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‘ [ tay]

<

XIX. Odfervations on different Kinds of
“irs By Joleph Pricflley, LL. D,
Be tay eae

Read March 5, SHE following obfervations on the
oe al properties of feveral different kinds
of air, I am fenfible, are very imperfect, and fome of
the courfes of experiments are incomplete; but a
confiderable number of facts, which appear to me
to be new and important, are fufficiently afcertained ;
and I am willing to hope, that when philofophers
in general are apprized of them, fome perfons may
be’able to purfue them to more advantage than my- ~
felf. I therefore think it my duty to give this So-
ciety an account of the progrefs I have been able to
make ; and I fhall not fail to communicate any far-
ther lights that may occur tome, whenever I refume
thefe inquiries. : ee a)
In writing upon this fubje&t, I find myfelf at a
lofs for proper terms, by which to diftinguifh the
different kinds of air. ‘Thofe which have hitherto
obtained are by no means fufficiently chara@terittic,
or diftinét. The terms in common ufe are, fixed air,
mephitic, and inflammable. The laft, indeed, fuffi-
ciently characterizes and diftinguifhes that kind of
air which takes fire, and explodes on the approach
of flame; but it might have been termed fixed with
U2 Mics

BR

: [ 148 _
ag much propriety ‘as oe to which Dr. Black atid

_others have given that denomination, fince it is ori-
ginally part of fome folid fubftance, and exifts in an»

unelaftic ftate, and therefore may be alfo calléd fac-
titious. The term mephitic is equally applicable to
what is called fixed air, to that which is inflammable,
and to many other kinds; fince they are equally
noxious, when breathed by animals. Rather, how-
ever, than to introduce new terms, or change the
fignification of old ones, I fhall ufe the term fixed
air, in the fenfe in which it is now commonly ufed,
and diftinguith the other kinds by their properties, or
fome other periphrafis. I fhall be under a neceffity,
however, of giving a name to one fpecies of air, to
which no name was given before.

Of FIXED AIR.

Fixed air is that which is expelled by heat from
hme, and. other calcareous fubftances, and, when
deprived of which, they become quick-lime. It is
2lfo contained in alkaline falts, and is generated in
great quantities from fermenting vegetables; and
being united with water, gives it the principal pro-
perties of Pyrmont-water. This kind of air-is alio
well known to be fatal to animals; and Dr. Mac-
bride has demonftrated, that it checks or prevents

putrefaction,

Living for fome time in the neighbourhood of a.

publi ic brewery, I was induced to make a few expe-
riments on this kind of air, there being always a
large body of it, ready formed, upon the furface of

the fermenting liquor, generally about nine inches
or

\

[ 149 ]

era foot in depth, within which any kind of fub-
ftance may be very conveniently placed ; and though
it muft be continually mixing with the common air,
and is far from being perfectly pure, yet there is a
conftant fupply from the fermenting liquor, and it is
pure enough for many purpofes. _
__A perfon, who is quite a ftranger to the properties
of this kind of air, would be agreeably amufed with
extinguifhing lighted candles, or chips of wood in it,
as-it lies upon the furface of the fermenting liquor 5
for the {moke readily unites with this kind of airs
probably by means of the water which it contains ;
fo that very little or none of the fmoke will efcape
into the open air, which is incumbent upon it. Je
is rematkable, that the upper furface of this {moke,
floating in the fixed air, is fmooth, and well defined ;
whereas the lower furface is exceedingly ragged, fe-
veral parts hanging down to a confiderable diftance
within the body of the fixed air, and fometimes in
the form of balls, connected to the upper ftratum by
{lender threads, as if they were fufpended. The
{moke is alfo apt to form itfelf into broad flakes,
parallel to the furface of the liquor, and at different
diftances from it, exaCtly like clouds. Thefe ap-
pearances will fometimes continue above an hour,
with very little variation. When this fixed air is
very ftrong, the fmoke of a {mall quantity of gun-
powder fired in it will be wholly retained by it, no
part efcaping into the common air.

Making an agitation in this air, the furface of it,
which ftill continues to be exattly defined, is thrown
into the form of waves, which it is very amufing to

look upon; and if, by this agitation, any of the fixed
ait

Ee wer]

air be thrown over the fide of the veffel, the {moke, —

which is mixed with it, will fall to the ground, as if

it was fo much water, the fixed air being heavier thas
common air.

The red part of burning wood was extinguifhed in

this air, but I could not perceive that a red-hot poker
was fooner cooled in it.

Fixed air does not inftantly mix with common air.
Indeed, if it did, it could not be caught upon the

fermenting liquor; for a candle put under a large

receiver, and immediately plunged very deep below
the furface of the fixed air, will burn fome time.
But veflels with the fmalleft orifices, hanging with
their mouths downwards in the fixed air, will in
time have the common air, which they contain, per-
fectly mixed with it. When the fermenting liquor
is contained in veflels clofe covered up, the fixed air
is rendered much ftronger, and then it readily affects

the common air which is contiguous to it; fo that,

upon removing the cover, candles held at a con-
fiderable diftance above the furface will inftantly go
out. I have been told by the workmen, that this

will fometimes be the cafe, when the candles are .

held more than half a yard above the mouth of the
veffel.

Fixed air unites with the fmoke of refin, fulphur,
and other electrical fubftances, as well as with the
vapour of water; and yet, by holding the wire of a
charged phial among thefe fumes, I could not make
any electrical atmofphere, which furprized me a

good deal, as there was a large body of this fmoke, |

and it was foconfined, that it could not efcape me.
I alfo held fome oil of vitriol in a glafs veffel within
the

cores

E ree 7

the fixed air, and by plunging a piece of red hot
glafs into it, raifed a copious and thick fume: This
floated upon the furface of the fixed air like other
fumes, and continued as long.

Confidering the near affinity between water and
fixed air, I concluded that if a quantity of water was
placed neat the yeaft of the fermenting liquor, it
could not fail to imbibe that air, and thereby acquire
the principal properties of Pyrmont, and other me-
dicinal mineral waters. Accordingly, 1 found, that
when the furface of the water was confiderable, it
always acquired the pleafant acidulous tafte that
Pyrmont water has. The readieft way of impreg-
nating water with this virtue, in thefe circumftances;
is to take two vefiels, and to keep pouring the water
from one into the other, when they are both of them
held as near the yeaft as-poffible ; for by this means _
a great quantity of furface is expofed to the air,
and the furface is alfo continually changing. In this
manner, I have fometimes, in the {pace of two or
three minutes, made a glafs of exceedingly pleafant
{fparkling water, which could hardly be diftinguifhed
from very good Pyrmont. |

But the moft effectual way of impregnating water
with fixed air is to put the veffels which contain the
water into glafs jars, filled with the pureft fixed air, .
made by the folution of chaik in diluted oil of vitriol,
ftanding in quickfilver. In this manner I have, in.
about two days, made a quantity of water to imbibe
more than an equal bulk of fixed air, fo that, ac-
cording to Dr. Brownrigg’s experiments, it muft have
been much ftronger than the beft imported Pyrmont;
for though he made his experiments at the fpring

head,

[ 152 |
head, he never found that it contained quite fo much
as half its bulk of this air. If a fufficient quantity
of quickfilver cannot be procured, oil may be ufed
with fufficient advantage, for this purpofe, as it im-
bibes the fixed air very flowly. Fixed air may be

kept in veflels ftanding in water for a long time, if —

they be feparated by a partition of oil, about half an
inch thick. Pyrmont water made in thefe circum-
{tances, is little or nothing inferior to that which has
ftood in quickfilver. :
The readeff method of preparing this water for
ufe is to agitate it {trongly with its whole furface ex-

pofed to the fixed air. By this means alfo, more than.

an equal bulk of air may be communicated to a
large quantity of water in the fpace of a few mi-

nutes, Eafy directions for doing this I have publifhed

in a {mall pamphlet, defigned originally for the ufe
of feamen in long voyages, on the prefumption that
‘it might be of ufe for preventing or curing the fea
feurvy, equally with wort, which was recommended
by Dr. Macbride for this purpofe, on no other ac-
count than its property of generating fixed air, by
its fermentation in the ftomach.

Water thus impregnated with fixed air readily
diffolves iron, as Mr. Lane has difcovered; fo that if
a quantity of iron filings be put to it, it prefently
becomes a ftrong chalybeate, and of the mildeft and
moft agreeable kind,

I have recommended the ufe of chalk and oil of
vitriol as the cheapeft, and, upon the whole, the beft
materials for this purpofe ; and whereas fome perfons
had fufpefted that a quantity of the oil of vitriol
was rendered volatile by this procefs, I examined it

by

| > aga

ky all the chemical methods that are in ufe; but
could not find that water thus impregnated con-
tained the leaft perceivable quantity of the acid.
~ Mr. Hey, indeed, who affifted me in this exami-
nation, found that diftilled water, impregnated with
fixed air,'did not mix fo readily with foap as the di-
ftilled water itfelf; but this was alfo the cafe when
the fixed air had pafled through a long glafs tube
filled with alkaline falts, which, it may be fuppofed,
would have imbibed any of the oil of vitriol that
might have been contained in that air *.
_ Itis not improbable but that fixed air itfelf may
be of the nature of an acid, though of a weak and
peculiar fort. Mr. Bergman of Upfal; who honoured
me with a letter upon the fubject, calls it the aérial
acid, and, among other experiments to prove it to be
an acid, he fays that it changes the blue juice of
tournefole into red. |

The heat of boiling water will expell all the fixed
air, if a phial containing the impregnated water be
held in it; but it will often require above half an
hour to do it completely.

Dr. Percival, who is particularly attentive to every
improvement in the medical art, and who has
thought fo well of this impregnation as to prefcribe
it in feveral cafes, informs me that it feems to be
much ftronger, and fparkles more, like the true
Pyrmont water, after it has been kept fome time.
‘This circumftance, however, fhews that, in time, the
fixed air is more eafily difengaged from the water, and

* An account of Mr. Hey’s experiments will be found in the
Appendix to thefe papers. oii’

Vou. LXI. x - though,

IE ee O

shod obi in this ftate, it may affect the tafte more
fenfibly, it cannot be of fo much ufe in the ftomach
and bowels, as when the air is more firmly retained
by the water, though, in conlequence of ae it be
7 fenfible to the tafte.

- By the procefs deferibed in my patnplilet fix
air may be readily incorporated with wine, beer, and
almoft any other liquor whatever; and when beer,
wine, or cyder, is become flat or dead (which is the

confequence of the efcape of the fixed -air they con-
tained) they may be revived by this means; but the
delicate and agreeable flavour, or acidulous tafte,
communicated by fixed air, and which is very mani-
fef{ in water, can hardly be perceived -in wine, of
any liquors which have much tafte‘of their own.

I fhould think that there can ‘be no’ ‘doubt, but
that water thus impregnated with fixed air muft have
-all the medicinal virtues of genuine Pyrmont water 3
fince thefe depend upon the ‘fixed air it contains.- If
the genuine Pyrmont water derives any advantage
from its being a natural chalybeate, this may alfo be
obtained by providing a common chalybeate water,
and ufing it in thefe procefies, inftead of common
water.

Having fucceeded fo well with this artificial Pyr-
mont water, I imagined that it might be peffible to
give ice the fame virtue, efpecially as cold is known
to promote the abforption of fixed air by water;
but in ‘this I found ‘myfelf quite miftaken. I put
feveral pieces of ice into a quantity of fixed air,
confined by quickfilver, but no part of the air was
abforbed in two days and two nights; but upon
bringing it into a place where the ice melted, the air

2 was

[ 255 ] |
was sgh phed as ufual. I then took a quantity of
ftrong artificial Pyrmont water, and, putting it into
a thin glafs phial, I fet it in a pot that was filled
with fnow and falt. This mixture inftantly freezing
the water that was contiguous to the fides of the
glafs, the air was difchar ged plentifully, fo that I
catched a confiderable quantity, in a bladder tied to
the mouth of the phial. I alfo took two quantities
of the fame Pyrmont water, and placed one of
them where it might freeze, keeping the other in
a cold place, but where it would not freeze. This
retained its acidulous tafte, though the phial which
‘contained it was not corked; whereas the other,
being brought into the ane place, where the ice
smelted very flowly, had at the fame time the tafte of
‘common water only. That quantity of water
which had been frozen by the mixture of {how and
falt, was almoft as much like fnow as ice, fuch a
quantity of air bubbles were contained in it, by
which it was prodigioufly increafed in bulk.

it ic ‘preffure of the atmofphere affifts very con-
fiderably in keeping fixed air confined in water; for
in an exhaufted receiver, Pyrmont water will abfo-
lutely boil, by the copious difcharge of its air. This
is alfo the ‘reafon why beer and ale froth {0 much iz
vacuo. 1 do not.doubt, therefore, but that, by the
help of a condenfing engine, water might be much
more highly’ impregnated: with the virtues of the
Pyrmont f{pring, and it would not be difficult to
contrive a method of doing it.

The manner in which I made feveral experiments
to afcertain the abforption of fixed air by different
fluid fubftances was to ‘put the liquid into a dith,

x2 and

[ 256
and holding it within the body of the fixed air at
the brewery, to fet a glafs vefflel into it, with its
mouth inverted. This glafs being neceffarily filled
with the fixed air, the liquor would rife into it when
they were both taken into the common air, if the
fixed air was abforbed at all.

Making ufe of ether in this manner, hee was a
conitant bubbling from under the glafs, occafioned
by this fluid eafily rifing in vapour, fo that I could
not, in this method, determine whether it imbibed
We alr ornot. I Coneinaeds _ however, that they did
incorporate, from a very difacreeable circumitance,
which made me defift from making any-more expe-
timents of the kind. For all the beer; over which
this experiment: was made, contracted a peculiar
tafte, the fixed air impregnated with the ether being,
I fuppofe, again abforbed by the beer. I have alfo
obferved, that water which remained a long time
within this air has fometimes acquired a very dif-
agreeable tafte. At one time it was like tar-water.
How this was acquired, I was very defirous of mak-
ing fome experiments to afcertain, but I was dit
couraged by the fear of injuring the fermenting
liquor. It could not come from the fixed.air only.

Having imagined that fixed air coagulated the
blood in "he lungs of animals, and thereby caufed
inftant death; I fuffocated a cat in this kind of air,
and examining the lungs prefently after, found them
collapfed and white, “having little or no blood in
them. -

In order to try the effect of this air upon the blood
itfelf, I took a quantity from a fowl juft killed, and
divided it into.two parts, holding ane of them within

the

f aon 3

the fixed air, and the other in the common air, and
obferved that the former was coagulated much fooner
than the latter. ‘This I could wifh to have tried
again. : i:

Infeéts and animals which breathe very little are
{tiled in fixed air, but are not foon quite killed in
it, Butterflies, and flies of other kinds, will gene-
rally become torpid, and feemingly dead, after being
held a few minutes over the fermenting liquor; but
they revive again after being brought into the freth
air. But there are very great varieties with refpect
to the time in which different kinds of flies will
either become torpid in the fixed air, or die in it.
A large ftrong frog was much {welled, and feemed
to be nearly dead, after being held about fix minutes
over the fermenting liquor; but it recovered upon
being brought into the common air. A {fnail
treated in the fame manner died prefently.

Fixed air is prefently fatal to vegetable life. At

leaft {prigs of mint, growing in water, and placed
over the fermenting liquor, will often become quite
dead in one day, or even ina lefs {pace of time ;
nor do they recover when they are afterwards
brought into the common air. I am told, however,
that fome other plants are much more hardy in this
refpec. ae .

A red rofe, freth gathered, loft its rednefs, and be-
came of a purple colour, after being held over the
fermenting liquor about twenty-four hours; but the
tips of each leaf were much more affected than the
reft of it. Another red rofe turned perfectly white
in this fituation; but various other flowers, of differ-
ent colours, were very little affeéted. ‘Fhefe expe-

OS | riments

{ 25e 7p

riments were not repeated, as I with they might be
done, in pure fixed air, extracted from chalk ‘by
means of oil of vitriol : worn

For every purpofe, in which it was neceffary that
the fixed air fhould be as unmixed as _poffible, I
generally made it by pouring oil of vitriol upon chalk
and water, catching it in a bladder, faftened to the
neck of the phial, in which they were contained,
taking care to prefs out all the common air, and alfo
the firft, and fometimes the fecond, produce of fixed
air; and alfo, by agitation, making it as quickly as
I poflibly could. At other times, I made it ‘pafs
from the phial in which it was generated through a
glafs tube, without the intervention of any bladder,
which, as I found by experience, will not long make
a fufficient feparation between feveral kinds of air and
common air. : ,

I had once thought that the readieft method of
procuring fixed air, and in fufficient purity, would
be by the fimple procefs of burning chalk, or
pounded lime-{tone in a gun-barrel, making it pafs
through the ftem of a tobacco-pipe, or a glafs tube
carefully luted to the orifice of it; and in this man-
ner I find that air is produced in great plenty; but,
upon examining it, I found, to my very great furprize,
that little more than one half of it was fixed air,
capable of being abforbed by water; and that the
re{t was inflammable, fometimes very weakly, but
fometimes pretty highly fo. Whence this inflam-
mability proceeds, I am not able to determine, the
lime or chalk not being fuppofed to contain any
other than fixed air. I conjecture, however, that it

muft proceed from the iron, and the feparation of it
from

[ 159 ]

from the calx may be promoted by that fmall guan-
tity of oil of vitriol, which I am informed is con-
tained in chalk, if not in lime-ftone alfo. But it is
an objection to this hypothefis, that the inflammable
air produced in this manner burns blue, and not at
all like that which is pteduced from iron, or any other
metal, by means of an acid. It has alfo the fmell
of that kind of inflammable air which is produced
from vegetable fubftances. Befides, oil of vitriol
without water, will not diffolve iron ; nor can inflam-
mable air be got from it, unlefs the acid be confi-
derably diluted ; and when I mixed brimftone with
the chalk, neither the quality nor the quantity of the
air was changed by it. Indeed no air, or permanently
elaftic vapour, can be got from brimftone, or any
oils |

In the method in which I generally made the
fixed air, and indeed always, unlefs the contrary be
particularly mentioned, wz. by diluted oil of vitriol
and chalk, I found by experiment that it was as pure
as Mr. Cavendifh made it. For after it had pafied
through a large body of water in {mall bubbles, ftill
<> Or 3, part only was not abforbed by water. In
order to try this as expeditioufly as poflible, I kept
pouring the air from one glafs veffel into another,
immeried in a quantity of cold water, in which
manner I found by experience, that almoft any
quantity may be reduced as far as poflible in little
more than a quarter of an hour.

At the fame time that I was trying the purity of
my fixed air, I had the curiofity to endeavour to
aicertain whether that part of it which is not mif-
_ {cible in water, be equally diffufed through the whole
mals 5

[ 60°]

mafs; and, for this purpofe, I divided-a quantity of

about a gallon into three parts, the firft confifting of —
that which was uppermoft, and the laft of that which —

was the loweft, contiguous to the water; but all
thefe parts were reduced in about an equal propor-
tion, by pafling througi the water, fo that the whole
mafs had been of an uniform compofition. This I
have alfo found to be the cafe with feveral kinds of
air, which will not properly incorporate.

A moufe will live very well, though a candle will
not burn, in the refiduum of the pureft fixed air that
I can make; and I once made a very large quantity
for the fole purpofe of this experiment. This, there-
fore, feems to be one inftance of the generation of
genuine common air, though vitiated in fome de-
gree. It is alfo another proof of the refidaum of
fixed air being, 1n part at leaft, common air, that it
becomes turbid, and is diminifhed by the mixture of
nitrous 2ir, as will be explained hereafter.

That fixed air only wants fome addition to make it
permanent, andimmitcible with water, if not, in all re
ipects, common air, I have. been led to conclude, from
ieveral attempts which 1 once made to mix it with
air, in which a quantity of iron filings and brim-
{tone, made into a pafte with water, had ftood ; for,
in feveral mixtures of this kind, I imagined that not
much more than half of the fixed air could be im-
bibed by water; but, not being able to repeat the
experiment, I conclude that I either deceived myfelf
in it, or that I overlooked fame circumftance on
which the fuccefs of it depended.

Thefe experiments, however, whether they were
fallacious or otherwife, induced me to try whether

any

hus 7 :. bis

[fae]

any alteration would be made in the conftitution of
fixed air, by this mixture of iron filings and brim-
ftone. I therefore put a mixture of this kind into a
_ quantity of as pure fixed air as I could make, and
confined the whole in quickfilver, left the water
fhould abforbe it before the effects of the mixture
could take place. ‘Ihe confequence was, that the
fixed air was diminifhed, and the quickfilver rofe in the
veffel, till about the fifth part was occupied by it ; and,
as neat as I could judge, the procefs went on, in all
refpects, as if the air in the infide had been common
air. |
What is moft remarkable, in the refult of this ex-
periment, is, that the fixed air, into which this mix-
ture had been put, and which had been in part di-
minifhed by it, was in part alfo rendered infoluble.
in water by this means. I made this experiment
four times, with the greateft care, and obferved,
that in two of them about one fixth, and in the
- other two about one fourteenth, of the original
quantity, was fuch as could not be abforbed by wa-
ter, but continued permanently elaftic. Left I fhould
have made any miftake with refpect to the purity of
the fixed air, the laft time that I made the experi-
ment, I fet part of the fixed air, which I made ufe
of, in a feparate veffel, and found it to be exceed-
ingly pure, fo as to be almoft wholly abforbed by
water; whereas the other part, to which I had put
the mixture, was far from being fo.

In one of thefe cafes, in which fixed air was made
immifcible with water, it appeared to be not very
Noxious to animals; but in another cafe, a moufe
died in it pretty foon, :

“Mor. LXIL ea As

[ 162 j

As the iron is reduced to a calx by this procefs,

I once concluded, that it is phlogifton that fixed air

wants, to make it common air; and, for any thing
I yet know, this may be the cafe, though I am igs
norant of the method of combining them; and when
I calcined a quantity of lead in fixed air, in the man-
ner which will be defcribed hereafter, it did not feem
to have been lefs foluble in water than it was before.

IT.

On AIR IN WHICH A CANDLE, OR BRIMSTONE,

HAS BURNED OUT.

Tt is well known that flame cannot fubfift long
without change of air, fo that the common air is
neceflary to it, except in the cafe of fubftances, into

the compofition of which nitre enters; for thefe will.

burn 7z vacuo, in fixed air, and even under water,
as is evident in fome rockets, which are made for
this purpofe. “Fhe quantity of air which even a
fmall flame requires to keep it burning 1s prodi-
gious. It is generally faid, that an ordinary candle
confumes, as it is called, about a gallon in a
minute. Confidering this amazing’ confumption
of air, by fires of all kinds, voleano’s, &c. it be-
comes a great object of philofophical inquiry, to af-
certain what change is made in the conftitution of
the air by flame, and to difcover what provifion there
is in nature for remedying the injury which the at-
mofphere receives by this means. Some of the fol-
lowing experiments will, perhaps, be thought to
shrow a little light upon the fubject.

| ‘The

[react )

The diminution of the quantity of air in which a
candle, or brimftone, has burned out, is various ;
but I imagine that, at a medium, it may be about:
one fifteenth, or one fixteenth, of the whole; about
one third as much as by animals breathing it as long
as they can, by animal or vegetable fubftances
putrifying in it, by the calcination of metals, or by
a mixture of fteel filings and pounded brimftone
ftanding in it.

I have fometimes thought, that flame difpofes the
common air to depofit the fixed air it contains ; for
if any lime-water be expofed to it, 1 immediately
becomes turbid. This is the cafe, when wax candles,
tallow candles, chips of wood, fpirit of wine, ether,
and every other fubftance which I have yet tried,
except brimftone, is burned in a clofe gla{s vefiel,
ftan ‘ing in lime-water. ‘This precipitation of fixed
air (if this be the cafe) may be owing to fomething
emitted from the burning bodies, which has a {tronger
affinity with the other conftituent parts of the atmo-
{phere.

If brimftone be burned in the fame circum-
ftances, the lime-water continues tranfparent, but
ftill there may have been the fame precipitation
of the fixed part of the air; but that, uniting with
the lime and the vitriolic acid, it forms a felenetic falt,
which is foluble.in water. : Having evaporated a
quantity of water thus impregnated, by burning
brimftone .a great number of times over it, a whitifh
powder remained, which had an acid tafte; but re-
peating the experiment with a quicker evaporation,
the powder had no acidity, but was very much like
chalk, The burning of brimftone but once over a

Y 2 quantity

[ 164 J
quantity of lime-water, will affe& it in fuch a man-
ner, that breathing into it will not make it turbid,
which otherwife it always prefently does,

Dr. Hales fuppofed, that by burning brimftone
repeatedly in the fame quantity of air, the diminu-
ticn would continue without end. But this I have
frequently tried, and not found to be the cafe. In-
deed, when the ignition has been imperfect in the
firft inftance, a fecond firing of the fame fubftance
will increafe the effect of the firft, 8c. but this pro-
grefs foon ceafes. In many cafes of the diminution
of air, the effect is not immediately apparent, even
when it ftands in water; for fometimes the bulk of
air will not be much reduced, till it has pafled fe-
veral times through a quantity of water, which has
thereby a better opportunity of abforbing that fluid
part of the air, which had not been perfectly de-
tached from the reft. I have fometimes found a
very great reduction of a mafs of air, in confequence
of paffing but once thorough cold water. If the air
has {tood in quickfilver, the diminution is generally
inconfiderable, till it has undergone this operation,
there not being any fubftance expofed to the air that
could abforb any part of it.

I could not find any confiderable alteration in the
fpecific gravity of the air, in which candles, or brim-
{tone, had burned out. I am fatished, however,
that it is not heavier than common air, which muft
have been manifeft, if fo great a diminution of the
quantity had been owing, as Dr. Hales and others
{uppofed, to the elafticity of the whole mafs being
impaired, After making feveral trials for this pur-
pote, I concluded that air, thus diminifhed in bulk,

is

[265]

is rather lighter than common air, which favours the
- fuppofition of the fixed, or heavier part of the com-
mon air, having been precipitated.

An animal will live nearly, if not quite as long,
in air in which candles have burned out, as in com-
mon air. This fact furprized me very greatly, having
imagined that what is called the confumption of air
by flame, or refpication, to have been of the fame
nature; but I have fince found, that this fact has:
been obferved by many perfons, and even fo early
as by Mr. Boyle. I have alfo obferved, that air in
which brimftone has burned, is not in the leaft in-
jurious to animals, after the fumes, which at firft
make it very cloudy, have 1 intirely fabfided.

Having read, in the Memoirs of the Society at
Turin, Vol. I. p. 41. that air in which candles had
burned out was perfectly reftored, fo that other
candles would burn in it again as well as ever, after
having been expofed to a confiderable degree of
cold, and likewife after having been comprefled in
bladders (for the cold had been fuppofed to have
produced this effect by nothing but condenfation) :
I repeated thefe experiments, a fad did, indeed, find,
that, when I compreffed the air in bladders, as fhe
Count de Saluce, who made the obfervation, had:
done, the experiment fucceeded: but having had
fufficient reafon to diftruft bladders, I comprefied.
the air in a glafs veffel flanding in water; and then
I found, that this procefs i is altogether incre dal for
the purpofe. I kept the air - compreffed much pre,
and much longer, than he had done, but without
producing any alteration in it. I alfo me that a:
greater degree of cold than that which he applied, and:

off

| 2oe J]

of longer continuance, did by no meats vette this _

kind of air: for when L have expofed the phials which
contained it a whole night, in which the froft was
very intenfe; and alfo when I kept it furrounded with
amixture of {now and falt, I found it, in all re-
fpects, the fame as before.

It is alfo advanced, in the fame Memoir, p. At.
that heat only, as the reverfe of cold, renders air
unfit for candles burning in it. But I repeated the
experiment of the Count for that purpofe, without
finding any fuch effect from it. 1 allo remember that,

many years ago, I filled an exhaufted receiver with

air, that had pafled through a glafs tube made
red-hot, and found that a candle would burn in it
perfectly well. Alfo, rarefaétion by the air-pump
does not injure air in the leaft degree.

Though this experiment failed, I flatter myfelf

that I have accidentally hit upon a method of re-
ftoring air which has been injured by the burning
of candles, and that I have difcovered at leaft one
of the reftoratives which nature employs for this
purpofe. It is vegetation. In what manner this pro-
cefs in nature operates, to produce fo remarkable an
effect, I do not pretend to have difcovered; but a
number of faéts declare in favour of this hypothefis.
I fhall introduce my account of them, by reciting
fome of the obfervations which I made on the grow-
ing of plants in confined air, which led to this dif-
COVETY.

One might have imagined that, fince common
air is neceflary to vegetable, as well as to animal
lite, both plants and animals had affected it in the
fame manner, and I own I had that expectation,

when

[vey 4

when I firft put a fprig of mint into a glafs-jar,.
ftanding inverted in a veflel of water; but when it
had continued growing there for fome months, I
found that the air would neither extinguifh a candle,
nor was it at all inconvenient to a moufe, which |
put into it.

The plant was not affected any otherwife than
was the neceflary confequence of its confined fitua-
tion; for plants growing in feveral other kinds of air,
were all affected in the very fame manner, Every
fucceffion of leaves was more diminifhed in fize than
the preceding, till, at length, they came to be no
bigger than the heads of pins. ‘The root decayed,
and the ftalk alfo, beginning from the root; and yet
the plant continued to grow upwards, drawing its
nourifhment through a black and rotten ftem. In
- the third or fourth fet of leaves, long hairy filaments.
grew from the infertion of each leaf, and fometimes
from the body of the ftem, fhooting out as far as
_the veffel in which it grew would permit, which, in
my experiments, was about two inches, In this
manner a {prig of mint lived, the old ftem decaying,
and new ones fhooting up in its place, but lefs and
lefs continually, ali the fummer feafon.

in repeating this experiment, care muft be taken
to draw away all the dead leaves from about the
plant, left they fhould putrefy, and affect the air.
I have found that a frefh cabbage leaf, put under a
glafs veflel filled with common air, for the fpace of
one night only, has. fo far affeéted the air, that a
eandle would not burn in it the next morning, and.
yet the leaf had not acquired any fmell of putrefac~
tion.. a

Fin ding:

[ 168 ]

Finding that candles burn very well in air in
which plants had grown a long time, and having
had fome reafon to think, that there was fomething
attending vegetation, which reftored air that had
been injured by refpiration, I thought it was pof-
fible that the fame procefs might alfo reftore the air
that had been injured by the burning of candles.

Accordingly, on the 17th of Auguft, 1771, I
put a {prig of mint into a quantity of air, in which
a wax candle had burned out, and found that, on
the 27th of the fame month, another candle burned
perfe@ly well in it. This experiment I repeated, with-
out the leaft variation in the event, not lefs than
eight or ten times in the remainder of the fummer.
Several times I divided the quantity of air in which
the candle had burned out, into two parts, and
putting the plant into one of them, left the other
in the fame expofure, contained, alfo, in a glafs
veffel immerfed in water, but without any plant ;
and never failed to find, that a candle would burn
in the former, but not in the latter. I generally
found that five or fix days were fufficient to reftore
this air, when the plant was in its vigour ; whereas
T have kept this kind of air in glafs veflels, immerfed in
water many months, without being able to perceive
that the leaft alteration had been made in it. I have
alfo tried a great variety of experiments upon it, as
by condenfing, rarefying, expofing to the light and
heat, &c. and throwing into it the effluvia of many
different fubftances, but without any effect.

Experiments made in the year 1772, abundantly
confirmed my conclufion concerning the reftoration
of air, in which candles had burned out by plants

growing

[ 169 ]

erowing in it. The firft of thefe experiments: was
made in the month of May; and they were frequently
tepeated in that and the two following months, with-
out a fingle failure.

For this purpofe I ufed the flames of different fub~
ftances, though I generally ufed wax or tallow
candles. On the 24th of June the experiment fuc-
ceeded perfectly well with air in which fpirit of wine
had burned out, and on the 27th of the fame month
it fucceeded equally well with air in which brim-
{tone matches had burned out, an efiec&t of which J
had defpaired the preceding year.

This reftoration of air ] found depended upon the
vegetating ftate of the plant; for though I kept a
great number of the frefh leaves of mint in a {mall
quantity of air in which candles had burned out,
and changed them frequently, for a long fpace of
time, I could perceive no melioration in the ftate of —
the air.

This remarkable effect does not depend upon any
thing peculiar to mint, which was the plant that I
always made ufe of till July 1772; for on the 16th
of that month, I found a quantity of this kind of
air to be perfectly reftored by {prigs of balm, which
had grown in it from the 7th of the fame month.

‘That this reftoration of air was not owing to any
aromatic effluvia of thefe two plants, not only ap-
peared by the effential oil of mint having no fenfible
effect of this kind; but from the equally complete
teftoration of this vitiated air by the plant called
groundfel, which is ufually ranked among the weeds,
and has an offenfive fmell. ‘This was the refult of
an experiment made the 16th of July, when the

VoL, LXI, Z plant

[. gee]

plant had been growing in the burned air from the-
8th of the fame month. Befides, the plant which L-

have found to. -be the moft effectual of any that I
have tried for this purpofe is fpinach, which is of
quick growth, but will feldom thrive long in water,
One jar of burned air was perfectly reftored by this.
~ plant in four days, and another in two days. This
_laft was obferved on the 22d of July. In general
this effect may be prefumed to have taken place in
much lefs time than I have mentioned ;. becaufe [
never chofe to make a trial of the air, till I was.

pretty fure, from preceding obfervations, that the |
event which I had expeéted muft have taken place, -
if it would fucceed at all; left, returning back that.,
part of the air on which I made the trial, and which .
would thereby neceffarily receive a {mall mixture of |
_ common air, the experiment might not be judged |
to be quite fair; though I myfelf might be fuffici- .
ently fatishied with refpect to the allowance that was |

to be made for. that {mall imperfection.

Uf.
Or INFLAMMABLE AIR.

T have generally made inflammable air in the

manner deferibed by Mr. Cavendifh, in the Philofo-.

phical ‘TranfaCtions, from iron, zinc, or tin; but
chiefly from the two former metals, on account of.
the procefs being the leaft troublefome: but. when:

1 extracted it from vegetable or animal fubftances,

or from coals, I put them .into a gun barrel, to the

orifice of which I luted a-glafs tube, or the ftem of.

a tO0=-

fe Oe
1 er

{ age 7]

a tobacco pipe, and to the end of this I tied a flaccid
bladder, in order to catch the generated air.

There is not, I believe, any vegetable or animal
fabftance whatever, nor: any mineral fubftance, that
is inflammable, but what will yield great plenty of
inflammable air, when they are treated in this man-
ner, and urged with a ftrong heat; but, in order to
get the moft air, the heat muft be applied as fuddenly,
and as vehemently, as poflible. For, notwithftanding
the fame care be taken in luting, and in every other
refpect, fix or even ten times more air may be got
by a fudden heat than by a flow one, though the
heat that is laft applied be as intenfe as that which
_ was applied fuddenly. A bit of dry oak, weighing
about twelve grains, will generally yield about a
fheep’s bladder full of inflammable air with a brifk
heat, when it will only give about two or three ounce
meafures if the fame heat be applied to it very
gradually. To what this difference is owing, I can-
not tell. - ;

Inflammable air, when it is made by a quick pro-
cefs, has a very ftrong and offenfive {mell, from
whatever fubftance it be generated; but this fmell is
of three different kinds, according as the air is ex-
tracted from mineral, vegetable, or animal fubftances.
The laft is exceedingly fetid; and it makes no differs
ence, whether it ‘be extracted from a bone, or even
an old and dry tooth, or from foft mufcular fleth, or
any other part of the animal. The burning of any
fubftance occafions the fame fmell: for the grofs
fume which arifes from them, before they flame,
is the inflammable air they contain, which is expelled
by heat, and then readily ignited. The {mell of in-

ZL 2 flammable

[ 172]

flammable air is the very fame, as far as Tam able to:
erceive, from whatever fubftance of the fame:
kingdom it be extracted. ‘Thus it makes no differ-
ence whether it be got from iron, zinc,. or tin, from:
any kind of wood, or, as was obferved before, from.
any part of an animal.
If a quantity of inflammable air be eusecinsdll In a:
_ giafs veflel Randing in water, and have been gene-
fated very faft, it will fmell even through the water,..
and this water will alfo foon become covered: with a:
thin film, affuming all the different colours. If the
inflammable air have been generated from. iron, this-
matter will appear to be a-red okre, or the earth of.
iron, as I have found by collecting a confiderable
quantity of it; and if it have been generated from.
zinc, it is a whitifh fubftance, which I-fuppofe to be:
the calx of the metal. It likewife fettles to the:
bottom of the veffel, and. when the water is ftirred,.
it has very much ie appearance of wool. When:
water is Once impregnated in this manner,.it wilh
continue to yield this {cum for a confiderable time
after the air is removed from it. This I have often:
obferved with refpect to iron.
Inflammable air, made by a violent effervefcence, I:
have obferved to. be much more inflammable than:
that which is made by a weak effervefcence, . whe--
ther the water or the oil of vitriol prevailed in the
mixture. Alfo the offenfive fmell was much.
{tronger in the former cafe than in: the latter.. ‘The
greater degree of inflammability appeared by. the
greater number of fucceflive explofions,when a candle.
was prefented to the neck of a phial filled with it.
It is poffible, however, that this diminution of in-
flammability

| [ 173 J
flammability may, in fome meafure, arife from the
air continuing fo much longer in the bladder when
it is made very flowly ; though I think the difference
is too great: for this caufe to have produced the.whole
of it.. It may,. perhaps, deferve to be tried by a:
different procefs, without a bladder.

Inflammable air is not thought to be mifcible-
with water, and when kept many months, feems, in:
general, to be as inflammable as ever. Indeed,
when it is extracted from vegetable or animal fub-
ftances, a part of it will be imbibed by the water in:
which it ftands ; but it may be prefumed, that in this.
cafe, there was a mixture of fixed air extracted from -
the fubftance along with it. I have indifputable.
evidence, however, that inflammable air, ftanding
long in water, has actually loft all its inflammability, |
and even come to extinguifh flame much more than :
that air in which candles have burned out. After:
this change it appears to be greatly diminifhed in:
quantity, and it fill continues to kill animals the.
moment they are put into it.

This very remarkable fact firft occurred to my ob-
fervation on the twenty-fifth of May 1771, when I:
was examining a quantity of inflammable air, which
had been made from zinc, near three years before. .
Upon this,.I immediately fet by a common quart.
bottle filled with inflammable air. from iron, and-
another equal quantity from zinc; and examining:
them in the beginning of December following, that.
from the iron was reduced near one half in quantity,
if I be not greatly miftaken; for I found. the bottle
half full of water, and I am pretty clear that it was
full of air when it was fet by. That which had

been

[ 174 ]
been produced from zinc was not altered, and filled
the bottle as at firft.

Another inftance of this kind occurred to my ob
fervation on the rgth of June 1772, whena quan-
tity of air, half of which had been inflammable air
from zinc, and half air in which mice had died, and
which had been put together the 3oth of July |
1771, appeared not to be in the leaft inflammable,
but extinguifhed flame, as much as any kind of air
that I had ever tried. I think that, in all, I have
had four inftances of inflammable air lofing its in-
flammability, while it {tood in water.

Though air tainted with putrefaction extinguithes
flame, I have not found that animals or vegetables
putrefying in inflammable air render it lef inflam-
mable. But one quantity of inflammable air, which
T had fet by in May 1771, along with the others
above mentioned, had had fome putrid flefh in it ;
and this air had loft its inflammability, when it was
examined at the fame time with the other in the De-
cember following. The bottle in which this air
had been kept, fmelled exa&tly like very ftrong
Harrowgate water. I do not think that any perfon
could have diftinguifhed them.

I have made plants grow for feveral months in
inflammable air made from zinc, and alfo from oak;
but, though the plants grew pretty well, the air ftill
continued inflammable. ‘The former, indeed, was
not fo highly inflammable as when it was frefh
made, but the latter was quite as much fo; and the
diminution of inflammability in the former cafe, I at-
tribute to fome other caufe than the growth of the

plant.
No

[ ong 3

No kind of air, on which I have yet made the
experiment, will conduét electricity ; but the colour
of a {park 1 is remarkably different in fome different
kinds of air, which feems to fhew that they are not.
equally good non-conduétors. In fixed air, the
electric fpark is piccedingy white ; but in inflam-
mable air it is of a purple, or red colour, Now,
fince the moft vigorous {parks are always the whiteft,
and, in other cafes, when the {park is red, there is,
reafon to think that the electric matter pafles with
difficulty, and with lefs. rapidity: it is poffible that
the inflammable air may contain particles which
condué electricity, though very imperfectly ; and that.
the whitenefs of the {park in the fixed air, may be
owing to its meeting with no conducting particles.
at all.. When an explofion was made in a quantity
of inflammable air, it was a little white in the
center, but the edges of it were ftill tinged with a
beautiful. purple, The degree of whitenefs in this.
cafe was probably owing to the electric matter rufh-
ing with more violence in an explofion than in a
common fpark.

Inflammable air kills animals as faddenly as fixed
air, and, as far as can be perceived, in the fame
manner, throwing them into convulfions, and there-
by occafioning prefent death. I had imagined that,
‘by animals dying in a quantity of indammable air,,
it would in time become lefs noxious; but this did
not appear to be the cafe; for I killed a great number
of mice in a {mall quantity of this air, which I kept
feveral months for this purpofe, without its being at

all. fenfibly mended; the laft, as well as the firft
moufe, dying the moment it was put into it.
shine ; I once

| [ 176 J

I once imagined that, fince fixed and inflammable
air are the reverfe of one another, in feveral remark-—
able properties, a mixture of them would make
common air; and while I made the nvixtures in
bladders, I imagined that I had fucceeded in my
attempt; but I have fince found that thin bladders
-do not fufficiently prevent the air that is contained in
them from mixing with the external air. Alfocorks
will not fufficiently confine different kinds of air,
unlefs the phials in which they are confined be fet
with their mouths downwards, and a little water lie
in the necks of them, which, indeed, is equivalent
to the air flanding in veffels immerfed in water. In
this manner, however, I have kept different kinds of
air for feveral years.

Whatever methods I took to promote the mixture
-of fixed and inflammable air, they were all ineffec-
‘tual, I think it my duty, however, to recite the
iffue of an experiment or two of this kind, in which
equal mixtures of thefe two kinds of air had ftcod
near three years, as they feem to fhew that they had
in part affected one another, in that long {pace of
time. ‘Ihefe mixtures I examined April 27, 1771.
One of them had ftood in quickfilver, and the other
in a corked phial, with a little water in it. On
opening the latter in water, the water inftantly rufhed
in, and filled almoft half of the phial, and very little
more was abforbed afterwards. In this cafe the water
in the phial had probably abforbed a confiderable part
-of the fixed air, fo that the inflammable air was
exceedingly rarefied; and yet the whole quantity
that mu{ft have been rendered non-elaftic was ten
‘times more than the bulk of the water, and it has

not

4.

[ avy]

not been found that water can contain much more

than its own bulk of fixed air. But in other cafes I
have found the diminution of. a quantity of air, and
efpecially of fixed air, to be much greater than I |
could well account for by any kind of abforption.
The phial which had ftood immerfed in quick-
filver had loft very little of its original quantity ; and
being now opened in water, and left there, along
swith a another phial, which was juft then filled, as
this had been three years before, with air half inflam-
mable and half fixed, I obferved that the quantity
of both was diminifhed, by the abforption of the
water, in the fame proportion. : |
Upon applying a candle to the mouths of the phials
which had been kept three years, that which had
ftood in quickfilver went off at one explofion, exe
actly asit would have done if. there had been a mix-
ture of common air, with the inflammable. As a
good deal depends upon the apertures of the veffels _
in which the inflammable air is fixed, I mixed the
two kinds of air in equal proportion in the fame
phial, and after letting it fand fome days in water,
that the fixed air might be abforbed, I applied a |
candle to it; but it made-ten or twelve explofions
(ftopping the phial after each of them) before the
inflammable matter was exhautted. is
The air which had been confined in the corked
phial exploded in the very fame manner as an equal
mixture of the two kinds of air in the fame phial,
the experiment being made as foon as the fixed air
was abforbed, as before; fo that, in this cafe, the two
kinds of air did not feem to have affeGted ene ano-
ther at all.
Vo. LXII. Aa Con-

«E178 J ae

Confidering inflammable air as air united to or
loaded with phlogifton, I expofed to it feveral fub-
ftances, which are faid to have a near affinity with
phlogifton, as oil of vitriol, and {pirit of nitre (the
former for above a month), but without sgt any
fenfible alteration in it.

I obferved, however,. that sf mibable air, mixed
with the fumes of fmoaking fpirit of nitre, goes off
at one explofion, exactly like a mixture of half com-
mon and half inflammable air. - This I tried feveral
times, by throwing the inflammable air into a phial
full of {pirit of nitre, with its mouth immerfed in a
bafon containing fome of the fame fpirit, and then
applying the flame of a candle to the mouth of the
phial, the moment that it was uncovered, after it
had been taken out of the bafon. This remarkable.
effe&t 1 haftily concluded to have arifen from the in
flammable air having been in. part deprived of its in-
flammability, by means of the ftronger. affinity,
which the {pirit of nitre had with phlogifton, and
therefore I imagined that by letting them ftand longer

in contaét, and efpecially by agitating them ftrongly
together, I fhould deprive the air of all its inflam-
mability ; but neither ef thefe operations fucceeded,
for ftill the air was only exploded at once, as before.
And laftly, when I paffed a quantity of inflammable ~
air, which had been mixed with the fumes of {pirit
of nitre, through a body of water, and received it in
another vefiel, it appeared not to have undergone
any change at all, for it went off in feveral fucceffive
explofions, like the pureft inflammable air. The
effect abovementioned muft, therefore, have been
ewing to the fumes of the {pirit of nitre fopplyitg
ES VERE

depen Shoe:
the place of common air for the purpofe of ignition,
which is analogous to other experiments with
nitre. }

Having had the curiofity, on the 25th of July
1772, to expofe a great variety of different kinds of
air to water out of which the air it contained had
been boiled, without any particular view; the refult
was, in feveral refpects, altogether unexpected, and
led to a variety of new obfervations on the properties
and aftinities of feveral kinds of air with refpect to
water. Among the reft three fourths of that which
was inflammable was abforbed by the water in about
two days, and the remainder was inflammable, but
weakly fo.

Upon this, I began to agitate a quantity of {trong
inflammable air in a glafs jar, ftanding in a pretty
large trough of water, the. furface of which was
expofed to the common air, and I found that when
I had continued the operation about ten minutes,
near one fourth of the quantity of air had difap-
peared; and finding that the remainder made an
effervefcence with nitrous air, I concluded that it
muft have become fit for refpiration, whereas this
kind of air is, at the firft, as noxious as any other
kind whatever. To afcertain this, I put a moufe
into a veffel containing 2 ounce meafures of it, and
obferved that it lived in it twenty minutes, which is
as long as a moufe will generally live in the fame
quantity of common air. This moufe was even
taken out alive, and recovered very well. Still alfo
the air in which it had breathed fo long was inflam-
mable, though very weakly fo. I have even found
it to be fo when a moufe has actually died in it.

Aa2 Inflam-

{180 ]}

Inflammable air thus diminifhed by agitation in.
water, makes but one explofion on the approach of
a candle exaétly like a mixture of inflammable air
with common air. eters ay

From this. experiment I concluded that, by con-.
tinuing the fame procefs, I fhould deprive inflam=
mable air of all its infammability, and this I found
to be the cafe; for, after a longer agitation, it ad-
mitted a. candle to burn in it, like common air, only:
more faintly ; and indeed by the teft of nitrous air-
it did not appear to be near fo good as common air.
Continuing the fame procefs ftill farther, the air
which had been moft ftrongly inflammable a little
before, came to extinguifh a candle, exactly like air:
in which a candle had burned out, nor could they
be diftinguifhed by the teft of nitrous air. rs

I found, by repeated trials, that it was difficult to:
catch the time in which inflammable air obtained:
from metals, in coming to extinguifh flame, was in
the ftate of common air, fo that the tranfition from,
the one to the other muft be very fhort. I readily,,
however, found this ftate in a quantity of inflam-
mable. air extracted from oak, which air I: had kept
by me a year, and in which a plant had grown,,
though very poorly, for fome part of the time... A.
quantity of this air, after being agitated in water till: -
it was diminifhed about one half, admitted a candle,
to burn in it exceedingly well, and was even hardly:
io be diftinguithed from common air by the teft of,
nitrous air, 2 pape

I took fome pains to afcertaia the quantity of di-
minution, in frefh made and very highly inflam=
mabie air from iron, at which it ceafed to be inflame.

mable,

[ 18: }

mable, and, upon the whole, I concluded that it was
fo when it was diminifhed a little more than
one half: for a quantity which was diminifhed
exactly one half had fomething inflammable in it,
but in the flighteft degree imaginable.

Finding that water would imbibe inflammable air,
I endeavoured to impregnate water with it, by the
fame procefs by which I had made water imbibe
fixed air; but though I found that diftiled water
would imbibe about one fourteenth of its bulk of in-
flammable air, I could not perceive that the tafte of
it was fenfibly altered.

IV.
Or AIR INFECTED WITH ANIMAL RESPIRATION,
OR PUTREFACTION.. -

_ That candles will burn only a certain time, ‘is a:
fact not better known, than it is that animals can.
live only a certain time, im: a given quantity of air ;
_ but the caufe of the death of the animal is not better:
known than that of the extin@tion of flame in the:
fame circumftances ; and when once any quantity of
air has been rendered noxious by animals breathing.
in it as long as they could, I do not know that any
methods have been difcovered of rendering it fit for.
breathing again. It is evident, however, that: there:
muft be fome provifion in nature for this purpofe, as.
well as for that of rendering the air fit for {uftaining-
flame; for without it the whole mafs of the atmo-
fphere would, in time, become unfit for the purpofe:
of animal life; and yet there is no reafon to think
that.itis, at prefent, atall lefs fit for refpiration.tham

if:

f ioe]
it has ever been. I flatter myfelf, however, that I
have hit upon two of the methods employed by na-
ture for this great purpofe. How many others there
may be, I cannot tell. .

When animals die upon being put into air
in which other animals have died, after breathing in
it as long as they could, it is plain that the caufe of
their death is not the want of any pabulum vita,
which has been fuppofed to be contained in the air,
but on account of the air being impregnated with
fomething ftimulating to their lungs; for they almoft
always die in convulfions, and are fometimes affected
fo fuddenly, that they are irrecoverable after a fingle
infpiration, though they be withdrawn immediately,
and every method has been taken to bring them to life
again. They are affected in the fame manner, when
they are killed in any other kind of noxious air that
I have tried, viz. fixed air, inflammable air, air
filled with the fumes of brimitone, infeéted with
putrid matter, in whicha mixture of iron filings and
brimftone has ftood, or in which charcoal has been
burned, or metals calcined, or in nitrous air, &c. .

If a moufe (which is an animal that I have com-
monly made ufe of for the purpofe of thefe experi-
ments) can ftand the firft fthock of this ftimulus, or
has been habituated to it by degrees, it will live a
confiderable time in air in which other mice will
die inftantaneoufly. I have frequently found that
when a number of mice have been confined in a
given quantity of air, lefs than half the time that
they have actually lived in it, a frefh moufe has been
inftantly thrown into convulfions, and died upon
being put to them, It is evident, therefore, —

the

[ 183)

the experiment of the Black Hole were to be re-
peated, aman would ftand the better chance of fur-_
viving it, who fhould enter at the firft, than at the
laft hour. I have alfo obferved, that young mice
will always live much longer than old ones, or than
thofe which are full grown, when they are confined
in the fame quantity of air. I have fometimes known
a young moufe to live fix hours in the fame. circum-
ftances in which an old moufe has not lived one.
On thefe accounts, experiments with mice, and, for
the fame reafon, no doubt, with other animals alfo,
have a confiderable degree of uncertainty attending
them; and therefore, it is neceflary to repeat them
frequently, before the refult can be abfolutely depend-
ed upon.. | ae
The difcovery of the provifion in nature for re-
_ ftoring air, which has been injured by the refpiration
of animals, having long appeared to me to be one of
the moft important problems in natural philofophy,
I have tried a great variety of fchemes in order to
effect it. In thefe, my guide has generally been to
confider the influences to which the atmofphere is,
in fact, expofed; and, as fome of my unfuccefsful
trials may be of ufe to thofe who are difpofed to take
pains in the farther inveftigation of this fubject, I
fhall mention the principal of them. )
The noxious effluvium with which air is loaded
by animal refpiration, is not abforbed by ftanding
without agitation in frefht or falt water. I have kept
it many months in frefh water, when, inftead of
being meliorated, it has feemed to become even more
deadly, fo as to require more time to reftore it, by
the methods which will be explained hereafter, than
air

air which has -been lately made noxious. I have
even {pent feveral hours in pouring this air from one
gilafs veflel into another, in water, fometimes as cold,
and fometimes as warm, as my hands could bear it,
and -have fometimes alfo wiped the veffels many
times, during the courfe of the experiment, in order
to take off that part of the noxious matter, which
might adhere to the glafs veflels, and which evi-
dently gave them an offenfive {mell; but all thefe
methods ‘were generally without any fenfible effec.
The motion, alfo, which the air received in thefe
circumftances, it is very evident, was of no ufe for this
purpofe. 3

This kind of air is not reftored by being expofed to
the light, or by any other influence to which it is
expofed, when confined in a thin phial, in the open
air, for fome months.

Among other experiments, I tried a great variety

of different efflavia, which are continually exhaling
into the air, efpecially of thofe fubftances which are
known to refift putrefaction ; but I could not by thefe
means effect any melioration of the noxious quality of
this kind of air.

Having read, in the Memoirs of the Imperial So-
ciety, of a plague not afflicting a particular village,
in which there was a large fulphur work, I imme-
diately fumigated a quantity of this kind of air; or
(which will hereafter appear to be the very fame

thing) air.tainted with putrefaction, with the fumes —

of burning brimftone, but without any effed.

I once imagined, that the nitrous acid in the air
might be the general reftorative which I was in
queft of; and the conjecture was favoured, by find-

ing

4
{

[ 185 ] |

ing that candles would burn, and animals live, ia
air extraéted from faltpetre. I therefore {pent a
good deal of time in attempting, by a burning-glafs,
and other means, to impregnate this noxious air
with fome effluvium of faltpetre, and, with the fame
view, introduced into it the fumes of the {moaking
fpirit of nitre; but both thefe methods were altoge-
ther ineffectual. rik Cag aes og

In order to try the effect of heat, I put a quantity
of air, in which mice had died, into a bladder, tied
to the end of the ftem of a tobacco-pipe, at the other
end of which was another bladder; out of which the
air was carefully prefied. I then put the middle
_ part of the ftem intoa chafing-difh of hot coals, |
ftrongly urged with a pair of bellows; and, prefling
the bladders alternately, I made the air pafs feveral
times through the heated part of the pipe. Ihave |
alfo made this kind of air very hot, ftanding in water -
before the fire. But neither of thefe methods were of
any ufe. id ots

Rarefaction and condenfation by inftruments were
alfo tried, but in vain.

‘Thinking it poflible that the earth might imbibe
the noxious quality of the air, and thence fupply the ~
roots of plants with fuch putrefcent matter as. is
known to be nutritive to them, I kept a quantity
of air, in which mice had died, in a phial,-one half
of which was filled with fine garden mould; but,
though it ftood two months in thefe circumftances,
it was not the better for it.

I orice imagined that, fince feveral kinds of air
cannot be long feparated from common air, by being
confined in bladders, in bottles well corked, or even

Vor. LAT Bb eo clofed

[ 186 ]

‘clofed with ground ftopples, the affinity between
this noxious air and the common air might be fo
great, that they would mix through a body of water
interpofed ‘between them; the water continually re-
ceiving from the one, and giving to the other, efpe-
cially as water receives fome kinds of impregnation.
from, I believe, every kind of air to which it is con+
tiguous; but I have feen no reafon to conclude, that
‘a mixture of any kind of air with the common air
can be produced in this manner. [ have kept air ia
which mice have died, air in which candles have
burned out, and inflammable air, feparated from.
the common air, by the flighteft partition of water
that { could well make, fo that it might not eva+
porate in a-day or two, if I fhould happen not to
attend. to them; but I found no change in them
after a month or fix weeks. ‘The inflammable air
was itill inflammable, mice died inftantly in the aie
in which other mice had: died before, and candles
would not burn where they had burned out before.

Since. air tainted with animal or vegetable pu-
trefaction is the fame thing with air rendered no-
xious by animal refpiration, I fhall now. recite the
obfervations which I have made upon this kind of air,-
before I treat of the method of reftoring them.

That thefe two kinds of air are, in- fact, the fame.
thing, I conclude from their having feveral remark-.
able common properties, and from their differing in»
nothing that I have been able to obferve. They:
equally extinguifh flame, they are equally noxious«
te animals, they are equally, and in the fame way,
offenfive. to the {mell, they are equally diminihed>
| ina

ee cuss |
in their quantity, they equally precipitate in lime-
water, and they are reftored by the fame means, —

‘Since air which has paffed through the lungs is the-
fame thing with‘air tainted with animal putrefaction,
it is probable that one ufe of the lungs is to carry off
a putrid efluvium, without which, perhaps, a living,
bedy might putrefy as foon as a dead one.

When a moufe putrefies i in apy given quantity of
air, the bulk of it is generally increafed for a few
days; but in a few days more it begins to fhrink up,”
and generally, in about eight or ten days, if the wea-_
ther be pretty warms, it wil i be found to be diminifhed "
2, or = of its bulk. If it'do not appear to be di-
minifhed after this time, 1t only requires to be pafled —
through water, and the diminution will not fail to.
be fenfible. I have fometimes known almoft the
whole diminution to take place, upen once or twice
pafling through the water. The fame is the cafe
with air, in which animals have breathed as long as:
they could. Alfo, air in which candles have burned
out may almoft always be farther reduced by this
means. All thefe procefles, as I obferved before,_
féem to difpofe the compound mafs of air to part
with fome conftituent part belonging to it; and this
being mifcible with water, mutt i brought inte
contact witht it, in order to mix with it to the
moft advantage, e{pecially when its union with the
other conftituent principles of the air 1s but partially
broken.

I have put mice into veffels which had theirmouths
immoerfed in quickfilver, and obferved that the air
was not much contra&ted after they were dead or
— but pon withdrawing the mice, and admitting

Bbz2 ee

[ 188 ]

lime-water to the air it immediately became turbid,
and was contracted in its dimenfions as ufual. .

I tried the fame thing with air tainted with putre-
faGtion, putting a dead. moufe to a quantity of
common air, in a veffel which had its mouth im-
-merfed in quickfilver, and after a week I took the
moufe out, drawing it through the quickfilver, and
obferved that for fome time there was an apparent
increafe of the air perhaps about 2.. After this,
it ftood two days in the quickfilver, without any
fenfible alteration ; and then admitting water to it,.
it began to be abforbed, and continued fo, till the
original quantity was diminifhed about 3. If, in-.
ftead of common water, I had made ufe of lime
water in this experiment, I make no doubt but it
would have become turbid.

Ifa quantity of lime-water in a phial be put under
a glafs veflel ftanding in water, it will not become
turbid, and provided the accefs of the common air
be prevented, it will continue lime-water, I do not
know how long ; but if a moufe be left to putrefy in
the vefiel, the water will depofit all its lime in a few
days. This may be owing to the fixed air being.
transferred from the putrid moufe into the water, and
yet it is evident that there is a putrid efHuvium intirely
diftin@ from this kind of air, and which has very:
different properties. |

It is a doubt with me, however, whether the
putrid effuvium be not chiefly fixed air, with the ad-
dition of fome other effluvium, which has the
power of diminifhing common air. The refem-
blance between the true putrid effuvium and fixed:
air in the following experiment, which is a¢ decifive

as

—

[ 189 ]

as I can poflibly contrive it, appeared to be very
great; indeed, much greater ce I had expected.
I put a dead moufe into a tall glafs veffel, and
having filled the remainder with quickfilver, and fet
it, inverted, in a pot of quickfilver, I let it ftand
_ about two months, in which time the putrid efluvium
iffuing from the moufe had filled the whole vefiel,
and part of the diffolved blood, which lodged upon
the {urface of the quikfilver, began to be ieee out.
I then filled another glafs veffel, of the fame fize and
fhape, with as pure fixed air as I could make, and
expofed them both, at the fame time, to a quantity
ef lime-water. In both cafes the water grew turbid
alike, it rofe equally faft in both the Sk and like-
wife equally high; fo that about the fame quantity
remained unabforbed by the water. One of thele
kinds of air, however, was exceedingly {weet and:
pleafant, and the other infufferably offenfive 5 one of
them alfo’ would have made an addition to any:
quantity of common air with which it had been
mixed, and the other would have diminifhed it.
‘This, at leaft, would have been the confequence, if

the moufe itfelf had putrefied in any quantity of air.
It feems to depend, in fome meafure, upon the
time, and other circumflances, in the diflolution of
animal or vegetable fubftances, whether they yield’
ng proper putrid effluvium, or fixed, or inflammable
; but the experiments iach Tiare made upon.

ai. fubje@, have not been numerous enough to.
enable me to decide with certainty concerning thofe
circumftances. Putrid cabbage, green, or boiled, in-
fects the air in the very fame manner as putrid animal:
fubftances, Air thus tainted is equally contracted:
is

4c i) aie

in its dimenfions, it equally extinguifhes flame, and’
is equally noxious to animals ; but they afiect the air’

very differently if the heat that is applied to them be
-confiderable. If beef or.mutton, raw, or boiled, be
placed fo near to the fire, that the heat to which it:
is expofed fhall equal, or rather exceed, that of the’
blood,a confiderable quantity of air will be generated
‘in a day or two, about :th of which I have generally
‘found to be abforbed by water, while all the reft was
inflammable ; but air generated from vegetables, in
‘the fame circumftances, will be almoft all fixed, and
‘no part of it inflammable. This 1 have repeated
again and again, the whole proceis being in quick-
‘ilver; fo that neither common air, nor water, had
any accefs to the fubftance on which the experiment
~was nade; and the generation of air, or, effluvium
of any kind, except what might be abforbed by
quick ilver, or reforbed by the fabftance itfelf, ee
? e diftinally noted.

A vegetable fubftance, after ftanding a day or two
dn ae? circumftances, will yield nearly all the air
that can be extracted from it, in that degree of heat ;
whereas an animal fubftance will continue to give
more air or efiluvium, of -fome kind of other, with
very little alteration, for many weeks. It is re-
markable, however, that though a piece of beef or
mutton, plunged in quickfilver, and kept in this de-
gree of heat, yield air, the bulk of which is inflam-
mable, and contracis no putrid {mell (at leaft, in a
day or two), a moufe treated in the fame manner,
yields the proper putrid effluvium, as, indeed the
imell {uficiently indicates; and this efluvium does

either
Zz

| C191 J
either itfelf extinguith flame, or hasin it fuch a mix-.
“ture of fixed air, as to give it that property.
That the putrid effuvium will mix with water
“feems to be evident from the following experiment.
If a moufe be put into :a jar full of water, ftanding
with its mouth inverted in another vefle! of water, a
-confiderable quantity of elaftic matter (and which
-may, therefore, be called air) will -foon be generated,
unlefs the weather be fo cold as-to check all putre-
fa&ion. After a fhort time, the water contracts a
extremely fetid and offenfive {mell, which feems to-
indicate that the putrid eMuvium ab aes water,
-and affects the neighbouring air; and fince, after this, ,
there is often: no viéreale of the air, that {eems to be.
the very fubftance which is carried off through the.
water, as faft as it is generated; and the offenfive -
fmell is a fufficient proof that it is not fxed air, For.
‘this has a very agreeable flavour, whether it be pro- -
duced by fermentation, or extracted from chalk by
oil of vitriol; affecting not only the mouth, but
even the noftrils, with a pungency which 1s pe-
‘culiarly pleafing to a certain degree, as any perfon .
may eafily fatisfy himfelf who will chufe to make
the experiment. H-the water in which’ the moufe
was immerfed, and which is faturated with the pu+
trid air, be changed, the ‘greater part of the: putrid :
air will, ina day or two, be abforbed, th 1ough: the
moufe contmues to yield the putrid effluviuin as be-
fore; for as foon as this frefh water becomes faturated
with it, it begins. to be offenfive to.the {mell; and .
the quantity of the putrid air upon its furface increa-
fes as before. I kepta moufe producing putrid air ins:
this manner for the {pace of feveral months...
Sis

[ 192 ]

Six ounce meafures of air not readily abforbed by
water, appeared to have been generated from one
moutfe, which had been putrefying eleven daysin con=
fined air, before it was put into a jar which was quite
~ filled with water, for the purpofe of this obfervation.

Air thus generated from putrid mice ftanding in
water, without any mixture of common air, ex-
tinguifhes flame, and is noxious to animals, but
not more fo than common air only tainted with pu-
trefattion. It is exceedingly difficult and tedious te
colleét a quantity of this putrid air, not mifcible in
water, fo very great a proportion of what 1s colle&-
ed being abforbed by the water, in which it is kept;
_ but what that proportion is, I have not endeavoured
to afcertain. |

Though a quantity of air be diminifhed by any
fubftance putrefying init, I have not yet found the
fame effect to be produced by a mixture of putrid air

vith common air; but, in the manner in whichI
have hitherto made the experiment, I was obliged
to let the putrid air, pais through a body of water;
which might inftantly abforb whatever it was in the
putrid fubftance, that diminifhed the common air.

Infeéts of various kinds live perfectly well in
air tainted with animal or vegetable putrefaction,
when a fingle infpiration of it would have inftantly
killed any animal. J have frequently tried the ex-
periment with flies and butterflies. I have alfo
oblerved, that the aphzdes will thrive as well wpon
plants growing in this kind of air, as in the open
air. I have even been frequently obliged to take
plants out of the putrid air in which they were
growing, on purpole to brufh away the a i

| thefe

[ 193 ]

thefe infe€&ts Which infe@ted them; and yet fo ef-
fectually did tome of them conceal themfeives, and
fo faft did they multiply, in thefe circumftances,
that I could feldom keep the Biante quite clear of
them.

When air has been frefhly and ftrongly tainted

with putrefaction, fo as to fmell through the water,
' fprigs of mint have prefently died, upon being put
into it, their leaves turning black; but if they do
not die. prefently, they thrive in a moft furprizing
manner. In no other circumftances have I ever
feen vegetation fo vigorous as in this kind of air,
~ which is immediately fatal to animal life. Though
thefe plants have been crouded in jars filled with this
air, every leaf has been full of life; frefh thoots
have branched out in various directions, and have
grown much fafter than other fimilar plants, grow-
_ ing in the fame expofure in common air.
This obfervation led me to conclude, that plants,
- inftead of affecting the air in the fame manner with
animal refpiration, reverfe the effets of breathing,
and tend to keep the atmofphere {weet and whole-
fome, when it is become noxious, in confequence
of animals living and breathing, or dying and pu-
trefying in it,

In order to afcertain this, I took a quantity of air,
made thoroughly noxious, by mice breathing and
dying in it, and divided it into two parts; one of
which I put into a phial immerfed in water; and to
the other (which was contained in a glafs jar, ftand-
ing in water) I put a {prig of mint. This was about
the beginning of Auguft 1771, and after eight or
nine days, I found that a moufe lived perfeCtly well

Vor. LXIL Cie in

. [ 194 J |
in that part of the air, in which the fprig of mint had
grown, but died the moment it was put into the
other part of the fame original quantity of air; and
which I had kept in the very fame expofure, but
without any_plant growing in it. - ;

This ccpeencded have feveral times repeated ;
fometimes ufing air, in which animals had breathed
and died; fometimes ufing air tainted with vege-
table or animal putrefaftion, and generally with
the fame fuccefs. |

Once, I let a moufe live and die in a quantity of
air, which had been noxious, but which had been
reftored by this procefs, and it lived nearly as long
as I conjeétured it might have done in an equal quan-
tity of frefh air; but, this is fo exceedingly various,
that it is not eafy to form any judgment from it;
and in this cafe the fymptom of dificult refpiration
feemed to begin earlier than it would have done in
common air.

Since the plants that I made ufe of manifeftly
grow and thrive in putrid air; fince putrid matter
is well known to afford proper nourifhment for the
roots of plants; and fince it is hkewife certain that
they receive nourifhment by their leaves as well as
by their roots, it feems to be exceedingly probable,
that the putrid effluvium is in fome meafure extrac-
ed from the air, by means of the leaves of plants, and
therefore that they render the remainder more fit for
refpiration.

Towards the end of the year fome experiments
- of this kind did not anfwer fo well as they had done
before, and I had inftances of the relapfing of this
reftored air to its former noxious ftate. I therefore

fufpended

[ 195 |
fufpended my judgment concerning the efficacy of
plants to reftore this kind of noxious air, till I
fhould have an opportunity of repeating my experi-
ments, and giving more attention to them. Ac-
cordingly I refumed the experiments in the fum-
mer of the year 1772, when I prefently had the
moft indifputable proof of the reftoration of putrid
air by vegetation; and as the fact is of fome im-
portance, and the fubfequent variation in the ftate
of this kind of air is a little remarkable; I think
it neceflary to relate fome of the faéts pretty cir-
cumftantially. ) :
The air, on which I made the firft experiments,
was rendered exceedingly noxious by mice dying in
it on the 2oth of June. Into a jar nearly filled
with one part of this air, I put a fprig of mint,
while I kept another part of it ina phial, in the
fame expofure; and on the 27th of the fame month,
and not before, I made a trial of it,, by introducing
a moufe into a glafs vefiel, containing 2% ounce mea-
fures filled with each kind of air; and I noted the
following fatts. |
When the veffel was filled with the air in which
the mint had grown, a very large moufe lived five
minutes in it, before it began to fhew any fign of
uneafinefs. I then took it out, and found it to be as
ftrong and vigorous as when it was firft put in;
whereas in that air which had been kept in the
phial only, without a plant growing in it, a younger
moufe continued not longer than two or three fe-
conds, and was taken out quite dead. It never
breathed after, and was immediately motionlefs.
After half an hour, in which time the larger moufe
Cc2 : (which

[ 196 ] |
(which I had kept alive, that the experiment might
be made on both the kinds of air with the very
fame animal) would have been fufficiently recruited,
fuppofing it to have received any injury by the
former experiment, was put into the fame velfel of
air; but though it was withdrawn again, after be-
ing in it hardly one fecond, it was recovered with
difficulty, not being able to ftir from the place for
near a minute. After two days, I put the fame
moufe into an equal quantity of common air, and
obferved that it continued feven minutes without
any fign of uneafinefs; and being very uneafy after
three minutes longer, I took it out. Upon the
whole, I concluded that the reftored air wanted
about one fourth of being as wholefome’as common
air. The fame thing alfo appeared when I applied:
the teft of nitrous air.

In the feven days, in which the mint was grow-
ing in this jar of noxious air, three old fhoots had
extended themfelves about three inches, and feveral
new ones had made their appearance in the fame
time. Dr. Franklin and Sir John Pringle happened:
to be with me, when the plant had been three or-
four days in this ftate, and took notice of its vigorous.
vegetation, and remarkably healthy appearance in
that confinement.

‘On the goth of the fame month, a monfe lived.
fourteen minutes, breathing naturally all the time,
and without appearing to be much unealy, till the
batt two minutes, in air which had been rendered.
noxious by mice breathing in it almoft a year before,
and which | had found to be moft highly noxious on

the roth of this month, a plant having grown in it,
but

[ 197 J

but notexceedingly well, thefe eleven days; on which
account, I had deferred making the trial fo long.
This reftored air was affected by a mixture of ni-
trous air, almoft as much as common air.

As this putrid air was thus eafily reftored to a
- confiderable degree of fitnefs for refpiration, by
plants growing in it, I was in hopes that by the
fame means it might in time be fo much more
perfectly reftored, that a candle would burn in
it; and for this purpofe I kept plants growing
in, the jars which contained this air till the
middle of Auguft following, but did not take fuffi-
cient care to pull out all the old and rotten leaves.
The plants,, however, had grown, and ‘looked fo
well upon the whole, that I had no doubt but that
the air muft conftantly have been in a mending
ftate; when I was exceedingly furprized to find,
on the 24th of that month, that though the air in
ene of the jars had not grown wortle, 1t was no.
better, and that the air in the other jar was fo much
worle than it had been, that a moufe would have ~
- died in it in.a few feconds. It alfo made no effer-
vefcence with nitrous air, as it had done before.

Sufpecting that the fame plant might be capable
of reftoring ‘putrid air to a certain degree only,,
or that plants might have a contrary tendency in
fome {tages of their growth, I withdrew the old
plant, and put a frefh one in its place; and found
that, after feven days, the air was reftored to its
former wholefome flate. This fact I confider.as a
very remarkable one, and well deferving of a far-
ther. inveftigation, asit may throw more light upon
the principles .of vegetation, It is not, Po

7 a fingle.

A

[ 198 J
a fingle fa& ; for I had feveral inftances of the fame
ing in the preceding year; but it feemed fo very
casa that air fhould grow worfe by the
continuance of the fame treatment by which it had
grown better, that, whenever I obferved it, I con-

cluded that I had not taken fufficient care to fatisfy
myfelf of its previous reftoration.

That plants are capable of perfectly reftoring air
injured by refpiration, may, I think, be inferred
with certainty from the perfect reftoration, by this
means, of air which had paffed through my lungs,
fo that a candle would burn in it again, though it
had extinguifhed flame before, and a part of the
fame original quantity of air ftill continued to do
fo. Of this one inftance occurred in the year 1771,
a fprig of mint having grown ina jar of this kind
of air, from the 25th of July to the 17th of Au-
guft following ; and another trial I Hidde with the
fame fuccefs the 7th of July 1772, the plant having
grown in it from the 29th of June preceding. In
this cafe alfo 1 found that the effect was not owing
to any virtue in the leaves of mint; for I kept them
conftantly changed in a quantity of this kind of
air, for a confiderable time, without »making sete
fenfible alteration in it.

Thefe proofs of a partial reftoration of air by
plants in a ftate of vegetation, though in a con-
fined and unnatural fituation, cannot but render it
highly probable, that the injury which iscontinually
done to the atmofphere by the refpiration of fuch
a number of animals, and the putrefaction of fuch
mafies of both vegetable and animal matter, is, in
part at leaft, repaired by the vegetable Bei

An

[ 199 J

And, notwithftanding the prodigious mafs of air
‘that is corrupted daily by the abovementioned caufes;
yet, if we confider the immenfe profufion of ve-
‘getables upon the face of the earth, growing in
places fuited'to their nature, and confequently at
full liberty to exert all their powers, both inhaling
and exhaling, it can hardly be thought, but that
it may be a fufficient counterbalance to it, and
that the remedy is adequate to the evil. —

Dr. Franklin, who, as I have already obferved,
faw fome of my plants in a very flourithing ftate,
in highly noxious air, was pleafed to exprefs very
great fatisfaction with the refult of the experi-
ments. In his anfwer to the letter in which I in-
_ formed him of it, he fays,

_. « That the vegetable creation fhould reftore the
«¢ air which is fpoiled by the animal part of it,
<* looks like a rational fyftem,. and feems to:be of
“¢ a piece with the reft. Thus fire purifies water
«¢ all the world over. It purifies it by diftillation,
‘¢ when it raifes it nm vapours, and lets it fall in
‘¢ rains and farther ftill by filtration, when, keep-
«+ ing it fluid, it fuffers that rain to percolate the
“ earth. We knew before, that putrid animal fub-
«¢ {tances were converted into: {weet vegetables,
‘¢ when mixed with the earth, and applied as
«¢ manure; and now, it feems, that the fame pu-
s¢ trid fubftances, mixed with the air, have a fimi-
«¢ lar effet. The ftrong thriving ftate of your
“. mint in putrid air feems to fhew. that the air is
«« mended by taking fomething from it, and not
sc by adding to it.’ He adds, «I hope this wilk
ss give fome check to the rage of deftroying trees

2. s¢ that

[ 200 |

“ that grow near houfes; which hds accompanied
«+ our late improvements in gardening, from an
<¢ opinion of their being unwholefome. Jam cer-
« tain, from long ob{ervation, that there is no- —
ee thhite: unhealthy in the air of woods; for we
«¢ Americans have every where our country habi-
*< tations in the midft of woods, and no peopleon |
“: earth enjoy better health, or are more prolific.”

Having rendered inflammable air perfe@tly in-
noxious by continued agitation in a trough of water,
deprived of its air, I concluded that other kinds of
noxious air might be reftored by the fame means;
and I prefently found that this was the cafe with
putrid air, even of more than a year’s ftanding. I
thall obferve once for all, that this procefs has ne-
ver failed to reftore any kind of noxious air on
~which I have tried it, viz. air injured by refpira-
tion or putrefaction, air infected with the fumes
of burning charcoal, and of calcined metals, air
in which a mixture of iron filings and brimftone,
or that in which paint made of white lead and oil -
has ftood, or air which has been diminifhed by a
mixture of nitrous air. Of the remarkable effec
which this procefs has on nitrous air itfelf, an ac-
count will be given in its proper place.

If this procefs be made in water deprived of air,
either by the air pump, by boiling, by diftillation,
or if frefh rain water be ufed, the air will always
be diminifhed by the agitation; and this is cer-
tainly the faireft method of making the experi-
ment. If the water be frefh pump water, there
will always be an increafe of the air by agitation,
the air contained in the water being fet loofe, and

joining

[ 20x }

joining that which is im the jar. Ih this cafe, alfor
the air has never failed to be reftored; but then it
might be fufpected ithat the melioration was pro-
duced by the addition of fome more wholefome
ingredient. As thefe agitations were made in jars
with wide mouths, and in a trough which hada
large furface expofed to the common air, I take it
fer granted that the noxious effluvia, whatever
they be, were firft imbibed by the water, and
thereby tranfmitted to the common atmofphere.
In fome cafes this was: fufficiently indicated by the
difagreéablé fmell which attended the operation.
After I had made thefe experiments; I was in-
formed that an ingenious phyfician and philofopher
had kept afowl alive twenty-four hour, ina quantity
of ait which another fowl of the fame fize had
not been able to live longer than am hour, by con-
triving to make the air, which it breathed, pafs
through no very large quantity of acidulated water,
the furface of which was not expofed to the commnion
air; and thateven when the water was not acidula-
ted, the fowl lived much longer than it could have
done, if the air which it breathed: had not been
drawn through the water. As I fhould not have
concluded that this experiment would have fucceed-
_ed fo well, from any obfervations that I had made
‘upon the fubjeét, I took a quantity of air in which
mice haddied, and agitated it very ftrongly, firft in
about five times its own quantity of diftilled water, in
the manner in which I had impregnated water with
fixed airs but though the operation was continued a
long time, it made no fenfible change in the pro-
perties'of the air, Palfo repeatéd the operation with
Vor, LX. . Dd pump

f 202 J
pump water, but with as little effect.. In this eafe,
however, though the air was agitated in a phial;,
which hada narrow neck, the furface of the water in.
the bafon was confiderably large, and expofed to the
common atmofphere, which muft have tended alittle
to favour the experiment. In order to.judge more
precifely of the effet of thefe different methods of
agitating air, I transfered the very noxious airs.
which 1 had not been able to amend:in the leaft des.
gree by the former method, into an open jar, ftand>
ing in a trough of water; and when I had agitated
it till it was diminifhed about one third, [found it
to be better than air,. in which candles had: burned®
out, as: appeared:by the teft of the nitrous air; and
a moufe lived in 2 3 ounce meafures. of it a. quarter of
an hour, and was. not fenfibly affected the firft ten.
or twelve minutes. i syil “oat 108

In order to.determine whether the addition of any.
acid to the water, would make it more capable of.
reftoring putrid air, I agitated. a. quantity of it in a:
phial containing very ftrong vinegars. and. after.
that in agua. fortis, only half.diluted with: water; .
but, by neither: of thefe procefles was the; air at.all.
mended, though the agitation was repeated at:inter--
vals during a. whole day; and it was.moreover. al=.
lowed to ftand in that fituation all night. .

Since, however, water:in thefe experiments muft
have imbibed and: retained a certain portion of. the.
noxious effluvia,. before they could be tranfmited to.-
the external air, I do not think it.mprobable but that.
the agitation of the fea and large lakes may be of.
fome ufe for the purification of the atmofphere,.
and. the putrid matter. contained in water may be
i hie ~ imbibed.

[.2037F

imbibed by aquatic plants, or be depofited in fore
other manner.

Having found, by feveral experiments boss
Speedie) that the proper putrid effuvium is fome-
thing quite diftine from fixed air, and finding, by
the experiments of Dr. Macbride, that fixed air cor-
rects putrefaction; I once concluded that this effe&
was produced, not by {topping the flight of the fixed
air, or reftoring to the putrefying dubftance.the
very fame. thing that had efcaped from -it; and
which was the common vinculum -of all its parts
(which is that ingenious author's hypothefis) but .
by an affinity between the fixed air and the putrid —
efluvium. It therefore occurred to me, that fixed
air, and air tainted with putrefaction,. though
equally noxious when feparate, might make a
wholefome mixture, the one correcting the other ;.
and I was confirmed in this opinion by, I believe,
not lefs than fifty or fixty inftances, in which. airs.
that had been made in the higheft degree noxious,
by refpiration or putrefaction, was fo far {weetened,
by a mixture of about four times as much fixed air:
that afterwards mice lived in it exceedingly well,:
and in fome cafes almoft as long as in common air.:
I found it, indeed, to be more difficult to reftore
old putrid air by this means ; but I hardly ever:
failed todo it, when the two kinds of air had ftood-
a long time together, by which I mean about a.
fortnight or three weeks. |

The reafon why I do not abfolutely Kaela, :
that the reftoration of air in thefe cafes was the,
effe& of fixed air, is that, when I made atrial of.
the: mixture, I fometimes agitated the two kinds,

Ddz of

Toso 1]

of air pretty ftrongly together, in a trough of

water, or at leaft pafled it feveral times through
the water, from one jar to another, that the {u-
perfluous fixed air might be abforbed, not fufpect-—
ing at that time that the agitation could have any

other effe&t; but having fince found that very vio-

lent, and efpecially long continued agitation in
water, without any mixture of fixed air, never
failed to render any kind of noxious air im fome
meafure fit for refpiration (and in one particular
inftance the mere transferring of the air from one
veffel to another through the water, though for 4
much longer.time than I ever ufed for the mix-
tures of air, was of confiderable ufe for the fame
purpofe) ;, 1 began to entertain fome doubt ef the
efficacy of fixed air, for that purpofe. In fome cafes
alfo the mixturé of fixed air had by no means fo

‘much effe& on the putrid air-as, from the genera-

lity. of my obfervations, I fhould have expected. |
I was always aware, indeed, that it might be.
faid, that, the refiduum of fixed air not bemg very
noxious, fuch an addition muft contribute to mend
the putrid air; but, in order to obviate this ob-
jection, I once mixed the refiduum of as much
fixed air as I‘had found, by a variety of trials, to
be fufficient to reftore a given quantity of putrid air,
with an equal quantity of putrid air, without’ mak-

ing any fenfible melioration of it. i dle
Upon the whole, I am inclined to think that.
this procefs could hardly have fucceeded fo well as.
at did with me, and in fo great a number of trials,
unlefs fixed air-have fome tendency to correc air?
tainted with refpiration or putrefaction; anditas
5 perfedtly

“ssh.

| [ 205 ]
perfectly agreeable to the analogy of Dr. Mac-
bride’s difcoveries, and may naturally be expected
from them, that it fhould have fuch an effea.
_ By a mixture of fixed air I have. made whole-
fome the refiduum of air generated by putrefac-
tion only, from mice plunged in water. This,
one would 1 imagine, @ priori, tobe the moft nox-
ious of all kinds of. air. For if common air only
tainted with putrefaction be fo deadly, much more
might, one expect that.air to be fo, which was ge-
nerated from putrefaction only ; but. it feemis to be
nothing more than common air. tainted with pu-
trefaction, and therefore requires no other. procefs.
to fweeten it. In tliis cafe, however, we feem to
have an inftance of the generation of genuine com-
mon air, though mixed with. fomething that is.
foreign to it. Perhaps the refiduum, of fixed air
may be another inftance of the fame nature.
_ Fixed air is equally diffufed through the whole
moafsof any quantity of putrid air with which itis.
mixed; for dividing the mixture into two equal
parts, they: were reduced in the fame. proportion
by paffing through water. But this is alfo the cafe
with fome of the kinds of air which will not incor-_
porate, asinflammable air, and air in which brim-
ftone has burned.

If, fixed air tend to eorreat air which has. been
mjured by animal refpiration. or putrefaction, lime-
kilns, which difcharge great quantities of fixed air,
may be wholefome in the neighbourhood of popu-
lous cities, the atmofphere of whach muft abound:
with putrid effluvia, 1 fhould think alfo that phy-

ficians might avail themfelves of the application
: of

—

_[Pes06 9)

ii fixed aif in many ‘putrid diforders;. {pecially as
it may be fo eafily adminiftered by way of clyfter,

where it would often find its way to much‘of the
‘putrid matter. Nothing is’to be appreliended: from
‘the diftention of the bowels by ‘this kind of ait,
fince itis fo readily abforbed by any fluid or. moift

‘fubftance. Since fixed-atr 1s not noxious per) ‘fe; but,
like fire, only in excefs, I do‘not*think it at all ha-

-zardous to attempt to breathe it. Tt is) however
‘eafily conveyed into the ftomach, in natural or

vartificial Pyrmont water, in brifkly fermenting di

‘quors, or a vegetable diet. It ts poffible, however,

‘that a confiderable quantity of fixed air might be
ambibed ‘by the abforbing veflels of the fkin, if the
whole body, except the head, fhould be fufpended
‘over a veflel of {trongly fermenting liquor; andiin
fome ‘putrid diforders this treatment might be very
falutary. If the body was expofed quite naked,
there would be very little danger from the cold in
this fituation, and the air having freer accefs to

‘the fkin might produce a greater effect. Being

no phyfician, Irun no rifk by throwing out thefe
random, and perhaps whimfical, propofals. ?
Having communicated my obfervations on fixed
air, and efpecially my fchemeof applying it by way
of clyfer in putrid diforders, to Mr. Hey, an in-
genious furgeon in this town, a cafe prefently oc-
curred, in which he had an opportunity of giving
it a trial; and mentioning it to Dr. Hird and Dr.

‘Crowther, two phyficians who attended the pa~

tient, they approved the fcheme, and it was put
im execution: both by applying the fixed air by
way of clyfter, and at the fame time making the

4 patient

‘ [ 2070 Je

patient drink plentifully of liquors ftrongly, impreg=-
nated with it.. ‘The event was fuch, that 1 requefted.
Mr. Hey, to draw-up a particular account.of the. cafe,
defcribing the whole of the treatment,. that the pub-:
lic might: be fatisfied that. this new. application. of.
fixed. air is perfeéily fafe, and alfo. have an. oppor=
tunity of judging how far it had the effect which’I:
expected from it; and as the application is new,.
and not unpromifing, I fhall beg leave to fubjoin his:
letter to me on the tubje&t, by way. of Appendix tor
thefe papers... Fitissere

mW

si be a ; }
©r AIR. IN WHICH A MIXTURE OF BRIMSTONE:
AND FILINGS OF IRON HAS. STOOD..

- Finding in Dr. Hales’s account of his experiments, —
that there was a great diminution of the quantity of.
air in which a mixture of powdered brimftone and
filings of iron, made into a pafte with water,had ftood,
Trepeated the experiment, and found the diminution:
greater than I had expeéted. ‘The diminution of-
air by this procefs is made as effectually, and ‘as ex-
peditioufly, in. quickfilver'as in water ;-and it may"
be meafured with the greateft accuracy, becaufe there.
is neither any previous expanfion-nor increafe: of’ the
quantity of air, and becaufe it is fome time before:
it begins to have any ‘fenfible effect. The: dimi-
nution of air by this procefs is.various; but I have
: | generally:

ss

#[ 208°]

generally found it to ‘be between © and * of the
_whole. — at 3
_ Air thus dimmifhed is not heavier, but rather
lighter than common air; and though lime-water
_ does net become turbid when it is expofed to this
air, it is probably owing to the formation of a felenitic
falt, as wasthe cafe with the fimple burning of brim-
ftone abovementioned. That fomething proceeding —
from the brimftone ftrongly affects the water whiclt
is confined in the fame place with this brimftone, is
manifeft from the very ftrong {mell that it has of the
volatile {pirit of vitriol. I conclude the diminution
of air by this procefs is of the fame kind with the
diminution of it in the other cafes, becaufe when this |
mixture is put into air which has been previoufly
diminifhed, cither by the burning’ of candles, by
re{piration, or putrefaGtion, though it never fails to
diminifh it fomething more, it is, however, no far-
ther than this procefs alone would have done it.
If a frefh mixture be introduced into a quantity of
air which had been reduced by a former mixture,

it has littl or no farther effect. eu
Lobferved, that when a mixture of this kind was
taken out of a quantity of air in which a candle had
before burned out, and in which it had ftood for fe-
veral days, it was quite cold and biack, as it always
becomes in a confined place; but it prefently grew
vety hot, {moaked copioufly, andfmelled very of-
fenfively ; and when it was cold, it was brown, like
the ruft of iron. .
_ TL once puta mixture of this kind to a ‘quantity of
inflammable air, made from iron, by which means
at was diminifhed + or ,{, in its bulk; but, as far as
I could

{ 300° 7) + .
I could judge, it was ftill as inflammable as ever.
Another quantity ef inflammable air was alio redus
' ced in the fame proportion, by a moufe putrefying
in it; but its inflammability was not feemingly
leffened. : :

Air diminithed by this mixture of iron filings and
brimftone, is exceedingly noxious to animals, and
I have not perceived that it grows any better by
keeping in water. The {mell of it is very pun-
gent and offenfive.

The quantity of this mixture which I made ufe of
in the preceding experiments, was from two _to four
ounce meafures; but I did not perceive, but that
the diminution of the quantity of air (which was
generally about twenty ounce meafures) was as great
-with the fmalleft, as with the largeft quantity. How
fmall a quantity is neceflary to diminifh a given
quantity of air to a maximum, I have made no ex-
periments to afcertain.

As foon as this mixture of iron filings, with brim-
ftone and water, begins toferment, it alfo turns black,
and begins to {well, and it continues to do fo, till it
occupies twice as much fpace as it did at firft; and
the force with which it expands 1s great; but how
great it is I have not endeavoured to determine. ,

When this mixture is immerfed in water, it gene-
rates no air, though it becomes black, and fwells.

Vor. LXII, rs E Ce VI, Oe

{ 310 ]

Vi.
OFr Nrrrowvs Arr.

Ever fince I firff read Dr. Hales’s mot excellent:

Statical Effays, I was particularly ftruck with that

experiment of his, of which an account is given,

Vow. lL. p. 224, and Vol. Hl. p. 280; in:which.
common air, and air generated from the Walton
pyrites, by fpirit of nitre, made.a turbid red mix-
ture, and in which part of the common air was ab-

forbed';. but I never-expedcted:'to have the fatisfaction: —
of feeing this remarkable appearance, fuppofing it to.

be peculiar to that particular mineral... Happening
to mention this fubje&t to the Hon. Mr. Cavendith,

when I was in London, in the fpring of the year

1772, he faid that he did not imagine but that

other kinds of pyrites might anfwer as-well as that-
which Dr. Hales-made ufe of,. and. that probably

the red appearance of the mixture depended upon:

the {pirit of nitre only. ‘This. encouraged me to-

attend to the fubject ; and having no pyrites, I be-

gan with the folution of the different:metals in {pirit .

of nitre, and catching the air. which was generated in.

the folution, I prefently found what I wanted, and
a good deal more.

Beginning with the folution of brafs, on the 4th of *

“

June 1772, 1 firft found this remarkable fpecies of .

air; one effect of which, though it was cafually ob-
ferved by Dr. Hales, he gave but-little attention to ;

and which, as far as 1 know, has paffed altogether -

unnoticed fince his time, infomuch that no name has

been given toit, I therefore found myfelf, contrary »

to:

[ arr J

to my firft refolution, under an abfolute neceffity of
giving a name to this kind of air myfelf. When 1
firft began to {peak and write of it to my friends, I
happened to diftinguifh it by the name of nitrous air,
becaufe I had procured it by means of fpirit of nitre
only; and though I cannot fay that I altogether like
the term, becaufe this air is not got from all the me-
tals by the fame fpirit, neither myfelf. nor any
of my friends, to whom I have applied for the pur-
pofe, have been able to hit upon a better; fo that
i am obliged, after all, to content myfelf with it.

I have found that this kind of air is readily pre-
cured from iron, copper, brafs, tin, filver, quickfl-
ver, bifmuth, and nickel, by the nitrous acid only,
and from gold and the regulus of antimony by aqua
regia. The circumftances attending the folution of
each of thefe metals are various, but hardly worth
mentioning, in treating of the properties of the air
which they yield, which, from what metal foever it
is extracted, has, as far as I have been able to ob-
ferve, the very fame properties.

One of the moft confpicuous properties of this kind
of air is the great diminution of any quantity of com~
mon air with which it is mixed, attended with a tur=
bid red, or deep orange colour, and a confiderable
heat. The finell of it, alfo, is very trong, and re-
markable, but very much refembling that-of {moking

_ {pirit of nitre. 3
The diminution of a mixture of this and common
air is not an equal diminution of beth the kinds,
which is all that Dr. Hales could obferve, but of the
common air chiefly, though not wholly. For if one
ameatnre of nitrous air be put to two meafures of
a 6/2 common

i a

common air, ina few minutes (by which time the

effervefcence will be over, and the mixture will have
recovered its tranfparency ) there will want about one
ninth of the original two meafures. I hardly know
any experiment that is more adapted to amaze and

furprize than this is, which exhibits a quantity of —

air, which, as it were, devours a quantity of another
kind of air half as large as itfelf, and yet is fo far from
gaining any addition to its bulk, that it is diminifhed
by it. If, after this full faturation of common air with
nitrous air, more nitrous air be put to it, it makes an
addition equal to its own bulk, without producing
the leaft rednefs, or-any’ other vifible effec.

That this diminution is chiefly in the quantity of
common air, is evident from this obfervation, that if
the fmalleft quantity of common air be put to any
larger quantity of nitrous air, though the two toge-
ther will not occupy fo much {pace as they did fepa-
rately, yet the quantity will be ftill larger than that
of the nitrous air only. One ounce meafure of com-

mon air being put to near twenty ounce meafures of -

nitrous air, made an addition to it of about half an
ounce meafure. ‘This, however, being a much greater
proportion than the diminution of common air, in the
former experiment, feems to prove that part of the
diminution in the former cafe is in the nitrous air.
Befides, it will prefently appear, that nitrous air is
fubjec&t to a moft remarkable diminution ; and as
common air, in a variety of other cafes, fuffers a di-
minution from one fifth to one fourth, I conclude,
that in this cafe alfo it does not exceed that propor-
tion, and therefore that the remainder of the dimi-
nution refpects.the nitrous air.

In

[ 23 ]

In order to judge whether the water contributed
tothe diminution of this mixture of nitrous and
common air, I made the whole procefs feveral
times in quickfilver, ufing one third of nitrous,
and two thirds of common air, as before. In this
cafe the rednefs continued a very long time, and
the diminution was not fo great as when the mix-
tures had been made in water, there remaining one
feventh more than the original quantity of com-
mon air, ‘This mixture ftood all night upon the
quickfilver ; and the next morning I obferved that
it was no farther diminifhed upon the admiffion of _
water to it, nor by pouring it feveral times through —
the water, and letting it ftand in water two days.
Another mixture, which ftcod about fix hours on
the quickfilver, was diminifhed a little more upon
the admiffion of water, but was never lefs than
the original quantity of common air, In another
eafe, however, in which the mixture ftood but a
very fhort time in quickiilver, the farther dimi-
nution, which took place upon the admiflion of
water, was much more confiderable; fo that the
diminution, upon the whole, was very nearly as
great as if the procefs had been intirely in water.
It is evident from thefe experiments, that the di-
minution is in part owing to the abforption by
the water; but that when the mixture is kept a.
Jong time, in a fituation in which there is no
water to abforb any part of it, it acquires a con-
ftitution, by which it is afterwards incapable of
being abforbed by water.

In order to determine whether the fixed part of

common air was depofited in the diminution of it
by

{ erg ]

‘by nitrous:air, 1 tnclofed a-veffel-full of lime wa-
ter in the jar in which the procefs was made, but
it occafioned no precipitation ef the lime; and

‘when the veflel was taken out, after it had been

‘in that fituation a whole day, the lime was eafily

: precipitated by breathing into it as ufual.

Itis exceedingly remarkable that this effervefcence
-and diminution, occafioned by the mixture of ni-
‘trous air, is peculiar to common air, or air ft for
ire{piration 5 and, as far as I can judge, from a
‘great number of obfervations, is at leaft very
‘nearly, .if not-exaétly, in proportion to its fitnels
‘for this purpofe; fo that by this means the good-
nefs of air may be diftinguifhed much more accu-
rately‘than it can be done by putting mics, or any
-other animals, to breathe init. This was a moft
-agreeable difcovery to me, as I hope it may be an |
uleful one to the public; efpectally as, from this
time, I had no occafion for fo large a {tock of mice
as 1 had been ufed to keep for the purpofe of thefe
“experiments, ufing them only in thote which re-
«guired to be very decifive; and in thefe cafes I have
feldom failed to know beforehand in what manner
they would be affected.

It is alfo remarkable that, on whatever account.
-air is unfit for refpiration, this fame teft ts equally
applicable. Thus there is not the leaft efferve-
{cence between nitrous and fixed air, or inflamma-
-ble air, or any fpecies of diminifhed air. Alto the
meee of diminution being -from nothing at all to
-more than one third of the whole of any quantity
-of alr, we are by this means in pofleffion of a pro-
dicioutly large fcale, by which we may diftinguith

a! VCVY

) [eased -
very fmall degrees of difference in the goodnefs
of air. } have not attended much to this circum-
ftance, having ufed this teft chiefly for greater
differences; but, if I did not deceive mylelf, I
have perceived a real difference in the air of my

fludy, after a few perfons have been with me in.

it, and the air on the outfide of the houfe. Alfoa

phial of-air having been fent me, from the neigh-.

‘bourhood of York, it appeared not to be fo good
as the air near Joeeds;-thatis, it: was not dimi-
nifhed fo-much by an equal mixture of nitrous air,
every. other circumftance being as nearly the fame

2

as I could contrive. It may perhaps be poflible, .
but I have not yet attempted it, to diftinguith |
fome of the. different winds, or the air-of: i different :

times of the year, by this teft.

By means of this teft ] was able to determine
what I was-before in doubt about, viz. the kind as -

well as the degree of injury done to air by candles

burning init. I-could not tell with certainty by

means of mice, whether it was at all injured-with

refpect:to-refpiration ;.and yet if<nttrous -air may
be depended upon for furnifhing am accurate teft, it -
muft be rather-more than one third worfe than:

common air, and. have: been -diminifhed by the.

fame general caute of the other diminutions of air.

For when, .after. many trials, .1 put. one» meafure ©

of thoroughly-putrid and highly noxious air, into

the fame © Al with two meatures: of good whalec- -

fome air, and into another veflel an equal quan-
tity, wz. three meafures of air in which a candle
bad burned out; and then put equal. quantities of
nitrous air. to ee of them, the former was di-
minifhed rather more than the. latter... It agrees

with

, ie
[ ere fj

with this obfervation, that-burned air is farther
dimininifhed both by putrefaction, and a mixture
of iron filings and brimftone; and I therefore,
take it for granted, by every other caufée of the
diminution of air. It is probable, therefore, that
‘burned air is air fo far loaded with phlogitton, as
to be able to extinguith a candle, which it may
do long before it is fully faturated. —~

Inflammable air with a mixture of nitrous air
burns with a green flame. This makes a very
pleafing experiment when it is properly conducted.
As, for fome time, I chiefly made ufe of copper
for the generation of nitrous air, I firft afcribed
this circumftance to that property of this metal,
by which it burns with a green flame; but I was
prefently fatisfied that it muft arife from the fpirit
of nitre, for the effeét is the very fame from which-
ever of the metals the nitrous air is extracted, all
of which I tried for this purpofe, even filver and.
gold. A mixture of oil of vitriol and fpirit of
nitre in equal proportions diffolved iron, and the
produce was nitrous air; but a lefs degree of {pirit
of nitre in the mixture produced air that was in-
flammable, and which burned with a green flame.
It alfo tinged common air a little red, and dimi-
nifhed it, though not much.

The diminution of common air by a mixture of
nitrous air, is not fo extraordinary as the diminu-
tion which nitrous air itfelf is fubje& to 'from a
mixture of iron filings and brimftone, made into a
pafte with water. This mixture, as I have already
obferved, diminifhes common air between one
fifth and one fourth, but has no fuch effect upon

7 _ any

eee |
‘ay kind of air that has been diminifhed, and re1s-
dered noxious by any other procefs; but when it
is put to a quantity of nitrous air, it. dimi-
nifhes it fo much, that no more than one fourth
of the original quantity will be left. The effeét
of this procefs is generally pereeived in five or fix
hours, about which time the vifible effervefcence
of the mixture begins; and in a very fhort time
it advances fo rapidly, that m about an hour almoft
the whole effe& will have taken place. If it be
fuffered to ftand a day or two longer, the air will
ftill be diminifhed farther, but only a very little
farther, in proportion to the firft diminution. The
glafs jar, in which the air and this mixture have
been confined, has generally been fo much heated
in this proces, that I have not been able to
touch it.

Nitrous air thus diminifhed has not the peculiac
fmell of nitrous air, but fmells juft like common
air in which the fame mixture has ftood; and tt
is not capable of being diminifhed any farther, by
a frefh mixture of iron and brimitone. :

Common air faturated with nitrous air is alfo
no farther diminifhed by this mixture of iron
filings and brimftone, though the mixture fer-
ments with Ett heat, and {wells very much
in it.

Plants die very foon, both in nitrous air, and
alfo in common air faturated with nitrous air, but
ef{pecially in the former:

Neither nitrous air, nor common air faturated ~
with nitrous air, differs in fpecific gravity from
common air, or, at leaft, fo little; that I could

Voz. LXII. Fr not

f 218 J

not be- fire of: it, fometimes. about - three pints. of
it feeming to be about half a grain. heavier, and at
other times-as-much lighter than common air.

Having, among other kinds of air, expofed a.
quantity of nitrous air, to water out of which the:
air had been well boiled, in the: experiment to:
which [have more than once referred, as having
been the occafion of feveral new and important ob-
fervations, I found that 1° of the whole was ab-
forbed. Perceiving, to my great furprize, that fo:
very great a proportion. of this kind of air was
mifcible with water, I immediately. began to agi-.
tate a confiderable quantity of it,.m a jar ftanding
in a trough of the fame kind of water ;- and withs
about four times.as much agitation as fixed air re-.
quires, it was fo far abforbed. by the water,. that-
only about: one fifth remained: This remainder:
extinguifhed flame,. and was. noxious to: animals...
Afterwards I diminifhed’a pretty large quantity of.
it to one eighth of its original bulk, and the re-.
mainder {till retained much of. its peculiar. fmell,.
and diminifhed common air a little. A moufe-
alfo died in-it, but not fo. fuddenly as. it would: -
have done in pure nitrous air. In this operation.
the peculiar {mell of nitrous air is very manifetts,
the water being. firft impregnated : with. the air,,
and then. tran{mitting it. to the common: atmof-
phere.

This experiment gave me the hint: of impreg-
nating water with nitrous air, in the manner in.
which I had before done it with:fixed air; and IT:
prefently found that diftilled water would imbibe
about one tenth of its bulk of this ‘kindof air, one

“that:

EL at]

that it acquired a remarkably acid and aftringent
tafte from it. The fmell of water thus impreg-
nated is at firft peculiatly pungent. 1 did not
chufe to fwallow any of it, though, for any thing
that I know, it may be perfectly innocent, and. -

perhaps, in fome cafes, falutary. :
‘This kind of air is retained very obftinately by
water. In an exhaufted receiver a quantity of
water thus faturated emitted a whitifh fume, fuch
as fometimes iffues from bubbles of this air when
it is firft generated, and alfo fome air bubbles;
but though it was fuffered to ftand a long time
in this fituation, it ftill retained its peculiar tafte;
but when it had ftood all night pretty near the
fire, the water was become quite vapid, and had
depofited a filmy kind of matter, of which I had
often collected a confiderable quantity from the
trough in which jars containing this air had ~
ftood. This I fuppofe to be a precipitate of the —
- metal by the folution of which the nitrous air was
generated. I have not given fo much attention to it
as to know, with certainty, in what circumftances
this depofit is made, any more than I do the mat~
ter depofited from inflammable air abovementioned ;
for I cannot get it, at leaft in any confiderable
quantity, when I pleafe; whereas I have often
found abundance of it, when I did not expeé it
at all. | |
_ The nitrous air with which I made the firft im-
pregnation of water was extracted from copper ; but
when I made the impregnation with air from quick-
filver, the water had the very fame tafte, though
the matter depofited from it feemed to be of a dif-
fo eee er eierene

/

&

f 220. |
rent ind’; for it was whitith, whereas the othe.
iad a. yellowith tinge.. Except the firft’ quantity
of: this impregnated water, I could never deprive;
any more that I made of its peculiar tafte. T have -
even let fome of it ftand: more than a week, in
phials with their mouths open, and* fometimes
very near the. fire,. withaut. producing any.altera-.
tion in it. :

Whether any of the {pirit of ‘nitre: be properly |
contained in the nitrous air; and* be mixed witix:
the water.in this operation, I’ have not yet endea-.
voured to determine... This, however, may. pro=.
bably be the cafe, as. the fpirit of Mitre is in a con -
fiderable degree volatile.

It will’ perhaps be thought, that the moft ufe- -
ful, if not the moft remarkable, of all the proper-..
ties. of this extraordinary kind of air, is its power.
of preferving animal. fubftances from. putrefac- .
tion, and of reftoring thofe- that are already’
putrid, which it pofieffes ina far- greater degree.
than fixed air. My firft obfervation, ofthis was-.
altogether cafual. Having found nitrous air to’;
fuffer fo great a diminution as I have already men«
tioned by a mixture of iron filings and brimftone, .
I was willing to try whether it would be equally
diminifhed by other caufés- of the diminution of*
common air,. efpecially by ‘putrefaétion ; -and. for
this purpofe I put a-dead.moufe into a quantity of”:
it, and placed it near the fire, where the ten-
dency to putrefaction was very. great, In this:
cafe there was a confiderable-diminution, viz. from:
52 to 323; but not fo great as Dhad expected, the

antifeptic power of the nitrous air having checked’
the

| [: 22rh ].

the tendency to putrefattion;' for when, after a
-week, I took the moufe out, I perceived, to my

very great furprize, that it had no offenfive {mell.
Upon this I took two other mice, one of them
juit killed, and the other foft and putrid, and put -
them both into the fame jar-of nitrous air, ftand- -
ing in the. ufual temperature of the weather, in»
the months of July and Auguft of 17725. and’
after 25 days, having obferved that there was little
_ or no change in the quantity of the air, I took the -
mice.out;: and, examining them, found them both -
perfealy fweet, even when cut through in:all:
places. That which. had:beem put: into the air
when juft dead was quite firm; and the fleth of the ©
other, which had been putrid and foft, was {til -
foft; but perfectly {weet.:.
In order to-compare-the SatdenutuoMel of this -
kind ofair with that of fixed air, I examined a -
~ mowfe which I had inclofed in a phial full of fixed .
air, as pure-as I could ‘make it, and which: I ‘had
corked very:clofe; but upon opening this: phial in .
water, about’a ‘month after, I. perceived that a :
Jarge quantity of putrid effluvium had been genes -
rated; for it-rufhed with violence out of the phial ;
and the fnrell that:came from it, the moment the -
cork was taken. out, was :infufferably- offenfive, .
Indeed Dr, Macbride fays, that he-could only reftore ©
very thin pieces of putrid: flefh by means of fixed -
air: Perhaps the .antifeptic.power of thefe. kinds.
of air may be in-proportion to.their acidity. Ifa
little pains were: taken: with this fubje&t, this re-
markable antifeptic. power of: nitrous: air: might:
poflibly : be. saat various ufes, perhaps to. the
prefervation

[ 222 |

prefervation of the more delicate; birds, fithes,, fruits,
&¢. Mixing it in different proportions with coma
mon or fixed air. Of this property of nitrous air
anatomifts may perhaps avail themfelves, as animal
fubftances may by this means be preferved in their
natural foft ftate; but how long it will anfwer for
this purpofe, experience only can thew... 1.

‘I calcined lead and tin in the manner hereafter
defcribed in: a quantity of nitrous air, but with
very little fenfible effet; which rather furprized
me; as, from the refult of the experiment with the
iron filings and brimftone, 1 had expected a very
great diminution of the nitrous arr by this procefs,
the mixture of iron filings and brimftone, and the
calcination of metals, having the fame effect upon
common air, both of them diminifhing it m eit
the fame proportion.

Nitrous air is procured from all the proper mes
tals by fpirit of mitre, except lead, and from all
the femi-metals that I have tried, except zinc. . For
this purpofe 1 have ufed bifmuth and nickel, with
fpirit of nitre only, and regulus of antimony and
platina, with aqua regia.

I got little or no air from lead by fpirit of nitrey
vand have not yet made any experiments to afcer=
tain the nature of this folution. With zinc I have

taken a little pains. ss

Four penny weights and feventeen grains: -of zinc
diflolved in fpirit of nitre, to which as much water;
was added, yielded about twelve ounce meafures of,
air, which had, in fome degree, the properties of
nitrous air, making a flight effervefcence with com~:

amon air, and diminifhing it about as much asini-
trous

{ 223 |
trous.air, which had been itfelf diminithed one half
by wafhing in water. The {mell of them both was
alfo the fame; fo that I eoncluded it to be the fame
ice’ that part of the nitrous air which is im-
bibed by water being retained in this folution. ,
In order to difcover whether this was the cafe, I
made the folution boil in a fand heat. Some air
came from.it in this ftate, which feemed to be the
fame thing, as nitrous air diminifhed about one fixth,
er one eighth, by wafhing in water. When the
fluid part was evaporated, there remained a brown.
fixed fubftance,. which was obferved by Mr. Hel-.
lot, who defcribes it, Ac. Par. 1735, M. p. 35..
A part of this f threw into a fmall"red hot cruci--
ble; and covering it immediately with a receiver,.
ftanding i in water, I obferved that very denfe red
fumes-rofe from it, and filled the receiver. This.
rednefs continued about as long as that which ‘is.
eccafioned by a mixture of nitrous and common.
air; the air.was alfoconfiderably diminifhed within:
SHE eaves This fubftance, . therefore, muft cer-
tainly have contained within it the very fame
thing, or principle, on which the peculiar pro-
perties. of nitrous air depend. It is remarkable,
however, that though the air within the: receiver~
was diminifthed about one fifth by this procefs, it.
was itfelf as much affected with a mixture of ni-
trous air, as common air is, and’a candle burnt in:
it very well. ‘This may perhaps be attributed to.
fome effec of the fpirit of nitre, in the compofitions
ef that brown fubftance.
Nitrous air, I find,. will be confiderably dimi--
nifhed in its bulk by flanding a long time in wa--
: tery.

[ 224 7 ;
ster, about as much as inflammable air is ditt:
nifhed in the fame circumftances. -For~ this pur-
pofe I kept for fome months a quart bottle full of
_ .each of thefe kinds of airs but as different quanti-
-ties of inflammable air vary very much in this re- .
{péect, it.is not improbable but that.nitrous air may
vary alfo.

From one trial that I made, I coeds that ni-
‘trous air may be kept 1 in a bladder much better than
moft other kinds of air. The air to which I refer
was kept about a fortnight in a bladder, through
which the peculiar {fmell of the nitrous air was
‘very fenfible for feveral days. In aday or two the
‘bladder became red, and was much contracted im
its dimenfions. ‘The air within it had loft very
little of its peculiar property of diminifhing com-
mon air.

I did not endeavour to afcertain the exact quan-
tity of nitrous air produced from given quantities
of all the metals which yield it; but the few ob-
fervations which I did make for this purpofe I fhall
recite in this place:

dwt. gr.

6 o of filver yielded 172 ounce meafures
5 19 of quickfilver 42

I. 24 of copper 144

2 0 of brats 21

o 20. of iron 16

t. 5 of bifmuth 6

a

1z2 of nickel A
| VIL. Or

[ 225]

VIE.

Or AIR INFECTED WITH THE FUMES OF BURN-
ING CHARCOAL,

Air infected with the fumes of burning charcoal
is well known to be noxious; and the Honourable
Mr. Cavendifh favoured me with an account of fome
experiments of his, in which a quantity of common
air was reduced from 180 to 162 ounce meafures,
by paffing through a red-hot iron tube filled with
the daft of charcoal. This diminution he afcribed
to fuch a deftruction of common air as Dr. Hales
imagined to be the confequence of burning. Mr.
Cavendith alfo obferved, that there had been a gene-
ration of fixed air in this procefs, but that it was
abforbed by fope leys. ‘This experiment I alfo re-
peated, with a fmall variation of circumftances, and
with nearly the fame refult.

Afterwards, I endeavoured to afcertain, by what
‘appears to me to be an eafier and a more certain me-
thod, in what manner air is affected with the fumes
of charcoal, viz. by fufpending bits of charcoal
within glafs veflels, filled to a certain height with.
water, and ftanding inverted in another veffel of
water, while I threw the focus of a burning mirror,
or lens, upon them. Inthis manner I diminifhed a
given quantity of air one fifth, which is nearly in
the fame proportion with other diminutions of air.

Some fixed air feems to be contained in charcoal,
and to be fet loofe from it by this procefs; for if I
made ufe of lime-water, it never failed to become

VoL, LX, Gro turbid,

f a36 2
turbid, prefently after the heat was applied. This was:
the cafe with whatever degree of heat the charcoal had
been made. If however, the charcoal had not beenmade-
witha very confiderable degree of heat, there neverfailed:
to be a permanent addition of inflammable air pro-

~~ duced; which agrees with what I obferved before,.

that, in converting dry wood into charcoal, the greateft:
part is changed into inflammable air. I have fome-
times found, that charcoal which was made with the
moft intenfe heat of a f{mith’s fire, which vitrified:
part of a common crucible in which the charcoal was:
confined, and which had been continued above half.
an hour, did not diminith the air in which the focus.
of a burning mirror was thrown upon it; a quantity
of inflammable air equal to the diminution of the
common air being generated in.the procefS; whereas,
at other times, 1 have not perceived: that there was:
any generation of inflammable air, but a perfect
diminution of common air, when the charcoal had:
been made with a much lefs degree of heat. This
fubject deferves.to be farther inveftigated.

To make the preceding experiment with ftill more:
accuracy, L repeated it in quickfilver ; when I perceived:
that there was a fmall increafe of the quantity of air, ,
from a generation either of fixed. or inflammable air,.
but Efuppofe of the former. Thus it ftood without.
any alteration a whole night, and. part of the following
day ;, when lime-water, being admitted to it, it pre=
fently became turbid, and, after fome time,. the
whole quantity of air, which was about four ounce:
meafures, was diminifhed one fifth, as before.. In.
this cafe, I carefully weighed the piece of charcoal,
which was exactly two grains, and could: not find.

that

(227 ]

that it was fenfibly diminifhed in weight by the
operation. ; |

Air thus diminifhed by the fumes of burning char-
coal not only extinguifhes flame, but is in the higheft
degree noxious to animals; it makes no effervefcence
with nitrous air, and is incapable of being diminifhed
any farther by the fumes of more charcoal, by a
mixture of iron filings and brimftone, or by any other
caufe of the diminution of air that I'am acquainted
with. |

This obfervation, which refpeéts all other kinds
of diminithed air, proves that Dr. Hales was muif-
taken in his notion of the abforption of air in thofe
circumftances in which he obferved it. For he fup-
pofed that the remainder was, in all cafes, of the
fame nature with that which had been abforbed, and
that the operation of the fame caufe would not have
failed to produce a farther diminution ; whereas all my
obfervations not only fhew that air, which has once
been fully diminifhed by any caufe whatever, is not only
incapable of any farther diminution, either from the .
fame or from any other caufe, but that it has likewife
acquired new properties, moft remarkably different —
from thofe which it had before, and that they are,
in a great meafure, the fame in all the cafes. Thefe
circumftances give reafon to fufpect, that the caufe
of diminution is, in reality, the fame in all the cafes.
What this caufe is, may, perhaps, appear in the
next courfe of obfervations,

Ge 2 | VII.

oe | r 228 Tt

VII.
OF THE EFFECT OF THE CALCINATION OF ME=
TALS, AND OF THE EFFLUVIA OF PAINT MADE
WITH WHITE-LEAD AND OIL, ON AIR.

Having been led to fufpect, from the experiments
which I had made with charcoal, that the diminu-
tion of air in that cafe, and perhaps in other cafes
-alfo, was, in fome way or other, the confequence
of its having more than its ufual quantity of phlo-
sifton, it occurred to me, that the calcination of
metals, which are generally fuppofed to confift of
nothing but a metallic earth united to phlogifton,.
would tend to afcertain the fact, and be a kind of
experimentum crucis in the cafe. Accordingly, I fuf-
pended pieces of lead and tin in given quantities of

air, in the fame manner as I had before treated the ~

charcoal ; and throwing the focus of a burning mir-
ror or lens upon them, in {uch a manner as to make
them fume copioufly, I prefently perceived a dimi-

nution of the air. {[n the firft trial that I made, I

reduced four ounce meafures of air to. three, which
is the greateft diminution of common air that Thad
ever obferved before, and which I account. for, by
fuppofing that, in other cafes, there was not only a
caufe of diminution, but caufes of eddition alfo, either:
of fixed or inflammable air, or fome other perma-

nently elaftic matter, but that, the effect of the.

calcination of metals being fimply the efcape of phlo-

gifton, the caufe of diminution was alone and un-

controuled,

The:

[ 229 ]

The air, which I had thus diminithed by calcina-
tion of lead, I transferred into another clean phial,
but found that the calcination of more lead in it had
no farther effet upon it. This air alfo, like that
which had been infeéted with the fumes of charcoal,
was in the higheft degree noxious, made no eats
vefcence with nitrous air, was no farther diminifhed
by the mixture of iron filings and brimftone, and was
not only rendered innoxious, but alfo recovered,
In a great meafure,. the other properties of common
air, by. wafhing in water. |

It might be fufpected that the noxious quality of.
the air in which lead was calcined,, might be owing
to fome fumes peculiar to that metal;, but. I found no
fenfible difference between the properties of this air,
and that in which tin was calcined.

‘The water over which metals are pelea acquires
a yellowifh tinge, and an exceedingly pungent timell
and tafte, pretty much, as near as L-can recollect, for
I did not compare them together, like that over.
which. brimftone has been frequently burned. Allo:
a thin and whitith pellicle covered both the furface
of the water, and likewile the fides of the phial in
-which the caicination was made, infomuch that;,
without frequently agitating the water, it grew {fo
opaque by this conftantly accumulating incruftation,,
that the fun beams could not be tranfmitted through
it in a quantity. fufficient.to. produce the calcination..

J imagined, however, that, even when this air was:
transferred into a clean. phial, the metals were not fo.
eafily melted or calcined as they were in frefh air,
for the air being once fully faturated with phlosifton,
may not fo.readily admit any more, thoughit be only

tas

[ 230 J
to tranfmit it to the water. I alfo fufpetted that
metals were not eafily melted or calcined in inflam-
‘mable, fixed, or nitrous, air, or any kind of di-
minithed air. None of thefe kinds of air fuffered
any change by this operation; nor was there.any pre-
cipitation of lime, when charcoal was heated in any
of thefe kinds of air ftanding in lime-water. |

Query. May not water impregnated with phlo-
gifton from calcined metals, or by any other method,
be of fome ufe in medicine? The effect of this im-
pregnation is exceedingly remarkable ; but the prin-
ciple with which it 1s impregnated is volatile, and —
entirely efcapes in a day or two, if the furface of
the water be expofed to the common atmofphere.

It fhould feem that phlogifton is retained more
obftinately by charcoal than it is by lead or tin; for
when any given quantity of air is fully faturated
with phlogifton from charcoal, no heat that I have
yet applied has been able to produce any more effect
upon it; whereas, in the fame circumftances, lead
_and tin may ftill be calcined. The air, indeed,
.can take no more; but the water receives it, and the
fides of the phial alfo receive an addition of incruft-
ation. This is a white powdery fubftance, and well
deferves to be examined. I fhall endeavour to do it
at my leifure.

Lime-water ‘never became turbid by the-calcina-
tion of metals over it; but the colour, {mell, and
tafte of the water was always changed, and the
furface of it became-covered with a yellow pellicle,
as before.

When this procefs was made in quickfilver, the air
was diminithed only one fifth ; and upon water being

3 admitted

Da3r]

admitted to it, no more was abforbed; which is an
effe& fimilar to that of a mixture of nitrous and
¢ommon. air, which was mentioned before.

The preceding experiments on the calcination of
metals fuggefted to me a method of explaining the
caufe of the mifchief which is known to arife from
frefh paint, made with white lead (which I fuppofe
is an imperfect calx of lead) and oil. To verify
my hypothefis, I firft put a {mall pot full of this.
kind of paint, and afterwards (which anfwered much:
better, by expofing a greater furface of the paint) I
daubed feveral pieces of paper with it, and put them.
under a receiver, and obferved, that. in about twenty--
four hours, the air was diminifhed between one fifth:
and one fourth, for I did not meafure it very exactly.
This air alfo was, as I expected to find it, in the:
higheft degree, noxious ; it did not effervefce with.
nitrous air, it was no farther diminifhed by a. mix-
ture of iron filings and brimftone, and was made:
wholefome by agitation in water deprived of all air.

I think it appears pretty evident, from the preced—
ing experiments on the calcination of metals, that air
is {ome way or other diminifhed in confequence of:
being highly charged with phlogifton, and that agi-
tation in water reftores it, hy imbibing a great part:
of the phlogiftic matter. That water has a confider--
able affinity with phlogifton, is evident from the
{trong impregnation which it receives from it. May
not plants alfo reftore air diminifhed: by putrefaction,.
by abforbing part of the phlogifton with which it is
loaded? ‘The greater part of a dry plant, as well as
ef a dry animal fubftance, confifts of inflammable
air, or fomething that.is capable of being converted.

into.

le) i) ' TEs 48 Ee
as ae a, ae

into inflammable air ; and it feems to be as probable ;
that this phlogiftic matter may have been imbibed by

the roots and leaves of plants, and afterwards aoe. an

corporated into their fubftance, as that it is altogether —
produced by the power of vegetation. May not this
phlogiftic matter be even the moft effential part of
the food and fupport of both vegetable and animal
bodies? :
In the experiments with metals, the diminution of —
air feems to be the confequence of nothing but a—
faturation with phlogifton ; ; and in all the other cafes
ef the diminution of air, I do not fee ‘but that it
may be effected by the fame means. When a vege-
table or animal fubftance is diffolved by putrefaction,
the efcape of the phlogiftic matter (which, together
with all its other conftituent parts, is then let loofe
from it) may be the circumftance that produces the
diminution of the air in which it putrefies. It is
highly improbable that what remains after an animal
body has been thoroughly diflolved by putrefaction,
fhould yield fo great a quantity of inflammable air,
as the dried animal fubftance would have done.
Of this I have not made an actual trial, though I
have often thought of doing it, and ftill intend to
do it; but I think there can be no doubt of the
effi Again, the iron, by its fermentation with
brimf{tone and water, is evidently reduced to a calx,
fo that phlogifton muft have efcaped from it. Phlo-
gifton alfo muft evidently be fet loofe by the ignition
of charcoal, and 1s not improbably the matter which _
flies off from paint, compofed of white lead and oil.
Laftly, fince fpirit of nitre is known to havea very
remarkable affinity with phlogifton, it is far from -
being

{233 J
being Sipisaatle that nitrous air may alfo produce

the fame effect by the fame means.
To this. hypothefis 1t may be objected, ‘that, if

‘diminithed air be air faturated with phlogifton, it

ought to be inflammable; but this by no means
follows, fince its inflammability may depend upon
fome particular mode of combination, or degree of
affinity, with which we are not acquainted. Befides,
inflammable air feems to confift of fome other prin-
ciple, or to have fome other conftituent part, befides

phlogifton and common air, as is probable from that.

remarkable depofit, which, as I have obferved, is
made by inflammable air, both from iron and zine.
It is not improbable, however, but that a greater
degree of heat may inflame that air which ex~-
tinguifhes a common candle, if it could be conveni-
ently applied. Air that is inflammable, I obferve,

extineuifhes red hot wood; and indeed inflammable

fubftances can only be thofe which, in a certain de-

“gree of heat, have a lefs affinity with the phlogifton
_ they contain, than the air, or fome other contiguous
fabftance, has with it; fo that the phlogifton only

‘quits one fubftance, with which it was before com-

‘bined, and enters another, with which it may be
RS eae in a very different manner. ‘This fubftance,
however, whether it be air or any thing elfe, being
now fully faturated with plilogifton, and ‘hot being
able to take any more, in the fame -circumftances,
muft neceflarily extinguifh fire, and put a ftop to
the ignition of all other bodies, that is, to the farther

efcape of .phlogifton from them.
That plants reftore noxious air, by imbibing the

| phlogifton with which it is loaded, is very agreeable to

VoL, LX, Hh the

As) a

he ee 3 re ? ty z + en
Je oe en : ons

the conjeCures of Dr. Pranklig® caede aan ears:
ago, and expreffed in the following: extra fro the:
laft edition of his Letters, p. 346. = yess
« T have been inclined to think tee thelial fe. $a i 3
« as well as the fluid ar, is attrated by plantsin =
« their growth, and becomes confolidated with the" ag
«* other, materials of which they are formed, and:
« makes a great part of their fubftance; that, ‘when.
« they come to be digefted, and to fuffer in the:
«« veflels a kind of fermentation, part of the fire, as;
és well as part of the air, recovers its fluid active ftate.
«¢ again, and diffufes ieee in. the body, digefting and.
««: feparating it; that the fire fo reproduced, by di-. _
‘¢ geftion. and feparation, continually leaving the: —
** body, its place is fupplied by frefh quantities,,
‘* arifing from the continual feparation; that what-
“‘ eyer quickens the motion of the fluids in an ani-
ss mal quickens the feparation, and re-produces
«© more of the fire, as exercife; that all the fire
<< emitted by wood, and other combuftibles, when.
«¢ burning, exifted in.them before, in a folid’ ftate,
«© being only difcovered when feparating ; that fome:
é¢ foffils, as fulphur, fea-coal, &c. contain a great.
«© deal of felid fire; and that, in fhort, what efcapes-.
** and is diflipated in the burning Of. bodies, befides :
«« water and earth, is generally the air, and fire, ,
‘© that before made parts of the folid.”

TX.
Or AIR PROCURED BY MEANS OF SPIRIT OF SALT

Being very much ftruck with the refult of an ex-
eee of the Hon. Mr. Cavendifh, related Phil.
Tranf,

SOR WN ge eae A aes. ie Past
it re =i ¥ a

Aug [ae te a
Tranf. Vol. LVI. p. 157. by which, though, he

fays, he was not able to get any inflammable air

‘from copper, by means of {fpirit of falt, he got a
“much more remarkable kind of air, vz. one that
loft its elafticity by coming into-contaG with water,

I was exceedingly defirous of making myfelf ac-
quainted with it. On this account, I began with
making the experiment in quickfilver, which I never
failed to do in any cafe in which I fufpected that air

“ might either be abforbed by water, or be in any other

manner affected by. it; and by this means I prefently

got a much more diftinG idea of the nature and

effects of this curious folution. os :
‘Having put fome copper filings into a fmall phial,

with a quantity of {pirit of falt; and making the air,

which was generated In great plenty, on the appli-
cation of heat, afcend into a tall glafs veffel full of
quickfilver, and ftanding in quickfilver, the whole
produce continued a confiderable time without any -
change of dimenfions. I then introduced a’
fmall quantity of water to it, when about three
fourths of it (the whole being about four ounce
meafures) prefently, but gradually, difappeared, the
quickfilver rifing in the veffel. I then introduced a
confiderable quantity of water; but there was no
farther diminution of the air, and the remainder I

found to be inflammable. ;
Having frequently continued this procefs a long
time after the admiffion of the water, I was much
amufed with obferving the large bubbles of the newly -
generated air, which came through the quickfilver,
the fudden diminution of them when they came to
the water, and the very {mall ‘bubbles which went
Th 2 through

Baditgsse f.2g6°F yb ee
through:the water: ‘They made, however, 2 conti:
nual,. though flow, increafe of inflammable air.
__ Fixed air, being admitted to the whole produce of ©
this air from copper, had no fenfible effect upon it.
Upon. the admiffion of water, a great. part of the- geet
mixture, which, no doubt, was the moft fubtle: =
Kind of air. from the copper, prefently difappeared ;.
another part, which I fuppofe to have been the fixed —
air, was abforbed flowly ;. and in: this particular cafe-
the very {mall permanent refiduum: did not take fire 3.
but it:is very. poflible that it might have done fo, if:
the quantity had been.greater. )

_ Lime-water being admitted to the whole produce:
of air from copper became white;. but this I fufpect- ;
to have arifen from fome other circumftance than the:
precipitation of the lime which. it contained..

The folution of lead in the marine acid is attended:
with the very. fame phenomena as the folution of:
copper in the fame acid; about three. fourths of the-
generated air difappearing on the contact of water,..
and the remainder being inflammable. |

The folutions-of iron, tin, and zinc, in the. marine.
acid, were all attended with the fame phenomena as-
the folutions of copper and lead, but in-a lefs degree3.
for in iron one eighth,. in tin one fixth, and in zinc::
-one tenth of-the generated air difappeared onthe con-:

tact with water. The remainder of the air: from:
iron, in-this cafe, burned with.a green, or very light:
blue flame. |

I had always thought it fomething extraordinary:

that a fpecies of air fhould lofe its elafticity. by the.
mere contact of any thing, and from the firft. faf-
pected that it muft have been imbibed by. the isc

that:

‘

[ 237 ] |
tliat was admitted to it; but fo very great a quantity
of this air difappeared upon the admiffion of a very
fmall quantity of water, that I could not help con-
cluding that appearances favoured the former hy-
yothefis. I found, however, that when I admitted.
a much fmaller quantity of water, confined in a.

narrow glafs tube, a part only of the air difappeared, .

and, that very flowly, and that more of it vanifhed.
upon the admiffion of more water. This obfer-.
vation put it beyond a doubt, that this air was pro-
perly imbibed: by the water, which, being once fully:
faturated with it, was not capable of receiving any-
more. ‘The water thus impregnated tafted very

acid, even when it was much diluted with other:

water, through which the tube containing it was.

drawn. It even diffolved iron very faft, and gene--

rated inflammable air. This laft obfervation, toge--
ther with another which immediately follows, led:
me to the difcovery of the true nature of this re--

markable kind of air, as it had hitherto been called.
Happening, at one time, to ufe a good deal of
copper and a {mall quantity of: fpirit of falt, in the ge-
neration of this kind of air, I was furprized to find that:
air was produced long after, I could not but think that
the acid muft have been faturated with the metal ;,
and I alfo found that the proportion of inflammable:
air to that which was abforbed by the water con-.
tinually diminithed, till, inftead of being one fourth.
of the whole as I had firft obferved, it was-not fo:
much as one twentieth. Upon this, I. concluded:
that this fubtie air. did not arife- from the copper,
but from the fpirit: of falt; and prefently making:
the experiment with the acid only, without any cop-
4 PEF -

! 7 238, ‘ie ‘Sy
‘per, of metal of: Ae kind, Milks ais Wes; mmeaaly, rl
~ produced in as great plenty. as before’;fo thatthte » 40= =
remarkable kind of. air is, in fact; nothing moter
than the vapour, or fumes of {pirit of falt, which =
appear to be of {uch a nature, that they are not liable .
: to be condenfed by cold, like the vapour of water, ee
4. and other fluids. ‘This vapour, however, feemsto
* lofe its elafticity, in fome meafure, gradually, unless
it fhould be thought to be affected by the quick-» .
filver, with which it is in conta@t; for it was ke ’
diminifhed, more or lefs, by ftanding. cor
This elattic acid vapour extinguifhes flame, and 15",
much heavier than common air; but how much
heavier, will not ‘be eafy to afcertain. A cylindrical
glafs veffel, about three fourths of an inch in dia=
meter, and four inches deep, being filled with it,
and turned upfide down, a lighted candle may be
let down into it more than twenty times before it
will burn at the bottom. It is pleafing to obferve
the colour of the flamein this experiment; for both
before the candle goes out, and alfo when it is firft
lighted again, it burns with a beautifully green, or
rather light blue flame, fuch as is deen when com-
mon falt is thrown into the fire. F
When this elaftic vapour is all expelled from any
quantity of fpirit of falt, which is eafily perceived
by the vapour being condenfed by cold, the re-
mainder is a very si Gor acid, barely capable of dif-
folving iron.
Being now in the tree ie of a new fubject of
experiments, v2. an elaftic acid vapour, in the
form of a permanent air, eafily procured, and

effeftually confined by glafs and quickfilver, with
which

3

[239]
which it did not feem to have any affinity; I im-
mediately began to introduce a variety of fub-
ftances to it, in order to afcertain its peculiar pro-
perties and affinities, and alfo the properties of thofe
other bodies with refpect to it. >

Beginning with water, which, from’ preceding
obfervations, I knew would imbibe it, and be-.
come impregnated with it; 1 found that 23 grains ~
of rain water abforbed three ounce meafures of this
vapour, after which it was increafed one third in its:
bulk, and weighed twice as much as before; fo
that this concentrated vapour feems to be twice as
heavy. as rain water. Water impregnated with it:
makes the ftrongeft fpirit of falt that [have feen,,..
diffolving iron with the moft rapidity. Confe=.
quently, two thirds of the beft f{pirit of falt is no=
thing more than mere phlegm or water.

Iron filings, being admitted to this vapour, were
diffolved by it pretty faft, half of the vapour dif-.
appearing, and the other half becoming inflammable:
air, not abforbed: by: water. Putting chalk to it,,
fixed air was produced.

T had not introduced many fub{tances to this vas
pour, before I difcovered that it had an affinity with.
phlogifton; fo that it would deprive other fubftances:
of it, and form with it fuch an union as conftitutes
inflammable air; which feems to fhew, that inflam-
mable air univerfally confifts of the union of fome
acid vapour with phlogifton.

Inflammable: air was produced, when to this.
vapour I put fpirit of wine, oil of olives, oil of. .
turpentine, charcoal, phofphorus, bees-wax, and
even. fulphur. This. laft obfervation, I own, fur=

| prized:

fa
>.

(iby aa a

prized: me ; for,. the marine acid ba recktnad the “He
- -weakeft of the three mineral acids, I did not think —
‘that it had been capable of diflodging the oil ef -
vitriol from this fubftance; but I found that it. had
‘the very fame effe&t both upon alum and nitre;, the
‘vitriolic acid in the former cafe, and the nitrous in
‘the latter, giving place to the ftronger vapor of
Apirit of falt..

The ruft of iron, and the stécipinate of nitrous air

‘made from copper, alfo imbibed this vapour very
faft, and the little that remained of it was inflame

mable air; which proves, that thefe calces cons

‘tain phlogifton. It feems alfo to be pretty evi-
‘dent, from this experiment, that the precipitate
above-mentioned i is a real calx of the metal, by the

folution of which the nitrous air is generated.
As fome remarkable .circumftances attend the ab-=

forption of this vapour of fpirit of falt, by the fub-

{tances above-mentioned, I fhall briefly mention
them.

Spirit of wine abforbs this vapour as sgadily as
water itfelf, and is increafed in bulk by that means.
Alfo, when it is faturated, it diffolves iron with as

smuch rapidity, and ftill ‘sp pdte inflammable,

Oil of olives abforbs this vapour very flowly, and,

-at the fame time, it turns almoft black, and becomes

glutinous. It.is alfo lefs mifcible with water, and
acquires a very difagreeable fmell. By. continuing
upon the furface of the water, it became white, and
its offenfive {mell went off in a few days.

Oil of turpentine abforbed this vapour very faft,
turning brown, and almoft black. No inflammable
air was formed, till I raifed more of the yapour than

igae 0 eae tastes the

j/

[ 241 | |
the oil was able to abforb, and let it fand a confi-
derable time; and ftill the air was but weakly in-
flammable. The fame was the cafe with the oil of
olives, in the laft mentioned experiment; and it
feems to be probable, that, the longer this acid va-
pour had continued in contact with the oil, the more
phlogifton it would have extracted from. it. It is
not improbable, but that, in the intermediate ftate,
before it becomes inflammable air, it may be nearl¥
of the nature of common air. |

Bees-wax abforbed this vapour very flowly. About
the bignefs of a hazel-nut of the wax being put ta
three ounce meafures of the vapour, the vapour was
diminifhed onehalf in two days, and, upon the admifz
fion of water, half of the remainder alfo difappeared,
This air was ftrongly inflammable.

Charcoal abforbed this vapour very faft. About
one fourth of it was rendered immifcible in water;
and was but weakly inflammable.

A fimall bit. of phofphorus, perhaps about half a
grain, {moked, and gave light in the vapour of fpirit
of falt, juft as it would have done in commorr air
confined. It was not fenfibly wafted after continuing
about twelve hours in that ftate, and the bulk of the
vapoiir was very little diminified. Water being ad-
mitted to it abforbed it as before, except about one
fifth of the whole, which was but weakly inflame
mable. “4

Putting feveral pieces of fulphur to this vapour,
it was abforbed but flowly. In about twenty-four.
hours about one fifth of the quantity had difappeared ;
and water being admitted to the remainder, very little

Vor. LXIL ei uep pore

[ 242 ] |
more was iets The remainder was inflammable
and burned with a blue flame. ;

Nowithftanding the affinity which this vapour of Pe

fpirit of falt appears to have with phlogifton, it is not
capable of depriving all bodies of it. I found that
dry wood, crufts of bread, and raw flefh, very
readily imbibed this acid vapour, but did not part-
with any of their phlogifton to it, All thefe fub-
ftances turned very brown, after they had been fome
time expofed to this vapour, and tafted very ftrongly
of the acid when they were taken out; but the flefh,
when wathed in water, became very white, and the
fibres eafily feparated from one another, even more
than they would have done if it had been boiled or —
roafted.

When I put a piece of faltpetre to this vapour, it
was prefently f{urrounded with a white fume, which.
foon filled the whole veffel, exa€tly like the fume
which burfts from the bubbles of nitrous:air, when
it is generated by a vigorous fermentation, and fach
as is feen when nitrous air is mixed with this vapour
of fpirit of falt. In about a minute, the whole quan-
tity of vapour was abforbed, except a very {mall quan-
tity, which might be the common air that had
lodged upon the furface of the {pirit of falt within
the phial.

A piece of alum expofed to this vapour turned yel:-
low, abforbed it as faft as the faltpetre had done, and
was reduced by it to the form of a powder, The
furface both of the nitre.and alum was, I doubt not;.
changed into common falt, by this procefs. Common
falt, as might be expected, had no effect whatever on
this vapour.

From.

| [ 243 ]

_ From confidering the affinity which this vapour
has with phlogifton, I was induced to try the effeG

of a mixture of it with nitrous air. Accordingly, to
two parts of this vapour, I put one part of nitrous
air, and, in about twenty-four hours, the whole was
diminifhed to fomething lefs than the original quan-
tity of the vapour, and was no farther diminifhed by
the admiffion of water. Holding the flame of a
candle over this air, the lower part of it burned green,
but there was no fenfible explofion. At different
times I collected 22 ounce meafures of this mixture
of air; but, upon agitating it in rain-water, it was
prefently diminithed to 14 ounce meafures. In this
ftate it. effervefced with nitrous air, and was confi-
derably diminifhed by it, but not fo much as com-
-monair. Some allowance, no doubt, muft be made
for the {mall quantities of common air, which lodged
on the top of my phials, when I raifed the fame from
the {pirit of falt; but, from the precautions that I
made ufe of, I think that very little is to be allowed
to this circumftance ; and, upon the whole, I am of
opinion, that this experiment is an approach to the
generation of commen air, or air fit for refpiration.

I had alfe imagined, that if air diminifhed by the
procefies qpvc mconaged was affeéted in tars man-
ner, in confequence of its being faturated with phlo-
gifton, a mixture of this vapour might imbibe that
phlogifton, and render it wholefome again; but! put
about one fourth of this vapour to a “quantity of air
in which metals had been calvined, without making
any fenfible alteration in it. Ido not, however, aa
fer from this, that air is not diminifhed by means of
phlogifton, fince the air, like fome other fubfances,

fi? may

. [ 244] ;
may hold the phlogifton too fait, to be deprived of it
by this acid vapour.

I fhall conclude my account of thefe experiments
with obferving, that the eleétric {park is vifible in
the vapour of {pirit of falt, exactly as it is in common
air; and though I kept making this fpark a confi-
derable time in a quantity of it, I did not perceive
that any fenfible alteration was made init. A littk
inflammable air was produced, but not more than
might have come from the two iron nails which Lb
made ufe of in taking the fparks.

x.

MiIscELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS.

Many of the preceding obfervations relating to:
the vinous and putrefactive fermentations, I had
the curiofity to endeavour to afcertain in what.
manner the air would be affected by the acetous:
fermentation. For this purpofe I inclofed a phiak
full of fmall beer in a jar ftanding in water, and

obferved that during the firft two or three days. —

there was an increafe of the air in the jar, but
from that time it gradually decreafed, till at length:

there appeared to be a diminution of about. ,, of

the whole quantity. During this time the whole
furface of it was gradually covered with a_fcum,,
beautifully corrugated. After this. there was an:
increafe of the air till there was. more than the:
original quantity ; but this muft have been: fixed?
air, not incorporated with the reft of the mafs; for,,
withdrawing the beer, which I found to be four,.
after it had ftood 180r 20 days under the jar, and:

palling

| [ 245 ]

- paffing the air feveral times through cold water,
the original quantity was diminifhed about 3. In
the remainder a candle would not burn, and a
moufe would have died prefently. The fmeil of
this air was exceedingly pungent, but different from
that of the putrid effuvium. A moufe lived pers
fe&tly well in this air, thus affected with the ace-
tous fermentation; after it had ftood feveral days

mixed with four times the quantity of fixed air.
All the kinds of fa€titious air on which I have
yet made the experiment are highly noxious to.
animals, except that which is extracted from falt-
petre, or alum; but in this even acandle burned juft
as in common air. In one quantity which I got from
falt-petre a candle not only burned, but the flame
was increafed, and fomething was heard like a
hiffing, fimilar to the decrepitation of nitre in an
open fire.’ This experiment was made when the
air was frefh made, and while it probably con-
tained fome particles of nitre, which would have:
been depofited afterwards, The air was extracted
‘from thefe fubftances by putting them intoa gun
barrel, which was muchcorroded and {oon {poiled by
the experiment. What effect this circumftance

may have had upon the air I have not confidered.
November 6, 1772, I had the curiolity to exa-
mine the ftate of a quantity of this air, which had
been extracted from falt-petre above a year, and
which at firft was perfectly wholefome ;. when, to.
my very great furprize, I found that it was be-
come, in the higheft degree, noxious. It made
no effervefcence with nitrous air, and a moufe died,
the moment it was put into it. I had not, how-
ever, wafhed it im rain water quite ten minutes
(and

[ 246 J
(and perhaps lefs timie would have been fufficient)
swhen | found, upon trial, that it was! reftored: to
‘its former pe ‘fedtly aiislaance flate. :dt» effers
‘veiced with nitrous air as much asthe beft common
‘air ever does, and even a ‘candle burned imit very
swell, which I had never before obferved oftany kind
‘of noxious air meliorated by agitation in water.
This feries of facts, relating to airextracted from
mitre, appear to me to be very extraordinary. and
amportant, and, in able hands, itis lead to ponte
«derable dif{coveries.
‘There are many fubftances whichimpr epnate the
‘air in’a very remarkable: manner, but without
making it noxious to animals. Among other things
1 tried volatile alkaline falts, and camphire, the
latter of which I melted with a burning glafs,: in
air inclofedin a phial. The moufe which was put
into this air {neezed and coughed very much, efpe-
elally after it was taken out; but it prefently ine
covered, and did not appear to have been fenfibly
injured. aH
Having thade feveral experiments with a mixture
of iron filings and brimftone, kneaded to a patfte
with water, I had the curiofity to try what would
be the effect of fubftituting brafs duff in the’ place
of the tron filings. The refult was, that when
this mixture had ftood about three weeks, in-a
given quantity of air, it had turned black, but was
not inereafed in bulk. “The air alfo was neither
fenfibly increafed nor décreafed, but the nature of
at was changed, for it extinguifhed flame, it would
- have killed-a moufe prefently, and was not reftored
‘by fixed air, which had been mixed with it feveral
days.
I have

{ ‘247 J

Thave frequently mentioned my having, «at one
time, expofed equal quantities of different kinds of
air in jars {landing in boiled water. The comimon
‘air in this experiment was diminifhed four fevenths,
and the remainder extinguifhed flame. ‘This ex-
periment demonftrates that water does not abforb
airequally, but that it decompofes it, taking one
part, and leaving the reft. To be quite fure of
this fact, I agitated a quantity of common air in
boiled water, and when I had reduced it from ele--
ven ounce meafures to feven, I found that it extin-
guifhed acandle, but a moufe lived init very well.
At another time a candle barely went out when.
the: air was) diminifhed: one third, and at other
times | have found this effe&t take place at other
very different degrees of diminution. ‘This dif-
ference I attribute to the differences in the {tate of:
the water with refpet to the air contained in it 5.
for fometimes: it had ftood: longer than at other
times before I made ufe of it. I alfo ufed diftilled
‘water, rain water, and water out of which the air
had been pumped, promifcuoufly with rain water.
1 even doubt not but: that, in a certain {late of the
water, there might be no fenfible difference in the
bulk of the agitated air, and yet at the end of the
proceis it would extinguifh a candle, air-being fup-
plied from the water in the place of that part: oft
the common air which had been abforbed..

itis certainly a little extraordinary that the very
fame procefs {hould jo far mend putrid air,.as to re+
auce it to the ffandard of air in which candles-have
burned out ; andyet that it fhould fo far injure com-
mon and wholefome air, as to reduce it. to about

t he o

[248]
the fame flandard: but fo the fact certainly is. If
air extinguifh flame in confequence of its. being
previoufly faturated with phiogifton, it muft, m
this cale, have been transferred from the water
to the air.

To aqt uantity of common air, thus Shae ae
by agitation in water, till it extinguithed a candle,
T put a plant, but it did not fo far reftote it as
that a candle would burn in it again; which to
me appeared not a little extraordinary, as it did
not feemto be in a worfe ftate than air in which
candles had buried. out, atid which had never
failed to be reftored by the fameomeans. TP had
no better fuccefs with a quantity of. permanent
air; which I had eelleéted from my pump water.
Indeed thefe experiments were begun before I
was acquainted with that property of hitrous air,
which makes it fo accurate a meafure of the good+
nefs of other kinds of air; and it might perhaps
be rather too late in the year when I made the
experiments. Having neglected théfe two jars of
air, the plants died and putrefied 1 in both of them;
and then J found the air in them both to be highly
noxious, and to make no effervefcence with nitrous
air.

I found that a pint of my pump water con-
tains about one fourth of an ounce mieafure of airs
one half of which was afterwards abforbed by
itanding inefrefh pump water. A candle would
not burn in the air, but a moufe lived in it very
well. U pon the w hole, it feemed to be in about
the fame fate as air in which a candle had burned

out. I
Ais

-{ 249.)

_. Lonce imagined that, by mere ftagnation, aif
‘might become unfit for refpiration, or at leaft for
the burning of caiidles; but if this be the cafe,
and the change be produced gradually, it mutt
require a long time for the purpofe. For on the
22d of September 1772, L examined a quantity of
“common air, which had_been kept in a phial,
without agitation, from May 1771, and found if
.to be in no refpe&t worfe than frefh air, even by
the teft of the nitrous air.

The cryftallization of nitre makes no fenfible
alteration in the air in which the procefs is made.
For this purpofe I diffolved as much nitre as a
quantity of hot water would contain, and let it
cool under a receiver,. ftanding i in. water,

November 6, 1772, a quantity of inflammable
-air, which, by long keeping, had come to ex-
tinguifh flame, I obferved to {mell very much like
common air in which a mixture of iron filings
and brimftone had ftood. It was not, however,
_ quite fo ftrong, but it was equally noxious.

Bifmuth and nickel are diffolved in the marine
acid with the application of a confiderable ol
of heat; but little or no air is got from either of
them; but, what I thought. a little remarkable,
‘both of them {melled very much like Harrowgate
water. This {mell I have met with feveral times
in the courfe of my experiments, and in procefes
very different from one another.

_, As I generally made ufe of mice in the ex-
periments which relate to. refpiration, and fome
perfons may chufe to repeat them after me, and

-purfue them farther than I have done 3 it aor *
Vor. LAM, Ks :

[ 250. J

of ufe to them to be informed, ‘that I kept them: ,

without any difficulty. in glafs receivers, open at
the top and bottom, and having’ a quantity of
paper, Or tow, in. the infide,. which fhould be

changed every three or four days; when it will

be moft: convenient alfo to change the veflel, and:
wath it. But they muft be kept in a pretty exact

temperature, for either much heat or much cold
kills them prefently. The place in which I have
generally kept them. is a fhelf over the kitchm

fire place,.where,. as.it is ufual in Yorkfhire, the

fire never goes out; fo that the heat varies very
little; and I find it. to be at a.medium about 70
degrees of Fahrenheit’s thermometer. When they
had been, made to. pafs through the water, as they

neceflarily muft:be,. in order to a change of air,.

they. require, and will bear a very confiderable-de-
gree of heat, to. warm and dry them.

I found, to my great furprize, in the courfe: of

thefe experiments, that. mice will live intirely
without. water; for though I have kept fome of

them for three or four months, and’ have: offered
them water feveral times, they would never tafte

it; and yet they continued in perfect health and
vigour. Two or three of them will live very
peaceably together in the fame veflel; though’ L

had one inftance of one moufe tearing another
almoft in pieces, though there was plenty of

provitions for both of them.

The apparatus with which’ the principal of

the preceding experiments were made is exceed-
ingly fimple, and cheap. ‘The drawing annexed
(Tas. IX.) exhibits a view of every thing that. is
moit important in ft.

A is

f 232]

A is an oblong trough, about eight inches
deep, kept nearly full of water, and B, B are jars _
{tanding in it, about ten inches long, and two and
a half wide; fuch as I have generally ufed for
electrical batteries,

C, C are flat ftones, funk about ah inch, or half
an inch, under the water, on which veffels of any
kind may be conveniently placed, during a courie
‘of experiments.

D,D are pots nearly full of water, in which
jars or phials, containing any kind of air, to which
plants or any other fubftances may be expofed,
and having their mouths immerfed in water ; fo
that the-air in the infide canhave.no communication
with the external air.

_ Eis a fmall glafs vetlel, of a convenient fize for
‘putting - a moufe into it, in order to try the whole-
fomene(s of any kind of air that it may contain.

F is a cylindrical glafs vetiel, five inches in length,
and one in diameter, very proper for trying whe-
ther any kind of air will admit a candle to burn
init. For this purpofe a bit of wax candle, G,
may be faftened to the end of a wire, H, and
-turned up in fuch a manner as to be tet down into
- the veffel with the flame upwards. The veffel
fhould be kept carefully covered till the moment
that the candle is admitted to it. In this manner
I have frequently extinguifhed a candle above
twenty times in one of thet veffels full of air,
though it-is impoffible to dip the candle into it,
without giving the external air an Opportunity of
amixing with it, mere or lefs. ‘

Kk2 ; Lis

Hs eM

; peared Vanier tien ar ns
moeseg &

ee pige rere

for transferring air into veflels which have narrow
@ouths..

K isa glaks fyphon,, which is. very weal for

drawing air out of a vefiel which has its mouth
immerfed in water, and thereby raifing the water
to whatever height may be moft convenient. I do:
not think it by any means fafe to depend upon a
valve at the top of a veffel, which Dr. Hales very
often made ufe of; for, fince my firft difappoint-.

ments, I‘have never thought the communication: |

between the externaljand internal air fufficiently
cut off, unlefs glafs, or a body of water, or, im

‘ fome cafes, oe as have intervened between ~

them.

er to: receive the air eee

1s ge
ut this end of the pipe wide

"external air than. a bladder. could make.

M isa fmall phial containing fome mixture that

will generate air. This air paffes.through a bent

vlafs tube inferted into the cork at one end, and’

_ going under the edge of the jar N: at the other: ;
the jar being placed with part of its mouth pro-
jecting beyond. the flat ftones C C for that pur-.
pole..

“Tis” ee of glafs or tin, , which is neceffary

his I fornctiines faften= ©
or

tanding with its mouth:
of water, that the new

ALN.

252.

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A Ni) AliPwP Bot D: LX,

Containing an account of fome experiments.
made by Mr. Hey, which prove that there
is no oil of vitriol in water. impregnated
with fixed air extraGted. from chalk by oil:
of vitriol ; andalfoa letter from Mr. Hey, to:
Dr. Prieftley, “concerning the effects of
fixed air applied by way of clyfter.

EXPERIMENTS TO PROVE THAT THERE IS NO:
OIL OF VITRIOL IN WATER IMPREGNATED:®
WITH FIXED AIR.

‘tk haviiie been fuggefted, that air arifing from:
a fermenting mixture of: ‘chalk and oil of. vitriol’
might carry up with it a fmall portion of the:
vitriolic acid, rendered volatile by the aét of fer-
mentation; [ made the following experiments, in:
order to difcover whether the acidulous tafte}.
which water impregnated with fuch air affords,.
was owing to the prefence of any acid,. or er ta:
the fixed air it’ wee abforbed..

"By peR IMENT J.

_ YPmixed a tea-fpoonful of fyrup of violets with:
ai ounce of diftilled water,.faturated with: fixed’
air procured from chalk. by: means of’ the vitriolic.
acid 5. but neither upon the firft mixture, nor after=
2. ftanding:

[ 4 4

Ttanding 24 hours, was the colour of the fyrup at
all changed, except by its fimple dilution. :

EXPERIMENT II.

A portion of the fame diftilled water, unim-
pregnated with fixed air, was mixed with the
fyrup in the fame proportion: not the leaft differ-
ence in colour could be perceived betwixt this
and the above-mentioned mixture.

Exrrerimenr III.

‘One drop of oil of vitriol being mixed with a
pint.of the fame diftilled water, an ounce of this
water was mixed avith a tea-{poonful of the fyrup.
This mixture was very diftinguifhable in colour
from the two former, having a purplifh caft, which
the others wanted.

EXPERIMENT IV.

"The diftilled water impregnated with fo fmall a
quantity of vitriolic acid having a more agreeable
tafte than when alone, and yet manifefting the
prefence of an.acid-by means.of the fyrup of vio-
lets; I fubjected it to fome- other tefts of acidity.
It formed curds when agitated with foap, lathered
with difficulty, and very imperfectly ; but not the
Jeaft ebullition could be difcovered upon dropping in
{pirit of fal ammoniac, or folution of falt of tartar,
though I had taken care to render the latter free
from caufticity by impregnating it with fixed air.

Exe
3

[ 255 ]
EXPERIMENT V.

The diftilled water faturated with fixed air neither -
effervefced, nor ihewed any clouds, when mixed with
the fixed or volatile alkali.

EXPERIMENT VI.

No curd was formed by pouring this water upon
an equal quantity of milk, and boiling them toge-
thers.

ExpeRIMENT VI. .

When agitated with foap, this water produced.
curds, and lathered with.fome difficulty; bet not fo
much as the diftilied water mixed with vitriolic acid
in the very {mall proportion above-mentioned. The
fame diftilled water without any impregnation of ©
fixed air lathered with foap without the leaft previous
curdling, River water, and a pleafant pump water |
not remarkably hard, were compared with thefe,
The former produced curds before it lathered, but .-
not. quite in fo great-a quantity as the diftilled water
impregnated with fixed air: the latter caufed a .
ftronger curd than any of the others above-men- .
tioned. |

Experiment: VIII. °
Apprehending that the fixed air in the diftilled
water occafioned the coagulation, or feparation of
the oily part of the foap, only by deftroying the
caufticity of the Zxzvium, and thereby rendering the
Roles ynion

- eae]
union lefs perfe&t betwixt that and the tallow, and
not by the prefence of any acid; I impregnated a
frefh parcel of the. fame diftilled water with fixed
air, which-had pafied through half a yard of.a wide
barometer tube filled with falt of tartar; but this
water caufed the fame curdling with foap as the former —

had done, and appeared in every refpe& to be oe
the fame.

EXPERIMENT IX.

Diftilled water faturated with fixed air formed a
white cloud and precipitation, upon being mixed
with afolution of faccharum faturni. 1 found like-
wile, that fixed air, after paffing through the tube
filled with alkaline falt, upon being let itlte. a phial
containing a folution Bf the eyelet falt in difiilled
water, cauted a perfect {eparation of the lead, in form
of a white powder; for the water, after this precipt-
tation, fhewed no cloudinefs upon a frefh mixture of
the {ubftances which had before rendered it opaque.

A ‘Letter

‘[ 257 J

A Letter from Mr. Hey to Dr. Prtestiey, con-
cerning the Effects of fixed Air applied by yay
Boor Civitern |
Leeds, Feb. 15th, 1772.
Reverend Sir,

Having lately experienced the good effects of
fixed air in a putrid fever, applied in a manner, I
believe, not heretofore made ufe of, I thought it
proper to inform you of the agreeable event, as
the method of applying this powerful corrector
of putrefaction took its rife principally from your
obfervations and experiments on factitious air;
and now, at your requeft, I fend the particulars |
of the cafe 1 mentioned to you, as far as concerns.
the adminiftration of this remedy. :

January 8, 1772, Mr. Lightbowne, a young
gentleman who lives with me, was feized with a>
fever, which, after continuing about ten days,
began to be attended with thofe fymptoms that
indicate a putrefcent ftate of the fluids.

18th, His tongue was black in the morning
when I firft vifited him, but the blacknefs went
off in the day-time upon drinking: He had begun
to doze much the preceding day, and now he took
little notice of thofe that were about him: His |
belly was loofe, and had been fo for fome days:
his pulfe beat 11o ftrokes in a minute, and was
rather low: he was ordered to take twenty five
grains of Peruvian bark with five of tormentill
root in powder every four hours, and to ufe red
‘wine and water cold as his common drink,

Vou. LX. ee igth,

[ 258 ]

1gth, I was called to vifit him early in the
morning, on account of a bleeding at the nofe
which had come on: he loft about eight ounces.
of blood, which was of a loofe texture: the
hemorrhage was fupprefled, though not without
- fome difficulty, by means of tents made of foft
lint, dipped in cold water ftrongly impregnated
with tinéture of iron, which were introduced.
within the noftrils quite through to their pofterior:
apertures; a method which has never yet: failed:
me in like cafes. His tongue was now covered! ©
with a thick black pellicle, which was not di-
minifhed by drinking : his teeth were furred with
the fame kind of fordid matter, and even the roof
of his mouth and fauces were not free from it:
his loofenefs and ftupor continued, and he was:
almoft inceffantly muttering to: himfelf : he taok.
this day a feruple of the Peruvian bark with ten-
grains of tormentill every two or three hours :.
a ftarch clyfter containing a drachm of the-com-.
pound powder of bole, without opium, was given:
morning and evening: a window was. fet open in:
his room, though it was. a fevere froft, and. the:

floor was frequently {prinkled with vinegar..
20th, He continued nearly in the fame- ftate:s:
when rouzed from his dozing, he generally gave:
a fenfible anfwer to the queftions aiked him; but
he immediately relapfed, and repeated his mutter-
ing. His {kin was dry, and harfh, but without
petechig. He fometimes. voided his urine and’
faces into the bed, but generally had fenfe enough.
to afk for the bed-pan: as he now naufeated the:
bark in fubftance, it was exchanged for Huxham’s.
tincture,

[ 259 ]

“tinéture, of which he took a table-{fpoonful every
two hours in a cup full of cold water: he drank
fometimes a little of the tincture of rofes, but
his common liquors were red wine and water, or
rice water and brandy acidulated with elixir of
vitriol: before drinking, he was commonly requeit-
ed to rinfe his mouth with water to which a little
- honey and vinegar had been added. His loofenefs
rather increafed, and the {tools were watery,
black, and foetid : It was judged neceflary to mo-
derate this difcharge, which feemed to fink him,
by mixing a drachm of the ¢heriaca Andromacht
with each clyfter.

21ft. The fame putrid fymptoms remained, and
a fubfultus tendinum came on: his ftools were more
- foetid; and fo hot, that the nurfe aflured me fhe
could not apply her hand to the bed-pan, imme-
diately after they were difcharged, without feeling
pain on this account: The medicine and clyfters —
were repeated.

Refiecting upon the difagreeable neceflity we
feemed to lic under of confining this putrid matter
in the inteftines, left the evacuation fhould deftroy
the-ws vite before there was time to correct its
bad quality, and overcome its bad effects, by the
means we were ufing; I confidered, that, if this
putrid ferment could be more immediately cor-
rected, a {top would probably be put to the flux,
which feemed to arife from, or at leaft to be en-
creafed by it; and the fomes of the difeafe would
likewife be in a great meafure removed. I thought
nothing was fo likely to effect this, -as the intro-
duction of fixed air into the alimentary canal,

ite which,

[ 260 |

which, from the experiments of Dr: Macbride, and
thofe you have made fince his publication, appears
to be the moft powerful corrector of putrefaction
hitherto known. I recollected what you had recom-
mended to me as deferving to be tried in putrid dif-
eafes, I mean, the injection of this kind of air by
way of clyfter, and judged that in the prefent cafe
fuch a method was clearly indicated.

The next morning I mentioned my reflections to.
Dr. Hird and Dr. Crowther, who kindly attended
this young gentleman at my requeft, and. propofed
* the following method of treatment, which, with
their approbation, was immediately entered upon.
We firft gave him five grains of ipecacoanha,, to
evacuate in the moft eafy manner part of the putrid
colluvies: he was then allowed to drink freely of
brifk orange-wine, which contained a good. deal of
fixed air, yet had not loft its fweetnefs: the tin@ture- _
eof bark was continued as before; and the water,
which he drank along with it, was impregnated
with fixed air from the atmofphere of a large vat of
fermenting wort, in the manner I had learned from
~ you: inftead of the aftringent, air alone was injected,
collected from a fermenting mixture of chalk and-oil
of vitriol: he drank a bottle of orange-wine in the
courfe of this day, but refufed any other liquor ex-
cept water and his medicine: two. bladders full of
air were thrown up in the afternoon.

23d. His ftools were lefs frequent; their heat
likewife and peculiar f@foxr were confiderably dimi-
nifhed:. his muttering was much. abated, and. the
fubjultus tendinum had \eft him. Finding that part
of the air was rejected - when given with a bladder in

the

[ 261 ]

the ufual way, I contrived a method of injeCting it
which was not fo liable to this inconvenience, I
took the flexible tube of that inftrument which is
ufed for throwing up: the fume of tobacco,. and tied
a {mail bladder to the end of it that is connected
with the bex. made for receiving the tobacco, which.
Thad previoufly taken off from the tube: I then put
fome bits of chalk into:a fix. ounce phial until it was:
half filled ; upon thefe I poured {uch a quantity of
oil of vitriol. as I: thought capable of faturating the
chalk, and: immediately tied the bladder, which I.
had: fixed to the tube, round the neck of the phial ::
the clyfter pipe, which was faftened to the other end: -
ef the tube, was introduced into the anus before the:
oil of vitriol. was. poured upon the chalk.. By this.
method: the air pafled gradually into the inteftines:
as it was generated ;. the rejection of it was ina great:
meafure prevented; and the inconvenience of keep-.
ing the patient uncovered during the operation was-
avoided.

zath, He was fo much better, that there feemed:
to be no. neceflity. for repeating the clyfters: the:
other means were continued. ‘Uhe window of his:
room was now kept fhut..

25th, All the fymptoms of putrefcency had: feft-
Him; his tongue and teeth were clean;,. there re-.
mained no unnatural blacknefs or fwzor in his ftools, ..
which had now regained their: proper confiftence ;
his dozing and muttering were-gone. off; and the
difagreeable odour of his breath and perfpiration was -
no longer perceived. He took nourifhment to-day, .
with pleafure; and, in the afternoon, fat up an. hour:
in his chair.

His

[262 } :

His fever, however, did not immediately leave
him; but this we attributed to his having caught cold
from being incautioufly uncovered, when the win-
dow was open, and the weather extremely fevere ; for
a cough, which had troubled him in fome degree
from the beginning, increafed, and he became like-
wife very hoarfe for feveral days, his pulfe, at the
fame time, growmg quicker: but thefe complaints
alfo went off, and he recovered, without any return
of the bad fymtoms above-mentioned. —

Iam, Reverend Sir,

Your obliged humble fervant,

W™ Hey.

Otober 29, 1990.

Fevers of the putrid kind have been fo rare in this
town, and in its neighbourhood, fince the com-
mencement of the prefent year, that I have not had
an opportunity of trying again the effects of fixed air,
given by way of clyfter, in any cafe exactly fimilar
to Mr. Lightbowne’s. I have twice given water fa-
turated with fixed air in a fever of the putrefcent
kind, and‘ it agreed very well with the patients.
To one of them the aérial clyfters were adminiftred,
on account of a loofenefs, which attended the fever,
though the ftools were not black, nor remarkably
hot or fetid, |

Thefe

vp 263° 9

Thefe clyfters did not remove the loofenefs, though
there was often a greater interval than ufual betwixt
the evacuations, after the injeclion of them. The
patient never complained of any uneafy diftention of
the belly from the air thrown up, which, indeed, is
not to be wondered at, confidering how readily this
kind of air is ablorbed by aqueous and other fluids,
for which fufficient time was given, by the gradual
manner Se: it. Both thofe patients recovered,
though the ufe of fixed air did not produce a crifis
before the period on which fuch fevers ufually ter-
minate. ‘They had neither of them the opportunity
of drinking fuch wine as Mr. Lightbowne took after
the ufe of fixed air was entered upon; and this, pro-
Dably, was fome difadvantage to them.
| find the methods of procuring fixed air, and im-
pregnating water with it, which you have publithed,
are preferable to thofe I made ule of in Mr. Light-
bowne’s cafe.

The flexible tube ufed for conveying the fume of
tobacco into the inteftines, I find to be a very con-
venient infirument in this cafe, by the method be-
fore-mentioned (only adding water to the chalk, be-
fore the oil of vitriol is inftilled, as you dire&): the
injection of air may be continued at pleafure, without
any other inconvenience to the patient, than what.
may arife from his continuing in one pofition during
the operation, which fearcely ceferves to be men-
tioned, or from the continuance of the clytter- -pipe
within the anus, which is but trifling, if it be not
fhaken much, or pufhed againft the reGtum,

When I faid in my letter, that fixed air appeared
to be the greateft correCor of putrefaction hitherto

Ely known,

[ 3647 :
known, your philofophical refearches had an then =
made you acquainted with that moft remarkably an-
tifeptic property of nitrous air. Since you favoured
_me with a view of fome aftonithing proofs of this, I
have conceived hopes, that this kind of air may like-
wife be applied medicinally to great advantage.

Was

‘

A CorRrecrTion.

Upon re-examining Dr. Hales’s account of his.
experiments to meafure the diminution of air by re-
{piration (Statical Eflays, Vol. 1. p. 2 38, 4th edition),.
I find an error of the prefs, of ,*, for ... ; fo that the.
diminution of air by refpiration, though very various,
is, I believe, always confiderably lefs than by putre-.
faétion, or feveral other caufes gf diminution. But ,
though I have mentioned this diminution as equal to. |
feveral others, nothing material depends upon it;
the quality of the air Fahad diminifhed being, in alk:
refpects, the fame, notwithitar ding the caule of in-
ercafe (which, as 1 have obferved, in this and other:
cafes, co-operates. with the caufe of diminution) be.
greater than I had tuppofed.

I did not endeavour to meafure the quantity of the
diminution of air by refpiration, as I did that by.
other caufes; becaufe I imagined that it had been,
done fufficiently by others, and efpecially by Dr..
Flales,

KK, AM;

{ 265 7

Received November 20, 1791.

XX. dn Effay on the perisdical Appearing
and Difappearing of certain Birds, at

different Times of the Year. Ina Letter
from the Honourable Daines Barrington,
Vice-Pref. R. 8. to William Watfon,
VE TS POR. §: :

DEAR SIRy. 7

ae ee 259 30> S I know, from fome converf-.
Pi thea tine a ation we have had on this head,
that you confider the migration of birds as a very
interefting point in natural hiftory, I fend you the
following refle€tions on this fubject as they have oc-
curred to me upon looking into moft of the orni-
thologifts who have written on this queftion.

Tt will- be firft neceffary in the prefent, asin all »
other difputes, to define the terms on which the
controverfy arifes. [ therefore premife that I mean -
by the word Migration, a periodical paflage by a-
pai {pecies of birds acrofs a confiderable extent of
ea.

I do not mean therefore to deny that a bird, or
‘birds, may poffibly fly now and then from Dover to

Vo. LXII. Mm ; Calais,

f 266 J
Calais,. from Gibraltar to Tangier, or any other fucks
arrow ftrait, as the oppolite coafts are clearly withim:
the bird’s ken, and the paffage is no more adventurous.
than acrofs.a lare frefh water lake.

Tas little mean to deny that there may be a peri--
odical flitting of certain birds from one part of-a con--
tinent to another < : the Royfton Crow, and Rock:
Ouzel,, furnifh inftances. of fach 2 regular mis
gration.

What I mean chiefly to contend thetefore is, that:
it feems to be highly improbable, birds fhould, at:
certain feafons, traverfe large tracts of fea, or rather.
ocean, without leaving any of the fame {pecies be=-
hind, ‘but the fick or wounded.

As this litigated point‘can.only receive a: fatisfaGory ;
decifion from very accurate obfervations, all preceding:
naturalifts,. from Ariftotle to: Ray, have fpokem with:
much. doubt concerning. it..

Soon after the appearance of Monf:. Adanfon’ss
_voyage to Senegal, however, Mr. Collinfon firft, in.
the Philofophical TranfaGtions *, and’ after him the:
_moft eminent. ornithologifts of Europe, feem to.
have confidered this traveller’s having caught four:
European’ Swallows on the 6th of Otober,. not:
far from the African coaft, as a: decifive proof.
that the common fwallows, when: they difappear:
in Europe, make for Africa during the winter, and*
return again to us in the fpring;

{t is therefore highly incumbent upon me, whio=
profeis that fam by no means fatisfied with the ac=-
count, given by Monf. Adanfon of thefe European

© Part Il, 1760, p. 459, 8 feq.
. fwallows;.

| [ 267)

fwallows, to enter into a very minute difcuifion of
what may, or may not, be inferred from his obier~
vation according to his own narrative. <

~¥ fhall firft however confider the general argu
‘ments, from which it is fuppofed that birds of pailage
periodically traverfe oceans, which indeed may be
almoft reduced to this finple one, viz. we fee cértath
birds in particular ering and afterwards we fee.
them not; from which data it is at once inferred,
that the caufe of their difappearance is, that they
have croffed large tracts of fea,
"The obvious anfwer to this is, that no well-attefted
anftances can be produced of fuch a migration, as I
fhall endeavour. to fhew hereafter; but befides this
convincing: negative proof, there are not others want
ing.

"Thofe who Rnd birds per iodieal ly acrofs the ia,
‘being prefled with the very obvious aniwer T have
before fuggetted, have recourfe to two fuppofitions,
‘by which they would account for their not being
obferved by feamen during their pafiage.

The firft is, that they rife fo high in the air ft
they become invifible *; but unfortunatel y the rifing
to this extraordinary heicht, or the falling from it, is |
equally deftitute ef any ocular proof, as the birds
being feen during their paflage.

i “have indeed converfed with fome people, ahs
conceive they have loft fight of birds by their per-
pendicular fight; 1 muft own, however, that I have

_.* Teis well known that fome ornithologiffs bave even {up-
pofed that they leave our atmofphere for that of the Moon. See
Harl. Mite, Vol, il. Pp. 56 te

pt Mm 2 always

-

£ 268 :
Aviad fuppofed them to. be fhort-fighted, as. Lnever-
loft the fight of a bird myfelf, but from its horizontak
diftance, and I doubt much whether any bird was
‘ever feen to rife to a greater height than. peCueE®-

twice that of St. Paul’s cro{s *.

There feems to be but one method. Pape: by.
which the height of a bird in the air may. be. efti--
mated ;. which. is, by comparing its apparent fize with-
‘its known one, when very near us; and it: need not
‘be faid that method of calculating, muft depend:
entirely upon. the fight of the obferver,. who, if he»
happens not to fee cbjects well ata diftance, willvery:
foon fuppofe the bird to be loft in the clouds.

There is alfo another objection to the. hypothefis=
of birds paffing feas at fuch an extraordinary height,.
arifing from the known rarefaction of the. air, which.
may. poffibly. be. inconvenient for refpiration;.as well:
as flight;. and. if this was not really. the cafe,. one:
fhould fuppofe that birds.would frequently. rife to.
fuch uncommon elevations, when.they. had no oce.
cafion to traverfe oceans..

" * Wild geefe fly at the greateft height of any bird I ever«
happened to attend to; and from comparing. them with rooks,..
which I have frequently looked at, when perched on the crofs of -
St. Paul’s, | cannot think that a wild-goofe was ever diminifhed, .
to my fight at leaft, more than he would be at.twice the height
of St. Paul’s, or perhaps 300 yards.. Mr. Hunter; F.R. S.. in-
forms me, that the bird which hath appeared to bim as the higheft '
flier, is. a fmall eagle on the confines of Spain: and_ Portugal, .
which. frequents high rocks. Mr. Hunter hath firft: feen this
fpecies of eagle from the bottom of a mountain, and followed it -
to the top, when the bird hath. rifen fo high as to. appear lef’
‘than he did from the bottom. Mr. Hunter however adds, that:
he could ffill hear the cry, and diftinguith the bird,

The-

[ 269 }

The Scotch Ptarmigan frequents the higheft
ground of any Britith: bird,. and he takes but. very
fhort flights: ats

But it is alfo-urged. by fome,. that the reafon why’
feamen do: not regularly fee the migration of birds, is.
becaufe: they choofe the night,. and. not. the day,. for
the paflage *.

Now though it may be allowed, that potlibly birds:
may crofs from the coaft of Holland to the Eaftern:
coaft of England (for example) during along night, yet.
it muft be dark. nearly as long as-it.is. within the Arétic
circle to afford time for a bird to pafs from the Line
to many parts of Europe, which Monf.. de Buffon:
calculates, may be done in about. eight or. nine’

days +.
__ If the paffage happened in half the nights of the.
ear,. which have the benefit of moonlight, the birds.
would be difcovered: by. the failors almoft as well as.
in the day time; to which I muft add that feveral
fuppofed birds of paflage (the Fieldfare in particular);

- always call when on their flight, fo that the feamen.

muft be deaf as well as blind, if me flocks of. birds:

efcape their notice..

_ Other objeGtions however remain to this. hypo-
thefis of a paflage during the Digby

* Mr. Catefby fuppofes that aE may thus: pafs i in the night:
time, to avoid birds of prey. Phil, Tranf. Abr..Vol, IL. p. 887...
But are not owls then ftirring ?

On the other hand, if they. migrate in the day time, kites,.
hawks, and other birds of prey, muft be very bad fportfmen not:
to attend (like Arabs) thefe large and periodical caravans.

+ In the preface to the firft.volume of. his lately publifhed:
_ Ornithology, p. 3a

Ninety=

fat | :

Mot birds not only fleép during the night, “but
are as much incapacitated from diftinguifhing ob
jects well as we are, in the abfence oft the baie gt
is therefore inconceivable that the: y faould cheole
owl-light for fuch‘a diftant journey. .

- Befides this, the Eaftern cote of England, to sath
ares of paflage muft neceflarily firft come from the
‘continent, hath many light-houfes upen it; they
would therefore, in a dark night, immediately make
for fuch an objeét, and deftroy themfelves by flying
with violence againit it, as is well known to ‘every
bat-fowler.

Having endeavoured to anfwer thefe two fup-
pofitions, by which it is contended that birds of
paflage may efcape obfervation in their fight; 1
thali now confider all the inftances I have been able
to meet with of any birds being aétually feen whilft
they were crofling any extent of fea, though I
might give avery fhort refutation to them, by in-
‘fifting, that if this was ever experienced, it muft
happen as conftantly in a fea,which is much girct est
as the return of the feafons.

I cannot do better than to follow thefe according
to chronological order.

The firft in point of time is that which is cited
by Willoughby *, from Bellon, whofe words are thus
tranflated, «* When we failed from Rhodes to
«© Alexandria, many quails flying from the North
«¢ towards the South, were taken in our fhip, whence.
<* Tam perfuaded that they fhift places; for for-
<* meriy, when I failed out of the Ifle of Zant to
“s* Morea, or Negrepont, in the {pring, ti ob-

-* B, Ic ra. §. 8

© ferved

ara [ 27r]
ferved quails flying the contrary way to N. and S,
é: that they might abide there all fummer, at which
é time alfo a great many were taken in the fhip.”
- Let us now confider what is to be inferréd from:
‘this citation. , : ue 7
~ Ta the firft place, Bellon does not particularize the
longitude and latitude of that part of the Mediter—
ranean, which he was then crofling; and in his courfe
fromy Rhodes to Alexandria, both the iflands of
Scarpanto and Crete could be at no great. diftance :.
thefe quails therefore were probably flitting from one:
ifland of the Mediteranean * to another. |
The fame obfervation. may be made with regard:
fe the quails which he faw. between Zant and Negro-
pont, as the whole paflage is crouded with. iflands,,
they therefore might be pafling from ifland to ifland,.
er headland to headland, which might very: proba-.
bly lye Eaft and: Wetft,. fo. as to occafion the birds.
_ fying in a different direCtion, from which they paffed:
the fhip before. Lhe
I have therefore no objection to this proof of mi--
gration, if it is only infifted upon to fhew that a quail.
fhifts its ftation at certain feafons of the year; but
cannot admit that it.is fair from hence to argue that
thefe birds periodically crofs large tracts of fea,
- Bellon himfelf ftates, that when the birds fettled
upon the fhip, they were taken by the firft perfon:
who chofe to catch. ther, and therefore they muft:
have been unequal tothe fhort. flight which. they,
were attempting.

* One of the Mediterranean iflands is fuppofed to have ob=
tained. its ancient name of Ortygia from the numbers of quails..

Ie:

i a2

It is very true that quails have been often pitched
upon as inftances of birds that migrate acrofs feas,
becaufe they are {carcely ever feen in winter: it 1s well
known, however, to every {porisman, that. this bird
never flies 300 yards at atime, and the tail being
fo fhort, it is highly improbable they fhould be
equal to a paflage of any Jength.

We find therefore, that quails, which are come
_ monly fuppofed to leave our ifland in the winter, in”
"reality retire to the fea coafts, and pick up their food
amongit the fea weeds *

I have happened lately to fee.a {pecimen of a par- -
ticular {fpecies of quail, which is defcribed by Dr.
Shaw}, and is diftinguifhed from the other kinds by
‘wanting the hind-claw.

Dr. Shaw alfo ftates that it is a bird of paflage.
Now if quails really migrate from the coaft of Bar-
bary to Italy, as is commonly fuppofed, whence can
it have arifen that this remarkable ipecies hath efcaped
the notice of Aldrovandus, Olina, and the other
Italian ornithologifts?

When I had juft finifhed what I have here faid
with regard to the migration of quails, I have had an
opportunity of feeing the fecond volume of Monf. de
Buffon’s ornithology { ; where, under this article, he
contends that this bird leaves Europe in the winter.

It is incumbent upon me, therefore, either to own
I am convinced by what this moft ingenious and abie
naturalift hath urged, or to give my reafons why I

* See Br. Zool. Vol. I. p. 210. 2d Ed. oavo.
+ Phyf. Obf. on the eee ef feseaetRe ch, 2.
tf See p. 459, & feq.
fill

[273]

full continue to diffent from the opinion he main-
tains.

Though M. de Buffon hath difcuffed this point
very much at large, yet I find only the following
facts or arguments to be new.

He firft cites the Memoirs of the Academy of
Sciences *, for an account given by M. Godeheu of
quails coming to the ifland of Malta in the month
of May, and leaving it in September.

The firft anfwer to this obfervation is, that the
ifland of Malta is not only near to the coaft of
Africa, but to feveral of the Mediterranean iflands ;
it therefore amounts to no more than the flitting |
have before taken notice of +. ;

Monf. de Buffon fuppofes that a quail only quits
one latitude for another, in order to meet with a
perpetual crop on the ground.

Now can it be fuppofed that there is that difference
between the harveft on the coaft of Africa, and that
of the {mall quantity of grain which grows on the
rocky ifland of Malta, that it becomes inconvenient
to the bird to ftay in Africa as foon as May {ets in;
and neceffary,on the other hand, to continue in
Malta from May till September.

Monf. de Buffon then fuppofes that quails make
their paflage in the night, as well. as conceives them
to be of a remarkably warm temperature ft, and fays

* Tom. III. p. o1 and

+ Both Monf. de Godeheu nd M. de Buffon feem to conceive
that the quail fhould fly in the fame direction as the wind blows ;
but birds on the wing from point to point, which are at a confi-
derable diftance, fly againft the wind, as their plumage is other-
wife ruffled.

t As this is given for a reafon why the African quails migrate

Northward: Q. what is to become of the Icelandie quails dur-
ing the fummer?

Vor. LXII. | N n that

: [ 274 ]
that “ chaud comme une caille,” is . every one’s
mouth *; :

Now in the’ fir Beek their migration during the
night, is contrary to Belon’s account, which M. de
Buffon fo much relies upon, who exprefly fays, that
the birds were caught in the day time -.

In the next place, I apprehend that “« chaud comme
“ une caille,” alludes to the very remarkable fa-
Jacioufnefs of this bird, and not to the conftant heat
of ‘its body.

Monf. de Buffon then obferves, that if quails are
kept in a cage, they are remarkably impatient of
confinement in the autumn and fpring, whence
he infers that they then want to migrate +; he alfoadds,
in the fame period, that this uneafinefs begins an hour
before the fun rifes, and that it continues all the night.

This great naturalift does not ftate this obfervation
as having been made by himfelf, and it feems upon
the face of it to be a very extraordinary one.

* All birds indeed are warmer by four degrees than other ant-
mals. See fome ingenious thermometrical experiments by Mr.
Martin of Aberdeen, Edinb. 1771, 12mo.

+ Upon looking a fecond time into Belon, he does not indeed
ftate whether it was in the day or the night; but if it had haps
pened in the latter, this traveller and erhithiologitt could not well
have omitted fuch-a circumftance. Befides this, he mentions in
what direction the quails were flying, which he could not. have
difcerned in the night.

t It may alfo arife from this bird’s being of- fo. quarrelfome a
difpofition, and confequently moft likely to fight with its fellow
_ prifoners when they are all in greateft vigour aiter enon and

on the return of the fpring.

M. de Buffon allows that they will fizht fora grain of millet,.
and adds, * car parmi les animaux il faut un fujet reel pour fo
*“battre.” M. de Buffon hath never been in a pedal

3 No

-

Fane

No one (at leaft with us) ever keeps quails in a
cage except the poulterers, who always fell them as
falt as they are fat, and confequently can give no
account of what BADpens to them during fo Tong an
imprifonment as this obfervation neceffarily implies.

No fuch remarkable uneafinefs hath ever been at-
tended to in any other fuppofed bird of pafiage
during its confinement; but, allowing the fact to be
as M. de Buffon fates, he hitatelf {upplies us wi
the real caufe of this impatience.

He afferts, that quails conftantly moult twice * a
year, viz. at the clofe both of fummer and winter ;
whence it follows, that the bird, in autumn ana
the fpring, muft be in full vigour upon its re-
covery from this periodical illnefs: it can therefore as
little brook confinement, as the phyfician’s patient
upon the return of health after illnefs.

Thus much I have thought it neceffary to fay, in
anfwer to M. de Buffon, who ‘* dum errat, docet,”
who fearcely ever argues ill but when he is mifinformed
as to facts, and who often, from ftrength of under-
ftanding, difbelieves fuch intelligence as might impofe
upon a naturalift of leis acutenefs and penetration.

* J have often heard that certain birds moult twice a year, fome
of which I have kept myfelf without their changing their fea-
thers more than once.

I fhould fuppofe that this notion arifes from fome birds not
moulting regularly im the autumn every year; and when the
change takes place in the following fpring, they very commonly
die: I.can fcarcely think that many of them are equal to two
ilJnefles of fo long a continuance, which are conftantly to return
within twelvemo nths.

T fhould therefore rather account for the extraordinary brifk-
nefs of a quail in autumn and the {pring, from its recovery after
moulting in the former, and from the known effects of the {pring
as to mott animals in the latter.

Nn 2 The

[ 276 ]

The next inftance of a bird being caught at any —
diftance from land, is in Sir Hans Sloane’s voyage to
Jamaica, who fays, that a lark was taken in the thip
40 Jeagues from the fhore: this therefore was cer=
tainly an unfortunate bird, forced out to fea by a
ftrong wind in fying from headland to headland, as
no one fuppofes the fkylark to be a bird of paflage.

The fame anfwer may be given to a yellow-ham-
mer’s fettling upon Haffelquift’s fhip in the entrance
of the Mediterranean, with this difference, that
either the European or African coaft muft have been
much nearer than 40 leagues *.

The next fact to be confidered is what is men-
tioned in a letter of Mr. Peter Collinfon’s, printed in
the Philofophical ‘TranfaGtions +.

He there fays, “ That Sir Charles Wager had
‘* frequently informed him, that in one of his
‘© voyages home in the fpring as he came into found-
‘© ings in our channel, that a great flock of {wallows
*¢ almoft covered his rigging, that they were nearly
‘¢ fpent and famifhed, and were only feathers and
«« bones ; but being recruited by a night’s reft, they
* took their flight in the morning.’

The firft anfwer to this is, that if thot: were birds
which had croffed large tra&ts of fea in their periodi-
cal migrations, the fame accident muft happen eter-
nally, ‘both in the {pring and autumn, which ts not
however pretended by any one.

In the next place, the fwallows are ftated to be
fpent both by famine and fatigue; and how were
they to procure any flies or other fuftenance on the

* See Haflelguift’s Travels, in princ.

+.1760. Part I, p. 46r. y
3 rigging

Caz]

rigging of the admiral’s fhip, though they migth in-
deed reft themfelives?

Sit Charles, however, exprefly informs us, that
he was in the channel, and within foundings: thefe
birds, therefore (like Bellon’s quails) were only pafling
probably from headland to headland; and being forced
out by a ftrong wind, were obliged to {fettle upon
_ the firft fhip they faw, or otherwife muft have drop-
ped into the fea, which 1 make no doubt hap-=
pens to many unfortunate birds under the fame cir-
cumfiances.

As the birds which thus fettled upon Sir Charles
Wagers rigging were f{wallows, it very naturally
brings me now to confider the celebrated obfervation
of Monf. Adanfon, under all its circumftances, as it
hath been fo much relied upon, and 2 naturalifts of
fo great eminence.

Monf. Adanfon is a very ingenious writer, and the
publick is much indebted to him for many of the re-
marks which he made whilft he refided in Senegal.

I may, however, I think, prefume to fay, that he
had not before his voyage made ornithology his parti-
cular ftudy ; proofs of which are not wanting in other
parts of his work, which do not relate to {wallows.

For example, he fuppofes, that the Canary birds
which are bred in Europe are white, and that they
become fo by our climate’s being more cold than
‘that of Africa.

«¢ J'ai remarque que le ferin qui devient tout blanc
«© en France, eit a Teneriffe d’un gris prefque aufli
<< foncé que celui de la linotte; ce changement de
“ couleur provient vraifemblablement de la froidure
s¢ de notre clumat *.”

* Voyage au Senegal, p. 13.

Mr.

ae

Mr. Adanfon in this paflage feems to have deduced
two falfe inferences from having feen a few white
Canary birds in France, which he afterwards com-
- pares with thofe of Teneriff, and fuppofes the change
of colour to arife merely from alteration of climate :
it is known, however, almoft to every one, that there
is ap infinite variety in the plumage of the European
Canary birds, which, asin poultry, arifes from their
being pampered with fo much food, as well as con-
finement *.

Mont. Adanfon, in another part of his voyage +f,
defcribes a Roller, which he fuppofes to migrate
fometimes to the Southern parts of Europe. |

This circumftance fhews that he could not have
looked much into books of natural hiftory, be-
caufe the principal fynonym of this bird is
garrulus Argentoratenfis ~; and Linneus informs us
that it is found even in Sweden ||.

* In the fame paflage, he compares the colour of the African
Canary bird to that of the European linnet, and fays it is: d’un
gris prefque auffi foncé, whereas the European lnnet is well
known to be brown, and not grey. ‘The linnet affords a very
decifive proof that the change of plumage does not arife from
the difference of climate, but the two caufes I have affigned.
The cock bird, whilft at liberty, hath a red breaft: yet if it is
either bred up in a cage from the neft, or is caught with its red
plumage, and afterwards moults in the houfe, it never recovers
the red feathers.

That moft able naturalift, Monf. he Buffon, from having
feen fome cock linnets which had thus moulted off, or perhaps
fome hen linnets (which have not a red breaft) confiders them
as a diftinét fpecies, and compares their breeding together in
an aviary, to that of the Canary bird and pple Ornith,
Dox xi.

+ P. 16. { Or of Strafburgh.

| Faun, Suec. 94. Sh
The

f 275 3

The ftrong chara@leriftic mark of this bird, is the
outermoft feathers of the tail, which able naturalifts
defcribe as three fourths of an inch longer than the
reft*. Monf. Adanfon, however, compares their
length, not with the other ase of the tail, but
Hee the length of the bird’s body, which is by no
means the natural or proper ftandard of com-
parifon.

The reafon- of. my taking notice of thefe more
minute inaccuracies in Nicue Adanfon’s account of
birds, arifes from Mr. Collinfon’s relying upon his
obfervations with regard to {wallows being {o abilo=
lutely decifive, becaufe het 1S bepietenicd to be fo able
a naturalift.

I fhall now flate (very mindtely) under what
circumftances thefe {wallows were caught, and what
~feems to be the true inference from his own ac-
count.

He informs us, that four ellie fettled upon the
fhip, not 50 leagues from. the coaft of Senegal, on the
6th of Otober; that thefe birds were Bean and
that he knew ses to be the true {wallow of Europe+,
which he fuppofes were then returning to the. coaft
of Africa.

I fhalf now Prdeeas to fhew that thefe birds
could not be European {wallows; nor, if they were,
could they have been on their return from Europe
to Africa.

* Willoughby, p. 131. Br. Zool. Vol. II. in append.

+ I have before endeavoured to fhew that Monf. Adanfon does
not always recolle@ with accuracy the plumage of the moft
common European birds, by what he fays. with regard to the

linnet..
‘The:

[ 280 J

The word dirondelle, in French, is ufed as a general
term for the four * fpecies of thefe birds, as the
term /wallow is with us.

Now the four fwallows thus caught and examined
by Monf. Adanfon were either all of the fame
{pecies, or intermixed in fome other proportion. |
~ Would not then any naturalift in flating fo ma-_
terial a fact (as he himfelf fuppofes it to be) have
particularized of what fpecies of {wallow thefe very
interefting birds were?
~ Should not Monf. Adanfon alfo have taken care to
diftinguifh thefe fuppofed European fwallows from
two fpecies of the fame tribe, which bear a general
refemblance to thofe of Europe, and are not only
defcribed, but engraved by Briffon, under the name
of Hirondelle de Senegal & Hirondelle de rivage du
Senegal + ¢ on

Though Monf. Adanfon was above a year on-
this part of the African coaft, paid fo much atten-
tion to fwallows, and was fo immediately acquainted
with the different fpecies on the firft infpection, yet
he feems never to have difcovered that there were
fuch African fwallows as are thus defcribed and en-
graved by Brifflon, though he muft have feen them
daily.

Rone Adanfon however concludes his account of
the fuppofed European f{wallow, whilft it continues
on the coaft of Senegal, by a circumftance which

* Viz, the fwallow xol’ eZoyny, the martin, the fand martin,
and the fwift: I omit the goatfucker, becaufe this bird, though
properly claffed as a f{pecies of {wallow by ornithologifts, is not
fo confidered by others. .

+ See Briflon, Tom. II, pl. xiv.

feems

[ 28m]

feems to prove to demonftration of what fpecies the
four {wallows caught in the fhip really were.

He fays that they rooft on the fand either by
themfelves, or at moft only in pairs, and that they
frequent the coaft much more than the inland
parts *. :

Thefe fwallows therefore, if they came from
Europe, muft have immediately changed at once their
known habits: and is it not confequently moft clear
that they were of that fpecies which Briffon deicribes
under the name of Hvrondelle de rivage du Senegal ?

But though it fhould be admitted, notwithftanding
what I have infifted upon, from Monf, Adanfon’s
own account, that thefe were really fwallows of the
fame kind with thofe of Europe; yet I muft ftill
contend that they could not pofflibly have been on
their return from Europe to Africa, becaufe the high
road for a bird from the moft Weftern point of |
Europe to Senegal, is along the N. Weft coatt of
Africa, which projects greatly to the ve eftward of
any part of Europe.

What then could be the inducement to thefe four
fwallows to fly 50 leagues to the Weftward of the
coaft of Senegal, fo much out of the proper
direction? ;

It feems to me therefore, very clear, that thefe
{wallows (whether of the European kind or not)
were flitting from the cape de Verde iflands to the

ae eVovace aur B Aieeall p. 67. I with Monf. Adanfon had

alfo informed us whether thefe {wallows had the fame notes with
thofe of Europe, which is a very material circumftance in the
natural hiftory of Ses though Jittle attended to by moft orni-
thologiits,

VoL. LXII. O.0 wy - coalt

[ 282 j

wal of Adrica; to which fhort. flight, however, they. ne

were unequal, and were obliged from fatigue to fall
- into the failors hands.

Monf. Adanfon likewife mentions * that the thip’s
company | caught a Roller on the 26th of April, which
. he fuppofes was on its paflage to Europe, though he
was then within fight of the coaft of Senegal: this

bird, however, muft be admitted not to Lave had —

fofficient ftrength to reach the firft ftage of thig
found-about journey, and was therefore _probably
forced out to fea by a ftrong wind,,in pafling from,
head-land to head-land.

But I muft not difmifs what hath been ‘bland
with regard to the {wallows feen by Monf. Adanfon:

at Senegal, without endeavouring alfo to anfwer. ~

what M. de Buffon hath not only inferred from it,

but hath endeavoured to confirm by an actual ex, ~

periment +.

M. de Buffon, from the many pence of Belper é

being found torpid even under water, very readily
admits, that all the birds of this genus do not mi-
erate, but only that fpecies which was feen by Monf.
Adanfon in Africa, and which he generally refers to
asthe chimney {wallow {; but from the outfet, feems

* Voyage au Senegal, p. 415.
+ See the two’ prefatory difcourfes to his fixteenth volume
of natural hiftory.

t So little do naturalifts know of this very common bird, .

that I believe it hath never yet been obferved by any writer, that
the male {wallow ‘hath only the long flender feathers in the tail,
which are confidered as its moft diftinguifhing marks. I venture
to make this remark upon having feen the difference in two
fwallows which are in Mr. Tunftall’s collection, F. R. S.. as alfo

in two others, which have lately been prefented to the Mufeum _

2 | Y te

[ 283 ]
to fhew that he hathhiméfelf Eh aaieie this fpecies
with the martin.

« Prenons un feul oifeau, par exemple, Vhibom
“delle, celle que tout le: monde conncit, qui paroit
paige 30) printems, difparoit en automine, é¢ fait 2 line
Msivec de’ ih terre “contre les feneties, ou dans” lés
« cheminees.” p. 23.

It is very clear that the acne in hii bortdd is to
fpecify a particular bird in fuch a manner that no
‘doubt could remain with any one about ‘the fpecies
referred to; and ‘from other paflages which follow,
it is as clear that Monf. de Buffon means to allude te
the fwallow xar eLovny.

Though this was certainly the intention of this
mioft ingenious naturalift, it is to me very evident
that the martin, and not the fwallow, was in ‘his con:
templation, becaufe he firft {peaks of the bird’s build+
ing againft windows, before he mentions chimneys,
and therefore fuppofes that either place is indifferent ;
which is not the cafe, becaufe the fwallow eld
builds on the fides of windows, or the martin in
chimneys. \,

There are perhaps three or four maitins to one
fwallow in all parts; and from their being the more
common bird of the two, as well as from the ciré
cumftance of their building at the corner of windows
(and confequently being eternally in our fight), nine-

of the Royal Society, By the dire€tors of the Hudfon’s Bay
company.

Thefe long feathers would be very inconvenient to the hen
during incubation ; and they are likewile confified ‘to the cock
widsw-bird, as, from their more extraordinary length, they would
be ill - more fo.

O02 ! teen

[ 284 |
teen out of twenty, when they fpeak of a fwallow,
seally mean a martin *.

I only take notice of this fuppofed inacuracy in
Monf. de Buffon, becaufe, if that able naturalift does
not {peak of the different forts of fwallows with that
precifion which is neceffary upon fuch an occafion,
why fhould he rely fo intirely upon the impoffibility —
of Monf. Adanfon’s being miftaken ?

I fhall now ftate the experiment of Monf. de
Buffon, to prove that the {wallow is not torpid in the
winter, and muft therefore migrate to the coaft of
Senegal +f.

He fhut up fome fwallows (birendelles) in an ice
houfe, which were there confined ¢* plus ou moins.
“¢ de temps;” and the confequence was, that thofe
which remained there the longeft died, nor could
they be revived by expofing them to the fun; and,
that thofe «qui n’avoient fouffert le froid de la
“« glaciere que pendant peu de tems” were very
lively when permitted to make their efcape.

* In the fame manner the generical name in other languages,
for-this tribe of birds, always means the martin, and not the
fwallow.

Thus Anacreon complains of the xeAicwy for waking hia
by its twittering.

Now if it be confidered that there was only the kitchen chim-
ney in a Grecian houfe, it muft have been the martin which
built under the eaves of the window, that was troublefome tg
Anacreon, and not the fwallow.

Ovid alfo fpeaking of the neft of the hirundo, fays,

—— luteum fub trabe figit opus.

by which he neceflarily alludes to the martin, and not the

fwallow.
t Plan de Pouvrage, p. 15.
Mont.

(e285)

Monf. de Buffon does not, in this account of his

experiment, ftate the time during which the birds
were confined; but as the trial muft have been made
in France, the fwallows which he procured could
not be expected to be torpid either in an ice-houfe *
or any other place, becaufe the feafon for their being
in that {tate was not yet arrived.
- Tcannotalfo agree with M. de Buffon that thofe
birds which were fhut up the longeft time died
through cold, as he fuppofes, but for want of food,
as he neither fupplied them with any flies, nor, if he
had, could the fwallows have caught them in the
dark: a very fhort faft kills thefe- tender animals,
which are feeding every inftant when on the
wing.

It therefore feems not to follow from this, or any
other experiment, thet fwallows muft neceflarily
migrate (as Monf. de Buffon fuppofes) to the coaft af
Senegal,

* The very name of anice-houfe almoft {trikes one with a
chill; I placed, however, a thermometer in one near Hyde Park
Corner, on the 23d of November, where it continued 48 hours,
and the mercury then ftood at 43% by Fahrenheit’s fcale.

This is therefore a degree of cold which fwallows fometimes
experience whilft they continue in fome parts of Europe, without
any apparent tnconvenience ; and it fhould feem that the cold
vapours which may arife from the included ice, fink the ther-
mometer only 7 or § degrees, as the temperature in approved
cellars is commonly from 50 or 51 throughout the year.

Sir William Hamilton informs me, that he hath frequently
feen fwallows in the winter between Naples and Puzzuoli, when
the weather was warm; as does Mr. Hunter, F. R.S. that he
hath obferved them during the fame feafon, on the confines of
Spain and Portugal. It fhould feem from this, that very mild
and warm weather for any continuance always wakes thefe birds
from their ftate of torpidity, ;
Swallows

[28617

Swallows are feen during the fammer, in every ‘part }
of Europe from Lapland to the Southern: coaft of
Spain; nor is Europe vaftly inferior in pets aut fize
HG ATTICA:

“Tf fwallows therefore retreat to Africa in the
winter, thould not they be difperfed over the whole
Continent of Africa, juft as they are over EveNy part
of Europe?

But this moft certainly is not fo: Dr. Shaw, who
was a very good naturalift and attended much to the
birds in the neighbourhood of Algiers (as appears by
this account of that country}, makes no mention of
any fuch SUS HEMI?) nor have we heard of it from
any other traveller *

It muft be admitted indeed, that Herodotus fpeak-
ing of a part of upper Egypt (which he had never
feen) fays, that kites and {wallows never leave it-+-3
this, Rarer. totally differs from Monf. Adanfon’s
account, who informs us that they difappear in Se-
negal on the approach of fummer.

It feems to follow therefore, from this filence in
others, that {wallows. cannot be accommodated for
their winter refidence in any part of that vaft con-
tinent, but in the neighbourhood of Senegal.

But this is not the whole objection to fuch an
hypothefis. a

* It may alfo be obferved here, that credit is in fome meafuré
given to M. Adanfon’s eyefight, againft that of all the Englifh,
French, Dutch, Portugueze, and Danes, who have been fettled
not far com CSc gal forabove a century, many of which have
{pent the oreatelt part of their lives there, and whofe notice,
{wallows feen during'‘the winter, muft have probably attracted.

T Tstlivos de xs ggersdoves db eleos eovles ux amodeimsohs Euterpe,
Pp. 98. ed. Gale.

If

[ 287 J

16 the fwallows of Europe, when they difappear

3n thofe parts, retreat to the coaft of Senegal, what
necefiarily follows with regard to a Lapland
{wallow ?
I will fuppofe fuch a bird to have arrived fafely at
his winter quarters upon the approach of that feafon.
in Lapland; but he -muft then, according both to
‘Monf. Adanfon’s and de Buffon’s account, return to
Lapland in the fpring, or at leaft fome other {wallow
from Senegal fill his place *.

Such a bird immediately upon its arrival on the
Southern coaft of Spain would find the climate and food
which it defired to attain, and all proper conveniences
for its neft: what then is to be its inducement for
quitting all thefe accommodations which it meets. with
in fuch profufion, and pufhing on immediately over fo
many degrees of European continent to Lapland, where:
both martin and {wallow can procure fo few eaves of
houfes to build upon? What alfo is to be the in-
ducement to thefe birds, when they have arrived at
that part of the Norwegian coaft which is oppofite
to the Ferroe iflands, to crofs degrees of fea in order

* Mr. Stephens, A. $.S, i Gonths me; that hei aes a bel of
emartins for twenty years together in the hall of his houfe in
Somer(fetfhire (near Bath) ; nor could the old birds procure food!
either for themfelves, or their years. till the door was opened in.
the morning.

Can it it be fuppofed that the fame birds er their defcendants.
could have fo long fixed upon fo very inconvenient a fpot, to:
which they conftantly returned from the coaft of Africa, neg-
leCting fo many others, which they muft have always pafled
by? Does -it not alfo afford a moft ftrong prefumption, that
eee torpid during winter in the neighbourhood of this old:

4

ie

ca

ij 28)

to build in fuch fmall {pots of land, where there are
till fewer houfes?

The next fact I have happened to meet with of
a bird’s being feen at a confiderable diffance from
the fhore, is in Mr. Forfter’s lately publifhed
tranflation of Kalm’s account of N. America*.

We are there informed that a bird (which Kalm.
calls a {wallow) was feen near the fhip on the 2d
ef September, and, as he fuppofes, 20 degrees from
the continent of America --.

It appears however, by what he before ftates in his
journal, that the fhip was not above 5 coat from
the ifland of Sable.

Befides, if it is contended that this was an Euro-
pean fwallow on its pafiage acrofs the Atlantic on
the 2d of September, it is too early even for a {wift,
to have been on its migration, which difappears
with us fooner than the three other {pecies of Euro-
pean fwallows t.

Only, two more inftances have occurred of birds
being icen in open fea that have been defcribed

* Vol. I. p. 24.

+ Lt may not be improper here to obferve, that in a 1 inftances
ef birds being feen at feaany great diftance from the coafk, it is.
not improbable that they may have before fettled on fome other _
veflel, or perhaps on a piece of floating wreck,

By accidents of this fort, even butterflies have fometimes been
caught by the failors at 40 leagues diftance from anyland. See
Monf. P Abbé Courte de la Blanchadiere’s Voyage to Brazil, Paris,
17509, 21mo. p. 169.

{ The bird mentioned by Kalm was probably an American
{wallow, forced out to fea by fome accidental ftorm: there are
f{everal fpe: ies of them and they feem to bear a general mek to
thofe of Eurcepe.

with

[ 289 ]
with. any fort of precifion, which I fhall. juft
ftate, as I would not decline giving the beft anfwer
Tam able to every argument and fact which may be
relied upon, by thofe ‘who contend that birds periodi-
cally migrate acro{s oceans.

On the 30th of March, 3751, Ofbeck, in his

Voyage from Sweden to China *, met with a fingle
houfe fwallow near the Canary Iflands, which was.
fo tired that it was caught by the failors: Ofbeck
alfo ftates, that though it had been fine weather for
feveral preceding days, the bird was as wet as if it
had juft emerged from the bottom of the fea.
_. If this inftance proves any thing, it is the fub-
merfion and not the migration of {wallows fo gene-
rally believed in all the, northern parts of Europe.
It would {well this Letter to a moft unreafonable
fize, to touch only upon this litigated point; and I
fhall, for the prefent, fupprefs what hath happened
to occur to me on this controverted queftion --.

* See the lately publifhed tranflation of this voyage.
+ I will, however, mention one moft decifive fa& on this
head.
Mr, Stephens, A.S.S. informs me, that, when he was
fourteen years of age, a pond of his father’s (who was vicar of
Shrivenham in Berkfhire) was cleaned, during the month of
February ; that he picked up himfelf a clutter of three or four
{fwaliows (or martins), which were caked together in the mud,
and that he carried them into the kitchen, on which they (Gon
afterwards flew about the room, in the prefence of his father,
mother, and others. Mr. Stephens alfo told me, that his father
(who was a naturalift) obferved at the time, he had read of fimilar
inftances in the northern writers. This fat is alfo confirmed 'to
me by the Reverend Dr. Pye, who was then at fchool in Shri-

venham, as alfo by a very {enfible land- eaeen who now lives
‘in the village.

“Vor. LXI. Pp ‘Ofbeck

[ 290 J

Ofbeck afterwards, in the courfe of his voyage;.
mentions, that a fwallow (indefinitely) followed the:
fhip, near Java, on the 24th of July, and another:
on the 14th of Auguft, in the Chinefe fea, as he.
terms it.

After what I have obferved before wld regard to»
other inftances of the fame fort, I need {carcely fay.
that this naturalift does not ftate of what {pecies thefe.
{wallows were; and that, from the latitudes in which.
they were fecn,, they muft have been fome of the.’
Afiatic kinds.

I cannot, however, difmifs this article of the fwal-.
low, without adding fome general. reafons, which:
feem to prove the great improbability. of this or any,
other bird’s periodically migrating-over wide tracts of.
fea; and I the rather do it in this place, becaufe-

There are feveral reafons why fwallows fhould not be fre-.
quently thus found ; ponds are feldom cleaned in» the winter, .
as it is fuch- cold work for the labourers ; and the fame inftinct :
which prompts the bird thus to conceal itfelf, inftructs it to-
choofe fuch a place of fecurity, that common accidents will not~
difcover it..

But the ftrongeft reafon for {uch accounts not being more ~
numerous, is, that facts of this fort are fo little attended to;. for i
though I was born within half a mile of this pond, and. Have
always had much curiofity with regard to fuch facts, yet I never ~
heard a fyllable about this very material and interefting. account, ..
till very lately.

To this fact I. muft alfo add, that fwallows may be con-.
ftantly taken in the month of Oatober, during the dark nights, .
whilit they fit on the willows in the Thames,. and that one may .
almoft inftantaneoufly fill a large fack-with them, becaufe at this.
time they will not ftir from the twigs, when you lay your hands -
upon them. This looks very much like their. beginning to be,
torpid before they hide themfelves. under the water.

A man near Brentford fays, that he hath caught them in this -
fate in the eyt oppofite to that town, even fo late as Nea

the »

[ 297 ]

the fwallow is commonly pitched upon as the moft
notorious inftance of {uch a regular paflage.

This feems to arife firft from its being feen in
fach numbers during the fummer, from its appear-
ing almoft always on the wing, and from its feeding
in that pofition; from which two latter circumftances
it is fuppofed to be the belt adapted for fuch diftant
migrations.

And firft, let us confider, from the few fa&s o
reafons we have to argue from, what length of flight
either a {wallow or any other bird is probably equal
to.

A {wallow, it is true, feems to be always on the
wing ; but I have frequently attended, as much as |
could, on a particular one; and it hath appeared to
- me, that the bird commonly returned to its neft in
eight or ten minutes: as for extent of flight, I believe
I may venture to fay, that thefe birds are feldom a
quarter of mile from their mate or young ones; they
feed whilft on the wing, and are perpetually turning
fhort round to catch the infects, who endeavour to
elude them as a hare does a greyhound.

It therefore feems to me, that fwallows are by no
means equal to long flights, from their practice during
their fummer refidence withus.

I have long attended to the flight of birds; and it
hath always appeared to me, that they are never on
the wing for amufement (as we walk or ride), but
merelyin fearch of food.

‘The only bird which I have ever obferved to fly
‘without any particular point of direCtion, is the
took: thefe birds will, when the wind is high,

Pp 2 «¢ Ride

| ? [ 292 4
F arly
“ Ride i in the whiclwind, end enjoy “ee form.” bast

They never fly, however, at this time, from point:
to point, but only tumble in the air, merely for their
diverfion.

Tt feems, haope that birds are by no means
calculated for flights acrofs oceans, for which they’
have no previous practice: and they are, in fact, al--
ways fo fatigued, that, when they meet a fhip at fea,
they forget all apprehenfions, and deliver them isis ,
up to the failors.

Let us now confider another objection to the mi-.
eration of the {wallow, which Monf, de Buffon fup--
pofes may crofs the Atlantic to the Line in eight:
days * ;. and this not only from the want of reft, but of
food, during the. paflage.

A fwallow, indeed, ' feeds.on. the wing: but where.
is it to find any infects, whilft it is flying over a wide -
expanfe of feat This bird, therefore, if it ever at-
tempted fo adventurous a paflage, would foon feel
a want of food, and return again.to land,. wherelit
had met with a conftant fupply from minute to.
minute,

I am aware it may be here objeSed,. that the
fwallow leaves us‘on the approach of winter, when-
foon no flying infects can be procured: but I fhall-
hereafter endeavour to fhew, that thefe birds are then
torpid, and, confequently, can want no fuch food:

Another objection remains to the hypothefis of
aeration, which is, that birds, when fying from

* Difcours fur la nature des oifeaux, p. 32.

point

L 293. 4
point'to point, endeavour always to have the wind:
againft them *, as is periodically experienced by the:
London bird-catchers, in March and Odtober, when.
they lay their nets for finging birds +.

Thereafon, probably, for birds thus flying againft.
the wind is, that their plumage may not be ruffled,,
which indeed I have before had occafion to mention.

Let us fuppofe, then, a {wallow to be equal toa.
paflage acrofs the Atlantic in other refpects ; ;. how is:
the bird to be infured’ of the wind’s. continuing for:
days in the fame quarter ; of how is he to depend |
upon its continuing to blow againft his flight with:
moderation? for who can fuppole that a {wallow can.
make his way to the point of direétion, when buf--
feted by a ftorm Pea in the teeth of his intended j
- 'paflage fT?
~Laftly, can it be conceived. that thefe, or any:
other’ birds, “can be impelled by a providential in-
ftinct, | regularly to attempt what feems to be at--
tended with fuch infuperable difficulties, and what:
‘moft frequently leads to certain deftruction ?

“But it will ftill “be objected, that as {wallows re--
gularly appear and di fappear at certain feafons, it is-
incumbent upon thofe who deny their migration, to»

*:Kalm, in his voyage to America, makes the fame obferya:
tion; with regard te flying fith, and Valentine fays, that if:
the.wind does not,centinue to blow again ae bird of paradife, .
it immediaé ay drops to the erent

+‘ Ehefe birds, as it fhould feem, are iene in motion ; be-.
eaufe; at thofe feafon nS, the pround is plowed either for the winter -
or lent corn. bie

{1 have myfelf attended to fwallows during a high wind,
and have obferved that they fy only in fheltered places, whilft -
they almoft touch the furface of the ground. a

, thew.

eg

[ 294 ]
fhew what becomes of them in Europe during our
“winter. | Bietcwis

Though it might be anfwered, that it is not ne-
‘ceffary, thofe who endeavour to fhew the impofii-
bility of another fyftem or hypothefis, thould from
‘thence be obliged to fet up one of their own; yet 1
fhall, without any difficulty, fay, that I at leaft am
‘convinced fwallows (and perhaps fome other birds)
‘are torpid during the winter. |

I have not, I muft own, myfeif ever feen them in
this ftate; but, having heard inftances of their being
‘thus found, from others of undoubted veracity, I
have not {carcely the leaft doubt with regard to this
‘point.

It is, indeed, rather difficult to conceive why
fome ornithologifts continue to withhold their affents
to fuch a cloud of witnefles, except that it perhaps
contradicts a favourite hypothefis which they. have
already maintained. nani

Why is it more extraordinary that {wallows fhould
‘be torpid during the winter, than that bats are found
in this ftate, and fo many infects, which are the food
of fwallows?

But it may be faid, that as the fwallows have
‘crowded the air during the fummer, in every part
of Europe fince the creation, and as regularly dif-
appear in winter, why have not the inftances of their
being found in a torpid ftate been more frequent?

To this it may be anfwered, that though our
globe may have been formed fo many centuries, yet
the inhabitants of it have {carcely paid any attention
to the ftudy of natural hiftory, but within thefe late
years.

As

[ 295 ]
As for the ancient Greeks: and’ Romans, their’
drefs prevented their being’ fo much in the fields as:
we are; or, if they heard of a rather extraordinary bird
in gar neighbourhood; they had not a gun to fhoot:
it; the only method of attaining real knowledge.
in natural hiftory,. depends almoft: entirely upon:
the having frequent opportunities of thus killing ani--
mals, and examining them when dead. .
Tf they did not ftir much in their own:
country, much lefs did they think of travelling:
into diftant regions; want of bills of exchange, and:
of that curiofity which arifes from our being:
thoroughly acquainted with what is near us at home, ,
probably occafioned this; to which may alfo be:
added, the want of a variety of languages: fcarcely:
any Greek feems to have known more than his own:
tongue, nor Roman more than two *.

. Ariftotle, indeed, began fomething like a fyftem:
of natural hiftory, and Pliny put down, in his com--
mon place-book; many an idle ftory; but, before
the invention of printing, copies of their. works:
could not be fo generally difperfed,.as to occafion :
much attention to what might be interefting facts for :
the natural hiftorian. .
In the fixteenth century, Gefner, Belon,. and:
Aldrovandus, publifhed fome materials, which might :
‘be of ufe to future naturalifts ;. but, in the feven-
teenth, Ray and Willoughy firft treated this exten--
five branch of ftudy, with that clearnefs.of method, |

* It need be f{carcely here mentioned alfo, that their navigation -
was confined to the Mediteranean, from. the compafs.not having
been then difcovered, |

perfpicuity

| [ 296 ]
sperfpicuity of defcription, and accuracy of obfervas
‘tion, as hath not, perhaps, been fince exceeded.

The works of thefe great naturalifts were: foon
difperfed over Europe, and the merit) of them ac-
knowledged ; but it fo happened, thet Sir THaac
Newton’s amazing difcoveries in natural philofophy
making their appearance about the fame time, ‘en-
gaged entirely the attention: of the learned. cel meth

In procefs of time, all controverfy was filenced
bs the demonftration of the Newtonian fyftem ; and
then the philofophical part of Europe naturally turned
their thoughts to other branches of {cience.

Since this period, therefore, and not before, na-’
tural hiftery. hath been ftudied: in moft countries of)
Europe; and confequently, the finding. {wallows in
aftate of torpidity, or on the coaft of Senegal, dur-
ing the winter, begins to be an interefting fact,
which is communicated to the world by the pperfon
who obferves it.

To this I may add, that the common labourers,
who have the beft chance of finding torpid birds,
have {carcely any of them a doubt with regard to
this point; and confequently, when they happen to
fee them in this flate, make no mention of it to
others; becaufe they confider the difcovery as neither
uncommon or interefting to any one.

Molyneux, therefore, in the Phil Lolo pbical ‘Tanf-
actions *, informs us, that this is the general belief
of the common people of Ireland, with regard to
Jand-rails; and I have myfelf recetved the fame
anfwer from a perfon who, in December, found
fwallows torpid in the ftump of an old tree.

* Phil. Tranf. abr. Vol. IL, p, 853.
Another

[ 297 ]

Another reafon why the inftances of torpid {wal-
lows may not be expected fo frequently, is, that the
inftin@ of fecreting themfelves at the proper feafon
of the year, likewife fuggefts to them, it’s being
neceffary to hide themfelves in fuch holes and
caverns, as may not only elude the fearch of man,
but of every other animal which might prey upon
them; it is not therefore by any common accident
that they are ever difcovered in a-ftate of torpi-
dity.

Siice the ftudy of natural hiftory, however, hath
become more general, proofs of this fact are fre-
quently communicated, as may appear in the Britifh
Zoology *. .

That it may not be faid, however, I do not refer
to any inftance which deferves credit, if properly
fifted, I beg leave to cite the letter from Mr, Achard
to Mr. Collinfon, printed in the Philofophical Tranf-
actions +, from whence it feems to be a moft irree
fragable fact, that fwallows $ are annually difcovered in.
a torpid ftate on the banks of the Rhine. I thall alfo
refer to Dr. Birch’s Hiftory of the Royal Society |],
where it is ftated, that the celebrated Harvey difiected

* See Vol. Il. p. 250. Brit. Zool. ill. p. 13, 14. As alfo
Mr. Pennant’s Tour in Scotland, p. 199-

4 1703,, p. 101.

¢ ** Swallows or martins,” are Mr. Achard’s words, which
I the rather mention, becaufe Mr. Collinfon complains that the
fpecies is not fpecified.

Mr, Collinfon himfelf had endeavoured to prove, that fand
martins are not torpid, Phil. Tranf. 1760, p. 109. and con-
cludes his letter, by fuppofing that all the {wallow tribe migrates,
therefore the fwift is the only {pecies remaining ; for his friend
Mr. Achard fhews to demonftration, that fwallows or martins
. are torpid ; he does not, indeed, precifely ftate which of them.
| Voi. IV. p. 537.

Vor. LXI. Qg fome,

{ 298 J
fome, which were found in the winter, under water,
and in which he could not obferve any circulation of
the blood *.

Affuming it, therefore, fronal thefe fats, that
fwallows have been found in fuch a ftate, I would
afk the partifans of migration, whether any inftance
can be produced where the fame animal is calculated
for a ftate of torpidity and, at the fame time of the
year, for a flight acrofs oceans ? —

Bat it may be urged, poffibly, that if fovallanys
are torpid when they difappear, the fame thing,
fhould happen with regard to other birds, =— are
not {een in particular parts of the year. 2

To this I anfwer, that this is by no means a ne-
ceffary inference : if for example, it fhould be in-
fifted that other birds befides the cuckow are equally
carele(s with regard to their eggs, it would be im-
mediately allowed that the argument arifing from

* As the fwallows were found in the winter, they muft have
been in a ftate of torpidity, as otherwife the animals muft have
been putrid.

I fhall likewife here refer to Phil. Tranf. abr. Vol. V. p. 33.
_ where Mr. Derham fays, that he heard a fwift fqueak in an hole

of his houfe on the 17th of April; but that, the weather being
cold, it did not ftir abroad for feveral days.

This feems to be a ftrong inftance of a bird’s firft waking
from a ftate of torpidity, but “refuming its fleep on the weather
being fevere.

I {hall clofe the proofs on this head (which I could much en-
large) by the dignified teftimony of Sigifmond, King of Poland,
who affirmed on his oath, to the cardinal Commendon, that he
had frequently feen fwallows, which were found at the bottom
of lakes. See the life of cardinal Commendon, p, 211. Paris,
1671. 4to,

fuch

[ 209] .
fuch fuppofed analogy could by no means be relied
upon *.

It is poffible, however, that fome other birds,
which are conceived to migrate, may be really tor-
pid as well as {wallows; and if it be afked why they
are not fometimes alfo feen in fuch a ftate during
the winter, the anfwer feems to be, that perhaps
there may be a thoufand {wallows to any other fort
of bird, and that they commonly are found torpid in
clufters..

_ * T here fuppofe the common notion about the cuckow to be
true; becaufe both learned and ignorant feem equally to agree
in the fact, .

During the prefent fummer, however, a girl brought a full
feathered young cuckow to a gentleman’s houfe, where I hap-
pened to be, who faid, that it had been for feveral days before
fed by another bird of equal fize with itfelf; which therefore
could not be a hedge-fparrow, or other {mall bird, but the parent |
cuckow. :

I have alfo lately been favoured, by Mr. Pennant, with the
following extra&t from a manufcript of Derham’s on inftiné.

“© The Rev. Mr. Stafford was walking in Gloffop-dale in the
S¢ Peak of Derbyfhire, and faw a cuckow rife from its neft,
*¢ which was on the ftump of a tree, that had been fome time
“¢ felled, fo as much to refemble the colour of the bird. In
** this neft were two young cuckows, one of which he
‘* faftened to the ground, by means of a peg and line, and very
‘* frequently, for many days, beheld the old cuckow feed thefe
‘¢ her young ones.”

It is not impoffible, therefore, that this moft general opinion
will turn out like the fuppofed effects of the venom of. the taran-
tula; and, indeed, it is difficult to conceive how fo fmall a bird as
a hedge-{parrow can feed a cuckow: it is alfo remarkable, that
the witnefles often vary about the fpecies of {mall bird thus
employed.

It is poffible, however, that the cuckow (though it may not
hatch its young) may feed them, when grown too large for the

fofter parent.
Qq 2 If

[300]

If a fingle bird of any other Kind happens £6 be
feen in the winter, without motion or apparent warmth,
it is immediately conceived that it died by fome com-
mon accident.

I thall, however, without any referve, fay; that I

rather conceive the notion which prevails with re-
gard to the migration of many birds, may moft
commonly arife from the want of obfervation,
and ready knowledge of them, when they are
feen on the wing, even by profeficd ornithole-
ifts.
: It is an old faying, that “* a bird in the hand is
“¢ worth two in the bufh;” and this holds equally
with regard to their being diftinguifhed, when thofe
even who ftudy natural hiftory, have but a tranfient
fight of the animal *.

"IE, therefore, a bird, which is fuppofed to migrate
in the winter, pafles almoft under the nofe of a Lin-
nzan, he pays but little attention to it, becaufe he
cannot examine the beak, by which he is to clafs the
bird. ‘Thus I conceive, ‘that the fuppofing a night-
ingale to be a bird of paflage arifes from not readily
diftinguifhing it, when feen in a hedge, or on the
wing +

This bird is known to the ear of every one, by its
moft ftriking and capital notes, but tothe eye of very

* An ingenious friend of mine makes always a very proper
diftinétion between what he calls m=door and out-door natu-
ralifts.

Thomas Willifel, who. affifted Ray and Willughby much
with regard to the natural hiftory of the animals of this ifland,
never ftitred any where without his gun and fifhing-tackle.

+ No two birds fly in the fame manner, if their motions are
accurately attended to.

2 few

[ 301 ]
few indeed; becaufe the plumage is dull, nor is
there any thing peculiar in its make.

The nightingale fings perhaps for two months *,
and then is never heard again till the return of the
fpring, when it is fuppofed to migrate to us from the
continent, with red{tarts, and feveral other birds.

That it cannot really do fo, feems highly probable,
from the following reafons.

_ This bird is fcarcely ever feen to fly above twenty
yards, but creeps at the bottom of the hedges, in-
fearch of maggots, and other infects, which are found
in the ground.

If the {wallow is not fupplied with any food
during its paflage acrofs oceans, much lef{s can the
nightingale be fo accommodated ; and I have great
reafon to believe, from the death of birds in a cage,
which have had nothing to eat for twenty-four
hours, that thefe delicate and tender animals can-
not fupport a longer faft, though ufing no exercife
at all.

To this I may alfo add, that thofe birds which feed’
on infects are vaftly more feeble than thofe whofe bills _
ean crack feed, and confequently, lefs capable of
bearing any extraordinary hardfhips or fatigue.

But other proofs are not wanting, that this bird
cannot migrate from England.

* Whilfl it fings even, the bird can feldom be diftinguifhed,
becaufe it is then almoft perpetually in hedges, when the foliage
is thickeft, upon the firft burft of the fpring, and when no in-
feéts can as yet have deftroyed confiderable parts of the leaves.

Nightin-

eg Bee

- Nightingales are very common in Denmark, Swe-
den, and Ruffia *, as alfo in every other part of
Europe, as well as Afia, if the Arabic name is pro-
perly tranflated.

Now, if it is fuppofed that many of thefe birds
which are obferved in the fouthern parts of England,
-crofs the German fea, from the oppofite coaft of the
continent ;_ why does not the fame inftiné drive thofe
of Denmark to Scotland, where no fuch bird was
ever feen or heard +?

But thefe are not all the difficulties which attend
the hypothefis of migration; nightingales are agreed
to be fcarcely ever obferved to the weftward of Dor-
fetthire, or in the principality of Wales f, much lefs
in Ireland.

I have alfo been informed, that thefe birds are not
uncommon in Worcefterfhire, whereas they are ex-
ceflively rare (if found at all) in the neighbawrime
county of Hereford.

Whence, therefore, can it arife, that this bird
_ fhould at one time be equal to the crofling of feas,
and at other times not travel a mile or two into an
adjacent county? Does it not afford, on the other
hand, a {trong proof, that the bird really continues

* See Dr. Birch’s Hiftory of the Royal-Society, Vol. III.
p- 189. Linnzi Fauna Suecica. and Biographia Britannica,
art. FLETCHER; where it is faid, that they have in Ruffiaa
greater variety of notes than elfewhere.

+ Sir Robert Sibbald, indeed, conceives the nightingale to be

a bird of North Britain; bur, if 1 can depend upon many con-
current teftimonies, no fuch bird is ever feen or heard fo far
northward at prefent, nor could I ever trace them in that direc-
tion further than Durham.

t I have, however, frequently feen the nightingale’s con-
gener (and fuppofed fellow-traveller) the redftart in Wales.

on

F 403%.)

on the fame fpot during the whole year, but happens
not to be attended to, from the reafons 1 have before
fuggeited ?

Iam therefore convinced, that if I was ever to live
in the country during the winter, I fhould fee night-
ingales, becaufe I fhould be looking after them, and
I am.accordingly informed, by a perfon who is well
acquainted with this bird, that he hath frequently
obferved them during this feafon *.

If it be afked, why the nightingales are all this
time mute? the anfwer is, that the fame filence is
experienced in many other birds, and this very mute-
nefs is, in part the caufe why the bird is not attended
to in winter.

I muft now afk thofe who contend for the migra-
tion of a nightingale, what is to be its inducement.
for crofling from the continent to us? a {wallow, in-
deed, may want flies in winter, if it ftays in Eng-
land; but a nightingale is juftas well fupplied with
infects on the continent, as it can be with us after its
paflage +. I muft alfo afk, in what other part of

* I find they havealfo been feen in France during the winter.
See a treatife, intitled, Aédologue, Paris 1751. p. 23. ;

+ [have omitted the mention of a more minute proof, that this
bird cannot migrate from the continent, from the having kept
them for fome years in a cage, and having been very attentive
to their fong.

Kircher (in his Mufurgia) hath given us the nightingale’s.
notes in mufical chara&ters, from which it appears that the fong ~
of a German nightingale differs very materially from that of an
Englifh one: now, if there was a communication by nugration
between the continent and England, the fong of thefe birds would
not fo materially differ, as I may, perhaps, fhew, by fome ex-~
periments I have made, in relation to the notes of birds.

I have before mentioned, that Mr. Fletcher, who was embaf-
fador from England to Ruffia in the time of Queen cee:

aye | the

[ 304 ]

the world this bird is feen during the winter? muft
it migrate to Senegal with the fwallow?

hes perfuaded likewife, that the cuckow never
migrates from this ifland any more than the nightin-
gale: : this bird is either probably torpid in the winter, ;
or otherwife is miftaken for one of the fmaller kind
of hawks*; which it would be likewife in the {pring,
was it not for its very particular note at that time,
and which only laits during courtfhip, as it does with:
the quail,

If there is fine weather in February, this bird’
fometimes makes this fort of call to its mate, whilft
it is fuppofed to continue {till on the continent.

An inftance is mentioned by Mr. Bradley +, of
not only a fingle cuckow, but feveral, which were
heard in Lincolnfhire, during the month of Fe-
bruary; and that able naturalift Mr. Pennant in-
forms me, another was heard near Hatcham in
SHO peNre on the 4th of aera in the prefent

year [ 4

obdferved that the fong of the Ruffian nightingale differed from
that of the Englifh.

* Mr. Hunter, F. R. S. informs me, that he hath feen
cuckows in the ifland of Belleifle during the winter, which is
not fituated fo much to the fouthward, as to make it impro-
bable that they may equally continue with US..

+ Works of Nature, p. 77.

¢ Mr. Pennant received this account from Mr, Plimly, of
Longnor in Sbrophhire. .

Thus likewife Mr. Edwards informs us, that the fea fowls near
the Needles, which are commonly fuppofed to migrate in
winter, appear upon the weather’s being very mild. Effays,

P. 197+
It

[ 305 J |

Tt is amazing how much the being interefted to
difcover particular objects contributes to our readily
_diftinguifhing them.

I remember the being aca furprized that a grey-
headed game-keeper always faw the partridge on the
ground before they rofe, when I could not do the
fame; > He told me, however, that the reafon was,
I lived in a time when the fhooter_ had no occafion

-fe give himfelf that trouble

= He then further explained himfelf, by -faying,
that when he was young, no one ever thought of
aiming at a bird when on the wing, and confe-
quently they were obliged to fee the « came before it
was {prung. He added, that from this neceflity he
could not only diftinguith partridges, but apes and —
woodcocks, on the ground.

Ancther inftance of the fame kind, is the great
readinefs with which a perfon, who is fond cf courfing,
finds a hare fitting in her form: thofe, however, who
are not interefted about fuch fport, can fcarcely fee
‘the hare, when it is under their nofe, and pointed
out to them,

But more apparent objects efcape our notice, wher
we are not interefted about them.

Aik any one, ‘who hath not a botanical turn, what.
he hath {een in paffing through a rich meadow, at
the time it is moft enamelled with plants in flower;
and he will tell you, that he hath obferved nothing but
grafs and daifies. If moft gardeners even are in like
manner afked whether the flowers of a bean grow on
every fide of the ftalk, they will fuppofe that they do,.

Vou. LXH. Af whereas

| po PR oe
whereas they, in reality, are only to. be found- om
one fide. -

The mouths of flounders are often turned ia

ways, which one would think could not well efcape
the obfervation of the London fifhmongers ;. yet;.
upon afking feveral of them: whether they had.at-
tended to this particular, I found they had not,. till I
fhewed them the proof in their own fhops.
A fifhmonger,. however, knows immediately-
whether a fifh is in good eating order or not, on the
firft infpection ;. becaufe this is a circumftance wie
interefts him.

I fhall, however,. by no- means fupprefs two argu=-
ments in favour of migration, which feem to require.
the fulleft anfwer that can be given to them. —

The firft is, that there are certain: birds,. which:
_ appear during the winter, but difappear during the: -
{ummer ; and it may be afked, where fuch bee cans
be fuppofed to breed,. if they do not migrate. from:
this ifland.

Thefe birds are in. number four, viz: the {nipe,,
woodcock,. redwing, and fieldfare. .

As forthe f{nipe, I have a very fhort anfwer to»
give to the objection, as far-as it relates to this bird;
becaufe it conftantly breeds in the fens of es or
fhire, Wolmar foreft, and Bodmyn downs; it iss
therefore highly probable, that it does the fame in.
almoft every county of England.

I muftown, however, that, till within thefe oe years, .
I conceived the neft of a f{nipe was as rarely feen in
England, as that of a woodcock or fieldfare; and.
| that ; ane ornithologi{t Mr. Edwards fuppotes this Ve

[ 307 J |
be the fat, in the late publication of his ingenious
Effays on Natural Hiftory *. ~

Woodcocks likewife are known to build in fome
parts of England every year; but, as the inftances are
commonly -thofe of a fingle neft, I would by no
means pretend to draw the fame proof againft the
-fummer migration of this bird, as in the former cafe
of the fnipe. :

I will moft readily admit, that thefe accidental
fats are rather to be accounted for, perhaps, from
the whimfy or fillinefs of a few birds, which occa=:
‘fions their laying their eggs in a place where they
are eafily difcovered, and contrary to what is ufual
with the bulk of the {pecies.

I remember to have feen a duck’s ‘neft once on
the top of a pollard willow, near the decoy in St,
_James’s Park; it would not be, however, fair to in-
fer from fuch an inftance, that all ducks would pitch
upon the fame very improper fituation for a neft, —
‘upon which it is difficult to conceive how a web-

‘footed bird could fetile.

Some filly birds likewife now and then choot a
-place for building, which cannot efcape the obferva-
‘tion of either man or beaft, as he pafies by.

I therefore fuppofe that the few proofs of wood-
-cocks nefts having been found in England, arife either
‘from one or other of thefe two caufes, and all which
‘they feem to prove is, that our climate in fummer is
‘not abfolutely improper for them.

It is to be oblerved, however, that Mr. Catefby
‘confiders: fuch pipes as of equal force againft the

& P. 4%
Rr 2 migration

[1.368% Ti
migration of the woodcock, as of the faipe *. — Wil-:
lughby alfo fays, that Mr. Jeflop faw young wood-
cocks fold at Sheffield (which rather implies a cer=
tain number being brought to market), and that
others had obferved the fame elfewhere +.

We are, indeed, informed by Scopoli $, that they
breed conftantly in Carniola, which is confiderably
to the fouthward of any part of England: our.
country is therefore certainly not too hot for them.

Woodcocks appear and difappear almoft exactly:
_ about the fame time in every part of Europe, and.
- perhaps Africa |]: heat and cold, therefore, feem.
mot to have any operation whatfoever with regard to,
the fuppofed migration of this bird.

But it may be faid, what fignifies. proving the
probability of woodcocks breeding in England, if it.
is not a known fact that they do fo ?.

To this it fhould feem there are feveral anfwers, as.
it is equally incumbent upon thofe who contend for.
migration, to fhew that thefe birds were ever feen on.
fuch paflage.

Another anfwer-is,. afk ninety-nine people out of
a hundred, whether fnipes.ever make a neit in Eng-
gland ; ant they wall immediately fay, that they;
do not; fo little are fats or obfervations of this fort.
attended to.

‘But I thall now endeavour to give fome other rea-.
fons why woodcocks may.not only continue with us.

® Phils Tranf. abr. Vol. IT. p. 889...
a Beaute) cya.
+ Ornith.. Leipfig, 5769.
. Shaw’s Trav. Phy!, Obf, ch. die .
during

[ 309 }

daring the fummer, but alfo breed in large tracts of»
wood of bog, without being obferved.

In the other parts of Europe, all birds almoft are.
confidered as game,.or, at leaft, are eaten as whole-.
fome food,. Ray therefore mentions, that hawks and
owls are fold by the poulterers at Rome; every fort.
of {mall bird alfo is equally the foreign fowler’s ob-.
jeck*.

An Englithman does not confider, on. the. other
hand, perhaps twelve kinds of birds worthy his at--
tention, or -expence of powder, none of which are

ever fhot ia our woods during the fummer, nor.
are birds then dillurbed by felling either coppice OF.
timber.

But it. will be Gil why. are not ‘woodcocks fome--
times feen, . poveres as they may be fuppofed to.
leave their cover in -fearch of food ?-

To this I anfwer, that woodcocks fleep always in-
the daytime, whilfi with us in the winter, and feed
only during the night +.. Whenever a wocdcock, !
therefore, is fiufhed, he is roufed from his fleep by the »
fpaniel or fportiman, and them takes wing, becaule .
there ‘are no leaves on the trees to-conceal the bird. .

Whoever hath looked attentively at a woodceck’s -
eye, moft-fee.that, from the. appearance of it,. the.

* In one of Boccace’s Novels, a lover, who lives at Florerce,
a a falcon for the dinner of his. miftrefs.- Gicrnaa V.

Novel. 1X.”

+ Almoft all the wild fowl-of the duck kind alle fleep in the

daytime, and feed at nigh’,

Gole :

&
Qn

Tool

Tight muft be more calculated to diftinguifh objects i
‘by night than by day *.

‘The-fact therefore is notorious to thofe who cut
-glades in their woods, and fix nets for catching thefe
birds, that they never ftir but as it begins to be dark,
after which they return again by day-break, when —
their fight even then is fo indifferent, that they ftrike
-againft-the net, and thus become entangled.

”'No one with us ever thinks of fixing or attending :
‘fuch nets in fummer for woodcocks, becaufe it is .
not then fuppofed that there is any fuch bird in the
‘ifland; if they tried this experiment, however, I
amuft own that I believe they would have fport +. |

Mr. Reinhold Forfter, F. R.S. who is an able
naturalift, informs me, that the fowlers in the neigh-
‘bourhood of Dantzick Kill many woodcocks about St.
John’ s day (or Midfummer), in the following man-

* T conceive alfo, it is from the eyes looking fo dull, that
this bird is generally confidered as being fo foolith : hence the
Africans call the woodcock hammar el hadgel, or the partiidge’s
afs. Shaw’s Phyf. Obf. ch, ii.

+ I would afk thofe who will probably laugh at the very idea ~
of fuch fport (which I do not, however, abfolutely infure), whe-
ther, if I was to fend them to any part of the Britifh coaft to
ceatch the true anchovy, or tunny fifh, they would not fuppofe
equally that it was a fool’s errand.

Notwithftanding, however, this incredulity, I can promice?
the authority of both Ray (Syn. Pife. p. 107.) and Mr. Pen
nant (Brit. Zool. ill. p. 34. 36.), that the true anchovy is caught
in the fea not far from Chefter, and the tunny fifh on the boat
ef Argylefhire, together with the herrings, where they are called
mackrel fiure.

Is it not amazing, however, that a fifh of fuch a fize as the
tunny fhould never “have been heard of, even by the Scotch na-
turalift Sir Robert Sibbald?

i [ grr ]

ner, and that they continue to do fo till the month

of Auguft.

They wait om the fide of fome of the extenfive.
woods in that ‘neighbourhood, before day-break, for

the return of the woodcock from his feeding in the

night-time, and always depend upon having a very.

good chance of thus fhooting many of them.

The Dantzickers, however, might be employed

the whole fummer near thefe woods in the day-

time, without ever feeing fuch a bird; and it feems.

therefore not improbable, that it meas. from our not:

waiting for them at twilight or day-break, that they.
are never obferved by Englifhmen in the fummer.. ~

If this bird fhould, however, be feen in the night, .
it is immediately fuppofed to be an owl, which a:

woodcock does not differ much from in its flight.

To thefe reafons for woodcocks not being ob--

ferved, it may be added, that the bird is believed to

be abfolutely mute, . and. confequently, never difco--

vers itfelf by its call.

If it be ftill contended, that the neft or young:

muft fometimes be ftumbled upon, though in the-

centre of extenfive woods, or large bogs, the fifkin.
(or aberdavine *) is a much more extraordinary in--

tance of concealing its neft and young.

The plumage of this bird is rather bright than
otherwile ; and the fong, though not very pleating,
yet is very audible, bork ee circumftances fhould

difcover it at all times; yet Kramer -f informs us, ,
that, though immenfe numbers breed annually on:

* Brit. Zool. p. 309.

+ Elenchus Animalium per Auffriam, p. 261. Vienne, 1756. .

I the:

ue Te)

ps banks of the Danube, no one ever obferved the
nett.

Ais bird is Weer uncommon in England ; fo that
af 1 afk when the neft was ever fou te within the
verge Of bee aad it may be confidered as rather
an unfair challenge.

- ‘There is another bird, however, anti a red
poll *, which is taken in numbers during the Michael-
imas and March flights by the London bird- catchers,
whole neft, I believe, was never difcovered in Eng=
land, though I have feen them in pairs dating the
fummer, both in the mountainous parts of Wales
and highlands cf Scotland +-.

But 1 fhall now mention another proof that wood-
cocks breed in England,

The Reverend Mr. White, of Selborn, who is
not only a well-read naturalift, but an active {portf-

map, informs me, that he hath frequently killed ~

woodcocks. in March, which, upon being opened,
had the rudiments of eggs in them, and that it is

ulual at that time to fluth them in pairs. Willughby

allo cbferves the fame.

This bird, therefore, certainly pairs before its
fuppofed migration ; and can it be corceived that
this ftrict union (which birds in a wild ftate fo faith-
fully adhere to) ||, fhould take place before they

* Brit. Zool. p. 312.

+ This eiegant little bird is very common in Hudfon’s Bay,
where it feeds chiefly on the birch trees; which being more

cumimen in the northern than fouthern parts of Great Britain, '

may account for the bird’s being more often feen northward.

£ B. ML-\c: i.

i It is believed that no mule-bird was ever feen in a wild
ftate, notwithftanding M. de Buffon fufpects many an intrigue

traverfe

-

Ef 32 4)

traverfe oceans, and when they cannot as yet have -
pitched upon a proper place for concealing their neft
and neftiings? .

Let us examine-if this intercourfe before migration
takes place in-other birds, which are fuppofed to crofs
wide extents of fea: and a quail affords {uch proof.,

T-have been prefent when thefe birds. have been :
caught in the fpring, which always turn out to be»
males, and are enticed to the nets by the call of the :
hen ; quails therefore pair after they app, in Eng-
land.

But I fhall now confider the other two inftances:
of birds which are feen with us in the winter, and are -
not obferved in. the fummer; I] mean, the fieldfare
and redwing.

And firft, let us examine, where thefe birds are -
aCtually known ‘to breed: the northern naturalifts |
fay, in Sweden; Klein, in the neighbourhood Of «
Dantzick, which is only in lat. 54° 30’ *; on Wil- -
lughby, in Bohemia...

in he recefles of the. ponds: (Hift, Nat. des. Oifeaux,: tom. L)
fuch irregular intercourfe is only obferved in cages and ayiaries, ,
where birds are not only confined, but pampered with food,

* See Klein, de Avibus’ Exraticis, p. 178. Klein; however, .
cites Zornius, who- lived in the fame part of Germany, and
who afferts that the zurdus Iliacus {or redwing) leaves thole parts —
in the {pring. The circumftance therefore of the redwing’s
| breeding in numbers (per multitudines )had_efcaped: the notice
of Zornius, though he: hath. written a siffertation on this:
~ queftion.

Is it at all. furprizing, after this, that fuch difcoveries, if made
at all, fhould not be commonly heard of ? -

You. LX, S§; As

[ 374 ]

As they. circ! build their nefts in more
_ Southern parts of Hurope, there is certainly no nae
tural impoflibility of their doing fo with us, though,
I’ muft own, I never yet heard but of one inftance,.
which was a fieldfare’s neft found near Padding=
ton *.

I cannot, idwever! but think it is only from want
of obfervation, that more of fuch nefts have not been
difcovered, which are only looked after by very young
children ; and the chief objeé is the eggs, or neftlings,
not the bird which lays them +f.

The plumage therefore and flight of the fieldfare
-or redwing being neither of them very remarkable,
it is not at all improbable they may remain in fom-
mer, without being attended to; and particularly the
redwing, which fcarcely differs at all in appearance
from other thrafhes. Thus the cough is by no means
peculiar to Cornwall, as is commonly fsppot ay but
is miftaken for the jackdaw, or rook.

But it may be faid, that thefe birds fly i in dacs
during the winter, and if they remain here during
the fummer, we fhould fee them equally congregate.

I have not before referred to Klein, who hath written a very
‘able treatife, in which he argues againft the poffibility of migra-
tion in birds; becaufe, though I fhould be very happy to fupport
my poor opinion by his authority, yet I thought it right neither
to repeat his facts, or arguments.

* See alfo Harl. Mifc. Vol. Il. p. 561.

+ Many birds alfo build in places of fuch difficult aecéfs, that
boys cannot climb to; birds-nefting is confined almoft entirely
te hedges, and low fhrubs.

' "This

f gua J

This circumftance, however, is by no means pe=
euliar to the fieldfare and redwing ; moft of the hard=
billed finging birds do the fame in winter, but fepa- -
rate in fummer, as it is indeed neceffary all birds
fhould during the time of breeding.

I thall now confider another argument in favour of
migration, which I do not know hath been ever
infifted. upon by thofe writers who have contended
for it, and which at firft appearance feems to carry
great weight with it.

There are certain birds, which are fuppofed to vifit
this ifland only at diftant intervals of years; the Bo-.
hemian chatterer and crofs-bill * (for example) once
perhaps in twenty.

The fact is not difputed, that fuch birds are not
commonly obferved in particular {pots from year to.
year ; but this may arife from two caufes, either a.
partial migration within the verge of our ‘ifland, or
perhaps more frequently from want of a ready know-.
ledge of birds on the wing, when they happen to:
be feen indeed, but cannot be examined.

T never Hhiave: difputed fuch a partial migration; and:
indeed I have received a moft irrefragable proof of
fuch a flitting, from. the Rev. Mr. White of Selborn.
in Hamphhire, whofe accurate obfervations I have be-. °
fore had occafion to argue from.

* This bird changes the colour of its plumage: at different.
feafons of the year, which is fometimes red..
The firft account we have of their being feen, is in the Ph, Er.
abr..Vol. V. p. 33.. where Mr. Edward Lhwyd fufpects them.
to be Virginia nightingales, from their feathers being red, and
had no difficulty of at once {nppofing that they had crofled the:

Atlantic...
§ s 2 2 "The:

[ 316 J

“The rock (or ring-ouzel) hath always hithérte
“been confidered as frequenting only the more moun+
tainous parts of this ifland: Mr. White, however,
‘informs me that there is a regular migration of thefe
birds, which flock in numbers, and regularly vifit the
‘neighbourhood of Selborn, in Hanfpthire *.

I therefore have Jittle doubt but that they equally
‘appear in others of our Southern counties ; though it
-elcapes common obfervation, as they bear a fort of
general refemblance to the black-bird, at leaft to the
then of that {pecies.

T own alfo, that-I always conceived the Bohemian
-chatterer was not obferved in Great Britain but at very
diftant intervals of years, and then perhaps only ia
‘fingle:bird, whereas Dr. Ramiey (profeffor of natural
hiftory at Edinburgh) informs Mr. Pennant, that
flocks of thefe birds appear conftantly every year in
ithe neighbourhood of that city +.

As for crofs-bills, they are feen more and more in
different parts of England, fince there have been fo
many plantations of firs: this bird is remarkably
fond of the feeds of thefe trees, and therefore
‘changes its place to thofe parts where it can preaeye
the greateft plenty of fuch food f.

* See alfo Br. Zool. Ill. p. 56.

+ Thefe birds are faid to be pariicularly fond of the ber.
‘fies of the mountain-afh, which is an uncommon tree ‘in the
Southern parts of Great Britain, but by no means fo in the
North.

t This bird fhould alfo, for the fame reafon, be found from
year to year in the cyder counties, if it was true (as is com-
monly fuppofed) that he is particularly fond of the kernels of

‘This

(axa }

‘This flitting therefore by no means amounts to a
‘total and periodical migration over feas, but is noe
more than what is experienced with regard to feveral
birds.

For example, the Britifh Zoology informs us *,
that, at an average, 4090 dozen of Jarks are fent
up from the neighbourhood of Dunftable, to fupply
the London markets; nor do I hear, upon ing NyY,
that there is any complaint of the numbers decreat-
ing from year to year, notwithianding this great
confamption.

I fhould not fuppofe that 50 dozen of fkylarks
are caught in any other county of England; and it
fhould therefore feem that the larks from the more -
adjacent parts croud in to fupply the vacuum occafion-
ed by the London Epicures, which may be the caute
poflibly of a partial migration throughout the whole
ifland.

I begin now to approach to moeiine like a con-
clufion of this (1 fear) tedious differtation: I
think, however, that I fhould not omit what appears
to me at leaft asa demonftration, that one bird, which
is commonly {uppofed to. enletate acrols feas, cannot

poflibly do fo.

apples, which it 1s conceived he can inftantly ee with his
very fingular bill.

Mr. Tunftall, PF. R.S. however, at my defire, once placed
an apple i in the cage of a crofs-bill, which he had kept for fome
‘time in his very valuable and capital collection of live birds :

upon examining the apple a fortnight afterwards, it remained
untouched.

iP, 22s

- A landrail

f 318 J

A landrail *, when put up by the fhooter, never-
flies 100 yards; its motion is exceffively flow, whilft
the legs hang down like thofe of the water fowls
which have not web feet, and which are knowtt:
never to take longer flights.

This bird is not very common with us in n Big.
but is exceffively fo in Ireland, where they are called.
corn-creaks.

Now thofe who donee that the landrail, becaufe
it happens to difappearin winter, muft migrate acrofs.
oceans, are reduced to the following dilemma.

They muft firft either fuppofe that it reaches Ire
land periodically from America; which is impoffible,
not only becaufe the paffage of the Atlantic includes
fo many degrees of longitude, but becaufe there is .
no fuch bird in that part of the globe.

If the landrail therefore migrates from the conti--
nent of Europe to Ireland, which it muft otherwife:
do, the neceflary confequence is, that many muft
pafs over England in their way Weftward to Ireland ;,
and why do not more of thefe birds continue with.
us, but, on the contrary, rey proceed acrofs.
the St. George’s channel?

Whence fhould it arife alfo, if they pafs over this.
ifland periodically in the {pring and autumn, that:
they are never obferved in fuch paflage, as I have
already ftated their rate in flying to be exceflively.
flow; to which I, may add, that I never faw them.
rife to the height of twenty yards from the ground,.
nor indeed exceed the pitch of a st

% Br Zool. P> 387:
I have:

: [ 3x9 ]
- T have now fubmitted the beft anfwers that have
occurred, not only to the general arguments for the
migration of birds actofs oceans, but alfo tothe parti-
cular faéts, which are relied upon as actual proofs
of fuch a regular and periodical paflage.

Though I may be poffibly miftaken in many of -
the conjectures 1 have made, yet I think I cannot be
confuted but by new facts, and to fuch frefh evidence,
properly authenticated, I fhall moft readily give up
every point, which I have from prefent conviction
been contending for. °

I may then perhaps alfo flatter myfelf, that the
having exprefled my doubts with regard to the proofs
hitherto relied upon, in fupport of migration, may
have contributed to fuch new, and more accurate
obfervations.

It is to be wifhed, however, that thefe more con-
vincing and decifive facts may be received from
“iflanders (the more diftant from any land the better*)
and not from the inhabitants of a continent; as it
does not feem to be a fair inference, becaufe certain
birds leave certain {pots at particular times, that they
therefore migrate acrofs a wide extent of fea.

For example, ftorks difappear in Holland during
the winter, and they have not a very wide tract of

fea between them and England; yet this bird never
frequents our coafts.

* I would particularly propofe the iflands of Madera and
St. Helena; to thefe, I would alfo add the ifland of Afcenfion

{had it any inhabitants), as likewife Juan Fernandez, for the
Pacifick ocean,

The

[ 320 } |
The ftork, however, may be truely confidered’ as -
a bird of paflage, by the inhabitants of thofe parts .
of Europe (wherever fituated) to which it may be.
fuppofed to refort during the winter, and where. iiss
_ Rot feen during the fummer..
I am, dear Sir,.
eu mott faithful, .

humble fervant,..

Daines Barringtons

=

P. S;

fies gig 1
P...S;

SINCE: I fent to you my-very long letter on the
_ migration of birds, I have had an opportunity of exa-
mining the-* Pa mches Enluminées,” which are {aid
to be publithed under M. de Buffon’s in{pection,
and which feem to afforda demonftration of M.

Adan{on’s inaccuracy in fuppofing either the roller, or
{wallows, which he caught in his fhip, near the coaft
of Senegal, to be the ine with thofe of Europe.

In the 8th of thefe plates, there is a coloured
figure of a bird, called le roilier d’Angola, which
agrees exactly with M. Adanfon’s defcription * ; but
he trufted too much to his memory, when he pro-
nounced it to be the fame with the Garrulus Argen-
‘toratenfis of Willughby, and therefore feppoted it
to be on its paflage to Europe.

‘This bird hath, indeed, in many refpedts, a very
{trong refemblance to the common roller of Europe,
which is reprefented alfo in the Planches Enlu-
minées, plate 486; but it differs moft materially
in the length of the two exterior feathers of the
tail, as well as in the colour of the neck, which
in the African roller is of a moft bright green, and
in the European of rather a duil blue.

In the 310th plate, there is likewife a coloured
reprefentation of the ‘* Hirondelle a ventre roux du
<< Senegal,” which {pecimen was poflibly furnifhed
by Moni. Adanfon himfelf,

* Voyage au Senegal, p. 15, There is alfo another African
bird, repr.fented in the ‘¢ Planches Enluminées,”. which might
very eafily, on a hatty i infpection, be miftaken for the Garrulus
Argentors ae viz. the Guepier a longue queue du Senegal.
ET, E ol. Pp. 344. ;

4 he roller of Angola is alfo engraved by Bviflon, T> it.

y},
Dp

wel anise oT Tt

[ 322 |

It very much, refembles the European fwallow;,
but the tail differs, as the forks (in the Senegal fpe-
cimen) taper from the top of the two exterior fea-
thers to the bettom, at three regular divifions,.
whereas in the European they are nearly of the fame
width throughout. | |

The convincing proof, however, that the « Hi-
« rondelle a ventre roux du Senegal” differs from:
eur chimney {wallow is, that the rump is entirely
covered with a bright orange or chefnut, which in
the European fwallow ‘* is of a very lovely but dark
«¢ purpliflr blue colour *.”

Having lately looked into Ariftotle’s Natural Hi--
ftory, with regard to the cuckow, I take this oppor-
tunity alfo of enlarging on the doubts I have thrown:
out, in relation to the prevailing notion. of this bird’s.
neftlings being hatched.and fed by fofter parents.

] find that this moft general. opinion. takes its rife:
from what ts faid by this father of natura} hiftory,,
in his ninth book, and! twenty-ninth chapter.

Ariftotle there afferts, that the cuckow does not
build a neft itfelf, but makes ufe moft commonly of
thofe of the wood-pigeon, hedge-fparrow, lark,.
(which-he adds are on the ground);as well. as that of:
the yAwpic ft, which is in trees,

Now, if we take the whole of this. account toge+
ther, it is certainly not to be depended upon; for
the wood-pigeon { and hedge-fparrow do not build:
vpon the ground, and no one ever pretended:to have:

* See Willughby, p. 312.

+ The xAqess is rendered /uteola; but, as there is no defcripe
tion, it is dificult to fay what bird Ariftotle here alludes tos.
Zinanni fuppofes it to be the greenfinch..

{ The wood-pigeon,. from its fize, feems to be the only.

bird which is- capable of hatching, or feeding, the )oung cuc-
found:

[ 323 ]
found a cuckow’s ege in the neft of a lark, which,
‘indeed, is fo placed.

I have before obferved, that the witneffes often
vary with regard to the bird in which the cuckow’s
egg is depofited *; and Ariftotle himfelf, in the fe-
venth chapter of his fixth book, confines the fofter-
parents to the wood-pigeon and hedge-{parrow, but
‘chiefly the former.

If the age + of Ariftotle is confidered, when he
‘began to collect the materials for his Natural Hiftory,
by the encouragement of Alexander after his con-
‘quefts in India {, it is highly improbable he fhould
have written from his own obfervations. He there~
‘fore feems to have haftily put down the accounts of
the perfons who brought him the different fpecimens
from moft parts of the then known world. |

Inaccurate, however, and contradictory as thefe re-
ports often turn out, it was the beft compilation
which the ancients could have recourfe to; and Pliny

kow; yet, if it is recollected that this bird lives on feeds, it
is probable that the cuckow, whofe nourifhment is infects,
would either be foon ftarved, or incapable of digefting what was
brought by the fofter-parent. This objeStion is equally appli+
cable tothe yrwers, if itis our greenfinch.

* Thus Linnzus fuppofes it (in the Fauna Suecica) to be the
‘white wagtail, which bird builds in the banks of rivers, of
roofs of houfes, (See Zinanni, p. §1.) where it is believed no
‘young cuckow was ever found. ;

+ He did not leave the {chool of Plato till the age of thirty-
eight (or, as fome fay, forty); after which, fome years paffed
‘before he became Alexander’s preceptor, who was then but
fourteen: nor could he have written his Natural Hiftory, pro-
bably, till twelve years after this, as Pliny ftates that fpecimens
were fent to him by Alexander, from his conquefts in India.
Ariftotle therefore muft have been nearly fixty, when he began
‘this great work, and confequently muft have defcribed from the
~ebfervations of others.

my Pliny, L. Viils Cc. 16,

Tt 2 there-

[ 324 ]
therefore profeffes only to abridge him, in which
he often does not do juftice to the original,

Whatever was afferted by Ariftotle, is well known
to have been moft implicitly believed, till the laft cen-
tury ; and I am convinced that many of the learned in
_Europe would, before that time, not have credited
their own eyefight againft what he had delivered.

There cannot be a ftronger proof that the general
notion about the cuckow arifes from what is laid
down by Ariftotle, than the chapter which imme-
diately tollows, as it relates to the goatfucker, and
{tates that this bird fucks the teats of that animal.

From this circumftance, the goatfucker hath ob-
taineda fimilar name in moft languages, though It is
believed no one (who thinks at all about matters of
this fort) continues to believe that this bird fucks the —
goat *, any. more than the hedgehog does the cow.

I beg leave, however, to canine miy/felf, that I
give thefe additional reafons only for my doubung
with regard to this moft prevailing opinion ; becaufe
I am tr raly fenfible that many things happen in na-
ture, which contradic all arguments from analogy,
and I am-perfuaded, therefore, that the firft perion
who gave an account of the flying fith, was not cre-
dited by any one, though the exiftence of this animal
is not now to be difputed.

All that I mean to contend: for is, that the in+
tances of fuch extraordinary peculiarities in animals,
fhould be proportionably well attefted, in all. the
neceflary circumftances.

I muft own, for example, that nothing dat of the

following particulars will-thoroughly fatisfy me on
this head.

*.See Zinanni p. 95. who tock. great pains to deteé this

vulgar error.
The.

[ Bers: 4

The hedge-fparrow’s neft muft be found with the
proper eges init, which fhould be deftroyed by the
cuckow, at the time fhe introduces her fingle egg *.

The neft fhould then be examined at a preper
diftance from day to day, during the hedge-{parrow’s
incubation, as alfo the motions of the fofter parent at-
tended to,. particularly in feeding the young cuckow,
-till it is able to fhift for itfelf.

As I have little doubt that the laft mentioned cir=
cumftance will appear decifive to many, without:
the. others which I have required, it may be pro-
per to give my reafons, why I.cannot confider, it.
alone, as fufficient.

There is fomething in the. a of aneftling for food,
which affects all kinds of birds, almoft as much as.
that. of an infant,. for.the fame purpofe, excites the:
compafiion of. every human hearer -.

I have taken four young ones froma hen fkylark,.
and placed. in their room. five neftling nightingales,.
as well as. five wrens,. the greater part of. eebichs: were.
reared. by the fofter: parent. .

It can hardly in this experiment be contended, that:
the fkylark raittook them for. her own nefilings, bes:

* T could alfo with that the following experiment was tried...
When. a hedge-{parrow hath laid all her eggs, a-fingle one of ;
any other bird, as large as a cuckow, might be intfocuced, ats -
ter whieh if either the nett was deferted, or the ege tvo large
to be hatche¢, it would afford a ftrorg prefumption: agzintt’
this prevailing opinion... I zmuft here alfo take notice, that Mr..
Hunter, F. R.S. who hath diflecied hen cuck ows, informs me.
that they are not incapacitated from hatching theigegos, as hata
been fuppofed by fome ernitholooifts.

+ Lam perfuaded that a. cuckow is oftener an: orphan, then
any other neftli ne becaufe, from the cunofity which prevails
with regard to this bisd, the-parents are eternally fhot.

eauis,

L 326 J
‘caufe they differed greatly, not only in number and
fize, but in their habits, for nightingales and wrens |
perch, which a fkylark is almoft incapable of, though,
by great aflidujty, fhe at laft taught herfelf the pro-
per equilibre of the body. |

I have likewife been witnefs of the following ex-
periment: two robins hatched five young ones in a
breeding cage, to which five others were added, |
and the old birds brought up the whole number,
making no diftinétion between them. |

The Aédologie alfo mentions (which is a very
- fenfible treatife on the nightingale *) that neftlings
of all forts may be reared in the fame manner, by
introducing them to a caged bird, which is fupplied
with the proper food. :

‘Not only old birds, however, attend to this cry of
diftrefs from neftlings, but young ones alfo which are
able to fhift for themfelves,

I have feen a chicken, not above two months old,
take as much care of younger chickens, as the pa-
rent would have fhewn to them which they had loft,
not only by fcratching to procure them food, but by
covering them with her wings; and I have little doubt
but that fhe would have done the fame by young
ducks. a

I have likewife been witnefs of neftling thrufhes
of a later brood, being fed by a young bird which
was hatched earlier, and which indeed rather over-
crammed the orphans intrufted to her care; if the
bird however erred in judgement, fhe was certainly
not deficient in tendernefs, which I am perfuaded the
would have equally extended to a neftling cuckow.

* Paris, 1751, OF 1771s

ae coe

Received February 135, 1772+.

XXH, KOS KINON EPATOZXOENOY &..
| , O R,.
The Sieve of Eratofthenes..

Being an account of his method of finding all
the Prime Numbers, by the Rev. Samuel
Horfley, F. R. S.

Read May 7, @ Prime number is fuch a one, as hath

Fle no intregral divifor but unity.

A number, which hath any other integral divifor,.
is Compofite.

Two or more numbers, which have no common
integral divifor, befides unity, are faid to be Prime
with refpect to one another.

Two or more numbers, which have any common
integral divifor befides unity, are faid to be
Compofite with refpect to one another..

The diftinétion of numbers into Prime and
Compofite, is fo generally underftood, that I fupe
pofe it is needlefs to enlarge upon it.

Todetermine, whether feveral numbers propofed
be Prime or Compofite with re/pect to. one another,
is an eafy Problem. ‘The folution of it is given by.
Euclid, in the three firft propofitions of the 7th.

5 book

[3284

‘book of the Elements, and is to be found in. many
common treatifes of Arithmetic and Algebra. But
ons concerning any number propoted,
Ww hee it be abfolutely Prime or Compotite, is a.
Problem of much prcater ditt culty. It feems in-
deed incapable of a direct folution, by any general
method; becaufe the fucceflive formation of-the
prime numbers doth not feem reducible to any ge-
neral law. And for the dame reato: n, no dived
nethod hath hitherto been hit upon, for conftruét-
it ie a Table of all the prime numbers to any given
limit. Eratofthenes, whofe ikill in every branch
of the philofophy and literature of his times, ren-
dered his name fo famous among the Sages of the
Alexandrian School, was the inventor of an indi-
rect method, by which fuch a table. might be con-.
itructed, and carried to a great length, in a fhort
‘time, and with little labour. This extraordinary
and ufeful invention is at prefent, I believe, little,
if at all, known; being defcribed only, by two
svriters, who are feldom read, and by them: but
obfcurely ; by Nicomachus Gerafinus. a fhallow
writer of the 3d or 4th century, who feemsto have
been Jed into mathematical fpeculations,. not fo
much by any genius for them, as by a fondnefs for
the my‘fteries of the Pythagorean and Platonic phi-
lofophy ; ‘and Ne Boethius, whofe treatife upon
Une is but an abridzment or the wretched per-
fo;mance of Nichoneenues Lat en myfelf
therefore, that a fuccing&t eset of it will not be
unacceptable to this learned Society.

% There are nici pieces than one of this Nichomachus
extant, hat which I refer to is intitled Eroaluln Apical

I But

[329 ]

But before I enter exprefsly upon ‘the fubject, 1
muft take the liberty to animadvert upon a certain
‘Table, which, among other pieces afcribed to Era-

tofthenes, is printed at the end of the beautiful
edition of Aratus publifhed at Oxford in the year
1672, and is adorned with the title of Korxwov
‘EpaloSeves. It contains all the odd numbers from
3 to 113 inclufive, diftributed in little cells, all
the divifors of every Compofite number being placed.
over it, in its proper cell, and the Prime numbers
are diftinguifhed, fo far as the table goes, by hav-
ing no divifors placed over them. It hath probably
been copied either from a Greek comment upon the
Arithmetic of Nicomachus, preferved among the
manufcripts of Mr. Selden in the Bodleian Library,
in which, though the manufeript is now fo much
decayed as to be in moft places illegible, I find
plain veftiges of fuch a table *, which might be
“more perfect 100 years ago, when the Oxford Ara-
tus was publifhed; or elfe, from another comment,
tranflated from a Greek manufcript into Latin,
and publifhed in that language, by Camerarius, in
which a table of the very fame form occurs, ex-
tending from the number 3 to 109 inclufive. It
may fufficiently fkreen the editor of Aratus from
cenfure, that he had thefe authorities to publith
this table as the Sieve of Eratofthenes; efpecially
as they are in fome meaiure fupported by pafiages
_of Nicomachus himfelf But the Sieve of Era-
tofthenés was quite another thing.
* This manufcript feems to have contained the text of Ni-
-comachus with Scholia in the margin. -But the table.evidently
belongs to the Scholia, not to the text.

Vou. LXIL Da Pine

[age 1)

The. Oxford editor hath annexed to his table, to:
explain the ufe of it, fome detached paffages, which
he hath fele€ted from the text of Nicomachus, and.
from a comment upon Nicomachus afcribed to:
Joannes Grammaticus. In thefe paflages the dif-
ference between Prime and Compofite: numbers is’:
explained, in many words indeed, but not with -
the greateft accuracy; and it is propofed to frame
akind of Table of all the odd numbgrs, from 3 to:
any given limit, in.which the Compofite numbers.
fhould be diftinguifhed by certain. marks *, ‘The-
Primes would. confequently be characterifed,.as far:
as the table fhould be carried, by being unmarked...
But, upon what principles, or by what rule, fuch a:
table is to be conftructed, is not at all explained. Ie
is. obvious that, in order to.mark the Compofite: -
numbers, it is neceflary to know which are fuch..
And, without fome rule to diftinguifh which num-
bers are. Prime, and which. are Compofite,, inde--
pendent of any table in which they fhall be diftin--
guifhed by marks, it is impoffible to judge, whe--
ther the table be true, as far as it goes, or to extend:
it, if requifite, to a. further hmit. Now it: was.
the Rule by which. the Prime numbers. and the-
Compofite might be diftinguifhed, not aTable. con--
{truéted we pie not how, that was the inven--
tion of Eratofthenes, to. which from its ufe, as:
well as from.the nature of the operation,, which:

* Nicomachus and Joannes Grammaticus propofe that thefe -
marks fhould be fueh, as fhould not only diftinzuidh the com-
pofite numbers, but likewife ferve to exprels all the divifors of ”
every fuch number. It will be fhewn, in a proper place, that:
this was no part of the original contrivance of the Sieve.

5 proceeds:

geht a

proceeds (as will be fhewn) by a gradual extermi-
nation of the compofite numbers from the arith-
“metical feries 3. 5.7.9. 11. &c.. infinitely conti-
nued, its author gave the name of the Sieve. 1
have thought it neceffary to premife thefe remarks,
to remove a prejudice, which I apprehend many
may have conceived, as this beautiful and valuable
edition of Aratusis in every ones hands, that this
ill-contrived fable, the ufelefs work of fome monk
in a barbarous age, was the whole of the invention
of the great Eratofthenes, and in juftice to my-
felf, that I might not be {ufpected of attempting
to reap another's harvett.
I now proceed, to give a true account of this
‘excellent invention; which, for its ufefulnefs, as
well as for its fimplicity, I cannot but confider as
oneof the moft precious. remnants of Ancient Arith-
metic. I fhall venture to reprefent it according to
my own ideas, not obliging myfelf to conform, in
every particular, to the account of Nicomachus,
-which I am perfuaded is in many circumftances
erroneous. In ftating the principles upon which
the Operation of the Sieve was founded, he hath
added obfervations upon certain relations of the
odd numbers to one another, which are certainly
his own, becaufe they are of no importance in
themfelves, and are quite foreign to the purpofe.
Every thing of this kind I omit: and having ftated
what I take to have been the genuine Theory of
Eratofthenes’s method, cleared from the adul-
terations of Nitomachiis, I deduce from it an ope-
_ ation of great fimplicity, which folves the Pro-
blem in queftion with wonderful eafe, and which,
Uru 2 ‘beeaule

[ 332 ]
Becaufe it is the moft fimple that the theory feems-
- to afford, I feruple not to adopt as the original
Operation of the Sieve, though nothing like it is. -
to be found in Nicomachus; though, on the con-
trary, Nichomachus, and all his Commentators,
would fugge{t an operation very different from. it,.
and far more laborious. For the fatisfa€tion of
the curious and the learned, I have annexed.
a copy of fo much of Meir iy treatife,.
as relates to this fubjedt, with fuch correétions.
of the text, as it ftands in the edition of Wiche-
lius,. printed at Paris ann. 1538, as the fenfe hath. |
fuggefted tome, or I have thought proper to adopt,
upon the authority of a manufcript preferved.
among thofe of Archbifhop Laud, in the Bodleian:
Library ;. which, in this part, I have carefully col-
lated. By comparing this-with the account which:
I fubjoin, every one will be able to judge how:
far Ihave done juftice to. the invention I have un-.
dertaken: to-explaim:. -

x
Z

PROBL E M.
To find all the Prime Numbers:

The number 2 is a Prime number ; but, except z;.
ho even number. is Prime, becaufe every even num-~
ber,. except 2, is divifible by 2,. and is therefore:
Compofite; Hence. it follows,. that all the Prime.
numbers,. except the number 2, are included in:
the feries.of the odd numbers, in. their natural or--
~ der, mfinitely extended ;. that 1s,. in the feries

Ze. Ge Ze Ge Ids 13.15. 17 1G. 2-23.25. 27--

BQ. 31+ 33- 35-37» 39> 410-43- 45. AF 4g. FT- Ce
Every

-

a

fi e339)

Every number which 1s not Prime, is a multi-
ple of fome Prime number, as Euclid hath demon-
firated (Element. 7. prop. 33.) ‘Therefore the
foregoing feries confifts of the Prime numbers, and
of multiples of the Primes. And the multiples, of
every number in the feries, follow at regular dif
tances by attending to which circumftance, all the
multiples, that is, all the Compofite numibers,.
may be eafily diftinguifhed and exterminated. __

J fay, the multiples of all numbers, in the fore-.
going feries,. follow at regular diftances.

For between. 3 and: its firft multiple in the feries
(9). two-nurabers intervene, which. are not multi-
ples of 3. Between g and the next multiple of 3
(15) two numbers likewife intervene, which are
not multiples of 3. Again between 15 and the
next multiple of 3 (21) two numbers intervene,,
which are not multiplesof 3; andfoon. Again,,
between 5 and its firft multiple (15) four numbers
intervene, whichare not multiples of 5. And-be-.
tween 15 and the next multiple of 5 (25) four
numbers intervene which are not multiples of 5 ;.
and foos. fh like manner, betweenevery pair of
the multiples of 7, as they ftand in their natu-.
ral order in the feries, 6 numbers intervene which,,
are not multiples of 7. Univertally, between every:
two multiples of any number #, as they fland in:
their natural order in the feries, #—1 numbers in-
. tervene,. which are not multiples of m
_ Hence may be derived an Operation for extermi-.
nating the Compofite numbers, which. I take to
have been the Operation. of the. Sieve, and.is as.
follows..

z: | a The

( 334]
The Operation of the Sieve.

Count all the terms of the feries following the
number 3, by threes, and expunge every third
mumber. Thus all the multiples of 3 are ex-
punged. The firft uncancelled number that ap-
pears in the feries, after 3, is 5. Expunge the >
{quare of 5. Count all the terms of the feries,
which follow the fquare of 5, by fives, and
expunge every fifth number, if not expunged
before. Thus all the multiples of five are expunged,
which were not at firft expunged, among the mul-
tiples of 3.. The next uncancelled number to 5
is 7. Expunge the fquare of 7. Count all the
terms of the feries following the fquare of 7, by
fevens, and expunge every feventh number, if not
expunged before. Thus all the multiples of 7 are
expunged, which were not before expunged among
the multiples of 3 or 5. The next uncancelled
number which is now to be found in the {feries,
after 7,1s 11.. Expunge the fquare of 11. Count
all the terms of the feries, which follow the fquare

3. §e Jo Yo T1138 PGs TZ. IQ) ZK. 23. ARs AF. 290 gt.
83. 88. 37. 39. 41. 43- 45» 47- AY. SY. 53. 58> Sf» 59:
61. 63. 65. 67. 9. 71. 73. 78 Mf 79» $¥- 83. B5» $7.
89. 9¥. 93. JS. 97- GG. 101. 103. #95. 107. 109. FFF. 113.
avg. xrj. xvg. rey. VZB. PZ§. 127. VAG. 131. ¥83. P3S5e
137+ 139: VAY. V43. VAS. VA. 149. 151. ¥83. F852 1570

of;

L335]
of 11, by elevens, and expunge every eleventh
number, if not expunged before. ‘Thus all the:
multiples of r1 are expunged, which were not be-
fore expunged among the multiples of 3, 5, and 7..
Continue thefe expunctions, till the firft uncancelled
number that appears, next to that whofe multi-
‘ples have been laft expunged, is fuch, that its.
- fquare is greaterthan the laft and greateft num-
ber ‘to ‘which’ the ferres is extended... ° The:
numbers which then remain uncancelled are all
the Prime numbers, except the number 2, which
eccur in the natural progreffion of number from 1
to the limit of the feries. By the limit of the fe-
ries I mean the laft and greateft number to. which
it is thought proper to extend it.
_ Thus the prime numbers are found to any given
limit. ee

Nicomachus propofes. to make fuch marks:
ever the Compofite numbers, as fhould fhew all
the divifors of each. From: this circumftance,.
and from the repeated intimations both of Nico-
machus, and his commentator Joannes Gramma-
ticus *, one would beled to imagine, that the Sieve
of Eratofthenes was fomething more than its. name:
imports, a method ef fifting out the Prime num-.
bers from the indifcriminate mafs of alt numbers
Prime and Compofite, and that, in fome way or
other, it exhibited all the divifors of every Compo-
fite number, and likewife fhewed whether two or

* The Comment of foannes Grammaticus is extant in ma-
nufcript in the Savilian Library at Oxford, to which. I have
frequent accefs, by the favour of the Reverend and Learned
Mr, Hornfby, the Savilian Pofeflor of Aftronomy.

more:

4

pig) ]! he

_ more Compofite numbers were Prime or Compofite |
with refpect to each other. I have many reafons
to think, that this was not the cafe. I fhall as
briefly as poffible point out fome of the chief, for
the matter is not fo important,. as to juttify my
troubling the Society with.a minute detail of them.
- Finft then, in the natural feries of odd numbers,
3. 5.7. &c. every number is a divifor of fome fuc-
ceeding number. Therefore if we are to have
marks for all the different divifers of every Com-
pofite number, we muft have a different mark for
every odd number. Therefore we muft have as
many marks, or fyftems of marks, as numbers;
and J do not fee, that it would be poffible, to find
any more compendious marks, than the common
numeral charaéters. ‘This being the cafe, it would
be impracticable to carry fuch a table as Nicoma-
chus propotes, and his commentators have {ketched,
toa fufficient length to be of ufe, on account of
the multiplicity of the divifors of many numbers,
and the confufion which this circumftance would
create*, It is hardly to be fuppofed, that Era-
to{thenes could overlook this obvious. difficulty,
though Nicomachus hath not attended to it. Era-
to{thenes therefore could not intend the conftruc-
tion of fuch a table.

In the next place, fuch a table not being had,
Kratofthenes could not but perceive, that, the
determining whether two or more numbers be
Prime or ~Compofite with refpeé&t to one an-
other, is in all cafes to be done more eafily,

by the dire&t method given by Euclid, than by

* The number 3465 hath no lefs than 22 different bi
{he

[ me ]

the method of the Sieve. And he could not mean,
to apply this method toa problem, to which ano-
ther was better adapted. - 3

Laftly, Eratofthenes could not mean, that the
method of the Sieve fhould be applied to the find-
ing of all the poflible divifors of any Compofite
number propofed, becaufe he could not be unac-
guainted with a more ready way of doing this,
founded upon two obvious Theorems, which could
not be unknown to him.

The Theorems | mean are thefe.

af. If twa Prime numbers multiply each bibag
the number produced hath no divifors Ke the two
prime factors.

2d. If a Prime number multiply a Compa Le nun
ber, and likewife multiply all the divifors of that»

compofite feverally, the numbers produced by the mul- ~

tiplications of thefe divifors will be divifors of the
aumber produced by the firft multiplication: And the
number produced by the firft multiplication will have -
no divifors, but the two factors, the divifors of the -
Compofite factor, and the numbers made by the multi-
plication of thefe divifors by the Prime factor feverally.
The method of finding all the divifors of any
Compofite number, delivered by Sir aac New-
ton in the Arithmetica Univerfalis, and by Mr.
Maclaurin in his Treatife of Algebra, may be ~
deduced from thefe propofitions, as every ma-
thematician will eafily perceive. This method
requires indeed that the leaft prime divifor fhould
be previoufly found; and, if the leaft prime di-
vifor fhould happen to be a large number, as it
is not aflignable by any general method, the
Vou. LXI}. DOT “inve :

. [a ETS os
inveftigation of it by repeated tentations» may~
be very tedious. A table therefore ‘of the odd:
numbers *, in which the Compofite numbers fhould-
each tia its leaft Prime divifor written over it, ~
would be very ufeful.. But INichomachus’s projeée ©
of framing a table in which each Compofite num-=
ber Should, have a// its divifors written. over.it, is.
ridiculous and abfurd, on account of the infupera-=

ble difficulties which would. attend: the-execution ©

of rt!)

Repy 7, 3772: beams
S, Horfley..

* A table of the odd numbers. would be fufficient :. for the
number 2 is the leaft prime divifor of every even number;. and:
it is.eafy, evenin the largeft numbers, to. try whether they are-
divifible by 2. In our method of notation, this may always be-
known, by obferving the laft figure in the. expreffion of the num.
ber Laie:

| [ 339 J
EXCERPTA QUEDAM
“Arithmetica Nicomachi
.Ad Cribrum Eratofthenis pertinentia.

“a } Teray qWeors (4); Une Epolloobeves, HOE TOL
Kooxwov Erredy avamepupwwus TRS 7 Tepiosg AaCores x % oi
sUKpIT BS, e& auleov [ree dicePepov]oe aAAMAwY adn](2) roel vy
THs. Heer eg (c) pedode DraipgeopiComesysed WG O10 opyave i Koons
TWos'. % ibe yeey Tes mpares % acwleres, xeopts a) TE6
pines eugionopey. "Ech “0 spor@s re Kocnive roe T Ove
Exhipdo@ ree aim rprctd@e merSloes egecns mepioses, 96
duvaijov peda ent piasoy shy 0v, peu @e are re
pure, emo eo co rivets 010g TE Egat pelea enaeg Oo" %
evpicxw duvdlov eve. Tov peor Oy, mr08 TOY 5 Teg Ovo pe=
wee. Dtaretoravoce (a D Flee, wexprs $ mponcwpery eberanow (e):

eX as ETUYE Qo. % ere ae pay Ob ahha Tov Oe TOTS
BUT WY MEDUOVs TET E51 TOV.AD EeU|s Tes do meres dimAz~

(2) Mallem peas, etfi, ne quid dimuon, leGtioni receota
adftipulatur Boethii interpretatio.

(4) Voces uncis inclufas conjectura fuppl evi; quinet fequenti--
um ordinem paululum immutavi, pro Ti Nerreag peloda Tavtn,
feribendo ravrn ti x. T. A.

(c) Vocem -fufsews hic loci retinendam cenfeo, Locum in-
tegrum fic interpretor. ‘* Su@m horum indaginem Eratofthenes,
Cribrum vocavit. Propterea quod imparibus univerfis, nullo
generum difcrimine, in medio collocatis, ipfam procreationem
continuam, quo tradidit ille modo, infequendo [id-eft, procrea-
tionis continu, Eratofthenis modo, explorata lege] pas diver=
fas feorfim fiftimus, cribro tanquam es %

(2) Cod. MS. habet diarcinravla. Wechelius bhedetrbvia!

(¢) Ex Cod.MS. pro rendu. |

Se 2 wore

eee
mor jee( f); walla rhe Fé B meeilige 2 54 To shies eayeeve Obra

peelences” rer ect nolo tlw éavls, Tels yop’ Tov 0 an
Exeive Ovo diarslercd|ay nailer qlw Te devjepe TET Ay Wve ,,
mevjecnig yang Tov a) mepauileges mow duo dics eimov)on, “a]oe
Th TE TpiTe Télaypwwe, em Jous yap’ Tov > ert meoailegaa
Umep ovo rerdpov, recto rl Te rélagle Télaywwes € evvecinig
yeep" % en ereipoy 70 aUTo Tpome. Eire pele TETOUs on
ae epi emt Tov detrepou erban, CxO Tives 060s TE
est ad BE % evpioxes ar osv eg Tee TEosaipac (g) dtecdeborovoes*
Ae Tov po Tou TOY» ros le ev “eo sbygee meuilice
relay woe morori|e: 7p yep. Toy 4 debrepor, necilot a TS
devjépe" mevlecnis yep" Tov 4 *pirov, reilos THY TS) Tere
em cuss yee" % T2TO eQEC Me aes. TlaaAw a) civeabler, * @
TpitG@e, 0 O. 979 pereai * maparnbor, pelenoes Tes ee oe
Aeirrovlac’ canner Tov po mpworis oy netla TH 78 y ()
ROooTy Cy 7 meure news" Tov 4 dedrepov xa)ez 7 TS E
devjegdlayis vee 37 @o(? Ne Fov 4 a) } TeiT OV, nelle rny Te si 4
tpi yy yap ever (Rk) St@s Taki ev Te cla. ae x0)o Ty
mura ee dt odov (/) cimrpour obits (Mm) mporespna es
at TET0, WOE TO po pele. drardeZov'), nal THY ev TH
sine auTwY eyKeony Toki" TO 4) ToTes Siadelorovrecc,

\ +-

(f} Locum in Editione Wechelii corruptum, in Cod, MS.
mutilum & turbafum, conjectura, prout potui, fanatum dedi...
Editio Wechelii habet rcv r3¢ vo wéoss UrepCxivorla.. Codex MS. .
mov dio. THlEést Tov Tpla.

(g) Conjeétura, pro réJpadi.

(4) Litera numeralem y, conjectura pofui pro: voce Tpti%.

fi) Reftitui ex Cod. MS pro ovlG@, que eft Wechelii leAtio..

(4) Particulam xo. omili.

(7) Wechelium fequor. Cod. MS. habet roysy. fenfu, ut viciaees
nullo.

(mm), Ex Cod. MS. pro amapsprédisove

* Conjectura pro pelpove

feat]

nNe ses ame ult. 2 or amepoy EvTaxoy ray (72) apliay
“aponomyy, i setae Thy af XLOOLS Dirac doce nal avo

‘

pélowy Téran.)" 70 a Tog ers, seot]oe ry TOY ATO Tysad@- -
MEQpov ey eirax]oy € ew cemespoy (2) ™porcerona sy (p). “Eey Sp >

enpelois Tio emishegs Tes ce Sess euprioets Tee pela-
Aapbdvovas TO nhc, ure ape wailas aa aiv)ov woe

eelpetloc, § ect 7 ote sds Ovo + aur oy" Ere mav|ous aahig

a Ex KELOUES Umomemovfas pereu Tis BUT. CAAe
Thies ee wailedors Jiapedyyov)ocs TO ? peelendnvan v vo erivocey
Fives 5 Up Eevee pore pélee veo’ TIVES 4 U7ro due, 4
wrGovwy. Ob- Mee 2y pendoyeoe (9) pelpnberlec, adhee e

Quycr)ec TETO, Toros eioh 2% ecruvG Eos, wo Um Koo Kives :
dscengpberlec. 01 5 up £905 ove pelonderlec, Kalco my

eau] (7) ooorslet, & ey aver popsov ErEpeovupeoy Bea evs

X-:

REY

79 Tcepeavepety on Oe UO: eves. poe (5) ETEpE: O& TOOTH, % e
a 7H EAU] 4 a vero duo 6 Obs 3 pmélpyberecs mrstover EGBOr Toe

ET EpCOVULLCE meen mes To ToLpeoVUELtD TETOb Su: erev.}

(2). Conjectura pro THVe ~
“(0) Voces én’ ameegv ex Cod. MS. refticui. -

" (p} Nempe feries numerorum imparium 3, 597395 &c. infinite -

protenfa, cum numeros impares univerfos contineat, imparis cu-
jufvis multiplices omnes impares neceflario complectitur. Efta
igitur 2 numerus quilibet impar. In ferie 3, 5,: 7, &c. infinite

protenfa, habes numeros omnes 7X 3,.7X5,."X7, "XQ, Boe.

Et cum feriei ea Lex fit &. Conditio, ut naturali ordine numeri »
impares fequantur, & minor omnis:numerus inajorem preecedat, -

fieri nequit, quin multiplices numeri 7 eum inter fe ordinem |
fervent, ut minor quifque majorem precedat. Primus igitur erit .

a%3, fecundus 1x5, tertius »x7, & univerfim, »xm eum .—

habiturus eft, inter multiplices, locum, quem numerus m. in
ferie,
(g) Ex Cod.MS. vice dxj.as, quae Wechelii le&tio an
(r) ConjeGtura pro eavlov.

is Particulam ,4.' ex Cod. MS reftitui.
Ee A Oevrepec

[ 342.)

: devrepos % %6 cuvbelo:r. To % Tp troy peg, ‘TO xkowwoy ue

@olEgey, 0 wal Eavlo o- Sivacov 2 1 ovvbéloy, T pos ahho
be Tpuroy % aotybéov, eco) comofenepQwor aigpOmob, reat
Tay eau mooorn|ce mplare % aowvbere Hélpice|G- TIVO,
ELTIs [rere Te zpomy | (¢): fuoduG-, cuynypvoilo 70s
e&hhaov ar aUTws 7M) Reo Enov]eee amr ép 60 +, equélo v0

am Te bs (u) uared Ty cecal] morarnras pepe cei] Ge 7pis
‘ryeip’ et cuyeepvaio apes + we° efuclo yap %eT@ (x) ¢ eX re
ie, wetlet rq cava mooerila peleng al] Os evleceas yap*
“GOWo” perpo TETOG Bh ECOk, & fA [L0V) 4: Moves.

ft) Voces rétw ra tpémw conjectura fupplevi.
(uv) Literam nuineralem Y pro voce 7pite 8 apud Wechetiam

‘Jegitur, ex Cod. Ms reftitui.

(x) Voces yap work are ex Cod, M8, refit

Ex

rev

Ex ‘ArithmeticA © Boethii.
iy ame a

GENERATIO ‘autem. ipforum. atque ortus hu-
jufmodi. inveftigatione colligitur, quam feilicet
Eratofthenes Cribrum nominabat; quod. cundis.
imparibus in medio collocatis,. per eam, quam,
tradituri fumus, arteml,. qui primi, quive fecun-
di,. quique tertii generis videantur effe diftin-.
guitur. Difponantur enim a. ternario. numero:
cunéti. in ordinem impares, in quamlibet longiffi-
mam porrectionem 3. 5. 7. 9..11. 13+ 15+ 17. 1s.
AE Po AV teens Baron 3 Ae Deol 4 Se Ags
47.49. His igitur ita dilpoGtic. confiderandum, .pri-
mus numerus quem eorum,. qui funt in ordine po-
fiti, primum metiri poffit: fed, duobus prateritis, .
illum, qui poft cos eft pofitus, mox metitur: et,.
fi poft eundem ipfum quem menfus eft, alii. duo.
tran{miffi funt, illum, qui poft dues eft, rurfus
metitur:. et, eodem modo fi duos quis reliquerit,
poft eos qui eft, a primo numero metiendus eft ;
eodemque modo, relitis femper duobus, a primo,
in infinitum pergentes. metientur. Sed id non
vulgo neque confufe.. Nam. primus. numerus. il-
lum, qui eft poft-duos fecundum {fe locatos, per
fuam quantitatem metitur: ternarius enim nu-
merus ter *g metitur. Si autem poft novena-
rium duos reliquero,. qui mihi poft illos incurres.

*-ConjeCtura pro sertio,
3: Lit 3.

( 34401'%

rit, @ primo metiendus ‘eft, per fecundi imparis —

+ quantitatem id eft, per quinarium: nam fi poft g
- duos relinqguam, } id ef{L 11 & 13, ternarius numerus
i metietur, per fecundi. numeri quantitatem, id
. Cee per quinari ; quoniam numerus ternarius 1s

ange metitur, Rurfus, fi a quindenario in- -

.choans duos intermifero, qut -pofterior politus eft,
-éjus primus numerus meniura eft, per tertil impa-
ris -pluralitatem: nam fi poft 15 intermifero 17
&-19, incurrit 21, quem ternarius numerus fecun-

dum feptenarium‘ metitur ;’'2 1 enim numeri terna-_ -
-rius feptima pats eft: atque hoe in infinitum ae
ciens, reperio primum numerum, fi binos Intent.
-mifero, omnes fequentes poft fe meétiri, fecundum’ _

quantitatem pofitorum ordine imparium numero-

reer ie ae

rum, Si vero quinarius numerus, qui in fecundo
‘loco eft conftitutus, velit® quis, cusjus prima ac

dem) 1Ceps fit menfura, invenirée, tran{miflis quatuor ae

imparibus, quintus ei quem metiri poffit, occurrit.

-Intermittantur enim quatuer impares, id eff, 7 Se

g, & 11 & 13, poft hos eft quinitus decimus- quem.
-quinarius ‘metitur, fecundum primi {cilicet guan-
titateim, «1d eft, ternaril 5 quingue enim 15 Che.
metiuntur: “ac deinceps, fi quatuor intermit-
tat, eum) qui poft illos locatus eft, fecundus, id

eft, quinarius, fui quanta metitur : : nam polit, _

guindecim intermifiis 17 & 19, & 21 & 23, poft
cos 25 reperio, quos quinarius: f{eilicet numerus
fud pluralitate metitur; quinquies enim quinario
multiplicato, 25 fuécrelennr ; fi vero poft hunc
_quilibet quatuor intermittat, ideha ordinis fervata

b ConjeQura pro vel.
* Conjectura pro tertia.
-conftantia,

[ 345]

conftantia, qui eos fequitur, fecundum tertii, id
eft, feptenarii numeri f{ummam, a quinario meti-
tur: atque heec eft infinita proceflio. Si vero
tertius numerus quem metirl polit exquiritur, fex
in medio relinquentur; & quem feptimum ordo
monftraverit, hic per primi numeri, id eft, ter-
Naril quantitatem metiendus eft: et poft fad
fex aliis interpofitis, quem poft eos numeri feries
dabit, per quinarium, id eft, per fecundum, tertii
eum menfura percurret: fi vero alios rurfus fex
in medio quis relinquat, ille, qui fequitur, per
feptenarium ab eodem feptenario metiendus eft;

id eft, per tertii quantitatem ; atque hic ufque in
extremum ratus ordo progreditur. Sufcipient ergo
metiendi vicifiitudinem, quemadmodum funt in.
ordine naturaliter impares conftituti: metientur
autem, fi per pares numeros, a binario inchoantes,
pofitos inter fe impares, rata intermiffione, tranfi-
liant; ut primus duos, fecundus quatuor, tertius
dex, quartus.octo, quintus decemé¢: vel fi locos
fuos conduplicent, & {fecundum duplicationem
terminos intermittant; ut ternarius, qui primus
eft numerus, & Unus, omnis enim primus Unus
eft, bis locum fuum multiplicet, faciatque bis
unum; qui cum duo fint, primus duos medios
crandeat. Rurfus fecundus, id eft, quinarius, fi
locum fuum multiplicet, 4 explicabitur: hic quo-
que quatuor * intermittat. Item fi feptenarius,
qui tertius eft, locum fuum duplicet, fex creabit ;
bis enim 3 fenarium jungunt: hic ergo in atdi-
dine ‘ fex relinquat. Quartus quoque, fi locum

4 ConjeCtura reftitui pro 12.
© Conjecturd pro 4.
£ Conjectura pro ordinem.

Vou. LXIl, ¥ y- {uum

4 v2 Pape
Se a

[ 346 j

fuum duplicet, 8 fuccrefcent; ille quoque’ otto

tranfiliat: atque hoc quidem in ceteris perfpicien-
dum. Modum autem menfionis, fecundum or-
dinem: collocatorum, ipfa feries dabit. Nam pri-
mus primum quem numerat, fecundum primum
numerat 8, id eft, fecundum fe; & fecundum pri-
mus quem numerat, per fecundum numerat®, &
tértium per tertium, & quartum item per quartum.
Cum autem fecundus menfionem * fuiceperit, pri«

A

mum quem numerat fecundum primum metitur;:

fecundum vero quem numerat per fe, id eit, per

fecundum; & tertium per tertrum: & in ceteris €4-

dem Grd s menfura conftabit. Illos ' ergo.
fi refpicias, vel qui alios menfi funt, vel qui ipfi

ab aliis metiuntur, invenies omnium fimul com+

munem menfuram effe non pofle, neque ut-omnes -

quemquam alium fimul numerent; quofdam au-

tem ex his ab alio pofle metiri, ita ut ab uno tan-—

tum numerentur*; alios vero, ut-etiam a plu

ribus ; quofdem autem, ut preter Unitatem eorum :

nulla menfura fit. Qui ergo nullam menfuram
preter Unitatem recipiunt, hos Primos & Incom-

f ConjeCtura. pro 8.

& Pro numerat. mallem in utroque loco,.metitur, ut aliud fit °
numerare, 2\iud metiri, & fenfus fit, ** That which the firft -
«s*number [of the Series] counts the firft’ [of its multiples], ‘it -

a meafures by the firft [of the Series], i. e. by itfelf. “Phat
s*. which it counts the fecond [of its multiples], . it meafures. by

«* the fecond [number in the Series],” Sic enim infra legimus -

de Numero ordine _fecundo, “* primum quem numerat feundum
si Ne dae metitur.”
»--Conjectura,. pro manfionem..
4 Conjeétura, pro alias.

® Ang. ** But fo as to be counted in among.the multiples of »

Ss one number only.”

Ke pofitos -

[ 347 ]

pofitos judicamus; qui vero aliquam menfuram
preter Unitatem, vel alienigenz: partis vocabulum
fortiuntur, eos pronunciemus Secundos atque Com-
pofitos. ‘Tertium vero illud genus, per fe Secun-
di & Compofiti, Primi vero & Imcompofiti -ad al-
terutrum comparati, hac inquifitor catione reperiet.

Si enim quoflibet primos' numeros, fecundum
fuam in femetipfos multiplices quantitatem, qui
procreantur, ad alterutrum comparati, nulla men-
{urd communione junguntur: 3™ enim & 5, fi
multiplices, 3 ter "9 faciunt, & quinquies 5 red-
dunt 25. His igitur nulla eft cognatio communis
menfure. Rurfus s« & 7 quos procreant, fi com-
pares, hi quoque incommenfurabiles erunt : quin-
quies enim 5, ut dictum eft, 25, fepties 7 faciunt
49; quorum menfura nulla communis eft, nif
forte omnium horum procreatrix & mater Uni-
tas"

1 Conjectura pro Zilles.

= Conjectura, pro tres. ™ Conjectura pro tres tertio.

° Sed cave credas, Lector, numeros inter fe. primos nullos
dari preter Primorum Quadratos. :

Dye XXII. 4

[ se2 E

XXIV. 4 Letter from Mr. Chriftopher-
Gullet zo Matthew Maty, MZ. D. Sec.
R.S. on the Effets of Elder, in preferv-—
ing Growing Plants from Infe&ts and Flies.

Taviftock (Devon) Aueuft rr Te
SIR, | ( ) Aug 9 1771
Read May 14, SHOULD not prefume to trouble you:

LG as a member of the Royal Society
with the following letter, did not the fubjeét feem to.
promife to be of great public utility. Ie relates to,
the effects of Elder ; | |

Sambucus, fruchu. ia um ‘ella: MIS TOs.

tft. In preferving cabbage plants from being eaten:
or damaged by caterpillers. .

2d. In preventing blights, and their effects on fruit:
and other trees.

3d. In the prefervation of crops.of wheat: from:
the yellows, and other deftruCtive infects.

4th. Alfo in faving crops of turnips from the fly, ,
&c. &e. :

1ft, Twas led to my firft experiments, by con--
fidering how difagreeable and offenfive to our olfac-

tory nerves the effluvia emitted by a brufh of green

Ee elder.

[ 349 ]

elder leaves are, and from thence, reafoning how much
more fo they muft be to thofe of a butterfly, whom
I coniidered as being as much fuperior to us in
delicacy as inferior in fize. Accordingly I took fome
_ twigs of young elder; and with them whipt the cabbage

plants well, but fo gently as not to hurt them, juft as the
butterflies firtt appeared ; from which time, for thefe
two fummers, though the butterflies would hover
and flutter round them like gnomes or fylphs, yet I
could never fee one pitch. nor_was there I believe a
fingle catterpiller blown, , after the plants were fo
whipt; though an adjoining bed was nies as.
ufual.

ad. Reflecting on the effects abovementioned, ba
confidering blights as chiely and genera Hy been!
oned by {mall fli ies, and minute infects, whdfe organs
are proportionably finer than the former, I whipt-
the limbs of a ce tree, as high as I could
reach; the leaves of which were preferved green,,
flourifhing, and unhurt, while thofe not fix aoe
higher, and from thence upwards, were blighted,
fhrivelled up, and full. of worms. Some of thefe
laft I afterwards reftored by whipping with, and.
tying up, elder amongthem. It muft be noted, that, ,
this tree was in full blolfom at the time of whip-
ping, which was much too late, as it fhould -have-
been done once or twice before the bloffom appeared, |
But I. conclude from the whole, that if an in-
fufion of elder was made in a tub of water, fo that:
the water might be firongly impregnated therewith, .
and then fprinkled over the tree, by a hand engine,
once every week. or. fortnight, it would effeGually.

antwer

[ 35° ]

_ anfwer every purpofe that could be wifhed, without
any pofflible rik of hurting the bloffoms or fruit. -
3d. What the farmers call the yellows in wheat,

and which they confider as a kind of mildew, is

in fact, as I have no. doubt but you well know,

-occafioned by a fmall yellow fly with- blue wings, -

about the fize of a gnat. This blows in the ear of
the corn, and produces a worm, -almoft invifible to

‘the naked eye; but being feen through a pocket

microfcope, it appears a large yellow maggot of the

colour and: glofs of amber, and is fo prolific that [
laft week diftin@ly counted 41 living yellow mag-
gots or infects, in the hufk of one fingle grain of
wheat, a number fufficient to eat up and deftroy
the corn ina whole ear. I intended to have tryed —
the following experiment fooner; but the dry hot
weather bringing on the corn fafter than was ex-—
pected, it was got and getting into fine bloffoms
-ere I had an opportunity of ordering as I did;
but however the next morning at daybreak, two
fervants took two bufhes of elder, and went one
on each fide of the ridge from end to end, and fo
back again, drawing the elder over the ears of corn
of fuch fields as were not too far advanced in blof-
foming. I conceived, that the difagreeable efHluvia
of the elder would effectually prevent thofe flies from
pitching their tents in fo noxious a fituation ; nor
was I difappointed, for Iam firmly perfuaded: that
no flies pitched er blowed on the.-corn after.it had
been fo ftruck. But I had the mortification of ob-
lerving the flies (the evening before it was truck)
already on the corn (fix, feven or. eight, ona fingle

ear). fo that what damage hath accrued, was done
, before

[ a5
- before the operation took place; for, on examining it
laft week, I found the corn which had been ftruck
pretty free of the yellows, very much more fo than
what was not ftruck, I have, therefore, no doubt but
that, had the operation been performed fooner, the corn
would have remained totally clear and untouched.
If fo, fimple as the procefs is, I flatter myfelf, it
bids fair to preferve fine crops of corn from deftrue-
tion, as the {mall infects are the crops greateft ene- -
my. One of thofe yellow flies laid at leaft eight ©
or ten eggs of an oblong fhape on my thumb, only ~
while carrying by-the wing acrofs three or four ridges, .
as appeared on viewing it with a pocket microfcope.
4th. Crops of turnips are frequently deftroyed, .
when young, by being bitten by fome infects, either
flies or fleas; this I Hatter myfelf maybe effectual-_
ly prevented, by having an elder bufh ‘{pread fovas
to cover about the breadth of a ridge, and drawn:
once forward and backward by a man ‘over the |
young turnips. J] am confirmed in this idea, by |
having ftruck an elder bufh over a bed of young -
- eollyiiower plants, which had begun to be bitten, .
and would otherwife. have been. deftroyed. by thofe —
infeGs; but after that operation. it remained un- -
touched. 2 ;
In fupport of my opinion, I beg leave to men- -
tion the following fact from very credible information, .
that about eight or nine years ago this county: was fo »
infefted with cock chaffers.or oakwebs, thatin many”
parifhes they eat every green thing, but -elder; nor +
Jeft-a green leaf untouched befides elder buthes, |
which alone remained green and unhurt, amid the »
general devaftation of fo voracious a multitude. On
| reflecting

>

| E gee J
refleCing on thefe feveral circumftances, a thought —
fuggefted itfelf to me; whether an elder, now efteemied

noxious and. offenfive, may not be one- day feen

planted with, and entwifting its branches among,
fruit trees, in order to preferve the fruit from ‘de-
ftruGtion of infetis: and whether the fame means .

which produced thefe feveral effects, may not be ex-
tended toa great variety of other cafes, in the pre-

fervation of the vegetable kingdom.

The dwarf elder (eu/us) 1 apprehend emits more
offenfive eflluvia then common elder, therefore mutt
be preferable to it in the feveral experiments.

On mentioning lately to Sir Richard W.Bampfylde,

one of the reprefentatives of this county, my obfer- -

vations on the corn crops, and the effects: of the
elder, &c. he perfuaded me to publifh them, which
in fome meafure determined my taking this ftep, of
tranfmitting them to a Society incorporated for pro-
moting the knowledge of natural things, and ufeful
experiments, in which they have fo happily and
amply fucceded, to the unfpeakable advantage and
improvement both of the old and new world. I have
the honour to fubfcribe myfelf, !

Tes
Your moft obedient,
humble Servant, 7 |
Chr. Gullett.

XXIV. 4

[ 353] HY

XXIV. 4 Letter from John Call, Eye;
to Nevil Mafkelyne, F. R. S. Aftronoier
Royal, containing a Sketch of the Signs of
the Lodiac, found i in a ceeae; r1C0F » Cape

Comorin im India.

STR,

Read May 14, Sa member of the Royal Soikeeys

sre and one whofe ftudy is particularly
direted to the motions of the heavenly bodies, I
think you the moft proper perfon to whom I can
fend the inclofed {ketch ['T'ab. X.], which I drew
with a pencil, as I lay on my back refting myfelf
during the heat of the day, in a journey from Ma-
durah. to Twinweliy, near Cape Comorin. And I
fend it to you rather in the original, as 1 then
fketched it off, than in any more complete form,
left it fhould thereby have more the appearance
of compolition, and leave not fo ftrong an im=
preflion of antiquity, as it made on me when I dif.
covered it.

After fuch a cece L fearehied? in my travel¢
many other pagodas, or choultrys, for fimilar carvings;
but, to the beft of my remembrance, never found:

Vor. LX. Ze but.

[ 354 J
but one more equally complete, which was on the
ceiling of a temple, in the middle of a tank before
the pagoda of Teppecolum, near Mindurah, of
which tank and temple Mr. Ward, painter in Broad-
ftreet, near Carnaby-market, hath a drawing; but
I have often met with the feveral parts in detached.
pieces. ,

From the correfpondence of the figns of the zo-.
diac which we at prefent ufe, and which we had, I
believe, from the Arabians or Egyptians, T am apt
to think that they originally came from India, and
were in ufe among the Bramins, when Zoroafter and:
Pythagoras travelled thither, and confequently
adopted and ufed by thofe travellers: and as thefe:
philofophers are ftill fpoken of in India, under the
names of Zerdhurft and Pyttagore, I fhould alfo.
hazard another idea, that the worfhip of the cow,,
which ftill prevails in India, was tranfplanted from:
thence to Egypt. But this is only conjecture; and»
it may with almoft equal probability. be faid, that)
Zoroafter or Pythagoras carried that worfhip to India.

However, I think there is an argument ftill in fa-
vour of India for its antiquity, in point of civilization
and cultivation of the arts and {ciences ; for it is
hardly in difpute that all thefe improvements:came
from the eaft to the weft; and, if we may be al-
lowed to draw any conclufions from the immenfe
buildings now exifting, and from the little of the
infcriptions, which can. be interpreted on feveralsof
the choultrys and pagodas, I think it may fafely be
pronounced, that no part of the world has more
maiks of antiquity for arts, {ciences, and civiliza-

tion,.

[355 ]

tion, than the peninfula of India, from the Ganges
to Cape Comorin; nor is there in the world a finer
‘climate, or face of the country, nor a {pot better
inhabited, or filled with towns, temples, and vil-
Tages, than this fpace is throughout, if China and
‘parts of Europe are excepted. — |

I think the catvings on fome of the pagodas and.
choultrys, as well as the grandeur of the work, ex-
ceeds any thing executed now-a-days, not only for
the delicacy of ‘the-chiffel, but the expence of con-
firuction, confidering, in many inftances, to what
diftances the component parts were carried, and to
what heights raifed. If Mr. Kittle the painter, now
in India, fhould have time and opportunity, after he
hath made his fortune by portrait drawing, it would
be a great addition to his reputation, and well worth
his pains, to inveftigate the nature of the Indian archi-
teCture and carving, by painting fome of the moft
curious buildings, or parts of pagodas. The great
obftacle to afcertaining dates, or hiftorical events, is
the lofs of the Sans-Skirrit language, and the confine~
ment of it to the priefthood. I fhould have taken
fome pains to have colie&ted many things; but the
number of revolutions and occupations which hap-
~ pened always prevented me. |

I alfo commit to your infpeCtion the * manuferipts.
of Mr. Robins, which he gave. meat his death;

* ‘Thefe I communicated to the Royal Society, together with
this letter; but being examined by myfelf, Mr. Raper, Mr.
Cavendifh, and Mr. Horfley, at the defire of the Society, they
were not found to contain any thing material more than ‘has
been already printed; excepting a treatife on military difcipline:
which, if it fhould be thought of ufe, may be inferted in the
next edition ef his works. N.M.

4Z2 I be-

{sas0 1.

I believe moft of them have been printed, but if
there are any which have not, or that can amufe
you or inftruét others, you are welcome to ufe them
as you pleafe: I only wifh they may contain any
thing ufeful. While he lived, I purfued thofe ftu-

dies ; but, foon after his death, new fcenes arofe,
and engaged me more in praétical fervice, than al-
lowed me time for theory, or experiments. Iam,
however, a. conftant weli-wifher to the progrefs of
arts and fciences, as well as ftudy ; and very much,

SIR,
Your obedient,

humble Jfervant,

Jn° Calls

ET An

bess7 |;

AX. An Account of the Flewing of the:
Tides in the South Sea; as obferved’ on:
board His Mayefty’s Bark the Endeavour,
by Lieut. J. Cook, Commander, m a
Letter to Nevil Mafkelyne, Afironomer:
Royal, gud F.R,S..

Mite-ead, EF ebruary 53 17726
Reverend Sir, .
Read Ao ae Here fend‘you the few obfervations T°
big made on the tides in the South Sea, .

to which. 1. have only.to add, that, from many cir--
curmftances and -obfervations, I_am fully. convinced :
that the flood comes. from the fouthward, or rather:
from the S, E. Iam,

S1R;.
Your moft ‘obedient,.
humble feryant,.
J. ‘Grok

Names:

[ 358 ]

New and fuld

of Moon.
Names of places where obferved. Lat. | Long.
South.| Weft. High |Rife &
water. | fall.
: - \H. M.1P. In.
Suceefs Bay in Strait le Maire —§4.45| 66 4! 4.30] 5 6
Lagoon liland — _ -—138 47 {139 28 AON a tetas
Matavai B Bay, Otaheita — 17 29 149, 30).0. 30 1%$o 11
- Telaga Bay, Batt coalt of New Zealand 38 22,1181 1341 6 oO lee 6
Mercury Bay, N.E. ditto — —'36 48 1184 47 30] 7 ©
River Thames, ditto — -— ‘-——37 r2|184 1219.0} 10 ©
Bay. of Hands, ditto — _— —=35 t4-1185 30) 8 Oe 7. Va
ueen Charlotte’s Sound, Cook’s Strait
ea ane © 184 45,9 30) 7 6
Admiralty Bay, in ditto ~ —40 2G 785 12/10 .o 1" 7 co
Botany Bay, coait of New South- Wales | 34 0 208 37,8 0} 4 6
Buflard Bay, ditto — — ee 24 30 1208 20) 8 > oa
Thirfly Sound, ditto — — val 5 lato 24irt Q | 16-0
Endeavour River, ditto — —lt5 26 |214° 48) 9 30} g ©
Kndeavour’s Strait, which divides New | 8
Gu.nea from New Holland Hy 37 a1 * trae

XXVIE An

L 99

XXVI. An Account of a new Elettrometer,
contrived by Mr, William Henly, and of
Several Ele&trical Experiments made by
him, in a Letter from Dr. Prieftley, FR. 5.
to Dr. Franklin, F. A. S.

Dear SIR,

Read May <8, 7 THINK myfelf happy in an oppor-

417? tunity of giving you a {pecies of plea--.
fure, which I know is peculiarly grateful to you as-
the father of modern electricity, by tran{mitting to.
you an account of fome very curious and valuable
improvements in your favourite fcience. ‘The author
of them is Mr. Henly, in“the Borough, who has.
fayoured me with the communication of them, and:
has given me leave to requeft, that you would pre-
fent them to the Royal Society.

In my hiftory. of electricity, and elfewhere, I have:
mentioned a good electrometer, as one of the greateft’
defiderata among. practical electricians, to meafure
both the precife degree of the eleétrification of any.
body, and alfo the exact quantity of a charge be-
fore the explofion, with refpe& to the fize of the
eleGtrified body, or the jar or battery with which it.
is. connected ;. as well as to afcertain the moment of
time, in which the eledtricity of a jar changes, when,
without making an explofion, it is difcharged by

giving:

[ 360]

‘giving it a quantity of the. contrary electricity. All
‘thefe purpofes are anfwered, in the moft complete
‘manner, by an ele€trometer of this gentleman’s con-
trivance, a-drawing of which I fend you along with:
the following defcription.

‘The whole inftrument is made of ivory or wood,
‘[_Tab. XL] (a) is an exceeding light rod, with a cork
‘ball at the extremity, made to turn upon the center
‘of a femicitcle (4), and fo as always to keep pretty
‘near the limb of it, which is graduated: (c) is the
‘{tem that fupports it, and may “either be fixed to the
‘prime conduétor, or be let into the brafs knob of a
jar or battery, or fet in a ftand, to fupport itfelf.

‘The moment that this little apparatus 1s electrified,
‘the rod (a) is repelled by the ftem /c), and confe~
‘quently begins to move along the graduated edge
of the femicircle (4); fo as to mark with the ut-
‘moft exactnefs, the degree in which the prime con-
‘duGor, &c. is eleCtrified, or the height to which the
‘charge of any jar or battery is advanced ; and as the
‘materials of which this little inftrument is made are
very imperfe@ conductors, it will continue in contact »
with any electrified body, or charged jar, without
‘diffipating any of the electricity.

If it fhould be found, by trial in the dark, that
any part of this inftrument contributes to the diffipa-
tion of the eleétric matter, (which, when the elec-
trification was very ftrong, I once obferved mine to
do) it fhould be baked *a little, which will prefently
prevent it. If itis heated too much, it will not re-
ceive eleQricity readily enough; and then the mo-
tion of the index will not correfpond with fufficien,

* Warmed a little, to aay of the damps, particularly from

‘the tadex.
exiCtnefs,

Philo
STF
710708 VoLLXILT:
ab
XI
360.

|
}
|

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y |

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Hl |

al. ff

7

in
EY Ht
ni itt

|
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Bz
ett tes ee
e/c

Rare hte wlon

VoLIXIL Tab XI 7.260.

Trans.

Philos.

Fag | ) = Z 9 : a
. pe ic pclromeler tS found ly cayenionce b tethe moot prefect A poor

c
the lem, and te tne are of Pox; Made Very S1100th mith Cmery
« b
f4 wT. She Gall whould be b Corky the graduated, (plate Srory, ad
Z é

Wet (VAMOVES OF that oulstance ATE HOKE” legible Huan OV rood’, hk
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: 5 : eet
Ninian «ne iggy En ae ee in pl rad ih faci
fs : +
+

Pes eecan

'
4
~

36th

_-exadtnefs, to the degree in which the body to which
it is conneéted-is eleGtrified ; but this inconvenience
is eafily remedied, by moiftening the ftem and the
index, for the femicircle cannot be too dry.

I find by experience, that this electrometer an-
{wers all the purpofes I have mentioned, with the
egreateft eafe and exactnefs. JI am now fure of the
force of any explofion before a difcharge of a jar or
battery, which I had no better method of gueffing
at before, than by prefenting to them a pair of Mr.
Canton’s balls, and obferving their divergency at a
given diftance; but the degree of divergency was
{till to be gueffed at by the eye, and the balls can
only be applied occafionally ; whereas this inftrument,
being conftantly fixed to the prime conductor or the
battery, fhews, without any trouble, the whole pro-
_grefs of the charge; and, remaining in the fame fi-
tuation, the force of different explofions may be af-
certained with the utmoft exaétnefs before the dif
charge. ©

If a jar be loaded with pofitive electricity, and I
‘want to know the exact time when, by attempting to
charge it negatively, it firft becomes difcharged, I fee
every ftep of its approach to this ftate by the falling
-of the index; and the moment I want to feize, 1s
the time when it has got into a perpendicular fitua-
tion, which may be obferved, without the leaft dan-
ger of a miftake. Accordingly | find that, in this
cafe, not the leaft {park is left in the jar. If I con-
tinue the operation, the index, after having gained
its perpendicular pofition, begins to advance again, ~
and thereby fhews me the exact quantity of the op-
pofite eleCtricity that it has acquired. |

Voi. LXIL. - Aaa Confi-

ae a hoe. Me i

Confidering the admirable fimplicity, as well -as
the great ufefulnefs of this inftrument, it is fome-
thing furprizing that the conftrudticn fhould not have .
occurred to fome eleétrician before this time. Nol-
Jet’s and Mr. Waits’s invention of threads, projeGting
fhadows upon a graduated board, refembled this ap-
paratus of Mr. Henly’s, but was a poor and awk-
ward contrivance in comparifon with it; nor was
Richman’s gnomon, though a nearer approach to this
conftru@tion, at all comparable to it; and the in-
genious author of it had no knowledge of either of
thofe methods when he hit upon this.

I have made a receptacle for this inftrament in my
prime conductor, and I have alfo a pedeftal in which
{ can fix it; and by means of which I can very
conveniently place it on the wires of a battery.

In either of thofe fituations it anfwers almoft every
purpofe of an electrometer, without removing it from
its place.

I] doubt not that you and all other electricians wilt
join with me in returning our hearty thanks to Mr,
Henly for this excellent and ufefal inftrument,

Many of the effects of my battery, in breaking
of glafs, and tearing the furface of bodies, Mr.
Henly performs by a fingle jar, only increafing the
weight with which the bodies are prefled, while the
explofion is made to pafs clofe under them.

By this means he raifes exceeding great * weights,
and fhatters {trong pieces of glafs into thoufands of
the {malleft fragments ; he even reduces thick plate
glafs by this means to an impalpable powder. But

* Frequently fix pounds Troy.
what

[ 363 ]

what is moft remarkable is, that when the pieces of
glafs are thick, and {trong enough to refift the thock,
they are marked by the explofion, with the moft
lively and beautiful colours, generally covering the
{pace of about an inch in length, and half an inch
in breadth. he SE

In fome of the pieces which he was fo obliging
as to fend me, thefe colours lie all intermixed and.
-confufed ; but in others I obferve them to be dif-
pofed in prifmatic order, in lines parallel to the courfe
of the explofion, and in fome (as N° 1.) I have
counted three or four diftin@t returns of the fame
‘colour. Me

He has lately informed me, that, fince he fent
me this piece, he has ftruck thefe prifmatic colours
into another mafs of glafs, in a ftill more vivid and
beautiful manner, the colours fhooting into one an-
other, This effect, he fays, was produced by making
_ a fecond explofion, without moving any of the ap-
paratus after the firft.

When the glafs in which thefe colours are fixed
is examined, it is evident that the furface is fhattered
into thin plates, and that thefe give the colours, the
thicknefs of them varying regularly, as they recede
from the path of the explofion.

In the middle of thefe coloured {pots (as in N° 2.)
fome of thefe thin plates, or {cales, are ftruck off, [
fuppofe by the force of the explofion; and with the
edge of a knife they are all eafily {craped away,
when the furface of the glafs is left without its polifh
{asin N39."

The piece of glafs on which I have marked thefe
numbers, as well as that on which he has ftruck the

pe aa 2 7 colours

[ 364 ]
colours in a ftill more beautiful manner, Mr. Henly
will prefent to the Royal Bost for the in{pection:
of the members.

Befides thefe improvements, Mr. Henly has like-
wife, in a very ingenious manner, diverfified feveral.
of the more entertaining experiments in eledtricity,.
particularly in his imitation of the effects of earth-
quakes by the lateral force of explofions,; and he
has alfo hit upon feveral curious facts, that, unknown
to him, had been obferved before by others: the
following particular, however, I believe is new, ex-
citing a flick of fealing wax, and ufing a piece of
tin foil for the rubber, he found that it would elec—
trify pofitively, as well as glafs rubbed with filk and
amalgama.

Withing we had more fuch fellow labourers ass
Mr. Henly, I am,

DEAR SrIR;.
Your obliged

humble fervant;,

Leeds, f ie
O&. 26, 1770. J. Priefiley:.

XXVII. Me-

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Vou. LXII.

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ey

XXVITU. Account of feveral Quadrupeds .

from Hudfon’s Bay *, 7 Mr, John Rein-
hold F orfter, cae is he

~ Read May 21,1772.

1. Arctic Fox, Penn. synophk et Quadr. Ps, Sg
n, 113. Cams Lagopus, Linn.

Severn River.
A moft beautiful inchimans in its {nowy winter

furr; this animal feems to be lower on its legs
than the common fox, and is prodigioufly well
fecured againft the intenfe cold of the climate,
by the thicknefs and length of its hairs,
which are at the fame time as foft as filk.

* Among the occafiona] advantages, which the obfetvations
of the Jaft Tyanfic of Venus have procured, that of receiving
ufeful inform itions from, and fettling correfpondencies in, feve-.
ral parts of the world, is not the leaft confiderable. From the
factory at Hudfon’s Bay, the Royal Society were favoured with
a large collection of uncommon quadrupeds, birds, fifhes, &c.
together with fome account of their names, place of abode,
manner of life, ufes, by Mr. Graham, a gentleman belonging
to the fettlement on Severn River; and the governors of the
Hudfon’s Bay Company have moft obligingly fent orders, that
thefe communications fhould be from time to time continued.
The defcriptions contained in the following papers wee pre-
pared and given by Mr. Forfter, before his departure on an ex-
pedition, which will prcbably open an ample field to the moft

important difcoveries. M. M. “Th
e

f 375)

‘The account fent along with it from Severn
River fays, that thefe white foxes are filly,
inoffenfive animals; and are known to ftand
by, whilft a trap is baited for them, into
which they put their heads immediately: they
»-will, when pinched by hunger, devour thofe
_ of their own kind, which are already caught
in thefe traps. But the moft curious cir-
cumftance is, their migration to the North-
ward and the Eaftern coafts of the bay; for
though a few of them are caught every year
near York fort and Churchill river, yet, once
in three or four years, they come>in great
numbers; and feveral hundred of their furrs
are fent to England in that plentiful feafons,
which always begins in November, and ends
in April. ‘The {pecimen fent is shh 1 grown,
_ and its furr ns in feafon.

*

2. LesseR OTTER. pone Syn. Quadr. p. 239. n.

- 174. Mufiela Lutreola Linn. Syft. Nat. 66. Faun,
SueGe iNT 13)

Severn River. , rY

Iam ftill dubious, whether this sahil ought

to be looked upon as the fame with the leffer

otter of Europe and Afia; many. circum-

ftances feem to prove this identity; but fome,

fuch as. the want of webs, which’ I could

_ not difcover between the toes, and the white

fpot on the neck, will not admitof it. I

have, therefore, fubjoined a defcription of this

creature at the end of this article. ‘The na-

tives of Hudfon’s Bay call this quadruped

Bbb 2 Jackath ;

[ 372 ]

Jackafh ; Mr. Graham from Severn river fays,
that it harbours about creeks, and lives on ~
fith, like the otter; it travels very flowly, and.
has from four to feven young at a time; 1n
fize it equals the marten ; its length is about
16 inches ; its whole body is covered with
fhining dark brown hairs, which lie very
clofe, and feem perfe€tly convenient for an -
amphibious animal ; under thefe brown hairs
the woolly hairs are tawny, the whole under-
jaw is encompafied by a ftripe of white hairs,
and a little irregular {pot of. the fame colour
appears in the middle of the throat; the feet
ate quite covered with hair to the very nails,
which are fall, five on each foot, and of a
whitifh femipellucid colour ; the tail is pretty.
well befet with hair, though not bufhy, and
much blacker than the reft of the body; it
isabout half as long as the whele animal.

3. Pine Marten. Penn. Syn. Quad. p. 216. n-
155. Muftela Martes (Abietum). Linn,
Severn River. Male and Female.

Thefe feem to be a variety of the yellow-
breafted marten, Br. Zool. I. 81. their colour,,.
efpecially-in the females, being. much. paler:
than that defcribed in Mr. Pennant’s works.

-'The male is of a chefnut brown, the female
a bright tawny yellow ;. the former has here:
fome dark brown hairs, the latter in the fame
manner has fome bright bay hairs. They
both have white cheeks, and white tips of -
the ears. Their furrs are very full of hair,

2 proper:

(9%, 1.

proper to preferve them from the cold. The
tail in both fexes is bufhy, and darker than
the reft of the body ; in the female indeed itis
tawny, witha black tip; in both it is fhorter
than defcribed by Mr. Pennant, Mr. Briffon,
and others, and wasperhaps mutilated. This
{pecies feeds on mice, rabbits, &c. though it
will not touch a dead moufe which is put as a
bait in a trap, and therefore the inhabitants are
obliged to make ufe of a partridge’s head, or the
like, for that purpofe. If purfued with noife, it
immediately gets up intoa tree. Some gentle-
men have unfuccefsfully attempted to tame
thefe creatures, and thofe kept in cages with
that view have been obferved to be troubled
with epileptick fits. Numbers. of them are
caught at Hudfon’s Bay in traps made of
fmall iticks. They burrow under ground,.
and bring forth from four to feven young at
a time..

4, STCAT AND ErMINg. Penn. Syn. Quad. p..212.
n.1s1.a.. Mujfela Erminea. Linn..
Severn River, Albany Fort. ;

One.in the fummer and another in the winter
drefs. ‘The natives about Albany call them:
Sic-cufe-fue, but it is not Known why they
give them that name. They feed on mice,

{mall birds, all fort of fith, fleth,. and. fowl.

5. Common WeeEseL,. Penn. Syn. Quadr, p. 211..
n. 150. Muffela nivalis. Linn.

One in its winter dref, length 7 inches, tail about.

rineh, perhaps mutilated p it is quite white, but

the

es
the coat. is-mixed here and there with a
brownifh-hair, efpecially in the tail. Another
in the fummer coat, the fame as our Hoes

6. Skunk. Penn. Syn. Qtiadrs p. i Nn: 167:

Kalm’s ‘Travels, 1. 273. tab. I.

Tt anfwers to Mr. Pennant’s defcription, except

that the white {tripe on the head is not con~

ne€ted with that on the back, and that the

brown area, which is left between the two

white ftripes on the back, is broader than he
defcribes it.

7. CANADA Baeeeenaes Penn. Syn. Quadr, p. 266.
n. 196. Hyftrix minster Linn.
Severn River.

It agrees perfectly with the de(criptions, Thefe
animals live among the pine trees, of which
the bark is their food in winter, as willow
tops and the like are in fummer. They
copulate in September, and bring forth only
one young the firft week in April. During
winter they feldom travel above five hundred
yards, fo that one is always fure of finding a
porcupine, as foon as one meets with a tree
that has been frefh ftripped of its bark. The
longeft quills of an old porcupine are about
five inches long. ‘The Europeans are very
fond of the fleth of thefe animals, as it taftes,
when roafted, exactly like that of a fucking
pig. Theirbonesin winter have a greenifh yel-
low colour, perhaps owing to, their continually
feeding on the bark of pine trees, Iti is known

that

i aaa |

that the bones of animals will become red by
_ their feeding on madder.

8. Beaver. Penn. Syn. Quadr. p. 255. n. igo.
Caftor Fiber. Linn.
Churchill River, N° 1.

A moft beautiful fpecimen, in high prefervation,
and in full feafon; the furr is of a fine jetty
black : the {kull of another has likewife been
fent. There is a great fimilarity in the
conformation. of the cutting teeth of this and
the preceding quadruped (the porcupine) ;
only the latter has them longer.

g. Musx-BeAver. Penn. Syn. Quadr. p. 259. n.
| 121. Caffor Zibetbicus. Linn,
Maufquafh. Severn River.

It frequents the plains, builds a houfe like the
beaver, brings forth from five to feven young
ata time, and feeds on poplars, willows, and
grals.

19. AvpIne Hares. Penn. Syn. Quadr. p. 2409. n.
185. Lepus timidus. Linn. Kalm’s Tray, into N.
Amer...L1T.; p..'59-:;

York Fort. |

A fine {pecimen, in its compleat winter furr, be-
ing quite white, except the ears, which have
black tips. It is much larger than the following
animal. T‘hecommon hare, Penn. Syn.Quadr.
does not feem to be a native of America.

“ar, AME-

ig
11. AMERICAN Hare, called Rabbit at Hudfon’s
Bay. Kalm’s Trav. into N. Amer, I. 105. II. 45.
Severn and Churchill Rivers.

This {pecies, which has been nmproperly called
Rabbit, perhaps becaufe it is lefs than the
hare, 1s certainly new, and was never de-
fcribed before, except by Kalm in ‘his
travels through North America, Vol. I.
105. Il. 45. The account he there gives .
correfponds with that of Mr. Graham,
and with the fpecimen now in the Royal
Society’s collection, “Thefe animals are nu-
merous at Hudfon’s Bay; they do not bur-
row under ground, but live f{ummer and win-
ter under windfalls and roots of trees. They
do not migrate, but always keep about the
fame place, unlefs difturbed. They breed
once or twite a year, and have five to feven
young ata time: their weight is from 3 to
Az pounds. Their flefh is not fo white and
delicate as that of the common rabbit, but
yet is good food in fummer and winter, Great
numbers of them are annually caught in the
tollowing manner: as they always are ufed
to go one particular path, the Englifh and
natives lay young trees acrofs it, forming a
hedge, in which there is an opening for the
creature to go through; in this place they fix
a fnare, made of brafs wire, packthread, or
the like, faftened: with a flipping knot to a
crofs piece, the end being tied to an elaftic

pole; fo that when the animal puts its. head
into

[ 377 ]
into the fnare, the knot is drawn from the
crofs piece above, and the pole flying up, im-
mediately fufpends the animal in the air.

The proper characterifticks of this {pecies feem
to be,

1, Its fize, which is fomewhat bigger. than a
rabbit’s, but lefs then that of the Alpine or
leffer hare.

2. The proportion of its limbs, ts hind feet
being longer in proportion to the body than
thofe of the rabbit and the common hare,
Vide the Hon. Daines Barrington’s, V.P.R.S,
letter to Dr. Watfon on this new fpecies of
hare, in this volume, p. 6.

3. The tips of the ears and tail, which are con-
{tantly grey not black, Kalm’s T'rav. I}. p 45.

Perhaps fome other characters might be afcer-

tained, if the animal was brought over in its
perfect fummer furr ; for all the fpecimens in
the Royal Society’s Mufeum are either en-
tirely in their winter drefs, or in a changing
condition. Mr. Kalm mentions, that thofe
which are found in New Jerfey, where the
climate is much more mild than at Hudfon’s
Bay, keep the fame grey colour both fummer
and winter; that in {pring they breed in hol-
low trees, but in fummer in the grafs; that,
when purfued, they immediately take refuge
in hollow trees, whence they are driven out

- by crooked fticks, {moak, &c.; laftly, that
they do much milchief to cabbage fields and
orchards, by eating the cabbage plants, and

For, LXIL Cec the

i 578 ih
the bark ~ the apple trees, feeding id by
night, as the common hare, :
12, QuernEc Marmot; Penn. sya. Omlded 270.
‘Dee LOG.
Charctat River, N° s. finn
This creature is called a ground fquirrel, at
-Churchill fort ; it differs much in fize from
that defcribed in the Syn. Quadr. being much
' lefs than a rabbit, perhaps it is a young one. I
took down the following defcription, as 1 did
not find it exactly correfponding with that of
the Canada marmot. The nofe is blunt, the ears
are fhort and roundifh, the top of the head
chefnut, back all over fprinkled with whitifh,
black, and yellowifh brown: the legs and
whole underfide of the animal are of a bright
ferruginons colour ; the tail is very fhort, and
black at the tip. The length of the animal
from the nofe to the beginning of the tail is
about 11 inches, that of the tail 3 inches.
dts toes on the fore feet 4, hind feet 5.

13. ComMon SquirReL, Penn. Syn. Quadr. p. 279.
n. 206. Sciurus vulgaris, Linn,

A variety of the common fpecies, being fome-
what inferior in fize, having a ferraginous
back and grey belly, a fhorter tail than the
common European fort, of a fine ferruginous
red, edged only with black. This animal lives
in pine trees, of which the cones are its food ;

it hes dormant the greater part of the we
TAs.

fk $70: J

14. GREATER FLYING SQUIRREL,

Bee River.

Iti

is equal in fize, if not bigger than the com-
mon fquirrel; has pretty long hairs, dufky
at bottom, tawny brown at the very tips
only; and difpofed fo that the back appears
wholly of that reddifh brown colour; the
tailis very bufhy, fomewhat compreffed, but
not pinnated (i.e. with the hairs difpofed
horizontally on each fide of it, as for example
in the common {quirre)), it is brownifh on the
upperfide with a dufky tip, of a yellowifh
white below; the whole underfide of the ani-
mal has the fame yellowifh white colour. The
membrane reaches from the forefeet to the
hindfeet, without extending to the ears: it is

found i in James’s Bay, about 51° north lati-

tude.

This is perhaps Linneus’s Scewrws volans, and

the fame with the fying fquirrel of the Arctick
parts of Europe. Mr. Briffon feems to have

_ confounded ‘this, and the little Virginian {quir-

rel together, and his quotations are quite con-
fufed. Linneus’s Adus velaus certainly is a
variety of the little flying fquirrel, of the milder
parts of North America, New York, Penn-

fylvania, Virginia, which is vaftly different

from this in faze and colour.

ts; A SMALL ANIMAL, Called a Field Moutfe.
hurchill River.
A fpecimen in very bad prefervation, wanting

legs, tail, &e, which makes it impotlible to aoe
Creic2 termine

~

[ 380 J
termine of what fpecies it is ; its fize is fome=_
what fuperior to that of a moufe, its colour
dufky, mixed wirh tawny brown, and dirty
white on the belly ; its head is broad, like that
of the fhort-tailed field: moufe, and hasa dufky
line in the middle between the eyes, which
extends, though rather indiftinctly, all along
the back ; its ears are very {mall and roundith.

16.
This is likewife a very bad mutilated fpecimen,
Jefs than the common moufe, dufky and
brown above, and whitifth below 3. its ears are
pretty large and prominent.

17, Firtp Mouse. Penn. Syn, Quadr. p. 302. ne
230. Mus Sy/vaticus, Linn.

Two fpecimens ; the defcriptions anfwer pretty

well, the ears are large and round, the tail is.

very. long and whitifh. below.

+8, SHoRT-TAILED Mouse. Penn. Syn. Quadr. pi.
305. n. 233. Mus terrefris, Linn. Le €ampag-
nol de Buffon.
Mr. Pennant’s admeafurements do not quite.
anfwer, but M. d’Aubenton’s coincide.

1g. Forrip SHrew. Penn. Syn. Quadr. p. 307. n.
2.35. Sorex Araneus, Linn.
The fpecimen is much blacker on the back

than the European Shrew, its fides.are reddifh.
brown,

20«: SHREWs

£380 J

20. SHREW; two fpecimens.
~The colour is of a dufky grey above, anda dirty
white or yellowifh below; the nofe is very
long and flender; the lenoth from the nofe
to the tail, in the one fpecimen is 23, in the
odier salmon 2 inches; the tail is about an
inch and half long, thinly befet with hairs,
brown above, and yellowifh below. If this .
{pecies had no tail, I fhould take it to be the
minute Shrew, which the Rev. Mr. Lax-
man found in Siberia, and which is the Sorex
UNULUS. Aine:

XKIX. An

Paice ie is I:
iy eh es is
_ £382 J

XXIX. An Account of the Birds ae from
Hudfon’s Bay ; with Obfervations relative

to their Natural Hifory; and Latin De- —
Sferiptions of Jome of the moft uncommon
By J, RepFortter,: ub. Bo

Read June 1825, 1772.

J. Lanp-Birps.

Accipitres
Rapacious. Faun, Am. Sept.

1. eae Columbarius. 128. 21. Pigeon Hawk.
Falcon. J Faun. Am. Sept. p. 9. Catefby I. t. 3.
Epervier de la Caroline. Briffon I. p. 378.
Severn river, N° 19.

This {pecies is called a /mall-bird hawk at Hud-
fon’s Bay. It is migratory, arriving near Se-
vern River in May, breeding on the coaft,
and then retiring to a warmer climate in
autumn. It feeds on {mall birds; and, on
the approach of any perfon, will fly in circles,
making a hideous fhrieking noife. The breaft

and

~

[ 383
and belly are yellowifh, with brown fiieale!

which are not mentioned by the ornitho-
logifts, though their defcriptions anfwer in
other refpects, It weighs fix ounces and a
half, its length is 103, the breadth 223.
Catefby’s figure is a very indifferent one.

Fazco, 2, Spadiceus. New Speczes.. Chocolate
Falcon. Faun. Am. Sept. p. 9.

This {pecies, at firft fight, bears fome refem-.
blance to the European Moor Buzzard, or
Aeruginofus, Linn. but is much lefs, and:
wants the light fpots on the head and fhoul-.
ders... No number or _ defcription was fent
along with it.

Paco, 3: Sacer, Briffon,. I. p. 337: -Sacre de:
Buiter. Oifeaux, (edition in 12mo.) Tom. I.
+p 94g. t- 14. Faun. Ani. Sept. p. 9:

Severn River, N° 16.

Speckled Partridge Hawk, at Hudifon’s RBay..

The name is derived from its feeding on the: -

birds of the Grous tribe, commonly called:
partridges, at Hudfon’s Bay. Its irides are
yellow, and the legs blue. It comes neareft.
the Sacre of Briffon, Buffon, and Belon;
but Buffon fays it has black eyes, which is-
very indiftin@.; for the irides are black in.
none of the falcons, and in few. other. birds ;.
and the pupil, if he means that, is black in
all birds. It is faid, by Belon,. to come from
‘Tartary and Ruffia, and is, therefore, pro-.
Bably a northern bicd. It is very voracious.

and ©

[ 384 J
and bold, catching partridges out of a covey,
which the. Europeans are driving into their
nefts. It breeds in April and May. Its
young are ready to fly in the middle of June.
Its nefts, as thofe of all other falcons, are »
built in unfrequented places; therefore, the
author of the account from Severn River
could not afcertain how many eggs it lays 5
however, the Indians told him it ‘commonly
lay two. It never migrates, and weighs
24 pounds ; its length is 22 inches, its breadth.
3 feet.

2, STRIX,14. Brachyotos. The fhort-eared Owl.

Owl. J Brit. Zoology, folio, plate B. 3. octavo,

I. p. 156. Faun. Am. Sept. 9.
Severn River, N° 17 and 64.

Moufe Hawk at Hudfon’s Bay. It anfwers the
defcription and figure in the Britith Zoology ;
but its ears or long feathers do not appear.
The fmallnefs of the head has, probably,
given occafion to call it a hawk, though it
does not fly about in queft of prey, like
other hawks (as the account from Severn
River fays) ; it fits quiet on the ftumps of
trees, waiting mice with all the attention of
a domeftic cat, being an inveterate enemy
oF thofe little animals. It migrates fouth-
ward in autumn ; and breeds along the coaft.
Its irides are yellow. Its weight is 14 ounces ;
-its length 16 inches, the breadth 3 feet.

I STRIX.

[ 385 J

STRix, 5. Ny&ea. 132. 6. Snowy Owl. Faune
: Am. Sept. 9.

Churchill River, N° 7. White Owl.

It feems to be in its winter drefs, as it is intirely
white, ‘The feet are covered with Jang white
hair-like feathers to the very nails, but there
are none on the foles or under parts of the
toes.

Srrix, 6. Funetéa. 133. 11. Canada Owl. Faun.
Baa ean Am. Sept. 9g:
Severn River, N°13. Churchill River, N° rr.
Cabeticuch, ot Cabaducutch, is the Indian name
of this bird. Linneus’s defcription anfwers
perfectly. The male, which in the clafs of
birds of prey is generally fmaller, is, how-
ever, in this fpecies, larger than the female,
according to the account from Severn River.
_ Its colour is likewife much blacker, and the
{pots more diftiné. ‘The eyes are large and
prominent ; the irides of a bright yellows
‘The weight is 12 ounces; its length 17 inchess
the breadth 2 feet. It has only two young at
one hatching.

Srrix, 7. Pafferina, 133. 12. Little Owl. Brits
Zool. Faun. Am. Sept. 9.
(The number belonging to this bird is loft, but it
is moft probably that from Severn River;
N® 15. called Shzpomofpifh by the natives).
The crown of the head is {peckled with white,
~as in the Sfrzx funerea.

Vou. L&I, Ddd STRIXs

{ go6 J o
Strix, 8. Nebulofa. New fpecies.. The grey Owl.
Severn River, N° 36.

This fine non-de(cript owl lives upon hares,
ptarmigans, mice, &c. It has two young at
atime: . The fpecimen fent over is faid to
be one of the largeft. Itis not deferibed by
any author. Its weight is 3 pounds, length 16
inches, breadth 4 feet.

a renee os Excubitor. 135. 11. Great Butcher-
Shrike.) bird. Brit. Zool.. Cinereous Shrike.
Faun. Am. Sept.

Severn River, N° rr.
White Whifeijobn at Hudfon’s Boy. The fpe- -
cimen is a male; it weighs two ounces and
a half, is feldom found on the coaft, but
frequent about a hundred miles inland ; and
feeds on {mall birds. It correfponds with

ours in every refpect.

U ae
‘LPies. Faun. Am. Sept.

4. Sica Canadenfis. 158. 16. Cinereous
Crow.) Crow. Faun. Am. Sept. g.
Severn River, N° g and 10.

Thefe birds are called Whifkijohn and. Whifeyack
at the Hudfon’s Bay. They weigh 2 ounces;
and are g inches long, and 11 broad. | Their
eyes are black, and their feet of the fame
colour. ‘Their characters correfpond with the
Linnean See They breed. early in
{pring ; their nefts are made of fticks and

grafs,

[+ 387. ]

_ grafs, and built in pine trees; they have
two, rarely three, young ones at a time ; their
egos are blue; they fly in pairs; the male
and female are perfe@ly alike; they feed
on black mofs, worms, and even flefh. When
near habitations or tents, they are apt to pilfer
every thing they can come at, even falt meat ;
they are bold, and come into the tents to
eat victuals out of the difhes. They watch
perfons baiting the traps for martins, and de-_
vour the bait as foon as they turn their backs.
Thefe birds lay up ftores for the winter, and
are feldom feen in January, unlefs near ha-
bitations; they are a kind of mock-bird ;
when caught, they pine away and die, though
their appetite never fails them.

Corvus, £1. ica. 157,12. Wlagpic. bint, Zool.
Faun. Am. Sept. 9.
Albany Fort, N° 5. |
It is called Oue-ta-kee-afke, i. e. Heart-bird,
by the Indians. It is a bird of pafflage, and
rarely feen; it agrees, in all refpects, with
the European magpie, upon comparifon.

5. Picus,, |12. Auratus. 174. ‘9. Gold-wing

Woodpecker. J Woodpecker. Faun, Am. Sept. 10.
Catciby, le boa 4”

Albany Fort, N° 4. the larce Woodpecker.

The natives of America call this bird Ou-thee-
guan-nor-now, from the yellow colour of the
fhafts ef the quill and underfide of the tail
feathers. It is a bird of paffage; vilits the

Ddd a2 neigh_

easy,
neighourhood of Albany Fort in April, leaves
it in September ; lays from four to fix eggs in
hollow trees, feeds on {mall worms and other
infects. Its defcriptions anfwer exa@lly.

Picus, 13. Villofus, 175. 16. Hairy Woodpecker.
Faun. Am. Sept. 10. Catefby I. rg.
Severn River, N° 56. -
The fpecimen fent over is a female; by its
wanting the red on the head. ‘The defcrip- -
tions of Linneus and Briffon agree; only the
‘two middlemoft feathers are black, the next
are of the fame colour, but have a white
thomboidal fpot near the tip; the next are
black, with the upper half obliquely white,
the very tip being black; the next after that
are white, with a round black fpot on the
inner fide clofe to the bafe, and the lower.
part of the fhaft is black, the outermoft ’
feathers are quite white, the fhaft only at the
bafe being black. |

14. Trida@ylus. 177.21. Three-toid Woodpecker,
Faun. Am. Sept. |
Severn River, N° 8.

A female, weight 2 ounces, length 8 inches,
breadth 13; eyes dark blue, legs black. It
builds its neft in trees, lives in woods upon
worms picked out of trees, is not very com-.
mon at Severn River, The defcriptions an-
{wer.

iff. Gallina.

[ 389 ]

W Galline. |
“\Gallinaceous, Faun. Am. Sept. |

6. Tetrao. (1 5Canadenfis,274.3.] Faun. Am. Sept.1o..
Grous. Vedas 275. 7: Spotted Grous.
Gelinotte du Canada, male et femelle, Pl. enl..
131 et 132. Buffon Oifeaux I]. p..279. 4to.. |
Briffon I. p. 203. t. 20. f. 1, 2, and p. 201. app. .
10. Edwards, t. [eS.ane 71.

Severn River, N° 5. Woodpartridge. |

Thefe birds are all the year long at Hudfon’s-
‘Bay, and never change the colour of their
plumage. The accounts from Hudfon’s Bay
fay, there is no material difference between.
the male and female ; which muft be a mif-
take, as. they are really very different. Lin--
neus’s defcriptions of the Tetrao Canadenfis,
and Canace, both anfwer to the fpecimens fent
over, fo that, after. comparing them, I find
they are only one and the fame. fpecies. Lb
fuppofe the dividing them into two, was oc-
cafioned by Briflon’s and Edwards’s defcrip-
tions, being taken from. fpecimens fent from
different. parts of the continent of America,
5 perhaps caught at different feafons. Mr.

Buffon has, I find, the fame opinion with

7 as and by comparing the drawings .of Ed-
wards, with thofe of the Planches enluminées,
itis put beyond a doubt, Thefe. birds are.
very flupid, may be knocked down with a,
ftick, and are frequently. caught by the na-.

1 tives

[ 39° ]

tives with a ftick and a loop. In fummer
they are good eating; but in winter they tafte
“{trongly of the pine fpruce, upon which they ~
- feed during that feafon, eating berries in fum-
- imer. They. hve in pine woods, their nefts
are on the ground; they generally-lay but five

eggs.

‘Tetrao, 16. -Lagopus, 274. 4. White Grous. Faun.

: Am. Sept. 10. Ptarmigan. Br. Zool. La-
gopéde de la Baye de Hudfon. Buffon Oit-
eaux TI pe 276.) bd tag2.

‘Severn River. N° 1—4. Willow-partridges.

‘The Hud{fon’s Bay ptarmigan has been feparated
from the European in the Britifh Zoology,and
afterwards by M. de Buffon : however, I mutt
own, I cannot yet find the differences which
they aflign to thefe {pecies, They contend that
the Hudfon’s Bay bird figured by Edwards ts
twice as big as the European ptarmigan ; Mr.
Edwards, I think, does not intimate this,
when he fays, the bird is of a middle fize,
between partridge and pheafant; he on the
contrary {uppofes them to be the fame {pecies.
The Britifh Zoology, after Willoughby, fays,
the ptarmigan’s length is 132 inches. The
account from Severn River fays it is 16, inches.
The breadth in the Britifh Zoology 1s faid to
be 23 inches. The breadth in the Hudfon’s
Bay birds, according to the accounts from Se-
vern River, is 23 inches. Willoughby’s ptar-
migan weighed 14 ounces; that in the Britith

Zool.

an
a ee

[ gor J

Zool. illuftr. t. bee ounces; that from the:
Hudion’s Bay (14 Tb) 24 ounces... Thefe dif
ferences are of little: confequence, and far
from increafing the Hudfon’s Bay. bird to:
double the fize of the European. The Bri-
tifh Zoology fays, there is a difference in
the fummer colours; but Mr. Edwards in-
forms us, that he compared the Hudfon’s Bay:
bird maith the defcriptions of former ornitho-
logifts, and found them to an{wer ; he like-
wife aflures us he had the fame bird from
Norway. Therefore Lcannot help di iffenting
from the Britifh Zoology, in this one parti-
cular, and thinking with Linneus and Briffon,.
that the European and Hudfon’s Bay, plan
gans are the fae efpecially as the colours,
vary very much in the different. fexes and at
different feafons. ‘To this we may, add the
teftimony of a gentleman well verfed in
natural hittory, who, having had Cppomemities:
of comparing numbers of H udfon’s Bay and
European ptarmigans, aflured me that he did:
not fee any difference between them. They
go together in great flocks in the beginning of
October, living among the willows, of which

they eat the tops (whence they have got the
name of willow partridges): about, that time:
they lofe their beautiful. f{ummer plumage,
and exchange it it for a {nowy white drefs,.
moft providently ae by, its thicknels to-
creen them ag aint the feverity of the iea-
fon, and ay ie colour againf{t. their enemies.
the

[ 392 J

‘the hawks and owls, againft whofe attacks
‘they would otherwife find no fhelter. Each
teather is double, that is, a fhort one under -
-a long one, to keep them warm. Inthe latter
‘end of March, they begin again to change
their plumage, and have got their full fum-
‘mer drefs by the end of. June. They breed
.every where-along. the coait, and have from
‘nine to eleven young at a time; making
their nefts on the ground, generally on dry
aidges. ‘They are excellent eating, and fo
plentiful that ten thoufand have been taken
-at Severn, York, and Churchill Ferts. . The
«method of netting or catching them, is as
follows: a net made of jack-twine, twenty
feet fguare, is laced to four long poles, and
fupported in front with the fticks, in a perpen=
dicular fituation; a long line is faftened to thefe
{upports, one end of it reaching to a place
where a perfon lies concealed; feveral men
drive the ptarmigans (which are as tame as
chickens, efpecially on a mild, {nowy day),
towards the net, which they run to,.as foon
as they fee it. “The perfon concealed draws
the line, by which means the net falls
down, and catches 50 or 70 ptarmigans at
once. ‘They are fometimes rather wild, but
grow better humoured (as Mr. Graham
fays) by being driven about, for they feldom
forfake thofe willows which they have once
frequented.

TETRAO-

( 393 J

Tzrrao. 17. Togatus, 275. 8. Shoulder-knot
Grous. Grofle Gelinotte du Canada. Pl. enl. 104.
Briff, I. 207. t. 21. f. 1. Buffon Oifeaux Il. p.
28

ety River, N°’.60 and 61. Albany Fort 1 and 2.

This bird an{wers the defcriptions given of it by
the ornithologifts in all re{pedts, and perfectly
refembles the figure in Briffon, and in the
Planches enluminées. It differs from Ed-
wards’s ruffed heathcock, t. 248. or Lin-
neuss TLetrao umbellus, as the latter has
not the fhining black axillar feathers, or
fhoulder-knot, but a ferruginous one, is much
lefs, and has brighter colours. M. de Buf-
fon, however, thinks they are the fame,

and fufpects at the fame time, that the bird
which he calls la groffe Gelinotte du. Canada
(and which is the fame with: the Society’s
{pecimens) is the female of Mr. Edwards’s
bird, t. 248. This conjecture is deftroyed
by the fpecimens now {ént from Hudfon’s
Bay, which by the accounts from thence are
expreflly faid to be males. The fhoulder-
knot groufes bear the Indian name of Pu/kee,
or Pufpufkee, at Hudfon’s Bay, on account
of the leannefs and drynefs of their fleth,
which is extremely white, and of avery clofe
texture, but when well prepared is excellent
eating. ‘They are pretty common at Moole
Fort and Henly Houte, but are feldom feen
at Albany Fort, or to the northward of the
above places, In winter they feed upon ju-
Vor. LXIL ICES niper

[ 394 J
niper tops, in fummer on goofe-berries, rafp-
berries, currants, cranberries, &c. ‘They are
‘not migratory, ftaying all the year at Moofe
~ Fort 5 they build their’ nefts on dry ground,
hatch nine young at a time, to which the
mother clucks, as our common hen does;_
and on the leaft appearance of danger, or in
order to enjoy a comfortable degree of warmth, _
the young ones retire under ~ wings of their
parent.

N. B.-A f{pecimen, which is fappofed to be
either a young bird or a female, wants the
blueifh black: fhoulder-knot; but it is the ©
{ame in all other refpects.

TetTrao, 18. Phafianellus.: Linn. Syft. Nat. Ed,
X.p.160.n. 5. Edw. 117. Longtailed Grous.
Faun. Am. Septentr. ro.

Severn River, N°6 and 7. Albany Fort, N° Be

This bird, which Mr, Edwards has drawn plate
17, was by Linneus in the tenth edition of
his Syftem, ranged as a new fpecies of grous
or tetrao, by the fpecific name of Phafianel-
lus (alluding to the name of Pheafant which
it bears at Hudfon’s Bay, and likewife to its
pointed tail). Ele afterwards in the new or

' twelfth edition of the Syftem, p. 273. makes
it a variety of the great Cock of the Wood,
or Tetrao Urogallus, probably from the ac~_
count in Mr. Edwards, that the male ftruts
very upright, is in general of a darker colour
than the female, and has a gloffy ‘neck: Thefe
circumftances, however ,¢ are net fufficient to —

bring ;

legos |
bring them under the fume {pecies, for it is
known that the males of all the grous tribe,
and indeed of moft of the gallinaceous birds,
are ufed to ftrut in a very. Hately manner, and
‘that the’colours of their plumage are ae
more diftiné than thofe of the females. But
the fpecific difference alone, which Linneus
affigns to the cock of the wood, abfolutely
excludes our Hudfon’s Bay {pecies; he calls
it Tetrao pedibus hirfutis, cauda rotundata,
axillis albis.) Whoever examines Mr. Ed-
wards’s figure, and the fpecimens now in the
Society’s pofleffion, will find the tail very
fhort, but pointed, the two middle feathers
being half an inch longer than the reft, (Mr.
‘Edwards fays two inches) and the axillz, or
fhoulders, by no means white: befides this
difference, the colour and fize of the Hud-
fon’s Bay bird are likewife valtly. different
from thofe of the oe of the wood. Its length
is’ 17 Ices. ats, Dr readth 24, and, as Mr.
Edwards jotdy fays, it is fomewhat bigger
than the common pheafant. The great cock
of the wood’ is as big asa turky and
its female; which is much lefs, however
far exceeds our bird, it being 26 inches long,
and. 40° broad. ., See. Britith’ Zool. pea.
Pp. 200. , Pie’ foutes ;ewen “Or the ic-
‘male of. the F. Urogallus, or great cock ee
the wood, in the Br. Zool. fol oe plate M *
and the Planche enlumineé 2, will ferve
ieee comparifon as a convincing: a. of
he vaft ‘difference there is between the Hud-
fon’s Bay pheafant grous and the Etropeancock
Hae) C12 ef

[ 396 ]

ef the wood. ‘The figure, which Mr. Ed-
wards has given of the former bird, does not
exactly correfpond with the Society’s {peci-
men, as he has reprefented the marks on
the breaft half-moon fhaped, though they
are heart-fhaped as thofe on the belly in the
dried bird; that is, they are white fpots,
with a pale brownifh yellow cordated brim.
Nor can I agree with Mr. Edwards, when -
he calls this bird the long-tailed grous from
Hudfon’s Bay ; for its tail is really very fhort, —
in comparifon with that of other groufe, and
its fmallnefs and acutenefs afford one of the

moft diftinguifhing characters of the fpecies.
The native Indians call thefe pheafant groufes,
Oc-kifi-cow: they are found all the year
slong, amongft the fmall juniper bufhes, of
which the buds are their principal food, as
alfo the buds of birch in winter, and all forts
of berries in fummer. They never vary their
colours; nor is there any great difference be-
' tween the male and female, except in the
caruncula or comb over the eye, which in the
male is an inch long, and 4 of an inch
high. The account from Albany Fort adds,
that the colour of the male is fomewhat
browner, and almoft a chocolate on the breatft.
Their flefh is of a light brown, exceeding
juicy, and they are very plump. ‘They lay,
from 9 to 13 eggs; their young can run al-
moft as foon as they are hatched ; they make
a piping noife fomewhat like a chicken. The
cock has a fhrill crowing note, not very loud ;
I but

[Lisogely.
but when difturbed, or whilft flying, he makes ;
a repeated noife of cuck, cock, ‘They are-
moft common in winter at Albany Fort,

Before 1 leave the genus of groufes, I mutt
obferve that their feet have a peculiarity,
taken’ notice of by few authors; the toes,
in feveral fpecies, haye on each fide a row
of fhort flexible teeth,. like thofe of a comb;
fo that the toes. appear pectinated. ‘The
fpecies, which are known to have fucb pecti-
nated toes, are,

I; The great:Cock of the Wood, Tetrao-
Urogallus, Linn. .
2. The Black Cock,.T. Tetrix, Linn.
3- ‘The Spotted Grous, ( T..Ganadenfis, .
and 17. Canace, Linn. .
4. The Ruffed Grous,.Z. Umébellus, Linn. .
5. The Shoulder-knot Grous, 7. Togatus, .
Linn..
6 ‘The Pheafant Grous, T. Phafianellus. .
7. The Hazel Hen, 7. Bonafia, Linn.»
3. The Pyrenzan Grous, Tf. A/chata, Linn. .

‘This 1s-a circumftance,. which ought to be. at-.
tended to in all other f{pecies of groufes, . as it:
may in time afford a diftinguifhing character
fora divifion in this great genus; the. ptar-.
eat fT. Lagopus, Linn. is without thefe :
teeth. .

£3981,

Iv acecayinay es aEDs souhe
Columbine. Faun. Am. Sept.

ae
eae

Fe OL UMBA,] 19. ‘Nierarot 285. 36. Migratory
Pigeon. Pigeon, Catefb. 1°23. ° Kalm. IL.

. O2 ste Paflenger Piseon, Faun. Am. Sept. rE.

‘Severn River, N° 63. "Wood-pizeon. ">
Thefe pigeons are very fcarce fo far northward as
Severn river, bat abound near Moofe-fort, and
further falar to the fouthward. Their com-

mon ‘food are berries and juniper buds in -

winter ; they fly about in great flocks, and
are reckoned good eating. ‘This account is
confirmed by Kalm in one travels (Englifh
edition) Vol. II. p. 82 and 311. ‘Fhey hatch
‘only two eggs at a time, and their nefts are
‘builtin trees. . Their “eyes are {mal! and black,
the irides ae the feet red: the ne fne-
ly gloffed with purple, paeuee in the male.
“They weigh g ounces.
V Pafieres.
‘dIpastetind: Faun. Am, Sept.
Alauda.).20. Alpeftris. 289.°ro. Klein, Hilt, of
Lark. J Birds, 4to. p. 73. Shore Lark, Faun.
AmSept. r2..CatefbiTm32.° ">

Albany Fort, N° 6.
This {pecies is indifferently deferibed by Linneus,
who fays that all the tail-teathers on their in-
ner web are white, (rectricibus dimidio in-
teriore allis) ; though it does not appear that
he faw a fpecimen of it himfelf. Both the

quill

ee eae

[ 399 J

quill and tail-feathers are dufky, and in both
the outermott fer*her only has a white exte-
rior margin. © ‘The coverts of the tai are of
a pale ferruginous colour, and two of them
are nearly as long as the tail itfelf. The fca-
pulars are ferruginous; in the male, the head
and whole back have a tinge of the fame co-
Jour, marked with dufky ftreaks ; in the fe-
male, the back is grey, and the dufky. {tripes
of a darker hue. The crown of the head is.
black in the male, duiky in the female; the:
forehead is yellow, the bill.and feet are black,
the belly of a dirty reddifh white. ‘Thefe
larks are migratory, they vifitt the environs
of Albany Fort in the beginning of May,.
but go further northward to breed: they feed
on:grafs-feeds, and buds of the iprig-birch ;
run into {mall holes, and keep clofe to the
ground, from whence the natives give.them .

7 the name. of Chi-chup-pi fies

g. Turdus.):21.' Migratorius, 292. 6. American:
Thruth. J Fieldfare. Kalm Ih p. 90, Faun. Am..
Septal. » Catefby-1.. 29.

Severn Rivers; N° 59. Albany Fort, 7,8, 9-

The defcriptions of thefe. birds. in various authors..
coincide with the fpecimens; at Severn River
they appear at the beginning.of May, and:
leave the AU op before the froft. fets in.
At Moote Fort, in the north latitude 51°,
they build their neit, day heres ggs, and hatch .
their young in the ipace of fourteen days;
butat York fort andsevern fettlement this is -

done.:

[ 400 ) |
‘done in 26 days: they build their nae in
‘trees, lay four beautiful light-blue eggs, feed
‘on worms and carrion: when at liberty they
‘fing «very prettily, but confined in a cage,
“they lofe their melody. There is no material
_diftinétion between the male and female.
Their weight is 21 ounces, the length g
‘vinches, and the breadth 1 foot; they are cal-
‘led red birds at Hudfon’s Bay ; their Indian
mame is. Pee-pee-chue.

"Turdus, 22.
“Severn River, N° 54 and 55, male ind female.
‘From the ftriking fimilarity with our blackbird,
.the Englifh at Hudfon’s Bay have given this
bird the fame name. However, upon a clofe
examination, I find the difference very great
‘between our European blackbird, and the
-Hudfon’s Bay or American one, The plumage
of the male, inftead of being deep black
without any glofs, as in ours, has a fhining
purple caft, not unlike the plumage - of
‘the Gracula Quifcula, Linn. or fhining
Gracule, Faun. Am. Sept.; or the Maize
thief, of Kalm. ‘The female indeed is very
like our female blackbird, being of a dufky
colour on the back, and a dark grey on the
breaft. The feet and bill are quite black in
both fexes; the former have the back claw
almoft as long again as any of the other claws.
There are no veftiges of yellow palpebre in
either the male or the female; the bill in
‘both is ftrong, fmooth, and fubulated; the

upper

| [402 ].

upper mandible being carinated, but very
little arched, and without any tooth or in-
denture whatever, on the lower fide. . The
noftrils are as in other thrufhes. This bird
has no briftles -at the bafe of its bill, its feet
have fuch fegments as Scopoli in the Annus
I. Hiftorico-Naturalis attributes to the ftares.
Inftead of being folitary and living retired
like the European blackbirds, thefe American
ones come in flocks to Severn River in June,
live among the willows, build in all kinds of
trees, and return to the fouthward in autumn.
They feed on worms and maggots; their
Weight is 22 ounces, and they are nine inches
long, and one foot broad. One that was
kept twelve months in a cage pined away,
and died. Notwithftanding thefe circum-
ftances, I cannot help remaining undetermined
‘ with regard to this bird, which at firft fight
is like the blackbird, . has the bill of a thruth,
and the feet and gregarious nature of a ftare.
Tt is to be hoped, that future accounts from
Hudfon’s Bay may inform us further, of
the nature of this bird, its time of incuba-
_ tion, the number of eggs,it lays, and the
- colour of thofe eggs, together with the note
of the bird, the difference and characteriftick
marks of both the male and female, and
other circumftances, which may {ferve to de-
termine to what genus and fpecies we are to

refer this bird.

Vu. LXII. F ff 10, Loxia

[moet
ro. Loxra;,¢ 23. Curvirofira, 299. 1. Crofsbill.
Grofbeak, ‘Ube Zool. Faun. Am. Sept. 11. The:
_ fall variet: 3
Severn River, N° 27; and 28.

This bird comes to Severn River the latter end:
of May, breeds more to the northward, and
returns in autumn, in its way to the fouth, de-.
parting at the fetting in of the froft. ot
irides in the male are of a beautiful red,
the female yellow: the weight is faid to be
10 ounces (probably by miftake for 1 ounce,
as it is impoffible fo {mall a bird fhould weigh:
more), the length is 6.inches, the breadth 10..

24. Enucleator, 299. 3.. Pine Grofbeak. ‘Br. Zool.
and Faun. Am. Sept. Edw. 235. 124. Pl. enl..
WF eaha de |

Severn River, N° 29, 30..

It anfwers to the defcriptions and figures of the
ornithologifts pretty well. only Edwards’s fe-
male has the red: too bright, which is rather
orange in our fpecimen, on the Head, neck,,
and coverts of the tail. This bird only vifits.
the Hudfon’s Bay fettlements in May, on its:
way to the north, and is not obferved to re-
turn in autumn; its food ‘confifts of birch-.
willow buds, and others of -the’fame nature ;.
it weighs 2 ounces, is g inches, Jong, and
13 broad,

Lu. Eme-

[403 J

iz. Emprriza.f25. Nivalis. 308. 1. Greater
Bunting. {Brambling, Br. Zool. Snowbird
Snowflake, ibid. Snow-bunting, Faun. Am. Sept.
bk
Severn Piece N° 24—26.

The bird, in fummer drefs, correfponds exa&ly
with the defcription of the greater brambling,
Br. Zool. The defcription of the {nowflake,
or the fame bird in winter drefs, ibid. vol. LV
p- 19. is fomewhat different, perhaps owing
to the different feafons the birds were caught
in, as it is well known they change their co-
Jour gradually. They are the firft of the mi-
gratory birds, which come in fpring to Severn
- fettlement ; in the year 1771 they appeared
April the 11th, flayed about a month or five
_-weeks, and then proceeded further northward
in order to breed there ; they return in Sep-
tember, flay till the cold grows fevere in
November, then retire fouth ward to a warmer
climate. They live in flocks, feed on grafs-
feeds, and about the dunghills, are eafily
caught under a {mall net, fome oatmeal being
firewed under it to allure them; they are
very fat, and fine eating. The weight is i
eunceand 5 drams, the length 62 inches, and

the breadth 10 inches.

Em priza. 26. Leucophrys. New Species. White
Crowned Bunting.

Severn River, N° go. Albany Fort, ro.

_ This elegant little fpecies of Bunting is called

a hedge fparrow at Hudfon’s Bay, 2 and has

Fff 2 not

[ 404 J |

not hitherto been defcribed. It vifits Severn fet-
tlement in June, and feeds on grafs-feeds, little
worms, grubs, &c. It weighs 2 of an ounce,
and is 7Zinches long, and g inches broad ; the
bill and legs are fiefh-coloured ; the male is
not materially different from the female, its
nefts are built in the bottom of willow buthes,
it lays three eggs of a chocolate colour. It
vifits Albany Fort in May, breeds there, and
leaves it in September.

12. FRINGILLA, f 27. Lapponica. 317. 1. Faun.
Finch. lSuec. 235. :
Severn river, N° 52.

It is called Tecurma/bifh, by the natives at Hud-
fon’s Bay. The defcription in Linneus’s.
Fauna Suecica coincides exactly with the
fpecimen; that in his Syitem anfwers very
nearly: Mr. Briffon’s defcription (though he
quotes Linneus, and Linneus quotes him) is
widely different. ‘The fpecimen fent over is.
a female; the males have more of the fer-
ruginous colour on the head; the eyes are
blue, the legs dark brown. It is only a win-
ter inhabitant near Severn river, appears.
not before November, and is commonly
found among the juniper trees; it weighs.
} of an ounce, its length is 5 inches, and its.
breadth 7.

FRINGILLA.»

[405 J

FRINGILLA. 28. Linaria. 322. 29. Leffler red
headed Linnet. Br. Zool.
Severn River, N° 23. |
The defcriptions of Tianens, Briffon; and the
Britifh Zoology, anfwer perfectly well. The
figure in Planche enluminée 151. f. 2. has
a quite ferruginous back contrary to all the
defcriptions and the fpecimen before us, in
which all the feathers onthe back are dufky,
edged with dirty white.

z9. Montana, 324. 37. Mountain Sparrow, Tree
Sparrow. Br. Zool. Edw. BO Briffon UI. p.
79-- Faun. Am. Sept. |

Severn River, N° 20.

This feems to be a variety, as its tail is rather
Jonger than ufual, and forked; it anfwers
nearly to the defcriptions given by the orni-
thologifts, and feems to be a female, as it
has no black under the throat and eyes, and
no white collar. The bill and legs are black,.
the eyes blue. At Severn fettlement it arrives.
in May, goes to breed further northwards,
and returns in autumn: the weight is 3 of
an ounce, the length 64 inches, and breadth
10. J was inclined to make this bird a new
fpecies, on account of the many differences
between it and the mountain {parrow ; but
confidering the fpecimen fent over. was not
in the beft order, and might be a female, I

- thought it beft to leave it where it is, till we ~
are better informed..

FRIN=

[ 406 J
FRINGILLA. 30. Hudfonias. New Specimen.
Severn River, N° 18.

This is certainly a nondefeript {pecies ; it only
vifits Severn fettlement in fummer, not
being feen there before June, when it flays
about a fortnight, goes further to the north-
ward to breed, and paffles by Severn again
in autumn on its return fouth. It is very dif-
ficult to procure, and therefore it could not
be determined whether the f{pecimen was a
male or female. It frequents the plains, and
lives on grafs-feeds; it weighs 4 an ounce,
3s 62 inches long, and g inches broad: it has
a {mall blue eye, anda whitifh bill faintly
tinged with red; the whole body is blackith,
or of a foot colour, the belly alone with the
two outermoft tail feathers on each fide being
white. It is to be wifhed that more fpeci-
mens and circumftantial accounts of this
bird were fent over, which would enable us
to determine its character with more preci-
fion.

13. Muscicapa, 31. Striata. New Species, Striped
Flycatcher. | Flycatcher.

Severn.River, N° 48 and49. Male and Female.

This {pecies vifits Severn river only in fummer,

feeding on grats-feeds, etc. ; it weighs half an
ounce, is 5 inches long, and feven broad;
the male is widely different from the female :
this {pecies is entirely nondefcript.

2 14. Mora-

[ 407 ]

rg. MoTAcitLa, Aah Catendnid.: 337. 44. Ruby
Wagtail.. ctowned Wren. Edw. aca,
Faun. Am. Sept.

(The number belonging to this bird is loft;
howevet, it is moft probably that fent from
Severn river, N° 53.

Tt anfwers to the defcriptions and the figure of
Edwards; its weight is 4 drams, its length 4
inches, and its breath 5 It migrates, feeds
on grafs-feeds and the like, and breeds in the
plains; the number of eggs is not Known.

re. Parvs, 33. Atticapillus. 341. 6. Black Cap:
Titmeufe. t ‘Titmoufe.
Albany Fort, N° 11.

The defcription given by Linneus anfwers, and.
fo does M. Briffon’s in moft particulars, ex-
cept that the quill-feathers are not white on
the infide. "I'hefe birds ftay at Albany Fort
all the year, yet fecth moft numerous in the:
coldeft weather ; probably being then more
in want of food, they come nearer the fettle-.
ments, th order to pick up all remnants..
They feed on flies and fmall maggots, and like--
wife on ‘the buds of the (prig-birch, in which
they perhaps only featch for infects; they.
make a bane noife, from which the na-.

tive call them Ki Ufs-k is -ke- frifh.

PARUS:--

[408] -

Parus. 34. Hudfonicus. New Species. Hud~
fon’s Bay Titmoufe.
‘Severn River, N° 12.

This new {becies of titmou, | is called Peche-kea
ke-fbifh, by the natives. They are common
about the juniper bufhes, of which the buds
are their food; in winter they fy about from
tree to tree in fmall flocks, the fevereft wea-
ther not excepted. They breed about the fet-
tlements, and lay 5 eggs; they have fmall
eyes, with a white ftreak under them, and
black legs: the male and female are quite
alike; they weigh half an ounce, are 5+. inches
long, and 7 inches broad.

16, gna can
Swallow.
Severn River, N° 58.

The {wallows build under the windows, and
on the face of fteep banks of the river, they
difappear in autumn; and the Indians fay,
they were never found torpid under water,
probably becaufe they have no large nets to
fifh with under the ice. ‘The fpecimen fent
anfwers in fome particulars to the defcription
of the Martin, Hirundo Urbica, Linn. but feems
to be {maller, and has no white on the rump.
I have, therefore, thought it beft to leave the
fpecies undetermined, till further informa~
tions are received from Hudfon’s Bay, on this
fubject.

2. WATER-

[ 409 ]

z. WATER-BIRDS.

GRALL&,
ou cecal F aun. Am. Sept.

17. eee Canadenfis. 234. 3. Edw. 133.

Heron. (Canada Crane. Faun. Am. Sept. 14.

Severn River, N° 35. Blue Crane.

The account from Severn fettlement fays, there
is no material difference between the male
and female; however, the {pecimen fent over,
I take to be a female, as its plumage is in
general duller than that figured by Edwards,

and as the laft row of white coverts of the wing
are wanting. ‘Thefe cranes arrive near Severn
in May, have only two young at a time,
retire fouthward in autumn; frequent lakes
and ponds, and feed on fifh, worms, &c.
eee weigh feyen pounds and a half, are
3% feet long, and 3 feet 5 inches broad; the
bill is 4 inches long, the legs 7 inches, but
the leg and thigh 19.

ArpEA. 37. Americana, 234. §. Hooping Crane.
s dwe 13257 Catelby, 1 woe Paun. An, Sept.

14.
York Fort.
_ Edwards’s figure 1 is very exact; Catefby’s is not
fo good, as it reprefents the ’pill too thick to=
wards the point.

Vou. LXII. Gee. 38. Stel

-

[490]

38. Stellaris, 239. 21. Varietas. ‘The Bittern, Br.-
Zool. Edw. 136. Faun. Am. Sept. pag. 14 *.-
Severn River, N° 64- :

At firft fight,. 1 thought the fpécimen feat from’
Hudfon’s Bay, was a young bird; but upon
nearer examination and comparing it with.
Mr. Edwards’s account and figure, I take it
to bea variety of the common bittern pe-
culiar to North America; it is fmallér, but
upon the whole very much refembles our
bittern.. Mr. Edwards’s- meafurements and«
drawings correfpond-very well with the fpeci--
men.-

This bird appears at Severn river the latter‘end
of May, lives chiefly among the fwamps and
willows,.where it builds its neft; and= lays.
only two eggs at a time; it is very ‘indolent, .
and, when roufed,.removes only to-a fhort=
diftance. .

v8. Scoropax,f 39. Totanus. 245. 12. Spotted °
Woodcock. t Woodcock. -Faun. Am. Sept. 14.:-
Albany Fort; N° 16. |
This bird is called a yellow leg-at Albany. fort,»
fromthe bright yellow-colour of the- legs, ..
e{pecially in old birds; a circumftance, in”:
which it varies from the defcriptions of Lin--
neus and Briffon, . probably becaufe they de-—-

* In the Faunula Americe Seatenttionalis, p. 14. the fynonym*
of Ardea Hudfonias, Linn. has by miftake been annexed to the
bittern, and likewife pl. 195. of Edwards has been quoted in-
ftead of plate 136. They are two very different birds. -

{cribed

[ 421 ]

feribed from dried fpecimens, in which the
yellow colour always changes into brown. It
agrees in other refpects perfectly well with
the defcriptions: it comes to Albany fort in
April or beginning of May, and leaves it
the latter end of September. It feeds on
{mall thell fith, worms, and maggots; and
frequents the banks of rivers, fwamps, &c.
It is called by the natives Sa-/a-/bew, from
the noife it makes.

ScoLopax. 40. Lapponica. 246. 15. Red God-
wit. Br. Zool. Faun. Am. Sept. 14.: Ed. 438.
Churchill River, N° 13.

Linneus defcribes this bird very exactly in his
Syftema Nature: the middle of the belly has
no white in the Society’s {pecimen, as. that
had from which the defcription in the Br.
Zoo}, oftavo I. p. 353, 354, was taken. All
the other charaéters correlpond.

ScoLoPpax. AI. Borealis. New Species. Eee
Curlew. Faun. Am. Sept, 14.
Albany Fort, N° 15.

‘This fpecies of Gurlew, is not yet known to.
the ornithologifts; the firt mention,is made
of it in the Faunula America Septentrionalis,
or catalogue of North American animals.
It is called Wee-hee-m me-nafe-fu, by. the natives ;
feeds on fwamps, worms, grubs, &c ; “lite
Albany Fort in April or beginning of May 5
breeds to the northward of it, returns in Au-

Ggg2 guit,

[ AL2 iT
guft, and goes away fouthward agein the
latter end of September.

19. TRINGA, A2. Interpres, 248. 4. Turnftone..
Sand-piper.LEdw. 141. Faun. Am. Sept. 14.
Severn River, N® 31 and 32.
This fpecies is well defcribed: by the ornitho-
- logifts; its weight is 3% ounces, the length
. $2 inches, and the breadth 17 inches; it
has four young at a time ;, its eyes are black,
and the feet of a bright orange: this bird.
frequents the fides of the river.

#3.. Helvetica. 250. 12, Briffon, Av. V.. ps 106%
te Won Erie.

(The nigieee was loft, perhaps it is N° 175,
from Fort Albany;, upon that. fuppofition the:
account is. as follows: ‘® the natives call it:
“ Waw-pufk-abrea-fhifh, or white bear bird 3.
‘¢ it feeds on berries, infects, grubs,, worms,,
és and {mall fhell-fifh; vifits and leaves Al-

. . bany fort at. the fame time with the Sco
“< Jopax Fotanus, and Borealis.” )

T find this bird anfwers very well to its defcripr
tion; the throat, breaft, and upper. part of
the belly are blackifh, as. in the defcriptions,,
but mixed with ee lunulated {pots, which:
are neither defcribed nor exprefied in M..
Briffon’s figure, and may be owing to the:
difference of fex, or climate..

NE

[413 ]

Bb. Agente, | :
VIL. { Webbed footed. Faun. Am..Sept,

29. ANAS, { 44. Marila.. 196.8. Scaup Duck. Br.
Duck, | Zool.. Faun. Am. Sept.. 17.
Severn River, N° 44.and45. Fithing Ducks..
Linneus’s defcription, and the figure in the Br.
Zoology, folio, plate Q, p. 153, agree per-
fectly well with the {pecimens. ‘The female,.
as Linneus obferves, is quite brown, the breatt.
_ and.upper part of the back being of a glofly
reddifh brown;, the fpeculum of the wing:
and the belly are white. The eyes of the.
male have:very bright yellow. irides ;. thofe
of the female are of a faint dirty vellow.
The female is two ounces heavier than the
male, which weighs one pound and an half,
is 162 inches long,, and 20 inches broad.

Anas. 45. Nivalis. SnowGoofe. Faun. Am. Sept.
p. 16. Lawfon’s Carolina, Anfer niveus Briff..
VI.. 288. Klein. Anfer nivis.. Schwenkfeld, Mar-

figli. Danub. p. 802. t. 49.

Severn River, N° 40, anda young one, N° Ait white

Goofe..

Thefe white geefe are very numerous at Hud-
fon’s Bay, many thoufands being annually.
killed with the gun, for the ufe of. the fet-
tlements.. They are ufually fhot whilft on.
the wing, the Indians: being very expert at.
that exercife, which they learn from their
youth ; they weigh-five or. fix pounds, are:

22 feet:

[4]

- 22% feet long, and 34 broad; their eyes are
| black,: the irides {mall and red, the Jegs like-
wife red ; they feed along the fea, and are
: fine eating ; their young are bluifh grey, and
do not attain a-perfec&t whitenefs till they are
-a year-old. ‘They vifit Severn jriver firft in
the middle of May, ‘on their journey north-—
«ward, where: they breed; return in the be-
‘ginning of September, with their young,
ftaying .at Severn fettlement about.a fortnight
-eech time. ‘The Indian name is Way-way,
-at Churchill river. Linneus bas not taken
‘Notice of this fpecies.

Anas. 46. Canadenfis. 198. 14. Canada Goofe.
Faun. Am. Sept. 16. Edw. 151. Catefby I.
92, exc.

‘Severn River, N° 42.

The Canada geefe are very plentiful at Hud-
fon’s Bay, great quantities of them are falted,
but they have -a fifhy tafte. The fpecimen
fent over agrees perfectly with the defcrip-
tions and drawings. At Hudfon’s Bay this
{pecies is.called the Small Grey:Goofe. Befides
‘this, and the preceding white goofe, Mr,.Gra-
‘ham, the gentleman who fent the account
from Severn fettlement, mentions three other
{pecies of wild geefe tobe met with at Hud-
fon’s Bay ; he calls them,

a1. Thedarge Grey Goofe.
2. The Blue Goofe.
3. The Laughing Goofe.

A The

fais]

The firft of thefe, the large grey goofe, he fays,

is fo common in England, that he thought

it unneceflary to fend {pecimens of it over. It :

is however prefumed, that though Mr. Gra-

ham has fhewn himfelf a careful. obferver, ,

and an indefatigable collector ; yet, not being -
a naturalift, he could not enter into any mi- -

nute examination about the fpecies. to which :
each goofe belongs, nor from mere. recollec- -
tion know, that his grey goofe was-actually -
to-be met with in England.’. A natural hif- -
torian, by examination, often finds: material».
differences, which would: efcape.a perfon un=.-
acquainted with natural.hiftory. . The with, .

therefore, .of feeing the. fpecimens: of thefe. -

fpecies of geefe, mutt oceur to: every lover :

of that feience. . Mr. Graham fays, the large -
grey geefe. are the-.only fpecies. that breed «
about Severn river. . They frequent the plains -
and {wamps along the-coaft. . Their weight .

is nine- pounds.

The blue. goofe is as big as the white -goofe; —
and the laughing goofe:is of the fize of the.
Canada or fmall grey goofe... Thefe twe--
Yat {pecies are very common along Hudfon’s -

Bay to the fouthward, but very rare to ‘the -
northward .of Severn river. .’Fhe -Indians -

have a peculiar method of killing all thefe

fpecies of geefe, and likewife fwans. As.
thefe birds fly regularly along the marfhes, |

the Indians range .themfelves in a line acrofs
the marth, from the wood to high water
mark, about muiket {hot. from eath other,

| fo

aaa

fo as to be: fure of intercepting any geefe
which fly that way. Each perfon conceals
himfelf, by putting round him fome brufh
wood; they likewife make artificial geefe
of {ticks and mud, placing them at a fhort
diftance from themfelves, in order to decoy
the real geefe within fhot: thus prepared,
‘they fit down, and keep a good look out; and
as foon as the flock approaches, they all lie
down, imitating the call or note of geefe,
which thefe birds no fooner hear, and perceive
the decoys, than they go ftraight down to-
wards them; then the Indians rife on their
knees, and difcharge one, two or three guns
each, killing two or even three geefe at each
fhot, for they are very expert. Mr. Gra-
ham fays, he has feen a row of Indians, by
calling round a flock of geefe, keep them
hovering among them, till every one of the
geefe was killed. Every {pecies of geefe has
its peculiar note or call, which mutt greatly
increafe the difficulty of enticing them.

Anas. 47. Albeola. 199.18. The Red Duck.
Faun. Am. Sept. 17. Edw. t. 100. Sarcelle de
la Louifiane. Briffon VI. t. 41. f. 1.

Severn River, N° 37 and 38. Fithing Birds.

The defcriptions and figures anfwer very well
with the male, except that the three exterior
feathers are not white on the outfide, but
all dufky.

‘The female is not defcribed by any one of the
ornithologifts ; and therefore deferves to be

noticed,

3

[ 417 ]

noticed, to prevent future miftakes. The
whole bird is dufky, a few. feathers on the
forehead are rufty, and fome about the ears
of a dirty white; the breaftis grey, the belly
and fpeculum in the wings white; the bill
and fegs are black. ‘They viiit Severn fettle-
ment in Jurie, build their nefts in trees, and
breed among. the woods, and near ponds;
the weight of the female is one pound, its
length 14 inches, and its breath 21.

Am as.A3., Clangula.) 20.12) (22.9. Golden’ Eye.

Br. Zool. Faun. Am. Sept. 16. —. -

Severn River, N° 51.

Thefe birds frequent lakes and ponds, and breed
there: they eat fifh and flime, and cannot
rife off the dry land. The lege and irides
are yellow ; their weight is 23 pounds, and
their meafure 19 inches in length, and two feet
in breadth. ‘The fpecimen {ent is the male,

Anas. 49. Perfpicillata. 201. 25. Black Duck.
Faun. Am. Sept. 10. Edw. 55:
Churchill River, N° 14.

This {pecies i is exactly deferibed: and well drawn
by Edwards. The Indians call it She-ke-fit-
partem. It ought to come into the firft di-
vifion of © Bongone ducks, <* roftro bafi
«¢ gibbo,” as its bill is really very’ unequal
at the baie. |

Vion | ex, Hhh ANAS

[ 418 J

ANAS. 50. Glacialis. 203. 30, and Hyemalis, 202..
29. Edw. t. 156. Swallow-tail. Br. Zool..
Faun. Am. Sept. 17. :

Churchill River, N° 12.

At Churchill River the Indians call this {pecies,.
Har-har-vey; it correfponds with Edwards’s.
defcription and drawing, plate 156, but dif--
fers much from Linneus’s inexa& defcription.
of the Anas Hyemalis, to which he, how-
ever, quotes Edwards. Upon the whole it is:
almoft without a doubt that the bird repre-.
fented by Edwards, plate 280, and Br. Zool..
folio, plate Q. 7, and quoted by Linneus for
his Anas glacialis, is the male, and that the-
bird figured by Edwards t..1 56, and quoted by.
Linneus for the Anas Hyemalis, is the female,,.
ef one and the fame fpecies.. Linneus men--
tions a white body (in his Anas hyemalis):
which in Edw.. Tab. 156, and in the So-
ciety’s {pecimen,.is all brown and: dufky,. ex--
cept the belly, temples, a fpot on the back:
of the head, and the fides of the rump,
which are white. Linneus. fays,. that the-
temples are black ;. in the {pecimen now fent:

~ over, and in Mr. Edwards’s. figure, which:
Linneus. quotes,. they. are white ;. the breaft,.
back,. and wings,. are not black as he fays,,
but rather brown and dufky. A’ further-
proof, that Linneus’s Anas Glacialis and Hye-.
malis. are the fame,. is that. the feet, in. both:
t. 156-and 280. of. Edwards are red,. and the:
bill black, with.an orange {pot..
ANAS...

[ 419 ]

ANAS. 41. Crecca. 204. 33. Varietas. Teal.
Br. Zool. Faun. Am. Sept. 17.
Severn River, N° 33, 34. Male and female.

This is a variety of the teal, for it wants the
two white ftreaks above and below the eyes;
the lower one indeed is faintly expreffed in
the male, which has alfo a lunated bar of
white over each fhoulder ; this is not to be
found in the European teal. ‘This {pecies is
not very plentiful near Severn river; they
live in the woods and plains near little ponds
of water, and have from ee to feven young
at a time. |

ANAS. 52. Hiftrionica. 204. 35. Harlequin Duck.
Faun. Am. Sept. 16. Edw. t. 99.
This bird had no number fixed to it; it agrees
perfectly with Edwards's figure.

ANAS. 53. Bofchas. 205. 40. Mallard Drake.
Faun. Am. Sept. Br. Zool.
Severn River, N° 39.
It is called Stock Drake at Hud{fon’s Bay, and
correfponds in every refpect with the Euro-
pean one, upon comparifon.

21, PELECANUS,| 54. ae 251,1. 4 Udq~
Pelecan.. riety.
York Fort.
This variety -of the peletani agrees in ehery pa-
ticular with Linneus’s oriental pelecan (Pele-
Hhh 2 canus

[ 420 ]

canus Onocrotalus orientalis), but has a pe-
culiar tuft or fringe of fibres in the middle
of the upper mandible, fomething nearer the”
apex than the bafe. This tuft has not been
mentioned by any author, and is likewife
- wanting in Edwards’s pelican, t. 92. with
which the Society’s fpecimen correfponds in
every other circumftance. The P. Onocro-
talus occidentalis, Linn. or Edw. t. 93
American pelican, is very different from it:
the chief differences are the colour, which
in our Hiudfon’s Bay bird is white, but in
Edwards’s is of a greyifh brown; and the
fize, which in the white bird 1s almoft double
of the brown one. The quill-feathers are
black, and the fhafts of the larger ones white.
The Alula, or baftard wing, is black. The
bill and legs are yellow.

22. CoLyMBuS.} 55. Glacialis. 221. 5. Northern
* Bien Diver. Br. Zool, Faun. Am.
Sept. 16.
Churchill River, N° 8. called a Loon there.
This bird is well defcribed and drawn in the
Britifh Zoology, in folio.

56. Auritus,: a)02225i0 8200 Hew. Age
ae bbe Eared Grebe. Faun. Am. Sept. 15.
Severn River, N° 43.
This is exactly the bird drawn: by Edwards, t
145. The fpecimen fent over is a female.
It differs much from our lefler crefted Grebe.
Br.

[ 421 ]

Br. Zool. o€tavo I..p. 396, and Br. Zool.
illuftr. plate 77. fig. 2. and. Ed. 96. fig. 2
However, in both thefe works, it is looked.
on only as avariety, or different in fex. Mr.
Graham has the fame opinion. It lives -
on fifh, frequenting the lakes near the fea
coaft. It lays its eggs in water, and can--
not rife off dry, land. It is feen about the
beginning of June, but migrates fouth-
_ ward in autumn. It is called Sekeep, by
~ the natives.. Its eyes are. fmall, the irides.
red; it weighs one pound, yd meafures
one foot: in length, and. one. third more in.

breadth.

23. Larus.) 57. Parafiticus. 226-10. Arctic Gull..
Gull.J Br. Zool. Faun. Am. Sept. 16, Edw..
148. 149..
Churchill River, N° 1s.

This fpecies is called a Man of War, at Hud--
ion’s Bay.. It feems to bea female, by. the:
dirty white colour of its plumage below; it:
agrees very well with Edwards’s drawing, andi
that-in the Br. Zool. illuftr..

24, STERNA. 1°58: Etirundo /(Varrety); 227. 25:

| Tern. i The greater Tern, Br. Zool.. Faun..
Am, Sept.

(The. mam ber belonging to this bird is loft, per-.

haps itis N° 17, froma Churchill River, called:

«A. fort:

L 422 |
« A fort of Gull, called Egg-breakers, by
« the natives.”)

‘The feet are black; the tail is fhorter and
much lefs forked than that defcribed and
drawn in the Br. Zool. The outermoft tail-
feather likewife wants the black, which that
in the Britith Zoology has. In other re=
{pects it is the fame.

DESCRIP:

E 423 ]

DESCRIP TIONES Avium Rariorum

e Sinu. Hudfonis..

1. FALCO SACER.

Fatco, cera pedibufque coeruleis, corpore, remi-.
gibus rectricibufque fufcis, fafciis pallidis; capite,
pectore & abdomine abs maculis longitudinali--
bus fufcis..

Flabitat ad. finum Hudfonis et in reliqua America:
Septentrionali ; 3; victitat Lagopodibus & Tetraonum.
{peciebus..

Descr.. Magnitudo Corvi..

Rofirum,. cera, pedes coerulea ;. roftrum:
breve, curvum, coeruleo-atruin ;,mandi-
bula utraque, bafi pallide coerulea, apice:
nigrefcente, utraque emarginata..

Caput te@um pennis albidis, maculis longi-
tudinalibus,. fufcis.

Occult, magni; irides fave.

Gula alba, fulco-maculata.

Dorfum et teG&rices alarum, plumis fufcis;, ©
ferrugineo-pallide marginatis, maculatif-
que, maculis rachin non attingentibus.

Peétus, venter, criflum, tectrices. alarum:
inferiores, &. femora alba, maculis longi-
tudinalibus nigro-fufcis...

Remiges fufco-nigti, viginti due ; primo-

res apicibus margine albis, eas fer--

oS “tara ruginede-

[ 424 ]
“rugineo-pallidis, intra majoribus, tranf
_verfis, extra mineribus, rotundatis.
ReGrices duodecim, fupra fulce, fafciis
circiter duodecim &apice albidis; infra
cineree, fatciis albidis.

2.-OFRIX NEBULOSA.

“STRIX capite levi, corpore fufco, albido undulatim
{triato, remige fexto longiore, apice nigricante, -
-Habitat circa Sinum Hadionss, victitat Leporibus,

Lagopodibus, M uribufque.

‘Descr. Rofrum fufco-favum, mandibula fuperiore
fuperius magis flava.

Oculi magni, iridibus flavis.

Caput facie cinerea, e pennis fufco et pal-
_lide cinereo alternatim ftriatis. Pone
shafce pennas collum verfus eft ordo
plumularum fufcarum ad utramque ge-
nam, femicirculum nigrum efficiens.

Occiput, cervix, et collum fufca, pennis,
marginibus albo-maculatis. ;

Peéus albidum, maculis longitudinalibus
tranfverfifque fufcis.

Abdomen album, fuperius uti peétas ma-
culis longitudinalibus, fed inferius ftriis
tran{verfis notatum.

Dorfum totum et tectrices ale, caudeque
confertim ex fufco & albdido undulato-
{triate.

Al tutce; remiges primores fufci, grifeo
tran{verfim fafciati, fafciis latis nebnloae!
Remex fextus, reliquis longior, apice

yi magis

[ 425 ]
magis nigricans; primus vero reliquis
primoribus brevior. Remiges reliqui
pallidiores, obfcurius fafciati.

Cauda rotundata, rectricibus duodecim :
duz intermediz paullo longiores, tote
cinerafcente albido fufcoque undula-
tim ftriate, lineis duplicatis fufcis tranf-
verfis pluribus. Redtrices relique fulca
albido fubfiriate.

Pedes te&ti pennis albidis fufco-ftriatis.

Magmitudo fere Strigis Ny&tez, Linn.

Longitudo unciatum 16 pedis Anglicant.

Latitudo pedam quatuor.

Pondus \ibrarum trium.

3. TeTRAo PHASIANELLUS.
Linns. Eds iXiip.)n6oning.\.

TETRAO pedibus hirfutis, cauda cuneiformi, remi-
gibus nigris, exterius albo-maculatis.
Habitat ad Sinum Hudfonis.
Descr. Magnitudo fere Tetraonis Tetricis. Linn.
: Rofirum nigrum. 3

Oculorum irides avellanez.

Caput, collum & dorfum teftacea, nigto
tran{verfim fafciata: macula albida inter
roftrum et oculos: latera colli notata
maculis rotundatis albidis, .

Dorfum teftaceum, plumis omnibus late
nigro-fafciatis.

Vor. LXII, J aiit, Uropygiune

[ 426 J ae
Uropygium magis albido-cinereum, nigre-
dine fimbriata fecundum rachin plu-

marum.

Pettus & Venter albida, maculis cordatis
fufco-teftaceis in ventre faturatioribus.
Alarum tetrices dilute teftaceo, nigro,
alboque tran{verfim fafciate, maculis
pluribus rotundis albis. Remrges pri-
mores nigri, latere exteriore albo-ma-
culati; fecundarii fufci, apice & ad
Marginem exteriorem albo fubfafciati:
poftremi vero teftaceo fafciati, apice

tantum albi.

Reétrices breves, exteriores pallide fufce,
apice albz, duz intermedie reliquis
longiores, teftaceo-maculate.

Pedes plumis albo-grifeis vefti — digitis
pectinatis.

Longitude unciarum 16 pedis Arnglicani.

Latitude pedum duorum.

4. EMBERIZA LEUCOPHRYS *,

EmBeriza remigibus rectricibufque fufcis, eapite-
nigro, fafcia verticis, fuperciliifque niveis.
Habitat in America Boreali ad Sinum Hudfonis.
Descr. Magnitude circiter fringille celibis,
Roffrum rubrum, f. carnei coloris: Nares
fubrotunde.
Caput fafcia verticali lata candida, paulu-
Jum ante roftrum definente ; fa{cia atra.

* Aeyxos albus, Ogpvs fupercilium.
I ‘ Fata,

[ 427]
lata ad utrumque latus falcie albe. Su-
percilia-alba, definentia in lineas, fafciam
albam verticalem adtingentes;: arcus dein
atri, ex angulis oculorum, fere in occi-
pite confluentes.

Collum cinerafcens, in peGore dilutius.

Dorfum ferrugineo-fufcum, marginibas

: lumularum cinereis. |

4ie fulce ; remigum primorum margines
exteriores tenuiffimi pallidi, interiores.
cinerafcentes: fecundarii & penne tec-
trices fufce, marginibus latiufculis, ver-
fus apicem albis, efficientibus falciam

-albam; fuper quam fafcia altera alba ex
maculis albis in apice te@ricum mino~
rum, f. plamarum {capularium. Alule
albez. Remiges fubtus cinerei, margini-
bus albis,

Peffus cinereum, abdomen dilutius, fere
album.

Crifum & plamule femora tegentes lutef
centia.

Uropygium cinereo-fufcum.

Cauda equalis; rectrices duodecim fufce,
marginibus paullo_pallidioribus, faves
-cinerez.

~Pedes carnei coloris, digito intermedio &
ungue poftico reliquis longioribus.

Longitudo unciarum 7 pedis “Anglicani,

Latituds inter alas extenfas 9 unciarum
pedis Anghcant.

‘Cauda partem tertiam -longitudinis totius
avicule efficit.

Tor 2 Lhe

Na |

[ 428 | |
- Ale complicate paululum ultra cauda-
exortum protenduntur.
Pondus drachmarum fex..

5. Frincitta Hupsontas.
FRINGILLA FESO hea roftro albido, pec=-
tore inferiore, abdomine, Sager quatuor.
extremis sib
Habitat in America Boreal.
Descr. Magnitudo circiter fringille carduelis..
Roftrum albidum, rubedine aliqua imbue-
tum. |
Ocul parvi, coerulei..
tes totum cinéreo-nigricans, f._ potius-
uliginofum.
Peétus inferius & abdomen alba. {
Remiges fuaici, cinereo-marginati: ale.
complicate mediam. fere caudam .ad-
tingunt..
Rectrices fulce, extime-utrinque due. tote ;
albz, tertia fufca, macula. oblonga alba, .
ad latus interius, prope rachin, apicem.
attingens ; relique tote fulce.
Pondus femuncie:
Longituds unciarum 6% pedis Anglicani...
Latitude unciarum novem.

6. MuscicAPA STRIATA.

Muscicapa cinereo-virens, dorfo nigro ftriato, fub=
tus flavefcenti-alba, gula lateribufque pectoris.
fufco maculatis.

Habitat -

[ 429 yy
Habitat ad Sinum Hudfonis.

Quum mas 4 feemina multum differat, utique
congruum eft, utrumque fexum feparatim
defcribere.

Descr. Mas.

Rofrum trigonum, mandibu fuperiore
paululum ‘longiore, ante apicem leviter
emarginata, nigra; inferiore bafi flavef-
cente. :

Nares fubrotunde. .

Vibriffe nigre.

Caput fupra totum atrum ad oculos ufque,
Gene aroftro in occiput tote albe ; .oc--
ciput albo & nigro variegatum.

Gula flavefcenti-alba maculis fatcis.

Peéius albidum, lateribus, five verfus oc- -

ving tines ciput maculis nigris variegatum.

Dorfuin cinereo-virens, {triis five maculis .
longitudinalibus nigris latioribus, é.plu--
mulis nigris, margine virentibus. -

Abdomen album.

Uropygium cinereum, nigro-maculatum. ~

lz fufce ; remiges primores pallido mar- -
ginati, fecundaril apice tenuiflimo albo;
duz ultime. margine exteriore. albo; .
tectrices fulce, majores flavefcenti ale:
minores candido in apice maculate, unde
fa{cize alba bine in alis.

Cauda fufca; reétrix. utringue prima f, ex=.
tima, latere interiore macula : magna
alba, marginem interiorem aitingente; ,
proxima f fecanda macula oblonga mi-
nore alba, etiam marginem interiorem +

attingente.; ,

[ 43° J
-attinge nte; utrinque tertia, latere inte-
riore verfus apicem albo-marginata.
“Pedes lutei ; ungues breves, pallide fufei.
Masnitudo circiter Pari atricapil ; Linn.
Longituds 5 unciarum.
Latitudo 7 unciarum pedis Anglicani.:

; . Feemina.
f - Rofirrit, ale, canda, abdomen, uropy-
sium, pedes & menfure ut in mare.

~Caput flavo-virens, ftriis brevibus tenul-

bufque longitudinalibus nigris ; linea fla-
-viffima a bafi roftri incipiens {uper oculos
-ducta; palpebrz flave.

-Gula, gene & pectus albido-flava; macule
{parfe oblongiufcule fufce, ab utrogue
oris angulo ufque in pectoris latera.

_Dorfum, wt in mare, fed viridius, & ftrize

Nigra minores,

ig Parus HupDsonicws.

‘Parus capite fulco-rubefcente, dorfo cinereo, jugulo
atro, fafcia fuboculari, pectoreque albis, hypo-
chondrils rufis.

‘Habitat-ad Sinum Hudfonis.

‘Descr. Kofrum » fubulatum, integerrimum, atrum,
bafi é regione nae tectum fafeioilis
{ctarum ferruginearum, lineas 4 (uncie
pedis Anglicani) longum.

‘Caput fufco-ferrugineum, fafcia fub oculis
alba; gula atra, nigredine extenfa fub
-hac faicia alba.

Dorfium

z
y

MER A
Dorfum cinereo-virens, € plumis longiori- -
bus, fufcis, apice tantum cinereo-virep- -
tibus, f olivaceis. -
Peclus & Abdomen alba, fed plume omnes .
bafi nigre, apice tantum albe.
Latera abdominis & lumbi ferruginei.
Ae fulce, remigum margine omni ci-.
nereo.
Cauda. fulca, rotundata, rectricibus 12,
-margine cinereis.
Uropygium te&tum plumulis aliquot nigris, |
apice albido-rufis.
Pedes nigti; digitus pofticus cum ungue -
anticorum digitorum medio,, duplo lone -
lor. |
Longitude unciarum 5* pedis Anglicani. .
Latitude unciarum 7.
Cauda uncias 2§ longa.

8. SCOLOPAX BOREALIS...

SCOLOPAX roftro arcuato, pedibufqué nigris, corpore -
fufco, grifeo-maculato, fubtus ochroleuco.
Habitat in Sinus Hudfonis inundatis,. & pratis hu-
midis, victitans vermibus.& infestis: menfe Aprili
vel initio Maii. primum. vila eft, circa Caitellum
Albany, inde in terras magis arcticas migrat, ibique .
nidificat; redit ad-idem caftellum menfe. Au-
gufto; regiones Auftraliores petit circa finem Sep- -

tembris.
Affinis fcolopace arquata Linn. fed differt cor~
pore triplo, minore, roftro ratione corporis ,
breviore,, .

[ 432 J

breviore, colore in dorfo faturate fufco, in
. abdomine ochroleuco.

Descr. Caput pallidum, lineolis confertis ioe
‘dinalibus fufcis: finciput faturate “fake.
cum, pallido maculatum.

Roftrum nigricans, arcuatum, lonpitudine
duarum unciarum pedis Anglicani, man-
dibula inferiore bafi rufa,

Collum, peCtus, abdomen & criffum ochro-
leuca ; pectore colloque lineclis longi-
tudinalibus fufcis confertioribus, abdo-
mine & criffo fere nullis, vel tenuibus
notatis.

Femora femi-tecta eater ochroleucis,
fufco maculatis.

Latera abdominis {ub alis areefercims rufa,
pennis tran{verfim fufco fafciatis.

Dorfum totam faturate fufcum, pennis mar- ‘
gine albido grifeis.

Ale fufce ; remiges primores immaculati,
primores rachi tota alba; reliqui, f. fe-
cuhdarii pallide grifeo-marginati. Tec-
trices late erifeo-marginate. Tedtrices
inferiores alee, ferruginee fufco tranf-
verfim fafciate, Ale complicate fere
mediam caudam attingunt.

Uropygium fufcum, marginibus maculifque
pennarum albidis.

Cauda brevis, fufca, rectricibus albido tran{-
verfim fafciatis

Pedes nigri, {. ccerulefcentes.

Longitudo unciarum 138.

Latitudo circiter unciarum 21.

3 9. ANAS

;

[agen]

9. ANAS NIVALIS.

Anas, tfoftio cylindrico, corpore albo, remigibus
primoribus nigris.
Habitat in America Boreali, per Sinum Hud(onis
migrans.
Descr. Corpus totum album, magnitudine anferis
domeftici noftratis.

Roftrum luteum, mandibulis fubferratis.

Oculi iride rubra.

Reniges decem primores nigri, fcapis al-
bis: tectrices infime cinerez, f{capis ni-
gris; penne duz alule, itidem. ci-
nerex, {capis nigfis.

Pedes rubri.

Longitudo pedum duorum & unciarum
octo.

Latitudo pedum 3%.

Pondus \rbrarum 5 vel bp

Vow LX! th oa ek aie, Ca

[ 434 ]

XXX. Geometrical Solutions of three cele-
brated Apronomical Problems, by the late
Dr. Henry Pemberton, F. R. §. Com-
municatea by Matthew oe E/q;
FL R. SS.

LEMMA.
Read June 4, =O form a triangle with two giver
ir fides, that the rectangle under the

fine of tbe angle contained by the two
given fides, and the tangent of the angle oppofite.
to the leffer of the given fides, fhall be the greateft
that can be. 3

Let [Tas. XII. Tig. 1.] the two given fides n
equal to AB and AC: round the center A, with
the interval AC, defcribe the circle CDE, and
produce BA to E; take BF a mean proportional
between BE and BC, and erect the perpendicular
FG, and complete the triangle AG B.

Here the fine of BAG is to the radius, as FG to
AG; and the tangent of ABG to the radius, as FG
to FB: therefore, the rectangle under the fine of

BAG and the tangent of ABG is to the fquare of
the

me
bE tee ad a
ie ae ay

Philow. Trarn. Vol.LXM Yah SU ft. 435 . ai

a

=

nies

rf
7
3

{ 435

the radius, as the {quare-of FG, orthe reGtangle
EFC, to the rectangle under AG (or AC) and FB,
But, EB being toBF as BF toBC , by converfion,
EB isto EF as BF to FC, and a by taking the
difference of the antecedents bes of the confequents,
EF is to twice AF as BF to FC; and twice AFB
isvegual to 1 PC. ‘
Now, let the triangle BAH be formed, where
the angle BAH ‘is oreater than BAG. Here, the
perpendicular HI being drawn, the rectangle made
the fine of BAH and He tangent of ABH will be
to the fquare of the radius, as i rectangle EAC. te
ehe rectangle under AC, IB. But IF is to FB
as 2AFL t BAP B, o EFC; and 2AFRI
is greater than AFy — Als; alfo AF?— Ar to-
ecther with EFC, is equal to ELC; therefore, by
compolition, the ratio of 1B to BF is greater than
that of EITC to EFC; and the ratio of ACxIB
to ACxFB greater, than that of ETC to BC:
alfo, by permutation, the ratio of ACxIB to EIC
eveaterthan the ratioof ACxXFBto EFC. -But
the firft.of thefe ratios is the fame with that of the
{quare oi the radius to,the reClangle under the fine of
BAH and the tangent of A. BH: and the Jatterus
the fame with that “of the {quare af the radius te the
rectangle under the fine of BAG and the tangent,
of ABG; therefore, ‘the latter of thefe two redtangles,
is @reater than the other.
Again, let.the triangle BAK be formed, with the
angle BAK deis.than BAG, and the perpendicular’
KL be drawn. Then *thewectangle under the fine of
BAK -and the tangent of ABK is to the {quare of
the radius, aS) the fquare of KL to, the rectangle under
piekat Ree ees. AG,

ry |

AC, BL. Here, FL being to FB as 2AFL ta.

2AFBorEFC, and 2AFL lefsthan AL? — AF,
by converfion, the ratio of LB to FB will be greater
than the ratio of ELC to EFC; therefore, as be-
fore, the rectangle under the fine of BAG and the
tangent of ABG is greater than that under the fine
of BAK and the tangent of ABK.

COROLLARY FE.

BF’ is equal to the tangent of the circle from the
point B; therefore, BF is the tangent, and AB the
fecant, to the radius AC, of the angle, whofe cofine
is to the radius as AC to AB, Therefore, AF is
the tangent, to the fame radius, of half the comple-
ment of that angle; and AF is alfo the cofine of
the angle BAG to this radius,

CoBO.L. Z:

The fine of the angle compofed of the comple-

ment of AGB, and twice the complement of ABG,.
is equal to three times the fine of the complement
of AGB. Let fall the perpendicular AH (Fig. 2.);
cutting the circle in 1; continue GF to K, and draw
AK, Then BF? =EBC=GBL. Therefore,
GB:BF: BF: BL, and the triangles GBF,
F BL are fimilar. Confequently FL is perpendi-
cular to GB, and parallel to AH; whence GH
being equal to HL, GM is equal to MF, and

M K equal to three times G M.
Now, the arc IK = 2IC + GI; and the angle
IAK=2IAC+GAlI; alfoGM isto —
the

[ 437 ]

the fine of the arc GI to the fine of the arc 1K,
that is, as the fine: of the angle GAT to the fine’
of the angle JAK. ‘Therefore, the fine of the
angle LAK (=27TAC + GAI) is equal to three:
times the fine of the angle GAIL; but GAT is the
complement of AGB, and LAC ‘the complement of:
ABG..

CoROE. Ba.

If (Fig. 3.) any line BN. be drawn to divide the:
angle ABG, and AN be joined, alfo AO be drawn.
perpendicular to BN, and continued to the circle
in P, the fine of the angle compofed of NAP*
and 2PAC will be lefs than three times the fine of
the angle NAP. Draw N.QR perpendicular to
AB, cutting AP in S; join AR, and draw QT.
perpendicular to BN, and parallel te.A.O.; then
BQ:= NBT. But BQ? is greater than the reQ-
angle EBC, that is, greater than the rectangle
N BV, under the two fegments of the line BN.
drawn from B, to cut the circle in Ne and V>
therefore, I'B.is greater than VB, and NO greater
than OT. Confequently N.S is greater than 5 Q..
Hence RS is lefs than three times N.S; and there-
fore, the fine of the angle PAR (=NAP--2PAC)
is lefs than three times the fine.of NAP..

PReoBLEM

Tas)

| Pie wei I. a
Te a dt it the eli the punt of onge ate fon, ;

2 Re. -

; x

Anatysts.

‘Let (Fig. oD ABC be the equator, ADC the

ecliptic, BD the fituation of the horizon, when D

is the point of longeft afcenfion... Let EF G be an=

other. fituation of the .horizon. “Then the ratio of
‘the fine of EB to the fine of F D is cornpounded of
the ratio of the fine of BG to the fine of GD, and
_of the ratio of the fine of AE to the fine of AF;
but the angles B and E being equal, the arcs EG,
‘GB together thake a femicircle; and, by ‘the ap-
proach of EG towatds GB, the uttidke magnitude
of BG will be a-quadrant, -and the ultimate ‘ratio of
-EB to FD will be compounded of ‘the ratio of the
radius to the fine of DG (that is, the cofine of BD)
and of the ratio of the fine of A B to the fineof AD.
‘Draw the are DF perpendicular to AL. Then, in’ the
triangle BDH, the radius is to the cofine of BD; as
the tangent ofthe angle BDH tothecotangenrof HBD.
Alfo, in the triangle BDA, the fine of “AB is to the
‘fine of A'D as'the fine of the angle BD Aor BDC)
to the fine of ABD; therefore, the ultimate ratio
of BE to -D¥ is compounded of ‘the ‘ratio of the
‘tangent of BDH to the cotangent of ABD, and
of ie ratio of the fine of BDC to the fine of
ABD; which two ratios compound that of the
rectangle under the tangent of B DH and the fine of
‘BDC to the rectangle naaeer the cotangent and the
fine of the ‘given angle ABD.

4 But

; 439 |

- Bus, when D is the point of longeft afcenfion, the | .

ratio of BE to DF is the greateft-that can be; there-
fore, then the ratio of the re€tangle under the tangent
of * DH and:the fine of BDC to the given ree -
angle under the cotangent and fine of the given angle
ABD muf be the oteatett that can be; and eonfe.
- quently, the reGtangle under the tangent of BDF,
and the fine. of B DC, muft be. the greateft that
can be.

- In the trianglé BDA, the ris of. BDH; is to-the
- fine of H DR as the cofine of ABD to the cofine of
BAD. Now, j in the.preceding lemma, let the angle
BAG of the triangle AGB be equal to the foherical |
angle BDC: thea will the fum of. the angles ABG, |
AGB be equal to the fpherical angle BDA. And,
if AG in the triangle AGB, be to AB as the cofine -
of the {pherical angle DBA to the cofine of DAB; .
that is, as the fine ‘ok BDH to the fine of HDA,

the angle ABG, in the triangle, will be equal to the - :

- fpherical angle BDH; and the angle AGB, in the |
triangle, equal to baie eae angle HDA. There- -
fore, by the firft corollary of the lemma, that the -
rectangle under the tangent of the fpherical angle -
BDH and the fine of BDC be the greateft that:
can be, the cofine of BDC muft be equal to the
tangent of half the complement of the angle, whofe
cofine is to the radius, as AG to AB, in the triangle, .
or as the cofine of the hae angle ABD to the
eofine of the fpherical angle BAD. |
-- Sf 1K be the fituation of the horizon, when the
folftitial point is afcending, in the quadrantal triangle.
AIK, the cofine of KIC is to the radius as the co-
Gne of IKAG= DBA) to the cofine of LAK. There-

fore,

[ 440 ]

“fore, the cafine of BDC, when D is the point of
longeft afcenfion, is equal to the tangent of half the
complement of the angle, which the ecliptic makes
with the horizon, when the folftitial point is afcend-
Ang.
Bue the fine of the angle compofed of DAB, and
‘twice ABD, mutt be lefs than three times the fine
of the angle BAD. In the fpherical triangle ABD,
the angles BAD, ABD together exceed the ex-
ternal angle BDC. Therefore, in the third corol-
lary-of the lemma, let the angle BAN be equal to
the {um of the fpherical angles BAD, ABD: but
here, AN is to AB as the cofine of the fpherical
angle ABD to the cofine of BAD; and AN is alfo
to AB asthe fine of ABN to the fine of AN B,
‘that is, as the cofine of BAP to the cofine of NAP;
-confequently, fince the angle BAN is equal to the
fum of the {pherical angles BAD, ABD, the angle
N AP is equal to the fpherical angle BAD, and the »
angle BAP equal to the {pherical angle ABD; but
the fine of the.angle compofed of NAP and twice
PAB is lefs than three times the fine of NAP;
therefore, the fine of the angle compofed of the
{pherical angle BAD and 2 ABD will be lefs than
three.times the fine of the angle BAD; otherwife
no fuch triangle DBA, as is here required, can take
place, but the point A will be the point of Jongett
a{cenfion.

If the fine of the angle A be greater than one
third of the radius, the point A can never be the
point of longeft afcenfion ; but when the fine of this
angle is lefs, the angle compounded of BAD and
twice ABD, may be greater or lefs than.a pases

an

[ 442 ]

and therefore, the magnitude of the angle ABD,
that A be the point of jongeft afcenfion, is confined
~ within two limits, of which the double of one added
to the angle A, as much exceeds a quadrant, as the
double of the other added to that angle falls fhort of
it; therefore, double the fum of thofe two angles,
together with twice A, makes a femicircle ; and the
fingle {um of thofe two angles added to A makes a
quadrant. , :

“ ProgsitemM MII.,

To find when the arc of the ecliptic differs moft from tts
oblique afcenfion. : J

ANALYSIS.

If (Fig. 5.) BD be the fituation of the horizon,
when CD differs moft from CB, as before, the ul-_
timate ratio of BE to DF will be compounded of
the ratio of the radius to the fine of DG (or the co-
fine of DB) and of the ratio of the fine of CB to the
fine of CD: but, when C D differs moft from C B,
BE and DF are ultimately equal; therefore, then
the cofine of B D is to the radius as the fine of CB
to the fine of CD. |
- Draw the are CHI of a great circle, that DH

be equal to DB; then, BH being double B D, half
the fine of BH is tothe fine of BD or DH, as:
the cofine of BD to the radius; therefore, half the
_ fine of BH is to the fine of DH as the fine of CB
to the fine of CD; but the fine of the angle BCH is
to the fine of BH as the fine of the angle CH B to the

Vout. LXII, L1l fine

442] |
fineof CB; whence, by equality, half the fine of
‘BCH is to the fine.of DH as the fine of CHB to
the fine of CD: but as-the fine of CHB to the fine
of CD, fo, in the triangle CHD, is the fine of DCH
to the fine of HD: confequently, the fine of DCH
is equal to half the fine of BCH. Hence, the dif-
ference of the angles BCH, DCH being given,
thofe angles are given, and the arc CHI is given by

pofition.
| Moreover, in the triangle BCH, the bafe BH
being bifected by the arc CD, the fine of the angle
CH D is to the fine of the given angle CBD, as
the fine of the given angle H CD to the fine of the
given angle BCD; therefore, the angle CHB 1s
given ; in fo much, that in the triangle CB H all the
angles are given. |

The fum of the fines of the angles BCH, DCH

is to the difference of their fines, as the tangent of half —

the fum of thofe angles to the tangent of half their
difference ; therefore, the tangent of half the fum of
BCH, DCH is three times the tangent of half
BCD.

In (Fig. 6.) the ifofceles triangle ABC, let the
angle BAC be equal to the fpherical angle BCD,
and let AE be perpendicular to BC; alfo, CF being
taken equal to CB, join AF: then EF is equal to
three times EB; andas EF to EB, fois the tan-
gent of the angle EAF to the tangentof EAB;
but EAB is equal to half the fpherical angle BCD:
therefore, the angle EAF is equal to half the fum of
the {pherical angles BCD, BCH; and confequently,
the angle CAF equal to the {pherical angle DC H.

Here, AF is to CF as the fine of the angle ACF
2 to

Faas] |
to the fine of CAF; and CB is to AB as the fine
of the angle BAC to the fine of ACB: therefore,
CF being equal to CB, and the fine of ACF to the
fine of ACB, by equality, AF is to AB as the fine of
the angle BAC to the fine of CAF, that is, as the
fine of the fpherical angle BC D to the fine of the
fpherical angle DCH.
Let (Fig. 7.) the triangle AGB have the angle
- ABG equal to the {pherical angle CBD, and the
fide AG equal to AF. Then, AG isto AB as
the fine of the {pherical angle 5 GD to the fine of
the fpherical angle DCH, that is, as the fine of
the {pherical angle CBH to the fine of the fpherical
angle CHB: but AG is to AB alfo as the fine of the
angle ABG to the fine of AGB; therefore, the
angle ABG being equal to the fpherical angle |
CBH, the angle AGB is equal to the {pherical
angle CHB: and moreover, when the angle ABG
is greater than ABF, that is, when the {pherical
angle CB EH is greater than the complement of half
BCD, the three angles ABG, AGB and BAC
together exceed two right. :
Hence, (Fig. 8.) towards the equinottial point C,
where the angle CBD is obtufe, a fituation of the
horizon, as BD, may always be found, wherein
CD more exceeds CB than in any other fituation:
and when the acute angle DBA is greater than the
complement of half BCD, another fituation of the
horizon, as KLM, may be found, toward the other
equinoGial point A, wherein the arc of the ecliptic
CK will be lefs than, the arc of the. equator, and
their difference be greater than in any other fituation.
But, if the angle DBA be not greater than the com-
L.bb2. plement

buaatd

plement of half BCD, the arc.of the ecliptic, be-
tween C and the horizon, will never be lefs than the
arc of the equator, between the fame point C and the
horizon.

In the two fituations of the Honieon, the apes
CHB and K MA are equal.

SCHOLIUM I.

To find the point in the ecliptic, eohiene the arc
of the ecliptic moft exceeds the right afcenfion,
is a known problem: that point is, where the
cofine of the declination is a mean proportional
between the radius and the cofine of the greateft
declination.

In the preceding figure, fuppofing the angle CBD to
be right, then, becaufe when CD moft exceeds CB,
the cofine of BD is to the radius as the fine of CB to
the fine of CD, and, in the triangle CBD, the fine
of CB is to the fine of CD as the fine of the angle
C.DB to the radius, alfo the fine of CDB is to
the radius as the cofine of BCD to the cofine of
BD;; therefore, the cofine of BD is to the radius
as the cofine of the angle BCD to the cofine of
the fame B D, and the cofine of B D is a mean pro-
portional between the radius and the cofine of
BCD.

SCHOLIUM 2.

In any given declination of the Sun, to find
when the azimuth moft exceeds the angle which
meafures the time from noon, is a problem ana-
logous to the preceding. uf

i

[ 445 ]

ProBpLlemM III.

Ti he tropic found, by Dr. Halley's method *, without.
any confideration, of the parabola.

The obfervations are fuppofed to give the pro-
portions between the differences of the fines of three
declinations of the Sun near the tropic; but the fine
of the Sun’s place is in a given proportion to the fine -
of the declination ; therefore, the fame obfervations
give equally the proportion between the differences
of the fines of the Sun’s place, in each obfervation.

Now (Fig. 9.), let ACE be the ecliptic, AE its
diameter between Y and “4, and its center F; let
B, C, D be three places of the Sun; BG, CI,
DH the fines of thofe places refpectively. Draw
CK, BL parallel to AE, which may meet HD,
-i9 Nand M. Then, by the obfervations, the ratio
of DM to DN is given. Therefore, if BD be
drawn to meet K L in O, the ratio of BD to OD
Is given ; and the ratio of BD to DC is alfo given,
they being the chords of the given angles BF D,
CFD: hence the ratio of C D to DO, in the tri-
angle CDQ, is given; and confequently, the angle
COD will be given: which angle is the diftance
of the tropic from the middle point of the ecliptic
between Band D: for, FPR being perpendicular
to OC, and FQS perpendicular to DB, the angle
_ QF'P is equal to QOP, the points O, P, Q, F

2
being 1 ina circle.

* Vide Philofophical TranfaGtions, N° 215.
THE

[ 446 J

THE igetietle op ol S
DN: te Vane ihe 3
f. #BE D.e4-$6 BD bh Eat ae
rads st. yin 4c) ste eel Cie. & r, COD #~DCO
Ify> 45° 2COD>DCO
And |
iby 245; 2 COD < DCO.

If the intervals between the obfervations are fo
fmall, that the fines differ not much from the arches,
the arches BC, CD may be counted in time, and
the calculation may be abbreviated thus : eh
DM dN |:;asc..B;Di: Z. (for DO)
DC+-Z:2DC::iBC: SR.

Or,
DMxDC+DNxBD:DMxDC:: £BC:5R.

XXXII. On

[ 447 ]
Received May 18, 1772.

XXXI. On the Digeftion of the Stomach
after Death, by John Hunter, F. R. 8.
and Surgeon to St. George's Flo/pital.

Read June . N accurate knowledge of the ap-
ieee pearances in animal bodies that
die of a violent death, that is, in perfect health,
or in a found ftate, ought to be confidered as a
neceflary foundation for judging of the ftate of the
body in thofe that are difeafed.

But as an animal body undergoes changes after
death, or when dead, it has never been fufficiently
confidered what thofe changes are; and till this be
done, itis impoflible we fhould judge accurately of
the appearances in dead bodies. The difeafes
which the living body undergoes (mortification
excepted) are always connected with the living
‘principle, and are not in the leaft fimilar to what
may be called difeafes or’ changes in the dead body:
without this knowledge, our judgment of the
appearances in dead bodies muft often be very im-
perfect, or very erroneous; we may fee appear-.
ances which are natural, and may fuppofe them:
to have arifen from difeafe; we may fee difeafed
parts, and fuppofe them in a natural ftate; and

we may fuppofe a circumftance to have exifted be-
fore

C448]

fore death, which was really a confequence of its

or we may imagine it to be a natural change after

death, when it was truly a difeafe of the living .

body. It is eafy to fee therefore, how aman in
this ftate of ignorance muft blunder, when he
comes to connect the appearances in a dead body
with the fymptoms that were obferved in life;
and indeed all the ufefulnefs of opening dead bo-
dies depends upon the judgement and fagacity
with which this fort of comparifon is made. -

There is a cafe of a mixed nature, which can=
not be reckoned a procefs of the living body, nor
of the dead; it participates of both, inafmuch as
its caufe arifes from the living, yet cannot take
effect till after death. |

This fhall be the obje& of the prefent paper ;
and, to render the fubject more intelligible, it will
be neceflary to give fome general ideas concerning
the caufe and effects.

An animal fubitance,when joined with the living
principle, cannot undergo any change in its pro-
perties but as an animal; this principle always act-
ing and preferving the fubftance, which it inhabits,
from diffolution, and from being changed accord-
ing to the natural changes, which other fubftances,
applied to it, undergo.

There are a great many powers in nature, which
the living principle does not enable the animal
matter, with which it is combined, to refift, viz.
the mechanical and moft of the ftronger chemical
folvents. It renders it however capable of re-
fitting the powers of fermentztion, digeftion, and
perhaps feveral others, which_ are well known re

ac

[ 449 ]
a& on this fame matter, when deprived of the liv-
ing principle, and entirely to decompofe it. The
number ef powers, which thus ac differently on
the living and dead animal fubftance, is not afcer-
tained: we fhall take notice of two, which can
only affect this fubftance when deprived of the
living principle; which are, putrefaction and di-
geftion. Putrefaction is an effe&t which arifes
fpontaneoully ; digeftion is an effet of another
principle acting upon it, and fhall here be confi-
dered a little more particularly.

Animals, or parts of animals, poffeffed of the
living principle, when taken mto the ftomach,
are not the leaft affected by the powers of: that
vilcus, fo long as the animal principle remains 5
thence it is that we find animals of various kinds
living in the ftomach, or even hatched-and bred
there: but the moment that any of thofe lofe the
living principle, they become fubject to the di-
geftive powers of the ftomach. If it were poffible
for a man’s hand, for example, to be introduced
into the ftomach of a living animal, and kept there
for fome confiderable time, it would be found,
that the diflolvent powers of the ftomach could
_ have no effet upon it; but if the fame hand were

feparated from the body, and introduced into the
fame ftomach, we fhould then find that the {to-
mach would immediately a& upon it.

Indeed, if this were not the cafe, we fhould
find that the ftomach itfelf ought to have been
anade of indigeftible materials; for, if the living
principle was not capable of preferving animal

Vor. LXIL. Mmm fubftances

[ 450 ] | |
fubftances from undergoing that procefs, the fto~
mach itfelf would be digefted.

_ But we find on the contrary, that the ftomach,
which at one inftant, that is, while pofleffed &
the living principle, was. capable of refifting the
digeftive powers which it contained, the next mo-._
ment, vz. when deprived of the living principle,
is itfelf capable of being digefted, ‘either by the
digeftive powers of other ftomachs, or by the re-
mains of that power which it had of digefting
other things.

From thefe obfervations, we are led to ac-
count for an appearance which we find often in
the -ftomachs of dead bodies; and: at the fame
time they throw a confiderable light upon the
nature of digeftion. ‘The appearance which has.
been hinted at, is a diflolution of the ftomach
at its great extremity ; 1n confequence of which,
there is. frequently a confiderable aperture made in.
that vifcus. The edges of this opening appear to
be half diffolved, very much like that kind of dif-
folution which flefhy parts undergo when half di-
selisd ina living ftomach, or whendiflolved by a -

auftic alkali, wz. pulpy, tender, and ragged.

hil thefe cafes the contents of the ftomach are
generally found loofe in the cavity of the abdo-
men, about the {pleen and diaphragm. In many
fubjects this digeftive power extends much fur-
ther than throug h the ftomach. I .have often
found, that after it had diflolved the ftomach at
the ufual place, the contents of the {tomach had
come into contac with the fpleen and diaphragm,

- had

a

[ age ]

had partly diflolved the adjacent fide of the fpleen,
and had diffolved tne diaphragm quite through; fo
that the contents of the ftomach were found in
the cavity of the thorax, and had even affeéted
the lungs in a {mall degree.

There are very few dead bodies, in which oe
ftomach is not, at its great end, in fome degree di-
gefted; and one who is acquainted with diflecti-
ons, can eafily trace the gradations from the {malleit
to the greateft.

To be fenfible of this effet, nothing more is
neceffary, than to compare the inner furface of the
great end of the ftomach, with any other part of
the inner furface; what is found, will appear foft,
fpongy, and granulated, and without diftin& blood
veffels, opaque and thick; while the other will
appear {mooth, thin, and more tranfparent; and
the veffels will be feen ramifying in its fubftance,
_and upon fqueezing the blood which they contain
from the larger branches to the fmaller, it will
be found to pafs out at the digefted ends of the
veffels, and appear like drops on the inner fur-
face.

Thefe appearances I had often feen, and 1 do
fuppofe that they had been feen by others; but I
was at a lofs to account for them; at firft, I fup-
pofed them to have been produced during life, and
was therefore difpofed to look upon them as the
caufe of deaths but I never found that they had
any canneétion with the fymptoms: and I was
ftill more at a lofs to account for thefe appearances
when I found that they were moft frequent in
thofe who died of violent deaths, which made

Mmm2 . me

/

Lage Ds

me fufpect that the true caufe was not even ima=

gined *,

At this.time I was making many experiments.

upon digeftion,.on different animals, all of which.
were killed, at different times, after being fed with.

different kinds of food; fome of them were not

opened immediately after death, and in fome of
them I found the appearances. above defcribed in.
the ftomach. For, purfuing the enquiry about di-

. geftion, I got the ftomachs of a vaft variety of fith,.

which all die of violent deaths,.and all may, be faid

to die in perfect health, and with. their ftomach.
commonly full; in thefe animals we fee the pro-

erefs of digeftion moft diftin@ly; for as they fwal- —

low their food whole, that is, without maftication,.
and, {wallow fith that are much. larger than

* The firft time that I had occafion to obferve this appearance:

in fuch as died of violence and fuddenly, and in whom therefore »
I could not eafily fuppofe it to be the effe&t of difeafe in the liv--

ing body, was in a man who had his fkull fra€tured: and: was
killed outright by one blow of a poker. Juft before this accident,,
he had been in. perfect health, and had taken a hearty fupper of
cold meat, cheefe, bread, and ale. Upon opening the. ab-
domen, | found that the ftomach, though it ftill contained a good
deal,.was-diflolved. at its great end, anda-confiderable part of
thefe its.contents lay loofe in the general.cavity of, the belly..
‘This appearance puzzled me very much, The fecond time
was at St. George’s Hofpital, in a man who died a few hours
after receiving: a blow on his head, which fractured his fkulf
Jikewife.. From thofe two cafes, among other conjectures'about
fo ftrange an appearance, I began: to fufpect that it might be
peculiar to cafes of fractured fkulls; and therefore, whenever L
had'an opportunity, | examined the ftomach in every perfon who
died of that accident: but I found many of them which had not

this appearance. Afterwards I met with it in a foldier who
had been hanged.

the ©

[ 453 ]
the digefting part of the ftomach can contain (the
fhape of the fith fwallowed being very favourable
for this enquiry,) we find in many inftances that
the part of the fwallowed fifth which is lodged in
the digefting part of the ftomach is more or lefs
diffolved,, while that part which. remains in the:
efophagus is perfectly found. | :

And in many of thefe I found, that this digef-.
ting part of the ftomach was.itfelf reduced to the
fame diflolved. {tate as the digefted. part of the.
food..

Being employed upon this fubjeGt, and there=
fore enabled'to account more readily for appear-
ances which had any connection with it, and: ob-
ferving that the half-diflolved parts of the {fto-
mach,. &c. were fimilar to the. half-digefted food,
it immediately {truck me that it was from the pro-
cefs. of digeftion. going on after death, that the
{tomach,. being dead, was no longer capable of re--
fitting the powers. of that menftruum, which it-.
felf had formed for the. digeftion of its contents ;.
with this idea,. [fet:about making experiments to-
produce thefe appearances at. pleafure, which
would have taught us-how. long the animal ought:
to live after feeding, and how long it fhould re-
main after death before it is opened; and above
all, to find out the method of producing the
ereateft digeftive power in the living ftomach:. but:
this purfuit led me into an unbounded field.. t

‘Thefe appearancesthrow confiderablelight onthe»
principles of digeftion ;, they fhew that it is not me--
chanical power, nor contraétions of the ftomach, nor:
heat, but fomething fecreted in the coats of the

, ftomach,.

[ 454 ]
ftomach, which is thrown ifto its cavity, and
there animalifes the food *, or affimilates it to the
nature of the blood. ‘The power of this juice is.
confined or limited to certain fubftances, efpecially -
of the vegetable and animal kingdoms ; and al-
though this menftruum is capable of acting inde-
pendently of the ftomach, yet it is obliged to that
vifcus for its continuance. ,

* In all the animals, wheres carnivorous or not, upon which
I made obfervations or experiments to difcover whether or not
there was an acid in the ftomach, (and I tried this in a great
variety,) I conftantly found that there was an acid, but not a
ane one, in the juices contained in that vi/cws in a natural
ate.

XXXIL Eys

[ 455 |

XXXII. Experiments and Obfervations on
the Waters of Buxton and» Matlock, in
Derbyfhire, 4y Thomas Percival, of Man-
chefter, MZ. D. and PLR. Ss

Read June 25, “SHE water of faint Ann’s-well is.
ieee found, by analyfis, to contain cal-
eareous earth, foffil- alkali, and fea falts; but in
very fmall proportions: for a gallon of the water,
when evaporated, yields only twenty three, or twenty
four grains of fediment. It ftrikes a light green
colour with fyrup of violets, fuffers no change from
an infufion of galls, from the fixed vegetable alkali,.
or from the mineral acids ; becomes milky with the
volatile alkali, and with Saccharum Saturnt; and lets
fall a precipitate on the addition of a few drops of
a folution of filver, in the nitrous acid. ‘The {pecific
gravity of this water is precifely equal to that of rain
water, when their temperatures are the fame; but
it weighs four grains in a pint lighter, when firft
taken from the {pring... The heat of the bath is
about 82 degrees of FPahrenheit’s thermometer ; that of
Saint Ann’s well, as it is a fmaller body of water, and
expofed to the open air, is fomewhatJefs. The water
is tranfparent, {parkling, and highly grateful to the:
Dalate *.

* Tam indebted to the information of the worthy phyfician.
who attends at Buxton, for fome of thefe facts,
Tn,

-

7 [ 456 |
In Oober 1769, I paffed a few days at Buxton;

and during my ftay there amufed myfelf with the
following experiments on the effects of the water of

Saint Ann’s well, on my pulfe.

EXPERIMENT IL
O&ober 12, eight o’clock in the morning. “The ~~

day cold and moift, my pulfe beat 84 ftrokes in a
‘minute; I drank at the well, the third of a pint of
‘water, and, ufing every neceflary precaution, exa-
amined my pulfe i. certain intervals of time; in. five

minutes, pulfe 80, in ten minutes pulfe 80, fuller and -

harder; in twenty minutes pulte 85; in half an
hour pulfe go.

ExpPpERIMENT II.

Eleven o'clock in the forenoon, two hours after

breakfaft, the air warm and ferene, pulfe go; I re-
peated the draught of water. In feven minutes pulle

10g; in fifteen minutes pulfe 103; in thirty minutes

pulfe 100, head-ach ; in an. hour and.a half pulfe gs,
chead-ach abated.

ExPERIMENT III.
‘Oober 13, eight in the morning; the day cold,

pulfe g2; I drank the quantity of water above-men-

tioned ; in five minutes pulle 86; in fifteen minutes

pulfe 86, full and hard; in twenty minutes pulfe

100; 1n hale an hour pulfe 92.
fom the firft and third experiments, it appears
that the coldnefs-of the morning counteracted for a

time, the effets of the Beson water ; and reduced

the

foas7\d

the vibrations of my pulfe frem 84 to 80, and from
g2to 86. But the ftimulus of the water foon’be-
came fuperior to the fedative powers of the cold te
which 1 was expofed ; for within the fpace of half
an hour my pulle rofe to go in the firlt, and to 100
firokes in the fecond trial. At eleven o'clock be-
fore noon, when the air was warm and ferene, the
~ water in a much fhorter time excited its force, in-
creafing the velocity of my pulfe from go, to 10g
vibrations in a minute. Thefe experiments evince
the heating quality of Buxton water, and fuggeft to
us the precautions to be obferved in the ufe of it.

Small quantities fhould only be drunk at once, and
frequently repeated ; the belly fhould be kept foluble
with lenitive EleCtuary, or any other mild purgative
and at the beginning of the courfe, the patient may
be directed to fuffer the water to remain a few fe-
conds in the glafs, before he {wallows it. For this
celebrated {pring abounds with a mineral fpirit, or
mephitic. air, in which its ftimulus, and indeed its
efficacy refides, and which is quickly diffipated by
expofure to the air.

The honourable and ingenious Mr. Cavendith has
fhewn by his Experiments on Rathbone Place water,
Ph. Tranfa@tions, vol. LVII, that calcareous earths
may be rendered foluble in water, by furnifhing them
with more than their natural property of fixed air.
And it has lately been difcovered that iron alfo may be
fafpended by this principle, in the fame menftruum *.
It appeared therefore highly probable to me, that a
chalybeate impregnation might with great facility

_ * Vid. Mr. Lane’s experiments, Ph. TranfaQions, Vol. LIX.

Von GK oA. ; Naa ‘be

[ 458 }
be communicated to the Buxton water, when freth
drawn from the fpring; a quality, which in many
cafes would add greatly to its medicinal efficacy, I
fuggefted the trial to Mr. Buxton, a very worthy and
fenfible apothecary near the wells, who has lately
at my requeft made the following experiment.

EXPERIMENT IV.

A quart bottle containing two drachms of iron
filings, was filled by immerfion, with the water of
Saint Anne’s well, corked and agitated brifkly under
the furface of the water: ‘it was then fuffered to re-
main in the well till the filings had fubfided, when

the water was carefully decanted into a half pint glafs;
_ to this were added three drops of the tinctureof galls, -

which immediately occafioned a deep purple colour,
_ and tranfparency was prefently reftored by a few drops
of the acid of vitriol; evident proofs that a folution of
. the iron was effeéted in a few minutes. The water.
alfo without the tin€ture of galls had a chalybeate tafte,
and Jeft an agreeable aftringency on the palate.

By this experiment, it appears that a warm chaly-

beate abounding with a mineral fpirit, and grateful.
to the tafte, may with very little trouble be obtained...
And this method of impregnating the Buxton water-
with iron, muft increale its tonic powers, and in.
many cafes improve its medicinal virtues. It 1s a.
common practice to join the ufe of a chalybeate.

fpring in the neighbourhood of St. Anne’s well,.

with that of the Buxton water: but, the fuperiority

ef the artificial mineral water muft be apparent, if

we confider its agreeable warmth, volatility, levity,
and gratefulnefs to the palate.
Buxton,

[ 459 ]

Buxton bath is very frequently employed as a tem-
perate cold bath. For as the heat of the water is
about fixteen or eighteen degrees below that of the
human body, a gentle fhock is produced on the firft
immerfion, the heart and arteries are made to con-
tra&t more powerfully, and the whole fyftem is
braced and invigorated. But this falutary operation
mutt be greatly diminifhed, often indeed more than
counter-balanced, by the relaxing vapours which
copioufly exhale from the bath, to which the pa-
tients are expofed during the time of drefling and un-
dreffing. A feparate room is indeed provided for
the ladies ; but the gentlemen have no other accom-
modations than what the vault affords in which the
bath is contained, and are therefore liable to all the
inconveniences arifing from warmth and moifture.
June 12, 1772, the mercury ftood in the thade
at 65, butin this vault quickly arofe to 78 degrees.

Exrrrimenrvs on MATLOCK WATER.

EXxPERIMENT I.

A thermometer made by Doilond, and graduated
according to Fahrenheit’s fcale, was expofed for a
fufficient length of time, to the {team of the wa-
ter, as it gufhes from the rock, and alfo immerfed in
the bafon that receives it. The mercury rofe to 66
degrees.

EXPERIMENT JI.

Six drops of Sp. Sal. Ammon. vol. were poured
mito a glafs of the {pring water, which contained
, Bean 2 about

. [ 460 ] |
about the fixth of a pint; a very flight cloudinefs
‘immediately enfued, but no precipitation was after-
wards obfervable. |

Beene ae Il.

Six drops of a folution of falt of tartar occafioned
a cloudinefs, juft perceptible, in the fame quantity of
water ;. no precipitation enfued.

EXPERIMENT IV.

Six drops of a {olution of faccharum faturni im-
mediately produced a milkinefs in the water, but
no fenfible precipitation.

EXPERIMENT V,

Six drops of a folution of filver in the nitrous acid
inftantly occafioned a milkinefs in the water; and
after ftanding an hour, a grey powder was obferva-
ble at the bottom of the glafs.

-ExPERIMENT VI.

‘Fen drops of the infufion of galls neither pro-
duced any change of colour in the water at the
time they were added, nor was the flighteft purple:
hue perceptible two: hours afterwards..

ExPERIMENT VII.

A piece of paper befmeared with fyrup of violets”
was dipped’ into a glafs full. of water; no change of
- colour enfued. |

EXPE~

[ 461 ]

EXPERIMENT. VIII.

Another piece of paper,» moiftened in the fame.
manner with the fyrup, was placed over a glafs of
water, as foon as it was taken from the fpring. The
paper fuffered no change of colour, although i It re--
mained, an Be upon the glafs.

ExPRRIMENT. IX,

My pulfe beat 84 itrokes in a minute, at the time-
when I drank a half pint glafs of the Matlock wa-
ter; in 20 minutes my pulle rofe to 86; in half an.
hour after they funk to 82, and continued to vibrate.
the fame number of times for an hour, which was.
as long as I thought it was neceflary to examine.
them.. |

EXPERIMENT XX...
The mercury in the thermometer, when immerfed:
in each of the baths, ftood at 68: in the river Der-
-went, which flows. through. the valley of Matlock,.
-at 52. Thefe experiments were made in the month:
_ of June 1772, and the weather was warm..

ExPERLMENT Xk.

A four ounce phial, after being accurately counter-.
oifed in a very nice balance, was filled to the brim.
~ with diftilled water, which weighed three. ounces,
four drachms,. forty five grains and a half.. The fame
phial, exactly balanced as before, was then filled to.
the brim. with Matlock water, of the fame tem-.

perature.

[462 7

perature with the diftilled water, which weighed
three ounces, four drachms, and forty fix grains.

Matlock water is grateful to the palate, and of an
acrecable temperature, but exhibits no marks of any
mineral fpirit, either by its tafte, fparkling appear-
ance in the glafs, or by the chemical teft employed
in experiment 6. ‘The fecond and third experi-,
ments fhew that it is very flightly impregnated
-with Selenites or other earthly falts; and of this its
comparative levity affords alfo a further proof: for
it weighs twenty-lix grains in a pint lighter than
the Manchefter pump water*, and only four grains
heavier than diftilled water. ‘The precipitation of a
grey powder, by the adding of a folution of filver
in aqua fortis to the water, renders it probable that
a {mall portion of fea falt is contained in it. For
the powder is found to confift of the particles of
filver, combined with the muriatic acid, which is
feparated from the foffil alkali by the fuperior affinity
the nitrous acid bears to it; and thus a double elec-
tive attraétion takes place in this experiment.

This water is faid to contain iron, but the affer-
‘tion is at leaft rendered doubtful by the 6th expeti-
ment, which was made with the utmoft accuracy ;
and I am inclined to think, that it is entirely with-
eut foundation. The {pring is juftly celebrated for
its eficacy in hemoptoes; and hence it may have
been too haftily. concluded that it poffeffes fome
- flight degree of ftypticity, by means of a chalybeate

impregnation.

-* Vid. the author’s treatife on the pump water of Manchef-
ter. Effays medical and experimental, p. 207. 2d edit,
The

0 43"

The goth ‘experiment, which my fhort ftay at
Matlock would not allow me leifure to repeat, af-
fords a prefumption that the water is not poffefled of
any ftimulating powers; for the {mall increafe of
quicknefs in my pulfe, on drinking half a pint of
it, may be afcribed more to the quantity received:
anto the ftomach, than to the heating quality of
the water,

The Briftol and Matlock waters appear to refem-
ble each other, both in their chemical and medici-.
nal qualities. I have examined and compared them:

together by the teft mentioned above, and fo far
as Mack trials may be be deemed conclufive, there-
feems to be no other than the elaine flight dif--
ference between them,

Briftol water becomes a little more milky on the:
addition of a folution of fixed alkali, and of Saccha-.
rum Saturni than that of Matlock ;, the former alfo-
weighs near a grain in a.pint heavier than the latter.
Is it not to be lamented therefore, that fo little at--
tention is paid to Matlock, even by the phyficians-
who refide in the neighbourhood of it? In hectic.
cafes, hemoptoes, the diabetes, and other diforders, |
in which the circulation of the. blood is rapid and:
irregular, I fhould apprehend that Matlock. water, .
on fome accounts, claims the preference. to that of:
Briftol ; for it 1s lefs difpofed to quicken the.pulfe, .
and may. therefore be drunk.in larger quantities. .
But it muft. be acknowledged that the climate of:
Briftol is fuperior. to that of Matlock, a circumftance -
of the higheft importance to. confumptive. patients. .
Situated in a deep though delightful valley, and fur-.
rounded by very high mountains, the fun difappears .

q abs

1 464)
at Matlock: earlier in the evenings, the fogs are’
longer in difperfing, and it may be prefumed that
rain falls here more frequently and copioufly than
in other places. For at Catfworth, which is en-
compafled alfo with hills, and is about ten miles
diftant, in 1764, 1765, 1767, and 1768, about 33
inches of rain fell at a medium each year.

The following table exhibits a com.parative view
of ‘the different temperatures of Bath, Buxton, Brif-
tol, and Matlock waters, meafured by Fahrenheit’s
thermometer.

ey Ec Leal,
King’s Bath Pump Tr2.
‘Hot Bath Pump 1r4i
Crofs Bath Pump I10
* Det oO
Hot Well Pump 76
BUXTON.
Bath 82
St. Ann’s Well 68x
WATIUOCEK
Baths , - 68

Spring Go”y

* Vid. Mr. Canton’s experiments. Ph. Tranf. Vol. LVI.
P. 203-

XXXII Som

[ 465 ]

~
,

XXXII. Some Account of a Body lately

found in uncommon Prefervation, under
_ the Ruins of the Abbey, at St. Edmund’s-

_ Bury, Suffolk; with fome RefleCtions upon

_ the Subje? : By Charles Collignon, M.D.
BROS. and Profefor of Anatomy at
Cambridge,

Read June 25, fF N the month of February laft, fome
772+ i workmen, digging among the ruins
of the above abbey, difcovered a leaden coffin, fup-
pofed, from fome circumftances, to contain the re-
mains of Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter, uncle
to king Henry the Fifth. As it certainly was buried
béfore the diffolution of the abbey, it muft have been
there between two and three hundred years. It was
found near the wall, on the left-hand fide of the
choir of the chapel of the bleffed Virgin; not in-
clofed in a vault, but covered over with the common
‘earth. Upon examining the appearance of the body,
‘the following circumftances were remarkable, as com-
municated to me, by an ingenious furgeon, on the
fpot, Mr. Thomas Cullum.
«< The body was inclofed in a leaden coffin, fur-
rounding it very clofe, fo that you might eafily diftin-
Voryi Mi, . 2.0.0.6 euilh

1 466 J |
guith the head and feet. The corpfe was wrapped
round with two or three large layers of cere-cloth,
fo exaclly applied to the parts, that the piece, which
covered’ the face, retained the exact impreffion of
the eyes and nofe. ‘The dura mater was entire. “he
“brain was of a dark ath colour, with fome remaining
appearance of the medullary part. ‘The coats of the
eye were ftill whole, and had not totally loft their
gliftening appearance. ‘There was about half a pint
of a bloody-black water in the thorax; and a mafs
that feemed to be part of the lungs. The pericar-
dium and diaphragm were quite entire. The abdo-
minal vifcera had been taken out very clean, and the
integuments and mufcles ftuck very clofe to the ver-
tebre of the back. ‘This cavity looked frefher than
that of the thorax. I cut into the pfoas magnus,
where there were evident marks of red mufcular fibres.
The other mufcles had loft all their red colour, and
were become of a dark brown. ‘The tendons were
fill ftrong, and retained their natural appearance.
‘The hands, which are preferved in fpirits, retain the
nails. There were fome very fmall holes in the
coffin, out of which had run fome bloody water, of
an offenfive fmell. All the principal blood-veffels
muft have been cut through, in taking out. the ab-
dominal vifcera: and if no ligature was made upon
the veflels, their contents would efcape, particularly
as affitted by the preflure of the cere-cloth, which. is
of confiderable weight, and, doubtlefs, put on hot.
This fluid running out of the coffin, upon its being
moved, might occafion the fufpicion of the body
being put in pickle.”

Thus

[ 467 J

Thus far Mr. Cullum’s account, by which it ap-
pears, ‘that’the vifcera of the abdomen had been taken
out, fo-that the greateft part of the blood, he ob-
ferves; did probably flow out, during that opera-
tion, fromthe mouths of the divided veflels, and
whofe diameter is confiderable. This would greatly
reduce the quantity of the fluids. .The holes in the
coffin, if purpofely made, would feem defigned to
let out extravafated or tranfuding fluids; but are ir-
reconcileable with the notion of the body being in

pickle. If the holes were accidental, the notion of a
pickle may ftill be allowed. Might not the cere-
cloth, impregnated, perhaps, with gums or refins,
and, from its taking fo exact an impreflion, moft pro-
bably laid on hot preclude the external air; and, if
done immediately after the party’s death, obviate the
depofition of eggs, or incapacitate them from ever
hatching? ‘The lead grafping clofe, would co-oper-
ate with the cere-cloth in the exclufion of air and in-
fects.

We have undoubted accounts of bodies found very
little changed, after long interment, where there was
no appearance of any art having been ufed. And there
is no doubt fome conftitutions are more prone to pu-
trefaction after death than others; thefe circum-
{tances may be dependant on the age, fex, and laft
difeafe ; to which predifpofing caufes, thus attending
perfons to the grave, are to be added the foil and fi-
tuation in which they are depofited. Could we be
matters of all thefe particulars, in the few dead bodies
hitherto difcovered greatly free from the ufual putre-
faction, it would lead, perhaps, to the probable

| O00 2 caufe

[ 468]. a

caufe of the phenomenon, and point. out a | proper
method of imitation. And till that: is done, it is
difficult to know how much merit. is to be afligned
to the art or myftery of embalming, and how much
to the power of natural caufes. —

*

XXXIV, 4

[ 469 J

XXXIV. 4 Pieieby from Richard Pul teney,
M. D. F. R. S§. to William “Watfon,
M. D. F.R. S. concerning the medicinal
Effects of a poifonous Plant exhibited inftead

of the Water Parfuep.

DEAR Sir,

ie nee % CXOME circumftances having lately
ee come to my knowledge, relating to
the nae of a poifonous plant, I thought them

rather too remarkable not to merit fait notice s
and, I addrefs them to you with the more propriety,
as you have already laid before the publick fome ob-
fervations * concerning the deleterious qualities of
the plant in queftion, which holds a diftinguifhed
place among the poifonous ones that are indigenous:
in Britain.

_ Mr. H——=n, an attorney of this place, now up-
wards of forty, at the age of fifteen, began to be
affected (after taking cold upon violent exercife, jas.
he thinks) with what is ufually called. a fcorbutick
diforder ; which fhewed itfelf more particularily on.
the outfides of his arms, about the elbows, and on,

* See Philofophical ‘Tranfaiions, Vol. XLIV,. p, 227. and
Vol. L, P- 350.
the:

(472 J

the outfides of his legs, from the knees to the ancles,
as well as in blotches upon other parts of his body.
It had the appearance of a dry branny fcab or {curf,
which every night fell off, more or lefs, in fcales, as
is ufual in leprous cafes. At times it pufhed out
more than ufual, and thickened the integuments of
the limbs confiderably, after which the feparation of
{cales would become very abundant.

For feveral years paft he had been trying. a variety
of things commonly recommended in fuch cafes,
particularly the quack medicine known by the name
of Maredant’s Drops, which he continued for near

atwelvemonth, without finding the leaft fenfible re-

lief: alfo an electuary of Flos fulphuris and Cremor
tartar, which he had perfevered in for near three
years, without finding any other alteration, than
that of its preventing coftivenefs, to which he was
habitually fubject.

In the winter 1770, this diforder increafed upon
him very rapidly, without being able to affign any
reafon, from any accident that had happened to him,
or from any irregularity of his own in point of regi-
men, in which he was always very exact. At this
time, befides the farther fpreading of the eruption
itfelf, the integuments of the legs thickened very
much, and the limbs {welled to fuch a degree, as

to render him unable to walk. The quantity of

branny fcurf and {cales thrown off, at this time, was
very great; he fays ‘“* handfuls might have been
taken out of his bed every morning.”

In this unhappy fituation, even loathfome to him-
felf, it was recommended to him to take the juice of
water par{nep, in the quantity of one common table-

f{poonful

| [P4712]

‘{poonful every morning, fafting, mixed with two
fpoonfuls of white mountain wine.

Accordingly, about the middle of January 1771,
he procured a half-pint. phial of what was fo called;
by means of the perfon who had recommended it,
and who had affured him that he had been greatly
relieved, in a fimilar diforder, by it.

The firft {fpconful he took did not begin to give
any great uneafinefs for two hours, but after that
time, his head began to be affected in a very extra-
ordinary manner; a violent ficknefs foon fucceeded,
and violent vomiting ; and, after he was put to bed,
there came on cold {weats, and a very {trong and
_ long-continued rigor, fo that the people about him
thought him dying for fome time; but, in a few
hours, all thefe fymptoms wore off.

Such, however, had been the inveteracy of his
diforder, and fo ftrong his defire to find relief, that
he determined not to defift; and, after having
omitted his medicine for one day, he repeated it, in
nearly the fame dofe, and with fimilar effe&ts as
to ficknefs and vomiting, though the uncommon fen-
fation in his head, and the fucceeding rigor, were
by no means fo violent. He had refolution enough
te continue this dofe every other morning, for more
than a fortnight, and then reduced it to three tea-
fpoonfulls which was juft the half of the firft dofe.

Before he had taken this juice one month, he
was fenfible of a very great change for the better;
encouraged, therefore, by thefe appearances he per-
fevered in its ufe until the middle of April, by
which time his fkin, though not quite cleared, yet

had ceafed-to throw off any more fcurf, was be-
come

[.472)]
come foft, clean, and well conditioned, and, as he
has repeatedly affured me, he got then into a much
better conditioned fate, men he had experienced for
many years before.

From firlt to laft, this juice never purged him ;
though he fays, even in its reduced dofe, it never failed
to occafion a dizzinefs of the head, a naufea, and
ficknefs, which were not infrequently fucceeded by
a vomiting, that always inftantly relieved his head.

From the middle of April to the middle of June,
he defifted from the ufe of the juice, but, in its flead,
drank every morning ‘for breakfaft, the infufion of
the leaves of the. fame plant, which, he fays, is
like common bohea tea. ‘The infufion feldom oc-
cafioned naufea, or ficknefs, but always broughton a
{mall degree of vertigo, and in a flight manner pro-
duced the effets of intoxication from liquor.

In June he went to Harrowgate, as he had de-
figned in the fummer before. Upon firit drinking
and bathing there, he thought himfelf worfe ; and
his eruptions, having gradually increafed during the
two months that he ftaid in that place, he was
convinced that thofe waters were of no real fervice to
him. On his coming home, he returned to the ufe
of the infufion, and he affures me, that he again
found, even by that weak preparation, a very fpeedy
alteration for the better. From that time, he con-
tinued it ever fince, until his ftock of the herb was
exhaufted ; his {kin is now fo very little affected, that
he has but here and there, upon his arms and legs, a
very fimall appearance of his diforder.

Upon queitioning him relating to the fenfible
qualities of this medicine, he fays again, that he

| put

[473]

particularly remembers that it never once purged
him; not even the firft dofe, which had fo nearly
poifoned him. He does not think that it increafed
the fenfible perfpiration, but is convinced that it was
diuretick ; and adds, that he thinks it occafioned,
befides the increafed flow of urine, a copious fedi-
ment in it, and which he believes was always want-
ing before. ean;

This is the plain, narrative of the fact. He has
affured me that no medicine or regimen, among the
great variety that he has tried, ever had any fenfi-
ble effect upon his diforder before ; and that nothing
but the very early and fenfible relief he experienced
from this juice, could have induced him to perfevere
in its ufe, under fuch uneafy feelings, as it never
failed to produce. Indeed, he makes nothing of
the lighter effeéts of the infufion, from which,
however, he thinks, he has likewife reaped no {mall
benefit. bier) ;

This cafe, the nature and inveteracy of his di
order, being well known among _ his neighbours,
was much talked of, and raifed the curiofity of many
people. When I firft heard of it, and was inform-
ed of the fmallnefs of the dofe, and its virulent
operation, I could {carce doubt that the juice of
fome other plant had been adminiftered inftead of
that of the water parfnep, which we know to be a
fafe and harmlefs vegetable ; medical writers having
direéted its juice to be drunk, even to the quantity of
four ounces for a dofe: and as I know, the Ocnantbe
crocata, hemlock drapwort, to be exceedingly plen-
tiful in this country, fo much, as to be more ealily
procured than the water parfnep itfelf; I thought it

Vou. LXIL oi) Popp probable

[ 474 ]

probable that that plant had been ufed in its ftead.
Upon getting a {pecimen, it appeared that this had
been indeed the cafe; as alfo, upon farther enquiry,
that it was the juice of the root only, and not of
the leaves and ftalks, that had been adminiftered. If
might here obferve, that the expreflion from the
root Is not to be depended upon after the plant is
advanced towards its flowering ftate, as the root
then becomes light, fpungy, and almoft deftitute of
juice.

If you judge this cafe not improper to be laid
before the Royal Society, you will do me the honour
of prefenting it. Mr. H n himfelf is fo much
convinced of the efficacy of the medicine, that he is
defirous of its being known to the world.

I do not enter into any reafoning on this occur-
rence; I relate it only as a fact, and defire it may
have no more weight than every judicious phyfician
knows is due toa fingle inftance. How far it may
be proper to give this juice a farther trial, I will
not take upon me to determine; but muft, as an
encouragement to any who may chufe to venture
upon it, inform them, that it has not on all perfons
fo much power in producing naufea and ficknefs, as
in the cafe here before us. J am,

od Ry :

with great efteem,

Your obliged humble fervant,
Blandford,

March 12, 1772 R. Pulteney.

B.D.
7

[ 475 ]

R.o. Mr is defirous that it fhould be
known, that he < tried very fruitlefly,
among other methods, the drinking of
tar-water and fea-water, of each of
which, he fays, he did not drink lefs
than an hogfhead.”

Ppp2 XXXV. April

WAX dal” WAR AST aapedlt

ff pomcccitaterets teenie ent tommscrrenrtn
i eee eas ee ReITASSS

XXXY. Pt OT. eT 2, Experiments on

00 Dipping - Needles , which Dapp

rhe, Roven Mr. PUR ae a
Reber of Thornhill 7 Ye ee : +

@

Read july 9, H E

| gees i aXeS (a e
ends of which were! of gold allayed with copper)
refted on friction- wh eels of four i NHAs diameter,
each end on two friGti p- weet, which wheels V

balanced with geet = a ends of the ax

bell- Metal ;
needles, and the frition-wheels, were flat ag
finely polifhed. Each magnetic needle 7
a circle of bell-metal, divided into degrees and
deg! i and a line pafling through the mee of

aad a he yds of the axes

Se Mata
< “ty

476.

Vol. LX Vab.Xill p

TUILS.

a

pe.

lo one In

/
S

‘us Jcale 7

= Philos Eris Vol LNU VabXM p.a76

[are]

meridian. ‘The two needles were nearly balanced
before they were made magnetical; but, bya curious
contrivance of the Reverend Mr. Mitchell of a crofs
fixed on the axes of the needles (on the arms of
which were cut very fine fcrews, to receive {mall
buttons, that might be {crewed nearer or farther from
the axis), the needles could be adjufted both ways,
to a great nicety, after they were made magnetical,
by reverfing the poles, and changing the fides of the
needle.

- Firft fet of experiments made by Edward Nairne, at
‘his houfe, N° 20, Cornhill.

Second fet of experiments, with that fide of the in-
firument to the Eaft, which was to the Weft in
the firft obfervation.

Oya 3/
72 10
Ge) 5 ee 3
72 45 Here the ends of the axis touched the
72 45) agates.
La oe
72.
Third

faze J

Third fet of experiments, in which the poles of the
needle were reverfed, but the fame fide of the
inftrument to the Eiaft, as in the fecond fet of ex-
periments, and the needle rather more magnetical,
being touched with a larger fet of magnets,

° UA

14°32
17138
fe BP
Ar3e
72) 39
G2.

Fourth fet of experiments, viz. the fame fide of the
inftrument to the Eaft, as in the firft {et of expe-_
riments.

° /
72 10
72 10
72 15 Obferved by Mr. Wales.
72.10
72 10
WP Op

Fifth experiment, viz. the fame end of the needle
made North, as in the firft fet of experiments,
and alfo the fame fide of the inftrument to the
Weft, as in the firlt fet of experiments.

Experiments

[ 479 J

Experiments made April 22, 1772, with the other
Dipping-needle, the inftrument being put in the
fame place, and with great care, in the magnetic
meridian, the needle pointed as under.

Cy 23
72 15
72, 10 The poles of the needle changed.
The fide of the inftrument to the
TP | Eaft, which in the firft obfervation
was to the Weft.

- Left any thing magnetical fhould have affe€ted the
needle in Mr. Nairne’s houfe, he tock this inftru-
ment, and placed it in the middle of a large room
belonging to the London Affurance in Birchin-
Lane, and then the needle pointed to

° 7

G2 1On0r 15

72 DiS,

72 30 The poles of the needle changed.

The fide of the inftrument to the Eaft,
72 oH which in the firft obfervation was to
the Weft.

The dipping-needle brought back to Mr. Edward
Nairne’s, and put in the fame place as before,
ftood at

< ?

72 10 +
The

[ 480 ]
In the foregoing experiments, the needle was
raifed to an horizontal pofition, and left to vibrate.
It was between 8 or g minutes before the vibration

ceafed.
The needle brought to an horizontal pofition, and

ene grain and a half laid on the extremity of the —

South end, was not fufficient to keep it in an hori-
zontal pofition; but the North end pointed to

35° 30’. One grain and three quarters laid on the

extremity of the South end of the needle, was more

than fufficient to keep it in an horizontal pofition,

the South end then pointing 6° 45’ below o.

It having been judged proper to have a Drawing
of the Dipping- Needle, the following Plate
[Tas. XIII].] has been made, wherein

AA Reprefents the needle.

BB The ends of the axis refting on the friction- wheels.

CCCC The four friftion-wheels.

DDD Where flat agate caps are fet in.

EEE The divided circle of bell-metal.

FFFF The ends of the crofs for adjufting the needle.

GG Two levels, whereby the line of o degrees of the inftru-
ment is fet horizontal.

H The perpendicular axis, whereby the inftrument may be
turned, that the divided face of the circle may front the Eaft
or Weft.

I An index fixed to the perpendicular axis H, and which points
to an oppofite line on the horizontal plate K, when the in-
ftrument is turned half round. ,

LLLL Four adjufting fcrews to fet the inftrument horizontal.
One of them is hid behind the circle.

MMMM Screws which hold on the glafs covers, to keep the
needle ftom being difturbed by the wind.

IN De Xx

es

pam.

AN

NED ‘ex
ite Wo We UND
Sixty-Second VOLUME

OE er Eh

Philofophical Tranfactions.

A.

ACETOUS fermentation, its effects, p. 244.
Achard, Mr. his letter on fwallows found annually
torpid in the Rhine, p. 297.

Acids do not affift in curing air fpoiled by putrefaction,
. 202.

Adanfon, Mr. his account of European fwallows caught
near the African coaft, examined, p. 277. His miftake
about Canary birds, p. 278. His inaccuracy about the
Roller, p. 321.

rel artificial, obfervations upon different kinds of it,

p- 147, 148. No kind a conductor of electricity,
p. 175. See Fixed, Inflammable, Nitrous.
Vou. LXII. Qqq Air

Pet: DiN SC DUE ix.

4ir diminifhed by a mixture of iron filings and brimftone, .
p. 207, 208. Very noxious to animals, P- 20g.

Air infected with refpiration, p. 181. Unfuccefsful trials
to reftore it, p. 183, 184, &c. Is the fame with air
tainted with animal putrefaction, p. 186, 187. Differ-
ent from, though analogous to, fixed air, p. 188, 189.
Not fatal to eer infects, p. 192. Cured by vegeta-
tion, p. 193, &c.; and probably by a mixture of fixed
air, p. 204.

Air in Ireland, and likewife in England, obferved to be
in a conftant {tate of pofitive electricity, during winter,
p- 138. Probably by the effect of cold, p. 139.

Air tainted with the fumes of charcoal, p- 225. Ex-
tinguifhes flame, and deftroys animals, p. 227.

Mir vitiated by flame, p. 162. How much dicmitied
by it, p. 163. Not altered in its fpecific gravity,
p. 164. Not fatal to animals, p. 165. Whether
reftored by cold, ibid. Is fo by vegetation, p. 166,
167, &c. ,

Angular diftance between two near land objects; how ob-
ierved by Hadley’s quadrant, p. 119, 120.

Animal living, not diffolved in the ttomach of another
animal, p. 449.

Antipsdes our, may havea contrary electricity in ‘the air,

189.
pet famous for its worfhip of the goddefs Fortune,
- 63.

Ariffotle, the author of the opinion about the cuckows
having no neft of their own, p. 322. Did not write
from his own obfervations, p. 323.

Ajcenfion, the point of the longeft in the ecliptic, found,
p- 438.

eee obfervations.at Portfmouth, p. 36, &c.

“ifronomical problems folved by Dr. Pemberton, p. 434.

Aimofpbere injured. by the refpiration of animals and
putrefaction ; probably reftored by vegetation, p. 198.

Aimofpherical electricity. See Air, Fogs, Eleéiricity.

3 Babelmandel

LYN ADE vx, 483

B.

Babelmandel, ftreight of, how diftinguifhed, p. 80, 81.

Badenach, Dr. James, his defcription of a bird from
Malacca, p. 1.

Barker, Mr. Fhomas, his meteorological regitter, p. 42,
43, occ.

Barrington, Hon. Daines, inveftigation of the fpecific
characters of the rabbit, and the hare, p. 4. On the
Sapa appearing or difappearing of certain birds,

a2 ORe

Beaufort, duke, uncle to Henry V. his body found laft
year, p. 465.

Belon, his account of quails found at fea, p. 270. No
argument for their migration, p. 271.

Birds, their periodical migration acrofs confiderable ex-
tents of fea, called in queftion, p. £66. Objections
again{t this opinion, p. 267. At what height they can
rife, p. 268. Whether night is a proper time for their
flight, p. 269. Would want food, p. 292. Always
fly againft the wind, p. 293. Their difappearing
during winter, accounted for, p.300, 301. And during
jummer, p. 306.

Bladders not fufficient to fecure different kinds of faCtitious
air, p.

Body, well preferved 2 or 300 years after death, defcribed,
p. 466, &c. 3

Bohemian chatterer, a bird, why only feen now and then?

py 255:
Borlafe, Dr. William, his meteorological obfervations for
1771, P. 365.
Bradley, the late Dr. James, a paper of his, con-
taining directions for ufing the common micrometer,
p. 46.
Buffon, M. attempts to prove the hare and rabbit to be
really diftinct fpecies, from their not ‘breeding together,

Qqq2 Pp 9-

484 Loh bai Suc

p:9. Affirms the fame of wolves and dogs, p. 8. Un-
certainty of thefe trials, p. 9. His opinion of quails
leaving Europe during winter, examined, p. 272,.273.
Thinks that one fpecies of fwallow is migratory, p. 282. -
Miftakes the martin for the fwallow, p. 283. His ex-.
periment on the torpidity of a {wallow fallacious,.
p. 284.

Buxton waters analyfed and examimed, p.. 455, 456..

: ney

Calcination of metals, its effects upon air, p. 228.

Call, John, Efq..on an Indian fketch of the figns of the
Zodiac, p. 353.

Gafcalote, a plant employed in California to dye in the:
deepeft and moft lafting black, p. 58.

Cajile Loed, in the county of Rofs,. a {trong fulphureous:. |

water found there, p.15.. Defcribed by Dr. Mackenzie, .
p16, 17. Analyfed by Dr. Monro, p: 18, 19, &c.
Mixed with fea-water, becomes fimilar to that of Har- -
rowgate, p. 24.

Charcoal, its fumes infect common air, p. 225, 226.

Chart of the Red Sea, by Capt. Newland, p. 77.

Clouds, the nature and degree of their eleCtricity afcertain-.
ed, ps. 423 14.3%

Chyfer of fixed air adminiftered in a putrid fever; p. 260.

Collignon, profeflor Charles, on a body found 2..0r 300.
years after death, p. 465.

Collinfon, Mr. his account of fwallows- found at fea ex-
amined, p, 276, Relies too much upon Mr. Adanfon’s:
obfervations, Pp. 279.

Cook, Capt. John, his account of the flowing of the tides
in the South Sea, p, 357.

Crofs-bills, grown more common fince the plantation of
‘firs, p..3t6.. Whether they feed on the kernels of

apples, pr 347s

Cuckow,

iN DP Ex Whe.

Cuckow, the common opinion about its neftlings doubt- .
ful, p. 299. 322. 324, &c. Never migrates from this.
ifland, P+ 304. .

DD

Denarius, of a ‘Pletorian family, defcribed, p. 60.

Dipping-needle a new, detcribed, p. 476. 480. -

Dog, breeds witha wolf, p. 9.

Dollcnd, Mr. Peter, his improvement. of Hadley’ Qua-.-
drant, p. 95, &c.

Dyes in ‘red and yellow, p. 56...

Ecliptic, the point of the longeft afcenfion -in it found,’.
p. 438. The. greateft difference of the arc from its s
oblique afcenfion, Pp: 444.

Elder, ferviceable in preferving, plants and trees. pat in-.-
fects and flies, p. 348. .

Electricity, the. theory of it confirmed: ‘lg a late: violent. -
lightning, p. 134,135. . Of the air, fogs, and clouds, .
p. 138. 145.

Elecirometer a new, invented by Mr.. Henley, p. 360...
Its advantages, p. 361.

Eratofthenes, his fieve miftaken, P. 329) Ill.explained,. ,
p. 330. Retrieved, p. 332.

Eiber imbibes fixed air, p. 156...

Fe

tairnburn water in- Scotland analyfed, by: Dr. Monro, »,

Ate
fermenting liquors emit a great quantity of fixed air, .
P-.148, 149. Recovered when flat by a mixture.of it, .
P5453.

486 1 DeeNe Da Re |
p. 154. Contract a bad fmell by a reabforption of fixed —
air incorporated with ether, p. 156.

Fieldfare, where they breed, p. 313, 314.

Fixed air how produced, p. 148. Its effects upon fer-
menting liquors, p. 149. Does not inftantly mix with
common air, p. 150. How incorporated with water,
p- 151, 152. May beof the nature of an acid, p. 153.
is not abforbed by ice, p. 154. Fatal to animals and
vegetables, p. 157. Cannot fufficiently be retained in.
a bladder, p. 158. May be rendered immifcible with
water, p. 160, 161. Tends to correct putrid air,
p. 204, 205. Serviceable in putrid diforders, p. 206.

257.

aie have their mouths turned different ways, p. 306.

Fogs always occafion a pofitive electricity in the air,
p. 139. Attended with the fmell of an excited glafs
tube, p. 140. How their influence on electrical balls
may be meafured, ibid. and p. 145, 146.

Forfter, Mr. John Reinhold, his account of the roots ufed
by the Indians at Hudfon’s bay to dye porcupine quills,
-p. 54. His account of feveral quadrupeds from Hud-
fon’s bay, p. 370. Andof birds from the fame place,
p. 382. His obfervation on the pectinated toes of
feveral fpecies of the grous kind, p. 397. His Latin
defcriptions of fome fcarce birds trom Hudfon’s bay,
Pp: 423.

Fortune, fee Sors.

Franklyn, Dr. Benjamin, his thoughts on the vegetable
creation, p. 199. On the attraction of fire by plants,
P- 234-

Frefo water, manner of diftilling it from falt water at fea,

Pp. 90.
se
Geefe wild, the higheft fliers of all birds, p. 268.

George

beoNe (DAKE px, 487

George Ifland, its latitude and longitude, by Capt. Wallis,
p- 34. Its longitude determined by Mr, Lexell,

ae Ves Ne ;
Gla/s broken by electricity marked with beautiful colors,

el een

ea, Mr. his remarks on feveral quadrupeds and birds .
found at Hudfen’s bay, p. 370.

Groufes, their genus, may be divided by the form of their
toes, p. 297.

Gullet, Mr. Chriftopher, on the effects of elder upon
infects, p. 348.

Guns, heard at a vaft diftance on the Red Sea, by the
pilots at Judda, p. 85.

H.

Hadley’s Quadrant, improvements made in it by Mr.
Dollond, p. 95, 96. And by Mr. Mafkeline,

Pp. 99.

Hare Alpae: defcribed, p. 11. 375.

Hare, the genus not eafily diftinguifhed from that of the
rabbit, p. 4. Miftakes of authors in attempting to
fettle proper criteria between them, p. 5, 6. Two
new characters propofed, p. 10.

Hare, trom WHudfon’s bay, is one third lefs than the
European hare, p. 5. Its different cloathing at

- different times of the year, p. 12. Manner of this
change, p. 13. Some particulars of his way of living,

. 14——376.

Henley, Me. William, his account of the lightning which.
fell on the chapel of ‘Tottenham-Court-Road, p. 131,,
132, &c. His new electrometer, p. 259. His ex-
periments on breaking glafs by means of electricity,

p. 362.
Hey,

[ ‘ ip

< 488 Co OR MRP ya ee

«Hey, Mr. his experiments to prove that there is no
oil of vitriol in water impregnated with fixed air,

oO) Dn 5
Holwel, 7 Z. Efq; his account of a new fpecies of oak,
120.

Hiely, Mr. on Fyarotthene ss fieve, being a fimple
method of finding the prime numbers, p. 327. 7

°Hudfon’s bay, feveral animals fent from thence and de-
feribed,; ps 72'70.

- Hunter, Mr. John, on the digeftion a the fomach after

death, p. 447.
I.

‘Ice-houfe, temperature in it moderate, p. 285.

‘India has the more ancient remnants of arts, fciences,
and civilization, p. 354, 355.

_Inflammable air, extracted from moft kind of fubftances,
p- 171. Differs in {mell when made of vegetable, ani-
mal, or mineral fubftances, p. 172. Thought to be
immifcible with water, p. 173. Rendered lefs inflam-
mable, and even deftructive of fame, by ftanding long,
or being ftrongly agitated, in water, p. 174, 180. Kills
animals inftantaneoufly, p.175. Immifcible with fixed
air, p.175. Partly abforbed by water, p. 179. The
remaining part rendered fit for refpiration, and like
common air, p. 180.

Judda, a port on the Red Sea, its Hye oe a and latitude,

ae
K,

Kal, Mr. his account of a {wallow found 20 degrees
from the American fhore, confidered, p. 288.

Lana-ratl,

IN © £ EK. 489
L.

Land-rail cannot fly over the fea, p. 318.

Letters, the ancient Roman, were Etrufcan, p. 62.

Lexell, Mr. of Peterfburgh, his determination of the Sun’s
parallax from the obfervations of the tranfit of Venus,
pe69,, 826...

Lime-kilns, wfeful in putrid diforders, p. 205.

Lighining, effects of a violent flafh, on the chapel at Tot-
tenham Court Road, p. 233. Struck and killed a man
there, ip. .1135. -

Linnaeus, his {pecific characters of the rabbit-confidered,

Lyndon, in Rutland, meteorological obfervations in that
place, p. 43, 44.

M.

Malacca, a fingular bird from thence defcribed, p. 1, 2.

Ma/kelyne, Rev. Nevil, communicates a paper A the late
Dr. Bradley on the common micrometers, p. 46. His
improvements of Hadiey’s quadrant, p. 99, &c.

Matlock water examined, p. 459.

_ Meteorological obfervations at Ludgvan in Cornwall, p.

5:

Miz, employed in the experiments about the noxiouf-
nefs of-air, p. 1745 i &c. How kept, p.249-
Live without water, p.

Micrometers, the ufe of aon deferibed by Dr. Bradiey,
p. 46, &c.

Milky appearance of fome fpots of water in the Red Sea
afcribed to animalcules, p. 93, 94.

Mocha on the Red Sea, draughts of its road, p. 77- Its
latitude and longitude, ibid.

Vou. LXII. Rr Monvey

490 2 a I ADR Ee ae,
Monro, Dr. Donald, his account of feveral mineral waters
in Scotland, p. 15.

N.

aie. Mr. contriver of a new dipping- needle, p. 476,
Flis experiments with it, p. 477.

Natural Hiftory, its progrefs during feveral centuries and
among different people, p. 295.

Newland, Capt. Charles, obfervations in a voyage to
the Red Sea, p. 77, 78, &c. His method of di-
{tilling frefh from fea water, p. go. Fis obfervations ©
on the milky appearance of fome fpots of water, Pp.

Ai ee apis Extraéts from his arithmetic about Eratof-
thenes’s fieve corrected and explained, p. 339.

Nightingales, whether they can migrate at any diftance,
p- 300. Notattended to at certain times, P: 32.

Nitrous air, formed from a folution of metals in {fpirits
of nitre or aqua regia, p. 210. Its redpction of
common air, p.211. The beft teft of the fitnefs
of air for refpiration, p. 214. Its phenomena with
different kinds of noxions air, p. 215, 216. Re-
duced to one fourth by a mixture of iron filings and
brimftone, p. 217. Noxious to plants and animals,
ibid. Readily abforbed and obftinately retained in wa-
ter, p. 218, 219. A great preferver from putrefeCtion,
p- 223. Proportion in which it may be got from fe-
veral metals, p. 322.

Numbers, See Prime.

0,

Oak, a new fpecies obferved and reared by Mr. Lucombe,
128. Its fpeeay growth defcribed by Mr. Holwel), p.
129, &c.

Odeles, Six in a dram, p. 470.

Ce athe
&

EINE > TD Te), OS. 491

Oenanthe crocata, a poifonous plant, found to have great
virtues in the cure of fome cutaneous diforders, P- 479,
&c.

Pp.

Parallax of the Sun, deduced from the obfervations of
the laft tranfitof Venus, p. 69, &c.
Parallelifm of the two furfaces of the index glafs in Had-
ley’s quadrant, neceffary for the exactnefs of obferva-
tions, p. 115,116. How the errors arifing from the
want of it may be remedied, p. 116, 117.
Pemberton, Dr. Henry, his geometrical folutions of fome
aftronomical problems, p. 434. i
Percival, Dr. Thomas, on the waters of Buxton and Mat-
lock, p. 455.
Perfon killed by lightning, p. 135.
Phlogifton, an overload of it may infect air, p. 231. and
is probaby abforbed by growing plants, p. 233.
Pitkeatly, near Perth, its purging water defcribed by Dr.
Wood, p. 27. Analyfed by Dr. Monro, p. 275 28.
Plants, in a'ftate of vegetation, prevent the alteration which
flame produces in the air, p. 166. And reftore it
when vitiated, p. 163, 169.
Porcupine quills, dyed by the natives of Hudfon’s Bay in
red and yellow, p. 46. ;
Portfmouth, its latitude deduced from aftronomical ob-
fervations, p. 38.
Prenefte the town of, worfhiped Fortune, p. 63. ‘
Priefiley, Dr. Jofeph, his obfervations on cifferent kinds
of air, p. 147. His defcription of Mr. Henley’s new
electrometer, p. 259.
Puliney, Dr, Richard, on the medicinal virtues of a poi-
fonous plant, p. 469.
Prime numbers, how to be found, p. 328—332.
Ptarmigan, the fame bird in Europe and inAmerica, p. 390.
Putrefatiion, fee Air, Vegetation.
Rrr 2

Pyrinczs

292 LON DE UX
Pyrmont water imitated by means of fixed air incorporated
in common water, p. 151, &c.

Q

Quails, whether migratory, p. 272. _
4 R.

Rabbit, not indigenous in Sweden, p. 6. Which of them
have red pupils, ibid. Difference between a warren
and atame rabbit, p. 7. See Hare.

Ray, his characterifticks of the hare and rabbit examined,
P- 4, 5.

Redwings, their migrations confidered, p. 313, 314.

Ronayne, Thomas Efg; his obfervations on Atmofpherical
electricity, p. 137-

Root, ufed by the Indians at Canada and at Hudfon’s-bay
to dye in red and in yellow, p. 55. Afcertained and
tried by Mr. Forfter, p. 56, &c.

S.

Sea Salt, the ftrongeft fpirit of, confifts of two thirds of
pure water, p. 239. -

Snipes, conftantly in fome part of England, p. 306.

Solar eclipfe obferved in George Iand, P: 34; 25.

Solway Mofs, its irruption defcribed, p. 123, 124. Phe-
nomena attending this fudden inundation, p- 125, 720.

Sors, or Fortune, the goddefs on feveral Denarii of the
Pleetorian family, p. 61. Worfhiped at Antium and
Prenefte, p. 63.

Spinach, the moft eiegtual plant in reftoring vitiated air, —

Pp: 170.

Stomach

Lo-NevrDek &.; AQ3

Stomach cannot a upon itfelf during life, p. 449. But
deftroys itfelf after death, p. 450. This cathy pa
more fenfible after violent death, p. 452

Storks never crofs the fea from Holland to England, p.
Se eee

Suns altitude how to be phivwes with the quadrant, p.
128.

Swallows, whether they migrate over the fea, p. 276, 291.
Diffcrent {pecies confounded, p. 280, Found torpid
and cluftered together in a pond, p. 28g. In the Rhine,
297. And in feveral other places, p. 298.

Swinton, Rev. John, an account cf a Denarius of the
Pleetorian family, p. 60.

Bs

Temperature comparative, of feveral waters, p. 464.

Tides, obfervations on them in the South Seas, p. 358.

Tit/avoyanne fora what root it is, p. 54.

Tropic found, p. 4

Tully, a paffage of that author relative to the deities named
Sortes, explained from an ancient coin, p. 62.

Ve

Vapour of f{pirit of falt, p. 235. Its properties, ibid.

Vegetation reftores air vitiated by flame, p. 166. And
that which has been tainted by refpiration or putrefac-
tion, p. 194, &c.

Vitriolic acid, no fign of it in fixed air, p. 253.

PW:

Walker, Mr. John, his account of the irruption of Sol-
way Mofs near Carlifle, p. 123.

Water,

494 Pen) ee ;

Water imbibes fixed air, p. 1g1. And inflammable air;
p. 180, 181. Abforbs in part putrid air, p. 191:
Reftores all kinds of noxious air, p. 200. Seems to
decompofe air, p. 247. be

White \ead, its effluvia noxious, p. 231°: :

Witchel, Mr. George, fome of his Aftronomical obferva-
tions at Port{fmouth, p. 33. ;

Woodcocks, where they breed, p. 308, 309. Sleep in the
day time, p. og. If feen in the night, miftaken for
owls, p. 311.

Woods, not unhealthy, p.. 200:

Zi

Zodiac, figns of the, delineated in feveral temples in India,
Pp: 353. Probably had their origin from thence, p.

354

The End of the Sixty-Secoyy VoiuMe.

* * There are Fourteen Copper-Plates in this Volume,
as Table IV. is double. .

BeBe OR Arig PAs

Vol. LXI.
Pag. 139. line 11. from the bottom, read upon, with regard to
4te 1. 16 notes, erafe the comma afier Ex,
143. zotes, i, penult, 7. Archiepifcopis. 1. 15. 7. Redleiam
144, 1. 2, r. Dena. Notes, 1. 14. from the bottom, r. Nogwera,
i d. ult. 7. Vincentii.
145. zotes, 1. 4. 7. Crevecor.
147. 1. 3. the 4th letter in the Saxon word foould be .

Vol. LXII.
Pag. xi. line penult. for vingtimee read vingtieme
- 6. 6 Caniculus Cuniculus
8. Ie male mule
ibid. 14. is in other is other
37: 7: Juptiter Jupiter
Bigs ik Diels grows “it grows
Wie En diftantis diftantia
77-22 (Tab. IV.) (TabilV.8¢TabIV.")
125. note 7,1. 4. weter water
146. 8," them it
303. note *, J. 2. Aédologue Aédologie
314. 17. cough chough >
388. 214 _ Three-toid Three-toed
426. 17. vetti veftiti
429. 6. mandibu mandibula

457-27 Property proportion
462. note, line laft, 207 287.

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