‘ hee of Fail Le Ue Me. 0 —— Ce ee bs o3 a. ae THE AMERICAN JOURNAL. OF SCIENCE AND ARTS. CONDUCTED BY BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, Professor of C hemistry, Mineralogy, &c. in Yale College; Corresponding Member of the Societ; — Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, of London ; esi ‘aren a ee Society of Dresden: perial Agricu rd of a eiety of Moscow ; Honorary 3 f the Paris ; of -” Natural y Society oO. arious Literary and Societies in America. VOL. IX.—Juye 1825. NEW-HAVEN: oi Be PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY S. CONVERSE, FOR THE EDITOR, git S ocniaaaedl SOLD BY THE PUBLISHER; BY £. rrent, ee AND TRENTON, N. as AND By ‘Hezekiah Howe, ets Haven; Pishey Thompson, Washiiigton Huntington & Hopkins, Hartford; Cummings Hilliard, & C Goodale, Glazier, & Co. Hallowell, Maine; A. T. Caleb Atwater, Circleville Ohio; ‘Thomas J. Ray, Augusta, ple & Lawrence. ge ass. ; Edward J. C ne = Columbia, S. ton, D. C.: 0. Boston j : rate itchins, Wiliam, Newport Rt jie | ec Williams, Savan = G , Brunswick, "Maino: D. a Lak es es ou Sevens, N.C; John Miller, No, street, Mo. Bot. Gardeng A90Ty | Professor 69 Fleet- iy CONTENTS. PHYSICS, MATHEMATICS, CHEMISTRY, MECHANICS, &c. Page Prof. E. Kellogg on the Passage of Lightning, A new ee “a deep: ef of the third and fourth de- gree; by er C. Twining, Formula for the Preparctians of | the Sulphate of ‘Rhubarb, - - oo _ Mr. Patten’s Air-Pump, Gazometer, and Balance Beam Prof: Wallace in Reply to the Tebsharks of B. upon his paper on Al. gebraic Series, - 98 asserted Acc eleration dey the Motion of Water-Wheels, duriug the Night and in Win 104 Rev. E. act ae Se eee a “The n aw inethad of d etarmining the Lo ude by th nation of the Moon and Stars,” with “a list of ‘Stare E opiiounde & or purpose for Ma your 1825, we ? Francis Baily, Esq. F. R. S. : \< marks on Prof. Wallace’s Reply to B. 293 ew Demonstrations on the ne of the Overshot ‘Water-Wheel by A. B. Qu ae 304 On high and low pre re Ete: b y he B. Quinby, > . vie On the Spiral of alkimedes, by A. B. Quinby, Mr. , on Crank Motion, in a to the Remarks of the Ae h thor of a Review i ha the orth American, 7 On rim scl on of I in Motion on “Tempered Steel by MM. De ‘rier, and ‘Colladon, * 324 Mr. Patten’s Air Pum 327 Analysis of several Minerals, by Prof. Gmelin, of the University of Tubingen, 329 An Lightniing-Rads, vy Seremiah Vail Ricssalies, M. dD. . 331 MISCELLANEOUS, Notices of the ee ee Geology, and Animal, Vegeta- le, and Mineral Productions of the Floridas, and of the Indian be tribes; i James Pierce, Esq. 119° Re marks on et opee of Moritg Hacks; by Rey. 1 Adams, 136 Remarks o ag Slot ing of Rocks by Ice; by J. 1 Rem ae additional ‘o the Review of t aeons and Pailips . Geol f England and Wales 146 Rotsnical a sin France, b vP Ed Grisc - - - 154 Extracts from Mr. Maclure’s L porn to the "Editor, - - 157 Description of Minerals from Palestine, by Prof. Hall, - 337 Notice of a Meteoric Stone which fell at Waageeras Maryland, February 10th, ss by Dr. Samuel D. Carver, 351 Notice of a Cave containing Bones in Lanark, Upper Canada, oy John I. ag Mt D. Notice of Prof. E nis Gedlogiea! Su acter, 356 ie the papery 5 Divisibiity of a Finite aida of Matter, by Shel On the Origin of ‘Ergot, by Gen, Martin Fi eld, ae Some Experiments and Remarks on several Species and Varieties af €fnchona Bark, by Gegrge W. Garpent 363 eee eee CQNTENTS- INTELLIGENCE AND MISCELLANIES. 1. Domestic. Impressions of Plants in om Sopa of She mem eats 16 isc for rowan Va inich-2 Use of Sulphur in Rheuma- m—Illum ioe oe from Cotton Seed, 16 cot logical Jou - - Dr. Cutbush on Seueatea y,oAmerican Seulpture, - . - Phosphate of Lime from Williamsburgh, = 5 carne on Co ett rig Sap ene Lyceum, '° i: American Geological Society, 17 Mr. Hiteheock’s Geol Sketch es thie: country on 1 Connecticut River To Note +s Prof. Flaa’s 8 Letter on nthe Galvanic D e Gagrator,: - 18 American Geological Soci spel desi of — ural Histo beat ee New-York. 387 Franklin Instit - - - pe “eS South Gertina Medical Sct - - a eee SS AS Meterological T 394 Cold at the head of take Sapithar—¥iot Weather? Valuable Relic, 5 Dr. Robinson’s Catalogue of American Minerals, 396 Dr. Van Rensselaer’s Geology —Cryptogam ic Flora af North Amer- ica—Fauna Americana—Col. George Gibb s—Lehigh Coal, Mineralogy of the Goast 0 f Labrador, = of bi yey 7 the St. wrence, e Infirmarie biReN oti-deséript ‘Aatioil, . < F - Acrolit of Maine—Mineralogical Notice - - ae opmncter-Atnerhy ag of Rhode-Tsland, - - . West Point Minerals, - or ee 2. Foreign. Mutual es seam in Sweden - > Deaf a old Mines of Russia—Copenbagen, mgs Steen Baate-Pivedia—Pra ue—Goethe—Zuric mi Anatomy Pesacrnecns! J stale epee in Brussels—Public Instruction " in Fribu a. Rome—Faune Feanenive We rsaw Gaiverny __ Rural School—Instruction in Lisbon. a—Charity in Prance—Lille, _ Teduret of Potassium—Camera Lucida, - Compressibility of Water—Blsine —_ Oils—Sonp, ae Ammonia in re Rust of Iro - Roman & = oe ae é * Electri sll) pila Action of Fissu - we Meteoric fron—Rain in Paris—Muri jin of Lim - « : Diamond— Atospiere Tides—Liquefed Sulphurous Acid, - 7 Artificial Incubati : = Pidesie—Siyphistiin ek of Baking, - ‘Cuvier's og" Fine Arts—M. Guinand’s Flint Glass, - ‘Belfast N atural tty Sits - Artists’ Lecture Room, Fae * Mr. (swen, and his pra of Edu Saito; . - = > Optical structure of Minerals—Him alayah Mountains, . : - ‘Mr. Dalton’s process for determining 0g! waine of Indigo, “ Pot 3 Wo diurnal variation of the N aoaia at the Egoator—Inoene Bs ‘the f Sodiu cs CONTENTS. Vi Page ouses—Come os Bee Ty = 469 Natural History——Canels i in n Great Brit tain, 200 Pyroligneous Acid—Chlorate. wot Potash—Test <4 Iron—Test = Copper—Blowpipe Experiments, 201 Ink—Watchmakers’ Oil—Paris, - OE SR ap oe eae __ Rapid Evaporation—Steam Engines, —s ° sus _ American Ge hy—Geo ramia—Deaf and Bulbs: - - 204 Bulletin Universel des Sciences et de ry rage - . - 205 Mr. Perkins’s Steam Engine—Artificial Mahogany, 206 New He phorus of Tartrate of Lead—Corrosion of the : Goppering 207 Purple Bier Hass increased by light—Flora of the Gree kk Avehi sr a of an Earthquake on the vegetation of Wheat— aize grain feniattably retentive of the power of Shea tie 208 Morality of the Sree ne Rega ps hel ae rs, 365 ’ Birt v. - - ate Ru ral Sohool i in in Bales Address to the Helvetic Society, ie Ferussac’s Bulletin, 374 Lychno ieig—Aiisdilavien Plants—Marine Fossil Plant ts, - iAualecta Entomol eo ee a 8 peter. to the 1° Cait I rehnite—Olivine, - Méchani ne cS Bois de Colophane—Brand qnantity of Rain—Potassium and Vol. VIIL—Page 225, sine 19, i top,) for secondary read iransition. « 928, 28 & after Porcelain Clay and rose- red i for ai do. read at B « 930, The Carbonate of Ir Tron, Amethyst, Quart os Idocrase. * sho orbs ited to Messrs. 8. 'T or and T. Hi. “ 6396, line Ds irom tops) ie truncations read terminations. Yo IX— “ 2 2,(from bottom;) foi ite valves read bivalves. ss 5, for em a “ e ® 16, (fe xp) f for 7 ad ‘then ‘Ce, 4 -$, ah mctat-dale it 15, “ by er aaa i evita bl & 16, sf sbi Bottom,) fo ‘or Dis d Diodorus. - a, eo CAA , oo tops) A arte he ~* re the « 80, “5& eee ead experiments. ioe, ae _ “of ager feat Wager. 2 ~ % 6s be 95, — ve a ae . %, * " ie bottom) aaa 5. heed measu f * 101, “§ for 8. - “ 320, 12, ae ie oh Dana read gen J. F. Dana, | % In No. I. es a: ‘ites : and so those succeeding XIV, : are incorrectl red; they may be Beas Aharyy ra referring to the cover. _ + In No, i. Plate IV, Fig. 6.—In the deli tion of the balance beam, | oe. ing rd lems ‘ Pe - . 5 ee ts ce ia eae TO PROFESSOR SILLIMAN. sir— wens tgs mt » I SEND you, e enclosed uate with eee to illustrate the “very sing: ompany fit place which they ai ein ended ti ; ga lake is si , all directior ns, produ- ofa vast veematien re ee £44 pictur ‘omantic landscape, highly embellished _ ie efforts of neti on the abodes of rural hfe, + ae ¢ 9 Notice of Snake ag! and Saratoga Lake, fe. It was on the elevated rol which separates - pie! of. the Hudson st that of the lake, ata place called Be- : memorable battles of the 19th of September pa the 7 ra: 1777, which termin- Y> the ahooe fala e country scuad the. jake 18. ome and is inclu- ded in the extensive tract o siti eam which ex- tends along the course of the H om Baker’s falls on the. north, to the oNeeiie below Rooke on the The borders of the lake are composed principally a. Fag illaceous slate, which extends back to the more ele- ridges, where, in many places, it is overlaid by gray~ eck ke or gray-wacke slate, and in some places evidently alternates with them n the eastern shore of the Lake, three miles from its aie ‘termination, there is, a_ singular and interes- ratification of these rocks, at a place called Snake Hil, This hil projects into the lake for some distance, and rises abruptly more than two hundred feet above the Jevel of the water, presenting a naked and almost perpen- dicular front, which looks to the west and south-west, where the different strata are as regular and well defined as though they were painted ona wall. They rise from the water in regular succession along the southern part of this front and pursue an elevation of from 13 to 15° to ihe norili-west, in straight and parallel NUP until they arr.ve towards ‘the northern termination of t 8 promon- tory; here they make an abrupt curve sae =. up the » mountain in an oblique direction, to its summit, producing a declination exactly in an opposite direction. The curve made by the strata, taking an opposite course, is the seg- ment of a circle, the diameter of which would not exceed “20 0r 30 inches. ‘The strata are of different dimensions, varying from half an inch to two feet in thickness and consist * of alternate layers of argillaceous slate and gray-wacke or. aray-wackeslate. The gray-wacke contains impressions of shells in great abundance, they cousist principally of by- valyes, an id both the formations effervesce with acids. : a. / aa a , 2 eee as cl aaa a em Notice of Snake Mill and Sardioga Lake, ec. 8 The plate, marked I. is a full view of the hill with its curved strata as they appear from the water; the bac ground is the elevated ridge which sepa ¢: the Hndson on the east: That ‘marked II. is a scott Os hill, oh sie more distinctly the cdma eed. A and curve of the” different strata. The dark lines may be supposed to rep- resent the argillite, and chests of a lig ter ig the gray- wacke. It is impossible to examine this locality without being strongly impressed with the belief that the position which the strata here assume could rot have been effected in any h up * the lake fern | rp = seer ul fave ate iieving elevated it toa cores extent” it is ‘reed into a vertical position, or thrown over upon the unbroken stratum behind, by the progressive power of the current. If it can be admitted that the operation of such a power did produce the effect here represented, it must have ta- ken place before the materials, of which the formation is composed, had passed into an indurated state, as most of the strata remain unbroken, and, where the argillite’ has crumbled away, the curved part of the gray-wacke may be taken out entire, and some of them, which I now have in my possession, exhibit indentations and protu uberances, par- ticularly on their curved surfaces, evidently the result of friction while in a plastic state. — It is likewise pretty oo that the operation was lita ited in its extent and t ts effects ceased at the very spot where this armas odeaet: as the stratified rocks on © the east and west, and likewise to the south, do not appear to have suffered any derangement in their general declina- tion. On the north and. ; horth-west, the direction from | _which the operation of the power, whatever it might have —— must have commenced, there are no intervening rocks discoverable until we arrive at the Palmertown mountains, which are entirely primitive, the er between these mountains and the hill being occupied by five or six omiles of the lake, andthen a sandy alluvium fe Pr extends 4% “ ® +e 4 Notice of Snake Fhill and Saratoga Lake, &€. Se ve a4 base of the mountain, the distance of six or ven s further ; but, on the elevated ridge, to the B ast wh extends as far north as the Fish-creek, a dis e of five or six _ the stratification er A cuigeapond with that of Snake Hill, consisting of alte ting strata of graywacke and argillaceous slate, the dited, tion of which is either vertical, or inclining to the south- east, evincing a derangement, the effect of a process sim- ilar to that which elevated those | have already described. The utmost extent, then, of the operation of the power Soul not have exceeded the distance of three or four miles from east to west, and, in the direction from north- west to south-east, it might have been thirteen miles, ad- : mitting that it commenced at the termination of the prim- itive mountains ; but why may not the effects, above des- cribed, be imputed to the continuation of the power which elevated the primitive rocks themselves? Ihave no ineli- nation to discuss this question; | have merely stated the nee together with such reflections as must, unavoidably, : follow from a fenryeel spot. examination rat thes ours very sore je JOHN H. STEEL. Saratoga Springs, State of N. Y., Oct. 28, 1824. P. S. I take the liberty to forward you a specimen of ovlite, an extensive formation of which has lately been dis- covered i in this vicinity, presuming it would be peculiarly interesting to you, as hitherto, it has been supposed not to occur in situ in North America, unless perhaps at the locality on the Ohio, mentioned by Mr. Jessup. | shall endeavour : furnish you witha Poesia account” of it for your next No. of the Journal of Scienc 32H REMARK BY THE EDITOR. _ This Oolite is composed of wlack grains included in a grayish basis—is is very distinctly characterised. The account here’ promised, freer to hand justvas this form was going to the press.—It will appecr in this SI at PES Olmsted on the Gold Mines of North Carolina. 3 - II.—On the Gold Mines of North Carolina ; By Den- 1son OxmsteD, Professor of PMI ae ry an ‘the University of North Capotine: age aah t co g gold mines of North Carolina, which have recent- ly coe. an object of much inquiry both at home and abroad, are situated between the 35th and 36th degrees of N. latitude, and between the 80th and 81st degrees of W. longitude from London. They are on the southern side of the State, not far from the borders of South Carolina, and- somewhat westward of the centre. pre oe ~~ a country flows the river Pedee, receiving, within district, the Uwharre from the north, and sa River frm the south; both considerable streams. Above t ni with the Uwharre, the Pedee bears the name or The gold easily trace its boundaries, so far as they have been hither- to observed. From a point taken eight miles west by south of the mouth of the Uwharre, with a radius of eighteen oni describe a circle,—it will erste the greatest part of the county of Montgomery, the northern part of Anson, the north-eastern corner of Mulenberg, Cabarrus, a little | yond Concord on the west, and a corner of Rowan and of Randolph. In almost any part of this region, gold may be found, in greater or less abundance, at or near the surface of the ground. Its true bed, however, is a thin stratum of gravel enclosed in a dense mud, usually of a pale blue, but sometimes of a yellow colour ‘On ground that is elevated -“ exposed to be washed by rains, this stratum frequent- ears at the surface ; and in low grounds, where the alluvial earth has been accumulated by the same agent, it is found to the depth of eight feet : where no cause‘ rates to alter its original depth, it lies about three feet be- low the surface. Rocky river and its small tributaries which cut through this stratum, have hitherto proved the most fruitful localities of the precious meta — prevailing rock in the gold country is Argillite This belongs to an extensive formation of the same, which crosses the State in numerous beds, forming a zone more than twenty miles in width, and embracing, , among many leas important varieties of slate, several extensive beds of t 6 Olmsted on the Gold Mines of North Carolina. novaculite, or whetstone slate, and also beds of petrosili- ceous porphyry and of greenstone. These last lie over the rgillite, either in detache blocks, or in strata that are in- med at a lower angle than that. This ample field of si I had supposed to be the peculiar repository of the gold ; but a personal examination discovered that the pre- yaerectin Foe description of the gold country, would present little that is interesting. The soil is generally bar- ren, and the inhabitants are mostly poor and felon The traveller passes the day without meeting with a single striking or beautiful object, either of nature or of art, to vary the tiresome monotony of forests and sandhills, and ridges of gravelly quartz. Here and there a log hut or cabin, s gato by a few acres of corn and cotton, marks the little improvement which has been made by man, ina region singularly endowed by nature. The road is gen-_ erally conducted along the ridges, which slope on either hand into vallies of moderate depth, consisting chiefly of fragments of quartz, either strewed coarsely over the. round, or so comminuted as to form gravel; these ridges oi an appearance of great natural sterility, which, more- over, is greatly aggravated by the ruinous practice of fre- uently burning over the forests, so as to consume ail the leaves and under-growth, giving'to the forest the aspect of an artificial grove. he principal mines are three—the Anson mine, Reed’s mine, and Parker’s mine. The Anson Mrve is situated in the county of the same name, on the waters of Richardson’s creek, a branch of Rocky river. This locality was discovered only two years since by a “ gold hunter,’’—one of an order of peo- ple, that begin already to be accounted a distinct race. A rivulet winds from north to south between two gently slo- ping hills that emerge towards the south. The bed of the stream, entirely covered with gravel, is left almost naked during the dry scason, which period is usually selected by the miners for their operations. On digging from three to six feet into this bed, the workman comes to that peculiar Olmsted on the Gold Mines of North Carolina. 7 stratum of gravel and tenacious blue clay, which is at once: recognized as the repository of the gold. The stream i = usually gives the first indication of the richness of th which it passes, by disclosing large pieces of the precious metal shining among its pebbles and sands— such was the first ors sar sist to the discoverer of the Anson mine. Unusually large pieces were found by those who first examined shee noes and the highest hopes were inspired. On inquiry it was ascertained that part of the land was not held by a good title, and parcels of it were immediately entered,* but it has since been a subject of — litigation, which has retarded the working of the Seat Miye in Cabarrus is the one which was hint wrought ; and at this place, indeed, were obtained the rst. Tes sf om . =? sictacted tention by its lustre and specific eravity, but it was retained, fora long time after its discovery, in the hands of the proprietor, through i ignorance whether it were gold or not. ‘Uhis mine occupies the bed of Meadow creek, (a branch of Rocky River,) and exhibits a level be- tween two hillocks, which rise on either side of the creek, affording a space between from fifty to one hundred yards in breadth. This space has been nearly all dug over, and exhibits at present numerous small pits for the distance 7 one fourth of a mile on both sides of the stream. The su face of the ground and the bed of the creek are e occupied up quartz and by sharp angular rocks of the greenstone family. ‘Che first glance is sufficient to convince the spectator that the business of searching for gold is conducted under nu- merous disadvantages, without the least regard to system, and with very little aid from mechanical contrivances. The process is as follows. During the dry season, when the greatest part of the level above described is left bare, and the creek shrinks toa small rivulet, the os se~ lects a spot atrandomand commences digging a pit with a spade and maitock. At first he penetrates through three A pie e of | land is said not to be antes when it remains the property of the paele: — ithout taxation, Any one is at liberty to enter on the state books whatever land he can find in this sist na the land being secured io him on nee Gelaniog responsible for the ta 8 _ Olmsted on the Gold Mines of North Carolina. or four feet of -~ coloured mud, full of stones in anguia: fra nts depth he meets with that peculiar Gof gravel ‘and clay, which he recognizes as the If the mond be wety dense and tena- witha aie into the “ cradle.” This is a semi-cylinder laid on its side, (like a barrel bisected longitudinally and laid flat-wise,) and made to rock like a cradle on two par- allel poles of wood. The cradle being half filled with the rubbish, water is there laded in, so as nearly to fill the ves- sel. The cradle is now set to rocking, the gravel being _ eccasionally stirred with an iron rake, until the coarse stones are ae freed non the blue mud,—a_ part of the Ww ificult, on account of the dense adhesive qnality of the mal By rocking the cradle rapidly, the water is thrown overboard, loaded with as much mud as it is capable of suspending. The coarser stones are then picked out by hand, more water is added, and the same process is repeated. On pouring out the water a second time, (which is done by inclining the cra- dle on one side,) a layer of coarse grave! appears on the top, whichis scraped off by hand. At the close of each washing, a similar layer of gravel appears on the top, which appears more and more comminuted until it graduates into fine sand, sein the bottom of the cradle. At length this residuum i is transferred to an iron dish, which is dipped horizontally into a pool of water, and subjected to a rotary motion. All the remaining earthy matter goes overboard, and nothing remains but a fine sand, chiefly acuesna and the particles of gold for which the whole labour has been performed. qT hese are frequently no larger than a pin’s ead, but vary in size from mere dust to pieces weighing one or two pennyweights. Large pieces, when they oc- cur, are — picked out ata previous stage of the pro- cess. =e Olmsted on the Gold Mines of North Carolina. 9 Large pieces of gold are fou in this region, although their occurrence is somewhat ra Masses weighing four five, and six hundred penny- weighs, are occasionally me with, and one mass was found that weighed, im its ¢ 28 Ibs. avoirdupoise. This was dug up by a at Reed’s mine, within a few inches of the surface of the ground. Marvellous stories are told respecting this rich mass; as that it had been seen by gold hunters at night, reflecting so on a light, when they drew near to it, with torches, as to make them believe it was some super- natural ppennicnay and to deter them from farther exam- ination. But all stories of this kind, as I was assured by Mr. Reed the old proprietor, are mere fables. No unusual circumstances were connected with the discovery of this mass, —— its being nearer the — than common. It was me! rs soon after its discove- ry. The spot whens it was found b has been since subject- ed to the severest scrutiny, but without any similar harvest. Another mass weighing 609 pwts. was found on the surface of a ploughed field in the vicinity of the Yadkin, twenty miles or more north of Reed’s mine. Specimens of great elegance, as I should infer from the descriptions of the mi- ners, are occasionally found, but for want of mineralogists to reserve them for cabinets, they have always been thrown into the common stock and melted into bars. Mr. of the size of a large pin’s head. m ves = ae. the proprietor could not inform me. Althoug of greenstone and of several argillaceous rine tle ote occur among the gravel of the gold-stratum, yet, in the opinion of the miners, the precious metal is never found attached to any other mineral than quartz. Indeed it is rarely attach- ed to any substance, but is commonly scattered promiscu- ously among the gravel. Its colour is generally yellow with a reddish tinge, though the surface is not unfrequently obscured by a partial incrustation of iron or manganese, or by adhering particles of sand. The masses are flattened = Blige te ces rounded with evident marks 2 — » aS age 10 Olmated: on the Gold Mines of North Carolina. of ation. The rounded angles and vesicular structure i he y general, that the metal, € Frpodpspects, the “he, nS convinced that thei worn and ounded appearance is. a to attrition, and jit ities are ae by the indentation 0 of san ue oe Ms may still eapenly be vee arian a moreover, which is separ, dq dent marks of attrition, of a limite round its edges and angles, but not_ suffc i to des te them: the fragments are not ovoidal Tike. the pebbles of rivers, but are still flat, retaining their original form, the that their edggs are dull and their angles blunted. In s hort, the whole appearance is such, as would ake yd result from so at a substance as virgin gold, bein?’ knocked about among such stern associates as quartz and green- stone. . Tbe appearance of fusion, suanosed to be exhibited by the, d bas inspired the idea al the miners that the li pieces which they obtain , en melted out from some ore that lies disguised somewhere in the vicinity. This idea has frequently made them the dupes of imposi- tion. The Mineral Rod, charms, and pose follies, have had their reign here, and ‘the first is still held in some esti- mation. The common rocks and stones of the country, have been tortured by a new race of alchymists, who have imagined them to be the ore of gold, veiling, wane some disguise, the characters of the precious metal. . degree of eagerness also pervades the couutry 0: on the. ject of the metals in general. The minerals thrown o excavatirg pits im search of gold, consist chiefly of quartz, greenstone, aud hornblende maxed with chlorite, and affor little that is interesting tc the collector of specimens. Al- most the only substance which I met with, that was worth preserving merely asa specimen, was Pyritous Copper. Of this 1 saw some elegant fragments. Tt occurs in a gangue of quartz, and resembles that fo und at Lane’s Mine at HO RUDB HRs Con. (Amer. Journai of Science, Vol. I. 316 vein of it occurs in slaty clay, six miles east at Concaen in Cabarrus county. This ore had been sub- jected to numerous experiments, on account of ihe belief Olmsted on the Gold Mines of orth Carolina. 11 that i it was band “ore of se oe seg a8 aa al- the ‘ime no the disc of f ) the re) isc a eels was informed iat a il w as produced from this ore, which’ was not aah SI of platina, spit as they acknowledged, it was 7 fused, and burne ith a blue flame. I suspected of that metal in the ore. Pi rennctet a minute account of the process.—* The materials, namely, the ore, charcoal, borax, &c. were put into a crucible—Emetic “tartar, in considerable Hels was added to make the ore “spe out” thé metal Po was afterwards tried with ie same view, but but was not found | to be st strong enough “to make igure wore.” ” After the account of the process, it was not difficult to account for the production ne antimony, it being obviously fo from the Emetic ar. At Concord near the western limit of ti gold coun- iry, the metal is found 4 in small grains in the streets and gullies, after every rain; and the gullies frequently disclose the stratum of gravel and mud, well known as the reposito- ry of the gold. Washings on a more limited scale are conducted here. The clay is not so dense at this place as at ata ade ot more ferruginous and full of span- gles of eae mica. This stratum rests on gneiss: those “ihn were over the Slate formation. Pa vA a is situated on a small stream four miles wes fthe river Yadkin. As in the instances already men- ince were numerous in the low grounds ol The earth at this place whi on onta of a deeper red than that at er of i seas mines. be gold found here i is chiefly in flakes and” grains. ~ Oct ally however pieces are met with which weigh 100 ota and ul and very recently a mass has been dis- coveret weighed four pounds and eleven sa a This is said to have ie found at the depth of ten fee * * «. oe appted on the;Gold Mines of North Carolina. sic is oe level than any I bad heard of Balgrex The. idea of an aqueous deposit, which is apt to be pressed upon us whenever we either inspect the feeble or reflect upon its origin, would lead us to expect, on ac- = . is evident that the thin stratum which outcast ‘the metal, will be buried at different depths, by variable quantities of alluvial earth, that are accumulated over it by causes still in operation 5 and consequently, that the depth at which the stratum happens to be met with in any given place, is no criterion of its richness. Nor does the fact that this fortu- nate discovery was made at a lower level than ordinary, af- ford any encouragement to work lower than the usual depth. I might interest geological curiosity, however, to learn the nature of the strata below the gold Sonam, al- though I do not know that the existence of this furni any reasonable grounds for supposing that share are other — similar deposits below it. I could not find that any search had been made with such an expectation except in a single instance. Near the spot where the largest mass was found, the earth was penetrated a few feet below the gold bed. Immediately beneath this was a.thin layer of green sand, and next a similar layer of a bright yellow sand. These had a very handsome appearance, but neither of them seemed to contain any thing more precious than mica. The terms on which the proprietors of the mines per- mit them to be worked, vary nhl the productiveness of the earth which is worke d. Some of the miners rent for a fourth of the gold found ; some for a third, and others claim half, which is the bigh est premium hitherto paid. The ’s mine was not more than sixty to abourer; but the undertakers are buoyed up with Sa hope of Some splendid Patan like those which have occasionally been made. The mines have given some peculiarities to the state of society in the neighbouring country. The precious metal ts a most favourite acquisition, and constitutes the common currency. Almost every man carries about with him a age SR gee eee ee ee ee eee ee - Olmsted on the Gold Mines of North Carolina. 13 ; goose quill or two of it, and a small pair of scala na box like a ea case. The value as in patriarchal times, is ascertained b y weight, which, from the dexterity acquired by practice, is a less troublesome mode of count- ing money than one would imagine. I saw a pint of whis- -_ for by weighing off three and a half grains of gold. e greatest part of the gold collected at these mines is bought up by the country merchants at 90 or 91 cents a pennyweight. ‘They carry it to the market towns, as oo etteville, Cheraw, Charleston, and New-York. Much of this is bought up by jewellers; some remains in the anks; and a considerable quantity has been received at the mint of the United States. Hence it is not easy to ascertain the precise amount which the mines have afford- ed. The value of that portion received at the mint before the year 1820, was 43,689 dollars. Itis alloyed with a small portion of silver and copper, butis still purer than Rag gold, being 23 carats fine. (Bruce, Mineral. our. I—125 It will wa 0 appear evident to geologists, from the foregoing statements, that the gold of N. Carolina occurs ina diuvial formation. Such indeed seems to be its usual bed ; and, in this respect, it resembles the gold countries of South America, of England, of Scotland, of Ireland, and of Africa. (Buckland, Rel. Diluv. 218—20 -) I have already adverted to an impression entertained by the inhabitants of our gold country, that the precious metal exists somewhere in the vicinity in an ample bed or vein, from which the pieces found are derived. It may not be uninteresting to inquire, whether we can obtain any light respecting its origin. 1. Is it brought down from the sources of the rivers ? That this is not the case is ; because i it is not or on the summits of an armen of one or two hutdeult feet above the beds of the streams, isrich in metal. Itis found on both sides of the Vadkin® and in the bed and 14 Olmsted on the Gold Mines of North Carolina. dattgtiont all the branches of Rocky River. It is evident, then, that the rivers do not bring down the gold from their sources, but that they cut through a stratum containing it, which covers like a mantle, an extensive tract of the coun- try through which they flow, and that they bring the pre- cious metal to view by separating it from its stony matrix. 2. Did the Present lumps and grains ‘oe he se of large masses in a continued bed or Pert s o It has been already remarked that the neha it as spect of these _ is such as would naturally result from collision he siliceous fragments that accompany them. Im- proaional sand and gravel, or even imbedded sand, might, it is true, be the result of fusion in a bed of sand; but the appearance is not that which arises from fusion under such circumstances, the cavities being superficial, forming im- pressions or indentations, while there is no appearance in any areciiees ae ewe = | grain Ses — enveloped — as we have suppose water, then we mnust regard ae as the remains of tehper pieces, reduced gravel would not break up obscure that I have *een unable to decy- pher it satisfactorily.—J. W. Sag ae ae Vor. 1X.—No. 1. 4 a 26 é’s Geological and Miscellaneous Observations. at the b blue clay with shells and sulphur eorarsd ith sa Jimestone with marine shells, and here an wi there "Tres water de eposits. The basalt, or trap, forms in the Vicentin bed like veins, and veins in the recent talcose schists, and in zechstein and red marl. These last are altered in a most singular way at their contnet ‘The same rocks cut all the mepondary well as the fae tuffas from two to six times with the coarse tertiary limestone. But the most singular fact is that of Predagaay in the ieee where an immense projec- aetna fine dolerne. The was a dincoveted e dolomite) from the porphyry, the dolomite is an: eposit. ,This same augitic and porphyritic depe in the Vicentin dykes in the chalk, and covers also in rae the chalk, and yet there are mines ‘of galena and biende i in small veins! Allthe Fassa trap beds in Zechstein are nothing but this tertiary igneous rock, and are like beds, or in columns in the juratié limestone. It is astonishing te the errors on this point should so long have been over- 00 In Switzerland there are two molasses, one is like the red marl, like the Carpathic, what Beudant calls his Gres houiller ; and the other is tertiary, and is divided into in- ferior molasse with lignite, and superior with marine shells. E —Baron Ferussac’s journal is going on with great success. dt is soon to publish a second edition of his geog- ; “poitical Essay. Beudant is printing a system of Mineralo- ie tt has published a most excellent work on Arr. VII. Nene fe Rocking Stone; n Savoy, Massachu- seélts, wr 3 Dr. t = ORTE be i AuDICAa- ted to ihe Berkshire Lyceam:)” af oe greene Ix a late excursion from Plainfield, a little before réueh- ‘ing the village in Savoy, we turned to the south nearly op- “posite a school-house, and after riding about a mile over a very rough and disagreeable road, the rocking stone, which was the object of our Set Bopearen.- in a ey con- peter situation on the rig of granite, and yene cell with the mosses aa lichens common in this part of the country. It may be moved with ease, so as to describe « an are of about — inches, by he wei bt of the ho jody on one a ahd the other he ground around” s first cleared, s Lam credibly informed, moved by rite wind, and i. tw 7 fey Srobably this may be the case at present, though it is supposed to weigh ten or twelve tons, The noise, that it makes in moving, is so little as to be scarcely noticed. aoe rock on which it lies, is a coarse grained granite cu- lies on us ey Kaci of this ledge, and appears in n three points nearly in a right line across pe is rock, so far as T can learn, has hitherto « excite od ery litle attention j i ns cate Postscript. ss S Since the preceding account was written, I Bs visited a very remarkable rock in the south-west part of Lane sbo- rough. It is of limestone, and lies on another rock of the same kind. It is about 26 feet in length, and about 18 in’ breadth touching the rock, on which it lies for about 24 feet, having no support at either end, and appearing ready to slide off and crush the beholder. ‘To the eye, therefore, “rounded rocks? Au answer was suggested to me by the fol- a a * On Bowlders ou Ral Sisiboe: every appearance of. of a most imoegnificent rocking ; but it is immoveable. This very singular rock is e land of Ebenezer Soult and 4; miles from Pitts- i village. {t is in the woods, and is beautifully and ‘rom: There is, if I am correct! saloraiels a rocking stone y4 in the spent sitiele of " New-Marlborough in Berkshire. Art. VIIL On Bowlders and Rolled Stones. : July 20th, 1823. TO PROFESSOR SILLIMAN. Sir— I wave communicated for your journal a few on the nppentines COS Hee ce of the earth, in Inclination, business, and amusement in days, and since, often led me over the mo through the valleys, generally near Connecti h : various sizes, should have become so perfect! they should be found on the highest mountains, as wel $- in every valley ; why piled in such immense ridges; as well where no stream of water was ever known to flow, or accord. ing to e every appesrance, ever had or could have as well as in those places, where larger and smaller streains still existed. I enquired why every where on the face of — the earth, when an excavation is made by nature or by ahee Q we see inconiestible evidence, that the whole has been modified by the mechanical agency of water; why do the uncovered faces and angles of the granite and other rocks, bear the same marks of having been worn and ground as the Jowing observations. Being at Newport, R. L. I went down to the sea shore after a storm and found the mighty process still going on. While I stood on the elevated bank, the waves followed e 1 Se guid: succession, xia I could — distinctly hear the mgton of the larger and smaller rocks, — brought in and carried back, as I thought, more than hundred yards by every wave, and I could sensibly the earth tremble under my feet from the quantity and — great weight of some of them. I considered that i* whole country must once, and for a great length of time have been orn to a great depth with this now retired ocean. If we know not what has become of the waters, yet surely She we see their effects on every hill, in every valley and on every plain, and can distinctly follow their re~ tiring footsteps, from the highest mountzin to this very spot, where the same cause is still in active operation, producing the same result, we must yield to the conviction that the cause of all these effects is one and the same. Every sub- ways rve in the outlet of a deep valley between a posited, the quantity of which bears a very just sronorries to the length and depth-of the valley. Streams of water _ar any have flowed out of these valleys after the sea re- we cut channels through this deposited gravel, but er could have ned any effect in rounding it. On the great valley of Connecticut river, as else- an Ak nas deposit of clay, loam aud sand more than one hundred feet. The river has _ m ich of this deposit, and in such a manner as dou doubt as to its depth, or what has become of it. his valley, it would seem, was once empty, or occupied ene by sg for ap Bs have been found in digging for wa-_ rnpike npr map sodas Gobla be caus iatistactory Granite in place is first found about three 30 = On Bowlders and Rolled Stones. miles from the meeting-house in Lyme, and about thirteen miles from Dartmouth College After that, it is eve where seen in blocks, in rounded rocks, as well as very of- ten in place. As you travel eastward, the land rises aA rapidly, and at every step there are certain marks of me- chanical agency. excepting of course the rocks in place. On leaving a considerable branch of the Mascomy river in the Eastern part of Canaan, the road between two moun- pass c on na level about 30 feet to a smooth coarse grained nite in Here is thie height of land between the Connecticut and Merrimack 1 at and itis probably more than one thousand feet higher than those rivers. On either side and close by, antes running still parallel with the road, which se bstewt are two m are from five to eleven hundred feet higher than tl of land already mentioned. In ascending this hill of ve and passing on to this evidently smooth w ater-worn puetager : granite, there was such a perfect resemblance between this deposite of gravel behind the rock and what I had often known in streams, that I was at once fully impressed with — the belief that this gravel must have been deposited by a current of water. The rocks exhibited every appearance of having been much worn by water, the cornérs of those in place being perfectly rounded, and all the low places be- tween the rocks for about two hundred yards were full of gravel, and no more than full. About forty or fifty feet from the surface of this smooth rock, the waters from this side flow rapidly to the Merrimack river Still I could not doubt that the very gravel which I saw on the west ‘de. as well as that which filled all the low places on the rocks had be-n rounded on the rock or near it, and that the rocks by the same process had been much worn. I concluded that nothing but the movement of the ocean ate, through this valley could ever have produced these On Bowlders. and Rolled Stones. 31 On this height the peezel | is rounded almost as s perfectly as that on the present sea discovered by the side of un road, among the weeds and bushes, a cavity in the rock, similar to those known to be worn by a rapid current of water, aided by the attrition of gravel. Nearly one half the cavity at top was er distinct, and about three feet in diameter. The other part of the rock had been probably removed by the water. I soon found two other cavities, not ten feet from the path, one about two feet in diameter was erfectly circular a lit- tle below the top. J could not ascertain the depth of any of them, owing to their being in part filled with oe) and decayed vegetables. Probably at bottom they are sti filled in part with the same gravel that had con tui their excavation. The other cavity was much longer | an not so perfect. ‘These three cavities are nearly ii ire line. and not more than 20 or 30 feet apart. 1 ‘ale rock east of these for 40 or 50 feet in width has every ap- pearance of having been actually worn away to the depth of between 15 or 20 feet. Among many other proofs of this fact, I may mention * pei Ned worn cavity. Eight or ten feet higher than the abd goood, and like other cavities, known to formed by y the action of gravel and water, its diameter (as would aturally be the case) increases very regularly and gradually as it grows dee eper; and what makes it still more certain (if possible) that it is the effect of gravel and water is, that about 3 or 4 feet from the top, on one side of the eavity, the rock projects into the hole three or four me exactly as those roc s do that are known to be wo gravel and water where a part of the rock is harder ies the rest, which clearly is the case here, as that part of the rock appears of a more compact texture and is of a differ- ent color. Many more similarly worn cavities might doubt- less be found here, were it worth the trouble to ‘make the examination. The gradual recession of the ocean from this re ge ee gt and in some ‘measure its course and progr ink. be clearly and distinctly traced y fadieelioae still distinctly visible, through Grafton to the 32 On Bowlders aad Rolled Stones. westerly part of sgtau where we leave the apparent course of the ocean current, and pass over rising ground tothe head waters of a ‘roel ae of Black River, where there is a great deposit of Breecia both in place and in loose blocks, some of the pieces of which are partially rounded. The little fragments of the rock are very white, and their angles almost invariably quite perfect, and what pera is singular, they are cemented by granite;* the rocks alternate with each other in place, a fact which Peis seen sometimes in the rounded rocks. As you de- -scend the stream and valley, they are plainly more ie more rounded, and at Black River, about four miles, there is hardly a rock of any other kind ; ; some are of many tons weight, and from that down to smail gravel, and even the sand and gravel of remaining hills or ridges, sixty or sev- enty feet high, are composed almost entirely of this kind of rock. The rivulet that descends into this valley is but a small mill stream at its junction with Black River in Ando- ver, and never could have had any agency in Sar oy i ns of seal and rounded rocks continue of the same find, re then begin to diminish, and the fine gravel and sand soon disappear, but the rounded rocks are seen more or less every where on the ground and in the banks. In passing over Salisbury Hills, from five to ten miles below (which are from one to two hundred feet higher than Black River) these rocks well rounded at first, compose nearly one half of the stone fences, and are every where seen in the Hills although sensibly and gradually lessening in proportion to. other rocks, so that before geRTIOg Salisbury, the stone walls are composed of only about ! or } of them. Quitting these hills, the traveller descends to the extensive plain of sand in Boscawen and Concord where few rocks are to be seen, and those are generally granite. After leaving these plains i in Pembroke, on the opposite side of Merrimack River, we still find rounded rocks of the same kind, but so few that only one occurs in two or three rods of stone wall, this is about thirty miles from their original situation. In taking here the London- Py Perhaps by a re- -aggregation ofits constituent minerals, quartz, feldspar ie SB alt J On Bowlders and Rolled Stones. 33 derry turnpike, we pass over a pretty hilly “hg 4 nearly thirty miles. the whole of which is a mechanical posit (except much granite in place) composed almost ex- clusively of granite in blocks (some of which are of a great size, more or less rounded) and of all sizes down to that of sand. This granite in place, as well as the bowlders, re- sembles exactly those large blocks so extensively worked on the opposite side of the Merrimack river to which place it is possible they were transported by the sea—again approach- ing the Merrimack at Methuen in Massachusetts, you will find now and then the stone walls (but very rarely per- ceive rounded masses of rocks of this kind) and i in “Ando- eo ver about fifteen miles from the sea, 1 observe cely toa mile. How could these blocks become detached from their natural bed in Danbury in New-Hampshire—how be- come so perfectly rounded and that in immense quantities in the course of three or four miles, affording at the same time by their attrition, in that short distance, hills of coarse and finer sand? How conld they become deposited in alluvial hills, gradually diminishing in quantity as they recede from their natural bed, at the same time becoming evidently more and more perfectly rounded—how could all this have been ef- fected and much more but by aslowly retiring ocean ?-—May not the ocean be still retiring although more slowly than here- tofore? It may now probably be nearly stationary, still di- minishing. It would seem that the diminution must be equal in volume at least to the whole quantity of earth and sand carried into the bed of the sea, and there deposit- ed by all the rivers and streams ia the world—equal also to all the timber and vegetables floated in and there rid oa ed—to the immense growth of mountains, &c. by ma- rine formation—to the sand perpetually cartied thither ty the wind from a large portion of the face of the earth— to the thousands of hills and banks of sand and gravel perpetually washing away, similar to those of your 1e Bbdarhood in Long Island Soand—and to the’ up- ngs produced by thousands of men who are perpet- at E Work directly or indirectly in this manner. It mek seem that the water must diminish in a proportion equal at least to all these effects; otherwise I] know not why it would not be perpetually rising. If the ocean has oe the 5 pis ES of —" poe — it er be dhe 34 -On Bowlders and Rolled Stones. that the diminution may just equal the filling up, and this may remain a permanent fact. Does not this arise clearly from the arrangement of infinite wisdom? What has be- come of the water? There may be as you justly ob- serve, fileten a Dr Hayden’s book.) for ought we know, room enough in the earth for caverns of requisite dimensions from which the air or gas with which they were originally filled has been gradually absorbed or megeliad anc to which the waters as gradually retir ed. ‘Ther Possibly the process may Eerinher be sivcineds the wa- ters may be drawn out to assist in preserving, or in continuing the earth in its present limits during the will of the Creator, but if we cannot show what has become of the water, we can show where it has peels and what it has effected. But it is said the Scriptures mean to contradict the idea of the wa- ra ssi covered the Earth for a long time—I think not,— * In the beginning, &c.”—that undoubtedly is going far back, and that “the Earth was without form,” meaning no doubt without that form designed it by the Creator for the reception of man—still later * God said let the waters un- der the heavens be gathered together unto one place and let the dry land appear.” In God’s works we see only wisdom and sph Ri omnipotence, works unseen by man and animated nature generally. Those probably were the materials collected which have formed those immense beds of mineral coai already so essential to man. Clay and Lime, so necessary to the formation ofa good ductive soil, to the comfort and convenicial re Oo n, might then have been produced. It is not easy to see oe what agency except the gradual retiring of the ocean, the differ- ent earths could have been so mixed and blended together as to form a good soil. Every hill and mountain within ¢ knowledge is covered with an alluvial or diluvial de- posit In this country, the rocks, chiefly granite, have been ground to dust, making of itself, in the fine powder to which it is reduced, a warm and genial soil for this cold climate. On Bowlders and Rolled Stones. 35 When mixed as it generally i is witha little clay. lime, and vegetable mould, it forms a very productive nb _ every hill. on every mountain, where there is room for the plough or hoe. Had it not been for this very Fico dees ah of grinding the granite and other rocks to powder, to dust, and preparing the soil in that way, New-England, (which now with proper cultivation is very productive,) could not probably have been inhabited, and indeed but a small, if any, part of the earth. For, undoubtedly, the rich mead- ews and extensive valleys, owe their present form so con- venient to man for tillage, as well as the richness of the soil, in a great measure to the same cause. The fact being once established that the earth was long covered with wa- “ter, it would seem to account at once for those rounded, and other rocks found every where i = ascending streams and hills, although no similar rocks shouid be found in the — rr higher situations immediately semignais: hose block perhaps were detached by ice from their native beds, and being rounded and transported by the currents, might be deposited any where at random. Floating ice at the present day, often transports large and small fragments of rocks from remote regions, and deposits them in more southern latitudes, and they often become rounded by sub- sequent attrition. The waters appear to have formed al- so the cavities of ponds in every stream where there is a fall _of water into sand or loose earth, the water heaving up the sand at the spot where it strikes, then carries it forward, and the sand of course grows more and more shallow. Exact- ly in the same manner the earth appears to have been ex- cavated to form the basins of ponds. No waters but those of the ocean could i In most cases have been the cause of ns. remarked that the vallies that shoot up between me have invariably, at their outlet, adepos- Tob eeyd = fact which | will illustrate by a single exam- ple. This valley lies between two hills which are six or seven hundred feet high on the west side of Fairlee Pond. ‘rom the sand a this valley, i it is is s but a little over a mile. toa a lay to the pond, northerly and to Waitt «River. "Phe waters : that flowed easterly, and passed between two hills over a ridge of rocks that was more than one hundred feet high- Be 36 On Bowlders and Rolled Stones. er than the bottom of the valley, now is west of this ridge. It is composed chiefly of clay slate in a vertical position, and it was at top more than one hundred feet across, and twice that at bottom. Through this ridge the water and gravel had cut a channel nearly one hundred feet deep—f sa the water and gravel, for the two sides of the section are rounded off in such a manner as to leave no doubt of their having been thus worn. But this is not all—as this channel was in the act of wearing down, it was constantly deposit- ing gravel and sand on the east and opposite side from this valley, on which side the ridge of rocks was nearly perpen- dicular. This gravel has been spread out so as to be al- most a thousand feet wide on the side of the ridge, and nearly two hundred high on the eastern side, reaching out’ four or five bundred feet from the ledge. The mass is very nearly of a semi-circular form, and the eastern side of it was deposited in that upright position, which banks of - sand, or sand and gravel always assume when deposited in still water, thus indicating, like thousands of other similar instances, that in those days there was little or no wind to this valley, the brook, a small stream, has a channel through this slate ridge still deeper, at the same time re- moving the grevel also through the centre of the bank quite down to the solid rock at bottom. ‘The ruins thus removed, have been carried forward and deposited in the pond, forming a point of land, or rather gravel, four or five hundred feet in extent, when the water was forty feet deep. This brook, since the sea flowed up this valley, has not only deepened its bed-through the centre of this bank to the bottom, but it has also cut itself a channel more than one hundred feet deep in a slate ledge. "The appearances on the two sides determine with great precision the rela- tive effects of water and gravel, and of water alone. When they were united, the remaining rocks below those acted by water only are all worn or rounded off, the channel is much narrower, and the sides are left nearly in a vertical posi- tion; although the chasm is one hundred feet deep, the rojecting rocks still retain in a great measure their sharp edges. Now this great deposit of rounded rocks, gravel and sand, must have had their present form given in this short valley and as the waters returned, were brought out Sr eee a a a Te TT a A ea ETE EE TS MACE CH, A> ce ANE at MEE Ne SNES» SALINE RE OR REN yee. ESS, Se Fa at BB ah te Unda fee nc geal ete ae ee On Bowlders and Rolled Stones. 37 and here deposited. It could come from no other source, for the bank of gravel on the two sides that are yet entire reaches to the pond shore, which is here about a mile wide. These materials too must have been originally brought from some distance and deposited in this valley, for they are composed almost exclusively — a light grey granite rock or gneiss. There is no roc the kind in place in any part of this region, and yortieularty for miles, or any where to the west. But on the east side of Connecti- cut river, they are every where found and in place. In Or- ford at the distance of from two to four and six miles they are in great abundance and apparently exactly of the same kind. It is difficult to think of any other means by which these blocks could have been brought here and deposited but by the ice. In return a particular rock that contains a great proportion of carbonate of lime is every where found on the east side of Connecticut river, with other rounded rocks, although none of that kind to my knowledge are seen east of the river in place, but west of it after a few miles they are in abundance and in place. A stream of water recently turned over one of those remaining banks for the purpose of making a slip,* has washed it away to the depth of nearly ove hundred feet, and to a similar width, and for two or three hundred feet in length. Every foot of the exposed surface or bank proves it to. en removed in opening the channel through this ridge and notwithstanding, that the banks of the valley, for some way to the west are formed entirely of that kind of stone, re: Slips as they are called here (but in tages hs shay oer rg a ope Lheve have a fo round this pond for about twenty year ning t lim- ber into ena an of the pon nd fro m the mountains around it fice | of the” way made b y iy on the frost and s snow for preparing x them ‘for running | the timber. Pine trees large , have been known to run a mile ina minute. The ey have made the pine timber, that was and would have been of little or no value without them, extremely valuable. 38 On Bowlders and Rolled Stones. yet scarcely a mht fragment has been seen in any part of ‘ the bank that has been removed. What has become it? Has it not in the course of time been ground to atoms, (it being of a softer texture) and mixed with the powder of the granite and other rocks, contributing to the richness and: fertility of the extensive plains in the valley of the Connecticut river. We seldom if ever, find rounded slate stones, although they compose many of the hills near the onnecticut. This, probably, is in some measure owing to their natural structure, but ail the other kinds es in this region are found more or Jess abundantly, some never very far from those of the seme kind in place, nhs for instance asthe soapstone. May not the detritus of these rocks have been deposited in part in the great depths of still water below, and again in time have recomposed other - rocks of the same kind or by different composition of dif- ferent kinds. Vailevs in a great measure similar to the one above described, are seen every where, always presenting the same indisputable evidence that similar causes have pro- ined similar effects. This will account for the cavities din your tour to Quebec, in limestone rock at the Beal of Lake George. My impression is that these rset could not be traced, as the result of any natural strea There is a narrow and short valley at the north. end of Fairlee pond running between two high mouniains to Bradford. On the highest ground in this valley, where thé waters divide and run northerly to Connecticut River at Bradford and southerly to Fairlee pond which is proba- 150 feet above the level of Connecticut River, there are cavities (I am told) worn in the solid rock. It was evi- dently a greatly compressed body of water passing through this narrow space that made i excavation of Fairlee pond. That body of water at that time must have reached mu of the way to Lake Chanrpiala abril the valleys of On- ion and Wait’s rivers, by which route I understand there is no perceptible rise of ground between the waters of the Lake and those of Connecticut River. Again, mountains at and near the Connecticut river often present precipices of naked, perpendicular rocks, sometimes of the full height of the mountain, unless where loose rocks pulled off by the ice, by the roots of trees, or fallen by natural decay, are pil- ed up against their sides. In time they will probably reach ‘ Miscellaneous Localities oy Minerals. 39 is an instance of one near Oxford Bridge estimated by Capt. Partridge to be about 500 feet in height. The but on examination, are found to contain carbonate of lime. Rocks that have fallen from this mountain in ‘old time” now form a good soil, while those known to have fallen fif- ty years ago, scarcely begin to change their color. A grad- ually retiring sea will explain to us (and I know of no oth- er way to account for the fact) why channels were cut deeper by streams, in rocks on high lands, than in those lower down, as mentioned by Mr. Maclure in your Jour- nal for January last, notwithstanding that the rocks are harder and the accumulation of water, as well as of gravel and sand, greater below. Ss ve Yours with esteem, Art. [X.—Notices of Miscellaneous Localities of Minerals. 1. By Da. Joseru Barratt. TO PROFESSOR SILLIMAN. Sir— T wave forwarded for publication in the American Jour- nal o lence, a list of the minerals discovered in Philipstown, Highlands of N.Y. Specimens of the most interesting minerals berein mentioned, have already been pleatifully sent away and are to be found in many of the mineralogical cabinets of this country; a desire to render the list more complete has occasioned a delay in publish- ing for the lagt three years. « In Philipstown, Putnam County, New-York. er Hard white Marble, in blocks, its texture is very com- 2. Precious Serpentine, in loose pieces, and variously mixed with the marble; some of the serpentine is very beautiful. | ‘ 40 Miscellaneous Localitees of Minerals. 3. Amianthus in apart traversing the serpentine. 4. Radiated Tremo 5. Sphene imbedded i in n Tremolite 6. Lamellar Talc. 7. Asbestos, intermixed with marble, 8. Rhombic Carbonate of Lame, os flesh ealepie - Mica, in six sided crystals. in 10. Diopside, a variety of pyroxene, color Tght green, structure ei with a glistening surface. 11. White Coccolite, i in grains, the size a large shot, ea- sily separable, colour clear white; the cavities contain crystals of white pyroxene, eight sided, the terminations irregular , mica is sometimes associated eile it, This new variety ig found in blocks and masses, in considerable quantity, associated with marble, and serpentine. lt was discovered by the writer, with the above mention- minerals in 1820, The white coccolite is a new variety, not mentioned in works on mineralogy ; it has already been noticed i “s the American Journal of Science, Vol. 7, No. I, age 17 : coe Rows coloured Coccolite, same locality, associated with Diopside, or a — of Pyroxene, ithas been found but in small quant 13. Green Coccalit 14. Magnetic ra Ore, in marble intermixed with as- bestos. ; 15, Pyrites. This interesting bosality is on the declivity of a small bill, principally composed of marble, serpentine, and white coc- colite, on the farm of Mr. Joseph Hustis. These minerals extend little more than a hundred yards;, the hill slopes to the east, its foot is washed by a small stream, and its op- posite bank is an abrupt granite precipice, in — horn- blende, green pyroxene and green coccolite occu In Philipstown Continued. 46. Compact Feldspar. af. eagle in several coalioer, green and also gray- ish w 18. tas Coccolite. in several localities. 19. Carinthin Hornblende. 20. Lamellar Hornblende. cin ca a Miscellaneous Localities of Minerals. Ai » 2k. Ma netic Iron Ore Ore, abundan 22. es delynolite, i Bp by. occurs in the iron ore. 23. Stilbite, in grouped crystals, resembling a fan, = oo wax yellow, intermixed with Laumonite in a cellu- Laumouite, distinct masses of crystals of this re- miitkable mineral are found in the same vein, with the stilbite, the crystals are white, very small, and form a jel- ly with nitric acid. Dr. Torrey has accurately described the Sis cables of these minerals. Amer. Journal, Vol. V1, No. 2. The stilbice and Laumonite wish jts matrix, form a vein about three feet wide, in gneiss, and it can seen as it pressot itself to the surface, nearly thirty fee ana in Cigar. laine. 3 in rey ish white Py- roxene At Cold Spring. 26. Lamellar green Pyroxene, with a metallic lustre. a accompanied with beautiful feldspar. phene, in distinct crystals, and massive, in Pyroxene. 28. *Zireon, scarce, in an aggregate of quartz and Py- roxene Hs Rhomboidal Black Mica 30. Mica, in six sided Be ke Lamellar Horubionde. 32, Granular Hornblende. 33. Hornblende slate, in g 34. Rhombic Carbonate of Ta, oak ateans Coccolite, a es - Sopa tle, massive, dese sled with feldspa om hang fog sii 36. Radiated Stilbite, i in the fissures of Py: roxene, 7. Chabasie, the form of the crystal is an obtuse rhomb, and i a gi with the stilbite. sanite, with anthracite in loose pieces on the biank: of the Hudson. 39. Tremolite, scarce. 40. Green-Coccolite: 41. Epidote. 42 Tron Sand, on the banks of the Hudson. anager 9 cy 2! a VI, Nov2. Vou. 1X.—No, 1. 6 42 Miscellancous Localities of Minerals. peepee the American Journal of Science, Vol. VH, No. 1. p.57. Precious Serpentine—Putnam County is taere mentioned as the locality. It should have becn Philips- town; the writer of that article had only seen specimens, and was not aware of the serpentine locality, having a num- ber ofinteresting minerals, The gentleman whose name is there mentioned as the discoverer, with characteristic can- dour first sletell a to me the error as there stated Dr. Troost in bis valuable paper, on Pynishe. (Jour- nal of the Academy of Natural Sciences. Philadet Iphia, Vol. It, Port [, page 122.) has by inistake, stated Newburgh, New-York, as the locality of white coccolite—his specimen was from Philipstown. These remarks are made with no other intention than to prevent confusion respecting localities. Norwich Military Academy, Oct. 28, 1824. 2. By Mr. Cuarues A, Ler.* The following Minerals occur in Pittsfield. 1. Red Owide of sina abundant in the 8. E. part of the town, in green qua 2 Manganese, the canines brown oxide, in considera- ble masses 3. Iron, specular, hematitic, magnetic sulphuret and the compact brown oxide. ‘The magnetic occurs in octaedrons in mica-slate. 4, Marl, on the borders of a pond. 5. Schorl, In miea-slate, in the 8. E. part of the town, near Washington. * To the Editor, he take the liberty of sending yee the following localities o' —— them may have been published before in sgn a dence bat baduibr the ews mer/ numbers at I am not able to ala this be the case, | wish they may oat appear ithe Jour ith high pede og CHARLES A. "A. LEE. REMARK. llection, whether any ot these localities iy ready wey pases, and I am not now at leis examine,—Epr ‘s pid : SEE TPT ara te tenner = Miscellaneous Localities of Minerals. 43 4 fer i lenticular crystals of carb. lime. vi ya me alc of different colours. 10. Mica, do. - rs Quarts Csystals ferruginous quartz massive and i ceo . Hornstone. 14, Agate. At Dalton. 15. Very large Agates occur in masses of hornstone and ag quartz and jasper. 6. Opal, do. 17. HAyalite, do. 18. Hornstone, approaching chalcedony. Pl Siliceous Sinter, in stalactical concretions 20. Cacholong. 21. Red Oxide Titanium. in n quartz. 22. Breccia, with a cement of brown oxide hematite, and earburet of iron,—interstices lined with minute quartz crys- tals. $3. Serpe containing asbestos, in the east part of the tow 24 Epidote. 25. = site 26. Augite, principally massiv 27. Ferruginous Quartz, in yellow crystals. 28. Schorl. 29. Bog Iron 30. Galena, in small quantities at Canaan and Chatham, 31. Carbonate of Copper, Chatham, N. ¥. 32. Zoisite, at Zoar. i Ni do. 33 Asbestos, i in serpentine, 34. Magnetic Oxide of - aleig in large octaedral crys- tals, do. 35. Graphite, i in great abundance at New Marlborough, 36. Augite, do. 37. Red Oxide Titanium, do. 38. Arenaceous Quariz, with dendritic impressions of oxide of manganese, do. j * 44 Miscellaneous Localities of Minerals. At ene near Hoosac River, N.Y. 98. Quartz Crystals, in eos perfection and cach 40. Chiorite. 41. Massive Garnet. 42. Rhomb Spar. 43, Sulphate of Alumine. 44. Sulphate of pa 45 Graphite. 46. Alwminous Slate. 47. Breccia. 43 Hornstone. 49. Hornblende. 50. Graywacke. 51. Puddingstone, abundant, at Great a 62. Oxide of Manganese, do. In addition to the minerals found at oe Con. and described in the 2nd No. of the 8th Vol. of this Jou raal, ~ following have since come under m i _ Caraming tonite, of Dewey, this ikacral: first found in Campa by Doct. Porter, and considered a variety of epidote, has since been discovered in various places, but no» where has it been found in such beauty as at Salisbury. It is associated with augite in a ledge of mica-slate, of a glassy ‘Jusire, the fibres Eaten from : a centre and six or —_ inches in length. 2. Phosphate of Iron, oceurs what the brat atid of iron, in a newly opened bed, and is ofa white colour when newly dug. On exposure to the air it changes to green. It is very abundant and lies ina diluvial hill, which. has been penetrated to a small distance, and ‘is associated with, 3. Gibbsile? This presents a somewhat different fornit from that found in Richmond and Lenox, being less hard, and of a much whiter colour. Composed of granular and botryoidal concretions. 4. idocrase.——This occurs in abundance in oblique : four sided prisms truncated on all the edges, also in octaedral crystals and massive. They are mostly of an irregular form, variously grouped, and associated with hornblende, epi- ~ dote and calcareous spar. It presents various colors, from a reddish brown, to light yellowish white, resembles that found at Worcester and so ean PRs described by Doct. Meade in a former No. of the Jou 1 am indebted to Doct. E. W. Clovelnnd, for — of | the above localities. Pittsfield, Nov. 1, 1824. ee oh 4 PE ee ee Miscellaneous Localities 6; Minerals. 45 a. By Geo. W. CanPENTER. i. Mengfifissen Gort mmiaerat is of a brownish red’colour, of a compact texture and occurs massive, im- bedded in the soil between Germantown turnpike, and Roxborough township line road, six and a half miles from Philadelphia, abundant. © 2. Actynolite, in compressed acicular crystals, traversing a granular mass, occurring on the tompaidhaps line road six miles from Philadelphia. > °3. Schorl, of a beautiful velvet black, in cylindrical, erys- tals more or less aggregated, occurring in granite rock on the old York road, five miles from Philadelphia, abundant, in this same rock occurs the white ery! described i in Vol. 8 of this Journal, page 4. Limpid Quartz, argsiallizedt in six sae prisms, ter- minated by six sided pyramids, with some modifications, occurring loose in a ploughed field between Germantown and the old York road. five miles from Philadelphia. 5. Actynolite, of the glassy variety, in talcose rock, of a fine green colour, in irregularly grouped acicular erystals, eleven miles from Philadelphia on the Wisahicon creek. 6. eae of Iron at the same locality (abundaut.) Te Ps s Quartz—these imperfect or false crystals are “generally opaque, surface dull and of a variety of forms ; it is sometimes also in small globular or reniform masses radiated from-the centre and in potryoidal clusters, occurring in-an old quarry between Germantown and Yor road, five miles from Philadelphia (abundant.) 8. Crystals of Mica, imbedded in granite, in rhomboidal and six sided tables and prisms, on the Sov eatin line road six miles from Philadelphia. . Staurotide, in mica-slate, Wisahicop erenkc, six miles — emt 0. Zircon, in reddish bbe. four sided prisms hon 1 to ‘ inch in length at Schooley’s mountains ig 100 ae from Belmont Hall, in sienitic rock detac - Phosphate _ Lime, i in long slender six fided prisms . of vie. green colour in granite rock at Germantown six and a half miles cin ‘Philadelphia. iladelphia, No. 294 Marketesirect, Oct. 14, 1824. 46 Miscellaneous Localities of Minerals. In Rhode-Island. 4. By J. G. and J. B. Anruony. - Fluor Spar, crystallized and massive in quartz, ‘tra- soniog granite about two miles east of Cooke’s tavern in Cumberland, colour white, smoky, purple, and violet. When placed on hot coals, it phosphoresces with an intense eme- rald-green light—a quantity might be stein at this place = but fittl: trouble. . Smoky Quartz, at do. associated with fluor spar. ry Common Jasper, green, blue, gray, white and spotted at Diamond Hill. 4. Agate, is found in great abundance at Diamond Hill | and its vicinity, it is composed of quartz, jasper, cbalcedo- ny and hornstone variously disposed in stripes, spots or ir- regular figures, is susceptible of a fine polish and frequently combines a beautiful asseinblage of colours. diated Quartz, frequently fermagintitites is associated ~~ jsper and agate on Diamond _— ——- t Smithfield in aaa masses of cesta a Linpid an at do. in erystals and mdse masses, Beal ar massive, and in large crystals at l, at do. it occurs crystallized in veins of granite erat gneiss and rarely, in the contiguous gneiss—col- our, pale yellowish and bluish green—the granite is com- posed of quartz and feldspar only, or with a very minute portion of mica, crystals of one and a quarter inches in diameter have been obtained from this place, they are from ihe veins on the surface and are seldom regularly termin- ated—were the rocks in the neighbourhood blasted, it is probable that large and perfect crystals might be procured. 10. Graphic Granite, at do. associated with beryl. at; Ligniform Asbestos, at do. 12. Schorl, in brilliant and perfect crystals in a fine grained granite at do. ve Garnets, i in eal do. ica, of lowish green colour in six sided tables - Bice to the Siies of cavities in the gneiss which con “ Ag Specular Oxide of Iron, associated with as * cares Miscellaneous Localities of Minerals. 47 6. Impressions on se at Valley Falls about two and a bal miles north of Pawtucket. 7. Tremolite, a at North "Providence, 5. By Cuartes W. Suerarp. Cambridge, Oct. 8th, 1824. Sir— I have discovered a new locality of the green intnoral; of which a notice was published in the last number of you journal. It isin Amherst. This mass is much larger than die one first found, and differs from it in being more uniformly coloured, not having whitisly or yellowish spots distributed through it, and, likewise. in being of a deeper color. I bave noticed, likewise, that, in a single place, it passes into com- mon quartz. From the appearance of this mass, I think there is no doubt of its being the hornstein eccailleux of Brochant, which he describes as sometimes bordering on chalcedony. In Belchertown, I have found very handsome Amethyst, contained in a rounded mass, about 18 inches in diameter, composed “of imperfect, prismatic crystals of an extraor- dinary size, which shoot out from a quartzy gangue, con- taining galena, blende and copper pyrites. Many of these crystals terminate in regular pyramids at the surface. But just previous to their termination, the amethyst passes through them in a vein from one to two inches in width; and below the vein, are zigzag striae of milky quartz, hed render many of the crystals very beautiful. {n the town of Oakham, fine specimens of Adaluria may be obtained in great abundance. It is sometimes found in six-sided prisms, which are several inches in diameter. 1. ance at Littleton, (Mass.) in a lime-quarry, own- ed by Mr. Wheeler. It is very abundant, and occasionally, Gaiely Sivelteed. Vitreous Black Ox. Iron, at the South Hampton Lead Mine. It is usually found investing carb. lead. It pos- sesses a high vitreous lustre. It does not melt before the blow pipe; but immediately becomes strongly magnetic. 48 Miscellaneous Localities of Minerals. « Purple Copper, at Chesterfield, (Mass.) It occurs in cay wonniities in the same. rock with the green feldspar. 4. Pinite, beautiful specimens of this mineral have re- cently been found in Lancaster, (Mass ) by Mr. Charles Stedman of that place. It occarred imbedded in quartz, at one spot, and at another, in porphoritic granite. It is crystallized in six-sided prisms, terminated by planes.. The solid angles, and the terminal edges of these crystals are often replaced by planes; and the lateral edges in some in- stances, from numerous truncations, are entirely effaced, the erystals becoming cylindrical. ‘Their predominating aspect, however, is a four-sided, rectangular prism, owing to an undue extension of four sides of the primitive form. These crystals, although easily broken in almost any direction, separate best in directions parallel to their bases. They vary In magnitude, from two inches to three fourths of an inch in length, and from one to one third of an inch in diameter. They present several colors. Those of a dark brown, tinged with green, and the red are the most abun- dant. Their lustre is hkewise very various. Some. are almost dull, while others are quite glimmering. Th dark colored crystals are opaque, but thsahighe ghter are trans- lucent. When reduced to a powder, and moistened BY the breath, they emit a strong irolieooe odour. 6. Notice of Pebbles from Cape Horn. By Srevsen Taytor. pre New-Hartford, October, 1824. Pror. Sitirman, , Sir—I have for a number of-years been gradual- ly making a collection of pebbles. 1 have long believed that ‘they would eventually be deemed as curiosities, and receive a place in the eabinets of those devoted to the study of natural science. 1 have recently obtained be- tween — five and six hundred the shores of Cape Horn. Th ney pr appearance. They have alla smooth surface, even se which are of a coarse texture; and some of them bit, Slab as fine a polish as if they had come from oS aS ee ee ee Miscellaneous Localities of Minerals. 49 ihe hands of a lapidary. So far as I have examined them, they appear to consist of granite, gneiss, sienite, sandstone, porphyry, flinty slate, quartz, flint, chalcedony, jasper, and onyx. ‘They of course exhibit a variety of col- pa 5 whité, red, black, green, blue and yellow — the most common. They also present a variety of forms, such as eg ~ skagen oval, lenticular, cylinaiieals coeianl, face of many of them is richly variegated. Some are attiptels some are spotted, some are band _ some of them are.covered with various irregular and issites tive figures. Most of them are opake ; some are translucent ; and some of them are semi-transparent. 7. By Dr. Samvet Rosinson. [Remark.—Specimens of the “ape minerals have been forwarded by Dr. Robinson, and we publish his list entire, although some of the localities have been already noticed in this Journal.—Eprror. | : Amethystine Quartz,* Bristo 2. Augile, in talcose slate, rein Rul 3. Basanite, Newport. 4. Ser, erpe ntine, do. _ 5. Shale, with vegetable impressions, Popasquash Island. 6. Staurotide, in mica slate. Cannonicut Island. James- town. 7. Garnets, in talcose slate. 8. Rhomb Spar, Green Tale, Fibrous Talc, and Quartz, Smithfield. 9. Macle, Sterling, Mass. go. 10. Yenite, a land. ; - } bf q rad ck, of Providence ; they are a the same locality ony are remarkable both for their size and the e depth and richness of their colo One piece polished, a or er set in gold by Mr. eres Baker, Jeweller, ea 61 oppo with the finest foreign speci mens. _ is, eet: worthy of 4 po ae - * ene patronage, from Pence of this el com ‘departm VOL rk. Ne 1. | 7 od 50 —. Miscellaneous Localities of Minerals. _ Rock Specimens for the American Geological Societys 1. Talcose Slate, containing common augite. This rock in ledges forms the western shore of Sechuest Point, S, E. part of Middletown. ; : 2. Gray Wacke, or Puddingstone. It forms a mural along the western part of Sechuest beach, in the S. E. part of Middletown, about two miles from Newport, T ever seen. It is composed of oval siliceous pebbles, which vary in size, from the smallest grains to five feet in length ; all of them much compressed and pointing N. and S. Colour, light bluish gray. This rock has transverse seams which are straight and perpendicular. Between two of these seams, perhaps five feet apart, at the highest part of the cliff, the reck is broken out and washed away by the surf, for thirty or forty yards from the shore, and forms what is called “‘ Purgatory.”? This rock rests upon 3. Argillite. 4. Granite, Newport, a vein of which commences about 20 rods E. of the bed of serpentine and continues in a S. S. E. direction about 12 miles to the shore at Coggeshall’s Ledge, passing under Coggeshall’s pond, and is perhaps less than + of a mile wide. E. of this granite is argil~ lite, 3. 5. Argillite, forming the S. shore of Newport harbour, immediately N. of the bed of serpentine, 6. Serpentine, commencing one mile in a direct line S. W. from the Episcopal church, on Brenton’s Neck, ata place called ‘* Willow grove,” on Thos. Hazard’s land, S. of the rocks of Limestone in the S. part of the harbour, in an extensive bed, extending perhaps } of a mile to the shore on the west. 7. A Siliceous Slate lies west of the granite ridge and 8. Basanite, is imbedded in the foregoing in different places, and more abundant 23 miles in a direct line S. W. by S. from the Episcopal Church, on the W. side of Price’s creek, 60 rods from its mouth. : : 9. Shining Argillite, forming the shore of Cannonicut Island, N. of the light house, and near the ferry landing &e, &c. Jamestown. *y Miscellaneous Localities of Minerals. 51 10. Granite; at the amethyst locality, Mount Hope Bay, Bristol. 11. Gray Wacke ie forming a ridge on Popasquash Island, W. of Bristol. 12. Gray Wacke, forming the shore near Patuxet Vil- “13. Gray Wacke, containing (Chlorophane) fluor spar, Providence. This rock, of a peculiar structure is frequent in this vicinity, and in Seekonk, Johnson, and Cumberland, where it is frequently traversed by veins of quartz, con- _ taining fluor spar; it sometimes contains small masses 0 various simple and compound minerals. It emits an argil- laceous odour when moistened. 14. Gray Wacke slate, Johnson, 3 miles from Provi- e. Some of the —— Wacke of this vicinity, about 3 miles below Providence, has straight seams, which in ing, give one good face to the stone. Those build- ings, erected from this stone in the town, precisely resem- ble in color &c. those built of greenstone in New-Haven, and ata little distance, and without examination ot easily be mistaken for the same. 15. Limestone, from a ae formerly quarried. Johnson, 31 miles from Providen 16. and 17. Gedsinks a four to six miles from Providence, lately quarried to a considerable extent, and adding beauty and durability to the new buildings in Prov- idence. 18. Cusine; Scituate, about 17 miles from Providence, extensively quarried, specimens of which may be seen in most of the new buildings, and in flag stones in Providence, which perhaps may boast of having the handsomest side- walks of any town in the U. States—laid with gneiss and a from Nira Serpentine, in a granitic hill, five miles from Provi- eaide, on the left of the Smithfield turnpike, on ‘ Jenke’s Hill,’ Smithfield. 20, 21, 22, and 23. Varieties of the limestone, at the Harris lime sen Smithfield, about eight miles W.of N. from What is. called “the Harris Time Rock, . forms three hills, about 200 yards from each other, situa- ted in a kind of basin, surrounded by hills. The southern, or first has not yet been quarried. At the base of this, is- 52 Miscellaneous Localities of Minerals. sue several springs of pure limpid water from caverns of haps two feet diameter, and unknown extent. The iddle hill is N. of the first, and the 3d is N. W. of the middle hill, between whick a small brook meanders through a small patch of meadow. This latter hill fur- the b 3 nishes the rhomb spar, and silvery ae and lime of t has fr so soon as most other lime, but continues in | jacent to the W. side of this rock isa ledge ae ile, dipping at a very acute angle. 94. Greenstone, a vein about eight inches wide runni so N. and S. through the middle lime rock, ‘igor ee rently about forty-five degrees ; another similar vein oxi about fifteen feet E. of this, two and a half to three feet wide. 25. The principal rock in the hills and in the vicinity of the lime rocks. 96. Slate, forming a vein three to five feet wide, run- ning E. and W. through the middle of “ the Deater Lime Rock,” having an acute dip tothe E. Some of it contains sulphuret of iron The Deater. Lime Rock, of much the same appearance and quality of the Harris Lime Rock, is situated a little more than a mile 5S. E. from the latter, and about }. a mile W. of Blackstone river on the W. side of a basin, which i is considerably elevated above the Blackstone, surrounded by hills of argillite. 60,000 casks of lime have been burnt in one year, from the Harris and Dexter rocks. It is said this lime will ad- mit considerably more sand than most other lime and form as good cement 27 and 28. Sandstone Slate, or micaceous sandstone, fair specimens of the formation of “ Woonsocket Hill,” about a mile S. of W. from Woonsocket village. Smith- 99. Micaceous Semele or whetstone slate, a vein commencing about } a mile of Woonsocket Village and running S. W. io a one Susie years from six to eight thousand dozen whetstones have been quarried in this place, but the average number for ten years past is ter e r ee a ee a Miscedlaneous Localities of Minerals. 58 perhaps three to four thousand dozen, which are disposed of in New-England, New-York and Philadelphia—75 cents a dozen are obtained for them 30. Slate, —— Faces: one mile N. W. from Woes Vil . ‘Ste Basal, Reed in two dikes or walls c crossing the Bean } ip ee the Blackstone, at the Branch Factory, a few running about N. E. and S. W. consisting of columns of various sizes and figures in mica-slate. $2 and 33. S vente overlying argillite, in immense ledges near the Blackstone, in Cumberland and Smit some eras it is Eaawed = perpendicular veins of white a pe “Argillite, on the banks and near the Blackstone un pe the sandstone. Cumberland and Smithfield. 3. Granit ite, Cumberland, a ridge running N. and 8. be- Pe ont Cumberland Hill and Diamond Hill. ‘ 36. N. W. from Diamond Hill and E. of the granite. 37 and 33. Quartz, fair specimens of the formnaton of “Diamond Hill.’ 39. Anthracite, Cumberland. 40. Anthracite, North Providence. 41 and 42. pels: do. at Valley Falls. 43. Limestone, and 44. The “Argillite, which accompanies it North Prov- “sag 5, 46, 47, and 48. A suit of the Gray Wacke slate of Patch Falls and village. d 50. Magnetic Iron stone. This singular stone is very = a Sg in rounded masses, scattered over the sur- face about Cumberland Hill, Providence, and in Foster. I intended to have added to the foregoing specimens more detailed and correct sketch of the Geology fic. of this state, which for want of leisure and better health, I must postpone Providence, July 31, 1824, 54 Miscellaneous Localities of Minerals. ss x- * 8, By Jacos Porter. 1 Blue Quartz, of a good colour, in etiam masses, Plainfield as. Radiant Quartz, in considerable quantity, Shelburne. 3. Quartz, a singular variety, Williamsburg. ‘“ This mineral,” euys a writer in the Hampshire Gazette for July 14th, 1824, “has the form of the hogtooth spar, incrusted with very minute crystals of quartz, but on breaking it is to be hollow with larger crystals at its base, or in some 4h ee it is entirely filled up with semi-crystal- lized qua 4. feces Mica, beautiful, Bellows Falls. 8. Scapolite,t very abundant by = road side, about a mile east re) Hall’s tavern, Charlem 6. Epidote, Rowe and Win dione "Wells —also at Plain- field, both ‘crystilified and granular ; and at Williamsburg in nape a apeiier sed beautiful. e, of Dewey, Plainfield, in considera- ble quantities. Ti i perfectly well characietined many of the specimens being elegant and even superb. is inter- esting mineral has also been seacvered at Suliebury, Con- necticut, by Charles A. Lee. It is well characterized, al- though less rar than that, which is found at Cumming- ton and Plain 8. Liaifirn Asbestos, in serpentine, Zoar. H. M. Wells. 9. Fasciculite, of Hitchcock, Charlemont. H. M. Wells. 10. ae) in large and beautiful crystals, associated with tal Wells. yi Siatir, Rowe, H. M. Wel 12, Magnetic Oxide of Tron, in eantifel octaedral i dei ‘ii chlorite at Rowe, also at Zoar. H.M. Wells. Also in octaedral crystals in ewig wee acsptisliG: at Windsor, also in similar crystals at Haw 13. Carbonaie of Iron, Piainfc. It is beautifully erys- tallized in rhombs, which are nearly white, have a shining surface, and are frequently curved or undulated. * Comffiunicated for the Berkshire Lyceum. + For my knowledge of this and several of the we localities | am indebted to Doctor Hezekiuh M. Wells of Windsor aaa ae Miscellaneous Localities of Minerals. 55 14, Siliceous Oxide of Manganese, at Cummington, and Plainfield, at the latter place in considerable plenty. It is ofa light but very lively rose red color with some lustre. has a structure somewhat granular, is translucent at the edges, and takes a fine polish. It is associated with the gray oxide; and around both the black oxide generally ae iz ea Red Oxide. of sige in quartz, at Se Verniont H.M.Y 15. Kyaniie, in om quantities at Ca ie crystals are large and well defined, the color lively and ieate. It occurs in mica-slate, and is associated wih quartz, garnet ee black mica. 16. ‘Red O de of Titaniwn, in good crystals is found at the same cy and soppctinas in the same rock, syeate 17, Actynolite, in the north part of Windsor. The ystals, which are mas and elegant, occur in fascicular or radiated groups, or are confusedly intermixed, ‘They are of a deep green colour with shining surfaces. The actynolite at this place is often associated with chlorite. 18. Sulphuret of Iron, finely crystallized in Quartz at Windsor and Savo Magnetic Oxide of I ron, at Cumming 19, Red Oxide of Titantum, well creataiiae at Plain- e 20. Siliceous Breccia, uncommonly beautiful, at Cam: mington. It is composed of well cemented angular fra ments of quartz, varying much in size and often with ¢ ca % ties pores them. _ 21. Fluate of Lime and Rubeilite, have been discov ere : at Bellows Falls, by Dr. H. M. Wells, and sy 22. Sulphate of fron, at Adams, by Heary P. Ph 23. Molybdena, in a granite rock, Goshen, Mass Correction —T he white sig mentioned page 2 233, v i VI, is a: believe, spodumene ; 56 Phystology of the Gyropodium coccineum. ae BOTANY. Oa = ag of the Gyropodium coccineum 3 by the Rev. Enwarp Hitcucock, ‘Tur Gyropodium coccineum is a new genus and spe- cies of fungus recently established by the Rev. L. Schwei- nitz. I am not aware that it has been found any where sy aie ear Connecticut River in Massachusetts, where it tnoticed by Dr. Cooley, in Deerfield. That locality, however, was soon exhausted ; but in Oct. 1822, I found it in abundance in Whately, an adjoining town, and noticed with much interest its peculiar and striking physiology. As se- fi occurred, however, previous to that time, I thought it Aang there might be some deception in the case, ined to wait till I could re-examine the plant under different circumstances. But it was not till the resent year, (1824) that I was able again to visit the spot. gathered it this year in September, before the occur- rence of frosts ; and found all my former observations veri- fied, and was able to extend them still farther n the following remarks, it is not my intention, any far- ther than is necessary, to use botanical, but common Jan- guage.* For ifI mistake not, the facts are such as to in- terest, not only those acquainted with botanical phraseolo- gy, but likewise all, who love to trace the marks of divine wisdom in the works of creation. It is one singularity in this fungus, that it is composed almost entirely of a substance scarcely to be diesioenatee m common gelatine obtained from animals, Yas a Tan consistency from the softest jelly to quite hard glue. ‘The drawings accompanying this paper, represent the plant in its natural size. Its first appearance, on bursting from the soil, is given at A. It is then enclosed in a gelatinous en- : *If es ae has published a description of this fungus, T have not seen iantatiaineaih ia Physiology of the Gyropodium coccineum 5? velope, like the Phallus foetidus, nearly a quarter of an inch in thickness. This immediately bursts, even before the whole body of the fitigin! has risen above the ground, and the exterior part of it falls upon the soil around the fungus in the form of a viscid jelly, and is ere long absorb- edintheearth. The inner part of this envelope, however, which is of greater consistency than the outer part, still covers and conceals for a time the interior organization. At length it gradually dissolves, especially about the top, and discovers firmly attached to its inner side, a second thin covering of the head of the fungus, having its interior side of the brightest scarlet colour, and rather rough. A specimen dissected in a young state exhibits this envelope, covering bad part of the spherical head, with no seam dis- cernible in But ere long, it opens at the top and gives the Rabu 46 appearance represented at B, beginning to separate into numerous divisions, or rays, like the sare calyx or petals of acommon flower. Several valves on the top of the plant, opening into its head, are thus diselo- sed; whose particular costruction will be more exphienly described hereafter. A portion of the jelly, often ;'; of an inch thick, adheres to these calyx like divisions of the en- velope now under consideration; and as the inner part of it is very tender, they rarely become more expanded than is represented at C, before they begin to coil inwards, and king off at the base, merely from their weight, they drop to the ground; or, as is more usual, adhere to the footstalk, as is shown at D. This footstalk i is wholly com- posed of a harder kind of jelly, penetrated nearly to its cen- tre by numerous irregular grooves and cavities, appearing on dissection, like strings of glue confusedly twisted togeth- er, and a softer jelly, in a partially dissolving state, cover : eee which causes the falling pieces to adher 9 ° We have now reached the third and principal aiiveloise of the head of the fungus. It consists of a leathery sack, nearly spherical, considerably tough, and when n dry, as hard as glue. At its toy, are several valves, (usually five te eight,) closing against one another with great exactness, and opening into the centre of the head. On penetrating this third envelope, or sack, we meet with a fourth, ofa yel- — colour, ad thin and ie occupying the whole IX.—No. I. 58 Physiology of the Gyropodium coccineum of the cavity, but not attached to the sack containing it, except at the upper part, around the mouth or openin formed by the valves. This innermost sack is filled w ith a white pulpy mass, which, as the fungus advances to ma- turity, becomes a yellowish powder, very fine and light. e can be no doubt but this constitutes the seed; and the manner in which this is defended and discharged, is the most s og peculiarity in the fungus. The interior sack, co ing this powder, or seed, although thin and tender, is 3 considerably resembling deer’s leather. e open directly into this sack, and when the seed is ripe, the sack gradually contracts, and thus forces open the valves aud sends forth the powder; the ouvplag: inmedaere a en- | g it, not being compressed, or a his os of the inner sack, will, of ae produce a wee “ie for they are so firmly fastened together around the mouth that no air can pass into the cavity between the sacks. E is vertical section of the head of the pO ye taken from a en in which the inner sack had so much contracted, t discharged. Whether the vacuum between the sacks i is filled with SENS air, finding its way through it a gas generated by the processes going on in the elant are questions which I could not settle; though disposed to adopt the latter supposition. I am inclined also, to believe, that the air which fills this cavity, exerts an influence in forcing the contents of the inner sack through the valves. For, in some specimens,, in an advanced state, I observe the lex sack itself forced out of the mouth of the fun- gus, so as to turn it inside outwards, as is represented at D. And I can conceive of no way in which this could be ef- fected, but by the pressure of the air beneath; and as the outermost of the two inner sacks is gelatinous, it contracts when beginning to dry, and this would produce the effect mentioned above of forcing out the innersack. Bya slight and rather sudden pressure upon a specimen half exhaust- ed of its powder, J have often seen the powder thrown out in profusion to the distance of six or eight, and even twelve inches, and then it floated in the air, having nearly the same specific gravity. in the lower part of the outer one, or between the two, and draw up that containing the powder towards the mouth: RPS EER ER fea tenneaser encore Fy Poerewe-Teespeuigaeleneneimnsssieentiiesen=n a : nee 2 po itn ed the nearer it should approach the circular form, obvious, the greater would be the facilities for this pr > Physiology of the Gyropodiem coccineum. 59 There is a mechanism worthy of notice in the construc- tion of eo peeiers It was necessary thet these should close in such a manner as effectually to exclude moisture, since this would destroy the seeds, or prevent them from being thrown out of their receptacle . Asingle valve, form- ing a part of the sphere containing the powder, would hard- ly afford sufficient security in this respect; and t nge would not possess strength and elasticity enough, to caus ; the valve to shut down close after several successiv ral and two valves, closing against each other, could not pro- duce such an aperture. But as the valves to this fungus are actually constructed, they not only secure the contents of the inner sack from the access of moisture, but on open- ing present an aperture of a polygonal form. At F, on the plate, i isa view of three sets of valves, taken from three all somewhat irregularly curved outwards, so that their convex sides are brought into contact ; and yet they are #0 fitted to one another, that there is no interstice betwe them, when closed. This construction will also render ih aperture somewhat polygonal, when the valves open; or rather it will be a spherical polygon. By this construc- tion too, if PT mistake not, a greater degree of strength and elasticity, will be imparted to the valves: for from their centre, or greatest height above the surface of the sphere spose cating the head of the fungus, there is a gradual slope towards their extremities; which, as already remarked, it is not merely on a line connecting those extremities that they yield, but also along all that part of the envelope be- tween this line and the curve of the valve, and likewise in the valves themselves along their slopes, Are there not 66 Curicography. cases in practical mechanics, in which a construction simi- lar to this might be adopted with advantage ? Thus, if Iam not mistaken, (and I have taken much pains to attain the truth on the subject,) we find in this mere fungus, which, to the passing traveller appears to be a disgusting mass of half decayed vegetable matter, such evidence of contrivance and design, as is calculated to lead the thoughts irresistibly to a Great First Cause. How Art. X!l.—Caricography ; (continued ;) by Proressor C. Dewry, Williams College. Communicated to the Lyceum of Natural History of the Berkshire Medi- L ; cal Institution.] _ Muh. ion, Persoon No. 74, (144, C. microsperma. Wahl. No. 30, and Rees’ Cyc. No. 54.” Spicis alternis approximatis bracteatis sessilibus; spi- culis superne masculis ovato-oblongis obtusis bracteatis conglomeratis, | ee es _ovatis acuminatis compressis ovato-cuspidata paulo. minoribus. Culm erect, 16—24 inches high, scabrous above, rather obtusely triangular, nearly round and leafy towards the base; leaves narrow, linear, channelled, shorter than the culm, sheathed towards the base ; sheaths transversely rugose opposite the leaf; spike decompound, often more than two inches long; spikelets many, Clus- tered into several larger spikelets, growing yellow ; bracts long, leafy, scabrous and filiform under the spikes, and short, setaceous under the spikelets; stigmas two; fruit ovate, acuminate, bifid, scabrous on the margin, rather Caricography. 61 small, Sie three nerved, very compact, and much di- | ing in maturity ; pistillate scale ovate, somewhat coute- leaned awned, tawney with a green keel, shorter than the fruit, and its awn often projecting a little ehayend the fruit t. Flowers in May—grows in moist meadows. This is a variable species. ‘The common variety is ex- cellently figured by Schk., who has given three different forms of the fruit. There is much difference also in the magnitude and aggregation of the spikelets. I have never seen one specimen, comer whose spike would corres-— ond to the character given by Parsh to this mie ® Ie anguste ietewiain.? othe spike is not a panic Ne bm perely) is supra-decompound. The fruit is als d and less acuminate on some en itn Rt ya 4 a specimen of this kind was d Wahl. under the name of C. microsperma in the fol- weg ts rms. “ Spiculis apice masculis in clavam supradecompositam crassiusculam conglomeratis, squamis cuspidatis, capsulis minutis ventricoso-ovalibus acuminato-subrostratis acutis- angulis subdivergentibus ; ie Bepgustis 25.:C, diesel (Mihi.) Spicis sessilibus alternis approximatis bracteatis ; ;apiotalae apice masculis ovatis obtusis conglomeratis bracteatis ; subdivergentibus, squama ovato-lanceolata aristata sub- zequalibus. This new fishies has probably been confounded w wits C. multiflora. In its general appearance and in sev characters it is very diferent from it, and from any species hitherto described. It appears to be intermediate between C. multiflora and C. stipata: its culm and leaves much resemble the latter, as well as its fruit, except that it is Much more compressed, and its decompound spike e and aggregation of spikelets are much like those of the former: Its fruit however is less ovate, longer and more compress- ed than that of C. multiflora, Its general characters are the following. 62 Caricography. - Culm 18--30_ inches high, acutely triangular, very ‘scabrous above, furrowed and striate on the sides, leafy ; leaves linear, three ike she channeled; striate, nearly as Jong as the culm, shorter below brous, striate, white and arenitieasity on the side of the stipule ; stipule ovate, acute; spike decompound, two inches oe spikelets many, aggregated into several ap- proximate spikes, ovate-cylindric, obtuse, becoming taw- ney, ail bracted, staminate above; bracts rather long and narrow and scabrous under the spikes, short and setace- ous under the spikelets, and giving to the spike a bristly appearance; fruit ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, bifid, slightly plano-convex, often slightly 3—5 nerved, grow- ing yellow, scabrous on the margin, rather loose, and somewhat diverging; pistillate scale ovate-lanceolate, tawney, green on the keel, and with its awn about the length of the fruit. Flowers in June and July—matures its fruit in Au- & roullior in clusters in wet upland meadows with multiflora and C. atipats 5 but is a later plant than ei- = cS a Nore.—In both the ee ceding species, as well as some thers, the awn or cuspidate part of the scale is very liable to be broken of before the fruit is matured; and the examination of this part requires much care and cau- tion. 26. C el Schw.* margine subscabris, - gen se -lanceolata breve aris- tata hyalina paulo longioribu Culm 1—4 feet high, alesis, weak, subprocumbent, triangular, scabrous above, leafy ; leaves subradical, flat, linear-lanceolate, striate, shorter than the culm, glabrous 5 ; *See the “ Analytical geri of Carices,” by the Rev. L. D. De: Schweinits in the “ Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of an York,’ «to which the eaiot is referred for the names of the species of Mr. Schweinitz. | f Caricography. 63 shes strate glabrous, white on the side of the stipule ; spikelets 2—4, gen nerally 3, staminate below, pane often. sogisinnaed ut commonly rather remote, 3—5 and loosely imbricated, all bracted except the highest ¢ bracts long, slender, filiform, the lowest often surpassing the culm; stigmas ee ‘ol oblong-lanceolate, convex on. the upper, and flat on the lower side, acuminate, beaked, forked, subscabrous on ee. margin ; pistillate scale oblong, lanceolate, white, and transparent witha green es. Tt ed, anda little shorter than the the fruit. The ¢ the whole plant is yellowish green. oa Flowers in June—grows on the borders of moist. roc y woods on hills, never inclusters. In Williamstown on the a Plaank side a Stone Hill, one mile from the College. Also In lainfi The piste scale is somewhat variable, being some- imes more ovate and shorter, and at ort aiieee more lap- ceolate and a Teetly as long as the fru This species resembles C. ponder i Wahl., but dif- fers from his description in the number of the spikelets, and in the pistillate scale and fruit. From his C. tenuiflora it differs in its spikelets, fruit, and leaves, and is clearly different from this species as given by Schk. tab. Heee fig. 187. It differs from C. disperma, Vol. VIII. p. 266, of this Journal, in the position of its staminate florets, and i in its fruit and scale. From the ng atte Bpacios it differs in several important characters. Bi Ge trispermas ani Spiculis ternis remotis alternis vatis apice fe- mineis, suprema ebracteata ; fract = — vel - breve rostratis plano-convexis ore il sis apice subscabris sub- divergent r acuta hyalina longioribus. ; Culm 18—24 inches high, sendee prolinte, filiform, peels: Rippers leafy ; leaves very narrow, linear, shorter than the culm; sheaths striate, glabrous; spike- lets 3, staminate below, ovate, remote, often an inch apart, G4 teuited, but very generally 3-fruited, the two lower supported by filiform, scabrous bracts surpassing the culm; stigmas two; fruit oblong, convex above and plain | squama oslehen. 7 ¢ 64 ° Caricography. ow, slightly many-nerved, acute or shortly beaked, en- at the orifice, and slightly scabrous near the apex; e scale oblong, acute, or ovate rather Jong acute, e ae and hyaline witha green keel, and about two-thirds pt as the fruit. The colour of the whole plant is light " Slowacodd in June—grows in the form of = in sphagnous eerfiel ‘places among hills—Williamstown — ‘Though related to C. tenuiflora, this pri is mani- festly different from the fig. in Schk. It differs from C. disperma in having the stamens below, as well as in the fruit of its scale. {t differs considerably from the fig. of C. loliacea, L. in Schk. tab. Pp. fig. 104. It seems proper to give a new name to our plant in the present state of un- certainty respecting this Kuropean species. It is evident however, from the language of both Schk. and Wahl. that C. loliacea is a somewhat variable species, and ours may ultimately be considered a variety of it. To aid in th eos aR eae it may be proper to subjoin the following de- scription from Wahl. “C, loliacea : spiculis basi masculis subdistantibus ter- ms paucifloris, squamis brevibus, capsulis subovali-ellipti- cis utrinque Convexiusculis obtusis obtusangulis divaricatis ore integerrimo, bracteolis setigeris: foliis angustissimis. C. loliacea Linn. confer Schkuhr tab. Pp. fg. 104? Hab. in pratis paludosis Sueciz rarius,”—Wahl It scarcely needs remark that the ébartidrs of the fruit and scale of C. loliacea in this description are materially different from those of C. trisperma as already given. The a of the fruit is as distinctly marked in the figure hk. as in this description of Wahl. C. trisperma is the species which Sprengel, ina letter, is believed to have named C. quaternaria. 28. C. noveanglie. Schw.* Jiteria distinctis serie spica staminifera breve asi cum suprema fructifera ; spi- cis fructiferis binis val" ternis hab teendts sessilibus ovatis aitelnie paucifloris bracteatis ; fructibus ovali-subtriquetris *% Analytical Table of Carices,” already referred to. # Caricography. 65 subventricosis costatis rostratis minuté pubescentibus,squa- ma ovata mucronata paulo longioribus. ieee Culm 6—8 inches high, slender, subdecumbent, . about equalling the culm ; fruit oval, or somewhat obovate, in maturity, distinctly ribbed; pistillate scale ovate, mu- cronate, yellowish-red on the edges, and green on the keel, a little shorter than the fruit; root creeping. Flowers in June and July—grows in rather open woods on Saddle Mountain, at an elevation of nearly 3000 feet above the sea ;—this is the only known locality—here it 1s abundant. This species is related to C. varia and C. marginata, but differs more from either than they do from each other ; and is with propriety considered by Mr. Schweinitz as a new species. 29. C. flava. L. Pursh, Mx. Eaton, Ree’s Cyc. Pers. No.126- Schk. tab. H. fig. 36. C. flava? Wahl. No. 61. Spicis distinctis tristigmaticis; spica staminifera solita- ria subtriquetra ex eadem basi cum suprema fructifera et breve pedunculata ; spicis fructiferis ternis ovato-oblongis approximatis incluse pedunculatis ; fructibus ovatis dense imbricatis bidentatis costatis cum rostro curvato reflexis, squama ovato-lanceolata majoribus. Culm 12—20 inches high, rather obtusely triangular, scabrous above, leafy ; Icaves linear-lanceolate, flat, rather narrow, striate, longer than the culm, shorter below ; sheaths striate, stigmas three ; staminate spike single, short-peduncled, with a brownish-red, oblong-lanceolate scale; pistillate spikes 2—4, usually 3, ovate or short ob- long, cylindric, densely fruited, and short peduncled; Vou..1X.—No. 1. ie { eee Setar fe. 66 ' Caricography. bracts long, leafy, surpassing the culm, with short sheaths wholly inclosing the peduncles ; fruit ovate, sub-inflated, beaked, ribbed, reflexed, with the beak a little curved; pistillate scale ‘ovate-lanceolate, brownish-red, green on the keel, and about two-thirds the length of the fruit; the whole plant glabrous and of a yellowish colour. Flowers i in Maye stows in wet upland meadows about ndant in Stockbridge and Lenox in this county, and in Pown , Vt. Also in Plainfield. Found in the i 5 of Canada ucconding to Mx. Also at Phil- n, N. ¥.—Dr. Barre This species appears oe ‘to have been found by Muh. and Ph. does not give any definite locality. Though it seems to bea large plant than the European, yet it exact- ly resembles the fig. in Schk. and the European specimens with which I have compared it. 30. C Spicis dictitietin tristigmaticis ; spica stamenifera solita- ria triquetra pedunculata ; spicis fructiferis subquinis sub- remotis exserte ‘pedunculatis cylindraceis alternis sube- rectis cum longis foliaceis bracteis instructis; fructibus ovato-oblongis rostratis subventricosis subbifidis scabris, squama ovato-lanceolata acuminata margine subciliata apice scabra Féngiovibus. Culm 1—2 feet high, acutely 3-sided, striate, scabrous above, leafy; leaves linear lanceolate, rather broad, sca- brous on the edges and upper side, nearly the length of the culm, striate; staminate spike single, shortly pedunculate with its scale lanceolate, brown a green keel; stigmas three; _pistillate spikes | 35, cylindric, upper one nearly sessile, the others peduncu- late, the lowest often very distant and long pediinculte little nodding, rather remote but sometimes pretty near ; bracts long, broad, Jeafy, the lower ones much surpassing the culm, oppet ‘ones s with short sheaths, and all the shor the peduncles ; fruit ovate-oblong, subventricose, shortly 2-t 7 . scabrata. Schw.* Bik ounger state, and in maturil . ate-lanceolate, with a cabins ¥. nS 2, din ce ich yl Sait cnaena acai Caricography- 67 | | ’ point, brown, white and sub-ciliate on the edge and green | on the keel and about two thirds as long as the fruit ; the . whole plant rough, very glabrous, and its colour a deep : een. Flowers in May—grows in wet situations at the foot of hills, and in tufts along brooks This plant is abundant in Bedkabire Co., and was con-— sdbted an undescribed species before it wae sent onsy Mr. yn | be a variety of C. pellita, Muh.—but it is 860 re “gi | that species in a great — characters that can be . — no doubt that it is made a new species with the utmost propriety. The Sait of its fruit is a very peculiar character. 31. C. retrorsa. Schw. Spicis distinctis, tristigmaticis ; spicis staminiferis sub- ternis, suprema longa pedunculata tenue, ceteris brevibus parvis sepe basi fructiferis sessilibus ; spicis fructiferis subquinis oblongis cylindraceis approximatis subfascicula- tis cum bracteis foliaceis incluse pedunculatis, infima . sepe perremota longe et incluse pedunculata; fructibus ovatis inflatis rostratis sree nervosis reflexis, squama , F ‘ : staminate spikes about 3, rarely one, the highest long, slen- der and pedunculate, the others short, sessile, and often . pistillate at the base ; staminate scale oblong, rather ob- 1 __ tuse, brownish ; stigmas 3; pistillate spikes Aine, often iz co ghee the apex into a kind of pee: — closely - ovate, Foflated, will a ; ne acuminate, be it : ’ furcate | eak, gl wards ; pis- tillate scale hance oli, brown wit i es extelid PEPSI: Se. ae F 68 Caricography. ing scarcely to the beak or about half the ‘Weigh: of the fruit; the whole plant glabrous, large, and its colour yel- lowish green. The lower pistillate spikes are sometimes branched, having one or two spikelets attached to them. Flowers in May ; owe in clusters about pools of stand- ing water—abundan his species is cleatty differentifrom C. lupulina, Muh., the C. lurida, Wahl. It more nearly resembles C. gigantea, uh., but differs from it in several obvious characters. 32. C; pie Rewer: (Mibi.) mat cin 3 spicis staminiferis binis, : : | an Scale edunculata ; spicis fructiferis qua- ternis oblong: Payindacar Bupa yreximatis incluse pe- dunculatis sabia cum bracteis longis poliaceis ; fruc- tibus ovato-oblongis supra attenuatis rostratis inflatis bifur- catis ea eet squama lanceolata subulata subseta- cea longiori Culm 6— 12, inches high, triangular, scabrous above, wery leafy; leaves Ta lanceolate, nearly flat, seabrous on their r edges, with striate sheaths ; staminate spikes two, sometimes one, the highest long, slender and pedunculate, the other sates sessile, and sometimes pistillate below with a slender, filiform, scabrous bract long as the spike ; stam- inate scale oblong-lanceolate, brownish, white on the edg- es; stigmas 3; pistillate spikes 3—5, usually 4, long, cy- lindric, rather. near, somewhat pendulous, cather loose flowered, upper one sessile, the middle ones shortly and exsertly pedunculate, the lowest often rather remote ar pretty long-—exsertly pedunculate ; bracts long, lea yoflat, scabrous on their edges, surpassing the culm, wit her short, striate sheathes ; fruit ovate-oblong, a ; above, beaked, ventricose, nerved, glabrous, 2- tillate scale lanceolate, subulate, somewhat b subs¢abrous, and about two thirds as long as the ff whole plant glabrous, atibecleonsnienit; and its colo lowish. i Flowers in June—grows in wet, sandy oil of the descent to the alluvial of the Hoosieh and Pownal, V te-eabundant. io a . Sc, ake es Caricography. 69 - This plant is very different from any species in a Behe and was named after that distinguished examiner of the genus to which AE selones, the Rey. L. D. de Schweinitz, _ by whom it was announced in his “ Analytical Table of Carices” in the Annals of the Lyceum of New-York, Vol. I. 33. C. pyriformis. Schw. Spicis staminiferis et fructiferis distinctis; spica stam- inifera solitaria abbreviata pedunculata eb ta; spicis. fructiferis ternis distigmaticis oblongis laxifloris subpendu- lis exserte pedunculatis ee bracteatis ; -fruc- tibus obovatis vel pyriformibus obtusis nervosis sub- tricosis ore rier aquama ovata acuta’ vel : Culm ier: 6 inches: high, tria ngular, paonihat pro- nt, scabrous above, leafy ; leaves subradical, harrow, striate, with striate sheathes and concave stipules ; stami- nate spike single, short and pedunculate, with a oblong, obtuse scale; stigmas two ; pistillate apilies three, oblong, loose-flowered, upper one nearly sessile, two high- est rather near, the Rowest rather remote and often long and exsertly ped unculate; sbracts leafy much surpassing the culm, than the peduncles ; fruit obo- vate or pear-shaped, sometimes nearly spheroidal, ventri- ein obtuse, nerved, sometimes with a very short beak or rojection, laucous when young, yellowish when mature ; pistillate scale rather various, ovate and acutish, some- times ovate- obtuse and shortly mucronate, reddish brown, on the border and greenish white on the keel, from half to nearly the length of the fruit ; plant small, suberect, and palielly Sete Flowers ay—June—grows in cold wet soil—not uncommon in Berkshire eee near the College. ) the specimens forwarded to M. Schweinitz, he gave ove specific name from the common forni of _ This species seems to be nearly related to.C. aurea, t differs in having only iwo stigmas, and in the rm of t Aa tseems too to resemble some t does not agree with the de; 70 Cartcography. = > 34. C. pellita. “Muh. all “Muh. Ph. Eaton, Pers. No. 1 Schk. tab. Nun fig. 149 and 180: C. striata. Mx. ~ * Spicis staminiferis et fructiferis distinotis; spicis stami- niferis binis oblongis inferiore sessili et bracteata ; spicis fructiferis tristigmaticis binis vel ternis cylindraceis erectis ; ; fructibus ovatis breve rostratis bicuspidatis eS nes pilosis, squama ovato-lanceolata aristata subzequalibus. 24 inch es high, triangular and scabrous ow, lea ; leaves a sir ieee ‘striate pre obtuse scale and dark hethetbe on the pode and light colour- ed on the keel ; stigmas three ; pistillate spikes 2—3, ob- long, mc orm erect, rhea or aa ae highest oe ses- 4; the lowes sometines lo culate ; bra ts long, a, ; ae the caiie, with ate, crags partially Sorided: little , dense cent, acuminated imto a short Soaidite beak ; Vistillate. scale lanceolate or ovate-lan- ceolate, awned, dark coloured on the edge and light co- loured on the keel, nerved and glabrous, sometimes longer or shorter than the fruit; plant, except the spikes, gla- brous and green. Flowers in May—grows on the wet alluvial of the Hud- son opposite Troy—ina ie, upland meadow just east of Poughkeepsie—rather There can be little doubt 1 that this species is the C. - ata, Mx., or that C. lanuginosa Mx. is the C. filiformé Goodn., which has been so often mistaken for C. Sillsta. C, filiformis however has involute leaves, and a different scale, and is altogether a more rigid plant in its appearance, C. pelt cannot be mistaken for C. trichocarpa, as the of the latter is more remote and much inflated. at Sha es as well as of a different shape : There are two varieties of C. pellita, both of which ¢ are red by Schk., and Muh. has remarked some other va- rieties in the spikes. I have rarely seen a specimen with ie ar ann. Aa ; hes | sient er, ara peas ‘above, | eafy 5 3 lin lanceolate, scabrous Caricography. 71 more than two staminate spikes, and have never found a pistillate spike which was Sieminaie below on this species. 35. C. bullata. . Schk. Pursh, Eaton, Persoon No. 2056 Schk. tab. Uuu fig. 166. Spicis staminiferis et fructiteris eneing spicis sigue iniferis ternis longiusculis, suprema pedunculata, infima bracteata ; spicis fructiferis tristigmaticis binis exserte pe- dunculatis oblongis cylindraceis atat nei ies tibus ovatis globosis inflatis erectis glabris ¢ atis cu stro sub- ge hifursa log a lance ut 2 ate, long culm, shorter below ; 5 ate ; staminate spikes 2—3, highest Sedundghete aid Soar ind oe the lower short- er and sessile and the lowest bracted ; stigmas 3; pistillate spikes 2--3, oblong, cylindric, rather erect, with peduncles longer than ‘the sheaths ; bracts with shortish sheaths, leafy, scabrous, surpassing the culm, narrow; fruit ovate, glo- bose, much inflated, ribbed or strongly "nerved, glabrous, with a scabrous or subhispid and bifureate beak ; pistillate scale rather broad- eaapeolal, reddish brown on the edge and green on the keel, and about half the length of the fruit; plant glabrous aad light green. One of the stami- nate spikes is sometimes androgynous. Flowers in May—grows in marshy places or among bogs. 1 have found it only in a meadow nearly a mile south of the Mecting-house in Sheffield in this County Deerfield—Rev. Mr. Hitchcock ; Penn. by M. Schweintz. Though Pursh says itis common, it has rarely been. found. This species is finely drawn by Schk, and is readily dis- tuauabed from the other species in Ph. and Hola a p86 &. a" yperus, L. _ Muh., Ph., Eaton, Agh., Rees’ ae: No. 14 0, Pers. No 169. Schk. jen Mm fig. 102. fi € a * me * . . . . * . Spicis staminiferis et fructiferis distinctis ; spica stamin- 72 Caricography. ifera solitaria pedunculata ; spicis fructiferis tristigmaticis pedunculatis cylindraceis crassis pendulis, bracteis sub- amplectentibus longe foliaceis subapproximatis ; squamis setaceis ; fructibus oblongis acuminato-rostratis reflexis triquetris nervosis bicuspidatis. Wahl. No. 117. This description, taken chiefly from Wail., is applica- ble to both the European and American specimens. No rence between ours and the foreign specimens is ob- servable, so far as I have compared them, except in the length of the pistillate scale be ass is shorter than the fruit on the American plant. In other respects the resemblance is complete. CC. pseudo-cyperus is readil ascertained in its mature state. It has very little resem- blance to our other species, and to none in Schk. except Cc. a Schk, the C. Forsteri ,Wahl. a native of New- Zealand. Muh. remarked its resemblance to this species ; but fhesides other particulars, C. Fostert always has stami- nate florets at the base of the ss gale ape rales) is no sufficient reason dot considering ou differ- ent from the Eu pean VY. ps scabaa The followi the general characters of ou our plant. Culm 2—3 +) ery acutely saiayalbines and stiff, angles, leafy ; leaves linear-lan- ceolate, rough, striate and knotted, about the length of the ; inate spike single, (sometimes two according to Muh. ) long, rather Mcnger pedunculate, sometimes with a bract; staminate scale lanceolate, mucronate, and yel- lowish ; stigmas 3; pistillate spikes, rather long and large, dieetcdted: cylindric, recurved, pendulous, rather near, with filiform, scabrous, rather flattened peduncles ; sheaths scarcely any, but long, large, leafy bracts much surparsing the culm and rough; fruit oblong-lanceolate, acummate, reflexed, nerved, glabrous, with a slender, widely forked beak ; pistillate scale lanceolate, mucronate, bristly, sca- brous, and about two-thirds as ens as the fruit; plant gla- brous, and of a yellowish gree Flowers in 1 May—Fune,—grow in clusters on the bor- ders of pon Moh. Stee es that the two eae —— ae orig- inate from the same bract, an ardh has seen instances of the same in Sweden; ina all the i Mae F have ob- served here or seen from Europe, each spike has its own bract. ne i nl pe Caricography 73 37. C, ecastanea, Wahl. Spicis staminiferis et fructiferis distinctis ; ; spicis stam- iniferis solitaria ; spicis fructiferis tristigmaticis crassius= culis brevibus subdensifloris, pedunculis longe exsertis retrocurvis, bracteis laxe vepuantibus foliolatis distanti- bus, squamis brevibus; fructibus oblongis attenuatis paten- ti-divergentibus ore unilobo ; foliis hirsutis. Wahl. No. 90. This species, which appears to be very distinct, is cred- ited by Wahl. to N. America. Bei ies I have seen, | have ahl., in the hope that the some fortanate: botanist and = C. vibes’ . Muh., Pursh, Eaton, Pers: No. 151. Schk. tab. Eee fig. 126. Wr by its proper name. Spicis distinctis ‘spica staminifere solitariy triquetra subsessili ; spicis fructiferis tristigmaticis ternis oblongis sublaxifloris erectis bracteatis, infima pedunculata ; fructi- bus ovata-triquetris rostratis ore sub-integro pubescentibus, squama ovato-oblonga mucronata carinata paulo majori- bus ; foliis culmoque pubescentibus. Culm 10—20 inches high, rather slender, rather procum- bent ; sets linear-lanceolate, rather flat, striate, shorter than the culm; staminate spike single, about sessile, with a whith, oblong, rather obtuse scale green on the keel; stigmas 3 ; atigras spikes 3, oblong, erect, loose- flower- ed, rather near, two upper nearly or quite sessile, the low- ‘est pedasieiitater + oan leafy, nearly equal to the culm above, with scarcely any sheaths; fruit ovate or oval, 3- sided, acuminated into a shortish beak with the orifice very shortly 2-toothed, covered with pubescence ; pistillate scale ovate-oblong, mucronate, whitish, green on the keel, and scarcely long as the fruit ; plant of rather a deep green, and culm, leaves, sheaths, bracts and fruit pubescent. Flowers in } IS beta in moist meadows, and along the borders of woo Vor. IX.—No. 1. 10 id 74 Rarer Planis of Alabama. Arr. XII Seg af of Rare Plants Plas in Alabama 5 Com by Meuines C. L ENWoRTH, M. (Communi- cated ina i ielied to Charles Hooker, M. D.) Dear Sir, Agreeably to your request I have made out a list of the rarer plants which I have observed in Alabama, not men- tioning the few new species described by me, in the 7th Vol. of the Am. Journ. of Science. This list is made out from wore ea — : ao it does not include all: the e seen in that state. : the rare plants w theon met @eaopai Villarsia cordata, Sete County) Negiiectam americanum, (De- Phala joa esculentum, (co. ngu bal . Ae ) us macrostachya, (Monroe) weenie esang (Tusealoosa) nivea Gillenia stipulacea Talinum teretifolium Cyamus pentapetalus, saeeents Vallisneria americana, @ * new and undesecri tion it to direct the nthaatiead of Botanists toit.) New-York, Dec. 25th, 1824, Seymeria pectinata, (do.) aes floridanum, (Tr escaloo-) Cibdsinine uniflora, (Jefferson Cou nt, Dalea alopecuroides, (prairies Petalostemam violaceam, (do) Cacaiataberos a, (Demopo cacia Gnctiaico: (Green ar 7, Silphium gummosum, £. (Perry ounty Mikania glutimosa, E, (Perry Coun — ophioglossoides, (Cahaw- Triphora pendula, Parry SoOmaTR, ra rpa, (do. below Dem Panax quingueolia ” (Tuscaloosa) olemonium reptans, (do.) OO sada aca On’ Hybernation. ~2 wr ZOOLOGY. -Cae— Arr. XIIL.——On Hybernation ; by Isaac Lra of Philadel- phia. Tis is a subject that has excited much and peculiar in- terest. My object is not to enter into the minutie of the subject but to take a general and relate some of the most interesting facts which I we been able to collect with r it. om There may be said to be four species of hybernation—i. e. in the case of those animals that change their covering—of those that lay up food-—of those that migrate, and of those that remain torpid during the winter months. . Reeve has described hybernation as a continu- anee of life under the appearance of death, a loss of sensibility, and of voluntary motion, a suspension of functions most essential to the preservation of the an- imal economy; ‘ these constitute,” he continues, one of the most singular problems in the whole range of natural phi- losophy.” ~ When we look upon this subject with a philosophic eye, the mind is struck with astonishment at the wonderful com- Seat made those animals which have not the power of >6motion, and which are so situated as to be deprived of food by the approach of severe cold. Their adaptation to this situation, is beyond the power of the human mind to explain, as we find so many cases which seem to prove an Opposite principle. It would appear from the general idea we have of the subject that cold was a necessary cause to induce this state; but this is not always the case. The Tanric Caudatus, an inhabitant of India and Madagasear, becomes torpid and continues so nearly six months. Dipus Sagitta is equally torpid in Siberia and in Egypt; but mature is not always true in this respect, for we are told by Dr. Barton that many animals that become torpid in Pennsylvania are not so in the Carolinas, so that this re- 76 On Hybernation. J : pose is not absolutely necessary, as some authors on this sub- ject have supposed. {tis not therefore requisite to the ani- mal economy, as in sleep, to prepare it for further exertions. he number of animals that igen is — greater than we generally imagine. Dr. Reeve says “the num- ber of hy bernating animals is phate eh iss of those which remain sig ee by cold” p. 5. When the ther- mometer sinks to about 50°, animals that hybernate retire to their biding tag in trees, rocks, and the earth, where will be most secure from their enemies. Here they roll themselves up, exposing the least possible surface to tke action of the air, and remain in a quiescent state until the return of a more vertical sun warms them into life. Dr. Reeve’s ideas on the ‘ani i of cold on the system are so good I quote them at Jeng “The cessation of elke action seems owing to the lowered sae beain re of the muscles themselves, because, when e transmission of nervous Doli is of the muscular meal? er that _ is caused a the ac- tion of cold, and by suspended respiration; the capillaries of the vascular system appear to become contracted by the loss of animal heat ; and this diminution always begins at the surface of the body and gradually increases to the cen- tre, as observed in examples of numbness from cold, and in applying the thermometer to different parts_ oe anithals whilst they are gradually becoming torpid. see th animals resist the propensity to torpor, until by the gradual pa of their heat and the want of a supply from the rption of oxygen at their lungs, and at the surface dacie bodies, the irritability is so far lessened that it becomes itself a cause of its own deficiency, by arresting the respi- ration, and consequently depriving the heart of its supply, which is furnished by the coronary arteries.’ — Reeve, p- 55, Spatisbneni never found the temperature of torpid ani- mals below 36° although exposed to a much greater degree of cold. In this situation, the action of the digestive and On Hybernation, 77 respiratory organs ceases. He could perceive no motion with a microscope, in the flanks of a bat when the ther- mometer was at 43°. Sir John Hunter introduced worms &c. into the stomachs of lizards, and on examination the winter found the food unchanged; “hose that were kept until spring voided it unchanged, thus clearly pearing the total suspension of the digestive functions. n this state all sensation appears to be lost, and one function of life alone seems to remain, that 2 cote Limbs have been broken, and wounds made i als with every appearance of inseasibility. It ag Bede proved that a confined circulation is carried on through the heart and the larger veins and arteries. Mr. Carlisle states “that all ere tee ae ied possess a peculiar structure of the heart and its princi- pal veins; the superior cava divides into two trunks, the left passing over the left auricle of the heart opens into the inferior part of the wien auricle.” Spallanzani says ** T have often Genie Newts, Frogs, Toads, and Lizards, when torpid from cold, and apparently dead; and | have found that the blood did not circulate in the fine: while it continued to circulate in the large vessels, although the circulation was languid. Il a greater degree penetrated the solids, if it has coagulated the blood, then it is certain the animals perish.” —Spallanzani, p. 269. > hile examining this subject it is necessary for us to guard against the similarity of suspended animation and hybernation. Spallangani resuscitated animalcule after having been ina dry state for 27 years, by adding water to them. In this case air was not essenual, nor in hyberna- tion do we find it absolutely so. Spallonaani found st torpid bats lived seven minutes in an exhauste while another bat died in three minutes, In another ex: periment a bird and rat did not live one minute in ic acid gas, yet a torpid marmot ie gaan hour, and deans, of a tee Dipes “oad be. , which was com- pletely perevee of the benefit of air ; ys “It was discovered enclosed in a ball of olan, about the Size. ro a cricket-ball, nearly an inch in thickness, perfectly 73 On Hybernation. oth within, and about twenty inches under ground, The man who first discovered it, not knowing what it was, struck the ball with his spade, by which means it was bro- = to pieces, or the ball also would have been presented an long it had been under ground it is impossible tas [ never could observe any of these animals after the opines of September, I conceive they lay them- selves up sometime in that month or the beginning of Octo- ber when the frost becomes sharp, nor did 1 ever see them again before the last week in May or beginning of June. From their being enveloped in balls of clay, without any appearance of food, I conceive they sleep during the win- ter, and remain fer that Ses without sustenance.”—Lin. Soc. Trans. Vol. IV, ‘Thus it appears that iife may be preserved in a torpid state without respiration, and this gives countenance to the frequently asserted fact that live toads — been taken from mpeaore ne other recent rocks. As a further ar- vou this fact, E will tha that Spallan- ‘and serpents eer for three a ee and a 39°. are told by ‘the same philosopher, that fat is not gt to _ -as some persons have supposed. r. Monroe’s hedge hog lost, during four months’ torpidity, only a oun- ces, and a tame marmot kept by Pallas, very fat, continued e all winter although exposed to the same severe either that rendered the rest of its species torpid in Rus- sia; but we lave other instances where every yi has been’ jn vaia exerted to keep animals from becom au animals become torpid when their food fails them, re thus preserved until accident shall bring them a i ly. Mr. Gough preserved a large garden snail three years without food in a perforated box. An operculum, was formed at the mouth of the shell, and it remained in this dry state dormant until the end of the time when it was re- vived by putting it in water at 70.° » The same gentleman relates an experiment which clear- ly proves that the cricket may be revived and induced from his winter retreat by the encouraging warmth of a fire. ~The crickets,” he says, “were brought from a dis- tance, and let go in the room in the beginning of Sept. On Hybernation, . 79 1806; here they increased considerably in the seniiaty of two months, ep were not heard or seen after the fire was removed. Their disappearance led me to. conclude that the cold had killed them: but in this I was mi. 5: a brisk fire being kept up for a whole day in the winter, the warmth of it invited my colony from their hiding pla~ ces, but not before the evening, after which the to skip abaut and chirp, the greater part of the following day, when they agen disappeared, bans compelled by the returning cold to take refuge in their former retreats. They left the satabe corner on the 28th of May, 1807, after a spell. of hot weather, and revisited their winter res- idence on the 3ist of August. Here they spent the sum- mer merely, and lie torpid at present, (Jan. 1808,) in the crevices of the chimney, with the exception of those. on which they are recalled toa ops act existence pele comforts of a fire.”?— Reeve, p. 84. he precautions taken by animals when abobs to estate their torpid state, indicate the power of instinct. The frog sinks deep into its muddy bed beyond cm reach “oh and the dipus envelopes itself in its clay cloak. The and tes- tacea, the helix, pupa, &c. retire into crevices oh pede operculum to exclude the air. An animal reviving from a torpid state is equally an interesting object. I quote the following description of the hampster from the eee a ia hen the hampster passes from his 94 state, ‘he exhibits several curious appearances. He first loses’ rahe rigidity of his members, and then makes meet respira- tions, but at long intervals. His legs begin to move, he opens his mouth, and utters rattling and disagreeabl e sounds. After continuing this operation for some time, he Oe ae eyes and endeavours to raise himself on his legs. movements are still unsteady, and reeling, like those of & man in a state of intoxication; but he repeats his ¢ till he acquires the use of his limbs. He then remains in that attitude for some time, as if to reconnoitre, and rest himself after his fatigues. His passage from a the toa natural state is more or less quick, rire to the tem~ perature.”—Edin. Encyc. Vol. X. pt. On Hybernation. _Ithas been observed that animals which do not hyber- ess a temperature considerably higher than the po ti they: inhabit, while those that do, are but a few degrees more elevated than their surrounding medium. Sir John Hunter, in his experiment on the power of ani- mals producing heat, had frequent occasion to place fish in a reduced te mperature, and uniformly found that when the of his experiment was no longer able to generate heat sufficient to resist the effects of cold, the va frozen could not be completely recovered. In all his experi- ments upon the freezing of animals, he was unable to re- store er actions of life by thawing, from which the con- clusion may be drawn that circulation once completely stopped, can never be recovered. An earth-worm frozen Tae nese time was completely dead when thawed.* The moulting of birds as well as their migration is a species of hybernation. The first is a preparation for hone and their change of colour, adapting itself to the eason, y poner the cenieeegny: and causes f seasons produces its influence on the he shee of Africa almost without fur, and in Scotland the veal is pulled from the sheep when ready to fall off. same cause, perhaps, produces its effects more pow- ‘fully on animals than on birds. e ermine, whose fi ris so Phe ga undergoes four chang — g the summer months its iach is wal a pale reddish 3 in harvest it becomes clouded with pale _ Its winter dress furnishes the valu- Rade iB 5 pring: it becomes in the month of May it complete- ain fear Vol. X. part on of birds has been noticed by our earliest their wonderful precision and order have wareans source of delight to the observation of the student of nature. Their periods and habitation so well * Animal Eronomy, pp. 109, 112. eS ae sshutrueranencsts crepes eae On Hybernation. t understood and practised by themselves call forth, all our admiration. oe in ornithology no individual member of the unily excited more interest or more discussion the swallow (hirundo.) Its immersion has often been asserted, and as often contradicted. The archbisho psala was the first person who suggested the idea that this bird oullal its winter beneath the icy wave, and he asserts that they are frequently found in massive clusters in northern lakes; but all this is just as true as what the learned archbishop says about showers of mice. Linnzeus was of opinion that the chimney swallow and the martin immersed themselves, but that the swifts or common swallow of Europe hybernated ‘in church towers, &c. Many other naturalists of emi- nence have maintained the same idea, but I do not believe it to be upheld by one well attested fact, and I hope to seit it to be equally contrary to truth, as it is ore. to reason If we examine the conformation of the common swallow, (Hirundo Americana,) we find that every part of it is pe- culiarly fitted for flight, and it certainly is one of the most rapid of birds. Having therefore the power of locomo- tion fo so great a degree, why should we suppose it to leave its aerial element and sportive joyous windings, to remain in an insensible state for seven months in a muddy and watery bed? It has been urged that we do not see it on its flight to the south like the pigeon and othe birds ; but the minute observer is not less sure of th in the evening to pass over our low grounds skim ; surface of the fields to the south in such numbers that h dreds have been counted in a minute, their rap zht con- veying them in a few hours toa more c ture. The —_— > 2 migration of we consider the g ity o: ir fi lowing ociay to be at tthe saedt, his ight was ’perhap, Vou. IX.—No. 1. 11 $2 On Hybernation. equal to seventy-five miles an hour.’’—Edinb. Encyc. Vol. . part 2nd, p. 737. ee If we calculate the flight of the swallow to be equally rapid as that of the falcon, the bird that this morning bade adieu to its summer nest within our barns, might in two days rest his weary wings beyond the isthmus of Panama. If the swallow emerged in the spring from a watery bed, its resuscitation would be governed by the thermometer; but this is not the case. Foster says, _*] have sometimes seen them as early as April the 2d, when the mercury in the thermometer has heii belo the freezing point. On the other hand, I have often taken notice, that during a continuance of mild weather for space of a fortnight, in the month of April, not so much as one swallow has appeared.” — Foster on the Swallow. p. 13. t us now examine why this bird should not hybernate as it has been repeatedly asserted to do. If we try its specific gravity we shall find it requires some weight to _ Sink it in water. It disappears too at a time so early that it is impossible the cold could produce torpidity, and we cannot suppose it to be voluntary. Whenani om oO rpid it is because their food is no longer to be procured, and they are so by necessity; but it is not the same with the swallow. It loves the soft breezes of the south, and almost the first north wind reminds it of its equinoctial haunts. Adanson, in his voyage to Senegal, states that four swallows alighted on his vessel in October, when fifty leagues from the coast of the latter place; and that they winter in Senegal, where they roost on the sand of the shore, and never build in that country. well attested facts are deemed sufficient to prove the act migration. With regard to the point of their migration it may be safely concluded to be so far south on both continents as not to be touched by the cold. Capt. Henderson, of the British army, relates that he saw myriads in Honduras, where they remain from October to February. They then roost in the marshes, from whence in the morning they rise ina spiral form to a great height and disperse to seek their food; when rising in this manner, he says, they resemble large columns of smoke.* A Mr. Pearson of London, some years since took great pains to ascertain if the swallow became torpid. For this purpose he confined some of them ina cage, where th remained in a perfectly healthy state for three or four years, when they died for want of attention during his ill- ness. It has been asserted, and frequently, believed that the rail or sora (Rallus Carolinus) also assumes a state of tor- pidity during winter. Although I cannot urge the rapidity of the flight of this bird, as a reason for its not becoming torpid, I can, with truth, say I believe its wings are ae ciently strong to carry it beyond the reach of frost. eee here during the winter, is it not likely it eal have been discerned? Yet we have not a single well au- | ihesiiawed relation of this. A farmer of Maryland, (Mr. Wilson tells us,) asserted that they changed into frogs, ie e found one in the very act of its transformation, an he showed it to one of his labourers ; but it does not ~ pear he ever satisfied any other person as to this fact. On reviewing the subject I think we may safely conclude that a torpid swallow never yet has had an existence. * My fri end Mr. Ord informs me he has seen the swallow in the south of France in sanehaad r, and was assured they remain there all the winter. It a ‘strange this fact should not have been observed ps the naturalists of rope. Fa ‘ coos $4 Prof. E. Kellogg on the Passage of Lightning. ~ PHYSICS, MATHEMATICS, CHEMISTRY, M CHANICS, &c. ae Ayr. XIV.—Pror. E. Kexxoce on the passage of Light- To the Editor, Some of the effects described below are such as are not often produced by the descent of the electric fluid ; at least, I have not witnessed them, nor seen them described. If you think the account may interest your readers, please to insert it in your Journal. in diameter, standing one or two hun se hraim Tucker, in Vernon, Conn. The wv marks of its course down the tree, but tore up ‘the earth very much at the foot of it and made, in one di- rection, a furrow eight or ten feet in length, by following a root that ran three or four inches below the surface, and throwing off the turf in ragged portions. No other effects of the fluid were to be seen nearthetree. At the distance of thirty feet from the tree runs a post-wal/, bounding the mead- ow and separating it from the highway ;—a low wall of small stones, surmounted by two rails supported by posts standing in the wall. In the highway near the wall at this place, be- gin to appear marks of the passage of the fluid below the surface. The sod in some places seemed to be a little raised along the line of its course towards the road. The road here is formed in the middle of a highway sixty-six feet wide, as turnpike roads are commonly built, by raising a path twenty-feet wide or more, with earth taken from the ges of it, which are thus sunk so as to form ditches com- four or five feet wide, and one or two deep. From the wall to the ditch, and across the road and ditch, the fluid certainly passed under grouad, and almost in a straight line. Before reaching the ditch, it passed under a thick On the 28th of May, 1824, the lightning fell upon a tree, ab hundred yards Prati Kellogg on the Passage of Lightning. 85 ch of ae forming a matted bundle of roots and two or three feet in diameter and raised a little above the adjoining surface. In coming from beneath this clus- ‘ter of noe which stood near the ditch, the fluid came so near the surface as to throw off considerable lumps of earth = from the side of the ditch, and raise and crack the a its course across the bottom of it. It does not seem to have come out of the ground here ; but continuing under ground, it went square across the road, cracking and crumbling the surface very much, eight or ten inches in width, and raising a convex ridge from two to four inches high,a ridge exactly resembling, except in size, those pro- duced by a common species of L@ole passing near the sur- ae pote the road, a large cake of hard earth, ei or ten feet long, and from one to four wide. is was. entirely broken up; but was pushed a little forward, bro- _ ken into large masses, and some of it crumbled. The fluid was here divided into three oe and took as man — . In two these directions it left iolent action along the surface. The third por- tion slid under a very thick and matted clump of roots of small bushes, and came out on the opposite side, at a dis- tance of ten feet, and in ten or fifteen feet more spent itself. The only circumstance that can be thought eae in this case, is the passage of the electric fluid for su istance under the surface of the earth; and that without followlig any such substances as commonly guide its course there, _ as roots, stones, &c. The fluid seems not to have been guided at all by any attracting substance, but to have been carried forward nearly in a —— course by a mo- mentum it had received, through a medium opposing the most powerful resistance; a medium in which it is ens supposed to be almost immediately dissipated The fluid certainly passed thus from the wall és wae second ditch; a distance of nearly fifty. feet, and after passing this ditch, one portion of it passed ten feet rough or under a very tough clump of roots. Without avy difficulty, I thrust a stake six or eight feet long its whole 86 A New Method of Resolving certain Equations. length beneath a clump of bushes, along the course of the fluid; while my strength was insufficient to make it pene~ trate at all in any other direction. And along the whole fifty feet, so evidence of its having passed, was indisputa- ble. How the fluid passed through the thirty feet from the tree to the wall, may perhaps not be thought quite so cer- tain; as it left no signs of its passage above ground, and no - indubitable ones could be discovered below by thrustin down a staff. But for myself, 1 cannot doubt the first part of its course was similar to the latter part; but passing be- low a thick and strong turf, and perhaps a little deeper, its course could not be so easily traced. If the fluid did not ee under ground the first part of its course it must e come out of the ground a few feet from the tree, sale thirty-feet through the air to the wall, and without leaving any trace of its influence on the post and rails, or displacing the small stones which composed the wall,* sunk quietly .down through the wall to its foundations, ond there gone off as above described at right angles to the well, in ction of a line from this spot to the tree. I can- that it passed the whole way — the tree under Art. XV.—A new method of resolving Equations oe i third and fourth degree. By Avexanper C, Twin To resolve a general equation of the third degree. Let the given equation be, 2° -+3a nt t- Sha hcane, and put z-+-r=2; Then we Thane z°4+-3r-+-a.z2-+-3r? +2ar+5. 7-9 s-Bar Shed bees. Assume, (r-+-a)(7° +3ar? +3br-+-c)= =(r?+2ar +6)? ; Expanding ; r* L4ar?-+3b+3a?, 7? +-c+3ab.r+ac= r!+4ar°+2b+4a%.r?7+ 4ab.r+ 67; And uniting: b —a@?.r? +¢—absr+ac—bh* =o, (A) * One of the portions of the flaid after it forked, fell into a heap of simi- lar stones, and threw them about very much, sarin brent A New Method of . certain Equations. 87 Put o=r-+a, a a r+b, PHS $8024 al- «=r 4 Bar? +3br-+c ac=b’, mz? -+-3a’mz? +35 enter et 2°+-3a'mz? + 3b’m mz+-e'm= : [1 —mM.z°. _ Assume (a'm)? =b'm _ Then also (a'm)*=c'm; For, (a'm)* _ (b’m)? =v m=e is a’m am Substitute values; 23 +4-3(a'm).z?+-3(a'm)?.z+-(a’m)®?=1— m.z°. soz-a'm [=*Vl—mz az+a!m= 24/(a'® —a'®m.z, rcs sale Al a’? — B)a’.z. {—q!?)\q' z=—b, z= ——— (a +2/(b'—a’ (6 —a!?)a’.z= z= rae VO it Tear = omnes ~ rbat3/(b— (b—a*)(r-+-a) " From this we derive the Rute. To find x, when 2° -+-3axn*+3bhx+c=0 ; =0 5 (A) Find ,inthe quadratic, b—a3.r? +c—ab.r--ac-b4 =o, r3 + 2ar+6 (B) Put z ig eS Sasa rate (b —a?)(r-ta) And =z =z+r. In those questions which are embraced by the irreduci- ble case of Cardan, it will be seen that the value of r is imaginary. For then, if 7° +3b2+c=o0, br?+cr—b?=0, whence 2br+c=4/c?+46'; which gives an imaginary value, whenever 5° is negative and exceeds — When these two quantities become equal, the sidaeiaty part of the expression vanishes ; and, in the general solution, we have 26—a?.rt+c—ab=o. (C) 88 4 New Method of Resolving certain Equations. This solution fails (in the case where no solution is needed) when a?=6, For then the expression (B) be- comes z= Be Se whence <= —a; which would be, in most cases, false, the true werae of x oe (-a+*/a? —c). To explain this, let it be observed, that the assumption (a'c'=b'?), see (A), requires that =< whenever 6=a?. (E When the lower term of (B) vanishes, the upper van- ishes with it For ser (4 3fb—a*.rta,.. rta?+b—a*-r+a =o; Or, r+a*’ +hb—a?=r?+2ar+b=0. o Phssetore, z== —~ 5 an expression which might seem in- determinate. In reality, however, since both terms vanish together, and the upper is in its form of two dimensions, while the lower is only of one, the whole ee will 1, and z=—o0; o=r. To investigate the cases in which this will occur ; Since (4/? =a'c’) and b' is now equal to nothing, either Sor or c’ must equal nothing. But ifa’ is 0, & —a@’2=0. ~. 72+ Qar+b —(r? + 2ar+a? )=b ~— a? =0, which cannot be sup- posed, for the reason stated in (E). Next suppose c’ to become evanescent. bi r°-+-3ar? +-3br-+-e =0 But (r?+2ar+6) (r+a)= Seba 4. MESES Whence 2) —a?.r-+-c—ab=0 This therefore is the case already considered in (C). s * A New Method of Resolving certain Equations. 89 To resolve a general Equation of the fourth degree. Let the given equation be, a4 +4dan* +662? +4cx-+-d=0. wt +-4amex* +4emx =1—m.x‘ —6bmz? —dm, Add (4a°m? +20)x% io aa fn both sides ; 2 oe a*-+4amz°+(4a*m? +2-) 2? --dcme+—5=1 —mxt+ : c c? (4a?m?+2° —6bm)x* +75 — Bo: ets “ya =1—m.x4 2 whee —Gbm42-).0? or bac ~~ oo Rsdice the lastmember andl at —m ohn dn). Then VImmx f= — an=20" m* — Some mc \) Also a? + 2ame-+ S/T mia? +S Oo ie (B) Now (A) 4a*m? —6ba*m+2ac=o 2a? —2a?m Xf 2c? —2da*m, Put 2a2m=2z. Then 2? —3bz+ 2ac=f 2a? —2z Xf 2c? —dz. Expanding; z* —6bz? Li ae | ea — 12abez+-4a?c? = c? —2a?dz—2c?z-+dz?,, Transpose and divide by z; he +(4ac+9b? —d)z— 2abc+-2a?d+2c?=0. (C). Then (B) ax? iteteves —a?m. x? +-4/c?—da* m. ax*-+-zx-+c = s 02 fet —dz = (D) Vou, IX.—No, 1. 12 90 A New Method of Resolving certain Equations: From this we have the Rote. o find a, when i Hed gde Sh Mii dcietidinh c) “Pind z, in the Ree es coe 12abc+ 2a? d+-2c? =0. (D) Find «,in the quadratic, a A OE fk +c “45 {t may be seen that this ole might also be applied to equations of the third degree ; for every such equation may by simple multi pResGaelaiy any quantity, (x+-w) be raised to one of the fourth degree, containing a variable in its co-efficients. In the cubic (C,) if we destroy se- cond term by substitution, the remainuin cones nt in the rent dqunton ie s (4ac — 36? —d) ; and, as (2) enters but once into each of the quantities denoted by a, 4, ¢, d, itis evident that the co-efficient named, can never rise an to the second degree. It may, then, be supposed to vanieli and the given equation is reduced to a cubic of the form, 2'°-+-c’=0. Neither of these solutions presents any advantages in practice. Whatever value they possess, must be ascribed to the fact that they are apparently new in their form, and in the mode of investigation. 1822. New- Haven, ee Formula for the Sulphate of Rhubarb. 91 Art. XVI.—Formula aa oe pigeon of the Sulphate Philadelphia, Oct. 29, 1824. To tHe Epriror, Dear Sir, Having’ succeeded in the preparation of sae peete of rhu- barb, which has been administered with success and satis- faction by several of the faculty of this Diy, ] am indu- ced to offer you iny formula for the next oe as it dif- fers somewhat from that given by A. z; should you esteem it worthy you will rently oblige Yours very pepapetully GEO. W. CARPENTER. No. 294 Market-st. Philad. Boil for half an hour 6 Ibs. of coarsely bruised Chinese Rhubard in 6 galls. of water acidulated with two and a half fluid ounces of sulphuric acid, strain the decoction and submit the residue to a second ebullition in a similar quan- tity of acidulated water, strain as before and submit it again to a third ebullition, unite the three decoctions, and add by small portions recently powdered lime, constantly stirring it to facilitate its action on the acid decoction. When the decoction has become slightly alkaline it deposits a red flocculent precipitate which is to be separated by passing it through a linen cloth and dried, after which reduce it to pow- der and digest in three galls. ‘of alcohol at 36° in a water bath for several hours, which dissolves the Rhubarbine, separate this solution from the calcareous precipitate, distill off three fourths of the alcohol, there es remains a strong solution of Rhubarb, to whi ich add as much sulphuric acid as will exactly neutralize it, srupsciae oe slowly to dryness, the residuum will be of a brownish red See in- | termingled with brilliant specks, possessing a pungent styp- tic nt: soluble in water, and its odour that of the native b. This preparation is a concentrated form of the active principle of that valuable cathartic, separated from the lig- neous and mucous portions, and bears the same relation to ra ae so 92 Mr. Patien’s Air Pump, Gazometer, &c. the crude substance as Quinine does to Peruvian Bark. It ‘is well worthy the attention of Physicians, as the quality of rhubard is so various that the dose is very uncertain. This preparation will be of uniform strength, and may be admin- istered safely to new born infants. he sulphate which I procured from the above has been sold in this city by C. Marshall, Junr. Druggist. Art. XVII.—Mnr. Parren’s Air Pump, Gazometer, and Balance Beam. Newport, R. L Nov. ist. 1824, To rue Epvrror, Dear Sir, The remarks of Prof. Dana upon the Air Pump that you did me the honor to insert in your Journal, ne- cessarily require from me areply. How far it may be possible for two persons, at no inconsi distance apart, and without a knowledge of each others plans to con= struct two instruments so similar in their “ details,” that it shall be difficult to tell the one from the other, is a ques- tion { shall not pretend to decide, but shall content myself with believing with the majority, that such a coincidence though possible is not at all prebable. That the same prin- ciple should at the same time be discovered by two per- sons, is I acknowledge more probable; but to su acquaintance, among whom was my particular friend and classmate Prof. Ruggles of the Columbian College at Washington, and Mr. James Stevens a remarkably intelli- gent and ingenious civil engineer of this place; it was also known to several scientific gentlemen in Providence, one of whom was Prof. D’Wolfe. The succeeding winter was spent in New-York and it was then again shown to ma- ORRIN ® i io S a ae ae ei, o Lene ? the Polytechnic School, by Herschel in the Phil. Tis. 1814, and others who have pursued and still pursue this in- teresting investigation. Similar researches have been carried on by different authors, and under various denom- inations, and Laplace has further generalized these theo- ries in his Calcul des fonctions générailces, exhibited in vol. 8. of the Journal of the Polytechnic School, and in his 102 Professor Wallace in Reply to the Remarks of B. analytique “e probabilités, 1814. These theories,as is "well Ped are applied with singular success in the most abstruse physical researches, whilst in the works of — wpretrges e scarcely a word, relative to them, ngiven. Lately, however, in the Phil. ‘Trans. and paedhe few other works of less note, several have distinguish- ed themselves in these investigations. In calling the at- tention of the American reader to those important — ries, it is to these works, and also to La Croix’s work o the Differential and Integral Calculus, 2d. Ed. stiniculeddy the 3d. vol. published in 1819, that I would refer —— information on these subjects, and not to the des Eléméns @ orp however useful as a wihel nye To those who take a pleasure in proceeding from the most elementary principles to the most remote conclusions,” it ss be highly interesting to discover the different ways n which the same truths may be established, and to pur- sue those methods, which from the most ee principles d to to the most general results. e ations, it is eee e merits age a all» nents in the modern analysis principally depend on the developement and application of series. Hence Lagrange gives Fermat the honour of first exhibiting the germ of the new Calculus (Calcul des fone- tions p. 325.) whilst Laplace gives almost the whole merit to Wallis. In his Théorie analytique des probabilités (2d. Ed. 1814,) one of the most profound and elegant analyti- cal performances in existence, speaking, in the preface to this work, of the 4rithmetic of Infinities of Wallis, he says, at itis “ I’ un des ouvrages qui ont le plus contribué au progrés de I’ analyse, et ou /’ on trouve le Germe de la théorie des intégrales définies, ? une des bases de ce nou- veau calcul des probabilités.” Wallis published his Arith- metica Infinitorum in 1657. (He was born in 1616, ninety- ann ab before Euler existed.) Laplace gives his re- ble theorem in p. 465. of the additions to his Theory of Probabilities, where he shews how nearly it is connect- ed with the modern calculus, particularly the theory of ee RR seep em red RA 929 Professor Wallace in Reply to the Remarks of B. 103 a integrals, so much cultivated at present. Tn np. ducted them to their discoveries. In writing to venue Wallis advises him not to frosted: them, and not to destroy the Bridge after passing the Rive Those however who have sseniped these germs and caused them to bring forth such abundant fruit, have ex- hibited no less genius, noris their merit in any “degree i in- ferior. They overcame the obstacles which prevented their predecessors from advancing. They Bae made new and extensive inroads into science They no longer con- fined it to the earth, they extended it to the ii ; and every phenomenon observed in the unive rse, was submit- ted to the power of their calculus, and its particular cause, and the laws which govern it distinctly pointed out. So that while nature is interrogated by observations and ex- periments, the language in which she now seems most dis- tinctly to answer us, is that of the Modern Analysis. ese remarks coming so late after Mr. B’s. have been in eee ton. must lose much, if mex the whole of their interest. I could not however have fo1 er, as, from some cause or another, eeevely a week or two past, that the subscribers here received both the num- bers of the Journal, in which my communication and Mr. Be remarks are inserted. This being the case, I hope, r. Editor, you willdo me the justice to lose no time in publishing the above. J. WALLACE, Ng 104 On the Acceleration of Water WA, Art. XIX.— On the ee iicitapaeai of the ‘edtion of Water Wheels during then night and i in winter. 1. Extract of a letter from Tuomas Krspatt, Jn. to the = Editor. New-Lebanon, Sept. 28, 1824. “ Dear Sin, | Iv compliance with a wish Peiiteaict ina vedi if the last Journal, respecting the different velocity of water mills by day ‘and by night, I would observe that the fact is well known to those who are conversant with water works. It is: more sensibly discovered in the spinning of cotton, than in most other kinds of business, as it is the general practice to run the machinery as fast as it can be well at- _ tended, and it becomes necessary to lower the gate and let on les s water in the evening than in the day time; the the hum of the mill is very sensible t 8 oe iti is the case, in aft temperatures and all some years since J have been in a situa- ea rvations, and cannot probably be ed ‘facts which were observed at the time. When noticed the fact in question, I enquired of the olds mill workmen as to the cause, and was told that water was heavier in the night than in the day time, and supposed at the time that it was occasioned by a difference in the at- mospheric pressure, and pushed my inquiries no farther. The mills in which the different velocities were noticed were of the horizontal or tub wheel construction. I do not recollect to have noticed it in a mill where a breast wheel was used, although { had opportunity to observe the e latter, but probably the fact being familiar, had ceased to excite my attention, and was supposed to be the same as in the case of horizontal wheels. As it respects ‘‘ mills movin more slowly as the water approaches the freezing point,” will relate a circumstance which I never knew or heard of at any othertime. It occured at a mill owned by Messrs. ‘Trowbridge, Merrifield, & Wilson, in Worcester, Mass., (nen in the Night and in Winter. 105 dithoagi not exactly in point, observation not being season- ably made. The wheel was a tub wheel; it was in the winter season subsequent to a thaw which had cleared the stream of ice; the wind for some time previous had blown very hard from the northwest, which at-that place was opposite the course of the stream, (which was small, barely sufficient for a grist mill,) but had now subsided. The mill was started as usual, in the morning; after raping an hour or more, it was observed to slacken; the gate was raised, but soon the wheel went slower than before ; more water was let on, but with little effect: examination was then made for the cause, when it was found that the water was become thick with frost, having a large portion formed into crys- tals, in some measure resembling snow and water. It became so thick in a few minutes. that it had not suflicient fluidity to turn the wheel at all, and almost ceased to flow in the stream which had in consequence risen considera- bly. his was about 9 o’clock A. M. ; between 10 and 11 the stream became clear, the frost having lsappented. It was probably occasioned, in part at east, old wind blowing with so much force against the bee. and mixing with the water that the whole stream was reduced to the freezing temperatate and congelation pened every part equally. robably you will have communications from persons hk have made observations more recently apd with more attention. Should any thing, however, related above be considered of use, you are at liberty to dispose of this letter as you may think proper,—being always willing, however eebly, to contribute whatever is in my power to the ad- vancement of science. 2. Extract of an anonymovs letter io the Editor.* author remarks respecting the supposed accele- The ‘ration of water-wheels working during the night and in winter: “ This fact is well known to most persons, who have been connected with mills, and I remember many years ago, being asked to give an explanation of the cause. * Post marked Beauvort, S. Carolina, October 12, 1824. Ver. IX.—No. 1. 14 106 On the Acceleration of Water Wheels. The workmen themselves attributed it to the moon ; prob- ably from its supposed influence upon the ebbing and flowing of the tides. But, as I conceive that it exerts but little upon the ocean, still less upon lakes, and none whatever upon a mill pond, I therefore suggested that it is - owing to the pressure of the atmosphere during the night ; the earth and circumambient air being rarified durin the day, the colder air above upon th going down of the sun condenses, and presses towards the earth. During the winter season the same result takes am in warm weather followed by cold, or the water is more directly acted upon by a body of ice upon its surface.* The assertion should there- pies have been made with a little modification, not that every night a mill (water-wheel) goes faster than it does during the day, but upon such nights, and during such monet as to peace the additional pressure of the at- mospae - 3. a ao a letter from _the State of Maine, Dec. 6 1824. “i live j in "the vicinity of numerous saw-mills, a ais is the universal belief, that these mills move Sia in the here night than in the day, and that more work may be effected in a given time, during the former period. More than a year since I was Jed to perform some experiments, the re- sult of which is. that they do not move more rapidly in the night than in the. day- I had almost forgotten the subject until it was recently brought to view by. some remarks on the subject which I saw in the papers.” “Now it is always considered a mark of prudence to ascertain the existence of a fact, before we attempt to ex- plain it; and I am not cettain but my attempts to ascertain the existe nce of the supposed fact as to s Id be considered equally idle and unprofitable.” *This may be exemplified in a familias way by placing the mouth to the bung-hole of a barrel partly filled with liquid, in the head of which a hole se nay bored for a tap :—by blewing intothe barrel the jet of water is o the Editor, a in. 2a Fn Bengercein kes ae Eee New _— is determining the Longitude. 107 Ant. XIX. _Wolsed of * The New Method of Determining the Longitude by the Culmination of the Moon a Ban he a Paper read before the Astronomical So- of Lond To which are now added an Appendix, — pe a List of Stars, pes to the 28 fort the Psa 1825. By Francis Baily, Esq. F. R. S. oo Quarto, pp. 48. ghendon, 1824,—By . Bowie HitcHcock. Tuer is probably no science whose practical Seplice: tion (to say nothing of the theory) has in it so much of grandeur and sublime interest asastronomy. The intense delight Sem by the real amateur, as he sees through sco e first contact of the limbs of the sun and moon ina oAnag eclipse, or of a star and the ae in an occultation, or of a planet and the sun ina transil, is of such a sui generis character, that, though not unfreque it is not casily described. And when the cale culator sits down to apply the principles of spherics to his observa- tions, he Biiais mind pleasantly sustained through the most. laborious processes, by a peculiar enthusiasm, that makes forget the dryness of the mere arithmetic that is concerned. aa bs importance a the subject and the munificent re- war rds offe of the European governments, have , ni “A ony much to sharpen the ingenuity and ea ‘geal of astronomers in that particular apphicames of their science that relates to finding the longitude of places on the earth. And their success in overcoming the formidable difficulties that encumbered the subject, in perfecting the modes of observation, and simplifying the calculations, has long ago excited the highest admiration and the grati- tude of seamen.* Fora bite years past, however, we be- lieve the subject has not excited so much interest. We must certainly form this cuaehniog if we judge from the * In this connexion We are happy to refer = the eg gg pte = emi- pedir st successful exertions of our countrym We re bold tonssert't that no man living has ten € 30 much as he ving the safety me convenience of the navigator. And he has done sh fo’ mers by his translations and ents of the & Mee But that work is suffered to lie want of { astrono- e “ Mecanique ‘Colones bp manuscript, in this bees country, for 108 New Method of determining the Longitude. shameful manner in which the English Nautical Almanac has been conducted. he determination of the longitude by the culmination of the moon and stars, which is the subject of Mr. Baily’s paper, cannot be employed at sea, because it requires a transit instrument fixed in the meridian. This gentleman does not pretend to be the inventor of this method, since it as.been known nearly two centuries: But he proposes a more advantageous mode of making the observation, anda new formula for deducing therefrom the longitude. And inits presentimproved form, he regards this method as more likely than any yet proposed, to lead to accurate and satisfactory results: and after an examination of the sub- ject, we are inclined to the same opinion. But we willlet him speak for himself. * The meridional transits of the moon, agreeably to the method about to be described in this paper, are free from all these objections: the observations are made with the greatest facility ; the opportunities are of frequent occur- rence ; the absolute time is of no material consequence ; the computations are by no means intricate or troublesome ; and the results are (I believe) more to be relied on than by any of the preceding methods ;” (by chronometers, eclipses of Jupiter’s satellites, of the sun, and of the moon, and occultations, of which the author had been treating.) p- 3. “* The newly proposed method consists in merely observ- ing, with a transit instrument, the differences of right as- cension between the border of the moon, and certain fixed ' stars previously agreed on; restricting the observations to such stars as differ very little from the moon in declination. It is evident that this method is quite independent of the er- rors of the lunar tables, except so faras the horary motion of the moon (in right ascension) is concerned, and which in the present case, may be depended on with sufficient confidence : that it does not involve any question as to the compression of the earth: that a knowledge of the correct position of the star is not at all required : and finally, that an error of several seconds, in the state of the clock, is of New Method of determining the Longitude. 109 adopted, at one and the same time, by persons in every habitable part of the globe ; forit is applicable to situa- tions distant 180° in longitude from each other, and even beyond that distance, as I shall show by one of the subse- quent examples. 5. The longitude of a place may be deduced from obser- vations made on the culmination of the moon and stars by’ calculations depending on the tables of the moon and stars ; in which case, the correct time must me erred and the errors of the tables are involved. r. Baily, in this paper, speaks only of corresponding peeve, ; that is, observations of the same bodies made at different obser- vatories. In this case “‘ it will not be of any consequence if the clock should not ezactly show the correct time; as it isthe difference only, between two given moments, that is required. All thatis necessary therefore is, that the clock should go correctly during the short interval of the tran- sits. In fact, the whole method is a method of diffe only; and itis to these ea ei: that the principal at- tention must be paid.’ ethod of obtaining the longitude was first success- fully, sd not till recently, practised, by M. Nicolai, a distinguished astronomer at Manheim. He s subsequently ublished a list of stars that can be favourably situated or corresponding observations of this kind, and invited the co-operation of other observers. These stars he calls moon-culminating = sles wish he had chosen a better term. The result of this proposal was, that successive lists of such stars were published, “ and already, at several observatories, the observers have been to deter- mine their difference of meridian, ina few months, with as much accuracy as they formerly could in as many years. It might, indeed, at first sight, appear that the same re- sults would be obtained, if we merely observed the correct time of the moon’s transit, without any reference to the contiguous stars: but a moment’s re ion will convince us that, by referring the moon’s border to the adjacent stars, we Obviate all errors net only of the clock, but also in the position of the transit instrument.” —p The last circumstance mentioned above, relating to the position of the transit instrument, will be regarded as a important advantage possessed by Tap taethod ; especially 110 =New Method of determining the Longitude. in this country, where we have no observatories, and so ew meridians fixed with much accuracy. The author of this paper, after several pages of prelimi- final equation. v=[(-rti(S bee “ay x [srbexe = : In this formula, 2 denotes the correct pee! of the meridians of the two observatories; ¢ the difference be- tween the time of the transit of the moon’s limb and the star, at the most westerly observatory; + the same differ- ence at the eastern observatory ; + the moon’s true semi- diameter, as seen from the earth, for the apparent time at her culmination at the western observatory ; d the moon’s declination at the same time; ¢ and 94, the same quantities respectively, as the two last, for the time of the moon’s culmination at the eastern observatory ; ; ¢ the true value of a solar day in sidereal time, or 24 hours added to the sun’s daily increase in right ascension; c the apparent time of the moon’s culmination at the western observatory, reduced to the meridian for which the ephemeris made use of was computed ; @ the moon’s true right ascension at that time; A and 6, the same quantities, respectively, as the two last, as shown by the observation at the eastern observatory. Where the ambiguous symbol + occurs in the preceding equation, the upper sign is to be taken when the first or western border of the moon is observed ; and the lower sign, when the second or eastern border is observed. But in all cases where the difference of meridians is not * A few years since, we observed several meridian transits of the moon and stars, with a good theod ied (in the dene rth of facilities among us for astronomical} observations, ) a of deducing the longitude fro: om § stich observations wit th such instru- as, pending on equal altitudes for , and on the tables for the elements, instead of corre sponding observations. But want of time and health has prevented the execution of the plan ; and since reading the paper of Mr. Bail y, and coat the much better mode of corr €spo observations likely to tobe ely practised we are y petin- ed to dismiss our project New Method of determining the Longitude. 111 very great, the correction resulting from that part of the formula immediately connected with these signs, (depend- ing on the variation in the semi-diameter and declination of the moon,) may be neglected, and the equation becomes simply w==(t—t) x [ ave &e. The values of ¢ and + are obtained by observation, and those of ¢ and h might easily be deduced therefrom, if ob- servers record their observations entire ; since, the sidereal time of the transits being given, we might easily compute the apparent time to the nearest minute, which will be quite sufficient. The values of +, g, d, and 4, may be ta- ken from an ephemeris, and computed for the apparent times of observation as shown at the meridian for which such ephemeris is calculated ; and the values of a and 6 may be obtained from the same ephemeris by second dif- ferences. See p.9. ‘| have already remarked that these formule are adapt- ed to sidereal time only: if therefore the clock, by which any of the comparisons are made, should be adjusted to mean solar time, the observed interval, denoted by ¢ or’, must be multiplied by 1,0027379.” p. 10. first border of the moon and three stars were observed March 3d, 1822, by M. Nicolai at Manheim, and by M. Struve at Dorpat, as follows : 1822, Stars. Manheim. Dorpat. Difference. = 7 =e —F)= March 3.309 Mayer-+13” 18%, 30-+-10" 17', 56-+3" 0*,74 2Gemin.+8 9,43+ 5 8, 55+3 0,88 w Cancri—9 41,11-—12 41, 894+3 0,78 Mean +3 0,80 The times of the moon’s culmination are not here given, and it becomes necessary to take them from an ephemeris. By the Con. des Tems it appears, that the moon passed the meridian of Paris March 3d, at 8h. 51m. apparent time ; and as the estimated longitude of Manheim is 0h. 24m. 315. thod of Sage the Longitude. at 1h. 37m. 28s. east, the Paris fenton at those places will be ie 1822. Manheim. Dorpat. ee March 3. c= hte te hye ay 3" 26" ie eee The true declination and Rape of the moon at the same times were as below t Manheim. At Dorpat. March 3. ie 44", 4 e=15' 44", 8 = 23° 51’ 42” Oan24* 2S 18" i g Consequently the value of ;'; ( ied ae ) willbe 0°,123 Hence t—t=3" 0°, 80=180*, 80—0*, 123= 180, 677=the true difference of the right ascension of the moon’s centre for the two moments of observation. The true right ascension of the moon for the times of her culmination at the two observatories, (reduced to the meridian of Paris,) must be computed by means of second differences from the Con. des Tems, and we shall have the values ofa and 6. | Their difference will show the increase in the true right ascension of the moon, or her true mo- tion in the interval denoted by c—h. The results are as follows : March 3. c=8* 26" a=116° 49’ 24”, 4==moon’s A. R. h=7 10 b=116 4 7, 6 (c—h)=1 16 a~-b= 45 16, 8=moon’s — in- crease in A. R,. e—h aah 167845 The length of the true solar day, or gg value of ¢, March 1822, was 24" 3" 43°, 4= 86623° ence the value of x, or the true isience of the meri- dians of Manheim and Dorpat, will be 86623,4 5760 e=180, 677 ( X 1,67845—1 jer 12” 59°, 46 “A=(I—) +15 (aa RS a aplas “y sis e 2 - ve on. des ' for ily had nearly Completed his. Ki lai, whom we have already od of so Iving the problem, which nd convenient and is capable of con- accura acy. Let cand h denote the same quantities as before : let Rose s)ot the former formula : let x denote the assumed difference of meridians and e the error ; so that we may always have c<=x+e. Then will the apparent time of the moon’s culmination at the west- ern observatory, be eh A )eO nearly. = Resting them as equal: and let a and 6 denote, as be- fore, the true right ascension of the moon at those assum- ea periods respectively. Then if 15A =(a—8,) the value of x lias been assumed correctly, and the problem is solved. But if not, call the difference, in this last equation, d; Weetee we Bball have fs, 15A =(a—b)+d y d=154—(a-6) « Bat di evident! tly a function of the moon’s difference in right ascension ; and the time (e) in which it is describ- ed (or the variation which it will cause in the value of x) will depend on the relative motion of the moon, in right ascension, ina true solar hour. Now, since e is generally a very small quantity, the relative motion of the moon, du- ring that short interval, may be deduced with sufficient accuracy from the moon’s motion in 24 hours as shown by an ephemeris. Whence the value of e may be expressed by the following equation : gna = xa m where ¢ may be — in all cases, equal to 244 4”, Von. 1X —No. 15 114. New Method of determining the Longitude. “For the convenience of those who pursue these in- quiries, I have computed the following table of the value af.5- depending on the true motion of the moon in right as- mM cension in degrees during 24 solar hours, as shown by an ephemeris: which being multiplied by d, will give the value of ¢ required.”——p. 20. Argument=m=Moon’s motion in A. R, ina true solar day. Argument. - | Difference. | Argument. eA Difference. 1 m 10° 0’ | 2.4066| 13° O’ | 1.8513 10 30 |2.2921/ “1072 | 13 30 |1.7827| “pega ri «60 | 2.4879 “0951 14. DO 11.4130 0592 11 30 | 2.0928 (0873 14 30 | 1.6598 0554 12 0 |2.0055) ° 02 15 0 41.6044 “0517 12 30 | 1.9253 0740 1§.30 | 1.5427 “0485 13:0: )38543K.- 16 0 | 1.5042 zs M. Nicolai hints that the formula proposed by Mr. Bai- ly is ing more than this indirect method in another dress, and suggests that it is to be used with caution in cer- i ses. We think the latter gentlemanhas shown that M. Nicolai is mistaken; but as we have not seen the pa- per of M. Nicolai referred to, we shall not attempt to take up the subject. Nor can we for want of room notice sev- eral other things in Mr. Baily’s paper that are of impor- tance in relation to the subject under consideration ; partic- ularly his remarks in regard to those observations made with a transit instrument containing a number of cross wires. We have already extended this notice to a great- er length than we should have done, had we not felt much interested in the paper, and very desirous to have the method it proposes immediately adopted by observers in this country, where so few places have their longitude well settled. Jt was originally read before the Astronomical Society of London and will appear in the second volume o their memoirs ; and Mr. Baily has obtained ‘‘ an impres- sion of some separate copies, with an intention of distribu- ting them in various parts of the world, in order to procure a fair and general trial of the method therein proposed.” ee Teer a ee ee ’ New Method of determining the Longitude. 115 He speaks of “ the rising greatness of the American States, _ both in the northern and southern hemispheres, as having led to the establishment of universities in various parts of that immense continent.” hat a severe though silent reproach upon that ‘ rising greatness’ is it, that he could not add ‘ the establishment o observatories’ also! We we shall pa a short f catslogus from the list of moon-cul- _ minating stars of 18 quarto pages, which he has annexed — to his paper, for the year 1825. The es 59 i ag of this catalogue is, to enable observers to find those stars most favourably situated for observation, which will also most probably be observed by astronomers in Europe.— This list is mostly taken from a German periodical publi- cation, entitled Astronomische Nacrrichten, conducted by Professor Schumacher, who has been very active in pro- a this method of finding the longitude, and of whose r. Baily speaks in terms of strong approbation.— The following list contains at least one star for every day in the year favourable for observation. ‘The numbers pre- fixed denote the numbers in Flamstead’s Catalogue, unless enclosed in a parenthesis, in which case, they refer to Piazzi’s Catalogue. i 16 A List of Moon culminating Stars for the year 1825. 1825. |, Stars. |Mag.| AR. Dec. Jan, 1 ” Tauri 3} 3° 37” 5’ |+-23° 33/ 4 Tauri 4. 6.27 41 21.2 3 9 Gemin. 7-4-6 @ 18} 93-47 4 ¢ Gemin. 31633 91 25 18 5 6 Cancri 5.6.18 21 36 18 41 6 0 Leonis 4; 9 31 48] 10 41 26) 101 Piscium 6| 1 26 26 13 46 27; yArietis |4.5| 1°43 57} 18 26 28 & Arietis &} 249 13) 20.38 29| +? Tauri 5.1.4 $F: 45) 2% Sty 30! 132 5/5 38 16 24 30 So Gl yw Gemin. 3] 6412 23) 22 36 Feb. 1 & Gemin 416 53 43} 20 49 2 | oa? Cancri 5|-8 48 55| 12 32 z * Leonis | 4.5} 9 50 58 8 53 4 8 5'!10 51 31 4 33 96| 108 Tauri 7 185: 466 22 *5 27| +1 Gemin 5| 5 53 29} 23 16 23. ye 3.) 6 12 23 22 36 March 1 6Cancri | 4.5| 8 34 44] 18 48 2 | oLeonis 4\9 31 48! 10 41 3 4.5°)9 50.58 $53 4 — 5111 7 47) —2 42 5 | 22 Virginis | 5.6 |12 24 45 8 29 6 a Virginis}; 1/13 16 O} 10.15 28| ¢Gemin. | 4] 6 53 43|+20 49 29° a! Cancri 6; 8 46 53} 1217 30| 11 Sextant 6/9 48 51 9 9 31| 23 6/10 12 0 3 10 April 1 | 61 Leonis | 5.6 |10 52 54| —1 33 2{| xVirginis| 6 {12 30 13 7.2 s 3 6113 2 46 15 15 27| 10 Leonis | 5.6; 9 27 58] +7 37 48 ———. | 5.6 |10 25 40 7 51 Qf vo—————— | 4.5111 27 59 O..53 29] 14 Virginis | 6.7 112 10 21| —7 56 30| a Virginis!| 1/13 16 O; 1015 May 1 | 69——— | 5.6|13 18 9} 15 4 (300) 7.8:j13 57.44]. 15, 23 li ate 17 A List of Moon-culminating Stars for the year 1825. 1825. | Stars. |Mag.| AR. | Dec. May 2 * Librae | 6.7 |15* 3" 23*}—18° 59! 3 | 46 Scorpii 3715-50 - 1) 2e-4 971 J Virginis | 5.6 (12 45 16] 8 35 1413 16 Of 10 15 28 i— 5}13 17 29) 11 48 29 1(22) 6114 5 47) 17 23 30 i? Librae 6.7:145- 8. 23... 18 59 31 6 Scorpii- S500 TE 227 éOphiu. | 3.4]17 11 18! 24 49 June 1 | 26 6 |16 49 28) 24 43 2 | 31 Sagitt. 6118 41 39; 22 8 26 6 Scorpii. S118:60 tt. 22 7 V2Q7 , 2}15 55 18} 19 19 2g | 4Ophiu. | 3.4 |17 11 19} 24 49 29 | v! Sagitt. 5 {18 43 38] 22 58 30 | e! — | 5.619 30 43] 16 41 July 1 | @Capric. | 3.4 |20 11 12; 15 20 25 | @QOphiu. | 3.4 [17 11 18] 24 49 26) d—-——— 517 33° O} 21 35 27 | « Sagitt. 4.5 (18 59 23} 21 18 2 e 5 119-32 Sz 16 $2 29 | B Capric. | 3.4 420.11 12} 15 20 30 | 19 Aquarii 6 |21 15 48] 10 30 ' 31 | 30 — 5.6'|21 54 5 7 Say Aug. 22 | §QOphiu. | 3.4 [17 11 19! 24 491° 23 | mw’ Sagitt. | 3.218 319] 21 6 T 4.518 59 23} 21 18 24 | 57 ————_; 5.6 19 42 4; 19 29 25 | 8? Caprie. | 3.4 20 11 12} 15.20 26 | € Aquarii | 4.5 |20 38 14] 10 8 27 | 30-———_- ||: 5.6 (21 54 5 7 22 98 | ¥ 4 {22 12 39} 216 29| yPiscium | 4.5 (23 8 8| +2 20 «- 2530 145 6; 016 43} 6 43 Sept. 20 | 9 Sayitt. 4.5 |18 54 14/—21 59 21 | SCapric. | 3.4 }20 11 13} 15 20 22 | p Aguarii | 4.5 |20 43 15 9 38 23 8 4,522: -7 38 8 39 24 | 51 6|22 15 2 5 43 118 A List of Moon-culminuting Stars for the year 1825. 1825. | * Stars. |Mag| AR. | Dec. Sept. 25| 2 Piscium | 5 |23*33" 9*| +0°49 BO! 58 nace 5! 0 39 38 6 38 27; 75 -———_ | 6.7 | 0 57 24] 12 0 28 4] 122 10) 14 27 29| 6 Arietis 4].3.-} 40Jo019 4 Oct. 18) e? Sagitt. 5/19 11 41;—16 32 : 19] # Capric. 5 |20 17 20, 18 47 20| 30 Aquarii | 5.6 |21 54 6| 7 22 21 6 )22 15 2 § 43 22| ¥ Piscium | 4.5/23 8 8! +2 20 2 4.5 123 30 59, 4 41 7 a 5!.0 39 39] 6 38 9b 4 ee 4| 1 22 11);-. 14 27 26; y Arietis. | 4.5; 1.43 59) 18 26 27 513 4 -54| 20 24 28)» Tauri 3 |.3.37. 8} <23 33 Noy. 16} ¢ Aquarii. | 4.5 |20 38 14,—10. & 17| 14 ————._ | 7.8 |22 3 32) 7 20 18} y—— , 4|22 12 39}. 2 16}. 19} APiscium | 5/23 33 9} +0 49 20| .6 51} 0 39 39} 6 38 21} y Pegasi | 2.3] 0 417} 14 13 22; 4 Arietis 6.7. }.4°38 45}--16 5& 23} y——— | 4.5; 144 0} 18 26 : 24; » Tauri 3) 3°37 9 28.93 | 25, «2 ——— | 5/4 31 48] 92 37 26} ¢————_ || 3.4! 5 27 14) 21 2 Dec. 15] 30 Aquarit | 5.6/21 54 5; —7 22 16]... % Pisei 5 |23 33 9} +0 49 17} 6 5)23 19 8 5 25 18) 62 6! 0 39 16, 6 21 19! 4 4| 122 11| 14 27 20) & Arietis 51 2°39 35| 16 44 e 21 6+2 48 7| 19 58 a 22; » Tauri $1:3°37 9| 23 33 23/105 6} 4 57 33) 21 20 24| »Gemin. | 4.5! 6 4 23! 22 23 25 34.6.83 18}< 26 18 pI ee Notices of the Florida, &. 119. MISCELLANEOUS. EE Art. XXI.—Nolices of the agriculture, scenery, geology, and one vegetable and mineral pregucent of the Floridas, and of the Indian Tribes, made during a recent tour* in these countries ; by James Pierce, Esq. Tue territory of Florida, a recent and valuable acquisi- tion to the United States, is situated at the southern ex- tremity of the Continent, between the 25th and 31st de- grees of north latitude, and contains about forty thousand square miles. Having been little explored, it has gene- rally been ooupies as wholly alluvial—a land of morasses and sands; but from recent personal examination, and in- formation "derived from intelligent gentlemen who have passed through different sections of the country, it is ascer- tained that extensive, elevated, and interesting secondary districts, presenting peculiar features, are located in the interior. * The folluwing sketch of Mr. Pierce’s tour is contained in a letter to the Editor, dated Litchfield, Nov. 19, 1824 * T was about three months in Florida. during which time I made an exten sive excursion into the interior, and examined a considerable section of the sea-bo At the weekly mee of the Agricultural Soci rida, I ble to obtain much correct information e civil and military of- ficers, and pavers of the oar gird $ ood for my notices on the geology and mineralogy of the region I ha nd chiefly on my own observations. Returning, I ey ed from Ieland is ra ard visiting the principal towns a plantations, and thus obtaining much in formation res og soils, crops, es of cultiva ons &c. [rode up the St.Mary’s forty Benn api a week antly occupie ag vannah and Augusta, From A the hilly counties of Georgia, and slowly travelled in July through ‘the western counties of South and No; ‘arolina, over a primitive % At Cartersville on the James river, I left the southern stage, a passed by Monticello and the new University, ae Blue Ridge. Crossing ide i tern ranges of the Alleghanies, I visited the hot and ae minera 1 spr res ne natural bridge, and Wier’s and Pennsylvania a al 120 Notices of the Floridas, &c. The sea board and southern portion of East Florida is mostly alluvial. The north-eastern part of the peninsula, between the head waters of St. Mary’s, the river St. John, the ocean, varies little in surface, soil, and vegetable productions, from the coast of Georgia, and is generally ver Cave e swamps and hammocks,* or dense groves, con- taining a variety of trees of annual and perennial verdure, are insulated in this generally pine barren region, ranging parallel with the ocean, or bordering on streams. The surface soil of the pine barrens and branch swamps, is mostly fine sand, blended with vegetable mould in propor- tion to the moisture of the ground, often resting = o the rainy months of June, July, and August, when crops are on the ground, the swamps are filled with water which falls in torrents, and slowly ciate ie from the flat surface of or ara daetveyed bf fires proceeding from accident, or annually kindled to foster grass, which in spring clothes the ground with a luxuriant carpet often presenting, as far as vision can extend, beau tiful green lawns and prairies tesembling young wheat fields. Fires are most intense on ground much of the year wet, and producing a rank vegetation; many trees are destroyed, they are swept from large tracts, forming prairies, or left single, and in park-like groups. Except on its — the peninsula of St. Toi: is an unsettled wilderness hammock: is in general use in Florida, as descriptive of a pan or forest, vs a diversity of trees, usually live oak, magno- babe gpa aple, &c. in prise ae to open woods of pine bar- aoe, grea 7 per ocsicating at the sou It is a term used ingall their news; wspepers and i descriptions in Saas and was introduced into the late ee « . a . , r is regarded as the ee ee me some these thickets are divided into wet and d | mere ——— Notices of the Floridas, &c. 121 front the aa marl an an ~~ shells often occur. If this wet and extensive alluvial tract could be drained, it would afford very valuable sugar-lands. The upper part of the basin is divested of trees, presenting a soft, grassy savanna, apparently unbounded. Lake George, an expansion of the St. John’s, is near fifty miles in circumference, but shallow. It is environed by pine lands, swamps, and a few good hammocks. A considerable stream that empties into the lake on its western side, called the silver spring, is bordered to its source by limestone ledges and banks; this large body of water, with great force, issues from the earth, through cal- careous rocks and proceeding probably from unfathomed depths, it may be the outlet of some interior lake, passing through limestone caves. Limestone, in situ, abounds on an island situated in the northern part of the lake, and borders on, or forms the bed of the St. Johns, in many places, between Lake George and Bonavista. he river is navigable to Lake George, by any vessel water at high tide. The St. Johns pursues a northern course to Jacksonville, with a lake-like expanse of waters, eing in several places four. miles in width; the water shallow, except in a comparatively narrow channel, the tide rising butone foot. For the remainder of its distance, twenty miles to the sea, the river takes an eastern direc- tion, contracted to the width of a mile, the tide rising six eet. elow Bonavista which is situated about one handrea miles from the river’s mouth, there is but little good land adjacent to the river. The surface is occupied by pine barrens, swamps, and narrow hammocks with “5 sandy soil, but the ranges for cattle are in parts excellen Under the Spanish government, eae plantations appeared on the river for seventy miles, but many were Vor. 1X.—No. I, 16 that can pass its ocean bar, which has fourteen feet of * 122 Notices of the Floridas, &c. abandoned during the patriot war, and have not been re- sumed since the change of flags. The river St. Marys, which is the northern boundary of the alluvial pine clad region of East Florida, is navigable seventy miles by vessels drawing twelve feet water—~a canal connecting this river with a stream of Florida that emp- ties into the Gulf of Mexico is contemplated, the distance between their boatable head waters being about twenty miles. Forty miles from the sea, I remarked ledges of argil- laceous rock on the bank of a stream near the St. Ma- rys, and they occur in the bed of that river—this stone is fine-grained, hard, white, and with strata in horizontal po- sition. At this distance from the coast, the river winds among clay hills, thinly coated with sand; they extend twenty miles up the stream ; the clay soil is productive, and high- ly coloured by oxide of iron. The Atlantic shore of Florida is bordered by islands and peninsulas, generally separated from the continent by nar- row navigable channels. Amelia, Talbot, and Fort George islands, situated between the St. Marys and St. Johns, re- semble the isles of Georgia. Sand greatly predominates in the soil, and the uncleared surface is occupied by thinly seattered pines, and live oak thickets. Sea-island cotton is the principal crop; and of this, from 100 to 150 pounds of clean cotton are produced on an acre. Little attention is paid to improving the soil by manure; it is left fallow to recruit. By a dressing of salt grass or rich mud from the ex- tensive marshes adjacent, from 250 to 300 pounds of cotton may annually be produced per acre, at an expense in la- bour of four dollars. The experiment has been successful- ly tried, by Mr. John Couper of St. Simons, one of the most intelligent and respectable planters of Georgia. Cat- tle grazed on the salt meadows of Florida and Georgia are subject to a fatal disease called salt sickness. Mr. Couper has discovered that ashes mixed with food is a certain cure, probably neutralizing an acid. There are large mounds of oyster shells on most of the isiands and adjacent continent, left doubtless by the In- dians. The valves are separated, and not entire as in the diluvial beds of New-Jersey. Extensive oyster beds occur Notices of the Floridas, &c. 123 in all the salt creeks of Florida. I observed at Fort George, mural precipices of soft ferruginous sandstone ele- vated considerably above the waters of an adjacent sal creek; they are composed of sand, sea mud, and oxide o: iron indurated ; similar rocks are formed on other parts of the coast. ' Extensive beds of shell rock, of a peculiar character, oc- cupy the borders of the ocean, in various places from the river St. Johns to Cape Florida. They are composed of unmineralized marine shells, of species common, to our coast, mostly small bivalves, whole and in minute Dison, connected by calcareous cement. I examined this rock on the isle of Anastasia opposite St. Augustine where it ex- tends for miles, rising twenty feet above the sea and of un- known depth. It has been penetrated about thirty feet. In these quarries, horizontal strata of shell rock of sufficient thickness and solidity for good building stone, alternate with narrow parallel beds of larger and mostly unbroken shells, but slightly connected. Hatchets are used in squaring the stone. Lime is made from this material, of a quality infe- rior to ordinary stone lime. The large Spanish fort, and most of the public and pri- vate buildings of St. Augustine, are constructed of this to he rock extends in places into the sea, with su- perincumbent beds of new shells of the same character. Similar shell rock is found on the continent in several _places. © The eastern coast of Florida is lined with high sand-bluffs, surmounted by low entangled thickets composed princi- pally of evergreens; dwarf live oak, small bay and cabbage trees, and myrtle, predominate. The saco palmetto infests the islands and adjacent continent—it has a large body re- cumbent on the ground terminating in tufts of fan-like es. There is but little cultivable land on the isles and pe- ninsulas below the St. Johns. Excepting narrow strips of hammock, the general character of the southern Florida sea-board is pine barren. Graham’s Swamp, one of the largest of the hammocks, extends thirty miles between Matanzie inlet and Mocca, with an average width of a mile ; its rich vegetable soil has a marl basis, and will be valuable if it can be drained. About Mocca, and Indian river, there 124 Notices of the Floridas, &cs is some good land. The nea scattered apodeme of the coast here terminate. Lime stone, in situ, forms the basis of sand hills near Indian rivat, “etd is found at t Cups “Floti¢ da, and at the Florida Keys in extensive beds. Below In- dian river, good land rarely occurs. The Florida coast is said to be eradpuile encroaching oa the ocean; new isles and peninsulas are formed by shells and sand, Papcuiiiilated by the gulf stream, and storms, leaving narrow sounds to the west, that are filled up, and supportvegetation when their communication with the sea is cut off by tempests, which not unfrequently happens. The alternation of sands and narrow marl swamps of recent ori- gin, egg parallel with the sea, gives plausibility to this suggestio he i Sifbrior of Florida, from the head of the St. Johns to the southern extremity of the peninsula, is little known, but is supposed to be mostly, if not entirely, alluvial. The Indians report that there is a succession of grassy wet sa- vannas that extend far south, and within a few miles of the Atlantic, occupying much of the ees alternating with swamps, wet hammocks, and pine barren A section of the great savanna was siidesadt by Col. Gadsden in the service of the United States. He repre- sents it as extending beyond the reach of vision, in one continued prairie, covered with grass and destitute of trees and shrubs with a sandy surface. It is supposed to be near 100 miles in circumference. The southern basins, in the rainy months, eee: large bodies of water that mostly disappear in the winter. Col. Gadsden found thie region about Charlotte river and bay on the eastern side of Florida peninsula, to consist ex- clusively of flat pine barrens, and dry palmetto plains, con- taining shallow ponds, and wet, miry savannas, of recent formation from lakes or the sea. Charlotte river drains ex- tensive bay and cypress swamps, and open savannas of the interior. Its western course is marked by rege ste cab- bage trees, and scrub oak thickets, marine shells in many. places form its ear and its banks present alternate ‘ice of sea sand and shel he existence of a large permanent lake located by maps in the the southern part of the peninsula is doubted. Frosts rarely occur in Florida below the 27th degree of latitude. Rr EE Notices of the Floridas, &c. 125 A rolling tract of comparatively elevated si ok a’ continuation of Georgia and Alabama ridges, passes in an eastern direction, through the centre and pd cae part of West Florida, thence bends to the south-east into East Florida, dividing the waters that fall into the St. Johns and Gulf of Mexico and terminating between the Bay of Espi- ritu Santo and Charlotte harbour, and occupying in Flori- da; an extent of near 400 miles, with an average width of thirty. It presents the most diversified scenery afforded in the southern part of this country, an alternation of hills often of considerable elevation, and good soil, lakes, extensive prairies, savannas and pine plains S. This rolling district is principally of secondary fornia tion. Ledges and beds of limestone and siliceous rock appear in many parts. Numerous sinks, caves and subter- ranean water courses peculiar to calcareous tracts indicate a basis of limestone This rock occurs in sinks or circular tunnel shaped basins, generally very steep, and often of considerable depth, probably occasioned Py a passage opened by water into limestone caves—these sinks are nu- merous and observed in every part of the hilly country of Florida, Some have ie ai walls of limestone, ers have wells of pure water, Near t he Indian village of lar, vertical, and well stata it was filled with pure — Sinks border most of the lakes and savannas, afford outlet for the waters. In a section of the hilly dares of East Florida called “Alachua, I visited a sink filled with water, covering an acre. It is the outlet of a mill-stream that winds through a handsome prairie, and plunging into the rocky basin takes a subterranean course—ledges of calcareous and siliceous shell rock formed the banks of ea pool. Rocks in situ and detached, enclosing in a w siliceous matrix, siliceous petrifactions of marine shells were frequently noticed in this vicinity. This mineral gives fire copiously with steel, and no effervescence is pro- duced by acids applied to a recent fracture, and on minute division it appears entirely siliceous. A siliceous petrifac- tion of madrepores retaining no calcareous particle, but the cells perfect, and the stone white as coral rock in its na- 126 Notices of the Floridas, &c. tive bed, were seen. Bowlders of hornstone and quartz and beds of indurated clay and ferruginous sandstone occur, Compact light coloured limestone, resembling the pre- dominant rock of Cuba, is found on the western border of ‘the great Alachua savanna, forming the nucleus of a con- siderable eminence. The rock embraces serpulites, pecti- nites, and various bjvalves, observed in northern secondary caleareous rocks. Limestone hills occur in other parts of Alachua Limestone beds ‘are noticed at the disappearance and emergence of the great and little Santa Fe. ‘The largest stre as a subterranean course of three miles, the other the shallow waters, aud on the shores of West Florida. Between the hilly range of West Florida and the Gulf of xico, a distance of about twenty miles, a Jow level pine barren district is situated. In East Florida near the gulf shore there is considerable poor land timbered with black oak. Caleareous rocks, in sinks and beds of rivers, were seen by Col. Gadsden in travelling south almost to Charlotte harbour. The banks and bed of the Talachopes river which rises in a large lake about forty miles east of the bay of Espiritu Santo, and discharges into Charlotte har- bour, are in numerous places composed of limestone. Ex- tensive beds of calcareous rock are seen above low water mark on the shores of Tampa bay. The limestone of the south resembles that of Alachua. It is probable that lime- stone is the basis of most of the hilly district of Florida. Hornstone, flint, agate, and chalcedony, occur in the southern part of the secondary district—coral mineralized in chalcedony, and cacholong, is found near Tampa bay. The most elevated hills of the interior of East. Florida are seen near the sources of the Acklewaha, 2 branch o the St. Johns, they have a surface of white sea sand cover- ed wv'h black jack oak, ‘The range south, contains nume- rous lakes of clear water, generally circular and deep, with steep banks, the water cool and stored with fish. Kleva- Notices of the Floridas, &c. 127 ted ridges, on the north, border Hillsborough, Amaxura, and Talachopco rivers, that empty into the gulf of Mexico, and are noticed between Lake George and Alachua. : he lake scenery of Florida presents some peculiar fea- tures and is often beautiful. There is no lake in mountain or valley in any of the states south of New Jersey. The shallow stagnant pools sometimes located in swamps of the alluvial sea board, are not deserving of that name. In the secondary districts of Eastand West Florida lakes and ponds of pure water are very numerous. Several have a circumfer- - ence of near fifty miles—they are usually bordered by rising ground clothed with towering forests of live oak, m i laurel, gum, ash, hickory, and other trees of varied verdures are sometimes diversified by Indian clearings, or by open groves of pine on green lawns. Flocks of geese, ducks, herons, cranes, and various birds are seen fluttering over a wide expanse of clear water. The are replenished with large trout, bass, mullet, sunfish, cat- sh, and eels. Many of these ponds have no apparent out- let, although the water is constantly shifting, being drained by subterranean channels, connected with pools of lesser elevation, or emerging from the source of considerable streams. Orange lake in Alachua, one of the Jargest of these in- land bodies of water, communicates through the Oclawaha with the St. Johns. Between this lake and the St. Johns in the distance of twenty-five miles, I passed within view of thirty lakes and ponds. They are situated in basins sep- arated by high sand hills and ridges that rise gently from the waves, clothed with a green carpet of grass, and deck- ed with flowers. ‘Tall pines are thinly scattered over these smooth lawns, intermixed sometimes on the shores with evergreen groups. No shrubs or underwood detract from the beauty of these views. Many large sinks occur in this vicinity. The savannas and prairies of the interior are grass cov- ered plains, without trees or shrubs, and in the rainy sea- son often partially covered with water, but generally suffi- ciently dry and firm to support cattle. The surface soil of many is sand mixed with black vegetable mould resting on clay. ‘They often contain pools of water, and have elevated hammock borders resembling the lake shores, and some oe Notices of the Floridas, &c. a these basins were probably at a remote alti beds of | . lakes, and have been ‘gradually filled up by clay, sand, and vegetable mould washed from the hills. » * The soil of the pine barrens, situated in the interior is almost uniformly fine sand with a thin — of vegeta- rth, and sufficiently compact for roads. In som aces itrests on clay, but generally ata considgnalll depth. ost of the hammocks of the rolling region are dry, the Gaieeecl sand, blended with various portions of mould id clay, with a sub-soil of compact earth or clay, situated from one and a half to three ‘feet from the surface. On some of the hills, the earth has a limestone basis. The dry hammocks of Florida have less vegetable mould on the surface than the northern forests—this probably arises from the rapid decomposition of vegetable deposites in warm moist climates, and the porous nature of the soil. A large growth of timber, particularly where there is much ash, gum, and magnolia, is regarded as a sign of good land ; but it is sometimes deceptive. lL have found by boring in ap- tly good penned pure sand to the depth of four feet rest ion on a compact basis, to which the roots of trees could penetrate ea find ample support from the vegeta~ ble mould ros water there arrested, but lies too deep for lanters cro It is piobable that most of the hammocks, hickory and _ oak elevations, have a retentive soil sufficiently near the surface to encourage the planter in manuring to form rich. sugar grounds. uch of the good dry pine land having a basis of clay may produce profitable crops of sugar and cotton, if the soil is saclinete by mineral, vegetable, or animal manure-— a dressing of clay, or any compact earth, would be benefi- cial. Good marl is found in many places. Rich mould and grass can often be procured from adjacent savannas or the ground enriched by penning cattle The sugar crop will be of sufficient value to éuthoriaa’ ex- traexpense in manuring. The heavy duty on foreign sugar operates as a bounty on its domestic production. The Big mene near the Indian reservation, containing about cres, from its ae and soil, will support the best sugar solantatisns in Florid : which cattle can be drivenif necessary. Droveso _ Notices of the Floridas, §c. 139 uction of the ordinary crops, wheat, corn, cot- ton,| toes, @ tice, Florida possesses no advantange over the T iaseatick: but it has a superiority for the cultivation of the sugar cane, of orange, olive, and pt trees. In Geor- gia the cane rarely matures except near its southern ex- tremity, and is often destroyed by early ier It is seldom that more than three joints afford good juice. In East Flori- da canes will havea growth of nine and ten months, affording juice mature for erystallization, yielding a third more sugar than the Georgia canes. ‘The rattoon in Florida sur- vives the winter, saving the expense of annual planting. Ine the southern oh of the peninsula, the growth will be un- checked by frost “8 The oranges of Florida are the best brought to the northern market, and the crop more certain than in a high- er latitude. The ora age trees of Georgia and Louisiana have been generally killed to the root within a few years by severe frosts, an effect unknown in Florida.. There are trees in St. Augustine upwards of a century old, and date- trees sixty—likewise olive-trees mature in size and very oat te The fig-tree yields successive crops in the ummer without blossoming. ‘The fruit may be profita- bly dr ied. The palma christa is now considerably culti- vated. Coffee slintacdns will not succeed in the territo- ries, as the slightest ed destroys the ried Ae no part of Florida is exempt for many years from fro For grazing, the clienaté of East Florida j is s preferable to that of Georgia, Alabama, or Mississippi. In these states much stock is lost from a scanty supply of nourishment in winter. In East Florida there is rarely a deficiency from the severity of frosts. In the southern part of the peninsula ere is perpetual verdure, and there are great ier: to orses can be supported through the year at a trifling ex- pense on the spontaneous productof the savannas, prairies, and extensive low pine lands, that are well watered in the hot months. The grasses of the wet sandy lands and of the prairies are generally fine and preferred by native horses and cattle to other food. In March I observed cattle, fed on the Alachua savanna, sufficiently fat for any market. Southern mules are more valuable than northern, and c be advantageously raised in Florida. The native horses Vou. 1X.—No. 1 17 130. Notices of the Floridas, &c. are a small, breed, but strong and active—the cattle of the interior are of a good size and form. It is expected that a pene! life will be adopted by many and found prof- The dry hammocks of Florida contain a variety of trees. { noticed magnolia grandiflora, ash, hickory, black and sweet gum, red and white maple, hackberry, iron wood, umbrella tree, European holly, live oak, chestnut oak, red and black oak, Spanish oak, post oak, gray oak, overcup oak, and scarlet oak, sassafras, and cabbage tree. On the dry sand hills, pine, scrub oak, black jack oak. Open groves of large black oak, hickory, and yellow pine, are located on hills of a good soil in various parts of the rolling district of the interior; many are noticed south of Alachua. In swamps are found cypress, red maple, swamp, white and chestnut oak, white cedar, loblolly bay, red and white bay, loblolly pine, water oak, atid salle tree. Live oak of large size, in some instances thirty feet in biel scattered on the Ocklawaba and St. Johns, where the best has been culled out. ‘The live oak remaining on the feanda and Atlantic coast of Florida is small, and it is the general impression in Florida that there is little of this valuable timber on the western shore, but large groves of it have recently been discovered by Commodore Porter in the south-western part of the peninsula. From the hickory-nut and acorn, the Indians extract, by botliogs a clear and sweet oil, much used for culinary pur- ose Considerable groves of the bitter sweet orange occur in a wild state in Alachua, on the St. Johns, and the Atlantic coast, extending on some parts of the shore twenty miles; they may be rendered valuable by ingrafting the sweet orange. Among the shrubs of Florida are seen the running oak, porsnates. myrtle, reed cane, black-berry and whortles berry. he grape-vine grows luxuriantly in Florida: sept of the native varieties are excellent. Viney t doubtless be established to sake . A vin , d the china root, affords to the natives a substitute for Notices of the Floridas, &c. 131 ee the root is beat in water, dried, and pulverized. The oot of the Indian potatoe, a native plant, has an agreeable ‘ait and is much used by the Indians. Tigers, supposed to be a variety of the northern*panther frequent the extensive thickets of Florida ; they are large ae ferocious. Wolves are often seen—the Indians destroy many of them by poisoned meat, which is drawn a conside- rable distance and attracts all that encounter the trail. Bears, wild-cats, foxes, pole-cats, raccoons, rabbits, and squirrels are common. Deer are numerous on the conti- _ nent and islands, the pines and prairies afford them fine gra- -zing, and the thickets shelter. he birds most frequently seen are wild turkeys, geese, ducks, owls, cranes, herons, hawks, crows, black birds, rice- birds, robins, mocking-birds, woodpeckers, turkey-buz- zards, and Spanish whip-poor-will. The most trouble- some insects are moschetoes, fleas, chicers, and ticks, Below the 28th degree “of latitude they are active through the year, and in the northern part of Florida, from April to December. Scorpions are sometimes seen Rattlesnakes are numerous in Florida, and not unfre- quently six feet in length, sometimes eight and nine, and in one instance twelve. From the warmth of the climate, ren- dering the poison very active, from the size of the serpent and deep wound inflicted by its large fangs, the bite is generally fatal, though of rare occurrence. Of this rep- tile, three descriptions are remarked in Florida ; the com- mon rattlesnake with a checkered back; a snake black or dark brown on the back, a whitish yellow belly with spots near the tail; and the ground rattlesnake, about a. foot in ' length. Mocasins are common in the fresh waters. Black and chicken snakes are often seen. Alligators are numerous in all the lakes and considera- ble streams of the interior ; their loud and heavy roar sound- ing like distant thunder, or a lion’s growl, is most frequent- ly heard at night, or during a warm rain; they travel on shore from one body of water to another, often a considera- ble distance ; they rarely attack the human race—dogs are ne favorite prey. are abundant in the salt and fresh waters of pic. Figs the best and most frequently caught, are sheeps- head in salt water; and in fresh near Lake George, trout, 132 Notices of the Floridas, &c. bass, cavallaroes, mullet, and perch ; large green turtle are. the coast in summer. From the peninsular situation of East Florida, it proba- bly will be more healthy than the adjacent states. f its surface is daily cooled by sea breezes, and it is often. swept by winds from the ocean and gulf, producing a more uniform temperature than is experienced in districts that have snow clad mountains on their borders. At St. Au- gustine, from April to August, the thermometer, during the day, rarely varies more than ten degrees, ranging between seventy degrees and eighty degrees; but in August and September it is a little higher, from about seventy-five de- grees to eighty-five degrees. In the hilly region of the inte- rior, the extremes of temperature are greater than on the coast. In the summer of 1823, in Alachua, the thermometer sometimes stood at ninety—on four days of the preceding winter it fell to twenty-eight. The nights in spring an summer are often cool; in winter north-west winds are prevalent ; in summer a sea breeze from the Gulf of Mex- ico. The hills are elevated and dry. During the rainy or warm months the lakes are full, preventing the decay of vegetable deposits ; the waters are purified and cooled by their subterranean passage. Fogs rarely rest on the tikes the water being colder than the air, no vapours are con- densed. The Indians and negroes of this district have not been subject to fevers, and the few white settlers who have passed two seasons in Alachua, retained their health not- withstanding some were from northern climates, and daily exposed to the sun in the fields. Emigration to the inte- rior of Florida has recently been considerable. West Florida, being situated nearer the mountains with water only on one side, is colder in winter than the Penin- sula. THE SEMINOLE INDIANS. The Seminole Indians of Florida are derived from the Lower Creeks, and obtained their present location by con- quest—they were once numerous, but have been reduced by wars to a small remnant, ee not exceeding two or Notices of the Floridas, &ec. 133 three thousand, who are sociably grouped in small villages, principally in the secondary or rolling districts, uniting the hunter, pastoral, and agricultural states of society. The men hunt, erect dwellings, and attend to their cattle. They have many dogs of European species, but rarely use them in pursuit of game. On hunting excursions, they often lie in ambush with their rifles, on the border of a thicket, and arrest the deer with unerring aim, as they is- sue forth at dusk to graze on verdant prairies. Fire mode is prohibited among the whites as dangerous. For- tunate hunters supply their less successful neighbours. The Seminoles formerly possessed large herds of fine cattle, but lost many during the late civil war. ey have hogs and poultry. The male Indians regard agricul- tural labour as degrading,—but every settlement has its enclosed and cultivated field, often extensive. The ground is prepared, planted, and tended, by females, with hoes, raising good crops of corn, sweet potatoes, pump- kins, beans, roots, and tobacco, on fertile hills, and rice in swamps. milk, make butter, procure wood and water, and do all the drudgery. The wives and daughters of chiefs are not exempted from labour; some of the principal Indians, following the example of their civilized neighbours, are proprietors of blacks, mostly born in the Indian region, and occupy separate villages. They are well treated, being rarely required to do much labour, ex- cept in pressing seasons of tillage, have acquired the erect independent bearing and manners of the aborigines, and are faithful. There is a mixed race, in form and intelli- gence superior to the Indian and negro. The male Indians, in warm weather, are almost divest- ed of clothing, but females are modestly dressed, ordinari- ly with short gown and petticoat, imitating the fashions of the whites, from whom the materials are procured in ex- change for skins, furs, mocasins, leather, venison, nut oil, &c. Females have ornaments of silver in their ears, and around their necks and arms; married women wear plates of silver on their breasts, sometimes suspended by small silver chains—they behave with modesty and propriety : long slits are sometimes obseryed in the ears of both sex- 134 : Notices of the Floridas, &c. e men are fond of ardent spirits and tobacco, the ay articles they ask for importunately ; but if refused, no dissatisfaction is expressed. When presented with a bottle of whiskey, it is fairly distributed among the adult males present, but | observed none was offered to the women and children, who did not appear to expect or desire any, though often requesting tobacco and segars for smoking, of which the smallest are fond. The Indians we had communication with were honest and fairin their dealings, evincing no thievish disposition ; we were received with kinduess and hospitality, our wants supplied, and they cheerfully put themselves to considera~ ble inconvenience for our accommodation. They are in general tall and well-formed. The Seminoles differ con- siderably in their manners from northern tribes, being very curious, lively, and inquisitive. Our clothes, arms, knives, umbrellas; &c. were carefully examined ; and some marked on the ground with much exactness the compo- "nent parts of a coat, or other garment, they fancied. Our mode of cooking and eating was to the natives a source of much amusement and laughter, eliciting many humerous remarks. They are usually cheerful, and the the intercourse of relatives and neighbours evinced good At he Indian village of Sanfalasco not far from the river Santa Fee, we witnessed the amusements of wres- tling and dancing. Dances are. held at night on a level hard beaten central spot; males and females move in In- dian file around a fire, singing a wild song; there is little diversity in the steps, but the tunes are varied, each dance is terminated by a general whoop. chief conducted us toa bower, where we were seated with some of the head men, the villagers not en- gaged in dancing located themselves in an opposite arbour. oung men, unusually dressed and ornamented, spurs attached to their showy long mocasins, and with cheeks blackened to represent whiskers, and faces painted, made a ludicrous appearance. Small terrapin shells filled with pebbles affixed to the ankles of the female dancers, excited by the dancing and various amusing tricks. The dogs responded to the Indian yell, and numerous owls at- Notices of the Floridas, & s E 135 crops are gathered, at which if adulterers, who had fled to. avoid the punishment of losing their ears, appear, they are pardoned. The Indians are well acquainted with many medicinal plants. Their dwellings are usually con- structed of logs; the roofs of bark or split pine are very tight; the sides of the best are neatly lined with clap- boards, but without floors or divisions, and much infested by fleas. They have little furniture. Potters’ ware o a good shape and well baked, is made by females. The chief of Sanfalasco, aided by a smal! bellows, anvil, hammer, and file, manufactures with much ingenuity, from coin, n e ornaments of silver. We conversed frequently with this intelligent old man, through the medium of our interpreter, a shrewd native negro, who spoke fluently Seminole and English. The chief mentioned an instance of Indian credulity. It is believed by the natives, that a monster, with a large serpent’s body shining like silver, whose breath is destructive to all that approach, occu- pies a large sink or cave in Hast Florida, guarding a mine. Similar stories are current among the Cherokees. The Spanish authorities made a fruitless search for this treas- ure a few years since. These Indians do not appear to have a form of worship, but believe in a Supreme Being. The chief informed us that according to Indian traditions, the world was created by the Great Spirit ; that he formed three men, an Indian, a white, and a black man; the Indian was the most per- fect : they were called into his presence, and directed to select their employments ; the Indian chose a bow and arrow, the white man a book, and the negro a spade. The chief had heard of our Saviour, and his sufferings, but supposed he had been put to death by the Spaniards. e Indians are very unwilling to leave their lakes, fertile hills, and agreeable climate, for the southern re- servation, that has little to recommend it except its being 80 undesirable, that the Indians may remain there unmo- lested. The chief said they had cherished a hope that the whites would continue satisfied with the coasts, and suffer them to retain a valuable remnant of their i ee ee 136 = On the Movement of Rocks, ssessions, but observed that it was the will of the Great Spirit and they must submit. It was with difficulty the Seminoles were induced to assent to the treaty of cession, and they would probably resist its execution if they had any chance of success. Severa! of the chiefs have reser- vations, and are permitted to remain in West Florida, with a limited number of followers. There are now sever Indian villages in the great southern reservation. Art. XXII.—Remarks on Art. VI. Vol. V. No. I. of this Journal, and on 4 passage in Dr. Dwight’s Travels, Vol. IIL p. 245, relating to sxme phenomena of moving rocks ; ana letter to the editor, by the Rev. J. Apams, Princi- pal of Charleston College, S. Carolina. ; Proressor SItuLiman, Dear Sir, In the 5th volume, p. 34th, of your Journal of Science, your correspondent “ Perros,” has given an account of some rocks situated near the shore of a lake, which appear to have been gradually approaching the shore for many y Your correspondent has shrunk from the respon- sibility attached to what he bas related, by suppressing his name; and in this seems not to have acted in exact ac- cordance with that philosophic spirit, ‘‘ which knows how to distinguish what is just in itself from what is merely accredited by illustrious names; adopting a truth which no one has sanctioned, and rejecting an error of which all approve, with the same calmness as if no judgment were opposed to its own.” (Brown’s Lectures, 18. A cause of the motion of these rocks, which appeared satisfactory to myself, occurred when I perused the ac- count of them, and [ had thoughts of writing you my views at the time, but neglected to do so. Yesterday, however, in reading a review of Dr, Dwight’s travels, in the Quar- terly Review for April, 1824, [| met with a passage which has induced me to resume my original design of writing to you on the subject. 1 extract the passage as given by the a = haif a mile, lay ona natural causeway, about 30 feet in breadth, which separated the lake into two parts, and was formed of earth, probably washed up by its waves. The rock which was the particular object of our curiosity, is said, by the inhabitants long settled here, to have moved a considerable distance from. the spot where it aoa stood, towards the south-western shore. You will not suppose we considered this story as founded either in truth or good sense. However, having long believed it to prudent, and made it a regular practice, whenever it was convenient, to examine the foundation of reports credi ted by sober men, I determined to investigate this, as I saw that it was firmly believed by several discreet persons.— One particularly, a man of unquestioned reputation, and long resident near the spot, declared, that 40 years since, the top of this rock, at the ordinary height of the water, was at least two feet below its surface, and 15 or 20 rods farther from the causeway than when we sawit. The shore has unquestionably remained as it then was; for the trees and stumps standing on the aneserrsy are older than any man now living, and the space between them and the lake is very parrow, scarcely canis. fifteen feet from the trees. “‘ The top of the rock is now at least two feet above the me water. ‘This height, it is declared to have gained imper- ceptibly, year by year, for many years, in consequence of ‘ its advancing towards the shore, and standing continually in water more and more shallow e water is evidently. of the same depth now as formerly, as is proved by the ap- pearance of the shore. en we came up to the rock, which was standing where the water was scarce knee-deep, we found a chan- nel behind it, towards the deeper water, formed in the earih, about Bicep rods in Jength, it was serpentine in its orm, and was sunk from two to three feet below the com- mon elaine less power is requisite to raise them from their beds, or to project them along on this slippery surface, than would required to raise or move them on dry, stony, or gravelly ground. By the abundant rains of the spring, and dissolution of the snow and ice, the water of the pond is accumulated, whereby the island of ice, with every thing which remains attached to it, is raised until its strength is overpowered by the pressure. And we now that a single rood of ice of but a few inches in thickness will sustain an immense weight while lying on the surface of the water. A strong wind then, blowing from any “ers will agitate the water between the shore and the as also that under the ice. Thus the increase of the water, or the raising of the surface of the pond, will loosen, o tract from their beds all those rocks whose weight and depth in the earth are not too great for the strength of the ice; and the force of the wind, acting upon the water and the. ice, will propel them toward the opposite shore.— Like the ship therefore, whose anchor is unable to sustain’ the force of the tempest, the floating island is driven from its moorings. Thus forced toward the shore, the ice gradually dissolves on the side nearest the land, so that the rocks ~ attached to the ice, and partially resting in the mud, are dragged nearer and nearer to the shore, propelling ‘i mud before them, until the island be- comes so diminished, that with the power of the wind and the waves, it can no longer drag its anchors, and therefore deposits them near the margin of the pond. It is therefore a natural consequence that they oat a track behind them by which their progress may be tra If this exposition is not the true eo it mia at "east, answer until a better one can be given Vou. IX.——No. 1. 19 * 146 Remarks on Professor Eaton’s Communication. Art. XXIV.—Remarks additional to the Review of Cony- beare and Phillips’s Geology of England and Wales, (Vol. VII. No. >. of this Journal.) with reference to the tia igiesd = of Professor Eaton in the last No. of ie work, page 2 [Communicated by the author of the Review.—Ed. | We have doubted whether the remarks of Mr, Eaton upon our review of the work of Conybeare and Phillips, call for any thing additional from us. We certainly have no disposition to engage in a controversy on the subject, nor do we perceive any evidence that such is Mr. Eaton? s desire. But we think he has misapprehended us in some respects, and probably his views differ in some respects from ours ; and we feel it to he due to him, as well as to ourselves, to explain our real meaning, and to to give our reasons for some of the opinions advanced in that review. If we do not misapprehend this gentleman, he represents us as recommending the adoption, by American geologists, of the new classification of rocks proposed by Mr. Cony- beare. We really had no such intention ; “ee we cannot see that our lenaukee conveys this idea erely said that we were * pleased with its peiarkable simplicity,” and could not “see but it answered every purpose of primitive, transition, and secondary ;” and after stating the system. we left it to others to form their opinion of if, without offering any further arguments in its favour. Nay, we did not even say that we had adopted the system our- selves, But were we frankly to give our views concerning the propriety of adopting this system, not only among American, but also European geologists, we confess that our recommendation would be given in favour of it. For we still cannot see why it does not “exhibit an utter adhe of all hypothesis.” The principle on which the of this classification rests is simply on that some e te ' atk. are usually found above other roc employed by Mr. Conybeare to d@firuate his Fove (inferior, sub-medial, medial, super-medial, and superior,) certainly imply nothing more. Now it appears to us, that this principle is merely one of those facts in geology that Remarks on Professor Eaton’s Communication. 147 are grounded on observation, and equally acknowledged by all geologists, and that it does not require any hypothesis to establish it. For instance, wherever geologists have had an opportunity of observing granite and other rocks, they have always ores granite to be the lowest, although they sometimes alternate. ow who ever thought that it implied a love of hg pothesis, to infer from these facts tha’ granite was the ‘‘inferior.”’ and other aggregates the “superior”? rock, merely because geologists have not uncovered every foot of granite in the globe, to see if there were not some chink or crevice through which other rocks passed beneath it? Mr. Eaton objects to the work of these authors, because they “ propose that we should begin at the upper surface of the earth, and proceed downwards, when we study its structure.” It is true pe is the method they adopt as the most convenient: but this is not a necessary adjunct of their system ; for they might as well commence, for aught we can see, with their inferior order, as the Werne- rian with his primitive. We were not aware, as this communication asserts, that Eecorci to the Wernerian scheme, ‘“‘it is suffictent that show the series of rocks at the surface in that order of succession denominated primitive, transition, and secon- dary” If Werner ever taught any thing, he taught that his transition class lies above the primitive, his floetz class ahove the transition, and his newest floetz class above the floetz, threughout their whole extent. And this is neces- sarily implied whenever any follower of Werner gives us or description of any country according to this classification. So we cannot perceive how it is, that the ernerian arrangement is any more limited - the surface, than that of Mr. Conybeare. We objected to the Wernerian names, primitive, transition, and floetz, or ae eraney) as tenditig to impress the mind of the student with ‘ false, or at least hypotheti- cal views,’ and exerting an undesirable influence upon his researches. Mr. Eaton regards this objection as ‘ most extraordinary,’ because every science has names in it, originally founded upon false or hy pothetical views. We do indeed regard this as a defect in every science that has such names in it; because the student has not only to 4148 Remarks on Professor Eaton’s Communication. learn these names, but also to learn that their literal meaning is false; whereas, were things correctly named, the literal meaning might help, instead of retarding him, in his progress. How striking an instance of the impor- tance of this principle, is presented to us in the reforma- tion that has taken place within a few years in chemica nomenclature! Yet we by no means suppose this abuse of terms to be great enough, in all the sciences, to justify any sudden and general changes, since the evils of sucha revolution would be greater than those which would be thereby remedied. But there is a very great difference in different cases, in the magnitude of the evil here In I real or fancied object, (as is the fact in all or nearly all those cases mentioned by Mr. Eaton,) a change would be of little importance, since the name itself is not supposed to describe the thing. But in some instances the hypo- thetical views on which a name is founded, constitute the t and we very much doubt whether any distinctive chat acters can be found in nature, that would definit oe describe it to the student. On this point we are har y in quoting the opinion of one of the ablest and most judic geologists living. ‘1 shall now, perhaps,” says Dr. Ma Cullock, “‘ be expected to assign a place to this rock, ene stone,) in the usual division of primary, transition, and floetz, distinctions which | am inclined to think are more easily made in the closet than in the field. In the present — state of geological science, it would appear a safer prac- ice in this case, as in many others, to describe that which actually exists, without the use of hypothetical tras which only serve to perplex the observer, and to mislead the student, who either boldly pronounces on the characte which suits his. cee creed, or modestly supposes Remarks on Professor Eaton’s Communication. 149 himself incapable of sound observation, because he is unable to see that which is not visible ”"—Again he says, in reference to another limestone rock, ‘In this case the same limestone will, like clay slate, bear a share in both these artificial divisions, (primary and transition.) for artifi- cial I must needs consider divisions which nature has sepa- 2d by a boundary so feeble and so undefinable.”” Andin conclusion he remarks: “* Should this be the case, it will con- firm the supposition which I have suggested in other parts of these papers, that no real and well defined live of dis- tinction exists between the transition and primitive rocks, but that they form a graduating series of one single forma- tion; a series so gradual as to render it expedient once more to a to ie most get division of rocks, into primary and se To those conversant ok recent geological works, we need not say, that views similar to the above are rapidly gaining groun We regret that we should be thought to “ neglect our ey “own countrymen in order to do homage to Europeans,” of country or of cpr 8. e endeavour to na geological production sek equal “ye whether it come from the banks of the Seine, or the Danube, or ‘the Thames, or the Read or the Potomac. “Much as our Bolces as Americans prompt us to appreciate the wo our Own countrymen in such a manner that they may sustain a Avourable comparison with those of Euro- Bees, ¥ our feelings as m of that great scientific anki a sairarel the whole world, check our pauchat partialities, ¢ and lead us to adhere to the principle, Hj 1 5 jue mihi nullo discrimine agetur. however, wit to conceal the fact, that we De, _ rather th an America, as the centre of sience; and of course maintain that we are Transactions, vol, II. pp. 410, 417, 449. 4 150 Remarks on Professor Eaton’s Communication. very much dependent on her writers, and are bound to ay to them much respect and deference. And why ? Not because this country does not furnish so good a field for observation; for it is decidedly a better one: nor engaged in the study of their rocks twice as many years as Americans, and in consequence of the more extensive pa- tronage bestowed uponthe former, and theless urgent demand for talent in other departments, more scientific men have been able to give rien exclusively to the subject ‘in urope than in this country. e consequence has been that more extensive geological cabinets have been formed, — than among us, and ti soo atch has been attained in the knowledge of rocks. Valuable as are many of our geological treatises and wath sili shall we find any that will compare with the transactions of the London Geologi- cal Society. with the great work of Cuvier on fossil ee with the work of Conybeare and Phillips which we are considering, or with the truly magnificent map of Renate ou e mike not these comparisons because we think — meanly of American geologists. nor because we wish to inculcate any servile deference to Europeans. From their frowns or their favour we have nothing to fear or hope. But in matters of science, we wish things to be stated justas they are, and we are not willing to be warped by national par- tialities, or envious rivalries. e wish to justify ourselves from the charge of paying an undue homage to Europeans We rejoice to believe that our country is rapidly advancing in geology, as well as in other departments of science ; an we with pleasure anticipate the day, as not far distant, hel she will take the lead in geognosy. Butif we attempt to elevate our geological character above that of Europeans, when facts will not warrant it, we only excite the pity or contempt of the world for our arrogance and vanity. , ut a particular yi ee of our neglect of our couptty s men has been pointed out. We recommended the ad tion of the terms diluvial and alluvial as defined by Conybeare, and did not e a somewhat similar: ice. a ils neeroc en A Remarks on Professor Eaton’s Communication. 151 tion previously licate specimeas, desiring them to make a return of what you require, | have no doubt but an exchange mutually be- neficial might be established, as it is a society in a state of progressive improvement, which promises much; and being composed of young men, unincumbered with the prejudices of age, more may be expected from them than from old soci- eties confined within the limits of etiquette and formality. I am highly gratified with the progress of civilization in this country, more particularly in this place, in which the im- provement has been, and still continues to be rapid, and which resembies more a townin the United States, for new streets and * houses, than any place | haveseenin Europe. The attention of many of the most liberal and influential men to the edu- cation of the millions of the productive class, is more than I expected to find any where in aristocratic Europe. The im- provement of old, and the establishiny of new schools, shows a public spirit well directed, that ought to be imitated by no country more than our own. Wh ee the general mass rules, the diffusion of knowledge is positively necessary for the Maclure’s Letters. 164 prosperity of social order, and the foundation of general happiness Lancasterian schools are spreading fast over the whole country, and improving by the grafting of a great many of the practical rules of the Pestalozzian system, intro- ducing by little and little to a more direct and shorter road to useful knowledge than has as yet been taken by the old systems, making utility the scale by which to measure the value of all things.—I remain, yours sincerely, . MACLURE, Professor SiLLIMAN, Belfast, 18th July, 1824. Yale College, Connecticut. t Mr. Phiquepal and the Pestalozzian system. Paris, November 9, 1824. Mr. Phiquepal sailed from Havre a few days ago for New- York in the ship Cadmus, Capt. Allyn, and carried with him about fifty packages of prints, instruments, books. &c. &c. necessary to the most easy and rapid development of the fac- ulties, and giving correct ideas to children in the improved Pestalozzian system, without fatiguing their attention or bur- thening their memories—a little sketch of which I gave you in some of my former letters ; and Mr. Phiquepal has a short epitome of the method which I drew up for some of my Euro- pean friends, which he intends to take off lithographically, as all the oe understand that excellent medium of communica- gion, and politics, and which as yet have been one of a greatest bars to the progress of our ecole iiientiols will n as far as education is in question, be aided by our Ginitative propensity ea joined to the great change in public opinion with us, and the progress already made, with the brilliancy of some of the specimens already exhibited, warrants the expec- tation that signed trusting to the weight and influence of its own merits, wil enabled to walk alone, when in future, all artificial aid in "nection will ten more ¥ reieh than advance its natural improvemen I have long thought of the superabundant verbiage of hubleg and the 164 Maclure’s Letters. fatiguing task of readers, to turn over 1000 pages in search of the lines of common sense that might be -onained in a few pages, when all that is useless, mysterious, or incom- prehensible, was abstracted. 1am convinced that, notwith- standing my period of life, I can begin such a manufactory, thoroughly persuaded that the geometrical progression of im- provement and civilization will support and continue it—it is a distillation to extract the essence of ail books, printing them in the most economical manner, and in such forms and bul as to suit the pecuniary powers of the poorest, which I cal- culate might easily be done at an hundredth part of the present prices, and with the contemplated improvements of the Steam Engine, and making paper with straw by a short and easy process, as is now in embryo in this country, may perhaps be reduced to a thousandth part of the present expense. Mr. ———,, himself a brilliant specimen of the success of the Pestalozzian system, is now here. The discovery of the Glueine in the cymophane, and of Fluoric acid in the condrodite, after it had escaped the notice of the first European analysts, astonishes the scientific world on this of the Atlantic, and it is the nature of the system to put the pupils on the direct road to every species of knowledge, ake Oe it with flowers, and creating new pleasures at every step. — | PRE ae INTELLIGENCE AND MISCELLANIES.. I. DOMESTIC. ‘ . Notice of. eae of Plants accompanying the Anthra- te of Wilkesbarre. WILKESBARRE, Pa. Oct. 8, 1824. To the Editor. - Dear neers Avaitine myself of the opportunity which the visit of a neighbour to New-Haven affords, | do myself the specimens of the vegetable remains accompanying our coal— ey are among the mers characterized impressions which have been as yet discovered. No. 1 and 2 are the apse moule intérieur, and the ee rior covering of the plant, with the accompanying plate of coal, which allowing for compression, would indicate the thickness of the original vegetable. The specimen sent is one of those inundated plants to which the mass of coal is to where they grew, and would prove that the anthracite has been formed from vegetables which have undergone decom- position in water; they are generally found in the floor of the coal beds in immediate connexion with the coal —the matrix is a fine, carbonaceous, black slate, splitting easily into very thin lamine, and burning white; where these plants oceur- red, or collected in mass, free from the influence of occa- sional muddy water, nearly all traces of organization are obliterated. The other large specimen is one of those which are found only in the strata, (above the coal,) formed from t The Specimens accompanying the letter of Vir. Cist are uncommonly e, and it would be happy if intelligent men, residing near our various ¢oal aie: would take care to collect similar specimens. The p ublic have been , furnished by Mr. Cist, with a description and plate of the anthracite of Wilkesbarre.—See Vol. IV. p, 1, of this Journal.— Ed, PRs 166 Remarks on the Lead Veins of Massachusetts. coloured coarse sandy schist, becoming red in the fire. Respectfully, your obedient servant, ZAC. CIST. Professor SinnmM an, New Haven, Connecticut. 2. Remarks on the lead veins of Massachusetts, &c. in a letter addressed to the Editor. ° “we Yare Couxsce, July 15, 1824. Proressorn SinuiMAn, . ; are seen again—precisely where we should expect to find them~-in the granite and quartz of Leverett. Though 1 have no doubt that this is a correct statement of the case, yet from some discoveries made in Williamsburgh by a Mr. Nash, it would seem that the lead connected with the quartz, and associated with pyritous copper, though the latter is here by no means so abundant as at the locality on the farm of Mr Field, in Leverett. For a while, very sanguine hopes were entertained with regard to the Williamsburgh vein, and it is probable that future research will prove it to be a valuable one :—owing, however, to the hardness of the rock, few attempts have have yet been made to penetrate far into its interior. Is this one of the veins of Mr. Hitchcock and Professor Eaton? After proceeding in a northerly direction from Southampton, would it, at the northeast corner of Wil- lhamsburgh forma rightangle, and go directly east, to Lever- ett? Or, are this and the Whately vein not identified? A more critical examination of the towns in Hampshire and . Remarks on the Lead Veins of Massachusetts. 167 Franklin counties would doubtless throw much light upon the. subject; and it would certainly be desirable to trace the bearings, and fix the limits of the lead in Massachusetts with more precision. I neighbourhood of the locality above mentioned, I procured several specimens of a mineral which I have since ascertained to be serpentine. They are somewhat harder than those I have seen from the Milford quarry, have a very fine and beautiful grain, and are slightly translucent at their — edges. eae been much pleased and instructed by the perusal, in the Journal of Science, of Mr. Hitchcock’s excellent de- scription of the Connecticut Valley. He has done the sub- ject ample justice, and himself the more honour, from the cir- cumstance that most of the geological facts which he mien- tions, are the result of his own accurate observation. What he has described, he has examined, and examined closely; and it must be no small gratification to this gentleman to re- flect, that the section of country which he has with such unwearied assiduity investigated, (I here speak more partic- ularly of Hampshire and Franklin‘counties,) is becoming, or rather has already become, the rallying point of all the min- eralogists in Massachusetts. : Mr. Hitchcock has entered at considerable length into the theory with regard to two lakes, one of which he supposes to have been north, and the other south of Holyoke. Were further proof necessary to convince the intelligent inquirer, that there must have been, at some period, a vast body o water on the north side, at least, of Holyoke, would it go to remove his doubt to tell him, that organic remains have been found in the meadows in Sunderland fifteen or twenty feet below the surface, and that very probably the rocks which form the falls at South Hadley were thrown into their pres- ent confused position, at the time the body of water alluded to forced its way through the mountain ! Very respectfully yours, AUSTIN O. HUBBARD, 2 > —— ta 168 . Method of Browning Iron. | 3. Method of Browning Iron. [Communicated by Mr. John Duntze, of New-Haven.| - Nitric acid, - - 4 ounce. Sweet spirits a nitre, Lo - Ee: dos Spirits of witli menses: * ol Blue vitriol, -. - - . 2 Tincture of ateel, - 1 do. hes se ingredients are io be mixed, the vitriol having been previously dissolved in a sufficient quantity of water to make, with the other ingredients, one quart of mixture.— Previously to commencing the operation of browning a gun barrel, it is necessary that it be well cleaned from all grea- siness and other impurities, and that a plug of wood be put into the muzzle, and the vent well stopped. The mixture is” then to be applied with a clean sponge, or rag, taking care that every part of the barre] be covered with the mixture, which must then be exposed to the air for twenty-four hours, after which exposure the barrel must be rubbed with a hard brush, to remove the oxid from the surface. This operation must be performed a second and Ps third time, -(if 8 gre by which the barrel will be made of a perfectly brown colour. It must then be cimesally Srattied and wiped, sha duattie teed in boiling water, in which a quan- tity of alkaline matter has been put, in order that the action of the acid upon the barrel m:y be destroyed, and the impregnation of the water by the acid neutralized. The barrel, when taken from the water, must, after being Leics perfectly dry, be rubbed smooth with a burnisher of hard wood, and then heated to about the temperature of ie vac; it then will be ready to receive a varnish made of the fallowig 2g eg _ Spirits of wine, one qua Dragon’s blood Se 8 three drams, Shell lac bruised, one ounce ; and after the varnish is perfectly dry upon the barrel, it must be rubbed with the burnisher to give it a smooth an ssy appearance. me ae it nt acer verano er. ae m4 ined Sid rae On the use of Sulphur in Rheumatisms. 169 a : 1. To make a Lacker for Brass.—Take eight ounces of spirits of wine, and one ounce of arnotto, well bruised— mix this in a bottle by itself. Then take one ounce of gamboge, and mix it in like manner with the same quantity 4. Recipes furnished by Mr. Eli W. Blake. of spirits—and bruised saffron steeped in spirits to nearly * ‘ the same proportion. Take seed-lac varnish what quantity you please, and brighten it to your mind by the above mixtures. If it be too yellow, add a little more from the arnotto bottle; if it be too red, add a little more from the gamboge or saffron bot- tle ; if too strong, add spirits of wine. 2. To make Seed-lac Varnish.—Take spirits of wine, one quart; put it in a wide-mouthed bottle, and add thereto eight ounces of seed-lac, which is large-grained, bright, and clear, free from sticks and dirt; let it stand two days or longer in a warm place, often shaking it. Strain it through flannel into another bottle, and it is fit for use. 5, Extract of a letter to the Editor, from Beaufort, South Carolina. 1. Remarks on the use of Sulphur in Rheumatism.— In a letter written by Professor Olmsted, and addressed to the Editor of this Journal, (Vol. VIII. No. 2,) mention is made of a man who was severely afflicted with swellings of the joints, &c. brought on, it was supposed, by his niten taken large doses of sulphur,—to which remedy he ha been advised to resort by a quack in order to cure a rheu- atic affection under which he laboured. Is it not most likely, that the disease in question was caused by rheuma- tism, and that the swellings of the joints, &c., would have taken place, although the sulphur had never been adminis- tered? 1am the more inclined to this opinion from the well known tendency which rheumatism has to terminate in this Von. IX.—No. 1. 22 ¥ ~ ~ 170 On the use of Cotton-Seed for Ulwmination. manner; but I never before heard of sulphur producing such dreadful effects, although [ must confess that I never knew it given in such large quantities, and am, therefore, unable to say that it would not. The giving of sulphur, for the cure of gout and rheumatism, is an old and valuable remedy, and it would be worth while to make a little further inquiry into this case, or any other in which it may have - been used injuriously. oy Sulphur is also made great use of with us after salivation has been produced, and it appears to have a more decided effect than any other medicine, in removing the poison of the mercury from the system—whether by acting as a cathartic, or by its pervading every part of the body, and expelling the mercury from thence by means of perspiration, or by its acting upon the absorbent system. In this manner I have known large quantities to be taken in successive doses, and always with beneficial effects, never producing any affections of the joints, or muscles. 2. Remarks on the use of cotton-seed for the purpose of af- ording gas for illumination.—Professor Olmsted also me tions, that he has procured carburetted hydrogen gas from cot- ton-seed. I have not the least doubt but very excellent gas might be thus produced; but he is evidently mistaken-when, in summing up the cost, he rates the cotton-seed as being worth little or nothing. It may be the case in the part of the country where he resides; but with us it is estimated as being worth at least twenty-five cents per bushel. Some- times it sells very high, when any accident happens to the crop in the early part of the year. It is used as a manure upon cotton, corn, or potato land, and is accounted the best which can possibly be applied. It is also probable that he speaks of the green seed, or short staple cotton ; but the cotton-seed I refer to, is the black, or sea-island. It is sometimes used here as food for cattle, but its value as a ma- nure is so well known that itis rarely applied in this manner. ne Seareeahienee oan Meteorological Journal. i7i 1 6. Metrologia Journal, with miscellaneous remarks, by Dr. Lyman Foor, of the American army. Cantonement Brady, (Sault de St, Marie, Lake Superior.) : JANUARY, 1823. | .|Thermom. | |_Hour. Weather. heal A 6 | Thad no thermometer befo: Strsics q 6th of January. The weather here RARE ie fo aegis has been very cold. The 8/16/25} 4} do. changes are somewhat re 9|25|34/25| do. ble. Every spot in the river is 10/—2)10; 9} do. closed except the falls, over which 11) 0/12/16 dens a /12|10]27|10 S| Brery seramcoold shalt etalk 13} 2/18} 7/Snow. E Ito te blow by a fall of snow. It 14/18)26)96 ; 3 would _ sift down (if I may Fe) 15/25/26|24|Snow & rain. 35 jsay) in v ne scales and stars, ap- 11611012813 & /parently pt gee t any dense chat se + |but the whole atmosphere seemed to 1792/92/30 © |be filled with fine flakes of snow. It 1O)2 (2/29 ¢ |would continue to snow thus for an 19|14|52)115 & \hour or two, and the atmosphere be- 90|20147115 © |come clear. neu bon continue ic roy # jcompari y roug’ y shoe pe 3 Just at sun-down the thermometer} 2a (Ue ° =] sink, 23|-6}42/ 13 = be clear and cold till just before day. 194/20!34/28 Git a pigac’ — = Loa|> ‘5 |same thing take place the follo al a nee Snel “ day. The evaporation from the falls . od heel o doubt is ve at. 27|25|33/20| do. ti here becom rel with 128/20/30/29| do. hich congeals and gives 29\29|28195' do. a its latent heat to the surroundin 30}20)30|22) do. 31/-4/18) 4! do. ae t que. . Foot’s Meteorological Journal. FEBRUARY, 1823. Thermometer. | 9 Weather. Ree -13| 28) 13] 20 —12/— 3] —25|-28 at1 A.M. —2 > 0-3 Ob tr to 2 = [Date. ri ae’ o During these extreme cold nights T always found a oreagersel in breath- ing in the open t produced a dryness of the aot and a disposi- tion to orca. It brought on pleu- risy and other inflammatory com- covered by chips, &c.,a foot or two L. FOOT. June 1823. T hav room to give you my full wien of sick, but I ‘will give the 22) ~-1|.32;' 2 total sick during - Ay arter endin 23} 22)33} 24|Snow. the 31st of March, es 24 5127 6 Remaining at aay cael li 25} 20/17! 10/Snow. sya 26! -2! 7| -6) do. ome to duty, E . be 27} —24) 18) -7 Remaining sick, - 14 28) —-241 15 6 N.B. on the left of a figure indicates below zero. eiiaierero Notice of Mr. Augur’s Bust of Apollo. 173 7. Dr. Cutbush’s treatise on Pyrotechny, Mrs. Cutbush, widow of the late Dr. Cutbush of West Point, proposes to publish by subscription, a treatise on Pyro- techny by her deceased husband, Dr. James Cutbush, late acting professor of chemistry in the National Military Acad- em 7° From the reputation which Dr. Cutbush sustained, as well as from the ability which his elaborate treatises on these sub- jects, already published in this Journal. display, (Vol. VI. pa. 302, and Vol. VII. pa. 118) there can be no doubt that this. posthumous work will be worthy of the public patronage, which we hope will be liberally bestowed, both on account of the importance of the subject, and of the interests of the worthy family, for whose emolument the work will be pub- lished. We understand that in November there were already two hundred subscribers, and that the work will be put to press as soonas the subscription shall justify that step. 8. American Sculpture. e have been recently much gratified, by a production in statuary, ofa self-taught artist, Mr. Hezekiah Augur, of New- aven. Mr. Augur is by profession a carver in wood, and has been, for several years, distinguished in that elegant art; but he had, until recently, never attempted any thing in sculp- ture. It had never been in his power even to see any thing of the kind; he had never in his life, beheld a statue or a bust, and had formed his ideas of them, from plaster models only. His friends were therefore much surprised, when they saw him at work, upon a marble head of Dr. Franklin, and they were stil] more astonished to find that he succeeded in produ- cing a perfect likeness to his original, which was a bust of the great American philosopher, carved in wood, and painted white, which, for more than thirty years, stood as a sign, on the portico of the classical book store of I. Beers, (afterwards Beers & Howe,) near the public buildings of Yale College. ‘Mr. Augur, encouraged by this result, next attempted the bust of Apollo, having for his model, only a plaster cast. He wrought this piece of work from a good block of Carrara marble, the celebrated material of nearly all the modern, and 174 Williamsburgh Mineral. of some of the ancient statues. The writer of this article, - does not claim to be a connoisseur, but having formed his ideas from a degree of familiarity with many of the finest modern productions of the chisel, and from not a few of the most celebrated marble antiques, he was delighted to see a beautiful bust, executed by this self-taught, and unpretending young man, which might well claim attention, even in Som- erset House, or the Louvre. We had afterwards opportuni- ties of viewing the bust in company with gentlemen of taste and experience in this art, and especially with an eminent art- ist, who expressed his astonishment in warm terms, and did not hesitate to pronounce that Mr. Augur, if encouraged, must obtain a high rank in excellence and fame. As this bust of Apollo is now publicly exhibited in the Academy of Arts in New York, it is perhaps not proper to say more, than that our object is to draw the attention of the American public, to this unexpected production of native tal- ent, executed without previous observation, or instruction, or patronage, and in the intervals of time redeemed from a busy and more lucrative employment. We have long had much cause to be gratified with the suc- cess and the fame of American painters; but, so far as we are informed, Mr, Augur is the first native American, who has successfully attempted scuJpture; at least so successfully, that his very first production is worthy of a place in a museum of statuary, and his second gives full assurance of the brilliant exertion of taste and talent of a high order. We should be greatly gratified, if Mr. Augur’s native state, or some other state, would give him instructions to proceed to Raleigh for the purpose of copying—(after leave duly obtain- ed) at least the bust, if not the entire figure, of our own Wash- ington, as executed by the great Canova. 9. Notice of « Mineral supposed to be a Phosphate of Lime from Williamsburgh, Massachusetts, and of the lo- calities of several other minerals, Enron. i! July 1824.—This mineral was forwarded to me in June last, by Mr. Morris Dwight, its discoverer. It is imbedded in arock of gneiss, and bears strong resemblance to beryl, to crysolite, to crysoberyl, and to the phosphate of lime, espe- Williamsburgh Mineral. 175 cially to the variety called spargelstein, or asparagus stone, as itis formed at Cap de Gate, in Murcia, in Spain. The characters which { have remarked in the Williams- burgh mineral, are—that it is electric by heat and friction, in- fusible per se, ‘put loses: its colour and becomes white ; with borax it apparently melts, at least the globule obtained is white, and transparent, and to the eye homogeneous. It scratches rock crystal when rubbed on a smooth surface of that substance, and is as easily scratched by the Haddam beryl, and by topaz of Brazil. The fracture of the perfect erystals i is both ways conchoidal; the lustre is shining a1 vitreous in a high degree, both i in the natural surfaces and in the fracture. The crystal, whose colour is a delicate straw yellow, i prism of six sides, remarkably regular, with slight fongitadi- nal truncations of the solid lateral edges, thus giving the rudi- ments ofa prism of twelve sides; the sides are not striated, but reticularly indented, as if by the mica of the gangue. e specific gravity is 3.2, the theestratiieeee being at 65° Fah. the specific gravity of the beryl is 2.67, of chrysolite 3.4, of chrysoberyl 3.08, of phosphate of lime from 3.02 to 3.21. he Williamsburgh mineral phosphoresces in the dark; on a shovel heated red hot, it emits a yellowish light. January 1825.—Since the above notices were penned,| have received from Mr. Dwight, other specimens in their gangue ; some are massive and some crystallized, the colours are gen- erally shades of pale green, or greenish white; in a few in- stances nearly apple green. I extracted from the gangue the greater part of a large crystal, split nearly through the diago- nal diameter, which was more than an inch in length, ane at of the external sides was almost three-fourths of an the specific gravity of this piece, whose weight was 168: ms, is 3.43, the fracture Jess conchoidal and more approaching to foliated than that of the specimens described above; the phosphorescence was distinct and beautiful, and one end of the crystal was terminated, by a flat plane, at right angles to the sides; the other end was broken. Notwithstanding the points of rese Aah the Williamsburgh mineral and phosphate | @, it seemed dif- ficult to assign to that species, a substance which scratched quartz ; and satisfied with that trial, 1 neglected to apply the intof the knife. Learnin howev ver, from Dr. Porter, that . Nuttall is disposed to regard the Williamsburgh mineral oe 176 Williamsburgh Mineral. “as a: Rips sphate of lime, and from Mr. Dwight that it is dis- solved by the acids ;* T then for the first time, endeavoured to impress it with a knife, and found to my surprise, that all the varieties were oo Se by steel, with little more difficulty than fluor spar. as relate the ¢ cum istance in order to show the necessity of , in drawing conclusions especially from the relative bards of eee fora softer substance, mays by continued and e made to impress a har Instances C this kind are numerous in the arts, and in aa case of the pritty pbowders used in polishing hard stones. Ropes will wear wood and even stone; wood will wear metals, and metals will abrade earthy minerals; even a soft leather strap pol nd sharpens the hardest steel. disposed to think with Mr. Nuttall, ee oe Williams- | mineral is a phosphate of lime, an it_ phospho- resces, we must assign it to the variety «pate x “This i is not the first time oe this mineral (strongly resembling several of the gems eld mineralogists in doubt, as to its nature, and Se ‘astiGad its Greek name of the deceiver.t add an extract ofa letter from Mr. Dwight, dated June is 1824, prefacing it with the remark, that the minerals men- tioned by him, are all well cha racterized, a nd the plumose mica, and the micaceous iron (especially the latter) extremely heautifi I. “T take the liberty to send you a, box of minerals contain- ing the following specimens. - Argentine, Williamsburgh, . ah ag phous quartz, do. pi do a goto 4, Placing mi do. 5. Micaceous oxide of ir on, Hawle We have recently discovered the Grane of argentine. It» occurs in large masses of a superior quality—I think some pure masses will weigh tons. he quartz is found in the vicinity of the argentine. The dog-tooth projections appear to have formed upon the dog- tooth spar originally. Some of these projections however are rectangular ; perhaps these were formed upon crystals of sul- * A fact which I have since Seip tara Be 1824, Cuester Dewey, A. A.S., President. Davin Hunt, M. D Rev. Epwarp Hirtcacock, Vice-Presidents- Joun P. Batcuetper, M. Henry K. Srrone, Secretary. Col. Samuet M. M’Kay, Treasurer. Jacos Porter, Lewis C. Beck Henry H. Sama D. >Curators Orin WricHt, Henry Hupparn, mie Vor. IX.—No. 1. 23 ae ee ete 178 _ ~ American Geological Society. in American Geological Society. The annual meeting was held in the Cabinet of Yale Col- .. on the evening of September 8, when the following persons were elected to the offices affixed to their names. ~Wirtiam Mactoure, Esq. President. Grorce Gipss _ Bensamin Situman, - Parker Cunavetann, Denison Otmstep, Joun W. WEBSTER, ———< > Vice-Presidents. E, Epwaxkp Hircacocs, Aurrenp S. Monson, Recording Secretary. J. W. Wesster, C. Hooxer, Corresponding Secretartes. ‘Giones Ginps, : WesstTer, : ee James Prence, Committee of Publication. B. Situmay, A paper was read on the gold of North Carolina,* by Professor Denison Olmsted, of the university of North pelina at Chapel Hill, rge additions having been made (as heretofore ac- Baowied ged in this Journal) to the Cabinet of the Society, since the former annual Se le specimens as aI * Printed in the present number of ~~ en but, by inadver tency, ——— “eg credited to the Geological Soc Topaz. 2 a " if 79 ranged and labelled in the cases, were “exhibited tc to the Society. Advicea:tinve been received of & box* 7 iniearsn from the Giant’s Causeway and its vicinity, ee foe. Ireland by the President of the Society, Mr. Maclure r. Maclure has also forwarded from Paris thirty-five vol- umes of the Journal de Physique, to complete the set of gical Society of London, and of the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh, with the first three numbers of the Westminster Review,—all these are destined for the Library of the American Geological Society. The Hon. Stephen Van Renssellaer has presented the pe? with acop ey et Mr. Eaton’s Resenes Survey of the great New York Canal, and wit ha boxo 2 pa s illus- trative of the work The Belfast Natural History Society ines irded a column of the Giant’s Causeway, consisting of several artic- ulations ; this specimen is one of the two which were con- tained in their own cabinet; it is now next to impossible to obtain specimens from the Causeway, as it is vigilantly watched. 13. Mr. Hitchcock’s Sasa ean Betiee of the cay on The various memoirs on this subject, heretofore published in this Journal, have been embodie d by their author, into a single volume, which, with the accompanying map and other engravings, may now be obtained, as a separate work. There can be no doubt that it will prove a useful ] companion for the traveller in the region of the Connecticut river, and it certainly affords to the young A. nerican Geologist an ex- ample highly worthy of imitation, =~ * P. S. Feb. 10, 1825.—This box bas arrived. Topaz. 14. Topaz? [Communicated by the Rev Edward Hitchcock. | “s This eccurs in that rich repository of minerals, the Go- shen granite, three miles northwest of the meeting-house, associated with green tourmaline, cleavelandite, spodumene, indicolite, rose mica, and pyrophysalithe. | found a portion of a crystal of this mineral, nearly an inch in diameter ; in some specimens of this granite, which I collected for the other minerals they contained. It is perfectly limpid, although when lying 1 in its bed, it has a delicate green tinge, ~~ 3S F. ATE Sp # exhibits a lamellar structure ; in all others, it is conchoidal, and the lustre is vitreous. It exactly resembles the limpid topaz from Rio Janeiro. It scratches quartz, but is itself scratched by the spinelle.” Remarks. Mr. Hitchcock having given me a specimen of the mineral _ described ab OVE, and requested me to examine it, I have amine a larger piece might have given itas high as it is ey stated, for the topaz — that is from 3.46 to 3.60.* Mr. Hite cock’s specimen scratches not only quartz, but beryl; it is_perfectly transparent and limpid, and so entirely foliated in its structure in one direc- tion, that a little jar causes it to split into thin, jpaseies pieces, with brilliant and beautiful surfaces, while the cross fractures are in every direction conchoidal. On comparing it with a specimen of limpid topaz from Siberia, in Col. Gibbs’s cabinet, I could discover no difference, except that it was less brilliant. A very minute fragment when heated, and presented to the fibres of cotton caused a slight movement } but I could not be positive that it was an electrical effect. When exposed to the flame of the compound blow-pipe, it readily melted with strong ebullition, and produced a glisten- ing white enamel. It will be remembered that this was pre- * cisely the effect which I produced by the compound blow- pipe upon the Saxon topaz in 1812, several years before Dr. Clarke’s experiments were made.—Eprror. the specific gravity of a perfectly limpid white topaz from Sibe- ria, the weight of which was 431 grains, to be 3.69—from Col. Gibbs’s cabi- net, the same mentioned above, Dr. Hare on De Butts’ new Voltaic ee 131 15. N ote. sipiiitondon to the letter of Foafheen Robert Hare to the Editor ‘on some a de forms of the Galvanic Difermer” pa. 99. Vol. VIII. sa, Since this letter was published, I find that my tania Dr. De Butts of Baltimore, has, in one apparatus, availed him- self of that ciulalate Se surfaces, that omission of insulation, which I had first used in one of my Calorimotors ;* in another ore numerous series of smaller reierd he employs the prin- | ciple of simultaneous immersion, originally used, with respect to an extensive series, in my Deflagrator. His plates differ — mine, in being semicircular—and there are more n the series, and — large plates in each pair, than in the Galosiaiantes In his apparatus, the plates by a quarter revo- lution enter the acid: in mine, a similar averadiausiin: the trough throws the sid on the plates. I often contemplated the mode which he has eek as it seemed sufficiently convenient; but for several r preferred the methods which I have employed. Cutting thee? sheets semicircularly, is ig wasteful of the metal—and aa have never seen sheet zinc for sale inthe circular form, nor copper either, unless tor’ bottoms: which are too heavy and expensive. Plates of castzinc cannot be used advantageously, as they are too heavy for large apparatus, and are soon a rough by corrosion, eee diminishes thee energy; where the rolled zinc may be eaten down as thin as paper, and still be efficient. The Satie wy "of this difference, is to be fou in the crystalline texture of the cast zinc, which rolling de- stroys. ‘Thatsolution, to a certain extent, tends to exposethe angles of crystals, has been fully shown, in the decrystalli- zation of alum, first observed, I believe, by Mr. Daniels. I have er seen it siriknialg exemplified . Experience demonstrates the im portance, of encasing each zinc sie especially if uninsulated, in me copper - the pair, * ae al which a plate is given at the end of the book, nsider as for i ins stance . one surface ue sper and one surface of zinc, when associa ated by metallic contact, or a 8 veral sheet ts ©: of zine, Jeseodh several 0 copper; one metallic commaniontion uniting all another uniting all the copper shee te? 3 Nautical Instruction. which succeeds it, in the series. Inthe form adopted by Dr. De Butts, the copper cases cannot be made, without a much greater expense in the workmanship. Those which I have used, are formed by machinery, so that they are very hand- somely finished, with great rapidity, and all of one size and shape. = ih consequence of this contrivance, a workman has under- taken to furnish Deflagrators, at forty-five or fifty cents for every Galvanic pair (seven inches three) contained in them. This is much lower than the Paris prices, for appa- ratus far less powerful. I cannot discover the motive of Dr. De Butts, for having the legs of his apparatus of glass—while, from the construc- tion of his troughs within, he evidently sanctions my plan o omitting insulation. Had I seen the glass legs, without being aware of the internal construction of his battery, I should have expected to find the inside partitioned by glass. Dr. De Butts speaks of the coils of Col. Offerhaus and Mr. Pepys, as if that form of the Galvanic battery had originated with them; whereas this was one of the forms, first contem- plated by me—it was afterwards actually made by Dr. Pat- terson and Mr. Lukens, and in a much larger form by Mr. Peale and Mr Wetherill,* at least a year, I believe two ae ore it was resorted to, either by Pepys or Offer- ae IL, Foreren. Foreign Literature and. Science, selected and translated by Prof. Griscom. 1. Swepen.—Mutual Instruction.—There are now in Sweden sixty-seven schools of mutual instruction ; in which the Lancasterian system is practised. Twenty-two of these schools have been established since the commencement of 1823 ; there are thirteen in the capital.— Rev. Encyclopedique. * See memoir on a New Theory of Galvanism, Silliman’s Journal, Vol. I- Page 118—also Memoir on the Deflagrator, page 41._ Sh niin tSirtoeggectae es cn peas ae Copenhagen. 183 —The Canton of Berne contains near- Air pists Einieived the idea of forming a norma! school for the jestraction of these unfortunates, and undertook the (=$900) for the first year’s expenditure ; and it has just voted a similar sum for the second year. leven upils have been confided to the care of an intelligent and zealous master, Mr. John Burki. One of the objects of this Institution is to sim- plify the method of instruction so that the teachers of ordinary country schools may be charged with the instraction of the deaf and dumb.—ZJdem. 3. Russ1a.—Gold Mines.—The Cronstadt Gazette gives very interesting details relative to the gold mines, discovered a short time since in Mount Ouralo (Ural Mountains) in. the vicinity of Catherineburgh. It is known that some of the houses of that town are constructed with a very rich mineral, - and a considerable quantity of gold has been extracted from the earth of which the bricks were made some years ago. In beginning to explore the mines, whence these materials have been drawn, small masses of native gold, some of them weighing as much as three-fourths of a pound, were found, and the whole quantity obtained in gene: the fone amounts to more than three thousand pounds. The discovery of these mines and their lied veal are facts not less im- portant than unexpected ; and if there i Is nO exaggeration in the statement, we may conceive what consequences such a Bay must produce upon the relative value of gold and ‘ilbee he commerce of Europe, an bere. even upon the Sorted! balance of its different states. —Idem 4, Copenhagen.—The late Count de Moltke, minister of State, has, by his will, enriched the University of Copenha- gen, for which he has done much during his life. He has bie sence sixty thousand crowns, to be given in premiums to e professors of natural history, and in rewards to the authors of memoirs on questions proposed by the Universities; ten crowns to the Academy of Fine Arts, and‘a hundred ue thousand crowns to support at the schools and universities the a * 184 Switzerland. children of those public functionaries who shall have left their families in poverty. Besides these donations, Co Moltke has enriched many benevolent institutions. —Jdem. Mutual Instruction obtains great success in this country. They count one hundred and ey schools in which this method has been introduced. — Idem 5. Steam-Boats.—In the month of October (last year) the steam-boat Francis, the first which has navigated the Danube, made its first passage from Vienna to Pesth, and from Pesth to Vienna, with a cargo of 1500 quintals.—Idem. 6. Prussia.—The population of the Prussian states, which in 1719 was 10,799,954, gave in 1822 a census of 11,494,173 inhabitants. —Idem. 7. Prague.—This city contains 96,618 inhabitants of whom 80,794 are Christians, 7824 Jews, 6500 soldiers, and a are ‘foreigners. In the year 1820, there were in the , 736 marriages, 4199 legitimate births, and from 1400 to 16 illegitimate ; 3683 deaths. among which 191 were still born ; 3 1328 died within the first year, 6 suicides, and 14 s only by small pox. The most common maladies are rheumatisms, Sikecse of the lungs, dropsies, vane pa and mental alienations.—Jdem 8. Werman.— Goethe.—On the 28th of August, 1823, the friends of Goethe celebrated the 74th anniversary of this honour. Several poets brought their tributes in stanzas and sonnets, in which they expressed their oa a for the tal- ents of their friend and master. The two physicians who attended Goethe pera his dangerous illness, were crowned by the company.—Idem 9, SwitzerLann.— Zurich.—This city possesses eight so- ‘cieties, each of which, at the epoch of the new year are in the abit of publishing a memoir on some subject appertaining to the natural, civil, or literary history of the country.—. Public Instruction in Pribers- 185 E.—Ana atomy. —Joseph Trasmondi, while engaged ie existence of a new muscle, found in the human eye by Dr. mca of Philadelphia, phe ae: two nerves extending over the same muscle. $ given a detailed description of thisal in his school at at Rome, where he is pro- essor of practical anatomy.—Jdem is Brus seLs.—Society of Elementary Instruction --The school established by the society, now contains 400 pupils. The convent of Minimes in which the eoveinal allowed. formed into a military hospital, the society has decided upon constructing, on a fine tract of land which has been ceded to it by the state in the Rue des Minimes, two schools, the one for five hundred boys, and the other for five hundred girls, with the necessary dependenciese The building advances with rapidity, and is said to be very beautiful and appro- priate. The subscription amounts to nearly two-thirds of the requisite sum. The royal family, and various other dignitaries, have subscribed liberally.—Jdem 12, Frisure.—Public Instruction.—The R. Pére Girard, founder and director of the college of St. Michael, and of the French school of Friburg, a man as virtuous as he is en- ‘lightened, has just been deprived of his employment, and. removed from the establishment to which he had so faith- - fully devoted himself. The regrets of his Galler ditigens and universal esteem accompany him to his retreat; and the censure of every go ood man brands his persecutors. The college is definitively pi in the hands of the Jesuits, with the enjoyment of the estates which formerly belonged to it. ‘hese estates are estimated at three millions of francs. It ought to be stated, in jusniication.§ of — No. ha & * & 186 Unversity at Warsaw. number; but an invisible power gives them the requisite force, and they brave with impunity the indignation of the majority. Until now the German cantons have apparently disapproved of the operation of this occult power, which must become more fatal to the Helvetian Republic than the oppression of Bonaparte. It tends to relax the federal bond, to alienate the government from the affection and esteem of the citizens, and it degrades Switzerland in the eyes of Europe.—Idem. 13. Rome —The clergy of Rome consists of 19 cardinals, 27 bishops, 1450 priests, 1532 monks, 1464 religieux, and 332 seminarists. The population, without including the Jews, was, in 1821, 146,000 souls. — dem. nevropteres, and orthopteres) ; L. P. Vigitior (the birds) ; }. Prevost (the fish); M. Ducroray pr Brarnvitte (all of 80 numbers, each containing 10 plates, and three sheets of descriptive text. The whole will form 12 volumes, com- prehending 3840 pages with 800 plates. Price, with plates uncoloured, 320 francs; coloured, 880 francs.-—/dem. 15. Warsaw.—University.— The commencement of this university was in 1807. A faculty of medicine was at that time established, and in the following year a school of law was founded. e Emperor Alexander gave a definitive organization to the university in 1816, and the courses com- menced in 1817. Several edifices have been successively - granted for its library, collections of natural history, labora- tory, &c. The number of its students has gradually in- creased. In 1819 there were 396; in 1820, 494; in 1821, 507; in 1822, 576; and in 1823, 609. The number of - professors is 44. Prizes have been founded to excite the Pa Charity in France.—Lille. 187 emulation of the students. They, as well as the professors, wear a ibs fa which has been fixed by an pepene) de- cree.—ldem 16. Rural School.—Iln the month of March, 1822, a school was founded near Berlin in Prussia, by C.de Treskow, a be- nevolent gentlemen, for the purpose of educating twenty poor children. In their instruction, domestic economy, &c. the founder has adopted the Principles De Fellenbers’s ecole des pauvres. The experiment has been very successful, and the founder thinks that the whole annual deficit for the twenty scholars will not exceed five hundred crowns (about three hundred and fifty dollars).—/dem. 17. Lisson.—Elementary Instruction.—-M. J. J. Le Cocq, who had been sent by his government to Paris, to study the method of mutual instruction, has been, since his return schools. The government has assigned for this object a large hall in the Foundling Hospital, capable of accommo- dating four hundred children, and has ordered to be printed a the collections of tables adopted in France for reading, | writing, religious instruction, calculation, &c. It is in view to introduce this beneficent method into the different parts of the kingdom.—Jdem. 18. France.—Charity.—The amount of donations and legacies which the 7a AE establishments of France received from 1802 to 1823 is 15,300,714 francs, equal to $3,060,000, nearly ; and the valuations of the charities be- stowed upon the poor, and upon houses for the aged and infirm, from 1814 to 1823, is stated at 27, ,505,256 francs, equal to about $5,500,000. Idem 19. Litte.—The Society of the Amateurs of science, agriculture, and the arts of this city, in its programme o prizes for 1824 and 1825, offers on the subject of pustio HEALTH a gold medal of the value of sixty dollars for the best dissertation on the means of ameliorating the health of a Photometer, that shall be sensible, comparable, and of easy oe ” * e. 188 Wollaston’s Camera Lucida. and certain manipulation, dependent upon a standard of light of constant intensity, and easily reproduced in all situations. —Idem. 20. loduret of | hex cwyoteee substance being now em- ployed in medicine, the following method of preparing it,” as stated by es Pharmacein, of Paris, may be of some importance. “1 take four parts of iodine, two of iron filings free from rust, and about twenty of water ; I put the en substances in a capsule of glass or porcclain,commencing w the iodine and water. I keep stirring until the liquor, whic soon acquires a deep brown colour, becomes colourless; then I place the capsule over the fire, and when the liquid boils, I pour in by degrees, stirring it each time, a solution of pure subcarbonate of potash, until there is no longer a precipitate ; or rather I adda slight excess of carbonate of Such which J saturate with hydriodic acid, after filtration. decant upon a filter, and I wash the residuum as long as the water which passes through it occasions a precipitate, with the deuto-chloruret of mercury: 1 then reunite all the liquors and evaporate to a pellicle. The same procedure may be applied to the preparation of the Todurets of sodium, magnesium, calcium, barium, and strontium, —that is to say, in boiling the ioduret of iron with magnesia. soi barytes, strontian, or the subcarbon- aes of these bas We may liketies prepare the ioduret of mercury, by de- composing the proto-nitrate of mercury, and the deuto- chloruret by the ioduret of iron, which, as has just been shown, may be extemporaneously prepared. —An, de Chi- mie, Feb. 1823. 21. The Camera Lucida of Dr. Wollaston has been so modified by J. B. Amici, a professor of Modena, as to re- tained of Lerebours, optician to the Bureau of Longitad>, place de Pont-Neuf, 4 Paris —Jdem. Elaine from Oils. — Soap. 189 22. Compresstbility of Water.—This experiment has been tried by the distinguished Danish philosopher Cérsted, by an ingenious apparatus of his own invention. The result is thus stated. ‘‘ Agreeably to the mean of a great number of experiments, a pressure equal to that of the atmosphere iran es in water, a diminution of volume of 0.000045, a aft the trials with my apparatus, from the pressure of 4 a of Mr. Perkins, made with several hundred mospheres, give 0.060048 for each atmosphere. I am also to taken into consideration, vi water seems to lose a little of its compressibility a several compres- sions. are not, however, aver this to be the fact, not having subjected it to a rigorous trial. arly em. 23. New process for obtaining Elaine from Oils, by M. PecLet.—This process is founded on the property which ; ‘ from the excess of alcaline solution. I hav always suc- ceeded in this process with all the oils, decept with those that are rancid or have become changed by heat. The elaine obtained by this process is partoctly 44 identical _ a procured by the bhiicone? s of Chevreul and —An. de Chimie, Mars 1 * 24. Soap.—M. Chevreul, in a memoir on the causes of the difference which is observable in soap, with respect to its degrees of hardness and softness, and its odour, arrives at the following conclusions : 190 Soap. ist. That the discovery of a small number of species of fat bodies, susceptible of uniting together in indefinite pro- “portions, explains the differences of fusibility, odour, and taste, which are found in ave prodigious quantity of tallows, fats, butters, and oils, which are met with in organized bodies, and at the same A it reduces to the laws of definite combinations, an entire class of substances which seemed to be withdrawn from it. It is evident that stearine, oleine, butirine, phocenine, piscine and cetine, are to the tallow, fat, butter, and oil, which they constitute, what those metals, which, (like tin and lead, tin and copper,) are capable of uniting in indefinite proportions, are to their alloys, 2d. That the species of fat bodies which I have established, form in organic chemistry a new class of substances which present groups extremely distinct from each other: thus we have fat bodies which are acids, and fat bodies which are not so. bec the former are found, 1. the stearic, mar- garic, and oleic acids, which, relativel to the manner in which they are affected by heat, correspond with the benzoic acid; 2. the volatile acids, of which I have spoken in the memoir, which c correspond with the acetic acid. Among the fat bodies not acids, there are some, as cholesterine aa ethal, which experience no alteration by the most powerful alealjes, whilst others, as stearine, oleine, butirine, phocenine, and hircine, are all converted, under the alcaline influence, intoa mild principle on the one part, and into fat acids, fixed or volatile, on the other part; and it is not impossible that this last species may be constituted immediately by the same acids, and a mild anhydrous principle, which performs the functions of a base. However this may be, we cannot avoid commuering the substances which produce odoriferous acids by saponification, as resembling others, which are regarded as compounds of acids and alcohol. It is very probable that butirine. such as I have prepared it, is a union of several species of immediate principles, each of which is characterized by the property of wines reduced, under the a ve ine influence, into a mild principle, and a single volatile aci ul poner a omen romeo oe i ‘ ' Ammonia in the Rust of Iron. 491 3d. That the differences which soaps present, in respect to hardness and softness, inodorous and odorous, are now explained. In analysing a greater number of soaps than those which are prepared for the wants of life, I have reduced them to asmall number of saline species. 1 have shown that the.type of hard soap is the stearate of soda, while the type of soft soap is the oleate of potash; that consequently, a soap with a base of soda is the harder in proportion to the excess of the stearic over the oleic acid which it contains; and a soap with a base of potash is the softer in proportion to the oleic, over the stearic or margaric acid. The various odours o many kinds of soap, are due to principles quite different from stearic, margaric, and oleic acids, sincethe latter may be com- pletely isolated from the former. 4th. That we may not only fabricate soaps, more hard or more soft than those now in commerce, but also, by saponify- ing mixtures of stearine and oleine, derived from fat bodies extremely different from each other, imitate perfectly the soap of any given kind of fat; and I have already good rea- sons for believing that industry will make a happy application of these discoveries.— Idem, Mai 1823. 25. Ammonia in the Rust of Iron.—M. Vauquelin informs us that being called upon by one of the Judges of Paris, to determine whether certain red spots found upon the blade of a sword, which it was suspected had been employed in a case of murder, were produced by blood, he detached with the point of a penknife a small portion of the red matter, and heated it in a bent tube closed at one end, and into which he had introduced a strip of tournsol paper reddened by an acid, and moistened. A vapour arose from the heated substance which changed the red of the paper to blue. A second ex- periment made with a similar material taken from the blade o a knife which it was thought had been used for the same pur- pose, produced exactly the same effect. A physician who was consulted on the subject did not hesitate to affirm that the red matter on these instruments was blood, but this excellent chemist having still some doubts as to its nature, thought best to treat a little common rust in the same way, and a piece of iron found by chance in the cabinet of the judge supplied the means. » | 192 Roman Cemeni. This rust, of the purity of which, none had any doubts, as interesting io chemistry It proves that the rust whioh is ound in the interior of houses is susceptible of absorbing the ammoniacal aes which are so frequeatly disengaged from animal substances, and retaining them with considerable orce. M. Laugier confirmed this result with rust found in ceived traces of sulphurous acid. he rust of iron also absorbs animal vapours, for in these experiments, vestiges of a brown oil ae scenenty perceived on the sides of the tube. — Idem. Sep.1 26. Roman Cement.—A letter from M. Clement to the president of the French Academy of Sciences, states, that his friend M. Minard, engineer of the canal of the centre, who has been occupied five or six months in an inquiry on this sub- ject, has found in the department of Sadne and Loire, several einen exactly resemble those which brought feat the left bank of the T Some of them when properly calcined, produced a ave ‘which would set under water much quicker than the English, and attain an but 5 equal degree of hardness. Others harden more slowly become more solid M. Minard has further discovered that the property which he Roman cement possesses of setting under water, belongs to almost all calcareous stones. Certain limestones, employ- ed from time immemorial in the production of lime, give, at pleasure, a Roman cement which sets in a quarter of an hour, another which requires four or five days, and also a rich lime which will not harden at all, To this effect the stone must lose, 8, 12, or 30 per cent. by See M. Vical, to whom we are indebted for so many new facts with respect to mor- tars, has recently published one which rfectly agrees with the general remark of M. Minard, which is, that chalk feebly i gives a mortar capable of setting under water. ious experiments induce M. Minard to presume that Rous cements owe their quality to a subcarbonate of lime, Capillary Action of Fissures. 193 produced by the action of fire upon the natural carbonate. The happy consequence which he has drawn from his nu- merous experiments, that Roman cement may be made in almost every place where limestone is found, appears to me — beyond all doubt.—Jdem. ; a # P 27. Electricity.—It has been announced to the French Academy that M. Becquerel has demonstrated that there is a sensible developement of electricity during the ascent of li- quids in capillary tubes—Jdem, November 1823. 28. Capillary action of fissures-—M. Dobereiner, having filled several air jars with hydrogen and placed them . over water, found that in one of them the water had risen so as to fill one third of its volume. No other reason could be. assigned than an extremely small crack in the side of the vessel. Upon further trial he found that hydrogen would es- cape from vessels with extremely small fissures, and that if the same vessels were covered with a bell glass or filled with, atmospheric air, oxygen, or azote, no change could be ob- served in the volume of the gas. This he considers as a proof that the atoms of hydrogen are smaller thau those of other gases, though surrounded with a larger atmosphere of heat. He considers it desirable that some one should treat bonic acid, &c. ee Another experiment was favourable to this hypothesis. Wishing to fill the bulb of a thermometer, through a capilla-_ ry opening in the stem, by heating the ball, and plunging the fine point in the liquid, he found the alcoho! did not enter as the ball cooled. On heating the ball again, fresh bubbles of airwere disengaged, but the liquid refused again to enter on cooling. On taking the stem out of the alcohol, the air rushed in with a hissing sound. He ascribes the effect to the fineness of the epening—too small for the atoms of alco- hol, but large enough for those of the air which it contains. An explanation is thus offered of a fact discovered by Mr. Faraday, viz. that alcohol becomes concentrated by leav- Vou. [X.——No. 1. 25 194. * Muriate of Lime. ing it in a bottle covered tightly by a bladder of the bladder suffer the atoms of water to « those of the alcohol.—Jdem. | oo 29. Meteoric Iron.—\t was announced by M. de Hum- boldt to the French Academy, in October last, that, agreea- bly to a letter from M. Boussingault dated at Santa Fe de Bogota, this traveller had found, between Tunja and jhe high plain of Bogota, several masses of meteoric iron, very ctile. The weight of one of them is about 3000lbs. M. Boussingault, conjointly with M. Rivero, has taken levels of the whole mountainous country between Caraccas and Santa Fe.—Idem, Dec. 1823. 30. Rain.—The quantity of rain which fell at Paris in the year 1823, as measured in the yard of the Royal Observato- ry, was 20.4 inches. The quantity which fell upon a ter- race at an elevation of about 92 feet above the yard wa 17.98 inches. The number of days of rain was 175.—-Idem. 31. Muriate of lime.-—M. Dubuc, an apothecary of Rouen in France has discovered that muriate of lime is a very ac- tive manure or vegelable stimulant. He dissolves about two and a quarter Ibs. of the dry salt (chloruret of calcium) in about sixteen gallons of water, and with this solution waters the plants at distant intervals. He sprinkled a light soil with this fluid, and cight or ten days after planted it with “maize, and from time to time during the season watered the corn with the same solution. Another portion of corn, at six feet distant, he watered with common waters. he for- mer yielded double the produce of the latter. A grand va- riety of plants and garden vegetables were tried in the same manner and with similar results. The sun-flower, (helian- thus,) which in that place rises only to six or eight feet, grew by this treatment to the height of twelve or fifteen feet, with flowers whose disks were eighteen or twenty inches in diameter, producing seeds which yielded half their weight in oil good to eat, and exuding from its centre a transparent vein of turpentine, very odorous, and drying easily in the air. Potatoes were also tried. They were planted on the Ist of May, 1822, in two squares six feet asunder ; the one was watered with the solution, and the other with water from the cistern. They were gathered on the 10th of Ne Di ac lll ae) Sulphurous Acid. ~ 195: had been watered with the solu- terface of this fluid at distant periods, are consider- ell sufficient Its action is ascribed by M. Lematre-Lisancourt, who communicates the account, to what he calls electro-or- ganic influence. When applied to animal organization, it is said to arrest gangrene and ulcers, and to favour the cica- trization of wounds.—ldem, Feb. 1824. - Diamond.—\t appears, from specimens which now oii in several European cabinets, that the veritable gangue of the Brazilian diamond is a brown oxide of iron.— Idem 33. Atmospheric tides.—It appears, agreeably to the dis- coveries of Colonel Wright, that in the neighbourhood of the equator the diurnal rise and fall of the Barometer (twice in twenty-four hours) are so regular that it might almost serve as an instrument for measuring time. Various other philosophers,particularly Godin, Bouguer, Lacondamine, and Humboldt. had noticed this diurnal movement long before.-— Idem, Mars 1824. - Liquefied sulphurous acid.—M. Bussy states that he étaine this acid ina liquid state exempt from water, a passing the gas, first through a tube filled with fragments meited muriate of lime, into a matras surrounded with two parts of pounded ice, and one of marine salt. The gas is liquefied completely under the simple pressure of the atmos- phere,and at a temperature not below eighteen or twenty de- grees centigrade. Thus obtained,it is a colourless,transparent and very volatile fluid, heavier than water, It boils.at ten de- grees centigrade, but may be preserved liquid, without extra- ordinary pressure, because the portion which volatilizes re- duces the temperature far below the point of ebullition, Poured on the hand, it produces intense cold, and volatilizes completely. Poured into water, a portion flies off, and an- other dissolves and at length collects at the bottont; i in or like a heavy oil. If it then be touched with a rod, it is reduced to vapour, and occasions a kind of ebnilition ; hee 9G... 4 ore Incubation. covered with Pe ball of a dierinométer be png in eotwoks slang’ in this liquid, and swung in the air, (when the temperature of the room is ten degrees centigrade,) a diminution of volume takes place, corresponding with the is mode of cooling a been suites to the liquefaction of other gases. The gas is first dried by passing it through a tube containing mnriate of lime ; to this tube is adapted a tube bent at right angles ; the horizontal branch, swelling into a thin bail which is surrounded with cotton, and mois- me mercury, In this way the sathor has condensed chlo- ° 35. Artificial incubation.—An ingenious apparatus for this purpose has been invented by Mr. Barlow, near London, in which the requisite heat is maintained by the circulation of steam. It consists of a box or oven constructed of iron plates, divided into a great number of compartments, each of which is warmed to the temperature required. The eggs are first placed in that which is the least heated, and are mesually removed to that which is of the highest tempera- ture he more Aifficult part of the Aga consists 11 exclude the steam by ‘the force of the heat itsell. It may ily be conceived that, in am apparatus containing fifteen eggs, aqueous vapours would arise so copiously as njure ihe success of the operation, had not means been debned: of absorbing them, A hydrometer of a particular construction is destined for this purpose. oS enero ‘| Artificial eee 197 The natural incubation of chicke r domestic fow!s, and of partridges an ph ease [ eet ordinarily twenty-one days. Ducks, geese, and turkeys, require thirty- six. The artificial process in “Mr. Barlow oven is of the same: ‘duration, and it would be injurious to accelerate or retard it. As soon as the chicks have broken their shells, they are placed i in a cage beneath the even, the temperature of which is at cighty degrees Fahrenheit. Here they are left three or four days, during which the temperature is gradually diminished. They are then exposed to the open air, and in aati they are as robust as those that are hatched under ens. - Mr. Barlow — the progressive ve ia of the The second day, the heart Nest to eat on the third, appear two vesicles full of blood, the pulsations of which are very seusible : the one is the left ventricle. the other the base of the . artery. On the fourth, the lien, are dis- auricles of the heart. About the sixth the liver is distin- guished. The first voluntary movement of the embryo is manifest at the end of the 13Ist hour. At the 138th are seen the lungs and the stomach, and on the seventh day, the intestines, the kidneys, the upper jaw, and two drops of blood in place of the one before observed; the brain acquires some consistence. On the 8th day the bill opens, and the breast is covered with flesh ; on the oth the ribs issue from 16th the bill opens and shuts, and about the 18th the Heck utters the first cry. From this time the animal gradually isoreases in strength until it breaks the shell. 198 Art of Baking. About 24 hours before the shell is broken, the yolk of the egg, which til] then remains entire, passes into the intes- tines, and affords nourishment sufficient for 30 hours after the animal is hatched.— Bulletin d’ encouragement. 36. Patents.—The number of Patents for new inventions, or improvements on former ones, taken out in 1822 were, In 161 rance, - England, - 124 and in 1823, in France, - ngland, -- 1 United States, 164 37. Syphon.—An improvement on this instrument has been made in Paris, by M. Buntem, instrument-maker, quai Pelletier, No. 26, so as to save the necessity of suc- tion. Near the top of the outer and longer branch, just below the bend of the syphon, a ball is blown, forming part of the stem itself, and of a suitable size.. On filling this branch, (together with the ball,) with a fluid, stopping the end of the tube with the finger, and then immersing the short leg in the liquor to be drawn off, the operation will go = on at pleasure, e same artizan has improved the common or domestic barometer, so as to prevent the possibility of air getting into the tube, by a variation of its position.— Bulletin de la Soc. d’ encouragement. . € 38. Art of Baking.—A machine for accelerating the f mentation of flour, has been invented at Lausanne in Swit- zerland. It consists simply of a round box of pine wood. foot in diameter, and two feet long, placed upon gudgeons, and put into motion by a handle or winch, resembling y the cylinder used for burning coffee. An opening _ is made on one side for receiving the dough. The time _ hecessary for fermentation, depends on the temperature, the rapidity of its motion, and many other circumstances 3 but when the paste is properly raised, the operator discovers it, by the hissing sound of the fixed air, as it rushes out of the machine. It never fails to work well, and requires at « Comets. 199 most, half an hour’s attention. The labour is nothing, as a child can turn the machine. If made longer. and divided into compartments, it would serve for the preparation of several kinds of paste at the same time. his machine offers the double advantage of raising paste expeditiously and to the exact degree required. — Kev. Ency. Feb. 39. Light-Houses.—One of the most recent applications of the study of the properties of light, is that which is now made in France in the establishments of dioptric light- houses. We give this name to those in which the light of the flame is not reflected, but transmitted through lenses which render the rays parallel. he flame is placed in the centre of eight similar lenses, and the whole system turns on its axis, so that all points of the horizon are successively en- lightened. ‘The light appears alternately strong and feeble ; and this intermission of splendour, weakness, and sions, by composing them of several pieces, and suppressing all the thicknesses which would contribute only to the waste of light, a remarkable disposition which Buffon was the first to empl It was especially necessary to place in the centre of illu- mination a very strong ligh essrs. Arago and Fresnel _ invented for that purpose a lamp of concentric flames, the z of which is probably equal to 150 wax candles. The latest experiments have proved that these lights, even in un- able weather, are easily perceived at a distance of more Le ues. Such is their splendour, that they were nployed as signals in a geodesic operation, in which Arago and Matthieu and Messrs. Kater and Colby, be ae Society of London, were engaged. These sig- s a matiques. 40. Comets.—The comet seen in 1822 ts evidently that ef 1785, 1795, 1805, 1819. The duration of its revolution round the sun is 1202 days. It was seen at the New Qb- . Mi tale . 200 Canals. ~ sereaieny erected by General Brisbane at Paramatia in New South Wales, during the mouth of June 1822. The elliptic elements of this comet have been calculated by M. Enke. It offers this important advantage, that it may be observed ten times in 33 years. The ellipse which it de- scribes is comprised in the interior of uur solar sytem. Its least distance from the sun is about three times jess than that of the earth, and its greatest distance is about i2 times _ greater than ils least distance. This comet is probably destined to furnish us with new knowledge relative to the mnsvlee nature of these bodies which have so little mass, and seem to cousist only of con- densed vapours. They cause no "shat perturbation in ‘our planetary system, but they undergo themselves very considerable disturbances. Their courses cannot be fixed, if their masses gradually change, or are divided, or dissipated. As long however as the mass subsists, these bodies are sub- ject to the known laws of gravity, so that there are none of them, the observance of which do not afford a new proof of the truth of the principles of modern astrouomy.—Jdem. Al. Natural History—We are indebted to Mr. Bradley for a curious observation. He discovered that two ames carried into their nest forty caterpillars perhour, The bir appeared to him to reside in their nest ouly twelve hours in the day. This would produce a daily consumption of 480 caterpillars, which in one week amounts to 3360, by a single pair of swallows.—Rev, Ency. Mai 1823. 42. Canals.—Great-Britain enumerates 103 canals, of ~ which 97 belong to England, 5 to Scotland, and: one to Ire- Jand. In this number none are included which are not more than 6 miles long. The total extent of these eanals is 26823 miles, of which 2471 are in England, 1493 in Scotland, and 694 in Ireland. Thirty millions sterling is the valuation of the cost. The stock of some of these rose in a few years to 15 or 20 times its original value. These various canals pre- sent 48 subterranean passages. 40 of which have an extent 0 about 32 English miles. None of these works, important 9% they were projected prior to 1755 The patriotic and enlightened zeal of the Duke of Bridgewater, and the talents of Brindley, gave the first decisive impulse to their improve ments in 1759. ‘There is now scarely a point of importance in England, that has not a water communication with every ether.—Idem, Blowpipe Experiments. 201 3. Pyroligneous Acid.—Mr. a a surgeon of Kasan, a frequent y used this acid in the cu hagedenic ulcers of the feet, and with constant sdecatins he surface of the ulcer is washed once a day with the acid by means of a fine brush or hair pencil, and then covered with lint, and a diges- tive ointment. The bad smell of the ulcer soon ceases, the ‘Sanies loses its corrosive nature, a good pus is formed, and a healthy action is rapidly induced.— Bul. Univer. Feb. 1824. 44. Chlorate of Potash, according to Dr. Geiger, may be obtained more abundantly by exposing the solution of sub- carbonate of potash, saturated with gaseous chlorine, in a cool place during several days.—Jdem, Mars 1824. 45. Test for Iron.—Ficinus, of Dresden, pretends that mu riate of gold is preferable as a test for Iron, to all others hith- erto employed. It is well to adda little carbonate of soda to the liquor suspected to be ferruginous —Idem. 46. Excellent test for Copper by Wittinc.—After having dissolved a grain of stilphate of copper in 24 ounces of dis- tilled water, the author dips into it a fragment of phosphorus suspended by a thread. A blue colour is soon manifest, and at the end of a few hours there is a brown deposit on the sur- face of the phosphorus, sufficient to leave no doubt of the presence of copper, ees it existed in the liquid only in the porportion of 5;455-—ddem 47. Blowpipe Fraperenents< vd 09 difficulty of gulps ing very small particles of a mineral to the actio n of the pipe is much increased by the want of a aueiia ae for such small portionsof matter. J. Smithson has prescribed an excellent method. He flattens the end of a platina wire, and spreads over ita little paste made of porcelain, or pipe clay and bai and apis? this to the powder or particle to be acted on. It dries and adheres in a few minutes, and may then be fully cane to the flam If the clay should affect the desired action of the flame un- favourably, a paste may be made in many instances of the fine Voi. [IX.—No. I. 26 202 wa Paris. powder of the mineral itself, and used as a substitute. —Tech. Repository, 15. 48. Ink.*—The bark of the chestnut (Fagus castanea) is said to contain twice as much tan as that of the oak, and gives with sulphate of iron a. beautifully black ink. The colour which this tan produces is less liable to change by the sun and rain, than that produced by sumac.—Precess, Monatsblatt, Jani 1822. | 49. Watchmakers’ Oil.—The best oil for diminishing friction in delicate machinery, is that which is entirely de- prived of every species of acid, and of mucilage, and is ca- pable of enduring intense cold without congealing. The oil, in fact, should be pure elaine, without any trace of stearine. Now it is no difficult thing to extract the elaine from all fixed oils, and even those from seeds, by the process of Chev- reul, which consists in treating the oil with seven or eight times its weight of alcohol, almost boiling hot, decanting the liquid, and exposing itto cold. The stearine will then separate in the form of a cristalline precipitate. The alcoholic solution is then to be evaporated to the fifth of its volume. What is left is the elaine, which ought to be colourless, insipid, almost without smell, without any action on the infusion of tourn- sol, and having the consistence of white olive oil, and with difficulty coagulable.— Bulletin Univ. Feb, 1824. 50. Panis —There are in this city 520 Watchmakers, who employ about 2056 workmen, and produce annually 80,000 gold watches, 40,000 silver watches, and 15,000 clocks, the whole worth about 19,765,000 francs. nthe same city there are thirty tanneries, in which 300 workmen prepare every year at a medium, 45,000 ox-hides, 4,v00 cow-hbides, 8,000 horse-hides, 60,000 calf-skins, and employ in this operation, 11 millions of pounds of tan, 97,000 pounds of alum, 500 pouuds of tallow, and the same quantity of salt. The produce of this branch of commerce is esti- mated at 3.726.000 frances. The number of houses sold annu- ally in Paris is about 4,200. Of printing establishments there are 80, occupying 3000 workmen, moving 600 presses, and employing yearly 280,800 reams of paper, which yield a receipt of 8,750,000 francs. * See Mr. Sheldon’s notice, Vol. 1. pa. 312 &c. of this Journal. ——— eT Steam Engines. — . 203 Tae royal printing office, which employs 80 presses, 295 workmen, and from 70 to 80,000 reams of paper, is not in- cluded in this estimate. f the books printed annually in France, it is estimated that there are of theological works seven per cent., of juris- oe five, arts and sciences twenty, politics sixteen, elles-lettres twenty-eight, and'history twenty-four.— Bulletin des Sciences, Geographiques, Statistiques, &c., Mars 1824. 51. Rapid evaporation.—Professor Oersted has pointed out a method of considerable utility in the evaporation of liquids. He fastens together a great number of fine metallic rods, or wire, and puts them in the bottom of the distillery or evaporating vessel, and by this means he distils seven measures of brandy with the same fuel, which without the rods would distil only four.—Budlletin des Sciences, Phystques, &c. Avril, 1824. 52. Steam Engines.—The French Institute have subjected to a careful investigation, the various circumstances connect- ed with the explosion of steam boilers, and an ordinance of the king, founded most probably upon the conclusions of the Academy, decrees: Ist. That no high pressure engine shall be established without alicense. 2d. That every proprietor shall declare before the proper authority, the degree of pres- sure with which his machine is intended habitually to act, 3d. That no high pressure engine shall be erected without having its strength previously determined by the hydraulic press, that every boiler shall be able to sustain five times the force under which it is to act, that the intended pressure shall be stamped upon it, and that no boiler shall be erected until it receive this stamp. 4th. That two safety valves shall be adapted to each boiler, so large that either of them can dis- engage the steam with sufficient rapidity, one of them to be at the disposal of the fire man, and the other covered with a grating, locked, and the key kept by the proprietor. Sth. That two round plates shall be inclosed in the boiler, one of which to be at least equal in diameter to the safety valve, and to be composed ofa mixture of metals which will melt or soften at a temperature of 10° centigrade, above that of the boiler; the other of double the diameter, inserted near the locked valve, and of such a composition as to soften at 20° _ 204 ? Deaf and Dumb. centigrade, above the heat of the boiler. These plugs to be stamped with the degree at which they are fusible.—Budletin Dnivers. Avril 1824. 53. American Geography.—A Geography of the United States has just been published in Germany, in one volume, of 1200 pages, in which the author has availed himself of the latest information, such as the geographical and statistical atlas of Carey. The work concludes with an alphabetical table of 130 pages. ‘‘This table,” says the reviewer, ‘shows how fond the Americans are of particular names- We find that there are already in the country, twenty Fair- fields, ten La Fayettes, without reckoning two Fayettevilles, six Frankforts, eight Lancasters, nineteen Monroes, forty-two Franklins, and fifty-five Washingtons! What confusion will one day arise, when all these places shall have acquired some importance ? It will be necessary to recommend to corres- pondents to mark their letters with the name of the state and the county, andit is impossible that 55 Washingtons shall not confound geographers, and set the clerks of post-offices into an ill humour with the great man who has left his name tos many towns and villages.”—Rev. Ency. Jan. 1824, oie 54. Georama.—An establishment under this title has been erected in the boulevard de Ja Chaussée d’Antin, Paris, con- sisting of a hollow sphere of forty feet in diameter, within which is laid out a general map of the world, executed by the best artists. A spiral staircase ascends to three circular and insulated balconies, whence the spectators can view every part of the sphere, even in it most minute details.— Bul. Univers. 55. Deaf and Dumb.—Observations de deux sourdes et muettes, &c or ‘* observations on two deaf and dumb persons who hear and speak, proving that many of the deaf and dumb may enjoy the same benefit.” A pamphlet under this title, published in Paris, forms the fourth memoir relative to dis- eases of the ear, by Dr. Deleau, jun. of the faculty of that city- It consists chiefly of a report made to the Academy of Sci- ences by M. M. Pelletan and Percy, in December 1822, and of two observations made upon two young girls, one nine, and the other eleven years of age, curedof deafness, and restored Bulletin Universel. 205 to speech by the process of Dr. Deleau. The reporters, members of the Academy, after having neticed those physi- clans who have been particularly engaged in similar research- his predecessors, that his instrument in their opinion ought be generally adopted, and that they have been personal wit- nesses of the happy results which Dr. Deleau has obtain- ed. One of the young patients thus cured, says the author, manifested the most extatic delight on hearing the sounds of a musical snuff box, which was opened and held to her ear. One of the great advantages of this curative method of De- leau is that it may be applied to persons of every age.— Rep. Ency. July 1823. es, acknowledge that this young operator has se beased ake OTHER SELECTIONS AND NOTICES, , 56. Bulletin Universel des Sciences et de L’ Industrie.—The first eight numbers of this magnificent work have been for- warded by the principal editor, the Baron de Ferussac, to the editor of this Journal. The plan proposed for this work appeared almost too extensive to be successfully executed, Who would have thought that a periodical work, of from five to six hundred closely printed octavo pages, could be issued every month from the press! The plan has, how- ever, been carried into effect, with a success highly honour- able to its conductors, and propitious to the cause of learn- elevate the dignity of human nature by the promotion of learning! The workin question is aided by no in- considerable part of the talent of France, and affords honourable evidence of industry and research. ‘This Bulle- tin may be considered as a general record of the progressive labours of the human mind throughout the world. Publica- tions of merit from all parts of the globe are noticed, usually 206 Artificial Mahogany. with a general outline of the plan of each publication, and With an exposition of those parts which are remarkable for originality or importance. Perhaps the journal would be more interesting, if, in some instances, more detailed analy- publications: for so numerous are the monthly journals candour. Besides the general direction of the Baron de be secured by the continued zeal of its conductors, distin- guished no less for perseverance than talent. 57. Mr. Perkins’s Steam-Engine.—The great power of Mr. Perkius’s engine he bas recently illustrated by some “singular experiments. He bas constructed a smal! appara- tus, which, when connected with the generator, has been found to discharge ordinary musket-bullets at the rate of two hundred and forty in the minute, and with such tremendous force, that after passing through an inch deal, the ball, in striking against an iron target, became flattened on one side and squeezed out.—Edinb. Phil. Journ. Vol. X. 58. Artificial mahogany.—The following method of giving any species of wood of a close grain, the appearance of ma- hogany, in texture, density, and polish, is said to be prac- tised in France with such success, that the best judges are incapable of distinguishing between the imitation and maho- gany. The surtace is first planed smooth, and the wood is then rubbed with a solution of nitrous acid. One ounce On the Corrosion of the Coppering of Ships. 207 cess 1s repeated, and in a short interval afterwards the wood possesses the external appearance we have described. When the polish —— in brilliancy, it a be restored by the use of a little cold-drawn linseed oil.—Lond.- Jour. Arts, Vol. IV. p. 107. 59. New Pyrophrous of Tartrate of Lead.-—In determining the composition of tartrate of lead, Dr. Friedmaun Gobel of Jena, observed that this salt when heated i in a glass vs form- ed a fine pyrophorus, ena portion of the deep brown mass is projected from the tube, it instantly tathde fire, and brilliant globules of metallic lead appear on the surface of the substance in ignition. The effect continues much longer than in other pyrophori.—Edinb. Phil. Journ. Vol. X. 60. On the corrosion of the Coppering of Ships.—At a meeting of the Royal Society on the 22d January, Sir oad phrey Davy read a paper on the cause of the decay and corro- sion of the coppering of ships, which he ascribed to a constant, though feebie chemical action of the saline parts on the sur- face of the copper. ‘This action he. considers as galvanic ; and it is known, that some copper suffers comparatively little corrosion to that which takes place where the Coppa contains a small quantity of zinc or any other metal. In order to remedy this great pencciens evil, Sir Humphrey Davy has shown, that if a very small s arhane of tin is brought in contact with a surface of ieee one hundred times its size, it will render the copper so negatively electrical, that the sea- water is no longer able to corrode it. e same effect was produced when a small piece of tin was made to communi- cate with a large surface of copper by means of a wire. We opper. are informed by a friend (who saw the result of the experi- ment) that when a piece of Mr. Mushet’s patent copper, a piece of common copper, and a piece of the one rendered negatively electrical by zinc, were subjected to the action of salt water, the common copper was highly corroded, and the patent copper less so, while the negatively electrical co per was not affected at all. This elegant invention of Sir Hum- phrey Davy, will, we doubt not, be duly appreciated by the government and the p Abid. 208 Germination of Maize Grain. 61. Purple colour of Glass increased by light.—M. Fara- day has found that by the exposure of plate-glass with a pur- ple tinge to the sun’s rays, during nine months the purple tint had increased considerably, while pieces of the same gins kept in the dark had suffered no change.— Quart. Journ. o. 3l. ¢ 62. Flora of the Greek Archipelago.—A full and exten- sive Flora of the Greek Archipelago, and the shores and islands of the Euxine, by M. Dumont D’Urville of the French navy, has appeared among the transactions of the Linnzan Society of Paris. Those countries, so long under the semi- barbarian power of the Crescent, have never, until now, been botanically explored since the days of Hippocrates, and of the Grecian botanist Theophrastus, save partially by that pa- triarch of the natural sciences, Tournefort U was well acquainted with Grecian literature, and has affixed to each plant its own Hellenic denomination, as given in an- cient classical authors.— Dr. Pascalis’s Address. 63. Effects of an earthquake on the vegetation of wheat.— {t is aremarkable circumstance, that since the great earth- quake of 1687, no wheat will grow on the coastof Peru. In some places, indeed, a little is rzised ; but it is very unproduc- ° tive. Rice, on the contrary, yields a great return. Before the earthquake, one grain of wheat yielded two hundred grains.—Edinb. Phil. Journ. Vol. X. 64. Maize grain remarkably retentive of the power of Ger- aninating.—It is worthy of notice that the maize which is found in the graves of the Peruvians, who lived before the arrival of Europeans in that country, is still so fresh, that when planted, it grows well, and yields seed.—Jbi Z Gooche 4 HMOMC pua.27. ; iy hte e Fo OE jer. : . "a : : es ie Chrysoberyt @ lisddm. ° ements TTT Ae i eanaeen a a TD.PORTER S Loatities of Minerals f fe 2 a ‘ee. t ae CPt Conformation DQ ‘Yimestone. pa- 19. on Connecticut, River sie » \ Large Crystals? Quark passe PLATE i. PLATE I. OCCOCH CLE .« / ? Cs, re prodeicm L ha ch oe ee pes el * ~ LA -_ soe one! SAS BOA AN Ty if % ie Z NY) ) ’ Me, x ge alten s fa 7 ae a) Yb ERM pte H B fresno a» ue * pee mIricletcbse| 7 BERESSo2 gti ag) if — = EEFEEER i A + NE ec _ = epee aT A, Deotitele te. THE a AMERICAN sade JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, &c. —— ; GEOLOGY, MINERALOGY, TOPOGRAPHY, &c. : * o % aa ; * Art. I1.—On Earihquakes—their causes and effects. By Isaac Lea. - e Tue nature of an earthquake is so well known, that Iwill describe it only as a vibrating or balancing motion of :the soil on which we tread, extending to various depths beyond our knowledge, and sometimes to an enormous extent. The wide-spreading devastation and ruin, which sometimes ac- company them, bring the mind to the contemplation of one of the most astonishing efforts of nature. The imagination, in seeking for its Se cause, is lost i in the “rath nr of its tered. My object is to endeavour to show aig are the pe ca ble sources from whence such large supplies o Bd ite bustible matter are drawn ; and to prove the entity ofthe volcano with the earthquake; by this I wish to be under- © stood that I believe carthquakes to be the effect of yélcanic eruptions, which accompany them as the thunder accom- panies the action of the electric fluid, and that the motion 1s produced by a pre-existing cause. ‘L also deny that light- ning has the.power to produce the earthquake, as has been supposed—first by Dr. Stukely in 1749, and since by many philosophers. The electric as is frequently, nay most Vot. 1X.--No. 2. 210 On Earthquakes—their causes and effects. generally seen in connexion with an eruption of the vol- eano, but it is called into action by the unusual excitement of heat, and is therefore an effect and not a cause. Dolo- mieu denies the agency of electricity; he says, “ J’exclue Pelectricité, qui ne peut pas s’accumuler, constamment pen- dant un an de suite, dans un pais environné d’eau, ou tout concourt a mettre ce fluide en €quilibre. Il me reste le feu.” When we undertake to give a history of the eruptive state * of the bowels of the earth, we must commence that history with the actual existence of their inflamed state; for, al- though many volcanoes (which may be. termed pores or eruptive canals of the earth).are pot in an active state, and have been slumbering for hundreds of years, yet we have others that are seldom or never dormant—that of Stromboli been throwing out unremitted flames for two thousand “The earliest historians have given relations of many earth- quakes. Those of Pliny are among the best authenticated. In A. D. 79, Herculaneum was covered with lava seventy feet thick. Notwithstanding this continued ebullition, we find the surface of the earth but little changed by this agent, except in the immediate vicinity of volcanoes. e very strong reasons to believe that a conside- rable portion of the interior of ne earth is in a constant state of incandescence. In South America the bursting forth of one volcano is frequently followed by that of others, in the chain of the Andes at a great distance. So distinctly has this happened, that Humboldt considered this chain com- posed, not of different volcanoes, but of one immense vol- eanic wall stretching from north to south. The existence of this being before our eyes, it is easily to be supposed that larger and more extensive channels may exist at greater depths. Itis difficult, the same author says, “ not to admit the existence of cavities between the oxided parts of the globe—parts abounding in metalloids.”” ‘The extensive ranges that earthquakes frequently take go far to prove the existence of great channels of communication. Boyle, in the following quotation, expresses this opinion. “Tis the more likely that this earthquake shook great acts of land beyond those places to which the fired matter, , passing, from one cavity to tae tould Lremebe} in so short a time.” Royle, Vol. 1. p. 479. > On Earthquakes—their causes and effects. 211 And Newton, in no less unequivocal language, says, ‘“‘We may Jearn that sulphureous steams abound in the with a great shaking of the earth, as in the springing of a mine.?’—Newton’s Optics, p- 353. ve The existence of those extensive cavities satisfactorily accounts to us for the fact of earthquakes being severely felt at great distances from volcanoes; such was the case in 1811 and 1812, when the shores of the Mississippi, near New Madrid, were literaily torn to pieces, the vibration being felt in many parts of the United States. I was at that time driven from my bed in Pittsburgh by the alarming mo- tion. If we look round for the cause of this in a volcano bo It extended to Spain, France, Africa, the Azores, West Indies, &c., and persons on board ships forty leagues off St. Vincent were thrown from their feet. In 1601 an earthquake was felt in Asia, Thrace, Hungary, Bohemia, Germany, Italy, and France. To account satisfactorily for such extensive effects, we must admit of deep-seated chan- nels of communication stretching from one portion of the globe to the other, through which the explosive gases pass with an instantaneous motion, accompanied by a rumbling or terrible noise, peculiar to earthquakes. That these chan- nels have communication with the sea, there is no dispating ; for volcanoes frequently throw up salt water and fish from the ocean; this has been the case with Vesuvius and I be- lieve with some of the Cordilleras. It has been observed that previous to an eruption of Vesuvius, the sea retires from the shores until the mountain bursts, when it returns to overflow its usual boundaries. tna has thrown out than the ocean. It should here be recollected that all the Ses te ape , Shee? awe Ha 212 On Earthquakes—their causes and effects, Nh known volcanoes are situated near the sea. Cotopaxi is said to be farthest from it, at one hundred and forty miles distance. Thus it is that islands are so much more prolific of volcanoes than continents. In Europe there is but one on the continent, and twelve on its islands; in Asia eight, and on its islands fifty-eight ; in fe ninety- seven, and on its islands nineteen. Water therefore is an essential portion of the volcano, and we ity safely conclude that it is its most Diasici 2 ae We are all ‘es Sa with the During an eruption of Vesuvius a ” one thousand feet high = thrown up in one single ni - Whether the earth was created with its internal mass in an nited state, or whether the action of fire commenced since we find it, and e ur to show how this fire is kept up. In descendi the exterior strata of the earth we i the heat to as recede fr its se in the same ratio bey ‘ond the de t continue to” ‘depth | in has been able to attain, we should have at a compara= ively short distance, a state of ignition almost beyond our conception. If such be really the fact, the centre of this mass must assume a fluid form presenting a heterogenous mass of metalloids ; but it is difficult to suppose that it could remain in a state of ignition without a large supply of air: yet, on the contrary, the great density of the earth’s mass urges strongly in favour of such a belief. Dr. Maskelyne has proved this density to be 9 a 2 water, and 9 a 5 common stone. If we admit of channels extending to, and comecte vol- canoes, and branching into countries not possessed of them, they must be independent of, and superincumbent to the fluid mass. They may be considered, in fact, as a species _ of horizontal volcanoes, their walls and roofs furnishing them combustible matter, aided by oxygen supplied by “influx of the sea. That volcanoes are connected with the ocean, cannot admit of a reasonable doubt. Inde- pendent of what I have said on the subject, we have sub- o aa a measure twelve feet long and forty-five in circumference. a $e ; On Earthquakes—their causes and _tarine volcanoes, which show themselves by throwing up . - large quantities of water into the air, and are in a state action in concert with those at a considerable di A continuance of those eruptions frequently produces” felands; some of which again disappear suddenly, as though they were the apex of a huge crater “falling into its own bowels. Of this description was the island of Sabrina, among the Azores. In June 1811, it made its appearance where the Sea was sixty fathoms deep: and was nine hundred toises in diameter. Many of the West India Islands expanencotae ee at the same time, at a distance of eight hundred _ eagues : It may be objected to this theory that rocks do not b eu &- = In answer I state, that when rocks are decomposed, th metallic bases, calcium, silicium, aluminum, magnesium, a! ‘3 are highly incandescent, and prove a never failing source. of 2 - matter for combustion. 5 If there should We an accumulation of gaseous vapours i ee one of those channels, and it should be unable t in. consequence of some Peis toa Gecatng volute it. forces another opening, “~ causes, -by passing t ——_ a = ee? ee channel, an earthqu t ‘onsi erable Pacts _ from whence it originated. jSeierothin ng o “thi ees when Riobamba was ore The volcano of to, which had continued to eject smoke, ceased at once ; at that moment the city was destrayed, at the a of 7 ie thirty-five leagues south. : | Earthquakes frequently occur ee any s) of connexion with voleanoes. These may be a Be ; of the sea to one of those channels, the water, sicing with an ignited mass, is suddenly converted into elas- ; tic vapour, and expands itself throughout its openings, “ causing @ concussion or trembling of the superincumbent strata. Dolomieu, in his examination of Calabria, says, ‘‘ La fore: ce motrice paroit avoir residé sous la Erlabre elle , méme.’? He afterwards informs us that the motion appears . ‘ ‘to have advanced progressively along the chain of the A Appe- nines, from the south to the north. “Phe action of an cots. ‘ e was almost instantly communicated from rin ie “Gudyaquil, a distance of six hundred leagues. If | boldt’s idea, that the Cordilleras form a vast volcanic w valk be correct, the pulsation must have been communicated iia acraamaeaai 214 On Earthquakes—their causes and effects. with amazing rapidity. through a channel similar to those described. many remarkable eruptions ‘of volcanoes are well calculated to prove the agency of the ocean. The mud- volcanoes of Macalouba in Sicily, tana. and Bologna in Italy, and those of the Crimea, of Java, and Iceland, must be caused by water, drawn from this source and ejected with the soil, intimately mixing with it on their passage to the summit of the crater. ions have taken place of dust only. A most re- mallet e of this kind happened very recently, 1815, at ‘Tamboro, near Java, when such showers were thrown up as o produce total darkness a great distance. It continued to fall three hundred and thirty miles distant, for nearly a whole — y. This must: have been the sudden extrication of a slumbering mass which may have been accumulating for é ees in the bosom of the mountain The air-volcano of Cumacatar deseribed by Humboldt presents an anomaly, and is not easily accounted for, except on the tagiare that it may be an old yolcano, so near extinct as to have weak enough only to cause a continued draft or current irregu' rity “of eruptions of volcanoes and occur- r cinges of earthquakes, we have many curious instances. An ejection of ashes for a few minutes, is sometimes succeeded by a calm of ten years. In 1766 the city of Cumana was _ entirely destroyed in a few minutes, and shocks were hourly felt during a period of fourteen months. In 1692, Port- oyal, Jamaica, was destroyed, and the inhabitants were olnaed to remain on board of vessels for two months, on account of the continued concussions experienced there, In this earthquake persons were swallowed up, and by another effort of nature exhumed. Dr. J. W. Webster, in his descrip- tion of St. Michael, informs us that thirty-one shocks were felt in the city of Ponta Delgada, in the space of a few hours. In some parts of the chain of the Andes, eruptions take place regularly every thirty or forty years. t has been the anxious inguEy, of many geologists, in achat formation do volcanoes exist? is it necessary the Id be nourished by any particular stratum? Ip answer to these queries, it may be said that those persons who judge from the exterior of a bur rning mountain, which may be por- phyry or any transition orsecondary rock, that it necessarily On Earthquakes—their causes and effects. 915 belongs or ong in that formation, commit an error of judgment, and conclude th with that part which! is sensible to the sight. The base of the mountain and bosom of the volcano, may, and is most likely to be, of primitive formation, mader'ying of course the more recent strata. If we admit of the extended existence of subterranean fires, it is far more reasonable to suppose they have their origin in the most deeply seated rocks, frequentl pie ode their destructive fires through a formation of © creation. Humboldt informs us that during an ouidenalie: near Guanaxuarto, in Mexico, the sound was confined to primitive 3 schist. The same able naturalist pete us that earthquakes nt edge, I Sioa rest satisfied that my labour has been rewarded. 216 : Earthquakes in Sicily. Fa TI.—An account of ie Si deibiies which oceurred iw Sicily, in March, 1823. By Sig. Apate Ferrara, Pro- = “fessor of Nat. Philos. in the University of C atanins &c. &c. [Translated eS the Boston Journal of f Philosophy and the Arts, by on. W.S. son. ]* Ox oo the 5th of March, 1823, at 26m. after 5 P. Me pete suffered a violent shock of an earthquake. ] was ing in the large plain before the palace, in a situation a I was enabled to preserve that tranquillity of mind _ necessary for observation. ‘The first shock was indistinct, ‘Bartending, from below upwards ; the second was undulatory, more vigorous, as though a new impulse had been added to the first, doubling its force; the third was less strong, but of the same nature; a new exertion of the force rendered the fourth equal on the whole to the second ; the fifth, like the first, had an evident tendency upwards. "Their duration was of the vane on the top of the ue gate connected with the malta, and upon which I y eyes, bowed in that direction, and remained so until “oq sabbath, when it fell; it was inclined to the south- west In an angle of 20°. ‘The waters in the great basin of the Botanical Garden, as was told me by an eye witness, were d up in the same direction by the second shock; anda palm tree, thirty feet high, in the same garden, was seen to bow its long leafless branches siferdafely to the north-east and south-west, almost to the ground. The clocks in the observatory, which vibrated from north to south, and from east to west, were stopped, because the direction of the shock cut obliquely the plane of their respective vibrations; and * It was our intention to have Sieg ee a translation, for the American Journal, of this memoir, of which a cop’, in ‘on we iginal Italian, was transmitted to us by Professor Ferrara, but w dly avail ourselves of re — has already appeared in the Roaitin.- aia for September Bartpuakes in scutes aa ee eed the weight of one of them broke We crystal, Bat two smi clocks in my chamber kept | their motion, (as their vi ‘atic were in the direction of the shock. — ‘The x sismometer* preserved in the observatory, was ut lent motion, and at oe es shock, it seemed as tated as if it were boi quake retained little of its power; since at Morreale, | miles distant, trifling injury only was sustained by the (be (be: dictine) Monastery of S. Castrense, the house of the Pee Conviventi, and the Seminary dei Cherici. At Parco, s miles distant, Mary’s College, the Monastery, the p rish Church, and a few peasants’ cottages, were all that sffered At Pigna. the battlements of the tower down But more of its power was felt in places on the Lea as | appears from its effects at Capaci, four miles distant, where retta, fourteen miles, where the cathedral, two storehouses, and some dwelling-houses, were destro royed. Beyond, its power continued to diminish ; and at Castellamare, twenty- four miles, the state-house alone had the cleft, which was made in 1819, enlarged. {n eninthee places east of Palermo, the shock was im- mense. At Altavilla, Bictien miles from Palermo, the brid. was shaken. At Trabia, twenty-one miles, the castle, and at Godiano, the cathedral and some houses, were destroyed,— enormous masses from Bisambra, a neighbouring mount, were loosened, and fell. At Termini, twenty-four miles, the shocks were very violent, exceeding all that had happened within the memory of its inhabitants. Those of 1818-19 were very strong, but the city received at those times no injury 5 ; now ing convent of St. Antonio, Mary’s College, and various pri- ate houses, felt its effects. The warm waters, as well those of the baths as those from the neighbouring wells, which proceed from the same sub- terranean source in the mountains along the coast of Termini, increased in quantity and warmth, and become turbid; con- sequences that always succeed Sor alsioné of the earth, by * An instrument, retin gle 7 a purpose.of showing the violence of the shock of an earthquake. VoL: 1X.—No. 2: 29 “ * 218 Earthquakes in Sicily. which their internal streams are disordered. The clay tinged the fluid with its own colour, and equal volumes of the water yielded a greater quantity of the clay than before, when the colour was deeper.* Most of the houses in the little new town of Sarcari, two miles from the shore, and consisting of less than a hundred houses, were rendered un- inhabitable ; the walls were thrown down, and the more lofty buildings were all damaged. The effects of the earth- quake are found to be greater in proportion to its advance eastward. : Forty-eight miles from Palermo, at Cefalu, a large city on the shore of a promontory, the effects were various and inju- rious. Without the walls, two convents, a storehouse, and some country houses, were injured, but no lives were lost. The sea made a violent and sudden rush to the shore, carry- ing with it-a large ship laden with oil; and when the wave retired, she was left quite dry ; but a second wave returned with such immense force, that the ship was dashed in pieces, and the oil lost. Boats, which were approaching the shore, were borne rapidly forward to the land, but at the return of the water, they were carried as rapidly back, far beyond their first situation. The same motion of the sea, but less violent, was observed all along the shore, as far even as Pa- Jerr Pollina, a town with nine hundred inhabitants, occu- pying an elevated position ata little distance from the sea, was injured in almost every building ; particularly in the church of St. Peter and Nunciata, in the castle, the tower, and in other places. Nor did Finale, a little nearer the shore, suffer Jess ; five of its houses fell in consequence, on the eleventh of March. Beyond the towns which have been mentioned, towards the interior of the island, the shock was vigorous to a cer- tain extent; but kept decreasing as it proceeded, throughout the whole surface. At Ciminna, south of ‘Termini, a statue was shaken from its place on the top of a belfrey in front of the great church, and a part of the clock tower falling, killed — ene person, and badly wounded another. In Cerda, the shock affected the great church, some houses, and half of Kae 2 *The warm and mineral waters of St. Euphemia, in Calabria, which sprung up after the memorable earthquakes in 1638, presented the same phenomena in those of 1783. Grimaldi descr. dei trem. del. 1783. a ae eee ee Nee 4 a cio Earthquakes in Sicily. 219 one of the three forts, placed near the city to support the earth on the side of a great declivity. The only church in Rsconbe: which is eres at the top of anacclivity, was ruined. The parish church, and some private houses in the little town of Scillato, were Baniren. In Gratteri, a large town south of Cephalu, inary * was sus- tained by the church of St. James and other houses on- siderable damage was sustained by various chure many private houses in Colesano, a town contain two thousand inhabitants, and situated on an inclined plain, on the eastern side of the mountains of Madonie. One of the Colleges de Maria was rendered uninhabitable. The hospi- tal, a grand fabric, was made a heap of ruins. The loss is calculated at about thirty thousand onze. In the vicinity of Pozzillo and St. Agata, through a large extent of land, many long fissures and caverns were made. Similar caverns and fissures in argillaceous chalk, were opened near the little town of Ogliastro, sixteen miles south-east of Palermo. At Isnello, at the feet of the Madonie mountains, the injuries which were received in 1819, were increased; Geraci, among the same mountains, suffered a like fortune in the: ruin of the cathedral ; Castelbuono, and St. Mauro, within the same regions, were damaged, both by the former, and b the last convulsions ; by the last, the cathedral, the church of St. Mauro, and five private houses suffered much. The | damage done to Castelbuono is reckoned at twenty-one thou- sand onze. The northern coast of Sicily, towards Cape Cefalu, after bending to form the eastern part of the great bay, included on the west by the mountains te the left of Palermo, extends — into the sea towards Eolie, (the Lipari selene) and presents, towards them, a hollow front, the western part of which is formed by cape Orlando, and the fe by cape Calava. Places situated about this bay, suffered the most violent con- vulsions. Nato, containing four thousand souls, and situated on an elevation, was almost entirely laid waste, and a great number of private houses destroyed ; the monastery, hospi- tal, the churches of St. Peter, anime del purgatorio, St. De- metrius, and the cathedral, were in a great aerate a thrown. ‘The Quartiere del Salvadore suffered | A transverse Cleft was made in the earth, and fears eee 5 an tained, lest the whole elevation upon which the city is built, should be overthrown. Only two persons lost their lives 5 220 Earthquakes in Sicily. for the people, warned bya slight shock which was felt some hours before, had all fled into the country. Directly in front of Vulcano, one of the isles of Holie, Patti, a city built on the declivity of a mountain, and at the distance of half a mile from the eastern extremity of Cape Calava, had its ca- thedral, bishop’s palace, convents, and many private houses, injured. With the copious showers of the fifth, fell some roofs ; various houses in the country were ruined. Pozzodi- gotto, Meri, and Barceliona, were injured a little. At Bar- cellona, a wide cleft was made in the belfry of the church, and threatened its ruin. The shock at Milazzo, on the sea, was violent, as also at St. Lucia, six miles from it, situated on an eminence; but without any bad consequences. Some damage was done to the hospital, several churches, and pri- vate housesat Messina. In the interior of Sicily, the motion _ Was communicated as if it were far from the centre of force ; in some places towards the south, some buildings which were old and out of repair, felt the effects; particularly at Caltauturo ; and at Alimena, in the cathedral and convent of the reformed. The shock gradually wasted itself as it advanced} and at Catania so slight was the impression made on the people, that they went to the theatre the same even- -ing. It was perceived by a few persons only in Syracuse, and in some of the neighbouring towns. In the district of Modica, towards Cape Passaro, scarcely one felt it. No bad effects were produced by it in the southern parts of the isl- and ; in the western it was felt, but without injury. It was pretty strong at Alcamo, but slight at Trapani. Injuries at Palermo.—The ancient city of Palermo was founded upon a rocky tongue of land, between two large and deep bays. The extremity of this point constitutes at this day the centre of the modern city. Matter, transported thither by the water from the interior, and thrown up by the sea, together with the labour of men, has gradually filled up the lateral spaces, and extended the peninsula with this transported and alluvial earth, and formed the present soil. It is now composed in part of calcareous rock, and in part of mud or alluvial earth; both are traversed by canals and large conduits for the circulation of water for common use, and by common sewers communicating with the neighbouring shore. The adjacent parts present a surface composed of calcareous ufa, and an earthy aggregate, tender and friable; but deeper down, it is more durable, and partly siliceous. The facility > % * Karthquakes in Sicily. 221 of cutting, and the cheapness of the tufa, > call cal adoption as a building-stone, contrary to the custom ancestors, as appears from the immense excavati pits about Syracuse, Girgenti, and some others of the eeetent cities of Sicily. Till lately, the common cement was composed of a fat earth, to which ashes were sometimes added; it was called tajo. Within a few years, lime and sand have been used. But they do not always employ for lime that stone which it hardest and most proper; nor that which requires ~ an equal degree of heat in calcination; nor are all the pieces white. It is not slaked methodically, nor mingled with that patience which caused the ancients to say, that lime should be tempered by the sweat of the brow. And here, indeed, this labour is the more indispensable, as Palermo is destitute of puzzolana, and of those ferruginous earths, which render such valuable service to those volcanic towns of the island, he soft rock of the surface serves, in large masses, for a foundation upon the clay. But the brittleness of the rock, and the instability of the earth, its readiness to change froma level at the least motion, or by the action of moisture, which the air and soil of Palermo make permanent, render the foundation very far from firm. I have seen pieces of the foundation of large edifices, so entirely reduced to earth, as ~ to be removed with a spade. This inconvenience exists even when the rock in its natura] situation serves as the base. Where a building is raised upon a soil, the parts of which are of different natures, it must suffer much from the unequal Ser of this soil. The right side of the royal palace, as for several years been inclining from a waa in consequence of its having been placed on the ancient allu- vial formation, while the remainder of the building ee ona rock. Sometimes we see buildings raised on an incline plane, with one part of the base more elevated than the other; in this case, it is evident that the oblique pressure is compounded of two forces; one, perpendicular to the resistance, and which is overcome by it; the other parallel with the resistance, but ae not entering into the action, operates in its own direction. The equilibrium is thus de- stroyed, and the stability of such buildings cannot be of long duration, 922 Karthquakes in'Sicily. Our author goes on to speak of the necessity of having acute angles to many.of the streets on account of their crook- edness, and how liable buildings are, from this circumstance, t thrown down; that regular foundations are not very much used; and even when used, are soon destroyed by the action of the atmosphere, by water, and many other causes. He finds fault with the forms of the stones used in building ; with the cement, its want of adhesion ; and compares houses constructed in this manner with those of ancient Tyndaris, many of the walls of which, standing on the top of some of the highest mountains, were so well balanced, the pieces so nicely cut and jointed, even without any cement at all, that they have stood firm for a thousand years. Upon foundations so infirm, and with materials so frail, buildings are raised to the height of four or five stories. He next remarks on the disproportion of the thickness of the walls to the weights they sustain. Though diminishing ex- ceedingly in thickness from bottom to top, they are still very much weakened by the great number of windows, are over- burdened by immense cornices, and little chambers, and kitchens, projecting fearfully beyond the sides ; and by ter- races and balconies, loaded with enormous yases of stone. The beams which support the floors, can scarely touch upon the walls, are not charrea nor faced with lead, to defend thém against the moisture, and are almost always injured by the lime in which they Jie. Many particulars of this kind, our author has mentioned, all tending to show the great want of prudence in the manner of building. nen teem ames In the night of the Ist of September, 1726, continues Pro- fessor Ferrara, an earthquake destroyed, or very much in- jared, all the buildings situated on the muddy soil; and many, which were out of repair, or badly constructed, placed on rock. arth of the nature of the first. is less capable of re- ceiving motion from a shock than the last, since it possesses less resistance. But facts show that this advantage is more than compensated by want of stability in edifices raised upon it. At Messina, in 1783, all the buildings upon a plain, and upon earth thrown up by the sea, were destroyed ; while those on the neighbouring hills were not moved. ‘The same hap~ 4 Earthquakes in Sicily. 993 pened at Calabria, and in 1805, in the district of Molise. In this account we should notice the cavities made in the earth. ey were esteemed by the ancients as preservatives against earthquakes, not by affording an outlet to the subterranean vapours, a8 some have thought ; but by interrupting or dimin- ishing the course of the shock. The houses were rebuilt in the same situation, and after the same mode; the fissures of those which were damaged, were as we now observe them, only covered over on the outside by a slight coating of lime. These very places, and pre- cisely the same houses, were this year laid waste; and so they will always be in future, unless a more prudent and more reasonable method shall regulate new buildings and new re- pairs. Professor Ferrara proceeds to give a very particular ac- count of effects of the shock upon buildings in different situa- tions, which it would be hardly interesting to repeat here. Most of the injury, he says, was done by the second impulse of the shock, when the spear of the vane on the new gate was bent, and the water in the basin in the Botanical Garden was forced violently up one side. Immediately after the shock, he remarks, the apparent injuries were not very great ; but the blow was given; and the long and abundant showers of rain which succeeded continued to develop and increase the injuries, and now, though not very many buildings are entireiy destroyed, yet there is scarcely one which has not received some damage. Here follow some notices of the © dreadful consequences which befell many of the inhabitants, from the falling of the timbers and stones and walls ; of the vases from the piazzas into the streets and many other things which it is unnecessary to mention more particularly. Nine- teen persons were killed and twenty-five wounded; in the earthquake of Sept. 1, 1726, four hundred were killed and very many wounded. In the close of this chapter he remarks—do not these sad facts impress us with the necessity of every attention in the construction of new edifices? Already have the zeal of the governor, the facilities offered by the senate, and the concern of the active citizens, given a strong impulse to the repara- tion of the disasters. Soon will the shadow of the past ca- 224 Earthquakes in Sicily. lamity pass away, and the grand city of Palermo will be still more beautiful. When we reflect upon the immense list of earthquakes which Sicily has suffered, and the possibility of its increasing every moment, we feel the inevitable necessity of holding ourselves strongly prepared to meet the sudden assaults of so powerful an enemy. Messina, which suffered so much in 1783, although violently moved by this last shock, experienced from it no bad effect cts; for this noble city has risen from her ancient ruins, robust and majestic. Catania, in 1818, was convulsed in a terrible manner, but its inhabit- ants were enabled to contemplate without a tear “ the little injury sustained by their beautiful fabrics, % Succeeding Shocks. After the shock of the 5th, the black clouds which covered the heavens on the north and west, formed a dark band, measuring from the zenith towards the horizon 60°, and ex- tending from north to south. It was terminated at base bya oe line, passing from north to south, through the west, and elevated at the southern part about 30° above the hori- ‘ - The sky itself was very clear, and its extreme bright- hess was increased by the contrast with the dark band above, and by the sun just on the point of setting. A little below the band were two other lines, parallel and perfectly regu- lar. This mysterious appearance inspired with fear the * After the fatal earthquake of 1693, in Catania, by which ei — thousand persons perished, the people began to build of one story, and hei and not with much solidity. Since the middle - the. last century, the excellent materials served them by Aitna, the good method and prudent regu tion of the jury have promised long duration to this city. It a) = ormil the wor the 5th of ‘March in Fees the lientenant, the pretor, senators, and police exerted all their fore They obliged proprietors to pro their houses within twenty-four ree or Ls rage them if they were not et es of propping. ‘The upon themselves the gestae repairi ine the houses of poor peer ee together with the €X- - | | Earthquakes in Sicily. a2 tainds of the people, who are ge seeking in the heavens for signs of future events. But it prepared a tempestuous night, which illoned. with torrents of rain, with thunder, now, hail, an uf On the on of the Gth, at forty-five minutes past one, in St. Lucia de Millazzo, six ‘miles from the shore which looks towards Vulcano and Stromboli, a severe shock was felt, and afterwards, at various intervals, horrible noises were heard, four distinct times, rumbling fearfully beneath them; and finally, at half past three o’clock, the shock was re- peated. Both were felt at Messina, but without any subter- ranean noises. Nothing of it was felt at Palermo, or in any places in the west. At fifty-six minutes past ten, in the night of the 7th, another shock was felt at Palermo, sufti- * In all times signs have been mentioned as announcing earthquakes near at hand. People read them in the air and upon the earth; some philosophers even have given them credence. The frequent oc- currence of these signs, without the expected a onaycs & isa ‘sation t argument against them. But less uncertain are those which accompany phenomena, as rain and thunder. To that of 1693 such fearful t roaring of the torrents of rain and the tremendous thunders. The same circumstances took place at Calabria in 1783; and were witnesse of the same on the night of the 5th of March. An extraordinary me tity of sedinis fluid is eouelepeds and being sleac from the ner cavities of the earth to the surface, by the force of equilibrium, produee there extraordinary vaporization, when hygrometers have shone aisles dryness. The atmosphere, charged beyond measure aa tua will give room to their decomposition, which changes them and there surface of ay earth, which circumstance comments the internal phe- mena with those of the ines atmosphere. morning of the Sth of March, 1669, at Pidara, a town on the side of Mice the air became obscure, as by a partial eclipse or the sun; soon after the earth began to and continued so until the esr when an ng fissure opened near Nicolosi, a neighbouring town, a sparkling light ap over the fissure; and on that very day, while the terrible shocks levelling Nicolosi with the ground, an enormous burning river, amnidet rrid rumblings, roaring , was belche flowed fifteen miles, covering a great extent of land, and for four months spreading terror over Sicily.— Bor. de. nc. tm. Ferr. Descr. dell’ Etna, VoL, 1A--o. 2. 99 226 Earthquakes in Sicily. ciently strong to put in motion the pendulum of a small lock, which I had stopped that I might regulate it in the morning. Its vibration from north-east to south-west showed me with certainty the direction of the shock. Light ones were felt on the 26th. On the 3ist, at fifty-two minutes past two, P. M., one was felt at Messina, moderately severe, of five or six seconds duration, and undulating. Two others on the Ist of April, and one at Costelbuono on the 28th. I should add that they mention a slight one there on the 16th of February, but they are more certain of those of the 5th of March, one at one P. M., the other at three. These were they, which induced the inhabitants of Naso to leave their habiiations and flee into the country, where they were when their city was laid waste. Here the professor mentions many other places, in which small shocks were felt, in July and August; but as no important remarks are made, we pass over them to his more interesting chapter of physical obser- vations, Physical Observations. When the people about tna perceived their houses be- ginning to shake, they turned their eyes towards the velcano, and waited in expectation of an immediate eruption. while they looked, fearful apprehensions filled their minds, aud they prayed. that the event, be it what it would, might take place at once. The philosopher, who observes the phenomena of nature, for the sake of reducing to the same class those of an analo- gous origin, and thence to deduce them from the same cause, observes the link which connects earthquakes with volcanic operations, and sees with the ignorant yulgar, those mighty forces preparing in the subterranean furnace which are able to put in motion immense masses of the solid globe, and to agitate them as water is agitated by a violent wind. The eruption of #tna in 1811 was interesting from the grandeur of the spectacle which it presented, and no less so, from the snstruction which it conveyed to the naturalist. A new open- ing was.made on the surface of the mountain. Explosions of tremendous force preceded the emission of immense columns of smoke and inflamed masses of matter, which were mces- RE AAO TR Earthquakes in Sicily. 227 santly belched out towards heaven, and whose ppueeoct Was announced by horrid roarings and explosions which filled the air to a great distance. Each explosion was accompanied by shocks ; and as the interval between them was of but 4 minutes duration, the city and country to a vast extent were. in a continued undulation. For many days at Catania, eighteen miles distant, we were rocked as though we had been upon the sea. Some of the shocks were very violent. The door of my chamber which [ left purposely ajar, kept a continued beating against its side posts. The shocks lasted as long as the volcano was in operation, that is, for more than nine sioattie and when the external phenomena disappear- ed, the internal fire not being yet extinguished, deep subter- ranean J aroma and explosions were heard, and shocks felt at each report. When the fire invests substances, it rarefies their masses to a great degree ; the acquisition of new volume produces a proportionate expansion; and under the action of an enc mous accumulation of inflamed matter, a passage is made for it with sudden and fearful energy. ‘The expansion of water, for example, under a medium pressure of the Phage 15 1728 times its first volume, and it increases in the ratio of the heat. At 110° of Rea. the pressure is equal to four at- ye She only. The explosion of a single barrel of powder, ocks and overthrows the whole vicinity. If, then, a sub- tensed stream of water happens upon places where vol- canic fires are burning, it is at once converted into steam, vee given any external meatlis of its existence. It seems that the return of the terrible phenomenon is owing to the flow of water into places on fire—of water, the streams of which are determined only by accidental causes. The vast furnace in the interior of the earth being inflamed, the fire attacks every thing exposed to its influence, some are liquified, while others are converted to vapour; these, developing their volumes, form a system of force movi with immeasurable power. ‘The subterranean cavities, little able to contain them, are violently convulsed in all their di- mensions ; and this effect is transmitted by the solid earth, to distances proportioned to the quantity of force, to the x. 228 Earthquakes in Sicily. iransmissive power of the body moved, and te various local circumstances favourable, or otherwise, to the propagation of motion. After having combated with the obstacles which e, roaring under the earth, like the winds of Eolus, to | find an outlet from the places in "which they were produced, they circulate in various canals, until a cold temperature de- prives them of the heat which gave them such power, and they sink into their former state. Often, however, they drive before them the matter which the heat has liquified ; and urging it towards the ancient mouths of volcanoes, belch it out in flaming rivers in the midst of the terrible phenomena hs i they themselves produce.* by the passion for observation, | have often de- vended into the horrid cavity of the crater, and approached near the blazing brink of the new orifices which have vom- ited forth streams of fire in my own time; I have seen im- mense torrents of aqueous vapour urged from the vast chim- ney, whose base is lost in the deep furnaces below; I have been bathed in the water, to which the vapour was redu' by the low temperature of the atmosphere into which it en- tered ; often have 1 seen it fall in fine showers all around me. Having penetrated into the recesses of the globe, it is in this pee forced out again by the heat to which it is exposed. observed the hydrogen gas; one time, burning with its peculiar colour; at another, bursting forth with a loud, deep explosion ; the sulphuric and muriatic vapours, whiten- ing the i immense Clouds of smoke, and filling all the air with their suffocating breath ; or, seizing upon the solid substances around, ee fixed upon them. Fused substances, forced up by the elastic vapours, are disgorged from the same ben spread about in torrents of fire, and consolidated by the contact of the air. Is it not possible that the seat of *In my “Description of Atna,”’ I have proved that the furnaces fo this voleano cannot be under the foundation of the mountain, but at va- Hortcs distaxies Ti from it. The immense vau pe ich must have rm € _o | so many shock, have swallowed up the whole sboutitatihy and the combustible ma- als wou. be mall a ci e exhausted in matter in different situations, from causes established usage, flows abinatgel #tna, and i is ejected by it. Seneca acknow: Poti ignem in ipso monte non alimentum, sed viam habere— + ee ee es i ae ee ee = no other evidences of their existence, no other Earthquakes in Sicily. 299 these products may not _ extremely deep, and pi Lon they may reach the surface? pe: knows but i places, those grand laboratotea of na or, from chins whic will always elude our investigation, om sy ts sod ene ed, that their productions never arrive at the snarled 1 th 7 ts of their action are perceptible, but the shaking of the earth, and the rumblings which the aériform elastic vapours make in the cavities of the earth.* Three principal furnaces have their outlets on the three sides of Sicily, and each with a force proportioned to the circumstances which supply it with combustible matter. #Etna on the eastern side, by the immensity of its power, rules the whole island. When in full action the island tated are those in its wclbcaheal and those be- vii 2 ab bn it and Cape Passora, a space of about a hundred "The mountain of Sciacca, on the southern shore towards ec unable i Setlist the. fermentation, the water becomes invested with fire, is converted into vapour, and thus exhaled into our atmosphere. The extrication of the steam causes in the internal caverns, a deep roaring, and often fearful con- vulsions, felt at a great distance. At such times, Sciacca, at the foot of the mountain, experiences the most violent com- motions. In 1578 it was reduced to ruins. In 1652, for fif- * sock aaheiet of volcanoes in any Bact, ae not to be made a argume t the existence of i tation under that reat reservo of that which in remote ages has burst out in ivecct pain, t , of aha Italy, t the Islands of Great Britain, Germany, Bohemia, about the Bosphorus, on the coasts of Asia, and in many other place no 230 Earthquakes in Sicily. teen days, it suffered “ most severe and unrengibal shocks. For some months in 1724 the earth was so frequently and violently agitated va all the inhabitants fled into the coun- try. In September 1726, all the western part of Sicily was shaken with the greatest severity; and in Palermo at that time many lives were lost, and many edifices destroyed ; in June of 1740, Siracca felt twenty-two shocks, with injury - buildings and loss of lives; that of the 25th was of such mense Bae, that it extended as far as Palermo. After the middle of December 1816, the inhabitants heard extra- ordinary rumblings under the mountain, and in January of the succeeding year, the shocks were so frequent, that twelve were sometimes counted in one day, and so violent, that it seme that the foundations of buildings must be rooted up— ings and explosions under the mountain became fearfully loud—and the sea dashed in great waves against the shore at its foot. Sambuca, fifteen miles distant. suffered pres es A strong odour of sulphur pervaded the air all ut Sciacca. While nature was in this agitation in the paras part of the island, the eastern was enjoying perfect quiet. Over against Sciacca at the distance of seventy m no ‘streams of heated vapour of water, and of ap eee issuing incessantly oon its cavities, show a great fermentation in the rr caverns under the sea, and to which little is wanting to renew its ancient conflagrations. Off the northern coast of Sicily, i is situated a chain of islands extending from east to west, and terminating with Ustica at the distance of forty- two miles from the western shore of Palermo. All of these islands, sons of volcanic fire, which has raised them from under the depths of the sea, bear the impressions of the ter- rible element ; and some are still burning, and serve as out- lets to the subterranean furnaces. Vulcano, twenty-two miles frorn Cape Milazzo, burns, me thunders, and belches out continually immense columns of smoke and flame-— Stromboli ceases not a moment in Yointtibe forth smoke, rae and streams of vapour, which, rushing from the in- mouth, produce a horrible roaring, spreading terror g all the Eolian islands and the adjacent coasts of Sicily bria. Lipari still preserves in its baths, a part of vic y fused into glass the matter of which yn of these islands has almost always it is formed. The act oe Ro ‘ea in Sicily. 231 troubled 1 Sicily. y one morning in February, 1444, enormo of heated matter, amidst huge volumes of smoke aud mee me, were raised from the summit of Vulcano, _ hurled about the sea to the distance of six miles, while Other flami strong shocks agitated this island and Sicily.* masses were thrown out on the 24th of August, 1631, which, driven by the wind passed over Naso in Sicily, directly i in front of Vulcano, and on the next day this unhappy city, by the violence of the convulsions of the earth,was entirely laid in ruins. Many persons were injured. A cleft was made in the soil from which a very strong odour of sulphur issued.t On the 22d of April, 1717, at dawn of day, a deep subterra- nean murmur was rd, accompanied by a severe earth- quake, the shocks of which were felt all along the northern a even to Messina. But the places shoes suffered most ere those nearly over against Vulcano, ilazzo, Jeol Castrorealo, twenty-six miles distant from it. The last city was entirely ruined.{ Shocks were renewed in the same places in 1732; and with much greater force in 1736, when the whole northern coast was violently affected, par- ticularly Palermo, Ciminna, which was much damaged, and Naso, which suffered still more.§ On the 4th of May, 1739, about 5 o’clock P. M. the inhabitants of St. Marco, a town back of Naso, saw thrown from the mouth of Vulcano im- mense clouds of smoke and burning matter, which, driven by the wind, came roaring and thundering _ Sicily, letting fall ee into the sea and on the neighbouring shore, flaming matter which gave out on ee side bright sparks and struck with fearful crashes. It passed over Naso rco, and went on wasting itself in the pete Such phenomena were unlucky omens to these unhapp. towns. At 12 0’clock on the 9th, a dreadful bowling fron ‘Vulcano was followed by a violent: shock, which after =F se a moments was repeated with many explosions; more hundred were counted within six days, and another on the twenty-first. Great rocks were detached from the mountains in the vicinity. Another flaming mass on the 9th of June, darted from Vulcano and passed over Sicily ; shocks were felt till the: Be 2 Pai 5 by 6 and numerous * Faz. dec + Carr. Dial. il Bonan. t Bott. de Trin ten. Mess. 1717. § Mong. Stor. dei trem. * 232 Earthquakes in Sicily. explosions fron the burning mountain. St. Marco suffered exceedingly, but Naso was entirely destroyed.* e vol- canoes of Kolie contributed much to the earthquakes of Ca- Jabria and Messina in 1783. Stromboli was almost always in great commotion. For many days it seemed like a mad bull, which, raised above the waves, by his roaring filled Calabria and Sicily with terror. Vulcano often accompanied it, and its deep rumblings, and vast columns of smoke and flame, were terrible. After the violent earthquake of Sciacca in 1816, the same evil fortune happened to other parts of the island. On the 15th of April, 1817, a severe shock terrified the people of Caltagirone in Valdinoto, and of the neighbouring places. One happened at Catania in October, and another on the 20th of February of the following year, 1818, which was enormous. All the towns about Atna were ruined, and many lives lost. Catania felt its injurious effects. It was felt all over the island, since at Palermo it produced three undula- tions. Others which followed it, and which continued to ter the troubles of February and April, Catania and its vi- cinity enjoyed repose until the Sth of September, when all Madonia was convulsed. Other shocks succeeded in Oc- tober and November. On the 25th of February, 1819, a very severe one was felt, which extended to agreat distance. At Palermo three motions were produced, the last of which was very violent. The shocks in the whole of the vast extent of the mountains, where so much injury was done to the houses of the numerous inhabitants of these regions, were always receded and followed by subterranean murmurs, and distant explosions. Under these places it seems that those sub- stances were deposited, which tna inflamed and ejected from its mouth in the fellowing May; because after the erup- tion commenced, Madonia was left in quiet; while #tna, a. mies” Anct. ad Faz. Mong. 1. ¢, AMEE Barthquakes in Sicily. “a3 which till this time, and during vai of fectanindet remained perfectly calm, r] They accompanied fhe’ eruption. With the extinction of the conflagration in. eer all. the Soe aeerod ceased, and the earth was no longer agitated. ut in 1822 Htna showed that the fermentation within its ces was again at work. On the Sthof April, bine 2 tend continued explosions were heard, which were followed by great clouds of smoke violently driven from the crater by the impetuous current of elastic vapours. A shower of sul- phurous ashes fell all around. On the 6tha violent shock convulsed all the towns between AStna and Madonia, Ca- pizzi, Cesara, Spero) Troina, Gangi, Gagliano ; hia in the midst of these, Nicosia seemed the centre of impulse j in all the shocks which followed throughout the month. | Its soil appeared on the being torn w by force, ma buildings | _— eae and its fobabiisats fled ir Argo sternation to find an asylum in the country. ‘The im mmense clouds of ve and carthy ashes which were spectod fe June to October; which covered the more lofty part of the mountain with a gray stratum; which filled the atmosphere, and gave out through the whole region a strong odour of sul- phur, clearly prove that all these iy a s were dasate by forces collected in the recesses of Aiina.* Prom June to October, Sade given in t a ui of a pour, from lick fora , pieces of 5 2 which fr ng ine, water, were ejected t hat st ‘there albert eT ee brine which fell aes te og ome been much og Ls frig Som sca ek aes hs prs in he omar ph vances of tna, earth opened at a grea nce from the crater, and that a rome we tance which is not Fae was ne kaon out. 4s this important error, should Vor. 1¥.— 30 234 Earthquakes in Sicily. While Nicosia and the whole space between Madonia and #tna were in such commotion, Sicily to the west and all the northern coast enjoyed perfect quiet ; but a sad reverse was preparing. In October Atna ceased throwing out sulphurous ashes and sand, and with it ceased all its noises, and shocks, and all was calm. In ebruary in the beginning of the next year, small motions of the earth were felt along the northern side of the island, which were the preludes to the scene that presented itself in March. The direction of the motion was from N_ E. to S. W. as it Pe Sat sa would be injurious to pee J make all haste to correct In 1822, neither ata great nor at a small distance from the crater, the earth opened ; and the matter thrown out is volcanic ashes, perfectly like that which has usually been expelled by this volcano; at least for the forty years that I have studied it. It did not come out in she form of mud, but in awehioly fine dust, which afterwards became wet wi the vapour condensed within the very edges of the fissures, or whieh felt in brine. It is a long while since any of the writers on volcanoe: - mg to es serpin $e RG Ate eruptions of mud,” have seiaed tat of sea-water and shells in 1 a. poneaE sreaaiy bass 5 A have beer Sampelied te to ca away, — fee possible proof. This rror of 1822 es ee: ir arguments and lead on to other errors. 4 have yiven gue anand 2 to a illustrious | cere ni , who wrote me on- bject, with th characterizes and gop has rendered him one is a RE in oth her es, on a eee Song Nard of nature. With re- spect to the nature of this voleanic ashes, although 1 am convinced that 2 differs not at all from that — has always been ejected, yet I wished consult the oracle of Chemistry upon it, since it is his delight to dis- Sivek the composition of dies: 1 mean the illustrious Vauquelin, whose noble interest in me has conferred on me so much honour. My a Sato meat ie my regret and that of the — chemist who pecting it. r reached its destiny ; but I renewed it, and the penal ‘hall haye pace. in my continuation of the sistas of #tna from 1818 where I left it, which I shall soon publish. 1 will add to finish this such, even according to to the imaginary ideas of Plato, who admitted riv- ers of mud in the interior of the globe, to which end he alleged eruptions in Sicily. Nothing comes up from the depths of the: earth but streams of carburetted hydrogen gas, which finding above, the argilla- ceous chalk, of which the soil is formed, loosened away by rain water, it forces it up and causes it to psi in muddy streams. In times of drou Se ee its passage aw. whistling is made like o im s wind. Even of our Lake’ of the Palici, they believe that the» gas comes from the entire of the eart ri and wonder that it never retiiows. Why do they. ase observe that in dry years it entirely evape- Pee nd that nothing comes out of the chinks at its bottom but teak r, which give to fe Ae of when wait there A he star iets appearance pct | Earthquakes in Sicily. 235 was proved by all the phenomena mentioned in the beginning wil] not be guided by the injuries suffered i in different pat for these spring froma complication of causes ; from th soil, its greater or less capacity of Pen and com. aaa motion; from the manner in which it presents itself to the progressive motion, and from the — of the edifices. These circumstances may sometimes produce anomalies which easily deceive those who do not bestow in the examination of them the attention which they deserve ; but without fear of error 1 may say, that in general the shock was much the most for: cible on the northern shore, and at a little distance from it and that it went on grecealy = TSS HOE towards the interi- or. The moving force, then, must have been in operation somewhere under the sea at a part of the Island. aso was almost entirely ruined; Patti, and all the towns sbaat Capes Orlando and Calava, “a which are nearer Eolia were epuarieraby dama.ed. Some very small, thinly in- babited towns lost little, because they had little to loses. were insoine measure defended by their situations. Palermo, at the bottom of a bay which curves towards these hifnin islands, and surrounded by large and high pauikaite on the other side, was exposed to the whole force of the motion against it; this it was, together with the degraded state of its buildings, which brought such ruin upon this beautiful city. Every thing seemed then to announce to us, that the most ex- pansive vapours which proceed from the burning aa of Folia, in developing their immense volumes, urged against the sides of those cavities which once contained the matter of which all these islands are formed, produced the motion that struck obliquely against Sicily, and moving along the shore towards the west, spread despair throughout Palermo. After the shock of the fifth, their motion was more free; and they were heard murmuring under the soil near our island, seeking an outlet from the obscure caverns in which they were generated, but not propagating their motion to any con- siderable distance. The course of that of the seventh was in the same direction with that of the fifth ; but that of the thir- eb was in a direction directly o posite, since it was felt ssina, and not at Palermo he undulations were de- tormioel by the tig aig: 5 a of the motion ; the per- pendicular shocks, by a force acting from below upwards, which supposes a much sia depth i in the situation of the acting foree, than the other, without ever being in any case 236 Earthquakes in Sicily. ‘hearer the surface. Every one may easily mere mae = difference which ‘subsists between the. superficial m the raahen were it ae for it to collect in + thi midst of so many conducting bodies which seem designed to re- store the equilibrium instantly; between this motion and the deep, heavy earthquake, armed with such terrible power, which agitates so violently a great exient of the globe, which sometimes seetis ready to esiny it from its very foundation, and which bas all the characters of an effect sprung from most wonderful degrees of force, and of foree which, placed deep ) the earth, moves nS convulses those great masses lying BAER. it and the su he idea of forces eee effects like these, fills with fear the miserable mortal who creeps upon the face of the earth, and brings his pride down to the dust. When he sees the earth reel, and the great fabrics which he has raised with so much confidence, rushing to ruin, he Seasons of finding any where one firm support to his frail existe The chinks and fissures forced | in many places, and to which the vulgar attribute much importance, are in conse- quence of the quaking of the soil, and to which the softness of the earth and the loss of its internal support have given place. The country of Bosco about Ogliastro, of which I have already spoken, became furrowed with diverse, jong, tortuous, deep clefts, the sides of which in some places sun down ; in other places, portions of the surface passed down over inclined plains below them, and took new positions ; the tera which some of Sager carried with ess oat were away he earth, and sertidd a pee part of it into rhe intern: tavities below ; the surface, thus wanting solid support. under the shock of the earthquake became filled with he ae ferns, and inequalities. The same may be said of a great aperture made in the vicinity of Colesano, which dilating it- sell day after day tened to render those places inacces- sible. Copious showers alone produce sueh effects in the Earthquakes in Sicily. 934 ehalky land of many parts of Sicily. This want of firm bases frequently causes the overthrow of great rocks at the time of earthquakes. Well do we remember, that in the earth- quake of the fifth of February 1783, a mountain, a mile to the sou‘h of Scilla, and which was a mile and a half in length, fell over into the sea of Calabria and formed two new — montories. Phenomena observed in the Eolian Sec. If all these facts induce us to locate in Eolia the causes of the physical events of the past March, it is necessary to in- quire if these islands exhibited, at that time, any phenomena, which may corroborate our opinion. [| will mention there- fore, in this place, many facts, about which there can be no uncertainty, and which will be of the ‘greatest — ce should any one wish to push the eee: which I have an- nounced in this memoir, to certain eviden Since September of last year, the delle quantity of snake from Vulcano, has been much greater than usual ; and,flame s often been visible in the evening. Explosions ; have been frequently heard on the neighbouring coasts of Sicily. But Stromboli has exhibited the greatest nated for almost four- teen months without intermission s have been very ears: and so strong as to fill the isleslade although accus- med to them, with creat apprehensions. The island, with re blazing mountain itself, seemed often on the point of be being torn up from its foundation. ‘The volcano opened two new mouths on the side which looks towards the sea out from them fearful clouds of sand, and burning rocks, which after darkening the air, fell to the earth. . Fortu nately their irection was not towards any of the little habitations, or cultivated fields of the island. One forest only on the side of the mountain. suffered some injury. The inhabitants often found themselves enveloped in thick clouds of black smoke _* The external phenomena of a volcano, show that the effects of the have come: to the surface; but nature operates often in the recesses of the without exhibiting any external visible ef- ict of Bsa operations ; elastic vapours may form there, shake the soil, rn to their concrete state. When eruptions happen from the which may be thrown out, thus giving certain proof of the existence of these forced. 238 Earthquakes in Sicily. and ashes, which the wind drove among them. But only one man was struck by the burning rocks hurled through the air with immense violence. The scoria and ashes did much damage to the cisterns of the island, and to the terraces which serve as tiles over them. Torrents of black smoke, ashes, sand were often ejected and thrown to various distances. The greatest shocks were sometimes followed by a thick dry cloud, which filled the air of the whole island. The shock of the fifth of March was very strong at Strom- boli, at Baline, formerly Didime, and at Lipari. The inhabi- tants. - Lipari did not doubt that their aad would this time be reduced to ruins; and they have not yet ceased giving thanks to heaven and their protecting saints, for defending them from utter = They aff affirm that a moment after the shock, all their thoughts were turned upon the disasters which. might se to places on the neighbouring coast 0 Sicily and at ae eine towards which the direction of the motion seemed to ipari lies between us and Stromboli. Since April the paris ‘of our island which were before agitated, have been left in repose; but shocks are still frequent at Stromboli eep the poor inhabitants there in continued fear. The subterranean furnace seems to have lost much of its power, as the elastic vapours generated there shake but — limited space, and the new sharin of the mountains, now and then but a very small quantity of fine sand, Preeti is always ni last product of an expiring conflagration. From what I have laid down, it is just to conclude, that the fires of Eolia are those which have for a long time been pre- paring the event of Jast March ; that it was produced by mo- tions generated in those mighty furnaces, and that those mo- tions were propagated to great distances. If Sicily then is so often shocked, the powers which agitate it must exist in sicioton that burn: within its own bosom, and in the sur- roundingsea. Situated in the midst of such grand operations of nature, Sicily must be exposed to all the effects which such powerful causes are capable of producing. The chemical subterranean operations require that the magi should every where be traversed by vast cavities and canals, running i0 Various directions; and the forces of the Operations act on the different parts of these cavities. But it is natural to be- _ ve, and many facts in this memoir demonstrate the pag of ; that places in the vicinity of the three great volcanic tees ordinarily feel the force with the greatest violence. ie Remarks on the Moving Rocks of Salisbury. 239 this respect the situation of Palermo is ver antageous ; since it is distant from Aina, and from Polen is othe Sciacca only, which is the least energetic. And this grand and respectable city would be less exposed to such grievous disasters, than all the other cities of Sicily, did its edifices possess that character, which they might easily be made to possess, which constitutes true solidity and resisting fi ‘eewensenietntmapitpeani Ant. III.—Remarks on the moving rocks of Salisbury. TO THE EDITOR. Dear Sir, In the winter of 1822, 1 sent you an anonymous communi- eation respecting the moving rocks of Salisbury, which was published in the 5th volume of the Journal of Science and In the last number of your Journal I observe some remarks on the same subject, by the Rev. J. Adams, Princi- pal of Charleston College, South Carolina. I have no wish, as your correspoodeut intimates, to shrink from the respon- sibility attached to the communication, which I have now ack now ‘ The facts which I then stated, however marvellous and extraordinary they might appear, I can now substantiate by my own observation. cause, which was then a mere matter of surmise, has for the last two years been generally known in this vicinity. Being fully convinced that the rocks were moved by the agency of the ice, in the month of De- cember, 1823, I took the distance of one of the largest, to a tree on the shore. In the month of January, 1824, there were several very cold nights, during which the ice was heard to roar, not unlike the discharge ofa cannon. _I visited the spot immediately after, and was no longer in doubt re- specting the true cause of the movement of the rocks. On most of them the ice was piled up several feet in height, projecting from the side of the rock, next to the main body of the ice, towards the shore. Some which did not oppose so strong a resistance were evidently displaced, and the one in particular which I measured, was moved several inches, 246 Remarks on the Moving Rocks of Salisbury. although very firmly fixed in the stones and gravel. During the past winter the rocks have moved but very little, owiag to the mildness of the season. From December 1823, to February 1625, the rock above mentioned has moved twe and a half feet, which is much less than in former years, for the same reason; besides it has now become more deeply imbedded in the gravel, and the full force of the expanding ice is not exerted upon it. Since the attention of the public was called to this subject in 1822, many similar facts have been observed in different parts of New England. In the mountain pond in this town, the rocks within reach of the ice are annually moved toward the shore, forming an artificial dike of considerable extent. The same has been observed in ponds in Sharon and other laces. There is no longer any doubt or dispute on the subject, and the cause is as obvious as that of any natural sic aah which occurs. remarks on this subject by J. Wood, Esqu, i in the Jast Seiiber of the Journal are highly ingenious and plausible, ; bo T Bi Bota hep ato by evidence. I have never rock” in the manner he nrentions, and the kit coritaing a greater portion of caloric than the water, the ice dissolves most rapidly nearest the shores of the pond.” { think it might with the same propriety be added, that as stone is 4 tolerably good conductor, the rocks serve as conducting media, conveying the caloric from the adjacent earth and water to the ice and surrounding atmosphere, thus melting the ice around their edges. At any rate, the moving rocks of this town are generally of such shape that they can not well be “ grasped” by the ice, being very shelving ; and that they are not supported in this manner, and thus driven about by the winds and waves, is evident from the fact, that thei ice thaws around them (it being near the shore) before it does in other parts of the pond. It is however undoubtedly true that rocks of considerable size are sometimes moved by large bodies of ice being driven forcibly against them. le expansive power of freezing water has been so ably treated by Mr. Adams in the last number of the Journal, that tis un ry to dwell upon it here. It has been found: from experiments performed at Edinburgh, to burst the Oe. Aiea Notice of Flexible and Elastic Marble. ea strongest shells and cannon. Indeed,as we have reason te believe that there is no force capable of confining 3 it cer- tainly is not unphilosophical to np POS that rocks of a very large sige are often moved by it remain yours respectfully, | CHARLES A, LEE. Salisbury, April 6, 1825. Art. 1V.—Nolice of the flexible or elastic poking ed Berk- shire County ; by Professor C. Dewe Some account of this marble was given to the public by Dr. Meade, in Bruce’s Mineralogical Journal. A considera- notice of some large slabs of it was published a few years since by Dr. Mitchill. Till lately it has been ee chiefly in West Stockbridge and Lanesborough. It is now found in New Ashford in a quarry extensively wrought. I have procured three fine specimens of it, in slabs from five to six feet in length, and seven inches in width. Its flexibility and elasticity may be shown as it stands upon one end, by ap- ply ying a moderate force to the middle or the other end. Its exibility is seen too by supporting the ends of it in a hori- zontal jwowe es upon blocks. This marble has various colours—nearly white, with a reddish Sipe, gray, and dove-coloured. Some of it has a fine grain; other specimens are coarsely granular, and have a loose texture. It is not uncommon for one of a large block to be flexible, while the other part is destitute of this property. It takes a good polish, and appears to be carbonate of lime, and not am D nate. well known that Dolomieu attributed the flexibility of the marble he saheeniee to its exsiceation, and that Belle- vue ascertained that unelastic marble might be made elastic by exsiccation. a flexible marble of this county, how- ever, loses this property in part on becoming dry. When it is made pia ies wet by the operation of sawing or of pol- ishing, it must be handled with great care to le its patie and the eee slabs of it cannot he raised wath Vor. 1X.-—No. 2 st 242 An Account of some New and Extraordinary Minerals. safety unless supported in the middle as well as at the ends. The existence of this property is doubtless dependent upon the same general causes in marble as in other dense bodies. From the extensive view of marble given in Rees’ ph 2 pedia, flexible marble appears to be a rare mineral. One o the specimens I have lately obtained is to be sent by the roy trian Consul, to the Imperial Cabinet of Vienna. As more specimens may doubtless be obtained at a reasonable expense, I would gladly aid those mineralogists who desire to procure specimens for their cabinets. Williams College, Jan. 1, 1825. pea v. phe account of some new and extraordinary mine- rals discovered in Warwick, Orange county, N. Y.; by Sam mveL Fowxer, M. D. ite the minerals of Franklin, first described by Mr. Nuttall, drew so much attention, and omwes so interesting to naturalists, I vse endeavoured to collect as many specimens dvspospli; both for my own amusement and that of others. With this view I oe attended to the panier formation, in which they are found, and have endeavoured to Nee ees it in ail its extent. It is almost unnecessary to repeat that every thing extraordinary in the valleys of Sparta, Franklin, and Warwick, belongs to the formation of crystalline. limestone, — perhaps, has no parallel in any other region of orld. Even Arendal and Wtoe are inferior in mineral riches be in erystalline calcareous valle While recently exploring this formation, I made a discovery inthe township of Warwick, Orange county, N. ¥. of mine- rals, the most shen for magnitude and beauty, which have ever yet come to notice. What will be thought of Spin- elle pleonaste, the side of one of whose bases measures three to four inches, or twelve to sixteen inches in circumference ? These crystals are black and brilliant, sometimes aggregated, at other times solitary ; at this locality seldom or ever less pry ee ofa bullet. Some are partly alluvial, their mat- but when unaltered they are found nae fafa with wh what abs never yet been described, name : of serpentine, slightly rhomboidal prisms of a ppeeee not ‘ 7 | eee ee An Account of some New and Extraordinary Minerals. 243 allel with the crystals of spinelle, often greenish and compact, at other times tinged yellow by an admixture of brucite. - ‘hese crystals bear not the smallest resemblance to the marmolite of Nuttall, erroneously referred to serpentine, on the mere ground of chemical affinity, by Mr. Vanuxem, he same mass also are associated very large prismatic crystals of chromate of tron, at least so they appear to be, by the beautiful green colour which they impart to nitrate of pot- ash, having a specific gravity of 4.30. Some of these prisms are an inch in breadth and two inches in length, with two late- ral pees: broader than the rest. ding matrix of the whole is, as usual, crystalline a rhanads of lime, with mica and some appearances of hema- ttic iron. A few greenish spinelles occurred near the same place, and the neighbourhood abounds with small black and blackish gray spinedles. Not far from the same locality also _ is , associated generally with a fine green and crystal- line serpentine, the re spinelle of various shades and degrees of translucence ; when dark it passes into reddish brown, but when smaller and more bright, it approaches to rose red. These are from a line in diameter to three quarters of an inch on. each side of the bases; now and then they occur, in he- mitrope—but are seldom or: never emarginated, Jike the green ceylanite of Franklin At Byram also, a few miles from Sparta, the red spinelle has been found, by William Ingliss, Esq. Some of these, ap- proaching toa chocolate brown in colour, give a base of one inch and a quarter on each plane. At the same place we have also found the green coylnpte though much inferior in colour and translucence to that at Franklin. The magnitude of other rei at this place (Warwick) is equally surprising as that of the spinelles. Crystals o scapolite, terminated, are to-be found, each of the six Sal of the prisms measuring four inches—or a circumference o twenty-four inches, or even more. They are of course rough and corroded ; but the smaller prisms, often with narrow re- po ein on the edges, are very perfect and almost trans- parent—all of these slightly tinged with green. f the amphibole genus we meet with several varieties finely crystallized, tle black with six-sided prisms, each face sometimes is an inch in breadth. Actynolite in short and con- fused prisms, and a chocolate-brown finely crystallized variety, both in large and smal) crystals, of the usual form, and alsp 244 Bn Account of some New and Extraordinary Minerals, ef an extraordinary form, having the obtuse angle sometimes replaced by a broad face. Near Franklin I have found most beautiful mass of greenish white tremolite of this form also, the lustre of these crystals is like that of silk. Crystals of augite abound here, of gigantic magnitudes; and sometimes when smaller, of considerable perfection of form; they are generally grayish green. Brucite also oc: eurs here of a beautiful orange and ofa palisli yellow colour ; the paler coloured variety is occasionally crystallized in ap- parently modifications of the rhombic prism, but hitherto un- measured. The orange coloured are imbedded in a bluish limestone. The blue limestone also occurs in this vicinity in globular concretions loosely aggregated, very similar to the blue limestone of Vesuvius and the Bannat. na very singular bed, subordinate to, atid indeed im the erystalline limestone oecurtiig inthe form of a breccia of the old red sandstone. red graphic granite, and white feldspar, I have found partly diaphanous, softish, green octahedral crystals of considerable magnitude for which 1 know of no ascertained character.’ They appear almost similar in substance to stea- tite, being easily cut by a knife. They are not however found; as the spinelle of this locality; in carbonate of lime. Con- idering therefore this mineral as new, I pro to call it w; pose _in allusion to its affinity to the pseudomorphous _ trystals of stedtite. In addition to the numerous niinerals which have been found at Franklin and Sterling, I would mention the follow- ing as occurring at Franklin. Masses of actynoliie, of a bright silky lustre, containing short and much modified crystals, the acute lateral edge being in some replaced by three faces and the obtuse angle oblite- rated. ‘T’his mineral is sometimes associated with phosphate of limé and scapolite. Red spinelle; in small scattered crystals, associated with brucite, beryl, and phosphate of lime, found near tbe mill-dam. Parallel, or nearly so to the same ledge, it was also found by Mr. Nuttallin a small specimén which was not ascertained at the time of his publication. ~ Amorphous pale yellow é/ende in a brecciated tock dccom- vanied by carbonate of lime. Carbonate of manganese, a somewhat friable reddish gray atone; forming a thin bed in the franklinite at the summit of SSS ee ee a oS nen ee ite Miscellaneous Excalities of Mixérals. 245 the mine-hill, and 1 apparently in near connexion = the red r. Nuttall. Amianthus, cétinected with: the hornblende anak which serves as the matrix of the magnetic iron ore near the furnace. Near the same so green foliated sieatite well characterized with yellow garnet Green phosphate of lime, of various shades, associated with brown garnets in the primitive form i in six sided prisms, with flat terminations. The mineral which has been called dysbnite (and which I first found at — occurs in connexion with slightly rhom- boidal prisms of what we suppose may prove also siliceous oxide of mangane Also at Steting White blende found by Mr. Vanuxem and myself at the same tim Red oxide of titanium, insti metallic, in rounded six-sided prisms, longitudinally striated. Very fine crystals of yellowish brown filinalind and gray inelle. eer enline and steatite disseminated in the carbonate of lime; and granular franklinite in an old excavation made for c er. Fine crystals of green ceylanife, sometimes of considera- ble magnitude occur here in hornblende rock, and sometimes in massive hornblende and jefférsonite. hosphate of iron with red manganesian garnet, and what has hastily been announced as yttro-cerile, hitherto found exehisively by myself in an iron mine at Franklin mountain, procured at the depth of seventy-five feet, and very rare. Sulphuret of molybdena at the satne place with iron ore, Arr. VI.—Miscellaneous Localities of Minerals. 1. By Messrs. Carpenter and Spackman. 1. Horh stone. A beaiitiful variety of this mineral oceurs in rolled masses; of a very compact texture, fracture conch di- dal, and the mass strongly translucent.—Chesnut Hill, Dela- ware. 246 Miscellaneous Localities of Minerals. 2. Carbonate of lime. A variety of this mineral, compos- ed of lenticular crystals and fibres, running parallel, and some- times diverging, resembling the fibrousarragonite, and forming veins in the limestone quarries.—Near Downingstown, ari 3. Ph osphate of lime. In compact feldspar in hexaedra prisms from ,}, to one inch in diameter of a pale green co- lour.—Near Wisahicon, 6 miles from Philadelphia. 4. Feldspar. A beautiful variety of a green tinge.—Oc- curs on Dickson’s farm, Wilmington, Del. 5. Jasper, red. and blue, occurs in detached masses, loose and imbedded in the soil, at Chestnut Hill, Del 6. Laumonite in hornblende rock forming ‘thin veins. of laminated masses ; itis very friable and by exposure to the air aie om and falls into powder.—New Port road, 1} miles ington. 7. Green sence, This mineral occurs crystallized in cal- carious quartzose rock, and also with it hyalite, in small white specks and in botryoidal and mamillary masses—same lo- cality abounds with fine drusy quartz.—Chesnut Hill, Dela- ware. 8. Qolite occurs in aggregated Bebalar masses about the size of mustard-seed; discovered b y Dr. Samuel Fowler on his farm. Keanklin, New-Jerse sey. 'yanite in small blades or imperfect flat prisms of a bine =e white — in mica slate.—Germantown, 6: miles from Philadelph 10. Asbestoid rs oa This variety occurs in taleose rock in very delicate fibres, diverging or radiating from a contse of a fine silky lustre, its colour usually grayish white pale green. On the Wisahicon, 6} and 8 miles from Philadlphi. CARPENTER & SPACKMAN, 294 Market st. and 301 Arch-st., Philadelphia. 2. By Thomas H, Webb. Globules of water in amethyst. Among some specimens of this beautiful mineral from Bristol, R. I. there was one : stage having a considerable sized globule of water init. it presented to the Franklin Society of this place by Mr. Ci Crewford Allen,’ “and is now deposited in their cabinet. It is contained in a cavity situated a little beneath the sur- face of one side of a hexaedral prism, and extending t0- . pate Ree Vis, cael, cence eniter i ges titi oeaniin'ases ane taint Miscellaneous Localities of Minerals. 247 wards the angle formed by this side, and one side of the ter~ minating pyramid. What adds to the interest of the speci- men is, that by carefully inclining the crystal, so as to’ make the enclosed bubble of air approach the angle, the property of double refraction is distinctly seen, and we have | t- ed to us two bubbles instead of one. By an attentive ex- amination of specimens in my possession, I had the good for- tune to find several pieces, most of which contain one ea and several three globules. Mr. Mason has since fouinh other similar specimens among those belonging to the above named society, and among some in his own collection. One of these has an undulating motion, rising in about the centre of the cavity, so as to form a curve, and again de- scending on the other side ; mPa in its movement, that of a boat over a wave. One in my possession, instead of line 5 backwards anid forwaede; will, when the crystal is kept revolving, describe a igo 3 two others per- form circuitous Courses ; in one crystal there are two cavi- ties parallel to each other, containing globules that move simultaneously in the same direction. With but one excep- tion, none of the cavities hitherto noticed, are str. which renders it necessary to change a little the position of the crystal, in order to facilitate the passage of the liquid. Most of these specimens have been found among such as were rejected on account of being too pale for good cabinet- specimens, which will therefore enhance the value of many, that have heretofore been considered as uninteresting. Some of these present erey appearance of containing glo- bules ; but they are not moveable, in any position of the specimen. One of these spout globules, is so situated as to exhibit the refractive power of the amethyst, equally well as the one first noticed. Crystals of quartz, reek —_ globules, are ocea- sionally found at Cape Diamond, near Quebec, which locali- ty | believe has never yet been pisticoniae It is probable that such specimens occur more Be psthy than is generally supposed, and our ignorance of their exist- ence ais be fairly imputed, in part at least, to our not ex- amining specimens from different localities, with that cau- tion itch we should ; for many of them are so placed, that 248 Miscellaneous Localities of Minerals. a partial or superficial examination, would never enable us to detect them 2. Carbo-silicate of Manganese ? Considerable quantities of a mineral occur at Tower Hill, in Cumberland, which we judge to be the aboye named variety of manganese. It is ‘mostly massive, having generally an uneven cross fracture, though sometimes it is nearly smooth. The colours are vari- ous shades of red, yellowish brown, &c. Some of it is of a delicate pale rose red, hasa crystalline laminated structure, is translucent, and presents somewhat the appearance of feld- spar. The massive, when broken in a longitudinal direction, is found associated with, calcspar, sulphuret of j iron, prase, ans flerias 3 the inline often terminates with it in narrow and bands, giving to the mass a fibrous appearance. : whole is covered with a black substance, often of con- siderable thickness, and mostly crystallized, which is also ee ae (apie Both of these will be more particu- 3. Jasper omespcimens of avery fine deep green colour were obtained by Mr. John Pedrick and myself, while onan excursion through Sa ugus, Mass ub am sir, very respeciflly, ae OMAS.1 H. WEBB. March ii, 1825. 3. By Charles U. Shepard. 1. Anthophylite, Mr. Alonzo Chapin has lately presen- ted me with specimens of a mineral, that he has discever- ed, in considerable Sticdanae in. the town of Blandford, (Mass. ) which I find to be very well characterized antho- phy lite, ¥ following is a description of it.. It occurs in se rock, having a slaty structure, with veins ot blackish ssrpcoliae running through it, occasionally, in various directions. It is both Pas and in long acicular prisms, which are generally disposed in a radiating form. Its masses possess a highly er eedlins structure, and very a * Should any gentlemen desire a specimen of this, and wish to ex- cinnge minerals, for such as occur in this State, by forwarding {cr me, to the care delaras Grinnell & Son, South Main-street, or for r. Owen Mason, No. 10 North Main-street, they will meet with a snitable return, ee EE a 5 ee en ae ate a fey > SS = ~~ = = i Ed ee et a, heel : : 3 Miscellaneous Localities of Minerals. 249 readily admit of glenvage parallel to the lateral planes of a rhombic prism, of 125° and 55°. There is also a cleavage apparently Pe tpanslcttit to the axis of the prism ; but it is attended with some difficulty, and the planes produced by it are not very brilliant or perfect. Its colour is hair-brown, of various shades. It possesses a shining, pearly, pseudo- metallic lustre,. is translucent, and ‘scratches fluate of lime, and glass; the latter, however, with difficulty. Be- fore the blow-pipe it is infusible. a Pseudomorphous Quarte is found at the Southamp- n lead-mine, in crystals having the form of hexaedral prisms, with triedral terminations. They probably received rae form from carb. lime, which has since ddouyad: and le them hollow. They occupy cavities in quartz, and are Eroupee 29% together, lying in every direction. They are quite mall : e of them being more than half an inch in length, or one pe of an inch in diameter. ‘Their colour is uni- formly a brownish yellow—when viewed with a good micro- scope, their outer surface is aaa: to be covered with exceedingly minute six-sided pyram 3. Carbonate of Lead is foutid SF the aT eta lead-mine, crystallized in right rhombic prisms of 117° a 63°—its primary form. The following Mei of this oe ral occur at the same place. Green Carb. of Lead. The ~ colour is uniformly diffused through the mass, or crystal, and is occasioned by the infiltration of green carb. of copper. Earthy Carb, of Lead. Its colour is reddish brown. It oc- curs massive, and disseminated. [ts fracture is uneven, and presents a somewhat resinous lustre. It is usually opaque. In dilute nitric acid it effervesces. Before the blow-pipe, it splits with decrepitation, and is immediately reduced te the metallic state. t, March 22, 1825- 4. By Dr. E. Emmons. Carb. Manganese, Cummington, (Mass.) jour red, varying from flesh colour to rose red. Exter- sal gray, grayish | ope and black. The purest specimens vocab teuhdian te of lime. The recent frac- ian soon Boi to a Tha colour, on being exposed to mois- ture. Vor. IX.— No. 2. 39 250 Miseellaneous Localities of Minerais. Chem. Characters. Effervesces strongly in the mine acids when in a fine powder. Nitric acid, with the assist- Form. - in large amorphous masses, + showy no tendency - towards nigatali ation: It is found’ in many places in Cummington, but principally near the meeting-house. It has been called by some mineralogists, red owide of manga- nese 5 by others, siliceous oxide of manganese, and gray oxide ‘of manganese. All the specimens | have examined tae vesced in acids, both the red and gray varieties. It is mixed with masses and particles of quartz, magnetic Toh, and sometimes earb. lime. 5. By George W. Benedict.* . Augtte or sahlite in er perfect orystalar-tramsluetar SE et patatlat to the bas Var. a. Grayish green ; sikbtesided with a variety of ter- minations ; of all sizes, from: a twentieth of an inch to 4 or 6 inches in diameter. (Greenwood.) b. Dark bottle green; cight-sided with a diedral summit, ee the terminal edge usually replaced by a third plane. ound adhering to coccolite. (2 miles east of Greenwood.) . €. White ; abundant and large, but not so perfect as the others, being mostly exposed to the weather; white and oe erystals oceur om the same specimen.and sometimes the o pretending from the other. (About a mile east tof the one pon 2. Cottolite, or coarsely grained sablite ; grains ‘foliated from the size of a pin-head to that of one inch in diameter— extremely beautiful. ar. ae Emerald green 3 in i abundance ; translucent ima high degree. (Green b. Leek green; bottle eesti "greenish and reddish white, of all shades and sizes. semitransparent, the white transparent fo lendent. (2 miles east of Greenwood.) ctynolite; dark green in perfect rhombic prisms sod dear terminations. (2 miles east of Greenwood.) of these minerals have been noticed in a former number, but Ay is yovac that a sugcines account of the whole may be interesting: Se ee ae ee Nh ie ee ee ee cok a EE ay ergy ence Miscellaneous Localities of Minerals. ~ 258 4. Hornblende. Var. a. Crystallized i in cube, risms with diedral sum- mits—but few specimens found. Spicy 6 b. Carinthin—not abundant. (iieares c. Granular—very handsome. (Betwéen’ the two ee) 5. Mica. Dark bottle green, and finely crystallized. The crystals lie contiguous to each other in a vein a foot wide, presenting a tessellated appearance. Between the sides and ends of the crystals there is generally a thin layer of prisma- tic filaments aly removed by the ails The surfaces thus exhibited are sufficiently smooth for the reflective goniome- ter. On rae the outer pellicle, a dendritic iridescence of great bexuty is usually exhibited. I have never seen se poe and beautiful crystals of mica from any other loca- iG The following forms occur; ar A doubly oblique rhombic prism from half an BS. to 4 or 6 inches in diameter, and from a third of ae inch to four inches high. This is the common form b. The same with the two acute angles replaced by tri- angular planes parallel to each other and forming obtuse. angles with their bases respectively. The bases are thus yg hexagonal; but the crystal is not a hexaedral oe. Dilanglar pyramids—rare. ~d. Oblique four-sided prisms with rectangular bases— rarest of all. (Greenwood.) careous spar, Flesh coloured; containing small white and green crystals of augite, and mica; in many phe? —very handsome between the two ponds. 7. Ceylantte ; in small octohedrons, sometimes macled— occasionally in rhomboids with brucite in carbouate of lime. (Between the two ponds. 8. Var. a. Dark brows, in crystals, laminated and granular masses sO enorme in the white augite as to give it a por- phy ritic appearanc b. Light Brew occurs abundantly about 11 miles east. of the tere ponds, on the road to West Point. It is disseminated in a beautiful green sahlite, generally delicately laminated — laminae sometimes so s mall and irregular that it appears gra- nular. | have one specimen welelitne about a pound —it i is made up of the granular and laminated, and contains also dis- “tinet erystals—obligue four-sided prisms with the two obtusé “252 Miscellaneous Localities of Mineral’. oie sega This locality had been visited by others s to our going there. [I am not, however, aware of bee fica of it having ie published. 9. Magnetic oxide o Var. a, Crystallized in 1 headtifal octohedrons in cavities dof the masses of the ore, at the ore beds about four miles west of tee furnace. . In occasional masses of various sizes near the augite Tals A structure crystalline ; on being fractured, the edges of. octohedra appear on the whole surface. 10. Asbesius. In the same vicinity ; straw yellow; fila- ments short, but often unusually beautiful. Newburgh, April 28, 1825. 6. By Emerson Davis. Fibrous Limestone (satin spar) ts found in West Springfield at the falls of the Aggawam river, forming veins in red sand- stone slate. The veins are rpendicular to the strata, from 1 to 1 an inch in al e sand-stone | is of a fine texture, and d probably calca Roof Slate, at a ine alls, oe thrown 5 the shore apparently by the force of the w There only two or three large blocks, but many reapall itaginentse I am not able as yet to find it in place, but ss suppose it to form small beds in the sand-stone. The green stone range crosses the river one mile west of the falls, Gad still further to the west, in Westfield, the red sand-stone again appears though of the conglomerate kind. Amethyst is found forming veins in the green stone Caleareous Spar attached to green stone, sometimes in veins and sometimes imbedded in amethyst. Prehuite in the green stone, filling small cavities or zeodes. Iti is in cea pee ares Md is in a decaying state, the la, April 27, 1 ; nd of the above, together with the Southampton minerals, I wil *xchange for other minerals with those who may wish. eipepaitalesat DAVIS: . i ta | oe : en” akc, . Micmac Geologica’ Systems—Geological Maps, Se. 253 Anr. VIL.—Geological Systems.— Geological Maps.— Cha- toyant Feldspar. : Extracts of letters to the Editor, dated at Paris January 10, and March 14, from William Maclure, P. A. N. S. and eA, GS. Your observation that some subdivision in the nothenela- ture of rocks would be useful to geology, is perfectly just, although I doubt whether our present knowledge is adequate to it Were we to judge by the diluvial and tertiary, these doubts may perhaps be confirmed. The first is a division of the alluvial class, without any distinct line of boundaries. Whether a hill of sand, gravel, or clay, has been aggregated by gravitation, from deep, still water, as a sea, lake, flood, &c. which they wish to call diluvial, or thrown together by the action of a river, or the waves of the sea-shore, which they wish to call alluvial, is almost impossible to distinguish; for in both cases, the mass stil] remains a bed of sand, gravel, or clay. The terrain de transporte of the French geologists, applied to all rocks whose parts are rounded by attrition, in- cludes almost the whole of Werner’s alluvial. The tertiary, including all rocks above the chalk, applies exactly to the basin between France and England, from which the name was perhaps derived, but cannot well define a geological po- sition where no chalk has been found. oi ce s ne may perhaps be warranted in supposing the existence of a period, when there was, on the surface of the earth, only ihe primitive, the oldest of the five classes of Werner’s, the other four classes appearing to be formed by fire, water, &c. out of the materials composing this first and most ancient class. As we have not yet seen the laws of nature actually operating, to form any rocks similar to the primitive, we are left to conjecture the mode of formation ; the total absence of organic remains would lead to the supposition that it was con- structed before their existence; the organic remains, and a structure in the rocks similar to that which is actually exposed to the evidence’of our senses, warrants the supposition, that the four other classes were formed at some period in the pro- gress of time. The primitive and transition have a fixed cha+ racter of universal origin in all parts of the globe where they ure found: they have a regularity of stratification, inclination, ; 254 | Geological Systems— Geological Maps .&c. and structure, which proves the extension and similarity . of their formation The secondary and alluvial, consisting of the wreck of more ancient rocks, vary with the locality and nature of the rocks from which they originate, and have nothing fixed or general- ly characteristic of a universal formation. Benahdiog on the — accidents of declivity, &c., of the foundation on which the are placed, without any regular direction of the stratification, each basin has its own relative position; and as they touch each other at the sides, they are not subject to any over-lying stratification that can fix the relative period of their different formation. Smith, in his Geological Map of England, (if I recollect well, for I have not seen it for many years,) places the secon- dary of the west on the primitive and transition of the Cum- berland mountains, and in the section which he gives, all the secondary of the east overlies them, by which he indicates, that all the chalk of the east overlies the coal of the west: an order on which others have built their theories, and which I rather think is not correct. The Vulcanic class is a litle more irregular. It certainly alternates with the alluvial and secondary, and I think with the transition, so that its formation has en coeval with the three Neptunian classes. -Perhap: the most useful classification, in the present state of the science, would be to retain Werner’s five classes as being well defined, that is, as well as the sraduated variety of nature will permit, (for one species runs into another by such small and imperceptible degrees as scarcely to leave a footing for our artificial divisions) and to make some subdivisions in each class, without deranging the system already best known, or the ideas of those who follow it. Werner, in placing his newest Floetz Trap in the secondary class, commits a great fault, for these rocks alternate with the alluvial secondary and pee % py ud Ain with the transition, and are mostly an- ocks. It is probable that the secondary is ihe most oticuve class in bis system, for like all system- makers he copied what he saw, and the Erzgebirge, the field that produced his system, has little or no secondary, but with the exception of the newest Floetz pga it is the most ida: ne eg ee ae Accel ppcentese a+ | . . ' . | Geologieal Systems—Geological Maps, Gc. 255 aye to see our young geologists so far on the right road. hey have proved that they are fit to walk alone, and to make the best use of their senses. It is probable they may be fore- ed to make a system for each of the valleys or basins filled with alluvial or secondary, and after that, it appears to me doubtful, whether any one of them will apply either to our immense alluvial on the shores of the Atlantic, or to our ex- tensive secondary of the hear of the Mississippi. is — pet Exiracts Ga: a spe to the Editor from William Maclure Esq. ated, Paris, January 10, 1825 GEOLOGICAL MAPS OF Pil hh OF CONTINENTAL gene Evin at this time, there is no geolo ical map of a whole country on the continent of Europe, local maps of all tke partial basins and patches of mountains yet published, would ees. cover the surface of the state of New-York or Penn- sylvania A critic in the Bulletin des Sciences considers me as in- accurate, because I have not found coal under chalk, lime- stone, or the old red sand-stone. The impression that c may be thus found, originated, as I suppose, from Smith’s map of England. This author takes it ioe granted, because the primitive rocks emerge on the west side of the island, that all the secondary of the east lies upon the secondary of the west, and consequently that the chalk and limestone of the east repose upon the coal and coal measures of the west, agreeably to the _— which he gives of the island. This is contrary to the observations I have been able all of which sand: to convince ae that seconda not overlie one another, but touch only at their sides—a different order of stratification occurring in agreeably ¥ the nature of the surrounding heights, with the lic oceeding from whose decomposition the basins were ivigionly fille have still my doubts, notwithstanding what the critic has said, whether the argillaceous oxide of iron; so common in coal mines, isa carbonate of iron. I have also my doubts, whether the chalk forms a good apa for what is called the tertiary class of rocks, of which class ] am unfortunately 256 Geological Systems—Geological Maps, &c. as much ata loss to conceive where it begins, as I am to coti- jecture where it isto end. It seems to be composed in part of Werner’s alluvial and secondary, but the limits to which it is confined appear to me undefined and speculative, eer on the distinction between depositions accumulating on the pataen of deep water and those rolled and left on the seadens of either a sea or lake—a pes ai difficult to make at this distance of time from the operati If sand or rolled masses are ne criterion, = the transition puddings and sand-stone would become tert able at present to investigate the grounds of thes speculative ' opinions, and no reasoning but that elicited by the stroke af e hammer can throw light on the subject. CHATOYANT FELDSPAR. Since I arrived in this eity, I am induced, on inspecting specimens of the feldspar in granite called moon-stone, and of the Labrador feldspar, both of which present changeable colours, to conclude that the phenomena are, in both cases, caused by t Itration of water under crystalline layers which form the _— and 1 am confirmed im that opinion by fi the river below Shafhausen a granite “sca the feldspar of which had the same properties as the for feldspar. Se t | SSCL ITN Cericougrap hy. 257 BOTANY. hut, Vibl peeRariconraphys by Proressor Dewerx. Con- tinued from Vol. 1X. p. 73. [Communicated to the Lyceum of NaturalHistory of the Berkshire Medical . Justitation.| 39. Carex ig al Torrey.* Tab. C. 88 squama lanceolata vel ovato-cuspidata paulo longioribus. Culm 15—30 inches high, triangular, scabrous above, rather slender, stiff; leaves linear-lanceolate, flat, scabrous on the pipet much shorter than the e-eulms striate, shesthing 3 sheaths staminate at its summit ; : bsags.J ooh nearly the of the culm, scarcely sheathing the peduncles; fruit . nearly globose, sometimes a little three-sided, glabrous, nerv- ed, with a long, slender, bifid beak ; pistillate scale lanceolate, sometimes ovato-cuspidate, white on the edge, green on the back and keel, and alittle shorter than the fruit, stigmas 3. Flowersin May. Found in Westfield in woods on the bank of the river—Mr. E. Davis. Also, near Boston, Growsin . great abundance in a light soil on the border of the interval - the Hausatoanuc, Sheffield, one mile south of the meeting- ouse. . Schweinitz. Paris ages of Cariges,” in the Annals of the New-York prey Vol. L. p Vou. IX io, 2 258 Caricography. This isa distinct, beautiful, and finely characterized species, and is very appropriately named by Dr. Torrey. ad nam- ed it C. Sprengelii, but the other name must have the prefe- rence, as it was first published. 40. C. polytrichordes. Muh. Mub., Pursh, Eaton, Pers. no. 9. Schk. tab. Iii fig. 138. C. microstachya. Mx. Spica solitaria terminali oblonga, superne stamenifera ; fructibus tristigmaticis sub-quinis oblongis alternis sub-trique- tris glabris emarginatis, squama ovata obtusa et rarO mucro- nata duplo longioribus. Culm 4—12 inches high, very slender, triangular, scabrous above ; leaves subradical, linear, setaceous ; shorter than the culm ; spike single, pistillate below ; staminate flowers 3—7, with an ovate subacute scale, green on the keel, and tawny on the margin; fruit 3—8, oblong, somewhat lanceolate, emargi- nate and entire at the orifice ; stigmas three; pistillate scale ovate, obtuse, sometimes mucronate, scarcely half the length of the fruit : colour of the plant yellowish green. wersin May. Found in cold, wet situations in meadows mon Our plant seems to be larger and to bear more fruit than the pecimens observed by Muh. in Pennsylvania. It is a very distinct and beautiful species. Though it belongs to a very natural division of the species of this genus, it is not closely allied to ary of them except the following species. 41. C. Wildenowiti. Schk. Mub., Pursh, Eaton, Pers. no. 5. and Ell.* Schk. tab. Mmm. fig. 145. Spica solitaria oblonga terminali, infra fructifera ; fructibos tristigmaticis lanceolatis triquetris subsenis subacuminatis sub- glabris, squama ovata acuminata duplo vix longioribus. This species has rarely, if ever, been found in N, England. My specimens are from Pennsylvania, where it grows in dry woods, and flowers in June, according to Muh. It is closely related to C. polytrichoides, but differs from it in its fruit and scale, as well a8 in its place of growth. It is notso slender a plant, and its leaves are considerably wider and also more flat * Eliiott’s Sketch of the Botany of South Carolina and Georgia “dl i ae sesh percents Pe aa eaererety sdehigseicise 253 eee grassy, ee culm f, e ‘SO tit ae We. PD, Be Like the preceding species, it varies much in the number of its fruit. The whole plant has a light green colour. 42. C. petra et Muh, Muh., Pursh, Eaton, ser no. SI. tab. ‘Ges. fig. 1 Spicis subquinis istigioaiins trigonis Rithanibie longe pe- dunculatis, superne stamen niferis; fructibus obovatis triquetris, apice recurvatis, vulgo glabris, squama oblonga vel obovata pice gore longioribus. es high, triangular, scabrous above, rather picetieabent toctdint- brown at the base; leaves chiefly radi- cal, stiff, rather flat, carinate, longer chant e culm, striate ; spi ikes mostly androgynous, triangular, short, on rather lon exserted peduncles, the lowest sometimes wholly ees and the highest sometimes having the staminate flowers distinct spike just above the pistillate ; stigmas 3; ste scale pita mucronate, reddish-brown ; fruit obavate; chad sided, somewhat recurved at the apex ; pistillate scale oblong or solvers: mucronate, tuddishbrown; green on the keel, and a little shorter than the fruit. Colour of the plant light green.* Flowers in April. Grows in open woods—common. This singular and beautiful species delights in the warm i sunny sides of hills and open me and is the first of the ow its flowers in the spring. Its fruit may often be found of full size early in May. 43. -C. virescens. Muh. Muh., Pursh, Eaton, Pers. no. 93. Schk. “tab. mm. Spicis ternis tristigmaticis oblongis erectis ‘alternis, Seprems pedunculata inferne stamenifera, ceteris ee subsessili- bus bracteatis ; fructibus ovatis obtusis costatis pubescentibus, fe ovata ” pubescente mucronata ielagiot bas vel sube- Culm 15— 24 inches high, rather slender, triangflar, leafy, scabrous above, often reddish-brown at the base; leaves di- * Prof. Mesiey would be happy to exchange Carices, on most oa terms, with any Botanist for C. ovata, Rudge, credited to Canada, C rasert, credited to N. Carolina, C. scirpoidea Mx. C. subulata, Mx. amd C. miliaris, Mx. : 260 Caricography. near-lanceolate, shorter than the culm, abbreviated below, generally pubescent, sheathing; sheaths striate, pubescent ; spikes three, from half an inch to an inch in Jength, oblong, rather slender, somewhat thrée-sided,—highest spike stami- nate below,—lower ones entirely pistillate, nearly sessile, supported by linear-lanceolate, pubescent bracts ; staminate scale ovate, acute; fruit ovate, generally obtuse, costate, pu- bescent, rather close 5 pistillate seale ovate, mucronate, pu- bescent, carinate, green, varying from about half the length to the length of the fruit. Colour of the plant a dull green. Flowers in May. Grows on the borders of woods, on hills and im wet upland meadows. West base of Mt. Holyoke— common in ia é seth county. 8. costata. C tala. Blas its frait mere strongly iene and its outer sheaths goiiplisii-beeiwen: Its leaves more numerous and larger. The difference seems not sufficient to constitute it a distinet species. The fruit of C. virescens differs considerably in the distineiness of the nerves or ribs. On examining specimens Pennsylvania, I can find no essential difference from | the real-C. virescens. BothC, in the “ Analytical Table of Carices,” to those s species which | have more than four spikes and two stigmas, neither of which is. correct. 44. C. hirsuta. Willd. Moh., Pursh, Eaton, Pers. no. 95, & Ell. Schk. tab. Www. fig. 172. Spicis tristigmaticis acer brevi-oblongis alternis erectis, suprema brevi-pedunculata et infra stamenifera, ceteris sub- sessilibus foliaceo-bracteatis, omnibus approximatis densiflo- ris; fructibus esha age tla nervosis obtusis ore integris glabris, a ovate acuminate glabre subequalibus. Culm 1218 inches high, triangular, scabrous above, glab- rous below, dark brown at base, leafy ; leaves linear-lanceo- ae ae as the culm, sheathing, and, like the sheaths, re- é ai nt and striate; spikes three, sometimes four, ahout half an inch long, rather close-fruited, oblong, approxi- mate - a spike staminate below—lower ones wholly pis- ae, ‘early sessile, with long linenpiceelate subpubes- eer a Pee source eer eo Caricography. 261 tut pubescent in its younger state, obtuse; pistillate scale ovate, acuminate, white on the margin, green on the keel, neatly as long as the fruit, colour of the plant rather a light ree ' Fission; in-May. Grows on moist upland meadows and hills. Phillipstown, N. ¥ —Dr. Barratt. In the meadows south of Newburgh, N. ¥ with C. squarresa, C. granulari- oides, C. pubescens—common, like the preceding ib Rernite but not abundant in Berkshire county. chk. bas given two figs. of this plant, and also of the cape sules, but the varieties of this species are not likely to lead to mistakes. ‘Though it is a very distinct species, it may before maturity be confounded with C. virescens, because its young fruit is pubescent, Its shorter, thicker spikes, and its lon: * retrorsely fy pubescent leaves, easily distinguish it, even uated its fruit mes glabrous, from that species. 45. = vestita. Willd. ., Pursh, —— pr 106, & El. Sch. tab. Bbbb Spica stamenifera solitaria, vel bas, replicate oblonga, suprema elongata pedunculata ; ; spicis fractiferis tristigmaticis binis ovato-oblongis sessilibus subapproximatis bracteatis, se- pe superne stameniferis ; fructibus ovatis oblongis subtrique- tris nervosis brevi-rostratis bifidis pubescentibus, squama ova= to-oblonga acutiuscula submucronata paulo longioribus. Culm 18—30 inches high, acutely triangular, scabrous above, striate ; leaves linear-lanceolate, striate, ro ugh, short- er shen the culm, abbreviated below; staminate ines one, sometimes two, oblong, cylindric—the highest long, large, and pedunculate—the lowest sessile and short; staminate scale oblong, tawny, white and membranaceous on the n in; ie three, sometimes two according to + pistillate kes 2—3, sessile, oblong, cylindric, about watt an inch long, oie with a few staminate florets at the a supported. by long, leafy bracts shorter than the culm; rait ‘ovate-oblong, shortly beaked, bifid, nerved, somewhat three-sided, -pubes~ _ cent; pistillate scale ‘ovate-oblong, su mucronate, mony) green on the keel, and a little shorter fe the fruit. Flowers in May. Inhabits wet and marshy situations. It has not been found in Berkshire county—common on Con. | necticut river, in Massachusetts and Connectieut— Deerfield, Mr Hitchcock—Pennsylvania. 262 Ca ricograph Ye This is a finely Eerantnciged species, and is exceilently drawn sue Schk. 46. C. granularioides. Schw. T fig. 4 ab. A, fig. 4. Spicis distinetis; spica sepeabachovs solitaria oblonga pedun- culata; spicis fructiferis tristigmaticis binis vel ternis oblongis remotis exserte pedunculatis erectis subdensifloris bracteatis, suprema subsessili; fructibus oblongis obtusiusculis glabris nervosis ore integro subdivergentibus, squama ovato-subulata paulo longioribus Culm 8 —12 incheshigh, triangular, rather slender, scabrous above, leafy towards the base; leaves linear-lanceolate, flat; rather smooth, shorter than the culm, striate, about two lines broad; bracts leafy, as long or longer than the culm with short, distinct sheaths; staminate spike single, from the same bract with the highest ‘pistillate, pedunculate, sometimes with .a small braet at the base; staminate scale oblong, subobovate, obtuse, tawny ; pistillate spikes 2 — 3, remote, often give dis- tant, the highest nearly sessile, the others supported on pe- es projecting more than the length of the eee “about halfan inch long, cylindric, oblong, rather densely flowered ; uit oblong, obtuse, sometimes a little atten- uated at the base, nerved, glabrous, entire at the mouth, some- times with a very short Teak : pistillate scale, variable in length, ovate and subulate, tawny on the edge, and green on the keel, generally a little shorter than the fruit. olour of the plant i is a bright green. Flowers in May. Grows in moist soil, upland meadows at Newburgh, N. 7. on the Housatonnuc in Sheffield; Phil- lipstown, N. Y. Dr. Barratt.—Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, - Schweinitz. is plant is related to C. conoidea, C. tetanica, and C. pallescens, but it differs much from either of them. Mr, Schweinitz made it a new species with great propriety. Plates of noth of the new species of Carex described in this work, accompany this paper. The figures have been drawn by a ri distinguished for its accuracy in delineating plants. The figures are of the size of the originals. The dissections are on the right of the species to which they be- long. The first, i in passing towards the right hand, represents ———— the second, the fruit; and the third, whes given, i tne Dr. Hooker on Americun Botany. 263 Table A. fig. 1. C. aristata. Vol. VII. p. 277. “ ditto 2. lenticularis. Vol. vi, py 2T8. : . IX. p. 61. “ditto 6. formosa. Vol. Vill. p. 98. “ditto 11. Deweyana. Vol. 1X. ps 62. “* ditto 12. trisperma, Vol. IX. p. 63. Axr. IX. ip the Botany of America. oy Wivuras Jacx- son Hooxer, LL.D. F.R.S E.* Iv noticing, as we propose to do, the progress of botany, and the present state of that science in various parts of f Eu. rope, it is by no means our intention to pass by in silence what has been effected by our brethren in North America, a country which, for extent and interest, has scarcely any pa- rallel in the world. If we were to estimate it from its south- ern extremity, we should commence our calculations at the tenth degree of north latitude; but as we shall confine our observations to those districts which have submitted to the sway of the United States, or to those which may, with more propriety, be termed the British possessions in North Ame- rica, we shall omit the Mexican dominions altogether; re beginning with the thirtieth degree of latitude, we have space extending northward beyond the arctic circle ; and if we include the island of Newfoundland, through eighty de- grees of longitude in its utmost breadth. The vegetation ts as various as are the climate and the soil, throughout this vast extent of continent. In the Floridas grows a majestic species of Palm, (Chamerops Palmetto, ) and the Orange, the Cot- ton, the ay oe and even the Sugar cane may be cultivated there to great perfection and advantage. In the Carolinas and the Pi loridas the eye of the traveller is charmed with the beauty and grandeur of the forest trees, the various species of Evergreen oak, the numerous kinds of Pine, Malis, and *From Dr. Brewster’s Edinbureh Journal of Science, No. TEL, p. 108. 264 Dr, Hooker on American Botany. Plane; the majestic Py tree (Liriodendron tulrpifera,) reaching to the height of 140 feet, and loaded with large and brilliant flowers, the curious deciduous Cypress, and the su- rb , A different vigetaiga occurs in the more northerly of the United States; and what renders the botany of North Ame- rica peculiaely interesting to the British naturalist is, that a very la roportion of its vegetable productions may be as- nina to our own climate. This is especially the case with that extensive portion of it under our immediate consi- deration. The Ozks and Firs of this district of North Ame- rica now decorate many of our plantations and pleasure Scene and as the quality of their timber comes to be better nown and appreciated, they will doubtless occupy a conspi- cuous place in our woods and forests. | Our shrubberies owe their greatest beauty to the various speciesoi Kalmia, Azalea, Rhododendron, Robinia, Cornus, Sambucus, Ceanothus, and Lonicera, to the S Syringa, the flewertng Raspberry, and a dred others, which flourish as if they were the aboriginal ‘natives of our soil; whilst the gardens of the curious are in- debted for mA of their choicest productions to the herba- ceous a lants of North America, the greater number being re- le for the a eet of their blossoms, and not a few, sue ‘Dionea and Sarracenia, striking us as amongst the feet singular of all vegetable productions in their strac- ture. Nay, such is the superiority of the climate, and the fertility of ihe soil, that our European fruits, which were tak- en over by the early settlers, have improved prodigiously — quality ; to that degre, even that we now procure them for our orchards and wall-trees ; ; and the most highly _ flavoured apples that we (north of the Tweed at least) can Boat for our desserts, are any | im ported themselves from America. Jn the arctic regions of the New World, there is a striking . similitude i in the botanical pee with those of the sum- mits of our highest Scotch mountai The earliest accounts of the etaits ‘of North America cov- ay of. Getnabie tnt eg (beech sme published by foreign- ‘ to scie : ‘bat degree of political and mental impro whidle ‘w6 find the United States now to. have ancl ‘thet | 4 | | | | ils zs - coe ew ) Pact i PO sami: A a at ei Dr. Hooker on American Botany. 265 | we can expect any branch of science to be estimated as it deserves. = eee ee A small history of the Plants of Canada by Cornuti ap- peared in Paris in 1635. About the year 1740 was published Catesby’s Natural History of Carolina, &c. in 2 vols. large folio, illustrated with a great number of highly coloured figures &c.° Gronovius edited the Flora Virginiea of Clayton, at Leyden, in 1759. In the Memoirs of the Ame- rican Academy, Dr. Cutler printed his Account of the Vege- table Productions of the New England States ; and, in 1788, Walter’s Flora Caroliniana appeared in London. | - The elder Bartram, during his extensive and interesting travels, discovered many curious plants, and was the means of making them known to the botanists of Europe, especially of Britain. His friend and patron, Mr. Peter Collinson, who kept up a constant correspondence with him, Colden, and other naturalists of America, was one of the first to cultivate lants of that country in England, which he did with much success, at his charming garden at Mill Hill, near Lon- don. Dr. Garden was another eminent promoter of American botany, and in his communications to Linneus, he sent many new and interesting plants. His botanical enthusiasm seems to have been very great; and we have some striking proofs of it lately published by Sir J. E. Smith, in the Linnzan corres- pondence. In one of those letters, addressed to the illus- trious Swede from South Carolina, Dr. Garden thus expresses himself on the occasion of his being disappointed of an in- tended journey to the Apalachee mountains, by an order for the expedition to return. ‘In my letters,” he says, “to you at that time, [ gave you an account of my intended journey, and in what manner the arrival of our new governor put a stop to us. Good God! is it possible to imagine the shock I received when the unhappy express overtook us, just two day’s march on this side of the mountains? My prospect of ‘lutting my very soul with the view of the southern parts of Supreme Architect! How happy should I have been to hayg thrown in my mite, by adding one new genns or ies to Yui = le pias oe a 266 Dr. Hooker on American Botany. the vegetable or mineral kingdom! With what pleasure did I bear the sun’s scorching beams, the fatigue of travelling, the cold ground for my pillow, and the uncomfortable dreariness thing but a blank, a doleful blank to ne, and I may say to every one of the company; for we were happily collected, and unanimity reigned amongst us. What will you think when I tell you that one of our company was a very accurate. drawer, and he had promised me to do every thing for me, and according to my direction, that I should desire ; so that, in this one circumstance, my loss was irreparable. But why do I dwell on the most disagreeable of all the incidents that ever Providence mingled in my lot ?” : Kalm, the celebrated pupil of Linnzus, who was also Pro- fessor of Natural History at Abo, in Finland, visited America 7 =, R 5 |. 9) o on o S aon oO o x ol “" a o : 2 ae ; ef this botanist is commemorated in the beautiful genus Kalmia. Until the year 1803, however, nothing had been published containing a thoroughly scientific arrangement of any extensive portion of the northern part of the New World. The pro- viding of materials for such a.work was reserved for Andre Michaux, a Frenchman, every way qualified for the task, and ‘who, after returning from a most successful botanizing expe- dition to Persia, and bringing with him, amongst other trea- sures, the curious Rosa. simplicifolia and Michauxia compa- nulata, was appointed to visit North America at the charges of the French government, with a view to enrich France with its various vegetable productions, particularly its forest trees ; for which, it must be confessed, that the climate of that coun- try is even better qualified than that of England. ; New-York Michaux constituted the depot for the collections which he made through New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ma- rytand; and he there established a garden, from whence he despatehed numerous packages to France. Another depot ow Dr. Hooker on American Botany. 287 was formed at Charleston, for the rece the productions of the Carolinas and the Alleghany m ins, which he ex- plored with great difficulty and danger, travelling no less than 900 miles across the wilds of Carolina and Georgia alone. Thence he visited Spanish Florida, making his way up the rivers for considerable distances, in a canoe hollowed out from a single trunk of the deciduous Cypress (Cupressus dis- ticha). In May 1789, he investigated the mountains of Caro- lina, and, assisted by some Indian guides, without whom it would have been impossible to have made any progress ; he penetrated the vast,woods of the intervening plains, through thickets"of Rhododendron, Kalmia, and’ Azalea ; but was pre- 2 vented from going so faras he had intended, in consequence . of a dispute between the Indians and the white'people, which rendered it unsafe for Europeans to venture among the for- er e therefore returned to Charleston by New-York and Philadelphia. He now recommended and instructed the Americans to collect and prepare the root of the Ginseng (Panax quinquefolia,) in the same manner as the Chinese do for sale ; and, for a long time, a trade was actually carried on with China in that article. : Michaux had still another object in view, which was that 2 of tracing the botanical topography of America ; and, having so effected so much in the southern States, he resolved to ex- tend his researches as far north as Hudson’s Bay _In short, he arrived at a country, where, as he says himself, “ nought but a dreary vegetation was found, consisting of black and stunted pines, which bore their cones at four feet only from the ground ; dwarf Birch and Service Trees, a creeping Ju- niper, the Black Currant, the Linnea borealis, Ledum, and some species of Vaccinium.” ee Michaux did not return to Europe till 1796, when he was shipwrecked on the coast of Holland. The circumstance is thus related by his biographer in the third volume of the Annales du Museum d@ Histoire Naturelle. “The passage had not been unpropitious ; but on the 18th of September, when in sight of the shores of Holland, a dreadful tempest arose ; } the sails were rent, the masts broken, and the vessel struck Bee and split against the rocks. Such was the state of exhaustion *\ and fatigue to which all the sailors and passengers were re. duced, that the greater number would have been lost. but for the assistance that was rendered by the inhabitants of Eg- mond, a little neighbouring village. Michaux was lashed to | ke Dr. Hooker on American Botany. = one of the yards, and. he was senseless when carried on shore ; he did not recover till some hours after, when he found hires self extended before: a fire, with more than fifty persons stand- ing around him. s first: idea. when his recollection re- turned, was to ‘igh for his collections. He was informed that the packages which contained his own effects had been lying on deck, whence they were washed by the violence of the waves; but that those chests which had been lodged in the hold had been taken out safely. This intelligence con- soled him. - Notwithstanding the wretched state of his health, Michaux was compelled to remain six weeks at Egmond, and to work day and night, His plants having got wetted by the salt water, he was obliged to immerse them all in fresh water, and one after another, to dry them between new papers.” Oo his return to his native country, Michaux employed himself in Espa his History of Oaks, a work which re- flects the bighesi credit upon its author ; not only because of the number of new bic which are there made known to ns, but also on account of the important uses to which the timber of the different kinds may be applied. An seReits ment to explore other countries* prevented him from pub- lishing himself any of his various new and important discov- eries, His History of the Oaks was indeed printed, bat the Hote were not all ready for the press before his departure from Europe. It wasedited in 1801. But that work which more immediately concerns our present subject, and which was compiled from the materials that he collected during his travels in North America, is his Flora Borealis Americana, sistens Characteres Plantarum quas in America Septentrionalt collegit et detextt Andreas Michaux. This appeared | in 1803, (che very year of Michaux’s death,) in two volumes octavo, with fifty-one neat plates in outlines. The anonymous edi- tor, and indeed he may just!y be considered the author, was the eminent Claude Louis Richard, late professor of botany at the School of Medicine in Paris, and unquestionably one * He embarked in the ill-conducted expedition under Captain Bandin; but like many others of the neo when the vessel arrived at the Ts Isle was seize pecs oa of which he died in ee aad ar OE Re er Oe cated, 5) at) re SSR ee ore Dr. Hooker on American a 269 of the most profound botanists that Eun The whole is in Latin, and, as may be s e tional number of new species is extremely large; inde Ee eoeacrye as the first Flora of so entensive: a country. as th America, it panier the highest credit on the: ancestry out eomence of Michau before the nebligntion of this work, anot ther natur- ong b alist, Frederick Pursh, a Pole*, we believe, by birth, but edu- cated in Dresden, instigated by the richness of the vegetation, and the hope of making numerous discoveries, resolved to visit North America, and carried his plan into execution in 1799, when he embarked for Baltimore, in Maryland, with the resolution. not to return to Europe till he had examined = This. edictirnted B otanist, we calor: has been commonly, though erroneously, considered a native a. Pelee While Professor Silliman was in anada, in the autumn of 1 he had a personal interview with a pe Mr. Pursh, in the course of which the fatter stated expressly, that he was btn « Indeed.” ie ie born mes educated in Siberia, near T r Silliman, “he possessed a physiognomy and porn from that of Raceteine, and highly characteristic of his nati ‘Mr, Pursh expressed himself very warmly on the subject of the Doel men, in the use of their aid which he received in aa from scientific libraries and their herbariums, a the tender of their private advice and information; he m tac vitineaetin his obligations to Sir JoserH Banks, god “sprint com He informed me, that he conteeapiahes another tour to parope for for the e purpose of publishing his Flora of Canada, upoiewbich he had bee ih tiecth ae veral years occupied, and expected to was the aeons mind, and his complete devotion to. the ruling Pasion, that he thaighy little of marching day after “a hes with a pack weighing: sixty pounds on his shoulders, ee ns ts and Perri and over rocks and mountains, hs scr discover a new great sont ote of such he assured me he had found, and that he i babeinaan to publish the drawings and descriptions of them in his Canadian Flora.” (See * Remarks’ made on a Tour between Hartford and Quebec,” p. 351. Mr. Pursh died, after a very lingering illness, at Montreal, July 11th, = Itis e = hoped that i apaiviry has — or will be, instituted con- i C the f this His Flora of Canada, though pecbulsly not S acwatty Gants tie publications, nee. almost undoubted! ae: F rd many valuable items. aa 278 Dr, Hooker on American Botany. the country, and collected materials to the utmost extent of his means and abilities ; and it is certain that he did this under many and great disadvantages. His travels were ex- tensive ; for he remained nearly twelve years in America, and in two summers only he went over an extent of country, employed in collecting plants about Philadelphia, and in re- ceiving them from his correspondents for cultivation in his gardens there. In 1805, he explored the western territories of the southern states, including the high mountains of Vir- ginia and Carolina; and in 1806, he went through many of the s, commencing with the mountains of on pide and extending his investigations to those of New Hampshire, embracing the country of the lesser and great lakes. But the most important of the advantages to which I al- lude, were derived by Pursh’s personal acquaintance with, and communications from, various botanists, who about this time were to be found in different parts of the United | States. Among these, the first undoubtedly in point of rank and character, will stand the amiable Dr. Muhlenberg, minister of the German church at Lancaster, in Pennsylvania. He was thoroughly conversant with the vegetable productions of his own district, and in a measure with those of America gen- erally: forhe published, in 1813, a Catalogue of the Plants of North America, which contains a great number of new spe- cies ; and what redounds still more to his credit, though it was a posthumous work, he was the author of an excellent treatise on the Grasses and Sedges of North America, which was edited in 1817 by his son, assisted, as he tells us in the preface, by Mr. Elliott, Mr. Baldwin, and Mr. Collins. This work is entirely in Latin. Dr. Muhlenberg carried on a most extensive correspondence with the botanists of Europe, by whom he was greatly esteemed. He supplied the cele- brated Hedwig with many of the rare American mosses, which were published either in the Stirpes Cryptogamice of that author, or in the Species Muscorum. To Sir J. E. Smith, and Mr. Dawson Turner, he likewise sent many plants, and one of his new mosses was published by the latter gentleman im the nnals of Botany, under the name of Funaria Muhlen- Dr. Hooker on American Botany. 271 bergit. It is well known that Dr. Muhlenberg possessed very extensive materials for a general description of ot plants of the New World ; but what has become of these w have been unable to aceriait. His herbarium is in the pos: session of the American Philosophical Sitiety : Another of the friends of Parsh was Dr. B. Smith Barton, a physician and a naturalist, and un aestionably a great pro- moter of meine and especially of Botany, in America. He was appointed Professor of Natural. History in the university of Philadelphiain 1789. . We recollect, in our early youth, reading with great delight some of his Fragmenis of Natural History, as they were appropriately termed, which first brought to our notice many highly curious objects of that country, and reminded us of the writings of our own Stilling- fleet an ite. He has the credit of publishing an elemen- tary work on Botany, which, though rather diffuse in style, is ful of entertaining anecdotes ; ; and the references and terms being.all made applicable to American plants, it must have coe — towards recommending the study of ‘botany i in that oer. Marshall, author of a work on the forest trees of Amer- ica, was then keith , and he imparted to Pursh some useful materials, principally afforded by his garden, rich in trees and shrubs. The sons of the celebrated John Bartram, before mention- ed, possessed an old established garden, founded indeed by the elder Faget at Philadelphia, on the banks of the Del- ware- Mr. William rere, the well-known ating of _ valuable works on science that was ever~ published i gee country, the American Ornithology.* Mr. ursh appears to * We cannot help here, though but little rarer with the subject of this paper, Eg ys extract from the interesting life of Wilson, pub blished by M rr. Ord, i in the 9 oar volume of the American 272 Dr. Hooker on American Botany. have received an ean Dr. Hooker on American Boimy. — 273 “Thus, by Mr. Pursh’s. personal exertions and rated and by the aid of other botanists, he found himself, about the year 1807, in possession of materials for a Flora of North Ameri- ca, amounting to nearly double the number of species enu- by Michaux. He began seriously to think of pub- quence of his being called upon to take the management of the public Botanic Garden at New-York, originally. estab- lished by Dr. David Hosack, and his private property. Here, ap keeping his favourite object respecting the publication of a Fiora in view, he had the opportunity of adding farther to his knowledge of the plants of the United States, and of obtaining still greater assistance, particularly from M. Le Conte of Saag and from the estimable Professor Peck * of New Cambridge University. Fortunately for the cause of science, there existed at the time of which we are speaking, so many obstacles to the pub- lication of scientific works in America, that Mr. Pursh was led to visit England, arn the reception he met with from Sir Joseph Bauks, and A. B. Lambert, Esq. made him re- solve upon printing his book in this country. The access which was granted him to the Libraries and collections of vantage te him. He had also the opportunity of examining, amongst others, the select Herbaria of Clayton, i in the Bank- * We recollect las. "age years ago,. this eeatiles: did us the ¢ hon- sur of a visit in England. mentioned that his taste for natural his- sey win tidianad be the baoeeal of oe ise ocd oat ainneeys’s Sys- alurc, rk then scarcely-known i ie i Sy ae Pe eG E GeSes none Dey bomen of the Wasp. joints in the a n of the Wasp. pra nsect nearly allied to this 1s the Stylops Melitta of Mr. Kirby’s Mf rer thd Hemel he grelicn and which inhabits the ee situation ip | the bots of thé Vou. X.—No. 274 Dr. Hooker on American Botany. Michaux, J. Bartram, and a Mr. Tilden, from Hudson’s Bay, is in the Sherardian Herbarium at Oxford ; thatof Plukenet, in the British Museum ; ; of Hae (in the possession of Mr of the northern parts of America; of Mr. edie, which was formed in er Louisiana, in the possession, we be- lieve, of the Botalhe Garden at Liverpool ; and of A. Men- zies, Esq. which was selected, during that Seleee s voyage with captain Vancouver, upon the N. W. coast of America. Nor should the various collections be ciated which are ee in the gardens of Eugland, especially in the vicinity of Lo “Thus ‘prepared, the Flora Americe Septentrionalis, ora ematic Arrangement and Description of the Plants of North America, by Fk. Pursh, appeared in London in the’ year 1813, with 24 well-executed plates of new species, in 2 vols. 8vo. The be cific characters are in Latin, the obser- vations in English The arrangement is that of the sexual system; but the author has m considerable deviations from the wenerally reegived arrangement of the Linnean school. ‘The classes Dod ria and Polyadelphia are omitted, as well as Mone- tra, Diecia, i and Polygamia; and their genera are referred to ether classes, some acco rding to the number of stamens, ethers to his 19th class, which is called Diclinta, and which ‘contains Euphoritacee, Amentacee, and Conifere ; thus bring- ing into his arrangement a union of a natural and artificial system, which has not been adopted by others. Michaux’s work included the whole of the class Cryptoza- gaa; but this, though all perhaps that was then known, con- tained so scanty a list as scarcely to deserve notice. Pursh 4 steps to go no farther than the order Filices bf the lass Cry ptogamia. time after the publication of his Flora, the author again ok America, but with a view of confining his re- to a part which had been very little explored, namely Crnadi There he died in 1820. His herbarium of that ot atry, which was considerable, has been purchased by Mr. Lambert, who, we believe, is also the possessor of that far “more extensive and valuable one sag Sipe had made. in ’ avels i in the United State : } : f a Se z : Dr. Hooker on American Botany. 275 in the year 1814, there appeared in America, printed at Boston, the Florud ruia Bostoniensis, or a Collection of Plants of Boston and its environs, by Jacov Bigelow , M.D. in 1 vol. 8vo. It is in English, and strictly areaniged according. to the Linnzan system. It was destined principally forthe use of ne students in Botany; and the plants described therein were all collected during two seasons, in the immediate vici- nity of Boston, or vi es a circuit of from five to ten miles ; and although very fe w species are added, the ounbge of individuals is very oreiiiehis for so limited a space.* ring the year 1816, accompanied by our valued friend Dr. Francis Boott, Dr. Pigeley examined the botany of the White Mountains in New-Hampshire, and published an ac- count of it in the New- Sistead Journal of Medicine and Sur- gery for that year. This was one amony many other journeys made by these senemen | in the New-England States, with a view to the publication of a Flora of that district. de sign, however, has oar relinquished, and the principal cause, since it has arisen from Dr. Boott’s naturalization among us, we ought not to regret. Science, however, has been a suf- ferer; for, from our personal knowledge of this gentleman, we are satisfied that he would have been a most able and zea- lous coadjutor in such an undertaking. A very extensive col- lection of the plants of that country has been liberally pre- sented to us by Dr. Boott, which has satisfied us, that in the art of preserving specimens, no one has ever exceeded, ar Be ever equalled him; and the names are very iregeeet: ly accompanied by valuable notes It is delightful to see a man, of the talents and rank i in life of Mr. Elliott of Charleston, the excellent President of the Literary and Philosophical Society of South Carolina, deeply engaged in important P piblic affairs, yet cheerfully “devoting his leisure hours to the promotion of the arts and of science, and actually engaged in publishing a Flora, under the unas- suming title of a Sketch of the Flora of South Carolina and * At the moment of our sending these oe to the press, we have received from its esteemed author, who a Professor in Hatinal — Florula Bostoni containing about ag the number of plants enumerated in the first ition, and ee ee ee pence | on the useful na- tures and qnal as ot the s low is also the author of a valuable oe Tentitiod, American ve dicul Botany, begun in 1817, of which three parts have reached u 276 Dr, Hooker on American Botany. Georgia, w which he commenced in 1816. This is arranged according to the Linnzan system, having specific characters both in Latin and in English, and very copious notes and de- scriptions. A work thus conducted cannot fail to be of great importance to the student of ‘American hoiipy ; the more so, tion, depending little upon the assistance of others, and ipa capital where science has not been so much cultivated as in the northern Snes In a letter now before us, the author says, “‘ no one in Europe can, probably, appreciate correctly the difficulty. of tl the task in which I have engaged. The want of books, the want of opportunities for examining living col- lections or good herbaria, the want of coadjutors, have all served to render my task arduous, and to multiply its imper- fe .? Nevertheless, there are many new species, de- scribed with great care and fidelity, and the grasses, which are accompanied with some neat ate have particularly at- tracted the author’s attention here are several beautiful novel species, and some newly established genera. We have received of this work to the 6th No. of the 2d Sect whiclt includes so far as the class Monecia; and we are informed Mr. Eltiott, that another number will ouaplete the Sketch. his ni as ~~ ay cannot thus take in the Crypto- gamia $ 3 and we cons r. Elliott’s talent for» minute de- scription admirably Soleulated for such plants as that class embraces. No man seems to be more strongly impressed — with the value of the study of natural histery than Mr. Elliott. . ant has been, for many years,’’ says he, “ the occupation of y leisure moments; it is a merited tribute to say, that it bis lightened for me many a heavy; and smoothed many a rugged hour, that beguiled by its charms, 1 have found no road rough or difficult, no journey tedious, no couniry deso- late or barren—in solitude never solitary, in a desert never — without edge I have found it a relief from the lan-~ guor ess, the pteteane of business, and from the un- avails: galomniiies of life* -. We come now to the agreeable eiaghwel of mentioning a wept important work, both on account of the extended na- pests of the pbilication, and of the manner in which it has been Bilioti’s addrees tc the Lite Philosophical Society of oe Rtn te oy published there in 1914. 3 We allude to the “ Genera of North American _ cin ee LEE LDA EE SOE wipes a nina Dr. Hooker on American Botany. QT7 Plants, and a Catalogue of its Sie oer to the year 1817, by Thomas Nuttall,” in 2 vols. 12mo. printed at Philadel shia. Mr. Nuttall is an Englishman y birth, and a native of York- shire; but he visited North America at an early age, and is now domiciliated in that country. His love of botany and mineralogy is exceedingly great, and a personal pip ie vee! which his late visit to this country has enabled us pleasure of forming. has only served to increase he esteem and respect which his writings had already taught us to enter- tain towards him. For many years previous to the publica~ tion of his Flora, the author eis engaged in visiting very ex- a: tensively the territories of the United States, particularly the southern and western ones. ‘ For nearly ten years,” he says in his preface to his Journal of Travels into the Arkansas territory, ‘1 have travelled throughout America, principally with a view to becoming acquainted with some favourite branches of natural history. I have bad no other end in view but personal gratification; and in this I have not been de- ceived; for innocent amusement can never leave room for regret. ‘To converse, as it were with hature, to admire the wisdom and beauty of creation, has ever been, and | hop ever will be, to me a favourite pursuit ; and to communicate to others a portion of the same amusement and gratification has been tbe only object of my botanical publications.” The “ Genera of North American Planis” is entirely in English and it appears that it was the design of the writer to have arranged it according to the natural orders. But out o py ne ose to public opinion; in a country where the artificial system of Linnzus had almost exclusively been studied, Mr. Nuttall adopted that method. He has, however, made a great many valuable remarks upon the natural orders, following several of the genera, and has recommen he of some new ones. He has well defined the characters of the order Monotropee, to which he has properly referred the highly curious Pterospora. As, however, the well-known genus Pyrola belongs unquestionably to the same family, the term Pyrolee might perhaps have been considered as more appropriate. The characters of the genera (which he here extends to 807, exclusive of any cryptogamia,) have, as may be inferred from the title, occupied a greater share of attention from Mr. Nuttall. He has added to the essential characters, those taken from the habit of the plant, and he has noticed their geographical distribution. In the enumeration of species, 278 Dr. Heoker on American Botany. he has included all that have been described by other authors, discovered by himself or bis friends. This book may there- ore be well said to form an era in the history of American botany; and we rejoice that the execution of it has fallen into such able hands. Mr. Nuttall has added still more to his credit as a naturalist a man of most acute observation, by the publication of | his Travels in the Arkunsas territory. This was a journey . ' accompanied with great difficulty, and not a little danger. i we The plants which he collected were numerous and interest- ing, very different from the vegetation of the rest of the U. States, and many of them perfectly new. Some detached accounts of the botany of this singular district have already appeared, particularly in the Journal of the ena of Na- : tural Sciences at Philadelphia, and not a few of the plants | themselves are now cultivated in our botanic gardens, from s gathered by Mr. Nuttall. ‘This gentleman now occupies abe chair of Natural History in the University of New Cambridge. We regret not to be able to give any account of Eaton's Manual of Botany, nor yet of Barton’s more extended Flora North America, (which is, we believe, in the course of 3 publication,) never having had the opportunity of seeing these wo! The various scientific journals which are published in Ame- rica, contain many memoirs upon the indigenous plants. Among the first of these in point of value, and we think also ms ’ can Journal of Science, in which we find Botanical Tracts by Professor Ives of Yale College, and by Mr. Rafinesque ; by Dr. Torrey, a physician at New-York, ‘on the plants col- 4 lected by D. B. Douglass of West Point, in the expedition =] around Ne great lakes, and the upper waters of the Missis- : sippi, under Governor Cass, during the summers of 1819— 20;” and also “on-a new species of Usnea* from Newt Dr. Hooker on American Botany. 279 South Shetland,” (U. fasciata of Torrey); by Mr. Lewis de Schweinitz, in a valuable “‘ Monograph of the genus Viola ;” by Mr. Nuttall, on a “ collection of plants. made in East Flo- rida by Mr. Ware 3”. by Mr. M. C. Leavenworth, on | four new species of plants from Alabama ;” by’ Professor C. Dewey of William’s College, upon ‘ Cartces fn the Journal of the Academy of Sciences, ~y Botanical Memoirs are entirely from the pen of Mr. Nut The Annals Ns the ae of Natural History of New- York were only co ced last year; but the numbers, (of which we have acncies rive from that excellent “timo consi several communications on the subject of botany. No. I. is a “Synopsis of the Lichens of the state of ete: York,” by Mr. A. Halsey ; and a description by Dr. Torrey of “some new and rare plants collected in the rocky moun- tains, during the expedition thither, commanded by Major Long, by Dr? Edwin James ;” in No. II. a ‘*Synopiis of the Carises,” by Dr. Schweinitz. No. HI. contains an article “on -the American Utricularia,” by M. Le Conte, who enumerates 11 species. No. 1V. “onthe genus Gratiola,” by the same author. No. V. “on the genus emegey® by M. Le Conte ; and on “some new grasses found by Dr. James, on the rocky mountains,” by Dr. Torrey. Mr. Schweinitz, whom we have already more than once alluded to, is a native of Germany, where, as wellas through- out Europe, he is advantageously known, in conjunction with M. Albertini, as the author of a Latin work on the Fungi of Upper Lusatia, Since his residence in America, he has con- tinued to dedicate most of his attention to the fungi ; and his manuscript, containing a account of 1373 fungi found in Upper Carolina alone, was edited by Dr. Schwaegrichen i in 1823, under the title of # & Symopaie Fungorum Caroline perioris,” in a thin volume, 4to; and it is not a little singular to Seat ire many of these are common to Europe as well as Am We shall close our notice of Americas botanical publica- tions by the mention of that, which, if we may judge from the first number, A elgg ert is all that we have — received from the municated th e plan ant to Dr. Torrey, s seems inclined to believe this lic hen ‘to be the only vegetable production of New South Shetland. We have received half a-dozen different ones, and will venture te predict that: many more will vet be discovered. 250 Dr. Hooker on American Botany. author,) bids fair to rank among the most valuable that has appeared inthat country ; the Flora of the Middle and North- ern Sections of the United States, by Dr Torrey. A frequent correspondence, and a mutual interchange of botanical speci- mens, have made us acquainted with the zeal and acquire- ments of this gentleman ; both of which are now assiduously engaged in the preparation of his aia. the continuation of which we anxiously expect. No. I. extends as far as, but not to the conclusion of, the Class Bristle and Order Di- wa; for bere likewise the arrangement is that of Linneus. The whole is in English. The synonyms are sufficiently co- pious, and the descriptive part contains much useful criticism and observation. We know, too, that Dr. Torrey has made a most ample collection of the cryptogamic plants of the ‘United States ; that he is well Spqnainies with the species and their characters; and we may therefore confidently hope that this department. of botany will now find a place in the Floras of North America. Our attention has hitherto been almost exciusively turned to the progress of botany in the United St Phere is still a vast extent of highly interesting country to the north- ward, from the 45th parallel of lat. to 74, including 29 de- , and to the westward, which, as being for the most part eitber in the acknowledged possession of the British govern- ment, or of the Hudson’s Bay Company, or what has been explored by British enterprise, we shall denominate the Bri- tish gerne in North America. Dr. Hooker on American Botany. 281 Brief and scanty as is this catalogue, we anticipate, from the arosty unpublished collections that have been formed, e various expeditions that are now sent out, or that are about to be so, that, in a very few years Great Bri- tain will be in a condition to fill up the void which exists in her Flora of her portion of North America. The herbaria at present existing, as connected with the plants of those countries, over and above those to which we have already alluded, are perhaps not very extensive. | Sir Joseph Banks made collections on the Labrador coast, and we believe that the missionaries of that territory have = home many plants to the Museum of their Society. Hamilton possesses numerous well dried plants of Newhipad. land, and we have ourselves opened a correspondence. with some gentlemen of that island, from whom much may be ex- ected. In Canada, besides what has been effected by Mr, Past, we know of several individuals who are industrious] engaged i in furthering the Flora of that country. and of Hud- son’s Bay. In the first rank of these, we are proud to be able to mention the Right Honourable the Countess of Dal- housie, the lady of his Excellency the Governor, whose rank and influence, no less than her superior acquirements and great love of science, entitle us to nave for much from her in the promotion of our wishes. On the sea-coast of Hudson’s Bay, collections made as far north as Chaeethaid Inlet, during Dunean’s voyage of discovery, exist, we pees) in the Bank- sian Herbarium. Mr. Graham, in Foster’s time, sent plants as well as animals home Pi Churchill. Tilden’s plants, in the Sherardian Herbarium, are from Moosefactory, near the bottom of Hudson’s Bay. In the interior, to the eastward of the rocky mountains, no one has botanized but Dr. Richard- son, during Franklin's journey. With the fate of a large por- tion of that collection, and with the affecting and afflicting cause of it, the public are well acquainted. On the north- west coast, Mr. Menzies* has been the principal investigator ; but a Mr. Nelson, who perhaps accompanied some of the voyagers, who succeeded Captain Cook in the survey of that coast, has communicated many specimens, which are in the Banksian or Lambertian Herbarium. Pallas’ Herbarium, in * Many of eek plants have been ably described by our valued friend Sir J. E. Smith, President of the Linnzan Society, in the botanical part of Rees’s Cyclope adic. OL. 1X.~—No, 2 * 36 282 Dr, Hooker on American Botany. the hands of Mr. Lambert, contains plants gathered by the Russians in the Aleutian isles ; and De Candolle has published, in his Prodromus, some interesting individuals, communicated by Dr. Fischer from the same neighbourhood. More ample materials may confidently be looked for from the following sources :—The great attention already bestowed we have Bee the assurance of the distinguished commander of the expedition himself, in the last letter which we received from him, dated Whale Fish Islands, July 1, that no exertion should be wanting on his part to secure every species of ie that may be met with in the course of the voyage. The Horticultural Society of London have despatched one of their most able collectors to the mouth of the Columbia, David Douglas, who was formerly one of the head gardeners at the Glasgow botanical garden. He had, immediately pre- vious to his. being sent on the present expedition, done him- self great credit, and given his employers the highest satis- faction, during his mission to the United States, for the ~ pose of. procuring planis and fruits for the society. His dertaking is now a far more arduous one, and one in which we know that no exertions on his part will be wanted to bring it to.a successful issue. After spending the ensuing season in collecting on the north-west coast, through nearly ten de- grees of latitude, he will cross the Rocky Mountains in lat. 55°, and fall in with Captain Franklin’s line of route at Isle de la Crosse, and-return overland with that enterprising offi- cer to Hudson’s Bay. The Hudson’s Bay Company, with a liberality that reflects the highest credit upon them, made application and provision for a surgeon to one of their ships, who, to his medical know- ledge should have added. the acquirement of natural history, particularly of botany. It was our good fortune to have in view, at the period when the application was made to us, a young man every way qualified for such a situation, Mr. oat epaerenonn tis one of our ablest botanical students. or the north-west coast of America in the pe of July a this year (1824,) and will be absent alto- ° ther two year oa Ne ed Dr. Hooker on American Botany. 283 The greater portion of the interior of this extended coun- try, and its northern coast, remains to be explored and inves- tigated by Captain Franklin and our inestimable friend Dr. - Richardson, together with the officers and men who will be appointed to accompany them. Of the botanical acquire- ments of the last-named gentleman we have the highest opin- ion. For zeal in collecting he cannot be surpassed; still, in order that his collections may be more complete, and that a greater extent of country may be embraced, he has, partly at his own expense, and partly by the aid of government, re- solved upon taking with hin Mr. Drummond of Forfar, whom we have already mentioned in this Journal most favourably, as the author of a valuable work on the mosses of Scotland, and whom we have no hesitation in pronouncing to be one of the most acute and ardent followers of aeny that this coun- try peas e ex edition; as is well known, will embark” early in Feobsasry. and it will land at New-York. Captain Franklin, Dr. Richardson, and Mr. Drummond will ag segetens as far as Red River on Lake Winipeg, or Carlton House on the Saskatchawan, which will be Drummond’s head- quarters for two summers, from whence he will make excursions in com- pany with the fur traders, at the head of that vast valley which forms the extensive plain across the Missouri, and opens to- wards Mexico. Here, therefore, he may be expected to meet with a highly curious vegetation and plants, nee to those which Nuttall, James, and Bradbury, discovere banks of the Missouri itself. He will likewise have sh ia portunity of botanizing on the declivities of the Rocky: Moun- tains; in lat. 52°. Captain Franklin and Dr, Richardson will proceed together as far as the mouth of the Mackenzie river, which wi = much time as their other important avocations will permit, in eneeins plants and other objects of natural history ; and Dr. ichardson will take care to instruct one or more of the party 284 Mr. Skene on the Emigration of Caterpillars. inthe mode of preserving vegetable productions. The ers and eis wishes of their friends, and of every friend to science, will accompany these able and intrepid investigators. ome idea may now be formed of the extent and value o the collections which will be obtained, and we are confident botanist the credit of his respective discoveries. We think then, that these should be destined for the foundation of a Flora of the British Possessions in North America ; whic if no individual more competent to the ees ‘presents himself, the sigan of the present article will not shrink from under- taking ; and this he offers to do the more readily, since some of the nest “sae aid has already, and unsolicited, been eS ENTOMOLOGY. Arr. [X.—On the Emigration of a Colony af Cater —lars,* observed in Provence. From the MS. Tour of Tames Sxenez, Esq. of Rubieslaw.+ : Iy scrambling over one of me arid coteaux above Tolonai, the beautiful summer residence of our worthy old friend, Marshal Comté Gallifet, I was a abetted by the mane@uvres ofa troop of emigrating insects, which amused me very much. It is very easy to attribute the singular economy in the ac- tions of the insect world to the mere influence of instinct, as the governing principle of every living thing below the scale of reason ; but we must either extend the meaning of that word beyond the mere actions of an involuntary impulse, or find it fall short of explaining much of what may be observed in the operations even of that lowest tribe of creatures. We readily lavish our admiration on the wonderful arrangements of some tribes, whose operations may be more particularly to our scrutiny, but this may arise fully more from our deficie:.c cy of observation or opportunity, than from the * This is probably the Phalena. processionea of Linnz + From Dr. Brewster’s Edinburgh Journal of Science, No. IIE. p. 93. < Lennar tea Ur. Skene on the — of Caterpillars. 285 inferiority of one class to another in the at nature of their operations, Wherever our observation the wide field of nature, we shall not want cause fot wonder, or motives for diffidence in the limited extent of our own fa- culties. It is admitted that instinct may account for their pro~ ceedings so long as they remain uninterrupted by opposition, but what must we call that species of intelligence that instant- ly proceeds to remedy, if practicable, any unforeseen accident that may interrupt their proceedings ¢ I observed, what appeared to me, a very slender snake, writhing across my path, which, but for the unusual season for these reptiles to appear, } should, no doubt, have passed unheeded. See plate 1V. Fig. 8. Upon examination, how- ever, it turned out to be the orderly emigration of a colony of Jarge caterpillars: They were proceeding assiduously along the rocky path, in a line of march by single - and so close that they appeared to have a hold each of his neighbour’s tail, and the continued wave formed by sheik wigan had a very singular effect. stony surface of the path render- ed their progress ssteudingly tortuous, and interrupted by much climbing over stones, as they seemed in general more disposed to go over the top of a stone than round its base. When ‘such obstacles occurred, the march, aotwrithsténding did not sustain the slightest derangement, as no troops could mark time with ee precision and patience than the rear of the line, while the front was engaged in climbing over any obstacle, or the leader had stopped to examine the difficulty ; the front, in their turn, tarrying until the rear had succeedex in surmounting the obstruction which the front had just pass- ed. They were twenty-two in number, and nearly of the same size, except one, considerably larger than rs rest, whose place was exactly in the centre of the line. The leader, on the contrary, was rather smaller than any of the rest. “ A large precipitous stone was in their way ; the leader red up, moving his head from side to side, as if gazing at at it or willing to reach some corner ; and leading his troop round, he frequently performed the same examination, until they reached the small bush, round the stem of which he anaes the long line following with perfect confidence, and by —— of a branch of the bush, they attained footing on the st ravers rsing the stone, the opposite side of which was quite precipitous and pretty high, it became uncommonly interest- 4 236 Mr. Skene on the Enugration of Caterpillars. ing to see how this intelligent general would proceed. He examined with accuracy, trying every possible break, during which time the main body remained patiently waiting, and without making the slightest attempt to assist in the examina- tion, which their leader conducted with much activity and solicitude. At length, having ascertained the pass to be quite impracticable, he resolved upon a counter march, which was ps performed with the most surprising regularity. For whole line in succession advanced to the wheeling point on the brink before they turned, performing the evolution with as perfect precision as the best trained troops. the advancing and retreating lines passing close alongside of each other, and even climbing the same twig, while the front line descended out confusion, passing even over each other’s bodies without interruption or hesitation. - Having completed their descent in thé same manner as they had mounted, a new line of direetion was taken, which how- ever was very soon most ee interrupted by the arri- val of a woman leading an ass loa with brash-wood, o which some branches trailed along cha path. Afver the pass- age of this formidable assailant, I returned with some anx- iety to examine the state of my eolony, and found that they had suffered materially from the 5 pee and were thrown into the greatest confusion. The line of march had been broken ; a considerable body stil! followed the leader with a quickened pace ; others, united in parties of three and four, regularly keeping their position in the rear of each other, while their temporary conductor sought, with evident anxie- ty, to find out the main body, hastening first to the one side: and then to the other. A good many were scattered singly, and much distressed, seemingly uncertain how to proceed. I took each of them up in their turn, and with a view to as-_ certain the range of their vision, placed them at different dis- tances from the main body, with their heads turned towards it, and I found that they udiformly remained quite uncon- scious of its presence, until placed within half an inch of each other. They then approached with evident eagerness, and were readily admitted into the line, by the rear halting until pe é had taken their places. ‘put one of wee stragglers in front, with his tail to the rs head, but he pertinaceously refused the honour of ine ; a considerable sensation seemed to be communicated rather the whole body at this attempt at usur- hci. enter % SA Sy atte acacia Mr. Skene on the Emigration of Caterpillars. 287 pation, of which they seemed to become aware, but by what means I could not discern. As soon as this forced usurper was at liberty, he turned round to the leader, who repulsed him with vigour, and bit at him; upon which he retreated hurriedly along the line, constantly trying e get into his . place, but was bit at by every one as he run the gauntlet, tll at last a good natured friend permitted him to join the ine. I then took out the large one, who was obviously a stupid fellow, when the rear immediately closed up the breach. I placed him at the head, and used every induce- ment to make him take the lead, but in vain, He seemed much confused by the hearty buffets given to him by the ac- tive little Bonaparte whom [ wished him to supplant, so that he probably would have failed in regaining his place, had I not given him some assistance out of sympathy. for,the dis- experiment had occasioned him e seemed delighted to get into his place again ; but was so vaste con- fused by the adventure, that he mistook the first sharp turn the line came to, and threw the whole rear into confusion. They broke their line, and much consternation and bustle uted oo each had replaced his head close to his neigh- bour Thc now ree up the leader, obviously less, though more ac- tive and intelligent than the rest, when the alarm instantly spread over the whole line. | expected the second to take the command, but he seemed the most distressed of any, and eagerly sought about from side to side, and in his Se irk he turned quite around, as if consulting with ollo The hesitation and confusion was now acecbad: Wisiotis: parties broke off as the impression reached the rear, and sought anxiously about, sewn again to the line. Having and i genuity to scouipieb: It. did not occur to me til I had left these amusing travellers, to try the experiment of placing the leader in the rear, in order to observe how he would bear the degradation, and to ascertain if the head of the column would have been thereby changed. 288 Mr. Fagg on an Insect found in the wood ef a Table. An Tr. &.—.Iceount of an Insect of the Guns Urocerus, which came out we the Wood of a Table. By Mr. Joun Foceo, Leith.* ‘Tre insect Lam about to deseribe i is a species of Urocerus, and is quite distinct from the U. gigas, the only British spe- cies which has any resemblance to it. It protraded from a folding table of fir, veneered with mahogany. When the in- sect was discovered, the table had. been folded for some days ; and what first excited observation, was.a large quan- tity of very fine dust which covered the whole of the under eaf. On examination, it was found to have proceeded from a hole in the upper leaf, and to have been occasioned by the insect, im attempting to escape from its confinement, It had penetra ed the under leaf to the depth of 1 of an inch. _ For- tunately, the table was in the possession of Mr. Robert trong, pater a gentleman who could well appreciate the value of the ineident. Mr. Strong carefully removed the spent from its cell, and found it dead, no doubt cy aor an the circulation of air in the room recoilin upon itt a its alae esontions bad ma de. Hav “f ng ta s, he ucceeded, as now to have tolecable wee a pedicerations with the dicen of the antennae and palpi, which gave way in the process. See Plate IV. Fig..9. ie isin length rather more than an inch, exclusive of the horn-like process which gives the generic name, and is two lines long. hen the animal was dis- covered, the antennae were reflected, iying close to the back, and reached to the anterior of the last segment of the abdo- ‘men. One of the palpi is still attached to the head ; it is of a yellow colour, increasing in thickness towards the tip. The head is rather compressed than globular, with a large yellow protuberance behind each eye. The throat, trank, and part of the head are eovered with short stiff brown hairs : scutellum is ovato-acuminated, of a dark brown colour ; the thighs and entering segments of ‘the abdomen are also of a brown colour, the rest yellow. The i extends about _ three lings j Davond the extremity of the horn Within these few years, several instances exactly similar fee have been published, but as yet no satisfactory on has been given, By : some naturalists, they I have * From DE Brewster's ‘Edinbuigh Journal of Science, No. HL p. 85. Ma a0... ie tr. Foggo on an Insect foundin the wood of a Table. 289 been considered quite analogous to the well-known facts of reptiles being found alive in solid rocks, and have been re- ferred to the same cause, a temporary suspension of the vital functions. The circumstances, however, are essentially different. We have reason to believe, that the reptiles were enclosed in the same state as when they were discovered. ing to ascertain in what state the animal has existed during its confinement, and what are the causes which have retard- ed its advancement to maturity. A late author had conjec- tured, that the ovum from which the insect was produced, having been prevented from undergoing the necessary evolu- tion, had retained its animating principles till summoned into action by some change in its relation to external objects ; and further, that it might have lain dormant for an indefinite space of time. The same author has likewise endeavoured to explain in this manver the periodical visitation of the lo- cust, palmer worm, Hessian fly, &c. with the additional hy- pothesis that certain modificatious of the atmosphere may be peculiarly favourable for their production. This explanation, however, is liable to several objections. It is difficult to conceive any cause that could operate year after year in preventing the animal from arriving at maturity, and that too, apparently in the very situation selected by the instinct of the mother. Moreover, on examining the cavity in which this animal was lodged, it is evident that, while within the tree, it must have passed its life in an inert state. This isa fact which is searcely consistent with our knowledge of the that the larva penetrated the tree in order to prepare for becoming a chrysalis, and having at last assumed its perfect form, emerged into light in the usual time. That the insect made its appearance in the ordinary period peculiar to the species, is rendered probable from several collateral facts. It is well known that several species of iusects remain in the chrysalis for many years; that the locust appears in numbers, once only in 17 years, and the palmer worm in 30 years, yet these are cycles not recognised by meteorologists. The tribe Urocerata is also subject to periodical swarming, ‘et pa. a 1X%.-—No. 2. raissent certaines années en telle abondance quils ont été pour V 37 2990 Dr. Mitchill on a new species of Raja. le peuple un sujet d’effroi.”. Mr. Marsham mentions, that several individuals of the Urocerus Gigas issued from the planks forming the floor of abed-room. _A solitary individual of the U. psyliius was taken in the neighbourhood of Edin- burgh, which very likely earn its way into this country by a similar means. (ICHTHYOLOGY ee oe ArT. XH — The Hedgehog-Ray—a species of Fish taken oc- castonally near New-York, in the Atlantic Ocean, and now, as ts belveved, sha the ale time described ; By Samuen L. Mircuitt, M. aad . D., &e. ead before the New- York Literary and Pion eins June 10, 1824.) Tue fish brought me this mornir ruff, was taken by him with a hoo Barnegat, where the water was sevea fethouté > a It had been wounded so slightly that he kept it alive for several days, and he supposed it might have been living yet, had it not perished in consequence ‘of the highly electrical state of the atmosphere during the late shower, accompanied by re- markably bright lightnins and loud thunder. His belief is, according to the opivion prevailing among fishermen, that the thunder killed the fish The animal undoubtedly belongs to the great family of Raga, which comprehends the Rays, Skates, Torpedoes, and most of the other Paar flat fishes not appertaining to the Pleuronectes, or flounder tr n from its stiene it had the appearance, for some minutes, while its vital energy remained, and it was yet pendant from the hook, of a hedgehog : that is to say, a contraction of the muscles had taken place, by which the ap- ‘Proximated margin, or circumference, from the several parts, resembled a bowl, or basket, of which the belly was the in- T, and the back the outer ada: The tail, at the time, was incurvated so much as to enter the mouth, or project beyond coe aS He Me Sc | SATS ee pes ae ee sro ur sen on PTE IN rt see spaangene Pape Nea Nes Dr. Mitchill on a new ape! of Raja. 291 it. When in this posture, the fish seemed capable of pre- senting the globular or spherical form of the a with its armature and prickles, to its enemies or pursue For, even when held in the air, its rotundity remained ane the muscles were relaxed by death ; and, even then, after animation was extinct, there was a curvature ef the rim, or periphery, showing its tendency to a concave figure. The only other individual of the species I ever saw, was one that was catched, in my presence, on board the boat that went to the fis shing banks, south-east of Sandy-Hook, on the 23d July, 1822. T examined it while alive, and sentbedisibly on being raised from the depth of five fathoms. I then named it Rasa Erinaceus, with this specific character: “having a tail bearing two dorsal fins, with the vestige of a third at the extremity ; thickly aculated on the sides, though destitute of the spines called stings; having a pale- ‘brown, prickly skin, over which dark-brown spots are distributed ; and having ‘also. a ately of about twenty spines on each wing, or flap, which, while the wings or or flap sare extended, and lie flat, are concealed or covered by fhe skin; but, when the wings or flaps are contracted, come forth and are erected like the claws of a cat, when they are el of arresting or tearing soft ob- jects presented to t The length of rhs aii chutcn now before me is seventeen inches, and the breadth nine inches anda half. The head is roundish, though ending in something like a pointed snout, The cheeks (if they may be so called) are parting projec- tions, of a curved form, on te sides of the sn nout, tae are common integuments, of echbeand fingers. The anal fins have no striking peculiarities: Near the base of these, and under the tail, the two appendages, peculiar to these crea- tures, proceed obliquely to the length of five inches. The whole body is so semi-diaphanous that the bones ean be discerned on holding i it up between the eye and the light. This quality distinguishes the marginal parts of the flaps par- ularly, and yet more distinctly characterizes the snout, 292 Dr. Mitchill on a new species of Raja. - Tail thick and stout, like that of the skate ; and, measured from the base to the ventrals, nine inches long. Toward the extremity it supports two fins, which are faintly radiated. The foremost of these is jagged behind with several slits or notches: the hindmost has no such divisions. There isa trace of a third fin, near the very end of the tail, in the form of a neat film. Skin slimy and scaleless. It is beset with prickles in spots er patches. There is a patch in front of each eye, reaching along the inner orbit, and likewise occupying the space be- tween the eyes. ‘Iwo lines of spines proceed, one from each ocular patch, to the tip of the snout, where they join, in the form of the letter V inverted. The cheeks, or lateral pouches, are covered with prickles, so as to bear some re- semblance to whiskers. Behind the eyes, and on the back part of the head, there is a patch of prickles, in the shape of an equilateral triangle, with one of its sides backwards, and an angle forward. On each wing, or flap, is a patch of catspaw prickles, of the retractile quality, mentioned in the definition. From the moustaches, the skin of the flaps, along the edge, and for a small distance beyond, is roughened by a set of more minute prickles. each side of the back is a row of stiff and short Spines, proceeding towards the tail; and smaller ones near them, with a rather irregular distribution. On the tail they are much more numerous, distinct, and strong; distinguish- able in two main rows, or lines, with a smooth scaleless and spineless stripe between them, reaching to the dorsals. The lower side of the tail, and the whole belly, are quite smooth. There is a trifling roughness on a patch of each caudal ap- pendage. Eyes half covered and elegantly curtained. Behind them open and ample orifices, or ears. Nostrils distinct, and con- nected with the mouth, through fissures, to the upper lip. Teeth, in both jaws, associated, compact, and sharp-pointed. : he lower or belly side of this fish exhibits a bending, or inflexion of the margin, all the way round to the ventral fins, of such a kind that when, even after death, it lies upon its back, there is a rising, or rim, like that of a cup or basin, capable of preventing the escape of water. A delineation from nature, by the hand of my- friend, Samuel] Akerly, M. D. already well known for his researches Remarks on Professor Wallace’s Repiy to B. = 293 in ichthyology, as well as by his tahowiics in various other de- - partments of natural science, accompanies this description. he fish itself, after having been well preserved in muriate of soda, by dry salting, was forwarded, through the minister of the marine and colonies, by the way of Havre-de-Grace, to the administration of the royal garden and museum at - Paris. New-York, June 6, 1824. J MATHEMATICS, MECHANICS, PHYSICS, AND CHEMISTRY. * Ant. XII1.—Remarks on Professor Wallace's Reply to B. In Vol. VII. page 278, of this Journal, a paper was pub- lished, under the title of New Algebraical Series, by Pro- fessor "Wallace, Columbia, 8. C.” containing a demonstration of the properties of a series of a peculiar form, and showing its uses in several cases. In some remarks on this, by B. in Vol. VIIL. page 131, it was stated that this series was nothing more than the usual ‘development of the Binomial Theorem, and that the same method of demonstration had been pub- lished by Euler, a fifty years since, in the Petersburgh Transactions. Ae There was whan uncourteous in the manner or lan- guage used by B. in mentioning this Atstorical fact. It has however excited the displeasure of Professor Wallace, who, in his reply, in Vol. IX. pages 98—103, ‘besides making several improper insinuations, which will be on. ed over without comment, has also asserted, in “ that Euler presupposes the knowledge of the expansion of a binomial function, and the results which he-has given do not include a single case of a transcendent function, and were only given as examples of the re case of al the binomial theorem, viz. (1+: Jt=14+— 24, “92 +, &c.=f/(m), where m is supposed a whole poste anomie which case, as is well known, can be demonstrated in an ex- 294 Remarks on Professor Wallace's reply to B. tremely short and simple | ceenie by the common operations of uate tion. Now it is a fact, Aolinighateadiay the posttive declaration of Professor Wallace to the contrary, that Euler’s demonstration is not restricted to this very simple and easy to be demon- strated case ; but is general for all values of the exponent, whether integer, fractional, positive, negative, or surd, and it is characterized by La Croix as being elegant and rigor- ous.* ‘Moreover, every thing that can pe obtained from the multiplication of these new series can be easily deduced from Euler’s method by a perfectly rigorous process. Professor Wallace complains that a wrong title was given to his paper. This could not have been known to B.; and if it had been known, it would in nowise have affected the justice of his remarks. The fact would still have been that Pro- fessor Wallace had republished as a late discovery what had been known by mathematicians for half a century. only difference, as it now appears, is, that Mr. Stainville ve it as new for the first time in 1818, and Professor Wal- lace for the second time in 1824—Euler’s having been pub- lished in 1775. When B. read the first communication of ih a Wallace, the thought never occurred that th was not claimed as a new process, particularly as the yords =a Algebraic Series” occur at the top of every page,* nd the of his obligation to Mr. Stanaeitte’ i vol. vii. p- 285, is so connected with the account of numerical faculties, integrations, derivations, and the no- tices of other series besides those denoted by fa, that it did not attract particular attention as referring exclusively to this last series. The whole notice of Mr. Stainville is compri- sed in this brief sentence, ‘‘M. de Stainville of the ore School has given the series in this communication in Volum IX. of ar ey Annals; and from the extensive rs plication of which they are “susceptible, the subject is de- serving of fartherjinvestigation.” This is not very definite because there are several series in that paper. Admitting it, however, to refer particularly to the series denoted by fa, the question will then occur—who discovered all its properties and made all the deductions from it? was it Mr. Stainville, _ démonstration précédente ne laisse rien 4 somali du cété de la ri- gueur et de Pélégance.—Comp. des. Elém rofessor Wallace it should be remarked Paint no part of this title can be attributed to him, as ther companying his ena The title mentioned was eoered at ee "tae of publie cat o Remarks on Professor Wallace’s reply to B. 235 or Professor Wallace? This is nowhere distinctly stated, and it is believed that most persons, after reading what Pro fessor Wallace has written, would suppose he claimed some if not a very large portion, for his own. ut the real fact i is that none of it is his. The whole of the first’ seven Pages, bid er PP. 278 —24, and a large portion of the tw maining pages of Professor Wallace’s first commen are etn literal lranslations from Stainville and Gergonne, and what is not copied from them is quite unimportant.’ From this statement a reader can judge whether te Wallace’s acknowledgment of his obligation to Mr. Stain- ville was sufficiently explicit to make himself, eet and to avoid the suspicion of appropriating to himself the labours of others It ought to be observed, asa point which has an important bearing on the question under discussion, that Mr. Stainville and Professor Wallace have nowhere intimated that the general expression of their new series can be reduced toa a Jinite form, represented by the binomial (1—4z) ete as B. first showed; and it would seem from some circumstances that they supposed the proposed series to be of a more gene- ral nature than the binomial series, and to include it as a particular case. At first it was a matter of surprise to find Professor Wal- lace had made the assertion that Euler’s demonstration of the binomial theorem was restricted to the very sim e of an integer positjve exponent; but upon reflecting on some of the circumstances, } it appeared probable that mee had never seen the memoir of Euler, in vol. XIX. of the Nov. Co or thoroughly examined the account of it by La Ces volume of the .Vovi Comm. in which it was originally pub- lished, is now out of print and difficult to be procured, so that it is not to be found in some of our best libraries, even in those which contain most of the other volumes of that col- lection; probably there are not six copies of it in the United States. hen B. wrote his former remarks, he had never seen Euler’s publication, but referred to the account of it | given by La Croix in one of the volumes of his complete Cours de Mathématiques. This volume of La Croix’s work is enriched with numerous theorems, invented by Newton, Euler, La Grange, etc.; yet Prafeasot Wallace seems to be offended because B. referred him to it, and observes that he 296 Remarks on Professor Wallace's reply to B. calls the attention of the American reader to more impor- tant works, particularly to the third volume of La Croix’s Calcul Différentiel et Intégral, 2d edition, to which he says, “| would refer for general information on these subjects, and not to the Complement des Elémens d’Algébre, however useful as a school book.” Now upon looking over this vol- me of the Calcul Différentiel, and several other works being Commentarti Academie Scientiarum Imperialis Petro- politane, sometimes in familiar discourse and writing called the ancient memoirs or commentaries, to distinguish them rom the new series of the same work. The same peculiar- ity of quotation occurs in page 301, vol. I. of Le Gendre’s Exercices de Calcul Intégral, where, in speaking of this last volume, he uses the familiar reference of*Tom., V. des anciets mémoires de Pétersbourg,” which is literally copied in French, by Professor Wallace. Le Gendre also refers to the article 28 of vol. XVI. and to the page 44 of vel. V., instead of using in both places the page or the arficle. This reference Remarks on Professor Wallace’s reply to B. = 29% is also mats in exactly the same manner by Professor Wal- lace. /These circumstances render it highly probable that in this part of his reply he had before him Le Gendre’s work, ‘and not the original paper of Euler. It is not necessary for B. to notice the many irrelevant sub- e Potued chiefly to the proof of the identity of Euler’s method with that republished by Professor Wallace. For this purpose the detail of Kuler’s demonstration will be given and compared with that of Professor Wallace. This will also serve to bring into more general notice one of the best demonstrations ever given of that important theorem. The manner in which Euler first proposes “es Binomial! Theorem in page 103, vol. XIX. a Comm., (a+b) =" +70” bo a an-2b? +, &e. : sa b b and by putting c=7, he reduces it to the form a” (1 += a” (i+cx)", and the question is thus reduced to the more simple case of (1-++-x)". But it may be observed that this form, though more simple, is equally extensive with the ormer, and the one may be deduced from the other. Euler then observes that the development of this, when n is a posi- tive integer, is well gpowa to be of the following form: eS *, g-po on de Ma we. ts 1 ta)"= =i bee He also remarks, that if n is not a positive integer, th this series may be considered as an * pabicie quantiee may be expressed by the symbol [n], or a simply denotes it by fn, so that generally for all en of fit positive, negative, integer, fractional, or sur * The demonstration of the binomial theorem when n is a positive inte- ger, is easily obtained by several methods. For the convenience of reference, 2 demonstration is given at the end of this paper. + The words of Euler, in eh KIX. p- 107 Nov. Comm., are “verum si er positt rem Gewe setiel tanquam i in- cognitum spectemus, ejus loco hoc signo [rn] utamur.” La Croix uses Vou. “3B Tk =No, 2. 298 Remarks on Professor Wallace’s reply to B. n ant 4 _ frail ypotz Be Si ls SS 37 +, &c. (B) Euler also says that when n is a positive integer number, the value of this series is known and is expressed by fn=(1+-2)". Its value in other cases he investigates in the following, man- ner : Changing in (B) the quantity n into m, he gets m mm—t1 mm—1lm—2 é eee aoe bar gre te n+; Gc. ] Multiplying these values of fn, fm, their product fn. fim will evidently be a series ascending according to the integer posi- tive powers of w of the following form : Sn fn=1+ Av+Br?+Cax?+Da*+Ea5+,&c. (C) in which it is plain that the co-eflicients A, B, C, &c., depend wholly on m and n, and are independent of x, This multiplication is precisely like that in Professor Wal- lace’s paper at the top of page 279, vol. VII. Euler performs i in the following manner, in vol. XIX, page 108, Noo. ‘omm. . | fm=1+ a - _m mm—1 So ed a 9 +t? +, -ef€. ‘ n ei fr=i+o rato: att, ete. { m mm—ti | pete ae x?+, etc. | i ae 4 pety. 7.fet+, ete: (D) nn—tl ; the more simple expression Jn, which is adopted in this paper, putting [n}=fn, [m]=fm, (m-+nj=f (m+n), ete., which is the only alteration . made in the symbols used by Euler. It may not be amiss to recall to mind that by putting in (B), 2=—kz, n= we obtain the same series which Mr, Stainville calls Sa. ee | 4 7 we | Ba es — ‘ Remarks on Professor Wallace’s Reply to B. 299 Putting this product. equal to the assumed value (C) and comparing t Phe co-eflicients of the powers of wt; Euler finds — serahdan mm-l1 mn i ae —~ eno tae , or by redueliaa sa mba 7 R oO The values A, B are mee deduced in exactly the same manner as Professor Wallace obtains the co-efficients of z, z#,in Vol VII. pave 279; and he also obtains the co-efficient of 2? and the general value of the co-efficient of 2”, by a ‘similar, but long and complicated operation, in pages 279, 280, 281, of the same volume. On the contrary, Euler takes a much shorter and — trae a after remark- ing that the co-efficients C, D, . may ae found in m and n, by continuing the si ticalton in the same manner as A, B were found,* he observes that the calculation of these is operation of Professor Wallace. Euler then says, that w*, «2°, &c or the quantities A, Ww. We. are definite fun¢tions of m,n, which retain nae cen form, whatever be the values of m, n ml and it is therefore only necessary to find the values of A, B, C, &c. in terms o m,n, in some simple case, as for example when m and ” are integer positive num- bers, and the same values of 4, B, C, &e may be immediate- ly adopted for any fractional or surd values because the pro- *Itis stated by La Croix, page 163, Comp. Elém. bg mg i: that Seg- ner found the general term of the series A, c. by this method of continued multiplication in the Berlin emoirs for 1777. This must have been substantially the same as Mr. Stainville’s. +A slight attention to the eae? in which the series (D) is obtained by the ee of the series fm, fn, will poet it evident that the foo me teem x,isan ee function of the powers and pro- duets of m J of terms of the nia c.m, e, f be ing in ieiree positive numbers not exceeding p, c being a nu umeri- cal factor, and ¢, ¢ f, being independent of mm, x, will be the oA iibtbes m,n, be integers or young consequently the form to which the sum of these co-efficients c. m. reduced must be the same for all values of m, n, whether integers: ind or surds. 300 Remarks on Professor Wallace’s Reply to B. cess of multiplication of the functions fm, fn, to obtain the series (D) is the same whatever m and n may be, whether integral or fractional. Now in the case of m and n being integer positive numbers, the formula (A) gives fm=(1+2)", Jn=(1+<)”, therefore their product fm, frn=(14-x)""". De- veloping this quantity (1-+-«)"*", m-+-n, being an integer, by the same formula (A) we shall have when m, n, are integer positive numbers, mtn mtnm+n-1 . 2 ° fis, fist + 1 @+ feta? | 3 ~~ m+n m-+-+n-i a? . 3 —e ‘x3 +&c. (D’) Comparing the second: member of this expression with the’ formula (C) we get the values m+n, m+n m+n—1_ m+n m-+-n-l m+n-2 Be hee A ei eh ge * , etc. and by the principle above explained these may be adopted for al/ values of mand n, so that the formula (D’) may be appliedto all such values. Now ifin the formula (B) we write m-+-n for x we shall get for f (m-+-n) an expression equal to the second member of (D’) therefore we shall have for all values of m, n, positive, negative, integer, fractional, or surd, fin. fr=f(m+n) (KE) and this is equivalent to Professor Wallace’s formula l. page 282, Vol. VII. putting m=a, n=6. Having obtained the formula (E) Euler easily deduces from it the expressions fim, fn, fo=f(m-+n-+p) ; fm, fn, fp, /q=f(m+n+p+q) similar to Professor Wallace’s fa, fb, fc =f(atb+e); fa, fb, fe, fd=fla+b+e+d) lag (fm)*=/(ma) similar to his formula II. Vol. VIE. page Sp ? z é A= +a) similar to his formula IV. and f(-m)=(1+-2)-"for negative exponents, as in page 282, this comparison ef the two methods, shows that Euler’s demonstration is identical in principle with that published by Professor Wallace, as B. asserted in his first communication. ith respect to the application of the method to the investi- gation of logarithms and exponential quantities, no objection A Remarks on Professor Wallace’s Reply io B. 301 had been made by B. and of course it is not necessary to dis- cuss the subject. It may not however be inexpedient to state that every result given by Professor Wallace can easily be obtained from the binomial theorem ; and mathematicians ae usually developed such quantities by means of that theo- “Thus having the identical equation mAL Ax mAg { (1-+-nz)” “ =(1-+-nz) ” by substituting the developments of (eng) bad (1-+-nz) given by the binomial theorem, we obtain the equation MAL ie PL —2n 8 (4yetp 2 +o z + &e. r: =1+ mAx mAx <= ns a4 a ep putting now m=1, z=1 0, it becomes like Professor Wallace’s formula, Vol. VII. p wage 283, 1 A A2x? A%yr3 Udita g+paythe). Vesta a = a rr +&c. By eats the series in the first member 14] ratte Az A =e, feticcotnan oe] = —— a7 - - Bin A and by nee =a, or A=/.a, we get = w?l.a? being the same as Professor Wallace has given in Vol. VI. page 284. In like manner, his expression of log. (1+2) &c. may be found, but it is unnecessary here to sapest these calculations. It may however, be proper to observe, that Pro- fessor Wallace is not correct in his assertion that the multi- #. ge ae 302 Remarks on Professor Wallace’s Reply to B. plication of the proposed series fa, fb, &c. leads to resulis which have not been logically established, “ eitherby Newton or Leibnitz or any of their followers down to La Grange. The whole of their methods, notwithstanding the application of the principle of exhaustions, of indivisibles, of the theory of limits, of prime and altimate ratios, the expansion of bino- mials, multinomia's, &c.—are still liable to the objections of . Berkeley, their reasoning being more or less infected with the fallacia suppositionis, or, as he calls it, the shifting of the hy- pothesis-—The results deduced from the single multiplica- tion of Stainville’s series are not liable to the objections of ‘the fallacia suppositionis.” Upon the preceding extract, it may be remarked, that having shown that Euler’s demonstration is identical with that published by Professor Wallace, it follows that no objec- tion can be made to the one that does not apply with equal force to the other, therefore the assertion of Professor Wal- lace, of the superior excellency and logical precision of bis method over that of every other one known, is wholly desti- tute of foundation It is somewhat amusing to observe that while Professor Wallace is boasting of tbe great logical ac- curacy of his deductions from this method, he stumbles upon as complete a fallacia suppositionis as ever Dr. Berkeley found fault with. This occurs in Vol. VII. page 284, in find- ing the series which expresses the log. (1+-r). This series, though correct, being investigated by a process in which the hypothesis is completely shifted. It is done by putting the two developments of (1+ «)” page 284 Vol. VII. equal to each other, and neglecting the first term 1 of each series, . which mutually destroy each other, by which he obtains md(it+a) m*.d?(1+x x a ae a 2 A &c.=m. prm(m =Dypst &c. This is true for all values of m. But if we put m=9, it be- comes simply 0=0, and in the present form determines no- thing. Professor Wallace, however, divides the whole ex- pression by m, which Berkeley contends ought not to be done except when m is a real quantity ; after the division is per- formed m is put=0, and the value of U(1-+«) is deduced. Now though the true value is obtained, it is done by com- pletely shifting the hypothesis, according to Berkeley’s idea, from m finite, in which the development is possible, to m=9, Remarks’ on Professor Wallace’s Reply to B. = 303 in which case there is in fact nothing produced but the iden- tical equation 1=1 or O=0. This introduction of m=0, in its vanishing state, is what Berke- ley particularly objects to; calling such an expression the “Ghost of a departed quantity.” From this example it is evident that there is no peculiar excellence, in @ logical point of view, in this application of the method in the paper Vol. VII. page 284. Other similar objections might be made, but it is unnecessary to extend these remarks any farther. Fe Demonstration of the Binomial Theorem for integer positive values of the exponent, referred to in the former part of this papers If we multiply 1-+-x by itself and that product by 1+ and so on, we shall ively obtain (l+a2)*=1+4+2r+ 2, (1-+2)*=1+ 3c2+327+0%, (14+x)*=1+ 4a + 607+ 42° +-x*, all of which are contained under this general expres- sion, —] nn—ln—-2 (4oy-ltpetyg ty gg ett Be (A) which by the above multiplications is true when n=1, n=2, n==3;n=4. To prove it to, be true for all integer positive values of n it is only necessary to show that the multiplica- tion of the formula (A) by (1+) will produce a similar ex- pression Composed in n+ 1 as that formula is in n, or that n+i n-+1 n-+1 n+inn—I ae au for from thence it would follow that being true forn=4, it must be true for n+1=5; being thus true for n=5, it must be true for n-+1=6, and so on ad infinitum. Now by perform- ing the multiplication of the series (A) by !+<, and placing the products by 1 and by x beneath each other according to the powers of x, it becomes, by introducing into the lower 3 4 line the factors + 23 4° Se. instead of 1, for the sake of symmetry, and including in parentheses the equal factors of the two products : pe - 304 A. B. Quinby on the Overshot Water-Wheel. nn—1. n—2 nn-l n—2n-3 (A); iy (eye ee ES eat Ey etd be. =xX(A); it) stGy) Settee algae + Se. ro ot yt et Be ga (OE) pa to(A') and by: placing the factor n+1, at the beginning instead of at the end of the terms it becomes exactly like the formula (A’) whence the proportion assumed by Euler for integer posi- tive values of the exponent is true. Art. XIV.—New demonstrations on the theory of the Over- shot Rg hed By Mr. A. B. Quins Theo read? Any quantity of water, acting through any fall, upon an overshot water-wheel, will raise an equal quan- tity water through the same vertical height. t the wheel be the whole height of the fall: and destvitie the circle ADBE, Fig. 1, to represent the wheel. Draw the vertical diameter AB; 4 and at right angles to it, the diameter ay, now, as the quadrantal ar¢ “AD: sea CD : to a fourth term. Make CG=this fourth term; and suppose a wheel Gtvw, whose radius is equal to CG, ‘to be fitted permanently (in any way) upon the shaft that carries the water-wheel. Suppose, also, two racks, Gb and wd, to rest upon the teeth of the wheel Givw, and to stand parallel with the vertical diameter AB. If, now, a particle of water P, be applied upon the end of the rack Gd, it is obvious that it will cause this rack to descend, and turn the wheel Gtvw, and “nes we rack vd on the opposite side; and if a particle of =to P, be attached to the lower end of the rack vd, , is 4 plas that the two particles, P and W, will reciprocally balance each other ; and, if the particle P be supposed to de- scend through any space whatever, its effect, during the time * For this description see Plates TV. and V, . A. B. Quinby on the Overshot Water-Wheel. 305 of its descent, will be sufficient to raise the particle W through an equal space. Let it next be considered, what effect the particle P would —— during its descent, through some particular or assumed Take Py=AB, and it will be manifest that the effect of the sent P, during its descent to the point y, will be properly expressed by the product P x Py, or P PxXAB=W xXBA, Let it also be considered, that during the descent of the ar ticle P, from P to y, the wheel will be made to turn through half a revolution; for, since by cons. AD : CD::CD : CG; and by the pro erty of circles AD: CD::tG: CG, it fol- lows thattG=CD; and, consequently, Gtu= 2CD= AB=Py: and, therefore, if we suppose a particle of water to be at A when the particle P shall begin to descend, it will have de- scribed the arc ADB, and have arrived at the point B, at the time that the particle P shall have arrived at Ye It is now proposed to estimate the effect which a particle of water P’,=to P, would have in descending from A, through the are ADB; in comparison with the effect that would be produced, during the same time, by the particle P, acting up- on the teeth of the wheel, at the point From P’ let fall the perpendicular P’n; and it is manifest that the tendency which the particle P’ has to produce rota- tion, is to that tla the perticle P_ has to Breen _Foetton, in the ratio of Cnto CG. If, therefore, CG be press the pee of the particle P to roduce raion then that of the particle P’ to produce rotation, will be properly expressed by the line Cn; the gh distance of the particle P’ from the line ACB. And, n general, the ten- dency of the particle P’ to produce ‘ota at any point whatever of the semicircle ADB, will be expressed by the perpendicular distance of that point from the line Hence, to determine the mean tendency of the particle E to produce ae (in terms of CG,) during its descent from A to B, in th , we must find the mean distance of the Be cede. are ADB from the line ACB; which, by Viiees Pinks 91, = —; but, CG be ince’s Flux. p. i ayy ; but, was made =AD >: and, therefore, the mean ee of the particle P’ to pro- dace rotation, during its descent, (from A to B, through the Voir 1X.—No. 2. 39 308 A. BL Quaindby on the Overshot Water-Wheei. are tind is equal to that of the particle P, estimated for the same tim And as ibe effects produced by the two equal particles, (or powers,) P and P’, during any given time, will obviously be to each other, as the mean tendencies of those particles, (during the same time,) to produce rotation ; it follows that the effect produced by the particle P', in descending from A to B, in the are ADB, will be equal to that produced by the particle P, in the same time; or = WX Py. Hence, if a particle of water descend u upon an overshot _water-wheel, which is the whole height of the fall, it will = an equal particle through the same vertical height :— ‘ and, as this will be the case with every particle, it ene — any quantity whatever of water, descending u hot water-wheel, which is the whole height of es “fall, will raise an equal quantity through the same vertical height. The same can be demonstrated in a different manner. Let the circle ABE, Fig. 2, represent an overshot wheel ; and let P, P’, P”, &c &c. be different situations of the same par- ticle of water P: and. suppose each of the arcs BP, &e. to be Gia tatiehaitely small element :—then, each element and its chord, (and also its sine and tangent.) may be con- sidered as coinciding. Wherefore, for the value of P, in the respective elements, we have, (by mechanics,) Px/im PXmn PXno | PP 7 Pp’ Pp” “pr py? Pp" a7 pm? pp” py ? and, for the effect of P in the respective elements, (or, for the tendency which P has in the respective star to raise the I PP’, Ul equal particle W,) we have pp oe al P or Pxmn a P Xno pr pe" Pp” Pp“ : pp” Pp’ eae paste Px aouity of the whee Al, B, Quinby on high and low pressure Boilers. 313 by the nathoes and Pe lorophtHl: Boney of the Ci ak - vestigate the causes which gave tise t0 the pe boiler on board the Steam-Boat Aitna.* To determine the comparative eligibility othe: high and the Jow pressure steam-engine, the two following pear to me necessary to be considered. Fir of each engine to explode ; and sebthidly; the danger, or 24 injury, which each engine’ is capable of producing i incasean * explosion takes place. To determine the comparative liability of the two engines to explode, it will be necessary to consider the four paowing things :—the diameters ofthe boilers used in thet es 3 _. the elastic force of the steam in each boiler 5 the tenacity of the metal of which the boilers are. Bie tiis: he thick- ae ness. of each boile: The diameter ats the boiler on board the = a ec thirty inches ; an the diameter of a boiler ‘for a low pressure engine of ae power would be about ‘ninety inches; or three times as grea stic force of abewsti in the boiler of the Atna waS usually 150 Tbs. per square inch; and the. elastic force of steam ima low pressure bgiler is -usually 10 Ibs. per. — it h. The tenacity of the métal of which is about 60,000 lbs. ; or six-seventi iron.} i - As, however, the cylinder which const is not solid metal, but is composed of plates it will be necessary to diminish the number which expresses the tehacity- Let, ISNA: the tenacity be put at 30,000 ys place of 60, * * The communication was *made at the request of Dr. Dekay, chair- man of the committe ‘The tenacity of on metal is usually expressed the byt greatest weight in Ibs. which a bar one a square, of that metal, is capable of sustain- ing when pulled endwis Voi, TX. No.2. ° ™& 40 2 4 314 A, B. Quinby on high and low Pre Boiiers. The thickness of the boiler in the A.tna, + was 2 3 ofan inch ; and the thickness of a dow pressure boiler for an engine of equal power would be about + of an inch _. From these data it -is. easy to calculgte the comparative liability of the two engines tovexplode; for, by mechanics, the force of steam ls oy a high pressure boiler 30 inclien m - diameter, and } of an inch thick is capable of resisting, is equal to the clencae multiplied - the tenacity of the metal, divided by half the diameter ;* = x Be aa = 150 Ibs. ; which is 600 Ibs. more than the usual so pressure ; or 5 times the usual working pressure. And, next, the force of steam which a low pressure boiler : 90 inches in diameter, and + of an inch thick, is capable of resisting is =} x 30,000 166) Ibs. ; which is 1564 lbs. more than the 7 bela pressure ; or 164 times the usual working pressu Hence, if the Bacestes; merely, be considered, laying aside the ratio of the elastic force of the steam in the two boilers, it appears that the hich pressure engine is safer by 443} Ibs. | | per-square inch, than one of the dow pressure kind. But, on i | the contrary, if the ratio of the elastic force of the steam in ‘ rd the two boilers be considered, and the excessés be laid aside, * = The formule for the elastic fores of steam which a given boiler will sustain may be derived in os ee pe Let the circle ADB, Fig. 6, rep d projection of a boiler one inch in length. And mut (te) for a eee of the metal;'e for the elastic force of the meh employed ; r for the radius of the boiler ; and (th) for the ate Z Then r: , (the mean dis. of the semicircle ADB, from the % it, Ke. oy line ACB.) : sis ae the mean elastic force of the steam em-~ ployed: Wie ae the surface ADB,) inflected into directions perpen- dictlar to the line ACB. Hence, or the whole force of the steam — estimated in a direction perpendicular to the line ACB, we hav ‘ XrX3.14159 &e.=2re. _ B.14159 &e. And for the strain at A, or ES we have 2re+2==re. Pe ov rama le) ives: 11: (th). Whence re=(th)X(te) sand e= te , Wx) ald, ( (=e. ? \ A. B. poy on high and low pressure Boilers. 315 m the — results, that the Jow pressure, is n han three times as safe as one of the high pressure kind ; or, that the safoty of the low pressure boiler- is fe thatof the high pressure boiler in me Proportion of 163 ° Bat it can be shown that either engine can be made ‘tirely safe; and that one kind is not, in fact, any more liable to explode than the other. To prove this we have, (by mechanics.) the thickness of a low pressure boiler 90 inches in diameter, capable of resist- 5X1 ing 10 lbs. per square ineh, (=942 hundredths,) of the whole power employed!!! And now it is asked, Does the writer of the article in the N. A. Review presume that any person possessing an unper- verted mind, will believe that the prodigious difference above exhibited is attributable to the changing of the direction of the power from rectilinear to rotary, by the method in com- mon “ora ; or, which is precisely the same thing, to the crank : But the writer of the article in question asserts, that he did not connect his idea or statement of a loss of power in chang- ing the direction of its action from rectilinear to rotary by the methods in common practice, with any mechanical agent what- ever; and that no such connexion can be inferred without violence to the whole statement. On the subject of this as- sertion I shall only put one question. Does the writer of the A. B. Quinby on Crank Motion. 323 article in the North American Review mean in his sentence that contains the words, ‘ no mechanical agent ned by the writer of the present eee that the utmost stretch of his mechanic and conceptive powers does not enable him to comprehend in what way any loss of power can take place. I shall now notice the charge made upon me for offering my opinion, that “the very frequent attempts to make a . ae engine are unnecessary and idle. It will be remembered by the scientific reader, that in my solution of the crank problem 1 demonstrated, that all the power applied at the upper extremity of thie’ shackle-bar* is transmitted by the crank to the appending machinery ; or which is the same, that the crank occasions no loss whatever of the acting power. Now this fact having been established, and it being known that no machine can ‘impart more power than is applied; and it being also known at the same time, that all the attempts that have been made “ to apply the action of the steam directly to a wheel,” or to construct rotary en- gines, have been instituted with the hope, and for the single purpose of obviating the very great loss of power which dif- ferent individuals have supposed to result from the application of the crank, it was certainly a fair, and tenable, and neces- sary conclusion, that all the attempts to construct pee en- gines are both unnecessary and idle ; and | have now no he- sitation in offering it as my deliberate and devidad opinion, that every attempt that shall ever be made to construct a rotary steam-engine will prove not only gingers 3 and idle, but unscientific ands illy. this writer, “ that it is not t for Mr. Quinby to set Rosie to the efforts of invention. It is the business of genius to con- quer difficulties which, to ordinary men like us, appear in- surmountable ; and it may even happen that some of these veer efforts, which, on the authority of Mr. Quinby’s opinion, are to be considered as unnecessary and idle, will, by being * In Europe this is called connecting-rod ; but on this continent, as oe as the writer is informed. itis univ ersally called by the name he ses. a ~ 324 Action of Iron in motion 0%: Tempered Stee/. very long and apace continued, end in inventions of con- siderable public ut In reference to the sentiments expressed in this paragraph, Iam willing to state, that I do claim the right (in common with others) to set bounds to the efforts of invention. Can the writer of the article in the North American Review in- vent a right angled plane triangle, whose three angles shall not be equal to two right angles? Can he invent a steam- engine that shal! be able to impart to*the appending ma- chinery more power than is applied? It is now established that all double stroke engines do impart to the appending machinery all the power that is applied, and consequently a saving of power can only be effected by the invention of a aehing that shall impart more power than is applied to it; and this, in the judgment of the writer of this reply, is not possible. A; B. QUINBY. New-York, Nov. 1, 1824: Note. In my note to my demonstration of the Crank Problem; | wrote the words, “ reciprocating motion produced by the crank.” ‘This is an error. It should be, rotary mo- tion produced by the crank, A: B. Q. Aer. XVI.—On the action of Iron in motion on —— Steel. By MM. Danser and Cottanon Tue mannef in which steel is cut by soft iron, as ascer- iained by Mr. Barnes, has been pointed out, p. 155 of our last volume ; and since then the effect has bet attributed to the softening of the steel at the point of contact by the heat resulting from the friction. The following experiments and re- sults, in relation to this subject, are extracted from a mémoire published in the Bib, Univ. xxv. p. 283 e authors of the paper were led to doubt the sufficiency bf the reason above given, by finding, on an exarnination of *he iron plate made use of to cut some steel, that its edge _ # From thé London Quarterly Journal for October 1824. Action of Iron in motion on T'empered Steel. 325 was set with small particles of steel, which, seen through a a did not appear as if untempe ered, and which, when tried with a file, were found as hard as the best tempered steel. higsieat therefore. some other cause for the effect, they first endeavoured to ascertain what degree of motion was sufficient, simply to compensate for the power which in ordi- nary circumstances steel has of cutting iron, and above which iron, on me contrary, becomes possessed of the power of cutting s he neal employed consisted of gravers, very carefully tempered. The soft iron plate used was 7 inches 5 lines in diameter, and very carefully centred and mounted, so that any required degree of velocity could be given to it. The time was measured by a temporary pendulum. Whilst the velocity of the iron wheel, measured at its circumference, was less than 34 feet ina second, t e graver cut it with the greatest facility, and without any appearance of re-action. At 34 feet 5 inches, the graver did not cut the iron so well, but was itself unaffected. At 34 feet 9 inches, it was slightly attacked, and the iron turnings cut by it were less abundant. At 35 feet 1 inch, the effect of the iron on the steel was very decided. Above this point the difference increased con- tinually with the velocity ; and at 70 feet per second, only imperceptible portions of iron could be detached, whilst the gravers were attacked with the greatest violence Having ascertained the point at which the change i in the reciprocal action of iron and steel took place, the next thing was to ascertain W perks ihe 2 softening of the steel. was. the necessary cause. The was therefore cleared of the ough sensibly attacked by the iron, yet not the slightest acces could be observed.* When preserved wet, the effect was the same. When the pressure was strong and continued, then the gravers became hot and were softened ; but the fracture of the steel was then very different from the fracture of the tempered portion, and the steel, when applied to the wheel, would give way before it, forming a bur: the action *This reasoning is hardly conclusive, since the particle removed might have geo eats though the neighbouring particles were not.—Ed: Lond. 526 Action of Iron in motion on Tempered Steel. of the iron also on it seemed rather diminished than other~ wise. Hence MM. Darier and Colladon conclude that the effect was not due to the softening of the steel; nor, as the wheel was clean, could it be due to the particles of steel adhering to its surface ; and they feel inclined to attribute it to the blow only, thinking it easy to conceive that the fragile steel may be broken by the action of the iron before it can have time to introduce itself between its molecules. Rock crystal and agate were held to a wheel of soft iron, moving at velocities from 130 to 200 feet per second: the & Ww rough; the agate was also acted upon though less power- ly : bat it is supposed that this means, even when much greater velocities are used, carinot be applied to the cutting of these or similar substances with advantage; at the same time the effects, though small, confirm the authors in their view of the cause of the phenomenon. They then quofe similar effects known to be due to the force of percussion, as the piercing of a plank by a ball of tallow, the force of liquids, even when moving with great velocity : when, therefore, to an edge of soft iron, moving with the velocity described, hard elastic bodies are applied, as steel, agate, &c., their particles are displaced and torn off, for they cannot move by each other without division; but when a soft body is applied to the wheel, as copper, brass, tin, and even soft steel, then the substance is pressed before the iron, and being ductile rises up in burs. The iron wheel was replaced by one composed of 4 cop- per; 1 tin; but this hard and elastic alloy slipped over the violent vibrations. A wheel of copper was then used; steel gravers constantly cut this wheel without being touched by it: but when gravers were made of alloys, all harder than cop- per but softer than steel, the copper wheel’immediately at- tacked them. Hence it appears that a small difference in with the substances that were attacked by the wheel. The authors conclude by stating their opinion, that the experi- Mr. Patten’s Air Pump. 327 ments are sufficient to prove the dependence of the effect upon mere percussion, and that the softening of the steel is an accidental circumstance. Professor Silliman, on the same subject, remarks, that the effect in question was first described by the Rev. H. Daggett, and was discovered by some mechanists belonging to the sect of shakers. The thinner the pieces of steel, the more rapid the effect: when not thicker than a common joiner’s saw, they were cut almost as rapidly as wood is cut by the saw it- self, It is remarked, also, that none of the ordinary opera- tions, commenced upon cold and hard steel, will divide it with so much rapidity as this mode of applying soft iron. | done, by considering the steel as previously heated. and softened, and then cut ; but he observes that it is not ‘* per- fectly clear why even ignited steel should be so easily cut by the impinging of soft iron. No smith probably ever thought of attempting to divide steel by applying an iron tool ;” so that, whether the steel be considered as hot or cold, the ef- fect may be referred, as MM. Darier ad Colladon have re- ferred it, to percussion. Art. XVII.—Mr. Parren’s Air Pump. To the Editor of the American Journal of Science, &c. Sir, I DEEPLY 7 that the remarks which were offered on Mr. Patten’s Air Pump, in a preceding number of your Journal, should have excited any jealousy, or have produced that degree of feeling, which appears to be evinced in Mr. P.’s animadversions upon those remarks, and which differ so much from the spirit in which they were offered. I can truly state, what was before explicitly stated in the remarks, that I referred to the subject, “‘ not as claiming credit” for the invention, but to propose an improvement. There are few men whose inventions, like those of Wollaston, are per- fect at the moment of their production ; and I ventured to suggest what I conceived to be an improvement of Mr P.’s invention, by which | hoped to dispense with valves, and by i ie 3 M. Silliman then explains the effect, as many others have 328 Mr. Patten’s Air Pump. which the air pump can be immediately converted into a _ condenser; the construction of the stop-cock is, | appre- own contrivances yet there are other gentlemen who perhaps may differ from Mr. P. in opinion on this subject ; but after all, the merits or demerits of the proposed improvement must rest, not on opinion, but on its practical utthty, and yon that I am entirely willing that it should stand or fall. er aa something similar to this may have been suggested before ; there have been numerous inventions to dispense with alison; and the contrivance may have been thrown ade as useless, thus sharing the fate of many mercurial air ayes ‘Ato the fie pei charge of borrowing,” famnot conscious of having made that insinuation myself, but I am conscious that none was ever intended by me, as f am determined that my remarks shall ever be governed by courtesy and candour. It does not diminish the credit of Scheele that, without any knowledge of what had been done, he shoul d have dis- covered oxygen gas after its discovery by Prie ao and, arvis componere magna,” it is not, perhaps, disreputable to me, without any communication, directly or indirectly, with Mr. P., to have entertained notions about an air pump similar to his own, even “several months,” or ‘“ several years,” after he had conceived them; nor ‘does it, 1 con- ceive, diminish aught of the praise to which Mr. P. is entitled, that another individual should have had similar notions to those he possessed. soon as the practicability of Mr. Patten’s air pump 1s established, I shall endeavour to avail myself of its use, and, whether furnished or not with the “ awkward alteration,” Gracie: cheerfully give him the whole credit to which he is titled. There is certainly nothing remarkable in the fact that two persons, “‘at no inconsiderable distance from each other,” having the same olyect in view, should adopt similar means for attaining it. There are not wanting insiances of per- sons, living in different countries, and at different periods of time, attaining the same object by similar methods, and that 100 without any concert, or any knowledge of a prior inven- ‘ton; this last remark is probably applicable to the “ balance ¥ Prof. Gmelin’s Analyses. 329 heam,’’? and with all due deference, I would i inquire, what is the difference between this new apparatus, either in principle or in application, and the o d fashioned contrivance for dis- tinguishing between a true and a counterfeit guinea ? I con- fess that | now see none, except that the former is a more improved instrument, aud the latter was limited to weighing guineas and half guineas only, in air and in water ; but the fact that a similar machine was in use years ago, does not in my estimation diminish the credit due to Mr. Patten for his invention. With apes regard, : ur obt. servant, es S. F. DANA, Hanover, N. H., March 18th 1825. Arr. XVIII ane of several minerals, by Prof. Gueuin, of the University of Tubingen. Communicated by Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, M. D. Pror. yeaa EAR SIR, I wave much pleasure in offering you an extract of a letter just received from my friend Prof. Gmelin, dated, “ Univer- sity of Tubingen in Wurtemberg, Jan. 6th, 1825.’ Yours truly, JER. VAN RENSSELAER. New-York, Am “se 1825. “* Since my last to you I have been much ees | with analyse s, ai: shall give you some of the results obtai *‘[ have discovered a beautiful mica in large Gare t to be a crystallized Lepidolite—that is to say, to contain lithion. It is composed o CS ee - - - 52.254 Alumina ” - 28.345 Ox. of Manganese, "7 - 3.602 oe - - . &.903. 4 Lithio - - k= 4.792 Fluoric "Acid, - - - 3.609 99.505 Vor. IX.—No. 2. 42 330 Prof. Gmelin’s Analyses. , ‘<'T his mica has a beautiful rose red colour, and occurs near Penig, in Saxony, together with amblygonite, topaz, albite, sehorl, &e, “‘ Most of the minerals that occur in this place contain lithion ; as for instance, a fine variety of quartz, lithomarge, andalusite, &c. Ishall publish the analyses of all these minerals in the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, a it will give me much pleasure to send you specimens of eac “While on this subject, allow me to say that I have uae ered a very useful test for lithion, before the blowpipe : viz. the flame assumes a very fine purple colour—but the flame of an oil lamp should be used, and not that o: a tallow can~ dle. By means of the latter the colour of the flame is not so decided. ‘‘ By an analysis of Helvin, a very a mineral, I have discovered glucine to ae a Seu o It consists of ca, 3.958 Glucine, = - - - 12.089 Oxydule of manganese, : 31.817 Protoxide of iron - 5.564 Sulphuret of uatigatiess, - 14.000 | 96.728 Loss by ignition, 1.555 “ The Latrolite of Mr. Brooke (Diploite of Bresthaupt) is perenctes, neers to my aUa TECH, 8, 0 ca, 44.653 =a - - - - 36.814 Lim - - 8.291 Ox. of manganese, 3.160 Manganese _— OX. oti manganese, 0.628 Potash. 6.575 100.000 Gain, E81 eS: —. SS. cr ANE inate a Err " meet Sy Sf ic as On Lightning-Reds. 331 Arr. XJX.—On Lighining-Rods. By Jerewtan Van ENSSEBAER, M. D. Read before the Lyceum of Natural History, New-York. We hear so frequently of the destruction of lives and prop- erty by the effect of lightning, that it is surprising ‘more effectual measures are not taken to guard against its power. in a country where the discovery was made, we should nat- urally expect to find it in extensive use ; and yet England and France are both more zealous than the government of the United States in bringing to perfection the science of Franklin, of whom it was well said, Brinn cela fol + + £.7Apu 4 $ } 7d N The valuable report of M. Gay-Lussac on Parratonnerres, orlightning-rods, has been published in the Annals de Chimie, and may be advantageously consulted by translation in the Annals of Philosophy. It was drawn up at the instance of the French Academy of Sciences, and offers many very interesting observations. he means proposed in the 3d Vol. of the American Journal of Science p. 347, for the greater security of build- ings, are fully adequate to that purpose, and should be exten- sively adopted. Witha view to draw public attention to this important subject, perhaps the following observations may be serviceable 5 premising that the papers of MM. Gay-Lus- sac, de Romas, and Charles, contain a collection of valuable and interesting observations so very generally found in the able and lucid reports made to the French Academy. It is estimated that the velocity of electric matter, or of lightning is at the rate of about 1950 feet per second :—that it penetrates bodies, and traverses their substance with une- ual degrees of velocity : that the resistance of a conductor increases with its length, and may exceed that offered by a worse but shorter conductor :—and that conductors of small diameter are worse conductors than those of larger. The electric matter too tends to spread itself over con- ductors, and to assume a state of equilibrium in them, be- coming divided among them in proportion to their form, and principally to their extent of surface ; hence a body that is charged with the fluid, being in communication with the ims ey : * 332 On Lighining-Rods. mense surface of the earth, will retain no sensible portion it A lightning-rod is defined to be a conductor which the electric matter prefers to the surrounding bodies, in its de- seent to the ground for the purpose of expanding itself, and eommonly consists of a bar of iron elevated on the buildings it is intended to protect, and descends, without any divisions or breaks in its length, into water or moist ground. n the rod is not perfect in its communication with a moist soil, or has breaks in it, the lightning, in its course, leaves it at that spot, for some other near body, or divides itself between the two to pass more rapidly into the earth. ‘It is proved by the experiments of MM. de Romas and Charles, that the higher the rod is elevated in the air, other circumstances being equal, the more its efficacy will be in- creased. It is announced that the most advantageous form for the extremity is that of a very sbarp cone. In this coun- try it is usual to have three points diverging—in Europe, on the continent particularly, only one is used, placed perpen- dicularly. ; How far the sphere of action of the rod extends has not been accurately determined ; but it is known that some ujldings have been struck even when they had rods attach- ed to them. This however has always taken place at a always accompanied by heat, the intensity of which depends upon the velocity of the current. ‘This heat is sufficient to make a metallic wire red hot, or to fuse or disperse it, if sufficiently smail, so that thin slips of copper nailed to the masts of vessels afford no security. The heat of ‘the elec- tric fluid scarcely alters the temperature of a bar of metal, on account of its mass ; and no instance has yet occurred of a bar, ofrather more than half aninch square, or of a cylinder of the same diameter, having been fused, or even heated red hot a6 gars yy of the stem, and not of the whole rod, is arg On Lightning-Rods. 333 by lightning. A lightning-rod, therefore, need not be of a greater size ; but as its stem should rise from 15 to 30 feet above the building, it would not be of sufficient strength at the base to resist the action of the wind, unless it were thick- er at that end. An iron bar, about 2 of an inch, is sufficient for the conductor of a lightuing-rod. A lightning-rod consists of two parts, the stem which jects above the roof into the air, and the conductor via descends from the stem to the ground. The stem is pro- posed by M. Gay-Lussac, to be a small Bar of iron, tapering, rom base to summit in form of a pyramid, and for a height 30 feet, which is the mean length of stems placed on build- ings, the base should be about 24 iuches square. Iron bei liable to rust by action of air and, moisture, the point of the gtem would soon become blunt; and, therefore, to prevent it, a portion of the top, about 20 inches in length, should be a ‘conical stem of brass or copper, gilded at its extremity, or terminated by a small platina needle, two inches long. In- stead of the platina needle, one of standard silver may be substituted. The platina needle should be united by a silver solder to the copper stem ; and as it might separate, not- withstanding the solder, it should be further secured by a small collar of copper. e copper stem is united to the iron one means of a gudgeon, which screws into each : the gudgeon, being first united to the copper stem by two steady pins at rgb ianeles, is then to be screwed into the iron stem, and secured by a The conductorshould be 2 ? of an inch square, and, as already mentioned, should reach from the stem to the ground. it should be firmly united to the stem, by being jammed be- tween the two ears of a collar, by means of a bolt. The con- ductor should be supported parallel to the roof, about 6 inches from it, by forked stanchions, and after turning over the cornice, without touching it, should be brought down the wall, to which it should be fastened by means of cramps. At the bottom of the wall, it should be bent at right angles, and carried in that direction 12 or 15 feet. Iron, in immediate contact with moist earth, soon becomes covered with rust, and in time is destroyed : to prevent this, the conductor should be placed .in a trough filled with char- coal, in the following manner. aving made a trench in the ground about two feet deep, a row of bricks is laid on the broad side, and covered by another row placed on the edge; 334 On Laghtning-Rods. a stratum of charcoal is then strewed over the bottom of the bricks, about two inches thick, on which the conductor is laid, and the trough is then filled with more charcoal, and closed by a row of bricks laid on the top. Iron, thus buried in charcoal, will suffer no change in thirty years. After leav- ing the trough, it is best to lead the conductor into a well, at least two feet below the lowest water mark. The extremity of the conductor should terminate in two or three branches, to afford a more re ady and divided passage to the lightning into the water. If there is no well convenient, then a hole, at least six inches in diameter, should be made, ten or fifteen feet deep, and the ia £98 sed to the bottom of it, in coal, and beat teeth as hard as ‘possible around the conduc- tor. In a dry soil or rock, the trench for the conductor shoul@ be at least twice as long as in a common soil, or even longer, if then it can reach moist ground. Should it be impossible to extend the trench, others, in a transverse direction, should be general, the trench should be made in the dampest, and consequently lowest spot near the building, and the water gutters made to discharge the water over it so as always to keep it moist. Too great precaution cannot be taken to ve the lightning a ready passage to the ground, for it is chiefly on this that the efficacy of the lizhtning-rod depends. ron bars being difficult to bend according to the projec- tions of a building, ithas been proposed to substitute metallic ropes. Fifteen iron wires are twisted together to form one strand, and four of these form a rope, about an inch in diam- eter. To prevent its rusting, each strand is well tarred sep- arately, and after they are twisted together, the whole rope is tarred over again with great care. Copper, or brass wire is, however, a better material for their construction than iron. Ifa building contain any large masses of metal. as sheets of detitak break in the forme “r, to die’ vay serious injury of the building, and danger of the inhabitants aft AONE ad ge On Lightning-Rods. 336 Lighining-Rods for Churches, For a tower, the stem of the rod should rise 15 or 25 feet, according to the area: the domes and steeples of churches being usually much bigher than surrounding objects, do not require so high a conductor as buildings with extensive flat roofs. For the former, therefore, their : stems. rising six feet above the cross, or weathercock, will be sufficient ; and being light, may be easily fixed to them, without here | their ap- pearance, or interfering with the motions of the v Lightning-Rods for Powder-Magazines. These require to be constructed with the greatest care. They should not be placed on the buildings, but on poles, at six or ten feet distance. The stems should be about seven feet long, and the poles of such a height. that the stem ma rise fifteen or twenty feet above the building. It is also 2% viseable to have several lightaing-rods about each magazi If the magazine be in a tower, or other very lofty building, it may be sufficient to defend it by a double copper conductor, without any stem. This is done on the European continent. s the influence of this conductor will not extend beyond the building, it cannot attract the lightning from a distance, and will yet protect the magazine should it be struck. Lightning-Rods for Ships. The stem of a lightning-rod for a ship consists merely of a copper point, screwed into a round iron rod, entering the ex- tremity of the top-gallant mast. An iro n bar, connected with the foot of the round rod, descends ies 1e pole, and is terminated by a crook, or ring, to which the conductor of the ligittelagaed is attached, which in this case is formed of a metallic rope, connected at its lower extremity with a bar or plate of metal, and which latter is connected to the copper sheathing on the bottom of the vessel. Small vessels require i . 336 On Lighining-Kods. but one ; large ships should have one on the main-mast, and apother on the mizen-mast. t has been proposed to have conductors fixed to the surfaces of the masts, and the electric fluid conveyed by mean: of strips of metal over the deck and sides of the vessel. But this mode is highly ans and perhaps the best method yet devised, is to convey the electric fluid from the mast- head to the surface of the whes in a direct line, by me ns of a series of long copper links. Itbas come to my knowiedge within a few months, that a vessel in the gulf-stream wi h powder on board, was struck by }.ghtning and blown up, in consequence of the conductor not reaching th» water, having been /oose. and drawn on dec It is allowed from experiment, that the stem «f » lightning rod effectually defends a circle of witch it is the centre, and whose radius is twice its own height. According to this rule, a building sixty feet square requires a stem only fifteen or eighteen feet, raised in the centre of the roof. A building of one hundred and twenty feet, by the same rule, would require a stem of thirty feet, and such is often used; but i is better, instead of one stem of ¢ at length, to have two of fifteen or same rule should be followed for any larger or smaller build- ing. Q Description of Minerals from Palestine. 337 MISCELLANEOUS. . i Ant. XX.—Descr iption of Minerals from Palestine, | 3 ssor Haut xd A Frew months since, | had the pleasure to receive a box of minerals, and with them, a number of other objects of curiosity from the Rev. Pliny Fisk, American missionary to Jerusalem They were collected by this gentleman him- self, in Esypt, , Greece, and Palestine. The following is a Holy Land. The lave] accompanying each mineral, in Mr. Fisk’s handwriting, is accurately copied, and placed imme- diately after each number. ‘The name of the article is then’ given, and such remarks and quotations are subjoined, as are thought to be illustrative of the mineralogy and geology eames niost interesting of all countries. . “ Taken out of the river Jordan ‘right against Jericho,’ aks 4, 1823. This is a rolled hey of white carbonate of lime containing thin veins of qua «From the walls of a ruined pene on the plains of Jericho.” It is an artificial composition of siliceous and cal- careous pebbles, varying in magnitude from a pin’s head to semi- -transparent. 3. “* From the banks of the Jordan, where it issues from the lake of Tiberias.’’ This is a dark green hornblende, partially crystallized, through which are sparingly scattered small particles of decomposing limestone. ‘ On the shores of the lake of Tiberias, we found pieces of a porous rock resembling the toadstone of England: its oar were filled with zeolite.” Clarke’s Travels, Vol. IL. he soil, as you descend towards ea a vile situ- ate on the-south-western shore of the lake of the same name, is black, and seems to have resulted from the fection of rocks, which have a volcanic appearance. The s fragments. scattered over the oe were wisredelsider a Vou. IX.—No. 2. 338 Deseripiion of Minerals from Palestine. porous, their cavities. being occasionally occupied by meso- types or by plumose carbonate of lime. (Clarke.) 5. “Taken out of the brook, where it is said, David icked up thesstones, with one ée which he slew Goliagi, Ag i stones, all water-worn masses of grayish white a < ta) D 3 ° o in » Philistines stood on a movatain on the one side, [stood ona mountain on the other side: and there wasa valley between ‘hem.” This was the valley of Elah. “As ck country was then.” says Dr. Clarke, ‘soat is now. y brook. whence : David chose him five smooth s been noticed by many a thirsty pilgrim, jour- neying from Jaffa to Jerusalem; all of whom must pass it in their way.” This writer, w who was an able geologist. informs us, that the country, between : ively rough, and broken, and tbe road intolerable Ric alley “hess are, where be saw ‘‘ plentiful crops of tobacco, ‘wheat. barley, Indian millet, melons, vines, pumpkins, and cucumbers$} among cragey ‘mountains of naked lime- ee ne.” 6. “From the precipice, on the —— of which Nozatath is — It is a coarse, rye ompact Ji his entioned by St. Luke. ‘And they ‘bieust: im (Christ) out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.” Nazareth, where the angel an- nounced to Mary, that she should be the joyful mother of the Redeemer of the world, is situated, says Clarke, ‘on a barren. rocky elevation. facing the east,” and the couniry around it bids defiance ‘o agriculture. It is about two leagues north from mount Tabor (Calmet): from which you have one of the finest views in Syria. (Volney.) This is an iso- lated mountain, of a eonical form, and -‘ appears to be a full mile in height;” paths are made on the south side, by which travellers may ascend it on horseback. At the bottom of the mountain, it looks as if it terminated in a point; but on as- cending. you find, at the top, a level plain, three thousand paces in circumference, and covered with noble oaks; (D‘Arvieux.) From this alpine plain, Barak, accompanied by Deborah, descended, with his little band of soldiers, to attack and annihilate the legions of the host of Sisera. Here, it Is believed, the transfiguration of our Saviour took place ; when Peter said to his ihaster, ‘it ig good for us to’be here : die Description of Minerals from Palestine. 339 and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for This lofty 1 mountain, together with all the hills, in this part of Palestine, is. if the testimony of travellers may be credited, ‘let ite almost entirely of 7. “From Aceld Ema.” St. Matthew i that the chief ptiests, on receiving again the thirty pieces of silver, which they had given Judas Iscariot, as a re aati ‘for betray- ing bis Lord to them, “ took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field to bury sir. the “ Ficid of Blood.” te friable ca : Jama,” or “ Field of Blood,” says Dr. Clarke, * belongs to e Armenians, and is still a ‘place of burial \thas ever been mous, on account of the sarcophogous virtue. possessed by. the earth wenge it footer 9 the decay of dead bodies» : 8. “From David’s cave ee i Samuel xxiv.” Itisa eiiacoonis concretion, formerly embracing small limbs, or e stocks, of vegetables, which are now decomposed and gone, | stag the mass full of little cavities. Similar specimens IT have roken off from the sides of a cave in Bennington, “Then Saul hree thousand chosen men out of all k David and his men, upon the rocks dhe came to the sheep-cotes by the way, where was a cave, and Saul went in to cover his feet; and David and his men remained in the any of the cave.” "The cave was in the wilderness of En-gedi, thirty-seven miles south of Jerusalem; (Dr. Parish) sind was, probably, a natu- ral production. Bat what were its dimensions? We are not informed, whether Saul’s army of three thousand men entered this subterranean apartment with him. or not. ft is likely they encamped without. Bot Saul himself went in “ to cover his feet.” and to take refreshment by sleep. The youngest son of Jesse, and his six hundred men were now lodged in the sides of the cavern, and, probably, at a con- — distance from their roy»! master. A conversation as held, between David and his soldiers. who urged him te ek the life of his enemy, whom the Lord bad now placed in his power, and who had so often barbarously attempted his destruction. But David, shuddering at the suggestion of effecting kingly homicide, iad. wishing to seta hatter example 340 cual of Minerals from Palestine. before those who would surround the throne, when he should wield the royal sceptre, boldly refused to imbrue his hands in the blood of the “ Lord’s anointed.”’ He, however, ven- tured, while the king was sleeping, to “ cut off the skirt of his rabe:” Saul arose, and departed, withot iscovering David, orany of his.attendants. Although we have no data for de- termining the exact dimensions of the cave, it may. from the above remarks, safely be inferred, that it was paca such aone, as is rarely met with, except in limes tone regions, Indeed the structure of the specimen before us plainly shows, that it must have been forimed- from the oozing of water, charged with calcareoas matter, through the roof of the cav- Travellers assert, that immense cave ros, both natural and astificial exist in other parts of Palestine, which now serve as temporary retreats for the plundering Arabs. To these caves the Israelites often fled tg safety, when their country = invaded by foreign enemies 9. *Froma hill west of Sercasiaule dehich overlooks the city.” Areddish gray, siliceous carbonate of ime; aa of e. hill, on the east of Jerusalem, the valley shaphat lying between it and the city; (Calmet.) “Towards the south, says Dr. Clarke, who witnessed what he describes, “+ ape pears the lake Asphaltites. Lofty mountains enclose it with prodigious grandeur. To the north of the lake are seen the verdant and fertile pastures of the ‘ Plain of Jericho,’ watered by the Jordan, whose course we distinctly discerned. No- thing else appeers in the surrounding country, but hills, whose undulating surfaces resemble the waves of a perturbated sea. We founda grove.” he adds, “of aged olive-trees, of i immense size, covered with fruit, oe in a mature state’? On this mount, many touching scenes have been exhibited. David, fleeing from the ietpates “thepotendl by his wicked and unnatural son, “went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and ptas he went up.” When arrived at the summit, an an- cient author beautifully remarks, “ flens et oudis pedibus, Deum ador avit.” On this eminence stood the Saviour, in full view of the city, when he wept over Jerusalem, and, in the most melting language, foretold its tremendous overthrow. F ee om a Description of Minerals from Palestine. 341 “From Tiberias.” This is et A td one of the agents which Dr. Clarke, in the sentence, quoted under — . calls “ amygdaloidal.” Itis of a dark brown colour, enn compact, and heavy,—is not op ow by the atidiip te eebly magnetic, and contains a few pores, which are filled with a friable carbonate of lime. It is evidently a variety of a aloid. 12. “From the valley of Jehoshaphat.” This valley is on the east of Je:usalem, and the brook Kidron, where there is no water, except during part of the year, runs through the — of it. The specimen is a pale white granular lime- ston 13, § ‘ Broken off from the rock over the pool of Sifoak: be 14, From the pool of siloah, where the water makes its appearance the second time. “[he spring issues from a rock, and runs into a silent stream. It has a kind of ebb and flow. Both these specimens are limestone; the former of a light gray colour, and the latter white, and might be wrought into a very beautiful marble. ** Regaining the road, which con- ducts towards the east, into the valley of Jehoshaphat, we passed the Fountain of S:/oa, anda white mulberry-tree, which is supposed to mark the spot where the Oak Rogel stood.” (Clarke.) This mulberry-tree is mentioned b 5 Pococke, who remarks, * near this pool, at a white mulberry- tree, they say, Isaiah was sawn asunder, by order of Manas- seh, and here, it is believed, he was buried, under the Oak Ro cel..? The Fountain of ‘Siloam, aceording to Josephus, v -south- east of Jerusalen, and was not included seit the walls of the ancient city. 15. * From the grave of Lazarus.” It belongs to: that: stexectare is distinctly lamellar. — 16. rom mount Zion.” Three specimens of reddish gray ed te limesione, having a smooth fracture, a little couchoidal. On sed of the acids, a moderate efferves- cence is produced. 9 7 £29 , a e: > ‘ LP 362 On the Origin of Ergoi. many grains of rye are punctured, which are not materially injured thereby. . The orifice closes before a sufficient quan- tity of juice has escaped to produce fermentation and decay. This may, therefore, be assigned as one reason why cloudy and wet seasons, are so much more productive of ergot, than those which are fair and dry. of any insect. I therefore conclude that the puncture of the fly is for the purpose of extracting its food from the rye, and not for the deposition of its eggs. The fly is of the hairy or bristly species of Musca, and also a species of the ‘ blow fly.’ [t deposits its eggs upon animal flesh, either fresh or putrid. Its wings are transpar- ent, abdomen dark green, larger than the common house fly; in this climate, in the months of July, August, and Septem- ber, the most numerous species of tbe fly, and very annoy- ing to horses, oxen, and some other animals. he above statement, contains all the material facts, which have fallen under my view, in relation to the cause of ergot ; and how far they go to support or oppose either of the theo- ries heretofore adopted upon the subject, I submit. to the decision of others. In the conclusion of this article, perhaps it may not be improper to state some facts in relation to the effect which the ergot produces upon the health of the plant, on which it grows. I was never able to discover that the culm of rye was in the least affected by the ergot ; but | have observed that invariably, where there were to the number of eight or ten grains of ergot, no healthy or sound rye could be found in the same head. In such cases it appears that all the nourishment which the culm affords, is exhausted by the ergot, and the rye suffers a severe blight. The size of the ergot is usually in proportion, to the num- ber of grains in the same head. For when we find but one grain in a rye-head, it is generally from ten to fourteen lines in length, and two or three in diameter ; but where there are from twenty-five to thirty grains, which is not unfrequent, _ their dimensions are proportionably less, being often not _ greater than sound rye. | | | Carpenter on Cinchona Bark. 363 Arr. XXVI.—Some Experiments and Remarks on several species and varieties of Ctnchona Bark. By Groner W. é ARPENTER. Pror. SItuiman, he * Dear Sir, 3 In consequence of the late prevailing endemics, ague and intermittent fevers, which have been so universally felt in al- most every section of our country, in many places to a very alarming and distressing degree, the article Cinchona has in- creased very considerably in practice and demand, and has become one of the most important articles of the materia med- ed. If you thinkt e statement of sufficient interest to your readers, I will thank you to insert it in your next Journal. Very respectfully, yours &c. GEORGE W. CARPENTER, No. 294 Market-st. Philadelphia. Calisaya Bark. Of this very superior species of Peruvian bark, there are two varieties in commerce. ., Ist. Calisaya arrolenda. inch ed a half in diameter, and from eight inches to a foot and a half in length. ‘The epidermis is gray and whitish — = This variety is in quill from three quarters of an inch to an 364. Carpenter on Cinchona Bari. on the exterior, and of a reddish brown beneath. ‘The pecu- liar features of this bark, and by which it may be readily dis- é tinguished, ere the following. The epidermis is thick, and . may be easily removed from the bark : hence you find im the ceroons the greater part deprived of this inert portion. Ithas many aseP transverse fissures, running parallels the fracture : * is wo ining; the interior layer is fibrous, and of a yello r3 the taste is slightly astringent, and very bitter. This cies < ark will yield a der ae proportion of sulphate uininé than any other in onepenes, and consequently may justly be esteemed the best. 2a. Calas plancha, or Flat Calisaya. variety consists of fiat thick woody pieces, of a red- dish cota colour, deprived of the epidermis, and the inte- rior layer more fibrous than that in the quill. This variety the former, and consequently is a less desirable article. Superior Lowa, or Crown Bark. ame of the province and port of Peru where this b ake vadibriginally discovered. ‘This bark is highly es- cinch the royal family, and is that which has been se- lected for their use: hence the name of crown bark. This bark is in small quills, the long eae edges folding in upon themselves, forming a tube about the circumference of a goose-quill, and from bale: foot a foot in Jength. Ir is of a grayish colour on the exterior, covered with small transverse res or cracks; the sage rel surface is smooth, and of an orange red; ii is of a compact texture, and breaks with a short clear fracture; it is the bark of the ciachoua condamin- ia. and is known at Loxa by the name of Casearilia rik yet notwithstanding this bark appears to have had the de- ide , eaeeae to all other species, analysis fully idioston his bark is not equal in medicinal sirength to that deno- a Calisaya. This bark is much more astringent, and er than the calisaya. This species yields from twen- thirty per cent. less quinine than the the former, the hich are not so well elanseteriatd, yields from twenty to twenty-five per cent. less quinine than abtained dand exported. It was in this province. CES PAD RE OEE ae rey. aw. 5 / * Morality of the Greek and Roman Philosophers. 369 ‘ixperiments which I made upon the Carthagena bark, of rather better quality than the market generally affords, yielded about one-twelfth less quinine than the Calisaya ar- rolenda. REMARK. When the Calisaya bark was first introduced here, it was con- sidered an inferior article, the decision being grounded upon its external characters, and would not bride its cost in South. America; but such is the deception of external appearances, that when submitted to the infallible test of experiment, it was proved to be the best. Specimens of the Galaars and Loxa barks may be procured from Charles Marshall, jun. druggist, of this city. G. W.C. ee INTELLIGENCE AND MISCELLANIES. © * a I, Foreien. Poreign Literature and-Seience; extracted and translated by Proi. Grikcomr. : ae Morality of the Greek and Roman Philosophers. —A Latin Discourse obtained the prize in the Academy of Leyden in 1823, on the question, Whether and to what extent the philosophers (Greek and Roman) founded morality upon the existence and attributes of the Divinity? Leyden, 1824. pp. 137. 4to. Biase : The author determined to consult, in his researches, no tigations The ancient Greek poets are not always explicit — si on the relation between God and man; and the whole of them _ wandered in the darkness of polytheism. Nevertheless, they taught the existence of God, and even of an original or st preme deity —the chastisement of vice, and the recom ie r su 366 Portugal. of virtue in a future life. Among the SO me, Pyihago- ras insisted much upon the connexion bet God and man, in establishing, on the system of the ecommicerataite the reward of the good and the punishment of the wicked. Socrates discovered the origin of justice in the divine will. He maintained that the gods have a love for men, and infer- red from their justice and their universal knowledge, that they would punish the wicked. Plato taught the existence of one God, who formed the world by a thought of his intel- ligence, and he affirmed the immortality of the soul, and re- wards and punishments in another life, in admitting the sys- tem of the metempsychosis. He strictly inculcated upon the minds of his pupils the identity of morality with the orship of the divinity. Aristotle was one of the an- him; but he established no intimate relation between man and the Divinity. He manifested, however, a great respect for him ; though he Aaa to prefer a general silence with regard to God, rather than to celebrate him by doctrines which appeared to him doubtful. The pride of the ear- themselves even to the Divine Being;—the more modern, (Marcus Aurelius especially,) were more reasonable, and taught that it is necessary to be be virtuous and to do good to men, in order to imitate God, and to conform to his will; but they did not found this conclusion upon the doctrine of future rewards and punishments. he author takes occasion of the extensive details he has collected relative to the uncertaia morality: of the Greeks and promane, to elevate, as it deserves, the excellence of the an religion, and its vast superiority over every other petal of philosophy.—Rev. Encye. (Languinais.) 2. Portugal.—The king has decreed that there should be formed. in his capital, an extensive Lithographic E —— men € is to be established in Lisbon, a normal school for pro- paga the system of mutual instruction; itis also to be “placed under jot direction of Professor Lecocg, who has par more than a year at Paris, in studying the new system . Astronomy. 367 in the normal school, founded by the Education Society, in concert with the prefect of the Seine.— Rev. Encyc. 3. Astronomy.— An amateur of astronomy at Prague, M. de Biela, an officer of grenadiers, has remarked two impor- tant facts in the last comet, which was discovered by him the 30th of December last year, and observed the next day, the 31st. The first of these facts confirms the opinion pre- viously advanced by him, that the proximity of the comet in- fluences the luminous condition of the sun. In fact, from the 23d and 24th of October, 1822, the period in which a comet was in its perihelion, till the 5th of December, 1823, he remarked no spot on the sun. On the Sth of Decem- ber, he perceived a very considerable spot, yeas regularly increased upon the surface of the sun till the 13th of Decem- The 21st of the same month, a second mise spot was seen, about leaving the surface of the sun, and which had doubtless been produced a short time before. On the 30th of December,the first spot became visible upon the other side, and continued to increase till the 6th of January, 1824, when a cloudy season prevented observation for a long time. It was calculated that the comet passed its peribelion in the nights of the 9th and 10th of December, at a distance from the sun equal to half that of Mercury. On the 7th of Janua- ry, the time in which the first spot would have shown itself for the third time on the sun, it did not appear, and the sun remained free from spots until the 16th of January. If this discovery of the relation between the comets and solar spots should be confirmed, it will be of some importance ; for since the observations of Herschell, many astronomers have re- marked that the spots on the sun had a real influence upon our temperature he second remark of M. de Biela, i es a on the night of the 22d and 23d of January, the comet, besides its tail, which extended from the side pm eae rs the sun, had a second turned towards that luminary. These two tails were not precisely opposite to each other, but formed an obtuse angle. M. de Biela, who is certain that in this there was no bs sation ore either from the instrument or the eye of the ofthe second a is, tat the comet, like many other ‘meteors, left behind it a luminous trace over its passage, and that this second tail indicates the path that the comet had just passed over. This + gan ePo 368 Heivetie Society. juminous track was neither as brilliant nor as extended as. the true tail opposite the sun. It was observed only on the 22d, 25th, and 27th of January.— Rev. Encyc. Mai 1824, 4. Baue.— Rural School.—A number of philanthropists of of our town have united in founding an agricultural schoo poor boys. The number of pupils will be from 12 to 20, and _the direction of them will be confided toa pupil of the re- “spectable Vehrli of Hofwyl. This school will form the forty of the kind established in Switzerland. The three others are Hofwyl, canton of Bern; chee s canton of Zu- —Idem rich ; Carra, canton of Geneva. 5. Eleetrictty.—M. Grothus, it is said, has observed that when water is rapidly congealed i ina Leyden bottle, the out- side coating of which is not insulated, it acquires a feeble charge 5 3 the inside becomes positive, and the outside nega- tive. In melting the ice rapidly, the effect is reversed ; the outside is then positively, and the inside negatively electri- fied.—.Annals de Chimie, Sep. 1824, 6. A Discourse, delivered at the opening of the session : = AAC of the Helvetic Society of Natural Sciences, held at Schaffhausen the 26th, 27th, and 28th of July. ~ Lieut. Col. Fisuer, President of the Society for the cur- rent year. ate 0, ahs Nec aranearum sane textus ideo melior quia ex se fila gig- nunt, nec noster vilior quia ex pice libamus ut apes, Jus teegh Monit Polit. L. 1. Cap. 1. Very pean Faenps ann Correacurs ! are oe the tenth year, dating from the aiciacatlle epoch, in which a citizen of Geneva, a city whose right it seems to Nite been for ages to produce dis- tinguished men, conceived the happy idea of founding an Helvetic Society, devoted to the culture of the natural sci- ences, and invited to his picturesque hermitage of Mornex u Mount Saline, the few friends of nature which formed nucleus of this association. Whate ver might have been thes views and hopes of this learned and zealous philanthro- Helvetic Soctely. 369 of which I am at present the organ, and which will have to offer you, at this session, the modest tribute of its labours of the year. But the exercise of the presidency to which I find myself called,—of a function so new to me, inspires me with a just and well founded apprehension. The fresh recol- lection of the superior men who have acquitted themselves of this duty in so distinguished a manner; the comparison of my feeble means with those with which they have been en- dowed, and of which they have given proofs, alarms me in the highest degree. I have need of all your indulgences, my dear and honoured colleagues; and I claim it with anxiety, and in the name even of that benevolence, which assigned to me, at our last aunual meeting, the suffrages, in virtue of which I have the honour now to address you. » In conformity to the example of my learned predecessor, Professor Bronner, I shall endeavour to trace out succinctly the discoveries made in natural science since our last annual * Mr. Gosse, founder of the society, who was rémoved by déath a few months after its first formation. . ou. IXi—No. 2. 47 - 370 Helvetic Society. eeting. ‘There is not much perhaps in this review, which lies beyond the field of physical science; but | shall venture upon a circumference more extensive, and more analogous perhaps to the title of our society, and to its constitution, which embraces, in some sort. the whole of nature, and di- rects by turns the attention and the researches of our numer- ous coadjutors* towards every object of interest which it can offer, and whose number is without limitation. ot ‘only are the sciences of nature and observation so . connected with, each other as to form an uninterrupted — chain ; they have become at the present time, inser allied to the exact. sciences, by the medium of the atomic theory, which, pursuing in thoughts the elements of bodies far beyond the feeble powers of our senses, has discovered, in the varied combinations of those indivisible elementary molecules. simple relations both of weight and volume ; a discovery which has opened the way to a rigorous arithmet- ical calculation in cases wherein it was before necess2ry to remain satisfied with vague and uncertain estimates. Not only are these calculations, for the most part, the result of actual chemical analyses—they often prepare the way for them and decide upon their conclusions a priert.; and the experienc e of the manipulating chemist, does but confirm what the theory had foretold by the learned and judicious te of the science of meEmer. We are indebted to simultaneous existence, and pee operation form in our own time, an epoch in the annal of scien Passing from these events, are in some sort Euro- pean, to those on account of which our own country has a right to our felicitation, I must refer for details to the special reports of the cantonal societies of Zurich, Berne, Geneva, St. Gall, Lausanne, Arau, Schaffhausen, and of our younger sister of Soleure, who has this year entered upon the career under the happiest auspices. It is, | repeat, to an exposé of . * The society has now 415 members, and 114 foreien associates. | ? | ; f ~ Helvetic Society. 371 the annual labours of these societies, which will be laid sae fere you in the course of the present session, that | mu refer for all the particulars. I shall only at this time, a your attention to a few of the aati objects. I rank in this number the applications which have been made of the brilliant discovery of Dobereiner of the singular property possessed by the spongy oxide of platina, of becoming sud- denly incandescent in contact with hydrogen gas, at the com- _mon atmospheric temperature ; and of producing acetic acid, by the combustion without flame, of alcoholic vapour. _ will perceive that our learned colleague, Professor Bronner, of Berne, has succeeded in rendering more and more easy the production of the metalloides. of potash and soda, by the dry method; and that the experiments of M. de Serullaz upon the. alloys of “ kalium’’ with various metals have been successfully repeated in our laboratories ; and that explo- sive combinations have also been obtained, by means of which gunpowder may be easily fired under water. The experiments of Mr. Irminger, of Zurich, upon strontian will be admitted to possess interest, as well as the property of the salts which have this earth for their bases to give to flame a beautiful purple tint, an effect which has been al- ready applied to pyrotechnics, with brilliant success. Passing from the metalloids to the metals, you will have occasion to appreciate the discovery of the British Chemist ,acas, viz. that the contact of powdered charcoal with sil- ver and copper in a deprives them e a : sible. ‘We are faducod to Lalieve hal the tne De ee blades are not, as has been long supposed, a medley of iron and steel, but much rather of various alloys of steel with other metals. To conclude, metallurgic chemistry has been recently enriched by the discovery, due to Professor Zain, of Copenhagen, of Xanthogene, a compound belonging to the 372 Helvetic Socie ty. class of cyanurets. [tis well known that physics, encroachi- ing to a certain extent upon the domain of chemistry, has attempted with success, to produce by strong mechanical pressure, combinations which until the present period had been obtained only through the agency of corpuscular attrac- tion. e have now two examples, the one acetic acid crystallized under a pressure of 1100 atmospheres ; the other a crystallization of salts contained in sea water ex- posed to a pressure of 4000. Guided by the profound theory of Ampére relative to dynamic electricity, our colleague, Professor De la Rive, jr. has determined by means of an ingenious apparatus of his invention, the various directions” which are pursued by eleetric and magnetic fluid, and their reciprocal influence. ,The calorimotor and deflagrator of rof. Hare, imported from America into our cabinets, opens to us the hope of contributing something to the future ie gress of voltaic electricity. ut our true field, that which nature displays in our mountains, and whic ch she invites us to cultivate with ac tivity and perseverance, is natural history. Here she ex- hibits to us numerous mineral and thermal waters, endowed with energetic medicinal qualities; there, geological phe- nomena, varying from the highest central and primitive chain, to rocks of transition, and thence to secondary and tertiary chains, and even to monuments of diluvian catastrophe. The chain of the Jura alone, presents to geologists an object of interest and curiosity the most enticing, in the fossil remains of antediluvian animals, which our clear sighted and indefa- tigable colleague Prof. Hugi has discovered, petrified in the lowest beds of that chain, in the vicinity of Soleure. Besides, there have been found in the coal mines of our region, and will presently be laid before you, well preserved remains of animals of a former world, no longer found upon the earth. Researches for coal, as an article for fuel, is an object of the highest interest to the whole of Switze rland i in all its econo- mical relations; anda society has just been formed at Ge- neva for this special object. The ita: of salt springs, so happily facilitated by the use of the borer, has been attended, in a neighbouring country,* with brilliant success, and affords legitimate hopes of important consequences in our own. Zoology, in all its beaisches; presents to us a vast field. * * The grand Duchy of Baden. aa ee Helvetic Society. 373 Mammifera, birds, fish, reptiles, insects; Switzerland pre- sents within her inclosure, specimens more or less interesting of the whole organic kingdom, and the same may be said of mineral varieties, as is evinced by the rich collections of these objects already formed in some of our cities, and which are receiving almost daily augmentation. : From our lowest plains to our summits covered with eter- nal snow, we possess also every variety of climate within the limited circle of our twenty-two republics. Meteorology will receive, we trust, from a regular and uniform system of observations, which it is vow in contempla‘ion to establish in all the chief places of the cantons, previous data for uniting and comparing. The management of our forests, an object of the first importance, will also engage the attention of our society; and in the present session we shall receive some information from our colleagues Profs. Pictet and Decandolle upon the track which they propose to follow in those two branches of philosophical research, as well as in those whose object is the hypsometrical determination of the height above the level of the sea of all the principal points of Switzerland and of the various declivities of its rivers. e hydro- techny of our country is particularly interested in these de- terminations; and the memorable labours of the Linth, (which cannot be recalled without honouring with profound regrets the memory of the benefactor of that country ;) the success, I say, of these labours have convinced us of the importance and of the possibility of the success of these ex- tensive drainings, which areneeded in numerous swamp plains; operations which render to agriculture large quanti- ties of unproductive lands, and cause salubrity to prevail where nought but pernicious influences held their reign. But it is time to finish these general and preliminary considera- tions. I should abuse your indulgence, very dear and honoured colleagues, if I any longer interrupted your proceedings. M duty is confined to directing your observance of the order of the day as prescribed, according to custom, by the committee of direction, assembled prior to the opening of the session. Bibliotheque Universelle, September 1824, 374 kerussac’s Bulletin. OTHER FOREIGN NOTICES AND SELECTIONS. 7. Ferussac’s Bulletin Universel des Sciences, &c. We have had occasion in the two former numbers, to et the attention of our readers to this work, the most extensive and varied in its plan, that has ever been undertaken 71 tor of the Bulletin, in a letter addressed to us, PR. thon addressed a la Direction du Bulletin Universel des "ocieg ences et de l’Industrie, rue de Abbaye. No. 3. a Paris,” copies bf the works, numbers, memoirs. and maps (des ouvrages, bro- chures, mémoires, et cartes,) which they may a that they may be made known in Europe by means of t ulletin. : Notices; analyses, or reviews of them, as the case a require, will be given. _ The Baron Ferussac is also very desirous to procure the terrestrial fluviatile and marine shells, and the fossils and ag of Ks cou Sng FE Sequested, he will make favictile e is anxious ti Hwa to receive specimens of the unio, anodonta and alasmodonta of Mr. me de- scribed in former volumes of this Journal. He would be gratified by receiving in exchange fax differ- ent sections his Balletin, 7 the literary, scientific, and pro- fessional Jouraals of this country, and the reports and trans- actions of all its learned Rocieres. He has furnished the editor of this Journal with a list of all the works of this kind which he had received up to the date of his loRate : ay sub- join this list for the information of those cone ie 3 North American Review, Nos. 1, 2, 3, for 182: Satie Journal of Philosophy and the ate 1924. New-York Medical Repository Nos. 2, 3, 4, of vol 8. Medical Recorder of Medicine and Surgery, for 1824. Transactions of the Philosophical Society, vol. for 1818 Western ceeeen Reporter, Nos. 1, 2, 3, for 1825. Marine Fossil Planis. 375 American Farmer, 1819,—1823, and Nos. 1—10 for 1824. Jour. of the Acad. of Nat. Sciances of Philad. to Sept. 1824. Annals of the Lyceum of Nat. Hist. of N. York, Nos. 1—5. Journal of Foreign Medicine and Science, Philad. cae ee 2. Museum of Foreign Literature and Science, Nos. 1 Archaeologia Americana, vol. 1. Lychnophora, a New Genus in ——_—— —A new genus ro of shrubs has been found in the Alpine regions of South a artius, a young gentleman whom a love of science has ead te travel extensively. not only in Europe, his native y, but in Brazil, and other -parts of South America, ‘ubs attain the height of six or eight feet. and the These § : fromikes ‘and branches are covered with a very dense. fleecy, 4 highly inflammable down, on account of which the branches are used by the natives instead of candles.* Eight species of this genus are enumerated, and minutely described by the author, seven of which are illustrated by neat lithographic | C. eet ere plates of a quarto size. g : 9. Antediluvian Plants. —The Chevalier de Martius has : ste published a memoirt on some antediluvian plants, in . his investigation of which he has been aided by comparing : them with species which he found growing in the tropical regions. He thinks that he has identified several of these living species with some fossil species found in pe 10. Marine Fossil Plants.—“ RO bservations sur les Fu- coides, et sur quelques ses Plante marines, fossiles ; par M. Ad. Brongniart’”’—20 pages quarto, with lithographic plates, Paris, 1823. In this little ork the author mentions the formations in which particular classes of ane fossil remains occur ; and in avery neat, concise manner, describes the species of which he treats, comparing them generally 4 . oe a - - ‘ * panes her nach of the genus, from Avyvw and gspew to bear a é candle. or a + also the above mentioned memoir on the genus. Faychinopho ora, both written in latin, were seblis hed at Ratisbon, Ger- a neat quarto form, and transmitted by the author to the edi- 30m ror this iia. 376 Prof. Berzelius’s Letter to the Editor. with species now extant—in some instances he observes a great similarity, if not a perfect identity. The Brongniarts are entitled to great credit for the zeal with which they have prosecuted the investigation of fossil vegetable remains—a branch of natural history, which until lately bas been much neglected, and from which we — expect the most impor- tant results. C. H. 11. Analecta Entomologica.—A work with this title, « m1 cong 104 a printed quarto pages, by John Wilh I n, M BAe z is oe from Brazil, Sierra Leone, and various other parts of the world, are described, together with many other species which have been described in various parts of the transactions of the Royal Academy of sciences of Stockholm, the descriptions of which have al found a place in systematic works on Entomology The author, in his preface, apologizes for the prolixity me ee minuteness of his descriptions, by adverting to the confusion whi I ch has undoubtedly been occasioned in entomology by “an excessive ageing of axis, His descriptions are ex- tremely minute and clear, and evince that the sec pos- sesses no ordinary share of discrimination. .H . Extract of a letter to the Editor from Prof. Berzelius of Stockholm, dated July 3, 1824. -cee (1.) New variety of Orthite, and a new Adineral resembling Feldspar, &c. — Nothing particularly remarkable has occurred here in mineralogy, except, that in the midst of the city of Stockholm, two minerals have been discovered, one of which _ appears to me new, and the other is the orthite, before found only at Finbo near Fahlun. For the purpose of building a church upon one of the six islands which form our city, they cut down a part of a mountain in which these minerals were found. We afterwards discovered that they are found every where in the granite about Stockholm ; as yet they are not very numerous, but probably will, in the progress of time, found abundantly. In a box of minerals which [ am sending from Count Warzlmeister to Dr. Torrey, I have Prof. Berzelius’s Letter io the Editor. O77 me that this may be the same mineral as ‘the Kiliite, Creadead Vol, I. p ‘ir. Walmstedi, professor of chemistry at Upsal, has per- formed a series of researches upon prehnite, of which, as it is in Latin, | take the liberty to send you a copy. (2.) Fluoric Acid—Reduction of silex, giving salicium ; and Z Ps of zircon, giving zireonium.—I have made a considerably ex- tended research upon fluoric acid, which is nevertheless far from being finishe By way of digression, [ have discovered the method of reducing silex, so as to obtain posi. the properties of which are extremely curious. The following is them near to redness to expel the moisture. Put this salt, with potassium, into a glass ae closed at one end, and heat it by means of alamp. The potassium gives a dull sound, and the dilex 1 is reduced. The ifrevativas) brown mass requires to ee washed a long time, in order to remove the undecom- posed portion. We then have the silicium remaining upon the filter, in the form of a brownish powder. When it is dried, it can be made to burn by heating it red hot; but if it ed in is gently platina crucible, half covered, and if the silicium tak overed entirely, it contracts by little and little, and nco e. Before it is thus heated, ¢ acid dissolves it with the extrication of hydro- gen, after which it acts only by extracting a part of the silex, * An abstract of the results of these researches is subjoined. ie Vou. IX. No. 2. 48 378 Prehnite— Olivine. with which the silicium may be mechanically mixed. No acid attacks it any further, except a mixture of fuorie and nitric acid, which dissolves it readily. With the carbonates of the fixed alkalies it detonates before the heat has attained to red- aay extricating from them the carbonic acid; but it does ot decompose saltpetre below incandescence. tt detonates, even by means of the carbonates, in the midst of melted salt- petre. With sulphur it combines at a very high temperature; the sulphuret is white and carthy, and soluble in water, with the disengagement of sulphuretted hydrogen. It burns also in chlorine. The chloride of silicium is a very volta” quid, giving out fumes which are decomposed by water, | give silex and muriatic acid gas. ; have reduced also zirconium, by treating the double ; ate of zircon and of potash, with potassium. The zirec isa black powder, very combustible, insoluble in acids, as well in the nitric as the nitro-muriatic, but soluble in the fiuo- ric. {It presents the curious phenomenon of burning, with ex- plosion, in a vacuum; the reason is, that it commonly con- ins a small potion of hydrate of zircon, the water of which sidizes the zircon ~The other earths ‘nae nat given precise results. ae 43. Pr ehnite—Olivine.*—A very elaborate examination of several varieties of Prehnite has been made under the direc- tion of L. P. Walmstedt, professor of chemistry in the uni- versity of Upsal, by MM. P. F. Wahlberg, J. A. Heeger, and 5. A. Varenius, candidates for the philosophical ‘degree. The very discordant results, obtained by the different chem- ists who had analyzed this mineral, induced these gentle- men to make it the subject of their experiments. The analyses of two varieties of prelinite made by Gehlen, and published in 1813, afforded results similar to each other— very different, however. from the results obtained by other analysts, The analyses of several varieties, which were subjected to the rigid examination here noticed, all afforded results which coincided very nearly with the analyses of Gehlen. It appears therefore that the accuracy of Gehlen’s analyses is pretty fully established, together with the fact a For the two valuable tracis here noticed, one of whieh consists of twenty and the other of six pages, quarto, the editor is indebted to Prof. Berzetius, of Stockholm. iA” eae Meéechanique Célesie. 378 that the several varieties of prehnite dif«r in their chemical composition much less than has been generally supposed, Another candidate for the ame degree, Mr. P. N. Sevén, has examined a specimen of Olivine Gans mount Somme, near Naples he composition of this substance, as deter- mined by Klaproth, woud seem hardly to admit of its baits associated with chrys Th HON are the results of t two analyses made by M. Sevé - 40.08 Oxyg. 20.16 40.16 Oxyg. 20.20 pre 7 perks it eae ¢* jp baaet um, 15.26 A Sat Ae » 350 “Manganos.. 0.48 0.10 my -* 0.18 0.10 maaaianerd ———— 100.24 100.61 results, so widely different from those of Klaproth’s analysis, clearly jestify the association of Olivine in the same ; Cc. species with chrysolite. H. 14. Mechanique Céleste.—The fifth and last volume of this great work of M. de Laplace has made its appearance, in- which the question of the form of the earth is discussed in various new pointsof view: viz. Ist. Thedynamic effect ofthe presence and distribution of the waters on the surface of the globe. 2dly. Th jected. 3dly. The change of size which may result from the pro- gressive cooling of the earth. The author has arrived atthefol- lowing results: That thegreatmassof the earth isby 00 means homogeneous; that the beds situate at the greatest depth are the most dense; that those beds are disposed regularly round the centre of gravity of the ap and that their form differs little from that of a curve surface, generated by the revolution of an ellipsis; that the density o of water is nearly five times less than the mean density of the earth; that the presence and distribution of the waters on the surface of the earth do not occasion any considerable alterations in the law of the di- minution of the degrees, and in that of weight ; that the theory sider isplacing of the poles at the surface of the ciith JF takiniscible, and that every geological system founded on such an hypothesis, will not at all decord with the existing knowledge of the causes. which determine the form of the earth; that the temperature of the globe has not a =O “sensibly diminished since the days of Hipparchus, Johove ms 386 AM. Guinand’s Flint Giass. two thousand years ago,) and that the actual joss of heat in that period has not produced a variation in the length of the day, of the two-hundredth part of a centesimal second. Lond. Phlos. Mag. and Journ. 1824. 15. Zoology.—Baron Cuvier is said to be engaged in pre- paring for the press a great general work on Ichthyology. . Fine Arts.— Mr. Milbert, a French gentleman whe rae anled several years in the United States, as a.naturalist in the employment of the french government, is about to et in Paris his “Voyage Pittoresque dans PEtat de ew-York.” We had the pleasure of examining his port- — folio some years since, while he was in this country; and — from the specimens there exhibited, we believe that this will not be excelled even by his celebrated Travels in the Isle of France, a work of a similar nature. . 17. M. Guinand’s Flint Glass.*—Opticians and astrono- mers have long lamented the imperfection of refracting tele- scopes, from the fnaposaibility of obtaining flint glass for lenses Wotlecdly uopenagnonte without stria, er any other dafecte, of sufficient size. These difficulties are - death, joiner, and at the age of thirteen became a cabinetmaker. Having seen an English reflecting telescope, he procured leave to take it to pieces and put it together again. This. gave th the first impulse to that object, which afterwards gave ‘him so much celebrity. When he attempted to manufacture achro- matic glasses, meeting the same difficulties which others had experienced, he began (at the age sof 35) to make experi- ments on the manufacture of glass. With no advantages, except those which his own ingenuity supplied, erected a furnace, with his own hands, and continu for many years a series of expensive and fruitless exy ments, labouring mecqsionely, at some mechanical emp sof subsistence, and of purchasing wood, and*the etait jsketials for his furnace, his cruci- bles, and his glass. He carefully noted the particulars of * Abstract of a Tract of 25 pages, 8vo. London 1825. iselfasi Natural History Society. 3et every operation, that he might be able to repeat any experi- ment which might chance to successful. At length he obtained blocks of glass which contained portions perfectly homogeneous; these he separated by sawing the blocks into sections, selecting those parts which were free from defects, and returning the others to the crucible. Afterwards he im- roved upon this process by casting bis glass in moulds, he refraction of M. Guinand’s gla-s varies almost at every casting; bul at each casting the whole mass is so perfectly _ homogeneous, that two portions, taken indifferently from the and bottom of the crucible, have the same refractive nand obtained such reputation by the manufacture the employment of M. Frauenhofer, a celebrated optician. ere he continued pine years occupied almost solely in the manufacture of glass; and it is from this period that M. Frauenhofer’s achromatic telescopes have acquired so well- merited a reputation. After returning from Bavaria to his _ native country, he raised his discovery to 4 higher degree of improvement; and in the tast years of his life, succeeded in manufacturing disks of eleven and twelve inches of Eng- lish measure, perfectly homogeneous, and free from defects. The pecuniary circumstances of M. Guinand prevented or 7 a — @ S, | a ge ~- a oO “SS 3 o o a > bar J 8 i] = S ~ jd = we “e of active intelligent young men, an from this circumstance, as well as from its location in the vicinity of the celebrated Giani’s Causeway, we may look for interesting results from its labours. By the recommendation of Mr. Maclure, the 282 Arists’ Lecture Rooni. Belfast mele menpoe to offer exchanges of objects of Na- tural History with similar societies in this country and else- where, and shes secretary, Mr. James M‘Adam, thus writes to the editor of this Journal, under date of August 31st, 1824 : “ The Belfast Natural History Society is not long establish- ed, but the members have a wish to obtain as much informa- tion as possible of the science they profess to cultivate; and in order to further their views, they are making a collection of the various objects of Na‘ural History. A connexion with ther societies will tend greatly to advance their undertaking, and they propose exchanging the duplicate specimens” of we their museum, for those of any other society that is Nig to accede to their proposal. A ree may t hus be opened, which may serve the interests of both “The specimens sent you by Mr. Maclure® : were collected in the country to the north of Belfast, and are all connected with a secondary, or, as some would call it/a volcanic forma- tion. He said that such formations were of rare occurrence in the United States, and that specimens of their mineral pro- ductions would be acceptable to = cultivators of Natur por ins shert immediate neighbourhood, but also from eer esteyend, and occasionally from Scotland.” 19. “Artists? Lecture Room. +—Going into our gas-works one day lately, I was surprised to find a small lecture-room and laboratory, in which a committee of the workmen lec- ture and experiment in turns. They have several articles of philosophical apparatus, and the external es of thiags 1 saw no mene) is abun pepe scientific, btai btained a The education«c of the working classes is st resent oceupy- ing a large cm of the philanthropists of this cour workmen of the Giasgow works Rte et sare ‘two year men lecturing to each | other on mechanical philosophy a - A box of Irish specimens iorpanied by Mr. Maclure, to ‘the Ameri- can Geological Society. Pel act nto ed from two letters to the Editer, dated Glasgow, Nov. 9tb- and March 22. 1825. History there. It is in the power of the Society in Belfast to furnish speciméns, not only Sauk re basaltic district which JUr. Owen on Education. 383 Ca chemistry, at their hee hours, and contributing to the sup- port of a jibrary. Our own men have had a library for twenty months past, which is” daily i into and they have just started in connexion with it, y lecture on philosophi- eal subjects. A committee of a are to lecture by turns, from some popular text-book, and perform the simpler expe- ¥iments: by degrees | hope to see it yet a prosperous and useful association. An introductory lecture was delivered to them a few nights ago, by a medieal friend, which, witha _ rephy by one of the workmen, and some prefatory matter, is e printed, and shall be sent to you. i know you will take en interest in all such matters. 20. Mr. Owen and his plans of Education.*—I was cp much gratified during four days that I spent at New Lana mon sense and a common education ayo the aid of uni- versities or colleges) can effect towards the happiness and comforts of multitudes of his fallow -creatures. Itisa severe - satire on the past, and furnishes well-grounded hopes for the _ prosperity and happiness of future generations. I have ~ long of Owen’s opinion, that man is a bundle of habits—the child of surrounding circumstances, and that education (the only thing that can distinguish him from the brutes) was the means of producing all the advantages his nature is capable of receiving; but the reforming of men after they are filled with prejudices, former experience taught me to consider as a task far beyond the reach of swt ee ; and, wish- ing to obtain at least es success, | bestow d all my labour oes not apes eg some-of my minor ; and YE should be successful with his gigantic im- provements; | can have the less doubt of sila. ing some of my comparatively unimportant principles. * Extract of a letter from William Maclure, Esq. to the Editor. 384 Mimalayak Mountains. Mr. Phiquepal, whom { mentioned in my former ietiers, is no doubt by this time on your side of the Atiantic. Ihave “capa ratemied you that he carried with him forty or fifty large cases of prints, instruments, and books, necessary for ie siipidisaian of the system which he teaches. ‘The most important objeet is to give, first, a correct knowledge of sub- stances, and afterwards words or signs. As he is intimately acquainted with the properties of matter, there is every rea~ son to expect success; and I hope his example will be fol- lowed by other schools, so far at least as to give to children ideas of things by their exact representations, instead of the vague and undefined method in common use. 21. Optical Structure of Minerals.—-The optical structure of minerals it is well known has thrown much light upon their composition. Dr, Brewster has lately examined a specimen of the lithion mica of Prof. Gmelin, and has ascertained that these plates are composed of erystals with one axis, united to erystals with two axes. Now as all the uniaxal crystals of mica yet examined differ in chemical composition from tho biaxal ones, Dr. Brewster recommends Prof. Gmelin to de- tach all the uniaxal parts if-possible from the biaxal plies and to make a separate analysis of both. If he finds what analo- ey es Se us to expect, that these two portions are chemi-~ eally different, the result will be a most important one, both for Bin and analytical chemistry. It will set aside all analyses of minerals, where it is likely that the body analysed has not been an individual crystal, and it may thus Peat wpon a firmer basis the law of definite proportions, = 22, Himalayah Mountains.*—U pwards of 25,749 feet bare been stated by two eminent mathematicians, Captains Hodg- son and Herbert, as the elevation, trigonometrically ascertain~ ed, of one of the Jowahir peaks. Calculations have been usu- ally fe founded either upon comparison with the medium height barometer in Calcutta, or at the level of the sea sine a miles off) during the month in which the tion on the mountain was made. Even where contempora- neous observations are obtained, have we ascertained that from a paper by George Govan, M. D, in Dr. Brewster's . a Edin. Jour. of Science, Vol. I Mr. Dalion on Indiga. 885 the alterations of atmospherical pressure in any accessible part of the Himalayah and Calcutta are cotemporaneous? It were vain to attempt describing the enthusiasm and de- light experienced by the admirers of nature, on first entering these districts. Inhabitants of the north, long exiled from the place of their birth, and contending with the fiery atmosphere of the tropical regions, can alone conceive the pleasure which many derived from the approach to a northern climate, and the gradual appearance of the features of a northern land- scape, which the pines, more than any other vegetable, con- tributed to give the wooded heights, while the streams were ‘more animated and cheerful, from their clearness, rapidity, and pebbled beds, so different from the sluggish and muddy waters of the plains, their unvaried surface and monotonong productions. 23. Mr. Dalton’s process for determining the value of Tn~ digo.* In order to find the value of any sample of indigo, Mr. Dalton directs us to take one grain carefully weighed _. from a mass finely pulverized. Put this into a wine-glass, : and drop two or three drops of concentrated sulpburic acid upon it. Having triturated them well, pour in water. and transfer the coloured liquid into a tall cylindrical jar, about one inch inside diameter. When the mixture is diluted with water so as to show the flame of a candle through it, mix the liquid solution of oxy-muriate of lime with it, agitating it slow- ly, and never putting any more in till the smell of the pre- ceding portion has vanished. The liquid soon becomes trans- parent, and of a beautiful greenish yellow appearance. After the dross has subsided, the clear liquid may be passed off, and a little more water put into the sediment, with a few drops of oxy-muriate of lime, anda drop of dilute sulphuric acid; if mere yellow liquid is produced, it arises from particles of indigo which have escaped the action of the oxy-muriate be- fore, and must be added to the rest. The value of the indigo, r. Dalton considers to be in proportion to the quantity of real oxy-muriate of lime necessary to destroy its colour. He is of opinion, also, that the value may be well estimated by the quantity and intensity of the amber-coloured liquid which the indigo produces, which is found independently of any va- * This article, and the five next succeeding, are copied from Dr. Brewster’s Edin. Journal of Seience, Vol. II. Vou. IX. No. 2. An 386 Brandy from Potatoes. i Juation of the oxy-muriate of lime. The following results, obtained with several samples, show the great value of this method—exhibiting the quantity of oxy-muriate of lime used to destroy its colour. Precipitated and sublimed sient = = 440 grains, i Flora indigo, ae - - 70 ; nother sample, - - . - 70 i Two other indigos, - - - - 60 wo other samples, - - - : 50 Another sample, - - Poh - GO 5. 3 258 Aucthersample; = =): =) <= > = 30. or 3B, » Mr. Dalton is of opinion that to destroy indigo by oxy- muriatic acid, twice the quantity of oxigen is necessary that is required to revive it from the lime solution.—Abridg- o _— Manchester Memoirs, New Series, Vol. LV. pp.437— 24, Bois de Colophenere Du the woods of Mauritius there is a tree called the Bois de Colophane, and supposed to be Bursera. From the slightest wound in the. bark of this tree, there issues a copious limpid oil, of a pungent turpentine 1 th soon congeals to the consistence of butter, as- sumin olour of camphor. Like camphor also, it burns with avivid flame, and leaves no residuum. 5. Svemen’: - axe on the process of making pions F z — potatoes-—The potatoes are put into a close wooden — vessel, and exposed to the action of steam, which heats them more than boiling water. They can thus be reduced toa state of the finest paste with the greatest. facility, it being necessary only stir them with an iron instrament furnished with cross pieces. Boiling water is then added to’ “the. paste, and afterwards a little potash, rendered caustic by quick li This dissolves A vegetable albumen, which complete conversion of the potatoe starch into a f Pro- fessor Oersted frees the potatoe brandy from its peculiar fla- vour by means of the chlorate of potash, pac is said to make it nau to the best br andy made from Gill’s Tech. Repos. No. 39, p. 322. =f ee. ee 44 3 New-York Lyceum of Natural History, 387 26. No diurnal variation of the needle at the equator.— M. Arago has, weanberstant, deduced fromM. Duperry’s ob- servations on the diurnal variations of the needle, that there is no diurnal variation at the earth’s equator. 27. Increase in the quantity of rain.—M. Flauguergues of Viviers, who has for 47 years carefully observed the quan tity of rain that fell, has remarked, by taking periods of ten — years, that the quantity of rain is continually 1 increasing, and also the annual number of rainy and cloudy days, not only at ‘ _ Viviers. but throughout the south of France. Ae 28. Potassium and Sodium.—Mr. Frederick Butz of Nion (Canton de Vaud) in Switzerland, manufactures potassium and sodium for sale, the pes ee agipeny is L2 per ounce and that of sodium L4 per o ieee gens ‘Journal, X. p. 494. II. Domestic. 1. American Geological Society.—A copy of the Vindicie Geologice of Professor Buckland, forwarded to the Society by, ae author, has been received. . Porter has presented to the Society, the New-York Medic and Philosophical Journal, in chree Volumes octavo —also several pamphlets. From the same gentleman, an additional — of miaoreees in ess xes, has been re- Je 2. Peotiings of the Lyceum of Natural a7 of New (. VIL p. 17 York; (continued from Ve hiss 18 1823,—Mr. A. Halsey rekieae asyn ‘optical view mer the Lichens growing in the vicinity of the eity of New Vide An 1 - Is of the Lyceum of Natural History of Noweaek. —_ ne 23.—Mr. Barnes communicated a supplement to a mer paper on the Chitons brought from Peru by Capt. Rae of the U. 8. Navy. June 30.—The President hantnaced the fact of his having received several bones of the Mastodon from Southold, Eroligsdeland; nearthe sea. Dr. Akerly communicated draw- __ dians of North 388 New-York Lyceum of Natural History. ings, and a description of a variety of the Balena mysticetits; taken near eer Hook, in 1821. July 7.— ekay read a continuation of his former re- marks on the ariaioriy of fishes, accompanied by preparations. Dy. Akerly read a dissertation on the language of signs, more particularly with Reena" to those used by the native In- ee we July 14.—Mr. Bakes resumed his observations on North American shells, and exhibited several rare and new species rom the coast of Peru. Dr. Dekay read a memoir on some fish received from South America, through, and presented by, Mr. Vaché. The memoir was accompanied by several | hyebly finished drawings July 21.—A paper ty Professor Dewey of Williams Col- lege, Mass. written in 1817, was presented to th eLyceum. His observations on the fluids contained in quartz crystals coincided in a singular manner with those subsequently made by Dr. Brewster ‘of Edinburgh. Mr. Barnes concluded his shdeivetions on North American shells, and the Society ads ip journed to meet on the Ist of Sept. following. Sept. 1.—Dr. Dekay communicated a paper on the Salt pic at Salina, N. Y.-with observations on the manufac- ture of salt, as practised at that place. He also read a de- : ethe Gum Acaroides from Botany Bay, exten- ept. 8. —A specimen of iron ore from Verona, N. Y. was seonived frm Mr oe Smith of Salina. It proved on examination to be the brown hematite with organic remains imbedded (Entrochites). Dr. Dekay presented a speci-— men and description of a new and piraerae | ed of Coluber from Mobile, to which he gave the name 0 rf Cos Sept. 18. — The President read a description of a Nippoted esa mgr of Ray y, (Cephalopterus Vampyrus,) taken at the h of Delaware Bay, and now exhibiting in this city.— Vide p. 23 Brae the Annals. A. communication Sess - cultivatio e* ‘of Tea on the river Amité, near New-Orleans. of the tea accompanied the communication. | Sept. 22.—Dr. Torrey read descriptions of new ‘and rare plants from the Rocky Mountains, collected in 1820, by Dr. Rdwin James. © Vide p. 30 of the Annals. Mr. Barnes an- nounced the discovery of copper in the form of blue and * This and several other papers mentioned in this notice have ap- pers in former numbers of this Journal. ’ Wises: co rae Patios oe New-York Lyceum of Natural History. 388 Steen carbonate and spytites at Sing Sing, a few miles from city. the c Sept. 29.—New localities of epidote and fluor spar at St. Albans, and Bellows Falls, Vermont, were an- nounced by Prof. Hall of Middlebury college. Prof. Lamouroux of Caen, France, was elected an Sis Member. A paper on the Clupea hudsonia, a new species, _ was read by De Witt Clinton, accompanied by a drawing. ea Inserted p. 49 of the Annals. Oct. 6.—Mr. J. Cozzens communicated a paper on the acid, of the Rhus glabrum, with observations on the puice of the Sambucus canadensis asa delicate test. Vide p. 42 of the Apnals. Dr. Van Rensselaer read a letter from Judge M‘Kean relative to the recent mortality among the fishes in certain fresh water ponds near Poughkeepsie. Oct. 13.—The President read a description, accompanied by specimens, of a new species of Gorgonia, and also of a spe- _ cies of Pavonia, from Hell Gate. Dr. Dekay offered a com- munication on some ye ular fossils in the Cabinet of the Ly- ceum, labelled Bilobi Inserted p. 45 of the Annals. Oct. 20.—Professor Renwick read an examination of a “mineral from New-Jersey, to which he gave =i name of Tor- relite. Inserted p. 37 of the Annals. . J. Hooker of Glasgow, and R. K. Greville of Ldiaborgh, ” Seabatd, were elected ee members The President delivered a discourse introduc- winter | ee ct. tory to the Diintores for the ensuing | a nee on several trilobites now in is epoced to be the first instance in which th been found in so higha latitude. It “ie be specifi- cally distinct from the four species Pie 8 by Leach in the appendix t to Tuckey’s expedition to the C } Nov. em Dekay read a papel on ania torpidity, founded on ons the mals of this country. ie x = Pasecmaniasion on the teeth of the Pic tie now fe he first time discovered in the United States: in a previous paper the learned President had conjectured it to be the Anoplotherium, but a more minute examination had resulted in ascertaining it to be the Megathe- rium resembling that of Paraguay. 330 New-York Lyceum of Natural History. Nov. :24.—Dr Torrey read a notice of the discovery for ae ee time in the United States, of Yenite. Inserted p 51 Annals, he eee aptain Le Conte of the U. S. topographical engineers presented a new species of Siren with a detailed descripiion and observations on auggeate of @ stmilar nature.— Inserted p. 52 a the Annuals. he Rev L. D. de Schweinitz presented to the Someta an analytical table to facilitate the determination of the hitherto seers ed North merican species of the genus Carex. Inserted p. 62 0f the Annals, Dr. Aterly read a paper on ia gies mercenaria or common clam, with details. respecting their manners and habits and observations on the article termed /Vampum manufactured from these shells. January 5, 1824.—Capt. Le Conte communicated a paper entitled observations on the North American species of the genus Acer wis Inserted p. 72 of the Annals. January | 2..—Dr. Dekay r ad an analysis of a work in a manuscript entitled Toxieologte des dnitilles par J. B. Madi- anna, M. D. Roya! Physician for he island of Guad loupe. The President read a paper on the organic remail of the agin near Tappan. The specimens presented w , but were too comminuted to determi akicg they belonge d. -19.— Major Delafield presented a series of geolo~ gical specimens, illustrating the rock formations from Niaga- ra coer the northern shores of the vreai lakes to the lake of the Woods. This interesting collection was accompanied by a paper entitled notices of new localities of sw rals along the north coast of lake Supericr and in the Territory from lake Superior to the river Winmpec. serted p 79 of the Annals. Feb. 3.—The President exhibited for the inspection of the members a singular fi-h, with a memoi- entitled Descrip- tion of the Saccopharyns flagella. Inserted P- BLOF, the ie ‘ Feb. 17.—Dr. Dekay cor amunicated a paper en observations on the Stylephorus chordatus of Shanes tp paper the author endeavoured to show that M. Blainyille’s observations on this animal, as detailed in the Journal de Physique, though ingenious are not sufficient to prove the Stylephorus to be an altered Fistularia or Syngnathus. _ [t was also Prackipted > ae that the Saccopharynx of the i : ; | Franklin Institute. 39! Sense should be referred to the Stylephorus of Shaw. A tailed deseription of a bed of gypsum at Paasusky, bay, Ohie was received from Mr. Samuel Scribne Feb. 24,—'This being the senile? of As Society, the officers for the ensuing year were elected.* r. Van Rensselaer then delivered Wie anniversary oe and the Lyceum adjourned, (Vo be continued in our next number.) 3. Franklin Institute: A society has been satelite in ioe city of Philadelphia in the course of the last year, under the name of the “ Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsyl- vania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts.” “ The object of this Institute is the promotion and encouragement of manufactures and the mechanic and useful arts, by the establishment of popular lectures on the sciences connected with them ; by the formation of a cabinet of models and minerals, and a library ; by offering premiums on all objects deemed worthy of encouragement ; y examining all new inventions submitted to them, and by such other; t means as may judge expedient.” he members of the Institute are to consist of manufac- urers, mechanics, artisans, and persons friendly to the me~ chanic arts ; and stated meetings are to be held quarterly. The officers for the year 1825 are, kens, William Strickland, Reciyialt ing Secretary. eter A. Browne, oe esponding Secre Thomas Fletcher, Sime ies and igeey-idur Managers. wteeule system of lectures has ae giv ven dt i e “ ue professors already { M. D.. 88 of ‘Natural Philosophy: : oy . Patte 3 Wiliam Poutines neo of Mineralogy and Chemistry ; and William Strickland, Professor of Architecture. * A list of the officers elected at this meeting was given in a former number, 392 South-Carelina Medical School. A professorship of Mechanics, also, is created, but this chair is not yet filled. Besides the regular lectures, volun- teer and occasional lectures have frequently been given, on various subjects, by several members of the Institut An Exhibition of the products of domestic fadusicy was held, pursuant to the plan adopted by the Board of Mana- gers, on the 18th. 19th, and 20th of October, 1824, during which time a great number of articles were exhibited, a de- tail of which is given in the “ First annual Report”*™ of the Institute. Annexed to this Report are proposals for a second Annual Exhibition, to be held on the 6th, 7th, and 8th of October, 1825, to which all persons are invited to send the products of their skill, ingenuity, and industry. The pro- posals for this auishison, with the list of premiums offered, occupy eleven pages, which we would earnestly recommend to the perusal of those engaged in manufactures, and who fee an interest in the cause of the arts. C. H. 4. South-Carolina Medical School.—The Medical Society _ of South-Carolina, having organized a School of Medicine, agreeably to the powers conferred at the last session of the | islatur oe following details are made for the information aa >r rofessors elected are, Tot Bivaras Holbrook, M. D. Anatomy. James Ramsay, M. D. Surger Gyropodium compreeaest a Brno, hi Gcbloplael Bhetch, 179 ———_—— on Topaz, 180 Hooker, Dr. W. J. on the Botany of America, 263 AT Hu A. O. on et Veim'i in Massachusetts, 166 ~ Hybernation, vated ‘Takea Idroc Incubation, Artificial, 196 {Indian T. bel, Mik: Pierce’s ia hike. 119 Indigo, Mr. Dalto on, 385 eggs Divisibilty of of Matter, 356 Instruction, Mutual, 182, 184, 366—-~Elementary, 185, 187-—Public, 185 Ioduret of F Potassium, 189 Ob INDEX: fron, Meteoric, 194 Tron in motion—its action on Steel, 324 Kellogg, Prof. E. on the Passage of Lightning, 8 Kendall, Thomas, on the asserted Acceleration f. Water-Wheels, 164 Labrador, Mineralogy of, 39 La Place, his Mécanique side: 379 Batrobite, eG, Gmelin’s Analysis of, 330 umonite, Lea, Isaac, on 5 Hybernation Causes iy Effects of SS ae 209 Lead Mines BEN Msmaddineetts 166 Leavenworth, Dr. his list of the Rarer Plants of Alabama, 74 Lee, Charles A.on the Moving Rocks of Salisbury, 239 t-Houses, 1 Lightning, Prof. pages, on the Passage of, 84 Piiesa Ss Lithion, test for. 66 Localities of Minerals, see Ménerals Longitude, x od Method of Determining the, 107 Loxa Bark, 364 Lyceum of Natural History of Pissed, 17 1—New Yor, 387 Ly a New Genus in Botany, 3 Cee ar mer AGE: Macture Mz his Letters to the pager 253, 381, 383 Artificial, 206 rain, its poe of Germinating, 208 ide of, Marble, Flexible, or A 241 _ Martius, Chevalie rde, his Botanical Works, 375 e, 379 Medical School of South — 392 Meteoric Stone of Maryland, 3 aine, : Meteorological Journal of Dr. L. Foot, 17 ————a—— Tables of M. Bea 30a Milbert, Mr. his “voyage pittoresque dans PEtat de New-York,” 380 Mills, Accelera' — of their ‘Motion in in Night and in Winter, 104, 1 me their cupidity, 158 a Conapatees ot 17 7—American, Dr. ‘Robinson’ 's oe logue of, 396—Dr. Fowler on some New and Extraord . Misceliameous Localities of, by Rey. E. Hitcheock, 20— ‘ A Foe“ * 7 a aa’ TaD es. oS a ® Fase INDEX- ABT Mines, Gold, of North coe Mitchill, Dr. 8. = on anew eee of Raja, 290 . a Cotint de, his Libe yl Morton, Dr. his Cabinet wots sale, pra Muriate of Lime, Needle, no diurnal variation of ap at the equator, 38% Olivine, Prof. Walmstedt on, 3 Olmsted, Prof. on the Gold Mine of oe Carolina, 5 Oolite Formation of unty, 1 Optical on of bila: 32 Orthite, Owen eta Lib Plans of Education, &c. 161, 383 organ Prof. Hall on the Minerals of, 337 Paris, 20 — Lin nnzan Society of, 154 98 satents, 1 : P Patten, Mr. his Ai = opis es and hele, 92, 327 a -ebbles from m Cape Horn erkins’s Steam-Engine, ‘08 ae p . Pestalozzian System, 163 Phi PUrce k and Roman, their Morality, 365 Physiology of the Gyropodium coccineum, 56 Pierce, Mr. James, on the Floridas, 119 in 48 , Rarer, of Alabama, 74——Marine Fossil, 37: Porter, , Dr. J. "Notice of a Rocking Stone, 27 Potassium and Sodium, Prehnite, Prof. Walmstedt on, 378 Prussia, Popalation of, 184 pad of _ of Lead, 207 es FE yrophysalite, 5 ry . Pyrotechny, be Cutbush on, 173 Quinby, Mr. A. B. on the Overshot Water-Wheel, 304 oe eee and -Pressure 316 ? 2 Ls we Crank Mot Motion, in Reply, s nt Rain, in Paris, 194 ay inerease inthe quantity of 387 a new species of Fish, 290 1 Robinson, Dr. 8. his Catalogue of. ‘American Minerals, 396 Rocking Stone in veri Massachusetts, 27 Rocks, moving, on the phenomena of, ee J. J. Adaans, 136 "RR 2a sige ge ood, Esq. 144 G. z Lee, 239 408 INDEX, Rolled Stones, 28 Rome, Clergy and Population of, 186 " St. Lawrence, a of “r a of, 398 9 Salisbury Moving Rocks, 136, 144, 23 Saratoga Lake, Dr. Steele’s Ne otied of, 1 Sculpture, Senie Sct Prof. Ferrara on th shag a of, 216 pe, James, Esq. on the tient of Caterpillars, 284 Snake il and Saratoga Lake, Notice of, 1 Soap, 189 ae ety, Linnzan, of — 154——Belfast Natural History, 381—-Ame- can Geological, 3 Spiral ¢ of = — Me ee on the, 316 Spodume ee Beate 7 184 we < Steam-Engine s, 206 Steel tempered, the aeticnl of Iron in motion on, 324 Steele, Dr. J. H. ee Snake-Hill and Saratoga Lake, 1—Oolitic Forme* of Saratoga County, 16 Sulphar; its ete Rheumatism, 169 Sulphu ~~ Liquefied, 195 Sw: Stes, ying foi... 200 Syphon, 19 Tests for “ae and Iron, 201 ts ~ a ric, 1 = aivgrst ity of gg _ Urocer rus, an Insect, Mr. ae on, 288 | Van Rensselaer, Dr. J. se Lightning-Rods, 331 his Geological Lectures, 397 Wallaee, iy his Reply to B. on Algebraic Series, a on this Wallestein, M. his Met aw: al Tables, 394 ee edt, Prof. = Prehnite and rates : $4 on City, Meteorological Tables ay at, 3 Watch-make re’ Dil, 20 be Water, Gaeapressibillty of Water-Wheel, Overshot, Mi Ghinby on the, 304 Water-Wheels, on their Acceleration in Night and in eBebepie +! 104 ‘Weather, ee on Lake Superior, 395 Wood, J. on he Moving of Reels by 44 one obtained fi rom Zircon, 377 Favecae Bocieties i in, {aa So enyerarseerenteyeresrseneerspetseereceer tee - oe wi . 2 iN ~ A ia) Zi Dewe CRG, ' g@ - | Ctenera’ | | | ra ee ? forges ; of = Vol. IX.p. 68- Vol. IX. p. 64. ‘| ‘A YP a, y K kg ; - : \ OQ A hasataatiee ds ; Z novde engl Vol. VIL p98. 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