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ANNALS  OF  PHILOSOPHY; 

OR,  UAG&ZUfE  OF 

CHEMISTRY,  MINERALOGY,  MECHANICS, 


NATURAL  Hismnr, 


AGRICULTUBE,  AND  THE  ART& 


BY  THOMAS  THOMSON,  M.D.  VM£.  L.4E.  F.L.S.  *c 


(hCBimDmSICAb  ACADUT 


VOL.  VI. 

JULY    TO    DECEMBER,     1815. 


rtMii  in  C.  Baldmn,  Nm  BrUg».tU*^i 

FOR  BALDWIN,  CRADOCK,  AND  JOY, 

♦7,  PATEBN08T£R-B0W. 

■WD  ALIO  BV 

V.  BLACKWOOD^  XDINBDRGH;  AND  J.  CDMMINa,  bUSLIlT. 
1815. 

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n..<,r,,GoogIe 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


NUMBER  XXXI— JULY,  1815. 

Some  Account  of  ihelaie  Mr.  SiDiihaonTennanl 1 

Of  a  load  fbntid  in  ihe  Trunk  of  ■  Beech.    Bf  T.  L.  ]>ick.  Esq n 

On  theUed  Sand-iione  Fcmiation.    B;  Profeuor  JamcMn  jg 

On  the  Method  of  iUumiDatiagltaaStWMabfCcMlGu.  B^Mr-Accom'  KT 
Remarka  on  the  Older  Floeti  Sirataef  Engtend.  By  Dr.  PrieRiwd  ....  so 
Sketch  of  a  Geaerat  TliMrf  of  the  iBldlMtusl  FdaeiioiM  of  Mm  and 

Animak    B;  Mr.  Walker > ^ 

On  tbe  Uiei  of  ,tha  Oorul  Veueli  ^  M.  MarWl  d«  SerT««',  contUded  3t 
Ad  Etuiy  on  the  BcdU  in  iIm  EuUt.    B;  Mi.  Longolire,  coiUitiMtd ....     43 

Exiraot  of  a  Letter  from  Dr.  Beraelks  tA  ProTeuw  Gilbert    47 

Attionoaucal  and  Magnetieal  ObKMtiODc    By  Cot.  Bmithj 51 

ReeovCTyof  the  Aachen  Ma9» of  Kative  Iron. ....' Mf 

Baploaion  at  the  Sdoccu  Coal-pit,  near  Newbnttlc    $s 

Critical  Analyiii  of  the  Transactionl  of  th*  GtologieJl  Socirty,  Vef.  II.  6Q 
Notice  of  a  now  Index  to  the  Anatomical  and  Medical  Fspen  in  tbe  Phi< 

lotophicat  TranMotJont 09 

Proceeding*  of  the  Rojil  Society,  May  £5,  June  1,8,  mrf  IS HM. 

-— ' Liandeaa  Seeiely,  June  6  and  90 70 

^le  Qoeaiion  of  the- Roya^  Medical  Society,  Edinburgh  ibid. 

Naure  BoracJo  Acid. - Ji 

Climate  of  Atheni ibid. 

Table  of  Fauengers,  Waggona,  CoMba*/  Ite.  that  paii  over  Blackfrian 

Bridge  in  one  Day ibid. 

Farther  ObierratioAi  on  Mr.  LockharVa  Imegfna^  Cube  Roott  . .  .^ . . . .    fa 

Sale  of  Mineral) 1 74 

NewBaad<iC«Uierica ibid. 

Si«of  theWSale   , ibid. 

Namber  of  Inbabitanis  of  AnriicDt  Hodie 7ff 

Extract  of  »  Letter  from  M.  Van  Mocu,  ofBroNda ibid. 

Death <tf  Geo^eMonti^tHe,  Eiq 77 

Sebool-of  Athens., ..'.'. ■.,.,..,■■ ibid, 

Wftner'a  Collection*  of  Hin«rria,  iold ibid. 

JMotice*  of  Seimtific  Booltf  at  Preair ViAS: 

Mcteonlogieid'Tabk  BsdObMtrratiMs  ]Vb;l  tdao 79 


NtflrfBEtf  XXXir.— AtTGUST. 


AocoBtitof  tbalatcMr.  Smilbion Tcnnanl,  contludti il 

330163  ''""■'^' 


<K>*UTat)ODioiiCry»taUizatiaa.    B7  Dr.  John  Redman  Cose lol 

ExpaimCDts  on  the  Dnugbt  of  Carriages.    By  Mr.  Edgeworih  ........  lOG 

On  Accidenu  in  Coal  Mmra 108 

Account  of  the  Snnderiand  Lime-stone  Formaiioti.  Ay  Dr.  Reid  CUnny  US 
SlieCch  of  a  Tbeoiy  ot  the  lolellectual  Functions  of  Man  and  AniniaU. 

By  Alex.  Walker,  concluded  118 

MemcHT  on  Iodine.     By  M.  Gay-Lusuc,  amlinued    184 

Magnedcal  ObseivatioDB  at  Hackney  Wkk.     By  Co).  Beanfby 133 

Critical  AoalytisorthePhilosophicalTranaactionafor  1814,  Putll 134 

Proceeding  of  the  Gealo^eal  Sodety,  May  I9  and  JnoeS 140 

Weroeriaa  Society,  Jan.  SI,  Feb.  4,  S5,  Marcb  11 

and  25 149 

-— Royal  Institute  of  France,  1814 I4C 

Nolicet  of  Lecturaa ISO 

OfYttro-Cerite..... .....iWd. 

—  Steinheilite  , > ibid. 

—  FluO'ArMniate  of  lime , ilud. 

-^Gadolinite ...151 

Mr.  Konigonsnew  Uan  of  Natire  Iron ibid. 

— Blwoenbaeh'i  Arrapgement  of  the  Human  Species  ibid. 

Of  Orthoeeratiie  in  Marble 153 

On  the  Extraction  of  the  CiibeRpou  of  BinoDiiats.    By  Mr.  Lockhart  ..ihid. 

Exploiioil  at  the  luibella  Coal  Mine,  at  Newcude 163 

Of  Nickel-  Antinionerz  154 

—  a  New  Curve  .,. ibid. 

Nature  of  FattyBodiea   > IfiO 

Accident  to  M.  Vauqiielin  in  a  Chemical  Ezpetiment 15? 

NewPateata 158 

MeteorologicalTiibteandObfetvutioM,  May  31  toJuneSS 15f) 


NUMBER  XXXIIL-SEPTEMBER. 

filograjihical  Account  of  M.  Parmentler.    By  M.  Cuvier 161 

Origin  of  the  Carbureted  HydrogeaGasof  Coal  Mian.By  Mr.  Longmire  I7S 
Connexion  between  the  Vascular  and  Estra^vatcular  Paris  of  Aoinuls.  By 

Mr.  Carlisle    174 

Further  Observations  on  Fluxions.    ByMr.  Alex.  Ghristiion 178 

Memoir  on  Iodine,    By  M.  Gay-Lussac,  concluded    189 

Experimenti  on  Tungsten.    By  Professor  Bucholz  „ t^ 

Description  of  an  Elcmcniai;  GalTanic  Batteiy.    By  Dr.  Wollastan>...  M)j> 
Objeetiont  to  Sir  H.  Davy't  Theory  of  Chlorine.    By  Dr.  Bera^M  ....  £11 

Eisayon  the  Ken ts  in  the  Earth.     By  Mr.  Longmire,  continued 213 

MagnelicalObservalions  at  Hackney  Wick.     By  Col.  Beaufoy Sl| 

Critical  Analysis  of  the  Philosophical  Transacliona-for  1815,  Parti Sig 

"  —  Buchanan's  Treatise  ou  the  Management  ofFnel,  See.  SS3 


r 

■  C0KTBN18.  V 

I  pm* 

I        Critical  Amijiis  of  Aocam'iTreatt*e  on  Gu  light....; MS 

I        Proceed  iop  of  tbe  Kojal  InstitnU  of  Fiaoce ., iUcL 

I        Koticet  of  LectuTct , SSg  ' 

New  Mdde  of  Manufacturing  Heinp  and  FUx  ■>. , *30 

Prt^KM*!  i«tpecting  the  Utermotneter    :... i3l 

On  Chunical'NomcDclatute ,.,. ibid, 

OfHowwd'iMoiDenclatareof  Clradt l CM 

New  Amalpm  of  Merctiiy ^ SM. 

Galvanic  Experimenti  , ibid 

Fiirtb«r  Queriea  retpecting  Gu  Light 834 

OfCi^vtaUof  Arragonite ibid. 

CombuUion  of  Carbuteted  Hydrogen  Ciu    /'....  KO 

Another  Accident  at  «  Coal  Mine  ncM  Newoule .ibid. 

Carlionate  of  Kimulh '. ibtd. 

Carbo-iulphnret  of  Mercury 237 

New  PateaU ibid. 

Notices  of  Scientific  Book)  uPku 938 

Meteonlo^ctl  TaUe  iwl  (HiMnnlknu,  June  «$  to  July  SB 830 


NUMBER  XXXrV,— OCTOBER. 

On  the  Absorption  of  the  Gbm*  by  different  Bodies.     By  Theodore  de 

Sau«»re  «1 

Analysii  of  tbe  MiiKral  Waters  of  Dunblane  and  Ktcuthly,  STC.     By 

Dr.  Murray  SSC 

ObMrrationsonlhe  Analytii  of  Oiganic  Substaneea.  l^Dr.I^oat  ....  9Gq 
Description  of  an  Instniment  to  Ueasnre  the  Rix  and  fall  of  (he  Tide. 

ByCoL  Beaufby. 673 

New  and  important  Combinations  with  the  Camera  Ludda.    By  W.  G. 

Honci,  Eiq SBl 

An  Attonpt  to  sysieuatize  Anatomy,  I%ysiolagy,  and  Pathology.    By 

Alex.  Walker 583 

Astronomical  and  Magnetical  Obterraiioas  at  Hackney  Wick.    By  Col. 

Bcanfoy .; ...  ^ 293. 

Criltcal  Analysis  of  Wainewrigbt's  Uterary  and  Scientific  ^is^its  in  the 

tJiuversity  of '  Cambridge  ^ Sg4 

Notices  of  Lectures.. i 304 

Substance  sublimed  during  the  bamiog  of  London  Bricks   ibfd. 

Queries  respecting  Valves,  and  of  the  Valves  in  the  Human  Body 305 

RegulatioDt  for'ihe  EzatnioatJoa  of  Apothecaries  307 

Extracts  from  the  new  Apoihecaiies' Act  308 

further  Ohserrations  on  Mr.  Lockhari's  Eztnction  of  the  Cube  Roots  of   - 

Binomials    300 

Test  of  Iodine    .,....,._ 912 

Bspd  InlcTcourM  tbrangb  G/eat  Britain ibid. 


Coivfic      


DMcription  af  tb«  Woapt :  and  OtMcn-atiOiu  oq  Ac  Sin  or  the  Whale. 

By  Mr.  ScoTwbj  813 

Oa Spring  Carrii^.    By Mr.Edgewortb 3l4 

—  CarbonMcaf  Bitanith 31fi 

T^U  MoHDlaiD  M  the  Cape  of  Good  Htrpt ibid. 

Now  PaUDU 3l6 

Icitniifio  BmIh  ia  hand j.  317 

MoiaoKilogical  TaUe  and  Obmrnioni,  Ang.  tt  toS6 318 

I     .  ........■—  Aug: 3710  Sept. 35  319 


NUMBER  XXXV^NOVEMBER. 

Kcbtioa  between  the  Speeldc  GraTttj!  of  fiodJa  in  thmrGaMOUt  Stale 

and  ibc  Weight  of  thrir  Atom* 3SI 

On-theAbwrptioneE  thcGMCii^diSmiu  fimBek.    BflAdeSMmim/ 

Koncluded. 331 

Analyais  of  the  Mineral  Water*  of  Uoablaoe  and  Pitcaiiblj.    By  Dr. 

Murray,  concluded 347 

Geological ObaervatioDs ou  Koub  Walu.    ByDf.Priabard 363 

Rf^ster  of  the  Weather  at  Plymootb.  January  to  June,  '1815.    By  Mr. 

Fox,  jun. J 309 

ObservniionsonMr.  Dalton'a  Theory  of  Chemical  Compotitioa.  ByWf. 

Ewart..., ...,. ,. 37t 

Magnetical  Obaemtioni  at  Hackney  Wick.    By  CoLBeaufc^ ;..  37B 

Od  Ihe  Theory  of  Radiant  Heat;  aodouMMue  Diffimlliea  BUmda^Mt 

theXhaorji.    B j> M. P. PiCTWt  370 

Account  of  a  Work  entitled  Hjnts  for  establiihing  an  Ofiice  in  N'tfivcnile 

lor  GoUaclii^  lafom^lion  oi  tbe-  State-  of  ibc  CoHiMlo.    'By  Mr. 

Thomaa i 386 

Proceeding)  of  the  Royal  Inatitula  uT  Fraaes  br  IS14.... 38? 

Notices  of  Lectures , Sgi 

The  largest  DraiMottd iWd^ 

New  Voyage  of  Diicovery  lo  Aftica 99* 

Death  of  Gehlen „,, iUd. 

ConGrraation  of  Mr.Boae'*  Discovery  of  the  Abtenea  of  Urea  from  Urine 

of  Hepatitis    , ibM; 

Atmospheric  PhenoEnaDOO... -. 9gV 

Qoeries  respcsti^  ElMuoba ^ 39« 

£trois  b  the  Connoiuanee des-ToBplk  . . . ..- <^. 

Weather  in  Iceland  in  1814 39* 

Population  o6  the  eanwiaa....... 30 

Temperature  of  the  Atlantic .._,....,■..... ..ibid. 

Suciis  Vesiculoiut >.. .  .^ ., ibid; 

Aitinal  Concretion  from  the  Utenu. .'.- ■...;...l.  Sigf 


CONTENTS.  Vli 

Saliva  of  a  Padeot  utkler  a  Coon*  of  Mercury S97 

New  Patent!    iUi. 

Meteorological  Table  ood  Obiervationa,  Sept.  S6  to  Oct  84 309 


NUMBER  XXXVI.— DECEMBER, 

Kogrsphical  Acconitt  of  Charles  Bosaul.    By  M.  Le  Chevalier  De- 

lambre  401 

OnSeptaria.     By  Dr.  C.  Wilkin  ion 408 

£««ay  on  Rents  in  the  Earth.     By  Mr.  J.  B.  Loogmire 411 

On  Che  CollJiioD  of  perfedly  hard  Bodieg.      By  Mr.  John  Gough 414 

Queries  respecting  the  Vemilation  of  Coal  Mines 4l6 

Description  of  an  Inslriiiaeiit  (at  ciuuting  (ha  AUaotion  of  Watchineo, 

By  Henry  Beanfoy  Esq.  i 418 

Further  Observations  00  Fluxions.    By  Alexaoder  Chriitison,  E«q 480 

Correction  of  some  defective  Statetnenta  in  different  Histories  of  the  Intra-* 
duction   of  Bleachbg  by  Oxymuriatic  A^.     Sf  WllHaiB  Knrj, 

M.  r>.... ,.- '. ,.,. , ..,..481 

On  the  CouVeraioD  of  Starch  into  Sugar.    Bj  M.  deSauUKre....^.  ...'  424 
Answer  to  Mr.  Prerost's  Inquiries  reipci^Eing  the  Explanation  of  M>  B< 

PrsvostV Experiments  on  Dew.     ByDr.Wella ,.,.:.;.;  4S« 

MemMTonlndiDtn  trad  OsmlDm.    By  M.  Vkuqudin; '......'..'433 

TtaceediBp  of  the  Royal  S«e>ety,  November  g,  t6,  S9 .....^,,453 

■   ■II  ■■■'""  i  tAtBjBMtSabtaly,  JitMenAetf/miSl  ............  4S6 

, , .    ,  Royal  Inititute  of  France  for  1814. 456 

Theory  of  Cryualt 463 

Fintioiii 4fl* 

Acconat  of  a  Meteor. 465 

Qneriea  respecting  Steam  Eogiaes  and  Steam  ibid. 

Royal  Geological  Society  of  Comnall , 46S 

I^saio  Acid 4€a 

Cyant^^ .' ■ , 470 

ChloTO.«yat>ic  Acid ibid. 

Dr.  Morray,  of  Edinbti^'s,  Method  •(  preventing  Explosioni  in  Coal 

Mines  from  Fire-Damp 471 

Meteorological  Table  and  Observation*,  October  36  to  November  SS  . ..  473 
Index 475 


n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


PLATES  IN  VOL.  VI.   , 

tMtt  Pafe 

XTOtVJ.    On  Refils  ia  ifac  Earth '. ...  - : . .    43 

XXX VII.  A  Fouil  Fiih  t6Mi  in  a  Slritoro  of  Idni«>StaDe. 1  ifi 

XXXVIII.  OnEentsinlhewnh .' .214 

XXXIX. '  inslninient  fnt  reguteting  the  Ri«e  ■nil  Fall  of  th«  TMe  . . . .  3TS 

XL.       VariaiioDS  ef  the  Barpmeter  and  Theinvinetei  at  PlyiDogth, 

January  to  June,  1816 : 966 

XLI.     Instnuf  cat  for  cbiiuu^  the  ^uitVMnet.yfUtiaaaa. -4I*- 


I,,  Google 


ANNALS 


PHILOSOPHY. 


:  JULY,    1815. 

Akticlb  I. 

Some  Account  cf  the  late  Sr/tithon  Tetouatt,  Esqt 

yV'E  announced  in  a  former  number  the  death  of  Smttbson  Ten* 
nant,  Esq.  F.  R.S.  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  University  of 
Cambridge :  we  shall  now  proceed  to  iay  before  our  readera  some 
account  of  his  life,  studies,  and  character. 

Mr.  Tennant  may  b^  considered  as  one  of  those  "  who,  without 
-much  labour,  have  attained  a  high  reputatioo,  and  are  meationed 
with  reverence  rather  for  the  possession  than  the  exertiou  of  un- 
common abilities."  *  Of  such  a  man  it  is.  peihaps  impossible  to 
.  ^ve  an  account,  which  will  satisfy  the  judgment  of  his  friends, 
without  being  suspected  by  others  of  cooiiderable  exaggeration. 
Mr.  Teonant  is  only  known  to  the  public  by  ^s  papers  in  die 
Philosophical  Transactions,  which,  huweter  admErable  as  speci- 
mens of  his  scientific  powers,  aSbrd  a  very  inadequate  idea  of  the 
Teal  extent  of  his  genius  and  knowledge.  These  were  in  many 
respects  so  extraordinary,  that  it  would  be  taking  a  most  imperiect 
view  of  bis  intellectual  character  to  consider  him  only  as  a  man  of 
science.  Some  attempt  therefore  ought  to  be  made  to  do  justice  to 
his  other  distioguished  attainments ;  although  a  certain  degree  of 
caution  is  obviously  requisite  in  speaking  of  those  qualities,  how- 
ever remarkable,  which  cannot  be  duly  appreciated  except  by  hit 
particular  friends. 

Smithson  Tennant  was  the  only  child  dF  the  Rev.  Galwrt  Ten- 
nant, younger  son  of  a  respectable  (amity  in  Wensley-dale,  near 
Ridimond,  in  YtH^ire,  and  Vicar  of  Selby  in  that  coun^;^  wbere 


1  Utt  of  Sfanud  aadtb. 

Vm.VI.  N«l.  ,   A  ......Google 


2  Biographical  Account  of  [J01.T, 

Mr.  Tennant  was  born  on  the  SOtli  of  Nov.  1761.  His  ftwiher, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Mary  Daunt,  was  the  daughter  of  a  surgeon 
of  the  same  towD. 

Of  hb  father  little  is  kno^vo,  except  that  he  had  beeo  a  Fellow  of 
St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  and  war.a  friend  of  Dr.  Ruther- 
fbrth,  Hegitis  Professor  of  Divinity  in  that  University.  He  was 
spoken  of  by  his  son  with  the  most  aSectionate  gratitude  for  the 
care  he  had  bestowed  on  his  education.  To  this  he  appears  to  have 
devoted  himself  from  his  son's  earliest  infancy;  since  he  began  to 
instruct  him 'tn  Greek  wbcH  he  was  ooly  fvs  yeM  of  age. 

He  had  the  misfortunti  to  lose  his  father  when  he  was  about  liine 
years  old ;  and  some  years  afterwards,  shortly  before  he  attained  the 
age  of  manhood,  was  deprived  also  of  his  mother,  by  a  very  me- 
lancholy accident.  She  was  thrown  from  her  horse,  whilst  riding 
with  her  son,  and  killed  on  the  spot. 

Mr.  Tennant's  education  subsequently  to  his  father's  death  was 
ir/egular,  and  apparently  somewhat  neglected.  He  was  sent  suc- 
cessively to  different  Echools  in  Yorkshire,  at  Scorton,  Tadcaster, 
and  Beverley.  He  is  described  by  one  who  recollects  him  at  the 
first  of  these  places  as  being  of  a  glare  and  pensive  cast,  with  the 
appearance  of  being  indolent  and  dispirited,  and  rarely  joining  in 
the  amusements  of  the  rest  of  the  boys.  Baing  an  only  -child,  and 
under  little  restraint  when  with  his  mother,  he  appears  to  have  left 
home  with  nngular  reluctance,  and  to  have  had  little  enjoyment 
while  at  school.  There  is  reason  indeed  to  believe  tliat  he  locjced 
bm^  upon  this  period  with  Do  agreeable  recollections,  since  he  my 
seldom  alluded  to  the  events  of  his  early  life;  and  it  is  in  the  re- 
collection of  the  writer  of  this  narratire  that,  on  reading  Mr, 
Gibbon's  Memoirs,  he  entirely  concurred  Iil  the  protest  which  the 
liistorian  has  entered  against  the  "  trite  and  lavish  praise  of  the 
happiness  of  our  boyish  years." 

'  His  talents  were  not  suspected,  and,  if  they  had  beeti  knows, 
would  scarcely  perhaps  have  been  understood,  by  those  concerned 
■whh  his  education.  He  appears,  indeed,  to  have  been  little  in- 
debted for  the  eminence  which  he  afterwards  obtained,  to  any  of 
Ills  various  instructors,  and  may  be  considered  in  a  great  measure  as 
setf-edmated.  This  is  perhaps  more  or  less  true  of  every  per»)n  of 
distinguished  talents  or  vigorous  understanding.  That  it  was  in  a 
remarkable  degree  the  case  of  Mr.  Tennant,  will  be  evident  from 
the  few  anecdotes,  which  are  row  recollected,  of  his  early  life. 

He  gave  many  pioofe,  wUIe  very  young,  of  a  particnlaf  turn  for 
chemistry  and  natural  philosophy,  both  by  reading  all  books  of  that 
descriplion  which  felt  accidentally  in  his  way,  and  making  vanous 
little  experiments  which  the  perusal  of  such  books  suggested.  His 
first  experiment  (as  he  has  himself  related]  was  made  at  nine  years 
of  age,  when  lie  prepared  a  quantity  of  gunpowder  for  fire-works 
ftccf^ing  to  directions  contained  in  the  Encyclopedia,  or  some 
other  scientific  book  to  which  he  had  access. 

Curing  the  time  he  was  at  school  at  Tadcitster,  he  happened  to 


IBI5.]  SmttAion  TeHMint,  Eiq,  3 

be  present  at  a  publjc  teoture  giv«a  by  Mr.  Walker,  fornurty  well 
known  u  a  pepulai  OehdieT  of  exptrimcDtal  [diUoai4>hy.  Although 
then  wxy  yaaag,  be  piit  Kveral  pertipent  questions  to  the  lecturer 
Mspectin^  sona  of  the  experiment^  and  displayed  so  much  intel* 
Vigeat  .corioaity  u  to  »ttrwt  the  atleDtion  of  the  audkoce,  and  givct 
great  additional  Interest  to  the  lecture.  Mr.  Walker,  senitble  of 
tbe  sSaci  wbkb  t^  boy's  presence  had  prbduiied,  requested  that  'he 
w«uld  MDOtHtoe  tQ  attend  hia  lectures  during  tbe  remainder  of  tlM   . 


JFMm  Tadcaiter:  Mr.  Tennaot  was  'removed  to  Beverley,  tbea 
nttheG  a.cfinaiderable  tchod),  under  the  core  ofi  tir,  Geoi^  Cnif^ 
tika  Mhenfards  obtwned  ecclesiaitical  preferment  at  Binninghsni) 
9hi  hecaiBfkoovtQ  as  a  controversial  writer.  Mr.  Tennant'  went 
aome^hat  late  to  Bevtrley,  and  did  not  readily  eater  into  the 
studicfl  or  discqrllne  of  the  place.  But,  although  he  thh  sJi^uIu 
in  his  habits,  and  led  rather  a  sequestered  life  for  a  acbool-boy,  h* 
^nu  very  Jar  from  bmog  idle.  There  was  fortunately  a  good  litvary 
bcIoDging  to  the  school,  coataintng  a  great  collection  of  miseella!' 
Deoitt  books,  to  which  be  devotad  as  much  time  as  was  in  his  power. 
Uiastndiet,  even  at  ihateairly period,  were  principally  directed  to 
works  oi  natural  phUosopby ;  and  Sir  Isaac  Newton's  Treatise  ofl 
C^>tic9  was  one  of  the  books  which  be  read  with  the  greatert 


About  the  time  of  quitting  school  he  ma  Tcry  desirous  of  com- 
jdeting  his  education  under  Dr.  Priestley,  whose  repulattbri.  In 
coDsequence  oi  bis  brilliant  pneumatic  discoveiies,  was  then  at  ita 
hei^U.  His  mother  seems  to  hare  been  disposed  to  gratify  him  is 
this  particular ;  but  tbe  design  was  found  to  be  impracticable,  in 
consequence  of  Dr.  Priestley's  other  engagements. 

With  such  tastes  and  habits,  it  cannot  be  suj^wsed  that  Mr.-Ten" 
Dmt,  at  the  time  i^  his  leaving  school,  was  a  very  regular  or  accu- 
rate  classical  scholar.  Yet  for  every  really  useful  puipoaa  he  poa- 
Bcased  ihe  full  advantages  of  a  dassical  education.  He  had  a 
(wnpeteDt  knowledge  of  Greek,  and  was  well  versed  in  the  Latin 
language.  What  was  still  more  important,  he  had  acquired  a  stnmg 
feeltdg,  and  ratiiHial  admiration,  of  the  great  writers  in  those  Ian- 
pi»ge»,  whom  he  justly  regarded  as  the  standards  of  true  taste,  and 
models  of  literary  compotitlon ;  and  he  coDtiaued  during  the 
whole  of  hit  life  to  be  a  diligent  reader  of  the  principal  Latin 
Classks. 

In  tbe  choice  of  a  professum,  his  attention  was  naturally  directed 
to  the  study  of  medicine,  as-  being  most  nearly  allied  to  bis  philo- 
sofrfucal  pursuits.  He  went  accordingly,  about  tbe  year  )7i^l,  with 
tut  view  to  Edmbm^,  where  he  had  the  best  opportunities  <^ 
gratifying  his  ftvourite  ta^ees^  and  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  meet 
widi  an  instructor  in  the  celebrated  Dr.  Black,  well  calculated  to 
■dnulate  and  direct  his  <^riasity. 

W  hu  companioni,  studies,  or  i>ccupations  at  Edinburgh,  no- 

tlung  particular  is  knowtr.     His  stey,  i^deed^  «t'that  Uoivfiiiitr, 

A  2  C.(Hv;V- 


4  Bhgrafhiad  Aamnt  of  [Jolt, 

was  of  DO  long  continuance;  for  in  October,  17'82,  he  «u  ad- 
mitted a  Member  of  Christ's  College,  Cambridge,  where  he  begao 
from  that  lime  to  reside.  He  was  at  first  entered  aa  a  penuooCT  j 
but,  disliking  the  ordinary  discipline  and  roatine  of  an  academieaS 
life,  lie  obtained  an  exemptioa  from  those  restraints  by  beooming 
^lortly  afterwards  a  Fellow  Commoner. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  he  bpgan  to  be  intimately  conaecteil 
with  Sir  Busicic  Harwood,  the  late  Professor  of  Anatomy  at  Cam- 
bridge, then  also  a  Fellow  Commoner  of  the  same  College.  Dmiog' 
a  long  residence  in  the  University,  Professor  Harwood  was  fcni- 
liarly  known  to  a  very  extensive  circle  of  acquaintance,  by  many  at- 
whom  he  waa  perhaps  chiefly  valued  for  fats  soeial  and  conrirU 

Jualtties.  He  had  other  merits,  however,  whidi  were  of  a  «i*ch 
tgher  order;  and  at  the  time  when  heftist  became ac^uuBted  with 
Mr.  T.i  there  were  some  circumstances  connected  with  his  history 
and  situation,  whii^  gave  a  peculiar  interest  to  his  character. 

Sir-B.  Harwood  had  gone  out  early  in  life  to  the  East  Indio^ 
where  he  had  obtained  a  competent  fortune  as  a  surgeon;  but  being 
compelled  fay  ill  health  to  return  to  his  native  country,  he  lost,  by  tiie 
misconduct  of  an  agent,  nearly  the  whole  of  what  he  had  acquired. 
With  the  most  cheerful  and  maoly  firmness,  he  began  ^ain  hia 
career  of  life ;  and  with  (hat  view  had  entered  himself  at  Cam- 
bridge at  a  much  more  advaticed  age  than  usual,  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  a  medical  degree.  His  misfortunes  and  the  spirit  with 
which  he  rose  above  them,  added  to  his  liberal  aod  benevolent  dis-^ 
position,  his  practical  skill  in  medicine,  his  knowledge  of  anatomy 
and  physiology,  and  his  interesting  accounts  of  the  remote  coun- 
tries in  which  he  had  lived,  produced  their  natural  efiect  upon  at» 
ingenuous  and  inquisitive  mine) ;  and  although  there  was  a  great 
disparity  in  the  ages  of  Mr,  Tennant  and  Professor  Harwood,  and 
a  considerable  dISbrence  in  their  tastes  and  habits,  a  cordnL  and 
sincere  friendship  was  soon  formed  between  them. 

Having  entered  somewhat  late  at  Cambiidge,  and  being  det- 
tined  for  the  medical  profession,  Mr.  Tennant  did  not  pay  any 
great  attention  to  the  regular  course  of  academical  reading,  or  de* 
vote  much  of  his  lime  to  the  study  of  mathematics.  He  acquiied, 
however,  a  general  knowledge  of  the  elementary  parti  of  that 
science,  and  made  himself  master  of  the  most  important  prtmo^ 
tions  in  Newton's  Principia.  But  his  attention  at  this  period  was 
principally  directed  to  chemistry  and  botany  ;  and  it  may  bt 
recorded  as  an  iostADce  of  his  early  progress  in  the  former  science 
that  about  the  time  of  his  residence  at  Cambridge  he  mentioned  to 
■omec^  his  friends  the  substance  of  an  experiment  respecting  beat— 
which  he  did  not  make  public  till  more  than  twenty  yean  afto'i 
wards.  The  experiment  here  alluded  to  consisted  in  a  mode  of 
effecting  a  double  di&tillation  by  the  same  heat,  in  conseqaence  of  a 
diminished  pressure  of  the  air ;  which  he  communicated  to  tba 
Boyal  Society  in  1814,  and  forms  the  subject  of  hi*  laitp^tpvb- 
lineil  in  the  Philosophical  Tcuuactiims.  .  . 


M15.J  SmUhun  Tetmml,  Etq.  6 

The  attentkni  of  the  chemicnl  world  wu  at  ifais  time  principally 
a^sged  by  the  great  controversy  respeotmg  the  antiphlogistic 
mory,  whtc^  experienced  much  o[^)oaiti(xi  in  England.  It  may 
perhaps  be  wonh  mentioning  that  Mr.  Tennant  entirely  tatiified 
Biimelf  as  lo  the  truth  of  ihb  lioctrinp,  when  at  Cambridge,  at  a 
very  parly  period,  and  long  before  it  obtained  a  general  reception 
in  this  ooantry. 

But  while  engaged  in  these  scientific  pursuiti,  he  vas  at  the 
tame  time  a  very  general  reader  of  all  the  moit  interesting  worksi  a 
polite  literature,  biMnry,  metaphysics,  and  especially  in  political 
economy,  which  was  one  of  his  iarourite  stuaies,  and  on  which 
be  had  already  made  many  just  and  original  obserralioos.  Yet,' 
ahhoug^i  he  was  thus  incessantly  employed,  there  was  a  un- 
gnlar  air  of  carelessness  and  indifference  in  his  habits  and  mode  of 
ufe;  and  his  manners,  appearance,  and  conversation,  were  the 
most  remote  from  those  of  a  professed  student.  Kia  College  rooms 
exhibited  a  strange  disorderly  appearance  of  books,  papers,  and 
implements  of  chemistry,  piled  up  in  heaps,  or  thrown  in  confi{tton 
tt^ther.  He  had  no  fixed  hours  or  established  habits  of  private 
(tiuiy;  but  his  time  seemed  to  be  at  the  disposal  of  his  friends; 
and  he  was  always  ready  either  for  books  or  philosophical  experi- 
ments, or  for  the  pleasures  of  literary  society,  as  incliDation  or 
accident  might  determine.  But  the  disadvantages  arising  from 
these  irregular  habits  were  much  more  than  counterbalanced  by 
eztracMdinary  powers  of  memwy  and  undentanding ;  and  especially 
I^  a  faculty,  for  whieh  he  was  remarkable,  of  reading  with  great 
rapidity,  arid  of  ccdlccting  from  books,  by  a  slisht  and  cursory  in- 
spection, whatever  was  most  interesting  and  nuoable  in  their  cod- 
trats. 

It  was  during  Mr.  Tennant's  residence  at  Cambridge  that  hit 
principal  Jriendshipa  were  formed ;  and  the  recollection  of  those 
who  best  knew  him,  will  dwell  upon  this  happy  period  of  his  life 
with  a  fiHid  and  melancholy  pleasure.  Hit  hcaltii  was  then  vigorous^ 
his  s^nrits  were  constant  and  unwearied,  and  his  talents  for  society 
perbapa  yet  more  striking  and-brilliant  than  in  his  after  years.  He 
was  ^tinguished,  even  at  that  early  period,  by  an  extent  of  infbr- 
matioo,  and  maturity  of  judgment,  which  might  have  seemed  to 
be  the  results  of  a  long  life  of  study  and  reBc^ion ;  and  these  ex- 
trandinaiy  attainments  derived  an  additional  interest,  and  peculiar 
grace,  from  the  simplicity  of  bis  manDcrs,  the  ph^uluest  of  bit 
wit,  and  the  careless,  fascinating  beauties  of  his  conversation  I 

The  summer  of  1784  was  employed  by  Mr.  Tennant  in  travel- 
ling into  Deamark  and  Sweden,  partly  to  examiae  the  great  mine* 
fw  wbidi  the  latter  country  is  remarkable,  but  priocipallv  for  tbe 
poDpoae  of  risiting  the  celebrated  Scbeele,  for  whom  he  oimI  con- 
ccmed  a  bi^  admirarion.  He  was  much  gratified  by  what  he  taw 
of  this  veiy  eminent  peiwm ;  and  was  particuUrly  ftrwdi  with  thC 
■flaji^iGHy  of  Ae  appuatut  1^  whit^  his  great  exiieritDetitt  bod  been ' 
pcffomedL    Oa  ius  return  to  Eoglond  be  bad  ■  gftU  j/lttmn  ia 


6  MtgrafAktti  uiceaimt  «f  {iOMC^ 

sbowiflg  to  bi*  frindi  at  Cambridge  various  mioenlopnA  specH- 
mem  with  which  Scbrale  had  prennted  him,  uuj  in  exhibitiag  to 
them  several  iDterestiD|f  expentaeata  -which  he  had  Inmed  friatt' 
that  philosopher. 

His  next  journey  to  the  Continent,  a  year  oc  two  after  hla 
Swedish  espediiion,  was  to  Paris,  where  be  became  aoquaiated  whb' 
some  of  the  most  considerable  French  chemists.  Duriii|^  his  ttay 
io  that  city  he  was  seized  with  a  dangerous  Dtness;  in  conscquraice 
of  which  Professor  Harwood,  wiih  the  kindest  solidtude,  went  ioa- 
mediately  to  j<Ha  bim ;  but  finding  his  friend  nearly  recovered,  he 
accompanied  him  on  a  tour  through  Holland  uid  the  Netherlandaa 
previously  to  their  rctuni  to  Cambridge. 

The  latter  of  the^  oonntrics,  nt  the  time  when  it  was  visited  by 
Mr.  Tennant,  was  in  a  state  of  insurrection  against  the  E^nperor 
Joseph  II,,  and  exhibited  the  singular  spectarie  of  a  bigolted  people 
lesisting  a  philosophic  tyrant,  and  contenditig  for  their  ancient  pri- 
vileges and  establishments  with  the  zeal  and-  ardour  of  an  enli^t- 
ened  bation. — Holland,  then  free  and  prosperous,  presented  a  sceoe 
still  more  interesting' and  congenial  to  Mr.Teaoaat's  feelings.  He 
saw  in  that  extraordinary  oouotry  a  stiikiog  illHstfation  of  bis  own 
most  &\'Ourite  opinions.  He  was  gratified  by  the  triiiTD[^  of  Intel* 
ligentand  persevering  indnstry  over  thegRatest  pfayiical  difficulties; 
and  by  the  general  division  of  wealth  and  oemfort,  the  natural  tfftctM 
of  unrestreined  commerce,  and  of  civil  and  religious  liberty. 

Such  were  Mr.  Tennant's  vrduntary  punuita  andoocupatiaas 
whilst  in  the  prime  and  vigoar  of  life,  possesaed  of  a  competeuc 
fortune,  exempt  from  every  species  of  controul,  and  left  to  the  sole 
guidance  of  his  own  disposition  ai>d  nnderstanding.  After  his 
mother's  death,  which  happened  about  the  time  when  be  went  to 
£(ffinbiirgh,  he  had  no  near  relations,  and  seetiis  fmai  Hm  time 
to  have -been  entir^y  separated  from  his  family  ooanectiDOs.  tHa 
college  vacations  (except  when  he  was  travelling)  were  passed  witk 
an  intimate  friend  io  Noith  Wales. 

On  the  13th  of  January,  17S5,  he  was  elected,  at  a  leraarliaUy 
early  age,  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society,  Among  the  signatures 
to  his  certificate  of  recwnmendatioB  were  those  of  the  most  ^stin- 
goished  members  of  that  body,  who  were  connected  svith  die 
iUniversitv  at  Cambridge ;  namely^  Dr.  WMring,  Dr.  Miiner,  Dr. 
,  John  Jebb,  Dr.  Masl^lytie,  and  the  Bishop  of  Llanda^.  With 
pnst  of  these  Mr.  T,  wsa  well  acepminted ;  and  whb  Dr.  Milner, 
in  particular,  he  lived  on  terms  of  soaie  intimacy. 

He  had  hitherto  continued  to  reside  at  Christ's  College  from  die 
time  of  his  entering  there  io  the  ycM  17^;  bat  ProEssaor Har- 
wood having  for  some  reason  determinedto  ^nit  that  Society^  Mr. 
TeoR&nt  removed  witfi  bim  in  December,  17S6,  to  BmmmBst, 
Collcfe,  of  which  he  oontinued  mer  afterwards  to  be  a  member. 
In  the  year  1786  he  tool  his  first  ioedical  degree  »  Bat^ielor  sf 
Physic,  and  soon  aAemunlB  quitted  Camhtidge,  ud  «bik  to  rerida 

■   n,r.^^<i"yG00glc 


J81S.]  "Smithm  Taaam^,  &;.  ^ 

la  ibe  ynr  17C1  be  coBmuinaued  to  the  Royai  Sooie^  kia 
hmdym  o€  the  carbonic  mai.  M.  lAvouier  had  proved  by  decinvc 
ipitbietia  cxperimeata  that  fixed  air  was  a  compoood  of  oxygen  and 
cfattoiBt;  hut  no  one  had  yet  mcrived  that  gai  into  its  linipld 
deHicBts.  Ur.  Tcmunt  (Unerring  that  phosphate  of  lime  was  aot 
decDiDpoaed,  wbta  fatated  with  ohaicoal,  infened  that  the  joint 
attractions  of  phoaphonn  for  OKjgeOf  and  ot  phoaphotic  acid>  fat 
line,  exeeedcd  those  of  chanioal  fiir  oxjgen,  and  of  carboaic  acid 
for  time ;  and  coDsequeotly  that  phosphorus  and  heated  m^rU^ 
when  m^de  to  act  on  each  other,  would  be  resolved  into  ^Kapfaate 
ti  liau  and  charcoal,  llie  oorreotDeaa  of  thdi  reasoqing  nai  fcDy 
JMtified  by  tke  erent ;  «ad  the  reaalt  of  the  ekperimcnt  was  not 
menfdf  the  analpsia  of  the  sarbonic  acid,  which  wai  the  immediate 
ot^ect  of  the  investigation,  but  the  discovery  ot  a  new  omnpouad, 
omiiMiBg  of  (dwapboras  and  Umf,  ponesaad  of  several  enriDus 

|gOpCTtlOS. 

'the  JngenuTty  and  el^anc&  of  this  experimeat  established  Mr. 
Temant'a  repoiation  as  a  chemist ;  and  inere  beirig  at  the  close  of 
tfan  year  the  peotpect  of  a  vaeaa^  in  the  Jacksoaian  Professorship 
at  Cambridge  by  ibe  resignation  of  Dr.  Uilner,  he  was  prevailed 
apon  W  his  ttienda  to  beoome  e  eaotUdate  for  that  situation  ;  but 
deusted  fteat  the  punuit  on  finding  that  he  had  no  reaaonafalc 
prospect  of  socoesB. 

,  In  the  year  17M  he  again  *i«ted  the  Continent,  with  the  ioteDr 
tioa  oi  tisvdiing'through  France  to  Italy,  and  arrived  at  Poria  not 
foog  befare  the  aMinorable  10th  of  August.  He  hardly  reeogoized 
MMBc  of  bis-«ld  scientific  friends,  now  become  MEsaben  of  the 
legislative  Assembly,  and  deeply  implicated  in  the  revolutionaijr 
politics  of  dw  tines.  I^rom  various  circuKHtances,  he  anticipated 
aaoc  great  and  spee^  convulsion,  and  was  fortunate  enough  to 
quit  Paris  on  the  dtb  of  Aogusi,  before  the  flame  actnally  broke 
mL 

In  f"—'"g  thfoogh  Switzerland  he  visited  Mr.  Gibbon,  at  Lais* 
sanRC,  aiid  was  mndi  struck  with  his  poweis  of  conversation,  and 
the  sagaci^  <tf  bis  mnarks  on  tbe  course  and  progress  of  ibe 
French  revoludmi,  and  on  the  probable  issue  of  tlw  invasioa  aC 
Fraaee  by  the  aJImi  anwes  ooder  the  Duke  of  Brunswick. 

In  Italy  be  was  ddighted  witfa  the  softness  and  beanty  of  tbe 
rliaiais.  aad  the  lunusaBoc  of  the  vegiSatien,  and  was  astoiisbed 
bf  the  woodeis  of  aocienf  and  laodcro  mtt  at  Rome  and  FloraDoe, 
He  had  hidserto  baen  soosewfaat  sceptical  ae  to  the  degree  of  merit 
BtaHy  bekw^iag  to  (be  great  masters  in  painting,  wiuMc  feme  he 
had  aappoBsd  to  be  foaoded  principal^  upon  euggeratioo.  Bat  be 
was  cofsverted  fron  this  enor  by  the  gsaat  woiks  ai  Raphael  aod 
Ccn«ggi»;  and  of  tlic  firmer,  mem  espeeiaUy,  of  these  distin- 
guished aitists,  he  was  ever  aturwards  a  devoted  aad  eaAawwiic 

and  was 

which  fae 


He  mimMd  fnm  Italf  through  a  part  of  Germany,  and  was 
ancliwiMBedvitb  Ae  mixtufe  of  sdettce  and  cieduU^  wfabh  fae 


S  Btogn^hktU  Aeeoimt  ^  [Jvlt, 

found  in  wme  of  the  German  cbemuts.  The  phUowpber's  stmie 
vu  spoken  of  with  respect;  and  he  received  from  a  man  of 
tcience  and  character  an  introdnction  to  a  penon  who  was  reputed 
to  be  in  posaeusion  of  that  treasure.  Mr.  Tenoaot  u>ed  to  rriate 
with  his  own  peculiar  humour  the  Vilemaity  with  which  he  wds 
received  by  ihis  person ;  with  whom  he  cooTcned  in  Latin,  and 
who  exhibited  to  him  the  mysterioui  powder,  enlarging  Dpoo  ha 
transcendent  qualities  with  much  pomp,  and  in  flowing  and  sono- 
roua  periods. 

On  hi^  return  through  Paris  in  the  latter  end  of  \'l^%  or  be* 
ginning  of  1793,  be  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  gloom  apd 
desolation  arising  from  the  system  of  terror  dien  beginning  to  pre- 
vail in  that  capital ;  a  particular  instance  of  which  deserves,  mi 
several  accounts,  to  be  recorded. 

Among  hb  philosophical  acquaintance  at  Porb,  there  was  cme 
distinguished  by  his  simplicity  and  moderation,  of  whose  excellent 
qualities  he  always  expressed  a  high  value.  This  was  M.  Dela- 
metherie,  editor  of  the  Journal  de  Physique.  Upon  calling  at  his 
house,  Mr.  Tennant  found  the  doors  and  windows  closed,  as  if  the 
owner  was  absent.  Being  at  length  admitted,  he  found  his  friend 
aitling  in  a  back  room,  by  candle-light,  and  with  shutters  closed,  in 
the  middle  of  the  day.  On  his  departure,  after  a  hurried  and 
anxious  conversation,  his  friend  conjured  him  not  to  come  again,  a« 
the  knowledge  of  his  being  there  might  be  attended  with  serious 
consequences  to  them  both.  It  should  lie  mentioned,  to  the  hotiour 
of  this  Gentleman,  that  through  all  the  inquisititws  of  the  revolu- 
tion he  preserved  for  his  friend  property  of  contidnable  value, 
which  Mr.  Tennant  had  entrusted  to  his  care. 

Soon  after  Mr.  T.'s  return  from  the  Continent,  he  todi  chamberi 
in  the  Temple,  which  continued  from  that  time  to  be  bis  eatablislied 

flace  of  residence  ;  and  for  many  years  hia  society  was  very  much 
imited  to  a  small  circle  of  friends.  Owing  to  accidental  nrcum* 
stances,  his  early  connections  had  been  much  more  formed  among 
Bludeots  of  the  law  than  among  those  of  the  profession  which  be 
had  originully  designed  to  pursue,  hut  to  which  he  was  gradually 
becoming  more  and  more  lodiSerent;  He  had  not,  however,  as 
yet  abandoned  the  intention  of  practising  medicine ;  and  for  several 
ymn  applied  himself  to  the  oultivatioo  of  the  studies  connected 
with  that  soienoe,  and  attended  regularly  at  some  of  the  princijial 
XAodon  hospitals  Of  his  industry  and  perseverance  in  this  course 
sufficient  proob  exist  in  the  medical  notes  and  memoranda  now 
found  amoDg  his  papers;  and  it  is  well  hoowo  to  some  of  his 
friends  that  he  had  also  read  with  great  attentioa  most  of  the 
standard  books  in  that  science.  Among  these  he  always  spoke  of 
the  works  of  Sydenham  (with  reference  to  the  age  in  which  they 
were  produced)  in  terms  of  the  highest  admiration.  Curiosity  had 
rIso  led  him  to  examine  the  principal  medical  writers  of  antiquity, 
iriuse  merits  and  defects  he  correctly- appreciated,  and  upon  whom 
fod  tnd  made  fflan^  curious  wd  valuable  remub,    lie  had  Qdcen  • 

,        .Google  - 


1815.]  Smitfam  Temuatt,  Esq.  9 

eoaipnIwiMTe  view  of  the  ori^n  atd  progress  of  insdidne,  and  of 
the  varidua  tnedical  theories  and  opinions  which  have  prevaiW  ia 
difiercDt  ages  and  coaDtrin ;  and  seemed  od  this  account  peculiarlf 
w^l  qualified  (independently  of  his  practicaL  knowledge)  to  have 
vritten  a  philosoi^ical  history  of  the  science. 

But  the  question  was  very  different,  how  far  be  was  wet)  qualified 
to  practise  medicine  with  advantage  as  a  lucrative  pnifeaBion ;  and 
die  period  was  now  arrived,  when  (his  point  was  to  be  deter- 
mined. Several  of  his  friends,  although  very  doubtfbl  as  to  the 
altimate  Access  of  the  measure  which  they  recommended,  wen 
yet  extremely  desirous  that  he  riiould  try  the  efleets  of  a  regular 
profession ;  which  they  considered  as  afifbrding  the  bait  prospect  of 
Jiving  an  useful  direction  to  his  talents,  and  filling  his  desultoiy 
habits.  In  deference  chiefly  to  their  opinion,  he  took  hisdegree  m 
Doctor  of  Physic  at  Cambridge  in  the  year  1 796,  and  for  some 
lime  had  serious  thoughts  of  commencing  medical  practice.  But, 
after  some  hesitation,  he  wisely  relinquishnl  a  design,  which,  whether 
taccessful  or  not,  was  unlikely  to  contribute  to  his  happiness.  Hit 
desires  were  moderate,  and  his  private  fbrtuoe  exempted  him  from 
the  necessi^  of  following  any  employment  as  the  means  of  sub- 
nstence.  He  was  at  liberty,  therefore,  to  indulge  his  own  inclina- 
fiom ;  and  his  careless,  independent  habits  of  liti;,  no  less  than  ihe 
'geoeral.  cast  of  his  character  and  understanding,  rendered  him 
'  ahogetber  averse  to  the  drudgery  and  restraints  of  a  profeislon.  it 
may  be  observed  also  as  a  circumstance  by  which  he  was  undoubt- 
edly much  influenced  in  adopting  this  resolution,  that  he  had  suf- 
fered very  greatly,  during  his  attendance  at  the  ho«pitals,  in  coRaC' 
quence  of  the  acute  and  painful  emotions  he  had  constanily  expe- 
rienced from  tliose  sights  of  hopeless  misery  which  he  had  so  oftca 
occasion  to  witness.  He  justly  apprehended  that  the  frequent 
recurrence^  of  such  scenes,  unavoidable  in  medical  practice,  would 
be  destructive  of  his  comfon  and  happiness. 

The  keen  and  exquisite  sensibility,  from  which  these  kel'mffji 
originated,  was  a  striking  feature  in  Mr.  Tennanl's  character,  and 
not  only  gave  a  colour  to  many  of  his  opinions,  but  powerfully  in- 
fluenced his  conduct.  An  iostanceof  his  foactical  benevolence,  de- 
rived from  this  principle,  happened  about  this  period,  which  maf 
perhaps  deserve  to  be  mentioned.  He  bad  a  steward  tn  the  country 
W  whom  he  had  ItHig  placed  implicit  conBdence,  and  who  was  con- 
nderably  indebted  to  iiim.  In  consequence  of  this  man's  becoming 
embarrassed  in  his  circumstances,  Mr.  T.  went  into  the  country,  in 
nder  to  look  into  hii  accounts.  A  time  and  place  were  appointeil 
f^  him  to  produce  his  books,  and  shew  the  extent  of  the  defi- 
dency;  bat  the  unfortunate  steward  felt  himself  unequal  to  the 
task  of  such  an  explanation  ;  and  in  a  fit  of  despair  put  an  end  to 
bis  own  existence.  Touched  by  this  melancholy  event,  Mr.  T.  used 
bis  utmost  exertions  for  the  relief  and  protection  (^  the  fomiljr 
whom  he  bad  left,  and  not  only  forgave  them  the  debt,  but  alTorded 
^m  pecaniaiy  assistance,  iDdcoQtinued  ever  aftenwdi  to  be  dwir 
friend  «od  bcoe&ctor.  ^-.         , 

r,..-A-..>yCjOOg[e 


10  BiogrtiphiaU  Account  <^.  [Jd|.y» 

During  the  eovrie  oi  the  yeu  J7EHt  Mr.  TeaiuDt  oodirauQiestffd 
to  the  Royal  Society  bis  paper  on  the  nature  of  tbe  OiaaioDd.  Sir 
btac  N«wtoD  had  oonjectured  that  tbis  body  was  iDfiamoiable,  a* 
wa*  afurwards  proved  by  tbe  esperiments  of  tbe  Duke  of  TuetSDjl! 
aDd  of  Messrs.  Darcet  and  Hoiielie.  M.  Lavoisier  effected  k» 
oombuMion  by  means  of  a  tens,  jo  close  vestela,  and  obtaioed  inm 
it  a  gas,  wTiicb  precipitated  chaUi  fn»n  limo-water.  But  this  iras 
at  an  early  period  of  pB^uiuatic  cbemiitry ;  and  altbougb  be  coq- 
oluded  that  the  gas  was  fixed  air,  yet  be  did  not  consider  tbe 
wudogy  betweeo  charcoal  and  the  diamotid  m  very  intifaate,  but  aa 
depending  only  on  their  comitMo  property  of  being  cambutible. 
l^e  merit  of  •cdmpletely  ascertaining  the  saturq  of  tbis  Mibitaiioe 
was  therefore  reserved  for  Mr.  Tennant.  He  siKceeded  in  bunlng 
^e  diamond  when  rediiced  to  powder,  by  bealiog  it  with  nitre  in  a 
gold  tube.  A  solution  of  tbe  alk^ioe  nit  ww  tbeo  povred  iato 
liquid  muriate  of  lime ;  and  the  quantitj'  of  carbonic  aeid  wbieb 
bad  been  generated  was  infenred  from  the  weight  of  the  precipitate, 
which  was  found  to  con«st  of  carbmate  of  Ume. 

From  experiments  qiade  upon  minute  quaotitiei  of  diaoood 
powder,  not  exceeding  i\  grains,  he  ^ewed,  by  comparii^  them 
with  I^votsier'a  experiments  on  charcoal)  that  equal  weights  of 
diamond  and  charcoal  yield  equal  quantities  of  6xed  air,  and  that 
fixed  air  oontaios  between  ti  and  27'S  per  cent,  of  duUnond  i 
nesults  which  very  nearly  agmed  with  those  of  M,  I«vc»sier,  and 
were  subsequently  confirmed  by  the  investigatitms  of  Messrs,  Alteu 
and  Pepys. 

In  the  coune  of  his  iarestigatioa  of  the  dismond,  Mr.  Teiumot 
observed  that  gokl  and  platina  were  corroded  and  dissolved  by  beated 
nitre ;  and  tlwt  on  the  additltm  of  water  to  the  salt,  ^e  petals, 
omng  to  the  pretence  of  nitrite  of  potash,  were  in  a  great  tatwuw 
precipitated.  These  appearaace«,  together  with  some  peeuUar  pro- 
perties of  tbe  nitrous  solutioos  of  gf^d,  were  the  subject  of  a  fur:* 
ther  communication  to  the  JR«y4  Society  in  1797- 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  Mr.  Tengant  had  asoertaioed  thf> 
true  nature  of  tbe  diamond  some  yean  hdote  be  made  the  above 
eommiuiication  to  the  Boyal  Society.  In  conveTsiog  about  .this 
time  mtb  a  particular  friend,  whom  he  was  atteodtng  with  affec-' 
tionBte  care  during  alingeiing  illness  is  tb«apring  of  17^)  heha|^- 
peaied  to  ateotkn  tbe  fact  of  this  discovery.  Hta  friend,  who  bad  - 
often  lamented  Mr.  T.'s  habits  of  proenistiiiBtiot],  urged  )^m  to  low 
ao  time  in  meidog  his  expeiioieat  pubUe;  and  it  was  in  conse- 
•utace  of  these  entreatiea  that  tbe  paper  on  tbe  diamond  was  pr&i 
dnoed.  A  still  more  nomarltable  esasaple  of  the  aafioe  iDdolenoe  or 
inattcatioa  oocuired  in  .the  <ue  before  ailwled  to  of  tbe  paper  «hi 
double  distillatiDn,  coDununtcated  to  the  UoytA  Society  in  lijl4i 
dte-BubstaDce  of  mhich  he. had  meMiosed  to  some  of  las  firieade 
duri^  \m  residence  atCaBfaridj^ 

'Viitae  iaclB  are  m^orable  aud  indiuatiffe  iBttawW  of  tht 
fltnngUk  and  wealinest  ti  Mr.  Temant's  Bdad.  Hia  ctuUrity  aitd 
activity  were  incessant;  he  iiad  a  vigilance  ot  t^McntatiOB  vJh^ 


l$lSil-  '  SnatkuH  Temant,  Esq.  It 

m^gnd  Botbisg  to  escape  hinif  and  was  cootinwllf  gaimng  new 
iofonnatioD  from  a  viiriety  of  iateresdng  toatcts.  But  although 
die  katmledge  thus  acquired  was  remukable  for  its  oMfectness,  and 
oomplete  for  the  purpoKs  of  its  possewor }  yet  the  induttrf  aai 
perseverance,  by  which  it  ought  to  have  been  embodied  and  mode 
pennabeat  for  the  benefit  of  others,  were  too  often  altogether 
vKHtiii^.  The  ardour ,  and  eoei^  oi  Mr.  Teonant'i  miad  ov 
opefat^  uufortuDBtely  ia  this  respect,  with  his  want  of  method 
•M  of  sysKiiMtic  habiu  of  ^iplicatioD ;  since  he  was  cunitantly 
piessiDg  oa  to  new  discorcries,  instead  of  arranging  and  bringing 
to  perfmiofT  those  which  he  Ind  already  made. — Hit  memory  hm 
a  great  storebouse  of  disoowries  and  binu  br  discovery,  of  ascer- 
tained facts,  probable  conjectures,  and  ingenious  trains  oT  reasoning, 
relative  to  the  various  important  subjects,  upon  which  he  had  at  an* 
time  been  engaged.  These  he  wu  contiotully  treasuring  up,  with 
the  intention  of  reducing  them  to  order  and  preparing  them  for  use 
at  R  more  convenient  season.  But  that  period  rarely  arrived.  In 
the  eanelessness  of  intellectual  wealth,  he  neglected  the  stores  of 
knowlec^  whidi  he  had  accumulated,  and  snared  them  to  remain 
useless  and  unproductive,  till  his  attendon  was  recalled  to  them, 
perhaps  after  a  long  course  of  years,  by  some  new  fact  or  discovery, 
some  remark  in  coiiversatioti,  or  other  accidental  occurrence.  It 
is  yet  to  be  ascertained,  by  a  carefnl  examinatiot)  of  his  papen, 
wfaetfaer  any  fi^aients  of  this  great  body  of  knowledge  still  re- 
main, wfaicfa  can  now  be  converted  to  use;  whether  any  of  bis 
ntioufi  discoveries  not  lutherto  made  public  (some  of  which  im- 
qaestionably  were  important)  are  capable  of  being  traced  out  and 
nndentoed  from  the  loose  and  imperfect  hints  which  his  scattered 
notes  may  fiunish.  But  there  is  too  mnch  reason  to  believe  that  the 
bi  gte&ter  part  of  them  existed  only  in  the  mind  erf  their  antbor, 
and  thk  with  hin  they  have  unfortunately  perished  I 
(7^  ti  conftauut.) 


Account  of  a  Toad  found  in  the  TranJt  of  a  Beedt. 
Bj  Thomas  Lauder  Dick,  E*i. 

<To  Di.  TboBSMi.) 

BUt, 

In  jomt  Jomud  for  thn  month,  whioh  boa  just  reached  ne^  I 
abaenie  sene  qncriet  have  been  proposed  relative  to  toads  found  fal 
iHb  and  «icci.  I  agtee  with  ymi,  that  in  eveiy  bu^  instance  some 
fitsme  wii  be  toind  eomnmicatifig  widi  the  external  mr,  nor  have 
I  ever  hend  cf  any  wril-onthentiatted  ease  to  tfie  contrary.  1  am 
led  ••  tmddc  jsa  wilh  this,  not  mth  any  fiew  of  thmring  K|t)t  on 

n,,:-A-..>yGoo^Ie. 


12  Toad  fomd  in  the  Trunk  of  a  Beech.  [JoLir, 

this  part  of  the  subject,  but  to  state  to  you  a  recect  instance  of  (ne 
of  those  anim»U  being  found  in  a  very  singular  situation.  I  was  not 
an  eye-witness;  but  the  person  who  has  charge  of  my  lather's 
woodB  here,  a  man  for  whose  integrity  I  can  be  answerable^  ttdd  me 
the  |ianiculars, 

A  quantify  of  timber  being  felled  here,  a  wright,  who  had  mad^ 
some  purchases,  came  to  titke  his  trees  ai^ay,  and  amongst  the  rest 
a  beech,  which  had  grown  with  a  smootli,  straight,  unbranched, 
ttem  of  about  30  feet  high,  above  which  it  divided  into  two  large 
limbs.  As  this  tree  was  lying  on  the  ground,  the  wright  and  hii 
man  set  about  £ross  cutting  it  with  a  saw  just  below  the  cleft,  wheo, 
to  their  surprisp,  t)>e  stem  was  no  sooner  divided  than  a  large  toacf^ 
crept  out  of  a  circular  hole,  the  upper  and  smaller  part  of  which 
had  Ijeen  fut  off  by  the  saw,  As  l^r  as  I  can  make  out  from  con- 
versHtiun  with  the  man  aliove  alluded  to,  the  tree  had  all  the  ap- 
pearance of  l)eing  quite  solid  above  ;  yet  1  have  no  doubt  that  some 
slight,  though  perhaps  almost  imperceptible,  communication,  -must 
Iiaie  existed  from  the  fork  into  the  hole  where  the  load  was  todgcd; 
and  I  am  the  more  satisfied  of  this  from  the  account  which  the  man 
gives  of  the  appearance  of  the  interior  of  the  hole,  which  seemed 
to  he  ^he<ithed  all  round  with  something  resembling  bark. 

Bui  the  curious  query  arising  from  this  fact  is,  how  came  a  tmd 
to  be  lodged  so  high  ?  The  toad  has  no  power  of  crawling  perpcD- 
diculai'ly  so  us  to  have  aseended  the  smooth  bark  of  a  straight  tree 
to  such  a  height.  I  Sinow  from  my  own  observations  that  tree* 
grow  in  altitude  in  two  ways ;  1st,  Something  is  annually  added  to 
the.ht'i^ht  of  ihe  tree  by  tlie  new  shoots:  and  2dly,  ki  addition  to 
this  mode  of  increment,  the  whole  tree  seems  to  stretch  itself  yearly 
out  of  the  ground,  througliout  its  entire  length,  to  a  very  consider- 
alile  extent,  as  1  have  proved  by  measuring  the  height  of  knots 
upon  trees  at  different  periods.  But  with  all  this  I  do  not  think  it 
very  rational  lo  suppose  that  the  cleft  in  question,  which  may  have 
once  eiciended  quite  down  to  the  hole,  could  have  ever  existed  so 
near  the  ground  of  a  size  sufficient  to  have  admitted  of  at^d  - 
crawling  into  it.  The  only  way  in  which  it  appears  to  me  that  this 
circuuisiance  can  be  accounted  for,  is  by  supposing  that  the  spawn, 
after  being  removed  from  the  female  .by  the  obstetrical  aid  of  the 
male  toad,  must  have  been  transported  and  dtopt  into  the  cleft  of 
the  tree  by  some  bird. 

As  to  what  Pennnnt  and  others  say  of  the  obstetrical  aid  afforded 
hy  tlie  inale  to  the  female  toad,  I  am  led  to  suspect  that  the  object 
of  the  operation  is  mure  for  the  purpose  of  impregnating  the  spawn 
as  it  is  dragged  from  the  female  than  any  thing  else.  It  appears  to 
be  lUe  same  with  frogs.  In  the  course  of  a  soltlary  walk  in  the 
hegiiHiing  of  last  Marcht  my  attention  was  excited  by  an  uncom- 
nitm  cummotion  in  a  shallow  pool  of  water  iHit  much  more  thaa 
fiiiir  feet  sjjuare.  My  approach  to  ascenain  the  cause  being  rather 
too  has  I  y,  1  had  only  time  to  observe  it  was  occasioned  by  a  parcel 
«t.frot{3>  wbea  wmediately  od  my  advance  they  diawpeued  undn 
•  S 


[   1815.}  On  the  Red  Sandslme  Formation.  1  3 

wtter,  coDcealiog  themselves  beneath  a  quantity  of  spawn  already 
SoatiDg  on  the  suHace.    Having  placed  myaelf  behind  an  adjoining 
bedge,  through  which  I  could  perfectly  see  the  pool,  being  about 
two  yards  from  its  surface,  and  at  the  same  time  without  giving  any 
£sturbaoce  to  its  iohabitants,  I  remained  quiet  for  more  than  a 
ouarter  of  an  hour.     At  length,  when  tny  patience  was  nearly  cx- 
hausted,  I  saw  the  head  of  a  fr<^  rise  above  water ;  and  un  a  c-lu^et 
iospectioD  I  perceived  underneath  the  liead  of  another  one,  whioh 
Kerned  to  be  embraced  by  the  first.    In  this  way  they  silently  raised 
themselves  pair  by  pair,  till  there  were  not  less  than  50  or  tiO  pairs 
of  them  in  the  small  space  I  have  already  mentioned.     In  a  short 
time  the  little  pool  was  all  in  action.     Tho:-e  frogs'  which  were 
nounted  on  the  backs  of  the  others  seemed  to  be  busily  employt-d 
with  their  hinder  feet  and  legs,  whilst  the  fore  legs  of  eat'li  firmly 
embraced  the  body  of  bis  mate.     In  some  too  a  mass  of  spiiwn 
leemed  to  move  after  the  pair  as  they  altered  tlieir  position  iu  the 
pool.     These  violent  exertioos  of  what  I  took  to  lie  the  males  con-  . 
tiDued   without  any  inteimissioD,  and  with  go  much  force  as  very 
coDslderably  to  agitate  the  little  pool  for  some  lime,  until  the  twise 
g€  a  person  passmg  on  horseback  alarmed  them,  and  they  were  all 
again  under  water  in  a  moment.     From  the  hinder  parts  of  what  I 
took  to  be  the  female  frogs  having  been  so  much  under  water,  I 
Gould  not  positively  assert  the  fact,  but  1  had  not  a  doubt,  from  ilie 
nature  of  the  motions  I  saw,  that  the  animals  were  engaged  in  an 
operation  similar  to  that  which  is  ascribed  to  the  toad ;  and  1  wat 
confirmed  in  this  belief  by  observing  on  my  return,  five  or  sIe 
hours   aAenrards,   that  the  quantity  of   spawn  bad  been  nearly 
doubled ;  and  though  1  approached  the  pool  with  the  utniost  cau- 
tion, I  could  not  see  a  stogie  f>og,  and  had  every  reason  to  think, 
fraoi  a  careful  examination  of  the  shallow  pool,  that  they  were  all 
gone. 

1  fear  the  above  may  be  very  uninteresting  to  you ;  and  if  so,  I 
have  to  apdogize  for  troubling  you  with  it^ 

I  have  the  honour  to  be,  Sir, . 

Your  obedient  humble  servant,    - 

Tbos,  Laudur  Dick. 


Article  III. 

On  the  Sfid  Sand-stone  Fhnnation.    By  Pnofessor  Jameson. 

This  important  formation  has  been  met  with  in  the  most  widelf 
^ittant  parts  of  the  globe,  and  .generally  occupying  great  tiracts  dE 
countijr.  It  rests  sometimes  on  pnmitive  rocks,  hut  more  frequently 
te  these  ^  -tha  transition  class ;  and  in  many  countriei  it  is  covered 


n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


14  Oa  the  Red  Sandstme  Faitnalim,  [Joi.T# 

witb  an  exieosive  wfies  of  newer  rocks.  It  is  distinctly  stntifird  ; 
fend  the  itwta  very  from  the  horizontal  to  the  nearly  perpsndictilar 
position.  Thestmta  areBometimes  wavedjaometimes  disposed  id  a' 
coDcentrtc  lamellar  ouianer,  but  are  moic  frequently  straight. 
'  Sometimes  vertical  strata  are  to  be  seen  meeting  others  which  are 
in  a  horizontal  position,  and  occasionally  vertical  sirau  are  contained 
in  tnasseso^nearlyhorizontalor  slightly  inclined  strata.  Occasionalij' 
the  strata  in  a  small  district  appear  disposed  in  every  paaible  posin 
lion ;  and  at  first  sight  suggest  to  us  the  idea  either  of  great  original 
inequalities,  nr  of  violent  action  on  the  strata  after  their  fonatuon, 
)Htt  which,  upon  more  careful  examination  and  consideration,  would 
tetm  rather  to  intimate  that  the  whole  niasa  aS  strata  is  composed 
ttf  a  series  of  distinct  ctHicretions,  in  each  of  which  the  laycn  (K* 
strata  vary  more  or  less  in  position. 

Red  sand-stone  contains  many  different  roclis,  either  in  beda^ 
mountain-masset,  or  veins.  The  following  are  tlie  principal  kinib 
of  rock  I  have  met  with  in  the  red  sand-stone  of  Scotland. 

1.  Red-coloured  Slai»'Claif.-^TiuB  rock  occurs  in  beds  that  vary 
ia  thickness  Irom  a  few  inches  to  several  fathoou.  It  is  sometimes 
to  highly  impregnated  with  calcareous  earth  as  to'  pass  into  marl. 
Its  red  colour  is  som^UHs  variegated  with  stripes,  layers,  aod  cir- 
cular portions  of  a  green  colour.  It  passes  sometimes  into  clay- 
atone,  and  sometimes  into  clay-iron-stone.  It  oecnn  in  Saliabucy 
Craigs,  near  Edinburgh ;  Pentland  and  Ochre  Hllb ;  Isle  of  Amm  j 

'Ayrshire,  near  Saltcoats ;  Drumfrieshire ;  Anguft^shire,  &c, 

2.  Ciay-slone. — This  mineral  occurs  in  beds  that  vary  ia  thidc- 
ness  from  an  inch  to  several  yards.  It  alternates  with  the  preceding 
rock,  and  also  with  red  sand-stone,  and  some  other  rocks  subordi- 
pate  to  it.  It  occurs  in  Salisbury  Craiga,  Pentland  and  Ocfail  Hill^ 
Arran,  Ayrsiiire,  Dumfrieshire,  Angus-shire,  &c. 

o.  Clay -iron- stone. — It  occurs  iu  layers,  or  in  irregular  shaped 
•lasses,  generally  incladed  in  slate-clay.  It  is  a  frequent  mineral 
in  many  red  sand-stone  districts,  as  in  the  Island  of  Arvui,  fhim^ 
^eshire,  Lothians,  Angus-shire,  &c. 

4.  Trap  Tnff". — This  singular  and  interesting  rock  occurs  in  the 
red  sand-stone  in  beds,  which  are  frequently  of  great  thiiAnest.  It 
passes  into  clay-stone  and  red  sand-stone.  It  is  by  no-  means  an 
uncommon  rock  in  several  of  the  red  sand-stone  districts  of  this 
country,  as  in  the  Lothians,  Arran,  Angus-shire,  &c. 

5.  Amygdaloid. — ^This  rock,  like  the  trap  tuff,  occurs  in  great 
beds  or  bills  connected  with  the  red  sand-stoae,  and  occasionally 
imbedded  cotcmporaneous  masses  of  it  are  met  with  in  the  sand- 
stone. It  passes  into  the  tuff  and  sand-stone.  It  ia  one  of  the 
rocks  of  the  red  sand-stone  districts  in  East  Lothian  and  Mid-Lo- 
dlian.  Islands  of  Bute  and  Arran,  Angus-shire,  &c. 

■  6.  BasaU. — This  rock  occurs  in  beds  and  veins  in  the  red  saad- 
KtHieof  Bute,  AiraQ,  Ochiis,  Penthmds,  Lothian,  Angus^hir^.&c. 
:  7.  Cliiikr-stotie. — ^Xltis  beautiful  rock  is  abundant  in  Kvenl  red 
1 

-D,g,t,.?-<ii„Google 


tSt3.]  On  tiu'Sed  Sand-iUm  RinMum.  16 

sand-stone  districts  in  Scotland,  in  beds,  hills,  and  veins.  The 
fallowing  are  a  few  of  the  Ivcalities  of  this  rodt:  Arran,  East 
Lothian,  Ochils,  Fentlnnds,  Aa^WhthiK,  &c. 

8.  Green-sloHe.  —  Beds,  imbedded  cotemporaneous  masses, 
tnouBUid  masses,  htHs,  aodvsiiu,  of  this  iticltoecuc  in  the  red* 
tand-stone  fbrmatioaof  Sobttatod.  'Jliui  it  is  met  with  in  East  and 
Mid  Lothian,  Ochil  Hills,  Arran,  Bute,  Renfrewshire,  Ayrshire, 
Angus-shire,  &c. 

9.  Pitch-stone. — Green  and  black  cdoured  varieties  of  this  rock 
vs  Aet  with  in  the  forto  of  imbedded  tnatiei,  bedl,  and  veins,  id 
ths  red  sttad^stone  of  tbe  hlatid  of  Arraa. ' 

-  iOv  Bstspar.^—Bedi  of  compact  felspar,  often  passing  intn  cla^ 
ttooe,  occur  in  dio  Ted  sand-stone  of  Arran,  Fcailaiid  H^,  OchU 
HUta,  Ste. 

II.  /'er^J^/ry< ->*- Varieties  of  this  rock,  tUttnely,  clay-^tatu!, 
koM'sWite,  and  fel*pgr-porph)rry,  occur  in  beds^  hills,  and  vdM, 
lA  the  red  sand-itone  formation.  Tbe  PcDtlaod  and  Oahil  Hills, 
tat  Ulsud  of  Afran,  the  i^par  ward  of  Lanuksttire,  ABgu»4hir^ 
rfbrd  notinptes  of  porphyry  in  nd  sand-^tone. 
'  la.  LiM»-itfme  <ma  Ltme-slmu  Cengloiturate. —^That  rockl 
oeoHT  iA  beds  In  the  red  sand-stoae  of  East  and  Mid  Lothian,  ia 
^t  of  the  Ochil  and  PeotkDd  Hills,  of  Arran,  Duffifricehire, 
Ayrshire,  I^narkshire,  Renfrewifaire,  Angus-shira,  Sus. 

t&.  Coa/.— Of  this  mineral  several  kinds  Mcur  in  ths  red  sand* 
■toee,  vie.  glancf 'Coal,  slate-coa),  and  piteh-eoal ;  and  they  aM 
liMt  with  in  AniD,  Dnmfritihire,  Lothian,  &c. 

From  the  short  enumeration  just  given,  it  is  evident  that  the  red 
Mod-stODe  foniMti<Hi  is  much  more  interesting  than  has  been  gene- 
nUy  Imi^ined.  The  great  variety  and  abunduice  of  trap,  pitch- 
stone,  ahd  porphyry  rocks,  contained  in  it,  their  tnnehioiis  Into 
Nch  other  and  into  the  sand-stone  and  clay  ai«  very  striking  facts  iu 
their  natural  history,  and  deserving  tbe  panicalar  attention  of  those 
who  take  an  interest  in  die  volcanic  and  neptunian  theories  of  their 
fsrmatioiu  Those  naturalists  who  are  Inclined  to  think  favoaraUy 
of  the  opinion  which  maintains  the  chemical  formation  of  Eaad- 
nme  will  adduce  th«  Various  kinds  of  structure  exhibited  by  the 
rei  sapd-stonc  ai  so  many  facta  illustrative  of  its  plausibility}  and 
die  Miner  and  engineer,  if  they  adopt  this  opinion,  will  probably 
obtain  an  easy  solntimi  of  many  diflscultiet  that  ocei»  in  their  rc- 
^eetiv*  arts,  and  piactioal  rales  of  value  and  Importance  to  thtna. 


n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


Shatana^oa  Ig  Coed  Gts,      '  {fvux. 


Article  IV. 

On  the  Method  of  lUuminaiine  the  Strealt  by  C«ttl  das. 
By  Mr.  Fredencit  Aceum. 

(To  Dr.  Thomson.) 

Your  Corrc^n^IeDt  io  the  AnnaU  ojf  Philosophy  for  ApriT^ 
p.  Sl^,  who  appears  to  be  alarmed  conceniiiig  the  safely  of  the 
■pplicstion  of  the  gaa  light  illumiaatioD,  and  is  desirous  of  obtaia- 
iDg  iafwrnatioD  ccKKeromg  certain  fiicts  relatiog  to  the  scheme  of 
uocuring  light  by  means  of  carbureted  hydrogen,  or  coal  gas,  ii 
nereby  ioformed  that  the  explosion  he  alludes  to  was  occasioned  in 
consequence  of  a  quantity  of  coal  gas  having  beeo  suffered  to  eotec 
into  the  building  where  the  gazometer  was  erected,  and  where  it 
mingled  with  common  air,  and  was  set  on  fire  by  the  approach  of  ^ 

.  lightied  c-andle.  I  ^ve  this  statement  jrom  a  letter  before  m^ 
written  by  the  propnetOTs  of  the  establishment  st  which  the  goci- 
dent  happened  to  a  Gentlemaa  in  this  town.  They  who  are  femiliar 
with  the  system  of  lighting  with  coal  .gas  wilt  readily  allow  that  gas 
light  illumination  is  more  safe  than  the  illumination  by  candles  or 
lamps.  As  a  proof  of  this  statement,  it  need  only  be  mentioned 
that  the  fire-ofhces  engage  themselves  to  ensure  cotton-mills  and 
other  public  works  at  a  less  premium  where  gas  lights  are  used  thaik 
in  the  cases  of  any  other  lights.  In  fact  no  danger  can  arise  from 
the  api^ication  of  gas  lights,  in  any  way  but  what  is  common  to 
candles  and  lamps  of  all  kinds,  and  is  the  fault  of  none  of  them. 
£ven  in  this  case  the  gas  lights  are  less  hazardous.  There  is  no 
risk  of  those  accidents  which  often  happen  from  the  guttering  or 
burning  down  of  candles  on  carelessly  snufEng  them.  The  gas 
light  lamps  and  burners  must  necessarily  be  fixed  to  one  place,  and 
cannot  fall»  or  otherwise  become  deranged,  without  being  imme- 

.  diately  extinguished.  Besides,  the  gas  lights  emit  no  sparks,  nor 
are  any  embers  detailed  from  ^hem.  And  with  regard  to  the  pro- 
duction of  the  gas,  it  is  certain  that  the  manufacture  of  coal  gas  is 
•  process  perfectly  safe.  There  is  -no  more  risk  in  the  action  of  a 
gas  l^ht  machine  properly  amslracted  than  in  the  action  of  a  sleam 
engine  built  on  just  principles.  No  part  of  the  machinery  is  liable 
tcbe  out  of  order.  There  are  no  cocks  to  be  turned ;  no  valves  to 
be  regulated;  nor  can  the  operator  derange  the  apparatus  but  by 
the  most  violent  efforts ;  and  when  the  stock  of  gas  is  prepared  we 
may.  depend  as  much  on  its  lighting  power  as  we  depend  on  the 
light  of  a  certain  pumber  of  candles  or  lamps.  To  obtain  this  gas 
the  workman  is  not  called  upon  to  exercise  his  own  judgment :  it 
requires  nothing  more-than  what  the  most  ignorant  peisw,  with  a 
common  degree  of  cue  and  attention j  is  competent  ta.  perform. 


n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


I81&0  Jllumiaatiort  ly  Coal  Gas,   .  IJ 

The  hexting  of  the  gas  furnace,  the  charging  of  ^he  retorts  with 
coal,  the  closing  them  up  air-tight,  and  keeping  tliem  red-hot,  are 
the  odI;  operations  required  in  this  art ;  and  iliese  demand  no  aiore 
akin  than  a  few  practical  lessons  can  teacli  to  the  meanest  capacity. 

The  diversified  experiments  which  have  been  made  by  different 
individuals  unconnected  with  each  other  have  now  sufficiently  est»- 
blisbed  the  perfect  safety. of  the  new  lights,  and  numerous  manu- 
factories might  be  named  ia  which  the  gas  lights  have  been  in  use 
for  upwards  of  seven  years,  where  nothing  tike  an  accident  hai 
occurred,  though  the  apparatus  in  all  of  them  is  entrusted  to  the 
most  igooraat  man. 

That  coal  gas,  when  mixed  with  a  certain  portion  of  common 
air  in  close  vessels,  may  be  inflamed  by  the  contact  of  a  lighted 
body*  is  sufficiently  known.  Efut  the  means  of  preventing  such  aa 
occurrence  in  the  common  application  of  this  species  of  light  are  so 
simple,  easy,  and  effectual,  that  it  would  be  ridiculous  to  dread 
dangers  where  there  is  nothing  to  be  apprehended. 

In  speaking  thus  of  the  safety  of  this  new  art  of  illumination,  it 
would  nevertheless  be  easy  to  name  instances  where  explosions  have 
been  occasioned,  but  solely  through  egregious  mistakes  having  been 
ctHnmitted  in  the  erection  of  the  gas  light  machinery,  were  this  a 
subject  on  which  X  meant  to  speak ;  hut  as  I  do  not,  1  shall  merely 
tnantion,  on  the  present  occasion,  that  an  explosion  very  lately  took 
place  in  a  manufactory  lighted  with  coal  gas,  in  consequence  of  a 
la^e  quantity  of  gas  escaping  (from  the  gazometo:  being  over- 
chained  with  gas)  into  the  gazometer  house,  where  k  mingled  with 
common  air,  and  was  set  on  fire  by  the  approach  of  a  lighted 
candle.  That  such  an  accident  could  lumpen,  is  an  evident  proof 
that  the  apparatus  for  preparing  the  gas  was  a  bad  one,  because 
such  an  accident  might  have  been  prevented  effectually  by  adapting 
a  waste  pipe  to  the  gazometer,  as  well  as  to  the  gazometer  lK>ute. 
By  this  means,  if  more  gas  had  been  prepared  by  a  careless  operator 
than  the  gazometer  could  contain,  the  superfluous  quantity  could 
never  have  accumulated,  but  must  have  been  transported  out  of  the 
building  into  the  open  air,  in  as  effectual  a  manner  as  the  waste- 
pipe  of  a  water  cistern  conveys  away  the  superfluous  quantity  "of 
water  when  the  cistern  is  hill. 

Id  answer  to  the  second  question  made  by  your  Correspondent 
namely,  what  sort  of  coal  is  to  be  prepared  fdr  producing  the  ga^ 
it  remains  to  be  observed,  that  Cannel  coal  produces  the  very  best 
gasi  or  at  least  the  gas.  which  it  affords  requires  the  least  trouble  of 
being  purified  dnd  rendered  fit  for  illumination ;  though  Newcastle 
coal  is  employed  for  illumioation  in  this  metropolis.  *    But  the 

*  Hie  public  building)  already  illBminateil  in  thii  toirn  with  coal  fai  are  the 
folloniDg:  the  church  of  S(.  John  the  t:van|cel>iit,  the  avenues  to  tht  Houte  of 
Lnrdi  and  Honse  of  CDmmons,  Wcamtntler  Hall,  the  Admiralty,  the  honse  aod 
oBcM  of  the  Speaker  of  the  Honce  of  CommoDS,  the  Maniion  Boute,  the  vhslo 
liberty  of  NortoD  Falgale,  &c.  j  and  the  local  lengtb  of  pipe  laid  down  u  main* 
jB  ibe  *lreel«  of  Londou  amoiiDlB  already  to  15  miles. 

VouVI.N-1.  B  ■         :,  Google 


18  lUumination  ly  Coat  Gas.  (jjvt:9f 

nature  of  the  g;as  obtained  from  the  same  coal  vavies  ronsiderably, 
according  to  the  conditions  under  which  it  ia  obtsiDable.  112  lb. 
of  common  Cannel  coal  produce  at  ihe  minimum  from  350  to  360 
-cubic  feet  of  carbureted  hydrogen ;  but  the  same. quantity  of  the 
best  Newcastle  coal,  that  is  to  say,  such  as  "coke  readily,  and  send 
out  brilliant  streams  of  tiame,  which  undergo  a  kind  of  semifusion 
when  laid  on  tlie  fire,  produce  upon  an  average'  300  cubic  feet  of 
this  gaseous  fluid,  besides  a  largeportion  of  sul{>hureted  hydrogen, 
carbonic  acid,  and  carbonic  oxide,    ' 

Half  a  cubic  foot  of  this  gas,  when  fresh  pre)Mred,  that  is  to 
say,  holding  in  solution  or  suspension  a  portion  of  the  essential  oil 
which  Is  generated  during  the  production  of  the  gas,  is  equal  in 
illuminating  power  to  from  1 70  to  180  gn.  of  tallow,  which  is  the 
([uantity  of  this  material  consumed  in  one  hour  by  a  well  snuffed 
tallow  candle  six  to  the  pound.  Now  1  lb.  avoirdupois  is  -equal  to 
7000  grs.,  and  consequently  1  lb.  of  candle?  of  six  to  the  pound, 
burning  one  at  a  time  in  succession,  would  last  YrV  ~  ^^  hours. 
To  produce  the  same  light,  we  must  bum  one  Iralf  of  a  cubic  foot 
of  coal  gas  per  hour ;  therefore  one  half  multtphed  by  40  hours  is 
«qual  to  20  cubic  feet  of  gas  in  40  houn,  and  consequently  equal  to 
-I  lb,  of  candles,  six  to  the  pound,  provided  they  were  burnt  one 
after  another. 

Further,  112  lb.  of  Cannel  coat  produce  at  the  minimum  350 
cubic  feet  of  gas,  and  are  equal  to  350  divided  by  20,  which  last  is 
equivalent  to  1  lb,  of  tallow,  malting  therefore  112  lb.  of  coal 
equal  to  w  =  I?-?  lb.  of  tallow  ;  and  1 12  lb.  of  coal  divided  b^ 
171  of  tallow  ^ves  sis  and  four-tenths  of  coal  equal  to  1  lb.  of 
tallow. 

With  regard  to  Newcastle  coals,  it  may  be  stated  that  one  chal- 
dron of  Wall's  End  coal  produces  in  this  large  way  upwards  of 
11,000  cubic  feet  of  crude  gas,  which  when  puriRed  diminish  t« 
nearly  10,000  cubic  feet.  But  the  quantity  and  quaMty  of  the  gas, 
as  stated  already,  is  much  influenced  by  circumstances  attending  the 
formatioti  of  it.  If  the  tar  and  oil  produced  during  the  evolution  of 
the  gas  in  its  nascent  state  be  made  to  come  in  contact  with  the 
sides  of  the  red-hot  iron  retorts ;  or,  better,  if  it  be  made  to  pass 
through  an  iron  cylinder  or  other  vessel  heated  red-hot,  a  laige 
portion  of  it  becomes  decomposed  into  carbureted  hydrogen  and 
defiant  gas ;  and  thus  a  much  greater  quantity  of  gas  is  produced 
than  would  be  obtained  without  such  precautions.  If  the  coal  be 
distilled  with  a  very  low  red  heat,  scarcely  observable  by  day-Iigh^ 
ihe  gas  produced  gives  but  a  feeble  light :  if  this  distillatory  vessel 
be  of  a  dull  redness,  the  light  produced  by  the  burning  gas  is  more 
brilliant :  if  a  bright,  or  cherry-red,  heat  be  employed,  the  gas 
produced  burns  with  a  brilliant  white  flame :  and  if  the  heat  be 
increased  so  far  that  the  retort  is  almost  white  hot,  and  conse- 
quently in  danger  of  melting,  the  gas  given  out  has  little  illumi- 
nating power,  and  burns  with  a  clear  bluish  flan>e :  and  if  this  oobV 
abounds  in  pyrites,  a  large  portion  of  sulphureted  hydrogen  gas  is 


1813.}  iUumnaium  hy  Coal  6as.  19 

then  produced,  vhich  has  the  capital  dindvantage  <jf  afibrding  a 
suS)«tting  odour  when  the  gas  is  bunit. 

I  need  scarcely  meatioQ  that  it  makes  no  difference  in  what 
form  the  coal  is  used,  and  that  the  very  refuse  or  smsll  coal,  which 
passes  through  the  acreea  at  the  pit's  mouth,  and  which  finds  no 
market,  nay,  even  the  sweepings  of  the  pit,  which  are  tbrowQ 
away,  may  be  employed  for  tne  production  of  the  gas. 

With  regard  to  the  pressure  of  the  gazometer,  your  Correspondent 
ii  mformed  that  experience  has  shown  that  a  pressure  of  a  coluniD 
of  water  from  an  half  to  one  inch  is  sufficient  for  regnlating  the 
proper  supply  of  the  gas  to  the  lamps  and  burnen ;  but  this  pressure 
mtisE  be  constant  and  uniform.  It  is  obvious  that  the  weight  of  the 
guometer  or  vessel  which  contains  the  gas  is  constantly  increasing 
in  proportion  as  it  fills  with  gas  and  rises  out  of  the  water  or  cistern 
Id  which  it  is  immerBed ;  and  consequently,  if  a  constant  or  uniform 
balance  weight  equal  only  to  that  of  the  gazometer  in  the  first 
moment  of  its  immersion  be  employed,  the  gas  becomes  gradually 
more  and  more  compressed  by  that  part  of  the  weigtit  of  the 
gazometer  which  is  not  counterpoised ;  therefore  insurmountable 
difficulties  vould  follow,  because  it  would  be  tnipossible  to  regulate 
the  size  of  the  flames,  &c.  To  compensate  fbi  this  increasing 
weight  of  the  gazometer,  the  chain  by  which  this  vessel  is  sus- 

ended,  or  at  least  such  a  part  of  it  as  is  equal  in  length  to  th^ 
ight  of  [he  gazometer  (measured  at  right  angles  to  the  axis  of  the 
wheel  over  which  it  pasaes  downwards)  must  be  loaded  with  ft 
weight  equal  to  the  quantity  of  water  which  the  gazometer  dis- 
places;* and  thus  the  dewty  of  the  gas  will  be  uniform,  or  at  All 
times  the  same. 

The  diameter  of  the  pipes  which  convey  the  gas  is  not  taken  at 
Tondom,  as  your  Correspondent  imagines.  Their  diameters  is  a 
umple  matter  of  calculation,  depending  upon  the  quantity  of  gtm 
which  they  have  to  deliver  in  a  given  time,  and  the  diameters  of  tha 
branch  pipes  proceeding  A'om  them* 

Further  information  concerning  the  general  nature  of  the  gas 
light  illumination,  together  with  a  description  of.  the  best  machine- 
rifs  em[rioyed  in  this  new  branch  of  civil  economy,  yout  Corres^ 
pondent  will  find  in  a  Treatise  on  Gas  LJght,  illustrated  with 
copper  plates,  which  will  be  published  on  the  10th  of  next  months 
by.  Sir,  Your  mon  obedient  humble  servant, 

Cofuftm  ttrut,  SoiQ,  FheD£R1CK  AcCCH. 


n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


On  t/ie  Older  Fhelz  Slrala  of  England,        .[Jcn.r> 


Article  V. 

Remarks    or   the   Older   Floslz   Slrala  of   EHgland. 
By  J.  C.  Prichani,  M.D.  FX.S.  F.W.S.  &c. 

(To  Dr.  Thomson.) 

i  HAVK  long  entertained  a  suspicion  that  it  amy  be  possible  by 
comparing  the  org&nic  remains  found  intbe  lime-Gtones,  which  are 
connected  with  coal-fields,  with  those  which  characterize  soow 
other  rocks,  to  elucidate  the  series  of  secondary  strata,'  which  our 
Island  presents,  and  especially  to  determiue  the  era  of  the  iode- 
pendent  coal  formation.  On  reading  Dr.  Flemiag's  late  communi- 
cation on  the  fossils  found  by  him  in  linlithgowshire,  I  was  lo 
strongly  confirmed  in  this  persuasion  that  1  have  ventured  to  submit 
the  following  remarks  on  the  subject  to  your  inspection^  and  to  that 
of  the  public  if  you  think  them  worth  inserting  in  your  Journal. 

It  seems  improbable  that  a  single  species  of  organized  beings 
should  appear  in  one  stratum,  and  theti  vanish  entirely  during  aa 
interval,  and  afterward  show  itself  again.  It  is  contiaiy  to  what 
we  find  in  nature.  A  fossil  which  abounds  in  one  formation  is  often 
seen  more  scantily  dispersed  through  a  second,  in  a  third  it  is 
scarcely  found,  and  at  length  withdraws  itself  altogether  from  our 
view.  A  continual  prt^ess  seems  to  have  been  made  from  the 
more  simple  to  the  more  complex  forms.  We  observe  no  rett&> 
grade  changes.  But  if  the  estinction  and  revival  of  a  single  animid 
be  thus  improbable,  bow  much  more  difficult  is  It  to  su[^K»e  that 
an  entire  assemblage  of  co-esistent  beings  should  disappear  alto- 
gether, that  their  place  should  be  filled  durii^  an  interval  by  crea- 
tares  of  a  totally  different  character,  and  that  these  should  become 
extinct  to  make  way  for  a  reproduction  of  the  former  class  ?  The 
supposition  is  so  contrary  to  the  usual  course  of  our  observations, 
that  I  think  we  may  conclude,  when  we  discover  two  formations  to 
abound  with  similar  fossils,  and  a  third  to  be  cbarBCterized  by  re- 
mains of  a  different  description,  tliat  the  two  former  belong  to  one 
era,  and  that  the  latter  is  either  more  ancient  or  more  recent  than 
both  of  them.  If  this  conclusion  be  allowed,  it  will  enable  us  to 
ascertain  the  relative  age  of  the  independent  coal  fonnation,  or  at 
least  of  the  coal-fields  in  Britain. 

I  shall  first  enumerate  the  extraneous  fossils  found  in  the  oldest 
class  of  rocks  which  contains  any,  viz.  those  of  the  transitioa  for- 
mation, and  chiefly  the  transition  lime-stone.  ,     . 

Mr.  Jameson  mentions  among  tlie  fossils  of  this  rock  encrinites, 
madreporites,  tubiporites,  corallites,  and  trochites. 

Von  Buch  found  in  the  transition  lime-stone  of  Norway,  Sweden, 
and  Finland,  which  lies  under  granite,  a  great  abundance  and 

■  •    ;.  n,,:-?-..>yGoogIe 


2SI5.}         On  the  Older  fhelz  Strata  aj  England.  2t 

mrie^  oS  ortliocenitites,  some  of  wbich  were  many  feet  in  Isagth, 
He  observes  tliat  tkey  distinguish  this  fonniitioa  throughout  Europe. 
He  notices  also  pectinites,  the  oniscusj  trilobites,  a  number  of  large 
nmdfeporites,  a  great  'many  troehites,  enlrochites,  patellee,  a  f«w 
-  ammoDttes,  and  n  great  number  of  other  univalves. 

Saussure  found  in  the  lower  chains  of  the  Alps,  between  Mont 
Blanc  and  Geoeva,  p«ctinites,  terebratulites,  gryphites,  entro- 
cbites,  a  great  many  coTallites  and  madreporites,  lurbinites,  uid 
amtnonites. 

I  shall  now  mention  some  of  the  fossils  found  in  the  lime-stone 
rocks  which  accompany  the  coal  formation  in  Britain,  and  which 
^TKxtiWy  shut  in  or  inclose  the  coal-fields. 

Orthocemtites,  as  observed  by  Dr.  Fleming.  Their  existence  in 
the  coal-field  of  Linlithgowshire  k  not  a  solitary  &ct.  I  have  seen 
.ooe  which  was  found  in  St.  Vincent's  Roi^,  In  the  boundary  of  thft 
Somersetshire  coal  basin.  It  was  in  the  possessioB  c^Mr.  Cumber- 
laod. 

Encrirotes  and  trochitcs  occur  in  astonishing  abundance  in  all  the 
TOeks  of  this  class  in  South  Britain.  Dr.  Fleming  has  mentiooed' 
tbem  in  Linlithgowshire. 

A  great  variety  of  madreporites  is  commonly  seen. 

Tubiporites  are  mentioned  by  Mr.  Townsend. 

Pectinites  are  oftea  found  in  the  rocks  near  BristoU 

The  trilobite  is  well  known  in  the  limc'Stone  rocks  at  Dudley,  ia  ~ 
Staffordshire. 

Ammonites  occur,  though  more  rarely,  in  the  lime-stone  of  the 
ooal  formati(»i.  They  are  mentioned  by  Mr.  Aikin  in  the  coal-field 
of  Shropshire. 

Terebratulites  are  found  very  eotnmonly  in  all  the  lime-stones  of 
the  coal  formation. 

I  might  enlarge  this  catalogue  to  a  much  greater  extent ;  but 
what  I  have  said  will  suffice  to  show  that  there  is  a  geneml  con* 
formiity  between  the  animal  remains  fiMJnd  in  the  transition  lime-, 
slone  and  the  lime-stones  of  the  coal-fields.  Hetice  it  appears  that 
at  the  periods  when  these  two  formations  were  deposited,  the  ocean 
was  filled  with  organized  beings  of  the  same  description.  The  - 
flstonishing  abundance  <rf  these  relics  in  the  rocks  of  both  orders' 
testifies  the  vast  pn^usion  of  animal  life  which  the  sea  contained  at 
eacbof  the  periods  in  question. 

That  the  whole  of  this  assemblage  of  animals  became  extinct^  - 
and  were  afterwards  produced  anew,  and  that  the  ocean  in  the 
interval  was  filled  with  a  difierent  set  of  creatures,  which  suddenly 
mnbfaed  when  their  predecessors  appeared  for  the  second  time,  can 
scarcely  be  imagined.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  the  first  floetz 
lime-stone  of  the  Wemerian  series,  to  which  fossils  of  a  diSerent 
character  are  assigned,  is  more  recent  than  the  locks  of  the  inde- 
pendent coal  formation, 

This  coodusion  is  coofinned  by  conddering  the  utnation  in  whicU 

n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


28  On  ike  Older  Floelx  Strata  of  EngUmi.         [Jmr, 

the  cod  basioi  in  South  BritaiD  are  found.  A  considerable  track 
of  country  in  the  midland  counties  of  England  and  South  Wales  is 
occupied  by  a  red  sand-stone  formation,  which  agrees  remarkably 
with  the  characters  of  the  old  red  sand-stone  of  Wenier.  On  this 
tand-4tone  several,  if  not  all  the  coal-fiElds  of  South  Britain,  rest. 
In  the  nei^bourhood  of  this  tract  the  older  fomuttioDB  are  in  many 
places  to  be  seen,  as  in  the  range  of  the  Malvern  Hills,  between 
Herefordshire  and  Worcestersliire.  Beginning  from  these  hilU,  we 
easily  trace  the  succession  of  rocks  from  the  primitive  to  the  newest 
floetz  strata.  I  shall  briefly  metition  tlie  most  important  rocks  which 
this  series  contains  in  this  part  of  England. 

The  Malvern  HilU,  of  which  Mr.  Horner  has  given  an  account, 
form  a  small  range  running  nearly  from  N.  to  S.  They  consist 
chieSy  of  granite  and  syenite,  in  which  no  stratification  can  be  dis- 
covered, perhaps  on  account  of  their  being  very  much  concealed  by 
coil.  On  the  weitem  side  of  them,  beds  of  a  very  hard  compact 
Itme-stone  Ue  against  the  feet  of  the  hills  dipping  towards  the  west. 
In  coDformable  position  with  these,  and  frequently  alternating  with 
them,  are  beds  of  a  clay  rock,  which  varies  in  its  appearance.  Jq 
tome  places  it  is  a  hard  slate^  and  contains  scales  of  mica  in  great 
abundance;  in  others  it  becomes  a  mere  shale.  These  rocks  cop- 
tain  a  profusion  of  organic  remains,  paiticnlarly  enerinites,  madre- 
porites,  aiid  terebratulltes.  Mr,  Horner's  account  of  them  is 
minute  and  accurate  :  I  only  mention  them  for  the  sake  of  remark- 
ing their  position  with  respect  to  the  red  sand-stone,  which  I  have 
tranced,  and  phich  appears  to  fix  their  place  in  the  geological  series. 
.  Mr.Horoer  considered  these  rocks  as  belonging  to  the  transition 
formation.  In  chls  opinion  he  was  light,  if,  as  it  appears  scarcely 
to  be  doubted,  the  sand-stone  is  the  old  red  sand-stone. 

As  we  approach  these  hills  from  Ross,  we  perceive  that  the 
country  which  lies  to  the  S.  W.  of  the  range  is  occupied  by  a  suc- 
cession of  low  ridges  lying  nearly  parallel  to  the  direction  of  the 
Malvern  Hills.  Most  of  the  observations  which  Saussure  made  of 
the  calcareous  chains  of  the  Alps  are  here  verified  in  miniature. 
The  ridges  generally  turn  their  abr^t  sides  towards  the  primitive 
range,  and  slope  on  the  other  side.  They  consist  of  the  lime-stone 
and  clay  rock  above  mentioned,  the  beds  of  which  generdlly  dip 
towards  the  W.  and  S.  W. ;  but  at  the  northern  extremity  of  several 
ridges  they  turn  round  the  hills,  and  dip  northward.  In  the  most 
westerly  of  these  ridges,  near  Fownhope,  about  13  miles  in  a  direct 
line  from  the  MaKern  Hills,  the  clay  and  lime-stone  rock  dips  at 
»n  angle  of  about  60°  towards  the  S.  W.  Here  we  lose  this  for- 
inatioo. 

Immediately  after  passing  over  this  western  limit  of  the  lime- 
stone, we  tiiid  the  red  sand-ston^  above-mentioned  lying  upon  it, 
and  in  a  position  exactly  conformable  with  it.  The  sand-stone' 
forms  low  ranges  of  hills  parallel  to  the  former.  It  dips  to  the  S.W. 
at' a  considerable  angle^  which  diminishes  as  we  recede  from  the 

n,,:-A-..>yGoogIe 


1815.]         On  the  Older  floetx  Strata  of  England.  23  ■ 

Hrae-stone.  It  nins  hence  through  the  greatest  part  of  Hereford- 
shif«,  generally  preserving  the  same  direction  aad  dip.*  It  passes 
into  Shropshire,  where,  from  Mr.  Aikin's  observations,  it  apmears 
to  pass  under  the  coal-fields.  It  forms  a  great  part  <^  Cheshire  j 
and,  according  to  Mr.  Ailiin,  contains  the  salt  springs  of  Droit- 
wich,  Sec.  and  the  salt  deposit  of  Northwich.t  1  have  fallowed  it 
into  Brecknockshire  find  Monmouthshire,  The  lime-stoDes  wliich 
^ut  in  the  coal-fields  every  where  lie  jipon  it.  These  I  shall  deoo- 
mkiate  mountain  lime-stonei,  for  the  sake  of  distinction.  They 
may  be  traced  irom  a  few  miles  S.  of  Ross  to  Chepstow,  forming 
the  beautiful  cliSs  whicii  overhang  the  Wye,  and  in  a  ctHiformable 
position  with  the  suk^acent  sano-stone,  dipping  to  the  S.W.  In 
general  the  sand-stone  consists  of  fine  grains  of  quartz,  with-a  little 
argil,  and  a  variable  quantity  of  oxide'  of  iron  and  mica  :  but  in  the 
hills,  and  on  approaching  the  lime-stone,  its  constituentB  are  diffe- 
rently disposed.  At  the  bottom  of  a  faill  we  often  find  the  common 
red  sand-stone ;  higher  up,  a  stratum  of  pudding-stone,  containing 
roonded  pieces  of  quartz,  large  masses  of  which  in  loose  blocks 
cover  tke-declivities;  then  there  are  beds  of  a  whitish  stone,  the 
iron  and  mica  disappearing,  which  makes  a  good  building  stone, 
but  near  these  there  is  a  thin  bed  consisting  almost  wholly  of  oxide 
of  iron,  and  othei?  almost  entirely  of  mica.  All  these  varieties 
occur  in  a  hill  near  Ross,  called  Herol  Hill.  On  the  top  of  it  the 
mountain  limo-stone  appears ;  and  about  a  hundred  yards  forther  a 
pit  is  open,  when  the  lowest  bed  of  the  forest  coal  rises  sear  to  the 
■urface  of  the  ground.-      ■  • 

This  red  sand-stone  formation  is  concealed  near  the  Severn  by 
the  red  marl  rock  and  the  Lyiis  lime-stone;  but  it  appears  again 
near  Bristol,  forming  ihe  basis  on  which  the  Somersetshire  coat 
btisin  rests,  of  which  Mr.  Gilby  has  given  an  excellent  account  in 
the  Philosophical  Magazine  for  last  November.  I  have  seen  it  lying 
under  the  lime-stone  near  Axbridge,  at  the  southern  edge  of  this 
hma.  ■  This  formation  would  appear  every  where  to  rest  upon  the 

•  Mr.  BoTuer  considered  Ihe  MalTpm  TIlUs  as  afTording  coniilenanee  to  the 
HattoDiaD  tbcnry.  He  obsertfs,  thai  the  pmltion  of  the  itratJllFd  rocks  Memt  to 
indicate  Ihat  Ihey  were  lifted  up  bj  a  force  ft-om  beneath.  But  if  lie  had  trarersed 
the  CODOlry  (a  the  tmtward  of  Iheic  hilla,  Jie  would  have  found  that  the  itraM 
hate  generaily  a  similar  po^iltan,  and  evtrn  dip  at  a  much  |:renler  angle.  At  (be 
diElance  o(  12  or  14  lailei  from  the  Malreru  Hllb.  The  abience  or  the  atratlSed 
rocks  on  the  aulnr  aide  m&y  be  acfouated  f*T  by  lappoiiiig  that  a  labmarlDe  cur. 
rent  flowed  dawn  the  preseai  Vale  of  Severn  althe  era  when  Ihe  rock)  in  4)ue<tiaB 
weie  deposited.  Many  iudlcaliona  may  be  found  of  the  exiitence  of  lufh  a  cnir 
Trnl ;  but  if  none  could  be  prodAieed,  narely  the  hypolhaii  ii  fully  ot  adinitMble 
as  Hit  riectioavt  the  STBDiiemaHCi  from  [he  abyu  of  Tatlarui. 

+  It  u  very  strange  Ihai,  after  all  that  hai  been  laid  t^oncerniag  thii  Mil  forma* 
lioD,  we  are  yet  witbant  any  sutiifactory  account  of  the  slrnlani  in  which  It 
occun.  Dr.  Ilollaod,  In  the  fint  voltmie  of  Ihe  GeDlo)rical  Tranaacliani,  uiyt, 
that  it  ii  iBbordinate  to  Ihe  taud.itonc  of  tbe  independent  coal  formaiian.  hfr. 
Aikln,  in  the  lame  volume,  ;infarni9  as  that  they  belong  (a  (he  old  red  sand-ttoncf 
and  Mr.  Horner,  oi  l.percclve  by  the  abstract  uf  hit  )at«  memoir  on  Ihe  s»utk- 
tait«rD  pari  of  Soairrcflihire,  given  in  Ihe  Ia$t  nuniber  of  tbe  ^nntlt,  iutif;m 
then  Id  the  newer  argil lacconi  tandHitoat  tensed  lel  nar). 


24.  On.  the  Older  Fhetz  Strata  ef  England.        [Jo(.y, 

transition  rocks.  I  have  meniioued  its  relstioii  to  those  neai  Msl- 
Teni.  Mr.  Aikin  inforais  us  that  it  re&ts,  in  Shropshire  ob  highly 
elevated  strata  of  grey-wacke;  and  I  observe,  br  the  last  number 
of  your  Annals,  that  Mr.  Homer  has  found  it  lying  on  the  same 
fermation  near  tbe  Quantock  Hills,  in  Somersetshire. 

The  red  sand-stooe  is  supposed  to  contain  no  organic  remaina. 
I  believe,  however,  that  I  have  seen  traces  of  entrocbitea  in  it. 
The  mountain  lime-stone  which  rests  upon  it  contains  the  fossil* 
enumerated  above,  and  which  agree  so  remarkably  with  th(^  of  the 
transition  formation.  It  ofite;i  resembles  tbe  transition  lime-stone 
in  its  texture,  but  is  less  crystalline,  and  has  much  thicker  beds.* 

From  these  considerations  I  think  it  is  evident  that  the  rocks  be- 
longing lo  the  independent  coal  formation  follow  the  old  red  sand^ 
'  atone  in  the  getdogical  succession,  and  are  more  ancient  than  any 
«ther  member  of  the  floetz  series. 

But  further,  we  may  almost  venture  to  as^sert  that  the  sucoeedtng 
formations  in  tbe  system  of  Werner  have  oo  existence  to  this  coim- 
tiy,  aiid  that  the  order  of  floetz  rocks,  from  the  old  red  sand-stone 
up  to  the  cbalk  which  form  tbe  greater  pert  of  South  Britain,  bear 
very  little  analogy  to  the  succession  pointed  out  by  that  celebratect 
naturalist. 

I  have  stated  that  the  strata  above-mentioned  dip  most  commonly 
towards  the  S.  W.  The  coal,  together  with  (he  micaceous  sand- 
Btone  and  the  argillaceous  stone  which  forms  the  rooft,  &c.  of  tlie 
coal  seams,  dip  conformably;  but  this,  as  well  as  tlje  general  incli- 
tion  of  the  subjacent  rock,  is  subject  to  variations.  The  wholQ 
commonly  incline  at  a  very  perceptible  angle.  Over  these  rocks 
are  deposited  a  series  of  strata  which  lie  very  nearly  parallel  to  the 
plane  of  the  horizon. 

Tlie  linit  or  lowest  of  these  is  that  which  Messrs.  Townsend  and 
Farey  denominate  red  gronod  and  red  marl.  It  has,  if  I  mistake 
.  not,  been  confounded  with  the  old  red  saiid-stone.  Its  compositioB 
varies;  sometimes  it  is  an  argillaceous  sand-stone,  but  without 
mica,  and  destitute  of  that  slaty  form  which  characierizes  the  older 
sandstone.  I  never  saw  it  contain  any  rounded  pieces  of  quartz. 
in  soi}]e  places  it  becomes  a  marl  rock,  consisting  chiefly  of  cai- 
bonaie  of  lime.  This  is  the  case  on  the  banks  of  the  Severn,  where 
it  contains  a  bed  of  gypsum,  t     According  to  Mr.  Townsend,  the 

*  This  resemblance  Bceonnti  for  the  dlsBgl^ement  we  find  amaag  high  aalbarl. 
ticaod  tbe  subject  of  thete  lime^loors.  Mr.  Werner,  in  his  Utile  booh  on  lelm, 
mentioiii  tbe  lime-ltanE  iDcksat  tbe  peakin  Derbyihire  tnke:  once  he  calls  then 
Irantiliuo  rocks,  and  once  affirms  Ihat  Ihey  arc  floelz.  M.  Brocbanl  myi  they 
are  trausilinn,  add  I  understand  Ihat  Mr,  Jameion  considrn  them  aa  Soetz. 

-h  I  scnrrely  need  obicrve  that  I  hsTe  nol  mentioned  these  strWa  for  Ihe  sake  of 
dalmiag  Ihe  discovery  of  them,  bu I  merely  irilh  theTietr  of  n>a.king«anie  remarlu 
on  Ibeir  order,  and  the  relation  which  their  succession  bean  to  Ihe  leries  of  M, 
Werner.  A  very  accurate  a»eount  of  these  fonnalions  it  already  before  the 
pabllc.  In  tbe  paper  of  Mr.  Gilby  above  referred  to;  and  an  extensile  collectioQ 
-  of  intereuling  facti  reiperlin|;  these  nnd  other  newer  floetz  rpcks  io  South  Britaia 
tf  contained  in  Ihe  work  of  the  Rev.  I.  Townsend,  who  nMBtioDi  that  be  duii|e4 
Uierslinfonnalion  concerning  (hem  frgmUr.  W.  SoiUi. 

Cotv>lc 


IS15.]         On  the  Older  Ftoetx  Strata  of  E^land.  25 

mBgDesian  lime-stone  of  Derbyshire  ttad  the  Nwtk  of  EngUod 
belongs  to  this  formatioo.  , 

Above  this  is  the  i^yaa  lime-stone  enclosed  in  a  bed  of  clnf. 
This  stratum  abounds  in  shells.  In  this  respect  it  agrees  with  tbq 
second  floetz  lime-stone  of  Wemer,  which  is  called  in  Gemuo^ 
nnuschel  kalkstein.  It  contains  pentacnnites,  which  are  considered 
as  peculiar  to  this  stratum.  I  have,  however,  found  them  in  the 
oolite  rock  in  Gloucestershire,  but  the  Lyas  is  their  proper  abode^ 
and  they  gradually  disappear  in  ttie  succeeding  formations.  It  is 
here  also  that  those  large  heads  and  bones  are  discovered  which 
liave  been  supposed  to  be  the  relics  of  crocodiles.  They  are 
of  several  species.  The  remains  which  Mr.  Johnson,  of  BrisUri, 
has  collected,  proves  that  some  of  them  at  least  belong  to  an 
unknown  marine  animal.  From  the  account  which  M.  Cuvier 
has  given  of  the  cliff  at  Honfleur,  ctmtaining  the  remains  o( 
crocodiles,  1  think  it  is  highly  probable  that  it  belongs  to  the 
Lyas  stratum.  He  mentions  two  species  which  nearly  resemble 
the  gavial.  If  any  of  your  correspondents  has  seen  the  rock  at 
Honfleur,  and  will  l^vour  us  with  an  account  of  it,  which  mar 
enable  us  to  ascertain  Its  identity  with  the  Lyas  lime-stone  rock,  it 
will  throw  an  additional  interest  on  these  remains.  All  the  o^er 
fo»ils  occurring  in  this  stratum  are  oceanic,  among  which  »r^  ma- 
moniles  often  three  feet  in  ditiiDet«r. 

The  Lyas  formation  is  very  extensive  in  South  Britain.  It  is  well 
koown  at  Lyme  and  Chasmouth  on  the  south  coast,  and  tntvcrse^ 
the  island  towards  the  German  Ocean.  I  have  been  informed  that 
it  occurs  in  Anglesea. 

Above  the  Lyas  is  the  extensive  calcareous  formation  CQRtainti^ 
the  oolite  or  roestone.  This  cannot  be,  on  account  of  its  positloo, 
the  roogenstein  of  Werner,  which  is  subordinate  to  the  second  sand-' 
stone,  and  therefore  below  the  muschel  kalkstein. 
.  Above  this  several  other  rocks  are  enumerated  by  Mr.  Townsen^ 
which  I  have  not  traced.  Over  these  is  the  upper  stratum  of  sandi 
stone,  which  supports  the  chalk  Formation.  r 

On  the  whole,  I  think  it  appears  that  there  is  very  little  con-^ 
formity  between  the  floetz  series  of  Werner  and  that  which  occurs 
in  South  Britain ;  but  the  older  formations,  as  far  as  tbey  are  yet 
known,  coincide  with  his  system.  We  may  observe  that  the  tra- 
vellers, who  in  distant  regions  of  the  earth  have  been  so  powerfully 
struck  with  the  conformity  of  geological  phenomena  with  the  ob- 
servations of  the  SaxoD Professor,  as  Humboldt  and  Von  Buch,  Iiave 
chiefly  directed  their  attention  to  the  older  formations.  I  am  not 
aware  that  any  disciple  of  the  Freyberg  school  has  detected  the 
succession  of  floetz  rocks,  as  detailed  by  Werner,  beyond  the  Itmiu 
of  Germany. 

But  if  we  are  to  admit  any  reasons  grounded  on  speculative 
geology,  an  universal  conformity  in  the  primitive  and  transition 
formations  is  quite  as  much  as  can  be  expected.  At  the  period  of 
the  deptiutioQ  of  the  last,  the  waters  of  the  ocean  are  supposed  bj 


26  Sielch  of  a  General  Theory  of  the  [Jdly, 

Wemer  to  have  subsided,  and  to  have  formed  separate  basins  or 
seas.  The  sabsequeDt  deposits  must  have  varied  according  to  local 
circumstaaees.  Therefore  some  variety  in  the  succession  of  fioelz 
locks  rather  confirms  than  invalidates  the  Wcrnerian  theory  of  the 
etutb.  I  have  the  honour  to  be.  Sir, 

With  great  resjiect, 
Your  very  obedient  humble  servant, 

,    Ctikge  Gn«,  Brbtal,  I.  C.  PaiCHABO. 

Has  14,  ISIA. 


Article  VI. 

Sketch  of  a  General  Theory  of  the  InteUectual  Functions  o/"  Man 
and  Animals,  given  in  reply  ia  Drs,  Cross  and  Leack.  By 
Alexander  Walker.* 

(To  Dr.  Thomson.) 
sm, 
■  In  the  26th  number  of  your  Arnials  ofPkiiosophv,  was  announced 
a  discovery  of  the  use  of  the  cerebellum  and  spinal  marrow  by  Dr. 
Cross  j — in  the  27th  number,  Dr.  Leach  stated  "  that  the  Bame- 
fectSj  or  facta  that  lead  to  similar  conclusions,  were  published  in 
liettres  de  Hufeland  a  Portal,  I8O7,  and  Anatomie  du  Systeme 
Nerveux,  &c.  par  Gall  et  ^urzheim ; — in  the  2Uth  number,  I, 
conceiving  that  Dr.  Leach  meant  to  ascribe  these  discoveries  to  Gall 
and  Spurzheim,  denied  that  they  were  ctwtained  in  the  work  re- 
ferred to ;  t-~4nd  in  the  Z9th  number,  Dr.  Leach  says,  "  Permit 
'me.  Sir,  to  assure  you  that  the  letter  from  Hufeland  to  Portal  con- 
tains predsely  the  same  opinion  respecting  the  use  of  the  cerebellum 
as  that  given  by  Mf.  Alexander  Walker  and  Dr.  Cross;  but  he  there 
adds,  that  he  had  quoted  Gall  and  Spunriieim's  work  only  as  stating 
these  opinions  to  be  erroneous;  and,  while  he  aascrts  that  my 
anatomical  and  physiologtcal  statements  are  "  inaccurate,  suppo- 
'  Bitnus,  and  at  variance  with  nature,"  he  gives  the  results  of  his 
own  "  recent  examinations " }: — the  conclusions  which  he  draws 
after  having  "  carefullj'  examined  the  structure  of  the  spinal  mass 
•f  nerves."  § 

*  Thnn^  lbi>  cdimninlcatien  isratho'toa  long  far  the  ^nnab  cf  PAiloiDpAsjj^t 
1^1*  givfu  it  a  place,  thai  EvFf]'  oac  ol  Ihe  Geulleinrn  cnticerucd  in  tliis  difpnte 
mi}'  be  upon  a  fuoting  i  but  an  tbe  object  of  the  ^nnali  tf  PMIteBpin  is  nul  ran- 
iTovprsy,  Ibe  Editor  trusts  tlidt  thcj'  nill  see  the  projirietj  of  iMtiog  Ihii  subject 
rest  Kbere  it  is.~T. 

t  Cfrlainly  nhen  a  Gen  liana  a  has  imd  "  that  fadi  nbich  lead  to  simllu  coD- 
«Ta«ioii«  were  publisbed"  in  a.  particular  vork,  meaning  thereby  to  give  them 
'priority  OTcr  another  siatemen't.  It  is  uiost  natural  to  snppov  that  tilth  wns  Ihe 
ariglnal  locrce  of  tbese  facts;  and,  at  all  erenli,  tbe  concluiioti  la.ninnvoidabl^ 
Kkal  Ihey  are  Ihvreroniidered  as^zcfi— the  tern  which  Dr.  Leach  CPtploj's. 

t  jinnalt  of  P/iilosophs,  tdI,  v.  p.  Slfi^ 

\  Iftid.  p.  345,  /-  ■        r    ' 

n,,:-A-..>yCjOOg[e 


leiSQ        Inlellectual  F«nclions  of  Man  tmd  ^imais.    \        37'  • 

Now,  Sir,  however  uDimportBnt  it  miy  eeem  to  Dr.  Leach  to 
investigate  the  ongin  of  these  stBtetnenta,  it  seems  otherwise  to  me,' 
who  imagine  myself  to  have  rather  a  deeper  interest  in  theai  j  aad 
(though,  in  reply  to  this  Gentleman,  I  shall  not  imitate  bim  in  the 
littleness  of  perpetually  repeating  hit  list  of  Christian  names,  as  be 
has  done  my  one ;  nor,  ignorant  though  1  am  of  him,  shall  I,  like 
Dr.  Cross,  designate  him  as  one  Dr.  Leach;  for  these  are  tendencies 
to  personality,  which  is  the  bane  of  rational  discussion ;)  yet  I  shall ' 
blend  the  question  of  the  discovery  of  these  fiicti  with  that  of  their 
absolute  truth.  The  question  of  the  discovery  of  the  circulation  of 
the  blood  has  not  been  deemed  unimportant :  1  cannot  reckon  that' 
which  regards  the  circulation  of  nervous  action  less  so;  and  into 
that  question  the  use  of  the  cerebellum  enten.  This,  Dr.  Leach 
will  perhaps  say  is  a  comparison  of  very  little  men  with  great  ones : 
be  it  so ;  hut  it  is  not  a  comparison  of  very  little  things  with  great 
ones  ;  and  to  things  alone  do  I  wish  to  attend.  No  one  will  venture 
to  say,  that /the  general  functions  of  the  brain  and  cerebellum  are 
less  important  than  that  of  the  heart. 

With  regard,  then.  Sir,  to  the  cerebellum,  as  Dr.  Leach,  though 
he  begs  to  be  "  permitted  to  assure  you  that  Hufeiand  thinks  it  the 
organ  of  volition,"  has  not  quoted  that  writer's  expressions,  or,  what 
is  4^  more  importance  his  jeasons  for  such  a  conclusion,  I  cannot 
comment  on  them.  If,  however,  I  may  judge  of  the  accuracy  of 
this  ascription  to  Hufeiand,  by  the  additional  assertion  which  Dr. 
Leach  now  makes  as  to  Willis  also  having  thought  so,  the  concln- 
sioD  will  be  most  unfavourable  to  the  Doctor's  accuracy.  Dr. 
Leach,  then,  adds  that  "Willis  considered  the  cerebellum  as  the 
source  of  voluntary  power."  Now,  Sir,  it  is  an  absolute  fact,  that 
Willis  asserts  the  very  opposite  of  this :  he  says  it  is  the  organ  of 
wvUuntary  power.  "  Toe  office  of  the  cerebel,"  lays  he,  "  seems 
to  be  for  the  animal  spirits  to  supply  some  nerves,  by  which  tnt/o- 
bmtary  actions,  which  are  made  after  a  constant  manner  unknown 
to  us,  or  whelker  we  will  or  no,  are  performed."*  And  now.  Sir, 
I  hope  you  will  permit  me  also  to  assure  you,  that  I  am  not  a  little 
surprised  that  any  Gentleman,  after  accusing  another  of  inaccuracy, 
and  referring  with  such  confidence  to  his  own  "  recent  esamina- 
tions,"  should  have  made  so  untrue  a  statement,  in  order  to  ascribe 
to  an  old  author  new  observations.  After  this,  I  should  be  glad,' 
indeed,  to  see  Hufeland's  statement,  and  his  reasons  for  the  con- 
clusion aUuded  to ;  and,  should  that  writer  advance  any  prooft  that 
the  cerebellum  b  the  organ  of  volition,  or  rather  of  those  impulses 
which  cause  all  muscular  bciIod,  1  shall  of  course  readily  resign  to 
him  the  iionour  or  disgrace  of  the  opinion,  and  shall  only  regret ' 
that  my  reading  has  aot  been  as  extensive  and  as  "  accurate  "  as 
(hat  of  Dr.  Leach. 

I  «ii)  willing,  however,  to  grant  something  iit  favour  of  Willis : — 

•    OO   etc   B^B,  Cbsp.  XT. 


9S  Sketch,  of  a  General  Theory  of  Uu  [JuLT* 

be  wag  rigbt  in  assigoiag  to.  the  cerebeDuio  tke  involuDtaTy  motions  ; 
but  er>ed  in  exskuding  the  voluotary  obck;  iot  the  cerebellum  is  th« 
SDurcq  of  all  motion,  vtduntary  and  involuntary,  as  I  shoU  show  in 
the  sequel :  wlule  it  is  the  source  of  every  impulse  on  the  muscular 
system,  voluntaiity  is  changed  into  involuatarity  only  by  ganglia  on 
the  cerebellic  nerves.  I  must,  however,  remark,  that  evea  if 
Willie  had  stated  that  which  .is  accurately  true,  and  grounded  his 
statemeots,  as  he  has  done,  only  on  conjecture,  or  on  proob  which 
do  not  deserve  the  name,  I  ahoutd  not  have  thought  of  yielding  to 
him  the  merit  of  observing  this  truth ;  for  even  then  he  would 
equally  have  proved  that  "  the  dura  mater  administers  heat  lor  the 
distillation  of  the  spirits,"  "  that  the  pia  mater  does  by  chemical 
aftiSce  instil  the  animal  spirits  into  the  brain,  and  cerebel,"  and  in- 
numei^le  other  absuidities — alt  of  which,  as  well  as  this  one,  he 
Gupporls  by  ri<Uculous  conjecture,  and  not  by  argument.  Eveo 
tiuth,  however,  if  struck  out  only  by  wild  conjecture,  and  unsup- 
ported by  proof,  would  not  constitute  discovery :  the  mental  effort 
of  rational  conjecture,  and  tlie  personal  one  of  "  careful  examioa- 
tion"  would  still  remain  to  be  performed  by  some  one  who,  if 
successful,  would  certainly  deserve  the  honour  as  well  as  the  labour. 
And  now.  Sir,  1  can  furnish  Dr.  Leach  with  a  quotation  from  the 
great  work  of  Baron  Haller — a  more  recent  and  a  better' writer 
than  Willis,  which  will  be  just  as  much  to  his  purpose  as  his  own 
*'  accurate  "  reference  to  Willis  j  but  which  1  neveitbeless  deem  it 
necessary  to  state,  in  order  that  the  history  of  this  important  ques- 
tion m^  be  completely  before  the  reader.  "  Convulsiones  artuum," 
says  he,  "  constanter  vidimus  in  animalibus  supervenisse,  quorum 
cerebellum  vulneraveramus. — Et  de  convulsionibus  diclum  est,  qum 
sunt  musculorum  voluntariorum.  Ex  rerebello  etiam,  si  ullus, 
quintus  nensui  destlnatus  et  voluntario  motui  nervus  prodit.  Quare 
collectis  omnibus,  videtur  cereheLlum  et  a  cerehro  hactenus  parum 
diff'oire,  et  graves  in  utrovis  lEesiones  mortem  inferre,  leviores  in 
Qtroque  tolerari,  Deinde  cerebrum  ad  vitalia  organa  et  senlieaietn 
Tim  et  moventem  mittere,  et  ad  partes  mentis  arbiirio  subjectas  cere- 
bellum." Here,  then,  it  appears  that  Haller,  after  proceeding 
upon  an  "  it  is  said  "  as  to  the  convulsion  of  the  voluntary  muscles;  ■ 
observing  that  the  fifth  pair  coming  from  the  cerebellum  is,  how- 
ever, destined  both  to  sense  and  motion ;  and  thinking  that,  upon 
the  whole,  the  cerebellum  in  so  far  differs  little  from  the  cerebrum, 
— at  last  concludes  that  the  cerebrum  seems  to  send  both  feeling 
and  moving  power  to  the  vital  organs ;  while  the  cerebellum  sends 
both  feeling  and  moving  power  to  the  parts  which  are  subject  to  the 
will.  Now,  from  this,  I  differ  by  assertmg,  that  the  cerebrum  sends, 
neltiier  sensation  nor  motion  to  any  part,  but  merely  receives  sen- 
sation from  ilie  organs  of  sense;  while  the  cerebellum  has  riot  only  - 
nothing  to  do  with  sensation, '■«s  Haller  erroneously  asserts,  but 
sends  motion  both  to  the  voluntary  and  to  the  involuntary  [»rts— 
OTj  in  other  words,  both  to  the  mechanical  or  locomdtive,  and  to 

-..>y  Google" 


I81&]        TnlelUcttttU  Rarctions  of  Man  and  Artimals.  ^B 

tfae  vkii]  or  nutritive  system,  which  Haller  naccnratdy  «sdttdei 
irom  ita  infliimce.  The  jnotions  <A  the  vital,  are,  however,  not  lesg 
inportaDt  tfaui  those  of  the  locomotive,  system. 

The  tefm  volition,  however,  may  be  still  ^iplied  to  the  fiinction 
of  this  (H^afi,  whether  voluntary  or  involuntary  action  be  its  remit, 
because  the  impulse  irf  the  cerebellum  on  which  they  both  depenl 
is  one  and  the  same,  and  the  involuntartty  is  a  modincttitxi  of  that 
impulse  or  of  itii  effects  produced  only  by  ganglia  on^iertain  fibrils 
of  the  cerebeltic  nerves.  This  extended  meaning  of  the  word 
volitioa  is  perfectly  analogous  to  that  of  the  term  sensa^n ;  lot 
tiiough  sensation  does  not  exist  separately,  except  in  those  animals 
irtiicb  have  no  sensorinm  commune, — -though,  in  man,  it  is  inae^ 
parable  from  perception,  yet  still  is  the  simple  term  sensation  em- 
I^oyed.  An  improved  nomenclature,  however,  or  an  extensiou  4^ 
the  very  admirable  one  of  Dr.  Barclay,  would  perhaps  ^ve  us  new 
terms  in  both  cases. 

I  have  now  said,  in  oppoeition  to  the  statement  of  Haller,  that 
die  cerebrum  sends  neither  sensation  nor  motion  to  any  part  esteraat 
tothe  encephalic  cavity ;  and,  as  Dr.  Leach  says,  I  have  "  neglected 
to  take  any  notice  of  the  eerebnim,"  and  seems  to  demai^  arhat 
use  I  assign  to  it,  I  may  '*  assure  him  "  that  there  still  renain  veiy 
important  uses  for  it  to  serve;  and  as  the  Doctor,  not  having  sub- 
mitted them  to  any  "  recent  examination,"  is  perhaps  less  familiar 
with  these  particttiar  functions,  I  may  hint  to  him,  tnat  they  are— 
Dbservation,  reflection,  and  judgment. 

1  shyll  now,  Sir,  state  some  of  my  reasons  for  ass«ting,  that  the 
organs  of  sense  beine  those  of  sensation,  and  the  cerebrum  that  of 
PKotalopemtion,  the  cerebellum  is  the  organ  of  volition,  or  rather 
of  all  the  modons  of  animals,  voluntary  and  involuntary. 

1.  There  are  three  distitKt  intellectual  organs  or  classes  of  inteU 
lectual  o^ans,  namely,  the  organs  of  sense,  the  cerebrum,  and 
die  cerebellum  .—That  the  cerebellum,  though  separated  ftom  the 
eerebrom  only  by  membranes  in  man,  is  not  on  that  account  less 
distinct  from  it  than  are  the  organs  of  sense  separated  by~  bony 
plates,  is  rendered  evident  by  the  consideration,  that  membranes 
form,  in  the  one  case,  as  effectual  a  separation  as  bony  plates  do  ia 
Ae  other;  that  many  animals*  have  a  bony  tentorium  between 
the  cerebrum  and  cerebellum,  as  they  have  bony  plates  between  the 
oerebrom  and  face ;  and  that  others  (birds)  have  membranes  be- 
tween the  Cerebrum  and  face,  as  they  have  a  membranous  tento- 
liam  between  the  cerebrum  and  cerebellum. 

2.  ITiere  are  three  distinct  intellectual  functions  or  classes  of  in- 
trilectmil  functions,  namely,  sensation,  mental  operation,!  sai 
volition. 

3.  Of  the  organs,  those  of  the  senses  are  the  first,  the  cerebrum 

*  Tiz.  moat  ipeciei  of  (he  cat  and  bear  kiod,  the  martin  (lyufeb  narlts),  the 
•wita  (let  tofiduai  patthaii),  and  otlKn. 

t  InctadiBg  abler* aiioD,  rc&ecliuo,  and  jod^nl,  sOd  the  NbordiaBte facil- 
tiManaljEcd  b7  G&ll  aDd  SpuTZlieim. 


■W  Sketch  of  a  General  Tfnsry  of  the  [JOt,V, 

intenn^iate,  and  the  cerebellum  the  last. — For,  although  the  face, 
coQtaiDing  the  organs  of  Knse,  and  the  cerebellum,  are.  Id  difTerent 
animals,  very  diftereotly  placed  with  regard  to  the  cerebnim,  yet 
there  is  a  peculiar  relation  between  the  situation  of  oAe  of  these  and 
that  of  the  other  with  regard  to  it.  In  other  words,  although  the 
iiice  is  sometimee  in  one  situation  and  sometimes  in  another  with 
relation  to  t^  cerebrum,  yet  to  each  given  variation  of  its  situation 
with  regard'to  that  body  there  is  a  corresponding  and  uniformly 
accompanying  variation  in  the  situation  of  the  cerebellum.  Thus 
as,  in  man,  the  face  is  placed  below  the  anterior  part  of  the  cere- 
brum, so  is  the  cerebellum  placed  below  its  posterior  part ;  and 
precisely  as,  in  the  inferior  animals,  the  face  advances,  precisely  so 
does  the  cerebellum  recede,  till,  in  those  animals  in  which  the  face 
is  placed  exactly  before  the  cerebrum,  the  cerebellum  is  placed 
exactly  behind  it.* 

4.  Of  the  functions,  sensation  is  the  first,  mental  operation  in- 
termediate, and  volition  the  last. — That  sensation  precedes  and  ex- 
ntes,  if  it-  do  not  generate,  mental  operation,  few  will  deny :  that 
mental  operation,  however  rapid  or  evanescent,  precedes  and  ex- 
cites volition,  or  that  the  motive  to  an  action  must  precede  the 
actioo,  none  will  refuse  :  and  that,  of  any  one  series  of  intellectual 
action,  volition  is  the,  last  stage,  all  must  admit. 

5.  As,  then,  the  cerebellum  is  the  last  of  the  intellectual  orgofu, 
ani  volition  the  last  of  the  inteUcctaal  Jimcliom,  and  as,  at  the 
same  time,  there  is  no  organ  without  function,  or  function  without 
organ,  it  follows,  that  the  cerebellum  must  be  the  ot^o  of  volition. 

6.  In  perfect  confonnity  with  this  truth,  the  inferior  animals^, 
however  defective  in  intellect,  possess  motion  ;  and,  in  almost  ail 
of  them  which  have  any  visible  iiervous  system,  a  cerebellum,  the 
oi^n  of  that  motion,  exists. — This  leads  me  to  an  observafion 
which  seems  to  me  to  possess  considerable  interest  and  beauty.  As 
we  descend  among  animals,  one  of  the  three  portions  of  the  nervous 
system  and  one  of  its  three  general  functions  gradually  disappear* 
Now  it  is  not  the  first  and  the  last  portions  of  the  nervous  system— 

,  it  is  not  the  organs  of  sense  and  the  cerebellum,  neither  is  it  their 
4-e^)ective  functions,  sensation  and  volition,  which  are  thus  lost.  It 
is  the  cerebrum  and  mental  operation  which  are.  This  organ  is, 
among  men,  most  conspicuous  in  the  Caucasian  race;  and  we 
accordingly  find  that  that  race  alone  has  cultivated  the  sciences.  It 
is  less  even  in  the  Mongal  and  Ethiop,  who  have  ever  disregarded 
them.  It  gradually  disappears  and  ultimately  evanishes  as  we 
descend  among  quadrupeds,  birds,  reptiles,  fishes,  &c,  and  with  it 
gradually  disappear  and  ultimately  evanish  the  powers  of  thought. 
But  organs  of  sense  and  a  cerebellum, — sensation  and  volititHi,  yet 
'  remain  to  characterize  myriads  of  animals  below  these. 

*  The  c«rrbellic  carily,  moremer,  tc«iD«  a 
of  Ibe  baFe  of  tbe  cranium  exocllj  opposite  I 
lower  jaw,  terminates  on  the  outtide. 

n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


jei5.]       Iniellectuat  Rmetioiu  of  Man  and  Anknah.  'si 

J.  Hiis  truth  receivea  new  confinnation  when  we  obieiTe,  that 
the  degrees  of  voluntary  power  always  bea^  a  cloae  aoalogy  to  tha 
nrious '  magnitudes  of  tne  cerebeUam.  In  fiibes,  for  Jiutance, 
irtuch  possess  amazing  locoDiative  power,  the  cerebellum  ii  often 
larger  than  the  cerebrum ;  and  they  sometimes  poMCss  aa  addi- 
tional tubercle,  which  seema  to  CuTter  to  form  a  second  cere- 
bellum ! 

Id  the  statement  of  these  reasons,  Dr.  Leach  wiH  find  obviated 
any  quibble  which  might  be  founded  on  the  various  meanings  of  the 
ward  *  <n)posite '  which,  for  the  sake  of  brevity,  I  formerly  used. 
Th^  will  also  enable  the  reader  to  correct  Dr.  Cross's  representation 
of  them. 

Dr.  Leach,  then,  endeavours  to  prove,  that  there  is  no  propor- 
tioo  between  the  various  magnitudes  of  the  cerebellum  and  the 
degrees  of  voluntary  power.— The  cerebellum,  he  says,  is  prtHxir- 
tionally  smaller  in  children  than  in  the  adult,  and  yet  cfaUdrea  have 
more  of  muscular  agility  than  adults.  Now,  if  by  agility  Dr. 
Leach  means  that  their  voluntary  powers  are  stronger,  I  unhesitat- 
ii^ly  deny  it ;  and  if  he  do  not  mean  this,  his  example  is  inappli- 
cable ;  the  truth  is,  he  does  not  take  into  consideration  the  eva- 
nescent action  of  children  and  the  permanent  and  sust^ned  action 
of  adults. — A  shark,  he  says,  which  has  the  greatest  locomotive 
power,  has  a  remarkably  minute  cerebellum.  Now  this  instance  is 
as  inapplicable  as  the  last ;  for  1  have  nowhere  asserted  the  greater 
absolute  magnitude  of  the  cerebeDa  of  fishes;  but  have,  in  distinct 
terms,  asserted  their  greater  proportional  magnitude. — The  same 
answer  applies  to  Dr.  Leach's  thin!  example  of  the  swallow. 

That,  contrary  to'  Dr.  Leach's  assertion,  this  is  a  "  general  prin- 
ctpU,"  a  sufficiently  proved  by  this,  that  if  our  considerations  be 
general — if  we  compare  the  cerebella  of  birds  with  those  of  quad- 
rupeds, we  find  the  former  larger  in  proportion  to  the  brain  con- 
sistently with  their  more  intense,  frequent,  and  rapid  voluntary 
motion  ;  and  if  we  compare  the  cerebella  of  fishes  with  those  of 
birds,  we  find  the  former,  in  both  tb^e  respects,  excel  the  latter. 
But  if  we  enter  into  more  particular  examinations — if  we  compare 
these  parts  in  the  genera  and  species  of  animals,  as  Cuvier  has 
done,  our  observations  must  be  more  particular  than  his — we  must 
attend  not  ool^  to  the  general  magnitude  of  the  organs,  but  to  tbctr 
particular  form ;  for  (I  now  repeat  an  important  fact  which  I,  prior 
I  believe  to  any  other  person,  announced  some  years  ago,)  '■'  on  the 
length  of  the  cerebral  organs  depends  the  intensiiy  of  their  func-- 
tion,  and  on  the  breadth  of  these  organs  the  permanence  of  their 
fiinction."  As  liquids  pass  with  greater  velocity  through  the  narrow 
portion  of  a  tube  than  through  its  wider  parts,  precisely  so  must  all 
nervous  action  pass  between  the  parietes  of  tiie  organs— the  tubes 
of  the  neuritema,  whether  that  action  be  performed  by  fluids,  1^ 
liquids,  or  by  globules,  as  proved  by  Prochaska  and  others.  That 
.the  nervous  matter  is  thus  latcmlly  confined  by  the  neurilema,  is 
proved  by  the  circumstance  of  the  ends  of  nerves  expanding  when 


SS  Sketch  of  a  General  Tbatry  of  the  [Jcjlt, 

cut ;  «nd  tbey  are,  tfaerefore,  in  «o  i&r  subject  to  limilv  laws  with 
liquids  csntaiacd  in  tubei.* 

It  is,  tben,  tnMi  Cnvier'a  not  distinguish ia^  between  the  height 
md  the  bnwitii  of  the  organs,  and  their  oorpespuadiog  intensity  cm* 
pera^nence  of  functioQ,  th&t  his  Doiaparison  of  man  and  the  buU, 
and  his  Scate  in  general,  which  Dr.  Learh  has  quoted,  is  of  dimi-^ 
nbhed  value,  and  quite  inapplicable  to  the  present  question.  Thi* 
iiarious  and  ioiportsnt  fact  may  be  illustrated  even  ^m  the  classes 
^  sRimals;  for  the  laterally  compressed  and  high  cerebellum  oS 
Urds  corresponds  admirably  with  die  inlertsitif  of  their  roluntaiy 
powen,  and  the  d^ress«d  and  Jlat  cerebellum  of  the  turtle,  frog, 
salamander — in  short,  of  all  the  slow  but  long  moving  reptiles> 
equally  corresponcb  with  the  permanence  of  their  voluntary  power. 

Id  reply  to  I>r.  Cross's  last  observations  (in  the  itOth  number  of 
the  Atmals),  I  need  say  little  indeed.  The  strongest  argument 
which  he  adduces  in  refutaiioo  of  the  preceding  doctrine,  is  the 
ironical  a[^Iication  of  the  words  '*  logical  and  sapient,"  and  the 
direct  one  of  the  words  "  absurd  and  groundless."  Now  whether 
I>r.  Cross's  autlwrity  in  matters  of  science  is  sufficient  to  render 
such  words,  when  used  by  him,  the  very  death-warrsnt  of  a  oev 
doctrine,  I  am  perfectly  ignorant ;  but,  with  me,  even  much 
higher  atithorily  than  the  Doctor's  would  not  constitute  proof.  Dr. 
Cross  adds,  "  that  volition  ranks  among  the  faculties  of  the  mind, 
whose  organ  is  the  cerebrum  ; "  aad  so  for  as  authority  in  general 
and  the  authority  of  Dr.  Cross  in  particular  goes,  this  is  another 
proof  of  the  falseness  of  my  doctrine.  The  Doctor,  however,  fur- 
ther adds,  "  that  atfectioos  of  the  cerebrum,  while  the  cerebellum 
remains  sound,  produce  palsy,  which  I  hv/mbly  sulimit  is  just  a  loss 
of  volition."  At  last,  then,  the  Doctor  does  give  us  an  argument; 
snd  as  it  is  a  solitary  one,  and  follows  so  much  of  mere  authoritative 
determination,  it  must  no  doubt  be  so  triumphant  that  the  "  humble 
submission"  which  the  Doctor  forgot  when  adducing  his  authority, 
but  so  generously  appends  to  his  proof,  must  be  intended  only  to 
enhance  talent  by  modesty,  and  to  heighten  triumph  l^  moderation. 
This  is  certainly  very  fine ;  and  it  involves  only  one  little  awiinard 
circumstance,  Which  b,  that  while  the  Doctor's  proof  consists  of 
two  propositions,  it  presents  precisely  as  many  errors !  "  AQections 
of  the  cerebrum,"  says  he,  *'  while  the  cerebellum  remains  sound, 
produce  palsy;"  and  hence  he  means  to  conclude  that  palsy  which 
he  deems  a  loss  of  volition,  and  consequently  volition  itself  is  de- 
pendent on  the  cerebrum,  and  not  on  the  cerebellum  ;  indeed  be  " 
actually  says  so  in  the  preceding  portion  of  the  same  sentence ;  thus 
placing  the  induction  (lo^cally  no  doubt)  before  the  datum,  and 

*  It  is  perha)n  also  r<>r  the  »anie''rra9oni  lha<,  in  a  fraJTauic  hatter;,  the  In- 
teiult;  of  i(s  aclioD  eeemi  to  cDrrea|iand  with  the  numher  of  ihr.  pfalu  (for  the 
igDifing  power  is  lu  the  namber),  aad  the  petmaDence  of  its  Hclion  nilh  the  mag- 
nllude  of  the  platn.  ArcordiDf;)]',  M.  de  Lue  ob^ervea  that  ihe  number  ef  the 
plates  is  :inal<igouB  to  the  length  of  a  pump  Tor  raising  wafer  ;  and  the  lize  of  Ibe 
plaf^i  H  aoalogAus  tb  the  ma^nltod*  of  the  bore  of  the  pump. 


1816.]       hUeUeciual  ^meUtms  of  Mm  and  Animals,  S3 

redacfng  It  to  a  mere  assertion.  The  cOriclusEon,  however,  is  {q- 
Mcaraie  ]  kx  even  if  palsy  were  just  A  loss  of  volition,  it  would  be 
hj  DO  meani  woDderftil  if  the  functions  of  the  cerebellum  were  de- 
ian{$ed  by  an  in^ry  of  the  cerebrum,  since  twO  immediately  cOH- 

Sruoin  and  ittimatety  connected  organs  taiust  powerfully  inftuencfe 
bk  other.  Dr.  Cross  niust  be  aware  tliM  even  remote  organt 
tvidfenee  this  sympathy ;  and  it  msy  even  to  himaell'havc  happened, 
ftot  a  deranged  state,  for  instance,  of  the  Doctor's  bowels  may  havfe 
tmaeA  ao  afifection  of  his  head ;  but  surely  the  Doctor  would  n<A 
AtcfHitire  conclcrde  that  the  cause  of  the  derangement  was  in  hifi 
hMd.  Just  so  it  is,  that  nb  deran^ment  of  volition  caused  hj 
kgnry  of  [he  cerebrum  is  ar^  proof  that  the  cerebrum  is  the  seat 
of  volition.  So  much  for  one  half  of  the  Doctor's  proof.  Id  th6 
other,  he  humbly  submits  that  palsy  is  just  a  loss  of  voliiion.  I 
reply  that  palsy  is  no  such  thing ;  and  as  the  Doctor  is  fond  of  Ic^c, 
I  shall  give  him  my  proof  in  a  logical  form. — \Ve  cannot  be  con- 
scious of  any  mental  act  unless  that  act  exist ;  but  volition  is  a 
mental  act  of  which  the  patient  is  conscious  in  palsy ;  therefore 
pnlsy  is  not  Jtisl  a  loss  of  voRtJon ! 

Having  thus,  I  believe  satisfactorily,  replied  to  the  Doctor's 
argumant  against  mt,  1  mu&t  notice  the  claiip  wliich  he  sets  up  fop 
(umself.  He  has  discovered,  he  says,  {hat  "  the  cerebellum  sup- 
plies the  face  with  nervous  energy ; "  aiKl  of  me  he  asserts  "  that 
there  is  not  even  the  smallest  hint,  from  the  l/eginnifig  to  the  end  of 
his  tract,  that  could  at  all  lead  '}a  the  smullesl  degree  towards  this 
discovery."  Now  as  that  and  the  succeeding  tract  show,  in  great 
latitude  and  detail,  that  all  Anilrscular  ptarts  are  supplied  with  nerves 
from  the  cerebelluni  or  the  {x)sterior  columns  of  the  spinal  marrow, 
and  more  especially  that  all  those  encephalic  nerves  which  supply 
tmiscles  o/!  the  face  have  at  least  one  ongm  directly  from  the  cere- 
belhm,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  any  Gentleman  could  venture 
to  make  so  aiixiously  tatdologoiis  and  obvioiisly  unltrue  an  assertion 
as  the  preceding.  In  these  tracts,  I  have  said,  "  Like  these  (the 
Spinal  nerves),  all  the  encephalic  nerves  have  two  portions — a  cere- 
amt  a'nA  a  cerebetUc,  except  the  first,  second,"  &c,' — p.  175;  and 
"  The  traHsrene  bunds  (these  are  the  poiis  varolii,  the  narrower  and 
Batter  band  of  Spurzheim  immediately  below  it,  and  the  much 
broader  and  radiating  but  jlerfectly  flat  banrd  belOw  that,  which  was. 
fihtpbiiited  out  by  myself)  seem  uniformly  to  serve  thfe  purpose  of 
conducting  the  cerebellic  origins  of  the  nerirs ; " — p.  1 79.  With 
regard  tb  that  enerahafic  nerve  in  particular  which  is  by  way  of  pre- 
eminence namedyocia^  I  have  demonstrated  the  remarkable  coiirse 
(tf  its  tW'o  portions,  cerebral  anA  cerehellic,  overlooked  by  airothcE 
fuatomiits — p.  148;  and  I  have  done  the  same  with  regard  to  seve- 
ral other  nerves.  Thestf  I  think  are  proofs  sufficiently  ample  to 
show  how  far  the  face  (though  opposed,  in  the  sense  above  cx- 
phtued,  to  the  cerebellum,  that  is  in  so  far  as  it  contains  the  organs 
of  sense,  and  not  as  it  is  furnished  with  muscles)  is  yet  dependent 
OD  the  cerebellum  for  the  supply  of  its  muscular  paiti.  TKeie  prooti 
Vol- VI,  N°  I.  '^  C 


34  On  the  Uses  of  tka  Dmal  Vtssel.  [Jctr, 

I  adduced  «x  yean  ago ;  and  yet  Dr.  Cross  tells  me  I  have  not  said 
one  word  of  the  cerebellum  recetviog  nervoua  energy  from  the  iRCe» 
.but  that  he  has  now  made  the  discovery  t  Though,  however,  the 
muscles  of  the  l^ce  thus  receive  motive  energy  from  the  cerebellum) 
not  one  of  its  sensitive  nerves  are  derived  from  it;  for  even  the 
auditory  nerve,  after  crossing  the  corpora  restiformia,  ascends  to  the 
cerebrum.  As,  then,  the  face  receives  only  motive  and  not  sensitive 
energy  from  the  cerebellum,  and  as  I  proved  this  six  years  ago,  I 
cannot  divine  (o  what  diicovery  it  is  that  Dr.  Cross  on  this  subject 
pretends. — Having  thus  done  justice  to  myself  by  exposixg  this  (I 
dare  say  unintentional)  plagiarism,  I  leave  it  to  tome  friei^  of  Dr. 
Crawford's  to  do  him  similar  justice  with  regard  to  Dr.  Cross's 
charcoal  hypothesis  of  respiration. 

) 


Article  VII. 

Observations  on  the  Uses  of  the  Dorsal  Vessel,  or  on  the  Influence 
which  the  Heart  exercises  in  the  Organization  of  articulated 
Anhnals,  and  on  the  Changes  which  that  Organimtion  expe- 
riences when  the  Heart  or  the  Organ  of  Circulation  ceases  to 
exist.    By  M.  MmccI  de  Serres. 

(CmuUtdtdfrom  Vol.  V.  p.  3T9.) 
I.  Respiration  tn  the  Air  hy  means  of  Tubular  Trachea. 
Division  1. — Ontr/  Arterial  Trachece. 
Pulmonary  trachece  exist  in  the  greater  number  of  the  calec^- 
teres ;  but  there  are  certain  geaera,  as  the  cerambyx,  blaps,  and 
most  of  tenebrunides,  in  which  they  are  not  observed.  These 
tracheiB  take  air  immediately]  forming  round  the  stigmata  very 
numerous  bundles.  Bnt  that  a  communication  may  be  established 
among  all  the  tracheae,  there  exists  a  common  trunk  which  extends 
from  one  stigma  to  another,  and  which  opens  in  that  part.  It  It 
from  this  common  trunk  that  these  numerous  bundles  proceed^  of 
which  we  have  spc^n,  and  which  distribute  the  air  to  all  parts  of 
the  body.  The  direction  of  the  trachea,  then,  is  almost  always 
transversal.  As  these  vessels  issue  in  bundles  from  a  common  trunk, 
they  present  in  some  measare  the  disposition  of  a  horse's  tliil.  In 
the  genera  of  which  we  are  speaking,  the  tracheie  are  very  nume- 
rous in  the  breast ;  to  such  a  degree,  indeed,  that  they  almost 
cover  the  muscles  of  that  part.  We  see  them  all  presenting  a  ' 
transvenal  direction.  As  they  are  very  near  each  ptiier,  they  form 
pn  the  mutclcs  parallel  sircalw,  so  very  close  together  that  it  is  with 
^fficulty  that  any  interval  at  a]l  can  be  sees  between  them.    These 


i 


181S.)  On  ffie  Uses  of  the  Dorsul  Pesseti  35 

pectoral  tracbete  proceed  from  the  comtDon  trunk,  which  takes  up 
air  in  the  fint  ^tigma  of  the  abdomen. 

In  general  the  arterial  trachee  are  very  much  branched,  and  give 
out  an  infiDite  number  of  ramifications.  This  disposition  is  very 
striking  in  the  genera  of  which  we  are  speaking,  aad  whicii  are  db- 
tiDgaished  by  the  position  of  their  stigmata.     These  stigmata  ara 

r laced  below  the  elytres,  and  on  the  sides  of  the  body  in  the  back. 
t  may  be  owing  to  the  difficulty  which  the  air  finds  lo  introduce 
itself  into  these  stigmata,  especially  wiien  they  are  concealed  below 
immoveable  elytres,  ta  in  the  bhps,  that  the  arterial  tracheas  are  so 
disposed  that  all  pilrts  of  the  body  speedily  enjoy  tlie  iiii^uence  of 
the  air.  These  stigmata  are  formed  in  the  common  way  by  a 
jutting  out  horoy  border  Of  considerable  thickne&s.  Their  opening 
is  oral,  and  their  greatest  diameter  is  in  a  transverse  direction.  It 
is  easy,  by  opening  them,  to  perceive  the  common  trunk  of  the 
arterial  tracheae,  which  opens  tiiere.  The  disposition  of  tlie  arterial 
trachea  in  the  cehrio  longicomis  is  almost  the  same  as  in  that  which 
we  have  just  described. 

In  the  plialangium  and  analogous  genera,  only  a  single  order  of 
trachesB  is  observed.  The  respiratory  system  in  these  genera  may 
be  considered  as  formed  of  common  trunks,  which,  situated  in  the 
neck,  are  the  centre  from  which  all  the  other  ramifications  proceed, 
lliese  common  trunks  are  found  near  the  stigmata,  lo  which  they 
send  a  brancii ;  and  from  this  point  proceed  two  bundles  of  traches, 
which  spread  over  all  the  body,  especially  the  intestinal  viscerai 
We  see  even  that  they  surround  each  appendix  of  the  intestinal 
tnbe^  and  their  first  membrane  is  in  part  tbrmed  of  these  trache». 
The  common  trunks  continue  thus  along  the  sides  of  the  4x>dy, 
giving  out  different  branches  to  the  muscles  of  the  legs,  to  the 
mouth,  to  the  dorsal  vessel,  and  to  the  organs  of  generation.  Tliia 
respiratory  system  is  one  of  the  simplest.  Only  two  stigmata  exist, 
placed  rni  each  side  of  the  corcelet,  on  the  same  line  as  the  fourth 
pair  of  legs.  These  stigmata  are  oval,  the  greatest  diameter  pro- 
ceeding from  below  upwards.  Internally  we  ace  thnt  tbeyhavea 
border  pretty  strong.  They  are  very  large,  compared  to  the  size  of 
the  body. 

The  larvse  of  lepidopteres,  or  caterpillars,  have  likewise  noijiing 
but  arterial  tracheae.  Lyonnei,*  to  whom  the  anatomy  of  insects 
is  so  much  indebted,  had  already  remarked  this  fact.  However,  I 
thought  it  wonh  verifying  in  the  caterpillars  of  ditfcrcnt  butterflies, 
especially  in  those  of  the  cabbage  and  of  fennel ;  in  the  larvea  of  the 
bombyx  pavonia  major,  mori,  and  in  that  of  the  sphinx  tetropos.  In 
all  these  I  found  only  arterial  tracheae.  When  there  aie  only  arterial 
trachea),  we  see  them  always  formed  by  a  oammott'ltunlt,  which 
opens  into  the  stigmata,  and  from  which  numerous  rajQifications 
proceed,  which  are  distributed  to  all  parts  of  the  body.  This 
common  trunk  extends^from  one  extremity  of  the  body  to  another, 

SreTraiU  Analomiqne  dcla  Chmillc  dnSanIr,  p.  101  u)dS37,  tmb.  i.  tf.  B. 


38  ,  ^  ike  Uses  of  the  Dorsal  ffessd.  [Jolt, 

apd  its  diameter  b  at  least  b  miHimetre. (0*08937  inch) ;  BometinieR 
it  is  even  more  cbnsiderable.  It  is  from  this  eommon  trunk  that  the 
bundles  d  transverse  trachen  always  divided  into  pairs  proceed  ; 
the  ramifications  of  which  are  generally  uoequal.  'Vhe  number  of 
these  byndtes  of  tracheee  is  always  twice  that  of  (he  stigmata,  as  two 
altrays  proceed  from  each  stigma. 

The  insects  which  respire  air  immediately,  and  which  have  oniy 
aiicrial  traches,  are  those  in  which  the  res^ratory  system  is  sim- 
plest. TTie  species  in  which  this  disposition  exists  requite  to  enjojf 
&e  indueoce  of  air  as  speedily  as  possible.  Hence  it  ts  distribute^ 
almost  as  soon  as  it  is  received. 

llie  pulmonary  trachea  of  the  scarites  gigas  originate  above  the 
cerebriform  ganglion  by  a  tmnsversal  branch,  from  whjch  proceed 
ramifications  to  the  upper  lip,  the  antenoK,  and  the  eyes.     Ttiia    i 
branch  is  prolonged  ni  the  head  by  two  principal  trunks,  whicti 
extend  in  the  corcelet,  and  then  in  the  rest  of  the  body.     These 
tninks  having  reached  the  corcelet,  form  on  each  side  of  '\he  dorsal    ; 
vessel  a  kind  of  semicircle,  giving  out  numerous  ramifications  to 
the  dorsal  vessel  and,  the  surrounding  muscles.     The  pulmonary    i 
bunks,  when  they  reach  the  breast^   approach  the  dorsal  ressel 
more  and  more,  forming  on  each  side  eriames,  semicircles,  ffom    ■■ 
the  centre  c^  which  proceed  the  branches  that  form  a  communicB- 
ties  between  the  pulmonary  and  arterial  trachea:.    The  cotBtDOR 
pulmonary  trunks  continue  in  tlie  same  manner  in  the  abdomen.    , 
where  lliey  form  afterwards  rings  in  semicircles,  from  which  proceed    i 
the  principal  branches,  which  form  a  communication  between  them 
and  the  arterial  tracheee.     As  to  the  branches  that  come  from  the 
internal  side,  they  all  go  to  the  <k>rsal  vessel  and  the  muscles  that 
surround  it.    In  this  place  the  puIm<Hiaiy  trunks  never  acquire  a 
large  diameter. 

The  trunks  of  the  arterial  traebeee  rise  below  the  cerebrum  by 
two  principal  branches,  which  distribute  themselves  over  the  man- 
djbh^,  and  the  different  pails  of  the  mouth,  iliese  branches  have 
a  Very  considerable  diameter,  and  a  reddish  colour.  When  they 
come  to  the  corcelet,  they  unite,  and  form  only  one  trunk.  After 
this  they  send  a  large  branch  to  the  first  pair  of  legs ;  while  from 
their  interior  aide  they  send  branches  to  the  trunks  of  the  pulmonary 
traches,  and  to  the  intestinal  tube.  The  same  thing  takes  place  in 
the  thorax.  These  tracheas  diminish  somewhat  in  size  in  the  abdo- 
men,, and  keeping  always  at  the  side  of  the  body,  the  eittemal 
branches  go  to  the  stigmata,  while  the  internal  surround  the  intes- 
tinal tube  and  th^  organs  of  generation  with  a  fine  network  of  tra- 
chete.  The  common  trunks  form  from  ring  to  ring  semicircles, 
always  furnishing  the  branches  of  which  we  iiave  spoken.  We,  , 
ohserre  tliat  from  each  semicircle  formed  by  tho  arterial  tradieae 
there  issue  two  long  cylindrical  tracheae,  which  ramify  to  infinity 
on  the  intestinal  tube  and  the  organs  of  generation.  There  are  few 
species  in  which  these  tracheie  are  more  distinct  or  extensive.  In 
general  the  abdominal  trachete  are  of  a  silver-white ;  those'of  the 


1815.}  On  the  Uses  of  the  Dorsal  riuel.  if 

jjoTcelet  have  a  sbade  of  red.  The  stigmata  of  this  species  placed 
fupon  the  infeiior  sides  of  the  abdomen  are  rouoded  ana  bordered  bj 
,a  salliant  fold  of  the  corcaceous  envelope. 

^veral  of  the  orthopteres  exhibit  at  once  arterial  and  polmonary 
traches.  Of  this  number  are  the  forficula,  blattse^  phasmes, 
roantes,  Bchetes,  locusta,  mole  crickets.  But  as  ihtse  tracbew  an; 
Dot  similar  in  differant  geoeta,  and  as  their  comjjlication  h  not 
quite  the  same,  we  shall  make  them  known  in  those  in  which  it 
presents  the  greatest  peculiarity. 

'the  respiratory  organs  of  the  forficulee  and  blattte  present  little 
diOcrence.  They  are  composed  of  a  system  of  arteriul  tracbeie 
formed  by  a  common  trunk,  which  extends  from  one  extremity  of 
the  body  to  another,  and  into  wbidi  transversal  tracheae  pass,  wliicl) 
are  distributed  in  a  great  number  of  parts.  In  the  head  they  furnish 
the  ramifications  to  ibe  principal  muscles,  especially  to  the  adduc- 
tors and  abductors  of  the  mandibles  and  cesophagus.  They  then  . 
extend  io  the  corcelei  by  two  principal  trunks  which  lie  below  the 
putmonary  trachese,  but  which  soon  divide,  giving  out  numerous 
ramificatbns  to  the  muscles  of  the  corcelct,  to  the  intestinal  tube 
and  the  first  pair  of  legs.  The  principal  trunks  continue  to  the 
thorax,  keeping  on  the  sides  of  the  body.  ,  They  then  send  a  pretty 
large  bi'auch,  which  passes  into  tlie  opening  of  the  tremaer,  to  take 
up  the  air  which  other  ramifications  distribute  in  the  muscles  con- 
tained in  the  thorax,  and  in  those  of  the  wings  and  legs.  It  ap- 
peared to  me  fhat  the  arterial  trachete  furniehcd  in  the  corcelet  and 
thorax  branches  wliich  spread  in  the  legs,  where  they  give  out  a 
much  greater  number  of . ramifications  than  the  pulmonary  traches, 
which  equally  make  their  way  thither.  The  trunks  of  the  arterial 
(rachefe  communicate  with  those  of  the  pulmonary  trachete  by 
lateral  branches  proceeding  from  the  internal  sides  of  these  tracheEe, 
The  same  thing  takes  places  in  the  corcelet,  the  thorax,  and  abdo- 
men. The  same  tracliesB  form  round  the  stomach  and  its  append- 
^es  nets  of  trachea  quite  inextricable. 
The  arterial  trachete,  after  having  given  numerous  ramifications 
'  m  the  thorax,  extend  themselves  in  the  abdomen  by  a  common 
trunk,  which  opens  into  the  six  sitgmata  placed  on  the  sides  of  the 
body.  It  is  likewise  near  these  stigmatn  that  the  common  trunks 
furnish  each  two  bundles  of  transversal  trachese  j  so  that  there  are 
3i  such  bundles  in  the  abdomen.  These  same  tracheae  m^e  all 
the  parts  enjoy  the  impression  of  the  air,  distributing  themselves 
over  the  intestinal  viscera,  the  organs  of  generation,  and  the  abdo- 
minal tnuscles.  I  must  observe  that  the  communication  of  the 
arterial  and  dorsal  tracheie  takes  place  by  me^ns  of  transversal 
branches,  which  the  first  send  off  at  intervals  to  ihe  second. 

The  pulmonary  trachea  appear  equally  in  the  head,  where  they 
extend  round  the  superior  portion  of  the  ceiebriform  ganglion  and 
round  the  eyes,  whether  single  or  compound.  They  give  out  but  a 
unaii  number  of  ramifications  in  the  head  j  and  passing  through  the 
Mperior  portioD  of  the  occipital  foramen,  they  goto  the  corcelet^ 


38  On  the  Uses  of  the  Dorsal  VessfiL  [JuLiT,' 

wliere  they  spread  themselves  in  the  first  pair  of  legs  withont  send- 
ing out  many  brsDches.  Always  placed  at  a  smalt  distRnce  from  the 
dorsal  vessel,  they  pass  into  the  thorax ;  where,  however,  they 
eeparate  a  little  from  that  vessel,  forming  round  it  a  kind  of  S. 
These  Iraches  send  branches  into  the  two  last  pair  of  legs,  in  vrhich 
they  do  not  ramify  much.  Wheo  they  come  into  the  abdomen  they 
approach  the  dorsal  vessel,  sending  it  small  ramifications,  as  they 
do  during  their  whole  passage.  Tliese  ramifications  appear  to  com- 
pose the  first  membrane  of  this  vessel.  These  traciiefe  extend  to 
the  extremity  of  the  abdomen,  forming  from  ring  to  ring  semi- 
circles more  or  less  near  each  other.  Such  is  the  general  diatribu- 
tion  of  the  trachese  in  these  two  genera,  in  which  these  vessels  have 
a  very  small  diameter. 

The  disposition  of  these  two  orders  of  trachea  is  not  quite  the 
same  in  the  acheles  as  in  the  genera  of  which  we  have  spohen. 
They  have  likewise  a  greater  diameter,  so  that  they  are  more  easily 
followed. 

The  arterial  trachete  begin  below  the  cerebrum,  from  which,  as 
firom  a  central  point,  they  send  branches  to  diflerent  parts  of  the 
head.  These  branches  have  not  an  equal  diameter;  and  those 
which  go  to  the  muscles  of  the  mandibles  are  remarkably  large. 
These  branches,  penetrating  into  the  mandibles,  give  numerous 
ramificHtions,  the  smallest  divisions  of  which  penetrate  as  lar.  as  the 
teeth  of  these  parts.  The  arterial  trachee  furnish  equally  branches 
to  the  dilfcrent  parts  of  the  mouth,  and  extend  by  two  principal 
trunks  jnto  the  corcelet  passing  through  the  opening  of  \\iK  foramen 
occipUale.  Thev  then  go  towards  the  fore  part,  along  the  sides  of 
the  corcelet,  and  give  pretty  numerous  ramifications  to  the  rotatory 
muscles  of  the  head,  and  to  the  muscles  belonging  to  the  corcelet^ 
and  likewise  to  those  of  the  legs.  Come  to  the  base  of  the  corcelet, 
the  arterial  trachese.  form  a  very  large  trachea,  which  passes  into  an 
ppeniog  situated  on  the  lateral  and  inferior  side ;  and  in  this  manner 
they  receive  directly  the  impression  of  the  external  air.  This 
trachea  then  extends  to  the  extremity  of  the  first  pair  of  legs,  wttb-: 
out  giving  out  many  ramifications.  The  arterial  tracheas  then  pro- ' 
ceed  to  the  thorax,  being  always  situated  at  the  side  of  the  body, 
They  send  numerous  branches  to  the  muscles  of  the  thorax,  prin- 
cipally to  those  of  the  wings,  the  elytres,  and  legs.  These  trachera 
furnish  likewise  hraneliesto  the  last  pair  of  legs,  and  to  the  pul- 
monary fracheje,  to  which  they  carry  air.  After  having  furnished 
these  principal  branches,  and  a  great  number  of  others  much  more 
small,  the  arterial  tracheep  proceed  to  the  abdomen,  where  they 
form  a  mure  coinplicated  apparatus.  Extending  always  along  the 
sides  of  that  part,  their  trunks  open  into  the  stigmata  by  a  ramifi- 
cation whose  diameter  is  not  so  considerable.  These  trachcte 
towards  their  inside  give  out  six  principal  branches,  divided  each 
into  two  ramifications,  much  larger,  which  unite  in  a  single  trunk 
that  passes  into  the  pulmonary  tracben.  But  before  uniting  in  a 
cpnunoQ  irunk,  the  large  ramifications  give  out  two  lateral  brancbesj 


1815.]  On  Ike  Uses  of  the  Dorsal  Feiiel.  39 

which  establish  a  commuaication  of  superior  and  iDferior  ramifica- 
tions. All  these  trachese  enjoy  immediately  the  action  of  the  aifj 
and  distribute  it  into  the  pulmonary  tracheeB.  It  is  from  the  first 
branch  pnncipally  that  tne  tracheee  proceed  which  spread  them- 
selves on  the  organs  of  generation,  while  those  of  the  intestinal 
viscera  are  furnished  successively  by  the  six  branches.  Besides  ^ese 
principal  branches,  the  common  trunk  furnishes  other  four,  one 
which  precedes  all  the  branches,  and  three  which  come  imme- 
diately atter  them.  The  first  spreads  itself  on  the  superior  abdo- 
mioal  muscles,  and  upon  the  intestinal  tube.  The  others,  on  the 
contrary,  give  numerous  ramifications  to  the  muscles  of  the  abdo- 
men, and  particularly  to  the  organs  of  generation. 
'  The  pulmonary  tracheee,  more  constant  in  their  direction,  rise 
above  the  cerebriibrm  ganglion  by  a  common  trunk,  which  diridea 
into  two  principal  branches,  the  upper  of  which  go  to  the  eyes  and 
the  antennae.  The  lower  extend  backwards  to  the  foramen  oedpi-' 
tale,  traverse  the  muscles  of  the  mandibles,  and  penetirate  into  the 
corcelet.  There  they  separate  a  little  from  each  other>  give  out  a 
branch  to  the  first  pair  of  legs,  and  furnish  a  very  few  branches  to 
the  muscles  of  the  corcelet.  These  trachea  then  make  their  way 
into-the  thorax,  where  they  give  Out  two  principal  branches,  which 
terminate  in  the  legs,  furnishing  some  ramifications  to  the  muscles. 
When  they  come  to  the  abdomen,  they  approach  each  other,  and 
run  near  the  dorsal  vessel,  sending  out  a  great  number  of  branches, 
which  dinde  themselves  on  the  external  membrane  of  this  vessel. 
During  their  whole  passage  we  see  them  almost  always  sinuous, 
forming  from  distance  to  distance  semicircles,  which  touch  each 
other  by  their  summits.  As  we  have  already  explained  how  these 
liachcfe  receive  air,  we  shall  not  resume  the  subject  again. 

The  respiratory  organs  of  the  phasmse  consist  equally  of  two 
orden  of  trachea,  the  arterial  and  pulmonary.  These  last  present 
in  the  head  four  principal  branches.  The  superior  brandies  are  the' 
largest  and  longest.  They  furnish  branches  to  the  antennee,  the 
upper  lip,  and  the  mandibles.  When  these  trachea  make  their 
way  into  the  corcelet,  they  separate  from  each  other,  and  unite  with 
the  branches  of  the  inferior  pulmonary  tracheie  to  penetrate  into 
the  first  pair  of  legs,  where  they  spread  themselves.  The  inferior 
blanches  of  the  pulmonary  tracheee  are  situated  below  the  preceding. 
Their  trunks  are  more  nearly  straight.  All  these  tracheie  issue 
ibrongh  the  foramen  occipitale,  and  unite  in  the  corcelet,  so  as  to 
form  only  two  principal  trunks,  more  or  less  near  to  the  dorsal 
vessel,  but  always  accompanying  it.  When  these  branches  have 
come  as  far  as  ttie  second  pair  of  legs,  they  send  ihem  a  principal 
branch.  The  same  thing  happens  when  they  come  to  the  third 
pur.  When  they  enter  the  abdomen,  they  proceed  still  nearer  the 
dorsal  vessel,  to  which  they  send  numerous  branches. 

The  arterial  tracheie  have  not  a  direction  so  constant  as  the  pul- 
monary. In  general,  being  composed  of  bundles  of  branches,  they 
make  all  parts  enjoy  the  impression  of  air,  which  thejr  receive  inn- 


40-  ,0n  Ute  XJtet  of  iht  Dorsal  Kesffi.  |^D(.r, 

mediately.  IVir  cqqimon  trqnl<^  ■itwled  belmr  tke  (KKboform 
gat^lion,  furaisli  qu;nero^i  branches  io  di&r^nt  part*  of  the  heag, 
uieD  in  the  corcel^ts  to  the  difTerent  puts  of  the  legt.  yVhcn  they 
reach  the  tborsf,  these  trunks  throvv  out  a  br^ncb  oq  eacb  &id?, 
^hich  goes  to  ntcei?e  air  by  the  opening  o[  tbe  trem^^,  and  tbeic 
-two  other  principal  b^qches  go  to  the  legs.  These  tiachese  giv« 
likewise  branches  to  the  muscleB.  of  the  thorax,  and  to  the  pulino> 
iiary  trachete  a^d  tbe  intestinal  viscera.  The  same  ic  the  ca^  iq 
the  abdomen.  In  the  abdomen  the  artenal  trachea;  ^ve  out  oi^ 
each  side  aa  many  branches  n  th^re  ve  stigmata,  and  thesf  com- 
municate with  the  pulmonary  trachea.  'Hie  direction  of  thest; 
branches  is  transverse,  compared  with  tbe  axif  of  the  body,  while 
the  common  trunks  of  these  same  tiaches:,  as  well  as  of  th^  pul- 
monary, are  parallel  tp  the  axis  of  tbe  boijy. 

The  abdominal  arterial  trachew  furnish  branches  to  the  intestint^ 
vUcera  and  the  oi^iis  of  generation.  They  form  on  these  parts 
very  numerous  networks. 

The  dist^ibutioo  of  the  trscheee  ii  still  more  admirable  in  ihi^ 
mantes  .than  in  the  diflerent  genera  that  we  liave  hitherto  studied. 
Their  ditectioq  is  bo  complicated  that  it  is  difficult  to  describe  it. 
\Vc  sba.ll  observf,  however,  that  tbe  pulmooary  trachaB  originate 
above  the  cerebriforiq  ganglion  by  a  common  trunk,  horn  which  six 

firincipal  branches  proceed :  two  lateral,  which  go  to  the  eyes^  two 
nferior,  for  the  upper  Up ;  and  two  others  for  the  antemuf .  Froia 
V^ete  branchy  there  proceed  others,  which  proceed  to  the  difierent 
cirgans  of  tbe  mouth.  This  commop  trunk  then  proceeds  to  the 
corcelet,  always  separating  more  and  more.  When  it  baa  got  inia 
that  part  it  sends  off  a  branch  which  unites  with  an  arterial  trachea. 
These  twQ  tracheee,  thua  forming,  but  a  single  onC)  go  to  the  first  o£ 
t^e  legs,  and  eittend  to  lis  extremity,  giving  oCT  numerous  branches. 
The  pulmonary  trachee,  proceecling  on  in  the  corceletp  approach 
a  little  to  the  dorsal  vessel.  They  then  enlarge  considerably  oppo- 
ute  to  the  fir&t  pair  of  legs,  sending  to  them  a  branch,  which  unites, 
ivitb  the  most  external  arterial  branch  of  the  trefuaer.  By  thi& 
xinion  the  two  trunks  form  only  a  single  one,  which  extends  to  the 
extremity  of  the  first  pair  of  legs.  The  pulmonary  tracheie  then, 
approach  tlie  dorsal  vessel,  send  it  soipe  branches,  as  they  do  like- 
Wise  to  the  muscles  of  the  corcelet,  Whep  they  have  cowe  to  its 
extremity,  they  send  out  a,  lateral  branch,  which  unitt$  wjth  tbe  i^ost 
external  of  the  arterial  trachea.  'I'he  pulmonary  tracbete  th^n  bacome 
Urge,  and  give  out  at  firit  a  hriinch,  which  goes  to  the  ^cond  pajr 
of  legs;  and  after  having  diminished  in  diameter,  they,  send  oitt 
apolher  branch  in  that  part.  Tlies^  tracheae  furnish  likewi!ie  diSe^ 
rent  ramifications  to  the  dorsal  vessel,  and  they  gradually  approach 
nearer  it.  But  when  they  have  got  as  far  as  the  first  stigma  they 
separate  from  it  suddenly,  forming  a  semicircle,  which  giv9t  out  a. 
bibncb  tittt  establishes  a  comtnunicatJon  with  the  arferial  tracheae 
And  with  tbe  seventh  stigmft.  From  this  poipt  the,  putqipnary. 
tiacheEe.have  two  principal  truola:  the  most  interD^l  is.vfry  wia4-. 


If  15.]-  On  the  Uses  (^  the  Dorid  Vmd.  41 

iag  Bad  irregular;  the  extemal  estcDda  in  a  ■traight  line  to  the 
opfDiag  of  the  seventh  stigma^  where  it  receives  the  ioipres^ioD  of 
tbe  air  as  well  as  the  internal  trunk.  Thew  tnu  trunks  of  pulnoo- 
Jf9^  tirache^  cooununicate  with  each  other  by  means  of  the  lateral 
branches,  which  are  an  io  number  on  each  side ;  but  besides  thes* 
l^ler^l  branches,  there  exists  one  at  the  base  of  the  body,  which 
unites  the  two  systems  of  pulmonary  tracheae,  Thb  apparatus,  ia 
fiombiniitg  with  that  of  the  arterial  trache»,  forms  an  admlraljlc 
whole,  wtiich  the  silvery  colour  of  the  tracheal  renders  still  more 
agreeable  to  the  eye.  The  internal  trunk  of  the  pulmonary  tracheM 
.sends  out  a  great  many  branches  to  the  dorsal  vessel,  brabches  which 
divide  themselves  to  infinity.  We  see  how  complicated  the  pul-> 
mooary  tracheee  are  in  this  genua,  and  all  in  order  that  there  may 
be  a  gceater  reservoir  of  inspired  air. 

The  arterial  tj^achese  rise  in  the  head  below  the  cerehriform 
ganglion.  They  give  out  there  large  branches,  which  spread  them- 
selves in  the  muscles  of  difierent  parts  of  the  mouth.  They  go 
likewise  to  the  upper  part  of  the  head,  and  unite  with  the  trachea 
that  proceed  to  the  eyes.  They  then  pass  into  the  corcdet,  ajways 
along  the  side  o£  the  body.  Tlie.two  great  branches  parallel  to  the 
common  trugk  of  the  arterial  traeheEe,  and  which  open  into  the 
tremaer  situated  at  dte  base  of  the  corcelet,  may  be  considered  ai 
l)elcpging  to  this  systeniy  though  they  appear  to  be.  divisions  of  pul- 
sionafy  ttachete.  The  external  trunk  of  the  arterial  trachss  gi^'ea 
a,  great  many  ramifications  to  the  muscles  of  the  thorax.  We  liave 
not  given  a  figure  of  them,  because  we  wi^d  to  render  our  repie- 
lentaXion  more  intelligible ;  for  if  we  had  exhibited  all  the  ramifi- 
Otfions  that  we  perceive,  it  would  have  been  very  difficult  to  have 
loUowed  the  direction  of  the  principal  trachete  ;  so  that  we  should 
)iave  run  the  risk  of  lailing  in  our  object.  The  arterial  trachea 
unite  with  the  pulmonary  towards  the  Iwse  of  the  otocelet.  Tliey 
then  poietiate  into  the  thorax  by  three  principal  branches^,  and  tha 
two  external  uoite,  fori^ing  a  kiod  of  oval,  before  which  the  inter- 
mediate branch  unites  with  the  Jirst  pulmonary  trachea,  which  goea 
to  the  third  pair  of  legs.  These  uterial  tritcheffi  fomj  soon  after. 
two  principal  trunks,  situated  further  doifn,  and  more  externally, 
than  the  trunks  of  the  arterial  tracheee,  Kach  of  them  sends  » 
lateral  branch,  which  opens  into  tlie  stigmata;  so  that  there  exist  12 
lateral  branches,  since  there  are  six  stigmata^  and  each  recf»ves  two. 
We  may  even  reckon  14,  since  the  whole  oi  the  system  terminates 
ill,  the  seventh  stigma  by  two  principal  branches.  The  trache«. 
vbtch  go  to  ihq  orgus  of  generation  proceed  from  the  third  hiteral 
ImDqf):  these  traebeiR  are  very  luge  and  numerous.  But  beeidea 
tltf^^t.ra¥heEf^  the  conimon  trunks  furnish  a  great  number  to  the 
intestinal  viscer^.  We  have  not  given  figures  of  them,  for  th« 
iSnnn  already  stated. 

The  descrifK^qns  .which  we  haw  given  of  the  wkus  res^nrtorr 
OQglpa  is  insects^  must  have  shown  that.by  means  of  tlua  coaaph- 
<^kI  ap^iDfatui,  tti#r9  is  a  xeA  circulation  of  air.ia.tbat  ord«r  «jf: 

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42  On  the  Uses  of  the  Dorsal  Vessel.  [Juty, 

animals.  This  circalation  is  still  more  evident  in  the  mantes  than 
in  the  genera  that  we  have  desoribed.  The  air  taken  in  bv  the 
branches  of  the  arterial  tracheffi  in  the  stigmata,  is  spread,  hy 
means  of  their  common  trunks,  into  the  branches  of  the  pulmfmary 
tracheffi  which  carry  it  to  their  principal  trunks,  where  it  is  taken 
up  by  other  ramifications,  and  distributed  in  all  parts  of  the  body. 
When  the  decarbonization  of  the  blood  is  effected,  the  remaining 
oxygen,  the  azote,  and  the  carbonic  acid,  are  driven  out  by  the 
contraction  of  the  elastic  tracheEe.  These  gases  may  either  take  the 
road  by  wliich  the  air  entered,  or  a  different  one.  All  parts,  then, 
enjoy  the  impression  of  air ;  and  the  pulmonary  tracheae  are  des-' 
lined  to  serve  as  a  reservoir,  that  this  impression  may  be  for  some 
time  independent  of  the  inspirations  and  expirations. 

The  locusta  exhibits  likewise  two  orders  of  traches,  but  their 
situation  is  different  from  what  we  described  as  that  of  the  mantes. 
The  pulmonary  trachcie  extend  in  a  straight  line  from  one  extre- 
miiy  of  the  body  to  the  other,  always  keeping  towards  the  middle 
and  upper  part  of  the  body.  They  originate  above  the  cerebrum, 
give  some  branches  to  that  organ,  then  proceed  to  the  eyes,  sending' 
different  branches  to  the  organs  situated  in  the  head. 

These  tracheEe  penetrate  into  the  cot'celet  through  the  foramen 
occipitale,  approach  each  other  by  degrees,  and  become  gradually 
parallel,  giving  out  a  branch  to  the  first  pair  of  legs,  Whenthey 
come  to  the  thorax  they  give  out  different  branches,  some  of  which 
go  to  the  two  last  pair  of  legs,  and  others  to  the  muscles  of  the 
thorax.  When  they  reach  the  abdomen  their  diameter  diminishes, 
though  they  receive  nine  branches  from  each  side,  furnished  them 
by  the  arterial  tracbete.  Ttiese  tracheie  then  extend  to  the  extre- 
mity of  the'  body,  giving  out  a  certain  number  of  ramifications  to 
the  dorsal  vessel. 

The  pulmonary  tracheie  are  very  conspicuous  in  this  genus  ;  but 
the  contrary  is  the  case  with  the  arterial.  Originating  below  the 
cerebrlform  ganglion,  they  distribute  themselves  to  different  parts 
of  the  head,  giving  in  particular  numerous  branches  to  the  muscles 
of  the  head.  Tbey  extend  in  the  corcelet  by  two  common  trunks, 
which  go  along  the  side  of  the  body.  But  when  they  reach  as  far 
as  the  first  pair  of  legs,  they  become  considerably  larger,  form  a  sort 
of  tubular  cavity,  and  take  air  immediately  by  a  large  oval  opening  or 
stigma  situated  in  that  part.  This  tracheee,  the  diameter  of  which 
is  very  considerable,  extends  to  the  exfremity  of  these  legs.  Be- 
sides this  great  branch,  the  arterial  trachesa  furnish  other  ramifica- 
tions to  the  muscles,  and  which  bring  air  to  the  trijnk  of  the  pul- 
monary trache».  The  arterial  tracheie  continuing  in  the  thorax  and 
abdomen  by  two  common  trunks,  send  branches  to  the  legs,  the 
pulmonary  traciiese,  and  the  muscles  of  the  thorax. 

The  arterial  tracheae  become  very  complicated  in  the  abdomen. 
By  their  internal  side  they  give  off  16  principal  branches,  12  of 
which  proceed  in  pairs,  while  the  other  four  are  simple,  Tlie  first' 
branch  is  simple :  at  first  rery  small ;  it  increases  smldenly,  giving' 


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iSiS.]  On  the  Uses  of  ike  Dorsal  Vessel. 

referent  ntmiGcations  to  the  abdoniinat  muscles  and  the  p 
tiachess.  The  second  branch  sets  out  simple,  but  speedily  divides 
into  two  branches,  each  much  lur^er  than  the  common  trunk.  Near 
the  point  where  these  trachcfls  unite  to  furnbh  a  single  branch  to  the 
pulmonary  trachee,  they  send  off  two  branches,  the  superior  of  which 
goes  to  the  superior  branch,  and  the  inferior  to  the  iDferior.  Thus 
on  each  side  of  the  abdomen  are  disposed  the  five  other  common 
trunks  which  open  into  the  stigmata,  so  that  these  six  orders  of 
Irachete  correspond  to  the  opening  of  these  parts.  As  there  are  in 
itl  lb'  branches  on  each  side  of  nie  abdomen,  the  arterial  tracheie 
give  on  each  side  three  large  simple  branches,  which  go  to  the 
puhnonary.  They  communicate  with  each  other  by  means  of  small 
ramifications  which  they  send  to  each  otlier.  All  these  principal 
branches  have  constantly  a  transverse  direction.  The  bundle  of 
Irachete  that  go  to  the  organs  of  generation  proceeds  from  the  first 
double  branch.  What  is  remarkable  in  this  respiratory  apparatus  is 
the  great  diameter  of  all  the  abdominal  tracbete,  especially  those 
with  double  branches.  These  trachece  are  so  large,  and  so  close 
ti^her,  that  they  lorm  a  kind  of  envelope  round  the  organs  con- 


tained in  the  abdomen. 


Article  VHI. 

yfn  Essay  on  the  Shapes,  Dimensions,  and  Positions  of  the  Spaces, 
in  the  Earth  which  are  called  Rents,  and  the  j^rangement  of  the 
Matter  in  them.    By  Mr.  John  B.  Longmire. 

'      (CgnHnwd  fnm  tal.  v.  p.  9S1.) 

Tkejitnctions  of  lended-tahuloT  Senfs. 

The  horizontal  direction  6f  any  rent  is  not  parallel  to  this  direc- 
tion of  all  the  other  rents  in  a  formation ;  and  as  the  lengths  of  rents 
in  general  are  much  greater  than  the  distance  between  any  two 
contiguous  rents,  many  rents  must  be  joined  to  others.  Two  of  the 
junctions  of  bended- tabular  rents  I  am  now  to  describe. 

Bended-tabular  rents,  according  to  the  di^rence  in  their  posi- 
tions, are  joined  together  in  their  horizontal  directians,  and  in 
those  which  are  at  right  angles  to  them,  whether  angular  or  per- 
pendicular. The  junctions  of  these  rents,  in  common  language, 
are  called  crossings :  and  c»ie  rent  is  said  to  intersect  and  tg  cross 
another ;  and  to  disturb  it  by  throwing  or  heaving  it,  either  up- 
wards or  downwards,  in  hwizontal  junctions,  and  either  to  the  right 
nleft  hand,  in  angular  junctions. 

■     ].  Of  hivixot4al  Junctions. 
the  sides  of  one  rent,  say  the  rent  A.  fig.  1,  Plate  XXXV., 


44  An  Essay  on  Renti.  [Jctlt, 

are  joined  to  those  of  another,  BB,  in  a  direction  cd^  which  is  bo- 
monta),  they  arc  joined  together  in  their  horizontal  directions. 

If  a  mioerj  in  travelliog  downwards  ia  the  angular  direction,  alj, 
<st&  rent,  B,  meet  with  another  rent,  A,  having  a  reverse  poeitloD, 
and  whose  upper  side,  J'e,  is  horizontally  joined  to  both  sides  of 
that  part  of  the  rent  in  which  he  is  standing,  then  the  part  of  the! 
latter  rent  which  is  joined  to  the  under  side  of  the  former  rent,  will 
join  it,  as  at  c,  ahove  the  place  where  the  part  a  I  joins  it  on  the 
Opposite  side. 

Let  it  he  remembered  that  the  strata  are  always  lower  on  the  up- 
per ride  than  on  the  under  side  of  every  rent  of  this  shape,  then  this 
separation  of  the  rent  B  into  parts  will  be  easily  ^counted  for. 
The  lowest  extreftiities  of  any  one  rent  are  generally  situated  in  one 
Stratum ;  hence,  as  the  matter  of  the  formation  contracted,  these 
extremities  of  both  parts  of  the  separated  rent  would  necessarily 
flink  with  the  stratum  that  contains  them ;  but  tlus  stratum,  as  weU 
AS  those  above  it,  sunk  a  greater  distance  oii  the  upper  side,  than  on 
the  under  side  of  the^unseparated  rent,  aod  brought  down  the  part 
of  the  separated  rent  which  lies  on  the  former  side,  as  much  lower 
than  that  part  of  this  rent  on  the  latter  side  of  the  unseparated  rent, 
as  the  strata  are  lower  on  this  than  on  that  side  of  the  last  rent. 
This  "  w'ant  of  opposition,"  therefore,  in  the  two  parts  of  one 
of  the  joining  rents  which  lie  on  opposite  sides  of  the  other  is  the 
cfiisct  of  that  unequal  ctmtraction  of  the  nutter  which  produced 
the  rents,  and  b  not  caused  by  the  action  of  a  newer  rent  on  aa 
older,  as  has  been  generally  supposed, 

In  eveiy  junction,  where  the  unseparated  rent  is  the  larger,  it  is  aa 
old  Bi,  if  not  older  than,  the  separated  rent ;  but  when  it  is  the 
imaHer,  it  is  always  the  newer  of  the  two  joining  rents.  I  would 
in  both  instances,  however,  be  understood  to  mean,  that  the  for- 
mation of  these  rents  took  place  during  the  process  of  the  matter's 
consolidation ;  and  when  1  say  one  is  older  than  the  other  rent,  I 
oaly  mean  that  the  commencement  of  the  formatton  of  the  older 
baf^iened  before  that  of  the  newer  rent ;  and,  not  tliat  any  one  rent 
waft  comidetely  formed  and  Sited  before  the  formation  of  any  othn 
liad  oommcnecd. 

2.  Ofemgukir  Jtaictums, 
Wbea  two  rents  are  joined  together  in  their  sr^lar  directions, 
tbeyexhit»t  ^  appeacaoce  oi^g.  S,  Plate  XXXV. ;  in  which  the 
pMts,  &Ft  hd,  of  one  not,  A,  are  jdned  to  another  rent,  BB,  in 
»  directian,  tij'g,  which  is  j^rallel,  or  nearly  so,  to  the  angular  ' 
riifeetion  oif  boln  rents.  I  will  at  present  only  describe  the  hori- 
'  sMtftl  junctittns  of  two  rents  that  meet  ench  other  at  nearly  right 
Migiles ;  one  of  wt'.icfa,  the  unwparated  rent,  contains  both  kinds  of 
the  earthy  tabular  masses,  and  the  .other,  or  the  separated  rent,  con- 
tains both  of  the  earthy  associated  witji  the  metallic  tabular  masses. 
If  a  miner,  in  travelling  in  the  horizontal  direction  of  a  rent, 'a  ^, 
Sg>  St  {i4aeii  figure  is  a  horizotttal  view  of  u  aogtilai  jimetiOQ  i^ 

n,r.^^<i"y Google  ■ 


1815.3  -^  Essay  on  Smts.  45 

two  rents)  whose  utulfr  dde  is  on  hb  right  hand,  meet  with  Ae  U|>> 
per  sictcj  c^,  of  an  un9q>arated  rent,  then  that  pan  of  the  Mpanted 
rentj  ed,  which  lies  on  the  other  side  of  the  nnsepanted  ren^  h 
dwii^s  a  given  distance,  hd,  to  his  left  hand.  Let  fi^.  S.  repre- 
sent the  angular  direction  of  such  a  junction  as  the  mso  sen  it 
when  he  looks  towards  the  unscparsted  rent  in  the  direction  a  b, 
%.  2.  (  c  is  the  upper  side,  and  d  i  the  under  side  of  the  unsepa- 
lated  rent.  The  doited  lines  d  h  represent  the  angular  figure  of  the 
teparated  rent  on  the  under  side,  and  the  imes  bfg  the  same  fljure 
of  this  rent  on  the  upper  side  of  the  separated  rsnt.  Suppose  the 
Kne  id  represent  a  stratum  on  the  under  side  of  the  unseparated 
lent,  tbep  the  line  If  will  represent  the  same  stratum  on  the  up- 
per side  of  this  rent.  Again,  let  the  line  h  k  represent  the  stratutn 
in  which  the  lowest  extremity,  h,  of  the  separated  rent  on  the  under 
31^  of  the  unsepsFated  rent  l<  situated,  then  the  line  g  will  be  the 
same  stratum,  and  ode  that  contains  the  lowest  extremity  of  the 
former  rent  on  the  upper  side  of  the  latter  rent.  Now  a  line,  df, 
drawn  Jrom  d,  down  the  rent  B  B,  ai  right  angles  to  its  horizontal 
diirection  c  h,  will  pass  throuj^h  the  pohit^  and  a  sitnilsriy  disposed 
Kne,  drawn  fi?om  the  point  h,  will  pass  through  the  point  e ;  hence 
the  \Biitfg  is  equa]  to  the  part  kd,  and  both  make  a  similar  angle 
with  the  perpendicular  line  g  C;  but  the  top  of  the  part  fg  is  s 
given  distance  below  the  top  of  the  part  hd;  this  distance  is  equal 
to  that  which  the  strata  are  lower  on  the  upper  than  on  the  under 
side  of  the  unECparated  rent.  Continue  the  rent  g^  upwards  in  its 
natural  direction,  till  it  reaches  the  line  b  c,  say  at  h :  at  that  place 
it  is  the  distance  h  d  from  the  other  part  of  the  rent.  This  hori-> 
zontal  Stance  between  the  two  parts  of  tha  separated  rent,  Is 
eaused  entirely  bf  the  strata  sinking  lower  on  the  upper  than  on  the 
wider  side  of  the  nnxeparated  rent,  and  carrying  down  with  them 
the  separated  rent  on  that  side  lower  than  the  strata  carry  its  oppo- 
site part  on  this  side  of  the  rent;  for  it  is  evident  that,  if  the  stra- 
tum ^  be  elevated  to  A  A,  and  the  stratum //'to  <fi,  the  part  of  the 
separatedrent,^^,  will  be  directly  opposite  the  pert,  kd,  of  the  same 
rent. 

The  unseparated  rent  in  all  junctions  has  hitherto,  for  the  fbl- 
lowiDg  reasons,  been  considered  the  newer  rent,  The  tabular 
masses  in  the  unseparated  rent  preserve  their  usual  arrangement 
opposite  the  ends  of  the  separated  rent,  while  these  masses  in  the 
latter  rent  end  against  the  side  of  the  former  rent ;  henCe  the  se- 
parated rent  must  first  have  been  formed  and  supplied  with  its  con- 
tents, then  another  or  unseparated  rent  produced  across  the  rent, 
whid),  of  course,  would  separate  it,  and  which,  in  consequence  of 
bang  fbrmed  the  last,  wouM  not  tuive  its  contents  disturbed  oppo- 
Mte  that  rent  which  it  crossed.  But  such  an  arrangement  of  mat- 
ters in  rents  at  these  junctions  does  not,  by  any  means,  warrant 
this  conclusion  i  For,  if  the  separated  rent  be  the  older,  the  ta- 
bular masses  in  it  must  have  been  in  such  a  state  of  solidity,  that 
Kben  the  formation  of  the  unseparated  rent  commenced,  they  could 


46  An  Essaj/  on  Rents.  [^ult, 

retain  their  situaticxis.  But  we  have  only  to  snjt  that  the  unscpa-. 
lated  rent  is  the  older,  aod'  that  the  tabular  masses  In  it  weresa 
sufficiently  consolidated  as  to  preserve  their  situations,  when  the 
separated  rent  was  formed  and  filled,  and  the  arrangement  of  these 
masses  will  evidently  support  this,  equally  as  well  as  the  other  as- 
sertion :  this  reaaoning  will  not,  therefore,  qfitsey",  decide  whether 
is  the  older  rent.  -When  the  unseparated  rent  is  the  larger,  it  is 
as  old  as,  and  probably  older  than,  the  separated  rent.  For,  the 
formation  of  all  rents  commenced  at  their  lowest  estremities,  and 
as  the  larger  rent  extends  farther  downwards  than  the  smaller,  if 
their  respective  dimensions  be  taken  from  one  level,  that  part  of 
the  former  which  is  below  the  lowest  extremity  of  the  latter  must 
have  been  the  soonest  forming ;  and  it  is  certain  that  the  larger 
rent  would  commence  in  the  stratum  containing  the  lowest  extre- 
mity of  the  smaller  rent,  as  soon  as  this  rent  commenced  in  that 
stratuin.  Whether  rent  toojt  the  lead  upwards  we  cannot  tell  with 
certainty :  liut  that  there  has  not  been  much  difference  in  point  of 
time  between  those  unseparated  rents  which  contain  the  first  and 
Kcoud-formed  earthy  tabular  masses,  and  those  separated  rents 
which  contain  the  earthy  and  metallic  masses,  is  very  probable ; 
because  the  first-fonUed  earthy  masses  in  both  rents  clearly  point 
out  the  small  degree  of  the  matcer'ssolidity  at  the  commengement 
of  the  formation  of  both  these  rents.  One  circumstance  inclines, 
me  to  suppose  that  the  unseparated  rent  is  the  older ;  namely,  the 
existence,  in  this  rent  near  these  junctions,  of  large  metallic  tabu- 
lar masses,  which  are  similar  to  the  metallic  masses  in  the  separated 
rent,  and  which  are  not  found  in  other  parts  of  the 'unseparated 
rent,  except  in  very  small  quantities.  For  it  is  probable  the  hol- 
low places  which  contain  these  metallic  masses  were  produced 
after  those  6rst-formed  earthy  masses  near  which  they  are  situated, 
and  tliat  the  metallic  matter  passed  out  of  the  separated  rent  into 
these  hollow  places  in  a  fluid  itate.  Now  the  metallic  masses,  in 
the  separated  rent  being  coteraporary  with  the  first-formed  earthy 
tabular  masses  in  It,  it  is  clear  that  they  were  not  produced  as  soon 
as  the  first-formed  earthy  tabular  masses  In  the  unseparated  rent; 
hence,  this  is  older  than  that  rent.  But  in  all  junctions  where  the 
unseparated  rent  Is  the  smaller,  it  Is  the  newer  rent ;  and  then  its 
contents  indicate  its  newness.- 

There  are  four  distinct  examples  of  the  horizontal  junctions  of 
bended-tabular  rents,  and  eight  angular  junctions  of  the  same  rents; 
but  as  these  junctions  could  not  be  described  without  reference  to 
drawings,  1  have,  for  the  present,  omitted  them.  The  junctions 
also  of  bended-tabular  witli  all  other  rents,  I  need  not  at  present 
descrilte,  as  excellent  descriptions  of  many  of  them  will  be  found 
in  Williams'  Mineral  Kingdom,  and  as  the  reader  will  have  no  dif-^ 
Geulty  in  referring  all  their  phenomena  to  the  cause  which  1  have 
alrratly  pointed  out ;  gamely,  the  unequal  contraction  of  the  earth's 
matter. 

June  7,  1S15. 

n,r.^^<i"yG00glc 


J€I5.]       Extract  of  a  Letter  from  Bense&a  to  Gilbert.  4? 

Article  IX. 

Extract  of  a  Letter  from  ProfessoT  Berxelias  to  Professor  Gillert,* 

SlMstAoInt.  Oct.  8,  1814. 
Few  lelten  have  given  me  so  much  pleasure  as  that  which  I 
foand  from  jou  od  my  return  from  Fahlun,  where  I  had  been  the 
whole  summer.  I  had  beea  long  without  hearing  from  you,  and 
noDe  of  my  acquaintances  who  had  been  at  the  battle  of  LeipsicI^ 
could  give  me  any  information  respecting  you,  I  was  apprehensive 
ID  consequence  that  you  were  no  longer  in  the  land  of  the  living, 

I  have  not  yet  answered  the  objections  of  Dr.  Fischer,  of  Breslau, 
to  my  KDitlysLS  of  nitrate  of  silver.  The  esperiment  of  Dr.  Fischer, 
who  obtained  an  explosion  by  heating  uitnc  acid  over  muriate  of 
silver,  did  not  succeed  with  me.  t  I  repeated  the  experiment  ac- 
cording to  his  directions ;  but  no  explosion  followed.  After  Davy's 
azotane  became  known,  I  made  some  experiments  with  it,  and 
satisfied  myself,  from  the  smell,  that  whenever  concentrated  mu- 
riatic acid  and  concentrated  red  nitric  acid  are  digested  together, 
this  remarkable  compound  is  always  formed ;  but  I  have  not  in 
these  cases  observed  any  explosion.  Warned  by  Fischer's  state- 
ment, I  always  placed  the  vessel  in  which  this  mixture  was  digested 
in  a  separate  and  safe  place.  It  is  exceedingly,  probable  that  ttiis 
peculiar  body  is  nothing  else  than  uqua  regia  quite  free  from  water; 
for  it  dissolves  slowly  in  water,  and  forms,  as  Davy  likewise  re- 
marked, a  weak  aqua  regia.  ITiese  few  observations  show  clearly 
that  Davy's  analysis  of  this  substance  is  inaccurate,  and  that  he  cor- 
rected his  results  in  consequence  of  theoretical  views. 

Hitherto  too  little  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  combination  of 
acids  with  acids,  and  to  acids  free  from  water.  Hence  the  reason 
why  so  much  of  the  wonderful  has  been  observed  in  isolated  obser- 
vations, which,  when  the  whole  mass  of  chemical  fkirts  are  surveyed, 
lose  every  thing  wonderful,  and  harmonise  with  our  previous  know- 
ledge. 

How  much,  for  example,  have  chemists  wondered  at  the  smoking 
itite  of  siriphuric  acid  ?  yet  they  missed  observing  the  real  nature  of 
that  body;  for  though  it  was  known  that  common  sulphuric  acid 
contains  abundance  of  water,  and  that  the  smoking  Nordkauser 
lulpburic  acid  forms  with  water  common  sulphuric  acid,  and  with 
the  bases  common  sulphates ;  yet  the  consequence  was  not  drawn 
that  the  imoking  acid  contains  no  water. 

•  Tnoslolcd  from  Gilbert'a  Annatcn  dcr  Phjiik  far  iVov.  1814,  *al.  dvlll. 
p.  StT.  I  bave  been  induced  to  pablish  it  here,  becaui«  it  caalBli)  came  opinion* 
niatire  tu  Britiib  chemist)  wltli  whicb  I  Uiink  they  ought  to  be  acquainted.  Gil-' 
itit'i  ADDBlen  CDQlaina  nUD;  other  limilnr  lelter). — T. 

t  Tbe  ezplniioD  only  take*  place,  ai  Dr.  Fischei  has  mnre  latflj  aUled,  (An- 
POltll,  llvi.  4St>,)  when  diluled  nitric  acid  or  a()Haregi.-k  in  boiled  0V»  beta  slltef , 
bH  not  «rlwn  thete  Midi  ore  conccu (rated .-~Giuxkt.  , 

-..>y  Google 


4S  Bxtract  <f  a  Latter  firnn  BenaRm  to  OUltrl'.     {JfrLfi 

lliis  anhydrous  sulphuric  acid  agrees  Id  various  pointa  with  the 
aohydFDua  acid  formed  by  ihe  action  of  aqua  regia  upon  sulphuret 
of  carbon.  Aohydrous  sulphuric  acid,  this  triple  acid,  nitrous 
sulphuric  acid,  murio-carbonic  acid  (pbosgene  gas),  niiro-muriadc 
BCid,  Suo-faoric  acid,  &c.  form  a  complete  at^  cTass  of  chttnicat 
compaunds.  Sooie  of  these  compounds  contain  no  water,  and 
•bow  in  consequence  properties,  which,  from  the- analogy  of  th« 
bydrous  acids,  we  could  nst  have  expected,  and  which  they  lose' as 
aoon  as  they  come  in  contact  with  water.  Some  of  them  are  even 
dtecompoaca  by  this  liquid,  the  water  introducing  a  new  play  c» 
ifl^ities.  As  long,  however,  as  chemists  are  involved  in  ihe  maze 
into  which  they  have  been  led  by  the  aew  hyimfhesis  respecting  tBe 
nature  of  muriatic  acid,  they  will  not  be  able  to  see  these  appear- 
*ncas  in  a  proper  and  general  point  of  view. 

I  have  published  in  Dr.  Thomson's  Annals  of  Philosophy  in 
examination  of  Davy's  new  hypothesis,  and  of  the  old  doctrine 
nspecling  the  nature  of  muriatic  acid,  and  I  have  produced  a  very 
decbive  argument  against  Davy's  hypothesis,  furnished  me  by  the 
analvsis  of  the  suhmuriates  of  copper  (as  well  as  those  of  lead)  con- 
tainmg  water  of  crystallization.  Th^  proportion  of  these  two  sub- 
tt&nces  is  such  that  the  quantity  of  oxygen  in  the  water  of  ciystalli-: 
iation  is  equal  to  that  in  the  oxide  of  copper  according  to  the  old 
tiieory  :  but  according  to  Davy's  hypothesis,  which  supposes  mu- 
riatic acid  oomposed  of  one  volume  of  hydrogen  and  one  voiume  ai 
chlorine,  we  find  the  corresponding  quantity  of  oxygen  in  the  oxide 
6f  copper ;  but  one-fourth  of  the  water  must  be  abstracted  in  ordet 
to  form  the  muriate  acid  and  oxide  of  copper.  Hence  it  follows 
that  the  oxygen  in  the  water  is  to  that  in  the  oxide  of  copper  as  3 :  4. 
Hence  Davy's  hypothesis  is  inconsistent  with  the  doctrine  of  definite 
proportions. 

Both  Dr.  Thomson  and  Sir  Humphry  Davy  have  answered  this 
objection  in  a  manner  that  has  astonished  me.  Dr.  Thomson's 
answer  is  barely  this :  "  Berzelius's  arguments  are  not  at  all  hostile 
to  Sir  H.  Davy'i  theory."  *  And  Davy  himself  says,  in  his  last 
fiakerian  lecture,  "  I  cannot  regard  the  arguments  of  my  learned 

*  STiec  Bcrieliua  don  not  percrive  (be  fallacy  of  hia  argnninnt,  I  AtW  fiAnt 
It  out  to  him  here.  Hit  nibmitrlRte  of  copper  !■  s  aotnpoaiid  oP  raariaiit  Hcid, 
Glide  of  copiier,  anil  tvaler.  1  have  no  dsubt  llwt  bii  analysii  of  it  ii  orarlj 
BCcnrale;  and  (hat  [he  law  which  he  paints  out  and  applies  to  it  is  correel.  Bnt 
lbi>  kar  noIliiDf  whaleTer  to  do  »ilb  Daiy'i  Ibeory,  became  Ibri  salt  in  qnestfno  iir 
■ot  a  chloride,  bat  a  muriate.  Sappme  ire  were  in  coaverl  II  Idib  t,  i^orilr  iff 
npoiure  lo  heat,  (tbe  procen  ia  lie  preeent  caM  wonid  not  antWer  )  bat  we  may 
■nppose  it  j)  ia  that  ca«e  all  Ibe  vater  would  be  drivea  off',  Ibe  oiygehof  the 
copper  wDold  combine  with  the  hydroeen  of  the  acid,  and  By  off  in  the  slate  of 
water,  and  Rolhinf  would  reaiain  but  chlorine  and  copper,  l^err  dendiiti's  law* 
iMuld  not  apply,  became  neitbcr  water  nor  oiyi^n  ii  present  In  the  coBponndi 
It  U  anaiiDc  to  me  that  to  acale  a  moa  as  Dr.  Berzeliaa  ihould  adiance  so  fotilri 
an  argnmenl.  Il  can  only  proceed  from  bis  neier  baving  marie  him&eirBcqualntcJ  ■ 
with  Ihe  details  of  the  theory  whrcb  be  was  opposing.  Hantttei  exist  at  well  »» 
■Morjdeii  thaagh,  atthey  always  contain  water,  they  are  not  n>  eaiily 
All  hit  i>tb«r  arguments,  ijke  Ibis,  are  foanded  on  nbcoDcepiiau.— T, 


181SJ      Extract  of  a  letter  from  BerxeliaJs  to  Gilbert.  49 

frjend  aa  possesui^  any  weight— and  there  is  no  genual  caqon  wkh 
REpect  to  the  multiple!  eS  proportions  io  wbicfa  difi^ot  bodies 
OJiDbiDe,"  &c. 

My  experiments  upon  the  constant  and  definite  propordoni 
vbicb  exist  .in  compouadi  I  liave  been  at  some  paint  to  get  trans- 
llted  into  English  and  published  in  Great  Britain.  However,  sufiS- 
cient  attenti(Hi  has  not  yet  been  paid  to  them  in  that  country.  In  a 
treatise  upon  the  Dallonian  theory  cS  chemical  pnmortions>  Dr. 
Tbomson  has  given  the  whole  merit  to  Dalton.  My  laws  are  only 
mentioned  to  be  refuted ;  and  when  they  do  not  immediately  follow 
from  Dalton's  atomic  doctrine,  to  be  discarded  without  further 
proof.  The  consequence  is,  tliat  my  experiments  have  only  been 
Lasdled  in  a  very  slight  manner.  A  friend  has  cooimunicated  to 
me  frMD  Loodoa  some  preliminary  inbrmacion  respecting  Wollas- 
ton's  treatise  on  Chemical  £<juivalenls,  in  which  he  has  employed  s 
sliding  rule  for  the  discovery  of  the  requisite  proportions.  He  adds, 
"Ihave  die  pleasure  to  be  able  to  say  that  Cr.  Wollasion  has 
therein  admitted  the  accuracy  of  your  numerous  labours."  But  this 
excellent  philosopher,  of  whose  friendship  I  am  proud,  has  not 
named  me.  At  present  being  uncertain  bow  the  oxalates.are  com- 
bined, he  has  niade  sonje  experiments  respecting  them }  and  my 
friend  ssya,  **  I  have  the  satisbctioa  to  find  that  his  experiments 
a^ee  with  yours." — Lately  attempts  hare  been  made  to  show  that 
HiggiaB  was  the  discoverer  of  the  atomic  theory,  and  a  dispute  on 
the  sulnect  has  arisen  between  Dalton  and  Higgins.  Dr.  Thomson 
says,  that  even  if  the  atomic  doctrine  bad  escaped,  Dalton,  it  would 
have  been  discovered  by  other  English  philosophers ;  and  afCer-r 
mu-ds,  in  order  to  correct  the  improper  use  of  the  word  Enslklt,  he 
explains  himself,  by  io&iirming  us  it^t  he  alluded  to  Dr.  WotldStOD. 
We  may  see  in  this  example  how  difHcult  it  is  in  England  to  esti- 
mate foreigners  correctly.  •  You  need  not,  therefore,  be  surprised 
that  your  Annals  are  not  better  known  in  England.  When  I  was 
in  that  country  I  allowed  some  numbers  of  your  Annals  to  come 
&0ID  Sweden,  thai  1  might  be  able  to  get  my  papers  tianskred  out 
ol  tliem.  However,  had  not  Dr.  Thomas  Young,  Foreign  Secre- 
tary of  the  Royal  Society,  undertaken  the  translation  out  of  friend- 
ship for  me,  1  should  have  found  it  difficult  to  meet  with  a  single 
ehemi&t  tn  the  whole  country  who  could  have  translated  the  papers 
io  question,  Mr.  Accum  and  Mr.  Brande  are  Germans  by  birth. — 
Vou  will  receive  from  me  in  a  sbgvt  time  a  second  and  third  ap- 
pendix to  my  experiments  on  the  definite  proportions  in  which  bo-  - 
dies  combine. 


*  That  oorclt.v  of  mailer  has  marc  gliare  in  thij  ,llun  the 
fnrci^er  nppcBTi  Io  tar  eiidenl,  junonf;  other  things,  from  Dalian's  vindkation  of 
bii  atomic  doctrine,  which  dao  not  nppear  gruiinilleM,  Hiid  frum  Mr.  Mier'i  At- 
letmlDatiaDa  reipeclin*  azntic  gni,  with  both  at  which  1  ihall  shorllj'  make  my 
Tcaderg  acqaalnted.  The  fbrmer  (erminatei  ai  fiillons  t  <■  Nutwilhalaodiug  llii«, 
»haie«er  naT  copie  from  the  pen  of  Berzi'lias  on  the  suhjccl  nili,  no  duubt.  Its 
fonby  (he  aiienlion  of  the  che.j.ical  norlJ."~(.!ii.BEKT. 

Vol.:  VI.  N*  I. ■  D  -.'. .>y Google 


50  Extract  of  a  Letter  from  Berxelius  to  Gilhert.      [JoLT^ 

VoH  ask  me  to  esamioe  what  Gay-Lussac  has  advanced  respecting 
the  nitrous  gas  eudiometer,  and  to  repeat  the  experiments  on  which 
hjs  method  is  founded,  because  they  are  in  opposition  to  toy  vi^ws 
relative  to  nitric  and  nitrous  acids.  I  acknowledge  that  Ifeel  no 
inclination  to  undertake  such  a  task.  I  am  always  averse  to  disputes; 
and  if  I  were  to  eogage  in  one,  it  must  be  of  such  a  nature  that  it 
could  be  fully  resolved  by  esperiment.  This  is  not  the  case  with 
Gay-Lussac's  experimeots.  Dalton  has  already  shown,  with  toler- 
able accuracy,  that  according  as  there  is  an  excess  of  nitrous  or 
osygen  ^s,  a  maximum  or  minimum  of  nitrous  gas  will  be  ab- 
sorbed, both  measured  by  the  quantity  of  oxygen  gas  which  is  like- 
wise absorbed.  On  this  majtimum  or  minimum  usually  depends 
the  formation  of  pure  nitric  or  nitrous  acid.  The  question,  there- 
fore, comes  to  this :  whether  between  these  two  points  there  are 
gradations,  consisting  of  combinations  of  determinate  proportions 
of  nitric  and  nitrous  acids,  or  not;  and  likewise  whether  the  results 
of  Gay-Lussac  be  those  which  he  really  obtained,  or  whether  he  did 
not  correct  them  by  his  views  of  true  theory.  The  solution  of  these 
questions  is  attended  with  too  much  difficulty  for  me  to  bestow  upon 
them  the  time  that  would  be  required  for  their  examination. 

M.  Avogrado's  remarks  upon  my  electro-chemical  theory  I  have 
already  read  in  the  Annales  de  Chimie.  He  appears  not  to  know 
the  treatise  on  the  chemical  action  of  the  electrical  pile  by  Hisioger 
and  myself.  .  His  remarks  upon  my  use  of  the  terms  eleclTo-positive 
and  ekctro-negative  are  correct.  They  had  been  already  anticmated 
in  your  Annals,  on  occasion  of  my  experiments  and  those  of  Davy. 
I  had  changed  them  for  others  long  before  Avogrado's  paper  ap- 
peared, as  may  be  seen  from  my  papers  published  in  England. 
Some  additions  to  the  electro-chemical  theory,  which  these  papers 
contain,  and  which  hitherto  are  unknown  both  in  Germany  ai>d 
France,  are  perhaps  worthy  of  your  attention.  You  will  find  them 
in  my  treatise  on  the  Cause  of  Chemical  Proportions. 

Van  Mons  has  communicated  to  me  the  discovery  that  he  has 
decomposed  the  fluates  at  a  red  heat  by  means  of  hydrogen,  and 
obtained  compounds  of  fluoric  acids  and  metals  destitute  of  oxygen;  • 
Certainly  this  is  strange.  It  ought  likewise  to  be  inaccurate,  accord- 
ing to  his  preconceived  opinions.  Has  he  obtained  a  fluoric  oiide, 
or  a  compound  oijiuoricum  with  metals  ?  Had  he  given  me  the 
names  of  the  salts  on  which  he  made  lijs  experiments,  it  would  have 
been  easy  to  have  investigated  the  subject.  But  I  must  wait  for  s 
more  accurate  account  of  his  experiments,  which  he  has  promised 
me,  before  1  can  repeat  them. 

You  say  to  me  that  ditferent  persons  wish  that  I  would  give  an 
example  how  1  make  accurate  chemical  analyses  on  a  small  scale. 
This  would  be  a  difficult  task ;  for  I  believe  that  1  possess  no  other 
method  or  greater  dexterity  than  other  chemists.  I  seldom  work 
upon  a  small  scale.  Most  of  my  analyses  are  performed  with  tea 
er  five  grammes,  that  is  to  say,  with  160  or  SO  Numberg  medicinal 
grains  (154'44  and  77'22  grains  troy) ;  and  thb  1  believe  is  the  best 


1815.]         Jstranmucal  and  Magnetug/ Obstrvatkmi.  ■  51 

quantity  for  chemical  snalyses.  The  difficultv  is  increased  when  ■ 
either  much  more  or  nnjch  less  is  emplt^ed.  In  all  my  analyses  I 
have  thia  rule  before  my  eyes:  "  Endeavour  to  find  a  method  of- 
analysis  so  that  the  accuracy  depends  as  little  as  possible  upon  the 
manual  dexterity  of  the  operator.  When  this  is  found,  consider 
what  unavoidable  circumstances  intervene  to  render  the  results  in- 
accurate, and  whether  by  their  means  the  quantities  obtained  are 
increased  or  diminished.  Then  make  a  second  analysis,  in  which 
all  these  circumstances  act  in  a  way  directly  contrary.  If  the  remha 
agree,  the  experiment  is  accurate. "^  For  example,  you  will  ilndia 
my  analysb  of  red  oxide  of  iron  that  in  one  of  my  experiments  I 
desolved  the  iron  in  a  weighed  glass  capsule,  evaptnated  the  solu- 
tion, and  exposed  the  oxide  to  a  red  heat.  Here  no  loss  was  pos- 
sible. In  a  second  experiment  I  dissolved  the  iron  in  aqua  regia^ 
precipitated  it  by  ammtmia,  washed  the  oxide  upon  a  weired  filter> 
and  exposed  it  to  a  red  heat.  Here  no  increase' was  possible'; 
nothing  but  a  diminution  could  take  place.  But  both  experiments 
gave  the  same  results:  Hence  I  concluded  that  in  the  first  experi- 
ment no  increase  of  weight  had  taken  place,  from  the  impurity  of 
the  acid,  or  the  corrosion  of  the  glass ;  and  that  in  the  second  no 
Kmarkable  loss  had  been  sustained,  in  consequence  of  the  inaccu- 
racy of  the  method  followed.  By  these  perpetual  checks  I  have 
leamt  to  look  for,  and  to  avoid,  sources  of  inaccuracy.  I  have 
pointed  out  several  of  these  sources  in  my  manual  of  chemistry 
under  the  article  inorganic  substances.  Still,  however,  a  good  deal 
depends  uptm  manual  dexterity  and  long  practice ;  so  that  it  is  a> 
unposuble  tomake  an  accurate  chemist  by  written  directions  as  it  is 
for  erne  artist  to  make  another  a  consummate  tradesman  by  mere 
written  rules.  A  clever  student  of  chemistry  might  perhaps  leam 
from  me  to  attend  to  several  small  particulars,  which  he  miight  not 
of  himself  remark,  and  yet  are  of  importance. 
But  my'Ietter  is  already  too  k>ng.  Bebzblids. 


^itrommical  and  Magnetical   Olservaiions  at  Hackney  Wick, 
By  Col.  Beaufoy. 

UUlnde,  &\''  88'  W%"  North,      I^ongitude  VFest  id  Time  B"t^ 


ImmenioD. . . .    9^  86'.  ll"l  Me«B   Tine  at 
EracrwaD 10       9     34  /      H.W. 


Jbhii,  EmerrioD  of  Jupilrr'a  flin  3S'   19"      Mean  Tine  at  Hukiie?  Wicli:. 
iHSatclliK Ill    SS    SS       INlto at Greenfrlcb. 


'..>y  Google 


•^ittimMttienl  mti  M*g»elical  Xfhservelimi.        [Jvt.Tr, 


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1315-3     Recovery  of  the  A,<^«he^  Mass  of  Native  Iron.  53 

There  appears  to  be  a  sir^ulsr  increase  of  fhe  variation  in  ^ 
mo^th  ef  Ap"l)  "npre  particularly  so  in  May  an^  June.  Sitspep^iog 
tbere  plight  be  some  error,  the  source  of  which  was  in  th?  i^stFu^ 
ment;  but  which  I  could  Dol  discover,  I  sent  it  to  (he  [oafieTi  Mri 
DoUondi  trho  exatqioed  it,  sharpened  the  point  of  suapensfw^  and 
placed  Qcw  agstes  io  the  needles,  which  alterations  do  not  seem  to 
have  affected  the  result  of  the  obscrwatioBS.  May  it  nqt  the^efoi^ 
be  justly  infened  that  the  ii^prease  is  reali  and  not  apparent  ?  One 
cLrcufnst^nfre  is  indubitable,  which  is,  that  the  vibratioq  of  the  • 
□ee^le  has  been  se)dpm,  and  of  small  extent*  since  the  20th  of 
Ftsbni^try  Ust>  op  which  ^ay  the  needle  vibrated  betnfcen  28  ^d  2£l 
minptes. 

Tbe  in)i]pefsipa  tind  emerajon  of  q  Cancrl  was  instaot^Deoqs,  f^u^ 
no  diminution  of  the  star's  light  v^^  pefeept'l^l^- 

The  dew  t^hich  fell  on  t|ie  ipslrumept  Tep4er'<l  Ac  obaenratioii 
oa  tbe  1  Itlt  tqst,  doubtful  tP  a  few  seconi^. 

ji,!_  t,ii„  (  Bclwfen  noon  of  (he  U(  May  ?  ,.,bi  -..t 

EvanoriklinB  ftnrin*  Jli#  tam*  nrriod       HyJtl 


Gvapoialioa  during 


Article  XI. 

Secever^  of  the  Aachen  Mass  of  Native  Iron,    In  a  letter  from 
Dr.  Benzenberg.* 

Klaler  BrSggeti,  naor  Crtfiii,  Dec.  IS,  1814. 
■  YoD  will  already  know  that  the  gre^t  mass  of  native  iron  qt 
Aachen,  which  had  been  lost,  hqs  beep  lately  again  found.    (  went 
last  week  to  Aachen  (o  see  it,  and  can  give  you  the  following  infor- 
maticm  respecting  it. 

In  the  year  \'JG'2  Councellor  Ixiber  was  with  Maximilian  Prince 
of  Saxony  at  the  baths  of  Aachen,  as  his  physician.  At  the  time 
they  inhabited  the  house  called  Biichel,  at  the  new  bath.  Lober 
observed  in  the  pavement  an  uncommonly  large  iroujStone.  He 
requested  liberty  to  dig  it  up,  obtained  it,  and  took  some  specimens 
of  it.  He  gave  some  of  the  smallest  to  the  physician  Dr.  Krelsch- 
Inana,  in  jjresden,  whose  collection  of  minerals  came  into  the 
possession  of  the  University  of  Wittenberg.  This  information  is  to 
be  found  ia  the  Wittenberg  Weekly  I^per  for  1773,  page  56; 
from  which  it  found  its  way  into  -he  Memoirs  of  the  Berlin  Natural 
History  Society,  vol.  vii.  page  323.  By  a  mistake  of  the  writer  in 
both  accounts,  Aken  is  substituted  for  Aachen ;  and  Chladni,  wlio 
mentions  this  mass  of  iron  in  his  well-known  treatise,  considers  the 
place  at  Aken  in  Magdeburg.     J^etters  were  written  to  Aken  on  the 

•  TromUtnl  Ihnn  Gilbeii'a  AniulcB  tier  Phjrsik  for  Dec,  1814,  toI.  xlviii.  p.  410. 

Google    


54  Reeoverif  of  the  Aachen  Mass  of  Native  Iron.     [Jpl-V, 

subject;  but  there  they-  knew  Of  no  mass  of  iron  whatever.  It- 
was  then  referred  to  Aachen,  in  anotherpaper  whidb  appeared  in 
1804,  OD  native  iron.  Probably  the  mistake  was  discovered  by  the 
reference  to  the  baths  in  the  original  paper. 

In  the  year  181 2  Dr.  Chladni  wrote  to  the  Consbtorial  President, 
Frederick  Jakobi,  at  Aachen,  requesting  information  respecting 
this  mass  of  iron.  As  Dr.  Lesoinne  could  give  no  intelligeace 
respecting  it,  he  and  apothecary  Monheim  applied  to  the  old  town 
secretary,  Couver.  He  recollected  the  digging  up  of  the  mass  in, 
1762,  and  that  some  pieces  had  been  struck  off,  and  deposited  in 
the  town-house,  but  had  been  soon  after  lost  The  mass,  he  sud, 
had  been  again  deposited  in  the  place  from  which  it  had  been  dug, 
and  the  surface  again  plastered  over.  Fourteen  days  after  this  in- 
formation Couver  died,  at  the  age  oT  78. 

Mr.  Monheim  gave  this  information  to  Trommsdorf,  who  pubr 
'  lished  it  in,  his  journal  in  1812.  Professor  Weiss,  in  Berlin,  endea-r 
voured  to  interest  tlie  Academy  in  the  re- discovery  of  this  mass  of 
iron  in  a  town  which  belonged  to  the  general  government  of 
Prussia.  In  consequence  an'ordcr  was  obtained  from  t))e  Chancellor 
Prince  Hardenberg  to  the  Coveroor-Gcneral  Sack  tQ  fulfil  the: 
wishes  of  the  Academy. 

The  plaster  being  again  removed,  and  the  bottom  exaniined  fbr 
several  days,  the  mass  of  iron  was  at  last  found,  dug  up  amidst  ^ 
crowd  of  people,  and  brought  into  the  court  of  Mr.  fiiergans,  Di- 
rector of  the  Circle,  where  it. lies  at  present. 
'  It  is  covered  with  iron  ochre,  qnd,  like  all  similar  masses,  is  of 
fin  irregular -shape,  approaching  to  the  oval.  Its  length  is  four  feet 
nine  inches;  its  breaathj  two  feet  eleven  inches;  and  its  thickness 
two  feet  sis  inches;  and  its  specific  gravity,  determined  by  a  pece  " 
struck  off  from  it,  is  6'7.  The  whole  weight  amounts  lo  about 
IO,OOQibs.,  supposing  we  reduce  the  size  to^a■  or  f  in  order  to  con- 
vert it  into  a  paralMogram.  -  The  coating  of  ochre  is  half  a  line 
thick.  Under  it-tfaere  lies  a  kind. of  bark  half  an^jnch  thick,  which 
piay  be  easily  separated  from  the  stone.  It  is  greenish,  vesicular^ 
and  exhibits. the  marks  of  fire..  Under  this' covering  lies  the  native 
iron.  It  is  extremely  tough.  In  breaking  ofT  a  few  specimens,  no 
fewer  than  eight  chi^sels  were  broken.  Mr..  Monheini,.  a  pjipil  of 
yauquelin,  has  not  yet  finished  his  anajysis  of.  it ;  but  he  has^  ascer- 
tained ttiat  it  contains  no  nickel,  but  is  composed  of  abput,t|;Brsenic 
pud  \  iron.  Perhaps  also  there  may  he  atlurd  niet^t;  ffutr.itis  in 
so  small  quantity  that  Mr.  Monheim.  .h^  not  ;^pt  deterpjiined  its 
nature.* 

How  this  mass  has  coine  to  Aachen,  we  btve  no  iafprtnation, 

•  AtcDrdlitg  lo  (he  Blatemenl  ot  Lilbrr,  Ifae  wiigbl  of  Ihls  mast  of  iroD  was 
between  15,1)00  and  17,000  lbs.,  and  il  «ai  covered  frKbitaoatiag  froman  balf  (o 
one  inch  in  thicknesi.  It  was  malleable,  and  csuld  be  hardened  and  polished  like 
(he  best  English  steel.  Klaproth  found  no  nickel  in  the  300  lbs.  of  native  Iron 
found  at  Villa,  on  (he  CnlUiia  di  Brianza  )  but  in  tbe  130  ibi.  from  £llnbo|;eD  be 
found  a'5  per  cent,  of  nieltci, — Tilbekt. 

■*      .    "  .  ,n„:-.-..>yGoogIe 


)fil5,]  Exphsian  al  the  Success  foal-Pil.  55 

The  G^reniw-GeDeral  ordered  sevch  to  be  mBde ;  but  the  old 
cbronicles  arc  wanting.  There  is  a  tradition  among  the  people  tliat 
it  la;  at  the  Biichel,  and  diat  as  long  as  it  lay  there  the  wami  baths 
would  never  fail.  Some  are  of  opbion  that  when  the  castle  of 
Cbarlem^gne  at  Aachen  was  burnt,  the  iron  in  it  was  melted,  and 
formed  this  mass.  Others  are  surprized  that  it  was  not  destroyed  in  ' 
former  times.  My  opinion  is  that  we  ought  not,  without  knowing 
the  oonclusioos  of  naturalists,  determine  any  thing  respecting  the 
origin  of  this  remarkable  mass  of  iron. 


Article  XII, 

An  Account  of  the  Expiosion  at  th^  Success  Coal-Pit^  ntar  New- 
bottle,  ia  the  County  of  Durkam :  drawn  up  fSf  ihe  AimaU  of 
PkUosopky.  -  .  • 

Anothsh  dreadful  and  destructive  nplosioa  of  carbureted  hy- 
drogen gas  took  jilace  Jji  the  Success  cral-pit,  near  Newbottle,  in 
the  county  of  Durham,  the  property  of  Messrs.  Nesham  and  Co., 
on  Friday,  June 2,  at  half-past  four  o'clock,  p.m.  by  which  5/ 
persons  were  killed  upon  tiie  spot,  besides  several  wounded.   - 

The  immediate  cause  of  ihii  shocking  catastrophe  is  not  clearly 
ascertained  ;  though  it  is  generally  believed  that  the  pitmen  had 
inadvertently  worked  into-  the  old  workings,  or  some  place  whew 
there  had  been  a  large  collection  of  inflammable  air. 
-  As  all  the  unfortunate  labourers  were  instantly  killed,  and  the 
etplpsioD  and  consequent  very  rapid  return  of  the  atmospheric  air 
after  the  explosion  destroyed  the  headings  and  air  courses,  the. 
whole  of  the  colliery  became  so  completely  {iltered  that  no  correct 
idea  of  tlie  cause  from  appearances  could  be  formed.  It  is  also  the. 
opinion  of  weU-informed  persons,  who  were  present  at  the  time  of 
the  accident,  that  from  some  unaccountable  circumstance  the  at- 
mospheric air  could  not  be  sent  down  rn  sufficient  quantity,  and  ia 
a  proper  direction,  after  the  explosion,  to  those  persons  who  m^ht 
have  escaped  the  destructive  power  of  the  explosion,  who  might  five 
till  their  scanty  supply  of  atmospheric  air  became^xhausted. 

When  the  explosion  took  place,  "JZ  men  and  boys  were  at  work 
at  the  depth  of  108  fathoms;  and  though  the  greatest  endeavours 
were- made  to  relieve  those  distressed  persons,  only  15  survived, 
some  of  whom  are  in  a  very  precarious  slate.  The  explosion  was 
so  great  as  to  carrycvery  thing  before  it,  till  it  was  impeded  in  its 
pn^reas  by  a  jarg^  .wa^on,  which,  with  the  driver  and  horse,  were 
dashed  to  piecesr      -         . 

Several  men  in  the  colliery,  after  they  had  escaped  this  tornado 
office,  endcavbilred  to  reach  the  shaft;  but  death  arrested  them  on 
their  road ;  for  breathing  An  atmoiphere  surcharged  with  carbonic 
',  jcJdgis,  tjieir. destruction  now  became  ipevitablc,  , 


5G  Anahfses  nf  Booki.  ,   '         [Jolt,' 

Some  of  the  men  sunived  tiltHhey  were  brooght  up  the  shaft  into 
the  atmosphere,  when  they  died,  perhaps  unsble  to  bear  the  sti- 
mulds  of  the  atmospheric  air  after  the  state  of  exhaustioD  in  which 
tbey  had  previously  lived  for  some  time. 

After  a  considerable  eKplosion  takes  place  in  a  coal-mine,  the 
piftOeB  are  often  drenched  with  water,  which  is  probably  occaaioued 
by  the  rapid  combustion  of  hydrogen  gas  in  such  n  confined  situa-i 
tion,  as  may  be  readily  understood  by  persons  conversant  with  che- 
mistry. At  the  same  time  all  the  partitions  and  divisions  being 
broken  down,  whilst  the  air  courses  are  converted  into  a  complete 
wreck,  and  the  whole  atmosphere  of  the  mine  so  much  agitated,  it 
is  to  be  expected  that  the  carbonic  acid  gas  will  be  distributed 
through  the  bottom  of  the  mine,  and  suffocation  become  the  &te  of 
those  persons  who  e^ape  the  Immediate  effects  of  the  explosion,— 
Out  of  19  horses  only  six  died. 

It  3s  melancholy  to  relate,  that  in  the  short  space  of  a  month  132 
useful  and  laborious  persons  have  been  nuinbered  with  the  dead  at 
Heaton  and  the  Success  collieries,  leaving  nearly  300  widows  and 
orphans  to  be  subsisted  by  charity  and  parochial  assistance. 

It  is  tiurious,  and  perhaps  worthy  of  remark,  that  Roteon  and 
Miller,  accomplices  with  Edward  Smiles  in  the  robbery  at  Mr. 
Cnthbert  Pye's,  Scaffold  Hill,  s«ne  time  ago,  ari  amongst  the 
killed  In  the  late  accidents  at  Hedton  and  Soccess  collieries;  and 
upon  the  3d  Inst.,  the  day  after  the  latter  accident,  Mr.  Cudibert 
Fye  hitnself  died  at  Scaffold  Hill. 

The  effbrts'  at  Heaton  colliery,  though  very  considerable,  hate 
not  yet  been  so  far  successful  as  to  remove  the  water,  and  permit 
the  interment  of  the  unfortunates  who  were  lost  in  that  colliery. 

On  Monday,  Jane  5,  another  expk»ion  o<icurred  at  the  Tyne 
Main  colliery,  by  which  one  man  was  severely,  though  not  fatally, 
scoiTched. 

As  Q)t»t  of  the  explosions  in  coal-mines  have  taken  plnce  in  the 
«ummer  season,  it  appears  desirous  that  particular  care  be  taken 
during  the  hot  weather,  which,  perhaps,  by  expanding  sueb  an 
elastic  fluid  as  hydrogen  gas,  may  afford  a  facility  to  such  dreadful 
accidents.  F. 

titacaillt,  Juntii,  1815, 


Article  Xlll. 
Analyses  of  Books. 


I.  TTonsadionsfsf  the  Geological  Sodely,  Volume  *d.     London, 
William  Phillips,  1814. 

(Omcludtd  /ram  Vol.  v.  p.  452.) 

XI.  Accomt  of  the  Coal- Field  al  Bradford,  near  Manchester. 
By  Robert  Bakewell. — ^This  coal-field  is  about  two  miles  long,  and 


1815.]  Tramaciions  of  the  Geological  Siiciety,  Vol.  II. '  57 
2000  yards  biotd.  It  Iks  over  the  old  red  suid-itc»e.  There  ate 
ten  bed>  of  coal,  which  dip  to  the  south,  at  an  angle  of  Rbout  S0°. 
The  Dtbe^  beds  consist  of  sUte-cUy  tmd  bitiiminoua  shale,  with ' 
iroD-stone,  somelimeB  in  beds,  loffietitnei  in  nodules.  Above  ibe 
first  bed  <^  coal  there  lie  three  beds  of  liaie-su»ie,  from  two  to  six 
feet  Id  thickness,  of  a  reddish-brown  colour,  and  without  WQimal 
remains.  The  most  important  bed  of  coal  is  about  the  middle,  and 
is  four  feet  thick.  On  the  north  side  of  the  field,  about  ten  yards 
from  the  red  sand-stone,  a  perpendieular  bed  of  coal  four  feet  thick 
rises  to  the  surface.  It  terminates  the  coal.  The  space  between  it 
and  the  red  sand-stone  being  filled  with  irregular  fragtxtents  <rf  rock, 
every  thing  shows  that  this  perpendicular  bed  Is  the  same  as  the 
four-feet  bed  in  the  coal-Beld.  Fourteen  hundred  yards  to  the 
north  of  Bradford  there  is  another  coal-field.  They  are  divided 
from  each  other  by  old  red  sand-stoae.  Mr.  Bakewell  su^xises  that 
this  saod-stone  has  been  forc^  in  horizuotally  between  the  two 
fields,  and  has  occasioned  the  change  in  the  direction  of  the  four- 
feet  bed.  He  supposes  likewise  that  the  mill-stone  grit  of  I>eihy> 
shire  is  a  continuation  of  the  old  red  aand-stottc. 

XII.  Some  Account  of  lite  Island  of  Tener'tffe.  By  the  Hon.* 
Henry  Grey  Bcnnet,  ^$.P.  F.R.S.  Fres.  Geolc^cal  Society.— 
'Hub  is  the  principal  of  the  Canary  Islands,  .It  is  about  70  miles 
long  and  30  broad.  A  range  of  mountains  runs  through  it.4  centre. 
The  Peak  is  a  little  to  the  soutli-west  of  the  centre.  Its  heigiit  is 
about  13,500  feet.  The  whole  of  the  ishind  is  volcanic,  and  all  it» 
rocks  are  lava.  Mr.  Bennet  conceives  that  formerly  a  very  lurge 
crater  (twelve  miles  in  diameter)  existed,  the  sides  of  wliich,  under 
the  name  IjOS  Faldas,  may  be  still  traced  a  great  way.  Many 
extinct  volcanoes  are  to  be  seen  every  where.  The  crater  at  the  top 
of  the  Peak  is  but  smali,  aud  seldom  in  activity.  The  lavas  vaiy  in 
their  appearance;,  some  are  composed  of  horn-blende  and  felspar, 
without  any  foreign  body ;  these  are  porphyritic  ;  some  are  com- 
posed of  grcen-sione,  and  contain  olivine,  augite,  zeolites;  son)« 
are  basaltic.  These  decompose  the  soonest,  and  constitute  the 
most  fertile  soil.  There  is  also  pumice  in  abundance,  tufa,  a^ies, 
and  a  lava  exactly  resembling  obsidian.  Mr.  Bennet  gives  an 
interesting  account  of  a  journey  which  he  made  to  the  top  of  the 
Peak  in  IfilO. 

XIII.  On  ike  Junction  of  Trap  and  SandsUme  at  Slirling 
Castle.  By  Dr.  MaccuDoch. — Tlie  appearance  here  described  was 
laid  open  to  view  by  digging  a  new  road  across  the  Castle  Hill. - 
Horizontal  beds  of  stand-stone  occur,  at  first  thick,  but  becoming 
thinner  as  they  ascend.  Green-stone  lies  over  them,  and  several  of 
the  beds  of  sand-stone  appear  forcibly  bent  upwards  at  one  end, 
while  the  green-stone  has  insinuated  itself  below  them,  and  filled 
up  the  interval.  The  sand-stone  where  in  contact  with  the  green- 
stone is  converted  into  horn-stone,  or  rather  flinty>slate.  This  foct 
Dr.  MaccuIIoch  brings  forward  as  a  confirmation  of  the  Huttonian 
theoty  of  the  formation  of  gteea-stose.    1  hare  myself  esamined 


S8  "        Aiialyses  of  Books,  [July, 

with  all  the  refluisite  care  the  difierent  spots  of  s  similar  nature 
'  pbinted  out  by  Dr.  Hutton,  or  his  followers,  near  Edinburgh,  but 
never  was  able  to  perceire  the  fwce  of  any  of  their  conclosions,  I 
was  long  at  a  loss  to  conceive  what  was  meant  to  be  conveyed  by  the 
term  indurated  sandstone.  At  last  a  friend  was  good  enough  to 
show  me  specimens.  1  found  that  the  indurated  sandstone  of  Dr. 
Hutton  and  his  followers  is  the  mineral  well  known  by  the  tiame  of 
Jiinty  slate.  Dr.  Macculloch  mentiona  clay-slate  as  occurring  in 
tbe  rock  of  Stirling  Castle.     He  obviously  means  slate-clay. 

XIV.  On  the  Economy  of  ike  Mines  of  Cornwall  and  Devon. 
By  John  Taylor,  M.  G.  S. — The  mining  concerns  of  Great  Britain 
being  all  under  the  management  of  individuals,  witheut  any  con- 
trout  whatever  on  the  part  of  government,  cannot  be  expected  to 
proceed  with  such  regularity,  or  to  be  conducted  with  such  skill, 
as  in  those  countries  where  the  whole  has  been  for  ages  under  the 
management  of  men  educated  for  the  purpose,  and  where  every 
particular  relating  to  the  mines  has  been  from  tlie  first  carefully 
recorded.  Yet  the  improvements  which  have- taken  place  in 
ninlng,  especially  in  Corowall,  have  been  very  great ;  and  the 
vigour  with  which  mining  is  carried  on  in  that  country  is  truly 
stiriwising.  Mr.  Taylor  ascribes  this  in  a  good  measure  to  the 
system  which  has  been  gradually  introduced,  and  which  he  de- 
scribes. The  owner  of  the  soil  lets  the  mine  for  2tr  years  to  tfae 
adventurers,  at  a  stipulated  rate,  which  varies  from  -^i^d  part  of 
the  ore  raised,  to  -^th  part,  according  to  circumstances.  The 
mine  is  usually  divided  into  64  shares,  which  are  parcelled  out 
among  the  adventurers.  The  mine  is  under  the  charge  of  a  pnn- 
opal  captain  or  agent,  who  has  under  him  several  subordinate 
captains.  These  are  all  practical  miners  Of  great  skUl  and  inte- 
grity. There  are  other  subordinate  persons  connected  with  the 
nines,  whom  Mr.  Taylor  describes.  The  workmen  are  all  em- 
ployed by  the  piece.  The  work  to  be  done  is  put  up  to  auction 
and  given  to  the  lowest  bidder.  These  sales  are  open,  and  consi- 
derable competition  often  takes  place  at  them.  The  work  to  be 
done  IS  (rf  three  kinds:  tutwork,  tribute,  and  dressing.  Tutwork 
is  done  by  measure,  as  sinking  of  shafts,  driving  of  levels,  stop- 
P>i^  gi''>UDd.  Tribute  is  payment  for  raising  the  ore,  dressing  it, 
and  rendering  it  marketable.  Dressing  is  money  given  for  dressing 
those  parts  of  the  ore  which  the  tributers  throw  away.  It  is  to 
this  mode  of  raising  ore  by  contract  that  Cornwall  is  indebted  for 
tlw  intelligence  of  its  miners,  and  for  most  of  the  improvements 
in  mining  which  have  taken  place  in  it.  The  ore,  when  dressed, 
is  sold  to  the  diflvrent  tin  and  copper  companies. 

XV.  On  the  Origin  of  a  remarkable  Class  of  Orpame  Impres- 
sions occurring  ia  Nodules  of  Mint.  By  the  Hev.  William  Cony- 
beate,  M.  G.  S. — This  substance  wasfirat  observed  by  Mr.  Parkin- 
sen,  and  thus  descrilied  by  him :  "  Small  round .  compressed 
bodies,  not  exceeding  the  eighth  of  ah  inch  in  their  longest  dia- 
meter aod  horizontally  disposed,  are  connected  by  processes  nearly 


1815.]        Transactions  of  the  Geological  Society,  Vol  II.  59 

(^  tbe  fineness  of  a  hair,  which  pass  irott]  diSeient  parts  of  each 
of  these  bodies,  and  are  attached  to  the  surrounding  ones;  the 
whole  of  these  bodies  belug  thus  held  in  connexion."  He  classes 
them  among  the  corals,  acknowledging  at  the  same  time  that  they 
bear  no  resemblance  to  any  known  genus.  Mr.  Conybeare,  in 
this  paper,  shows  that  they  are  silicioiis  casts  of  cavities,  which 
have  been  formed  in  different  kinds  of  shells  by  some  animalcule, 
which  fed  upon  the  substance  of  the  shell,  and  which,  after  ex- 
hausting one  place,  made  its  way  to  another. 

XVI.  A  Description  of  Ike  Oxide  of  Tin,  the  Production  of 
Cornwall;  of  the  primitive  Crystal  and  ils  Modificaticms,  including 
an  Attempt  to  ascertain  with  Precision  the  AdmeasuremeHt  of  the 
Angles  by  means  of  the  reflecting  Goniometer  of  Dr.  Wbllaston'j 
to  which  is  added  a  Series  of  its  crystalline  Forms  and  Varieties. 
By  Mr.  William  Philips,  M.  G.  S. — This  is  a  most  elaborate  and 
exact  delineation  of  all  the  different  crystalline  figures  which  Mr. 
Philips  has  observed  in  Cornish  tin  ore,  referred  to  the  primitive 
figure  of  tin-stone  and  twelve  modifications  of  it.  But  it  would 
be  impossible  to  render  the  paper  intelligible  to  the  reader  mthout 
the  numerous  figures  which  accompany  it,  and  indeed  constitute 
its  chief  value.  The  primitive  form  is  an  octahedron,  consisting 
of  two  four-sided  pyramids  applied  base  to  base.  The  plane 
formed  by  their  junction  is  a  square.  The  inclination  of  the  faces 
of  one  pyramid  to  those  of  the  other  is  6?'  SO*.  The  twelve  mo- 
difications, described  by  Mr.  Pliilips,  consist  of  the  primitive  form 
altered  by  various  truncatures,  (for  the  language  of  Rom^  de  Lisle 
applies  best  to  Mr.  F's  mode  of  describing,)  on  the  angles  and 
edges.  The  figures  of  the  different  crystals  given  by  Mr.  P.  ate  ha 
general  very  distinct  and  beautiful. 

XVII.  On  some  new  Varieties  of  Fossil  Ala/dnia.  By  Thomas 
Webster,  M.  G.  S. — In  the  green  sandstone  in  the  Isle  of  Wight, 
Mr  Webster  observed  numerous  bodies  exactly  resembling  the 
branches  of  trees;  in  the  lime-stone  he  observed  small  smooth 
round  bodies,  bearing  a  resemblance  to  eels  in  motion.  These 
bodies  occur  in  prodigious  quantities  in  the  romantic  tlifls_  of 
Western  Lines,  In  that  place  (hey  are  found  frequently  termi- 
nating in  bulbous  heads,  bearing  a  certain  resemblance  to  a  closed 
tulip.  He  considers  them  as  casts  of  three  or  four  new  and  hitherto 
undescribed  species  of  alcyonia. 

XVIII.  Miscellaneous  Remarks  accompanying  a  Calalogiie  of 
Specimens  transmttled  to  the  Geological  Society.  By  Dr.  Mao* 
cuUoch. — ^This  long  paper  consists  of  remarks  on  the  mineralogical 
structure  of  various  places  in  Scotland.  The  Island  of  Rona  con-  • 
sists  chiefly  of  gneiss.  There  are  many  granite  veins  in  which  our 
author  observed  wolfram.     Graphic  granite  is  common,  containing 

a  mineral  which  has  been  termed  chalcedony.  I  believe  it  to  be 
roek  crystal.  Dr.  M.  makes  some  remarks  on  the  impropriety  of 
applying  the  term  green-stone  to  primitive  transition  and  ffoetz 
^mss.     His  primitive  green-stone  is  obviously  syenite,  from  the 

.JOglf 


60  Aaali/iei  of  Books,  [July, 

ijescription  be  gives  of  it.  He  wiU  6od  this  rpck  always  the  sapae 
in  its  appearan(te>  p'hether  it  occur  JB  piimitive,  t]:tiQsition>  or 
fioetz  fonnatkios.  Therefore,  ]ike  lime-sloTie,  it  must  always 
bear  the  same  name.  Good  ap^cimeos  of  primitive  greeD-stoiM 
ma;  be  met  with  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Cried.  I  do  pot  reool> 
leci  to  have  met  with  them  any  where  else  io  Scodand,  I  do  Bot 
understand  what  is  meant  by  the  £oetz  green-fitone  being  iodef 
pendent  of  the  rocks  with  which  it  is  associated.  If  Pr.  M.  wiU 
travel  from  Kelso  to  Sutra  Hill,  on  the  road  to  Edinburgh^  he  will 
find  in  the  southern  part  of  his  journey,  abundance  of  very  dia- 
racteristic  specimens  of  fioetz  green-stone.  Ashe  advances  qorthi 
ward,  he  will  find  these  characters  slowly  and  almost  imperceptibly 
changing,  till  at  last  the  rock  at  ^utra  Hill  is  pure  grey-W4cke, 
In  ibis  part  of  Scotlaod  the  transition  from  green-stone  to  greyr 
wacke  may  be  distinctly  traced.  What  is  more  commoB  ttMin  to 
find  green-stone  passing  into  basalt,  into  wacke,  and  even  into  , 
sIate-cbty?,Such  transitions  must  be  familiar  to  every  person  who 
has  examined  the  rocks  about  Edinburgh  and  in  Fife. 

The  Shiant  Islands,  near  Lewes,  are  composed  of  trap ;  but  the 
Doctor's  descriptions  are  not  sufficiently  minute  and  precise  to 
enable  us  to  know  the  individual  species.  He  terminates  bia  ac> 
count,  as  usual,  with,  an  invective  against  the  inaccuracy  of  lh« 
present  nomenclature  of  rocks.  Perhaps  a  more  minute  attention 
than  he  seems  to  have  paid  to  the  Wernerian  divbion  and  descrip- 
tion of  trap  rocks,  would  have  induced  lilm  to  alter  hi*  opinion 
upon  this  subject.  It  appears  to  me  an  odd  way  of  proceeding  to 
esiimate  the  progress  which  a  science  has  made,  by  our  own  pro- 
gress in  the  knowledge  of  It. 

The  Island  of  Rum  is  of  so  difficult  access  that  it  was  only  par- 
tially examined.  The  lowest  rock  found  was  a  *and-stone,  sup- 
posed to  have  been  formed  from  granite.  Over  this  was  a  green- 
stone, composed  of  augite  and  felspar,  which  Dr.  M.  thinks 
peculiar  to  Rum.  It  occurs,  however,  in  East  Lothian.  Over 
this  is  an  amygdaloid,  containing  chalcedony,  heliotrope,  and 
plasma.  Tiie  occurrence  of  these  two  last  minerals  in  this  place 
bad  been  previously  pointed  out  by  Professor  Jameson. 

The  Scuir  of  Egg,  which  in  magnificence  far  exceeds  the  cele- 
brated columns  of  Sta&a,  was  first  pointed  out  by  Professor  Jame- 
son. Dr.  M-  says  these  columns  are  composed  of  black  pitcfa-stone 
porphyry.  I  believe,  with  Professor  Jameson,  that  they  consist  of 
a  mineral  intermediate  between  basalt  and  pitch-stone. 

Dr.  M.  gives  an  account  of  a  very  extensive  lime-stone  foiwa- 
tion,  beginning  at  Assynt,  and  running  east,  and  alternatiag  with 
a  quartz  rock.  He  calls  it  bituminous  lime-stone.  '  This  name  is 
not  correct.  It  contains  carbon,  and  emits,  when  rubbed,  the 
smell  of  sulphureted  hydrogen.  It  belongs  to  the  well-known 
lime-stone  formation,  described  and  analyzed  by  John,  under  the 
name  of  lucidlite.  It  is  not  possible,  from  Dr.  M.'s  description; 
to  make  out  'its  geognostic  relations.    I  have  little  doubt  that  it  is  a 


1815-3       Transaclions  of  the  Geohgioal  Society,  Vol.  U.  «1 

owiHtSMi  liDW^stoDe,  M  luctillite  has  only  been  hitherto  obsenvd 
in  tttM  iWEitioti. 

0*r  Mtbor  gives  «  description  <A  tbe  lime-stotw  of  Isla,  and 
*ysil  is  tfen  geoenl  dpinion  of  Ibe  Scotch  mionfik^tsthst  H  is  a 
ftftAC  IAWtt'4ti»«.  This  is  saiely  a  mistake.  Mr.  3amtaoa,  m  his 
Tnvels,  calk  ft  fiiitnitlve  lime-stooe  ;  and  as  far  as  ny  infbraistiDn 
gMs,  t^  is  the  geoend  opioion  at  E^nbu^b.  How  &r  it  n  eor> 
iKt,  I  have  no  meaiA  of  knowing,  as  I  never  visited  the  isUnd. 

'llican^g  of  Ailsaisa  wetl-known  inaaDtain,  that  rises  out -of  l]it! 
M  «t  the  fAoutb  of  the  Frith  «{  Clyde.  Dr.  M.  rightly  calls  it  a 
ijenite.  From  its  texture  and  resemblance  to  the  syenite  of  Arran 
there  can  be  litde  doubt  that  it  is  a  floets  syenite.  The  rode  of 
Syene  Is  a  true  vfewtie.  It  does  not  occariooBtly  cootaiD  hornblende; 
that  mineral  is  an  essential  constituent.  Syenite  is  coDDCCted  usually 
with  jporphyiy,  not  with  grairite  ;  primitive  syenite  with  primitive 
pm^t^ry ;  and  flOetz  syenite  with  floetz  porphyry.  Hence  the 
pn^nety  of  giving  the  same  nanie  to  both  ;  and  beotA  the  reaton 
for  separating  the  rock  from  granite,  with  which  it  is  not  con- 
aedlcd. 

AVi  Mcdunt  is  given  of  Devar,  an  tslntd  at  the  harboirr  of  Camp> 
bellfeOB,  con^iosed  of  felspar-porphyry.  Dr.  M.  ans  this  rock 
conaAites  the  finest  specimen  of  poi^liyty  he  has  seen  in  Scotland. 
MutAi  finer,  -however,  exist  in  Amm.  Our  aothor's  invectives 
■gwniit  the  word  porpbyry  are  very  amusing.  1  am  sot  etware  that 
My -sKBtugirity  exists  in  the  use  of  tlitft  term.  P<m)byry  is  a  rock 
edhartlng  of  a  basis  containing  crystals  of  felspar  imbedded  in  it. 
These -cryslafe  are  essential  to  the  stone,  and  therefore  iiever  want- 
hig.  The  term  parplryry,  like  trap,  is  generic.  The  species  are 
(Ks'tkigui^ed  by  naming  the  base,  and  preftxtng  it  to  tlie  tertn  por- 
pbyiy.  Thus  frhpar-porphj/Ti/,  claU'Stane-porphyry,  lutm-stane- 
jW^'Ajfjy,  'f^tek-slone-porpkyry.  There  is  no  ambigtiity  here. 
Emry  tnhi^logist  knows,  or  ougin  to  know,  that  these  Imscs  are 
coimected  togrther,  and  pass  into  each  other,  tf  I  am  told  that  a 
Mck  h'CdmptHeS  of  porphyry,  I  ask  what  porj^yry  ?  The  answer, 
fel^ifflvporpnyry  or  cl((y-8tone-porphyry,  defines  the  species.  It  is 
tme  that  pbrpliyry  occurs  in  different  foroiations ;  so  do  trap  and 
Hne-iitdne ;  but  it  will  be  found  that  it  assumes  a  similar  poeitioD  in 
all  the  di8er«m  formations. 

Under  the  head  Arran,  Dr.  M.  introduces  a  discussion  «diether 
^nlte  ever  occurs  stratified  or  not,  and  terminates  as  fellows  ;—^ 
"*  We'have,  'howerw,  a'peifect  certainty  that  it  {Arran granite)  is 
tM  Mtatified,  becatise  veira  are  found  arising  from  It,  and  entering 
the  tnass  ef  incumbent  sdhlstus  In  the  well-known  junction  at  Loch 
ilan2a."  I  do  not  perceive  tlie  force  of  thismodeof  reasoning.  Dr. 
M.,  I  dare  say,  will  admit  sand-stone  to  be  a  stratified  rock ;  yet 
veins  of  It  passing  into  the  incumbent  rock  are  not  uncommon  ia 
quarries -near  Edlnbui^. 
Under  the  bead  of  Portsoy,  Dr.  M.  enters  into  some  specuktiom 

'.  2  -..lyGotit^Ie 


68  Analyses  of  Books.  (JcLt, 

about  the  origin  of  the  crystals  of  schorl,  &c.  They  have  some- 
times  the  appearance  of  being  brokra,  and  sometimes  are  Incur- 
vated.  I  conceive  the  broken 'ap)>earaQce  is  inerely  a  decqjtion 
arising  from  the  simultaneous  formation  of  various  crystals,  which 
are  intermixed  with  each  other.  1  have  seen  siiuilaF  appearanoes  In 
the  crystal lizatiOD  of  various  mixtures  of  salt  in  my  own  laboratory. 
The  Curve  must  also  have  been  the  original  state  of  the  crystal  which 
Dr.  M.  describes.  I  recollect  several  years  ago  to  have  obtained, 
crystallized  in  a  common  phial,  large  curved  crystals  of  muriate  t^ 
strontiaa.  The  crystal  of  schorl  passing  through  garnet  must  be 
explained  on  similar  principles. 

Craig  Cailleach,  a  mountain  near  Killin,  is  composed  of  chlo- 
rite-slate,  and  contains  veins  and  nodules  of  quartz.  In  thb  quartz 
crystals  of  rutile  ocfur. 

Dr.  M.  enters  into  some  speculations  respecting  the  contortions  in 
the  strata  of  mica-slate  visible  at  Loch  Lomond,  and  infers  that  they 
must  havfl^been  produced  by  the  action  of  external  forces.  The 
reasoning  of  the  Huttontans  on  this  subject  is  well  known.  The 
subject  ought  to  be  considered  in  a  more  general  point  of  view  than 
has  hitherto  been  done.  Nothing  is  more  usual  than  to  find  granite, 
gneiss,  marble,  lime-stone,  green-stone,  basalt,  &c.  composed  of 
granular  distinct  concretions.  A  section  of  all  such  rocks  would 
yield  the  'same  appearance  of  contortions.  The  apparent  contor- 
tions in  mica-state,  and  in  the  contemporaneous  veins  which  Dr. 
M.  has  drawn,  are  owing  to  the  same  cause,  whatever  it  is,  that  bap 
fnvduced  the  granular  distinct  concretions  in  the  above-mentioned 
mcks.  It  is  impossible  to  ascribe  this  to  an  .external  force.  It 
must  be  owing  to  a  law  connected  with  the  original  formation  of  the 
stone  similar  to  that  which  produces  the  various  cleavages  in  crys- 
tals, and  depending  obviously  upon  the  same  cause. 

J3r.  M.'s  observations  on  gjey-wacke  and  transition  slate  appear 
to  me  perfectly  just ;  though  I  am  not  aware  that  they  pos6ess.aiiy 
novelty.  They  may,  however,  be  useful  in  drawing  the  attention 
of  English  mineralogists  to  the  definition  of  a  term  which  they  are 
in  the  habit  of  using  with  too  much  latitude,  I  do  not  think  that 
the  term  mechanical,  in  the  usual  sense  of  the  word,  can  be  applied 
to  grey-wacke.  I  believe  it  was  originally  formed  in  the  same  state 
as  it  exists  in  at  present,  and  that  it  is  not  a  true  sand-stone. 

Our  author  terminates  his  paper  with  an  account  of  the  rocks 
about  Aberfoyle  and  Loch  Ketterin.  He  considers  them  as  grey- 
wacke  alternating  with  mica-slate.  As  for  as  I  could  make  out  these 
rocks,  for  I  have  been  on  the  spot,  they  are  primitive  ;  sometiioes 
mica-slate,  sometimes  quartzose  clay-slate.  There  can  be  no 
.doubt  that  the  primitive  rocks  graduate  imperceptibly  into  the  tran- 
sition ;  but  so  do  the  transition  into  the  floetz,  as  may  be  seen  veiy 
well  in  Berwickshire ;  so  that  if  this  gradation  were  sufficient,  as 
the  Doctor  supposes,  for  inducing  us  ,to  confound  the  primitive 
and  tramitioQ  cocks,  it  would  be  equally  sufficient  to  induce  us 'to 

n,,:-A-..>yGoogIe 


ISlS,}      Traiudctims  of  tke  Geotogidal  Society,  Vol.  II.  fig 

ecMifoaad  the  priioiliTe,  tiiuuition,  and  floetz  rocks,  andto  aboliih 
atl  tJistlnctioDs  whatever.  Such  gradual  tnuuitjaiu  might  have 
been  expected,  and  iodeed  were  previously  well  known. 

XlX.  Remarks  on  several  parti  of  Scotuind  which  exhibit  Quartx 
_  Rock,  and  on  ike  Nature  and  Coniwtims  of  thii  Rock  in  genertU. 
Sj  Dr.  Macculloch. — Our  indefatigable  mineralogist  describes,  in 
the  first  [^ce,  the  mountains  oT  Jura,  which  are  diiefly  composed 
of  a  granular  quartz.  He  endeavours  to  show  that  this  quartz  is  ia 
reality  a  sand-stone  formed  of  disintegrated  granite :  that  it  some- 
times contains  clay,  sometimes  rounded  grains  of  felspar,  and  some- 
times rolled  masses  or  pebbles  of  quartz  itself.  No  mode  of  rea- 
soning is  more  apt  to  lead  into  mistakes  than  this.  And  I  am 
strongly  inclined  to  believe  that  on  the  present  occasitm  Dr. 
Macculloch  has  misled  himself  by  his  own  ingenuity ;  at  least 
no  specimen  of  this  rock  which  I  ever  saw  contained  a  single 
true  fragment,  or  gave  any  evidence  that  it  was  any  thing  else 
than  true  granular  quartz.  He  then  gives  an  accQ^Dt  of  the 
quartz  rock  which  occurs  in  Sutherlaadshire,  at  SchihatUen,  aod 
in  several  other  placps.  In  all  these,  according  to  him,  it  is  euctly 
of  the  same  nature  as  at  Jura.  Now  at  Jura  it  is  covered  by  mica- 
slate  ;  therefore  mica-slate,  he  infers,  is  of  later  formaiioa  than 
sand-stoiie,  and  consequently  ought  to  be  strudL  out  of  the  list  (rf' 
pritaitive  rocks.  This  mode  of  reasoning  is  not  accurate.  Quartx 
rock  occurs  in  piimitive,  tranution,  and  floelz  formations,  provided 
the  old  red  sand-stone  be  included  under  it.  Primitive  quartz  rock 
ia  not  a  sand-stone,  but  a  granular  quartz ;  so  is  transition  quarts 
rock ;  but  fioetz  quartz  is  a  true  sand-stone,  at  least  in  many  coses. 
Primitive  quartz  rQck  forms  beds  in  mica-^late  as  in  Jura,  in  gneiss 
and  granite  in  Braemar,  in  mica-slate  in  Schihallien,  is  clay-slate 
in  Beniwhone.  It  occurs .  alio  in  grey>wacke.  It  occun  in  the 
coal  formation,  and  among  the  fioetz  rocks.  In  this  respect  quarts 
rock  agrees  with  lloie-stooe,  trap,  porphyry.  Tlicre  is  nothing 
wonderful  in  finding  this  recurrence.  Nor  does  it  militate  in  the 
least  against  the  doctrine  of  formations,  or  the  division  of  rocks  into 
primitive,  transition,  and  floetz.  That  division  is  founded  entirely 
upon  petrifactions.  None  exist  in  primitive.  They  exist  in  transit 
-tion  rocks  ;  bvt  only  the  lowest  classes  of  vegetables  and  animals 
are  found  in  this  position,  -  The  fioetz  rocks  contain  petrifactions 
more  simitar  to  the  Jiving  beings  that  now  exist ;  and  tliis  similarity 
increases  as  we  desceild  in  the  series.  Remove  these  grand  distinc- 
tions, and  the  whole  doctrine  of  rocks  is  plunged  into  confusion. 
Retain  thetn,  and  the  whole  is  clear.  When  the  same  rockoccuts 
in  diilerent  classes,  we  liave  only  to  apply  to  it  the  name  pf  the  class 
in  which  it  is  found  to  keep  every  thing  distinct :  and  we  have  only 
t6  Abstain  from  applying  the  observaiitAs  which  we  make  upon  ft 
rock  when  it  occurs  in  one  class  to  the  same  rock  when  it  occurs  in 
another  class,  to  prevent  our  laltiog  into  mistakes,  and  drawing  ' 
absurd  consequences. 
XX.  Notice  relative  to  Ike  Geology  of  the  Coast  of  Lalira^, 


64  Auaiffsa  t^  Books.  [Jolt, 

Bj  tke  Rer.  Mr.  Steioluuier.— Tlie  United  Hr^ueo  Ham  viaiced 
this  crastas  auBsioories.  Tliey  fanscd  a  settlement  at  Naip,  in  Af. 
lat.  56°  38' ;  and  afterwards  tno  othera,  Okkak  in  kt.  5S°  48",  and 
Hopdaad  !q  lat.  55°  S6'.  It  »  bf  these  mistioaariei  dial  all  the 
Labrador  mineral*  have  been  seat  io  Euriipe.  The  [nvsent  notice 
is  drawn  vp  frem  the  inforttntion  of  the  missionaries.  The  coast  is 
raoontaiDous  and  nearty  barren,  the  rodcB  beiag  bare  of  soiL  Deep 
rifts  are  ooroinon,  as  if  tbey  were  veii|^  not  yet  filled  up.  The 
FoclcB,  as  fer  M  cd>serTed,  are  primitive ;  granite  and  cblorite  are 
particulaiiy  mentioned }  both  the  Hypersten  and  the  I^bFador  fel- 
spar seem  to  occur  in  primitive  rocia.  Floetz  or  tnaution  locks 
occur  at  Hopcdale ;  for  time-rtooe  has  been  found  there  oontaiciog 
madrepores.    Tbe  height  of  the  mountains  is  eslimatedat  3000  feet> 

XXI.  Memoranda  relative  to  Clovdly,  North  Devax. — By  the 
Rev.  1. 1,  Conybeare,  M.  G.  S. — ^This  k  a  very  interesting  paper. 
Tbe  rocks  at  Clovelly  are  grey-wacke  and  gcey-wacke<«bite.  Several 
distinct  drawings  are  ^ven  of  the  contonions  ef  the  beds.  Who- 
ever  will  take  the  trouble  to  examine  these  dnwings  will  see  how 
□tterty  impocsible  it  is  to  account  fin-  these  contortioaa  by  the 
squeezing  system,  which  has  been  brought  Jbrvnrd  mih  such 
parade.  The  view  of  Mr.  Conybeare  with  respect  to  tlie  Cornish 
clay-fllate  is  the  ssme  wluch  I  myself  gave  in  my  ptq>er  on  Corn- 
wall. But  there  are  some  circutnst&nees  wUch  throw  doubts  upon 
the  real  position  of  the  Cornish  slate.    The  date  at  Plymoudi  is  ■ 

^Hndoabtedly  transition ;  yet  it  posiesses  all  tbe  character*  of  the 
killas  of  Corawidl.  This  transition  slate  may  be  traced  as  far  vest 
ea  St.  Michael's  Mount;  and  from  the  direction  of  tbe  beds  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  it  passes  under  the  granite,  wbit^  constitutes 
the  greatestpart  of  that  mount.  Indeed,  upon  the  south-west  side 
of  the  mount  it  may  be  found  alteinating  with  that  graatte.  Hence 
the  mere  appearance  of  the  killas  is  not  sufficient  to  constitiite  it  a* 
primitive  rock.  We  have  no  proof  at  {wesent  to  the  contrary  ;  but 
the  discovery  of  any  petrifactions  in  it  would  be  a  decisive  proof,  k 
is  to  be  hoped,  therefore,  that  tlw  Gentlemen  Jn  Cornwall  who  are 
interested  m  the  subject  will  endeavour  to  ascertain  whether  any 
such  petriAicttMiB  exist  in  it  or  not. 

XXII.  On  Staffa.  By  Dr.  Macculloch.— Stafla  has  been  so 
often  described  that  little  remains  to  be  said  respecting  it.  i>r.  M. 
iisited  it  twice,  and  examined  it  with  as  much  care  as  possible.' 
The  columns,  he  says,  Bre  basalt.  From  the  specimens  which  1 
liave  examined,  1  conceive  that  the  term  porphyry- slate  is  more 
applicable  to  the  rock  of  Stafft  than  basalt.  The  Doctor  refuses  to 
admit  the  presence  of  trap  tuff  in  Staffa,  though  there  cannot  be  a 
doubt  that  the  pillars  stand  upon  trap  tuff.  Trap  tuff  is  not  a 
jbreccta,  as  Dr.  M.  supposes,  nothing  is  more  easy  than  to  study 
4hi8  rock,  as  a  considerable  part  of  Arthurseat  is  compo.sed  of  it. 
Its  base  is  a  reddish-brown  clay.  It  contEuns  what  has  the  appear- 
ance of  fragments  of  other  stones ;  but  a  cnreful  examination  will 
^tisfy  any  penon  that  they  are  not  real  fragments,  but  minerals, 


I8i5.j     Traiuecttau  of  iheGtotogical  Socuiyt  Fol.  U.  65 

which  bate  tweo  deponted  it  the  tune  time,  with  the  clayej  bens. 
I  consider  tnptuff  not  as  a  breccia,  but  aa  an  original  rock..  Dr. 
M.  otuerred  rolled  onuks  of  granite,  gneiu,  and  other  priinitiTe 
rodcs  opoD  Stafiik  He  su[q)OM>  that  this  had  escaped  the  obsem- 
tioa  of  preceding  obi'trvers.  But  this  ii  a  mistake.  lunpretqr 
anrc  that  the  mac  obiervation  was  made  by  Faujas  de  St,  Fond; 
thooffh  1  have  it  not  in  my  power  at  rareseut  to  consult  bii  book. 
Mr.  Milla  mention!  the  same  thing  m  hii  paper  published  in  the 
Philoaqibicat  IHnsactioDS,  17»0,  vol.  Ixxx.  p.  73. 

XXnl.  On  Vegetahle  Remains  frreserwd  in  Chalcedtmy,  By  Dt; 
Macculloch. — Nothing  is  more  common  than  to  observe  in  antea 
ariiorizatioDS  having  a  close  resemblance  to  plants.  The  same  thing 
occurs  in  chalcedony.  DaubentcHi  many  years  ago  wrote «  paper 
on  the  subject,  in  which  be  even  names  the  species  of  plant  coo- 
tuDcd  in  the  cfaalcedoDy  whidi  he  extiaiDcd.  Dr.  M.  likewise 
collected  a  mat  manv  of  these  chalced(»iies,  and  the  resuh  of  a 
careful  examinatkia  satisfied  htm  that  troe  plants,  chiefly  c<»iftrvas 
and  mosses,  occur  in  chalcedonies ;  though  very  perfect  imitattons 
of  them  are  often  produced  by  chlorite.  To  distinguish  the  true 
plant,  he  appjies  nilphuric  acid  to  the  mineraL  If  the  acid  be  . 
blackened  be  concludes  that  a  true  vegetable  exists  in  the  stone ;  if 
net,  he  GODsiden  the  appeal auce  as  owing  to  cUnite.  It  would  be 
dimcult  to  GOQviace  me  that  such  deliode  vegetaUea  as  con£ervas 
and  mosses  can  exist  in  chalcedonies,  without  lo  much  as  their  co> 
lour  or  texture  being  altered.  I  am  rather  disposed  to  ascribe 
these  appearances  to  manganese,  iron,  &c.  occasii»ially  mixed  with 
bituinen.  This  bitumen  I:  conceive  ctdouis  the  sulphuric  add, 
and  leads  to  the  cooctuHon  tlwt  v^etable  matter  is  preseoL  He 
&ct  that  some  of  tfte  lines  in  agates  an  Uackeoed  by  sulphuric 
acid,  mentioned  by  Dr.  Hamel  in  a  late  number  of  the  AtmalSf 
shows  that  bituminous  matter  is  a  pretty  frequeqt  constituent  id 
agates. 

XXIV.  On  the  vUreous  Tvlej  Jovnd  waar  lo  Drigg  in  Cuaier-. 
land.  Compiled  by  the  secretanes  bom  several  communications. 
— These  tubes  have  been  found  in  hillocks  of  drifted  sand  at  the 
,  mouth  of  the  Irt  in  Cumbcriand.  The  first  aacouot  of  them  was 
sent  to  the  Societv  la  1812  byMr.  Irtonof  Irtoabatl,  Cumberland. 
Three  were  found  in  a  single  area  of  15  yards,  fonning  a  hiUock 
elevated  40  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  diameter  of  each 
was  about  an  inch  and  a  half.  Within  they  consist  of  a  very  hard 
glass,  which  strikes  fire  with  steel.  One  of  them  was  traced  to  the 
depth  of  SO  feet  without  terminating,  though  it  became  smaller. 
The  and  falling  in  prevented  the  continuance  of  the  excavations : 
the  sand  consists  of  quartz  mixed  with  grains  «f  btxn-stone  por- 
ph^.  By  the  blow-pip^  urged  Jtiy  a  stream  of  oxygen  gas,  this 
sand  was  imperfectlj;  vitrified,  so  as  to  resemble  the  inside  of  the 
tulies.  The  most  probable  oinnien  is,  that  the^  tubts  have  been 
formed  by  the  action  of  lightning. 
Vol.  VI.  N*  I.  £ 

n,,:-A-..>yGoogIe 


W  Awet^Aff  of  Fkihtapfaml  Soewtkf.  [leiT, 

hwKai  Papers  eoftlainej,  m  thx  TransqcHtms  oflt^  V^oua^  Socirfy  of 
t%nSwn;  jrorp.  t&e eain'mfnKmen^  cftkat  fnek  to  the  cndoffXe 
^ear  \^iS-^  cbrottolofficallu  as^  alp^^abetkaliu  arranged.  0iflew, 
4f.  LpntlpD. 

'  The  ^ilqsoplueBl  Tnutsactions  contain  pertitpa  n  gntiff  nutn- 
^  of  ^Iqafole  papers  on  medical  and  physi^lnKK^  9Ut^ct$,  ^af\ 
iay  odier  pubHsatjoD  what^vier.  But  ibey  are  10  y^i^mhious  ^ifit 
it  if  a  pery  di^c^lt  and  laborious  tajk  to  ncertaltt  wb^t  t\ify:  cqd- 
tain.  Hence  the  utility  of  good  iadexes,  whtdf  snve  gr^t^  to  t^~ 
cSlii^te  the  investigations  at  the  tpedtcal  student.  Tt^e  prcseqt  Ip- 
iex  Is  veiy  well  executod,  and  caTcutatcd  iq  evei^  TC^ct  to  annrer 
tbe  purppse^  fot  which  It  was  intended.  '' 


AllTtOL^  XIV. 

M«4<,  to^iarw. 
Ot).iniufidw^09th«fUiy,  a  p^rI^>PhPaiTf  wm  readow 
the  cause  of  the  pulaitim  of  tbe  artmea.     Ha  >t«t«d  (he  oplBmn  of 


whtc^he  himieir  had  obtained  hf  lagmg  omb  Ae  aiteries  ef  Hviiw 
•heep  and  tabhitfc  Ns  rilendM  in  the  atte  sf  the  arteiy  could  be 
'  bulai»stioB«f'^u4eiyhMkw*fd9an4forw8r(b,  e«r- 
to  the  UHpiralion  and  cxpnidMi  of  A*  aoiMal.    1^. 


perceive^  but  a  lastioB  •foe  aitefj  hackwafdaand  forwanb,  e«r- 
letpondiiigto  the  iaapiratioa  and  cxfiiHWian  of  ilbm  aoiMal.  fh. 
Parry  cooeeivea  that  Uie  artery  is  a  tense  tube  alwiqn  full  of  hhwtf. 
Bad  that  wboB  ite  d* — -    '  ^'-^-"^  1  -^ • 


Bad  that  wboB  ite  diameter  ia  dia^aiahfld  by  cKtemat  presswe,  t1 
blood  ^i^ea  an  efl«M  to  realoK  tb«  oi4^M  tan.  Heoee  the  pu 
•Btioii.    I  da  riot  see  ckuAj  htm  tMi  tumenttoa  wiH  account  f 


tuffOnttoB  wiH  account  for 
the  nn<>ua  diseased  ataloa  of  the  piriw  mH  knowti  i«  isedtcal  men, 
unless,  we  ascriifs  the  abcrmiooB  hatt  tKase  oatee  t»the  heart. 
A^  tbe  Mme  raea^igi  port  of  a  papw.  by  Mr.  Donovaa  was  Fead', 

nnag  an  aoeoant  of  a  new  vej^tolxe  acid^  dneovwed  by  him  in  die 
jaiee  of  the  bcrrie«  of  die  sorbwi  aucuparia,  toeetber  with  sos>e  eb- 
terratiooson  nalieacid^  He  exlraeted  Ihejiuceeftberipe  berria 
by  wcfsure,  precMtated  by  walKte  ctf  lead,  washed  the  precipttate 
in  boainp  wMer,  and  threw  ^e  whole  upon  the  ^ber.  A  hard 
V^iUe  mass  remained  upon  (be  filter,  and  (be  liquHl  which  passed 
tV9t%^  depMtt«di  on  cooHog,  ke,  whjte,  tlHcy,  needle-form  cry*.- 
tals,  Scheele  had  stated  (he  i^  ia  ibne  berries  to  be  the  ma- 
lic. Bat  mattte-of  lead  had  oevir  been  observed  to  crystallize.  To 
clear  up  the  subject,  Mr.  Dodova&satunued  the  juice  of  ripe  apples 
vritii  potath,  and  precipiuted  the  liquid  by  acetate  of  lead;    The 


1S16.]-  ■      Jii^_  Soeietjf,  .  fi7 

precipitate  treaud  with  hodiag  wat«r,  »  iu  tb^  precedii^  £8fie, 
yielded  similar  sillcy  ciysuU  j  bnL  the  tubftancc  remaUuDtfAB  tba. 
fijrer  was  «  loft  oiagaia.  Gooseberry  jul^e  treated  ia  the  shme  wsy 
yielded  DO  cr/stflU  J  dot  r^jpberry  jwcej  nor  tV  juicsof  ehler  bei«. 
ric^  DOT  of  sedum  tectoruiOa  «or  green  apples..  Thuc  it  appeas^ 
that  actttate  of  lead  pKcipiiwe*  twa  dificieat  acids  ia  ths  first  two 
lii^ids.  The  first  aa  add  not  hitperto  tjbaeat^f  which , readily - 
fonnsB  supersalt  wichoKide-of  lead  soluble iahot  water;  and  thia 
solution  on  cooliog  deposits  the  neutral  jmh  in  til^j  ciystaUi 
the  secodd  sialic  acji^  wfucb  femia  wkti  oaide  of  Icful  a  salt  not 
cai^la  of  crystalli^Dg.  Taoblun  the  new  acid  iu  a  itate  of  ptf 
ritf^  .lb<  coloiirlett  ulky  eryOak  are  to  t>«  ticatcd  vlib  a  quantity 
ai  sulpburic  acid  capable  of  satumtuog  the  greater  part,  but  not  tlw 
whole,  of  the  oude  of  lead  preseot.  Tbe  liquid  being  filtered  to 
separate  tbe  £iilf4kate  of  )aad>  a  current  of  su^huretfd  hydrogen  ia 
driven  through  it  till  the  whole  reaiaitiing  oxide  of  lead  is  thrown 
down.  The  filtered  liquid  is  now  boiled  for  some  tinc^  sod  then 
exposed  to  the  air  for  a  f«w  &ys  to  get  rid  of  the  lulphureted  by 
drogea. 

On  Thunday  the  1st  of  June,  MrJ  Donovan's  faper  wai  conti" 
nued.  To  tlu  acid  thus  obtained  be  gase  tbe  name  of  sarblc  acid. 
It  possesses  the  following  properties.  It  is  cotourlesi,  lis  taste  is 
intensely  sour,  and  it  redden*  tegctable  blues.  It  does  not  ciyitaU 
\ize.  It  does  Dot  Beadily  undergo  spontaiiwus  deoonipositioQ.  Mr< 
I>aAovaa  kept  a  quantity  of  it  in  a  phial  fiar-a  year;  no  other 
ehange  happened  axecpt  the  d^totition  of  a  very  smaU  quantity  of 
SHicilt^inous  matter.  It  combines  wiib  oxide  of  lead  in  three  (no> 
portiona,  forming,  L.  Subaorbate  of  lead,  whieb  is  a  hard  whits 
losoJuble  powder.  2.  Sorbate^  which  may  b«  obtained  either  in 
powder  or  in  crystals,  and  which  is  likewise  insoluble.  3.  Super* 
sorhate,  which  does  net  crystidlize.  Tbe  albaliDe  supcnorbates  nay 
be  fdl  obtained  in  the  state  of  crystals.  It  krrnw  snublc  sails  with 
faarytet,  Uaey  and  ma^esia.  It  does  not  eombioe  with  alumia% 
These  preperti«B  sufficiently  ^BtJDguish  this  acid  fron  the  maljc. 

Mr.  Oonov^n  Skewiae  related  bis  experiments  on  the  jvepaiatioq 
of  malic  acid.  He  found  none  of  the  methods  recomincoded  bf 
Scfaeele  capable  of  fumisiiing  pure  malic  acid.  He  considers  Vau* 
quelin's  process  for  preparing  midic  add  from  the  juioa  of  tht  te- 
dum  tectorum  as  tbe  only  one  that  yields  k  tolerably  pure  acid.  I 
may  observe  here,  riutt  about  10  years  ago  I  made  loaic  expnt* 
iBents  on  the  preparations  of  malic  acid,  and  found  that  ualeas  it 
be  freed  from  ouicilege  before  precipitatiMi  with  lead,  it  cawwt  ^• 
terwards  be  separated  fronv  a  considerable  quantity  of  gunoiy  mat- 
ter which  socms  to  &11  down  in  cambioatjiMi  with  ubc  lead,  I  as* 
cribe  most  of  tbe  difScullics  which  hKre  eocarred  to  chcmlsta  ia 
preparing  this  acid,  to  not  animadverting  to  this  cireuRiatuMW. 

Mr.  DoDoran  ooocetves  it  likely  that  tlw  bitter  prioci^  which 
exists  at  Srst  in  vatiow  fruits  and  disappears  as  tfaey  advano*  to  flMi- 
tuiity,  may  be  tbe  basis  of  sonie  (tf  the  vegetable  acidfc    - 

K  2  xigle. 


M  Troceedings  of  Tiaktopluaal  Soctelia.  t'l^i''*'* 

At  the  nine  meetiDg  a  paper  bjr  Sir  Enrard  Home*  Bait,  aa  the 
reipiratonr  oi^hb  of  Kxne  genera  of  renoes  that  live  hi  water,  was 
read.  Tne§e  orcans  oomist  of  a  Dumber  of  openings  on  both  udes 
of  the  neck,  which  kadioto  spherical  or  flattened  balls.  Water 
pBises  through  these  openings  into  the  bags,  and  is  afterwards 
thrown  oat  agun-  The  reascm  whr  the  water  does  not  enter  at 
the  mouth  as  in  fishes,  is  because  these  animals,  as  the  leech,  re- 
quire thnr  tbouths  for  suction,  eHher  to  procure  food  or  to  fosten 
tnemselves  to  other  hodjes. 

-  On  U'harsday  the  8th  of  June,  a  paper  by  Dr.  Brewster  was  read 
on  the  muUipHcation  of  images  aiid  colours  which  aecompany 
them  in  some  ipeeimeDS  of  Iceland  spar.  Towards  the  end  of  the' 
seasion  of  the  Royal  Sbciety,  the  number  of  papers  presented  » 
itsuslly  so  great,  that  only  a  small  portion  of  them  can  be  read  to 
the  Society.  On  this  account  nothing  can  be  added  to  the  tKrtlce 
of  Dr.  Brewster's  discorery  relative  to  this  sul^ect  given  in  the  last 
number  of  the  Amuds  of  Pkilosopky. 

•  At  the  same  meeting  a  paper  by  C.  Babbage,  Eso.  was  read,  en- 
titled, On  the  Calculation  of  Functions.  'Diishe  mformed  us  is  a 
new  spacies  of  calculus,  which  will  require  new  methods  of  investt- 
gadon.  But  as  only  the  introduction  of  the  paper  was  read,  it  is 
impossible  to  give  any  brther  account  of  it. 

~  At  the  same  meeting  a  paper  by  Dr.  Herscbelt  on  the  satellites 
of  the  Gteorgium  Sidus,  with  some  observations  cm  the  space  pene- 
trating power  of  teleMopes,  were  also  read.  The  object  of  the  pa- 
per was  to  furnish  data  to  astronomers  to  determine  the  number 
and  orbits  and  periodical  times  of  the  satellites  of  this  very  remote 
planet.  He  described  the  orbits  and  periods  of  two  of  the  satel- 
lites, supposed  that  another  existed  witnin  them,  and  probably  three 
others  without  them. 

^  On  Thursday  the  1 5th  June,  a  paper  by  Sir  Grerud  Home,  Bart. 
WHS  read,  on  the  mode  of  generation  of  the  lamprle  and  myxine. 
He  found  by  a  great  many  dissections  at  different  periads  during 
the  summer,  that  these  animals  are  all  hermaphnxlito ;  those, 
which  were  supposed  to  be  males,  producing  eggs  as  well  as  the  sup- 
posed females. 

'  At  the  same  meeting  a  paper  by  Anthony  Carlisle,  Esq.  wa^ 
read,  on  the  connection  between  the  extravascular  and  vascular 
parts  of  animals.  Hair,  feathers,  nails,  hoofs,  are  extravascular 
substances,  and  possess  no  vessels.  The  chief  object  of  the  paper 
was  to  show,  that  the  shells  of  shell-fish  and  snails  are  likewise 
without  vessels.  They  cagnot  be  injected.  Their  membranes  do 
not  exhibit  the  same  .appearance  as  those  that  contaio  vessels. 
When  a  piece  of  snail-shell  was  broken  ol}',~tlie  injury  was  repaired 
by  a  visnd  substance  applied  internally,  and  then  layers  of  calca- 
reous matter  were  laid  over  ii. 

At  the  same  meeting  a  paper  by  John  George  Children,  Esq, 
was  read,  on  the  effects  of  a  very  large  galvanic  battery.  It  con.«isted 
of  20  pair  of  zinc  and  copper  plates  6  feet  long  and  2  feet  6  inches 


1815.]  Rojfal  Sodetg,  69 

broad,  joined  together  by  ttnia  of  lead  aod  plui^ed  ia  a  mixtute 
of  nitnc  and  sidphuric  addt,  diluted  with  tnmt  20  to  40  timea 
their  weight  of  water.  By  this  batteiy  tDelalUc  wires  were  ignited 
ia  the  foUowing  order,  beginning  wiA  the  wire  moat  eauly  ig* 
niud. 

FhtiaiHS  Copper 

Jma  Silrer 

Gold  Zinc. 

Tia  and  lead  are  ao  fuaiUe,  that  with  tbem  die  experiment  couM 
not  be  tried.  Mr.  Children  cooaideia  the  ignitabili^  at  the  iareiM 
of  the  conducting  power  of  the  metals;  therefore  platinum  conducts 
worst  ai)d  zinc  best  of  the  above  ux  metals.  Wien  the  two  poles 
of  the  battery  were  connected  by  two  parallel  platintun  wires  oi  dif- 
ferent sizes,  the  thick  wire  waa  ignited  and  not  the  fine  one ;  bat 
when  the  two  wires  were  tied  one  to  the  end  of  the  other,  the  fin« 
wire  was  ignited  first. 

Iron  wire  was  slit,  some  diamond  powder  put  into  the  slit,  and 
thb  powder  surronnded  by  iron  wire  above  and  below.  The  wire 
was  feintly  ignited.  The  diamond  powder  disaj^peared  and  the  iron 
was  converted  into  steel  and  partly  fused.  This  demcmstrates  the  truth 
ofClouet's  original  enperimeot,  which  was  afterwards  verified  by 
Sir  George  Mackenzie.  Iridium  was  fused  by  the  battery  and  re- 
cced to  a  porous  globule  of  the  q>ecific  gravity  18-6.  Oxide  of 
tantalum  was  fused  and  reduced.  The  metal  was  (^  a  yellowish 
colour  and  brittle.  Oxide  of  cerium  waa  fused  without  being  re- 
duced. This  was  the  case  also  with  oiude  pf  titanium,  ,  Oxide  of 
tungsten  was  redoced  and  fused.  The  metal  was  grey  and  very 
heavy.  Oxides  of  molybdenum  and  uranium  were  likewise  fosed 
and  reduced,  and  both  metats  were  tvittle. 

The  titles  of  the  fbllowit^  P*PO  were  read,  in  mdtt  to  entitle 
them  to  insertion  in  the  next  vtuume  of  the  Ttansictions ;  want  of 
time  rendering  it  impcaaible  to  read  the  papers  themselves  at  full 
l«Kth. 

CooadentiDos  on  the  Solutkm  of  Bodies  in  loquids,  by  Mr. 
DsnieU. 

On  the  Dispersive  Properties  of  the  Air,  by  Mr.  Stej^en  Lee. 

Considemtiona  on  the  Vascular  System  of  Animals,  by  Dr.  Philips. 

The  VfHu  Distances  of  SO  Circmnpolar  Stan,  by  John  Pond^ 
En.  AsiroDomer  Rc^U 

IV  Society  a^ounwd  during  the  Img  vacation. 

N.B.  Ia  tbc  Uit  anuber  af  the  .lAMolia/ PMtaMrK  tbe  BDBcrtcal  rMullt  of  me- 
nJ  «t  ftlr.  Porrelt'i  onalym  Qf  PnMic  add  aot  Iti  compoundi  were  inaccuraic 
1%*MWwI^  ore  tbe  corrcci  naBben,  wbleh  Mr,  Fertetl  bu  keen  la  oUl|i)i{jt 


Peroilda  «f  aKrcury. . 


'..>y  Google 


JO  Scie«tific  httltigtnce,  pvir, 

100  Fruit*  AcU  of 

Amn «H 

Cwbw. «4-8 

Ujinsfia 94-5 

UKMI 

Salphneled  tt7*ztcact<lf)4eftap<niiidaf  4MIHMafiBlpbMr  +  I  «Iob  PniMJ« 
Mid.  Fcrrurelcd  citjfsic  wM  W  »  covpound  of  I  oMb  UMki  aiidc  of  tr«B  +  4 
•UHwrrasilcMlfl. 

tmvMXM  secFwrr, 

On  Tueiifay  the  6th  of  June  a  i»per  by  Dr.  Benjamin  Smitb 
Barton  was  read,  giving  an  account  of  a  siagulaT  bird  lately  ob- 
HTVcd  in  the  Unitsd  States  of  Anierica,  which  he  considers  as  a 
new  apecies  of  tantalus. 

Qd  Tuesday  the  20lh  of  June  a  paper  by  Mr.  J.  Marray  was 
read,  containing  expenments  on  the  application  of  vegetable  poi- 
eons  to  ftnimalis,  He  laid  bare  the  crural  nerve  and  muscle  of  tha 
Iiind  leg  of  a  frog>  and  applying  the  poiEonofis  juice  tp  the  part, 
tried  whether  the  muscle  could  be  excited  by  a  galvanic  battery. 
Opium  destroyed  the  excitabiliw  in  5  minutes ;  but  the  addition  of 
citric  acid  restored  it  again.  Tincture  of  digitalis  produced  no  e^ 
feet.     A  considerable  numbet  of  similar  experiments  were  related. 

At  the  same  meeting  a  paper  by  Mr.  BicheDO  was  read,  describ- 
ing tliree  native  specks  of  orchis,  hitherto  very  frequently  con- 
founded together. 

At  the  same  meeting  a  Latin  pap«r  by  Sir  Justly  Green,  Bart. 
was  read,  describing  40  species  of  phascum. 

The  Society  adjourned  during  the  long  vacation. 


Ahticix  XV. 

Stmtmtta' IWIBIAKUSCKJ  AND  SOIICBa  OP 
CONNBCTED  WITp  ECISNCB. 

L  Ra^  Maikal  SHiety,  EdmbifTgh. 
■    The  Boral-  Medleal  Society  propb^,  as  the  sti^eot  of  Atii  prize 
Mtay  for  the  year  1816,  the  following  questioai — 

**  Wliat  cbaoges  of  composhi6»  does  tire  process  el  dtget^dn  in 
ijoadrupeds  j»x>ducpj  on  earths,  osidcs,  and  earthy^  alkaline,  and 
metallic  salts }" 

.  A  >M  of  boolui  9r  a  medal,  of  fiva  guineas  valuer  will  b«  giren 
Wioually  to  the  author  of  the  best  dissertation  on  an  experimental 
subject  prpposed  by  the  Society;  for  which  all  th«  BMmbers, 
honorary,  extraonlinaryi  and  Ardinary,  shall  alone  be  invited  as 
tandidates. 

The  dissertations  are  to  be  written  in  Englisb,  French,  or  Latin, 

n,,:-A-..>yGoogIe 


tod  to  be  delivered  to  the  Secrrtarjr  oa  or  before  the  lit  of  Decnif 
bH  oT  tM  HMUMkig  fMa-  tb  thit  li  whfth  ibe  dibJBMi  iire  ^o- 
posed ;  and  the  adjudication  rf  ibfc  prize  will  takepbct  io  tbc  bsl 
week  of  February  roUowiu. 

To  each  ditsertatiOD  •hall  be  prefixed  a  motto ;  and  thia  notto  is 
to  be  written  ep  the  outiide  of  a  tcaled  packet,  contaioiiy  the  aame 
asd  nfafaefi  of  tbe  utbor.  Noi  dissertation  will  be  received  wkh 
the  author's  name  a£zed ;  and  all  dUaertationi,  except  ttie  iiicccMh 
ful  <we,  will  be  returned,  if  desired,  with  the  sealed  jMcket  iin> 
opened.  ■  "         ~       ' 

ll.  Muive  Borack  Acid.      ' 

Mr.  Smt^km  Tentnuit  first  observed  na&vt  Boracic  acid  attached 
to  «bine  spCciiMns  trom  lipari.  Dr.  Holland  aftirfvdJtIs  visited  thia 

?taRf  antt  found  bonicic  acid  in  large  q«aBtit]>  within  the  crater  of 
^tSpaaoy  ltrnti]fg-a  while- Feathery  caveriog  to  tht  sulphurr  which 
is  deposit^Lfroni  sublimation  in  vanQjis  ptufts  6f  tilis  great  cavity. — 
(Sft  HollflM's  Travel  in  Greece,  p.  *.) 

lil.  Climate  of  Athetu. 
I(  KppeHh  Frdfti  A  Mt6  to  Dr.  IKdlaBd's  TMWh^  p.  4ti,  thXt  tt 
AtkM«  \ht  ttrrtBwuBrter  MRMtiitaa  #isi»  Hi  Wmmet  ra  \1K*,  Iffi 
that  in  winter  it  Alls  as  low  ss  38*'.  te  ilAj  iHt  tfeflflDBMient  Ik 
frequently  above  90°.  The  awfagc  qnantity  of  rain  that  fidls  is 
stated  at  only  21  or  22  inches )  I  psesuttitf  Iwich,  as  the  observer, 
M.  Fauvel,  was  a  Frebcbma*. 

IV.  Table  of  PassmgerSt  l^Oggqus,  ^c.  thai  cross  LoaAut  Bridgt 
aad  BlactfriUrs  bridge  M  me  Day, 
The  day  choaen  by  the  DifeAors  of  the  Southwark  bridge  was  in 
July,  181 1.  A  rate  is  fixed  for  fhe.  purpose  of  showing  tbe  (wo- 
prieton  of  tbe  Soathwark  bnd^  the  pnbable  quantity  of  money 
that  may  be  nised  oa  tbtit  new  bKdgie  i-^  ' 


(Ule. 

loMon  BHdte. 

Hiittmnfit. 

euuaaiiAyi.t v.... 

C«dk«  ,   ..,,. 

1 

1 

4 
*l 

an 

^.    M.4. 

ft  15   4 

8    0    8 

rdM 

4tii  t 

ir  r  • 

DedKt  iMlf  Oe  amoant  <ir  wag^nu. 

^'^'V. 

««*,ss 

_ 

. 

m»  > 

Wtlt  • 

■^  tlie  tr^sit .  ewer  Blackftiirs-  bridge  is  nmrly  doiritle  w&at  k  was 
iix  yAia  before  the  above  account  Was  tateii. 


n..<,r,,GoogIe 


Seient^  •Inid&genu,. 


[JBJ.Y, 


\.'Furtluar  Observationt  on  Mr.  I/xkhar^s  Imaginary  Cube 
Boots. 


Mr.  Lockhttt  smsi  to  have  made  a  nutake  in  ooe  of  the  ugi» 
of  the  root  ctHioected  with  t :  wfaea  comctedf  his  moH  will  stand 
thus: 


-  i  +  \/t  -  T 


ButjUMathnnatieuaiiutlf  obKfvei,  any  quantity  ^  in  whicbthe 
■qiuK  root  enten  admits  of  two  values  j  "  the  above  loots  may  be 
mora  oonvemently  e^ft^mpi  thus-rr 


/I? T 

T  T  V~  -  T 


la  which  formula,  if  the  ^pper  dgn  bp  used  in  the  first,  the  uf^r 
fign  must  tiliewise  be  usej'  in  each  of  the  foots,  and  the  contraiy. 
It  may  be  proper,  before  I  make  any  further  obiervatioiu,  to  point 
pat  the  part  of  Mr.  L/s  4«npn|ftrati<'i*  when  the  error  a|^>ef«s  to 
hvrt  origtDated.  la  ext^tptbg  th|e  square  loat  of  o^  —  -|-  4. 
•j^  —  -^    Ije  has  overlooked  the  ambiguity  of  the,  ipMintity 


^^ 


YT  —  V  ?•»*  •«  Ulf  ^»nH^  originally  squared  wa;  +  ^^»t^ 


D,g,t,.?<i  I,,  Google 


1815.]  -Scienfi^  Inlel^aict.  73 

and  not ^ .  (,  it  would  therefore  be  improper,  io  tlie  present 

coae,  to  use  the  sign  — ,  and  consequently  Mr.  L.'s  equation 
should  have  been  +  (-i  -  ^  •  \/^  -  "T  =  ^  T  -^'*» 
its  equal-  (C  - -i-^ .  y/^TZ^  :=  ^^  _  .g^^andthea 
by  proceeding  as  he  has  done  we  obtain  —  -j \/  "i 5"  =* 

\/~*  ~  \/~i if*  *^*  *""*  "*  **"*  ""*  given  above.    But 

it  ou^t  not  to  he  forgotten  that  Mr.  L.,  notwithstanding  the  above 
oversight,  hasi  the  merit  of  being  the  6r^  who  has  pointed  out  the 
method  oi  finding  the  cube  roots  of  a  binomial,  by  means  of  the 
three  roots  of  the  cubic  equation  with  which  that  binomial  ■■  con- 
nected. 

If  we  talce  the  equation  emplofed  by  Mr.  L.,  vis.  a?  —  24  x  ^ 
72,,  where  a:  =  6,  (  =  S  +  */  —  S  and  i>  =  3  —  •/  ~  %  the 
binomial  and  ro9ti  will  be  as  follows :  V  3Q  ±  V  JM  «  ^  64 
y'  8,  according  as  the  upper  or  under  sign  ia  used. 

First  root  =  —  -  s/~- -^-=  ^  ±\  =  4ot2. 
Second  root  -  -  (»-t^)^^-(H.      "  ^ 

-  (1  -  V  -  3). 


-  (1+   V*  -  3). 

So  that  when  the  upper  signs  are  used,  we  obtain  the  cube  roots 
of  64  i  but  when  we  use  the  under  ones,  the  results  are  the  cube 
roots  of  S.  Hence  it  appears  that  N.  R.  D.  was  not  "  too  posi- 
tive "  when  he  said,  "  it  is  not  the  cube  root  of  64,  but  of  8 ; " 
ibr  be'us«d  the  EJgn  given  by  Mr.  L.,  and  then  the  quantity  is  a 
cube  root  of  8,  as  appears  from  the  above.    The  reason  why  Dr. 

Tiarks  made  it  a  cube  root  of  64,  v«is  his  using  —  (    "*"   ^  ~    J 
+  (f  4/—  ^-5 5-  >/  —  3)j,  instead  of  the  quantity  gi¥« 


Ji  Sdstttifie  baeUigaae.  '       tJdi,=!l-, 

fc,  M,.  L,  vi^  ^  (ti^)  +  (^T^fTJT^ 

Aa  ttie  above  six  different  ijiiaatities  nl-e,  if  I  tnistake  not,  alt  tfae 
ditferetit  values  of  wtueb  the  three  fomulc  for  the  root*  ixlKtir,  it 
follows  that  they  give  aU  the  Cube  roots  <si  h«h  64  and  8,  which 
were  b^ore  known,  ftnd  no  ittvre.  It  nwy  libefrise  be  observed,  tluit 
»  =  V'  36  ±  v'  784,  being  an  equation  of  six  dimensions,  ought, 
■ccording  to  tlie  received  optolOB,  to  hlv^  t^  (diStntnt  roDa  }  bat 
it  has  beeD  shown  above  that  it  has  just  six  reota^  aad  ae  more  : 
this  therefore  MTeei  exactly  with  tbat  opinion. 

When  Mr.  Lockhart  speakii  of  binomials  in  their  vilnisbing  ftiltfr 
iNning  ''  fbnctiofH  and  lionitectfoiis  widely  difTerent  from  thow  de- 
duced ttom  binotfihils  which  sre  evtmeswo^"  I  am  not  etrt^fb 
ih&t  I  ondentand  him  perfectfj' :  if  he  mean  to  teil  itt  that 
V64  —  y  40y6  -•  4096  is  not  universally  equal  to 
4/  3«  +  -/  784,  I  perfectly  igtW  wHh  hitti ;  for  th*  kOtOkT  is 
equal  to  v'"ti4  ^  0,  aadthe  tatter  to  either  f  6*  *  t'  8;  tlbe 
one  beintf  aa  equation  of  three  dimensions^  and  the  other  of  six.  , 
Keither  do  I  clearly  comprehend  what  he  means,  when  he  speaks- 
about  the  roots  t4  equatieM  lieing  preserved  b  waie  eue%  ted 
extinct  in  others. 

I  am,  Sir,  your  obodieat  servant, 
jriMiat4^m-Ts>u,  •nun  la,  16I9.  Hbnsy  Atkinson. 

VI.  Bale  of  Mmerab. 

We  arb  informed  that  the  estensire  and  valuable  Collection  ef 
minerals  of  the  Rev.  R.  Henoah,  late  of  St.  Austell,  in  Cornwall, 
and  which  is  now  in  the  possession  of  his  son,  the  Rer.  R.  Heiinah, 
Of  Plymouth,  con^sting  of  nearly  2000  specimens  of  the  most  rare 
and  curfoM  productions  ^  diat  County,  particulafly  (^  tltHj  is  to 
be  disposed  of. 

Til.  Newcasih  CoUlerJes, 

The  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  of  Newcastle-npon-iTyae 
is  engaged  in  the  publication  of  two  tracts  on  the  means  of  esta- 
Hiibing  authentic  reeordt  relatht  to  the  strte  of  the  crfliertes  in 
^t  neigbbonrbood,  and  to  other  points  wMeb  promise  fo  be  both 
of  local  and  national  importance.  We  hav«  no  doubt  Aat  miteh  . 
cnriom  tmd  vafuable  informafiem  will  result  from  the  latiouri  of  ttft 
Society,  whicb  include  nearly  all  the  welt-infcVSied  men  af  Meit^ 
eastte  and  ita  neighbourhood. 

Vffl.  Size  of  ilte  mtale. 

In  a  paper  on  the  whale  by  Mr.  Scoresby,  printed  in  the  Gist 

tMndiev  ef  the  Ajotait  ^  Ph3asophy,  that  Ocnttenkaft  s^  that  be 

never  heard  of  one  longer  tbaO  70  feet }  and  that  tftit  of  StH),  whieh 

r:,9,N..<ib,  Google 


IMS.}  Sdentijie  JnteiUgence.  75 

ke  Mai  bimself  ttdtra,  not  (Hie  meaanred  65  fcet  In  ten^h.  ttt  the 
North  PiKific,  howerer,  the  nse  is  often  Orach  lai^er  thlia  this ; 
for  Capt.  Clarkt  loeaaurod'The  ^leton  of  one  Dear  Cohimbia  river, 
and  fonod  it  105  feel  in  leagih.  (See  Tnrels  to  the  Scarce  of  dM 
Miaaourij  ftc.  by  Captains  Lewis  aod  Clarke,  p.  423.) 

IX.  Inhahitaats  to  Andeni  Rojm. 
In  ancknt  Rome  the  number  of  atmUe,  or  kooKs,  standing 
flCparatctr,  wm  46,000  in  the  time  of  Tr^an.  The  domus  (pt»> 
l«blj  the  prtnctpfll  buildings  or  palaces  <rf  Bomc),  1800.  Tb« 
hoes«8  of  Rooie  were  usually  fcntr  Mories  b^fa.  If  wc  iuppo«,  with 
Gibbon,  that  each  story  lodged  s  fiimily  of  six  persons,  each  of  the 
iSMilte  would  eom^  24  inhabitanQr.  litis  would  give  us  the  wbolt 
fahAlHtaDls  of  Rome  at  1,U8,44S;  so  titat  the  poputatioo  of 
ancient  Home,  when  greatest,  exceeded  the  ^escDt  pouuhrtion  of 
London  by  aboot  60,000.  (S«e  Gibbon's  Posthumous  Works,  v.  318.) 

X.  Extract  of  a  Letter  from  M.  Van  Mons,  of  Brussels. 

I  take  this  opportuwty  of  sending  jou  some  ourioua  ioforniatian 
which  I  hare  jnst  learned  by  a  lettec  batt  the  discorercr. 

If  indigo  in  powder  l>e  thtown  upoQ  red  hot  charcoal  or  iroo,  a 
fine  violet  coloured  tapour  rises,  which  Brugnatelli  at  Brst  todc 
feff  iodioe.  This  vapour  when  condensed  crystallises  in  four-aided 
priains  very  brilliant  and  of  a  fine  violet  colour.  To  this  substance 
Bragnatelli  gives  the  name  of  indigogsn,  because  s^n  imited  to 
the  iecula  of  the  [daot  it  forma  indigoi*  He  coosidessit  as  a  mo 
tal,  because  if  mercury  be  exposed  to  its  vafwur  a  oombinMion 
lakes  place,  which  i»  herd  or  soft  accordiDg  to  the  proportiun  of 
the  indigogen,  and  which  poasesses  the  pr<q>ertkr£  of  an  iraa^am. 
Indigo  deprived  of  this  substance  loses  the  property  of  actjumng  a 
e^veous  lustre  by  friction.  The  new  substance  ia  fomd  io  every 
variety  of  indigo. 

Bingnatelli  has  observed  that  ice  when  rasped  becomer  positlv^ 
electric.  This  confirms  the  noti<m  that  its  cunducting  powerfbl- 
lows  immediately  that  of  the  metals.  Pare  water,  or  water  exempt 
fican  all  salt,  is  almost  a  Bon^conductor.  BrugnateUi  waa  uniMe 
t*>  construct  s  gijvaoic  battery  fay  unitii^  ice  with  any  metal  which 
he  tried. 

Zambons  at  pfesent  draws  atroaag  sparks,  and  ^ves  shocks  wl4;^ 
Ae  dry  ffdnaiv  coltuuB.  But  i  venture  to  predict,  that  it  will 
never  be  able  to  produce  chemical  etfrcts,  vAae  an  abstmetion  of 
electricity,  is  reqitiiite.  The  char^  may  cireukte  without  water, 
bill  cannot  be  reiieirad. 

Vote  has  just  obtained  electric  fluorine  in  considerable  quantity. 
Cmfigliachi  is  the  editor  of  it.t 

Gny-Lnssne  believes  that  eucblorine  or  your  (Aide  of  chldrine 

*  II  hu  bMO  knoKB  to  cbdnbti  far  many  jesn.    T. 

+  I  da  not  tindenluil  tbe  umniny  of  Ue  leatetKt,    The  wisinal  U  ConfgJ^ 


76  SdenH^  JbilelUgmee,  [Jult, 

contains  only  the  Stb  part  of  the  oxTgea  of  chloric  acid,  lodi  as  it 
exists  in  the  detonating  chlorates ;  that  is  to  aay,  twice  the  oxygen 
which  we  suppose  to  exist  in  oxymuriadc  gas ;  being  capable  of  sa- 
turating only  twice  as  much  hydrogen  as  that  gas,  wtile  chloric 
acid  saturates  six  times  as  much. .  Eucblorine  would  result  from  an 
oxide  dissolved  in  muriatic  acid  gas,  of  which  the  chlorine  would 
take  the  oxygen  in  place  of  the  hydrogen,  which,  would  be  convert- 
ed into  water,  the  metal  being  reduced.  It  is  obvious  that  this 
acid  cannot  be  formed  except  when  the  oxygen  is  separated  by 
means  of  muriatic  acid,  three  quantities  taking  oxygen  for  six  quan- 
tises in  exchange  for.  water,  represented  by  a  half  quantity  of  this 
principle;  or  two  quantities  of  acid  taking  four  quantities  of  oxy- 
gen from  one  quantity  of  this  remaining  with  a  quantity  of  acid  in 
the  salt.  But  when  separated  by  the  simple  acid,  a  great  deal  of 
acid  must  be  necessary  to  render  the  whole  salt  simple,  or  what 
you  long  before  others  called  chloride  of  pQlassium,  in  place  of 
which  the  terra  cklorurel  has  been  introduced,  a  name  which  does 
not  express  that  chlorine,  as  it  is  called,  U  the  vicegerent  of  oxygen  ; 
and  this  cannot  be  the  case  in  the  process  of  Davy,  in  which  very 
little  acid  is  employed.  And  Davy  does  not  say  that  the  euchloric 
acid  was  mixed  with  oxygen,  nor  that  the  salt  remaining  was  six 
times  or  three  times  oxygenated.  Besides  the  acid  characters  of 
euchlorine,  and  the  way  in  which  it  is  decomposed,  do  not  permit 
us  to  adopt  the  calculation  as  accurate.  M.  Gay  Lussac  obtained 
liquid  laperoxygenated  muriatic  acid  by  employing  weak  sulphuric 
•cid  and  hyperoxymuriate  mixed  with  a  little  simple  muriate,  by 
means  of  the  acid  of  what  the  decomposition  begins,  for  byperoxy- 
nctated  chlorine  united  to  sulphuric  acid  is  a  compound  anal(wous 
to  that  which  Divy  formed  with  hyperoxygenated  iodine.  Gay- 
Lwsac  likewise  t^tained  this  compound,  and  considered  it  as  a  pure 
eaiodine,  which  has  not  yet  been  exhibited  in  a  separate  state. 
Muriatic  and  iodic  acids  resemble  fluoric  acid,  which  combines 
mth  Eoiphnric  acid  and  oxygen,  in  which  water  is  supercombined. 

My  advipe  has  been  at  last  followed,  in  decomposing  the  euchlo- 
ntet  and  euiodates,  namely,  to  put  a  little  acid  or  simple  salt  along 
with  the  mixture.  The  simple  aeid  becomes  oxygenated,  and  then 
coasid,  which  is  immediately  separated  by  or  engaged  with  the 
sulphuric  acid,  unless  we  wish  that  both  the  sulphate  and  the  sim- 
^e  salt  and  the  oxygenated  salt  should  be  immediately  decomposed. 
T«  explain  according  to  the  new  views  the  fbrmatioa  of  acids 
Kierely  hisoxygenated,  we  must  make  a  great  many  gratuitous  sop- 
positions  of  deeompositions  and  combinations  of  the  simple  aeids 
of  these  bodies.  Besides,  if  it  be  true  that  iodino-chlorine  allows 
oxygen  to  escape  when  heated,  the  question  may  be  considered  as 
decided. 

i  know  at  present  that  when  a  dry  fiuate  is  decomposed  by  a  me- 
tal, we  can  only  remove  one  half  of  the  acid ;  the  metallic  fluoride 
combines  wiih  the  base  thus  reduced  to  the  state  of  a  subflooride. 
Water  separates  the  metallic  fiuoride  ^m  the  Suate*  pi'p<4ded  (be 

*  ,      Cookie 


]fll5.3  SaentyU  tntelUgence,  77 

base  of  tbii  salt  ii  not  xilable,  or  together  with  tlut  bue  If  it  be  lo* 
luble,  and  then' under  the  form  of  a  metallo-fluORt  with  an  oxide, 
a  hody  analogous  to  the  sulphurets  and  phosphurets  of  the  same 
auDStance.*  J.  B.  Van  Mons. 

XI.  Death  of  George  Montague,  Esq. 
'  This  celebrated  Britiib  zoologist  wbo  had  attained  the  T'Sfli  year 
of  liis  age ;  but  was  still  healthy  and  vigorous,  and  actirelj'  em- 
plojred  in  his  favourite  pursuits,  about  a  fortnight  ago  wounded  lua 
foot  with  a  nail,  which  rendered  him  lame.  He  was  at  length 
seized  with  Icicked  jaw  and  aDits  concomitant  horrors,  and  died  in 
the  course  of  the  following  day.  In  faim  Britain  losas  a  zealous  and 
successful  zoologist  His  works  are  well  known  and  highly  valued 
by  naturalisis  in  general. 

XU.  School  0/ Athens. 
Most  of  my  readers  are  probably  aware,  that  for  some  time  past 
the  Greeks  htnb  displayed  a  considerable  desire  to  put  themselves 
on  a  footing,  in  point  of  knowledge,  with  the  other  nations  of  Eu- 
rope. Schools  have  been  erected  in  different  parts  of  the  country, 
books  have  been  translated  from  the  Italian,  the  French,  the  Ger- 
man and  the  English,  several  original  Greek  wcn^  hare  appeared, 
Greek  news[»per8  Irave  been  r^nlarW  pufaliabed  for  some  years 
past,  add  even  a  Greek  periodical  work  is  edited  at  Vienna.  Athens, 
formerly  the  seat  of  science  and  of  the  arts,  is  still  a  consideraUs 
dty,  inhabited  chiefly  by  Gredis.  The  inhabitants  eigoy  a  greater 
degree  of  liberty  and  are  distinguished  by  a^eater  degree  of  spright-  - 
fineas,  intrigue,  and  wit,  than  are  to  be  fijund  in  the  other  citiet  of 
Greece.  Formerly  there  existed  a  school  in  Athens  supported  by  a 
sum  of  money  which  a  charitable  Athenian  had  lodged  m  the  bank 
of  Venice.  But  when  this  bank  was  destroyed  by  the  conquest  of 
Venice  by  Bonaparte,  the  income  of  course  was  at  an  end,  and 
lliii  obliged  the  inhabitants  of  Athens  to  shut  up  their  sctiool. 
About  six  years  ago  Dr.  Rhasis  being  travelling  through  Greece, 
was  affected  even  to  tears  when  he  ot^erved  the  state  of  Athens,  re- 
duced to  subjection  and  even  deprived  of  a  schooj.  He  summoned 
a  meeting  of  the  principal  inhabitants,  and  after  they  had  concerted 
the  means  of  re-estabUsbing  the  school,  he  accepted  the  title  of 
Epkoiiis,  or  principal  director  of  it,  which  the  inhabitants  offered 
him.  On  his  return  to  Constantinople  he  consolidated  the  school 
by  the  privileges  whichihe  obtained  from  the  government  and  tht 
mtriarch,  and  at  present  the  schogl  of  Athens  flourishes  under  his 
inspection.  The  following  is  an  extract  of  a  letter  from  Mr,  John 
Polama,  Professor  of  the  school,  dated  the  27th  May  ISU.in 
;vhich  he  gives  an  account  to  Dr.  Rhasis  of  the  solemn  distribution 
of  the  prizes.    It  is  published  in  the  'Ep/nn  a  Aoyioj  (the  Literary 

'  •  Tbe  accoiiDt  of  Gtey-Luiuc'i  opiniam  mpecling  the  combiDatiou  sf  cliloriD« 
■nd  oxygen  In  tjili  teller  Is  •lerj  obscure  to  me,  probsbly  from  not  nndenMad- 
In;  the  nom^Dclatare  of  Van  Heoi.  I  bare  truuUled  It  tlMtef«c  m  Ulcnlljr  M 
pnrtible.    T.  /-  r 

L.OO'.'lC      


Ugttmj)  R  f«riodlnl  Gi««k  wak  tiitU  at  VtKwa  bf  AotliMBe* 
Qiay'. 

^  I  hRte  (qwntdt"  «^  he,  "  m  UWfsry  concourst,  «)d  collected 
in  ths  wdvMiiL  the  i[tli,abitants  of  the  first  and  second  clasi^  to  bear 
the  reading  of  different  pieces  in  prose  and  veise,  composed  by  the 
pupils  in  ancient  uid  Buxlem  Gntek.  Hie  applaiua  were  uobdi- 
movf,  Mt  wly  of  tbe  Gr«t^  but  of  the  Fftacli  «ad  Kc^h  who 
awrted  «I  tfa,e  oweiiag,  w^  who  w«r«  loud  in  their  pnaises  of  tli* 
sc^lm  Mtd  of  Uie  i^o^iwr  who  had  Erected  thetn-  The  success- 
fnt  ptqtiU  w«rc  »«vard«d  br  tbs  SacUly  of  the  Pkilanmses,*  which 
hw  Wn  jjHt  fiMWWt).  soow  with  s»|d  «r  ^Ircx  rings,  each  acifoid- 
iog  to  his  atefit,  mim  mth  m»»3.  Tba  poor  ehildisD  ^were  evca 
ati^ied  witk  ctotbw." 

A  Greek  college  has  even  been  lately  established  at  Melioa  hj 
Antfaimos  Gazy.  A  school  exiited  already  in  the  same  place,  but 
It  has  been  greatly  enUrged,  and  the  Ditnwer  of  professors  or  tcach- 
en  iocreaaeo. 

Xlll.  ifeme/s  Cetletlhii  of  Mintrak. 

Werner  haa  dispoied  of  hii  iavaluftl^  collectioD  «f  jnioMals  to. 
the  Acodmiy  of  Mines  at  Fnybetg.  It  was  v*(ii«d  by  the  Saxon 
GoTCTmnent  at  &6,CiOO  iotha ;  bit  Werner  dedsred  tint  in  tb< 
preuot  ijnpoverishcd  state  of  ln«  coHOtiy  •»  gj«at  a  tvm  9Ught  aot 
to  bie  takw,  and  therefore  aunt  pntriotK&Hy  fedueed  the  price  ta 
40,0<X)  doUan.  He  parted  with  hia  coUcctioQ  to  tb«  Aeademy  under 
titt  CrilowioK  ccHKtitiona :  !•  Tlitt  he  ihoaldrecetveiMOMdweiy  tW 
sum  of  7,000  doUan.  3.Tbit  hetbwldrcmwfluriivluaiae  riat. 
ifrtcfeet  of  33,000  AoUmt^  at  die  rate  of  tvr  m>  ceM.  S.  Iliat  ak 
Us  death  the  capM  of  aa«000.  doUaa  iJmuU  Mi  to  the  fiub  of  the 
Acsdeagr.  

Aeticle  XVI. 

Saentijk  Books  in  kani,  or  in  the  Press. 

In  coni^quence  of  the  numerous  important  dtscoveriet  tbat  are  daity 
making  by  Berzeliui  and  others  in  the  science  of  chemistry,  Mr, 
W.  Henley  is  induced  to  delay  his  promised  series  of  C^emieal  Td^ea 
some  time  longer,  in  order  to  reo&et  titem  as  p«rTfe«t  as  ptiasiUe  j  pai^ 
ttctriarly  aa  the  cMBpositien  of  many  •£  the  vegetaUe  bodies  is  not  at 
psesent  correctly  determined. 

Dr.  Henry,  of  Aiaocfaeaser,  is  jninwig  fur  ths  prats  a  new  edition 
of  hii  Elements  of  Chenistry. 

Mr.  Uuiih'i  Pfdctical  Treatiss  on  Bee»  vill  be  ready  for  p)d}lication 
in  a  few  days. 

The  new-edition  of  Dr.  Huttou's  Fhiloeophical  Dictionaiy  is  nearly 
wadv  fot  publication. 

Toe  Eighth  Volume  of  Sbair's  Zoology,  under  the  superintendsttce 
of  Dr.  Leach,  is  in  considerable  forwaroness. 

*  The  nbJKt  (if  thii  Society  i«  to  fttmiih  the  huida  oerrasarj  for  the  protWfBtiM 
afh&rning  in  Greece,  for  the  iinhlicalioii  of  clasiieal  works,  fDrtuppoHiug  I'nili. 
grai  ynang  penont  educated  ts  ^<  sciencci,  had  lai  rueorches  into  aatiquiij'  gf    . 
cterj  kind. 


MM.) 


Article  XVII. 
METBORCtt,0«ICAl,  TABtE. 


TMwranHia. 

i 

MM. 

m>* 

Mai. 

Wa. 

IM. 

HU. 

an*. 

Med. 

mmf. 

Rate. 

c 

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!M7 

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6? 

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srs 

e 

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2970 

89710 

71 

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5»0 

■19 

s 

H   m 

•970 

29-68 

«!>690 

78 

*7 

604 

4 

N     I 

89*7 

89-65 

29-660 

67 

44 

55-3 

3 

i 

89* 

29-65 

291»0 

67 

4B 

57-5 

4 

« 

S 

2970 

2s«; 

89-680 

68 

49 

&8-5 

i 

r 

s 

89-70 

29«7 

29-685 

69 

*9 

*9« 

s 

8 

9    W 

J9-81 

2»«7 

89740 

70 

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•«1 

9 

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29-79 

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0 

JO 

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29-85 

2979 

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61 

60-5 

11 

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as7.u 

29-51 

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31 

62-0 

$ 

10 

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29-650 

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4 

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s  w 

B9-«S 

29-53 

29-600 

67 

43 

350 

•19 

14 

s  w 

2981 

2977 

29-790 

66 

43 

55-5 

6 

15 

s 

29-90 

2972 

29-760 

69 

41 

55-0 

■13 

1« 

Vm. 

50-2S 

89-90 

30-065 

70 

40 

53-0 

■32 

> 

<           17 
18 

W 

N  W 

30-23 
30- 19 

30-19 
30-10 

30-210 
30-145 

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50 

63-4 
63-0 

19 

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30-10 

2978 

29-940 

77 

48 

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29-6*5 

76 

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1977 

29-51 

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2S 

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19-88 

29-85 

8*865 

61 

34 

47-3 

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23 

s  w 

29-85 

29<7 

29-760 

6t 

44 

5«-5 

■20 

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5    W 

19-97 

29-72 

29-845 

m 

48 

67-0 

9 

25 

N  W 

I0-12 

29OT 

90-045 

71 

51 

CIO 

36 

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w-ia 

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208 

i-ie 

Tfce  obMrMtiom  la  auh  line  of  tbe  Ubie  Apply  to  a  period  nf  twnlT-faor 
hovn,  b«pwlDtal  9  A.SL  sn  ibeds*  InJicatN  ia  tb*  4tM  cnWaw*    A  daib 
I,  tbai^tke  MHlt  it  iMladed  in  the  acxt  foUawiBf  (DKerTailou. 


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.1 


UOtemA^gxal  ufwnM^  [Jvlv,  181 


RfiHARK?.  * 

JUU  JTmCA,— 1.  Dew  tUt  mornlsg  i  a  vcr;  Ane  daj  i  1l|UaiBs  it  tfi^  br  la 
tbe  a.  S.  Dew,  with  mdiaciiii  af  IboBder  daub,  wbi^  tn  iocreadac  twoun* 
TCT]'  beantifBl;  A  itom  wu  wttUn  tleating  th«  whole  mid-daj,  t»  S,  and  8.  W'.  i 
p.  B.  ■  bATJ  ihowet  nixad  with  large  hail,  fallswed  by  llghtolng  ia  iha  8,  E. 
8.  A  itnmg  breeM :  thooder  elmdi,  wfeick  dbpencd  Id  tbe  eTealog.  4.  Onwl*. 
(Irifiu :  mtmB  tbowen,  fidlnwed  bj  CbTottr^HU  i.  Hecb  dew  ;  clear  mor^ng^ 
aacceeded  by  Cmuibu,  Ac  i  ibnnder  to  the  S,  i  a  Aower  in  (be  eTCoiiig.  6.  Dew 
lalarcedrop):  MawwbMmtitjaBd  aveTcaft!  a  ibower  in  the  Dl|;bf.  T.  Wlitdyt 
Irlppiagatere.  0.  QumUnlrAti!  a  few  drop*  b;  iaa«alalioD&t  aoii-iet :  ndn 
Inlbenigbt.  10.  Wlady  i  driting  cloadt.  II.  Dewi  windy,  a.  ra.  M^.B.  wttk  . 
]ar|e  Chri,  and  below  tbea  Obreomithu,  variable  and  besBiifoli  p.m.  tb«  ' 
Cioiialia  WM  added,  witb  (SmntratiH  In  tha  tcgioa  of  iti  bmtt  at  inti-^M  a 
•torci  in  8.  W.,  which  ab oat  nloe  paiied  lu  to  K.  E:  tbe  lightning  Id  violet  co- 
iDured  ibecti,  wiih  delicate  while  bianehcd  itreakt  on  them :  (be  Ihnuder  mod^> 
mtr,  roiling  ont  to  a  great  lengtil.  IS.  Huch  wind  :  iligtit  ihowen,  a.  m. :  cloQiU 
aad  bacc  at  iBiv^et.  IS.'Wlndand  raini  at  fcair.pail  ilxp.m.,  daring  a  heary 
riiower  viklA  poMed  la  the  E.,  thse  wm  a  perfect  double  ralnbnw,  nn  which  I 
repoated  an  oHerration  already  recorded  ia  thh  rq;itier,  nader  Fifth  Month,  4, 
1819.  The  conttait  of  the  ipace,  included  between  the  two  bowi,  with  the  lint 
«r  the  remainder  of  the  cloud,  wai  on  the  preieot  occaiion  lery  ttrlking, 
14.  FUr  .and  warm:  a  ihower,  p.m.  with  a  bow:  CfmiirUitt.  IS.  Hollair 
wind  at  i.  with  OB  o«erewt  iky  :  wet  eTening.  18,  CiuBi:Joftra(iM:  wind,  p.o. 
N.W.  a  milky  Im^noDi  twlligbl:  mnch  dew.  IT.  Sooiewhat  nUly  momlag: 
p.m.  CbT*itrvU  advaaclng  from  tbeK.  ovenpread  th^  iky,  without  a^y  other 
clond.  IB.  a.m.  Windy  at  N.,  and  overcoat  with  CumaloMtivtui :  clear  and 
calm,  p.  n.  >  red  mii-«rt.  IB,  A  very  fine  day :  the  twilight  lumlnoDi,  and  Mrae- 
what  mby-colonred,  fallowed  by  Oiroifritiiit,  80,  Windy  i  mrions  ctoudi ;  th« 
•ky  pnrpllih  ronnd  the  noon  at  night  Si.  a.m.  Briik  N.W  nind  >  tbowera. 
83.  Sbowcn,  88.  Abriak  wind  at  S.E.tCmu,  followed  by  CIrrvKraliui  IfimU 
is  the  8.  at  >an-«et;  rain  by  ten  al  night.    !9.  Somethbnder:  rainy  afleronoa. 


KESULTS. 
-  modi  WeMcriy,  with  a  uiall  portion  of  Eailerly  at  thcbi'gianlpgaad  end  of  the 

Bu-mieter  I  Gheatert  height 30-93  iadMt, 

I-wt SB-Sl 

Mean  af  the  period    9V418 

Tbera<»neter  I  Greatest  height {»• 

tea«t : S4 

Mean  of  the  period A8>St    . 

Eraporatiov,  3*08  iaeho.      Rain,  t-lOiocb. 

Froa  the  Sth  to  Ike  SU  includve,  I  made  abMrratlon  on  the  tempoMire  wHh 
an  additloBBl  Six'i  therbometer,  placed  in  a  paritlaa  aeariy  boriiontal  eapawd  to 
the  nn  D«  •  graft  plat,  SO  yardi  diitant  froB  the  itandord  one  (which  ia  neai  the 
bouM),  and  abmt  ten  feel  lower  than  the  laiter.  Thli  lecond  Ibennomeier  Indt. 
cated,  with  two  eiceplloa^  a  Ugha-  lemttcratare  lor  the  dty  |  Ike  diflcrence  ■■ 
one  taae  bdnc  10°,  n*  the  mean  direrence  4*>  t  It  Indicated,  anlformly,  » Ipmr 
tcMpenlwo  f<ir  Ibe  nlgU,  the  grealeit  direrence  being  &>,  Oe-Deas  direreace 
4-0°  i  bat  the  Mot  aMca  of  the  abfcrratioM  dllTned,  at  I  aatklpMed,  very  little, 
a* upper  Uwrmoiaettr  siting H-»o,  Oie  lower  «T-J°., 

TonttaAM,  Ktfk  lt«M,  1,  181S.  L,  HOWARD. 

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ANNALS 


PHILOSOPHY. 


AUGUST,    1815. 

Article  t. 
SoThe  Account  of  the  late  Smrihson  Tentiant^  Esq, 

(Ctmtlnptd  fiom  p.  11.) 

i  HAT  desire  of  rbiting  remote  countries,  of  viewing  the  prO' 
ductiona  of  Nature  in  more  favoured  climates,  and  of  observing  the 
pncdcal  e^cts  of  different  systems  of  laws  and  government,  whicll 
is  common  to  every  man  of  talents  and  curiosity,  was  felt  with 
peculiar  force  by  Mr.  Tennant,  and  iliay  be  considered  as  one  of 
Lis  ruling  passions.  He  was  therefore  mucli  disposed,  after  he  had 
relinquished  the  intention  of  medical  practice,  to  indulge  this  in- 
clination, and  to  travel  in  those  parts  of  £urope  which  he  had  not 
slready  visited.  But  (he  war  with  France  opposed  many  obstaclet 
to  continental  excursions ;  and  the  uncommon  sufferings  which  he 
experienced  from  sea  sickness,  deterred  him  from  forming  any  pro* 
jei;t  in  which  a  sea  voyage  of  any  considerable  length  was  to  be  un- 
dertaken. He  often  regretted  that  this  unfortunate  peculiarity  of 
Hm  constitution  jH^vented  him  from  seeing  the  United  States  of 
America;  and  he  abandoned,  but  with  considerable  reluctance, 
those  schemes  of  travelling  iu  distant  countries,  to  which,  at  thii 
particular  period  of  his  life,  he  would  otherwise  have  been  itmigty 
ucliDed.    ' 

But  although  he  was  thus  prevented  from  indulging  in  a  fovounte 
tiste,  his  situation  at  this  period  was  in  many  respects  one  of  the 
moBt  enviable  in  which  a  man  of  science  could  be  placed.  Hewal  ' 
independent  in  his  circumstanees ;  and  being  free  from  all  profet- 
Nonal  avocations,  enjoyed  the  entire  command  of  his  own  time., 
His  residence  in  the  metropolis  gave  him  easy  access  to  whatever. 
vaa  new  and  valuable  ia  scieuce  and  literature,  as  w^  ai  tbe  okaiu 

Vol.  VI.  N»  U,  F  r-         I 


82  .    Biographical  jfccount  of  [Aco. 

of  constant  intercoune  with  Mveial  of  his  most  intimtte  friends, 
who  were  more  or  less  interested  in  his  own  puticuUf  pursuits,  and 
with  whom  he  could  freely  cominunicate  rrlative  to  the  various  sub- 
jects upon  which  he  was  contRiually  einpk^ed.  His  phihMophical 
reputation  was  established;  his  talents  wen  fully  acknowledged  ; 
aod  he  was  begiDniag  to  be  known  and  valued  in  a  distinguished 
circle  of  society  for  the  extent  aod  ori^iality  of  his  kuowledge, 
wad  his  extraordinary  powers  of  entertainment  and  informBtion. 

Something,  however,  was  still  wanting  to  his  happiness;  for 
though  his  time  whs  agrceriil)'  and  usefuuk  filled  vp,  ne  was  with- 
out any  regular  occupalioa  or  definitive  object  of  pursuit ;  and  hi» 
Mudies,  however  interesting,  were  too  desultory  to  fix  his  attentten, 
or  take  a  sufficiently  permanent  hold  bn  bis  thoughts.  The  com- 
position of  some  literary  or  scientific  work  (of  which  at  difierent 
Eeriods  of  his  life  he  had  several  tague  and  floating  projects)  would 
ave  been  the  natural  resource  and  occupation  of  such  a  mind. 
But  although  Mr.  Tennant  ww  capable  of  great  efforts  on  a 
audden  emergency  or  for  a  particular  purpose,  he  had  his  full  share 
of  that  indecision,  and  fastidiousness  of  taste  which  belong  to  the 
temperament  of  genius;  and  which  sridom  fail,  unless  counter- 
acted by  early  habits  of  self  controul,  to  disqualify  the  possessor  for 
those  loDg  coniinued,  and  persevering  exertions,  so  indispensable 
to  great  literaiy  nndertakings.  Iliis  delect  of  resolution,  originatin|; 
in  part  from  his  extraordinary  powers,  was  lamented  by  all  his  par- 
tteular  fVieods,  tut  by  no  cure  more  frelingly  tfcan  by  ah.  Ttnaant 
himself.  It  increased  wil^  his  Increasing  yean ;  md  the  enl  wat 
BOW  a^ravated  by  an  unfortonate  alierHtion  En  the  Mate  of  Itft 
heahh,  which  was  beginning  gradwilly  to  decline,  and  to  reqatie 
.  contitfual  attention. 

it  was  owing  prmcipaHy  to  these  causes  ttnt,  wkMn  h  vtrf  ftw 
tears  after  he  had  relinqtiisned  the  study  cf  medicine,  be  became 
mseOsibly  dilposed  to  some  new  occupation ;  and  one  ef  those  acci- 
dents upon  vrtiifch  the  fortunes  of  hmnftn  1^  ^end,  J^termined 
hitn  ro  engage  in  agricntiural  pursuits.  He  bad  fot  some  time  beea 
iccnstomed  to  take  long  joumjes  for  the  sake  of  bis  heahb  ;  daring 
one  of  which  he  happened  to  pay  a  trsit  to  a  firiend  Sa  Linednshire, 
who  had  been  much  connected  with  his  fiimily,  bift  with  vihom  lie 
was  tiot  in  babits  of  regular  intercourse.  This  was  about  the  year 
179^,  at  an  early  period  of  those  great  advances  in  agrictiltHFe,  since- 
becbiiifc  "very  geVieril,  by  Which  that  part  of  the  kingdom  has  be«o 
so  ciQCK  distfogui^ed.  His  friend's  resideRce  was  m  a«  extensive 
tract  of  country,  very  favolirable  for  such  improvements,  a^ofei4t^ 
to  tbe  river  Trent,  and  Iftiown  by  the  name  of  tbe  Isle  of  Axho>me, 
where  very  considerable  enclosures  had  lately  taken  phce.  A  grcM 
■pirif  of  enterpriae'had,  in  consequence,  bem  excited ;  and  the  «b1- 
tivation  of  net?  land  (principally  W  the  growth  of  rape  seed}  Was 
carried  on  to  a-grcat  extent/  and  with  ectraMdinaiy  vigeut  and 
success.  Ther^  was  QotMng  in  the  previous  habitsof  Mr.  Tenmint'^* 
tHe  T^hich  had  particularly  fed  him  te  Ae  study  er  practice  tS  agri- 


1S15.J  Smilhsen  Termani^  JEsgi   -  S». 

vulture ;  birt  the  sight  of  tbesc  great  inuiiovwneDU  afforded  mucb 
gratificatuHi  to  hh  feelings  sad  was  highly  lafareatiBg  to  his 
curiosity!  His  sttentioo  was  vtiy  natumlly  directed  to  the  system, 
of  cultivation  itself;  and  the  knowledge  and  esperieoce  of  hi>  hior. 
GsJiulure  iileod,  who  had  himself  practised  the  new  husbandry 
with  great  inteUjgence  and  success,  afforded  Kim  the  best  means  o| 
iaformatioii  relative  to  the  whole  of  tliis  subject.  Under  the  in-, 
fluesce  of  his  example  and  advice,  and  after  haviog  satisfied  him- 
self that  the  q>eculatioa  afforded  a  reasonable  prospect  of  advan-; 
tage,  Mr.  Teoouit  shortly  afterwards  purchased  several  allotments , 
of  uaenclosed  land  in  that  neighbourhood,  and  began  to  cultivata 
them  on  bis  owa  bccoudc,  entiiisting  the  chief  managemeat  of  the 
coocera  to  the  skill  and  judgment  of  bis  fciend.  At  subsequent 
periods  he  purchased  other  allotments,  and  made  cpnsiderable  addi'^ 
tioDs  to  this  property. 

From  the  time  of  making  bis  first  purchase  in  Lincoloshire,  Mr. 
TeBDant  paid  great  attention  to  the  study  of  rural  economy;  and 
hit  attachment  to  thi«  new  pursuit  gradually  increasiog,  he  became 
desirous  o£  eu^giog  io  some  agricultural  concern  upon  a.  more  ex- 
^DMve  scale.  It  was  with  tlus  intention  that  about  the  year  1 798  or 
1739  he  purchased  a  considecable  tract  of  waste  land,  newly  alkdted 
voder  an  £nclosuK  Act,  on  the  Mendip  hilU  in  Somersetshire. 
The  purchase  was  a^igiaally  made  in  conjunction  with  a  particular 
^iend,  who  for  some  time  resided  on  the  spol^  Siod  persoaall<f 
supeiwtended  the  ooocern.  But  a  partition  of  the  estate  afterwards 
taking  plitce,  a  portion  of  land  was  assigned  tb  Mr.  TeiutaDr> 
litnaied  near  the  well-known  village  of  Cheddar,  which  v/m  se- 
taioad  by  hini  in  bis  own  hands,  and  became  the  principal  scene  of 
hid  forming  operations.  Here  he  built  a  small  house,  at  wliichi 
during  the  leinaindeT  of  his  life,  he  passed  some  months  every 
sramer,  beudes  occasional  visits  at  othep  times  of  (he  yew. 

LondoQ,  however,  still  continued  to  be  the  ju-ineipal  place  of  his 
Tcsidence ;  fincc  his  passion  for  agriculture,  however  strong  had  in 
DO  respect  diminished  his  high  relish  for  the  pleasures  of  cultivated 
locjety^  and  for  the  intei^ting  objects  cpntuiually  aSbided  by  the 
metKwolis.  Jt  must  be  obvious,  howevef,  that  these  latter  tastes 
must  have  interfered  verji  consideraUy  with  tlw  due  management  of 
his  farming  coacerns.  Such  uodertakings,  in  order  to  be  profitable, 
require  for  the  most  part  strict  personal  inspection,  and  a  constant 
•tteotion  to  miiiute  details,  'f  bis  sort  of  vigilance  it  was  impogsiUe 
for  Mr.  Tennaat  to  esert ;  but  he  kept  up  a  constant  correspofldT 
ence  with  tus  agrots  in  the  country,  receiving  from  th^m  such  in^ 
formation,  and  transmitting  such  instructions,  aa  could  be  commu- 
nicated by  letters.  Foi  a  certain  period  (as  it  was  reasonable  to 
expect),  owing  partly  to  hu  own  inespenenoc,  and  partly  tq  un- 
ftvourable  seasons,  and  other  aecidents,  his  speculations  were  not 
prosperous ;  and  he  occaEionally  suffered  some  anxiety  and  diaap- 

eaptoient.    But  in  process  of  time  he  acquired  nwre  pfaclice  and 
forfn^tioo,  and  became  insensibly  habituated  to  majay  trifiinf 
p  3 


8i  .  Biographical  Account  of  [hxsa.  • 

veiaticwi,  which  at  first  had  given  him  uneasineis.  The  prospect  ^ 
gradually  brightened ;  and  during  the  latter  part  of  his  life  his  con-  »* 
ceriis  were  brou{;ht  into  better  order,  and  appear  to  have  beea  • 
attended  niih  a  reasonable  degree  of  success.  -' 

But  whether  these  agricultural  undeniihings  were  profitable  or  ^ 
not,  they  doubtless  contributed  In  sev^rat  important  respects  to  his   : 
comfort  and  happinds.    They  were  conducive  to  his  health,   by   » 
aflbrding  additional  motives  for  exercise  in  the  open  air,  and  for    > 
those  long  journies  on  horseb^k  which  his  constitution  required,   i 
nnd  which  were  thus  rendered  less  irksome.    They  furnished  his   :' 
mind  with  a  perpetual  supj^ly  of  that  steady,  equable  occupation,    ; 
which  forms  so  essential  an  ingredient  in  human  happiness,  but    r 
which  possibly  he  would  not  have  provided  for  himself  from  any    : 
other  source.     What  was  scarcely  less  important,  these  pursuits    : 
were  the  accidental  occasion  of  his  reviving  a  connection  with  one    t 
of  his  early   friends,  formed  originally  at  Cambridge,  but  which 
distance  of  place  and  other  circumstances  had  interrupted  for  many 
years.     The  intercourse  between  them  was  renewed  soon  after  Mr. 
Tennant  became  established  at  the  Somersetshire  farm,  which  was 
not  far  tirom  his  friend's  residence ;  and  it  was  productive  of  great 
happiness  to  both  parties.  Mr.  Tennant  found  in  his  friend's  femilj 
those  congenial  tastes  and  opinions,  which  form  the  strongest  bond 
of  union  ;  and  during  the  remainder  of  his  life  he  invariably  ex^ 
perienced  from  them  all  that  afiectionate  regard,  which  the  greatest 
personal  esteem,  united  with  a  sinccre'admiration  of  his  talents, 
could  inspire.     With  these  friends,  whenever  he  had  leisure  and 
inclination,  he  found  a  constant  home ;  and  it  is  highly  probable 
that  some  of  his  happiest  hours  were  passed  in  their  hospitable 
mansion. 

The  change  in  his  habits,  oecaMOned  by  his  agricultural  engage- 
ments, was  not  equally  favourable  to  his  scientiiic  pursuits.  His 
spirits  were  often  exhausted,  and  his  mind  fatigued  and  oppressed, 
by  the  aitentioit  which  he  thought  it  necessary  to  bestow  upon  the 
Correspondence  with  his  agents,  the  examination  of  his  Arming 
accounts,  and  other  details  equally  tedious  and  minute ;  and  it  it 
impossible  to  reflect  upon  the  time  thus  consumed,  without  lament- 
ing that  it  was  not  employed  for  purposes  more  beneficial  to  man- 
kind, and  more  worthy  of  his  genius  and  understanding. 

It  appears,  however,  from  various  notes  and  memoranda  whicji 
are  found  among  his  papers,  that  from  the  time  when  he  first  be- 
came engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  he  was  very  industrious  in 
procuring  information  from  the  best  works  upon  farming,  and  that 
he  made  various  practical  remarks  during  his  journies,  and  collected 
many  accurate  and  circumstantial  details  relative  to  the  modes  of 
cultivation  adopted  in  different  parts  of  England.  In  the  course  of 
these  inquiries,  he  had  discovered  that  there  were  two  kinds  of  lime- 
stone known  in  the  midland  counties  of  England,  one  of  which 
differed  from  common  lime-stone  in  yielding  a  lime  injurious  to 
vegetation.    He  explained  the  cause  of  this  difference  in  a  paper 


1815.}  Smithsoa  Taotmi,  Esy.  8$ 

conimunicated  to  the  Royal  Society  in  the  year  1799 ;  shewing  that 
cxriionate  of  magnesia  is  sd  ingredient  in  the  Utter  species  of  lime- 
tboae,  which  be  describes  as  an  extensive  stratum  in  the  midland 
coynties,  and  as  being  found  also  in  many  other  situations,  particu- 
lariy  annoBg  the  primitive  marbles,  under  the  name  ot  Dolomite.  He 
gives  the  proportions  in  which  lime  and  magnesia  esist  in  many 
^cimeos  of  this  lime-stone,  and  infers  from  its  slow  solution  iq 
adda,  and  from  its  crystalline  structure,  (hat  it  is  rather  the  result 
of  chemical  combination  than  of  a  casual  mixture  of  the  two 
earths.  This  conjecture  has  siuce  been  verified  b^  the  goniooietrical 
researches  of  Dr.  Wollaston,  and  by  the  near  agreement  of  Mr. 
TeonaDt's  analysis  with  the  constitution  of  the  mmeral  as  inferred 
from  the  law  of  deBnite  proportions. 

Mc.  Tennant  had  found  that  grain  will  scarcely  germinate,  and 
non  perishes,  in  moistened  and  perfectly  mild  carbonate  of  mag- 
nesia; and  that  the  injurious  eETects  of  the  magnesia  in  agriculture  do 
not  depend  on  its  property  of  long  remaining  caustic,  but  probably 
on  some  inherent  quality  of  the  earth  itself.  He  also  made  many 
experiments  on  the  germination  and  growth  of  various  seeds  and 
plants  In  dtftereot  mixtures  of  the  simple  earths ;  and  transporting 
portions  of  soil,  either  from  his  own  estates,  or  from  different  parts 
of  England,  to  the  neighbourhood  of  London,  he  tiied  on  a  small 
scale  the  effects  of  various  manures  in  promoting  the  growth  of 
.different  vegetables,  and  endeavoured  in  this  way  to  obtain  hints  tot 
improved  modes  of  cultivation. 

In  the  year  1602  he  communicated  to  tlie  Royal  Society  his  che- 
mical examtuation  of  Emery,  which  had  hitherto  been  considered  as 
an  ore  of  iron.  He  showed  that  it  consists  principally  of  alumina, 
and  that  it  nearly  agrees  with  the  Corundum  of  China,  which  had 
been  analyzed  a  short  time  before  by  Klaproih. 

In  the  month  of  July  during  the  same  year,  in  endeavouring  to 
make  an  alloy  of  lead  with  the  powder  which  remuns  after  treating 
crude  platina  with  aqua  r^ia,  he  observed  remarkable  properties  in 
the  JMwder,  and  found  that  it  contained  a  n^  meial.  But  while 
be  was  engaged  in  pursuing  this  invesiigation,  the  attention  of  two 
French  chemists  was  accidentally  directed  to  the  same  object.  Iii 
the  autumn  of  1803  M.  DescotiU  had  discovered  that  the  powder  - 
GODtalns  a'metal  which  gives  a  red  colour  lo  the  ammoniacal  preci- 
pitate of  platina ;  and  M.  Vauqnelin  liaving  treated  the  powder  with 
alkali,  obtained  from  it  a  volatile  oiide>  which  be  considered  as  be^ 
longing  to  the  same  metal. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1804.  Mr.  Tennant  having  completed 
the  course  of  his  experiments,  communicated  the  results  to  the 
Ro^bI  Society.  He  shewed  that  the  powder  consisted  of  two  new 
metals,  to  which  he  gave  the  namea  of  Iridium  and  Usmium,  and 
tint  these  might  be  separated  from  one  another  by  the  alternate 
action  of  heated  alkali  and  of  acid  menstrua.  By  crystallization 
from  the  acid  aolutioaj  he  obtained  a  pure  salt  of  iridium,  from 


^6  Bhgraphical  Jtccount  of  {A,c<C 

wbich  he  detertnined  with  accuracy  the  real' properties  of  the  meteA 
and  of  its  compouDds ;  and  from  a'com^nrison  with  these  he  ascer- 
tained that  the  vohtile  oxide  belonged  to  anodier  metal  (osmium), 
which  he  also  obtained  in  a  state  of  purity. 

The  analysis  of  crude  platina  presented,  perhaps,  aome  of  -ttie 
greatest  difficulties  with  which  chemistry  had  'Ever  yet  ventured  to 
contend.  Besides  aflbrding  traces  of  several  of  the  known  luetak, 
the  ore  contained,  in  very  minute  quantities,  four  new  metallic 
elementary  bodies,  whose  existence  was  previously  unsuspected,  and 
whose  respective  characters  were  to  be  distingmshed  before  the 
separate  nature  of  the  bodies  could  be  ascertained.  Dr.  Wollaston 
and  Mr.  Tennant,  who  were  employed  upon  this  ore  at  the  same 
time,  and  whose  habits  of  friendly  intercourse  led  them  to  comnm- 
nicate  freely  with  each  other  during  the  progress  of  their  experi- 
ments, gave  proofs  of  their  great  sagacity  by  completely  aohine 
this  problem ;  Mr.  Tennant  in  the  manner  already  descrrbed,  and 
his  friend  by  the  discorery  qf  tii^  two  metals  called  Palladium  snA 
Rhodium. 

On  the  30th  of  November,  1804,  Mr.  Tennant  Tiad  the  honour 
of  receiving  the  Gopiey  medal,  which  was  conferred  on  him  by  the 
Stoyal  Society  for  his  -ysrioiB  Chemical  Discoveiies. 


'^  About  the  year  1S05  and  1805  Mr.  Tennant  madetwo  joumies 
during  successive  summers  into  Ireland ;  going  and  TCturaiog  On 
both  occasions  iy  ScotiautJ,  in  order  to  abridge  as  mudi  ss  possible 
the  sufferings  attendant  on  a  sea  voyage.  InAe  course  of  these 
jouruies  he  visited  most  jmrts  of  Ireland  which  possess  any  attrac- 
tion Ibr  a  tmvcller,  and  frad  the  advantage  vt  viewing  the  Giani's 
Causeway,  in  company  with  Dr.  Wollaston,  whom  he  met  by  a 
jFortunate  accident  in  ^le  nortli  of  Ireland  during  one  of  these 
ifours. 

.His  attentibti,  however,  was  not  coofinecl  to  scientific  (Ejects ; 
{by  he-made  matiy  remattis  on  the  agriculture,  manolitctures,  sni 
general  state  of  Irdand.,  He  was  particularly  rtruA  o^ith  the  vast 
Papulation  of  the  country,  compared  with  that  of  Scotland,  throngh 
which  ■  he  had  lately  passed,  and  even  with.tlie  average  population 
iff  England.  'iTie  backward  stale  of  its  itoprovement  and  cultiva- 
tion, considering  its  various  rfisonrces,  and  the  natural  fertility  of 
fhe  soil,  presentfed  other  Directs  of  contrast,  which  could  nOt  fell 
Jo  interest  him.  His  attention, was  naturally  led  to  the  causes  of 
this  inferitorrty  ;  but  to  enter  into  his^opinions  on  this  imporCaQt 
subject,  would  require  a  wider  field  of  discussiota  than  is  consistent 
with  the  limits  of  (he  present  narrative.  One  observation,  how- 
ever, selected  from  many  others,  which  is  strongly  marked  wiUi  his 
bliaracteristie  liberality  and  good  sense,  may  perhaps  deserve  to  be 
mentioned.  His  curiosity'had  led  him  to  inquire  into  the  state  of 
-edacation  amoi^the  bwsrlrisK  CathoBcSj&nd'bewAsiiiuch  struck  " 


n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


laii.}  Smiihm  TemuHtj  Esq,  8? 

wiA  the  mmnr  ami  iUibeni  «ast  of  matt  of  their  bookt  of  popslaf 
tnsiniction.  Tlas,  which  he  juilly  coosidwed  as  a  aeiioiis  er3,  be 
attributed  in  a  gnat  degne  to  a  wrt  of  part;  spirit  in  the  Cstbo£e 
de^)  whU^  ariMs  irvin  the  unfortunate  alienation  lubststing  fae- 

'  twecD  them  and  the  Govcrameot.  He  observed,  that  if  proper 
ncaoB  were  taken  to  ooaciJiate  thii  body,  they  would  gniaaiij 
relax  froiu  theif  MfictDeis,  and  become  better  informed  and  mom 
«ilightened}  and  that  ^us,  vithout  the  f[vinaiitj  of  convonitHi, 
the  gnat  man  of  their  fallowere  might  perhi^is,  by  little  and  little, 
inbttie  a  portion  of  tbe,Bpirit  of  protestantism,  and  he  brought  to 
pntake  <m  the  knovied^  and  iaaptoremeotB  of  the  age. 

hi  <uie  of  tiic  teunates  to  Ireland,  which  has  giHcn>occafikn  to 
Aete  lewamrktf  Mr.  Tenoant  waa  accompamed  by  Mr.  Browjw, 
the  c(de4irated  Ajbieaa  tranller,  with  whotn  he  had  lived  ft* 
joBc  time  in  habits  al  gint  intimacy.  As  Mr.  Browne,  xkhougii 
Bat  much  penonally  known,  wai  rcmarltaUe  on  acveral  accouota, 
and  a  man  of  eoandovble  surit,  it  may  not  be  in^Ni|)er  to  de- 
■nibe  AanSiy  the  nature  and  origia  of  thii  coanectiDn }  w^h  wiU 
abo  «ff>rd  an  opportuniQr  of  throwing  a  new  li^t  «poa  Mr.  Teo- 
oant'a  chancier,  and  pladag  it  in  a  pardcuUt  point  of  vicw^  in 
which  it  hai  not  yet  been  oatMidared. 

Mr.  Tentuwt  was  ooe  of  the  most  determined  advomtea  «f  cir^ 
ized  life,  in  cfiponlioD  to  those  aentimeotal  theories,  whieh  extol 
nmplicity,  and  undervalue  the  advantages  ofa  refined  and  cultivated 
age.  The  beaded  auperietity  of  the  £tter  was  one  ef  bis  favouhte 
topes  al  oonveBSBtiev  ;  and  be  would^  often  dwell  with  particular 
pkaouR  npoB  the  ^wit  of  itupravement  disfHayedin  om*  own  tuncHt 
and  the  ew^y  aad  iotclligent  activity  of  modem  Eiuntpe,  winch  he 
wai  fend  of  cotrtnuting  with  the  apat^  aod  torpor  ef  the  £a>t.  Yet 
by  one  of  thaie  incmnrtenoiea,  froaa  whkh  no  human  understand* 
iog  is  eotirelf  eiempt,  be  took  a  Hiig;«lar  interest  «ad  delight  in  all 
aocouati  of  Oriental  nationa,  and  in  the  peculiaritiet  and  detub  of 
Adr  chuvoten,  habiti,  aad  iattituttonf.  Hie  hlitttrlctU  recollec- 
tioas and  imapsof  aociait  Known  n4nch ire aMootatcd  with  iboee 
tcnote  couDtiies,  the  entffe  diflcreoee  of  maaims  and  religions^  ' 

'  and  the  digiii6ed.gravity  and  loBponog  exterior  of  the[tfewDt.i«ha- 
bitants,  amused  and  gratified  hit  inaginadcM).  He  wai  a  oowidcr. 
able  pw^Hser  and  sdleoior  of  books  and  cogTaviaf^  relttive  to  the 
East ;  aad  had  penned  with  grtot  eagenteai  and  Ourioaity  all  the 
nuncpoui  publiofitiaos  respecting  Turiiey,  Egypt,  aad  Persia,  whicti 
have  appeared  during  the  last  twenty  years.  He  was  also  fauiiliarly 
aoijuainted  «4&  the  peincipal  Eastern  travellers  of  former  tiines; 
among  whom  ChnrdMi,  Nbiden,  Rusiell,  and  Shaw,  were  those 
whom  be  particularly  valued.  His  knowledge  of  the  couQtrieB  de- 
leribed  by  these  writers  was  remavkahly  acnui^te  and  Biinute,  and 
atebded  in  many  cases  even  to  ^graphical  details. 

With  tbe  tastes  and  Gtelisgs  rcsultiog  from  tbie  turn  of  mind,  it 
sMjr  aaaiy  be  cencaiiad  tl^  Mr.TeBBBot  had  a  [leculiar  gcatifica- 


S8  Btographical  Account  of  [Avt. 

tioD  in  the  society  of  Mr.  Browne.  He  found  in  that  distinguished 
traveller^  not  only  an  intimate  acquaiotance  with  those  countries 
which  so  much  interested  his  curiosity,  but  a  considerable,  fund  of 
learning  aad  information,  united  with  great  modesty  and  simplicity, 
and  with  much  IcindneEs  of  disposition.  By  strangers,  however, 
Mr.  Browne's  eliaracter  was  apt  to  be  misundersttood.  Whethec 
from  natural  temperament,  or  from  habits  acquired  in  the  East,  he 
Vas  unusually  grave  and  silent,  and  his  manners  in  general  society.' 
ViTC  extremely  cold  and  repulsive.  Even  in  company  with  Mr. 
Tennant,  to  whom  he  became  sincerely  attached,  he  would  often 
remain  for  some  time  gloomy  and  thoughtful.  But  after  indulging 
himself  with  bis  f^pe,  his  eye  brightened,  his  countenance  becamo 
'  «nimeted,  and  he  described  in  a  lively  and  picturesque  manner  the 
interesting  scenes  inwhich  he  had  been  engaged,  and  to  which  he 
again  looked  forward.  Of  the  impression  left  on  Mr.  Tennant's 
inind  by  these  interviews,  some  idea  may  be  formed  from  the  follow-: 
ing  passage  of  a  letter  .written  by  him  to  an  intimate  friend  sooa 
kfter  he  had  received  the  account  of  Mr.  Browne's  death.  ".  I 
recall,"  he  says,  '.'  the  Nodes  ArabioE  which  I  have  often  passed 
with  him  at  the  Adelphi,  where  I  used  to  go  whenever  I  found 
myself  gloomy  or  solitary ;  and  so  agreeable  to  me  were  these  sooth-' 
ing,  rotmntic  evening  conversations,  that  after  ringing  his  bell,  I 
lised  to  Waif  with  some  anxiety,  fearful  that  he  might  not  be  at 
home," 

In  the  autumD  of  1812,  some  years  after  bis  .joainey  to  Ireland 
with  Mr.  Tennant,  Mr.  Browne  took  his  departure  from  England 
on  an  expedition  which  he  had  long  pre^ectedj  to'  the  unexplored 
Tartar  city  of  Sarnarcand.  He  first  visited  Constantinople ;  and  at 
the  instigation  tif  Mr.  Tennant  made  a  diligent,  but  fruitless,  learch 
for  the  meteoric  stone,  which  is  mentioned  to  have  fallen  at  Egos- 
.jxitamos  in  the  Parian  Chronicle  and  in  Pliny.  From  Constanti- 
nople he  went  to  Smyrna,  where  he  passed  the  winter;  and  from 
thence  to  Tabriz  in  Persia;  from  both  which  places  he  wrote 
several  very  interesting  letters  to  Mr.  Tennant.  In  one  of  these  he 
mentions,  that  in  passing  through  Armenia  he  had  satisfied  himself 
by  mineralogical  observations  which  he  had  made,  that  a  consider- 
able tract  of  that  country,  including  Mount  Ararat,  is  of  yolcanic 
origin.  He  likewise  ascerttiined,  by  measuring  the  temperature  of 
boiling  water,  (at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Tennant)  that  the  city  of 
Arzroum,  the  capital  of  Armenia,  is  70OO  feet  ahove  the  level  of 
the  sea. 

Most  unfortunately  for  the  cause  of  scientific  discovery,  Mr. 
Browne  perished  afterwards  (as  is  well  known)  by  the  hands  of 
Bandiiti,  near  the.  river  Kizzil  Ozan,  east  of  Tabriz.  Previously 
to  his  leaving  England,  when  he  whs  setting  out  on  this  journey,  he 
bad  made  his  will,  by  which  he  named  Mr.  Tennant  one  of  th^ 
executes,  and  left  him  a  considerable  bequest.  On  openin;;  the 
packet  ia  which  the  will  was  enclosed,  a  paper  was  found  in  Mt, 


m$.]  Smilhson  Tentuml^  Esq.  89 

SrowDe's  hand-writing,  containing  a' characteristic  and  remartmble 
passage  from  one  of  Pindar's  Odea,  highly  expresdve  of  that  gene- 
rous ambition,  and  contempt  of  danger  and  death,  which  are  the 
tnie  inspiring  principles  of  such  enterprizes.  *  Till  he  saw  thia 
paper,  Mr.  Tennant,  notwithstanding  his  lang  intimacy,  bad  never 
been  fully  aware  of  the  real  force  of  his  friend's  character,  and  of 
the  powerfol  and  deep  feelings  which  his  cold  maoDers  and  faabhwl 
reserve  had  cflcctually  concealed  from  obserration.'f 

It  was  before  stated  uifit  Mr.  Tennant's  health  had  been  graduaUy 
declining.  His  frame  was  naturally  feeble ;  and  during  the  latter 
years  of  his  life,  though  be  was  seldom  materially  indisposed, 
be  was  scarcely  ever  entirely  well.  Almost  always  on  going  to 
bed  he  had  a  certain  degree  of  fever,  and  was  often  obliged 
to  gel  up  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  and  to  obtain  relief  by 
exposure  to  the  cool  air.  To  preserve  himself  in  any  d^ee 
of  bodily  vigour,  he  was  under  the  necessity  of  using  daily 
exercise  on  horseback ;  a  praetice  which,  though  he  complained  of 
as  a  serious  encroachment  on  his  time,  he  hardly  ever  omitted  in 
the  severest  weaiber.  His  long  journies  into  various  parts  of  Kng- 
iaad  and  Iielaud  were  usually  performed  in  this  manner. 

9  Tbe  falloniB{  ii  tbc  patsage  alluded  to : — ■ 

'O  lAiyuf  Ji  Ki'JV- 

Ti  »i  Tii  i'mu/i^i  yifH  !•  ncirii  ■ 

KsAw  spjiMfat ;  AAA'  tjiMi  fbi,  tirtrl 

Pindari  Olymp.  Carm,  1,  T.  1S», 
■  In  tbe  paths  of  dangcroiii  t'qme 

'  .Trembling  cowards  never  tread  ; 

"yet  Bince  all  of  mortal  frame 

MuEt  he  numb^r'd'  nilh  the  dead, 
ITbo  in  dark  ingEloriiias  shadp 

Woaia  b\i  uielesi  life  eoasnme. 
And  with  derdleas  yean  ieca.y'i 
Sink  DDboDOUr'd  lo  tbe  tooib  ! 
)  Ihal  Btaamf  fnl  Int  distlBin, 

I  Uiii  doubtful  list  will  prove.-' 

Wttl't  Pindar. 

i  It  may  be  worth  menlionini;,  that  Mr.  Tennant  alirayi  lameotecl,  after  he 
beeanie  acquainted  with  Mr.  Browne't  learninK  and  lalenls,  thai  hi»  intimacy  wllb 
talm  had  nut  commeneed  before  the  ptibl'raiion  of  hig  Afriran  Travrlt.  In  pre. 
paring  ibst  work  for  the  presi,  Mr.  Browne-,  from  an  anreatonable  diitrust  of  hU 
ewn  powm,  had  (bonghl  it  nerf««ary  to  have  recourse  lo  lit'rarj  aisist-ince  ;  but 
irat  not  happy  in  his  compiler.  Neither  the  sljle  of  the  Trafcls,  nor  the  tore  ia 
Hhieh  Ihey  are  ciimpoaed,  ii  lucb  as  ti:  do  any  jnitice  lo  tbr  important  informa- 
tipD  which  they  contain,  or  (a  tbe  character  and  mei^lt  of  Ibe  dUlinsuiitaed  tn>. 
IcUh  wliose  name  tbajr  bear. 


90^  Biegrapkical  jiacomt  «^  (Aua. 

In  tbe  nmmer  of  1809,  ts  be  was  lidiog  to  Bri^tbdinston,  ha 
BKt  with  n  Kriom  aocijent,  by  nhich  his  ccdlar  bone  wat  broken. 
He  WBi  itMOved  to  tbe  house  of  hii  friend  Mr.  Howard,  in  tlie 
aeighboBrbood  of  Londoti,  where  he  was  treated  witfa  the  most 
aSectionate  Itiadnesi,  and  reioaiiied  till  his  complete  rccorery. 

D«rii]g  the  exrij  period  tt  his  Tendance  in  Lottdon,  Mr.  Ten- 
tmat  had  led  tathenr  s  ntired  Ufle ;  but  io  bis  more  adranced  years 
be  went  mach  more  into  the  m»ld,  «nd  cukinted  genenl  society. 
He  had  a  particular  pleasure  in  conversiiig  with  intelligent  traveller* 
newly  returned  from  distant  countries,  or  in  suggesting  rational  ob- 
jects of.inqQify  to  each  as  were  idioBt  to  visit  them.  Asaniottmce  of 
the  btter,  it  miy  be  meotioned,  that  he  was  at  coniiderable  pains  ia 
iiuteucling  M.  Borcbardt,  a  gentleman  sent  out  by  tbe  African  Aaso- 
ciation  to  espkae  tbe  interior  of  diat  continent,  in  the  principle  of 
minevaiogy.  lie  fiieqaeotly  fne  small  nKiming  parties  at  his  chai»« 
hers  in  the  Temple,  which  he  rendered  very  amudng  to  his  frienda 
by  the  eKbsbilion  of  interesting  prints  and  drawings,  of  rare  speciineoa 
and  oew  substnnces  in  chemistry,  or  of  other  objects  calculated  to 
gratify  an  iuteliigeDt  and  well-directed  curiosity.  It  happened  ia 
the  spring  of  1812  that  be  had  engaged  to  shew  his  miaeralagical 
c^leclion  to  a  large  party  of  his  acquaintance,  with  a  view  of  ex- 
plaining tO'them  the  nature  of  some  of  the  principal  snfaBtaQ<%s,  and 
of  giving  them  some  general  ideas  of  mineralogy.  His  intention  being 
known,  several  others  of  his  friends  requested  permksion  to  be  pre- 
sent }  and  he  was  gradually  induced  to  extend  his  original  plan,  and 
to  give  a  few  lectures  on  the  general  outlines  of  mineralogical  che- 
raistry.  The  undenaking  was  somewhat  arduous,  cai;side[iDg  the 
expectations  which  h>s  high  character  was  likdy  to  excite,  his  total 
ineicperience  as  a  lecturer,  and  tjie  difficulty  of  adapting  himself  to 
so  mixed  an  audience ;  which,  though  consisting  principally  of 
^males,  included  many  individuals  d^tinguished  for  science  and 
literature.  It  was  attended,  however,  with  coipplete  success.  Of 
Ftrntenelle,  the  first  of  those  writers  who  have  given  a  popular  and 
engaging  form  to  the  lessons  of  philosophy,  it  is  said  by  Voltaire  :— 
"  L'ignDranl  rentejidit,  le  lavant  radmira." 

This  praise  was  strictly  applicable  Io  Mr.  Tennant.  The  great 
clearness  and  facility  of  his  statemenb,  tbe  variety  and  happiness  of 
his  illustrations,  and  the  comprehensive  philosophical  views  which 
he  displayed,  were  alike  gratifying  to  every  part  of  his  audience. 
He  delivered  about  four  lectures,  each  of  which  was  of  great 
length;  yet  the  interest  of  hia  hearers  was  never  in  the  least  Sus- 
pended. Though  his  style  and  manner  of  speaking  were  raised  ^ 
vnly  in  a  slight  degree  above  the  tone  of  famitiu  conversatton,  thev 
attention  was  perpetually  kept  alive  by  the  spirit  and  variety  with 
which  every  topic  was  discussed,  by  anecdotes  and  quotations  hap. 
pily  introduced,  by. the  ornaments  of  a  powerful,  but  chastised, 
imagination;  and,  above  all,  by  a  peculiar  v^  <^  pleasantry,  at 
.1 

L,..-7.y..y,  Google- 


IBIS.)  'Smithson  Temumt^  Etq.  91 

once  onpaal  and  delicMe,  with  wbidi  he  coiHd  animate  aod  «b- 
bellish  the  most  uDpfominHg  sobjecta. 

The  delivcrf  of  these  ledurei  mxy  be  coiuidered  by  some  penewi 
■a  a  very  trifling  occairenoe  in  the  life  of  a  men  of  edcDce ;  but 
the  writei  has  thought  it  well  tmnhy  of  a  place  >n  ^ht  present  imp- 
ntive,  not  only  BsaSbrding«  oev  proof  of  tbe  extent  aad  variety 
of  Mr.  Tennaot's  powsn,  but  because  it  exemplifies  in  a  vwf 
pleasing  manner  one  of  tbe  striking  and  amiable  peculinritiea  of  fait 
chaTacter.  As  he  had  a  lemaiiably  clear  perceptioD  of  the  lowt 
refined  scientific  troths,  so  he  possessed  a  power  of  exflBiiring  and 
illustrating  such  sutjects,  uliich  might  justly  lie  deemed iinrindled. 
WitboBt  any  ottentation  of  learning,  he  bad  a  peculiar  deli(^t  ia 
communicating  knowledge  to  others ;  but  especially,  in  uafctld- 
ing  the  princfpleB  of  science  to  young  penons,  npahle  and  de- 
afrous  <^  receiving  such  iDformation  ;  and  he  partoc^  with  tbe  moat 
lively  sensibility  in  the  emotiohs  of  fnirioBtly,  pleasure,  and  sop- 
prise,  which  his  lessons  seldom  &uled  to  inspire.  He  entirely  dif> 
fered  from  those  who  condemn  as  trifltcg  and  superficial,  that  io- 
creosmg  taste  for  scientific  imowledge  in  the  higher  and  mon 
opulent  classes,  to  which  many  circumstances  have  lately  coittri- 
buted.  >  He  considered  the  dilfasion  of  this  taste  among  the  yomg* 
the  idle,  and  tbe  wealthy,  though  Itablein  some  cases  to  degenerate 
into  aSectaticn,  as  being  in  its  geneial  eftcis  highly  benefidri ; 
both  by  affiTrding  to  an  important  class  of  society  additional  atmrcn 
of  intellectual  pleasure  and  new  objects  of  rational  pumiit;  awl 
io^rectly,  by  obtaining  for  science  and  its  profoaon  a  gicater 
degree  of  public  con^ideratioa  aad  respect  than-they  hate  enjoyed 
io  any  fonner  age. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1813  Mr.  Tennant  delivened  befooe 
tbe  Geologtcal  Society  a  lecture  on  tbe  principles  of  muerahigy. 
After  taking  an  historical  view  of  the  subject,  and  fxanting  out 
tbe  merits  end  defects  of  tbe  priDcipel  writers  by  whom  it  had 
been  systematically  treated,  he  took  an  enlarged  view  of  the 
acienee,  regarding  it  as  that  branch  of  chemist^  which  treats  of 
tbe  d^nitc  compounds  that  arc  found  native  in  the  mineral  king- 
dom, and  wiiose  crystalline  forms  and  other  properties  are  to  be 
atadiect  aad  deseribed  in  the  seme  manner  as  those  of  any  other 
chemical  substance.  He  then  noticed  serera)  artificial  productitms 
which  are  nnal^ous  to  those  of  Nature ;  and  amongat  the  rest  a 
slKcste  of  copper,  which  he  had  formed  by  adding  a  solution  of 
that  metal  to  an  Bciidifi(<d  liquor  silictim,  which  he  conceived  might 
perhaps  be  iden^cal  with  the  Siberian  minerel  eslled  Dii^Mase. 

Mr.  T.  had  eommunicated  to  the  Geological  Society  some  time 
preriously  (in  the  year  IHM)  the  result  of  his  investigation  of  the 
nati*e  boracicacid,  which  he  had  discovered  is  a  collection  of  vol- 
eaoic  sobstaaces  from  the  Lipari  Isles,  and  which  has  since  bees 
found  in  the  island  Voh*ano  by  IVv  Holland.  This  communication 
was  published  in  the  first  volume  of  the  IVomactionsof  the  Get^o- 
pad  Society.  ■ 


93  BiograpKctd  Atxfnmt  t^  ][Ad«. 

In  the  yeir  IS  13,  k  vacancy  happening  to  the  Chemical  Professor- 
ship at  Cambridge,  lie  was  urged  b^  rame  of  his  fiiends  resideot  ia 
the  University  to  become  a  candidate  for  that  appointment.  He 
was  induced  to  accede  to  their  solicitations,  principally  from  think- 
ing that  the  duty  of  delivering  an  annual  course  of  lectures  would 
furniith  him  with  a  motive  of  useful  and  honourable  esenton.  For 
a  short  time  after  he  had  declared  himself,  some  opposition  was 
apprehended  on  the  part  of  a  very  respectable  candidate  resideot  in 
the  University ;  and  during  this  period  the  exertions  which  were 
made  by  Mr.  Tennant's  friends,  and  the  assurances  of  support 
which  be  received,  greatly  exceeded  what  had  ever  been  knowD  on 
any  simil»r  occasion.  The  opposition  being  withdrawn,  he  was 
elected  Professor  in  May,  1813. 

During  the  months  of  April  and  May  in  the  following  year  be 
delivered  his  6rst  and  only  course  of  academical  lectures,  which  was 
attended  by  a  very  numerous  class  of  students.  The  greater  part  of 
these  lectures  were  spoken  from  notes  containing  the  order  of  tha 
Btihjects,  and  the  principal  heads  of  discussion.  But  the  intro- 
ductory lecture  was  wiitten  at  length,  and  still  remain^  in  mann- 
script.  It  presents  a  rapid  and  masterly  outline  of  the  history  of 
chemistry,  interspersed  with  many  ori^nal  and  striking  remarlu  on 
the  nature  of  the  science  itself,  on  its  extensive  application,  and 
prodigious  effects  in  promoting  the  civilization  of  mankind,  and 
on  the  merits  and  discoveries  of  some  of  its  most  distingui^ed 
professors  in  different  ages  and  countries. 

The  impression  made  by  these  lectures  will  not  soon  be  forgotten 
in  the  University  ;  and  it  is  impossible,  without  the  greatest  regret, 
to  consider  the  effects  which  a  continuance  of  these  labours  during 
a  series  of  years  might  have  produced,  not  only  in  advancing  che- 
mical knowledge,  but  in  diffusing  a  general  love  of  philosopliical 
research,  and  in  promoting  enlightened  and  comprehensive  view* 
on  all  the  various  subjects  with  whiqh  that  science  is  more  or  lesi 
immediately  connected. 

In  June,  I8I4,  his  two  last  communications  were  read  to  ths 
Boyal  Society :  the  one  upon  an  easier  mode  of  procuring  pota^ 
sium  than  that  which  is  in  common  use ;  and  the  other  on  the 
means  of  procuring  a  double  distillation  by  the  same  heat,  which 
has  been  more  than  once  alluded  to  in  the  course  of  this  memoir. 

The  great  variety  of  chemical  subjects  on  which  Mr.  Tennant  had 
been  at  different  times  engaged,  but  upon  which  his  expemmei^s 
were  left  incomplete,  or  insufficiently  recorded,  has  been  already 
mentioned.  A  brief  notice  of  some  of  the  most  important  facts 
which  he  ascertained,  and  of  the  principal  series  of  experiments  to 
which  his  attention  was  directed^  would  form  an  interesting  part  of 
the  present  memoir ;  but  thb,  owing  to  various  causes,  and  espe- 
cially to  the  state  of  his  papers,  cannot  as  yet  be  attempted. 
Among  the  insulated  fdcts,  one  of  the  latest  was  the  making  sugar 
from  starch  with  oxalic  acid,  in  the  same  manner  as  it  had, been 
made  by  M.  Kircboif  with  oil  of  vitriol;  and  the  last  chemical  in- 


1015.]  Smithson  Tamant^  Esq,'  95 

vest^tion  to  which  be  applied  himself  was  ati  endeavour  to  ascer- 
tain from  whence  the  Iodine  found  in  several  caaTiae  plants  a  de- 
rived. On  this  he  had  laboured  assiduously  during  the  spring  and 
summer  of  1814;  and  early  in  September  in  that  year,  the  evening 
before  he  left  London,  he  mentioned  to  a  friend  that  he  had  de- 
tected iodine  in  sea  water.  A  tarnishing  which  he  had  observed  in 
silver  leaf,  *  led  him  to  promise  hinaself  a  successful  termination  of 
these  researches;  but  it  is  not  known  what  were  (he  decisive  expe- 
riments by  which  he  had  succeeded  in  making  this  discovery.-f- 


Mr.  Tennant  had  always  lamented  his  omission  to  visit  the  Coo' 
linent  of  Europe  during  the  short  peace  of  1802,  He  therefore 
took  an  early  opportunity,  after  the  general  pacification  of  1814,  of 
passing  over  to  France  for  the  purpose  of  observing  those  changet 
which  the  eventful  period  of  the  last  twenty  years 'has  produced, 
and  of  renewing  his  personal  communications  vriih  men  of  science 
at  Paris,  from  which  he  had  been  so  long  debarred.  His  own  ex- 
perience had  taught  him  how  much  may  be  known,  which  has  not 
Deen  coKinunicated  in  books.    In  this  respect  he  was  not  disap- 

Sinled  ;  for  in  one  of  his  letters,  written  a  short  time  before  he 
t  Paris,  he  mentioned  with  much  satisfaction  how  many  interest- 
ing fects  he  had  collected  which  would  enliven  his  Cambridge 
lectures. 

He  went  to  France  early  in  September,  1814;  and  the  following 
passage  of  a  tetter,  in  which  he  relates  his  first  sensations,  may  be 
worth  transcribing,  both  because  it  afibrds  somewhat  of  a  specimen 
rf  his  general  manner,  'and  may  perhaps  recall  to  the  recollection  of 
his  friends  several  of  bis  favourite  topics  and  opinions,  "  After  a 
short  and  favourable  passage  of  three  hours  and  a  half,  we  got  into 
the  harbour  of  Calais,  with  its  immense  pier.  The  difference  of 
every  thing  struck  me  prodigiously,     I  felt  quite  intoxicated  with 

*  The  mne  test  far  iodine  in  iodic  aall)  h  propoBcd  by  Sir  Hamphry  Dav* 
la  (ke  PbiloEOpiiical  TraDiacliani  for  1814. 

t  Anonc  Ihe  difiereal  Bcrlri  of  eiperinieiiti  alladed  to  Id  Ibis  memoir,  upoa 
vkkta  til.  TeDDont  had  been  eugaged  at  TU-ious  peri»di  of  bla  life,  but  which  be 
tad  DOt  brought  la  a  coni|jletioD,  Ih'e  folianingouy  dcKTie  10  b«  mentioned  : — 

RMearcbei  do  the  pigmenlt  uied  by  the  ancienli. 

Erprrimeno  niBde  nllb  a  view  to  improic  the  glMS  employed  in  the  cmntrnc 
IfoD  of  achromatic  lenKi. 

Eipecimenu  od  the  refractive  poven  of  compoaad  bodies  compsred  trilh  Iha 
refractive  powers  at  their  conttlluents. 

Ur.  Tennaot  bad  at  one  time  very  nearly  obtained  an  iniigbt  into  the  woadetful 
claM  of  pbenomeDB  belonging  lo  vollaic  electricity  i  aa  appeari  from  Ibe  following 
eilract  from  an  nid  note-booi(i  in  which  there  ii  no  dale  (  but  Mr.  T,  alway*  , 
tpolte  of  the  eipcriment  ta  havinj  been  made  many  jears  since. 

"  If  a  piece  of  silver  or  gold  ii  ioimerKd  In  a  tolnlinn  of  vitriol  of  copper, 
and  the  lilier  or  gold  i>  toachii  with  iron  or  line,  the  copper  it  diffuetl  Bpoa 
tbeai  tronnd  the  point  of  conlacl )  upon  plallna,  not  hi  eaiilyi  Ihe  Iran,  thuu^ 
wry  near,  accaiiona  no  preclpilate  upsn  ihe  illver  or  %M  \  but  If  IrOD  foucbet 

■llitf,  and  illTer  gold,  tbelattergeii  the  copper." 


n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


94  Biagrapldeal  ^cctnmi  of  {Ana. 

the  Dowllf  of  the  scenery,  the  abundance  ol  the  couatiy,  tha 
biwht  blue  sltjE  witbaut  a  clowl,  and  the  broad  raagnificeut  roads, 
iiitb  elais,  aiu]  sometimes  fruit-trees,  oq  each  side  for  fifty  milea.  i 
WW  a  little  mortified  oa  comparing  tbe  climate  with  our  own,  till  I 
tSaetved  the  many  potuts  id  which  its  advaatages  were  neglected ;; 
open  fields ;  harve!«t  not  finished,  as  in  Esglaod ;  com  full  d 
weeds ;  and  oacs  more  tliao  one-third  inferior  in  quality  to  my  own 
at  Mendip.  On  approacbiug  Paris,  the  vineyards  were  new  features 
of  this  superior  clinoate.  At  Faris,  what  strikes  oae  most  is  the 
narrowness  of  the  streets ;  along  which  as  I  passed  I  was  in  constant 
expectation  of  getting  out  of  the  eternal  narrow  lanes.  Now  I  am 
quite  reconciled  tp  them.— 'ftie  backward  state  of  civilized  life  is 
aiore  apparent  here  than  in  the  country,  Vou  are  struck  with  the 
iiBpetfectioa  of  every  thing,  and  t^e  mixture  of  dirt  and  naeannesa 
.  vitn  pomp  spd  espence.  In  the  theab^,  (which,  however,  are 
quite  inferior  to  otirs  io  size>  and  still  cqore  in  elegance,)  you  see  in 
tnepassages  behind  the  boxes,  dirty  pavements  ofbrick,  with  wid« 
cracks  i  and  the  boxe^  are  opened  by  a  few  old  womeq,  who  are 
employed  during  the  intervals  in  knitting  or  mending  stockio^.  ■ 
,  Tbe  women  are  sucb  te  might  be  laken  froot  «  field  in  England, 
wbere  they  would  be  Qmptoyed  in  weeding." 

Paring  hia  stay  io  Fraiiis,  Mr.  Tennaot,  itv  tbe  months  ef^ 
October  and  JJovember,  made' a  tour  into  the  southern  provineet^ 
which  he  had  not  before  seen,  and  visited  Lyons,  Nismes,  Avigooi)» 
Marseilles,  »nd  Montpellier-  He  wa$  much  gratified  by  tjiis 
journey,  during  which  be  made  Bi»ny  interestiog  recoarks  on  tlie 
state  of  tbe  country,  paying  pHrtjcuIar  attention  to  nainerakigy  and 
Qgriculture.  In  bi^  letters  written  about  this  time  he  desc^jbes  in 
Itriking  ♦erma  the  feelings  of  enjoyment,  which  be  always  ^pe- 
rienced  from  new  scenes  and  objects,  and  especially  from  viewing 
the  productions  of  Nature  in  southerj)  climates.  In  spe^ng  ol  th« 
lan^e  of  mountair)*  from  w'lence  the  Saone  takes  its  rise,  he  say*, 
"  The  country  is  the  most  rich  and  picturesque  that  can  be  ima- 
gined ;  but  the  contrast  of  the  beggary  and  dirt  of  the  towns  and 
common  hahitations  with  the  rich  vegetation  of  the  country  i« 
vniTeraal,  with  the  exception  only  of  towns  of  tbe  first  rate.  I  am 
not  yet  sufficiently  at  home  in  the  political  economy  of  the  country 
to  say  on  what  this  depends.  In  part,  on  its  extreme  population. — 
After  passing  these  mountains,  a  new,  world,  appears,  marked  with 
tbe  charactersof  a  southern  climate.  The  race  of  people  is  diflnrent, 
with  finer  skins  than  in  the  North.  The  country  women  wear  im- 
mense hati,  to  defend  them  from  the  sun ;  and  the  houses  (there 
being  no  snow]  hav«  low  pitched  roofs,  like  those  in  Pouasin  and 
Claude  Lorraine.  Nothing  can  be  more  beautifiil  tlian  this  style  of 
building,  which  continues  to  the  Mediterranean.— Proceediog  sguth,- 
vines  and  mulberries  cbiefiy  cover  the  ground ;  and  fbllowmg  the 
Saone,  its  mountiunous  banks,  studded  with  country  houses,  almost 
buried  in  tbe  rich  vegetation  of  figs,  mulberries,  vin^  and  pomegra- 

n,,:-A-..>yGoogk- 


ISlfi.]  Smilk$tn  Temiaat,  £iqt,  9S 

mtcs,  exoetd  tiXl  anficipatiiH).  Suppose  the  scenery  vl  the  bot  wellt  at 
BfHtol  extended  50  inUes,  with  a  breeder  ntpul  river,  kigber  nuaa- 
taiiu,  oDder  a  gloiwing  clinute^  and  thickly  set  with  white  eottagcs, 
iateaded.tobe  copied  by  a  punter.  Nothiugisso  &ie  aa  theiliua- 
tkm  of  LyoBij  ud  the  views  into  the  psradiuacsl  vallty  frotn  the 
Hwuntaioa  eo  each  aide  of  the  town.  This  wonderful  scenery  c(h>- 
tmuea  ahmg  the  Rhone  by  Vienpe  {irota  whence  coteea  the  Col£ 
radc  wine)  and  Tain  (ffom  whence  iHermitage)  till  yon  arrive  in 
Provence,  where  the  olive,  a  new  production  of  the  southern  dt*. 
mates,  bcgini  to  make  its  tppeaiance.  Thrcwgh  this  rich  garden  or 
forest  yon  come  to  the  cakareoua  mountains,  which  on  tneir  aum- 
mlts  are  white  rocky  hills,  covered  with  wild  plants,  thyme,  rose- 
Bury,  lavender,  ilex,  quercus  coccifers,  and  innumerable  pl^ila 
unkoowa  in  our  latitude,  but  which  I  hope  to  raise  in  England  next 
year,  to  renew  my  iaqiressjoDs  of  this  osuntry.  These  mountaiH 
•ncloae  the  valley  of  that  wonderfully  situated  immeose  town  of 
Marseilles.  Ai  you  descend,  the  Mediterranean  appears,  and  the 
•great  city  with  its  endless  suburbs  in  the  hollow  vallies  sloping 
towards  UK  sea,  *  •  *  «  It  was  with  infinite  regret  that  1 
Ml  Marseilles;  if  1  could  stay  the  winter,  it  should  be  there. 
Avignon  is  pleaslu^y  situated;  Nismes  has  fine  antiquities ;  Mont- 
pelHer  is  in  a  rich  and  plentiful  country ;  but  they  are  all  Irista  and 
dead  compared  with  Maiseillfs,  where  every  attraction  is  united." 

Oa  his  return  from  Mootpellier  to  Paris,  he  writes,  whiiestoppii^ 
far  a  few  days  at  Lyons,  "  At  Montpellier  I  had  the  peculiar  advan-. 
tage  of  a  most  attentive  acquaintance  (M.  Berard),  who  is  one 
of  the  best  cltemistH  in  Kraiice.  The  country  affords  few  such;  but 
he  was  brought  up  at  the  feet  of  BerlhoUet,  who  gave  me  a  lctt« 
to  him.  He  succeeded  to  the  chemical  works  of  Chaptal,  which  are 
BOW  very  extensive,  and  carried  on  with  great  intelligence. — On  my 
letura  I  visited  the  great  Roman  aqueduct  oS  the  Pont  du  Gard,  so 
Ariking  fta  its  antiquity,  its  altitudb,  its  solidity,  ^and  the  very 
romantic  situation  where  it  passes  over  the  valley  and  river.  Foot  St. 
Sspnt  is  hardly  less  inteiestiog,  being  of  such  iramease  extent 
(more  than  half  a  mile],  and  the  lowest  bridge  on  the  Rhone.  It 
was  built,  not  by  the  Romans,  but  in  the  darkest  ages  by  the  powert 
of  supCTEtition,  the  great  principle  of  energy  and  exertion  at  that 
'  period.  In  1265  the  oflcrings  to  the  conventof  ^  Esprit  wer« 
snfficieBt  for  this  undertaking,  and  were  thus  afiplied  by  the  monks, 
with  hoaoor  to  themaelveB,  and  with  great  advantage  to  a  reorats. 
posterity;  for  the  passage  over  it  is  immense  at  this  time.— I 
stopped  for  Haifa  day  at  Tain,  imm  whence  we  have  the  Hermitage 
wine.  Noting  can  be  nwre  beautiful  than  the  gold  colour  of  tbc 
*  vine-covered  hills,'  nor  more  extraordinary  than  the  sand  or  gravel 
in  which  the  plant  grows.  There  is  not  a  pu-ticle  of.  soil,  but 
mctely  broken,  sharp  fragmeals  of  granite,  chiefly  felspar,  per* 
feotly  Hem ;  for  though  tb»  rooits  of  the  vine  are  manured  once  ■ 
jeu>,  this  totally  disi^ean.    The  gravel  kmI  is  supported  by  waUb 


90  .   Siognphieal  Account  of  [Ado. 

From  the  top  are  seen  endless  mountain^  which  border  on  the 
bhone,  Bnd  winch  along  (he  s\opes  facing  the  south  Are  yellow  with 
vines,  in  spite  of  the  estreme  barrenness  of  the  sot).  Such  nioun- 
tains,  which  are  here  among  the  most  valuable  parts  iX  the  king- 
dom, would  not  in  England  be  worth  a  penny  an  acre.-^From  ihis 
place  (Lyons)  ne  rode  the  other  day  inlo  the  mountains  near 
Artiresle  to  see  a  new  copper-mine,  consisting  of  a  blue  carbonate; 
compared  with  which  the  specimens  from  Siberia  ere  quite  iDsigoi" 
ficant.     »     *     •    » " 

Mr.  Tennant  returned  to  Paris  duiing  the  month  of  November^ 
and  was  to  have  returned  to  England  about  the  latter  end  of  the 
year.  But  he  continued  to  linger  on  till  February  following.  On 
the  1 5th  of  that  month  he  reached  Calais ;  and  wrote  from  thence 
on  the  next  day,  to  account  for  his  .long  delays ;  which  had  been 
occasioned,  he  said,  "  by  his  postponing  the  disagreeable  exertion 
of  setting  off,  added  to  the  severe  weather,  and  the  odious  view  of 
the  ocean,  of  which  he  had  so  great  a  horror,  that  it  darkened  the 
agreeable  prospect  of  meeting  his  fnends  in  England." 

The  wind  then  blew  directly  into  Calais  harbour,  and  continued 
10  be  imtavourable  for  several  days.  After  waiting  till  Monday,  the 
20th,  he  went  to  Boulogne,  in  company  with  Baron  Bulow,  a 
German  officer,  who  was.  also  going  to  England,  in  order  to  take 
the  chance  of  a  better  passage  from  that  ^wrt.  They  embarked  on 
board  a  vessel  on  the  morning  of  Feb.  S2d;  but  the  wind  lyas  still 
adverse,  and  blew  so  violently  that  the  vessel  was  obliged  to  put 
back.  When  Mr.  Tennant  came  on  shore,  he  said,  "  tliat  it  waa 
in  vain  to  simple  against  the  elements,  and  that  he  was  not  yet 
tired  of  life."  ' 

It  was  determined  that,  in  case  the  wind  should  abate,  another 
trial  was  to  be  made  in  the  evening.  During  the  interval,  Mr< 
Tennant  proposed  to  the  Baron  that  they  should  hire  horsesi  and 
take  a  ride.  They  rode  at  6rst  along  the  sea  side ;  but  on  Mr. 
Tennant's  suggestion/  they  went  afterwards  to  Buonaparte's  Pillar^ 
which  stands  on  an  eminence  about  a  league  from  Boulogne,  and 
wiiich,  having  been  In'  see  it  the  day  before,  he  was  desirous  ef 
■hewing  to  Buron  Bulow. 

On  their  return  from  thence,  they  deviated  a  little  from  the  road^ 
in  order  to  look  at  a  small  fort  near  the  pillar,  the  entrance  to  which 
was  over  a  Fosse  20  feet  deep.  On  the  side  towards  them  there  was 
a  standing  bridge  for  some  way,  till  it  joined  a  draw-bridge  which- 
tumed  upon  a  pivot.  The  end  next  to  the  fort  rested  00  the 
ground.  On  the  side  towards  them  it  was  usually  fastened  by  a 
bolt ;  hut  the  bolt  had  been  stolen  about  a  fortnight  befarei  and 
was  not  replaced. 

As  the  bridge  was  too  narrow  for  them  to  go  abreast,  the  Baron 
aaid  he  would  go  first,  and  attempted  to  ride  over  it.  But  per- 
ceiving that  it  was  beginning  to  sink,  he  made  an  effort  to  pass  the 
eentre,,  and  called  out  to  warQ  bis  compaoioQ  of  the  danger}  but  it 

n,,:-A-..>yGoogIe 


iSlS.}  Smiihson  Termanl,  Esq.  97 

ma  too  late— ^bey  nere  both  precipitated  into  the  treticb.  llie 
Baron,  though  much  stunned^  fortunately  escaped  without  any 
■erioQS  hurt ;  but  on  recovering  his  senses,  and  looking  round  for 
Mr.  Tenuant,  he  found  hiq]  lying  under  his  horse,  nearly  lifeless. 

He  was  first  conveyed  to  a  cottage,  inhabited  by  the  person  who 
bad  the  care  of  the  pillar ;  and  meitical  assistance  being  procured 
from  Boulogne,  it  wai  found  that  his  skull  and  one  of  his  arms 
were  dreadfully  fractured,  and  that  there  was  no  bspe  of  his  reco- 
very. He  waa  tnken,  however,  to  the  Civil  Hospital,  as  the  nearest 
aud  most  convenient  place  to  receive  him.  After  a  short  interval, 
he  seemed  in  some  slight  degree  to  recover  his  senses,  and  made  an 
eflkrt  to  speak,  but  without  ^fiect,  and  died  within  an  hour. — His 
remains  were  interred  a  few  days  afterwards  in  the  public  Cemetary 
at  Boulogne,  being  attended  to  the  grave  by  most  of  the  English 
residents. 


Mr.  Tennant  was  tall  and  slender  in  his  person,  with  a  thin  face 
and  light  complexion.  His  appearance,  notwithstanding  some  sin- 
gularity of  manners,  and  great  negligence  of  dre^,  was  on  thp 
whole  striking  and  agreeable.  His  countenance  in  early  life  had 
been  singularly  engaging  ;  and  at  bvourable  limes,  when  he  was  in 
good  spirits  and  tolerable  health,  was  still  very  pleasing.  Tlie 
general  cast  of  his  features  was  expressive,  and  bore  strong  marks 
of  intelligence;  and  several  persons  have  been  struck  with  ageneral 
resemblance  in  his  countenance  to  the  welt-known  portraits  of 
Locke. 

The  leading  parts  of  his  moral  and  intellectual  character  are 
apparent  in  the  principal  transactions  of  his  life.  But  in  this  me- 
morial, however  imperfect,  of  the  talents  and  virtues  of  so  extra- 
ordinary a  man,  some  attempt  must  be  made  to  delineate  those 
characteristic  peculiarities,  of  which  there  are  no  distinct  traces  in 
the  preceding  narrative. 

Of  his  intellectual  character,  the  distinguishing  and  tundamental 
principle  was  good  sense;  a  prompt  and  intuitive  perception  of 
truth,  both  upon  those  questions  in  which  certainty  is  attainable, 
and  those  which  must  be  determined  by  the  nicer  results  of  moral 
evidence.  In  quick  penetration,  united  with  soundness  and  accu- 
racy of  judgment,  he  was  perhaps  without  an  equal.  He  saw  im- 
mediately and  with  great  distinctness,  where  the  strength  of  an 
aigument  W,*  and  upon- what  points  tlwdecision  u'as  ultimately  to 
depend;  andjhe  was  reniaHiable  for  thi^  ,bculty  of  stating  the  merits 
of  an  obscure  and  coinpircated  question  very  shortly,  and  with 
great  simplicity  and  precision.  The  calmness  and  temper,,  as  welt 
>9  the  singular  perspicui^i'  which  he  displayed  on  such  occasions, 
were  alike  admirable ;  anij.  seldom  hiiied  to  convince  the  tinpre- 
jadiced,  and  to  diiiconceil  or  silence  his  opponents. 

These  powers  of  undeVsttindIng  were  so  generally  acknowledged, 
that  great  deference  was  paid  to  his  authority,  not  oqly  upoa  ^uca* 

V0L.VI.  N°IL         ■■■''.;        a  'Cooolc 


98  Bicgretphieal  Account  of  [Aiw. 

tioM  in  science,  bat  upon  most  otheis  of  general  interest  and  tift- 

Ertance.  What  Mr.  Tennant  thought  or  said  upon  such  subjects, 
:  fiiends  were  always  anxious  to  ascertain ',  and  his  opinions  had 
that  species  of  influence  over  a  numerous  class  of  society  which  Is 
one  of  tile  most  certait)  proofs  of  superior  talents. 

Next  to  rectitude  of  understanding,  the  quality  by  which  he  #a« 
most  distinguished,  was  a  lofty  and  powerful  imagination.  From 
hence  resulted  a  great  expansion  of  mind,  and  sublimity  of  con- 
ception ;  which,  being  united  with  deep  moral  feelings,  and  ttti 
ardent  zeal  for  the  happiness  and  improvement  of  mankind,  gave  ft 
■  very  peculiar  and  original  character  to  his  conversation  in  his  mter- 
course  with  familiar  friends.  He  partook  with  others  in  the  pteA-^ 
sure  derived  from  the  striking  scenes  of  nature ;  but  was  more  par- 
ticularly afiected  by  the  sight  or  contemplation  oi  the  triumphs  of 
human  genius,  of  the  energies  of  intelligent  and  successful  in- 
dustry, of  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  and  civilization,  and  of  what- 
ever was  new  and  beautiful  in  art  or  science.  The  cheerful  activity 
of  a  populous  town,  the  improvements  in  the  steam-engine,  the 
great  Galvanic  experiments,  and,  above  all,  the  novelty  and  extent 
of  the  prospects  afforded  by  that  revolution  in  chemical  science 
which  has  illustrated  our  own  age  and  country— these  magnificent 
objects,  when  presented  to  Mr.  Tennant's  mind,  excited  in  him 
the  liveliest  emotions,  and  called  forth  the  most  animated  expres- 
sions of  admiration  and  delight. 

This  keen  sensibility  to  intellectual  pleasure  may  be  partly  under- 
atiiod,  from  the  following  passage  of  a  letter  written  by  him  in  January 
1809,  to  an  intimate  friend  who  was  then  abroad.  After  menticNaing 
the  great  phenomena  of  the  decomposition  of  the  alkalies  by  Voltaifa 
electricity,  and  giving  a  general  view  of  the  experiments  founded 
upon  them,  he  thus  concludes:  "  I  need  not  say  how  ^rodieiotv 
these  discoveries  are.  It  is  something  to  have  lived  la  katw 
them." 

His  taste  lo  literature  and  the  line  arts  partook,  in  a  considerable 
degree,  of  the  peculiar  character  of  his  imagination.  His  favourite 
writers  (those  whom  he  most  valued  for  the  eloquence  of  their  style) 
were  such  as  describe  "  high  actions  and  high  passions,"  and  have 
the  power  of  exciting  strong  and  deep  emotions.  Of  the  poet^  he 
principally  esteemed  Virgil,  Milton,  and  Gray;  and  the  prose 
writers  to  whom  he  gave  the  preference  for  powers  of  compositioo 
were  Pascal  and  Rousseau.  He  had  a  particular  admiration  of  the 
*\  Pensdes  de  Pascal,"  regarding  it  as  a  production  altcf^ther  ub- 
equiilled  in  energy  of  thought  and  language,  in  occasionid  passages 
uf..reiined  and  deep  philosopliy,  and,  above  alt,  in  that  sublime 
jjelancholy,  which  he  considered  as  one  of  the  peculiar  character- 
istics of  great  genius. 

The  same  principles  governed  Mr.  Tennant's  judgments  in  the 
fine  arts.  Considering  it  as  their  proper  office  to  elevate  the  miod, 
and  to  excite  the  higher  and  nobler  passions,  he  estimated  the 
merits  of  the  great  masters  ip  music  and  painting  by  their  powO 


«f  tW|nriti£  these  eibo(iotii.  IVbat  he  psrf[culafl;f  miSiidint9  M 
nusical  comporitlons  nas  thm  tone  of  en«^,  siin()llciiyi  iin^l  ll^<1' 
feeling,  of  which  the  works  of  Hat)del  and  Petgolesi  HfTord  thC 
iMst  specimeos.*  In  painting  be  atVarded  the  suprriot-ity  to  theM 
fisliB^hbed  maaten,  of  v/hom  Raphiiel  is  the  ^hief,  who  e«Ce)  kl 
Qit  poetical  eBprese)6n  <rf  chaniCTer,  and  in  the  power  of  repmwn^  ' 
ing  with  s|Hrit,  grace,  aud  dimity,  tbe  Most  exulted  sentimentt 
ID<S  alleetions. 

h  wssfllmoat  B  necessary  eonsequeticfe  of  W«  iAten«<e  anfl  itep 
ftrimg  of  these  hig^her  beauties,  that  his  taste  vtfis  somewhat  sevrrej 
and  t^  btB  idns  o1  excellence,  Iwth  ib  literafure  and  the  fine  attt^ 
were  confined  within  strict  limits.  He  totally  dls^jtardfd  medio^ 
wSty,  BfMl  gave  no  praise  to  those  inferior  degteeS  of  merit,  from 
%hn:h  he  received  no  gratiBcittion. 

In  eonsequCnce  princijxilly  of  lh«  dectlnittg  state  of  his  health, 
bis  falents  for  conversation  were  perhaps  lew  uniformly  con»picuot» 
daring  his  latter yeiirs.  Hisspints  were  loselustic,  and  he  waSmore 
■ubiei^  to  ahsence  or  indifference  in  general  society.  But  his  mind 
katl  lost  none  of  its  vigour ;  and  be  never  fitiledj  when  he  exerted 
liimself,  to  di?pluy  his  peculiar  powers.  Hbfemarka  were  eriginalj  " 
«nd  his  knowledge,  assisted  by  a  most  reietjrtve  memory,  aSbrded- 
t  perpetual  supply  of  ingenious  and  well-ap^jlied  illustratiuns.  Bat 
ftie  quality  for  which  his  conversation  was  most  remarkable,  and  . 
from  which  it  derived  one  of  its  peculiar  charms,  v/aa  a  singular  - 
A»t  of  humour,  which,  as  it  whs  erf  a  gentle,  equable  kind,  and 
bad  nothing  vety  pointed  or  prominent,  is  hardly  capable  of  being 
exemplified  -or  described.  It  seldom  appeared  in  t)>e  direct  sliape 
iflif  what  may  be  called  pt^e  humour,  but  was  so  nioch  blended 
tJtlier  yf'ith  wit,  faney,  or  his  own  peculiar  character,  as  to  be  ia  ' 
Etmny  respects  entirely  original.    It  did  not  consist  in  epigrammatic 

Sints,  or  brilliant  and  lively  sallies;  but  was  rather  displayed  ia  ' 
■ciful  trains  of  imagery,  in  natural,  but  ingenious  and  unex- 
-pecied>  InMiS  of  thought  and  expression,  and  in  amvsing  anec- 
oMes,  slightly  tinged  with  tbe  ludicrOm.  I'he  effect  of  these  w!b9 
tniicfa  heightened  by  a  perfeet  gravity  of  countenance,  a  quiet 
hmiliar  tnanoer,  aim  a  characteristic  beauty  and  aimplitity  of  lan- 
lage.  This  unttssuming  tone  of  easy  pleasafttry  gave  a  very  pecir- 
and  clmiracteristic  colouring  to  the  whole  of  bis  conversatiob. 
It  mingled  itself  with  his  casual  remarks,  and  even  with  his  gravel; 
diflcussions.  It  had  little  refcTenee  to  the  ordinary  topics  of  tbtt' 
day,  and'WaS  wholly  untiDctitred  by  personnHty  or  sarcasm.' 

Itdiould  lie  meAtiOBed,  ^mong  the  pecnfiariiies'<pf  iVfr.'Tetf* 
Aoilt's  literAy  taste/  that  in  oommon  perhaps  with  mott  othft 

■  b  ISt.  TehriBht'a  converMlloa*  4H  thli  rabjcrt,  \ir  oft^  allaUed  to  n  rima)^- 
,riMe  pWMge  In  lUiMwau'i  Mwtnt  Diclioaanr  ((hr  artirte  "  «.ui  ")  ift  whM  AU 
'  liCMtrjtted  wrtlerdocribM  viitb  hiaowD  ^uli&r  rlciqnniicf  thefetltpgi  prsdiwfd 
by  great  miltfcal  cmipoiitioln,  considering  the  capacil]'  of  receivinj  luch  engtlnt  ' 
H  Hie  Irnc  crlterloa  of  mnttcal  gMini.  Mr.  T.  wa-  alto  accoMaaitd  to  *]^«Ue  at 
AviMo'*  Tr«MlK  m  Miuicftl  Expremoh  in  nrmi  of  hlfii  p»ia«. 


V 


IQO  Biographical  J.ccount  of  S,  Tentianty  Esq,         [Ato. 

erlgitul  tbiokers,  he  bestowed  little  atteotion  oil  books  of  opioioa  _ 
or  theory  ;  but  chiefly  cooSaed  himself  to  auch  as  abound  id  &cli> 
and  aSbrd  the  materials  for  speculation.  His  rending  for  many 
years  had  been  principally  directed  to  accounts  of  voyages  and 
travels,  especially  those  relating  to  Oriental  nations;  and  there  was 
•  DobocJi  of  tbia  description,  possesuog  even  tolerable  merit,  with 
which  he  was  not  femiliarly  conversant.  His  acquaiotance  with 
such  works  had  supplied  htm  wi^  a  great  fiind  of  original  and 
^urions  infonnation,  which  be  employed  with  much  judgment  and 
ingenuity,  in  exemplifying  many  of  his  particular  opinions)  and 
illustrating  the  most  important  doctrines  in  the  jrfiilosc^y  of  com- 
merce and  government. 

Of  his  leading  practical  opinions,  sufficient  intimations  have  been 
given  in  the  course  of  the  preceding  narrative.  They  were  of  a 
liberal  and  enlightened  cast,  and  such  as  might  be  expected  frotD 
the  character  of  his  genius  and  understanding.  Among  them  must 
be  particularly  mentioned  an  ardent,  but  rational,  zeal  for  citril 
liberty ;  which  was  not,  in  him,  a  mere  efiiision  of  generous  feeliDf^ 
but  the  result  of  deep  reflection  and  enlarged  pbilosc^hlc  views. 
His  attachment  to  the  general  principles  of  freedom  ori^nated 
from  his  strong  conviction  of  their  influence  in  promoting  the 
wealth  and  happiness  of  nations.  A  due  regard  to  these  principles 
he  considered  as  the  only  solid  foundation  of  the  most  important 
blessings  of  social  life,  and  as  the  peculiar  cause  of  that  distin- 
gubhed  superiority,  which  our  own  country  so  happily  enjoys  among 
the  nations  of  Europe. 

Of  his  moral  qualities,  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  speak  too  highly. 
He  described  himself  as  naturally  passionate  and  irascible,  and  •• 
roused  to  indignation  by  any  act  of  oppresnon  or  wanton  exerdse  of 
power.  The  latter  feeling  be  always  reuined,  and  it  formed  a  dis- 
tinguishing feature  of  his  character.  Of  his  irritability,  a  few  traces 
.might  occasionally  be  discovered ;  but  they  were  only  slight  and 
momentary.  His  linuous  dispoeltioos  appeared  on  every  occasioD, 
and  in  every  form,  which  the  tranquil  and  retired  habits  of  his  life 
would  admit  of.  He  had  a  high  sense  of  honour  and  duty ;  and 
was  remaikable  for  benevolence  and  kindness,  especially  towards  hip 
.inferiors  and  dependents.  But  his  merits  were  most  conspicuous  ia 
the  intercourse  of  social  life.  His  amiable  temper,  and  unaHfected 
desire  of  giving  pleasure,  no  less  than  his  superior  knowledge  and 
talents,  had  rendered  him  highly  acceptable  to  a  numerous  and  dis- 
tinguished circle  of  society,  by  whom  he  was  justly  valued,  and  is 
.now  most  sincerely  lamented.  But  the  real  extent  of  his  private 
worth,  the  genuine  simplicity  and  virtuous  independence  of  his  cha- 
racter, and  the  sincerity,  w&rmth,  and  constancy  of  bis  iriendship, 
.can  only  be  felt  and  estimated  by  those,  to  whom  he  was  long  »nd 
.-intimately  known,  and  to  whom  the  recollection  of  his  talents  and 
*trtMs  mntt  always  renuun  a  pleasing,  though  melancholy,  bond  of 
.'tmioi). 


1615.]  Ok  CryttalUxatiai, 


^ttnatiom  oti  Crytlaliaatim.    By  John  Redasii  Cose,  M-  D.' 
Professor  of  Chemistrjr,  Philadelphia.  . 

Thx  efficacy  of  temperature  in  augmeniidf  the  solvent  power  of 
Kquids  is  laid  down  by  most  chemical  writers.  This  is  more  espe-, 
daily  the  case  with  the  class  of  salts ;  to  which,  however,  some 
exception^  occur,  as  in  muriate  of  soda,  which  is  nearly  equally 
aolnble  inboUiog  water«.  and  in  water  at  the  common  atmospheric 
temperature.  Toere  is,  neverttteless,  something  as  yet  not  well- 
ludentood,  that  tqipeais  to  me  operatife  in  such  cases,  independent 
entirely  of  temperature,  even  in  the  instances  of  our  most  soluble 
aaltSj  as  Glauber's,  or  the  sulj^iate  of  soda  and  smne  others. 
'  It  is  almost  universally  assoled  by  authon  on  the  subject,  that 
attnoapheric  pressure  is  essential  to  the  crystallization  of  salts  j  and 
the  proof  advanced  is,  that  if  a  phial,  nearly  filled  with  a  lioilmg 
saturated  aolution  ^  Glauber's  salt,  be  closely  cotlted  whilst  filled 
with  vapour,  so  as  to  exclude  the  atmo^eric  pressure;  this  tfAu' 
ttoo  will  remain,  even  when  cold,  perfectly  fluid,  and  m^  be 
sbaken  without  becoming  solid :  but  if  tbe  coric  be  withdrawn,  tb« 
sudden,  impulse,  from  the  air  rushing  into  the  plual,  immediately 
iaduces  the  ciystallizatioD  of  the  mass,  with  a  seotible  evdatioD  « 
heat. 

Now  this  beautiful  and  interesting  experiment,  which  i*  usually 
fbown  in  every  course  of  chemical  lectures,  certainly  at  first  sight 
■m^ears  to  prove  tiie  position  advanced.  There  are,  however,  nu- 
raenHis  .objections  to  its  truth  ;  yet  so  numerous  are  the  anomalies 
that  present  themselves  in  experimenting  upon  this  subject,  that  I 
VD  UD^le  to  form  any  theory  or  speculation  on  their  causes. 

1.  If  the  above  position  were  true,  then  certainly,  by  a  parity  of 
reasoning,  we  should  expect  every  other  saline  solution,  in  whidi  a 
boiling  beat  is  employed  to  promote  its  fullest  state  of  saturation,  to 
be  afiected  in  a  similar  way;  but  tlus  is  not  the  case  asbr  as  I  have 
I  tried  it.  Nitrate  of  potash  and  muriate  of  ammonia,  both  nearly 
as  soluble  as  Glauber's  salt,  when  teatred  from  atmospheric  pres- 
surct  by:  corking  tbe  phial,  ot  tying  a  bUdiur  over  the  mouth,  pre- 
ci[Mtate.in  r^ulv  crystals  as  ttie  solution  cools.  This  fiurt  alone  it 
sufficient  to  overturn  tbe  theory  advanced  to  explain  tbe  case  stated 
of  theGlauber'ssalt; — but, 

9,  A  perfectly  saturated  s<^ution  of  Glauber's  salt,  thus  carefully 
forked  at  a  boiling  heat,  has  repeatedly  cryelalLixed  throughoi^ 
without  any  expomre  to  the  atmospheric  pressure ;  whilst  a  solution 
of  equal  strength,  and  prepared  and  secured  in  every  respect  as  the 
former,  has,  whilst  standing  beside  it,  remained  perfectly  fluid. 

3.  Saturated  solutions  of  salts  as  above,  uncoried,  evince  the 
■      '      '         2 


ti^  Or  Onftld^gaHm.  ymu. 

tame  resulti.  I  bsve  kept  some  vessels  thus  exposed  to  the  fall 
attiKKpheric  pTe§sure  for  three  days,  without  any  coasolidation ;  and 
othera,  during  all  the  interoieidiate  prrjods,  with  similar  result*. 
Sometimes  one  or  more  will  crystallize,  whilst  oihera  continue  fluid. 
l4iavc  mads  Ihess  Mperimeuts  In  pbiak  holding  from  two  dnriuD^ 
10  ]  6  ounces ;  ia  recriven  of  a  globuUr  and  ovd  shajie,  fmm  half 
S  pint  to  half  a  gallon ;  some  with  short,  and  othera  with  luog* 
DKL-kH  I  and  in  epen  glass  jars  of  eme  to  two  inches  diametef,  and 
ei(^  or  niae  Itmg ;  so  that  the  fiirm  of  the  veasel  in  no  way  apfimim 
tb  influence  the  result,  Nor  ms  the  quantity  of  sohitioa  in  the  ' 
'tfpssct  any  infiuance,  sinoe  it  is  the  same  when  filW  to  the  top,  -or 
wImr  only  filled  to  one-founh  or  ooe-flfth  part.  Thensull  was  lb* 
same  whea  1  employed  the  oommoa  Glauber's  salts  of  ibe  shopa^ 
the  /Mtive,  pt  the  artificial,  made  by  the  direct  combtnaltoB  of  tba 
"0oDHuuen(s.  In  one  eKperimcm  made  with  the  artilicial  sulphaW 
I  filled  three  equal  phials,  two  wera  ebsely  oorked,  the  third  ra- 
riMibed  opea,  and  all  wefe  placed  beside  each  other  to  oo(d.  la 
ibup  hours  one  of  tbe  aorhe4  solutions  was  r^ularly  ctyrtalliMd  In 
■olid  transparent  crystals,  one-fifth  only  of  the  mass  being  io  a  liquid 
0t»e,  which  did  not  consolidate  1:^  midng,  or  bv  withdrawing  th« 
cork,  'yhi  contents  of  the  ofter  eorkudf  and  of  the  unearked  phnal, 
both  continued  fluid ;  and  both  became  solid  by  shakiog,  wnbout 
withdrawing  tbe  eork  of  ibe  closed  one. 

4.  Solutions  as  above,  after  remalnir^  exposed,  bitvtti)v«B  not 
fltystritized  when  briskly  shaken,  and  some  time  afterwatdc  sdUiovt 
any  apparent  cause,  have  assumed  the  solid  form. 
'  5;  Solutions  as  above,  and  cltwely  secured,  have  fliiled  to  become 
Mlid,  #hen  th$  cork  hat  been  drawn,  or  tbe  Madder  punctwed,  fot 
■ome  moments,  and  even  minutes;  and  in  a  few  oases  when  avcn 
agitation  was  empte^ed  in  addition:  and  these,  in  likp  maBnev^ 
Whea  kast  expected,  bsVe  luddenty  crystallized. 

IS.  Spluiioos  as  above,  both  corked  and  wtarkad,  have  gradual^ 
^posited  regular  traviparent ^mn  crystals,*  in  some  imtanees  two 
hiMtes  in  length  ;  in  others,  |R  Ifregutar  masses,  at  tbe  bottom  of 
thcA'egsel — ihe  fluid  abow,  in  these  cases,  eontlnuiag  clear  and 
latflratud ;  and  wbea  shaken,  »e^eiitnes  coDsolidatiog  in  tbe  tvoal 
^. 

7-  SolutfORB  as  abope,  both  eorkecl  and  uncorked,  after  thus  d^Of 
riting  these- regiti'ir  crystab  at  the  boitem,  have,  without  an  appa> 
rent  enusr,  b«(;ome  consolidated  above  them,  whilst  remaining 
Untouched, 

8.  Solutions  as  above  (especially  tn  a  mattress  with  a  seek  Bcariy 
two  feet  king),  have,  after  considerable  exposure  and  A«quent  aj^ta^ 
tfm,  refused  lo  crystallize^  even  although  continued  at  intervals  fUt 


•  T^  iTj(Hi(t' nfei't  fhfn  Mitfitnfr  u  Usm  «»iiMhtiii  wf  ai)*«a«qra4*ft| 

jmonsj,  bilkj,  eiriaied,  ajipeataiice;  aad  do  mil  rifbikM  tbe  ftrm,  toMw^weWl 
ClasG;,  ap^eatancc  of  tbe  (IodubiHi  erf  itati  of  Slaubcr'B  lalt,  ' 

'        r:,9,N..<ib,G00gIe 


]«ld.J  Oh  OgstoUizatioiu  109 

qioce  than  an  hour ;  yet  bjr  theo  turmng  the  vessel,  so  as  topout 
put  a  little  froin  tbe  oeck,  tbe  crysulliutioo  hu  immedialely  oo- 
qurred. 

U.  The  same  soluticm  ia.  the  mattnts  above  mentioned  has  fra^ 
qnently  become  completely  crystallized  wheo  left  uncorked;  at 
other  times  a  \BTgt  mass,  equal  to  half  the  volume  of  the  solutionv 
I)u  crystallized  regularly,  in  hard  transparent  ciystali,  the  remaiDdaf 
of  the  solution  coutinuiDg  fluid. 

10,  Saturated  mixed  solutions  of  nitre  and  Glauber's  saU,  cwhe^ 
\  dosely,  have  allowed  the  nitre  to  crystallize  regularly  at  the  bottomj 
i  wbUst  the  Glauber's  salt  remained  fluid,  and  ob  drawing  the  coi:k 
became  solid  in-tbe  usual  way. 

U.  Solutions,  by  no  meaas  saturated,  evince  similar  results  with 
the  above  fully  saturated  one^,  although  not  in  so  strongly  marked  a 
manner. 

1:2.  Chie  of  tbe  most  singplar  and  interesting  facts  connepted  with 
these  experiments  is,  that  in  those  cases  in  which  {eit/ia-  in  the 
m^e^  or  tmcuried  solutioas)  r^ular,  firm,  transparent  crystal* 
btoft,  so  soon  as  the  residuart/  saturated  solution  above  them  solidi- 
fies, either  spontaneously,  or  by  shaking,  drawing  the  cork,  &c,  a^ 
immediate  (or  nearly  so)  opalescence,  or  loss  of  transparency,  ensocf 
in  those  fi-tt  formed  crystals,  which  gradually  ipcreases  to  a  beau- 
tiful poTcelainous  whiteness.  This  1  have  almost  invariably  noticad 
ttoder  the  atuve  circumstances :  1  believe  it  arises  from  the  gradual 
abstraction  pf  the  water  (^  ciystallisatiog  of  the  firat  formed  regulu 
crystals,  by  the  mass  of  secondary  crystals  l  for  in  one  experiment 
I|iuk1«,  I  found  the  porcelainous  mass,  when  dissolved  in  water,  and 
l^ularly  recryatallized,  afforded  a  quantity  of  transparent  crysialSf 
superior  ia  ufeieht  to  those  I  eipplnyed,  whicli  could  only  arise  fron) 
tAeir  re-obtaining  their  thus  lost  water .ofciysialli^alitHi.  How  th« 
secondary  crystals  Qpertite  in  withdrawing  tins  water  from  tli<e  flrs^ 
^canopt  form  the  most  distant  idea. 

13.  In  those  solutions  ia  whicli  spontaneous  crystals  have  formed* 
in  tbe  course  of  a  few  days.  If  the  secondary  crystallization  does  not 
take  place,  a  complete  truncation  of  the  summits  of  the  crysfali 
occurs,  gradually  forming  a  level  of  the.iyholfi,  as  _in  comwap 
cases ;  yet  in  several  instances  the  solution  ahave  was  sufficiently 
•atunttu  to  consolidate  when  shaken.  ' 

14.  In  one  experiment  t^o  equM  si/ed  phials  were  (illed  to  tli^ 
top  with  saturated  solutions;: one  was  corked,  the  other  was  left 
4^>eD :  in  two  hours  tbe  uncorked  one  had  consolidated';  the  othv 
waa  observed  to  have  contracted  above  one-fourih  of  an  inch,  and 
continued  fluid ;   it  crystallized,  however,  as  usual,  when  hriskly 

.  shaken,  without  withdrawing  the  cork.  .    .     ' 

It  should  perhaps  be  mentioned,  that  this  sudden  prystalli^atton 
'always  commences  at  the^urface. 

I  have  put  the  aolutiiuis,  bMh' corked  and  uncorked,  into  cold 
water,  as  soon  as  made;  in  order  to  expedite  their  cpdllng,  iind 
bave  ibusd  the  same  results  get^oUy  w  'vhea  si;SKre4^-tO:'cooi£ifir- 


101  On  Crystallixation.  \kv<i. 

dually.  Tbesoluticm  in  open  phials  has  somedmes  eoolnl  down  (o 
the  temperature  of  the  cold  water  (about  40°),  and  has  then  le- 
mainedSuul  in  it  for  two  or  three  houn;  it  has  thea  sometimes 
crystallized  la  the  soft  spongy  massj  at  others  in  firm,  welt  formed 
regular  crystals, 

15.  Four  or  five  phials  have  burst  in  which  spontaneous  rcgubir 
crystals  had  formed,  and  over  which  subsequently  a  sudden  consoli- 
.  dation  of  the  residuair  solution  had  taken  place,  after  the  change 
of  colour  was  efiected  in  the  first  crystab  (as  mentioned  in  No.  12), 
but  whether  from  an  expansion  in  the  first  or  second  crystals,  I 
fcnow  not,  as  i  was  never  present  when  this  occurred.*  I  have 
never  seen  thbfracture  of  the  phial  when  tmly  the  regular  crystals 
Itad  formed,  nor  when  only  the  spontaneous  solidification  Xooit 
place.  It  is  probably,  therefore,  somehow  connected  with  the  ab- 
straction of  the  watar.of  crystallization  from  the  regular  by  the 
spontaneous  spongy  mass.  In  the  above  instances  the  crystals  which 
had  formed  regularly  were  perfectly  white,  and  were  readily  sepa- 
rated from  the  superior  sponey  ones  by  a  tittle  water  gently  poured 
over  them,  leaving  them  of  the  most  perfect  regularity,  and  Kirming 
a  beautiful  white  crystalline  preparation  easily  preserved,  and  not 
efflorescent,  as  in  common  cases. 

In  all  the  cases  thus  enumerated,  such  are  Ae  tnomslies  pre- 
sented as  to  prevent  my  drawing  one  conclusion  from  ihetn  which 
could  give  me  any  insight  into  uie  causes  that  produce  them.  In 
some  cases  atmospheric  pressure  seems  to  (^rate,  ii|  otften  not; 
agitation  sometimes,  but  not  invariably.  The  whole  series  of  ^- 
periments  is  so  interesting,  I  trust  this  account  may  lead  to  farther 
iifves ligation,  which  may  finally  afibrd  an  explanation,  and  possibly 
lead  to  new  views  on  the  subject  of  crystallization  generally.  I  can 
only  add,  that  1  never  could  promise  myself,  a  prion,  that  any  one 
case  should  certainly  turn  out  as  I  expected  ;  it  appeared  a  matter 
of  chance  in  a  great  degree,  whether  this  or  the  other  result  should 
ensue,  f 

*  I  apprehend  it  mast  occur  during  the  ab&lraclioB  of  Ihe  water  of  crjifallizSr 
tlnci  rroDi  the  primary  \iy  the  secondary  cr^istah,  nhich  miist  hv  nccompiuiieJ  bj  a 
correspondent  expanaion. 

f  Jo  spcakini;  of  the  elect  of  atniKpherio  prranre  on  Hitnraled  lolD(iai)*  of 
^It9,  Dr.  HiggiDB  detail)  an  eiperiineot  which  be  mode  in  a  narrow-necked  glau 
tnkll>ass  of  three  galliins  dimenslom.  It  was  fixed  in  a  vessel  filled  nilli  a  ratu- 
Wed  roluliso  of  eea  lait :  a  tolatioii  of  144  o«.  of  Glauber't  aalti  in  96  ox.  of 
.fraler,  in  a  if^arate  venel,  hu  filtered  intn  the  mattnus,  which  wai  filed  twoi. 
thicds  bj  it,  and  Itie  whole  wni  mvle  to  boil  >o  a>  to  exclude  the  air  b;  tbe  rapour 
flirmri.  A  strip  of  wet  bladder  le cured  the  mouth  of  tbe  matlrasii,  aod~ sustained 
'^e  atnospAerk  pri^ure. 

Two  multrasses  were  thus  prepared  i  Iheyi  stood  three  days  at  ■  letDpenlare  b^ 
iRcca  40°  and  50?,!  and  were  often  slwlf  en  wilhqut  crystallizing ;  as  «ion  ■•  (he 
bladder  was  eut  a  few  small  cnneentrie  ijiieulur  crjstals  formed,  and  shot  rnpidlj 
throueh  the  liquor  till  it  wu  almotl  solid:'  the  6aIorie  evolved,  raised  tbe  temperjt. 
.  tor*  bam  609.  lo  90°,  sud.in  one  exrerinMot  fron  iff  to  90°.  - 

From  this  ripetiineat  ccnaected  'with  thsie  abXTS  detailed,  a«  aim  from  masy    . 
well-knonn  facts,  I  am  impelled  to  deny  the  perfetiian  n(  Dr.  Blaek't  eelebrat^ 
Ibebrr  °^  latent  beat.    It  will  be  ttbterred  lh«t  boiling  saturated  loldtiiini.  af 


iSlS.]  On  CryslaUtxation.  lO!? 

I  liaTC  tried  similar  experimenb  witb  other  sdts,  of  wtiefa  P 
sball  barely  state  the  ontlioea. 

1.  Sulphate  of  Magnesia. — Boiling  i&turated  solations  of  this 
nit,  eorfced  and  uncoriced,  like  the  bcfore-memioned  ones,  some- 
times  crystallize,  and  sometimes  continue  fluid,  1  have  never  ob- 
served the  beautiful  satin-like  crystallization  perciptible  in  the  sul- 

Shate  of  soda ;  but  the  crystals  fall  down  in  minute  grains,  like  sand, 
iffiised  through  the  sdutloo,  gradually  sinking  to  the  bottom. 

2.  Alum,  as  above. — Crystals  formed  at  the  bottom;  the  re- 
mainder continued  fluid,  even  when  sltaken  ;  when  the  cork  wat 
withdrawn,  shaking  produced  no  effect  for  nearly  a  minute,  when 
the  same  sand-like  predpitation  ensued,  commencing  from  the  top. 
When  this  ceased,  it  appeared  nearly  solid }  but  hy  standing  for  24 
hours,  more  than  one-half  was  fluid. 

.  3.  Sulphate  tf  Iroa  exhibited  ao  appearance- nearly  similar  to 
that  of  Blum.  < 

4.  Svlpkaie  of  Copper. — ^The  same,  with  some  occasional  varia- 
don,  even  ia  the  same  solution. 

5.  Svlphaie  of  Zinc  remained  fluid  for  24  hours,  althoagh  a 
boUingsatarated  solution  was  employed,  and  frequent  agitation. 

6.  Sulcarhonate  of  Soda  (sal  sodffi)  boiling  and  saturated.  In  one 
case  {corked)  it  became  nearly  solid  when  cold,  froin  the  spontane- 
ODS  crystallization.  The  same  solution  subsequently  deposited; 
whilst  corked,  a  smaller  quantity  of  spontaneous  crystals ;  and  after 
drawing  the  cork  and  shaking,  small  granular  crystals  speedily 
clouded  the  solution.     The  same  resulted  in  uncorked  solutions. 

7-  Muriate  of  Lime,  saturated  and  boiling,  crystallized,  whed' 
corked,  completely  throughout:  subsequently,  dissolved  by  heaf 
again,  and  corked,  it  remained  fluid,  imttt  shaken  anlkoat  uncorking', 
when  a  crystallization  as  beautiful,  and  nearly  resembling  that  of 
sulphate  of  Boda,  took  place,  with  an  extrication  of  more  calorie 
than  in  any  of  the  preceding  cases.  ' 

8.  Muriate  of  Ammonia,  corked  and  uncorked;  boiling  saturated 
solutions  became  solid  as  they  cooled,  with  a  firm  crystallization.     ' 

9.  Nitre  deposits  regular  crj-stals  at  the  bottom,  both  in  coined 
and  uncorked  piiials;  but  I  nbver  perceived  any  further  result,  ex- 
cept by  the  slow  evaporation  of  the  fluid. 

i  have'  fried  a  number  of  other  salts,  but  the  results  are  not  worth 

CUaatwr'g  s&lU  hatr  repMllcdly  rcAucd  to  cryalslllzF,  nen  when  ezpased  (o  (tt^ 
fyU  pTOinre  at  tbe&ir,  oii'l  that  fbr  dk;i.  Now  It  i>  to  he  remontmnl  thatiDch 
tlllmiiHii  had  cooled  from  at  laat  SIS"  lo  atv  'be  fttetiag  point,  and  yet  were 
enabled  to  hold  (hat  porlinn  of  eaJt  in  lalution,  nhiih  oar  Iheariei  premnie  to  db. 
pcDd  on  Ibe  addllionnl  lemperalurp.  What  was  it  Ihat  thm  enabled  the  water  Ot 
■aintalo  \U  flni^ty  and  irampBTency,  although  charged  with  auch  k  qnaatit;  df 
toli4.|Mllter,  inoppoiitian  (o  atnoepheric  preuwe  aod  a  diminitfaed  ICBiprnituf* 
ot'it  leait  150*  }  Can  it  possibly  haie  depended  on  a  quantity  of  latent  heat  onlj 
eqnal  ia  the  above  experiment  of  Dr.  Higgint  lo  50*  ?  And  l>  not  the  fact'  that 
water  itMlf  ha>  been  c«altd'dOirn  to  80*  or  !6°  below  the  freezing  pOiai  withoat 
coagealing,  evidence  that  lomaliing  mare  than  a  eerlain  quantum  of  latent  brat  ^ 
Hicnllal  to  the. fluidity  of  water,  &c.  Other  objections  to  this  (heorj.  preseol 
(ftanidTe*,  but  Ibit  ii  not  the  plaee  fat  conildenng  Iheio. 


^  ExperanmU  M  ih*  Draught  «/  Carriagas.        t^o#* 

itpAating  «t  pnwuit»  u  I  Iwve  not  extended  my  eipwimiatf  pa 
tliem  sufficiently. 

,  If  what  I  tutve  ttitcd  should  be  sufficiently  iuterestioff,  ftod  at 
tjw  MBie  time  ccNCDpuible  wiih  the  DKture  of  yoiu  publication)  }  wJU 
tiwDk  you  to  give  it  wi  iiueitioa. 
emiUtM^  JtAfV,  1814- 


vai 

Ik] 


Article  III. 

Experimenls  on  the  Draught  jf  Carriages, 
By  R.  L.  Edgewortb,  Esq. 

Mt.  Bryan  presented  the  Mlowing  Report  from  the  Cofaraittee  qf 
Mechanics  and  Natural  Philosophy  of  the  Dublin  Society : — 

JtepQTl  of  th£  Committee  of  Mechanici  and  Natural  PhiioKfky  o/* 
the  Dublin  Socuiy. 

.  On  Saturday,  the  22d  of  April,  your  Committee  attended  in  the 
ird  of  Leinsier  House,  when  the  following  experiments  were  pub- 
;)y  (Bade  by  Mr.  Edgeworth : — 

Experkne?Jt  I. 

Two  furniture  CArts  were  placed  at  one  end  of  the  jnrd,  wbioii 
fPtM  paved  in  the  ordinary  maoDer.  They  were  both  constructed 
jjfMin  gnwbi(^)per  springs ;  one  of  them  waa  painted  yellow,  the 
ptber  green. 

Tbetie  carriages  were  pulled  forward  by  the  apparatus  invented  ]>y 
iir.  £dgewort)i,  which  con^ts  of  a  two-wheeled  carriage,  drawn 
by  one  or  two  horses,  upon  which  a  wheel  or  pully,  of  nearly  eight 
feet  diameter,  ii  so  placed  as  to  turn  freely  in  an  liorizoDtal  direc- 
tion. A  rope,  passing  round  this  wheel  or  pulley,  is  attached  by  its 
wds  to  the  carriages  that  are  to  be  compared ;  and,  as  the  apparatus 
it  drawn  forward,  the  two  carriages  must  follow,  and  that  whlcl» 
goes  the  easiest  will  get  foremost 

This  apparatus  was  drawn  at  a  moderate  pace  by  two  hoises,  ind 
that  carriage  which  ran  the  lightest  and  easiest  was  loaded  till  the 
£pther  kept  pace  with  it. 

Five  cwt.  was  then  placed  upon  each. 

The  springs  of  the  yellow  carriage  were  prevented  from  acting  by 
Uocks  of  wood  interposed  between  the  springs  and  the  body  of  the 
carriage.  The  green  carriage,  the  springs  of  which  were  allowed 
to  act,  was  now  loaded  with  1^  cwt.  additional  weight,  making  a 
total  of  Gj-  cwt. ;  and  the  green  carriage  so  loaded  was  found  to  get 
before  the  yellow  eaniage,  the  weight  on  which  amounted  to  oaly 
5  cwt.  I 

!.  By  tliis  experiment  tt  aj^p^ared  that  t}ie  carriage  n|iop  tpmS'  ^^ 


IMS.]        Experiments  ou  iht  Draughl  of  Carriages.  tOf 

■D  adMBta^over  thkt  without  spring!  of  one-fouitb  of  the  *tafjbt. 
that  iras  Uid  upon  it. 

Experimenl  If,  ■    '     ' 

Two  post-chaises,  weighing  eaeh  12  cwt.  7  IS.  one  of  them 
pafnted  black,  the  other  white,  were  next  compared ;  the  perch  pf 
the  black  one  whs  moveable,  so  ^hat  it  could  be  lengthened  or 
^lonened  at  pleasure. 

When  their  perches  were  of  equal  length,  viz.  of  seven  feet  sli 
inches!,  the  carriages  were  compared  previoti*  to  these  experiments, 
and  their  drpift  was  equalized  by  an  addition  of  weight  to  that  which 
ian  the  lightest,. 

The  perch  of  the  black  carriage  was  now  lengthened  to  ten  feet 
three  inches.     The  carriages  wer^  each  of  them  loaded  witii  2  cwt. 

They  now  nearly  kept  pace  with  each  other,  the  one  with  the 
kHDg  perch  appeatltig^o  have  rather  the  advantage. 

Ejcperiment  III, 
The  load,  which  in  the  former  experiments  was  placed  in  the 
hottom  of  the  white  carnagej  was  now  placed  in  an  imperial  on  the 
top.  The  removal  of  the  weight  four  feet  higher  from  the  ground 
did  Dot  promote  the  progress  of  the  carriage,  which  did  not  yet 
keep  pace  with  the  black  carnage. 

Experimeat    IF. 
Two  similar  Scotch  drays,  one  of  them  ^inted  blue,  and  the 
other  red,  were  now  compared.     They  had  been  brought  to  an 
.  equal  weight;  and  the  blue  carriage  was  supported  upon  wooden 

S rings,  consisting  of  two  pieces  of  elastic  limber,  connected  with 
e  bottom  of  the  dray  by  iron  shackles ;  each  dray  was  loaded  with 
6  cwt. 

The  (Une)  dray  upon  springs  had  now  a  weight  of  l^J-cwt.  placed 
apoQ  it.  With  this  additional  weight,  however,  it  got  before  the 
(red)  dray  which  had  no  springs. 

FVom  ihfe  experiment,  the  application  of  woodien  springs  to  carta 
npon  pavements,  or  uixtn  ordmary  roads,  appears  to  have  an  ad-r 
Tantage  in  the  proportion  of  7-r  to  €.  It  must  be  observed,  that  a 
perfect  coincidence  of  draft  could  not  be  obtained ;  because  the 
canlages  to  be  compared  rolled  upon  different  tracts  of  the  pave- 
ment, so  that  the  smallest  inequality  of  the  roads  must  hare  made 
some  difference  in  the  relative  pn^ress  of  the  carriages;  but  to  , 
make  as  Hit  a  comparison  as  possible  between  their  drafts  respect* 
{rely,  that  carriage  which  was  placed  on  the  northern  track,  as  the 
carriages  went  from  east  to  west,  was  in  its  return  placed  on  the 
■ODthem  trat^. 

Some  small  variation  of  the  draft  might  be  occasioned  by  the 
riaitieity  of  the  long  perch,  and  some  by  the  vibratory  motion  of 
the  fore  carriage,  which  was  drawn  by  a  single  rope.  But  to  those 
MnveruDt  wi^  the  subject,  these  slight  vaiiatiops  were  but  of  Ijttit 
BKtmeot. 


ipa  On  Coal  Mmes..  lAxrt*., 

The  result  of  theieexpcrimeRls  folly  fitow,  in  the  tqijaiim   <^. 

this  Committee,  , 

That  the  apparatus  inveafed  b;  Mr.  Edgewcath  is  adequate  to  the 

purcKise  for  which  it  is  intended : 

That  it  may  be  considered  a^  a  sure  criterioa  of  the  relative  draft. 

of  carriages:  ' 

That  very  short  perches  do  not  rohtribute  to  the  ease  of  drafts : 
That  the  daogerous  system  of  loadiag  the  tops  of  carriages  is  ,by 

ao  meani  advantageous. 

Signatures  to  the  Report  of   the   Committee  respecting  Mr. 

Edgeworth's  experiments : — R,  B'.  Bryan,  Charles  Cobbs  Beresford, 

Robert  Hutton,  N.  P.  Ijeader,  Richard  Griffith,  jun.  John  FatteD>  ' 

Richard  Wynue,  J.  Lester  Foster,  and  P.  D.  La  Touche. 


Article  IV. 

Oa  Coal  Mims,    By  ^iXtf/ofc;. 

(To  Dr.  Tliomson.) 


6IIt, 

Thk  numerous  amdents  which  have  of  late  years  happened  in 
the  coal-mines  of  thia  district,  have  been  productive  of  sorrow  and 
wretchedness  to  many,  and  have  excited  cammiseration  and  hormr 
in  all.  To  hear  of  50,  60,  nay  100,  of  one's  fellow  creatures  being 
suddenly  shut  up  within  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  a  certain  projior- 
tion  of  them  instantaneoi)sly  destroyed,*  the  rest  left  to  perisb,  either 
by  hunger  or  slow  suffocation,  is  such  a  piece  of  intelligence  as 
shocks  and  outrages  every  feeling  of  the  heart ;  yet  it  is  a  calamity 
which  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  of  the  Tyne  and  Wear  are 
doomed  very  frequently  to  deplore.  The  risk  and  the  frequency  of 
these  misfortunes  are  doubtless  owing  In  no  small  degree  to  the 
great  depth  and  extent  to  which  the  workings  of  the  coal-minea 
penetrate,  and  the  dil&culty  thence  arising  of  avoiding  wastes,  and 
of  maintaining  the  air  in  a  state  fit  for  combustion  and  respiration. 
To  a  certain  degree,  therefore,  they  are  perhaps  utiavoidable.  But 
what  tends  greatly  to  embitter  the  regret  felt  on  their  occurrence,  is 
the  alleged  prevalence  of  a  certain  disincli nation  in  those  concerned 
in  the  working  of  coal-mines,  either  to  communicate  information  OD 
the  subject  in  general,  or  to  promote,  with  all  the  zeal  that  might 
be  expected  of  them,  those  measures  necessary  for  the  discovery  of 
the  means  of  preventing  accidents.     Unhappily^  the  air  of  secrecy^ 

*  In  tbe  rnanj  falRl  nccidviili  which  hate  eccanti  within  ny  koowle^je  froH 
cxplaaioDs  of  ipSaninuiblf  gat,  I  think  I  may  lenture  to  aisert,  that  not  more  IhaD 
bne-f»ur(h  of  (he  pcnons  Ihej  have  iit(iiiiBt«]y  killed  have  hem  tbe  viclims  of  their 
>inB)«diBi«  etctti  I  ihrec -fourths  of  tl>eRi  almost  Invariably  prrUk  by  tiiBacatloM-. 
(Vide  Firs!  RrpoK  of  the  Saoderland  Sotietj,  p.  12.J 

-,'..>y  Google 


\€IS.]  On  Qxd-Mines^  .  109 

which  they  Mem  w  dearous  of  nuuntsinbg,  affiwds  but  too  much 
room  for  censure^  and  subjects  them  to  unfavourable  imputBtioDi^ 
of  which  they  are  probably  wholly  uodeserviag,  and  from  which  a 
different  conduct  would  assuredly  exempt  them.  Of  their  repugnance 
to  grant  information,  both  yourself  and  Mr.  Bakewell  nave  had 
experieoce,  and  have  seen  cause  to  cumplain  publicly ;  and  it  is  to 
be  hc^d  that  it  will  at  last  give  nay,  if  not  to  a  spirit  of  liberality, 
or  the  power  of  conviction,  at  least  to  the  force  of  necessity.  In- 
stances of  the  loss  of  live?  are  becoming  so  frequent,  and  of  such 
frightful  magnitude,  that  proprietorsv  occupiers,  and  workers,  of 
coiU,  must  in  the  end  be  driven  to  the  necessitv  of  rousing  them- 
■clves  in  tlieir  own  defence,  for  the  benefit  of  their  sufleiiDg  work- 
inai}  and  of  their  own  interest. 

It  would,  Sir,  require  but  few  arguments  to  prove  that  the 
System  of  mystery  which  they  are  anxious  to  preserve,  so  far  from 
enhancing  the  value  of  their  concerns,  must,  in  every  point  of  view, 
operate  to  its  depreciation ;  and.ihHt  the  tendency  must,  instead  of 
diminishing,  be  every  day  increasing.  It  would  also  be  easy  to  show 
that  the  only  mode  left  of  averting  the  ruinous  finale  to  which  the 
whole  is  hastening,  is  to  promote,  and  even  to  invite,  investigation 
and  publicity.  But,  Sir,  it  is  unnecessary,  if  I  were  capable,  whicii 
I  certainly  am  not,  of  writing  a  dissertation  on  coal-mines.  The 
subject  is  not  new ;  and  in  the  present  state  of  our  information  there 
it  scarcely  anything  very  interesting  to  be  ofTered  on  it.  The  whole 
that  I  intend  at  preaeni  is  to  draw  your  atteniton,  and,  through  your 
means,  the  attention  of  the  public,  to  certain  points  in  tbe  economy 
of  coal-mines,  which  are  already  known,  from  which  I  am  inclined 
to  think  advantage  may  be  derived,  if  they  should  come  to  he  Im- 
proved with  that  eagerness  and  energy  which  their  importance  so 
justly  demands.  I  shall  advert  to  these  in  the  order  they  occur  to 
my  mind,  without  much  adherence  to  methodical  arrangement.. 

Firedamp,  or,  in  scientific  language,  the  explosion  of  carbureted 
hydrogen,  as  beiiig  the  most  frequent,  apparently  the  most  destruc- 
tive, and  (as  in  the  present  instance)  the  most  recent,  cause  of  mor- 
tality in  our  coal-mines,  naturally  and  forcibly  claims  precedence. 
It  is  to  the  prevention  of  this  occurrence  that  the  principal  attention 
has  been  directed ;  yet,  notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  done,  the 
security  against  its  ravages  is  still  very  imperf<^t.  The  generation 
of  carbureted  hydrogen,  from  whatever  cause  it  originates,  is  so  in- 
cessant and  so  enormous,  that  with  all  the  perfection  to  which  ven- 
tilation has  hitherto  been  carried,  it  is  found  altogether  impracti-. 
cable  wholly  to  guard  against  those  tremendous  subterranean  com- 
bustions,  the  effects  of  which  produce  tamentetion,  and  woe,  and 
misery,  to  all  in  their  immediate  vicinity.  Two  years  ago  a  society 
was  established  in  Sunderland  for  the  express  purpose  of  preventing 
.accidents  in  coal-mines.  Its  first  Report  was  lately  published,  con- 
taining a  letter  addressed  to  Sir  Ralph  Milbanke,.  the  President,  by 
Mr.  John  Buddie,  who  is,  I  understand,  deser^'edly  considered  one 
■of  the  most  scicnbiSc  and  exp^ieueed  coal  viewers  io  this  quarter. 


tlO  On  Coal-A^imt  [AtmL 

that  Itlttet  CofitAiEMd  an  accouM  of  ibt  ai«fb0d«  most  gtaetaltf 

pmmed  of  ventilating  coel-miDCs,  sccotnpaiiied  tvilh  dnuf^hts  iHtn* 
Native  of  the  differeDt  descrijrtiotis.  Froin  ikese  one  tttay  fortn  d 
werj  accuniiti  notion  of  the  princip4e  Hpon  ttbich  the  vcntrtstioil 
proceeds,  and  that  it  of  coune  depends  upon  a  thorough  nrculatioa 
of  atmospheric  air  being  kept  tip  through  all  the  different  couraingia 
.  and  workings  (rf  the  mine.  So  rapid,  hoWevef,  is  the  ordivutry 
accumulatioDf  and  sometimes  so  nnexpected  is  the  HCcorioo  of  ii»* 
flammable  gas,  that  with  all  the  appumtus  of  vetttiltttion  in  the  moMt' 
complete  conditioD,  it  Is  a  matter  of  no  small  difficulty  to  keqi  tb6 
kir  in  circulation  in  a  state  fit  for  the  various  purposes,  or  in  tb6 
language  of  mineft,  to  pravent  it  from  reaching  the^^^g  peiM,  et 
point  of  hydrogenous  impregnation  tit  which  it  esplodets  whett 
brought  in  contact  with  the  Same  of  a  candle.  The  slightest  inter- 
ruption to  the  regular  transmission  of  atinosphenc  air,  or  flic  lea&t 
u n look ed-fbr  addition  of  carbureted  hydrogen,  exposes  the  lives  of 
the  miners  to  the  most  imminent  jeopa/dy,  and  the  mine  itself  t* 
the  risk  of  total  destruction.  It  would  appear  that  as  fiir  as  mecha'- 
cical  means  are  adequate  td  the  end,  ventilation  has  reached  th6 
utmost  point  of  perrection  of  which  it  is  susceptible.  Mr.  BdddI6 
in  some  measure  stakes  his  reputation  as  a  viewer  on  the  opinion^ 
that  any  further  adrancemenf  in  the  discovery  of  meL-hanical  poweR 
for  the  ventilation  of  collieries  is  unattainable.  His  words  ntt  i 
**  On  the  strength  of  my  own  experience  in  Colfieries  thus  rircum^ 
Manced,  I  freely  hazard  my  opinion,  that  any  foflfaer  application  oC 
mechanical  i^ncy  towards  preventing  explosions  in  coaUmioe^  , 
would  be  ineffectual ;  and  therefore  conclude  that  the  hopes  of  this 
Society  ever  seeing  its  most  desirable  ohfect  accomplished  muA 
rest  upon  the  event  of  some  method  being  discovered  of  produ^n^ 
Aich  a  chemical  change  upon  carbureted  hydrogen  gas  as  to  render 
it  innoxious  as  last  as  it  is  discharged,  or  as  it  approaches  the  neigt^- 
Iknirhood  of  lights.  In  this  view  of  the  subject,  it  is  to  scientific 
men  orrly  that  we  must  hxJc  up  for  assistance  in  providing  a  cheap 
taJd  effectual  remedy."  (Report,  p.  23.)  These  posititxis,  though 
perhaps  not  very  accordant  to  the  genuine  spirit  of  philosophy,  a 
tending  rather  to  repress  than  to  animate  the  zeal  of  discovereis, 
ttiay  in  the  present  case  be  assumed  as  principles  for  the  puipOse  ^ 
abnplif^iDg  and  f^ilitating  the  discussion.  By  the  puhlicatioitt 
(herefore,  of  Mr-  Buddie's  letter  in  the  Report  alluded  to,  o«ff 
knowledge  of  this  part  of  the  subject  may,  in  one  respect; .  be  corr- 
sidered  as  having  not  only  advanced  a  step,  but  oin-  perceptions  of  : 
what  we  do  know,  and  of  what  remains  to  be  done,  arerendered 
tnore  dear  and  precise.  According  lo  this  view,  then,  we  riiaybe 
said  to  have  arrived  at  a  fixed  point.  We  have  reached,  as  it  vreiif 
«  spot  from  which  we  can  see  more  distinctly  the  roirtetd  be  pulf- 
lued.  A  person,  in  every  respect  qualified  to  pronOunde  a  deliberate 
and  decided  opinion,  has  declared  that  all  fiinher  attemptB  at  inr-' 
provetncnt  in  what  may  be  called  the  mechanism  of  ventilation  will 
prove  abortive,  and  tlut  it  is  to  scientific  men  that  we  aire  to  tnat 


ims.}  On  Coal-Mmes.  411 

for  the  dbcorery  of  some  chemical  agent  which  ^D-con^^tiBC  or 
neutn^ize,  or  in  some  way  or  other  render  harmless,  the  destnictiw 
sabstance  as  fast  as  ii  is  tHseogaged. 

But,  Sir,  in  order  to  give*  the  investigation  of  the  subject  by  metk 
df  science  any  chance  ot  being  prosecuted  with  success,  it  is  iodis* 
petuahly  necessary  that  some  inducement  should  be  held  out.  It 
would  be  to  draw  on  philosophy  or  phiknihropy  to  a  much  greater 
atbouTit  than  either  will  be  fuuud  to  bear,  to  suppose  that  scientific 
meii,  from  the  mere  impulse  of  benevoleoce,  or  love  of  the  subject 
are  to  engage  in  a  course  of  laborious  and  costly  experiments,  fbtf 
the  purpose  of  finding  out  that  which,  thot^  it  would  unquestioQ- 
sbly  gratify  the  feelings  of  eVery  true  friend  of  science,  as  well  as  <^ 
humaoity,  would  be  attended  with  no  decided  advantage  to  thtf 
discoverer  himself.  I  am  aware  it  has  been  said,  by  a  writer  whoM 
authority  stands  deservedly  lilgh,  that  "  in  the  present  state  of  oar 
knowledge,  an  itifiillible  method  of  obviating  by  chemical  means  the 
deplfffabte  catastrophes  which  occur  in  coal-mines,  is  a  hopeless  ac- 
quisition ;  and  that  to  hold  forth  any  such  proposal,  with  confident 
Eretensions,  would  be  the  boast  of  empiricism,  aiid  not  of  science."* 
L  has  also  been  urged,  that  the  limited  power  which  art  has,  ot 
even  can  be  supposed  to  exercise  over  the  mightier  operations  of 
Nature,  leaves  little  room  to  expect  tlftt  any  thing  can  be  done  by 
cbemica)  means  to  controul  the  powers  of  the  latter  in  any  consi- 
derable degree.  Between  these  discouraging  opinions,  and  the  one 
promulgated  by  Mr.  Buddie,  which  forbids  us  to  look  for  any  far- 
nier  mechanical  means,  we  should  be  left,  were  we  implicitly  to 
abide  by  them,  in  such  a  state  of  utter  abandonment,  as  would^ 
to  {Hfclude  al)  endeavours  to  ameliorate  the  preiKnt  system.  To 
adduce,  therefore,  such  dt^mas  as  these,  is  to  throw  a  damp  upott 
exertion  of  every  kind,  by  a  species  of  cold-blooded  doctrine,  hot- 
tlte  both  to  feeling  and  to  the  interests  of  science,  and  which  is  the 
taoK  likely  to  obtain  credence  irom  the  respectable  sources  whence 
it  derives  its  authority.  In  prosecuting  this  interesting  subject,  then^ 
loch  gloomy  and  disheartening  views  most  positively  be  discarde(% 
and  sentiments  indulged  in,  which  shall  be  more  consonant  to  onr 
hdpes  and  wishes,  and  which  sliall  afford  to  the  mind  a  brighter  and 
Ukmv  satisfactory  prospect.  Chemistry  has  in  our  age  made  rapid 
and  astonishing  advances  in  the  pursuit  of  truth;  and  calculating 
from  past  experience,  it  does  not  appear  why  such  a  discovery'  a» 
t&at  of  preventing  or  counteracting  the  excessive  generation  of  cnr- 
bnreted  hydrogen,  or  of  neutralizing  it  when  formed,  should  bb  , 
placed  Out  of  the  reach  of  chemical  research.  Although  art  cap 
certainly  do  little  to  regulate  or  subdue  any  of  the  more  stnpendoiis 
operations  of  Nature,  yet  in  some  extraordinary  instances  she  ha» 
Undoubtedly  succeeded.  Besides,  the  ventilation  of  a  coal-mine  It 
nothing  more  than  the  artificial  adaptation  of  scientific  principles  tb 
the  succeasfal  accomplisbment  of  a  great  practical  result  and  bean 

•  ride  Kept;  to  Dr.  Ifolter't  Froptwat  for  ddtrajins  lire  taA  CXaafc  DWyi 

o8lc    —     i 


im  On  Coal-Maies.  [A era. 

little  or  no  aoalc^  to  corresponding  phenomena  at  the  surface^ 
where  the  power  of  restraining  the  curreals  of  air  is  not  withiD  the 
guidance  or  governance  of  human  agency.  But  even  though  tlie 
discovery  of  such  means,  as  shall  render  innocuous  the  whole  carbu- 
reted hydrogen  generated,  were  to  be  granted  as  unattainable,  still 
the  finding  out  a  substance  capable  of  decomposing  such  a  propor- 
tion of  it  as  shall  bring  it  more  within  the  range  of  human  tnaoagv- 
ment,  need  not  on  that  account  be  despaired  of.  Let,  then,  some 
suitable  encourageraent  be  offered;  such  a  reward  as  sliall  incite  the 
learned  in  this  branch  of  knowledge,  to  apply  themselres  sedu- 
lously to  the  detection  of  that  which,  while  it  will  constitute  so  ia- 
estimable  a  benefit  to  the  public,  may  be  of  signal  advantage  to  the 
discoverer  himself.  Let  the  coal  proprietors,  and  all  concerned  ia 
coal-mines,  subscribe  a  sum  by  way  of  premium,  or  bind  them- 
selves to  pay  it  at  any  future  period,  to  the  fortunate  individual  who 
shall  discover  this  great  desideratum.  In  aid  of  such  an  object,  let 
Parliament,  on  behalf  of  Iiumanity  and  of  tlie  country,  vote  a  cer- 
tain sum;  suppose  5,000/,  IQfiOOL,  or  20,000/.,  in  the  same 
manner  as  is  held  out  to  the  person  who  shall  discover  the  longi- 
tude ;  a  discovery,  by  the  way,  perhaps  fully  as  problematical  as 
the  one  now  in  contemplation.  A^  connected  very  intimately  with 
tl)e  accidents  from  fire-damp,  those  from  choak-damp,  or  carbonic 
acid  gas,  next  bespeak  our  attention.  This  substance,  though  not 
so  ostensibly  hostile  to  life,  perhaps  in  point  of  fact  destroys  a  far 
greater  proportion  of  the  miners  than  even  the  fire-damp  itself.  It 
is  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Buddie,  as  we  have  already  seen,  that  only 
one-fbufth  of  the  people  below  ground  at  the  IJme  the  carbureted 
hydrogen  ignites,  suffer  by  the  immediate  effects  of  the  blast.  Those  ' 
who  survive  are  afterward  stified,  before  the  mine  can  be  entered, 
hy  the  inhalation  of  foul  air ;  and  a  great  part  of  this  foul  air  coa- 
sists  of  carbonic  acid  gas,  formed  by  the  chemical  eSects  of  the 
explosion.  In  reality,  therefbre,  the  consideration  of  the  subject 
of  clioak-damp,  though  not  so  immediate,  is  not  less  important 
than, that  of  lire-damp.  It  need  not,  however,  be  enlarged  upQD 
in  this  place,  as  a  similar  experimental  inquiry  to  that  already  sug- 
gested 13  requisite,  and  probably  would  lead  to  the  detection  of  the 
means  of  preventing  its  formation.  In  truth,  as  the  presence  of  a 
great  jpart  of  the  carbonic  acid  gas  is  a  necessary  consequence  of  the 
chemical  action  produced  by  the  ignition  of  the  carbureted  hydrogen, 
the  prevention  of  the  one  must  in&Uibly  obviate  the  generation  o( 
the  other. 

Another  fruitful  source  of  fatal  disasters  in  our  collieries  is  water. 
By  the  last  accident  from  this  cause  at.  Heaton  Colliery,  it  is  welt 
known  that  no  less  than  7^  n^d  "id  boys  lost  their  lives.  Some  of 
these  were  doubtless  immediately  drowned  by  the  rapid  influx  of  the 
.water ;  hut  others  were,  in  all  probability,  doomed  to  one  of  the 
most  lingering  and  horrible  deaths  Of  wiilch  the  mind  of  man  is 
able  to  fi>rm  any  conception.  Entombed  alive  in  the  earth,  at  a 
deyth  of  500  or  600  feet  j  shut  out  from  all  communication  .W(tb 


1815.]  On  Coai-Mim,  US 

those  at  the  hatfatA;  driven,  in  their  seafth '  of  refuge  from  the 
roaring  flood,  to  seek  shelter  lb  some  of  the  more  elevated  part*  at 
the  luiae ;  there,  if  the}*  succeeded  to  escaping  the  (orrent  for  the 
iBDtnent,  to  lie  in  darkness  and  despair,  some  of  them  perhaps  ja  ' 
solitude,  conscious  that  every  hope  of  being  rescued  wss  fbr  ever 
cut  ofi^  waiting  the  approach  of  the  water  to  swallow  them  up,  or 
the  equally  certain  ravages  of  hunger  or  aufibcation ;  no  sound 
to  be  heard  but'tbe  dying  groans  of  their  companions.  Great  God 
of  mercy!  what  a  situation  for  human  heings  to  be  reduced  to  1 
Hie  imagination  turns  away  with  sickening  horror  and  afiright  from 
the  picture  which  itself  has  drawn  ;  and  the  only  hope  which  even 
the  most  benevolent  heart  can  cherish,  with  any  degreto  of  patietice 
ctHUpoeure,  is,  that  the  noxious  air,  or  submersion  in  the  water, 
must  have  speedily  put  a  period  to  their  miseries  by  terminatinf 
their  existence. 

An  event  of  a  similar  description  is  said  to  have  taken  plat!e  ia 
^is  neighbourhood  about  30  or  40  years  ago.  The  manner  ia 
which  this  accident  happens  is  sufficiently  well  understood,  and 
may  be  easily  conceived.  Throughout  the  greater  part  of  the  l^n* 
and  Wear  district  there  ore  innumerable  w>stes,  or  spacest  left  hy 
the  former  working  out  of  coal  seanu.  These  old  workings^  oa 
account  of  the  deficient  means,  both  chemical  and  mechanica)> 
possessed  hy  our  forefathers,  are,  generally  speaking,  shallow,  whea 
compared  with  the  depth  to  which  the  operations  in  what  is  calletl 
the  Low  Main  now  penetrate.  They  therefore  now  constitute  so 
many  cisterns,  into  which  the  water  from  the  surface,  and  from 
other  sources  in  the  silent  and  stupendous  laboratory  of  Naturte,  is 
{inpetually  filtering;  till  at  last  there  come  to  be  collected  pro- 
digious'bodies  of  water,  which  in  general  overlay  the  stratum  of 
coal  in  which  the  more  modern  workings  are  carrying  on.  Ftoni 
uncertainty  respecting  the  vicinity  of  these  wastes  and. aqueous  re- 
servoirs, from  tenderness  or  want  of  power  in  the  wall  or  roof,  of 
(he  mine,  to  support  the  lateral  or  superincumbent  pressure  of  the 
water,  or,  still  more,  fiom  ignorance  or  rashness  in  the  workmea 
in  approaching  too  near  to  these  vast  accumulations,  the  side  or 
roof  of  the  mine  gives  wayj  and  the  overwhelming  inundation  takes 
place.  Against  such  an  awful  and  riiinous  occurrence  there  neither 
M,  nor  probably  can  there  be,  provided  any  leffectiial  safeguard. 
Yet  much  may  be  done  by  way  of  precaution  :  and  here  ]  must. 
t^t  the  liberty  of  mentioning  a  plan  which  was  brought  forward 
with  ttus  view  by  Mr.  Thomas,  of  Dentoni  near  Newcastle,  so  fat 
back  as  the  ^ar  1797.  A  paper  by  this  Gentleman  on  the  subject 
of  establishing  an  office  in  Newcastle  for  recording  plans  and  other 
fMirticulbrs  resi)t:cting  coal-mines  was  read  at  that  time ;  but,  from 
some  unexplained  cause,  was  never  acted  upon.  On  account  of  the 
iocreasing  importance  of  the  subject,  this  paper  was  again  read  a« 
the  last  meeting  of  the  Literary  and  Philosdphical  Society  of  this 
place,  held  on  the  8th  inst.,  and  was  ordered  to  be  published, 
tbgether  with  supplementary  observatioos  by  Mr,  Wni<  Ckapoiaa, 


lU  On  Ctittl'Minis.  {Axfa. 

-ttvil  eofpneer,  %Bloihted  to  put  die  whole  hito  such  a  train  as  dull 
enable  the  public  to  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages  compn- 
kended  in  the  proposat.  It  would  only  be  to  anticipate  the  conteSta 
of  the  intended  pamphlet,  were  I  now  to  euter  upon  any  detaib. 
I  shall,  therefore,  merely  obserrp,  that  the  plan  icems  admirably 
veil  suited  to  a  most  humane  and  useful  object,  and  will,  1  sbottld 
'Inm,  meet  with  every  encouragement. 

lliere  are  one  or  two  points  more  ta  which  I  wish  to  allude,  as 
Ineritii^  more  notice  than  has  yet  been  bestowed  upon  them.  One 
of  these  is  the  state  of  disdpliDe  which  obtains  in  coal-mines.  It 
'is'sn  acknowledged  truth,  that  the  various  unfortunate  events  in  stir 
collieries,  though  passing  under  the  general  denomination  of  acti- 
dentt,  are  frequently,  if  not  always,  brought  about  by  circum- 
^Dces  to  tvhichthe  t^ihet  JortuUous  can  scarcely  be  applied.  la 
those  instances  where  the  escape  of  any  of  the  miners  affiirds  an 
cpportimity  of  ascertaining  the  particulars,  the  accident  can  gene- 
ral )y  be  traced  to  have  originated  in  wSnt  of  science  in  some  of  the 
imrnediate  soperin  ten  dents,  orignwanceof  the  workmen,  or  want 
of  -attention  in  the  Ix^s,  to  whose  care  are  entrusted  some  of  the 
most  ioiportant  arrangements,*  but  more  especially  still,  inmost 
r^rehensible  and  over-weening  confidence  in  all,  which  bdog 
Inuislated,  means  nothing  more  or  less  than  the  grossest  careUansu, 
In  fact,  tliis  latter  circumstance  may,  to  a  certain  degree,  be  le- 
feiaixied  'as  the  'primary  cause  of  all  the  mischief  that  happens. 
Unless,  therefore,  tome  method  be  devised  for  preventing  rdna- 
tron  ih  the  disdpline,  and  for  instituting  some  refonmtitni  ta  the 
mterior  economybf  t)^  mines,  it  is  obvious  that  all  other  means, 
however  perfect,  must  C(»ne  lameintabty  short  of  their  intended 
'efiect.  1  his  desirable  change,  however,  can  hardly-  be  eflected  but 
byliegislative  interference,  which  it  would  consequedtly  foefor'the 
inteiest  of  all  parties  to  see  exercised. 

Another  most  essential  object  would  appear  to  be  to  establiJb 
•obie  efficient  method  of  alarm  amongst  the  inhabitants  of  the 
mine.  From  the  accounts  received  from  the  survivors  of  the  hf» 
terrible  catastrophe  at  Heaton  cdlieiy,  it  is  evident  that  had  amtMe 
peifect  r^em  of  alarm,  as  well  as  of  discipline,  prevailed,  a  god- 
■iderable  proportion  of  the  unfortunate  miners  might,  nay  would, 
have  been  saved.  Indeed,  it  is  easy  to  imagine  bow  it  hiay  Inppea 
that  a  workman,  or  set  of  workmen,  in  any  particular  dinrict  of 'a 
colliery,  shall  have  satisfactory  evidence  of  approaching  dai^r, 
and  save  themselves  by  rushing  to  the  shaft,  while  they  have  no 
means  of  giving  timely  warning  to  others  working  at  the  distance 
of  periiaps  more  than  a  mile  from  them.  Thu  actually  hastened 
at  Heston.   The  men  who  were  working  at  the  fatal  spot  where  the 

*  Ur.  Bnddle  defloM a  frqpper  to  be  "  the  penon,  eRKntH^aboj,  liiliovpeM 
and'ihuti  thedooTi.    Tbe (rappers  baie  teala  near  thtir  doen,  iaA  MMWhi  fcyuM* 

fll  (be  tin*  tke  pit  is  at  work.  Thh  U  tlu  finl  trvtuA  af  fit  »rfc  tkt  hifl  f  U^ 
Report,  p.  86.)  II  ii  of  tatat  coiueqneace  here  to  know  that  theae  doorit  irillck 
UwM  children  are  emplojed  to  watch,  are  the  aperturn  Hirough  which  ihe  ^  I* 
nnnutted  >  Id  ather  wotdt,  tbeji  appear  to  be  the  Mota  skmattU  af  —WUatlni 


rJSl&.J  Jtccomi  if  the  Stmderlmd  Lmt'Stene  Ponit^Un.  i  IS 
iMtertiBnt  throash  extricated  tbemsrives  bjr  hastening  to  the  shaft-^ 
bat  before  the  alarm  could  be  spnad  to  the  nrore  distant  parts  of  tbi 
wine,  wbere  most  of  the  men  appear  to  tiatc  been  at  work,  the 
water  bad  formed  an  impassable  barrier,  and  deprived  them  of  aH 
chance  of  retreat. 

It  may  also  occur  in  a  rimiler  manner,  with  respect  to  explostom 
«f  carbureted  hydrogen,  that  men  working  at  a  certain  part  of  the 
J»t  may  be  aware  of  danger  from  the  state  of  the  air  in  their  imme- 
diate neighbourfaood,  and  though  not  able  to  save  themselves  firm 
ii^r;  or  death,  may  by  early  alarm  be  the  means  of  saving  some  of 
thdr  comrades  nearer  the  shaft,  many  of  wbcmi  are  sacrifind  simply 
from  not  knovfing  that  danger  is  at  hand.  For  the  ptirpoae,  then, 
tS  the  better  guarding  against  these  evils,  mi^ht  it  not  be  'advisable 
and  proper  to  have  establuhed  throHghont  the  mine  a  ferie*  of 
neaking  trumpets,  or  alarum  bells,  arran^  in  such  wder  at 
niould  convey  with  the  greatest  possible  celerity  intimations  oC 
danger  to  its  vaiious  departmcnis  ? 

These,  Sir,  are  aH  the  temarkt  which  oecttr  to  me  at  present,  n 
worth ,  while  to  trouHe  ywu  with.  Thetc  ^re  many  other  con- 
trivances which  might  be  proposed,  and  which  mrght  be  adopted, 
with  increased  security  t»  the  miners,  and  certainly,  at  a  very 
roodemte  cost  to  the  proprietors.  But  I  fear  1  have  alrea^ 
trespassed  at  too  great  length  to  presume  to  racroadi  any 
fmrtber.  One  rfjservation  there  still  renmins  to  be  made,  that 
Mill  apjdy  to  all  Attest  drfferent  caoses  of  the  loss  of  so  many 
Mhiable  lives,  and  it  v  this,  that  the  accidents  resulting  from 
them  in  coal-mines  must  be  daily  becoming  more  frequent.  Frott 
Hx  very  nature  of  the  case,  the  more  numerous,  deep,  and  ex- 
tennvc,  the  excavatioas  become,  the  greater  must  be  the  difficulty 
of  BFvoiding  wastes  and  old  workings,  where  reservoirs  of  carbureted 
bydrsgen,  of  'cartximc  acid  gas,  and  e!<pecially  of  water,  are  in  a 
state  of  unceasing  accumulation.  In  a  word,  the  subject  is 
iHsamii^  a  feiirftil  importance,  and  must  very  soon  extoit  fiom  the 
^blic,  and  particularly  from  those  ofore  nearly  interested,  that 
ttteentioa  which  hitherto  seems  to  have  been  partly  withheld  from  H^ 
I  an.  Sir,  year  most  obedient  servant,    - 

.r._  la   I  ait  * 


Article  V. 


An  Account  of  the  SanderUmd  Lme-Uone  Fbmmlion.    By  W;  , 

Bcid  Clanny,  M.D.  M.R.I.A.  of  Sunderland, 

(To  Dr.  ThonsoQ.) 

DEAR  SIR,  SwMlwtaMl,  /MxTf,  1818. 

'    Wbbn  I  had  tlie  pleasure  of  your  short  vMt  last  summer,  I 

fia^SOt  to  show  you  the  PaHion  lime-worla,  the  property  of  Jdua 


')1C  Actxamt  oj  the  Sv/nderlatd  lAmcftotu  Formalion.  [kva, 
Goodchild,  Esq.  which  are  situated  upon  the  Wesr,  about  a  mil* 
up  the  river  irom  thia  town.     They  are  the  deepest  wrought  of  the 

.  Sunderland  lime-Btone  formation,  and  are  of  great  extent  and 
value. 

I  have,  lalten  some  pains  in  examining  the  Pallioa  lime-stoae« 
asiisted  by  those  persons  who  were  best  qualified  to  give  me  the  rcr 
quisile  information ;  and  the  following  sketch,  which  1  have  dram 
up  for  the  Armali  of  Philosophy,  will,  J  expect^  be  found  wotiby 
the  perusal  of  your  readers. 

These  lime-works  have  afforded  employment  for  many  years  to  a 
{feat  number  of  quarry-men,  lime-burners,  and  sailors,  many  of 
whom  were  so  advanced  Id  years  (hat  they  had  little  chance  of  con- 
■lant  employment  elsewhere.  The  works  are  conducted  with  the 
greatest  care  and  regularity ;  and  a  steam-engine  of  considerable 

tower  is  in  constant  use,  to  draw  the  lime  from  the  quarry  to  the 
ilns.  Whether  we  consider  the  extent  or  the  order  in  which  the 
different  operations  are  carried  on,  the  Fallion  lime-stone  must  be 
^irays  considered  as  an  object  of  much  interest  and  curiosity, 

Tne  following  are  the  strata  of  FallioD  quarry : — 

Soil,  from  a  foot  to  two  feet. 

Marl,  containing  small  pieces  of  lime-stone  of  a  CFeam-yello* 
colour,  25  feet. 

A  stratum  of  common  compact  lime-stone  18  feet  in  depth, 
colour  white,  through  which  are  observed  a  few  horizontal  stripet 
of  ochre-yellow.  It  is  massive ;  fracture  even,  inclioiiig  to  large 
conchotdal ;  translucent  upon  the  edges ;  brittle ;  easily  fran^ble  j 
not  particularly  heavy ;  may  be  scratched  with  fluor  spar^  but  not 
with  the  nail.  Several  horizontal  indentations,  slightly  crystal- 
lized, run  through  this  stratum,  in  some  places  having  the  appear- 
ance of  dovetailing,  and  in  others  resembling  the  sagittal  suture  of 
the  human  cranium.  From  the  chemical  trials  which  I  have  made, 
I  find  that  this  stratum  contains  no  magnesia. 

The  second  stratum  of  lime-stone  is  33  feet  in  depth,  colour 
ochre-yellow,  with  very  frequent  clouds  of  bluish-grey.  The 
ochre-yellow  is  soft,  giving  to  tb^  touch  the  sensation  of  indurated 
marl.  The  bluish-grey  is  very  hard  and  compact ;  of  course  the 
fracture  of  this  stratum  of  lime-stone  is  very  uneven.  This  stratnin 
contains  magnesia,  though  in  no  great  proportion. 

The  third  stratuni  of  lime-stone  is  three  feet  in  depth ;  colour 
cream-yellow,  having  many  small  spots  of  ochre-yellow  inter- 
spersed ;  texture  uniform ;  fracture  conchoids! ;  translucent  upon 
the  edges ;  hard ;  not  brittle ;  cannot  be  scratched  with  the  nail, 
btit  readily  with  fluor  spar.  In  this  stratum  the  remains  of  a  flat 
fish  was  founif,  a  drawing  of  which  I  have  taken  for  you :  (see 
Plate  XXXVII.)  and  near  the  remains  of  this  fish  I  We  dis- 
covered several  shells,  which  are  in  such  a  state  of  mutilation 
that  even  with  a  good  magnifying  glass  it  appears  impossible  to 
refer  them  to  any  class,  in  wnich  opinion  I  am  supported  by  a 
tveU-iiifonac4  coocbslogist  of  this  phuse^ 

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tSl'S.]   Account  of  the  Swtderland  Ltme-Uone  Tbrntaticn,        iif 

The  lime-stone  of  this  strBtum  has  been  much  in  request  for  th« 
■culpture  of  coats  of  arms  for  maniion-houses. 

The  fourth  stnttum  of  time-stone  is  worked  to  the  depth  of  i^ 
feetj  and  is  the  lowest  at  present  wrought.  1  shall  have  occasioD  to 
offer  some  remarks  afterwards  at  the  conclusion  of  this  paper^  when 
I  shall  mention  the  depth  of  this  stratum  where  it  wa)  worked 
through  in  sinkin^^  a  coal-pit  shaft.  Tlie  colour  of  this  stntum  is 
bluish-grey ;  it  is  messire ;  fracture  conchoidal ;  fragmenla  sharp 
et^edj  translucent  upon  the  edges;  cannot  be  scratched  by  the 
nail,  though  readily  enough  by  fluor  spar;  it  is  hard,  and  not 
readily  frangible  j  contains  not  more  than  five  per  cent,  of  magw 
nesia. 

About  two  feet  from  the  bottom  of  the  quarry,  this  stratum  tw 
eomes  so  fine  in  the  texture  that  it  has  been  sculptured  tor  orna- 
mental purposes,  and  is  well  known  under  the  name  of  the  HUlion 
marble. 

The  Pallion  lime  is  much  valued,  and  is  very  extensively  used  fot 
agricultural  purposes  along  the  whole  eastern  coast  of  England  and 
Scotland.  An  observation  of  the  late  Dr.  Anderson,  in  his  excellent 
Essays  on  Agriculture,  is  so  much  in  point,  that  I  shall  offer  no 
qmlogy  for  transcribing  it ; — *  The  only  extensive  lime-quarries  of 
auch  a  pure  lime-stone  that  1  have  met  with  are  at  Sunderland,  in 
the  county  of  Durham." 

The  Pallion  lime-stooe,  genemlly  speaking,  is  bard ;  but  wheft 
burnt,  it  is  ss  light  and  soft  to  the  loucn  as  chalk-lime.  This  lrme« 
itone  accordingly  Iffies  much  weight  by  calcination,  and  requires  t 
lirge  proportion  of  water  to  stake  it. 

In  the  year  17^7  a  coal  shaft  was  sunk  about  half  a  mile  south- 
west of  the  I^llion  quarry,  and  upon  the  same  estate,  l^e  same 
■  order  and  appearance  of  the  strata  were  observed  as  in  the  Pallioa 
''  quarry,  that  is,  as  far  down  as  the  latter  quarry  is  worked,  which  is 
to  the  extent  of  \^  feet  in  the  fourth  stratum  of  lime-slone,  as 
mentioned  above.  After  this^he  shaft  was  earned  through  64  feet 
«f  blue  lime-stone,  which  became  coarse,  and  of  inferior  value. 

Immediately  below  this  stratum  of  lime-stone  the  shaft  wms 
worked  through  a  stratum  of  dark  slate-clay  attematmg  with  blue  • 
slate-clay,  which  was  240  feet  in  depth,  liie  shaft  was  next  passed 
through  a  mass  of  green-stone  (the  whin-stone  of  diis  county)  and- 
elay-slate  to  a  considerable  depth, 

Mr.  Goodchild  has  lost  the  memoranda  which  were  taken  when 
the  shaft  was  sunk ;  bnt  you  may  rely  upcm  the  accuracy  of  Ibe 
above  statement,  as  I  had  it  from  himself. 

I  Bm>  dear  Sir,  your  fiddtfiil  ftiend, 

W.  Rbid  CiMsaj. 


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Skaick  ^  a  Gentrdl  Thewy  of  tka  [Aug. 


AftTiciA  VI. 

ShtA  of  a  Gtwral  Tksary  vf  tht  latelleeUial  Fttnctians  of  Mam 
and  Animals,  givat  m  reply  ta  Drs,  Cross  and  Loatn.  By 
Atexaader  W«lK«r. 

On  the  subject  of  ths  cerebellum,  I  have  oa\j  to  add,  ihat  all 
the  observaiians  which  Drs  Gall  and  Spuizheim  have  adduced  to 
prove  itiat  it  is  the  organ  of  amativeDess,  are  accountable  from  th» 
circumslance  that  the  <:tegr«e  of  phyucal  love  seems  to  be  more 
01  le^  connected  with  thf  degree  of  voluntary  power— the  prop«^ 
iunction  of  this  organ :  and  hence  it  is  that  the  man,  the  stallioo^ 
find  the  bull,  having  more  voluntary  power,  have  also  more  amafipe-> 
aess  and  k  larger  cerehellum  than  the  eunuch^  the  gelding,  and  the 
«x.  With  this  Qiodification— 'Conadeiii^  the  cerebeUuiq  not  as  th«i 
«r£W),  but  AS  n  couvenivnt  sign,  of  amativeness,  tlie  general  tkeoty 
which  I  qow  deliver  of  the  nervous  sjstem  is  in  perfect  hannoiiy 
with  the  more  partici^Ur  doctcine  of  Gall  and  Spurzheiqi  aa  to  tb? 
$arebral  oi^ds. 

My  former  biief  paper  being  entitled,  On  the  Use  of  the  Cere> 
belhtfD  and  Spinal  Marrow,  it  was  lest  to  the  ttrupture  of  ^hese 
pvts  (whiph  I  conceived  to  be  suthciently  well  knQWK)  than  to  theiF 
ine  that  I  referred.  In  particular,  \  meapt  to  I^  no  claim  to  the 
first  observation  of  the  division  of  the  spinal  iqaiTow,  either  on  tba 
ground  of  its  having  lateral  fissures,  asserted  by  Sqecamfrnitg)  who, 
however,  will  no  doubt  now  abandon  his  opinion,  lifice  Dr.  Leach 
"  has  (jarefiilly  exaqiined  the  structure  of  the  spinal  mass  of  ^^ rve^" 
$r  on  A  gKHind  which  is,  I  believe,  peculiar  to  myself,  that  these 
wlumna  being  laterally  feparat^d  by  cineritious  matter,  that  tDh> 
qta^ce  tervts  the  ^rpose  ff  imulauog  them  from  each  other,  aii4 
serves  a  simiJar  purpw^^  ^nd  (W  other,  throughput  the  brain*  l^vep 
en  this  ground,  which  t  believe  to  be  the  best  {Uie>  however  peculiar 
it  way  he,  it  was  pot  my  intentiun  to  claim  the  ob^erviitipn ;  but  it 
w^»  my  intentioii  to  consider  n»  my  awn,  the  absepratiiw  thaX  the 
^tariqr  columpp  (in  which  eM  thfl  anterior  spioft]  aep'es)  tPTWlWiW 
in  the  cerebrum,  while  the  posterior  ft^iuans  (in  whiph  begin  t^ 
ppeleriw  spii^l  nerves)  eomoaeflce  in  >he  perebellufn ;  «f  ^yclt'  ai 
that  the  anterior  may  be  teriped  the  ascending  celumos  and  pervfL 
and  the  posterior  the  descaQdit^g-^h^t  the  former  may  be  calleq 
those  of  sensation  or  impret>|>)op,  which,  to  bq  cognizable  to  the 
braJD,  mu^t  aicpnd  ftom  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  surface  of 
the  body;  and  that  tbf  posterior  may  be  called  those  of  volition  or 
expression,  which,  to  afiect  almost  all  the  muscles,  must  descend 
from  the  head.  And,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  tbis'ii  rendered  highljt 
probable  by  the  circumstances  that  sensation  and  volition — an 
decoding  and  a  descending  motio^i  cannot  possibly  take  place  ii^ 


18.1^.2       lateUeetml  Fimctiens  ^.  Mm  <md  J/dmals.  11% 

the  sam^  fibrils  of  the  same,  nerve;  that  coosequenl);  all  Derre% 
>.  g  at  once  seosalion  and  volitioo,  divide  into  Two  series  o£ 
Is  OB  joining  the  spinal  marrow,  namely,  an  antepor  series  and 
a  sterior  one  j  that  the  anterior  series  is,  in  form  and  structure^ 
to'ajly.  different  fram  the  posterior;  and  that  the  spinal  marrov^ 
div^ed  as  it  is  by  fissures  and  by  cineritious  matter,  does  really, 
fiarin  four  columns  which  are  joined  by  these  series,  viz.  the  anterior. 
(^umos,  by  ihraoterior  fasciculi,  and  the  posterior  columns,  by, 
the  posterior  fasciculi. 

In  reply  to  my  statement,  that  the  anterior  columns  join  the, 
cerebrum,  and  the  posterior  the  cerebellum.  Dr.  Leach  says,  "  Gall, 
and  Spurzbeim  have  sliown  that  the  brain  and  cerebellum  cannot 
be  coDsidered  as  the  continuation  of  the  spinal  marrow,  any  more 
thai)  the  spinal  marrow  can  that  of  the  brain  and  cerebellum."  - 
This  reply  the  Doctor  no  doubt  thinks  decisive ;  and  as  I  have 
shown  that  he  has  rather  too  hastily,  and  without  reason,  called  my. 
anatomical  and  physiological  statement  inaccurate,  1  must  now. 
im]uire  into  his.  The  argument,  then,  which  he  here  adduces,, 
from  whatever  source  derived,  is  a  bad  one,  because  it  proves  a 
sreat  deal  too  much,  as  the  following  observation  will  show. — - 
Various  parts,  then,  of  the  body,  have  been  generated  separately  ia 
the  uterus  or  ovaria,  as  hair,  teeth,  limbs,  &c.  Now,  m  the  case, 
of  the  lower  part  of  the  body  or  the  lower  extremity  being  generated 
slone  or  deuclied  from  the  superior  parts,  the  generated  parts, 
would  contain  vessels  as  well  as.  nerves — namely,  an  aorta  and  vena 
cava,  or  a  femoral  artery  and  vein.  But,  from  the  Doctor's  argu- 
qnent,  it  would  follow  that,  because  in  this  case  the  lower  parts  of 
these  ve^ek  were  produced  separately,  from  the  upper,  therefore,  ia 
tlie  natural  state,  these  parts  are  not  continuations  of  each  other  1 
Had  that  the  aorta  and  femoral  artery  are  not  descending,  and  tht 
Vejia  cava  and  lemoral  vein  ascending  1  *  Such,  then,  are  the 
precise  and  "  accurate  "  arguments  employed  by  Dr.  Leach  to 
prove  that  the  anterioi:  columns  and  their  nerves  do  not  join  the, 
cerebrum,  and  the  posterior  the  cerebellum. 

Ia  reply  to  my  statement,  that  the  anterior  of  the  nervous 
ftsciculi  which  join  th^  spM^a)  marrow  are  not  nerves  of  sensation, 
Qrw;  tite  ptKterior  nerves  of  volition,  Dr.  Leach,  instead  of  proving 
V(y  iaaecTtracy,  places  upon  record  a  most  ailanishing  specimen  ofkts 
tura!—Dr.  Leach  says,  "  The  two  roots  of  nerves  of  each  half  ot 
^  spinal  matiow,  namely,  the  anterior  and  posterior,  go  to  dif- 
ferent ptiTis  of  the  body : — the  musclea  and  skin  of  the  back  receive 
^beu  nerves  from  the  posterior  roots,  whilst  the  muscles  and  skin  of 
ue  abdomen  receive  tneixsfrom  the  anterior  roots,  and.yet  the  fore 
tp^  back  parts  of  the  body  have  sensation  and  vofuntary  motion." 
Now  certainly  if  this  were  but  true,  my  doctrine  would  be  not 


*  Thh  argaBent  ia  not  limited  ta  the  leparale  produdloa  of  oni  pkrt  of  the 
badj,  u  the  tnak,  or  (be  lower  etirmlt;  |  but  obviaualy  appliM  to  uij  part 
wbiek  wj  era  hue  beta  Kpntcly  predsM^  Mi  nca  to  m  itfttt  of  ni»ti- 


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fsO  Sketch  of  a  Geaeral  Theory  of  tht  [kttC 

merety  inaecyrate,  but  altogether  &be  ;  for  this  wonld  prow,  that 
bbtli  root!  were  at  once  nerves  of  sensation  and  of  njition:  bo^ 
liot' being  true,  the  case  is  certainly  Eomewhat  altered.  Unluckily 
for  Dr.  Leach,  it  is  his  own  statement  which  is  inAccutate.  In  his 
f  careful  examination  of  ihe  structure  of  the  spinal  mass  of  nerres," 
the  IJoctor  has  absolutely  nibtaken  the  brtpickes  for  the  roots  of 
these  nerves  !  Jt  is  from  the  branches  that  the  nerves  he  alludes  to 
go  off;  for,  however  lucky  this  may  be  for  humantty^  since  it  pre- 
vents our  moving  with  only  one  half  the  body,  end  feeling  only 
with  the  other,  it  is  certainly  unfortunate  for  the  Doctor's  argument 
tkat  neither  to  skin  nor  muscles  is  the  slightest  twig  given  from  the 
roots.  These  roots  t^ien  combine,  communicate,  and  even  cross  by 
twigs,  in  order  to  ^rm  a  trunic ;  and,  that  the  Doctor  may  not  be 
put  to  the  trouble  of  another  "  careful  examination,"  if  be  will 
only  cross'the  fingers  pf  one  of  his  bands  between  those  of  the 
other,  he  will  have  a  tolerable  conception  of  the  trunk  so  formed, 
remembering,  however,  that  only  about  half  the  fibrils  of  either 
Tbot  do  so  cross,  while  the  other  half,  instead  of  crossing  to  the 
opposite  branch,  runs  onward  in  the  branch  of  the  same  side.  A 
rather  greater  number  of  fibrils,  indeed,  pass  from  the  posterior 
root  to  the  anterior  branch  than  from  the  anterior  root  to  the  poste- 
rior branch,  because  the  anterior  branch,  being  destined  to  supply  a 
greater  portion  of  the  body,  requires  to  he  larger.  I  do  not  find 
ftiis  decussBiioh  described  in  anif  anatomical  book,  which  I  have  at 
liand  ;  but  the  slightest  inspection  will  demonstrate  it.  The  law 
of  this  decussation  is  maintained  even  in  very  inferior  animals ;  for, 
in  those  which  have  no  verlebre  and  in  which  the  spinal  marrow  19 
formed  below  the  ossopliagus  by  the  union  of  the  two  crura  of  the 
cerebellum,  though  the  two  fasciculi  generally  remain  distinct 
tlhroughout  the  greater  part  of  their  length,  yet  they  always  unite 
«t  different  spaces  by  knots  whenever  a  nerve  is  given  offf  Thus 
iach  branch  is  composed  from  both  roots:  and  it  is  only  from  the 
branches  thus  composed,  and  by  no  means  from  the  roots,  that  the 
serves  the  Doctor  speaks  of  are  distributed  :  hence  it  is  not  won- 
derful that  they  give  loth  sensation  and  voluntary  motion.  These 
JproTKhts,  however,  the  Doctor  calls  «  tlie  two  roots  of  nerves  o^ 
Mch  half*  of  the  spinal  marrow,  namely,  the  anterior  and  poste-^ 
^or ; "  and  asserts,  as  is  seen  above,  that  these  identical  roots  of 
itack  ^Q^of  the  spinal  marrow  "  go  to  different  parlsof  the  body!" 
Bvery  anatomist  and  every  anatomical  work  declares  that  from  the 
l[oots  no  twig  proceeds  either  to  skin  or  muscles;  and  if  it  were  not 
obvious  [)iat  the  Doctor  had  mistaken  the  branches  for  the  roots,  I 
should  be  apt  to  think  that,  in  his  "careful  examination  of  the 
structure  of  the  spinal  mass  of  nenes,"  the  Doctor  bad  refuted  th^ 
whole  of  them.        ■  ■  ■ 

1  have  now  to  mention,  that  even  some  of  those  anatomists  who 

•  nw,  (M,  tbal>oeleraft«raUBl)owii)MtthHeaRait«nislandd4ir»lb«ir 
•f  tla^Dd'taarniw.  ■■        ■      ■  ■■      •' 


r 


ISlSj      InleUecluat  Fanclkms  of  Man  and  Animah.  121 

■ucceeded  Willis  conjectured  that  there  were  cerebral  and  cefe- 
belUc  nerves.  They  indeed  only  conjectured  this ;  and  they,  more- 
OFf  r,  erred  by  distinguishing  them  into  vital  and  animal.  The  vital 
aerves,  said  they,  are  chiefly  derived  from  the  cerebellum,  and  the 
animal  from  the  cerebrum. — They  have  believed,  says  Haller,  that 
Kveral  nerves  have  roots  partly  from  the  cerebellum.  But  Haller 
objects  that  the  fifth  pair  arising,  as  he  says,  from  the  cerebellum, 
M  appropriated  both  to  sense  and  to  motion  ;  "  nor  would,"  says  he, 
*f  Nature  have  so  solicitously  blended  both  species  of  nervous  fibres: 
if  their  nature  had  been  different,"  and  if,  he  might  have  added, 
Aey  had  been  destined  to  supply  totally  distinct  parts  of  the  body. 
He  shows  also,  that  some  of  those  nerves  which  they  believe  to 
faave  some  origin  fi-um  the  cerebellum,  have  nothing  to  do  with 
vitality  ;  and  he  adduces  various  other  objections.  Speaking  of  the 
possibility  of  fibrils  of  different  kinds  being  in  the  same  nerve, 
Haller  also  says,  "  Infinitum  ad  inGnitessimum  possis  deponent 
fillli  hominem,  qui  Dei  consilia  voluerit  conjectura  ezpiscari."  . 
Even  Haller,  however,  when  speaking  of  the  double  series  of  roots 
of  the  spinal  nerves,  involuntarily  allows  some  connection  of  that 
kind  ;  for  he  snys,  "  (juarum  anterior  altera  in  eodem  cum  cerebral- 
ibus  nervis  ordihe  pergit,  posterior  medullie  propria  est,  et  detnum 
sab  fine  quarti  ventriculi  incipit. 

In  proof,  however,  fhat  the  sensitive  and  motive  nerves  are  per- 
fectly distinct,  I  cari  quote  for  Dr.  I^ach  a  much  better  authority 
than  that  of  any  old  author :  first,  that  of  reason,  which  tells  us, 
that  as  sensation  cannot  reach  the  cerebrum  without  an  ascending 
motion — a  motion  towards  the  brain  ;  as  the  consequent  volitioQ 
cannot  affect  the  muscles  without  a  descending  motion— a  motion 
from  the  brain ;  and  as  it  is  contrary  to  all  analogy  that  there  should 
be  motion  in  opposite  directions  in  the  same  tubes  of  neurilema— 
for  these  reasons,  there  must  be  a  series  of  nerves  appropriated  to 
each :  and,  secondly,  the  authority  of  anatomy,  which  shows  us 
that,  though  nerves  Supplying  parts  which  are  contiguous  in  position 
but  diflerent  in  nature  often  run  in  one  common  sheath,  yet  on 
arriving  at  the  spinal  marrow  they  split  into  two  roots,  as  they  are 
termed  ;  that  these  roots  are  quite  different  in  form,  the  anterior 
being  m9re  fibrous,  and  the  posterior  more  simple  and  round  ;  that 
Aeanterior  roots  join  the  anterior  columns  of  the  spinal  marrow, 
and  the  posterior  roots  the  posterior  columns ;  that  tnese  columns 
actually  do  join  the  cerebrum  and  cerebellum  respectively ;  and  that 
even  those  cerebral  nerves  wliich  are  at  once  nerves  of  sensation  and 
volition  have  two  roots,  one  from  the  cerebrum,  and  another  from 
the  cerebellum.  This  may  be  most  easily  observed  in  the  seventh 
pair  or  ftcial  lerves,  the  origin  of  which  has  hitherto  been  mis- 
taken by  all  anRtomtsts,  They  directly  penetrate  the  medulla 
oblongata  from  its  lower  to  its  upper  sur&ce ;  and,  throughout  this 
very  considerable  internal  passage,  each  nerve  consists  of  two  per- 
fectly distinct,  silvery  and  glistening  cords,  of  which  one  Joins  the 
Aerebelhitn,  ud  the  other  runs  onward  to  the  cerebrum.  This  mar 


1^  Sketch  of  a  General  Theort/  of  the  [Atro/ 

fasLtj;  bp  seen  b;  any  anatomist  who  chooses  to  look  at  the  subject, 
i.tsel^  instead  of  only  making  such  a  "  careful  examinatioa '  at-. 
P^.  Leach  last  instituted  oa  "  the  spinal  mass  of  nerves." 

Tke  views  whlcb  I  have  now  taken  enable  me  to  answer  a  most 
ioiportaat  question  on.  this  subject,  which  has  twice  been  put  by 
Soemaierriog.  After  statijig  the  opinion  that  the  use  of  the  gaaglia- 
is  to  place  certais  par(s  out  of  the  power  of  the  will,  or  tu  change 
ToluiUary  into  spontaneous  motions,  he  asks  why  the  spinal  gaaglu 
af&  formied  only  on  the  posterior  roots — "  Qua  causa  esc,"  says  b^ 
**  cur  in  radice  posteriore  tantum  nervorum  spinalium  gaaglia  inve- 
niuotur,  minime  autem  in  priore  ? "  And  again,  "  Cur  radix  prior 
n^orura  spins  medullfe,  adeo  vicina,  ganglia  doq  immiscitur?" 
fbe  obvious  aoswer  to  these  two  questions  is,  that  the  anteri(v 
if)^%  as  stated  above,  have  nothing  to  dd  with  motion — are  those 
of  aen^ion  alone;  while  the  posterior,  being  those  of  motitH),  it 
Vi  on  them  alone  that  ganglia  can  be  necessary  to  impede  the  im- 
Bulse  of  the  will,  or  to  change,  in  some  of  their  fibrils,  voluntary 
^(o  involuntary  motion. 

Now  as  in  this  situation,  ganglia  impede  voluntary  motion,  so  ia 
Qlhers  d,o  they  impede  seusatioD,  and  prevent  the  brain  being  dis- 
^bed  by  all  the  impressions  on  the  viscera,  which  would  have  been 
incompatible  with  thought.  Such,  then,  are  the  ganglia  of  the 
viscera,  &c. ;  for  wherever  the  anteiior  spinal  branch  commusicatea 
with  the  great  sympathetic,  there  is  a  ganglion  at  the  place  of  this 
union.  Thus  there,  are  ganglia  of  seusauon  as  well  as  ganglia  of 
motion ;  and  these  ganglia  are  always  as  near  as  possiUe  to  the 
origins  of  their  respective  nerves : — in  other  words,  as  these  sen^tive 
QT  ascending  nerves  originate  from  the  internal  surfaces  of  the  body^ 
their  ganglia,  w^i^-h  preveut  sensation  reaching  the  sensorium  com- 
ttiune  and  becoming  perception,  are  placednearer  to  their  system— 
^  great  sympathetic  nerve,  and  the  organs  trom  which  they  arisei 
and  as  the  motive  or  descending  nerves  originate  from  the  cere- 
^llunq,  their  gangl^  which  prevent  volition  reaching  certain 
muscular  parts,  are  placed  nearer  to  their  system  —  the  cere- 
bellum, &c.  That  the  ganglia  are  adinirably  adapted  thus  to 
impede  sensation,  as  t  have  stated,  and  volition  as  conjectured  by 
Johnstone,  and  confirmed  by  these  remarks,  is  evident  &om  the 
observation  of  Cuvier,  that  the  ganglia  of  red-blooded  animals  do 
not  ditTer  much  from  nervous  plexus ;  that  even  the  simple  gaogUat 
or  those  formed  by  a  single  nerve,  are  resolved  by  maceration  iota 
aeveral  filaments  which  aoastomoze  tc^ther ;  and  that  in  the  cni»p 
tacea,  insects,  and  worms,  the  ganglia  are  mere  homogeneous  en- 
^rgements  of  the  medullary  cord  to  which  tbey  belong.  All  of 
these  circumstances  ace  well  adapted  Mi>  impede  the  motion  which 
takes  place  in  them — a  motion,  however,  which  is  only  of  this 
|[iad|  that  each  globule  communicates  its^  impulse  to  a  succeeding 
one;  aj^d,  as  the  last  of  a. series  of  globules  must  thua  move  the 
inftfUit  that  the  first  is  impelled,  the  extreme  velocity  of  necrous 
actipQ  is  thus  cDoceivable.    It  do«s  oot  follovj  however,  that  all  the 


1S15-]       Jntetteetuttt  FoHCtiem  of  Mm  end  Animals.  \Si 

fibrils  of  nerves  o&  which  ganglift  arc  farmed  beUmg  to  impede^ 
ttflsfltion  or  impeded  (uivoluntarY)  motioD ;  for,  m  the  gaoglia^ 
numy  oervous  fibriU  ate  seeo  running  over  the  whole  length  of  the, 
ganglion,  and  forming  no  inrolvement  with  it.  This  circumstance 
of  there  being  t^o  kinds  of  ganglia  will  be  found  to  obviate  manj 
difficulties  which  have  hitherto  attended  the  physiology  of  thesQ 
bodies. 

Tlw  leading  heads,  then,  of  this  new  system  of  the  intelleotui^ 
fjucUonB  are  as  follows  :— 

1.  That  the  nerves  of  sensation  arise  in  the  organa  of  sense,  an^f 
by  means  of  the  anterior  fibrils,  terminate  in  the  anterior  coIhouis 
of  the  spinal  marrow. 

2.  Tl^t  those  nerves  of  sensation  which  do  not  terminate  in  these 
columns,  pass  directly  to  the  cerebrum, 

S.  That  the  anterior  columns  of  the  spinal  marrow  terminate  bIsq 
in  the  anterior  part  of  the  cerebrum. 

4.  That  these  nerves  and  columns  are  the  sensitive  or  aiceodiag 
nerves  and  columns. 

5.  That  it  is  in  this  way  that  sensation  becomes  perception,  and 
'Sut  are  excited  in  the  cerebrum  the  faculties  analysed  by  Gall  and 
^nrzheim. 

'6.  That  the  cerebral  influence. passes  to  the  cerebslUim  by  meant 
of  the  corpora  striata  posteriora  or  thalami,  the  anterior  peduncles  of 
the  cerebellum,  ficc. 

7.  That  the  cerebellum  is  the  organ  which  gives  impulse  to  all 
muscular  motioii,  voluntary  and  involuntary. 

8.  That  the  posterior  columns  of  the  spinal  marrow  originate  in 
tbe  cerebellum. 

9.  That  from  the  cerebellum  arise  also  several  nerves  trf  volition. 

10.  That  those  nerves  of  volition  which  do  not  arise  directly 
from  the  cerebellum,  spring  from  the  posterior  columns  of  the 
spinal  marrow  by  means  of  the  posterior  fibrib. 

1 1 .  That  these  nerves  and  columns  are  the  motive  or  descending 
nerves  and  columns. 

12.  That  as  there  are  two  great  eiKephaltc  organs,  two  anterior 
ind  two  posterior  columns  of  the  spinal  marrow,  and  two  series  of 
Dcrves,  so  there  are  two  series  of  ganglta->-ganglia  on  the  sensitive 
tnd  ga^lia  on  the  motive  nerves. 

19.  That  the  intensi^  of  the  intellectual  functions  is  as  tbe 
length  of  their  organs,  apd  the  permanence  of  these  functions  u 
((le  breadth  of  their  organs. 

1  bftlieve  that  not  one  of  these  statements  were  ever  made  by  any  . 
■^e  before  they  were  made  either  here  or  elsewhere  by  myself;  but 
Vnould  at«/  of  them  have  been  previously  made  on  any  rational 
nouQd,  }  shall  feel  no  pain  in  resigning  the  merit  or  demerit  of 
Uieir  discovery  to  its  prr^r  author.  Still  less,  of  course,  has  tbe 
leoeral  fiystem  which  1  now  advance  been  tliought  of  by  any  one. 

(t  ^[^^ears,  then,  that  there  Is  a  ^Kcies  of  circolation  in  th» 
nmottt  system,  of  which  {  have  sketraied  the  general  course,  as 
f^tit  ftf)4  «^qurat>le  as  ttif^t  which  exists  \a  tbe  vascvlar  (t)# 


124  On  loiint.  t^trc; 

centre  of  tlie  one  being  the  heart,  and  of  the  other  tte  head) ;  and 
that  Ihew  b  scarcely  any  point  of  the  body  which  this  circle  does 
not  involve  and  rest  on,  since  from  almost  every  point  ascendr 
impression  to  the  cerebrum  by  a  nerve  of  sensation,  the  anteripr 
nervous  roots,  and  the  anterior  columns  of  the  spinal  marrow  ;  and 
to  each  returns  expression  irom  the  cerebellum  by  the  posterior 
columiu,  the  posterior  nervous  roots,  and  the  nerves  of  volition.' 
Nothing  perhaps  more  than  this  beautiful  correspondence  betweea 
the  vital  and  intellectual  systems  is  calculated  to  raise  the  mind  to 
him  of  whom  the  wisdom  is  testified  by  all  that  lives,  frotn  the  most 
simple  to  the  most  complex  of  beings — Irom  the  polyp  which  caa 
boast  no  other  organ  than  a  stomach,  to  man  who  has  an  intellectual 
tystem  thus  wondeHuUy  complex  and  beautifully  symmetrical. 

Having,  Sir,  been  long  engaged  in  dissections  of  the  braia  of 
fishes,  amphibia,  and  birds,  in  order  further  to  illustrate  and  esta- 
blish these  important  truths,  I  shall,  on  their  conclusion,  be  happ^ 
to  communicate  them  through  the  medium  of  your  Journal.  But 
you  will  excuse  my  in  future  not  replying  to  statements  ^o  hastily 
made  as  those  in  answering  which  I  have  been  relnctantly  com- 
pelled to  occupy  so  much  of  your  present  number — statements  hi 
which  a  confident  reference  b  made  to  a  book  for  a  doctrine  which 
that  book,  on  the  contrary,  most  pointedly  contradicts ;  and  to  the 
animal  body  for  a  structure  which  has  no  other  foundation  than  in 
the  writer's  mistaking  the  branches  of  a  nerve  for  its  roots, 
I  am,  Sir^  with  great  respect, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

'  Albxander  Walker. 


^  Menuir  on  Iodine.    By  M.  Gay-Lussac. 

(Cimelniwt/riiin  *e1.  v.  p.  413.) 

Obsenatims  an  Chlorine. 
'     Thb  analogy  which  I  have  established  between  chlorine,  snl- 
phur,  and  iodine  may  serve  to  throw  some  light  on  some  of  the 
combinations  of  chlorine,  as  I  shall  endeavour  here  to  show. 

M.  Thenard  and  myself  were  the  first  persons  who  showed  by  a 
Dumerous  series  of  experiments,  that  oxymuriatic  acid  might  be 
considered  as  a  simple  substance,  as  there  was  no  direct  means  of 
showing  the  presence  of  oxygen  in  it.  We  had  even  given  thfa 
hypothesis  at  full  length,  in  a  memoir  which  we  read  to  the  Society 
of  Arcueil,  on  the  26th  of  February,  1809 ;  but  it  appeared  so 
extraordinary,  that  M.  BerthoUet  prevailed  upon  us  to  state  it  witb 
the  greatest  reserve.  In  fact,  though  Davy  has  announced  in  his 
memoir  on  oxymuriatic  acid,  that  this  hypothesis  had  been  ad- 
Tftaced  by  Scbeele,  it  wat  entirely  new,  and  it  appeared  extra-* 


laii^  On  Mine.  (SS 

tHNifiBiy'onV  becKuM  it  was  in  opposition  to  a  manner  of  thiolting 
fortified  by  long  bsbit  md  by  many  good  experiment).  It  wm 
making  B  great  step  towards  the  knowledge  of  the  real  nature  of 
o^muriatic  sctd,  to  hare  (juestioned  the  received  opinions  respect- 
ing the  nature  of  thb  acid :  for  it  is  much  easier  to  find  a  new  tmtli 
tYmn  to  detect  an  old  error.  And  we  claim  it  as  our  own  property, 
thatne  first  perceived  that  onyninri^tic  acid  might  be  consideredaa« 
-^mpte  body.  Davy,  to  -adopting  the  conclusion  which  we  had 
drawn  from  our  experiments,  has  added  nothing  to  its  certainty; 
but  we  must  adtnit  that  he  has  illustrated  it  at  great  length,  and  by 
the  influence  of  his  great  abilities,  has  contributed  very  much  to 
propagate  it.  I  ought  to  observe,  however,  that  M.  Dutong  and 
M.  Ampere  had  adopted  it  long  before  Davy,  and  that  I  myself 
Lad  always  stated  it  as  the  most  probable  <minion,  in  the  courses  of 
■chemistry  which  1  delivered  at  the  Polytechnic  School.  At  present 
the  discovery  of  iodine  appears  to  have  fixed  the  opinion  of  the 
French  chemists  on  the  nature  of  oxymurialic  acid.  I  shall  there- 
lore  refrain  from  all  discussion  on  the  subject. 

Admitting  then  that  oxymuriatic  acid  is  a  simple  body,  it  b^ 
comes  in  the  first  place  necessary  to  introduce  a  modification  into 
the  proportions  of  the  muriates:  -  But  as  this  does  not  follow  imme- 
diately, from  oxymuriatic  acid  being  a  simple  substance,  it  may 
be  necessary  to  justify  it.  Admitting  a  muriate  to  be  a  cbmbina- 
'  ticm  of  muriatic  acid  and  an  oxide,  it  is  possible  that  the  hydrogen 
of  the  acid  and  the  osygen  of  the  oxide  may  not  form  water  j  but 
may  remain  in  the  salt.  I  exposed  in  succession  barytes,  strontian, 
lime,  and  oxide  of  zinc,  to  the  action  of  dry  hydrochloric  ga^^  in 
a  glass  tube,  to  a  temperature  approaching  to  a  red  heat,  and  1 
always  obuined  a  great  deal  of  water.  To  verify  the  same  fact  on 
potash,  I  put  about  a  gramme  of  potassium  in  a  platinum  crucible, 
melted  it,  and  plunged  it  into  a  glass  vessel  filled  with  hydrochloric 
gas.  When  the  combination  appeared  complete,  I  weighed  the 
crucible  exactly,  and  then  poured  water  on  the  salt,  which  occa- 
sioned no  effervescence.  The  salt  beeng  dried  in  a  low  tempersture, 
was  found  not  to  have  increased  in  weight,  nor  after  being  fiised 
vas  it  found  to  have  lost  any  thing.  We  ought  then  to  admit  it  aa 
B  certain  fact,  that  the  muriates  are  all  changed  into  chlorurets 
when  melted,  or  even  dried,  and  tome  of  them  even  by  bting 
crystallized.  We  may  suppose,  as  we  have  done  for  the  iodurets, 
that  the  chlorurets  dissolve  in  water  without  undergoing  decompo* 
•ition,  and  thai  when  we  unite  hydrochloric  acid  with  an  oxide, 
the  hydrogen  of  the  acid  and  the  oxygen  of  the  oxide  form  water.* 
Whether  this  be  the  ease  or  not,  nothing  but  chlorurets  exist  at  a 
red  heat.  It  is  therefore  of  thesa  compounds  that  it  is  necessary  to 
determine  the  proportions. 

i  have  found  (Mem.  d'Arcuetl,  ii.  168)  that  100  parts  of  silver 
tike  7*6  of  oxygen.  Berzelius  instead  of  that  number  gives  7'**' 
Uiough  it  be  difficult  to  uy  which  u  most  exact,  I  shall  adopt  tbic 


126  Om  JbiiM.  [Attt. 

%u(t'  mlinlMr,  and  vtll  vdmit  Amher  with  Beraelius,  taking  tba 
fliBBB  of  his  reaahs  ^t  100  f»rts  of  nuuMtic  acid  free  from  water 
«orabiM  with  424-92  oxide  of  sUver.*  Nov  tbese  424*92  of 
aside  are  conqxMed  of  S95'50  of  silver,  and  29*42  of  oxygen. 
And  since  in  the  mvriate  the  silver  is  in  the  metallic  state,  we  matt, 
in  order  to  have  the  weight  of  the  chlorine,  add  that  of  the  oxy- 
gaa  to  the  weight  of  acid  which  we  supposed  to  be  combined  with 
tte  oxide.  We  ^11  thus  obtain  for  the  compoution  of  cblorafcc 
«f  alvtt 

Chkiriae  lOO  +  2f»-42  w  129-42 

Klver 396-60 

Or        Chlorine 100 

Silver 305-59 

.  ^nni9,  bftvnig  the  promrtions  of  the  tnariates,  we  must,  in  order 
to  obtain  those  of  the  chlcVefets,  add  to  the  quantity  of  muriatic 
-■rid  that  of  the  oxygen  supposed  to  be  combined  with  the  base. 

According  to  the  preceding  ratio,  and  the  composilioti  of  muriatft 
4f  potash,  as  found  \ff  Berzelius,  namely : 

'Muriatic  acid 36-566 

Potash 63-434 

dlife'dilorttret  «f  'pdtas^uto  Ss  composed  of 

Chlorine    ..., 100- 

S^otassium 111*310 

And  potash  tff 

Potassium 100 

Oxygen 20*425 

.  I  haveadopted  this  last propordoa,  which  difien  but  little  flvu 
•that  obtained  directly  by  M.  Tbenard  and  myself. 

-  We  find  likewise  from  the  same  data,  that  the  ratio  of  ozygea 
to  chlwine  is  that  of  lOte  43-99,  or  in  roui>d  numbers  10  to  44. 
It  is  therefore  nearly  three  tious  as  great  as  that  of  oxygen  to 
iodine.  If  from  the  ratio  of  oxygen  to  iodine  and  cbtorhie  we 
4eek  the  density  of  chlorine,  on  die  supposition  that  that  of  iodine 
«s  '8-609.'>^  BB  we  found  it  above ;  we  find  that  it  is  2-427,  instead  of 
,2-421,  which  was  deduced  from  the  mpposition  that  the  specific 
{[ravity  of  hydrochloiic  gas  is  1-247. 

The  great  analogy  which  I  found  between  iodine  and  chlwine 
-ought  naturally  to  lead  me  to  believe  that  the  salts  known  by  the 
name  of  hyper-ozymuriates,  are  analogous  to  the  iodatea;  that  is 
■to  say,  that  they  are  combinations  of  the  alkali,  with  an  add  com*- 
posed  of  oxygen  and  chlorine. 

-  It  is  easy  to  see  that  on  this  hypothesis  the  acid  cantxit  be  the 
^a>  found  by  Davy,  and  called  by  him  eudilorine.  Chemists  art 
'iwarly  agreed  that  100  parts  of  hyper-oxymurlste  of  potash,  whwa 


'  I  fosDd  418-2.  Hem.  d*  Accatal,  li.  IBS. 


.ylc 


ins,]  Or  Ta£hr.  '  12f 

decomposed  hf  hat,  give  out  about  38-88  of  teygrt,  Mid  tfatt 
Aere  renwin  61-12  of  what  hu  been  coasidered  aa  nruttal  -nuruite 
of  poAash;  but  which  i^  ia  fact,  chloniret  of  potanhiie.  From 
the  }mq>OTtioas  ^ven  above,  the  61-12  contain  S6-924  -thUotime, 
and  32' 196  potassium.  Now  this  quantity  of  ipodmiiim  wodd 
toke  6*576  of  oxygen  to  convert  it  into  potash.  There  m«jh,  of. 
GMisequeDce,  38-88  ~  6-576  =  32-304  for  the  28-91M  ifrf  «Mo- 
rine ;  hence  the  arid  which  I  suppose  to  exist  is  hypeiMKyBunnc 
«{  potash  must  be  composed  of 

Chlorine 100 

Osygcn   1 1 1-68 

and  t)w  oxygen  will  be  to  the  dilorine  in  a  prapoition  five  tiDMa 
greater  than  that  which  J  have  already  given.  It  deserves  attentidQ 
that  the  proportion  in  weight  of  the  potassium  in  the  cUonuet, 
ioduret,  and  sulphuret,  is  nearly  the  same  as  that  of  the  da^j^Nk 
ia  the  chloric,  iodic,  and  sulphuric  acida. 

Accordiog  to  Davy  mcblorine  gas  contains  one  volume  of  cfalt^ 
riue  and  half  a  volume  (tf  oxygen ;  and  taking  2*421  for  the  ^>«- 
dfic  gnviij  of  chknue,  we  find  that  euchkmoe  ii  compoaed  hf 
weight  of 

Chlorine 100 

Oxygen   22*79 

Tlii*  last  number,  -multiplied  by  5,  gives  1 1 3*95,  and  tbou^  it 
di&enirom  lir68,  we  may^  notwithstandiiig,  conclude,  that  the 
acid  existing  in  the  hyper-oxymuriates,  whicti  I  shall  henceforth 
call  chioric  acid,  contains  five  times  as  much  oxygen  as  euchlorine 

If  we  dissolve  chloruret  of  potassium  (composed  sf  100  chlorine 
and  ill'Sil  potasHum)  in  water,  and  suppose  that  the  water  is  de- 
composed, we  will  bhve  hydro- chlorate  of  potash,  admitting  the 
omen  to  combine  with  the  potassium  aud  the  hydrogen  with  the 
chtorioe.  But  if  we  sumose  the  oxygen  to  unite  with  the  chlorine^ 
we  form  exactly  euchloiiue  gas.  I  consider  this  gas  formed  by  the 
eombiiiati<«  of  two  parts  in  volume  of  chlorine  aud  one  of  oxygen^ 
■satutlogouB  to  the  protoxide  of  azote,  which  contains  two  volumeji 
of  Bxote  and  one  of  oxygen.  Heace  I  pr(H>ose  to  distinguish  it  bj 
the  Dame  of  oxide  of  chlorine.  We  may  likewise  distingdish  by 
the  namea  of  oxide  of  sulphur  and  oxide  of  iodine,  combinations 
of  sulphur  aod  iodine  with  oxygen,  in  the  same  proportions  in 
volume.  The  first  gives  by  weight  about  10  oxygen  and  20  sul- 
phur} the  second  10  oxygen  and  156-21  iodine.  1  think  it  very 
probable  that  chlorous  and  iodous  acids  exist  analogous  to  the  aul- 
phuTous  and  nitrous,  which  ought  to  be  composed  of  one  volume 
of  cbkoioe  orvapour  of  iodine,  and  1*5  of  oxygen. 

Itappeanto  me  demonstrated  fnmi  the  quantity  of  oxygen  ia 
'  oxide  of  chlorine,  that  this  oxide  does  not  exist  in  the  hyper* 
oxyBWuutes.     Davy,  however,  b  of  a  difieieat  opInioDg  for  he 


'  1S8  On  lo^M.  {Aua^  I 

says  tliat  "  eticbloride  produces  the  phenAmena  frhich  Chenevix  in  j; 
his-paperoD  oxymuriatic  acid  ascribes  to  h^per>oxymuriatic  aeid  ;"  jj. 
■nd  that  "  it  is  probably  combined  with  the  peroxide  of  potassium  ^ 
.  in  the  hyper-oxymuriate  of  potash."  But  I  shall  demonstrate  tbat  '. 
this  is  not  the  case,*  'j 

We  must  admit  it  as  an  incontestable  principle,  established    bjr    ^ 
BerthoUet,  that  an  acid  put  into  a  saline  solution  acts  on  the  base*  -, 
of  the  salt,  and  separates  a  portion  of  it  from  its  acid.     This  pria-    -^ 
ciple  holds  especially  with  the  strong  acids  when  brought  in  com-    ;, 
petition  with  the  weak  acids.    ,Unthe  other  side,  we  must  recollect,     ^ 
that  peroxide  of  potassium  does  not  combine  with  sulphuric  acid,     ^ 
and  thai  as  soon  as  these  two  bodies  are  brought  in  contact,  oxygea     , 
is  disengaged.     Hence,  H  hyperoxymuriate  of  potash  were  pro-      ^ 
duced  by  the  combination  of  eucblorine  with  peroxide  or  poiaali,      , 
there  ought  to  be  disengaged  oxygen  gas,  when  diluted  solpburic 
ttad  a  poured  into  a  solution  of  this  salt.     Since  at  least  the  t  t-uiv^    ^ 
line,  a  gaseous  oxide,  whose  acid  properties,  if  it  has  aii<A«^'         .. 
very  weak,  will  be  partly  separated  by  the  sulphuric  acid,  anci-     ^     -^ 
acid  is   incapable  of  dissoliring  peroxide  of  potassium.     But  uq       -, 
oxygen  is  disengaged,  and  consequently  the  potassium  is  tiot  in  the       | 
state  of  peroxide  iu  by per-CHcy muriate  of  potash.     Besides,  even 
supposing  potash  super-oxygenated  in  tlie  hyperoxymuriate,  it  ought 
to  contain  five  times  its  usual  quantity  of  oxygen,  a  conclusion 
which  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  admit.     The  &ct  i*,  that  potas-        ', 
■ium  is  in  the  same  degree  of  oxydation  in  the  hyper-osytnuriatit 
IS  in  the  sulphate,  as  I  shall  now  demonstrate,  by  giving  an  accouiv 
of  the  real  acid  which  forms  the  fulminating  salts  of  chlorine. 

In  consequence  of  the  above  considerations,  I  was  led  to  believe^  '■ 
that  since  sulphate  of  barytes  is  insoluble,  and  barytes  is  not  supers  ' 
oxydated  in  this  salt,  if  sulphuric  acid  be  put  into  the  hyper-oxy- 
muriate of  barytes,  it  would  be  easy  to  see  if  oxygen  be  disengaged^ 
and  perhaps  even  to  obtain  chloric  acid.  I  accordingly  prepared  a 
certain  quantity  of  this  salt,  empl(Hring  the  ingenious  process  of 
'.'{r.  Chenevix,  and  I  obtained  it  easily  in  fine  rhomboidal  prisms^ 
quite  exempt  from  muriate.  Into  a  diluted  solution  of  this  salt  t 
pour^  weak  sulphuric  acid.  Though  I  only  added  a  few  drops  of 
acid,  not  nearly  enough  to  saturate  the  barytes,  the  liquid  became 
aeniibly  acid,  and  not  a  bubble  of  oxygea  escaped.    By  continuing 


ni^  memoir  oa  oxj^ariMic  teii,  Davy  Kppefen  la  danbt  Otp 
e  of  an  &r)d  tp  the  b^per-aiymuriata.  He  ezpreuei  faiouclf  in  (tiii 
manner.  **  If  nc  coniider  wlih  atlentioa  [be  facts  concerning  Ihe  bypFT.oij- 
BarlaW  of  pola^,  we  Can  only  ceiuiiler  1[  ai  a  triple  compaand  of  oiymuriatte 
acid,  potasiioiD,  aod  ozypn.  We  have  no  luScieai  moiiTe  to  coaclnde  tbar  aor 
particular  acid  eiigti  ia  Ihat  bod]-,  or  that  it  coDtalos  a  coDtiderable  qoantity  of 
water.  ItUperbapi  mareeoDforniablelo  cfaemicalaaalogy,  to  tuppoie  the  great 
qgautity  of  oiy(;en  to  be  combined  with  the  potaninm,  the  very  grtfat  aOnlty  i^ 
Which  for  ongeo  we  know,  rather  than  to  eoailderthliqiBstky  of  oxysesai'ln  « 
■laie  of  combhiatlon  with  the  aijmurlatie  acid,  wUch,  asfarai  weknow,  baa  bo 
ir  Ihat  lubttttocc.  And  from  >ome  ei:perimenti,  I  am  indndfd  fb  blilieiV 
-"    -     wahlne  directly  with  more  oxygta  than  cxiiti  la^tiit.* 


,;Gotit^Ie 


liXi.j  Oft  lodiae,  129 

tg  add  sulphuric  acM  with  caution,  I  lurceeaed  in  obtaining  an' 
uid  liquid  entirely  free  from  sulphuric  acid  and  barytes,  and  not 
I^ecipitating  nitrate  of  silver.  It  was  chloric  acid  dissolved  in 
water.     Its  cliaracters  are  the  following. 

Thi^  acid  has  no  sensible  smell.  Its  solution  in  water  is  perfectly 
colourl^^. '  Its  taste  u  very  acid,  and  it  reddens  litmus  without 
destF6ylng  the  colour.  It  produces  no  aheration  on  solution  of 
indigo  in  sulphuric  acid.  Light  does  not  decompose  it.  It  may^ 
be  concentrated  by  a  gentle  heat  without  undergoing  decomposition/ 
or  without  evaporating.  1  kept  it  a  long  time  exposed  to  the  air,' 
without  perceiving  that  its  quantity  dimin^hed  sensibly.  When 
concentrated  it  has  somewhat  of  an  oily  consistency.  When  ex- 
posed to  heat  it  is  partly  decomposed  into  oxygen  and  chlorine,  and 
partly  volatilized  without  alteration.  Hydrochloric  acid  decomposer 
'tA  the  same  way  at  the  common  temperature.     Sdphurous  and, 

;'■■•■  V'Slphuric  acids  have  the  same  property;  but  nitric  acid  pro- 
'•"  •  -.6  change  upon  it.  1  combined  it  with  ammonia,  and  ob- 
•diiA*  ^  very  (alminating  salt,  announced  for  the  first  time  by  Mr. 
ChSnevix.  With  potash  I  produced  hyper-oxymiiriate  with  all  its 
characters.  It  does  not  precipitate  nitrate  of  silver  nor  any  other 
net'aUic  solution.  It  readily  dissolves  zinc,  disengaging  hydrogen  j 
but  it  appeared  to  me  to  act  slowly  on  mercury.*  This  acid  with*, 
out  doubt  cannot  be  obtained  in  the  gaseous  state.  As  It  contains 
five  times  as  much  b\vgen  as  the  oxide  of  chlorine,  which  is  so 
mily  decomposed,  we  cannot  doubt  that  it  is  the  water  whicK 
i^^  its  Elements  united,  as  is  the  case  with  nitric  and  sulphuric 
acids.  I'n  this  point  of  view  the  water  acts  the  same  part  as  the 
salifiable  bajes.  But  as  it  does  not  neutralize  the  bodies  which  it 
holds  in  solution,  on  account  of  the  perfect  equilibrium  which 
etists  between  the  acidifying  properties  of  the  oxygen  and  the  alka- 
Ufying  properties  of  the  hydrogen,  and  because  its  affinities  are 
nuCh  weaker  than  those  of  the  bases,  it  serves  merely  to  unite  the 
tiemenis,  and  allows  us  to  study  the  characten  of  the  combinations 
which  it  forms,  as  if'  they  were  independent  of  its  presence.  A 

The  theory  of  the' clilorales  will  not  now  present  any  difficulty,  i 
They  are  salts  formed  by  the  combination  of  chloric  acid  wiU)  - 
bases,  and  are  entirely  analogous  to  the  iodates.  Some  obscurity, 
however,  may  remain  about  the  circumstances  of  their  formation, 
when  an  alkaline  solution  is  saturated  with  chlorine.  I  shall  there-, 
fore  endeavour  to  throw  some  light  on  the  subject.  I  shall  com- , 
nence  by  determining  theoretically  the  ratio  of  the  quantities  of, 
chlururet  of  potassium  and  chlorate  of  potash  which  form  at  the 
same  time,  and  then  1  shall  inquire  if  it  agrees  with  that  which 
experience  gives. 


n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


ISO  On  lod^    1  •..     ^        [Anc. 

I  have  already  nmarked,  that  from  100  parti  of  chlorate  o£ 
potash  we  may  obtain  Sti'SS  of  onygeii  aod  61-12  of  chloruret  of 
potassium,  and  that  this  chloruret  is  composed  of  2S'924  chlorine, 
aDd32'I96  metal.  Further,  as  I  have  demonstrated  that  potassium 
is  in  the  state  of  potash  in  the  chlorate,  we  must  give  it  6'57<>  of 
the  38-88  of  oxygen.  There  will  remain  32-304  to  convett.the 
28*924  of  chlorine  into  chloric  acid,  fiut  what  hypothesis  soever 
we  adopt  with  respect  to  the  existence  of  the  hydrochlorates,  the 
oxygen  can  only  have  been  furnished  to  the  chlorine  either  by  th« 
potash  or  the  water.  On  the  first  supposition  there  mil  he  formed 
evidently  a  c^uantity  of  chloruret  of  potassium,  proportional  to  the 
quantity  of  oxygen  which  the  potash  has  furnished  to  the  chlorine... 
And  as  that  obtained  from  the  dei:om|)osition  of  the  chlorate  is 
neutral,  and  that  it  is  equally  proportional  to  the  oxygen  which  its 
potassium,  would  take  to  be  converted  Into  potash,  we  see  that  the 
quantity  of  chloruret  of  potassium  which  forms  at  the  same  time  . 
with  the  chlorate,  will  be  to  that  of  the  chloruret  obtained  from 
the  decomposition  of  the  same  chlorate,  as  32-304  to  6-576,  or 
nearly  as  5  to  I ;  and  the  quantity  of  chlorate  will  be  to  that  of 
the  chloruret  formed  at  the  same  time  as  100  to  SOO'2. 

On  the  second  supposition  such  a  quantity  of  water  will  b^  de- 
composed, that  there  will  result  32-304  of  oxygen  for  the  chlo- 
rine, that  is  to  say,  36-59,  and  the  correspoodiDg  hydrogen  will 
form  with  the  chlorine  hydrochloric  acid,  which  will  saturate  the 
potash.  We  will  then  have  for  the  proportion  of  chlorate  to  hydto- 
dilorate,  100  to  300-2  +  36-59;  or  100  to  336-79.  We  must' 
suppose  that  the  hydrochlorate  remains  in  solution  in  water ;  for  I 
have  demonstrated,  that  as  sood  as  the  water  is  removed,  even  by  a 
Tery  gentle  evaporation,  it  is  converted  into  chloruret  of  potassium. 
The  proportion  of  100  chlorate  to  300-2  chloruret,  which  I 
have  just  determined  is  very  different  from  that  found  by  expe- 
rience. Mr.  Chenevix,  in  his  paper  on  c«ymuriatic  acid  (Phil. 
Trans,  xcii.  132)  finds  that  there  are  formed  16  parts  of  chlorate 
fcr  84  of  chloruret.  Correcting  this  ratio  from  his  data,  and  the . 
results  which  I  have  just  established,  1  find  14-4  of  chlorate  to 
85-6  of  chloruret, -or  100  to  5&5-4.  M.  Berthollet  (Stat.  Cbim. 
ii.  198)  says,  that  he  obtained  a  proportion  still  weaker.  If  these 
proportions  were  nearly  exact,  it  would  follow,  that  we  have  not 
attended  to  all  the  circumstances  which  accomj»ny  the  formation  of 
chlorate  and  chtoniret ;  for  otherwise  what  hypothesis  soever  we 
adopt,  the  proportions  Of  chlorate  to  chloruret  and  to  hydro- 
chlorate,  cannot  differ  from  those  which  I  have  just  established, 
supposing- the  data  correct  from  which  I  set  out.  ^  To  determine 
this  point  I  made  the  following  experiments. 

1  passed  chlorine  into  a  somewhat  ccmcentrated  solution  of  potash, 
till  it  refused  any  longer  to  dissolve  in  it.*    The  liquid  was  green- 

■  It  bai  beu  bclievej.  that  tbc  properly  whiclt  Ibe  chlonUet  laxt  of  fycla^ 


r 


1815.]  On  toditte.  131 

isfa,  and  bad  8  strong  odour  of  chlorine,  which  it  lost  when  heated. 
I  cWrved  that  during  this  process  a  Httle  oicygen  was  disengaged, 
and  the  liquid  became  alkaline.  Having  evaporated  it  to  dryness, 
I  put  a  certain  quantity  of  the  residual  saline  mass  into  a  small  glass 
retort,  to  the  beak  of  which  was  fitted  a  syphon-shaped  tube,  rising 
to  the  upper  part  of  the  vessel  in  wiiich  the  oxygen  ^  was  collected. 
I  beated  the  retort  gradually  nearly  to  redness.  When  no  more 
oxygen  was  disengaged,  and  when  the  apparatus  had  sunk,  to  ii8 
original  teniperature>  I  brought  the  water  in  the  jar  to  a  level  witli 
that  in  the  cistern,  and  withdrew  the  tube  which  had  conducted  the 
gas  into  the  jar.  By  this  method,  the  oxygen  which  remained  in 
the  tube  and  retort  was  replaced  by  an  equal  quantity  of  common 
air.  Knowing  the  quantity  of  oxygen  disengaged,  and  of  cbloruret 
remaining  in  the  retort,  it  was  easy,  on  the  supposition  that  100 
parts  of  chlorate  contain  38*88  of  oxygen,  to  determine  the  quan- 
tity of  chlorate  of  potash  mixed  at  first  with  the  chloruret  of  potas- 
sium, and  to  calculate  the  ratio  of  the  one  to  the  other.  By  this 
method  I  found  that  100  of  chlorate  corresponded  in  this  mixture 
to  35S'5  of  chloruret.  On  suturating  with  chlorine  a  solution  of 
potash  more  concentrated  than  the  preceding,  the  proportion  of 
cbloiate  to  chloruret  was  still  found  sensibly  the  same.  But  wheit  / 
the  potash  was  dissolved  in  about  30  times  its  weight  of  water,  the 
ratio  of  the  chlorate  to  the  chloruret  was  then  100  to  5!2.  It 
results  then  from  these  experiments,  that  the  more  concentrate^ 
tfie  potash  is,  the  more  chlorate  do  we  obtain  relatively  to  the 
chloruret;  but  that  the  ratio  always  differs  from  that  of  1  to  S',  ' 
ifhich  calculation  gives  us.  As  1  remarked  that  the  solution,  of 
potash,  though  super-^saturated  with  chlorine,  is  alkaline,  when 
the  excess  of,  chlorine  is  disengaged  by  heat,  I  determined  the 
quantity  of  alkali  in  excess,  by  saturating  it  with  hydrochloric  acid 
of  a  given  strength.  By  this  means  I  reduced  the  ratio  of  100 
chlorate  to  356-5  chloruret,  to  that  of  100  to  349.  T  observe 
further,  that  oxygen  is  disengaged  when  we  heat  a  solution  of 
potash  saturated  with  chlorine,  and  even  during  the  saturatbn  of 
the  potash,  according  to  the  observation  of  M.  Berthollet.     But  as 

I  have  not  determined  the  quantity,  I  cannot  say  what  modlftcatiot^ 
k  will  introduce  into  the  ratio.  However,  as  it  is  evident  that  on 
decomposing  by  heat  the  saline  mass  produced  by  the  saturation  of 
potash  with  chlorine,  we  must  obtain  a  quantity  of  oxygen  equal 
10  that  contained  in  the  alkali;  whether  chloric  acid  be  formed,  or 
any  other  combination  of  chlorine  and  oxygen,  we  cannot  ascribe 
to  any  other  causes  than  those-  of  which  1  have  just  spoken,  the 

euily  decompoied  by  beat,  and  nf  barnipf;  moit  coiDhmtltile  bodia,  depends  pn 
the  cbiariae  preierriag  all  its  caloric  ffhen  ilcomblDeB  ntth  potaata.    As  a  proof, 

II  wa*  slued,  tbat  daring  the  cDmbioation  of  these  tno  badira,  Ihe  temperalttre 
of  [he  ■nlntinn  did  not  jenilbly  vary.  Thil  came  caanol  be  Erne,  for  in  the  tZ' 
peiiaieni  nf  which  I  haiejuil  tpoken;  the  leisperaluie  at  the  conmenctrnwU  o£ 
B  rote  from  M'  to  IT*". 

^  ^  ^-         r 


IZt  On  hdim.  [Au*. 

difference  between  the  quantity  of  oxygen  which  I  ought  to  h«T« 
obtained,  and  what  I  actually  obtained  by  experiment. 

The  action  of  chlorine  on  the  oxides  ii  entirely  analogous  to  that 
of  iodine ;  and  chloric  acid  is  produced  nearly  in  the  same  circum- 
stances as  iodic  acid.  Thu;  we  obtain  with  peroxide  of  merctiiy 
and  chlorine^  cbleniret  and  chlorate,  in  the  same  n^i^ner  as  vitn 
iodine  and  this  peroxide  we  form  iod\iret  and  iodate  of  mer- 
cury. These  djfrerent  objects  require  new  researches}  taui  it  is  to 
be  desired  ^hat  they  may  li^  the  attention  of  chemists. 

The  cbloruret  of  azote,  from  its  analogy  with  the  ioduret,  oqght 
to  be  composed  of  three  parts  of  chlorine  and  one  part  of  a^off  i 
but  Davy  instead  of  this  found  four  to  one.  W!^^  we  flee  azote 
forming  with  chlorine  and  iodine  very  fulminatjpg  compouDds,  we 
may  ask  whether  fulminating  gold  and  silver,  and  ev(?)  mereuryt 
■re  not  binary  cpmhii^tioos  of  azote  and  the  metal.  Tliis  is  the 
more  probable,  as  gold,  silver,  and  mercury,  having,  vary  little 
affinity  for  oxygen,  seem  by  this  property  to  approach  cliloruie  and 
iodine. 

From  the  analogies  which  I  have  established  in  this  mieinoir,  the 
reader  must  be  convinced  that  oxygen,  chlorine,  and  iodioe  do  not 
fonn  an  insulated  group  to  which  belong  exclusively  the  properly 
of  acidifying.  We  have  seen  that  this  property  belongs  likewise  to, 
sulphur  and  azote,  ajid  to  a  great  number  of  other  bodies.  Howi 
^ver,  oKygeo  may  be  always  considered  as  the  prindpal  acidifying 
Substance,  both  from  the  energy  with  which  it  possesses  it,,  aut| 
from  the  numerous  acids  which  it  forms ;  and  because  we  we  onl^ 
able  to  employ  as  solvents  liquids  containing  oxygen  or  hydrc^n, 

Xble  of  changing  the  nature  of  the  compounds  which  they  dis-  ' 
!.  Though  chlorine  does  not  disengage  oxygen  from  a}l  i^ 
^mbinations,  Ithinkit  should  be  placed  before  it,  on  account  of 
the  energy  of  its  properties.  But  nuorine,  which  has  not  hitherto 
been  obtained  in  a  separate  state,  will,  without  doubt,  stand  before 
chlorine,  because  it  disengages  oxygen  from  all  its  combioationt. 
It  is  to  M.  Ampere  that  we  owe  the  first  idea  that  fluoric  acid  i^ 
nalogpus  to  hydrochloric  acid ;  that  U  to  say,  that  it  is  composed 
of  hydrogen  and  a  body  analogous  to  chlorine,  which  be  pK^iiOSfd 
to  call  fluorine,  Davy,  to  whom  he  commuaicated  that  theoiy  did 
not  adopt  it  nor  endeavour  to  verify  it  till  long  after,,  wben-^ 
Ampere  had  answered  his  objections. 


'  r:,9,N..db,G00gIe 


mB.] 


MagiuUcal  ObMervalkms, 


ISS 


Article  VIII. 

Maffie^eal  Olservatkmi  at  Hackney  Wick.    By  Col.  Beiufojr. 

t^ttadr,51'>39'40-r'KoTtl.      LaBgltadc  VMt!nTini«6Vfr 


UMtk. 

UonlDK  ObMiT. 

Hmh  OlMW.. 

KftatosObMn. 

Honr. 

V»rl«i0B. 

Hoar. 

Vmriatiwa. 

Uont. 

Variatloa. 

JiUM       IS 

Ditto  90 
Ditto  81 
Ditto  SS 
Ditto  S3 
Dllto  S4 
Ditto  95 
l»tto  98 
Ditto  9T 
DHto  9S' 
ntto  99 
IXtlo  30 

»  ha- 

»    40 
B    45 
8    40 
8    40 
8     15 
8    40 
8    40 
8    35 
8    30 
S    33 
8    SO 
8     !5 

■M*  88*    03" 
e4    IS    9» 

u  te  90 

24     1«    18 
84    1»    33 
84     )S    40 
84    15    95 
24     13    39 
84     15    59 
84     10    51 
8*    15    99 
84    16    08 
84     15    IS 

Ik  SO- 
1     SO 
1    S5 
1     55 
1    45 

w  ar  88' 

84    2&    89 
84    »    U 
24    95    OT 
i4    94    48 

7    M 

1    06 
T     16 

84°  ir  49" 
N    19    M 
84    SO   OS 
94    18    IT 
94    18    40 

1     SO 
1    85 

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Aatdyses  of  Books. 
Comparison  o/"  Observations. 


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84  19  40 


In  deducing  the  mean  of  observations  for  June,  the  varlatiw  of 
the  morf^ing  obseryation  of  the  18th  is  rejected,  on  account  of  it« 
uncommpp  greatness. 

p,[_  t,ii„  CBetween,ooon  of  ihe  1st  June}  ,  ___  ,_. 
Zv*poratiop  during  ihe  ume  period ii-9 


Analyses  or  Books. 

Pkilosophical  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  ef  London^ 
fir  the  Year  1814,  Part  IL 

This  part  contains  the  foHowiug  papera. 

I.  On  a  neui  Principle  of  cartilructing  kis  Majeslv's  Ships  of  War. 
By  Robert  Seppings,  Esq.  one  of  the  Surveyors  of  his  Majesty  s  Navy. 
—This  method,  which  appears  to  be  the  greatest  improvemeot 
introduced  into  ship-buildiog  for  many  years,  consists  in  subatituting 
triangular  or  oblique  beams  fur  the  parallel  ribs  which  have  hitherto 
constituted  Q  ship's  frame.  This  adds  prodigiously  to  the  stit^ess 
and  etrengih.  The  intervals  between  these  beams  are  -  filled  by 
eolid  pieces  of  wood  driven  in  and  calked  and  pitched,  so  that  the 
ship  would  swim  even  if  the  external  coating  of  plants  were  remove^. 
This  method  renders  the  internal  coating  of  planks  unnecessary, 
and  this  adds  considerably  to  the  size  of  fhe  hold.  'The  decks  are 
not  loose  as  was  the  case  ip  the  old  system ;  but  systematically  con- 
nected with  the  sides  of  the  ship,  so  as  materially  to  increase  tbe 
strength  of  the  whole. 

II.  Remarks  on  the  employment  of  olUgue  Riders,  and  on  other 
Alterations  in  ihe  Ccnstniction  of  Ships.  Being  the  Substance  of  a 
Report  presented  to  the  Board  of  Admiralty,  with  additional  De- 
monstrutians  and  lUustraiions.  By  Thomas  Young,  M.D.  For. ; 
Sec,  R.  S. — In  this  paper  jDr.  Young  considers  is  the  first  place 

•  I   --.'..ly Google 


I815J  Philosophical  Trantaciiom,  1614,  Part  II.  135 

ibe  different  forcei  which  act  upon  a  ship  when  sailing,  and  the 
eSfects  apt  to  be  produced  by  these  forces.  He  then  examines  the 
di^rent  arraii^ments  of  Mr  .Seppings,  and  shows  that  they  are 
bU  improvemeDts ;  though,  If  we  understand  him  right,  he  seems 
lo  state  that  several  of  them  are  not  new. 

■  in.  Some  further  Observations  on  Atmospherical  Refraction.  By 
Stephea  Groombridge,  Esq. ;  F.K.S, — In  a  preceding  volume  o( 
die  Transactions  Mr.  Groombridge  published  a  paptr  on  this  im- 
JMrtant  suiiject,  giving  a  formula  for  tlie  mean  retraction  down  to 
Vf  from  the  zenith,  deduced  from  his  own  observations.  He  has 
since  continued  his  observations  and  determined  the  refraction  as 
low  down  as  87°,  the  trees  in  Greenwich  Park  preventing  him 
&om  observing  stars  any  nearer  the  horisoi).  He  has  made  some 
alterations  in  his  preceding  formula.  The  paper  concludes  with  x 
^le  of  the  mean  refraction  from  the  zenith  to  the  horizon, 

IV.  Proposiiions  containing  same  Properties  of  Tangents  to 
Circles;  aiid  of  Trapeziums  inscribed  in  Circtes,  and  tion-inscrihed. 
Together  with  Propositions  on  the  Elliptic  Representations  of  Circles 
upon  a  Plane  Surface  by  Perspective.  By  Richard  Hey,  LL.P. 
late  Fellow  of  Sidney  Sussex,  and  Magdalen  Colleges  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Cambridge. — It  is  not  in  our  power  to  give  any  intel-: 
ligible  account  of  tlus  curious  paper  to  our  readers  without  th« 
assistance  of  figures,  and  without  iniroducing  demonstrations  not 
quite  ccHisistent  with  the  nature  of  a  review.  We  must  therefore 
refer  those  who  wish  to  study  the  subject  to  the  paper  itself.     ' 

V.  On  the  netv  Properties  of  Light  exhibited  in  the  Optical 
Phenomena  of  Mot  ker-of- Pearl  and  otiier  Bodies,  to  which  the 
superficial  Structure  of  that  Substance  can  be  communicated.  By 
David  Brewster,  LL.D.  F.R.S.  Edin.  and  F.S.A,  Edin.— The 
beautiful  play  of  colours  eshibited  by  mother-of-pearl,  has  bees- 
always  ascribed  to  its  laminated  structure.  Dr.  Brewster,  however, 
observed  that  the  same  property  was  communicated  to  wax,  gum, 
tin,  lead,  &c.,  merely  by  pressing  ihem  against  the  surface  of 
mother-of-pearl.  Hence  it  is  obvious,  that  the  property  is  owing 
to  the  configuration  of  the  surface.  Dr  Brewster  found  by  means 
of  the  microscope,  that  the  surface  of  mother-of-pearl  was  com- 
posed of  waving  lines,  something  like  the  skin  at  the  point  of  an 
m&ot's  finger.  These  lines  could  not  be  obliterated  by  grinding  or 
polishing.  They  vary  considerably  in  fineness  in  diSerenl  speci- 
mens. Sometimes  they  may  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye,  while  at 
otfaen  more  than  3000  may  be  reckoned  within  the  space  of  an 
inch.  To  this  configuration  of  the  surface  Dr.  Brewster  ascribes 
the  property  of  mother-of-pearl  to  reflect  various  lints  -of  splendid 
colours.  Dr.  Brewster  fouqd  likewise,  that  when  a  ray  of  light- 
foils  obliquely  upon  mother  of- peart,  both  the  portion  refleBted  and. 
tbepertion  transmitted  are  polarized,  and  both  in  the  same  maooer. 
This  b  difierent  frOm  what  happens  either  in  crystallized  or  un-' 
oyitallized  bodies. 

VL  jtn  tTttpTOv^  Method  of  dividing  Astronomical  Circles  imd 


JS8  Analyses  of  Booh.  .^Al^d. 

b(Aer  Instruments.  By  Captain  Henry  Kaier.— It  i»  not  possible 
to  convey  an  adequate  idea  to  tHe  reader  of  the  mpthojj  of  gra- 
fluaiing  contrived  by  Captain  Kater,  without  the  assistaoce  of 
figures.  W<:  must  therefore  refer  those  who  wish  to  upderstap<^ 
this  important  auhject  to  the  paper  itself. 

VII.  Results  of  some  Exph'iinenls  on  the  Properties  impTes$ed 
iipon  Lighl,  by  the  Action  of  Glass  raised  to  diffident  Temper atitreSf 
and  cookd  anrfyr  different  Circumslances.  By  Dr.  Brewster. — ^TJj^ 
author  found  that  a  ray  of  light  passed  through  hot  glass  was  depo- 
larixed ;  but  when  the  glass  cooled  the  original  polarization  wiis 
restored.  Prince  Rupert's  drops  exhibited  the  same  pheoometipp, 
together  with  the  coloured  tings,  which  characterise  doubly  re- 
fraciing  crystals. 

■  VIII.  Considerations  of  varioui  Points  of  Analysis.  Sy.John 
F.  W.  Herschel,  Esq.  F.R.S.  The  subjects  tteated  of  JQ  this 
paper  preclude  the  possibiiiiy  of  abridging  it. 

■  IX.  Observations  on  the  Functions  of  the  Brairi,  BySirEverafd 
Home,  Bart,  F.R.S,— The  autlior  conceives  that  it  would  (Ti^atly 
tend  to  promote  our  knowledge  of  the  lises  of  the  particular  Pj^rts 
of  the  brain,  if  anatomical  surgeons  would  collect  all  the  observa- 
tions which  liiey  have  an  opportunity  of  making  in  cases  of  ii^uiiy 
of  that  organ.  The  present  paper  Contains  an  arranged  coIlectioD 
of  his  own  observations  in  the  course  of  bl|  practise,  1.  ^  certgia 
degree  of  pressure  is  requisite  to  keep  up  the  functions  of  the  brsm. 
A  diminution  of  it  produces  faintncss,  an  incre^  Insensihilily. 
The  water  in  the  ventricles  may  increase  indefiDitely  Vi'liiMt  in- 
juring the  functions  of  the  brain,  if  the  $ku)l  expands  in  the  same 
proportion,  A  curious  example  of  this  Is  cletailed.  2.  ConcussiOB 
af  the  brain  produces  delirium  and  coma-  3.  Sudden  dJlatati(»i 
of  the  blood  vessels  of  tlie  cerebrum,  in  con^ei^uenc^  of  exposure  . 
to  the  sun,  is  sometimes  accompanied  by  de1iri\^in,  loss  of  speech 
and  the  power  of  swallowing.  4.  Blood  extravasated  in  the  lateral 
and  third  ventricles  was  attended  by  repeated  fits  of  vomiting  an4 
comn.  f  n  other  parts  of  the  brain  it  produced  stupor,  paralysis, 
idiorism.  5.  The  formation  of  pus  is  attended  with  dcHnum. 
6.  Depression  and  thickening  of  dilferent  portions  of  the  skull  ^» 
attended  with  heaviness,  torpor,  head-ache,  &c.  ^■.  Tumors  ip 
diflerent  parts  of  the  brain  produced  violent  head-achesj  ajmpl^x;, 
Ibss  of  si^bt,  epileptic  fits,  &c.  8.  Wounds  in  the  ^nterigr  (obcj 
of  the  hrain  produced  no  sensible  effect.  L()ss  of  a  portion  of  oiie 
of  the  hemispheres  was  attended  with  difficulty  of  swallowing  for 
34  hours,  and  slight  delirium  of  short  duration,  9,  In  a  boy  m 
whom  the  tuberculum  annulare  had  become  indurated,. the  ^^ectt 
were,  that  the  boy  had  been  an  idiot  from  nis  birth,  n^vfr  walked 
nxike,  or  understood  what  was  ^id.. '  10.  Pr^ss^ncg  ppqp,.^e  ^le- 
oulla  spi<lHli^  produces  paralysis. 

X.  Further  Experiments  and  Observations  on  Iodine.  By  Sit 
H.Davy,  LL.D,F.R  S.  V.P.'R.l.-'This  paper  is  divided  iato, 
five  sections.     1.  On  the  irijile  compound*  cootaining  iadjjoe  .a^ 

n,r.^^<i"yG00glc 


1SI5.]        Pkiloiophiad  Transaclums,  1«14,  Pari  It.  IS? 

oxyfxa.  Whep  ioijiDe  is  dissolved  in  potash  or  sods,  two  couw 
pounds  ar£  foTEOfid ;  one  composed  of  oxygen,  iodine,  and  potn- 
tiuin  or  sodium;  the  other  of  iodine  and  potassium  or  sadiuni. 
Our  BUtbor  calls  the  firat  oxiade  of  potastium,  &c.  the  secood 
iode  Iff  fmloisjiim,  &c.  When  the  alkali  is  saturated  with  io<Une 
Crystals  are  ileposited.  These  ^re  to  be  digested  In  alcohol  of  8'6J 
or  D'2.  Tlie  undissolved  portion  is  thi:  triple  compound.  Oxiodfl 
of  potassium  is  alinost  tRstt;less,  has  no  action  on  vegetahle  colours^ 
is-  ^rcely  soluble  in  cotd  w^ter ;  but  more  so  in  hot  water.  By 
heat  it  fiiay  be  dissolyed  in  sulphuric,  nitric,  and  phos[^r)c  acidi. 
The  saturated  solutious  cungeol  and  form  crysulline  maisca  of  an 
inieu^ely  acid  taste.  When  strongly  heated  the  triple  compound  ii 
.decontposed  at  the  temperature  at  which  the  acids  are  driven  06^ 
and  oxygen  and  iodine  exhales.  Oxiode  of  potassium  dissolves 
readily  in  phosphorous  acid.  When  the  solution  is  heated  the  acid 
is  converted  into  the  phosphoric,  9nd  iodine  appears.  When 
thrown  iqtq  muriatic  acid,  an  eftervescencs  is  perceived,  the  smell 
of  chlorine  becomes  sensible,  and  the  fluid,  when  evaponted,  ^Ida 
chlorionic  acid.  Similar  appearances  take  place  with  the  vegetabls 
acids  Sod  the  oxiode;  all  easily  explained  by  the  tniiuferof  oxygen 
to  the  solvent. 

Sit  H.  Davy  conceives  oiiLiode  of  potassium  to  be  composed  df 
ODe  atom  iodine,  one  atom  potassium,  and  sis  atoms  oxygen ;  but 
-  hv  experimenta  scarcely  seem  sufficient  to  warrant  any  s^ch  vaa- 
cltuioD. 

He  formed  likewise  by  a  similar  process,  oxiodes  of  barytes, 
lime,  ai^d  magnesia. 

liis  attempts  to  obiua  a  conpound  of  oxygen  and  iodine  were 
not  attended  with  success. 

.  2.  On  hydnonic  acid  and  the  comtpOHudt  obtaioed  hj  means  of  , 
it.  fhis  ^id  is  obtained  pure  by  beating  iode  of  potassium  and 
hydro-phosphoric  add  togetlier.  It  b  slowly  decomposed  by  heat, 
and  ra{ndly  when  heated  along  with  oxygen  gas.  When  cotidenscd 
in  water  it  is  instantly  decompoaed  by  nitric  acid  aed  iodine  pre»- 
pitated.  It  rapidly  absorbs  oxygen  from  the  air,  and  becomet 
yellow,  and  at  last  a  deep  tawny  orange.  It  will  probably  answer 
well  fta  a  eudiometrical  substance.  It  was  decomposed  by  all  the 
metals  tried,  except  gold  and  platinum.  With  the  alkaties  and 
common  eanhs  it  forma  compounds  very  similar  to  those  formed 
with  the  tarqc  ba^es  by  mtMiatic  acid.  3.  On  other  acid  com- 
poui^  of  iodine.  Iodine  absorbs  nearly  one  third  of  its  weight  of 
chlorinq  gas,  and  forms  a  v«ry  volatije  «ompound,  which  acts  upon 
inerou^,  and  i*  (tissoWed  by  wg^.  Sir  H.  Davy  supposes  that 
this  compound  is  composed  of  at»  atom-  of  iodine  and  an  atmn  of 
chlorine.  He  calls  it  chlorionic  aad.  Its  colour  is  yellow,  and  it 
readily  dissolves  iodine  becoming  deeper  coloured.  When  ^tated 
ID  ciitorine  gas  it  becomes  colourless.  In  this  state,  when  pound 
into  alkaline  or  earthy  solutions,  oxiodes  are  precipitated.  If  ii  be 
coloured  a  quantity  of  iodine  appears  at.  ihe  same  time'    Wbe^ 


188  Analyses  of  Books,  [Aue, 

poured  info  Xmmonia  a  white  powder  falls,  whicb  detonates  feebly^ 
and  afibrds  iodine  and  a  gas  nut  capable  of  supporting  combustion. 
When  the  acid  is  coloured  the  precipitate  tbrmed  is  black,  and 
detonates  much  more  loudly. 

Tin  and  iodlue,  when  combined,  form  a  body  possessing  acid  pro-^ 
penies,  though  no  hydrionic  acid  could  be  detected  in  it,  4.  OH 
the  action  of  some  compound  gases  on  iodine.  It  absorbs  sul- 
phureted  hydrogen  and  forms  a  reddbh  brown  fluid.  When  iodtae 
was  sublimed  in  olefjant  gas  a  little  reddish  brown  fluid  was  formed. 
It  produced  no  change  on  nitrous  gas  nor  carbonic  oxide ;  but 
when  mixed  with  carbonic  oxide  in  the  gaseous  state  and  exposed 
to  the  light  of  ihe  sUn,  a  combination  seems  to  take  place.  5.  On 
the  mode  of  detecting  iodine  in  combinations,  and  on  certain  pro- 
perties of  its  compound  with  sodium.  The  marine  productions  <^ 
the  Mediterranean  contain  less  of  it  than  the  set  de  varec.  Ashes 
of  the  ulva,  that  sboudds  on  the  coast  of  Languedoc,-  yielded  truces 
ofk.  As  did  the  ashes  of  the  following  plants  :  fucus  cartilagineus,' 
>  fucus  membranaceus,  fucus  rubens,  fucus  filamentosus,  ulva  pa-' 
vouia,  ulva  linza. 

The  ashes  of  corralines  and  sponges  exhibited  no  traces  of  it,' 
Its  presence  is  detected  by  its  property  of  tarnishing  silver,  and  hy 
the  red  fluid  which  alkaline  leys  containing  it  form  with  sulpharic 
acid. 

Sir  H.  Dayy  conceives  it  possible  that  the  superiority  of  bay  salt 
in  curing  fish  and  meat,  may  depend  upon  tlie  presence  of  thi^ 
substance.  He  rubbed  pieces  of  beef  with  iode  and  oxiode  of 
sodium.  They  did  not  putrity.  The  piece  rubbed  with  the  iode 
became  brown,  soft,  and  tender;  that  rubbed  with  the  oxiode 
hardened  considerably  and  became  jraler. 

XI.  Observations  respecting  the  natural  Productions  of  Saltpetre 
on  the  Walls  of  sult^rraneoiis  and  other  Buildings.  By  John  Kidd, 
M'D.  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  Oxford. — The  formation  of  nitre 
upon  calcareous  stones  in  certain  situations  has  been  long  known, 
and  advantage  has  been  taken  of  it  to  procure  that  important  salt  in 
great  quamities ;  tliough  no  satisfactory  theory  of  the  formation  6f 
the  salt  itself  has  yet  been  offered  to  the  public.  The  present 
paper  contains  a  set  of  observations  on  the  appenrance  of  an  eflSo- 
reseence  of  saltpetre  on  the  walla  of  the  Ashmole'  laboratory  at 
Oxford,  a  large  ground  room,  sunk  below  the  area  of  the  street. 
The  walls  are  built  of  Oxford  lime-stone,  a  granular  floetz  lime- 
stone containing  many  fragments  of  shells,  of  vegetable  bodies, 
and  composed  of  96  carbonate  of  lime,  and  4  of  ochrey  sand. 
The  salt  -formed  was  nearly  pure,  though  it  contained  traces  of 
lime  and  of  sulphuric  and- muriatie  acids.  What  was  formed  in 
winter  contained  most  lime.'  The  formation  of  this  salt  was  most 
rapid  in  frosty  weather;  it  formed  slowly,  and  the  (Quantity  even 
diminished  in  moist  weather  after  it  bad  been'  deposited.  EkcIu- 
-won  from  the  air  did  ntit  preclude  the  deposition  of  the  salt^  though 
-it  diminifilied  it  GOBsidenbly.  ,  -  -' 

n,,:-A-..>yGoogIe 


1815.]       Philosophital  Transacliom,  1Q14,  Pari  II  li» 

XII.  On  the  Nature  oF  the  Salt!  called  Triple  Pntssiates,  and  on 
Acidsformed  by  ike  Ujnoa  of  certain  Bodies  with  the  Elements  of 
the  iVitwtc  Aad.  By  Robert  Porrett,  jun.  Esq, — I  have  already 
given  a  pretty  full  account  of  thii  important  paper  in  the  number  of 
the  Aanakqf  Philosophy  for  January,  1HI5,  to  which  I  refer  the 
readers.  I  intend  to  publish  an  abridgment  of  the  paper  in  a  future 
ttomber  of  the  Annals,  as  it  contains  some  discoveries  which  I  con* 
sider  as  important. 

XIII.  Same  Experiments  on  the  Comlustum  of  the  Diamond,  and 
other  Carbonaceous  Substances.  By  Sir  H.  Davy. — ^piainonds  Were 
put  in  a  small  glass  globe  filled  with  oxygen  gas,  and  kindled  by 
nenDS  of  a  burning-glass.  When  once  set  on  fire,  they  were  found 
to  bum,  [hout;h  removed  out  of  the  focus  of  the  lens.  The  result 
of  the  experiments  was,  that  diamonds,  when  burnt,  produced 
only  carbonic  acid  gas,  and  no  alteration  took  place  in  the  bulk  of 
the  gas  in  which  the  combustion  was  performed.  Hence  it  follows 
that  the  diamond  consists  of  pure  cartx)n.  Plumbago  and  charcoal, 
besides  oarbouic  acid,  formed  also  a  sensible  portion  of  water  whea 
burnt,  and  the  bulk  of  the  oxygen  gas  was  diminished.  Hence  these 
bodies  contain  hydrogen  as  a  constituent,  though  only  in  a  veiy 
minute  pruportioQ, 

XIV.  Some  Account  of  the  Fossil  Remains  of  an  AniJital  more 
nearly  allied  to  Fishes  than  to  any  other  Class  of  Animals.  By  Sir 
Everard  Home,  Bart,  F.R.S, — These  bones  were  found  in  a  cliff 
on  the  sea  coast  of  Dorsetshire.  The  skull  was  pretty  perfect;  most 
of  the  other  bones  were  broken  and  crushed.  The  ribs  were  60, 
and  make  the  skeleton  17  feet  long.  Theee  bones  approach  most 
pearly  to  those  of  fishes,  though  the  author  considers  the  animal  n 
not  having  been  a  perfect  fish,  but  as  constituting  one  of  those  in-  ' 
termediate  links  so  commonly  observed  in  the  anjmals  of  New  South 
Wales. 

XV.  On  an  easier  Mode  of  procuring  Potassium  than  that  which 
is  now  adopted.  By  Smithson  Tennant,  Esq.  F.  R.S.  —  Tfaia 
method  is  to  put  the  potash  and  iron  turnings  together  into  a  gun- 
barrel  about  a  foot  and  a  half  long,  and  covered  with  a  lute  com- 
posed of  Stourbridge  clay,  partly  in  its  natural  state,  and  partly  pre- 
viously baked.  Into  the  mouth  of  the_ gun-barrel  another  iron  tube 
about  eight  inches  long  is  to  be  put,  perforated  at  the  lower  extre- 
mity, and  having  its  upper  end  projecting  about  an  inch  beyond 
the  gun-barrel.  The  mouth  of  the  gun-bairel  is  shut  by  another 
tube  which  slips  over  it.  The  mouih  of  it  is  filled  by  a  perli:»ated 
cork,  through  which  there  passes  a  bent  glass  tube,  having  in  it  a 
drop  of  mercury.  This  apparatus  being  exposed  to  a  strong  heat 
for  an  hour  in  a  smith's  forge,  the  potassium  is  found  perfectly  pure ' 
in  the  upper  perforated  iron  tube. 

XVI.  On  the  Influence  of  the  Nerves  upon  the  Action  of  the 
Arteries.  By  Sir  Kverard  Home,  Bart.  F,6..S. — Our  author  acci- 
dentally observed  that  the  application  of  stimulants  to  nerves  pro* 
duced  a  violent  increase  of  the  actipn  of  tlie  blood-veuels  c«naecte4 


)<10  Proceedinss  of  P/ulosophieal  Societies.  [Aa«. 

'rock  il  for  the  inost  part  a  compact,  sodotous,  d«rk  blue  trap,  ntarly 
with  ibem.  He  laid  bare  tbe  carotid  aitery  of  a  dog,  and  inxm 
toucbiDg  the  intercostal  nerve  and  par  vagum  withpotash,  a  Tiofcnt 
increase  in  the  action  of  the  artery  took  place.  The  sanw  expeii- 
awnt  succeeded  equally  in  rabbits;  so  tliat  the  circulation  of  the 
blood  is  not  wholly  dependant  upon  the  heart  and  the  dasticity  of 
the  arteries,  the  action  of  tlie  nerves  is  necessary  to  regulate  tbc 
distribution  of  it  to  the  difTerent  parts  of  the  body. 
'  Xyil.  On  the  Means  ofproSicing  a  doulle  DistiUaiion  lif  the 
tame  Heot.  By  Smithson  Teniiant,  Esq.  F.R.& — The  method  is 
to  make  the  worm  from  the  first  still  pats  through  a  second,  wlndt 
i*  air-tight,  and  has  attached  to  it  a  worm  connecting  it  with  an  air- 
tight receiver.  Heat  is  applied  to  the  second  still  till  the  liquid  ia 
it  is  made  to  boil ;  the  cocks  are  then  shut,  and  tbe  diitillatioD 
carried  on  by  the  beat  commuiueated  bv  the  woim  from  the  first 
(tUI. 

XVIII.  An  Account  of  some  Experiments  on  Animal  Heat.  Bj 
Johti  Davy,  M.D,  F.R.  S. — From  these  experimeots  it  appears 
that  there  is  no  material  differenee  between  the  specific  beab  of 
vetnous  and  arterial  blood,  except  what  arises  from  affieicoce  in  lb« 
speciSc  gravity;  that  of  tbe  former  being  l'049,  and  of  the  tatter 
1*050.  Our  aathor  considers  the  relative  qtecifie  heals  asO'913 
and  0-903.  Tbe  temperature  of  arterial  blood  is  higher  than  that 
of  venous,  and  the  teBq>enture  of  the  left  side  of  the  heart  than  o( 
tbe  right.  The  temperature  of  parts  diminishes  as  the  distance  of 
fhe  parts  from  the  heart.  These  results  are  incompatible  with  D4r, 
Crawford's  theory  of  animal  heat,  but  agree  with  the  theoiiy  of  Dr. 
Black. 


Article  X. 

Proceedings  of  Pkilosopkical  Societies. 

GEOLOGICAL  SOCIBTT. 

May  19 — A  notice  accompanying  an  additional  drawing  to  the 
paper  on  Vegetable  llemains  in  Chalcedony,  by  Dr..  Moccnlloeh-, 
wae  read,  descrihiog  a  vegetable  remain  possessing  decidedly  the 
genuine  characters  of  conferva, 

'  Jitne  2. — The  Secretary  reported  that  a  commimicatioa  on  the 
Kative  Tellurium  of  Norway  bad  been  received  from  ProfesBM? 
Ksmark,  of  Christiaua. 

.  J}r.  Macculloch's  paper  oa  the  Isle  of  Sky,  begun  at  afpnner 
Bieeting,  was  concluded. 

The  principal  group  of  mountains  in  Sky  is  the  CuchulUn.  Th{& 
elevation  probably  tsceeds  3000  feet,  and  the  principal  escarpments 
look  east  and  north.  It  is  remarkable  for  the  spiry  granitic  form  t>i 
j4B  auiniiiits,  and  its  naked  barrenness,  owing  to  the  strong  resist- 
aoce  wliicik-itopposes  to  the  usual  causes-of  deconqiosition.    Th6 


18t&-}  Geolcgical  Socuty.  J4l 

■tilled  tg  green-stone,  pa«og  sometimea  into  syeDite^  abmeiimct 
oonteiiuDg  glassy  felspar  and  hyperstene,  tad  sometimes  composed 
tserely  of  quartz  and  hornblende.  It  is  traveled  throughout  br 
d^kes  of  tuisalt,  in  tome  places  apixDsching  to  fntcb-atone,  and 
appears  to  kM  chi  a  very  compact  grey  quartzy  tand-stooe,  -whicb 
does  not  contain  shells,  and  like  the  superincumbent  trap,  a  tn* 
▼ersed  by  veins  and  dykes  of  basalt. 

Adjacent  to  the  Cuchultin  is  another  group,  called  the  Red 
Mountains,  oi  lower  elevation  than  the  former,  presenting  rounded  • 
outlines,  and  so  covered  with  fragments  in  a  state  of  decomposition, 
that  the  massive  rock  can  laiely  be  perceived.  The  chief  constituent 
iagredient  of  these  mountains  is  fleshred  felspar,  passing  into  clay- 
stone,  and  containing  a  small  and  variable  proportion  of  hornblends 
and  quartz.  This  rock,  like  that  of  the  Cuchullin,  is  also  traversed 
by  veins  of  trap,  and  probably  by  veins  of  granite. 

The  northern  portion  of  the  island  coosists  for  the  most  part  of  floeti 
tnp  in  beds  af^roaching  to  horizontal,  altennating  with  sand-sioDe^ 
utd  pfesentingseaou  of  basaltie  coal  generally  broken,  imperfect,  and 
of  little  ektent.  This  trap  offers  the  usual  varieties,  namely,  basalt, 
either  perfect,  or  approacliiog  to  wacke,  greeji-stooe,  and  amygda- 
imi-  This  latter  t'ariety  contains  nodules  of  steatite,  balls  of  fila- 
m^tous  mcsotype,  crystallized  mesotype,  chabaaite,  and  occarioiM 
ally  stilbit4  and  ichthyophthalmite.  In  some  parts  the  shale  and 
aand-strae  adioiniog  tlie  trap  are  indurated,  and  more  or  less  altered 
the  former  in  particular  being  converted  into  lydian-stone  and 
botryoidat  schist.  The  whole  of  the  eastern  shore  of  Stratbairil 
exhibits  one  oimliauous  clifT  of  blue  com^ct  Jime-stone,  split  by^ 
numerous  fissures,  and  hollowed  out  into  caves. 

At  fialbride,  near  Loch  Clapin,  another  lime-stone  district  occurs^ 
the  cMnections  of  which  it  is  very  difficult  to  ascertain.  This  limC' 
■tone  is  unslratified,  ooatains  no  o^anic  remains,  is  of  a  granuUlL 
atntcture,  and  is  in  muiy  places  a  perfect  marble,  more  w  le«i 
coarse  in  its  gnao,  of  a  white,  bhie,  and  yellowish-green  colour 
(ttus' latter  from  an  intermixture  of  serpentine),  and  applicable  tv 
various  uses  in  ornamental  architecture.  This  lime-stone  cnset  at- 
mile  or  two  short  of  Bradford;  and  on  the  shores  of  this  latter 
water  another  formatna  of  lime-stone,  totally  distinct  from  tbti 
olberj  Slakes  its  appearance^  This  forms  thin  beds,  alteraatloif 
with  sand-stone  and  shale,  h  highly  bituminous,  and  ooDtains> 
sDDoniiB,  ammoDliSi  and  other  shells,  and  is  traversed^  by  trap 
vdns. 

Between  Loch  Oransa  and  the  northern  part  of  the  shore  Bear- 
Bradford  is  a  tract  of  quart2  rock,  which  also  occurs  in  'Olher  puM 
of.  the.jlistrici  of  Clate,  accfnnpanied  by  various  primary  schittoaK 
ttKks,  and  intersected  by  veins  of  trap. 

ApatMiby  J.  Williams,., jun.  Esq.  of  Scorvier,  describiog  tbc 
QHiie  of  Hnel  Pcever,  wn  read. 

■.  The  tio.vwi  of  Huel  Peevn-,  ia  the  parish  of  Redruth,  in  c«»-' 
l^queDce  of  its  tiUersectioa  by  cross  yeit^s,  by  the  underlie  of  s 


142  Proceedings  of  PJiilosopkical  Societies.  [Attct. 

parallel  copper  vein,  and  by  the  oblique  course  of  a  cbannel  of 
porphyry,  was  lost,  and  exercised  the  skill  of  the  ablest  Cornish 
miners  for  more  tliati  40  years  before  it  was  reoavered.  A  descrip- 
tion of  the  particular  devlatioos  produced  in  the  course  of  the  vein 
by  each  of  these  disturbing  causes  is  givea  ia  this  paper^  and  its 
accompanying  plans  and  si 


WEBNBRIAN  SOCIBty. 
At  the  meeting  on  21st  January,  Mr.  P.  Syme  laid  before  the 
Society  an  account  of  some  remarkable  atmospheric  appearances 
«bserved  by  him  during  a  thunder-storm  on  the  29th  of  July  1914^ 
accompanied  with  several  beautiful  drawings  executed  by  him  (rom 
■ketches  which  he  took  at  the  moment. 

At  the  meeting  on  4th  February  was  read  an  essay  on  the  germi- 
nation and  physical  economy  of  ferns,  by  Dr.  Yule.^At  the  same 
neettng  there  was  read  an  account  of  the  mineralogy  of  the  Red 
Head,  by  Dr.  Fleming,  The  Red  Head  is  a  well  known  promon- 
tory in  the  county  of  Forfar.  The  rocks  consist  of  sand-stone  and 
gravel-stone.  The  author  seemed  inclined  to  consider  these  rocks 
as  mechanical  deposits,  as  ihey  bear  the  closest  resemblance  in  all 
respects,  except  in  being  cemented,  to  beds  of  sand  and  gravel  in 
the  neighbourhood.  The  sand-stone  belongs  to  the  old  red  sand- 
Mone  fiirmation,  in  which  many  trap-roeks  rising  into  hills,  such 
as  the  Ochits,  and  hills  of  Kinnoul  and  Perth,  occur  in  the  form 
of  great  beds. 

At  the  meeting  on  25th  February,  Profcpsor  Jameson  read  a 
sliort  account  of  the  places  where  fossil  remains  of  elephapts  have 
been  found,  and  exhibited  the  tooth  of  a  mammoth  discovered  by 
William  Auld,  Esq.  in  Hudson's  Bay,  this  being  the  first  time 
ihat  such  remains  have  been  observed  so  lar  to  the  northward  ia 
America.  Professor  Jameson  also  read  a  notice  concerning  the 
indurated  talc  which  occurs  in  quantity  in  the  island  of  Unet,  one 
of  the  Zetlands,  and  which,  he  stated,  might  be  profitably  brought . 
to  market,  the  article  being  in  demand  for  removing  stains  from 
nlks,  &c.  and  selling  at  a  considerable  price. 

At  the  meeting  on  the  Utb  of  March,  Professor  Jameson  read 
the  continuation  of  his  mineralogy  of  the  Lothians. 

At  the  meeting  on  25th  March  was  read  a  description  of  a  new 
species  of  water  ouzel  or  dipper,  found  in  this  country  by  James' 
Wilion,  Esq.  A  specimen  of  the  young  bird  and  a  drawing  of  the 
bird  in  full  plumage  were  exhibited.  It  difiers  from  the  common 
ouzel  chietly  in  the  deep  rufous  band  on  the  lower  breast  being 
wanting,  and  in  the  breast  feathers  being  marked  with,  transverse 
waved  lines,  from  which  last  circumstance  Mr.  Wilson  proposes  to 
call  it  Ammtilis  undvlatu^. 

At  different  meetings  of  the  Wernerian  Society  in  Janupry,  Fe- 
bruary and  March,  a  paper  by  Mr.  Scoresby  junior  of  Whitby,  on 
Polar  Ice,  and  the  Practicability  of  #  Journey  to  the  Pole,  excited' 
much  mterest.  j 

n,,:-A-..>yGotK^Ic 


1S15.]  H'erneriaa  Socielif..  Hi 

He  began  with  some  notices  as  to  the  characteristics  of  the  at- 
mosphere and  the  land  in  West  Greenland  and  Spitzbergen.  The 
atmosphere  ia  remarkable  for  darkness  of  colour  and  density,  fot 
the  production  of  highly  crystallized  snow,  and  for  almost  instanla*- 
neeos  changes  from  perfect  calm  to  impetuous  storm.  Tlie  land^ 
remarkable  for  abrup.t  precipices,  rbing  directly  from  the  ocean  to 
a  ^eat  height:  the  dark-coloured  rocka  conlrasted  with  the  snow. 
of  the  purest  whiteness  with  which  they  are  capped,  produce  a  very 
striking  efiecL  Here  the  while  hew  is  the  lord  of  the  creation : 
seals  and  all  other  aniqiaU  flee  his  presence.  He  is  yearly  attracted, 
over  the  ice  to  the  fishing  ground,  by  tlie  carcases  of  whales^  the 
smell  of  which  he  seems  to  perceive  at  a  wonderful  distance. 

As  to  the  ice,  Mr.  Scoresby  remarked  that  Davis  Straits  is,  noted.  " 
for  enormous  ice-hergs  or  ice-islands,  and  that  Greenland  is  more 
remarkable  lot  ica-Jlelds.  Some  of  these  ice-fields  are  of  vast  ex- 
tent, perhaps  100  miles  long  and  50  broad;. the  surface  being 
raised  from  4  to  6  feet  above  the  water,  and  the  base  sunk  near  20 
feet  below  the  water.  The  ice-bergs  of  BafEns  Bay  are  sometimes 
nearly  two  miles  long  and  perhaps  lUO  feet  high,  while  their  base 
must  reach  450  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  water.  Some  ice-^ 
bergs  are  formed  on  the  land ;  but  the  most  huge  are,  in  Mr.. 
Scoresby's  opinion,  produced  in  the  deep  sheltered  bays  of  the  sea, 
and  formed  partly  of  sea  water  and  partly  of  snow  and  sleet,  yearly 
accumulated  perhaps  for  successive  agea. 

Mr.  Scoresby  mentioned,  that  he  never  could,  by  experiments 
made  in  Greenland,  obtain  from  sea  water,  ice  that  was  eithtr  com- 
pact, transparent,  or  which  yielded  a  fresh  solution.  Yet  fresh- 
water.ice  ia  commQQ,  and  the  whale-fishing  ships  frequently  water 
at  some  pool  on  the  sur&ce  of  an  ice-berg.  Salt-water  ice  is  soft, . 
porous,  w4iite ;  it  is  lighter  than  the  other,  its  specific  gravity  being 
about  0-873,  while  that  of  fies/t-wpfer  ki  b  O-yS?.  This  last  has 
a.  black  appearance  while  floating  in  the  sea,  and  is  transparent, 
with  a  green  hue,  when  held  in  the  air.  Its  edges  are  sharp  like 
glass.  With  pure  pieces  of  this  kind  of  ice  Mr,  Scoresby  sometimes 
amused  himself  in  forming  lenses,  with  which  he  was  able  to.fire  . 
gunr-nwder,  light  the  sailors'  pipes,  burn  wood,  and  ^ven  melt . 
leao.'  ,  ... 

Ice  is  generated  in  the  Northern  Ocean  entirely  independent  of 
the  vicinity  of  land.  It  is  formed  .even  in  rough  seas  during  inienee 
cold;  first  producing  what  is  called  by  the  sailo;^  aludge,  and  thea 
flat  pieces  of  a  rounded  shape,  and  turned  up  at  the  edges,,  which 
have  received  the  whimsical  name  of  pancaitej.  In  the  sheltered, 
openings  which  occasionally  occur  in  the  great  fields  of  ice,  lay-ice 
19  often  rapidly  formed  :  it  will  bear  a  man's  weight  in  4S  hours, , 
snd  in  a  mon^h  is  fully  a  foot  thick.  Suppose  »  large  opening  to . 
be  thus  frozen  over,  and  cemented  on  every  side  to  the  older  ice,  a 
gre^t  basin  or  hollow  is  produced  :  this  becomes  a  receptacle  for., 
■now':  next  summer  the  snow  is  melted,  and  during  the  following 
winter^^b^^Water.is  converted  into  a  solid  layer  of  fre#ti- water  ice. 

■      ■  Google  j 


144  Procee^ngs  of  Pkihsophical  Societies.  lA-— - 

In  this  way,  Mr.  Scorcsby  thinks,  the  most  compact  ^id- ;  *'of  J 
be  generated  in  a  few  years.  Other  ffelds  are  formed  of  bo!:;*)"'*'" 
packed  ice  cemented  by  frost,  lee-fields  have  ari  iotariable '"-'-^'■ 
deiicy  to  drift  to  the  south-westward,  amid  various  dr  cflrv^ry 
itiiDds.  TheyApp^r  in  June  in  the  filing  Ifrtititttes,  sHd  v.  Vay 
are  yearly  brt)ken  ap  by  the  agi/arlon  df  the  '«ra«t9  whert  they  ad- 
vance to  the  open  ocean.  When  two  fleld^  Coitae  in  contact,  *lie 
ctonci^ion  is  frelnendous. 

Mr.  Scoresby  gave  a  description  of  iTie  pYisent  siitna^ion  Or  boun- 
daries of  the  Circuftlpotar  ice,  both  in  rio^e  And  irt  o/riW  st^asun.*, — ^^ 
which  it  it  Impossible  td  abrid^.  Such  ia  the  outlint^,  thai  when' 
the  ice  touches  the' south  point  of  Spitzbergen,  a  barrier  is  i'  'utei 
against  access  to  the  open  sea  farther  north,  where  whales  ore  to 
be  found.  If  this  batrier  consist  only  of  packed  ice,  and  he  not  ce-- 
itiented  into  fields,  the  ships  a^e  forced  through  ii,  with  great  dif- 
ficulty no  dbubt,  and  not  without  peril.  In  June  this'  barriei^ 
divides  In  the  middle,  and  when  the  vessels  return  fmiA  the  fishing 
it  frequently  happens  that  no  vestige  of  ii  is'  to  be  seen,  The  larg- 
est fields  of  ice  are  always  moving  and  changinj^  place,  generally 
drifting  to  the  south-west,  although,  on  account  of  thef^  vast  ex- 
tent, it  is  difficult  to  estinlat'e  the  amount  df  the  chbnge.  A  ship 
beset  in  a  field  wU  carried,  with  a  seihicircular  sweep,  between  fif- 
teen and  twenty  leagues  in  fifty  hours.  Twi  ships  embayed  ia 
packed  ice,  within  a  few  furlongs  of  each  other,  were  Separated  ttr 
the  distance  of  some  leagues  in  fhe  cOUr^  of  two  days,  afid  yet  the 
continuity  of  ibe  pack  of  ice  appeared  io  Hbe  eye  to  have  redlained 
unbroketl. 

The  eflfects  of  the  ice  on  the  atftiosphere  ar«  very  Striking.  A 
atroog  gale  blowing' against  one  side  of  a  Ifli^  field,  is  so  moderated 
is  its  passage  over  the  ice,  that  it  is  scarcely  felt  otl  the  other  side. 
Moist  and  temperate  gales  from  the  soutiiward,  on  reaching  the 
fields,  imttl^diateiy  dischai^  their  supCt-fluOUsmomure  in  the  form 
of  snow.  The  ice-Mink  is  a  curious  phetidnleitbn.  The  rays'  of 
light  w;hich  fait  on  the  ice  are  refiected,  while  those  whSdh  fall  in 
the  water  are  in  a  grfeat  (nehsufe  absorbed.  A  luminous  bci'~''-)~  ' 
ptaTs  in  the  horizon,  containing  a  beautiful  map  of  the  ice  ,'eacie- 
times  10  perfect  that  a  practised  ey£  can  determine  wheti  ;.  'd  ' 
.  ice  or  pScifed  iee  be  represented.  ■?»»         '  j 

ta  tne  last  patt  of  hik  paper  Mr.  Scrorestiy  treated  of  the  practi-  { 
cabillty  of  reaehln^tfae  North  Pille.by  s'ettin^^  off  from  the  north  of 
Spitzbet^n,  and  travelling  over  the  ice.  That  this  may  not  be 
met  with  a  Smile  of  contempt,  we  may  mention  that  his  reasonings, 
and  the' statements  founded  oti  hi^  own  experience,'  went  a  great 
Way  in  reniovlng  the  objections  of  aonie  df  the  most  dlslinguished 
S^ottEbh  philosophers!  Mr.  Scj^resby  ha^  been  several  times  be- 
y8nd80'*'N.  lat.  Indeed,  he  otiioil^  occjt^ibtl  Tfiade'a  ntarer  ap' 
pKach'to  the  polar'  point'  thSn.^UiJ'  other  scientific  observer.  Cap- 
tain Phipps  (trf>rdMuIgravrf5'in  177»"reactied  ao'aj'jbut  in 
lS06'Mr>&coresbj^'(th£atfctiDS^  (^icf  elate' tb  fai^'&ther,  well 


^^'  .'<^  one  of  tbe  tncwt  enterprizing  uid  iDtclli^nt  captaioi  la 
^  -  .>n«ei.hiDd  nwit^  iMWtwed  V  A^  m  ^ii"  N.  a  dinance  of 
b  '  iJO  \eagots  Trom  thejwle.  Even  wheo  north  winds  had  pre- 
■m-at-t^fiityaj  Mr.  Sooml^  did  iMt'  >fiDd  the  oUd'  otscfi  muofa. 
difeMtttfironibatof^O^N.  With  wotdlen  cfodiingi  thnefore,  he 
thinks  the  cold  would  not  be  ov^vhelmiD^,  and  an  ^external  £iir» 
mert  of  varnl^ed  !JI!t  would  protect  the  body  from  moisture.'  it 
would  be  intponible  to  accomplt^  &  journey  of  1300  miles  (600 
goiag  and  600  returning)  without  Ihe  assistance  of  some  fleet  quad- 
nipeds  accustomed  to  hamess.  Hein-deer  or  dogi  are  tbe  only  ani- 
malMbat  could  be  employed,  and  they  must  he  procured  from  the 
qouu.^swlMoie  ^the;  aft  t^tood.  I>ogii  Br«  mpttf^nlyand'tnict- 
Abll^.and  would  on  tjie  wh^e  be  preferable.  J^rhprip  ,im)st  tilft^ht 
pfor.«rtd  frotn  the saipe countries,  fk^  sledges  mi^  ti^Ais^t,  and 
W  tbe  foroi  :of  l/oMi,  ia  cpse  of  .spaces  of  opeii  watj^r  qpqurriii^ 
Oetwees  a  month  and  six  weelv,  Mr.  Scmtliy  thi(d(G,  would  suffice 
t9t  the  joMroey.  To  avoid  the  retarding  effects  of  soft  snow,  .be 
au^eMS'that  the .puty  should  tfet  out  by  the  nloseof  Ajiril.  When  th« 
j^d  of  the  magnetic  needle  as  a  director  should  be  loA,  hy  >(■  pole 
being -directed  to  the  zenith,  the  sun  would  be  the  only  guide.  X 
^umiQWBffir  would  be  ap  indiipeosi,ble  iostmment,  With  a  cfaio- 
aometer  a^usted  to  the  meridian  of  north-weit  Spitsbergen,  the 
bearing  of4hesun  at  the  time  of  noon  (provided  this  could  be  accu- 
qU^'y  wceftaioed  Very  oear  the  .pol«)  would  aSbrd  a  line  of  direc- 
t)W>  jor  tbe  leturo  j  tbe  petition  in  regard  to  loQgitude  being  cor- 
ceeted-twioe  a  day.  White  bears  are  tbe  only  liMiog  enemies  to  be 
«l^)catad ;  but  they  are  not  likely  to  occur  id  namben  Very  far 
north,  .as  their  food  mwt. necessarily  be  scaiY».  Mr.  $coreshy  has 
little  expectation  of  mountainous  land  occurring,  and  he  tbinka  it 
bigh^.lnprobable  that. the  sea  will  be  found  free  from  ice  at  the 
^Le,  m  the  Dutch  navigatois  have  Cfserted  it  to  he.  Mr.  Scarasby'a 
ample  experience  cootioces  him,  that  thick  weather  is  only  to  be 
dreaded  as  the  accompaniment  of  soidherly  winds,  which  occur  bitf 
Mldr  m.-aAcl  at  distant  intervals.—- Suchajourney  mutt  necessarily 
be  }  ■  lidov ;  but  great  difficulties  havjC  in  former  times  been  mttr 
«oVo.  .travelling  (he  northern  ice.  In  the  Spring  of  1715, 
Ale*'  '  "iaroolF,  a  Costack,  travelled  from  Siberia,  in  a  tledge 
4ra>.^^  V  ilogs,  near  400  miles  northward,  over  a  surface  of  packed 
ioe.  ~'tie  tras  oblifred  to  atop  about  the  78lh  degree,  on  account  qf 
"the- provisions  for  his  Aap  nlling  short ;  by  killing  sonie,  and  f^- 
ing -the  oihen  with  the  carcase*,  he  efiected  his  return  in  safety. 
jB«t  ii  tbe  party  were  to  reach  the  pole  either  by  means  of  rein-dev 
or  dog^  and  these  entirely  to  fail  through  cold  and  fiitigua,  it  is  at 
kau  poasible  that  they  might  be  able  to  accomplish  their  return  on 
Jbot,  drawlt^  their  provisions  in  a  sledlge ;  a  large  party  of  the 
crews  of  the  Butch  Greenland  Seet  w^ec^ed  in  1777  havipg  tra- 
TCTMd  tbe  ice  for  a  hundred  leagues,  amid  the  ffiventy  of  the  arotic 
.winter,  and  actually  reached  the  ^cttlements.of  the  Danish  mbtioo* 
arics,  wEthont  any  atutaUe  prenaiations  for  such  a  murur. 

Vot.  VI.  H"^  n.  *  K      .  Google 


ftoTAi  iNnrnm-or' ntANfcc.  '  •      >   ■ 

AceoKit  of  the  Labours  ^  the  Claa^  Mathematiad  aod  Pkyncal 
Saeiuie$i^tkeS^aiListUuteof^aiKeJttriBgihB.Yevl8i4. 

\.  Plajiical  Department,    By  M.  le  Cfaeralter  Cuvier>  Feipetual 
Secretary.       , 

Chsmistht. 

(CMttNw{/«M  Vol.  V.  p.463.)  !  . 
'  Mpfe  than  a  hundred  years  ago  there  had  been  extracted  fHtOk 
the  quarries  of  OEniDgen,  near  the  lake  of  Cooitaace,  a  petrified 
ahdeton,  which  Scheuchzer,  a  oaturaUat  of  Zurich,  hid  teben  for 
that  of  a  Jtaa,  and  nbich  he  'had  engraren  under  the  title  homo. 
dilavH  testis.  More  recent  naturalbo  had  consodered  it  atf  ^tfac 
skeleton  of  a  fish.  M.  Cuvier,  from  the  simple  inspecticHi  of  tbc 
figure  published  hy  Scheuchzer,  had  omsidered  it  as  an  unk&owa 
and  gigantic  spteies  of  mlaniBoder.  '  Having  made  a  journey  to 
Harlem,  where  this  celebrated  fossil-  is  deposited  in  the  Teylttun 
Museum,  and  having  obtained  permission  from  M.  Van  MaruiUf 
Correspondent  of  the  Class,  andl^rector  of  diat  Museum;  to  dig- 
into  the  stone  in  order  to  expose  those  parts  that  bad  been  bitlierto 
concealed,  M.  Cuvier  discovered  feet,  wiA  tfaetr  bones  and  toeS| 
small  ribs,  teeth  along  two  large  jaW-bones;  in  short,  alltbe  chnac^ 
teristic  parts ;  so  that  it  is  now  no  longer  possible  to  doubt  that  the 
skeleton  really  belonged  to  a  satamaader.  He  has  shown  to  the 
Class  a  figure  of  this  fossil  thus  exposed,  which  he  mean*  to  send, 
together  with  a  descriptioij,  to  the  Academy  of  Harlem. 

The  same  member  has  exhibited  a  head  of  the  last  animal,  called 
pakeothermm  medium,  recently  disengaged  lirom  the  gypsum  of 
Montmartre.  This  head  was  complete,  and  confirmed  ail  the  con- 
clusions hitherto  drawn  from  isolated  fragments. 

M.  de  Humboldt,  Foreign  Associate,  has  communicated  ibt 
truly  astonishing  history  of  the  volcano  of  Jorullo,  which  burst  out 
in  1759  at  Mexico,  on  a  well  cultivated  philfbrm,  where  twonTers 
of  cold  water  flowed,  and  where,  during  the  memory  of  man^  no 
subterraneous  noise  had  betn  heard.  The  catastrophe  was  annouoced 
tome  months  beforehand  by  earthquakes  and  bellowiogs,  whidi 
cwttinued  IS  or'20  days.  A  shower  of  ashes  then  felt,  and  niore 
"■iolent  bellowtngs  took  place,  which  induced  the  Hihabitants  to  fiy; 
'flames  arose  over  an  extent  of  more  than  haK  a  league  square; 
pieces  of  rock  were  thrown  up  to  a  great  bdght ;  the  crust  of  the 
earth  rose  and  sank  like  the  waves  (rf  the  sea ;  there  arose  aa  iann- 
'inerable  multitude  of  imali  conCs,  from  six  to' nine  feet  hlgh^  which 
covered  the  siirfikce  of  the  platforor,  and  which  still  remain  there. 
I^ally,  there  anae  in  the  direction  of  S.  S.  E.  and  N:  N.  £.  six  ; 
"iiills,  the  principal  of  whieh,  still  distinguished  by  a  burning  crater, 
is  not  less  than  1600  faet  in  height.    These  fri^ful  operatioin  of 


Natuf  oontiaucd  bom  the  mooth  t^  September,  1759,  till  luxt 
FebnMiy.  fiye-witDCMes  declare  that  the  noise  was  equal  to  what 
■^tyM  have  bmi  produced  by  thousands  of  canooa,  and  that  it  wsf 
■ocoHfiwiicd-bir-a  buroiogheat,  part  of  which  still  continues;  for 
BCdeHumbout  foood  Ue  heat  of  the  soil  SC°  Fabr.  higher  than 
tbat  of  the  stiiioa>here.  Every  inorpiog  thousands  of  columns  of 
■mdie  rise  frofn  the  cones  and  the  crevices  of  that  great  platf(x-m. 
TIm  two  rivers  now  eoatajn  hot  water  impregnated  with  aulphureted 
Indn^en  J  and  v^tation  a  only  beginning  to  appear  upoa  tht^ 
ssutered  couDtiy. 

Tliit  volcano  is  46  leagues  from  the  sea,  and  nearly  as  far  fro)ii 
tbe  neaicri  active  volcano.  On  this  occasion  M.  du  Humboldt 
Mfluuks  that  several  Tolcaooes  of  the  New  Wodd  are  at  as  great  a 
disUBcefrom  th«s«a  as  this  Is;  while  in  the  Old  World  we  know 
'  no  volewio  that  ii  12. leagues  dlstaut  from  the  ^a,  and  the  greater 
-BiiBlbar  are  upon  the  ibore.  This  SL'ientific  traveller  informs  us, 
lilwwise,  that  all  the  great  volcanoes  of  Mesico  are  found  not 
■gpfly  in  almost  the  same  line  transversal  to  the  direction  of  the 
Cofdileyrai,  but  likewise  within  a  few  minutes  of  the  same  parallel, 
at  if  they  weK  all  -elevated  above  a  subterraneous  crevice  which 
-  exMods  ftom.sea  to  sea.  He  ascertained  all  these  facts  by  measures 
aiul  i}cterminatioQs  of  positions,  as  exact  as  troublesome  to  take,  , 
l^pablicwill  see  the  whole  details  in  the  continuation  of  the 
cc^brated  worjc  in  which  M.  de  Humboldt  has  consigned  the  result 
of -^  great  work  on  America.  ^ 

M.  da  Humboldl,  in.a  memoir  on  vegetation  in  the  Canary  Isles, 
hu  stated  some  general  cpnsideratiops  on  the  geography  of  plan& 
'  B|v  combining  the,  results  of  observation  with  the  double  innueoce 
which  the  latitude  and  the  lielght  in  the  atmosphere  produces  on  the 
temperature,  he  has  fixed  for  a  certain  number  of  points  the  limits 
of  popetual  snow,  the  mean  temperature  of  the  air  at  that  limit 
takni  during  the  wliole  year,  and  likewise  the  particular  temperature 
^f.  the  wioter  and  summer  months ;  and  he  has  shown  that  we  may 
4«diipe.ic9m  these  different  data  the  habitual  distance  between  that , 
limit  and  the  heighu  onarhich  tKes  and  corn  grow ;  and  that  even 
tbe  yariatioDS,  appareotly  capricious,  which  the  same  species  of 
trees  present  in  different  climates,  may  be  explained  when  we  join 
totboe  dau  die  consideration  of  tlie  period  of  the  year  when  each 
tree  iacicases  in  bulk.        . 

.    It  has  been  long  knoSKO  tliat  the  number  of  stigmata  is  not  con-  - 
ttaat  in  the  &mt)y  of  cypereffi  {   nor  Wits  it  believed  that  these 
variations  wtjre  sufficiently  Impoitaat  to  serve  as  a  basis  for  the  dis-' 
tinctivn  of  the  ^^era. 

M.  Schkuhr,  a  German  botanist,  first  observed  ttiat  in  the  genus 
of  carex  there  exist  specias  with  two  and  three  stigmata,  and 
that  the  number  of  thete  organs  is  always  the  same  as  tliat  of  the 
angles  of  the  fhiit. 

Our  associate,  M .  the  Baron  de  Beauvoii,  has  generalized  this 
ebse^atioa  to  all  the  plants  of  the  family.   '  He  has  remarked  some 


\4b  fnceeiiitgs  Vf  fl^loit^iKeal  Socktim.  (Ai*. 

thi^t  hkro  Wr  (tfanata,  Aai'ia  wHA  1}te  frtA  ^  '^Wftttiy  'qtftf- 
draflgaWj  m  fdSt  in  soi^fe  'of  il^  f^n^  .Stt^h  1a  jmMcuIu'M;  'ih'fe 
scfiteimsmarisa^,  '^i'gdkjiiafsiltacotum  'rif  M.'dfe'hi  flwiillfiw*, 
aml^  vei7  retfiftrkable'hHt'  genU5'hF(nigtit4Hiiin'lHfe'<:^|)(!'fi^M'.'=<M 
Petit  Thouare,  kind  rfliiA  M.  de  BiiiOTbh'diUs  tt(nr*,'btrtt'Am|ft 
hi  the  ripetitioB  of  a  qdatorftary  tiiiiiber  in'tbe  Bfflifrtrit:  piha-W 
]tsBo*cr. 

/M.  de  BeauvDis  conclude  from  his  ofe'Biratibns  *ift'tfife'lrtiliiftb^ 
itf  st^iii&ta'liBs  abTtnportance'more'iliiin'stitBcl^t  lA'firtiiih'ttfe 
generic  characten.  This  will  be  so  much  the  mote  Mt^^A^MWto, 
as  some  ^nera  of  cyper^  lialtc'tneiy  bumertiiis  sjietii^,  V(!ry'«H&T 
^blt  to  distinguish. 

^.  de  U^auVois  has  Uken^  made  neW  bhserv'atibnt,  ivhMb  ^ 
His  opiitloo  mure  atid  iViUre  confitin  'a  ilbti6b  «li?ch  'Bfc  tKals  'Ib»- 
Entertained  and  supportell,  reSpectlne  the  ftnctififtition  of  ■brtSItt*!*^ 
tiabiely,  that  the  gt^n  powder  ^ich  6fh  tlie  arilt,  Md'IfHKIi 
Hedwig  cbiisiders  astbcsted,  is  aothi^gehe'fl^n  tlie'pdlleti':  'ttiUl 
that  the  true  seed  is  contained  in'tvbat'bbtattiits^erbi'the'tolMrJMft 
of  the  urn. 

'M.  de  Bcauvois  has  remarked,  that  at  Brst  this  greeo  powd*, 
like  the  pollen,  is  nothing  else  thftn'^  coin[»ct,  shmel^ss 'trtUia, 
which  gradually  acquires  ctinsistencej  and  lafhsttJIvidesmtqptntdli)^ 
the  grains  of  which  are  united  by  small  'fitanieriti,  and  coA^iM^j 
each  bf'tWo  or  three  small  compartrnenta,  fiill  of  a  humor  c^'- 
parable  to  the  aura  seminalis  of  ordinary  pollen';  udd'iilixed  Wifii 
other  smaller  giiiins  which  are  opaqite  and  ov^nd.  Ilifs  -sudcenive 
divHion  holds  eqtially  with  the  powder  coi^tained  in  the  itlifftirtti 
hodie^  of  the  lycopodiB,  and  in  the  'interior  of  the  mnsht<o^^ 
called  lycoperdons.  The  little  centi^  body  regarded  hitherto  'di  % 
columella,  which  varies  in  form  iti  diifbrent  geriera,  but  pri^HitWte 
pearly  the  same  shape  in  the  same  genera,  and  to  which  !b  iSL 
Cases  the  green  powdef  is  attached,  tertninates  ?n  an  a^fidtx, 
which  is  prolonged  in  the  opercula  of  the  urn,  knd  'which  ^Tls  <^ 
With  that  c^ercula ;  so  that  the' pretended  columella'Is  'then  '^}>Af 
doubtless  to  fectlitate  the  escape  of  the  little  ^tnsWhiCh"H.'de 
Beauvois  has  observed  there,  and  which  ha  considers asseeds. 

This  skilful  botanist  has  observed  that  in  the  polytricha  and  tith^ 
mosses  the  small  filaments  which 'Hedwig  consider  as  anthene  ai<e 
still  perfect  at  a  period  when  the  powder  in  the  urn  has  acquired  itt 
full  developeuient.  But  the  contrary  ought  to  be  the  case  if'thesa 
filaments  were  male  organs.  They  ought  to  have  performed  their 
function  and  to  be  decayed,  before  the  green  powder,  cousidCrei^ 'as 
the  seed,  has  come  to  a  state  of  maturity.  Hence  M.  dc  Beauroh 
concludes  that  the  filaments  in  question  are  rather  female'  oiv»». 
The  mosses,  then,  belong  to  the  class  of  polygamia ;  for  M.  de 
Beauvois  shows  that  the  small  opaque  grains  which  he  has  seen  in 
the  columella  were  also  seen  ana  represented  by.Hedwig,  at  least  ia 
the  bryum  striatum.  The  urns  of  mossesi  then,  according  to  M> 
3e  BeauVob.'areiQcontestably'hennBphrodite  floweis. 

5  ,  t.ooglc 


U.  du  Petit-Thonan  has  made  the  Clasi  acquainted  with  some 
interesting  observatioin  id  vegetable  philosophy.  One  ainong-  others 
slows  veiy  well  the  conn^upn  of  the  leaves  with  the  woody  layer 
of  the  same  year.  Wheo  a  lea?  fellsj  we  see  at  the  base  trf  its 
eedicl^a  Qumber  of  £oiR^  mriable  aecordiDgto  the  fonn  of  the 
leaf,  anirtn?'  nflmbei"  orTCamfs  ol  which,  it  is  cbmposedf.  These 
are  sections  of  as  Ibatjy'fltanwn&j'whii^  are  vessels,  or  rather 
Ittndles  of  the  fibres  of  the  1^.  M  we  examiae  the  place  from 
vfaich.  the  le^f.fell,  we  discover  tne'same  points,  and  we  msy 
%iattw^p€^\i^vXt  rtitcj-th^itiftrtor-  tif'  ih«  w0a4';  l»u»'U'  we  itwke 
tfii''5aim^a63^rvdtI6n'ifi  th'e'spritig,  npon  a  leaf  newfy'den4ope£ 
the  filaraajts  <rill,  he  foimd' fb', Attend' only  to  4h«  sut«fc*  tiftli* 
«6di  '  Ift^flr  thfvi,  m'Snthfr  "*l«''  "  new  feye*  of  wood  heiDc 

The  sf n^e  bot^qis^  fiasinaSe!' curious  rentarks  fespeeting  the  r^i^ 
fiSi^df  o{',t^e'tVfniber  of  stamina  with  that  of  the  oth^  parts  ^f  the 
fl3#er,'aii(l  his  foyod  'thgt  in  several  genera,  as  tWpofygonUH^ 
rheum,  &c.  fii  which  tht^  delation  seens  veiy  irregukr  and  Infmn- 
Etant,  ^he  pufpbero/  sthminai^equaHo  the  sung  irf  the  divisibas  of 
Ae  calix  antF  j^stHs  t^l^en  tt^efher.  'l^ib  il  a  singular  fact,- the. 
cwnpiof)  of  wh^ch  Wltn  the  ^oeral  strtictura  of  the  flower  Ii'd^ 

M.  Desvaux  has  presented  a'  in^nieiir'«li  b  ftmify  oP  pbats  ^ 
fructification  of  which  is  eonceaje^  nqipely,  the  algce,  compre- 
bendina^  among  othen,  tA\  the  ^ei  plants  called  fucus.  He  has 
iniijiiiiJB  to  fatdriiA  in-  th^  stiverd  new  geneni}  andi  h^^  ^de 
experiments  to  ascertain  if  the  filaments  by  wfaicb  ^b^  iWA  ^dh^^  19 
the  rocks,  gQ4  t°  'he  bottom  of  the  sea,  be  true  roots.  For  that 
purpose,  ajfter  having' detached  several  feet  of  their  naturril  adhesions, 
he  fixed  them  to  stones  by  means  of  cords,  or  othCT  artificial  me- 
thods, and  plqnged  them  agnio  into  theses.  Having  visited  them 
some  time  after,  he  found  that  they  had  increased  very  sensibly.  It 
was  knows,  likewise,  that  some  species,  as  the  fucus  natans,  live 
and  increase  very  well  without  being  attached  to  any  thing. 

H.  LamoUFOux,  Professor  at  Caen,  has  sent  Mveral  'memahl  to 
Ae  Glass  on  the  ^ne  plants,  which  his  nearness  10  the  sea\  hw 
enabled  him  to  observe,  and  to  which  he  gives  thfi  nasie  of  thaW- 
■iopbytes.  After  having  pointed  out  all  the  divisions  of  which  they 
are  susceptible,  he  has  considered  them  as  furnishing  food  to  man 
Upd  tb^  ilM^pno'  animi^  as  u^fiil  in  rural  and  domestic  economy, 
Mid  )»  tl^  frts.  One  is  astonished  to  leara  how  man^  useful  and 
9ffpa/t^n  mrposes  tlj^  are  applied  to  by  different  nations.  Some 
fit  thfW  diri^y,  or  form  tnem  into  a  nourishing  and  agreeahlf  - 
>pily  I  fOthers  esmlpy  them  for  feeding  their  catt)(;.  They  are  all 
flRIwhls  eS  furnishing  ifpda,  and  they  constitute  an  excellent  manure. 
Scnne  fumi^  sugar,  others  dye  stufis.  Of  some  mats  are  made, 
and  drinking  vessels,  and  even  musical  instruments.  What  it 
called  Cwwun  raoif  c(»utitates  a  valuable  reojedy,  &c 
(ZV  1«  cMUfeM.) 

n,,:-A-..>yGoogIe  ""■ 


Scitnii/tc  hUUigence. 


iCIENTIFIC   INTELLlGUNCAi   AVU  VOtlOtS  OT  IPMBCTS 
CONNSCTBD  WHS  8CIBNCB. 

I.  Ltctiires. 
Th«  Jblloving  iMtuNt,  wlwh  ««e  formATlj  delivered  io  tbe 
Tbnue  of  Anuomy,  will  io  future  be  ddivered  in  the  Medical 
Tlieatre^o.  4-2,  Great  Wiadmill-Kreet: — 

1.  Oa  ^  Lawi  of  tli^  AnfiiH4  Ecoaomy,  and  the  Tbeoiy  sod 
Pnctioe  of  Fhyuc:  by  George  Pp»noD,  M.D.  F.R.S.  KBior 
phyuciaD  to  bt.  George'*  H«pitali  &«  &<:■  * 

2.  Or  Materia  Medic«,  Tbrtipeutics,  and  Medical  JoriiprD. 
deoce :  by  Ridianl  Harriioo,  M^  £>•  FeJloF"  of  the  Royal  College 

'  of  Phyfiisuiiu,  and  Pfayndan  to  the  Northera  Oiipeniary. 

3.  Od  Chefliisiiy :  by  — :-  Grv»»ill»i  M,.  D. 

4.  On  thf  Theory  tod  Practice  of  Suisery :  by  B,  C.  Brodtc^ 
F-R.  S.  A^istKDt  Sui^epi!  to  Sl  Qeorge'a  Hofpitat 

Sir  Everard  Hcme'i  gratuitous  lectures  to  the  pupils  ft  St, 
George'<  Hivpital  lyill  *l)o  )k  ffi*ea  ia  this  theatit. 

D.  rttro-Ctrile. 

'  There  ha*  been  lately  fiwud  at  Flnbo,  near  Fahliili>  »  Sw«4(»t 

I  new  substance,  cuntaiatDg  . 

Lime .47-77 

Yttria 14-60 

Oude  of  cerium, '. IS*1$ 

fluoric  acid   ' 24'i6 

99-98 

McMrs.  Gflhn  and  Berzelius  have  given  it  the  name  of  yttro- 
etrite.  It  has  been  found  in  the  form  of  a  powder,  of  a  vitdct 
iKriour,  or  pale  blue,  cohering  pyzophysalite. 

UI.  Siemheilite. 
Tliis  mineral  has  been  )ong  yaluQd  in  collectioni,  on  acconnt  of 
Its  blue  colour,  bill  has  been  merely  considered  as  -ouartz.  Cooiit 
Steinheil,  Governur  General  'of 'Pirilandj  having,  iiowever,  from 
jthe  angles  of  scmie  crystub,' consfdered  it  as  tomethiDg  di&reM 
from  guartz,  requested  ProlRnsbr  Gadolin  to  examine  it ;  and  h^  hn 
found  ii  to  contain  a  largf  quantity  of  alnmiha.  It  a]^;>eara  to  be 
sometliipg  between  quartz  and  saj^Uire, 

•  8»n>c  of  Dr.  Ee*fidn'(  lectvt*  an  d«U*«Tcd  at  Uf  Af^ttK,  in  GeorjMlieet, 
BanaTer.iqaare,  ' ' 

n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


IV.  FiuQ'^temaU  of  IJaae. 
Hiiiit  a  Tcllmriib  substance  which  accompauiet  the  oxide  of  tia 
at  Finbe,  near  Jlihiuo.    Ii  b  seldom  got  in  laige  tnaswt;  but  » 
qitead  oD;the  quartz  <w  felifiar.    It  is  a  camhiMym  of  fluoric  and 
aneoic  aeidi  and  lime. 

v.  GadoUnite. 

Mr.  B^zeliut  bai  found  that  all  the  gadoUoitei  cootaia  ceriuo^ 

and  that  the  ^lia  hitherto  obtaioed  frooi  gadolitHtc  has  not  been 

jMire,  but  coDuined  cerium.    He  has  lately  daeorered  a  melliod  of 

Mparatiug  the  cerium  &om  the  yttria. 

VI.  New  Mass  ^  Native  Iran  discovered-^Btumenlmh's  Jirirngt- 
maU  of  the  Human  ^mies. 

(To  Dr.  nouM.) 
HT  DEAR  SIR, 

If  yon  can  make  any  use  of  the  taXkmin%  noticei  for  the  miied* 
laneoua  articles  of  the  next  number  of  your  Journal,  1  bes  you  will 
insert  them  in  any  manner  you  think  proper.  Being  again  in  cor- 
respondence with  Germany,  I  may  be  enabled  in  future  to  fiiiniih 
you  with  other  materials  for  that  part  of  your  publication. 

Baron  Moll,  of  Munich,  write*  to  me  that  towards  the  end  of 
October,  18U,  a  mass  of  native  iron,  weighing  about  200  lbs.,  hai 
been  discovered  by  a  shepherd  at  Lenarto,  in  the  comitate  of  Sarosfa, 
OD  the  declivity  of  a  small  range  subwdinate  to  the  Caipathi&ii 
mountains.  Internally  it  is  lijj^t  steel-grey,  approaching  to  silver* 
white ;  externally  it  is  covered  by  a  sli^t  coat  of  a  dark  drown 
nst;  itssurbce  ts  rough,  uneven,  and  marked  with  impresiions; 
only  three  cavities  are  observed,  which  tnay  be  called  cells;  but 
they  are  without  any  of  the  olivine-Iike  substance  which  has  been 
found  witbin  those  oi  the  Siberian  native  iron.  Tlie  form  of  this 
mass  is  irregular  and  flat,  as  if  compressed.  It  is  of  a  very  close 
grain,  and  takes  an  excellent  polish ;  iti  fracture  is  hackly  in  a  high 
d^ee  ;  it  is  perfectly  malleable  in  the  cold ;  its  solution  in  nitric 
acid  is  of  a  light  emerald-green  colour.  A  complete  account  of  it 
will  be  given  by  I^fessor  Sennovntz,  at  Eperies ;  and  a  chemical 
analysis  by  Dr.  Schuster,  of  Pesth, 

In  the  New  AnaUal  Register  for  ISIS,  the  following  notice  has 
been  taken  of  the  P/t^sionomies  NaliojiaUs,  published  at  Paris  :-<-■ 
"  This  tract  is  drawn  up  agreeably  to  the  system  of  Mr.  Blnmen- 
bach,  who,  in  truth,  has  derived  his  classification  from  Gemlin 
\nc),  with  a  mere  variation  of  the  names :  for  the  five  divisions 
under  which  the  human  species  is  enumerated  by  the  fivmer,  we 
mean  the  Caucasian,  Mongul,  American,  Ethic^ian,  and  Malay, 
are  only  the  white  man,  brown  man,  red  man,  black  man,  and 
tawny  man  of  the  latter."  Whoever  is  in  the  least  acquainted  with 
tju  respective  merits  of  the  two  Professors  confronted  in  this  pas- 
ss^,  will  probably  not  be  dtq^ed  to  believe  that  the  celebrated 


UB  .  Stieiitifie  BttOgtike.  [Aim. 

author  ot  »  many  origbal  worlcs,  especiaUy  relative  to  the  history 
of  the  huaian  species,  should  haVe  coodesciinded  to  commit  pta- 
etiitem  on  a  4trt«|t,  <*ha,  whatever  tscrlt  his  IiAoriouB  woila  may 
beWtb*^  A  'pr»^,  ca^dot  ptw^Hily  lay  diam  toa  rittglcbrisind 
tl&tiy(!lMtiv^t(f  A««l(^kiqdcstiaa:^  The  lact  is,  tbatfilune«- 
hach  published  his  classification  of  the  human  species  m  ewty  at 
177^,  in  the  fint  edition  of  his  Manual  of  Natural  History;  and 
afterwards  O^^U  '"  ^  ^^  edition  oT  bis  work  Dc  Generis  Humaoi 
Vst^etate,  5c.  Iti  17&8'  the  sami;  cRtrniotf  was  ad^tbd  by  Gtaelia 
flfjhts.edhrodof  tlnfifedsTcSystema  Natdrffi,  t.  i.  p.23,  4eq.  whei^ 
^fHtiUf  Aifiit^Snlh^  tlia  ^ntct  from  which  hi  ha»  d^rired  tb«lfi> 
he  substitutes  five  oatnes  perfectly  improper  for  des^naticg  die 
varieties  of. the-human  species. — Svum  aiiifue! 
'''i         •    •  ■      Believe  me.  my  dear  Sir, 

Your  very  obedient  servant, 

^HebAJTuMwH,  JumS4,  ISISi  ■  ChARLKS  KoNIO, 

ta.  Ov$koCmrtHeiit  tt  JOariile.   -. 

(To  tir.  Tbonuoa.) 

■  ■     'bBAft  SI*.      ■ 

lii'ose  of  your  readers  who  feel  intefrested  in  Dr.  FlemiliE^  Iiig** 
tiioos  paper  on  orthoeeratites  will  find  in  the  FhiTosophical  IV^s* 
actions  for  1757>  arti'cK  I04th,  a  valuable  description  of  a  shell  of 
fi^^  iaiue  spgcies,  discovered  in  a  marble  table  at  an  ion  in  Ghent. 
iTie  marbl^  was  of  a  coarse  grain,  and  dusky  brown  colour,  inttT'- 
spcrsed  with  strealcs  of  white.  It  was  2  feet  4^  inches  long-^ 
con  came  rated  tube,  of  a  slender  conical  fi?are,  and  conusted  of  Sd 
i»rtitions  or  concamerations,  all  filled  witn  the  stalactical  matter  dT 
the  marble.  I  am.  Sir,  yours,  &c. 

Aiviam,  I81&.  M.  W. 

VIII.  On  the  Extracthn  of  the  CttSe  Roots  of  B'tnonmls, 
By   Mr.    Lockbart. 

(To  Ur.  Tbointwi.) 
SIR,. 
The  utility  of  a  method  for  ^tracting  the  cube  roofo  of  binomlaQ 
'being  well  known  to  your  algebraical  correspondents,  I  am  anxiouis 
tW  the  Qne  which  I  have  given  should,  if  correct,  be  estab^hedt 
past  all  doubt. 
Your  correspondent,  Mr.  Atkinson,  supposes  thaf  I  liave  made  a 
.  mistake,  in  respect  of  the  root  relating  to  t.    Let  ^  be  tiie^  by  the 
proper  teat  ctf  aa  eqaatioa. 

a*  -  252  «  =  ISiW 

Where  a;  =  19,  I  =  1^  ip  ss  « 

Then  -  t  =  ,^  6f8  +  v'  -  17?S00  +  ^  648  -  V  -  l/aWO. 
The  cube  root  of  the  fint  ni^aber  is  —  fi  +  V  —  4@>  BOk 
m.  e  —  V  —  ^i  tB  eoncetedb^MF.  Atkiuwn. 

n,,:-A-..>yGoogIe 


.'3<  -«•  U 

■/  - 

•  m 

-t; 

12 

V  - 
■/  - 

-  48 

- « 

72  + 

72  ,/- 
12  ■/  - 

-  48 

-  4« 

.    -e>18  +    V  —  tfZMOi 
ftrlMhMMA^iWfidii^  i*lsal««:p»gft»ter(hkii-|'>  tiienM* 
•^  j-^  r  W«M  be  a  MertMdtetkn.    WKen  the  eqMtlom  an  «»- 
^iiciUcg  /  ii  iwBgiiu^i  mnd  coowfueotly  ba>  no  magDilude. 
I  am,  SiCf  jour  obedient  serrantf 
FUUHtai,  /mv%  I51&  Jakxb  LoCKOAan 

IX.  v^fAer  ^jy/oHOB  u  a  Cad-Miae  near  Newcastle. 
iWe  an  sorry  it  ihould  so  toon  again  be  our  pftinfut  duty  to  ^n 
to  ncori  another  of  those  melaocholy  accidents  which  hvfe  to  fin- 
quently  of  Ute  occurred  in  our  coal-mines.  On  the  mornlog  of  the 
27th  ult.  an  explDBion  of  inflannnable  air  took  place  in  the  mbella 
pt,  St  Sberiff-hill  eoDIety,  by  which  Mr.  Rigget,  tiewer,  Robert 
Fof^et,  uadenriewer,  Geo.  Fogget,  deputy  oremiaii,  John  Scot^ 
overman,  Wm.  Wind,  Nich.  Codling,  Gen.  Richsrdmn,  and  Ja*. 
Young,  deputy  overOiaA ;  also  Oeo.  Wind  and  Hugh  Barker,  bojn, 
were  unfortunately  killed.  During  the  night  of  the  S6th,  a  fiill  (^ 
the  roof,  accoBipanied  by  a  feeder  of  water^  took  place ;  the  watar 
passing  into  the  dip  workings,  fillad  them  up  so  as  to  obatniet  the 
current  of  ur,  and  an  accumulation  of  the  inflammable  gas  eosqed* 
When  Mr.  Scott,  the  ovefman,  went  down  the  following  mwninr, 
he  observed  that  the  ventilation  of  the  mine  was  nearly  smpendeS, 
tai  immediately  stopped  th*  pit's  crew  from  going  hi  to  mtk  oodl 
hi  coaM  investigirte  the  cause  of  the  fltR^don.  "DiW  he  oicetei 
ia  ft  diort  time,  and  restwed  the  ventilation  partially.  He  then 
•etit  to  Mr.  Fi^et  tot  bia  advice  and  amstance,  who  went  dvwa 
Ae  j^t  wttboat  km  ot  tioM,  MBOmpanicd  by  )us  two  brother^  th« 
inrties  above-named^  aod  John  Ledger,  a  bcqr.  Had.  Mr.  Soott 
-not  acted  with  thia  caa^oa  and  jud^tnt,  it  is  Dwre  than  tikelf 
«hA  the  I'ltci  of  the  wb(de  of  the  orew  woald  have  been  lott.— Mr. 
nigget,  Mconpanied  b^  Ma  Skott  and  the  oth^  pnrtiea,  tbsa 
|*oceeded  mto  the  workmBs,  to  make  swch  a  change  in  the  ventila* 
lirai  ai  woidd  ifttwe  the  pit  ta  a  taft  woriMg  atai*  t§m*    WUlf 

Cookie 


] 


51|«  .SekiUtyk  iiUU^hUt.  [A». 

they  veie  employed  in  tlua  operatkn,  the  gas  backed  sgainst  ^'< 
,  current  of  atoiospheric  air,  and  exploded  at  the  lights  which  xrere 

§  laced  -to  windward  of  l\xfmd  part  of  t^e  vorfcings.  Mr.'  Geoi^ . 
'c^get  being  ill,  waaobliged  to  leave  his.tvo  brother  and  their 
ccHDpaaions  before  tb«  accideet  bmaned,  and  oearly  reached  the 
bottom  of  the  pit,  accompanied  by  Uobt.  Copeland,.  who  was  em- 
ployed in  the  rail-way,  when  they  felt  the  shock  of  an  explosion, 
l^ey  immediately  returned,  and  had  proceeded  to  within  200  yards 
of  the  place  where  Geo,  Fogget  had^left  his  brothers,  when  Cope- 
land  found  it  impracticable  to  go  further  with  safety,  oo  account  trf 
the  after-damp.  He  then  advised  Geo.  Fogget  to  return  with  him 
to  nve  the  alarm  j  but  this  he  refused  to  do,  and  penisted  in  going 
tn-Zy  to  iook  after  his  brotherg,  and  James  Young,  fab  son-in-law. 
He  unfortunately  fell  a  victim  -to  his  exartions ;  he  died  of  suffix*-  . 
tion,  aod  his  body  was  found  lying  beside  those  of  his  two  brothen. 
Jobo  Ledrer,  the  only  survivw,  was  within  30  yards  of  the  candles 
at'ffhicfa  the  gas  fired,  and  saw  it  fire;  he  was  slightlr  hurt,  bvt, 
4fOia  the  efiect  of  the  after-dam[^  lay  about  ten  honn  in  m  aiate  of 
~  ioiMwibility  before  be  could  be  rescued  from  hn  perilous  Mtuation. 
The  ^»tre  accident  forms  another  powerful  reason  of  the  tiecesii^ 
for  the  eStaUbhment  of  aocie  general  and  pemuwent  fond  fw  the- 
iriief  of  the  survivors  of  those  who  luSer  ia  the  nuKS. 

X.  Nkkel'Antimonerz. 
This  new  ore  of  nickel  has  been  lately  analyzed  by  Dr.  Jc^ 
fit  finind  the  constituents  as  follows  :»— 

Nickel 23-33 

Antinomy,  with  anenit^  and  a  trace\    gj.g3 

of  iron / 

Sulnbar 1416 

Unknowo  body,    probably  lead   orl    '  g,„ 
silver,  with  silica J 

lOO-OO 
XI.    Netif    Curve, 

(To  Dr.  Tbonuon.) 
SIR, 
By  presenting  to  the  readen  of  the  AttniUs  ^  FkUosi^htt  the 
fijilowing  earre,  which  I  denominate  a  radiatrix,  yon  will  oblige 

Genesis  of  the  fVtw^-^If  mie  extremity,'  O,  of  the  radios  of  a 
circle  be  made  to  trace  the  ctrcumfierence,  the  ether  extremity,  V, 
inoyin'g  always  iiilhe  direction  of  a  given  poin^  F,  ia  the  ciicnm- 
ference  will  (jescribe  a  <urve 'called'R  radtaJrir. 
■  DeSmiums. — 1.  The  directing  pointy  F,  is  the  feeus.  2.  Any 
anvight  line,  ^  P  <»  F  P',  drawn  finm  the  focus  to  any  pwit  jo 
the  curve  is  a  ckord.  3.  The  chords  F  V  and  F.V'^  which.  pa» 
through  the  centre  of  .the  cirIc,  ase  die  interior  and  exterior  axes. 

r,.-A-..>yGoogIe     ■  ■ 


ISIS.)  Sdmnyk  httl%miai.  ISS 

4.  Tbe cxticmMet,  Vipd.V'»  o(  fyc  axcmvtfie  tnMrior and  ex> 
ierior  vertices.  5.  The  angle  cootkioed  by  a  chord  and  the  azii  ii 
tbe  vertiaU  iaclmtaion  of'  mat  ditird.  -    - 

ConUary  1. — The  faiteiior  aus  is  equal  to  the  nxlios  of  tb* 
circle,  and  die  exterior  axis  n  eqiud  to  thrice  that  ntditu. 


Carol,  i. — If  radtut  equal  wait;,  ai^  intericnr  chbtd,  F  P,  k 
equivalent  to  tbeWiflferancc  batneen  the  interior  axi^  and  tfafr 
rectangle  under  twice  that  axis,  and  the  cosine  of  tbe  vertical 
incliDalioD  of  that  chord.  * 

Cotvt.  3. — Any  exterior  chord  is  eqnimTent  to  the  interior  axil 
pht  or  flitniu  tbe  aame  rectangle,  according  ai  the  chord  i>  greater 
<jt  less  than  the  interior  axii.        

Corot.  4. — If  a  tangent,  G  H,  to  the  circle  at  the  focus  be 
limited  by  the  cure  at  G  and  H,  it  is  equal  to  twice  the  interior 
ttdi. 

PrUilem,r-~Anj  obtuse  angle,  ABFj  being  ^ren,  to  trisect  tt 
by  means  of  the  radiatrix. 

Produce  A  B  one  of  tbe  sides  of  the  angle,  and  upon  the  other 
ude  let  a  segment  of  a  circle  be  described,  which  shall  contain  an 
angle  equal  to  the  supplemental  angle  C  B  F ;  throu^  F  as  a  focus, 
and  the  centre,  V,  as  an  interior  vertex,  let  a  radiatrix  be  described : 
through  tbe  pohit  P,  where  the  curve  is  cut  by  the  diameter,  draw 
FPD,  join  DB  and  DV.  The  angle  DBF  is  one-third  part  of 
ABF. 

For  since  D  V  is  equal  to  B  V,  the  angle  ,V  D  B  is  equal  to 
VBI),  and  the  exterior  angle  DVP  to  douUe  c^.the  interior 
m^e  DBF:  and  because  DP  i»  in  the  direction  of  the  focus  F, 
DP  beqaal  to  the  radius  DV:  therefore  the  angle  D  PV  is  equal 
to  D  V  P,  or  ii  double  of  V  B  D.  Now  tbe  angle  C  B  F  being 
Mualto  BDP  in  the  ajtenate  Segment,  the  angles  -DBPnnd 
DP  B  ar«  together  eoual  to  ABF:  ,and  consequently  the  angle 
D  B  P  is  one-mini,  and  D  P  B  two-thirds,  of  A  B  F. 

CorDiian/. — The  excess  of  60**  above  one-thild  of  A  B  F  is  one- 
fburd  of  ttw  (upplemeatal  acute  spgle  C  BF. 

n,,:-A-..>yGoogIe 


tfaat  tbejr  aU  caosut  of  tno  ftwVnct  l/^h^^ipnf,: .  L,  ^  uguia  oil : 
2.  A  lolid  lubsUDce,  analof^uB  to  was  or  taUow  id  its  appeannce 
and  pfvpcrtiea.  He  leparated  these  two  bodiea  from  eaCQ  other  by 
a  mechaBical  contriTaiuie.  The  oiT  » imbibeil  by  paper,  but  not 
the  wax.  He  therefore  coropresied  the  faitf  body  in  the  midst  of  a 
aufficient  quantity  of  paper.  The  oil, was  abaoabed,  white  the  wax 
remaiued  lo  a  state  of  purity.  Theo  by  steeping  the  paper  in  hot 
water,  the  oil  separated  from  it,  and  swam  upon  the  sut&ce  of  the 
liquid.  The  wax  or  tallow  thus  obtained  from  all  the  fiitty  bodies 
teMaely  resembles  myrtle  wax  iti  its  pioperties.  if  the  &tty  body  be 
liquid,  it  is  necessary  to  congeal  it,  by  exposwe  to  cold,  before  sub- 
jecting it  to  pressuie. 

The  following  ale  the  results  which  Braoonnot, obtained  from 
different  £itty  bodies. 

Vosges  butter  in  summer  is  composed  of 

CBI. 69 

Tallow ,. 40 

loo 

Bi|»  i»  winter  ito  oonpqfit^  was 

Oil W 

Tallow   «» 

WO 
Hog^s  krd  was  composed  of 

Oil fia 

Tallow    W 

I  100  • . 

.   Of  vmtoWf  oC 

Tallow   ;« 

Oil » 

Itoa 
Mmns  <t  ste«;,  •( 

TsBow M 

oa 7* 

JOB 
OKwfct,<( 

Ol v.. ....68 

Tallm  .,,, M 

IM    . 


m^4  sd00i/ii^umgm0,  >f$r 

Duck  fat,  of 

Oil ',.. 72 

Tallow 28 

100 

"■■-■■  .bfl,..,..,;^;".... ,-n  . 

m  '■■ 

Wu)w(«<^  white)  ....,.....i..f...«.^ 

.     '     .',  ^ 

on  ttf  twMt  almonib,  tff 

yellowwl , .....,.,  76     - 

Tallow    ..., -.-.JUt    ^ 

6a  of  eoba,  of  .    '. 

Yejlowoa M 

Tallow 1.. .........  46 

TOO 

fSee  JlDOBles  de  CUmie^  Kfanh,  18150 

U.  Vauqueliik  wuBiqg  to  examine  the  fffopertles  of  clilonc  ad9 
lately  fliscorerea  bjr  M.  Gay-Lussac,  prepared  &  qoaotity  of  it 
according  to  the  process  of  Mr.  Chenevix.  This  process  consists  ia 
tahiratiog  barytes  with  chloric  and,  and  evaponiiitig  to  dryiHts. 
TV  salipe  mass  is,iDiKed  with  pboapbate  of  Ailrer,  and  boiled  ia 
^ater'acii|Iulatedmtb  acetic  acid.  Notbiog  remains  in  soluticm  but 
chlorate  of  barytes,  which  b  easily  obtalaed  in  crystals.  Vauquelia 
put  "so  grains  of  these  crystals  into  a  platinum  cnicible,  and  ex- 
posed them  to  heat,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  quantity  of  osjrgengu 
which  they  contained.  A  violent  detoiution  took  place^  and  The 
imicible  was  brphen  and  torn  in  a  remarkable  manner.  Vauquelia 
&und  that  these  crystals  were  not  pure  chlorate  of  barytes.  Thegr 
contained  likewise  a  mixture  of  acetate  of  barytes.  To  this  salt  the 
^MHiibustion  was  owing.  Heote  Chensvix's  taohoi  «i,pt^^'uf$ 
ti»  halt  dwe  not  aoawer. 


n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


Articlb  XU. 

List  of  Patents. 

TsoHAs  Pom,  Bttchwortb  Milb,  RtdEmuvmr^  io  die 
couQty  of  Herti;  tat  combjoii^  ud  applviiw  prau^let  already 
known  for  the  purpcwe  of  produdo;  pure  nesE  mam  lir,  and  ot 
such  mode  or  mtua  of  oombinatioa  and  qipticaiioa  of  [HtDdples 
already  knoWD  to  such  purpose!  as  aforesaid.     March  14,  1815. 

Jonathan  Ridowat,  MaDchester ;  Gw  a  method  of  casting  and 
fixing  at  the  same  tjme  metallic  types  On  the  suriace  of  metallic 
cylinders  ormetallicrollefi;- or  any  cylinders  orrollen  having  ine> 
tallic  surfaces ;  or  on  blocks  of  metal }  or  on  blocks  baring  metallic 
surfaces ;  or  on  flat  metallic  plates ;  for  the  purpose  of  printiog' 
patterns  on  cloth  made  of  cotton  or  linea>  or  both,  M^ch  14, 
1816. 

William  Bbll,  Ediobuigh  ;  fw  certain  improvements  in  the 
apparatus  for  manuscripts  <»  other  writings  or  designs.  March  14, 
1BI5. 

Hknrt  Houumworth,  Anderton,  near  Glasgow ;  for  a  me- 
thod of  discha^ng  the  air  and  condensed  steam  nrom  pipes  used 
Jot  the  conveyance  of  steam,  for  the  purposes  of  heating  buildings, 
or  other  places.    -March  18,  1815. 

Cbarlbs  GsNT,  CoDgleton,  CheMer,  andSaCARB  Clakk;  fot 
a  method  of  making  a  swift,  and  other  apparatus  thereto  belonging, 
for  thepurpowof  winding  silks.     March  2),  1915. 

Richard  Suits,  Tibbiogttra  House,  Suflbrdshire ;  for  im- 
prorements  in  smelting  iron  stone  or  iron  ore,  lead  or  copper  ore^ 
and  other  mineral  or  metallic  aubsUncesj  also  of  re6niDg  crude 
Iron,  lead, 'copper,  gold,  silver,  .tin,  and  alt  other  metab  or  me- 
tallic bodies ;  and  of  making  and  manufacturing  iron.  March  29, 
1815.  ' 

Thouas  Ba«ot,  Binningham ;  for  t  method  and  machine  for 
passing  boats,  barges,  and  other  vessels  from  a  hij^er  to  a  lower 
level,  and  the  contrary,  without  loss  of  water.     April  4,  1815. 

WiLbiAU  Vaughan  PaluBr,  Ilminster,  Somersetshire;  for  a 
method  of  twisting  and  laying  of  hemp,  flax,  ropes,  twine,  line, 
thread,  mohair,  wool,  cotton,  silk,  and  metals,  by  machineiy, 
whereby  considerable  saving  of  manual  labour  is  e^ted.  April 
4,  1815.         , 

William  Loss,  Point  Pleasant,  Northumberland  ;  for  a  plan 
for  fire-pla«s  or  furnaces  for  heating  ovens  and  boilers,  and  the 
water  or  other  liquids  contained  in  boilers,  and  for  convertiog  such 
water  or  other  liquids  into  steam,  for  the  purpose  of  working  en- 
gines, and  for  other  uses  in  manubctures.    April  8,  18t5. 

Joshua  Shaw,  Mary-street,  Fltzroy-sqoare,  London;  for  cer- 
tain improvements  in  the  tool  or  iostrumeat  called  the  glazier's 
dianaona.    April  U,  181S, 

n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


1*1  so 


■MtlKmbgitlToliU. 


Arucu  XIII. 
METEOROLOGICAL  TABLE. 


B*.«-r.., 

Tumi9«nut. 

T— 



181K. 

VTind. 

iLtx. 

HiD. 

He4. 

Hu. 

Mtn.  1  M«l. 

H«p. 

RstB. 

S&Mo. 

Mar  31 
64  Mo 
Jonel 

5    W 

29-90 

29-75 

29-825 

72 

54 

63-0 

_ 

< 

N     E 

3(K« 

29-80 

29-91* 

70 

3S 

5*0 

2 

N   W 

3<M8 

2*93 

19980 

72 

55 

63-5 

•22 

.3 

W 

89.93 

89-88 

29-880 

69 

56 

Gi-5 

'     i 

4 

.  w 

29113 

)9-55 

19-690 

73 

54 

63-5 

1 

s  w 

29-55 

29-41 

29-480 

71 

47 

59-0 

3    W 

29-46 

29-33 

29-395 

68 

ia 

56-5 

■45 

■28 

7 

29-62 

29-33 

29-475 

72 

42 

57-0 

0 

8 

3      E 

2977 

29^ 

29-695 

72 

46 

5J-0 

"^ 

9 

S      E 

29-78 

29-77 

29-775 

73 

+2 

57-5 

10 

N-  W 

2978 

297* 

29-760 

72 

45 

58-5, 

H 

a  -w 

29-73 

2967 

29700 

76 

4t 

58-5 

1 

12 

s 

39^ 

29-43 

^550 

68 

43 

55-5 

13 

Vir. 

29*43 

29-21 

I9'320 

67 

50 

58-5 

■50 

-80 

14 

W 

29-43 

29^! 

29-315 

68 

45 

56-« 

9 

> 

15 

s  w 

2979 

29^ 

29*)S 

70 

45 

57-« 

16 

E 

2979 

29-50 

29-645 

80 

55 

67-5 

43 

i? 

s  w 

29-53 

29-46 

29-495 

76 

54 

64-0 

:     3 

18 

s  w 

19-63 

29-55 

29-590 

74 

51 

62-5 

19 

s 

29-63 

29-59 

89-610 

73 

55 

64-0 

so 

N 

29-68 

29-5? 

29-625 

74 

46 

6OH) 

SI 

s  w 

29-81 

2968 

29745 

73 

50 

61-5 

■48 

9 

S3 

N     E 

29-86 

29-81 

29M5 

74 

44 

590 

4 

Si 

N     E 

t9-96 

29-86 

29-910 

71 

52 

61-5 

M 

N 

29-96 

29-86 

29iH0 

74 

55 

64-5 

8 

25 
36 

N     £ 

30-01 

29-86 

29-935 

67 

40 

53-5 

27 

W 

30O8 

29-98 

50^30 

75 

44 

59-J 

38 

W 

«^ 

3»08 

WIU 

IL 

49 

64-0 

■30 

SO- 17:29-81 

So 

38 

60-10 

173 

1-85 

^  td^fonlos  U  9  A.  M.  >D  the  dmv  iDdlcblS  ip  At  int  t6\iui,a.\  dMk 


REMARKS. 

Sixth  Montk.^^.  Cloud]' ;  windy.  5,  G.  Wiody,  with  Cttmu- 
kstratus  and  CtrrorumuAii  jAkwOh..  7-  Heavy  clouds;  and  «t 
noon  a  sound  like  diatant  thunder  in  the  N.  E.:  towards  evenin; 
the  dense  clouds  dispened,  leaving  Cirri  at  a  great  elevation,  and  a 
most  beautiful  pneffra^t,  gFWfif^^rmti,  in  the  N.  VV. : 
hygrometer  (De  Luc's)  30°  to  35°.  '8.  A  grey  sky,  with  Orromt- 
nulus,  &c.  which  formed  heavy  Cumulastratus,  threatening 
thunder :  but  ■  few  drops  of  s^  falliog,  the  whole  dispersed^ 
nve  some  Ciirostratvs.  9.  Citrocumulus,  with  Cimslratus;  » 
fine  day :  much  dew  at  night,  with  5°  difference  in  the  thermo* 
Dteteis.  16.  A  very  fine  day :  in  the  course  of  ii^ich  the  ^lygro* 
iieter  ^nt  to  24*!. '  H.  s.  m.  Clouds  nht}  wipd,  followed  by  a 
■loMrer,  \p.  m.  12.  Overcast :  liygrometer,  Bt  S  «.  m.  62^ ;  at  9, 
95* :  clouds  Irom  S.  B.,  the  wind  being  N.  W. :  »  little  raifi  i  tho 
Cv^pning  obscure,  with  (fimu  -^aqd  drr^Hrt^tu  haticing  yeiy  low. 
13.  Clofidy  momin? :  showers:  after  which  large  ^mwZi,  cpjqied 
-•nd  followed  by  Nwtbi:  from  one  to  two,  p^m.  Iieayy  ntio,  the 
triad  giHng  from  6.  T&.  by  B.  to  N.  J^  then  back  (o  &  W.  :  soma 
ihuoder  followed,  and  «  fine '  ^temooa,  bat  '^i*  Oitroitraius  n» 
«ia[ned  at  night.  14.  Wet  awmittg';  *^gr.  at  8,  72^ ;  at  9,  50"  i 
af^r  Mne  abowen,  a-fine  afterebon.  15.  Hygr.  at  9,  55": 
thoWm  and  wind :  fair,  p.  m.  16.  I^gr.  at  9,  89° :  a  fine  day  t 
Oima;  a  oorooa  round  (he  numn.  ,I7-  Hygr.  71°:  wflt  morning^ 
and  rain  in  the  night :  a  'stigbt  ^qwe^  ji.  m.  18,  Hygr.  52*  t 
rain  in  the  night:  rather  cloudy.  '  !l9.  -Hygr.  43* r  a  pretty  fins 
day.  20.  Hygr.  40* :  rather -a  dull  day.  21.  Hygr.  55«t 
pleauot :  not  ve^sunoy :  about  one,  p.  m.  a  clap  of  thunder,  and 
a  few-lar^.idrops  of  rain.  2ft,  tlygr-4it°:  a  duUcWudy  momingt 
o:lhtle  raioj  p.  m.  23.  Hygr.  44° :  morning  cloudy ;  pretty  high 
iriod.-  :24.  Hygr. 38°;  monung  very  dull:  about  12,  cleared  up, 
KDd  theiun  shone  vei^-hot :  p.  m.  cloudy  again.  25.  Rain  in  th« 
lughti  p'm.  sunAloe  at  Intervab.  SE6,  '2J,  38.  Veiy  fine  dayat 
l»ygr.4«*'to62".  I 

RESULTS. 
Wipds  JfaiiaHe. 

BaioiMter:  "Greatest  height 30*1 7  inabM 

Least 29-21 

Mein  jrf  thejwriod 29'708 

llimnomdter:  Greatest' bdght 80" 

liewt...; 96 

Mewioftbe^wriod  ....  fiO'IO 
^^aporation,  TSS'itieh-         itaiii,  175  incV 

*••  Tbe  DhtervatioBB  fron  rha  16tb  iscliurn  to  tb«  end  were  Bale,  iaas 
absuKC  End  boMc,  b;  mj  ton,  ftobett  Howard, 

Tottbnha*,  t.  SOWABSt 


-   ANNALS 
PHILOSOPHY. 

SEPTEMBER,  1815. 

Article  I. 

BiografMcal  Aoooant  nf  M.  Pamentier.    By  M.  Cumf^ 
SecietBi;  <A  the  Institute. 

XhE  sciences  have  made  that  dqpree  of  progress  u  nolonger  to 
excite  such  astoaishment  at  the  great  efibrts  which  they  luiqxMe, 
•od  the  lUikiDg  truths  which  tbey  bring  to  light,  as  at  the  ioinieQae 
■drantages  which  their  apolicatioo  daily  produces  to  society,'  There 
is  not  one  at  present  in  which  the  discovery  of  a  stogie  propositioa 
may  not  enrich  a  wlxrie  people,  and  change  the  face  of  states ;  and 
this  influence,  &r  from  dimmishii^,  must  dally  increase,  becaas« 
it  it  ea^  to  [Move  tliat  it  depends  upon  the  nature  of  things. 

AIIqw  me  to  make  some  reSections  on  this  subject,  which  cannot 
be  misfJaced,  eitlier  in  this  house  or  before  th'is  assembly.* 

HuDger  and  cold  are  the  two  great  enemies  of  our  species.  Tlrt 
object  of  all  our  hearts  u  either  directly  or  indirectly  to  combat 


This  it  accomplished  by  the  combioatioo  and  tbe  i 
<^  two  or  three  elementaiy  substances. 

To  nourish  ourselves  is  optliing  else  than  fo  replace  the  parcels  of 
earboa  and  hydrogen  which  respiration  and  tran^Antion  carry  off. 
To  warm  ourselves  is  u^  reura  tbe  dissipation  ckT  the  licit  wbiclk 
tespiiatioo  furnishes. 

To  one  or  other  of  these  functions  are  devoted  both  the  palac* 
and  ^.cottage  i  both  tbe  brown  bread  of  the  poor,  and  the  tx-   ' 
peouve  food  of  the  gluttoa;   both  the  purple  of  kings,  and  the 
tttteii  of  b^gus.    Consequently  architecture  and  tbe  libval  «% 


..    .  •  Thfi  SIv*  waarcriU  tttttrwch  Isitltsts. 

Vol.  VL  N"  IlL  I. 


.>y  Google 


t6t  Biographical  Account  tij  [Sept. 

agricuHnre  and  manufBCtures,  navigation,  commerce,  eren  the 
greater  number  of  wars,  and  tbat  great  developement  of  courage 
and  genius,  that  great  apparatus  of  exertion  and  knowledge  which 
they  require,  have  nothing  else  for  their  final  object  than  two 
simple  chemical  operat^ns<  Coase^e)H)y  the  smallest  new  &ct 
respecting  the  laws  of  nature  in  these  two  (^rations  ney  reduce  the 
public  and  private  expenses,  may  change  the, tactics  and  direction 
of  commerce,  may  transfer  the  power  of  one  people  to  another,  and 
may  ultimately  alter  the  fundameatal  relations  of  the  classes  of 
society.  .     - .      .  ' 

This  carboa.aQ^  tlii&- iij^'ogen,  -whick  4te  MBSune,  without 
ceasing,  in  our  Sres,  in  our  clothes,  in  our  food,  are  continually 
reproduced  for  a  new  consumption  by  vegei^lea  which  obtain  them 
from  the  atmosphere  and  from  Water.  Vegetation  itself  is  fixed  bj 
the  extent  of  the  soil,  by  the.  specie;  of.vcgetablea  eultirated,  and 
by  the  proportion  of  wood,  of  mesdows  ana  cofn-fields.  It  would 
he  rain,  therefore,  for  the  most  paternal  goTernmeBt  to  increase  the 
population  of  its  territories  beyo^n3"a  certain  limit.  All  its  cares 
~  would  be  inefBcacious,  unless  science  came  to  its  assistance.  But 
let  a  philosopher  contrive  q  fire-pUcc  which  saves  a  portion  of  the 
fuel.  This  is  exactly  the  same  thing  as  if  he  had  added  to  the 
qua^tK  of  our  t^ritwy  frf&Dted  wilb  wood.  Let  a  botanist  point 
out  a  plant  which  in  the  same  ^lace  funushesmove  nourishment. 
This  is  the  same  thing  as  if  he  had  in  the  same  proportieo  aug- 
mented our  c^tiratwt  fieMs.  bnmedEBtely  there  wiH  be  room  hi 
the  tountiy  for  a  greater  number  of  active  men. 

Haf^  ctmquesta  which  ocoasioa  no  eSusion  of  Mood,  and  which 
ic^«  the  disastere  of  rulgar  conquests !  Yes !  how  panAntieat 
soever  it  may  appear,  it  is  owing  essentially  to  tlie  progress  of  the 
sciences  that  socte^  does  not  smk  under  the  effects  of  its  own  fury. 

Without  chemistry,  whatwouM  have  become  of  ^  our  manu- 
foctures  when  we  were-shut  out  from  the  places  which  famished  the 
nw  DMUriels?  Has  not  vaccination  preserved  those  children  des- 
tined shortly  to  replace  tliose  that  have  been  wit  off  by  war  ?  And 
to  confine  ourselves  sdely  to  the  labours  of  Parmeotier  and  Count' 
AumfMdj  is  it  not  evident  to  all  rfte  world  that  the  perseverance 
with  which  the  former  encouraged  the  culture  of  potatoes  has  ren-* 
dtvfld -whole  eountries,  formerly  sterile,  fertile  and  inhabitable,  and 
has  twice  saved  us  within  20  years  from  the  horrors  of  famine  ;  that 
flie  discoveries  of  the  other  on  the  best  method  of  employing  com- 
biBtihtes  hare  counterbalanced  the  devastation  of  our  forests,  andt 
tbat,  applied  to  the  preparation  of  food,  they  support  even  at  this 
moment,  from  one  end  of  Europe  to  the  other^  an  infinite  ouaiber 
<&  uafoFtunate  persons.  -  j 

--■Let  any  person  reflect  fiw  a  moment  on  the  efftet'of  a  smaff  rtn^ 
provemtent  applied  to  so  great  a  scale,  Mid  he  will  see  thai  it  musk 
W  ^culated -by  hundreds  of  millonsi :-■   ---■-■■■• 

If  I  could  bring  before  you  those  fathers  of  families  who  no 
longer  hear  aroitndthtm  tlifi  meUAchdaf  oijes^of  wfliK ;  tliose  mo- 


th«ik  wb»lin»i««>«tn(l  thatnilb-Af  whicb  miaeiy  was dtyfeg  up 
Ob  swrer;  thne  cbiMNik  iriw  ao  longer  perUi  kf  tfadr  &it  yeii^ 
witbenDg  like  flowflds  1b' spiag  }-^if  1  conUiofann  dnn  toffixiiii 
Ibcy  wt  hiMitei  f&f  tkeit  ■MnurbotUflf  tlwfr  nisfbrtatm,  t&eir 
<»ici  of  gnrfilude  wouM  nnder  it  mmeceuaty  fn  me  to  spe«k  t 
Adrc'biMttOBeoF  jrait  wbv  vpouM  net  wilKngijr  eieba^e  hfa  finest 
dkcovo^  fop  sncb  ■;  concert  of  blonags, 

Yov  wiU'  li8t«nt  ihcnfere  wHh  mibp  iatfmsi  to  ^  tietadb' of  thie 
life  of  tbis  nefiil  dmb — tkii  it  a  tribute  vr^tk  ytm  n iU  paj>  to  those 
b  tjw  frngroBire  stitte  df  mffiiatioa  Mqoiret  tbe  most 

Amtome  Jh^aathl'  PwmeDikf  was  bora- at  MootcKdier  in  1737j 
tf  a  famU;  Mtablufaed  far  mmj  jmn  'm  diM  city,  tbe  chief  offina 
in  dw  riiagistiy  of  wfaicfa  it  had  HieA^ 

The  pMontiire  daeth  «if  hirfifdiaf,  ani  the  email  (ortuAe  which 
ha  left  tv  »  widow  and'  tbi«e  ]ia«agi  children,  ecmfined  the  &n( 
adacariooo(  M,  Paimflntiep  to  aniie  notiDda  of  Ldrtin,  which'  hia 
^Mher  gaie  hiiB— a  woBBan  rf  Ailkia^'  aad  better  informed  thait 
KOBtaf  harraok. 

An  hoBwt  ecricaiaatic  aDdertdoh  to  develroe  tbcac  first  germs,!  on 
tfaa  auppasitioa  that  dtis  joaag  man  might  beconM  a  ptccioos  suh» 
ject  for  religion ;  but  the  neceititjt  of  inpportitag  hik  dmily  oUi^ed 
him  to'  eh<kȣ  a  sitiiatioB'  Whieb  nbaU  &Ser  more  ape^  reAwroes, 
He  was  Ibevcfore  wader  the  oeceasi^  of  ioterruptiDg  his  stadles; 
aiid  km  laberioua  life  never  aHowed  him'  to  resume  them  agam  com^i 
^etoljk  Tbis  is  the  reasoB  whji  his  wDrkti  so  imKtruat  for  tfacir 
atiUty,  have  not  dwtays  that  order  and  pre^on'ii^iKb  IeBniiitg.and 
bag  fnette  albna  can  give  t6  a  wridbv. 

Id  17&$-hewas  boaad  appcotice  to  an  apoth  A^  of  Mentdidieiv 
and  nan  ymi  cuneto  e«iliaus  it  with'  one  of  his  relaitionSi'  who 
olvdsedr  tbe  same  ptofanion  i»  Rnia.  Hawiag.  shdwn  iatcHigaaca 
arid'  indoMr^  he  wn  siBid<7ed  in  1'75>  is  oMtbccai^  in  tfte  hos* 
{Htals  of  the  army  of  Haaover.  'The  late  M.  Bayen,  one  of  the 
BH8t  diilingnished  membaia  whom  diat  Ckaa  ever  poaseswd,  pre- 
sded  tboB  oVer  that  part'  of  the  xiianee.  It-  i>'  wcU  imown  that  he 
WIS  Ho  IcBS'  estimable  for  the  elevatioa  el  hit'  charaeter  than  for  lus 
UdeatK'  He  observed  the  &pnitioas  and  tbe  vesakir  conduct  of 
jouQg-  Pannenlier,  coaimcted  »  acquaintance  vrim  himy  and  in- 
troduced bim  to  M,  Chamousset,  iDtendant  General  ctf  the  Hos- 
^tds,.  rendered  ao  celebrated  by  hia  active  benevolence,  and  to 
iriiom  Paris  and  F^anee  are  indebted  for  se  many  utofol  establish- 
ments. 

R  waa  in  the  coavcrution  of  these  two  exeetl^at  men  that  M. 
Plmnentier  imbibed  tbe  notmns  md  seiltimeMs  which  produced 
afterwards  all  hii  laboun.  He  Itemed  tworthit^  equally  unknown 
trnhoM,.  nfiMeduty  it  waa  to  have  been  acquainted  with  them  :  th« 
oaoittand  variety  of  misery  from  which  it  would  be  possible  to  freir 
the  common  people,  if  we  were  seriouiLy  to  ocoa^  ouiadVca  witk 
1.  2 

n,r.^^<i"yG00glc 


IM  Bii^n^>hkal  jfeeima  of  [Starr. 

their  bappiocst ;  uid  the  number  and  power  of  thenwdrccs  which 
natuR  woold  oSer  agaisit  su  niuij  scouijes,  if  we  were  at  tbe 
trouble  to  extend  and  encourage  the  sttidr  of  them. 
-  Chemical  knowledge,  which  originated  in  German?,  vm  at  that 
time  more  general  in  that  country  than  in  France.  More  appliea- 
tioni  of  it  had  been  made.  The  n»oy  petty  soverdgn  who  divided 
that  country  had  paid  particular  attention  to  the  araelioratioo  of 
their  dominions ;  and  the  cbenist,  the  agncullurist,  the  friend  of 
useful  arts,  met  equally  with  facts  before  unknown  to  them. 

M.  Farmentier,  stimulated  by  bb  virtuous  masters,  todl  advati" 
tage  of  these  sources  of  instruction  with  ardour.  When  his  service 
brought  him  to  any  town,  he  visited  the  manu&ctnres  least  knowD* 
in  France ;  he  requested  of  tbe  apothecaries  leave  to  work  in  their 
laboratories.  In  the  country  be  observed  the  practice  of  tiie  l&r- 
mers.  He  noted  down  the  interesting  objects  which  struck  Itin  ia 
his  marches  along  with  the  troops.  Nor  did  he  want  opportunities 
of  seeing  all  varieties  of  things;  f(^  he  was  &ve  times  taken  pri- 
•oner,  and  transported  to  places  whither  bis  generals  would  not  have 
carried  him.  He  learned  then  by  his  own  ei:perience  how  far  tbe 
horrors  of  need  might  go,  a  piece  of  information  necessary  perhaps 
to  kindle  in  him  in  all  its  vigour  that  glowing  6re  of  humanity 
which  burnt  in  him  during  the  whole  of  his  long  life. 

But  before  making  use  of  the  knowledge  which  he  bad  acquired, 
and  attempting  to  ameliorate  the  lot  of  the  common  people,  it  was 
necessary  to  endeavour  to  render  his  own  situatioD  less  precarious. 

He  returned  then  at  the  peace  of  1763  to  the  capital,  and  re-^ 
aumed  in  a  more  scientific  manner  the  studies  beloo^ng  to  bis  art. 
The  lectures  of  Nollet,  Rouelle  and  d'Antoine,  and  of  Bernard  de 
Jussieu,  extended  his  ideas>  and  assisted  him  in  arranging  them. 
He  obtained  extensive  and  solid  knowledge  in  all  the  ph^ical 
sciences :  and  the  place  of  lower  apothecary  being  vacant  at  tbe 
Invalides  in  I7€6,  he  obtamed  it,  after  an  examination  obstinately 
disputed. 

His  maintenance  was  thus  secured,  and  his  situation  soon  became 
sufficiently  comfortable.  The  admmistration  of  the  house  seeing 
that  his  conduct  justified  bis  success,  induced  the  Kii^  in  1 77^  to 
make  him  Apothecary  in  Chief;  a  recompense  which  an  nnforeseeu 
accident  rendered  more  complete  than  had  been  intended,  or  than 
he  had  expected. 

'iTie  pharmacy  of  thelnvaiides  had  been  directed  from  its  first 
establishment  by  the  Saeurs  de  Charite.  These  good  women,  who 
had  made  a  great  deal  of  young  Parmentier  while  he  was  only  their 
br>y,  took  it  ill  that  he  should  be  put  upon  a  level  with  them.  Tliey 
made  so  much  noise,  and  put  in  motion  such  powerful  interest, 
that  the  King  himself  was  obliged  to  draw  back;  and  after  two 
years  of  eootroversy,  he  made  the  singular  decision  that  Parmentier 
should  continue  to  enjoy  the  adrajitages  of  his  place,  but  should  no 
kiDger  fulhlits  functioae. 

n,r.^^<i"y  Google 


iS\S.}  '  M.  ParmentuT.  185 

Ttiis  njidiled  him  to  devote  tbe  wbok  of  his  time  to  his  z«a]  for 
researches  of  geaend  ntilitf .  Fhim'diat  nomeDt  be  nerer  inter- 
rupted tfaem. 

The  first  opportanity  of  publishlnf  some  remits  respeeting  his 
fiiTOurite  subject  had  been  given  htm  ia  177^  hy  the  Acsdemy  of 
\Besaiicon.  J^ie scarcin  in  1769bad  dnvro  the  attention  of  the 
admiQistTation  and  of  philosophers  tomrds  vegetahles  which  might 
supply  the  place  of  corn,  and  the  Academy  had  made  the  history  of 
them  the  subject  of  a  prize,  which  Parmeatier  gained,  ^e  endea- 
voured to  prove  in  his  disseftatton  that  the  most  useful  nourishing 
substance  in  vegetables  is  starch,  and  he  showed  how  it  might  be 
extracted  from  the  roots  and  seeds  of  dtSereot  indigenous  plants, 
and  how  deprived  of  the  acrid  and  poisonous  principles  which  alter 
it  in  some  plants.  '  He  pointed  out  likewise  tbe  mixtures  which 
would  assist  in  converting  this  starch  into  good  bread,  ttr  at  least 
into  a  hind  of  biscuit  fit  for  being  eaten  in  soup.* 
-  There  is  no  doubt  that  in  certain  cases  some  advantage  may  ba 
derived  from  the  metboda  which  he  proposes ;  but  as  most  of  the 
plants  pointed  but  are  wild,  scanty,  and  would  cost  more  than  the 
dearest  corn,  absolute  famine  is  the  only  thing  that  could  induce 
mankind  to  make  use' of  them.  Parmentier  easily  perceived  that  it 
was  better  to  turn  the  attention  df  cultivators  to  such  plants  as 
would  render  a  famine,  or  even  a  scarcity,  impossible.'  He  there- 
fore recommended  the  potatoe  with  all  his  might,  and  opposed  with 
"constancy  the  prejudices  which  opposed  Uiemselves  to  the  propaga- 
tion of  this  important  root. 

Most  botanists,  aodParmentierhiinsdf,  have  stated  ontheautfao- 
lity  of  Caspar  Bauhin  that  the  potatoe  was  bronght  from  Virginia 
shout  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century;  and  they  usually  ascribe  to 
-the  celebrated  and  unfortunate  Ralegh  the  honour  of  having  first 
brought  it  to  Europe.  I  think  tt  more  probable  that  it  was  broqght 
from  Peru  by  the  Spaniards.  Ralegh  only  went  lo  Virginia  in  the 
year  1586 ;  and  we  may  conclude,  from  the  testimony  of  Cluvius, 
that  in  1587  'he  potatoe  was  common  in  different  parti  of  Italy^ 
and  that  it  was  already  given  to  cattle  in  that  country.  This  sup- 
poses at  least  several  years  of  cultivation.  This  v^etable  was 
pointed  out  about  the  end  of  die  sixteenth  century  by  several 
'Spani^  writers,  as  cultivated  in  the  environs  6f  Quito,  where  U 
was  called  papas,  and  where  different  kinds  of  dishes  were  prepared 
ftom  it :  and.  What  seems  decisive,  Banister  and  Clayton,  who  have 
investigated  the  indigenous  plants  of  Virginia  with  great  care,  do 
not  reckon  the  potatoe  among  the  number;  and  Banister  mentiotis 
expressly  that  he  had  for  12  years  sought  in  vain  for  that  plant ;  f . 


*  The  nemair  whicb  gsliied  the  prize  od  thti  qaealion  i  Indtgaer  let  T^etau 
~  '    "'    -■-■  'on cDpIs   ■  '     "' 

BlSino. 


D,g,t,7?(iB,Goi:it^Ie 


166  Bio§Taphhfl  -^ccvi^l  of  \SwrT. 

yibie  Poaibe^  found  it  jo  ^  jpil^  sWp  fm  M  t^  CordiUicrfu^  wbae 
the  Ipdiana  still  apply  it  to  tjte  sunf  pu^Kses  fls  at  lbs  time  ol  i^ 
original  discovery. 

'fj)ecustake  may  haye  .befen  owipg  tp  this  circumstonce,  that 
yirginia  pmd.uces  sevc«l  «lhei  tubej^ise  pJAQts,  which  froip  inqtcfw 
fect  descriptions  may  have  hee^i  njafeu^fip^  >vith  the  polaJat. 
]Jauhin,  for  eTampLe^  took  for  the  potatpe  the  pbnt  lat-Vedopfnamk 
by  Thonias  Haniot.  Tfaere  are  likewise  in  Virginia  Ofdinaiy  potOn- 
logs ;  bift  the  anonymous  author  of  the  history  of  that  couDtry  sayi* 
that  they  have  notbiag  ia  commoa  with  the  potaioe  of  Ireliuad  and 
EjTgland,  which  is  our  pomme  de  terre. 

Be  this  as  it  may,  that  admirable  vegetable  was  r^ceiFed  in  % 
very  different  manner  by  the  tattoos  Cfi  li^un^ie.  The  In«h  seem  to 
^ve  taken  advaDtace  of  them  fii$t  j  for  af  a^  early  period  we  &q4 
the  plant  distinguished  by  the  name  of  Irish  potaioe.  But  in  France 
they  were  at  first  proscribed.  Bauhin  states  th«t  in  hb  time  the  use 
pf  them  had  been  prohibited  ip  BuEgiiody^  because  it  was  ti^f^Kned 
that  thev  produced  the  leprosy. 

It  is  oiw^ult  to  believe  that  a  plant  so  ifimxejit,  go  agreeable,  fp 
productivej  which  reqaires  so  little,  trouble  to  be  rendered  fit  U^ 
food  i  that  a  rpiDt  so  well  defepded  against  the  iuteinperanae  pf  the 
seasoiu;  Oiat  a  plant'which.^a  sinjj^ular  prlvif^a  ynitesin  it$e)f 
every  advantage,  without  any  other  iacppvenipr»ce  ^lj"P  that  ftf  mt 
lastiag;  all  tfie  year,  but  whieh  evep  owes  to  thi^  e^cuiastance  the 
additional  advantage  that  it  c^not  b«  Ijo^rdcd  up  py  Qlpnic^listsr^ 
that  such  a  plant  should  have  required  (wp  ii^atunea  in  order  tp 
overcome  the  most  puerile  pr(ju4^- 

Yet  we  ourselves  nave  been  witnesses  pf  the  fiict.  The  English 
brought  the  police  into  Flanders  durii^  the  ytip  of  Louis  XIV. 
It,  was  thence  spread,  but  very  sparingly,  over  spipe  parts  of  France, 
^itzcrland  had  put  a  higher  value  on  it^  and  had  found  it  verf 
^ood.  Several  of  Pi^  southern  provinces  had  planted  k.  in  i^itgr 
tjpn  of  that  country  at  the  period  of  the  scarcities,  whieh  were 
iseveial  tiqies  repeated  during  the  la«t  years  pf  Iaujs  XV.  TurgoC 
la  particular  reiidered  it  fommou  in  the  Xamoiisin  and  the  Angoui- 
inqiSt  over  which  he  was  lotendant;  and  it  was  to  be  expected  that 
in  a  short  time  this  new  bnmeh  of  Mihustence  woHld  be  spread  over 
th^'  kingdom,  vhan  soipe  <>Id  phyficiaos  renewed  a^ipst  U  the  pre- 
juSipes  of  the  sixteenth  e^tiiry. 

.  It  was  np  longer  accuEe4  oi  producing  leprosy,  l^t  fevers.  Tl)e 
fjcarcities  had  pfodi^ced  in  the  south  eert^n  epi^eoiice^  wlfich  thisy 
thought  proper  to  ascribe  to  the  sol^  nieafis  whipli  existed  to  prevent 
tha:p.  The  Comptroller  Genertil  was  obliged  in  177l  to  request 
^e  opinion  of  the  faculty  of  medicine,  in  order  to  put  an  end  to 
these  fdlse  notions. 

Parmentier,  who  had  learned  to  appreeiate  die  potatoe  In  ttie 
prisons  of  Germany,  where  he  h§d  befn  often  eo)ifiaed  to  that 
food,  seconded  the  views  of  the  fijipister  by  a  c{iepiical  examipation 

,     r:,9,N..<ib,G00gIe       ■ 


c[  Afeioot,*  mirtneh  be>4>iaaaEmted  thtt'hoM  ht'iD:  «(HHtt- 
Mental  are  huitiul.  He  did  betMr  MW.  To  gl>re  llw  people  t 
niish  far  dwtn,  he  cultivaled  th«M  in  tbe  ap«n  fiElds,-iB  {ilaees  vvrf 
moch  fire^wnwd.  He  gmriei  ihon'Cirefully  Arrhi^  tbe  dsy  Obl)^ 
«nd  wu  bappy  when  he  had  excited  aa  much  curidsirf  is  tb  ioiwst 
people  to  -steal  aome  of  tliein  (hiring;  tfafe  tiigbt.  He  would  have 
wished  that  the  KJog',  u  we  read  of  the  EmpKnln  at  KMot,  bad 
tnoed  the  tint  ftvtovr  of  hh  Md.  His  Mi^y  «h<Mght  pfo^r  at 
least  to  wear  a  buDch  of  potatoe  flowers  at  his  batfett'tMte  m  the 
made!  of  tbe  Court  oa  a  featmil  da^:  NotM^  ttoile  wbs  wanting 
to  mlQce  aeveral  great  Lorda  to  plant  thia  root. 
-  B«R0Atier  wiibed  lile*i8«  io  engage  t^  -Molls  of  the  gk«itt  ift 
Ae  eenwe  of  the  poor,  by  -indvchig  them  to  )A-»t»i9e  tlieh-  sftiU  dk 
thepMatM;  fcr  hewaaatrai*  that  tbe  pbof  cooM  iVot  obtaiit {>Ma^ 
toes  ftiabundbiKeaaksa  they  <a»ldft)iiiiBh-th«  fieh  «ith  An  a^ree^ 
able  anicte  of  food.  He  infonaa  ua  that  be  one  day  gttine  a  dnmer 
coDiposed  entirely  oCpotatoei,  whb  20  dlflftretit  saMes,  idl  bf  whicti, 
graofied  the  )wiatei  of-  hit  gvetta.  .       -   '  ^ 

But  tbe  eoemies  ot  the  potatoe,  though  refuted  in  their  atteinpU 
to  pivre  it  iiuDrknM  to  the  health,  did  not  «onsi^br  thtmselvffi  a* 
^iMtqanked.  l%cy  preteaded  tbat  it  injured  the  fletdst  aHd  teij^ 
i<ered  tbe«  banen.  It  waa  not  at  all  likely  that  a  ^nt  wtiieh  is 
capable  irf  nooriahinf  a  jteater  nnnber  of  cattle,  aiid  tnutt^Iyiiig 
Ae  niaQure>  ahould  injure  the  soil.  It  ntur  MCessafy,  however,'  ti> 
answer  thia  ol^ectiaB,  aod  ttMntuider  riie  potatcw  in  aA  a^cultural 
point  of  view.  ParDMiHier  aecordii)gi;_published  in  different  ftmb 
every  thing  ivgardiitg  itf  cuhivaiion  add  uses,  efeti  in  feftlKzJil^  thfc 
soil.  He  iubrodacal  the  aub^eet  into  philosotdtittil  worite^  ihth 
popular  iaatmRioin,  into  jourmla,  imd  dictiooariefl;  intto  wdtks  df 
all  kinds.  During  40  yeatS'  he  kt  sib  no  oppMtdnity  of  re^R^ 
mendiDg  k.  Every  bad  jMar  wtu  a  kiod  of  aitxHiary,  of  whteh  hb 
profited  with  care  to  draw  the  atteotiou  of  mankind  to  his  favdoritt 
l^aot.  .  ' 

Hence  the  name  of  thk  salutary  wget^Ie  aed  Ms  oittS  bnv^  ^ 
eoole  altnoBt  inseparable  in  the  meniory  of  the  iHends  of  hbmtaDity. 
Even  the  common  people  united  them,  and  not  alvrays  with  ^tf- 
tode.  At  a  certun  period  of  the  Revolution  it  was  proposed  fb 
give  Panneiitier  some  manicipal  place.  Oneof  the  vUters  oj^osM 
this  proposal  with  fury  '.  "  tie  will  make  w  eat  potatota^"  said  Ke, 
*  it  was  beWbo  invested  them." 

But  ParmeiKier  did.  not  ask  the  suffl'agGj  '«f  the  fttepte:'  H^ 
Itnew  well  that  it  was  always  a  duty  t«  serve  them.  But  he  knefr 
equally  tbat  aa'kmg  aa  their  educatioa  rettaintfd  what  it  is,  it  Was  a 
duty  likewise  not  to  Consult  tbcm.  He  bad  no  doutJt  that  at  length 
tbe  advantage  of  his  plans  would  be  appreoiate ji    And  one  of  the 


•  EnmeD  Cbiraiqnc  dc  Psumm  deTerre,  &c.  Parli,  Didot,  ITTS)  <b4  Ouf- 
nge  Bcunamlqne  lur  let  Pommci  de  Trrtc.  U  Mduo'7,  nT4.  Butb  im  (be  »taf 
«dUiaS,  with  diAMM  tiilct.  -         -         ' 


r.<i-'f":>/G00glc 


ie$  Biagrap^eat  Aeeomt  of  [Sbpt. 

ionnoate  things  ■ttcn^ng  bb  old  kge  was  to  ue  the  Hlnmst  com- 
plete aucc«ss  of  bis  perseverance.  "  The  potatoe  has  dow  only 
friuids,"  he  wrote.  JR  oae  of  hi>  hut  works,  "  even  in  those  caDtons 
from  which  the  epirit  of  system  aad  conteotioD  seemed  vnxions  to 
banish  it  f<^  ever. 

But  ParaieotieT  was  not  one  of  those  persons  who  occupy  them- 
selves exclusively  with  one  idea.  The  ftdvactagea  which  he  had 
perceived  in  the  potatoe  did  not  make  him  neglect  those  o&lexed  by 
other  vegetable*. 

Maize,  the  plant  which,  ne^tt  to  the  potatoe^  gives  the  most  tea- 
comical  food,  is  likewise  a  present  of  the  New  World,  althoi^  ia 
pome  places  it  is  still  obstinately  called  Turkey  corn.  It  was  tbA 
principal  food  of  the  Americans  when  the  Spwaiaids  visited  their 
coasts.  It  was  brought  to  Eun^  much  eailier  than  the  petstoe; 
for  Fuchs  describes  it,  and  gives  a  drawing  of  it,  in  1543.  It  wax 
likewise  spread  more  qtiickly ;  and  by  giving  to  luly,  and  our 
TCuthem  provinces,  a  new  and  abum^t  article  of  food,  it  has 
greatly  contributed  to  enrich  them,  and  to  increase  their  popn- 
)atien. 

Parmentier,  Ihereibre,  in  order  tb  enooorage  its  culture,  bad  OMd 
only  to  explain^  as  be  does  in  a  very  comfdete  manner,  the  precau- 
tions which  ils  cultitAiiou  requires,  and  the  numerous  uses  to  which 
|t  may  be  applied.  He  wished  to  exclude  buck  wheat,  which  is  so 
inferiw,  from  the  few  cantons  where  it  is  still  cultivated. 

The  acorn,  which  they  say  nourished  our  ancestois  before  tbcf 
avere  acquainted  with  corn,  is  still  very  useful  in  some  of  our  pro- 
vinces, chiefiy  about  the  centre  of  the  kingdom.  M.  Daine,  In- 
fcndant  of  Idmoges,  induced  Parmentier  to  examine  whether  it  wai 
not  possible  to  make  from  it  an  eatable  bread,  and  capable  of  being 
Kept.  His  ex^rimvnts  were  uoiucceMful ;  but  they  occasioned  a 
-^mplett  treatis*  on  the  aomi,  and  on  the  different  [ireparationt  of 
jtB  food. 

Corn  itself  was  an  object  of  long  study  with  him  ;  and  perhaps 
he  has  not  been  of  less  serviee  in  eipuinibg  the  best  methods  of 
criod^g  and  Iwking,  than  in  spreading  the  cultivstioo  of  potatoes. 
Chemi)^  analysis  having  informed  him  that  brau  contains  no 
iwurishment  proper  for  men,  he  concluded  that  it  was  advantageous 
fo  ezchide  it  fiom  bread.  He  deduced  from  this  the  advantages  (^ 
■Q  econMpi^  method  (tf  griudiDg,  which,  by  subjecting  the  grain 
repeatedly  to  the  mill  and  the  sieve,  detaches  from  the  bran  eveit 
the  iqiaut(«t  particka  of  flour ;  and  be  proved  likewise  that  it  fur- 
pislwd,  4t  a  Iqw^r  price,  a  white,  agreeablei  and  m6re  nutritive 
hread.  Ignprance  had  so  misunderstood  the  advantages  of  this 
inethpd,  fbat  kws  had  long  existed  to  prevent  it,  and  that  the  most 

Ereciouf  pait  pf  the  grain  WH  given  to  the  cattle  ak»^  with  tiie 
tan. 

Parmentier  studied  with  care  every  thing  rehiting  to  bread ;  and 
because  books  wop}d  have  been  of  little  service  to  millers  an4 
ba^ers^  people  wfap  scarcely  read  any,  he  jndilcFd  GovcnuD^qt  to 


1015.]  ilf.  Pmmentkr.  16» 

establish  b  School  of  Baking,  fiom  which  the'  pupib  wmdd  ipeedily 
otny  into  the  prorinces  all  the  good  practices.  He  went  hiimelf  ta 
BrteDDy  and  Languedoc^  with  M.  Cadet-Dcvaux,  in  order  to  pro* 
p^^e  his  doctrine. 

He  caused  the  greatest  part  c^  the  bian  which  wai  mixed  with 
the  bread  of  the  stridiets  to  be  withdrawn  j  and  by  procuring  them 
a  dKMc  healthy  and  agreeable  article  of  food>  be  put  an  end  to  a 
nuiltitode  ot  abuses  of  which  th»  mixture  was  the  source. 

Skilful  men  hare  calculated  that  die  progress  of  knowledge  (a 
our  days  relative  to  grinding  and  baking  has  be«n  such,  that  ab* 
stractiDg  fron  the  other  vegetables  which  may  be  nbstitatcd  te 
eoro,  die  quantity  of  com  necessary  for  the  food  of  an  iedividuBl 
may  be  reduced  took  than  a  third.  As  it  is  chiefly  to  RuiiMiititr 
that  the  almost  geoeral  adoption  of  these  Dew  processes  is  owin^ 
-  thia  calculation  establishes  bis  services  better  than  a  thoosand  ptDe> 
gyrica- 

FlUed  with  a  kind  of  enthusiasm  for  arts  which  he  anredated 
icaarding  to  their  utility,  PumcDtier  wvuld  have  wishea  to  have 
restated  by  that  basis  alone  the  consideration  and  circumstances  of 
tbcM  who  exercised  them.  He  laments  particularly  the  conditioa 
of  the  baker,  whose  labours  are  so  severe,  wIkmc  mdustry  is  sub- 
jected to  r^ulations  often  vexatious,  and  who  never  tails  to  become 
one  of  the  first  objects  of  the  fury  of  tlie  people  OD  the  least  appear- 
ance of  scarcity.  His  good  heart  made  him  fo^ettitat  this  is  precisely 
one  (rf  the  conditions  of  the  existence  of  a  great  society,  that  the 
tndei  necessary  for  life  should  be  brought  to  such  a  degree  of  sim- 
.pUcity,  that  no  Icmg  time  nor  much  money  is  necessary  to  leara 
them,  and  that  of  course  those  who  practise  them  caunot  demand 
great  salaries.  No  nation  could  exist  if  the  labourer  pretended  to 
require  the  same  treatment  as  the  physician,  or  the  baker  as  ibt 
astronomer.  Besides,  it  does  not  appear  that  the  proportion  cMF 
lecompence  is  so  much  to  the  disf^vantage  of  the  tncchanics;  for 
we  see  nuny  more  of  them  make  fortunes  than  of  jAiloet^bers  or 
artists. 

Ardent  as  Parmentier  was  for  the  public  utility,  it  vraa  to  be 
expected  that  be  would  interest  himself  much  in  toe  effi>rt9  occa- 
sitnied  by  the  last  war  to  supply  exotic  luxuries.  It  was  he  that 
brought  the  syrup  of  grapes  to  the  greatest  perfection.  This  prepa- 
r^ion,  which  may  be  ridiculed  by  those  who  wish  to  assimilate  it  to 
sugar,  has  notwithstanding  reduced  the  consumption  of  sugar  many 
thousand  quintals,  and  has  produced  immense  sayings  in  our  hos- 
jHlab,  of  whtbh  the  poor  luive  reaped  the  advantage,  has  given  a  new 
value  to  our  vines  at  a  time  when  the  war  and  the  taxes  made  ibeo) 
he  pulled  up  in  many  places,  and  will  not  remain  less  laeful-fi;^ 
numy  purpoaes,  even  if  sugar  should  ever  i^n  bll  in  tlw«ountiT 
to  m  old  price.  ,    , 

These  labours,  purely  agricnltotal  or  ec(»K»nical,  did  iK>t4flduoc 
PuBKpUff  to  neglect  tbcM  inoie  itnmediately  eoqiiecttd  yr'aix  bi* 

n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


:  17^  Biogr^Akai  Aecumt  of  [Skv-t. 

ta%}AaI  yrofimion.  H«  had  [mbHshed  io  ITV^  a  transktioa,  with 
notes,  of  Model'!  PhjrienI  Recreatims,  a  trorfcin  which  dte  pfanr- 
nsfeutical  prepantiom  occupy  a  greatCT  ^poee  than  tbe  other  parts 
of  the  natural  sciences ;  and  in  1  TJb  he  published  an  editioD  cf  tii^ 
Hydraulic  Chemitliy  «f  Ligarate,  vbich  is  •cxccely  any  thing  else 
tbatf  a  ootlectioa  of  receipts  to  obtaia  the  principles  of  uedicinri 
•ubitMices  without  altering  them  toonmefa  hj  fire.  I^bablr  be 
would  not  have  remained  a  stran^r  to  the  grent  progress  whicii 
vhentistry  tnade  at  this  period,  had  not  the  disputes,  of  wbid  %ve 
have  given  an  account,  deprived  him  of  the  laboratory  of  die  Invw^ 
HdsL-  -  We  may  say  iilKwise  that  his  chemical  emninaliOD  of  milk 
Mid  of  the  bk)od,  along  with  our  associate  M.  Deyeux,  oonstitiite 
IMdels  of  the  applioationof  chemutiy  toorganiited  bodies  and  tltear 
4»odi&cations,    ■ 

• '  In  the  first  of  theee-  troika  the  authors  compare  with  woman's 
milk  that  of  the  domestic  animals  which  we  chiefly  employ ;  and  in 
die  leeond  they  examine  the  alterations  produced  in  the  blood  by 
inflaiiHnataiy,  puttid,  a»d  scorbutic  diseases — alterations  often 
scarcely  sensible,  and  far  from  explaining  die  disordere  whicb  they 
^casion,  or  at  least  which  they  accompany. 

-  We  hare  seen  above  bow  Parmentier,  beii^  by  pretty  sii^Iar 
accidents  deprived  of  the  active  saperioteixlence  of  the  Invalids, 
bad  been  stopped  in  the  natural  Ime  of  bis  advancemect.  He  had 
toofliucfa  merit  to  allow  this  inidBtiee  to  continue  kmg.  Govum- 
ment  employed  him  in  diflerent  circumstances  as  a  military  apodiB- 
eary;  and  when  in  \^&S  a  consulting  council  of  physicsBns  wid 
Btirgeons  w&s  organized  iar  the  army,  tlie  Minister  wished  to  place 
bim  Ihere  as  apothecary;  but  Baren  was  tbra  alive,  aad  Parmenrier 
was  the  first  to  represent  that  he  could  not  take  bis  seat  above  tda 
master.  He  was  thereloFe  named  assistant  to  Bayen.  This  insti- 
tution, like  many  others,  was  suppressed  during  the  period  of  Fen>> 
lutionary  anarchy,  an  epoch  during  which  even  medical  anbordina- 
ti(ffi  was  r^ected.  But  necessity  obliged  them  soon  to  re-establish 
it  under  the  names  of  Commission  and  Council  aj  Health  far  the 
Anniei ;  and  Parmentier,  whom  the  reign  of  temnr  liad  for  a  time 
driven  from  Paris,  was  speedily  placed  in  it. 

He  showed  in  this  situation  the  same  seal  as  in  all  others ;  and 
the  hospitals  of  the  army  werC'  prodtgloudy  indebted  to  his  care. 
fie  neglected  nothing — iDstructKHU,  repeated  orders  to  his  inferiorB, 
pressing  solicitations  to  men  in  authority.  We  iiave  seen  liim  within 
these  few  years  depkmng  the  absolute  neglect  in  which  a  Govern- 
ment, occupied  in  conquering,  and  not  in  preserving,  left  the 
asylums  of  the  victims  of  war. 

We  oi^ht  to  bear  the  most  striking  testimony  of  the  cares  whicii 
lie  took  of  the  young  persons  employed  under  his  orders,  the  friendly 
manner  in  which  he  received  them,  encouraged  them,  and  rewarded 
theHk  His  protection  extended  to  them  et  what  distance  soever 
theywere-carried^  and  wo  ktujw  more  thaaone  who  wai  indebted 

n,^-,..<,r,,G00glc 


tor  bis  life  in  hr  distant  climates  to  the  provident  reeommendationt 
of  this  paternal  ctiief. 

But  his  activity  was  not  iw£triet«d  to  the  duties  of  his  place  ; 
eveiy  thing  which  could  be  useful  occupied  his  attention. 

When  the  ttrawC-eoginel  ware  eatebliflbed,  he  sadtfied  the  puMie 
of  the  salubrity  of  the  waters  of  tikC  Seioa,  More  lately  be  occu- 
^ed  himself  with  ardour  in  the  establishment  of  economical  sonps. 
He  contributed  materially  to  the  pn^Mgation  of  vaccination.  It 
1  he  chiefly  who  introduced  into  the  central  pharmacy  of  the 
4uIb  at  Writ  tte  excellent  ord«r  which  teigas  tb^re )  and'  he 
f  up  tbe  phsnnaoeotie  code  aoeerAiag  to  which  they  an  iA> 
noted.  He  watehed  over  the  gteat  haiciug  MtablitliBeBt  at  Sripon, 
where  all  the  bread  of  the  hospitab  k  made.  Tht  Hoapiee  im 
M^ntgtt  was  under  bis  partieidar  care$  and  hs  bestowed  the  nmt 
ntnute  »tt(«^n  on  all  that  oould  aUenate  the  loc.df  800  old'pep- 
WAs  of  both  seKes,  of  whidi  it  is  CMspaced. 

At  a  period  when  people  might  labour  much,  and  perfofm  gnat 
services,  without  racohrtng  any  reeompenM,  wherever  men  united 
to,  ^  good^  he  aiqiMred  foremost;  and  you  might  depend-upoa 
being  able  to  dispose  of  his  time,  of  his  pen^  and,  if  occasion 
Htrrcd*  "of  his  fort^. 

Tbb  etsstmiial  habit  of  occupying  himself  for  the  good  of  maaf 
Jdndt  bad  even  aftcted  hif  eternal  air.  Btncvolence  seemed  ts 
j^pCRT  in  him  penoai6ed.  His  (Mnon  was  tall ;  and  reoiaiDad 
erect  to  die  end  of  hi*  life;  hit  figvre  was  full  aS  amenity;  hia 
visage  was  at  once  noble  and  gentle ;  his  hair  was  white  aa  the 
snow-nail  these  seemed  to  render  this  respectable  oM  man  the 
image  of  §ae4nem  and  of  virtue.  His  physiology  was  pleieiiifr 
patticulariy  from  that  appearance  of  happiness  produced  by  the 
good  which  he  did,  and  which  was  so  n«oh  the  more  entitled  to  be 
napi^  that  a  man  who  without  high  birth,  without  fortune,  vlAoet  ' 
great  places,  without  any  remarkable  genius,  but  by  the  sole  per^ 
severaaae  of  the  love  of  goodneta,  has  pnhaps  dontributed  as  much 
to  the  happiness  of  bit  race  aa  any  of  thote  upon  whom  Nature  and 
Fortune  hav»  aocunuilalad  all  Uit  neans  of  serving  them. 

Panncalier  was  never  married.  Madam*  Houzesu,  his  sister, 
livadahvayi  with  him,  and  seconded  him  io  his  benevolent  laboun 
with  the  tendemt  friendship.  ^>e  died  at  the  time  when  ber 
affictiooate  care  would  have  be«n  most  neccaaary  to  her  brother, 
who  Ind  for  some  yean  been  threatened  with  a  chronical  affection 
m  his  bnaet.  Regret  for  this  lots  aggravated  the  disease  of  this 
aacelient  man,  and  rendered  bn  last  days  very  paiofiil,  but  without 
altering  his  character,  or  interrupting  hit  labours.  He  died  on  the 
17^  December,  1S13,  in  ^e  77th  year  of  his  age. 


n,<i-^f^:>yG00glc 


ITS  On  the  Origm  afthe  [Skft. 


Akticle  II. 

On  the  Origin  o/*  the  Carbureted  Hydrogen  Gas  of  Coai-MtTies* 
By  Mr.  John  B.  Xon^ire. 

(To  Dr.  Thonuon  } 

Tax  carbureted  hydrogCB  gas  of  coat-miaei  having  lately  at- 
tncted  the  attontbn  of  philosopher*,  a>  well  on  account  of  the 
rwagM  it  oommiti,  when  ignited,  on  the  minei  and  miners,  as  oq 
itt  made  of  fimiiatioa,  I  hare  drawn  out  the  ftdlowing  essay  from 
m  muiaccript  cxipr  of  obMrradons  made  on  thii  gac  indiSerent  parts 
4tf  Enghwa,  Wuet,  and  SooUand }  and  if  you  tmak  it  so  ioterestiaif 
a*  t0  eiuun  i(»  iuertioa  in  your  AnnaU  y  Philosophy,  it  b  very 
Biiieh  M  your  senrice. 

I  am,  Sir,  your  very  humble  Eerrant,  '■ 

Am  »,  181S.  JOHH  B,  LONOMIKB. 

Many  otHnioRi  bare  been  entertained  respecting  the  origin  of  the 
iaflanmuible  air  of  coal-mines.  Some  writers  attribute  its  existence 
hi  thete  mines  to  the  agency  of  iron  pyrites  :  the  pyrites,  they  say, 
decomposes  the  water,  unites  with  its  oxygen,  and  becomes  sulpbate 
ti  iron  or  green  vitriol,  while  its  hydrogen  ii  set  at  liberty  ia  a 
gaieous  state.  Other  persmts  assert  that  the  coal  is  undergnng  a 
slow  decompONtioa,  and  that  the  inflammable  air  and  carbonic  acid 

Sare  given  out  by  it  in  consequence.  And  other  persons  maiataia 
<^inion  that  it  exhales  from  the  putrefying  animal  and  v^etable 
matter  in  the  stagnant  water  of  coel-miQes.  But  before  we  con^ 
dude  as  to  its  ortgtD,  let  us  carefully  examine  ils  mode  of  entry  into 
the  naioe. 

The  carbureted  bydn^en  gas  proceeds  from  the  body  of  the  ooal, 
and  generally  enteia  the  mine  from  the  pores,  sometimes  from  the 
seams  of  dittinct  toncretions,  and  occasionally  from  small  rents  <rf 
>  the  eoal.  A  miner  extends  a  common  working  at  the  rate  of  two 
or  three  yards  every  week ;  and  if  he  is  cutting  through  the  gas- 
yielding  parts  of  the  coal,  they  generally  discharge  all  their  gas,  or 
as  the  miner  calb  it,  "  bleed  off,"  as  fast  as  he  adrances ;  so  that 
the  greatest  quantity  of  the  gas  always  enters  a  working  near  iM 
forehead.  But,  although  the  gas  is  exhausted  iu  the  most  of  these 
workings  as  &st  as  they  are  driven,  there  are  mqny  places  where  the 
ooal  continues  to  yield  gas  for  several  weeks,  orniontb;,  after  work- 
ings are  driven  past  them.  This  gas,  besides  entering  the  mine 
from  ^le  coal,  sometimes  proceeds  from  small  rents  in  the  incum- 
bent strata.  In  many  of  the  coal  formations  these  rents  are  small, 
not  numerous,  and  generally  only  simply  filled  with  gas;  but  in 
some  they  are  Urge,  numerous,  and  filled  with  gas,  which  appears 
W  have  been  forced  into  them  by  a  compressmg  power  j  for  on 


18U.}        Carimntid  Hyaifgen  Gai  of.  CoaUMmtM.  rj$ 

meeting  with,  thena,  it  imies  iato  the  isine  with  i  considenble 
velocity.  Tiieae  gaa-yieldiDg  renu  are  frequently  met  with  In  the 
oCMl-miaei  round  Newcwtle-on-the-TyDe ;  and  the  gu  is  often 
discharged  into  these  mines  in  such  streams,  as  to  be  compared,  in 
Jutce  and  quantity,  with  the  air  from  powerful  blast  fumacm ;  but 
the  quantity  of  gas  discha^ed,  however  great  at  first,  continually 
decFeases  till  the  rents  cease  to  yield  it. 

Ilie  gas-yieldiog  parts  of  the  coel  differ  considerably  in  dimen- 
sions ;  they  are  situated  at  friable  distances  from  one  another ;  and 
the  quantity  of  gas  varies  very  much  in  different  parts,  as  well  as  in 
diflerent  situaticHU  in  any  one  part.  Sometimes  the  gas-yielding 
pSTtt  have  the  chamcteristic  appearance  of  the  common  coal,  but 
occasionally  they  are  softer,  in  small  pieces,  or  dusty;  in  some 
puts  iron  pyrites  is  abundant ;  in  others  it  is  not  found ;  water 
sometimes  enters  the  mine  along  with  the  gaa,  but  often  the  gas 
comes  off  alone ;  but  the  coal  Ins  its  characteristic  appearance,  or 
is  soft,  in  small  pieces,  or  disly,  in  many  parts  which  give  :oat 
water,  but  not  gas ;  so  that  the  parts  whieb  produce  this  gas,  appO' 
rentiy,  are  not  essentially  difiereot  to  thMe  which  do  not  pro- 
duce it. 

When  the  carbureted  hydrogen  gas  Inves  the  coal  alon^  it 
comes  off  silently ;  but  when  accompanied  with  water,  it  always 
niidces  a  noise.  When  it  enten  the  mine,  along  with  water,  Arom 
many  pores,  in  tmall  quantities,  and  at  intervals,  various  sounds 
ire  produced,  which  have  some  resemblance  to  those  expertly  made 
on  the  musiral  glasses,  but  which  are  not  so  loud,  though  more 
agreeable.  If  the  gas  escape  much  quicker,  the  sounds  are  coou- 
derabty  lower,  but  not  so  various  as  in  the  first  instance:  this  is  a 
simmering  noise,  and  would-  be  well  imitated  by  the  noise  from  the 
pipes  of  a  few  tea-kettles  when  boiling  gently.  But  if  the  ns 
escape  more  copiously  than  in  the  last  instance,  it  makes  a  hiasing 
noise,  not  unlike,  but  not  so  loud,  as  that  made  by  the  steam 
.    escaping  quickly  from  the  safety  valve  of  a  steam-engine. 

If  die  gas  is  set  on  fire  as  it  enters  a  working,  when  the  atrao3> 
pbertc  current  is  traversing  the  mine,  its  inflammation  is  carried  on, 
close.to  the  sides  of  the  coal  wall,  under  diflerent  circumstances. 
Where  the  gas  enters  the  mine  sparingly,  but  from  many  pores  and 
teams,  to  set  it  on  fire,  the  candle  must  be  moved  in  every  directioa 
«lcHig  the  sides  or  forehead  of  a  working ;  then  it  will  inflame  the. 
gas  issuing  from  one  pore,  after  it  has  done  So  with  that  from 
another  as  it  moves  forwards ;  and  each  inflammation  will  resemble 
in  sound  and  appearance  that  which  is  produced  by  the  firing  of  two 
or  three  grains  of  gunpowder.  When  it  enters  more  abundantly 
after  the  gas  from  one  pore  is  fired,  the  burning  gas  fires  the  gal 
from  many  other  pores,  during  which  the  flame  files  from  the  first 
pore  in  a  very  varying  direction,  and  in  a  very  fantastic  and  enter* 
tajoieg  manner;  for  sotnetiraes  it  runs  horizontally  for  a  small  dis* 
taoce,  then  bends  obliquely  in  different  directions,  then  perhap» 
lusizia&tadlf ,  apd  then  ouiquely  ^ain,  tiU  it  eusct.    Poiiny  tbm 

Go<,glc 


124  On  tht  Connexim  IgltMtn  O*  CSK««r* 

BKKtpntbe  Bams  ef  tfae  §■»  iasttttig  iaW  Ac  wile  tMm  tbcfest 
ppie  touched  th«  gu  fton  b»  adJMniiif;  fMc,  uid  bM  it  on  fife*^ 
wbicji  did  so  wkb  the  gu  fhunS'  tlufd  pen^  Mnd  tbot  tiiCBotMMt 
o£  tbft  Sune  .coDtinucd  ^  bvt  as  tbe  ^  isHK»  from  cveiy  pors  a* 
iitfcrvaky  the  potiioD  Kt  oa  fire  irt  tke  fiiA  poie  ww  ceasi^ied 
before  luiother  iBSued  kam  tt>  )mt  tlot  b^MC  it  iDdtiAed  ttie  portion 
of  gas  then  escapiog  from  tbe  second  poae,  wkieh,  thongfa  cob* 
aiim«d  hafote  aootber  portiMi  left  thai  poic,.  oodnbuniorted  wSth 
the  ^s-oC  A  tbicd  pon,  and  a»  on.  Ib  this  moBocr  the  flamo's 
flittuig  noUMi  wu  pforfuced.  When  tb*  gt»  acspea  tnm  th0 
'  pons  trf  the  cotl  ia  cmstsnt  strraas^  or  at  leait  in  a  HiccnsioD  of 
portions  at  veij  smalt  iitervala,  the  dame  ia  stMlioiuvr  at  every 
pwe. 

With  the,  help  of  theie  renaflts,  we  mtj  ma&e  the  SMomag 
«eachuions  as  t»  the  origiet  of  the  orbHreted  l^iAxigeB  gt»  of  ooo^ 
nines.  It  i»aptwtoC  the  matter  of  the  coaljjsttaU-;  but  how  it » 
>ep8rat«d  we  tiaanot  eKEtel4y  deternuDe.  h.  sue/  be  set  at  liberty  b^ 
the  actioa  of  the  ooinpoiwat  parts  of  die  <!eal  on  one  another  ;  bu« 
not  in  the  way  oS  deeooMoattion  by  favKQialimi^  Or  it  nay  cat^ 
sbt  of  an  original  redundancy  of  vohitile  matter  which  has  been 
kept  ID  by  piesswfe,  but  whieh,  a^seon  a^  hoUoWa  ape  made  into 
the  coal,  is  suSered  to  eisoBpe.  The  gas,  by  either  mode  of  fonn»' 
tio)),,  may  vecy  well  exist  in  the  renta  iJtma  the  coal:  for  astbeso 
wots  wQce  foTMiiiig,  room  wds-  aaade  for  the  p»  to  lodge  in ;  and, 
to  accoont  for  itadegce«of  compK*MOB-,.welEn(imr  that  it  afterward* 
«scapes  froA  the  ctmk  with  »  grtat  force^  and,  if  Atfiered  to  fili 
boUow&ti][»  tlus«  icatSj,  Would  ksve  them  with  ft  ibifUBr  TCloci^.  - 


articlb  in. 

On  the  Connexim  leSween  iKe  Pasailar  and  Extra  Vasctddr  Parts 
of  Animals,    By  Anthony  Carlisle,  Estj.  f.R.S. 

{To  l>r.  Thomson  .J 

.  Tax,  fellowing  nioin<&  having  hew  panialty  made  knewnto  tto 
public,:!  begyoiL.tolajrit  befoi«]Knirscieali6ereaden^aa  ameiWi 
of  pi^veiitiBg  misrepr^entation  ot  piracy. 

£ir>.  yonr  obedieBt  servant^ 

Amaottv  Cabusle. 

t  general  or  oomparaiftve  antttOn^,  the  great  bmnoh  of  natraxt 
knowledge  on  which  the.rationale  of  the  medical  art  is  ftamded,  hw 
liitoly  rissn  in  esteeB%  and  is  every  d»r  mtire  accurately  and  mote 
^efwively  cultivated-  Considering^  how  intiiDctdy  the  discovery  of 
^ew|fa£t^..^iV  f«lf)ttf)ai  9> .each  other,  aad  tbd.  {il^uoliigiad^  iqJ 


IM9.]  fasmlar  md  Extra  VtuaJar  Parts  of  Animals.  t'TS 
iueaaa  to  be  <&bwii  from  them,  are  cowiected  with  tbe  prenou* 
cstablialiaiciit  of  dftfisitt  viswi,  of  clear  intelligiUc  Uxat^  «tu)  oi- 
itrict  i^jmcftl  metkods^  and  feelta^  the  imponmce  of  the  jmamiA 
mlsect,  I  hntea  to  aubnit  dna  mcmofp  to  com^tcDl  judgei^ 

1  wn  aware  that  prenatuie  gcDenliaatiwK  of  f»s^  as  well  M 
prewatuct  radoctioaK  from  them,  ue  sclilaiii  nsefe)  >  and  \  ihowU 
Dot  have  troniblcd  the  scientific  inqwircr  with  this  ccmviini cation, 
had  I  not  lelt  asuced  that  the  preMoC  uate  botik  «f  anateH^  and 
pbysudegy  wovld  authorise  it.  in  m.j  sUtuMntt  I  sha>l  pvrfxMety 
aioM  «U  metaphysical  pcetcoNMi  to  dive  into  the  biddon  •m'jiitsj  of 
-ntHikjij  eaaiana^  taipn^  wholly  incompetcDt  to  reihKC  that  power 
wAia  the  niles  of  phyiieaL  icisDCe :  a  power  which  apptara  i»  my 
ju^meDt  as  alSed  to  the  nature  of  an  JBacrntaUe  Fitst  Caose^  ai 
tA  an  eniamtioo  from  it. 

He'  Tnt  variety  in  the  mbataneai^  mtiire,  faidftr  and  conbina- 
lasaa,,  which  the  liviog'  aoinalaad  nfeisbfe  bingdboai  exbtbir^ 
nndea  it  difficult  to  define  the  caseelici  residescc  el  liJa  »  eon- 
neated  with  aogr  of  the  raadsi  of  oi^^ania  atractore.  Swite  of  the 
MBipQundi  and  tBKlores  of  aaiinals  ate  known  to  be  anra  HDportau 
for  lAite  maiatetiaiwe  af  liie  than  othcrai  as  the  cerebral  subataaeci 
and  the  mnscular  textures  \  bat  there  it  a  numerous  tribe'  of  liviii|> 
bodies  that  B[»>eai  to  be  wholly  destitute  of  ibesB  peculiar  pafti,  of 
which  tbe  enwr  vegptable  Idogdotn  awp  hr  adduced  u  an  inManor. 
&hits  of  BoeditatioB  and  Tesearch  heie  ted  me  to  coochide  thaf 
taat  facoafit  nay  adse  ta  physiology  ftam  mora  accwate  diaeriiBi- 
aattaoa  betwees  the-sc«end  substances  of  Ining  bodies ;  cspecialtj* 
aetQ  the  lektivc  deaainton  of  ntalirp,  orof  phjaicat  cauKs-on  those  ' 
suhstmcex  iwpactivaly. 

Tbe  active  pbecomena  of  life  af^Kar  to^  be  generali]'  (Kttiaot 
fisBt. those  ef  physical  catBarim ;  bac  the  passive  condition  o£  livisy 
sabstances  ii  not  so  obviouK  The  sospended  actioos  of  torpid  aoi^ 
smIs  and  vegetable^  and  the  latent  vilaKty  <^  many  of  the  mare 
9m[^  constructed  animals  and  vegetahlea  daring  the  absence  of 
heat  and  tncostore,  show  ^c  intimate  coBBections  which  sobtiB* 
between  vitality  and  physical  causes.  Difl«:ak  and  intricate  a>  tfa* 
investigation  may  seem  whea  cUendecl  to  all  tbe  cases  of  vital^  phe^- 
ugoiena,  they  are  Bot  so  ia  tbe  grosser  eaam^es  to  be  now  addoead;^ 
and  if  it  should  be  fomid  that  many  substances  distinctly  conttnuou* 
with  vital  organic  bodies  arc  wlK^ly  sul^^cted  trt  physical  (tominton^ 
and  that  sercral  other  substances  are  in  part  inf^nced  by  the  otM 
eauie  and  by  the  other,  it  may  perhaps  open  new  and  more  predse 
tienrs  in  the  medical  art.  Thcae  parts  of  living  organic  bodies  which 
have  no  power  of  self  rspair,  which  hoM  no  continuity  with  the 
flaid  circulating  materia  destined  to  replenish  the  waste,  lo  aagment 
the  bulk,  or  repair  the  accidents  of  the  living  fabric,  may  be  justly 
dcamed  extra  vrtal.  The  exuvial  coTerings  and  defcnces  of  animal* 
trcof  .thiakind,  viz.  hairs,  nails,  tethers,  and  all  other  cuticulap- 
ttBsctoKa,  B&  welt  aa  the  epidermoid  coverings  or  husks  of  the 
\cgcediler  k^igdoqn«-    Some  of  those. sabMaaces  which  aradettincd 

-,'..>y  Google 


1 76  On  fXe  Connexion  hetwetn  the  [Sspn 

to  be  worn  away  retain  a  partial  coDtiouiry  with  the  n^^uiic  sjvtem 
or  circulating  fiuids,  as  toe  organic  bulbs  of  hair,  the  roots  and 
lairelle  of  nails  and  hoo&  ;  whilst  the  other  parts,  which  are  des- 
tined to  be  shed,  as  feathers  and  cnticular  scales,  are  wholly  de* 
lached  from  the  vascular  communion  after  their  complete  f 
tion,  and  only  .adhere  mechanically  to  the  living  parts  for  a  tf 
The  most  apposite  illustrations,  and  the  most  positive  inst 
of  union  betn-een  vital  and  extra  vital  parts  are  to  be  found  io  the 
testaceous  tribe  of  animals.  After  a  long  continued  and  carefii)  io- 
vestigatioii,  I  am  fully  convinced  that  the  shells  of  all  the  verme*  trf 
UnnteiH  are  extra  vascular  from  their  commencement,  and  remaia 
so  during  (heir  whole  connesion  with  the  living  creature.  Hie  first 
production  and  the  growth  of  those  shells  always  depends  upma  a 
deposit  of  the  material  thrown  out  from  the  surbce  of  the  body 
of  the  living  animal.  The  figure  and  colours  of  the  several  puts 
of  those  shells  in  every  ^ledes  depend  upon  the  shape  and  the 
colouring  glands  of  the  modelling  organs :  fracture^  are  repaired  by 
spreading  a  cretaceous  fluid  over  the  inner  edges,  and  never  by  any 
exudation  from  the  fractured  parts,  since  tney  always  retain  the 
angular  broken  surfjaces  after  such  repairs.  Kxtraneous  bodies  are 
equally  coated  with  shell,  whether  they  are  io  contact  with  the 
parent  shell  or  not.  The  first  may  be  seen  in  the  frequent  enveh^ie- 
ment  of  Neides  in  the  common  oyster ;  and  the,latter  has  been  often 
ascertained  by  experiments  made  for  the  purpose  of  creating  artifi- 
cial pearls,-  and  which  might,  if  skilfully  practised,  yet  prove  very 
successful.  The  borings  of  parasitical  vermes  into  ^ells  are  never 
filled  up,  or  the  bored  sur&ces  altered,  unless  such  borings  pene- 
trate into  the  caritv  where  the  living  animal  dwells,  and  then  the 
aperbires  are  invariably  plugged  up,  or  smeared  over  with  pearly 
matter.  The  vrater-wom  outer  sur&ces  of  old  shells,  and  other  ex- 
ternal abrasions,  are  never  repured,  which  is  to  be  seen  in  old 
living  oysters  exposed  to  the  moving  friction  of  currents  or  strong 
tides  ;  in  the  woTD-off  spines  of  the  pkolas  dactylii  ;  and  in  the 
coBvex  points  of  the  two  valves  of  old  mytUi,  especially  the  mytilis 
unatinus.  1  have  sought  in  the  most  extensive  collections  of  the 
metropolis  for  examples  of  fractures,  and  other  injuries,  which  have 
occurred  to  the  shells  of  living  vermes,  and  I  have  collected  many 
remarltable  specimens.  They  all  demonstrate  the  same  results, 
without  any  exceptiop.  I  have  made  numerous  experiments  upon 
the  garden  snail  {helix  nemoralis),  by  fracturing  and  breaking  away 
the  shell  in  various  parts ;  and  have  always  found  the  repairs  to  1«  . 
effected  from  within  by  first  smearing  over  an  epidermoid  varnish„v 
and  then  by  plastering  the  inner  surface  of  that  film  with  successive 
ealdareous  laminee.  I  have  in  vain  attempted  to  inject  the  shells  of 
recent  vermes  from  the  vascular  parts  of  their  bodies,  and  am  fully 
satisfied  that  none  of  their  albuminous  or  gelatinous  testaceous  mem- 
branes were  ever  at  any  time  permeable, tOi  vessels ;  indeed'UiJT^'"^' 
not  possess  any  of  the  reticular  texture  or  arborescent  pores  whktr 
are  common  to  all  vascular  parts ;  but,  micFost^jpIcally  examin^' 


Isis.J  Pasculat  and  MxlntytscularJParh  ofJnmah.  t?/ 
they  resemUe  Ibe  exavial  or  epideroHnd  raemlirsties.  To  these 
Suets  may  be  added  the  notorious  ciicumstmice  of  tlie  unchangeable- 
nesB  of  the  outer  sur&ces'of  testaceous  sheDi  during  their  growth, 
wid  tire  continual  renewal  of'  their  other  surfeces^  which  admit  c^ 
contact  with  the  Hving  iuhabitaQt  {  next  the  stains  and  coloured 
transudatioai  which  they  often  dcrivt  from  metallic  salts  and  other, 
coloaring  materials  plaoed  in  their  vicinity :  and,  lastly,  that  inch 
oocurrencea  do  not  afiect  the  living  animd.-  The  mechanical  con- 
nexion or  contact  that  subsists  between  the  living  animals  which 
occupy  the  testaceous  shells,  and  their  extraneous  dwellings  are  in 
many  instances  very  sletider.  The  common  oyjiter  possesses  its  first 
pair  of  valves,  consisting  of  single  lamiose,  before  it  quits  the 
parental  organs.  A  muscle  passes  between  the  centres  of  the  cavity 
of  each  sfadl  adhering  to  each,  and  it  acts  upon  the  valves  nearly  at 
right  angles.  The  animal  has  no  other  continuity  with  the  shells. 
At  the  binge  an  elastic  substance  is  wedged  in,  the  spring  of  which 
is  excited  by  compression,  biit  it  does  not  possess  the  property  of 
extenuon  beyond  its  passive  state ;  when  dried,  this  substance  cracks 
into  cubes.  As  the  aaknal  grows,  it  augments  the  margin  of  its 
shells,  and  thickens  them  by  Padding  new  laminEe  on  their  insides. 
The  muscular  adhesion  glides  forward,  still  keeping  to  the  centre  of 
the  v^es.'  The  elastic  substance  at  the  hinge  is  augmented  along 
its  inner  surface  only,  and  must  have  been  always  deposited  during 
the  expanded  state  of  the  valves,  since  the  limit  of  its  elastic  con- 
dition b  exactly  adapted  to  that  state.  As  the  laminie  of  the  shells 
increase,  there  is  a  gap  at  the  outside  of  the  hinge  filled  with  soft, 
crumbling,  and  decomposing  worn-out  elastic  ligament.  This  gap 
presents  two  Inclined  planes  which  meet  in  an  acute  angle,  and  that 
space  is  kept  free  from  pebbles  and  hard  extraneous  bodies  by  the 
presence  of  the  decomposing  ligament,  as  such  an  accident  would 
prove  fatal  by  preventing  the  opening  of  the  valves.  The  growth 
of  all  the  testaceous  shells  aftbrds  remarkable  proofs  of  their  extra 
vascular  formation.  The  muscular  adhesions  are  generally  the  only 
parts  of  continuity  between  the  animal  and  its  shells,  and  these  are 
constantly  changing  with  the  augmentations  of  bulk.  In  all  the 
conoid  univalves  which  revolve  upon  spiral  axes  the  successive  parts 
of  the  shell  are  merely  spread  upon  the  older  parts  wilhbut  any  in- 
termixture  of  their  substances,  and  epidermis  or  extraneous  bodies 
are  alike  involved  in  the  successive  folds.  In  other  classes  of  animals 
similar  phenomena  occur.  The  calcareous  shells  of  birds'  eggs  are 
merely  deposited  upon  the  membrana  putaminis,  and  the  inner  por- 
tions are  regular  crystallized  prisms,  the  long  diameters  of  which 
pcnnt  to  the  centre  of  the  e^.  These  shells  are  wiiolly  eyA.n  vas- 
cular, and  iheir  albuminous  membranes  are  alike  cuticular,  whilst 
the  inner  true  membrana  putaminis  is  made  reticular,  and  capable 
<tf  vascular  organization.  The  order  of  depcKit  in  these  examples 
■  '"iikti  that  of  enamel  in  teeth,  which  appears  to  be  precipitated 
upon  the  bone  of  the  teeth  under  the  guidance  of  a  membranous 
cue  or  mould.  From  a  disordered  fiswl  X  have  seen  eggs  pioducwJv 
Vol.  VI.  NMII.  M  ,  , 


Ac  aiklitttom  omAi  of  wUck  nfhteinflaUid  wiifc  biibblU»'a»  »  Mr 
forta aoanbelbted dheU,  in  textwv  Itte  wuniec-ttlbbe.  Thcimart 
drinU«  sabstJBDcm  c$  nriita^  bediot,  vilab  n  the  baan  add  tes^y 
Are  only  pettljr  raunlar,  nun  tfaoit  toakatMw  aoMeiiib  «!« fiae4 
by  -obbmioil  preckntKnt^  and  mwuii  iitader  dhdoiMlBl  tcwa.  •ht' 
jih4m  done  to  die  mis  of  -cat^,  to  Ike  lno6  of  >Aiimfa,  tad  to 
htMsan  nails,  ate  bever  TeatoRd ;  itttak  <pmtls  db  noi  yaiaOuhe 
poiTtrof  self  repair;  bnd  itUontf  b<r  the  nachamdal  ifcawaig  awtf 
tbat  luch  injuries  are  obliterated.  Indeed  'the  beKfiomt  wintfM- . 
tion  -of  animal  nature  UmfiBcietrtly'BiarilieitfldJD^  iaatawMi&f 
of  all  tbe  eznvial  ooverii^,  and  ita  the  -oi^nie  iiiiiyiiiiliiiii  -m 
nany  parts  which  mi's  exposed  tomediatncalxttntiaai,  asfhecUamel 
of  teeth,  the  bomy  beeka  of  birds,  -nnd  tbe  'Cutieulor  or  bony 
sovdrtagi  of  feet.  Tbe  aiane  bcDeficcBce-t^^iens  to  be  ecteoded  to 
mHny  parts  of  the  interBd  Mganic  aObSbtBcct,  by  whtcb  -painfal 
seosatfooi  are  obnaied,  trfaibt  the  sobstaocea  tbenisebrca  htmg  leak 
directly  under  tbe  dominion  of  tbe  fiul  laperiBteadeBCy  bceone 
aaore  penament ;  AchpartB«re-thc  tendoaa,  4^;ata>t^  carfibgea, 
cdlidar'tiame,  Ihe  gelatme  and  iinw  cX  tmies;  'even  water  is  a« 
eaieMtial  constituent  of  tbe  animaldDida,  and  a0Ma  the  neoeMaiy 
itoftneia  and  -fiescibility  to  wdids.  fiaC  this  atdiject,  aad  its  conncxioa 
with  the  T^vtabk  compcsiiian  and  texttne,  cxttiHds  fiu  beysbd  the 
liauts  of  aflHoiDtf;  and  1  mult -tfierefere  anspend  nyofaanvitions. 

(Tt  it  cMHnKd.) 


Articub  TV* 

Fuifther0herviai<m3  m  Ptuxrens.  'Bf  Alexantlw'CbristJsiai,  ^s^. 
!P.K,S.E.  Processor  of  Hinnmity  jn  the  Umrerrity  of  Edia- 
■bi«sh. 

(To  Dr.  Thomson.) 

UY  DEAR  SIR,  BUnHrgk,  JOg  tV,  1815. 

fkK  expefieBced  Kmthematician  will  find  bo  diffic«|ihF  in  ibe 
rettoniog.  Annals  of  PhUosophy,  w^.  v.  |^.  SS6  ana  SSI;  « 
learner,  bowcTer,  wiU  uadetstaod  that  reasoning  better  If  he  su^h 
|>ose  the  accent,  which  is  put  after  the  y  at  the  top,  to  be  twt  not 
at  the  top,  bnt  half  way  down  the  lide  of  the  y  in  p.  336,  line  40 ; 
md  likewise  wherever  tfaat  letter  so  occufn  aftervrards  with  ene-or 
two  accents,  unless  there  be  two  letters  in  tbe  nuneiMar;  and  if 
he  read  i  for  i  after  the  marfe  «f  equality  in  tbe  but  Hm  but  oos 
of  p,  330,  and  in  tbe  settond  line  of  p.  SSr. 

You  may  insert  the  following  obserrstions. 

It  is  evident  from  fig.  2,  p.  328,  that  the  ratio  of  the  JocresMnH 
K  never  the  ratio  of  the  fluxions ;  for  at  F  lA,  5  minus  one  ceotil- 
S^otb  to  1  if  too  HMil,  and  b  plus  one  o«^ioD(h  to  i  it  Mtf 

'  Google  • 


pre*.  -W<*h*i's  -ejifffMsiOn,  t^fepefo^e;  "  jIlft'Hflrfmafc  nfio  ctf 
tlie  iiumneDta  b  the  tatit)  gf  lh«  {Rtakins"  iiiiV-ViKf^jUHlie^fiif 
to  have  niisled  (he  Bishop  of  Ctoyne.  If  9.  man  is  not  9  soldii^r,  he 
««y -be  tfct^st  «f  the  M»n  in  a  train,  'Imt,  in  that  Irain,  hi  csnticn 
beflieiaM-ttftheebWiera.  }iewton,  ■rirerefore,  most  be  nnderstooa 
mioBdl;,  hot  litereHy ;  4he  literal  mWrprctatipn,  imdeed,  i»  iiti- 
possiMe.  In  MHton  *oo,  the  lilenil  iw^rrt«ion  of  "  1^  laife^ 
•ff  b«- -daughters.  Eve"  w  aiso  impossible.  ^Sach  inoorreptness  dt 
<<^pt«9!ji<Hi  is  frequently  found  in  Rofaim.  I  do  tiot  remember  tlrift 
MttdlnriQ  hra  corrected  it  tffl  anicle  5D5,  in  -flie  second  Toluitae  -(^ 
fluKiotis.  Mttsercs  tias  rectified  it  more  flirectly  in  p.  51  of  -tii^ 
prtfeceto  the  fifth  volume  of  the  Log«rIth«iie  WritCTs.  JJyl^r'hjri 
fifllen  iiMo  the  lame  mistafce  m  his  ©cftnttioo  of  the  'Di9'cicath| 
Grforias,  'm  p.  8  rf  the  preftce. 

3  am  inclined  te  «hti)k  that,  w  p.  468,  Harrey'i  idea  (T  Aett4 
lopiDgj;enerBted  quBHtili«s  is  betterlhan  mine  of  getieratitig  tlrela; 
It  was  te  Bvead  the  idea  of  motion  that,  Iti  the  dempnsTrtftion,  ^hicU 
Itbink'is  new,  1  employed  Wseclfop  Hke  the  ancients,  i  might 
haw  avoided  the  i&n  oF  motion  in  tite  lolution  too ;  f qr  I  .migtit 
have  aaltvA  asLacKHX  does  in  the  beginning  of  hisCalml  in  dro. 
Astbei&ixioBal.calcvlus  .was  derived  ifiotv  'Sta  ctflpbrated  problem 
of  the  tangents,  I  think  that  the  easiest  and  shortest  demonstratioa 
ii  to^beio^tBiaed  from  the  amie eoaties-  licufifiiiar  «u(^,a<Jqtn(Ml' 
etiation  as  an  «,xtensioti  of  Descartes'  application  of  a\gebra  .to , 
geoineHy.  i  ttiJBk  rii«  iro  rigorous  demomtraticrn  of  the'flnitonul 
problem  pur^  algebraictil  can  be  m  short  as  that  iti  pp.  3Sp  ^nd 
SM ;  k  occufnes  no  tnore  -than  twelve  entire  lines,  as  it  propetly 
liegiDS  at  line  33,  p.  ^30,  and  ends  at  line  8,  p.  33 1 ;  for,  in  or^ 
t»'|*eve' that -riie  limits  ^a-variable  ■qnanthy  are  equpl,  .1  might 
have  -refetred  to  'Hohim,  vol.  M.  .p.  S6,  art.  120 ;  or  to  'Latroix 
Calcit!,  Ml.  i.  p,  t8.  J>'ftleinbert  observes,  tha^  all  the  Wferentiid 
vailcahn-Rny  be  referred  to^the  problem  of  the  tangents. 

Without  the  atd  of  i.  diagram,  -the  ^plication  to'  langerits^ 
qnW4ra(tife;,  cubatures,  recti^cattoos,  and  complaqfrtionsi  is  muctl 
Intne.liif&ctdt  and  tedious  to  a  karacr.    Iliis  is  efident  froip  Xa- 

Motion  emceiTcd  avf  'be  rigorously  rnathematical ;  not  sit, 
BiotieD  executed.  Now  in  fluxions  it  it  motipn  ooitc^ed  onty  t\)tk 
oomes  under  consideratioii. 

'  Withreprd  to'Newtori's  secood.Iemma,  as  «  aqoare  isjilsipler 
than  an  obJoDg,  if  n^e^aubtraet  the  square  af  &.  ^  a  from  that  <^ 
\  +  a,  there  will  remain  4  A  a,  of  which  the  half  is  2  A  a ;  and 
fhenastbcacnMBtaBi  Ji  endcatiy-ginaterdiaa  ttiedaeratncni^aad 
nwUsT'lhaD  the-MtevntKat,  Mben  the  rate  of  ohaflge  thus  varies, 
nev^  prove  iInt  xtduction  to  abtaniity  that  ihe  nwnMfitum  ik 
AAcan'betDritfacrnMrc  fw  lw9  i^Mt  2Ae;  for  it  «My  be -)!»' 
taoaitiBttd'to.iiidSecilen'fram  SA^^'f- «a>tbi  ueremeot,  thaQ-tN^ 
injr  Kli^QOt  f^mtity  .liaw.niwU  .*qevcri:  MVi^  itt  #>-^^  jf  .Uw. 
M  3  ■  C(Hwlc 


'  |8a  On  PfimoOT,  tSKt%. 

moowiituiB  a  be  multiplied  by  t,  an  iadeterminate  ^  ji^  'B»  w  M^m 

I       u  .•    .  J  r     »           1.  n  I.       2,A  B  i       2  «  i  -    ^:nwrt    1 
«  be  substituted  for  A,  we  shall  nave r—  =  --r— .     »-  -1,-41. 

Inr  Maclaurin's  process.  Fluxions,  art.  708,  get  tbe  fluxion  oi^^ei.  ^ 
obloDg, .  thence  that  of  a  cube,  &c.  Thus  Newton's  demoostratioa 
seems  superior  io  brevity,  aad  equal  in  rigour,  to  that  of  any  of  his 
coatempcsaries  and  successors  at  t^me  or  abroad ;  for  it  has  eri- 
dentTy  no  dependance  whatever  on  motion,  or  tm  iofiDitesimals,  or 
on  vanbhing  quantities,  or  even  00  limits.  It  is  wholly  algebraical^ 
but  may,  by  a  diagram,  be  rendered  geometrical.  I  think  the  de- 
nKHUtration  in  Newton's  second  lemma  one  of  the  finest  produc- 
tiMis  of  his  unequalled  genius.  The  conception  of  motion,  from 
which  Maclaurin  demonstrated  so  very  temously,  belongs  not  to 
Newton's  demonstration,  but  to  his  idea  of  the  continuous  genera- 
Uoa  of  quantity.  It  seems  to  be  throagh  Maclaurio  that  some  very 
eminent  foreign  mBthcmaticians^see  and  blame  Newton. 

Robins,  from  what  Newton  says  himself,  observes  that  Newton 
in  hi)  Mathematics  uses  the  word  momentum  in  two  senses  :  first, 
for  an  infinitely  small-  quantity,  when  he  solves ;  and  secondly, 
when  be  demonstrates,  for  an  indeterminate  quantity  which  is  to  be 

conceived  to  vanish :  in  the  first  sense,  —  =  ~  for    example  ; 

here  the  quantities  really  elnployed  are  —-,    not  — :    but  it  it 

evident  that  in  the  second  lemma  he  uses  the  word  momentum  in  « 
third  sense  :  for  it  is  there  neither  a  quantity  which  is  to  be  con- 
ceived to  vanish,  nor  is  it  ^  or  a'  till  it  be  multiplied  by  an  inde^^ 
mlnate  quantity  t. 

From  Newton's  second  1emm»  we  obtain  the  easiest  demoostra- 
tioa of  the  binomial  theorem  lor  any  exponent ;  because  from  th^ 
first  fiusioQ  we  obtain  the  second,  &c.  Now  these  are  the  succes- 
give  fluxional  coefficients.  We  have  therefore  only  to  multiply, 
them  by  the  succesuve  powers  of  2,  and  to  divide  the  terms  by  I, 
I  X  2,  1  X  2  X  3,  respectively.  This  would  not  be  a  legitimate 
demonstration,  if  the  binomial  theorem  had  been  previously  em- 
[doyed  to  find  the  fluxions.  No  one,  I  think,  will  say  this  is  de- 
monstrating the  binomial  theorem  by  employing  the  higher  malhe- 
Aiatics;  for  in  ray  former  paper  I  showed  that  much  of  flux^3tl8 
belonged  properly  to  the  very  elements  of  geometry  and  algebra. 

FVom  fig.  3,  p.  330,  it  is  easy  to  demonstrate  that  any  ufta 

— ^ — J — 3 i,  for  example,  may  be  not  greater  only,  but  greater 

in  any  proportion  thaa  the  sum  of  all  the  succeeding  terms ;  for  if 
n;r'~'  be  transferred,  with  the  negative  sign,  to  the  other  side, 
and  if  the  equation  be  then  divided  by  t,  the  thing  is  evident. 
Lagrange's  demonstrations  are  not  so  easy :  it  'a  extremely  tediooH 
and  teasing  (m  a  learner  to  j>roceed  by  bis  method  to  tangents* 
quadratures,  &c.;  a  proof  that  his  method  of  investigation  and  de- 
monstrafioDt'^ow  refioed  aod  convincing  soever,  ia  not  short  and 


.^^  On  fluxions.  \'ei 

^^j^^cmi  ■  <^'"'***"^  ""^  difficult.  Thus  the  learner  may  think  witH 
to  hr  "  '^  i-AgnSge's  process ;  but  the  learned  will  admire  its  fenc'- 
gf^^-ip,  vigour,  coDsistency,  and  important  applications.  Why  is 
no»  the  ^Iculus  of  Variations,  the  noble  discovery  of  Lagrange,- 
adnojtted  into  our  initiatory  books  1  Much  of  it  is  quite  elementary, 
aod  its  nature  is  easily  apprehended. 

It  appears  to  me  also  that  much  of  the  M^chanique  Analytique' 
is  elementary,  and  may  be  taught  early.  Can  any  thing  be  easier 
and  simpler  than  the  two  formulas,  the  one  for  Haties,  the  other  for 
dynatnics  i  Hoif  delightful  will  the  study  of  that  comprehensive, 
treatise,  and  of  Laplace's  masterly  work  the  M^c^anique  Celeste, 
be,  if  the  learner  previously  understand,  as  he  easily  may,  the 
jaarallelopiped  of  forces,  the  three  perpendicular  axes  of  rotation,' 
the  three  perpendicular  co-ordinates,  the  three  co-ordinated  planes, 
th^  principle  of  virtual  velocities,  and  be  accustomed  to  Introduce 
by  qubstitution  the  sines  and  co-sines,  &c.  ?  Nothing  will  allure  a 
learner  more  than  to  study  the  way  in  which  £uler,  vol.  ii.  of  la- 
troduction  to  the  Analysis  of  Infinites,  employs  the  sines  and  co- 
unes  in  chaugingtbe  position  of  the  co-ordinates.  May 'not  the 
student  also  learn  early,  in  that  fine  performance,  the  generation  of 
curves  from  their  equations,  and  the  progressive  induction  of  those 
equattoDs  without  end } 

I  wish  Lagrange  had  been  more  precise  in  the  titles  of  his  two 
books.  Theory  of  Analytical  Functions,  Calculus  of  Functions ; 
for,  as  his  Theory  does  not  include  geometrical  analysis,  it  relates 
to  algebraical  functions  only,  and  not  to  them  all ;  for  it  does  not 
relate  to  common  functions  of  known  and  unknown,  of  constant 
and  variable,  quantities ;  it  therefore  rehites  to  derived  functions 
only ;  and  not  even  to  them  all ;  for  let  any  one  consider  Arbogast's 
Derivations,  and  he  will  see  that  it  does  not  relate  to  derived  faae-' 
tions  where  thie  operation:!,  not  the  quantities,  are  derived  from 
each  other ;  it  is,  consequently,  the  theory  of  fluxional  or  diflferen- 
tial  functions  direct  and  inverse. 

Here  let  me  remark,  that  the  news  of  perhaps  all  the  writers  on' 
the  important  subject  of  fluxions  relate  more  or  less  directly  to  the 

d<:itrine  of  ratios,  -4-,  t-^,/'  «  s=  t^>  according  to  Lagrange's 

:|1.  X      a   X  ax  WW 

o^  statement;  for,  in  every  ftaction,  is  not  the  numerator  the 
antecedent,  and  the  denominator  the  consequent,  of  a  ratio  ? 

ilie  observations  of  Lacroix  and  other  eminent  mathematidans 
may  remove  the  difficulties  which  learners  always  find,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  differentiat  and  the  integral  notation,  as  the  difler- 
ence)  of  the  absciss  and  of  the  ordinate  are  not  employed,  nor  the 
int^r  of  a  fraction,  nor  the  sum  of  quantities ;  the  notation,  }mvi~ 
ever,  is  extremely  convenient,  and  will  not  puzzle  a  learner,  if  its 
defect  be  supplied  by  a  very  careful  explanation. 

Even  variation  is  not  a  very  happy  word,  for  variation  ipay  be 
dlhe'r  starting  or  continuous,  Fluxion  is  the  happiest  word  that  E' 
Irnew,  is  it  marks  a  continuous,  not  a  staitiog,  change :  and  since' 


18S:  On  Fhaiiovi,  [Sdcrp. 

T^i^ioni  as  a  caUi^^is  EUfimud  fluxian^at  the  order  both  of  ■fature 
^,af  iDventiot),  the  proper  ftppellatipOi  p«i4iB^  wo«U  hawbeeo- 
s^bfliiiHpns,  viiii\  9  uutabLs  Betation.  l\  wwuld'  Iw  imprvptv,  hoi*^ 
CKsr,  to  propose  ai^  ctonjge'. 

With'  reghrd  to  the  ffijxibnal  notatitm,  ^  seeiHS  as  convefiieQC  As 

^-ij!,  while  (ha  latter  d  is  pre-ierTed'  for  algebiaib  operations  j  and  jf 

s^enfs  as  convenieat  a»  £  for  markiag  tbeflueat.  Is  a  phjIoiophioaA 
p^t  of  view,  tbeTe  is  no  com|itkrifdg. 

I  sometimcE  hear  iBa^eniatieiBBs^  say,  W«  oi^ttt  lo  adc^  tbc 
&reigD  notation.  Would  itot  $1^1)  adoption  be  to  MUiDpt,  as  fat 
as  it  is  in  ot^r  powers  to  e^a  the  kttow.kdge  of  one  q(  N«Hliaai'» 
^eatest  diticevenesl  Would  k  not  k«  also  wpaitriOTic  ^  Inda- 
peodentlji  of  a  D^ord  patrk>tisna«  and  of  lb*  lespetf  dee  tolMawtoa^ 
^ould  a  cban^  rather  unpliilosophical  \te  a  change  for  the  better  } 


To  some  it  mey  seem  a  digression,  that  the  fbrmula 


Irt  X  A 


^-^— ^  is  derivable  by  a  hoy  from  the  simplat  operation  in  the 

IluU  c^  Three  1  th»t  i»  tha  eighth  of  a  Htie  it  eoittains  Euc>id'3 
^fth  definition  of  eight  lines  in  his  fifth  book ;  thai  it  conaprrbeada 
all  proportiooM  quantities,  whether  commensurable  or  incommen- 
surable ;  aad  that  Euclid,  it  is  profaabl«,  thua  deduced  the  <bfi- 
uilion. 

The  mistake  o£  a  ver;  able  matheDaaticiMi,  Caraot,  m  hn  M^- 
physique  du  Calcut  Infinit^imal,  where  be  endeavours  to  dww  that 
the  differential  equations  we  iioperEect,  seens  to  arise  fMoo  his  not 
({istioffuiahing;  su&:iently  the  difierettce^  oi  inerementa  foam  the 
duxions  or  diffeKotials. 

'  f'rom  all  that  has  been  said  we  may  condtide,  that  no  demoa- 
stration  ought  to  defKnd  oo  motioi^  if  motioB  ean  be  avoided',  but 
that  motion  is  either  mathematical  or  mecfaaskal :  that  vo  itmatt-' 
atiation  of  the  fluxioaal  pnblea  e^  be  rigorow  and  9B<nActery 
that  j^pends  on  infinitesimals  and  on  vsnifjiiag  ^antities ;  that 
though,  in  compliance  with  custom,  I  saiJ  In  p.  331,  line  24, 
f*  fiiiHsUBtr  tftiaWitT."  ret  it  is  Dot  strictly  a  vanishhig  quantity,  but 
a  qii  e  coBliDoed  bisectian  of  the  iaercwant  of 

ibe  I  e  lees  tban  soy  awiuned  quantity  how  smidl 

soeyl  ler  pefier  I  might  nifhout  fig.  1  ov  2  have 

s^tti  i  by  %  5  the  doctrine  of  Suwon  in  the 

fyia  lif  the  ^rm  of  a  proUets  thus  pn>p.  pro- 

Vim  pn  of  any  function  of  a  variable  quantity ; 

cr  tl  to  Sod  the  fate,  %«.    To  ftud  ^e  rate  of 

tini  ]  its  f(f»(:tU)fi:     This  procedure  weuU  have 

^Weo  ]  elegant,  not  tiaeii;  ioielligibte}  than  tbsl 

*bK  ^  ._  It  'I'lewtoti's  lemma  consists  of  two perti ; 

|n£  of  the  conception  of  the  genefalioo  of  quantity  by  raoiiwa; 
tuu^  second)]^  lot  (hedemoastiatioawbicliretatea  ncitlMir  to  no* 


IVA-'}  On- Mm.  m 

^9j,  »**.  tp  ti>6B)Msim«lr,  OM  fo  Twiifauiff  quaotitwa,  wr  vrm  *« 
liflW^  4mept Miractljf :  Aa».fltuuio(Ut Md  wiBtiooi  «bi<A  WvalM. 

i«wv>p9»  9«K^t  tQ  bs  tttigbt  WMDt  the  iKijr  ckmenu  Qf-  gwnnMir 

$rofl)t  tfi^q  q^«ti»w,  oQi  from  tbe  secttou  of  aoUdii :  (fctt  the  ac6- 
tioM  ^  CQ94S  4«<1  of  other  mIuU  NAy  h*  Wry  ntfimia  is.  natoor;^ 
<^rp4ntf7»'»vi)  Bni  nulitsiy  Mginoreiiigi  kut  tbu  tb«  •tadoat  of 
geoprt^  sql^afffi  nithout  jH^eeiJap  ib«e  aections,  ouglit,  woa 
qftfr  lie  ]Mww4;tJN^|aMrt«cHtbt;)mpcNtioo  of  Eueltd'»  teooitd  book, 
4wi,  a  Utiiti  oi  ftbflbn*.  to  Mt^mlW'  thp  pnocnplci  of  ftoiotu*  availiog 
Uiv^U  of  fWt.ltitoirledg(.tQ  mdM  bk  inofl^vM  contiimoits  fioin 
BiicUfd,  tlnau^  oQttics^  wtitk  ke  <«U  do  1^  ttlmg  tbe  equMiooa  to 
the  ellipse  $0.  from  U191  lo  ^  oifcle :  and  tf>M,  if  wch  «  metbodt 
be  followed,  s  diligent  student  will  leave  our  Univenitiei  with  a 
competent  knowledge  of  Newton,  Euleri  Lagrange,  Mooge,  La- 
place, and  many  others,  and  of  any  department  of  natural  philo- 
ifiifjb^  to  wbicb  ttwic  aMk*mmt9i.  evwcbea  an  appliarfilc. 


»F= 


ASiTlCLE  V. 


A  Mbmoir  on  Bidine.  By  M.  Gay-Lussac, 
{Co»eliA*Jinm  ji.  !«.) 
HistoTKid  Note  Oft  the  ZHscwcq;  of  la^ne. 
fr  iy4»  aboQt  two  yean  «(teir.M-  Covrtois  M-  dUcoveFed  iodln* 
thu  M'  Pleoieiiit  wDounced  it  to  tbe  loMitvt^  on  the  29tb  Novein-< 
ber.  1313.  iA:  Courtois  had  observed  several  of  its  ynpeiUm,  aM, 
PMtioulw-ly  tb«  wbipb  it  bas  gf  forming  a  very  fnlaunatiog  powder 
VbeQ  t^ei^ed  witU  VBinoaiK.  He  intended  tp  hav^  a^ceptqinad  aU. 
ilf  p«(^i«rtie*i  but  beiHK  preyeotisd  fey  th«  MteotloB  required  by  aa 
KfXiamve  Djwwifictory  of  nitre,  hg  cogi^ed  M-  CJemeDt  tp  contiow 
hi«  nAearcbc»>  M,  Clci9«nt>  fraip  similaj  oiotiKea,  (xwld  only  con- 
secrate to  it  a  few  moments.  However,  h^obtainedagreat  nwub«r 
of  reaultB,,  as  is^  be  seen  by  the  note  printed  in  the  Ann.  de  Chiia. 
laxsvUi.  30<t.  Ha  diKcoveKd  that  by  tbe  coti^iiaatlan  of  lodioa 
wd  pha^honi^  %  g«Mow  acid  U  obbMoed ;  hut  he  concluded  from. 
his  ex(»eritneats  that  this  acid  vr«s  compowd  of  about  ^  nujtiatic 
acid  and  |-  iodine.  M.  Clement  wa*  employed  in  these  »peTimeat» 
when  Sir  H-  Davy  c«nie  to  Paris  ;  and  he  thought  that  hq  could 
not  better  leceive  to  distinguished  a  phiJj»opher  tha«  by  showing 
bim  the  new  Bubstance,  which  he  had  ltl(«nuie  ^owQ  to  MM. 
Chaptat  and  Avapere.  I  state  these  cirpmngtanoes  to  answer  a 
strange  a^rtioa  which  we  &nd  w  the  Journal  of  Mewrs.  Nicholson 
aadXilloeh,  No.  189,  p.  63:—"  It  appean  that  this  gss  (iodioe) 
was  discQVf  ired.  above  two  yean  ago ;  biit  such  is  the  deplorable  state 
of  scientific  men  in  Fiance,  that  no  account  of  it  was  publbbed  till 


184  On  Jo^floi  [Sbpt. 

the  arrival  «l  em  EngUsIi  p1uk«opber  there."  It  is  Sir  H.  Davy  of 
whom'  they  speak.  Soon  after  rfronibg  iodine  to  Davy,  and  com- 
municating to  him  the  result  of  b>s  experiments,  M.  Clement  read 
bit  note  to  the  Institute,  and  concluded  by  announcing  tliat  I  was 
going  to  continue  the  snbiect.  On  the  6th  of  December  I  read  a 
note  to  the  In^itute  op  the  su)^«ct,  which  wea  printed  in  the  Mo-' 
niteur  of  the  13th' of  December,  and  afterwards  in  the  Afinales  de 
Chimie,  bxxTiii.  311.  It  b  needleKtouy  herethat  the  results 
which  it  contained  determined  the.  nature-  of  iodine,  and  that  I 
there  established  that,  it  is  a  simple  body  analogous  to  chlorine. 
Nobody  hitherto  lias  disputed  that  I  was  the  first  who  discovered  the 
nature  of  iodine  :  and  it  is  certain  that  Davy  did  not  poblisb  bis 
results  till  more  than  eight  days  after  having  koowp  mine. 


NOTB  A. 

Wlien  we  make  iodine,  an  alkaline  oiide,  and  water,  act  upon- 
each  other  at  once,  there  is  formed  in  general  an  iodate  and 
hydriodate,  or,  if  you  choose,  an  ioduret.  The  oxygen  which 
acidifies  the  iodine  may  be  furnished  either  by  the  alkaline  oxide  or 
by  the  water.  Let  us  examine  wliich  of  these  two  in  all  probability 
furnishes  it.  When  we  employ  potash,  we  may  admit  that  it  is  it 
which  furnishes  the  pxygen  to  the  iodine  ;  for  as  iodine  disengages 
oxygen  from  the  potash  at  a  red  heat,  we  may  conceive  that  the 
same  thing  takes  place  at  the  ordinary  temperature  by  means  of 
water ;  especially  if  we  consider  th^t  hcc  two  products  are  formed, 
iodate  and  ioduret,  and  that  there  are  of  consequeoce  two  forces 
which  tend  to  decompose  a  portion  of  the  potash.  The  same  thing 
nay  be  said  of  soda,  from  which  iodine  likewise  separates,  the 
ox^en  at  a  red  heat;  and  of  all  the  oxides  in  which  the  oxygen  is 
but  weakly  condensed.  But  is  thb  necessarily  the  case  also  with  all 
the  other  oxides?  Iodine  does  not  disengage  the  oxygerf  Irom 
barytes,  strgntian,  lime,  and  magnesia,  even  at  a  very  high  tem- 
perature; and  this  circumstance,  while  it  renders  it  more  difficult 
to  conceive  the  decomposition  of  a  part  of  these  alkalies  by  means 
of  water^  although  there  is  then  the  c(Hicurrence  of  two  affinities, 
renders  very  probable  the  existence  of  a  limit  beyond  which  the 
united  affinities  of  the  iodine  for  the  meta),  and  the  iodic  acid  for 
the  metallic  ojcide,  cannot  overcome  the  affinity  of  the  metal  for 
oxygen.  In  this  case  the  water  may  be  decomposed ;  and  I  have  no 
doubt  that  this  is  the  fact.  On  the  sufmosition  that  there  exist  only 
iodureis  in  solution  in'  water,  and  no  hydriodates,  it  is  a  necessary 
consequence  that  the  oxygen  is  furnished  to  the  iodine  by  the  me- 
tallic oxide.  But  if  there  exist  hydriodates,  then  the  oxygen  will 
be  furnished  by  the  water  in  all  the  cases  in  which  they  are  farmed. 
The  question  then  reduces  itself  to  this — do  hydriodates  exist  ?  We 
shall  examine  it.  But  as  it  is  the  same  with  the  hydro-chlorates, 
which  are  better  known,  we  shall  turn  oOr  more  particular  attentioa 
to  them. 

n,,:-A-..>yGoot^Ie 


IB15.3  On  Iodine.  185 

'  It  may  be  stated,  in  tbe  first  place,  against  tlie  existence  of 
hydro- chlontes,  that  we  must  admit  that  on  evaporating  the  water 
in  whicb  they  are  dissolved,  tbey  are  clianged  into  chlorurets,  and 
&a.thy  redissolviDg  these  we  reproduce  the  hydro-chlorates. 
'  It  u  very  true  that  crystallization  is  sufficient  to  change  the 
hydrcHchlorates  of  potash,  soda,  and  barytcs,  into  tlie  state  of  chlo- 
Turets,  But  tfab  does  not  happen  with  the  hydro-chlorates  of  lime 
and  magnesia.  A  high  temperattire  is  necessaiy  to  deprive  the  first 
of  the  whole  of  its  water.  And  how  can  we  anirm  that  a  part  of 
that  water  ii  not  the  result  of  the  oxygen  and  hydrogra  which  con- 
stituted the  hydro- chlorate  ?  ITiat  of  magnesia  requires  likewise  a 
higli  temperature  to  be  decomposed,  and  the  chlonne  finds  still 
sufficient  hydrogen  to  be  changed  into  hydro-chloric  acid. 

Here  then  is  a  decided  case  in  which  hydro-chloric  acid,  and  we 
may  add  hydriodic  acid,  are  not  able  to  reduce  niagnesia,  though  in 
eircumstances  most  favourable  to  tlieir  action.  But  if  we  cannot 
deny  the  existence  of  hydro-chlorate  and  hydriodate  of  magnesia, 
by  what  certain  character  can  we  know  that  those  of  lime  cannot 
exist  at  the  ordinary  temperature  of  the  atmosphere  ? 

When  a  solution  of  chloruret  of  calcium  is  mixed  with  subcar- 
bonste  of  ammonia,  the  chlorine  must  pass  to  the  state  of  hydro- 
chloric acid  in  order  to  combine  with  the  ammonia.  And  if  we 
een  admit  that  water  is  decomposed  at  tlie  moment  of  precipitation 
in  order  to  furnish  hydrogen  to  the  chlorine,  and  oxygen  to  the 
catcium,  nothing  in  that  case  prevents  us  from  admitting  that  the 
act  of  crys^llizing  Is  sufficient  to  convert  an  hydro-chlorate  intg  a  ■ 
chloruret,  and  that  the  solution  of  a  chloruret  in  water  converts  it 
into  a  hydro-chlorate;  for  it  is  the  difference  of  solubility  of  subcar-, 
bonate  of  lime  and  hydro-chlorate  of  ammonia  which  occasions  the 
double  exchange  of  the  bases  and  acids ;  and  consequently  it  is  on 
account  of  that  difference  of  solubility  that  the  water  is  decomposed. 
If  we  mix  together  chalk  and  muriate  of  ammonia,  we  reproduce 
1^  heat  subcarbonate  of  ammonia  and  chloruret  of  calcium.  Thus, 
tnouf^  we  refuse  to  admit  that  the  chloruret  of  calcium  is  changed 
intonydro-chloraie  by  solution  in  water,  we  must  still  allow  that 
the  elements  of  water  may  b^  separated  or  united  by  a  trifling 
change  of  temperature.  What  I  have  just  sud  of  the  hydro-chlo- 
latft  of  lime  applies  to  most  of  the  other  hydro-chlorates  and 
hydriodates;  and  I  might  mention  other  analogous  facts.  But  I  ask 
this  only  to  be  granted  me,  that  water  in  certain  circumstances  may 
be  formed  or  decomposed  by  the  same  forces  which  produce  the 
double  decomposition  of  salts.  Iliese  forces  being  in  general  very 
weak,  since  a  slight  change  in  temperature  is  sufhcient  to  vary  the 
nature  of  double  decompositions,  it  will  be  obvious  that  solution  in 
water  and  crystallization  may  determine  the  decomposition  and 
formation  of  this  liquid.  But  in  that  case  the  reason  which  I 
assigned  in  &vour  of  tlie  existence  of  chlorurets  and  iodurets  db- 
solved  in  water,  docs  not  appear  to  me  to  have  the  samfi  force. 

It  may  be  alleged,  on  the  other  hand,  in  favour  of  the  eiistence 
1  '  C.().V>|C 


IW  Oa  lodm..  [Sprr. 

f{  chlonmta  in  loltttion  in  water,  that  wWq  thty  ua  (]tff(>lv«4  qtXy 
^  veiy  iligbt  cbtage  of  bepipB^ure  takes  pU^  i  whila  if  t^it  Wfitsr 
were  really  decomposed,  the  variatioR  w<atl4  be  very  ^tM:~ 

The  tempemtive  prodifoed  by  the  solution  of  a  loUid  bo^y  beii^ 
t]ie  result  of  two  qiposito  causes,  it  is  diffieuH  to  disut^uisji  %he 
beat  owing  to  the  eooibiDatiaa  of  the  Iiq,iud  with,  the  solid  Snmt 
Hm  which  is  owing  to  the  chiDge  of  state  ia  the  solid.  But  ,i##- 
peodeot  of  this  ooosideratioo,  I  must  lenark^  tiiat  aonw  o£  tl^. 
^hlorurets  jaoduce  cold  wbeo  dissolved  id  water,  aod  othefs  hfat^ 
Thus  the  chloruret  of  sodium  sinks  the  teiapetature  of  the  wate^. 
about  3-5°,  while  that  of  qilciuia  nisei  it  iDore  thaa  10»°.  F4r~ 
tJME,  if  it  be  demonstrated  that  the  foices,  which  determiqe  tb« 
double  saline  decompositioos,  are  sufficient  to  <«>erate  tlie  sepa^tioa 
of  the  elements  of  water  Bod  tbeir  union  in  the  circumstancet  of 
vhich  we  are  ^Making,  we  ought  to  adinit  that  th#  sMtf  o£  coa— 
dentation  of  the  oxygen  and  bydrogen  i^  water  is  lUtle  different 
from  that  which  they  exf^rieoce  in  the  bydnHchlor«u,  aad  (hen  thi» 
variations  of  temperature  owing  to  the  separation  oc  re-unioiL  of 
these  two  elements  ought  to  he  but  little  sensible,  3e!a4es,  avf 
ob^ct  is  not  to  prove  that  only  hydro-chlorataa  exist  in  soluUoa  ia 
water.  I  believe,  on  the  contrary,  that  according  to  the  nature  oS 
tba  tubctance  with  which  the  chlorine  is  conbiaed,  the  chlocuseb 
Quy  diftolvfl  in  watei  without  uodergotog  de<!oiDpe«itioo,  v  bo 
changed  into  hydto-chlorate*  during  that  si^utioD. 

T«  Acquire  still  further  light  oo  that  head*  I  sujqwsed  that  en 
nUing  a  solution  of  sulphate  ^  ammonia  with  that  of  cblonivat  vf 
ealcium-or  barytes,  there  ought  to  be  produced  a  grsM  deal  of  heat, 
if  these  metah  were  not  coobioed  with  oxygen ;  for  having  to  pass 
9>to  the  state  of  oxide  in  order  to  combine  with  su^)buric  acidj>  tb« 
^ecompositioo  of  the  water  must  neceasarily  take  place,  aad  ita 
gatygen  experiencing  a  great  condensation  on  uniting  to  Hut  oalciuHi 
«f  bkrium,  there  ouglit  to  be  a  very  sensible  disengagement  of  Iwat. 
pn  mixing  Eolutiong  of  chloniret  of  calcium  and  sulp&ate  «f  S|i4- 
xaooia  nearly  in  ^qual  v(duine%  the  terapenture  scarcely  rose  half  a 
^egiec,  thonghsuch  a  quantity  nf  snlphate  of  time  was  formed  that 
lb*  whole  mixtoie  becasK  spUd.  The  solution  qf  cbkwarct  of 
Iwinm  treated  in  the  aame  way  produced  an  elevation  of  about  3*5°. 
^wia  these  facts  it  would  seen  that  in  the  tolution  of  chloruret  of 
calcium  the  metal  is  in  the  st<)tB  of  an  oxide,  white  in  that  of  chlo- 
ruret of  hariupi  the  metal  is  slitl  in  the  metallic  slate. 

Analogy,  to  which  one  should  not  yield  too  blindly  in  chemistry, 
but  wluch  ought  not  to  l>e  neglected  when  founded  on  a  anmeroua 
series  of  phenomena^  fumislies  still,  as  we  shall  see,  some  proha* 
bitities  in  favour  of  the  existence  of  the  hydro-chlorates. 

It  oannot  be  doubted  that  sulphur,  and  even  piiosphorus,  ap- 
proach a  good  deal  to  chlorine  and  iodine,  and  that  of  course  their 
ctHntuaBtioos  have  an  analogy  with  each  other.  But  if  we  dissolvo 
in  water  the  sulphuret  of  potaseium,  we  obtain  a  combination  the 
fidour  of  which  announces  the  preeepce  of  hydro-sulphvric  Acid^ 


U«M  Ok  ladim,  iSjf 

MAvhidLHllowttfaMe  acid  to-cao^ky  tba  aetio&oC  ■  nwdantw 
liEBtv.  '  iBidwrnne  ntf,  wh—  phD^httrt  ofpofcirom. ii  daacAwt^ 
^nB^metflihydMsengKisfiwagutd.  '^w^tariliannitbwci 
£Sb«Dt  circutDStaoces  is  decorapoBsd  i  io.  Ike  fivt  om,  in  «»■»- 
qomive  of  lbs  kinttf  «f  poteanai  forw^^eo,  and:  ttf  ni^ur  for 
IqrdiogVK}  and  t»  tut  w^ondy  in-«aaa^tnM'  ot ^  wbm  affioitiw, 
tigelber  with,  that  ctf  iilMa|bBW>Jcir  <»gM>»  wweat  the  uune  tia* 
[dKspharaua  aciA  is  fotMM.  ^nhnr,  I  nave  already  wtmmUii  dH» 
among  tbecUorantsy  icdoictiv  ■o/d.*iilphiirati^  itialboa*  one  of 
yAoatt'tHavemtt  b»  aiore  afiMtji  iar  VKfgn  tfaan.  die  o&ei  lor  . 
t^dngrair  thai  an  loWble  m  wawi.  Hcnea  afte*  the  antqiilKMafe 
CButEQCe  e£  ]>;div-G&VDaiBe"aad  bydoedatc  of  ■ngDtaa;  after  lb* 
]iim6.  which  1  have  gWcD  that  wtftr,  ekker  i*  diMolrai^  ■  tkh^ 
nirttv  OP  ki  abaatfeoni^  H,  maji  he  iecoamaed  or  fimnw  bf  tW 
mm*  fcrces  tfam  detonniiw  the  double  nbne  daoonporitiaiwt  lodk 
aftec  tbe  analo^et  wiuefa  1.  hue  JMt  sated,  t  think  wa  bu^  adntitl 
thatHMst  oC  tiwehkmnels,  iodunts,  and  M^ihtncts,  iaaolutiQaia 
water,  those  at  least  whose  metals  have  a  great  affinity  for  ^gen, 
nu^  bECOiuideMdiaa.hydvfr-chlonMs,  bjndriodtfea,  and  hydi«<m)- 
ptuitBa;  1  d»  not,  tMrnarer,  deny  the  exiatence  e^  the  cfalornrep, 
^a.  iM  aolutioB.  in  water.  Ob  the  ceatrary,  1  adm^  a*  a  principle 
tfaH  wc  oi^ht  to  ha*e  a  chlocivet  or  a  hifdw-chloiat&  io  nlutwn, 
acBwdiog-aa  the  forces  whidi.  act  in  order  to  decompoic  w>t«  am 
tnaUci  OE  gHoia  than  tfaoae  which  keep  itielencnta  muted. 

Non  B. 

On  Acidity  and  Alkalinity. 

AH  tJis  cemUaatbaa  which  bodice  farm  may  be  Anded  'mHo-  two 
Ms.  la  the  onethcee  is  perfect  aeutrality ;  iatbc  etbei,  acidity  of 
idbalinty. 

Naatntitem^r  not  snly  esist  in  the  saUo^  cooiblQatioBa,  bvl 
IHuwiie  to  maay  odkers.  Thus  the  ethers  fonati  by  the  cembioa- 
tieo  trf  an  aM  with  aiovbol,  the  soapi  wiik  an  alkaline  «r  acid  bu^ 
ve  so  Banjr  conapoanda  in  which  the  icapeetire  pr^Mrties  at  the 
cDHstiMpoti  dianjMar  eonpktely.  Id  the  acid  or  litudme  cenhina- 
tiwsy  on  t^  eontca^  the  peculiar  piopeniea  of  ont  of  the  cooili- 
tuBDtg  stiU  (hew  tbcuBM^cs. 

FrQoa  t^  idea  of  seotnlily  derived  priocipaHy  tmat  die  saHne 
combinations,  ^  legui,  at  perfomiiDg  the  ftiaelioB  of  an  alkaU, 
all  Ae  kodin  which  saturate  either  eotnplete^  or  ie  pwt  the  pro- 
peni«a«f  icids ;  and  «»acids,  all  bo^es  that  aataraia  tAc  propcrtic* 
of  alkalies.'  We  consider,  further,  the  atatni  state  a»  resolring 
hm  a  certun  oonttant  ratio  between  the  body  which  possesses  the 
pefttFlies  (rf  acids,  and  that  which  powesses  these  of  allttUee.  Ib 
tmf  odieE  latio  the  compound  is  and  or  alkaliiM.  B«t  in  ell  casea 
the  acidln  or  aOuKnity  which  is  in  nccaa  is  Was  tbaii  before  the- 
fipBAuaCfCBi;  aodthis  exoess  nay  be  aictly  meaaurad  bjriheawn-r 


ISS  Ob  Jodim,  R>mr, 

tity  of  sabttance  wbich-it  is  necessaiy  to  add  to  obbdn  the  nentral- 
tfUe  compared  wilb  the  whole  of  the  same  subetmce  cwtaloed  hk  * 
the  neutri]  compound.  Let  us  a[^]r- these  cooiideratkau  to  tbe- 
acids  theHiselvasr  and  tcrthe  alkalies.       .    . 

.Neutrality,  or  complete  aBtomtion  of-die  acid  paxiperties  by  the 
aUulinc,  takes  place  both  between  tmo,  umple  bodies  and  two  com-' 
pound  bodies.  -  It  is  in  tbe  first  cjB&^vcta  ihat  acidity  and  allcalinity 
■how  tbenaselyes  inuiH  their. enei^.  Water  and  white  oiide  df 
Jurse&ic  ate.  neuual  qambiD^oni,  analogous  in  this  respect  to  the 
■tits  :  and  as.  it  ht-oxjigeii/vbich  possesses  atud  properties,  hydrogett 
aDd.ars^c<jOBght  to  possess ;alkauDe  ones.  :  When  oxygea  is  com- 
Uned  \Tt>h  the  laeiml  .in  greater  qnantUy  tbaoi  in  white  oiide,  then 
thf^cyiBpf^nnd  is  A^Id.'  In  like  manner  protoxide  oi  ^ote  ought  to- 
k«:c<Kfei6ered  as  ^  neutral  compound ;  .but  when  the  oxygen  is 
4oinbtQ(id  with  aaote  in  three  times  or  five  times  as  great  a  propor— 
tiMii  the  acid  properties  of  the  oxygen  are  no  loiter  neutralized  by 
the.  alkaline  properties  of  .the  azote,  and  the  combioatioo  possesses. 
acid  characters, 

'-  Since  most  of  the  oxides  are  alkaline,  thou^  they  contaia 
oxygen,  the  metals  whose  oxides  have  that  property  ought  them- 
selves to  possess  it  in  a  much  more  considerable  degree.  It  would 
seem  from  this  that  oxygen  loses  or  preserves  its  character  in  com- 
tunations,  according  to  the  proportion  in  which  it  enters  into  them. 
Let  us  examine  if  these  proportions  should  be  constant  or  variable 
to  produce  this  effect.  We  shall  compare  the  bodies  according  to 
their  volumes  in  the  elastic  state,  and  not  according  to  their  ponder- 
able quantities,  which  have  much  less  influence  on  their  combina- 
tions. 

In  water  there  enter  two  volumes  of  hydrogen  and  one  of  oxygfen. 
Hence,  equal  volumes  considered,  oxygen  is  much  more  acidifying- 
than  azote  is  alkalifying;  end  that  equal  volumes  of  azote  and 
hydrogen  are  alkalifying  in  the  same  degree,  if  we  tfn  compare 
exactly  the  protoxide  of  azote  with  water.  The  oxide  of  carboB 
appears  to.  me  to  result  from  the  combination  of  two  vtdumes  of  the 
vapour  of  carbon  with  one  of  oxygen  gas,  and  if  we  might  con»der 
the  protoxide  of  azote  and  water  as  combinations  equidly  neutral,  we 
might  conclude  that  the  acidifying  properties  of  oxygen  gas  are 
neutralized  by  a  double  proportion  of  the  body  with  which  it  com- 
bines, aod  it  would  be  very  remarkable  that  azote,  hydrogen,  and 
carbon,  possess  alkalifying  properties  in  the  same  degree. 

.  In  carbonic  acid  we  .may  conclude  with  the  greatest  probabib'ljr 
that  the  oxygen  is  combined  with  an  equal  volume  of  the  vapour  ot 
carbon,  and  ia  sulphurous  add  that  it  is  combined  with  an  equal' 
volume  of  the  vapour  of  sulphur.  But  though  in  nitrous  gas  there 
are  equal  volumes  of  oxygen  and  azote,  this  gas  does  not  possess 
acid  properties.  But  as  these  three  compounds  contain  the  same. 
]^poriions  in  volume,  and  as  there  is  no  other  difference  between' 
uev)  except  th4t.ia  sulphurous  and  carbonic  acids,  the  grodeMatJwv 

n,<j'.^^<i"yG00gIe 


U15.]  On  Iodine.  tW 

unoimtg  to  half  the  whole  volume,  vhile  io  nitrous  gat  there  is  no 
condensatioQ  whatever,  it  would  seem  that  this  is  the  cause  why 
oitroHS  gas  does  not  possess  acid  properties,  and  consequenily  that 
the  combiDation  of  an  equal  Toluine  of  oxygen  with  a  certain  chns 
of  bodies  will  constantlv  produce  acids,  if  the  condensation  of  the 
clenaents  be  one  half  of  the  whole  volume. 

Nitrous  add  is  composed  of  1  «zote  and  1'5  oKygen,  and  nitrie 
acid  of  1  azote  and  2-5  oxy^n,  and  yet  the  acidifying  prt^rty  of 
tbese  two  acids  is  the  same  ;  for  with  equal  quantities  of  azote  they 
saturate  the  same  quantity  of  alkaline  base.  The  case  is  the  same 
with  sulphurous  and  sulphuric  acids,  the  last  of  which  contains 
I'S  more  oxygen  than  the  first,  though  they  both  saturate  the  same 
quantity  of  hue.  Iodic  acid  is  composed,  like  nitric  acid,  of  one 
part  in  rolume  of  vapour  of  iodme  and  2-5  of  oxygen ;  and  chloric 
add  resulu  also  from  the  uniop  of  one  part  of  chhwine  with  tw» 
and  a  half  of  oxygen.     , 

It  is  very  remarkable  to  see  acids  very  different,  both  in  the 
nature  t^  their  .radical  and  in  the  quantity  of  oxygen  which  they 
Gontaip>  saturate  the  same  quantity  of  alkali,  supposing  each  to 
contahi  the  same  gaseous  volume  of  radical.  The  following  table 
■hows  this : — 


c""™- {SI'S::::::::  ^5} 

^•"^ ff,S::::::::i5}- 


saturates  2  ammonia 


»*-^ {£*S  •.:::::::  J.5} « 

"'—•"-••••{S'/S :::::;::  l-s}--" 
s.ipw..id...{£p°;;»f;"'p'-;,j 

Sdph»o»»id..{S^^-f-'P!'-|    } 

Hy^*-^  ••{Hv-d"^:;;'!*"::  1 } » 

H,d,^hlp™.c;i{g*;^-;;;:::  I    } a 

It  is  very  probable  that  hydro*salphutic  add  follows  the  samp 
law. 

When  we  see  such  different  acids  saturate  the  same  quantity  of 
base  (suppouDg  each  to  contain  the  same  volume  of  radical),  ought 
we  not  to  draw  this  consequence  that  the  saturating  property  of  an 
acid  dapfltds  principally  upon  its  radical,  since  only  the  ratio  of  this 
radical  to  the  alkaline  base  is  constant  ? 

In  fuAt  if  there  be  no  doubt  that  oxygen,  chlorine,  and  iodine, 
possess  very  poweriiil  addifytng  propertis;,  how  comes  it  that  chloric 
acid  end  iodic  add  do  not  saturate  more  than  nitric  add,  nitroua 
acidf  Ito.  It  oiay  be  answered  that  the  way  in  which  1  here  meaauie 


•diKty  is'iwt  «net»  ted  ^Itfft  then -K  k  f^eat ^8ise>tie 'b(tw«lift  (be 
pApeny  «*faich  an  acid  fan  -e£  oeuUslinn^  ^i  gmrter  >dr  inwdey 
qtAntity-of  bttie,  kod  Oie'enei^gjr  of  Jtswiidity.  il  admit  this  for  «IA 
iMtaotj  eedlihall  'Cwd  jsuppme  tbat  -the  acid  'eaevgy  nff  ^  be^ 
itpeada  ittpcm  its  «lectnc  «nei!gy.  Do  wc  nvt  admit  that  the  ^Iteotrfe 
energy  of  a  neutral  salt  k  Dutl,  or  olmest  null  ?  And  «rm  in  ttfis 
ctattg  lamt  not  tbe  alecftic  energy  of  ftbe  acid  kc  destroyed  fay  the 
ttpposite  «iiBfi^  ef  -tbe  base  f  If  tUs  were  the  case,  it  woold  ''be 
wmbtkw  flsreeaaika^le  to^mtheisfimeiiuMnigrafbvevlhe'tilecAlfc 
•tMRgy  ttf  wUch  is  conataet,  Beutralize  the  emvgy  '(rf  tc)^  difleRtaC 
ma^t  which  withotit  dotibt  is  -variable,  tiesides,  1  ■nwat  dbsMve 
^t  M.  Bertht^et  !bM  loag  ago  |i«t  it  «utdF  doobt  that  ihe  imohi- 
b^y  and  «lastH9ty,  ^olb  «f  ue  aoids  and  'bnet,  and  of  the  «oiiaF- 
fuunds  into  which  ^y  enter,  are  the  pTindpat  catua  'o(  the^ 
mutual  deoonqxiBitioDs;  and  conseqaeat^  that'ttie<declric  energi^G, 
though  highly  worthy  of  consideration,  are  hore  but  sacondary. 
.  (But  I-shall  v«iituie  to  say  tiitt  the  ae«tralizatien  of  acids  md  alkalies 
IB  simide  ratios,  ond^iatof  AartleetAC'timgiea,  when  they  Conn 
•nutnu  «alta,  are  suhon^ate  lo  the  preper^  wlwcfa  all  bodies  have  <^ 
coBO^iaiag  in  definite  picqxirtioiis ;  and  I  cevceive  ibat  vAuH  we  call 
TKutToiity  does  not  indicate  a  uniform  degree  for  all  «oB:thHiiitions, 
A  compound  is  neutral  with  respect  to  us  when  it  refuses  to  unite 
Vrithlhe-acid  or  alkaKne  .particles  presented  to  it.  Butlftbeenei^ 
of  the  acid  body  which  enters  into  the  compound  does  not  exactly 
correspond  with  the  onergy  of  the  alkaline  body ;  if  rC  be  necessary, 
in  order  to  saturate  the  excess  of  the  one  or  the  other,  .to  add  a 
Quantiry  df  aoid  or  nlhali  beyond  the  d^nit£|proportion  in  n'hit'h 
the  acid  and  alkaline  body  can  combine,  the  .combination  of  the 
portion  adSed  will  not  bCipossible,  and  consequently  the  saturation 
of  the  acidity  or  alkalinity  cannm  be  compleie,  though  re-actives 
indicate  the  eontrsry.  Such  combinations  ooght  to  preserve  a  cer- 
tain energy  of  adinity,  which  is- probably  the  cause  of  the  formatit^ 
of  triple  salts,  and 'these  salts  ought  to  approach  nearer  to  perfect 
neutrality  than  those  of  which  they  «re  formed.  We  observe;,  in 
bEi,  that  &e  atriubili^  of , the  triple  salts  is  in  igeneral  less  than  i\iA 
of  the  salts  of  which  they  are  composed;  and  it  is  natural.to  ttuijc 
that,  caleris  parilui^  a  saline  combioatioo  ought  to  'be  the  ie$» 
aoluble  the  more  neutral  it  is. 

,f>oio  what  .htks  been  said,  «fe  ««e  that  ^aygen  in  general  ^v^  a 
neutral,  acid,  or  alkaline,  character  to  a  body  according  to  the  pm-^ 
poriiona  in  wbioh  it  combines  with  it.;  -but  that  the -condflnsMian  of 
volume  which  the  constituents  untiergo,  has,  indepnudent  «f  pr»^ 
porttotu,  a  very  £feat  influeaee  in  ihedaKnnination'af  tiiC'Cb^ 
lacterof  theoompoundwhidbAegrform.  Thus'AeaDaliMtwtioft^tn- 
volume  of  two  parts  of  hydr^n,  4XDte,  or  loubon,  >wiih  ^^e'Of 
nqrgen,  aBd«iCi»idensati«a:of  iKtetdurdof  thelotal  voIumeLdtOer- 
minin.thenwcnildnraeter.  1^  .cMabitattien  of  wk -fiart^ -vo . 
lume  of  carbon  oi^aiilphBTMiMxHie^att.'ofaKygai,  •■d>a'Ooodeii* 
aation  «f  ,batf 'theft(ri«  vohiOK,  .-dAxmiBft'^  utid-dMMwalm  3Am 


1815.]  Os  Sadm,  lOL 

if  ike  MadcBkatiaB  be  riothisg,  n  io  nitMa  gu,  Ac  CBdtpBuiid  ii 
Bohber  and  nor  aHnlin^  ttou^  it  ooDtun  tqiml  valitipts  of  *ztt» 
«al  os«ieit.  It  soenn  t*  renlt  from  tiiii  fhat  acottaUcf  betmoi 
tm»'lM»iesinaybe<ibtaiBeiliDdtfiemit'w«ys,  bj  myteg  tkeir  pio- 
portitma  or  Ike  ooodanialion  of  Adr  voloam.  Wwn  the  fiapat* 
tioQ  of  osjpgen  is  above  half  the  total  volume^  there  ought  for  a  itfil 
ttranger  meso*  to  be  acidity.  Yet  wbe*  we  coinpH«  BaljAunnis 
wMi:BkI{Jniric  acid,  nilmis  witk  nitdc  acid,  and  phoipbonwB  mill 
pbnspbtiric  acid,  we  observe  that  ^te  acidity  it  the  same  foe  eadi 
em^e  v£  acidB,  though  tfaqf  oootain  £Bereiit  quantities  of  as3Bgea. 
1  comider  it  as  very  [ffobalUe  that  the  oxygca  added  to  sulphtmow 
acid  to  eoDvert  it  into  9iil|^uric  does  not  cbaage  its  volume,  and 
that  we  have  always  tfaeoaiNK  number  of  ccBkpouodiBolcculeswfaich 
cattbtne  with  the  sBBDe  number  of  aUuline  oolecaks.  This  vkw 
of  the  sulyect  will  ekplam  the  f>eFraaiieiicy  of  seutrriity  in  the  salts 
whose  acid  is  c^iable  of  combioiiig  vrith  a  dcw  ^uaatity  of  oigrgc*, 
and  it  wouid  make  the  neutral,  bokI,  <H:aikaliKC,  obanctcr  depend 
both  'on  Ike  nomber  of  heteni^eiieDuB  moleculas  wJHch  combine, 
and  en  dieir  arraDgeuMiit.  k  -will  explaiD  lilRwise  mitf  ao  o»dt 
laturfites  so  much  tlie  jnoce  at  «b  acid  as  it  coatains  nore  oxygen  } 
Isr  it  will  be  eidbcient  to  admit  that  the  number  of  molecules  ^  tius 
flside  increases,  on  receiving  a  new  quantity  of  «xygea,  in  tbe  saraa 
lado  as  Ibe  nomber  of  acid  maleailes  n4iidi  it  saMrated  et  first  tnl 
augitiented.*  We  dwll  be  able  to  conceive  likewise  why  two  bodtes, 
Kke  cUorine  and  ogcygen,  whioh  hare  suck  decided  acid  duvacters, 
fimo,  oa  conbining  in  the  pfoportion  of  1  to  t-&,  an  acid  which 
istunrtcfl  no  more  raao  hydn>cnkiric  acid,  irfuch  is  ooi^weed  of 
equal  spurts  of  chlorine  and  hydrogen,  tbui^  the  (Aanoten  at 
hydn^en  be  isiher  alkafine  tlunacid.  We  shall  beabie  to'con'- 
oeivelikewiae  whyfat  bodies  and  adcdhel  mtunite  acids  like  alkalies, 
and  wihy  the  same  fat  bodies  sataaMe  vUialiea  like  acids.  Lastly,  w« 
shall  be  able  to  conceive  the  possibility  of  forming  oentnd  oiHl>> 
pottods  wi^  bodies -Which  kaiTe  die  same  acid  or  alballtie  clwacter, 
and  we  will  admit  without  diflwirily  "diat  -tlie  oxide  of  (Chorine  at 
tuchhirine,  theu|j^  cesulting  fram  the  cambinatioa  Ht  two  bodim 
MroBg^y  mm&fying,  may  nocwithstrnding  be  Deudml. 
-  MentraKty,  oslhave  alreai^  ciaarvedgtdicsplaoeaswell'bAweeH 
two  mfluile  bodies  of  opposite  ckaracten,  as  betweca  ae  acid  aad  att 
skuH.  We  may  say  it  taka  ;pkce  better ;  :for  in  ike  neisUie  ondes, 
for  example,  the  alkaliriity  which  they  enjoy  is  tbe  result  «f  t«r» 
Semite  ^>ropcrties,  tbe  aDntilytiig  propwty  of  ^tbe  MKt^  voA  Hk 
acidifying  of  oxygen,  modified  both't^  tbecwntHBaiiDnMd'by  tbe 
piiportiODS,  We  liave  aay  methods  >af  'reeogninag  ^it  settnt^ 
acid,  or  aUmline,  state  of  some  eaHdnnatnDQs ;  but  «■  vhase  netlli>d> 
^not^iply  to  all,  i  iballcndeawMiT  to)>nnt«at  a««w<KM, 


NMoSyfMi,  'wUch  Ibe]'  cmmId. 

n,r.^^<i"yG00glc 


192  On  Jddiae,  ^mr^ 

If  we  decompose  nitnte  of  ammoDia  by  heat,  we  obtain  two  pro- 
ducts— water,  which  is  neutral;  and  protoxide  of  azote, >wfiicfa 
ought  to  be  so  too.  1  say  which  ought  lo  be  so,  first,  because  it  baa 
no  acid  nor  aliraline  character ;  secondly,  because  it  is  formed  in  a 
manner  aoalc^ous  to  water,  namely>  two  volumes  of  azote  and  one 
of  oxygen. 

The  cbloruret,  ioduret,  and  sulpburet  of  potassium,  ^e  neutral 
coiipounds  when  in  solution  in  water.  If  this  neutrality  did  not 
exist  between  their  elements,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  would 
stot  exist  in  the  solution.  If,  for  example,  there  were  an  excess  of 
iwtassium,  hydrogen  would  be  disengaged.  If  the  chlorine,  iodine, 
or  sulphur,  were  in  excess,  their  properties  would  be  easily  recog- 
nised. But  the  neutral  hydro-chlorate  of  potash  changing  into 
neutral  chloruret  of  potassium  because  water  is  formed,  we  see  that 
when  two  of  the  four  elements  of  this  neutiat  salt  Anrm  a  neutral 
compoiind,  that  formed  by  the  two  other  elements  is  neutral  also. 
Tiiis  is  the  fact  which  1  vnsh  to  generalize,  by  saying  that  whenever 
a  neutral  compound  is  divided  into  two  compounds  of  which  the 
one  is  neutral,  the  other  is  so  of  necessity  also ;  for  example,  in  the 
neutral  sulphate  of  ammonia  all  the  oxygen  of  the  acid,  and  all  the 
hydrogen  of  the  alkali,  forming  water  which  is  neutral,  the  sulphur 
and  azote  which  remain,  and  which  are  in  the  proportion  of  20  to 
l7*f>,  will  form  a  sulphuret  of  azote  which  ought  to  be  neutral  atso^ 
and  which  will  be  composed  of  equal  volumes  of  sulphur  and  azote. 

On  decomposing  neutral  chlorate  or  iodate  of  potash  by  heat,  we 
obtain  neutral  chloruret  and  ioduret  of  potassium  ;  consequently 
the  potassium  by  losing  its  oxygea,  which  necessarily  diminished  its 
alkaline  energy,  has  ^ined  as  n^uch  alkaline  energy  as  the  chlorine 
and  iodine  have  gained  of  acid  energy  by  losing  five  times  as  much 
oxygen.  Here  is  a  new  proof  that  the  acid  properties  of  a  body  do 
not  follow  the  ratio  of  the  quantity  of  oxygen  which  combine 
with  it. 

Another  principle,  which  I  think  ought  to  be  admitted,  is  that  a 
neutral  compound  does  not  destroy  the  acid  or  alkaline  eaagy  of 
anodier  eompound  with  which  it  combines.  This  is  proved,  bj 
showing  that  when  neutral  compounds  are  mixed,  the  mixture  re- 
mains neutral.  According  to  this  pnnciple,  water  holding  in  solu- 
tion an  acid  or  an  alkali  ought  to  remain  always  acid  or  alkaline; 
whatever  be  its  proportion.  This  liquid,  considered  as  a  solvent, 
presents  therefore  this  remarkable  circumstance,  that  it  overcomes 
the  cohesion  or  elasticity  of  the  bodies  with  which  it  unites  without 
destroying  their  characteristic  properties,  which  enables  us  often  to 
observe  these  properties  better  than  in  the  bodies  themselves. 

In  the  neutral  state,  the  acid  or  alkaline  properties  being  in 
general  saturated,  it  is  evident  that  a  neutral  bjdy  ought  to  have 
less  tendency  to  combine  with  acids  or  alkalies  than  those  which  are 
not  so  J  and  we  may  easily  explain  why,  cateris  panhus,  the  affinity 
of  an  oxide  for  acids  diminishes  in  proportion  as  it  combines  with  a 
greater  dose  of  oxygen.    By  that  it  approaches  more  and  more  to  a 

r,..-A-..>yGoogIe 


itMf  of  Dcvtral^.,  1^  1947  ettn^M  h  '4Hd]twi^  (Jn  dmw^n 

of  acids,  as  happens  to  the  peroxides  of  tin  and  Bntimonj. 

Ifidifyinff  prop«itieG  tputhqr  Wies;  vtd  I  was  tite  i^ttfir  catittcd. 
W  makfl  this  EHppositiofj,  l)ecs*wPj  tbqiigh  ijit  H.  Davy  thiok«-tl|afr 
tb«  ohlprat^s  ftEi4  iadsw»  cootaia  no  aeid,  ant)  wtriple  cpospovodr 
of  thp  ni«tnls,  Qitygen  a(ul  cliloriqe  or  iaiUBe,  1  hajve  denwmtnKvijl 
thfit  th^y  are  true  saU^  aoa)ogovto  thesulphates  and Dit«aii«^ Mig 
t}nt  ctiloric  ^,Qi  igdic  acid^  may  buohtfiitm^  ia-a  KfWVtB  <t«te>  .  ( 
^  not  refuse,  however,  to  chlorine  and  iodine  tte  acidifying  p«>* 
P*Ky ;  I  go  ev£Q  further,  and  assign  it  to  sulphur,  which  ia  mf ' 
^niop  ppBSessqa  it  ip  a  liigh  degree,  to  pbmpterut,  carb(ff,.ai»d. 
several  other  bodies.  I  hftVQ  long  considered  ap  acidi  io  JtA  q)<M| 
gpner^l  {ipcefitatioD,  as  merely  a  bpdy  (whether  it  cooiainsovfg,en 
or  dp)  vthich  neHtra^izK  alkalinity ;  ap4  ap  alkali  i;  merely  a  bodjT. 
wtieh  neutralizes  acidily.  lljus  io  tlte.  soaps  the  pil  p^rfomu  tJift 
^ctioa  of  i^cid,  sioce  it  saturates  slJtAUeft;  atid  in  ctitffiiQ  e^r^ 
tlwalcohpl  ^riotm  th^  futictioa  of  ofx  aUu>li>  sipce  if  sqtunHa^ 
ati^.  Knowijig  ilip  fljeineots  qt  faydro-sulpbtffric  4cid  apd  amr 
mopia,  ^a4  tha  d>SiUFV(Uions  of  Mr  Bertbpllet  pa  pruasif:  acid,  ««; 
caHDot  refuw  to  a4;qit  th^  a  body  ww  be  acid  or  alkaline  witbqut 
cwtajning  oxygep,  aQ.4  cpi)s«queiilly  that  ^dity  aad  aLkalioily  may 
ire  cDpiiqunicated  by  otkfT  bpdjes  h«side^  ovygen.  'l'he»»  oh^erva;^ 
tjops,  by  geaer^liziog  pur  lutionp  of  acids  and  alkalies,  hart  f^Vf 
d$rqd  th^  deQnitipi)  qf  tji$^  v^ry  imperfect ;  because  acidity  ai)4 
alkalinity  are  correJative  terms,  and  one  cannot  be  ({efiiied  witbo^( 
fipcpVfW  tp  the  other.  The  difficulty  of  tndag  a  liaiit  between  the 
fp^  9^4  ^ikali^s.  if  ftill  increased  whoi  we  find  a  body  sonoetkne^ 
perfonriifig  the  f^pctjoDs  of  an  acid,  fippifstjmes  qt  ao  alkali.  Kor 
«Hi  ^e  iliminish  ibis  dificuLty  by  hayipg  recoi^nie  tp  tjb^  b^iuit^I 
ilHy  d)SG9Y^«d  by  Berxeiipt,  that  pxy^D  and  fcids  go  to  the  po^^ 
^  pole  j  ai)4  hydrogen,  ^Jkajici,  a!a4  ip^vmquble  l^fes,  to  thf  ' 
native  pole.  \V£  panopt,  in  f^cf.,  give  the  naipe  of  acid  to  all  ^ 
Vfiiiet,  whip^  go  to  the  fir«^  of  these  pple^  aqd  that  of  alkali  to 
tjboBe  th^t  go  to  th^  sepond :  a^d  if  we  wished  to  define  t^  acidis 
%  briogipg  ij^  view  ^hepature  pf  their  electric  energy,  it  must  he 
Meo  ti#t  it  wp)i)4  he  pe^uwy  to  cp^pat^  ibem  with  the  electric 
enei^  which  is  opposite  to  them.  Thus  we  are  always  reduced  tff_ 
4e^ne  acidity  by  tjbe  pn>pcrty  which  it  hii^  of  ^aiwrating  alkalinity  ; 
because  ^siiftf  and  a,ika|ipit}r  tfa  tpp  corielatire  an^  iaieparable 
terms. 

Whatever  definition  of  acid  we  prefer,  we  must  divide  the  ^aia 
into  di&reiit  giopps,  because  th^  do  not  sll  derive  their  aaid  cba- 
ncter  from  the  same  body.     We  have, 

1.  The  acids  prpperly  so  called,  in  w^ich  we  may  coosi^r  oxyg^a 
as  the  acidifying  piinciple,  and  wliich  contMo  only  two  elemeoti. 
Such  are  chloric,  iodic,  sulphuric,  stilj^urous,  nitric,  nitrous^ 
phosphoric,  phosphprous,  carbonic,  aiseoic,  bo^aciu^  aud  prpbablr 

Vpt.VI.N»UI.  "U     '"',      '     ■"      


tAi  On  JoitBe.  (Skft. 

t  gr«M  numbier  of  metallic  oiidei,  whicb  tta^j  potsess  tlie  proper- 
ties of  acidi. 

'  j^  The  acids  formed  by  hydronn  aoA  another  body.  This  set  com- 
ifrehends  hydro-chloric,  hydrioaic,  and  faydro-sulpburic  acids.  It 
H  probable  that  in  these  acids  chloriae,  lodiDe,  and  sulphur,  ar« 
the  acidifying  principles ;  imt  as  hydrogen  enters  into  them  all,  I 
tbotigbt  it  better  to  deduce  from  it  their  general  name.  These 
diS^rent  acids  may  he  distinguished  by  the  name  hydracids.  Among 
(his  set  I  conceire  the  numerous  compounds  of  carbon  and  hydTx>- 
^n,  which  possess  acid  [m}perties,  ought  to  be  arranged.  The 
^leiiients  of  some  of  these  cotnpouods,  and  perhaps  of  all  of  them,' 
are  in  the  same  proportioD  in  volunae  as  in  the  preceding  acids;  and 
flieir  molecules  are  doubtless  arranged  in  an  analogous  manner. 
-  Among  the  vegetable  acids  there  are  severat  which  dntw  their 
scid  character  from  oxygen,  because  that  body  is  the  greatest  con- 
stituent in  them.  This  is  the  case  with  oxalic  acid.  But  citric, 
fBcIictic,  and  acetic  acids,  probably  owe  their  acid  characters  to  the 
carbon,  which  they  contain  in  the  greatest  proportion.  We  ought  . 
to  admit  this  in  particular  in  acetic  acid,  which  we  may  conceive  tb 
be  composed  of  6qual  puts  by  weight  of  carbon  and  water,  or  of 
three  parts-in  volume  of  the  vapour  of  carbon  and  two  of  the  vapour 
*f  water.*  I  am  likewise  convinced  that  benzoic  acid  does  not  owtf 
its  acid  properties  to  oxygen,  but  rather  to  the  carbon  and  hydrogen. 
And  I  consider  the  clas$ifica6on  of  vegetable  sulMtances  established 
hf  M.  Tlienard  apd  myself  (Hecb.  Physico-Chim.  ii.  321,)  as  pre- 
senting eiceptions. 

Prtissic  acid  ought  without  doubt  to  be  placed  in  a  particular  Setj 
though  near  that  of  the  hydracids ;  but  it  would  be  premature  to 
determine  its  classification  witliout  knowing  exactly  its  nature. 

Besides  these  different  ncids,  chlorine,  which  was  alwayq^reckoned 
tmoDg  the  acids,  while  considered  as  a  compound  of  muriatic  acid 
and  oxygen,  ought  still  to  be  so,  though  a  simple  body.  The  same 
thing  may  be  said  of  iodine,  and  of  various  other  simple  bodies, 
which  have  the  property  of  combining  with  alkalies.  Yet  it  appears 
to  me  Dtore  convenient  to  continue  to  class  them  among  the  sirnple 
bodies,  and  to  reserve  the  term  acid  for  the  compound  acids.  But 
it  becomes  necessary  to  divide  these  bodies  into  as  many  sets  as  there 
are  different  generic  characters. 

■  Though  clitorine  and  iodine  possess  acidifying  properties,  and 
ihough.  they  can  form  acids  by  combining  with  other  bodies,  we 


-  •  Thia  compDiilioD  of  acetic  Bcid  do«i  not  differ  wuiibij  trnm  tbtt  of  hm^ 
tnalter,  which  dbei  not  pDimi  uiy  acid  cbaraclen.  Here,  then,  are  tira  ikodici 
compoKd  of  caibon,  oiyg^Di  and  Itydm^n,  io  Ihe  tame  proportians,  wboie  pro- 
genies ;lre  HrikinEly  different.  Tb!)  ii  &  tew  proof  that  tbe  iUTkD(enieiit  of  tbe 
Mmleculea  in  acompoand  bu the grenteit inflaeoce  oa  ifaeacid,  alkaline,  oriwumj 
characteri  of  tbe_  coDipoDDd,  Sugaj,  (am,  and  ^arch,  lead  Io  the  taau)  condii- 
jisiib  I  for  Ihese  Eubiiancet,  ibbngh  cooipaicd  of  identic  eleaeDtj,  and  in  the  same 
ftvpatHoa,  hate  very  diSeraal  pToptrliei. 


'..>y  Google 


i«iS.J  On  Iodine.  1^ 

eught  not  at  present,  coDsidcHog  the  smalt  number  of  adds  whicn 
thev  fonn>  and  «liose  existence  even  is  not  sufficienlif  established,  to 
be  jn  a  huny  to  form  these  at-ids  into  particular  sets.  We  ought  to 
be  so  the  leas  because  there  are  bodies,  ss  carhon,  which  are  acidi- 
fied by  oxygen,  and  which  in  their  turn  acidify  other  bodies.  Be- 
sides these  considerations  which  I  liBceoETered  on  acidity,  showing 
UiBtit  is  not  proportional  in  an  acidified  body  to  the  quantity  of  the 
acidifying  principle,  and  that  it  is  greatly  modified  by  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  molecules,  it  is  necessary  to  wait  till  experiment  haa 
furnished  us  with  more  light  before  pronouncing  on  its  true  cha- 
racters, and  on  ibe  circumstances  which  produce  it.  We  know, 
iodeed,  that  acids  and  acidifying  bodies  lidve  an  electric  energy 
'  which  is  negative  with  respect  to  that  of  the  alkalies  and  the  alkali- 
fying  bodies,  ,  But  this  is  not  sufficient;  and  we  are  still  far  from 
being  able  to  assign  from  the  electric  energies  of  compounds,  if  the 
character  of  their  compound  ought  to  be  neutral,  acid,  or  alkaline. 
Thus  silver  having  a  very  weak  affinity  for  oxygen,  it' would  seem 
that  it  ought  to  approach  ii  by  (he  nature  of  its  electric  energy ;  and 
yet  the  oxide  of  silver,  in  which  I  have  found  a  small  degree  of 
solubility,  is  very  alkaline,  for  it  completely  neutralizes  the  acids ; 
and  azote,  which  appears  to  approach  oxygen,  chlorine,  and  iodine, 
forms  a  very  weak  compound  with  hydrogen,  though  this  last  pos- 
sesses a  very  great  positive  electric  energy.  We  nave  more  and 
more  reason,  then,  to  admit  that  the  neutral,  acid,  or  alkaline, 
character  of  a  compound  does  not  depend  entirely  upon  the  cha- 
racter of  its  constituents,  but  likewise  upon  their  proportions  in 
volume,  and  their  condensation;  or,  in  other  words,  upon  thet 
arrangement  of  their  molecules, 

Additions. 
I  have  said,  vol.  v.  p.  lOG,  that  on  passing  water  and  iodine  in  vapour 
throu^  a  porcelain  tube  at  a  red  heat,  no  oxygen  was  disengageo, 
and  consequently  that  the  water  was  not  decomposed  by  the  iodine. 
^Elie  same  experiment  repeated  afterwards  a  second  time  gave  me 
the  same  result,  that  is  to  say,  that  1  obtained  no  oxygen.  Never' 
theless,  the  consequence  which  I  drew  from  it  is  not  exact,  as  I  shall 
now  show.  M.  Ampere  having* exposed  during  several  months  a 
solution  of  iodine  in  water  to  the  action  of  solar  light,  observed  that 
it  was  entirely  freed  from  colour,  and  requested  me  to  examine  what 
could  be  the  cause  of  this  phenomenon.  We  ascertained  that  the 
water  contained  a  mjx,ture  of  iodic  acid  and  hydriodic  acid  in  very  . 
smalt  proportions :  and  on  letting  fall  into  it  some  drops  of  sulphuric 
acid  or  solution  of  chlorine,  the  water  assumed  an  orangc-browD 
colour,  and  gave  out  the  peculiar  odour  of  iodine.  Sulphurous  acid 
'  did  not  colour  it ;  but  hydro-sulphuric  acid  rendered  it  milky,  on 
account  of  the  sulphur  which  precipitated,  'niese  experiments  de 
'inonstrate  evidently  the  pre&cnce  of  hydriodic  and  iodic  acids  in  the 
solution  of  iodine  under  examination ;  and  we  imitated  it  by  mixing 
together  very  dilute  splutiani  of  these  two  acids.  The  only  consc- 
N  2         "    ■ 


^96  On  Iodine.  ^bpt. 

quence  which  we  oan  deduce  from  this  fact  is,  that  imrter  was  de- 
composed. Its  oxygen  formed  with  iodiae  iodic  acid,  and  its 
'  hydn^n  hydriodic  acid.  But  the  quantity  of  the  two  aoida  which 
can  exist  ttwcther  in  solution  in  water  is  subortKiMte  to  this  ccradi- 
tion,  that  wnen  they  are  concentnted  to  a  certain  degree  they  de- 
compose one  another. 

As  we  can  in  general  substitute  a  certain  elevation  of  tempera- 
ture for  solar  light,  I  mnde  a  mixture  of  vapour  of  iodine  and 
water  pass  again  through  a  red-hot  porcelain  tube,  and  I  attentively 
examined  the  products.  No  gas  passed ;  and  the  water  condeosed 
had  the  same  intensity  of  colour  with  cold  water  saturated  witfa 
iodine.  I  heated  it,  in  order  to  deprive  it  of  its  colour,  and  I  suc- 
ceeded. This  water,  which  had  no  smell,  and  no  action  on  litmus 
any  more  than  the  water  obtained  by  M,  Ampere,  had  likewise  all 
the  characters  of  it,  and  I  etisily  recognized  in  it  tlie  preoeoce  of 
iodic  and  hydriodic  acids.  As  before  being  discoloured  by  heat  it 
had  exactly  the  appearance  of  a  cdd  solution  of  iodine,  I  thought 
that  both  might  l)e  similar.  To  verify  this  suspioioa,  I  slightly 
dieated  a  cold  solution  of  iodine,  in  order  to  deprive  it  of  its  colour, 
an  effect  which  may  equally  be  produced  by  exposing  it  to  the  air. 
It  then  presented  exactly  the  same  characters  as  a  scJution  of  iodine 
which  had  been  made  colourless  by  long  exposure  to  light,  and  as 
-that  which  1  had  obtiiined  by  pacing  water  afid  iodine  thcoi^h  a 
redrhot  ttibe,  and  rendered  colourless  by  boiling.  None  of  these 
solutions  was  coloured  by  sulphurous  acid  j  but  all  of  them  wen 
coloured  by  chlorine.     This  is  because,  on  ibe  one  hand,  the 

ir  hydriodic  and  iodic  acids  exist  in  them  in  very  small  quantity ;  and 
because  on  the  other  there  is  five  times  as  much  iodine  in  the  tint 
acid  as  in  the  second.  I  have,  however,  succeeded  in  rendering  the 
solution  of  the  two  acids  coloured  by  sulphurous  acid,  by  first  satu- 
ntiftg  with  ammonia,  and  then  coocentrating  by  evaporation. 

It  follows  from  these  observations  that  when  iodine  is  in  cootaet 
with  water  it  decomposes  this  liquid,  and  produces  with  its  elements 
iodic  and  hydriodic  acids.  This  action  of  iodine  on  water  appears 
to  me  entirely  independent  of  the  solar  light ;  and  wbm  a^si^ution 
of  iodine  is  deprived  of  its  colour  .by  exposure  to  light  for  some 
months,  as  in  the  experiment  of  M.  Ampere,  I  ascribe  tlie  e£^t  to 
the  gradual  evaporation  of  the  iodine.  It  appears  to  me  probable 
that  iodine  is  dissolved  in  water  only  by  the  action  of  the  hydriodic 
acid,  which  is  formed  at  the  same  time  that  the  solution  t^es  jdace; 
But  I  have  already  remarked  that  we  do  not  succeed  in  depriving 
hydriodic  acid  holding  iodine  in  solution  of  its  colour  by  boiling, 
while  we  easily  do  so  to  water  which  has  been  in  contact  with  this 
substance.  I  presume  that  in  this  last  case  the  hydriodic  acid  exer- 
cidng  some  part  of  its  action  on  the  iodic  acid,  retains  the  iodine 
with  less  energy,  and  of  course  lets  it  be  disengaged  with  more 
facility. 
I  have  ascertained  that  on  exposing  to  light  a  sohitioD  of  diloriae 

•  in  water^.  chloric  acid  is  produced.    -  .  . 

-,'..>y  Google 


IMS  J;  On  Iodine.  19? 

Multtal  DecompotUion  of  the  lodale  oTid  Hydriodate  of  Zinc. 

InspeakiDgof  the  aclion  of  the  alkaline  oxides  on  iodine  by  means 
of  waiCT>  I  waB  led  to- conclude  (vol.  v.  p.  :i02)  that  if  we  cannot 
farm  hrdriodstea  and  iodates  with  the  oxides  of  zinc,  iron,  &c. 
the  reason  is,  that  these  oxides  do  not  sufficiently  condense. 
IgdriodK:  toA  iodic  acids  to  prevent  them  from  acting  on  and  de- 
canq>bsifig  each  other.  I  have  since  verified  this  C<Ki8equeoce,  by 
mixing  iodate  of  potash  with  a  solution  of  sulphate  and  bydriodate 
of  ziee.  Thoagh  the  solution  of  these  different  substances  was  not. 
sufficiently  concentrated  to  allow  sulphate  of  potash  to  be  deposited, 
we  may  however  admit,  on  account  of  the  facility  of  the  changes 
that  take  place  in  the  solution  of  different  salts,  that  ihe  plienamena 
oiigttt  to  be  the  same  as  if  we  had  mixed  directly  hydriodate  of  zinc 
with  the  iodate  of  thesame  metal.  'Hie  result  was,  that  there  gra- 
dually depodted  in  the  solution  of  these  three  bodies,  oxide  of  zinc 
vhtcbr  appeared  to  me  pure,  and  iodine  well  crystallized,  and  the 
soliition  which  contained'  hydriodatc  of  zinc  in  excess  was  very 
stiongly  cafoured.  "iniese  results  can  only  be  explained  by  supposing 
tliat  the  acid  of  the  hydriodate  of  zinc,  and  that  of  the  iodate  of 
the  same  metal,  supposed  to  exist  in  the  solutioa,  have  mutually 
decomposed  each  other,  and  produced  water  and  iodine,  and  that 
the  oaide  of  zinc  held  in  solution  by  these  acids  precipitated  after 
thur  destruction. 

Oh  the  Nomenclature  of  the  Comhinaiiojis  of  Iodine  and  Chlorine 
with  other  Bodies, 
It  may  be  asked  why,  instead  of  calling  the  compound  of  iodine 
and  potassium  ioduret  of  potassium,  I  did  not  call  it  potassurel  of 
iodine.  I  observe,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  combinations  of  sul- 
phur with  the  metals  having  the  name  of  sulphurets,  those  of  chlo- 
ritie  and  iodine  ought  from  analogy  to  receive  the  names  of  chlo- 
Turelt  aod  iodurets.  But  to  a^^ly  lo  general  with  certainty  the 
generic  termination  nret,  I  have  taken  for  a  principle  to  give  it  to 
that  of  the  elements  of  a  binary  compound  which  has  the  greatest 
affinity  for  hydrogen,  and  which  combines  with  it  when  the  com- 
pound pi'oduces  the  decomposition  of  water.  According  to  this 
principle,  1  call  the  compounds  of  chlorine  with  sulphur  and  azote, 
clUoraret  of  sulphur,  chtoruret  of  azote ;  those  of  iodine  with  azote 
and  potassium,  ioduret  of  axote,  ioduret  of  potassium ;  chtoruret  of 
iodine,  the  compound  of  chlorine  and  iodine ;  and  sulphuret  of 
earhon,  ioduret  of  phosphorus,  the  combinatio[)s  of  sulphur  wi^ 
caiboQ  and  Iodine  with  phosphorus. 

On  Ammonia  comidered  as  an  Oxide. 

Dr.  Berzelius  has  concluded  from  his  researches  that  ammonia 

contains  oxygen,  beeause  in  its  combinations  with  acids  it  followj 

the  same  law  as  the  metallic  oiqdes.    This  conclusion  is  not  ne'ces- 

taiy }  for  from  the  olneivatioiu  which  I  have  presented,  aa  alkali  i» 


199  0»  Tungiten.  [Sbpt. 

in  gener^  a  substaace  which,  by  the  nature  of  its  energy,  and  the 
arraDgemeDt  of  its  molecules,  is  ca]>able  of  combiaing  mth  acids, 
and  of  neutralizing  them.  I  have  obt>u\'ed,  likewise,  that  we  ought 
to  consider  azote  as  approaching  by  its  properties  the  nature  of 
oxygeD,  chlorine,  iodine,  and  that,  like  them,  it  may  acidify  a  cer- 
tain'class  of  bodies.  But  all  acidifying  sutistatices  may,  as  well  as 
oxygen,  when  they  combine  with  alkalifying  substances  in  proper 
proportions,  form  sslitiable  bases.  Of  cburse,  ammonia  ought  to 
be  considered  as  a  particular  alkali,  in  which  azote  performs  the 
function  of  oxygen  in  the  other  alkalies.  1  cotisider,  in  the  tame 
way,  carlion  in'  fatly  bodies,  and  particularly  in  the  margafine  of 
Chevreuil,  as  performing  the  function  of  oxygen  in  the  acids;  and  I 
consider  it  in  alcohol  as  performing  the  function  of  oxygen  in 
the  ojiides.  I  shall  observe,  that  since  the  printing  of  the  article  in 
which  1  treat  of  hydiiodio  ether,  I  have  ascertained  the  density  of 
its  vaiKiur,  and  found  that  it  does  not  coincide  with  that  given  by 
calculating  on  the  supposition  that  the  ether  is  a  compound  of  the 
vapour  of  absolute  alcohol  and  hydriodio  acid.  As  the  same  thing 
holds  lyith  hydro-chloric  ether,  the  density  of  which  found  by  expe- 
riment is  ditferent  from  that  found  by  calculating  it  as  a  compound 
of  the  vapour  of  absolute  alcohol  and  hydro-chlorio  acid  ;  it  appeals 
to  me  very  probable  that  the  alcohol,  which  may  be  considered  as 
composed  of  equal  volumes  of  the  vapour  of  water  and  oiefiant  gai 
condensed  into  one  volume,  changes  its  nature  on  combiniag  with 
the  acids.  I  hope  to  be  able  to  throw  light  on  this  subject  ia  a 
memoir  on  vapours,  which  I  propose  soon  to  publish.  . 


Article  VI. 

Exper^mepls  o?i  TiMgilen,  and  Us  Combinaiions  with  Oxygen,  Am- 
^monia,  ami  other  Sabitarices,  to  determine  the  Acatracy  of  pre- 
ceding  Researches,  and  to  proTttote  our  Knowledge  of  this  Suh- 
stamc.    By  Professor  Bucholz.* 

InlToduclion. 

SotiE  time  has  elapsed  since  I  formed  the  resolution  of  malcing  s 
set  of  experiments  oh  tungsten,  its  oxides,  and  iheir  com  hi  nations, 
in  order  to  verify  the  accuracy  of  preceding  researches  on  this  sub- 
stance, and  in  order  to  |>rombtc  our  knowledge  of  its  nature  and 
propertiL'd.  I  was  in  a  situation  to  make  these  experiments  in  con- 
sequence of  a  considerable  stock  of  ^glfram  and  Scheele's  tungstic 
acid  with  which  I  was  furnished,  and  for  which  1  have  chiefly  to 
thank  the  goodness  of  iry  friend  Dr.  Haberle.    Thb  resolution  was 


18'15.]  On  Ttmgiteai  1 

rendered  still  stFooger  ia  coosequente  of  a  caDvemtk»  whkh  I  had 
with  the  celebrated  naturalist  Profeuor  SteffisM,  of  Hall«,  who  , 
seemed  to  doubt  the  accuracy  of  the  statements  respecting  the  great 
^wcjfic  gravity  of  tungsten.  The  ibllomng  dissertation  conuins 
my  eKperiments  and  their  'results  a»  &r  as  the  time  I  had  would  allow 
me  to  follow  them  up.     Ilic  continuation  of  them  will  follow. 

(A.), 

Experiments  on  the  lest  Method  offormitig  Tungslic  Aad,  or  rather 

Tungilate  of  Ammonia. 

As  my  object  in  these  esperimeots  »a«  in  the  first  place,  for  very 
obvious  rewoQs,  directed  towards  the  reduction  of  tungsten,  and  as 
J  wanted  to  verify  the  statement  of  Allen  and  Aikin  that  this  metal 
may  be  fully  melted  by  the  appGcatioa  of  a  violent  heat  to  tungstate 
of  ammonia,  ou  that  aoeount  my  firat  care  was  to  discover  a  conve- 
nient method  of  obtaining  a  sufficient  quantity  of  tungstate  of  am- 
■Bpnio.  It  was  quite  natural  to  try  in  the  first  place  Scheele's  tune- 
stic  Bctd,  £Offlpased  of  oxide  of  tungsten,  potash,  and  muriatic  acid, 
because  i  had  a  considerable  stock  of  it  in  my  possessicHi. 
f  Exper.  1. — With  a  view  to  the  statement  of  several  chemists, 
who  affirm  that  in  order  to  ibrm  pure  tungstate  of  ammonia  it  is 
necessaiy  to  separate  the  pure  yellow  oxide  of  tungsten  from 
Scheele's  tungstic  acid  by  digestioa  in  nitrip  acid,  I  made  the  fol- 
lowing experimeDt : — ^I'wo  ounces  of  the  triple  compound  of  tung- 
slic oxide,  potash,  and  muriatic  acid,  were  triturated  with  eight 
jounces  of  pure  nitric  acid  of  the  mccific  gravity  1*200 ;  and  being 
put  into  a  glass  vessel  capable  of  holding  16  oz.  of  water,  were 
bcnled  for  six  houn,  and  during  that  time  Were  frequently  agitated. 
Hiis  process  was  very  difficult,  because  the  salt.and  oxide  settliog 
at  the  bottom  of  the  vessel  occasioned  a  continual  knocking  of  the 
vapour,  and  by  that  means  the  acid  was  sputtered  about.  The  oxidb 
obtuned  by  this  process  was  very  light  yellow,  without  the  least 
shade  of  lemon.  This  entitled  me  to  conclude  that  the  triple  salt  - 
had  not  been  completely  decomposed.  To  obtain  a  more  complete 
decomposition,  the  whole  was  poured  into  a  porcelain  dUb,  and 
evaporated  on  the  sand-bath  to  the.  consistence  of  a  syrup,  being 
constantly  stirred  during  the  whole  process  by  a  porcelain  spatula. 
The  whole  was  then  diluted  with  12  oz.  of  water,  and  after  re-  •  . 

mainiog  at  rest  for  24  hours,  the  milky  solution  was  separated  from  . 
Ibe  heavy  yellow  oxide.  This  oxide  was  treated  ir  the  same  way 
again  in  the  porcelain  dish  with  6  oz.  of  nitric  acid.  The  oxide 
obtained  in  this  manner,  and  three  times  washed  witii  '>  oz,  of  water, 
was  considered  by  me  as  pure.  When  dried,  and  heated  to  redness, 
it  assumed  a  light  yellow  colour,  and  weighed  \S  drams.  After 
aeveral  weeks,  90  gr,  of  the  snme  oxide  predpitaied  from  the  milky 
liquid. 

With  this  oxide  the  following  experiment  was  made.    . 

Exper.  2.-300  gr.  of  the  tungsdc  (aide  whii;b  hfd  b^n  hcatsd 


206  OH  7i»gstdh.  {Sbp^. 

to  ^iftfii,  asA-Kitttt  h  light  )«BMiT-]^e1l0«r  toldur,  were  dtge«te< 
'fbr-sottie  ttroe  with  a  Wa^  aohitiob  <^  coilceatrtiied  tadstic  ain>- 
rntiniit.  In  about  fin  hour  the  mixlure  was  ral»ci  tb  the  boilings 
%^mperAttiTe ;  but  I  did  h6t  by  this  means  obtda  a  cottiplele  boIu- 
Ve/a.  iT^e  mixtitre  wfts  allowed  to  remain  at  rest  for  some  time  ; 
and  My  thn  ttieem  the  liquid  Wbs  sepbtatecl  frOn  the  uDdiswlvt^A 
yeilowish-grcy  oxide,  and  carefully  evaporated  in  a  porcelain  basoD. 
By  this  means  I  obtained  4J  ev.  ot  a  pea-coloured,  foliated,  brilliant 
tauss,  ^aiiily  separated  from  the  por^lain  vessel,  and  possessing  a 
hot  bitter  taste.  It  was  tung^tate  of  ammonia. 
■  This  result  was  quite  contrary  to,  Biy  eicpectation,  and  to  the 
assertion  ef  other  ciiemists,  according  to  Whom  pure  tungtttc  oxidte 
ie  vi?ry  easily  loluble  In  ammonia.  This  required  a  further  ttxami- 
-nation  of  tl>e  residuum  which  wae  insoluble  in  amnHmla. 

Exptr.  S. — ^Thts  residuum  was  treated  with  S  oz.  of  cauttic  aAv- 
monia,  In  the  same  nianneras  above  related;  after  which  the  liquid 
pan  was  Mparsted  from  the  salid  powder,  which  still  had  a  very 
gr^  afMpearanee.  By  evaporation  the  ^lution -deposited  only  2^  gr. 
of  a  salt  havinfi^  the  same  cdtour  as  in  the  pretreditig  experiment,  of 
a  pulTemlentappeafance,  and  having  a  sharp  bittev  taste. 

Ejtper.  4. — As  1  conjectured  that  the  tungstic  Oxide  was  somv- 
what  deosidided  by  the  ammoriia,  and  theMby  rendered  grey,  I 
-tried,  by  exposing  it  to  a  ted  hiiat,  to  bring  this  oxide  back  to  ib 
original  state,  and  to  obtain  a  greater  proportion  of  it  dissolved  ib 
•mmooia.  1  found  that  by  ihJK  ireatment  the  grey  oside  agaia 
sstnmed  a  yellow  colour,  and  amounted  now  to  only  230^.  Wi^i 
tbi«  powder  the  following  txp*rlment  was  made. 

LBcepcr.  5.-^100  gr.  Of  the  same  oxide  wtxe  mixed  with  4  oz.  «(- 
TCKUmIc  ammonia,  and  the  iniKture  was  digested  for  12  hours  in  a 
^TBry  fflodeiste  hiat,  being  often  agitated  during  the  digestion.  The 
liquid  part  was  then  allowed  to  tKparate  from  the  undissolved  pw- 
tioD,  and  decanted  off.  This  solution  by  evapomtion  yielded  55  gf. 
hf  a  n^ite  powder,  which  bad  a  hot  and  bitter  t^ste,  andpossesEMi 
the  properties  of  tungstate  of  ammonia.  The  yellowish -grey  colour 
at  the  undissolved  residuum  allowed  that  even  in  this  case,  notwith- 
'Vtanding  the  very  moderate  heat  of  the  ammonia,  a  commencemmt 
of  deosUBtion  bad  taken  place. 

Ex^itr,  G,- — Tha  solid  residue  of  the  preceding  experiaiCTit  was 
.treated  in  the  same  way  once  more  with  4  oz.  of  caustic  amiiiania, 
«nd  the  liquid  portion,  separated  from  the  undissolved  powder,  whi<ih 
iMd  a  light  grey  colour.  This  solution,  when  evaporated,  gave  1 1 
.gr^  of  a  pea-yellow  powder,  which  wastungsCste  of  ammonia,  and 
possessd  the  same  taste  as  tliat  obtained  in  the  preceding  experi- 
ments, i  could  not  in  this  case  determine  the  quantity  of  matter 
that  had  remained  undisialved,  heoauac  a  portion  of  it  hald  been 
lost. 

The  result  of  these  esperiraeott  ifaowa  us  tint  our  tungstic  oxide, 
iftei  being  esfwsed  to  Kkcd  bei^  is  wkk  di£ci)lty«o|Hbleiiicaas(ic 

D,g,t,.?<ll„G0tlgIe 


1815.]  On  Tungsten.  201 

itttmonia,  and  th&t  by  the  action  of  th&t  alkali  it  undnijoes  a  partial 
deoxtdizement.  I  resolved,  therefore,  to  nmke  experiments  on  tbe 
solubility  of  our  oxide  in  cnrbonate  of  ammoDia. 

Exper.  J. —  (00  gr.  of  the  oxide  rendered  yellow  in  experiirientf 
4th  were  heated  with  a  mixture  of  half  an  ounce  of  subctfbonate  of 
ammonia  and  2  oz.  distilled  water,  and  the  mixture  was  frequently 
agitated.  A  few  air  bubbles  made  their  escape.  The  whole  being 
ke|)t  ahnost  boiling  hot  for  two  hours,  the  undissolved  powder  in 
fliis  ease  also  became  grey. 

The  cltar  solution  deposited  on  evaporation  66  gr.  of  tuhgstate 
is!  ammonia,  baring  a  white  colour,  a  sharp  and  bitter  (aste,  and 
hot  eflcrvescing  when  dropped  into  muriatic  acid ;  showing  that  il 
<x>ntaint:d  no  carbonic  acid.     The  dried  residue  weighed  48  gr. 

Exper.  8, — The  48  gr.  of  residue  in  the  preceding  experimetrt 
were  kept  in  a  red  heat  kt  an  hour  in  contact  with  the  aimAspbere. 
By  this  treatment  it  again  assumed  a  light  lotnon-yellow  cokmr. 
S5  gr.  of  it  were  mixed  with  half  an  ounce  of  subcartxmate  oi 
ammonia  and  '2  ox.  of  water,  and  the  mixture  was  agitated  for  ifxnt 
hours,  being  Itept  warm  all  the  time.  A  lively  effervescence  took 
ftlace  at  first,  Tbe  wholy  p.us  then  gently  boiJed  for  one  houf,  and 
the  liquid  portion  sef^ri^tcd  from  the  grey  oxide  by  the  filter.  By 
tvaprnfltingthe  liquit!,  2D  gr.  of  a  light  reddish-grey  powdtr  w«re 
Obtained,  which  bad  a  sharp  bitter  taste.  The  undissolved  grey 
oxide  Weighed  IS  gr. 

Ftota  these  experiments  with  suhcarbonate  of  amiBonia,  we  see 
tbal  there  exists  the  same  difficulty  of  solution,  and  the  same  de- 
oxidizemeni,  when  tuogstic  oxide  is  treated  with  carbonate  <^  am- 
nionin.  But  as  these  experiments,  as  welt  as  the  preceding,  witb 
eatisti?  ammonia,  contradict  those  of  other  chemists,  as  Seheele, 
Bergman,  Klaprolh,  Richter,  Sec.  respecting  the  solubility  of  tung- 
nic  oxide  in  ammonia,  I  conceived  that  further  experiments  were 
necessary  in  order  to  clear  up  this  discordance. 

Erper.y. — A  small  portion,  therefore,  of  tungstate  of  ammonis 
was  converted  into  yellow  oxide  of  tungsten  by  digestion  in  conceo' 
irated  muriatic  acid,  washing  it  in  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water^ 
Bud  drying  it  strongly,  but  without  exposing  it  to  a  red  heat.  10  gr. 
of  this  oxide  were  mixed  with  two  drams  of  tbe  solution  of  caustic 
gfiEimonta.  The  whole  whs  dissolved  immediately  without  the  assist' 
ance  of  heat.  The  eld  observations  of  preceding  chemisu  wer« 
Confirmed  by  this  experiment. 

Exper.  10. — In  order  to  obtain  a  larger.quantity  Of  tungstic  oxide 
nM  dried  in  a  red  heat,  and  therefore  soluble  in  ammonia,  3  oz.  of 
jKcheele's  tungstic  acid  were  kept  boiling  for  an  hour  in  6  oz.  of  tbe 
same  nitric  acid  which  1  employed  in  the  preceding  experiments  iij 
B  porcelain  dish  upon  a  sand-hath,  and  during  the  whole  time  the 
mixture  was  constantly  stirred  with  a  porcelain  pestle.  The  whole 
'iraa  then  evaporated  to  dryness  in  a  moderate  heat.  The  oxide 
obtaiRcd  by  this  process  was  of  a  full  lemon-yellow  colour.  A  por» 
lim  of  this  being  washed  with  water,  and  gently  diitd,  disMivcd 


•JQZ  On  'Juagslen.  [Sept. 

hnmediately  in  amraonia,  with  thecxceptioa  of  a  very  small  portion 
of  a  light  white  substsnce  ia  powder. 

This  success  excited  Id  me  the  strongest  hopes  of  succeeding  in 
my  object  by  this  method,  and  ted  me  to  suspect  that  in  all  pr^- 
bilily  the  tungslic  oxide  had  been  rendered  insoluble  in  ammonia 
by  exposing  it  to  a  red  heat.  I  resolved  to  prove  the  truth  of  this 
Goojccture  in  the  following  way. 

1  he  luogstic  oxide  obtained  by  the  preceding  process  was  ivell 
washed  twice  successively,  each  time  with  24  oz.  of  water,  and  by 
that  means  freed  from  the  saltpetre  formed  during  the 'process,  and 
from  the  excess  of  acid,  and  uhtatned  in  a  state  of  purity.  When 
^Heeled  on  the  filter,  and  well  dried,  it  weighed  2  oz.  2  dr.  The 
liquid  retained  a  portion  of  oxide  so  light,  and  in  a  stale  of  such 
fine  division,  that  it  could  not  he  retained  upon  (he  filter,  but  passed 
through  it  bow  many  times  soever  it  was  filtered,  This  yellowish 
IVilky  liquid,  being  set  aside  for  tbreb  months,  allowed  the  oxide 
gradually  to  subside.  When  collected  and  dried,  it  weighed  2  dr. 
Igr. 

;  With  this  oxide,  which  bad  a  lemon-yellow  colour  passing  into 
'yolk  of  egg  colour,  the  following  experiments  were  made,  in  order 
to  determine  its  solubility  in  caustic  ammonia. 

Exper.  11. — ^Two  ounces  of  pure  caustic  ammonia,  of  the 
strength  which  it  has  when  prepared  according  to  the  formula  given 
by  me  in  the  Almanac  for  Cnemists  and  .apothecaries  of>18(U, 
p.  20,  were  put  in  contact  with  the  whole  of  our  dry  lungstic  oxide. 
1  oz.  and  20  gr.  dissolved  in  the  amtnonia,  or  were  at  least  con? 
verted  into  a  white  pulverulent  matter, 

,  From  the  [^nomena  It  was  evident  that  a  much  greater  propor- 
tion of  the  oxide  would  have  dissolved,  or  been  converted  into  a 
white  powder,  by  the  quantity  of  ammonia  employed,  more  pro- 
iMhly  than  all  that  1  had  in  my  possession.  I  determined,  theretorc, 
to  ascertain  in  another  experiment  upon  a  smaller  scale  the  c^>acity 
of  ammonia  in  dissolving  tungsttc  oxide,  or  converting  it  into  a 
white  powder. 

In  the  mean  time  I  separated  by  the  filter  the  white,  light,  slimy 
piatter,  which  existed  in  the  aminoniacal  solution.  It  was  washed 
on  the  filter  with  1-J-  oz.  of  caustic  ammonia,  and  then  dried.  Its 
weight  amounted  to  80  gr.  It  exhibited  the  properties  of  a  qua- 
druple compound  of  ammonia,  potash,  tungstic  oxide,  and  muriatic 
acid,  with  some  oxide  of  iron  and  silica  fe)m  which  the  tungstic 
oxide  had  not  been  freed.  The  ammoniacal  solution  was  evaporated 
to  dryness  in  a  porcelain  vessel.  300  gr.  of  tungstate  of  ammonia 
were  obtained,  though  by  an  unlucky  accident  a  third  part  of  the 
solution  had  been  lost. 

Exper.  12. — 50  gr.  of  a  solution  of  caustic  ampimiia  were 
brought  in  contact  with  80  gr.  of  oxide  of  tungsten.  The  mixture 
^came  stiff;  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  some  remains  of  the 
yellow  oxide  could  he  perceived  mixed  with  the  white  mass.  By 
citation  in  a  considerable  quantity  of  water,  apd  still  better  by  the 


1815.]  On  Tungsteti.  afiH 

addidoo  of  a  little  aDAnonia,  this  portion  b  dissolved.  Tim  sdu- 
tion  beii^  poured  upon  a  filter,  12  gr,  of  a  white  mailer  were  ob- 
tained, simitar  in  its  nature  to  the  substance  described  in  the  last 
experiment.  Tlte  ammoniacal  sotutiou,  being  evaporated,  yielded 
83  gr.  of  dry  tungstaie  of  ammonia. 

Exper,  13. — ^A  portion  of  the  yellow  o\ide  of  tungsten  which 
.  had  not  been  heated  to  redness  was  kept  fur  half  an  hour  in  a  mo- 
derate red  heat,  by  which  its  colour  was  changed  into  light  yeliow.- 
CO  gr.  of  this  oxide  being  agitated  with  1  oz.  of  caustic  ammoilia 
eshibited  the  same  phenomena  as  the  oxide  did  in  the  1st,  2d,  3d, 
•4tb,  5th,  6lh,  and  7th,  experiments ;  tliat  is  to  say,  it  dissolved 
with  difficulty,  and  when  heated  became  grey. 

From  these  last  experiments,  compared  with  the  preceding  ones, 
we  may  consider  the  foliowtng  propositions  as  establislie'd :  — 

1.  That  the  difficult  solubility  In  ammoaia  of  the  oxide,  sflei  it 
has  been  heated  to  redness,  is  owing  to  a  portion  of  the  triple  coortr 
pound  of  oxide,  potash,  and  muriatic  acid,  whicJi  still  remains  un- 
decomposed,  entering  into  an  intimate  combination  with  the  pure 
oxide,  the  parts  of  which  cohere  so  strongly  together,  that  the.au)T. 
iBonia  makes  its  way  through  them  with  difficulty  in  ordei'  to  dis- 
solve tlte  pure  oxide. 

2.,  That  when  the  triple  compound  of  yellow  oxide*  potash,  and 
muriatic  acid,  b  treated  with  nitric  acid,  ouly  an  imiierfect  separa- 
tion of  the  potash  and  muriatic  acid  is  produced ;  so  that  a  pure 
yellow  oxide  of  tungsten  cannot  be  obtained  by  this  method.  This 
will  appear  hereafter  in  a  still  more  striking  point  of  view,  from 
<»her  experiments  which  1  shall  state.  Among  others,  I  treated  the 
triple  compound  six  timte  successively  with  eight  times  its  weight 
of  nitric  acid,  and  yet  1  was,  not  able  to  obtain  any  pure  oxide.  -  A 
result  by  which  the  experiments  of  other  cbemisis,  particularly  of 
Bichter,  are  confirmed. 

Perhaps  the  formula  given  by  the  Inst-mentioned  chemist. for 
obtaining  pure  oxide  of  tungsten  from  wolfram,  miglit  be  employed 
with  advantage,  when  once  it  has  been  established  by  further  expe- 
riments that  we  obtain  by  it  an  oxide  really  free  from  lime.  This  i 
expect  to  be  able  to  prove  hereafter. 

Richter's  proc^33  is  contained  in  the  sixth  volume  of  the  Chemical 
Dictionary  of  Bourguet  continued  by  Ktcbter,  p.  IBS,  and  is  as 
follows : — One  part  of  wolfram  in  fine  powder  is  melted  wiih  three 
or  four  parts  of  nitre,  till  the  mass  flows  quietly.  The  ]>otash  con- 
taining tungstic  oxide  thus  obtained,  which  may  likewise  be  obtained 
by  my  method,  by  fusing  one  part  of  wolfram  and  two  parts  car- 
bonate of  potash,  is  dissolved  in  12  or  16  times  its  weight  of  water, 
and  freed  by  filtration  from  the  oxides  of  iron  and  manganese.  The. 
colourless  solution  is  now  mixed  with  a  very  weak  solution  of  mu- 
riate of  lime,  which  is  added  as  long  as  any  precipitate  falls.  Tlie 
tungstate  of  lime  thus  obtaiped  is  carefully  washed,  and  treated 
while  still  moist  with  nitric  or  muriatic  acid.  By  this  means  thu 
oxide  of  tungsten  is  at  ttu<x  freed  from  lime,  and  obtained  in  a  state 


SQ4  On  TungsteH.  [Sevt. 

of  parity.    Il  is  4o  be  «a£b«d,  tnci  geotl^  dried,  n^  wYath  it 
assuims  a  Mb  yellow  colour. 

3.  In  order  to  obtain  pure  tnngstate  of  ammiMiia,  it  is  necessary 
to  httwe  ia  our  pMsesnion  pure  oxide  of  tungGten.  fiespectiog  this 
also  further  details  will  be  given  hereafter. 

(B.) 

Experiments  on  the  lest  Method  of  obtaining  Tvngstenfrom  Tung- 

slic  Oxide  by  means  of  Fungslate  of  Ammonia. 


Exper.  14. — 30  f;i.  of  the  tungstate  of  ammoDia  formed  in  the 
firtt  experiment  by  treating  the  impure  oxide  of  tungsten  that  had 
been  exposed  to  a  red  heat  with  ammonia  were  put  into  a  small 
glass,  wbieh  was  placed  in  a  crucible,  and  surrounded  with  charcoal 
powder.  The  whole  was  exposed  for  at)  hour  to  a  strong  red  heat. 
The  interior  of  the  glass,  when  cold,  exhibited  a  brownish  red, 
almost  copper- col  oared,  matter,  of  a  floeky  appearance,  and  con- 
siderably specifie  grftvity.  I  oould  only  cdnsider  it  as  a  pecoliw' 
(«td«  of  tungsten,  which  hitherto  had  not  been  observed-  by  die-, 
mists. 

The  brown  oxide  thus  obtained  was  put  into  a  Hessian  crucible 
rubbed  over  with  some  charcoal  powder.'  Charcoal  powder  was  laid 
over  the  oxide,  and  the  crucible,  being  covered  by  another,  was 
exposed  for  half  an  hour  to  a  strong  white  heat  raised  by  a  double 
bellows.  When  the  crucible  was  cold,  the  brown  oxide  appeared 
to  have  been  converted  into  a  loose  pretty  heavy  substance,  which 
here  and  there  exhibited  the  metallic  lustre,  and  had  an  iron-grey 
celutir.  When  strongly  rubbed  and  polished  against  hard  and 
smooth  bodies,  its  metallic  lustre  became  still  more  distinct,  and  its 
colour  was  intermediate  between  that  of  iron  and  tin.  The  grains 
ware  slightly  agglutinated  together,  and  the  portion  AttX  lined  the 
sides  of  the  crucible  appeared  to  be  so  more  distinctly  than  the  rest. 
This  reguline  mass  seemed  to  liave  been  softened,  and  showed  evi- 
dently that  a  stronger  heat  than  the  preceding  would  have  melted 
it  completely.  To  see  whether  it  was  possible  to  fuse  it,  the  fol- 
lowing experiment  was  made. 

Exper,  15. — 20  gr.  of  the  iron-grey  metal  mass  were  put  into  a 
crucible  lined  with  charcoal  powder,  as  in  the  preceding  experi- 
ment, covered  with  a  layer  of  charcoal  powder  half  an  inch  thick, 
and  then  exposed  for  an  hour  to  the  strongest  best  that  could  be ' 
raised  in  the  blast  furnace.  No  real  fusion  took  place,  but  a  kind 
of  cementation  into  a  mass  which  was  easily  reduced  to  powder,  and 
this  union  seemed  to  be  strongest  along  the  sides  of  the  crucible. 
The  colour,  appearance,  and  every  thing  else,  were  as  in  the  pre- 
ceding experiment. 

It  follows  from  these  experiments  that  tungstate  of  ammonia, . 
when  destroyed  by  a  red  neat,  leaves  behind  it,  a  reddish  browni 
exide,  and  that  this  oxide  is  deoxidized  by  charcoal  powder  kmg 
before  the  metal  produced  is  melted. 

Exper.  16. — VAO  gr.  of  tungstate  of  ammonia  of  th;  same  Iiind^ 


1815.]  On  tiingsUn.  205 

ta  ttut  empk^ed  in  the  preceding  esperinsnlB,  wen,  as  !n  nperi- 
neot  14,  exposed  to  a  stroi^  red  beat  for  an  hour  in  a  glass  nir- 
rouoded  with  charcoal  in  a  crucible.  The  result  diSercd  little  (roiQ 
that  obtained  in  the  14th  experiment.  The  mass  which  remained 
behind  after  the  process  weighed  100  gr.,  and  had  the  following 
properties.  When  spread  upcm  a  leaf  of  paper,  that  portiiHi  of  it 
which  had  been  in  contact  with  the  cbarcoul  appeared  grey  or  me- 
tallic. In  ihe  middle  it  was  dark  brownish  red,  passing  into  reddisli 
brown,  and  almost  the  fourth  part  of  the  mass  was  of  afine  violet 
colour  below,  owing  probably  to  a  mixture  of  darii  blue  and  brownish 
red  oxide. 

88  gr.  of  Uiis  mass,  or  as  much  as  the  portion  of  brown  oxide 
amounted  to,  were,  as  in  the  I4th  experiment,  rammed  into  a 
small  Hessian  crucible,  and  exposed  to  the  strongest  heat  of  a  blast 
furnace  for  an  hour  and  a  hatf.  The  result  of  this  operation  was  as 
follows.  The  oxide  of  tungsten  was  completely  reduced,  but  was 
not  in  the. state  of  a  bptton,  or  in  large  grains,  but  in  small  grains, 
as  fine  as  sand,  having  a  strong  metallic  lustre,  a  light  iron-grey  . 
colour,  and  slightly  agglutinated.  The  weight  amounted  to  75  gr. 
,  A  few  [ueces  of  a  larger  size  were  to  be  found  among  this  sand ; 
they  consisted  of  the  portions  that  had  adheiied  to  the  sides  and 
bottom  of  the  crucible. 

The  metal  obtained  by  this  process  possessed  the  following  pro- 
perties. When  strongly  rubbed  upon  a  bard  and  smooth  body,  it 
assumed  a  strong  metallic  lustre,  and  appeared  very  hard  and  brittle. 
21|^  gr.  of  this  substance,  composed  of  grains  more  or  less  aggluti- 
nated tt^ther,  and  of  the  size  of  pin  heads,  were  weighed  in  tbfi 
-usual  way  in  distilled  water,  and  the  specific  gravity  was  found  to 
be  17*400.  This  result  is  intermediate  between  the  ^ecific  gra- 
lityof  mngstea  as  stated  by  the  Elhuyai4s,  namely,  17'fi00j  and 
by  Allen  and  Aiken,  namely,  17'200.  It  leaves  no  doubt  respecting 
the  great  specific  gravity  of  this  metal. 

Partly  to  ascertain  these  facts  with  still  greater  accuracy,  wad 
panly  to  obtain  a  greater  quantity  of  tungsten  in  the  metallic  state 
Kir  further. experiments,  and  lastly  to  put  the  properties  of  tuiwstate 
.of  ammonia  in  the  fire,  and  the  nature  of  the  oxide-whlch  it  leaver 
'beycmd  doubt,  the  following  experiments  were  made. 
.  Exper.  17- — 200  gr.  of  tuogstate  of  ammonia,  which  had  beep 
'  obtained  ftom  oxide  of  tungsten  not  heated  to  redness  in  the 
manner  described  in  experiment  10,  were  put  into  a  small  glass, 
which  was  put  into  a  crucible,  and  exposed  to  a  strong  red  heat  fcr 
half  an  hour.  The  oxide  was  not  covered  with  any  chsrcoal 
-powder.  By  this  process  the  t^pcr  portion  of  the  glass  wss  melted. 
The  oxide  obtained  had  a  dark  greyish  blue  cdour,  almost  slatBp 
Voe,  and  had  in  scKue  measure  assumed  a  crystalline  appearaacr. 
'  it  weighed  1 73  gr. 

Thoe  173  gr.  were  crammed  into  a  crucible  lined  with  ofaaroosl 
ponder,  and  covered  with  a  layer  of  charcoal  powder  one  fii^it 

D,g,t,.?<ii„GoogIe     — 


206  Oa  Tungsten.  [SjBPT. 

litiA.  This  crnctkle  was  enclosed  in  a  larger  one,  snd  both  were 
coveml  bjr  a  tbinl  crucible.  In  this  state  they  were  exposed  for  an 
hour  and  a  half  to  the  strangest  bent  of  «  Matt  fumiee.  The  remit 
appeared  to  me  very  surprising.  The  whole  contents  of  the  cnwible, 
with  a  portion  of  the  vessel  itself,  were  melted  into  a  slag. 

This  surprisKig  result,  the  cause  of  which  requires  to  be  cleared  up 
by  fuitherexperimeDts,  was  probably  owing  1o  a  portion  of  the  triple 
compound  of  oxide. of  tungsten,  potash,  and  muriatic  acid,  which 
Dot  having  been  exposed  to  a  red  heat,  was  soluble  in  ammonia,  aad 
therefore  was  present  in  our  tungstate  of  ammonia.  This  was  not 
the  case  in  the  first  esperiments,  becauae  the  salt  had  been  prepared 
from  an  oxide  exposed  to  a  red  heat,  and  was  therefore  free  fronr 
this  triple  compound.  Hence  the  pure  cnide  was  reduced,  aod 
gave  us  the  good  results  which  have  been  above  described. 

Exper.  18.— 200  gr.  of  the  same  tungstate  of  ammonia  were 
liept  in  a  weak  red  hedt  in  a  long  small  glass  vessel  placed  in  a  cru- 
cible, till  the  ammonia  was  completely  dissipated.  The  mass,  nlieu 
cold,  weighed  134  gr.,  and  had  the  following  properties.  Its  colour 
was  light  greenish  yellow,  and  was  in  the  state  of  a  scaly  powder, 
which  dissolved  readily  in  caustic  potash  with  the  assistance  of  heat, 
without  the  evolution  of  any  ammonia.  Tlie  129  gr.  o/this  powdjcr 
that  remained  were  exposed  for  an  hour  to  a  strong  red  heat,  which 
melted  the  glass  in  which  the  oxide  was  contained.  Its  weight  Was 
reduced  to  121  gr.,  and  it  exhibited  the  following  properties.  The 
uppermost  Inyer  had  a  dark  greyish  blue  colour,  which  always  be- 
came more  and  more  grey  as  we  came  nearer  the  bottom,  and  ap- 
peared to  crystallize  finely  in  stars.  At  the  bottom  of  the  glass  itself 
there  was  a  bard  whitish  grey  mass,  which  from  its  weight  1  was  dis- 
ftosed  to  consider  as  tungsten  reduced  to  the  metallic  state.  To 
obtain  satisfactory  information  respecting  this  point,  I  mean  titt 
possibility  of  reducing  tungsten  without  the  assistance  of  clurcoa], 
or  any  body  containing  hydrogen;  the  121  gr.  were  reduced  to B 
fine  powder,  and  crammed  into  a-  crucible  lined  with  cimrcoal, 
covered  with  charcoal  powder,  and  exposed,  as  in  the  preceding 
experiments,  for  an  hour  to  the  most  violent  heat  that  could  be 
raised  in  a  blast  furnace.  The  result  was  as  follows.  The  oxide  had 
partly  sunk  through  the  crucible^  and  was  partly  melted  into  a 
pwous  grey  substance,  with  not  the  least  appearance  of  a  reguJus. 

Tfaeiie  results  leave  us  to  conjecture  how  they  liappened.  They 
Were  beyond  all  doubt  owing  to  the  presence  of  a  portion  of  tlie 
triple  compound  of  oxide  of  tungsten,  potash,  and  muriatic  acid, 
as  was  the  case  in  the  preceding  experiments. 

The  existence  of  a  portion  of  this  triple  compound  in  our  tung^ 
^•tatc  of  ammonia,  and  the  injurious  effects  which  it  produced  when 
we  attempted  to  reduce  the  metal,  induced  me  to  undertake  a  set 
of  experiments  in  order  to  obtain  pure  tungstate  of  ammonia  from 
<tbe  oxide  of  tungsten  not  exposed  to  a  red  heat,  and  obtained  as  in 
inperinient  10,.  > 

n,,:-A-..>yGoogIe. 


IB15.J  On  Tmgsten.  Hf^f 

Experiments  on  Ike  best  Method  of  olimning  pure  Tungttate  rf" 
Ammotua  from  the  Oxide  uf  Tungsten  procured  Jrom  the  triple 
Compotmd,  in  the  way  described  in  Experiment  10,  and  not  ex- 
posed to  a  Red  Heat. 

Safer.  19. — 250  gr.  of  ydlovr  aside  of  toDgateo  tbHt  had  not 
bem  heated  to  rednesi  were  mixed  with  1  oz.  of  caustic  ammonia 
anU  1  oz.  of  water,  and  the  mixture  wn  left  for  12  hours  in  a  mo- 
derately warm  pIkc.  The  whole  waa  then  thnmn  upon  a  moist 
filter,  and  the  nltered  liquid,  brin^  pal  into  a  porcelain  dish,  was 
placed  nport  s  stove,  that  it  might  undergo  slow  eraporatiMi.  After  ■ 
about  the  half  of  the  liquid  had  evaporated,  snow-wbite  brilliant 
priHni  b^an  to  separate,  and  they  continued  to  accumulate  till  the 
vhole  liquid  was  reduced  to  half  an  oonce.  These  crvsUls,  being 
s«wrated,  were  found  to  weigh  133  fn*.  They  had  not  the  properties 
of  pure  tungstate  of  ammonia,  which  is  known  lo  be  veij  soluble ; 
on  the  contrary,  these  were  very  difficultly  soluble ;  and  from  their 
tppearance,  could  be  nothing  else  than  a  quadruple  compound  of 
oxide  of  tungsten,  potash,  smnKwia,  and  muriatic  acid,  llie  exist- 
ence of  these  substances  in  these  crystals  was  ascertained  by  fu'rUier 
expenments  made  with  a  view  to  ascertain  their  nature.  Titus  a 
{NMlion,  being  exposed  to  a  red  heat,  left  after  the  escape  of  the 
ammonia  a  blue,  greenish  white  residuum,  which  when  boiled  ia 
muriatic  acid  became  yellowish,  like  the  'triple  salt  of  which  we 
have  spoken  so  frequently.  In  another  experiment  the  quadruple 
Compound  was  dissolved  in  caustic  potash,  with  the  escape  of  a 
great  deal  of  ammonia.  The  potash  being  neutralized  by  acetie 
acid,  the  white  triple  compound  preapitated,  which  remained  un- 
altered  in  a  gentle  red  heat ;  but  being  boiled  in  concentrated  mn- 
ritlii;  acid,  acquired  a  yellow  colour. 

The  white  residuum  of  the  oxide  treated,  as  above,  with  ammonia 
and  water,  was  once  more  digested  in  1  oz.  of  caustic  ammonia  and  - 
1  oz.  of  water,  and  the  filtered  liquid  exposed,  as  befn-e,  to  slow 
evaporation  upon  a  stove.  When  the  half  was  eviqxnated,  crystals 
appeared,  as  before.  The  whole  of  them  obtained  atnountcd  to 
43  gr.    They  possessed  the  same  pnqierties  as  those  just  described: 

llie  mother  leys  from  which  these  crystab  had  domnted  were 
evaporated  separately.  The  fitat  yielded  45  gr.  of  a  aaline  mass,  for 
the  most  pert  very  soluble  in  water,  and  whidi  poMCsaed  the  pro> 
pertiei  of  tungstate  of  ammonia,  containing,  bowever,  mixed  witb 
it,  a  small  portion  of  the  quadruple  cotnpouDd. 

Hie  secmid  jnelded  37  gr.  of  a  saline  mass,  poasessiag  the  pro- 
perties of  the  preceding. 

'Hiese  82  gr.  were  macctated  in  3  dr.  of  distilled  water,  aoJd  tbi 
undissolved  white  quadru|^  compooiul,  wbidi  weighed  33  gr.,  wai 
lepferated  from  the  easily  (olable  porrion.  The  solutioD  was  slowlf 
cVapoated  io  a  pwcelain  dish.  •  There  remained  48'gr.  <tf  a  sal^ 

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which  possessed  the  following  properties.  Its  external  appearance 
was  similar  to  that  of  gum-arabic ;  but  it  was  more  easily  reduced  to 
powder,  rikI  had  a  peculiar  bitter,  bitiog,  aod  sharp  metallic  taste. 
This  easily  soluble  tungstate  of  ammonia,  being  exposed  for  an  hour 
to  a  gentle  red  heat  in  a  glass  with  a  oarrow  mouth,  left  '10  gr.  pf  a 
light  blue  oxide,  which  at  the  commencement  was  yeUoiv.  These 
40  gr.  were  put  into  a  crucible,  and  exposed  for  an"  hour  to  a  strong 
whit^  heat  in  a  blast  furnace  without  any  mixture  of  charcoal 
powder.  It  was  oonv«rted  late  aa  rmd^  of  a  deep  blue  oojour. 
Being  mixed  with  charcoal  powder,  and  tieitte^  as  in  exparimept  1€, 
B  regu)ui  was  obtained  in  small  grains,  possetsiing  tlie  properties 
already  described. 

The  ult  remaining  undissolved  by  the  wnoionia  exhibited  the 
;   prmeRiet  of  the  quadruple  eompound,  oaly  it  was  somewhat  oaOfe 
difficultly  soluble,  and  probably  contained  a  greater  proportign  of 
oxygen.     It  cooiisted  of  small  clear  crystals,  and  weigbpa  85  gr. 

Exfxtr.  aO. — 20  gp.  of  the  quBdruple  coeapound  weie  put  into  « 
gbas  vassal,  and  exsossd  to  a  heat  raiKd  by  degrees  till  thq  gl^n 
melted.  "The  resultiog  substance  posteswd  the  propertiiq;  despmwtt 
ID  experun^nts  17  and  18,  excepting  (hat  it  was  less  blue,  ap4  WfV* 
inclined  to  grey. 

I^ese  last  experianents  show  us  not  oaly  that  the  prepAratiGto  of 
pure  tungstate  of  amfaouia,  by  employing  y^Iow  oxide  ob^^^d 
from  tlie  triple  conpouDd  of  oxide  of  lungsteu,  potash,  and  tw 
jiatic  acid,  is  very  unprofitable ;  but  that  in  this  oaes  9  bithei>1o 
yaknown  quadruple  eempoufid  of  potash,  mi.de  c^  twogst^,  aror 
monja,  and  muriatic  acid,  is  forvaed  :  asd,  lastly,  tba^  establish  tbr 
conjecture  hazajrded  in  ex^imcnts  17  and  IS,  respectmg  the  realiqr 
fif  the  unfilnesB  for  feduetion  of  the  tungstate  of  usmonia  alteref 
as  described  io  these  experimenta.  This  unfitnws  is  the  cods«^u*»9# 
«f  a  mixture  of  the  tungstate  of  nputiQaift  with  the  so  o&ien  ^^p- 
tioned  triple  compound,  which  has  ^een  dissQlr«d  fay  fja^apa  of  {^e 
MBmoBta,  sod  eonverted  into  the  quadnipjie  cg[npoM]p4. 

Results  cstallhlied  hy  the  Experments  related  in  this  Me^ojr. 

1,  The  ataicDoem  of  other  chemiafs,  and  particularly  «f  Biefeteii 
M^ectiag  the  ^neat  difficulty,  or  even  impossibility,  of  ,ohtai0J^# 
|iure  yellow  exide  of  tungatep  by  i/eating  Scheele's  tungstii:  pci4 
witb  uitrie  «cid,  is  ^st^lished. 

2.  The  employment  of  an  oxide  of  tjingsten  obtained  by  the 
Kethod  deecFihed  abone  is  improper  oa  two  accei(at.s.  If  we  employ 
•t  after  it  has  been  exposed  lo  a  red  heat,  we  obtain  by  meatv  of  if 
an  apparently  pure  tungstate  of  ammonia  j  but  for  theexjTaotlwif 
the  oxide  of  buagstcti  which  it  coDtajus,  an  ex'ces»Ive  quaotity  of 
ammonia  is  necessary ;  as  by  the  red  heat  the  oxide  of  'tun^tcB  if 
UBitiBd  with  the  undecon^sed  triple  cx>vipound  mixed  with  it,  and 
lorms  a  very  cohesive  compound,  and  therefore  veiy  difficuldy  amd 
on  by  ammonia.  If  we  employ  the  oxide  withtmt  exposing  ii.  ton 
fid  beaat>  we  (otfa,  when  we  dissolve  it  iaAauoiiiua,  a^(»t,<)vaMiiy 


I  1815.}  Deserif^m  of  an  Elementary  Galvanic  Bdliery.  209 
f  of  t  quadruple  compound  (the  pniperties  of  which  are  given  in  ex- 
I  ptfimeot  10)  consisting  of  oxide  of  tungsten,  potash,  smmonia, 
I  and  muriatic  acid  ;  and  only  a  very  amall  quantity  of  tungstate  of 
ammonia  can  be  obtained.  This  shoics  us  the  necessity  of  employing 
pare  oxide  of  tungsten  in  the  fbrtnation  of  tungstate  of  arotnonta. 

3.  Besides  the  yellow  and  dark  blue  oxides  of  tungsten,  there 
Beems  to  exist  another  of  a  dark  brownish  red  or  reddish  brown 
colour.  It  may  be  obtained  by  t)te  application  of  heat  to  the  tung- 
state of  ammonia,  in  consequence  of  the  deoxidizing  propi^y  of 
the  ammonia.  In  respect  to  the  degree  of  oxidation^  it  seems  to 
lie  between  the  yellow  and  the  blue  oxides. 

4.  The  complete  reduction  of  oxide  of  tungsten  by  the  method 
above  described  is  a  much  easier  process  than  the  fusion  of  the  re- 
duced mela}.  This  holds  likewise  with  molybdenum^  manganese, 
and  other  difficultlv  fused  metals'. 

5.  It  is  exceedingly  probable  tint  the  failure  which  diiferent 
chemists  have  experienced  in  their  attempta  to  reduce  the  oxide  of 
tungsten,  was  owing  to  a  mixture  of  thb  triple  compotoOd  With  the 
oxide  employed  by  them. 

.  6.  The  statement  of  the  Elhiiyarts  and  lof  Allen  fend  Aikin  re- 
specting the  specific  gravity  of  this  metal  is  con&ritied.  We  may 
cotutder  17*4,  the  mean  of  preceding  statements,  as  near. the  trtith. 
The  otlier  statements  respecting  the  colour,  lustre,  hardnesi,  and 
Ivittlenesa,  of  our  metal,  are  likewise  confirmed'. 

7.  The  presence  of  a  portion  of  Scheele's  tungstic  acid  in  the 
oxide  of  tungsten  prevents  its  complete  reduction,  and  cauMS  it  to 
Tui)  into  a  slag. 


Article  X^I. 

Deicrkitioit  of  an  Elemeniaru  Galvanic  Batfetf,    By  W.  Hyde 
Wollaston,  M.D.  Sec.R.S. 

(To  Dr.  Thomson.) 

DEAR  SIR, 

Agrbuably  to  your  request,  I  now  send  you  a  deiscHptioh  of  a 
small  battery  which  1  showed  you  some  time  since,  and  shall  feel 
obliged  by  the  insertion  of  it  in  your  Annals. 

Sibce  the  ignition  of  metallic  wires  is  highly  instructive  with 
respect  to  the  vast  quantity  of  electricity  evolved  during  the  solution 
tit  metals,  I  made,  about  three  years  since,  a  selfies  of  eXperimenti 
for  the  ptupose  of  ascertaining  the  most  compendious  form  of  appa- 
ratus by  which  visible  ignition  might  be  shown. 

Hie  remit  of  these  trials  was,  that  a  single  plate  of  zinc  one  inch 
square^  wheti  rightly  mounted^  is  more  than  sufficient  to  ignite  a 

V.L.VI.N°J1I.        •  O  „,„,.,Googlc 


1 


SIO  pescriptim  of  an  EUmmtary  Galvanic  ^tery.  [Sbpt. 
mre  of  platioa  rrrfir*  ^  *^  ">ch  in  diameter,  evea  whea  the  add 
emplojred  is  veTy  dilute. 

'  But  for  this  purpose  each  surface  of  the  ziac  must  have  its  ooun- 
tCTpart  of  copper  or  other  metal  opposed  to  it ;  for  when  copper  is 
oppoeed  only  to  one  &ce,  the  action  oo  the  posterior  suriace  of  the 
Zi»e  b  wasted  to  little  or  no  purpose. 

The  smallest  Intteiy  that  I  formed  of  this  construction  consisted 
of  a  thimble  without  its  top,  flattened  tilt  its  of^Ksite  sides  were 
about  -^  of  an  inch  asunder.  The  bottom  part  was  then  nearly  one 
inch  wide,  and  the  top  about  -,1^ ;  and  as  its  length  did  not  exceed 
•^  of  an  inch,  the  plate  of  zinc  to  be  inserted  was  less  than  -f  (tf  a 
square  inch  in  dimensions. 

Previously  to  insertion,  a  little  af^mrstHS  oi  wires,  through  which 
the  communicaUon  was  to  be- made,  was  soldered  to  the  zinc  plate, 
and  its  edges  were  then  coated  with  sealingrwax,  which  not  only 
prevented  metallic  contact  at  those  parts,  but  also  served  to  fix  the 
zinc  in  its  place  by  beatingthe  thimble  so  as  to  melt  the  wax. 

A  piece  of  strong  wire,  bended  so  that  its  two  extremities  could 
be  soldered  to  the  upper  corners  of  the  flattened  thimble,  served 
both  as  a  handle  to  the  battery,  and  as  a  medium  to  which  the  wires 
df  communication  fromthezinc  could  be  soldered. 

Ilie  conducting  apparatus  counted  in  the  first  place  of  two  wires 
«i  pUtina  about  ^  of  an  inch  in  diameter  and  one  inch  long, 
cemented  together  by  glass  in  two  parts,  so  that  one  end  of  each 
wire  was  united  to  the  middle  of  the  otlier.  These  wires  were  then 
(mned,  not  only  at  their  extremities  fc«r  the  purpose  of  being  sol- 
dered to  the  zinc  and  to  the  handle,  but  also  in  the  middle  of  the 
two  adjacent  parts  for  receiving  the  6ne  wire  of  communication. 

One  inch  of  silver  wire  -^^  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  containing 
platina  at  its  centre  ^  part  of  the  silver  in  diameter,  was  then 
bended  so  that  the  middle  of  the  platina  could  be  freed  of  its  coat- 
ing of  silver  by  immersion  in  dilute  nitrous  acid.  The  portion  of 
silver  remaming  on  each  extremity  served  to  stretch  the  fine  filament 
of  platina  across  the  conductors  during  the  operation  of  soldering. 
A  little  sal-ammoniac  being  then  placed  oo  the  points  of  contact, 
the  soldering  was  effected  without  difficulty,  and  the  two  loose  ends 
were  readily  removed  by  the  silver  attached  to  them. 

It  should  here  be  observed,  that  the  two  parallel  conductors  can- 
not be  too  near  each  other  provided  they  do  not  touch,  and  that  on 
this  account  it  is  expedient  to  pass  a  thin  file  between  them  (pre- 
viously to  soldering  on  the  wire)  in  order  to  remove  the  tin  from  the 
adjacent  surfaces.  The  fine  wire  may  thus  he  made  as  short  as  fitnn 
^  to  'jig-  of  an  inch  in  length  ;  but  it  is  impcssible  to  measure  with 

■  For  the  aefbod  of  dnwing  fine  wira  of  pluf Idr,  b;  coating  tbem  with  a 
quantity  of  lUver,  1  miut  refer  lo  the  description  trtaich  1  have  formerly  given  of 
tUt  eonlrliraiice.    Fkil.  Trao).  1613,  p.  114.    &t»AtMal$  »f  Plttlinla,tt\.ii. 


....,fc, 


lOOglc 


r, 


1816.]  Ol^Kikm  to  Sir  H.Dam^t  Theory  ^Chkiti^.  211 
predwHi,  siaee  it  cannot  be  hnowo  at  what  poiota  the  sttk^riiig  ia 
io  Perfect  contact. 

The  acid  which  I  have  employed  with  this  battery  consists  of  tne 
measure  of  sulphunc  add  diluted  with  about  SO  equal  measures  of 
water}  for  thiHigh  the  ignition  efiected  by  this  acid  be  not  penna- 
nenl,  its  duntitsi  for  several  seconds  is  Guffieient  for  exhibitiDg  the 
pheDomenon,  and  for  showing  that  it  does  not  depend  upon  mere 
oonuct,  by  which  only  an  instantaneous  spark  should  be  expected. 

Although  in  this  description  I  have  mentioned  a  wire  -g-^^  of  aa 
inch  in  diameter,  1  am  doubt&il  whether  this  thickness  is  the  best. 
I  am,  however,  persuaded  that  nothing  is  gained  by  using  a  finer 
wire ;  for  though  the  quantity  of  mai-ter  to  be  heated  is  thus  less- 
ened, the  surface  by  which  it  is  cooled  does  not  diminish  in  the 
aame  ratio;  so  that  where  the  cooling  power  of  the  surrounding 
atmosphere  ia  the  principal  obstacle  to  ignition,  a  thicker  wire, 
which  conveys  more  electricity  in  proportion  to  its  cooling  surface, 
will  be  more  heated  than  a  thin  one,  a  fact  which  I  not  only  ascer- 
tained by  trials  on  these  minute  wires,  but  afterwards  took  occasion 
to  confirm  on  the  largest  scale  l^  means  of  the  magnificent  battery 
of  Mr.  Children  in  the  summer  of  1813. 

I  remain,  dear  Sir,  ever  very  faithfully  yours, 

BmAingkam-ilreet,  FUtrag-Mmarc,  Wh.  H.  WollaGTON. 

Aif.t,  1815.  ' 


Article  VIII. 


Objections  to  Sir  H.  Davy's  Theory  of  Chlorine.     By  J.  Berzelitis^ 
M.D.  F.R.S.  Professor  of  Chemistry  at  Stoclcholm. 

(To  Dr.  Thomson^ 

SIR,  StocWuiXm,  Jua»  6,  IS  15. 

I  BAVB  iost  received  the  English  scientific  journals  for  the  last 
seven  months.  In  me  of  the  numbers  of  your  jirmals  you  express 
a  wish  that  I  should  explain  how  the  theory  of  .Sir  H.  Pavy  respect- 
ing the  nature  of  muriatic  acid  is  inconsistent  with  the  law  respect- 
ing  the  combination  of  oxides  with  each  pther.  I  therefore  give  the 
following  statement. 

According  to  the  old  theory,  muriate  of  lead  is  composed  of  100 
parts  acid  and  410  of  oxide  of  lead.  The  submuiiaie  of  lead  ia 
composed  of  100  acid  +  410  x  4  =  I640oside.  Thissalt,  when 
prepared  by  precipitation,  contains  combined  water,  which  ipay  be 
separa^d  by  beating  tlie  salt  in  a  retort.  The  quantity  of  this  water 
amounts  to  1334-  parts  for  every  1740  parts  of  the  dry  salt.  Now 
die  oxygen  in  this  water  is  just  equ&l  to  that  in  the  oxide  c^  lead 
present.    You  knowj  likewise,  that  in  the  submuruite  of  cq;>pec 

°  "  ,,Goi.gle 


SIZ  OlgectioM  to  Sir  H.  Dev/s  Theory  of  Chlorine.  '\^nrT, 
100  parts  of  the  scid  are  combined  with  589  parts  of  oxide  of 
copper  and  with  ISS^  of  water.  Here  the  oxygen  'at  the  water  »- 
likewise  equal  to  that  in  the  (^ide. 

'  Ybii  ire  aware,  I  presume,  ttiat  neither  Davy,  nor  the  partisans 
of  the  new  theory,  agree  with  themselves  in  what  ought  to  be  con- 
sidered as  a  hydro-chlorate  or  a  chlon'dr.  Sometimes  they  speak  of 
chloride  of  potassium,  barium,  copper,  iron ;  sometimes  they  give 
the  name  of  muriate  or  hydro-chloriite  to  these  bodies.  Such  is  the 
looseness  t^  the  theory,  that  we  cannot  point  out  any  essential  dif- 
ference between  the  hydro- chlorates  and  chlorides.  [Yet  if  we 
coiifiae  ounelves  to  aiulogy,  to  which  these  chemists,  however,  do- 
not  seem  to  attach  any  value,  there  is  a  decided  difference  between 
the  sulpkuret  of  potassium  and  the  hydro-stdphvret  of  potash,  one 
of  which  xe^TVmaXa  <\ie  chlaride,  and  the  other  the  hydro-cfttorate.) 
Therefore  when  we  wish  to  discuss  their  opinions,  we  must  foresee 
•11  their  method  of  escaping  front  the  examinatioD ;  because  if  you 
prove  that  such  a  body  cannot  be  a  chloride,  they  answer  that  ii  it 
•  hydro-chlorate,  decomposing  and  forming  water  at  the  pleasure  of 
the  hypothesis,  with  a  faciliiy^  which  lias  no  other  example  in  th« 
whole  scieDce  of  chemistry;  for  the  sulphurets,  phosphurets,  and 
tellurets,  of  the  alkaline  metals  decompose  likewise  water;  but 
water  id  these  cases  cannot  be  fonped  at  pleasure,  provided  the 
access  of  air  be  withheld.  If  we  ask  the  partisans  of  the  new  theory 
^hat  is  their  opinion  of  the  composition  of  the  suhmuriates  in  ques* 
lion,  they  will  immediately  answer  that  they  are  real  subhydro- 
cblontes,  composed  of  hydro^chloric  acid,  oxide  of  copper,  and 
water.  But  if  the  esislence  of  such  a  hydro-chloric  acid  be  real,  it 
is  to  be  supposed  that  tlie  subbydro-chlorates  in  question  are  com- 
posed according  to  the  same  laws  as  all  the  other  salts. 

We  must  then,  in  order  to  convert  the  100  parts  of  muriatic  acid 
^upposed  by  the  old  theory)  into  hydro-chloric  add,  take  away  the 
.fourth  pan  of  the  133^  of  water,  the  oxygen  of  wliich  constitutes 
on  integrant  part  of  the  chlorine,  and  the  hydrogen  of  which  added 
-  to  the  chlorine  produces  hydrd-chloric  acid.  The  weight  of  the 
metallic  oxide  remains  the  fame.  The  1 33*5  parts  of  water,  then> 
wbich  the  analysis  gives,  do  not  exist  wholly  in  the  salt  in  the  state 
of  water.  Only  100-2p«rtsexist  in  thatstate.  The  remaining 33'3 
parts  are  produced  by  the  operation  when  the  hydrc^n  of  the  scid 
unites  to  a  portion  of  the  oxygen  of  the  oxide  In  order  to  produce  a 
chloride.  But  the  oxygen  of  the  metallic  oxide  is  li7'S,  while 
that  of  106^3  p&rtsof  water  only  amounts  to  8S't> ;  that  is  to  say, 
-precisely  three-fourths  as  much  as  the  oxygen  of  the  base.  Here, 
then,  we  have  a  body  composed  of  an  acid  without  oxygen,  of  an 
oxide  base,  andof  water  of  combination.  The  oxygen  of  the  water 
onght  to  be  in  this  case,  as  in  all  other  salts,  both  neutral  and  with 
excess  of  base,  a  muhiple  or  a  submultiple  by  a  whole  nunfter  of 
diatof  the  base.  But  we  have  just  seen  tiiat  it  amounts otily  la 
three-fourths  of  it.  Hence  it  follows  that  either  the  hypothesis  of 
Davy,  or  the  rnle  coDceming  the  Cotnbiaatioa  of  oxide<|  if  Inaccv- 

Google 


1S15.]  ,  jIn  Essof  m  Snti.  tI3 

Tate.  No,  it  is  said,  the  faypothnii  cif  Davy  Joel  Dot  eotuid^r  thete 
bodies  as  subhydro-chlorates.  They  are  composed  of  the  diloridc 
of  copper  or  lead,  combioed  with  the  oxide  of  the  smite  metal  and 
with  water,  so  that  for  one  atom  of  chloride  there  are  three  atomi 
of  oxide  and  four  of  water,  a  composition  which  agrees  perfectly 
with  the  laws  of  chemical  proportions.  But  this  is  a  mistake.  It 
is  conformable,  indeed,  to  the  atomic  theory  of  Dalfon,  whicli  pays 
tio  artention  to  the  relation  of  the  oxygen  of  the  different  oxides 
combined;  but  it  b  contrary  to  the  law  above  stated  j  for  it  sup-  , 
poses  that  the  oxygen  of  the  oxide  is  iiU'6,  and  that  of  the  water 
1 1  /-ii ;  that  is,  that  the  former  is  only  tliree-foiirths  of  the  latter.  1 
do  not  know  whether  the  new  hj^Ktthesis  admits  still  other  explana* 
tioqs ;  but  k  is  obvious  that  the  two  explanations  given  here  are ' 
contrary  to  tha  law  which  determines  the  respective  quaatities  of 
bodies  that  combine.  Tiierefore  either  that  law  or  the  hypothesis  is 
incorrect.  Sir  H.  Davy,  in  speaking  of  my  objections  to  his  hypo< 
thesb,  says,  "  I  cannot  regard  these  arguments  as  possessing  any 
Mreigbt ; "  "  and  there  is  no  general  canon  with  respect  to  the  mul- 
tiples of  the  proportions  in  i^idi  difibrent  bodies  combine."  I  do 
not  think  tl)at  this  manner  of  refuting  is  admissible  in  the  sciences. 
This  celebrated  cliemisl  has  taken  advantage  of  hU  great  superiority, 
and  has  predisposed  the  reader  to  believe  that  six  years  of  labour  oo 
my  part  to  find  and  to  establish  by  numerous  experiments  the  lavr, 
which  he  says  does  not  exist,  have  been  lost  without  fruit.  I  sup- 
pose, however,  that  he  will  one  day  do  me  the  justice  to  take  the 
trouble  to  prove  by  experitnmt  that  1  have  deceived  myself  if  he 
;£iids  that  I  am  In  the  wrong. 


Article  IX. 


Jh  Essay  on  the  Shapes,  Dimenshnty  aad  Positions  of  ike  Space* 
in  the  Eafth  which  are  called  ReTits,  and  the  Arraneement  of  Ike 
Matter  in  ihem :  with  the  DefinUiw  and  Cause  of  Stratification, 
Py  Mr,  Jnbo  0.  Longmire. 

(OaiUinatd  frtm  p.  46.] 


1.  JdditionaJ  Remarks  on  the  Positions  cf  the  Strata  near  Bended* 
Tabular  Rents. 
i  HAVB  before  lafd  it  down  as  a  general  rule  that  the  disunce 
^hich  the  strata  are  asunder  on  opposite  sides  of  bended-tabular 
T^jiuis  owing  to  a  bending  if)  the  strata,  whiph  commences  at  the 
leyvest  extremities,  increases  to  the  piiddles,  then  decreases  to,  and 
jods  atf  the  highest  extremities  of  these  rents,    But, '  jtlthough  thii 


c.fi-'f":>/GoogIe  — ^^ 


314  ^  Mssm/  OR  Rentr.  [SEPt*. 

n  the  getient  ttodt,  and  otn  that  is  snliject  to  some  modifications, 
there  is  another  mode  by  which  ibis  difference  of  level  is  produced. 
Miners  often  find  the  strata,  any  distance  from  a  foot  to  more 
than  40  ftthoms  asunder,  in  point  of  altitude,  on  opposite  sides  of 
be  faded' tabular  rents,  in  places  where  these  strata  are  not  bent; 
but  straight,  as  the  stratum  a  ^  c  (2,  Plate  XXXVHl,  6g.  1,  and  the 
stratum  c,  along  with  the  strata  B  A,  fig.  i,  are  represented.  In 
the  fir^t  mode,  the  distances  which  the  strata  are  asunder,  on  oppo- 
site sides  of  these  rents,  are  obtained  bj  the  bending  of  the  strata, 
and  always  continue,  and  sometimes  increase,  during  many  tem- 
porary suspensions  of  this  beading ;  but  in  the  second  mode,  it  takes 
place  without  any  bending  of  the  strata. 

I  will  give  one  example  to  illustrate  each  mode.  Let  fig.  1  be 
representative  of  the  first  mode.  The  stratum  ad  is  horizontal^ 
tiotwithstandiug  the  part  a  £  is  the  distance  li  c  below  the  part  c  d. 
Above  this  stratum,  at  the  rent  A,  the  strata  are  straight  for  a  certain 
distance,  and  then  they  are  beht ;  and  below  this  stratum  they  are 
also  bent,  at  first  slightly,  but  with  a  gradually  increasing  ratio,  that 
reaches  rts  maximum  at  the  stratum  k  n ;  whose  two  parts  k  I  and 
to  n  are  the  distance  m  I  asunder,  which  is  equal  to  the  distance y^g*, 
and  to  the  distance  h  c,  and  which  is  acquired  by  the  bending  of  the 
part  m  n  above  the  line  I  n.  The  strata  close  to  the  side  p  g  c  nt 
this  part  of  the  rent  are  thiclter  than  close  to  the  side  Ift :  they  are 
also  thicker  at  m  6  than  at  q  n,  and  that  additional  thickness 
ihroughout  the  whole  of  tlie  rent,  bekiw  the  stratum  k  v,  gave  rise 
to  the  bending  of  the  part  lan  of  that  stratum,  in  the  manner  which 
has  been  shown  in  my  first  communication  On  rents }  but  the  strata 
above  the  stratum  m  n  where  close  to  the  side  7n  c  of  the  rent, 
though  thicker  than  the  opposite  strataon  the  side  /  b,  are  not  so 
-thick  as  they  are  at  the, liue  nd;  ia  consequence,  the  bending,  as 
seen  at  m  n,  gradually  decreases  upwards  till  it  ceases.  Let  us  take, 
by  way  of  illustration,  the  efii'Ct  on  the  stratum  c  A,  of  this  altera- 
tion m  the  thickness  of  the  strata  :  as  much  as  the  strata  which  are 
situated  between  the  strata  k  n  and  c  A  are  thicker  at  the  line  n  k 
than  at  A  e,  so  much  is  the  distance  n  h  greater  than  the  distance 
k  e,  (say  by  the  dbtance  k  o,)  and  so  much  is  the  stratum  g  A  bent 
]ess  than  the  stratum  m  n,  say  by  the  distance  i  n  The  bending  of 
the  strata  above  the  stratum  c  k  also  diminishes  upwards,  from  the 
■ame  cause,  till  it  ceases  at  the  stratum  a  d,  which  is  straight.  At 
first  sight  the  position  of  the  stratum  a  d,  consideiing  how  much 
one  part  is  higher  thao  the  other,  appears  to  be  ineconcileable  with 
that  arrangement  which  I  hare  considered  the  general  one;  but 
when  its  connexion  with  that  of  the  strata  below  is  traced  as  we 
have  now  done,  its  diSerence  from  that  whilch  is  the  common  one 
is  easily  accounted  For.  In  foct,  the  arrangement  of  the  elementary 
matters  in  this  part  is  such,  that  the  strata  have  coattacted  less, 
instead  of  more,  at  the  line  n  d  than  close  to  the  side  nt  c  of  the 
ttot ;  and  by  dwog  sfi  have  graduidly  given  the  straight,  instead  of 

n,,:-A-..>yGoogIe 


..1 


1615.]  An  Essay  on  Renti.  316 

tbe  bended  posltioD  to  the  strata  of  this  part:  while  these  stiBtt 
close  to  the  rent  have  contracted,  aa  usual,  less  on  the  under  side 
p  c  than  on  the  upper  side  /  I,  H«ice  also  the  distance  betwe^a 
th?  straight  strata  on  opposite  sides  of  this  rent  it  equal  to  that  ba- 
tween  similar  parts  of  the  bent  strata. 

An  example  of  the  5ec<Hid  mode  is  that  which  follows.  Some- 
times the  strata  near  bended-tabular  rents  are  all,  or  nearly  all, 
straight,  notwithstanding  they  are  situated  at  difiereni  lerels  on 
opposite  sides.  Thus  the  strata  ABC,  6g.  3,  and  those  which  lie 
between  them,  are  straight  on  both  sides  m  the  rents  D  E ;  bat  the 
parts  of  the  BtntabJ'k  and  e  in  are  higher  on  the  under  sides  than 
the  parts  eg  I  and  d  km  on  the  upper  sides  of  these  rents.  The 
strata  in  this  figure,  as  well  as  those  near  all  rents  of  this  shape,  are 
thicker  on  the  upper  than  on  the  under  sides;  and  by  this  greater 
thickaess  the  stratum  A  is  higher  at  (  e  than  at  c  c^  the  stratum  B 
tafi  than  at  g  h,  and  the  stratum  C  at  ifc  n  than  at  /  m.  Now,  ai 
has  been  before  shown,  this  diSerence  in  the  thickness  of  the  strata 
is  a  consequence  of  the  unequal  contraction  of  the  stratified  matter ; 
that  is  to  say,  the  strata  have  contracted  more  near  the  upper  sides 
than  near  the  under  sides  of  these  rents.  But  although  ihey  hare 
contracted  with  different  ratios  oa  different  sides,  yet  in  the  example 
before  us  the  ratio  on  any  one  side  has  been  uniformly  the  same 
throughout  the  strata,  instead  of  being,  as  in  general,  the  least 
near  the  rents,  and  the  greatest  at  given  distances  from  them.  '  lo 
consequence,  then,  of  thb  uniformity  in  the  ratio  of  contraction 
of  the  strata,  ivJien  taken  on  one  side  only,  they  are  straight  on  both 
ndesof  some  rents,  although  they  are  situated  at  different  levels  oa 
<q)pos!te  sides  of  such  rents. 

It  may  be  proper  to  remark  here  that,  Uiough  the  strata  are 
straight,  and  higher  on  one  side  of  a  rent  than  on  the  other,  when 
seen  in  a  cross  section,  as  in  fig.  2;  yet  when  a  view  is  taken  at 
right  angles  to  this  section,  or  when  a  person  faces  the  rent,  every 
stiatum  then  separates  at  one  horizontfu  extremity  into  two  parts, 
'  one  inclining  very  gently  upwards,  and  the  other  downwards,  till 
opposite  the  middle  of  the  rent ;  then  the  higher  part  dips  down* 
wards,  and  the  lower  part  rises  upwards,  till  ^ey  meet  again  at  the 
other  horizontal  extremity  of  the  rent, 

2.  Observaiitms  on  the  Upper  Extremities  of  large  Bended-Tahtdar 
Rents. 

The  upper  extremities  of  tome  rents  are  altogether  situated  In 
the  solid  rock,  and  at  considerable  diitancca  below  the  aurftce. 
Many  large  rents  extend  downwards  from  the  surbce  of  the  solid 
nx^,  or  that  of  the  solid  strata,  to  great  depths ;  bat  some  of  tbeiB 
readi  above  the  solid,  throogh  the  alluvial  matter,  to  withm  a  few 
inches  of  the  earth's  aurbce. 

Some  of  the  rents  which  reach  nearly  to  the  surfiue  are  predte^ 
of  the  same  dinwonoiis  io  the  allavial  day,  s*  in  the  scAid  wol 


D,g,t,.?<i  I,,  Google 


316  jin  Essay  an  Rents.  [Sbft* 

below ;  and  what  Is  more  remarkable  in  the  lower  half  of  tbe  allu- 
vial clay,  they  are  sometimes  filled  with  spar  and  the  usual  contents 
of  the  rents,  and  in  the  upper  half,  with  clay  deeply  tinged  wkK 
'  iron ;  and  sometimes  opposite  the  whole  height  <^  the  aliuvial 
matter  they  are  filled  with  iron  tinged  clay ;  in  both  instances  tbe 
rents  are  covered  with  only  thin  strata  of  soil.  lo  the  Shropshire 
and  Cumberland  coal  formations  I  have  seen  rents  so  circunutaoced 
at  the  earth's  surface ;  and  at  Lead  Hills  in  Scotland,  in  company 
with  Mr.  Martin  of  ^t  place,  I  met  with  two  such  rents,  that  are 
Ettaated  in  the  north  -side  of  the  valley  and  to  the  west  of  the 
Susannah  vein.  Other  rents  that  reach  to  only  a  few  inches  belotr 
the  surface  are  as  wide  in  the  alluvial  clay,  just  above  the  top  of  the 
hard  rock  as'  they  are  below ;  but  upwards,  they  increase  in  width 
ID  such  a  ratio  that  eaoh  aide  deviates  from  20°  to  SO''  from  a  per- 
pendicular line.  0|nxisite  the  alluvial  nutter  they  contain  clay, 
mixed  throughout  with  luge  cobbles,  which  last  are  veiv  numeroua 
at  the  botlom.  The  contents  in  these  parts  appear  as  if  they  had 
been  washed  into  the  rents.  I  have  seen  such  rents  in  Cornwall. 
Rents  reaching  through  the  alluvial  matter  exist  most  abundantly  in 
low  and  smooth  mountainous  distticts,  such  at  Cornwall  and  Lead 
Hills. 

The  existence  of  rents  tn  alluvial  matter,  though  new  to  men  of 
science,  is  a  very  important  fact.  It  shows  us  that  the  alluvial 
matter  must  have  been  formed  before  these  rents  ;  otherwise,  after 
Teaching  the  surface  of  the  present  rocks,  the  rents  could  not  have 
passed  through  the  alluvial  matter.  It  also  shows  us  that  the  alluvial 
matter  was  formed  from  the  matter  below,  when  this  matter  was 
the  least  able  to  resist  a  disintegrating  force ;  and  by  it  we  know 
that  the  alluvial  matter  has  not  been  removed  siuce  then.  Hence 
the  rocks  or  strata  underneath  such  prts  have  not  been  in  the  least 
wasted  by  the  elements. 

II.  On  Stxatificatiok. 
I  have  said  that  the  phenomenon  of  stratification,  in  one  point  of 
view,  ii  an  effect  of  the  unequal  contraction  of  the  earth's  matter. 
1  will  now  give  my  reafons  for  this  assertion.  But  perliaps  it  may 
be  previously  necessary  to  give  a  definition  of  the  term.  Stratifica- 
tion consists  in  lliat  assemblage  of  tabular  masses,  wherein  any  one 
mass  is  parallel  to  thai  next  above,  and'  to  that  next  lelow  it.  A. 
formation  that  is  entitled  to  be  called  stratified  must  have  this  ar- 
rangement of  parts  every  where.  According  to  this  definition,  all, 
or  nearly  all,  the  red  and  white  sand-stone,:  and  some  of  the  lime- 
etone  Awmatioos,  are  stratified }  but  the  fi:»-mations  of  granite,  mica- 
slate,  &c,  are  cot  stratified,  unless  they  lie  in  hollows,  as  they 
Bometimes  do,  on  the  primitit%  and  unstratified  mass-  Mountains 
divided,  in  a  few  places,  into  tabular  distinct  concretions,  have 
siametimea  been  called  stratified ;  but  to  possess  thb  structure  they 
tnostiie  eveij  where  divided  into  tabular  masses,  which  have  the 


ISIS.]  An  Essay  on  Senlu  tlj 

sune  relation  to  one  aDother  as  I  have  shown  to  be  necesssr;  to  con*  - 
sdtute  stratification. 

Af^er  the  matter  on  which  all  stratified  formations  rest  had 
assumed  a  small  d^ree  of  solidity,  it  contracted  unequally.  Hence 
one  part  of  its  surftce  lunk  tower  than  another,  and  gradually 
formed  a  number  of  hollows,  into  which  as  gradually  entered 
originally  fluid  matter,  and  matter  greatly  ccHnminuted  and  mecha- 
nically luspended  in  water. 

Let  us  eodearour  to  follow  the  formation  of  a  hollow  through  a 
fiew  stages.  Let  A>  fig.  3>  be  the  first  stage.  Here  a  hollow,  say 
of  a  few  feet  in  depth,  is  observed,  which  has  been  gradually 
formed  by  the  sinkiog  of  one  part  a  lower  than  the  part  ae.  Let 
B  be  the  second  stage.  The  hollow  has  now  got  an  additional  area 
marlced  i,  and  is  twice  the  depth  that  it  was  at  the  end  of  the  first 
sta^,  with  an  equal  increase  of  dimensicns  sideways.  Between 
this  s(u;e  and  the  first  the  hollow  has  been  gradually  increaung  in 
dimensions  by  the  sinking  of  the  part  a  I  more  than  the  part  d  e. 
C  is  the  third  stage ;  in  which  another  space  c  is  added  to  the 
hollow.  In  this  manner  the  extension  of  the  hollow  would  continue 
as  long  as  the  matter  continued  to  contract  unequally,  <a  till  tbt 
earth  had  acquired  its  present  degree  of  solidity.  Some  hollows  are 
filled  with  matter  of  one  denomination,  as  white  sand-stone,  &c.; 
others  with  that  of  various  denominations,  as  in  the  coal  fbrmationa. 
Tlie  matter  in  the  former  instance  has  proceeded  from  one  source; 
in  the  latter,  from  different  sources.  Some  hollows,  again,  were 
filled  with  matter  while  forming;  others  not  till  after  they  were 
totally,  or  at  least  nearly,  formed.  But  all  hollows  so  produced, 
and  oiled,  and  such  spaces  only,  except  a  few  rents,  contain  matter 
having  the  stratified  slmcture.  Tlie  slow  but  gradual  entry  into 
bcdlowB  of  matter  either  fluid  or  mechanically  suspended  in  water, 
is  eettainly  necessary  to  give  to  such  matter  the  stratified  structure ; 
but  if  these  hollows  had  not  been  formed  by  the  unequal  contrac- 
tion of  the  matter  below  them,  the  present  stratified  matter  would 
have  remained  for  ever  in  its  oiigmal  situation.  Stratification,  then, 
in  this  point  of  view^  is  an  effect  of  the  unequal  contraction  of  tlie 
earth's  mattN'. 


n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


218  MagmeHe^  Ohservatiims.  [Sbpk 

AltTlCl.E  X. 
M*'gtttticttt   Observaiioas  at  Hackney  JVtei.    By  .    .    ik-   •jdq 


MoBtfa. 

Morning  ObMrr. 

Soon  Olwn, 

EvealDg  OI>ieiT. 

Hour. 

Boor. 

VariatioB. 

Hour. 

Variatioa. 

Jmly    !S 
Ditto  19 
Ditto  SO 

mtio  SI 

DtUoBS 

DJIloSS 
Ditto  84 
JMII0  95 
Ditto  «l 
Ditto  87 

Si  SC 

B*  l*   35'' 

Ik  30' 

MO  88'  48" 

7^  10" 
7    00 
1    00 
T    09 
T    00 
1    00 
7     15 
7    00 

M^ao-  sff 

84    80    17 
84    19    5ft 
M    SO    13 
M    90    SO 
M    SO    34 
i4    19    19 
U    19    11 

S    49 
8    40 
8    SO 
8    30 

8  35 
-S    S5 

9  sa 

s  s& 

8    20 
8    30 
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SI    SO 

84    81     35 
S4     19    06 
U    )7    81 
84    n    38 
34    n    06 
84    13     13 
84    la    S5 
84    Ifl    04 
84    IS    56 
84    15    58 
84    18    SO 
M    16    56 

1     85 

84    S9    14 

1    SO 
1    85 

84    85    16 
84    !6    86 

1    30 
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34    88    35 
84    85    35 

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84    18    5S 

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t    SO 
1     80 
I     35 

34    S6    OS 
34    35    00 
84    84    80 

7    05 
7    00 
T    00 

34    18    53 
84    SO    S7 
84    18    M) 

Magnetiail  Observations  continued. 

181  Sl 


Horning  OlMen^ 

NoonOiMcr 

ETCnine  Obwrv. 

Hour. 

Variation. 

Hoar. 

VarUtion. 

Honr. 

Variation. 

Aag.     1 

S" 

w 

M- 

lie 

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1815.} 


Magnetic<d  Olservdthns. 
Comparison  of  Olservalions. 


M.fta ^Noon 

(^  Evening. . . 

fHorDinf  . 
Uaj /NooB 

l^  Evening^.. 

fUornint;  , 
Tnne  ..,...<  Noon 

t.  ETCTing  . 
p  fMomiDg   . 

uOly J  NooD 

(.ETgning... 


1813. 


24'  OV  IS" 

S4  SI  IS 

34  16  85 

84  13  09 

94  SO  54 

S4  13  47 

24  IS  35 

B4  88  (7 

24  le  04 

94  14  38 

84  83  04 

84  16  43 


X4  S3  fiS 

94  15  30 

84  13  18 

24  28  13 

24  16  14 

84  13  10 

24  22  48 

S4  16  29 

84  13  S9 


1815. 


24-  le*  01» 

24  97  42 

34  17  4S 

84  16  38  ' 

24  27  OS 

34  19  IX 

S4  16  11 

94  97  IS 

94  19  40 

24  15  61 

34  85  45 

94  19  48 


Id  deducing  the  mean  of  the  observations  in  July,  the  morning 
and  noon  observations  are  r^ected>  on  account  of  the  great  varia- 
tion, 

July  30. — The  needle,  after  being  steady  for  several  weeks, 
vibrated  2'  15".  The  wind  blew  fresh  from  the  north,  and  the 
-leedle  has  continued  unsteady, 

D„.„  »i,n„  (Between  noon  of  the  lit  Jdly  >  ,.snii  1..1. 
Riun  fallen  J  g^,^^^  ^^^^  ^  ^^^  ^^^  ^^^^  J  1-609  iwh. 

.    ,  Entporation  dnrini;  the  lame  period 3'65 

Since  the  instrument  was  constructed  with  which  these  observar 
twns  were  made,  Mr.  George  Dollond,  of  St.  Paul's  Church  Yard, 
lias  so  much  improved  the  construction,  that  the  instrument  which 
he  now  makes  combines  the  advantages  of  a  theodolitej  transit,  and 
equal  altitude  instrument  and  variation  compass,  tiad  is  equally 
portable  with  mine. 


Analyses  of  Books. 

I.  Philo^phkal  TramactUms  of  the  Roval  Society  of  Ltmdon  fin 
1815,  Part  I.  ■ 
TTiis  volume  contwns  the  nine  following  papers : — 
J.  Additional  Ohservaiians  on  the  Opttau  Properties  and  Struc- 
ture of  heated  Glass  and  vnannealed  Glass  Drops.     By  David 
Brewster,  IX.D.  F.R.S.  Edin.  and  F.A.S.  Edm— Ina  former 
paper  the  author  had  shown  that  glass,  when  heated,  acted  on  light 
like  crystallized  bodies;  and  that  Prince  Rupert's  drops  possessed  a 
similar  property.     On  examining  these  drops  carefully,  lines  were 
Tiiible  in  mem,  forming  imperftct  cleavages,  aod  xenderiog  the 


SBO  ATtalyses  of  Sooh.  [Sbft* 

crystalline  stnietan  more  evident.  The  specific  gravi^  of  the  nn* 
annealed  and  annealed  drofw  waa  found  to  be  nearly  the  samCf 
3*376,  Hllowance  being  made  for  the  cavities  contained  in  the  nn* 
annealed  drops.  These  vacuities  are  occasioned  by  the  contraction 
of  the  internal  parts  of  the  drop  while  cooling.  They  disappcBr 
when  the  drop  is  heated  to  redness.  It  appears,  then,  that  heat 
produces  a  ciystallioe  structure  in  glass,  which  vaDlslies  as  the  glass 
cools. 

2.  Description  of  a  new  Tnstrumenl  for  ptrforming  mechanicaUu 
the  Involiiium  and  Evolution  of  Numbers.  By  Peter  M.  Roge^ 
M.D. — This  instruinent  consists  in  a  very  convenient  aad  inge- 
niously contrived  sliding  rule,  whicl)  must  be  useful  in  a  great 
variety  of  cases. 

3.  ErpermenCs  on  the  Depolarizalian  of  Lighf,  as  exhibUid  ly 
various  Minefal,  Animal,  and  Vegetable  Substances,  with  a  refer- 
ence of  the  Pkmomena  to  the  general  Principles  of  Pol/irixatitm. 
By  Dr.  Brewster. — Jn  this  paper  Dr.  Brewster  gives  a  list  of  58 
substances,  animal,  vegetable,  and  mineral,  which  depolarize  light ; 
and  of  5S  substances,  wliich  have  no  effect  in  depolarizing  light. 
He  then  gives  what  he  calls  a  theory  of  t)ie  depolarization  of  light. 
The  various  modes  in  which  bodies  depolarize  light  may  be  reduced 
to  seven.  1.  When  the  crystal  possesses  neutral  ases,  and  forms 
two  images  which  are  capable  of  being  rendered  visible,  as  in  cal- 
careous spar,  topaz,  &c.  In  this  case  he  shun-s  that  the  apparent 
Repolarization  of  the  pencil  is  nothing  more  than  the  polarizing  of 
it  in  a  new  plane.  3,  When  the  crystal  possesses  neutral  axes,  and 
exhibits  only  a  single  image,  as  in  the  hitman  hair,  and  various 
transparent  films.  This  he  considers  as  eitactly  the  same  with  the 
first  case,  excepting  that  the  two  images  formed  by  the  human  hair, 
&c.  being  produced  by  the  same,  or  nearly  the  same,  refncttve 
power  cannot  be  rendered  visible  by  any  contrivance.  3,  When  the 
crystal  has  no  neutral  axes,  but  depolarizes  light  in  every  position^ 
as  tu  gitm  araiic,  caoutchouc,  tortoise-shell,  &c.  These  bodies  are 
composed  of  thin  plates  lyipg  above  each  other.  Each  of  these 
plates  possessn  neutral -axes,  and  depolarizing  axes.  But  as  these 
dilTercnt  axes  do  not  coincide  with  each  other  in  the  difTeretit  plates, 
the  consequence  is,  that  the  compound  body  depolarizes  in  everj- 
jdtrecti<!p.  4.  When  fhere  is  an  approach  to  a  neutral  axis,  as  in 
gold-heater^  skin,  Uc.  In  this  case  the  body  is  composed  of  thia 
tilmt,  libe  the  preceding;  but  the  neutral  axes  of  each  are  nearly 
coincident.  5.  When  the  crystal  (Jroolarizes  or  restores  only  a  part 
of  the  polarized  image,  as  itt  »fitm  from  sea  weed,  and  »JiliK  from 
tlM  partan  (crab).  He  considers  that  this  case  is  owing  to  the  bodies 
which  possess  this  property  being  partly  ciystallized  a&d  partly  un- 
crystallized.  6,  When  tlje  crystfu  depolarizes  luminous  sectors  of 
iiebulous  light,  as  the  tal  of  mace.  How  tlie  halo  in  this  case  is 
produced,  he  does  not  attempt  to  explain :  but  he  conceives  that  it  - 
necessariTy  follows  from  the  [>henomena  that  there  are  two  halos  or 
nebiflous  images^  the  one  lying  exactly  above  the  other,  and  having 


18IS.3  PhUosi^hicalTransaclwra,  \9l5j  Part  t  221 

May  ihemate  sector  potnrisKd  in  an  (^>po>ite  manner.  7-  When 
the  ciyrtal  restores  the  vanuhed  image,  but  allows  it  to  vanish  maa 
^ring  the  revolation  of  the  calcareous  spar.  Eveiy  body  which 
possesses  this  kind  of  depolarizatioD  iorim  either  a  bright  and  a 
nebulous  image,  or  a  single  image,  the  light  of  which  is  all  poiu- 
i^ed  in  the  same  manner. 

4.  On  an  Ebbing  and  Flowing  Stream,  discwered  by  baring  in 
the  Harbour  of  Brmington.  By  John  Storer,  M.D. — hi  the  year 
181 1  a  boring  was  made  in  the  narbour  of  Bridlington,  in  order  to 
ascntain  the  thickness  of  the  bed  of  clny  which  constitutes  itf 
bottom.  The  workmen  having  bored  through  28  fi:et  of  very  solid 
clay,  and  afterwards  through  15  feet  of  a  cretaceous  flinty  gravel  of 
a  very  concrete  texture,  the  auger  was  perceived  to  strike  against 
the  s^id  rock.  As  they  were  unable  to  mabe  any  impression  upon 
this  rock,  the  work  was  given  up  for  that  tide,  without  any  appear- 
ance of  water,  hut  the  pit  gradually  filled  witii  ^cib  water;  and 
when  the  tide  rose  within  49  or  50  inches  of  the  mouth  of  the  bore, 
this  water  overflowed,  and  continued  to  do  so  till  the  tide  had  ebbed 
*o  as  to  be  49  or  50  inches  below  the  mouth  of  the  bore.  This  jit 
was  afterwaVds  converted  into  a  well,  and  it  continues  to  overflow 
with  the  same  regularity  at  at  first.  Mr.  Milne,  Collector  of  the 
Customs  at  Bridlington,  has  formed  the  following  theory  to  account  • 
for  this  cuiious  phenomenon.  The  bed  of  clay,  he  conceives,  ex- 
tendi to  Smilhwick  sand,  which  forms  ft  bar  across  the  opening  of 
the  hay,  about  four  miles  from  the  quay  in  a  south-easterly  dtKc- 
.tion.  The  rain  water  which  flows  below  this  clay  cannot  be  di»* 
charged  till  it  arrives  at  the  ledge  of  rocks  where  the  clay  termi'* 
aatcs.  Its  is&ue  will  tneet  with  more  or  less  resistaitce  according  to 
the  depth  of  the  sea  water.  Hence  the  reason  why  the  well  over- 
flows every  tide.  There  is  a  circumstance  which  Dr.  Storer  thinlti 
militates  against  this  hypoihesii.  After,  great  rains,  the  column  of 
spring  wkter  is  elevated,  and  the  discharge  prolonged  during  each 
tide.  He  thinks  the  subject  mleht  be  elucidated  by  a  more  perfect 
KquuBfance  with  the  peculiarities  t^the  springs  on  this  part  of  the 
coast  which  are  called  gipsies. 

5.  On  the  Effects  nf  simple  Preaure  in  producing  that  Species  of 
Cryslttllizaticm  which  forms  tivo  oppmiiely  Polarixed  Images,  and 
esmilnts  the  compUmenlary  Colours  ly  Polarixed  Light,  By  Dr. 
Brewster. — ^The  author  found  that  calf's-foot  jeliy  and  isinglass,' 
when  first  gelatinized,  did  not  possess  the  property  of  depolarizing 
Kght ;  but  they  gradually  acquired  it  by  keeping,  and  immediately 
by  pressHte  between  two  plates  of  glass. 

6.  Experiments  made  with  a  view  to  astertain  the  Principle  oa 
'  ttikieh  the  Action  of  the  Heart  depends,  and  the  Relation  wlach 

aihsists  between  that  Organ  and  the  Nervous  System.  By  A.  P. 
WiboQ  n>ilip,  Physician  in  Worcester, — From  these  experiments 
it  appears  that  the  brain  or  spinal  marrow,  or  both  of  them,  may 
be  removed  from  the  body,  or  destroyed  slowly,  without  impeding 
^  ftclion  of  the  faeut,  provided  artificial  re^pirattoa  be  kept  tip; 


222  Anises  of  Booh.  [Sbpt- 

tbat  vhen  stimuli  (alcobcd,  opium,  tobacco,)  are  applied  to  the 
brain  or  Bptoal  marrow,  the  action  of  the  heart  is  greatly  increased; 
maA  that  when  the  brain  or  spinal  marrow  is  destroyed  at  once  by 
cjtisbing  theip,  the  action  of  the  heart  is  destroyed  or  impeded. 

7-  Experimenii  to  ascertain  the  Infiuence  of  the  Spitiea  Marrow 
on  the  Action  of  the  Heart  in  Fishes.  By  Mr.  William  Clift. — 
]iVom  these  experiments  it  appears  that  the  heart  of  a  carp  continues 
to  beat  for  levera)  hours  after  the  pericardium  is  laid  open ;  that,  if 
the  fish  ,be  left  in  the  water,  tbis  action  ceases  much  soooer  than  if 
the  fish  be  allowed  to  remain  quiet  in  the  open  air ;  that  the  spinal 
roarrow  may  be  destroyed,  and  the  brain  removed,  without  injunDg 
tbe  action  of  the  heart  i  but  that  this  action  is  somewhat  injured  by 
suddenly  destroying  the  brain. 

8.  Some  Esjienments  and  Observations  on  the  Colours  used  in 
Painting  by  tha  Ancients,  By  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  LL.D.  F.R,  S. 
—The  author,  while  in  Italy,  had  an  opportunity  of  examining 
some  pigments  found  in  the  baths  of  Titus,  and  some  du2  up  from 
Pompeii-  He  made  experiments  also  upon  the  fresco  paintings  io 
die  tMths  of  Titus.  Tlie  foUowicg  are  the  facts  which  he  ascer- 
tained : — I,  The  red  colours  employed  in  these  paintings  were  red 
lead,  vermilion,  and  iron  ochre.  2.  liixt: yellows  were  yellow  ochre, 
in  some  cases  mixed  with  chalk,  in  others  with  red  lead.  He 
aoeients  likewise  employed  orpiment  and  massicot  as  yellow  paints. 
3.  The  hhie  was  a  pounded  glass,  composed  of  soda,  silica,  lime, 
and«xide  (^  copper.  Indigo  waa  likewise  employed  by  the  ancieots, 
and  they  employed  cobalt  to  make  blue  glass.  4.  The  greens  were 
compounds  containing  copper;  sometimes  the  carbonate  mixed  with 
chalk,  sfHuetimes  with  tlie  blue  glass.  In  some  cases  theyconustcd 
of  the  greai  earth  of  Verona.  Verdigris  was  likewise  used  by  tjie 
ancicDts.  5.  The  purple  colour  found  in  the  baths  of  Titus  was 
ttthei.an  animal  or  vegetable  substance,  perhaps  the  colouring 
matter  of  the  murex  combined  with  alumina.  6.  The  liUuks  were 
carbonaceous  piatter;  the  browns,  ochres  often  containing  maiiga- 
nese.  7-  1^^  whiles  were  chalk  or  clay.  White  lead  was  known 
likewise  to  the  ancient  painters. 

9.  On  the_Laws  which  regulate  the  Polarixaiion  of  Idghl  bu 
B^ection  from  Transparent  Bodies.  By  Dr.  Brewster. — This 
paper  may  be  considered  as  a  treatise  on  the  subject.  The  author 
ycertained  by  experiment  that  the  index  of  refraction  is  tlie  tangent 
if  the  angle  of  polarixaiion.  From  this  law  he  shows  how  all  the 
jdienomena  may  be  deduced,  and  the  result  of  all  the  experiments 
determined  beforehand.  But  from  the  great  conciseness  of  the 
paper,  and  the  mathematical  dress  in  which  it  has  been  put,  it  is 
out  <^  our  power  to  convey  to  our  r£ader$  an  intelligent  abridge 
ment  of  it. 


II>  A  Treatise  on  tlie  Economy  <f  Fuel  and  Management  of 
Heaty  espeeiallg  as  U  relates  to  Heating  andlkying  by  means  ff 


1815.]  Pfocee^gs  of  Philosophical  Sod^ies^  f» 

Steam:  itifiur  Parts.  1.  On  th^  Effects  of  Heat,  the  Meuuof 
measuring  it,  the  comparative  (htantily  of  Heat  proibteed  hj/  ^gi- 
rent  Kh3s  tf  Puel,  Gas  Light,  cfc.  2.  On  heatrng  Mills,  Dwell- 
ijtg-kauses.  Baths,  and  Puvlic  Buildings.  3.  On  (vvtng  md  heal~ 
mg  by  Steam.  4.  Miscellaneous  Otservatiotis,  fVuh  many  Us^id 
Tables,  Illustrated  by  Plates,  IVith  an  Appendix:  conttamng 
Oiservatioiu  on  Chimney  Fire-places,  particularly  those  used  m 
h-eUaid — on  Stoves — on  Gas  Lights — on  Lime-Kilns-~<m  Fttrrtaces 
and  Chimneys  used/or  rapid  Distillation  in  the  Disliileries  o^  Scot- 
land— oa  improved  Boilers  for  evaporating  lAquids.  By  Robertson 
BuchantDj  Civi)  Engineer.' — Glasgow,  1615. 

This  ample  title-page  is  gufficieot  to  inform  the  reader  what  he 
may  expect  to  find  in  this  useful  little  work,  which  is  of  too  miscel- 
laneous a  Mature  to  admit  of  an  analysis  within  any  reasonable  com- 
paas.  The  most  valuable  part  of  it  consists  in  the  detaHa  with  which. 
It  furnishes  us  respecting  the  modes  of  warming  buildings  W  steain 
employed  by  manu&cturer;  in  different  parts  of  Great  Britain. 

m.  A  Practical  Treatise  on  Gas  laght:  exhibiting  a  summary 
Description  of  the  Apparatus  and  Machinery  best  calculated  for 
lUummating  Streets,  Houses,  and  Mamfactories,  vAlh  Carbureted 
Hydrogen  or  Coal  Gas  i  with  Remarks  on  the  Utility,  Safety,  and 
General  Nature  of  this  new  Branch  of  Civil  Economy.  By  Frede- 
rick Accum,  Operative  Chemist,  Lecturer  on  Practical  Chembtiy, 
on  Mineralogy,  and  on  Chemistry  implied  to  the  Arts  and  Mana- 
fiictures,  Member  of  the  Boyal  Irish  Academy,  Fellow  of  the  Lin* 
aama  Society,  Member  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Stnenoet  at 
JBertin,  &c.  &c. — London,  1815. 

This  contains  a  perspicuous  and  popular  view  of  the  subject,  aod 
may  be  of  considerable  utility  to  those  who,  without  twiog  «c- 
.  ^uainted  with  chemistiy,  wish  to  have  some  general  cotion  of  the 
Qtiure  of  gas  lights. 


Abticle  XII. 

Proceedings  of  Philosophical  Societies. 

BOTAL   IMSTITUTB  OV    FRANCS. 

Account  of  the  Labours  of  the  Class  of  Mathematical  and  Physical 
Sciences  of  the  Royal  Institute  of  France  during  the  Year  1814. 

(Conlimud  from  p.  149,) 
M.  Auguste  de  St.  Hilaire,  several  considerable  botanical  disser- 
tations by  whom  we  have  formerly  mentioned,  has  given  m  ooe  Ibis 
year  on  difibtent  ftmilies  of  plants,  in  which  the  ptac^iti}  that  ■ 


3M  Proceedings  of  Pkilasopkieal  Socteiiet.  ^  [Sisro 

to  say,  the  mrt  of  the  fruit  to  which  the  grains  adhere,  is -simply 
*  aod-placed  in  the  middle  of  the  fruit,  like  a  column  or  an  axis. 

When  the  summit  of  this  column  is  free,  the  way  by  which  the 
influence  of  the  poUen  is  transmitted  from  the  pistil  to  the  seeds, 
appears  to  be  very  complicated,  and  to  be  by  means  of  vessels  which 
run  i^ong  the  fruit  itself  to  penetrate  the  placenta  at  its  base,  aod 
so  to  the  seeds  side  by  side  of  the  nounshing  vessels.  Such,  ia 
fact,  is  the  direction  of  these  vessels  in  the  amurantacets,  according 
Ri  M.  de  St.  Hilaire.  But  this  observer  has  remarked  that  in  most 
plants  of  the  category  which  he  studies,  and  particuhirly  in  the 
primulacc(Bf  the  portutacees,  the  caryophyUete,  fecundation  take* 
place  in  a  more  direct  way.  For  this  purpose  there  exists  at  first 
very  fine  vessels,  proceeding  from  the  base  of  the  style  to  the 
summit  of  the  placenta.  These  filaments  are  destroyed  after  fecun* 
dation,  and  then  only  the  summit  of  the  placenta  becomes  free. 

M.  de  St,  Hilaire  conceives  also  that  there  always  exists  a  point 
or  a  pore  different  from  the  umbilicus,  by  which  the' fecundiiting; 
vessels  arrive  at  the  grain,  And  to  which  M.  Tuipin,'a£  we  have 
-mentioned  in  otie  of  our  prec^ng  reports,  has  ^ven  the  name  of 
vdcropHfi. 

The  part  of  M.  de  St.  Hilaire's  memoir  which  Is  purely  botanical 
presents  many  detailed  observations  (unfortunately  scarcely  suscept- 
ible of  analysis)  on  the  particular  characters  of  certain  plants  of  the 
&milies  that  he  examined,  some  of  which,  in  his  opinion,  ought  to 
serve  as  types  for  new  genera,  itnd  others  ought  to  pass  into  families 
different  from  those  in  wbicb  incomplete  observations  liave  hitherto 
placed  them. 

The  pisang  plantain,  or  fig-tree  of  Adam,  is  an  herbaceous  plant 
of  the  height  of  a  tree,  very  remarkable  for  the  enormous  size  of 
its  leaves,  and  (Celebrated  for  the  utility  of  its  fruits,  which  furnishes 
to  the  inhabitants  of  the  torrid  zone  one  of  the  principal  articles  of 
their  food.  The  cultivation  of  it  has  multiplied  the  varieties  to  sticb 
a  degree,  that  there  are  probably  as  many  sorts  as  we  possess  rf 
apples  or  pears;  and  it  is  equally  difficult  to  distinguish  among 
them  the  primitive  species.  Accordingly  botanists  differ  very  much 
in  their  enumeration  of  the  species,  and  in  the  characters  which  tbejr 
assign  to  them. 

M.  Desvaux,  who  has  collected  all  tliat  observers  say  of  the  dif- 
ferent plantains,  of  the  difference  of  their  fruits  and  of  their  uses^ 
thinks  that  there  are  44  varieties  in  the  common  species,  or  musa 
poradisiaca  of  LInnieus;  and  three  distinct  species  of  this  pkmt, 
namely,  the  musa  sapientum,  Lin.  the  mitsa  occaiea,  pretty  common 
at  present  in  our  green-houses,  and  the  eiisele,  described  by  Bruce 
in  his  Journey  to  the  Sources  of  the  Nile. 

The  fig  is  a  tree,  the  fruit  of  which  has  undergone  still  greater 
modifications  by  culture  than  the  plantun.  M.  le  Marquis  de 
Suffren;  who  lives  in  Provence,  a  country  anciefatly  celebrated,  fof 
the  goodness  of  its  figs,  perceiving  that  the  cultivators  and  pro> 
prietors  are  fiir  from  knowing  all  the  good  varieties,  which  are  suit* 


1ft  15.]  Ro^  iaalUute.  iid 

able  to  etch  soil-and  each  exposure,  and  that  they  ^  ixrt  draw  from 
tbat  precious  tree  all  the  advantages  which  might  be  obtained,  hai 
UDdertaken  to  examine  and  descrilw  with  attention  the  diGTerent  figs 
cultivated  on  the  coasts  of'  the  Mediterranean,  from  Genoa  I0  Pef- 
pigtHin.  He  has  already  coilected  coloared  6gures,  and  made  an' 
exact  description,  of  172  varieties;  and  his  geaentl  reriew  is  not 
yet  tmninated,  as  lie  has  not  exhausted  ihe  whole  t^  I^vencej  an<f 
hB8  not  yet  visited  tl>e  coast  of  Laoguedoc. 

The  part  of  this  undertaking  which  has  been  commiinicated'to- 
tlie  Qass  announces  a  work  n^ch  will  he  very  useful  to  our  southern 
departments,  especially  if  the  author  add  the  requisite  details  re-- 
spectiag  the  leaves  and  buds,  and  if  he  complete  the  characteis  by 
accurate  comparisons  of  the  different  varieties  with  each  other. 

M.  Thiebaut  de  iterneaux,  who  proposes  to  give  a  French  trans- 
latioD  of  the  works,  of  Theopbrastus,  and  who,  tn  order  to  know 
more  accurately  the  plants  of  which  that  celebrated  successor  of 
Aristotle  has  spoken,  has  planned,  and  partly  executed,  journeys 
into  the  countries  where  these  vegetables  grow,  has  presented  to  the 
Class  some  of  the  results  which  he  lias  already  obtained,  not  only 
Tespeeling  the  species  indicated  by  Theophrastus,  but  likewise  re- 
specting those  about  which  there  is  question  in  the  other  Greek  and 
Xiaiia  authors.' 

'  Thus  the  ckara,  which  the  soldien  of  Ceesar  diacovvred  io  hap- 
pily under  the  walls  ctf  Dyrrachium,  and  the  roots  of  wluch  pre- 
served them  from  famine,  deserves  to  be  ascertained.  At  present 
this  name  is  given  to  a  small  aquatic  plant,  which  certainly  is  not 
capable  of  nourishing  any  person :  and  respecting  the  chara  of 
C«sar,  there  are  almost  as  inany  opinions  as  thiere  are  botanists  who' 
have  attended  to  the  subject. 

M.  de  Bemeaux,  al^er  having  examined  and  eliminated  success-- 
irely  all  these  (^iokins,  suggests  one,  of  which  ClUvius  alone  \is.A> 
sotae  suspicion.  He  shows  that  the  chara  must  be  a  species  of 
cabbage,  aaA  thinks  that  it  was  the  plant  known  at  present  by  the' 
name  of  crambe  tartaria.  This  plant  grows  abundantly  in  the  en- 
virons of  I>yrrachium,  and  in  all  Hungary  and  Turkey.  Its  rOotS 
^e  very  long  and  laree,-  firm,  and  of  a  good  taste,  which  are  eaten 
bodi  raw  and  boiled  m  all  the  couutries  of  which  we,ha«e  spoken, 
and  which  are  of  great  importance  in  times  of  scarcity. 

Several'  Latin  authors  distinguish  t^  the  name  of  ulva  dlffermif- 
marshy  plants;  but  they  distinguish  particularly  by  that  natne  one' 
phot,  which  furnishes,  they  say,  excellent  food  for  sheep.  As 
among  aquatic  plants  there  i$  scarcely  any  other  than  the  J'estuca 
fimlms, which  is  sought  after  by  sheep;  and  as  this  grass  coters-tf 
great  part  of  the  marshes  in  Italy,  M.  de  Berneaux  conceives  that 
it  con^tutss  that  peculiar  species  of  ubia.  He  shows  that  all  th£ 
passages  in  whicli  it  is  mentioned  apply  :very  well  to  the  festoca. 
He  shows  also  that  this  is  the  grass  which  Theophrastus  and  the 
Greeks  distinguished  by  the  name  of  tiff^ha, 
.  The  ancients  boaMmmrir  of  the  useful,  prop«rt!es  of  the  eytinuf 
Vol.  VI.  N=  JII.  J  P 


0^  Pneeedings  tf  p/uhsi^tkia^  Societies.  [jSeft. 

1;ut  thej  describe. it. only  imperfectly}  sod  the  modenia  hftve  formed 
different  opiaiosA  respecting  the  plaat  to  which  the  name  should  be 
]|[^ied.  Some  b»ve  aupposed  it  to  be  the  medieago  arhorea,  M. 
d«  Beroeaux,  who  has  made  ao  elaborate  empiaatjon  of  thesub- 
j^,  thinks  that  it  is  the  cvtUus  laburnum.  But  as  Pliny  speaks 
cjearly  of  this  tree  under  the  same  of  laburnum,  and  as  he  con- 
aden  it  as  different  froB>  the  cyiiuia ;  Knd  as  some  parts  of  the  de~ 
BcriptioD  which  Dioscuride*  gives  of  the  cytisus  doe*  not  agree  with 
iteotirely;  it  would  seem  that  M.  dc  Berneaux'  opiniiHi  on  this 
siibjeot  is  still  attended  with  diSicultiep.  What  is  always  of  great 
in^cvt^nce  in  such  discussioos,  n«ther  Pliny  nor  the  other  Stteaeat 
iWturalists  were  ao  accurate  that  they  may  not  sometimes  speak  of 
the  same  plant  under  difierent  oames,  or  of  (KSereut  plants  nnder 
tbe  saau  name. 

M.  Dutrochet, «  physician  at  ChatcBu-Renaud,  interesting  obaer> 
VBtioBS  by  whom  on  the  egg  of  the  viper  we  mentioned  io  1812, 
'  has  geaeralized  his  researcbeti,  and  has  presented  the  results  to  the 
CUss  in  a  memoir  on  the  envelopes  of  the  (cetua.  We  shall  here 
oommmMcate  tome  of  the  propwitiooi,  remaiking  that  they  have 
not  yet  hc^Q  cooctated  by  the  Institiite,  because  circumstances  did 
DOt  permit  them  to  investigate  the  subject  in  the  seascm  which  would 
have  been  suitable  for  the  purpose;  yet  an  extract  of  this  memoir 
nuutbe  gmtifying  to  physielogists,  and  may  oocaskm  new  obaern- 
tions  <w  a  subject  obscure,  thoujjh  interesting. 

The  author  says  that  he  has  observed  that  at  first  the  foetus  en- 
dosed  IB  the  %g  has  an  opening  at  Its  ^bdomiual  walb  and  its 
a»niof,  throu^  which  passes  an  extension  of  the  bladder,  which 
$Hins  the  chonon  and  ihe  middle  membrane ;  so  that  the  umbiliol 
Tessels  are  only  a  production  of  those  of  the  bladder.  AcnHrding  to 
him,  the  effg  of  .MPtiles  is  a  vitellus  depiived  of  albumen,  and  in 
the  viper  the  membrane  of  the  cock  of  on  extreme  thtaoea  diup- 
|iieaTs  about  the  middle  of  the  gestation,  and  then  the  naked  chonoo- 
c(»Mracta  adhexioos  with  the  oviducts  without  forming  a  true  f^- 
eenta.  Thus  this  membrane  of  the  cock  would  be  analt^ous  to  the 
memhrtata  caduca  of  tuammiferous  animals.  He  affirm*  that  the 
tadpole  dpcs  not  throw  off  its  skin  in  order  to  undergo  a  metamor- 
pbtnis,  but  that  the  aateiior  feet  pierce  that  skin,  thu  the  jaws  teat 
It,  and  the  openings  cicatrize.  The  egg  of  the  fn^,  and  of  thti 
etass  of  anisaala  in  general,  is  a  vitelhis^  the  emulsive  matter  of 
wUch  V  eonlakiedin  the  intestine  itself,  which,  at  fint  globular,  is 
elongated  by  degrees  in  a  spiral  tube,  such  as  we  see  it  in  the  tad- 
pole.  M.  Dutrochet  has  .likewise  very  particuUr  ideas  about  the 
reapiratioQ  of  the  foetus,  and  particularly  about  the  bronchiia  of~ 
tadpoles,  wbidi  he  coatiders  as  placed  in  the  cavity  of  the  tym< 
pmuRi.  WcsbsU  sp^k  of  them  at  greater  length  when  it  shall  be 
ID  .QUI  povcF  to  vtt'tff  them,  and  to  tioow  some  light  oa  theii 
DtitBre.  'I '  " 

Comparative  anatomy  had  not  determiaed  the  nature  of  the  /»■ 
spiratoy  oigaiu  of  tlie  doportfi.    U  was  Itaowa  that  these  animals 


181S.]  Soyal  ^stitute.  ^ 

hav«  BD  anelt^us  structtm  with  cnisiaceous  aniinaU.  There  vad 
leason  to  believe  titat  the  plates  placed  under  their  skin  were  sub- 
serrient  to  their  respiraiion,  as  they  are  in  the  iresb  wtter  BhriiD[)% 
which  apftroach  veiy  nearly  to  the  cloportte.  But  the  &ct  remained 
to  be  eaiabliihed,  aod  asappamtus  reiDaioed  to  be  shown,  either  at 
their  surface,  or  in  their  interior,  proper  for  this  function. 

M.  Latreiile,  Correspondent,  who  has  been  lately  nanied  a 
member  of  the  Class,  hai  filled  up  this  gap  in  zoology.  He  has 
ahown  on  four  of  the  plates  in  question  a  little  yellonr  part,  piHced 
with  a  hole,  and  coutaiaing  within  it  small  filaments,  a  part  which 
he  compares  to  those  which,  though  differently  placed  in  the  spidera 
and  scorpions,  have,  however,  an  anat<^;ous  structure,  and  fulfil  the 
same  function.  However,  notwithstanding  this  partial  resemblance^ 
and  notwithstanding  the  existence  of  a  sort  of  spinning  appantus, 
which  he  has  observed  in-the  cloportie,  and  which  is  andogous  to 
that  of  the  spiders,  M.  de  Latreiile  still  leaves  the  cloportn  amoDj; 
the  crustaceous  animals,  on  account  of  the  touch  mors  numerous 
relations  which  they  have  to  that  class. 

The  insects  have  for  a  long  tiiae  been  divided  into  two  categories, 
according  to  the  structure  of  their  mouth  ;  one  set  having  jaws  wdl 
developed,  and  Capable  of  dividing  solid  food ;  and  Another  having 
only  a  kind  of  sucker,  fit  only  to  draw  in  liquids.  There  are  somS 
insects  which  at  different  periods  of  their  life  have  each  of  tbeitf 
^orms  of  mouth,  and  which  become  suckers  in  their  perfect  stated 
though  they  were  bruisers  or  chewera  in  their  state  irf  lame.  Such, 
ibr  eiample,  are  the  butterflies,  which  employ  for  nouruliment'  * 
double  trump,  usually  in  a  spiral  form,  which  they  unroll  to  iocro- 
duee  into  the  bottom  of  the  corolla  of  Sowers,  and  to  suck  up  (h6 
nectar  there  contained.  While  the  catei^Mllars,  which  are  merely 
butterflies  not  yet  developed,  have  mouths  armed  with  strong  maw- 
dibles,  with  which  they  cut  the  hardest  leaves.  It  was  believed  that 
the  caterpillar,,  on  assuming  the  wings,  the  long  feet,  the  baautifol 
antennas  of  the  butterfly,  assumed  also  its  trump,  and  lost  entirely 
its  jaws. 

M.  Savigcqr,  Member  of  the  Institute  of  Egypt,  baa  proved  \xy 
deHcate  and  long  continued  researches  that  this  is  not  entirely  the 
caw ;  but  that  Nature  in  this  circumstaace,  as  in  many  others, 
CMifinea  herself  to  diminish  certain  parts,  and  to  increase  others, 
and  that  dhe  arrives  at  effects  entirely  opposite  by  this  simple  change 
of  proportions.  He  has  discovered  at  the  bottom  of  the  trump  ot 
butterfiies  two  organs  exceedingly  small,  but  which  ^epn^seat  the 
mandibles  of  the  caterpillars.  At  the  back  of  the  support  of  thid 
same  trump  he  has  found  two  very  small  threads,  which  appear  to' 
him  anak^ous  to  the  maxillary  palpie ;  so  that  the  two  plates  of 
which  the  trump  is  composed  are,  according  to  M.  Savigny,  the 
extremely  elongated  pdnis  of  the  maiillep,  that  is  to  say,  d  the 
inferior  pair  of  jaws.  Finally,  the  great  palpze  known  to  all  natu- 
nUtts  are  the  palpae  of  the  iaferior  lip.  Toe  two  uoall  maxillary 
•  p  2 


'..>y  Google         — 


228:  Proceedings  of  Pkilosaphtcul  Societies.  [SkpTm 

pslpn  had  beed  already  observed  in  some  motlis ;  bat  it  is  to  M- 
Sav^ny  that  we  owe  the  knowledge  that  they  exist  in  the  whole 
^mily.  This  skilful  observer  has  likewise  established  a  marke<] 
analogy  between  the  silk  and  some  other  small  parts  'which  asually 
accompany  the  sucker  of  insects  with  two  wings,  and  the  mandibles 
and  inaxillie  of  chewing  iDsects ;  so  that  the  structure  of  this  nu- 
merous class  of  saimats  offers  in  this  important  part  of  its  organiza- 
tion an  uniformity  more  satisfactory  than  had  been  hitherto  stlp- 
posed. 

M.  Savigny  has  likewise  examined  the  mouth  of  insects  which 
join  to  jaws  evidently  discoverable  as  such  a  trump  formed  by  the 
prolongation  of  the  under  lip.  The  most  remarkable  of  these  insects 
^e  ttie  bees.  It  was  supposed  that  the  openiDg  of  the  pharynx  was 
(ituaied  below  this  trump  and  tliat  lip,  while  in  the  ordinary  chewers 
it  is  situated  above.  But  this  was  a  mistake.  The  pharynx  is  always 
on  the  base  of  the  trumpv  and  it  is  even  environed  with  parts  inte- 
resting to  knoW)  and  of  which  M.  Savigny  ha?  given  a  description. 
His  memoir  is  destined  for  tlie  great  work  on  Egypt,  the  termina- 
tion of  wbicb  we  shall  soon  owe  to  the  generous  munificence  of  the 
King. 

M.  Cuvier  has  examined  another  class  of  animals,  whose  mouth 
presents  likewise,  at  least  in  appearance,  numerous  anomalies; 
'  namely,'  fishes.  We  find  in  them  at  bottoin  all  the  parts  which 
belong  to  the  mouth  of  quadrupeds  ;  but  some  of  them  are  more 
subdivided,  and  a  part  of  their  subdivisnons  are  sometimes  reduced 
to  so  small  a  size,  that  they  cannot  fulfil  their  AinctiOns,  and  that  it 
is  even  dilScult  to  perceive  them.  By  far  the  greater  number  of 
iidies  have  intermaxillaries  and  maxillaries  that  are  very  visible ;  but 
these  bones  differ  much  from  each  other  in  proportion.  The  maxil- 
loriea  especially  sometimes  make  a  part  of  the  bonier  of  the  jaw, 
and  cany  the  teeth;  sometimes  they  are  placed  more  behind,  and 
carry  no  teeth ;  from  which  circumstance  iclitliyologists  have  not 
recognized  ibem  for  wliat  they  are,  but  have  called  them  mystacea 
or  labial  bones.  These  diflerences  ftiFDish  the  author  with  generic 
cfa^acters  veiy  convenient  for  forming  a  more  natural  distribution 
of  the  species;  but  tbe^  cannot  serve  to  distinguish  the  orders.  For 
fbis  last  object  M.  Cuvier  has  recourse  Mt  more  striking  differences, 
^ch  as  the  coalition  or  sector  of  the  maxillaries  to  iv  intermaxil- 
laries, which  takes  place,  for  example,  in  the  tetradons,  the  cofffts, 
the  IralistiB ;  or  the  disappearing  of  the  one  or  the  other,  and  the 
obligation  in  which  Katitre  is  to  employ  the  palatine  bones  to  form 
the  upper  jaw.  Thb  we  observe  m  the  ray,  the  shark,  and  tlie 
othec  caondropterigitB. 

The  author  was  unable  to  discover  other  characters  than  these  to 
establish  a  first  distribution  of  the  class  of  fishes.  In  consequence, 
he  places  among  ordinary  fishes  the  genera  which,  having  the  same 
structure  of  mouth  and  bronchiie,  had,  however,  been  placed 
among  canilaginous  fishes,  on  account  of  some  singularities' in  their 
r 

n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


I81S.]  Sciattific  lalelligtmcei  229 

external  form,  or  becanse  thtir  alceleton  hardens  a  little  more  slowly 
than  the  others.  Such  are  the  cenlruquesy  the  baadroyes,  the 
cyclopteres,  the  lepadogasteres,  &e, 

M.  Cuvier  has  founaed  on  these  views,  and  on  other  similar  ooei, 
the  peculiar  method  according  to  whick  the  &hes  will  be  arranged 
ID  the  work  which  he  is  preparing  on  comparative  anatomj. 

The  some  naturalist  has  presented  tp  the  Class  researches  on  a 
pretty  considerable  number  of  fishes  which  he  has  observed  in  three 
journeys  made  at  three  different  times  on  the  coast  of  the  Medite^ 
raoean.  Some  of  them  are  new ;  some  of  them  had  beea  wrtxig 
pbced,  or  wrong  named,  by  authors.  Several  have  offered  inte<- 
resting  observations  relative  to  their  structure,  or  occasicHied  the 
establishment  of  new  genera,  or  (be  subdivision  of  old  genera. 
These  details  cannot  enter  into  a  report  of  this  kind ;  but  naturalist* 
will  find  tbem  in  the  first  Toiume  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Museum 
pf  Natural  History,  of  which  a  part  Itas  already  appeared. 


Article  XIII. 


SplENTtFIC    INTSLLlGKKirb ;    AND    HOTICKS   OS   S0IIJKCTS 
CONNECTED  WITH  SCIENCE. 

I.  Lectures. 

Medical  Theatre,  St.  Barlhotomew's  Hospital.— The  following 
Courses  of  Lectures  will  be  delivered  at  this  theatre  during  the 
eosiung  winter  : — On  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Physic  ;  by  Dr. 
Hue.-— On  Anatomy  and  Physiology  ;  by  Mr.  Abernetliy. — On  the 
TTieory  and  Practice  of  Surgery  5  by  Mr.  Aberaethy. — On  Che- 
mistry; by  Dr.  Hue. — On  Midwifery;  by  Dr.  Gooch. — Anatomical 
Demonstrations ;  by  Mr.  Stanley.  The  Anatomical  Lectures  will 
commence  on  Monday,  Oct.  2,  at  two  o'clock. 

Medical  School  of  Si.  Tkoma/s  and  Gtnfs  Hospitals, — The 
Autumnal  Courses  of  Lectures  at  these  adjoining  Hospitali  will 
commence  the  beginning  of  October,  viz.: 

At  St.  Thomas's. — Anatomy  and  the  Operations  of  Surgery ;  by 
Mr.  Astley  Cooper  and  Mr.  Henry  Cline.— Principles  and  Practice 
of  Surgery ;  1^  Mr.  Astley  Cuoper. 

M  Gity'i. — Practice  of  Medicine ;  by  Dr.  Babington  and  Dr. 
Curry. — Chemistry ;  by  Dr.  Babington,  Dr.  Marcet,  and  Mr. 
Allen.— Experimental  Philosophy;  by  Mr,  Allen. — Theory  of  Me- 
dicine, and  Materia  Medica ;  by  Dr.  Curn^  and  Dr.  Cholmeley — 
Midwifery,  and  Diseases  (rf  Women  and  Cluldren ;  by  Dr.  Haigh- 
ton. — Physiology,  or  Laws  of  the  Animal  .Economy;  hy  Dr. 
Haighlon. — Structure  and  Diseases  of  the  Teeth ;  by  Mr.  Fox. 
,  N.  B.  These  several  leqtures  are  so  arrai^d«  that  no  two  of  tbem 

n,<j'..Jr,,G00glc 


830  Scientific  htdHgence.  (Sei^. 

Interfere  in  the  bours  ,of  atteiidince ;  and  tl)e  whole  is  c^oilatcd  to 
form  a  complete  Course  of  Medical  and  Chirurgical  InsfninicHi. 

Dr.  Clutterbiick  will  begin  his  Autumn  Course  of  Lectures  on 
the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Physic,  Materia  Medica,  and  Chemistry, 
on  Wednesday,  Oct.  4,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  at  bis  houaie. 
No.  1,  in  the  Crescent,  New  Bridge-street,  Blackfriars. 

Dr.  Clarke  and  Mr.  Clarke  will  comCncoce  their  X^ectures  on 
Midwifery,  and  the  Diseases  of  Women  and  Children,  on  Wed- 
nesday, Oct.  5.  The  lectures  are  read  every  morning  from  a 
quarter  pasc  ten  to  a  quarter  past  eleven,  for  the  convenience  of 
studepts  attending  the  hospitfds. 

II.  N'ew  Mode  of  maniifacluTing  Hemp  and  ftax. 
About  two  years  ago  Mr.  Lee  took  out  a  patent  for  obtaiiung 
hemp  and  Rax.  directly  from  the  plants  by  a  new  method.  He  has 
established  a  manufactory  for  the  purpose  at  Old  Bow,  on  the  river 
Lea,  near  London,  where  his  method,  and  the  result  of  it,  may  foe 
6een.  I  consider  Mr.  Lee's  invention  as  the  greatest  improvement 
ever  introduced  into  the  linen  business,  and  as  likely  to  occasitm  a 
total  change  in  the  whole  of  our  bleach-fields.  Hitherto  the  only 
way  of  obtaining  hemp  and  flax  Iias  been  to  steep  the  plants  in  water 
till  they  begin  to  rot.  They  are  then  exposed  lor  some  days  to  the 
sun  spread  out  upon  the  grass,  after  which  the  woody  part,  now 
become  very  brittle,  is  removed  by  the  flax  mill,  the  nature  of 
which  ia  too  well  known  to  require  any  description.  By  these  pro- 
cesses the  fibres  of  the  flax  are  weakened,  and  a  considerable  portion 
of  them  is  altc^ther  destroyed  and  loot.  The  flax,  too,  acquires 
a  greenish  yellow  colour,  and  it  is  well  known  that  a  very  expensive 
and  tedious  bleaohing  process  is  necessary  to  render  it  white.  Mr. 
Lee  neitlicr  steeps  his  flax,  nor  spreads  it  on  the  grass.  When  the 
plant  is  ripe,  it  la  pulled  in  the  usual  way.  It  is  then  thrashed,  by 
placing  it  between  two  grooved  wooden  beams  shod  with  iron-  One 
of  these  is  fixed  ;  the  other  is  suspended  on  hinges,  and  is  made  to 
impinge  with  some  force  on  the  Bxed  beam ;  the  grooves  in  tlie  one 
beam  corresponding  with  flutes  in  the  other.  By  a  mechanical 
contrivance  almost  exactly  similar,  the  woody  matter  is  beaten  oS^ 
and  the  fibres  of  flax  left.  By  pas»ng  these  through  hackles,  vary- 
Jbg^prDgressively  in  fineness,  the  flax  is  very  speedily  dressed,  and 
rendered  prcqwr  for  the  use  for  which  it  is  intended.  The  advan- 
tages of  this  process  are  manifqkl  The  expense  of  steeping  and 
iq)readiog  is  saved ;  a  much  greater  produce  of  flax  is  obtained  ;  it 
js  much  stronger ;  the  fibres  may  be  divided  into  much  finer  fibres, 
•0  as  to  obtain  at  onoe,  and  in  any  quantity,  flax  fine  enough  for 
the  manufeeture  of  lace.  But  the  greatest  advantage  of  alt  remains 
yet  to  tie  stated.  Flax  manufactured  in  this  manner  reouires  only 
to  b^wadied  in  pure  water  in  order  to  become  white.  The  colour- 
ing matter  is  not  chetoically  combined  with  the  fibre,  and  therefore 
ia  removed  at  once  by  water.  It  is  the  steeping  of  the  flax  and  bemp, 

D,g,t,.?<ii„Google 


r 


MI6.3  adeai^  itttdUgenct,  8S1 

i*bieb  unitn  tbe  oobaring  matter  with  the  flbrei,  ttid  ictidiA  tbt 
sobsequeut  bifltching  pnwM  nec«uFiry.  Tlius,  by  Mr.  Lce^- 
procen,  fiax  and  bemp  are  obtained  it)  fflticl)  grcatA'  quanHiy,  itf 
iBUcb  stioDger  quality,  aad  mufib  finer  in  tbe  fibre  than  by-ltfli 
emmoa  method,  and  the  necessity  of  blaachiog  Is  dtogitfbeV 
•Dperseded.  The  great  ituportancc  oi  Hck  fee  ituprorieaikBi  mMt 
Iw  u  once  obvioos  to  every  oae. 

.  ni.  Tktrmomter. 

CTo  Ih.  TkoniM.) 
HT  DE&R  BIB,  Jwtf  U,  ISIS. 

la  consequence  of  a  bill  tbat  i*  coming  before  tlie  House  o^ 
Commons  for  the  nnivenal  regulation  of  weights,  I  beg  leave  to 
tuggest,  through  your  Journal,  my  ideas  for  the  regulation  oF  the 
thermometer  and  pyrometer,  which  is  so  difierent  ai  to  require^ 
when  reading  off  various  temperatures,  some  calculation  before  you 
can  perfectly  understand  it ;  beside  the  liability  of  inistalce  that  may 
ariae  from  quoting  difierent  thermometers,  as  Fahrenheit,  Reaumur, 
&c.  My  ideas  on  the  sul^ect  are  for  all  ihermometen  to  begin  with 
0,  or  zero,  for  water  just  freezing  (as  I  do  not  see  any  reason  why  ii 
should  be  called  32^,  and  continue  it  down  to  mercury  freezing, 
and  upwardi  to  water  boiling,  which  might  be  called  200°,  as  there 
would  then  be  only  20"  difference  between  the  present  nominal 
temperature  of  boiling  water  and  the  new  one  j  and  also  to  continue 
it  upwards  as  high  as  mercury  would  admit,  which,  for  example. 
Say  500°.  Tlie  pyrometer  (Wedgwood's)  might  then  commence  b; 
calling  the  first  degree  1°,  equal  to  501°  of  the  mercurial.  The 
degrees  of  temperature  would  be  then  understood  by  the  mere 
number  written,  without  the  addition  of  Fahrenheit  or  Reaumur, 
&c.  and  the  higher  degrees  would,  by  comparison  with  the  nnmbera 
of  the  lower,  be  easier,  as  the  equivalent  m  Fahrenheit  to  any  dfr* 
gree,  say  50°  of  Wedgewood,  is  known  to  very  few.  1  think  it  might 
perhaps  be  an  improvement  to  make  the  mercurial  thermometers  in 
tivo  scales ;  that  is,  one  up  to  220°,  or  thereabouts,  for  common 
purposes;  and  the  other  to  500°,  or  any  other  number  that  may  be 
thought  proper.  I  merely  beg  leave  to  suggest  the  abova  ideas,  ai 
I  am  thoroughly  aware  it  must  be  a  matter  of  courtesy  whether  the 
foreign  chemists  will  adopt  it,  when  made,  in  preference  to  Reaumur 
or  Celsius ;  as  the  great  use  of  the  improvement  would  be  materially 
done  away  with  by  thek  refusing  the  use  of  it ;  and  I  know  no 
means  so  likely  to  bring  it  into  use  as  coming  Irom  you,  through  the 
medium  of  your  Anmus  of  Philosophy.  If  you  consider  the  above 
remaiks  worthy  a  place  among  a  oambor  of  far  mere  worthy  papen, 
I  ihtll  ftel  myself  hoiwured  by  your  complianee. 

I  remain,  Sir,  youn  respectfully, 

H.  W. 

P.S.  In  a  paper  wtiich  I  sent  yon  some  time  since,  I  promised 
nmt  cipcriaifnts  with  regard  to  the  nature  of  beet,  vngpi,  and 


3)9  Scientific  £t/e%(tt»,  [Sept. 

hoTDett,  which  I  bwe  not  yet  had  time  to  cooiplete,  except  wilb 
te^pect  to  hornets.  Their  cells  1  have  every  retuoo  to  suppose  are 
epiQposed  of  a  single  layer  or  division  only  ;  for  as  they  u%  made  of 
Urge  peces  {ajfout  the  size  of  a  pin's  head)  of  rotten  wood,  the 
name  pieces  may  be  seen  on  both  tides  of  th&  cell ;  which  refutn 
Pr.  Barclay's  ideas  of  their  being  composed  of  two  layers  stack 
tt^elher  by  an  animal  glue. 

The  dififerent  graduatirai  of  theraiometers  in  various  countries  19 
pertainly  an  iiiccinvenience ;  buf,  like  tfie  different  weights  and 
mea^res^  it  is  ar}  inponvenience  hardly  capable  of  being  raioedied. 
I^ahren^ieit  was  the.first. person  who  employed  mercury  in  the^o- 
meters,  and  ijvho  made  them  accurately  corresponding  with  ^ach 
other.  His  two  fixed  points  were,  the  temperature  of  boiling  wafer, 
and  the  temperature  produced  by  mixing  together  snow  and  stir 
ammoniac.  He  conceived  the  mercury  to  be  divided  Into  11,124 
parts  when  surrounded  with  snow  and  sal-Binmooiac.  When  put 
into  boiling  water,  he  found  that  It  expanded  so  much  as  to  be  equal 
to  11,124  +  212  parts.  On  that  account  he  divided  the  interval 
between  the  two  points  into  212  parts  or  degrees.  He  marked  th^ 
lowest  0,  and  the  other  212;  $0  that  the  degrees  of  Fahrenheit 
denote  not  only  the  lemperature,  but  the  exp^nsjop,  of  iperciir; 
from  his  zero  to  the  point  indicated.  Thus  32°  is  (he  freezing  ppinf 
of  water,  and  ■,  j^j^^-j-  is  the  expansion  which  the  mercury  undergoes 
when  heated  from  0  to  32°.  This  indication  of  the  expausion  is  aq 
advantage  which  no  other  thermometrical  scale  possesses ;  and  ought, 
I  think,  to  induce  us  to  pause  before  we  resolve  to  lay  it  aside.  The 
idecimal  scale  wants  this  advantage,  though  it  possesses  some  others 
of  considerable  importance.  De  Iaic  informs  us,  in  his  Reclierchcs 
sur  les  Modifications  de  I'Atmosphere  (t.  i.  p,  343],  that  what  is  at 
present  called  the  centigrade  thermometer  was  in  common  use  in 
London  when  he  wrote.  His  book  was  published  in  1773>  If  this 
was  the  case,  it  would  be  curious  to  know  what  induced  the  British 
philosophers  to  abandon  it.  1  cannot  find  that  any  such  thermomctef 
is  employed  by  the  writers  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions. 

The  only  possible  means  of  changing  our  thermometer  would  I»e 
to  persuade  the  makers  to  alter  the  graduation.  If  both  the  cen- 
tigrade and  Fahrenheit  divisions  were  marked  on  the  sc^le,  I  thinly 
it  would  be  aif  improvement. 

fV.  Ckemieal  Nomenclature. 
{To  Dr,  Thom^D.) 

As  a  philosophical  journalist,  you  are  in  some  degree  invested  witfi 
the  character  of  arbiter  of  technical  nomenclature ;  and  as  chCml^tS 
are  indebted  to  you  for  the  introduction  of  the  useful  terms  prol- 
oxide,  &c.  you  may  do  some  good  by  protesting  against  the  intrq- 
duetion  pf  similar  terms  leading  to  confusion  instead  of  pcrsj^dity. 
|^e^.^>fOsulp]iate,  ^roch|oTi|e,  &c.    Sorely  wrile.^  ^^^^ly^bl 


h  1815.3'  Samiific  IntelKgence,  233 

so  sparing  of  tbeir  pens  at  to  omit  the  short  syllable  which  would 
give  the  word  its  true  meaniDg:  proto  is  iDtelligible  ;  the  other  may 
I  be  takcD  for  the  Ijadc  word  pro.  Id  another  respect,  however,  the 
term  b  ebjecdonable ;  for  even  if  written  ;>rofMulpbate,  it  wooM 
seem  to  denote  a  subsulphate,  though  it  is  meant  to  stand  ftv  sul- 
phate of  protoxide.  A  regular  use  of  the  modern  self-explanatory 
nomenclature  is  extremely  useiiil :  a  careless  use  of  it  rendera  the 
terms  worse  than  arbitrary. 

Are  you  aware  that  the  word  complement  has  sometimes  the  word 
coMplmenl  substituted  for  it  in  the  Annals :  also  the  word  radicle, 
^radical  P  It  would  puzzle  a  botanist  to  find  radicle  ^plied  to 
muriatic  and ;  though  radical,  an  Bdjective,  used  substimtircly, 
would  at  once  be  understood  to  mean  the  radical  base. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

SpKCCLATOB, 

If  my  Correspondent  pay  the  requisite  attention  to  the  preseot 
fondness  for  new  words,  by  which  chemists  and  mineralo^ts  in 
general  are  actuated,  he  will  speedily  be  convinced  that  any  remoo* 
strance  on  my  part  would  have  little  effect  in  stemming  the  curreoi] 
The  terms  prosnlphate,  persulphate,  &c.  do  not  strike  me  as  so 
objectionable  as  they  do  my  Correspondent.  It  is  now  well  known 
that  in  a  great  varieiy  of  cases  more  than  one  oxide  of  the  sanift 
metal  is  capable  of  combining  with  acids.  Thus  both  the  black  and 
the  red  oxide  of  iron  combine  with  sulphuric  acid.  It  is-neccssary 
to  distinguish  each  of  these  salts  by  a  name ;  and  no  mode  seema 
simpler  or  more  natural  than  to  prefix  to  the  old  name  of  the  salt 
the  first  syllable  of  the  respective  names  of  the  oxides.  If  the  black 
oxide  of  iron  be^  called  protoxide,  then  the  combination  of  it  with 
sulphuric  acid  may  be  known,  without  ambiguity,  by  taking  iu  first 
syllable  pro  and  prefixing  it  to  sulphate  of  iron.  Prosulphatt  «>firon 
means  a  compound  of  sulphuric  acid  and  protoxide  of  iron.  Prolo- 
sulphate  of  iron  I  think  more  objectionable,  because  proto  is  not  the 
first  syllable  of  the  word  firotoxm.  In  like  manner,  the  persulphate 
of  hon  means  a  combination  of  sulphuric  acid  with  the  peroxide  or 
red  oxide  of  iron.  When  various  proportions  of  an  acid  combine  ^ 
with  a  base,  it  is  now  known  that  these  proportions  follow  a  very  ' 
simple  law.  If  we  suppose  the  quantity  of  base  fixed,  then  the 
quantities  of  acid  in  the  super  salts  are  multiples  of  the  quantity  in 
the  neutral  salt ;  namely,  double  or  quadruple.  Thus  in  sulphate 
of  potash,  if  we  denote  the  base  by  a,  and  the  acid  by  A,  the  com- 
position of  supersulpbate  of  potash  will  be  a  +  2  b.  What  is  called 
subcarboDBie  of  potash  is  composed  of  a  +  l>  (a  being  the  hase,  h 
the  acid},  and  the  crystallized  carbonate  of  a  +  2  b.  Hence  we  - 
have  a  simple  mode  of  distinguishing  these  salts.  liCt  the  salt  com- 
posed of  ei  +  '^  he  simply  designated  by  the  old  name,  as  sudphaie 
of  potash,  carbonate  of  pptash ;  let  the  salt  composed  ot  a  +  2  b 
be  distinguished  by  pi^Sxipg  the  syllable  bis,  or  bi,  or  bin ;  thua 
Visidphate,  bicarbonate,  binoxalale.     By  using  X^tin  tenas  fgrtucl^ 


SM  StMniific  Int^igtmx^  CSwnr, 

combinatioiH^  while  Greek  terms  are  eroployed  for  the  ctnnlnaa'* 
tioDs  of  the  different  cnudes,  all  ambiguity  is  avoided.  Both  thes* 
modes  of  naming  1  have  employed  in  the  ublei  of  the  salts  pal>- 
lished  in  tbe  precediog  numbers  df  the  Aamds  of  Pbilowphy, 

V.  Howard^s  Nomenclalvre  of  Clouds. 

The  same  Correspondent  suggests  'he  necessity  of  giving  an  ex- 
planation of  tlie  terms  employed  by  Mr.  Howard  in  his  Meleonto— 
gical  Journal  to  denote  the  various  modifications  of  the  clouds,  I 
beg  leave  io  inform  him  that  this  has  been  done  already.  He  wilt 
find  it  in  the  Annals  of  Pkiloiopby,  vo).  i.  p.  80. 

For  an  explaoation  of  the  term  polarixtUvm,  which  be  also  re- 
qaesis,  I  refer  him  to  the  Annals,  vol.  i,  p.  302,  where  he  wiU  find 
one  already  given. 

VI.  New  Amalgam  of  Mercury. 

1  lately  received  the  following  piece  of  information  in  a  letter 
from  M.  Van  Mons : — 

"  M.  Dobereiner  decomposed  water  in  contact  with  mercury  by 
means  of  the  galvanic  hatter}-.  Oxygen  was  evolved  at  the  positive 
pole,  hut  no  hydrogen  from  the  negative  pole.  Instead  of  it  there 
was  formed  a  solid  amalgam  of  mercury,  not  decomposed  by  agita- 
tion ;  but,  when  heated,  resolved  into  running  mercuiy  and  hy- 
drogen gas.  M.  Dobereiner  considers  hydrogen  gas  as  a  metal  dis- 
•olved  in  caloric,  and  constantly  in  a  state  of  espansion.  The 
absence  of  caloric,  and  the  nascent  state  of  the  hydrogen,  enable  it 
io  the  above  experiment  to  amalgamate  with  mercury. 

*'  M.  Dobereiner  has  likewise  made  sulphur  undergo  con^der- 
able  changes,  having  obtained  it  in  the  form  of  a  blue  powder, 
gjmilar  to  ultramarine,  by  depriving  it  of  its  hydrogen  by  means  of 
■  process  which  he  does  not  describe.  Phosphorus  changes  into  a 
Kkly  matter,  having  the  brilliancy  and  colour  of  gold  when  burnt 
Bnder  a  glass  while  mposed  to  the  direct  rays  of  the  suo." 

VII.  New  Gidvamc  Experiment. 

eta  Dr.  ThMMon.) 
SIR, 
The  following  experiment  QO  animal  galvanism  to  me  is  per- 
lectly  new ;  if  it  should  he  so  to  you,  perhaps  you  will  ^ve  it  a 
place  in  yoUr  Journal.     At  present  I  shall  merely  state  the  esperi- 
,  ment,  though  the  importance  I  attach  to  it  arises  solely  from  the 
theory  by  which  it  was  su^ested.    After  trying  every  expcrimsat 
aieniioned  in  most  systems  of  aRimat  galvanism,  I  made  a  pile  of 
Ain  slices  of  brain  and  muscle,  which  by  a  single  piece  of  metal    , 
produced  the  most  violent  a^tation   in  the  frog,  inconceivably 
greater  than  any  other  usually  exhibited.   It  even  produced  a  slight 
effect  without  any  metal ;  but  I  have  never  been  able  to  sueceed  ia-' 
any  of  AJdini's  experiments  without  metal,  as  he  assertl. 
I  am.  Sir,  yours  most  reipectfully, 
jMMwjA,  Jo/y  SO,  leut.  M.  A. 

n,r.^^<i"yG00glc 


]8li;.]  Saentffic  MelUgence.  9SS 

.    VIII.  Feriker  Queries  respecltag  Gat  lAgUs. 

(To  Dr.  ThcuDioi].)  ' 
OEAR  SIK, 

Youn  and  Mr.  Accum's  repl^  to  my  queries  respecting  tlie  method  ' 
of  producing  illumiDatioa  by  gas,  instead  of  lamps  or  cnndles,  are 
very  satisfectory.  I  possess  his  new  treatise  on  the  subject ;  but  I 
do  not  find  any  directions  for  choosing  pipes  of  a  diameter  suitable 
to  produce  a  given  effect.  He  gives  no  rule  coneeming  the  diame- 
ters ;  nor  does  he  give  sufficient  directions  concerning  trie  1im6  used 
for  purifying  the  gas.  I  hope  he  will  be  so  obliging  8S  to  supply 
these  deficiencies  through  the  medium  of  your  Annals,  stating  ftt 
the  same  time  the  places  where  pipes,  &c.  may  be  purchased  on  the 
terms  mentioned  in  his  book.  Mr,  Accum  being  a  chemist,  I  cod- 
elude  he  does  not  supply  apparatus  of  this  magnitude.  It  it  Mr.  A.'> 
opinion  that  lighting  a  pnvate  house  in  the  country  by  coal  gas 
would  be  less  expensive  than  by  candles  or  oil  ? 

Your  obliged, 

/«6r  n,  1815.  A.  M K. 

IX.  Crystals  of  Arragontte, 

It  is  well  known  that  the  crystalUne  foi;m  of  the  arragonite  is 
different  from  that  of  calcareous  spar.  M.  Stromeyer,  after  disco- 
vering  the  presence  of  carbooate  of  strontian  m  that  mineral,  con- 
ceived, that  the  arragonite  derived  its  ciystalline  forms  from  car- 
bonate of  strontian.  But  as  carixmate  of  strontian  had  never  been 
found  in  r^ular  oystals,  that  conjecture  could  not  be  verified. 
Gehlen  has  btely  announced  that  he  and  Professor  Fucbs  observed, 
ammg  specimens  of  barytes  Irom  Salzbuigh,  crystals  of  cnrboaate 
of  stroatian  having  exactly  the  same  form  as  tboee  of  arragonite 
(Schweigger's  Journal,  xi.  392) ;  so  that  there  seems  to  be  no,  doubt 
that  the  crystalline  figures  of  carbonate  of  strontian  and  of  arra- 
gonite are  the  same.  But  this  coincidence  of  iotm  does  not  appear 
to  me  to  clear  up  the  diljculty.  That  one.  port  of  carbonate  (tf 
strontian  should  oblige  50  or  100  parts  of  carbonate  of  lioM  to 
•snime  its  own  form  of  crystal  appears  quite  inexplicable.  If  the 
shape  of  the  crystal  depends  upon  that  of  the  Integrant  particles  of 
thi;  ciystallizing  body,  the  crystallization  should  either  be  confused 
wbec  two  different  sets  of  integrant  particles  crj'stallize  together,  or 
they  must  combine  and  form  a  new  integrant  particle :  9!)  parts  of 
carbonate  of  lime  mixed  with  one  part  of  carbonate  of  strontian 
ought,  one  should  think,  to  assume  the  crystalline  form  of  car- 
iKuate  of  lime.  The  gres  des  Fontainhlois,  which  has  been  conu- 
dered  as  similar,  is  not  even  analogous.  In  it  we  have  crystals  of 
catctreoDs  spar  mixed  with  grains  of  sand  ;  but  in  the  present  case 
both  bodies  must  have  been  in  a  liquid  state^  and  both  are  capable 
sf  cryitalliziag, 

D,g,t,.?<ii„GoogIe 


'2M  Scientific  Intelligence.  [Sbpt. 

X.  Comhation  of  Carbureted  Hydrogen.  GaS. 
.  I  have  been  reqaested  to  explain  why  the  steel-mills,  as  they  are 
called  (which  consist  of  a  piece,  of  steel  ruhbing  against  a  kind  of 
grind-atone,  and  emitting  a  prodigious  number  of  sparks,)  do  not 
set  fire  to  a  mixture  of  carbureted  hydrogen  gas  and  common  mr. 
It  is  not  easy  to  assign  a  very  satisfactory  reason.  The  best  of  the 
sparks  is  certainly  sufBcient  for  the  purpose ;  for  if  you  collect  them 
you  find  tbem  in  globules  that  have  undergone  fusion.  Now  the 
black  oxide  of  iron  will  not  melt,  except  at  a  much  higher  tempe- 
rature than  is  sufiicient  to  set  fire  to  such  a  mixture.  I  never  was 
able  to  burn  a  mixture  of  carbureted  hydrogen  gas  and  common  air 
by  passing  electric  sparks  tlirough  it ;  but  if  you  bring  a  red-hot 
bar  of  iron  in  contact  witii  the  mixture,  it  fires  immediately.  Tliese 
facts  induce  me  to  suspect  that  the  effect  depends  upon  the  size  of  ■ 
the  ignited  body,  A  very  small  spark  is  probably  not  capable  of 
impellinga  snfficieot  number  of  particles  of 'oxygen  against  a  par- 
ticle of  carbureted  hydrogen  to  product  instant  combination,  which 
I  conceive  occasions  the  combustion.  Sometimes  it  is  well  known 
that  the  mixture  is  exploded  by  the  steel-mills.  In  such  cases,  I 
conceive,  the  sparks  are  uncommonly  large. 

XL  Another  Accident  at  a  Coal-Mine  near  Newcastle. 
On  Monday,  the  3Ist  of  July,  another  melancholy  accident  hap- 
pened at  Messrs.  Nesham  and  Co.'s  colliery,  at  Newbottle,  in  the 
county  of  Durham.  The  proprietors  had  provided  a  powerful  loco- 
motive steam-engine,  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  10  or  12  coal- 
waggons  to  the  staith  at  one  time ;  and  Monday  being  the  day  it 
was  to  be  put  in  motion,  a  great  number  of  persons  belonging  to  the 
colliery  had  collected  to  see  it ;  but  unfortunately,  just  as  it  was 
going  oS,  the  boiler  of  the  machine  hurst.  The  engine-man  was 
da^ed  to  pieces,  and  his  mangled  remains  blown  114  yards;  the 
top  of  the  boiler  (nine  feet  square,  weiglit  19  cwt.)  was  blown  100 
yards ;  and  the  two  cylinders  9U  yards.  A  tittle  boy  was  also  thrown 
to  a  great  distance.  By  this  accident  57  persons  were  killed  and 
wounded,  of  whom  1 1  were  dead  on  Sunday  night,  and  several 
remain  dangerously  ill.  The  cause  of  the  accident  is  accounted  for 
as  follows :  the  engine-man  said,  "  as  there  were  several  owners  and 
viewers  tiiere,  he  would  make  her  -{the  engine)  go  in  grand  siile," 
and  he  had  got  upon  the  boiler  to  loose  the  screw  of  the  safety 
valve,  but  being  overheated,  it  unfortunately  exploded.  It  will  be 
recollected,  that  at  the  fatal  blast  which  recently  toc^  place  at  this 
colliery,  the  first  who  anired  at  the  bank,  holding  by  a  rope,  was  a 
little  boy,  about  six  or  seven  years  of  age.  The  poor  little  fellow  is 
pmong  the  number  dead. 

Xil.  Carhmale  of  Bismuth. 
/V  new  species  of  ore  has  been  lately  discovered  in.Cornwallj  the 

n,,:-A-..>yGoogIe 


ISIS.]  19ew  Patents.  287 

carboDite  of  bismuth.  Fma  s  Toy  small  ^cimen  of  it,  whreii  I 
have  seen,  1  am  led  to  su^>ect  that  it  is  the  same  mioeral  oalled  by 
the  Germans  htsKath  oc/ire.  The  colour,  fracture,  and  lustre,  are 
simitar.  The  specific  gnvity  Is  leas,  being  only  3'07&5;  but. the 
fragment  examined  was  much  mixed  with  clay. 

XIII.  Carbo-SuIp/iuret  of  Mercury. 
Dobereiner  has  lately  .U]nt)mil:ed  ihat  thete  exists  a  native  can- 
pound  of  mercury  and  sulpburet  o£  carbon.  He  calls  itquechiil- 
bererz  (pre  6f  merairy).  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  this  were  the 
Common  ore  of  Idria,  called  qaecksUber-leberert  {hepatic  ore  of  mer- 
cury); fur  Klaproth  fbutvd  this  ore  to  contain  both  sulphur  and 
caroon,  nearly  in  the  proportinu  in  which  they  exist  in  sulpburet  of 
carbon.  Pobereiner  says,  .that  when  the  ore  is  distilled,  sul|diuret' 
of  carbon  is  obtained.  He  informs  us  that  sulphuret  of  carboa 
unites  with  all  the.  metals,  mid  forms  a  new  class  of  bodies. 


Article  XIV. 
List  of  Fateuts. 

WiLLiAU  Bell,  Birmingham ;  for  a  method  of  making  and 
manufacturing  wire  of  every  description.     April  18,  1815. 

MiCBABL  BiLLiNOBLBV,  BowHng  Iron  Works,  Yorkshire ;  for 
improvements  in  the  steam-engine.  April  20,  1815. 
■  Sahcel  John  Pauley,  Charing  Cross,  London;  and  Duns 
E«G,  Strand,  gun  manuiacturer;  for  certain  aerial  conveyances  and 
vessels  to  be  steered  by  philosophical,  or  chemical,  or  mechanical 
means,  and  which  means  are  also  applicable  to  the  propelling  of 
vessels  through  water,  and  carriages  or  other  conveyances  by  land. 
April  25,  1815. 

Jacob  Wilson,  Welbeck-strect,  London,  cabinet- maker  and 
upholsterer;  fur  certain  improvements  in  bedsteads  and  furniture. 
April  27.  1S15. 

William  Busil,  Saffron  Walden,  Esses,  surveyor  and  builder; 
for  a  method  of  preventing  accidents  from  horses  idling  with  two- 
wheeled  carriages,  especially  on  steep  declivities,  superior  to  any 
hitherto  known  or  in  use,  April  29,  1815. 
'  Fetek  Martineau,  Canonbury  House,  Islington,  and  John 
Mabtineac,  Stamford  Hill ;  for  their  new  method  or  methods  of 
defining  and  clarifying  certain  vegetable  substances.     May  8,  181S, 

John  Jambs  Alkxandhu  MAccARTHr,  Arlingtan-strset, 
London,  Kulptor ;  for  a  method  of  paving,  pitching,  or  covering, 
streets,  roads,  and  ways.    May  11,  ItilS.  ,    t 

Cbarlks  Pitt,  Str&nd,  London ;  for  his  method  or  m^hods  foi^ 
the  security  and  saft  conveyance  of  small  paroels*  and  isMittancci 


Sas.  ^(w  Sdeut^  Booh,  ^bpt.  ' 

of  proparty'of  emy  descriptioD,  uid  alio  for  the  securi^  id  the  for- 
mation or  appeodBge  of  sBoee.    May  11,  1815. 

SAMUBt  Pbatt,  No.  119,  Holbora-hilt,  London,  tnink'^iiiaker; 
for  a  wardrobe  trunk  for  travellen.    May  1 1,  1815. 

Archisald  Kenrick,  West  Bromwicb,  Staffitrd,  founder;-  fiw 
certain  improvements  Id.  the  mills  for  griodiog  coffee,  malt,  and 
other  articles.     May  23,  1815. 

John  Pogh,  of  Over,  Whitegate,  Chester,  salt  proprietor ;  for  a 
new  method  of  making  salt-puu  upoD  an  improved  principle,  to 
save  fuel  and  labour.     May  26,  1615. 

JoNATBAN  RiBGWAT,  Manchester,  plumber ;  for  a  new  method 
of  pumpiog  water  and  other  fluids.     May  26,  1815. 

John  Kilbv,  York,  brewer;  for  his  improyeoKDt  or  improve- 
meotsia  the  art  of  brewing  malt  liquors.    June  1,  1S15. 


Aeticix  XV. 

Scietujfic  Books  tn  hand,  or  in  Ike  Prest. 

The  New  Edition  of  Dr.  Henry's  Elements  of  Chemistry,  with 
very  considerable  Additions  and  ImpTovements,  will  be  ready  on  the 
1st  of  Octobef. 

The  Rev.  P.  Keith^  F.L.S.  is  about  to  publirii  a  Systnn  of  Phyuo- 
k^cal  Botany,  in  2  volt.  Svo.  with  Plates  drawn  and  engraved  by  Mr. 
Sowerby. 

Mrs.  Bryan  is  printing  A  Compeudiaus  Astronomical  and  Get^^- 
phical  Claiw  Book,  for  the  Use  of  Familiea  and  Young  Persons, 

Mr.  Rootsey  is  about  to  publish  a  Volume,  entitled  The  Bristol 
Dispensatory,  the  object  of  which  is  to  establish  the  Nomenclature  of 
Pharmacy  upon  a  permanent  basis: -and  to  explain  the  advantages  of 
a  new  method  of  expressing  the  Composition  of  Medicine. 

Sif'F.'C.  Morgan,  Physician,  is  preparing  for  the  Press,  Outlines  of 
the  Philosophy  of  Life :  which  has  for  its  <^ject  the  difFusioo  of  a  more 
general  knowledge  <^  tlie  fundamental  facts  of  philosophy. 

Arthur  Burraw,  Esq.  Is  preparing  for  the  Press,  Soma  Account  of 
th«  Medtterraiiean,  1610  to  1815,  Political  and  Scientific,  Literary  and 
Descriptive.  The  work  will  appear  in  Royal  4to  with  Engravings,  and 
the' first  Volume  will  be  chiefly  confined  to  Sicily. 

Mr.  Accum  has  in  the  Press  a  Second  Edition  ^StereotypeJ  of  his 
Bracticai  Treatise  on  Gas  Light ;  Exhibiting  a  Summary  Description 
of  the  Apparatus  and  Machinery  best  c^culated  for  illuminating 
Streets,  Houses,  and  Manufactories  with  Coal  Gas,  &c.  With  Re' 
marks  on  the  Utility,  Safety,  and  general  Nature  of  this  new  Brand) 
of  Civil  Economy.  lEiustrated  with  Seven  Coloured  Ptdtea  showmg 
the  Construction  of  the  large  Apparatus  enqiltwed  for'iUnuiinuiiig 
the  Streets  and  Honaee  of  tlus  Metropolis,  as  wdl  as^tlie  Sn^Ier  Ap- 
garatuft  em^oy%d  by  Mwufacturert  mi  Private  iBdiVidual*. 

D,g,t,.?<ii„GoogIe 


iai5.]  MOeaniUigiaaTiiUe, 

Articlb  XVI. 
METEOROLOGICAL  TABLE. 


BisonrHH. 

THEBHOMrrER. 

— 

I81S, 

Wind. 

Rfoi. 

Mia. 

Med. 

Max. 

MID. 

Mfd. 

Evap. 

aaln. 

.    tfifaMo. 

June  39 

s  w 

ao-i? 

SO-ll 

JO-IM 

77 

46 

61-5 

c 

30 

N   W 

30-11 

30-09 

30065 

77 

5S 

55-0 

7th  Mo. 

.      ■ 

July! 

N     E 

30-03 

30-0* 

30  025 

75 

49 

62-0 

a 

N     E 

30-03 

29-92 

29975 

71 

49 

600 

3 

W 

39-93 

!^65 

29-885 

67 

46 

56'5 

. 

+ 

N 

29-96 

39-85 

29905 

72 

43 

57*0 

■mw 

5 

Var. 

29-98 

29-93 

i9--950^ 

70 

53. 

61-0 

6 

Var. 

3S-8fi 

29-66 

39-870 

70 

50 

60-0 

•  10 

0 

7 

N     E 

30-00 

29-88 

29-940 

64 

42 

53-0 

8 

N   W 

SO'OO 

29-96 

29-980 

69 

54 

62-5 

1 

9 

N   W 

30-04 

30-00 

30-020 

70 

52 

61-0 

10 

N  W 

30-05 

3004 

30-045 

75 

51 

630 

11 

E 

30-05 

29-99 

30-020 

75 

48 

615 

12 

S    W 

2999 

39-93 

29-960 

79 

49 

64-0 

•62 

13 

S    W 

29-97 

29-8? 

29-920 

77 

57 

670 

J 

14 

8    W 

29-97 

29-92 

29-945 

79 

61 

70-0 

~ 

15 

s  w 

29-88 

29-85 

29' 865 

77 

57 

67-0 

l6 

w 

29-95 

29-84 

29895 

75 

55 

65-0 



17 

w 

29-84 

29-70 

29-770 

80 

54 

67-0 

__ 

18 

s   w 

29-70 

29-62 

29-660 

75 

49 

62-0 

19 

N  W 

29'65 

29-4? 

29-560 

68 

52 

6u-o 

"^9 

SO 

N    W 

29-82 

29-65 

29-735 

65 

49 

57-0 

■70 

-31 

21 

N   W 

30-00 

29-97 

29-985 

68 

47 

57-5 

0 

2S 

N     E 

30-00 

29-98 

29-990 

68 

52 

600 

23 

N   W 

30-04 

39-98 

30-010 

68 

53 

60-5 

6 

24 

N    W 

30-13 

30-04 

30O85 

69 

56 

62-5 

25 

N  W 

30-13 

30-J3 

30-130 

?' 

52 

61-5 

-81 

86 

N   W 

30-18 

30-13 

30-155 

27 

N    W 

30-19 

3018 

30-185 

66 

42 

540 



28 

N    W 

30-18 
30-19 

30-17 

36-175 

74 

47 

60-5 

•68 

29^ 

39-961 

80 

48 

61-36 

200 

1-38 

Ike  D^emtlo 
»wn,  beginning  „,  „  ^ 

i«otB,  that  tbc  retah  is  ladadnt  ia  tie 


MCh  line  of  Ihe  table  apply  to  .  period  nf  (wentjJbW 
9  A.  M.  on  Ihe  Any   indic&ted  in  the  flnt  column.     A  dMb 
toUowlag  nbierraUaji. 


D,g,t,.?<ii„GoogIe         


Meleorologiccd  Joumat.  {Sgpt,  IS15. 


'   ASH  ARKS. 

Sixth  MBmth.~-i9.  A  ler;  Gnr  day  i  the  ivettmi  iky  in  tbe  fwillgtil,  brlghf   - 
orange  near  Ifae  horizaii,  niib  «  purple  ^ow  above.    30.  Cloidy  morniDg:  after 
which  iDnihlne  at  lolcrvali. 

Seventh  Matith.  —  i.  Heavy  CamiilattT»U,  p.m.  9.  Windy,  dandy,  a.  in.  : 
dmii,  pauing  to  Cimaimuiiu,  &c,  p.  m. :  a  lumiDSDi  twilight,  the  clouds  ranch 
coloured.  S.  a-m.  Windy,  with  Cnniilaitriitiu.  4,  Cloudy:  a  few  drops,  p.m. 
S.  O^aleUratut,  fbrnied  by  Cirroct^ulat,  6.  The  wind  paaied  this  Doming  by 
S.  R.  to  S.  W.  bat  aeltled  at  N.  W.  with  farions  donda :  rain  fell  in  the  night. 
T.  Wet  Ihii  morning  early,  ftnd  windy  ftt  N.  £. :  p.  m.  UXr,  with  CunulMtraliu. 
9.  Cunmlui,  a.  id.  with  CirroilTatta :  doady  erclingi  tome  rain  by  n^^t. 
f>.  CBiRKbttroiKa :  orange  iwilight,  1 1.  A  Ter;  fine  day  ;  pink^oloured  Cirri  at 
inn-KL  12.  Snilry:  a.m.  Camuliitralut  by  inoscnlation,  Aboot  noon,  an  ap- 
peaiaDce  of  distant  rain  in  the  N.  £.,  which  contintwd  till  evening  :  the  whole  of 
our  own  clouds  gmdnally  disappeared,  wilb  a  iiesdy  8.  W.  breeze,-  At  saa.«et  it 
Waa  clear.  Bad  anmewhat  oraoge-caloured  to  N.  W.,  bnt  obacare,  with  Cfrni- 
9tra(w  to  N.  £.  iS.  Lai^  ill-defined  Cirri,  wilb  nascent  CmxihIi,  and  «nerwards 
Cimmmulia,  at  a  greai  height,  passed  to  the  N.  E,  with  a  fresh  breese  !  «  Utile 
rain  fell  in  tbe  ereaing.  H^gr.  about  40°  these  three  moraiogs  past.  14.  VariooH 
cloadt,  threalening  rein  at  intervala,  which  followed  p.m.  in  qnlntlty  scarcely 
sufficient  Id  lay  the  daal:  windy.  15^  a.  m,  CunuAa,  beneath  Grtettratun 
windy:  anme  light  shnnen,  and  a  trace  of  the  niiabow,  at  aun-sel,  16.  A 
dight  ahower,  a.m.  17.  Various  cleiids,  a,  b. ;  a  few  dropa,  p.m.:  at  even- 
ing, a  tendency  to  (he  rapid  formalioD  of  Cirrasfralui,  the  denser  cloads  M  the 
■ame  time  eibiblling  a  bcBuCifal  gradation  orcoloHra:  twilight  orange.  18.  Id 
the  Doraing,  an  extensive  iheet  of  flimsy  Cirrtcwmiliu,  which  soon  moved  away. 
Hygr.  at  9  a.  m,  66*.  About  10  y.  m.  the  same  kind  of  doud :  a  low  Borty 
sky.  19,  A  steady  r^n,  p.  m.  Hygr.  T0°  at  9  p.m.  30.  Overcasl,  vrilb  Cu- 
Siubitrntu.-  windy.    SI— 26,  Mosliy doigdyi  occuional sbewera.    ST,SS.Fiiie. 


RESULTS. 

Prevailing  Winds  Westerly,  and  these  for  the  moit  part  K.  W. 

BarpmeteT:  Greatest  height 30-19indief, 

Least  89-47 

Mean  of  (he  period    .' S9'961 

ThernoiaeteT :  Greatest  height HO* 

Least  .i 48 

Mean  of  the  period 01*36 

EvaporBiion,  (in  23  days,  from  the6(h  iaclusiTC,] S  UcUes. 

Rain 1-38  inch. 

•••  The  observatioqs.from  (he  SIst  inclusive  are  (bote  of  my  fi-tend  Jriia 
Gibion,  at  the  Laboratory. 

"  ToiTETdilif,  Eighth  ManOi,  15,  1815.  L,  HOWARD, 

J 


r 


ANNALS 


PHILOSOPHY. 


OCTOBER,  1815. 


Article  I. 

ObservatioHs  on  the  Absorption  of  the  Gases  hj  different  Bodies. 
By  Theodore  de  Saussure.  * 

We  possess  at  present  no  accurate  eitperiiiients  on  the  question, 
whether  a  gas,  when  it  penetrates  into  the  pores  of  a  solid  body, 
undergoes  any  diminutioo  of  bulk  in  coDsequenee  oF  this  penetra- 
tion, even  when  no  chemical  union  takej  place  between  the  gas  and 
the  solid  body?  It  is,  for  esample,  still  unknown  whether  azotic 
or  oxygen  gas,  which  do  not  combine  chemically  with  silica,  un- 
dergo u  diminution  of  their  bulk  when  tliey  penetrate  into  a  porous 
silicious  stone,  as  opal,  hydrophane,  or  even  sand-stone.  If  we 
allow  that  such  diminution  of  bulk  takes  place,  a  number  of  other 
questions  immediately  present  themselves.  What  inBuence  has  the 
size  of  the  pores  on  this  condensation  ?  Are  all  gases  equally  con- 
densed by  the  same  bodies }  Andwhatinfluencehas  the  density  of  the 
gas  on  this  condensation  ?  These  inquiries  become  still  more  inte- 
resting when  different  gases  are  employed  together.  When  two 
gases  mixed  equally  are  presented  to  a  solid  body,  does  it  absorb 
tbem  in  equal  quantities  or  hot  i  And  do  the  mixed  gases,  when 
condensed  in  solid  bodies,  enter  into  combinations  which  they  would 
not  form  in'a  free  state  ?  It  is  obvious  that  such  investigations  may 
lead  us  to  discover  whether  oui  atmosphere,  when  it  penetrates  into 
the  interior  of  earthy  bodies,  becomes  condensed  merely  in  coose- 

*  I  ha.Te  tnoiUued  tbia  important  paptr  Trom  Gilbert's  AddbImi  dcr  Phjitk, 
vol.  ilvii.  p.  118,  July,  ISU.  The  original  wai  rrad  to  the  Ccdcvh  Socitrty  on 
the  IStb  of  April,  ISIS.  But  I  do  nol  Jldow  where  it  wai  first  publlihrd.  Cilbcit 
Informi  ui  tbnt  it  ww  trwiiUtGd  into  Oenaan  by  ProfCTKir  Hurncr,  of  Zurich.— T. 

Vol.  VI.  N-  IV.  Q 

n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


242  Observations  on  tke  Absorpi'ion  of  [Oct. 

quence  of  tbis  penctratiOD,  and  forms  water,  and  nitrous  or  atnmo- 
niacal  salts. 

The  experiments  which  I  have  made  in  order  to  answer  some  of 
these  questions  I  shall  arrange  in  three  sections.  The  Sist  section 
contains  my  experiments  on  the  condeasalion  of  pure  unmixed 
gases  by  solid  bodies ;  the  second,  my  experiments  on  the  absorp- 
tion of  mixed  gases  by  solid  bodies ;  in  the  thifd,  1  shall  state  soma 
observations  on  the  sbsorption  of  gas^  by  liquids. 

Sbction  First. 

absorption  of  ttnhixbd  gases  by  solid  bodies. 

I.  Amount  of  tke  Condensation  of  diff'erent   Gases  hj  Charcoal. 

Of  all  solid  bodies,  charcoal  is  the  most  remarkable  in  its  action 
on  the  gases.  It  was  a  discovery  of  Fontana  that  red-hot  charcoal, 
cooled  by  plunging  it  under  mercury,  or  by  any  other  method  which 
precludes  the  contact  of  the  air,  possesses  the  remarkable  property 
of  absorbing  more  than  its  own  volume  of  various  gases.  Count 
Morozzo  remarked  that  this  absorption  is  different  according  to  the 
ditTerent  gases  and  to  the  kind  of  charcoal  used ;  and  he  made  ex- 
periments which,  when  properly  repeated,  place  this  truth  in  a 
dear  point  of  view.  He  allowed  various  gases,  in  exaotly  ths^mc 
circumstanees,  to  be  absorbed  by  charcoal  and  other  porous  bodies, 
as  pumice,  brick,  &c.  It  appeared  to  him  that  the  gases  absorbed 
by  these  last  bodies  underwent  no  condensation.  Hence  the  cop- 
densation  produced  by  charcoal  was  considered  as  a  peculiar  action , 
of  that  body,  the  full  cieariifg  up  of  which  was  left  to  future  natu- 
ralists. 

Morozzo,  Rouppe,  and  Norden,  employed  various  methods  fn 
their  experiments  to  cool  charcoal  without  plunging  it  under  mer- 
cury; but  the  unavoidable  introduction  of  atmospherical  air  was 
Injurious  to  the  accuracy  of  tlieir  trials,  !t  was  in  their  pow?f, 
indeed,  to  try  the  absorption  of  gases  by  charcoal  over  water ;  but 
the  presence  of  water,  as  I  shall  show  hereafter,  diminished  the 
condensation  of  the  gases,  and  introduced  some  inaccuracies  into 
their  «periments. 

In  my  experiments  the  red-hot  charcoal  was  ptnnged  under  mer- 
cury, and  introduced  into  the  gas  to  be  absorbed  after  it  was  cool^ 
without  ever  coming  in  contacf  with  atmospherical  air.  All  my 
experiments  were  made  with  the  chfircoal  of  box-wood.  Its  poweii 
of  absorbing  are  not  only  very  remarkable,  hut  it  absorbs  so  little 
mercury  during  the  cooling  that  it  still  readily  swims  on  water. 

The  following  experiments  were  made  between  the  temperaturtj 
of  52°  and.5fi°,  and  undera  barometrical  pressure  of  284  inchesof 
mercury.  The  numbers  are  almost  always  means  of  several  experi- 
ments ;  for  two  pieces  of  the  very  same  charcoal  introduced  into  the 
same  gas  seldom  give  "the  same  absorption.  The  nunibers  refer  to 
tl(c  volume  of  the  charcoal,  which  is  coosidered  as  uflity. 


1815.]  the  Gases  hf  different  bodies.  -  243 

Chafcod  oF  bm-irood  absM^u,  of 


Ammooiscal  gas 90  ' 

Murla^  acid , 85 

Sulphurous  acid 65 

Salphureted  hydn^n 95 

N>t»u9  oxide 40 

Carbonic  acid 35' 

Olefiant  gas    35 

CerboRie  oxide 9*42 

Oiygen 9*25 

Azote y-^ 

Oxyhcarbureted  hydn^co* 5 

Hydrogen 1*75 

Box-wood  charcoal  absorbs  38  times  ite  voluiae  «f  nitrons  acid 

r;  but  as  a  portion  of  thb  gas  is  decomposed,  the  ruult  cannot 
compared  with  those  contained  in  the  preceding  tabic. 
In  all  these  zases  ihe  absorption  terminated  at  the  «ai  of  24  or 
S6  hour^  30  that  it  was  not  increased  by  allowing  the  charcoal  to 
remain  longer  in  contact  with  the  gns.  Oxygen  ^»  alone  consti» 
tutes  an  excepdon  to  this  general  rulej  for  its  absorptiun  seemE  (9 
continue  for  several  years.  The  reason  ii,  that  a  sniatt  quantity  of 
carbonic  said  isaln'ays  forming,  of  which  charcoal  absorbs  a  inucb 
gieaxet  quctntity  than  it  dots  of  oxygeji  gus.  This  formation  goes 
on  so  -slowly  at  the  common  temperature  of  the  air,  that  tev«ral 
years  elapse  before  as  much  carbonic  acid  gas  is  generated  as  ii 
~  suflBcient  to  saturate  the  charcoal.  1  shall  state  below,  in  a  note, 
the  facts  which  led  me  to  this  codcIugiod.  f    It  is  exceedingly  pro- 

>  I  oblAlaH  (he  sfjHHrfureM  hgdregen,  wbicb  I  emplojad  in  all  Tny  Fxperi. 
aMDtl,  k;  diHillinf  inoltt  pkapcoal.  1(9  gjiectflc  grevil;,  Hflpr  (Fuaratlng  the  cai^ 
tonicuid,  wUBfl'SSeS,  ItiM  af  air  b^rg  I.  100  measnrnor  this  jfas  requiicror 
caHbaMioa  «0-T8  mMiBm  nf  t<Kyfeii  gar.  Bud  form  31  '9  meoEDres  of  CarboiilC 
■cMgn.    }ten««i(icoDpMi(ieil  ta  a«  fblfuins: 

Cvbon 39-53 

Oi})(en ,....', 28-95 

HydrDgen 18-90 

Alote U-63  -       , 

JOO-00 
-f  On  li«  FormaUM  of  Car^me  ^M  G<>»  at  (A*  cimnm  Ttrnpu^nn  from  CUaraMl 

It  bu  kkfacTlo  bem  supposed  ttau  dharcoal  atily  anita  witb  otfgen  M  a  l«npF. 
nilare  nat  inudi  brlD*  i>  red  hast  i  but  I  tbldk  (bat  \  bHv«  remained  that  the 
■aokaiMi  xaaftn&yBe  at  Ihe  nir  h  aiBlclMil  for  (bit  unian.  A?  this  oLuerrailaii  is 
inporlant,  and  ipay  he  caatrMtteCcd^  It  -will  ba  pemilted  to  me,  I  prcaame,  lb 
jUlenore  particDlaclj  Ibc  iiauint'or  m?  obEervRllofM, 

A  Totnme  of  boi-irood  charroal  quCLiched  in  mercury  thai  in  S4  hours  had  Bb> 
•arbed  9^  TalBmei  nt  dry  oijgcn  fas,  Was  left  far  It  menths  In  the  same  gai 
ataoding  over  mercuf;.  In  two  monlbs  the  rtuarptloti  wa»  11  va1anes|iii  14 
Manlhi  it  «ai  IS.Toliimn.  ji  alwitya  becanc  (lanrirai  tbc  time  advaored,  and 
ira)  not  c<Hspleted  in  18  montht.  I  put  an  end  to  the  eapsflniMit  In  sfiarn 
a  2 

n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


in  ^  Observations  on  ike  jibsorpUun  of  (Oct. 

bable  that  the  true  absorptioD  of  oxygen  gas,  like  that  cf  the  other 
gases,  is  completed  Id  36  hours ;  that  this  absorptioo  aniouDts  to 
9j-  volumes ;  and  that  during  that  time  do  perceptible  quantity  of 
carbonic  acid  gas  is  formed,  Oa  this  account,  in  the  subsequent 
details  into  wtuch  I  shall  enter  I  shall  take  no  farther  notice  of  this 
formation  of  carbonic  acid  gas. 

2.  Influence  of  Water  on  the  Ahorpt'um  of  Gases  h)  Box-wood 
Charcoal. 

The  results  above  stated  suppose  and  require  that  the  charcoal 
before  and  during  its  action  on  tbe  gases  be  dry.  If  the  charcoal, 
afier  being  cooled  under  mercury,  be  moistened  with  water,  the 
absorption  of  all  those  gases  that  have  not  a  very  strong  aEBnity  for 
water  is  distinctly  diminished.  * 

Box-wood  charcoal  cooled  under  mercury,  and  drenched  in  water 
while  still  under  mercury,  is  only  capable  of  absorbing  15  volumes 
of  carbonic  acid  gas ;  although,  before  being  moistened,  it  could 
absorb  35  volumes  of  tbe  same  gas.  The  moistened  charcoal  like- 
wise takes  a  longer  time  to  complete  its  absorption  than  the  dry 
charcoal.  Thus  charcoal  that  when  dry  absorbs  35  volumes  of  car- 
bonic acid  gas  in  24  hours,  requires  when  moistened  with  water  14 
days  in  order  to  absorb  15  ^'olumes.  ' 

The  effect  of  moistening  charcoal  upon  its  power  of  absorbing 
gases  becomes  more  striking  when  we  allow  dry  charcoal  in  tbe  first 
place  tu  saturate  itself  with  a  gas,  and  then  bring  it  through  mer- 
cury into  a  jar  filled  with  mercury,  and  containing  a  quantity  of 
water  about  equal  to  the  bulk  of  the  charcoal.    In  48  nours  the 


eiac 

oine 

the 

rnldaal 

W*- 

1  fciqild   it 

B5  uni 

■e  as  before  the 

introtlartion  of  (b« 

cbar 

cdbI 

,«nil 

ii^ni 

1  trac«  of  carbonic 

acid  eas 

.  It  ■», 

liowc 

ncr,  prubablc 

thai 

carbonit 

lg«> 

>badb«eDfonaed, 

and  tJ 

ned  il 

II  tbe  i>am  of 

tbei 

;hari 

coal. 

Itii 

.tik. 

,ly  Ihl 

attbediminu 

(ion  ni 

Duld  ha*e 

goneol 

1  tin  1 

be  abiorptioa 

□f  (OS  amounted  to  36  vnlunm,  ai  that  ii  the  quantity  of  curbuoic  acid  gu  ^>- 
■otbcd  by  dr;  cbarcoal ;  and  that,  afii'i  this,  free  carbonic  acid  j^t  woold  b«Te 
been  formed.  But  ss  SO  jearg  might  have  elapMd  before  a  notable  qnaDtily  of 
csibonic  acid  appeared,  whea  tbe  experiment  was  conducted  io  Ihii  way,  I  sbort- 
CBcd  the  proceje,  by  inlrodncing  moist  charcoal  instead  of  dry.  The  coDseqnence 
was,  that  in  about  a  year  part  of  the  surrounding  oiygen  gas  was  changed  into 
carbonic  acid  fas  at  the  common  temperature  of  the  atmosptiere.  We  ifaall  are 
hereafter  that  one  Tolume  of  box-Wood  charcoal  qneucbed  in  water  absarbi  only 
15  volumes  of  carbcnic  acid  instead  of  theS5  which  are  absorbed  by  one  (ulume 
of  dry  charcoal,  A  inlume  of  wet  box-wood  charcoal  put  into  oxygen  gas  sland- 
ing  over  Biercnry  diminiihed  the  volume  of  the  gas  for  10  monflis,  and  till  the 
diminution  amounted  to  13  volumes,  and  during  this  time  no  carbonic  acid  could 
be  detected  in  the  residual  gag.  But  after  the  absorption  ceaeeJ,  carbonic  acid 
began  to  appear,  and  in  four  months  amounted  to  biilf  a  volunK.  The  chirtoal 
itself  being  plonged  into  Lime-water  rendered  it  Tery  milky.  I  thought  I  detected 
a  trace  of  carbureted  hydrogen  gas  likewise  in  Ibe  residual  got,  but  am  not  qillt 
cure,  as  the  quantity  was  so  small  as  tn  be  viXHua  the  limits  of  error  in  the  eiperi- 

-•  Atleatt  wllh  regard  to  charcoal,  which  has  the  properly  of  absorbingagrcat 
deal  of  gai.  With  regard  to  some  other  bediei  whicb  have  the  property  of  ib- 
■arbing  bni  little  gas,  their  power  of  abMTbing  gas  iiralher  increased  bymoiitco- 
iog  them  ivith  water. 


n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


181S,3  the  Gases  iy  differenl  Bodies.  '  245 

charcoal  gives  out  all  the  gas  which  wet  charcoal  is  not  able  to 
retain.* 

In  the  same  manner  one  volume  of  dry  charcoal,  which  had 
absorbed  33  volumes  of  carbonic  acid  gas,  wnen  it  was  drenched  in 
water,  gave  out  17  volumes  of  thb  gas,  and  of  course  retained  only 
16  volumes.  Iliis  is  nearly  the  same  proportion  as  in  the  first 
experiment.  A  volume  of  dry  box-wood  charcoal,  which  had 
absorbed  7-t  volumes  of  azotic  gas,  when  drenched  in  water  gave 
out  6^  volumes,  and  of  course  retained  only  one  volume  of  this 
gas.  A  volume  of  diy  box-wood  charcoal,  which  had  absorbed  9^ 
volumes  of  oxygen  gas,  gave  out  when  put  into  water  3  j^  volumes ;  f 
and  one  volume  of  charcoal  saturated  with  hydrogen  gas  retained, 
after  being  put  into  water,  only  0*65  of  a  volume  of  this  gas.  We 
shall  endeavour  hereafter  to  employ  these  results. 

If  charcoal  which  has  already  given  out  its  excess  of  gas  by  being 
placed  id  contact  with  water,  be  put  into  a  retort  filled  with  water/ 
and  exposed  to  a  boiling  heat,  a  considerable  quantity  of  fresh  gas 
'separates  from  it ;  but  this  temperature  is  not  sufficient  to  drive  off 
the  whole  of  the  gas  which  it  had  absorbed. 

The  gas  driven  out  by  water,  though  it  had  remained  for  several 
days  in  the  charcoal,  did  not  appear  in  the  least  altered  in  its  pro- 
perties. In  oxygen  gas  I  observed  no  carbonic  acid,  no  carbureted 
hydrogen  gas  in  hydrogen  gas,  nor  carbonic  oxide  in  carbqnic  acid 
gas.  The  gases  were  always  contaminated  with  a  small  quantity  of 
azotic  gas,  which  probably  had  previously  existed  in  the  red-hot 
charcoal.  Oxygen  gas  alone,  as  I  have  already  observed,  when 
charcoal  remained  in  it  for  some  months,  contained  a  small  mixture 
of  carbonic  acid  gas :  a  process  which  was  still  farther  promoted  by 
the  presence  of  water. 

3.  Heat  which  is  disengaged  by  the  Condensation  of  the  Gases  hy 
Charcoal. 
When  box-wood  charcoal,  or  any  other  species  which  rapidly 
absorbs  gases  cooled  in  mercury,  is  introduced  into  any  gas,  there  is 
evolved  duiing  the  condensatiim  of  the  gas  a  quantity  of  heat  often 
sensible  to  the  feeling,  and  sufficient  to  raise  a  thermometer  whose 

*  The  water,  by  penetTating  infa  Ihe  chnrcoBl,  drives  out  Ibe  gai  witfi  tnch 
fsrce,  (hat  in  close  vessels,  and  when  a  snfficicut  qiiaiHity  of  charcoal  ii  employej, 
the  ripcDed  i;a3  is  in  a  state  of  campreialon.  This  circumstance  may  be  employed 
in  a  great  scale  in  the  preparaliun  ef  very  concentrated  artificial  loda-water, 
especially  when  fermenting  lurs  are  at  hand.  We  have  only  to  place  witbia 
these  basons  filled  with  red-hot  box-wood  cliarcoal,  and  when  thecharcoiil  is  salitb 
rated  nith  the  gas  it  is  tn  be  put  into  thick  and  ilrong  leraeli,  and  brnn^l  in  con- 
tact with  water.  We  mnil  lake  care  Ibal  the  charcoal  does  not  come  in  conl»ct 
with  Ibe  atmospheric  air,  nor  must  it  be  mixed  with  Ihe  water  (ill  Ibe  venels  are 
mUe  air-tijthl.  I  have  myself,  wilhoot  attending  to  these  necesiary  precaniiona. 
Bad  ax  the  temperature  of  W,  prepared  in  a  vessel,  a  founh  pari  of  which  wa* 
tiled  with  buT-vrood  charroal,  and  two-thirds  of  ll  with  water,  and  which  1  ren- 
ilereitair-tighl,  a  aoda-waler  wbich  contained  more  than  itiown  bulk  of  carbon)* 

i-  La  Meiherie  obtained  a  similar  resalt  when  emplojed  la  Hiese  experl«eatt. 
See  Jatinialdf-PhyBique,  vql.  xiz. 


240  OiMrvatmt  m  tkt-  j&sorptim  of  {pe«. 

bulb  U  in  Mntacfrwith  about  {■  of  a  cubic  inch  of  tbarceal  sePertl  de^ 

Ces.  The  heat,  as  might  have  been  expected,  appears  to  iocTeiise  with 
absorbability  of  the  gaa.  Charooal  beoiMMa  hotter  in  anuno' 
nlacal  than  id  rarbonic  acid  gu,  and  hottsr  in  ihit  gi^  than  in  the 
less  absorbable  oKygeB  gu.  Hydrogen  fiu,  wluch  is  the  least  ab^ 
sorbable  of  all,  gives  eut  to  littk  heet,  tiat  th«  inethoda  wbich  I 
employed  were  not  sufficieatty  delicate  to  detect  nny.  *  ThiBevati>- 
tioa  of  beat  depends  much  mott  Bixm  the  npidiiy  witb  which  ilie 
abeorption  talte;  place  than  Ufon  tht  degree  of  tbe  condeoaatiao ; 
aiuce,  according  to  tiay-lAiMac's  expenmenti,  diSerent  gnsea  when 
eqaally  compressed  give  out  diflEreM  qoaK^iies  of  hnt. 

4.  infiuxMe  of  ike  tarwttetrieal  Pumirs  ou  tbn  Coadejualkn  t>f 
Gastt  (y  Cimrtaai- 

Hliherto  heat  only  has  been  employnl  to  rentfer  charcoal  fit  for 
absorbing  gas.  1  hace  tried  to  produce  the  sooie  eflect  by  means  off 
the  air-pump,  and  have  obtained  nearly  the  same  results, 

A  piece  of  box-wood  charcoal,  which  had  stood  exposed  to  *he 
air  for  some  days,  was  put  into  a  nsceiver  fixed  to  a  sntatl  portable 
plate  fay  means  of  taltow,  and  screwed  upon  the  plate  0^  tbr  air- 
pump,  so  as  to  be  air-tight,  f  The  air  being  pumped.oar  of  the 
receiver  and  charcoal  by  aa  exhaustion  amoDnclng  to  0*19  mcti  of 
mercury,  the  transferrer  with  its  reeeivet  is  brought  fnto  the  iher- 
tnir-ial  trough,  and  the  cock  of  the  transferrer  being  opened  undtr 
the  mercury,  that  liquid  fio^s  in  and  S^h  the  receiver,  »ni  the 
transferrer  may  now  be  removed.  The  charcoal  is  now,  trkboot 
Coming  in  contact  with  the  external  air,  introduced  into  another 
Jeceiver  filled  with  carbonic  acid.  The  absorption  at  the  tempera- 
ture of  534^"  amounted  to  31^  volumes.  Charcoal  heated  red-hot 
produces  ia  the  sane  circumstances  an  absorptbn  amouutiog  t9  35 
volumes. 

I  repeated  the  same  experiment  with  oxygen  gas.  The  absoiption 
produced  in  this  way  amounted  to  8^  t olames  of  the  charcoal,  while 
charcoal  heated  to  redness  absorbed  di  votomes.  Charcoal  freed  of 
air  b;  the  air-pump  absorbed  seven  voluities  of  azotic  gas  it)  place 
of  74-  volumes  which  charcoal  heated  to  redness  absorbed. 

As,  the  charcoal  which,  was  employed  in  these  experiments  had 

*  Thftbalb  of  By  tbcnunetcr  wbr  S^  liou  in  dionctw.  The  tab*  KMbent 
intbe  tWriD  iif  s  V.  Tkcsid  as  whieh  -wan  ihe-biilb  ows  tDlraduoad  tbrooth  Ibt 
nemrj  ill*  ite  r«owHr.  The  omac  «tib  held  tbo  tcale  1  aud  lenai  bath  to  boU 
«be  iDtfruBent  «Dd  (a  hrwK  the  holb  in  oMtlacl  wkh  tii*  chaicoal. 

4  Ibitcad  »(  (hia  ItuwficFrcrt  the  foll«wiiig  riHUbsd  may  be  eniplojeA-  A  uwU 
ratrivar  coatBiniiig  tha  QharcoAl.  ii  litd  by  atriogt  to  a  diih  wbicb  u  filkd  wllh 
■umry,  and  plucd  under  tbe  cmusihi  rcseivei  ot  die  iur-pHm|{.  Wban  (b*  aii 
hubnn  pmnped  oniaf  ihe  larn  mrciuei,  aoJ  liluwiM  eut  of  ihe  twall,  n  com- 
manlcatioa  ii  opened  b«li*eea  tW  iatiia  of  tbs  large  MCiiitraiid  lfa(  ezuimal  UE. 
Tba  BHTcury  In  Ui'a  <li«li  ii  Ba«  hitei.  iot*  Ihc  amall  »<eiver,.  and  fllU  it.  1?b« 
Hrias  ia  noH  tmtici,  aod  Iha  luU  receiver  tiaodiof  an  (b<  ditb  i>  caavey«4  to  (be 
mercDriAl  troogh.  But  tbe  eihaiution  produced  in  Ihis  way  it  not  quite  ao  srcu  M 
U  tba  other,  m  acMwl  of  tha  raMitoQca  «M()fl  by  the  ntrcw^  ta  tlM  diih  to  the 
rtCBpe  of  the  air  fram  the  imall  receiver. 


n,<i-^f^:'yG00gIe 


IflfS.J  the  Oases  by  differtnt  BoAes.  347 

riHoAed  90BM  moisim-fl  from  the  «ir,  which  night  prove  injurious 
to  ihe  abvoTpuon,  I  itpeated  them  with  charcoal,  which,  after  being 
dried  in  a  red  hest,  was  introduced  into  a  ^aas  leceiter  full  of 
common  air  standinff  over  mercury.  In  this  caeo  the  absorption  ot 
Ihs  cfawaoal  was  somewhat  greatef  than  before ;  hut  it  always  re- 
snined  smaller  than  when  charcoal  was  used  that  had  heen  heated 
to  redD^l,  obritnely  on  accoant  of' the  air  left  behind  in  the  phar- 
osal  by  the  ifworapiete  vacuom  produced  by  tba  air-pamp. 

To  ^ocrtain  what  infhience  the  density  of  a  gas  has  upon  the 
vohime  whkh  ohtiroobl  is  capatrfe  of  absoTbinf,  1  introduced  a  jntce 
dC  ebaarcoaJ,  which  had  been  eaturated  with  gas  under  the  common 
presMwe  of  the  Mmosphere  into  a  lorriceHkn  vacuum  in  the  ti^  of 
a  baroiiKter  tid»ey  (he  inner  diameter  of  which  was  O-78  mch.  As 
soon  as  the  charcoal  came  iolo  the  vaouum,  it  allowed  a  portion  of 
its  gas  to  escape,  which  caused  the  barometer  to  fall  a  great  way,' 
&oin  whidi  the  density  of  the  gas  set  free  wm  easity  deduced,  ^rom 
the  bulk  of  the  portion  of  the  tube  occupied  by  this  gas,  and  this 
billk  subtracted  from  the  whole  volume  which  the  gas  absorbed  by 
(he  charcoal  would  occupy  in  tliis  new  situation,  it  was  easy  to  de- 
tenmne  the  qMantity  ot  gas  still  remaiiiing  in  the  charcoal.  I 
wished  to  make  these  experiments  also  under  other  pressures  of  the 
atmosphere ;  and  on  that  account  allowed  deleimioate  quantities  of 
gas  to  enter  into  the  barometer  tube, 

Eccper.  ^.— A  piece  of  box-wood  charcoal,  which  under  the 
barometrica)  pressure  of  2S'91  inches,  and  in  the  temperature  of 
65°,  had  absorbed  34-^  volumes  of  carbonic  acid  gas,  was  put  into 
an  BtiBosphere  of  carbonic  acid  gas,  the  density  of  ;vliii'h,  after  the 
separation  of  the  gas  from  the  charcoal,  was  equivalent  to^e  pres- 
sure of  10*26  inches  of  mercury.  Under  this  pressure  the  34^ 
volumes  of  gas,  supposing  them  completely  extricated  from  the, 
eharcoal,  would  have  occupied  the  bulk  of  97*21  volumes.  Of 
these  28*16  volumes  had  escaped  out  of  the  charcoal.  It  still  re- 
tained^05  volumes.  Hence  it  follows  that  charcoal  absorbs  a 
greater  buRt  of  rarified  carbonic  acid  than  when  it  is  of  its  usual 
density; 

Exper.  2. — I  left  the  charcoal  in  the  barometer  tube,  and  in- 
creased the  density  till  it  equalled  the  pressure  of  15*9  inches  of 
mercury.  At  this  density  the  34^  volumcsof  gas  amounted  to  62*74 
vottimes.  Of  these  12-33  volumes  had  escaped ;  so  that  the  char- 
coalstill  retained4!^91  volumes.  ^ 

I  made  several  other  e:cperiments,  which  gave  me  similar  results. 
It  follows  from  the  wliole  iliat  the  absorption  of  gases,  if  it  be  esti- 
mated by  the  volume,  is  far  greater  in  a  rare  than  in  a  dense  atmoi;-  ■ 
phere ;  but  if  we  reckon  this  absorption  by  the  weight,  it  is  i  lore  . 
considerable  in  the  latter  than  in  the  former  state  of  the  f  ,mos. 
pbere.  These  observations*  however,  apply  only  to  those  gases- 
that  are  absorbed  in  considerable  quantities.  The  difference  is 
scarcely  perceptible  when  the  absorption  amounts  only  to  about  one 
Tolume, 
WbeD  these  experiments  shall  have  been  proiecated,  it  is  pro- 


248  Qhservations  on  the  AhoTpt'wn  of  [Oct. 

b«ble  tlut  the  relation  between  the  absorptioo  of  the  gates,  and  die 
height  of  the  barometer,  will  be  discovered.  I  have  not  prosecuted 
the  subject ;  nor  have  1  made  any  trials  upon  the  change  [nxxluceti 
in  the  absorption  by  equal  increments  of  temperature. 

The  same  cause,  which  makes  tbe  charcoal  become  hot  whea  it 
absorbs  giis,  must  produce  a  diminution  of  temperature  on  the  sepa- 
ration of  this  gas.  A  cylinder  of  box-wood  charcoal,  3*15  inches 
long,  and  1  57  incii  in  diameter,  was,  with  a  tiiermometer  fixed  ia 
it,  placed  in  a  very  small  receiver;  and  then  its  air  was  driven  ofi" 
by  means  of  the  air-pump,  that  it  might  be  saturated  with  carbonic 
{icid  gas.  When  1  afterwards  separated  this  gas  from  the  charcoal 
by  means  of  the  air-pump,  the  thermometer  fell  in  a  few  minutes 
7'2°.*  The  same  experiment  was  repeated  with  common  air:  the 
thermometer  fell  from  5°  to  7°- 

5.  The  Properly  of  condensing  Gases  is  amimon  to  all  Bodies  wMck 
possess  a  certain  degree  of  porosity. 

That  the  property  of  absorbing  gases  has  hitherto  been  ohserred 
only  in  cbarcoal  ia  owing  partly  to  experiments  having  been  made 
with  no  other  substance  of  the  requisite  texture,  and  partly  to  no 
accurate  observations  on  tbe  absorption  having  l>een  made.  I  have 
found  no  body  which  possesses  the  property  in  so  high  a  degree  as 
charcoal. 

In  all  the  e?[periments  which  I  have  made  on  this  subject,  I  have 
made  use  of  the  air-pump  to  free  the  porous  bodiea  from  atmos- 
pherical air,  and  to  make  them  capable  of  absorbing  gases.  The 
method  of  heating  to  redness  succeeds  well  only  with  charcoal,  be- 
cause, on  accountof  its  combustibility  and  itssraall  specific  heat,  it 
may  be  taken  out  of  the  lire  and  plunged  under  mercury  while  still 
white  hot-  Ttie  other  porous  bodies,  which  arc  not  combustible^ 
suffer  on  that  account,  when  they  are  small,  very  various  degrees  of 
cooling  during  their  passage  from  the  fire  to  the  mercury,  which 
have  a  sensible  effect  upon  their  powerof  absorbing  gases.  Besides, 
the  air-pump  put  it  in  my  power  to  employ  animal  and  vegetable 
substances,  which  are  totally  destroyed  in  the  fire. 

Exper.  1.     jihsorplion  of  Gases  hy  Spanish  Meerschawm.^ — As 

'  •  By  the  ahi;orptioa  of  carbunic  add  gas  by  charcoal  freed  fr»ln  ait,  the  tem- 

perature was  rniioil  25°. 

+  The  variety  of  meerschanm  employed  came  from  Valecas,  near  Madrid.    The 

1    specific  gravily,  pnroeily,  and  proportion  of  water  vonUined  In  it,  vary  In  dilTK- 

\    rent  specimens.   The  pi'ce  whii-h  I  used  lost  0-83  of  its  weight  in  a  red  heat,     Iti 

I  ."ijecifie  pravily,  ascefl.iiiied  by  plunging  it  io  mercnrj',  which    did  iioi  peaetmte 

int^-(hi-  priie-.,  vtas  0  BiS.    MterjchaniD  fraiD  Natalia,  according  to  Klaproth,  is 

camp  r(ed  uf 

,  Silica , SO-.W 

^,— -!  Ms-ne-ia USD 

SaOU 


^ 


050 


10000    , 


logle 


1815.3  the  Gases  hy  different  Bodies.  24$ 

this  stone,  evea  when  it  sevms  perfectly  diy,  alvays  ccfftt^ns  soma' 
watef,  1  put  it  first  into  the  fire,  bdcI  then  introduced  it  under  Ibe 
air-pump  while  still  warm.  Having  freed  it  from  its  air,  I  intro- 
duced it  lint  into  ammoniacal  gas,  and  ascertained  how  much  of 
this  gu  it  alMorbed.  I'his  experiment  1  repeated  with  the  same 
piece  of  meerschaum  for  each  of  the  other  gases,'  first  putting  it 
into  the  fire,  then  introducing  it  under  the  air-pump,  and  lastly 
putting  it  into  the  ^s  to  be  absorbed;  so  that  the  same  piece  (rf 
meerschaum  was  brought  successively  in  contact  with  all  the  gases. 
The  size  of  the  meerschaum  was  2\  cubic  inches;  and  this  size 
made  it  possible  for  me  to  observe  small  variations  in  ihe  absorptioD. 
A  repetition  of  these  experiments,  the  same  way,  and  with  the  same 
piece  of  meerschaum,  gave  similar  results.  The  following  table 
exhibits  the  mean  of  these  two  sets  of  experiments,  giving  the 
number  of  volumes  of  each  gas  absorbed  by  one  volume  of  the 
meerschaum  at  the  temperature  of  59°,  and  under  a  pressure  of 
28'74  inches  of  mercury. 

VolDDiel, 

Ammoniacal  gas*    IS 

Sulphureted  hydrogen 11-7 

Carbonic  acid  gas  t 5'26  . 

Nitrous  oside    3*75 

defiant  gas 37 

Azotic  gas 1-6 

Osygen  gas I'^d 

Carbonic  oxide . . ., 1*17 

Oxy-carbureted  hydrt^n 0*85 , 

Hydrogen -  0*44 

As  these  absorptions  were  produced  and  destroyed  by  means  of 
the  air-pump  alone,  without  the  help  of  fire,  this  is  a  proof  that 
the  gases  contract  no  union  with  the  stone,  which  is  equivalent  to 
the  atmospherical  pressure.  Besides,  ia  these  experiments,  as  m 
those  with  charcoal,  no  alterations  in  the  temperature  or  barometrical 
took  place. 

I  repeated  these  experiments  with  another  piece  of  meerschaum' 
from  Valecas.  It  produced  a  smaller  absorption.  When  dried  in 
the  air,  it  absorbed  three  volumes,  and  when  heated  to  redness  only 
2^  volumes,  of  carbonic  acid  gas. 

Meerschaum,  like  charcoal,  absorbs  a  greater  bulk  of  rare  than 
dense  gas.  Thus  a  mass  of  meerschaum  of  the  bulk  IS'57  absorbed, 

*  When  the  mecrschBiini  ii  employed  its  rir;  ai  il  can  be  pTocured  tn  Ibe  commoa 
temperaiare  af  the  almaspberi:,  bol  withoaE  bein^  healed  red-hot,  it  absorb!  Ifi 
tolumet  af  annuoiiiacal  gas,  but  requires  1o  do  that  several  days.  On  Ihe  coO' 
Irary,  when  il  has  been  heaCrd  id  redness,  the  absarpLion  19  campleteit  in  five  or 
■li  hann.  Charcoal  gives  a  eimilnr  result.  Il  foUoivs  from  my  eiperidienti  that 
avery  tmall  proparlioa  of  water  greatly  increases  Ihe  power  of  meerschaum  I'o 
absorb  carbonic  acid  gaa,  but  a  fctM  proportion  of  water  diminishes  that  power. 
The  ab^orpiion  of  carbonic  acid  pu  is  always  slower  when  the  meericbBiim  coiv- 
Ulns  water  thao  when  tl  is  dry. 

-f  Wbep  the  nteerschauin  was  not  heated  to  redneis,  the  absorption  of  carbonic 
acid  gas  amoonted  to  13  volumes. 


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SSe  Oi&rMiiaat  M  tkt  j^uorpliOi  of  [0««. 

Vader  a  pHSMve  of  28'46  iaebffof  taetcarfi  otiy i2-B  oSnAtmAm 
Mid  gu  J  but  whea  the  |Hes*ure  wal  Kduced  to  9-37  iacbev  ibe 
abvorplioB  iiDOUiitiBd  to  bO'h  - 

Exfier-  3,  jihorpiiot^  of  Gases  hy  the  adheaive  SUtv  itf  A 
WMtonli^—iidii  BOt  mtfoduca  this  miBoal  into  the  in,  bi 
jl  splits*  end  cQBU»et»  itdcif  ad-  itaich  as  uol  aftervpank  to  absavb  m 
MBslbk  i)U9<u«ty  of  meet  of  the  gtsta.    A  vcrfume  of  adhesive  sbrtr^ 
lF««id  from  a»R  by  meads  of  tbe  ur-pusafi,  absorbed,  at  the  tdnpe* 
nWw  af  99^r  tht  foUowkis:  pt^portioiia  of  tJw  difiineDt  ga^a  :— 
Yalumeii 

Ammontacn!  gas II'S 

Carbonic  acid    2 

Oreftant     1-5 

Azotic    ; . . .  O'T 

Oxygen , 0-7 

Carbonic  oxide 0-55 

Oxy-carbureted  hydrogen 0*55 

Hydwgea ." -....  0-l8 

These  ab9ofptieB9  are  still  smaUtT  tliaB  those  by  meierschauinf 
atid  tlitdllferCnceslH  moI^  of.ihe  ga$e&  tiy  small  thaftlrey  cannot  be 
accurately  eslimaieii.  Besides,  I  must  rematlt  that  when  two  gases 
in  these  experiments  appear  lo  be  eqoaUy  absorbed  by  a  solid  Ijodj, 
this  does  not  entitle  tis  toeooclude  that  they  hare  been  absorbed  by- 
it  with  equal  force.  It  is  raaeh  mote  rational  toascribe  the  equality 
to  the  insuflrciency  of  the  experiments,  which,  had  th^  been  made 
on  a  larger  scale,  wonld  probably  have  shown  some  diirerCnce. 

Exper.  'd^,with  ligmfarm  Aslesivs  from tke-Ttpvl  and  Rock.  Cork,  " 
— 'Rw  ^nrform  asiwatus  which  I  empfoyed  rMcmbled  spHnter*  of 
iM(-wood,  and  had'  a  specif  e  gravity  of  1-1*2.  When  heated  to- 
rediwss,  it  te«  0- 19  of  its  weight.  The  rock  corlt  was  white,  of  the 
spedflc  gratify  0^;  and  when  heated  to  rCiinesSfost  \\  per  cent,  of 
ita  weight.  Bofh  miiitTaTs  were  dried  by  e?Cposare  to  a  red-  heat ; 
they  were  then  deprived  of  air  by  the  air-pump,  and  at  thetempe 
iwtne-ef  !^  absorbed  the  fi^iowhlg^proportiotn  of  gas  i-^ 

Lignironv  Asbntui.  Rock-  Cork. 

Vol  nam.  Volnmei. 

Ammotuacal  gas     12-75 2*3  • 

Carbonicacid     r? 0*82 

defiant VJ     O-SS' 

Carbonic oside  ........     0-»8   0>78 

Azotic 0'47 0-68 

one   ts  0-9S.     It  ii  campiMed,  according  to 

Silica 6S-5 

MnKiinia  .'...     8-0 

Ovideof  iron 4-0 

Walct SS-ft 

u  of  alumina,  lime,  and  carbon. 


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ISIS*.]  tlui  G<uei  Ig  iifftml  BciiBK  251 

tiguifcnn  AUmtM.  Rmk  Cai^ 

Valoian.  Valunwa. 

Oxygen 0-47   ,.,.  0*68 

Oxy-carbureted  hydrogen    0"4 1 0'68 

Hydrc^en 0-31 0-68 

It  is  WOTthy  ef  attention  tfaat  rock  co^,  though  rnucb  more 
KfQBgy,  alKHva  a  smaller  ditfereacc  in  llie  proportion  of  the  ditieieat 
gvKS  abaorbed.  Amianthus  squeezed  forcibly  togethei  siJubtted  a* 
lenpible  difference  in  its  afaeDi^ion. 

Smpir.  4,  with  Sexoit  tfydrophaae,*  and  Qumtxfrmn  Va^mtrl.'^ 
—'Dm  Saxon  bydraphaoe  was  dried  io  tbe  open  air,  the  quarts 
frfSD  Vauven  by  expoaure  to  a  red  kcM,  A  votume  of  each  of  them 
fned  ftoBB  ail  1^  tbe  ab-pump  absnbed  (b«  foUoving  ptojvrtioat 
W  gwet.;.— 

Hidi^plnuia.  .  QafHa. 

V»U»tti  VoUiBtf. 

Ammaniaial  gas. 6\  ........  iO 

Muriatic  acid    ij  

Sulphurous  acid    ........     7*^7  

Carbonic  acid  1  0-6 

Oledant   , .     •«  0-6 

Azotic 0-6  . , .' 0-45 

Oxygen 0*6  0*45 

Hyttogea 0-4  0.-37 

The  swimining  quartz  from  St.  Ouen^  of  tbe  specific  gra»itj 
0-489,  gave,  wben  treated  in  the  same  way,  no  perceptible  diHeii 
eoce  in  its  absorpuons. 

Expef.  5,  with  Sulphate  of  Lime. — It  was  in  the  state  of  cal- 
naed  gypsum^  hardened  by  watev,  and  dried  in  the  open  air.    Its 

rilM  graivi^  WHS  096.  One  volume  of  it  fireed  from  air  altswbed 
fiiBMiiBg  (jaastities  ef  gaaes  :— 

VtOwmt. 

Oxygen  gas : 058 

Azotic _. 0'53 

Hydrogen    , 0-50 

Carbonic  acid .,  0^43 

Expen.  6,  ivUh  swimming  Ox'tienale  of  Lm«i  w  Agark  Mint'  • 

■  Actaading  to.  Eloproth,  Suod  bjrdrophaiic  kcooipeied  at 

Silks as 

Alumina i.-& 

Wfcirt .^-25 

nslpceifit  gmlljorinj  ipeciineil  *a>  1-7,  anaia  volume  0'8  cnbic  Inrh  French. 

Hmcclhe  obMrvaliont  Ciiald  not  he  TCrj  precise.    The  Mane  ipliti  iu  a  red  heal  t 

kmbr*  k  KK.nat  put  into  tkiifirB. 

t  TUalWtMz.la  fonod    Ik  rnlUd  ftinti  at  VmmmI,  sear  Kimcrs,  sod  nppnn 

ta^ganqnavtacDliinwd  red  by  nMoot  Iran.    Ii  li  at  linieaxi light  B!(B5w)ia 

iftHM'.    TliiBi»(siac|?«hlyef  s^Vecifmen  nai  I-IS,     100  parte  of  H  lOU  it> 

lke£nS-Sf  pvu.    ^ 


n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


252  Oisertiations  on  the  Ahsarption  of  [Oct. 

ral* — A  volume  of  this  mineral  dried  in  the  air  absorbed  tfae  fo\~ 
lowiog  proportioDB  of  gases : — 

Carbonic  acid  gas    0'S7 

Azotic 0  80 

Hydrogen    0*80 

Oxygen 0-67 

Exper.  7>  w-i'A  different  Kinds  of  Woods. — The  wood  was  dried 
in  the  open  air,  and  then  small  pieces  of  it  were  kept  for  severai 
weeks  in  large  flasks  containing  muriate  of  lime.  Yei  some  hygro- 
metrica!  water  remained  in  it,  which  became  evident  when  the  wood  . 
fired  from  air  was  introduced  into  ammoniacat  gas,  a  watery  vapour 
spreading  itself  during  the  absorption,  which  the  heat  disengaged 
during  the  process  forced  out.  The  same  appearances  took  place 
when  adhesive  slate,  linen,  wool,  and  silk,  were  exposed  to  tbe 
same  treatment.  Ail  these  bodies  again  absorbed  the  vapour.  Tbe 
linen  threads  iverc  firmly  pressed  together  in  bundles  of  the  specific 
gravity  0*78.  One  volume  of  the  following  substances  absorbed  the 
foUowiag  proportions  of  the  different  gases : — 


Hakel. 

MDlberrj. 

Rr. 

Linen  Tbnti. 

Aamnniacal  caj 

100 
11 
0-71 
0-58 
0-58 
0-58 
0-4T 
0'9I 

88 
0-A6 

o-4e 

0-34 
0-18 

11 

,    0-75 

0'50 

oai 

0-35 

rarbinic  niide 

0-S4 

A«.iic 

O-SS 

Exper.  8,  with  raw  Silk  and  with  Wool, — Tlie  specific  gravity  of  . 
the  skein  of  silk  was  0-731,  of  the  wool  0-G,     Before  the  experi- 
toenu  both  were  dried  over  muriate  of  lime.     The  temperature  was 
as  in  the  preceding  experiments.  One  volume  of  each  absorbed  the 
fi>llowing  proportions  of  the  difierent  gases : — 

Wool.  Silt. 
Volumes.                   Volamn. 

Ammoniacal  gas 7^ 

Carbonic  acid  gas t"7      1*1 

Otefiant  . .' 0-5?    0-5     . 

'     Oxygen 0-43    0-44 

Carbonic  oxide 0*3     0*3 

Hydrogeo 0"3      0*3 

Aaotic     : 0-24   0-125 

•  This  xery  light  TSriety  Bf  chalk  is  found  an  Jnra,  and  hu  only  the  epNite 
(TantyO-46S.  100  parta  of  il  dissolve  conpletrl;  in  nirric  acid,  and  gWeantaS 
parlior  carbonic  acid  f^,  which  amouuls  la  83  |)Bct9  of  carbonate  of  I rme.  The 
rrouioi^g  IT  paru  are  chipay  wnlcrt  wiiich  alivaya  eiist  in  a  grealst  ornuUn 
prvponioa  in  all  Btooes  poiaeued  of  a  certain  degree  of  porosity. 


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1815.]  the  Gases  ly  difftrent  Bodks.  233 

All  the  bodies  with  which  these  experimeots  were  made,  ex- 
cepting^ charcoal  and  hydrophane,  from  the  way  m  which  I  treated 
them  before  the  absorption  of  the  gaaes,  imbibed  a  good  deal  of 
mercury.  No  attention  vaa  paid  to  this,  as  it  appears  that  the 
volumes  absorbed  of  the  little  absorbable  gases  are  smaller  than  the 
size  of  the  pores  of  the  absorbing  bodies. 

6.  Influence  of  the  jlfffinily  and  Elastkily  of  the  Gases,  andof  thg 
Porosity  of  the  solid  Bodies  on  the  Aliorplion. 
"Hie  rate  of  absorption  of  different  gases  appears  to  be  the  same 
in  all  bodiei  of  similar  chemical  properties.  All  the  varieties  of 
»sbestus  condense  more  carbonic  acid  gas  ihan  oxygen  gas ;  woods 
condense  more  hydrogen  tlian^azote.  But  the  condensations  them- 
selves  in  different  kinds  of  asbestus,  or  wood,  or  charcoal,  are  verjr 
tax  front  being  equal.  Ligoiform  asbestus  absorbs  a  greater  volume 
of  carbonic  acid  gas  than  rock  cork  ;  so  does  hydrophane  than  the 
swimming  quartz  of  St.  Ouen  and  the  quartz  of  Vauvert ;  and  the 
absorption  of  gases  by  box-wood  charcoal  is  much  greater  than  by 
fir  charcoal.  -These  differences  are  not  in  the  least  altered  if, 
instead  of  equal  volumes,  equal  weights  of  charcoal  be  em- 
plcrved. 

Count  Morozzo  thinks  he  has  observed  that  the  most  combustible 
charcoal,  and  that  which  is  most  proper  for  the  preparqtiou  of  gua> 
powder,  possesses  the  smallest  power  of  absorbing  gases;  and  con- 
ceives that  this  may  be  owing  to  a  chemical  difference  in  the  com- 
positiwi  of  charcoals.  But  as  the  analysis  of  charcoals  of  very 
different  absorbing  powers  shows  always  the  same  constituents,  this 
explanation  must  be  renounced;  and  we  must  rather  ascribe  the 
cause  of  this  difference  to  the  physical  state  of  the  charcoal,  as, 
for  eumpic,  to  the  number  and  size  of  the,  pores  ivbich  it  con- 
tains. 

To  be  able  to  determine  the  influence  which  the  porosily  or  the 
state  of  aggregation  of  solid  bodies  has  upon  their  power  of  absorb- 
ing gases,  I  compared  with  each  otiier  tlie  quantities  which  the 
same  piece  of  box-wood  charcoal  absorbed  wheii  whole,  and  when 
itducedto  an  impalpable  powder.  The  piece  of  charcoal  weighed 
2'94  grammes  (46*4  grains  Iroy),  and  had  a  volume  of  4'^2  cubic 
ceolimetres  (0-3  cubic  inch  English),  and  absorbed,  when  freed 
ffom  air  by  the  air-pump,  3S|  cubic  centimetres  (2'731  cubic 
inches],  or  about  7-1'  times  its  volume  of  atmospherical  air.  It  waa 
now  rubbed  to  an  impalpable  powder,  and  put  iato  a  glass  tube, 
both  the  ends  of  which  were  shut  up  with  gauze.  In  this  state  its 
weight  was  the  same  as  before;  but  its  volume  was  7-S  cubic  centi- 
metres (0-445  cubic  inch) ;  and  when  freed  ffom  air  by  the  air- 
pump,  it  absorbed  only  '2QS  cubic  centimetres  (1 '355  cubic  inch) 
of  atmospherical  air.  Thus  it  absorbed  about  three  times  its  volume 
ia  a  pulverized  state,  and  about  7-i-  times  its  volume  when  whole : 
to  mX  by  destroying,  opening,  and  widening,  the  small  cells  of  the 


t$t  Obunalians  dm  ikt  Jburplian  of  COcr. 

charood>  its  p(Kv«r'of  ftbaorbinr  is  diititictly  weskeoed.  The  con- 
densation of  gasei  in  solid  bodit^  appears  to  us  to  be  as  analt^nm 
result  with  the  rite  of  liquids  in  vapilUfy  tubes.  Both  are  in  tlie 
M*er*e  ratio  of  the  siee  of  the  lateHor  diatneten  of  the  tufces  at 
pores.  , 

Tlie  absorbing  power  of  moat  kinds  of  charcoal  increeses  as  the 
specific  gravity  increases ;  and  it  is  obvious  that  this  last  must  be^ 
come  greater  in  proportioQ  as  the  pores  become  smaller  and  nar- 
rower. Charcoal  from  cork,  of  a  specific  gravity  not  exceeding  O-l, 
absorbed  no  semible  quantity  of  atmosphericel  air.  Charcoal  from 
fir,  of  the  specific  gravity  0*4,  absorbed  4^  times  its  voluitis  df 
atmosphericul  air.  Box'wood  charcoal,  of  the  ^cific  gravity  O-ff, 
absorbed  7-t  times  its  bullc  of  air;  and  pit  coal  from  Russibcvg-^ 
which  was  of  vegietable  origin,  and  of  the  speciflc  gravity  l-SSV, 
ahiorfaed  lUf  times  hs  volume  of  air.  If  w.e  were  to  go  ob  tryie^ 
eoafs  of  always  greater  specific  gravities,  we  should  soon  come  to  a 
limit  when  tne  pores  would  be  too  small  to  altow  g«ses  to  enter  t 
then  all  absorption  would  cease,  though  the  specific  gravity  in- 
creased. Thus  the  black  lead  from  Cumberland,  which  oontains 
0-96  of  carbon,  and  may  therefore  be  considered  as  a  coal,  though 
its  specific  gravity  is  217,  produces  no  alteration  on  atmospfaerkal 
idr.  The  some  was  the  case  with  a  coal  of  nearly  the  same  weight ; 
whidi  I  obtained  by  distilling  volatile  <h1  through  a  red-hot  porc«« 
hjn  lobe. 

But  this  correspondence  of  (he  power  of  absorbing  with  the  spe- 
tific  gravity  is  only  accidental.  More  accurate  esperiments  show 
lemarkftble  dcvisiions  from  this  rule.  The  different  kinds  oi  char- . 
coal,  whether  of  similar  or  dissimilar  specific  gravities,  always  di0br 
from  each  other  in  their  organkation.  They  cannot  be  coaeidered 
as  resembling  a  spwge,  whose  pores  and  density  may  be  modified 
-  by  pressure. 

I  expected  to  be  able  to  render  thosie  bodies  capable  (rfahsortnng 
air,  which,  like  tbe  black  kad  of  Cumberland,  are  too  dense,  «tA 
hare  too  few  pores,  to  allow  a  passage  for  gases,  by  reducing  them 
to  a  fine  powder.  But  my  expectatiCHis  were  disappointed.  Th« 
jiores,  formed  by  reducing  a  solid  body  to  powder,  appear  to  be  too 
light,  loo  open,  and  in  too  smatl  quantity,  to  be  able  to  condett^  a 
aeOsUjle  quantity  of  carbonic  acid,  azote,  oxygen,  or  hydrogea. 
But  they  seem  to  act  upon  elastic  fluids,  which  lose  their  elast^y 
by  a  small  Increase  of  pressure ;  for  I  know  no  body  which  in  tht 
state  of  a  fine  powder  is  not  capable  of  absorbing  jnoisture  froffi  tbi 
atmosphere ;  u  is  shown  by  the  loss  of  weight  whJdi  all  powdeM 
ea^ble  of  standing  the  action  of  fire-undergo  when  heated. 

From  the  experiments  hitherto  made,  it  appears  that  the  power 
which  the  gases  pofisess  of  being  condensed  in  solid  bodies  is  within 
eWato  limits  in  the  inverse   ratio  Of  the  internal  diameter  of  the 
pores  of  the  absorbing  bodies. 
-   But,  besides  the  porraity,   there  are  two  other  cireunstaQca 

3 


l^is.]  tit  Gms  ht  ^W^f^  B9^.\  K5 

which  must  be  attended  to  in  these  absorptions :  1 .  The  diflcrent 
AflSaities  which  exist  betneea  the  bases  of  the  gases  and  the  absorb- 
ing bodies;  and  2.  The  power  of  exparaion  of  the  gases,  or  the  oppo- 
sition which  they  make  to  their  condensation  in  different  degrees  of 
bent  and  atmospherical  ^saure. 

We  Sad  an  example  «f  tbe  acttwB  of '  this  •ffitutiT  >■  t^  dtSerent 
^krdns  to  wtlich  (he  gwes  are  abwrhed  by  different  bodies.  Charooal 
and  meerschaum  absorb  more  azotic  than  hydrogen  ffm ;  wood^^n  ' 
tlie  other  hand,  more  hydrc^en  than  azotic  gas.  The  influence  of 
elastipity  shows  Lnelf  ia  this,  that  tlifc  cotMlBaaiMioH  of  the  ga»es  is 
not  aiwaysproportioDal  to  the  affinity  of  their  bases  to  the  alH<wbiDg 
%iodicB.  Thus  car%onic  add  gas  is  ahsorbed  In  greater  quaoiity  by 
charooal  than  osygen  gas,  although  the  affini^i^  oxygei)  saturated 
^tfa  cation  to  charcoal  can  only  be  weak.  To  the  elastic  fluids, 
ifbsoibed  most  copiously  by  porous  bodios,  belong  fer  the  most  part 
flwsewhk^,  byaknowDdiminutios  oFfempe;;anre,  or  IncRSBe  of 
^cssure,  hue  ^efr  ^seous  state.  Thus  the  vapour  pf  water  b 
absorbed  in  great  ahuBdance  by  a)l  porous  bodies  c^i^b^  of  ahsorb- 
ing  gases,  jtmimmiacal  gas  is  always  absorbed  in  greatest  abqn- 
^neej  and  fhe  vapattr  i^  mlphark  ether,  vHijch  is  absorbed  in 
great  qumtity,  by  charcoal,  meerschatim,  lignifumj  asbestos,  and 
dl  bodies  which  hare  ri»  propmy  pf  absorbing  gases. 

When  the  gases  have  a  greater  incHnation  to  rcn^  tfieir  elastic 
state  dian  to  onite  with  porpps  bodies,  the  diBerence  of  the  affijiitiea 
betweeB  their  bases  tmd  these  bodies  does  not  appear,  Tliis  tdces 
plaee  In  id)  cases  when  the  condensation  does  not  correspond  with 
Rie  fcnewD  affinity.  On  the  contraiyi  when  the  affinity  of  the  basei 
ef  ^>e  gases  for  the  pwous  bodies  surpasses  or  destroys  their  elasti- 
raty,  the  absorption  correspOTids  with  the  Ifnowo  affinity. 

Vropi  tbese  ofasemtions  it  foUows,  that  the  condensation  of  gases 
by  porous  bodies,  abstracting  from  the  influence  of  the  pores,  depends 
upon  two  powers:  1.  ^le  attraction,  by  means  of  which  the 
^Ms  of  the  gaess  and  tlie  porous  bodies  andfaiHiiir  to  anito  toge- 
tjbei :  apd  2.  The  dasticJty  «^  the  gases,  or  l}^  affinity  of  their  b«s«* 
n  heat.  UlMfie  two  powers  opposB-ooe  attothcr ;,  and  tba  abooiption 
•f  the  gates  by  solid  bodies  it  the  result  at  lieir  diSerraice.  Tliese 
tnb  powea  have  long  ago  heca  cooeidtfed.  by  Berthollet,  who 
showed  tlttt  tJbe  elasticity  of  die  gnoa  u  a  power  which  opfoiea 
^Msr  oheiMoal  combinatioM.  I  have  ben  meH^y  aofdied  Ae  dcc-^ 
bine  of  this  celiebrued  dtemiat  to  tb4  o^sct  nbidi  I  had  in  visw-, 

(7^  if  cunfinuuf.l 


n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


Aaaiym  <tf  the  Mineral  Waters  £OcT. 


Article  II. 

An  Analysis  of  the  Mhterid  Waters  of  Dunllane  and  Pilcaithlff  ; 
with  General  Observations  on  the  Analysis  of  Mineral  Waters, 
and  ike  Composition  of  Bath  Water,  ^c.  By  John  MurraT> 
M.D.  F.R.S.E.  • 

(^ad  to  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh,  Nov.  20,  1814.) 

I  PROPOSE  to  submit  to  the  Society  the  analysis  of  s  mitieial 
water  of  the  salioe  class,  wbich  has  lately  been  discovered  id  the 
neighbourhood  of  Duablane.  Tiie  subject  may  have  rather  more 
interest  than  usually  belongs  to  researches  of  this  nature,  from  the 
composition  of  this  water  being  such  as  promises  to  afford  a  spring 
of  considerable  medicinal  efBcacy,  and  from  its  resemblance  to 
another  mineral  water  of  some  celebrity —that  of  Pitcaithly,  the 
analysis  of  which  1  have,  from  this  circumstance,  been  also  led  to 
underlake.  The  investigation,  too,  may  afford  some  illustrations  of 
the  different  methods  that  may  be  employed  in  the  analysis  of 
waters  of  this  class,  and  of  the  facility  and  precision  which  are  givea 
to  these  researches,  by  the  results  that  have  been  established  with 
regard  to  the  definite  proportions  in  which  many  bodies  combine, 
and  the  uniformity  of  the  relations  which  thus  esist  between  the 
compounds  they  form.  And  it  has  led  to  some  views  with  regard 
tu  the  coDstituiioa.of  mineral  waters  of  the  saline  class,  which  I 
have  applied  to  the  composition  of  some  of  the  most  celebrated 
mineral  waters.  In  performing  the  principal  csperimcDts  on  the 
Dunblane  water,  I  had  the  advantage  of  Mr.  Ellis's  co-operation. 

I. — ANALYSIS  OF  TUB  DUNBLANE  WATER. 

This  water  was  discovered  last  suinmer,.and  was  fii^t  taken  notice 
of  from  the  circumstance  of  the  frequent  resort  of  flocks  of  pigetHis 
to  the  ground  where  it  breaks  out.  It  appears  in  two  springs  at 
the  distance  of  nearly  half  a  mile  irom  each  other,  in  a  field  about 
two  miles  to  the  norlh  of  Dunblane,  the  property  of  the  Earl  of 
Kinnoul.  This  district  is  at  no  great  distance  from  the  range  of  the 
Grampians,  to  which  it  ascends;  masses  of  the  primitive  rocks  are 
spread  over  the  surface,  and  are  found  in  tlie  beds  of  the  streams; 
among  which  the  conglomerate  rock  that  seems  to  skirt  the  Gram- 
pians is  abundant.  The  prevailing  rock  of  the  distiict  itself  is  the 
red  sand-stone,  and  it  is  generally  covered  by  a  bed  of  gravel,  iir 
many  places  of  considerable  depui.  It  is  from  this  sand-stone  that 
the  water  appears  to  issue.  The  spring,  however,  in  both  the  places 
^here  it  breaks  out,  has  been  laid  open  only  to  the  depth  of  two  or 
three  feet  from  the  sur&ce,  and  has  not  been  traced  to  any  exieat. 
Its  proper  source  is  therefore  unknown,  and  it  also  remains  uncer- 


n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


18IS.]  .      ef  Dmllatte  and  Piiauihly.  25/ 

tain  bow  lar  it  nuy  be  diluted,  wilb  water  from  thp  snrface,  or  from 
other  springs.  Tiie  water  from  tbe  lower,  or  what  ibr  dislinctkm 
maj  be  namedthe  soutli  spring,  is  weaker  id  taste  than  the  water 
of  die  north  spring ;  and  from  the  subsequeDt  experiments  is  proved 
to  contain  rather  less  foreign  matter.  The  ingredients,  howeter, 
ire  the  same ;  add  the  diSerence  therefore  probably  arises  from  the 
vater  of  the  lower  spring  being  farther  diluted  in  its  course.  This 
difference  led  Eo  the  aoalysis  of  the  water  of  both  springs.  It  is 
proper  to  remark,  that  both  have  been  submitted  to  examination 
after  a  season  unusually  dry. 

Analysis  of  the  IValer  of  Ike  Notllt  Spring. 

The  taste  of  this  water  is  saline,  with  some  degree  of  bitterness. 
As  procured  from  the  principal  pool  at  which  it  issues,  it  is  free 
from  smell;  procured,  however,  from  some  other  pools,  at  the 
distance  only  of  a  few  feet,  its  smell  is  slightly  sulphureous,  pro- 
hibly  owing  to  impregnation  from  matter  at  or  immediately  under 
the  soil.  Its  sensible  operation  on  the  system  is  that  of  a  diuretic 
aod  purgative.  The  former  etfect  is  usually  obtained  when  a  quan- 
tity is  taken  by  an  adult,  from  an  English  pint  to  a  quart ;  the 
latter,  when  more  than  a  quart  is  taken.  The  specific  gravity  of 
tlie  water  is  1-00475.  It  suffers  no  change  in  its  sensible  qualities 
from  exposure  to  the  air. 

The  state  of  the  spring  is  at  present  such,  that  any  gaseous  im- 
pregnation of  the  water  cannot  he  determined  with  precision. 
Bubbles  of  air  frequently  rise  from  the  bottom  of  the  pool,  but  this 
is  merely  atmospheric  air :  transmitted  through  Icne-water,  it  pro- 
duced no  sensible  milkiness;  nor  does  the  water  appear  to  coataia 
any  free  carbonic  acid. 

The  usual  re-agents  present  with  the  water  the  following  appear- 
ances:— 

J,  Tlte  colours  of  litmus,  violet,  and  turmeric,  are  not  sensibly 
affected. 

2.  Muriate  of  barytes  produces  an  immediate  turbidness,  and 
rather  copious  precipitation,  which  b  very  slightly,  if  at  all,  re- 
moved by  nitric  acid. 

3.  Nitrate  of  silver  gives  a  very  dense  and  abundant  precipitate. 

4.  Water  of  potash  produces  a  turbtd  appearance,  not  vety  con- 
siderable. 

5.  Carbonate  of  potash  throws  down  an  abundant  precipitate, 
which  disappears  with  effervescence  on  adding  nitric  acid. 

6.  Lime-water  causes  no  change. 

7.  Ammonia  does  not  cause  any  precipitation,  nor  does  it  even 
impair  the  transparency  of  the  water. 

tl.  Oxalate  of  potash,  or  of  ammonia,  occasions  a  Apious  pre- 
cipitation. 

9.  Tincture  of  galls  has  no  immediate  sensible  effect ;  but  after 
an  hour  or  two  a  purplish  tint  is  exhibited,  which  deepens  from  ex- 
posura  to  the  wr,  and  inclines  to  olive-green. 

Vol.  Vi.  N"  IV.  R  .-         , 


258  Analysis  of  the  Mineral  Waters  [Oct. 

These  results  establish  the  following  concluwons : — 

Exper.  1 ,  proves  that  no  free  acid  or  albaline  matter  ia  present, 
aot  any  alknline  carbonate. 

Exper.  2,  denotes  the  presence  of  aulpbiiric  acid, 

Eiper.  3,  indicates  the  presence  of  muriaiic  acid. 

From  Esper.  4  and  5,  may  be  inferred  the  presence  either  of 
lime,  or  magnesia,  or  both. 

Exper.  <i  and  "J,  prove  that  magnesia  is  not-  present,  nor  ai^l, 

Exper.  8,  proves  the  presence  of  lime. 

Exper.  9,  indicates  a  minute  portion  of  iron, 

The  saline  taste  of  the  tvater,  and  the  precipitation  so  abundant 
by  nitrate  of  silver,  render  probable  the  presence  of  muriate  of 
soda,  and  it  is  accordingly  obtained,  when  the  water  is  evaporated 
nearly  to  dryness,  cubical  crystals  of  it  forming  in  the  saline  liquid. 

From  the  whole,  therefore,  the  principal  ingredients  of  this  water 
may  be  inferred  to  he  muriates  of  soda  and  lime,  with  a  smaller 
portion  of  a  sulphate,  and  a  minute  quantity  of  iron.  These  con- 
clusions suggested  the  following  method  of  analysis. 

An  English  pint  of  the  water  was  evaporated  to  dryness ;  and  the 
solid  residuum  was  exposed  to  a  heat  approaching  to  redness,  until 
it  became  perfectly  dry.  It  weighed  while  warm  47  grains.  It 
quiclcly  attracted  moisture  from  the  air,  so  that  its  surface  soon  be- 
came humid  ;  and  on  leaving  it  exposed  for  24  hours,  a  consider>- 
able  portion  was  dissolved^  forming  a  dense  liquor,  while  a  portioa 
remamed  undissolved. 

The  whole  solid  matter,  being  rendered  dry,  was  submitted  to 
the  action  of  alcollol,  with  the  view  of  separating  by  solution  the 
muriates  of  soda  and  lime,  of  which  it  was  supposed  to  be  princi- 
pally  composed.  It  is  well  known  that  tliis  method  is  liable,  la 
some  degree,  to  two  sources  of  error ;  the  one,  that  a  little  muriate 
of  soda  is  dissolved  by  the  alcohol  with  the  muriate  of  lime;  the 
ether,  that  even  when  a  large- quantity  of  alcohol  is  employed,  the 
undissolved  muriate  of  soda  retains  a  small  portion  of  muriate  of 
lime.  In  estimating  the  quantities  from  the  results,  these  errors, 
iudeed,  in  some  measure  counterbalance  each  other;  but  still  they 
may  exist  in  difierem  degrees,  according  to  the  quantity  and  strength 
of  the  alcohol,  and  it  is  necessary  therefore  to  obtain  perfect  preci- 
sion, to  obviate  them  as  tar  as  possible. 

With  this  view  the  entire  matter  was  digested  with  repeated  por- 
tions of  alcohol,  of  the  specific  gravity  of  836,  until  ah<Mjt  six  times 
its  weight  had  been  employed ;  the  solvent  action  being  aided  by 
frequent  agitation,  and  an  occasional  heat  of  about  100°.  It  was 
tlien  lixiviated  with  a  small  portion  of  distilled  water,  to  remove 
more  effectually  from  the  muriate  of  soda  any  adhering  muriate  of 
lime.  The  different  liquors,  being  mixed,  were  evaporated  to 
dryness;  and  this  dry  mass  was  again  submitted  to  the  action  of 
alcohol,  more  highly  rectified,  (being  of  the  specific  gravity  of 
S25,)  and  in  smaller  qunntity,  so  as  to  dissolve  only  that  part  of.it 
whicli  WHS  muriate  of  lime.     A  »mall  portioa  of  muriate  of.  soda, 

Google 


18tfi.]  of  Dmllane  and  Pitcaithly.  259 

which  had  been  dissolved  in  the  firat  digestion,  ,was  thus  obtained,- 
and  was  added  to  the  residue  of  that  operation.  The  whole  undis- 
solved matter  being  dried  at  a  low  red  heat,  weighed  while  warm 
28-5  grains  :  it  was  in  small  graios,  having  s  taste  purely  saline. 
The  alcoholic  solution  aflbrded,  by  evaporation,  a  matter  which 
eotered  into  fusion,  and  which,  after  being  dried  at  a  heat  approach- 
ing to  redneas,  weighed  while  warm  18*2  grains.  It  woi  highly 
deliquescent,  so  as  to  increase  quickly  in  weight,  and  in  a  short 
time  became  humid  on  the  surface. 

These  two  products  were  evidently  principally  muriate  of  soda 
and  muriate  of  lime.  But  it  was  necessary  to  ascertain  if  they  were 
eotirely  so,  as  both  of  them  might  contain  small  portions  of  other 
ingredients.  ' 

The  matter  dissolved  hy  the  alcohol,  supposing  it  to  be  muriate 
of  lime,  would  require  for  its  conversion  Into  eulp^te  of  lime  about 
16  grains  of  sulphuric  acid  of  the  usual  strength  i  18  grains  were 
added  with  a  small  portion  of  distilled  water,  and  heat  was  applied; 
vapours  of  muriatic  acid  were  discharged :  to  render  the  mutual 
action  more  complete,  small  portions  of  water  were  successively 
added,  the  soft  mass  being  frequently  stirred;  and  when  the  vapours 
had  ceased  to  eihale,  the  heat  was  raised  to  redness,  to  expel  any  ' 
excess  of  acid.  The  -dry  matter  weighed  '22  grains,  precisely  the 
quantity  that  ought  to  be  obtained  from  18  grains  of  muriate  of 
lime.  . 

It  was  diffused  in  a  quantity  of  water,  which  it  at  first  absorbed 
with  a  hissing  noise.'  The  water,  after  having  been  added  in  suc- 
cessive quantities,  with  frequent  agitation,  being  poured  off,  the 
undissolved  matter  was  dried  at  a  low  red  heat:  it  weighed  18*5 
grains,  and  formed  a  soft  white  powder,  free  from  taste.  The 
water  pouivd  off  was  very  slightly  acidulous.  This  was  neutralized 
by  ammonia;  it  was  then  evaporated  to  dryness,  and  the  solid 
matter  was  heated  to  redness.  On  again  submitting  it  to  the  action 
of  a  small  quantity  of  water,  a  portion  remained  undissolved,  which 
weighed  when  dried  2  grains. 

There  were  thus  obtained  20'5  grains  of  sulphate  of  lime,  a 
quantity  equivalent  to  16'7  of  dry  muriate  of  lime.  The  small 
portion  of  liquor  which  remained  in  the  last  operation  had  a  bitterish 
tastei  by  spontaneous  evaporation,  it  formed  acicular  crystals;  .di- 
luted with  distilled  water,  It  became  slightly  turbid  on  ailding  oxa- 
late of  ammonia,  and  more  so  on  the  addition  of  alcohol ;  but  in 
the  latter  case,  the  transparency  was  restored  on  adding  water.  With 
a  minute  portion,  therefore,  of  sulphate  of  lime,  it  appeared  to  he 
principally  sulphate  of  soda,  derived  from  a  little  muriate  of  soda, 
which,  notwithstanding  the  precautions  that  were  employed,  had 
adhered  to  the  murinte  of  lime. 

The  matter  wliich  remained  undissolved  by  tlie  alcohol  weiglied, 

it  has  been  stated,  -l^S  grains.     It  remained  to  ascertain  if  it  were. 

entirely  muriate  of  soda. 

Being  agitated  with  about  half  an  ounce  of  distilled  water,  the 

It  2 

n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


2M  ^ah/sis  of  the  Mineral  Waters  [Oct, 

greater  part  was  diwolved,  Tlie  portion  wliich  remained  oDdia- 
solved,  after  being  washed  with  small  quantidea  of  distilled  watnr, 
and  dried,  weighed  2*4  grains.  To  this  matter  a  little  diluted  nitric 
acid  being  a^ed,  a  slight  effervescence  was  excited :  a  thin  cruat, 
too,  adhered  to  the  sides  of  the  smidt  glass  globe  in  which  the  last 
sti^e  of  the  eraporation  bad  been  performed,  which  was  dissolTec) 
with  efiervescencc  by  a  weak  acid.  The  quantity  of  carbonate  oJT 
lime  thus  indicated  may  be  estimated  at  0-5  grain.  The  remainder 
of  the  undissolved  residue  being  washed  and  dried,  was  heated  vrith 
two  or  three  drops  of  sulphuric  acid,  and  was  thus  rendered  soluble 
in  water.  When  neotralized  by  ammonia,  the  solution  became 
milky ;  hut  its  transparency  was  restored  hy  adding  vame  water ;  it 
became  quite  turbid  on  adding  oxalate  of  potash,  and  a  precipitate 
was  thrown  down  by  alcohol.  It  was  therefore  sulphate  of  time. 
Its  quantity  may  he  stated  at  two  grains. 

The  solution  had  a  taste  purely  saline.  The  test  of  oxalate  of 
ammonia,  however,  sliowed  the  presence  in  it  of  a  small  quantity 
of  lime }  the  addition  of  the  oxalate  was  therefore  continued  as  long 
OS  any  precipitation  took  place,  and  the  precipitate  was  collected 
'  and  dried.  It  weighed  1*3  grain.  This  production  of  oxalate  of 
Kme  evidently  arose  from  the  presence  of  a  small  portion  of  muriate 
of  lime,  whicli,  notwithstanding  the  precautions  that  had  been  em- 
ployed,  had  adhered  to  the  muriate  of  soda.  Suppn^sing  that  thi* 
bad  not  escaped  the  action  of  the  alcohol,  but  had  been  dissdved 
by  il,  and  in  the  subsequent  stage  of  the  experiment,  been  con- 
verted into  sulphate  of  lime,  it  would  have  increased  the  quantity 
of  this  sulphate  about  1'2  grain,  making  it  therelbre  21'7t  equiva- 
lent to  17'6  grains  of  dry  muriate  of  lime,  which  the  pint  (rf  water 
contains. 

The  solution  contained  also  a  minute  quantity  of  sulphuric  acid; 
for  after  removing  any  slight  excess  of  oxalic  aeid  that  might  have 
been  present,  it  still  gave  a  precipitate  on  the  addition  of  muriate 
of  barytes.  Supposing  this,  as  wdl  as  the  rest  of  the  sulphuric  acid, 
to  have  existed  in  the  water  in  the  state  of  sulphate  of  lime,  it  will 
iticrease  the  quantity  of  that  ingredient  (calculating  firom  the  weight 
of  the  precipitate  of  sulphate  of  barytes  obtained),  from  the  two 
grains  formerly  noticed  to  2'9. 

There  appeared  now  to  remain  nothing  but  pure  muriate  of  soda. 
The  solution  by  slow  evaporation  aSbrded  that  salt  in  cubical  crys- 
tals, which,  dried  at  a  low  red  heat,  weighed  24-5  grains.  Alkiwing 
0*8  of  this  as  the  portion  of  product  formed  by  the  action  of  the 
muriate  of  barytes,  it  leaves  23*7  grains.  And  if  to  this  be  added 
oae  grain,  as  the  equivalent  of  the  small  portion  of  sulphate  of 
coda,  already  noticed  as  formed  fay  the  action  of  the  salphuric  acid 
on  the  muriate  of  soda  adhering  to  the  muriate  of  lime  after  the 
operition  of  the  alcohol,  it  gives  the  quantity  of  muriate  of.  soda  at 
Z4'7  grains. 

From  these  result^  the  solid  ingredicDts  in  a  pint  of  (his  vntet 
appear  to  be,  . 


181  S,J  oj  Dmilrl4aie  tutd  PUcaitMy*  S6I 

Grtim. 

Muriate  of  soda 24*7 

Muriate  of  lime 17*6 

Sulphate  of  lime 2*9 

Carbonate  of  lime , 0'& 

With  a  trace  of  iron.  

45-7 

Hxving  completed  the  analysis -ia  this  mdnnef,  I  wished  to  con- 
Srm  it  by  a  different-  method.  A  veiy  simple  one  presented  itself—^ 
to  reduce  by,  evaporation  to  dryness — obtain  the  sulphate  of  lime  as 
before — then,  dissolving  the  mixed  mass  of  muriate  of  lime  and 
muriate  of  soda  in  water,  decompose  the  muriste  of  lime  by  oxalate 
of  ammonia,  so  as  to  find  the  quantity  of  it  present,  and  after  eva- 
poration to  volatilize  the  muriate  of  ammonia  by  heat,  and  thus 
ob^in  the  muriate  of  soda.  The  results  in  this  mode  ought  to  cor- 
respond  with  those  in  the  former ;  and  the  one,  therefore,  alTortl 
a  eoofirroaticHi  of  the  other,  or  leaJd  to  the  discovery  of  any  iallacy 
if  it  exist. 

A  pint  of  the  water  was  evaporated  to  dryness,  and  affi>rded,  as 
before,  47  ^ins  of  solid  matter.  This  being  submitted  to  tht 
action  of  a  small  quantity  of  distilled  water,  was  dissolved,  with  the 
exi^ption  of  a  residue  of  sulphate  of  limej  which  weighed  Z'fi 
grains,  and  a  little  carbonate  of  lime,  which  may  be  estimated,  as 
before,  at  0-5  grain. 

To  tbe  clear  solution  a  solution  of  oxalate  of  ammonia  was  added 
as  long  as  any  turbid  appearance  was  produced  j  and  after  the  pre- 
cipitate had  subsided,  the  liquor  was  heated  nearly  to  boiling,  to 
render  the  mutual  action  and  the  precipitation  more  perfect.  The 
jH^cipitate  being  repeatedly  washed  with  distilled  water,  was  dried 
by  the  heat  of  a  sand-bath  r^ed  gradually,  and  kept  lower  than  a 
red  heat.  It  weighed  21  gr.  The  quantity  ofmariate  of  lime  which 
would  be  equivalent  to  this  cannot  be  inferred  with  certainty  from  any 
previous  analysis  of  oxalate  of  lime;  for  as  the  oxalate  cannot  be 
exposed  to  a  red  heat  without  decomposition,  it  cannot  easily  be 
subjected  to  a  precise  degree  of  heat,  by  which  we  can  he,  certam  of 
(rfitaining  it  in  an  uniform  state  of  dryness. "  It  is  necessary,  there- 
fore, that  in  every  case  the  quantity  of  lime  should  be  found  in  the 
oxa^te  that  is  operated  on.  The  above  quantity  of  21  grains  was 
converted  by  calcination  into  carbonate  of  lime  ;  and  this  being 
decomposed  by  muriatic  acid,  the  quantity  of  muriate  of  lime  ob- 
tained, dried  at  a  low  red  heat,  and  weighed  while  warm,  amounted 
to  I S-3  grains. 

■  Tbe  liquor  poured  off  from  the  precipitate  was  evaporated  to 
dryness  ;  and  to  expel  the  muriate  of  ammonia  formed  by  the-aclios 

>  Referrias  to  those  analysts  which  mny  lie  Bup)]t>sed  to  be  most  accurate,  SI 
f^ilH  of  oxidsie  of  lime  will  be  TDuod  eqoiTBlcDi  to  Tiriau  propanlom,  tram 
n-5  to  19-9  of  muriate  of  lime. 


861  Analym  of  the  Mineral  Waters  [Oc*"- 

ol  the  oxalate  of  aaimonia  on  the  muriate  of  lime,  tlie  heat  was 
continued  while  any  vapours  were  diseng^ed,  and  at  tbe  end  was 
raised  nearly  to  redness.  The  dry  ma^  weighed,  while  waroi,  25 
grains.  Being  dissolved  in  waier,  its  solution  was  rendered  very 
slightly  turbid  by  the  addition  of  muriate  of  barytes,  showiDg  the 
presence  of  a  minute  portion  of  sulphuric  acid.  A  ijuantity  of  pre- 
eipitate  was  collected,  which,  when  dried,  weighed  08  grain.  Sup- 
posing the  sulphuric  acid  of  this  to  have  originally  existed  in.  tbe 
water,  nlong  with  the  other  portion  of  this  acid,  in  the  state  of  sul- 
phate of  lime,  it  gives  a  proportion  of  that  sulphate  of  0-5  graio, 
and  of  course  increases  the  quantity  of  it  from  the  26  grains  ob- 
tuned  by  evRimration  to  S'l  grains.  An  equivalent  quantity  must 
fit  the  same  time  be  subtracted  from  the  proportion  of  muriate  of 
lime,  which  may  therefore  be  reduced  to  18  grains.  By  evaporation 
of  the  liquor,  muriate  of  soda  was  obtained,  weighing,  when  it  bad 
been  dried  at  a  low  red  heat,  24*3  grains.  Of  this  a  small  portioa 
(0*4)  would  be  formed  by  the  muriate  of  barytes,  which  requires  to 
be  deducted ;  but  then  the  sulphuiic  acid  which  existed  in  the  mass, 
could,  after  the  action  of  the  oxalate  of  ammsnia,  and  the  exposure 
to  a  red  heat,  exist  in  it  only  in  the  state  of  sulphate  of  soda,  in  tbe 
production  of  which  bu  equivalent  portion  of  muriate  of  soda  wouJd 
be  decomposed.  The  quantity  of  muriate  of  soda  obtained,  there- 
fore, by  the  evaporation,  may  he  regarded  as  the  just  proportion 
indicated  by  the  anulysis. 

'^The  results,  then,  by  this  method,  agree  very  nearly  with  thow 
}>y  the  other;  being  of  solid  ingredtents  in  a  ptnt  of  the  water, 

Muiiate  of  soda 24'3 

Muriate  of  lime 18 

Sulphate  of  lime: S^l 

Carbonate  of  lime    0*5 

With  a  trace  of  iron.  

46*9 

With  regard  to  both  analyse;,  a  small  correction  is  to  be  made  ii 
the  proportion  of  sulphate  of  lime.  The  mode  of  ascertainiog  it, 
by  evaporation,  being  father  imperfect,  I  afterwards  determined  it 
by  the  more  accurate  method  of  precipitation  by  muriate  of  barytes ; 
applying  this  re-agent  with  a  slight  excess  of  acid,  so  as  to  prevent 
any  precipitation  of  carbonate.  The  quantity  of  precipitate  thrown 
down  from  a  pint  of  the  water  amounted,  after  drying  at  a  low  red 
heat,  to  6-1  grains,  equivalent  to  3*5  grains  of  sulphate  rA  lime. 
As  the  portion  of  sulphate  of  lime  tbtjs  obtained  above  thatobtaiaed 
by  the  evaporation  would  remain  principally  mixed  with  the  niuriate 
of  soda,  tbe  quantity  of  that  ingredient  falls  to  be  reduced  a  little, 
and  may  therefore  be  stated  at  24  grains. 

It  remained  to  ascertain  t^e  proportion  of  iron.  The  quantity, 
'     }iowever,  was  evidently  so  small  as  (o  present  a  difficulty.  Succinate 


1815.]  o/*  Dmhlane  arid  Vitcalthly.  263 

"of  aoatnoaia  and  benzoate  of  soda  produced  little  or  Do  effect  on  the 
water  in  its  natural  state.  Infusion  of  galls  produced,  after  some 
bours,  a  dark  colour,  and  a  precipitate  very  slowly  subsided.  Uliis 
method  has  been  employed  to  ascertain  minute  quantities  of  irou^ 
and  I  endeavoured  to  avail  myself  of  it— adding  to  the  water 
infusion  of  galls,  in  small  successive  portions,  at  the  interval  of  a 
day  or  two,  as  long  as  tlie  colour  appeared  to  he  rendered  deeper; 
leaving  it  exposed  to  the  air  for  a  longer  time,  that  the  whole  niaiter 
repdered  insoluble  might  Eubside;  and,  lastly,  washing  the  preci- 
pitate, drying  and  calcining  it,  to  consume  the  vegetal>le  matter, 
and  obtain  the  oxide  of  iron.  The  diHiculty,  however,  attending 
thb  method,  is  that  of  piecipilating  entirely  the  irqn,  the  liquor 
never  becoming  colourless.  In  one  expetiment,  conducted  with 
much  care,  the  quantity  of  the  calcined  product  from  two  pints 
amounted  to  0'4  grain ;  hut  it  consisted  partly  of  carbonate  of  lime. 
To  remove  this,  pure  muriatic  acid  diluted  was  added  in  excess,  and 
a  moderate  be^t  was  applied  ;  the  preripilate  was  entirely  dissolved, 
and  the  liquor  acquired  a  deep  yellow  colour.  Being  further  diluted, 
a  little  pure  ammonia  was  added  to  it,  in  a  close  phial,  to  precipitate 
the  oxide  of  iron,  while  the  lime  should  remnin  dissolved,  The 
^quantity  thus  obtained,  when  dried,  amounted  to  027  grain. 

Tills  method  being  liable  to  the  above  objection,  I  employed  an- 
other :  two  pints  of  the  water  were  evaporated  :  when  reduced  to 
about  two  ounces,  a  brownish -coloured  sediment  was  deposited, 
which  was  removed;  the  evaporation  was  carried  to  dryness,  and 
the  dry  mass  was  redissolved  in  distilled  water.  The  insoluble  re- 
sidue was  of  a  greyish  colour,  and  to  this  the  deposite  formed  during 
the  evaporation  was  added.  It  was  known  by  previous  experiments 
that  the  greater  part  of  the  iron  was  separated  in  this  way ;  the  in- 
Boluble  matter,  when  digested  with  muriatic  acid,  affording  a  liquor, 
when  diluted  ivith  water,  which  gave,  after  neutralization  with  am- 
monia, a  deep  colour  with  tincture  of  galls.  To  ensure,  however, 
the  more  perfect  separation  of  the  iron,  ammonia  was  added  to  (he 
solution  of  the  solid  matter  which  had  been  procured  by  evapora- 
tion, and  care  being  taken  that  the  ammonia  was  free  from  carbonic 
acid,  little  or  no  precipitation  could  take  place  but  of  oxide  of  iron. 
A  yellowish  flocculent  precipitate  subsided  slowly,  which,  after  being 
washed,  was  added  to  the  insoluble  residue. 

The  insoluble  matter  thus  collected  consisted,  as  the  preceding 
steps  of  the  analysis  establish,  diiefly  of  sulphate,  with  a  smaller 
portion  of  carbonate  of  lime,  with  which  was  mixed  the  oxide  of 
irOn^  A  drop  or  two  of  sulphuric  acid  was  added,  to  convert  the 
Carbonate  into  sulphate  of  lime ;  and  heat  was  applied  to  expel  any 
excess  of  acid.  .  A  little  pure  muriatic  acid  was  then  added  to  dis- 
solve the  oxide  of  iron,  and  to  form  with  more  certainty  the  red 
muriate,  soluble  in  alcohol,  a  drop  of  nitric  acid  was  added  alor^ 
with  it.  Ob  applying  heat,  with  the  addition  of  a  little  water,  to 
favour  the  aotion,  &  yellow  colour  was  acquired.  When  the  excess 
of  acid  was  nearly  di^ipated,  the  mass  was  repeatedly  lixiviated  with 
2  Co.V^lc 


264  Analysis  of  Ike  Mineral  Waters  [Oct. 

alcobol,  in  which  sulphate  of  lime  being  iDsoluble,  the  muriate  etf 
iron  only  would  be  dissolved.  The  alcohol  acquired  accordingly  a 
yellow  colour.  Being  evaporated  by  a  gentle  heat,  it  gave  a  resi> 
duum  which,  on  a  drop  of  nitrous  acid  being  added,  became  of  a 
deep  reddish  brown  colour,  and  after  bting  heated  strongly,  weighed 
0 '34  grain.  Redissolvcd  in  muriatic  add,  it  formed  a  rich  yellow- 
coloured  solution,  and  gave  a  deep  colour  with  tincture  of  galk. 

Even  in  this  way  the  whole  iron  is  nut  obtained ;  for  the  solutioD 
of  the  saline  matter,  though  ammonia  had  been  added  to  it,  to  pre- 
cipitate the  iron,  still  gave  a  weak  colour  with  gallii.  The  quaatitf  . 
ther^ore  is  rather  under-rated.  Taking  the  above,  however,  as  the 
proportion,' the  whole  composition  will  be,  in  a  pint  of  the  water 
of  the  north  spring, 

GraiBl. 

Muriate  of  soda    24 

Muriate  of  lime    18 

Sulphate  of  lime 3*5 

Carbonate  of  lime    0-5 

Oside  of  iron    0'17 

46-17 

Analysis  of  the  Wilier  of  the  South  Spring, 
The  water  of  this  spring  has  a  taste  similar  to  that  of  the  other, 
but  rather  weaker ;  it  produces  similar  medicinal  effects.  Tn  the 
preient  state  of  the  sprmg  its  strength  is  more  variable,  according  to 
the  state  of  the  weather.  From  this  circumstance,  and  from  its 
being  rather  weaker,  it  has  probably  a  greater  intermixture  of  sur- 
iace-water,  or  of  the  water  of  other  springs.  When  taken  up  after 
continued  dry  weather,  it  aSbrded,  by  evaporation,  42  grains  of 
solid  matter  ^om  a  pint;  the  other  aRbrding,  at  the  same  time,  47 
grains.  Its  specilic  gravity  was  found  to  he  1*00419.  It  was  in  this 
state,  the  strongest  in  which  it  was  found,  that  it  was  submitted  to 
the  following  examination. 

The  application  of  re-agents  produced  the  same  appearances  as 
.with  the  water  of  the  north  spring,  indicating,  therefore,  the  pre- 
sence of  the  same  ingredients.  To  determine  this  with  more  pre- 
cision, and  to  ascertain  the  proportions,  the  same  methods  of  ana- 
lysis were  employed  whicli  had  been  used  with  regard  to  the  other. 
It  will  he  sufficient  to  state  the  results  by  one  method — the  second 
of  those  before  described. 

A  pint  of  the  water  was  submitted  to  evaporation,  and  affwded 
of  dry  matter,  weighed  while  warm,  42  grains.  This  was  redis^ 
solved  in  distilled  water.  There  remained  undissolved  a  portion 
which,  when  thoroughly  dried,  weighed  2*5  grains.  This  suffered 
a  very  slight  effervescence  with  muriatic  acid,  similar  to  that  cscited 
in  the  insoluble  matter  of  the  water  of  the  north  spring ;  a  similar 
thin  crust,  too,  had  formed  on  the  sides  of  the  glass  Capsule,  which 
was  removed  with  effervescence  by  a  drop  of  muriatic  acid.     The 


ISih.}  of  Dunblane  and  PUcmtbiy.  26S 

Tclative  proportioDs,  therefore,  of  sulphate  and  carbonate  of  lime 
may  be  regarded  as  the  same :  and  the  insoluble  residue  will  thiii 
ci)iisist  of  0'3  of  csTbonate  and  2*3  of  sulphate  of  lime.  By  pre^ 
cipitatioD  by  muriate  of  t»ryteS  from  another  pint  of  the  water, 
similar  results  were  obtained. 

To  the  clear  liquor  oxalate  of  aminonia  was  added  as  long  as  it 
l^oduced  any  turbid  appearance.  The  precipitate  ctdlected  and 
dried,  being  converted  by  calcination  into  carbonate  of  lime, 
affitrdedj  when  acted  on  by  muriatic  acid,  I S  grains  of  dry  muriate 
of  lime. 

The  solutioti  poured  off  from  the  precipitate  was  evapOTated  to 
dryness^  and  the  dry  mass  was  exposed  to  a  heat  gradusSly  raisedto 
redness,  unlil  it  ceased  to  exhale  any  Vapour.  The  muriate-  of 
ammonia  formed  by  the  pction  of  the  oxalate  of  ammonia  on  the 
muriate  of  lime  was  thus  expelled,  and  the  muriate  of  soda  of  the 
water  remained.     It  weighed  22'j  grains. 

The  results,  then,  by  this  method,  are  from  a  pint  of  the  water. 

Muriate  of  soda    22*5 

Muriate  of  lime .....16 

Sulphate  of  lime 2*3 

Carbonate  of  lime     — -    0'3 

Oxide  of  iron    0*15 

41*25 

Tlie  proportion  of  iron  ]  have  stated  as  similar  to  that  ti!  the 
north  spring,  from  the  colour  produced  by  the  tincture  of  galli 
beiog  nearly  the  same. 

Prom  the  almost  perfect  similarity  in  the  composition  of  the  two 
waters,  with  regard  to  the  proportions  of  their  ingredients,  there  is 
every  reason  to  conclude  that  they  are  from  the  same  spring ;  thfe 
weaker  being  either  mixed  with  surface  water  at  the  pool,  or  being 
diluted  in  its  course. 

The  determination  of  the  composition  of  this  water  suggests  the 
question  whether  this  is  such  as  to  account  for  the  medicinal  effects 
it  produces.  It  acts,  as  has  been  stated,  as  a  diureiic,  and  in  a 
larger  dose  as  a  cathartic.  Tliis  water,  and  the  mineral  water  of 
litcaithly,  present  "in  some  respects  a  peculiarily.  The  greater 
'  number  of  saline  watej^  which  have  a  purgative  quality  contain 
magnesian  salts,  to  which,  as  they  are  known  to  act  as  cathartics, 
the  effect  is  obviously  to  be  ascribed.  Of  ilie  ingredients  of  the 
Dunblane  and  Pitcaitiily  springs,  muriate  of  lime  is  scarcely  known 
to  have  any  purgative  power  in  its  pure  form ;  and  if  muriate  of 
soda  possess  it,  it  is  only  in  an  inconsiderable  degree.  Still  there 
can  he  no  doubt  that  it  is  to  this  impregnation  that  their  operation  is 
owing  ;  and  ihey  aSbrd  a  proof,  therefore,  of  what  is  indeed  sulfi-' 
ciently  established,  that  the  powers  of  mineral  waters  are  often 
much  greater  than  could  be  expected  from  the  nature  and  quantity 


• 


Sfi6  '    jlnalysis  of  Ike  Mineral  Haters  [Oct. 

of  their  ingredient^  and  that  the  action  or  saline  substances  is  in- 
creased, and  considerably  modified  when  they  are  in  a  state  of  great 
dilution. 

Independent  of  its  purgntive  operation,  and  Its  adaptation  to  tbe 
treatment  of  diseases  in  which  this  is  advantageous,  its  composition 
may  probably  render  it  a  remedy  of  efficacy  in  some  constitutional 
afTections,  particularly  in  scrofula.  Muriate  of  lime  has  attained 
some  celebrity  !n  the  treatment  of  this  disease;  it  is  a  substance  of 
considerable  activity  in  its  eifects  on  the  living  system  ;  and  it  will 
probably  operate  with  more  etfect,  and  more  advaniagr,  in  the  state 
of  dilution  in  which  it  is  presented  in  a  n^jneral  spring,  than  tvhen 
given  in  a  more  concentmicd  form.  The  muriate  of  soda  may  coin- 
cide with  it  in  efficacy,  and  wi]!  be  of  advantage  from  its  grateful 
taste,  and  its  stimulant  action  on  the  stomach ;  and  the  chalyheste 
impregnation  will  communicate  some  degree  of  tonic  power.  When 
employed  in  such  cases,  it  probably  ought  to  be  given  in  smaller 
doses,  than  when  the  advantage  to  be  derived  from  it  depends  on  its 
purgative  operation;  and  it  may  even  prove  more  advantageous  if 
given  in  a  state  of  greater  dilution.  I  shall  in  the  sequel  have  to 
state  a  view  of  its  composition,  which  connects  it  with  some  mineral 
springs  of  great  celebrity,  and  particularly  with  the  Bath  waters. 

Dunblane,  as  a  watering  place,  would  be  possessed  of  considerable 
advantages.  Situated  between  the  range  of  the  Ochil  Hills  and  the 
Grampians,  it  is  well  sheltered,  and  hence  enjoys  a  mild  atmosphere; 
and  the  soil,  from  being  a  bed  of  gravel  for  a  number  of  miles 
around,  is  extremely  dry — an  advantage  inestimable  in  a  moist  cli- 
mate. 

II. — ANALYSIS   OF    PITCAITHLT   WATER. 

The  water  of  Fitcaithly  may  be  regarded  as  the  principal  mineral 
water  of  the  saline  class  in  this  country.  Dr.  Donald  Monro  sliowed 
that,  along  with  a  little  mild  calcareous  earth,  it  contained  muriate 
of  soda,  with  a  deliquescent  salt,  which  he  inferred  to  be. chiefly 
"  a  calcareous  marine,"  thiit  is,  muriate  of  lime.*  An  analysis  of 
it  was  published  a  number  of  years  ago,  executed  by  Messrs.  Stod- 
dart  and  Mitchell,  of  Perth.  There  are  difFerent  springs,  the  waterp 
of  which  they  found  to  be  somewhat  different  in  strength.  The 
nature  of  the  impregnation  is  in  all  of  them,  however,  the  same. 
Selecting  the  strongest,  it  contains,  according  to  their  analysis,  the 
following  ingredients  in  an  English  pint ; — 

Atmospheric  air 0-5  cub.  in. 

Carbonic  acid  gas     1 

Muriate  of  soda   t 1 2'5  grains 

Muriate  of  lime 22^5 

Sulphate  of  lime Q"? 

Carbonate  of  lime   0-6  f  ' 

•  Phllnaopbical  Transaetioiu,  val.  Iiii. 
i  Siatiitical  Accuunl  of  ScoUBnd,  vol.  vlii. 


181  &.]  ef  Dmllane  and  Pitcatihly.  267 

The  composition  of  this  water,  according  to  this  anatysis,  is  reiy 
aamilar  to  that  of  the  Dunblane  water.  No  account  is  given,  how- 
ever, so  &r  as  I  have  been  able  to  discover,  or  (he  manner  in  which 
it  had  been  executed,  and  it  is  therefore  uncenain  to  what  state  <^ 
dryness  the  ingredients  had  been  brought  to  which  their  proportiona 
are  referred.  Hence  no  comparative  estimate  can  be  made  of  it 
with  any  other  mineral  water ;  and  this  led  me  to  undertake  its 
ftnaiysis,  in  the  same  manuer  as  that  of  the  Dunblane  water. 

I^tcaithty  is  situated  in  the  valley  of  Slrathem,  and  though  at 
rather  a  greater  distance  from  the  front  range  of  the  Grampians 
than  Dunblane,  it  is  nob  improbable  that  the  spring  may  have  t 
similar  origin  with  the  Duoblane  one,  and  may  rise  finm  the  red 
sand-stone  which  appeara  to  form  the  first  rock  on  descending  from 
the  primitive  rocks,  and  to  extend  over  all  this  district. 

The  taste  of  this  water  is  saline,  and  somewhat  bitter.  Comparing 
it  with  the  Dunblane  water,  both  being  tasted  at  the  same  time,  the 
taste  of  the  Dunblane  water  is  stronger,  and  in  particular  more 
saline'than  that  of  the  other.  The  medicinal  operatitHi  of  the  Rt- 
caithly  water,  in  the  senuble  effects  it  produces,  is  diuretic  and  pur** 
gative.    ■ 

The  gaseous  impregnation  of  the  water  could  be  examined  pro- 

Etrly  only  at  the  spring,  wliich  I  had  not  the  opportunity  of  doing, 
at  having  procured  a  quantity  of  the  water,  I  submitted  it  to  the 
same  examination  as  in  the  preceding  analysis,  to  ascertain  its  solid 
contents.  The  usual  re-agents  praduced  the  followiDg  appear- 
ances : — 

1.  The  cokHirs  of  litmus,  violet,  and  turmeric,  were  scarceljr 
atfected.  If  there  were  any  change,  it  was  that  of  the  litmus  be> 
coming  more  blue,  and  that  of  (be  violet-green )  but  this  was  so 
alight  as  to  be  rather  doubtful,  l^e  turmeric  underwent  do  change. 

2.  Muriate  of  barytes  produced  a  turbid  a[^arance  and  precipi- 
tation ;  but  this  was  much  less  considerable  than  in  the  Dunblane 
water.    The  transparency  was  not  restored  by  nitric  acid. 

3.  Nltrnte  of  silver  produced  a  very  dense  and  copious  preci- 
pitate. 

4.  Water  of  potash  gave  a  milkiness  not  very  considerable. 

5.  Carbonate  of  potash  threw  down  a  copious  precipitate,  which 
disappeared  with  effervescence  on  adding  nitric  acid. 

6.  Xiime-water  liad  no  sensible  efli;ct. 

7.  Ammonia,  when  perfectly  free  from  carbonic  acid,  caused  no 
turbid  appearance. 

8.  OitaJate  of  ammonia  produced  an  abundant  precipitation. 

9.  Tincture  of  gaits,  added  in  a  very  minute  quantity,  did  not 
immediutely  produce  any  effect ;  but  after  a  few  hours,  a  dailf  oolont 
ameared,  which  gradually  deepened,  inclining  to  an  olive-rgreeit. 

With  all  these  tests,  the  general  results  are  the  same  as  those 
from  the  operation  of  the  same  tests  on  the  Dunblane  water.  In 
experiment  7tb,  tbe  ammoDia,  if  not  pertectJy  ftee'  from  carbooie 

n,,:-A-..>yGoogIe 


268  Analysis  of  the  Mineral  Waters  [Oct. 

acid,  produced  a  slight  turbid  appearance ;  aod  even  when  in  in 
puiest  state,  a  very  sliglit  opalesceDt  hue  was  perbaps  apparent;  but 
this  obviouely  depended  on  the  presence  of  a  little  carbonic  acid ;' 
for  when  a  drop  or  two  of  iHtric  acid  was  previously  added,  and  the  . 
water  heated,'  no  such  appearance  was  produced ;  or,  if  boiled 
strongly,  without  any  addition  of  acid,  on  restoring  the  original 
quantity  of  liquid,  by  adding  distilled  water,  the  transpsrency  wHa 
not  in  the  slightest  degree  altered  on  adding  pure  ammonia.  Tbe 
alight  preeipifate,  too,  which  did  occur  in  any  case  was  di»olved  by 
the  most  minute  quantity  of  muriatic  acid  with  effervescence;  and 
■  iliis  solution  became  turbid  on  adding  oxalate  of  ammonia,  proving 
die  precipitate  to  have  been  carbonaz>:  of  lime. 

The  same  general  conclusions,  then^  with  regard  to  the  nature  of 
the  ingredients,  are  to  be  drawn  from  the  preceding  results  as  from 
the  application  of  tbe  same  tests  to  the  Dunblane  water.  They 
surest  of  course  a  similar  mode  of  analysis.  1  preferred  the 
second  of  the  methods  above  described,  as  being  the  most  simple 
and  easy  of  execution. 

An  English  fnnt  of  the  water  was  submitted  to  evaporation.  Be- 
fore the  matter  became  dry,  numerous  cubical  crystals  were  formed, 
indicating  the  presence  of  muriate  of  soda ;  when  dry,  the  solid 
matter  entered  readily  into  fusion-  with  efiervcscence,  denoting  tbe 
predominance  of  muriate  of  lime.  The  dry  matter  was  highly  de- 
liquescent. After  exposure  to  a  heat  inferior  lather  to  redaess,  it 
wejghed  while  warm  35  grains.        '   - 

This  dry  matter  was  redissolved  in  about  ten  times  its  weight  of 
distilled  water.  A  small  portion  remained  undissolved,  which,  bong 
washed  and  dried,  weighed  1*2  grain,  A  little  diluted  muriatic  acid 
drt^t  upon  this  excited  slight  efl«rvescence ;  but  the  greater  part 
remained  undissolved,  and  weighed,  after  washing  and  exsiccation, 
0"9  grain.  It  was  sulphate  of  lime,  A  very  thin  crust  adhered  to 
the  sides  of  the  glass  globe  in  which  the  last  stage  of  the  eyaporatioa 
had  been  performed.  This  was  dissolved  with  cETervescence  by  di- 
luted  muriatic  acid,  and  the  solution  became  quite  turbid  on  adding 
oxalate  of  ammonia.  The  quantity  of  carlonate  of  lime  thus  iodi- 
'  cated,  adding  the  portion  abstracted,  as  above,  from  the  sulpbatej 
cannot  be  estimated  at  more  than  0-5  grain.  These  results  were 
confirmed  by  precipitation  from  another  pordon  of  the  water  by 
muriate  of  barytes,  the  proportions  indicated  being  nearly  the 
■ame. 

The  liquor  poured  off  from  the  insoluble  residue  being  dilated 
with  distilled  water,  oxalate  of  ammonia  was  added  to  it  as  long  as 
any  turbid  appearance  was  produced ;  and  after  the  subsidence  of  the 
]Hecipttate  the  liquor  was  boiled  a  little,  to  render  the  decompositioD 
and  precipitation  complete.  The  clear  liquor  was  then  evaporated  . 
to  dryness,  and  the  dry  mass  was  exposed  to  heat,  to  volatilize  the 
tturiate  of  ammonia,  the  product  of  the  action  of  the  oxalate  of 
ammonia  on  the  muriate  of  lime ;  the  heat  being  coaUcued  as  long 


1815.^  of  DmbUme  and  PHcaUhly  269 

m  any  vapours  exhaled,  and  at  the  end  being  raised  to  redness.  The 
BHsriateof  soda  thus  obtained  netghed  13*4  grains.  By  solution 
waA  ctfstsllixation  it  was  obtained  in  cubes. 

T^  pivcipiute  of  oxalate  of  lime  having  been  thoroughly  washed, 
was  evposed  in  a  sand-bath  to  a  beat  short  of  redness,  until  it  bad 
CMsased  to  exhale  any  vapours,  and  appeared  perfectly  dry;  it 
weighed  23-8  grains.  The  pwdon  of  muriate  of  lime  equivalent  to 
may-  quantity  of  oxalate  of  lime  cannot,  as  has  been  already  iv- 
marked,  be  exactly  assigned,  from  the  difficulty  of-  bringing  the 
c«alatc  to  one  uniform  state  of  dryness.  But,  according  to  the  moat 
accurate  analyses,  23-8  grains  of  dry  oxalate  are  equiralmt  to  20 
gnuDS  of  diy  muriate,  ^o  avoid  any  error,  however,  the  oxalate  - 
was  coDverted  into  carboaate  of  lime  by  calcination  ;  and  this,  de- 
composed by  muriatic  acid,  affi^rded  19*5  grains  of  dry  muriate  of 
lime. 

The  pn^KHiions,  then,  of  the  saline  ingredients  in  an  Englidi 
pint  of  the  Pitcaithly  water  m«,  according  to  this  analysis. 

Muriate  of  soda 1 3-4 

Muriate  of  lime 19*5 

Sulphate  of  lime O-f)  - 

Carbonate  of  lime  0*5 

34-S 
To  which  are  to  be  added  of  aerial  ingredients, 

Cibk  ladr. 

Atmospheric  air 0*5 

.  Carbonic  acid  gas •'  1 

It  also  gives  slight  indications  of  the  presence  of  iron ;  but  as  far 
as  can  be  judged  from  the  shade  of  colour  produced  by  tincture  of 
galls,  the  quantity  is  much  smaller  than  in  toe  Dunblane  water.  It 
does  not  admit,  therefore,  of  being  determined  with  much  accuracy 
by  actual  expieriment. 

After  I  had  completed  the  preceding  analysis,  a  view  occurred  to 
tse  with  retfard  to  the  comppsitioo  of  these  waters,  different  from 
dat  which  has  beeii  stated  above ;  and  wfaidi,  if  just,  may  lead  to 
conclusions  of  some  interest  with  r^ard  to  the  constitution  of  nuQe* 
nd  watera  of  the  saline  class.    This  I  have  lastly  to  illustrate. 


Article  III. 

Some  Observations  on  the  Analysis  of  Organic  SiJ/stances. 
By  Dr.  Prout. 

Bbbzblivs  has  lately  extended  tlie  doctrine  of  definite  proper- 
,  tiona  to  the  princ^lei  of  fa^pnic  uRture,  and  luu  very  satis^etoril; 

D,g,t,.?<i  I,,  Google 


*70  On  the  Anatysb  of  Organic  SiUistances,  [Oct; 

■bowo  tliat  it  holtis  equally  good  with  respect  to  them,  with  some 
■Uglit  HKidificatiaBi  <mly>  aa  with  inwgBnic  coropouDdv.*.  His  ad-' 
nirable  paper  od  this  subject  haa  thrown  s  new  light  os  tbe  coasti- 
tutioa  of  natural  objects,  and  at  the  same  time  opened  a  fieki<rf:iD» 
vestigation  no  less  difficult  than  interesting,  My  object  at  present  is 
chiefly  to  point  out  the  important  Bssistance  which  may  be  derived 
in  similar  researches  (iroai  the  use  of  the  invaluable  scale  of  chemical 
equivalents  contrived  by  Dr.  Wollaston ;  a  tact  well  known  to  its 
.^atii^ished  author,  and  many  others ;  but  which,  perhaps,  is  not 
lo  gen«ially  so  as  it  ou(;ht  to  be.  On  the  supposition  tliat  tliis  instru- 
ment be  correct,  or  nearly  so,  which  no  one  can  doubt,  and  that 
organic  substances  be  really  formed  on  the  principles  of  definite 
proportioDS,  we  are  enabled  by  its-  means  to  approximate  in  most 
instances,  with  almost  absolute  certainty,  to  the  number  of  atoms 
of  each  clement  entering  into  tbe  composition  of  a  ternary  or  quar 
ternary  compound.  The  data  requisite  for  this  purpose  are,  1.  The 
knowledge  of  the  proportions  of  at  least  two  of  the  elements  enter- 
ing into  an  organic  compound;  and,  2.  The  knowledge  of  the 
weight  of  its  atom,  or  some  multiple  of  it  Of  these  two,  the  first 
is  by  far  the  most  important ;  the  second  is  not  absolutely  necessary. 

To  render  this  scale  adapted  for  our  purpose,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  extend  it  a  little,  which  may  be  conveniently  done  by  pasting  two 
slips  of  drawing  paper  pn  its  edges,  which  must  be  of  such  a  breadth 
as  just  to  lap  over  and  cover  die  margins  containing  the  names  of 
the  chemical  substances,  and  to  coincide  with  the  graduated  edges 
of  the  slide.  On  these  slips  of  paper  are  then  to  be  marked  the 
multiples-of  an  atom  of  oxygen,  hydrogen,  and  carbon,  from  one 
to  ten ;  and  of  azote,  from  one  to  four  or  five,  or  more.  Thus 
prepared,  it  will  be  fit  for  our  use;  and  to  those  who  are  unac- 
quainted with  the  principles  of  the  instrument,  the  following  ex- 
amples will  show  the  mode  of  applying  it :  to  others  these  examples 
will  be  probably  unnecessary. 

Example  1. — Suppose  we  had  found  the  weight  of  apartiele  of  a 
ternary  compound  to  be  46*5,  oxygen  being  10,  and  that  46'5  parts 
of  it  contained  15'I5  carbon,  1*34  hydrogen,  and  consequently 
30-01  oxygen.  To  find  the  number  of  atoms  of  each  of  these 
elements,  we  have  only  to  place  10  on  the  slide  opposite  oxygen, 
and  then  opposite  each  of,  the  numbers  respectively  we  have  the 
number  of  atoms  of  each  element  required.  Thus  opposite  15'15 
carlxm,  we  liave  2  carbou ;  opposite  1*34  hydrogen,  1  hydrogen; 
and  opposite  30'0I  oxygen,  3  oxygen.  Such  a  compound,  then, 
will  consist  of  three  atoms  oxygen,  two  atoms  carbon,  and  one  atom 
hydrogen. 

Again :  supposing  we  were  igAOrant  of  the  weight  of  an  atom  of 
this  ternary  compound,  but  had  found  that  100  parts  of  it  contained 
3  2' 4  carbon,  28  hydrogen,  and  consequently  64-8  oxygen;  to  find 
the  number  of  atoms  of  each  element  in'this  case  we  have  only  to 

>         •  Se«.^>iiiaJi«/i>jUbn|i4y,  vol.  It.  p.9el,  etsequest. 


181&.)  On  the  Analysis  of  Organic  Sulstances.  27I 

Oiove  tbe  slide  till  the  numbers  represeDting  the  quantities  of  each 
elenaent  coincide  with  some  multiple  of  these  elements  marked  on 
the' scale;  and  these  multiples,  or  somesubmuhiple  of  them,  will 
represent  the  number  of  atoms  required..  Thus  we  fiod  when  3Z-4 
carbon  stands  opposite  two  or  four  atoms  of  carbon,  2'8  hydrt^eii 
will  coincide  with  one  or  two  atoms  of  hydrogen,  and  64-3  oxygen 
with  three  or  six  atoms  (^  oxygen.  Of  course  we  adopt  the  lessee 
numbers,  which  are  the  same  as  those  obtained  before. 

Example  2. — Suppose  we  had  found  the  weight  of  an  atom  of  a 
quatemary  principle  to  be  'J^-SQ,  and  Ihat  SJ'^S  parts  of  it  con- 
tained 37*65  carbon,  17'52  azote,  and  consequently  4265  oxygen 
and  hydrogen :  to  find  the  number  of  atoms  of  each,  we  place,  as 
before,  10  on  the  slide  opposite  osygea:  then  opposite  37*65  will 
be  found  5  carbon;  opposite  \T'h2,  1  azote;  opposite  .40,  4 
oxygen  ;  and  opposite  2-(ia,  2  hydrogen  ;  *  the  number  of  atoms 
required. 

Or  supposing  that  we  had  not  been  able  to  ascertain  the  weigl)t  of 
a  particle  of  the  compound  in  question,  but  had  found  that  100 
parts  of  it  contained  38'5  carbon,  17'9  azote,  and  consequently 
43*6  oxygen  and  hydrogen :  to  find  the  number  of  atoms  of  each, 
vie  proceed  just  as  before,  and  still  find  that  38*5  carbon  will  stand 
opposite  five  or  ten  atoms  of  carbon,  when  17'9  azote  coincide  with 
one  or  two  atoms  of  azote ;  f  ^nd  that  40*9  oxygen  will  be  opposite 
four  or  eight  oxygen ;  and  2'7  hydrc^n,  opposite  two  or  four  hy- 
drogen ;  which  agree  with  the  former  results. 

These  examples  are  doubtless  more  than  sufficient  to  show  how 
this  admirable  instrument  may  be  made  to  facilitate  and  verify 
analyses,  on  the  practical  part  of  which  some  observations  now  re- 
main to  be  made. 

I.  The  depriving  organic  substances  of  water  witliout  decom- 
posing them  has  always  constituted  a  great  source  of  difficulty  id 
the  prosecution  of  this  department  of  chemistry.  The  method 
sdi^ted  by  Berzelius,  and  which  is  founded  on  the  happy  applica- 
tion of  a  well-known  principle  by  Mr.  Leslie,  is  certainly  one  of  the 
best  that  has  been  proposed.  This  consists  in  exposing  the  substance 


*  Thne  two  numbers  make  ap  49'65,  Ihe  qnanlit^  of  ai^'grn  and  hydrogra 
presFDl.  As  do  solid  subslance,  priibably,  will  bcronnd  to  conlain  mare  ihanais 
■r  evep  fuuralomi  of  hydrogen,  it  will  perhaps  be  lufGcieul  in  practice  to  divide 
u  oftCD  ai  posaible  the  quaolily  of  ojygen  and  bydrogen  by  the  weight  or  a  paN 
tide  of  oxygen,  and  lo  consider  the  quotient  as  reprPseotiDg  the  number  nf  par- 
ticlei  of  oxygen,  and  the  remainder  as  bydrogen.  Thus  In  the  present  iDitance 
-  g-  :=4,  with  a  remainder  of  3-65  for  hydrogen,  and  JO  X  4  =  40,  the  qaao- 

tily  of  niygrn.  To  prevent  ambiguity,  however,  il  will  be  better  to  have  re- 
roiirse  to  eiperiment,  which  without  any  grrat  nicety  will  enable  one  lo  decide 
between  oor  and  eight  alomi  of  bydrngen,  as  in  the  above  inslaace  between  Sj'U 
hydrogen  and  IS'eShydrojeo. 

t  It  is  extremely  probable  that  azote  never  enters  Into  a  compound  more  than 
in  one,  or  ceriaiuly  not  more  than  in  (wo,  proportions.  Ilie  fcoowlnlge  of  ihii 
Kill  facilitate  the  process,  as  the  quantity  of  azot*  fuDud  may  beat  oBcc placed 
•ppoiile  one  niote. 


n,<i-^f^:>yG00gIe 


iJ2  On  the  Jnahjsis  of  Organic  Sulslances.     .  i^^^^H 

lobe  dried  tea  temperature  of  21 3  in  a  vacuum  with  sulj^fl^^^l 
For  e&ectiDg  this  more  easily,  1  had  ilic  following  apparatus  '^^^H 
which  answers  the  paqwse  eery  effectually,  and  at  the  same  oE^I 
will  be  found  simple  and  convenient. — A  (Plate  XXXIX.  %.  1,M 
I»  the  flat  circular  plate'-of  ao  air-pump,  on  which  ia  placed  C,1 
a  saucer  contuning  sulphuric  acid.  B  a  low  receiver  f^mmunicatin^  \ 
with  the  inner  vessel  G  by  means  of  the  pipe  F.     H  is  a  bran  cap,  ] 
capable  of  being  made  air-tight  by  means  of  a  screw  and  leather  1 
collar,  having  a  square  nut  L  adapted  to  a  key  by  which  it  may  be  1 
unscrewed,  kc.  when  necessary.  The  outer  vessel  K  coDtaioi  water,  ] 
which  is  kept  at  the  boiling  temperature  by  means  of  the  lamp  E,   I 
which  slides  upon  .the  tube  F,  and  can  thus  be  raised  or  depressed   I 
at  pleasure.    The  substances  to  be  dried  are  put  into  little  glass 
vessels  I  of  the  shape  of  buckets,  and  are  placed  in  the  vessel  G, 
and  removed  from  it  through  the  aperture  U  by  means  of  a  hooked 
ivtre.    D  is  a  stop-cock,  which,  when  the  cap  H  b  removed,  may 
be  turned,  and  thus  the  air  prevented  from  entering  the  receiver  B, 
and  the  trouble  consequently  saved  of  being  perpetually  obliged  to 
exhaust  the  whole  apparatus.  , 

In  usiog  this  apparatus  it  is  properto  introduce  as  little  superfluous 
water  as  possible ;  or  if  this  cannot  be  aviuded,  care  must  be  taken 
not  to  CKhaust  all  at  once,  but  by  slow  degrees,  otherwise  ebullition 
wilt  take  place,  and  the  substances  be  forced  out  of  the  glass  buckets. 

2.  For  finding  the  weight  of  combination,  or  of  an  atom  of  wt 
organic  compound,  no  general  rule  can  be  given,  as  the  process 
must  vary  with  the  nature  of  the  substance.  A  careful  study  of  the 
ingenious  modes  pursued  by  Berzelius  will  scarcely  fail  to  suggest 
others.  It  may  sometimes  be  more  conveniently  done  after  an  in- 
sight has  been  obtained  of  the  constitution  of  the  substance  under 
examination.     But  upon  ihe  whole,  it  will  perhaps  be  found  one  of 

-  the  most  difficult  steps  to  effect,  and  sometimes  even  impossible. 

3,  It  is  a  difficult  task,  and  requires  great  care  and  nicety,  to 
arrive  at  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  quantities  of  the  eletnents 
entering  into  an  organic  compound.     The  best  nnode  at  preaeot 

'  known  is  undoubtedly  combustion  with  osymuriate  of  potash  in  aa 
apparatus  somewhal  similar  to  Berzelius's.  *  I  have  tried  this,  and 
found  it  succeed  completely.  The  only  objection  to  it  i*  its  being 
lather  too  complicated ;  and  in  general,  perhaps,  it  will  be  found 
better  to  rest  satisfied  with  the  knowledge  of  the  quantity  of  one 
element,  and  to  make  separate  experiments  for  each  of  those  whose 
quantity  we  may  wish  to  ascertain.  In  a  ternary  compound,  carbon 
and  hydrogen  are  the  elements  whose  quantities  are  most  easily 
found.  Perhaps,  however,  the  real  quantity  of  hydrogen  will  be 
always  somewhat  larger  than  indicated,  because  the  gases  extricated 
during  combustion  must  necessarily  be  in  the  driest  possible  state, 


•  IbaretrlHNlFOtbetiigenioiK  mode  adopted  by  Mr,  Porretl  in  hit  aaaljali  of 
f  ruMio  scid ;  nnmelj,  af  addiag  ai«ltipl(»  of  oijuiii.  Ibit,  kowcrer,  lho>i[h  ft 
tiiGcei^ed  \a  (bsl  inilante,  d«M  not  wen  capable  of  unlvenol  appllcMlM. 


'..>y  Google 


n,<i-^f^:>yG00glc 


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Wli:]  On  the  Analysis  of  Organic  Sulisfances.  ^Jti 

I  Jiadia  this  state  they  will  dissolve,  nnd  retain  water  with  gredt.ob- 
■  sdmcy.  The  mode,  therefore,  adapted  by  Berzelius  was  probably 
inadequate  to  separate  the  whole  of  the  water  formed ;  and  this  may 
account  for  the  small  quantity  obtained  by  him  on  burning  oxalic 
acid.  The  remark,  however,  if  founded  in  truth,  applies  equally 
"to  all  the  substances  analysed  by  him.  In  a  quaternary  compound, 
carbon  and  azote  are  perhaps  the  elements  whose  quantities  we  cau 
most  easily  arrive  at  a  just  knowledge  of. 


Description  of  an  Instrument  to  measure  and  register  the  Risi  aiid 
■  Fall  of  the  Tide  throughout  the  whole  Flow  md  Ebb,  By  Col. 
Beautoy. 

The  parts  of  this  instrument  which  are  devoted  to  measuring  the 
height  cj  the  water  consuls  of  a  copper  tube  placed  in  the  water  of 
the  sea  or  river  in  a  Tertical  position,  and  provided  with  a  float  nearly 
filling  its  bore,  at  the  same  time  that  it  is  freely  at  liberty  to  rise  and 
(all  upon  the  surface  of  the  water,  which  is  admitted  into  the  lower 
end  of  the  tube  by  a  small  opening,  or  by  a  pipe,  and  wiiltherefore 
preserve  the  same  levsl  as  the  external  water  of  the  sea  or  river,  and 
prevent  the  float  being  affected  by  the  undulations  of  the  water. 

A  small  line  is  attached  to  the  float,  and  carried  up  to  a  wheel  or 
roller,  round  which  it  makes  several  turns;  and  the  line  of  a  balance 
weight,  being  wraj^d  upon  the  axis  of  the  wheel  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  centre,  will  cause  the  wheel  to  turn  one  way  or  other  as 
the  float  rises  or  tiills  upon  the  surface  of  the  water  in  the  tube. 
This  motion  is  communicated  by  wheel-work  to  a  second  wheel  or 
cylinder,  upon  the  surface  of  which  a  sheet  of  paper  is  fastened. 

The  re^stering  part  of  the  instrument  is  an  eight-day  pendulum 
dock,  which  at  every  ten  minutes  lets  fall  a  small  hammer  to  make 
a  mark  on  the  sheet  of  paper  wrapped  upon  the  cylinder;  inconse- 
quence, this  sheet  will  be  covered  with  a  succession  of  marks,  and 
the  intervals  between  them  will  show  on  a  reduced  scale  the  quantity 
of  riseorfellofthe  water  during  the  interval,  ten  minutes,  which  has 
elapsed  between  the  difiierent  marks  made  by  the  clock. 

The  general  action  of  the  machine  being  understood,  the  detail  of  its 
construction  will  be  explained  by  the  drawing,  in  which  PI.  XXXIX. 
fig.  2,  represents  the  whole  machine  mounted  upon  a  tripod  A  A  sup- 
poned  upon  three  feet  screws  a  a,  by  means  of  which  it  can  be  sO 
adjusted  that  the  clock  will  beat  correctly,  or  in  other  words,  that  the 
escape  of  the  teeth  of  the  awing-wheel  will  take  place  at  equal  dis- 
tances from  (he  perpendicular  on  the  opposite  sides  ;  the  tripod  sup- 
ports a  mahogany  table  B,  which  is  represented  on  a  larger  scale  in 
figures  Sand  4,  the  6rst  being  a  side  view,  wnd  the  other  a  front  view. 
Upon  this  table  are  erected  standards  C  D  E  for  the  support  of  the 

Vol.  VI.  N*  IV.  S 


1 


274  Instrument  to  measure  and  register  [Oc 

wheels  or  cyliadeis:  the  most  elevated  of  these,  marked  F,  is  that 
upon  which  the  line  b  is  wound  to  ^usptiiid  the  float  G  m  the  tube 
H  :  upon  the  extreme  end  of  the  axis  of  the  wheel  F  is  a  smalt 
cylinder  R  to  receive  the  cord  d  of  the  balance  weight  I,  which  Is 
Guch  as  so  far  to  balance  the  weight  of  the  float  as  to  keep  (he  line 
I  always  extended  ;  on  the  opposite  end  of  the  axis  of  the  upp^ 
wheel  is  fixed  a  long  pinion  k  of  80  teeth ;  this  gives  motion  tt>  the 
cylinder  K,  upon  which  the  sheet  of  paper  is  wrapped,  by  means  of 
a  wheetof  S60  teeth.  As  the  wheel  and  pinion  are  in  the  propor-  ' 
tion  of  twelve  to  one,  it  follows  tliat  any  motion  which  i^  given  by 
the  float  line  h  will  be  communicated  to  the  cylinder  K  upon  the 
scale  of  an  inch  to  a  foot ;  that  is,  a  rise  or  bA\  of  one  foot  in  the 
float  will  produce  a  motion  of  an  inch  in  the  paper  with  which  tbi» 
cylinder  is  covered,  or  one  inch  of  the  paper  will  pass  bv  the 
pencil,  which  is  to  mark  by  the  hammer  of  the  clock  L. 

This  clock  is  mounted  upon  four  pillars  e  from  the  table  if  is  the 
weight  of  the  clock,  and  ^  a  small  counter- balance,  which,  being 
pulled  down,  will  draw  up  the  great  weight  to  wind  it  up,  and  wiO 
theD  serve  for  eight  days;  the  hour-hand,  which  is  seen  in  tbie 
front,  is  carried  immediately  by  the  arbor  of  the  barrel  of  the  clock, 
and  shows  24  houis;  the  circle  above  this,  divided  into  10,  shows 
the  minutes,  as  it  makes  its  revolution  in  10  minutes ;  and  the 
upper  circle  is  for  the  seconds. 

The  disposition  of  the  train  of  wheel-work^  for  the  clocfc 
not  being  at  all  essential,  is  not  therefore  shown  in  the  drawing; 
but  any  clock-maker  to  whom  the  constructioa  is  committed  will 
be  able  to  make  a  proper  clock  from  the  nuidbef  of  the  wheels^ 
which  are  as  follows. 

The  great  wheel  on  the  barrel,  which  carries  the  hour-bud,  9$ 
teeth,  revolves  in  24  houn. 

The  centre  wheel,  pinion,  eight  leaves,  and  the  centre  wheel  84; 
these  will  revolve  in  two  houis. 

The  third  wheel,  pinion,  seven  leaves,  and  the  third  wheel  70 
teeth ;  they  complete  their  revolution  in  ten  minutes ;  and  the  arbot 
carries  the  minute-hand. 

lastly,  the  pinion  of  the  swing-wheel  having  seven  leaves,  it 
will  revolve  in  one  minute,  carrying  the  second-hand  and  swing- 
wheel,  which  having  SO  teeth,  and  acting  with  two  anchor  pallets, 
they  will  suffer  the  wheel  to  advance  \  a  tooth  at  every  vibration  of 
thependulum  N,  which  is  performed  in  a  second. 

Tne  train  must  be  made  rather  stronger  than  usual  to  enable  it  to 
carry  a  greater  weight  f,  in  order  that  the  regularity  of  the  lootion 
may  not  be  deranged  by  the  resistance  of  lifting  the  hamtner  0 
which  makes  the  marks  upon  the  cylinder  K,  This  hammer  is  fixed 
upon  an  arbor  extended  between  the  clock  plates,  and  has  twoanns 
or  levers  proceeding  from  it,  one  to  reach  the  third  wheel,  aad  the 
other  to  the  centre  wheel.  The  former  wheel,  which  revolves  once 
in  ten  minutes,  has  one  pin  fixed  in  its  circumference,  and  the  latter' 
hai!  12  pins.    Now  as  it  tums  in  two  hours^  it  is  plain  that  one  pin 


1815.]  the  Sise  tmd  Fall  tf  the  Tide.  gjs 

of  each  of  these  wheels  will  pass  by  their  respective  ariDi  or  levers 
of  tie  hammer  in  the  same  period,  viz.  10  minutes :  they  therefor* 
ptodiee  a  cammon  e&ct  of  lifting  the  hammer  and  letting  it  fidl  at 
every  10  auouta.  The  reason  for  employing  two  motions  for  this 
purpose  is,  that,  if.  it  was  enlrusted  to  the  third  wheel  to  raise  it 
with  one  pin,  it  might  retard  the  motion  of  the  clock,  because  that 
wheel  has  so  slight  a  power ;  tod,  on  the  other  hand,  the  12  pins  in 
the  centre  wheel  woald  not  be  equally  certaiQ  to  drop  the  hammer 
exactly  at  the  10  minutes,  because  as  it  mores  slowly  any  small  itu 
equali^  in  the  arrangement  of  the  pins  would  make  a  consideiBble 
diSerence  m  the  time  when  the  Iiammer  was  let  fall.  The  pins  of 
the  centre  wheel  are  therefore  made  to  act  first,  and  the  wheel  has 
sufficieDt  power  to  lift  the  hammer  without  injury  to  the  motion  of 
the  clock ;  but  just  before  this  pin  would  let  the  hammer  fall,  the 
pin  io  the  third  wheel  takes  its  lever  and  raises  it  up  a  Vety  little 
higher,  or  rather  hoId»  it  up  at  the  same  elevation,  till  the  pin  of 
the  centre  wheel  has  passed,  and  then  at  the  expiration  of  the  10 
minutes  it  lets  the  hammer  lall.  i 

The  mark  is  made  on  the  paper  of  the  cylinder  by  a  small  pieoe 
of  black  lead  pencil,  which  is  fosteoed  in  a  tube  at  the  end  of  the 
hammer  by  a-  clamp  screw :  ^  is  a  small  sliding  weight  upon  the 
arm  of  the  hammer,  which  can  be  fixed  at  any  distance  from  the 
centre  by  a  clamp  screw,  and  will  thus  make  the  pencil  strike  with  . 
more  or  less  force,  as  is  found  by  experience  to  be  necessary  to  make 
a  clear  and  defined  mark :  one  of  the  levers  or  arms  of  the  arbor  ot 
the  hammer  must  Ik  made  to  &11  upon  a  spriug  to  stop  the  descent  '^ 
of  (he  hammer.  This  will  yield  sufficiently  to  allow  the  pencil  to 
mark  when  ftlling  with  the  blow,  but  will  afterwards  keep  up  th^ 
pmntGO  that  it  wilt  not  streak  the  paper.  In  this  manner  the  pencil 
will  m^e  a  row  of  dots  round  the  cylinder  as  the  tide  rises,  and  the 
same  as  it  falls :  but  to  prevent  the  two  rows  falling  upon  the  same 
line,  by  which  they  would  confiise  each  otlier,  a  traversing  modoD 
is  given  to  the  cylinder  at  the  same  time  that  it  turns  round^:  this  it 
effected  by  a  worm  P  fixed  upon  the  axis  of  the  wheel,  and  a  cock 
r  projecttng  from  the  standard  D  to  carry  a  fixed  pin  which  acta 
against  the  worm.  By  tliis  means  the  row  of  dots,  when  the  tide 
rises.  Is  marked  diagonally;  but  when  the  tide  falls,  the  oock  r 
quits  the  spiral,  and  the  row  of  dots  are  marked  circularly.  The 
aus  of  the  wheel  is  made  with  long  pivots,  which  slide  endways,  to 
allow  the  side  motion ;  but  the  friction  is  sufficient  to  keep  one  aid* 
of  the  spiral  worm  in  contact  with  the  pin  which  acts  against  it 
whilst  the  wheel  turns  in  one  direction,  and  quits  it  when  it  turn 
in  the  contrary  direction. 

As  the  paper  must  be  changed  about  every  18  hours,  the  bearing 
at  the  top  or  the  standard  C  is  made  to  open  on  a  joint,  that  tha 
wheel  may  be  taken  out ;  the  sheet  of  paper  is  only  confined  by  a 
bo(^  or  wire  slipped  over  it ;  it  is  therefore  easily  changed ;  and  the 
only  care  is  to  make  the  end  of  the  slip  of  paperto  corresprad  with 
a  line  drawn  upon  the  cylinder  to  represent  the  point  from  which 
the  measurement  u  taken,  or  point  of  commeDccDMnt.  The  tub* 
8  3 


376  Instrument  to  measure  and  register  [Oct. 

'H  coDtainiog  die  float,  altfaough  represented  in  the  figure,  most  of 
course  be  placed  beneath  the  floor  upon  whicb  die  tripod  is  placed  : 
,  it  should  be  as  long  as  tbe  greatest  rise  and  fall  which  is  expected. 
The  present  machine  is  ai^pted  for  27  feel  of  rise ;  the  circum- 
ference of  the  cylinder  K  being  rather  more  than  27  inches,  ajid  its 
diameter  8-| :  the  wheel  F  is  the  ume  diameter,  and  tbe  line  & 
must  make  12  turns  upon  it  for  the  whole  27.  feet.  For  situatiooa 
where  a  greater  fall  is  desired,  the  diameters  of  the  wheels  must  be 
firoportionably  increased. 

The  only  adjustment  this  instrument  requires  is,  that  the  dock 
be  put  in  beat  by  levelling  the  feet,  and  regulated  to  keep  good 
time,  the  line  b  must  be  lengthened  or  shortened  untti  the  float 
bangs  level  with  the  assumed  fixed  point  firom  which  the  heights  are 
to  be  measured. 

If  the  clock  wants  altering,  it  must  be  stopped  when  the  mulute* 
hand  points  at. 10',  and  the  second-hand  at  6&';  and  then  the  hour- 
hand  must  be  set  at  the  requisite  division;  for  if  tbe  alteration  be 
made  at  any  other  period,  the  pencil  will  not  mark  when  the  mi- 
nute-hand arrives  at  It/. 

The  instrument  is  made  to  take  to  pieces  for  convenience  of  car- 
riage. The  table  B  can  be  removed  from  the  top  of  the  tri|>od  bf 
two  milled  head  screws ;  the  pendulum  detached  from  tbe  clock, 
and  fixed  close  to  one  of  the  legs  of  the  tripod;  and  the  weights 
and  float  to  the  base ;  in  which  state  the  whole  can  he  put  into  a 
moderate  sized  packing  case.  I  am  very  much  indebted  to  Mr. 
,  Cary,  mathematical  instrument-maker,  in  the  Strand,  for  the 
trouble  and  pains  he  took  in  executing  this  instrument. 

It  is  generally  admitted  that  theory  alone  affords  no  practical  con- 
clusions concerning  tlie  flowing  and  ebbing  of  the  tides :  recourse 
must  therefore  be  had  to  numerous  and  accurate  observatiooa  fiir 
practical  rules  to  find  tbe  times  of  high  and  low  water.  This  ma- 
chine will  register  every  ten  minutes,  with  4ittle  trouble  to  the  ob- 
server, the  variation  which  takes  place  from  high  water  to  low  water, 
and  vice  versa.  As  this  instrument  marks  the  ascent  and  descent  of 
the  water  every  ten  minutes,  sufficient  datum  will  be  given  for  find- 
ing  the  nature  of  the  curve  described  by  tiie  tide :.  and  if  a  register 
of  the  strength  of  the  wind,  and  the  point  of  the  compass  it  blew 
from,  was  also  kept,  it  might  determine,  whether  the  wind  most 
■  ■  affected  the  velocity  or  the  altitude  of  thetide.  If  instruments  of 
i^  description  were  used  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  and  tablet 
of  the  flux  and  reflux  of  the  tide  preserved  for  a  period  of  IS^years^ 
the  length  of  time  in  which  most  of  tbe  lunar  irregularities  of  mo- 
tion take  place,  little  doubt  can  be  entertained  but  that  as  accurate 
tide  tables  might  be  made  for  the  rest  of  the  world  as  have  been  cal- 
culated for  Liveipool  by  Mr.  Noldens,  and  for  the  Thames  by  Capt, 
Huddart. 

Expense,  generally  speaking,  is  an  objection  against  .purt:Iiaiing 

'     an  instrument.     The  one  here  described,  tteiog  simple,  is  ^pfopor- 

tionably  cheap:  and  the  cost  might  still  b«  reduced  by  mt^i[|g.-the 

clock  and  the  other  wheels  df .  wood.    As  few  persons  are  furnisheS 


IfllS.j  the  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Tide,  277 

with  instniments  for  measuring  the  force  aai  velocity  of  the  wind, 
tbe  following  remarks,  the  result'of  many  observations,  may  serve 
ft!  a  guide  to  judge  of  therflte  at  which  the  wind  is  blowing. 

When  the  wind  blows  at  tbe  rate  of  12  geographical  miles  per  ' 
hour,  or  20'29  feet  in  a  second,  the  power  of  the  wind  on  a  plane 
one  f»ot  square  at  right  angles  to  the  current  is  equal  to  13*567  <)2. 
■.voirdupois ;  and  the  generality  of  vessels  upon  a  wind  blowing  at 
this  rate  can  barely  carry  top-gallant  sails. 

When  tbe  wind  blows  24  geographical  miles  per  bour,  the  force  is 
3'54]  lbs.  avoirdapois,  and  vessels  are  under  dose  reefed  topsails. 

When  the  wind  incrtases  to  31-16  geographical  miles  in  an  bouri 
vessels  are  under  their  courses,  and  tbe  power  of  the  wind  b  equal 
to  S  lbs. 

When  the  force  of  the  wind  is  8  lbs.  on  a  square  fool,  its  velocity 
-  is  SS-SSl  geographical  miles  in  an  hour,  and  may  be  denotninated  , 
half  a  storm. 

When  the  strength  of  the  wind  is  12  lbs,  on  a  square  foot,  its 
velocity  is  43'91-e  geographical  miles  in  an  hour,  and  may  be  called 
a  full  sKHm. 

Whilst  on  this  subject,  I  have  subjoined  some  experiments  on  the 
resistance  of  air  and  water,  which  prove  how  very  erroneous  the 
theory  of  resistance  is,  and  the  small  advantage  it  b^  been  to  prac- 
tical men. 

•  Experimented  B/msltmce  of  Air  to  different  shaped  Bodies. 


Fort. 

„.... 

CjtiDder. 

Conf. 

Vert^T. 

■Wedge. 

Vertex. 

1 

(Nes 

(M«8 

0-029 

0080 

o-oaa 

Disss 

O-OiS  , 

2 

0189 

0-II6 

0190 

0086 

0-090 

0-129 

0^)69 

3 

0-9U4 

0-S68 

0-874 

0-188 

0-803 

0-291 

0-19T 

4 

0-585 

0-485 

.0-498 

0-358 

0-364 

0-618 

0-S46 

5 

o-ai& 

0-768 

0-77  S 

0-587 

0-571 

0-810 

0-537 

6 

1-191 

I'llS 

11B2 

0888 

0-885 

1-168 

0-769 

7 

1-8ST 

I-6SI 

1  535 

1-135 

1-187 

1-490 

1041 

8 

S-ISI 

2-0*4 

2-013 

1-494 

1-479 

2070 

1-354 

9 

S-704 

2'SSO 

2-584 

1-905 

1«73, 

8-834 

1-70T 

10 

SM5 

S-806 

3- 197 

8-368 

8-317 

3-2ii3 

8-100 

U 

4055 

3-«(« 

S-843 

son 

8809 

S-939 

8-53a 

IS 

4-834 

4-86S 

4-586 

3-610 

3-3iS 

4-690 

3-0U5  ' 

i9 

6-«83 

5- SOS 

5395 

4-096 

3-936 

5-506 

3-518 

■4 

6-601 

8-413 

S-2T1 

4-797 

4-378 

6-389 

4-069 

IS 

7-588 

T89S 

7-8SI 

54(8 

5855 

7-337 

4-461 

u 

8-644 

8'44S 

8-S95 

6839 

5-9S8 

8-351 

5-898 

IT 

9-771 

9-370 

9-308 

7-098 

6-767 

9-430 

5-961 

18 

I0-96S 

10-767 

10-447 

7  932 

T595 

10-57fl 

6-670- 

19 

19-9.^2 

la-0.^8 

11 'AGO 

8-890 

8-478 

11-787 

7-419 

s» 

13-587 

13-378 

18-940 

9-883 

9-397 

13-064 

8-807 

P- 

9-OiOl 

2-0611 

20309 

80619 

SKM57 

1-9678 

i 

S 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

The  area  of  the  planeand  base  of  each  of  the  bodies  is  exactly 
one  superficial  foot ;  and  tbe  altitude  of  the  cylinder,  cone,  and 
nedge,  ec[aat  to  half  the  diameter  et  their  respecttre  bases ;  con|^qf;T- 


278  Ltslrumenl  to  meastere  and  register  [Oct. 

qiieatly  when  the  cone  and  wedge  moved  with  (ke  apes  forciiUMt 
tne  air  impinged  at  an  angle  of  43°. 

Column  1  contains  the  velocity  with  which  the  air  struck  dm 
different  bodies. 

ColumD  2,  the  resistance  to  the  plane  in  ounces  avoirdupois. 

C^umn  3,  the  resi'tance  to  the  base  of  the  cylinder. 

Column  4,  the  resistance  to  the  base  of  the  cone. 

Column  5,  the  reibtance  to  the  vertex. 

Column  6,  the  resistance  to  the  plane  reduced  in  the  proportion 
of  radius  to  the  sign  of  the  angle  of  incidence  45". 

Column  7t  the  resistance  to  the  base  of  the  wedge. 

Column  8,  the  re«stance  to  the  vertex:  and  in  the  last  horizontal 
line  but  one  is  set  down  the  exponents  of  the  resistance. 

By  looking  at  the  experiments,  it  is  evident  that  the  bases  of  the 
cylinder,  cone,  and  wedge,  are  less  resisted  than  the  plane ;  and 
that  the  cone  and  wedge,  when  moving  with  their  bases  foremost, 
are  less  resisted  than  the  cylinder;  therefore  a  mere  increase  oJF 
length  decreases  the  resistance  to  the  plane,  but  not  so  much  ai  by 
khering  the  shape  of  the  hinder  extremity.  With  respect  to  the 
resistance  to  th*  apex  of  the  cone  and  wedge,  it  is  evident  that  the 
resistance  to  the  former  figure  is  not  widely  difierent  fiom  the  re- 
sistance set  down  in  column  6 :  and  eould  experiments  be  made 
free  from  errors,  the  resistance  would  decrease  precisely  as  the  log. 
sine  of  half  the  cone's  angle ;  but  with  the  wedge  it  is  otherwise, 
the  re^staoce  decreasing  in  a  greater  proportion. 

.Experimented  Resistances  of  Water  to  a  Flam  contammg  om 
saperfidat  Foot  immersed  to  the  Mean  Depth  of  6  Feet  belmo  the 
Surjace  of  the  Water. 


F«(« 

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Ui. 

Lbi. 

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lit 

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sd. 

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lib. 

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■•2949 

1-1329 

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0-1519 

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0-06S1 

3-3860 

4-9863 

4-35B5 

0-68T8 

0-9725 

1-9SS9 

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0-1309 

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9-5840 

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16-687 

2-SOl 

1144 

l-tl099 

,■  5 

0-3880 

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29-219 

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9-591 

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1-8465 

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0-1610 

41-003 

65-92T 

49  220 

6-101 

1-617 

1-8065 

8 

aosia 

03- ITS 

79-S70 

63-707 

8-563 

1-538 

1*7851 

S 

1-S590 

18-690 

90590 

79-993 

10-60T 

1-293 

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to 

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0-690 

1-7448 

11 

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117  SB 

19-19 

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s-asss 

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151-20 

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17-71 

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11081 

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80870 

164-lB 

183-40 

16473 

18  67 

0-450 

i-flesT 

14 

9-0418 

190-42 

211-51 

190-39 

21-18 

0-030 

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9-4914 

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947  83 

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1-6196 

IT 

4-4KS 

S80-77 

307-33 

878-40 

28-99 

2-B70 

1-69TT 

18 

utaas 

314-77 

349-05 

311-39 

31-66 

3-380 

1-5161 

19 

S-flII4 

S50-7I 

980-14 

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34-43 

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1-6611 

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o-eni 

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420-10 

362-98 

87-84 

5-690 

1-53H 

1-9243 

iM74 

"","  .""""".^ 

1815.]  the  Uise  and  Fall  of  the  Tide.  2f9 

Colamn  1  contains  the  velocity  of  the  plane  in  feet  per  second. 
'  Column  2  contains  culumns  of  wtter,  the  base  of  each  of  which 
vras  one  square  foot,  and  the  respective  altitude  equal  to  the  apace 
tlirough  which  a  body  must  fall  to  acquire  the  velocity  of  one,  tW(^ 
tfaree,  four,  five,  six,  &c.  feet  per  second. 

Column  3  contains  the  weights  of  the  different  columns  of  trater 
in  pounds  avcurdupois. 

Column  4,  the  resistance  to  the  plane  by  experiment. 
Colnotn  5,  the  plus  pressure  found  by  subtracting  the  minus 
pressure  contained  in  column  6th  from  the  total  resistance  set  down 
in  column  4th. 

Column  6,  the  minus  pressure  found  by  experiment. 
Column  7i  the  difference  between  the  calculated  resistances  con- 
tained in  column  3d  and  the  plus  pressure  in  column  5th. 

Column  8,  the  exponents  of  the  minus  pressure ;  and  in  the  last 
iMrizontal  column  the  exponents  of  the  total  resistances  and  plus 
pressure. 

Windf  it  appeara  by  table  1st,  when  moving  with  a  vetocity  of 
90  feet  in  a  second,  Exerts  a  force  on  a  square  foot  placed  at  right 
itDgles  to  its  direction  equal  to  13'567  ounces;  and  water,  by  table 
3d,  when  running  one  foot  per  second,  acts  on  the  same  surface, 
shnilarly  placed,  a  power  equal  to  1'2949  lbs,  or  2O-718  oz.  To 
fit»d  the  velocity  water  must  have  to  produce  equal  effect  with  wind, 
V  m  :  f  m  ::  R  :  r.  V  being  equal  to  one  foot  or  1 2  inches,  r  to 
13-567  oz*>  K  to  20*7tSoz.,  and  the  exponent  m  to  J-924S,  whence 
ris9'630t  inches,  the  required  velocity.  Tlien  ■g-.^—  is  equal  to 
34*922,  the  celerity  of  the  wind  to  produce  the  same  efiTect  as  water; 
and  ■  ■  gives  649  "48  :  consequently  if  wind  and  water  more  ' 
with  equal  velocity,  wind  has  nearly  650  part  less  power  than  water. 
As  air  is  S60  times  lighter  than  water,  and  supposing  the  velocity  of 
water  to  be  1,  and  the  resistance  as  the  square  of  the  velocity  V  — 
a/Ubo  =  29-326,  which  by  no  means  accords  with  the  result  de- 
duced from  ei^iiment,  and  the  efi^ct  of  air.jp  ,lieu  pf  -^  part  is 
.g^^  Experiment  also  proves  that  the  most  ai^ntageous  angle  for 
thesail  of  a  windmill  to  be  set  in  motion  in  is'60°,  instead  of  35° 
IS',  reckoning  from  the  plane  of  its  motion,  qr  the  wind  should 
s^ke  the  sail  at  an  angle  of  30°,  and  not  54°  44' ;  and  the  most 
adnnt^geous  angle  for  the  rudder  to  make  with  the  keel,  when  the 
impulse  of  the  water  is  given,  I  believe  to  be  30°.  After  the  im-p 
pulse  is  given,  and  the  vessel  turns,  the  anglfi  should  be  altered,  if 
the  rudder  comdde*  with  the  curve  described  by  the  stem,  becaus» 
then  it  is  evident  the  rudder  would  be  of  no  use. 

In  the  Examen  Maritime  by  I)on  Georges  Juan,  traduit  ie 
I'Espagnol,  the  resistance  of  Quids  is  supposed  to  be,  as  their  den- 
udes, as  the  surjace  opposed  to  their  action,  and  as  the  square  root 
ci  the  depth  to  which  tn^  opposing  obstacle  is  immersed.  That  the 
first  supposition  u  not  well  fouadedj  will,  I  thiok,  bj^mw  from  the 

D,g,t,.?<ii„Google 


280  ^strmnent  to  measure  and  register  [Oct. 

experionents  stated :  and  that  the  third  supposition  is  not,  is  evidoit 
from  the  following  experiment.  The  plus  and  minus  resistaoce  of 
a  pardltelopipedoD  one  foot  square  immersed  to  the  depth  of  veiy 
nearly  six  inches,  and  moving  with  a  velocity  of  12  feet  in  a  secon^ 
is  153*62  lbs.  avoirdupois;  aud  in  table  2d,  the  resistance  of  a  plane. 
ccmtainiDg  one  superacial  foQt  iminersed  to  the  depth  of  six  fieet, 
and  moving  with  a  velocity  of  12  feet,  is  157*20  lbs.,  which  is  not 
widely  different ;  and  this  variation  of  458  lbs,  may  partly  be  attti-^ 
buted  to  the  longer  body  being  less  resisted  than  the  plane. 

Tiie  first  column  of  the  following  table  contains  the  velocity  la 
feet  per  second;  and  ths  second  column  contains  the  frictioo  of 
water  against  tOO  superficial  feet  of  wood  immetsed  to  the  depth  of 
six  feet ;  and  great  pains  were  bestowed  in  rendering  the  surrace  of 
the  wood  as  eyen  and  liniooth  as  possible. 

Tlie  third  ctjlump  contains  the  increaite  of  the  friction  by  siqking 
the  surface  one  foot  lower.  If  the  friction  he  required  for  neprer 
the  surface  than  six  feet,  the  numbers  in  this  line  must  be  subtracted 
from  those  in  the  first  line  ;  but  if  lower  be  wanted,  tlie  numbpis 
in  this  line  must  be  added.  These  numbers  w^re  d.eteni)ia^  ftffm 
actual  experiment. 

By  this  table  a  judgment  iqay  be  formed  fvhat  is  the  fnctiQD  of 
the  water  on  the  bottom  of  a  large  shipj  or,  more  properly  ^eakr- 
ing,  what  is  the  minimum  of  the  friction  ;  for  it  is  almost  imiffne- 
ticable  to  render  the  immersed  part  of  any  vessel  so  eycp  oa  tbe 
surface  §s  that  with  which  the  experiment  was  made. 

A  second  rate  man-of-war  has  15,000  superticial  feet  immerse^ 
under  the  water,  if  the  draft  of  water  be  84  feet.  Supposing  the 
vessel  sails  at  the  rate  of  20  feet  per  second,  and  that  the  friction  i>. 
cahjulated  at  the  depth  of  12  feet,  or  half  the  draft  of  water,  then 
1^1-86  '+  24-668  =  14G  53,  which,  multiplied  by  150,  gives 
2197^^  'hs.  or  somewhat  more  than  nine  tons ;  hut  in  &ct  this  addi- 
tional resistance  to  the  division  of  the  fluid  must  be  hr  greater,  as 
a  vessel  Wtftn '  coppered  is,  comparatively  speaking,  a  very  upevea 
sarfece ;  and  imy  contrivance  to  diminish  the  friction  would  be  very 
desirable.  Rolled  Or  bulled  copper  sheets  being  smoother  than  those 
hammered,  if  one  dS  his  Majesty's  ships  had  one  side  coppered  in 
theusual  manner,  ,rfnd  the  o(AersIde  with,  rolled  or  milled  copper; 
pains  being  taken  to  lay  the  sheets  on  as  evenly  as  possible,  ana  the 
beads  of  the  nails  counterhink ;  if  this  vessel  so  prepared  weitsent 
to  sea  Jn  company  with  another,  and  under  favourable  circumstancet, 
the  two  vessels,  by  setting  more  or  less  on  the  same  tack,  bad  equal 
progressive  velocity ;  and  the  two  vessels  put  alx>ut,  and  nm  on  the 
other '  ttick  with  the' same  (quantity  of  sail;  the  difference  of  the 
sailing  will  show  the  advantage  of  the  two  modes^f  coppering. ' 


l*,<i-^f^:>yGOOglC 


161^.3 


the  Rift  and  ^11  of  the  Tide. 


m 


Friction  of  ike  Water  against  100  Feet,  at  the  ti 
6  Feet. 


n  Depth  of 


Tttt. 

LlM. 

Lb*. 

Peer. 

Lb». 

Lb>. 

0-ST16 

0-0067 

II 

3B-6S0 

0'8451 

l-4S9a 

ooess 

IS 

45-«94 

l-OSW 

-3-1350 

0-0474 

13 

53-S98 

1-8151 

3-4678 

0-0809 

14 

fll-488 

1-5569 

8-4981 

0-1S97 

15 

70-180 

1-8771 

11-9V1 

0-1934 

16 

19-443 

8-8888 

le-iM 

0-87  6T 

17 

89-847 

8*480 

80-908 

0-S806 

IS 

W-588 

3-0911 

8fr«S8 

0-5014 

19 

110-46 

3-5S1T 

.10 

SS-ISS 

o-eeis 

80 

181-86 

4-1113 

From  these  experiments,  it'  is  evident  that  the  resistaDce  a  bodj 
meets  with  when  moviiig  in  water  consists  of  three  ports — the  head 
resbtance,  the  minus  pressure,  and  friction. 
-  The  sha^  of  the  solid  of  the  least  resistance  is  still  to  be  aiCer- 
tained,  which  experiments  alone  can  determine ;  though  perhaps  do 
dupe  will  answer  in  every  velocity. 

I  remain,  my  dear  Sir, 

Yours  very  siiKerely, 

Mark  Beadfov. 


New  and  important  Combinations  with  the  Camera  Luctda. 
By  W.  G.  Homer,  Esq. 

(To  Dr.  Thomson.) 

SIR.  BiUk,  Jug.  15,  1815. 

.  Tub  numerous  inventions  of  Dr.  WoUaston  in  various  depart- 
ments of  philogo^y  are  marked  by  that  precision  and  completeness 
which  constitute  the  true  idea  of  elegance.  They  seldom  leave  to 
succeeding  experimenters  any  hope  of  adding  an  improvement,  and 
are  only  capable  of  being  enhanced  in  estimation  by  multiplying  the 
useful  purposes  to  which  they  may  be  applied.  These  remarks  are 
eminently  appropriate  to  the  Camera  Lucida.  As  a  corrective  of 
the  erroneous  decisions  of  the  eye,  or  a  succidaoeum  to  the  labour 
cf  educating  that  organ,  the  utility  of  this  beautiful  little  machine 
is  tfell  known.  These  advantages,  offered  by  the  instrument  in  its 
simple  for™,  have  been  proved  by  the  geologist,  as -well  as  by  artists 
in  miQiature,  landscape,  and  architecture ;  but  I  am  ignorant  if  any 
phUosopher  has  been  struck  with  the  still  more  extensive  uses  to 
vhich  ft  inay  be  adapted  in  combination  with'  the  micnncope  aJad 


'..>y  Google 


282  hfew  Cmnbmationx  with  the  Camera  Lucida.     ^  [Oct., 

Many  circumstnnces  occur  to  recommend  thes^  adtptadou,  with- 
out iDcludiDg  the  superior  graiiGcation  of  being  able  to  copy  with 
certain  correCtDesi  the  forms  of  minute  or  inaccessible  aud  diitaot 
objects,  when  compared  with  that  of  retailing  appearances,  which 
are  open  to  every  beholder.  The  great  difficulty  whicti  even  an 
esperienced.artist  finds,  in  representing  with  tolerable  accuracy  a 
telescopic  or  microscopic  image  viewed  in  the  vsual  constrained  and 
interrupted  manner,  will  render  this  improvement  highly  desirable. 
The  astronomer,  and  even  the  military  ofEcer  engaged  in  recon- 
noitring, would  derive  Important  assistance  from  the  use  of  the 
gn^kic  teieiCope. 

The  patent  for  the  Camera  Lucida  remains,  I  believe,  ^th  the 
illustrious  inventor ;  and  his  sagacity,  which  has  perhaps  anticipated 
the  hints  conveyed  in  this  paper,  will  immediately  discover  the  best 
methods  of  applying  them  to  experiment.  Those  methods  which  I 
take  the  liberty  of  noticing  are  simple,  and  such  as  1  have  partiallj^ 
submitted  to  trial. 

Tbe  obvious  principles  which  require  attention  in  both  the  adapta> 
tiQUi  recommended  are,  to  immerge  the  object-face  of  the  prism- 
into  the  «»ie  of  distinct  rays  which  issue  from  the  eye-glass  of  the 
other  instrument,  further  than  is  permitted  by  the  usual  eye-piece; 
and  to  allow  a  close  approach  of  the  eye  to  the  upper  surbce  of  the 
prism.  These  precautions  evidently  tend  to  secure  a  sufKcieol  extent 
to  the  field  of  view. 

The  graphic  microscope  would  perhaps  be  constructed  in  the  best 
manner  b^  attaching  a  single  microscope  to  the  object-fece  nf  the 
prism.  The  appendages  of  pliers,  &c.  might  be  made  applicable 
to  the  shaft  or  style  i^  the  camera.  The  vertical  structure,  and 
other  properties  of  the  compound  microscope,  present  obstacle! 
which  It  would  not  be  easy  to  surmount.  Ana  the  solution  of  these 
difficulties  is  the  less  necessaty  on  account  of  the  facility  afforded 
by  the  construction  of  the  camera  lucida  itself,  for  enlarging  or 
contracting  the  dimensions  of  the  apparent  image  at  pleasure. 

In  the  telescope  the  perforated  cylmdrical  cap,  which  is  screwed 
over  the  eye-gla^,  may  be  exchanged  for  a  shwter,  ctmical,  oc 
cuneiform  cap,  having  a  latter  aperture.  This  cap  might  carry  an 
Mm,  perforated  to  admit  the  axis  of  the  prism.  A  still  preferable 
methcia  is,  to  take  off  the  perforated  cap,  and  attach  a  hollow  tube 
to  the  side  of  the  eye-piece.  In  this  tube,  which  must  of  course 
be  shorter  than  that  m  which  the  stem  of  the  camera  slides,  a 
similar  slem  must  be  inserted  bearing  the  prism  :  in  short,  the 
original  instrument,  cut  off  at  one  third  of  its  length,  must  be 
attached  to  the  tube  which  contains  the  eye-glasses  of  the  telescope. 
The  tf^escope  being  adjusted  to  a  proper  focus,  and  the  stem  otiba 
camera  drawn  out  to  a  due  length,  and  turned,  to  bnng  the  prism 
opposite  the  axis  of  the  telescope,  the  aperture  of  the  eye-pieCe  ot 
the  prism  being  also  placed  in  aueh  a  manner  as  to  exclude,  if  re- 
quisite, the  superfluous  rays ;  the  objects  toward  which  the  instru- 
ment is  directed  will  appear,  on  looking.througb  the  prists,  U>  be 


1815-3         Nm  Combiaaliotts  with  the  Camera  Ludda.  2SS 

distributod  orer  the  piper  which  is  placed  to  receive  the  deBigD.  I 
vriU  be  oecesnar;  to  support  the  paper  as  nearly  as  possible  paralle 
to  the  axis  of  -the  telesci^. 

If  you  judge  these  observations  deserving  of  public  difliuioD, 
they  are  much  at  your  service  ;  and  a  candid  notice  of  them  in  your 
Journal,  will  oblige. 

Sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

W.   G.   HORNBH. 


Article  VI. 

jInMiempt  to  systematise  Jnatomy,  Fhystologjf,  and  Pathology. 
By  Alexander  Walker. 

(To  Dr.  Thomson.) 
SIR, 

^0B  value  you  yourself  have  attached  to  the  systematization  of 
chomistry  convioces  me  that  you  will  not  view  with  disregard  a 
timilBr  attempt  in  anatomy.  To  you  I  need  not  say  that  the  placing 
on  the  title-page  of  a  work  the  word  "  System,"  does  not  convert 
the  ill-arranged  facts  and  reasonings  of  any  science  into  a  real 
system.  That  word  expmees  the  arrangement  of  these  focts  sod 
reasonings  according  to  their  natural  relations ;  and  in  that  sense 
there  ii  certainly  no  system  of  Anatomy.  In  that  science,  the  dis- 
covery of  these  natural  relations  has  Jong  been  an  object  of  my  in- 
vestigation i  and  the  views  I  have  taken  in  the  present  paper  being 
tn  me  more  satisfactory  than  any  which  have  hitherto  suggested  - 
themseWei  to  me,  I  shall  be  happy  if  they  prove  not  unsati^ctory 
to  your  readers. 

Tbt  arrangements  of  the  present  paper  being  intimately  allied 
with,  and  in  a  great  measure  founded  upon,  the  facts  and  reason- 
ings contained  in  my  Sketch  of  a  General  Theory  of  the  Intelkctual 
FunetioDB  of  Man  and  Animals,  inserted  in  two  of  your  former, 
numbers,  tie  simplicUy,  ike  accuracy,  and  the  extensive  applica~ 
IHUy,  1^  these  arrangements,  will  afford  the  best  and  most  striking 
pro^'at  once  of  the  truth  and  of  the  originality  of  that  theory. 

It  is  ufiqueBdoaable  that  a  coirect  arrangement  of  anatomy  and 
pliysiology,  or  rather  of  the  organs  and  functions  which  they  con- 
sider, ought  to  indicate,  at  a  ungle  glance,  the  relations  of  all  these 
organs  and  function«  to,  and  their  dependence  upon,  .each  other. 
Yet  is  thb  principle  uniformly  violated  by  the  best  anatomical  and 
physioii^cal  writen. 

A  single  re^rkwill  at  once  point  out  the  errors  of  arrangement 
which  I  deprecate,  and  show  the  originality  of  the  plan  which  I 
pTofKHe.  It  is  evidently  nnnatural  to  cmisider  the  brain  before  the 
organs  of  teoM  whence  impressionc  are  transmitted  to  it;  the  organs 

' ■  ?,    ■  ■■  .uvfrc 


284  Attempt  to  systematise  [Oct. 

of  generation,  before  the  glands  whence  they  derive  the  generative 
liquid ;  the  glande,  before  the  arteries  whence  is  received  the  liquid 
tliey  transmute ;  the  arteries,  before  the  heart  which  is  the  source 
ef  the  blood  they  circulate ;  the  heart,  before  the  absorbents  whence 
the  materials  of  the  blood— the  chyle  and  lymph,  are  derived ;  the 
absorbents,  before  the  stomach  where  is  digested  the  food  whence 
'  the  chyle  and  lymph  are  elaborated;  .or  the  muscles,  before  the 
ligaments,  by  which  their  motions  are  limited,  and  without  which 
they  cannot  be  understood.  Yet  are  more  or  less  of  these  errors 
committed  by  Soemmeiriog,  Blumcnbach,  Hild^randt,  Winslow, 
Sabatier,  Cuvier,  Chaussier,  Boyer,  JDumas  and  all  the  best  anato- 
mical and  physiological  writers. 

Nor  is  this  all :  not  only  do  they,  with  regard  to  the  organs  and 
functions,  reverse,  often  to  a  great  extent,  the  order  of  their  dc- 
pendance,  but  they  widely  separate  object)  which  are  in  nature 
closely  connected,  and. blend  together  others  which,  belonging  even 
to  distinct  classes,  have  little  natural  relation.  If  the  arrangement 
of  the  author  of  the  Tables  Synoptiques  de  I'Anatomic,  in  parti- 
cular, were  to  be  considered,  as  all  arrangement  ought  to  be, 
namely,  as  indicating  the  relations  and  dependance  of  the  functions, 
so  absurb  is  it,  that  absorption,  instead  of  the  cause,  would  be  the 
result,  of  nutrition ;  generation,  the  result  of  absorption ;  and 
digestion,  the  result  of  generation. 

Thus  by  arranging  eGFects  in  the  place  of  causes  do  physiol(^tts 
confound  tlie  relations  of  the  functions,  aud  reverse  the  very  order 
of  their  dependance. 


The  general  arrangement  of  the  functiplis  into  external,  relative. 
Of  animal,  and  internal,  assimilating,  or  vegetative,  as  aociepitly 
proposed  by  Arlstoile,  and  succcRsively  adopted  by  Bufiun,  Grunauci, 

•and  Richerand,  is  replete  with  erpir. 

For,  first,  under  the  term  estemal,  relative,  or  animal  functions, 
are  thus  involved,  not  only  the  intellectual  actions,  consisting  of 
sensation,  thought  and  volition,  but  the  locomotive  actions  by  which 
we  move  from  place  to  place ;  yet  these  actions  differ  from  each 
other  in  every  respect.  Tliey  do  Tiot  resemble  each  other  in  their 
i?ilimate  nature ;  for  the  intellectual  take  place  longitudinally,*  and 
are  altogether  invisible;  while  the  locomotive  are  performed  angu- 
larly by  means  of  levers,  f  and  are  of  the  most  conspicuous  kind. 
Neither  do  tliey  agree  in  heiiig  both  external ;  for  the  Joeomotive  can 

I  alone  be  considered  so,  while  the  intellectual  are  as  internal  as  the 
animal  ex  vital,  on  which  the^e  physiologists  have  improperly  con- 
ferred that  epithet.    True  it  is  that  (he  eye  and  the  ear,  which  are 

'intellectual  organs,  receive  impressions  from  external  objects ;  but 
to  do  the  absorbent  surtaces,  which  are  vital  organs.  If  it  be  urged 
that  the  absorbed  matter  is  carried  inward  to  tlie  heart,  so  must  it 

+  The  bones. 

Cookie   . 


1815.]  Anatomi/t  Physiologt/,  and  Pathology.  285 

t>e  (eplied  are  the  sertsatiom  to  the  braiD ;  and  if  it  be  argued  that 
ftom  the  bnuQ  volitions  are  propagated  extemalljr,  so  mnst  it  be 
t^<&ied  are  secretions  from  the  circulating  system. 

Thas  the  fifit  error  of  this  method  is  to  bring  under  one  head, 
organs  (mdjancliojis  which  are  totally  distitict.  The  second  is  to 
separate  others  which  are  altogether  similar.  For  while  Richerand 
places  in  one  class  the  organs  and  functions  mentioned  above,  he 
places  those  of  generation  in  another.  Now  from  those  which  I 
have  above  termed  vital,  these  do  not  difier  either  in  their  intimate 
nature  or  in  their  general  ot^ect.  The  vital  organs  are  all  tubiUar, 
and  the  action  of&T)  is  the  froTUTnimOTi  and  transmutation  of /i^ii/s,- 
the  generative  oigans  are  all  also  tubular,  and  all  of  them  also  are 
employed  in  similar  trojismissian  or  transmutation.  The  general 
object  of  the  ntal  actions  is  the  maintenance  of  tifej  that  of  the 
generative  is  its  propagation  :  in  this  only  do  they  differ.  They  may 
therefore  be  different  orders  of  the  same  class :  they  cannot  form 
dificrent  classes. 

Such,  as  its  inspection  will  testify,  are  the  great  and  general  errora 
tA  the  system  of  Richerand.     Less  important  ones  are  numerous. 


I  consider  the  system  of  Bichat  after  that  of  Richerand,  because, 
though  it  may  have  had  the  precedence  in  publication,  and  the 
merit  or  demerit  of  that  peculiarity  which  is  common  to  both,  yet, 
being  more  detailed  and  minute,  it  involves  a  greater  number  of 
errors,  and  is  moreover  connected  with  a  doctrine  respecting  certaiti 
ninple  organic  textures,  which  demands  particular  consideration. 
■  ¥mt,  I  may  remark,  that  alt  the  great  and  general  errors — th« 
involviDg  in  one  class  the  intellectual  and  locomotive  fund  ions,*  and 
the  forming  a  separate  class  of  the  generative  onesj  committed  by 
Richerand, — are  likewise  committed  by  Bichat,  by  whom  the  in- 
ternal or  assimilating  functions  of   Richerand,    &c.    are  termed 


organic. 
Whiki 


Vhile  such  great  and  general  errors  as  these  pervade  the  system 
of  Bichat,  I  need'  scarcely  mention  that  he  improperly  places  ab- 
sorption after  circulation ;  nor  need  I  dwell  on  minuter  considera- 
tions. 

As  to  his  simple  organic  textures,  he  has  chiefly  derived  them 
from  Malacarne,  who  seems  first  to  have  set  the  example  of  this 
ridiculous  method  which,  by  distributing  the  body  into  common 
systems,  general  systems,  universal  systems,  and  partial  systems ; 
and  by  dividing  and  subdividing  these  with  a  profusion  which  sets  at 
utter  defiance  the  most  felicitous  memory,  has,  instead  of  simplify- 
iDg,  inextricably  embarrassed,  the  study  of  anatomy.  This  writer, 
Bichat  has  been  ambitious  to  rival  in  his  Anatomic  G^n^raie,  where 
the  mania  uf  subdivision,  guided  by  the  most  superticial  reflection, 
and  urged  with  the  most  imperdnent  verbiage,  has  made  as  many 
systems  in  the  body  as  there  are  organs. 

Not  even  contented  with  one  system  for  a  set  of  organs,  he  makes 


386  Attempt  to  sjfstem0iat  [Ocr. 

two  oat  of  it ;  aod  hu  accordmgly  two  mascalsr  and  two  netnifW 
systems  !  He  has  a  particular  system  for  cartilages,  anotker  tor 
tendons  and  ligamenb)  and  a  third,  which  holds  a  middle  sort  of 

C'  e  between  these  two !  He  lias  not  merely  a  system  tot  the 
s  themselvet,  but  a  syaovial  system  at  tkea^  extremties,  and  « 
medullary  system  within  them  !  He  has  a  pilous  or  hairy  system  on 
t^  surface  of  the  body,  a  dermtd  or  skinny  system,  and  an  eu- 
dermai  or  scarp'skin  system !  Curiously  eoough  thU  last  of  his 
organic  systems  is  an  inorganic  substance,  destined  to  preserve 
organic  parts  from  the  immediate  contact  of  external  objects  :  it 
possesses  neither  life  nor  sensibility ;  and  he  might  u  well  hare 
ranked  among  the  number  of  his  organic  systems  the  layer  of  paint 
which  covers  the  skin  and  envelopes  all  the  systems  of  the  native 
American. 

Unsatisfied,  however,  with  his  imaginary  simple  systems,  Bichat 
has  created  as  many  simple  functions.  Hia  animal  life  and  organic 
life,  animal  sensibility  and  organic  sensibility,  animal  contractility, 
oi^ganic  sensible  contractility,  organic  insensible  contractility,  and  a 
multitude  of  others,  will  satisfy  those  who  believe  in  them  that  they 
who  ascribe  nine  lives  to  some  of  the  feline  genus  have  only  fallen 
short,  instead  of  exceeding  the  number;  and  will  to  others  afford 
only  another  proof  that  confusion  and  error  never  yet  were  sepa- 
rated. 

Respecting  his  plan,  I  have  only  to  add,  that  his  Anatomie  G^- 
nirale  presents  the  most  signal  abandonment  of  nature,  and  of  its 
best  characteristics^simplicity  and  intelligibility.  If  Kant  had 
wished  to  do  for  physiology  the  same  sort  of  service  he  has  done  for 
metaphysics,  he  could  not  have  done  it  more  completely  than  M. 
Bichat,  who  has  so  nicely  perplexed  the  science  as  often  to  ahtrra 
the  young  for  their  own  incapacity,  and  to  satisfy  the  old  of  ita 
author's.  " 


One  of  the  most  striking  ill  consequences  of  this  want  of  arrange- 
ment is  the  diBiculty  which  not  only  the  student,  but  even  the  ex- 
perienced anatomist,  feels,  of  obtaining  for  himself,  or  communi- 
cating to  another,  any  short  and  simple  ootioo  of  the  animal  organs 
and  functions. 

A  simple  notion  of  a  complex  subject  can  be  obtained  or  commu-^ 
nicated  only  by  means  of  generalization  ;  and  if  this  be  abandoned, 
it  cannot  be  obtained  or  communicated  at  all.  In  anatomy  and 
physiology  such  generalization  is  not  even  attempted ;  the  organs  and 
functions  are  enumerated  in  an  insulated,  irregular  and  disordertyi 
manner ;  and  neither  the  person  who  makes  the  enumeration,  nor 
be  who  hears  it,  is  often  satisfied  tliat  he  has  enumerated  the  whole. 

If  an  anatomist  be  asked  to  give  a  short  account  of  the  structure 
of  the  body  by  enumerating  its  vaiious  organs,  he  tells  you  that  it 
consists  of  bones,  and  muscles,  and  ligaments,  and  arteries,  and 
T^eins,  and  nerves,  and  glands,  and  a  tmun,  audorgaos  of  sense,  (not 


'..>y  Google 


ISIS.]  Anfionufi  Pkyslotogt/,  and  Pothole^.  S^ 

perfectly  reccJlcctbg  any  more,  he  perhaps  idd*) — and  of  rarioug 
viscera.*  If  you  wuh  to  know  wbat  the»  tisceni  arc,  be  probabte 
telb  you  that  tbey  are  such  parts  as  the  heart  aud  luugs,  the  gtwnacB 
BDd  the  intestines;  and  in  inmimeratii^  these  intastioet,  which  h« 
finishes  with  the  rectum,  he  perhqw  aide,  that  the  l/raitt  alto,  and 
the  eye,  ami  the  ear,  are  called  viscera — that,  id  short,  it  is  a  name 
expressing  many  objects  of  t hot  kind,  whipb  it  is  unnecessary  for 
him  to  enter  into  a  minute  detail  of.  Perhaps,  after  all,  he  recol- 
lects that  in  enumerating  the  organs,  he  might  indeed  have  men- 
tioned  some  such  parts  as  absorbents,  and  cartilages,  and  mem- 
branes, and  so  forth— in  fine,  rather  perplexed,  and  slightly 
ashamed^he  scarce  knows  why— of  the  account  he  has  given,  he 
In  general  very  properly  adds,  that  such  enumerations  are  of  no  great 
use,  and  that,  m  order  to  understand  any  thing  o[  anatomy,  it  is 
becessary  to  enter  into  a  particular  study  of  it. 

True  it  is,  that  such  enumerations  (and  the  very  best  which  are 
given  in  books  are  no  better)  can  be  of  no  use.  But  it  is  not  less 
true  that,  in  fewer  words,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  sequel,  a  very  simple 
and  satiffiictoiy  notion  may  be  given  of  the  animal  system. 


The  develt^ment  ofthe  relations  of  the  organs  and  functions  tO) 
and  of  their  depeodaoce  upon,  oat  another,  is  the  basis  of  the 
system  I  propose. 

In  viewing,  then,  the  organs  in  a  general  manner,  a  class  at  once 
obtrudes  itself,  from  its  consisting  of  an  apparatus  of  levers,  from 
its  performing  motion  from  place  to  place,  or  locomolion,  and  from 
these  mcftioDS  being  of  the  most  obvious  kind. — A  little  more  obser- 
vation presents  to  us  another  class,  which  is  distinguished  from  the 
preceding  by  its  consisting  of  cylindrical  tubes,  by  its  transmitting 
and  transmuting  liquids,  or  perlorming  vascular  actum,  and  by  ito 
motions  being  barely  apparent. — Further  investigation  discoveis  a 
third,  which  diffirrs  essentially  from  both  these,,  in  its  consisting  of 
nervous  particles,  in  its  transmitting  impressions  from  external  ob- 
jects, or  performing  nervous  action,  and  in  that  action  being  aUO' 
'  gelher  iswisible. 

tlius  each  of  these  classes  is  distinguished  from  anotbe^  by  the 
vrKUCTURB  of  its  parts,  by  the  pcbposks  which  it  serves,  and  bjr 
the  greater  or  less  obviocsnbss  of  its  motions.  The  first  consists 
of  levers ;  the  second,  of  cylindrical  tubes ;  and  the  third,  of  nervoua 
particles,  Ilie  first  perlbrms  motion  from  place  to  place,  or  loco- 
motion;  the  second,  transmits  and  transmutes  liquids,  orperibmu 
vascular  action ;  and  the  third,  transmits  impressions  from  external 
ol^ecls,  or  performs  nervous  action.  The  motion  of  the  first  is  ex-. 
tremely  oimtous ;  that  of  the  second  is  barely  apparent;  and  that  oC 
the  third  is  altogether  invisible. 

Not  one  ctf  tlwm  can  be  confounded  with  another :  for  that  whict» 

*  XMili  a  ttttawabmUr  applied,  »)  I9  adaitof  as  iMfnl  deSottln. 


283  Attempt  to  systematic  [OcT. 

performs  locomotion  neither  transmits  liquids  nor  sensations;  that 
which  transmila  liquids  neither  performs  motion  from  piece  to  phice, 
Qor  is  the  means  of  sensibility ;  and  that  which  is  the  mefflu  of 
sen^ilnlity  neither  performs  locomotion  nor  transmits  liquids. 

Now  the  organs  employed  in  locomotion  are  the  lanes,  liga- 
ments and  muscles ;  those  employed  in  transmitting  liquids  are 
the  ahm-benti  ciTcuiating  and  secreting  vessels  \  and  those  employed 
about  SENSATIONS  are  the  organs  of  sense,  cerehrum  and  cerebellum, 
with  the  nerves  which  connect  them.  Tfie  first  class  of  organs  may 
therefore  be  termed  locomotive  or  (from  their  very  obvious  action] 
mechanical  j  the  second,  vascular,  or  (as  even  vegetables  from  their 
possessing  vessels  have  life)  they  may  be  temied  vital ;  and  the  third 
may  be  named  nervous  or  intellectual. 

Mechanical  actios,  indeed,  appears  to  be  only  less  minnte  than 
vital  action ;  and  it  is  probable  chat  nervous,  as  well  as  chemical, 
action  are  only  yet  more  evanescent.  All  the  organs  and  functions, 
therefore,  may  perhaps  be  termed  mechanical.  But  whether  this 
be  so  or  not  is  of  little  consequence  in  this  case ;  since,  in  adopting 
these  terms,  I  mean  them  merely  to  express  the  obvious  and  im- 
portant distinctions  which  are  mentioned  above, 

Aa  arrangement  of  anatomy  and  physiology,  however,  according 
to  a  precise  dependance  of  these  systems,  is  not  possible  :  for, 
though  tlie  nervous  system,  being  considerably  independent  of  the 
muscular  and  vascular,  might  with  this  view  ^e  placed  first,  yet  we 
cannot,  consistently  with  maintaining  this  precise  order,  next  men- 
tion the  muscular,  because  all  muscular  action  is  in  a  certain  mea- 
sure dependant  on  the  action  of  vessels ;  nor  can  we  next  mentioa 
the  vascular,  because  all  vascula^  action  is  in  a  certain  measure  de- 
pendant on  the  action  of  muscles.  In  short,  in  animals  alt  the 
systems  influence  one  another,  just  as  in  vegetables  the  two  which 
exist  in  tliem — the  mechanical' and  vital,  are  reciprocally  affected. 

Tlic  order,  then,  of  greatest  independence,  is  that  which  places 
th.e  mechanical  organs  first,  because  in  minerals,  the  simplest  beings, 
where  mechanical  structure  alone  exists,  it  is  uninfluenced  by  any 
vital }  the  vital  organs  next,  because  in  vegetables — the  beings  next 
in  complexity,  they  are  uninfluenced  by  any  intellectual;  and  th« 
intellectual  last,  because  they  exist  only  in  animals.  This,  then,  is 
the  order-  of  their  greatest  independence. 

The  advantages  of  this  arrangement  are,  first,  i^  enuiherating 
the  organs  in  the  order  of  the  obviousness  of  their  functions: 
secondly,  its  enumerating  them  in  the  order  of  the  three  natural 
claesA  of  beings — minerals  having  mechanical  structure;  vegetables, 
mechanical  and  vital ;  and  animals,  mechanical,  vital  and  intellec- 
tual :  thirdly,  its  connecting  this  portion  of  science  with  science  in 
general;  for,  from  jhe  mechanical  and  vital  organs,  common  to 
apimals  with  the  inffrior  classes,  we  pass  through  the  intellectual 
Which  are  proper  td  them,  to  the  consideration  of  intellect  itself, 
and  of  those  signs  of  ideas  which  language  aSbrds,  Thus  we  pass 
imtuialiy  from  the  last  of  the  physical  sciences,  coaudeTiag  the 

Google 


1815.]  ^intOomtft  Phyaology,  md  Pathology.  289 

itructure  or  berngs  gradually  iocreasing  ia  pCTplexity,  thnwgh  the 
portions  of  anatomy  aod  [ihynology,  to  the  first  of  the  Uteraiy  and 
moral  ones. 

The  disadvantages  which  would  result  from  the  abaadoament  of 
this  order  of  the  oigans  would  be,  that  we  should  lose  sight  of  thlf  . 
DStural  independence,  that  we  should  reverse  the  order  of  the  ob- 
viousness of  the  functions,  and  that  their  reference  to  the  three 
natural  classes  o(  beings,  and  their  relations  to  science  in  general, 
would  altogether  disappear — that  the  sciences  of  anatomy  and  phy- 
aiology  would  at  Once  be  insulated  aod  deranged. 


The  human  body,  then,  con^sts  of  oigans  of  three  kinds.  By 
the  first  kind,  motion  from  place  to  place,  or  mechanical  action,  iA 
effected ;  by  the  second,  nutrition,  or  vital  action,  is  maintained ; 
and '  by  (he  third,  thought,  or  intellectual  action,  is  permittedt 
Anatomy  1  therefore  divide  into  three  parts ;  namely,  that  which 
ooosiders  the  mechanical  or  locomotive  organs,  that  which  considers 
the  vital  organs,  and  that  which  considers  the  intellectual  organs. 

Under  the  mechanical  or  locomotive  organs,  1  class,  fint,  tht 
boBes,  which  suppcvt  the  rest  of  the  animgl  stroetune }  second,  th« 
ligaments,  which  unite  them  j  and  third>  the  muscles,  which  move 
them. 

Under  the  vital  oi^ns,  I  class,  first,  the  external  and  internal  ab- 
■orfoent  suifaces,  and  the  vessels  which  absorb  from  these  surfaces, 
or  the  organs  of  absorption ;  second,  the  heart,  longs,  and  bloodi- 
Vessels,  which  derive  their  contents  (the  blood)  from  the  absorbed 
lymph,  or  the  organs  of  circulation;  and  third,  the  glands  and 
secreting  surfaces,  which  separate  various  matten  from  the  blood,  or 
the  organs  of  secretion. 

Under  the  intellectual  organs,  I  class,  first,  the  organs  of  sense, 
where  impressions  take  place ;  second,  the  cerebrum,  or  organ  tk 
tfiought,  where  these  excite  ideas }  and  third,  ihe  cerebellum,  where 
Tolitum  results  from  the  last. 

To  some  it  may  appear  that  the  organs  and  functions  of  digestion, 
respiration  and  generation,  are  not  involved  by  tht.=  arrangement ; 
but  such  a  notion  can  originate  only  in  superficial  observation. 
Ingestion  is  a  compound  function  easily  reducible  to  some  of  the 
simple  ones  which  1  have  enumerated.  It  consists  of  the  motion  of 
die  stomach  and  contiguous  parts,  of  the  secretion  of  a  liquid  from  ' 
its  internal  surfoce,  and  of  that  heat  which  ia  the  common  result  of 
all  action,  whether  locomotive,  vital,  or  intellectual,  and  which  b 
better  explained  by  such  motion  than  by  chemical  theories.  Simi' 
lariy  compound  are  respiration  and  generation. 

"nius  there  is  no  organ  nor  function  which  is  aot  involved  by  the 
simple  am)  natural  arrangement  I- have  sketched^ 

Compound,  however,  as  the  organs  of  digestion,  reniiration  an#- 
generation,  are,  yet  as  tbfT  form  so  importaata  part  of  the  syitei&, 

Vol.  VI.  NMV.  T      *^ 

'      ■  n,r.^^<i"yG00glc 


206  Altanpt  to  syiletMtixe  [OcT. 

it  may  be  asked;  "  witb  which  of  these  claasei  they  ae  most  aUied}* 
The  answer  is  obvious.  All  of  them  consist  of  tubular  vessels  ef 
varioda  diameter;  and  all  of  them  transmit  and  transmute  liquids. 
Possessing  such  strong  cfaaracterisijcs  of  the  vital  system,  they  are 
evidently  most  allied  to  it. 

In  short,  digestion  pTepares  the  vital  matter,  which  is  taken  up 
by  absorption — the  first  of  the  simple  vital  functioos ;  reifAfaiton 
renovates  it  in  the  very  middle  of  its  course — between  the  two  por- 
tions of  the  simple  fuactioa  of  circulation ;  and  generation,  de- 
pendant on  secretion — the  last  of  these  functions,  communicates 
this  vital  matter,  or  propagates  vitality  to  a  new  series  of  beings.  In 
such  arrangement  the  digestive  organs  therefore  precede,  and  the 
generative  follow,  the  simple  vital  organs;  while  the  respiratory 
occupy  a  middle  place  between  the  veioous  and  the  arterial  circula- 
tion. Nothing,  however,  -can  be  more  imprc^r,  as  the  [»:eceding 
obsermtioDs  show,  than  considering  any  one  of  these  as  a  distinct 
class. 

,  The  preceding  is  a  natural  arrangement  of  the  anatomy  of  man 
and  the  higher  animals;  and  its  peculiar  simplicity  is  illustrated  by 
its  -involving,  in  application,  that  of  minerals  and  vegetables,  and 
by  its  being  capable  of  instant  adaptatiwi  to  physiological  science. 


In  order  to  arrange  animal  Physiology,  it  is  only  necessary  to 
substitute  the  tenn  "  functions  "  for  "  organs ; "  and  that  science 
will  likewise  involve,  in  application,  the  physiology  of  mineral  and 
vegetable  bodies,  and  be  in  its  turn  capable  of  instant  adaptatitm  to 
medical  science. 

Thus  the  functions  also  are  divided  into  mechanical,  yital,  and 
intellectual. 

The  mechanical  functions  are  subdivided  into  that  of  support, 
■that  of  couD^ion,  and  that  of  locomotion. 

The  vital  functions  are  divided  into  that  of  absorption,  that  of  cir- 
culation, and  that  of  secretion. 

The  intellectual  functions  are  divided  into  that  of  sensation,  that 
of  mental  operation,  and  that  of  volition, 

A  circle  of  functions,  I  may  observe,  thus  esist  in  animals,  which 
exist  not  in  minerals  or  vegetables,  because  volition,  the  last  of  the 
intellectual  functions,  connects  itself  to  the  mechanical  ones  by  ren- 
dering jbem  subservient  to  it  in  locomotion.  Thus  the  first  and  tha 
last  of  these  functions  are  as  intimately  connected  as  any  of  the  in- 
termediate ones,  and  a  beautiful  circle  of  organic  function  and 
organic  influence  is  formed.  • 

Tlius,  then,  there  are  three  orders  both  of  organs  and  functions — 
the  locomotive,  the  vital,  and  the  intellectual ;  and  of  each  of  thest 
drders  there  are  4ib  three  genera,  namely,  of  the  first  or  locomo- 
tive, those -organs  and  functions  which  support,  connect,  and  move} 
of  the  second,  or  vital,  those  which  absorbj  circulate,  and  secrete  j 


n 


D,g,t,.;<ii„Goog.Ie 


181S^]  Analona/,  Pkysiolog/,  vtd  Pathotogy,  S91 

ud  of  the  last,  or  intellectual,  those  which  feel,  think,  and  will ; 
and  b;  the  latter  of  these  the  former  is  in  locomotioa  affected, 

,  Id  order  to  arrange  PatholooY}  for  the  term  "  healthy  faiic- 
-dons,"  the  subject  of  physiology,  it  is  only  necessai?  to  substitute 
the  term  "  diseased  functions." 

The  classes  of  disease  are,  therefiwe,  like  those  of  anatomy  and 
phyiiologyj  three ;  namety,  diseases  of  the  mechanical  or  locomotive 
fiinctioDj,  diseases  of  the  ntal  functions,  and  diseases  of  intellectual 
functions. 

The  orders  of  the  first  class,  as  affecting  the  functions  of  the 
bones,  the  ligaments,  and  the  muscles,  are  three,  viz.  diseases  of 
support,  diseases  of,connexion,  and  diseases  of  locomotion. 

Those  of  the  second  class,  as  affecting  the  functions  of  the  ab- 
sorbent, the  circulating,  and  the  secreting,  vessels,  are  likewise  three, 
viz.  diseases  of  absorption,  diseases  of  circulation,  and  diseases  <^ 
secretion. 

'  Those  of  the  third  class,  as  affecting  the  fttnctions  of  the  organs 
of  sense;  of  the  brain,  and  of  the  nerves,  are  also  three,  viz.  diseases 
of  impression,  diseases  of  judgment,  and  diseases  of  volition. 

The  genera  under  each  order  consist  of  dipioished,  depraved^ 
and  increased,  functions,  . 


Precisely  in  the  same  way  would  I  class  the  articles  of  the  Ma- 
teria Mbdica  ;  first,  as  operating  upon  the  mechanical,  vital,  or 
intellectual,  organs  j  and  then  as  either  iDcreasing,  reodetiDg  re- 
gular, or  diminishing  their  action. 

It  is  not  unusual  to  consider  the  body  as  being  divided  into  the 
head,  the  trunk,  and  the  extremities  j  but  in  consequence  of  the 
hitherto  universal  neglect  of  the  nntural  arrangemeut  of  the  organs 
And  functions  into  mechanical,  vital,  and  intellectual,  the  beauty 
and  interest  which  may  be  attaohed  to  this  division  has  equa% 
escaped  the  notice  of  anatomists. ' 

It  is  a  curious  fact,  and  strongly  confirmative  of  the  preceding 
arrangements,  that  one  of  diese  parts — the  extremities,  consist 
almost  entirety  of  mechanical  organs,  namely,  of  bones,  ligaments, 
and  muscles ;  that  another — the  trunk,  consists  of  all  the  greater 
vital  organs,  namely,  absorbents,  blood-vessels,  and  glands ;  and  that 
the  third — the  head,  contains  all  the  intellectual  organs,  namely,  the 
organs  of  sense,  cerebrum,  and  cerebellum.  In  perfect  consistency 
frith  my  assertion,  "  tliat  though  the  organs  of  digestion,  respira- 
tion, and  generation,  were  really  compound,  sNl  they  were  chlefiy 
vital,  and  properly  belonged  to  that  class,"  it  is  not  less  remarkable 
that  in  thb  division  of  the  body  they  are  foundtooccupy  that  part — ■ 
the  trunk,  in  which  the  chief  simple  vital  organs  ue  contained,  ' 

r,,:-A-..>yCjOOg[e 


istj.  JHempt  to  jyi?WJWfifce  JMtoikg,  9e.  [dtSii 

This  aiso  sbows  the  impropriety  of  reckoning  an;  of  these  a  separate 
.  system  from  the  vital. 

It  is  a  tiict  not  less  curious,  nor  less  coofirmative  of  the  preceding 
arrangements,  that  of  these  parts  those  which  consist  chiefly  of 
nai^chanical  organs — organs  which,  in  the  sense  already  expliiiDed, 
are  common  to  us  with  the  lowest  dass  of  beings,  namely,  minerals,* 
are  placed  in  the  loweH  situation,  namely,  the  extremities ;  that 
#hich  consists  chiefly  of  vital  or;gans — organs  common  to  iia  with  a 
higher  class  of  beings,  namely,  veg«tables,t  is  placed  in  a  higher 
siiuairon,  Oaniely,  the  tnmli: ;  and  that  which  consbts  chiefly  of 
intellectual  organs — organs  peculiar  to  the  highest  class  at  beings, 
namely,  animals,  }  is  placed  in  the  highest  situation,  namely,  the 
head . .  .  It  is  not  less  remarkable,  that  this  analogy  is  supported 
even  in  its  minutest  details;  for,  to  choose  the  vital  organs  contained 
m  the  trunk  as  an  illustration,  it  is  a  fact  that  those  of  absorptioQ 
and  secretion,  which  are  most  common  to  us  with  plants — a  tower 
diiis  of  beings,  have  a  loiver  situation—  in  the  cavity  of  the  abdo- 
men ;  wlule  those  of  circulation,  which  are  very  imperfect  in  plants,  § 
and  more  peculiar  to  animata — a  higher  class  of  beings,  hold  a 
higher  situation — ^in  the  cavity  of  the  thorax. 

It  is  moreovei  worthy  of  remark,  and  still  illustrative  of  the  pre- 
ceding arrangements,  that  ia  each  of  these  three  situations  the 
bone^  differ  both  in  position  and  in  finrm.  In  the  es:tTemitie9  they 
are  situated  internally  to  the  soft  parts,  and  are  generally  of  cylin- 
drical form ;  in  the  trunk  they  begin  to  assume  a  more  e&teroal 
situation,  and  a  fiatter  form,  becanse  they  protect  vital  and  more 
uupbrtaiit  partS)  which  they  do  not,  however,  altogether  cover ;  and 
in  the  head  they  obtain  the  most  external  situation  and  the  flattest 
jbrm,  especially  in  its  highest  part,  because  they  protect  intietlectual 
and  most  important  or;gans,  which  in  some  pans  they  completely 
invest. 

"Hie  loss  of  such  general  views  is  the  consequence  of  arbitran 
aeth(>ils.  They  did  not  present  themselves  to  me  till  I  had  tracca 
^3  outline  of  the  natural  system. 

Alexander  WALKBRt 

•  ne  t>oDe>,  mareoTcr,  caDtsin  the  ptatett  qnBHtitj  *f  ■i«er»l  iMlter, 
'4-  It  li  the  pMseisloii  af  vcudi  whicb  conttitaln  (be  vitallt;  of  tegetablN. 
. }  la  solmals  alone  U  aenan  natter  diacovcrable, 

\  Plant!  bayc  no  rctd  circslilioa,  nor  ffUtaf/i  of  lUeir  notrUin  Ifqaid  throng 
W  MBie  pOlnl. 


'..>y  Google 


^15.]        Jstrommkat  and  Maffutical  Oiservatmt,_ 


^trononueal  and  Magiutical  Observatitms  <U  Haciaet/  Wick. 
By  CoL  Beaufoy. 

lAtitadr,  il^SV  40-3"  Notth.      Lo^twle  Wnt  in  Tine  V-f^ 
Sept.  le,  Uuimian  a  k  nail  lUr  in  bfillwli,  S^BVOA"  H«an  Tine  at  H,  W. 
Magnet ical  Ol/servaiums. 
IBIS. 


Uoinlns  OtMer*. 

Nmd  Otnerr. 

Bfonlas  OlMet^. 

Hour. 

Wlalloa. 

Hoor. 

Viriatiwi. 

Hour. 

Vkriatiiiu 

Adk.    18 
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8h  W 

24>  ift-    83" 

16  IB' 
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84"  83-   40' 
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iff 

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84.  IB    Oft 

Magaetical  Observatkat  amtinued. 
WIS. 


Momiiis  Obfen. 

NoonOlwef 

B«Mi>Dc  Oli«r». 

Hont. 

Tarlation. 

Hoar. 

Virlu 

on. 

Hour. 

Variation. 

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"  " 

Analyses  of  Books. 
Compa^oa  of  Observations. 


April.. 


M«y J  Wnoh,.... 

(_  Evening... 

TMorDlDg   . 
fqne i  Noon 

^Eieniog    . 

Jnly  .. 


fMorniflj  . 
Xasa»\.....iHaoa 


r  Morniug   . 

i  NooD 

|_ETeniDg... 


34    I&    85 


15  55 

^S'  St 

16  08 


S4  13  IS 

B4  aa  13 

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24  13  29 


1815. 


•  16'  01" 

97  48 

IT  48 

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19  13 

16  11 

27  18 

19  40 

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35  45 


Tj-i„  fcii.^  (Between  noon  of  (he  Is(  Alig.f  ,,„,.  .,  . 
lUin  hltcQ  J  Between  noon  of  (he  Is!  Sept.  j  ^^^  '""^ 
'  Evaporation  dnring^lie  same  period 3*4^ 

Xtrata  in  tkt  Uit  If  umber  of  Iht  Attniih  vf  PhiUiuplrg, 

nvkEon  tboariatioa.'afier  the  wordi  "  the marniag  and  nooi 

tioDS,''  >B>C  "  <Mi  Ibe  SOIh." 


Article  VIII, 
.  Analyses  or  Book^. 

The  lAierary  and  Scientific  Pursuits  whith  are  encouraged  and 
fTtforced  in  the  Universily  of  Cambridge  briejiy  described  and  vindi- 
cated: ivilh  various  Notes.  By  the  Rev.  Latham  Wainewright, 
A.  M.  F.  A.  S,  of  Emmaripel  College,  in  that  University,  and 
Rector  of  Great  Brickhill,  Bucks.     London.     Hatchard.  181  ^^ 

T^EOLitcry  which  has  been  raised  against  the  English  universi- 
ties, and  the  very  general  opinion  entertained  for  s<Hne  time  past 
that  they  are  rather  theatres  of  dissipation  than  of  learning  and 
science,  have  been  attended  with  several  good  effects.  They  have 
produced,  it  is  said,  a  refprm  in  Oxford,  where  the  defects,  if  we 
believe  Gibbon,  and  some  others  who  have  written  on  the  subject, 
were  great,  and  almost  intolerable  :  and  this  reforination,  if  our  in- 
formation resgiecting  {hat  University  be  correct,  might  be  carried 
Btili  further,  with  considerable  advantage  to  the  yoang  men  who 
frequcHt  it.  They  have  occasioned  likewise  the  present  publication, 
which  makes  us  acquainted  with  the  mode  of  education  followed  at 
Cambridge,  tbe  sister  University,  long  celebrated  for 'the  attebtioi^ 
fvbich  she  pays  to  mathematics  and  the  mechanical  acieqcca> 
-Cookie 


1815.)  H'aineiurigkl  on  Eiheaiton  at  Cambridge.  29S 

Though  this  little  work  was  intended  by  its  author  as  a  full  account 
of  the  mode  of  education  followed  at  Cambrid^,  and  though  we 
liave  no  doubt  that  it  is  written  with  as  much  candour  as  is  con- 
sistent with  the  character  of  a  professed  euki^st^  we  regret  thst 
several  circumstances  are  omitted  which  would  have  been  requisite 
to  convey  to  us,  who  are  quite  unacquainted  wilh  the  forms  of  En^ 
lish  Universities,  an  adequate  idea  of  the  value  of  the  infonnatiw 
which  13  communicated  to  the  young  men  by  the  tutors.  In  the 
Universities  of  Scothind,  and  we  believe  in  all  those  on  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe,  every  science  taught  is  confined  to  a  particular  in- 
dividual, who  is  called  the  Professor  of  that  science,  and  whose 
business  it  ts  to  collect  a  correct  outline  of  the  whole  department  of 
knowledge  committed  to  his  charge,  and  to  lay  the  best  arranged 
and  most  luminous  view  of  it,  which  he  can,  before  his  pupils.  But 
ia  the  English 'Univereities  the  case  is  very  different.  In  eveiy 
college  a  eertflin  perstm  is  appointed  under  the  name  of  tutor,  uodn 
whose  care  thesiudents  at  that  college  are  placed,  and  to  whom  they 
are  indebted  for  all  the  academical  information  which  they  receive. 
Now  in  order  to  form  a  judgment  ef  the  way  in  which  these  tutus 
are  likely  to  discharge  their  duly  (on  which  every  thing  depends],  it 
would-  be  requisite  to  know  whether  one  tutor  teaches  all  the 
science?,  or  whether  a  particular  tutor  be  appointed  fior  each  pnrti- 
cular  science ;  whether  the  tutor  receives  any  fees  from  his  pupils^ 
and  whether  his  emoluments  depend  chieHy  at  least  upon  the 
number  of  students  that  enter  his  particular  college.  Now  lipoa 
these  very  material  points  no  information  whatever  is  communit^ted 
by  Mr.  Wainewright. 

If  every  college  is  restricted  to  only  one  tutor,  the  prohahility,  or 
almost  the  certainty,  is,  ibafhe  will  have  a  stronger  bias  to  one  de^ 
partment  of  knowledge  than  to  the  others.  -The  three  great  depa^^• 
ments  which  constitute  the  range  of  a  Cambridge  education  are, 
1.  Latin  and  Greek,  tocluding  Belles  Lettres.  2.  Mathematics, 
and  the  Mathematical  Sciences.  .3.  Metaphysics,  Morals,  and 
Theology.  Now  it  is  very  unlikely  that  a  thorough  Greek  and  Latjo 
scholar,  or  a  professed  poet  or  critic,  should  at  the  same  time  be  s 
good  mathematician  and  a  profound  metaphysician.  Who  ever 
heard  of  a  poetic  mathematician }  Unless  Halley  and  Boscovich 
are  to  be  considered  as  examples.  Now  to  whatever  science  the 
tutor  has  particularly  attached  himself,  there  is  every  reason,  to 
suppose  that  to  it  he  will  naturally  turn  the  chief  attention  of  his 
.  pupils,  and  that  the  information  which  he  has  to  communicate  oa 
the  other  branches  of  knowledge  will  be  comparatively  of  little 
value.  Hence  the  probability  is,  that  whatever  branch  of  know- 
ledge has  become  fashionable  m  the  University,  to  that  branch  the 
attention  of  the  students  will  be  gsnerally  directed.  I  conceive  this 
to  be  the  reason  why  Greek  and  Latin  constitute  the  chief  objects 
of  study  at  Oxford,  and  mathetnatics  at  Cambridge.  1  once  met 
wkh  m  Oxford  student  in  a  stage-coach,  a  very  young  man,  wba 


.  t96  Jaalyus  of  Books.  ^Ocf. 

told  SK  that  for  tiis  mrt  be  would  iMhet  enjoy  the  r^aUtion  of 
Foraoia  llun  that  of  Newton. 

If  there  be  a  tutor  appointed  for  every  particular  scienceat  Cam- 
^idge,  the  objection  which  1  ha?e  stated  will  be  obviated ;  but  un- 
-  luckily  Mr.  VVainewright  has  ^vea  us  no  ioformition  whatever  ott 
the  subject. 

If  the  emolumeDtb  of  the  tutor  depend  upon  the  number  of  sta« 
dents  attendiDg  his  particular  college,  and  if  that  numher  be  deter- 
mined by  the  nputaiioo  of  the  tutor,  then  it  is  obvious  that  a  strong' 
motive  is  lield  out  to^hioi  to  discharge  his  duty  as  &ithfuUy  as  pos- 
sible ;  beottuse  the  higher  his  rtpuUtion>  the  greater  will  hit  iiKome 
beconie.  The  salaries  of  the  medical  professors  at  Edinburgh  (ex- 
cluding two  or  three  late  appointments  by  the  Crown)  amoufit  to 
20l.  a  year  divided  among  five  individuals,  or  4l  per  annum  each. 
Hence  their  whole  emoluments  dtpeud  upon  their  students.  If  they 
neglect  their  duty,  they  will  be  sure  to  lose  their  class,  and  then  the 
Professor's  chair  will  not  be  north  filling.  But  if  the  incon^e  of  the 
Cambridge  tutors  docs  not  depend  upon  their  pupils,  if  they  receive 
the  same  sum  ^vltelher  they  do  their  duty  or  nqt,  whether  the 
number  o'f  their  pupils  be  great  or  imall,  then  in  that  case  the 
powerful  feeling  of  self-interest  will  be  wanting  to  stiniulate  their 
«senion,  and  the  chance  of  indqlence  and  carelessness  will  be 
greatly  enhanced.  The  indolence  of  the  established  cle^y  has 
kmg  been  proverbial,  while  the  activity  of  the  dissenting  clergy  has 
always  been  conspiLUoua,  because  their  success  in  life  depends  uptm 
the  opinion  entertained  vi  th^^i  by  their  hearers. 

It  would  have  been  very  desirable  if  Mr.  Wainewright  had  cod- 
Tcyed  iuformatton  to  us  upon  these  two  most  material  points,  be^ 
Mutte  upon  them  thi:  value  of  Cambridge  as  a  place  of  educatioi)^ 
must  chiefiy  depend. 

Another  piece  of  information  scarcely  less  important  is  also  want- 
ing! We  should  have  been  lold  how  great  a  pOTtion  of  each  year  it 
is  necessary  for  the  student  who  means  to  reap  the  proper  advantage^ 
of  (he  institution  to  reside  at  Cambridge.  I  have  known  some 
persons  keep  their  terms,  as  it  is  called,  and  yet  reside  but  a  very 
.  abort  part  of  the  year  at  an  English  University.  If  this  be  a  common 
practice,  or  if  ii  mny  be  followed  by  «very  person  ad  Uinlum,  it  is 
obrious  that  the  University  is  converted  in  a  great  measure  into  % 
nere  political  establishment. 

But  perhaps  the  Aiost  important  information  of  all  is  the  sum  of 
money  per  «nnum  which  a  student  nt  Cambridge  requires  to  put  him 
an  a  footing  with  his  assqciatea.  I  have  been  ttdd  by  a  young  Gentler 
nan,  a  Iriend  of  mine,  a  student  at  Cambridge,  that  300/.  a-yeap 
was  the  least  that  he  could  ever  spend.  Suppose  this  to  be  consider-r 
ahly  above  the  minimum,  it  may  serve  to  give  us  some  idea  at  least 
of  the  style  of  life  which  the  generality  of  'he  students  lead.  Now 
a  nomest's  reflection  must  convlpee  any  person  that  if  a  yoqng  mm 
Mtidef  put  of  the  year  at  Caintirid^  ap^  sp«9d9  dvrifig  tbiit  tiaw 

n,,:-A-..>yGoogIe 


1815.3        Jfaineuiright  oa  BducatJott  fj  Camlindge.  ,1(3/J 

SOO^,  his  mind  mtist  be  taken  up  about  soiDethiug  else  than  ti^&f 
Cktlierwise  the  fees  exacted  must  be  shamefully  at)d  improperi^  high 
I  consider  the  cheapness  of  education  as  the  most  important  advaa- 
tage  which  any  natian  can  possess.  No  pet^le  can  ever  make  a 
fi^re  in  science  or  literature  if  the  tcrtw  of  education  are  eo  high 
that  it  is  necessarily  con&ncd  to  the  higher  ranks  of  society  ;  because 
proficiency  in  science  is  the  result  Cf  long  and  laborious  exertion, 
vvbich  few  will  be  capable  of  making  who  already  fee)  themselvet 
sufficiently  distinguished  by  their  nnk  or  their  wealth.  If  we  take 
a  view  of  the  literary  characters  who  have  given  lustre  to  Great 
Sirltain,  how  small  a  number  shall  we  find  who  had  either  ratik  or 
wealth  to  boast  of!  Have  they  not  la  general  risen  from  the  knvec 
ranks  of  society  ?  Nature  endowed  them  with  talents,  accident  gave 
them  the  requisite  education ;  and  that  noble  emulation,  that  desjie 
of  dbtioctioD  so  strongly  attached  to  genius  and  talents,  urged  them 
-on  to  exert  the  requisite  industry,'  and  emerge  from  the  obscurity  ia 
which  chance  had  placed  them. 

Puring  each  of  the  years  178S,  1769,  and  1790,  I  resided  six 
months  at  the  University  of  Ht.  Andrews :  my  expenses  during  each 
year  (including  every  thing)  did  not  exceed  14/.  The  next  ten 
years  1  spent  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  Here  my  expenses 
were  greater,  because  1  resided  in  that  city  during  the  whole  year, 
Bod  becatiae  1  had  to  pay  for  lodgings,  which  was  not  the  case  at  IJt. 
Andrews.  But  even  in  Edinburgh  the  annual  expenditure  did  n^ 
exceed  50/.  It  will  be  higher  at  present  in  both  places ;  becaute 
the  prices  of  every  thing  have  risen  greatly  since  the  period  to  which 
I  allude.  But  even  at  present  I  should  consider  30/. or  40/.  asuffi-- 
«teDt  allowance  for  St.  Andrews,  and  100/.  for  Edinburgh. 

Perliaps  indeed  it  ia  of  more  importance  that  the  grammar  school 
education  should  be  cheap  and  accessible  to  all;  because  here  the 
boy  of  genius  becomes  first  aware  of  his  talents,  and  feels  the  charnu 
.that  attend  the  acquisition  of  knowledge.  These  charms  are  so 
powerful,  and  the  new  views  which  education  opens  so  efficacious, 
that  when  a  hoy  has  once  felt  their  influence  he  will  make  wonderfttl 
exertions  to  enable  him  to  advance  in  the  same  career.  I  know  a 
Gentleman  who  at  present  makes  a  very  reapeciable  figure  in  the 
litepiry  world,  and  enjhys  a  very  hapdspme  Income.  He  was  the 
•on  of  a  hind  in  the  south  of  Scotland.  During  summer  he  hired 
himself  out  to  the  farmers,  and  during  winter  put  himself  to  school 
with  the  money  which  he  had  thus  earned.  By  degrees  he  got  the 
tilustion  of  a  parish  schoolmaster ;  and  continuing  iiis  assiduity,  and 
rising  by  slow  progression,  he  now  occupies  one  of  the  most  lucra- 
tive literary  situations  which  Scotland  possesses.  ,  I  might  mention 
other  instances  of  a  umilar  nature.  A  poor  Berwickshire  hoy  was 
in  the  habit  of  travelling  during  the  summer  as  a  pedlar,  and  during 
the  winter  he  put  himself  to  school  with  the  fruits  of  his  summer's 
earnings.  }n  this  manner  he  contrived  to  give  himself  an  excellent 
education.  He  then  set  out  for  London  to  push  his  fortune.  Hia 
firit  utUfiti(H»  i%  Unt  C9pitsl  ttas  that  of  portet  to  a  bookseller.  This 


i99  Aitah/ses  of  Sooks.  '  [Oct. 

gentleman'  had  two  sons  learning  mathematics,  and  the  new  porter 
made  out  for  them  some  exercises  which  were  very  much  applauded. 
An  inquiry  was  made,  the  qualificattons  of  the  porter  were  disco- 
vered, the  bookseller  recommended  him  to  some  friends  whom  he 
,  had  in  a  particular  University.  He  went,  and  was  enabled  by  the 
kindness  of  those  gentlemen  to  complete  his  education ;  and  he  now 
fills  a  most  respectable  literary  sitnation  in  England. 

Nor  let  it  be.  supposed  that  the  money  requisite  for  these  purposes 
yfas  great.  I  myself  Was  educated  at  one  of  the  best  grammar 
schools  of  Scotland  j  and  the  whole  expense  of  my  grammar  school 
education  amounted  exactly  to  30^.,  of  which  I  mysCif  afterwards 
paid  20s.  after  I  had  grown  up,  and  had  begun  to  provide  for  my- 
self. 1  think  it  will  be  admitted  that  in  proportion  to  the  population 
of  the  two  countries',  there  is  at  present  a  greater  number  of  literary 
Scotchmen  than  35nglishmen.  Now  the  sole  reason  of  this  difler- 
«nce  is  the  cheapness  of  education  in  Scotland,  and  the  existence  of 
a  grammar  school  in  every  parish.  The  meritorious  exertions  of  the 
promoters  of  the  Lancaaterian  schools  in  England  will  probably  soon 
destroy  this  difference,  at  least  in  part ;  though  I  am  apprehensive 
that  they  scarcely  go  far  enough.  The  mere  knowledge  of  reading 
and  writing  is  very  valuable  ;  but  the  principles  of  morality  and 
religion  are ^ot  less  so;  because  wherever  ihey  are  wanting,  know- 
ledge proves  rather  a  banetthan  an  advantage.  It  is  much  to  he 
wished,  likemse,  that  means  were  taken  to  distinguish  those  chil- 
dren who  happen  to  be  possessed  of  uncommon  gennis,  and  to  aflbrd 
them  the  requisite  facilities  for  completing  their  education, — But 
this  digression  has  been  carried  far  enough. 

The  subjects  taught  at  the  University  of  Cambridge  are  divided 
by  Mr.  Wainewright  into  three  heads ;  namely,  Classics  and  Ge- 
'  neral  Literature ;  Natural  Philosophy  and  Mathematics ;  Moral  and 
Political  Philosophy,  Metaphysics  aiid  Theology. 

1,  During  that  part  of  each  term  which  requires  attendance,  the 
classics  are  regularly  read.  They  consist  of  the  Greek  tragedies, 
Plato,  Herodotus,  Thucydides,  Aristotle's  Poetics,  Cicero,  Tacitus,' 
&c.  These  books  are  not  barely  read  ;  but  the  peculiarities  of  ex- 
pression, the  beauties  of  diction,  the  singularities  of  constructioD, 
the  prosody — every  thing  of  importance  is  pointed  out  by  the  tutor 
to  the  attention  of  the  young  men,  so  as  to  render  them  not  merely 
accurate  linguists,  but  scholars  and  critics. 

There  are  14  scholarships  or  exhibitions  in  Cambridge;  and  in  . 
filling  them  more  regard  is  paid  to  proficiency  in  Greek  and  Latin 
than  in  mathematics.  Various  annual  prizes  exist  for  declamations 
in  Latin  and  English,  themes,  poems,  &c. ;  all  of  which  have  ft 
tendency  to  exfiite  emulation,  and  to  promote  the  cause  of  general 
literature.  Finally,  there  are  examinations  twice  a  year,  which  are 
conducted  with  rigour  and  impartiality, 

a.  Very  particular  attention  is  paid  in  Cambridge  to  natural  phila* 
BOphy  and  mathematics.  As  the  young  men  have  seldom  any  pre. 
vious  knowle^  of  these  tiranch^s  of  science  when  they  go  to  tbt 


.1815.]        fFaineu/righl  on  Education  at  Camhridge.  J299 

VniveTsily,  the  tutors  find  it  necessary  to  commence  at  the  reiy" 
1)^inDing.  .  The  branches  of  mathematics  taaght  are^  geometry, 
■trigonometry,  algebra,  conic  sections,  fluxions ;  and  the  four  mathe- 
inatical  departments  of  mechanical  philosophy,  namely,  astronomy, 
optics,  hydrodynamics,  mechanics.  Professors  Vince  and  Wood 
have  drann  up  teitt  books  for  these  different  departments,  which 
save  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  both  to  the  tutors  and  pupils.  Finally, 
N<rwton's  Principia  is  thoroughly  studied  and  explained.  Mr. 
Wainewright  explains  at  considerable  length  the  nature  of  the 
public  examination  which  take  place  before  the  distribution  of 
degrees,  shows  iha  prodigious  emulation  which  they  excite,  and  the 
great  advantages  with  which  they  are  attended.  1  have  no  doubt 
whatever  that  these  disputations  are  of  considerable  serviee,  and 
occasion  the  acquisition  of  much  useful  and  important  knowledge, 
and  the  developement  of  abilities  which  would  otherwise  have  laio 
dormant. 

The  present  scarcity  of  eminent  mathematicians  in  Great  Britain 
has  been  wondered  at  by  some  perwns,  and  Mr.  Play&ir  has  ascribed 
it  to  the  mode  in  which  mathematics  is  taught  at  Cambridge.  Mr. 
Wainewright  endeavours  to  refute  this  opinion.  I  have  no  doubt 
myself  that  it  is  to  be  assigned  to  another  cause,  or  rather  to  a 
variety  of  other  causes.  One  cause  is  the  kind  of  education  to  which 
those  taught  in  the  great  grammar  schools  are  exclusively  confined. 
I  mean  Greek  and  Latin.  1  have  met  with  an  excellent  classical 
scholar  from  an  English  school,  near  20  years  of  age,  who  could 
not  repeat  the  multiplieaiion  table.  Unless  the  drudgery  of  alge- 
br^c  calculations  is  got  over  at  an  early  agei  we  can  scarcely  expect 
the  generality  of  mankiod  to  acquire  much  dexterity  in  it ;  for  my 
readers,  I  presume,  are  aware  that  it  is  in  a  great  measure  a  mecha- 
nical art.  That  a  knowledge  of  Greek  and  Latin  is  of  considerable 
importance  to  every  literary  man,  is  what  every  person  will  Tery 
readily  allow.  They  afford  us  the  finest  models  of  style  and  compo- 
sition, and  furnish  much  valuable  information  in  history,  mathe- 
matics, and  moral  philosophy.  But  to  consider  a  knowledge  of 
these  languages  as  constituting  the  whole  of  a  liberal  educaiioD^ 
appears  highly  preposterous,  A  knowledge  of  arithmetic  alone  is 
of  more  real  service  to  every  man  than  all  the  Greek  and  Latin 
which  the  most  profound  scholar  ever  possessed.  Arithmetic  and 
mathematics  ought  to  constitute  a  part  of  every  school  education,  as 
well  as  Greek  and  Latin.  They  ought  to  be  as  assiduously  taught, 
and  considered  as  an  equally  necessary  preliminary  to  a  course  at 
the  University  as  Greek  and  Latin.  If  this  were  the  case  all  over- 
England,  we  should  soon  see  a  change  in  the  figure  we  at  present  - 
make  as  a  mathematical  nation.  Many  individuals  of  the  first  rate 
mathematical  genius,  who  at  present  pass  through  life  without  being 
aware  of  their  powers,  would  acquire  the  requisite  preliminary  know- 
ledge, would  become  conscious  of  their  qualifications,  and  would 
proceed  the  greatest  length  in  that  career  thus  happily  opened.  \ 
need  not  say  that  tnatheniatics  coDi^tiites'a  pfttt  of  the  early  ejitCAr 


^00  Amlysti  o^  Boaka.  [Ocx. 

tion  in  France.  To  tliis  circurostaDce  entirely  is  to  be  vcribcd  the 
greater  number  of  mathemaiiciaos  which  that  country  Jus  latelj 
produced  than  our  owa. 

Another  circumstaDcc  wanting  in  this  couotiy  lor  the  flourishii^ 
of  mathematical  science  U  a  proper  encouragement  on  the  part  ctf 
Governmem.  In  some  department!  of  science  the  number  of  cul- 
tivators, or  at  least  of  amateurs,  ia  so  great,  that  a  book  published 
on  them  is  preliy  certain  of  selling  at  least  sufficiently  to  defray  its 
own  expenses ;  so  that  a  man  may  cultivate  these  departments,  -and 
lay  his  discoveries  and  observations  on  them  before  the  world,  with- 
out much  risk  of  pecuniary  loss.  But  this  is  far  from  being  the  case 
in  mathematics.  The  number  of  readen  in  this  department  has 
always  been  so  small  that  a  mathematical  book,  unless  indeed  it  be 
a  school  book>  cannot  be  expected  to  defray  its  owo  expenses  by  the 
extent  of  the  sale.  The  consequence  must  be  that,  none  but  the 
lich  can  venture  to  publish  ia  the  higher  department  of  mathematics. 
But  unfortunately  lew  rich  men  arc  likely  to  cultivate  this  diffictilt 
department  of  science,  and  still  fewer  are  disposed  to  dedicate  tbeir 
wealth  to  the  advaucement  of  knowledge.  Mathematicians,  then, 
will  in  general  be  deterred  from  publishing,  and  of  course  have  but 
little  chance  of  acquiring  that  reputation  which  attends  the  success- 
ful cultivators  of  the  other  sciences.  Thus  the  grant,  the  principal 
stimulus  to  exertion  is  witlidrawn.  No  wonder,  therefore,  tliat  but 
few  labourers  venture  to  cultivate  so  rugged  and  unpromisinga  field. 

In  France,  in  Prussia,  and  in  Russia,  this  formidable  ot^ectim 
has  been  obviated  by  the  scientiiic  academies  eital>ii$hed  in  these 
countries.  In  them  a  certain  number  of  mathematicians  receive 
salaries,  which  leave  them  at  liberty  to  devoie  the  whole  of  ibeir 
time  to  their  favourite  science ;  acid  the  expense  of  tbeir  respective 
publicBtioDs  is  defrayed  by  Government.  Hence  the  great  number 
<rf  mathematical  papers  which  fill  the  Memoirs  of  the  Paris,  Berlin, 
and  Petersburgh  Academies,  and  the  various  mathematical  diico- 
leries  which  adorn  the  I8ih  century.  In  England  the  Royal  So- 
ciety indeed  affiirds  the  means  of  publishing  vnluable  mathematical 
papers  iree  of  expense.  To  that  noble  institution  we  owe  all  the 
mathematics  that  still  lingers  in  Great  Britain.  But  as  the  matfae* 
maticians  in  this  country  are  obliged  to  provide  for  themselves  with- 
out any  asabiance  from  Governmenl,  they  are  compelled  to  devote 
the  greatest  part  of  their  time  to  the  laborious  occupation  of  teach- 
ing, or  to  the  compilation  of  school  books,  and  little  leisure  is  left 
tkem  for  the  cultivation  of  the  higher  branches  of  the  science. 
.  1  have  some  reason  tQ  suspect  thai  but  little  attention  is  paid  at 
Cambridge  to  the  recent  mathematical  improvements  made  upon 
the  Continent ;  for  I  have  met  with  some  good  mathematicianB  from 
Cambridge  who  ,were  quite  unacquainted  with  these  improvements. 
At  the  same  lime  1  admit  that  I  have  met  with  others  who  wen 
fequainted  with  them. 

3.  The  third  department  of  knowledge  cultivated  at  Caml»idge 
uswralwd  political  philosophy,  meta{Hiysics  and  tbeok^.    Tkt 


1S\'5.]         JVmnavrigM  m  Edaadim  at  Cambridge'.  301 

tex-t-booki  employed  in  these  depanmeota  xre  I^leT'sPricnpW  of 
Moral  and  Political  Philosophy,  and  Locke's  Essay.  Mr.  Waine- 
'wright' informs  us  that  the  writings  of  Reid,  Beattie,  aad  Stewai^ 
especially  of  the  last,  are  also  frequently  referred  to  fay  the  tutor, 
tbou'gh  their  Angular  doctrine  of  common  sense  is  far  from  b«ng 
admitted.  This  sit^ular  doctrine  to  which  our  author  alludes  is  thi^ 
4iat  in  the  science  ofmivd,  as  well  as  in  eveiy  other,  there  are  cer* 
tain  first  principles  or  laws  of  human  thought  which  cannot  be 
proved,  but  must  be  taken  for  granted ;  otheTwise  the  science  itself 
cannot  be  established.  One  oi  these  first  principles  is,  that  the 
eactemal  world  exists.  Dr.  Keid,  to  whom  ulone  we  are  indebted 
for  this  doctrine,  gave  these  first  principles  tlie  name  of  cmniaam 
gense,  because  ihey  have  been  always  admitted  by  the  common  sense 
of  all  mankind,  while  every  person  who  rejects  them  is  considered 
as  a  lunatic  or  madman.  Say  the  English  metaphysicians,  we  wilt 
not  admit  the  existence  of  the  external  world  as  a  first  principle. 
We  cannot  indeed  prove  its  existence,  but  we  thmk  it  ought  to  be 
proved.  If  it  cannot,  the  doctrine  of  Berkeley  and  Hume  must  be 
allowed  to  be  sound.  For  my  own  part  I  want  no  evidence  whatever 
of  the  existence  of  -an  external  world,  and  would  consider  any 
attempt  to  prove  it  as  silly  trifling.  We  are  so  constituted  that  we 
most,  whether  we  will  or  nor,  give  credit  to  the  senses,  .and  admit 
the  information  which  they  communicate  as  first  principles.  Such 
is  the  doctrine  of  Dr.  Reid ;  and  instead  of  being  a  singular  doe- 
trine,  I  will  venture  to  affirm  that  it  has  been  maintained  by  99B 
thousandth  parts  of  all  mankind  in  every  age.  It  is  singular  enough 
that,  thou^  i  never  met  with  any  Englishman  that  would  admit 
the  truth  of  Dr.  Reid's  principles,  I  never  found  any  one  who 
seemed  to  be  acquainted  with  these  prindptes,  or  to  have  perused 
the  works  of  this  acute  philosc^her.  Mr.  Wainewright  shows  ib 
that  at  Cambridge  this  ignorance  is  universal ;  for  he  says  that  the 
tutora  refer  especially  to  the  writings  of  Dugald  Stewart.  Now  Mr. 
Stewart  is  an  elegant  writer,  and  has  illustrated  the  philo»>phy  of 
Reid  in  a  very  beautiful  manner ;  but  he  has  made  very  few  nddi- 
tions  to  it.  In  point  of  arrangement  he  is  rather  deficient,  which 
injures  condderably  his  writings  as  a  whole.  Tutors  acquainted  with 
the  subject  would  rather  refer  to  the  (wigioal  discoverer  than  to  ha 
illustrator  and  commentator. 

Brides  the  knowledge  communicated  by  the  tutors,  there  are 
likewise  lectures  on  the  following  subject  which  I  presume  the 
students  are  all  at  liberty  to  attend: — 
On  modern  history. 
On  the  laws  of  England. 
On  the. Roman  civil  law. 
On  ntperimental' philosophy. 
Oo  chemistry. 

On  the  api^kation  of  chemistry  and  aatuial  phihxophy  to  minit- 
Eactures,  agncidttire^  and  the  arts. 

n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


302  .Amigses  nf  Sookt,  ^ptrr. 

On  mineralogy. 

On  anatomy. 

On  domestic  medicine. 

On  theology. 

Such,  then,  is  a  new  of  the  knowledge  which  may  be  acqnired 
at  Cnmbridge :  and  every  per»D  will  reftdtly  acknowk^  that  it 
.  is  very  considerable,  and  that  a  young  man  in  sach  an  Univernty 
Diay  very  welt  lay  a  sufEcient  foundation  for  future  eminence.  One 
advantage  must  be  still  added,  which  I  consider  as  more  important 
than  all  the  rest  put  together.  Every  student  has  free  access  to  a 
library  containing  above  a  hundred  thousand  volumes,  irom  .which 
he  may  borrow  ten  books  at  once,  merely  by  obtaining  a  Master  of 
Arts'  order,  l^is  advantage  must  give  -  Cambridge  a  prodigious 
superiority  over  Oxford. 

Had  I  not  already  extended  this  article  beyond  the  requisite 
length,  I  should  have  wished  to  have  noticed  a  few  particulars 
which  have  always  struck  me  as  disadvantages  attending  the' English 
Universities,  though  it  would  scarcely  be  possible  to  remove  them, 
without  introducing  changes  which  could  not  easily  be  acceded  to. 
I  shall  barely  hint  at  one  or  two  circumstances. 

Tlie  English  Universities  were  established  during  the  dark  ages^ 
when  learning  was  confined  entirely  to  the  clergy.  The  consequence 
was,  that  the  sole  object  in  view  seems  to  have  been  to  form  clergy-  - 
men.  Hence  the  numerous  regulations  which  assimilate  these 
Universities  to  Monasteries.  A  dissenter,  I  uaderstand,  cannot  be 
admitted  into  them.  Now  though  1  admit  that  the  education  of  the 
clergy  is  a  very  important  point,  yet  I  think  that  the  education  of 
the  rest  of  the  community  is  of  at  least  equal  importance.  It  is 
preposterous  to  give  all  mankind  the  same  education  exactly,  be- 
cause they  are  intended  for  different  professions ;  and  what  is  of 
first  rate  importauce  to  one  man  is  of  no  use  whatever  to  another. 
Human  life  is  too  short  to  enable  every  individual  to  ma  the  com- 
plete career  of  the  sciences ;  yet  it  is  of  infinite  importance  that  a 
young  man  should  be  made  acquainted  with  the  first  principles  of 
the  profession  to  which  he  is  to  devote  himself.  The  lawyer  re- 
quires one  education,  the  physician  another,  the  clergyman  a  third. 
Where  in  England  can  a  merchant  or  manufacturer  go  to  acquire 
those  branches  of  knowledge  which  he  ought  to  possess  ? 

At  the  University  of  Edinburgh  there  are  lectures  delivered  on 
the  following  subjects,  which  1  divide  into  sets  for  the  greater  per- 
spicuity : — 

I.  General  LUeratvre  and  Science. 

1.  Greek.  6.  Mathentatics. 

2.  Latin.  7v^'"""'l  P^''^^^'^^' 
S.  Logic.  8.  Astronomy. 

4.  Rhetoric.  9.  Natural  IiMwy. 

5.  Moral  philosophy.  10.  AgricuUute. 

D,g,t,.?<ll„GOOgk\        ' 


1S15.]  '       WamewTtght  vnEducalton  at  Cambridge.  9( 

n.  Medicine. 

1.  Chemistry.  6.  .Theory  of  physic, 

2.  Anatomy.  7-  Practice  of  physic. 

3.  Botany.  8.  Surgery. 

4.  Materia  medicfiT'  9.  Clinical  surgery. 

5.  Midwifery.  10.  Medical  jurispiudeoce. 


1.  Uoiversal  histoiy.  3.  Civil  Jaw. 

2.  Scots'  law.  4.  Public  law. 

IV.  fheohgy. 

1.  Divinity.  3,  Hebrew, 

2.  Church  history. 

Kow  any  iDdividual  that  chooses  may  attend  any  one  of  these 
classes  witliuDt  paying  attention  to  the  rest ;  so  that  every  person 
Las  it  in  his  power  to  select  those  subjects  that  are  most  likely  to  be 
of  service  to  him.  The  consequence  is,  that  in  Scotland-  every 
country  gentleman,  every  merchant  and  manufacturer,  has  enjoyed 
the  advantage  of  a  University  education.  In  England,  on  the  con- 
trary, ttiis  advantage  b  confined  to  a  comparatively  small  number. 
You  will,  find  more  profound  scholars,  and  perhaps  men  of  deeper 
■cience,  in  England  than  in  Scotlandl  But  in  the  latter  country 
every  person  has  a  little,  and  there  is  therefore  more  knowledge 
upon  the  whole.  It  would  be  a  prodigious  advantage  to  England  if 
this  eclectic  mode  of  acquiring  knowledge  were  to  be  introduced 
into  the  Universities.  But  I  am  sensible  that  as  long  as  they  are 
powerful  political  engines,  and  possessed  of  such  prodigious  patron- 
age and  power,  this  can  never  be  the  case.  Science  can  never 
thrive  where  it  is  united  to  politics  :  the  union  is  unnatural,  de- 
grading;, and  destructive. 

*(■  We. cannot  itiimUslhli  article  witheat  TcpTobBtlDg,  in  tbeslron^I  Icnot, 
Ibe  maDDci  in  which  the  UoiverBitiet,  and  other  Public  Librariei,  have  msiled 
Iheiiiielvei  nf  an  Act  of  Pnrlianient  passed  in  the  leision  bEfore  last,  miviDg  an 
objolele  law,  »b«reby  Bnlhors  and  publiihera  are  compelled  to  itie  II  eopin  of 
nen  book,  and  of  ever;  new  edition  tn  which  there  is  any  alleration  or  additino. 
We  forbear  to  ni>(ice  the  injustice  of  a  law  which  iafiictia  seieretai  on  one  let  of 
Indiilduall  fat  the  exclusive  advantage  v(  another.  We  shall  merely.speak  of  Ibe 
Fitent  to  whirb  these  public  bodies  avail  Ihemselvei  of  the  power  vetted  in  Ihem  t 
imi  particniarly  the  rjchlj  ei^iowed  University  of  Cambridge,  to  which  more  par. 
licolarly  literary  men  are  indebted  for  the  revival  of  this  tax.  We  are  iHrormed 
that,  with  (he  exception  of  ontortwo  of  the  librartef,  which  affect  to  omit  JVsveb, 
every  book  is  demanded,  lionrver  expensive,  or  nseleia,  or  unfit  to  be  placed  OD 
Ibe  ihelve*  for  which  ibey  are  destined.  New  edition!  are  demanded,  however 
imill  (he  alteration  from  the  former.  We  know  an  Instance  in  which  the  11  cop ie« 
of  a  book,  price  \l.  lOi.,  were  demaoded  and  received  in  April  of  the  present 
Jriar,  and  snolber  1 1  copies  of  a  new  edition  in  Aucnsl.  There  It  every  reason 
ta  Mlev«  that  the  parlin  wbo  ate  eolrwied  lo  make  tb«  denHUidi  do  not  know 


'..>y  Google 


JDE  ntlbBol  with  reluming  i^td  tbt 
of  Il|e  SlBtioDCfi'  CompBD?.  Bkd  the 

.J  revfT-smBll,  evfn  a  tenlh  of  the  pric 

. t»x spou liieralnte would tuLve been eiMttd  wlih aoch Imm 


what  Imaks  tbry  •Tder,.l>einE  ntlbSed  with  reluming  i^fd  tbe  vary  lUd  which 
titey,  reccir  from  the  clerk  of  Il|e  SlBtioDcfi'  CompaDj.  Bad  the  Uni¥enitlei  beea 
leqnfred  la  t»y  >  mni  honevpr  -siubII,  turn  a  teolh  of  the  m-ic«  of  eBch  books 


AftncLE  IX. 

SCIBNTIFIC  intelligence;   and  NOnCBS  of  SUBJECTS     . 
CottNBCTBD  WITH  SCIENCE. 

I.  Lectwrei. 

The  Lectures  on  Midwifery,  and  the  Diseases  of  Women  -end 
Children,  at  the  Middlesex  Hospital,  by  Mr.  Merriman,  Physician 
Accoucheur  to  that  Hospital,  and  Consulting  Physician  Accoucheur 
to  the  Westminster  General  Dispensary,  will  recomoience  on  Mon- 
day, Oci.  y. 

A  Course  Of  Lectures  on  Chemistry  will  be  commenced  at  th9 
Chemical  'I'heatre,  No.  42,  Windmill -street,  on  Tuesd^,  Oct.  S, 
It  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning,  by  Wm.  T.  Brande^  F.R;  S.  L. 
and  E.  Pruf.  Uhenj.  R.L  &e. 

The  Winter  Courses  of  Lectures  at  the  School  of  Medidne  in 
Ireland,  on  Anatomy,  Physiology,  Pathology,  Surgery,  Chemistry, 
Materia  Medica,  Institutes,  and  Practice  of  Medicine,  will  com- 
ineDce  on  the  6ih  of  November,  at  their  respective  hours. — Anato- 
inica)  Demoustralibns  will  commence  the  1st  of  December. 

Dr.  Gordon's  Lectures  on  Anatomy  and  SuT;gery  commence  at 
Edinburgh  on  Wednesday,  Oct.  25,  at  eleven  o'clock  forenoon ;  and 
his  Lectures  on  Institutions  of  Medicine,  consisting  of  Physiology, 
Patliulogy,  and  Therapeutics,  on  Monday,  Oct.  30,  at  one  o'clock 
afternoon.  Both  Courses  will  be  continued  till  April,  five  Lectures 
being  delivered  weekly  in  each. 

II.  Substance  mbltTned  during  the  Burning  of  London  Bricks. 
Many  of  my  readers  are  probabiy  aware  that  the  method  <^ 
burning  bricks  \n  the  neighbourhood  of  London  is  diileredt  from 
fvhat  is  practised  in  any  other  part  of  Great  Britain,  and  probably 
of  Europe.  The  fuel  employed  is  the  ashes  or  cinders  which  fall 
from  the  common  fires  in  the  difierent  houses  in  London,  and  which 
are  collecttTd  daily  by  the  dust-carts.  The  greatest  part  of  this  fuel 
is  mixed  with  the  unbumt  bricks;  the  remainder  is  strewed  betwccil 
the  layers  of  bridt.  The  kilns  are  built  so  as  to  exclude  as  much 
of  the  air  as  possible.  The  consequence  is,  tjiat  the  combustitm 
'  goes  on  very  slowly ;  three  months  being  frequently  requisite  to 
complete  the  burning  of  a  single  kiln.  It  is  to  this  excluston  of  tbc 
air  that  the  yellow  colour  of  the  London  briclu  is  oning:  tfae  outer* 
most  row  <rf  bricks  is  alwajw  Kd. 


„N..<ib,  Google. 


]tI]SJ|  Scienti/ic  lateiUgoUx.  SOS^ 

i  tneotion^d  id  a  preceding  volHme  of  thf  ^rmtdsof  P%iiotopkg 
that  Mr.  Tfimmer  had  j^ivea  me  a  salt  wbich  ooioaionly  auMimet 
duriog  the  tNirning  of  (he  Ijaoioa  bricks.  This  telt  1  found  jto  htt 
iaI-amiDoniac.  The  sume  Geailcman  lately  put  iato  my  iieods  aa- 
Dther  mbstanoe,  wliicti  subluiMs  likewiie  curing  tlie  same  process, 
thougfa  in  much  smaller  quBntity.  Tliu  eubetanra  is  usuatly  crys- 
tallized in  long  slender  needles,  ft  has  the  metallie  lustre,  and  « 
blui*h-white  colour ;  but  is  ao  d«lt«flie  in  its  textare  that  it  caa 
9caroely  be  collected  without  foiling  to  powder.  In  itt  common  stats 
this  substaooe  faaa  s  blue  colour  somew^t  resembling  that  (£  watch* 
»ptiQg<,  and  it  has  but  little  tof  the  meallic  lusttie. 

It  possesses  the  Ibilowing  properties.  When  heated  in  nitric  add, 
h  efiervcices,  and  is  conveKcd  into  a  white  powder.  Befoie  the 
blow-pipe  it  readily  melts;  and  if  in  a  st>t«  cf  purity,  ia  speediiy 
lieduocd  into  a  white  matallic  giobule.  This  giobuk  is  soft  and 
malleable ;  it  dissolves  with  eBervescencc  in  dilute  oitric  a(nd.  Tlu 
aolution  is  cdpurless;  it  crystrilizes,  and  thoons  donn  a  white 
powder  wfaeii  miKod  with  sulphuric  a(^  jot  with  pf  ussiate  of  (Kdash. 
iTbe  globule  is  thcreibne  lead.  When  the  sub^ance  in  question  ii 
not  pure,  but  mixed  wjdi  eanhy  matter,  it  readily  melts  bckxe  ths 
bknr-pipe  into  a  daik-coloured  glaze ;  but  no  metallic  globule  of 
lead  nepirates  from  it,  though  the  heat  be  Ic^  up  a  considerable 
time  upon  diu^coal.  Hieie  facts  are  sufficient  to  dcmoustraCe  tliat 
tliis  axbataoce  suidiaied  durmg  the  buming  of  Loudon  bridts  i* 
galena,  at  sulphuret  -of  lead.  Indeed,  it  has  exactly  tfee  a{q)e«raace 
of  tke  galena  afier  it  has  been  coasted. 

This  galeua  must  be  derived  from  the  cinders  of  the  coals  used 
for  burning  tlie  bricks.  It  is  very  common  to  observe  small  strings 
of  galena  runnit^  through  coal  beds ;  and  unles»I^  misinformed, 
such  stripgs  have  been  frequently  observed  in  the  Bids  of  Newcastle 
coal.  As  galena  is  Dot  volatile,  at  least  at  the  temperature  at  which 
bricks  are  burnt,  we  must  ascjibe  iis  »iblimatioq,  in  the  present  case 
to  the  sal-ammoniac,  which  no  floubt  carries  it  along  with  it.  This 
salt  is  well  known  to  have  the  property  of  carrying  along  with  it 
tho?e  metallic  bodies  with  which  it  happens  to  come  in  contact. 

III.  Queries  respecting  Valves,  with  a  Description  oj  the  Valves  in 
the  Human  Body, 

(Ta  Dr.  Thomson.) 
SJR, 

In  tfais  age  of  improvement  end  discovery,  every  mite  that  is  con- 
tribnted  to  a  public  jownal,  if  it  is  only  to  open  the  eyes,  and  afford 
eny'degwe  of  itisuilus  for  othera  to  nnprove  from,  must  be  gene- 
rally considered  worth  acceptance ;  and  it  is  principally  with  this 
latter  hope  that  1  submit  the  following  remarks  to  your  readers. 

W^bM  t  am  about  to  communicate  has  considerably  engaged  my 
etteation  for  some  time  paat,  and  lias  been  the  means  of  my  con- 
sulting every  author  on  hydrostatics  possibly  wlilii.n  my  copamand, 
but  wholly  without  affording  me  the  least  satisfiicfion  as  to  what  I 

Vol.  VI.  N°  IV,  U 


i03  ScktUifi:  tnleUigence.  [Oct. 

sought  after,  which  consists  in  the  construction  of  a  valve  applicable 
to  this  part  of  science,  that  must  be  in  a  great  measure  very  com- 
plete. I  mean  those  nfter  the  manner  of  the  valves  of  the  hitman 
body.  I  believe  it  is  bd  indisputable  maxim  that  the  nearer  we 
approach  to  t4ie  mechanism  of  the  vital  frame,  and  to  the  opemioa 
of  nature,  in  all  of  our  endeavours,  the  nearer  tve  «^nceive  aod  find 
we  reach  to  perfection. 

.The  valves  of  the  human  body  erery  anatomist  most  be  fully 
aware  are  constructed  on  an  inimitable  principle;  and  for  what  an 
in6ntte  space  of  time  do  we  often  behold  those  most  important  or^nt 
performing  their  office  uninterrupted  and  unimpaired.  I  cannot  but 
imagine  that  this  plan  must  have  been  contemplated  by  many,  and 
even  put  into  practice  ;  but  being  unable  to  discover  any  account  of 
its  being  atlempted,  I  should  feel  myself  under  a  great  obligation 
'  to  you,  or  any  of  your  correspondents,  that .  would  give  ntc  the 
necessaiy  information. 

A  few  weeks  since  I  constructed  a  temporary  model  of  a  pump  od 
the  plan  alluded  to,  by  fixing  the  valve  within  a  piece  of  large 
barometer  tube,  fay  which  means  its  action  could  be  plainly  per-  ^ 
ceived ;  and  as  I  conceive  many  of  your  ingenious  readers  may  net 
perfectly  comprehend  the  manner  in  which  the  valves  1  alluded  to 
are  constructed  in  the  human  body,  1  have  subjoined  a  slight  sketdi 
of  them,  and  hope  it  maj  prove  sufficiently  illustrative.  It  is 
greatly  with  the  hope  that  some  more  able  mechanic  than  m^lf 
will  devise  a  proper  plan  for  securing  the  valve,  and  discover  those 
materials  that  will  best  answer  the  purpose,  and  erect  one  on  a  large 
and  useful  scale. 


The  materials  of  which  the  valve  itself  must  be  composed  appears 
to  be  thegreatest  obstacle  to  their  general  employment.  1  firmly  hMK 
that  this  is  within  the  reach  of  many  :  and  if  this  paper  shOidd  be  Uie 
means  of  drawing  any  able  jwrson's  attention  to  the  subject,  i  doubt 
not  i)ut  their  laliours  would  be  deservedly  crowned  with  success. 

The  substance  I  used  was  ibat  of  a  bullock's  bladder,  as  being 
the  strongest  and  most  flexible  substance  capable  of  being  moulded 
to  the  proper  form,  that  I  could  then  procure  to  make  my  experi- 
ments ;  but  this  substance  we  know  is  subject  to  a  very  rapid  decay, 
especially  when  immersed  in  many  fluids. 

-..>y  Google 


1815;]  Scieniific  ItttelUgetice.  SOf 

Fig.  )  shows  the  vatve  as  supposing,  the  cylinder  to  be  slit  opea 
and  kid  fiat,  and  which  may  ite  supposed  to  be  three  bags,  a,  b, 
and  c,  the  latter  of  which  is  here  divided:  one  side  of  each  bag  ll 
fixed  to  the  side  of  the  cylinder,  aod  the  edges  of  each  bag  meet, 
or  are  evenaltowed  to  lap  over  each  other,  to  be  certain  of  their  being 
in  contact.  The  opposite  side  of  the  bag  to  that  fixed  to  the  side  of 
the  cylinder  is  not  so  deep,  as  seen  at  a,  with  a  small  projection  or 
looseness  uf  sul:«tance  in  the  centre  of  each.  Indeed^  the  three- 
parts  must  be  madcB  trifle  more  than  sufficiently  large  to  fill  the 
diameter  of  the  tube,  as  it  w)U  thereby  be  strengthened,  and  be  more 
able  to  surround  and  inclose  any  foreign  substance  that  may  happen 
10  stop  between  it,  and  not  be  so  liable  to  be  stretched. 

Now  when  the  water  rises  in  the  pump  by  the  action  of  the  pistan> 
which  has  another  valve  of  the  same  construction  attached  to  it,  the 
bags  of  the  lower  valve  contract  and  become  empty,  and  allow  the 
water  to  pass  freely ;  while  those  of  the  upper  valve  in  the  piston 
are  full  and  distended,  and  put  on  the  ap|:»earance  of  fig.  2,  ihd 
vice  versa.  1  proved  in  one  of  my  experiments  the  great  utility  of 
these  valves  over  those  in  general  use.  I  put  a  quantity  of  sticks, 
straws,  &c.  into  the  water,  and  observed  that  on  the  action  of  the 
piston  a  large  piece  stuck  between  the  valve,  but  it  so  completely 
inclosed  it  that  not  a  drop  could  possibly  escape,  'l^is  happened 
several  times,  and  as  otten  was  it  perfectly  secure. 

The  astonishing  strength  it  possessed  was  beyond  what  I  should 
have  conceived.  For  the  trial  of  this  I  inversed  the  valve  in  the 
piston ;  and  after  raising  it,  I  did  not  possess  sufficient  muscular 
power  to  burst  or  even  displace  either  of  the  I'alves,  though  only 
luted  to  ilie  sides  of  the  cylinder  by  a  strong  gum  water,  which  of 
course  became  after  a  time  dissolved. 

From  the  little  I  have  seen  of  its  operation,  I  am  persuaded  that 
its  erection  on  a  large  scale,  with  proper  materials  (whether  leather 
would  answer  the  purpoite  1  am  not  competent  to  decide),  would  be 
Btteoded  with  infinite  benefit  and  utility  to  mankind. 

1  am.  Sir,  your  most  obedlenlj 

JT*If/wi,  Stpl.  I,  1815.  M.   MOTtSi 

IV.  Regulations  far  the  Examination  of  yipothecaries. 

The  Court  of  Exsmioers  chosen  and  appointed  by  the  Master, 
Wardens,  and  Assistants,  of  the  Society  of  Apothecaries,  of  the 
City  of  London,  in  pursuance  of  a  certain  Act  of  Parliament, 
"  For  better  Kegiilating  the  Traciice  of  Apothecaries  throughout 
England  find  Wales,"  passed  in  the  55th  year  of  the  reigo  of  his 
Majesty  King  George  the  Tliird,  has  determined :         ^ 

That  every  [>erso(i  who  shall  be  admitted  to  an  examinatidn  for  m 
cenificate  to  practise  as  tin  apothecary,  shall  be  required  to  produce 

Testimonials  Of  having  served  an  appreniicesliip  of  not  len  than 
fin  years  to  an  apothecary  ;  of  having  attained  the  full  age  <^  ;^l 
JtKtf  end  being  of  a  good  moral  conduct. 

^  2  r.-...  .Google 


308  Sc&niific  hUtUigence,  tOcr. 

He  is  eipectcd  to  possess  a  oompetcnt  knowledge  of  the  lAtia 
langoage,  and  to  produce  certificates  of  bavipg  atteaded  not  ksi 
than 

Two  Course*  t^  Lectures  on  Anatomy  and  Physiology : 

Two  Courses  of  lectures  oa  the  Theoryand  Practice  c^  Medidne  i 

One  Course  of  Lectures  oa  Chemistry :  aikl 

One  Cowse  tA  Lectures  on  Materia  Medica. 

A  certificate  of  atteadance  for  ux  moDthB  at  least  ob  the  medieal 
practice  of  some  public  Hospital,  lofirmary,  or  DispeOsary. 

'Hie  Court  has  alao  detenained  that  the  cxaratnatioQ  for  a  certifi- 
csteto  pntctise  as  an  aiwthecary  shall  be  as  follows  :— 

1.  In  translatine  parts  of  the  Phanoacopaeta  Londineosis,  and 
Fhyucians'  Pre«cnj«iot)«. 

0.  In  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Medicine, 

S.  In  Pharmaceutical  Cbembtiy. 

.4.  Iq  the  Materia  Medica. 

Regulalioru  for  the  Exatninatian  rf  j^ssistanlsj—lhat  every 
person  who  shall  be  admitted  tn  an  examination  for  »  certificate  to 
act  as  an  aEsititiut  to  any  apothecary,  in  oompouDcling  or  dispensing 
medicines,  shall  be  requiTed  to  transhUe  parts  of  the  Pharoiact^xeia 
Londinensis^  aAd  Hiysicigns'  Prescriptions  ;  and  shall  be  examined 
as  to  his  knov¥led|^  of  Phannacy  and  IVIateria  Medica. 

Notice. — Every  person  intending  to  qualify  himself  under  the 
regulations  of  thb  Act  to  practise  as  an  apothecary,  or  to  act  as  an 
assistant,  must  give  notice  in  trriting  (post  paid)  addressed  to  th* 
Clerk  of  the  Society  of  Apothecaries,  Apothecaries'  Hall,  Londont 
at  least  six  days  previously  to  the  day  of  examination. 

The  Conrt  will  meet  in  the  Hall  oa  Thursday  the  3d  of  Ai^us^ 
at  two  o'clock  of  the  afternoon  precisely,  and  on  every  folk^iiog 
Tharaday  at  the  same  hour. 

By  order  of  the  Court, 

i^trfMii  J'ufySi,  ISIS.  JoBN  Watsor,  Secrctuy, 

It  is  expressly  ordered  by  the  Court  of  Examiners  that  no  gra- 
tuity be  received  by  any  officer  from  any  person  ^plying  fot  iafoT- 
mation  relative  to  the  business  of  this  Court. 

V.  Extracts  from  the  Act  for  letter  Regidatine  the  Practite  of 
jtpothecteries  throughout  Englaad  and  Wales. 
That  from  andafterthe  1st  day  of  August,  1815,  it  shall  not  be 
lawful  for  any  person  or  persons  (except  persons  already  bi  practice 
ks  such)  tojwactise  as  an  apothecary  hi  any  part  of  England  or 
Wales,  unless  he  or  they  shall  have  been  examined  by  the  Court  of 
Examiners,  or  the  major  part  of  them,  and  have  received  a  certifi- 
cate of  his  or  their  being  duly  qualified  to  practise  as  such  from  the 
l^d  Court  of  Examiners ;  who  are  authorised  and  required  to 
examine  all  person  and  persons  applying  to  them,  for  The  purpose 
«f  ascertaining  the  skill  and  abifities  <»r  such  person  or  pers<xts  in  the 

2    -  Cookie 


lets.]  Stamtific  Intelligmtx.  309 

9cieAce  and  practice  of  medidne^  aod  his  or  their  fitness  and  qosH- 
ficntlon  to  practise  as  an  apothecary. 

ITiat  from  and  after  the  ist  day  of  Aupist,  1815,  it  shall  not  be 
lawful  for  anypmon  or  peraons  (except  the  persons  then  acting  as 
assistants  to  any  apothecaries,  and  excepting  penoas  who  hare 
actually  served  an  apprenticeship  of  five  years  to  an  apothecaiy)  to 
act  as  an  assistant  to  any  apothecary,  in  compounding  or  dispensiof 
medicines,  ivitbout  undergoing  an  examination  by  the  Court  of 
ExamineTii,  or  by  five  apothecaries,  so  to  beappotnled  »  herein- 
after is  mentioned. 

That  it«hslland  may  be  lawful  to  appoint  five  apotliecaries  in  any 
county  OF  counties  respectively  throughout  England  and  Wales  (ex- 
cept within  the  siiid  city  of  London,  the  liberties  or  suburbs  thereof 
or  wiibiu  '10  nules  of  the  same,}  to  act  for  such  cotmty  or  counties, 
or  any  other  connty  or  countiea  near  or  at^oining ;  and  such  five 
apothecaries  are  authorized  and  empowered  to  examine  atl  assistants 
to  apotfaecaiies  throughout  the  county  or  counties  in  regard  of  which 
such  apothecaries  shall  have  been  so  appointed  as  aforesaid. 

That  if  any  person  (except  such  as  are  tben  actually  practising  as 
such)  shall,  after  the  said  1st  day  of  August,  IH 15,  act  or  practise  as 
an  apothecary  iti  any  part  of  Knp^land  or  Wales^  wiikout  baviag' 
obtained  such  certificate  as  afuresai^  every  person  so  offending  shall 
fw  every  such  offence  forfeit  and  pay  the  sum  of  20i. ;  and  if  any 
person  (except  such  v  are  then  actii^  as  such,  and  exceptingperwDS 
vrUa  have  actually  served  an  apprenticeship  as  afaresald)  shall,  after 
the.lstday  of  August,  1815,  act  as  an  assistant  to  auy  E^sotltecary,  to 
compound  and  dis^nse  mredictne^, .  without  having  obtained  such 
certificaU,  every  person  so  oifeading  shall -for  every  such  ofi«nce 
forfeit  and  pay  the  sum  of  5/. 

That  no  apothecary  &hall  be  aIlow«d  to  ncovcr  aiiy  charges 
claimed  by  him  in  any  Court  of  Law^  unksB  such  apothecary  shatl 
prove  on  the  trial  that  he  was  in  practice  a»  an  apothecary  prior  tOj 
or  on  the  said  1st  day  of  August,  1S15,  or  that,  he  has  obtained  a 
certificate  to- practise  as  an  apothecary.  , 

That  the  said  Master,  Wtndeos,  and  Society  of  Apothecaries,  do 

make  annually,  and  cause  to  be  printed,  an  exact  list  of  all  and 

every  persMi  who  shall  in  that  year  have  ohtuned  a  certificate  to 

.   practise  as  an  apothecary,  with  their  respective  residencea  attached 

to  their  respective  names. 

VI.    f^thftr  ObienalioHS  on  Mr.  I^chharfs  Extraction  of  tht 
Caix  Roots  of  Bmrniioltt 

(To  Dr.  Tfanmaon.) 
SIR. 
On  namining  my  letter  of  June  16,  I  observe  that  I  have 
omitted  to  state  that  the  correction  which  is  thi;re  pointed  out  b 
only  applicable  to  equations  which  are  reducible  by  Cardan's  rule, 
Mr.  Lockhart's  roots  being  correct  if  the  eqnadon  bckng  to  the 
irreducible  case.    In  dy  letter,  instead  of  savins  "  Mr.  Lockhart 


SiO  Scienl^c  InlelligeTice,  [Oct, 

seetns  to  liave  made  a  mistake  in  odc  of  the  signs  of  the  root  con- 
nected -with  ( :  when  corrected,  &c."  I  should  have  said,  "  Mr. 
l/ockbari  seems  to  have  made  a  mistaVe  in  one  of  the  signs. of  the 
root  connected  with  i,  when  the  eaiialim  is  reducible  ly  Cqr^an's 
rule  :  wh^n  corrected,  &c."     So  tliat  the  roots  of 

■   a/  ^  ±  v/  ^   —  ^  ,  if  the  given  equation  j::"  —lx=  c,  be 

reducible,  will  be  but  if  irreducible,  the  roots 

.  will  !» 


S     *  V     *  3 


*         r^ T 

-r±Vr  -  T 

_  -L  + .  /n  _± 
2  =?  V  *       »■ 

-  t=f\/t  -  -3 

You  will  perceive  that,  when  the  above  otnission  is.  supplied,  the 
pbservatioQs  in  Mr.  L.'s  last  letter  lose  all  their  weight,  and  the 
ponclusions  I  have  come  to  in  my  former  letter  remain  in  full  force. 

I  am  afraid,  however,  that  I  have  not  expressed  myself  with  that 
perspicuity  which  I  ought  to  have  done,  when  pointing  out  the  part 
.of  Mr.  Ijockhart's  demonstration,  where  the  error  appears  to  have 
originated;  for  if  "I  had  expressed  myself  properly, -Mr.  h.  must 
have  seen  that  there  was  to  be  a  distinction  between  equations  which 
are  reducible  by  Cardan's  rule,  and  those  belonging  to  the  irre- 
ducible csse<  but  that  he  did  not  perceive  it,  is  manifest  from  the 
jobservations  in  his  last  letter. 

In  endeavouring  to  supply  the  above  defect,  I  shall  begin  by. 
premising,  that  in  equations  belonging  to  the  irreducible  case,  f  is 
always  greater  than  ^,  but  less  when  the  lequatioo  can  be  reduced 
by  Cardan's  rule.  Hence  in  hreducible  equations  the  quantity 
(f*  —  ^]  is  always  pQji^ii^;  but  in  reducible  equations,  nfgaliv?. 

Mr.  Ia,  in  No.  30  of  your  AtoiqIs,  has  shown  that  "-j — 

+  4— ■yj-=4--g^.  or,  -which  IS  the  sanje  [hmg,  (-j-  —  -3- 

*  r)  X  (V  ~  8  )  ~  7"  ~  "sf'  ^^^  "*  «*""''«jg  the  square 
mot  of  these  equal  qtnqlities,  it  is  plain  that  the  roots  on  both  sides 
pf  the  equation  must  be  ^f  the  same  kind ;  that  is,  if  one  be  a 
positive  quantity,  the  other  must  be  positive  also ;  or  if  one  be 
negative,  the  other  qiust  be  negative  likewise.     Now  th^  roots  are 

^('•-|)x*\/t-7«"1±^(4--S-)-  B»'it 
\0  been  noticed  before,  that  the  quantity  {t*  —  |)  is  hi  itwlf  «  , 


1 8 !  50  Scientific  LilelligetUx.  3 1 1 

negative  quaatitr  whenever  the  equation  can  be  redaced  by  Cnrdan's 
row.  Hence,  tliat  the  roots  may  be  both  positive  or  both  negatn-e, 
we  must  take  the  sign  of  (('  —  -1  contiaif  to  the  sign  of 

(\/-2 — s)>  so  that  the  equation  in  this  case  will  be  +  (C  —  j) 
X  ±  .s/  (-J-'- 1)  =  ±  ^  (-f  -  -^j  :  but  if  the  equation  be- 
long  to  the  irreducible  case,  the  quantity  (/•  —  -j  being  then  po- 
sitive ID  itself^  both  parts  of  the  roots  on  the  left  hand  must  have 
the  same  signs.  Hence  the  equation  will  be±(/'  —  -)  X  :t  >/ 
f— —  ~  j  =!  ±  a/  (■-- —  —J  :  and  by  proceeding  with  these  two 
equations  as  Mr.  L.  has  done  in  the  letter  alluded  to,  we  obtaiq 
from  tlie  first  of  them,  —  z  —  \/  * —  3  ~ 
v/  2  +  x/-^ —  "iT  *  *'**  ^"^  "^  *''^  "*"*  given  in  my  former 
letter;  and  from  the  second  we  get  —  5  +  \/-7 —  -s  = 

4/  g  +  \/-i —  ■57'*''^  ^"""^  "''*'  ^'-  ^•''  '"*'*• 

With  respect  lo  the  two  roots  connected  with  x  and  i;  I  have 
only  to  observe,  that  they  are  obtained  in  the  very  same  maoner  as 
that  connected  with  t,  only  there  is  no  ambiguity  in  the  two  quan- 
tities (x*  —  -J  and  (y-  —  -J,  the  former  being  always  a  positive^ 
■  and  tlie  latter  a  negative,  quantity. 

Before  I  tabe  leave  of  this  subject,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  observe, 
that  by  inspecting  the  fbrmuls  for  the  £ube  roots  of  the  two  ima- 

ginary  quantities. ^^  +  ^/x  -  ^  and  k/^  -  v/t  "  "S 
when  tlie  given  equation  x^  —  b  x  =  ch  irreducible,  it  is  manifest 
that  their  sum  will  always  be  a  real  quantity;  for  the  imaginary 
parts  in  the  roots  of  the  first  of  these  qtiantities  are  the  very  same  as 
the  imaginary  parts  of  the  roots  belonging  to  the  second,  but  having 
contrary  signs.  It  likewise  appears  that  the  real  quantities  arising 
from  taking  tlteir  sum  will  always  be  the  three  roots  of  the  given 
ci^ic  equation. 

This  appears  to  me  to  be  a  more  direct  and  satisfactory  demon' 
stratioD,  tltat  Cardan's  theerem,  though  apparently  an  iniaginarji 
quantity,  exhibits  truly  the  roots  of  equations  belonging  to  the  irre- 
.  ducihle  case,  than  the  one  generally  had  recourse  to,  viz.  to  expatid 
each  part  of  the  root  in  an  infinite  seri^  by  means  .of  tlte  buiomial 
theorem.  • 

It  likewise  appears  from  these  fornmlee  that  whenever  any  one  of 
the  roots  of  a  cubic  equation  admits  of  a  finite  value^  the  two  parts 
<3f  Cajrdaa's  theorem  are  both  perfect  cubes. 

-..lyGbogle 


912  Se'untific  liUelligeiue.  [Oct- 

I  flatter  myself  thM  -jam  Correspondent  Mr.  1a  tviH  now  perceiv« 
that  he  was  rdther  too  hasty  in  concluding  that  "  all  Hambers  ha»e 
four  imagiaary  cube  rwU."  And  further,  m  it  appears  that  it  was 
not  impossible  or  imaginary  quantii ies  which  led  "  to  such  difiereDce 
of  sentiment"  In  tlu9  case,  Mr.  L.  will  not  now  perhaps  think  it 
"  wise  to  abandon  them  altogether,"  particularly  as  it  is  known  that 
in  some  casesi  they  lend  very  readily  lo  results  winch  are  ?ery  troubIe« 
some  to  obtain  by  any  other  method  yet  discovered. 

I  am,  Sir,  your  obedient  servant. 


ir«w«M««,  Aug.  19.  tiilft. 


H.  Atkinkw. 


P.  S.  In  my  teller  of  June  16,  p.  78,  lin»  6  from  the  top,  for 

from  the  top,  for  v^'se  i  v'  7H4  =  a/  64  v'  8,  read 
t'  b6  ±  V   784  =  'a/  6i  or  1'  8.     , 

■  VH.  Test  of  Iodise. 
Stromeyn  bus  announced  that  starch  is  so  delicate  a  test  of  iodine 
when  in  an  nncombmed  state,  that  it  assumes  a  percefMible  blue 
tinge  when  no  more  than  tt  oB-yg^^'  V^^  ^^  iodine  is  present  in  the 
liquid  examined,  I  have  not  tried  this  test  myself;  but  suppos* 
thiit  in  most  cases  it  will  be  requisite  to  add  an  acid  to  the  liquid  in 
flrder  to  disengage  the  Iodine  from  its  combination.   The  blue  com- 

Sund'of  iodiite  and  starch  was  first  made  known  to  chemists  bj* 
M.  Colin  and  Gaultier  de  Claubry. 

Till,  tlapid Intercourse  though  Great  Britain. 

The  rapid  intercourse  which  at  present  exists  between  every  part 
of  Great  Britain  and  the  capital  must  have  struck  every  person  who 
has  tmvelled  through  this  country.  We  meet  with  no  marked  dis- 
tinctions in  the  dr^ss  or  manners  of  the  diderent  provinces.  The 
feshiowi  in  the  nKist  remote  parts  of  the  country  are  quite  the  same 
'as  in  London.  This  rapid  intercoune  began  during  tlie  seven  years, 
war  when  Britain  first  became  a  great  commerciiil  country,  and  it 
has  been  increasing  ever  sitlcc.  It  is  owing  in  a  great  measure  to 
the  goodness  of  the  roads,  which  have  been  made  over  the  whole  of 
Great  Britain,  and  to  the  navigable  canals,  which  have  in  some 
measure  united  the  most  distant  manufacturing  towns  with  each 
other  and  with  the  capital.  Before  the  year  1760,  the  inland  towns 
of  Great  Britain,  -sueh  as  Manchester,  Leeds,  Halifax,  &c.  chiefly 
carried  on  their  'lusiness  thiwigh  the  medium  of  travelling  pedlais,  ■ 
and  afterwards  on  pack-horses.  The  jonrney  in  this  manner  from 
Manchester  to  London  occupied  a  fortnight ;  and  it  was  not  unusual 
for  a  trader  going  for  the  first  time  on  this  expedition  to  take  the 
precaution  of  making  his  will.  At  present  the  stage  coaches  perform 
the  jourjiey  in  about  a  day  and  an  half. 

In  the  year  1 72a  there  was  not  a  cart  in  the  whole  county  of  Mid 
I/>thiau.     The  farmers  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Dalbeith  canie4 


1815.3  Seimtifi;  IntelUgence.  913 

oottheitflbte  matiure  from  Edinburgh  on  the  backs  of  horses;  soA 


B  journey  from  Dalkeith  lo  Edinburgh  (sis  miles)  for  this  manurci, 
and  back  agara  with  the  load,  occnpied  a  nholeday.  1  m^elf  re- 
member when  tlie  yessels  trading  between  Leith  and  London  took  op 


two  aranths  in  the  voyage,  and  ihey  were  constantly  laid  up  dnrini; 
the  winter.  At  present  an  average  passage  is  less  than  a  week,  and 
they  fail  regalsrly  twice  every  week  all  the  year  round.  For  thrs 
very  great  improvement  in  trie  coasting  trade,  we  are  indebted  to- 
iJie  mhabitant!  of  Berwick-upon-Tweed.  TTicy  first  etnployed! 
sta&As,  and  wete  thus  en&blea  to  perform  their  vopge  in  a  short 
space  of  time.  The  consequence  was,  that  almost  the  whole  ca'rrr- 
itig  trade  between  Edinburgh  and  London  fell  into  their  hands ;  ancf 
about  30  waggons  were  constantly  employed  in  carrying  the  goods. 
between  Berwick  and  Edinburgh.  The  proprietors  of  the  Berwick" 
amaeks,  in  order  to  save  the  expense  of  this  land  carriage,  nfade 
their  Tessels  sail  directly  from  Lmdon  to  Leith,  and  from  Leith  to 
London.  This  continued  for  several  years ;  till  at  last  the  infaabitanttf 
of  Leith  and  Edinburgh  buitt  smacks  of  their  own,  and  drove  the 
Berwtckers  oot  of  the  trade. 

IX.  Description  of  the  Woaps:  arid  Ohservalions  on  the  Stxe  of 
the  Whale. 

(To  Dr.  Tbowon,) 

SIR,  Whitly,  ^ag.  IT,  1815.    . 

Your  publication  being  peculiarly  adapted  for  ilie  dissemination 

of  facts  which  are  not  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  expanded  into 

a  distinct  volume,  I  beg  leave  to  present  to  you  the  following,  whlchi 

if  new,  you  will  <^Iige  me  by  inserting  in  the  Annals  of  Pkihr 


There  is  a  phenomenon  familiar  to  the  fishermen  of  the  east  coast 
of  England,  resemMIng  a  distant  cannonading,  which  I  'do  not  re* 
collect  of  ever  seeing  noticed  in  any  scientiEc  work.  It  consists  of 
distinct  reports,  like  those  of  guns,  which -sometimes  are  hcari] 
singly,  or  at  distant  intervals }  at  others  they  follow  each  other  so 
regularly  and  closely  as  to  resemble  a  ship  saluting. .  It  cannot  be 
distinguished  from  distant  cannon,  but  that  it  often  occurs  when  no 
vessel  whatever  is  within  sight,  though  the  horizon  be  perfectly 
clear.  It  is  most  commonly  heard  by  the  crews  of  the  Jarm  hoa^ 
Or  cobbles,  when  anchored  upon  the  Doggerhank,  or  other  situations 
at  a  distance  from  the  shore,  it  is  never  observed  but  in  the  summer 
season :  it  then  occurs  most  frequently  in  cloudy  weather,  and  about 
the  time  of  sun-rising.  It  is  not  attended  by '  any  light,  flash, 
smoke,  or  other  visible  consequences.  It  {^  occasionally  heard 
from  the  shore,  hut  by  no  means  so  frequently  as  at  sea.  The  phe- 
nomenon is  probably  electrical.  Our  Yorkshire  fishermen  attribute 
it  to  Joul  air,  and  distinguish  it  by  the  name  of  woaps  or  whops, 

I  consider  it  my  duty  at  this  opjHiitunity  to  offer  a  few  remarks 
Upon  the  size  of  tlie  whale,  in  reference  to  some  observations  pub- 

n,,:-A=.:>,GOOglC 


■  314  Scientific  XnteUigeitce.  [Oct, 

lisbed  in  No.  SI  of  tlie  Annals.  There  is  doubtless  no  branch  of 
zoology  so  much  involved  aa  that  wliich  is  now  entitled  Cetology. 
To  the  world  at  large  several  genera  of  this  class  of  animals  bear  the 
general  name  of  wheks :  and  from  the  circumstance  of  many  of  the 
species  being  rarely,  if  ever,  caught,  they  are  in  a  great  measure 
unknown.  Thus  it  is  that  the  mysticetus  physalis,  and  musculns, 
of  JJnnasus,  are  generally  confounded.  The  first  is  probably  the 
most  bulky  animal  of  the  creation,  but  the  second  is  undoubtedly 
the  longest.  The  balfena  physalis,  or  raxor-lack  of  the  wjialc- 
£sl]eRit  is  often  seen  apparently  of  the  length  of  a  ship;  tliat  i$> 
from  DO  (o  110  feet:  and  of  this  species,  most  probably,- was  the 
riteleion  alluded  to  by  Capt.  Clarke,  From  the  quantity  of  mysti- 
ceti  which  i  have  seen  caught,  and  the  immense  number  which  I 
have  seen  at  iibehy  in  the  Greenland  seas,  I  feel  the  greatest  confi- 
dcQce  in  asserting  that  the  northern  whale  fishery  has  not  afforded, 
during  the  lost  15  years  at  least,  a  aingle  individual  uf  the  species 
of  the  length  of  80  feet. 
.  ,  1  am,  Sir,  your  humble  obedient  servant, 

William  Scoresbv,  jud. 

X.  On  Spring  Cajriages, 

(To  Dr.  TtaonuMl.) 
SIR,  EJita-BTllatomi. 

In  yoor  Armah  of  Philosophy,  No.  32,  for  August,  1816,  there 
is  an  account  of  some  experiments  wlucb  were  shown  by  me  before 
k  Committee  of  ihe  Dublin  Society,  on  the  22d  of  last  April, 

I  beg  that  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  notice  at  your  leisure  a 
inistalie  which  occurred  in  that  Report.  In  the  experiment  No.  1, 
■tried  with  two  ftirniture  carts  that  were  sustained  on  grasshopper 
springs,  the  result  is  stated  to  be  In  favour  of  the  spring  carriage, 
VIZ.  as  one-fourth  of  the  weight  that  was  laid  upon  it.  This  state- 
ment was  inaccurate,  because  the  experiments  were  exhibited  before 
500  spectators,  whose  remarks  and  inquiries  prevented  a  minute 
attention  to  the  summing  up  the  results  with  ncturacy.  Tlie  weight  of 
the  furniture  carts  was  forgotten,  which  should  have  been  Inclu^d  iQ 
the  comparison  which  was  made  of  their  drafts.  Tliese  experiments, 
[however,  were  announced  as  ihc  means  of  making  a  general  im- 
pression upon  the  public  to  remove  the  mistaken  predilection  fcff 
pigh  and  short  carriages,  and  to  recommend  the  use  of  springs  for 
farriagesof  burden,  but  not  wiih  a  view  of  establishing  the  exact 
latio  of -advantage  that  might  be  gained  by  different  constructions  of 
frarriages. 

The  Dublin  Society  had  most  handsOinely  appropriated  lOQl.  for 
tr}'ing,  before  the  Committee  of  Natural  Philosophy,  esperimenta 
^pon  wheel  carriages  under  my  conduct,  ■  I  have  ever  sinte  that 
time  been  employed  unremittingly  in  preparing  a  set  of  accurate 
experiments  to  be  submitted  to  them,  when  1  have  satisfied  myself 
pf  their  being  worthy  their  attention,     When  they  liave  beei)  cont- 

r:,9,N..<ib,G00gIe 


leiS.     -  S(Mn(i^  IntelligeTtce.  SI5 

pleted,  the  Report  oF  the  Committee  shall  be  transmitted  to  your 
JoumaL 

I  am.  Sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

RlCOAKD  LOVSLL  EoOBWOaTH.    , 

XI.  On  Carhonale  of  B'mwlh. 

(Td  Dr.  TtwiiuoD.) 
SIR, 

I  observe  in  the  last  namber  or  yoar  Annals  a  notice  relating  lo 
•Aii  discovery  of  the  carbonate  of  bismuth  in  Cwnwail.  I  am  in- 
duced to  trouble  you  with  a  few  words  upon  the  subject,  because  I 
find  it  menttooed  nearly  six  years  ago,  and  some  particalare  relative 
to  ft,  with  a  coloured  engraving,  given  in  a  work  which,  ootwitb- 
standing  its  general  utility,  and  the  encouragement  it  has  met  widi, 
has  perhaps  in  scarcely  any  instance  been  cited  by  mineralogicaV 
writers :  1  mean  Sowerhy's  firititb  Mineralogy,  cnniaining  coloured 
ena^vings  of  the  minerals  of  Great  Britain,'  accompanied  by  de- 
scnpiionsand  remarks.  From  the  account  given, of  the  substance 
in  question  in  that  work,*  it  appears  to  have  been  detected  by  the 
Rev.  W.  Grcgor,  and  tliat  it  was  brought  from  St.  Agnes.  It  is  a 
white  earthy  itubstatice,  rather  harsh  to  the  touch,  with  scarcely  any 
lustre  ;  and  the  specimen  sent  to  Mr.  Sowerby  wan  considered  In 
Mr.  Gregor,  from  bis  chemical  examination  of  it,  to.be  mixed  witn 
oxide  of  iron  and  stony  matter.  Tlie  following  panage,  taken  from 
Sowerhy's  account,  will  serve  as  a  reason  that  this  substance  should 
have  escaped  detection  before  tlie  latter  part  of  the  year  1809,  the 
period  at  which  the  specimen  was  forwarded  to  Mr.  S.  *'  We  think 
U  <if  much  consequence  to  figure  such  a  substance  as  the  present ; 
ibr  by  remembering  the  figure  we  shall  not  too  hastily  pass  over 
tluttgs  which  at  first  have  common  appearances,  but  examine  them 
with  attentioii,  which  will  habituate  the  judgment  to  the  easy  discri- 
minatioD  of  obscure  characters,  and  teach  us  to  suspect  what  is'not 
quite  usual,  and  therefore  to  examine  it,  if  necessary,  by  means  4^ 
chemical  ag(»tts." 

Art.  ff,  1SI5.  G.  J}, 

XII.  Talk  Moaatain  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
From  a  description  of  this  moontain  by  Capt.  Hall,  published  in 
'dm  last  volume  of  the  Edinburgh  Transactions,  it  appears  that  the 
lower  part  of  it  is  composed  of  granite,  that  the  granite  at  the 
bottom  is  covered  with  clay-slate,  and  that  veins  of  granite  pas) 
through  this  slate.  The  summit  of  the  mountuD  conusts  of  red 
nod-stone. 

•  Tol.  It.  p.  IT,  pi.  344,  p«blUe4  Dec.  1, 1800. 

-  *      '.■.*     -    ■  n,r.^-<i"yG00glc 


,31g  New  Patents.  [Oct. 

Article  X. 

,    tist  of  Patents. 

John  Lincfobd,  Woburn-place,  London ;  for  his  anatomical 
self-reguIatiDg  truss,  consistiagof  a  tbree  quarter  or  circular  spiing, 
with  an  angular  moveable  joint  and  end  piece,  with  joint  and  addi- 
tiooal  ipring,  to  act  occasionally  with  a  moveable  pad  of  various 
shapes,  agreeable  to  the  fonn  of  the  afflicted  part  of  the  body,  aai 
with  elastic  ipriRg  covering.    June  I,  1615. 

Benjamin  Stsvznb,  No.  42*  Jndd-street,  St.  PaBcras,  LoadoD; 
far  bis  improved  method  of  nakin^  marine  and  domestic  hard  and 
aeftsoap.    Jane  d,  1815. 

Richard  Tbevithick,  CambOTne,  Cornwall,  Esq. ;  for  certain 
intprovements  on  tlie  high  pressure  (A  steam-engines,  and  the  ap.' 
pticatinu  tliereoft  wkh  or  without  other  machinery,  to'  usefal  pur- 
poses.    June  6,  lttl6. 

JOMEN  JoRETT,  Wells-street,  sweep-washer ;  John  Postbe,,' 
Great  Suffolk-street,  Charing  Cross;  and  Lewis  Contbs8&,  Bat». 
man -buildings,  London,  jeweller ;  (in  consequence  of  a  communi- 
eslion  to  them  by  a  foreigner  residing  abroad)  for  a  method  of  tx- 
traciing  gold  and  silver  from  the  cinders  of  gtdd  refiners  and  other 
substances,  by  ineans^ol!  certain  CHrioUs  m^ohinery.    Jifoe  8,181$.' 

JonK  TATI.OK,  of  Stratford,  EsEeK,  mamifeetunng  chemist;  for 
a  mode  pr  meaiM  of  producit^  gas  to  be  used  for  the  purpose  of 
affivding  light.     June  14,  1815. 

Charles  Whitlow^  New  York  Coffee-house,  Sweetings  Alley, 
-jAiidon,  botanist;  for  working  or  making  of  eertain  manuficturea 
from  certain  plasu  of  the  genus  vrliea  and  osclipius,  growing'  in' 
North  Amerk-a,  an^  not  heretofore usetl  in  this  r£alm,  wherel^  the 
fiibrics  <w'prodHGt«  usually  had,  made,  or  obtained,  from  hemp,  flax, 
cotton,  silk,  and  other  fibroos  materials,  or  the  seeds  ot  the  parts 
thereof,  may  be  beneficially  had,  made,  or  obtaiaed,  June  14, 
1815. 

RoBSRT  Brown,  Buraham  Wesigate,  Norfolk,  ironfounder ;  for 
certain  improvements  upon  the  swing  of  wheel  ploughs,  plough 
oarriages,  and. plough  shares,     Joite  14, 13)5. 

Jahks  Gardner,  Banbury,  Oxford,  machine  n»ket- ;  for  iiD-> 
provementson  a  machine  for  cutting  hay  and  straw.  June  14,  181&i 

William  Pope,  St.  Augiutin's  place,  Bristol,  perfumer;  for 
certain  improvements  in  or  on  wheeled  carriages,  and  also  the 
method  or  methods  of  making  the  said  carriages  go  with  or  witlb^ 
out  the  assistance  of  animals,  which  method  or  methods  may  be 
applied  to  other  purposes.     June  14,  1815. 

Grace  Elizabeth  Service,  Arnold-place,  Newington,  Lo&* 
don,  spinster;  for  her  new  methods  of  manufacturing  straw  with 
gauze,  pet,  web,  and  other  simitar  articles,  for  the  purpose  of  making 
into  hats,  bonnets,  work-boxes,  wo[k-bags,'toilet-boxe5,  and  other 
articles.     June  I?,  1815.    . 


1815.]  New  Stiaaffic  Soaia, 


Article   XI. 
Scienti/ic  Books  in  hand,  or  in  Ike  Prest, 

A  N«w  Edition  of  Dr.  Wells's  Essay  on  Dew  is  in  tlw  PreiB,  end 
will  Bppenr  inOetobw^ 

Mr.  Sawerby  has  announced  his  intention  to  sell  separately  Coloored 
Prints  of  such  British  Plants  as  are  iatroduCfld  into  U)e  last  EditioB  of 
the  Materia  Medica.  A  great  part  of  the  Rants'  reoommended  in  the 
Materia  Medica  of  the  ktt  edition  of  the  Pli(irmacop<eia  Loadinensi* 
are  indigenous  to  Great  Britain,  aad  are  describMl  in  Sir  J.  E,  Smith's 
Flora  firitaooica,  and  figured  in  English  Botany.  Many  of  these  by 
eKperi«nce  are  undetstood  to  supersede  the  use  of  some  of  the  Foreign 
ones,  tlie  identity  of  which  nnnt  be  certainly  more  dubious.  The 
Royal  College  of  Physicians  have  very  cwnmcDdably  decided  upon  the 
propriety  of  medical  practition<n-s  having  a  sufficient  knowledge  of 
Botany  to  distinguish  those  plants  which  ere  more  particularly  useful  in 
medicine :  wtierefoic  it  has  been  thought  deeirable  by  Bosoe  to  procure 
»uch  figures  of  medical  plants  as  are  publisbed  in  English  Botany  ;  and 
Mr.  Sowerby  coneiders  it  his  public  duty  to  say,  that  he  viQ  furnish  to 
those  professional  persons  who  desire  it,  plates  only  of  the  54  medical 
plants  figured  in  English  Botanv. 

Mr.  Anderson,  of  West  Smitnfield,  has  annonnoedaCatalo^eof  an 
iestensire  Collection  of  Books  in  Anatomy,  Surgery,  Medicine,  Md-  - 
wifery,  CbJemistry,  &c.  Kew  and  Second  Hand,  including  a  valuable 
assortment  of  Medical  Works  recently  imported  from  the  Continent. 
To  which  is  added  a  List  of  the  Lectures  delivered  in  London,  with 
their  temis,  hours  of  attendance,  Ac. 

Mr.  Hanson,  of  Manchester,  will  shortly  publish  a  Folio  Chart,  en- 
titled. The  Meteorologist's  Assistant,  accompanied  with  a  Card,  ex- 
{ilanatory  of  the  Mode  of  Notation,  "the  chart  will  serve  for  any  year 
and  place  required :  but  the  principal  ob):M:t  of  it  is  to  bring  into  tme 
view  R  year's  cbserrations  of  the  weather,  by  means  of  curves  and  cha- 
racters. Of  course  it  will  facilitate  a  comparison  of  cotemporaty 
notations  of  remote  places. 

Mr.  Crowe,  Surgeon  in  the  Royal  Navy,  will  pablteh  in  a  tew  dxft 
a  Chemical  Table,  exhibiting  an  elementary  view  of  Chemistry,  ui- 
tended  for  the  use  of  Students  and  young  Practitioners  in  Physic,  also 
'  to  revive  the  Memory  of  more  experienced  Persons,  being  very  con- 
venient for  banging  in  Public  and  Private  Libraries. 

Mr.  Cnrpue's  Work  on  the  Nasal  Operation,  with  I^ates,  will  appear 
in  a  few  days. 

During  the  ensuing  month  will  be  pnblisheil  the  Ninth  Volume  of 
General  Zoology,  being  a  continuation  of  the  Sirdt,  by  I.  Stephens, 
£^.  who  will  finish  dte  history  of  thai  class.  The  Motkuea  will  be 
'  mrkten  by  Dr.  Blainvillc,  of  Paris,  tvha  has  devoted  a  considerable 
pflrttonofttia  time  to  the  study  of  that  tnteresting^pe  of  wiHiials:  fmd 
the  Crustaixh  by  Dr.  Leach,  who  is  now  gone  to  Paris  for  thepurpost 
of  obtaininz  a  more  perfect  knowledge  of  the  ^sciea  Thus  the  com* 
|)letM>B  «f  ^B  intereMing  worlc,  commenced,  asd  carrietl  as  fiv  «•  tb* 
eighth  volume,  by  the  late  Dr.  Shaw,  may  b«  apMdily  axpected. 


Meleorohgical  Table  aiti  Jaamal. 

Article  XII. 

METEOROLOGICAL  TABLE. 


[Ocrr^ 


BlKoHEneK. 

TBI»01IEtBII, 

Hyp-,  at 

1815. 

Wind. 

Max. 

Hin. 

Mtd. 

Mu. 

Min 

Med. 

9i.«. 

Rain. 

8th  Mo. 

Aug.  11 

N,W 

29-** 

39-35 

29  395 

69 

44 

56-5 

50  • 

C 

12 

N  W 

23-6& 

29-** 

29  560 

67 

50 

S8'3 

50 

IS 

s  wjaij-ss 

296s 

99  805 

71 

49 

60-0 

50 

14 

S    W;29-94 

29-93 

29-935 

78 

49 

68-5 

47 

7 

I5l§    Wi29-9* 

29-64 

29790 

75 

S9 

67-0 

48 

2 

16,N  w;29-77 

2951 

29^»40 

78 

50 

6+-0 

49 

•35 

17 

29  89 
Var.  '29-87 

29-87 

29-880 

70 

&0 

60-0 

42 

18 

29^0 

29-735 

72 

54 

63-0 

65 

■28 

19 

W   129-77 

29-58 

29-675 

67 

45 

56-0 

49 

0 

20 

N  Wi29  86 

29-77 

29813 

68 

47 

575 

43 

21 

Var.  129  86 

2970 

^9-7^0 

G9 

49 

59^1 

45 

as 

Var.  I29-70 

H9-58 

29-640 

75 

59 

67-0 

S3 

N  W  29-91 

29-58 

'39-745 

72 

S8 

65-0 

52 

-86 

24'S    W  30-02 

299!) 

30-005 

79 

55 

67-0 

53 

25;S   W'29-99 

29-89 

29-9+0 

76 

63 

69-5 

46 

_ 

26 

S    W 

30-00 

29-89 

29-945 

75 

SO 

62-5 

53 

-16 

lin^  irimH,  wilh  « 


REMARKS, 
Eiehth  Jtfonl*.— II.  Windy:  Camulo'tnti :  and  ia 
little  rain.  li.Slach  viXui,  nMh  Cumuloslratvs:  Ihuo 
p.  m.  afKr  wliich  mure  calm.  13.  Fine;  mnch  wind,  wKli  Cuaatui!  cohured 
Qrri,  eirnlpg^  14.  Clomlj  morning!  Wmp.  71°  m  nine:  higr.  at  ci|tht,  Wt 
vlndj:  a  emart  thoir?)'  by  nigbt.  15.  Wiud}  ;  Cumului  cajiprd,  and  Camilla, 
tlratiu:  lunar  coroua  at  night, fallawed  by  raio.  16.  Fairand  windy,  •.m.  witb 
cinudi.  Aboal  four,  f.  m.  at  (he  precise  time  of  the  barouvtei'i  inrnins  to  rise, 
came  a.  vtrj  hcivy  shuirer,  with  Ino  claps  of  tbander.  IT.  Fair:  aoiDewhat 
windy:  large  Cunuteifinli.  IS.  Rain  till  nine  a.m.  after  which  fair:  brllliaat 
Banket  and  moonligbt.  SO,  Cunuloifrofui,  Inw  and  alalionary.  81.  Camubu,  wilb 
arruj  ahDTr,  Ijanltig  little  molian  1  p.  m.  the  wind  went  to  N.  E.,  aud  Ibe  cluadi 
descended,  showing  a  cornna  round  Ibe  moon.  S3.  Overcast,  a.m.  wilh  ihundtr 
doudi,  the  wind  S.  E. :  very  heavy  sudden  shower  before  one:  wet,  p.m.  S3.  Rain 
and  triad  eariy  this  morning,  with  thunder,  tlie  wind  S.  K.i  after  which  sweeping 
ihowers  from  N.  W.,  and  mach  wind  by  night.  24.  Fair,  with  N.W.  wind,  and 
CWnufus:  then  8.  W.,  with  CiiTucuntului.  25.  Fine  day  i  Qunutus,  nith  GVnui 
'  itrong  breeze.    26.  A  Ultle  rain  early  :  heavy  showers,  erenlnf. 

RESULTS. 

Barometer:  Greatest  height  (in  tS days)   30-03  incbei. 

Least 29-^i 

Thennameter;  GreatesI  height  (in  I G  days)    79° 

Least , 44 

Ralniiniadayi) I-T4in[b. 

Abont  0'T5  inch  of  rain  appears  to  have  fallen  in  1he  13  days  during  wbieb  Dw 
abwnaliona  have  been  inlerrnpted.  The  r^lnmn  herelafnre  given  10  the  resalls  of 
the  evaporation  guage  will  aov/  be  ^llotleil  to  the  whalebone  hygrometer  of  De 
Luc,  noted  at  nine  a.  m.  The  instrument  employed  wai  previau'ly  ai^jiiited,  fs 
that  ita  zero  repreunls  Ih«  bygrometric  state  of  air  long  eijioscd  in  a  close  vr>>et 
to  quicklime,  and  100°  ibel  of  air  simrlarly  exposed  to  water.  It  is  fooiiri  l« 
nnge  at  prespnt  15°  nt  SO'  from  the  mean  slate,  ia  Which  it  it  noted,  towardi  lh« 
moiit  eztteme  in  the  night,  and  the  dry  in  the  day. 
TaTTEKU-Ut,  Ifinth  Molilh,  18,  laiS.  <^vQ0nl4R£k 


ISI5.] 


Mtleonlvgket  Taile, 


METEOROLOGICAL  TABLE  {cmtaiujj. 


".TV 

-. 

1815. 

Wind. 

Mai. 

Mia. 

M«l. 

Hai. 

Mia. 

Mrt. 

Rata. 

SihMo 

Aug.  27 

S 

30-00 

!9-75 

29-875 

76 

54 

65-0 

«5 

C 

28 

N   W 

29-81 

29-72 

29-765 

71 

50 

60-5 

55 

3 

29 

s  w 

29'97 

29-81 

29-890 

68 

43 

55-5 

30 

s   w 

■29-97 

39-97 

29-970 

70 

51 

60-5 

♦7 

31 

s  w 

30-05 

2997 

30-010 

73 

49 

605 

56 

.  gth  Mo 

&pM 

3002 

a"9-98 

30000 

73 

50 

61-5 

65 

29-96 

29-86 

29910 

76 

54 

65-0 

32 

.. 

w 

29-96 

29-38 

29920 

72 

56 

64-0 

34 

• 

N  W 

29-95 

29-86 

29-905 

73 

40 

56-5 

51 

fi 

N  W 

29-97 

29-9^ 

29-960 

63 

40 

51-5 

48 

30-06 

29-97 

30-015 

62 

31 

46-5 

N     E 

30-11 

30-06 

30-085 

61 

32 

46-3 

s  w 

3011 

30-08 

30-095 

65 

38 

51-3 

60 

s    w 

30-08 

30-04 

30-060 

6a 

36 

52-U 

10 

N.'W 

30-05 

3000 

30-025 

7a 

47 

59-5 

59 

> 

11 

N   W 

30-07 

30-00 

30-035 

74 

46 

6iHi 

55 

12 

S      £ 

30-07 
29-92 

29-92 

29-995 

70 

42 

56-0 

67 

13 

S 

29-81 

29-860 

78 

39 

58-5 

14 

3 "  E;2y.8o 

29-75 

^9-775 

79 

45 

620 

15 

S       E 

29-75 

29-67 

29-710 

77 

54 

JiS-S 

62 

16 

Var. 

29-80 

29-67 

29-735 

75 

47 

61 -0 

65 

9 

17 

S     W 

30-01 

29-8W 

2y9<>5 

70 

50 

60-0 

S8 

18 

S 

30  05 

300t 

30-045 

74 

51 

62-5 

56 

0 

19 

Var. 

30  04 

2994 

29-990 

68 

43 

355 

20 

S      £ 

29'94 

39-87 

29905 

60 

34 

47-0 

21 

S 

29-87 

i9-69 

29-780 

49 

S'2 

8 

29-69 

29-57 

29-630 

71 

50 

60-3 

60 

■11 

23 

N    W 

29-57 

29-50 

L'9-535 

59 

38 

48-3 

68- 

'i4 

S     W;2977 

29-46 

29615 

58 

37 

47-5 

7t 

■26 

25 

S    W^9  80 

29-75 

29-775 

61 

43 

52-0 

50-11 

i9-4b 

29-892 

H 

"sT 

57-0 

58  ■ 

•57 

■-««  bti^D^g «  DA,  M.  OB  th>  da;  isdieoicd  ia  tbc  am  c.liuaa,    A  da*b 

Google 


Meteorological  Jomval,  [Oct.  \Bl&. 


REMARKS. 

KgMh  XsMh. — 9T.  CJrrtw,  pawing  lo  DVniciHRufut  and  Cin-tiatralvK  SS.  Shower 
earl},  and  again  p,  <o.  £9.  LigUaing,  ii  <4aud«  to  tt>e  E.,  brtmea  three  and 
four,  8..M.  »ri(h  mooiHiglit  w«««ard:  afairilay,  wirtiOHnalns,  H rgr.  at  ectcd, 
a.ni.  70°.  30.  Hnch  Jew:  Cumaleilratui  during  liie  day.  91.  Grey  marning: 
thei  heasy  CumulBitrattu :  very  clear  night. 

iViHfA  &anlA. — 1.  Misly  morningt  OMmrfasfroftu,  trhi'rli  gave  place  al  night  to 
the  Slratui.  S.  A  little  fine  rain  early  :  various  clouds  followed,  and  spme  dropt, 
p.  m. :  a  ClrmilriUai  exhibited  (he  prismatic  colours  at  sun-aet,  and  sicmc  elevatod 
-Cirrt  reoHim^  J»og  eed  after M.  4,  Cmmdmiratus,  aflcrl.irge  Girrf;  showers  &t 
ewnlng!  raiBbow:  brflttui  tvillght.  S,  ftioiig  brceEe  :  in  the  evening  the  new 
mtiiia  uppewed  withK  wvU  4elined  diik,  Mm»  a  pale  fikKpbnric  Kgbt,  becoming 
atterwardstuld  ctAoiatA.  7,  Boat  iiosti  hy^.  7S^  at  ^icB,  a.jn.  -8.  Aflera 
Sae  day,  nearly  oalm  and  cloudleaa,  tbe  Emnke  aettlod  over  (lie  npguM^e  VAlley, 
which  WHS  soon  aflerwaida  filled  with  s  Slro/iu.  lU.  A  veil  of  liglit  Uuuds,  a.m.  i 
■Dtnewhal  hacy  air,  wH^i  3«inell  oF  electrlcily.  IS,  A  SIralus.  Ij.  Much  dei^  : 
'  tlK  evening  (wiligbt  of  laXe  bas  bCM  gmetally  caleur«<1,  and  aCtiniFs  elreaked 
wtib  converging  slndiiwi,  the  Bripjis  at  which  coeid  not  lie  Jraced  Iji  douda  inler- 
ceplingUicI^l,  14.  Ciimtoaly,  nhiidi  inenoued  during  the  day,  «nd  mosllj 
disappeared  in  (he  nigtit !  ihecitrentei  of  lemp.  jtear  ^e  groand  nere  S3°  and 
41°:  tbe  bygr.  reoeded  nearly  to  9S'>.  15.  Claar.a.m. :  in  the  evening  Ci'rH,  and 
oiKCDrity  to  the  W. :  after  which  CirroitTUlui,  and  a  very  distunt  Hash  of  lighloing 
iittheBAW.  16.' A  little  rain,  a.m.:  mucti  mate  cleiid  ihnn  of  late  has  been 
'DHiaii  a  Nimbui  fnmiag  is  the  EvtV. ;  i>  Ibe  evening  drady  raia.      IT.  Lai^e 

Cui,  pairing  ro  Cirraaumibii :  nt  wn^N  ^  ebeet  «f  ronpuMid  Otrrailralas,  while 
fasitg  by  rapid  pnipHgaiJnn  from  K.W.  towaid^  S.  £.  wad  Bxrst  beautifally 
kiedUd  up,  liir  a  short  time,  with  Sane  colnur  and  ar^nse  on  a  pufple  gronnd. 
1^.  Fair,  wm  the  lighter  modifications.  1«.  Much  wind  at  r,.  K.  E.  (his  m^ro. 
iq^:  hygr.  4D°,ai  halT-past  lets,  a.ia.  SD.  Soar  froat-i  tlreag  breeze  :  hygr,  30^ 
attbree,  p.m.  8|.  Cinrui,  fslloHnd  by  theimciMDdSateNDdificiitioBs,  Si.  Tbe 
slcy  fill^  gradually  with  dovdii;  bstti  aboKeafldbdon':  in  the eveaiog  (hey  grew 
bbck,  but  the  lain  caiaeOB  without  an;  ei:p1ouqo  of  electricity  here,  A  Jirt- 
ballocn,  which  I  dlscoverel  near  Ihe  S.  W.  horizon  this  eveniyi;,  appenred  to  be 
iiapcUed  by  JiSereiit  correDti  iu  iiiiiBi:,  ba<  passed  Ae  senith  going  at  a  great  rat« 
atd  elevatioa  toWaoh  the  E.  St.  Cloady :  wud  S.W. :  then  M.  i  email  rain. 
Si.  Early  arerca^  with  Citrtslr^vf :  tlie  #*allflwi  weal  off,  as  it  appears,  this 
morning :  after  a  muRtHiring  BOnnd  is  the  wiad,  asual  befio^ .southerly  sfaowcrs,  we 
liad  adifizlingday  tillevening;  the  hygr,  did.  nut  recede  past  6S°.  S5.  A  Bik 
day  i  bj^r.  vent  t«  87°  in  the  n^ht. 


RESUtTS. 
mnJs  Itghl  «Hd  loriaUe. 

Barometer:  fireatest lei^t , 30*11  indieir 

!    .  Least...,.., 99-46inclie«| 

HOiaaf  IbeperiMJ S9  302  inches. 

Thcrinomete/ :  Greatest  beight 79° 

Least , Jl« 

Meaaof  the  period ^ ST-OO" 

Hygrniaetcr,  mean  desrec,  680.    Eain,  0-M  inch. 

•»•  A  fiery  meteor  of  (be  first  magnitude  was  seen  here  to  paufmni  tbe  N.B. 
to  tbe  N,  on  the  S»lb  nil.  near  eight,  p.  m. :  of  which  a  further  acconat  from. an 
accurate  obmtvei  will  -be  tcttfUMe. 
TwiEmiMi,  filnti  ITontt,  SB,  1815.  1,  HOWAEU. 

D,g,t,.?<ii„GoogIe 


ANNALS 


PHILOSOPHY. 


NOVEMBER,  1815. 


AftTICLt  I, 

On  the  Sela^m  hehvim  the  Specific  Gravities  of  Bodia  ia  tkar 
Gaseous  State  and  the  Ireights  cf  their  Atorns. 

XHE  aathor  of  the  following  essay  submits  it  to  the  public  with 
the  greatest  diffidence ;  ibr  though  he  has  takeo  the  utmost  pains  to 
arrive  at  the  truth,  yet  he  has  not  tliat  confidence  in  his  abilities  at 
an  experimentalist  as  to  induce  him  to  dictate  to  others  far  superior 
to  himself  in  chemical  acquirements  and  fame.  He  trusts,  however, 
that  its  importance  will  be  seen,  and  that  some  one  will  undertake 
to  examine  it,  and  dius  veriiy  or  refute  its  conclusions.  If  these 
should  be  prcnred  erroneous,  still  new  hcta  may  be  brought  to  Inht, 
or  old  ones  better  established,  by  tiie  investigation ;  but  if  mey 
ahoold  be  verified,  a  new  and  interesting  light  will  be  thrown  upoo 
die  whole  science  of  chemktiy. 

It  will  perhaps  be  necessary  to  premise  that  the  observations 
about  to  be  oifered  are  chiefly  founded  on  the  doctrine  of  volmnea 
as  6ist  generalized  by  M.  Gay-Lussac ;  and  which,  as  fitr  ai  tiw 
author  is  aware  at  least,  is  now  univei^y  admitted  by  chemists. 

On  the  Specific  Gravities  of  the  Elementary  Oases, 
!•  Oxygen  and  Azote. — Chemists  do  not  appear  to  have  consi- 
dered atmosph^c  air  in  the  light  of  a  compound  formed  upoa 
chemical  principles,  or  at  least  little  stress  has  been  laid  upon  Jhia 
circumstance.  It  has,  however,  been  long  known  to  be  constituted 
by  hulk  of  four  volumes  of  azote  and  one  volume  of  oxygen ;  and 
if  we  consider  the  atom  of  oxygen  as  10,  and  the  atom  of  azote  as 
]7'5,  it  will  be  found  by  weight  to  consist  d  one  attmi  «f  oxygen 
and  two  atoms  of  azote>  (»  per  cent.  <tf 
VoL.VI.N'V.    .  X  r,.-....,GoogIe 


322  Relalion  between  the  Specific  GravUtCi  of  [Not, 

Oxygen .■ 22*22 

AzoU 7777 

Hence,  then,  it  must  be  considered  in  the  light  of  a  pure  che- 
mical compound }  nnd  indeed  noltiing  but  ibis  luptrasilion  will 
account  for  its  uniformity  all  over  the  world,  as  demonstrated  by 
numerous  experiments.  From  these  data  the  specific  gravities  of 
oxygen  and  azote  (atmospheric  air  being  rO(X))  will  be  found  tj  be,* 
Oxygen I-IIU 

Azote -yyaz 

2.  Hydrogen. — ^The  specific  gravity  of  hydrogen,  on  account  rf 
its  great  levity,  and  the  obstinacy  with  which  it  retains  water,  ha* 
always  been  considered  as  the  most  didicult  to  take  of  any  other 
gas.  Tliese  obstacles  made  me  (to  speak  in  the  first  person)  despair 
of  arriving  at  a  mare  just  conclusion  than  had  been  before  obtained 
by  tlie  usual  process  of  weighing ;  and  it  occurred  to  me  that  its 
specific  gravity  might  be  much  more  accurately  obtained  by  calcu- 
lation from  the  specific  gravity  of  a  denser  compound  into  which  it 
entered  in  a  known  proportion.  Ammoniacal  gas  appeared  to  be  the 
best  suited  to  my  purpose,  as  its  specific  gravity  had  been  taken 
with  great  care  by  Sir  H.  Davy,  and  the  chance  of  error  had  been 
tniich  dimioisbed  from  the  slight  difference  between  its  sp.  gr,  atid 
that  of  steam.  Moreover,  hiot  and  Arrago  had  obtained  almost 
precisely  the  same  result  as  Sir  H.  Davy.  The  sp.  gr.  of  amtponia, 
according  to  Sir  H.  Davy,  is  '59016^,  atmospheric  air  being  1"000. 
We  shall  consider  it  as  *5902 ;  and  this  we  are  authorized  in  doing, 
as  Biot  and  Atrago  state  it  somewhat  higher  than  Sir  H.  Davy. 
Now  ammonia  consists  of  three  volumes  of  hydrogen  and  one  volume 
of  azote  condensed  into  two  volumes.  Hence  the  sp,  gr.  of  hydrogen 
will  be  found  to  be  -0694,^  atmospheric  air  being  1-0000.  It  will 
be  also  observed  that  the  sp.  gr.  of  oxygen  as  obtained  above  is  just 
16  times  that  of  hydrogen  as  now  ascertained,  and  the  sp.  gr.  of 
azote  just  14  times.  I 

3.  Chlorine. — The  specific  gravity  of  muriatic  add.  According 
to  Sir  H.  Davy's  experiments,  which  coincide  ejuctly  with  those  i^ 


-Men  ——■-    -  I. 

Aai  X  :  A  n ::  a  I  b. 

Hence  5  -  4  }  -  ^-^ 

Ana  s  =  — ~- « -Bia.    And* -&-4y- I'lllli^ 

^  Let  X  —  ip.  KT.  of  hydrogcB, 

■^..-'■"''-•"''-.■om. 

J  l-lllll  .f -0004  0  U.    And  ■S7S3  .:- •0694  -  14. 


J815.]  Gateous  Bo^s  aad  the  Weight  of  their  Atoms.  ^'23 
Biot  aod  Arrago,  a  1-27S.  Now  if  we  suppose  this  sp.  ^.  to  be 
emneous  ia  the  same  proporticHi  that  we  fouud  the  sf.  gr,  df 
o's^en  aod  azote  to  be  atiove,  (which,  though  not  rigidlr  accurstej 
iDay  ^t  be  fairly  dsne,  since  the  experiments  were  conducted  in  a 
n'tnlaT  manner),  tbesp.  gt.  of  this  gas  wilt  come  out  about  I  '2845 ;  * 
and  nace  it  is  a  compound  of  one'  volume  dikxine  and  one  volume 
h]nlrogen,  the  specific  gravity  of  chlwibe  will  be  found  by  calcula- 
tion to  be  2-5.t  'Ot.  lliomsoD  states,  that  he  has  found  2-4SS  to 
be  near  the  truth,  %  ™^  Gay-Lussac  almost  coincides  with  him.  § 
Hence  there  is  eveiy  reason.for  concluding  that  the  sp.  gr.  of  chlo^ 
Hoe  does  not  di^r  much  from  2*5.  On  this  supposition,  the  sp. 
gr.  of  chlorine  will  be  found  exactly  36  times  that  of  hydrogen. 

Ok  the  Specific  Gravities  t^  Elementary  Salslamxs  in  a  GaseOut 
Slate  that  do  not  at  ordmary  TempeFottires  exist  ia  that  State. 

1.  Itdine- — I  had  some  reason  to  suspect  that  M.  Gay- Lussac  had 
in  his  escelleot  memoir  rated  the  weight  of  an  atom  ofithis  sub- 
stance somewhat  too  high ;  and  in  order  to  prove  this  SO  grains  of 
iodine,  which  had  been  distilled  from  lime,  were  digested  with  30  grs. 
of  very  pure  lamellated  zinc.  The  solution  formed  was  transparent 
and  colourless  ;  and  it  was  found  that  12'D  grains  of  zinc  bad  tieen 
dissolved.  lOU  parts  of  iodine,  therefore,  according  to  this  experi- 
ment, will  combine  with  25'8  parts  of  zinc,  and  the  weight  of  an 
atom  of  iodine  will  be  1 55,  |[  zmc  being  supposed  to  be  40.  From 
these  data,  the  sp.  gr.  of  iodine  in  a  state  of  gas  will  be  found  by 
calculation  tobe8-Cll)l],or  exactly  I24iimes  that  of  hydrogen.** 

2.  Cation. — I  assume  the  weight  of  an  atom  of  carbon  at  "J'b. 
Hence  the  sp.  gr.  of  a  volume  of  it  in  a  state  of  gas  will  be  found 
by  calvuhlioo  to  be '41G6,  or  exactly  12  times  that  of  hydrogen. 

3.  iSk//)Aw.— The  weight  of  an  atom  of  sulphur  b  20.  Hence  the 
specific  gravity  of  its  gas  is  the  same  as  that  of  oxygen,  or  I'll ll* 
and  consequently  just  16  times  that  c^  hydrogen. 

•  AiI-lMil-lllllit  l'STS:l-S8S. 

Aod  u  -909  :  ■9TSS  ::  1-S78  i  1-S8S.    Tbe  aican  af  tlMM  )«  i-SSIS. 

t  Let  X  =  tp.  fr,  of  chlarioe. 

Aad  X  »'  S-MQ  -  '0094  -  S-9  vtrj  nearly. 

t  ^analM  of  Philnofly,  TOl.lv.  p.  13. 

%  Diito,  vol.  tI.  p.  ise. 

I  Ai  id's  :  100  ::  40  :  1S5.  Aceordiw  lir  expeHmeUI  8lh,  itated  b<-tow. 
tte  wriEhl  of  nil  Biom  tt  zlac  ts  40.  Dr.  Thoimon  makei  U  409,  which  diffcn 
Ut;  liltle.     See  jtmait  9j  fUlinvpliy,  lol.  Iv.  f.  M. 

*•  Oae  volame  of  byilragen  rauibince  wtlh  onl;  balf  a  volnne  ot  oijgtti, 
trat  wM  a  whole  volume  or  gSM«<iiloiliiw,nFcard1ng  to  M.Gbj-Uumc.  The  ratio 
Id  Tolume,  tberefore,  between  oivcen  and  iodipe  ia  ai  |toI,  andlbera(l»  ia 
W(4fbli>u  1  toJA-3.  Now-Uas.  the  deniiljofhairaiuiumeoEuxyicea,  malti- 
plied  b}'  IJI'S,  |;ivni  8-61111,  aod  H'Sltll  .f  -06944  -^  IH.  Orgeiierali>,  to 
iad  the  ip,  fr,  of  ayj  inbiliuice  in  a  state  of  fts,  wo  have  only  to  multiplj  half 
Ihe  >{i.  gr.  of  oiygen  bj  the  weight  uf  the  Hiam  of  tbe  ittbitancei  wiili  mpect  M 
•*3teo.    See  .^nnab  of  PkUnvshj  ^1-  "■  »■  t"^- 

n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


jtM  .Balaiion  between  the  Specific  Granites  of         [Not. 

.  4^  PJie^ibina. — I  bun  awds  owDy  experiiDenta  in  oidertouca- 
lain  tbe  weight  of  «b  atom  of  ibis  si^ttuce ;  but«  after  lU,  hat* 
not  been  sUe  to  laxialy  BijlKlf,  btid  waDt  of  leimre  will  not  peiiDii 
me  to  punue  tb«  sui^ect  further  at  prCKot.  Th«  resold  J  have 
obtuoed  approached  warlf  to  tb«se  gireo  by  Cf  >  WaMaaton,  wfaicb 
I  am  therefore  8ada6ed  are  correct,  or  acarW  k,  aad  vtUA  fie 
photpbonu  at  about  17-S,  aitd  {rfwvpfaoric  acid  at  37-S,*  and  tbcw 
niuaben  at  pratent  I  adi^ 

fi.  Caidim. — Dr.  Maicet  Ibtukl  carbantte  of  Ihne  compoMd  ti 
43-9  carbonic  acid  and  &€•!  lime,  t  Heoee  a»  4^9 :  56-1  u  27-5 
:  S5-1,  or  35  veiy  nearly  ^  and  9S  —  10  »  2it  ftt  the  atao  of 
calciuuk  The  sp.  gr.  of  a  voIubm  of  k>  0M  will  tben&irB  b« 
l*S86ti,  or  exactly  20  times  that  of  hydrogen. 
.  6.  Sodium. — 100-fpraituof  diltMlBurintieacid  t^KPalredlA^gM. 
ofqarbpnateeffimc,  and  the  wne  qnawtity  of  the  same  dUuTa  acid 
dissolved  oaly  8-2  gn.  of  carbonate  of  lime«  after  there  bad  been 
prenouslj  ao^ed  30  grs.  of  a  very  pore  crystalled  subcaibeBBtt)  «l 
soda.  Hence  3U  gra,  of  crystajli^m  subgarfaonate  of  iod»  are  equi- 
valent to  10-4  grs.  of  carbonate  of  Uaie,  and  as  10-4  :  30  ::  62-5  : 
180,  Now  100  grs.  of  crystallized  aobcarbooate  of  «oda  were  found 
by  application  of  heat  to  lose  62*5  of  water.  Hence  lSOgis.o{di» 
»nie  salt  Gootain  I  I3'S  water,  equal  to  10  atoms,  aad  $7'5  drp 
sabcarboQBteof  iodaiaad67-5  —  27-5  n  40  for  the  atom  of  soda. 
And  40  —  10  E=  30  for  tbe  atom  (tf  Sodium.  H(;n«e  a  vqIuhk  (^  it 
in  a  gaseous  state  will  weigh  I'fifiGg,  or  exactly  24  times  that  of 
bydrogcD. 

7'  Ircn. — 100  grs.  of  dilute  muriatic  acid  diss(dved  as  b££ore  18*6 
n-s.  of  caibooate  of  lime,  aud  the  same  quantity  of  the  same  waA 
dissolved  LO-45  of  iron.  Hence  as  18-6  :  10-4&  ::  62-5  :  35-1,  w 
for  the  sake  of  analogy,  35,  tbe  weight  of  an  atom  of  iron.  Ilie 
sp.  gr.  of  a  volume  of  ms  metal  ina  gaieoos  state  ir^l  b&  1'9444>  or 
exactfy  28  times  that  of  hiydrogen. 

8.  Zinc. — lOOgis.oflhe  same  dilute  acid  dissolved,  as  before,  18*6 
ofoarbonateof  lime  and  11-85  of  zinc.  Henoe  as  I8-&;  11*85:: 
62-5  :  39-8!^  the  weight  ol  the  atfwa  ef  zinc,  considered  from 
analogy  to  be  40.  Hence  the  sp.  gr.  of  fl  volntne  Of  it  in  a  gaseou» 
state  will  be  2-222,  or  exactly  32  times  that  of  hydrc^n. 

9.  Potassium. — 100  grs.  oftbe  same  dilate  add  dissolved,  as  bflfbie, 
18-6  carbonate  of  lime;  but  after  the  addition  of  SR>  grs.  of  sopw- 
carbpnate  of  potash,  only  8*7  carbonate  of  lime.  Hence  20  cts.  of 
super-carbonate  of  potash  are  equivalent  to  9*9  carbonate  of  uaa ; 
and  as  9-9  :  20  ::  62-5  :  126-26,  the  weight  of  the  atom  of  super- 
carbonate  e£  potash.    Now  126-26  —   ^5"+    11*25  :=  60,  tbe 

'  *  Some  of  mj  ezperioieiiti  sppiMKbcd  Dealer  to  SO  pbnpborm  and  40  phoi- 

-f  I  qnote  on  ibe  autlioTKjr  of  Dt.  Tbomtin,  ^nnatt  «/  fitliacfhs.  toI.  iii. 
p.  318.  Dr.  Wclhulon  makef  It  lomewhat  diOereaf,  or  that  tatboUiie  ut  llnie' 
contutt  or  43-T  aciil  aad  50'3  lime    Pfill.  Trant.-vol.  cIt.  f,  8. 

-..>y  Google 


1615.)  GatfOia  Bodta  and  lie  fiTeigkl  ofthm  Altms.  3&i» 
weight  of  the  atooi  of  potash,  and  60  —  10  =  50,  the  weight  oS 
the  atom  of  potassiuiD.  Hence  s  volume  of  it  in  a  state  of  gas  will 
meigh  2'7777>  ^  exactly  40  times  as  much  as  hydrogen. 
>  iO.  Barytium. — 100  gn.  of  th«  sane  dilute  acid  dissolved  exactly 
ai  much  again  of  carbonate  of  bsrytea  as  of  carbonate  of  lime. 
Hence  the  weight  of  the  atom  <rf  oarbooate  of  tmrytes  is  125;  and 
125  —  27-5  =  97-5,  the  weight  of  the  atom  of  barytes,  and  97-5 
—  10  =  87*5»  the  weight  of  tlie  atom  of  barytium.  TV  sp.  gr. 
therefore,  of  a  volume  of  ita  gas  will  be  4*8611,  or  enctly  7^ 
time*  ^at  of  hydrogen. 

With  nespect  to  the  ^love  esperimenta,  I  may  add,  that  th^ 
were  made  with  the  greatest  possible  attention  to  accuracy,  and 
mott  of  them  weie  maDy  timea  repeated  with  almoat  precisely  the 
.same  resuhs. 

"ne  following  tables  exhibit  a  seneral  view  of  the  above  resuhi, 
and  at  the  same  time  the  propoTUons,  both  in  volume  and  wrigfa^ 
in  «^ich  they  unite  with  oxygen  and  hydrt^n :  also  the  weights  tk 
[Other  Bubstaaces,  which  have  not  been  rigidly  oamiiwd,  pre  here 
^•tedAWDinudc^. 


D,g,t,.?<i  I,,  Google 


lUlaiivi  hiwem  the  Specific  Grat^ies  ^         [Nor. 


■s* 

- 

'  M 

i 

-.?'» 

1        r 

*'l 

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1        11- 

i 

si? 

j«    i  111 

iiyil 

ai 

jl^  iilijiiiiiiii 

s'as 

=assaosao*oa53 

■JSdia  mojj  -ol 

li 

1  ill  1 1 1 1 1    III 

-M-ntw-u:, 

•s 

imsilgl  -st% 

■qnaooi  JO  uSuriM. 

"2 

SSSSSSiSBg    iss 

luarau 
-adia  oioy  'j  SnTsq 

C  1 

iiii II iif  III 

illliiiis  III 

•1  Sa,aq 

?? 

411  ajjaqdnMBu  -jS  "dg 

-«t»iDOJj'oiSa!aq 
vaixa   'inoiB   JO   -1^ 

?? 

ilsssiSsi  is! 

s« 

«"5                                                n 

aa]£xa  'm.w  jo  1^4 

==s8assss  SKS 

1(0»   g  <o.oiB   JO    -HA. 

_• 

33-SSSSSS    sss 

•I»n!>qMpfq-ia-*8 

- 

;22S8SSSiS    sss 

1 

i 

'..>y  Google- 


5.3 


Gasew-s  Bodies  arid  the  fVe'igkt  of  their  Aio,^^ 


i 

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1 

III  . 
IIS  1 

m  i 

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|S15.3      Gaseous  Bodies  aad  the  Weight  of  their  Atoms.         8^ 

TABIjE  IV. — Substances  slated  from  Analogy^  but  of  which,  we 
are  yet  uncertain. 


»ame. 

1 
i'i 

r 

II 

Obserr^llCaa. 

HdgDOiUB.... 

Cbrominin'  ... 

Nickel 

Cobalt 

Tellnriam 

ter.,;::;-.:: 

Araenfc.T 

HolyMntam  .. 
M«i.gaiie«.... 

8 
li 

18 
28 
88 
38 
32 
49 
4& 

.*8 
58 
60 
78 
68 
98 
9S 
98 
96 
100 
104 
108 
180 
144 
800 

8 
IS 
18 

88 

II 

38 
48 
48 
48 
58 
60 
18 
8S 
02 
96 
96 
9S 
100 
104 
108 
180 
J44 
900 

10 

15 

88-5 

35 

35 

4f) 

40 

60 

60 

ao 

■  70 

75 

90 
ItO 
115 
120 
180 
180 
185 
130 
135 
150 
180 
850 

10  M> 
14-6  • 
23-6' 
36-5* 
36-6  » 
40-87' 
iff 
50  • 
60* 

•013  ■• 
71-15" 
73-5 '■ 
69'94-i 
111*11  "* 
114-87'! 
ISO"' 
121-21  " 
18186  " 
185  H 
189-5  =• 
135" 
149-03  " 
180-1  *> 
249-68  « 

>  Bn-zeliiit. 

'  Henry.     Bciiellni  aakta  U  IS-TT. 

*  Dilto. 

i    fll>U>Df-. 
'   BwMliDl, 

'  Klaprpih. 

>  Beradiua. 

*•  BucMe  sod  8er«liBi. 
■'  gerieliiu. 

Bismuth    

Antimony 

CCTiBtn 

VraniiiDi   

T»nerten 

PLuianm 

Mercury 

"  Uiito.                                      : 
M  Uilto.  Dr.  Tlibanoiim4k*lilll2-4ft. 

>  Hifinjec 

«  Buchola. 

'  Berzcliua.                               i               • 

"  Dllto. 

»  Fourcroy  &pd  Thenard. 

'  Weniel  ^nd  Davy. 
«  Benelim. 
«  DiWq. 
"  Dido, 

ahodiam 

T^tanlun 

Gold 

Observations. 
Table  £—11113,  as  well  as  the  other  tables,  vill  be  easily  under* 
stood.  In  the  first  column  we  have  the  specific  gravittdE  of  the 
differmt  substances  in  a  gaseous  state,  hydrogen  being  1 :  and  if 
we  suppose  the  ralume  to  be  47*21435  cubic  inches,  the~  nunlbeft 
will  at  the  same  time  represent  the  number  of  grains  which  thii 
quantity  of  each  gas  will  weigh.  In  the  third  column  are  the  cor- 
rected numbers,  the  atom  of  oxygen  being  supposed,  according  to 
Dr.  Thomson,  Dr.  Wollaston,  &c.  to  be  10 :  and  in  the  fourth, 
the'  same,  as  obtained  by  experiment,  are  stated,  to  show  how 
nearly  they  coincide.  Of  the  individual  substances  mentioned,  I 
have  no  remark  to  make,  except  with  respect  to  iodine.  I  made  but 
one  experiment  to  ascertain  the  weight  of  the  atom  of  this  sub- 
stance, and  therefore  the  results  stated  may  he  justly  considered  ai 
deserving  hut  little  confidence  ;  and  indeed  this  would  be  the  case, 
did  not  all  the  experiments  of  Gay-Lussac  nearly  coincide  in  the 
M  me. 

n,r.^><i  "/Google 


S80  Specific  Gravities  of  Bodies.     .  [Not* 

Taiy  n, — This  table  exhibits  many  striking;  inst&nces  of  the  Dear 
coincidence  of  theory  and  espf  riment.  It  will  be  seen  that  Gaf- 
Lassae's  views  are  adopted,  or  rather  indeed  antii'ipated,  as  a  good 
deal  of  this  table  was  drawn  up  before  I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
the  latter  part  of  tliSt  chemist's  memoir  on  iodine.  That  table  also 
exhibits  one  or  two  striking  examples  of  the  errors  that  have  arisen 
from  not  clearly  understanding  the  relation  between  the  doctrine  of 
volumes  ai\d  of  atoms.  .  Thus  ammonia  has  beeu  stated  to  be  com- 
posed of  one  Btom  of  azote. and  three  of  hydrogen,  whereas  it  u 
evidently  composed  of  one  atom  of  azote  and  only  1  '5  of  hydrogen, 
which  are  condensed  into  two  volumes,  equal  therefore  to  one  atom ; 
gad  this  is  the  reaeon  why  this  substance,  like  some  others,  appa- 
rently combine  in  double  proportions,  * 

Table  III. — This  table  likewise  exhibits  some  striking  examples 
of  the  coincidence  above  noticed.  Indeed,  I  had  often  observed 
the  near  approach  to  round  numbers  of  many  of  the  weights  of  the 
Atoms,  before  I  was  led  to  inve^igate  the  subject.  Dr.  Thorn scm 
appears  also  to  have  made  the  same  remark.  It  is  also  worthy  of 
observation,  that  the  three  magnetic  metals,  as  noticed  by  Dr. 
Tbomion,  have  the  same  weight;  which  is  exactly  double  that  of 
azote.  Substances  in  general  of  the  same  weight  appear  to  combine 
leadily,  and  somewhat  resemble  one  another  in  their  nature. 
On  R  general  review  of  the  tables,  we  may  notice, 

1 .  Iliat  all  the  elementary  numbers,  hydrogen  being  considered 
as  1,  are  divisible  by  4,  except  carbon,  azote,  and  baryttum,  and 
these  are  divisible  by  2,  appearing  therefore  to  indicate  that  they  are 
modified  by  a  higher  number  than  that  of  unity  or  hydiY^n.  Is 
the  other  number  16,  or  oxygen?  J\nd  are  all  substances  com- 
jHHinded  of  these  two  elements  } 

2.  That  oxygen  does  not  appear  to  enter  into  a  compound  in  the 
ntioof  two  volumes  or  four  atoms. 

3.  That  all  the  gases,  after  having  been  dried  as  much  as  pos- 
Nble,  still  contain  water,  the  quantity  of  whichj  supposing  the 
preseM  views  are  correct,  may  he  ascertained  with  the  greatest 
accuracy. 

Otbets  might  doubtless  be  mentioned  ;  but  I  submit  the  matter 
in  the  prcuQt  to  the  consideration  of  the  chemical  world. 

•  Bee  Cbf •Lavac't  mciMir  op  iodint,  ^niwli  af  PUlaufhs,  t1.  189. 


n,r.^^<i"y  Google 


iri^  Va  the  Jbtorplim  of  the  Caset. 


Ohsersalioas  on  the  Absorption  of  the  Gases  ly  different 
By  TbeodoT!;  de  Saussure. 

iCencliided  fram  p.  S55.) 

SeCTtON  SSCOND. 


T^B  experiments  hiilierto  made  reUte  to  the  BbmrptioD  of  a 
single  gas  not  miiied  wilh  any  other,  I  come  now  to  the  more  in- 
tricate problem,  to  examine  whether  whea  various  gases  have  beta 
absorbed  by  a  pt^'ous  solid  body,  their  absorption  corresponds  widi 
that  which  lakes  place  when  the  gases  are  in  a  separate  state.  I 
bare  made  these  experinients  two  diHerent  ways :  1.  I  pot  the  aolU 
body  freed  from  air  into  a  misture  of  two  gases.  2.  1  brought  tfae 
solid  body  first,  in  contact  with  a  single  gas ;  and  when  it  was  satu- 
rated with  this  gas,  I  transferred  it  into  a  second  gas.  The  eudio-  ' 
metncal  esaminatioD  of  ihe  air  remaining  behind  after  this  fccood 
absorption  enabled  me  to  know  the  pioportion  in  which  both  gase* 
had  been  absorbed. 

7.  Omdensal'wn of  mixed  Gases  hy  Charcoal. 
Messrs,  Rouppe  and  Norden  have  informed  i»  (Ann.  de  Quid. 
t.  34)'  that  when  charcoal,  saturated  at  the  common  temperatare 
with  hydrogen,  is  put  into  csygen  gas,  water  is  seen  condensing 
itself  pa  the  sides  of  the  receiver  in  drops,  whereby  heat  is  disen- 
gaged, and  oxygen  gas  absorbed.  Tiie  same  thing  takes  plae^ 
ac^rding  to  their  statement,  when  the  experiment  is  reversed,  by 
introducing  charcoal  saturated  with  oxygen  gas  into  hydrogen  gas. 
In  these  assertions,  which  have  never  been  contradicted,  there  m 
nothing  contrary  to  the  generally  received  opinions,  it  is  reastm* 
able  to  think  that  the  condensation  which  the  gases  experience  in 
the  charcoal  facilitate  the  union  of  their  bases.  It  is  therefore  quite 
contrary  to  my  expectation  that  I  see  myself  obliged  to  call  in  quea> 
tion  the  statement  of  these  Dutcli  chemists. 

1  made  my  experiments  with  oxygen  gas,  hydrogen  gdt,  axotie 
gas,  and  carbonic  acid  gas,  mixed  together  two  and  two.  For  the 
sake  of  per^icuity,  I  shall  first  state  the  general  results  which  I 
obtained,  and  then  enter  into  more  particular  details,  in  order  to 
show  which  of  the  gases  in  these  experiments  was  absorbed  in  the 
greatest  quantity. 
.  (A) — When  a  piece  of  charcoal  saturated  with  one  of  these  gases 
n  put  into  another,  it  allows  a  portion  of  the-iirst  gas  to  escape,  in 
•rder  to  absorb  into  its  pores  a  jMrtioo  of  the  second  gas. 
According  aa  the  condensation  of  the  gas  first  absorbed  by  tbe 


9Si  &atrvations  on  lAe  Mstrptton  tf  Xtt<a^, 

charcosl  is  greater  or  smaller  than  that  of  the  gas  into  which  it  >* 
pat,  the  atmosphere  surraunding  the  charcoal  is  increased  whereby 
ecJd  is  produced,  or  diminished  whereby  heat  is  disengaged.     We 
have  seen,  for  example,  that  charcoal  absorbs  much  more  carbonic 
IkkI  gas  than  hydrogen  gas.    When  a  piece  of  charcoal  saturated 
with  carbonic  acid  is  put  into  hydrogen  gas,  tiie  bulk  of  the  gas  in-' 
creases  very  remarkably,  and  the  charcoal  becomes  colder.     There 
is  absorbed  only  a  very  small  quantity  of  hydrc^n  gas  into  the  pores 
of  the  charcoal,  while  a  fu  |^eatff  propoMion  of  carbonic  acid  gav 
is  disengaged;  and  (hia  small  quantity  of  hydrogen  occupies  \a  tl>e 
pores  of  the  charcoal  exactly  the  same  space  as  the  carbonic  acid 
gas  disengaged  did.    Suppose,  on  the  contrary,  that  a  piece  <X 
■charcoal  satilrated  with  hydrogea  gas  is  put  into  ■  recrirer  6Ued 
.with  carbonic  acid  gas,  ibe  biUk  of  the  gas  is  (fisHBished,  and  the 
ctutfcoal  becomee  wanner.    A  ooasidenUe  proportioB  of  carbonic 
add  gas  is  absorbed  by  the  charcoal,  while  only  a  very  small  quai^ 
tity  of  hydrogen  gas  i«  disengaged ;  and  the  ^mcr  occupies  exactly 
the  space  which  the  latter  left.     Oxygen  gas  (according  to  para-     - 
gn[A  1 )  is  absorbed  in  greater  proportion  by  charcoal  thaa  hydrc^eil 
gas.     These  two  gases,  therefore,  exhibit  the  same  pheaomena.   A 
piece  of  charcoal  saturated  with  oxygen  gas  being  put  into  hydrogen 
lets  a  greater  ptoportion  of  the  ibrmer  gas  go  th»)  it  abscnrbs  of  ^ 
latter.    Hence  the  bntk  of  the  gas  is  inereased,  and  cold  produced. 
On  the  other  hand,  when  charcoal  saturated  with  hydn^en  it  put 
into  oxygen  gas,  the  volume  of  lur  is  diminished,  and  heat  pro- 
duced.    In  this  way,  firom  the  table  given  in  pani^ph  I,  of  the 
Rte  of  condenB^tioB  of  the  pure  gases  by  cbarcoa),  the  otmseqneBce 
■nay  alw^  he  fi>rttt£>ld  in  every  one  of  these  experiments.    The 
absorbed  gas  in  these  cases  separates  itseif  firam  the  charcoal  pre- 
cisely H  it  does  from  water  impregnated  inth  the  gas,  when  that 
liquid  is  placed  in  contact  with  aaotfacr  ^cie^  of  gas. 

(B) — ^The  Tohime  of  gas  expelled  frooa  charcoal  by  another  ga« 
nfies  according  to  the  proportion  in  which  both  gases  askt  m  Ste 
unahsorbed  residne.  The  quanti^  expeUed  is  riways  the  greater, 
the  more  there  is  an  excess  of  the  gas  which  produced  it.  Yet  it  is 
not  possible  in  close  vessels  to  expel  the  whole  of  one  gas'outtrf 
chareoal  by  means  of  another)  a  small  quantity  always  remairu  in 
the  charcoal. 

(C) — Two  gases  united  t^  abanptioo  n  ebarooat  often  experienct 
a  greats  condensation  tlian  each  would  in  a  separate  state.  For 
example,  tha  pcffsenoe  of  oxygen  gas  in  charcoal  mctlitates  the  as^ 
densatioD  of  hydn^eo  gas;  the  presence  of  earbonki  aeid  goB,  or 
<^  asotic  gas,  lacihtat^  the  condensation  of  oxygefl  eas;  and  thitt 
of  hydrogen  gas,  the  condensation  of  ^otic  ^.  Vet  tfcis  edect 
does  not  take  place  in  all  cases  with  the  four  gases  now  mentianed; 
for  the  [Mvsence  of  azotic  gas  in  charcoal  dees  not  promote  the  ab* 
sorption  of  carbonic  aeid  gas. 

(D) — When  the  absaiptira  of  one  of  the  four  named  gases  hai 
been  facilitated  bji  anemer  f&  tbm^  bo  peroeptibie  eoiBl;;>ioatioa 


t«lB.]  1*0  Gaiet  by  difermt  BmSm,  3SA 

hatfKeo  die  two  tikei  pliee,  at  lesst  withm  the  isteTfal  Of  mpk 
4ay».  So,  for  exunple,  iiDtwithstiindiiig  tke  awertioQ  of  Bouppe 
•nid  Norden,  oo  sepaiation  of  water  appear)  when  oharcoRl  salu- 
■ated  with  hydrogm  at  the  comnioa  teni[MnratuK  la  put  into  oxygHKt 
g»s,  at  when  the  expeiimeot  a  icversM.  As  little  was  it  in  my 
powor  in  this  way  to  ofHteusotie  and  hydrogen  gates  into  anmonia, 
M"  azotic  and  oxrgeo  gases  mto  mine  acid, 

I  bbail  now  give  a  more  porticnlBr  accoant  of  acme  of  these  ezp(s> 
nmeots,  winch  all  gave  me  analogous  results^  iitkang  from  eadt 
oCber  only  'm  degrae. 

Jmtnduaiim  «f  a  piece  of  Charcoal  saturated  with  Hydrogt%  into  ■ 
JUcetver  /till  of  Oxygen  Oat. 

A  volume  of  box'Wodd  charcoal,  which  had  absorbed  VJ5  times 
Its  bulk  of  hytbt^eo,  was  at  the  temperature  of  52°  put  into  20-45 
times  its  bulk  of  ox^^a  gas,  which  contained  -^^  of  azote.  Tlie 
charcoal  reduced  this  atmosphere  6-5  volumes,*  A  tbermametcT 
brought  in  cCHitact  with  the  charcoal,  when  the  absorption  was  at  its 
greatest  rapidity,  rose  4'4''.t  This  elevation  of  temperature  is 
smaller  than  that  which  is  produced  by  the  abscHption  of  osygca 
gas.  In  vain  did  I  endeavour  in  these  experiments,  and  in  others 
mrde  with  a  larger  piece  of  charcoal,  to  perceive  some  of  the  water 
frhich,  according  to  Kouppe  and  Norden,  ought  to  be  formed. 

The  gas  remaining  in  the  receiver  was  no  longer  pure  oxygen  gas 
but  contained,  when  examined  by  Volta's  eudiometer,  a  volume  o( 
hydrogen  gas.  Oxygen  gas,  at  the  same  time,  had  been  absoiUxI 
fyf  the  charcoal,  and  had  driven  off  more  tiiaa  the  half  of  the 
hydrogen  formerly  contained  in  the  charcoal.  Notwithstanding  this, 
the  gas  in  the  receiver  was  diminished  6^  volumes.  Hence  the 
charcoal  had  absorbed  €7  +  1  =:  7t  volumes  of  oxygen,  and  doe 
volume  of  hydrogen  had  been  driven  oflT. 

It  may  be  asked  now,  whether  these  changes  of  space  are  in  the'   - 

•  The  chuge  of  Totane  wm  uccttalaed  ti  hoan  titer  At  ckorcoal  had  beea 
pat  lota  it.  Tbe  receiver  ia  which  the  absorption  took  place  nai  a  wide  glut 
«ab«,  not  Back  lai^cr  tkao  the  diuoelerof  tbe  charcorf,  fhe  tMlIc  of  lAld  «>* 
abant  SS  cabic ceotiinetres  (O-ISS cnbk  <ach  Engiiih).  > 

+  Roappe  aod  Nordca  haveaicribcd  thi>  eleTalion  of  tenperalBre  to  tke  cem- 
MnrntlOD  of  Itae  oiyfta  and  the  bydrogen,  anit  the  fonnalion  of  water,  Af  which, 
acEordtng  to^thcm,  a  perceptible  qomtiij  iieTotrcd.  Tbtjdli  nst  perceirelbat 
Ibil  heat  waa  occaiioDeii  hy  tbe  coadeantlDa  of  the  ozjjten  gai.  Both  reaioBaiid 
eiperimeDt  are  against  the  poMibilit^  of  tlic  water  b«4Dg  visible,  crea  if  it  were 
farmed  j  for  in  aifelperioieDtf,  M  well  as  in  tboae  of  thoe  chemiiti,  the  charcoal 
bad  abiorbed  lea  Una  twice  its  balk  of  bjirorea:  now  that  at  noit conld  forMT 
no  more  water  than  the  fi*e-thoa>andth  part  of^the  wright  of  tbe  diarcoal.  floe 
eiperinicDt  inform  at  that  a  welt  dried  charcoal,  like  that  whfch  I  taplojed  in 
my  experimenti,  can  absorb  mere  thao  tbe  tenth  pan  of  ili  weight  of  water,  andi 
yet  mtiain  dry,  and  allow  no  perceptible  partion  of  ifaai  liquid  to  etcapt^,  at  Ibi' 
teaperatareof  iS:P  or  ]'40*.  Be)id«a,  I  •btained  tkeutne  r(taU*rlieB  I  operaMd' 
u^a  piece,  of  charcoal  tea  or  twelve  times  larger,  lite  heat  wa*  indeed  hmno- 
what  {reater  ;  bnt  always  Icti  than  what  waa  generated  by  the  stuarptiaa  «f 
^Jien  aloni:  bjr  Ike  lame  piece  of  cbanoal. 

'"     D,g,t,.?<ii„Google 


SM  Ohetvalitmt  on  ihe  Absorption  of  (NtiV,  \ 

same  proport!(»>.ii)  wMch  .the  hviin-  standi  wMeh.  the  sibgle  gasea  ' 
occupy  in  the  charcoal  \  According  to  i^tragrttph  I,  one  v^ume  ot 
box-m)od  charcoal  freed  from  air  abeorbi  9*2  volumes  of  o&ygcB 
«id  1-73  of  hydrt^en  gases.  According  to  these  proportions,  7'3 
ToIdDiesofojcygeD  ought  to  have  expelled  1*42  volumes  of  hydrogeo. 
But  as  the  quaotUy  expelled  was  only  one  volume,  we  see  that  the 
presence  of  hydrogen  gns.  increases  the  coodensation  of  oicygeo  gas 
in  charcoal,' which  retuns  at  the  same  time  0'75  of  hydrogen  and 
7'5  volumes  <rf  oxygen  gas^  It  will  he  obvious,  without  my  pointing  ; 
it  out,  that  the  bulks  075  and  7*5  are  by  no  means  in  the  requisite 
proportion  to  one  another  for  torming  water. 

To  follow'  out  this  subject  still  further,  I  put  a  piece  of  charcoal 
saturated  with  the  two  gases  (without  allowing  it  to  cume  in  contact 
with  the  air)  into  a  jar  filled  with  mercury,  and  cootaining  a  little 
vater.  The  charcoal  absorbed  this  water ;  and  in  48  hours  allowed 
3" II  volumes  of  oxygen  and  0-13  of  hydrogen  gas  10  escape.  Now 
according  to  paragraph  2,  tharcoal  whigh  has  absorbed  9*2  volumes 
of  oxygen  when  placed  in  contact  with  water  lets  go  3'2  volumes, 
and  still  therefoie  retains  sis  volumes.  While  in  the  present  case, 
in  consequence  of  the  presence  of  hydrogen  in  charcoal  of  the  7*5 
volumes  of  oxygen,  3' 11  volumes  are  disengaged  by  the  water,  and 
only4'39  volumes  remain  behind.  These  two  gases,  therefore, 
have  not  united  in  the  proportions  which  constitute  water.  Besides 
this,  I  have  extricated  an  additional  quantity  of  oxygen  and  hy- 
drogen gases  out  of  the  same  charcoal,  by  boiling  it  in  water.  It  is 
true  that  the  temperature  is  not  sufRclenlly  high  to^xpel  the  whole 
of  the  gases :  but  this  is  the  case  likewise  when  only  one  gas  is 
present. 

'ITie  following  experiment,  which  is  the  reverse  of  the  preceding, 
still  further  increases  the  doubts  about  the  formation  of  water  hj 
the  union  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen  in  charcoal  at  the  ordinary  tem- 
perature of  the  atmosphere, 

Inlroduct'um  of  a  piece  of  Charcoal  saturated  with  Oxygen  inlo  ■ 
Receiver  containing  Hydrogen  Gas. 

According  to  Messrs.  Rouppe  and  Norden,  the  appearances  which 
tliey  describe  take  place  likewise  in  this  case.  There  is  the  same 
diminution  of  the  bulk  of  the  gas  in  the  receiver,  the  temperature 
ttf  the  charcoal  increases,  water  is  formed,  which  first  appears  la 
vapour,  and  then  falls  upon  the  sides  of  the  receiver  in  drops,  Bat 
I  have  obtained  quite  different  results.  The  quantity  of  gas  round 
the  charcoal  increased,  the  thermometer  sankj  and  no  formation  of 
water,  was  perceptible. 

A  X'olume  of  hox-wood  charcoal,  which,  after  exposure  to  s  red 
heat,  had  absorbed  9'2  volumes  of  oxygen  at  the  temperature  of 
52°,  wai  put  into  15'G  volumes  of  hydrogen. gas.  The  hulkof  tho- 
gas  increased  8-21  volumes;  so  that  it  amounted  to  I8SI  volumes! 
and  a  thermometer,  which  at  the  begianing  of  the  process  bad  beu 


isr5.]  -  Ike  Gases  lydiftftMtBoiki.  &3S 

plticed  m  contact  with  the  ctntcoal,  fell  0^<^.*  By  a  chenuttl 
fkualyais'  ef  the  gas,  1  found  that  the  recdver  contHitied  hydrogen 
aod  4'55  volumes  of  oxygen  gas,  whkb,  subtracted  A^wi  lB-81 

voIuiDjeSj-^eaveB  14-26  volutnca  of  hydrogen.-  Hence  there  was 
Q^worbed  by  the  charcoal  l&'C  —  14-;26  a  1*34  voluiUea  of 
hydi'ogen  gu:  and  this  quantity  bad  expelled  455  volumes  of 
oxj^o  gas. 

Aa  we  have  seen  above  that  cbarcod  free  from  air  absoihi  9-2 
volumes  of  oxygen,  or  1-75  df  hydrogen  gas,  it  is  evident  from  tb* 
nUe  of  absorption  that  1*34  volume  of  hy&Y>gea  occupies  tlie  same 
space  in  the  coal  as  7'03  vidumes  of  oxygen  gas ;  instead  of  which 
only  4'S5  volumes  of  ozy^cQ  gas  were  expelled  by  the  hydrogen. 
In  the  present,  as  well  as  in  the  reverse  experiment,  the  condeosa-  ' 
tkm  of  the  hydrogcii  gas  was  promoted  by  the  presence  of  the 
oxj^en. 

When  the  same  piece  of  charcoal,  containing  1-34  vcdumeof 
hydrogen  and  4*75  volumes  of  oxygen  gas,  was  put  into  a  receiver 
filled  with  mercury,  and  containing  some  water,  it  gave  out  074 
volume  of  bydrugea  and  0-2'i  volume  of  oxygen  gas.  But  out  of  a 
piece  of  charcoal  saturated  with  hydrogen  (1*7^  volume)  alone, 
water  disengages  1-1  volume,  and  uf  course  0-65  volume  remains 
behind.  Our  charcoal,  On  the  contrary,  saturated  with  boiii  gsses, 
left  only  1-34  —  0-74  =  0-60  volume  of  hydrogen  l«hind.  The 
oxygen  gas  present  in  it  prevented  it  from  retaining  the  whole 
hydrogen,  which  it  otherwise  would  have  done.  The  oxygen, 
therefore,  could  not  he  present  in  the  state  of  water. 

As  we  hav6  ho  method  of  separating  the  whole  of  either  a  single 
gas  or  of  two  gases  absorbed  by  charcoal  without  destroying  it,  I 
cannot  show  decisively  that  a  very  small  quantity  of  water  is  not 
formed  in  these  cases ;  but  all  appearances,  as  we  have  teen,  are 
against  that  supposition.  ],  The  absorption  of  the  oxygen  and 
hydrogen  are  in  quite  different  proportions  from  those  that  form 
water.  2.  llie  temperature  sinks  nhen  the  liydrt^en  is  absorbed 
last.  3.  Both  gases  are  driven  off  by  water  in  very  diSerenl  pro-' 
|K»tions  from  what  would  be  requisite  to  form  water. 

I  must  now  observe  that  the  quantities  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen 
gases  which  a  piece  of  charcoal  absorbs,  vary  according  to  the  pro- 
porlifins  of  both  which  remain  behind  in  the  receiver,  and  that  both 
of  these  stand  to  each  other  in  a  determinate  ratio.     Thus  when  a  . 

Eiece  of  charcoal  saturated  with  oxygen  is  put  into  15'€  volumes  of 
ydrogen  gas,  4-55  volumes  of  oxygen  are  discngHged,  in  plaee  of 
whicU  1'34  volume  of  hydrogen  is  absorbed.  But  If  the  same 
charcoal  be  put  into  1 1  volumes  of  hydrogen  gas,  only  3'  1 2  volumes 
of  oxygen  is  evolved,  and  0-76  volume  of  hydrogen  absorbed,  llw 
residual  gu  in  this  case  contains  a  greater  proponioo  of  oxygen  than 


•  The  chaKoal  had  Dcarl;  the  tame  bulk  ai  In  the  preceding  «: 
largfr  (liccra  b'f  rmplnycd,  the  change  of  lempErntare  ii  more  rem 
lb*  riperinodls  are  miie  mate  tsiily,  mat  wMb  dot*  acGaracy,  ^ 
ti«uaf|iu,  and  imKll  (ilccn  of  cbarcoal. 


n,<j*.<,r,,GoogIe 


S$e  Oiiervsiidia  en  the  Miorptum  of  |KciV, 

in  the  fbrmer.    Tiia  fVee  communinitvni  faenrwil  dMgues  in  tlM| ' 
diftfooBt,  aod  those  stHToaodiD^  it,  is  a  proof  that  the  gases  mixed 
iu  tfale  charcoal  do  not  form  any  tiutin^  cemhbiationj  as  woalj  be 
die  case  if  water  were  formed ;  bat  that,  in  consequeoee  <rf  tbeir 
jamtual  contact  ifi  the  uharcoa),  tbejr  are  merely  a  tittle  tiottdeosed-. 

If  ofaarcoal  free  from  ^ir,  btft  ^rebched  in  water,  be  bmugtit  iti 
contact  with  oxygen  gas,  carbonic  acid  gas,  or  azotic  eaa,  th0Se 
gase^  white  they  penetrate  into  its  pores,  drive  oat  a  acvtion  of  this 
'  water.  It  ii  to  be  presamed  that  Messrs.  Roi^e  and  Nbrdm  totdc 
this dbeagaged  water  fornew  fonned  water,  lliis  is  die  iDOii«pnv^ 
hable,  n  in  their  experiments  the  gases  stood  orer  water,  of  which 
the  chwocMil,  v^iile  it  absorbed  the  gases,  must  have  imbibed  a 
certain  portion. 

I  pass  over  the  detail  of  the  experiments  which  I  made  respedh^ 
the  mutual  expulsion  of  gases  frcun  charcoal  with  hydrogen  and 
asotic  gases,  oxygen  and  azotic  gtsei,  and  oxygen  and  Carbobic 
acid  gases.  They  were  made  with  the  same  care  as  those  with 
m^gen  and  hydrogen  gases ;  and  tfae^  furnished  simikr  results,  with 
the  exception  that  azotic  and  carbonic  acM  gaws,  wtien  in  contact 
in  charcoal,  do  not  appear  to  increase  the  condensation  of  each 
other.  In  ail  other  respects,  as  may  be  eati]^  conceived,  these 
KUtual  expulsions  are  so  much  the  more  conspicuous,  the  greater 
Ae  dii&rence  of  condeusatiofi  a  which  both  gases  undergo  when 
absorbed  by  -chaTCoal.  Hence  it  »  very  striking  when  th^  gases  are 
bydrogen  and  carbonic  aeid;  and  most  of  all,  when  they  are  am- 
monia and  tiydro^n. 

From  this  action  of  tSe  gtises  on  each  other,  which  expel  ench 
cither  IVom  a  porods  body,  it  is  evident  that  a  porous  body  which  has 
saturated  inelf  with  atmospherical  ah-,  and  which  is  pot  into  a  gail 
without  being  dejmved  of  air,  m«y  either  increase  or  diminish  the 
yolsme  of  that  ga»,  according  as  it  is  absorbed  in  greater  or  smaller 
qaentity  than  oommoB  air.  In  like  manuer,  a  piece  of  charcoal  ol* 
of  meerschaum  saturated  with  common  air  will  perceptibly  diminish 
a  given  vdume  of  carbomc  acid,  and  increase  uiat  of  hydrogen  gas, 
in  which  it  is  put.  It  is  highly  probabk  that  the  odoriferous  vapoitrsr 
of  bodies 'rendered  evident  by  moist  air,  and  tikewise  the  smell^  of 
floweiv,  depend  vcpoa  snch  mutual  expoVsinns  of  gweous  bodies. 

If  a  piece  of  charcoal  f^e  ftom  air  be  put  ihto  a  mixture  of 
(«yg«n  and  hydrogen  gases,  an  absdr^ion  takes  place,  which  holds' 
the  same  prt^KHtion  with  respect  to  the  two  ^ses  as  when  the  char- 
coal is  first  saturated  with  the  one,  and  then  placed  in  the  other.  X 
placed,  for  example,  a  piece  of  boK-wood  charcoal  free  from  tat 
jnto  16  volumes  of  a  mixture  containing^  oxygen  and  |.  hydrogen 
gases ;  so  that  both-  gases  were  in  the  proportions  requisite  for  the' 
wnnation  of  water.  Of  this  mixture,  veiy  nearly  three  vdumes  rf* 
oxygen  and  one  volume  of  hydrogen  were  absorbed.  This  result 
corresponds  very  well  with  tlie  proportion  of  single  gases  that  would 
have  been  absorbed,  and  likewise  the  reUtive  poipeFtion  io-wbieb 
they  were  mixed  befoie-absorption. 

n,,:-A-..>yGoogIe 


1H15.]»  the  Gases  by  difereni  Bodies.  ,     337 

When  a  piece  of  box-wood  or  beech  charcoal  free  from  air  is 
exposed  to  common  air,  it  absorbs  more  osygen  lima  aZote,  so  tliat 
the  air  is  injured  by  it ;  but  not  much,  as  the  difference  between  the 
quantity  of  these  gases  absoibed  by  charcoal  b  not  great.  Hence 
that  this  coDsequenc-e,  which  Messrs.  Rouppe  and  Norden  deny, 
may  take  place,  the  volun^  of  residual  air,  id  comparison  of  that  of. 
the  charcoal,  must  be  small. 

8,  Simultaneous  Absorption  of  various  Gases  by  different  Bodies. 

In  general  all  porous  bodies  eihibit  the  same  appearances  in 
respect  to  the  mutual  expulsion  and  coudensation  of  the  gases 
coming  in  contact  with  them  as  charcoal  does.  Yet  these  expul- 
sions may  take  place  in  an 'opposite  order  when  the  affinity  of  tiie 
body  for  the  gases  is  diSerent.  In  this  respect  the  results  are 
striking  which  meerschaum,  lieniform  asbestus,  adhesive  slale  of 
Mesnil  Montant,  and  Saxon  kyarophane,  give  when  they  are  brought 
in  contact  with  mixtures  of  carbonic  acid  *  or  ammoniacal  gas  with 
osygen,  hydrogen,  or  azotic  gas.  A  mixture  of  the  two  or  three 
last  gases  requires  more  attention,  and  the  consequence  is  not 
always  perceptible.  As  in  these  experiments  it  appears  of  .no  con- 
sequence whether  the.  porous  body  be  first  saturated  with  one  gas, 
and  then  put  into  the  other ;  or  whether  it  be  put  into  a  mixture  of 
.  the  two  gases ;  I  shall  describe  here  only  the  results  which  1  ob- 
tained in  the  last  way,  as  it  is  the  shortest.  The  experiments  were 
made  in  temperatires  between  59°  and  62°.  The  same  pieces  were 
employed  in  all  of  them;  and  each  porous  body  was  allowed  to 
remain  24  hours  in  the  mixture  before  the  residual  gas  was  exa- 
mined. 

Meersdiaum  in  a  mixfure  of  Oxygen  and  Hydrogen  Gases. 

A  volume  of  meerschaum  freed  from  air  was  put  into  2^  volumes 
ef  gas,  one  half  of  which  was  oxygen,  and  the  other  hydn^en.  It 
absorbed  0'57  volume  of  oxygen  and  0'44  of  hydrogen;  therefore 
more  of  the  first  than  of  the  last.  This  is  conformable  to  the  order 
of  absorption  of  the  gases  when  not  mixed.  When  we  compare  the 
bulk  which  both  gases  occupy  in  the  meerschaum,  with  the  sum  of 
their  bulks  when  single,  we  perceive  that  the  presence  of  the  oxygea 
has  promoted  the  condensation  of  the  hydrogen  gas. 

I'he  same  experiment  was  made  with  the  adhesive  slate  of  M eoil 
Montant.  A  volume  of  this  stone  absorbed  0*7  of  the  mixture. 
The  proportioi}  of  each  gas  absorbed  was  the  same,  though  the 
Stone  absorbs  more  oxygen  gas  when  alone  than  it  does  of  hydrpgett 
gas.  The  difTerencc  was  either  too  smalt  to  be  perceptible,  or  the 
presence  of  the  oxygea  .had  promoted  the  condensation  of  the 
hydrogen  to  such  a  degree  as  to  nuke  its  bulk  equal  to  that  of  th« 

*,  Ferlmpa  the  unall  qanotitr  of  Mrbonic  uid  wblcb  wme  poroni  atonet,  u  the 
Bcenchaam  of  Kalolia,  coDlain,  ia  oDl;  •cetdcnKit  «r  what  the  mattt  In  lb«a>  i* 
able  to  rcioip  b;  meftm  of  ckj^illar]'  attiactwo. 

Vol.  VI.  N"  V.  Y  (-         t 


S38  Observatims  on  the  Ahsorplum  of  [NoV. 

oxygen.     la  the  same  way,  meerschaum  did  not  seDsibly  alter  the 
compositioD  of  atmospherical  air. 

Meerschaum,  Charcoal,  and  Wood,  in  a  Mixture  ofegual  Volumes 
ofAxotic  and  Hydrogen  Gases. 

A  volume  of  meerschaum  free  from  air  absorbed,  from  2'5 
volumes  of  such  a  mixture,  0-61  volume  of  azote  and  0'42  volume 
of  hydrogen ;  therefore  more  of  the  first  than  of  the  last.  These 
two  gases  seem  to  have  been  rendered  somewhat  denser  by  their 
contact  in  the  stone.  A  volume  of  box-wood  charcoal  free  from  ait 
absorbed,  from  IG  volumes  of  such  a  mixturej  3*5  volumes  of  azote 
and  09  of  hydrogen.  *  A  volume  of  fir-wood  free  from  air  ab- 
sorbed, from  four  volumes  of  the  mixture,  0'34  vplume  hydrogen 
and  0-  L 1  azote.  Wood,  then,  produces  just  the  opposite  effect  upon 
these  gases  that  meerschaum  does  -,  yet  the  absorption  of  the  mix- 
ture by  the  wood  agrees  with  its  absorption  of  the  gases  separately, 

,AII  my  attempts,  in  these  experiments,  and  in  others  which  I  do 
not  mention,  to  detect  the  formation  of  water,  ammonia,  or  nitric 
acid,  were  entirely  abortive,  I  employed  no  other  heat  to  assist  me 
but  what  was  disengaged  by  the  atsorption  of  the  gases ;  yet  my 
experiments  were  not  sufficiently  raried,  nor  continued  long  enough, 
to  destroy  all  hopes  of  meeting  with  cases  io  which  such  a  forma- 
tion may  take  place ;  especially  when  we  employ  the  intermediate 
action  of  water,  and  such  absorbing  bodies  as  have  a  chemical  afB- 
nity  for  these  products. 

Section  Third. 

absorption  of  thb  gases  bt  liquids, 

9.  Daltoji's  Theory. 

That  all  gases  are  absorbed  by  liquids,  and  that  most  of  them  are 
again  separated  by  heat  or  the  diminution  of  external  pressure,  has 
been  long  known.  We  now  possess  accurate  results  respecting  the 
rate  of  this  absorption.  For  a  set  of  careful  and  regular  experiments 
on  this  subject  we  are  indebted  to  Dr.  Henry,  of  Manchester.  Mr. 
Dalton  has  a  little  altered  some  of  these  results;  and  by  means  of 
tliem  has  contrived  a  theory  ivhieh  not  only  explains  the  absorption 
of  gases  by  water,  but  by  all  other  liquids ;  but  it  is  in  opposition  to 
most  of  the  results  which  I  have  obtained  by  means  of  solid  porous- 
bodies. 

According  to  him,  those  gases  which  separate  from  liquids  when 
the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  is  removed  are  merely  held  in 
mechanical  union,  and  are  by  no  means  in  diemical  cotobioation 
with  these  liquids.  He  affirms,  further,  that  water,  at  a  medium 
temperature,  and  under  a  medium  pressure  of  the  atmosphere,  can 

•  In  thit  experiment  the  gun  aadcharcnal  remained  in  coaUct  flvetteekif  bnl 
,sfler  Ibe  first  itay  the  Toliime  of  [h&miiture  (raa  uot  altered  in  the  leoit.  On  im- 
uertirtg  the  cliarcoal  ui  cold  irUcr,  8-55  volamei  of  aaateuidO'Glof  hjdroe^ 

n,r.^^<i"yG00glc' 


iaiS.]  ihe  Gaies  ly  d^trmt  Bodies.  SS9 

Onlf  absorb  gases  according  to  the  jbllowing  law.  It  absorbs  either 
a  volume  of  the  gaa  equal  to  its  own  volume,  as  is  the  case  with 
tarbonic  acid,  aulphureted  hydrogen,  and  nitrous  oxide ;  or  to  -^  of 
its  volume,  as  Ii  the  case  with  oleGant  gas  ;  or  to  y^  of  its  volume, 
as  is  the  case  with  oxygen  and  nitrous  gas ;  or  to  -^  of  its  volume, 
as  is  the  case  with  aaote,  hydrogeo,  and  carbonic  oxide :  so  that  the 
volumes  of  absorbed  ga^  in  these  four  divisions  may  be  represented 
by  the  series  (^)',  (^)*,  (|)',  [-^Y,  the  volume  of  water  being  repre- 
sented by  1.*  The  same  law  liolds,  according  to  Dalton,  for  all 
liquids  that  are  not  glutiuous,  as  for  alcohol,  acids,  and  solutions  of 
sails  in  water ;  though  between  the  solution  and  some  gases  ao 
affinity  may  perhaps  exist,  as  between  a  solution  of  an  alkaline 
Eulphuret  and  oxygen  gas.  Finally,  he  establishes,  from  some  ex- 
periments of  Dr.  Henry,  that  water  which  has  absorbed  one  gas, 
and  is  placed  in  contact  with  another,  always  allons  as  much  of  the 
first  to  escape,  sod  absorbs,  on  the  contrary,  so  much  of  the  other, 
that  the  mixture  of  gases,  which  after  this  excltange  remains  behind 
in  the  water,  is  exactly  in  the  same  proportion  as  would  have  been 
produced  by  tbe  absorption  of  each  of  fhem  singly  by  the  water, 
■upposing  each  of  the  density  which  it  has  in  the  gaseous  mixture. 
According  to  this,  water  would  absorb,  from  a  ntixturt  of  two  gases 
in  equal  proportions,  only  one  hitlf  of  the  volume  of  each  which  it 
would  absorb  if  the  gas  were  In  a  separate  state. 

The  following  experiments  will  enable  us  to  examine  the  accuracy 
of  these  prt^xisitions, 

10.  ^bsorplUm  of  unmixed  Gases  Zy  different  lAquids. 
I  endeavoured  to  free  the  liquids  which  I  used  in  my  experiments 
from  air  as  completely  as  possible,  by  long  and  violent  boiling. 
'Hiose  which  would' have  been  altered  or  dissipated  by  the  applica- 
tion of  such  a  heat,  as  oils  and  some  salt  solutions,  were  fieed  from 
air  by  means  of  the  air-pump.  Neither  of  these  methods  is  capable 
.  of  freeing  liquids  completely  from  air ;  and  the  more  volatile  the 
liquid  is,  they  succeed  the  more  imperfectly,  because  they  can  only 
be  exposed  to  a  lower  tempecature,  and  the  pressure  of  the  vapour 
which  rises  from  them  under  the  air-pump  prevents  the  escape  of 
their  air. 

To  produce  a  speedy  and  complete  .absorption,  I  put  a  large 
quantity  of  those  gases  which  are  absorbed  only  in  small  quantity 
by  liquids,  as  of  azote,  oxygen,  and  hydrogen,  with  a  small  quantity 
of  the  liquid,  into  a  flask,  which  was  furnished  with  an  excellent 

f  round  stopper,  and  agitated  the  flask  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 
'his  is  a  difficult  method,  and  requires  much  attenticm.t  With 
respect  to  all  the  gases  of  which  the  liquid  absorbs  more  than  i^  of 

*  Accerdigi;  In  him,  100  (olumei  of  water,  at  the  temperalure  of  61%  abiorb 
100  lolumo  of  the  tirst  three  gUM,  12-5  inlumes  uf  oleSlsl  (U,  3'7  afgiycra 
■Dd  Bzole,  and  I-&6  of  the  last  ibreeg&ses. 

t  Marc  nil!  be  laid  on  tbii  nbject  in  the  Appeodii. 

y  2 


540  Obiervatms  m  the  Ahorptioti  of  [Not- 

its  bulk,  I  proceeded,  oii  tfae  contrary,  in  the  following  tntnner. 
I  placed  them  over  mercury  in  a  tube  tour  ceutimetres  (1*575  incb) 
of  internal  diameter,  and  let  up  a  column  of  the  absorbing  liquiii 
five  or  six  centimetres  (l'?^  to  236  incites)  in  length.  'Ihe  ab- 
sorption was  promoted  by  agitation,  and  its  quantity  was  not  cTeter- 
mined  till  the  gas  and  the  liquid  had  been  in  contact  for  several  days. 
The  following  table  exhibits  the  quantity  of  the  different  gases 
absorbed,  according  to  these  experimeats,  by  water  and  alcohol. 


Sulphumus  acid  ga«  

SuFphiirettd  hydTogrn* . . , 

Carbonic  acid 

Nitrous  oxide 

Oleflonl  (BS 

OiyiengM -. 

Carbpaic  pxide    ,.i\ 

Oiy-tarliureied  hj^rocea. 


A  hundred  volumes  of  water  absorb  about  five  volumes  of  atmo- 
spherical air,  when  the  massif  air  U  very  great,  in  comparisoo  of 
that  of  the  water. 

From  jhese  experiments  it  appears,  contrary  to  Palton's  assertion, 
that  the  absorption  of  gases  by  different,  not  glutinous  liquids,  as 
water  and  alcxihol,  is  very  far  from  being  similar.  The  alcohol,  w 
we  see,  often  absorbs  twice  as  much  of  them  as  water  does.  In 
gases  which  are  absorbed  in  small  quautities,  this  di&rence  is  not 
so  striking;  because  with  respect  to  them  the  absorptions  of  the 
alctJiol  can  be'  less  accurately  determined,  on  account  of  the  air 
which  still  remains  in  it  after  being  boiled.  Those  gases  which  are 
absorbed  in  great  quantity  suffer  liiit  little  opposition  from  this  air- 
In  the  remaining  gases,  its  influence  becomes  the  more  striking  the' 
.  more  nearly  the  ubsorbabiliiy  of  the  gas  and  the  air  approach  to  ■ 
,  state  of  equality. 

These  experiments  agree  no  better  with  the  law,  which  palton 
thinks  he  has  ascertained  in  the  absorption  of  difierent  gases  by  one 
and  the  same  liquid ;  for  I  find  too  great  a  difference  between  the 
quantity  of  carbonic  acid,  sulphureted  hydr<^n,  and  nitrous  oxide 
,  gases,  absorbed  by  Ihe  same  liquids  (which  I^lton  considers  ei 
completely  equal),  to  be  able  to  ascribe  it  to  erron  in  the  experi- 
ments. 

•  ll  was,  accnrdins  to  the  direcllon  of  Oaj-Lmrac  vid  Tlieniird,  prepared 
rrom  nilphurei  o(  ajuiraoay  Xty  meant  of  unrialic  acid,  and  In  the  abio^tlon  all 
aurcuT;  wai  kepi  out  of  pluy. 


ItllS.]  the  Gases  by  different  Bodief.  jt41 

1 1 .  Influence  of  Chemical  Affimty  on  Ike  Absorption  of  Gases. 
It  such  an  iafluence  did  not  exist,  the  gases  would  be  absorbed 
by  all  liquids  in  the  $ahie  order.  As  1  had  not  perceived  aaj  distinct 
difference  between  water  and  alcohol  in  this  respect,  I  tried  other 
liquids,  and  1  confined  my  eKpentnenta  to  four  gases,  namely,  car- 
bonk*  acid,  nitrouH  oxide,  oiefiBnt  gas,  and  carbonic  oxide.  1  ex- 
cepted oxygen  gas  from  theae  experiments,  because  it  forms  perma- 
nent compounds  with  most  of  the  liquids  to  be  employed,  whicii  are 
not  modified  by  the  pressure  of  the  atmoaphere.  Azotic  and 
hydrogen  gas  were  also  excluded,  because  they  are  absorbed  in  such 
small  quantities  that  the  difference  in  the  rate  could  not  be  accu- 
rately ascertained.  Ths  experimeots  were  made  at  the  temperature 
of  64-5°, 

A  hundred  volumes  of  rectified  white  and  transparent  native 
naphtha,  of  the  specific  gravity  07S4,  absorbed 

VolarDci, 

Olefiaot  gas 261 

>Jitrousoxide   .*....  254 

Carbonic  acid 169 

Carbonic  oxide    20 

A  huitdred  volumes  of  fresh  distilled  essential  oil  of  lavender,  of 
ihe  specific  gravity  0'88,  absorbed 

Volamn. 

Nitrousoxide 275 

Olefiaot  gas 209 

Carbonic  acid 191 

Carbonic  oude 15-6 

A  hundred  volumes  of  olive  oil, 

Voluno, 

Carbonic  acid  151 

Nitrous  oxide '  150 

Oietiaot  gas 122 

Carbonic  oxide 1 4*3 

A  hundred  volumes  of  t  saturated  solution  of  muriate  of  potash 
in  water. 

Carbonic  oxide 61 

Nitrous  oxide -. 21 

Ol^fiant  gas 10 

Carbonic  oxide 5'2 

It  follows  from  these  experiments,  that  in  liqui<1s,  as  well  as  in 
solid  bodies,  great  differences  take  place  in  the  order  in  which  gases 
'  are  absorbed  by  them,  and  that  in  consequence  these  absorptions  are 
always  owing  to  the  influeace  of  chemical  affinity. 


D,g,t,.?<i  I,,  Google 


342 


■  Ohervatiims  on  the  Ahorptian  of 


[Not. 


Solid  bodies  appear,  under  the  same  circumstances,  to  produce  a 
greater  condensation  of  all  gases  in  the  contact  of  which  they  are 
placed  than  liquid  bodies  do.  1  have  met  with  no  liquid  which 
absorbs  so  great  a  volume  of  carbonic  acid,  olefiant  gas,  azotic  gas, 
carbonic  oxide,  and  nitrous  oxide,  as  charcoal  and  meerschaum  do. 
The  difference  is  probably  owing  to  this  circumstance,  that  liquids, 
in  consequence  of  the  great  mobility  of  their  parts,  cannot  com- 
press the  gases  so  strongly  as  is  necessary  for  greater  condensation ; 
certain  cases  excepted,  where  very  powerful  chemical  affinities 
come  to  their  assistance  ;  as,  for  example,  the  ajBnity  of  ammonia 
and  muriatic  acid  for  water.  Only  in  these  rare  cases  do  liquids 
condense  a  greater  quantity  of  gases  than  solid  bodies,*  While  in 
these  last  bodies  the  size  of  the  pores  determines  the  space  occupied 
by  the  absorbed  gas,  the  parts  of  liquid  bodies,  in  consequence  of 
their  separation  from  each  other,  have  a  disposition  to  increase  their 
distance,  in  proportion  as  the  gases  are  absorbed,  f 

12.  Influence  of  the  Viscidity  and  of  the  Specific  Gravity  qflAquids 
on  theix  Absorption  of  Gases. 
In  my  experiments  on  the  influence  of  the  physical  state  of  the 
liquid  upon  its  power  of  ateorbing,  I  have  employed  carbonic  acid 
gas,  which  I  have  placed  in  contact  with  a  great  number  of  liquids, 
very  different  both  in  tlietr  liquidity  and  in  their  specific  gravity. 
The  following  table  exhibits  the  result  of  these  experiments ;  they 
were  performed  at  the  temperature  of  625° :  and  likewise  the  bulk 
of  carbonic  a,cid  gas  absorbed  by  one  volume  of  the  different 
liquids ; — 


Liquids. 

Sp.  Gr. 

Volume  of  gas 
atworbcd. 

1 00  paite  of  the  ralDtioB  codUlD 

O803 
0-7  27 
O'SSO 
0-8BO 
0-84 
0-784 
0-86 
094 
0915 
l-OOO 
1-073 

i-09a 

a-8 

8-17 
1-91 
l-SS 
I-3T 
1-69 
I'6S 
1-S6 
1-61 
1-08 
015 
0  75 

Sulphuric  eiber    

Oil  of  lavender 

ifpiritofHine 

Rectiepd  n^mlha 

Oil  of  Urptnline    .... 

Ciim-iirablc   

ST-S3rrv3l.eaU.    Sat.  solDtinn. 

85        Knffl. 

•   AccftrdingloTho 
absorbs  5l5limcs  iiB  b 

Ik   U  inn 

r  In'lhr  men 
>iatic  acid  gas. 

ipTiprratore  of  the  ntmosphrre 
and  760  lim«9  ils  bulk  of  amm*- 

y  Water  by  iibEorbini:  fosses  incrraset  in  Tolntne,  and  a  perceptible  hfal  is 
evolved,  ithi-n  the  qnantily  absorbed  at  leatil  equals  l)ii!  volume  of  tlie  absorbing 
liquid.  Th<-  specific  gravit}  of  a  liquid  satbraled  ivilb  gas  is  therefore  imatler 
than  it  ougtil  to  be,  calculating  from  [he  quantilj  of  fas  absorbed.  Thomson  dram 
an  arguDient  from  this  against  the  opinioo  of  mere  mechanical  pcaetration. 


n,r.5^<i  "/Google 


J  815.] 


i^e  Gases  In/  different  Bodies. 


Uqoidi. 

Sp.  Gr. 

Volame  of  ga^ 
'  abiorbed. 

100  part)  af  Ibe  toIatioD  contaio 

.  1'I04 

!S 

l-tfiS 

1105 
1119 

1-aw 

l'84 

1-965 

i-4oa 

o-Te 
o■^ 

0-63 

-      0-61 
0-58      . 
0-6T  . 
,0-4S 
0-45 
0-41   ' 
0-389 

■     0*261 

as  jDgar, 

Sulphate  iifijotuli.... 
Muriate  of  polasli  .... 

Suliiliale  of  Boda 

If  Hire .     , 

9-42  c.s.     Sat.  sol. 
36  c  1.     Sat.  suJ. 
Ii-I4»  s.     Sat  sol. 

NitrMe  of  loda 

Sulphuric  acid 

Tartaricacid 

Commonialt 

Murisle  of  lime 

W4c,  9.  _  Sat.  sol. 

93-97  c arid.  -Sal.  lol. 
S9  8.     Sat.  lol. 

40-SsaltdriediD»redbeal.   Sat. 
5oL 

Influence  of  Viscidity. — When  a  liquid  body  passes  into  the  state 
qf  a  solid  body  quite  nlkd  with  matter,  or  having  all  its  sensible 
pores  filled  up,  it  loses  the  power  which  it  had  of  absorbing  gas  in 
a  liquid  state.  Viscidity,  therefore,  is  nothing  else  than  a  more  or  less 
complete  transition  from  a  liquid  to  a  solid  state.  It  is  to  be  pre- 
sumed, therefore,  that  the  different  degrees  of  liquidity  will  always 
have  an  obvious  influence  op  the  condensation  nf  the  gas.  But  how. 
important  soever  this  conclusion  may  be  at  the  limit  between  solidity 
and  liquidity,  it  has  but  very  little  influence,  according  to  my  ex- 
periments, in  the  middle  states  of  liquids  of  different  kinds.  •  Thus 
we  see  tliiit  the  fat  oils,  though  much  less  liquid,  absorb  a  much 
greater  portion  of  carliODie  acid  than  water.  The  absorption,  like^ 
wise,  of  caibonic  acid  by  gam  and  sugar  water,  exceeds  in  quantity 
that  produced  by  the  much  more  liquid  solutions  of  sulphate  of  soda 
aud  muriate  of  potash.  The  solutions  of  muriate  of  potash,  sal- 
smmoniae,  and  nitre,  possess  as  much,  or  nearly  as  much,  liquidity 
as  pure  water ;  yet  this  last  liquid  absorbs  a  much  greater  proportion 
of  carbonic  acid  gas  than  tbey  do.  On  the  other  hand,  we  jind 
likewise  liquids  which  absorb  more  of  this  gas  than  others  possessed 
of  smaller  liquidity;  ai  is  the  case,  for  example,  with  alcohol  and 
ether  when  compared  with  water,  and  with  this  liquid  when  com- 
pared with  several  saline  solutions. 

Tliough  the  influence  of  the  viscidity  of  a  liquid  upon  the  great- 
ness of  its  absorption  appears  to  be  small,  yet  it  is  striking,  as  far  as 
the  time  is  concerned  which  is  required  that"  the  liquid  may  be  fully 
saturated  with  the  gas.  Viscid  liquids,  as  the  fat  oils,  the  solntioa 
of  muriate  of  lime,  gum-water,  &c.  require,  supposing  their  power 
of  absorbing  the  same,  a  much  longer  time  to  be  saturated  with  a 
gas  than  the  more  perfect  liquids,  such  as  water,  naphtha,  alcohol, 
ether,  and  the  essential  oils. 

Influence  of  Specific  Gravity. — The  density  of  liquitJs  appears  to 
hnve  a  great  influence  on  their  power  of  absorbing  gases.  My  es- 
periments,  as  stated  in  the  preceding  table,  show  that  in  genenl 


'..>y  Google 


344  Observations  on  llie  AhoTption  of  [Nov'I 

the  lightest  liquids  ]x>5sess  a  greater  powerof  absorbing  gases  than 
tliose  tlie  spedfic  gravity  of  whitli  is  greater.  -Scarcely  any  otfier 
liquids  arc  excepted  from  this  rule  hut  ihose  ihe  specific  gravities  of 
which  ditfer  but  little;  and  these  exceptions  are,  without  doubt,  ibe 
consequence  of  pecuiiar  aftiniiies.* 

Probably  the  specific  gravity  of  the  gases  themselves  has  an  in- 
fluence on  the  quantity  of  them  which  a  liquid  is  capable  of  absorb- 
ing, and  »n  the  time  requisite  for  that  purpose  ;  for  all  gases  which 
are  evidently  heavier  than  atmospherical  air  are  absorbed  in  greater 
quanticy  hy  water  than  azote,  hydrogen,  oxygen,  and  carbonic 
oxide  :  and  of  two  gases  which  are  absorbed  in  equal  volumes  by  a 
liquid,  the  lighter  requires  a  much  longer  time  than  tbe  heavier. 
Thus  naphtha  absorbs  olefiant  gas  much  more  slowly  than  it  doci 
nitrous  oxide. 

13.  Ivfiaeace  of  Barometrical  Pressure  on  the  Absorption  of  Gase§ 

hy  Liquids. 

Dr.  Henry  caused  carbonic  acid  in  different  states  of  density  to 
"be  absorbed  by  water,  and  found  that  in  all  cases  the  liquid  ah-  ' 
sorbed  its  own  bulk  of  the  gas,  whatever  its  density  might  be.  He 
concluded  from  this  that  the  space  which  a  gas  occupies  in  water  it 
in  the  direct  (inverse?)  ratio  of  the  pressure.  I  have  ascertained 
the  accuracy  of  thb  conclusion  hy  means  of  the  contrivance  de- 
scribed in  paragraph  4,  not  only  witli  respect  to  carbonic  acid,  the 
most  absorbable  gas  employed  by  Dr.  Henry,  but  likewise  with  re- 
spect to  sulphufous  acid  gas,  the  absorption  of  which  is  nearly  50 
times  greater.  A  volume  of  water  which,  under  a  barometrical 
pressure  of  2874  inches,  and  at  the  temperature  of  62^°,  absorbed 
44  times  its  bulk  of  sulpliurous  acid  gas,  still  absorbed  the  same 
volume  of  that  gas  when  the  barooietrical  pressure  was  reduced  to 
14-33  inches,  while  the  temperature  continued  the  same.  Oil  of 
lavender,  under  a  barometrical  pressure  of  6'89  inches,  absorbed 
I'D  volume  of  carbonic  acid  :  it  absorbed  the  same  bulk  when  the 
barometrical  pressure  was  28*74  inches.  Olive  oil  gave, the  same 
results  with  carbonicacldgasunder  different  degrees  of  barometrical 
pressure.     Probably  the  same  law  holds  with  respect  to  all  liquids'. 

It  deserves  attention  that  in  liquids  the  quantities  of  gases  ab- 
sorbed are  as  the  compressions;  while  in  sob d  bodies,  as  the  gase$ 
become  less  dense>  the  absorption  seems  to  increase. 


■  Mefallic  lolalions  of  great  #pectlic  gravity  m\ai  be  capable  ef  absorbing  • 
siill  smaller  ^nantiijF  of  gas  Iban  tbe  liquids  employed  in  my  ei[ierimenls.  It 
follons  rrom  [his  tnat  in  pueumatic  experiments,  nhen  it  is  aur  object  to  measBre 
the  prodaclion  of  great  quanlilioa  of  carbonic  acid,  or  any  otber  prelly  abiorb- 
able  gas,  il  will  be  advantageous  to  employ  saline  aalutions,  and  particularly 
saluliou  of  CDaimOD  salt,  wbli-li  differs  niisl  from  pare  water  of  all  that  can  be 
essily  used.'  Common  sea  salt  will  answcrnill  better  than  pure  rail.  A  latarated 
■olulioQ  of  it  Hb'iorhg  not  quite  Ihe  third  of  its  bulk  of  carbonic  acid,  and  re^ 
quires  for  that  a  far  loojer  lime  Iban  pure  walerdoes  (a  absorb  its  own  vulome  of 


'..>y  Google 


1815.]  the  Gases  ly  different  Bodies.  IS-lS 

14.  Simultaneous  Absorption  of  several  Gases  by  Water. 

Probably  the  absorption  of  different  gases  at  the  saine  time  by 
liquids  is  analc^us  to  what  I  observed  witii  respect  to  solid  bod^. 
Henry,  Dalton,  Von  Humboldt,  and  Gay-Lussac,  had  already  le- 
marlced  that  water  saturated  with  one  gas  allows  a  portion  <^  that 
gas  to  escape  as  soon  as  it'conies  in  contact  with  another  gas.  It  is 
indeed  evident,  according  to  Dalton's  theory,  that  two  gases  ab- 
sorbed into  a  liquid  should  really  always  occupy  the  same  room  as 
'  they  would  occupy  if  each  of  them  had  been  absorbed  singly  at  the 
degree  of  densi^  which  it  has  in  the  mixture.  To  obtain  resuUi 
on  this  subject  approaching  to  accuracy,  I  was  obliged  to  makfi  mix- 
tures of  carbonic  acid  with  oxygen,  hydrogen,  and  azotic  gases ; 
■for  the  last  three  gases  are  absorbed  by  water  in  so  small  a  propor- 
tion, that  the  different  condensations  which  take  place  vaanot  be 
confounded  witli  errors  in  tiie  experiments.  * 

Water  and  a  Mixture  of  eguat  Measures  of  Carhontc  Acid  and 
Hydmsen  Gas- — I  brought  100  measures  of  water,  at  the  tempera- 
ture of  62-L°,  in  contact  with  4S4  measures  of  equal  volumes  of 
carbonic  acid  and  hydrogen.  The  absorption  amounted  to  47;5  t 
volumes,  of  which  44  were  carbonic  acid,  and  3*5  hydrogen.  If  we 
compare,  in  the  same  way  as  we  did  with  the  charcoal  in  para* 
gragh  7>  the  space  which  the  absorbed  gases  occupy  in  the  water, 
with  that  which  they  would  occupy  according  to  paragraph  10,  we 
find  that  the  presence  of  one  of  the  gases  has  favoured  the  absorp- 
tion of  the  other,  as  far  as  the  relative  space  goes  which  each  would 
occupy  separately  in  the  water. 

Water  and  a  Mixture  of  equal  Paris  of  CarlMnic  Acid  and 
Oxj/gen  Gas. — 100  volumes  of  water  at  6 2i°  absorbed  from  S90 
volumes  of  this  mixture  52-1  volumes,  of  which  47*1  volumes  were 
carbonic  acid  and  live  volumes  oxygen  gas.  Here  also  the  condeu- 
cation  is  greater  than  when  the  gases  are  separate. 

Welter  and  a  Mixture  if  Carbonic  Acid  a7td  Azotic  Gas. — 100 
volumes  of  water  absorbed,  from  357'6  volumes  of  ihi^  mixture,  at 
the  same  temperature,  47*2  volumes,  of  which  439  volumes  were 
carbonic  acid  and  33  azote. 

The  results  of  these  experiments,  as  we  perceive,  agree  com-        . 
fletely  with  each  other  ;t   but  none  of   them   correspond  wiili 

•  Van  Humboldt  anil  Ga)-Lu»Rc  bave  found  (liat  nlien  Ihey  left  amiilnre  of 
oi)|rca  and  hjdrogeo  gas  standing  ovpi'  vintet  in  a  reccivrr,  llie  iibsar|i1ion  of  Uie 
tydrogcn  nits  far  gteater  than  il  would  baie  been  had  it  iiol  been  for  Ihe  preif  nrc 
of  Iheoiyj^iiRBs,  1  believe  Ihal  this  reraarlinhle  resqll  was  owinR  lo  the  filler! ng 
of  the  bjdrofen  tbronjh  ihe  water  inio  the  enrrnal  air,'  liaitenfd  by  the  action  of 
tile  oxygen  gat,  of  any  other  more  nhsorbi.ble  gas  ;  for  accirdiiig  to  my  eipefi- 
nent!  pure  water  in  vessels  standing  over  mercury  aivfays  abiorbi  from  miilorei 
Yf  oiyj[en  and  hydrogen  «  smafler  ahsoliilc  vulurac  i)f  the  lait  than  of  pnre 
^ydrogp^,  in  proportion  to  Ihe  ipaoe  nbich  the  otygen  oecopiea  in  ttic  Mater. 
Kowpvrr,  it  is  nut  llie  lets  probable  that  both  gases  undergo  a  certain  iocreiise  of 
density  from  their  muloal  contact. 

f  Carbonic  acid  doeft,nalap|>eHr  to  favour  Ihe  abjoiplion  of  azoleb;  charcoal, 
Tbs  contrary  seeaii  to  be  the  cose  in  natrr.   T«t  1  caoDot  depcod  upon  Ibii  differ' 


346         .        Ohservaliofu  on  the  Absorption  of  [Nov. 

Dalton's  theory,  according  to  which  the  volume  of  carbonic  acid 
absorbed  should  be  just  one  half  that  of  the  absorbmg  liquid,  and 
likewise  tb^  voIuidcs  of  the  other  gases  absorbed  should  be  much 
smaller  than  t  found  them  to  be. 

rP  oxygen  and  hydrogen  gases,  mixed  in  the  prc^Kirtions  necessary 
for  forming  water,  were  capable,  by  the  increase  of  density  pro- 
duced in  them  by'  the  liquid,  of  combining  and  constituting  water, 
their  absorption  could  nut  be  determined.  But  we  are  able  by 
strong  agitation  to  bring  the  absorption  of  these  gases  by  water  to  a 
conclusion  in  a  few  minutes,  so  ttiat  it  shall  not  be  increased  by 
continuing  the  agitation  much  longer.  In  my  trials  it  did  not 
exceed  5 j-  hundred  parts  of  the  volume  of  the  liquid. 

We  obtain  similar  results  with  the  gaseouS* constituents  of  ammoaia 
and  nitric  acid..  Even  the  addition  uf  an  alkali  or  an  acid  to  the 
water  is  not  capable  of  making  the  gases  combine.  But  we  do  not 
yet  know  the  effect  which  would  be  produced  by  a  contact  of  several 
months  or  years  between  these  gases  and  the  liquid.  As  little  ^re 
we  aware  of  the  elfect  of  atmospherical  influence  upon  common  air 
in  a  state  of  liberty.  Perhaps  the  esperiments  which  I  have  related 
in  this  paper  may  throw  some  light  on  the  subject.  They  show  that 
the  absorption  of  gases  depends  partly  upon  the  physical  properties, 
and  partly  upon  the  chemical  affinities,  of  the  bodies  in  contact,  and 
penetrating  each  other;  and  that  in  this  respect  solid  bodies  and 
liquids  are  in  general  subjected  to  the  same  law. 

Appendix. 
Method  of  muting  with  Water  those  Gases  which  are  alsorbed  mdy 
in  STnall  Quantity, 
As  the  quantity  of  gases  absorbed  by  water,  according  to  my  ex- 
periments, often  differs  from  that  obtained  by  Henry  and  Dalton,  I 
think  it  necessary  to  state  the  degree  of  care  which  1  toc^  to  m&k.e 
my  experiments  as  accurate  as  possible.  The  description  of  these 
artifices,  however,  can  only  interest  those  who  wish  to  repeat  the 
.experiments. 

1.  In  order  to  free  the  water  from  air,  1  employed  the  following 
method.  A  small  flask  wus  filled  with  distilled  water,  and  placed 
open  under  water  in  a  bason,  filied  with  that  liquid,  and  the  whole 
water  was  kept  boiling  violently  for  at  lenst  three  hours.  That  the 
water  had  been  freed  from  its  air  as  completely  as  possible  *  this 
way,  I  knew  by  bending  down  the  flask  during  the  boiling,  and 

.ence,  !»lbe  whole  depeods  apoD  nlimatin);  l^huDilred  parti  of  azote,  nhidive 
within  ihe  Dmiti  of  rrrufs  in  (he  eiperimenti. 

•  It  dim  not  appear  possihie  lo  deprive  wattr  of  the  whole  of  ils  air  by  liwj' 
conliDaed  boillog ;  for  when  llie  small  floak,  in  Ihe  expeiimcnta  described  in  the 
text,  was  filled  with  il9  atopper  under  Ihe  bailing  water,  a  imall  (pace  wa)  left  ip 
It  empt]'.  Id  eonsequencc  of  the  cnntraction  of  the  water  by  realiog.  When  Uw 
flask  was  uprceil  under  mercury,  after  alandiuf  for  some  days  over  that  liqaid, 
this  empt]'  sp:icF  did  nol  completely  disappear  by  the  rushing  in  of  the  mercury. 
A  small  air  hubbJe  always  remained,  which  was  speedilj  absaibcd.  Tbi(  air 
kabbte  was  obvioosly  larger  io  atcahol  and  ether  than  ia  water. 


)815.]  if>e  Gases  hy  different  Bqdm.  347 

perceiving  that  no  more  air  ^Ilected  io  it,  It  wai  then  completely 
filled,  shut  with  a  glass  stopper  under  the  boiling  water,  and  placed 
inverted  over  mercury. 

2.  I  filled  over  the  pneumatic  water-trough  a  flask,  M,  capable 
of  holding  250  cubic  centimetres,  with  the  gas  to  be  absoii>ed,  held 
it  inverted  for  half  an  hour  under  the  water  of  the  trough,  that  it 
might  acquire  the  same  temperature  with  this  liquid,  which  ought 
to  be  nearly  that  of  the  atmospherical  air.  I  then  ehut  its  mouth 
under  the  surface  of  the  water  with  a  glass  stopper.  This  stopper 
must  be  carefully  wiped,  that  no  air  bubbles  be  left  on  it ;  and  it 
ought  to  be  conical,  that  it  may  not  compress  the  gas  when  intro- 
duced. The  weight  of  this  flask  empty  and  full  of  water  was  accu- 
rately deteranined. 

3.  From  this  flask  1  poured  over  the  mercurial  trough  about  the 
pixth  part  of  the  gas  into  a  receiver  filled  with  mercury.  This  por- 
tion of  gas  was  then  poured  over  the  water  trough  into  a  fiask,  N, 
filled  with  water.  This  flask,  being  weighed  before  and  after  the 
introduction  of  the  gas,  gave  the  volume  of  this  last.  This  volume 
being  abstracted  from  that  in  tlie  flask  M  originally,  gave  the  quan- 
fity  of  gas  siill  remaining  in  that  flask. 

4.  I  now  opened  under  mercury  an  inverted  flask  fiill  of  well 
Isoiled. water,  and  poured  as  much  of  this  water  through  the  mer- 
cury into  the  flask,  M>  as  expelled  all  the  mercury  which  had  been 
introduced  into  it  by  the  third  operation.  The  flask,  M,  was  now 
shut  at  the  surface  of  the  mercury,  and  weighed.  This  gave  the 
volume  of  water  introduced  into  the  flask, 

.S.  The  gas'  with  the  water  was  now  strongly  agitated  for  15 
minutes,  while  the  flask,  M,  was  held  by  a  pair  of  pincers,  to  prevent 
the  introduction  of  any  heat  Irom  the  hand.  It  was  then  plunged 
under  the  water  of  the  trough,  to  bring  it  exactly  to  its  original 
temperature,  opened  in  an  inverted  position^  and  shut  again  under 
water.  Now  the  water  which  occupied  the  place  of  the  absorbed 
gas,  and  the  difference  between  the  weight  of  the  flask,  M,  now  and 
when  it  was  full  of  water,  enabled  me  to  know  the  volume  of  gw 
«b*orbed. 


Article  III. 

An  Analysis  of  the  Mineral  JValers  of  Dunllaite  and  Pitcaithly ; 
wilh  General  Observations  on  the  Analysis  of  Mineral  Wdlers, 
and  the  Composition  of  Bath  Jfaler,  &c.  By  John  Murray, 
M.D.  F.R.S.E.  ' 

(Cjntmusd/ronip.  26U,) 


It  is  a  question  not  unequivocally  determined,  and  perhaps  not 
capable  of  being  determined,  in  what  sute  the  saline  ingredients  ot 


S48  Analysis  of  ihe  Mineral  Waters  [Not. 

a  mineral  water  exist — whether  tbe_  acids  and  bases  are  in  those 
binary  comhiuations  which  (.-ODStitutc  the  different  neutral  salts,  or 
whether  they  e^tisr  in  sijhultaneous  combination,  the  wiiole  acids 
being  neutralized  by  the  whole  bases.  If  the  former,  which  is  the 
more  common,  and  perhaps  the  more  probable  opinion,  be  adopted, 
it  is  at  least  certain  that  ihe  slate  of  combination  may  be  modified 
by  the  analytic  operations,  and  that  the  binary  combinations  ob- 
tained by  these  may  not  lie  precisely  those  which  existed  in  the 
water.  In  the  case  of  the  Dunblane  water,  for  example,  the  in- 
gredients obtained  are  muriate  of  soda,  muriate  of  lime,  and  sul- 
phate of  lime.  Now  it  is  possible  that  the  sulphate  of  lime  maybe 
a  product  of  the  operatioii,  not  an  original  ingredient.  The  sul- 
phuric acid  may  exist  rather  in  the  state  of  sulphate  of  soda,  and 
wiien^  in  the  progress  of  the  evaporation,  the  liquor  becomes  con- 
centrated, this  salt  may  act  on  a  portion  6i  the  muriate  of  Itme, 
and  by  mutual  decomposition  form  corresponding  portions  of  mu- 
riate of.  soda  and  sulphate  of  lime. 

A  question  of  this  kind  is  not  merely  one  of  speculation,  but  the 

-  solution  of  it  may  sometimes  throw  light  on  the  properties  of  mine- 
ral waters,  jiarticularly  on  their  powers  of  affecting  the  living 
system.  The  preseuit  affords  a  very  good  example  of  this.  Sulphate 
of  lime  is  a  substance  apparently  inert.  If  it  exist,  therefore,  as 
such  in  the  water,  it  can  contribute  nothing  to  its  efficacy.  But  Ki 
the  other  state  of  combitiation  which  is  supposed,  both  the  quantity 
of  the  muriate  of  lime,  the  more  active  ingredient,  will  be  greater, 
and  the  presence  of  sulphate  of  soda  will  in  part  account  for  th^ 
purgative  operation  which  the  water  exerts. 

There  is  no  very  direct,  and  perhagis  no  derisive,  elEperiment  by 
which  this  question  may  be  determined ;  for  any  method  which 
would  cause  the  separalion  of  ettlier  substance  as  a  binary  com- 
pound, may  also  be  conceived  to  operate  by  causing  its  formalion. 
Thus,  though  sulphate  of  lime  is  obtained  by  evaporation,  this  is 
no  proof  of  its  prioi  existence,  since  the  concentration  of  the  solu- 

.  tion  might  equally  cause  its  formation,  by  favouring  the  action  of 
the  sulphate  of  soda,  if  it  exist,  on  the  muriate  of  Hme.  Its  sepi- 
ration  by  a  prcci^tant,  by  alcohol  for  example,  even  if  it  were  ob* 
tained,  is  liable  to  the  same  ambiguity;  a  certain  degree  of  concen- 
tmtion  of  tlie  watery  solution  would  be  necessary  for  the  effect,  and 
llie  further  operation  of  the  alcohol  might  be  precisely  on  the  same 
principle — diminishing  the  solvent  power  of  the  water,  and  thus 
aiding  the  force  of  cohesion,  in  determining  the  combination  of  the 
,ingTedrents  which  form  the  least  soluble  compound.  If  a  different 
node  of  analysis  wer<,had  recourse  to,'  if  the  whole  lime,  for  ex- 
ample, were  precipitated  by  any  re-agent,  there  would  still  remain 
the  uncenainty  with  what  it  had  been  combined,  whether  entirely 

^wtth  muriatic,  or  partly  with  sulphuric  acid  ;  and  there  is  no  mode 
of  determining  this,  by  obtaining  the  other  product  of  the  action  of 
the  re-agent,  which"  would  not  be  liable  to  equal  ambiguitjl  j  or,  if 
the  sulphuric  acid  were  abstracted  by  a  le-agent^  th^re  wou|4 


1815.]  <^  Dunblane  ana  PUcaUhly.  '949 

equally  be'  the  uncertainty,  whether  it  had  been  previously  com- 
bined with  soda  or  lime. 

If  sulphate  of  lime  did  not  separate  when  the  water  was  reduced 
by  evaporation  so  fur  that,  from  the  known  solubiUiy  of  ihe  sulphatCi 
the  prectpitation  of  it  ought  in  take  place  to  a  certain  extent,  it 
might  lie  concluded  that  it  did  not  exi^t.  Yet  even  this  conclusion, 
were  the  fact  found  to  be  »q  (whicli  it  is  on  making  the  esperL- 
ment),  is  invalidated  hy  the  result,  sufliciently  established,  that 
salts,  by  their  mutual  action,  often  increase  the  solubility  of  each 
other,  and  the  sulphate  of  lime  might,  from  thii  cause,  be  retained 
dissolved  in  a  smaller  quantity  than  it  would  require  by  itself  for 
its  solution. 

One  kind  of  proof  may  be  given,  that  of  showing  that  a  much 
larger  quantity  of  sulphate  of  soda  ilian  what  analysis  Indicates  in 
this  water  may  exist  m  it,  without  any  precipitation  of  sulphate  of 
lime.  I  added  to  diflerent  portions  of  the  water  (four  ounces  each) 
5,  to,  15,  20,  and  30,  grains  of  sulphate  of  soda.  In  none  of  the 
experiments  was  there  any  immediate  effect;  and  even  after  24 
hours,  there  was  no  turbid  appearance,  or  apparent  change.  la 
the  greater  numher  of  the^e  proportions,  the  quantity  of  sulphate 
of  soda  was  more  than  sufficient  to  convert  the  whole  muriate  of 
lime  in  the  water  into  sulphate ;  and,  according  to  tbe  known  solu- 
bility of  this  sulphate,  the  quantity  of  water  was  not  sufficient  to 
retain  it  all  dissolved.  This  quantity  was. even  reduced  to  a  certain 
extent  by  evaporation,  without  any  precipitation.  The  result  seems 
therefore  to  prove,  that  sulphate  of  lime  had  not  been  formed,  and 
-that  sulphate  of  soda  may  e?:ist  with  muriate  of  lime  In  solution 
withoat  decooiposition,  In  the  state  of  dilution  which  this  mineral 
water  affords. 

Another  result  which  I  obtained,  and  which  so  far  favours  the 
opinion  that  the  sulphate  of  lime  is  formed  in  tlte  progress  of  the 
evaporation  by  the  reciprocal  action  of  sulphate  of  soda  and  muriate 
of  lime,  is,  that  when  a  small  portion  of  sulphate  of  soda  has  been 
added,  the  quantity  of  sulphate  of  lime  obtained  is  Increased :  when 
10  grains,  for  example,  of  crystallized  sulphate  of  soda  were  added 
to  a  pint  of  the  water,  after  evaporation  to  dryness,  four  grains  of 
sulphate  of  lime,  which  is  double  the  proportion  that  the  water 
would  otherwise  have  yielded^  were  obtained — affording  s  proof  that 
when  sulphate  of  soda  Is  dissolved  In  the  water,  it  produces,  in  the 
pn^ess  of  the  evaporation,  a  corresponding  poition  of  sulpliate  of 
lime,  and  of  course  also  of  muriate  of  sods. 

These  results  do  not  absolutely  establish  the  conclusion,  that  the 
.  sulphuric  acid  exists  In  this  water  In  the  state  of  i^ulpbate  of  spda ; 
yet  on  the  tvliole  thb  is  the  more  probable* opinion.  If  it  be  ad- 
mitted, the  preceding  statement  of  the  ingredients,  and  their  pro' 
portions,  must  be  altered.  The  sulphate  of  lime  is  of  course  to  be 
omitted.  The  sulphate  of  soda,  which  b  to  be  substituted  for  k, 
cannot  be  obtained  by  any  method  ;  but  tbe  quantity  of  it  may  be 
ioferredj  from  the  quantity  of  sulphate  of  lime  which  is  formes  bjr 


S50  Analysis  of  the  Mmeral  Watets  [No*; 

its  actioD  on  the  muriate  of  lime.  Real  sulphate  of  lime  and  real 
sulphate  of  soda  are  very  nearly  equivalent  to  each  other  with  regard 
to  the  proportions  of  their  acid  and  base;  so  that  ihe-quantity  of 
the  one  may  nearly  be  substituted  for  that  of  the  other ;  3-5  of  sul- 
phate of  lime  being  equal  to  3*7  of  sulphate  of  soda.  But  this 
sulphate  of  lime  is  formed  at  the  expense  of  n  portion  of  muriate 
of  lime,  and  its  formation  is  accompanied  with  the  production  of  a 
little  muriate  of  soda ;  hence  the  proportion  of  the  former  must  be 
a  little  larger,  and  that  of  the  latter  a  little  smaller,  than  have  been 
before  stated.  3*5  grains  of  sulphate  of  lime  are  equivalent  to  2*8 
of  muriate  of  lime,  which  quantity,  tberef(»e,  is  to  be  added  to 
tlie  proportion  above  assigned.  The  equivalent  portion  of  muriate 
of  soda  to  be  subtracted  is  3.  'llie  whole  proportion,  therefore,  will 
be  the  following : — 

Muriate  of  soda 21 

Muriate  of  lime 20*8 

Sulphate  of  sqda 3-7 

Carbonate  of  lime    0*5 

Oxide  of  iron 0-1  ?: 

46-17 

Tlie  quantity  of  sulphate  of  lime  obtained  in  the  analysis  of  the 
Pitcaithly  water  being  so  much  smaller  than  that  in  the  Dunblane, 
it  may  perhaps  be  considered  as  an  original  ingredient ;  or  if  even 
the  opposite  view  be  adopted,  the  change  in  the  proportions,  as  in- 
dicated by  the  analysis,  is  mucli  less.  They  may  be  stated  aa 
follows : — 

Muriate  of  soda 1 2*7 

Muriate  of  lime 20*2 

Sulphate  of  soda 0*9 

Carbonate  of  lime 0*5 

The  carbonate  of  lime  contained  in  both  waters  may,  it  is  ob- 
vious, according  to  the  same  view,  be  a  product  of  the  operation, 
and  may  fexist  in  the  water  in  the  state  of  carbonate  of  soda.  Yet 
'the  quantity  is  so  small,  and  carbonate  of  lime  is  so  generally  diif- 
fused  in  the  mineral  kingdom,  that  it  may  perhaps  be  regarded  as 
an  original  ingredient.  On  tiie  other  hand,  it  seems  to  be  nearly 
insoluble  in  water,  and  this  favours  the  supposition  that  it  is  a  pro- 
duct of  the  analysis.  It  is  unquestionably  so  in  the  mineral  watery 
in  which  it  has  been  stated  to  exist  in  much  larger  quantity,  and  in 
which  there  is  not,  at  the  same  time,  any  excess  of  carbonic  acid, 
by  which  it  might  be  retained  dissolved. 

The  view  of  the  constitution  of  this  mineral  water  which  I  have 
now  explained,  suggested  a  method  of  analysis  which  I  may  state, 
both  as  it  accords  with,  and  in  some  measure  confirms  it,  and  illtu- 

-,'..>y  Google 


1815.]  oj  Dunllane  and  PitcmtUy.  851 

trates  some  circumstaaces  connected  with  the  mutual  action  of  the 
sulphate  of  soda,  and  muriate  of  lime,  to  which  I  shall  sftenvards 
hare  to  refer.  It  affords,  too,  an  excellent  illustration  of  the  defi- 
nite proportions  in  which  many  bodies  combine,  and  the  uaifonnit^ 
of  results  which  are  obtained  from  their  action  on  each  other,  in 
consequejite  of  this  taw. 

Supposing  the  sulphate  of  lime  obtained  from  this  water  by 
evaporation  to  be  formed  by  the  action  of  sulphate  of  soda  on  a 
portion  of  its  muriate  of  lime,  it  might  be  iaferred,  that  by  adding 
the  due  proportion  of  sulphate  of  soda,  the  whole  muriate  of  lime 
it  contains  may  be  converted  into  sulphate  of  lime ;  and  this,  from 
its  insolubility,  being  easily  separated  from  the  muriate  of  soda,  the 
quantity  of  it,  and  of  course  the  quantity  of  muriate  of  lime,  will 
be  ascertained.  From  the  preceding  analysis,  18  {Trains  of  muriate 
of  lime  appear  to  exist  in  a  pint  of  the  Dunblane  water.  Now  this 
quantity  requires  for  its  decomposition  23*1  of  real  sulphate  of  soda; 
and  the  products  of  this  decomposition  are  '22\  of  real  sulphate  of 
lime,  and  19  of  muriate  of  soda.*  The  former  ef  these  products 
being  collected  Snd  dried,  may  be  weighed,  and  the  latter  being 
deducted  tirom  the  whole  quantity  of  muriate  of  soda  obtained  by 
e\'aporation,  the'remainder  will  be  the  quantity  originally  contained 
in  the  water.  The  obtaining  of  these  quantities,  therefore,  or  near 
approximations  to  them,  will  be  at  Once  a  confirmation  of  .the  pre- 
ceding analysis,  and  of  the  accuracy  of  these  proporiions. 

A  pint  of  the  water  was  evaporated  to  about  one-fourth ;  the 
quantity  of  real  sulphate  of  soda  required  for  the  decomposition  of 
its  muTiate  of  lime,  it  has  been  just  stated,  is  231  grains.  But  by 
previous  trials  I  had  found  that  a  small  escess  of  sulphate  of  soda 
renders  the  decomposition  more  complete ;  24  grains,  obtained  by 
exposing  crystallized  sulphate  of  soda  to  a  red  heat,  were  therefore 
added.  The  liquor  soon  became  turbid  and  thick,  I  had  also 
found,  that  to  render  the  decomposition  more  complete,  it  is  of 
advantage  not  to  evaporate  at  once  to  dryness,  but  to  add  small 

Tianthies  of  water  occasionally  for  some  time  during  the  boiling, 
he  experimeut  having  been  conducted  in  this  maauer,  a  precipl-  ' 
tate  of  sulphate  of  lime  was  collected,  which,  when  washed  and 
dried,  weighed  19  grains.  The  liquor  being  evaporated,  afforded  of 
dry  salt  51  -6  grains.  But  on  dissolving  this  salt  in  water,  a  deposite 
of  sulpliate  of  lime  remained  undissolved ;  and  even  on  again  eva- 
porating to  dryness,  and  re-dissolving  in  water,  a  small  portion  was 
deposited  for  three  successive  times.  The  whole  quantity  of  sul- 
phate of  lime  thus  collected  amounted  to  5'8  grains,  and  of  course 
mcreased  the  former  quantity  of  19  to  24-8  grains.  Supposing  tlie 
quantity  of  sulphate  of  lime  originally  contained  in  the  water,  or  ' 
what  is  the  game  thing,  capable  of  being  produced  in  its  evaporation 

•  The  tntpFcllon  af  thr  Kale  of  chemical  cqaivaleDta  gives  at  once  theae  nuu. 
ben)  and  thii  higblj  uieful  Tixtrnmpnl,  lately  inventMl  bj  Dr.  Wollaiton,  racilU 
tain  greatly  all  such  rcMBTctaei  bj  Ibe  oDmber  of  re*alti  il  prctenti  vUboaKlit 
aecmlty  «r  calculftlion. 


352  Analysis  of  the  Mineral  Waieri  [Not. 

from  its  own  ingredients,  to  amount  to  3"8  grains,  tliis  leaves  21 
grains  formed  by  the  action  of  the  aulpliate  of  soda  wliich  had  beea 
added  on  tlie  muriate  of  lime;  and  this  is  equivalent  to  I7't  groins 
of  muriate  of  lime.  The  saline  matter  obtained  by  evaporation  oT 
the  solution  weighed,  after  exposure  to  a  red  heat,  44-4  grains.  Of 
this,  supposing  it  to  be  all  muriate  of  soda,  IS  grains  would  be 
formed  by  the  action  of  the  sulphate  of  soda  on  the  muriate  of 
lime ;  and  there  remain  2(>'4  grams  as  the  quantity  which  the  water 
liad  contained.  This  quantity  is  rather  larger,  and  that  of  muriate 
of  lime  rather  smaller,  tlian  what  are  obtained  by  the  other  analyses. 
But  the  saline  matter  was  found  not  to  be  entirely  muriate  of  soda ; 
its  solution  became  turbid  on  the  addition  both  of  muriate  fflf 
baryies  and  of^oxalate  of  ammonia,  indicating  the  preseirce  of  sul- 
phuric acid  and  of  lime,  either  in  the  state  of  sulphate  of  lime  re- 
tained in  solution,  or  of  muriate  of  lime  and  sulphate  of  soda  re- 
maining uncle  com  posed.  An  excess  of  sulphate  of  soda  of  0*9 
grain,  it  has  already  been  slated,  had  been  employed,  which  re- 
duces the  weight  of  the  salt  to  !25'5  grains  ;  and  if  a  little  more  be 
subtracted  on  account  of  the  lime  it  contained,  and  be  added  to  the 
muriate  of  lime,  it  will  give  proportions  nearly  the  same  as  those 
before  assigned ;  and  the  results  by  this  method  will  thus  correspond 
with  those  by  the  others. 

Having  stated  this  view  of  the  composition  of  this  water,  I  have 
now  to  .consider  it  under  a  more  genera)  light,  and  to  point  out  a 
few  applications  which  follow  from  it,  connected  with  the  chemical 
constitution  of  waters  which  contain  similar  ingredients. 

Sulphate  of  lime  has  been  often  stated  as  an  ingredient  existing 
in  mineral  waters  with  muriate  of  soda  and  muriate  of  lime.  It  is 
almost  superfluous  to  remark,  that  it  is  probable  the  original  ingre- 
dients in  all  such  cases  are  sulphate  of  soda  and  muriate  of  lime, 
and  that  the  sulphate  of  lime  is  a  product  of  the  operation,  or  rather 
that  the  portion  of  it  equivalent  to  the  quantity  of  muriate  of  soda 
has  this  origin. 

It  is  a  curious  fact,  which  strongly  confirms  this,  that  in  almost 
all  the  analyses  of  mineral  waters  since  the  time  of  Eergman,  when 
they  can  be  presumed  to  have  been  executed  with  any  precision, 
where  sulphate  of  lime  is  an  ingredient,  muriate  of  soda  is  also 
•  present.  It  is  obvious  that  if  the  Sulphate  of  lime  has  this  ori^D, 
muriate  of  soda  must  also  be  formed.  Un  the  other  hand,  in  the 
greater  number  of  those  analyses  in  which  muriate  of  soda  is  an 
ingredient,  we  find  also  sulphate  of  lime ;  and,  with  the  exception 
of  the  water  of  Harrowgate,  sulphate  of  lime  is  always  present, 
where  muriate  of  soda  and  muriate  of  lime  are  conjoined. 

But  the  principal  interest  belonging  to  this  view  is  derived  from 
its  relation  to  a  question  which  has  often  been  brought  under  dis- 
cussion— whether  chemical  analysis  is  capable  of  discovering  the 
••urces  of  the  medicinal  virtues  of  nuneral  waters  ?    .This  question 


ISIE.J  '   of  Diaimne  attd  Pilcaitkly.  353 

some  hare  been  disposed  to  decide  in  tbe  negative,  from  finding 
examples  of  waten  possesivd  of  actire  powers,  in  wbicb  analysis 
does  not  detect  any  ingredients  of  adequate  activity. 

On  the  general  question,  the  remark  by  Dr.  Saunders  Is  perfectly 
j\i9t,  that,  *'  considering  the  comparative  accuracy  to  which  che- 
mists are  at  present  able  to  carry  their  inquiries^  we  can  hardly 
auppose  that,  whatever  slight  error  might  occur  in  the  estimation  of 
minute  quantities,  the  actual  existence  of  any  powerful  agent  on  the 
buman  hody  in  any  mineral  water  should  escape  the  nicety  of  re- 
search," Yet  though  this  is  just,  and-though  we  can  have  no  hesi- 
tation in  rejecting  the  opinion  which  would  ascribe  the  medicinal 
qualities  of  mineral  waters  to  unknown  or  mysterious  causes,  or 
-which  would  deny  all  power  to  those  in  which  an  active  chemical 
composition  cannot  be  discovered,  difiiicuUies  on  this  subject  un- 
doubtedly exift,  and  there  is  some  room  for  that  scepticism  which 
has  been  extended  to  this  department  of  the  Materia  Medica. 

Of.  this  no  better  example  can  he  given  than  the  celebrated  Bath 
water.  It  has  always  been  found  difficult  to  account  for  its  powers,  , 
the  ingredients  which  are  obtained  in  its  analysis  being  substances 
of  little  activity,  and  the  piincipal  ones,  indeed,  being  apparently 
loerL  It  contains  in  an  English  pint,  along  with  a  slight  impreg- 
natiDn  of  carbonic  acid,  about  nine  grains  of  sulphate  of  lime, 
three  grains  of  muHate  of 'soda,  three  grains  of  sulphate  of  soda, 
■^hs  of  a  grain  of  carbonate  of  lime,  -j^tb  grain  of  silica,  and  ^th 
graia  of  oxide  of  iron.  Now  from  these  ingredients  nnquesttonably 
no  medicinal  power  of  any  importance  could  be  expected.  They 
are  dther  substances  altogether  inert,  or  are  in  quantities  so  minute* 
as  in  the  dose  in  which  the  water  is  taken  to  be  incapable  of  pro* 
ducingany  seiuible  effect.  Some  have  from  this  circumstance  been 
disposed  to  deny  altogether  any  virtues  to  these  waters;  but  the  re- 
verse of  this  appears  to  .be  established  by  suiticient  evidence,  and 
what  is  still  less  equivocal,  the  injurious  effects  they  sometimes  pro- 
'  duce,  and  the  precautions  hence  necessary  in  their  use,  sufficiently 
demonstrate  their  active  powers-  To  account  for  tliese,  therefore, ' 
various  hypotheses  have  been  proposed.  The  observation  has  been 
urged,  which  to  a  certain  extent  is  undoubtedly  just,  that  substances 
given  in  small  doses  in  a  state  of  great  dilution  may  from  this  dilu- 
tion produce -more  effect  on  the  general  system  than  the  quantity 
given  would  lead  us  to  expect.  The  temperature  of  the  water,  too, 
it  has  been  supposed,  may  have  a  considerable  share  in  aiding  the 
etkct ; .  and  these  two  circumstances  in  particular,  it  has  been 
imagined,  may  favour  the  action  of  the  iron.  This  is  the  view  of 
the  subject  given  by  Dr.  Saunders,  in  his  Treatise  on  Mineral 
Waters.  Some  of  the  other  ingredients,  too,  it  has  been  supposed, 
may  exert  unknown  powers.  Thus  some  efiect  has  been  ascribed 
to  the  agency  of  the  nitrogen  gas  which  rises  through  the  water : 
and  Dr.  Saunders  himself,  apparently  not  very  well  satisfirtl  with 
the  reasoning  he  had  employed,  allows  some  weight  to  the  opinion 
suggested  by  Dr.  Gibbes,  tl»t  the  siliceous  «trth  assists  in  the  gene- 

Vot,  VI.  N'  V.  Z 

'  n,r.^^<i"yG00glc 


964  ^iwiym  of  tU  M^mil  Waters  CMp^ 

td  cfibot  of  the  B<ith  w&tea;— remaridDg,  that  Aough  t)k»»  ig 
on);  4  grain  of  it  in  bal£  a  pint  of  the  wAtcc,  this  fbrniB  no  ot^eb- 
tioQ,  when  the.  great  powers  (rf  very  ituaut«  qunntities.  of  aaaxra 
subatancei  are  conaidered ;  that  oeitheF  u.  iu  insolubiliLy.  in-  the 
animal  fluids,  an  objection,  a&it  exists  in  the  watev  inasta^  of  stduf 
tion ;  and  tbut  though  it  has  neither,  laate  nor  smellj  ic  meg.  be  an 
active,  substance,  since  there  are  indisputably  powerfuiU  taeduuuea 
which  Imve.  little  of  either  of  these  qu^tie^ 

Allithis,  it  is  super.fluDUS  to  observe,  iaexiremely.unaatis&ictDiyi 
With  regard  to  the  iron,  the  only  acti»-a  substance-n-allowiag  fml 
weight  to  the  Qbs^rvatioDB.  that  araall  quantities  of  acti|ff^  mcdicloes 
under  great  dilution  operate  with  iaereased. pox'sr,  anditbat,a  higb 
temperature  may  aid  their  operationLon  the  ^omqch-^slill  wq  oaiix 
not,  hdiere  that,  qne-sistieth  of  a,  grain,  the  quantity  in.a  pint:o£ 
this  water,  can  produce  any  important  medicunal  eftecf :  andwith 
regard  to  the  other  substances,  the  reasoning,  whenceitheirpoaaihla 
qieration  has  been  inferred^  instead^  of  remoiuDgi.tbet  dtficully, 
rather  places,  it  in  a  clearer  l^ht.  i, 

The  view,  of  the  constitution  of  -mineral,  watcn,  stated  ^xmc 
enables,  us. to  assign  to  theBuh'Water.^qiuchntoEeJKtiTC'chBiiucal. 
composition.  There  is  every, probability. that  muriateof  lime  is.itu 
pb<^eiful  ingrei^ent.  TJte  principsl.'jffoducts  of  its  analysis-are  sul 
I^ate  of:lime,  mudateof  soda,  and  w^phate  of  sodtu  TJki  ^o*. 
portioaof  sulphate  of:  limeis  .such,  thatpart.trfit  mustSH-extsttin. 
the  water,  hutpart.  of  itj  there  is. reason  to  conclude,,  is^aipno^fi^  - 
of  tl^  analysis;  the  muriate  of.soda  is  .entirely  fO,  and  thequaotitjn 
o/ sulphate  oX' soda  is  larger  than  ^«hat.  the  analysis  indieates.  la. 
other  words,  there  exist  io  it  muriate  of  linue,  sulphate.'of  soda,  and: 
sulphate  o£. lime;  and  during  the.et:aporation,  the  niutriate  of  lin^sj 
being  acted  on.  by  a.poition.of  the.sutphste.of  sodi>  naudate  of  «ad&> 
and  a  corresponding  portion  of  sulphate  of  lime  are  fiu^ed. 

On  the  probability  of.  ibis. view  Ineed^iot,  after  the  pMcediDg^ 
iUustratioDs,  oSer  any  observationa.  The  obtaining  certain  saUnc.  • 
compounds  fu>m,3  mineral  »bI£T  by  ^vapocatiou  leada.itodeubtiati 
first  to  the  conclusion  that  they.ace  its  isgcedientsj  itjis  theconclui. 
sion,  accordingly,  which' has  .hitherto  boen:  always  daawji,  aqd«iB> 
are  disposed  to  regaid  this  as  evidwice  establishiog  tUs  cotkclnsioK^ , 
in  some  measure,  in  op^xisiuoQ  to  any  diflerentTiew^of^lheco^pO". 
si^ion.  But  thia  is. merely  overaight.or.  pre^ice.  If  it  can  bes 
■hown  that  the.  elements  of  these  compounds. toaye^ali^  esistiia. 
the  water  m  a  diSercnt  state  uf  combination,  wiiiiit  the  evaporatigii. 
must  change,  the  conclusion  that  they,  do  exist  is  sKcb  a  state. is, 
d.priori&s  probable  as  the  conclusion  that  they  exist,  iiv-tke  state  in. 
ivhich  tliey  are  actually  obtained.  It  ia  demonstrable  :that  if  muuate>^ 
of  lime  and  sulphate  of  soda  eiist  ia  a  mineral  water^  or^  wJtsl  is. 
even  lera  ambiguous,  if  they  be,  di^iolreid  together  .in/ pure  waleir, 
tbey  miHt  by  evaporation  be  obtained,  as  juuriate  of.soda  audbolr. 
pliate  of  linte.  The  actual  oblatoing,  tfaeref^e,  of^thsse  laiyi. 
campouuds  is  no.juoof  that  thejf  pre-eustedassucbin.the  nauc^. 

,  ■'  n„:-A-..>yGoogIe 


>815.3  of  thdiSiaw  and  Pifcailhfy.  S5S 

tt>  the  exddslofa  df  tHe  oppo^ie  view.  Which  cOntlusion  is  to  be* 
adopted,  mus{  be  detennmeil  dd  other  grouuds;  and  from  tbtf 
i^rious  iUcts' I  haVestafed,  Ibdleve  it  may  be  regarded' as  the  more 
(hvhab)e  opihidiiib  sncH  cases,  that  the  original  ingredients  are  sul- 
phate cf  soda  and  muriate  of  liine.  Since  sulphate, of  soda  exisis 
ill  the  Bath  wat^r^  and  sii:tce' itiuriate  of  soda  and  sulphate  of  lime; 
are  obtained  id  its  ahalysis,  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  refuse  assenting 
to  the  condusioD  that  thes^arfe  formed  by  the'actiori  of  siilphate<^ 
abdtt  on  murtate  of  lidie. 

On  this  view*  of  the  conlipositidn  of  the, Bath  water,  it'is  easy  to! 
assign  the  proportions  of  the  ingredients,  from  the  products  which 
ai^  dlitained  in  its  analysis.  In  the  formation  of  3-3  ghains  of  mu- 
riate of  soda',  which  is  the  ^u^ntity  obtained  from  a  pint  of  the- 
i*at^,  3*1  grains' of  muriate' oriime  must  be  decompiled:  fouf 
grains  of  suIpHat^'ofsoda  wdiftd  be  required  to  produce  this  de- 
composition ;  and'at'th'e  saini'tline  3-s  graiiis  of  sulphate  of  lime' 
^ould'be  fbriiied.' 

The  litest,  andnb  doubt  the  most  atc^tate,  atialysis  of  tiie'  ^th' 
wiiteir,'  that  by  Mri  PhfllipSj  girfes' the 'following' '^ew 'of  its'c6mpo- 
aitloii'^ 
Ihab 'English' [M— 

Carbonic  acid l'2iDche> 

Splpbate  of  linie 0.  gnioa 

Muriate  of  soda    ,; 3'3  ' 

Snfphate  of  soda  ....'. .,,.  1-5 

Carbonate  of  lime i  0*;!^, 

Silica^    .,., 0-2 

^        -   Oxide  of  iron    '. -fy 

'  But, '  considering  the  composltidd  according' to' the' pfecidiiig' 
•niw,  the  ingredients  and  their  prdportions  ^ill  'bt, '' 

Carbonic a<(»d    ;. ;,  I'Sioch' 

Sulphate  of  lime  .'.4 5'2.graiiU 

Muriate  of  )ime' S.'l : 

Sulphate  of  1^8 1 6*5 . 

Carbonate  of  linw it's. 

Silica 0>2    .     ■ 

Oxide  of  ir&D ■^' 

Tlie  ptieuliarity  in  the  composition  of  tbe'Bath  water, '  compared 
wfth  the  greater  numbet  of  saline  mineral  waters,  is  tfia?  it  contains 
a  larger  quantity  of  sulphate  of  sdcia  than  Isnecessary  to  convert  its' 
muriateof  limr  into  suVphate  of  liine.  Hence  no  muriate  of  linie' 
is  obtained  afier  evaporation  in  its  analysis ;  hence  even  a  portion  of 
sulphate  of  soda  is  indicated ;  atid  h^nce  the  larg6  piiopprti<Ai  of 
sulphate  of  lime  which  that  tmklysis  yields.  ,  In  the  DunQlane  and 
Htcailhly  waters  the  sulphate  of  soda  is  deficient,  -the  munate  of 
lime  k  in  large  quantity,  and  is  accompanied  with  tnViHsfe  of  soda! 
hence  the  cDtire  want'of  sulphate  of 'Kkia,' the  iinitUqiiiotlQr  of 
2  2 


556.  AmdyM  of-  Ike  Jjdineral  Waters  [Kov* 

sulphate  of  lime,,  and  the  large  proportion  of  muiiate  of  lime  id  ' 
(heir  analyses. 

Muriate  of  lime,  it  is  well  knowii,  is  a  substance  of  considerable 
power  in  iis  operation  on  the  living  system  ;  in  quantities  wbtch  are. 
even  not  large,  it  proves  fatal  to  animals.  When  taken  to  the  extent 
of  six  grains,  the, quantity  of  it  which,  according  to  the  preceding 
View,  exists  in  a  quart  of  the  Bath  water,  it  cannot  be  inactive. 
It  is  very  probable,  too,  tliat  a  given  quantity  of  it  will  prove  much 
more  active  in  a  state  of  great  dilution  In  water  than  in  a  less  diluted 
form,  as  in  this  diluted  state  it  acta,  when  received  into  the  sto- 
ntach,  over  a  more  extended  surface  ;  and  besides  this  whatevet 
effect  may  be  due  to  the  high  temperature  of  the  Bath  vrater  ia 
aiding  the  operation  of  the  minute  portion  of  iron  ix  contains,  the 
same  effect  m^st  be  equally  obtained  in  aiding  the  operation  (rf  the 
much  larger  quantity  of  muriate  of  lime.  The  concluston,  indeed, 
as  to  the  importance  of  this  effect,  is  much  more  probable  wUli; 
regard  to  the  muriate  of  lime  than  to  the  iron ;  for  wlpposing  the 
qu'intity  of  the  former  to  exist  in  the  Bath  water.which  has  been 
assigned,  the  dose  of  it  taken  in  a  quart  of  the  water  is  not  far  from 
its  proper  medium  dose,  and  Is  at  least  equal  to  ope-httlf  the  largest 
dose  which  can  be  given,  and  continued  witliout  producing  irrita- 
tion ;  while  the  dose  of  the  iron  is  not  the  one-hundredth  of  that 
which  is  usually  prescribed.  Under  the  circumstances,  therefore, 
in  which  the  muriate  of  lime  is  presented  in  the  Bath  water,  it  is 
reasonable  to  infer  that  it  must  be  prodnctive  of  eonsiderable  imme- 
diate effect.  '      ■, 

The  speculation  is  further  not  improbable,'  that,  to  produce  its 
more  permanent  effects  on  the  system  as  a  tonic,  it  is  necessary  it 
should  enter  into  the  circulation.-  In  a  dilute  state  of  solution  it 
may  pass  more  easily  through  the  absorbents ;  while  in  a  more  con- 
centrated state  it  may  be  excluded,  and  its  action  confined  to  the 
.  bowels.  Hence  the  reason,  perhaps,  that  In  some  of  the  diseases  in 
which  it  i^employed,  scrofula  particularly,  it  has  frequently  failed, 
its  exhibition  having  been  in  doses  too  large,  and  in  tooconcentrated 
a  form.  And  hence  it  is  conceivable  that  in  a  more  dilute  state,  as 
that  in  which  it  may  exist  in  the  Bath  water,  besides  its  immediate 
operation,  it  may  produce  efiects  as  a  permanent  tonic  more  im- 
portant than  we  should  otherwise  expect.  * 

I  may  add  that  the-  iron  in  the  Bath-water  is  probably  not  in  the 
state  of  oxide  or  carbonate,  as  has  been  supposed,  but  in  that  of 
muriate.  The  muriate  is  the  most  active  preparation  of  iron,  and 
so  far  increased  activity  may  be  given  to  the  slight  chalybeate  im- 
pregnation }  and  some  modification  of  power  may  even  be  derived 

*  I  ni&y  mcDtioa  in  cabBnnstian  at  tbis't^t  I  found  a  mineral  water  of  coui. 
derable  celebrity  In  Yorksliirp,  that  of  Itkley,  and  whirh  in  particular  wat  held 
4ii  tii^h  esflntStioD  us  a  remedy  in  tcrofulaus  affecliuna  by  leveral  eminent  medttal 
pnciilioDers  to  be  water  uncommonly  free  from  all  foreign  natter,  Wilb  the  ei- 
ception  oErery  miniuequaatitlei  of  mufiale  of  soda  and  muriale  of  lime.  I  had. 
t)i*  opportunity  of  abserviDg,  at  th«  iHme  lime,  proofi  of.  iti  mtdicuial  efficacy. 


ims.)  6/  Vunllane  and  Pilcailhl^.  85? 

from  the  combined  operation  of  muriate  of  lime  and  muriate  of 
iron. 

It  deseires  to  be  remarked,  that  in  the  most  essential  ingredients, 
the  muriate  of  lime  aod  the  iron,  the  Dunblane  and  Pitcaithly 
^vatei^  are  similar  to  the  Bath  water^  omIv  with  regard  to  the  ibrmcf 
tngTedient  much  stronger ;  the  other  differences  are  unimportant ; 
the  larger  quantity  of  sulphate  of  lime,  and  the  small  quantity  of 
silica  in  the  Utter,  cannot  be  supposed  to  contribute  any  thing  to 
its  medicinal  operation ;  the  difference  in  the  proportion  of  sulphate 
of  soda  is  trivial,  and  the  larger  proportion  of  muriate  of  soda  in 
the  other  waters  may  rather  be  an  advantage,  rendering  them  more 
agreeable  to  the  taste  and  to  the  stomach.  The  principal  difference 
-will  therefore  be  that  of  strength  nith  regard  to  the  most  active  in- 
gredient, the  muriate  of  Hme.  The  quantity  of  this  is  so  large  that 
the  tonic  quality  of  the  Dunblane  or  the  Pitcaidily  waters  can 
scarcely  be  observed,  and  perhaps  even  scarcely  obtained,  their 
action  ^ing  more  peculiarly  on  the  bowels.  It  is  accordingly  as  a 
«aline  purgative  ibat  the  Fiteaithly  water  has  been  celebrated;  and 
it  is  pnncipally  in  those  diseases  in  whith  this  effect  is  sought  to  be 
obtained  that  it  has  been  used.  The  Dunblane  water,  from  the 
similarity  of  its  operation,  would  no  doubt  be  employed  in  diseases 
of  a  similar  kind.  But  whatever  advantage  might  he  derived  from 
this  purgative  effect,  it  cannot  fail  to  be  perceived  that  a  different 
operation,  not  less  useful,  may  be  obtained  from  them.  If  suffi- 
ciently diluted,  so  as  to  avoid  altogether  The  operation  on  the  bowels, 
the  stimulant  operation  on  the  stomach  and  general  svstem  might 
be  exerted  by  these  waters,  similar  to  that  of  the  Bath  waters,  and . 
under  this  form  they  might  prove  useful  in  diseases  very  different 
from  those  in  which  they  might  otherwise  be  employed.  As  they 
would  require,  too,  large  dilution  to  reduce  them  to  this  state,  the 
temperature  of  the  Bath  water  might  easily  be  given,  by  adding" 
the -requisite  proportion  of  hot  water,  by  which  a  greater  similarity 
of  operation  would  be  Obtained.  And  the  Dunblane  water  in  par- 
ticular, containing  so  much  larger  a  proportion  of  iron  tliau  the 
Bath  water  does,  tiie  dilution  requisite  to  give  it  the  same  strength, 
with  regard  to  the  muriate  of  lime,  would  still  leave  an  equal  degree 
of  chalybeate  impregnation.  If  the  preceding  observations,  there- 
fore, are  just,  the  Dunblane  and  Pitcaithly  waters  may  be  con- 
verted, in  alltite  essential  parts  of  ihe  chemical  composition,  into 
a  water  similar  to  that  of  Bath. 

From  the  pi^ceding  statement  of  their  composition,  it  is  easy  to, 
discover  how  this  may  be  done.  To  give  the  same  proportion  of  the 
principal  ingredient,  the  muriate  of  lime,  the  Dunblane  water 
would  require  to  be  diluted  with  .Irom  six  to  seven  piyts  of  pure  , 
water ;  the  same  degree  of  dilution  woiild  bring  it  to  nearly  the 
same  strength  with  regard  tp  the  iron ;  if  a  pint  of  it  were  diluted 
with  this  portion  of  water,  about  35  grains  qf  sulphate  of  soda 
would  require  to  be  added,  to  render  the  composition,  with  regard 
^  this  ingredient,  perfectly  ati^ce,  if  this  were  tliought  esseotitfL 


SSfi  Analysii  of  the  Mf^fil  Waierf  E^IW. 

The  only  reniuning  differencps  ^ould  l,hen  be  the^ftrssfipce  of  t^ffot 
3"8  grains  Mniunate  of  sodain  each  pint  of  the  reduced  Dunbjai^^ 
water,  the  deficiency  of  5 '.5  grains  of  sulpliate  and  f?  itcaip  of 
torbOoate  of  lime,  and  the  abserice  of  .02  grain  of  ^iHceous  .^ailh, 
tlifferences  in  all  respects  prot>aWy  of  po  impoctancp  w.Uatever.  Tlvf 
umple  e^tpedient,  indeed,  ot  diluting  one  part  of  lie  ^i^i^bl^ 
water  with  from  six  to  seven  prtspfwar^, water  (or  If 'th«  sulpliftl? 
of  lime  in  a  state  of  solution  should  be  supposed  to  be  Ro^se^ied  .oif 
any  active  power,  with  four  of  gye  parts)  arid  adding,  ;f  the  <;f^V ^ 
t>i:ate'  impregnatioii  were  not  found  suEBcieotly  active,  a  feyr  dvops 
of  tinciure  of  muriate  of  iron,  would  probably  serve  every  p.urpbge. 
Anil  if  sufficient  confidence  cou,)(l  be  given  to  }he  sy'^titutlnn  oq  - 
tlie  part  of  those  emblovirig  these  watejs  iHed^cinally,  t^e  0,U''h'|B'i^ 
jyater,  thus  altered,  niiglit  probably  be  iijien  witli  ^s  ijiucii  adv^- 
tage  as  the  ^'atll  water  in  .the  diseases  in  w)ntb  il  has  been  ijou^ 
useful...  ■'■,'' 

'■'  It  is  obyiousj  too,  that  if  ihe  a^lifieial  preparation  of  ijje  ^h 
water  were  attempted,  it  could  lie  done  much  mprc  easily  accortlipg 
to  this'  view  than  by  endeavourifig  to'dissolvfi  ilie  actu^  productjs  ^ 
its  nnalysis,  which  indeed  i.t  would  be  impracticable  Jo  do.  J^Iuriat^ 
of  liiil^  and  sulphate  of  GQita  disjulvei]  ii;  water  of  the  due  tempera- 
tore^'with  the  addition  of  a  niinu.te' portion  of  jnuriafe  of  iron, 
tvould  probably  afjbrd  a  composition  approacliipgas  nearly  ffl  th.e 
^tural  composifidn  as  i^  eilljer  practicable  or  necessary  in  the  iajit 
i'ition  of  any 'mineral' water. 

'  Aiimilar  view  inay  be  taken  of  }I)e  composition  tjf  Cheltcijham 
vrater.  Its  analysis  aQi^rds  sulphate  of  sod^,  sulphute  of  magn^ia, 
aiid  sulphati:  of  lime,  Yith  iiiuri^te  of  soda,  muriafe  of  magnesia, 
iar)>onate  of  magnesia,  and  oxide  of  iron.  There  is  pjust  re^u, 
boweveV,  to  infer  with  certainty  that  all  these  are  its  real  ingre- 
dients. It  is  as  probable,  and  indeed  more  so,  that  previous  to  tb^ 
evaporation  by  which  they  are  obtained  it  contains  ipuriate  of  lime, 
which  being  acted  on  by  (he  sulphate  of  soda  fornis  m'ungte  of  spd^ 
and  s6lpliafe'of  Jime.  \x  Ss,  eyen  not  improbable  that  the  carbonate 
naturally  esistmg  iij  the  water  j^  not  carbonate  of  magricsia,  hu( 
carbonate  of  soda,  >yhich  re-acfing,  from  tlie  concentration  by  the 
evaporation,  on  sulphate  pr  muriate  of  (nagiiesia,  causes  the  pro- 
duction of  the  carlibpatt;  of  magnesia  ^itli  a  corresponding  |:ortion 
of  sulpliate  or  murlaie  of  soda;  or  wl^at  is  equally  probable,  aa4 
preiients  tiie  same'uliimate  results,  the  sulphate  of  magnesia  may 
in  the  progress  of  the  evaporation  be  first  acteii  on  by  the  carbonate 
of  soda,  forming  carbonate  of  magnesia  and  sulphate  of  soda ;  •11)4 
the  sulphate  of  soda, 'during  the  further  coiicentration,  ipaj  actpn 
the  muriate  of  liniej'and  forni  muriate  of  sodaanfl  sulphate  of  time. 
It  is  much  more  prob^dle,  indeed,  fiom.  the  known  msoliibility  of 
carbonate  of  magnesia,  ifcat  it  is  produced  in  this  way,  than  that  it 
should  exist  in  a  stafe  of  solution  ii;i  so  larg^  a'  quantity  as  that  I^V 
which  it  is  afibrded  by  the  evaporatioi).  And  thus  this  wate^  wil^ 
present  a  striking  e:^iuTt|>!9  (hat  ihc  r^al  ingredients  of  a  ipiiicr^ 


1814.]  ^Bt^ilUati.and  Pilcaithig.-  359 

»Uerm4lheirjEtfep(»4iotM  tn^beye^  difibrent  from  thos«  ob-, 
tained  by  the  direct  analjrsis;  for  it  is  too  obvious,  after  the  pre-, 
ceding  observations,  to  require  illustration,  that  the  actual  produc- 
tion of'  'Cfertala  ihgredients  by  evaporation,  or  any  oth^r  analytic 
process,  is  no  certain  proof  that  lhey  pfe-«xisted  in  the  ^ater.  It 
IS  obvious,  too,  that  if  it  were  proposea  to  idlitate  the  Cbeltenham 
water  by  artificiial  prepaTBtrtm,  it  could  be  do^ie  much  more  easily 
according  to  rtiis  view  than  by  attempHng  to  dissolve  the  ingredients 
obtBined  by  the  analysis — an  attempt,"  indeed,  which  would  dot 
succeed.  The  Dunblane  or  Pjtcaithly  water  migbt  be  converted, 
so  far  as  regards  the  saline  ingredients,  into  a  water  similar  to  that 
of  Cheltenham,  by  the  addition  of  a  little  sulphate  of  magnesia^  or 
more  nearly  by  tte  addition  of  a  little  of  the  bittei'ti  of  SeA  Mier; 
and  where  in  the  tlse  of  these  waters  a  contintied  ptirghilve  opera- 
tion is  required,  such  an  addition  might  always  bt  tnadb  with  ad- 
vantage. They  might  even  be  made  to  receive  the  iRipr^gnikKon  of 
cftrbohic  abid  of  the  Cheltenham  water,  by  adding  the  tiiagnesia  in 
the  state  of  carbonate,  with  the  due  {voportiobs  of  sulphuric  and 
^unacic  acids  in  a  close  teasel.  _  '.  . 

The  water  of  Harrowgate  a9tH\]s  in  its  saline  iogredients  another 
illustration  of  the  samo  views.  The  principal  ingredient  is  muriate 
of  soda,  with  which  are  present  muriate  of  ma^esia,  muriate  of 
lime,  sulphate  of  magnesia,  carbonate  of  magnesia,  aild  carbonate  of 
lime.  Now  nothing  is  more  probable  than  that  the  last  two  sub- 
stances are  not  original  ingredients,  but  are  products  of  the  analysis 
formed  by  the  action  of  carbonate  of  soda  existing  in  the  water  on 
portions  of  its  muriate  of  magnesia  and  muriate  of  lime,  whence 
also  the  quantity  of  muriate  of  soda  is  incr^sed; 

I^astly,  a  similar  view  may  be  extended  to  some  of  the  most  cele- 
brated foreign  mineral  springs,  'I'liose  of  Spa,  Pyrmont,  and 
Seltzer,  form  a  very  valuable  order  of  mineral  waters,  to  which  we 
bare  none  analogous  in  tliis  country-^what  liave  been  called  th^ 
'  alkaline  carbonated  waters,  distinguished  by  the  leading  character 
of  being  largely  impregnated  with  carbonic  acid  gas,  andcontaining 
a  considerable  propt^tion  of  carbonate  of  soda.  With  this  are 
associated  carbonate  of  magneaia,  carbonate  of  lime,  and  muriate  of 
soda.  Now  tills  association  of  muriate  of  soda  with  these  earthy 
carbonates,  while  there  is  also  carbonate  of  soda  present,  leada 
almost  necessarily  to  the  belief  that  the  real  ingredients  are  car- 
bonate of  soda,  muriate  of  magoesia,  and  muriate  of  lime ;  that  tli^ 
earbooate  of  sada  is  in  lar^r  proportion  than  what  is  indicated  hf 
the  analysis ;  that  it  acta  during  (he  evaporation  of  the  water  on  the 
muriates  of  magnesia  and  lime,  and  forms  the  cartxKiates  of  these 
earths  which  are  obtained  with  corresponding  portions  of  munate  of 
soda:  and  that  it  is  only  what  muriate  of  soda  there  may  be  above 
ihli  that  exists  as  %ti  original  ingredient. 

The  Seltzer  water,  which  is  the  pnrest  of  this  order  of  waters,  as 
cootuaing  aeither  Itob  nor  anj'  sulphate,  affords  in  particular  a  veif 
S 


860  Analysis  of  the  Mimr'ai  U^aters  [Nov. 

excellent  ninstntioD  of  this,     ItcoDtaioSj  accordiog  ta  Bergman's 
analysis,  in  an  ^Dglieh  pint, 

Carbonic  acid  gas   ....,,,.,..,.....  17  cub.  in. 

Carbonate  of  lime S  graioi 

Carbonate  of  magnesia S 

Carbonate  of  soda ^ 4 

Muriate  of  soda 1 7'S 

But  adqiting  the  opposite  view,  the  composition,  so  iar  as  thtf 
uncertainty  of  the  state  rf  the  products,  to  which  Bergman's  esti- 
mate is  referred,  admits  of  calculating  the  proportions,  will  be^ 

Carbomc  acid  gas    17     cub.  in. 

Muriate  of  lime 3"3  grains 

Muriate  of  magnesia :     5 

Muriate  of  soda ^^& 

Carbonate  of  Boda    10*3  dry,  or  18  ciystallized.* 

It  might  be  supposed  that  so  large  a  proportion  of  carbonate  of 
soda  could  not  exi^t  with  the  muriates  of  magnesia  and  lime  without 
decomposing  tbem,  that  tbjs  view  of  the  coostiiution  of  this  water 
is  therefore  precluded,  and  that  Bergman's  is  just.  And  in  this  case 
the  non -precipitation  of  the  carbonates  of  magnesia  and  lime  may 
he  supposed  to  be  owing  to  the  sqlvent  power  of  the  excess  of  car- 
bonic acid ;  to  which  caus^,  accordingly,  it  hiis  been  ascribed.  But 
on  making  the  experiment,  1  found  that  the  above  quantities  might 
be  dissolved  in  a  pint  of  water,  independent  of  the  presence  of  the 
excess  of  carbonic  acid,  without  any  apparent  decomposition,  the 
solution  being  transparent,  and  remaining  so  on  exposure  to  the  fur. 
The  same  fact  has  even  been  observed  with  regard  to  the  natural 
water;  for  although  on  exposure  to  the  air  It  becomes  vapid,  and  its 
taste  is  merely  sensibly  alkaline,  the  carbonates  are  not  precipitated; 
the  precipitation  takes  plgce  only  when  heat  is  applied,  so  as  to 
Evaporate  the  water  to  a  certain  extent :  and  with  regard  to  this,  a  ■ 
fact  is  mentioned  by  BtTgman  not  less  conclusive.  The  carbonate 
of  lime  is  tifst  deposited,  with  scarcely  any  mixture  of  carbonate  of 
magnesia;  the  latter  separates  only  by  continued  evaporation  ;  and 
It  is  even  necessary  to  evaporate  to  dryness,  and  redissolve  in  hot 

*  The  rnlloning  li  tiie  calculalion  from  which  (hese  praportlona  are  asgigned. 
Three  grains  of  carbnnate  of  lime  are  cqiiifBlenl  io  S-S  of  real  muriate  nf  limeg 
five  grains  of  fitrb'-Daie  of  ma%aei\a.  in  tlie  stale  in  wliich  it  wns  bbtain^ri  bj 
Bergiiwin,  thut  ia,  ihe  pntvdrr  prectpilairil  and  dried,  are  equivalent  tn  fire  grains 
of  real  muriule  (if  magnesia.  In  canverliug  Ihe  Ant  of  (he«e  muriates  into  car- 
bonate, 3'8  gralDB  of  dry  GOntmao  rarbonate,  or  snbcarbonate  of  inda,  would  ba  - 
expended  t  and  in  Ibe  cojBverslon  of  Ihe  second  muriate,  5-T  graini,  making  8'9 
gruius,  to  H'bicb  are  (o  be  added  1'4  grain,  Itie  quantity  contained  in  tlie  fottr 
£rainj  nf  Ihe  crystallized  earboiiRle  obtained  as  llie  direct  product  nf  the  annlysit, 
making  in  all,  as  slated  above,  10-3  grains.  lastly,  in  these  decumposiliona  of 
the  earthy  muriates',  9'7  grains  of  muriate  o'f  soda  would  be  formed,  which,  de- 
ducted from  tlie  11-9  ubtaioed  in  the  analysis,  leuiea  7'S  bi  tUe  quantity  wVcb  the 
jtater  really  couiBins.  ■         '      " 


18)6.3  "J  ''uRiI'DK  ffiii  PUcmthJy.  3S| 

water,  to  obtain  it  eiitirel}r — proviDg  that  it  does  not  pre-exist  in  the 
water  diiisolved  by  an  excess  of  carbonic  acid,  but  that  it  is  produced 
during  the  evaporation,  and  roust  therefore  be  formed  by  the  action 
of  carbonate  of  soda  on  muriate  of  magnesia. 

This  view  of  the  composition  of  this  water  accords  much  better 
than  the  other  both  with  its  sensible  qualities  and  its  medicinal 
powers.  Its  taste  after  the  carbonic  acid  has  escaped  from  it,  oa 
exposure  to  the  air,  is  rather  strongly  alkaline,  which  would  scarcely 
be  the  case  if  it  contained  only  four  grains  of  crystallized  carbonat« 
of  soda  in  a  pint,  but  which  is  to  be  expected  if  it  contain  18  grs. 
It  operates  as  an  antacid  a^nd  diuretic,  and  is  productire  of  much 
benefit  in  all  dyspeptic  affections,  in  diseases  of  the  urinary  organs, 
and  in  those  general  afiections  of  the  system  which  require  a  mild 
tonic  power.  There  are  few  mineral  waters,  Dr.  Saunders  obseri^es, 
which  have  acquired  a  higher  reputation;  and  there  are  few,  he 
adds,  that  deserve  greater  consideration,  from  the  real  medicinal 
virtues  it  possesses.  It  will  be  difficult  to  give  a  satisfactory  account 
of  the  (H-igin  of  these  virtues  if  we  regard  ii  as  water  impregnated 
with  carbonic  acid,  holding  in  solution  so  minute  a  portion  of  car- 
bonate of  soda,  with  the  larger  proportions  of  muriate  of  soda  and 
carbonates  of  magnesia  and  lime.  But  if  we  consider  it  as  contaiti- 
ing  along  with  its  free  carbonic  acid  a  considerable  quantity  of  car- 
'  bonate  of  soda,  with  smaller  proportions  of  muriate  of  soda,  muriate 
of  magnesia,  and  muriate  of  lime,  w£  assign  to  it  a  composition  of 
much  greater  power,  and  adequate  to  account  for  the  effects  it  pro- 
duces. Such  is  the  activity  of  this  water,  that  its  medium  dose  ii 
only  half  an  English  pint,  a  degree  of  power  whlcli  accords  much 
better  with  the  one  view  of  its  composition  than  with  the  other:* 

Large  quantities  of  Seltzer  water  have  been  imported  into  thia 
country,  and  artificial  preparations  of  it  are  in  frequent  use.  If 
these  are  founded  on  Bergman's  view  of  its  composition,  they  can 
scarcely  succeed ;  probably,  therefore,  this  is  not  attempted.  The 
view  which  I  have  suggested  renders  its  artificial  preparation  much 
more  easy.  The  ingredienls  may  be  dissolved  in  water,  and  the 
solution  impregnated  with  carbonic  acid  gas ;  or,  what  is  easier, 

'  *  The  wstrr  of  MaWern  maybe  regardrd  aa  of  aimilar  coOipiuitloD,  oely  nsck 
weaker,  aud  niihoDt  any  fice  carbonic  acid.  Dr.  Wilaon'i  aoalyiit  givu  the  lolv 
fawiDs  ia[[cdiciitj,  and  their  ptoporlioni  io  a  goUon : — 

Carbonaleof  toda 6'33 

lime  1-8 

marneua 04199 

Iron  0-825 

Sulphate  of  Boda S-S96 

Mnriateaf  Kida I'.'iSS 

Beiidoun    1  ttS7 

The  mariate  of  loda,  there  ig  every  probability,-  Is  a  product  of  the  operatioi), 
formed  by  the  aclioa  of  carbonate  of  soda  on  maHale  of  lime  t  <"  if-  aulphale  of 
KinefarDMd  part  of  the  midDiiB>,ai  ii  probable,  by  tbeaclioi)  of  lalpbalfof  MMlit 
pa  miiriate  of  lime. 


Sfi9  Analfsu  of  the  Miners!  Hilars  [Nov« 

tbcse  stepe  x^  the  ^roceis  ma;  he  coojoiaed.  The  nariateof  liia« 
■tqr  he&rjDed  1>j  nddiqg  tfae  requisite  quanti^  of  carboiiete«f  lime 
to  the  due  fiaqpwtiaB  of  uuriatic  &cid  diSiised  in  wjiter,  and  tbc 
ve^el  beinj;  closeiJ,  the'fscape  tif  the -carbonic  acid^s  suy  beprc-, 
■natei.  Tbe  muriale  ot  juagocsia  and  die  muriate  of  ao^  may  be 
formed  in  a  similar  msqnej  itom  the  carbooatet  »f  luqnieda  &xM, 
.  tsda.  And  the  quantitjr  of  cariMiiuc  ^cid  ihus  >afFor(Ied  wtU  be  very 
Mwly  that  whiifh  is  reqtured.  To  forio  the  muriate  of  lime,  three 
gtUM  rof  c8rbo«al£  are  to  be  used  j  to  form  the  muriate  of  mag- 
nssia,  five  gnias  of  the  carbonate  qf  that  earth ;  and  to  forai 
die  7-S^raioiof  muriate  of  soda,  12-3  grains  of  crystalliKcd  car- 
bonate of  soda.  These  qiuottties  contain  6-g  graios  of  carbonic  ecid, 
or  13  cubic  inches,  a  quantity  not  much  bgDeath  that  wfttch  tbe 
SeltzM  water  coataigs.  The  neutral  carbonate  of  soda,  or  bi-car- 
bcnate,  as  it  i*  oamed,  may  even  be  subetiuited  io  die  preparation;, 
and  if  the  due  proportion  of  this  be  used  ( 1 1  grains),  it  will  yield 
HK  cubic  inches  additiooal,  making  the  whole  quantity  19  cubic 
inches,  two  more  than  the  quantity  in  the  water.* 

I  might  apply  the  same  view  tn  a  number  of  other  analyses  of 
mineral  watera,  even  the  most  recent.  But  though  this  would  not 
be  altogether  uninteresting,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  extend  the 
Uluttration  further.  The  general  conclusion  Biay,  I  believe,  be 
drawO)  that  in  the  analysis  of  saline  mineral  waters,  the  actual  pro- 
ducts of  the  aoalytio  operation  are  itot  always  to  be  regarded  as  the 
xm\  ingredients,  A  ditferent  view  of  the  composition  is  often  to  be 
'  taken,  and  may  in  many -cases  be  applied,  so  as  to  afford  a  more 
satii&ctory  solution  of  their  active  pothers. 

I  may  only  further  remark,  that  a  vjew  somewhat  different  may 
also  be  applied,  founded  on  the  doctrine  that  the  primary  ingre- 
dients <^  the  compound  salts,  obtain^  by  tbe  analysis  of  mineral 
waters,  are  in  simuluneous  combination,  and  not  in  the  state  of 
binary  compounds.  Even  this  view,  >vecc  it  adopted,  would  afford 
a  better  eiplanation  of  their  active  powers  than  the  view  of  their 
composition  which  is  usually  receiVed,, since  it  could  not  at  least  be 
affirmed  that  luch  a  combination  musj  be  i/iaciive.  The  opinion 
itself,  however,  is  much  less  probable ;  for  if  fairly  followed  out,  it 
leads  to  the  conclusion  that  all  combimtioas  of  compmind  bodies 
are  simultaneous  combinations  of  the  primary  elements — a  condor 
sion  from  which  no  inference  with  regard  lo  specific  qualities  cOaM . 

■  TIm  followtnt;  i>  ths  raiitit  ncthod  of  ci»dlictln;|;  lb*  priMels.  About  Sfi 
Kraim  of  muriHlte  acid,  of  (be  stiengUi  luually  ««l  wilh  rn  the  ihopt,  are  put 
into  a  (iranf  Voitle  witb  a  pini  of  wntpT)  the  acid  being  iTrtntdgKil-  at  fhe  ballom 
of  ihe  iTBter  by  a  loag  bnort.  Tbree  fraina.  of  purr  white  imrble,  in  coarse 
pawder,  are  dropped  io,  and  tbe  battle  it  clateil.'  'Whea  thraeare  diisoWed,  fivf 
eraini  nf  llie  eommoa  caFbonale  »f  magnesia  ia.pswdrr  are  addn),  and  after  the 
Rolstion  of  Ihlt,'  39  graiaa  of  erj^italliaed  cwbooate  of  tads,  ar  irbat  \t  cquivi  ~ 
to  ihii,  ami  iiadbrable,  a*  afferdiag  awNre  carbeoV:  auld,  87  fmim  of  bi«artMi 
•C  t»i»,  are  pst  ip.  1%*  iMItIa  ii  clotcd  aecnialeljr,  ihakcn,  and  iB*crted. 
•hiKI  (uae  a  peffVct  Mlutioa  lake*  place,  ud  a  ^iqaor  i*  abtaibed  UsBsnaf  eat, 
frhicb  apatfclei  wheo  paured  edi,  aadbasa  pleasDDt  ImIc. 


)fil5^  oj  Dtmblane  md  Pitcailify,  86S 

be  4n>wo,  and  .ffhi<;li  js  jncotuisteot,  tlieierwe,  with  the  condiisioM 
^.bicli  i^  many  cases  we  are  able  actually  to  forw.  We  are  M,  - 
therefore,  to  the  adroissioD,  that  the  state  of  biliary  cospb^uatioos 
cvst }  aiid  it  is  only  necessary  to  guard  against  tl^e  etfoi  oi  aap- 
posii^  ihat  the  product  of  the  aDalysis  ve  alwap  ^le  original  m- 
grediei^ts. 

The  jmporlance  of  tlie  si^bject,  and  its  t/eiatu^  to  jtjhe  questioK 
bow  Jar  chemical  analysis  is  capable  of  acqquntifig  for  the  mediciiwi 
efficacy  of  mioeritl  WHters,  ivilt,  1  hope,  afford  a q  apology  for  tiw 
iot^i^VCtioi)  of  some  of  tlie  preceding  observations,  (houg^>thef 
may  not  fall  sirictJy  under  the  objects  i^ually  st^boiiited  to  tM 
Society.  , 


In  a  sut;c;c(ling  paper  J  sliatl  have  to  ,o£^er  soi^e  remariks  on  l1i« 
enBlygis  of  sea-water  and  salt-briues,  suggested  by  the  view  which 
j  have  ^plaitiejj  in  this  ;  and  the  same  view  may  perhaps  lead  to 
thp  illu^ration  of  a  geological  problem, -hiihcrto  involved  in  consi- 
derable difhculty,  the  origin  of  rock  sah,  and  the  relation  of  this 
mineral  to  Hie  sajine  impregnation  of  the  oceap. 


Abticle  IV. 

:  on  North  JVales. 
>.  F.L.S.  F.W.S. 

(To  Dr.  Thomson  ) 


Gedogtcal  Observations  on  North  JVales.      By  I.  C.  FFichard. 
M.D.  F.L.S.  F.W.S.  &c.  ' 


In  trai^ecsing  North  Wales  during  the  present  summer,  I  ob- 
4$nted  lorae  ^cts  which  induce  me  to  suspett  that  the  transition 
fprmatit>n  prevails  more'ext(:p$ively  in  that  country  than  is  com- 
IDDitty  suppp^fd.  'Hie  time  which  1  had  it  in  my  power  to  spend 
there  being  very  limited,  I  had  no  opportunity  of  resolving  soids 
interesting  questions  which  presented  themselves  to  ne ;  but  as  the 
solution  of  them  would  establish  an  iuference  important  with  re^ 
tpei^t  to  the  geology  of  our  island,  and  as  they  might  be  easily  de- 
termined by  any  person  who  could  examine  at  leisure  a  district  of 
;io  great  extent,  I  venture  to  suggest  them,  and  to  offer  my  remaifca 
tfl  the  public  through  the  medium  of  your  Journal. 

The  greater  part  of  North  y^'Aas  is  occu^ed  by  clayislale,  which 
\/)S.  alt  the  characteristics  of  primitive  day-slato.  Nearly  thf  whole  of 
the  tract  through  which  this  rock  extends  may  be  surveyed  in  cleaf 
veather  frmn  the  topi  of  the  thre^  principal  mountains  of  Wales, 
viz.  Plinlimmon,  Cader  Idrisi  And  iinowdop,  and  a  general  idea  of 
the  geological  structure  of  the  country  may  be  thus  obtained.  It 
consists  chiefly  of  ranges  of  mountains,  which  run  fromE.  to  W.,  ov 
ftoo)  N-  B.  to  S.  W.    These  mouDtvns  are  generally  man  ahnijA 


S64  Geological  Observations  on  North  Wales.  [Nov. 

towarifs  the  north  than  the  south  side.  The  declinty  tmcards  the 
aouth  is  often  gentle,  while  the  northern  face  b  precipitous.  Tliu 
-remark,  howerer,  is  not  universal. . 

-  The  inclination  of  the  strata  is  various.  In  many  places  tbey  are 
vertkal ;  but  the  clip  most  prevalent  through  the  country  appears  to 
be  towards  the  S.  and  S.W.  This  circiim stance,  compared  with 
'  tbe  position  of  the  escarpments  of  the  hills,  indicates  that  in  ad- 
vancing from  S.  to  N.  you  pass  continually  from  newer  to  older  foi' 
WBtions. 

On  passing  from  the  tract  of  the  old  red  sand-stone  in  Hereford- 
«Iure,  the  first  rocks  which  present  themseUes  are  declde^y  of  the 
tTBnsitioD  formation.  Near  Ludlow,  in  Shropshire,  beds  of  clay- 
slate  first  occur  aiternating  with  thin  beds  of  blue  lime-stone,  con- 
taining numerous  impressions  of  small  shells.  From  this  place  to 
Montgomeryshire  clay-slate  abounds.  Tliis  I  observed  on  my  re- 
turn. 1  entered  North  Wales  through  Brecknoclcshire ;  and  the 
first  transition  rock  which  attracted  my  notice,  and  which  appears 
immediately  to  succeed  the  old  red  sand-stone,  is  greywacke-slate, 
which  about  ten  miles  S.  of  Buallt  forms  magnificent  cliSsoii  both 
sides  (^  the  river  Wye.  It  splits  into  slates  half  an  inch  thick,  and 
ccmtains  a  large  portion  of  mica.  Tbe  beds  djp  at  a  considerable 
aEu;le  towards  the  S.  E.,  and  the  hills  form  bold  escarpments  front- 
ing the  N.W. 

Near  Buallt  the  hills  consist  of  a  crumbling  clay-slate  resembling 
alate-clay.  In  tbe  bed  of  the  Wye,  tibout  three  mites  N.  of  Bualtt, 
I  found  greywacke  in  mass  alternating  with  a  hard  clay-slate.  The 
kataex  consisted  of  small  fragments  of  quartz  and  clay-slate  im- 
bedded in  a  basis  of  clay-slate. 

From  Khaiadyr  to  Hafod,  and  to  Plinlimmon,  clay-sIate  pre- 
vuls.  At  the  Devil's  Bridge  it  is  quarried,  and  furnishes  a  fine  blue 
roof  slate,  very  hard,  and  of  considerable  lustre.  Tbe  Plinlimmon 
chain  consists  of  tlie  same  rock,  liarge  veins  (^snow-white  quarts 
traverse  it  in  all  directions,  loose  blocks  of  which  are  scattered  on 
the  lops  of  the  mountains. 

The  chain  of  Cader  Idiis  bears  a  great  resemblance  tn  the  ctHn- 
'position  of  its  rocks  to  that  of  Snowdon.  1  ascended  the  former 
from  Tal  y  Llyn  by  the  side  of  Llyn  y  Cae.  About  half  way  up  the 
moontain  I  found  beds  of  clay-slate  and  of  fltoty-slate  dipping  at 
an  angle  of.?*"  to  the  S.  The  top  of  the  hill  consists  of  a  beautiful 
clay-stone  porphyry,  containing  crj'stals  of  felspar  and  some  quarts 
imbedded  in  a  basis  of  hard  clay-stone,  which  passes  into  horn-stone. 
Id  some  places  the  form  of  the  felspar  crystal  is  wanting,  and  tbe 
por^^yry  is  aiuygdalddal.  .  It  forms  large  tabular  masses  and 
.columnar  rocks,  which  af^t  a  pentagonal  form.  I  should  have 
considered  the  upper  part  of  this  hilt  as  an  example  of  the  overlying 
formation,  if  I  had  not  found  some  facts  in  Snowdon  which  disposft 
me  to  a  dilferent  opinion.  The  northern  side  of  C&der  Idris  pre- 
Kots  a  bold  precipice,  ia  which  tbe  porpbyritic  -vck  formi  beaut^ 

n,r.^^<i"yG00glc 


1815.]  Gtohgtcal  OlservaHons  m  North  Wales.  369 

Ruigea  of  columiu.     It  appeared  to  me  to  lie  in  strata  wUdi  dip 
towards  the  S. 

North  of  the  Cader  Idris  chain  a  lower  noge  of  hilb  runs  nearly 
parallel  with  it.  The  river  Mowddach  flows  through  the  intervening,  ' 
valley.  These  hills  consist,  at  least  along  the  banks  of  the  Mowd- 
dach, of  a  rock  composed  of  felspar,  and  containing  in  some  place*, 
large  crystals  of  green  hornblende,  which  alternates  with  clay-slate. 
At  Rfaaidyr  d&  a  section  of  the  rock  has  been  formed  by  a  torrent, 
where  ntaay  of  these  alternations  present  themselves.  These  bcda 
dip  to  the  S.,  towards  the  direction  of  the  Cader  Idris  chain.  The 
same  rock  alternating  with  slate  prevails  very  extensively  between 
this  place  and  the  Snowdon  range.  Tiie  hornblende  is  often  wanting. 
1  ascended  Snowdon  from  Capel  Curig,  hut  on  that  side  could 
distinguish  nothing  with  respect  to  the  disposition  of  the  roi^s. 
The  porphyritic  rock,  resembling  that  of  Cader  Idris,  extends  quite 
to  the  base  on  the  south-eastern  declivity.  But  on  going  up  on  the 
oorthem  side  from  Llanberris,  1  found  a  tolerably  distinct  appear- 
ance of  strata,  with  an  inelinalion  towards  the  S.  From  the  foot 
ffi  the  mountain  to  about  half  way  up,  I  traced  frequent  alterna- 
tions of  clay-slate  and  porphyry.  About  two-thirds  of  the  way  up 
a  precipice  of  considerable  extent  fronts  the  N.,  where  the  rock, 
•  thoug'h  split  by  fissures  in  all  directions,  appears  to  be  stratified,  as 
before'  meotioned.  The  top  of  the  mountain  consists  of  porphyry... 
In  several  other  parts  of  the  Snowdon  chain,  which  I  traversed  in 
various  directions,  the  appearance  of  stratification  was  more  distinct 
than  in  the  mountain  which  is  properly  called  Snowdon.  This  X 
observed  particularly  between  Capel  Curig  and  Llyn  Idwal.  There 
are  many  quarries  of  roof  slate  in  this  range ;  and  one  of  consider- 
able estent,  in  a  hill  which  is  separated  from  Snowdon  by  the 
narrow  valley  of  Llapberiis. 

This  valley  presents  a  beautiful  section  of  the  chain.  Magni- 
ficent ranges  of  porphyritic  rocks  strike  the  eye  on  both  sides,  and 
by  their  columnar  forms  have  given  rise  to  the  mistaken  idea  that 
these  hills,  as  well  as  Cader  Idris,  are  covered  by  basaltic  rocks.  I 
■aw  no  trace  of  basalt  on  any  part  of  them,  neither  could  1  discover 
any  granite  or  mica-slate. 

A  question  here  presents  itself  whether  the  porphyritic  rock 
which  forms  the  top  of  Snowdon  belongs  to  the  overlying  forma- 
tion, or  is  conformable  with  the  strata  of  clay-s1aie  which  constitute 
the  base  of  the  hill.  This  inquiry  is,  as  it  will  presently  appear,  of 
coDsidemble  importance  in  assisting  to  determine  the  era  to  which  a 
great  part,  if  not  the  whole,  of  the  slate  formation  in  North  Wales 
must  be  referred.  From  the  huge  tabular  and  columnar  masses  into 
which  the  porphyry  is  divided,  and  from  its  occupying  more  re- 
markably the  tops  of  the  mountains,  1  was  af  first  led  to  refer  it  to 
the  overlying  formation ;  but  the  frequ.;ht  alternations  of  the  same 
porphyry  with  the  clay-slate  at  the  base  of  Snowdon,  and  Other 
hills  in  the  range,  seem  to  countenance  the  opinion  that  jt  holds  a 
position  conformable  with'the  clay-slate.    Apy  penou  who  would 

r,..-A-..>yGoogIe 


me  RegSlt&  flf  Ike-  Weiaher  in  Plymouth.  fN^^: 

ewrauhe  the  SaowdMi  and  Cader  Idris  chains  deliberatdy  mi^ 
easily  detennine  tbis  poioj  with  respect  to  both  of  them. 

If  it  should  turn  out  as  I  suspect,  that  the  pMphyry  atifl  clay- 
riate  are  conformable,  the  whole  mountainoustract  of  North  Wales 
roittt  be  cOnsideiled  as  a  transition  country ;  for  the  former  rock"<(n 
Soowdon,  And  in  other  parts  of  the  chain,  abounds  in  wgt/nic re- 
maim.  1  founti  on  the  highest  summit  numerous  impr^tomof 
shells,  which  appealed  td  be  pecienitcs  and  terebratulites.  THtrC 
wore  several  impressioni  of  organic  bodies,  which' I  hare  nftt  seen 
described,  and  sotae  appearances  resenibKng,  ihoagh  indiBtiBttty, 
turbinated  madrepores.'  I  observed  similar  impressions  orj'  sbAtf 
Uocks  near  Lake  Ogwea, 

If  the  Snowdon  chain  be  not  primitive,'  there  is  no  part  of  North 
Wales  which  can  with  any  degree  of  probabiltry!  be  referred  to  that 
tormadoD. 

1  remain.  Sir,  jwur  obedient  servant. 


MMdtt,  Kgit.  16,  laie. 


I.  C.  PHICHAfelJ. 


'KifWter  of  the  Weather  ht  Plymouth  for  tliejttst  Siai  Mimtki  of 
1815.     ByJamesFox,  jun.  E^q.     With  a  Plate. 


EN 


EN'S 
ta  V' 

EKE 

■     VSyf 

VVf. 

Elo  W-N«r 

WN  ff 

MW 

_    /k 

NN"W 

N  N  B 
W  « 

K' 
KB 


Filt  mOrn ;  cloudy  en, 

dotd;  aod  fair, 

Ciita,  fairunigbt. 

Ditto  i^ord  j  cloudy  Sod  fair  i^fUrnonn.  . 

^eudj  and  fair. 

rogmorn  ;  occasional  ifaowiTf. 

F^toorn  ;  clondy  dayi  ihoWph'a/  a\AS 

SMwers  earFy  in  mora; 'doudy  dlv  , 

Slight  showers.    _  *      '' 

Halldillo,  morn  I  fair  afleniooii. 

A)  Illy  day. 

Sfc6werg,inoTni  clOndyand  WraflAfo.   ■ 

ClondrlnOrn  t  fair  AftenKMa. 

Ctoody  and  fair, 

if  Ml' fnMt ;  clbdd^nMnl^  faft'dM* 

DHloj  clondy  andftlrv  r 

9now  ifaowen; 

Uitto.       . 

Pairhlirnj  Tlirady'ne."  ' 

CtoadyniM^)  clmid/^ndlhtrcfe. 

Soew  ibowarh  nsra  i  ^iid]r«MfUr«Atl 

Cloodj.  and  a  tliower. 

Satni  ill»tfcni' 

-..>y  Google 


I 

Scalj 


D,g,t,.?<i  I,,  Google 


n,<i-^f^:>yG00gIe 


w 


miJ]  RegUfsr  of  the-  "leather  in  P^monlh. 


Lb,,.. 

Wind; 

Rain. 

ObserTatioiii. 

Si 

30 
-       M 

ENE 
EKE 

8  S  W  lo  W 

S  8  W  lo  E 

ENE 

BN-BloNKE 

}»■»{ 

Snow  iliowm;  ami  a  gale  of  wind,  morn, 

G4e  of  wind,  aad  heaty  »howen. 
HSity  ihuweri. 
Thick  nealher. 
Difto. 

1-78 

Lirh  rain. 

Wimi. 

FEBRirjRY. 

Feb,  I 

9 
S 

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B 

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a 

9 
ID 

.        11 
IS 
IS 
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80 
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a: 

■    88 

■   EWE  ■   •  - 

ENB 

E  lo  8  W 

S  W  10  W  N  W 

8  W  to  8 

-      8  to  S  E 
W  N  W  to  8 

8  S  E  to  W  N  W 

WN.W  to, E 

E-loS 

83-E(o  SW 

S  W 

8W  to  E 

E M E  W  WN W 

8  W 

8  W  (0  W  N  W 

WNW  loN  N  W 

R  lo  8  W' 

8W  to  83  W 

S  W  to  WN  W- 

WNW 
WNW  10  SW 

s  w 

S-W- 
S   SW 
NW 

E* 

'      D-5S 
•0-40 

0-35 
0-95 

0'09     . 

■     0-28 
0-S7 

FairmorD)  clUldy  aflersoMi. 

Li^l  rain,  mornt  cMdj  Amy. 

A  wet  day. 

doady  sod  fair. 

Cloudy  mom.  thick  rain,  uid  gqimlly,  tt 

Ligdtraipj  hidwipdal'oight. 
Fine^day,  lighTraip  ab ditto. 
A'alormy  day.                       -  - 
Bighwind,  an4  thick  weather. 
Thick  weallierj  ptorO'i  cloudy  aad  fai* 

aftcrnooE. 
Ditto,  litlo. 
Stormy, 
Cluody  and  Hif;  high  wind. 

Mi«Td^y,'^Wi:yat»ls;hl. 

liretL-wiadt  bM«y  Ao^itit. 

Ditto,  diitp,  mora ;  fair  afieraooB. 

Cloudy  nn^  fair. 

Showers,  high  Wind^Bt  night, 

A  heavy  naU. 

Hi^  wind  t  miriy. 

Cloudy  and  fair. 

Ditto  j  at  intenali  mi*!*, 

DUtOr^iUe,- 

Mlity, 

Fair. 

higb  wiadi.f^lr; 

3-11 

Inches  rw..                                           ? 

n„:-.,-..>,GoogIe 

S«8                 Register  of  the  iVeaiker  in  Plymoath.  [Noy. 

WiMd. 

lUrometer:  Greatert  fceiiM...' 30-49  fncbei  Var. 

Lowest 29*24  ■8*' 

M«9Q   «»'83  , 

Thennonutcri  Grea(«atbei(lit  1 "  • 

Lowest  U.J  SB  TaTi 

Mean «-0S 

MARCHi 


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Dat«. 

Wind. 

Raia. 

tsis. 

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S  W 

0-08 

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2 

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3 

Var. 

0-03 

Ditto,  day)  Biity  al  tfisU. 

4 

s- 

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B 

■   S  lo  TV  N  W 

e-u 

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a 

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10 

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0-40 

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11 

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015 

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IS 

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IS 

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0-40 

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14 

,     NW 

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15 

16 

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w 

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night.     , 

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iS 

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WW 

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SO 

.    £8£ 

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SI 

s? 

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aflemoDB. 
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s» 

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£4 

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inito,  ditto. 

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£9 

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30 

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31 

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606 

Inches  rain. 

Wbti. 

Sarometeri  GrealcM  bc^eht SO-99  tnche*  Var. 

Lowest  S9-n  W 

■      Uetin  «9«a 

•VbenMnieter :  Greatest  height 65  .    .   ESB 

Lowest 83  WMW 

MMit «-14 


D,g,t,.?<i  I,,  Google 


i«isj 


Regitier  y  the  Weather  in  Pt^num^. 
JPRIL. 


tMt. 

Wind. 

Rain. 

ObsertqtIoDi. 

181 S. 

April  1 

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£ 

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11 

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Lnwnt   ...1. 2910 

Meao  i i...  S9'89 

t  Grtatnt  helc^l.  b i...  67° 

Lowctt  *......" SB 

Mean  ...... 4. ..\. *»-Si 

MAT, 


B 

Heavy  x4io. 
Cloudy  and  fair. 

^  i 

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i 

W 

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i 

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^  Vol,  VI.  VP  V. 


'..>y  Google 


kegUter  of  the  Weather  in  Vlymtyuih.  pioT. 


•r^Dmt,.- 

wind. 

Rain. 

SE  to  SSW 

1              f 

Clondy  and  Mr  it»rD  t    hi(h  wind  »l4 

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s 

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8 

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S] 

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■s; 

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in 

W  to  B 

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a- 

E 

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Var. 

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Si 

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S( 

WNW 

Highwind>  lAdihawen. 

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A  wet  day. 

a-80 

IncbcB  rain. 

BoromettT  :  Grratest  height SOM  inchep 

Lowest  S9'54 

Mean ; S9'90 

Tbennometer :  Greaiesi  beight 1% 

Lownl  . .' S9 

Mean,,.; 56-30 


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; 

Var. 

! 

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I 

on 

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1< 

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15 

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la 

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■  n 

S  to  WWW 

aoud'yudralr. 

18 

Var, 

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n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


1815.]        On  Dalian's  Theory  of  Chemical  Campositim,  SJl 


Date. 

wioJ. 

Rain. 

1815. 

Jnne  19 

8  to  E 

}.«{ 

Ditto,  ditto,  ditto. 

SO 

EN  E  lo  WWW 

Hvawj  (hDwen. 

ai 

W  ti  W  to  N  W 

Fair  day  ,  clondy  at  Bigbt. 

32 

S 

Cloud,  and  fair. 

S3 

NW 

0-09 

Ditto,  ditto,  da;;  llghtnii 

at  oieM. 

S4 

N  tftNW 

Misty. 

S5 

NW 

CloDdy  and  fair. 

NW 

Ditto,  ditto. 

Var. 

Ditto,  ditto. 

Var. 

Fair. 

E 

Ditto,  hi^viDd. 

E 

Ditto,  ditto. 

309 

Incbrs  rain. 

WML 

Barometrr :  Grraleit  heifht 

30-Sl  iKha 

Var. 

Mean   .. 

B985 

ESE 

88885 

Tbrnnomeleri  Gremest  beighl 

:..  78° 

Var. 

Lancsl   

43 

W 

M«an   . 

6015 

Article  VI. 

Ohservatiom  on  Mr.  Dalton's  Theory  of  Chemical  Composilion. 
By  Peter  Ewart,  Esq. 

(Read  to  the  I^ilosophical  Society  of  Mancheater,  Sept.  1812.) 

'  It  has  long  be«ii  observed  that  chemical  compounds  contaio  their 
elements  in  limited  proportions;  and  it  has  at  all  times  been  a  chief 
object  with  chemists  to  ascertain  these  proporliona  in  bulk,  as  well 
as  in  weight.  Various  attempts  have  been  made,  also,  to  trace  some 
IgeaeTai  printiiple  of  agreement  in  the  phenomena  of  chemical  com- 
position. In  this  field  of  investigation  Mr.  Dalton.  haa  been  emi- 
oentlv  successful.  About  ten  years  ago,  observing  a  remarkable 
coincidence  in  the  proportions  of  the  elements  contained  in  some 
chemical  compounds,  he  was  led  to  believe  that  this  coincidence 
could  not  be  i»rtial  or  accidental,  but  that  it  might  form  part  of.  a 
l^neral  system,  comprehending  every  chemical  combination.  Under 
this  impression,  he  examined  and  compared,  with  great  skill  and 
ingenuity  of  research,  a  prodigious  number  of  compounds;  and  he 
has  published  a  valuable  collection  of  facts,  established  by  others  as 
well  as  by  himself,  throughout  the  whole  of  which  the  principle  of 
2  A  2 


S73  On  Daltoffa  Theory  of  Chtmiad  Composition,       [Nov, 

comporition,  which  he  first  observed  only  in  a  few  insUnces,  it 
fcmni  to  prevail.* 

A  Bmall  nuailier  of  Acts  are  sufficieiit  to  expldo  the  nature  of 
tiiis  principle ;  and  in  th^  following  it  appean  vety  distinctly. 

1st.  lOO'graina  of  olefiant  gas  contain  85  of  carlwa  and  15  of 
hydrogen  ;  t  that  is,  in  the  pn^wnion  of  5-6  carbon  to  1  hydrogen^ 

2d.  100  grains  of  carbonic  oxide  contain  444^  carbon  and  55( 
oiygcn-;  {  that  is,  in  the  praportioo  of  5'6  carbcm  to  7  oxygen. 

3d.  100  grains  of  water  contain  12^  hydrogen  and  S?-}-  oxygen  }§ 
that  is,  in  the  prc^xHtion  of  1  hydrogen  to  7  oxygen. 

4th,  )00  grains  of  carbureted  hydrogen  contain  74  carbon  and 
36  hydrogen; I  that  is,  in  the  proportion  of  5'6  carbon  to  Z 
bydn^n, 

Sth.  100  graini  (^  carbonic  acid  contain  2S'6  carbon  and  71*4 
ffi^gen  ;  **  that  is,  in  the  proportion  of  5-6  carbon  to  14  oxygen. 

Mow  )t  is  veiy  remarkable  that  the  last  terms,  in  the  first  and 
•ecood  of  these  proportions,  are  the  tame  as  the  first  and  second 
lenns,  reprcseadng  the  fooportions  of  the  same  elements,  in  the 
third  compound. 

In  the  rourth  and  fifth  compounds  we  liave  a  further  cbtndd^ice 
of  a  different  kind.  Here  we  nave  the  same  elements  as  10  the  two 
first  compounds ;  and  the  last  terms  ot  the  proportions  in  the  first 
•nd  second]  multiplied  bv  two,-  are  respecUvely'  equal  to  the  last 
tcrm^  of  die  fbnrtn  and  nflh. 

Presuming  that  something  more  than  an  accidental  coincidence 
is  indicated  by  such  agreements  as  these,  Mr.  Dalton  proposes  to 
explain  them  as  follows. 
'  If  we  suppose  the  ultimate  divisions,  or  atoms,  which  unite  in 
ebcmica)  composods  of  carlxHi,  hydrogen,  and  oxygen,  to  be  of 
difl«rent  relative  weights,  ia  the  proportion  of  5'6,  1,  utd  7t  we 
shall  have  equal  numbers  of  atoms  of  each  of  their  elements  in 
each  of  the  first  three  coinpounds ;  and  if  the  compounds  be  homo- 
geneous, each  atom  of  carbon  in  the  first  compound  must  be  united 
to  an  atom  of  hydrogen ;  and  in  t^e  second,  each  atom  of  carbon 
mast  be  united  to  an  atom  of  oxygen ;  in  the  third  compound,  each 
atom  of  hydrogen  must  be  united  tp^n  ^ton  of  oxygen ;  each  atom 
«F  c*rboo  in  the  fourth  compound  must  be  united  to  two  atom*  «f 
bydngen;  end  in  ^e  fifth,  each  atom  of  carbon  must  be  united  to 
taa«tems  of  OKygan.     Upon  this  principle,  then,  we  have  the  ex- 

•  ItisnotatifffeNtnarkable,  Ui>(  (he  iBbMnorunne  of  the  prlneipilBodCra 
<heniili  iD  Earapc,  irtere  (■■njify  nu  tin  olf}ec(  of  ra«>rcli,  have  (Itmi  reialla 
Bnthmlyftvoarable  td  tht  eMsUlsbneiit  of  thh  princlplcr  tboogb  tbej  h»Te  bera 
in  une  iuUMci  anM^vkinlM  wiih  iC  'WKbcu  ttuae  of  Clemeot  and  Dcunao, 
WoIlaKoD,  Dkvj,  BoDTy.  BtrtkMgf,  Berard,  Gay-Luitac,  BrrseUtu,  &r.  Ac. 

f  TboniHui,  Nich.  Joor.  xxfttl.  SS3.    Dbt;,  309; 

t  Oemnt  aad  Dadnnn,  Aib.  (Mm,  lorn.  39. 

-  HwnbDll,  G>y-LnMC,  Aod.  Chink  )«05.    H kk^  Jour.  nz.  910. 
1.  S8S,  a   ■  ■    -■         -  "" 


i  Henry,  1.  3SS,  a  dtiaethn.    DftTy,  301. 
.  a  Alkn  and  Pepji. 


n,<i-^f^:>y<S00gIe 


1815.]        On  Datiotes  7%Mry  of  C&rawso/  Ow^tautiom.  SJl 

phmation  of  a  connected  Bgreement  in  these,  five  compoaadi,  whidi 
mxild  be  destroyed  by  a  sinall  variation  ia  the  coupositioo  of  any 
one  of  the  five. 

In  the  foliowinff  nine  compounds,  seven  of  which  an  solids,  the 
aame  principle  is  found  to  prevail  with  as  much  uaiforiBity  as  in  the 
gaieoua  fluids  and  water,  which  we  have  been  comparing. 

1.  100  grains  of  sulphurous  acid  contain  50  grains  of  solphnr* 
and  50  grains  of  oxygen ;  that  is,  nearly  in  the  proportica  of  14 
sulphur  to  14  oxygen. 

2.  100  grains  of  sulphuric- acid  contain  40-6  grains  of  aulphnrt 
kod  59'4  grains  of  oxygen ;  that  is,  nearly  in  the  pnqiortioa  of  14 
sulphur  to  21  oxygen. 

S.  100  gruns  of  black  oxide  of  iron  contain  78  p^ni  of  iron  ( 
and  22  grains  of  oxygen ;  that  is,  nearly  in  the  propotioo  of  H 
iron  to  14  oxygen. 

4.  100  grains  of  red  oxide  of  inm  cont^n  7^4-  gnim  of  ina  % 
and  294-  grains  of  oxygen ;  that  i^  nearly  in  the  proportion  of  )tO 
iron  to  XI  oxygen. 

5.  100  grains  of  sulphuret  of  iron  contain  78  grains  of  iron  | 
and  22  grains  (rf  sulphur ;  that  is,  nearly  in  the  propntion  of  50 
iron  to  14  sulphur. 

6.  100  grains  of  njagnetic  pyrites  contain  64  grains  tf  iron  |t  and 
36  grains  of  sulphur ;  that  is,  nearly  in  the  proportion  of  50  iron  to 
28  sulphur.  ^ 

7-  100  grains  of  pyrites  of  Soria  contain  54-3  grains  of  iron  H 
and  45-7  grains  of  sulphur ;  Uiat  is,  nearly  in  the  proportion  of  60 
iton  to  42  sulphur. 

8.  100  grains  of  common  pyrites  contain  47  grains  of  traa  ||  and 
53  grains  of  sulphur;  that  is,  nearly  in  the  proportion  of  U>  iron 
to  56  sulphur. 

9.  100  grains  of  sulphate  of  iron  contain  4978  graint  of  red 
oxide  of  iron  **  and  SO-ZZ  gmns  of  sulphuric  acid ;  that  is,  nearlj 
in  the  proportion  of  71  red  oxide  of  iron  to  70  sulphuric  acid. 

If  we  suppose,  as  before,  the  relative  weight  of  an  atom  of 
oxygen  to  be  as  7,  and  if  we  further  suppose  those  of  lulphor  and 
iron  to  be  respectively  as  14  and  50,  we  shall  have, 

'1st.  In  sul^orous  acid,  each  atom  of  sulphur  united  to  twoatomi 
of  oxygen. 

2d.  In  sulphuric  acid,  each  atom  of  sulphur  united  to  three  atoms 
<if  oxygen. 

3d,  In  black  oxide  of  iron,  each  atMD  of  iron  united  to  two  atooH 
of  oxygen. 

4th.  In  red  oxide  of  inxi,  each  atom  of  iron  united  to  three  atomi 
of  oxygen. 


Da*;,  ST4.  't  BctmUh,  Am.  de  ain.  IsSriU.  44. 

DkTj,  110.  4  VaaqsellD. 

HatcbMI  ud  Pnml,  VIA.  3mm.  x.  ami  xi. 
■  Beridlu,  Awi.de  Chin.  luTlli.  SIS. 


n,r.^^<i"yG00gIe  -' 


■J174  .On  Dalton'sTheoTj/ of  Chemical  Compoiiliofi.        [HtyVi 

.'   Sth.  Id  sulpburet  of  iron,  each  atom  of  iron  um!ed  to  one  atom 
of  sulphur. 

Cth.  Id  magnetic  pyrites,  each  atom  of  iron  united  to  two  atomr 
of  sulphur, 

7th.  Id  pyrites  of  Soria,  eacli  atom  of  iroD  united  to  three  atoms 
of  sulphur. 

'    Sth.  Id  common  pyrites,  each  atom  of  iron  united  to  four  atoms 
•f  sulphur. 

9th.  In  sulphate  of  iron,  each  atom  of  red  oxide  of  iron  united  t^ 
Iwo  latoms  of  sulphuric  acid. 

Iq  the  ninth  compound  we  have  an  example  of  the  union  of  (w^ 
compound  atoms ;  and  in  the  same  manner  various  other  compoiH)4 
atomE  are  found  to  be  united  in  compounds  wliich  cantain  more 
ihaif.  two  elements. 

Indeed  any  atom  at  present  supposed  to  be  simple  may  afterwards 
fee  fbUAd  to  be  compounded  of  others  more  simple ;  for  upon  this 
principle  it  is  not  concluded  that  an  atom  of  any  known  element  is 
in  its  smallest  possible  state  of  division.  The  word  atom  is  intended 
to  eiprcss  merelythe  smallest  division  wliich  is  found  of. any 
clement  xvithoul  detompoiitim.  * 

Thus  an  atom  of  carbonic  add,  one  of  the  elementary  particles 
ieoDstituting  that  elastic  fluid,  is  only  capable  of  division  into  oxygen 
&nd  charcoal.  It  is  possible  that  atoms  of  oxygen  and. charcoal  may 
he  further  divided,  but  we  do  not  yet  know  that  the  division  is  prac- 
ticable. Neiftier  is  it  Understood  that  the  relative  weights  of  the 
atoms  of  the  five  elements,  the  combinations  of  which  wc  have  been 
comparing,  are  precisely  as  1,  5*6,  7)  14,  and  50.  It  is  obvious  that 
their  relatife  weights- canj  upon  Mr.  Dalton's  principle,  be  deter- 
mined only  by  the  agreement  of  a  great  number  of  nice,  and  often 
difficult,  analyses ;  and  in  proportion  as  more  accurate  analyses  are 


d  thattbenltim 


abst^utely  iniivuiik.     But  m  mpporl  of  ibp  of 

fUvidtd  sinre  [he  crralinu  ot  (lie  world,  and  ll 

properties  of  bX\  malrrial  obJEcls  depends  upon  IhHr  ainms  rcmaioinj;  mdiviitd, 

Mr.  Dalton  has  referrrd  to  lb?  follonilie  ohaervatioas  of  Sir  base  Nenlon : — 

"  It  icems  probikble  lo  me  tluit  God  In  fli«  brgianipg  formed  matlet  in  solids 
piaisy^hard,  Impenc  trail  le,  moveable,  parti  dee,  of  lucb  sizes  and  figures,  an<l  nith 
encli  othpr  pro[ieriiei,  and  in  ehcU  prdporlioa  lo  !p>reas  miMi  ci^nduced  to  the  enj 
far  ntiivh  he  formed  Ihem ;  and  that  Iheie  primirive  puriicles  bring  loltds,  air  <!>• 
camparablj  'faaider  thtui  aoy  poronit  b«<]iCB  ctunpounded  of  tbeui  \  Even  to  very 
hard,  as  iieierto  near  or  break  in  pieces,  no  ordinary  pntrer  being  able  (o  divide 
ivhal  Gnd  himself  made  ime.in  the  first  creation.  While  Ihe  particles  ronlinne 
entire,  'hey  may  enmpose  bodieiaf  one  and  Itae  same  nature  and  lexlnre  in  all 
agcsi  but  should  they  near  away,  or  break  in  pieces,  the  nalore  nf  things  de- 
fending oD  tbem  womid  be  changed,  ffater  and  eortli,  composed  jif  old  nnra 
paiticleg  and  fragmenis  of  porlicles,  noiild  not  be  of  the  same  natare  and  texture 
lion  with  Haler  and  earth  composed  of  entire  panicles  in  (he  beginning,  f^rti 
therefore  that  nature  may  be' lasting,  the  clianges  of  corporeal  things  are  to  be 
plared  only  in  the  variolH  Kpaialians  nnd  new  assnciatinns,  and  iiiolinns  of  (bese 
permanent  particles ;  coinpoonded  bodies  being  npt  In  break,  not  in  the  midst  of 
■olid  particles,  bat  tvhere  those  ppriiclei  are  laid  togelber,  Mid  tracts  only  in  a  fin* 
to»in."-~-H<>Tsln(t  Newton,  iv,  ZOO.  '...-, 


r:,9,r,..<ib,  Google 


;4IS.j        On  Dalttm't  Theory  of  Chemical  Omtposiiim.  S/S 

pbuined,  these  relatire  weights  may  be  determined  with  ^ater 
precision.  -        . 

Some  objections,  howeverj  hare  been  made  to  this  explanation  of 
the  phenomena  of  chemical  connposition. 

I.  It  is  said  that  we  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  ot  judging  of 
4be  weight  or  the  magnitude  of  an  atom  of  any  clement,  and  that 
any  supposed  relative  weight  of  their  atoms  must  therefore  be  a 
mere  hypothetical  assumption,  from  which  no  satisfactory  cbnclusioa 
can  be  drawn. 

.  ,  It  is  true  we  can  never  expect  to  produce  auy  of  these  minute 
divisions,  ab  as  to  ascerlaia  their  relative  weights  by  balancing  then^ 
separately  in  scales.  But  if  we  may  be'  allowed  |o  compare  great 
things  with  small,  may  not  the  same  objection  be  made  to  the 
fanner  in  which  the  relative  masses  of  the  planets  are  determined? 
These  are  by  their  great  magnitude  as  much  as  the  ultimate  divi- 
tjipos  of  chemical  elements  are  by  Ibeir  extreme  minuteness,  beyond' 
the  reach  of  the  ordinary  means  of  comparison.  The  means,  how- 
pver,  by  wliich  the  relative  masses  of  the  heavenly  bodies  have  beep,  , 
determined,  are  quite  as  satisfactory  as  if  they  had  been  weighed  in^ 
scales.  Tbey  are  delermioed  by  ihc  observed  phenomena  of  the 
heavens,  on  the  principle  that  these  phenomena  may  be  distinctly 
explained  by  supposing  the  masses,  distances,  and  attractions,  of  the 
different  bodies  in  question  to  bear  certain  relations  to  each  other. 
And  if  the  observed  phenomena  of  chemical  composition  can  be 
explained  by  supposing  the  weights  of  the  ultimate  divisions  of  clie^ 
mical  elements  to  bear  certain  relations  to  each  other,  we  may  be 
equally  well  satisfied  that  such  relations  exist. 
^  2.  But  it  has  been  said  that  the  phenomena  of  chemical  compo- 
fitiou  require  no  such  supposition,  that  we  may  with  as  much  con- 
sistency suppose  the  ultmiate  divisions  of  all  elements  to  be  of  equal, 
weight,  or  that  we  may  suppose  iheir  weights  to  bear  any  imaginable 
prc^rtion  to  each  other.  iJet  us  examine  how  far  such'suppositions 
are  consistent  with  the  obs,erved  phenomena. 

If  we  suppose  the  atoms  of  all  elements  to  be  of  equal  weight,  we 
may  suppose  2S  atoms  of  carbon  to  be  united  to  five  of  hydrogen  in 
the  composition  of  olefiant  gas ;  four  of  carbon  to  £ve  of  oxygen  in 
carbonic  oxide ;  and  one  of  hydrogen  to  seven  of  oxygen  in  the 
composition  of  water. 

But  in  this  way  we  should  leave  the  agreement  in  the  proportions 
observed  by  Mr.  Dalton  quite  unaccounted  for.  And  if  the  pheno- 
meha  of  chemistry  are  ever  to  be  reduced  into  a  system,  tike  those 
of  astronomy,  surely  such  a  series  of  remarkable  agreement  must 
be  considered  as  a  promising  clue  to  lead  to  the  true  theory. 

We  may  indeed  suppose  28  atoms  of  carbon  to  be  united  to  35, 
of  oxygen  in  carbonic  oxide,  and  five  of  hydrogen  to  35  of  oxygen 
in  the  composition  of  water,  and  thus  exhibit  the  same  agreement 
^hich  Mi*.  DaltoD  observed;  but  still  we  cannot  show  by  these  com-^ 
^inations  any  reason  fur  this  agreement. 
,  Besides,  if  we  attempt  to  form  an  idea  of  the  poutioa  aadL 


i?6  0»  Dalt6n's  Theory  of  OketHkat  (Umpositim.       tKoT. 

ihwigemeat  of  Z8  Btoms  of  carbon  combined  with  35  of  o^ygetiy 
we  find  it  very  confused;  and  hence  we  may  reasonably  doubt 
whether  nature  ever  forms  such  combinations.  Upon  Mr.  Daltoa'a 
supposition,  however,  the  reason  for  the  agreements,  which  he  has 
pointed  outj  is  ob\TOUB.  It  should  be  observed,  that  the  agreement 
ra  the  first  stated  combination  of  three  elements,  in  three  different 
compounds,  is  quite  of  a  diOerent  kind  &om  that  of  the  combina- 
tion of  multiples  of  the  same  elements.  If  no  two  combinations  of 
the  same  elemeats  had  ever  been  found,  the  combination  of  three 
tiementSf  aa  ob^rved  in  the  first  three  compouiids,  might  still  hare 
Existed ;  and  Mr.  Dalton's  explanation  appears  to  be  the  only  one  ta 
which  such  phenomena  can  be  referred.  Respecting  the  fourth  and 
fifth  compounds,  it  may  be  questioned  whether  the  relative  weight 
(>f  an  atom  of  carbon  may  not  be  2'S  instead  of  5*6,  and  one  atnia 
of  carbon  be  anited  to  one  of  hydrc^en  in  the  composition  of  car- 
bureted hydrc^n,  and  one  atom  of  carbon  to  one  of  osygea  in  car- 
bonic acid.  tJpqn  thb  supposition,  then,  we  must  have  two  attHni 
-  if  carbon  united  to  one  of  hydrogen  in  olefiant  gas,  and  two  atoms 
0f  carbon  to  one  of  oxygen  in  carbonic  oxide. 

To  this  arraDgemcDt  Mr.  Dalton  offers  the  following  objections: 
1.  It  is  almost  universally  observed  in  chemical  compounds,  that 
<be  most  simple  are  the  most,  difficult  to  be  dnwmposed ;  and  car- 
Ixmic  oxide  being  much  more  difficult  to  be  decompceed  than  car- 
bonic acid,  we  cannot  consistently  suppose  the  latter  to  be  the  most 
simple  in  Its  composition.  If  we  attend  to  the  probable  mechanical 
iictions  of  the  elementary  atoms  on  each  other,  we  may  receive 
additional  confirmation  of  this  principle  of  composition.  In  the 
compression  of  elastic  fluids,  it  is  found  that  their  expansive  force 
IS  nearly  in  proportion  to  their  density ;  and  Sir  Isaac  Newton  has 
^emonstrsted  (Frincipia^  lib.  2,  prop.  23,)  that  if  such  fluids  are 
iiomposed  of  particles  mutually  repelling  each  other,  the  central 
distances  of  the  particles  are  redprocally  as  the  cube  roots  of  the 
densities  of  the  fiuids,  and  the  repelling  forces  of  the  particles  are 
f'eciprocally  as  their  central  distances.  If  we  suppose  this  law  of 
repulsion  to  continue  the  same  after  chemical  union  as  before,  the 
Union  of  two  or  more  particles  of  atoms  of  one  element  to  one  atom 
of  another,  cannot  be  so  strong  as  when  they  are  united  one  to  one. 
Fw  if  H  H  be  two  atoms  of  hydrogen 
attracted  by  C,  an  atom  of  carbon } 
and  if  H  and  H  mutually  repel  each 
other,  they  wilt  assume  positions  dla- 
inetricaliy  opposite  to  each  other,  and 
their  attraction  to  C  will  be  diminished 
^y  their  inutual  repulsion.  Now  if  we  ' 
suppose  A,  B,  D,  to  be  three  atoms  of  ^ 
hydrogen" united  to  C,  they  will 
a^me  positions  at  equal  distances  from  each  other  round  C.  Draw 
the  diameter  D  E,  join  C  A,  E  A,  and  A  D,  and  draw  C  P  per- 
{leAdicuIaf^  te  A  P,    The  repulsidn  o!  A  from  D  will  be  greater 


IBIS.)       On  Dallotft  fhnryi^ Chemical  CffH^iotUwn,  Sff 

than  it  would  be  if  A  weie  at  E,  in  the  ratio  of  D  E  to  P  A ;  and 
liy  the  compositioa  of  forces,  it  will  be  leu  in  the  directipD  of  C  A 
than  in  tW  of  DA,  in  the  ratio  of  AF  to  AC.  But  ADEand 
F  AC  being  sinilar  triangla,  AC  :  AF  ::D£  :  I>  A.  The  re- 
liulsioD  c^  A  from  D,  in  the  directioQ  C  A,  will  therefore  be  tbe 
same  at  whatever  point  in  tbe  circle  A  be  placed ;  and  the  repiHnMi  . 
c^  A  from  R-  in  the  direction  C  A  bein^  the  same  alio,  each  of  the 
three  atuma  A,  B,  ])»  will  be  repelled  from  C  with  twice  as  nnich 
force  as  when  only  two  atoms  are  united  to  C.  For  the  same 
reason,  when  four  atoms  are  united  to  C,  they  ml)  be  repelled  widi' 
three  times  as  much  force ;  and  to  on  for  any  greater  QumbCT  of 
atoms  united  to  C. 

2.  In  chemical  eompoundi  it  is  generally,  if  not  universally, 
observed,  that  an  increase  of  specific  gravity  is  a  consequence  of 
chemical  union ;  and  the  specific  gravity  of  carbonic  acid  bein^ 
greater  than  that  of  carbonic  oxide,  we  cannot  conustently  suppose 
tite  latter  to  be  twice,  and  the  former  only  once,  compounded. 

3.  It  rarely  happensthat  bodies  of  low  oxidation  are  acid,  and 
tliose  of  high  oxidation  not  acid.  The  fint  combination  of  a  body 
with  oxygen  produces  an  oxide ;  and  it  is  not  till  a  second  or  third 
addition  of  oxygen  is  made  that  the  characters  of  an  acid  are  foond 
in  the  compound.  We  cannot,  therefore,  consistently  BDj^x>se  car- 
bonic acid  to  be  the  lirst,  and  carbonic  oxide  the  second,  coDotMoa- 
tion  of  oxygen  with  cartxm. 

4.  In  comparing  the  varions  compositions  t^  carbon  with  other 
elements,  Mr,  Dalton  finds  that  the  combinations  of  tbe  dififerent 
atoms  would  be  much  more  complicated,  as  well  as  inconsistent  with 
each  other,  if  the  relative  weight  of  an  atom  of  carbon  were  sup- 
p<Med  to  be  28  instead  of  5-6. 

It  is  obvious,  indeed,  thai  the  agreements,  which  Mr.  Dalton  has 
pcnnted  out,  cannot  be  explained  by  any  arbitrary  assumption  of  tbe 
relative  weights  of  the  ultimate  divisions  of  chemical  elementa, 
which  enter  into  composition  with  each  other, 

?be  same  reasooing  applies  to  all  coroponnds  where  the  same 
agreements  are  observed ;  and  the  number  of  these,  established  by 
■ome  of  the  best  chemists  of  the  present  and  former  times,  is  so 
great  that  it  is  not  e^sy  to  refuse  assent  to  the  generalizaticm  of  Mr. 
Dalton's  principle  of  chemical  composition. 

It  is  true  tnere  are  several  compounds  which  appear  to  be  at 
variance  with  this  principle.  But  if  we  consider  the  extreme  diffi- 
culty of  separating  the  elements  of  some  chemical  compounds,  and 
the  uncertainty  which  must  in  many  cases  remain  respecting  what  is 
or  is  not  elementary,  we  cannot  in  the  present  state  of  the  science 
reasonably  expect  all  the  appearances  to  be  distinctly  explained. 

When  these  things  are  considered,  1  think  it  is  most  to  be  won- 
dered that  there  are  so  few  apparent  exceptions  to  the  law  which  has 
been  uofblded  by  Mr.  Dalton. 

1^  priQti^e,  aad  the  iacts  oa  viush  it  i>  founded;  arc  directly 


^78  Magnetiad  Oliservathv-  {Nov* 

is  opposidon  to  the  eitplanatioD  which  Bertbollet  has  attempted  tQ 
give  oif  chemical  affioity.  But  if  Bertliollet's  opinions  with  jegu-<t 
to  the  effect  of  quantity  on  what  he  unders&iDds  to  )k:  the  relative 
forces  of  chemical  afBnity  were  eslablislied,  not  only  Mr.  Dalton'i 
obserrattons,  but  almost  all  the  conclusions  of  chemists,  respecting 
composition,  would  be  overturned.  The  errors  of  BerthoUet,  how- 
'  ever,  have  been  distinctly  pointed  out  by  Proust  (Jour,  de  Phys.  lis. 
1804);  and  it  is  surprising  that  so  good  a  chemist,  and  so  accurate 
a  reasoner,  as  Berthollet,  should  have  mistaken  so  mapy  mecbanical 
misturei  for  chemical  compounds.  , 

The  agreemeDts  observed  by  tiay-Lussac  \a  the  relative  bulks  of 
gases  which  enter  into  combination  with  each  other  are  in  some  in- 
stances in  conformity  with  Mr.  Daltun's  observations  respecting 
their  relative  weighty.  In  other  instances,  when  he  states  certaia 
relations  to  exist  between  the  hulk  of  the  compound  and  its  ele- 
ments, he  is  at  variance  with  Mr.  Daltoo;  and  the  question  betweea 
them  can  be  determined  only  by  repeated  experiments. 

It  is  obvious,  however,  that  whatever  agreements  may  be  traced 
in  the  relative  bulks  of  the  elementary  gases,  all  such  proportions 
must  he  lost  when  the  gases  are  changed  into  fluids  or  solids, 

Mr.  Daltoo's  explanation  has  the  advantage  of  not  being  afiected 
by  the  specific  gravities  of  the  elements  or  of  the  compound}  and 
it  applies  equally  to  gases,  fluids,  and  solids. 


Article  VII. 

Magnet'ical  Olservatiom  at  Hackney  Wtch '  By  Col.  Beaufoy. 

LaUludr,SI°3S' 40-3"  North.      LoDgilade  Weil  in  Time  6"-^{^ 


Month. 

Morning  Obsery. 

Noon  ObMFT. 

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lo  deducing  the  mean,  the  observation  on  the  noon  of  the  SOtli 
and  26th,  and  the  observations  on  the  evening  of  the  27th,  28th^ 
29th,  and  30th,  are  rejected.  On  Sept.  26,  rain  fell.  On  the  27th, 
hard  rain,  with  thunder  and  strong  wind.  Sept,  29,  the  sky  was 
very  black  in  the  west,  and  hard  rain  fell  afterwards.  Sept,  30^ 
rain. 

■n  I     <  11      CBetween  noon  of  the  Im  Sepl.>  ,  .^^  .     . 

Evsporation  dnring  Ihe  lame  period S-600 


Article  VIII. 

Some  Remarks  on  the  Theory  of'  the  Equilibrium  of  Radiant  Heat, 
and  on  some  Difficulties  started  against  that  Tlmry.  By  M.  P. 
Prevost,  Professor  of  Philosophy  at  Geneva,  ♦ 

■  I.  In  the  Jnnals  of  Philosophy  fof  May,  1815,  vol.  v.  p.  338, 
there  is'  a  very  good  refntation  of  some  objections  to  the  theory  of 
the  equitibrium  of  radiant  heat.  The  objections  mentioDed  by  the 
author  of  that  memoir  (Mr.  Richard  Davenport)  are  three  in 
number. 

The  first,  extracted  from  the  new  Edinburgh  fincycjopsdia,  is 
announced  in  these  terms  :  "  On  this  hypothesis  a  hot  body  ought  to 
cool  more  slowly  when  it  b  placed  near  r  large  body  of  inferior 


'..lyGotK^k' 


SSO  On  the  Theory  of  the  (Nov. 

temperatnre  than  vhen  near  a  small  one  ;  because  in  the  former 
case  it  must  receive  mare  calorific  cmanatioBs  than  in  the  latter." 

"Ehe'  weond  is  repeated  in  the  same  wQrk  from  Mr.  Murraj.  It 
ii  drawn  from  the  difference  ia  the  radiation  of  two  bodies,  whose 
Rirfacea  are  different ;  such,  for  example,  as  a  metallic  sur&ce  and 
a  blackened  surface.  "  Of  different  surfaces  which  at  a  given  tem- 
pooature  radiate  difieient  quantities  of  caloric,  that  which  radiates 
least  Hpust  be  least  powerful  in  returning  caloric  to  the  thermonieter, 
md  must  therefore  liave  least  efiect  in  counteracting  the  reduction 
of  temperature."  And  in  applying  this  general  remark,  the  author 
of  the  objection  concludes  from  it,  tliat  if  the  theory  of  the  equili- 
brium were  true,  it  would  follow  that  the  btackened  surface  (which 
radiates  most)  ought  to  produce  a  tess  degree  of  cold  than  the  me-  . 
tallic  surface  (which  radiates  least). 

I  may  attempt  sliortly  to  explain  what  is  merely  hinted  at  in  the 
objection  such  as  I  have  transcribed  it.  Two  bodies  colder  than  the 
room  are  supposed,  I  conceive,  to  be  presented  to  ^  thermometer, 
one  of  them  terminated  by  a  metallic  surface,  the  other  by  a  black- 
ened surface.  It  is  known  that  the  blackened  body  will  soonest 
acquire  the  temperature  of  the  place,  and  therefore  will  sink  the 
thermometer  most  powerfully  during  the  time  of  its  heating.. 

The  author  of  the  objection  seems  to  think  that,  according  to  the 
theory  of  equilibrium,  the  contrary  ought  to  happen,  because  the 
black  body  radiates  more  powerfully  than  the  metallic  surface ;  and 
hecause  this  radiation,  in  part  compensating  the  loss  which  the  ther- 
mometer experiences  from  its  own  radiation,  ought  to  be  moet  effi- 
cacious in  that  of  the  two  bodies,  which  radiates  most  aliuodaotly. 

The  third  objection  is  likewise  by  Mr.  Murray.  It  is  drawn  from 
the  following  experiment,  A  conical  metallic  tube,  about  18  inches 
long,  one  inch  in  diameter  at  its  narrowest  extremity,  and  five 
inches  at  its  widest,  polished  internally,  so  as  to  make  a  good  re- 
jector, is  placed  in  a  horizontal  situation.  A  very  sensible  thermo- 
ineter  is^ced  at  the  widest  end,  and  a  matrass  full  of  ice  at  the 
other.  The  ^ermometer  sinks  a  very  little.  The  experiment  is  ' 
now  reversed ;  so  that  the  thermometer  occupies  the  nsrrow  end, 
while  the  matrass  is  placed  at  the  widest  extremity.  In  this  case 
the  thermometer  sinks  much  more  rapidly  than  in  the  preceding. 
This  Blears  to  the  author  of  the  objection  incompatible  with  the 
theory  of  the  equilibrium  ;  doubtless  because  he  conceives  that  the 
calorific  rays  ought  to  be  condensed  in  the  second  situation  of  the 
tube,  and  thereby  render  the  cooling  of  the  thermometer  less,  sen- 
sible. 

This  experiment  originated  with  Count  Rumford  (Memoir  on 
Heat,  1804,  p.  146) ;  and  he  proposed  it  as  a  proof  of  the  frigo- 
riSc  undulations,  which  he  admitted,  and  which  he  compared  to  the 
sonorous  waves.  This  objection  may  be  proposed  in  a  much  more 
aimple  ft»m.  In  a  place  where  the  temperature  is  uniform,  let  a 
thermometer  be  presented  to  the  narrow  end  of  the  tnbe :  no  riit 

r,.-A-..>yGoogk- 


1815.^  Eqidlibrium  of  Radiant  Heat,  381 

wliatever  will  ensue.  Those  who  make  the  preceding  objecticQ 
ou^t  to.be  astonished  at  this  result,  and  to  blame  the  theory  for 
IKK  exphuniDg  it. 

Maay  other  objections  may  be  started,  and  have  indeed  beea 
raised,  in  consequence  of  the  same  imperfect  and  erroneous  concep- 
tions. I  shall  only  mention  one,  which,  like  the  preceding,  baa 
only  become  known  to  me  by  means  of  a  good  refutation. 

The  refiitation  is  by  M.  Tremery,  who  has  inserted  it  in  thtp 
Noutfean  Bulletin  des  Sciences  (Aofil^  1813,  No.  71,  p.  323) :  and 
the  objection,  the  author  of  which  he  does  not  name,  is  relative  b) 
the  reflection  of  cold  by  means  of  two  concave  mirrors.  It  it 
known  that  the  theory  of  the  equilibrium  explains  the  result  of  this 
experiment  respecting  the  reflection  of  cold  with  the  same  ^ility 
■a  it  does  the  reflection  of  beat.  It  is  needless  to  state  this  part  M 
the  theory,  which  ia,  I  believe,  pretty  generally  known. 

To  this  explanation  it  is  objected,  that  the  matrass  of  ice  or  snoir 
placed  at  one  of  the  foci,  being  supposed  to  radiate,  ought  to  send 
by  double  reflection  some  rays  to  the  thermometer  placed  in  the 
'  other  focus.  If  the  mirrors  were  withdrawn,  these  rays  would  be 
dissipated,  and  would  not  come  to  the  thermometer.  Tfaereibre 
when  the  mirrors  are  removed,  the  thermometer  ought  to  sink,  and 
it  ought  to  rise  again  when  the  mirrors  are  replacec^  which  is  cod- 
tiaiT  to  the  matter  of  fact. 

IL  These  objections  have  been  foreseen  and  refuted  long  ago,  ia 
a  work  entitled  Da  Calorique  Raybnnant,  which  I  published  la 
1609  (at  Geneva  and  in  Paris ;  Paschoud).  Some  of  them  are 
even  peculiarly  answered,  particularly  that  one  drawn  from  the  ex- 

ririment  with  ti\e  conical  tube  (Du  Calorique  Rayonnant,  $  113). 
have  therefore  only  to  refer  to  that  work.  But  as  philosopher* 
occupied  with  this  subject  have  been  obliged  to  enter  into  consider- 
able details  in  order  to  get  rid  of  these  difficulties,  started  frequently 
without  anj  regard  to  the  previous  solutions  of  them,  it  will  not  b^ 
tintbout  utility  to  state  here  as  simply  as  possible  the  principles  oa 
which  the  theory  depends,  and  on  which  the  answers  to  these  objec- 
tions d^Ktid.  These  principles  are  at  bottom  the  same  as  those 
explained  by  Messrs,  Tremery  and  Davenpcsl ;  and  I  shall  state 
them  more  shortly,  and  perhaps  more  generally. 

1.  I  luppose  that  constitution  of  caloric  which  agrees  best  with 
the  phenomena  of  radiation  to  be  known  and  admitted.  It  is  a  dis> 
Crete  fluid,  every  particle  of  which  moves  mpidly  in  a  straight  line. 
These  particles  go,  one  in  one  direction,  and  another  in  another ; 
to  that  every  sensible  point  of  the  hot  space  is  a  centre,  from  which, 
depart}  and  to  which  arrive,  rows  of  particles  or  calorific  rays. 

2.  A  reflector  in  a  place  of  uniform  temperature  sends  odther 
more  nor  fewer  calorific  rays  than  another  body. — In  fact,  the  re- 
fl«:tor  will  not  he  called  of  the  temperature  of  the  place  till  the 
isserrion  which  I  have  just  made  be  verified ;  and  in  a  short  time 
tins  cannot  Ml  to  haj^n  firom  the  laws  of  the  equilibrium  of  heat. 

As  \a  the  thermometrical  eflee^  it  is  of  no  consequence  whether 

Cookie 


382  '      On  the  Theory  of  the'  '^cft. 

the  rays  passing  from  the  body  be  transmitled  (that  is  to  say,  ema^ 
hated  frdm  the  interior  Of  the  body,]  or  reflected.  If  the  reflectoi^ 
is  perfect,  the  whole  current  is  cooiposed  of  raflected  rays ;  if  it  is 
imperfect,  it  is  composed  of  reflected  and  transmitted  rays. 

The  most  con^renient  way  of  representing  to  oneself  an  ioiper' 
feci  reflector  is  to  conceive  its  surface  decomposed  into  two  parts, 
one  of  which  is  9  perfect  reflector,  while  the  other  does  not  reflect 
tx  all. 

~  We  must  here  apply  the  laws  of  the  reflection  of  light.  In  par- 
ticular we  must  observe  that  the  surface  reflects  inwards  as  well  as 
outwards. 

3.  Every  calorific  ray  which  a  body  sends  by  emission  or  by  re-* 
Jection,  only  replaces  another  ray^  which  would  take  the  same 
tUrection  if  the  body  were  withdrawn.*  This  is  a  necessary  result 
of  the  constiiutioQ  of  caloric;  for  whatever  be  the  direction  of  the 
rays  emitted  or  reflected,  there  is  one  which  follows  the  same  route^ 
^nd  which  the  body  intercepts. 

4.  It  follows  from  this,  I.  That  in  a  place  of  uniform  tempera- 
ture, a  reflector  of  whatever  form  does  not  affect  a  thermometer 
subjected  to  its  influence.  2.  That  if  it  reflect  rays  emanated  from 
fa  body  more  or  less  hot  than  the  place,  it  will  raise  or  depress  re- 
spectively the  thermometer  subjected  to  its  influence. 

.  III.  The  application  of  these  principles  to  the  objections  detailed 
offers  DO  difBcuIty.  lict  us  take  for  an  example  the  first  two  objec- 
tions stated  in  the  New  Edinburgh  Encyclopaedia. 

1.  A  hot  body,  it  is  said,  ought  to  cool  slower  beforea  large  cold 
body  than  before  a  small. 

'fhe  objector  forgets  that  each  of  the  rays  which  the  cold  body 
(ends  merely  replaces  the  ray  which  the  cold  body  intercepts.  The 
intercepted  ray  being  hotter  than  that  whicli  comes  in  its  place,  it  is 
easy  to  see  that  the  more  of  these  substitutions  take  place  (or,  in 
other  words,  the  larger  the  cold  body  is)  tlie  greater  will  the  cooling 
effect  bci, 

2.  Two  bodies,  the  one  with  a  metallic,  the  other  with  a  black- 
ened, surface,  are  presented  to  a  thermometer.  It  is  alleged  that 
the  t)lackened  body  ought  to  cool  the  thermometer  least,  because  it 
radiates  most. 

"  Here  the  objector  has  not  thought  of  the  portion  of  radiant  heat 
which  these  bodies  give  out  by  reflection.  This  portion  is  aoi 
changed  by  the  change  of  temperature  of  the  body.  It  subsists 
quite  entire.  The  portion  emitted  only  is  diminished.  Therefore 
by  the  same  diminution  of  temperature,  that  one  of  the  bodies 
which  emits  the  most  (the  blackened  sur^ce)  ought  to  radiate  least; 
that  otie,  on  the  contrary,  which  is  the  best  reflector  (the  metallic 
surface)  ought  to  radiate  most,  which  is  conformable  to  expeHencel 

■  II  is  to  be  nnderstond  that  we  speak  of  a  hot  place,  that  ii  fa  sa;,  where 
caloric  rodiatea.  If  Ibe  Interesting  t>od<r  is  of  the  BBiae  temperalnre  with  tN 
place,  the  la;  which  it  replaces  is  equal  to  ilielf.  If  not,  lbi(  lay  «r  row  at 
pirticlei,  ii  more  or  less  abuDdaot  ia  caloiic. 

.  r,...A-..>yGoogIe 


1815.]  EquUH/rmm  of  Radhni  Heat.  5«r 

Thb  is  explained  Id  the  «ork  cited  above.     (Du  Calorique  Rayon- 
nant,  §  121.) 

A  good  method  gf  judging  of  this  eSect  is  to  take  an  extreme 
-  case.  Let  us  suppose  the  body  to  be  a  perfect  reflector.  In  thiy 
case  the  internal  cooling  of  the  body  would  make  ho  alteration  in 
Us  radiation.  The  thermometer  exposed  to  its  influence  would  not 
be  aSected  by  it,  la  fact,  before  the  cooling,  the<  tempeTature 
Ixdng  uniform,  the  body  would  radiate  by  reflection,  and  this  radia- 
tion would  be-precisely  equal  to  that  of  all  the  bodies  in  the  same: 
place  :  and  since  it  is  supposed  a  perfect  reflector,  it  would  not  emit 
any  heat.  Every  thing  continues  the  same  after  the  interior  cooling 
of  this  reflectipg  body. 

I  confine  myself  to  these  two  objections.  TTiey  are  sufficient  for 
pmnting  out  the  method  of  answermg  all  the  other)'. 

Thus  it  appears  that  in  order  to  be  able  to  refute  objections  of  this 
nhture,  nothing  more  is  necessary  than  to  undentand  well  the 
theory  against  which  they  are  made.  Those  who  have  been  struck 
with  these  objections  without  sufiiciently  examining  this  theory  ; 
and  in  particular  the  celebrated  philosophers  who  have  given  them 
Sveight  by  inserting  them  in  their  works,  ivill  probably  And  it  just 
and  useful  to  insert  also  the  answers  to  them,  if  they  appear  to 
them,  as  they  do  to  me,  perfectly  satisfactory. 

IV.  It  is  doubtless  very  useful  that  the  objections  which  occur  to 
philosophers  against  a  probable  theory  should  be  explained  at  some 
length,  and  laid  before  those  who  are  examining  ihat  theory.  Tfae 
consequence  is  a  discussion  which  must  he  of  advantage  to  the  side 
of  truth.  It  is  therefore  always  with  a  kind  of  gratitude  that'  I  meet 
Vrith  such  objections  against  the  equilibrium  of  heat :  and  1  expe- 
yience  a  kind  of  dissatisfaction  when  I  meet  with  mere  indications 
of  some  difficulty,  without  its  being  possible  for  me  to  divine  in 
vrhat  they  consist.  Time  is  lost  in  seeking  for  them.  One  runs  the 
risk  of  being  deceived ;  and  it  may  easily  happen  that  when  we 
think  we  are  untying  the  knot,  we  are  only  pursuing  useless  re- 
searches without  an  6bject.  In  my  Treatise  on  Caloric  (p.  9S,  note) 
I  have  given  an  example  of  this  kind  of  uncertainty. 

More  recently  I  have  been  in  an  equal  state  of  uncertainty  on 
reading  a  note  in  p.  105  of  the  excellent  work  of  Dr.  Wells  OQ 
Dew.  Few  works  have  so  much  interested  me ;  few,  I  believe, 
show  more  completely  the  genius  for  observation  and  the  love  of 
truth.  I  could  not,  therefore,  be  indifferent  to  the  opinion  of  sO 
distinguished  an  author  respecting  an  explanation  connected  with 
the  theory  of  the  equilibrium  of  heat,  which  I  still  consider  as  cor^ 
rect.  The  note  to  which  I  allude  is  as  follows: — 
■  "  1  once  intended  to  add  here  an  explanation  of  some  curious 
observations  by  M.  Prevost,  of  Montauhan,*  on  dew,  which  were 
published  first  by  himself  in  the  44th  No.  of  the  ,French  Annals  of 


n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


S64  Gnthi  Hutmj  of  ih  [Nov^ 

Cbeibiftrjr,  and  sfierwards  by  M.  Frevost,  of  Gtten,  In  his  Eswj^ 
on  Radiant  Heat ;  but,  fearing  to  be  very  tedious^  I  have  since 
pven  up  the  design.  1  will  say,  however,  that  if  t^  what  is  now 
generally  known  oa  the  different  mcxies  in  whlfeh  hesi  h  communi- 
cated from  one  body  to  another,  be  added  the  two  following  circum- 
stances, that  subsUmces  become  colder  than  the  air  before  they 
'  attract  dew,  and  that  bright  metals  when  exposed  to  a  clear  sky  at 
night  become  colder  than  the  air  much  less  readily  than  other  bo- 
dies, the  whole  of  the  sppearauces  observed  by  M-  Preroat  may  be 
easily  accounted  for." 

Dr.  Wells  having' under  his  inspection  my  treatise  on  radiant 
heat,  the  principles  of  which  he  has  adopted,  could  not  but  have 
read  my  explanation  of  the  curious  phenomena  observed  by  my 
relation,  and  which  this  last  Gentleman  has  adopted.  Since,  then, 
in  the  above  note,  the  author  speaks  of  the  exphuiarion  of  these  phe<^ 
Domena  as  still  to  seek  for,  it  would  seem  that  mine  did  not  appear 
satisfectory  to  him.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  dirine  what  &ult  be 
finds  with  it ;  and  I  mentioa  the  subject  here  in  order  to  be  informed 
of  this  particular,  and  to  draw  the  attentioD  of  philosophers  to  it< 
What  embarrasses  roe  most  is,  that  my  explanation  is  founded  on 
the  very  same  principles  which  the  author  announces  would  have 
lieen  his  own.  Though  this  subject  be  known  and  explained  ta 
works  within  the  reach  of  every  man  of  acience,  I  trust  I  shall  be 
excused  for  dwelling  upon  it  a  little  here. 

The  phenomenon  is  this.  Two  masses  of  air  of  unequal  tempe* 
ratures  being  separated  from  each  other  by  a  plate  of  glass,  if  wfi 
apply  a  leaf  of  metal  on  one  of  the  faces  of  the  glass  plate,  the 
.  face  opposite  to  this  leaf  attracts  or  repels  humidity  according  as  the 
metallic  leaf  is  on  the  hot  or  the  cold  side  respectively.  The  ex-> 
planatioo  consists  in  conceiving  the  naked  side  of  the  glass  thus 
covered  as  a  vessel  {impoele)  destined  to  be  dried,  and  the  metal  as 
9  screen.  If  the  screen  is  put  upon  the  hot  side,  the  vessel  cools, 
and  humidity  accumulates  on  the  naked  glass  on  the  cold  side.  If 
the  screen  is  on  the  cold  side,  it  prevents  the  heat  from  being  dissi- 
pated after  traversing  the  glass,  and  consequently  the  vessel  be 
comes  hot,  and  the  humidity  disappears  from  the  naked  glass  on  the 
hot  side.  1  found  this  explanation  on  the  property  wliicn  metal  hat 
of  reflecting  seven  or  eight  times  more  caloric  than  glass.  (D« 
Calorique  Hayonnant,  §§  195,  etsuiv.)  If  any  attention  be  paid 
to  this  subject,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  principles  of  this  explanatioa 
differ  in  nothing  from  those  of  Dr.  Wells.  But  no  doubt  he  em- 
ploys them  in  a  different  way  from  me ;  and  I  am  really  impatient 
to  know  in  what  this  difference  consists. 

V.  I  have  nothing  further  to  say  on  the  principal  object  of  this 
memoir,  which  was  to  reduce  to  very  simple  principles  the  tmsvfex 
to  some  objections  against  the  equilit^um  of  heat.  But  I  shall  take 
an  Importunity  of  making  a  remark  on  a  set  of  experiments  con- 
nected with  this  theory,  published  by  M.  Ruhland  in  the  Jour,  de 
Hiys.  fi»  Nov.  18IS.    A  part  of  these  experiments  proves  directlj 

n,,:-A-..>yGoogIe 


18IC.]  Analyses  of  Books.  385 

the  equilibrium  of  Iicat  in  a  state  of  UDiform  temperature,  as  the 
ttuthor  iiioisdf  lias  observed.  la  fact,  these  experiments  sho*  us 
the  evaporttiion  of  camphor  hy  the  radiation  of  different  hodies  pro- 
portional lo  the  greater  or  smaller  disposition  of  these  bodies  to 
radiate,  evco  when  the  temperature  is  uniform ;  or,  in  other  terms, 
even  when  the  equilibrium  of  caloric  exists.  Hence  it  follows  that 
radiation  exists  escD  in  this  state  of  equilibrium.  This  direct  expe- 
riment seems  to  confirm  in  a  satisfactory  manner  the  numerous 
ai;guiucnts  in  favour  of  the  tlieory  of  the  equilibrium  of  lieat. 

The  memoir  of  M..  Ruhlaod  contains  several  other  interesting 
facts,  whjch  appear  to  me  to  6ow  directly  from  the  general  law!^  of 
heat.  For  example,  -lamp-black,  which  is  known  to  be  one  of  the 
most  poweiful  radiators  of  heat,'  sublimes  or  evaporates  cainphor 
very  rapidly.  But  if  a  metallic  plate  is  placed  over  the  lamp-black, 
the  evaporation  is  immediately  retarded.  Tlie  caloric  of  the  inferior 
strau  is  intercepted  hy  this  screen,  or  by  this  change  of  medium. 

I  do  not  choose  to  enter  into  further  detail?  on  this  subject,  which 
is  beyond  the  particular  point  of  theory  that  1  was  anxious  to  illus- 
trate. 


Article   IX. 
AKrAi.TSE5  OF  Books. 

Hints  for  establishing  an  Office  in  Neu,castle  for  collecling  arid 
recording  authentic  Information  relative  lo  the  Stale  of  the  CoU 
tieries  in  its  Neighbourhood,  and  tite  Progress  that  has  been  made 
towards  ascertaining  the  Nature  and  Constitution  of  Ike  Strata  below 
those  Seams  lo  which  the  IVorkings  in  this  Cmmtry  hove  been  con^ 
fined.  'Rj  Wra.  Thomas,  Esq.  Fo  which  are  added.  Observations 
on  the  Necessity  of  adopting  kgislaiive  Measures  lo  diminish  the 
probability  of  the  recurrence  of  fatal  Accidents  in  Collieries,  and  lo 
prolong  the  Duration  of  the  Coal  Mines  of  the  United- Kingdums* 
By  Wm.  Chapman,  Esq.  Civil  Engineer.  Beine  two  Essays  read 
at  a  Meeting  of  the  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society  <f  New- 
castle-4ipon-Tynej  and  published  by  order  of  the  Society.      1815. 

This  pamphlet  contains  a  proposal  to  establish  a  Society  in  New- 
castle-upon-Tyne, by  whom  all  the  facts  respecting  the  collieries  on 
the  Tyne  and  Wear  are  to  be  collected  and  registered.  When  a 
colliery  is  abandoned,  an  exact  plan  of  it  is  to  be  constructed,  ex- 
hibiting those  pwis  in  which  the  coals  have  been  wrought  but,  and 
those  in  which  they  have  been  abandoned.  The  consequence  of 
this  plan  would  be  that  by  degrees  a  complete  knowledge  of  all  the 
underground  workings  would  be  acquired.  It  is  obvious  that  all  the 
abandoned  collieries  must  be  filled  with  water,  and  that  unless  an 
exact  knowledge  of  them  is  obtained,  it  must  become  more  and 
more  difficult  every  year  to  sink  new  pits.     Indeed  the  time  must 

Vol.  VI,  N°  V.  2  8'  ^  r 


S86  Analyses  of  ^oois.  [Nov, 

come  ffhen  the  mining  for  coals  must  be  abandoned  Rltogetlier,  for 
want  of  such  knowledge.  Mr.  Chapman  gives  ejcamples  of  great 
expense  already  incurred  ia  vain,  merely  from  not  knowing  what 
part  of  the  coal-bed  had  been  wrought  out.  But  when  the  whole 
high  main  shall  have  been  exhausted,  it  will  be  necessary  to  have 
recourse  to  the  low  main.  Now  this  will  be  hardly  possible  without 
an  exact  knowledge  of  the  workings  of  the  high  main.  Here  and 
there  considerable  bodies  of  coal  are  left  for  the  safety  of  the  miners 
and  the  good  of  the  mine.  Through  these  bodies  it  wt^ld  be  po»> 
sible  to  penetrate  to  the  low  main  without  the  risk  of  being  inun- 
dated by  water ;  but  this  cannot  be  done  unless  the  exact  position 
of  these  bodies  of  coal  be  known. 

Mr.  Chapman  has  shown  that  such  a  plan,  though  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  good  of  the  country,  can  never  be  executed  with* 
out  the  interference  of  the  Legislature.  Indeed  this  is  sufficiently 
obvious.  The  proprietors  of  the  collieries,  from  mistaken  views  ^n 
self  interest,  are  anxious  to  conceal  every  fact  which  they  observe 
from  the  public.  Hence  it  is  quite  devious  that  they  will  never  of 
their  own  accord  form  such  a  society  as  Is  described  in  the  pamphlet 
before  us ;  and  that  if  such  a  society  be  formed  by  others,  they  will 
communicate  no  information  to  it  unless  compelled  by  an  Act  of 
Parliament.  As  to  the  coal  viewers,  they  appear  to  be  averse  to  alt 
publicity  and  all  changes  in  the  present  mode  of  working  the  col- 
lieries. This  I  conclude  from  a  fact  which  I  certainty  should  not 
have  believed  a  priori.  Though  several  hundred  colliers  lose  their 
lives  every  year  by  explosions  of  carbureted  hydrogen,  and  tboDglt 
they  have  been  expressing  a  great  anxiety  to  discover  a  mode  of  de- 
stroying this  gas,  not  one  of  them  has  ever  thought  of  trying  tli« 
lamp  of  Br.  Reid  Clanny,  of  Sunderland,  though  a  model  of  it  hat 
been  within  their  iuspection  for  several  years,  aud  though  there 
cannot  be  {he  least  doubt  that  it  would  effectually  prevent  all  such 
accidents..  They  may  perhaps  allege  that  it  is  more  expensive  tbwi 
the  present  mode  of  Hglitlng  the  mines.  I  should  like  to  know  at 
what  they  estimate  the  lives-  of  300  or  400  men  ;  or  what  additional 
'  expense  to  the  country  it  is  to  support  the  widows  and  children  of  so 
many  workmen  that  have  perished  in  their  service,  because  they  did 
not  choose  to  increase  the  expense  of  lighting  their  mines.  But 
setting  this  aside,  if  we  consider  the  damage  often  done  by  tliese 
explosions,  aod  the  money  requisite  to  put  the  mine  in  order  again, 
I  am  not  sure  if  the  dlfierencc  of  expense  would  not  be  in  favour 
of  Dr.  Clanny's  koip.  Besides,  nothing  would  be  more  easy  than 
to  substitute  coal  gas  for  oil ;  and  a  small  steam-engioe  might  easily 
be  made  to  supply  all  the  lamps  with  the  requisite  quantity  of  air. 
Such  a  substitution  would  make  the  lamps  cheaper  than  the 'present 
mode  of  lighting  the  mines;  and  it  would  have  the  unspeakable 
advantage  of  preventing  all  deaths  from  the  explosion  of  carbureted 
hydrogen  gas.  What  excuse  or  apology  can  the  proprietors  of  the 
mines  aud  the  coal-viewers  make  for  never  having  made  a  single 
.■l<«mpt  to  improve  the  present  wretched  and  absurd  mode  of  light- 


1 815.]  Vroceedmgt  of  Phibsophtcal  Softest  387 

ing  their  mines  after  other  and  better  methods  have  been  si^gvsted 
to  them  i  One  wonid  be  tempted  to  suppose  them  entire);  regird- 
less  of  the  lives  of  their  woHtmea. 

The  Litem;  and  Pbilosophica]  Society  of  Newcastle-upon-T^ 
sbould  apply  to  the  county  mcmben  of  Northumberland  and  Dnr- 
tmn,  and  to  the  diSerent  members  for  borough  withto  these  couik 
ties,  to  lay  the  case  before  the  House  of  Commons,  and  represent 
tite  necemty  of  legislative  interference  in  mtler  to  preserve  to  the 
country  the  great  beo^ts  arisiog  from  the  collieries  on  the  Tyoe  and 
V^ear.  There  can  be  no  doobt  that  an  Act  of  Parliament  would 
be  readily  procured,  est^lbhing  an  institution  similar  to  that  pro- 
posed in  the  pamphlet  before  us.  Jt  would  be  better  that  no  f«c9 
were  exacted  for  liberty  of  inspecting  the  plans,  or  at  lea^t  the; 
should  be  trifling ;  for  such  things  are  extremely  liable  to  be  abused^ 
and  to  destroy  Uie' object  in  view. 

In  all  pans  of  Europe,  where  mining  has  been  carried  to  a  gtVat 
degree  of  perfection,  it  has  been  under  the  inspection  and  controul 
of  Govennnent.  Iliat  coal-mines  should  be  in  this  firedicament, 
and  that  exact  plans  should  be  preserved  of  all  the  excavations,  and 
et  all  the  coals  left,  is  too  obvious  to  require  any  illustration. 


Article  X. 
Proceedings  of  Philosophical  Societies, 

BOIAt   INSTTTUTB  OF   FHANCB. 

Account  of  the  Lalovrs  of  the  Class  of  Mathematical  and  PhfsicAl 
Sciences  of  the  Royal  Institute  of  France  dwtng  the  Year  \SW, 

I.  Physical  Department.    By  M.  le  Chevalier  Cuvter,  Perpetual 
Secretary. 

(fimittnucd  from  p.  9SS.) 

M.  Risso,  author  of  the  Ichthyology  of  Nice,  has  sent  to  the 
Class  a  supplement  to  that  work,  in  which  he  describes  several  fisha 
that  be  was  not  acquainted  with  when  he  published  his  work.  Somt 
^f  these  are  very  interestipg,  by  the  peculiarities  of  their  character 

■M.  lAmouroux  has  extended  and  completed  his  great  work  or 
the  polypi  history,  of  which  we  have  spoken  two  years  ago,  and  i 
is  to  be  hoped  that  he  will  soon  publish  it. 

M.  Magefldie's  fine  experiments  on  vomiting  wilt  be  recollected 
and  the  invitation  by  the  Class  to  examine  the  part  which  th 
oesophagus  may  have  in  this  disorderly  movement  of  the  stomacL 
Though  these  researches  have  not  yet  led  to  a  decisive  result,  the 
appeared. to  him  aufGciently  interesting  to  be  communicated. 

The  alternate  coBtractimis  and  relaxations  of  the  oesophagi 
3  B  2 

r,.:-A-..>yGoogk- 


388  Proceedings  of  PhUmopkical  Societies.  [MoT. 

appear  to  faim  to  take  place  only  in  the  lowest  third  of  it^  wIkk  it 
is  chiefly  evcited  by  the  nerves  of  the  wghth  pair.  The  contracti<m 
increases  much,  aod  continues  a  long  time,  when  ttie  stomach  is 
fill).  When  the  oesophagus  is  cut  and  detached  from  the  diapbragnt, 
the  injection  of  t^nar  emetic  into  the  veins  does  not  produce 
voraitmg  :  its  introduction  info  the  stomach  becomes  necessary. 

M.  Delpech,  Professed'  of  Surgery  at  MontpelHer,  lias  sent  a 
memtur  to  the  Class  on  the  hospital  sore,  a  kind  of  gangrene  which 
affects  the  sores  when  the  wounded  patients  are  too  numerous.  He 
has  ascertained  that  this  dreadful  malady,  of  which  few  practiiionerB 
have  spoken,  is  produced  hy  a  local  contagion.  It  is  profmgsted  by 
the  linen,  the  charpee,  and  the  instruments.  Its  progress  is  slower 
when  the  patients  can  be  exposed  to  a  current  of  ak-.  The  most 
minute  attention  to  cleanliness  is  necessary  to  prevent  it  from 
spreading.  But  the  only  true  remedy,  according  to  M.  Delpech, 
&  the  application  of  the  actual  cautery  to  the  parts  affected  with  it. 

Some  years  ago  M.  Mauuoir,  surgeon  in  Geneva,  sent  a  memoir 
on  the  advantages  of  the  method  of  amputation  invented  in  Eng- 
land, and  which  consists  in  cutting  the  skio  lower  down  than  the 
bone  and  the  muscles,  so  as  to  preserve  a  sufficient  quantity  to 
cover  the  stump,  by  bringing  it  immediately  in  contact. 
'  M.  Roux,  surgeon  at  Paris,  has  presented  a  memoir  on  the  same 
subject,  in  which  he  has  shown  from  his  own  experiments  that  this 
method  diminishes  the  sufferings  of  the  patient,  that  it  prevents 
haemorrhages  and  sumuration,  that  it  greatly  accelerates  the  cure 
of  the  sore,  and  that  it  leaves  the  stump  in  a  more  convenient  state^ 
and  subject  to  fewer  accidents.  He  points  out  the  precauttons  neces- 
sary to  avoid  some  iu conveniences  ascribed  to  it  by  those  who  per- 
formed it  ill,  and  particularly  to  afford  the  blood  and  pus,  if  any  be 
formed,  a  sufficient  passage.  M.  Percy,  our  associate,  who  em- 
ployed it  since  his  youth,  and  who,  as  he  informs  us  himself,  has 
had  the  melancholy  advantage  of  amputating  more  limbs  than 
perhaps  any  suigeon  that  ever  existed,  expresses  strongly  in  his 
report  his  wish  that  the  memoir  of  M.  Roux  may  soon  render  so 
useful  a  process  general. 

Two  young  surgeons  of  Paris,  MM.  Lisfrand  and  Champenne, 
have  made  known  their  method  of  amputating  the  arm  at  its  upper 
joint,  one  of  fhe  most  difficult  operations  in  the  surgical  art.  By 
making  the  instrument  penetrate  under'the  two  eminences  of  the 
omoplate,  called  acromion  and  coracoid  process,  they  reach  directlf 
the  capsule  of  the  joint,  and  terminate  the  operation  more  quickly 
than  by  any  of  the  methods  employed  before  them. 

M.  de  Saissy^  surgeon  at  Lyons,  has  cured  several  deaf  people  by 
injections  Into  the  cavity  of  the  tympanum,  through  the  tube  of 
Kustachius.  He  has  sent  to  the  Class  an  account  of  his  method,  and 
the  history  of  the  cures  which  he  has  performed. 

The  treatise  on  poisons  by  M.  Drfila,  of  which  we  annouDced  the 
first  volume  in  our  last  year*^  report,  has  been  continued,  and  tlie 
second  volume  submitted  to  the  Class  in  manuscript,    ft  treats  of 


18L5.]  Rot/al  Institute  of  France,  389 

the  deleterious  effects  of  preparations  of  tin,  zinc^  silver,  gold,  oi 
ihe  concentTBted  mitieral  acids,  the  caustic  alkalies,  ph(»pliorus, 
caatharide«,  lead,  and  iodine ;  together  with  an  appendix  on  the 
antidotes  of  corrosive  sublimate  ^nd  arsenic.  The  author  explains 
with  care,  and  from  new  and  exact  experiments,  the  physiological 
eSects  of  these  substances,  whether  swallowed,  or  injected  into  the 
veiDs. 

Milk,  according  to  M.  Orfila,  is  the  antidote  to  muriate  of  tin ; 
com oioa  salt,  to  nitrate  of  sileer  or  lunar  caustic;  calcined  cnag- 
nesia,  to  the  acids,  provided  it  be  administered  very  quickly  j  the 
flulphatea-of  soda  and  magnesia,  when  lakeo  in  great  quantity  and 
repeatedly,  atop  the  effects  of  the  salts  of  lead  and  barytes;  and  acetic 
acid  is  the  remedy  against  the  action  of  the  alkalies, 

M.  Orfila  shows  that  charcoal,  ^hich  had  been  recommended 
against  corrosive  sublimate  and  arsenic,  has  no  effect.  It  is  of  great 
importance  to  know  the  inefficacy  of  a  remedy  a^inst  evils  so  rapid 
that  there  is  no  time  to  bestow  upon  them  any  thing  useless. 

M.  Huzard  has  carefully  Informed  the  Class  of  the  progress  nod 
terroiDatioo  of  that  terrible  disease  which  has  destroyed  most  of  the 
homed  oattle  in  those  provinces  into  which  the  war  brought  tB 
ravages.  It  is  a  bilious  and  putrid  fever,  very  coutagious,  which, 
though  it  does  not  exist  in  Hungary,  is  always  produced  whea  the 
cattle  of  that  country  are  carried  to  adistance  m  the  train  of  arwiest 
-The  total  interruptiob  of  communication  was  the  only  efficacious 
}»eservative ;  but  no  remedy  was  capable  of  saving  the  individuals 
attacked.  Fortunately  their  flesh  was  not  unhealthy,  which  dimi- 
nished a  little  the  ruin  of  their  prt^rietore. 

The  same  member  has  read  a  notice  on  a  disease  which  had  broken 
out  among  the  cattle  in  the  village  of  Uosny,  and  which  different 
circumstances  led  the  people  to  consider  as  hydrophobia.  He  ascer-  , 
tainxd  that  it  was  only  a  gangrenous  quiiicy. 

M,  le  Marquis  de  Cubieres,  correspondent,  lias  composed  a  work, 
the  manuscript  of  which  he  has  submitted  to  the  Class.  It  treats  oi 
the  culture  of  those  gardens  which  we  call  improperly  EngliUi 
gardens,  though  the  celebrated  comic  actor  Dufresny  passes  for 
having  presented  the  first  model  of  them  to  France  towards  the  end 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  The  author  collects  all  the  aids  of 
'  botany  aqd  natural  philosophy  to  an  art,  which  has  long  amused  his 
leisure  hours,  and  explains  them  in  the  elegant  style  naturally  in- 
spired by  his  subject,  and  snitable  to  those  to  whom  chiefly  he 
destines  his  book. 

M.  Tollard,  farmer  and  merchant  at  Paris,  has  proposed  some 
compositions  of  artificial  meadows,  formed  of  certain  plants  which 
he  associates  in  consequence  of  the  habit  that  tbey  have  of  growing 
tc^ther,  and  with  a  view  to  the  di^rent  soils,  and  to  the  qualities 
which  these  plants  communicate  to  the  bay.  These  groupes  re- 
quire to  be  tried  for  some  years  before  they  can  be  recommended  for 
{ffaciice. 

.'  Tlie  same  author  has  preseuted  a  history  of  the  useful  vegetables, 
7  V;!'-' 


S90  Pmctedings  of  PhUosopfucal  Societies^  [Nov. 

which  have  been  intiodyced  withia  these  ten  yean  into  French 
BgricuUure ;  and  9  particular  memoir  on  the  daklia,  a  plant  oewlj 
spread  over  our  gardens,  lis  flower  constitutes  a  fine  oroaDieot,  and 
iu  roots  are  larger,  and  almost  as  good'  for  food  as  those  of  the 
potatoe. 

'  Among  the  buds  of  trees  there  are  some  which  do  not  spread  out 
with  the  others,  and  which  ^re  called  dead  eyes,  but  which  should 
rather  he  called  sleeping  eyes ;  for  they  may  be  brought  out  of  that 
lethargy  even  a^er  it  has  continued  for  several  years.  It  is  generally 
owing  to  the  tendency  of  the  sap  to  go  to  the  superior  buds,  aod  to 
elongate  them  into  great  branches.  The  lower  buds  by  this  tneaui 
are  deprived  of  the  nourishing  fluid.  This  is  no  inconvenience  in 
the  trees  destined  merely  to  produce  wood  or  to  furnish  shade.  But  in 
fruit-trees  in  which  we  wish  to  dispose  of  the  branches  in  a  certain 
order,  we  are  sometimes  obliged  to  put  grafts  in  the  places  which  the 
dead  eyes  occupy,  a  method  both  tedious  and  uncertain.  M.  Marion 
de  la  MArtiniere  has  practised  a  simpler  and  more  suceessfiil  method. 
It  is  to  make  a  small  cut  above  the  dead  eye  \a  form  of  a  V  reverse  ' 
and  as  deep  as  the  alburnum.  By  thus  stopping  the  progress  of  the 
ascending  sap,  it  is  obliged  to  develope  the  bud^  or  to  produce 
others.  ^ 

We  may  likewise  reckon  among  the  labours  of  the  Class  in  agri- 
culture the  memoirs  on  the  Spanish  sheep  called  merinos,  by  MM. 
Tetsier  and  Yrard ;  the  description  of  the  practical  school  of  agrf- 
culture,  by'M.  lliouin  ;  and  the  essay  of  a  rural  code,  by  M.  : 
la  Bergcrie,  correspondent.  But  as  these  books  have  been  publishe  . 
for  several  months,  it  is  only  necessary  to  mention  their  titles, 

A  coninuy  reason  induces  us  to  make  some  observations  on  a 
considerable  work  which  M.  de  Lasteyrie  du  Saillant  has  preseated 
to  the  Class,  on  all  the  branches  of.  agriculture,  and  of  the  rural 
and  domestic  economy  of  the  Chinese.  It  is  collected  from  all  the 
authors  who  have  written  00  China,  and  embellished  by  a  gre  .t 
number  of  figures  drawn  in  China,  and  by  Chinese,  in  which  a*^ 
represented  all  the  proceedings  of  their  industry,  and  all  the  instr>  ' 
m en ts  which  they  employ.  This  great' empire,  in  which  an  i  n- 
mense  population  u  entirely  supported  by  agriculture,  and  in  which 
this  art  has  been  uninterruptedly  honoured  aod  protected  since  the 
first  establishment  of  the  monarchy,  cannot  bijt  have  made  gtei 
progress  in  it :  and  in  fact  M.  de  Lasteyrie  makes  us  acquain  2d 
wi^h  different  instruments,  more  simple  and  cpmmodious  than  tlioee 
which  we  employ  for  the  same  purposes,  and  points  out  to  us  pro- 
cesses which  might  be  advanlageonsly  followed  here,  principally  in 
the  culture  of  fruit-trees.  We  might  even  imitate  the  Chinese  in 
their  dyjring  proce]saes.  Thus  they  prepare  a  blue  with  some  species 
of  renouits,  very  common  here,  which,  if  adopted  by  us^  might 
diminish  the  consumption  of  indigo. 

M.  ¥vard,  become  lately  an  associate,  bad  presented  while  A 
correspondent  a  targe  treatise  on  the  plants  injurious  to  com,  antj 
pa  th^  faethod  of  keeping  cuttivated  land  free  from  them.    What 


agric 


lAlS.]  Sdenlific  htlelUgence.  391 

aie  usually  called  weeds,-  are  children  of  nature,  wild  plants  whose 
territory  is  daily  invaded  by  cultivated  plants,  but  whicli  endeavour 
by  b1)  the  means  in  their  power  to  maintain  their  ground,  Tliey 
soon  recover  iheir  soil  if  man  neglect  them.  The  wind,  water^  and 
animals,  transport  their  seeds ;  the  earth  conceals  them  for  i  long 
time,  and  they  vegetate  when  the  fevourable  moment  comes.  The 
imprudent  farmer  often  sows  them  himself  in  the  manure  which  he 
^yson  the  fields.  M.  Yvard,  who  mentions  more  than  .100  species, 
describes  all  the  care  and  all  (he  stratagems  which  must  be  employed 
in  the  kind  of  war  which  the  former  must  carry  on  against  them, 
■hd  he  treats  liis  subject  from  actual  experience. 

This  skilful  fanner  has  done  a  still  greater  favour  to  agriculture  by 
pHfolishiRg  last  spring,  through  the  medium  of  the  journals,  the 
methods  w4iich  his  experience  has  suggested  as  the  mpst  pr(^>er  to 
repair  tbe  losses  occasioned  by  the  eventsof  war  amongthe  corn  and 
the  grass.  He  has  had  the  happiness  to  see  his  counsels  fructify. 
Jjr  could  not  be  perceived  by  the  price  of  com  tliat'our  finest  pro- 
«^ces  have  been  the  fields  of  battle,  ll  is  by  such  applications  of 
agriculture  and  art,  perfected  by  the  spirit  of  the  sciences,  that 
^nce  has  for  twenty  years  contended  with  the  disasters  always 
Enewed  of  a  cruel  war,  and  that  she  has  been  able  to  bear  without 
Inking  the  painfiil  operation  oa  which  depended  the  end  of  her  ills. 
(IV  )c  cmXfnucd.) 

b'.  ^— ^^^.^^_ 

'  Article   XI. 


■  '  I.  Lectures. 

*^A  Course  of  Lectures  on  the  Elements  of  Electrical  Science, 
oo'tiprehendhig  Galvanism  and  Electro-Chemistry,  will  be  com- 
menced by  Mr,  Singer,  on  Mcnday,  Nov.  6,  at  No.  3,  Priooes- 
-rtreet.  Cavendish-square.  , 

I  !!■  II.  Largest  Diamond. 

The  largest  diamond  hitherto  found  b  in  the  possession  of  the 
Rajah  of  Mattaa,  in  the  Island  of  Borneo,  in  which  island  it  wai 
found  about  80  years  ago.  It  is  shaped  like  an  egg,  with  an  in> 
dented  hollow  near  the  smaller  end.  It  is  said  to  be  of  the  finest 
water.  It  weighs  3G7  carats.  How  as  1 56  carats  are  equal  to  1  oz. 
Troy,  it  is  obvious  that  this  diamond  weighs  2  oz.  169-U7  gr-  Troy. 
Many  years  ago  the  Governor  of  Batavui  tried  to  purchase  this 
diamond.  He  sent  a  Mr.  Stuvart  to  the  Rajah,  who  offered  150,000 
4oUars,  two  large  war  brigs  with  their  guns  and  ammunition,  toge- 
^r  with  A  certain  numb;^  of  great  guns,  and  a  quaality  of  powder 


S92  Sdmtific  Intelligence.  [Nov. 

and  sliot.  The  Rajjili,  however,  refused  to  deprive  his  family  of  so 
valuable  an  hereditary  possession,  to  which  theMatax's  attach  the 
miraculous  power  of  curing  all  kinds  of  diseases,  by  means  of  the 
water  in  which  it  is  dipped,  and  with  which  they  imagine  that  the 
fortune  of  the  family  is  connected. — See  Dr.  Leyden's  account  of 
Borneo,  in  the  seventh  volume  of  the  Transactions  of  the  Balavian 
Society. 

HI.  Voyage  of  Discovery  to  Africa.  » 
The  gentlemen  appointed  b;  Government  to  prosecute  the  disco- 
veries of  the  lale  unfortunate  Mungo  Parlt  have  at  last  sailed  from 
Kogland  for  the  coast  of  Afirica.  They  are  Major  Jphn  Peddie, 
Capt.  T.  Campbell,  and  Mr.  Cowdery,  staff"  surgeon.  They  are 
said  to  be  very  well  qualified  for  the  task  which  they  have  under- 
taken. They  are  to  be  attended  by  a  company  of  Negroes.  The 
object  of  the  expedition  is  to  trace  the  Niger  from  the  place  at 
which  Mungo  Park  left  it  to  the  sea,  and  to  determine  whether  or 
not  it  be  the  same  with  the  Zayr. 

IV.  Death  of  Gehlen. 
Adolph  Ferdinand  Gehlen,  whose  name  has  occurred  repeatedly 
in  the  A?mah,  died  at  Munich  Ijisi  summer  ;  or  perhaps  it  would  be 
more  proper  to  say  that  he  destroyed  himself,  since  he  persisted  in 
a  set  of  expciimcnis  tn  which  he  was  daily  exposed  to  the  fumes  of 
arsenic,  tliuugh  warned  by  his  friends  of  the  fatal  consequences  that 
would  ensue.  He  became  first  generally  known  to  the  chemical 
world  in  1803  by  the  publication  of  a  new  monthly  chemical  work, 
which  he  entitled;  Neues  AUgemeines  Journal  der  Chemie  (New 
Universal  Journal  of  Chemistry).  Of  this  journal  he  published  six 
volumes,  which  contain  a  great  deal  of  valuable  and  original  matter. 
In  1B06  he  changed  the  title  lo  Journal  fur  die  Chemie  und  Physik 
(Journal  of  Chemistry  and  Natural  Philosophy).  About  this  time 
he  was  chosen  a  Fellow  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  Munich,  to 
which  capital  he  repaired.  Yet  he  still  continued  to  publish  his 
journal  at  Berlin.  But  it  was  infinitely  inferior  to  what  it  had  been, 
consisting  chiefly  of  translations  from  foreign  journals,  and  of  long 
papers  by  Ritter,  often  highly  absurd  and  ridiculous.  He  continued 
It,  however,  till  1810,  when  heslopped:  no  doubt  because  the  sale 
had  diminished  so  much  as  not  to  be  equivalent  to  the  expenses  of 
the  publication.  -His  principal  discovery  whs  the  mode  of  preci- 
pitating red  oxide  of  iron  by  succinate  of  scda  or  of  ammonia.  This 
discovery  has  been  of  considerable  use  in  the  chemical  analysis  of 
minerals. 

V.  Confirmation  of  Mr,  Rose's  Discovery  of  the  Alsence  of  Urea 
from  the  Urine  in  Hepatitis :  being  an  Extract  of  a  Letter 
from  Dr.  Henry,  of  Manchester. 

Soon  after  the  publication  of  Mr.  Rose's  paper,  in  your  number 
for  June,  a  medical  friend  (Dr.  Holme)  gave  me  a  specimen  of  the 


1815.]         ^  '     Scientific  TnteUlgence.  894 

urioe  of  one  of  his  patients,  a  female  labouring  under  chronic 
bqratitis.  He  had  b«en  struck  with  the  absence  of  most  of  the 
usual  qualities  of  that  fluid,  such  as  colour  and  stnell,  of  both  which 
it  was  nearly  destitute.  I  fouud  its  specific'gravity  to  be  only  1-0033 
(the  average  of  healthy  urine  being  I'O^OOy^  and  its  solid  contents^ 
not  perfectly  dried,  did  not  exceed  25  grs.  from  the  wine  pint. 
Finding  that  no  precipitate  was  occasioned  by  adding  nitric  acid  to 
tbe  extract  dissolved  in  a  little  water,  I  tried  to  discover  urea  ih 
another  portion  of  the  same  urine  by  the  more  accurate  test,  whjch 
'  I  have  proposed,  of  distillation.  The  distilled  fluid  very  Glowly  re- 
stored the  colour  of  reddening  litmus  paper,  but  did  not  precipitate 
-muriate  of  lime.  It  could,  thei^efbre,  have  contained  nothing  more 
than  a  mere  trace  of  carbonate  of  ammonia,  which  is  ahvays  abun- 
dantly produced  by  the  distillation  of  natural  urine.  As  the  patient 
recovered,  the  urea  was.  very  gradually  and  slowly  restored  to  the 
urine.  These  eupcrimcnts  confirm  the  curious  discovery  of  Mr. 
Rose ;  to  which  it  may  be  added,  that  the  urine  of  Dr.  .Holme's 
-patient  did  not'  contain  an  appreciable  quantity  of  uric  acid.  I  was 
sorry  that  other  engagements  interfered  at  the  time,  and  prevented 
me  from  determining  exactly  the  nature  of  its  other  contents. 

An  opportunity  lately  occurred  to  me  of  ascertaining  precisely  the 
proportion  of  urea  in  the  urine  of  a  patient  labouring  under  diabetes 
mellitus  in  its  most  perfect  form,  before  the  disease  was  influenced 
either  by  diet  or  medicines.  A  wine  pint  gave  651  grains  of  solid 
extract;  and  of  this  only  IG  grs.,  or  ^  part,  were  urea.  No  urea 
eould  he  discovered  by  the  action  of  nitric  acid.  The  processes 
employed  in  detecting  it  were  those  which  1  have  described  m  the 
Medico-Chiiurglcal  Transactions,  ii.  123;  and  in  your  An?ials  of 
Philosaphy,  i.  31. 

P.  S.  I  have  often  been  applied  to  of  late  to  know  where  the 
hydrometer  for  taking  the  specific  gravity  of  urine  may  be  purchased. 
It  m^  be  acceptable,  therefore,  to  some  of  your  readers,  to  know 
t^t  a  more  easy  method  (and  a  preferable  one,  as  it  requires  a  much 
less  quantity  of  urine,  and  no  calculation)  is  to  weigh  the  urine  in 
a  bottle  which  holds  exactly  1000  grs.  of  distilled  water  at  60* 
Fahr.  up  to  a  mark  on  the  neck.  Bottles  of  this  sort,  with  a  proper 
counterpoise,  and  decimal  weights  in  a  case,  may  be  had  in  London 
of  Mr.  Knight,  41,  Foster-lane,  Cheapside;  and,  I  dare  say,,  of 
Mr.  Accum,  in  Compton-street,  and  other  makers  of  chemical 
apparatus, 

VI.  Atmospheric  Phenomenon. 

About  a  quarter  before  ten  o'clock  on  Tuesday  evening,  Sept,  26, 
Fomalhaut  being  a  little  to  the  eaU  of  the  meridian,  the  barometer 
being  29*62,  and  the  thermometer  62",  a  luminous  band  appeared 
'  near  the  western  horizon,  and  extended  itself  gradually  towards  the 
east,  until  it  occupied  a  line  beginning  at  the  sixth  of  the  Eagle, 
passing  through  tlie  Fox  and  Goose,  between  the  fifth  and  sistli  of 
the  Swan,  across  Almaac,  in  Andromeda,  and  Medusa's  Head,  aod 


(94   '  Scientific  Inlelligetice.  [Nor. 

termiuting  s  little  to  the  DortK  of  the  Pleiades.  It  was  very  bright, 
and  well  defined  near  its  western  extremity  ;  broader,  fuinter,  and 
of  shorter  duration,  towards  the  east.  Its  medium  breadth  wn 
about  five  degrees,  and  it  continued  about  20  minutes. 

The  afternoon  of  Tuesday  was  very  wet,  with  violent  gusts  of 
wind ;  for  some  time  before  this  luminous  appearance  the  sky  was 
nearly -covered  with  large  dark  Cumulous  clouds,  which  passed  away 
rapidly  towards  the  N.  £.  and  occasionally  shot  forth  laiat  conxscA- 
tiooR.  The  barometer  and  thermometer  had  been  very  variable  for 
some  days. 

At  eleven  p.  m.  the  sky  was  very  bright  near  the  northern  horizoo 
for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  but  do  Aurora  Borealis  appeared. 

No  opportunity  of  observing  the  magnetic  variation  occurred  at 
the  time. 

VII.  Queries  respecting  Fluxions. 

<Ta  Dr.  llionisoa.) 
SIR, 
As  your  correspondent  Mr.  Christison  recommends  the  study  of 
ItuzioDs  after  the  pupit  has  become  acquainted  with  the  second  book 
of  Euclid,  he  would  render  me  an  essential  service  if  he-  would 
have  the  goodness  to  mention  what  work  of  this  kind  he  thinks  is 
best  adapted  to  those  who  are  already  acquainted  with  the  first  six 
books  of  the  Elements.     Maclaurin's  is  the  only  one  1  have  seen, 
hut  thifi  appcftrs  too  tedious  and  abstruse  for  a  beginner,  otherwise 
it   appears  to  have  great  cohimendation,    from  the  geometrical 
marnin-  in  which  he  iatroduces  the  subject.     Should  you,  Sir,  be 
CO  obliging  as  to  notice  this  a[^licatioD,  you  will  confer  a  favour  on 
Your  most  obedient  servant, 

Stfl.  21,  1815.  A   StJSSCRIBEB  TO  THE  AnMALS. 

.  VIIL  Connaissance  des  Temps,  1S15. 

(To  Dr.  Tbomion.)  . 
»IH, 
I  have  felt  some  disappointment  at  finding  that,  in  the  last 
number  of  our  Nautical  Almanac,  the  phenomena  and  observations 
(occultations,  &c.)  have  been  almost  entirely  omitted.  What  is 
the  cause  of  this  serious  omission  ?  In  the  number  for  this  year 
tbeie  a|«  about  57  set  down,  in  tlie  column  alluded  to,  for  the 
twelvemonths;  but  in  the  Con.  des  Terns  for  this  year,  published 
ID  Nov.  18 12,  there  are  2l8,  Surelvour  ephemeris  is  not  to  become 
less  valuable  and  interesting  than  that  of  tne  French  in  any  respect. 
I  have  not  great  confidence  in  the  accuracy  of  French  printing,  or 
1  should  prefer  theirs.  "  Les  occultations  d'^toiles  par  la  lune  £tant 
les  ph^nomenes  les  plus  utiles  pour  determiner  avec  precision  les 
lODgiiudes  gcographiques,  les  voyagers  ne  doivent  pas  negliger  de 
let  observer ;  les  conjonctions  qu'on  indique  ici  serviront  a  les 
guider  pour  prgvoir  les  occultations  qui  pourront  avoir  lieu  dans  1» 

n,,:-A-..>yGoogIe 


1S15,]  Saent'tfic  hteWigetue.  393 

pays  ou  ill  se  troavenmt.  On  peut  encore  faipe  usage  du  Zo^aque, 
public  par  Lemonnier  (it  Paris  chez  Dezauche) :  en  y  suivant  la 
route  de  la  lune,  au  moyen  de  ses  longitudes  et  latitudes,  et  ayaot 
^ard  a  I'efiet  de  fa  parallaxe,  on  trouvera  ^  tres-peu  pr&»  le  tems 
des  occultations  qui  pourront  aroir  lieu."  P.  20?. — Is  any  such 
zodiac  published  in  England  ?  On  p.  206,  they  mention  a  parallactic 
machine  for  giving  the  poant  or  place  of  emersion.  Where  shall  I 
find  a  de8cri|)tion  of  it  ?  On  p.  7,  it  is  erroneously  set  down  that 
there  will  be  a  tolal  eclipse  of  the  moon  on  the  26th  of  December^ 
visiblent  Paris;  and  no  notice  is  taken  of  an  eclipse  of  the  sun, 
Jan.  10;  another,  Dec.  30;  nor  of  one  of  the  moon,  Dec.  15;  all 
inricibte  here.  On  p.  5,  the  Julian  period  is  stated  as  6530;  in 
the  English  ephemeris,  at  6528  : '  and  the  apparent  obliquity  of  the 
ecliptic,  Oct.  1,  according  to  Delambre's  new  tables,  =  23°  2?' 
43*3":  the  seconds  in  the  English  are  49-3"  I  In  a  nieteorolcwcal 
journal  for  1810,  given  at  p.  214,  the  magnetic  needle  was  22*  le* 
oo  the  13th  March,  at  the  imperial  obaervatory  of  Paris.  This 
number  contains  copious  tables  of  the  longitudes  and  latitudes  of 
places  and  of  the  K.  A.  and  declinations  of  stars. 

I  am.  Sir,  your  obliged  servant, 

A.  M. 
IX.  iVeather  in  Iceland  during  1814, 

(To  Dr.  Thonunn.) 
SIR, 

As  it  may  not  perhaps  be  uninteresting  to  some  of  your  readers  to 
bnow  the  general  state  of  the  weather  in  Iceland  during  the  past 
year,  I  beg  leave  to  subjoin  an  extract  of  a  letter  on  that  subject, 
which  I  lately  received  from  Mr.  Magnus  Stephenson,  Chief  Justice 
in  that  island,  dated  Kechiavig,  July  26^  1815. 

I  am.  Sir,  respectfully,  your  most  obedient  servant, 
ZtBtrftBl,  Jug.  1«,  IStS.  D.   G. 

"  A  remarkably  fine  summer  (1814)  was  succeeded  by  a  veiy 
stormy  autumn,  attended  with  much  rain  and  raw  weather.  From 
the  beginning  of  October  to  the  end  of  December  followed  much 
snow  and  sharp  ftost,  the  stormy  state  of  the  weather  still  conti- 
nuing. From  thenoe  to  the  middle  of  March  succeeded  very  fine 
mild  weather,  without  Jrost ;  yet  often  so  windy  that  the  fishing 
could  not  begin  during  all  that  period.  Afterwards  tlie  weatlier 
became  calm' and  agreeable,  which  continued ;  and  we  have  scarcely 
had  any  frost  in  1S15  here  in  the  south  and  the  eastern  parts  of  the 
island ;  but  in  the  northern  part,  the  winter  being  milder  from 
September  to  January,  afterwards  changed  to  very  stormy^  with 
^now.  It  continued  thus  until  lar  in  the  spring ;  the  coosequeilce 
of  which  has  been  a  great  loss  of  sheep  in  ifie  north  country,  where 
the  grass  came  late,  and  was  very  scarce  every  where :  besides  which 
it  was  in  some  parishes  eaten  quite  away  by  n  caierpillar  last  spring, 
which  was  exceedingly  cold,  ^though  no  drift  ice  has  appeared  thn 
year  on  the  nortturo  coait." 

4  n,r.^^<i"yG00t^Ie 


Scienlific  InteUigeace. 
,X.  Poptdatioa  of  the  Canaries. 


[Not. 


•       IllBtid!. 

! 

AbwIttM  PopBlalicii. 

S 
'J 
-1 

III 

1678. 

1T4». 

17  68. 

1790. 

|sa 

73 
63 

87 
»6 
14 

t 

49,118 

13^9S 

4,STS 
S,«9T 

60,iIS 
7,38* 
33,884 
n,S80 
7,?10 
6,851 
S,«T 

66,3M 
B,8«S 
41,082 
19,195 
9,705 
6.M5 
4,088 

70,000 
9,000 
50J»0 
B8.B0O 
10.000 
7,400 
5,000 

958 

FsrlaTcntiira  

Gnuid  Canary,...;... 
PaliD. 

US 

8SS 
83T 

364 

588 

iCTro 

714 

ToUl 

270 

I36,IK 

1SS,S6S 

174,000 

644 

HunbvMt'a  Penonal  NarratiTc,  i.  8S4. 

XI.  Temperalwe  of  the  Atlantic. 
,The  following  table  h  given  by  Humboldt  from  observations 
made  by  him  of  (he  temperature  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  during  his 
voyage  to  South  America : — 

Temperature  sf 
Nonh  Latltade.  Longitade.  the  Surface  of  HHe  Sea.. 

39°   IC 18°  S8' 69° 

3i     30    19     15    61-34 

32     16    19     24    63-86 

30    36    19     14   65-48 

29     18    19     00    6674 

51    21     S3   68-00 


20 


.  31 


17  57  35  34 

14  57  47  00 

15  51  52  3 

10  46  63  14 


70-16 

72*32 

74-66 
76-46 
78-44 
Hmnboldt's  Fenonal  Harmtivr,  ii.  59. 

XII.  Fucus  Vesiadosm. 
Pnrfiesior  John,  in  order  to  obtain  iodine,  burnt  four  ounces  of 
the  fucus  resiculosus :  the  white  ash  remaining  weighed  4^  drams. 
He  found  in  it  manganese  and  magnesia,  but  did  not  succeed  in 
obtaining  from  it  any  iodine.  This  was  chiefly  owing  to  the  small 
quantity  of  ash  on  which  the  experiment  was  made,  and  partly  also 
to  the  imperfect  method  which  he  followed ;  for  he  seems  to  have 
been  in  possession  of  no  other  directions  except  those  contained  in 
Davy's  fint  paper  on  iodine,  and  tbey  are  quite  inaccurate. 


16150  ■^^*"'  ^"'enft*  59? 

XnL  Animal  Concretion. 
Professor  John  has  laiely  examined  a  concretion  from  the  utena 
of  a  woman.  From  the  description  which  he  has  given  of  it,  there 
■5  reason  to  consider  it  as  precisely  similar  to  a  concretion  from  the 
vagina,  which  I  described  and  analyzed  in  a  preceding  volume  o{- 
the  Annals  of  Philosophy.  Accordingly  Dr.  John  ibund  its  compo- 
sition quite  analogous.  It  was  composed  of  phosphate  of  lime  anj 
an  aniniat  membranous  matter.  He  detected  in  it,  likewise,  tracer  - 
of  carbonate  of  lime  and  of  muriatic  acid. 

XIV.  Saliva. 
I  have  lately  had  dn  opportunity  of  making  some  esperinwnts  oo 
saliva,  tlirown  out  of  tlie  system  during  a  mercuTisl  salivation.  Tb« 
following  is  the  result.  Saliva,  when  first  emitted,  is  an  opal  liquid* 
which  speedily  lets  fall  a  white  mtitter,  and  (hen  becomes  trani- 
parent.  The  white  matter  thus  depoeited  possesses  the  charaClen  t^ 
txmgulated  albumen.  As  mercury  is  known  to  act  very  powerfully 
as  a  jtfecipliant  of  albumen,  I  thought  it  possible  that  io  the  present 
case  it  might  have  been  thrown  down  by  the  mercury  with  whidi 
tlie  system  was  known  to  be  loaded.  But  I  did  not  succeed  in  de- 
tectii^  the  presence  of  any  of  that  metal.  The  s[teci6c  gravity -t^ 
the  saliva  at  60°  was  I  '0038.  It  was  a  ropy  liquid,  and  could  bei 
drawn  out  into  fine  threads ;  yet  it  could  not  be  employed  to  paste 
together  pieces  of  paper,  not  having  the  property  of  a  centeot. 
This  liquid  was  not  altered  %  prussiate  of  potash  nor  infusion  of 
nul^lls.  With  nitr^e  of  lead  it  deposited  a  copious  wliite  coagu- 
ium.  It  precipitated  likewise  with  oitratt  of  mercury.  lOSO.grs. 
of  It,  being  evaporated  to  drynes^  left  a  residue  ttf  7'^  gf^<  T^w 
residue  was  composed  of 

Coagulated  albumen    2'70 

Mucus  (with  a  little  albumen)     3*85 

Ciimmon  salt 0-95 


7-50 


Article  XII. 

New  Palenis. 

JoDN  Taylor,  Stratford,  Essex,  manufacturing  chemist;  for 
certain  methods  of  purifying  or  refining  sugar.     June  22,  1815. 

Charlbs  SyLVBSTKR,  Derby,  engineer ;  for  vanous  iroprove- 
tnents  in  the  tenture  of  bobbin  lace.     June  22,  1815. 

■Robert  Baines,  Myton,  Kingston-upon-Huil,  glue  mauufac- 
l|irer ;  for  his  improvements  in  the  constructi^m  of  veriifal  windmill 
sails.     June  32, 1815. 

n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


SdS  Keiv  VatenU.  pjoT* 

RoBEBT  DiCKissoN,  Great  Queen-street,  IxindoD,  Esq. ;  for 
BKans  for  fiicilitatiug  the  propulsion,  and  for  the  safety  of  boats  and 
odwr  veaseh  dinxigh.  tbe  water.    June  22,  1815. 

Samubl  Baldkn,  Reddich,  Worcester,  niiller;  and  Johm  Bcx- 
TONSHAw,  BlackAiars  Road,  London,  oven  builder;  for  a  madune 
or  instrument  for  the  better  heating  ovens.    June  24,  IS15. 

Wii-LiAM  MASSLEr,  in  the  i»irish  of  Yardley,  Worcestershire, 
fanner;  for  an  improved  drilling  machine,  for  drilling  beans, 
turnips,  peas,  pulse,  corn,  and  seeds  of  every  description.  July  27, 
1815. 

John  Lbwis,  of  Brimscomb,  Gloucestershire,  clothier;  for  an 
improved  shearing  machine.     July  2^,  1815. 

DAVin  Mt7shbt,  of  Coleford,  Gloucestershire,  iron-master;  for 
tn  improvement  or  improvements  in  the  process  or  processes  of 
Buking  or  manubcturing  iron.     July27,  1S15. 

William  Edridge,  of  Rotfaerbithe,  Surrey,  brass-founder;  for 
*D  engine,  pump,  or  fire-en^ne.     Aug.  4,  1815, 

JosBPH  Habtet,  of  Long-lane,  Bermondsey,  Surrey,  turner ; 
for  a  machine  for  better  striking  and  finishing  of  leather.  Aug.  4, 
1815. 

Richard  Dixon,  of  High  Holborn,  Middlesex,  trunk-maker ; 
for  an  improvement  or  improvements  in  the  construction  of  trunks 
or  portmanteaus  of  various  descriptions,  and  in  the  application  of 
materials  hitherto  unused  in  the  construction  thereof.  Aug.  11, 
1815. 

John  Strbbt,  of  Clifton,  Gloucestershire,  Esq, ;  for  certain  fur- 
ther improvements  in  the  mode  of  making  and  working  bellows. 
Ang.lt,  1S15. 

.  ■  John  Edwards,  of  Canlerbuiy-buildings,  Lambeth,  Surrey, 
Gentleman ;  for  a  method  or  means  of  preventing  leakage  in  ships, 
boats,  and  other  vessels.     Aug.  15,  1815. 

John  Chbsholms,  of  Edinburgh;  for  a  method  of  constructing 
register  and  other  stoves.    Aug.  21,  1B15. 

Stephen  Price,  of  Stroud,  Gloucestershire,  engineer^  for  a 
machine  for  shearing  or  cropping  woollen  and  other  cloths  that  may 
require  such  aprocess.     Aug.  21,  1815. 

Thomas  Fibld  Satory,  of  New  Bond-street,  Middlesex, 
chemist ;  for  a  combined  neutral  salt  or  powder,  which  possesses  all 
the  properties  of  the  medicinal  spring  at  Sedletz,  in  Germany ;  and 
which  invention  is  sold  under  the  name  of  Sedletz  powder.  Aug. 
23, 1815. 

James  Carpenter,  of  Wellenhall,  Staffordshire,  curry-comb- 
malcer ;  for  an  improvement  to  a  curry-comb.     Aug.  23, 1815. 

William  BsMMAN,  of  Eldersfield,  Worcestershire,  tanner;  for 
various  improvements  in  ploughs.    Aug.  23,  1815. 
.  TifoUAs  Ashhore,  now  resident  at  Portland  Hotel^  Portland- 
street,  Middlesex;  for- a  new  mode  of  miking  leather.    Sept.  »,■ 
VH5. 


Abticle  H 
METEOROLOGIC. 


BAHO,.^™. 

T 

181S. 

. 

Mai. 

MiD. 

Mad. 

Ma 

$th  Mo. 

-    8ept.S6 

S 

2979 

29-63 

29710 

61 

27 

s  w 

30-06 

29-79 

29-925 

6 

as 

S      E 

30-06 

29-46 

29-760 

5! 

29 

W 

29-51 

29-28 

29-395 

6, 

30 

s  w 

29-49 

29-45 

29-470 

5' 

lOch  Mo. 

Oct.  1 

s  w 

2972 

29-49 

29-605 

6- 

2 

N  W 

30-1 1 

29-72 

29-915 

61 

3 

s 

30-11 

29-93 

30-020 

6 

4 

s 

29-97 

29-95 

29-860 

6: 

5 

s 

29-95 

29-81 

29-880 

& 

e 

N 

30-08 

29-81 

29-945 

6- 

7 

N  W 

30-20 

30-08 

30140 

5: 

■     8 

N     E 

30-22 

30-J9 

30-205 

51 

9 

E 

30-19 

30-02 

30-105 

5' 

10 

£ 

30-02 

2972 

!9-870 

5 

11 

E 

29-72 

29-«2 

29-670 

5 

IS 

N  W 

2973 

29-62 

29-673 

5' 

.  13 

V.r. 

2973 

29-65 

29-690 

6 

.       .   14 

S    W 

29-76 

29-65 

29-705 

6 

15 

S    W 

29  82 

99-79 

29-805 

6 

16 

s 

2973 

2971 

39-720 

6 

1? 

s  w 

29-85 

2973 

29790 

5 

18 

S     E 

29-85 

99-52 

29ti85 

5 

19 

s  w 

29-52 

29-25 

29385 

6 

*  .■     20 

s  w 

29-45 

29-25 

29-350 

6 

21 

3    W 

29  82 

29-45 

29633 

5 

22 

! 

2985 

29-57 

99710 

5 

23 

S 

29-57 

^9-17 

29-520 

i 

24 

29'47 

29-42 

29-4*5 

5 

30-22 

29-35 

29-747 

1 

The  obaerratioos  in  each  line  of  Ibe  tabl 
boUn,  bes'Bniag  at  9  A.  M.  on  (he  day  lod 
d«iii»tw,  that  ths  TMult  it  iacluded  in  the  nei 


Eotit^Ie 


Meleorohgical  Jearaal.  pJov.  18}5. 


REMARKS. 
Khiih  JlfantA.— S6.  A  rainy  Boomi  in  (he'trea  this  laonuug,  from  aj^e  US.; 
IbU  was  followed  by  Tain,  during  nhkh  the  wJodiECred  westward.  ST.  a.m.  Damp, 
■cnnewhat  mtsty  air :  Cirnu,  wilb  Cirmstralm :  much  wind  and  a  heavy  eliower  by 
soon,  with  a  nupiciona  nund,  liiie  Ihimder,  at  a.dietancr :  p.m.  a  second  shower, 
aflCT  which  a  Gn«  bow  ia  the  E.,  and  some  disltnct  Nimbi,  the  elevated  crowDa  of 
which  continaed  to  reflect  the  light  for  30  miniileK  after  sno-set.  2S,  a.  m,  A  wrf 
mist,  Tery  li«le  wind,  the  vane,  which  stood  to  N.,  tarEing  to  8,  E,  :  sunshine, 
wllh  Cmtutai  al  noon  :  lai^  Cirri,  p.  m,  which  were  permanml.  89.  a.  m.  Rainy 
appearances  in  Ihe  aky,  soon  followed  by  a  shower,  which  came  over  from  S-TT. : 
much  Cirroalraiai  followed,  with  more  rain.  30.  a.  m.  Clear:  wind  N.W. : 
p.m.  a  veil  of  Cirratlratia  advancing  from  W.  eomplelely  obscared  the  sLy  i  in 
tbe  night  a  healing  rain  from  the  aouthwnrd. 

■  linth  Hoalh.—l.  i».  m.  As  yesterday  !  showers,  with  rainbow,  p.m. :  rain  by 
ntgbt,  2.  Misly  morning:  much  dew:  CumuloMtratui,  and  a  few  drops:  Inminona 
twilight.  9.  Hoar  fropt :  misty  air :  Cumuiuj,  capped  with  a  delicate  doable 
sheet  of  Cirroitratai:  CfrrocumiiCus  and  inoaculation  followed.  4.  drTcslralui  ia 
a  close  veil  most  of  the  day.  5,  Misty  morning :  then  large  Cirri,  arranged  from 
S.  E.  lo  N.  W„  and  passing  to  Clrmaimiitui,  &c. :  rain  at  night,  0.  Wet  raofn- 
ing  :  fair,  p.m.  T,  Hoarfrost:  slight  Stratus :  a  gerene  day  :  much  dewy  haze 
at  auB-sel,  coloured  red,  first  in  tbe  E.,  then  in  Ihe  W.  above  an  orange  linl. 
%  Clondy,  a.  m.  !4.  A  lunar  halo  of  moderate  diameter,  which,  disappearing, 
pne  place  to  a  portion  of  a  very  large  on?.  IS.  Rain :  the  wind  fresh  at  night 
from  S.  S.  W.  16.  a.m.  Cumulus:  fine  day:  a  nnqiber  of  swallows,  which  re- 
appeared al  the  end  of  last  month,  have  kept  about  onr  neigbboarhood  to  the  pre- 
sent time.  IT.  Large  Cirri,  passing  to  Cirroilratus:  a  little  rain,  p.m.:  AifnK. 
IS.  a.m.  Cirroilrali,  with  obscurity  gradiially  increasing:  wel,  p.m.:  much 
wind,  evening.  19.  Coloured  sun-rise:  calm,  overcast,  a.m. :  then  windy,  with 
driving  ahowera,  the  sky  filled  with  eland :  a  temp eetnons" night,  BO.  Coloured 
sun-rise,  and  much  wind  :  a  few  drops  of  rain  ;  cloudy  oighl,  91.  a.  m.  Clear: 
then  Cumulus  in  a  very  bine  sky,  passing  to  Cumukatratas,  which,  with  some  beds 
of  Cfrmi  above,  was  finely  coloured  at  sun-set :  I  suspected  thunder  and  rain  br 
to  the  S,  this  aflernoon.  83.  Misty:  ranch  dew;  Cirrastralus,-  Cumulosfratiu, 
Clnvi.  83.  Maiimun]  nflemp.at  nine  thi»  morning  :  little  dew  :  cloudy  :  windy: 
rain.  94.  a.m.  Misty  inU'rise,  with  radfi  through  broken  clouds i  a  Nimiut  i* 
S.W. :  rain :  about  son-eel  raiii  again,  followed  by  many  distinct  tfimil, 

RESULTS. 
Winds  chiefly  from  tbe  S.  and  W, 

Barometer:  Greatest  height 30-S2  inches  ; 

Least S9  25  inches  j 

Mean  of  the  period  29 ■T4T  inches. 

Thermometer:  Greatest  height .,.,,66° 

Least '. 33* 

Mean  of  the  period 50'T9° 

Mean  of  the  hygrometer,  ^^°.    Rain,  3'9S  inches. 

ToTTENBAK,  Tenth  Monlli^  95, 1815,  L,  HOWAKIX 


ANNALS 


PHILOSOPHY. 


DECEMBER,  1S15. 


Articlx  L  . 

f Biographical  Account  iaeCharles  Bossul.    B^  M.  It  Cbemliet 
Delambre^Wecretary  of  the  lostitute. 

Charles  BOSSUT,  Member  of  the  Academy  of  Scienco^ 
and  afterwards  of  the  Institute,  of  the  Academiei  of  Bolosni, 
Lyons,  and  Utrecht,  Examiner  of  the  Pupib  of  the  Military  Coips 
of  Engineers,  and  of  the  Polytechnic  School,  and  Member  of  the 
Ijegion  of  Honour,  was  born  U  Tartarus,  in  the  department  of  the 
Bhone-aod-Loire,  oo  the  Uth  of  August,  1730,  and  was  the  tont 
of  Bartfaelemi  Bossut  and  Jeanne  Thonnerioe.  His  family  bdonged 
oriffioaily  to  the  country  of  Liege,  from  which  some  misfortunes 
haa  obliged  them  to  emigrate  about  die  year  1542.  At  the  age  of 
six  months  he  lost  bis  father.  A  paternal  uncle  taught  him  the 
principles  of  grammar  and  the  languages,  and  made  him  early  ac- 
quainted with  the  I^tin  and  French  dasiics.  At  the  age  of  14  he 
was  sent  to  the  College  of  Jesuits  at  Lyons  to  finish  hii  itudiei. 
Here  be  was  soon  diatinguished  by  his  masters,  for  the  ease  with 
which  he  carried  oS*  all  the  prizes;  and  by  h»  class-fellowa,  fiir 
liis  amiable  and  lemible  disposition  which  interested  tbem  in  Us 
success.  Here  he  soon  acquired  a  kind  of  reputation  which  id  a 
abort  time  extended  beyond  tiie  limits  of  tlie  College. 

The  £]<^e>  of  Fotitendle  having  fallen  into  his  bauds,  raised  in 
him  the  most  violent  passion  for  mathematics.  He  was  eager  to 
ibllow  the  footsteps  <^  those  great  men,  whose  discoveries  inSamed 
his  ima^nation ;  and  findinK  nobody  at  Lyons  who  could  guide  his 
first  steps,  he  ventured  to  wnte  directly  to  Fontenelle  to  request  his 
Advice.  He  recbived  an  eacour^ing  answer. "  I  request  of  you,"  nid 
the  old  man,  more  iban  90  yeais  of  age,  *'  to  give  meftoni  tioM  lo 

V«uVI.N'VI.  IC  ...Google 


40!2  Biographical  Account  of  [Dec. 

time  news  of  your  prioress.  I  have  a  feeling  whicli  iDibrma  me 
that  you  will  go  far ;  but  I  cannot  live  long  enough  to  enjoy  your 
success." 

Nothing  more  was  oeeessary  to  induce  Bossut  to  go  to  Paris. 
Fontenelle  received  liim  kindly,  and  recommended  him  to  Clainut 
and  d'Alembert,  who  were  prodigal  in  their  encouragements, 
D'Alembert  in  particular  chose  him  more  especially  for  his  pupil, 
and  took  a  pleasure  in  removing  the  difBcultles  which  might  have 
retarded  his  progress.  Time  cemented  this  union,  founded  on  the 
one  hand  on  the  attachment  which  results  from  benefils  conferred, 
and  on  the  other  from  the  justest  and  most  lively  gratitude.  This 
friendship  suhsisted,  without  interruption,  till  the  death  of  d'Alem- 
bert. Bossut  had  particularly  studied  the  writings  of  his  master; 
and  when  any  person  applied  to  d'Alembert  for  explanations  of  a 
difScuU  passage,  which  would  have  obliged  him  to  read  over  again 
his  memoir  with  attention,  he  sent  him  to  bis  disciple  aifd  coa6- 
dent,  saying  to  bim,  "  Call  upon  Bossut." 

Camus,  another  academician,  Examiner  of  the  Pupils  of  Artil- 
lery and  Engineers,  conceived  for  him  the  same  affection,  and  in- 
troduced bim  to  Comte  d'Argenson,  Minister  at  War,  who  named 
him  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  the  School  of  Engineers  at 
Mezierei.  This  was  in  IJ^'^t  when  Bossut  was  scarcely  22  years 
of  age. 

About  the  end  of  the  same  year  the  Academy  admitted  him  into 
the  number  of  its  Correspondents.'  A  memoir  of  his  had  been 
read,  entitled.  Uses  of  the  Differentistion  of  Parameters  for  the 
Solution  of  different  Problems  in  the  inverse  Method  of  Tangents. 
In  giving  an  account  of  this  memoir,  inserted  in  the  second  volame 
of  the  Savans  Etrangers,  the  historian  of  the  Academy  says,  that 
•we  find  in  it  the  solution  of  divers  problems  proposed  by  John 
Bernoulli,  the  first' -of  which  had  not  hitherto  been  resolved  by  any 
perscin.  In  speaking  of  the  methods  of  Bossut,  he  adds,  that  they 
appear  short  and  elegant.  He  gives  the  same  opinion  of  two  other 
problems,  constituting  a  second  memoir  published  in  the  same 
volume. 

"Hie  Leipsic  Acts  had  in  1752  announced  a  theorem  of  Euler  on 
the  rectifiable  difference  of  certain  elliptic  arcs.  Bossut,  in  demon- 
strating it,  joined  a  simple  and  direct  method  for  discovering  this 
theorem  a  priori.  In  the  same  volume  (iii.)  he  applied  to  different 
problems  concerning  the  cycloid,  a  method  which  was  then  judged 
so  much  the  more  in^emotis  that  it  is  iwt  confined  to  problems  al(me, 
but  may  serve  likewise  on  mony  other  occasions. 

Hie  duty  of  Professor  of  Mathematics,  to  which  he  devoted 
himself  for  16  years,  without  interruption,  and  with  a  success 
always  increasing,  at  the  school  of  Mezieres,  did  not  prevent  him 
from  making  himself  known  by  a  number  of  works,  the  subjects  of 
which  were  either  pointed  out  to  him  by  his  lectures,  or  by  the 
labours  of  contemporary  mathematicians,  or  by  the  prizes  of  the 
Academy.     Thus  be  drew  up  at  first  his  Elemeats  of  Mechanic^ 


1815.]  Charles  Bossut.  403 

which  he  anerwBrds  converted  into  a  complete  course  of  mathc- 
mittics.  He  shared  with  a  son  and  pupil  of  Daniel  Bernoulli 
a  prize  proposed  by  the  Academy  of  Lyons  on  the  Best  Form  of 
Ores ;  with  the  son  of  Euler,  and  prot»bly  with  Euler  himself,  a 
prize  on  Slowing  Goods  in  Shi^n,  proposed  by  the  Academy  of 
Sciences.  "  Complete  success  would  have  been  less  brilliant," 
wrote  to  him  Clairaut,  one  of  the  judges,  "  because  in  that  case  it 
would  hare  been  unknown  over  whom  you  had  triumphed." 

He  obtained  alone  the  prize  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  on  the 
question,  whether  the  fHaneti  move  ikrough  a  medium,  the  resiitance 
of  which  produces  any  sensible  effect  on  taeir  motions,  Albert  Euler 
had  undertaken  an  examination  of  the  same  subject.  The  two 
authors  agreed  perfectly  in  every  thing  regarding  the  principal 
planets.  But  Albert  acknowledges  that  lie  had  not  ventured  to 
enter  upon  the  part  which  regards  the  moon.  He  congratulates 
Sossut  upon  having  overcome  difficulties  which  appeared  to  him  so 
great  as  to  induce  him  to  abandon  the  task.  It  appeared  to  result 
from  the  memoir  of  Bossut  that  the  acceleration  observed  in  the 
motion  of  the  moon  might  be  explained  by  the  resistance  of  the 
ethereal  matter.  But  one  of  the  great  mathematicians  of  whom 
France  has  to  beast  found  afterwards  a  more  natural  cause,  which 
explains  this  acceleration,  and  the  ethereal  resistance  has  become  a 
very  problematic  cause,  the  eSects  of  which,  if  they  are  not  abso- 
lutely null,  are  at  least  very  little  sensible. 

The  same  year,  l?63,  Bossut,  in  conjunction  with  Viallet,  ob- 
tained the  quadruple  prize  proposed  by  the  Academy  of  Toulouse 
for  the  most  advantageous  construction  of  dykes.  Three  years  after 
he  divided  a  double  prize  proposed  by  the  Academy  of  Sciences  on 
the  Methods  of  Stowing  Ships ;  and  he  obtained  alone  at  Toulouse 
two  successive  prizes  for  his  researches  respecting  tlie  laws  of  motion 
which  fluids  follow  in  conduits  of  all  kinds. 

He  owed  to  the  friendship  of  Camus  the  place  of  Mezieres, 
which  had  enabled  him  to  turn  his  undivided  attention  to  mathe- 
matics. The  way  in  which  he  had  filled  his  situation  and  employed 
his  intervals  of  leisure  determined  in  his  favour  all  the  votes  when  a 
successor  was  to  be  appointed  to  his  protector  and  friend.  The 
Government  named  him  Examiner  of  Engineers,  and  the  Academy 
gave  htm  the  place  which  Camus  had  left  vacant.  It  was  at  that 
time  that  fae  gare  his  method  of  summing  series,  the  terms  of  which 
are  similar  povrers  of  the  sines  and  cosines  of  arcs,  which  brm  an 
arithmtitical  progression. 

Euler  in  his  introduction  to  the  Analysis  of  InEnites  had  already 
given  the  sum  of  those  series,  which  he  refened  to  recurrent  series. 
Bossut,  in  order  to  arrive  at  the  same  result,  employs  only  the  most 
elementaiy  formulas  of  trigonometry,  and  some  rules  equally  simple 
of  the  theoiy  of  progressions.  This  method  has  the  advantage  of 
being  more  clear,  and  therefore  intelligible  to  a  much  greater 
number  of  readers.  If  the  glory  of  a  discovery  belongs  incon- 
testibly  to  him  who  first  made  it  known,  we  cannot  refiise.1  Sreat 
2  c  2  CornMc 


4(H  Bwgr^Ateqi  4«nmt  of  q?ikv 

d«ql  of  attefiB)  tq  ^im  wbp  r«i)4«(f  Rtom  populv  It^timp  HTt^io^ 
at  flret  destined  to  b^  congae^  \o  p\iiUm>^^. 

Tbf  sdBie  advantage  U  evident  in  kis  ipetlutd  fl^  the  I'VMWSQ  <^ 
term.  Tli|<  su)>jfct  hu  w;oftpied  {he  greatest  qwthvmi^KWnpv  U 
was  nfterwyrds  u^t^d  in  a  more  pliilo^iJiiiGal  aqd  man  pVpfWRd 
way  in  a  &ae  iDemojr  of  {jBgrange.  9ut  iC  ^hf  method  ^f  {kMOt 
ha«  not  th?  sftiiie  geocratiiy,  if  it  if  not  coipprebeod^d  tQ  a  ibvnMl* 
so  aingululy  r^ap^i-tctbtC)  it  in  ^Utiiifuislwd  by  ovber  4dvwMgc«# 
|t'd«4¥Dde  upon  ttje  Diost  elementary  theoren;)  of  d>6eT«iit<4ton ; 
it  requires  unly  grd'im^y  and  viiifofpi  calcul^tqnj,  thought  a  U<ttl« 
\of^ ;  it  t^sea  itself  in  tbe  ppefliory,  so  th«t  it  is  toipouibk  *9  :M%eC 
it ;  and  the  oakulator  wl^o  wisW  to  m^lie  \we  of  it  rairies  it  «lw«]rr 
with  liioi,  ai^d  ha^  ito  occasion  to  consult  a  book  on  tbe  mbje^^, 

^ar^t  had  forotfrl);  givQii,  ia  prd«r  to  e^i^piste  the  egiN^  «f  ^ 
wl^^le  moved  bj  a  fall  of  water>  a  vera  NUPplf  metbpd,  but  wf 
tnaocurate,  Botsut  undertook  to  iatH«nc«  into  the  calculawu  f» 
■  die  conB^i^tioiw  seglect«d  by  F^rent,  and  ^  «1(  those  who  bad 
tfdoptei)  tbf  fi^le  of  this  tnatbematiciaQ  with  too  touch  coo&l«ec<v 
The  problem  in  all  its  generalil;  may  b«  issoluble  ^  bqt  is  the 
BpfdicatioQ  of  it  we  are  at  liberty  to  neglect  tk«j  circttnittaBces  wbicb 
.dp  Qot  occvr  ia  apy  a(  the  n^cbin^s  vm^  9r  nfhicli  c&a  pi^y  ^HPf- 
^u^G^  insenuble  ef^ts.  By  tbt;  taeans  Boawjit  arrivesi  at  a  formte 
'vkw^.  VKB-y  be  adap^d  to  aU  posuUe  case4>  either  ky  yvy'^ogtimB 
terms,  or  by  suppressing  tbeia  altogether,  ^tt  obtains  is  tbw 
^mnner,  if  not  the  ri{^  uxtinffy  whwh  belongs  vxcJusiiwlx  to  pure 
4M>«^i  that  d«9W  at  k«st  -m^  wbicli  ih«  a^  loay  be  ttfisML 
-  'fhesja  ps^cular  ^^wwira,  and  varlotH  «Mwra  wbicb  w*  ha.ve  not 
too<a  ta  anji^29,  ar^  t<>  be  fuifld  >o  the  ^^ocyclopediiE  M«tW)^«^ 
of  which  he  wtw  one  of  the  w^ton^  «  in  tbe  Coii^e  of  Matbe- 
niatics  wliich  he  composed  for  th«  use  of  the  pupils  wbov  be  va»-  . 
roiaed,  or  ia  his  Treatise  of  HydrodyDamics,  a  wore  rvcest  wn^r^ 
iia  wluch  be  h«A  ifttrodpccd  M».  diffefent  »p^fii»««ts  oq  ths  OK^iis 
of  fiiijids,. 

<*  It  is  09^  «  wH^naticiBB,''  said  «»  that  gccwion  Con^ovcot 
in  thi9  History  trf  the  Acs^eqi^,  «  |t  is  only  a  iOAtboiwti«»D  weU 
skilled,  ia  the  theory  and  practice  wbp  «ftn.  gkv&  to  ozpeiiaeote  tt^e 
form  which  th^y  ou^ht  to  have  in  ord^v  to  b«  etwjpend  witb-  ^ 
theory.  It  boply  a  mafhciHaHuan  whoiCKolia^vit  either  what- p*%- 
cision  i^  1^  th^^  w  expenmeBt  may  pi!eitHc«,  ^^aoettnsj  of 
which  is  l^iown,  of  witji,  what  pr«c^pD.  exp^nMAle  ot^bt  K>  he 
made  in  order  to  be  employed  in  constructing  (w  veri^ing  a  tktoiy-" 

"  ^p^ii^ents,  made  by  a.isatbequticiaalike  Bosaut,"  coaMaues 
Co^dwifet,  "  <?nght  th<;n.  to  be  verj  prewoua  i*  tb^  «yc«  «{  soatb*- 
isatici^a  wbp  wi^  t»  undei^teud  the  theory  of  fluidb>  aod  of  aift- 
chaifics  wh9'  oecupy  tbem^vt^  with  hy^uUcs." 

\a.  this  $rat  essay  Bossttt  ba4  consueied  the  motioBof  fluids  in 
^eu^FiU.  !^our  years  afterwanll  QwtfBBieot  chw^d  bin)  wiitb  a 
neiv  set  of  cKper^ments  on  the  sesiBtaaiK  «f  fluids  ift  unow  and 
eMIow  capal^.    Memdetbeoa.tAesuJ^jectof  a  wock  publiefaftd in 


ISIS.]  Ckwki  Satia.  4W 

17*7-  N<Kt  yter  hi  iaterted  tevt  expnhneiiti  isto  tfae  voliinw  Of 
the  Acaden^,  tbe  object  ef  which  was  t«  diFCDver  thb  la«  according 
to  which  the  resistBiicf!  of  an  kngulaf  prow  dimitiishcs  in  piopDrtion 
••  it  becomes  more  acute. 

The  Course  of  MRtheiDatics  df  Bonut,  at  the  time  vihta  the 
Afferent  treaUKA  «ere  compoted,  were  successively  publislted,  ra- 
«eited  much  pniite  for  the  order,  clearnesai  method,  and  phiteaa- 
piucbl  ^irit,  observed  In  it.  The  histirical  flrefaCes  which  com- 
teeoce  eatih  voturae  wn'e  bani^lailf  ptaised.  This  hoA  loog 
stiilrtd  equal  po[Hilnnty  with  that  which  Bezout  had  compoMd  for 
tbe  artillery  and  nlarine.  Both  of  them  were  of  great  service  to  thtf 
pupila  for  i^om  they  wer^  datiaed.  They  lave  of  necessity  test  tf 
j^ft  of  their  celebrity;  since  a  single  establbhment  has  beeo  formed 
for  tbe  instruction  erf  those  destined  to  serve  tlie  state  m  all  tbe 
cor}»  which  had  formerly  :their  particular  bodts  and  e?[aniihers4 
Bat  this  populatity  raulinied  long  eiio«gh  to  reward  the  author  fof 
'  Ml  toany  Uaoarst  and  made  hini  nearly  indepeudenl  at  the  tJmd 
Iriien  the  ]MlitinI  slo/oas  threw  the  f<»tunes  of  all  into  cohfusioDj 
Bossut  was  then  daprired  of  the  (^air  Of  f^drodynamics  established 
for  him,  aod  which  bad  existed  only  for  a  few  yean.  He  bad  beeo 
pfevioaslji  deprived  (not'  wiihoal  tDtirmufiBg  at  the  imiistice  of 
aaukiiid)  of  that  place  of  Examiner  wMcb  be  had  filled  with 
Afnhity,  and  to  the  |;eneral  satisfrction  of  the  papils  of  Govrrnmenti 
In  liftu  of  these  places  of  Examiner,  Frofftetor,  and  Academician^ 
Bosiut  obtained  only  some  tisnsitory  aid  voted  by  (he  advice  of  the 
Bodrd  of  CoiBslfation,  and  ■  lod^o^  in  the  Lobvtc,  which  be  en.^ 
joyed  only  a  few  years.  It  was  then  that  Iw  bnried  bimsiilf  in  that 
retireannt  which  his  age  and  the  state  of  .bis  incolne  rendered 
Becessary  for  bim>  Here  he  reeeired  some  consolMioDS.  Tha 
Institute  restored  to  him  a  pxrt  of  what  he  had  enjoyed  as  a  Blember 
«{  the  Academy  of  Sciences.  He  was  named  one  of  the  fizamiiien 
«f  the  Polytechnic  School,  and  when  at^cr  more  than  50  years  of 
aetvices  age  and  infirmities  obliged  bim  to  rAire,  bb  salary  #as  coo- 
thnied*  which  he  so  well  deserved  not  to  lose. 

It  Was  in  this  sditsde  and  afasohite  separation  from  soeietvthal 
k^  wrote  bis  Ustory  of  the  mHtbeAiatics,  of  which  two  editions  were 
sold  in  less  than  six  years.  Two  volumes  are  very  little  for  so  vast 
a  snbjeel.  Mathematiei^ns  accordingly  will  find  the  work  too  in- 
emn^ete  and  superficia}.  But  it  vras  not  for  tlmd  that  he  bad 
written  it.  We  see  by  ih€  refieetioBS  which  be  mada  on  tbe  His^ 
toty  of  MoRtuela  that  bo  tras  sennble  of  the  spirit  and  manner  in 
which  such  a  work  should  be  composed.  But  he  adds  imroediatelyi 
fliat  his  design  is  not  to  give  that  profound  bisttHv  in  whidi  idl  the 
parts  of  matbeaaetics  should  be  analyzed,  and  which  may  to  a  ixt- 
ttna  amount  save  the  trouble  of  rradiag  the  authon  tnemsdvcsj 
especially  those  whosemethods  arc  anti^nrted.  "  He  attempts  only 
to  give?  i  gicno*!  ibelcb  of  the  progress  of  mathematics  from  their 
otfgiB  twthe  present- tiaa^  to  bonom:  the  memory' of  the  great  men 
wfa)  b*re  cU^Kltd  ^  ea|nre,  and  especially  to  in^re  youtb  wkk 

-   ogle 


«  taste  for  these  sublime  studies,"     He  remembered  doubtless  what 
he  himself  had  felt  od  reading  the  writings  of  Footeaelle. 

The  first  edition  only  bore  the  modest  title  ef  Essay.  He  ac- 
knowledged afterwards  that  he  was  satis&ed  with  its  success.  His 
Essay  had  been  translated  into  different  languages.  It  was  well 
arranged,  clear,  and  well  written.  He  acknowledges  at  the  same 
time  that  the  second  edition,  entitled  General  History,  was  Jess 
fortunate,  and  had  been  very  severely  criticised.  The  cause  which 
he  assigns  for  this  diDerence  is,  that  in  the  Essay  he  had  refrained 
fj-om  speaking  of  living  authors,  whereas  when  he  continued  bis 
history  to  our  own  time  he  could  not  but  find  judges  more  difficult 
to  satisfy.  Without  denying  absolutely  the  justice  of  this  remark^ 
we  must  acknowledge  likewise  that  the  reasons  which  he  assigns  for 
certain  omissions  appear  very  weak.  The  most  disinterested  reados 
must  see  that  difiereat  modem  works  are  not  appreciated  with  a 
care  and  details  proportional  to  their  importance.  The  author,  who 
had  given  an  interesting  account  of  the  discussions  between  Newton 
and  Leibnitz,  and  the  more  recent  disputes  of  the  two  protectors  of 
his  yoi^h,  Clairaut  and  d'Alembert,  was  more  sparing  in  speaking 
of  authors  whom  he  had  studied  with  more  care,  and  for  whom 
perhaps  he  had  not  the  same  affection.  This  restriction  is  equally 
apparent  in  what  be  says,  and  in  what  he  suppresses ;  and  this  part 
t>f  the  work  requires  to  be  done  over  again.  "  His  great  age  and 
his  infirmities  deprived  him  of  the  hope  of  doing  better,  or  bdng 
more  happy,"  But  he  thinks  that  "  his  work  is  of  a  nature  to  he 
perfected  by  successors  more  capable  of  fulfilling  his  intentions." 

These  intentions  were  to  be  just  and  impartial ;  but  he  wished 
that  others  should  be  with  respect  to  him  what  he  wished  to  be  with 
respect  to  others.  He  acknowledges  in  a  posthumous  manuscript 
.  which  has  been  seat  us  "  that  he  always  had  a  harshness  of  cha- 
racter, which  often  injured  him  with  those  who  only  knew  tiim 
tuperficially.  He  did  not  easily  grant  his  confidence ;  he  believed 
all  mankind  in  general  dissemblers  and  deceivers ;  but  jvhen  he 
gave  himself  up  to  the  natural  frankness  of  his  soul,  he  brought 
into  the  commerce  of  life  an  effusion  of  true  feeling,  which  pro- 
cured him  a  great  number  of  devoted  friends,  especially  in  the 
Military  Corps  of  Engineers." 

f<  He  abhorred  impostors  of  all  kinds,"  said  be,  likewise ;  "  he 
had  often  the  imprudence  to  make  them  acquainted  with  hit 
opinions ;  but  he  was  always  in  search  of  true  merit." 

"  He  was  obliging;  and  he  complains  bitterly  of  ungratefiil 
persons."  ' 

"  He  was  persuaded  that  men  who  owed  every  tiling  to  him  had 
shown  the  greatest  ranCour  against  him,  and  had  given  themselves 
a  great  deal  of  trouble  to  prevent  him  from  obtainii>g  places  to 
which  he  had  never  aspired." 

It  is  not  surprising  that  with  such  opinions,  embittered  by  soli- 
tude, and  strengthened  by  the  kind  of  abandonment  in  which  he 
thought  himself  placed,  after  having  enjoyed  a  rank  and  iafluence 


1«I5.]  Charles  Bossul.  40/ 

the  diminution  of  which  he  exaggerated,  be  was  not  very  anxious  to 
point  out  the  merit  of  cootemporaries,  whom  he  thought  in  general 
un&vourobly  disposed  towards  himself.  We  find  ihe  effect  of  tliese 
opinions  in  a  very  bad-humoured  preface  to  his  Mathematical  Me- 
moirs, published  in  1812.  These  memoirs  nre  those  which  had 
gained  prizes,  and  been  published  at  the  time  by  the  Academy  of 
Sciences.  He  adds  to  them  some  notes  on  his  History  of  Mathe- 
matics. He  there  explains  or  demonstrates  theorems  which-  he  had 
too  much  abridged ;  but  he  adds  nothing  to  fill  up  the  blanks  which 
had  excited  the  outcries  of  which  he  was  so  sensible. 

We  must  lament  that  he  was  so  long  the  dupe  of  a  cloudy  . 
imagination,  which  rendered  the  last  years  of  his  life  unhaj^. 
Before  age,  infirmities,  and  the  loss  of  his  places,  had  laid  open 
this  dispofiitioa  to  misanthn^y,  he  appeared  to  us  to  be  filled  with 
benevolence.  I  shaU  always  recollect  with  gratitude  the  notice 
which  he  paid  as  Director  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  to  the  first 
essays  which  I  presented  to  that  body ;  and  yet  he  knew  that  1  was 
particularly  connected  with  an  astronomer  whose  friend  he  was  not, 
and  of  whom  he  must  have  considered  me  to  be  the  pupil  and 
prolegd.  I  may  add  that  I  never  found  the  least  change  in  his 
disposition  towards  me,  though  I  ventured  to  express  an  (^ini(Hi 
opposite  to  his  with  regard  to  some  points  of.  ancient  astronomy. 

We  may  place  his  omissions  in  a  more  favourable  pmot  of  vieir, 
though  we  cannot  pretend  to  excuse  them  entirely.  A  great  work 
on  transcendental  mathematics  is  not  read  with  the  same  facility  as 
a  work  of  history  or  literature.  To  understand  its  merit,  to  be  able 
to  explain  its  plan,  and  to  point  out  the  most  inieieating  parts  of  it, 
a  degree  of  labour  and  attention  is  requisite  of  which  old  age  is  no 
longer  capable.  A  mathematician  possessed  of  the' true  genius  of 
invention  may  astonish  us  by  new  productions  at  an  advanced  period 
of  life.  These  productions  will  be  the  develupements  of  former 
ideas,  to  draw  the  consequences  from  which  no  opportunity  had 
previously  occurred.  But  he  would  be  terrified  at  the  thoughts  of 
following  for  a  long  time  the  steps  oF  another  mathematician.  It 
was  in  town  that  Lagrange  composed  his  last  works,  and  at  the  same 
time  he  avowed  the  necessity  of  going  to  the  country  to  form  aa 
exact  idea  of  the  new  methods  of  M.  Gauss. 

Bossut  wished  to  be  just  and  impartial ;  and  he  wished  it  in  con- 
sequence of  that  harshness  of  character  of  which  he  accuses  him- 
self, and  of  which  he  had  given  numerous  proofe.  We  shall  mily 
notice  one. 

At  the  time  that  he  was  Examiner  of  Engineers,  the  Comte  dtt 
Muy,  at  that  time  Commander  of  the  Order  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  Governor  of  the  Province,  and  afterwards  Marshal  of  France 
and  Minister  at  War,  .had  personally  recommended  to  him  • 
number  of  pupils,  who,  by  a  singular  fatality,  were  almost  never 
worthy  of  being  admitted,  and  who  were  in  fact"  rejected.  The 
Comte  de  Muy  had  expressed  some  dissatisfaction  at  this.  When 
Rft^wards  he  became  Minister  at  War*  and.  wben^  accatdiug  to  the 


custom,  Bosnit  went  to  him  for  the  fint  time  with  m  slitement  of 
ffae  examination  which  hod  been  made,  the  Minister  ugaed  tb« 
promoti(m  without  heaitaling^,  addreasiog  to  Bonut  these  words, 
equalljr  bonourable  to  the  Minister  and  the  philoiopher :  "  I  sub- 
scribe blindly,  for  I  have  already  cxptricnccd  that  it  ii  not  neceiauy 
to  examine  after  you." 

Bouut  was  a  great  admirer  of  Pascal,  whoce  works  he  »iblithed 
In  1 779.  He  had  collecled  with  the  greatest  care  all  the  Tboughu 
and  other  unpublished  meces  furnished  him  by  manusctipts  and 
authentic  copiet.  For  toe  first  time,  Pascal  appeared  in  a  complete 
fom.  The  editor  did  not  wiab  to  conceal  or  suppress  any  things 
not  ev«  the  note  written  about  a  month  after  the  accident  at 
Keuilly.  It  wH  for  this  edition  that  Boanit  composed  bis  discourM 
on  the  life  and  writings  of  Pascal,  which  he  republished  afterwards 
as  soon  as  an  opportunity  occurred.  It  was  •of  all  his  works  that 
nbich  had  been  written  with  most  attention  to  the  style,  and  io 
which  he  had  given  hb  own  opinions  00  subjects  <^  liierature, 
science,  and  religion.  He  saw  in  Pascal  "  a  singular  pbenomenoa 
that  deserved  to  Be  often  recalled  to  memory,  Tbic  profound  rea- 
(oner  was  at  the  sRme  lime  a  rigid  and  suhraisiipe  X^rislian."  Wc 
see  that  Bowut  wished  hrre  to  draw  his  own  chaiaeter.  Destined 
in  his  youth  for  the  church,  known  til)  1792  under  the  title  of 
Abb^,  if  bis  passion  for  mathematics,  and  his  duties  as  a  Professor, 
Io  which  he  was  called  so  young,  did  not  perOtit  him  to  devote 
kimwlf  enliraly  to  the  ecclesiastical  state,  he  preserved  at  least  its 
tnaniters  for  a  long  time,  and  maintained  the  opinions  belonging  to 
it  all  his  life  long. 

He  died  on  the  14th  January,  U14.  Hii  place  in  the  lostitatt 
has  heel)  filled  up  1^  M.  Ampere. 


Article  II. 
On  StpUxria.    By  Dr.  C.  WJlktosoB,  of  Bath,  M.  G.  S. 

(To  Df.  Thousoa.) 

DKAR  SIR, 
Ddbing  b  visit  I  made  at  Harwich  last  May  in  company  with  iny 
learned  friend  the  Hon.  Gen.  Sir  B.  Henniker,  Bart.  1  had  fre> 
qaent  opportuuities  of  examining  the  clilfs,  and-the  progressive  for- 
mation of  seplaria.  These  clif&  are  aboot  30  or  40  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  and  consist  of  a  large  proportion  of  forrtiginow 
clay,  some  silex,  and  carbonate  of  line.  After  every  shower  of 
rain,  if  the  water  absorbed  be  removed  by  evaporation,  or  expanded 
by  frost,  lai;ge  portions  of  the  cliff  become  detached,,  fell  on  the 
•h(H%^  and  Income  exposed  to  the  iafluence  oi  spring  tides,  puring 
^e  peciod  of  »y  rcHdeBct  is  that  sett  port^  I  observed  ^t  io  tlw  - 


181&.}  On  Seplariot  409 

qnee  of  two  or  tfiree  weeks  the  detached  porlloiia  acquired  in  taaay 
iiutancBi  atmnt  a  ffinty.  boldness.  Tfane  are-  broke  into  small 
ptecei  of  about  2  lb.  weigbt,  placed  ta  a  kiln  nmilar  to  a  lime- 
xUd,  and  exposed  nearly  to  the  s^e  degree  of  lieat :  when  re. 
BWred  fraiii  the  kiln,  thejr  are  reduced  to  a  fine  ponrder  in  a  griod- 
iog  mill,  and  then  constitute  the  same  cemeuliag  material  as  viM 
is  known  under  the  name  of  Ijarkin  Cement. 

14ie  cliff,  when  exaniined  in  situ,  has  all  the  appearance  of  an 
uniform  ai^Jlaceous  mass,  except  in  some  parts,  separated  by  a 
whitish  ^in  borizcnt^  layer,  whidi  consists  principatlyof  carbonattt 
«f  lime.  Most  of  the  portions  at  the  penod  of  being  detached 
bave  an  komogeneoos  a[^arance.  Dnring  the  period  of'desicoH- 
tiioa  a  very  curious  change  takes  place.  llW  exterior  part  hardens 
first,  to  a  certain  extent ;  and  as  this  change  is  advancing  towards 
the  central  portiony  a  fissure  is  produced,  and  the  carbonate  of 
line,  which  retains  its  soft  slate  much  longer  than  the  argillaceoua 
fiwtioa,  ii  mechanically  separated  from  the  clay,  and  pcessed  into 
this  divided  pnt.  In  its  first  stage  I  have  remarked  it  to  be  neu 
balf  aa  inch  below  the  sur&ce  of  the  detached  p(^ion.  In  tbia 
state  it  is  soft,  but  not  fluid,  Al^er  tw»  or  three  days  the  calcare<HM 
matter  becomes  level  with  the  surface,  and  in  many  instances  pro« 
jecting  above.  As  the  carboDste  of  lime  hardens,  a  species  of  crys- 
tallization takes  place,  from  wbidi  cause  there  is  an  additicmal  pto- 
tnuion  (^  the  substance.  During  these  processes  there  are  trans- 
verse fissnres  in  different  directions,  considerably  smaller  than  ths 
fiiBt  separation.  These  smaller  clcfb  are  filled  in  a  simihiT  manner. 
When  perfectly  hardened,  and  cut  through,  a  complete  septarium 
is  ofaaerved  to  have  been  formed.  It  appears  that  the  carbooatc  of 
lime  is  tneclianically  mixed  with  the  other  portions;  and  when  it 
cxbts  beyond  a  certain  proportion;  firom  rcmainiDg  softer  longer 
than  the  other  perts^  becomes  mechanicalty  pressed  in  that  direc- 
tion  where  it  meets  with  the  least  renstance,  viz.  the  central  part : 
when  the  sn^xirtion  of  carbonate  of  lime  is  small,  it  remains  iatar- 
tnixed  witti  the  clay.  From  this  circumstance  we  observe  maoy  of 
the  hardened  portions  without  any  calcareous  septa. 

It  appears  probable  that  metallic  veins  may  be  formed  by  &  - 
similar  process ;  in  the  first  instance  an  apparently  hom<^neous 
aoit  mass ;  and  that  during  the  subsequent  periods  of  consolidaiioo, 
the  metallic  mass,  undei^ng  this  change  more  slowly,  may  be 
Mmilarly  detemnned  in  any  fissure  formed  by  the  desiccation  of  the 
other  materials.'  If  different  metallic  sut»(aDces  should  require 
difl«rent  periods  f(x  consolidation,  we  m^y  form  some  idea  of  the 
formation  of  cross  courses. 

1  moulded  into  an  oblong  form  some  of  the  detached  portions  of 
the  cliff;  the  first-formed  fissure  was  longitudinal ;  such  was  to  he 
expected,  as  the  renstance  in  that  direction  would  be  the  least. 

In  Cornwall  we  observe  the  principal  metallic  veins  are  copper, 
and  these  are  generally  ii  the  direction  K.  and  W.  If  we  consider 
ConmaH  as  •  huge  oUoog  mass,  the  Imgitudkwl  diameter  wiQ  be 


410  0/1  Septaria.  [Dbc. 

in  that  direction,  while  tlie  cross  courses  are  maenUy'  filled,  with 
•ome  other  mBterial.  We  may  hence  coaceive  why  the  metal- 
liferous lime-stone  of  Derbyshiie  may  be  separated  by  amygdaloidal 
strata  called  toad-stone.  The  metallic  vein  in  the  upper  stratum  of 
mouDlain  lime-stOue  is  cut  off,  and  again  appears  in  the  calcareous 
bed  below  the  toad-stone  stratum.  Upon  the  foregoing  principles 
we  may  explain  the  fbrmation  of  veins  without  having  recourse  to 
the  Huttonian  or  the  Wernenan  theories  ;  and.  Professor  Play&ir 
•has  adduced  the  septartum  as  a  strong  illustration  of  its  arraage- 
inents  depending  upon  its  previous  Suid  state  by  the  ag;ency  of  heat. 

The  carbonate  of  iron  nearly  constitutes  one-third  of  the  argil- 
laceous mass ;  and  its  cementing  powers  depend  upon  the  Uttge 
proportion  of  this  metallic  matter.  With  the  portions  of  the  cliff 
are  found  great  quantities  of  pyntes  in  thin  flattened  portions^ 
which  have  all  the  appearance  of  iiaving  been  previously  in  a  soft- 
ened state,  as  they  bear  the  marks  of  impression  trom  the  surround- 
ing materials :  and  it  is  not  uncommon  to  find  portions  of.  wood 
strongly  indented  in  them,  and  in  that  condition  as  to  render  it 
impossible  that  they  could  ever  have  been  exposed  to  the  agency  of 
heat.  In  such  abundance  thb  sulphuret  of  iron  exists,  as  to  largely 
contribute  to  the  supply  of  a  copperas  work  in  the  vicinity  of  Har- 
wich. Although  the  quantum  of  pyrites  is  so  considerable,  yet  no 
traces  of  the  sulphuret  of  iron  are  discorerable  in  the  argillaceous 
mass.  The  formation  of  these  pyritical  masses  favour  the  opinion  1  - 
hare  ventured  to  offer  relative  to  the  formation  of  veins.  If  we 
t%gard  all  the  substances  which  constitute  the  cliS*  to  have  been  in  a 
very  softened  state,  and  to  have  been  formed  of  a  general  admixture 
of  alumina,  silex,  carbonates  of  lime  and  of  iron,  and  of  the  sul- 
phuret of  iron ;  in  the  first  stage  of  desiccation  the  sulphuret  of 
iron  appeart'to  be  the  first  portion  thus  mechanically  separated.  As 
the  complete  consolidation  cannot  take  place  in  situ,  on  account  of 
the  retentive  power  of  the  large  proportion  of  alumina  for  water,  as 
soon  as  portions  of  the  ctitf  are  detached  and  exposed  to  the  tar,  the 
hardness  above  noticed  takes  place,  with  the  changes  already  par- 
ticularized. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Bath  we  have  frequent  opportunities  of  ob- 
serving in  our  rocks  vegetableandanimal  remains  in  such  conditions 
as  to  &vour  the  supposition  that  the  surrounding  mass  has  been  in  a 
similar  softened  slate.  lately  a  stratum  of  blue  lyas  at  Twyetton 
has  been  worked  for  the  purposes  of  repairing  the  roads.  In  this 
rock  some  ammonites  of  nearly  12  inches  in  diameter  have  been 
discovered,  most  curiously  compi'fssed  out  (^  their  usual  spiral 
direction,  Hitljout  any  destruction  of  the  general  characters  of  the 
cast  of  the  shell  of  this  supposed  sea  snail.  In  the  fissures  of  this 
lyas  bed  there  are  numerous  beautiful  octohedial  crystals  of  pyrtte^ 
and  in  the  same  clefts  are  found  large  portions  of  wood,  which  have 
all  the  appearance  of  having  been  softened  and  flattened,  the  lig- 
neous character  in  many  parts  well  preserved,  while  the  greater 
portions  are  converted  iato  beautiful  jet.  1  have  oae  of  these  fnece^ 

r:,9,N..<ib,G00gIe 


1815.]  jbi  Esstn/  on  Bents.  4ll 

Bearl^  2  lb.  In  weight,  one  end  of  which  has  the  colour  and  pro- 
>  perties  of  the  Borey  coal,  aod  the  remaining  portion  in  the  state  of 
jet.  These  ligneous  portions  have,  in  their  diying,  split  in  different 
directions,  and  into  these  divisions  sulphuret  of  iron  has  been 
pressed^ 

.  It  Js.  a  circumstance  remarked  by  agrieulturists,  that  when  stiff 
clay  lands  are  well  lime^,  however  carefully  mixed  and  ploughed 
ioto  the  clay,  in  the  course  of  time  a  series  of  hardened  calcareous 
masses  are  formed,>  enQciog  that  during  the  changes  of  the  condi- 
tions of  the  ar^llaceous  part,  in  its  softening  and  in  its  drying 
stages,  the  liirle  becomes  mechanically  separated. 

I  siiall  take.the  liberty  of  troubling  you  for  a  future  number  with 
some  remarks  on  the  resuhs  of  the  analyses  I  have  made  on  the 
cubstance  of  this  cliff,  before  and  after  its  calcination. 
I  am,  dear  Sir,  yours  respectfully, 

C.  H.  WlIAINSON, 


Article  III. 

jlx  Essay  on  ike  Shapes,  Dimensions,  and  Positions  of  Ike  Spaces 
in  the  Earfk  wkick  are  called  Rents,  and  ike  Arrangement  of  the 
Matter  in  ikem :  with  Ike  Definition  and  Cause  ofStratificatUmi 
By  Mr.  John  B.  Longmlre. 

{C(mttii*ti.ff«n  p.  SIT.) 
On  Svrf ace  Rents. 
I  HAVB  said  that  the  earth's  features  are  owing  to  -the  unequal 
contraction  of  its  matter :  the  object  of  the  following  essay  is  to 
prove  this  assertion. 

.  The  dry  land  is  generally  divided  into  mountainous  and  flat 
ground. .  Mounlainous  ground  consists  of  many  long  elevations  and 
depressions,  or  mountains  and  valleys,  which  are  generally  situated 
in  the  iblloning  order- :  one  range  of  mountains  divides  the  moun- 
tain ground  into  two  pam  ;  both  of  which  lost  contain  ranges  that 
make  with,  the  principal  ranges  either  right  or  acute  angles ;  and 
aometimes  either  or  both  of  them  contain  small  ranges  similarly 
disposed  towards  them  as  they.are  to  the  principal  range.  A  range 
of  vallies  lies  between  two  ranges  of  mounttuns.  If  a  line  be  drawn 
round  the  principal  range,  that  for  the  greatest  part  is  parallel  to  it, 
but  that  shall  cross  all  the  secondary  ranges  at  right  angles.  The 
surf^^  line  of  these  ranges  in  this  direction  will  be  welt  repre- 
sented  by  the  unduhtting  line  abed  efg,  fig.  4,  Plate  XXXVIU. 
which  line  encloses  three  mountains,  h,  a,f,  and  leaves  two  valleys, 
(,  e,  between  them.  This  alternation  of  mountain  and  valley  is  thua 
accounted  for.  The  earth's  matter,  before  it  had  assumed  its  pre- 
sent degree  of  solidity,  diminished  considerably  in  bulk :  and  as  itt 


clemeltMry  Babstaoca  are  not  the  same,  oor  thtti'  pn^rtiont  to  one 
tnotber  equal,  in  every  part,  the  parli  which  dlflcred  firom  mben 
diminuhed  in  bulk  more  or  lest  than  tbey.  Heace  soitte  paru  bava. 
sunk  much  lower  than  othere;  but  as, in  general  that  diSereDce  ilk 
the  component  parts  of  matter  reached  na  masimum  progretoinlf^ 
h  is  productive  of  the  undulated  turface  befOTe  dcaoibed,  oilier 
whicit  tlie  matter  at  a,  c,  e,  sunk  lower  than  at  b,  d,f. 

The  shape  of  mountaia  and  valley  just  ibeatMoed  appears  to  ba 
the  moiil  geoeral,  though  not  the  only,  ime :  for  wfam  tbe  'matter 
under  valleys  sunk  below  tbe  topt  of  tnountum  above  a  nrlaia 
distance,  it  appears  to  have  separated  the  mountaioa  into  two  or 
more  parti,    liet  fig.  5  be  the  croai  lection  of  a  mountwQ  that  is 

-  Ivoken  into  two  parts.  A,  C.  Let  a  &  c  be  the  ^aeral  wHace  line 
of  a  mountain  when  it  preiervei  the  ordinary  %ure.  But  the 
matter  under  the  vallies  a,  c,  sunk  lower  than  this  line  by  the  depths 
c  k  and  a  d';  and  in  doing  so  it  forced  the  mountain  A  C  to  separate 
in  the  middle  at  ^  ?  ;  and  one  side  to  pass  from  be  toe  g,  and  tbe 
other  from  b  g  to  1  ^.  The  valley  B,  fber«f<M^  is  formed  by  the 
separation  of  the  mountain;  and  the  sides  eg  and  gi  are  not 
natural,  but  forced,  surfaces.  As  all  valleys  similar  to  the  valley  B 
are  filled  up  to  certain  hei^its,  say  equal  to  the  height  of  tbe  line 

.  fk,  doubts  may  be  entertained  if  the  sides  t  g  and  e  g,  ta  seen  on 
the  surface,  really  continue  to,  and  meet  at,  the  point  g;  bat  sulK* 
dent  proofs  are  found  in  the  appearance  of  the  sand  and  gravel, 
and  in  the  water  of  lakes,  by  which  such  parts  as  the  pan  fg  A  are 
filled.  In  the  middle  of  the  last  described  talfey  we  sometimes 
meet  with  a  rock,  D,  iig.  6,  rising,  «i  it  were,  out  of  the  body  of 
sand.  Such  a  rock  continues  downwards  till  it  meets  the  sides  b  k 
and  Am,  at  m  and  k,  and  the  hoilom  kc  d  and  fg  m  are  filled 
vrith  gravel  and  sand,  or  with  the  water  of  bikes.  The  p»s  between 
Ambleside  and  Cockermonth,  and  probaUy  tbzt  betwaea  the  cut 
and  west  seas,  which  contains  the  lakes  Linnbe,-  Locky^  and  Ne>^ 
consist  of  a  succession  of  villeyi  like  that  valley  just  descried. 
Sometimes  a  mountain  !s  sepwntcd  mto  three  partly  as  fi$.  7  repn* 
seoti.  In  all  these  separatiom  the  .opposite  sides  of  tiiity*  k» 
seldom  of  tbe  same  height ;  and  sometimra  one  side  of  »  mlk^  is 
so  much  lower  tluui  the  other,  a»  to  be  totally  cBvcred  vAth  athitU 
maUer,  or  with  lakes.  The  valley  of  Wiodetmere  ha»  tbitf  appMC 
Boce :  g  k  i,  fig.  8,'B  tbe  lake,  k  I  thr  stMp  iUe  of  die  mwrnwia 
on  tbe  west,*  and  gf  the  flat  mountain  oti  tnacast  ride  of  the  lAt. 
Tbe  part  ejTA  was  once  aa  high  aa  tbe  part  /  ra ;  itt  Ibst  tim«  th^ 
would  appear  like  the  pricked  sectioaal  lines  a^  h^  c^d;  but  Iwf 
former  p«rt  having  a  ttfndeDcy  to  sink  lowei  than  t)w  latter,  a  scp»- 
ratioQ  took  place  between  them,  and  left  them  st  Sbdrty  to  contmet 
independent  of  each  other ;  accordingly  the  pdrl  a  b  snedt  to  tjhf 
and  the  part  t  d  Xa  /  ]h;  but  the  pwt  gki  di  the  tide/  k  i« 


J6150  -^  ^^*lf  <"  ^'^f'  41S 

oo^^vej  with  the  like  noi  aUuvinl  mattor,  so  that  ibe  steep  side  k  u 
which  corrupfloib  with  the  steep  ^e  i  ^  cannot  be  ge«D. 

AH  \he  rents  in  a,  gnuf  of  mountaiBs  are  resoWaUe  into  some  of 
llie  foregoipg  reots  i  and  all  niountains  aixi  valttes  are  compoacd  of 
sQOiQ  otm,  or  coinbiwtionB  of  two  or  more  of,  or  all,  these  Datund 
or  rented  inequalities.  When  a  mountain  is  separated  iuto  parts  fay 
aorftce  rents,  the  codhhod;  or  undalated  figure,  is  often  disguise*!^ 
«r  rather  altered  i  but  a  sufBcieat  rcseinhlance  still  remaina  belweca 
i(»  6gatv  as  it  appears  «t  f«e«ent,  and  what  it  was  before  these  rents 
k«ppBDBd,  to  dtfttDguish  the  original  ntent  and  shape  of  every 
nMuataiB,  Where  wouqiauia  and  valleys  are  small  undulated  ia- 
equalittes,  ai  ia  the  printitive  district  of  Cornwall  and  Devonahin^ 
surface  rents  are  wanting ;  and  from  this  circumstaace  arises  th« 
tameness  of  the  scenery  in  these  parts;  but  in  the  niountains. of  the 
northern  parts  of  England  aod  Scotland  the  undulations  are  much 
higher,  and  of  course  surfoce  rents  abound,  and  give  the  charac- 
teristic sublimity  to  these  mMnttiias. . 

I  have  hitherto  confined  my  remarks  to  the  pnmitive  mountains. 
The  mountains  of  transition  lime-stone  have  steep  sides  whi^ 
generally  face  the  primitive  mouolaiDS,  and  flat  sides  next  the  floetz 
or  stratified  -countries  j  but  aoeoetiates  the  steep  side  faces  the  stra- 
tified formations,  and  occasionally  any  point  between  the. primitive 
moA  slrBtt£cd  fonaAtioB)i.  This  diSisence  m  the  poution  of  the 
aaowMUH  nasaea  of  line-£tonc  is  tlius  accounted  kk.  When  tht 
lisse-McNM  Ucaon  the  lemote  side  of  a  mountuo  nuige,  whose  long 
diractian  h  panUel  to  Aat  of  the  priacipel  moontaln  rMigc,  the 
stwp  std«  noes  the  centfe  of  the  mountains :  aod  when  it  lies  oa 
that  uhi  of  sudi  a  mottBtain  which  is  nearest  the  centre  of  the 

Eiimtlive  gtoup^  its  steep  ^de  then  fiicea  the  stratified  formatioDs ; 
ut  if  it  lie  on  either  side  ctf  a  mouitaia  whose  position  is  at  right 
imgke  to  that  of  the  principal  range,  its  sleep  side  neither  fitees  the 
centre  of  the  gi'oup,  nor  directly  the  atrstified  fonnatiora,  bat  a 
place  half  way  betweca  th^e  extremes.  The  reason  why  moimiaia 
n>i!iSMQfLuBe-«ton«,  lying  only  on  one  side  of  prtDiiUve  mountain^ 
mmk  have-  steep  aoid  flat  sides,  wilt  ^pear  on  examining  the  dia- 
g(Ut  atttdied  to  fig.  4.  The  floetz  fOTmatioos  have  undulated  iib- 
et^Mlilica  also,  but  tbey  are  vaaiA  smaller  than  those  of  the  primi- 
tive matter.  The  smalluess  of  these  inequalities  is  owing  to  the 
loUoviMg  circuBOStAnees  :  a  collection  of  the  floetz  fixmstiuns  ties 
4ni  wiy  tange  hollons  of  the  priniiive  and  traositioa  matter.  Hence 
M  this  holktw  was  fecmingand  filting  slowly  and  progress rvely,  the 
lower  half  bed  time  to  ajcouire  a  ceosderabla  degree  of  solidity,  so 
liut.  wfaeB  the  hoUow  wb»  oiled  it  was  mostly  the  unequal  contrac- 
naa  of  the.  mallet  in  (he  upper  half  of  the  formations  that  ccfuld 
tStet  the  siH&ce ;  and  the  inequity  m  the  contraction  of  this  part 
«QxU  gin  nse  t»  oak  small  elevttians  and  depreGstons.  Whea 
^thar  tbft  top»  of  istaated,  itjadefiyiag,  usettatified,  mountains^ 
mti.'ek  ate  oaaqsoaed  ailheE  of  pdautmt  matter,  such  as  day-^rt«^ 

r:,9,N..<ib,G00gIe 


41^  On  the  Collision  of  Hard  Bodies.  [Dkc, 

&c.  or  lime-stoBe,  or  the  tops  of  underlying,  stratified  motintaios; 
such  as  some  of  theoewest  iioetz  trap  formatioDs  of  Weroer,  appear 
above  the  geoeral  stratified  ftvniatioDs  which  surround  them,  they 
bave  iodividuaity  one  steep  and  one  flat  side,  and  are  much  la^er^ 
tbaD  any  other  inequalities  that  are  found  among  the  stratified  for- 


Tbe  nodulated  figure  of  the  earth's  inequalities,  as  has  lieen 
■hown,  took  its  rise  from  the  sinking  of  the  ground  lower  in  one 
part  than  in  another^  and  the  rented  surfaces  were  formed  by  its 
■inking  below  natural  valleys,  so  mueh  that  the  high  ground  was 
fOTced  to  separate  into  parts,  to  permit  the  conunuation  of  that 
linking.  Therefore  all  the  earth's  features  are  owing  to  the  unequal 
coDtractioQ  of  its  matter. 


Article  IV. 

On  the  ColUsion  ofperfectlif  Hard  Bodies.    By  Mr.  John  Gougb. 

(To  Dr.  Thoiiison.) 
SIR. 
Bodies  are  divided  into  elastic  and  inelastic,  from  a  very  obvious  ' 
difference  in  their  effects  after  collision ;  ther  are  also  distinguished 
by  the  epithets  of  hard  and  soft,  from  their  comparative  pliantness. 
'  Hardness  and  softness  are  terms  with  which  every  one  is  acquainted; 
but  the  human  mind  constantly  endeavours,  in' the  contemplation 
of  (he  qualities  of  things,  to  conceive  them  in  astate  of  perfection; 
for  it  thereby  acquires  precise  definitions,  which  are  afterwards  used 
in  comparing  the  same  qualities  as  tbey  occur  in  nature.  For  this 
leason  philosophers  define  that  body  to  be  perfectly  hard  which  is 
so  constituted  as  to  resist  all  change  of  figure  when  acted  on  by  a 
finite  force.  On  the  contrary,  those  bodies  are  said  to  possess  the 
quality  of  hardness  in  an  imperfect  degree  which  undergo  any 
alteration  in  their  shapes  from  collision  or  pressure ;  which  changes 
are  evidently  produced  by  an  internal  motion  amongst  their  consti- 
tuent particles ;  and  this  motion  is  as  cvidcnUy  e&cted  in  time  in 
c<»isequence  of  aa  external  force  being  applied  to  the  mass.  After 
mathematicians  have  divided  bodies  into  the  kinds  stated  above, 
they  proceed  to  lay  down  theilaws  of  collision  by  help  of  these  de* 
finitions;  but  their  demonstrations  do  not  appear  to  be  conducted 
with  the  same  perspicuity,  nor  evenwiih  equal  correctness  in  all  the 
cases ;  I  mean  in  tbose  rclati[>g  to  hard  bodie-;.  For  theorems  have 
been  invented,  expressing  the  interchange  of  motion,  arising  from 
the  collision  of  bodies  which  are  perfectly  elastic,  and  of  such  as 
are  imperfectly  so;  and  the  results  are  found,  upon  comparison,  to 
differ  essentially.  But  when  the  same  interchange  comes  to  be  In* 
vestigated  in  the  case  of  bard  bodies,  no  notice  ts  taken  of  perfect 

n,,:-A-..>yGoogIe 


and  imperfect  faardness ;  but  the  result  of  the  inquiry  is  commonly 
referred  to  bodies  possessing  the  quality  in  an  absolute  degree, 
though  it  is  manifestly  derived  from  the  properties  of  matter  which 
is  comparatively  soft  or  pliant.  The  fundamental  theorem  is  com- 
monly expressed  in  the  following  manner,  or  nearly  so.  If  two 
perfectly  hard  bodies  impinge  upon  each  other,  they  will  move 
together  after  colliaion  with  the  velocity  due  to  their  common  centre 
of  gravity  before  and  after  impact,  or  else  both  will  remain  at  rest> 
Hie  arguments  advanced  in  support  of  the  proposition  may  be  thus 
staMd.  When  a  perfectly  hard  body,  A,  impinges  directly  on  an- 
other perfectly  hard  body,  B,  part  of  A's  motion  is  transferred  to 
B,  by  the  action  of  A  ;  and  an  equal  quantity  is  taken  from  A  by 
the  re-action  of  B.  Thus  is  the  velocity  of  B  augmented,  and  that 
of  A  diminished,  until  they  become  equal,  when  action  and  re- 
action ceases:  but  it  is  the  velocity  ol  the  bodies  which  is  changed 
by  collision,  not  the  momenium  of  the  system;  therefore  the 
velocity  of  A  and  B  becomes  equnt  to  that  of  their  common  centre 
of  gravity,  from  the  force  of  impact;  consequently  if  the  centre  of 
gravity  be  without  motion,  A  and  B  are  reduced  to  a  state  of  rest. 
Such  are  the  arguments  advanced  in  support  of  the  projiosilion : 
but  if  only  part  of  A's  momentum  be  transferred  toB,  and  that 
gradually  too  until  these  velocities  become  equal,  the  centre  of 
gravity  of  A  will  in  the  mean  time  approach  that  of  B.  In  other 
words,  the  figures  of  both  bodies  will  be  changed;  consequently 
they  are  imperfectly  hard  and  inelastic. 

After  making  the  preceding  lemarks  on  the  fundamental  theorem 
relating  to  tlie  doctrine  of  collision  in  general,  I  will  esdeavour  to 
investigate  the  effects  which  really  would  result  from  the  impact  of 
bodies  possessing  the  quality  of  hardness  in  an  absolute  degree. 
For  this  purpose  the  reader  is  requested  to  form  the  simple  diagram 
for  himself,  which  is  easily  done,  and  will  spare  the  editor  a  little 
unnecessary  trouble. 

Let  A,  B,  P,  G,  &c.  be  a  row  of  circles  touching  each  other 
externally  in  succession.  Also  let  the  right  line,  C  X),  pass  tlirough 
their  centres,  and  the  figure  is  complete. 

Prop.  1. — If  a  perfectly  hard  body,  A,  moving  in  the  direction 
C  D  with  the  momentum  M,  impinge  upon  a  perfectly  hard 
bddy,  B,  at  rest,  A  will  loose  all  its  momentum,  which  will  be 
transferred  to  B  in  the  same  direction,  CD;  for  as  soon  as  A  and 
B  come  into  contact,  their  centres  of  gravity  will  cease  to  approach 
by  definition;  therefore  A  will  exert  its  momentum,  M,  collectively 

•  innt.  R  in  1I.A  Hirootinn  P.  Tt     nn  tb^tA  l.pin<r  hnr)  ta  tltiic  :   bikI  R 


D,g,t,.?<i  I,,  Google 


4\S  On  the  FrntUation  of  Ceal-Mhm.  tP»e. 

of  bodies,  B,  F,  O,  &c^  which  tre  in  cootutj  the  ncMBcntuBi 
of  A  will  be  iostaDtaneously  traosferred  to  the  iurthest  body,  6) 
without  any  change  of  place  in  F  and  B.  This  is  evident  frota  the 
propoutiim. 

Prop.  2. — If  a  body,  A,  moving  in  the  directioo  CD  with  the 
momentum  Mjineet  another,  B,  moviog  in  the  direction  D  C  with 
the  inoHientuni  R,  these  bodies  wili  interchoi^  their  direction! 
and  momenta ;  for  the  force  acting  upon  A  ia  the  direction  D  C, 
io  consequence  of  B's  re-action  to  A's  motion,  and  the  eicrtinn 
of  its  own  momeiitam,  will, be  M  +>  R;  but  A's  monientuiii;  in 
CD  ia  M;  and  the  excess  of  these  forces,  viz,  R,  ^«ei  A's 
momentum  in  D  C  after  collision :  in  like  manner  B  is  urged  in 
C  D  with  the  same  force,  M  +  R>  and  Ui  D  C  with  the  force  B. 
Therefore  M  is  B's  momentum  in  CD  after  impact,     Q.  E.  D, 

Cot. — ^Two  perfectly  hard  bodies,  whose  centre  of  grairUy'  is 
statiooary,  are  not  reduced  to  a  slate  of  rest  by  collision. . 

Prop.  5. — If  a  perfectly  bard  body,  A,  moving  with  the  momen- 
tum M  in  the  line  C  D,  impinge  upon  another,  B,  also  moving  in 
C.  D  with  the  mome^tiua  B,  no  change  ^  direction  will  take  place 
in  either ;  but  A's  momentum  after  impact  =  A  H  -^  B,  and  that 
ofB  =  M  +  R  —  AH-4-B.  For  the-relative  velocity  of  A  and 
B  beftwe  collision  =  M^A  —  R-*-B;  therefore  momentum  rf 
collision  =M~AB-^B  =  re-action  of  B  or  A  in  directien 
DC;  which  subtracted  from  the  greater  magnitude  M,  as  A's 
momentum  in  C  D,  gives  A  R  -i-  B  =  A's  momentum  in  thiA 
direetion  after  colliuoo.  Again,  the  actitMi  cS  A  upon  B's  momen- 
tum, R,  in  the  same.direction  C  D  gives  B'l  momecttum  after  im- 
pact =  M  +  R  -  AM-^B.    afi.D. 

Cor. — A  andB  caaooL  in  any  case  more  together  after  im^«l; 
for  supposing  they  can,  A's  velocity,  R-i-B  =  M^B  +  n-i- 
B  -  A  R  -J-  B  B.     Hence  M  -f-  A  =  R  -c  B,  which  is  impos- 
sible by  the  proposition.  I  am,  youre,  &c. 
4M-itV>  -^EnuK  Of^.  %  ISIS.  ^*^^'*  GoufiS. 


Article  V. 

Queruffv^eelmg  the  VmiiUtion  ofCoai~Mines, 

(To  Dr.  Thomson.) 

Thk  nrioiM  aectdcnts  that  have  recently  hqipeoed  to  miners,  are 
etdculated  forcibly  to  ezdte  the  attention  of  every  &ieD^  to  hanu- 
oity;  and  tbeiotereit  which  these  eventt  have  awaVened,  will,  I 
have  no  doubt,  mduce  many  persons  to  exernse  their  miods  upM 
the  means  of  averting  such  fatal  mbchiefs  Uom  so  useful  a  portion  •{ 
Ibfi  cfimmttoitjF. 


The  most  valuable  discoveries  are  frequently  of  the  greatest  sim- 
plicity, and  have  occasionally  been  elicited  by  persons  whose  habits 
were  very  remote  from  tb^  aceotf  of  their  application.  Will  yi>u 
'permit  one,  who  Js  desirous  of  obtaining  as  much  information  as 
possible  upoii  the  methods  at  present  adopted  to  ?enti]ute  comI- 
mines,  to  request  that  some  of  your  correspondents  who  are  con-t 
versant  with  the  subject  would  state  in  your  Journal,  or  refer  to  any 
other  publication,  in  which  a  minirte  detail  may  be  found  of  the 
whole  of  the  contrivances  employed  to  expel,  exhaust,  or  counteract, 
the  injurious  effects  of  the  carbureted  hydrogen  gas,  which  has  la 
so  many  instances  rendered  the  extremities  of  mines  inaccessible  to 
the  workmen.  I  ani  not  unacquainted  with  the  usual  method  ot 
ventilalloii  by  the  atmospheric  current ;  but  should,  nevertheless^ 
wish  to  see  a  circumstantial  account  of  the  difierent  processes, 
common  or  rare,  by  which  it  is  effected,  and  wlicre  and  in  what 
respecis  they  are  found  to  fail,  together  with  whatever  expedients 
may  have  been  resorted  to  as  remedies  for  such  defects ;  and  where 
these  also  have  been  unattended  with  success,  to  what  cause  such 
failures  may  be  attributed.  It  would  likewise  be  desirable  to  know 
how  far  any  of  the  ingenious  persons  interested  and  concerned  in 
mines  have  proceeded  in  their  endeavours  to  devise  a  security  for 
miners  against  the  elTects  of  the  eruption  of  gas  while  they  are  at 
work. 

A  statement  of  the  whole  of  these  particulars,  and  of  any  others 
that  bear  upon  the  points  in  question,  might  prove  of  service  to  the 
cause,  in  calling  forth  the  efforts  of  some,  who,  wishing  to  employ 
their  thoughts  upmi  them,  are,  for  want  previously  of  precise  in- 
formation upon  these  matters,  at  a  loss  how  to  direct  their  attention 
to  advantage.  I  need  scarcely  suggest  that,  in  taking  any  subject 
of  art  iuto  consideration,  it  is  highly  expedient  to  be  informed  of 
the  advancement  which  others  have  already  made  in  it,  and  the 
maimer  in  which  even  their  unsuccessful  attempts  have  been 
directed.  Where  this  cannot  be  obtained,  invention  will  not  have 
fair  play,  and  the  most  sedulous  endeavours  may  be  lavished  upon 
what  has  long  been  known;  After  a  series  of  efforts,  it  has  often 
appeared  that  only  a  small  pprtion  has  been  gained  of  the  same 
ground,  over  which  others  had  unproiiiably  passed  before,  and  hours 
of  application  may  thus  be  utterly  lost. 

I  am,  Sir,  yours  respectfully. 


Description  of  on  ImtnemetU  f»  [Dxe. 


Description  of  an  Instrument  for  eiimring  theMienlion  ofH'StiA- 
men.    By  Henry  Beaufoy,  Esq. 

(To  Dr.  Thomson.) 
DEAR  SIR,  Xinufon,  Oct.  SS,  1815. 

Tbb  losses  and  inconvenience  to  which  the  coniinunity  are- ex- 
posed through  ihe  inattention  of  watchmen  to  their  nightly  duties 
are  a  theme  of  general  complaint.  Tlie  depredations  committed, 
not  unfrequently  within  a  few  yards  of  the  watchman's  starion,  are 
a  practical  proof  of  the  very  insuRicient  manner  in  which  the 
rounds  are  performed.  The  cause  of  the  evil  is  evidently  to  be 
traced  to  the  inability  of  the  employers  to  compel  vigilance  by  the 
certainty  of  detection. 

Having  occasion  myself  some  time  ago  to  conduct  a  process  In 
which  success  depended  on  an  undeviating  hourly  attendj^uce 
throughout  the  day  and  night,  it  became  necessary  to  devise  some 
means  by  which  the  presence  of  those  appointed  to  manage  the 
operation  miglit  be  insured.  - 

■  The  watch  clock,  of  which  I  have  the  honour  to  enclose  you  a 
'  drawing,  completelyanswered  the  purpose.  Jt  is  raually  adapted 
to  civil  and  military  as  to  manufecturing  purposes.  By  placing  the 
clock  in  any  building  at  the  further  extremity  of  the  round,  it  not 
only  points  out  occasional  dereliction  from  regularity^  but  registers 
the  precise  hour  in  which  the  neglect  took  place. 

In  the  first  wheel  or  register  I  had  made,  the  inner  or  hour  circle 
was  omitti'd  for  the  sake  of  getting  rid  of  extraneous  weight}  but 
in  the  second  it  was  introduced  bs  combining  the  double  purposes  of 
the  common  house,  as  well  as  of  the  register,  clock. 

I  am  conscious  that  this  communication  is  too  insignificant  to  be 
worthy  of  a  place  in  your  Journal;  but  having  derived  advantage 
from  the  use  of  the  register  myself,  I  think  it  possible  that  some  of 
your  readers  interested  in  manufacturing  establishments  may  feel 
no  disinclination  to  adopt  a  safe  check  on  the  coiifidential,  and  ad 
unerring  detector  of  the  careless,  in  their  employ. 
I  remain,  dear  Sir, 
Your  most  obedient  and  obliged  servant, 

Henby  Beaufot. 

ITie  machine  consists  of  a  common  eight  day  striking  clock,  the 
glass  front  of  which  is  reduced  to  the  diameter  of  the  hour  circle, 
as  shown  in  fig.  1,  Plate  XLI.  The  hour  and  minute  hands 
are  removed,  and  tlie  register  substituted  in  their  room,  .Tbe 
register,  being  required  to  make  but  one  revolution  in  12  hours,  is 
fixed  to  tbe  h«ir  arbor  of  the  clock-work.    The  figures  on  the  hour 


I,,  Google 


--^ 


,-,..<,.,  Google 


1815.3  eiuaring  the  AUenlion  of  Watchmen.  419 

circle  are  reversed  Id  the  order  in  which  they  stand  on  the  commoa 
clock  l^cea,  because  the  mntion  of  the  hours  becomes  reversed  by 
making  the  dial  revolve  instead  of  the  hands.  The  register  is 
composed  of  three  distinct  parts :  a  light  brass  circular  magazine^ 
half  an  ioch  nide,  and  of  the  same  deptli,  divided  into  12  com- 
partments;  a  lid  or  cover  with  the  same  number  of  elliptical  perfora- 
tions ;  and  an  hour  circle.  Fig.  4  shows  the  hour  circle,  to  the  outer 
rim  of  which  are  attached  three  crutches,  I,  h,  I,  to  receive  and 
support  the  magazine,  which  is  guided  into  its  place,  and  kept 
steady  there,  by  six  small  shoulders  or  projections,  c,  c,  c^  on  its 
inner  edge,  which  embrace  the  sides  of  the  crutches.  Fig.  3  re- 
preseols  the  magazine  or  ooter  circle,  with  its  front  plate  removed, 
exhibiting  the  division  into  compartments.  The  partitions  are  made 
by  two  or  three  wires  rivetted  or  screwed  into  the  two  sides  of  the 
circle.  Fig.  2  is  a  front  view  of  the  register  with  all  its  parts  con- 
nected: c,  c,  d  are  three  studs  or  buttons  which  keep  the  lid 
affixed  to  the  magazine.  In  this  view  are  shown  the  elliptical 
qxniDgs  into  the  magazine.  These  openings  are  10  minutes  ia 
their  shortest,  and  20  in  their  longest,  diameter.  ThC' rim  moves 
iso  easily  in  and  out  of  the  crutches,  as  to  admit  of  its  being  de- 
tached, or  put  on,  without  affecting  the  going  of  the  clock.  Im- 
mediately above  the  meridian  of  the  clock,  fig.  1,  a  hole,  a,  is 
bored  through  the  wooden  door,  of  a  diameter  equal  to  10  minutes 
measured  on  tlie  register  circle.  The  centre  of  this  hole  must 
exactly  coincide  with  the  centre  of  the  openings'in  the  rim  of  the 
register.  It  only  remains  to  furnish  the  watchman  with  a  sufficient 
number  of  light  spherical  wooden  balls  of  a  diameter  equal  to  the 
holes  in  the  clock  front,  and  to  instruct  him  to  drop  one  into  the 
hole,  a,  at  each  hourly  visit.  The  elliptical  shape  of  the  holes  ia 
the  face  of  the  rim  wilj  allow  the  ball  to  pass  into  the  register  either 
five  minutes  before  or  five  minutes  after  the  exact  hour  stroke.  At 
the  expiration  of  the  watch,  the  door  is  unlocked,  the  rim  removed 
from  the  crutches,  and  the'face  or  lid  slipped  from  the  studs.  The 
absence  or  presence  of  a  ball  in  each  compartment  indicates  the 
regularity  or  the  neglect  with  which  the  duty  has  b«en  performed. 

Reference  to  the  Plate. 

Fig.  1,  the  head  of  the  clock  with  the  register  adapted  ready  for 
use. 

Fig.  3,  the  hour  and  raster  circles  in  woridng  Ordor. 

Fig.  3,  the  register  without  its'plate  or  cover. 

Fig.  4,  the  hour  circle  with  the  cnitchei  ready  to  receive  the 
rewster,  fig.  3. 

Wi%.  5,  a  section  in  perspective  of  fig.  2,  fixed  to  the  hour  arbor, 
i)  of  the  clock,  as  in  fig.  1. 

Fig.  6,  one  ef  the  crutches  ittacfaed  to  the  twr  drde,  fig.  4, 
«Dd  which  cany  the  register,  fig.  9. 

n,r.^^<i"yG00glc 


[Dxc. 


Article   VII. 


Further  Observations  on  Fluxions.    By  Aiex.  C^rutisbtij  Esq. 
Professor  of  Humaaity,  ICdinburgh. 

(To  Dr.  Thomson;) 

MY  DEAR  sift,  EMuinrgk,  Oct.  tS,  IBIS.    ■ 

To  same  retAtrks  on  Eoctid's  <lefinition  ot  proportion,  in  bis 

fifth  book,  to  be  inserted,  if  you  -choose,  h»  yoor  Jrmals  of  PkHo- 

aoph^,  I  9u(^iD  the  deducttoa  of  flusioDS  from  die  definidoa  wMdi 

you  published  in  May. 

-  If  the  equriity  of  the  {iroducts  of  the  means  and  of  the  extremes 
be  assumed  as  the  criterion  of  proportiomlitr,  it  is  evident  that  the 

formula TT ^"iS — g. demonstrates  Euclid's  property,  iit  his 

fifth  defiaitioD,  hook  fifili,  with  regard  both  to  comineDstirables  and 
to  iDconamensurables )  and  that  the  formula  is  applicable  eren  to 

'  alslmet  Numerical  and  algebraical  quantities :  but  it  will  be  fonnd 
that  the  criterion  above-mentioned  is  not  so  convenient  as  Euclid's 
for  demonstration.  We  cannot,  however,  np[rfy  Euclid's  criterion 
or  property  so  universally  as  the  other ;  for  we  cannot,  in  demon- 
stration, apply  it  to  abstract  numerical  and  algebraical  quantities : 
we  cab  apply  it  to  thoie  quantities  only  in  which,  as  in  geometrical 
mi^ituaes,  the  slowest  learner  sees  that  tbc  firat  and  the  third 

.  have  a  necessary  dependance  on  each  other,  as  also  the  second  and 
the  fourth.  A  learner  understands  immediately  Euclid's  definition 
if  he  be  directed  to  prop.  36}  book  6  ;  for  suj^osing  the  angle  at 
the  centre,  the  first  term  is  an  arch  of  the  one  circle,  and  the  third 
tenu  is  the  corresponding  angle  of  that  arch.  Now  it  is  impossible 
for.  the  slowest  learner  to  conceive  that  he  can  double,  &c.  the  arch 
wlirst  tetm  without  doubling,  &c.  the  corresponding  angle  or  third 
term.  The  same  may  be  sud  witli  regard  to  the  second  and  the 
foutth  terms,  which  belong  to  the  other  circle.  If  the  one  circle 
be  laid  on  the  other,  and  if  the  multiple  of  the  one  arch  be  equal 
to  the  multiple  of  the  other,  tJie  multiple  of  the  one  angle  must 
also  be  evidently  equal  to  the  multiple  of  the  other;  and  if  greater, 
greater;  and  if  leas,  less:  coruequetitly  the  quantities  are,  by  the 
definition,  proportional.  The  equimultiples  of  the  first  and  thtfd, 
and  of  the  second  and  fourth,  can  be  exhibited  to  the  learner  with- 
out  taking  any  particular  numbers  as  multipliers :  but  it  ip  impos- 
sible,  I  think,  to  do  so  with  regard  to  any  abstract  numerical  and 
algebraical  quantities  which  are  to  be  proved  proportional ;  and  if 
we  take  parts,  we  abandon  Euclid's  definition.  Euclid's  definidon, 
then,  is  not  applicable  to  all  proportional  quantities ;  but  it  is  per-, 
feet  if  it  be  Kinited.  l)y  it^proper  i»nge :  it  admits,  but  it  does  not 
need,'  demoostratioa }  it  includes  incommenstiriibles ;  and  it  -  is^ 

n,,:-A-..nGoogIe 


1815.]  On  Fluxions.  .  421 

monstrates  simply  and  rapidly  where  some  emineat  malheoiaticians 
deiDOQStrate  complexly  and  tediously. 

As  fluzioDs  are  a  part  of  the  theory  of  rates,  I-subjoin  an  alge- 
braical iovestigation  and  demoost ration  of  Ae  fluxiotiai  problem. 

Definition. 

Fluxions  is  a  method  for  finding  the  rate  of  chaage  in  a  quantity 
and  its  function. 

Problem. 

To  find  the  fluxion  of  x*;  n  being  any  positive,  integml,  number ; 
and  ;r  or  I  being  assumed,  as  it  may  be,  for  the  fluxion  of  x,  while 
X  varies  UDiformly. 

:c"  may  be  repres«nted  thus,  xxxxxxx...  .with  a:  as  often 
employed  as  there  are  units  in  n ;  and  if  it  is  only  the  first  x  that 
vanes,  the  fluxion  must  be  \  3^~^  i;  but  if  every  x  varies  in  suc- 
cession, the  fluxion  must  be  k  af  ~ '  a'.     Q.  E.  I.  and  D. 

If  ;r  =:|i=l  X  Ibe  represented  by  a  square  whose  side  is  = 
1,  «  aC~ '  *  may  be  represented  by  an  oblong  with  1  for  one  of  its 
sides,  and  naf~'  for  the  other ;  consequentiy, 

As  the  square  :  the  oblong  ::  I  x  :  n  xf~'x. 

If  a  learner  flnil  any  difficulty  in  conceiving  that  if  x  vary  uni- 
formly, i  or  1  is  the  fluxion  of  x,  he  will  easily  learn  that,  io 
comparing  the  rate  of  variation  or  change,  in  an  uniform  motioa 
of  l&,ig.  feet  in  a  second,  with  the  law  of  descent  of  heavy  bodies, 
the  rates  at  the  end  of  each  successive  second  are,  as  t  :  2,  as  ]  :  4, 
as  1  :  6,  &c.,  the  space  gone  over  by  the  uniform  motion  being 
represented  by  x. 

If  those  ancients,  such  as  Archimedes,  who  understood  varying 
quantities,  had  subjoined  the  rate  of  variation,  they  would  have 
taught  us  fluxions  ;  but  perhaps  they  had  not  a  proper  notation. 

In  your  33d  number  the  reader  may  insert  &c.  after  great, 
p.  17?,  1.  2  ;  reduced  for  referred,  p.  179,  1.  33 ;  x  being  =  \, 
p.  ISO,  1.  SO,  after  coefficients;  rigour  for  vigouT,  p.  181,  1.4; 
letter  for  latter,  p.  182, 1.  7  i  and  he  may  e&ce  the  words  betweca 
the  first  rate  and  (f,  p.  18:2,  1.  41. 

1  am,  my  dear  Sir,  yours  feithfully 

Alsx.  Chrietison. 


Article  VIII. 


Letter fiom  Wm.  Henry,  M.  D.  F.R.S.  correcting  some  defective 
Statements  in  different  Histories  of  the  Introduction  of  Bleaching 
by  Oxymuriatic  Acid. 

(To  Dr.  Thomson.) 

PEAR  SIR,  Manchtiltr.  Od.  1815. 

The  fourth  volume  of  Mr.  Parley's  useful  work,  lately  pub- 


?<i  I,,  Google 


422  Oti  Bleaching  ly  Oxymuriatk  Acid.  {Psc. 

bleaching  by  oxymuriatic  acid  into  this  country,  which,  though 
correct  in  the  main,  is  not  altf^ether  so.  It  resembles,  indeed,  so 
tlosely,  in  several  respects,  a  statement  published  some  years  ago 
in  Dr.  Rees's  CyclopEedia,  that  it  is  probable  the  historical  informs- 
tion  of  both  was  derived  Irom  the  same  source.  You  will,  there- 
fore, oblige  me,  if  you  consider  the  subject  of  suSicient  importance, 
by  admittiog  into  your  Journal  the  substance  of  a  representation, 
which  I  addressed  several  years  ago,  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Rees,  in 
behalf  of  the  claims  of  a  person  in  whose  reputation  I  may  natu- 
r^ly  be  supposed  to  feel  some  interest.*  But,  independently  of 
this  interest,  it  does  appear  to  me,  that  the  public  ought  to  be  set 
right  respecting  the  real  history  of  this  invention.  The  credit 
wiiich  a  map  of  science  derii'cs  from  contributing  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  useful  arts,  is  often  (as  in  tills  case}  the  only  reward  he 
receives ;  and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  historian  of  those  arts,  first  to 
make  himself  thoroughly  master  .of  the  facts,  and  then  to  detail 
them  with  fairness  and  impartiality. 

I  have  chosen  this  time  for  bringing  the  matter  before  the  public, 
because  all  the  parlies  concerned  are  still  living,  some  of  them  at 
a  very  advanced  age,  and  may  readily  he  called  upon  for  farther 
evidence,  if  it  should  be  thought  necessary. 

I  am,  dpar  Sir,  yours  very  truly, 

W'm.  Hhnbv. 

(To  the  Rev.  A.  Ree«,  D.D.  F.R.S.  &c.) 

BET.  SIR,  Dct.  1809. 

Observing  that  the  early  volumes  of  your  Cyclopeedia  are  about 
to  be  reprinted,  I  am  induced  to  fulfil  an  intention,  which  I  have 
long  entertained,  of  addressing  a  few  tines  to  you  respecting  the 
article  BLEACMmc,  published  in  vol.  iv.  part  2,  1st  editioa.  The 
writer  of  that  article,  in  assigning  to  different  persons  their  shares 
of'  merit,  in  the  introduction  of  the  mode  of  bleaching  by  oxy- 
muriatic acid  and  its  compounds,  has  made  a  distribution,  which 
b  very  far  from  being  an  equitable  one. 

Of  the  part  which  was  taken  by  Mr.  Watt  of  Birmingham,  in 
the  appHcaiion  of  Berthollet's  important  discovery,  &r  too  little  is 
said ;  and  of  Mr.  Henry's  share  in  the  improvement  oot  the  small- 
est notice  is  taken,  though  it  could  not  fait  to  be  known  to  the 
writer  of  the  article,  who,  at  that  period,  was  himself  engi^ed  in 
this  town  in  pursuit  of  the  same  object,  and  was  in  habits  of  occa- 
»anally  communicating  with  Mr.  Henry  on  the  subject.  The 
*Tuth  is,  that  next'to  Mr,  Watt,  Mr.  Henry  was  at  least  -equally 
^ly  with  any  other  person  in  applying  the  discovery  to  practice. 
In  proof  of  this  I  might  appeal  to  the  general  notoriety  of  the  fact, 
in  this  town  and  neighbourhood  ;  but  1  depend  chiefiy  for  its  esta- 
blishment, on  a  number  of  letters  from  Mr.  Watt  to  Mr.  Henry, 
written  in  the  year  17^^i  which  are  now  before  me.    They  foriq 


1815.]  On  Bleaching  ty  Oxt/mitrialic  Acid.  423 

part  of  a  series,  in  which  each  of  those  gentlemen  disclosed,  un- 
reservedly to  the  other,  the  prog;ress  of  his  experiments  id  this  new 
art.  In  a  letter  dated  Feb.  23,  1788,  Mr.  Watt  states,  that  at  ' 
that  very  time,  1500  yards  of  linen  were  bleaching  by  the  new  pro- 
cess under  his  directions ;  and  he  desires  that  the  circumstance  laAj 
be  stated  to  a  meeting  of  the  manufacturers  and  merchants  of 
Manchester,  then  called  by  public  advertisement,  '  to  consider  of  a 
petition  presented  to  Parliament  by  M.  M.  Bourbollon  de  Bonnueil 
and  Co.,  concerning  a  liquid  which  whitens  linen  and  cotton  in  a 
shorter  time  than  the  old  method,  and  without  the  inconveniences 
and  losses  to  which  that  method  is  liable.* 

At  this  meeting  half  a  piece  of  calico  was  produced,  which  had 
been  blenched  immediately  before  by  Messrs.  Cooper,  Baker,  and 
Charles  Taylor,  by  the  new  method ;  and  at  the  same  meetings 
Mr.  Henry  produced,  not  indeed  half  a  piece,  but  half  a  yard  of 
calico,  which  he  had  just  bleached  by  the  oxymuriatic  dcid.  What 
was  wanting,  however,  in  quantity,  was  made  up  by  the  quality  of 
the  work ;  and  the  smaller  specimen  was  declared  to  be  superior  in 
whiteness  to  the  larger  one.  It  was  this  superiority  that  gave  occa- 
sion to  an  application  from  one  of  the  bleachers  present  (M.  Ridg- 
way  of  Harwich)  to  Mr.  Henry,  to  be  instructed  in  the  new  pro- 
cess. And  the  instructions  which  he  accordingly  received,  were 
the  first  step  of  a  series  of  improvements  carried  on  by  Mr-  It.  and 
Ills  son,  with  an  ability  and  spirit  of  enterprise,  which  have  raised 
their  establishment  to  its  present  great  extent  and  importance, 
Mr.  Henry,  also,  besides  instructing  other  persons,  himself  esta- 
blished a  bleaching  concern,  which  was  afterwards  abandoned, 
from  no  defect,  however,  of  the  processes  carried  on,  but  in  con- 
sequence of  the  dishonourable  conduct  of  a  partner,  and  of  the 
occupation  of  his  own  time  in  the  practice  of  medicine. 

The  event  of  the  public  meeting  was,  that  in  consequence  of  the 
facts  stated  in  Mr.  Watt's  letter,  and  of  the  testimony  of  Mr. 
Cooper  (now  of  Carlisle  College,  America)  and  Mr.  Henry,  who  ' 
were  present,  the  members  for  the  county  were  instructed  (o  oppoge 
the  petition  when  presented  to  Parliament;  and  its  prayer  was  ac- 
cordinglyrefused.f     Having  failed  in  this  object,  the  ne&t  attempt 

•  In  this  teller,  Mr.  Walt  taji  "  I  liav«,  /or  more  than  a  tutlvmonth,  *<*ea  ta 
pMBCsifoa  mil  practice  of  b  method  of  pre|)arln)(  a  ilqaor  Traui  comman  lalt, 
wblch  possegSM  hlraching  qoalil'iea  in  &D  emineDt  decree  g  bill,  nol  being  the 
iDTcntOr,  1  hare  not  sltempted  lo  get  a  palent  or  exclaiiir  privil^e  for  It.  And 
X  have  gital  teuson  to  believe  that  the  proceai  of  ihrge  gentlemrn  (Baurbntlnn 
and  Co.)  ii  the  very  iime  that  I  pracliie,  and  thai  ihej'  have  learnt  it  from  tba 
Mune  iDiirce,  the  ioveotor  being  an  eminent  chemist  and  piiiioiapher  at  Paria." 
It  )l  evident,  therefore,  that  all  claims  for  priotily,  that  have  beca  hitherto  ad. 
vanced  in  this  connlry,  mnit  jield  to  that  nf  Mr.  Wait,  whogr  arlnal  employ. 
Bent  of  Itie  oiymurialic  acid  in  bleaching  dain  from  the  itgitnirig  of  the  year 
178T. 

(■  This  was  the  tme  reason  of  the  rejection  of  the  petition,  and  not,  a>  Mr. 
Parkes  iilate«,  (EHayi,  iv.  01),  the  opposition  of  a  gentleman,  who  happened  to 
be  in  the  gallery  of  the  Houw  nf  Commons  when  Ibe  petition  iras  brongiit  foi- 
WBid.    Mr,  WbU,  alio,  (who  in  making  Iheie  effoiU  bad  no  iletr  nlmtciulohi* 


434  -  Conversion  of  Storck  into  Sagar,  [Dae. 

of  De  Bonnueil  aod  Co.  was  to  obtain  a  patent.  But  here  agBia 
they  tnet  with  effectual  oppositioD,  no  anavailing  part  of  which 
ponsisied  in  an  instrument,  presented  in  due  legal  form  by  M'« 
.  Uenry  iRdividually,  agHiast  the  claim  of  the  petitioners.  This 
liocument,  dated  July  2,  1788,  is  now  before  mc.  It  contains  an 
ppcount  of  the  processes  then  actually  practised  by  Mr.  Heory,  and 
{Comprehends  every  thing  at  this  day  khown  respecting  the  use  of 
the  oxymuriatic  acid  in  bleaching,  with  the  exception  of  the  appli- 
cation of  lime  to  the  condensation  of  the  gas.  This  application  of 
lime  was  afterwards  made  by  Mr.  Henry,  in  a  way  which  adapted  , 
it  only  to  white  goodi.  But,  in  consequence  of  a  happy  invention 
of  Mr,  Tennant  of  Glasgow,  which  may  be  considered  as  the  last 
Step  In  the  improvement  of  the  art,  the  use  of  oxymnriate  of  lime 
was  extended,  in  the  year  1798j  to  fabrics  of  tbe  most  delicate 
colours,  and  rendered  more  practicable  and  advanti^eous  in  the 
bleaching  of  white  ^oods. 

After  this  statement,  I  appeal  to  you.  Sir,  whether  the  history 
of  the  art  of  bleaching,  contained  in  your  Gyclopeedia,  written  by 
one  who  was  perfectly  well  acquainted  with  the  facts  which  I  have 
alleged,  can  be  considered  as  any  thing  but  exceedingly  Unfair  and 
partial.  And  1  claim  from  your  known  candoui-and  love  of  justice, 
that  the  person  in  whose  behalf  I  stand  forward,  shall  receive  in 
the  subsequent  edi^ons  of  your  work,  a  fair  share  of  credit  for  his 
prompt  and  active  zeal  in  furthering  a  most  important  invention, 
and  in  defeating  the  purposes  of  those. who  aimed  at  rendering  it  an 
injurious  monopoly. 

I  am,  Rev.  Sir,  with  great  respect  and  regard, 
u  Your  obedtent  Servant, 

William  Hbnbi. 


On   Ike   Coaversion  of  Starch  hilo  Sugar. 
By  M.  Theodore  de  Saussure,* 

The  process,  which  Mr.  Kirchof  (Adjunct  of  the  Academy  of 
Sciences  in  Petersbugh)  has  discovered,  of  converting  starch  into 
sugar  by  long  boiling  in  very  diluted  sulphuric  acid,  has  been  fre- 
quently repeated  hy  chemists,  and  has  been  enriched  by  several 

ovrn  prime  advBOlagc,)  was  in  other  r«Bpecu  a  [unrerriil  auiiliarj  in  preienl- 
iog  the  nion<i|)ol>'  of  the  foreigners.  Id  anorher  letter  to  Mr.  Heorj,  ilalcd 
■  June  8;  ITSS,  he  sayi,- "  ThroDgb  the  ltri|i  of  iby  fricndB,  sncb  patliqiaeDWrj 
interest  nus  made,  as  must  in  aoiae  degree  have conlriCiuled  la  defeat  ttie'  jilagiiuy 
Itaarbollou,  whose  sole  prelenilons  are  founded  on  his  )iii|irej;nntin];  cnuslis 
Htkalies  vrith  the  ^ns,  a  proeeie  previoQsij  discovered  and  publicly  mcalioDcd  by 
Berlhollet,  bal  laid  aside,  ai  it  destroys  imlf  the  efficacy  of  tbe  acid. 

*  Translated  froca  Gilbert's  Annalen,  vol.  ilix.  p.  1S9.  Feb.  18I&  Thtpapei 
«|i^[¥d  orifiuaii^  in  (he  ^Ibltollieqiie  BriUiDaiquE  for  1614,/  ~   iiaoIi' 


1816.]  ODfttwrnon  of  Starch  mto  Si^ar.  425 

important  remarks.  But  hitherto  nobody  has  explained  what  alte- 
ratioiM  in  itt  cotnpoiition  the  starch  uodei^oea  in  thb  procesij 
though  this  would  throw  considerable  tight  upon  vegetation,  and 
would  elucidate  the  chan^  of  starch  into  sugar  in  the  buds  of 
plants.  Profenor  de  la  Rive  of  Geneva,  in  a  paper  published  in 
the  49th  volume  of  the  Bibliotheque  Britaanique,  has  shown  that 
in  KirchofTs  process  no  gas  is  evolved,  that  the  alteration  of 
the  starch  goes  on  in  close  vessels  without  the  access  of  air, 
and  that  the  sulphuric  acid  is  neither  decomposed  nor  united 
to  the  starch  as  a  constituent.  M.  Vogel  in  Paris  has  made 
the  same  ohservatimia,  and  has  likewise  found  that  long  boil- 
ing in  pure  water  does  not  convert  the  starch  into  sugar,  Hence 
be  concludes,  conformably  to  the  well  known  action  of  sulphuric 
acid,  that  even  in  this  case  it  acts  by  uniting  together  a  portion  of  the 
oxygen  and  hydrogen  of  the  starch  and  converting  them  into  water. 

In  order  to  elucidate  these  points,  1  have  endeavoured  to  deter- 
mine whether  the  sugar  formed  from  starch  by  this  action  of  sul- 
I^uric  acid  has  a  smaller  weight  than  the  starch  from  which  it  was 
formed.  For  this  purpose  I  put  into  a  silver  vessel  400  grammes  of 
distilled  water,  I  then  mixed  it  with  24  grammes  of  sulphuric 
acid,  made  it  boil  moderately  on  a  charcoal  fire,  and  put  into  it  in 
different  portions  100  grammes  of  starch,  previously  mixed  >vhh 
200  grammes  of  water.  During  this  addition  the  liquid  was  con- 
stantly stirred  with  a  spatula,  to  prevent  the  starch  ^m  being 
burnt  or  becoming  brown,  which  would  have  diminished  its  weight 
and  rendered  the  results  doubtful.  In  half  an  hour  the  mixture 
was  brought  from  the  state  of  dough  to  a  complete  solution,*  I 
now  put  it  into  a  capsule  with  a  long  neck,  washed  with  200 
grammes  of  water,  the  clammy  matter  left  by  the  starch  on  the 
silver  vessel,  dissolved  it,  pat  the  whole  into  the  capsule,  and  kept 
it  for  42  hours  over  an  Argand's  lamp  in  a  heat  never  exceeding 
199^,  I  now  weighed  the  solution,  filtered  it,  and  weighed  like-  ' 
wise  the  white  dough  which  remained  behind  upon  the  filter,  and 
which  may  be  considered  as  a  |x>rtioii  of  starch,  which  from  the 
adhesion  of  its  parts  escaped  the  action  of  the  sulphuric  acid. 
Thb  dough  being  repeafealy  washed  and  dried  in  the  open  air,' 
weighed  4  grammes,  and  when  examined  by  means  of  wHter,  acids, 
and  alkalies,  exhibited  .all  the  ppoperlJes  of  starch.  We  must 
theroAwe  subtract  these  4  from  the  100  grammes  of  starch  em- 
plc^ed  in  the  experiment.     Upon  the  filter,  and  in  this  starch- 

•  If  it  be  allowed  la  cool  bI  Ihil  lime  it  brcnmes  again  psrlly  Ihiot,  ani!  nhen 
Btlered  leave*  npon  the  Bller  a  caDsiderable  qnantliy  of  Kiarch  ttill  nnallcred, 
nbilc  liie  »olDtioD  pauea  readily  and  qvile  clear,  tbrough  ihe  paper.  Wbea  thi( 
lolution  is  cunceotiated  and  mixed  trilb  alcohnl,  (here  falls  dawa  a  (raniparent 
dry  colourlesi  uialwr,  noi  allered  by  tipubure  to  the  alrg  which,  Trnai  lis  siiliu 
bility  Id  naler,  iniulnbility  In  slcoliol,  and  ila  clammtness  when  diaiolved  In  k' 
litlle  waler,  iicimilarto  gam,  Barytn  natir,  when  pnured  iiilo  the  tnlution, 
iiccasium  do  preclpilatc,  ai  baryleaand  si<1|ihiiric  acid  fnnn  a  triple  compound 
nllh  pimmy  bndln,  nhicta  is  uanallj  nlublr  in  wnler.  li  IMagnrnmy  budy  kiml. 
int  inivll  its  properties  or  not,  ta  the  brawnJtb  body  obtiuoed  by  raaitin(  ilarcb  I 


426  Omversioii  of  Starch  into  Sugar.  [Dsc. 

dough  before  it  was  washed,  i\usk  remained  ^th  of  the  filtered 
liquid.  Theicfore  when  I  give  the  result  here  1  increase  the  last 
by  one  ninth. 

I  poured  barytes  water  into  the  61tered  liquid  as  long  as  any  pre* 
dpitate  felt.  This  precipitate]  after  being  heated  to  redness, 
weighed  6*7  grammes,  and  was  sulphate  of  harytes.  A  small 
quantity  of  it  passed  through  the  filter,  and  was  afterwards  found 
in  the  ashes  of  the  starch  sugar.  Now  this  sulphate  of  barytes 
contains  all  the  sulphuric  acid  which  was  employed  ia  experiment. 

The  solution  thus  freed  from  sulphuric  acid  was  reduced  to  the 
consistency  of  a  thick  syrup,  and  then  left  in  a  state  of  repose.  It 
furnished  a  yellowish  sugar,  which,  after  long  exposure  to  the  open 
air  in  a.  temperature  of  52°,  and  while  the  hair  hygrometer  stood  at 
75*^,  weigb«i  96'8i)  grammes.  Such  was  the  quantity  of  sugar 
obtained  from  96  grammes  of  starch.  So  that  100  grammes  starch 
will  yield  100-!)3  grammes  of  sugar,  supposing  both  dried  at  the 
temperature  of  the  atmosphere ;  but  this  result  must  be  brought  to- 
the  temperature  of  boiling  water  before  we  can  put  much  confi- 
dence in  it. 

100  grammes  of  the  starch  with  which  these  experiments  were 
made,  being  exposed  for  six  hours  to  a  heat  of  212*,  lost  13*4 
grammes  of  water ;  and  wlien  burnt  left  0-16  of  ashes. 

On  the  other  hand  100  grammes  of  solid  starch  sugar  treated  ia 
the  same  way,  lost  A'^A  of  water,  and  left  0*75  of  ashes,  most  of 
which  was  sulphate  of  barytes  that  had  passed  through  the  filter. 

If  according  to  tlieie  results  we  reduce  the  starch  and  its  sugar  to 
a  boiling  heat,  and  subtract  from  them  the  ashes,  we  find  that  100 
parts  of  starch  will  form  II0'I4  parts  of  sugar. 

This  sugar,  when  dissolved  in  half  its  weight  of  water,  formed  a 
^rup,  which  might  be  mixed  with  alcohol  of  36"  of  Baume's  areo- 
meter in  any  proportion,  without  the  precipitation  of  any  gum. 
Hence  gum  does  not  constitute  a  portion  of  starch  sugar,  as  some 
have  believed,  except  when  the  process  has  not  been  continued 
long  enough,  or  when  the  starch  itself  has  been  scorched,  in 
which  ca&c  the  starch  sugar  will  be  lighter  than  the  starch  from 
which  it  was  obtained. 

As  starch  boiled  in  water  with  sulphuric  acid,  and  thereby 
changed  into  sugar,  increases  in  weight  without  uniting  with  any 
sulphuric  acid  or  gas,  or  witht)ut  forming  any  gas,  we  are  under  the 
necessity  of  ascribing  the  change  solely  to  the  fixation  of  water. 
Hence  we  must  conclude,  that  starch  sugar  is  nothing  else  than  a 
combination  of  starch  with  water  in  a  solid  state. 

The  sulphuric  acid  and  other  acids  appear  to  act  no  other  part 
in  the  process,  than  to  promote  the  fluidity  of  the  aqueous  solu- 
tion of  the  starch,  and  thereby  facilitate  its  combination  with 
Water.* 


r  potatiKi  direct); 


1815.]  Comiertim  of  Starch  into  Si^ar.  427 

This  explamtioQ  of  the  change  of  starch  into  ntgsr  irfll  be  fallf 
confirmed  by  my 

Awd^m  of  Slofch  and  Starch  Sugar, 
I  burnt  57  milligram mes  of  starch,  which  had  been  Med  in  thft 
mean  temperature  of  the  atmospliere,  in  oxygen  gas.  This  com- 
bustion consumed  4(^31  cubic  centimetres  of  oxygen  gas,  and 
there  were  formed  43*83  cubic  centimetres  of  carbonic  acid  gas 
and  0*13  cubic  centimetre  of  azotic  gas.* 

In  another  experiment,  48  milligrammes  of  starch  dried  in  the 
same  way  consumed  33-99  cubic  centimetres  of  oxygen  gas,  and 
jst>duced  34-80  cubic  centimetres  of  carbonic  acid  g^  and  0-16  of 
Bvrtic  gas. 

If  we  take  the  mean  of  these  two  experiments,  we  find  that  100 
parts  of  starch  dried  at  the  temperature  of  boiling  water,  and  ab- 
Btraotlog  the  ash  which  they  contain,  are  composed  as  follows^ 

Carbon 45-39'l 

Oxygen 48-31  I       JWater 50-48 

Hydrt^n  , ,     5*90  f      ^Oxygen  la«xcess  ....     37<* 
Azote 0-40  J 

100«0 

On  the  other  hand,  53  milligrammes  of  starch  sugar  prepared  •■ 
above  described,  and  dried  at  .the  temperature  of  52^,  consumed 
when  burnt  34*59  cubic  centimetres  of  oxygen  gas,  and  there  were 
produced  36.07  cubic  centimetres  of  carhonic  acid  gas. 

la  a  second  experiment,  63  milligrammes  of  starch  sugar  coo- 
•Gumed  37*755  cubic  centimetres  of  oxygen  ga^  and  produced 
39-584  cubic  centimetres  of  carbonic  acid  gas. 

The  mean  of  these  two  experiments  gives  the  composition  of 
starch  sugar,  abstracting  the  asn,  as  follows : 

C"!"" »?-2?1       rw.ttr    58-44 

100-00 
When  we  compare  together  these  analyses  of  starch  and 
starch  sugar  with  each  other,  we  find  that  they  give  us  the  same 
result  as  the  synthetical  experiments,  namely,  that  the  only  differ- 
ence  between  the  sugar  and  the  starch,  is  that  the  former  contains 
a  greater  proportion  of  water  as  a  constituent  than  the  latter.  Bui 
in  the  quantity  of  thb  water  the  two  methods  of  experimenting 
difler  from  each  other.  When  100  parts  of  starch,  dried  at  th« 
temperature  of  boiling  water,  were  clianged  into  sugar,  they  ap< 


'..>;  Google 


428  Ctmutrsioa  of  Starch  into  Sugar,  [Dxc. 

pCHcdlohavectfaibiaed  with  10  parts  of  water;  while  soalysis 

fives  20  parts  mcnv  water  in  the  starch  sugar  than  in  the  Marefa. 
t  is  obvious,  however,  that  the  proportion  of  water  obtained  tnr  the 
first  method  moBt  be  too  »inall,  as  in  a  prorass  trf  that  kiod  it  is 
•Hty  difficult  to  avoid  all  loss,  besides  tliat  which  it  occasiooed  by  a> 
conunanceoieDt  of  roasting. 

Analysis  of  the  Sugar  of  Grapes. 

1  obtained  the  sugar,  with  which  the  folhjwiae  experiments  vnrt 
made,  from  Mr.  F^utex,  by  whose  labouia  the  maoufacture  of 
nigar  of  grapes  has  been  greatly  improved. 

100  psrt»of  sugar  of  grapes,  dried  at  the  temperature  of  53'5**, 
and  when  the  hygrometer  stood  at  75°»  when  exposed  to  the  bqpt 
of  boiling  water,  lost  3*14  parts  of  water  ;  and  when  burnt  left  a 
renduum  weighing  0513  parts. 

0-&&  centigrammes  of  the  Bame  sugar,  dried  at  53*5°,  when 
burnt,  consumed,  according  to  the  mean  of  two  experimentSf 
34*21  cubic  centimetres  of  oxygen  gas,  and  formed  36-17  cubic 
ceDtipoetres  of  carbonic  acid  gas.  Hence  100  parts  of  sugar  of 
grapes,  dried  at  the  temperature  of  boiling  water,  are  composed 
as  follows : 


Carbon 36'7I 

Oxygen . . 
Hydrogen 

100-00 


Carlwn 3671 1        r  Water  58 


l^e  result  of  this  analysis  of  sugar  o£  grapes  does  net  USa 
farther  from  that  of  starch  sugar,  than  is  usual  in  two  different  ex- 
periments upon  the  combustioQ  of  the  same  body.  These  two 
sugars  likewise  approach  so  near  each  other  in  all  their  other  pro- 
perties, as  to  render  it  probable  that  they  constitute  only  one  species, 
rhey  both  melt  at  the  temperature  of  bmling  waters  they  have 
both  the  same  sweet  and  fresh  taste ;  they  both  undergo  the  vinous 
fermentation;  they  both  crystallize  confusedly  in  spherical  crystals ; 
they  are  both  equally  soluble  in  water  and  in  weak  alcohol ;  and  all 
the  differences  which  exist  between  them  are  analogous  tp  those 
which  we  frequently  tind  between  sugar  of  grapes  from  two  differ- 
ent varieties  of  grapes. 

Sugar  bum  the  cane  and  frona  beet  differs  much  from  these  two, 
and  from  all  other  sugars,  by  containing  a  greater  proportion  of 
carbon,  According  to  the  enalysis  of  Gay-Lussac  and  Thenard^ 
100  parte  of  the  sugar  of  the  sugar-cane  nrntain  between  42  and 
43  parts  of  carbon,  and  the  oxygen  and  hydrogen  are  so  graduated 
aa  to  fonn  water  without  any  residue.  I  have  obtained  the  same 
result,  except  a  small  escess  of  oxygen  above  the  elementary 
ivater,  which  might  very  well  be  owing  to  an  error  in  my  expe- 
riment. , 


181S.]  Conversion  of  ^Starch  into- Sugar,  429 

Method  of  conducting  my  Experiment, 
la  the  preceding  atialysei  I  made  use  of  tfae  foUowin^  method* 
which  I  employ  in  the  analysis  df  gummy  and  woody  bodies  that 
coDtsia  Tcryiittle  or  no  azotic  gas.  I  reduce  the  vegetable  body  to 
at  6ne  a  powder  as  possible,  mix  it  with  50  times  its  weight  of 
silicious  sand,  and  ]»it  it  into  a  glass  tube  bent  in  the  middle  at  a 
right  angle,  close  at  one  «nd,  and  famished  at  the  other  with  an 
iron  stop  cock.  Thb  tube  is  about  a  metre  (39*3]^  inches)  in 
length,  and  its  width  is  such,  that  it  is  capable  of  containing  rather 
more  than  fOO  cubic  centimetre  (12*2  cubic  inches)  of  gas.  I 
weigh  the  vegetable  substance  by  the  way  of  substituticHi,  in  the 
tube  itself)  by  means  of  a  balance,  which,  whm  loaded,  turns  by 
the  addition  of  one  milligramme  (0-015  gr.)  Ute  air  is  then  ex- 
tracted from  this  tube  by  means  of  the  air  pump ;  it  is  filled  with 
oxygen  gas,  the  slop  cock  is  shut,  and  all  its  joints  are  covered 
over  with  mastich,  or  it  is  surrounded  by  a  column  of  mercury 
during  the  burning  of  the  vegetable  matter,  in  order  to  be  certain  . 
that  no  gas  makes  its  escape  while  it  is  expanded  by  heat :  for  the 
stop  cock,  which  incloses  a  portion  of  gas,  is  not  always  able  to 
withstand  the  compression  or  dilatation  which  takes  place  within, 
which  frequently  acts  as  a  kind  of  valve. 

The  stop  cock  being  thus  secured,  I  Keat  that  part  of  the  tube 
with  which  the  vegeuble  body  is  in  contact,  to  an  Abscure  red ; 
and  forthis  purpose  I  employ  a  spirit  lamp,  which  gives  a  flame  at 
least  one  decimetre,  high  (3-937  inches)^  and  at  least  of  such  ji 
diameter  as  to  surround  the  whole  circumference  of  the  tube. 
Liquid  find  sooty  matter  speedily  disengages  itself,  and  is  depo- 
sited ID  a  neighboaring  part  of  the  tube,  which  is  kept  cool  by 
being  surroQDded  with  moist  paper.  1  afterwards  heat  this  part  of 
the  tube  to  redness.  The  vegetable  matter  bums,  and  is  partly 
volatilized  and  condensed  in  another  part  of  the  tube.  This  new 
portion  is  heated  to  redness  in  its  turn.  I  go  on  in  this  manner, 
heating  the  condensed  portion  a  great  many  times  in  succession, 
till  tlie  decomposition  appears  to  be  complete,  and  the  lk]utd  re- 
maining to  be  nothing  else  than  pure  transparent  water. 

To  measure  the  aJteration  of  the  volume,  which  tlie  gas  las 
imdergtme  during  the  combustion,  I  fill  a  graduated  tube  one  deci- 
metre in  length,  and  furnished  with  an  iron  slop  cock  at  each  end, 
with  mi^rcury  and  with  oxygen  gas,  fix  it  on  the  firet  tube,  plunge 
the  end  of  it  under  mercury,  and  open  both  the  stop  cocks,  which 
establishes  a  tree  communication  between  the  two  tubes,  and  ob- 
serve the  increase  or  diminution  of  gas  which  has  taken  place.  To 
get  the  gas  out  of  the  lube,  I  screw  upon  both  the  tabes  a  balloon, 
furnished  with  a  stop  cock,  and  filled  with  mercury.  The  mercury 
rbns  into  the  tube,  and  the  gas  makes  its  way  into  the  balloon.  The 
quantity  i>f  it  is  sufficient  to  make  four  eudiometrical  experiments 
op  its  nature. 
'  In  order  to  determine  whether  the  vegetable  iubstsoce  aubjectcd 

Cookie 


430  Conversion  of  Starch  into  Sugar,  [Dkc. 

to  combustioD  contained  azote,  I  wash  with  SO  grammes  of  water 
the  large  tube  and  the  meTcory  with  which  it  was  filled,  in  order  to 
drive  out  the  gas,  and  .sqwrate  tbis  water  from  tbe  mercury,  "bj 
means  of  a  fiinoel  with  a  capillary  tube.  I  then  distil  this  water  at 
a  moderate  beat  over  hydrate  of  lime.  A  tube  mobtened  with 
^eutral  nitrate  of  mercury,  dipped  into  a  few  drops  of  the  distilled 
liquid,  occasioDi  a  greyish  black  precipitate,  evea  when  the  quan- 
tity of  azote  io  the  vegetable  substance  analysed  does  not  exceed 
oae  thousandth  part  of  the  whole. 

By  means  of  this  reagent  I  estimated  nearly  the  small  quantity 
of  ammonia  which  eskted  in  the  products  of  my  analyses,  after 
liaving  ascertained,  by  previous  trials,  how  much  water  it  was  neces- 
sary to  add  to  a  known  mistureof  ammonia  and  water,  to  reduce  it 
to  the  limit  of  precipitating  immediately  with  nitrate  of  mercury. 
I  found  that  when  water  has  absorbed  half  its  volume  of  ammo- 
niacal  gas,  or,  in  other  words,  when  one  gramme  of  water  has 
absorbed  00003443  gramme  of  ammonia,  55  times  its  volume  of 
pure  water  may  be  added  to  it,  without  preventing  the  precipitate 
from  immediately  appearing.  But  this  is  the  utmost  limit  of  dilu- 
tion ;  for  if  more  water  be  added,  the  precipitate  does  not  imme- 
diately appear ;  supposing  that  in  both  cases  we  operete  upon  equal 
doses  of  the  liquid ;  and  the  quantity  which  I  ajways  take  is  sis 
grammes.*  Fiom  tbis  single  datum  a  table  may  be  constructed, 
showing  the  quantity  of  ammonia  in  the  liquid,  according  to  the 
quantity  of  water  necessary  to  add  to  it,  in  order  to  bring  it  to  the 
limit  of  preotpitattDg  with  the  nitrate  of  mercun'.  We  mix  deter- 
minate quantities  of  the  liquid  and  water  together  till  we  come  to 
this  limit :  suppose,  for  example,  that  I  fiod  that  this  limit  takes 
place  when  I  mix  together  equal  quantities  of  the  liquid  and  water, 
the  table  in  that  case  shows  me  that  one  gramme  of  the  liquid  con- 
tains 0*000012297  gramme  of  ammonia.  From  this  quantity  of 
ammonia  I  determine  the  quantity  of  subcarbonate  of  ammonia 
formed  during  the  experiment,  and  introduce  the  constituentB  of 
this  salt  into  my  calculation. 

.  In  these  analyses  I  only  bum  five  or  six  centigrammes  of  the 
vegetable  body.  The  error,  resulting  from  weighing,  amounts 
only,  in  consequence  of  the  accuracy  of  my  scales,  to  :j^tb  of  tbe 
uialysed  body.  I  endeavour  to  remove  this  error  by  repeatiof  tbe 
analysis  several  times,  and  only  taking  the  results  whenth^  an 
sufficiently  accordant. 

Tbe  uncertainties  attending  the  eudiometrical  processes  are 
much  more  considerable.  By  means  of  them  alone  can  the  im- 
portant question  be  answered,  whether  in  saccharine,  gummy, 
resinous,  and  starchy  bodies  the  oxj^d  and  hydrc^n  exist  in  the 

*  Th*  TCB^nt  coDtiati  of  6}  parti  of  crjitnlllKed  nitrate  of  Derenry,  dtn^Tcl 
■a  100  parts  of  culd  water.  All  the  rcinltl  nhicb  I  give  are  foanded  on  ncii  a 
itate  nf  ihe  BolntioD,  Bat  as  it  ii  probable  that  otberi  may  not  prepare  it  in 
eiHclly  tbe  samE  manner  as  1  do,  it  nlll  be  neceaury  for  ererj  sne  |g  dctemuM 
the  date  mpectinf  (be  lolalioB  of  altratcflf  (MKaTf  foi  Un|d|t 


1815.}  Converam  tf  Starch  into  Sugar,  431 

exact  proportion  oecessvy  to  constitute  water.  The  quantity  of 
oxygen  above  this  proportion,  which  1  found  in  tny  analyses,  does 
not  appear  to  be  sufficiently  great  to  destroy  the  law  established  by 
Gay-Lussac  and  1  henard,  that  a  vegetable  body  is  acid  when  it  con- 
tains an  excess  of  oxygen  above  what  is  necessaiy  to  constitute 
water,  since  it  may  be  ascribed  to  errors  in  my  experiments,  or  in 
my  method.  But  some  other  of  my  analyses  have  given  so  great 
an  excess  of  oxygen,  that  it  cannot  be  ascribed  to  errors  in  the 
experiment.  Thus,  for  example,  the  analysis  of  gum  arable, 
which  1  repeated  five  times,  with  very  little  difierence  in  the  re- 
sults, gives  its  composition  as  follows :  100  parts  of  gum  aiabic^ 
dried  at  the  temperature  of  boiling  water,  sod  abatracting  the  ash, 
are  composed  of 

Carbon 45-84  5 

Chdygen,...  48-2G(      /Water 46-67 

Hydrogen  . .     5-46  /       \Oxygen  in  excess 7-05 

Azote 0-44 ) 


Gum  tragacanth  gave  me  very  nearly  the  same  result ;  and  nigai 
of  milk  contains  five  or  six  per  cent,  of  oxygen  above  what  is 
necessary  to  constitute  water,  and  39  or  40  per  cent,  of  carbon, 
which  is  nearly  the  quantity  given  by  Gay-Lussac  and  Tlienard. 

On  the  other  hand,  I  have  found  vegetalile  bodies  neither  of  a 
resinous,  oily,-  nor  alcoholic  nature,  which  yet  contained  no  excess 
of  hydrogen  above  what  was  necessary  to  constitute  water.  To 
auch  belong  purified  sugar  of  manna,  precipitated  from  boiling 
alcohol,  100  parts  of  which,  dried  at  the  temperature  of  boiling 
water,  contain 


UrWater 51-8 


100*00 

The  alterations  in  the  laws  respecting  the  combination  of  the 
constituents  of  vegetable  bodies  resulting  from  my  experiments  are 
not  remaricable.  We  see  that  all  gummy,  saccharine,  and  starchy 
vegetable  bodies  consist,  in  fact,  of  little  else  than  carbon  united 
to  a  portion  of  water  reduced  to  its  elements.  However,  the  ex- 
cess of  the  oxygen  or  hydrogen  in  these  bodies,  above  what  ia 
requisite  to  constitute  water,  must  be  greater  than  is  indicated  by 
my  analyses.  Because  the  boiling  heat  of  water,  at  which  the 
vegetable  bodies  were  dried,  is  not  sufiRcient  to  dry  them  com- 
pletely, and  to  remove  all  the  water  retained  by  capillary  attrac- 
tion :  this  adventitious  water  figures  in  the  analyses  as  so  much 
elementary  water,  and  renders  the  quantity  of  it  found  in  the  sub- 
■uace  too  great,  when  compared  with  the  other  conatitucDU. 


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Answar  to  Prtvosfs  Queries  reipecimg  the         [Itec. 


Article  X^ 

Answer  to  Mr.  Prevost's  Queries  respecting  the  Explanation  of 

Mr.  B,  Prevosfs  Experimmts  on  Deiv.  By  Wm.  Chailes  WellK, 

M.D.  F.R.S. 

(To  Dr.  Thomson.) 
SIR, 

Having  teea  in  the  last  number  of  your  Journal  an  Jodirect 
applicatioa  to  me  by  the  acute  and  learned  Mr.  Prevoat,  of  Geneva, 
I  request  permiuioa  to  inform  that  Gentleman,  through  the  same 
channel,  that  the  explanation  which  he  has  given,  in  his  work  on 
Radiant  Heat,  of  Mr.  Benedict  Prevoat'a  observations  on  dew,  is 
regarded  by  me  as  being  neither  referrlble  to  the  wiiole  of  them,  nor 
altogether  satisfactory  with  respect  even  to  thone  to  which  it  applies. 

In  the  first  place,  he  takes  no  notice  whatever  of  a  whole  class  of 
Mr.  B.  Prevost's  observations ;  those,  namely,  which  relate  to  what 
happened,  when  glass  vessels  partly  filled  with  various  substances 
were  exposed  by  him  to  the  influence  of  the  causes  of  dew^  In 
these  experimenis  the  lower  parts  of  the  vessels  icmained  dry, 
though  other  parts  of  them,  which  were  above  the  level  of  the  con- 
tained substances,  were  covered  with  dew.  The  author  adds,  that 
the  distance  between  the  upper  surface  of  the  contained  substance, 
and  the  part  of  the  vessel  at  which  dew  began  to  appear,  varied 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  substance ;  it  being  greater,  for 
example,  in  a  vessel  containing  mercury,  than  in  another  of  the 
same  size  containing  water. 

In  the  second  place,  Mr.  Prevoat,  of  Gene™,  supposes  dew  to 
form  in  circumstances,  in  which,  1  venture  to  say,  it  cannot  occur. 
If  a  thin  plate  of  a  bright  metal  be  fastened  to  a  pane  of  glass  in  a 
window  of  a  room,  the  air  in  which  is  warmer  than  that  without, 
dew,  according  to  his  representation,  will  be  deposited  on  the  out-, 
side  of  this  piece  of  glass,  as  the  metal  covering  its  inside  is  a 
screen  against  the  heat,  which  is  radiated  towards  it  by  the  walla  and 
contents  of  the  warm. chamber.  Now  it  is  manifest,  that  the  utmost 
effect  which  can  be  produced  in  this  way  will  not  occasion  the  out- 
side of  the  glass  to  be  at  cold  as  the  esternal  atmosphere ;  for  the 
metal  will  admit  into  itself  some  part,  however  small,  of  the  heat 
which  is  radiated  to  it,  and  will  communicate  this  to  the  glass,  afong 
with  that  which  it  acquires  at  th<  same  time,  by  conduction,  from 
the  contiguous  wmn  air.  Bot,  if  the  outside  of  the  glass  be  warmer 
than  the  air,  dew  will  not  form  upon  it ;  since,  accwdiDg  to  my 
experience,  bodies  will  not  receive  dew  unless  they  be  colder  than 
the  air. 

I  think,  Sir,  tliat  I  need  say  nothing  more  in  justification  of  the    - 
intention,'  which  i  formerly  entertained,  of  otfermg  an  explanation 
of  Mr.  B.  Prevost's  obseirations  on  dew,  though  one  had  already 
been  given  -of  a  part  of  .them  by  Mr.  Prevoslj  of  Geneva,    Much 


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n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


§  11.  jlnaUjtk  Process. 

What  renders  the  analysis  of  the  black  powder  from  cmde  pla- 
tinum BO  complicated  aod  difficult,  is  the  great  number  of  substaoces 
which  it  contains.  That  we  may  be  able  to  follow  the  series  of 
pperations  to  which  it  is  necessary  to  subject  it,  I  think  it  necessary 
to  point  out  these  substances. 

The  black  powder  contains  chromium,  osmium,  iridium*  tita- 
nium, iron,  sand,  and  even  a  little  alumina. 

50  grammes  of  the  black  powder  well  pulverized  being  mixed 
with  100  grammes  of  nitre,  I  introduced  the  mixture  into  a  porce- 
lain retort,  to  which  I  adapt  a  tube  plunging  into  lime-water.  The 
retort  is  gradually  heated,  and  the  heat  continued  till  gas  ceases  to 
be  disengaged. 

The  first  efiect  is  the  disengagement  of  a  gas,  which  is  probably 
a  mixture  of  oxygen  and  azote ;  the  second,  a  light  yellow  preci- 
pitate in  the  lime-water  through  which  the  gas  passes ;  the  thiixl,  the 
formation  -of  a  great  number^  of  small  white  crystals  in  needles  in 
the  tube  which  conducts  the  gas  to  the  lime-water ;  the  fourth,  the 
disappearance  of  the  precipitate  formed  in  the  lime-water,  and  of 
the  yellow  colour  of  that  liquid ;  the  fifth,  the  disappearance  of  the 
crystals  contained  In  the  tube.  From  thb  period,  to  that  when  gas 
ceases  to  come  over,  no  further  change  takes  place. 

§  III.  Examination  of  the  Products  of  the  preceding  Operalion, 
and  Er.planation  of  the  Pfcetiomena, 
I .  The  lime-water  through  which  tlie  gas  had  passed  was  become 
acid.  It  gave  out  a  strong  smell  of  osmium  :  accordingly  nutgalls 
gave  it  immediately  an  intense  blue  colour.  This  proves  that  the 
crystals  formed  in  the  tube  at  the  commencement  of  the  operation 
were  oxide  of  osmium,  and  that  these  crystals  were  carried  to  the 
lime-water  by  the  hot  gas  which  passed  over  them  continually. 
'  2.  The  yellow  colour  which  the  iirae-water  assomed  at  first  was 
owing  to  its  combination  with  osmium,  which  the  nitrous  acid  tliat- 
afterwards  came  over  destroyed. 

3.  The  water  which  I  introduced  into  the  retort  to  soften  the 
residue  assumed  a  very  d^ep  reddish-brown  colour.  This  liquid  had 
not  the  odour  of  osmium,  as  that  has  which  we  obtain  from  the 
residuum  of  crude  platinum  melted  with  potash.  This  might  lead 
to  the  suspicion  that  the  osmium  had  been  entirely  volatilized, 
which,  however,  is  not  the  case,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter. 

4.  When  the  excess  of  alkali  contained  in  this  liquid  is  saturated 
with  nitric  acid,  a  crreftn  flnckv  nrecioitate  in  former),  comnnsed  nf 


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]815.]  On  Iridium  and  Osmium,  4$i 

§  IV.  Saimalion  and  DislUiatioa  of  the  Alkaline  Liquid.  ,     . 
Wh^n  the  black  powder  communicates  no  longer  to  the  alkali^ 
either  psroinin  or  chromium,  the  alkaline  liquids  mixed  together  are 
treated  in  the  following  way : — 

1.  The  excess  of  alkali  is  gradually  saturated  with  nitric  acid, 
taking  great  care  not  to  add  an  excess  of  acid,  least  a  portion  of  the 
precipitate  should  be  redissolved.  A  flocky  precipitate  of  a  bottle- 
green  colour  appears,  the  composition  of  which  has  been  already 
mentioned;  and  the  liquid,  which  before  had  an  orange-red  colour, 
assumes  that  of  a  pure  yellow. 

2.  The  yellow  liquid,  being  filtered,  contains  only  chromate  of 
potash  and  oxide  of  osmium.  To  separate  them,  a  little  nitric  acid 
IS  added  to  the  liquid,  to  destroy  the  comhitiatioa  of  the  potash  witi) 
the  oxide  of  osmium.  It  is  then  disdiled  till  no  more  osmium 
comes  o7er.  This  is  easily  ascertained,  by  separating  the  product 
from  time  to  time,  and  observing  when  it  has  no  smell.  To  colled 
the  oxide  of  oSmium,  which  is  very  volatile,  it  is  necessary  to  sur- 
round the  receiver  with  ice,  or  at  least  with  cold  water  frequently 
renewed. 

Tlie  liquid  obt^ned  ia  colourless,  like  water,  but  easily  distin- 
guished by  the  strong  odour  which  it  exhales,  and  the  metallic  taste 
which  it  possesses. 

Sometimes  during  this  distillation  there  forms  at  the  neck  of  the 
retort,  and  even  within  the  receiver,  a  black  matter,  having  in  cer- 
tain aspects  a  coppery  lustre.  By  means  of  water  it  may  be  de- 
tached in  small  brilliant  scales.  We  shall  return  afterwards  to  this 
matter. 

§  V.  Precipitation  of  the  Osmium. 

When  we  wish  to  separate  the  osmium  from  the  water,  a  little 
muriatic  acid  is  added,  and  a  plate  of  zinc  introduced.  If  the 
quantity  of  muriatic  acid  is  considerable,  we  observe  a  blue  sub- 
stance, which  detaches  itself  from  the  surface  of  the  zinc  in  the 
.  form  of  clouds,  and  which,  hy  dissolving  as  it  spreads  through  the 
liquid,  communicates  a  puiple  tint  to  the  whole.  But  when  the 
muriatic  acid  is  diminished  to  a  certain  point,  the  liquid  assumes  a 
fine  indigo-blue  colour.  The  blue  matter  at  last  separates  from  the 
liquid  in  the  form  of  Rocks,  which,  when  they  are  united  together, 
appear  black,  and  the  liquid  becomes  colourless  as  water. 

It  may  happen  that  the  quantity  of  muriatic  acid  added  is  not 
sufficient  to  precipitate  the  whole  of  the  osmium.  This  will  be 
easily  perceived  by  the  effervescence  ceasing  before  the  liquid  has 
lost  its  colour  and  its  smell.  In  such  a  case  a  small  additional  quan- 
tity of  acid  must  be  poured  in,  to  keep  up  a  slight  effervescence, 
aiid  to  prevent  the  osmium  from  attaching  iteelf  to  the  zinc,  from 
which  It  would  be  very  difficult  to  separate  it  afterwards  by  m«f;ha- 
nical  means. 

n,r.^^<i"yG00glc  . 


4m  Gtt  RiJSum  atti  Osmimt.  [Dtee. 

The  osimun);  being  collected  at  tbe  bottpm  of  the  veese],  the 
liquid  must  be  carefully  dVawn  off.  Water  is  repeatedly  poised 
upon  the  metal  to  wash  it  tfeoro^Myi  It  is  eren  prt^er  in  the 
first  wirfuHgs  to  cmpfey  WRtcr  acidulated  irith  a  Ifttle  sulplhirii! 
acid  ID  order  to  dissolve  any  panicles  of  zma  wMch  ft  may- conuuii. 
■  Thus  washed,  the  onni^iiD  is  pare.  '■  ft  has  only  to  hb  tXried  ici  a 
gcBtle  hettt,  and  tiien  preserfed  m  dose  ressels. 

^  VI.  SepmatimoftktC^mmk  Jaifrvm  the- MaddKe from  tMeh 
tk»  Osmkm  urn  iisiilied. 

Tlie  chipmiuu  and  osmium  being'  dissolved  in  tKe  same  ITqurd'j 
^t  thp  one  b^ng  feed'  and'  the  other  volatite,  we  had  reconrse  to 
htfA  tQ  separate  them  from  each  other.  The  cbronrinnt  of  courtd 
remams  in  the  residne  cpiubiued'  with  potash.  Tb  chtarff  this  metal, 
t6e  Kquid-  is  potrrerf  out  of  the  retorf,  qvaporste^  to  thyness  in  a 
eafnufet  redieBolced  in  water,  apA  filtered,  to  sepacate  any  sSJca: 
wftidl  it  raay  contafat 

Then  proiiitrate  of  mercury  ife  pouretf  liitQ  the  soTntioir.  A  red 
precfpkate  iWh,  whieli  is  prodilorate  at  mercury.  This  precijpitate 
13  washed. with  a  great  deal  oj  water.  It  is  then  dried,, anAcalcined 
In  a  cnj.cible,  to  o}]rt£nn  the  green  ot^b  of  chromium. 

When  Ja  our  first  esperfmeots  we  emplbye J  pottslr  to  dtKompose 
the  b'ack  powder  from  platirtuo),,  wewere  obligyftorecomnjence 
tfie  operatJoQ  fisur  or  flre  times,  in  order  to  dissolve  all.  the  chip- 
miuin  and  th^  osmiunt.  But  when  nitrate  of  potnsh,  in  rhr  prD- 
portiort  qf  two  parts  of  fljp  saft  tcfone  of  the  powAer,  is  emptoyeil 
for  the  plrrpose,  two  operations  are  sufBcJent,  because  tfie  oxygen 
contained  in  this  salt  is  sufBcient  to  oxidate  the  two  metals ;  and 
the  potash  which  baemnefr  frae  i»  e»paft>s  of  dissolving  them.  X 
tberofore  rcccinunend,  nitra  instead.  qC  ^tash.ui,tliia(^iati(ui.. 

§  Vn;  TteatTttent  of  the  Stack  Powd^fnm  whick  tkti  Ckrimwm 
HJid  Qsvtium  have  been  sepmvtedby  Warii^cjtdd. 

Afler  havlue  well  washed.tbe.  black. powdec  from,  platimu^.treatecl 
witfi  nitre,,  *  little  of  it  is  gut  into,  muciatic  acid,  diluieil  with  its 
tiulk  of  water.  If  this  mixture,,  n:Ken.))eated.a.liule,.^v£s.out  the 
smell  of  cManium,  thq  jfowder.  ipusti  be'  ireated  a^ia  with  hail  its 
weiglit  of  nitre,  follawjog  tb£saQj.e  process  ite  before. 

The  residue^  which,  ha?  a  bliush-blftcl^  colour^  is  nomr  ta.be 
^gjested  in  moderately  concenljaled.  nuatatlc  acid.  An.  acnon 
i)l)n)edi»tely.  takes,  place,  whictisaoaouac^hy  the  elevation  of:  the 
tenperature  of  the  i|iii,ture»  and  by  tliet  green,  eoloor  which:  the 
liquid  acquiresy 

Sometitoea  during  this  operation  the  smell  of  oxyiiiuriatic  Rcid  is 
perceived>  and  a  smaM  quantity,  of  it  seems,  to  be  formed.}  for 
having  heated  tb;e  mixture  in  a  retotl  fuuHshed.with  a.  reaeixer,.  I 
obtained  a  Gquid,  which  speedily  destroyed  tbe  tincture  of  litnur,. 

When  the  acid  in  excess  has  remained  for  some  days  on  the 

-,'..>y  Google 


blackmatte^-wid^Qi^iCfiBtoact  nofiuijier*  k  is  deoaoted  a£^  and 
the  residue  js  washed,  wkh  vntor,  wlwch  b  added  to  tbe  liist  solu*  . 

The  liquid*  though  d^utcd  trith  a  gpot  quRDtity  of  watw,  has  x 
men,  adouTi  so  docp  tbM  it  iDtw«a[itB  the  fiurage  of  light,  vnieet 
n  be  in  a  very  ^hin  layer. 

lig  notwithstanding  the  precaution  indicated  above,  this  tolutioa 
still  gives  out  tlie  Gjneil  of  asmiuni,  it  must  be  fut  into  a  retort,  and 
subjected  to  distillation.  The  osmium  will  be  obtaioed  in  the  water 
that  comes  over  acidulotsd  vtth  lourialic  acid.  From  this  if  is  r«  be 
'precipitated  by  a  plate  of  sine  in  the  maaner-dracribed  above.  WhUe 
this  liquid  is  liept  Ix»ling,  ia  order  to  disen^ig«  ita  oBmiuei,  it  de- 
pcBites  a  great  (Quantity  <k  oiatter  of  a  bottle-^een  oolour,  nod  the 
Uquid  assumes  a  vsiy  deep  reddish- brown  colour. 

This  green  matter  is  separated  by  the  filter,  atul  washed  with  a 
great  deal  of  hot  water.     1  shall  denote  it  by  the  letter  B. 

Blati(  powder  treated  only  once  wi^  two  parts  of  nitre  docs  not 
dissolve  entirely  iu  muriatic  acid,  however  great  a  quuitity  of  it  tva 
employ.  There  remains  always  at  least  i,  under  the  form  of  a  bluish 
powder,  containing  white  brttiie  metallic  (rains.  This  Hteullic 
residue,  indeed,  may  be  dissolved  by  boihpg  it  !<»  a  loug  titne  ia 
very  stroog  nitromurlatic  acid ;  but  the  process  is  long  and  expea- 
sive.  The  labour  ii  greatly  abbreviated  by  treating  it  with  it£  own 
weight  of  nitre  and  heat.  Then  the  matter  cisidizmg  by  means  of 
die  salt  conbiiies  with  the  potash  set  at  tibertyj  aod  then  dissolves 
ia  muriatic  acid,  comauiaicating  to  it  a  Si)a  blue  colour. 

If  there  still  remain  eome  portitHis  of  matter  wliich  refuse  to 
dissolve  in  muriatic  acid,  we  must  treat  them  again  with  aitM ;  and 
this  {ipocess  must  be  repeated  till  the  whole  be  cUasolved. 

§  VIH.  Examinatwn  and  Properties  of  the  atove  MuriaUc  So- 
bdions. 

When  du  black  powder  from  (datioum  is  thus  treated  RlterDatdy 
with  nitre  and  muriatic  acid,  after  having  Beparaled  tite  .chnxnium 
sad  osmium,  we  observe  that  the  Srst  chiriatic  scdutloii  ia  of  a 
yeUowish-greea  ouloKr ;  the  second,  of  a  hkiiih-greeu ;  the  tturdy 
of  a  greenish-blue ;  and  all  the  subsequent  ones  blue.  We  ob- 
serve,  Ikkewiss,  that  the  last  mixtures  of  the  poffdier  with  nitre 
oonuiuiDicate  to  the  water  emplioyed  to  wuh  it  a  coleur  equally 
blue. 

Oq  exantiaing  the  diEEereM  solutions,  I  fdiind  that  the  first  cod- 
taioed  a  good  deal  of  iron  and  titanium,  aod  but  little  iridium.  Ia 
the  second  there  was  less  iron  and  titanium,  and  nore  iiidiutn.  In 
the  thud,  still  lets  iron,  and  very  litde  titanium ;  but  some  traces 
of  iron  were  always  to  be  observed,  even  to  the  very  Utt  solntioe. 

These  efficts  are  easily  oonoeived,  -when  we  reflect  tint  the  first 
solutiou  ought  to  contain  all  the  iron  coming  from  ttte  chroitiate,  and 
att  the  thaiiiuiB  the  uaioa  of  whit^  with  that  metal  has  bceo  de* 


itroyed  by  the  alkali  of  the  nitre,  while  the  last  Kiloti<ms  cootain 
ooly  the  iron  that  was  united  with  the  iridium. 

From  this  it  follows,  that  if  we  (Uvide  into  threri  equal  portions 
the  quantity  of  muriatic  acid  necessary  to  dissoire  the  bUek  powder, 
and  if  the  first  portion  is  sufficient  to  dissolve  all  the  iron,  the 
colour  of  the  first  solution  will  be  yellow ;  of  the  second,  blue,  with 
a  shade  of  green;  and  of  the  third,  pure  blue ;  supposing  that  we 
bare  carefully  washed  the  residue  after  each  portion  of  acid  has 
acted  on  it. 

This  shows  that  the  green  colour  of  the  first  solution  is  not 
ample,  but  composed  of  iron,  which  gives  a  yellow  and  a  blue 
natter,  which,  by  mixing  with  the  yellow,  produces  a  green.  This 
proves  likewise  that  the  iron  dissolves  the  first ;  and  that  probably, 
if  we  were  to  pout  on  the  black  powder  only  the  quantity  of  acid 
Necessary  to  dissolve  the  iron,  this  metal  almost  alone  would  be 
dissolved. 

Yet  I  must  acknowledge,  that  though  I  applied  the  acid  to  the 
black  powder  in  a  great  number  of  doses,  I  always  found  iron, 
though  in  small  quantity  indeed,  even  in  the  last  solutions. 

Before  explaining  the  method  which  I  followed  in  analyzing  the 
dificrent  solutions  of  the  black  powder  in  muriatic  acid,  and  in 
separating  the  iridium  from  them,  I  think  1  ought  to  point  out  the 
pheDomena  which  they  presented  with  certain  re-actives  with  which 
I  mized  them. 

1.  The  first  solution,  or  that  which  contains  the  most  iron,  and 
which  of  consequence  is  of  a  yellowish-green  colour,. gives  with 
ammonia  a  botde-green  precipitate,  and  the  liquid  remains  colour- 
less. But  if  oxymuriatic  acid  be  introduced  into  the  filtered  h'quid, 
it  assumes  a  fine  red  colour,  a  phenomenon  which,  showing  that 
some  metallic  body  remains  in  the  liquid,  will  enable  us  immcdiaieljr 
to  explain  several  interesting  Acts. 

2.  Sulphate  of  iron  and  sulphureted  hydrogen  deprive  this  liquid 
almost  entirely  of  its  colour,  especially  if  it  be  diluted  with  water. 

3.  If  into  the  solution  thus  deprived  of  its  colour  by  sulphate  of 
iron  and  sulphureted  hydrogen,  oxymuriatic  acid  be  put,  it  assumes 
a  green  colour,  and  then  becomes  violet-red,  if  the  acid  be  in  suffi- 
cient quantity. 

4.  The  solution  rendered  violet-red  by  oxymunatic  acid  being 
'  exposed  to  the  air  recovets  its  green  colour  in  proportion  as  the  acid 

evaporates. 

5.  The  heat  of  boiling  continued  for  some  time  produces  in  this 
solution  a  bottle-green  precipitate  (which  we  have  denoted  by  the 
letter  B),  and  cbinges  its  colour  to  a  very  deep  red.    The  precipi- 


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1S15.]  On  Iridium  and  Osmium.  4S9 

salt,  so  deep  as  to  be  easily  mistaken  ifbr  charcoal  in  powder.  On 
examining  this  salt,  I  found  it  a  muriate  of  iridium-and-potasb,  of 
which  I  shall  speak  in  another  article. 

-  7-  If  tlic  solulioQ  nhich  has  thus  yielded  ciystals  be  diluted  with 
four  or  five  times  its  bulk  of  water,  if  the  iron  be  precipitated  by 
ammonia,  and  the  precipitate  well  washed,  we  find  in  it  no  trace  of 
iridium.  Yet  the  liquid  is  not  coloured,  nor  does  it  become 
coloured  by  concentration,  and  the  sal-ammoniac  which  it  yields  is 
white.  One  would  suppose,  then,  that  it  contained  nothing 
nietallic.  But  if  oxymuriatic  acid  be  mixed  with  this  liquid  con- 
centrated, it  immediately  assumes  a  red  colour;  and  if  we  drive  off 
the  sal-ammoniac  whicti  it  furnishes,  it  leaves  a  black  powder,  which 
is  metallic  iridium. 

The,  second  muriatic  solution  of  the  black  powder  from  platinum,    . 
or  that  which  has  a  greenish-blue  colour,  presents  in  general  the 
sanoe  properties  as  the  preceding ;  but  all  the  qualities  indicating 
iron    are  less   distinct  in   it,  while  those  indicating  iridium  are 
more  *>. 

Thus  the  precipitate  formed  in  it  by  alkalies  is  less  abundant,  and 
of  a  colour  more  inclining  to  blue.     The  diminution  of  colour  pro-  . 
duced  in  it  by  sulj^ate  of  iron  and  sulphureted  hydrogen  is  much 
more  complete.    The  red  colour  which  it  acquires  by  heat  and  oxy- 
muriatic  acid  is  much  more  pure. 

The  third  solution,  which  is  of  a  pure  blue,  exhibits  still  more 
distinctly  the  phenomena  depending  on  the  presence  of  iridium^ 
while  those  depending  on  iron  become  always  feebler. 
:  If  we  pour  some  of  that  last  solution  into  a  solution  of  potash, 
taking  care  to  hare  an  excess  of  alkali,  a  light  yellow  precipitate  is 
formed,  and  the  liquid  assumes  a  pure  blue  colour.  The  precipitate 
is  occasioned  by  the  oxide  of  iron,  and  the  blue  colour  of  the  alkaline 
solution  by  the  oxide  of  indium.  Hence  it  follows  that  if  the  solu- 
tion of  iridium  was  pure,  it  would  not  be  precipitated  by  an  excess  < 
of  potash.     This  will  be  ronGrmed  hereafter, 

§  IX.  Examination  of  the  Precipitate  B. 

A  portion  of  this  matter  put  into  muriatic  acid  while  yet  mcust 
was  speedily  dissolved.  The  solution,  which  had  a  very  intense 
bottle-green  colour,  was  put  to  the  following  trials. 

1.  It  was  precipitated  in  green  flocks  by  the  alkalies. 

S.  Sulphureted  hydrogen  immediately  deprived  it  of  its  greeit 
colour,  and  gavie  it  a  slight  fawn  colour.  Borne  drops  of  alkali  let 
:fidl  into  the  liquid  thus  discoloured  throw  down  green  flocks,  as  if 
no  suh>hureted  nydrogen  had  been  used. 

S,  iDfuskm  of  galJi  destroys  the  green  colour,  aod  produces  a 
brovro, 

4.  The  prussiate  of  potash,  without  occasioning  a  precipitate, 
rendera  the  green  colour  more  intense,  giving  it  a  slight  shade  qf 
blue,  which  indicates  the  presence  of  iron. 
-  ^,  When  the  solution  of  this  ti^bstatice  is  heated,  U  esbales  aa 


oiaur  tiitiisr  t*  that  of  oxTiniiriHtic  acid,  ttai  itt  tbs  Htae  tiOM 
Ufit^aufl  A  ted  colour.  As  thii  production  of  ospoHvutie  «c)d  d»7 
eerve  to  explain  the  change  of  the  colour  of  the  wlutioR  frem  green 
to  red,  a  quantity  of  it  was  put  intg  a'  retoft  funiisbed  vitk  «  re- 
ceJwr,  aad  iteetfid  till  it  wqtured  « i«ddisb^bto*rn  flc4our. 

The  product  obtaioed  tud  tha  sowll  of  oxymtuistic  add,  aod  de* 
stToyed  the  colour  of  litmus,  so  tbot  it  could  not  be  rcBtored  fagr  the 
alkalies. 

Tiwa  the  discolouration  of  the  gteco  liquid  by  lulpburBted 
liydiogcD  and  the  sulphate  of  iron,  end  its  cMoge  into  vKdet-rai 
by  oxymuriafic  acid,  seems  to  aunouDce  that  the  steal  it  in  a  bmu 
Hate  of.  oKidBtioD  when  it  is  blue,  and  that  it  dcacenda  to  a 
mminium  when  it  passes  to  white.  It  is  not  probatile  that  the 
production  of  the  oxy muriatic  acid  of  which  wc  have  sp<^n  is  the 
effect  of  the  change  of  the  blue,  colour  into  red,  luoce,  on  the  con* 
trary,  this  last  is  changed  into  violet-red  by  the  additioo  (^  oxymu- 
riatic  acid.  In  fact,  the  blue  liquid  diacoloured  by  sulphate  of  iron, 
by  sulphureted  hydrogen,  by  a  plate  of  zinc,  or  by  any  other  body, 
passes  at  once  into  blue  by  the  addition  of  a  small  quantity  of  t^y- 
muriatic  acid.  Tliis  seems  to  leave  no  doubt  that  the  moatoxygen* 
ated  state  of  this  substance  is  that  which  exists  in  the  red  solution. 

Such  are  the  propeities  of  the  bottje-gieen  substance,  predpi*- 
tated  during  boiling  from  the  lint  muriatic  aolutioo  of  the  black 
powder  from  platinum,  previously  treated  with  nitre. 

50  grammes  ^  the  blaclc  ponder  furni^d  10  grammet  of  this 
bottle-green  precipitate.  After  washnig  and  calcination,  it  had  * 
hlack  colour,  a  smooth  and  brilliant  fracture,  like  that  <tf  glass : 
.  then,  though  well  pounded,  it  diasolved  na  longer  entirely  in 
muriatic  acid.  Of  these  ID  grammeB,  which  were  boiled  with  fire 
ports  of  nitro>muriatic  acid,  2-6  grammes  only  were  dissolved,  and 
7 '4  grammes  remained  under  the  form  of  a  grecnish-bmvm 
powder.  This  matter,  being  dried,  and  pubvriaed  again,  was  si^  ' 
jected  a  second  time  to  the  action  of  a  great  quantity  of  uitro* 
murialic  acid,  without  dissolving.  It  had  merely  communicated  to 
the  acid  a  reddish-browb  colour,  The  solutions,  being  united  and 
concentrated  by  evaporation,  did  not  fbrnidt  ci>s»als )  but  mortete 
cif  ammonia  beiog  added  to  it,  a  black  salt  was  obtained,  similar  to 
the  one  mentioned  before,  acid  which  ia  an  amwoniaco^muriatc  «l 
iridium.  If  when  these  solutions  }:ield no oaore  of  the  salt  by  c«n- 
ocntratiot],  we  dilute  them  with  wattr,  and  add  to' then  •  sufficient 
quantity  of  ammonift  to  saturate  aU  the  acid,  a  prec^Htate  SM^ 
which  has  all  the  appearfiBt-e  of  oxide  ot  iocn,  and  which  in  veality 
contains  nothing  else,  except  a  little  oxide  vt  titanium  and  sUica. 

The  liquid  from  which  this  |««c)p*tat«.  has  been  MpMtated  is 
colourless,  though  it  still  contains  ammoniaco-muriate  of  iridium* 
v  is  siiQtVB  by  the  red  colour  produced  ia  it  bgr  QiyeiuriBitic  acid. 

Our  precipitate  being  do  longer  acted  upon  by  acids,  1  traated  it 
with  twice  its  weight  of  cauuic  polMh,  whicJi  rendaed  il  anJuble  in 
muriatie  aeid*  .'i'hs  sdluliw  was  yellow,  ond  presemedjiU  tl»e  pro* 


|>ertie9  of  mamU  of  Milium  tnised  widt  a  miwite  iqwvtity  xti 

WW. 

Thus  the  precipitate  under  examination  »  wmposfi}  (^  m^Kim» 
JTon^  titanium,  ^nd  sittca. 

it  folloffG  from  this  that  tliougk  tbe  liquid  Avn  which  tbesf 
<}iSerent  substances  cmne  was  sensiMy  aei«l,  a  portion  of  the  iron, 
moM  vi  tbe  tittoiiun  and  ifidiuio  at  a  atediHfli  ft»i^  of  oxidadoa 
lure  prfictpit«teii  by  iseaos  of  beat.  It  is  to  be  pusumed  th«t  tb« 
tit«aiinn,  the  coluitjooB  (rf  which  are  decomposed  by  beat,  is  the 
eiiuse  of  tba  pree^itfitioD  of  the  iron  and  iridium^  which  mwlct 
not  take  place  with  either  of  them  separately.  These  bodies  Geem 
to  exeit  a  reciprocal -action  on  «iich  <Hher,  which  [mducea  a  coni- 
pvuod  Ifijoluble  at  least  in  a  weak  acid. 

Now  tl>at  we  know  tbe  nature  of  tHe  substarwes  contained  in  the 
muriatic  acid  solutions,  aod  the  way  in  whic^  they  are  aetfd  on  by 
re-fictiyes,  we  can  trace  nith  nK»re  Mcurdey  tbe  iMlbod  tbat  iBiKt 
be  followed  in  order  to  extract  the  iridium  in  a  state  of  ptrityi 
(vfaicb  is  our  principal  oliject. 

We  hav«  remarlied  that  iridiumi  when  in  tbe  Btale  in  wbkb  it 
gives  red  solutions,  is  no  longer  precipitated  by  beat,  even  when 
assisted  by  the  action  of  titanium,  nor  by  the  albaliet,  frOR]  its 
tcdutiaos  wbe'o  sufficiently  diluted  -.  that  it  is  presipitatad  io  th« 
state  of  a  triple  *alt  by  ssl-ammoniBC  wiien  its  eolutiotu  are  cdO-r 
centrated. 

We  must  tberefare  bring  iridium  into  t^iie  state,  by  adding  to  thit 
lolutioB  a  colain  quantity  of  nitric  acid)  qikI  boiling  tbe  misttire 
for  a  long  time.  When  the  greatest  part  of  the  superabundsnt  acid 
is  dissipated,  Ae  aolution  ii  diluted  with  a  coaeidervble  quantity  of 
water,  and  the  quantity  of  ammonia  is  added  necessary  to  briag  iIm 
liquid  nearly  to  a  neutral  itate.  When  tbe  liquid  U  now  boiled,  ^ 
precipitate  lalls,  consisting  chieity  of  Mide  of  titmium  witb  a  little 
iron,  without  any  mixture  of  iridium)  if  the  precipitate  W  pr»« 
perly  washed.  The  liquid,  now  cantaising  only  iridium  and  irooi 
is  concentrated  and  mixed  with  sal-ammoniac.  A  black  crystalline 
precipitUe  of  a nunoniaco- muriate  of  iridium  falU,  from  which  tbe 
■upematant  liquid  is  separated  by  decantation.  Wtien  tbe  concen- 
trated liquid  fumiahes  oo  more  salt,  it  ia  diluted  wiib  water,  the 
iron  is  precipitated  by  ammoDia,  the  prcciipiute  wa^ed  with  hot 
water,  and  tbe  liquids  evaporated  to  dryitevs.  Tbe  rcddual  salt 
beinp  exposed  to  a  red   beat,    leaves  very  pure  iridium   in  tha 


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^      442  On  Iridium  aad  Oiwuam.  {Dbx. 

which  remaiDS  combined  with  the  indium  and  titvtiiuD  after  treat* 
ing  the  blade  powder  with  nitre,  and  which  washing  with  water  iun 
not  been  able  to  separate. 

.  $  X.  EjiperimaOs  M  the  Black  Powder  obtained  brj  Washing  from 
the  Resldae  of  Platinum. 

If  we  agitate  in  water  the  insoluble  residue  of  platinnm  treated 
with  nitro-muriatie  acid,  and  decant  oET  the  liquid  after  an  interval 
of  a  few  seconds,  we  obtain  by  deposition  from  the  liquid  a  bril- 
liant black  substance,  soft  to  the  touch,  and  staining  paper  like 
plumbago. 

'  By  repeating  this  process  a  great  number  of  limes,  we  deprive 
the  residue  almost  entirely  of  this  substance.  What  then  remains 
B  a  bruwn  coarse  sand,  harsh  to  the  feet,  and  which  does  not  staia 
paper.  It  is  almost  entirely  composed  of  chromate  of  iron,  oxide 
of  titanium,  <^uartz,  and  siill  retains  a  little  of  the  brilliant  matter; 
for  it  is  easy  to  ?ee  that  by  this  mechanical  method  we  cannot  com- 
pletely separate  the  elements  which  compose  the  residue  o£  pla- 
tinum. Accordingly  in  the  brilliant  powder  there  is  still  a  small 
quantity  of  chromate  of  iron,  quartz,  and  oxide  of  titanium  in  the 
stale  of  -a  finer  powder. 

'  1  have  already  given  the  analysts  of  the  coarse  portitm,  and  mean 
here  to  speak  of  the  lightest  and  most  brilliant  part. 

I  treated  20  grammes  of  this  powder  in  a  porcelain  retort  with 
40  grammes  of  nitre,  in  the  way  already  described. 

The  water  through  which  the  gas  was  made  to  pass  gave  out  a 
strong  smell  of  osmium. 

The  washings  of  the  matter  thus  treated  showed  other  properties 
than- those  which  we  observed  in  the  other  powder.  Instead  of 
being  ycllowkh-green,  they  were  violet-red. 

When  the  alhali  was  saturated  with  nitric  acid,  a  reddish-browD 
precipitate  fell,  and  the  liquid,  after  the  separation  of  this  preci- 
pitate, was  reddbh'purple,  instead  of  being  yellow,  as  was  the  case 
with  the  coarse  powder. 

I  distilled  this  liquid  in  order  to  separate  from  it  the  osmium,  of 
which  it  contained  a  great  deal.  The  residue  of  the  distillation 
Mntained  no  sensible  quantity  of  chromic  acid,  while  tbc'coarse 
powder  furnished  this  acid  in  this  solution  alone.  This  sliows  that 
by  the  washing  the  chromate  of  iron  was  almost  completely  re- 
,     moved. 

ExaminatUai  of  the  Pre'c^itate  formed  m  the  Alkaline  Liquid  Ig 
Nitric  Acid. 

This  precipitate,  being  washed,  and  put  into  muriatic  acid  while 
still  mout,  dissolved  entirely,  communicating  a  very  sirong  smell  of 
mmium.  By  distilling  the  Uquid,  I  (Stained  a  considerable  quan- 
tity of  this  metal. 

This  seems  to  prove  that  the  osmium  may  he  dissolved  by  the 


o  proi 
ofoxi 


alkali  in  a  sute  of  oxidation  dlBerent  from  that  in  which  it  ijeojuble 


ID  water ;  for  the  matter  irom  which  it  was  extracted  had  been 
sufficiently  washed.  It  is  possible,  iodeed,  that  this  oxide  maif 
form  with  the  other  matters  contained  in  the  predpitati:  a  combi- 
□ation  which  renders  it  insoluble  in  water. 

After  having  separated  the  osmium,  I  poured  into  the  concoi- 
trated  liquid  sal-ammoniac,  to  form  ammoniaco-muriate  of  iridium, 
which  precipitated  in  the  state  of  a  black  powder.  The  liquid, 
being  evaporated  to  diyness,  and  the  residue  digested  in  water,  t 
obtained  a  small  additional  quantity  of  the  same  salt  mixed  witta 
silica.  The  solution  had  then  a  fine  green  colour  of  chromium, 
which  neither  sulphate  of  iron  nor  sulphureted  Iiydrogea  destroyed. 
It  could  not,  therefore,  be  ascribed  to  iridium. 

To  discover  what  substance  produced  that  colour,  I  poured 
ammonia  into  the  solution,  which  threw  down  a  brownish -greea 
precipitate,  and  the  liquid,  though  containing  an  excess  of  allcali, 
was  colourless. 

This  precipitate,  when  fused  with  borax,  communicated  to  it  k 
Rae  gieen  colour.  When  heated  with  potash,  the  mixture,  being 
washed,  gave  a  yellow  liquid,  possessing  the  properties  of  cluvmate 
9f  potash,  and  a  little  oxide  of  iron  remained  behind. 

Hence  the  precipitate  b  composed  of 

I.  Oxide  of  iridium. 


-  chromium. 

-  iron. 


5.  Silica. 

The  second  water  which  I  poured  on  the  black  powder  treated  by 
nitre  did  not  become  clear  like  the  first,  it  was  of  a  milky-greea 
colour.  Nitric  acid  poured  into  this  liquid  formed  a  precipitate  ia 
it,  as  in  the  first  water ;  hut  it  was  more  flocculent,  and  of  a 
b^ckish<green  colour,  it  was  composed  of  oxide  of  iridium^  silica, 
and  titanium. 

Water  producing  no  more  efTect,  I  put  upon  the  mattec  a  small- 
quantity  of  weak  mvriatic  acid.  It  acquired  no  colour,  but  sepa- 
rated A  light  flocky  substance,  very  distinct  from  the  powder  itself, 
which,  filing  quickly  to  tlje  bottom  in  consequence  of  its  weight, 
enabled  me  easily  to  separate  the  flocky  part.  It  was  composed  of 
oxide  of  iridium,  silica  in  great  abundance,  titanium,  and  iron. 

I  distilled  the  liouid  to  seoarate  the  osmium,  of  which  it  had  a 


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I  observed  tluit«t  the  moment  I  poured  Uie  conceatnted  mumtic 
Acid  upon  tbe  powder  bb  cfi^rvetceofe  was  produced,  aceoiquoied 
by  «  kind  of  ooue,  aod  that  tke  mixtuie  exhaled  vcrf  distwaly  the 
odour  of  osymiiriatic  acid. 

When  die  muriatic  actd  bad  oo  further  action  od  the  tUck 
ppwder,  I  boiled  it  for  a  loQg  tuae  in  a  gzeai  q^uantity  of  oitio- 
muruttic  acid  :  that  aolutioD  took  place,  waa  asnouoced  by  the  very 
ieep  colour  which  the  liquid  aasumed. 

The  residue,  being  aaw  washed  and  dried,  weighed  only  3*2  ' 
gnmmea,  I  fu»ed  it  witb  twice  its  weight  of  potash  in  a  silver 
erucible. 

The  mass  being  diseolmd  in  hot  water  communicated  to  it  a  fine 
blue  colaur.  The  undissolved  portion  was  treated  with  muriatic 
acid,  which  dbsipated  a  part  of  it,  and  assumed  likewise  a  blue 
colour  with  a  tint  of  violet. 

By  repeated  treatments  witli  potash  and  muriatic  acid  the  whole 
of  t)ie  l^ck  matter  was  at  last  dissolved. 

I  mixed  together  all  tlie  alkaline  soluiicns,  and  after  having 
sattuated  them  with  muriatic  actd,  1  evaporated,  in  order  to  obtain 
by  crystallization  the  muiiate  of  indiuin-and-patash. 

I  mixed  together  likewise  all  the  acid  solutions,  cancentnrted 
them,  and  when  they  yielded  no  more  muriate  of  iridium-and- 
potasb,  I  added  ammonia,  in  order  to  convert  the  muriate  of  in- 
dium, still  held  in  solution,  into  ammonlaco-muriate  of  iridium. 

We  see  by  tlie  above  sfrrtement,  that  the  black  powder  obtained 
by  repeated  wosiiings  -  from  the  insoluble  residue  of  crude  pla- 
tinum, is  composed  of  a  great  quantity  of  iridium  and  osmium; 
that  it  scarcely  coatains  any  chromium,,  and  much  less  titanium 
and  iron,  than  tbe  black  powder  which  we  subjected  to  the  Qat 
analysis. 

rAsrr  skcomd. 
§  I.  Properties  of  Iridium, 

Tbe  name  iridium,  ^wn  to  this  metal  by  Mr,  Teuoant,  is 
derived  from  the  wrious  colours  which  it  presents  ia  it*  solutioiu^ 
and  which  M.  Fourcruy  and  1  first  made  known. 

But  in  the  nefaUie  state  the  colour  of  iridium  is  greyiali-wbite, 
nearly  like  that  of  pIattaiM>.  It  spears  to  be  brittle,  iod  coose- 
queatly  hard. 

i  cannot  give  its  ipeei££  gravity,  because  I  have  not  yet  been 
able  to  mek  it  eeii^leto^. 

It  is  Bot  wttadLrd  by  tite  sioaple  acids,  and  only  with  great  difili- 
cuUy  by  ^  osost  eooneaifaled  niiiro-mwrialic  acid. 


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Hoe  colour,  and  its  srfution  fumRlin,  hf  crtpanflon,  tt  Uactc 
siky  which  is  a  mariate  of  fridium-BfMf-potasb.  Sometinm  tfie 
sIhsGDe  solntioii  of  iridiuin  b  porple,  becftine  s  partJon  of  tfee 
metal  has  passed  to  a  red  colour,  and  has  dissolved  m  the  aftaS  at 
the  same  time  wrth  the  Uneportiofi. 

TFrns  the  Sxed  sHcafies  bare  a  greater  aetfon  on  t\m  mefaT  tlran 
the  strongest  acids. 

Ir  is  JDohtfiil  whether  we  can  ohtsin  a  blue  solution  of  Irrdium 
ia  the  acids  without  the  asststaiice  of  potash ;  (far  to  dis»!re  it  we 
mint  in  that  case  empiby  boilh^  nirro-mnria^  add,  and  their  W8 
emstantly  obtain  k  red  solntmtr. 

The  red  mnriatic  solotioir  ctf  iridiunr,  suScieirtly  concentrated/ 
is  entirely  converted  by  meant  of  ammonia,  ia  a  triple  salt  of  a 
pm^Ie  colour  sq  deep,  thar  it  appears  Hack  like  charcoal  powdef. 

If  into  SO  parts  of  the  sdlution  of  pure  pIstiDttm  we  put  one 
psrt  of  concentrated  mnriate  of  iridium,  and  afterwards  add  sat 
arnmioniac,  w^  obtafn  a  brick-red  precipitate,  instead' of  the  Innoir- 
jeltew  precipitate  which  pure  platinum  gives. 

Thne  caa  be  no  dbubt  then-  that  it  is  irfdfmn,  as  we  have  before 
remarked,  which  gives  a  red  colbur,  sometimes  rert  iDtense,  to 
the  aramoniaco-mnriate  of  plathtutti,  obtained  frotfi  the  last  , 
portions  of  crude  platinum. 

The  ammoniaco-muriate  of  IH^inn  crystallized  imd  well  dried, 
being  exposed  to  heat  in  a  distilling  vessd,  gires  oat  ourtic  gas, 
mmiatic  scid',  sal  atmnoniae,  and  Ibives  for  residue  43  per  cent, 
of  its  weight  of  pure  metal'.  The  azotic  gas,  which  come*  over, 
shows  that  part  oF  the  amtnoniar  is'  decomposed. 

This  salt  is  very  linle  soluble  in  col*  water.  At  the  tempe- 
rature of  97°,  20  parts  of  water  are  required  todissctfre  one  part  of ' 
smmonio- muriate  of  iridium. 

The  solution  at  the  salt  has  ao  orange-rBd  cofenr;  «ry  fBtenM, 
considering  the  small  quantity  of  saltmiidi  it  ootttains. 

Five  centigrammes  (O-TT?  grain)  were  suflBcient  to  ^re  «  nry 
■  ^tinct  coloirr  to  two  litres  (J22'03e  cubic  inches)-  of  water. 
Hence  it  fbllows,  that  one  part  is  capable  of  oofouring'  40,000 
parts  o!  water ;  a  prmerty  which  is  exttaordlnary  fttr  it  nieraHrc 
salt. '  llie  muriate  of  rhodium,  which  possesses  this  colour'  fnr  2 
bi^  decree,  is,  notwithstanding*,  four  times  less  colouring  tftait 
the  munate  of  iridium. 

Anrniania  discolours  the  solution  of  thw  salt  io  w  fe*  minutffii 
without,  however,  producing  a  precipitatB  in  it. 
■  The  green- Bulphaieof  iron  mscnlDnre  if  instantly-,  and  render^ 
it  white  like  water, 

SuJ^nretcd  hydrogen,  iron,  zinc,  and*  tin  in  the  metalfie  state, 
produce  the  same  efftct  astftesalphateof  iron; "but  if  oxymuriatit 
acidi  be  put  into  the  liquid^  thus-  discotoured,  they  immet&itet^ 
assume  their  natural  colour. 

When  ws  heat  the  ammontaco-murifltc  of  iridium,  by  metm  of 
thtrWowpipe,  npon  charcoal,  it  burns  with  a  yellow  fliime  md' < 


44G  On  Indium  and  Osmium.  [Dbg. 

kiod  of  fulgumtioa,  It  leaves  a  porous  metallic  mass  of  ft  grey 
colour,  but  whicli  assumes  a  white  colour,  and  a  strong  lustre, 
when  nibbed  between  two  hiurd  bodies.  This  colour  and  lustre 
Btropgly  resemble  those  of  platinum. 

We  nave  seen  by  what  has  been  said,  that  iridium,  according  to 
the  state  of  its  oxidation,  ^tos,  when  it.  combines  with  muriatic 
acid,  a  yellowish  red  colour. 

1  have  endeavoured  to  ascertain  if  these  two  colours  were  due, to 
two  states  of  oxidation,  as  we  thought  before,  and,  in  that  case, 
which  of  the  two  contains  inost  oxygen.  Hie  experiments  whiclt 
I  have  made  leave  me  in  my  former  opinion ;  but  tbey  only  furnish 
probabilities  respecting  the  quantity  of  oxygen  existing  in  these 
oxides. 

All  the  information  tbey  have  given  is ;  1 .  That  we  cannot 
obtain  the  blue  solution  of  iridium  in  acids,  without  having 
first  treated  this  metal  with  potash  or  nitre.  2.  That  these  blue 
solutions  become  yellowish  red  when  long  boiled;  and,  as  the 
change  lakes  place  gradually,  we  can  perceive,  if  we  pay  attention 
to  it,  Ibe  -shade  becoming  fint  green,  then  violet  purple,  and 
finally  yellowi&h  red.  3.  That  the  blue  solutions  are  not  precipi- 
tated in.  the  stale  of  triple  salts  by  the  alkalies,  either  fixed  or 
volatile.  4.  That  the  blue  solutions  bepome  red  when  sufficiently 
diluted;  but  still  ore  not  precipitated  by  the  alkalies,  an<]  when' 
sufficiently,  concentrated,  give  a  black  triple  salt,  soluble  in  twenty 
parts  of  water.  There  is  then  a  difference  in  the  state  of  the  iri- 
dium in  these  solutions,  since  the  one  fbrnC  triple  salts  but  little 
Soluble,  and  the  other  salts  which  are  very  soluble. 

If  the  blue,and  red  solutions  be  equally  discoloured  by  the  com- 
bustible bodies  of  which  we  have  spoken  above,  oxymuriatic  acid 
TCstores  to  each  of  them  its  primitive  colour ;  but  if,  after  restoring 
the  blue  colour,  we  add  a  new  quantity  of  oxymuriatic  add,  that 
colour  pases  into  a  purple  red. 

.  U  we  suppose  that  these  two  solutions  are  reduced  to  the  same 
state  of  oxidation  by  the  combustible  substances,  the  sulphate  f^ 
iron  for  example,  we  must  see  it,  when  we  mix  with  it  oxymuriatic 
acid,  pass  through  the  same  shades  to  arrive  at  the  maximum, 
which  does  not  happen.  The  blue  becomes  blue  wiiliout  inter- 
mediate shade,  and  the  red  becomes  immediately  red  without  pass- 
ing through  blue.  The  purple  red  colour,  which  oxymuriatic  acid 
in, excess  gives  to  the  blue  liquid,  does  not  appear  to  change  the 
state  of  the  oxidation  of  the  metal ;  for  it  is  sufficient  to  leave  ibis 
solution  for  some  time  in  the  air,  to  enable  it  to  resume  iis  blue 
colour,  in  proportion  as  the  oxymuriatic  acid  exhales.  Tims, 
though  there  is.  an  obvious  di^rence  between  the  oxide  of  iridium 
in  the  blue  and  in  the  red  solutions,  I  am  obliged  to  acknowledge 
my  ignoraoce  of  the  relative  quantity  of  oxygen  in  each.  I  [m«- 
aume,  merely,  that  the  red  contains  more  oxygen  than  the  blue. 

We  have  said  above  tliat  the  blue  solution  of  iridium  is  not  pre- 
cipitated by  alkalies.    This  is  true  when  the  solution  is  pure ;  but 


if  it  contain  either  iron,  or  thanium,  or-siltcs,  or  alumina,  the 
Uue  oxide  precipitates  iD  a  proportion  relative  to  that :  of  the  snb- 
stBDce  which  is  the  determiaing  cause  of  the  precipitation. 

If  it  is  oxide  of  iron  or  of  ti&iniuin  which  is  mixed  with  the 
solution  of  indium,  the  precipitate  formed  by  the  alkalies  is 
green ;  but  if  it  is  merely  silica  or  alumina,  the  piecipitete  is  blue, 
with  a  shade  of  violet.  That  which  is  obtained  by  foarytes  iv 
green.  Here  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  precipituion  is  brought 
about  by  the  action  of  these  bodies  on  the  oxide  c£  iridium.  The 
following  experiment  seems  to  me  very  good,  as  a  demonstration  at 
this,  I  mixed  with  a  blue  solution  of  iridium  a  small  quantity  of 
sulphate  of  alumioa,  and  then  added  an  excess  of  ammonia.  A 
deep  coloured  precipitate  fell ;  but  the  liquid  continued  still  more 
intensely  coloured.  The  addition  of  a  greater  quantity  of  sulphate 
of  alumina  entirely  discoloured  it.  These  precipitates  of  alumina 
aod  oxide  of  iridium  cannot  be  deprived  of  their  colour  by  repeated 
washings  in  boiling  water. 

This  greatafiinity  of  alumina  for  hlueoxide  of  iridium,  and  the 
violet  blue  colour  of  the  compound,  gave  me  a  strong  suspidon 
that  iridium  is  the  colouring  matter  of  the  Oriental  sapphire.  This 
metal  might  have  escaped  so  much  the  more  easily  from  the  che- 
mists who  analyzed  that  stone,  as  not  more  than  a  thousandth  part  of 
it  would  be  wanting  to  form  the  deepest  shade  known  in  the  sap- 
phire. If  this  substance  were  common,  it  would  perhaps  be  pos- 
sible to  make  a  )>eauiful  blue  colour  of  it  for  painters. 

O^ymuriatic  acid  decomposes  ammoniaco-muriate  of  iridium. 
We  have  only  to  pass  the  acid  gas  into  a  vessel  containing  the  salt 
mixed  with  water.  The  salt  disappears,  and  a  gag  is  disengaged  in 
-^nibbles,  in  proportion  as  the  solution  takes  place.  When  the' 
solution  is  complete,  and  Ahen  no  more  gas  is  given  out  even  by 
the  assistance  of  heat,  ammonia  is  no  longer  found  in  the  solution. 
At  least  no  triple  salt  is  obtained  by  condensing  the  liquid,  and  no 
ammonia  is  disengaged  when,  the  liquid  is  mixed  with  potash  and 
distilled.  We  obtain  nierely  a  triple  salt  of  iridium  and  potash. 
We  may  then  by  this  operation  obtain  pure  muriate  of  iridium.  It 
has  ayellowish  red, colour. 

Mitrlate  of  Iridium  and  Potash. 

Tliis  salt  is  ain-ays  formed  when  a  solution  of  muriate  of  potash. 
is  mixed  with  a  solution  of  iridium;  or  when  after  exposing  a 
mixture  of  iridium  and  potash  to  a  red  heat,  the  compound  is  dis- 
solved in  muriatic  acid. 

This  salt  has  a  purple  colour  so  intense,  that  it  aj^ears  black; 


D,g,t,.?<i  I,,  Google 


448  0»  Iridiiat  imd  Osmium.    -  [Don 

farfin  «f'ai  Uaeb  powder;  b«t  it  was  not  pure  indium.  It  wsi 
nlsed  mtk  a  isQata  quantity  of  mocnle  of  potaih,  in  ivik  obnnM 
from  the  Mate^ 

This  KsUue,  btiog  i«pvaln%  waahrd  vith  hot  weder,  and  dried, 
HHsrcdoad  to  37  patts. 

IE  we  mte-  MDtnb  thai  ao  Mumto  of  potash  w8s  dtsdpsted 
^ringth*  cdcimtna^  we  atnaldrhMMfroia  tlie  precedieg  .eape-' 
iritecAt  two<  ilfiimi  of  Ike  adt;  namely,  tke  tiwtal  and.  tho 
autiate-  of  pnlaA.  ^im  ttelal  wouU  be  to  the  muriate  of  polaffi 
te^' :.  13,.  OE  u  8  ;  1.  it  wndd  be  oBdj  netmiary  after  thte  ttt 
knon  the  quaiitily  oi  iwater  aad  muridtic  add  whicll  wieic  disea<^ 
gbged  duraig  tbe  peocen  to  know  that  of  die  oxjgen. 

§  II.  Suipharaiion-  of  Itid'tafh. 

lb  haodneii  pftrts  vf  the  Bnnnoniaco-muriatB  of  iridiua^  mixfld 
frith  ^  much: sulphur,  and  gradmUy  heated  to  redoen -in  b  jc 
tort,  furnished  60  parts  of  a  black  agghitinBtEd  pctvdeFj  wfeacli 
bdmt^  when  heated,  libe  the  metADion^thuRti.. 
;.  We  have  tMn  above  that  100  of  tfaisfiak  funiiih  from 43  to  45 
of  AletoL  Hh*.^  ««iibl  then  ham  Rfatnrtx^  15  of  sulpfauvr  sof 
potfng  Hhe  luC  mnlti  tbe  most  aocuratc^  Sot  k  ia  evldenty  that  if 
■tt  ahwth  IS,  lOO-wnll  abiorii  itS-3. 

if r.  TenmnC  uij'v  that  he  eould  not  unite'  sulbbnr  to  iridiam. 
mmhah]^  becDBCi  lie-  attempted  tbe  direct  otanhination ;  but  the 
case  is  different  vdwe  we  aa^kff  it*  tr^le  ammoDiAoal  aah; 

§  Hf .  Jlh}t,s.  of  Iri&aii  with  some  other  Metals.  . 
.   iauf  ami  Jrirfttaw.p~^ightpnrtaotf  lead  and  one  paxt«firidtHii^ 
hAted  oa  chasctal  bf  iDB&aa  of  tbe  blow  pipe,  united  s&  soon  -as 
the  kad.bccaiM  white  mt. 

The  duolUilgr  oi  ttle  lead  waa  BDt  (kfltro}«d  bjr  tfata  quantity,  of 
tfidium  ;.  but  it>,  banUiess  and  wtlitsneis  had  been  very  fetuSb^ 
increased.  iThas  hlley  is.  attadud  by  idcnc  a^id,  wht^  dinolns 
the  lead,:  and  leaT«s>  the  it&dtina  ia  the  state  of  a  Mack  powdet. 

Copprr  and  Iridittm. — FoBff  parts  of  capper  tod  one  of  iridiuM 
united  as  soon  as  the  copper  was  white  hot.  The  alloy  is  ductile ; 
but  much  liardcr  than  pure  copper.  The  colour  is  pale  red,  ap- 
pearing white  und«  the  We.  It  wH»  acted  on  by  nitric  acid  in  the 
sb»w  w>]i  aa  l^e  alTfty  of  iridium^  aod  Itsad.  Tbe  tSoppct  disaolfbd, 
W^d  the  if idittoi  remaieed ;  yM  the  add  a^wfired  to  tuive  diaseliFed 
sstne  p9rtiak»of  it^.  as  the  oobuir  of  the  solutiony  iastead:  oi  being 
blue,  was  green. 

:  Tia  and- Iridiittn.—Fow  parte  of  tin  and  aae  oi  iridium  g)u^  a 
4uU  n^nte  fttloyy  easily  crystallized,  liaidr  but  maUetriile.  Tbd 
indiuBi  do<&  not  eombiOe  with  the  tintilV  thclftttet  is  white  hot. 

Siiaer  ffHt^  Jmiiwit.— Twopants  of  fine  silverand  one  of  iridianti 

.   heated  like  ilw;  otWts-  befam  the  blow  pifte,  did  oOt  nnite  eomo 

^tely,  probably  because iliere  wa»  too-great  aqmntiiyof  rrtdiiMi. 

I  tindeftv«9Ted-te  brtc^itboatthe  oofaibijiMion,.  bjrn^Ds  of  tbC 


1815.]  On  Iridium  and  Omkm.  '  449 

blow  )»pe  with  oxygeu  gas. '  This  enabled  nte  to  obserre  a  very 
interesdng  {dieaoineDon,  the  voUliiizatioD  of  the  silver. 

There  rose  during  the  <^erat]oii  a  very  copious  yellowish  while 
fame,  and  the  flame  from  the  charcoal  formed  a  cone,  the  hase  of 
which  was  coloured  yellow,  the  middle  purple,  and  the  mmmit 
blue.  Id  a  tbort  time  noihing  but  the  pur&  iridium  remaioed  upoa 
the  charcoal. 

This  pheDomenoQ,  of  which  I  had  not  before  seen  so  remarkable  - 
ta  example,  ted  me  to  wish  to  subject  silver  alone  to  the  same  trial. 

I  therefore  placed  four  grains  of  this  metal  in  a  hole  dug  in 
charcoal,  and  heating  fay  means  of  a  current  of  oxygen  gas,  in  less 
than  a  minute  the  whole  was  dissipated.  During  tlus  operation,  a 
portion  of  the  smoke  exhaled  was  collected  in  a  glass  vessel  reversed 
above  it.  It  formed  a  yellowish  brown  crust,  which  dissolved  in  a 
peat  measure  in  weak  and  cold  nitric  acid.  Thb  nitric  acid  was 
then  abundantly  precipitated  by  a  solution  of  common  salt.  The 
greatest  part  of  the  silver  bums  when  thus  volatilized.  At  least 
the  yellow  colour  of  the  flame,  that  of  the  condensed  fumes,  and 
their  dissolving  cold  in  dilute  nitric  acid,  seems  to  prove  it. 

Chemists,  assayers,  and  founders  know  that  silver  is  volatile; 
but  I  am  persuaded  that  they  are  far  from  thinking  that  it  possesses 
tbis  property  in  so  great  a  degree.  This  ought  to  be  attended  to  by 
all  who  refine  and  melt  silver. 

The  malleability  of  all  the  alloys  (4  iridium  leads  to  the  idea 
that  this  metal  would  not  be  brittle  if  its  parts  could  be  united  by 
fnsion,  or  at  least  that  certain  Ixtttle  metals  do  not  much  diminish 
the  malleability  of  those  with  which  they  are  e^iable  of  uaitiog. 
Certunly  tin  united  to  copper  in  ibe  same  pK^rtion  as  the  iridirai 
produces  a  great  change  on  its  propenice.^ 

Mr.  Tennant  has  remulted,  that  bidiuia  does  not  change  the 
ttAom  aoT  the  malleability  of  gold  and  silver>  aad  that  it  was  not 
possible  to  separate  it  from  these  ho4Ue»  by  the  ordinary  methods. 
llua  might  easily  have  been  seea  beftse^d,  in  coniequencc  of 
.thepropertiei  which  it  poasesses. 

The  specific  character*  of  iridium  are  then  :  1.  A  grejwh  white 
colour.  2.  Very  difficult  to  fuse.  3.  It  forms  blue,  pnrpl^  yel- 
lowish red  solutions  in  acids  and  alkalies,  according  to  the  state  of. 
its  oxidation.  4.  It  is  not  acted  upon  by  the  ordiaary  adds,  and 
v/ea  very  little  by  nitro-muriatk  acid.  S.  It  forms  trif>le  salta  of 
R  bUck  colour,  and  very  little  jioluble  with  potash  and  ammonia, 
Wbea  in  lolution  in  acidi  in  the  state  of  red  oxiia. 

TBIKD  FAST. 

{ I.  Properties  of  Osminm. 
•  Ouniuin  hu  icceiTcd  iti  BUne  from  the  strong  snell  which  Ita 


til;  it  irtdlHD,  I  faave  (aBa4  dM  U  gnwiw  mok  dnctilitj. 

V,...VI.N«VI.  JE  ,.,GQOgle, 


450  On  Iridkan  and  Osmtum,  [Dfic. 

oxide  exhales ;  a  piopertj  which  Fourcroy  nod  I  made  known  is 
February  1804. 

This  metal  being  volatile,  or  rather  osidatlng  very  easily  at  a 
low  temperature,  it  has  not  been  posssible  to  fuse  it,  aadj  conse- 
quently, to  know  its  ctdouT  and  its  specific  gravity. 

As  to  its  colour,  if  we  can  judge  from  some  appearances,  I  con- 
ceive that  it  is  blue.  The  following  are  these  appearaoces.  The 
instant  that  osmium  is  precipitated  by  zinc  from  its  solution,  the 


liquid  assumes  a  purple  tint,  which  becomes  soon  the  finest  blu^. 
This  blue  matter  at  last  separates  from  the  liquid,  and  precipitates 
in  a  powder  which  appears  black. 

When  we  heat  ostnium  thus  precipitated  from  zinc,  and  washed 
and  dried,  we  obtain,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter,  white  oiiide,  which 
is  volatilized  into  the  neck  of  the  retort,  where  it  crystallizes; 
then  a  light  crust  of  matter,  which  is  blue  by  reflected  light,  and 
green  by  refracted.  The  portion  not  volatilized  appears  black. 
Yet  it  is  possible  that  the  blue  colour  does  not  belong  to  the  metal 
itself,  but  to  a  suboxide. 

Osmium,  which  has  been  heated  in  a  retort,  takes,  when  rubbed 
agnnst  a  hard  and  polished  body,  a  surface  of  a  copper-redj  like 
indigo  rubbed. 

As  we  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  osmium  hitherto,  except  in  a 
fine  powder,  itaj^arstous  light;  but  if  it  could  be  mekedyk 
would  perhaps  be  as  heavy  as  some  of  the  tnetals  known  before  it. 

We  have  no  experiments  which  show  that  osmium  is  volatile; 
because  the  little  of  it  which  we  have  hitherto  possessed  has  mly 
enabled  us  to  beat  it  in  glass  vestels  not  capable  of  bearing  much  beat 
without  melting.  But  it  is  probable  that  in  a  higher  temperature 
it  would  be  volatile ;  for  we  have  not  hitherto  any  examples  o£ 
metals  furnishing  volatile  oxides  which  are  not  volatile  themselves. 
The  blue  sublimate  which  forms  in  the  upper  part  of  vessels  in 
which  osmium  is  heated,  strengthens  this  probability. 

When  we  heat  osoiium  in  contact  of  air,  it.  soon  disappears 
entirely;  but  we  ought  not  to  consider  this  phenomenon  as  a  simple 
volatilization  of  the  metal.  It  is  a  true  combustion,  easily  distin- 
guished by  the  sufibcating  odour  of  oxide  of  osmiuin  di&iised  in 
the  air. 

I  exposed  to  heat  a  gramme  of  ostninm  in  a  luted  retort,  the 
capadty  of  which  was  about  12cubic  indies,  and  whiclv terminated^ 
in  a  tube  plunged  into  water,  in  order  to  collect  the  vapours  which 
should  not  condense. 

The  bottom  of  the  retort  was  not  red-hot,  before  very  beautful 
white  brilliant  crystals  were  deptuited  in  the  neck  of  the  vessel. 
Some  time  after,  and  in  proportion  as  the  heat  increased,  a  blue 
crust  (vas  deposited  on  the  upper  part  of  the  retort. 

The  formation  of  these  matters,  and  especially  of  the  lirsl,  soon 
ceased ;  because,  the  contact  of  air  was  necessary  for  it,  which  soon 
'failed  in  90  small  a  vessel.  The  apporatin  being  cold,  the  neck  of 
tliB  retort  was  cut  near  the  white  crystals,  in  order  to  collect  them 


1S15.]  On  IriiUitm  and  Osmium.  45| 

more  reftdily.  The  air  of  the  retort  was  so  impregnated  with  the 
vapour  of  this  metal  that  it  almost  suBbcated  me. 

'The  crystals  themsdres  had  an  odour  so  stroag,,  that,  k  was.  iptr 
possible  to  breathe  near  them  without  a  feeling  of  pais. 

The  osmium  which  had  not  been  volatilized  gave  out  likewise  A 
very  striking  odour;  but  I  suppose  ihat  it  owed  this  property  to  a 
portion  of  the  air  impregtiated  with  oxide,  which  it  had  imbil)e4 
during  the  cooHng.  This  residue  only  weighed  0-35  gravme,  and 
the  quantity  of  osmium  sublimed  was  far  from  completing  the 
gramme  of  osmium  employed ;  becaitfe  a  portion  of  it  had  passed 
into  the  water  of  the  receiver,  being  earned  hither  by  the  air.   ,, 

FtdAi  the  result  (rf  this  operation  it  appears  that  oxide  of  osmium 
is  Icxmed  only  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  of  air  io  contact  with 
it.  This  is  coaformable  to  what  we  know  of  the  <aidation  of  tb« 
ether  metals. 

'  Vet  I  am  induced  to  believe  that  the  white  oxide  formed  in  thti 
case  is  atA.  entirely  owing  to  the  air  of  the  vessel ;  fi»  it  is  formed 
and  volatilized  at  a  temperature  so  low,  that  we  can  hardly  con- 
ceive how  the  combinatioa  should  take  place. 

I  am  rather  disposed  to  believe  that  the  osmium  as  it  is  pre^i- 
tated  by  zinc,  still  retains  a  small  quantity  of  oxygeq,  which  when 
assiMed  by  x  gentle  heat,  unites  itself  to  a  portiou  of  the  metal 
and  rendeis.it  more  volatile. 

The  following  observation  seems  to  confirm  this  idea,  WheD,tbe 
osmium  is  predpltated  ffom  its  solution  by  meaos  of  zioc,  and 
washed  several  tjimes  with  water,  even  acidulated  with  sul[jiuric 
•cid,  it  exhales  no  odour,  as  long  as  it  is  cold;,  but  if  it  be  ex- 
posed to  alwat  of  from  ii7°  to  104°,  it  exhales  the  odour  during 
aomi  time. 

But  the  strongest  proof  is,  that  osmium  which  has .  furoidied 
oxide  by  distillation,  does  not  fiimish  any  more  at  the  same  tempe- 
rature, although  the  same  quantity  of  air  be  jnvsent. 

§  II.  Examination  of  the  Oxide  of  Osmium. 
This  oxide  is  white,  transparent,  and  very  brilliant }  its  taite 
tety  strong  and  caustic,  has  some  anak^  vrith  that  of  the  volatile 
oils,  and  particularly  with  that  of  oil  of  cloves.  Its  odour  is  equally 
iilsiq^xvtable.  It  is  more  fusible  than  wax ;  flexible  like  it,  and 
CxceMlpgly  volatile.  When  placed  in  contact  with  animal  or 
vegetable  bodies,  it  blackens  them,  especially  if  it  be  moist.  It  is 
Ter?  soluble  in  water,  and  the  solution  becomes  blue  by  nu^lk 
and  many  other  v^etable  substances. 

§  III.  Action  of  OxyrmiTtaiic  Add.  r, 

Iota  a  flag<Mi  containing  about  hi^lf  a  litre  (30-5  cubic  inches) 

into  which  I  had  put  a  gramme  of  osmiuni,  I  passed  oxymuriatic, 

fcid  gas,  the  surplus  of  which  was  received  in  a  solution  of  potash. 

foon  after  the  ospiium  cmiie  io  conuct  with  the  gw^  it  appeared. 

3  »2  .  ■    . 


us  Oh  ^idium  and  Osmha^  \pse, 

to  tadty  afRDBiil^  b  wiy  beautiful  and  intetiM  giceo  cokur.  At 
but  it  dissolved  entireiy,  and  formed  a  stnalt  qnaotity  of  a  brown- 
Ui-Md  liquid.  The  lolution  of  potash  assumed  a  yellow  coloury 
*ad  an  odour  of  osmium  mixed  with  that  of  oxymuriatic  acid. 

When  I  opened  the  flagon  containing  the  solutKHi  of  which  I 
have  jiut  spccen,  there  issued  out  a  dense  white  n^xMt,  baving  an  ' 
iosuppMtabte  odour  of  oemium  and  oxymuiiatic  acid.  To  be  able 
to  separate  this  liquid  from  the  flagon  whbout  losing  much  of  it,  I 
vixed  it  with  a  4080111;  of  water,  and  subjected  it  to  the  foUowuf 
npeilments. 

I.  A  drop  or  two  of  tbs  solution  let  Ml  into  a  glass  of  water^ 
ttsomed  a  very  deep  blue  colour  on  adding  ioftision  of  nutgaUa, 

3.  When  a  plate  of  tine  was  put  into  the  solutim,  it  soon  passed 
to  bloe,  aai  bnch  flodu  prenpitated. 

X  may  remark,  that  the  green  colour  anslogoua  to  that  of  ooud* 
tt  chipmium,  which  the  osmium  assumed  at  the  initaDt  of  its  sola- 
tioB,  nay  proceed  irom  a  mixture  of  the  liquid,  whish  is  reddisb* 
yellow,  with  a  portion  of  the  metal  which  I  suppose  to  be  bhm. 
And,  in  fact,  m  -prc^xvtion  as  the  tolation  goes  on,  the  grUHl 
tfHom  becMie*  weaker  and  disB[^>ctn  entirely,  to  give  place  to 
feddith-yellow. 

When  osmium  Is  .mixed  with  water,  ia  order  tb  be  dissolved  in 
oxymuriatic  acid,  it  does  not  become  green ;  but  forms  at  once  a 
}eIlotnih-red  liquid. 

If'  ammonia  be  put  into  ti^  solution  till  the  acid  is  satarated,  • 
brown  predfdtale  Id  floebs  fiiUa  down,  snail  in  quantity,  and  ibit 
U^d  panes  to  a  pwe  yelknr,  preserving  the  odour  peculiar  t» 


This  precipitate  consists  almost  entireljrof  itoa,  comtsg  no  doubt 
.fcom  the  dno. 

jiction  of  comnwn  Muria^  Add  and  Osmmrn. 

Osmium  dissolves  in  muriatic  acid  when  as^ted  1^  a  gentle  heA. 

The  solution  begins  by  being  green ;  but  it  soon  becomes  reddish- 

Jellow.  If  to  the  mniiatic  acid  we  add  some  drops  of  nitri«  Bci4, 
be  solution  takes  place  more  readily,  so  that  we  scarcely  ^rccive 
'tte  transitilDn  from  green  to  reddish-yellow. 

During  these  solutions  a  great  deal  of  osmium  is  always  TCht)- 
Hzed,  even  when  they  are  made  without  the  assistance  of  heat,  a» 
b  shown  by  the  experiment  with  ((xymnriatic  acid. 

At  the  request  of  Sir  H.  Darvy,  I  endeavoured,  but  in  vanii  to 
unite  osmium  with  iodine.  When  the  mixture  of  the  two  boditt 
Was  heated  in  a  glass  tube,  the  iodibe  separated  in  the  form  of 
violet  vapours,  which  atttiched  themselves  to  the  upper  parts  of  the 
tube,  while  the  osmium  remained  at  the  bottom  without  havlog 
■ndergone  any  change. 

The  facility  with  which  osmium  disudves  in  acids,  is,  t  conceive^ 
a-certain  proof  tkat  in  erude  piBthium  it  tt  wAcd  to  se 

r,,,:-A-..>yGoogIe 


irfaich  protects  it  from  the  action  of  these  meoitraiimi.  TUs  nb- 
Btaiice  can  only  be  iridium,  since  it  is  it  which  resists  solutkni  mat 
obstinately. 

The  combination  (^  the  oxide  of  osmium  with  the  alksliei^  dti* 
solved  hi  water,  has  a  yellow  colour. 

Though  the  oxide  of  oimiiim  does  not  {M%ient  acid  characters^ 
ytt  it  appears  that  it  combines  with  the  alkalies,  and  that  it  is  itt 
some  mcmure  fixed  by  this  combination.  In  fact,  if  it  were  not 
(o,  this  metal  would  escape  entirely  when  the  black  powder  a 
-treated  in  cinciblea  with  potash  or  nitre  at  a  red  heat. 

What  ^ves  a  certain  degree  of  force  to  this  opinion  is,  that  the 
Addition  of  any  allcali  whatever  to  the  aqueous  lolutioa  of  osmium 
■nrj  much  diminishes  the  odour,  which  again  become  ^werful, 
when  the  alkali  is  neutralized  by  an  acid. 

The  smnll  quantity  of  osmium  which  I  have  been  hithert<T  able 
to  Hocure,  and  its  great  oxidability,  have  notenabled  me  to  examine 
if  It  would  unite  with  sulphur,  phospliorus,  and  the  other  metals; 
but  these  combinations  never  can  be  any  thing  else  than  neie 
ol^ects  of  curiosity. 

The  characteristic  properties  of  osmium  are  to  oxidate  at  a  knir 
heat,  and  to  form  an  oxide  exceedingly  volatile,  odorous,  and 
ftisible ;  crystallizable,  soluble  in  water  j  the  solution  of  Which 
becomes  blue  by  the  infusion  of  nutgalls,  and  by  the  immersion  of 
a  pUte  of  zinc :  finally,  the  property  (rf  forming  y«lloW  oombiaa- 
tumi  with  tbealkalies. 


Article  XII. 

Proceedings  of  Phiasophiad  Sodeliet, 

ROTAL    SOCIBTT. 

On  the  Oth'  of  November  the  Society  rael  for  the  first  tilme_  after 
-the  long  vacation.  A  paper  by  Sir  H.  Davy  on  the  firedamp  it 
coal-mines  was  read.  Tlie  author  had  been  invited  by  Dr.  Grer  t6 
examine  the  subject,  in  order  to  discover,  if  possible,  some  method 
of  preventing  those  explosions  which  of  late  yean  have  proved  so 
fttal  to  the  lives  of  the  colHers,  He  accordingly  visited  several  at 
the  mines,  and  analyzed  the  pure  gas  collected  from  a  blower.  He 
atates,  as  Mr.  Loagmire  had  done  before  lum  {Aaaals  of  Philo- 
sophy, vi.  172),  that  this  gas  is  extricated  from  the  eieviees  of  tlie 
eoals ;  and  he  found  that  when  a  large  {nece  of  cosl  was  brofceo  td 


D,g,t,.?<i  I,,  Google 


:454  Proceedings  of  Philosophiad  Soaelies.  [Dbc. 

This  a  chancteristic  of  carbureted  hydrogen,  as  both  Mr.  Dalton 
apd  oif^elf  have  ascertained.  He  found  the  speciBc  gravity  to  be 
0*639,  but  his  specimen  was  mixed  with  commoD  air.  I  have 
shown'the  true  specific  gravity  of  thia  gas  to  be  0-555  (Weraerian 
Memoirs,  i.  508). 

-  "He-  found  it  much  less  combustible  than  other  combusitible  gases. 
Iron  heated  to  wtiiteae!«  does  not  set  it  oti  fire.  It  requires  actqal 
flame.  Tliis  fact  has  induced  him  to  propose  a  lantern  tpaile  air- 
tight, with  a  hole  below  to  admit  air,  and  one  above  to  act  as  a 
chimney,  as  ^  complete  security  against  the  eiiplosion  of  the  fire- 
damp in  coal-mines.  He  found  ttiat  when  a  tuixtureof  oomoKHi 
air  and  carbureted  hydrogen  gasj  in  sucl)  proportions  as  to  esplode, 
IS  let  up  into  such  a  lantern,  the  fiame  increases,  so  as  nearly  to  fill 
tlie  lantern,  and  then  the  lamp  goes  out.  He  conceives  that  when- 
ever io  a  coal-mine  the  air  is  mixed  with  carbureted  hydrogen  to 
the  exploding  point,  that  such  lamps  would  go  out,  and  no  explo- 
sion would  follow.  But  such  an  expefiment  would  be  veryhai^rd- 
ous.  The  fact  is,  that  in  such  a  case  the  gas  within  the  lantern  , 
burns,  and  of  course  extinguishes  the  lamp ;  but  in  all  probability 
the  gaseous  combustion  would  extend  itself  through  the  holes  in  the 
lantern,  which  are  filled  with  gas  at  the  exploding  point,  and  act 
fire  to  the  whole  mixture  in  the  mine.  This  would  certainly 
happen  sometimes,  if  not  always;  so  that  the  lantern  of  Dairy 
would  furnish  no  certain  security  to  the  miners.  Tlie  lamp  of  Pr. 
Clanny,  if  properly  improved,  is  a  much  safer  contrivancea  and 
might  be  made  equally  cheap. 

1  a^ertained  that  the  limits  of  the  explosion  of  this  gas  were  12 
volumes  of  air  and  one  of  gasj  and  six  volumes  of  ur  and  one  of 
gas.  As  far  as  I  could  understand  Sir  H.  Davy's  experiments,  they 
led  nearly  to  the  same  result.  He  succeeded  in  exploding  a  mixture 
of  this  gas  and  common  air  by  electricity.  I  could  not  succeed  in 
this,  not  having,  it  seems,  hit  upon  the  exploding  proportions, 
though  I  tried  a  great  many  between  the  two  limits. 

Sir  H.  Davy  constructed  likewise  lanterns  with  valves  to  prevent 
tfae.escapeof  gas  from  the  lantern  when  it  explodes.  This  would 
certainly  render  the  lantern  safe,  provided  it  can  be  constructed  so 
.as  to  allow  the  lamp  to  hum. 

On  Thursday,  Nov.  1G,  an  appendix  to  Sir  Humphry  Davy'a 
paper  was  read.  He  found  that  the  addition  of  -jlh  of  oaibouic 
acid  or  of  azote  to  the  exploding  mixture  of  fire-damp  and  air  pre- 
vented the  explosion. 

A  paper  by  Mr.  Daniel  on  Solutions  was  likewise  partly  read. 
.When  an  amorphous  mass  of  alum  was  left  for  some  Weeks  in  water 
-  ,it  assumed  a  pyramidal  form,  and  the  lower  pan  of  it  was  embossed 
by  diitinct  octahedral  crystals.  Borax  exhibited  a  -similar  appear- 
ance; the  lower  part  was  embossed  with  rhomboidal  crystals.  Mr. 
.Daniel  conceives  .that  in  these  cases  the  cohesion  of  the  solid  re- 
,sisted  unequally  the  solvent  power  of  the  liquid,  and  that  the  upper 
part  of  the  liquid  acted  more  powerfully  than  the  lower.    Hence 


1815.}  Soj/al  Soaety.  455 

the  pyramidal  fbnD,  and  hence  the  appeannce  of  the  ciystalline 
texture.  These  phenomeaa  were  observed  and  deenibed  long  ago  , 
by  Le  Bbnc;  but  he  ascribed  the  appearanee  of  crystals  at  the 
under  i^rt  of  the  body  to  the  deposition  of  crystals  from  the'  liquid. 
But  the  followiug  experiments  of  Mr.  Daniel  render  this  opinion 
not  so  probable.  He  put  bbmutli  and  antimony  in  very  ailuted 
nitric  acid ;  after  some  days  the  bismuth  exhibited  the  cubic  tex' 
tiire,  which  is  so  striking  in  native  bismuth,  and  the  antimony 
exhibited  the  appearance  of  rhomboids.  A  number  of  similar 
experiments  with  other  bodies  were  rel&ted)  all  tending  to  prove 
the  accuracy  of  the  conclusion  which  Mr.  Daniel  had  drawn. 

On  Thursday,  Nov,  23,  the  remainder  of  Mr.  Daniel's  paper 
ma  read.  He  showed  that  the  action  of  water  and  different  solvents 
upon  crystals  was  a  much  more  delicate  test  of  their  structure  ibaa 
mechanical  division.  He  showed  that  the  BUppoaitioo,  that  the  inte- 
grant molecules  of  bodies  are  spheres,  will  explain  the  structure  of 
alum  crystals ;  the  octahedral  crystal,  and  all  tlie  other  cTystalline 
forms  which  it  assumes  being  deducible  from  the  arrangement  of 
such  spheres  accwding  to  the  action  of  gravity,  merely  by  the  ab- 
straction or  non-formation  of  certain  angles  by  the  removal  of  a 
certain  number  of  molecules,  while  the  arrangement  of  the  rest  is 
not  altered  ;  but  the  rhomboidal  crystal  of  carbonate  of  lime,  and 
the  four-sided  prism  of  sulphate  ol  magnesia,  cannot  be  deduced 
from  the  arrangement  of  spheres.  Oblong  spheroids,  however,  are 
capable  of  producing  these  forms.  No  other  form  of  the  particles 
but  these  two  are  capable  of  accounting  for  the  structure  of  crystals, 

LINNXAN    SOCIETy. 

On  Tuesday,  Nor.  7,  the  Society  met  after  the  long  vacation. 
A  paper  by  Mr.  Johnson  was  read,  giving  further  information  re- 
spectiog  the  fossil  remains  of  an  animal  found  at  Lynn,  in  Dorset- 
shire. 

A  notice  froni  Mr.  Sowerby  was  read,  pointing  out  the  advan- 
tages of  watering  fruit-trees. 

Part  of  a  paper  by  Don  Felix  Brotero  wis  also  read,  on  the 
gaaapassififa'a. 

On  Tuesday,  Nov.  21,  the  remainder  of  Don  Felix  Brotero's 
paper  was  read.   . 

uliere  was  also  read  an  account  of  a  con»derable  number  of 
specimens  of  cinchona^  by  Aylmer  Bourke  Lambert,  Esq.  They 
bad  been  taken  in  a  Spanish  ship,  and  came  into  the  possession  of 
the  author  of  the  paper.  He  was  able  to  distinguish  different 
varieties  of  known  species.  F^ve  specimens  were  not  referable  to 
any  known  species,  but  appeared  new.  The  yellow  bark'  of  the 
shops  is  obtamed  from  the  ciTickona  kirsida  of  the  ^ra  Peruviana. 

There  was  also  read  part  of  a  paper  by  Dr.  Eric  Achaiius  on  two 
new  genera  of  lichens. 


n,r.^^<i  "/Google 


BOrAl.  IMBTntTEB  Or  TEANCB. 

Account  of  ihe  Lahoan  of  the  Class  of  Maihemalical  and  Physic^ 
■  Sciences.oftke  Royal  Institute  ^F)ranee  durh^  the  Year  I8i4.  '■ 

{Oaabrntd/nm  p.  SW.] 

Mathematical  Pabt. 
By  M.  le  Chevalier  Delamire,  Perpetual  Secretary. 

We  have  already,  in  a  preceding  notice,  briefly  analyzed  the 
memoir  of  M.  Biot  on  ^  new  Application  of  the  Theory  of  the 
Oscillatiotis  of  Light,  read  to  the  Class  at  the  end  of  1813.  The 
author  announces  in  it  that  he  has  extended  to  substances  having 
the  most  powerful  double  refraction,  as  anagoniie  and  calcareons 
spar,  the  researches  which  he  had  at  first  only  applied  t«  substances  - 
ffhuse  double  refraction  is  so  feeble  that  the  imnges  of  the  luminous 
points  seen  through  plates  with  parallel  surfaces,  and  thiee  or  four 
centimetres  thick,  which  are  not  sensibly  separated.  He  has  found 
in  that  manner  that  in  these  crystals,  as  in  all  the  others,  the  lutninous 
molecules  begin  by  oscillating  round  their  centre  of  gravity  to  a 
certain  depth,  after  which  they  acquire  likewise  a  fixed  polarization, 
which  arranges  their  axes  in  two  rectangular  directions. 

To  observe  these  phenomena  in  any  crystal  we  must  attenuate  its 
polarizing  force  till  the  luminous  molecules  which  traverse  it  thake 
in  its  interior  less  than  eight  oscillations.  We  accomplish  this  either 
by  forming  wHh  the  given  crystal  plates  sufficiently  thin,  or  by  in- 
clining them  on  an  incident  polarized  ray  so  as  to  diminish  the 
angle  which  the  refracted  ray  forms  with  the  axis  of  double  refrac- 
tion ;  or,  which  is  more  convenient,  by  employing  these  two 
methods  together. 

We  accomplish  the  same  thing  by  transmitting  first  the  incidenC 
ray  through  a  plate  of  sulphate  of  lime  of  the  requisite  thickness, 
the  axis  of  which  forms  an  angle  of  45°  with  the  primitive  plane  of 
polarization ;  for  when  a  ray  is  thus  prepared,  in  order  that  it 
should  be  decomposed  into  coloured  pencils,  it  is  not  necessaty  that 
the  polarizing  force  of  the  second  plate  should  be  very  weak  ;  it  is 
sufficient  that  it  dibiinishes  in  the  requisite  degree  the  first  impres- 
sions which  it  has  received,  in  order  that  the  difference  of  the 
number  of  oscillations  produced  in  Ihe  two  plates  be  less  than 
eight. 

We  find,  for  example,  that  the  polarizing  force  of  Iceland  spar 
is  expressed  by  1 8'6,  if  we  take  that  of  sulphate  of  lime  for  unity ; 
or  there  is  required  a  thickness  of  sulphate  of  time  atnouDting  to 
18*6,  to  destroy  the  modifications  given  to  the  rays  of  light  by  a 
thickness  of  1  of  Iceland  spar.  This  ratio  will  be  likewise  that  of 
Iceland  sparj  fijr  rock  crystal  acts  exactly  like  sulphate  of  lime. 
This  ratio  will  only  be  \T7s  according  to  other  experiments  of  M. 
Malus.  The  dilftrence  is  insensible.  M.  Biot  cannot  decide  which 
is  accurate.    AU  the  other  substances  which  he  has  been  9ble  to 


of 

It] 


tirjjb,  Google 


45S  Proceedings  of  Philosophical  Societies.  [Dsc. 

sulphate  of  lime,  begins  to  give  colours  anew  when  the  tliiclcness  of 
the  second  plate  of  that  GuUtance  comes  within  the  limits  e  ±  -^ 
of  a.  millimetTe.  It  preserves,  then,  ia  this  case,  durable  traces  d[ 
the  physical  impressions  which  it  had  uadergoue  in  passing  through 
the  first  crystallized  plate,  aad  these  impressions  are  proportional  to 
the  thickness  e  of  that  plate ;  while  the  ray  polarized  by  simple 
TeflectioD  b  modified  completely,  as  if  it  had  passed  a  crystallized 
pkte  of  infinite  thickness.  The  diSereoce  between  the  two  rays 
shows  itself  likewise  in  several  other  phenomena  indicated  by  the 
theoryi  and  which  it  would  have  been  difficult,  if  not  impossible^ 
to  divine  otherwise. 

In  his  preceding  researches  on  doubly  refracting  cirstals,  the 
author  lias  shown  that  we  may  obtain  extraordinary  and  ordinary 
coloured  pencils  with  thick  plates  as  well  as  with  thin  plates,  by 
opposing  the  polarizing  actions  successively  exercised  by  the  two 
plates  on  the  same  luminous  ray.  When  these  plates  are  of  the 
same  nature,  the  opposition  always  takes  place  when  tbeir  axes  of 
double  refraction  cross  at  right  angles.  But  when  they  are  of  a 
different  nature,  we  must  in  certain  cases  cross  their  axes,  and  in 
others  place  them  parallel  to  each  otiier.  This. last  case  takes  place 
when  we  combine  plates  of  beryl  with  those  of  quartz.  When  the 
axes  of  these  two  substances  are  placed  in  the  same  manner  rela- 
'  lively  to  a  polarized  ray,  the  impressions  which  they  communicate 
to  it  are  such,  that  if  they  arc  successive  tbey  destroy  each  other. 
On  the  contrary,  tbey  continue  and  increase  the  effect  if  their  axes 
are  crossed  at  right  angles,  which  is  precisely  the  opposite  of  what 
sve  fihd  when  we  combine  two  plates  taken  from  the  same  crystal. 
Thus  in  this  sort  of  effect  which  the  crystals  produce  on  luminous 
particles  traversing  them,  we  must  distinguish  two  modes  of  im- 
pression different  and  opposite  to  each  other,  as  is  the  case  with 
vitreous  and  resinous  electricity,  or  the  north  and  south  poles  of  ii 
magnet.  We  may  call  them  quarlxy  and  berylly  polarizaUon, 
The  following  is  a  list  of  some  substances  which  arrange  themselves 
under  the  one  or  the  other  of  these  denominations. 

Quarixy  PolarizaUon. — Rock  crystal,  sulphate  of  lime,  sulphate 
of  barytes,  topaz, 

Berylly  Polarization. — Calcareous  spar,  arragonite,  phosphate  of 
lime,  beryl, ,  tourmaline. 

When  we  combine  together  two  crystals  the  polarization  of 
which  b  of  the  same  nature,  we  must  cross  their  axes  to  obtain  the 
difierences  of  their  actions ;  and  on  the  contrary,  we  must  place 
them  parallel  if  their  polarizations  be  different.  We  sec  that  the 
primitive  form  of  a  crystal  has  no  evident  relation  with  the  kind  of 
polarization  which  it  exercises,  no  more  than  it  has  with  the  elec- 
trical properties  of  minerals. 

In  studying  the  action  of  the  tourmaline  on  light,  M.  Biot  ob- 

aerved  in  it  the  sTnguIar  property  of  having  double  refraction  when 

thin  and  single  refraction  when  thick.     To  show  these  phenomena, 

be  polished  the  inclined  foces  of  a  large  tourmaline,  so  as  to  form  a 

"  6 


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extract  drawn  up  with  as  oiuch  clearDcss  as  coocitenesB.  W* 
shall  select  (he  remarks  which  are  the  most  interesting  and  tbe 
shortest.  The  mean  results  of  the  seven  years  differ  very  little  from 
what  might  be  deduced  from  the  first  two  years.  Hence  they  seem 
to  poasest  all  the  requisite  certaintyj  and  it  is  not  to  be  r^retted 
that  the  author  could  not  verify  them  by  a  longer  abode  at  tbe  Pay 
de  Dome. 

The  mean  results  of  the  seven  years  interest  more  particularly  tbe 
place  that  has  furnished  them,  l^e  variations  ot»erved  in  each 
season  have  a  more  general  utility.  We  obser^'e  in  them  the  actioe 
of  regular  causes,  which  subject  the  atmosphere  to  periodical  modi- 
fications. Each  season  has  its  character.  In  summer^  the  mean 
height  of  the  barometer  is  greater ;  in  spring,  it  b  less.  The  spring 
is  the  epoch  of  the  greatest  diurnal  oscillations.  They  are  tust  ill 
winter.  The  accidental  variations,  on  the  contrary,  are  the  greatest 
in  winter,  and  the  least  in  summer. 

We  remark  unequivocal  annual  oscillations  in  the  barometrte 
mean,  which  seem  analogous  to  the  horary  oscillations.  Tbe  mer- 
cury is  highest  in  the  month  of  January,  It  descends  tiU  tbe 
month  of  April,  when  it  is  lowest.  It  then  mounts  till  the  mtnth 
of  June;  and  after  remaining  elevated  for  some  time,  it  descends 
till  November,  and  mounts  again  rapidly  to  the  height  of  Jnnuary. 

Tbe  diurnal  revolution  hat  equally  its  annual  phases.  But  pheno- 
mena so  complicated  would  require  a  long  continued  series  of  gooi 
observations  to  determine  what  we  cannot  yet  see  in  them. 

Tbe  bygrometrtcal  observations  do  not  appear  in  thew  tables.  Tbe 
author  has  ascertained  that  the  variations  m  moisture  have  no  aen- 
aible  effect  upon  the  state  of  the  barometer.  They  were  therefore 
indifferent  to  the  main  object  which  he  had  in  view,  and  of  conae- 
quence  he  did  not  examine  them  with  the  same  assiduity. 

This  new  memoir  offers  a  model  which  those  persons  will  so 
doubt  follow  who  devote  themselves  to  the  study  of  tbe  modifieationa 
of  the  atmosphere.  It  presents  facts  from  which  they  may  set  out, 
either  to  give  more  exactness  to  the  value  of  the  mean  pressures,  or 
to  employ  these  means  more  conveniently  in  barometrical  measure;- 
menis.  We  find  here  the  complement  of  the  different  inquiries  «^th 
which  the  author  has  occupied  the  Class  at  'different  times,  and  of 
which  we  have  given  extracts  in  our  former  reports. 

The  niemoir  of  M.  Poisson  on  Elastic  Surfaces  is  divided  into 
two  parts.  The  first  is  relative  to  flexible  and  non-elastic  surfaces, 
of  which  M.  Lagrange  has  given  the  equation  of  equtlihrium  in  the 
new  editltm  of  his  Mecanique  Analytique,  i.  149.  M.  Poisson 
conies  to  the  same  equation  by  a  different  method,  which  has  the 
advaniage  of  showing  the  particular  restriction  under  which  it  is, 
1(  sup)>oses,  in  fxt-t,  a  condition  which  is  not  often  fulfilled,  and 


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i^Gopgle 


4ft2  Proceeding  of  PkUasopfacai  Societies,  [DitC 

mechanits,  M.  Poisson  make*  an  interesting  application  of  it  to 
one  of  (he  most  extensive  sdcI  curious  branches  of  acoastics ;  that 
if  to  say,  to  the  vibrarions  of  elastic  plates,  to  the  figures  which 
they  present,  and  to  the  sounds  which  they  emit,  during  their 
movements.  We  may  suppose  that  the  plate  to  become  sonorous 
separates  very  little  from  a  nxed  plane.  T^is  consideration  put&  it 
io  our  power  to  neglect  all  the  quantities  of  the  second  dimensioa 
with  respect  to  one  of  the  three  co-ordinates.  Abstracting,  thai, 
the  weight  of  the  plate,  and  suppoEong  that  each  point  of  the  plate- 
remuns  duriog  the  movemeat  in  the  same  perpendioilsr  (o  the 
fixed  plane,  the  author  obtains  a  new  formula  which  divides  itaetf" 
into  two  others,  according  as  the  one  or  the  otho-  of  the  two  con- 
stant quantities  which  it  contains  are  reduced  to  0.  One  of  these! 
particular  equations  had  been  already  found  by  Euler ;  the  other 
occurs  without  sufficient  proof,  or  even  without  any  demonBtratiaa^ 
in  a  piece  sent  for  the  prize  proposed  by  the  Class  of  the  Sciences, 
(m  the  Mathematical  Theory  of  the  Vibration  of  Sonorous  Plates^' 
verified  by  a  Comparison  with  Experience.  This  prize  is  stiltopeiv 
till  the  1st  of  October,  1815,  the  Class  not  having  hitherto  re- 
ceived any  piece  worthy  of  attention,  except  that  to  which  jt  haf 
^vCn  an  honourable  mention  oo  account  of  this  same  formula. 
The  author  satisfies  it  by  particular  integrals  composed  of  exponen-' 
tiaU  of  the  sine  and  cosine.  In  this  he  followed  tbeexample  given 
by  Euler.  To  each  of  these  integrals  corresponds  a  particular  figure 
of  the  son(»rous  plate,  and  the  sound  which  it  emit^  depends  io 
goieral  on  (he  number  of  nodat  lines  whi<^  form  during  these 
vibrations.  Ttie  tones  thus  calculated  agree  in  a  salisiactory 
manner  with  the  experiments  of  Chladny,  and  with  other  experi- 
ments made  by  the  anonymous  author.  This  conformity  was  the 
{mncipal  cause  of  the  honourable  raeotioii  made  of  that  memmr.    : 

M.  Poisson  points  out  another  kind  of  comparison,  much  more 
difficult,  and  which  would  be  relative  to  the  figure  produced,  after 
a  given  manner  of  putting  the  plate  in  a  state  of  vibration.  He 
would  wish,  likewise,  that  the  results  of  the  calculus  were  deduced 
from  the  general  integral,  and  not  from  some  particular  integrals. 
Unfortunately  thia*  equation  cannot  be  integrated  in  a  finite  form 
except  by  definite  integrals,  which  contain  imaginary  quantities 
under  ubitrary  functions ;  and  if  we  make  them  disappear,  as  M. 
Plana  has  done  in  the  case  of  vibrating  cords,  we  obtain  an  equation- 
so  complicated  that  it  appears  very  difficult  to  make  any  use  of  it. 

We  see,  then,  that  the  question  of  sonorous  plates  o6ers  still  to 
the  analyst  sufficient  diflnculties  to  surmount  to  account  for  the  deci-' 
sion  of  the  Class,  who  have  put  off  the  term  of  deciding  the  ptize 
tillthe  1st  of  October,  1815.  But  the  double  demonstratitm  of 
the  fundamental  formula  is  a  very  important  step.  It  may  be  here-r 
after  taken  as  a  datum  of  the  problem  ;  so  that  the  candidates  wtlL 
turn  all  their  efforts  towards  the  integration  of  the  formula,  and  the 
different  methodt^of  compating  it  With  espedcDce,    T^oce  who 

n..:A-..>yGoogk' 


1815.]  Scientific  Intelligence.  46B 

wish  for  more  details  will  find  them,  with  the  fonnulas  themselTesj 
in  the  Bulletin  de  la  Society  Philomatique  for  )HI4. 

The  memoir  on  the  Probability  of  Evidence,  by  M.  le  Cotnte 
Laplace,  read  to  the  Class  on  the  8th  of  August,  1814,  wbs  not 
intended  by  the  author  to  make  a  part  of  the  collection  of  our 
memoirs.  It  was  composed  to  complete  a  general  treatise  which 
appeared  in  November  last,  entitled  Theorie  Analyttque  des  Proba- 
bility, and  in  which  M.  Laplace  has  collected  in  the  most  natural 
order,  and  often  wttb  considerable  atigmentations,  all  that  he  has 
written  at  diflerent  times  on  this  suHcct,  with  which  he  has  been 
occupied  since  the  commencement  of  his  mathematical  career,  la 
this  chapter,  entirely  new,  which  he  has  devoted  to  testimony,  and 
which  constitutes  the  last  in  the  new  edition,  the  author  considers 
successively  a  single  witness,  or  an  indefinite  number  of  witnesses,  . 
either  simultaneous  or  successive.  He  estimates  their  probability, 
and  the  law  according  to  vrhich  it  decreases.  He  applies  his  theory 
to  the  sentences  given  either  in  the  first  instance,  or  in  the  courts 
of  appeal.  In  another  chapter,  which  has  the  title  of  Additions, 
we  find  a  new  demonstration  of  the  ratio  of  the  circumference  of  a 
circle  to  its  diameter  in  infinite  series  given  by  Wallis,  and  rigorous 
and  direct  demonstrations  of  some  formulas,  which  in  the  course  of 
the  work  had  only  been  established  by  induction.  ' 

We  have  already  parabolic  tables  of  four  different  forms  ;  those 
of  Halley,  of  Lacaille,  of  Berker,  and  of  Saron,  which  may,  at  least 
the  last  tlircc,  claim  the  preference,  according  to  the  methods  which 
we  employ  to  determine  the  unknown  orbit.  M.  fiurckhardt,  who 
has  invented  for  this  kind  of  calculation  expeditious  methods,  which 
he  frequently  uses,  has  just  given  to  his  General  Tables  of  the  Para- 
bolic iVfovement  of  the  Planets,  a  form  more  appropriated  to  these 
saiDe  methods,  and  which  ought  still  to  abridge  the  calculaticKis. 
(IV  it  cauliauid.) 


Article  XIII. 


I,  Theory  of  Crystals, 
■  In  Fontenelle's  Eloge  on  Guglielmini,  the  well-known  Ilaliao 
philosopher,  who  distinguished  himself  by  his  various  treatises  on 
hydrodynamics,  he  mentions  a  book  of  this  philosopher  published 
at  Venice  in  1705,  and  entitled  De  Salibus  Dissertatio  Pbysica 
Medico-Mechanica.  Fontenelle's  account  of  this  book  is  aa  fol- 
lows :  "  The  ground  of  the  whole  work  is,  that  the  first  principles 
of  common  salt,  vitriol,  alum,  and  nitre,  consist,  from  their  on~ 
^iqbI  Creation,  of  fixed  and  uoBlterable  prineiptes,  and  are  iiidi* 


visible  with  mpect  to  the  determiDate  force  or  strength  that  is  ia 
matter.  The  primitive  figure  of  the  common  salt  is  a  little  cube } 
of  vitriol,  a  rhomboidal  parallelopipedon ;  uf  nitre,  a  prism  whose 
Iwsis  is  an  equilateral  triangle ;  and  of  alum,  a  quadrangular  pyra- 
mid. From  these  figures  proceed  those  which  they  constantly  afect 
in  their  crystalUzBtiooi,  provided  that  they  are  kept  as  free  as  pos- 
sible from  all  &veign  mixtures."  This  looks  like  an  aoiicipation  of 
Haiiy's  doctrine  of  the  primitive  molecules  of  bodies.  Whether  it 
be  so  or  not,  can  only  be  determuied  by  a  perusal  of  the  book  itself, 
which  I  have  never  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing. 

U.  t^uxions. 
■  Want. of  room  prevented  me  in  the  last  number  from  mailing 
some  observations  in  answer  to  the  queries  respecting  fluxions, 
rart^iosed  in  p.  394  of  the  present  volume.  When  Professor 
Christisen  says  that  fluxions  might  he  easily  undentood  by  a  person 
who  has  only  made  himself  acquainted  with  the  first  two  bo«ka  of 
Euclid,  I  presume  be  is  for  from  recommending  such  a  plan  to  be 
actually  followed.  He  merely  makes  use  of  the  expression  to  make 
the  reader  sensible  that  fiuxioos  coniun  nothing  mysterious,  and 
that  they  are  easilv  comprehended.  To  study  fluxiaos  wrth  so 
little  mathematical  knowledge  would  be  useless,  because  the  pupil 
could  not  ia  that  early  stage  of  his  progress  apply  them  to  any 
useful  purpose.     The  mode  of  studying  mathematic«,  which  ap- 

E^rs  the  simplest  and  easiest,  is  to  learn  the  first  four  books  <^ 
uclid ;  then  to  make  the  pupil  acquainted  thoroughly  with  vulgar 
and  decimal  fractioa*,  and  with  algebra  as  far  as  the  solution  of 
quadratic  equations.  With  this  knowledge  the  fifth  \xxik  of  Kuclid 
or  the  doctrine  of  ratios,  which  is  so  important  in  matliematics,  is 
easily  com[»:ebended  by  the  piroil.  A  very  perspicuous  demoDstra> 
tion  of  the  principal  theorems  in  >t  will  be  found  in  Saunderson's 
Algebra.  The  pupil  may  then  study  the  sixth  book  of  £uclid,  and 
make  himself  master  of  the  11th  and  IZth.  I  consider  Mr.  Play- 
fair's  substitution  of  a  variety  of  demonstrations  from  Archimedes 
as  an  improvement  sf  the  12th  bode.  He  may  then  return  back 
to  Algebra,  learn  the  method  <^  resolving  cubic  and  biquadratic 
equations,  the  nature  of  equations  in  general,  and  the  various 
modes  of  solving  them  by  approximation.  The  properties  of  figu- 
rate  numbers,  of  logarithms,  and  the  doctriue  of  series  may  also 
be  learned.  The  pupil  then  goes  to  trigonometry,  and  makes  him- 
self acquainted  with  plain  and  spheri^,  with  the  arithmetic  of 
aiites  and  tangents,  and  with  the  practical  method  of  measuring 
heights  and  distances.     He  may  then  go  to  conic  sections,  ana 


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1815.}  Sdentytc  ItUetligence.  -165 

the  pu^  Hcqinitited  with  a  rariety  of  important  curves,  and  In- 
deed with  the  doctrine  of  curves  in  general.  Lastly,  let  him  pro- 
ceed to  the  inverse  method.  Let  him  accustom  himself  to  resolve 
IS  many  problems  as  possibie. 

We  have  no  good  elementary  book  on  fluxions  in  English.  The 
best  is  Thomas  Simpson's  fluxions;  but  it  is  very  inelegant,  and 
lie  has  been  at  no  pains  to  smooth  the  dtfEculties.  The  best  bootcs 
ID  existence  on  fluxions  are  three  of  Euler,  written  in  L<atin,  hit ' 
introducrion  to  the  calculus  of  infinitely  small  quantities,  and  his 
works  on  ihe  differential  and  integral  calculus.  I  would  be  disposed 
to  make  use  of  them;  but  as  the  notation  is  different  from  our's, 
that  may  be  considered  as  an  objectkin.  Of  the  French  ele- 
mentary books  the  best  that  I  have  seen  is  Bossut's.  Jjacroix 
wants  the  art  of  arranging;  hence  his  books  are  confused,  and  not 
Very  fit  for  students, 

III,  Acooimt  of  a  Meteor. 

(To  Dr.  TbMUoB.) 
MY  DBAR  8ia, 
Id  the  last  nnmber  of  yoor  Annab  t^  Philosophy,  Mr.  Luke 
Howard  mentions  a  meteor,  which  was  seen  on  the  evienln|r 
<tf  Ihe  2SKh  of  last  month,  and  requests  any  penon  having  ob- 
served the  lame  to  give  htm  what  iflft)rmat)oit  they  eaa."  1  waa 
walking  out  in  the  evetting  and  saw  the  reflection  of  light  on  the 
potusd,  much  like  to  a  lai^  flash  of  Dghtnlngi;  on  looking  up, 
tbe  meteor  wai  then  passing  whh  great  velocity  towtMs  the  notthJ 
and  alto  decKniog :  it  then  ^peateid  to  dividehrto'a  niimbA  <n 
atan,  muqh  like  asky  roekri  when  InrtMing. 

As  your  AanaU  gencnlty  MBbraeerfll  foreign  and' sdentfflc 
lotclligeDCc,  I  shall  coiuid«'iny«df  nnich  oMgMl  if  through  the- 
Amum  you  would  favour  me'  with  the'  d^ict^iiM  of  s  Portable 
Machine  for  stirveyiag  land,  invented  by  M.  raiet,  an^ecioi^at  o# 
Wbn^  1  believe  it  publiahed  in  the  Arbhives  des  Dtjdouvenes^  ' 
I  remaui,  deav-Skj  ^tirt  tnilyj 

Ort.M,  l«6.  B.WirB. 

IV.  Queries  respecting  Steam  Engines  ^tvi  SleoPh 

(To  Dr.  ThDDuon.) 


DBAR  SIR, 


J  observe  by  the  Newspapei«,  that  an  important  improverhenC 
a  lately  been  made  1^  employing  rarified  air  in  place  of  steam,' 
m  die  moving  power  of  engines ;  Rnd  the  editor  of  the  Monthly 
Magazine  nieations  that  one  (^  these  engines  is  already  at  work, 
which  requires  tmly  one  twentieth  of  the  fuel  used  by  a  steaiti 
CBgiite  of  the  like  powCT.  I  am  safe  it  would  be  very  acceptable  (o 
yfMr  numierous  readers,  if  you  would  give  a  particular  description 
of  the  machine,  and  the  reason  how  so  small  a  quantity  of  heal 
produees  so  great  an  effect.  Ihave  never  seen  any  account  of  the 
tpedAo  heat  of  steam,  of  diffident  degrees  of  elaatiei^:  It  Is 
Vot.VI.  N*VL  2G  C.oogle 


466  Scientific  bileUigence.  [DsC-. 

suted  in  tbe  last  number  of  the  Phil.  Mag.  that  on  a  trial  with 
Woolfs  engines  (who  uses  steam  of  high  pressure]  the  effect, 
compared  with  other  engines,  is  as  4G255  to  li)B^7i  with  the  seme 
quantity  of  fuel.  You  mention  in  your  Annals  of  Pkilosaphyf  &c. 
that  Count  Kumford  found  it  decrease  with  heat ;  but  do  not 
mention  the  rate.  Is  there  any  juetbod  of  preventing  the  incrus- 
tation on  the  in^de  of  steam  engine  boilers  ?  What  quantity  of 
sugar  may  be  obtained  from  a  ^ven  quantity  of  starch  ?  ... 

1  am,  dear  Sir,  your  most  obedient, 

I.S. 

Dundte,  Oct.  11,  1S15. 

v.  Roj/al  Geological  Soctely  of  Cornwall. 

Annaal  Report  of  the  Council. — In  presenting  this  Annual  Re- 
port the  Council  cannot  resist  the  pleasure  of  congratulating  tlie 
Society  upon  the  active  zeal  with  which  the  various  objects  of  its 
research  nave  been  pursue*!,  and  the  eminent  and  unexampled 
success  which  has  attended  its  labours :  two  years  have  not  yet^ 
elapsed  since  its  establishment,  and  yet  how  inncb  has  been 
effected  1  the  cabinets  are  respectable,  and  in  some  depanments 
even  rich  j  the  tibnuy  is  stored  with  many  splendid  and  inslractive 
works,  IB  the  various  sciences  coaneciea  with  geology^  and  the 
laboratory  has  bee*  Ainiished  with  alt  the  apparatus  necessary  for 
the  piuaah  of  analytical  mineralogy ;  numerous  interesting  and 
or^nal  memcnn  have  been  read,  and  a  very  considerable  mass  of 
materials  has  been  collected  for  the  construction  of  a  Geok^cai 
Map  of  the  CtHinty ;  the  miner  too  has  been  enlisted  into  our 
service,  and  has  presented  us  with  much  valuable  information  of  a 
pmctical  nature^  which,  whoi  digested  and  arranged,  may  tend  to 
solve  the  intportant  pK^denu  cawected  with  the  structure  of.  odp 
metalliferous  vems,  and  at  the  same  time  he  has  enriched  our  port- 
folios by  the  addition  of  many  beautiful  plans  and  drawings. 

While  the  objects  of  scientific  research  have  been .  thus  happily 
advanced,  the  mterest  of  the  miner  ^  ^excited  equal  attention,- 
and  been  pnimoted  with  equal  zeal :  the  (Economical  Department 
of  the  collection  is  calculated  to  afford  him  much  valuable  instruc- 
tion, it  will  teach  him  the  ^juncters  and  appearances  of  the  dif- 
ferent mineral  substances  employed  in  the  various  arts  and  manu- 
fectures  of  the  kingdom,  and  enable  him  to  recognize  them  when- 
ever they  may  occur  in  his  own  districts,  and  thus  open,  to  Um 
endless  sources  of  profitable  labour:  the  council  therefore  take 
this  opportunity  of  sMiciting  the  co-operation  of  the  various  mine 
.agents,  in  order  that  they  may  more  speedily  enrich,  and  extend 
tins  most  important  part.of  the  ctdlection.  Nor  has  the  safety  aod 
lives  of  the  ittiners  been  forgotten  :  it  is  with  infinite  s^Ufactioa 
that  the  council  are  enabled  to  state  that  the  Tamping  3ar  com- 
posed of  -a.  metallic  alloy,  as  suggested  by  Sir  Rose  Piice,  for-  the 
prevention  of  these  fatal  explasitMis  which  so  frequ^Btly  attend  the 
use  of  iron  instnuii,ents,  througKthe  bunaqe  and  able  eseitions  ol 


1815J  Scurdific  hdeUigence.  _    A&J 

Mr.  Williain  Chinalls,  has  been  so.  mo&^e&  as'to  be  free  from  aU 
the  former  objections  urged  against  its  utility,  and  has  acco^agt/ 
been  introduced  into  general  use  in  many  of  the  most  extejuive 
mines. 

A  valuable  instrument  also  invented  by  Mr.  Chinalls,  called:  the 
Shifting  Cartridge,  well  deserves  the  attention  of  the  mine  agent> 
its  object'being  to  deliver  any  given  quantity  of  gunpowder  into  a 
bole  bored  iQ-s  rock  for  the  purpose  of  blasting  it,  without  that  loss 
and  hazard  which  attend  the  ordinary  method  of  charging, 

From  this  report  the  enlightened  members  of  the  community 
will  be  enabled  to  appreciate  the  value  and  extent  of  the  labouni  o{ 
this  society,  they  will  discover  the  grand  objects  of  the  institution^ 
and  be  induced,  it  is  hoped,  to  co-operate  in  extendiug  its  views  ; 
by  which  the  obscure  art  of  mining  will  be  improved,  the  health, 
comfort,  and  life  of  the  laborious  miner  ensured,  and  the  political 
resources  and  opulence  of  the  county  augmented. 

Comparative  View  of  the  number  of  Members  at  the  last  and  an 
the  present  Anniversary. — First  anniversary,  109  j  withdrawn,  1; 
died,  3;  elected  this  year,  bd;  total,  141. 

The  Treasurer  reports  that,-  although  our  expenses  have  beet| 
necessarily  great,  the  Society  is  free  from  incumbrances^  and  has 
a  considerable  balance  in  its  favour. 

The  following  papers  have  been  read  this  year  ^— 

1.  On  a  Recent  Formation  of  Sand-stone,  which  occurs  on  seve- 
ral Parts  of  the  Northern  Coasts  of  Cornwall',  By  John  Ayrtpa 
Paris,  M.D.  F.L.S.  &c. 

2,  An  Account  of  the  Granite  Veins  at  Porth  Just,  By  John 
Davy,  M.  D.  &c. 

5.  Observations  on  the  Gold  found  in  the  Stream  W<m^s  of 
Ladoc.     By  Sir  Christ<^her  Hawkins,  Bart. 

4.  Contributions  towards  a  Knowledge  of  the  Geological  History 
of  Wood  Tin.    By  Ashurst  Majendie,  Esq. 

5  An  Account  of  the  Relistian  Mine,  in  Gwinear.  By  Joseph 
Came,  Esq. 

6.  A  Sketch  of  the  Geo1<^  of  the  Peninsula  of  the  Lixard. 
By  A.  Majendie,  Esq, 

7-  Answers  to  Geological  Queries  respecting  Lodes.  By  Mr. 
John  Davey,  Associate. 

8.  Answers  to  Geological  Queries.  By  Mr.  John  Stephens, 
Associate, 

9.  On  the  Granite  Veins  traver^ng  Slate  at  Mousehole.  By. 
A.  Majendie,  £^. 

10.  On  the  Geology  of  the  Coast  west  of  Mousehole,  and  oa 
the  Structure  of  the  Soilly  Islands.     By  A.  Majendie,  Esq. 

11.  Additional  Notes  to  a  Memoir  on  a  recent  Formation  of 
Sand-stone.     By  John  Ayrton  Paris,  M.  D.  &c. 

]2.'Hiuts  on  the  Geology  of  Cornwall.  By  Sir  Humphry 
J)avy,  Honorary  Member  of  the  Society. 

13,  Aa  Aceouat  of  a  Tamping  Bar  composed  of  «  Metallia 
•2  6  2 


4M  Saenlific  InieUigence.  [Dsc. 

AUor ;  and  of  an  Imtniinent  temwd  the  Sh^ng  Cartrnige.     By 
Mr.  W.  Cbinalls. 

14.  ObservatioDs  on  the  ScilW  Isleiids.     ^  Henry  Boase,  Eaq. 

15.  An  Account  of  Silver  Mines  in  general,  and  of  those  in 
Cn^mdl  ia  panicuUr^    By  Joaepb  Come,  Esq. 

16.  Od  the  lime-stooe  at  Veryan.    By  Samuel  IVist,  Esq. 

17.  An  Account  of  the  IVoduce  of  the  Copper  Mines  in  Corn-' 
wdlj  Devonshire,  Anglesey,  Ntmh  Wales,  and  Ireland,  in  Qre, 
fkfppetf  aod  Money,  for  the  Year  ending  the  30lh  of  June,  1S15, 
ania  (rfUn  raised  in  Cornwall,  in  the  Year  ending  with  Midsummer 
Coin^e,  1815.    By  Joseph  Carne,  Esq. 

At  the  Annirersary  Meeting,  Obtober  10,  1815,  the  Ri^t 
HoDOUiaUe  Lord  De  Dunstanvilie,  ftc.  Vice  f^tron,  in  the  Chair, 
the  Rcp«t  of  the  Council  being  read,  it  was  resolved.  That  it  be 
printed  and  circulated. — That  the  Museum  of  the  Society  be  in- 
vested in  the  following  Trestees :  Lord  De  Dunstamille,  Vice 
fttroa ;  Lord  Viscount  Falmouth ;  Sir  William  LeBKn,  Bart, ; 
Sir  Roe  Price,  Bart. ;  Da^es  Giddy,  Esq.  M.  P.  President. 

Lord  De  Dunstanvilie  communicated  tu  the  Society,  thatZ^.' 
P»is  had  been  introduced  ts  his  Itoyal  Highness  the  Prince  Hegent, 
the  I^troo,  in  order  to  present  him  with  a  Report  of  the  Society^ 
and  that  he  had  been  most  graciously  receifed. 

Thanks  were  roted  to  tliose  Gentlemen  who  had  contributed  to 
the  cabmet  and  library;  to  the  authors  of  the  difi^rcnt  mcinoira 
read  before  the  Socie^ ;  to  Mr.  Chinalb,  and  the  other  mihe 
agents,  who  have  exerted  themselves  in  introdndng  the  alloyed 
tamping  bar;  to  JcJm  Ayrttm  I^ris,  M.D.  fiir  the  ze«l  and  abili^ 
with  which  he  has  conducted  the  Society,  and  for  his  Coune  oS 
Xieotures  on  Chemistry  delivered  before  them  last  winter. 

Sir  Rose  Price  Bartv  as  the  representative  of  those  Gentlemen 
who- bad  attended  the  Lectures,  stated  that  he  rose  for  the  purpose 
of  presenting  Dr.  Paris  with  a  piece  of  plate,  of  SO  guineas  value,  M 
a  small  testimony  of  their  eeteem  and  regard. 

It  was  further  resolved.  That  a  medal  with  an  appropriate  deHce 
be  iaunedlateiy  stnick,  and  presented  to  those  miners  who  had  con- 
tributed practical  information  to  the  Society,  or  who  had  I^  d)tlf 
•MrtioBs  promoted  Its  views. 

VI.  Pmaa  AxAi. 

A  most  important  set  of  experiments  on  prussic  acid  JUb  been  ' 
ktely  :4nade  by  M-  Gi^-Lussao.  1'  shall  ]ay  the  tvbcde  rrf''  them 
before  my  readers  as  soon  as  I  can  find  room  for  their  insertioni  la 
Ae  m^Q  time  1  shall  give  a  sketch  of  the  resulta  which  be  ob- 
tained, by  wf  of  notice, .  that  1  may  satisfy  tlie  impatieace  of 
%-itfai)  chemists,  and  enable  them  to  etafflinetlracurtoiiasabstUKes 
which  Gay-Lussac  has  discovered. 

t^vssloacid  may  be-obtained  by  putting  dry  proisiti1»  ii-'iaer- 
cury  into  a  tubulated  retort,  pooril^  upon  it  muriatic  aoMib  ^a»^ 
^  not  sufficieat  to  dceom{w<e  dw  wlK>Ie  prMsiat«>  and  apphfvof  a 


r. 


1«1$,]  SdaU^  iiteHigence.  4S9 

moderate  heat.     Care  must  be  takes  that  none  6F  the  muriatic  acid 
passes  over,  and  a  tube  filled  with  dry  muriate  of  lime  should  be  ' 
tilted  to  tiie  beak  of  the  retort,  in  order  to  absoth  all  the  muttsre. 
The  Mceivcr  riiouM  be  £um>unded  with  ice. 

Prussic  add,  thu<  prepared,  is  a  colourless  lit^uid,  bavijw  a 
stmog  odottr,  and  a  taste  at  fint  cooliog,  then  hot,  and  vioKtly 
BoisoBOtis.  lU  specific  gravity  at  45"  is  07058 ;  at  64°  it  is  069€9. 
it  bmk  at  80^,  uid  coogeals  at  about  &°.  At  that  temperature  it 
crystdliMs  rtKularly.  The  cold  which  it  produces  when  convertnl 
into  vapour,  u  sufficient,  even  in  summer,  to  congeal  it.  The 
specific  gravity  of  its  vapour  is  0*9360.  liis  vapour  was  mixed 
with  osygen  gas  at  73°,  and  detonated  in  a  Volta's  eudiometer. 
100  measuies  of  the  gas  oouaumed  125  measures  of  oxygen ;  100 
measures  of  carbonic  acid  were  fmnied,  and  there  remained  50 
Bieanires  of  aEotic  gas.  100  of  the  oxygen  went  to  the  formatioD  ' 
•f  catbcBiic  acid,  and  25  to  tliat  of  water ;  beaee  the  hydit^ea 
preseot,  if  in  the  state  of  gas,  would  h&.ve  amounted  to  50  mea- 
sures. It  is  evident  from  this  analysis,  that  prussic  add  is  com- 
posed of 

Carbon I    vdlome 

Hydrogen 0-6 


2-0 

into  one  volume.    Or  by  weiglit  of 

Carbon .,.>  44-39   2  atoiw 

Aeoie  5171   1 

Hydrogen 3-90  1 

100-00  ,.    .     - 

Fntssic  acid  cannflt  be  Itept  It  is  decomposed .  ^postaneOilily, 
and  converted  into  pniisiate  (^ammonia  aad  a  black  loMttr  com- 
boied  of  GbrboD  asd  ssote.  Phospborua  mid  iodine  mfty  be  lUb- 
limCd  in  it  without  altenrtion.  Sulphw  combines  with  it.  IV>ta*- 
Mum  put  into  die  vapour  of  prussic  acid  absorbs  it,  while  a  quaoti^ 
of  byoTogen  is  disen^ged  equal  to  half  the  v^Iunie  of  the  piuone 
vapour.  The  potaSMuin  is  converted  into  a  yellow  substance, 
soluble  in  VKtet,  and  converted  by  this  solution  into  pnissiatt  of 
pota^  fVom  this  result  it  is  obvious,  that  prussic  aeid,  like 
nraniatic  acid  and  hydriodic  acid,  is  Composed  of  a  ladiele  com- 
btned  with  hydrogen.  This  radicle  is  obviously  a  cempowtd  of 
twoAfoms  of  carbon  and  one  atom  of  azote.  This  radtde  may  be 
oblaiaed  in  a  sepMate  state.  like  chlorine  and  iodine  it  unites 
wiA  many  bodies ;  hence  |n:ussic  acid,  like  muriatic  and  hydriodie 
aeidi,  is  ocmipased  of  equal  volumes  of  a  radicle  and  hydrogen  eia 
Boiled  tf^tbef,  widiotit  any  diminution  of  bulk.  Gay-Luwac  has 
given  (be  name  of  cyam^eu  to  the  radicle,  and  of  kifdroeytmie 
laid  to  what  was  forftierly  called  fmtssie  aoid,  '        r  ; 


470  SciMi^c  Inlelligence.  PDec. 

VII.  Ci/anogen, 

Cjnaogen  is  easily  obtaiDed  by  exposing  what  was  fonnerly  called 
prus»iate  of  mercury,  but  whicb  Gay-Lussac  has  shown  to  be  a 
coi^pound  of  cyanogen  and  mercury,  to  the  heat  of  a  lamp.  The 
tialtshould  be  very  dry.  A  gss  comes  over,  which  must  be  re- 
ceived over  mercury.  It  ia  cyanogen  gas.  This  gas  has  a  verj: 
strong  and  peculiar  odour.  Water  dissolves  it,  and  acquires  a  sharp 
taste.  It  is  inflaramabte,  and  burns  with  a  bluush  purple  Same. 
•  Its  specific  gravity  is  1*»064.  It  may  be  exposed  to  a  veiy  strong 
heat,  without  decumposition.  Water  dissolves  44-  vcdumes  of  it, 
alcohol  23  volumes,  and  alcohol  aod  oil  of  turpentine  at  least  as 
much  as  water.  Itreddens  infusion  of  litmus,  and  ctHnhines  with 
the  salifiable  bases,  and  therefore  possesses  acid  properties.  Phos- 
phdras,  sulphur,  aod  iodine,  may  be  volatilized  in  it  without 
(Change,  Hydrogen  has  no  action  on  it.  Copper  and  gold  do  not 
com'bine  with  it,  but  iron  partly  decomposes  it  at  a  red  heat.  Fotas- 
^tim  abtorbs  just  as  much  of  it  in  b\iUc  as  it  separates  of  hydrogea 
from  water. 

For  combustion  it  requires  twice  its  built  of  oxygen  gas.  It  deto- 
nates with*  great  violence,  and  with  a  bluish  flame.  100  measures 
of  cyanogen  thus  bwrn  and  form  200  measures  of  carbonic  acid  gas, 
and  leave  !00  measures  of  azote.  Cyanogen  combines  with  several 
of  the  metals.  It  unites  also  with  the  alkalies  and  alkaline  earths. 
When  these  compounds  are  dissolved  in  water,  the  cyanogen  is  de- 
composed, and  converted  into  carbonic  acid,  ammonia,  and  hydro- 
cyanic acid;  and  what  is  curious,  equal  volumes  of  these  three 
substances  are  formed,  supposing  them  all  in  the  gaseous  state. 

VIII.  Ckloro-cyanic  Acid. 

Berthollet  observed  long  ago,  that  when  chlorine  was  mixed 
with  hydnH-cyanic  acid,  the  properties  of  this  latter  actd  were  altered. 
Its  smell  became  much  stronger,  and  it  precipitated  iron,  not  blue 
as  before ;  4Hit  green.  The  new  snbstance  thus  obtained  was  called 
oxy-prusiic  acid,  because  it  was  considered  to  be  a  conipound  of 
eicygeu  and  pnnsic  acid.  Gay-Lussac  1ms  ascertained  that  it  is  a 
compound  of  equal  volumes  of  chlorine  and  cyanogen,  and  on 
that  account  has  given  it  the  name  of  chloro-cyanlc  aod. 

1>)  obtain  it,  he  passed  a  curretit  of  chlorind  gas  Into  hydro -cyanic 
KJd,  tilt  that  acid  acquired  the  property  of  destroying  the  colour  of 
asolution  of  indigo  in  sulphuric  acid.  By  agitatingthe  liquid  with 
taeTcmy  he  got  rid  of  the  excess  of  chlorine.  The  liquid  was 
iWen'  disfiSed,  He  obtained  a,  gas  which  was  a  mixture  of  chloro- 
nanic  acid  and  carbonic  acid;  but  chlOFo-cyauic  acid  b  not  an 
plastic  iiuid,  but  a  liailid.  He  obtained  it  in  that  state  hj  filling 
two  thirds  of  a  glass  jar  with  mercury,  and  the  other  third  with  the 
hydro-cyanic  a^id,  saturated  with  chlorine.  This  jar  was  placed 
inverted  over  mercury,  under  the  receiver  of  an  air-pump.  On 
producing  a  vacuum  the  mercury  uid  liquid  were '  arirea  oat  of 


iSI5.]  Scimtyic  InltlSgence.  471 

the  jar.  Attno^beric  air  bring  sgaio  admitted  into  the  receirer; 
the  mercury  entered  into  the  jar,  ai>d  the  elastic  Suid  oondensed 
into  a  liquid  on  its  sur&ee.  Thii  liquid  wm  riiloro-cyanic  add.    It 


^ i  the  fbllovinff  properties. 

'  It  is  colourlesa.  Its  stnell  is  very,  strong,  exoiting  tesi^  It 
redden  litmus,  is  not  inflammable,  and  does  not  detcmate  when 
mixed  nith  twice  its  bulk  of  oxygen  or  hydrogSD  gas.  The  spec^, 
gravity  of  its  vapour  is  2- 1 1 1 .  Its  solution  in  water  does  not  pre- 
cipitate nitrate  of  silrer  nw  baiytes  water.  The  alkalies  absorb  k 
conqiletely.  When  an  acid  is  pooled  into  this  soludon  the  chlc»<fr-' 
cyanic  acid  is  decomposed,  and  converted  into  nuuiatic  acid,  car- 
bonic acid,  and  ammonia.  This  acid  being  cMnposed  of  aTolume 
of  chlorine  united  to  a  volume  of  cyanogen,  wilbmit  any  diminutkMl 
of  bulk,  is  aDal<^u3  to  muriatic  acid,  hydriodic  cold,  and  dydro- 
cyanic  acid,  only  the  chlorine  perfonns  the  part  of  the  hydrogen 
which  constitutes  the  acidifying  principle  in  tbeic  last  adds. 

IX.  Dr.  Murray,  ^  BdaUm-^k's,  Meihod  of  pTeventa%  Explo- 
sions tn  CoaUMtaes  Jrom  Fire-Damp. 
At  the  second  meeting  of  the  K(^al  Society  fsS  Edii]A)ai^  for 
the  wioter  session,  a  paper  was  read,  by  Dr.  Murray,  on  a  plan  for 
lighting  miaei  so  as  to  guard  against  exploeioDs  from  the  kindling  of 
fire-damp.  It  had  been  before  explained  to  several  sctentiSc  Gen* 
tlemen,  and  announced  in  the  public  papers ;  and  an  outline  of  it 
had  been  transmitted  to  Newcastle,  where  a  very  ^ivourable  o|Hnion 
had  been  etpressed  with  regard  to  it.  The  leading  idea  on  which 
it  is  founded  is,  tliat  the  inflammable  gas  -constituting  flre-damp 
accumulates  in  the  roof  of  the  passages  and  workings  of  the  mine, 
mingling  with  the  atmospheric  air,  and  at  length  forming  a  mixture, 
which  is  exploded  by  coming  in  contact  with  ihe  candles  or  lamps 
of  the  miners ;  and  that  this  mixture  can  never  accumulate  so  as  to 
fill  the  whole  space,  at  least  while  the  mine  is  worked,  for  the  miner 
would  become  a^cted  by  breathing  the  carbureted  hydrogen  gas, 
independent  of  other  appcsrencea  which  would  indicate  its  [hv- 
sence.  The  simple  means  of  secarity,  therefore,  against  its  explo- 
sion, is  to  bring  the  air  to  sustain  the  flame  of  the  lamp  or  candle 
from  the  floor  of  the  mine ;  and  this  is  easily  done,  by  burning  the 
lamp  within  a  glass  esse,  having  a  small  aperture  at  the  top  to 
admit  of  the  escape  of  the  heated  air  and  smoke,  of  such  a  size  that 
the  coirentshaU  always  pass  outwards,  and  thi»  prevent  any  of  the 
extenml  air  from  entering  by  it,  and  having  attached  to  the  under 
part  of  it  a  tube  reaching  to  the  floor  of  the  mine  to  convey  die  air 
to  tiie  flame.  In  the  fixed  lamps  this  tube  may  be  of  iron  or 
copper;  and  moveable  lamps,  which  the  miner  can  cany  in  the 
hand,  may  be  constructed  with  a  flexible  tul>e  of  prepared  leathei^ 
varnished,  of  such  a  length  as  to  reach  to  tb»  floor. 

Besides  the  security  given  by  this  ai^)aratus  by  bringing  the  air 
to  support  the  flame  from  the  fk>or  of  the  mine,  it  has  other  meana 
pf  security :  one  in  particular.  Dr.  M.  remarked,  is  the  rarefaction 
of  the  air  within  the  case ;  whence,  if  even  anj  mixtun  of  i  ~ 


D,g,t,.?<i  I,,  Google 


l(l&] 


MaMhii%iM7<iiI>. 


■«7» 


Article  XIV. 
METTfiOROLOOICAL   TABLE. 


Te»i>oiut»i. 

"/^o." 

IS15. 

Wiflfl. 

Mai. 

Mip. 

Med. 

Max. 

HID. 

Med. 

lUIn 

10th  Mo. 

Oct.  25 

S    W 

29-39 

29-33 

29-360 

57 

39 

48-0 

71 

C 

116 

£ 

29-43 

29-43 

29-440 

53 

3S 

42-5 

SO 

«7 

N     £ 

29-65 

29-45 

29-550 

50 

43 

46-5 

61 

•26 

28 

N     E 

29-98 

2S-65 

29-S15 

51 

43 

47-0 

75 

-35 

35 

N     E 

29-98 

2986 

29920 

56 

47 

5  J -5 

57 

30 

N     E 

29-92 

29-86 

29-890 

SO 

44 

47-0 

60 

J^ 

31 

N     E 

29-9* 

29-92 

29-930 

51 

36 

43-S 

6S 

11th  Mo. 

NOF.  1 

N     E 

29-93 

29-92 

29-925 

50 

41 

40-5 

60 

• 

S 

N 

30-23 

29-93 

30080 

51 

S3 

42* 

61 

S 

N 

SOW 

30-23 

30-290 

47 

as 

360 

87 

4 

S 

30-35 

30-25 

30-300 

44 

30 

37-0 

70 

S 

8     W 

30-25 

30-17 

30-210 

51 

34 

42-5 

80 



6 

W 

SO- 17 

30-06 

30-115 

52 

40 

46-0 

83 

-15 

7 

W 

soo6 

29-99 

30-025 

53 

32 

42-5 

85 

» 

W 

29-99 

29-78 

29-885 

53 

41 

47-0 

75 

^ 

9 

s  w 

30-06 

2978 

29-92C 

57 

4] 

49-0 

-35 

1 

10 

s  w 

30-05 

30-02 

30-035 

56 

44 

500 

78 

11 

s  w 

30-02 

29-85 

29-935 

56 

48 

53-0 

78 

,, 

12 

s 

29-S5 

2899 

39'4eo 

57 

4& 

52r5 

71 

•73 

13 

w 

2907 

28-95 

29-010 

51 

35 

43-0 

6S 

3 

14 

N   W 

39-10 

29-01 

29-055 

44 

26 

35-0 

77 

15 

V«r. 

29-28 

29-10 

29-190 

41 

27 

34-0 

75 

16 

N    W 

29-50 

29-2S 

^29-390 

35 

25 

30-0 

90 

8 

0 

ir 

N    W 

S9-90 

29-50 

29-70(f 

56 

21 

28-5 

85 

16 

N   W 

30<»6 

29-90 

29-980 

35 

18 

26-5 

80 

19 

Var. 

3006 

29-72 

29-890 

35 

25 

30-0 

80 

20 

N.    E 

29-62 

29-60 

29-610 

42 

33 

37-5 

21 

N     E 

29-80 

29-60 

29700 

42 

22 

N     E 

3009 
30-35 

29-80 

29-945 

25 

80 

28-95 

29-783 

57 

18 

4J-75 

76-5 

1-97 

Tht  ohttmUoDt  in  «acb  line  of  the  table  apply  to  a  period  of  tneatT-fonr 
hours,  l>eciniiiDE.a(  9  A.  M.  on  the  daj  .io4icated.  In  tbe  flrat  coliiAUi;  A  dwb 
driMles,  that  the  mult  is  included  in  Uk  oext  followlPt  obterrUloD. 


D,g,t,.?<i  I,,  Google 


INDEX. 


AACHEK  msM  of  natiTe  iron,  re- 
co»ery  of,  53. 
Accum,  Mr.  F,  on  the  melhod  of  lllu- 
DiinattDC  tl>e  s(re«n  niih  coal  gat, 
16. 
Acharim,  Dr.  on  tua  nrn-  genera  of 

licbens,  455. 
AeidUy  and  Alkallniljr,  on,  1S7. 
AdliniTe  ilste,  abioTptian  at  gOMs  by, 

saa 

Africa,  rnyage  of  diwOTery  lo,  398. 
Agaric,  Diiurrai,  •■iHWrplloD  of  ga^i 

by,  831. 
Ailn,  craigof,  itruclnre  uf,  61. 
Air,  miilsni^e  of,  (o  dlSerenlly  shaped 

badie«,  STT. 
Alcjonla,  fossil,   some   neir   Taridiei 

of,  S9. 
Anwlsaoi  of  mercarj   aod  hydrogrn, 

834. 
Animat  concTelion,  99T. 
Apnlhecaries,  n^alalions  for  (be  ein- 

mioation  of,  SST. 
ArragDBite,  crystal*  of,  SSS. 
AibeitOB,    lignifann,     absorplion    of 

gam  by,  250, 
Auynt,  llme-slone  fonnHtiouB  at,  de- 

■cllbed,  60, 
Astronomical  abservHtioas,  51,  S93. 
— — circles,  iuproTcd  meltaDd 

of  diTidiog,  136. 
Athens,  climate  of,  T1 — school  of,  TT. 
Atkinira,  Mr.  obterrBt  ions  by,  on  Mr, 

Lockbart's    imaginary    cube    roots, 

78,  309. 
Atlantic,  nartb,  temperature  of,  396, 
Angnsle  de  St.  Uilaire.  M.  botanical 

obaerTatioBB  by,  323. 
Aiotlc  gai,  specific  gravity  of,  3SI.   . 


Babba^,  C.  fjq.  on  Ibe  caUnlalion  of 
fnnetiaiM,  08. 

Bakewell,  Mr.  account  of  a  cnal-field 
near  Manchuter,  by,  56. 

Beaofoy,  CdI.  Bslrocomlcal  and  mag. 
nclical  obierrations,  by,  61,  183, 
218,  893,  S79— de«cripIion,  by,  of  an 
instmmcBt  to  mcBsiire  and  ri^isler 
ibe  rise  and  fall  of  the  tide  thronglt 
oM  the  wknic  flow  ud  ebb,  ST3, 
1 


BeanAiy,  Henry,  Eiq.  Imtnmenl.liyi 

lo  i<iiBure  theattention  of  waichmen. 

419. 
BeaoToia,    M.    de,     obserYatian*   <■ 

plaoti,  by,  148. 
Bendfrl  tabular  rente,  junction  of,  tS, 
Benuett.  Hon,  H«nry  Qrey,  accooat  of 

Tenprifle,  by,  fiT. 
Benzenburg,  Dr.  ontfaerecoTefyoftbe 

Aacben  masi  of  n^Ltive  iron,  S3. 
Berneani,  M.  TLieband  de,  botanicd 

obsertalions,  by,  3^5. 
Brrzeiins,   Profeissr,  letter  from,  t* 

Professor  Gilbert,  4T  —  ol^ecliom, 

by,   to   Davy's   tbeory  of  chloriye, 

211. 
Biackfriars  bridge,  nnmberi  that  paM 

it  in  a  day,  71. 
Blumenbach's     Brrangemeot     of    the 


I  specie 


151. 

ve,  71. 


Bostut,  Charles,  biographical  aceomt 
of,  401. 

Brain,  on  Ibe  fnnctluni  of,  136. 

Brewster,  Dr.  on  the  multiplication  of 
Images  and  colours  which  accompoajr 
tbaa  in  amne  specimcos  of  Iceland 
«par,  68 — DD  Ihe  new  properties  «f 
light  exhibited  la  the  optical  phno- 
meoa  of  mother-of-pearl,  and  otker 
bodies  to  which  the  ■nperhcialstnc. 
Inre  of  thai  substance  can  be  cotn- 
mnnicated,  136— .on  tbc  effect  el 
healed  and.  cooled  glass  on  light, 
.  136,  819 — on  the  depnlarisation  of 
li^it,  S80-~on  pressure,  881— on  lbs 
palarizBtion  of  light  by  reflectioo 
from  diflercnt  transparent  bodice, 
882. 

Brotero,  Don  Feliz,  on  the  gtMOt 
pauiflora,  455. 

Bucholz,    Profeuor,    i 
tongsten,  by,  198. 


Cunbridge,    objects  of  %ladj  a(  ibat 

University,  894.  ' 
Camera   lueida,    new    and  important 

aombinationi  with,  881, 
Cansria,  papulation  of,  396. 
Carbonate  of  biutnlb,  236,  315. 


Carbo-inlphgrct  of  mcrenr?,  m. 
Carbnreled  hjdro^ii  gaain  coal-minn, 

ari^n  of,  IIS— wby  nM  kindltd  by 

inrki,  -iSa. 
CBrliile,  AotboDy,   Eiq.  on  tW  con- 

■cllnD   betwcm  the  *xtra-iaicBlar 

kod  mcnUr  put*  of  wiinwii,  88, 

Cbalccdany,  on  TcnUble  ronaiiu  Is, 

•5. 
Cbirconl,  abtarplioa  «r  gag  by,  848. 
Ohlldm,  J.  a.  B«].  OB  tbe  cfcctoof  * 

Tery  iarge  gslimBic  battery,  H, 
Chloric  >cid,  ie8. 
GUoriH,  obwrrKtioM  on,  194— vti^cc- 

tlont  to  DaTy'i  tbesry  of,  SlI. 
CUoro-cyAsie  acid,  410. 
GhriMiMB,  Profcasei,  anlaxioH,  17i, 

480. 


,    .  uot,  4». 

Clanny,  Dr.  Reid,  amnnt  of  tbe  Sno- 

4ariud  line  fiimalian,  by,  Ilfi. 
Qift,  Mr.  WilUua.M  tbeinflarnceof 

tbe  i^ual '■arrow  oa  Ac  aciioo  af 

tke  iMarl  of  Sibci,  at. 
OopoliK,  fespiTStory  sr^u  of,  S2T. 
Clovelly,   Nortk    IJctod,    accouat  of, 

•*. 
Coal-field   at    Bradford,    sear    Mao- 

cbeMcT,  degcribed,  56. 
Coal  ga>,  Bielhod  of  illaauBBiiag;  the 

liraeM  by,  IT. 
CaalMfaiei,  ea,  lOS— ^aeriei  rapcct- 

ii«  tbe  iMitilatiaD  of,  416. 
Celoori  ued  ia  paladax  by  tha  aa- 

cieati,  3«. 
Ca^tean,    K«*.    WlUiM,     o«    tbe 

■rifia    af    a    naiarkab|e    clan   of 

otfanic    inpreMloM  .  occarrii^    Id 

■•dalta  ia  lint,  M    atfcaairt  of  Clo- 

»dly,  by,  U. 
CWnioll,  Sayal  Qaolagkal  Society  of, 

486. 
Ob»,  Dr.  Joba  Bedwae,  abHrvationt 

an  cryatalUaatloD,  by,  101. 
GryMalliutisa.  obMTvatioai  oD,  iOI. 
OyMal*,  aati^ity  af  tb«  tbcor;  of, 


158 — farther    obaerraltoDa  od    Hr 
Lockharl'iestnuiian  of,  S09. 

Cavier  on  tbe  mouttis  of  Bibet,  SSS. 

CjmMOfta  gm,  propatiei  oT,  4T0l 


I,  880. 
DeiTani,    obaerralioin,    by,    on    tba 

Alpe,  149. 
Derar,  iiland  of,  itnicliire  of,  61. 
I>i8inood,      CDjnbutioo      of,       139  _ 

largeit,  3BI. 
Dick,  Tboraai  Lander,  Eiq.  oa  a  toad 

fouadiD  the  trnnk  of  ■  beecb,  II. 
Dblillatioo,  doable,  by  tbe  nine  heat. 

140. 


Donal  MMel  In  iMeeti,  on  the  bmi  of, 

34. 
DrsBiht  af  earriuei,  eitterimeaU  •■, 

108. 
Drlg  In  CiiBiber4asd,  on  the  TittcoM 
.    tabet  found  near,  65. 
Danbiane,  mineral  water  of,  analysed, 

156. 
DolTochet,  U.  oariihe  ca*elopea  of  tbe 

fatal,  SSS, 


Sdgcwortk,  a,  L,  E«q.  uperi^fBtafej, 
OB  tbe  draught  of  carriagei,  106— 
cornKlloa  of  an  error  In  tbew  c»y^ 
rimenta,  by,  314. 

£«arl,  Peter,  £mi.  ob  (he  DaltMria* 


Fatty  bodt«,  aalBre  af,  156. 

Fl«,  larietiet  of,  SS4. 

Flax,   aew    mode    of  nuMafacnrtatr, 

230. 
flemtng,  lUf.  Dr.  on  thcmioemlan 

of  the  Ked  Head,  141. 
Floeiz  strata   of  England,    alder,  re- 


Daltan'i  theofy  oT  chemical  compou- 
tioB,  Bbieriatiou  on,  3TI. 

Buiel,  Mr.  on  nlMiM,  454. 

DaTy,  fllr  Hnmphry,  oa  lodina,  131 — 
•■  the  coabiution  of  tbe  dlaowad, 
130—00  tke  Mlasn  and  by  dn  an- 
clenta,  SSS — bli  awAti  of  pr«nat> 
ingcaplMMMlacoal-aiiaei,  4M.    ■ 


niUeof  lint,  ICL 
Flnxlani,  obsemtion*  ca,  IIS,  490— 

querie*  rMpediD^,  3M--»n)iwerB  to, 

464. 
Fietni,  OD  the  enielopea  of,  980. 
Fonii   renuim    of   ao     animal    mtot 

nearly  allied  to  ti>hn,  130. 
Fu,  Jmwi,  JBa.  F«q.  rcgnKer  «f  thw 

weather  io  FlymoDth  fftt  aix  ntanffcs, 

by,  966. 
FucDi  Tesicjdojiu,  SM, 


ivfic 


(Mnntc  batfer;,  nrj  laf,  HTkU 

of,  68— elonentsr;,  dncrlbM,  £09. 

.  eaperimeot,  new,  S34. 

Guei,    abEorpIioi)    of,    bj    dtSferent 

bodies,  841— bj  llqnidi,  3SS. 
ttj-Lumc,  abterratiani,  by,  oq  lUa- 

rine,  1S4. 
GtMen,  A.  F.  dealh  of,  Sn. 
SeoldgicBl   SocietT,   Tnunactiana    of, 

5ft-^eetiog>  ar,  )40. 
GIlM,  healed,  effectior,  on  ligbt,  13S. 
Gongfa,  Mr.  John,  on  the  collliloD  of 

bard  bodies  4U. 
Great      Biitain,      rapid     iotercoane 

throncb,  91«. 
Groombiidge,  Btepheo,  El^.  on  atmo*- 

pboteal  reThKlion,  135. 
OuIieliDini  leems  lo  haTe  had  lOBe  do- 

^onortheetractareofcrjaiall,  403. 
Gon-aiabic,  analyiii  of,  431. 


been  foond,  l4^— on  ibe  ladarated 

talc  of  the  ZfHaodg,  US. 
■celaad,  wotber  la,  during  ISU,  305. 
Indigogen,  75. 

lBilltnte,labonn'i)f,  146,383, 387,436. 
loBtnunent  for  pcferming  m«chaaicallj 

the    inTolntion    and     cfolulioB    of 

Dumberi,    8S0 — for    regialcring    the 

Tue  and  tali  of  (be  tide,  SuS—tor 

cnanrlng  Ibe  attention  of  watcbmea. 

41S. 
Iodine,  e«p«riiBenti  and  obKiYatioB* 

on,  tB6— dlKovery  of,  183— teM  af, 

318. 
Johnson,  Mr,  on  foull  remaloi  faosd 

at  Lynn,  4G5. 
Jonlllo,  Tolcano  of,  146. 
Iridiom,  meBMJr  os,  433. 
Iron,  native,  new  man  <  ~    ' 

1S1. 


Hard  bodiCB,  on  ibe  coillslon  of,  4U. 

Bean,  BCIlon  of,  experiment)  to  de- 
termine on  what  It  depends,  S81, 

Heat,  animal,  lonie  ezperineoli  on, 
140. 

Heap,  mem  mrnle  of  mamtflutBriDg, 

Henry,  Dr.  conGrpu  Mr.  Roce'i  ditco- 
ver;  tbal  urea  ii  waDtlai;  in  uriae  In 
bepatitii,  39S— on  bleacbing  bj  oxj- 
mnrialic  acid,  481. 

■  Mr,  Thomai,  bit  eipeilmenti 

on  blescblng  wltb  oiymurialic  acid, 
48S. 

Hencbell,  Dr.  on  Ibe  lalelliles  of  the 
Georgliun  Sidui,  68. 

Hey,  Dr.  Richard,  oo  some  properliM 
of  tansenO  ID  circln,  &e.  139. 

Home,  Sir  Everard,  on  Ibe  respiralion 
of  cerlaii)  vcnnn  that  live  in  water, 
69— on  ihe  mode  of  gpncrailoa  of^ba 
lampr^e  and  millne,  SS—on  the 
functions  of  the  brain,  130— on  tha 
fosilt  remains  of  an  animnl  allied  to 
fiihcE.  139 — on  the  iolluence  of  th« 
aerv«i  en  the  aeflon  of  the  arteriet, 
139. 

Soraer;  W.  a'  taq.  on  new  aiid  \ra. 
pctitant  combinations  wilb  Ihe  ca- 
mera Inclda,  SSI. 

Kael  Peeveri  accoonl  of,  141. 

Bydro-cyanlc  acid,  489. 

Bydrogen  gat,  speeiflc  graTli;  oC,  9!ti, 

Hydropbave,  abtorptloa  of  |aM  b«, 
93f. 


Kaler,  Capt.  Henry,  on  an  improved 
meibod  of  di Tiding  nironomical 
clTClM,  130. 

Kid,  Dr,  on  the  prodaclion  of  «dt- 
pttn,  13*. 


Labradara,    naftoet    relative  ts    tke 

l^ology  of,  63, 
Lamouroui,  H.  on  (he  algm,  149. 
L«(Teille,  U.  on  tha  retpiralory  organ 

of  ihecloporta,  297. 
Linnman  Sociaty,  nwetlagxtl^  10,  MK: 
l«ckart,  Ur.  bMfinary  cabc  FMft  of, 

obiemtioos  on,  72    ■■a   Ibsextne- 

tion  of  Uw  c«b«  toati  of  b 


,  PrOfhtor,  on  tA«  ola  fed 
nndHoae  fonnatioa,  l3— on  tha 
placet  wiere  fwiU  elepbanti  hava 


London  bridga,  iHmbOTttbUpHt(«*a«- 

.    it  in  a  day,  71. 

Longmlre,  Mr.  Job*  B.  •■  reat^  41^ 

213,  411— oa  tiM  arigia  af  aatb*. 

raUd    bjdrofM    na  in  toalHttaML 

172. 
LuBinso*  appeacaata  la  tbe.beamai. 


Macculloch,  Dr.  on  Ibe  jnnction  of 
trap  andtand-itone  at  Stirling  CaMI^ 
57  —  miicellaDeM*  geolopcal  re> 
nwrki,  by,  59— on  qnarli  rock,  83 
— on  sla^  64 — on  T^etable  renaiaa 
preurved  in  cbalcedanj,  6S<-oi»tba 
Isle  of  a^,  140. 

Magnetical  obMrratuia«r  fit,  ISS,  818, 
9»3,  KS. 

HkmmOtb,  looU  ol  dlKoifMl.  ta 
Hudson's  Bay,  1«, 

UsoDa,  analjr^  bf,  49L 


Gotit^Ie 


Marcel  it  Snro,  M,  op  tbe  mea  of  Ibe 

dorial  vcEsel  in  ioaeclii  34. 
UcerKhaum,  aburptian  of  guei  by, 

848. 
Uetear,  accoani  of,  465; 
HMCDrnlogical  table, 79,159,  SS9,318, 

S»0,  473." 
HiKs   of  Cornwall  and  Dctoo,  eco- 

Domj'  of,  58. 
HontagUE,  Georcr,  Esq.  death  of,  IT. 
Hoiber-of-pearl,  optical  pbeDomeu  of, 

135. 
Uoanlaiiu,  formaliDa    of,   explained, 

411. 
Houtba  of  flghes,  E38. 
Uoyle,  Mr.  od  vaWn,  S05. 
Mnrray,  Dr.   Jolm,   analyali,  bjr,   of 

the  mineral  natrn'  of  Unablaoe  and 

Piteallhly,  966.  34T^i)  mcltaod  of 

prerentiar  exploiionB  la  coal-niinn, 

4T1, 


Fhillp,    Dr.   A.   P.  Wilwn,   expert 

mrnu,  by,  to  determine  on  what  tbe 

aclioD  of  the  heart  dependi,  SSI. 
Pliilipt,  Mr.   WflKun,  deacriptioD  of 

the  crytUU*  of  oxide  of  tia,  by,  59. 
PUloiDpbical  Trwmctiooa   for  1814, 

part  ii.  lS4-^ar  ISlfi,  part  i.  819. 
PilcailUviViMnl  water  of,  a«alyicd, 

256. 
Flymouih,  weatlwr  Id,  for  liz  moalhs, 

SOG. 
Fnlar  ice,  account  of,  14S. 
PolarizatioBof  ligtatby  reSecIiiia  Ttea 

transparent  bodies,  SS£, 
Potasiium,  easier  mode  of  oblaininc, 

139. 
Freunre,  eflects  of,  io  prodocii^  tliat 

•peclM     of   cryilailization     whicb 

fomu    tiro      oppo^tely    polarized 

Image!,  SSI. 
Prevosl,   H.    on    the   eqailibriom  of 

radiant  heal,  379. 
FrirJi;iTd,  Dr.  J.  C.  on  tbe  older  floetE 


Hantical  Almanac  for  1815,  defect*  of, 

804. 
Ifervei,  inttuence  of,  on  the  action  of 

chearterlei,  139. 
New  curve,  164. 
Nickel-anlimoDcrz,  154. 
HonieDclalurc,  cbeniica],  on,  S3S. 


Front,  Dr.  on  ifae  analyiii  of 

■ubttaocN,  SOS, 
PiitMic  acid,  aaiurc  of,  468. 


Office,   propoaal  to  eatabllsb  one   in 
.  Newcastle  to    register   every    tbing 

tcipecting  the  collMrles,  388. 
Oi^nlc  impresBioDi  on  flint  explained, 
-  53. 

a.tbe  analysis  of. 


Otmiam,  memoir  on,  433. 

IKtboceratlle  in  marble,  ISe. 

ObeH,  water,  or  dipper,  new  ipecie* 

of,  14B. 
Oxide   of  tlo,  cryslali  of,  described, 

Ozygen  gat,  tpecific  graiity  of,  i 
Ozymnriallc  acid ,  b' 
history  of,  428. 


Pormenlier,  H,  biograplikal  accoolit 
•  of,  161. 
Parry,  Dr.  on  the  cause  of  the  palsa- 

llon  of  the  arteries,  BO. 
'P^tcpts,  lilt  of,  158,  831,  316,  39T. 
Petit-Thouart,*   H.   du,   obKrratloDS, 
hy,  on  ploDt^,  149, 


Radiaot  beat,  on  tiK  vqailihrlum  of,' 

319. 
Radiatrli,  IH. 

Red  be»d,  miaeralogy  of,  14S. 
Red   sand-itone  formation,  deacribed, 

13. 
Refraction,    atmospherical,    obteria. 

tioni  on.  135. 
Relation  between  Ae  specific  gravity 
of  bodies  in  their  gaseous  state  and 
the  weight  of  tlieir  atoms,  32^ 
Rents,  e^ay  on,  43,  813,  411. 
Kogel,   Dr.  on  s-oew  iDstrament  for 
performing  mecbaolcalty  the  ioTolo- 
tion  and  evaiulion  of  numberi,  880. 
Rome,  ancient,  number  of  inhabitaali 

in,  15. 
Rona,  island  of,  ilmclitre  of,  60. 
Royal  tSeological  Society  of  Cornwall, 
4S6. 

• Medical  Society  of  EdiDbur(h^ 

prize  by,  for  1816,  10.    ' 

Sociely,  mectinp  of,  66.  453. 

Bom,  island  of,  Btrn^tare  of,  60. 


D,g,t,.?<i  I,,  Google 


EREATDM  Uf  VOL.  T. 
P.  MT,  line),  /orarCIiBagelica,  read  Arcliugelia.' 


KRKATA  IN -VOL.  VI. 

P.  18,  lipe  e  frou  bottMS,  ftr  e^lh,  rand  Btntb. 
P.  ««,  fir  Nolden,  >Md  Hddn. 
P.S7T,  foarth colamo,  liD«llt,/^S-3fl6,'r«rnl6-»19. 
P.  ST7,  fifth  cglmu,  Um  10,  ftr  S-S68,  mail  8-368. 
P.  877,  riztk  CDlBU,  Kdc  IS,  /m-  5-088,  rnuT  5-9S0. 
P.STT,  leTmDi  colaani,  llaeT.  >r  1-400,  rnn{I-&M. 
P;  i7T,  aeraRh  orimn,  I1b«  8,  fir  9-070,  nail  8079. 
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