
p- 22.)*
* For further particulars regarding the Gutta percha, vide Dr Maclagan’s
Account in vol. xxxix., p. 238, of this Journal.
On the Use of Gutta Percha in Electrical Insulation. By
MIcHAEL Fanrpay, F.R.S., Foreign Associate of the Aca-
demy of Sciences, &c.
Mr Farady, in an interesting letter to Mr Phillips, pub-
lished in No. 214 of the Philosophical Magazine, March
1848, communicates the following curious particulars in re-
gard to Gutta Percha, which are quite new, and of import-
ance. ‘I have lately found,” says Mr Farady, “ gutta
percha very useful in electrical experiments; and, therefore,
that others may take advantage of its properties, if they have
oceasion, or are so inclined, give you this notice for insertion
in the Philosophical Magazine. Its use depends upon the
high insulating power which it possesses under ordinary con-
ditions, and the manner in which it keeps this power in states
of the atmosphere which make the surface of glass a good
conductor. All gutta percha is not, however, equally good
as it comes from the manufacturer’s hands; but it does not
seem difficult to bring into the best state. I will describe
the qualities of a proper specimen, and refer to the differ-
ences afterwards. A good piece of gutta percha will insu-
late as well as an equal piece of shell-lac, whether it be in
the form of sheet, a rod, or filament; but being tough and
flexible when cold, as well as soft when hot, it will serve bet-
ter than shell-lac, in many cases, where the brittleness of
the latter is an inconvenience. Thus, it makes very good
handles for carriers of electricity in experiments on induc-
tion, not being liable to fracture ; in the form of thin band
or string, it makes an excellent insulating suspender ; a piece
of it in sheet makes a most convenient insulating basis for
anything placed on it. It forms excellent insulating plugs
for the stems of gold-leaf electrometers, when they pass
through sheltering tubes, and larger plugs supply good insu-
lating feet for extemporary electrical arrangements; cylin-
ders of it, half an inch or more in diameter, have great stiff-
ness, and form excellent insulating pillars. In these, and in
many other ways, its power as an insulator may be useful.
“* Because of its good insulation, it is also an excellent sub-
296 Michael Farady, Esq., on the
stance for the excitement of negative electricity. It is hardly
possible to take one of the soles sold by the shoemakers out
of paper, or into the hand, without exciting it to such a de-
gree as to open the leaves of an electrometer one or more
inches; or, if it be unelectrified, the slightest passage over
the hand or face, the clothes, or almost any other substance,
gives it an electric state. Some of the gutta percha is sold
in very thin sheets, resembling, in general appearance, oiled
silk; and if a strip of this be drawn through the fingers, it
is so electric as to adhere to the hand, or attract pieces of
paper. The appearance is such as to suggest the making a
thicker sheet of the substance into a plate electrical machine
for the production of negative electricity.
* Then as to inductive action through the substance, a sheet
of it is Soon converted into an excellent electrophorus; or it
may be coated, and used in place of a Leyden jar, or in any
of the many other forms of apparatus dependent on inductive
action.
“T have said, that all gutta percha is not in this electrical
condition. With respect to that which is not so (and which
has constituted above one-half of that which, being obtained
at the shops, has passed through my hands), it has either
discharged an electrometer as a piece of paper or wood would
do, or it has made it collapse greatly by touching; yet has,
on its removal, been followed by a full opening of the leaves
again. The latter effect I have been able to trace and refer
to a conducting portion within the mass, covered by a thin ex-
ternal non-conducting coat. When a piece which insulates
well is cut, the surface exposed has a resinous lustre and a
compact character that is very distinctive ; whilst that which
conducts has not the same degree of lustre, appears less
translucent, and has more the aspect of a turbid solution so-
lidified. I believe both moist steam-heat and water-baths
are used in its preparation for commerce ; and the difference
of specimens depends probably upon the manner in which
these are applied, and followed by the after-process of roll-
ing between hot cylinders. However, if a portion of that
which conducts be warmed in a current of hot air, as over
the glass of a low gas-flame, and be stretched, doubled up,
Use of Gutta Percha in Electrical Insulation. 297
and kneaded for some time between the fingers, as if with
the intention of dissipating the moisture within it, it becomes
as good an insulator as the best.
“ T have soaked a good piece in water for an hour nd on
taking it out, wiping it, and exposing it to the air fora minute
or two, found it insulate as well as ever. Another piece was
soaked for four days, and then wiped and dried; at first it
was found lowered in insulating power; but, after twelve
hours’ exposure to air, under common circumstances, it was
as good as ever. I have not found that a week’s exposure
in a warm air cupboard, of a piece that did not insulate,
made it much better: a film on the outside became non-con-
ducting ; but if two fresh surfaces were exposed by cutting,
and these were brought into contact with the electrometer
and the finger, the inside portion was still found to conduct.
“If the gutta percha, in either the good or the bad condi-
tion (as to electrical service), be submitted to a gradually in-
creasing temperature, at about 350° or 380°, it gives off a
considerable proportion of water; being then cooled, the
substance which remains has the general properties of gutta
percha, and insulates well. The original gum is probably
complicated, being a mixture of several things ; and whether
the water has existed in the substance as a hydrate, or is tle
result of a deeper change of one part or another of the gum,
I am not prepared to say. All I desire, in this note, is to
make known its use in the arrangement of extemporary or
permanent electrical apparatus for the advantage of work-
ing philosophers, both juvenile and adult.”
Communications respecting Scandinavia. In a letter from
HERR KARL BRUNER Jun., to Professor STUDER.
On the Ist of December 1845, says Prof. Studer, Herr
Bruner wrote me from Berlin the following amongst other
matters :—
Having arrived from my northern tour, it is not only
my duty, but I have also great pleasure, in giving you an
answer to the letter which I had received shortly before my
departure.
298 Communications respecting Rocks of Scandinavia.
On the Metamorphoses of Rocks.
You call Norway the classic land for metamorphoses of
rocks. It is so, inasmuch as this theory in its present form
was first put forth there: but any other mountainous region
offers just as good opportunity for evolving these views. In
the Alps, for instance, does not every step lead to changes
which the rocks have undergone? ‘The same stamp,” says
our great master, “is impressed upon nature from the Alps
as far as the North Pole. Her laws are extended universally
over the surface of the earth.”
The advantage which Norway affords for the study of the
relations of rocks, consists in the severity of its climate per-
mitting the growth of no luxuriant vegetation, which is so
inimical to geognosy. To this is added the circumstance,
that no high hills have to be climbed in order to trace the
geognostical relations, and in fine, that the capital of the
country, Christiania, lies exactly in the middle of that rich
region.
Professor Keilhau, of Christiania, treats of the geology of
his country according to the metamorphic theory.* It would
almost appear to me as if he went too far in his complete re-
jection of chemistry and physics. For by this he plainly
damages his own cause, first, by rejecting the aid of all
those who steadily adhere to the positive (principle) in
science ; and also, by depriving himself of many fine explana-
tions ; for only by the aid of chemistry it appears shewn
that alum-slate, which plays such a considerable part in
the geology of Norway, furnishes the material of gneiss,
since it has the same chemical composition ; and in Natural
Philosophy alone can we hope to find an explanation for the
new arrangement of molecules in the crystalline limestone of
Gjellenbak, which at the same time contains petrifactions.
It is indeed a peculiar phenomenon, that everywhere in
which the unaltered transition rocks come in contact with
the gneiss, the former consists of alum-slate, which, in
* Professor Keilhau’s celebrated Memoirs on Metamorphic Rocks were first
published in this country in the 28d and 25th volumes of the Edinburgh New
Philosophical Journal, and under the immediate superintendence of the cele-
brated Anthor.
Communications respecting Rocks of Scandinavia. 299
the immediate neighbourhood of crystalline mountains seems
to have lost all stratification; but which, on the other hand,
frequently presents a cleavage parallel with the surface of the
contiguous gneiss. It is this very same phenomenon which
one so often meets with in our Alps, and which may increase
the difficulty of the answer to the question, whether the
slate character of the crystalline rock corresponds to a for-
mer state of stratification? IT have avery lively recollection
of that excursion across the glacier of the Grindelwald, which
I had the pleasure of making in your company. We saw
that the limestone on the front of the Mettenberg exhibited
a distinct and almost horizontal stratification. We then ob-
served how gradually towards the posterior part, along the
glacier, the stratification disappeared; and in place of it on
the south side of the mountain, where the glacier of the
Grindelwald joins the Mer de Glace, and the gneiss appears,
a nearly perpendicular and very distinct separation in the
limestone, running parallel with the surface of the gneiss,
becomes apparent. This proves, however, that at the change
of these formations, the effect of the rock-metamorphoses had
extended, although in a slight degree, to the surrounding
parts; and, on the other hand, that the separation of strata
in limestone is a phenomenon which is first and most easily
lost by external agency.
In the alum-slate of the neighbourhood of Christiania there
is to be found beds of greenstone and eurite, which appear
as veins wherever the stratification of the alum-slate is in-
tersected by tabular masses of greenstone. I lately men-
tioned to you in a former letter, that among the transition
rocks in the Hartz mountains also, greenstone appears to
occur more frequently in beds than inthe shape of veins. If
jn a mountainous region, we suppose alternate layers of dif-
ferent characters, of which the one kind are more suscepti-
ble of metamorphoses than the other, then we shall see the
former assume the crystalline structure, while the latter re-
tain their original character: thus we shall have the appear-
ance of beds of erystalline formation in the midst of un-
changed rock. But such changes of a rock in the midst of
others that remain unchanged, is, of course, to be accounted
for by no external agency, occasioned by volcanic rocks, for
300 Communications respecting Rocks of Scandinavia.
this would have produced like metamorphoses in all the
rocks, instead of leaving the fossiliferous slates, in which
those metamorphic rocks lie, in their original condition.
Thus, Nature here gives us a hint that the cause of these
metamorphoses could not have been produced by external
agency. But this does not exclude the existence of the vein-
genous appearance of crystalline rocks, which also occur in
Norway. Certainly a state of softness has frequently arisen
during those changes, especially in all those which have pro-
duced the granular crystalline rocks. Were there now such
amass in the act of metamorphoses, under great pressure,
we should see the mass penetrating through fissures into the
superincumbent and subjacent rock, and thus we should have
veins running upwards as well as downwards. In Norway we
meet with some of the latter kind, as for instance the rhombic
porphyry, which, issuing from the mass of porphyry lying above
the sandstone, ramify into the subjacent transition rock.
Greenstone and eurite* are consequently very abundant in
the transition rock district of Christiania. A very peculiar
appearance occurs about half a Norway mile north of the
town. Here, in a dark-green mass of rock, appear angular
fragments of granite, and various kinds of gneiss and horn-
blende, intermingled without the slightest order. I have
brought specimens, in which we see all these varieties of rock
together. I confess that I doubted the possibility of an ex-
planation. The Vulcanists, however, are at once ready with
one. They say, the greenstone has, during its upward pres-
sure, torn off fragments from the mountain whilst piercing
through it; and they make these different kinds of rock meet
together in the unexplored lower regions, and there produce
the formation. When I examined the rock more closely, it
appeared to me as if the heterogeneous enclosures, instead of
being parts of a breccia, were rather the remains of a con-
glomerate, which had become partly affected by the green-
stone, so that only isolated hard grains which resisted the
influence were left behind, and are now, of course, deprived
of their former rounded form. I anticipate much pleasure
* Wurite is a very fine, granular, nearly compact, granitic mixture, with pre-
dominating felspar. With imbedded small crystals of felspar it forms eurite-
porphry.
Communications respecting Rocks of Scandinavia. 301
in exhibiting these fragments to you on my return, and in
being able to hear your opinion regarding them. The possi-
bility of this mode of their origin was increased in my mind
to probability, when subsequently, in the crystalline slate-
hills of Dovre-Fjeld and in the Kjolen, I found a similar
conglomerate where the inclosures are less affected by the
surrounding mass, so that one can more distinctly discern
their rounded form. The boulders here also are gneiss of
various appearance, and the rocky bed in which they lie is a
talcose mica-slate. It is aspecies of Valorsine conglomerate.
Nearer Sneehitten these slates assume the character of horn-
blende; and in the same ratio as they do so the conglome-
rates also appear. Indeed, we still see very distinctly, by
their angular remains, that they once existed here also ; but
the appearance of the hornblende gave the signal for their
destruction, and thus produced a rock which may be con-
sidered as analogous to the diorite of Christiania. If, for
instance, a metamorphosis should seize our Nagelfluh, it would
first assume the character of the conglomerate of Dovre-
Fjeld, viz., rounded boulder stones in a crystalline ground of
rock. If the metamorphosis should proceed further, then the
limestone and small pebbles, for example, would disappear,
and at last there would remain behind only granite and gab-
bro-boulders, which offer the greatest resistance ; yet these
also would partly dissolve, and thus lose their rounded form.
In short, we would have the rock of Christiania.
The granular limestone of Gjellebik presents the pheno-
menon of Monzon; but here, in Norway, beside tremolite,
idocrase, garnet, and blende, there are very distinct traces of
petrifactions, the very same as occur in the transition rocks of
this country. In‘like manner, the strata of marl among lime-
stone still remain pure ; and this proves, that the metamor-
phic process has been easy and gradual, and that it was not
a destructive granite, which, by its heat, melted the mountain
to a fluid mass, out of which a new rock, the granular lime-
stone, was crystallised. The gradual change of form of a
body which still continues solid, is a problem at which many
are confounded, because they cannot imitate the great expe-
riment of nature. Ona grand scale, it does not hold; but
in a smaller way, the barley-sugar, which, in course of time,
302 Communications respecting Rocks of Scandinavia.
becomes crystalline and dull, presents an example of a change
of structure without any alteration of its solidity ; and copper
coins, buried in the earth, become oxidised without losing
their impressions.
From the Tyri-Fjord, out of which the Drammen-Ely or —
river discharges itself into the sea, we observe, to the south-
east, a long wallof rock, which borders the beautiful district
of Ringrige. In the bottom of the valley is transition
rock, with its petrifactions or fossils ; and above it there lies,
almost horizontally, the red non-fossiliferous sandstone, which
we consider as analogous to the old red. We now advance
on the Krokskleven by that steep wall, and we are not a little
surprised to see, lying in the middle of the declivity of the
sandstone, the most beautiful porphyry, with large crystals
of feldspath: it is Buch’s rhombic-porphyry. That this por-
phyry is spread over the sandstone cannot be doubted, for it
is quite horizontal, and the bounding surface of these two
different rocks does not lie concealed under rubbish, but is
visible along the rocky wall, and so plain, that no profile
could delineate it better. One can place his hand upon it,
and the evidence of the senses must be believed. The marls
of the sandstone get white spots next the boundary, and fre-
quently become amygdaloidal. I here called to remembrance
the road from Castelruth up to the Seisseralp ; for if one
looks, for instance, in Buch’s profile of that part of Tyrol, at
the front side alone, and leaves out the portion which repre-
sents the interior of the Seisseralp (which also has never
been observed),—as you state in your lectures,—then we
have a phenomenon analogous to the Krokskleven, viz., Me-
laphyr, lying above marl and limestone. As everything in
Norway bears a grand character, so also here this overlying
of the porphyry upon the sandstone is not confined to a single
locality, but, for the distance of many miles, we see in the
mountains the porphyry covering the sandstone. But nobody
has yet observed anything like veins passing out of the por-
phyry into the sandstone below; and as the porphyry is, in
this case, entirely cut off from the lower regions, so, in like
manner, is any explanation of this phenomenon, by the Vul-
canic theory, cut off.
The Slosberg in Hadeland, as Keilhau has already described
Communications respecting Rocks of Scandinavia. 303
it, shews a distinct transition of clay-slate into syenite. Ihave
collected a complete series of fossiliferous slates, in which,
first, iron-pyrites lie separate on the surface, then individual
crystals of hornblende, then mica, which passes into mica-
slate, and even into massive syenite. It will be interesting
to compare the phenomenon, which here lies so plain before
our eyes, with our similar Alpine phenomena.
The true high lands of Scandinavia, which are by no means
those forming the boundary between Norway and Sweden,
but which lie in the western part of Norway, are not all rich
in geognostic relations, for they consist entirely of gneiss and
mica-slate, which, apart from interesting individual forma-
tions, which they comprise, bear the same character as every-
where else. But this extensive distribution of that rock is
in itself a subject of the greatest interest; in an extent of
many hundred square miles, there is nowhere to be found a
single formation which, according to the modern terminology,
one might venture to call granite; and, consequently, in the
language of the Vulcanists, there is no cause for producing
metamorphoses of rock ; yet, nevertheless, every part appears
crystalline, even the highest peaks, the Skagastlstinderne in
Fortun-Fjeld, form no exception.
The great beds of chrome iron-ore in Trondhjem’s stift lie
in serpentine, and the latter forms beds in mica-slate. The
appearance of serpentine in beds, which you long ago shewed
in regard to the Alps, unquestionably occurs here in Nor-
way. Veins of a white fossil carbonate, which, according to
Stromeyer’s analysis, is bitter-spar, ramify through the
chrome iron-ore, which seems to occur in vast nests. This
may appear strange, as, in general, carbonate of magnesia
does not oceur in the neighbourhood of serpentine.
Sweden is still much poorer than the high lands of Norway.
Save some spots of fossiliferous transition rock, and the
more recent formations in Skonen, granite, or rather, accord-
ing to G. Rose’s description, gneiss, is almost the only forma-
tion which occurs. Wherever, in this rock, there appear
veins of a coarse granular granite with oligoklase,* we find or-
thite, gadolinite, and yttro-tantalite : indeed, these, latter mi-
nerals are more universally spread than is generally believed.
* A species of felspar in which the cleavage is very imperfect.
304 Communications respecting Rocks of Scandinavia.
On the Erratic Phenomena.
As to phenomena arising from the erratic system, it may
be said, that these in Scandinavia are limited to strize, pro-
duced by friction and (riesentépfe) giant-pots. The erratic
blocks are of less importance. By this, however, I do not
mean to say, that one may not be as much in error in ex-
plaining this phenomenon as in others. I have seen polished
and striated rocks on the sea-shore, so that the line of stria-
tion now passes under the level of the sea,—a proof that the
tides are by no means inimical to the phenomena; but whe-
ther they may, therefore, be considered as causes of it, is by
no means decided by this circumstance, for striated rocks are
also found at a great distance from the ocean. In Tellemar-
ken, striated or grooved lines, produced by friction, are to be
seen 2000 feet above the level of the sea; on Gousta-Fjeld,
they are observed even at 4000 feet. But the sea has cer-
tainly never reached so great a height in modern times. The
rocks with the firmly-adhering barnacles (Balanus), near
Christiania, which furnish the most striking proof of their
having been once covered by the sea, lie only 400 feet above
its level; and a little above this elevation, all traces of a ma-
rine diluvium seem to disappear. Though the fact is also esta-
blished, that the level of the sea in Norway formerly stood
higher, still that fact has no bearing on the striated character
of the rocks in the high lands, which, doubtless, may be ex-
plained in the same way as the similar phenomenon in Swit-
zerland. The matter stands otherwise in Sweden. The
whole of this country lies very low, and the characteristic
Scheren on the west coast extend with the same character,
as naked and destitute of all vegetation, as they stand out in
the midst of the sea, many miles distant in the interior of
West Gothland, so that one is often inclined to believe, that
the action of the waves of the Cattegat and Skagerrak upon
these rocks was only a matter of yesterday. The same is
the case on the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia. The time
may easily be calculated, when the hills of Stockholm were
hidden under the water, and the rocks are rising out of the
sea, as it were before our eyes; but they issue forth rounded
Communications respecting Rocks of Scandinavia. 305
and striated from Neptune’s workshop. The traveller in the
south of Sweden has no need of compass, for every exposed
rock shews him, by the direction of the strix, the direction
from north to south. In the same direction run those boul-
der-dikes, which characterise this phenomenon of Sweden.
There is no Asar in Norway, at least not in the middle and
northern divisions. I do not know whether any occur on the
south coast of Christiansandstift, but I would be inclined to
doubt it. In Sweden, however, they often extend continu-
ously over many miles, and their direction may be found in
every travelling map ; for, by reason of their great regularity,
the highways in Smiland and Sédermanland are carried along
these causeways. In the neighbourhood of Stockholm, of
which Nor-Malm lies partly upon an Asar, I had occasion to
examine one newly cut into. I then saw that it consists of
nothing else than rounded boulder-stones, amongst which a
certain stratification could not be mistaken. Nothing in it
reminds one of moraines. As regards the striated character
of the rocks, neither in this respect did they appear to me
quite analogous to our Swiss phenomenon: the rocks are
more rounded, and frequently deep furrows of a foot in
breadth are washed out in them. Those very smooth mir-
ror-like surfaces, such as the “ shelle platte” in Handeckfalle,
do not occur in Sweden, On the contrary, we frequently meet
with the riesentipfe or giant’s pots, which do allow us to in-
fer these have been produced by the washing of water.
Thus, if we are referred for the explanation to currents of
water which moved sand and larger stones along the bottom,
then the view of Mr Sefstrom, that this current was produced
by the rising of the land, appears not quite evident ; for this
rising up of the coast from the sea appears far too gradual
to allow even a small stone being moved from its place. We
must have recourse to the theory of sudden and frequently
interrupted risings; and this is a new hypothesis, in sup-
port of which there is no proof. Mr Professor Forch-
hammer sees in the phenomenon the effect of aqueous cur-
rents, such as still occur in all seas; and this mode of
explanation strikes me as much more probable: it possesses
the advantage of requiring no new hypothesis, since it ex-
VOL. XLIV. NO, UXXXVIII.—APRIL 1848. U
306 Communications respecting Rocks of Scandinavia.
plains every thing by existing facts and actions still going
on. An accurate study of the phenomenon, and the col-
lection of many individual facts, will assist in throwing a
clear light on this subject. In Copenhagen there is pre-
served a large plate of limestone from Zealand, on which we
distinctly perceive three different directions in the striated
character, corresponding to the changes in the direction of
the current of the sea, which have taken place in consequence
of the gradual rising of the land. By the Sefstromean theory,
which ascribes the phenomenon entirely to a sudden passing
cause, a similar change in the direction of the strie is left
unexplained ; for when the land suddenly rose up, and the
water ran off, the latter would do so by the shortest way; and
to this one direction only of the striz corresponds. But the
Forchhammerean current in the bottom of the sea must al-
ways vary its direction according to the configuration of the
solid land, which would be changed by suddenly rising up :
thus it is not surprising to observe more than one direction
of the striz on the same spot. This specimen in Copenhagen
is therefore of great importance for the examination of the
theories of the northern phenomenon, and certainly possesses
attractions for us also, in enabling us to compare with it the
similar phenomenon of our own country. I have obtained a
east of it in plaster of Paris, which Professor Forchhammer
has already had the kindness to forward to me here.
My specimens, which partly I sent here from Norway, and
partly brought with me, have all reached this in safety, and
are already arranged and numbered. They are all, of course,
intended for our museum. What I obtained by barter con-
sists simply of a small, but very pretty and exactly deter-
mined, specimen of fossiliferous transition rocks from the
island of Gothland, and from West Gothland : this I got from
Professor Loven in Stockholm, to whom I have promised
Swiss fossils in return ; also specimens of fossils in Danish
chalk, got from Professor Forchhammer in exchange for
Swiss chalk fossils. In regard to simple minerals, I have been
less fortunate. We cannot purchase any; for in the whole
of Scandinavia there is not a single dealer in minerals, and
even in Christiania and Stockholm people must procure the
On the use of the Marine Hydrometer. 307
specimens of their own country from foreign dealers. 1 have
received very complete specimens of the rare minerals of
Sweden in a present from Captain Svanenberg and Axel
Erdmann. All these, as I have already said, I have here in
Berlin.—(Mettheilungen der Natuforschenden Gesilischaft zu
Bern. N.57 and 58, January 1846.)
On the Use of the Marine Hydrometer. By GuorcEe Bu-
CHANAN, Civil Engineer, F.R.S.E., President of the Royal
Scottish Society of Arts. Communicated by the Royal
Scottish Society of Arts.*
This is an instrument which I have found extremely useful
in inquiries connected with the prevalence of sea or river water
in different estuaries, with the view of determining the limits
of these waters in respect of the sea. This forms not only a
curious subject of investigation, but has become of great
practical application in this country in connection with the
interests of the salmon-fisheries. These we know in rivers
are restricted in the modes of fishing, while in the sea they
may be carried on freely by any means of catching, such as
stake-nets or other fixed machinery. After the introduction
of this modern improvement in the fishing, the great question
arose, how to determine the limit between the river and the
sea, and by it to fix the point where the restrictions were to
be taken off, and the free use of fixed machinery was to be-
gin. On this question much diversity of opinion has pre-
vailed ; and among other tests was that of the prevalence of
fresh or salt water.
Having been engaged in various inquiries of this nature,
I found that for every purpose it was sufficient to test the
qualities of the waters by their specific gravities, this being
always an exact measure of the prevalence of sea or of fresh
water in any mixture.
The specific gravities were accordingly measured by weigh-
ing each specimen in the usual way in a fine balance. But
this method being tedious, and nearly inapplicable where a
* Kead before the Royal Scottish Society of Arts, January 24, 1848."
308 On the use of the Marine Hydrometer.
great number of specimens were to be tried on the spot, and
during the progress of the surveys, it occurred to me, that
something on the principle of the hydrometer might be intro-
duced, which would facilitate the business ; and this is one of
the instruments which I found to answer. It consists merely
of a common spirit hydrometer-bulb, made so long as just to
sink under the bulb in sea-water, and adapted with a very
thin scale, so as to give greater sensibility, and measure the
different shades of saltness with accuracy. Considerable
difficulty was found in adapting this scale, as it must not
only be thin, but light, otherwise it tends to overbalance the
whole instrument. A thin slip of whalebone or ivory answers
sufficiently well. A stem of glass would be desirable, but it
is too slender, and liable to be broken. Here is an instru-
ment entirely of brass, like the brewers’ hydrometer, and will
answer very well; and I have no doubt, that in the hands of
instrument-makers, a more finished and correct instrument
could be constructed for general use ; and it would be curious
to have experiments with such an instrument in different seas.
The general specific gravity of sea-water along the shores
on the east coast of Scotland, I have found rarely to exceed
1026. Fresh water being 1000. The use of the instrument
was shewn in different waters, and a very small impregnation
of salt was visible in fresh water by the rising of the stem.
A specimen from Granton Pier at low water was found 1024,
shewing an impregnation of one part of fresh in 13 of salt,
and at high water, it was exactly the same, and also the
same at the top and bottom: but this is seldom the case at
the mouths of rivers and estuaries, the fresh water being
found generally floating on the surface, particularly in rivers
such as the North Esk in Forfarshire, which, making a rapid
and sudden descent into the sea without an intervening
estuary of any extent, no time is allowed for the mixture of
the waters. I have frequently found the waters there per-
fectly fresh on the surface, and in the water at 4 or 5 feet
deep, the hydrometer mounted nearly to the top of the scale,
shewing the entire prevalence of the sea-water at that depth.
After their descent into the open sea, the fresh waters float
about on the surface for a long time, and are driven in dif-
M. E. Millon on Aletals in the Human Blood. 309
ferent directions by the prevailing winds. At Queensferry,
a specimen from the surface was shewn and tried, and found
1023, shewing 1 part of fresh in nearly 9 of salt, and at 14
fathoms down, it was 1023}, or 1 part fresh in 10} salt. At
Alloa, again, where the waters at low water are nearly quite
fresh, yet at high water a specimen was shewn, which was
found 10103 at the surface, and at the bottom 1013, shewing
a mixture of 10 parts of fresh in 16 salt, in the one case, and
exactly half-and-half in the other.
In the Northern and Arctic Seas, it has been found by Dr
Marcet, and Mr Scoresby, and Dr Fyfe, 1026-7, and nearly
the same at all depths. Under the equator 1028. In the
Mediterranean 1028-82, shewing that this sea is considerably
Salter than that of the oceans which surround the globe.
But the saltest, at least the heaviest of all the waters on the
earth is the Dead Sea, which is impregnated not only with
salt, but also with sulphurous and bituminous ingredients.
The specific gravity, from a specimen brought over many
years ago by Mr Gordon of Clunie, was found to be 1211,
shewing an impregnation eight times greater than sea-water.*
On the Normal presence of different Metals in the Human Blood.
M. E. Millon has addressed to the Academy of Sciences,
a Memoir on the Normal Presence of many Metals in the
Human Blood, and an Analysis of the fixed Salts contained in
that Liquid.
Upon receiving the blood on issuing from a vein in about
three times its volume of water, and introducing it after this
dilution into a jar of gaseous (chlore) chlorine, it is seen to
coagulate, become of a brown colour, and soon after forms a
grey amorphous mass, in which the organisation of the
sanguineous globules has entirely disappeared. By placing
the whole in a fine cloth and squeezing it, a liquid flows out
* See Jameson’s Philosophical Journal, vol. ii., 1820,
310 M. E. Millon on Metals in the Human Blood.
which runs rapidly through the filter and remains limpid. If
we examine this reaction more closely, we will find a peculiar
separation of the elements of the blood. The organic sub-
stances are found almost wholly in the coagulated portion ;
all the saline principles, on the contrary, are collected in the
liquid. This division is made so completely, that on washing
the coagulum and then calcining it, it is destroyed, without
leaving any residuum. On the other hand, the liquid, when
evaporated to dryness and burned in a tube used for organic
analysis, affords so little carbonic acid, that at most we may
estimate the proportion of the organic matters of the blood
which the chlorine does not coagulate, at one in a hundred. It
is easy to convince ourselves that the coagulum furnished by
the organic principles does not contain the fixed salts of the
blood—does not condense them—and encloses a quantity only
proportionate to the quantity of water which impregnates it ;
so that if we weigh the water in which we received the blood,
and weigh it again after mixture with the blood, we may act
upon a known weight of filtered liquid, as on a determined
weight of blood. This liquid accommodates itself so well to
all analytic researches, both as regards quality and quantity,
that we can immediately discover the quantity of one or other
of the fixed salts of the blood. This method is in fact an ana-
lysis of the fixed salts of the blood, by the humid method,
and M. Millon thinks that it will apply advantageously to
other tissues and other liquids employed for economical
purposes.
This facility in insulating the saline part of the blood has
led M. Millon to other results. He states that he has proved
that the blood of man constantly contains silex, manganese,
lead, and copper. The proportion of silex and of the metals
is sufficient to prevent any particular modification being re-
quired in their analysis. After evaporating to dryness the
liquid set free by the action of the chlorine, the residuum is
calcined for a few instants in order to remove the small
quantity of organic matter which the chlorine has not rendered
insoluble. The insoluble part of the ashes is then treated as
a mineral substance, in which we find silex, lead, copper,
and manganese. M. Millon has in this way found, that in
On procuring Crgstallisations in the Dry Way. 311
100 parts of this insoluble residuum, left by the ashes of the
blood,
The Silex varies from 1 to 3 in 100
The Lead ” 1to5 ”
The Copper Pe 0°5 to 2°5 ,,
The Manganese _,, 10 to 24 ,,
After the determination, in this way rendered so easy, M.
Millon wished to examine whether the copper and the lead
were disseminated throughout the whole mass of the blood, or
whether, like the iron, they are assembled in the sanguineous
globules. 1killogramme of coagulated blood, carefully sepa-
rated from the serum of numerous bleedings, yielded him
0s"083 of lead and copper. 1 killogramme of serum sepa-
rated from the preceding coagulum, gave him only 02"008
of these two metals ; and M. Millon thinks that these three
milligrammes of lead and copper contained in the serum,
ought to be ascribed to the sanguineous globules dissolved or
suspended in the lymph.
Then, he states in conclusion, the copper and lead are not
in a state of diffusion through the blood ; they are fixed with
the iron in the globules, and everything leads us to believe
that they share with it organization and life.*
On procuring Crystallisations in the Dry Way, as explained
ina Memoir laid before the French Academy of Sciences,
and reported on by MM. BEUDANT, BERTHIER, and DUFRE-
noy. By M. EBELMEN.
The modern theories of geology, says M. Beudant, one of
the reporters, render it necessary to admit that a great part _
of mineral substances are formed by fusion at a temperature
more or less elevated; that is to say, that the rocks anciently
named primitive, formations of which we are now acquainted
with belonging to all ages, are the result, like all the matters
also which they contain, of a crystallisation by fusion. The
probability of this assertion has beensupported by experi-
* From L’Institut, No, 732, January 1848, p. 10.
312 M. Ebelmen on
ments of very old date, in which, by the melting of different
substances, crystalline products have been obtained com-
posed of different ingredients promiscuously intermingled ; it
has been corroborated since by the examination of scoriz, &e.
of smelting-houses, in which crystalline matters have been
found identical with some of the natural substances occur-
ring in the above mentioned rocks. Finally, it has been con-
firmed by direct experiments, in which, by fusion, certain
minerals have been formed at pleasure, and many analogous
substances. However, certain problems remained to be
solved, as, fortunately for our successors, will always conti-
nue to be the case. Here, for example, matters more or less
analogous to the minerals formed in our smelting houses
(usines), such as we have directly formed by uniting the com-
posing ingredients in suitable proportions, have all hitherto
been fusible substances ; but it very often happens in nature
that such matters are accompanied by others which resist the
most violent fires of our furnaces, and frequently also the
latter envelope the former; thus quartz, corundum, spinel,
and cymophane, &c., all infusible substances, are found along
with others which melt more or less readily. It thence fol-
lows that we can attain to no certainty as to the origin of
these matters; and if, by analogy, we admit that they have
likewise been produced by fusion, we must suppose tempera-
tures which we cannot produce but by means of blowpipes of
detonating gas, with which only trifling attempts at crystal-
lisation can be attempted. Consequently nothing positive
could be ascertained respecting these bodies.
These doubts appear to have occupied M. Ebelmen’s mind,
and led him to the idea, from which important consequences
‘may be derived. He conceived that it was not merely the
fusion of substances at a temperature more or less elevated
that might determine the combination of different elements,
and the crystallisation of composite forms, but that it must
likewise frequently happen that there will be real solutions
of these substances, even of such as are infusible, in certain
substances in fusion, just as there is a solution of different
salts in water or other liquids; and that, consequently,
crystallisations ought to be formed either by the evaporation
Procuring Crystallisations in the Dry Way. 313
of this new kind of dissolvent, or by the simple cooling of
the solution made at a high temperature. It is under the
first of these two points of view that he has undertaken a
series of experiments, the result of which he has laid before
the Academy.
M. Ebelmen immediately thought of the known dissolvents
of this kind, such as boracie acid, phosphoric acid, the alka-
line borates and phosphates, which dissolve, as is known, a
considerable number of oxides when they are in a state of
fusion, and have the property besides of volatilising slowly
at a high temperature, whence it might be supposed that the
solution would leave the dissolved substances under crystal-
line forms. The experiment completely succeeded, although
made in circumstances by no means favourable; for it was
carried on in the porcelain ovens of the royal manufactory,
where they reach the maximum temperature very slowly,
and stop it almost suddenly; so that there are only five or six
hours for the evaporation of the dissolvent, during which
crystallisation took place. It followed from this that only
very small crystals could be obtained, and that, in many
cases, none could be obtained at all. It is likewise proper to
add, that the experiment is quite novel; and we do not know,
with respect to these dissolvents, the degree of solubility of
the different substances.
In spite of these obstacles, M. Ebelmen has made a series
of experiments, the results of which are of high interest.
On the one hand, by dissolving alumina in borate of soda
or in boracic acid in fusion, he has made this substance
cerystallise, and has obtained the mineral known by the name
of corundum, with all its characters. It is true that the crys-
tals obtained are small, but perfectly formed, and possess all
the characters of infusibility, great hardness, lustre, crystal-
lisation, optical properties, and properties of composition,
that we discern in the identical natural substances.
Thus the general problem is solved—infusible substances
present no greater difficulties than the others; and besides,
we are certain that we can henceforth obtain the crystallisa-
tion of a substance in a much more perfect manner than in
al] the experiments hitherto made.
314 M. Ebelmen on
But M. Ebelmen has not limited himself to the crystallisa-
tion of infusible substances. The means he conceived hav-
ing been completely successful, he applied them to a different
class of considerations, namely, to remove any doubt that
might remain as to the composition of certain minerals, and
clearly to establish analogies which hitherto rested only on
conjecture. His first experiments having confirmed the com-
position Al? O?, MgO for spinel, he wished to ascertain if
its presumed isomorphisms could be substituted for the mag-
nesia, and those of alumina could be substituted for that sub-
stance. This the natural compositions would lead us, on
theory, to suppose, but the fact had never been clearly de-
monstrated.
For the magnesia, therefore, he successively substituted
lime, protoxide of manganese, protoxide of iron, and protox-
ide of cobalt, and he obtained, if not always bodies erystal-
lised in distinct regular octohedrons, at least bodies present-
ing positive indications of this form—the hardness, and all
other characters like those of other spinels. He mingled
many of these composites together, and the results were the
same as when employing the magnesia alone. With regard
to the substitution of baryte in the same proportional rela-
tions, it has yielded rather vague indications of crystallisa-
tion, but evidently belonging to another system, and resem-
bling the result which the author had previously obtained by
employing glucine, which produced cymophane artificially,
in all respects identical with the natural substance, the com-
position of which, previously considered very probable, was
thus completely verified.
M. Ebelmen proceeded in the same manner by replacing
the alumina by its presumed isomorphisms, namely, the oxide
of chrome Cr? O°, the peroxide of iron, &c., in the atomic
proportions of spinel, sometimes preserving the magnesia
as a base, at other times substituting other bodies for it. In
all his experiments he obtained matters completely analo-
gous to the aluminate of magnesia, and, among others, the
chromate of iron, quite analogous to spinel, thus removing
all doubts on what has been called chromated iron or sidero-
chrome. He has likewise ascertained that mixtures of these
Procuring Crystallisations in the Dry Way. 315
bodies with the aluminates of the same formula may be ob-
tained artificially, as likewise with the ferrate of iron Fe? 03,
Fe O in all proportions, precisely as they are found in na-
ture, a circumstance which has long embarrassed those mine-
ralogists who do not well understand the relation of physical
and chemical characters.
Thus isomorphisms which, according to facts of another
nature, have hitherto been only probable in regard to sub-
stances which we had not the means of causing to crystallise
at pleasure, are now found completely established by M. Ebel-
men’s experiments.
The reporter states further: The leading idea which M.
Ebelmen has conceived, appears to us a richer one than he has
represented it to us—no doubt because he wished to speak
only of what he had made the subject of experiment, which
has already yielded results of considerable importance. In
its most general form, the idea consists of this, that many
bodies in fusion probably possess the property of acting as
dissolvents on many others, fusible as well as infusible. It
does not appear absolutely necessary that these bodies should
be capable of being volatilised in order to obtain from them
a crystallisation of the dissolved substances, for with water
only we may obtain crystals in vessels hermetically sealed,
and consequently without evaporation, by the mere difference
of the temperature of saturation and crystallisation. Now,
since we find infusible bodies, such as quartz, corundum,
spinel, cymophane, &c., as well as fusible bodies such as
garnet, emerald, &c., in felspathic substances, in the granu-
lar carbonate of lime, &c., may we not suppose that these
matters, in a state of fusion, have been the dissolvents? May
we not also suppose the same thing of many others? These
are at least fine subjects for experiment, which it will be of
advantage to try; for if we may suppose, in consequence of
M. Ebelmen’s experiments, that boracic acid may be the
vehicle of some great crystallisation, by way of formation, in
some localities where we at present see it disengaged in
abundance, it must be confessed that this body, as well as its
compounds, is too rare among the products that issue from
the bosom of the earth to ascribe to it the enormous mass
316 Professor Agassiz’s Zoological Researches.
which would have been required for the purpose men-
tioned.
However this may be, Beudant says, in terminating his re-
port, we see, by the short exposition which has been given,
that M. Ebelmen’s idea appears to be avery fruitful one ; that
it has been conceived in the sound spirit of natural philosophy ;
that it has already furnished the means of verifying doubtful
compositions in a great number of minerals, as well as of -
making many substances which nature has not yet presented
to us, and thus filling up important blanks in general classi-
fications ; finally, that it has yielded positive and fundamen-
tal facts for science.
Agreeably to the conclusions of the report, the Academy
decides that M. Ebelmen’s Memoir shall be inserted in the
Memoires of the Savants etrangers.*
Siaandick phn Hata bev ane ate viel Ch ee Te
Zoological Researches. By Professor AGASSIZ.
M. Duvernoy communicated a letter from M. Agassiz,
dated Boston, 30th September 1847, and addressed to M.
Alex. De Humboldt.
The zoological part of this letter relates to the inferior
marine animals, and more particularly the Actiniz, Lucerna-
rie, and some points in the anatomy of the Asterias and
Echini.
Tt likewise contains many theoretical developments of the
pilateral, from which M. Agassiz thinks he has discovered
and demonstrated in Echinodermes, and which he supposes
he has detected in anew species of Actinia, which he dredged
from a depth of 140 feet. This species, which he proposes
to dedicate to Captain Davis, under whose guidance he
made an exploratory voyage of a month’s duration, along the
shores of Nantucket, is remarkable for the size of its tenta-
cula, which are few in number, and widely open at their ex-
tremity.
A ened tc a op eat al
* From L’Institut, No. 731, January 1848, pp. 1-2.
Professor Agassiz’s Zoological Researches. 317
After having observed that the contracted mouth forms a
straight line, and that the tentacula are placed five by five,
so as to form a regular pentagon, one of which is always in
the prolongation of this line, the author thence concludes,
that there can no longer be any doubt as to the ee aes of
this polypus.
It is our belief, on the contrary, says M. Duvernoy, that
this conclusion can be no longer hazarded ; and we pass on
to his observations on the development of the Actinia, which
appear to us to be of unquestionable interest.
“ It remains for us to study the mode of formation and the
increase in number of the tentacula. The same Actinia
which enabled me to observe the symmetry of structure, fur-
nished me with the means of doing this. One day I saw it
deposit a packet of eggs, which were soon developed, and
gave birth to young, provided with ten tentacula only, and of
a distinct pentagonal form, which extended to the margin of
the interior disc by which they were attached. At this
period, the organisation of these animals is very easily under-
stood ; the vertical plates which divide the general cavity of
the body are ten in number, and the stomach is suspended
above this cavity, into which it opens below by a large
aperture. A young Actinia, at this stage, resembles an Al-
cyonium ; only in place of eight vertical bands, there are
here ten plates, which advance considerably from the inte-
rior of the cavity, and which correspond to the ten tentacula
of the circumference, or rather which interceptthem. These
plates are muscular, and, along with the circular fibres of
the surface, determine the very varied forms we observe
among these animals. The ovaries and the testicles, which
are suspended to these plates, are developed at a very early
period. The new tentacula are simple prominences on the |
circumference, which are formed on the outside of the al-
ready existing tentacula and between them. The walls of
the new tentacula are then prolonged vertically, by project-
ing into the interior, and giving birth to new plates. In my
new Actinia, the tentacula themselves are plaited on the in-
terior, as is the whole animal, and I can distinctly see the
fibres, or rather the longitudinal muscular fascicles which
318 Professor Agassiz’s Zoological Researches.
make them project. The general cavity of the body is filled
with water, which enters by the mouth and stomach, as well
as by the numerous microscopic pores arranged in vertical
series in the walls, and which issues by the tentacula and
these same walls. The produce of digestion constantly
mingles with this water; but as the mouth, stomach, and
extremity of the tentacula can be closed at pleasure, the di-
luted nutritive fluid may circulate for a long time between
the plates of the general cavity of the body and in the tenta-
cular tubes, before spreading itself exteriorly, and becoming
farther diluted by the introduction of new water. In these
animals, then, the same walls serve to elaborate the food, to
separate the nutritious fluid, and make it undergo the neces-
sary modifications for the purposes it has to fulfil ; functions
which, in the higher animals, are deyolved on the particular
apparatus of circulation and respiration.
I forgot to mention, that, in the same deposit, this same
individual produced living young, as far advanced as those
from the eggs, many days after their exclusion, and the eggs
at very different degrees of development; so that this Acti-
nia (which I shall describe under the name of Rhodactinia
Davisii) is at the same time oviparous and viviparous. Hay-
ing seen many similar successive layings, and having ob-
served this fact in two distinct species, I am inclined to be-
lieve that itis the ordiary mode of reproduction among the
Actinias.
I shall not speak to you of the numerous genera of Tubu-
laria, Sertularia, and Bryozoaria, which I have had occasion
to examine ; this would lead me into an infinity of details
which are not yet sufficiently digested.
Discarding the sponges from the class of Polypi, as having
nothing to do with the animal kingdom, and also the Bryo-
zoaria, which are true Molluses, both in regard to their or-
ganisation and mode of development, this class contains
a very natural group of animals extremely like each other ;
for, although we separate them into two great divisions, the
Hydroides and Actinoides, it is not difficult to demonstrate
the most intimate analogy between these two types.
*
Professor Agassiz’s Zoological Researches. 319
The Hydroides have a general cavity of the body, below
the stomach, into which the latter opens, as in the Actinia.
The walls of this cavity are provided with longitudinal and
circular muscular fibres, and the ovaries, suspended below
the tentacula, nevertheless open into this general cavity,
still as in Actinia. The clusters of the ovaria are simply
reversed. The stomach itself likewise projects between the
tentacula; but it opens into the general cavity of the body,
as in the Actinia. The tentacula alone are really different,
being filled instead of tubular (which renders their motions
much less active), and the base of the body is prolonged in
a stalk fixed to the ground. The difference between the
Alcyons and the Actinias almost completely disappears, in
proportion as we learn to recognise the analogy of their
parts. Examine the stomach and ovaries, and you have a
true Actinia.
I shall confine myself to saying that I am fully of Mr
Edward’s opinion, who brings the Bryozoaria near the Mol-
luses. I shall even add, that I am able, in some measure, to
demonstrate in detail the analogy of these animals with the
Acephali, from the disposition of their respiratory and fecal
orifices, to the arrangement of the interior organs.
An insulated fact of great interest observed in a Lucer-
naria is, that this polypus has ocelli, eight in number, iden-
tical in their appearance with the eyes of the Echinodermes
and Medusee, and placed in the notches among the tentacular
fascicule.
Topography of the Pennine Alps, and Primitive Site of the
Principal Species of Rocks found in an erratic state in the
Basin of the Rhone. By M, A. Guyot. Communicated
by the Author.
M. Guyot finished his explanation of the results of a jour-
ney he made last summer into the most elevated and least
known portion of the Pennine Alps, the principal object of
320 M. A. Guyot on the
which was to search for the primitive situations of the erratic
blocks of the basin of the Rhone.
He first remarked that the portion of the Alps comprised
between Mont Blanc and Mont Rosa, or rather between
Col du St Bernard and that of the Simplon, constituted the
most elevated, most continuous, and most gigantic masses of
the Hautes Alps. Its enormous breadth of base, the mean
elevation of its cols and ridges, the height and number of its
pics and aiguilles, surpass any thing of the same kind to be
found in the celebrated masses of the Bernese Oberland, the
Orteler, Oetzthaler-Ferner, and of Mont Blanc itself.
The group of Mont Rosa in particular, composed of the three
chains of Mont Rosa, the Saasgrat, and the Weisshorn, in the
centre of which lies the valley of Zermatt, brings together in
a limited space from twenty to thirty peaks, all of which mea-
sure from 12,000 to 14,000 feet high. The ridge itself of this
part of the Alps presents only immense fields of snow whence
numerous glaciers descend; it is with difficulty accessible,
and the wild valleys that lead to it are so uninviting to the
traveller, that these regions, although situate in the very
centre of Europe, have hitherto remained almost unknown.
The best maps of Switzerland which we possess, although
corrected of late years in some particulars, still present us
with a very rough, and often altogether inaccurate, represen-
tation of these regions.
After ascending the valley of Salvan, and again observing in
this classical region the moutonnéed rocks, and furrowed and
striated rocks, which indicate the passage of ancient glaciers,
M. Guyot, ascending the Col de Balme, again collected the
diverse varieties of granite which descend from the numerous
aiguilles of Mont Blanc, by the glaciers of Tour, Argentiére,
and Des Bois.
The complete identity of these varieties with those that
compose the majority of the blocks scattered on the sides of
the Jura, fully convinced him of the truth of what he had for-
merly advanced, namely, that it is from the western declivity of
the Mont Blane chain that the greater part of the Jura blocks
are derived, while the varieties less talcose, and with a more
equal granular structure, come principally from the Val Fer-
Topography of the Pennine Alps. 321
ret or eastern declivity. Repassing by the Val Orsine and
Téte-Noire, he visited the sites of the famous pudding-stones,
which are one of the characteristic rocks of the basin of the
Rhone, and remarked, on the summit of the Col de la For-
claz, numerous blocks of protogine, which indicate the height
to which the glacier of Trient formerly rose.
M. Guyot penetrated into the heart of the Pennine Alps
by the valley de Bagnes. He describes the various basins,
at different stages, of which the valley is composed, and the
numerous glaciers which surmount the savage hollows of this
district. He at last arrived at the Chalet de Champriond,
at the foot of the great glacier of Chermontane. This glacier
is only the lower part of a vast mer de glace which turns
suddenly to the north-east, and ascends by a gentle, almost
imperceptible, slope as far as the ridge of the chain; it is the
mer de glace of the great Otemma, which derives its name
from the western peak which commands it. This vast field
of ice, feeding eight lateral glaciers which descend from the
eastern chain which bounds it, and four tributary glaciers
suspended on the flanks of the great Otemma, has a regu-
lar system of moraines on its surface, each of which can be
easily followed to its origin. These moraines convey the
rocks of each of the summits before him to the feet of the
traveller. The mer de glace of Otemma extends along the
northern declivity, where it connects itself, according to the
report of the chamois-hunters, with the great glaciers
which descend to the bottom of the northern valleys. A
range of high peaks which belong to the northern aspect, and
which commence at some distance from the ridge, separates
it into two branches, one of which is said to join the great
glacier of Arolla on the east side, and the other, more to the
north, confounds itself with the masses of ice which descend
the northern sides of Som de Gietroz, in order to form the
mass of the great glacier of Lenaret, at the bottom of the
valley of Hermence.
On the south side, almost in the same direction, a glacier
resembling a snowy valley descends from the south to the
north of the Col de Crestasetz, to mingle its ices with those
of Chermontane. The glacier of the Col de Fenétre, which
VOL. XLIV, NO. LXXXVIU.—APRIL 1848. x
322 M. Guyot on the
is separated from the former by the imposing mass of Mont
Gelé, is very nearly parallel, but more to the west. It af-
fords an easy passage, although covered with ice, into Pied-
mont, by the deep valley of Ollomont and the lower part of
Val-Pelline ; while by the Col de Crestasetz, which M. Guyot
crossed, we descend across the ruins of neighbouring moun-
tains, without any trace of a path, a little more to the east,
on the elevated chalets of the village of Bionnaz, in the mid-
dle of the Val-Pelline. After ascending this deep and savage
valley as far as the last chalet, that of Prarayé, he explored
the bottom of the valley, which is occupied by the great
glacier of Lisette. This glacier turns suddenly to the north,
traverses, among high summits, the ridge of the chain, and
here confounds itself in the superior plateaux with the great
glacier of Ferpécle.
Retracing his steps, M. Guyot traversed the ice-covered
Col of Mont Collon, from the summit of which the plateaux
of snow extend without interruption to the superior glacier
of Ferpéele. Three hours of rapid descent on the glacier of
Arolla brought him to its lower extremity. This glacier fol-
lows a sinuous line, and turns westward round the base of
Mont Collon, here traverses a tributary of the great glacier
of Otemma, and resumes its northern direction before arriv-
ing at the first chalets. M. Guyot remarks how defective and
insufficient our best maps of these lofty summits are to form
a guide to the traveller. The map of Osterwald alone, not
yet published, but of which M. Guyot had obtained a proof,
gives a less imperfect sketch of them.
Not far from the Col de Collon, but at some distance from
the ridge of the chain, a small chain commences with the
Dent des Bouquetins, which descends towards the north, and
separates the bottom of the val d’Erin into two valleys. To
the west is the valley of Arolla, with the glacier of the same
name; to the east, the origin of the val d’Erin, with the
double glacier of the Ferpecle and Mont Miné. After de-
scending the first of these valleys, M. Guyot went up the
second, as far as the superior plateau from which the great
glacier Ferpecle descends in immense cascades. These pla-
teaux form in this place vast fields of snow from 10,000 to
Topography of the Pennine Alps. 323
11,000 feet in height, extending among the high summits of
the Dent Blanche on the north, the Dent d’ Erin on the south,
‘and a great number of peaks towards the west, which rise
here and there from the bosom of the plateaux, along the
ridge of the chain or the smaller northern chains. These
plateaux terminate towards the east in an abrupt wall of al-
most vertical rocks, at the bottom of which lies the glacier of
Zmutt, at a giddy depth. This ridge of rocks, which unites
the mass of the Dent Blanche with the Dent d’Erin, presents,
on the south side, a sort of depression or less precipitous de-
clivity to the foot of Dent d@Erin, by which the ice descends
to the deep valley of Zmutt; this is the Col d’Erin, and the
origin of the glacier of Zmutt.
A little to the north of the col rises a rounded eminence,
which Forbes erroneously describes under the name of Stock-
horn, which is a summit situate more to the south, and alittle
more elevated still. M. Guyot ascended the first mentioned
of these, and gave it the name of Téte Blanche d’Erin. From
this central point, elevated 11,000 feet above the sea, a most
admirable panorama is unfolded to the eye. On the east side,
the view extends over the gigantic chains of Cervin, Mont
Rosa, and Saasgrat; to the north and north-east, over those
of Dent Blanche and Weisshorn; to the west, the prospect
reaches beyond the vast plateaux of snow which lie at your
feet, as far as Mont Collon, and Combin; so that, at a
single glance, the eye takes in all this vast chain of the
Pennine Alps.
It will be seen, from what has been said, that one of the
characteristic features of this high chain are the extensive
plateaux which crown the summit. The highest points
rarely touch each other so as to form an uninterrupted
series: here and there considerable gaps lie between the two
declivities, and form those cols with insensible slopes, which,
like the mer de glace of Otemma, rather resemble large val-
leys with a flat bottom than cols which traverse the ridge of
one of the most elevated chains of the Alps. On the north-
ern aspect, in particular, the northern links of the chain ori-
ginate in the very bosom of the plateaux, and not from the
324 M. Guyot on the
summit itself, so that they seem to be without a point of at-
tachment.
To these details, M. Guyot has added others respecting
the bottom of the valleys of Torrent and Zinal, which, when
united, form the deep valley of Anniviers. He points out
many corrections to be made in the topography and nomen-
clature of the peaks of these regions, as given by Frébel. He
describes the appearance of the upper valley of Tourtemagne
and the glaciers of Weisshorn, which occupy the bottom ;
then, passing the difficult and elevated Col of Joung, he
ascends the valley of St Nicolas and Zermatt, again examin-
ing the glaciers and rocks, traverses that of Saas, where he
determines the precise situation of the euphotides, and en-
ters by the Monte Moro, in the Piedmontese valley of Macug-
naga. From this point, traversing the Turlo, he successively
went through all the southern valleys of Mont Rosa, which
he examined particularly, with a view to the erratic forma-
tion, and the rocks which they furnish.
The valley of Aoste appeared to him of the highest inte-
rest in this point of view.
From the height of the Col de Joux or of Amai, by which
M. Guyot entered this large and beautiful valley, the eye
takes in the greater part of its extent at a single glance.
From this view, we may conceive beforehand the part that
must have been performed during the period of extensive ice,
by this vast reservoir, comprised between the massive heights
of the Pennine Alps, the elevated and compound chain of the
mountains of Cogne, having at its head the chain of Mont
Blane, by which the view is arrested in front, at the horizon.
This presentiment is speedily confirmed. On descending the
Col towards the baths of St Vincent, we already perceive
considerable masses of erratic formation, blocks and pebbles
of serpentine and chlorite, mingled with glacial mud. These
masses, Suspended on the torn and abrupt flanks of the moun-
tain at more than 1500 feet above the valley, indicate the
pressure, at another era, as well as the thickness of the an-
cient glaciers. Farther down, in the region of the vines, the
blocks become more frequent and of larger size.
From St Vincent, as far as Ivrée, there is scarcely any
Topography of the Pennine Alps. 325
rock among those bordering the road, and even to a consi-
derable height, which is not moutonné, grooved or striated
in the most characteristic manner. All the hills are cupola-
shaped. A little below St Vincent, we already notice an
insulated rock in the middle of the valley, which seems to
issue from below the glacier. Further on, the heights which
crown the old fort of Mont Jovet, the hill on which the im-
pregnable fort of Bard is situated, and all the neighbouring
rocks, are likewise moutonnés, and furrowed in the most ad-
mirable manner. At the opening of the valley, in the neigh-
bourhood of Ivrée, all the hills, comprising the diorite around
that town, exhibit these characters in the highest degree. It
may be said, that wherever the rock is exposed, it shews the
corroding marks of the erratic agent. Nowhere are they so
marked as at the narrow parts of the valley, especially below
St Vincent, at Mont Jovet, and Fort de Bard; and we may
observe here, as elsewhere in the same circumstances, the
tendency of the furrows to ascend in a direction contrary to
the slope of the valley.
Beyond Ivrée, the erratic phenomena present themselves
in a form as grand as it is novel. To the east of this town,
the horizon is bounded by a large, steep hill, composed en-
tirely of pebbles, mud, and erratic blocks. This is the hill
of Serra, which rises from the side of Mont St André to two-
thirds of its height, and descends in an inclined and regular
line towards the plain, turning its abrupt face to the west.
This is a true moraine, analogous to the great erratic bar
which extends from the rocks of Memise to Thonon, on the
left bank of the lake of Geneva, but even more strongly cha-
racterised. M. Studer has already pointed it out as such to
the attention of geologists. Towards the south, in the axis
of the opening of the valley, on the road from Ivrée to Chi-
vasso, we meet with many masses of erratic debris in the
form of arched bands, the true terminal moraines of the great
glacier of Aoste. The first appears at Strambino, the second
at Candia, the third at Calusso; beyond the latter village,
the levelled plain and ancient diluvium of Lombardy com-
mence. In this place, as in Brianza, at the mouth of the
Lake of Como, and on the banks of Lake Maggiore and Lake
326 M. Guyot on the
Orta, we distinctly distinguish the character and superposi-
tion of the two formations.
These facts, in themselves so significant, are not the only
ones of this nature observed in this valley. M. the Canon
Carrel has proved the existence, on a large scale, of all the
same phenomena in the neighbourhood of the city of Aoste.
Many years previously, M. Guyot had pointed out very beau-
tiful polished rocks at the foot of Mont Blane, above Cour-
mayeur, where they were likewise seen by MM. Agassiz and
Forbes. This assemblage of facts authorises us, in M. Guyot’s
opinion, to consider the valley of Aoste, viewed in relation to
the development of the erratic phenomena, as analogous to
the valley of the Rhone. It is, in regard to the southern de-
clivity of the Pennine chain, and the Italian side of Mont
Blane, what the Valais is to the northern declivity of these
two chains ; it is even superior to the latter in the number and
evidence of polished and moutonnéed rocks, and, in this re-
spect, it does not yield even to the classical valley of the Aar.
As to the essential object M. Guyot had in view in this ex-
ploratory journey, namely, to determine the precise site of
the species of rocks of the erratic basin of the Rhone, the
origin of which was not sufficiently clear, he has completely
succeeded in attaining it.
He was particularly careful to obtain specimens én sitw of
the chloriteous gneiss and arkesine scattered in such great
abundance in the plain. Noone had previously done this. M.
Guyot had only indicated the bottom of the valley of Bagnes
and the valley of Viége, where these rocks had been ob-
served in an erratic state by himself, and previously by MM.
Studer and Forbes, as the extreme limits of their extension.
He soon convinced himself that these rocks and their varie-
ties, accompanied with diverse amphibolic rocks, constitute,
in a great measure, the central mass and the highest sum-
mits of the Pennine chain. In the bottom of the valley of
Bagnes, after passing the region of the chlorites, we imme-
diately find the chloriteous gneiss and arkesine in great
abundance on the glacier of Brena, at the western base of the
Champriond, where these rocks, almost of themselves, form
the fine, frontal moraines left by this glacier. The glacier of
~~ ———a
Topography of the Pennine Alps. 327
Chermontane and the mer de glace of the great Otemma,
searcely exhibit anything else, in their numerous moraines,
than very diversified varieties of these same rocks, generally
of a dull colour, among which we can distinguish many rich
in epidote. The mountain of the great Otemma itself is, in
a great measure, formed of chloriteous gneiss. This rock
loses more and more its slaty structure, as we advance to the
top of the chain, and near that point it assumes the appear-
ance of a granite, with large ill-defined crystals of felspar,
and of a slight rose-colour.
The opposite chain, which comprehends the mass of the
Trumma de Bouc, and which is prolonged by the Col de Cre-
stasetz as far as Val-Pelline, is likewise composed of chlori-
teous gneiss, in which the proportion of the constituent parts
is very variable, according to the localities. In the last men-
tioned valley, the rock seems to pass, by almost insensible
transitions, into a true syenite. The chloriteous enciss, but
not the arkesine, is still frequently found in the Val-Pelline,
or, on ascending the valley, we see it alternating with the
syenites, and other rocks less distinctly characterised. To-
wards the bottom of this valley, as far as the glacier of Li-
sette, amphibolic rocks and talcose limestones or cipolins
succeed, and present petrographic forms of the highest in-
terest in ref erence tothetheory of metamorphism.
At the Col de Collon, and along the glacier of Arolla, the
chloriteous gneiss and arkesines reappear, but under less
normal forms. The proportion of the amphibolic rocks, sye-
nites, and species which may be more directly connected with
the green granite, greatly increase. It may even be said,
that they are dominant as far as the tributary of the grand
Otemma, which brings specimens whose forms approach more
and more to the types of the two rocks in question.
But the true granitoidal arkesine and chloriteous gneiss
with shining particles, such as they are usually found in the
plain, reappear in the masses which surround the glacier of
Ferpécle. The tributary glaciers which descend from the
Dent Blanche in particular, carry along with them scarcely
any other rocks than arkesines; and these are, in part, dis-
tinguishable from those of the Otemma and Chermontane, by
328 M. Guyot on the
more crystalline forms, and a general tint of deeper yellow.
Mont Miné also yields chloriteous gneiss, but it is rather
syenites and various rocks rich in amphibole, which predomi-
nate there.
More to the east, the arkesine and chloriteous gneiss dis-
appear, and seem to be wanting in the chain of the Weiss-
horn. At least, M. Guyot scarcely met with any in the val-
leys of Anniviers and Tourtemagne, which descend from this
great chain; and the numerous blocks of these two species
which he noticed on the glacier of Zmutt, and on the heights
which overlook its left bank, evidently come from the Dent
Blanche.
We thus see that the chlorites, the chloriteous gneiss, and
the arkesines, as well as the green granites, syenites, and
other amphibolic rocks, belong to the most central, and most
elevated part,—in a word, to the axis of this high chain of the
Pennine Alps situate between the bottom of the val de Bagnes
and the col d’Erin. It is in these almost inaccessible peaks,
and in the bosom of the glaciers that descend from them,
that we must seek for the rocks from which have been de-
tached the erratic masses, at once the most numerous, most
colossal, and most widely distributed on the surface of the
basin of the Rhine. How surprising ies their primitive site
should have remained so long unknown
The group of erratic species to mer M. Guyot, with a
just title, has given the name of Pennine rocks, likewise be-
longs to this elevated chain. These rocks have issued from
it by two principal channels only, the valley of Erin and that
of Bagnes. The valley of Viége furnishes only a small num-
ber of them, for this may be considered an accidental outlet
for these rocks, while it is the principal, indeed the only
canal, by which the rocks of Mont Rosa have been brought
down to the valley of the Rhone.
The group of the Mont Rosa rocks contains species only
whose place of origin was previously in some degree deter-
mined. The principal site of the serpentines is the region
lying between the great Cervin and the Lyskamm. The chain
of the Riffel, likewise composed of serpentines and which is
prolonged eastward into the Saasgrat, may be regarded as
Topography of the Pennine Alps. 329
depending on this part of the central ridge. The glacier of
Schwarzwald, at the foot of Monte Moro, near lake Matmark,
brings numerous blocks of serpentine from the bottom of the
upper valley of Saas, among which two enormous masses are
observed, left, a few years ago, on the border of the path by
the glacier, the most considerable of which is looked upon as
the largest erratic block known. Some other sites, further
down near Viéges, are of less importance.
With regard to the euphotides, M. Guyot adds to what he
had formerly stated regarding their original site, that he is
convinced their point of departure is the rocks which over-
look the upper part of the glacier of Alalein, particularly on
the left side and a little below the highest summits. The
eclogites, not so strictly localised, pass along the western de-
clivity, and descend by the moraines of the glacier of Fin-
elen, in which M. Guyot collected many varieties.
The greater part of the serpentine debris has therefore
descended by the valley of St Nicolas, a small quantity only
by that of Saas. The reverse of this holds true with the
eclogites. The euphotides come exclusively from the valley
of Saas.
M. Guyot terminates his communication by a few petro-
graphic considerations on the two groups of the Pennine
rocks and the rocks of Mont Rosa. A frequent comparison
of the various species and their numerous varieties, as well
as an inspection of their respective sites, leads him to think
that their association into two distinct groups, is not only a
geographical fact, as the names he has given to each of
them would induce us to believe, but that it is justified also
by their nature. He is induced to believe that these groups
really form two metamorphic series, and he mentions that he
has numerous specimens in bis collection, which shew the al-
most insensible transition of the species of each of these two
groups into one another. He likewise exhibits many speci-
mens obtained én situ, of each of these species, represented
by their most widely diffused types, and compared with
specimens collected in an erratic state in the different parts
of the basin of the Rhone, whose complete identity with the
first is obvious to the least experienced eye.
( 330 )
On Shooting Stars. By Sir J. W. Lussocg, Bart.
As the phenomena of shooting stars (stella cadens) are interesting,
from their connection with the structure of our planetary system,
we have much pleasure in communicating the following observations
on these remarkable bodies, from the last Number of the Philoso-
phical Magazine, by Sir J. W. Lubbock, Bart. I wish, says Sir J.
W. Lubbock to the conductor of the Philosophical Magazine, to cor-
rect an oversight in page 85 of the last Number of the Philosophical
Magazine, where it is implied that the same shooting star may be ob-
served to disappear at different instants of time by different observers.
It is obvious that ifthe moving body cease to shine, by reason of its en-
tering the shadow of the earth, this event is entirely irrespective of the
position of the observer; and, therefore, if it should be observed by
more than one person, such observations will furnish the parallax,
and may determine whether this mode of accounting for the disap-
pearance of the star is correct or not. If it has been attempted to
determine the differences of terrestrial longitude by such observations,
probably the materials exist somewhere by which the accuracy of
the hypothesis can at once be tested. It may possibly however, be
again observed on the same night, either by the same or different
observers, after an entire revolution.
It has been the subject of speculation, whether such bodies owe
their origin to violent action at the moon’s surface. But observers
are, I believe, agreed that the surface of the moon offers no evidence of
great agitation. The indentations of the surface remain unchanged,
and no phenomena have, I believe, been seen which indicate the ex-
istence of voleanoes, which might discharge small bodies with great
force, and thus give rise to the satellites of the earth.
The case is widely different as regards the sun. Changes of enor-
mous magnitude are continually witnessed on its surface, which indi-
cate the action of forces agitating the mass probably in a state of
fluidity. Recently I have observed spots which were even visible to
the naked eye, and of which, on the following and succeeding days,
not a trace could be found by a good telescope.
If a body were thrown up from the sun’s surface, it must, omit-
ting all consideration of the planets, describe an ellipse having the
centre of the sun in one of the foci; and, thus, however great the
force by which the body may be supposed to have been discharged,
it must return to the sun, and impinging upon it, would not perform
even one entire revolution. If, however, we consider the action of
the other planets, and especially of Jupiter, it seems by no means
impossible that in returning, a body so discharged might clear the
sun, and perform many complete revolutions round the primary, that
is, might become a comet (or shooting star.) It would be interest-
——
Sir J. W. Lubbock, Bart., on Shooting Stars. 331
ing to ascertain how much the perihelion distance of such a body
might be lengthened under given circumstances of the action of
Jupiter ; or whether, under any hypothesis of the configuration of the
planets, the perihelion distance of any known comet could be brought
under -004647. Le Verrier suggests, that some of the comets may
have become fixed to our system, and retained by the action of Jupi-
ter; and that in consequence of the same action, they may again
wander in space, and cease to belong to this system.* But may not
such bodies owe their origin to the same forces of which the existence
is indubitable, which operate on the surface at any rate of the sun’s
mass ? And if so, it is by no means impossible, that, by calculating
the perturbations of some comet for the past, especially one whose
perihelion distance is small, it may be traced back to its origin, and
the very year ascertained when it left the solar mass.
The phenomena of shooting stars may possibly throw light upon
the question of the extent to which an atmosphere extends, capable
of affording any sensible resistance to the motion of such bodies, and
may thus afford an interesting illustration of the connexion which
exists between different branches of physical science. In my treatise
on the Heat of Vapours, p. 43, I have given a table, shewing, upon
the hypothesis I there adopted, the density and temperature for a
given height above the earth's surface. According to that hypothesis,
at a height of 15 miles the temperature is 240°-6 F., below zero
the density is 03573, and the atmosphere ceases altogether at a
height of 22°35 miles. In the Comptes Rendus des Séances de
l Academie des Sciences, tom. viii. p. 95, M. Biot has verified a cal-
culation of Lambert, who found from the phenomena of twilight, the
altitude of the atmosphere to be about 18 miles. The constitution
of the higher regions of the atmosphere, according to the hypothesis
adopted by Ivory is very different, and extends to a much greater
height. See p. 3, of the Supplement to my Treatise on the Heat of
Vapours, where I have given a table, shewing the construction of the
atmosphere according to Ivory. Such a table for the constitution
due to Laplace’s hypothesis is still wanted.—(The Philosophical Ma-
gazine, Third Series, vol. xxxii. p. 170, March 1848.)
* “ Dans un certain nombre de siécles toutefois, elle atteindra de nouveau
Vorbite de Jupiter, dans une direction opposée 4 celle par laquelle elle a par
arriver dans le systéme planétaire; et son cours sera certainement encore fois
altéré-Peut-etre méme Jupiter la rendra-t-il aux espaces aux quels il l’ayait
dérobée.”—Le Verrier, Comptes Rendus, Dec. 20, 1847, p. 925.
( 332 )
Further Progress of Mr Jameson’s great Tea-Planting Opera-
tions in India, under the Patronage and Direction of the
Honourable The East India Company.
We mentioned some short time ago, on the authority of
the Star, that Government had sanctioned an outlay of one
hundred thousand rupees for the carrying on the tea-planta-
tion experiments on a most extensive scale, under the super-
intendence of Mr Jameson. We also intimated before, that
this officer had been deputed to examine the hill-country
west of the Jumna, as to its capabilities for tea-planting.
We have now the pleasure to announce that the grant is to
extend over a series of years at the rate of one lakh (£12,000)
per annum ; and that Mr Jameson has been for upwards of a
month engaged in the delightful occupation of selecting sites
for tea plantations. He has already given it as his opinion that
Annandale and Kotghur, in the Simla jurisdiction, are suited
to the object in view, and crossing the Sutlej at Kotghur, he
has proceeded as far as Kangra via Kooloo and Mundee.
A friend, who has had opportunities of hearing Mr Jameson’s
account, says he was highly gratified to see the change that
is coming over the former country. “ Villages are now being
built everywhere on the old sites of those that were burnt
and destroyed by the Sikhs.” At Gumpta is the descent
into the Beeas valley, which is a magnificent plain, well irri-
gated, but only half cultivated, owing to the thinness of the
population. After the Beeas valley there is a series of val-
leys on to Noorpoor, viz. the Paklun, Kangra, Rilloo, &c.,
varying in height from 3000 to 4500 feet, and separated
from each other by small ranges of hills running N. and
S. To the north these valleys are bounded by a high range,
now, according to a correspondent at Kangra, more than
half covered with snow, and to the south by a lower range.
They vary in breadth from three to four miles, and are about
eighty miles in length; the general dip of the country is to
the south; and from the northern boundary a number of
streams take their rise, irrigating the valleys in a most effi-
cient manner. The revenue derived from these valleys is at
——
The Indian Tea Plantations. 233
present about two lakhs (£25,000) of rupees. We hear that
all of them are admirably adapted for tea ; and as soon as the
plant is brought generally under cultivation, as must be the
case, we doubt not the revenue will be increased cent. per
cent., if not considerably more. In the Beeas, Paklun, Kangra,
and Rilloo valleys, there is, we are assured, nearly as much
land adapted for tea cultivation as would, if thus used, supply
the whole European market. The principal products now
cultivated are rice, wheat, and sugar; the latter is described
as wretchedly poor, being very small, and containing but
little saccharine matter. We are told that much as has been
written and said of the Dhera Dhoon and its capabilities, it
falls far short of the Kangra and_Rilloo valleys. “ They are
undoubtedly,” says a correspondent who has opportunities
of examining them, “ the Eden of our hill territories. In
the Dhoon water is, in many places, scanty; here there is
much more than is required. ‘Here and there you meet large
streams containing a body of water superior in quantity to
that supplying the Dhoon canals, yet considered of so small
importance as to be nameless. In every direction the valleys
are intersected by kucha canals.’ We learn, therefore, with
much satisfaction, that many sites for tea plantations have
already been selected in these valleys, one in Paklun, now a
waste, some 4 miles by 38. Inthe Kangra valley, the largest
site as yet chosen is a waste plain, upwards of a mile long,
near Dhurmsala. It is clear, that in a very few years, these
valleys must become important on account of their tea culti-
vation, as our friend says that the smaller sites selected by
Mr Jameson are too numerous to mention. At present, tea
is imported from Yarkund, in Noorpoor, packed in bulk (as
our local readers may ascertain by inspection of the tea-
blocks to be sold on the 27th at the Begum’s house, on ac-
count of Government, and from thence to the Punjab). It
is much valued by the natives, and the finer sorts are sold
as high as six rupees, a proof that the use of tea would be-
come much more general, in that as in other quarters, pro-
vided it was sold at a lower and reasonable rate. In order
to insure the success of the experiments now about to be ear-
ried out, on the liberal scale already mentioned, we have
334 The Indian Tea Plantations.
been told that His Excellency the British Plenipotentiary at
Hong Kong, Sir John Davis, has been requested to send two
additional sets of Chinese tea manufacturers, also seeds from
all the most celebrated districts in China. The latter, on
arrival at Calcutta, are to be sent up letter dak, so that a
considerable proportion, if not all, stand the chance of arriv-
ing in a vegetating condition. We were informed a short
time ago, that the manufactory of tea had commenced in the
Dhoon, but now learn that the information was premature ;
none was prepared there last season ; but the requisite build-
ings being now ready, it is hoped the manufacture will com-
mence next year (in April). It is intended, as soon as the
new “ manipulators” arrive from China, to send one set to
Kangra, which must ultimately become the most important
tea district, and to keep the other in the Dhoon. As soon
as the Kutturputtur canal, to which Lieutenant Hutchison
has been lately appointed, is cut, the superintendent of the
tea-grounds has been authorised to establish a large planta-
tion there. After he has selected the land best adapted for
his purpose, che remainder is to be sold to the highest bidder.
The Dherah Dhoon certainly possesses one advantage over
the hill-country beyond the Sutlej, and that consists in the
facility of transit presented by the Jumna and Ganges. At
Kangra, the distance from the plains is four marches; but
these once got over, the Sutlej and Indus will afford an ex-
cellent outlet to Bombay. The arrangements now in pro-
gress will, in a few years, put the government in possession
of vast tea-forests from the banks of the Kalee to Noorpore,
and those who formerly considered the idea of supplying the
home market with tea from India as a mere chimera, must
ere long be convinced that the thing is to be done. The
quantity of seeds produced in Gurwal and Kumaon this sea-
son, exceeded one hundred maunds; besides which, the tea-
plant is easily reared from cutiings and layers. The super-
intendent, to whom these extensive arrangements have been
entrusted, has been vested with unlimited power as to the
situation of sites, the appointment of cultivators, &c., and
the various officers, in whose districts he is now engaged,
Dr Davy’s Agricultural Discourse. 335
have afforded him every assistance, as but one opinion pre-
vails amongst them regarding “ rapid extension.” —Dedhi
Gazette, December 15, 1847.
A Discourse on Draining and Irrigation, delivered before the
General Agricultural Society of Barbadoes, at its Fourth
Half-yearly Meeting, on the 22d of December 1847. By
Joun Davy, M.D., F.R.S., Inspector-General of Army
Hospitals, Honorary Member of the Society. Communi-
cated by the Author.
GENTLEMEN,—On this occasion I propose to bring under your no-
tice, the important and nearly allied subjects of Dratnine and Irri-
GATION; important, as conducive greatly to fertility ; and nearly
allied, the mean element in both being water, without which, soils
of the very best quality you know are barren.
Limited as we are for time, were there not other reasons for it,
I must, in this short Discourse, which I have now the honour of
addressing to you, restrict myself in a great measure to principles,—
and avoid the details of the operations, whether of Draining or Irri-
gation. Should I be so fortunate as to enunciate clearly the former,
and to convince any individual present, doubtful of the efficacy of
these processes, that draining, or thorough-drained land is essential
to Agriculture,—if it be the intent, as it should be the interest of
the Agriculturist, to conduct it in the most improved manner ; and
that Irrigation, wherever practical, most amply repays by imparting
a wonderfully increased fertility ;—should I be able to accomplish thus
much, I shall not regret passing over the minutiz of details—which
are best studied and learnt in systematic works on the subject, that
is, if practical means of instruction are not available, which are the
best of all.
The kind of draining to which I have to call your attention, is
not the common surface-draining, but the new and far more advan-
tageous method of deep and thorough-draining, a method by which
the excess of rain is conveyed from the surface of the land into its
substance, and even to the subsoil and beneath it; to be retained in
moderate quantity favourable to tillage,—favourable to vegetation,—
favourable to the disintegration and decomposition of the coarse parts
of the soil, and of the subsoil, and consequently to the improvement
of the quality of the soil, and to the formation of new soil fit for
tillage.
These effects, so admirable, can only be elucidated and brought
clearly to the understanding, by considering the principles of the
operation ; or in other words, the qualities of the different substances
concerned, as of the soil and subsoil, and their elements, in conjunction
with rain aud atmospheric air, and their agencies.
336 Dr Davy’s Agricultural Discourse.
A soil fit for cultivation is never formed of any single earth—it
is more or less compounded, and the greater in degree, generally, the
better is its quality. In all good soils there is a certain proportion
of clay, and commonly of sand, either silicious or calcareous, or a
mixture of the two. What is designated clay, always consists of
many ingredients,—of.which alumine and silica are the principal.
In three specimens from fertile soils in Flanders, carefully analysed,
besides alumine and silica, there were found present eighteen other
substances,—the most important of which were lime and magnesia,
the alkalies—including ammonia, certain acids—as the phosphoric,
sulphuric, and carbonic, and two or three kinds of vegetable matter.
The peculiar quality of clay is, that it is retentive of moisture,
and of the most complete clay in its condensed state, using the term
in contradistinction to a loose state,—that it is an obstruction to
flowing water—a property of vast importance in the economy of
nature,—without which, the earth would be, in great measure desti-
tute of springs,—the ground arid and unfit for vegetation, giving
rise to a universal desert-waste. This peculiar property is mainly
dependent on one earth, viz., alumine; and on the circumstance that
when separated in consequence of the decomposition of the mineral
compounds in which it exists, it is, as when obtained by precipita-
tion, by the addition of an alkali to a salt of alumine in solution, in
a state of extraordinarily minute division, with the power of adhesion
particle to particle, and of becoming plastic from compression ; a
power this, of the first importance in the economy of soils, without
which, it is obvious the surface of the Earth would be in the state
of a moveable, drifting sand, such as we find where the binding ele-
ment of clay is deficient, as in the instance of the most remarkable
deserts. Of this state of minute division, you may satisfy yourself
most easily by a simple experiment—the precipitating of alumine
from a solution of alum by ammonia, and examining it under the Mi-
croscope. So minute are the particles of the precipitate, that even
when using one of the highest powers of a good instrument, a glass,
for instance, with a focal distance of one eighth of an inch, they are
hardly distinguishable—indeed, I may say, they are not distinguish-
able individually,—only when connected one with another. This state
of minute division of the detached alumine is connected with, and
may be dependent on another property of this earth, its perfect in-
solubility in water, and in water impregnated with carbonic acid,
and owing to this insolubility, its inaptitude, when so detached, to
form crystals.
To appreciate these peculiarities of alumine, let us consider for a
moment the qualities of the other earths, which are the other chief
ingredients of soils, viz., silica, lime, and magnesia.
Silica occurs in soils chiefly in the form of quartzose sand, derived
from the disintegration of certain compound crystalline rocks, espe-
cially granite, of which rock it is an ingredient. It also oceurs in
Dr Davy’s Agricultural Discourse. 337
smaller proportion, in a very finely-divided state, when derived, it
may be inferred, like alumine, from the decomposition of certain
minerals containing it, such as felspar. In this state it is soluble
either by means of carbonated alkali, or carbonic acid alone, as I be-
lieve, or water alone, according to a distinguished Swedish chemist.
Owing to this quality it is capable of entering into the composition
of vegetable textures. When deposited from its solution, it is not
in the manner of alumine, but either in minute adhering crystals, or
uncrystallized in the form of a compact hard stony crust.
Lime exists in the soil most generally in the state of carbonate
of lime; even if introduced in the caustic state, owing to its strong
affinity for carbonic acid, it rapidly absorbs this gas from the atmo-
sphere. The carbonate has a strong tendency to crystallize: it un-
dergoes crystallization in the act of its formation, when the lime is
absorbing carbonic acid. If you precipitate lime from a solution of
one of its salts in water by an alkaline carbonate, the carbonate of
lime thus obtained will be in minute crystalline grains,—minute,
according to our ordinary ideas of bulk, but coarse indeed, if com-
pared under the microscope with the precipitate of alumine. Nor
has it the property of alumine, as you may satisfy yourselves by a
very easy experiment, of retaining or preventing the flow of water.
Magnesia, like lime, having a considerable affinity for carbonic
acid, commonly exists in the soil in the state of carbonate. But it
has not the same disposition to crystallize, and in consequence, per-
haps, its particles are finer; at least this may be inferred from the
examination of the carbonate, artificially obtained by precipitation
by a carbonated alkali, added to the solution of a magnesian salt.
These, though finer than those of carbonate of lime procured in the
same manner, are visible individually under the microscope; and
are therefore very much larger than those of alumine. And tested
by water, the carbonate of magnesia is found to retard, not entirely
prevent, its flow and transmission.
The relative minuteness of the particles of these three earths is
well shewn by the time required by each to subside after suspension
in water by agitation. It will be found that the carbonate of lime
will descend and find its place of rest rapidly ; the carbonate of mag-
nesia in slower time; and the alumine by far the slowest. And
hence the wide diffusion of this last-mentioned earth—a happy cir-
cumstance in the economy of nature. Washed out of the naked
disintegrating rocks by rain, with mineral particles of other kinds,
not so minute, but hardly less diffusible, they are carried by rivers
into seas, and by tides and currents transported even into the ocean ;
there they subside and form beds, destined, it may be, to become
fertile soils on islands or even continents, should the rocky founda-
tions on which they rest be elevated into the atmosphere, as this
island has been, and so many others—covered with beds of clay and
soil, which we are sure from their nature are of distant origin.
VOL, XLIV, NO, LXXXVIII.—APRIL 1848, se
338 Dr Davy’s Agricultural Discourse.
Another peculiarity of alumine requires notice, in connection
with thorough-draining, to wit, its power of contracting in drying.
No earth absorbs so much water,—whether chemically or hygrosco-
pically,* no one retains it so powerfully, or contracts so much in
losing it. There are before you precipitates, dried, of alumine, of
carbonate of lime, and of carbonate of magnesia. How great is the
difference in their appearance! that of the alumine is fissured in
every direction; that of the carbonate of magnesia exhibts only a
very few fissures; whilst the carbonate of lime has a smooth un-
broken surface, indicating no contraction.
The two peculiar properties of alumine adyerted to, and which
are also properties of clays, chiefly depending on the presence of
alumine, yiz., being impermeable to water when expanded by it,—
that is, when containing a certain quantity without a free outlet,
such as a drain affords; and being liable to contract, and become
fissured and so permeable, on losing water, such as is drawn off by
a drain; these two properties may be considered fundamental ones
in connexion with thorough-draining,—the first giving rise to the
necessity for the operation,—the second rendering it practicable,
In the first instance, it must be supposed, or taken for granted,
that the clay is not so compact or condensed by pressure as to allow
no passage to water, even with a free outlet, which is a quality, as
already remarked of the purest clays.
For this, the deep and thorough mode of draining, to be most
"efficient, should by followed by subsoil-ploughing, which breaks up
the clay to a certain depth, and renders it more pervious to water
and the access of air, without bringing any of the subsoil to the sur-
face. The effect of subsoil-ploughing, it may be remarked, is well
illustrated, by taking a piece of stiff clay and breaking it up, when
it will be found to be readily permeable by water; and again,
when the water has been drained from it, compressing it as a plastic
mass, when it will recover more or less its impermeability, accord-
* Wet alumine, from which water had ceased to drop, compared with wet
carbonate of lime and fine silicious sand, from which water poured on them in
a filter of bibulous paper, had also ceased to drop, lost, I find, in drying, 22
per cent, more water than the carbonate of lime, and 36 per cent. more than
the silicious sand: thus, the alumine lost 60:8 per cent.; carbonate of lime
38°7; and the fine silicious sand 24:4 per cent.,—at a temperature of air of
about 80° Fahr., and when there was a difference of about 10° between the
moistened bulb and dry bulb thermometer. Farther, it may be mentioned,
that the alumine kept over strong sulphuric acid, lost 10 per cent. more of
water, whilst the carbonate of lime lost only four-tentns, and the sand only
two per cent. The carbonate of lime and silicious sand kept over water,
shewed no appreciable hygroscopic power; their weight was not sensibly in-
creased; the alumine similarly placed, after having been similarly dried in
the air, acquired water to the extent of 8:6 per cent. he avidity with which
alumine sucks in water is remarkable; it is indicated by the loud crackling
noise attending it. I would ask, may not some of the subterraneous sounds
not unfrequent in certain clay districts, especially in climates subject to long
droughts, followed by heavy rains, be owing to this cause ?
Dr Davy’s Agricultural Discourse. 339°
ing to its quality,—that is, the proportion of finely-divided alumi-
nous matter it contains, and the proportion of sand. As it appears
that in some instances this process of subsoil-ploughing has been of
little advantage, not repaying the cost, it may be prudent to try the
effect of it on a small portion of the drained land, and to be guided
by the result as to its extension,—for example, the quality and
quantity of produce on the portion subsoiled, compared with the
quality and quantity of the crop on an equal portion merely drained.
Allow me now to turn your attention to the atmospheric air, and
to the rain-water, for the admission and penctrating of which into
the soil, without stagnation of the latter, thorough-draining, as re-
gards its function, may be considered in the first place as instituted.
Atmospheric air, we know, is composed of oxygen and azote and
carbonic acid in almost constantly the same proportion, viz., Pa
parts in volume of oxygen, 79 of azote, and about the one-half of a
thousandth part of carbonic acid, with a very variable proportion of
water diffused through it in the elastic state in the form of vapour,
and when in the vesicular state in the form of clouds, and also an
extremely minute portion, there is reason to believe of carbonate of
ammonia, and of some other matters, chiefly saline, either held in
solution in it or in suspension.
Rain, it is to be remembered, is never absolutely pure water: it
is variously impregnated; and this in consequence of two offices
which it seems to have to perform, (not to mention others) ; namely,
the purifying of the atmosphere, and the fertilizing of the earth.
Carbonic acid, oxygen, and azote, are always contained in it, and
the former in considerably larger proportion than in the atmo-
sphere, oxygen being more soluble in water than azote. And be-
sides these, there are other matters, such as carbonate of ammonia,
and yarious substances which it brings down with it, exercising its
purifying function, from the atmosphere, in which they were sus-
pended or dissolved.
The rain entering the soil thus impregnated, not only immediately
promotes active vegetation, but also has an ameliorating effect on
the soil and the subsoil, fitting it for the purposes of vegetation.
The water, impregnated with oxygen, promotes the decomposition
of animal and vegetable matter, thus forming food for plants; and
acting on compound minerals in the soil and subsoil, it produces the
separation of their elements ; and thus forms new mould. Thorough-
draining, by preventing the stagnation of water, and promoting its
descent, administers in a remarkable manner to these ameliorating
effects, And preserving the soil and subsoil in a porous condition,
it administers also to another effect, not insignificant in the economy
of vegetation, namely, the formation of ammonia by the union of
the azote of the atmospheric air penetrating into the earth, with
hydrogen, as it is disengaged from decomposing animal and vege-
table matter; thus supplying an alkali, which appears to be the
340 Dr Davy’s Agricultural Discourse.
most active portion of many valuable manures, and is probably
essential to the production in plants of all these albuminous sub-
stances which are of the nature of animal matter, from which even
animals themselves—those feeding on vegetables, are supposed to
be formed, the vegetable being the generator, and the animal only
the recipient.
There are other good and important effects resulting from thorough-
draining, which I have scarcely time to mention, as its tending to
counteract the evils of drought, as well as of excessive moisture,
thereby favouring vegetation, and at the same time benefiting the
climate, as it conduces equally to prevent either extreme,—a parched
state of the atmosphere, or excessive humidity and fog; and as it
tends also to promote an. equable temperature of atmosphere. In
brief, it is difficult, I believe, to appreciate too highly the advan-
tages of thorough-draining to land that requires it. Mr Smith of
Deanston, who may be considered as the inventor of the process,
has well said, that it requires faith to admit all the good it is ea-
pable of accomplishing,—that good is so much beyond what the in-
experienced in its efficacy would expect.
I consider it, I may remark, a circumstance of good fortune to
have witnessed the results of the first trial made of it at Deanston
by this gentleman, and also the first attempt, I believe, of the kind
made within the tropics, viz., in this island, by your talented coun-
tryman Dr Phillips, on his estate of Lamberts, and in Demerara by
Dr Schier, the able agricultural chemist of that colony, on an estate
in the neighbourhood of George Town. At Deanston, when I was
there six years ago, the condition of the land and of the pastures was
such as to excite admiration. Though the season was unusually dry,
and fields adjoining the property were parched, in which rushes were
growing, the Deanston meadows, similarly situated, were beautifully
green, and in them not a rush was to be seen or a weed. The har-
vest was over, but the farmyard, in the numerous stacks of corn,
bore ample proof of the great fertility of the arable land. The in-
creased yalue of the estate, the result of its improvement from tho-
rough-draining and good farming, I am afraid to mention, lest I
should lay myself open to the charge of exaggeration. Mr Smith,
who was my conductor and informant on the occasion, kindly had a
hole dug through the soil and subsoil, to shew the deepening of the
soil from the decomposition and disintegration of the subjacent stony
matter from the action on it of air and moisture. In Demerara, the
result of Dr Shier’s experiment, making allowance for the shortness
of time, appears to be no less satisfactory. When I saw the field,
in the latter end of May last, after a heavy fall of rain, water was
flowing abundantly from the mouths of the drains, whilst the sur-
face soil was merely moist, and in a fit state for tillage ; and having
no open drains, such as are generally used in the colony, it was in a
condition to admit of the plough and harrow, and the use of any
Dr Davy’s Agricultural Discourse. 341
other implement of husbandry likely to economise labour, In a let-
ter with which I have been favoured by Dr Shier, of the 3d of No-
vember last, he makes mention of the thorough-drained field as in
a very prosperous state. Canes grown in it, cut when only six
months old, gave a juice of the specific gravity of 1-070; and an
imperial gallon of this juice yielded 1 1b. 2 0z. of beautiful musco-
vado sugar, the molasses from which contained only about one-third
as much salt as molasses from other fields of the estate with open
drains. For the success of the experiments at Lamberts, in this
island, we have the authority of the Leeward Agricultural Society.
In their report, dated the 2d of last May, it is stated, that a field of
24 acres, which in wet seasons had always failed, drained in April
1846, did not suffer at any period of the late wet season; “ whilst
the field adjoining, although of somewhat greater elevation, suf-
fered materially from the effects of water, making, on an average,
one hogshead less per acre than the drained field, although manure
had been applied to the former and not to the latter.” And I have
had confirmation of these favourable results, and I am glad to say,
on an extended scale, from the resident manager on the estate,
Mr Phillips. In a note with which he has obliged me, of the 1st
of this month, he states, that 8 acres of land are now drained and
planted, land similarly situated to that just mentioned as, before
draining, liable to suffer from heavy rain, the bad effect of which it
has entirely escaped this year, and that the canes on it are very su-
perior to any on the estate. He adds, that there are now altogether
15 acres drained, and that he hopes to complete 20 acres before the
end of the year. He specially notices, as worthy of remark, that,
during the severe drought some months ago, the canes on the drained
Jand suffered least; and, yet that the soil of this land, compared
with any other, always appeared drier and mere friable ;—all re-
sults, let me observe, in accordance with the principle of thorough-
draining, and the general experience we have of its effects.
I must not conclude the subject of draining, without briefly ad-
verting to the qualities of soil which may be considered as requiring,
and to the contrary ones not needing it. If the soil be sandy, or
abounding in marl, with a sandy or marly subsoil, it will be suffi-
ciently porous to water; water will not collect and stagnate on it,
except, indeed, its situation be low, and almost on a level with the
sea high water-mark. Moreover, if the soil be shallow, only 3 or 4
feet deep, resting on porous rock, such as the shell and_coral limestone
of Barbadoes commonly is, thorough-draining would be superfluous,
could it be effected. Occasionally, however, and not unfrequently,
this rock is covered with an adventitious incrustation of carbonate of
lime, impervious equally to rain-water and the roots of plants, To
give fertility to land so situated, this crust should be broken through,
as I believe it sometimes is, preparatory to the planting of canes. In
Malta, I may remark incidentally, where a like crust forms on the
d42 Dr Davy’s Agricultural Discourse.
soft porous freestone on which the scanty soil of that island rests,
from time to time the industrious natives bare the rock of its soil,
and make grooves in it, penetrating through the hard incrustation,
so as to admit the passage of rain-water into the rock, and its exha-
lation to the soil during the dry season. The qualities of soil likely
to be benefited by thorough-draining, are the stiff clay soils, or the
lighter and more porous soils, with a substratum of such clays on
which, after heavy rain, water rests in a state of stagnation. Should
it, as regards any soil, be a doubtful question whether it requires or
not the process of thorough-draining, a simple experiment may be
made, which may help to remove the doubt: it is by taking a por-
tion of the soil, and subjecting it to the action of water in a tube, or
a piece of bamboo covered at its lower end by linen, which will sup-
port the soil, and allow water to pass. If the soil, when compressed,
acts in the manner of stiff clay, and does not allow the water to drop
—to flow through it, it is a criterion of the propriety of draining ;
and the contrary, if it permit the passage of water. Trials of this
kind, I apprehend, may be advantageously made to test the proper-
ties of soils, as to their retentive powers; which are graduated, in a
great measure, by the proportion of alumine present, and the pro-
portion of the other earths, in a finely-divided state,—any earth, if
finely-divided, tending to have the same effect as alumine, in retard-
ing or preventing the descent of water. The results of such trials,
moreover, may indicate whether clay should be added to the soil to
increase, or sand or lime to diminish, its power of retaining water.
I have spoken of Dr Shier’s experiment on thorough-draining ;
let me add, what I should have done before, that you wili find the
particulars of it clearly detailed in his published report on thorough-
draining, a report most highly creditable to him as a scientific agri-
cultural chemist, and as a scientific inquirer, and which, for the va-
luable and new information it contains on the subject of which it
treats, is particularly deserving the attention of all tropical agricul-
turists who wish to enter into the minute details of the operation.
It affords a happy example of science and practice combined.
T remarked in commencing this discourse, that irrigation and tho-
rough-draining are allied: they are so, not only inasmuch as water
is mainly concerned in both, but also as to the manner in which it
is concerned. ‘Thorough-draining may be viewed as a slow and deep
irrigation, the water descending from the surface to the drains or
channels conveying away what is superfluous ; whilst irrigation is the
conducting of water over the surface of land in constant slow flow, so
as to afford nourishment to the growing crop, which all experience
proves it to do with wonderful effect. At the same time, it is to be
kept in mind, that the slowly flowing water does not act merely super-
ficially, but that it penetrates deeply ; and not only promotes vege-
tation, but likewise, when properly managed, has a tendency to en-
rich the soil, either by what it deposits, or by its action, through the
Dr Davy’s Agricuitural Discourse. 343
oxygen which it contains, occasioning the decomposition of mineral
compounds in the soil and subsoil, and the setting free of inorganic
substances, those required for the purposes of vegetation, such as the
fixed alkalies, lime and magnesia, and certain acids, especially the
phosphoric, which plants in the act of growing are constantly ab-
stracting from the soil, by, if uncompensated, an exhausting process.
The penetrating water, impregnated with oxygen, is also beneficial,
in converting an injurious compound of iron, when present—the pro-
toxide—into the inert and harmless peroxide, and likewise, and in a
great degree, by favouring the decomposition of animal and vegetable
matter, and the production of carbonic acid and ammonia. For these
latter effects to be fully produced, the land should have the advan-
tage of thorough-draining.
Water of various qualities is employed in irrigation, and, as might
be anticipated, with an effect varying with the quality, that depend-
ing on the substances suspended or dissolved in the water. ‘The
purer the water, the less it will differ in its effect from rain. The
more of decomposing animal and vegetable matter it contains, the
more the effect will be like that of rich manure frequently applied,
under the most favourable circumstances of season as to rain. The
more of earthy matter it holds in suspension, in a finely-divided state
—a state indeed necessary to suspension—the more its influence will
resemble that of a well-watered virgin soil.
According to the kind of crop, water of irrigation, of one or the
other of these qualities, appears to be preferable. The rice-lands of
the mountainous parts of Ceylon yield, year after year, excellent pro-
duce, irrigated by water differing but little from rain water. The
vineyards of Zante and Cephalonia, the fruit of which is the currant-
grape, bear abundantly after a winter irrigation, the water used de-
scending from the hills discoloured by clay, an argillaceous, calcare-
ous marl, much resembling that deposited by the Nile, that vast irri-
gator and fertilizer of the ever-productive valley of Egypt. The
meadows in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, irrigated by the strongly
impregnated sewer-water of that city, are well known for the enor-
mous and repeated crops of grass they yield in the course of the year,
almost without intermission.
The mode in which irrigation is performed is also various, de-
pending very much on the scale. If for garden and limited field
cultivation, in many countries the water used is raised from wells
or cisterns by the Persian wheel, or by the lever and bucket, and
distributed by little canals or gutters. If for extensive cultivation,
streams are conducted from lakes or rivers, and their water admitted
into prepared fields, and diffused over them. There are works for
this purpose in India, tanks and aqueducts of immense magnitude,
miles in cireumference and length, which excite the wonder of the
passing traveller, and are, in the labour expended on them, little
inferior to the jiyramids of Egypt themselves, it has been imagined,
344 Dr Davy’s Agricultural Discourse.
erected for hydraulic purposes. For every species of irrigation, I
need hardly mention that there is one circumstance in common,
which is, the making of the surface of the soil so gently inclined and
regular, as to admit the flow of water over or through it uninter-
ruptedly, with means of excluding the water when necessary.
Having stated thus much generally as to irrigation, I shall ven-
ture to make a few remarks on it, in connection with the cultiva-
tion of the sugar-cane, and the practicability of applying it far more
generally than has hitherto been done to this the staple crop of these
colonies. That irrigation is favourable to this crop, is, I believe, so
well proved, that no doubt can be entertained respecting it. In this
island, I understand, on one estate in St Phillip’s, where the trial
has been made, the success has been great; and that in periods of
drought, when, without irrigation, the canes would hardly have been
worth the reaping. In Berbice, there are one or two estates that I
heard of when there, which had always been productive, yielding, -
even in the driest seasons, and always without the application of ma-
nure, not less than three hogsheads an acre, these estates having a
command of water brought to them by an inland never-failing stream,
derived by a canal from one of the large rivers of that country.
This partial success considered, and the nature of the cane, it
being almost an aquatic plant, is it not deserving of thought, whether
irrigation cannot be more generally applied, and whether all possible
means, consistent with just economy, should not be taken to effect it,
and even at intervals, and occasional, if means permitting it only at
intervals be available ?
In some parts of Barbadoes, especially in the parishes of St Joseph
and St Andrew, and in that portion of St John’s below “ the Cliff,”
there are running streams, some of them perennial, in a great mea-
sure running to waste, which I have no doubt might be turned to
the purposes of irrigation with excellent effect, especially if connected
with terrace cultivation, which, in certain of the hill-sides, in these
parishes where rock is in plenty, capable of affording stone for ter-
race walls of support, might be effected with no great labour and
probably at a small expense. Such terraces are likely to have the
double advantage of facilitating irrigation, and of preventing the soil
from being washed away by heavy rains. Not only in the parishes
named, but in most parts of the island, I imagine, partial irrigation
might be accomplished, by forming channels in the cane-fields, to re-
ceive, after any considerable fall of rain, the running water in small
streams, with such a declivity as to allow of their flowing slowly,
remembering always that it is running water that promotes vegeta-
tion, and stagnant water only that injures it. Such small channels,
after heavy rains, might also prove useful in preventing that accu-
mulation of water, which occasions a destructive flood, that de-
signated here, from its effects, “a wash.”
Were thorough-draining introduced, the water in excess from a
Dr Davy’s Agricultural Discourse. 345
higher level, discharged by the drains, might be made applicable to
partial irrigation in fields of a lower level. Such water, no doubt,
would have a fertilising effect, and, perhaps, even more than ordi-
nary rain-water, as it would contain certain saline substances and
other compounds which are soluble, derived from the soil, and, it may
be, from the manure in the soil, whilst the water is in the act of pass-
ing through it, and thus partaking of the quality of spring-water,
which is always more or less impregnated with foreign matter, from
a like cause, spring-water being rain-water that has passed through
the natural filters of the earth’s surface. Could this water be so ap-
plied to irrigation, it would remove an objection which may be started
on the score of economy against thorough-draining,—an objection,
however, I believe, of no great weight, if we place, as we should,
against the loss by percolation, the gain by active vegetation kept
vigorously so by moisture ; and the gain to the soil, through the
influence of thorough-draining of a decomposing and ameliorating
kind, thereby adding to and deepening and improving it. The sol-
vent power, however, of the percolating water is well worthy of
being kept in mind; and it may raise a question of the propriety of
applying largely manures to the soil at one time, and whether it
would not be better, in the instances of the use of guano, nitrate of
soda, and the like, to adopt the method said to be followed by the
Peruvians, and make the applications in different stages of the crop,
using smaller quantities.
Barbadoes in many respects resembles Malta ; I am speaking of
them now in their agricultural relations. In Malta, as I have al-
ready observed, there is a thin soil, which is of excellent quality,
resting on a porous freestone. That island hasa regular dry season,
extending through the hot montlis of summer, and sometimes longer,
Water there is a great want. To collect and store it, attention is
constantly given, and immense labour has been expended. Not
only every house has its tank, quarried in the rock, but also the
majority of the fields—fields of terrace-construction called made-
fields—‘* Campi artificiali.” When the rains set in, even the pub-
lic roads are made water-channels, and gutters from them convey
the water into the field-tanks, some of which are excavated under
the roads, and have mouths usually covered with large stones, even
in the roads, When the dry season arrives, these tanks are brought
into use. Water is raised from them by the lever and bucket, the
simplest of all mechanical contrivances for the purpose, and applied
to the watering of certain crops, as the cotton crop at a particular
stage, and to various vegetables and fruit-trees. Could such reser-
voirs of water be introduced into Barbadoes, they would unquestion-
ably be very useful, especially for the minor crops, and for garden
cultivation. Of the happy effects of water applied to the latter, an
instance offers, close to the garrison of St Anns, where an intelli-
gent and active Italian from Tuscany, has brought a picce of lad,
346 Dr Davy’s Agricultural Discourse.
recently considered worthless, into the highest state of culture ; and
by the help of water from wells which he has sunk, and which, from
their low situation, are never dry, he has succeeded in growing vege-
tables for the table throughout the year.
I must now, Gentlemen, bring this discourse to a conclusion. If
I have occupied an undue portion of the time of the meeting, I must
plead as an excuse the importance of the subjects treated of, which,
even had I more time, I am conscious I could not have done justice
to, and the peculiarity in relation to the agriculture of the colonies
of the present period, and the prevailing impression, in consequence
of this peculiarity, that your agriculture cannot continue to flourish,
unless all possible means are taken to improve it. I allude to the
free-trade measures which have become popular at home, and which
have been carried out in part, and are likely to he extended, by Her
Majesty’s Government—measures which, if carried out in-their true
spirit, and liberally and rightly conducted, will assimilate, I cannot
help thinking, international trade to the home trade, now allowed
to be the most beneficial and the most profitable. Supposing, then,
protection to colonial interests to be withdrawn, as is portended, and
no discriminating duties allowed—a form of such protection—you
will have to compete with thea griculturists of the world; not only
with those of Hindostan and the far East, but what you seem to
dread more, with those of Brazil, and the Spanish and French slave-
colonies of the West Indies.
If I may venture to express an opinion, and I trust I may, as it
is hopeful,—I cannot but think, if you put forth your energies,
adopting every improvement that is economical, using implements as
much as possible to spare human labour ; paying well for what is em-
ployed, to encourage exertion and skill ; and making an effort, which
it is to be hoped will have encouragement from the Home Govern-
ment, to improve your manufacturing processes ; doing this, I cannot
but think that you will be successful,—and that equally against the
very cheap labour of the East Indies, and the slave-labour of the
West. ‘The one weak, and of little efficiency, so that it is rather
cheap in name than in reality, and perhaps, better fitted for cotton
than for the sugar-cane cultivation,— to which (the former) it appears
probable, if the Navigation Laws be abrogated, it will soon be
specially directed. The other forced, hardly to be depended on,
and, as to cheapness and efficiency, even doubtful.
We have been told recently, that when the admission of slave-
grown sugars into the English market was made known in Cuba,
there were rejoicings and illuminations ;—followed by excessive
labour ;—that the slaves during crop-time, in the boiling-houses,
were kept constantly oceupied fifteen hours in the twenty-four ; and
how, in the fields, they were kept to their task by the terror of the
whips of the drivers,—these defended by blood-hounds ; how, in ac-
cordance with this system, life is sacrificed there to work,—it being
thought more profitable to make new purchases, than to take any
Dr Davy’s Agricultural Discourse. 347
fo)
from 200 to 500 dollars is the market-price of a slave. Such par-
ticulars, and others of a horrid kind, we have from a writer, who has
lately been in Cuba, he says, and, judging from the want of expres-
sion of feeling by him in giving the particulars, not averse to slave-
labour; and therefore, probably, he has not exaggerated.
Such a system—such proceeding, may glut the home-market for a
time ; but can it be profitable long? surely not ; a system connected
with such monstrous vice, we may be confident cannot flourish. I
should as soon expect that piracy would be successful for a continu-
ance, and become an authorised calling. if it be profitable for the
moment, depend upon it, it will meet with some great reverse, after
the manner of piracy, as exemplified in the history of the Buccaneers,
and with a punishment equal to the crimes that maintain it. Even
without some signal visitation, I cannot believe that such a system
can be long profitable,—when so high a price is paid for slaves,—
and the period of their labour is so “short, averaging, it is said, not
more than ten years. And that it is not, seems to be denoted by
these very colonies inyporting free labourers; and one of them, it is
stated, even from China, But whether profitable or not, whether
signally punished or not, this we are sure of—that man has a con-
science, through which, even in this life, it cannot be doubted, that
he is punished for his misdeeds, and rewarded for his good acts, In
the ancient drama, the perpetrators of great crimes were held up to
horror, as haunted by the avenging Furies, lashed by their whips of
snakes and scorpions, and allowed no rest. These, in all times, are
the stings of conscience, when awakened to a sense of guilt.
A President of the United States, Mr Jefferson, who, from his
own experience, knew well the evils of slavery, and the dangers con-
nected with it, alluding to these, has said :—‘ Indeed, I tremble
for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice can-
not sleep for ever; that considering numbers, nature, and natural
means only, a revolution in the wheel of fortune, an exchange of
situation, is among possible events; that it may become probable by
supernatural inter rfer ence! The Almighty has no attribute which can
take side with us in such a contest.”
Your success, Gentlemen, to which I have said, I look forward hope-
fully, if earned, as I expect, will be of the right kind, owing to your
own exertions, without any strain on humanity, or violation of duty,
beneficial to your labourers and the community at large; nor likely
to be ephemeral, or soon to pass away ; on the contrary to be stable,
and to increase in amount with its endurance, which may be held to
be characteristic of what is right, of which we have so many proofs
in history, both ancient and modern, and remarkably so, as regards
the converse, in the history of our own times, during the last half
century, of which that of St Domingo alone may be held to be an
epitome.
These few remarks, I trust you will receive with the indulgence I
care, entailing expense, of the labouring slaves; and this, although
348 The Present Condition of the Indian Archipelago.
have been accustomed to have from you. They may appear foreign
from my subjects; but, there are times when it seems a duty to
express individual opinion, and raise the voice against what is mon-
strous. I have faith that the sentiments I have now expressed will
have your approval and sympathy, and so received and approved,
individual opinion acquires the character of public opinion, and
carries with it its weight.
Apart from virtue and vice, right and wrong, it is a problem,
merely economically considered, in the minds of many reflecting per-
sons, which kind of labour is most profitable—slave or free labour.
I trust, Gentlemen, it is your destiny to prove, and it will be a high
destiny in regard to its probable consequences, that the free—the
right labour, is truly that which makes, in the long run of time, the
best return. And let this be but proved,—then, even amongst
merely money-making men, slavery should fall, being without even
a plausible support.
The Present Condition of the Indian Archipelago.*
Physical relation of the Archipelago to the Continent of Asia.—Hypo-
thesis of their former connection.—Influence of its geological develop-
ment on the distribution and form of the islands, on climate and vege-
tation.—Luxuriance of the latter, character thereby given to the small
islands, to the mountains.—Change caused by volcanic eruptions.—
Forests of the Archipelago, their character, wild animals.—The life
of the sea-marshes, beaches, and banks.—Testimony of naturalists to
the exuberance and beauty of animal and vegetable life.—Influence
of the physical on the human history of the region,—population an
extension of that of the continent.—Two great eras in its civil his-
tory.— Wild nomades of the forests and the sea.—Hindu civilization.
—Mahomedan.—Rise of dominant nations.—European influence.—
Great diversity of tribes, languages, customs, forms of government.—
Human and life industry in the Archipelago at the present day.—
Great piratical communities.—Slave trade.—Social and personal con-
dition of the inhabitants.—Present degeneracy of the governments
from the influence of the European dominations—foreign elements of
change—means of amelioration—duty of England.
The first and most general consideration in a physical review of
the Archipelago is its relation to the Continent of Asia, In the
platform, on which the largest and most important lands are distri-
buted, we see a great root which the stupendous mass of Asia has
sent forth from its south-eastern side, and which, spreading far to
the south beneath the waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and
there expanding and shooting up by its plutonic and volcanic energy,
* As the Journal of the Indian Archipelago, already recommended to public
attention in this Journal, has scarcely reached Europe, we have pleasure in lay-
ing before our readers part of an introductory memoir by the Hditor.
The Present Condition of the Indian Archipelago. 349
has covered them, and marked its tract with innumerable islands.
That there is a real and not merely a fanciful connection between
the Archipelago and Asia is demonstrable, although, when we en-
deavour to trace its history, we are soon lost in the region of specu-
lation. So obvious is this connection, that it has been a constant
source of excitement to the imagination, which, in the traditions of
the natives, and in the hypotheses of Europeans, has sought its
origin in an earlier geographical unity. Certainly, if in the progress
of the elevatory and depressing movements which the region is pro-
bably undergoing even now, the land were raised but a little, we
should see shallow seas dried up, the mountain ranges of Sumatra,
Borneo, and Java, become continental like those of the Peninsula,
and great rivers flowing not only in the Straits of Malacca, whose
current early navigators mistook for that of an inland stream, but
through the wide valley of the China Sea, and by the deep and nar-
row Strait of Sunda, into the Indian Ocean. Thus the unity would
become geographical, which is now only geological. That the great
platform from which only mountains and hills rose above the sea-
level, till the materials drawn from them by the rains were rolled
out into the present alluvial plains, is really an extension of the
Asiatic mass, appears evident from the facts, amongst many others
which require a separate geological paper for their discussion, and
would be less readily appreciated by the general reader, that its di-
rection, as a whole, is that which a continuation of South-Eastern
Asia, under the same plutonic action which produced it, would pos-
sess ;—the mountain ranges, which form the latter, sink into it ir-
regularly in the lines of their longitudinal axes ;—in one zone, that
of the Peninsula, the connection is an actual geographical one ;—the
Peninsula is obviously continued in the dense clusters of islands and
rocks, stretching on the parallel of its elevation and of the strike of
its sedimentary rocks from Singapore to Banka, and almost touches
Sumatra, the mountain ranges of which are, notwithstanding, parallel
to it ;—Borneo and Celebes appear to represent the broader or east-
ern branch of the Indo-Chinese Peninsula, from which they are sepa-
rated by the area of the China Sea, supposed to be sinking ;—and,
finally, nearly the whole Archipelago is surrounded by a great vol-
canic curve, rooted in Asia itself, and the continuity of which demon-
strates that the platform and the continental projection with which
it is geographically connected are really united at this day into one
geological region by a still vigorous power of plutonic expansiveness,
no longer, to appearance, forming hypogene elevations, but expend-
ing itself chiefly in the numerous volcanic vents along the borders
where it sinks into the depths of the ocean.
Whether the present platform ever rose above the level of the sea
and surrounded the new insular eminences with vast undulating
plains of vegetation, instead of a level expanse of water, we shall
not here seek to decide, although we think that Raffles, and others
350 The Present Condition of the Indian Archipelago.
who have followed in his steps, too hastily connected the supposed
subsidence with the existing geological configuration of the region,
and neglected the all-important evidence of the comparative distri-
bution of the living flora and fauna, which seems to prove that the
ancient southern continent, if such there was, had subsided before
they came into existence. No conclusive reasons haye yet been ad-
duced why we should consider the islands of the Archipelago as the
summits of a partially submerged, instead of a partially emerged,
continent. - But whether it was the sinking of the continent that de-
luged all the southern lowlands of Asia, leaving only the mountain
summits visible, or its elevation that was arrested by the exhaustion
of the plutonic energy, or the conversion of its upheaving into an
ejecting action, on the opening of fractures along the outskirts of the
region, before the feebler action there had brought the sea-bed into
contact with the atmosphere, the result has been to form an expanse
of shallow seas and islands elsewhere unequalled in the world, but
perhaps not greater in proportion to the wide continental shores,
and the vast bulk of dry land in front of which it is spread out, than
other archipelagoes are to the particular countries or continental
sections with which they are connected.
The forms and positions of these islands bear an older date than
that of any limited subsidence or elevation of the region after its for-
mation. They were determined by the same forces which originally
caused the platform itself to swell up above the deep floor of the
southern ocean; and it was one prolonged act of the subterranean
power to raise the Himalayas into the aérial level of perpetual snow,
to spread out the submarine bed on which the rivers were afterwards
to pile the hot plains of Bengal, and to mould the surface of the
southern region, so that when it rose above, or sunk into, the sea to
certain levels, the mutual influences of air and sea and land should
be so balanced, that while the last drew from the first a perennial
ripeness and beauty of summer, it owed to the second a perennial
freshness and fecundity of spring. Hence it is, that in the Archi-
pelago, while the bank of black mud daily overflowed by the tides is
hidden beneath a dense forest, and the polypifer has scarcely reared
its tower to the sea’s surface before it is converted into a green islet,
the granitic rocks of the highest plutonic summits, and the smoke of
the volcanic peaks, rise from amidst equally luxuriant and more
varied vegetation. Certainly, the most powerfully impressive of all
the characteristics of the Archipelago is its botanical exuberance,
which has exercised the greatest influence on the history and habits
of its human inhabitants, and which, as the most obvious, first ex-
cites the admiration of the voyager, and from its never staling, be-
cause ever renewing itself in fresh and changelul beauty, retains its
hold upon our feelings to the last.
When we enter the seas of the Archipelago we are in a new world.
Land and ocean are strangely intermingled. Great islands are dis-
The Present Condition of the Indian Archipelago. 351
joined by narrow straits, which, in the case of those of Sunda, lead at
once into the smooth waters and green level shores of the interior,
from the rugged and turbulent outer coast, which would otherwise
have opposed to us an unbroken wall more than two thousand miles
in length. We pass from one mediterranean sea to another,—now
through groups of islets so small that we encounter many in an hour,
—and presently along the coasts of those so large that we might be
months in circumnavigating them. Even in crossing the widest of
the eastern seas, when the last green speck has sunk beneath the
horizon, the mariner knows that a circle drawn with a radius of two
days’ sail would touch more land than water, and even that, if the eye
were raised to a sufficient height, while the islands he had left would
reappear on the one side, new shores would be seen on almost every
other. But it is the wonderful freshness and greenness in which, go
where he will, each new island is enveloped, that impresses itself on
his senses as the great distinctive character of the region. The equi-
noctial warmth of the air, tempered and moistened by a constant eva-
poration, and purified by periodical winds, seems to be imbued with
penetrating life-giving virtue, under the influence of which even the
most barren rock becomes fertile. Hence, those groups of small
islands which sometimes enyiron the larger ones like clusters of satel-
lites, or mark where their ranges pursue their course beneath the sea,
often appear, in particular states of the atmosphere, when a zone of
white quiyering light surrounds them and obliterates their coasts, to
be dark umbrageous gardens floating on a wide lake, whose gleaming
surface would be too dazzling were it not traversed by the shadows
of the clouds, and covered by the breeze with an incessant play of
light and shade. Far different from the placid beauty of such scenes
is the effect of the mountain domes and peaks which elsewhere rise
against the sky. In these the voyager sees the grandeur of Euro-
pean mountains repeated, but with all that is austere or savage trans-
formed into softness and beauty. The snow and glaciers are replaced
by a mighty forest, which fills every ravine with dark shade, and
arrays every peak and ridge in glancing light. Even the peculiar
beauties which the summits of the Alps borrow from the atmosphere,
are sometimes displayed. The Swiss, gazing on the lofty and ma-
jestic form of a yolcanic mountain, is astonished to behold, at the
rising of the sun, the peaks inflamed with the same rose-red glow
which the snowy summits of Mont Rosa and Mont Blanc reflect at
its setting, and the smoke wreaths, as they ascend from the crater
into mid air, shining in golden hues like the clouds of heaven.*
But, serene in their beauty and magnificence as these mountains
generally appear, they hide in their bosoms elements of the highest
terrestial sublimity and awe, compared with whose appalling energy,
* M., Zollinger, in describing Mount Semira in Jaya, notices this singular re-
semblance to the mountains of his native country.
352 The Present Condition of the Indian Archipelago.
not only the bursten lakes and the rushing avalanches of the Alps,
but the most devastating explosions of Vesuvius or Etna, cease to
terrify the imagination. When we look upon the ordinary aspects
of these mountains, it is almost impossible to believe the geological
story of their origin, and if our senses yield to science, they tacitly
revenge themselves by placing, in the remotest past, the era of such
convulsions as it relates. But the nether powers, though imprisoned,
are not subdued. The same telluric energy which piled the mountain
from the ocean to the clouds, even while we gaze in silent worship
on its glorious form, is silently gathering in its dark womb, and time
speeds on to the day, whose coming science can neither foretell nor
prevent, when the mountain is rent; the solid foundations of the
whole region are shaken ; the earth is opened to vomit forth destroy-
ing fires upon the living beings who dwell upon its surface, or closed
to engulph them; the forests are deluged by lava, or withered by
sulphurous vapours; the sun sets at noonday behind the black
smoke which thickens over the sky, and spreads far and wide, rain-
ing ashes throughout a circuit hundreds of miles in diameter ; till
it seems to the superstitious native that the fiery abodes of the
volcanic dewas are disembowelling themselves, possessing the earth,
and blotting out the heavens, The living remnants of the genera-
tion whose doom it was to inhabit Sumbawa in 1815, could tell us
that this picture is but a faint transcript of the reality, and that our
imagination can never conceive the dreadful spectacle which still ap-
pals their memories. Fortunately, these awful explosions of the
earth, which to man convert nature into the supernatural, occur at
rare intervals; and, though scarcely a year elapses without some vol-
cano bursting into action, the greater portion of the Archipelago be-
ing more than once shaken, and even the ancient granitic floor of the
Peninsula trembling beneath us, this terrestrial instability has ordi-
narily no worse effect than to dispel the illusion that we tread upon
a solid globe, to convert the physical romance of geological history
into the familiar associations of our own lives, and to unite the events
of the passing hour with those which first fitted the world for the ha-
bitation of man.
We have spoken of the impression which the exterior beauty of
the Archipelago makes upon the voyager, and the fearful change
which sometimes comes over it, when the sea around him is hidden
beneath floating ashes mingled with the charred wrecks of the noble
forests which had clothed the mountain sides; but, hurried though
we are from one part of our slight sketch to another, we cannot
leave the vegetation of this great region without looking upon it
more closely. ‘To recall the full charms, however, of the forests of
the Archipelago—which is to speak of the Archipelago itself, for the
greater portion of it is at this moment, as the whole of it once was.
clothed to the water’s edge with trees—we must animate their soli-
tudes with the tribes which dwell there in freedom, ranging through
The Present Condition of the Indian Archipelago. 353
their boundless shade as unconscious of the presence of man, and as
unwitting of his dominion as they were thousands of years ago,
when he did not dream that the world held such lands and such
creatures.
When we pass from the open sea of the Archipelago into the
deep shade of its mountain-forests, we have realised all that, in
Europe, our fancies ever pictured of the wildness and beauty of prime-
val nature. Trees of gigantic forms and exuberant foliage rise on
every side: each species shooting up its trunk to its utmost measure
of development, and striving, as it seems, to escape from the dense
crowd. Others, as if no room were left for them to grow in the or-
dinary way, emulate the shapes and motions of serpents, enwrap
their less pliant neighbours in their folds, twine their branches into
one connected canopy, or hang down,—here, loose and swaying in the
air, or in festoons from tree to tree,—and there, stiff and rooted, like
the yards which support the mast of a ship. No sooner has decay
diminished the green array of a branch, than its place is supplied by
epiphites, chiefly fragrant orchidaceze, of singular and beautiful
forms. While the eye in vain seeks to familiarise itself with the
exuberance and diversity of the forest vegetation, the ear drinks in
the sounds of life which break the silence and deepen the solitude.
Of these, while the interrupted notes of birds, loud or low, rapid or
long-drawn, cheerful or plaintive, and ranging over a greater or less
musical compass, are the most pleasing, the most constant are those
of insects, which sometimes rise into a shrill and deafening clangour ;
and the most impressive, and those which bring out all the wildness
and loneliness of the scene, are the prolonged complaining cries of
the ankas, which rise, loud and more loud, till the twilight air is
filled with the clear, powerful, and melancholy sounds. As we pe-
netrate deeper into the forest, its animals,—few at any one place,—are
soon seen to be, in reality, numerous and varied. Green and harm-
less snakes hang like tender branches. Others of deeper and
mingled colours, but less innocuous, lie coiled up, or, disturbed by
the human intruder, assume an angry and dangerous look, but
glide out of sight. Insects in their shapes and hues imitate leaves,
twigs, and flowers. Monkeys, of all sizes and colours, spring from
branch to branch, or, in long trains, rapidly steal up the trunks.
Deer, and amongst them the graceful palandoh, no bigger than a
hare, and celebrated in Malayan poetry, on our approach fly startled
from the pools which they and the wild hog most frequent. Lively
squirrels, of different species, are everywhere met with. Amongst
a great variety of other remarkable animals which range the
forests, we may, according to our locality, encounter herds of
elephants, the rhinoceros, tigers, the tapir, the babirasa, the
orangiitan, the sloth; and, of the winged tribes, the gorgeously
beautiful birds of paradise, the loris, the peacock, and the argus
pheasant. ‘The mangrove rivers and creeks are haunted by huge
VOL, XLIV. NO. LXXXVII.—APRIL 1848. Z
354 The Present Condition of the Indian Archipelago.
alligators. An endless variety of fragile and richly-coloured shells
not only lie empty on the sandy beaches, but are tenanted by pagu-
rjan crabs, which, in clusters, batten on every morsel of fat sea-weed
that has been left by the retiring waves. The coasts are fringed
with living rocks of beautiful colours, and shaped like stars, flowers,
bushes, and other symmetrical forms. Of multitudes of peculiar
animals which inhabit the seas, the dugong, or Malayan mermaid,
most attracts our wonder,
Before we leave this part of our subject, we would assure any
European reader who may suspect that we have in aught written
too warmly of the physical beauty of the Archipelago, that the same
Nature which, in the west, only reveals her highest and most prodi-
gal terrestrial beauty to the imagination of the poet, has here un-
girdled herself, and given her wild and glowing charms, in all their
fulness, to the eye of day. The ideal has here passed into the real.
The few botanists who have visited this region declare, that from
the multitude of its noble trees, odorous and beautiful flowers, and
wonderful vegetable forms of all sorts, it is inconceivable in its mag-
nificence, luxuriance, and variety. The zoologists, in their turn,
bear testimony to the rare, curious, varied, and important animals
which inhabit it, and the number and character of those already
known is such as to justify one of the most distinguished of the day
in expressing his belief, that ‘no region on the face of the earth
would furnish more novel, splendid, or extraordinary forms than the
unexplored islands in the eastern range of the Indian Archipelago.’
Hitherto we have faintly traced the permanent influence of the
physical configuration of the Archipelago in tempering the inter-
tropical heat, regulating the monsoons, determining the distribution
of plants and animals, and giving to the whole region its peculiar
character of softness and exuberant beauty. But when its rock
foundations were laid, the shadow of its future human as well as
natural history spread over them. Its primal physical architec-
ture, in diminishing the extent of dry land, has increased the va-
riety in the races who inhabit it; while the mineralogical constitu-
tion of the insulated elevations, the manner in which they are dis-
persed throughout its seas, and all the meteoric and botanical con-
sequences, have affected them in innumerable modes. Again, as we
saw that the platform of the Archipelago is but an extension of the
great central mass of Asia, and that the direction of the subterranean
forces had determined the ranges of the land, so we find that its
population is but an extension of the Asiatic families, and that the
direction of migration was marked out by the same forces. But,
separated by the sea from the great plains and valleys of the conti-
nent, having the grand routes of communication covered by moun-
tains and dense and difficultly penetrable forest, the Archipelago
could not be peopled by hordes, but must have owed its aborigines
to the occasional wandering of small parties or single families. The
The Present Condition of the Indian Archipelago. 355
migrations from one island to another were probably equally limited
and accidental ; and the small and scattered communities in such as
were inhabited, must, for a long period, have remained secluded from
all others, save when a repetition of similar accidents added a few
more units to the human denizens of the forests. __
We cannot here attempt to retrace in the most concise manner
the deeply interesting history of the tribes of the Archipelago, so
exciting from the variety of its elements, and its frequent, though
not impenetrable, mystery. We can but distinguish the two great
eras into which it divides itself,—that, at the commencement of
which some of the inhabitants of the table-land of Asia, having
slowly traversed the south-eastern valleys and ranges, a work per-
haps of centuries, appeared on the confines of the Archipelago, no
longer nomades of the plains but of the jungles, with all the changes
in ideas, habits, and language which such transformation implies,
and prepared by their habits to give rise, under the influences of
their new position, to the nomades of the sea ;—and the second era,
that, at the commencement of which the forest and pelagic nomades,
scattered over the interior, and along the shores, of the islands of
the Archipelago, in numerous petty tribes, each with some peculi-
arities in its habits and language, but all bearing a family resem-
blance, were discovered in their solitudes by the earliest navigators
from the civilized nations of the continent.
The ensuing, or what, although extending over a period of about
two thousand years, we may term the modern history of the Archi-
pelago, first exhibits the Klings from southern India,—who were a
civilized maritime people probably three thousand years ago,—fre-
quenting the islands for their peculiar productions, awakening a
taste for their manufactures in the inhabitants, settling amongst
them, introducing their arts and religion partially communicating
these and a little of their manners and habits to their disciples,
but neither by much intermarriage altering their general physical
character, nor by moral influence obliterating their ancient super-
Stitions, their comparative simplicity and robustness of character,
and their freedom from the effeminate vanity which probably then,
as in later times, distinguished their teachers. At a comparatively
recent period, Islamism supplanted Hinduism in most of the com-
munities which had grown up under the influence of the latter, but
it had still less modifying operation; and, amongst the great bulk
of the people, the conversion from a semi-Hindu condition to that
of Mahomedanism was merely formal. Their intellects, essentially
simple, and impatient of discipline and abstract contemplation, could
as little appreciate the scholastic refinements of the one religion, as
the complex and elaborate mythological machinery and psychological
subtleties of the other. While the Malay of the nineteenth century
exhibits in his manner, and in many of his formal usages and habits,
the influence which Indians and Arabs have exerted on his race, he
356 The Present Condition of the Indian Archipelago.
remains, physically and morally, in all the broader and deeper traits
of nature, what he was when he first entered the Archipelago; and
even on his manners, usages, and habits, influenced as they have
been, his distinctive original character is still very obviously im-
pressed.
We cannot do more than allude to the growth of population and
civilization in those localities which, from their extent of fertile soil
or favourable commercial position, rose into eminence, and became
the seats of powerful nations. But it must be borne in mind that,
although these localities were varied and wide-spread, they occupied
but a small portion of the entire surface of the Archipelago, and
that the remainder continued to be thinly inhabited by uncivilized
tribes, communities, or wandering families.
Prevented, until a very recent date, by stubborn prejudices and
an overweening sense of superiority, from understanding and influ-
encing the people of the Archipelago, the European dominations
have not directly affected them at all; and the indirect operation of
the new power, and mercantile and political policies which they in-
troduced, has been productive of much evil and very little good.
While, on the one hand, the native industry and trade have been
stimulated by increased demand and by the freedom enjoyed in the
English ports, they have, on the other hand, been subjected by the
Portuguese, English, and Duich, to a series of despotic restraints,
extending over a period of three hundred years: and, within the
range of the last nation’s influence, continued, however modified, to
this hour: which far more than counterbalance all the advantages
that can be placed in the opposite scale.
The effect of the successive immigrations, revolutions, and admix-
tures, which we have indicated or alluded to, has been that there are
now in the Archipelago an extraordinary number of races, differing
in colour, habits, civilization, and language, and living under forms
of government and laws, or customs, exhibiting the greatest variety.
The same cause which isolated the aborigines into numerous distinct
tribes and kept them separate,—the exuberant vegetation of the
islands,—has resisted the influence, so far as it was originally
amalgamating, of every successive foreign civilization that has domi-
nated; and the aboriginal nomades of the jungle and the sea, in
their unchanged habits and mode of life, reveal to their European
contemporary the condition of their race, at a time when his own
forefathers were as rude, and far more savage. The more civilized
races, after attaining a certain measure of advancement, have been
separated by their acquired habits from the unaltered races, and
have too often turned their superiority into the means of oppressing,
and thereby more completely imprisoning in the barbarism of the
jungles, such of them as lived in their proximity. So great is the
diversity of tribes, that if a dry catalogue of names suited the pur-
pose of this sketch, we could not afford space to enumerate them.
The Present Condition of the Indian Archipelago. 857
But, viewing human life in the Archipelago as a general contem-
plation, we may recall a few of the broader peculiarities which
would be most likely to dwell on the memory after leaving the re-
gion.
In the hearts of the forests we meet man scantily covered with
the bark of a tree, and living on wild fruits, which he seeks with the
agility of the monkey, and wild animals, which he tracks with the
keen eye and scent of a beast of prey, and slays with a poisoned ar-
row, projected from a hollow bambi, by his breath. In lonely creeks
and straits we see him in a small boat, which is his cradle, his house,
and his bed of death ; which gives him all the shelter he ever needs,
and enables him to seize the food which always surrounds him. On
plains, and on the banks of rivers, we see the civilised planter convert-
ing the moist flats into rice-fields, overshadowing his neat cottage of
bambi, nibong, aud palm-leaves, with the graceful and bounteous
cocoa-nut, and surrounding it with fruits, the variety and flavour of
which European luxury might envy, and often with fragrant flower-
ing trees and shrubs which the greenhouses of the West do not pos-
sess. Where the land is not adapted for wet rice, he pursues a sys-
tem of husbandry which the farmer of Europe would view with as-
tonishment. Too indolent to collect fertilising appliances, and well
aware that the soil will not yield two successive crops of rice, he takes
but one, after having felled and burned the forest ; and he then leaves
nature, during a ten years fallow, to accumulate manure for his se-
cond crop in the vegetable matter elaborated by the new forest that
springs up. Relieved from the care of his crop he searches the
forests for ratans, canes, timber, fragrant woods, oils, wax, gums,
caoutchouc, gutta-percha, dyes, camphor, wild nutmeg, tbe tusks of
the elephant, the horn and hide of the rhinoceros, the skin of the
tiger, parrots, birds of paradise, argus pheasants, and materials for
mats, roofs, baskets, and receptacles of various kinds. If he lives
near the coast, he collects fish, fish-maws, fish-roes, slugs (trepang),
sea-weed (agaragar), tortoise-shell, rare corals, and mother of pearl.
To the eastward, great fishing voyages are annually made to the
shores of Australia for trepang. In many parts, pepper, coffee, or
betel-nut, to a large, and tobacco, ginger, and other articles, to a con-
siderable extent, are cultivated. Where the hirundo esculenta is
found, the rocks are climbed and the caves explored for its costly
edible nest. In different parts of the Archipelago the soil is dug for
tin, antimony, iron, gold, or diamouds. The more civilised nations
make cloths and weapons, not only for their own use but for export~
ation. ‘The traders, including the Rajahs, purchase the commodities
which we have mentioned, dispose of them to the European, Chinese,
Arab, or Kling navigator who visits their shores, or send them in
their own vessels to the markets of Singapore, Batavia, Samarang,
Manilla, and Maccassar. In these are gathered all the products of
the Archipelago, whether such as the native inhabitants procure by
358 The Present Condition of the Indian Archipelago.
their unassisted industry, or such as demand the skill and capital of
the European or Chinese for their cultivation or manufacture ; and,
amongst the latter, nutmegs, cloves, sugar, indigo, sago, gambier,
tea, and the partially cultivated cinnamon and cotton. To these busy
marts, the vessels of the first maritime people of the Archipelago,
the Bugis, and those of many Malayan communities, bring the pro-
duce of their own countries, and that which they have collected from
neighbouring lands, or from the wild tribes, to furnish cargoes for
the ships of Europe, America, Arabia, India, Siam, China, and
Australia. To the bazar of the Eastern seas, commerce brings re-
presentatives of every industrious nation of the Archipelago, and of
every maritime people in the civilised world.
Although, therefore, cultivation has made comparatively little im-
pression on the vast natural vegetation, and the inhabitants are de-
void of that unremitting laboriousness which distinguish the Chinese
and European, the Archipelago, in its industrial aspect, presents an
animated and varied scene. The industry of man, when civilisation
or over-population has not destroyed the natural balance of life, must
ever be the complement of the bounty of nature. The inhabitant of
the Archipelago is as energetic and laborious as nature requires him
to be; and he does not convert the world into a workshop, as the
Chinese and the Kling immigrants do, because his world is not, like
theirs, darkened with the pressure of crowded population and over-
competition, nor is his desire to accumulate wealth excited and goaded
by the contrast of splendour and luxury on the one hand, and penury
on the other,—by the pride and assumptions of wealth and station,
and the humiliations of poverty and dependence.
While in the voleanic soils of Java, Menangkabau and Celebes,
and many other parts of the Archipelago, population has increased,
an industry suited to the locality and habits of each people prevails,
and distinct civilisations, on the peculiar features of which we can-
not touch, have been nurtured and developed ; other islands, less fa-
voured by nature, or under the influence of particular historical cir-
cumstances, have become the seats of great piratical communities,
which periodically send forth large fleets to sweep the seas, and
lurk along the shores, of the Archipelago, despoiling the seafaring
trader of the fruits of his industry and his personal liberty, and car-
rying off, from their very homes, the wives and children of the vil-
lagers. From the creeks and rivers of Borneo and Johore, from the
numerous islands between Singapore and Banka, and from other parts
of the Archipelago, piratical expeditions less formidable than those
of the Lanuns of Sulu are year after year fitted out. No coast is
so thickly peopled, and no harbour so well protected, as to be secure
from all molestation, for, where open force would be useless, re-
course is had to stealth and stratagem. Men have been kidnapped
in broad day in the harbours of Pinang and Singapore. Several
inhabitants of Province Wellesley, who had been carried away from
The Present Condition of the Indian Archipelago. 359
their houses through the harbour of Pinang and down the Straits of
Malacca to the southward, were recently discovered by the Dutch
authorities living in a state of slavery, and restored to their homes.
But the ordinary abodes of the pirates themselves are not always at
a distance from the European settlements. As the thug of Bengal
is only known in his own village as a peaceful peasant, so the pirate,
when not absent on an expedition, appears jn the river, and along
the shores and islands of Singapore, as an honest boatman or fisherman.
When we turn from this brief review of the industry of the Ar-
chipelago, and its great internal enemy, to the personal and social
condition of the inhabitants, we are struck by the mixture of simpli-
city and art, of rudeness and refinement, which characterises all the
principal nations. No European has ever entered into free and
kindly intercourse with them, without being much more impressed
by their virtues than their faults. They contrast most favourably
with the Chinese and the Klings in their moral characters ; and al-
though they do not, like those pliant races, readily adapt themselves
to the requirements of foreigners, in their proper sphere they are
intelligent, shrewd, active, and, when need is, laborious. Comparing
them even with the general condition of many civilized nations of far
higher pretensions, our estimate must be favourable. Their man-
ners are distinguished by a mixture of courtesy and freedom which
is very attractive. Even the poorest while frank are well bred,
and, excluding the communities that are corrupted by piracy, or a
mixture with European seaman and low Chinese and Klings, we
never see an impudent air, an insolent look, or any exhibition of im-
modesty, or hear coarse, abusive, or indecent Janouage. In their
mutual intercourse they are respectful, and, while good-humoured
and open, habitually reflective and considerate. They are much
given to amusements of various kinds, fond of music, poetry, and
romances ; and in their common conversation addicted to sententious
remarks, proverbs, and metrical sentiments or allusions. To the
first impression of the European, the inhabitants, like the vegetation
and animals of the Archipelago, are altogether strange ; because the
characteristics in which they differ from those to which we are habi-
tuated, affect the senses more vividly than those in which they agree.
For a time the colour, features, dress, manners, and habits which we
see, and the languages which we hear, are those of a new world. But
with the fresh charms, the exaggerated impressions also of novelty
wear away ; and then, retracing our steps, we wonder that people
so widely separated from the nations of the west, both geographically
and historically, and really differing so much in their outward aspect,
should, in their more latent traits, so much resemble them. The
nearer we come to the inner spirit of humanity, the more points of
agreement appear, and this not merely in the possession of the uni-
versal attributes of human nature, but in specific habits, usages, and
superstitions.
What at first seems stranger still is, that when we seek the native
c
360 The Present Condition of the Indian Archipelago.
of the Archipelago in the mountains of the interior, where he has
lived for probably more than two thousand years secluded from all
foreign influence, and where we expect to find all the differences at
their maximum, we are sometimes astonished to find him approxi-
mating most closely of all to the European. In the Jaktn, for in-
stance, girded though his loins are with terap bark, and armed as he
is with his sumpitan and poisoned arrows, we recognise the plain
and clownish manners, and simple ideas of the uneducated peasant
in the more secluded parts of European countries ; and when he de-
scribes how, at his merry-makings, his neighbours assemble, the ar-
rack tampti flows around, and the dance, in which both sexes mingle,
is prolonged, till each seats himself on the ground with his partner
on his knee and his bambn of arrack by his side, when the dance
gives place to song, we are forcibly reminded of the free and jovial,
if rude, manners of the lower rural classes of the west. Freed from
the repellant prejudices and artificial trappings of Hindu and Maho-
medan civilisation, we see in the man of the Archipelago more that
is akin than the reverse to the unpolished man of Europe.
When we turn to the present political condition of the Archipe-
lago, we are struck by the contrast which it presents to that which
characterised it three or four centuries ago. The mass of the people,
it is true, in all their private relations, remain in nearly the same
state in which they were found by the earliest European voyagers,
and in which they had existed for many centuries previously. But,
as nations, they have withered in the presence of the uncongenial,
greedy, aud relentless spirit of European policy. They have been
subdued by the hard and determined will of Europeans, who, in gene-
ral, have pursued the purposes for which they have come into the
Archipelago, without giving any sympathy to the inhabitants. The
nomadic spirit, never extinguished during all the changes which they
underwent, had made them adventurous and warlike when they rose
into nations. But now, long overawed and restrained by the power
of Europeans, the national habits of action have, in most parts of
the Archipelago, been lost, or are only faintly maintained in the
piratical expeditions of some. Their pride has fallen. Their living
literature is gone, with the power, the wars, and the glory which in-
spired it. The day has departed when Singapore could be invaded
by Javanese,—when Johore could extend its dominion to Borneo on
the one side, and Sumatra on the other,—when the fleets of Acheen
and Malacca could encounter each other in the straits, to dispute the
dominion of the eastern seas,—when the warrants of the Sultan of
Menangkabati were as potent over the Malayan nations as the bulls
of Rome ever were over those of Christendom,—when a champion of
Malacca could make his name be known all over the Archipelago,—
and when the kings of the Peninsula sent their sons, escorted by
celebrated warriors, to demand the daughters of the emperors of
Majapahit in marriage. The Malayan princes of the present day
The Present Condition of the Indian Archipelago. 361
retaining all the feudal attachment and homage of their subjects, and
finding no more honourable vent for the assertion of their freedom
from restraint and the gratification of their self-will, have almost
everywhere sunk into indolent debauchees and greedy monopolists,
and, incited by their own rapacity and that of the courtiers who sur-
round them, drain and paralyse the industry of their people.
The foreign elements at present exercising, or likely to exercise,
great influence on the condition of the Archipelago, are the dominion
of the Dutch and Spanish, the commerce and settlements of the
English, the educational and missionary efforts of Christendom, the
growth of large Chinese communities, and the continued influx of
emigrants from China. It is probable, if England does not extend
her influence, that the whole Archipelago, with the exception of the
Malayan Peninsula (which is always considered a member of it), the
Philippines, and a small portion of Borneo, will, in no long time, be-
come a portion of the Dutch empire; and if the humanising and
liberal influences which, we hope, are now modifying the character
of the eastern policy of that nation, receive full effect, and Nether-
lands India comes to be really looked upon as an integral part of Hol-
land, its inhabitants being admitted to a full reciprocity of advantages
with those of the European portion of the empire, there will be little
to regret, and much to welcome, in the change. England, in intro-
ducing freedom of trade, and in leaving the inhabitants and their pos-
sessions, small as they are, to the unshackled exercise of their own
industry, has set an example of rational government which, if imi-
tated in every European possession in the Archipelago, would do
something to atone for past misgovernment and neglect. It is im-
possible to foresee how great the influence of the Chinese may be-
come. Large as the Chinese population already is, and numerous
as the annual emigrants from China are, they must, in the progress
of the change which is working in China itself, greatly increase ; and
there can be little hazard in looking to the pressure of population in
China, as one of the most momentous elements in the future history
of the Archipelago.
Broken down as the more civilised and once powerful states are,
till their governments, with hardly an exception, have lost all tho
energy and ambition to be useful, and retain only the power to be
hurtful; divided as the greater proportion of the population of the
Archipelago is, into separate tribes and communities too small to re-
sist the domineering and exacting spirit of the more covetous, bold,
and active Malays and Bugis who infest their coasts; openly robbed
and enslaved by their brother islanders; defrauded by the Chinese,
Kling, or Arab adventurer, whose superior activity and cunning en-
able him to profit more by their industry than they do themselves ;
neglected by the Nuropean who seeks the same end by honest means,
and, that attained, returns to his native country, and gives them no
second thought ; and without any active internal elements of ad-
362 The Present Condition of the Indian Archipelago.
vancement ;—it is only by awakening an interest in Europe itself
that the inabitants of the Archipelago can hope for any amelioration.
So long as they only know one phase of European character,—the
ardent, steady, and inventive pursuit of gain,—the influence of Europe
will remain, what it has hitherto proved, more prejudicial than bene-
ficial. But let the deep human sympathy which dwells in England,
and overflows on so many sides, once effectually reach the people of
this noble region of the world ; let England learn their many virtues,
their mild and engaging manners, their freedom from intolerance,
their docility, their aptitude for instruction; and let her but take
seriously to heart the fact that on the seas where her flag has floated,
and her commerce largely profited for two hundred and fifty years,
the peaceful trader cannot at this day venture to embark without the
risk of being slain or enslayed,—that from the destruction of all na-
tional power, in which her own policy aided, a few thousand pirates
now keep the coasts of countries numbering millions of inhabitants
in a state of insecurity,—and her energy and resources will soon work
out the best means of suppressing these evils at once and for ever,
and of implanting fresh and vigorous elements of moral development
in the now stagnant minds of the inhabitants. Without this we may
continue for another hundred years to mingle in the trading commu-
nities of the Archipelago, without ever exercising any of that influence
which our predecessors, the Hindus and the Mahomedans, exercised.
But if we would seek to assimilate the natives of the Archipelago to
those of Europe, and take them with us on our path of advancement,
we must, like the Hindus and Mahomedans, begin by acquiring a
thorough and familiar knowledge of them.
Their political and material wants are so connected, that whatever
tends to remedy the latter must react on the former. It is no less
the duty of the Christian and the philanthropist for their ends, than
of the economist for his, to take every practicable measure for the
improvement of the external condition of the natives of the Archi-
pelago. We need not now suffer our minds to be disturbed by any mis-
givings as to the benefit derivable from European influence. In the
first place, the influence hitherto has not been that of Europe in her
noblest characteristics ; or the lower and more selfish have so much
predominated, that they have not yet dreamt of Europe in her
earnest devotion to the bettering of humanity, her pure and deep
love of all truth, spiritual and physical, and her ever-extending
knowledge of the secret springs of nature, For, although we fully
appreciate the earnest and noble labours of the missionaries who are
found in many of the islands, we cannot be blind to the fact, that
their numbers and resources are, as yet, far too limited to make
more than a slight impression on the great field which lies around
them. In the second place, we have no choice. We may deplore
that some tribes, happy in their simplicity and guilelessness, should
be roused from their repose of peace, to pass through the turbulent
The Present Condition of the Indian Archipelago. 363
period which separates man, first awaking to a sense of new wants,
and setting out on his career of dissatisfaction and action, from man,
when civilisation has thrown off its early vices and evils, and is
bringing all human wants and desires into harmony. But we cannot,
if we would, arrest the march of events; and as the necessities and
enterprise of China and Europe are yearly more and more invading
the recesses of the Archipelago, and the most secluded tribes musi
in a short time be brought within the circle of general economical
intercourse, we must dismiss from our minds distrust and hesitation,
and substitute in their place the fact that this intercourse is now
most extensive, will soon be universal, and is a mighty agent for
good as well as for evil.
Unfortunately the Chinese, who are so rapidly spreading, can only
corrupt and debase the natives. Living but for gain and merely
physical enjoyment, and pursuing these objects with a combination
of the most mature patience, laboriousness, duplicity, craft, and often
fraud, which is the more dangerous from the easy, open, plain, and
plausible manner with which it is accompanied, the Chinese flow
into every opening which European powers effect, whether by sup-
planting or weakening native governments. If every step which
European enterprise makes is thus followed by an accession of
Chinese corruption, it is the more incumbent on Europe that she no
longer stand aloof from the natives, and abandon them to the de-
basement of a civilisation, purely industrial and sensual, to which
she contributes to expose them.
It is time that England should see and be shocked by the effects
of her past policy, or absence of policy, in the anarchy, degeneracy,
oppressions, and vices, which largely prevail in many parts of the
Archipelago. England would then learn by what a small effort, in
comparison with those which she is daily making for objects of far
inferior magnitude and moment, she might make herself known in
her true character in the Archipelago, and speedily free the slave
from his bonds ; suppress the trade in men, and its associate, piracy ;
mitigate and eventually abolish the heavy monopolies and restraints
which depress industry, and nourish oppression, fraud, and corrup-
tion: and, having thus given to the people freedom in person, pro-
perty, and mind, lead them, through her sympathy and pity, and
their docility and gratitude, to a willing reception of the humanising
and elevating knowledge of Christendom.
364
On Mineral Metamorphism.
As the doctrine of mineral metamorphism is now exciting
very general attention, we, as introductory to what we may
afterwards communicate on this important and curious sub-
ject, lay before our readers a few explanatory observations by
one of the most distinguished of modern geologists — the
celebrated Swiss philosopher and professor, B. Studer.*
Metamorphism, Definition.
In its wider sense, mineral metamorphism means every
change of aggregation, structure, or chemical condition which
rocks have undergone subsequently to their deposition and
stratification, or the effects which have been produced by
other forces than gravity and cohesion. There fall under
this definition :—the discoloration of the surface of black
limestone by the loss of carbon; the formation of brownish-
red crusts on rocks of limestone, sandstone, many slatestones,
serpentine, granite, and so on, by the decomposition of iron
pyrites, or magnetic iron, finely disseminated in the mass of
the rock; the conversion of anhydrite into gypsum, in con-
seauence of the absorption of water; the crumbling of many
granites and porphyries into gravel, occasioned by the decom-
position of the mica or felspar. In this doctrine must also
be reckoned the conversion of water into ice, and of snow and
ice into water, or into steam. In its more limited sense the
term metamorphic is confined to those changes of the rock
which are produced, not by the effect of the atmosphere or of
water on the exposed surfaces, but which are produced, di-
rectly or indirectly, by agencies seated in the interior of the
earth. In many cases the mode of change may be explained
by our physical or chemical theories, and may be viewed as
the effect of temperature, or of electro-chemical actions. Ad-
joining rocks, or connecting communications with the interior
of the earth, also distinctly point out the seat from which the
* Vide Lehrbuch ‘der Physikalchen Geographie und Geologie, vol. 2, Bern,
1847.
On Mineral Metamorphism. 365
change proceeds. In many other cases the metamorphic
process itself remains a mystery, and from the nature of the
products alone do we conclude that such a metamorphic pro-
cess has actually taken place ; as, for instance, when we find
neptunian rocks gradually passing into others, which, to judge
from their present condition, could not have been formed in
water. Geological science is in the same position in refer-
ence to metamorphic rocks, as mineralogy is with reference
to the pseudomorphic crystals : it acknowledges the change to
be a fact established by accurate observation, but by no means
depending on the probability or possibility of an explanation.
Metamorphosis of Rocks by Heat and Cementation.
The influence exercised by quick or slow cooling, the
pressure which keeps gases in their combinations, and the
effect which is thus exercised upon the aggregation and struc-
ture of the solidifying fused masses, has already been men:
tioned.* Also, regarding the change of stratified neptunian
rocks by heat, a multitude of facts have, in later times, been
collected, partly by direct observation of the effect of the
furnace-fires on the bricks of the furnace, or of burning beds
of coal on the adjacent strata ; and partly indirectly, by con-
eluding that this effect exists from the changes which such
neptunian rocks shew in the neighbourhood of others, of which,
it is supposed, they were at one time in a state of fusion, or
had, at least, been strongly heated, that is to say (i.e.) we
reason from the redations of contact. Metallurgical processes
have shewn that the chemical condition of solid substances,
when exposed to high temperatures, may undergo alterations
without previous fusion. In the process of cementation, iron,
when nealed for some time with pounded charcoal, unites
withthe charcoal and forms steel ; so also copper, when nealed
with zinc, is changed into brass. In Agordo and Réraas,
pyrites, containing only 2 per cent. of copper, when roasted in
pieces the size of a fist, become changed in the centre into
copper pyrites, yielding 7 per cent. pure copper, and this cen-
tral mass detaches itself with a smooth variegated surface,
* Vide vol, i. p, 136 of Studer’s Lehrbuch.
366. On Mineral Metamorphism.
from the external, nearly copperless exterior. In South
America, gold, containing silver, is reduced to almost pure
gold, when the grains are nealed with brick-dust and culi-
nary salt; the silica, assisted by the watery vapours issuing
from the fuel, decomposes the muriate of soda, when muria-
tie acid is evolved, and the chlorine unites with the silver
to form chloride of silver. In more recent times, there have
been produced, by direct smelting experiments, or as casual
productions of the forge, many minerals which most frequently
belong to the volcanic and metamorphic rocks. Augite, a
principal ingredient of many lavas and traps, was discover-
ed in the slags of Fahlun. The slags of Sahla are decep-
tively like basalts, and their cavities are occupied by augite
crystals. By fusion of the ingredients of augite, Berthier and
Mitscherlich obtained distinct crystals of augite. A mineral
isomorphic with olivin, a common ingredient of basalt, is not
unfrequently contained in the slags of the iron-refining and
copper-smelting processes. Felspar was found in the shape
of distinct crystals, possibly formed from vapours (Hausmann)
in the rents of a copper-furnace at Sangershansen, in the dis-
trict of Mansfeld. At Stolberg, on the Hartz Mountains,
small twin crystals, exactly similar to the adularia of Mont
Gotthard, were found in a deserted iron-furnace 52 feet
above the floor (Hausmann). A direct formation of felspar
has never yet been obtained by the fusing together of its in-
gredients. Mitscherlich met with mica in the form of hexa-
gonal prisms, in the old slags of a copper-melting furnace in
Sweden. Hausmann met with scales nearly related to mica,
in the cells of a crystalline sandstone which had served in
the Hartz as the floor or bottom of aniron-furnace. Garnets
and Idocrases have partly been produced from their ingredients
by smelting, and have partly been found in the slags of fur-
naces. oe!
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SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE.
ANTHROPOLOGY.
1. Ona Universal Language.—The idea of a universal language
has long been a favourite with sanguine and speculative minds ; each
individual speculator looking to his native tongue for the common
interpreter, and of course overrating its natural fitness for such an
office. Sir John Herschel has said that the adoption of a common
language—at least by the leading nations of the world—is one of
the grand desiderata at which mankind should aim by general con-
sent. On the other hand, there are ethnolgists who repudiate the
notion altogether, looking upon the varieties of form and terminology in
language as the natural result and expression of organic differences
of race and climatic environment, and, therefore, on the diversity as an
inevitable consequence of causes which no artificial arrangements can
ever permanently overcome. The moral and intellectual advantages
of unity of speech in neighbouring nations are manifest and momen-
tous; and the argument, that the common medium of communica-
tion to be adopted should be the language of Shakespear, is based as
follows :—Of the three great tongues of Europe, English, French,
and Dutch, it possesses, in a higher degree than either of its rivals,
nearly all those natural and accidental advantages which are neces-
sary to qualify it for universality, namely — organic simplicity,
acquired wealth, extent of present diffusion, and irrevocable connec-
tion with rapidly expanding institutions. Inits easiness of grammatical
construction—in its almost total disregard of the distinctions of gen-
der, excepting those of nature—in the simplicity and precison of its
terminations and auxiliary verbs, not less than in the majesty, vigour,
and copiousness of its expression, our mother tongue seems well ,
adapted by organization to become the language of the world. To
boast of its wealth is needless, with such a literature as exists to
prove it. It its now spoken by sixty millions of people: and before
the termination of the present century, will, in all human proba-
bility, be spoken by two hundred millions, in the British Islands,
in the United States, in Canada, in Central America, in Guiana, in
the West Indian group of Islands, on the seaboard of Africa, in
Hindostan, in the Asiatie Archipelago, and in Australia and the
vast islands of the surrounding seas—a population nearly equal to
that of the whole of Europe. To what extent the revolutions of
science, the progress of free institutions, and the developments of
civilization generally may contribute to spread the English language
on the neighbouring Continent it is not so easy to determine ; but it
need scarcely be supposed that a language which has already belted
the world, and established itself permanently in every latitude, will
prove unable in the future, with new advantages in its favour, to fix
itself firmly in the countries of Europe.
VOL. XLIV. NO. LXXXVIII.—APRIL 1848. 2B
386 Scientific Intelligence—Anthropology.
Assuming the argument, it follows that a language with such a
destiny before it should be stripped as much as possible of all acci-
dental excrescences and anomalies, and rendered as perfect an in-
strument as skill and judgment can make it. Its phonology is re-
markably imperfect—its spelling is cumbersome and arbitrary be-
yond all reasonable limits,—and its irregularities of declension and
conjugation are more numerous than they need be.—A theneum.
2. Caffers described.—lt is now pretty generally admitted that the
Caffers belong to the Negro race of mankind; but the characteristic
peculiarities of that race, with the exception of the woolly hair, are
less strongly marked in them than in the natives of Guinea or Mo-
zambique; the lips are less thick, the nose less flat, the lower part
of the face is not remarkably prominent, and the forehead is often
as high and as amply developed as in Europeans. The colour of
the skin appeared to me, in most of the individuals I saw, to be a
dark umber brown, frequently approaching to black, while in others
it had a tinge of yellow or red; but the skin is so often smeared
with red ochre, that it is not easy to judge accurately of its real
native tint. The Caffer men are in general tall, though not gi-
g@ntic, and extremely well proportioned: indeed their fine forms
and easy attitudes often remind one of ancient statues; but they are
more remarkable for activity than for strength; and it is said, have
generally been found inferior in muscular power to British soldiers.
——Residence at the Cape of Good Hope, by Charles F. Bunbury.
p- 166
3. Hottentots deseribed.—We had been escorted in our little tour
into Cafferland by detachments of the Hottentot corps, or Cape
Mounted Rifles, who are, or were at that time, the only cavalry in
the colony, and seem well suited for the frontier service. The
officers are English, the men partly of mixed breed, and partly
genuine Hottentots. These latter people, of whom I saw a consi-
derable number in Graham’s Town and its neighbourhood, have a
most peculiar and repulsive physiognomy. The form of the face is
singularly angular, owing to the excessive projection of the cheek-
bones, the shrunk and pinched appearance of the lower part of the
cheeks, and the sharpness of the chin; the mouth is prominent, and
the lips thick; the eyes very small and narrow, and rather obliquely
placed ; the forehead depressed ; the nose flattened in a remarkable
degree, so that the upper part of it appears to be quite obliterated,
while the nostrils are large and wide. The plates in Le Vaillant’s
Travels do not at all exaggerate the usual ugliness of this strange
race; but whether his account of their moral qualities be correct, I
cannot tell, I never saw any of them in their original state of wild
independence ; and if they ever were such as he describes them, they
have become sadly deteriorated from their intercourse with civilized
men. Many people are struck with the likeness of the Hottentots
Scientific Intelligence—Anthropolojzy. 387
to the Chinese in physiomnomy ; and Dr Prichard considers this ap-
proximation as confirmed by the formation of the skull ; the woolly
hair, in which they differ remarkably from the Mongolian nations,
may be a character of secondary importance. The Hottentots are
mostly of small stature ; the majority of those in the Cape corps (at
least of the new levies) are under five feet high, and they are pos-
sessed of very little muscular strength. Their hands and feet are
small and delicate ; in which particular they differ very remarkably
from the Negroes.
The number of genuine Hottentots within the colony at the pre-
sent day is small compared with that of the mixed breeds, or Bas-
taards, as they are called, in whom the blood of the aboriginal race
is crossed with that of the Dutch, the Negro, or the Malay. The
Bastaards are much superior in size and strength to the Hottentots.
—Charles F. Bunbury on the Cape of Good Hope, p. 164.
4. Fingoes described.—T he Fingoes are remnants of several tribes
of the Caffer race, who had inhabited the country near Port Natal,
but had been exterminated or driven into exile by Chaka, the ter-
rible chief of the Zoolos. Of those whom we met here, some were
under the middle size, others considerably above it, slenderly but
actively made; their colour not quite black, but a very dark umber-
brown, totally different from the dirty yellowish-brown of the Hot-
tentots, to whom, indeed, they have no resemblance, except in the
woolly hair. They were, however, considerably inferior in personal
appearance to the Caffers whom we afterwards saw ; the women, in
particular, were far from prepossessing.—Journal of a Residence
at the Cape of Good Hope, by Charles F. Bunbury, p. 116.
5. “ Ceaird” the Celtic Appellation for “* Gypsies.’’—This term
primarily signifies “ trade, occupation, or any handicraft,’? by which
‘gain is made, and may have in this respect some radical affinity to
the Greek xegéog gain, which is also employed in a more extended
sense to express “‘ craftiness” or “subtlety.’’ The word ‘* Ceard”
comes to be applicable, by a natural transition, from the craft to the
craftsman ; most commonly it is used for this purpose in apposition, as
*‘ or-cheard,’ goldsmith,—* ceard-umha,” coppersmith. A good
illustration of the mode of employing the term occurs in the Gaelic
version of the Scriptures, with reference to the artificers of Ephesus,
Acts xix. verses 24-25, who are described as craftsmen (luchd-
ceaird), whose craft (ceard) as silversmiths (ceaird-airgid), consisted
in making silver shrines for the goddess Diana,
In a more generic and distinctive sense, however, the term “ceaird”
is employed in the Highland districts, without any qualifying adjunct
or limitation, to all itinerant tinsmiths, horn-spoon manufacturers, and
pre-eminently to the “ gypsy” tribes. Of the latter, ‘‘ Ceaird”’ is the
peculiar appellative, without any ambiguity of meaning, generally
pronounced like the last syllable of the verb discard, and always con-
388 Scientific Intelligence—Zoology.
veys the same idea of opprobrium which attaches to the English word
“tinker,” and for this reason holds a prominent place among the
abusive epithets interchanged in colloquial altercations.—Charles M.
MacRae.
ZOOLOGY.
6. On the Skulls of adult and aged Male and Female Chimpanzees.
— Zoological Society, Feb. 22.—W. Yarrell, V.-P. in the Chair.
Professor Owen read a paper on the skulls of adult and aged male
and female Chimpanzees from the Gaboon River, much exceeding in
size, and specifically distinct from the previously known Troglodytes
niger. The existence of this formidable animal in that district was
first made known to Professor Owen by Dr Savage, in a letter, dated
April 22, 1847, which contained drawings of two skulls obtained by
him in that locality ; and Professor Owen therefore proposes to
call it Troglodytes Savagei. The skulls which formed the subject
of the paper, were placed in Professor Owen’s hands by Mr Stutch-
bury of Bristol, who obtained them through the assistance of Cap-
tain G. Wagstaff, who visited the Gaboon during the past summer.
Professor Owen entered into a minute comparison of the correspond-
ing parts of T. Savagei and T’. niger, and carefully established the
characters, which prove a true specific difference between them—ob-
serving that some scepticism might be expected from naturalists who
had not been able to realise those differences by the actual compa-
rison of specimens; but he felt no doubt but that, as was the case
of the Pithecus morio, more extended knowledge of the new species
would confirm the validity of its distinction. In size, the 7. Savages
excels even the great orang, the skull of the oldest male measuring
113 inches in length—Atheneum, No. 1062, p. 246, March 4,
1848.
7. Voices of Birds—The voices of birds appear to me (the notion
may be merely imaginative) a special adaptation to their localities
and habits. Almost all the birds that haunt our coasts, and with
the exception, perhaps, of the Anatide or ducks, have a low melan-
choly wail, clear and melodious, but still wild, that appears to be
admirably in keeping with the loneliness of the spots they inhabit.
Before us lies the wide waste of waters, with here and there a heavy
lagging sail, which seems to mock the very idea of life and bustle ;
around us spreads an unbroken extent of low marshy land, where no
trees rear their heads, and where the rush and the sainfoin alone
may grow. How beautifully in unison with such a scene is the clear
shrill whistle of the curlew and plover, and the wild, hoarse voice of
the gull! It makes sadness pleasingly sad, and desolation more de-
solate, to listen to such sounds amidst such scenery. Who would
like to hear them in the neighbourhood of his dwelling, for which
the busy chirp of the sparrow, the twittering of the swallow, and the
loud clear accents of the danger-defying chanticleer are so well at-
Scientific Intelligence— Botany. 309
tuned 2 Copse and woodland covert, hedgerow and orchard, seem
made purposely for the clear music of the mavis and merle, With
what clear accents burst forth these gladsome notes from eve'y dell
and dingle, and how harmoniously they rush through apple-blossoms,
and May flowers, and sweet-smelling plants. They render rusticity
more rustic, and are the most glorious poeans that could be sung at
the revels of luxuriant nature. Birds do not sing in winter amidst
gloom, and mist, and thick pelting snow, but reserve their songs for
spring and summer, nature’s fairest and rosiest holidays. Where
shall the skylark find a freer temple for his rich morning song than
the blue firmament, with azure above him and emerald shades be-
neath, and the bright sun-beams sparkling on every plume? Or
what hour shall the nightingale choose for her clear calm orisons but
the watching hour of eve, when the earth and all its creatures are
hushed into a willing auditory? Surely the plover was made for
solitude, and the mavis for glad retirement, and the fowl for the
barn-door, the skylark for mid-heaven, and the nightingale for dewy
eve.—Summer Evening Rambles.
BOTANY.
8. Distribution of Plants.—If we divide the surface of the globe
into botanical provinces, according to the geographical distribution of
plants, South Africa will be one of the most distinct and strongly
marked of these provinces, although, in proceeding towards the north-
eastward, its peculiarities seem to be in some measure shaded off into
those of the tropical regions. It would seem that the distribution of
plants and that of animals are not governed by precisely the same
laws. Le Vaillant, Dr Smith, and Mr Swainson, have shewn that
very many birds are common to Senegal and the Cape of Good Hope ;
whereas, I believe, that these two countries possess not a single
flowering plant in common (introduced species being excepted), and
scarcely even a genus of plants, with the exception of such as are
almost universally diffused. Not a single example of any of the
tribes most characteristic of the Cape vegetation was found by Mr
Brown in the collections from Congo. ‘The zoology of the Cape, as
far at least as the quadrupeds and birds are concerned, would appear
to be of a much more thoroughly African type than its botany. A
great number of the most conspicuous and characteristic mammalia
of the regions near the Cape, are either identical with those inhabit-
ing tropical Africa to the north of the equator, or, if distinct species,
they are at least closely allied, and often with difficulty distinguish-
able.* Not that the Cape has not several peculiar forms, such as
the ant-eater (Orycteropus), the Gnoo, the Eland, and some of the
* Ags in the case of the Giraffe of South Africa, which is considered by some
naturalists as a different species from that found to the north of Europe.
390 Scientific Inielligence—Geology.
sub-genera of Antelopes ; but its Fauna certainly appears to be much
more similar to that of the tropical regions of Africa than its Flora.
In Abyssinia alone, as it would seem, do any of the dominant and
characteristic forms of the Cape Flora reappear. The beautiful blue
water-lily, indeed, has been supposed to be common to Egypt and
South Africa, but the forms of the plant occurring in these two
countries are a little different, and are considered by De Candolle as
distinct species ; their distinctness, however, may perhaps be doubt-
ful.
The vegetation of the ‘Cape is most strikingly different from that
of Buenos Ayres in South America, which lies nearly in the same
latitude, and has nearly the same mean temperature. It is not
merely that the species, the genera, and the prevailing tribes of
plants are different, but the whole aspect of the vegetation is dissimilar.
A very large proportion of the Cape plants are shrubs; those of Buenos
Ayres, are almost entirely herbaceous. Both countries agree, in-
deed, in the very great scarcity (generally speaking) of trees, a
scarcity which is much less surprising on the arid rocks and stony
wastes of South Africa, than on the marly plains of the Rio de la
Plata. Nearly all the remarkable families of plants which predomi-
nate at the Cape, are wanting in the Buenos Ayrean region, where
the prevailing forms are a great variety of Nightshades, Tobaccos,
Petunias, Nierembergias, and plants allied to these, numerous Ver-
benas, Amaranths, Chenopodiums, Mallows, and Grasses. Some gay
flowered plants of the Iris and Amaryllis families, which grow in great
abundance on the banks of the Rio de la Plata, are nearly all that
shew an affinity to the Flora of the Cape.
On the other hand, the botany of Australia, in the same latitude,
seems to have many striking points of similarity to that of the Cape
of Good Hope. This similarity appears both in the general exter-
nal aspect of the vegetation, and in the presence of several remark-
able families of plants common to both countries ; in particular, the
Proteaceze and Restiaceze. On the other hand, there is a remarkable
difference between them, in the absence from Africa of the Eucalypti,
or gum trees, and which constitute the great bulk of the vegetation
of Australia — Bunbury on the Cape of Good Hope, p. 220.
GEOLOGY.
9. Geology and Physical History of the Globe—M. Elie de
Beaumont communicated a letter from M. Hommaire de Hell, dated
Tauris, of the 25th Nov. 1847, and containing different observa-
tions and researches already made by him, during a journey in which
he is engaged in the country washed by the Black Sea.
He has observed that the voleanic rocks which border the northern
part of the Bosphorus, are continued without interruption as far as
Kilia and Kirirkaia, to about six leagues of the strait. On this
line, as along the other parts of the coast of Romelia and Bulgaria,
Scientific Intelligence—Geology. 391
he has seen no trace of Silurian formation in the sides of the canal.
He only found, to the east of Kilia, a very curious formation of
sedimentary rocks, the beds of which, highly elevated, appeared to
be composed of the same elements as the igneous rocks in contact
with them, and which seem to belong to the trachytic family.
M. Hommaire has determined the saltness of the Black Sea, at
different points, by means of M. Callardeau’s densimeter, and by
the more exact method of evaporation, and weighing the containing
vessel when empty, full, and with the residuum. The results have
been sensibly the same everywhere, and presented scarcely any dif-
ference from those of the Bosphorus.
M. Hommaire has sought to verify the existence of a great cur-
rent which is generally admitted to flow towards the Bosphorus, and
which is attributed to the superabundance of the waters which the
Danube and the great rivers of Southern Russia discharge into the
Euxine sea. He has found no trace of this current, and yet he has
sailed along the shores of the Black Sea for upwards of 300 leagues.
M. Hommaire de Hell is likewise occupied with the level of the
Bosphorus. An investigation made with the utmost care, by means
of a proper instrument, has proved that there is no sensible dif-
ference of level between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmora.
From Roumelikavak to Bacta-Liman, adistance of upwards of 138000™,
the declivity being towards the south, and while the winds were from
the north, it did not exceed 0™:0326.
The observations he has made on the direction and quickness of
the currents, at different depths, have indicated a general direc-
tion towards the south. He has been struck with the rapidity with
which the current sets in towards the south, even to a depth of 25™,
as soon as the north winds begin to blow, It might then be said
that the waters are displaced in a single mass, throughout their
whole height, to be conveyed towards the Sea of Marmora. He has
likewise noticed a faint southern current at the surface, diminishing
by degrees till it is reduced to zero, to a depth of about 15™, to re-
appear in the same direction at 18 or 20™, with a celerity tenfold
that of the surface. In order to explain this phenomenon, M, Hom-
maire supposes that there first existed, under the influence of strong
winds from the north, a current towards the south, embracing nearly
the whole height of the canal. South winds haying succeeded these
north winds, the current would become completely neutralised in the
superior beds; but before the reaction could descend into the lower
regions, the south wind would have resumed; hence the new cur-
rent towards the south, at the surface, and even to a certain depth.
After all these investigations, it seemed of consequence to the
author, towards the interest of his researches on the geological revolu-
tions of the basin of the Euxine, to determine whether, in the case of
the closing up of the Bosphorus, the waters of the Black Sea, on
rising, might find an outlet in the Sea of Marmora, by ascend-
392 Scientific Intelligence—Geology.
ing the valley of Sakaria, and penetrating into the Gulf of Nico-
media, by way of Sabandja. M. Hommaire has, therefore, taken
the level to determine the height of the hills which separate the basin
of Sabandja from the Propontis. He has found that the least ele-
vated point reached an elevation of 40™:99 above the level of the Gulf
of Nicomedia. The Bosphorus being closed, the waters of the Black
Sea might then rise, flow above the plains of Manitch, and unite in
the Caspian Sea, without finding any issue into the Sea of Marmora,
Such a junction could not, perhaps, take place in the present day, in
consequence of the changes which are taking place in the rivers.
The same phenomena which M. Hommaire has remarked on the
northern shores of the Black Sea, he has again found on the coast of
Bulgaria, Romelia, and Anatolia. Everywhere there exists traces
of a greater elevation of level in the waters of the Black Sea. These
traces consist of modern deposites rising everywhere nearly to the
same height, rarely exceeding from 25 to 30 metres, and containing
uninjured marine shells, all the species of which now live in the
Black Sea. Unless we suppose a complete and regular rising upwards
of all the countries surrounding the Euxine and the Sea of Azof, pos-
terior to all the geological revolutions hitherto indicated, a supposition
which, after his own observations, M. Hommaire considers scarcely
admissible, we must necessarily have recourse to the notion that the
Bosphorus was anciently closed up and burst forth from its boun-
daries.
M. Hommaire has determined the saltness of lake Van. The
densimeter of M. Collardeau gave 102, water being 100. The me-
thod by evaporation gave 102, 029.
He concludes by giving the result of his observation, and his ee
culations of the following latitudes :—
Tauris, “ : é : 88° 04’ 47”-87
Gumuchtlane, 5 A 40 24 29 -21
Eguin, on the Euphrates, . 39 12 37 ‘31
Kebanmaden, on the Euphrates, 38 44 35 -80
Kharpout, . : : . 38 39 37 :98
Diarbekir . : : 37 54 51°58
Bitlis, + abbas ‘ Not yet calculated
Van, : : F 38 29 238 °40
10. Decomposition of Roki ——M. Ebelmen’s memoir on the sub-
ject contains new analyses, made by the author, of rocks in a state of
decomposition under the influence of atmospheric agents. In deter-
mining in this way the nature and proportion of the elements which
disappear by decomposition, the author has. endeavoured to confirm
the conclusions of a former work, By the comparative analysis of the
unchanged and altered rock (consisting of trap, called grey-stone, from
the neighbourhood of St Austel in Cornwall, and basalt from the
vicinity of Linz), he has ascertained that the silex, lime, magnesia,
the oxide of iron, in certain cases, and the alkalies, have a tendency
Scientific Intelligence—Geology. 395
to separate more or less completely in the decomposition of the rock,
Water alone is found in much greater proportion in the decomposed
than in the unaltered rock. The produce of the alteration in the
rock tends to approach more and more near to a hydrated silicate of
alumina, than to a clay. These results are quite in unison with such
as he had formerly obtained, and from which he deduced the two
following principles, 1st, In the decomposition of silicate not contain-
ing alumina, we constantly find that the silex, lime, and magnesia,
are eliminated. Sometimes, however, the iron remains in the resi-
duum of the decomposition in the state of peroxide, sometimes it dis-
appears with the other bases. 2d, In the decomposition of silicates
containing alumina and the alkalies, with or without other bases, the
alumina is concentrated in the residuum by retaining the silex and
fixing the water, while the other bases are carried along with a part
of the silex. The final produce approaches more and more to a hy-
drated silicate of alumina.
Almost all the rocks of igneous origin contain alumina, and con-
sequently, yield an argillaceous residuum by decomposition under the
influence of the atmosphere. The author endeavours to shew, in his
memoir, that we cannot ascribe the clay of stratificd formations to
any other origin than the mechanical abstraction of the residua of
the decomposition of igneous rocks.
Finally M. Ebelmen examines, at the conclusion of his memoir,
one of the most important questions relating to the natural history
of the globe, that of the relations which necessarily exist between
the phenomena of the alteration of rocks and the composition of at-
mospheric air, ‘ The different bases which separate from the silex
by the decomposition of igneous rocks determine, in fact, the precipi-
tation, the mineralisation of the oxygen and of the carbonic -acid,
The last element, in particular, is absorbed in great quantity, and a
simple calculation shews that a small body of decomposed plutonic
rocks is sufficient for the complete precipitation of the carbonic acid
contained in the air. Now, the argillaceous beds of stratified for-
mations induce the decomposition of immense masses of plutonic
rocks; and, consequently, the precipitation of quantities of carbonic
acid out of all proportion with those actually existing in the atmos-
phere. This result may be explained without any necessity of ad-
mitting that the air has possessed, in the different geological epochs,
a very different composition from which it presents at present.
“I observe, in voleanic phenomena,” says M. Ebelmen, “ the
principal cause which restores to the atmosphere the carbonic acid
which the decomposition of rocks continually precipitates from it.
We know that this gas is disengaged in abundance from the ground
in the neighbourhood of active volcanoes, and even from extinct vol-
canoes. It is interesting to witness the formation of igneous rocks,
accompanied with the disengagement of a gas, which the destruction
of these same gases will precipitate. The central heat of the globe
394 Scientific Inielligence—Geology.
will therefore be indispensable for the maintenance of organic life on
its surface. The beautiful experiments of Saussure on the influence
of the carbonic acid of the air on the nourishment of vegetables, are
no longer sufficient to explain the permanence of the composition of
atmospheric air. We see that phenomena entirely of a different
kind must be introduced for the solution of the question, and that
the mineral elements of the crust of the earth likewise concur, by
the inverse reactions the one on the other, to produce this equi-
librium.”"—From E’Institut, No. Supplement, p. 22.
11. Geological Society, March 8.—Sir H. T. de la Beche in the
Chair.—A paper “ On the Position in the Cretaceous Series of
Beds containing Phosphate of Lime,” by R. A. C. Austen, Esq.,
was read.—In a letter in the Gardeners’ Chronicle of the 19th of
February last, Mr Paine of Farnham gives an account of some
strata in which phosphate of lime occurs in sufficient abundance to
render it of importance to agriculture; and the editor expresses a
hope that the notice may lead to the successful search for like under-
ground wealth in other parts of the country. The present paper is
written in part-fulfilment of that hope. Many observers, as M.
Brongniart, Dr Buckland, Sir H. de la Beche, and Dr Fitton, have
noticed the occurrence of phosphates of lime in the gault. The
author had also noticed them in his account of the vicinity of Guild-
ford. The important part of the recent discovery is, therefore, only
that this substance is so abundant as to have great economic value.
Near Guildford, phosphate nodules are abundant in the upper green-
sand, In the gault below, concretions of phosphate of lime are not
so uniformly diffused, but occur in two seams—one in the argilla-
ceous portion of the bed, the other very low in the mass. Both beds
are very persistent; but in consequence of the undulations of the
strata along the base of the escarpment of the North Downs, it is
only a few places that will repay those who may look for this mine-
ral substance, the beds of gault and greensand being often far be-
low the surface. The phosphates have been found beneath New-
land’s Corner, near Guildford, at Puttenham, and other places. The
greensand and gault at Farnham also contain beds productive of
phosphates of lime. The nodules have the form of coprolites, but
differ from these bodies in internal structure-—Atheneum, No.
1064, p. 296.
12. On the Presence of Phosphoric Acid in the Subordinate Mem-
bers of the Chalk Formation, by J. C. Nisbet, was next read.—F rom
the marl near Farnham there was obtained by washing a substance
evidently coprolitic, containing 28 per cent. of phosphoric acid, while
the general mass contains as much as 2 to 3 per cent. In some
nodules from the gault near Maidstone so much as 23 per cent. was
also obtained, and some nodular masses of shells from the Shanklin
Sands, shewed 15 per cent, of this important substance—A theneeum,
No. 1064, p. 296.
Scientific I ntelligence— Geology. 395
13. On the Fossil Remains of Birds, collected in various parts of
New Zealand. By W. G. Mantell, Esq.-—The first relic of the
gigantic struthious birds, which formerly inhabited these islands,
that was transmitted to Europe, was a small fragment of the shaft
of afemur or thigh-bone, only a few inches long, and so much re-
sembling that of an ox, that it was at first mistaken for such by
many eminent naturalists. Its true characters were, however, re-
cognised by Professor Owen in 1839, who proclaimed that it be-
longed to a bird of the ostrich family, but of far more colossal dimen-
sions. This prediction was soon confirmed by more numerous re-
mains, sent home by the Rev. Mr Williams and Mr Earl. On
hearing of this discovery, Mr W. Mantell endeavoured to procure
some more complete specimens; and in 1846, and the beginning of
1847, explored every known locality where they were found. All
the bones previously sent to this country were found embedded in the
mud of rivers, and were permeated and coloured more or less deeply
by a solution of iron, Those now sent by Mr Mantell occurred in
a bed of loose volcanic sand, and are light, porous, of a delicate fawn
colour, and with the most fragile processes uninjured ; portions of
the egg-shells, of the mandibles, and even of the bony rings of the air-
tubes being preserved. ‘The volcanic sand has filled all the open
cavities of the bones; but, not being at all consolidated, is easily re-
moved by shaking or by a soft brush. The locality is not men-
tioned on any map of New Zealand, but seems to be near the river
Wanganu, which takes its rise in the voleanic mountain of Ton-
gariro, remarkable for its boiling springs. From seven to eight
hundred specimens have been sent home, belonging to birds of va-
rious size and age. And they indicate the existence of five genera,
of which four were previously unknown. In certain mounds, said by
the natives to contain the remains of their feasts, Mr Mantell found
bones of the moas or gigantic birds, of dogs and men, all mixed up
together, and all evidently subjected to the effects of fire. Hence
these birds must have lived at the same period with men who, like
the present natives, were cannibals. Since the bones were embedded
in the alluvial beds, the’ land seems to have been elevated ; several
terraces, at different heights above the sea, being seen round the
coast. New Zealand has thus, from a very ancient period, been
inhabited by a peculiar race of birds, to the almost total exclusion
of mammalia and reptiles; thus forming a counterpart to certain
geological periods, during which 1 ptiles, either alone or chiefly, pre-
vailed, as in the case of the Galapagos islands at the present day.
14. On the Organic Remains found in the Skiddaw Slate; with some
Remarks on the Classification of the Older Rocks of Cumberland and
Westmoreland. By the Rev. Professor Sedgwick.—Immediately
above the granite of Skiddaw Forest is a group of slate-rocks, of great
but unknown thickness, and forming hills reaching to 3000 feet in
height. Above this is a vast group of green roofing slates, alternating
396 Scientific Intelligence—Geotogy.
with feldstone-porphyry, and trappean rocks. Above this, again, are
the Coniston limestone, the Ireleth slates, and several other depo-
sites, overlaid unconformably by the old red conglomerate and car-
boniferous limestone. In reference to the classification of these
rocks, it is stated that good physical groups are the foundation of all
geology, and the most remarkable monuments of the past history of
our globe, so far as it is made out in any separate region. Organic
remains are, in the first instance, but accessaries to good sections ;
though, in comparing remote deposites, they become the primary term
of comparison. The Coniston limestone and flagstone, in their lower
part, contain true Lower Silurian fossils; all the higher part of the
series, till we touch the old red conglomerate, belongs to the Upper
Silurian system. The lower deposites, or the green slates and porphy-
ries, with the Skiddaw slates, are the true equivalents of the great
Cambrian group of North Wales. The latter, however, contains fossils
almost to its very base ; whereas the Cumberland beds have never
exhibited a single specimen. This rarity of organic remains may
have arisen from various causes ; but even in 1822, Professor Sedg-
wick pointed out the existence of carbon in these rocks; and last
summer gave Mr J. Ruthven, of Kendal, directions to explore this
tract. His search has resulted in the discovery of two species of
graptolites, and some fucoids in the Skiddaw slate, which, conse-
quently, is not below the limits of organic life. These fossils belong
to the lowest groups; and probably very nearly mark the limits
below which life has not extended.—Atheneum, No. 1061, p. 218.
February 26 1848.
15. Coral Island.—Although there is not much variety, there is
considerable beauty in a small coral reef when viewed from a ship's
mast-head at a short distance in clear weather. A small island,
with a white sand beach and a tuft of trees, is surrounded by a
symmetrically oval space of shallow water of a bright grass-green
colour, enclosed by a ring of glittering surf, as white as snow, im-
mediately outside of which is the rich dark-blue of deep water. All
the sea is perfectly clear from any mixture of sand or mud; even
where it breaks on a mud beach, it retains its perfect purity, as the
large grains of coral are heavy, and do not break into mud, so that
if a bucket full of coral sand be thrown into the sea, it may be seen
gradually sinking like a white cloud, without producing any discolo-
ration in the surrounding water. It is this perfect clearness of the
water which renders navigation among coral reefs at all practicable,
as a shoal with even five fathoms water on it can be discerned at a
mile distance from a ship’s mast-head in consequence of its greenish
hue contrasting with the blue of deep water. In seven fathoms
water, the bottom can still be discerned on looking over the side of
a boat, especially if it has patches of light coloured sand; but in ten
fathoms the depth of colour can scarcely be distinguished from the
Scientific Intelligence—Hydrography. 397
dark course of the unfathomable ocean.— Voyage of Her Majesty's
Ship Fly, by J. B. Jukes, p. 10.
16. Vale of Sharon.—But I must describe the Vale of Sharon.
It is an immense meadow, extending from Mount Carmel to Joppa
on the coast, and bounded on the east by the great chain of barren-
looking hills, among which is situated the Holy City. It is an area
of perhaps twenty miles square, of beautiful rich lowlands, planted,
in many places, with olive and fig orchards, and grazing plats, upon
which herds of goats and cattle were browzing. In all this beauti-
ful valley there is not a single fence or wall, and the park-like effect
of the groves and valleys is very lovely. It struck me that, in the
hands of skilful husbandmen, it might be a paradise. Several Arab
villages of brown mud cottages, with tall date-trees intermingling,
and ruins of ancient elegance, as arches of aqueducts, fountains, and
causeways, are scattered over the plain; and huge reservoirs of
water, with convenient fountains for the traveller; are pleasant,
shady spots, which the lingering heat of the sun made exquisitely
welcome to us. There is no feature of eastern scenery so beautiful
as these fountains, generally of solid masonry, with arching domes,
and deep niches, huge stone-basins, and cool porticoes, with carved
stone-ottomans, upon which the weary pilgrim may freely repose
his limbs ; large carob-trees and thick shady figs spread their huge
limbs over the approaches, and the cool shade is dark and pleasant
from the garish sun. We had ridden six miles, when we arrived at
the second of these diamonds of the plain. We found a small cara-
van reclining under the trees; the camel-drivers were adjusting the
panniers, urging the patient beasts to lift their huge forms, and low,
melancholy cries were groaned forth as they rose under their bur-
dens. A herd of goats, probably two hundred in number, was also
just leaving the fountain to continue their way toward Jaffa; and
the swarthy, half-naked herdsmen were occupied in keeping the
flock together on the way. Arab women were drawing water, and
carried Rebecca-looking jars on their heads. Several dismounted
Arabs reclined under the cool portico; and the whole picture, in
architecture, costume, habits, and scene, was unchanged since 1800
years. Our Arab guard came first along, and took their position a
little beyond the pools; the officers came in turn, drew out their
drinking cups and flasks, and man and beasts took long and copious
draughts of the refreshing springs. This fountain has left delight-
ful impressions : it was a gay and joyous pausing place; and eyes
fond of’ pictures, and hearts fond of recollections, had ample occupa-
tion.— Shores of the Mediterranean, by Schrveder, vol. i., p. 193.
HYDROGRAPHY.
17. Gradual Diminution of Temperature of the Air and the Sea
as we approach the Land,—This evening we observed a gradual di-
minution of the temperature of the air and the sea as we approached
398 Scientific Intelligence—Hydrography.
the coast of Africa; and before midnight we entered a cold mist which
prevented our seeing to any considerable distance ; the water appear-
ing discoloured, we tried for, but did not obtain soundings, with 130
fathoms of line.
By 1 p.m. the next day, the temperature of the sea had fallen
from 70° to 565, that of the air being 65°, and the mist unplea-
santly cold to our feelings. We were at this time in lat. 32° 21’ S.,
long. 17° 6’ E., therefore, about forty-five miles from Paternoster
Point, when we struck soundings in 127 fathoms on a bed of fine
dark sand. We had expected to have found an elevation in the tem-
perature both of the air and sea on our approach to the African coast,
by reason of the radiation of heat from its shores ; but the cause of
the depression became evident on the morning of the 9th, when, hav-
ing sighted Cape Paternoster at daylight, we found we had to contend
against a current increasing in strength and coldness of temperature
as we neared the land. The existence of a body of cold water rush-
ing from the eastward, round the Cape of Good Hope, has long been
suspected ; but its extension so far to the northward, has not, I be-
lieve, been before noticed. As we were several days beating up to
the Cape, we collected the following curious facts respecting it. Thus,
on the 7th, when distant 120 miles from the coast, and before we
perceived the effects of the current, the temperature of the air was
71°, that of the sea 70°, and the depth of water more than 400
fathoms, which, being placed in order, will serve to explain the ar-
rangement of the following table :—
Distance
Temperature. Depth
TH = oO
ee Sone eka Sea. | Water.
Date. Remarks.
70° | 400_| No Soundings.
63 130 | No Soundings.
56 127 | Temp. at that depth 45°.
61 200 | Temp. at that depth. 43°°5.
64 203
54 142
66°5 | 313
67 202
54°5 72
55 58
51°5 48
BTS | 1S
51 76 | WNW. from Cape.
62 190 | WSW. from Cape.
7 | In False Bay, SH. from Cape,
Scientific Intetligence— Arts. 399
By a careful examination of the above experiments it will be mani-
fest that the distance to which the cold water extends from the coast,
depends materially upon the depth of the soundings. It barely
reaches 40 miles from the shore, where the sea is more than 300
fathoms deep, but spreads over double that distance in the shallower
parts. At 45 miles from the land, and at a depth of 120 fathoms,
the temperature was found to be 45°, that of the surface being 5G
and at 60 miles off the land, at 200 fathoms, it was 43°:5, the sur-
face being 61°.
All these circumstances combine to shew that a northerly current
of very limited extent, but of considerable force, exists from the Cape
of Good Hope along the western coast of Africa; which, in general
terms, may be represented by a volume of water 60 miles wide, and
200 fathoms deep, averaging a velocity of about a mile an hour, and
of the mean temperature of the ocean, running between the shores
of Africa and the waters of the adjacent sea, The cloud of mist
which hangs over this stream of cold water, is occasioned, of course,
by the condensation of the vapour of the superincumbent atmosphere,
whose temperature is generally so many degrees higher than that of
the sea. It is sufficiently well defined to afford useful notice to sea-
men of their near approach to the land.— Sir James Ross’s Voyage
to the Southern Seas, vol. i., p. 32.
ARTS.
18. On the Curiosities of Glass Manufacture. By Mr A. Pellatt.
—In ancient as in modern glass, sand was the base, and alkali the
solvent, and the injury occasioned to the glass by an excess of the
latter ingredient was pointed out. That opacity of glass called de-
vitrification, was explained as consisting in the formation of a mul-
titude of minute crystals, in close contact with each other, on the
surface of the glass. The process of annealing was then described ;
and it was shewn that a glass-tube forty inthe i in length contracts,
if annealed, a quarter of an inch; while an unannealed tube of the
same length contracts but one-eighth of an inch. The most inte-
resting part of Mr Pellatt’s discourse referred to the mode of mak-
ing Vitro di Trino, and of impressing heraldic devices, &c., on glass.
In the case of Vitro di Tino, the gathered glass, after heing expand-
ed into a bulb or cylinder of the required size, has rods of other glass
or enamel attached to it in a vertical position, at equal distances all
round, and then, the bottom being held, the top part is more or less
turned, so as to give an equally inclined twist to the vessel and the
rods, A similar but larger vessel is made ; but which is also turned
inside out, and then the former is put into the lathe; and, being ex-
panded by blowing, the two come together, and adhere by the rods
and their intersections, but inclose small portions of air, which, being
regular in size, form, and disposition, give the character of the olass.
When heraldic devices, &c., are to be impressed, a mould of tho do-
400 Scientific Intelligence—Arts.
sion is made in a fit earthy material (being puzzolana, or one of the
volcanic deposites), and this is placed within, and forms part of, the
larger iron mould, in which the decanter is blown. When the large
mould is removed, the earthen portion still adheres to the glass
and continues in its place until the bottle is finished. After the an-
nealing, the mould is moistened with water, and immediately sepa-
rates, and the impression is found really perfect.—Royal Institution
Proceedings.—Athenewm, No. 1061, p. 220, February 26, 1848.
19. House Painting.—M. Leclaire, house-painter, calls the at-
tention of the Academy to a substitution which he daily makes of the
white of zine and colours witha zinc base, for white-lead and colours
with a base of copper and lead, in the arts, and for ordinary pur-
poses.
In his daily practice, M. Leclaire employs the white of zinc,
which appears to possess all the qualities of white-lead, without any
of its inconveniences. Thus, if we must give credit to his state-
ments, and the results are of sufficient standing to render it easy to
verify them, zinc-white is much whiter than white-lead; ground
and used with oil, it reflects the light, instead of absorbing it: it
furnishes finer and more transparent tones, it covers better, and
with equal weights, a larger space; it remains unchanged by
sulphurous fumes, which immediately blacken objects painted with
lead; finally, the manufacture and use of zinc-white has no in-
jurious effect upon the health. But all this is not sufficient for the
complete solution of the problem. In fact, although zinc-white
was known in science, it has never been collected hitherto but as
a produce of the laboratory. It was necessary to obtain it in quan-
tities and at an accessible price. Then, once obtained and mixed
with oil, it was necessary, in order to apply it readily to painting,
that it should be made to dry easily. Now, the only drying sub-
stances we knew had a leaden base, and thus communicated all the
defects of lead to the zinc-white. M. Leclaire has obtained a dry-
ing substance with a manganese base, which has the property of
drying zinc-white more readily than litharge could do.
This was not all. White tones form, so to speak, a kind of ex-
ception in painting. Some of the colours most in use are extracted
from lead and copper, and owe to these metals the defect of being
alterable by sulphurous gases; mingled with zinc-white, they de-
prived it of the advantage of being unalterable. It was necessary,
therefore, to render the process complete, and its application com-
mon, to substitute colours which undergo no change for all these
alterable colours. After many years of research, says M. Leclaire,
I have succeeded in producing, if I may use such an expression, the
commencement of a reformation in painting, by completing the scale
of unalterable colours—by the substitution of inoffensive and unalter-
able colours for all such as had lead or copper for their base, so that
I can now affirm, Ist., That the health of a great number of men
Scientific Intelligence—Arts. 401
may be saved without any detriment to the profession; 2dly, That
the interior and exterior of houses may be painted without the least
risk of the colours changing or blackening by sulphurous emanations ;
3dly, That pictures will be no longer liable to change their appear-
ance and harmony with the lapse of time, as has happened with so
many pictures of the old masters.
M. Leclaire constantly employs about two hundred workmen in
Paris. From the time that he substituted zinc-white for white-lead,
not only has he never had a case of lead-colic, but he affirms that
no indisposition has at any time appeared among his workmen which
can be attributed to their profession. The work has been entrusted
to the examination of a commission—From L’Institut, No. 734,
January 1848, p. 30.
19. Preparation of a Substitute for Horn. By M. Rochon.
(Voigt. Mag. de Naturk. und Revue Scient., Feb. 1846, p. 256.)—In
many of the arts, more especially where steel instruments are manu-
factured, glass windows are of great inconvenience, owing to frequent
breakage by fragments of steel. The substitution of horn is at-
tended with some inconvenience, principally on account of its want
of transparency. A substitute is proposed to be made by very light
cloth or wire-gauze, composed of fine brass wire, which is to be im-
mersed repeatedly into a solution of isinglass until all the meshes
are filled, and a sufficient thickness acquired, after which it is
covered with a coat of copal or other varnish to protect it from the
weather.
20. On the Colouring Principles of some of the Lichens. By Dr J.
Stenhouse.—The lichens, it is well known, yield no colour to water ;
and it is difficult to imagine how the Celtic inhabitants of the High-
lands of Scotland were led to look to so unpromising a source for
some of the brightest colours which they have long imparted to their
national tartans. The father of the late C. Mackintosh and his
partner, Mr Cuthbert Gordon, first added them to the chemical arts,
about the middle of the last century, probably availing themselves of
the indigenous processes; and the article known by the name of
Cudbear (a corruption of the Christian name of Mr Gordon) is still
manufactured by their representatives in Glasgow. The researches
of Heeren, Dumas, Kane, Schunck of Manchester, and other chemists,
led to the discovery of several organic principles in these lichens,
chiefly of a neutral or acid character, themselves colourless, but con-
verted by ammonia into the delicate reds and purples of archilo, lit-
mus, and Cudbear. Dr Stenhouse has been enabled to add largely
to the number of these principles, and to illustrate their singular re-
lations, chiefly from having discovered the proper mode of extracting
them from the lichens ; which is by means of hot-water and lime,
and not by means of boiling water, as hitherto practised. Plants,
botanically the same, but from different localities, are here found to
VOL. XLIV. NO. LXXXVUI.—APRIL 1848. 2¢
402 Scientific Intelligence—Arts.
yield chemical principles, allied in character, but of different com-
position ; shewing that the organic nature is even more prolific in
chemical than in botanical species. From a South American variety
of Roccella tinctoria Dr Stenhouse obtains new acids, named by him
Alpha-orsellic and Alpha-orsellesic ; from a Cape of Good Hope
variety. Beta-orsellic and Beta-orsellesic, and a neutral principle
Roceellinin. The Evernia prunastri yielded evernic and evernesic
acids, the Usneas usnic acid, &c. The author recommends that the
extraction of the colouring principles should be performed in the
countries where the lichens grow, by cutting them up into small
pieces, macerating in milk of lime, neutralising the solution obtained
by muriatic or acetic acid, collecting the gelatinous precipitate which
falls on cloths, and drying it at a gentle heat. Thus the carriage of
the original bulky lichen would be, in a great measure, saved. The
commercial value of these lichens also varies excessively, according to
the proportion of colouring matter producible from them. This, he
finds, may be accurately determined for trade purposes, by macerat-
ing a constant weight of the lichen in milk of lime, filtering and
adding a solution of bleaching powder of known strength, from an
alkalimeter, till all colour disappears, and noting the quantity of so-
lution required. He thus found samples of the following lichens to
have proportional values assigned to them :—
Angola lichen F . required 200 measures, value 1:00
American, : : Be amine tas es Bente OU
Cape . é : : fee