Skip to main content

Full text of "Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, Exhibiting a View of the Progressive ..."

See other formats 


Google 



This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project 

to make the world's books discoverable online. 

It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject 

to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books 

are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover. 

Marks, notations and other maiginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the 

publisher to a library and finally to you. 

Usage guidelines 

Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the 
public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing tliis resource, we liave taken steps to 
prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying. 
We also ask that you: 

+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for 
personal, non-commercial purposes. 

+ Refrain fivm automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine 
translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the 
use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help. 

+ Maintain attributionTht GoogXt "watermark" you see on each file is essential for in forming people about this project and helping them find 
additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it. 

+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just 
because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other 
countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of 
any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner 
anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liabili^ can be quite severe. 

About Google Book Search 

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers 
discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web 

at |http: //books .google .com/I 



/"-^ / (. jy 



r 




HARVARD 
COLLEGE 
LIBRARY 




:,t,'f:lv. Google 



3.n.iiffid by Google 



3.n.iiffid by Google 



EDINBURGH NEW 

PHILOSOPHICAL JOUKNAL. 



3,n.tized by Google 

i 



by Google 



THE 

EDINBURGH NEW 

PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL, 

PROOKE8SIVE DISCOVERIES AND lUFEOVEHENTS 

SCIENCES AKD THE ARTS. 



ROBERT JAMESON, 



<tfll«AdM)cS(itMT<i'Cilninai of llw Rojnl OcokflBl SocMj of Cvnmll, add of tlH Cu- 
tely FbDOMphkd Soekq ; oT th* VoA, BiMol, Cuillitai, NtvtkBii, Md C«fc iHtlWtioBi l 
of Ik* Roj*! SodltT of Sdncca of DsBHtk I rtf llu Rof^ AcMttny o( SdcneM If BaUniof IkB 
Rom Aodony oT K^ta I or t)u> Impslia Nitnnl HMoiT SocMr of MoKow t of Uh Inqailil 
nurucnitk*lSad(tTa(I>Mml)Ur^; of the Nuunl HIRott S«>«y of W^b" > (i"b>Hi- 
■HaJogkalSodRjof Jeui c^ the Roinl Hiusiikiglal SocMy of IiTMilgiii irf th* NUunl Hli- 
toiT SoditT of pBb( of ilK PUkDutlik Soeki]' of Puki of Uu NUunl HMoiy Sodnj dT 
C«T<dB| oflha NbIuAox SocMt of NuudI HUory i of th* SoclM) of Nuunl Bctancc* ud 
MaOdDt'of KtUAsd HcDoniT Mabs of the Lkarr im PhikwiUal S«My of N«w 
Voikiof IhaMawVotkHktorlalSoeMTi of dw AmslnD AUkiuiiriai SoclM| ; of the Aa- 
M Ltcohd of NUunl HMoiT of Nn Voik i of 
II. 4c. 4c. 



APRIL.. .SEPTEMBER 18«8. 



TO BE CONTINUED (tUiRTERLY. 



EDINBURGH: 

PRINTED FOR ADAH BLACK, NORTH BRIDGE, EOIKBUBUHi 

AND LONGMAN, REES, OEME, BROWN, ft, GREEN, 

LONDON. 



r:it.:f:i.v.G00Qlc i 



Sci.'\OXl 



p. Neill, Printer, Edinburgh. 



3.q.tized by Google 



*i 



CONTENTS. 



A.T. I. Biogr.pUc.1 M^oi, „, m. D.„.,:»to». B, B.«,„ '"^ 

CUVIER, 

n. Emark, on th. Probability of r.«;liing tlie North 
Pole: being an examination of the recent Expedi- 
tion under Captain Pahrt, in order to the inquiry. 
How fB- that experiment affect, the Praodcbility 
of the Enterprize > By the He». W,Lua« Sco.e,:- 
.T, F E.S. Lond. & Edln. M.W.S. Corre.pond.nt 
of the Inmtute of Fnmce, &c. &c. Communicated 
by the Author, ... 

HI. Table, for Barometric Mea.urement ByMrWit. 
ua,Gai,«i..,th,A.M. Communicated by the Au. 

IV. A Short Sketch of the Geology of Nith«lal,; chiefly 
in an Economical point of View, and contra.ted with 
thatoftheneighbouringVdleyi Byjaitts Stiw- 
a«TME»i..r,, E,q. younger of Clo«*um, Me». 
her of the Wemerian Natural HiBory Society. Con. 
eluded from p. 32S. of laat Number. . „ 

V. On the mo« effective Employment of Steam Power in 
mamtumngaFerry. By Captain Auxaraii. M"Ko. 
VI , •'°™"' "• "■ Communicated by the Author, 60 

_Vi. A few E«n.rk. on the cLu, Molln«ia in Dr FiMiso', 
Work on Britid, Anhnals; with Deecription. of ««ne 
■ ™'»P«aet ByG.oaoi!joH».TON,M.D. Fellow 
01 th. Eoyd College of Surgeon, of Edinburgh. 
Communicated by the Author, . .74 

VII. Drfence of Chri.li.ni,y, or Conference, on Heligion ; 
(Defence du Chri«uni,me. ou Conference. ,„ 1, 
"eligion). By M. de FHav,„mus, Bi.hop of Her. 
mopoU., Fir,t Ahnon» to th. King of Franc, Mim- 
VIII B,^/" ■^"'"'"••''=•1 Alfur. and Public In«ruction. 81 
VIII. Eraark. on the N.,„r, of Sound in Water. By Ml«. 
COHAOON and Storm. 



ii CONTEKTS. 

Art. IX. Observations on the Fluids contained in Cryrtal- 
lized Minerals. By William Nicol, Esq. Lec- 
turer on Natural Philosophy. Communicated by 
theAutht^, . - . . 94 

X. On covering the Roofs of Houses with Plates of Iron. 

By M. E. Cabtbr. In a Letter to the Editor, 97 

XI. Notice regarding some extrawdinsry Lusus Nature 
in the East Indies. Communicated by Lieute- 
nttnt James Eovard Albxandeh, I6th LanoerSi 
M.R.A.S. Cor. Mem. S.A.E. &c. With a Plate, 98 
XII. On the Fires th^t talte place in Collieries; and par- 
ticularly on the Recent Fires in theWhiteWU and 
Polton Collieries, in Mid-Lotbian i &nd South 
Saucbie Colliery, in ClacknumnaBshire. Bf Ro- 
bert Bai^, E^q. Mining Jliigineer^ F. R.S. E. 
M. W. S. tic ComiQunicated bf the Author. 
With Plates, - - - - 101 

XIII. Abstract of a Memoir read before tbe Werneri»n So- 

ciety, giving an account of Experiments c^r^qted 
to ascertain the Principles of Attraction and R^ 
pulsion in the Lunar Rays, &c. ; a Description of 
several Vipieties of the Instruments constructed 
for that purpose ; tind some Applications of the 
Observations mti^ei as illustrative of ether sub- 
jects. By Mark Watt, Esq. M. W. S. &c^ 122 

X IV. On the History and Constitution of Bwefit M Friend- 

ly Societies. By Mr W, Frassr, Edinhivgh. 
Concluded from former I^umber, p,ai3. - 129 
XV. On the Velodty of Sowid. In a Letter from G. Von 
Moll, F.R.S, Profeesor of Natural philajQpby in 
the University of Utrecjit, to Prgf^sor ^ah«60N, 15* 
XVI. Some Remarks t>n the Bushmen of Orange ^ver. ' 
By Loms Leslie, Esq. Assistant Surg«ap, >5th 
Regiment ComnjuQicated by Sir ,!!a)1^» ^A'Qm- 
GOR, Director-General of the ArffiyMediqalBo«rd, 157 
XVII. Observations on tbe Structure of the Swrt of Aw- 
mals of the genus Rana. By Johk Pavit, M.D. 
F. R, S. Communicated by Kr J^mes M'Gwflon, 
DirectoT-Genefil of the Army Me«i^Qal Board, I60 
XVni. Notice in reg^d to the Jaculator Fisb of Jav», ot 
Chaatodon rostr^tum, Lin. By Jakxs MiTCHUt-i 
Esq. Surgeon, R.N. Commutptated by the Au- 
tiior, /.Ol^lc 



CONTENTS. iil 

Art. XIX. On tiw SpoMuwotis Combustion of the Hunuut 

Body, - - - _ . 164 

XX. Diitriptlwi 4^ MventI New or Bore PUnta, which 
bivo flowered In Ae ndghbourhood of Edin- 
bm^, dnefly in the Royal Botanic GudRl) 
during the Ust thrw month*. By Dr Gbarau, I69 
XXI. Celestial Pbvnomraa from July )■ ta> October 1. 
1838, calculated for the Meridiw of Edinbiifgh, 
Mean Time, By Mr Georob Innib, Aberdeen, 176 
XXII. Proceedings of the Wemerlan Natural History So- 
ciety. CoBtiBoed from former Number, p. 398. 179 

XXllI. SciKNTiric Intxixiocmci. 
AsrnoNOHY. 
1. On the Ctwoet of 18SS, wMch some predict is to destroy 

our Earth, - - - - - 180 

UETKOnOLOOY. 

3. Ab Account of the Accident to the Packet-Ship the New 
York, from Lightning, By T. S. Traill, M. D. of 
Liverpoi^ Communicated t^ Henry Brougham, Esq. 
M.P.F.R.S. 3. On the Diunud Course of the Ther- 
mometer. 4. Comparison of Wind« aiid the diSerent 
heights of the Sea at Copenhagen. 5. Comparison of 
Winds with the Currents in the Sea near to Copenha> 
gen. 6. Tempcratwct of comanon PeHMiial Springs. 
7. AflcoMtofaHwrioMw, - - I8S-I87 

N»Tca#Li rttiLcteontv. 

8. Relations between Eloebudty wd Heat 9^ Cuvier's 
explanation of acf^dentftl Co^ra. l (X Hotiens of the 
Magnetic Equator. )1, Conprvanbility of Water, I88-]91 

' CHEMISTRY. 

12. Method of detecting the presence of Potash before the 
blowpipe, by means of Qude of Nickel, - I91 

UINBHALOST. 

13. StooBtiaB in Aphrite. 14. CalcsreiHU He&vy-spar, ar 

Curved Lamellar Heavy-spw:, 15. Calnjte or Mia»< 
ral Turquois discovered in L^wv SKuia. 1& Oy* 
Boprase and Chromate of Iron. 17> Datolite discover- 
ed at Andreasberg. 18. Haytorite. 19. On the Elec- 

I : Google 



iT CONTENTS. 

tricitjr idaeagagtd by the deavage of regularly crys< 
tallized bodies ; by M. Becquerel. 20. Botryogen, a 
new Mineral Species. 21. Octabedial Borax. 22. 
Blue colour of Dlchroite, not characteristic for it 23. 
Borate of Barytes, - - - 192-195 

OBOORAPHT. 

24. Unicoi of the Atlantic and Pacific. 25. Island of Lingga 

residence of the primitive Malays, - 195, 196 

OEOLOQY. 

26. On the Phenomena of Volcanoes ; by Sir H. Davy, 
Bart. F. R. S. 27- Fossil Rib of a Whale discovered 
in the diluvium near Kemp Town, Brighton. 36. 
Fossil Didelphis. 29. Artificial Lightning Tubes, 196-199 

ZOOLOGY. 

30. Cuckoo kept in confinement for nearly a year. 3 1 . Re- 
spiration of Crustacea. 32, Snake-catchers. 33. Sili- 
ceous Spicula in Alcyonium cydoneum and lynceum, 200-2 

ANTHROPOLOGY. 

34. Original Country of the Caribs, - - 202 

BOTANY. 

35. Temperature of Plants, . . _ 304 

ARTS. 

36. On preserving Wine in Draught ; by M. Imery. 37. 

Effectual Cure for Smoky Chimneys j by Mr S. Mordan, ib. 

Art. XXIV. List of Patents granted in England tram 1st 

February to igtii April 1828, - 205 

XXV. List of Patenta granted in Scotland from 23d 

2Sd Febmaiy to 19th May 1828, - 208 



CORRIGENDA. 
P. 25. line 14. JV upset r«i»f beset 

34. Note, 1. 6. fir ten " open seaMns," tvadtwo " open SMSons," 
36. Note, 1. 4. read « Furchas's Point" on " Giles's Land." 
40. L 17. fir on ice, travelling read in ice>travelling 
187. L l&/jr other rearf their 



.:i.v Google 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

Akt. I. Bi<^raphical Memoir of Hinry Cavendish, Esfi- 

F. R. S. &C. By Bmou Cuvibb, - - 809 

II. Essay op the Stnictiire and Action of Volcsnoes in 
different Regions of the Eortb- By Baron Huk- 

BOLDT, _ , _ _ - 222 

III. On the Annva Borealis. By Johk RiCHA&nsoN, M.D. 

F.R.S. P.L.S. M.W.S. Surgeon and Naturalist to 
the Arctig Land Expedition, - - 241 

IV. A Sketch of the Climate of the Mediterranean, with 

Remarks on its Medical Topography; being the 
result of Five Years' Observations. By the l*te 
William Bl^ck, Esq. Surgeon, Royal Navy ; aod 
communicated by Dr Black of Bolton in Lanca- 
shire, ..... 248 
V. Observations on the Arborizations in Dendritic Cal- 

cedony, or Mocha Stone, ... a68 

VI. On the occurrence of Fossil Remains of Mammalia in 

the Cool Formation of the Canton of Zurich, 273 

VII. Account of the Slip and Breaking up of a vast Mass 
of Strata, on the Banks of the Whitadder tn Ber- 
wickshire. In a Letter from David Milne, Esq. 
A.M. &c. to Professor Jaheson, . . 275 

VIII. Examination of the Experiments hitherto published 
on Subterranean Temperature, together with Expe- 
riments and Inquiries relative to this Examination. 
By M. L. CoRniEK, Member of the Royal Academy 
of Sciences, and Professor of Geology in the Gar- 
den of Plants, - - . . 277 

IX. Sketches of the Meteorology, Geology, Agriculture, 
Botany, and Zoology, of the Southern Mahratta 
Country. With a Map. By Alexander Turnbull 
Christie, M.D. Commanicated by the Autiior, 293 



3.n.iized by Google 



ii CONTENTS. 

Art. X. On the Regions of Perpetual Snow in Norway- and 

Sweden. By LieutenantO>lonel Haoelbtah, 305 
XI. The rappoaed recent Origin of America rdbted, 309 
XII. Account o£ a Depodt of Foasil Plants, discorered in 
the Coal Formation of the Third Secondary Lim^ 
stone, near ScatbfNrau|^ With a Plate. By Pi- 
ter Murray, M. D. C<Hninunicated by the Au- 
thor, 311 

XIII. On the connection between the Phases of the Moon 

and Rainy Days. By M. Flabdbrques, - 317 

XIV. A Tour to the South of France and the Pyrenees, in 

the year 1835. By G. A. Walker Arnott, Esq. 
M. W. S. (Continued from a fonner Number), 319 
XV. Discovery of a Fosnl Walrus or Se»-Horse, in Virgi- 
nia ; of the Fossil Skull of an extinct species of 
Bos (Ox), from the Bonks of the Mississippi ; and 
of Fossil Bones, identical with those of the M^»- 
therium of Paraguay, in Georgia, United States, 325 

XVI. On the Luminousness of the Ocean, - - SSg 

XVII. Observations on the Structure of Feathers and Hair, 331 
XVIII. On the Level of the Sea, - . _ 336 

XIX. On the Rocks that afibrd the Gold Dust or Gold 

Sand met with in Rivers, - - - 341 

XX. Essay on Comets, which gained the first of Dr Fel- 
lowes's Prizes, proposed to those who had attaid- 
ed the University of Edinbur^ widiin the last 
Twelve Years. By David Milne, Esq. A.M. 
F.R.S.E. - - . . 3M 

XXI. On the Use of Ligatures and Bleeding in Cases of 

Pmsoning, - . . . 353 

XXII. On the Temperature of Springs in the vidnily of 
ColintoD, near Edinburgh, in Latitude 55° 54' 42" 
N. ; Long. 3° 16' 8' W. - - - 356 

XXIII. A Brief Account of Microscopical Observations made 
in the Months of June, July, and August 1827, on 
the Particles contained in the Pollen of Plants ; 
and on the general Existence of Active Molecules 
in Organic and Inorganic Bodies. By Robbkt 
Browk, F. R. S. Hon. M. R. S. E. and B. I. Acad. 
&C&C. - - - . - 358 



3.n.iized by Google 



CONTENTS. Hi 

Art. XXrV. Description of sevenl New or Rare PUnts which 
have flowered in the ndghbourhqod of Edin- 
bur^ and chiefly in the Ht^al Botanic Gar- 
d«i, during the last three months. By Dr 
Graham, ----- 371 

XXV. CeleatiaL Mienomena £tom October ]. ]S38 to 
January 1. 18S9, calculated {or the Meridian of 
Edinburgh, Mean Time. By Mr Georqe 
Innes, Aberdeen, - - . 383 

XXVI. Proceedings of tbe Wemerian Natural History 

Society. Continued from p. 180. - S85 

XXVII. SciKNTiric Intelligence. 

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 

1. PrajMMed Improvement of the Air-Pump, - - 386 

HBTEOROLOOY. 

2. Prc^ostics of the Weather. S. Disturbance of the Mag- 

netic Needle by Polar Lights. 4. Effects of RariGed Air 
of Mountains on the Pulse. 5. Meteor of a Green Co- 
lour. 6. On Thenno-Barometrical Observations, 389, SQO 

HYDBOORAPHY. 

?■ Blowing a River out. 8. Chemical Researches respecting 
the Mineral Waters of Geilnau, Fachingen, and Setters. 
g. Petriiying quali^ of the Irawaddy. 10. Phospho- 
rescence of the Sea, ... 391-393 

' hineraCooy. 
II. Influence of Organic on Inorganic Bodies. 12. On An- 
thracite, or Glance^JI^oal ; by A. Breitfaaupt 1 3. On the 
probable Occurrence of the Diamond in Siberia, 393, 394 

OEOLOQY. 

14. Fossil Bones in the Cave of Mitemont. 15. On Coral 
Islands. 16. On Brown Coal, or Lignite, and Oolite, 
superimposed on Chalk; discovered in Besserabla by 
M. Eichfield, - . - . 395-397 



17* Inquiries respecting the Pollen of Vegetables. 18. On the 
Organization of the genus Chi^a. 19- Account of a 



3.n.iized by Google 



CONTENTS. 

new l^McieE (rf Pinus, a iMtive of CiUifomia, iscovered 
t^ Hr Dftvid DouglM. 20> Nutritious Subitance trans- 
ported by the Wind. 21^ On the Fecundation of 
VlofKia. 38. Erica ciliaiie, - ■• 398-402 



S3. New metbod t£ quickly dMUraying tbe life of Insects, by 
H.. A. Bioord, traveler tn tbe Boyal Museum of Natu- 
ral History at Paris, &c. 24. On the Tynan Purple, by 
M. Lesson. SA. Microscopical Observadcras on Fresh- 
water Mussels, .... 403, 404 

ANTHROPOLOOr. 

S6. Diversity of taste respecting Food. 37. A Woman deU- 
vered of Five Children. 28. Population of England, 
29. Method of Tattooing. 30. On the Predwninance of 
the Right Arm over the Left, - - 406, 407 

31. ArtilSdal Ultramarine, - - - - 408 

STATISTICS. 

32. Culture of Turnips, . . . . 4O8 

Art. XXVII). List of Patents granted in Scotland Awn 

April S6. to July 32. 18S8, ^ - 410 

XXIX. last of Patents granted in Scotland Gtam 

June 20. to August 5. 1898, . - 412 

List of Plat^b, - - - ib. , 

Indkx, .... 413 



3.n.iized by Google 



EDINBURGH NEW 

PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL. 



BktgrafhiaUMemmrofM. Davmuitohi. By Baroo Coti««.* 

IjOVU Jeah Makie Oadbkntom, member c^ the Senate, and 
of the Institute of France, professor in the Musenm of Naturd 
History and in the Coll^;e of France, &c. be, was bom at 
Mtmtbar, in the liepartiiwat of the Cote (fOr, on the S9tb May 
1716. His father, Jean Dauhenton, was'a notary ra that place ; 
bis molber''8 name wu Marie Pii^ienot. 

He was distinguished fmn tus cliiMhood by the gentleness of 
bis Bianoers and by lus ardoor for laboar ; and he obtained from 
the JeHiits of DiJiHi, with whom he commenced his studies, all 
those IhtJe distioctioDs which are »o flattering to youth, withont 
being always the ^^cursors of more durable success. He che* 
riflfaed the remembrance of them wkfa pleasure to the aid of hia 
life, and always preserved their written testimomals. 

AAer he had Ihushed, under the Dominicans of the same dty, 
what wasthni called a course of philosophy, lus patentee who 
intended bim for the diurcb, and bsd made him assume the ec- 
desastical habit after the age of twelve years, sent him to Paris 
to study theol<^ ; but, periiaps inspired with a presentiment of 
what he was one day to become, the young Dauhenton devoted 
himself in secret to the study of medicine. He attended', at 
the sdiools c^ the Faculty, the lectures ot Baron, Martineng, 
and Col de Yilburs,— and in that same < Jardin des Flantes,* of 

■ K<*d to the Kofsl lattttute of Fnocs.. 

A»»I,-*J«HB 18!t8, A 



D.n.iizedt>yGooi;5lc 



2 Bvigraphieal Memmr of M. Daubenton. 

which he was afterwards so great an ornament, those of Win- 
slow, Hunnuld, and Antoine de Jusaeu. His father's death, 
which happened in 1736, leaving him free to follow his inclina- 
tion (^>eiily, he took his degrees at Reims in 1740 and 1741, 
and returned to his native place, where he limited his ambition 
to the practice of his art ; but his destiny reserved him for a 
more brilliant theatre. 

The little townrin which heJnts bom, had also given birth to a 
man, whose independent fortune, personal and mental accomplisb- 
mentg, and Tiolent taste for pleasure, destined him for any cdreer 
but that of science, to which, however,he was incessantly drawn by 
that irresigbble propensity, the almost unfailing indication of ex- 
traordinary talents. Buffon, for it is he of whom we speak, l<Mig 
uncertain as to the object to which he should t^piy bia genius, 
directed his attention successively to geometry, physics, and agri- 
culture. At length, his fnend Dufay, who, duiin^ his ^ori 
adnsiiiistration, raised the ' Jardin dies FJantes' from the deplor- 
lible state into which it had mnk by the inacUvity of the fint 
j^ysimns, who were until then siq>erinteDdaBts of that esta- 
hlidimeot, having bestowed upon him the reverNon of its charge, 
Butfon''s choice was ultimately, fixed upon natural' history, mid 
he «aw opening, before him that vast career whidi he pursued 
with so much glory. He at first measured its full extent ; he 
perceived at a glance what he had to do, — what it was in bta 
pow» to accomplidi, — and where the aid of others would be re- 
quiute. 

Overloaded from its commencement wilii the undigsated eru- 
dition of Aldrovaodus, Gesner, and J^hnstoD, natural histery was 
afterwwds mutilated by the nomendaUira. Hayv Eleiny even 
Linnseus at that time, preseDted nothing: but bane catalogues, 
written in a barbarous language,' and vluQh,1rithaU.tii^«ecn)au 
ing greeisenes^ with all the car* whieh timrauthora appesiwd' 
ta hove taken, to pUee in them only what cx>uld be at all ti^M 
veiified by observation, still contuned a noltittuh' of errors, in 
the details, in the distinctive <^arftaters^ l(nA:in tW- methodictd 
distiiijuiioas. To restore tifeabdmotioiLta this. cold 'Kid'itAtiK 
mate body ; to paint Qatuve as she iv aln»y«. jtodng, 'itlwaysf 'toi 
action ; to trace the wonderful harmony of all her parts ; to 
sketch the laws by which they are bound togetlier into a ^ngle 

L-|t.:f:l.v Google 



Btogrt^kal Memdir i}fM. JOauienton. 8 

systeta;' to transfer totbts pcture all the frtehnesi and brit- 
lumcy «f ttie orig'nud ;-^ij(Ji -was Ithe most difficult task of die 
writer who might undertake to restore to this beautiful sdeocf 
all the luitr« «4sch' it had lo«t ; rtidi wai thht which: the aident 
imai^aliQn itfi fibffwt his lofVy gtsuus,- and hii interne feeling 
c^ the beauties ef natUr^ could not fail to make him attempt, 
Hadnot.trutb fortued ttie basis i^ his^pdrfbcmance — had b^la. 
vjghed theJiriUiant -colours of h» pallet upon incon-ect or tio. 
faithful ' designsff-had be.(Hily^i»i)iA)iwd-Jmi^Dary -facts, b« 
raig^t indeed have hecnqe.an elegtuit wnteir. an ing^qipus poet; 
but be would not. havlt been a naturalist— he, could, qot have 
asiHred to^ the nnk of which he was ambitious, that at bding $. 
reformer of the- science; It was ther^ore Deee^sary. to review* ' 
to c<^ect, to obtore e^ecy thing y . to cranpare the fprms aod 
dintenHons of Iwings; to cany the scalpel into, th^ interior, 
and lay open the most hidden parts of their QjrgfuuzatifHi. 
Buffcn was sensblf! that hia Impatient spirit would not pennit 
bitn. to undergo those pttinful labours; U)Wt.l;be t%Ty We&knew 
of his ai^t iiH>uld:mar the hope of engaging' itftiiem with suc- 
oesft. He sought a n^an who'might join .I9 thf accilr4cy of mind 
and-dflicacyof-tl^ct nededsary fof au«h rewwt^t SH^c^^t mo- 
destjraifd- deVetednesB^ tO)b«!c<wtented without .s^iiifWf^y.piBrt 19 
appsarance, to.be b some measure but his.ejw flsdtwtd.; an^ 
tliia roan hb found Ai Saubteton, th^ e(Mnpaai|}ii,i^ ^.qtgitabf 
bis dl^dhood; Bdthe found^io hiiji'nwr^t|MA:ibfi!ha(}i«o4gh^ 
moiw.eveiL thaalfae: thought ibe retpwred ; and* peehapsi itti^os 
not in ttocertbiogn ie which. he 6sk«d Jhis ass^tanc^'^l^t tjtau- 
benton'vAs'tooet uE^lto faiErt. ,. ...;..[,; 

In fiitd, k nisy^be'wd tjbat.^ never: w^ association better 
formed. Tbere-^nsted-iB tbe two .friends,, ip respect both to 
thdr phygidol asid their riaenttil constitution, that perfect contrast 
^i^hooeof ourtmdfet;uiiiable wrtters;4S9^ts.tq be nepefpi-y 
fpr reddfliihgia oemneetionidiir^ei and edehiofthem seetoed to 
have received precisely th^qiJflMes. adapted to temper %wie of 
theothei-.l^oppDaition,; .-: ,„ .., , 

' Buftin, robust' iti his person, impoatug in.his a|^)earano9, of 
an imperious ^pnoition^ and denrous in all thlugs of prompt 
eni<^pKntt,seed>ed^dttp(aed rather to guess the truth than tq 
olMerve-it;^ ^Qis iB(^niati<»i.-continuQ% inteqxMed itself bSt 



4 Biogrt^hical Memoir ^ M. Daubenlon. 

tw«eD nature and him, and bis eloquence seemed to exocise iu 
self agwist his own reason, before naploying itself in mislead- 
ing tliat of otbers. 

' Daubenton, feeble in his bodily constitution, geode in his 
aspect, and possessed of a nioderadon which he owed to nature 
as much as to his own wisdom, earned the most scrupulous tst' 
cum^)ection into all his researches. He believed and affirmed 
(Hily what he had seen and touched. Far Irom wishing to per- 
suade by any otlier means than strict evidence, he carefully 
avnded in his conversation and writings every tiling figurative, 
every expresaon that might produce deception. Possessed of 
irarnqvaUe patience, he never intennitted his exertions ; he went 
over the same.investigation again and again, and by a method, 
p«^aps too rare among the cultivators of real science, all the 
faculties of his mind seemed to unite in imposing ulence uptm 
his ima^natioB. 

Bufitm though he hod only taken a laborious assistant who 
would level the inequalities of the road, but he found a faithful 
guide who pointed oiit to him the false paths and predjnces. 
A hundred times did the biting smile which escaped his friend 
when he percfflved scHDething doubtful, bring him over from bis 
first ideas ; a hundred times did one of those words, which thi^ 
friend knew so wdl to apply at the proper time, arrest him in 
his headlong progress ; and the wisdom of the one thus allying 
itself with the energy of the other, gave to the History c^ Qua- 
dHiped^ the wily one common to the two authms, that degree 
of peifeotion' which renders it, if not the most interesting of 
those which enter into the great Natural History <^ BufKu, at 
least that which is the most exempt from error, and which will 
longest retain a closaied character among naturalists. 

It was, therefore, still less by what he did for him, than by 
what he prevented him from doiBg, that Daubenton was useful 
to Buffon, and that the latter bad reason to congratidate himself 
for having f<»ined such a ecMinection. 

It was about the year 174S that be took him to Paris. The 
office of keeper and demonstrator of the Cabinet of Natural 
History was very imperfectly discharged, and the person who 
possessed it, a M. Noguez, having long;reuded in the country, 
its duties were petformed from time to time l^ some <^ the 

D3t.z.dcy Google 



BkgrapMcat Memoir of M. Da^bttOom. 6 

people ccMiDected with the girden. Buflbn mired it for Dau- 
-bentiw, sDd it was coofared upon him by iHcret in 1745. Hii 
salary, wfaid) at first was only 500 ftano, was gradually aug. 
mented to 4000. When fae was only asnstant in the Academy 
of Sciences, Bufibn, who was treasurer, made htm several prfr- 
sHits. On his arrivai in Paris, be also gave bim an apartment 
In a word, he neglected nothing to ensure him the comfort ne- 
cessary for every man of letters, and for every perstm engaged 
in the cultivation of science. 

Daubenton, on hie part, devoted himself witbmit intarmiasioD 
to the labours cdcutiUed to second the views of las bcneEactor, 
and by these very labours he erected the .two princapal monu- 
ments of hi« own glory. 

One c^ these, although not a printed botdi, is not ^e less a 
very beautiful and a very instructive voIume,8ince it is almost that 
of nature. I allude to the Natural History Cabinet of the * Jar- 
din des Plautes.' Befwe Daubenton's (ime it was a mere drug- 
dup, in which the products of the j>ublic courses of chemistry 
were collected, to be distributed to the poor who might have 
need of them for the cure of ihdr diseases. Is Natural Histwj^ 
jHoperly so called, it only contiuned some shells collected by 
Toumefort, which had afterwards served to amuse the child- 
hoi>d of Louis the Fifteenth, and of which several^stUI bore the 
marks of his humours. 

In a very few years it entirely changed its appearance. Mi- 
nerals, fruits, woods, and shells, were ccdiected from all parts, 
and laid out in the best order. The means by which the vari- 
ous ports of organized bodies m^bt be {M'eserved, were made 
an object of discovery and improvement. The inanimate spmls 
of quadrupeds and turds resumed the appearances of' life, and 
presented to the observer the minutest details of their charac 
\en, at the same lime that they astonished the curious by the 
variety of their forms and the brilliancy of their colours. 

Previous to this, the cabinets of natural productions were 
indeed ornamented with some riches ; but those were rejected 
whicb might ^xnl th^r symmetry, or take away the appearance 
of decoration. A few naturalists collected the objects which 
might assist them in their inquiries, or give strtegth to their 
oinnions; but, being limited in their fortune, they were obliged 



6 WioffrapKkal'JSevi&ir'of-MvOaiibe^idk. 

to' faboar-ft ia»ag'tkaieiAfiire t-beJ^'bouId^^tM'««Oii[rt«t6 ui u^htt' 
ed breiKti; Some amateurs collected aeFt«b,'>wbHih' Mtiified their 
tastes; but tTley commonly confitied tbemsetveB to ttienMStAi- 
tile ot^ects, buch as wtre more ndaptcd'to please tha sight, than 
to etilighten the mrhd. - The most brilliant ihells, the- most va- 
riegated agittes, the-largest iuid moet ^rkting gems, generally 
■fi^Tned the bases ftffheir coIleCtioHRi -■'-.■ - ,> 

Daubenton, supported by Bufloiii and'pixrflting by the re- 
sources which the influence of his friend obtained foi' 'him frcna 
ihe government, conceived and executeda more extetteiv^^Q : 
lie thought that none of the prodnctions of Nature ought to be 
kept back from her temple; he perceived- that such of these 
productions &a we look upon as the most importaat, can only be 
well known, in so for as ^ey are coinp)it<^ with all the others ; 
that there is not even one of theni which) by its numCTOUS riitf- 
tions, is not more or less directly connected with the refit of na- 
ture. He therefore excluded none, and nude the greatest efforts 
to-fc(rf!ect dl. In particular, he made an extehsive collecticm of 
Anatomicid prepanttions, which long dbtinguished Ae Parisian 
Cabinet, and whidi, although less t^^reeable to the vulgar eye, 
are of the greatMt utility to the man who does not t«nflne his 
inquiries merely to the surface of created beings, and vho strives 
to render tiatural history a philosophic^ science, by making it 
also explain the phenomena which it describes. ■- 

The study'and arrangement of the&e treasures becameto him 
a true passion, the only one perhaps that he had ever been re. 
marked to possess. He shut himself up for whcde days in the 
(iaHhet, ■ He there Himed over in a thousand wa^rg the objects 
which he had brought together, scrupulously exunined all dieir 
^rts, tried alt the ai^ruigements' imaginable, unti] he fell trpAa 
that which nether offended the eye, nor broke asunder natural 
relations^ ...:,., 

This taste for the arrangement (^ tt cabinet revived' with 
energy in his UfSt years, when our victories broiight k new mass 
of 'riches to iChe Calnnet of Natural History, and circumstances 
p^rtrlHted the whole to assume a greater deveJojmrtnt At the 
age of eighty-four, with his head bent upon his breast, his feel 
and hands deformed by the goUt, unable to walk without the 
support of two persons, he was led every morning to the Cal»- 



it«lViliiitf&««piw<t8<»ertlve^u»iigtiBBnt!<ar.thsiwaeraU, llw 
«Bly part'tbM ndiMiwd lo faini in the iiew iorgamsatioa rf the 
«Mri>IMinient. 

Tbus it u chiefly to Dwibanten that Fraaoe is indefatal ior 
tb«t tw^ile so worthy of tiue goddeu to whom it is ocBnccated, 
aBdwbeveoDeknowsnotwhsdieTtoadBiweinofit) the MtoiUBbing 
ffloondity of nature ffbith has |Mxiducad.soiiiwiy diSemt b»< 
UigS)Or the unconquerable patience of man whobasoollflQtail:aU 
these -beiogs, named dion, clawed tbein, aaagned ihem^ thcar 
reUdons, described Uieir pu'ts, and ex]^ned their properties. ■ 

■The second mtmuBient which Uaubentoa l«ft, was, acocitding 
to his onginal ^an, to have be«i a complete descnptioa.of the 
Calanet ; but vircumstanceB, which we Bhall presently ptnnt out, 
pUBvented him froiB extending this description beyond the qua- 
drupeds. 

This is not the place for analyzing tlie descripUve pert of the 
" Histmre Naturelle *," a work as immense in its driailB, as it is 
astobisfaiiig in the boMnesB of its ptan, — or for unfi^ingalL that 
it contains of what is new atid imp<xtant to the naturalist. To 
give gome idea of the work, it is only neceesary to state, that it 
oottajns tile depcnptitm, internal as well as external, of a hun- 
drad and eigjity-two ^>ecies of quadrupeds, of which fifty-eight 
bad Derer. been dissected, and of which thirteen' had not .even 
been externally described. It contains, inweover, the external 
descripCiDn alone of twenty-two species, of which five were pre- 
viausly unknown. The number of entirely new species is there- 
iare:eighteen; but the new facts relative to those which were 
already more or Jess super6<aally known, are innumerable. The 
greatest merit o£ the wwk, however, is the order and spirit with 
which these descnptioos are given, and which is the same with 
K^ard to all tlie ^>edes. The author has been heard to say 
repeatedly, that he was the first who had establtshed a true 
Goaapanitvra anatomy ; and the assertion was true in this respect, 
that>iU-hiB observaticHis being disposed according to the same 
plan, and their number being the same with regard to the 
smallest animal as ' with r^ard to the largest, it is extremely 

" The first three volumes, in tiuartn, njipeared in 1740 ; the twelve fbl- 
loirlng succeeded each other from that period to I'JffJ. 



3.n.iized by Google 



8 BkgrapUsal Memoir qf M. DambttOm, 

amy to spjprdiend oil tbe rdalioiu ; that, never bong lealncted 
to any system, he hu bestowed an equal attentian on all tbe 
parts, and could never be tempted to nc^ect or dtaguise what 
was not conformaUe to the rules which he had esuUisbed. 
. However natural this method must appear to penoos who 
only judge of it by mere good sense, it is far from being yery 
cwy to follow, since it is so rare to be met with in tbe wtx-ka of 
other naturalists, and there are so few ammig them who have 
been at tbe trouble of placing the beings which they describe, 
otherwiae than as they are in th^r systems. 

Daubmton^s work may be considered as a rich mine, in which 
tbe naturalists and anatomists who engage in the examination of 
quadrupeds are obliged to dig, and &odi which several writers 
have extracted mwiy precious articlet, wilfaout acknowledgment. 
It is sonietimeg only necessary to make a table of Iiis dwerva. 
ticaiB, and to place them in certun columns, in order to obtun 
the most striking results ; and it is thus that we ought to under- 
stand Camper^B expresoon, that Dauienton did not knoa> ail the 
diicovtriei ofa>kich he wa» the autlior. 

He has been reproadied with not having traced the table of 
these results himself. It was with good reason, however, that 
he av<»ded an (^)eratioa which might have flattered his seIf.lovr, 
but which would have led him into errors. Nature had beoi seen 
by him to exhilnt too many exceptions, to allow him to imagine 
he could establi^ an order in her evolutions; and his prudence 
has been justified, not only by the ill success of those who have 
been more adventurous than himself, but even by his own exam- 
ple ; the only rule whicii he ventured to trace, namely, that sup* 
posed to detnmine tbe number of tbe cervical vertebra, having 
been found, toward tbe end of bis career, to be incorrect *. 

He has been also Mamed for having oonfined his dissections 
within too narrow bounds, having Iknited them to tbe descrip- 
tiiRi of the skdeten and viscera, without treatii^ of the muscles,' 
vessels, nerves, or external organs of sense ; but it cannot be 
jwoved that it was possible for him to have WMded diis re> 
ptMch, until one has done better in tbe same time, and with 
the same means. It is certuo, at least, that one of his pupils, 

* There are In generd sevfii i the three'toed alothi, boirerer, htv* niiM. 



Biagri^ltiioi Memoir tf M. DanUwtm. % 

■mbo wi^ed to extend hit plan, did nothii^ bat ill it up with 
oompilaticHu that were too c^en inaiguficmL 

An som BB his work made ita aj^ieanmce, DauboBton did not 
ful to obtain the tlsual reoompenoe di all great UDdertakiagi, 
glor^ and booours, critiaBms and virulence ; for, in the ouwer 
of science, as in all others, it is lem difficult to attain gbny. and 
even fortime, than to preserve tranquillity when txxt has reached 
ihent 

Rbadmds at that time swayed the sceptre of natural htstwy. 
No one had employed sagadty tn obserratiDa with mwe effi^, 
mxie bad rendered nature more interesting, by the wisdoia and 
the wrt of detailed forengfat, of which he foimd {noo& in tfab 
hnt(S7 of the minutest animals. His menxars aa insacts, al- 
though diffuse, were clear, decant, and full fX that interest 
which arises from curioaity incessuidy excited by new and nm 
gular details; they had begun to diffuse a taste for the study of 
nature among the public at large. 

It was Dot witbout some degree of chagrin, that Reaumur saw 
himself eclipsed by a rival, whose b(^ views and magni6eent 
style exdted the enthusiasm of the public, and insfnred them 
with a sort of contempt for researches so trifling in af^ieaniKe 
as those of which insects were Uie object. He evinced his bad 
humour in rather a sharp manner *; be was even supposed to 
have contiilnited to the publication of some critical letters -f, in 

'Seeinthevolumeof Jlfffl)o>rMifer'4Dai^«mi«for I746,p.483. which appear- 
eS only in 1751, a ACemnir bj Reaumur, on the Meaiu of presenting the 
BTaporatlnii of SplrituouH Flnids, in which ObjectB nf Nalunl History an 
(merved. Be tlMxe eoa^laiiu vloLentl; of Daubentou'i having puhlitbtd 
an extnct of this memoir in the third Tolume of the Hittaim NaturtO*, hetOK 
the metntdr itself was printed. 

+ Lettrtt A un Amaicam, mr FHitMre Ifahmlle Gtn»rolt tt ParUeuHtre dt 
M. dt fiujfon, part first, Hambui^ (FaTlg) 1751 ; parts second and thin], ibid, 
nine year. It is in the nlntb letter of the third part that \he intention i» 
'most evinced, of ''■■*°^*"g Beaumur agiinit Buffim. Letlrtt, fe. turrHii. 
take IfaturOit dtM.da Bvffcn, ttturU* OltenaSoni JfiorDfsopijBM de M. Nni- 
ham, foiulb part, ibid, same jear. It is in the tenth letter that Dauhenton is 
criticised with respect to the arrangement of the Koyal Cabinet, and M. de 
Xeaumur'i exposed to it Tlfth part, same title, uid maae jour. Theitt 
f «U> dtt LMret, ^ tar hi QM(rtfm# et dngtdimt vol. dt FHil. Nat. di At. 
S^iM, si Mr fa TVoilt <b( ..^nfMowr ri> Af. r^M/ilE eondiOog, dzth part, Rui* 
huT^ 176& The title and dat« remain the same (or the seventh, e^ith,ai]d 
ninth. parts. The author, es-oratoiien, a native of Poitiers, wa* named the 



<10 J^yiJpMbiAatfawtotriiyg\Kfi>fti#gW»*f».- 

obocure meUphyuGBl-3Bcu"noi»;'''aBd* DnibtMtAiii''itt' whtmi 
RuMtac.mi^tW.BQiB'vSecti.ve stifqion'of 'iriiAt^he tidted the 
|l(JMedoiia.bf^iaTiTsl,'>«a3'nor-spMred. The' Academy- was mme- 
tiaMa.tb^ 'scene of DiorrilrKtt!<dnpiites, «f wMeh ws'liate no 
Vfli7^utinct''i«oo»d,''biit! w)ikih--ni^''W) '*io)enf, th« 'Boffim 
bi^d'hHBadf loUJ^ed^etDpIoy btaiiKeiVBt mi)i ihe'tlRn fa- 
vourile* to support his friend, and pi^urefor him those'hi^- 
er,tunBUEs,»faich hit labours bad merited. 

lA una of inerit ianever withRat'^mne-enetnies^and tboce 
tehp woiM. ii^are,!Deyer'wtuit'B(»BC"prote(«orB. 'Ttietneritjcsi 
ttfis ■.axOmiBf vxaiofiiufch the more prflmewoithy in odt stnk- 
tfag^thMil was not ofa satire tostrike theimihitnde. Atno- 
Awl'and.Khi^lbus obKrver' can neitlKr cnptivste tbe Tirigar, 
HOC ^vcn Doen of saeoce untioqnahitedwith'natura!! fajstorj vfor 
tbskamed always judge Bke the vul^rcif'Buch- works as are 
not of their kind; and the numberof uaturalistB'wasal} that 
tiwe /very sUail.' llad Daubenton's invest%atiDns appeared by 
tb^ttiaeiTeei they woiild liftVe refinined in the ' oirde of uuto- 
mifU Ibid' iiatiii!alHts, who woulrl haTc af^preoiated- Aar troe 
Ynhietiuid their"stlffr^e determining thstof tbe iTnihitude, the 
l^^ter ITolild have Hspected the'authoT' <hi trutt, like-those uiw 
kn(>wn;9(^« who are ao much the more revered,' the- more ini- 
penAnble tbnr aanctaary is. Biki'marching incnbipaBy witb 
the work of his brilliant rival, Daubenton^s was admitted to tbe 
tojiet of 01 e fair and the cabinet of the literary ; the comparison 
4^ ttts^.^jneMuvd style tind' cautious progress,- with- the Hvdy 
fM«c^; and the 'venttit^us t^ies of ''BQffiKij'etnild' iMt be "to bis 
iidvantage ; aiid the minute details of dimensions ahd'descrip- 
tioos into which he entered, could not, with such judges, afford 
any compensation for the enniu with which they were necessa- 
lalyjiMfOPtptnied- , . 

- Thus wa« Da^ibenten'oelt'brated in Pari^, when alHhe'tiatu-' 
raHets'of' EVihJpe received, with a gratitude inirtgled with Ad- 
inic^n, the results of his immense labours; wheu they 
bestowed up«Hi the work which contained tbem, and st^y 

AkWPeligR>Cc:<I(«:Aru.tdMel}' COntKCtAl withRanliOUr. We hove dw of 

*'MiAiinecteF6trit>ftdour* 3 

L.jt.:?:l.« Google 



fftdtUstf^il did «&ntat»^thie^«,^qrile<WaA«#t^'i 

■iii^re nottwa as'befbi^ 'pMteri' heM'tm-vtfab'wWna'' Aso ^foWer, 
fndueed' BAffcAi lo^ttiiAk thfft''li'e:froii)d gtrttv <l})r-oMt'iifj^ ofpi'his 
^ttportutiltte felkMr'lidMarer.'- ^£he secretet^ of - Bti itIustrifiuB 
' .ae^^lnaiy Vta"iyixt lig>rcl tfF l CT w i tr da^'te declare, thaV Httttnh- 
lists alone could regret that he followed this advice. 
;'-'6uffbtt,'th«rif(^VpubMieiA>atv«dibiHta«f^^i£N»tol)rv'JV^ 
reU^ tti -ifhtloi ft6m"vil^iiikheiixc\aieA,-imoBly the aftktM»i«&l 
'prt,"truf alao'^hb' )»£t«rMl dt^HO^tiaas of <<tlw'<wn'inalB, -whieh 
DaiA^^tittMi Had ili^wnup-fbr the'Uu^ e^tion ;> and, &VnodMRg 
'«^ kittsthtn^, tb^cftnt^deMte'vasy that'vttti^ttork gatre' no 
idea <d the'fortns, wAooki bt <dlbtinetive^«lHraGCer«' of aninwls ; 
■o tilin^''#er£ thk 6nldlr(!ditt«M tiobe to ic^st^tbe-wasie.of time, 
aS'th«ilhtikitudSof4&.i0fpire«^Mit^ fhat ^-at l^e present'day 
pb^taHed, mighcindace ns'to f«flr,'therec««itl^'iio longer re- 
main tmymMnA of recbgnialngthe'aniinal^bf «hii;b theaudiw 
ineaDt tti Hp«a1[, tilUre ttuin u'^'find in ^liny and ArisOftie,- wha 
kI*o'I:^^e«ed■the'pfirticlllht«;(rf■t^^fr'd«cri^Ifei•S/ - - 

Buffim fiirth^ i#«dlvddi|d^f)e&t' by tHtHself^n'Whnt'he^siitK 
li^uendy'ltiiblished, wfieth^r <Mi hirdstrf'trntHiHeffa)*. 'iBe^es 
tlie 'ufirbht, ' 9a(^ent()a i^iiMain^ byi)ii«'««onsideFiiUe: l«HtK 
heihiyit'hhTecotnmfeWced'«*I'ro6ecdlion,^fQti^;the5«odwbdanj5 
Vhd be«t tiontertecl in Mrdmbn:; but, had b^ done eo,' he weiild 
ha4e qt]«tn«I}ed with' tHe Intendant of ihe' ^Httlan of ' Phhits ; 
and itironM have beeniiecfcesafy ^for bim'-to hhve teft'the ea> 
utaet whidt he had'formed, and of which he-hehl'poteeasicni «s 
it were for life. He therefore overlooked the affront and tha 
tesB, and'ertitlnued'hidftwu^tJwi*:' ■■ '- '- ;," ■ 

TfUf^e^l ^bich'wa^'t^ifidd by allt^nbturidislr wh^n-'th«y 
' itii^'0ii''c6mtfi€n<ientiiaV bfithie Niitarif ^- Birdt appear unae* 
cdai'^t^^'i^''thb9eicttr^fiA dnseeyevie which they held in siteh 
d^ttSiiiGb/t, ^$Usi'htf4'eJioftfnfia<«(tfii'<c(m^ki:b>cn. 

H^'Ui^tl^^ad>Btill<HMtd!itMMii' tgfttfl ootnfnteii, hixl 
not his attaChrlient to die'gt«rt'>mail *hi»-'ne^Mted.:him, ovfr- 
come his self-lore, when ht«*Mw thdee^lst volume^ ' to ' irfaieh 
rGueneau de Moatbeillard matjle no contrihution, filled with inac- 

■ Bee Falbii'li Giin* <nd SplcU^U Zoologies. 



la Biogrt^kical Memoir ^ M. DatiUnion. 

curaues, and de§dtute of all those details, which it was phyu> 

ea&j and morally impoasibls for Buffon to fumish. 

These imperfectiotis were still more obvious in the sup[^ 
ments, works composed by Bufibn in his old age •, in which that 
great writer carried his injustice bo £u-> aa to entrust to a more 
painter the part which Dauboiton had ao well executed in the 
first volumes. 

Several naturalists endeavoured to suf^y the defect, and, 
among others, the celebrated Pallas took Daubentcm for his mo- 
del in his Miscditmea and Zooloffical Gkaningty as well as 
in his History ^ihe GUres; works which ought to be considered 
as tbe true suf^emenu of Buflim, and as the best accounts tliat 
have appeared of quadrupeds, next to his great work. 

Every body knows with what success, in the departments of 
Fisbes and Reptiles, tbe illustrious continuator of Bufi<m, De 
La Cepede, who was also the friend and colleague of DaubentoOf 
and who sUll laments him with us, has employed in his writings 
tbe double advantage of a flowery and figurative style,- and a 
scrupulous accuracy in tbe det^ls ; and how he has equally rival 
led hia two jMcdeceseors in th^ pecular excellendea. 

Dsubent<»i, however, so far forgot the little injuries of his 
(dd Mend, that he afterwards <x»itributed to several puts of tbe 
JSitloire Naturdle, although bis name was no Icxiger atlacbed 
to it ; and we have evidence that BuBbn had coosulted the 
whole manuscript of bis lectures in tbe College of France, when 
he wrote his Hitioire det Mmeraux\. Their intimacy was 
even perfectly re-established, and ctmtinued until Buflbn's 
death. 

During the eighteen years which the fifteen quarto volumes 
of the Hist4»re des Quadrupedes took in appearing, Daubenton 
was (mly able to ^ve a few memoirs to the Academy of Saences; 
but be subsequently indemnified it ; for we find, in the ctdlection 
of the Academy, as also in that of the Medical and Agricultu- 
ral Societies of tbe National Institute, a coneiderable number, 
all of which cmtain, as well as the works which he published se- 
parately, interesting facts or new views. 

• The thiid Tolume, pufalldied in 1776, uid th« sixth in 17*9, trest of 
qusdiupeds, and would bave bad great need of Daubentoo'iuslBUtice, m well 
M the seveDth, which ti povthumoiu, and wu publMied In 17M^ 

t Published 1793 to 1788. 

. k">ogIc 



Siographkal Memoir tf M. Ik^uktiOtm. 18 

The bare enuneration of dwdi would eioeed the liodts tA a 
diacourse like the present ; and we shall ctxitent ounelvea with 
biiefiy mmtioning the prindpal discoveries with which he has 
enncbed several departments of human knowledge. 

In zoology, Daubenton discovered five spedes of bats * and 
a Borex -f-, which had escaped the jwtlce of other naturalists, al- 
though all pretty common in France. He gave a complete de- 
9caipti6n of the species of small deer which produces the musk, 
and made some curious remarks on its organization %. He de- 
scribed a singular conformation in the organs of the vcnce tn some 
foreign birds ||. He was the first who applied the knowledge of 
comparative anatomy to the detenninatitm of the spetnes of quad- 
rupeds whose remains are met with in a fosul state ; and al- 
though he was not always happy in hie conjectures, he never- 
theless opoied an impcHtant field of investigation in the history 
of the revolutions of the globe; he destroyed for ever those ri- 
diculous ideas of giants, which had been renewed by each guc- 
cessive discovery f£ the remains of sonie great animal §. 

His most remarkable achierement of this kind, was the deter- 
mination of a bone, which was kept at the Garde Meuble 
SB the 1^-bone of a giant. He discovered, by means of com- 
pozative anatomy, tbot it could only be the radius of a ^rafl^, 
although he had never seen that animal, and although no figure 
of its skeleton existed. He hod the pleasure of veriiying bis 
conjecture himself, when, thirty years after, the museum {ho- 
cured the skelettM) of that animal which it still possesses. 

Befiure his time there were only vague ideas respecting the 
^fferencea betwe^i man and the orang-outang. Some connder- 
ed that animal as a wild man ; others went bo &r as to miun- 
tun that it was man who had degenerated, and that his nature 
is to go on four feeL Daubent(»i proved, by an ingenious and 
dedave observation on the articu]ati<xi of the head, that man 
could not walk otherwise than on two feet, or the orang-outang 
othenrise than on four ^. 

la v^etable physiology, be was the first who called the atten- 

■ Uemoira de rAcademie des Sdences, isx 17W, p- CI. 

f lUd. for 17M, p. SOS. X lUd. Ar \Tl% Mcotid put, p. 915. 

n Ibid, fbr ITBl, p. 360. g Ibid, fer 1788, p. 906. 

Y lUd. for 17M, p. »68. 

D.q.t,zed by Google 



14! ^^ii^V(dMmoir.^M. Diuibti^da. 

tkm.toitlMtiMt, that'sll ben da.*otpitm>hy!tsieBnii''diti^n- 
cdoiUicJt^nsi ' Afnln tnihk, whidihecxuiiined, ^ewed'noeu 
of theat U^icn. •' fixeitsd.^ thiB.DfjinerTOtioii, be.pefocifed-thiiit' 
the growth of ttetltrea-idxaplBCQ l^ the prplonffUiaa otfilDHs 
flWB the centre, irin^tw«:dB«eioped^iato.kATBLi; He. esfiauied 
byitjija.tijntimnluitef'whjsUie.tTiuik^vlheiifalm, does'iiitfJiRi-:! 
cF^sf: in;tbiol(iiieaa^^£^rQm:dd,:Hnd.vhyjit^Btaifa4hd,sioie 
8tZ«jQjts:wfaQb'JeiigtL^^r'butiie.dii^nDtfpdal)',Jiui»(}uia»:|M^- 
ther- M. 'DesfimtanKB} leha hod'obienBdi.the'jHnie^icirEiini- 
BtADfe.loQg.befcre, exh^Ktedt.acxtoipQidcvthKsuh^t, hy.ehiBWt-' 
ing thatlthetd bW0.nib(^e|9.Q£.gn»nth'£stii>gutah tl^^treeswheut 
se^p. hRre'^t<rm:Catj:Iidon8, .£nna tboaewhich hsse bution?,' aaii 
by, (;HtaJ)UiituDg on. ihis rimportant disouvary, a.diviaioo wl^lb 
wil^.fprev!er be.fun^WDeoUl in bcttahy.-f^. i ^^..1 ... -. - .: ;' ." ' 

Ddubenton. «M.aIao the. flist vita- dieea^aKedis traobex in the 
bark, that is to ny* those thnunji-jdaqfienestolst'O&eaMieii.with' 
flirj wihi^ others hftdidiscoivsnd Ub.the ifDod^ ':• :<: ' ' 

Mineralogy hu made to. mucfa^fpn^vsKclfi laCe.' jDears, that 
D^ubeotlinV.laboDrBinithiE .department of J niitnnd. liiiiDvyiaTe 
Do«r.ahfio«t Mitipasd, :and,, peiiiapSrl;tbare,wiLL'otiIy>renuiiH>;tw 
bim th« gloi^ t^ havjiag Crdofld ta the. acwj^ce the iwU^i^iial titlw 
}f^ carri^ it far^esL: >it wasjhe.wbo wffi!ft{/LiHik^sinuMn^^ 
^e {mbl^h^ iiciBelingeiiicMia, ideas, lKMrByeF,:onr the'rot^utibii' 
of alabaStcEs and'«talaotites.Jt OB:the causesioE anbandacencrii lii 
Staves j|, oP^%)iral .maKbles^ aiiddescriplioBs;dC 'ininer^'i(|i)0' 
known at the.tiou §.' - Itis.tmatbiit his.^is'tnbMti(iD'af fweCabiH< 
s^pes is iKft acco(>&anl.>^iih tfa«r true iMttire;i biit<it ^veti^'at 
lca«t;aPloe'pr«^ioi)!tflrtb^^a(m)eDcktiiKnfi(hm'eAtoun^^'' -^i- 
. l4,BU-tbo9e.viiitingH.tbaie is eyinoed i3ic'pfcti)ia»1nnd c^ttaleiit 
which he p(teiB53Ml^-TWpBtieBpe«.w4mji wIsuM never tllow htfA 
tp,jfpnnii&«]j^mc3.it$pectiiig Mature, because ktaugbthini'Tiot' 
tft.Msptir qfjifiircin^ 1^ ts ex^sfaun-barteU'^ by'repealjng'hii'in^ 

* Lefons de I'Ecole Nomiale. 

t Menuiiceii ^e l'In«^tut National, Classe de Phj^i^ue, t. L 
t Memairtt de rAeademU foT 17&4, p. 237- || Ibid, for 1782, p. SffJ. ' 

§ Ibid, far 1781. 

^ S«e aho hij Tabtfoa Melhodiipte da Minenna,' of which the fint edition 
was publUhed lit Lffft, the fifth la IJSie. 

D.n.iized by Google 



ttMrogabiiJv-w»nd- a.i«g«»iiy wlnab cub^ hinto-MiM- t)ie 
MaBllnb»gD».Uixtq^d indicBte a r^ly. 

In Ihb «gncnkUiraL u»-«&tigBti(m« aD.wlditibaal.qufficy it m*. 
nifeeted, namely, devotion to public utility. What he .did fof 
the «mpniPi^nept,of.our wool* will ever entitle him tntHe ghuti- 
tiide,ef'.tbe,SbMev to -which, he. contributed a now source. (^ pnM- 
peril)-. 

He«omiBeaoed liis experiments on this subjeot in 176^ and 
coDtimied' tbem unul his death. PatnHiiied at fint by Tni- 
doioie, he received .eBcouragemeot fipm all tiho succeeded tb*t 
cnlightmedi and. patriotic .minister, and he, replied totheot in a 
nttSBerirorthy of himselfl He fully demoDstrat^ tfaeiit^y 
<£ kee[Hiig afaeep .comUptly in the Md ; exposed the pcmiciein 
coDsequMices of intJoMug them in stablfs during winter*'; fried 
various me^thodK of, improving the breed ; found neana fordbi 
terminiog with^preiusion the degree^of iinencss of the.wool^ dift 
covered the true mecnaoism of ru[iunatioq*f-; deduced wsd*!!) 
concluaioaB respectii^ tlie temperatneot of' woolly cnttl^ vnd xhk 
mode ofiiaeding.ami treating them X ; disseminated tbeprodncts 
of .ibis dieep-faoD over all the provinoes; distmbuted hisiaibs 
wnoog -dl the proprietors (A flocks ; had clothes. mJde ofiida 
vobA^ to demonstrate to the mod sceptical its su^)aio«ity ^ij 
- fonned. expert sbepfae^s for tjtie purpose of propagating, the 
practice of his method ; and drew up instructious ada)Med> ta th<} 
edacity of nil dasaes of agriculturists §. Suchisabrifif.statem^t 
of Daubenton's labours in this important dep^ment. 

Almost at every public meeting of the Acadetny, he gave wi 
account of liis researches, and frequently obtained more gnUe- 
Ail applause from those present, than his. fellow members. re- 
ceived of admiration for discover!^ 9)(tr^ diJj^Li)^^,be Jpadfo 
but.<^ JfitA obnoua-utibl^. 

IfiB^suooessea have «noe been surpassed-; the enHre flbcks 
which the Government brought fj-om Spain^ at the request br 
M- Tessierj ihave diffused, and will continue to diffii^, the fine,, 

* Memoires de rAcademle for 1772, first part, p. 430. 

I* IMil for-l7M, p. 9691- + Ibid. p. 39% 

n Memoire aur le premki.iliap da laina. stiperflne du cru de la France 
lu iljir^trie publlqife de ]*Ac^etnie dea Sciences de 1784. 

% Initruction pour lea ber^^ra et pour lea propiietairea. 

r:i (.:?:!.; Google 



16 Bie^apMicat Memoir ftf M. Davimtan. 

breed with more nfudity than Daubentoo oould do with rams 

only ; but he has still the innit of having awakened atteDtion 

to the subgect, and of having done all that his means rendered 

poedble. 

By these labours he had acquired a sort of popular reputa- 
tion, which was very useful to him in a season of danger. In 
1798, a period already fortunately remote from us, when, by a 
derangnnent of ideas which will long be memorable in history, 
iSat most ignorant portion of tbe people had to pronounve upoo 
the fate of tbe most accomplished and the most generous, Dau- 
bentMi, now eighty years of age, required, in order to retain the 
(^oe which he had bmioured for fifty-two years, by hb talents 
and virtues, to request from an assembly, which was named the 
Sectioa »atu Culottes, a paper, the equally extraordinary name 
of which was a Certificat ds Civitme. A professor, or an aca- 
demician, would scarcely have obtained it Some prudent indi- 
vidual who bad mingled with tbe outrageous mob, in the hope of 
kee^ng tbem within bounds, presented him under the character 
of a shepherd ,* and it was the Shepherd Daubenton that obtain- 
ed the certificate necessary for the Director of the Natic»ial Mu- 
seum of Natural History. This certificate still exists^ it will 
be a useful document, not only as connected with the fife of 
DaubenbHi, but also as throwing light upon the history of that 
fatal period *. 

These numerous labours would have exhausted an ardent ac> 

* CoPH riauBx^ VD cestificat de ciTisME Dx Dadbxktoit. 

S»etiou del Bam Cviotte. 

<• Co^ de I'Extrait des diUWrmtioDi de l*AAHmbUe Ginfrale de )■ Sitae* 

du dnqdekpremilre dicade du troineinj tnoii delm Mconde uuiCe di It BA. 

pabliqu« Fmif<Ase une et taidiTiiiM& 

" Albert que d'aptte le BappoTt fiut« d« la SocUU frst«nidl« de k Mction dM 
MM ciilott« nil le b(m dvlame et bits d'htunsniU qu's tiyour limoignii Ijt 
Berger Ssubontau, I'AMemblei Oenende anete tmEuimemenl (ju^il lui ten 
ucordi un certiflcat de Civinne, et le Pretldetit Buivie de pluaieure membre 
de la dlte aaembU lui domie UcoUde avec toutes les acclamation duea ■ un 
vi^ modUe d'liuiiiailiU, ce qui a M Umolgoi par pliuieuret Tepriie. 

Slgnf " B. U. DAaBZL, AwMfif. 
"■ Pour extrtit cmibnne, 



3.n.iized by Google 



BiograplMal Memoir tfM. DauhetUon. 17 

tivity. They did not satisTy the deure of a regular occupatioD, 
irhich formed a part of Daubentoa's chafacter. 

It had long been a subject of complaint, that there were no 
public lecturea on natural history in France. He obtained, in 
VnS, an order that aas of the chairs of practical medicine in 
the college of France, should be changed into a natural history 
choir, and in 1775 he undertook to fill it. The Intendont aC . 
FariS) Berthier, engaged him, in 1783, to give lectures on rural 
economy, at the Veterinary School of Alfort, at the same time 
that Vicq d^Azyr delivered lectures on comparative anatomy, 
and M. de Fourcroy on chemistry. 

He also wished to give lectures in the Cabinet of Paris, where 
the (Ejects of natural history would have spoken with still mam 
perspicuity than the professor, but not being able to oht^n per. 
miiKdon under the old regime, he joined along with others em- 
ployed in the Garden of Plants, in soliciting the Convention 
to reniodel that establishment into a regular school (^ natural 
history, 

Daubenton was named Professor of Mineralcgy to it, and he 
fulfilled the duties of this office until his death, with the same 
correctness which he employed in all his functions. 

It was truly an affecting thing to see this old man surrounded 
by his pupils, who received with a religious attention his words, 
which thnr veneration seemed to convert into so many oracles ; 
to hear his feeble and tremulous voice become again animated, 
and resume strength and energy, when he had to inculcate swne 
of those great principles which are the result of the meditations 
of genius, or only to unfold some useful truths resulung fnHn 
them. 

He had no less pleasure in speaking to his pufnis dtan in hear* 
ing them speak : it was seen by his amiable cheerfulness, and 
the ease with which he answered all their questions, that the oc 
cupation was a true pleasure to him. He forgot his years and 
his weakness, when he had an opportunity of b^g useful to his 
pupils, and of fulfilling his duties. 

One of his colleagues having offered, when he was named to 
die office of senator, to. relieve him in his teaching; " My 
Friend," he replied, " I cannot have a better substitute than 

APHtL JtJUB 1838. B 

D.a.t,zsd by Google 



IS Biograplacai Hfmair <^ H. Boiuienian. 

you; vken age Corcea ma to ^re up niy functions, be assured 
that I shall confer them upon yoiL*^ He wan then eighty-three 
j«ufl of age. 

Nothiug^ can better prove his zeal in befaalf of the studenta, 
than the paioa which he took to keep up with the prografis of 
icience, and not to imitate those prc^easers who, once fixed in a 
ntuadiM, never vary th^ lectures. At the age of eaghty, he 
was seen d[>taining an explanation of the discoveries of one of 
, bis oldest pupib, M. Haiiy, and labouring to apprehend them, 
t^at he might be able to impart them agmn to the young peoplo 
whom he taught. Such an example is so rarely to be met with 
among the teamed, that it must be considflred as one of the finest 
MtaXa in Daubenton^s character. 

During the ejAemend existence of the Normal School, he de- 
livered some lectures there. He was recced with the most 
llYely enthusiaam whenever h^ made his appearance, and iq>- 
pkudfid, as often as he introduced Uie sentiments by which that 
numerous autUtory were animated, and which they rejoiced to 
tee ppeseased by Uie venerable old man. 

We have now to speak of some of his works, which are less 
destiDed to make known discoveries, than to give a. systematic 
dCOouBt of some body of doctrine ; such as his articles for the 
^wo £ncycl<^>»diaA, and e^Kcially for the Encydopedie Metho- 
4ique; in which he composed the dictionaries for quadrupeds, 
i;ep^e», and fishes ; bis Tableau Mmeralogique, and hie lee- 
mres at the Normal Schcxjl. He has left the entire manuscript 
of Uioee of tbe Veterinary School, of the College of France, 
and of the Museum. It is to be hoped that they will not be 
withheld from the public 

These didactic writings are remaricable for great perspicuity, 
EDUnd principles, and a scrupulous exclusion of every thing 
doubtful. The only astonishing thing in them, is to see that the 
man who had reasoned with so mudi force against all clasMfica- 
tk» in natural history, should have ended with adopting ai^. 
rang^nents which are neither better dian, nor perhaps so good 
as, ^ew witb whidt he found fault, as if he bad been destined 
to |VOve by tas own example how much bis first prejudices were 
eaOtfXfy to the natute of diings and the constitution of man. 

Lastly, Besides all these works and le^tuHs, paubratOB was 



4tm «s{4Qyed AS a coajtributor to tbe Joura(^ dtt ijawin^ ; ap4 
in bts \a^\ years, at tbe reque»( of Ihft Ctttnqii^ee of public Iii- 
struotion, he ui)(}eFtaok to unnpose Elements of Natural Histwy 
for the use of tbe higher schoola. These Etcmtnts were pgver 
finiabed- 

}t Tovy b« as|te<l bow, with a weak haliit uf body, and so 
TB^y lahorious occupadqns, he could have attained so advan- 
o«d ail old age vitbout painful infirinities. For tlus he was in- 
dicted to an iogepiouB atudy of himself, an attention calculated 
equally to avoid excesses of tbe body and mind. His regimen, * 
without being severe, was very uniform; having always lived 
in ettsy ctrcUQ)»taiK«s, and not holding fortune and grandeur in 
h^ber eftioiatitn than they merit, he had little desire for tbem- 
}{« b«(} «^)ecii^y tbe streogth of mind to avoid ^e rock oa 
wbi<^ abnpst all literary tntsi are apt to suffer shipwreck, an in- 
t«wperate passjon for a premature reputation ; his researches 
vote \q bim an amus^oeot ratbet tHftn a labour. Fart of bis 
ti«i« w#» ei9ployed >n reading rcwiaqc^q, tqles, fHid oth^ b^t 
T(^^ with his vih ; the more frivolpus {woduvtiooB of our 
days wei« read by him : be called tbi^ mettTe son esprit i la 
^e. 

UiKtuestipnably thfB regular mode of living, and his constant 
good be^ltb, QOQtribgted much to tbe amenity wbicb rendered 
his society so agrc^a^le ; but another trait in hie character, 
vhjdi did nqt less contribute to this effect, and whjph struck all 
who capie near him, was tbe good <q3inioD which he appeared to 
have of men. 

It seeBwd naturally to arise from the circumstance that he 
had feeji tittle of tbmi, — that, being scHeiy occupied with tbe 
coatemplatiqn of n«tui:e, he never took part in the plans and 
inf)¥eiifQpUi of tbe active pwtion of society. This man, poaaessed 
of IP ddic^ « tact io distiDg.iuRbi4g error, never bad the air of 
supipaing deceit ; be always experienced iiew surpri^ when tbe 
ilitiigijiie (V sel$«b>K3s, qoq^^led under a fair e^it^nor, were UQ- 
vffj^ tfii htft. Whether th)$ di^jtosition was natural to him, or 
vl)f tb|ir I)« h^i voluntfuily renpupced the {mowledgie of m§B, to 
^1^ hunself tbe pain and difigMSt which those f«el who know 
tbo)^ t/Qff \f,e\\, )t di4 iK)|t tbe 1^9^ ii!fum over bis cpftTeri^tMP & 
tuof p$ ggiod oature, so much t^ mate ami^^ tbat it vpnt^ast- 
ed strongly with the intellect and ocuteness which he carried into 
b3 



aO Biogri^hieal Memow of M. Daubenton. 

every thing that related merely to reasoning. To approach him 
was to love him ; and never did any man receive more numerous 
teitimonies of affection and respect from others, at all the periods 
of hia life, and under all the succes^ve governments. 

He has been reproached with having submitted to a homage 
unworthy of himself, and odious from the very names of those 
who rendered it to him ; but this was a consequence of the sys- 
tem which be had adopted, of judging even public men by their 
words, and of never suspecting any other motives than they ex- 
pressed : — a dangerous method, no doubt, but one which has 
perhaps been a little too much abandoned at the present day. 

Another dispo^tion of his mind, which also contributed to 
those odious imputations of pusillanimity or self-conceit which 
have been brought against him, even in printed works, and 
which, however, does not the more justify them, was his perfect 
obedience to the law, not as being just, but simply as law. 
This submission to human laws was absolutely of the same na- 
ture as that which he had for the laws of nature; and he no 
more permitted hiras^ to murmur against those which deprived 
him of his fortune, or of the rational use of his liberty, than 
agtunst those which caused his limbs to be deformed by the 
gout. Some one has said of him, that he observed the knots on 
his fingers with as much coolness as he would have observed 
those of a tree; and this was true to the letter. This was 
equally true of the omlness with which he would have ^ven up 
his offices and emoluments, and gone into exile, had the tyrants 
required it of liim. 

Beddes, admitting that when the m^iitenance of his tranquil, 
lity might have been the motive of some of his actions, will not 
the use which he made of that tranquillity justify him ? And 
this man, who could ^nest so many secrets from nature, who lud 
the foundations of an almost new science, who gave to his coun- 
try an entire branch of industry, who erected one of the most 
important monuments of science, who formed so many accom- 
pUshed pupils, of whom several have already attiuned the high- 
est rank among the learned, will such a man require, at the 
present 'day, that I should justify him for having managed tfae 
means of drang all this good to his country atid to humanity ? 

The universal acclamations of his fellow-citizens rej^y for me 

D.a.t,zsd by Google 



Biograp^ad MnuAr qfM. DauAmten. SI 

against his accusers ; the last and motit aolemn marks of tbeir 
esteem terminated, in the most glwious numner, the most useful 
career; perhaps we have to regret that they sborteued its course. 
Having been named a member of the Conservative Senate, 
Daubenton wished to perform his new duties in the same man- 
ner as he had done those of his whole life, and was in conse- 
quence obliged to make some change in his r^;;imea. The sea- 
son was very severe. The first time that he assisted at the ses- 
aons of the body which had elected him, be was struck with 
apoplexy, and fell senseless into the arms of his astonished c<^ 
leagues. The most prompt assistance could ooly restore him to 
feeling for a few moments, during whidi he shewed himself 
what be had always been — a tranquil observer of nature; he 
felt with his fingers, which still retained sensation, the various 
parts of luB body, and pointed out to the assistants the progress 
of the disease. He died on the 31st December 1799, aged 
eighty-four years, without suffering ; so that it may be said c^ 
him, that be attained hapfnness, if not the most ^endid, at 
least the most perfect, and the lea^ mixed, that man could h<^ 
to attain. 

His funeral was such as was merited by (me ofour first magis-. 
trates, me of our most illustrious men of science, and one of our 
most respectable fellow-citizens. The citizens of all ages and ranks 
con^dered it an h(»)our to render the testimony of their vene- 
ration to his ashes. His remains were deposited in the Garden 
which had been embellished by bis care, which his virtues had 
honoured dunng sixty years, and of which his tomb, according 
to the expression of a man who does equal honour to science 
and the senate, will form an elysium, by adding to the beauties 
qS. nature the charms of feeling. Two of his coUeagues have 
been the eloquent interpreters of the regrets of all who knew 
him. Pardoo me, if these punful feelings still affect me to such 
a degree, that I can only be the interpreter of die public grati- 
tude ; and if they lead me from the ordinary uine of an acade- 
mic eulog^um, pardon him whom he honoured with his friend- 
ship, and of whom he was the master and the benefactor. 

Madame Daubenton, who is known in the literary world by 
her amusing works, and with whom he lived for fifty years in 
the closest bonds of mutual love, brought him no children, 

D.n.iized by Google 



iZ Rev. W. SWtesby's Bemarks o» the PreMUit^ 

He *as succ^^ed Ht the Iitttitute by M. VinA, and it the 
kusetim of Natural DisWry by M. HAiiy. I tuw bad the ho- 
iloiit- of being chosen in his pUce iti the College of Fnnce. 



Remarks on the ProbabUity of reaching the North Pdi: being 
an examinalion of tfte recent Expedition under Captmh 
Parry, in order to thi inquiry, ffmo Jar tkal eXptritnVtti 
affects the Practicahilih/ of the Enie/prize f By the Hev. 
William Scokesdy, F. ll. S. Lond. & Edin., M.W.S., Cor- 
respondent of the Institute of Prance, Stc. 8ic. Communica- 
led by the Author ". 

f ROM the circumsttince of the original proposal of the project 
for reaching the Pole,'by a journey over the ice, having bCMI 
first made to the Wemerian Society f , and received by that 
Society, apparently, with favourable consideration, I venture to 
renew the subject, after a lapse of thirteen years, in the hc^ 
notwithstanding the recent failure of Captain Parry in tbia sBBOe 
adventure, of still justifying the proportion, upon the very plan 
originally suggested, and irf proving to the Society, that the 
prd}ability of success, if at all diminished, is by no means ovtf- 
turned. 

Hitherto I have studiously fcrbome to make remarks on rt>e 
various expeditions of late years employed it Arctic exploratioAB, 
for reaaons not necessary to be named ; but any longer to re- 
main silrat, nfter the recent result, ^t^ould indicate, either that 
the severe censure of a writer in the QuArteriy Review icas not 
undeserved J, or, at least, that the late trial was a decisive ex- 

■ Read betbre the WernerUn Society, June 182a 
t Sodetj's Memoira, vdL ii. pp. 328.-336. fteadllth March ISIS. 
J The passage to which I refer, occurs in a note, under an article headed 
" Burnej — Behring's Strait, and the Polar Batiiii." tt is as Follows, " Cap- 
tain Scoresby might well anticipate, that his idle and thoughlleW project of 
travelling over the ice of tbe tea to the NoHh Pole, fflij he dmued ' the 
ftenzied ipCculatlaii of a diiorileTed lancj.' We r^tet that a joung man, bf 
some tdlent, shauld have been betrayed, by a desire to make the vulgar atare, 
into such an inconsistency j but it has served Malte Krun for an argument, 
such as it is, against the existence of the Falar Aitifh. One Would have 
thought, that a pe^n of hit reading and sagseit; ttiigbt have well Um abtur- 
dity of such an ideaj and that, even supponsg the Polar Sea to be (tonen, it 



pniitaint ; nrathn- of whidi nij^wntiofis t riuMild Amk tf yielf 
jwUfidd !b acUnittJtig. And, whsterer mAy be due to lUyHlf 
in vindication of the pnject to which I refer, I cotuider it diH 
to the Sodety, to whom the project was otiginsUy mibtnittedt 
and to the country by iHiidi the expence <tf the Rcratt explMA- 
lioa and experiment is borne, to itate tbe reason I have for be- 
lieving that the Britisb flag, under moM happy arrang^eiaentts 
might yet be planted upon the Pde. 

Had the expedition, indeedjof Caption Parry proved flucceas- 
fill, I ^lould have Wt It to the puUie to do me the justice (^ 
having first suggested the fdan of this mode of afrproach tn 
the p^e ; but as, in ccmsequence of its failure, no credit is to be 
acquired by claiming it, I may, without the selfi^ charge which 
mi^t have attached to such a dafan, under cbvumstances dl 
complete success, be bold to acknowledge the project, as well as 
ready to defmd it. 

My object in this oommunicatioo, as just intimated, is to 
[ODve, that, whatever probat»lity tiiere at any time was of 
nachmg tbe pde, by a journey over the Joe, remans little. If at 
aU» diminifdted by the late experiment of Captain Parry ; be> 
cause there were two drcumstauces in tbe plan of it, (and it is 
somewhat lemarkaUe^ that these are almost tbe oalj matofal 
deviaticMiB from the original plan that I have been aUe to dis*. 
cover), either of which a{^>eared tu tne obviously blal to the 8U<V 
oew of the expedition. And, besides these two grounds vf fail- 
ure, both capaUe of being anticipated, by a thorough acquaint- 
ance with tbe nature of the Spitzbeq^ ice, there is anothw 
that baa hem disdoeed by the peculiar difficulties of the recent 
exp^maH, which, equally with the other two, must have «»- 
tributed to the iidlure. Respecting the importance of theee 
aHiaderadons, however, it will be for tbe Society and the pub* 
lie to judge, whether they are indeed essential coonderatimis [ 
and if so, whether, under a difiWent arrangement, e much 
greater prepress, if cot on entire execution c^ the project, mi^it 
«Dt, !n all probability, have been effected. 

Alftet what Captun Parry, however, has said, at tiie condu- 

•wdd pnwtit ft nuftce m rugged and mountelnoui, u to makm It an esiitt 
tuk to drive a Itroad.wheeled waggaa over the nimiuit of Mont Blanc, thaa 
atdDtortaadge U the WwU> PaU"— qwftritt lUtim, vol wm. p. 4ftl. 

D3t.z.dcyGOOg[C 



84 Hev. W. S&XK^y'a Remorkt on the Probaiili^ 

don of hie Darrative, in vindicatUHt id the plan of his recent «c- 
pedition *, it might seem captioiu in loe to start Directions, or 
presumptuous to think of proposing a better plan ; but I would 
venture to appeal to the opportunities for observation, and the 
extensive experience which twenty-one voyages to the Green- 
land whale-fishery have afibrded, for forming adedded pawmal 
judgment, in respect to an adventure of the nature of that under 
consideration. 

But I proceed to state the several craisiderations in the ^an 
of the expedition, all capable of a different arrangement, to 
vhich I have referred above, as essentially affecting the result <rf 
the expedition. These are. The weight of the siedge-boats ; 
The season of the year at which the experiment was tried ; and, 
lastly, 7%f meridian upon which the party traveSed. 

I. In regard to the Weight of the Sledge-Boats. 
The mode of travelling, by which it always appeared to me 
that the journey to the pole might be attempted with the great- 
est hope of success, was by light sledges or sledge-boats, drawn 
by dogs or reindeer ; but in the event of the fulure of these 
animals on the journey, it did not seem to me impossible (and 
much less so since the expedition of Captain Parry) thiri the 
return, or indeed the whole journey, might be effected on foot, 
with hand-sledges for the provisions and aj^ratus-f-. The 
sort of sledge I suggested " might consist of slender frames c^ 
wood, with the ribs of some quadruped for lightness and 
atrength, and coverings of water-proof skins, or other materials 
equaUy light |.'" Something of the nature of ibe Esquimaux 
umiak, or women's boat,, for instance, which, although 30 feet 
or upwards in length, and capable of carrying from ten to twenty 
persons, besides their domestics and fishing utensils, is yet so 
^ght, that, when the Esquimaux are performing a voyage in it 

* Captain Parrj does not siieak of bii erperiment u conclurive ; but he 
wya, " tiist the object 1b of still more difficult attainment than was before 
npposed, even bjr thoK persona who were the beat qualified to judge of it, 
will, I believe, appear evident from a perusal of the foregoiog pages ; nor can 
I, afl«r much consideration, and some experience of the various difficulties 
wbioh belong to it, recommend anj material improvement in the plan lately 
adopted."— A'VimitiM, p. 1 43. 

^ Wenwrian Menwira, vol. ii. p. 330-1. $ Id. SSI. IStAt. 

D.n.iized by Google 



tfreai^Mg t^ North Pdk. SS 

(which they aometiiDes do to the extent d 100 or 80O miles), 
and meet with any interrujrtitxi, six or ^^t persons can take 
the boat upon their heads, and carry it over either land or ice 
to the next oonvaiient place of emlxtrkatioD * A boat of a de- 
scription somewhat resembling this, but snialler, and placed upon 
a li^t sledge-fnune, or cradle of wood, would, I apprehend, 
answer the purpose ; for whilst the lightness of its structure 
would render it easily piatable, the sledge-frame would defend 
it from being cut or chafed by the ice ; and, indeed, whenever 
any cut or rent might occur, the fissure, after the manner of 
the Esquimaux, could be eanly and expeditiously repaired. 

The great difficulty always expa^enced in launching whale- 
boats over the ice, — a means which must often be resorted to in 
the whale-finery, either when boats are upset or an entangled 
whale takes refuge within a close boundary of ice, — forcibly im- 
pressed me with the conviction that no boat of ordinary w^ht 
could possibly be. used in performing a successful journey to 
the pole. And, on reading Captain Parry^s narrative of his 
late experiment, I was much more struck by the immense dif- 
ficulties Aeir hearty exertions maUed them to surmount, not- 
withstanding all the disadvantages under which they laboured, 
than by the want of greater success. And in farther proof <^ 
my [»evious personal conviction of the vital importance of the 
weight of the boats, I may be permitted to mention the fact, 
that, when I £rst heard from a near relative of Captain Parly's, 
whilst the expedition was yet abroad, that the sledge-boats w«« 
each of the weight of near three quarters of a \aa, I expressed 
the strongest conviction that this circumstance alone muit be 
fttal to success ; and I moreover added, that, from my inti- 
mate knowledge of the nature of the ice, and the difiiculties to 
be ^countered, I should feel perfectly secure in venturing any 
consideration iriiatever in support of the belief that it wat tm- 
possii^ to succeed f. 

■ Crantz's QTeenlmd, vol. i. p. 14B.Isa The length of the uulak Cnuits 
■tites at " comnionlj 6, naj S or 9 feUioniB long." Also Ssabje's " Green, 
land," p. 13-20. 

t Tbis coQversaUon occurred at a dinner partj in Liverpool, with my 
intelligent and scientific friend the Eev. Edward Stanley, Rector of Alderley, 
on the 4th of September 1837. Captain Farrj wb* not heard of till toward! 
the end of the month, having arrived at the Admlialty on the 99tb. 
S 

L.:it.:f:l.v Google 



tS Rev. W. S<»re8bj> kematka Mt tiu ProhahiUhf 

Now, UMt this atratogtMefit sf itself^ under exiBtitig diwmt- 
BtMsce^ ttuM have been fWtal to suw^s, I thiek we sinj derive 
BtTottg eTideAGe^ if Mt decided prbbf, fram the Wdtds of Ca|v 
tftili tarry. For so laboriouB was die nature of the sH^iee 
(bWitig, ito d^bt, ib one eaeenti^ respect to the state of th6 i«e), 
that Captain Party informs ub that the moet of the jourAey was 
perCormed ttova three to five tiineg ov^ (he bbms grouOd \ ho 
tiiat, whiUt tiie direct distance aCCMrifdiBhed towards the pote 
(indudnig lOO mileB of free navigation itata the Heda to the 
mar^n r^ th« packed toe) was only 179 mike, the actual dis- 
tance travelled was no less than 078 miles *, being aufBcient, 
could it have been j)etf«mii«d In a direct line, to teadi within 
two degrees of the pole, and return ! 

N6W, the only question in regard to this argumoit is, Whe- 
dier, in the unfavourable and unexpected state in whicJi die 
ice wte found, and I may add unustial state, with a dedge^boat 
of light materials, such as I have briefij deeoibed, they coi^ 
Hot have accompli^ed the jouni^ by one sngle flexi»»e line^ 
ibstead of passing three or five tknes over the same ground i 
I speak not here of the ol^eetion of any want of safety in sudt 
a ctmveyance, in the event of having to cross large openings td 
Water, for that will be considered hereafter. The concludcm I 
should draw from reading the narrative is, that, in a sledge 
boat of 400 tt>. or 500 Vb. weight, instead of 1540 lb., widi 
hand-sledges for ^>pBratu8, &c tha« would seldom have been 
occasion to go over the same ground twice. Of this, however, 
t can give no proof, neither can any one ; it is merely a matter 
of judgment, and that judgment can only be valuable at satia- 
&ctory accOTding to the relative experience and capcdiilitieB (rf 
the persons whose opinions may happen to come into competi- 
tion. At all events, It must be pafectly certain that a ttdue- 
tion of 9000 lb. wdght in the two boats, out of 7506i, being 
more than on&iburth of the total weight, and dimioilhing by 
^penditure of stores to one-half, must have afforded a cbmce 
of success very tax heytnld the extent actually accomplished. 
And even this conclusion, which appears inevitable, wiU b6 suffl- 
dent for the support of my argument ; because, whether, in my 
proposed sledge-boats, the expedition latdy undertaken could 
• Nimtive, p. IW. 

L-|t.:f:l.v Google 



tHlve gohc roTAtUd at A ctHHtaUt ptbgrtt^, dr WhctitbTi tn tettw 
ftw <:a»8, the party ttiust htlVe nade s wtAti^ trip i ^et^ u^ 
tiM^ k6 «s they WdUld ba*6 net with at r diti^efit seaMA, and 
bti a dil^^t tiiHfdihn, there tiao be no doubt but a ronstant 
progreSB, unl«ss in tome vvty ektraotditWry casM, would hare 
been Hucde : And if m, no new obAtaeles oiKurring, even at 
the dow tate at which they actually traTeUed, the whole di*> 
tance to Uie p»rfe, if a few days more Ume bad beeto gtven tD 
the IMk, night have been abtioin|di«hed. 

II. /ft rego^ to itu Seaaon t^ ike year at x^tkh ike Eajieri- 
ment khm trkd. 

But the w«ght of the £oata Was not the only conddem- 
tion that essettt^ly affected the final result,— tbe BBason ot 
THE YSAE at which the experiment was tried waa pcriiaps Me 
most wtfhiiouniMe that could hate been wlrtted. This iiHiy 
appear a gratuitous asseftion, especially When put along with 
CaptaJn Parry's ojanion before quoted; with which i^nion, how- 
ever I am dispcMed to respectful deference, I cannot coincide, 
titilesa the arguments which appear to me to be so concluave 
agunst it, can be repelled and refuted. 

Without stating these ai^iments ft>rmally, I shall briefly 
nten^on what the views are which I have always held as to ike 
best season for undertaking such an expedition ; and then the 
peculiar and formidahle difficulties which Captain Pany en- 
Countered, arising out of the season at which his adventure waa 
undertaken, will naturally constitute both ai'gument and ground 
of proof. 

The original pUn which I had the honour of submitting to 
die Society in the year 1815, I find, on carefully reviewing it, 
as still affiwding, in my opinion, the best chance of success in 
way attempt for reaching the pole ; though there are a few mi- 
ner circumstances, which an experience of several additional 
voyages among th6 pidar ices would now induce ue pbrhqra to 
modify. But the great outline <A the plan X would still justify 
bs feasible, and as being Well adapted to the peculiarities and 
the difficulties of the bold adventure ; and there are few parts 
of the ^n whioh I should cmisidn <^ more impcHtauce than 
Uiat relating to the season for making the experiment : For Ibe 
occurrence 6f detached ice and sofl snow are obstacles which 



28 Rev. W. Scoresby's Rmarki on the ProbabUa^ 
always appeared to me so formidable, as to require, if possible, 
to be avoided. To effect this, I suggested, in the original plan, 
that " it would be necessary to set out by the close of the moDth 
of April or be^nning of May ; or at least s(»ne time before the 
severity of the frost should be too greatly relaxed *.'" 

A very brief mention of the well-known changes which take 
place in the polar ices on the approach of summ^, will suffice 
to shew the impiH-tance of this su^estiou. During the conti- 
nuance of the frost below 281°Fahr. (the freezing point of sea-wa- 
ter), the small interstices among drift ice, and the greater spaces 
among fields, are generally filled up by " bay-ice." So that, in' 
the midst of a body of drift ice, where no original mass should 
exceed 100 yards in diameter, or indeed any smaller maximum, 
the whole body, in the spring of the year, is generally cemented 
into a continuous field ; and titis, in situations sheltered from 
the action of the sea, often partakes so much of the nature of 
a field, that there is no difficulty in walking over such ice for 
many leagues together, without ever requiring the aid of a boat. 
Hence, in the months of April and part of May (probably ,the 
whole of May in latitudes to the northward of Spitzbergen), the 
entire body of the Spitzbergen and Greenland ices greatly par- 
takes of the nature of continuous fields. Sometimes, indeed, 
the field ice gets separated to the westward of Spitzbei^eo be- 
fore that time ( but this is unfrequent. It is at that Ume, 
therefore, when the drift-ice is thus cemented into field-like con- 
tinuity, and when the field-ic« is often found in uninterrupted 
connection, from the filling up of the interstices with bay-ice, 
that the Arctic ices are unquesUonably in a better state for the 
progress of travellers, than at any other season at which the 
80th degree of latitude could be reached without wintering. 
And at this season, when the snow is yet undissolved, and occa- 
sunuUfy hard upon the surface, — -when there is no water what- 
ever upon the ice, no run to impede or incommode the adven- 

* I ought peili^w to apologise to the Societj for thii and aome other re- 
Hnacea to my own puUicotions ; but I am under the neces^lj of doing bo, 
to avoid the impuUtlon of first deriving information irom Captain Parrj's 
esperimeDt, and then utiug that Information as an argument for a new plan, 
flu^Mted bj the causes of the recent Mlure. M^ object in these referencei 
is to prove that I am not taking up new views; but justifying the original 



3.n.iized by Google 



ofreaehmg the JVbr^ Pok. 99 

turns, and do aeedle-like crystals to cUstress them, — then, I 
ibould conmder that the experiment would have every reason- 
able chance of success. 

Beades, when the ice is in this continuous and favourable 
state, the adventurous party might avail themselves of the use 
of reindeer or dogs to drag their hght sledges across the north- 
ern fields or floes, vhich, beades affording them relaxation from 
too arduous exertion, would yield a valuable reserve of nour- 
ishment (however pmnful au(^ en applicaUon <^ these useful 
ammab), either in case of resources failing them, or, what mig^t 
easily happen, any of the provisions b^ng lost. 

But on the abatement of the frost, the change that takes place 
is not less detrimental to the success of a superglacial journey, than 
it 13 astonishing in itself. For every whale-fisher knows by hard- 
bought experience, that the cementation of the drifuice, which in 
April and May presents so formidable an obstruction to the pro- 
gress of a ship that it frequently costs him hours and days of 
hard labour to advance a few fathoms, is in June or July socom- 
j^tely dissolved, that he can often s^I through the very centre 
of the same body of ice in any direction, without ever stopping ! * 
And he is equally familiar with the &ct, that the tendency of 
the ice, which during the frost is to form into compact streams 
and continuous bodies, and tenaciously to adhere as if by gene- 
ral attraction, is so changed on the cessation of the frost, espe- 
aally in July and August, that the adhe^ve tendency is quite re- 
versed, and there now seems to be a universal repulsion ; so that 
in places where there is space for it to separate, and when there 
is no action of a swell to bring it together, no two pieces of ice 
can be s^d to be in contact ! What a serious obstacle such a 
change in the condition of the ice, as to continuity, must pre- 
sent against the polar journey, will be evidentji even to persmis 
who have never witnessed the fact, without a word of argument 
or illu^ration '. 

It has been necessary to enter into these explanations, that 
the Society may judge of the defects in the plan of the recent 
expedition, whidi it is my object in this part of my communica- 
tion to endeavour to point out, that no one may be obliged to 
* Account of the Arctic Regtons, voL i. 374-5. 

D.n.llzedbyGOOg[C 



9Q Rev. W. Seoieeby's Xemaika. en /Af Probainlity 
Ce«t m dcaibt because of coafiicttng opmioBs; but may bave 
tbe opportunity of duceming Iiow for my dsjecttons are con^ 
Tuicing, and whether or not ihey are conclusive. 

7q tbiq end, w f»r w rrifttes to the argumeBt in respect to 
^e> itaport^Bee of tbe time of tbe year (at tryiag tbe expm- 
nient, I b^ve oaly, in oddttioR to what bas bten said, to duect 
Vbe ^iti^Dtam of tb^ Sod^ty to several fwrnidsble dittcukies whit^ 
C^ptJ^n Parry ^cQUQteredt arinvg entirety out of the advanced 
%\»bi of thfi seH^Qn> which proved one oF the duef and obvioua 
C9ueeQ t^ the want of ^ater succeae. 

From the want of continuity amaag the ice, small spaces be- 
iQg contipually met with dumig tbeir entire prc^reas, tbey were 
frequently subjected to thQ arduous service of unloading and 
]£#^^ng tb^r bppts, and of laundung and haubi^ tbem i^i, which 
bibonous routine th^y bad sometinca to - p^orm eight or ten 
tlflapG ^ay, twd once np less than sevniteeii times during one 
day's JQMiney *. 

FsQV tb^ qusBtJty of rain which fell, tbe people ««ce both 
il^urefl 03 to tbeir str^gth and comfort, and tbeir progress was 
oAefi retarded for hours tnge^er-f-. 

Front Hae mom ot> the ice b^g saturated with water, not 
Qldy WW* tbe oi£b's feet continually wet, and tfa^c physical en- 
erffSfi owuderahly enervated, hut the adhesioD of thdr feet to 
tb& wet snow rendered tbe moveaients of the travellers so diffi- 
cuH) tjbM io QWBCte cases they had to advance upon all-fours, and 
in Qthf7 cwei tbey foiriy atuck fast:^. 

Froea the partial dissolutitm of the ice, or rather probably 
f^ocn ths resolutioa «f a portion of the wioter^s covering of snow 
intfl ittiMoatic oi pyramidal needles, the progress of the party 
iW) oDtHU rendered d^cuLt and painful, in consequence of the 
pMW»ng of t^it feet by these pointed crystals. 

Afld fcpm tbe quantity of wata found oa the floes, they bad' 
somedmes, when it was not deep enough to float tbeir boats, to 
BHiJk e(K)sideraU» oirouiti, instead of pursuing tfadr course 
t)^9Ugb the body of these lakes, a line wbteb, had it been free 
front wat^F, would have alwsys proved tbe best and most levri 
tr«^. 

• Narrative, p. 1 43. f Id. p. 71, 21, «4, », *c 

t Id. p. 71. 



3t.z.dcy Google 



Nuw, I have bo beoUation in aaaert\ag, without ibe fear of 
ooBtra^tima, that nhatcYer oUivr peculiar d^cukies may be- 
l^g to the Eeaion I have uig^ted, sone of tbsee atriking tmd 
forDiidable peculiaiUtea would bare beea met with, except the 
first, and that that difBculty would necessarily have cKcurred 
much less frequently, and, poR^bly, tin days together not at all. 
Becanse in the month of May, as I have already stud, the ge- 
nend diaracm of the ioe is field-Uke, and the craiitant tenden. 
cy to be contiouous ;— 4)ecause in May there is do rain, exc^ 
at the borders of the ice, and even ^ere it is so uncommon as 
to be quite a phenomraon ;— because in May the surface of the 
iee, where bare of snow, though having a granular roughness, 
18 free frcmi sharp crystals ;— 4nd because in May the snow up- 
on the ice is unmised with water, and no pools or lakes, uniew 
from cvilices adraittisg poods of se«rwater, which are not fre- 
quent, occur on the floes. That the disadvantages belonging 
to the season, therefore, at which the adventure was under- 
taken, are great and formidable, and for the most part might 
be avoided, I trust what has been said amounts to proof. 

I must not neglect, however, to concede to the plan of the 
recent expeditimi an accidental delay of almost twenty-one days, 
DOT would I omit acknowledging that this brief space of tune 
might have proved of much importance to th«r greater succeas, 
by enabling them to reach the field-ice before the commence- 
ment of the rains. It was the intention of Captun Parry to 
have " set out from Spitsbergen, if possible, about the ban- 
ning c^ June, and to occupy the months of June, July, and 
August in attempting to reach the Pole, and returning to the 
diipS;" but, in oonaequence of the instructions which hod been 
given him, he had first to And a place of security foi the ship, 
in effecting which, in coBDcction with several days beeetment in 
Uie ice, he was di delayed Ihtf he waa not idde to proceed on 
his expeditum until the Slst of June- No doubt be would have 
been justified in departing from his instructiixia in this particu- 
lfW» m be had indeed devgned, could he have left the Heda in 
a plape <^ probi^e safety, uid with a cmnpetent crew. Bui 
(he qtuAtion on the noctbem.£u% of S|utzbergen on which they 
anigltt fqr sheltm- (pciibabLy omng to their being forced diither 
* IntioductiDii, p> xili. 

r:it.:f:i.vG00gIc 



88 Rev. W. Scoresby'a Remarks on the Probability 

by the ice), and the coast from whence they proposed to set 
outj were far from being the most favourable as safe retreats ; 
nor was the lemaiDing crew in the Hecht adequate to take 
charge of the ship under any difficult circumstances. 

III. In regard io the Meridian upon tehich the Party travelled. 

The two objections against the plan of the recent expedi- 
tion that I have now urged, and endeavoured to substantiate 
• — concerning the weight of the sledge-boats, and the season of 
undertaking the enterprize, either of which appears to me to be 
of such consequence as necessarily to be fatal to success — are not 
objections suggested by the failure of the expedition, though they 
receive the strongest support frova the circumstances of the fail- 
ure ; hut they are objections, as I have shewn, one of which was, 
and the other, had it been known, would have been, anticipated. 
There is another objection, however, to the plan of the late ex- 
periment already hinted at, which has been developed by the 
perusal of the Narrative, and this likewise must have had a 
most important influence in diminishing the chance of success ; 
and that is, the particular meridian on which the expediHon 
made the triai. They set out from the northern, approaching 
the north-eastern face of Spitzbergen, by which, indeed, they 
gained irom 40 to 60 miles of northing, beyond the ordinary 
extent of navigable sea to the westward of Spitzbergen, before 
they took the ice ; but this small advantage was far from being 
a compensation either for the detention of twenty days, or 
for the extraordinary difficulties as to the nature of the ice 
which they encountered. 

It is but proper, however, to state, that the choice of this 
meridian rather than a more westerly one, was probably urged 
by the circumstance of the Hecla having got beset in the north- 
em ice, and being driven towards that meridian along with the 
pack. It would not be just, therefore, to consider that so much 
an error in the plan as an unfortunate circumstance, materially 
affecting, as the r^ult shewed, the executicm of the project, by 
throwing tbem in the way of such a roogfa and untoward con- 
geries of pack and floe ice, as no human energies, circumstanced 
as in other respects they were, could have a prospect tA sur- 
mounting. 

D.n.iized by Google 



^rMdUf^ ^ Korth Pok. 38 

Id tbe plan which I had in view, when I before addressed 
the Society <Hi the subject, Magdalena Bay, Smeerrabei^, or 
some other of the ancbon^ea about Haltluyfs Headland, was 
tbe retreat, if any were made use of, which I should have sug- 
gested lor ibe ships ; iKcause, there is little fear of ice setting 
down upon any of these in the summer ; and they aSord a safe 
outlet for retunting even at a late seasan in the autumn. But I 
should have proposed, — not to attempt to secure tbe ship before 
setting out, as that, as in the case of Captain Parry, would be 
liable to occasion great and unnecessary delay,— but to carry 
the travelling party direct to the main border of tbe northern 
ioe, either on. the meridian of Hakluyt's Headland, or a few de- 
grees of longitude to the westward of it, if a higher latitude 
oould be there attiuned. I would theo penetrate the loose ice, 
provided it could be done without risk oi* hampenng the ship, 
to obtain the chance, which the experience of some occasions 
that I have seen holds out, of planting the travellers at once 
upon the field-ice*. The ship, then, being left in adequate 
charge, and with a full complement of men, independent of the 
travelling party, might, during the next month or two, pursue 
any object in the immediate neighbourhood th^ should be 
deemed desirable, having first landed, at as^gned places, abun- 
dant resources for the travellers on their return, in tbe event of 
any accident happening to the ship. Then, in good time tor tbe 
return of tbe expedition, the ship might take its station on the 
face of the northern ice, and cruize between certain meridians 
previously agreed upon with the travelling party. By that 
means there would be a fair probability of receiving tliem upon 
their return, without subjecting them to the risk of cros»ng la 
their slight canoes the open space of water between Spitzbergen 
and the ice. And to avoid inconvenience, in case of the boats, 
* Thli WHB pTBctimble in the Bpring of the jeai 1S03, when, in a ship 
comnunded by m; &^>er, we reached tbe noitbem floes beyond the 80th de- 
gree of Itriitude, before the end of ApriL In 1806, a reaarkatfy elou mmm, 
we were on the borders of the main nnrthem floes in latitude 60*^ to 81*, 
fhuD the 18th to the 2etb of May. In 1816, we reached the field-ice in lati- 
tude 78*i on the SOtb of May. But it was seMom our olyect to reach the 
norUiatn fields beyond the BOtb degree, else, no doubt, »e might frequently 
have doile so early in May. 

APBIL— JUNE 1828. C 

L.:it.:f:l.vG00gIc 



Sit Kev. W. ScamAf* Semarkt cm the Probabitittf 
tfeun fi^gff -twalber dr any «tli«- i»iibb, miuBg the stop, wkI 
mKlui^ ttiar -way to the place of reiulezvmis, a coanBodions 
beht or cutter might be left <m the spot, fitted out for Uie pt»- 
peMe, in which Bome of the party might return to the northward, 
at)^ make known 'th^ arrival to the ship. 

On this fian, Bs to the meridiftn of embarkation, two <r thiee 
particular advatitages vould be gtuned over the plan <^ the iB- 
c^Bt '»tpe£tfo«, and very probably a third, the most RnpcRtant 
of aH. The Station of embarkation would, in all {Hobability, be 
afeods^bde it a -season sufficiently early for the expedition, that-i*, 
by ^te end 4^ April (or earlier, if desirable) in qpm seasons^ or, 
l^ the inidfflprf May, c»- very aaan after, in usual do»e teamv. 
And this would secure the season, conndered as favour^le for 
the underlying, without involving the expenoe, ann^ance, and 
general disadvantage of winlenog*. 

A second advantage would be, that the expedition might Btart 
without the ship b^ng secured in harbour, there b^ng exceed- 
ii^ly little risk of a ship getting hampered by ice in that situa- 

* Captain Parrj haTinj; exprened aa opinion contrary to thla (Nairadve, 
p. 144), I must appeal to the expertence ef twenty-one yaart' obMtVatioB'Oit 
the wlule^flthlng nattooi far yrooC 

In'the ten yeaia between 1803 and 1812 incliuire, the Spitzbeigen team 
were unumally encumbered with ice, there having occurred but ten " open 
•easons," in which access to the usual hi^iest latitudes mlgiit be bad in tbe 
mDDth of April ; but during the same ten yvaze, wilh one exception, and not 
gpMklDg of two oUiSr ymn in which we nude do attempt, the 8M)-degMe 
of latitude was always readied during the mouth of Maj, and waa in 
gents'al acces^ble by the middle of May. During tbe next ten years, 
from IS13 to 1823 (Omitting 1819, when I did not visit the flBbery), 
there occurred nv#n " open seasons," in six of wblch we actually proceeded 
to as high a latitude as we wished (generally 711^4 to 79°), and, without doubt, 
might haTC proceeded &Tther, as early as the midttte, or, at least, before tbe 
end of April ; and during the other three years, out of the ten, we attained 
the highest nortlieni latitudes we wished, once on the 1st, and another time 
on the 4tJi, sf Hay, — and. In the remaning year, which was the only really 
"■ dose seastm " in tbe ten, we nade our flibery " to theiouUiwaid," «Wl 
bad no oMa^Wi to try the eiperiment. In the cases just staled, where we 
stopped short of the 80th degree uf latitude, there need be no question of that 
p«n«llel being accessible ; for, it U a general &et, in re^WCt to tbe conforma- 
tlm' of Che Spitzbergen ices, that, whenever the latitude of Iff or TVf<i can be 
readied :{i»-jA«r>, the 80th degree is usually attainable ; fbr whkt«Tei preraknt 
winds or currents clear the ice from the land in the 79th parallel, always tend 
to clear a passage to the northward as far as latitude W. 



3.n.iized by Google 



tion, wajcn 1:^ ouHaaMH "^ i^enam, n the wmlMiB pnrt of 
theooMtia^.mutiqMii, andprahiUy tbckagtvtqpmiS^JWf 
of the oiMBte vf SfHtibergcn. And a tiaai tdraaiage matt piv- 
batdy wouU nriae, — lugr, I can have no doubt, from nanj jmrs* 

obaervatioH, that it would arue, — that, ob the pnfxwed jawU 
iian,JtM-ice woi^ cotainly be owt with, and tbat at no gnat 
distsDoe fn^ t)w«xti«ne or snward edge. Ji^ of tfan, I wm- 
aire tbat I could dww avidenoe of the Btcongeit pn^bilky, i£ 
not evidcDce in proof. 

It was Qiatter of great mrprise and mortificatioii to our late 
we-uavellere, diat, during the whole of their arduous progieM^ 
they never .vcadied " the niaia body of fidd^ice,*" vhich other 
naivigatorB have doicribed. Hence Ci^tain Paity ii reduced te 
the neeeasity, as be found no su^ ke, to explain the dificcenoe 
of biB experience, on the supporatioo, tbat other navigators, .ha- 
ving ebiefly wen the ioe from the mast-head at tbeir shipa, with- 
out 'traveiliog apoa it, nuit have been deouved. For, " aijt 
is well known how atucb the nxwt eKparienGed.eye.mfly bc'de- 
c^ved, it is-poenbleenough,^ Captain Faery maaritg," that the 
itvegularities wbidi cost us so much time and laUnir„may, wbm 
-viewed in this manner (frmD an elevated situation), have entiti^ 
ly «aOi^ied notice, and the whole surface, appeared one Huooth 
and level phun ^J"* 

That-tbe irn^ukribeaofthe ioe, as Men &ODi.an elevated po- 
«tiai, would apfaar fewer and less oonuder^le than they teidty 
were, is fieefeotly cettajo ; but it is «qu«Ily eartain, as certMH m 
die.eye cm be of any thing it perceives, tbat no expencnoerf 
fHTson can mistake, .wh«i:he roaidieB the border^.of it, drift.ioe 
for fields -, nor will he be liable to be deceived, as I well knoir 
^voBi innumtE&ble.trifls, aa to the nature x>f the ioe, of which he 
-has a disunct,viaw, even at the distant. of several furlongs. 

I^en^ I consider it as certajp, tbat the ice^ Captua Parry met 
widi bad eitbtf been ancunuilalad there t^ lone unfavoui^iUe 
-action of -Uie mnds and cntTents, or -that its deficiency in-fieldi- 
ice was owing to some peculiarity as to the meridian on which 
he travelled. For, in his " Narrative," he telb us, that the ice 
in one. case was fo exceedingly rpugh, that " the men compared 
it tp a at cwt - gmta tis yM>d ;" wid v a gweral, obfo^atigp, tbat 
■ Nnratire, p. 14&-7. 

CoooAc 



86 Rev W. Scoresby's Remarks on the ProbabUi^ 
'* the;nature of the ictf was b^ond all comparison xhn most un- 
favourable for their purpose that he ever remembered to have 
seen.^ In fact, Captain Parry never reached Utejaat-ice, though 
he was evidently near either it or some exten^ve land, as proved 
beyond any doubt by the yellow-ice blink that was seen to the 
northward of them, when they found it necessary to return. And 
it appeara not improbable, from the experience which this trial 
gives, that there is land not only to the eastward, but also to the 
north-eastward of the Seven Islands*, from the proximity of 
which the ice had been raised into such formidalile hummocks, 
and broken into such small masses. For, on Bom£ meridians, 
and no doubt to the westward of Hakluyt's Headland, we know 
that there always is a vast body of field-ice, from the carcum- 
stance of that kind of ice being frequently traced, in one conti- 
nuous chain, from the 80th to the T'lth degree of latitude, or 
indeed as far to the southward as the whalers have penetrated. 
And that there is abundance of the sane to the northward of the 
80tb parallel, is certain, from the circumstance of the constant 
south-westerly set, during the summH-, of the whole body of ice 
between Spitzbergen and Greenland, aad the constant succession 
of other fields descending from the north or north-east to sup- 
ply its placef . And it is ice of this nature, to a great extent at 
least, that we should have good reason to calculate on meeting 
with, and uptm this, the journey to the pde with rein-deer, or 
other traineaux, might, in reasonable probability, be accom- 
plished ; notwithstanding the broken, rugged, and unfavouraUe ' 
nature of the ice met with by Captain Parry, owing to which, 
among other causes already stated, hts rein-deer were rendered 
useless, and so little success was attained. 

That the kind of ice across which Captain Parry travelled, 
was something peculiar to the meridian whereiu his progress 

' Captain Pnrry saw land to tbe eastward of the Seven lalanda ; and in 
fome of the old Dutch charts there is an extenilTe tract mailed out stUl &r- 
tfaer lu the northward, and designated hy the name of "^ Purchas' Land," or 
" Purchas'o Point," or " Gites's Land." 

-|- Tbe proo& of these &cts being given, both in the paper on the " Polar 
Ice," (Wemeriati Mcqioira, vol. il. pp. 309, 3IB}, which I had the honour of 
submilUng to the Society, and also In the " Account of the Arctic lUgions," 
(See vol.!. p. 212, 217; also p. 2*9 and 290-I9S)i it Is needless to repeat 
them here. 



3.n.iized by Google 



of reaching the North Pole. 31 

was made, appears certain from this fact, that, in the whole 
course of my experience among the Arctic ices, during which I 
probably traversed among not less than twenty thousand leagues 
of ice, I never met with any ice, except icebergs about the ribore, 
at all resembling the scene represented m Captain Parry's Nar- 
rative, in the plate entitled *' Travellii^ among hummocka of 
ice." These hummocks, in proportion to the men, appear lobe 
from thirty to fifty feet high, or upwards, whereas the ordinary 
hummocks of the heaviest field-ice that occur in ridges or groups, 
seldom exceed twenty or thirty feet high, and hummocks of forty 
feet are not of usual occurrence, though an insulated peak of 
that height may be seen oc^Wonally. Besides, the want of field- 
ice WHS of itself a decisive proof of an unfavourable situation. 
The largest floe that Captun Parry fell in with was only two 
and lubalf or three miles square,— the only occasion in which 
' they saw any thing answering, in the sUghtest degree, to Uie de- 
scription given of the " main ice ," yet no fields were met with •. 
Whereas, as I have already shewn, field-ice, to the westward of 
Spitsbergen, has often been traced, in acontinuous chain, through' 
an extent of ax to ten degrees of latitude. In respect to the 
extent of the diflerent masses, I may remark, that whereas the 
greater proportion of ihe ice may consiBt of floes of various mag- 
nitudes, a very considerable quantity is often found of the na- 
ture of fields, that is, of such large dimensions, that an observer 
from a ship's mast-head cannot overlook them. And, in regard 
to the nature of the surface of these floes and fields, 1 may add, 
that, although the greater number, perhaps, may exhibit a hum- 
mocky appearance, fields and floes, containing an even surface, 
for an extent of miles together, are quite common. 

Having, for some years, been in the habit of observing the na^ 
ture of the Arctic ice in reference to the practicaWlity of a jour- 
ney to the Pole, I find, on reviewing my journals, several re- 
marks expressly on the subject. Thus, in my manuscript jour- 
nal for 1820, I find mention of a field remarkable for its size. 
We sailed along its solid continuous edge N. N£. 12 miles ; N. 
4 miles; and N. NW. 8 miles; and were yet far from it^ north- 
ern extremity. It was calculated to be 150 miles in circumfe- 
rence. I was led to this remarkable sheet of ice by the " blink,"^ 
• KamtiTe, p. 88. 

D.n.iized by Google 



S8 Hev. W. ScoKthfs Hemarks on the Probabilily 
>i«^g s«en thU atmo^plieric indication of rts existence when n 
^«! open ste, at least thirty' miles dietant. In the year 18Sd, on 
Htm ^th 6f July, it is stated in my journal, that,- " with a gentle 
breeze of wind from (he southward, we traced the edge of a sin^ 
gle field towards the north, from 9 a. m. till ^ v. h., which 
«as estimated to be thirty geographical miles in medial breadth. 
K was aieo very thicic and henry. Piaee» of reuerid miles m 
area a>ere Jree Jrom /mmmodcs/' Along the edge of another 
ticid, on the same voyage, we coasted & distance of abeut forty 
miles. And again, under date of the 16th of July, (latitude 
70° 49, longitude 19" 44' W. ), I find it recarded, that " we pas- 
sed, in our progress through the floes, some remarkably fine 
anoo^ sheets of ice. On Severai of the heaviest floe^ av«-^- 
ing, prohaMy, twenty feet in thickness, there were occasioaiil 
tracts of above a mile square on which there was not a dn^ 
hunftoodE. And oi>e field had a ^>ace of about twenty-four 
square miles, (four miles by six by estimation), equally regular 
and even." This fidd, indeed, was so stnootb, that I designed, 
had we remained nax it a suflicient time, to have made trial cf 
• sailiatg-dedge, respecUi^ which I had given iny cArpenter ot' 
dets ; and I had no doubt of being able to (raver^ h by the 
mere force of A moderate breeze of wind. 

From these facta and observations, I think it nnist be quite 
evident, that the nature of the ice met with, in the rec«it expe- 
rmient, must Have been (£fierent from what it is os a more wes- 
terly meridiaD ; and that this circumstance of itself prevented a 
fair chance of success. I shall not differ, bowev»', in my views, 
from Captain Parry, as to whether it may prove to be *' an easy 
task" to traverse the ice to the Pole. I know it would ruri be an easy 
ta*k, and that it would not be found exempt from its peculiar 
haeards ; but I still believe, from all we yet know 6f the polor 
ices, and from all the experience yet obtained, that flie prdttt^- 
li^ of reaching the Pole, notwithstanding the recent fwlure, re- 
mains unshaken, and that it is a project as feo^ble, and wen 
much more so, than the discovery of a north-wesl pieAage d^ 
aed, and some other approved enterprises. 

To what has beeil already sud ill support of this ccmdnnon, 
I m&y add one general ai^metlt, whidi will go fkt, I conceive 
to support th^ whole <^ the grounds of reasoning which I had 



ofreoAliig Ike North Fide. 96 

UlberlD takes, sod at ^ aama time aSbtd an MtfaaAmt ^mtf 
that the fiuUtre of tlie recent tsftamtat km iwt go niidb flwiag 
todiffiGuUiwiMMfMBiUefiMn the aOerpnwe^ u to th« <kfe«ts 
^«nan in the piam of the expedkkw. Aod this proof I de- 
rive tetMo witat has been done by other advcsturerk is travelling 
over ice of a umilar nature to the i(»8 of the GreeDlaw) Sen, 
jumIm' cucuinstaBeeB of equipment u>d auppM-t not at all equal 
lo tbe advanta^a aijoyed by tbeexpedition undei Captain Paje- 
xy. I ^er lo tbe expeditions of Alexei Markoff, of IjAcIhI^ of 
HedaDBtrom, of SanniaLt^, aisA of Batou Wran^. 

UarkoS^ accordiog to MOUer, with eight other per^xis, start- 
ing flroca tbe mouth of tbe river Jana, in the apring of the year 
1710, peif(»med a direct distance across the ice to the north- 
vard of 300 or 100 miles, (300 miles accocding to C^>tun Krt>- 
•ensteni), in light sledges drawn by dogs. Lachoff, a merchant 
of Jakutsk, with a un^ ocHnpanioD, went, in the beginning of 
April 1770, from the Swsetm Noss, above IQO miles to the 
■torthward upon tbe icc^ by the same mode of conveyance; and 
eariy in Af ay of tbe year 1775, the same adventnrous person 
proceeded to Kettle Island and along shore, a distance, as mea- 
sured ufOD, the beat charts, of at le^at 240 geographical milea. 
The manner of Sanniskc^s travellii^, when he proceeded, on 
tVQ or more occatitHis, 70 (h* 80 leagues to the northward of the 
coast of Siberia, I have not been able to ascertain ; but I pre- 
■ume it was in sledges acrosa tbe ice. Hedenstrom, however, 
who was sent out for research ipto the Icy Sea, by tbe enter- 
prizing and bb^vl Bomauaoff, made difier^tf extensive journeys 
from the entrance of the Jana to the coasts of New Siberia. In 
his fir^ expedition, which was commenced in the month of May 
1809, 1 do not £nd in what way he made his progress ; but, in 
a subsequent expedition, in which he iq^>ears to have advanced 
about three degrees directly north, beades researches upon the 
eoast of New Siberia, there can be no' doaht but that hia mode of 
{iroeeeding was in sledges, as the adv^ture was accomplished 
in the winter season. And Baron Wrangel, who still more re- 
cently p^ietrated tbe Fplar Sea frofa Skalatskoi No^, travelled 
acroaa the ioe about 80 imles dinetly towards tbe north. 

Now, it is worthy of remark, that all diese journeys aCKiae the 
ice, and some others, tbe particulars of which I cannot ascer- 

I ., ..I . t_kx"»^^Ic 



40 Rev. W. Scoresby''d Remarks on the Probability 
tain, were petfonaed either in the winter or spriog of tbe year, 
when tbe ice whs ctnididated by the ftoet, atid its cootinuity 
remained unbrolten. They were all BcooiD|disbed, not by a 
daw, but by a rapid prt^resa ; and the mode of perfbnning tbe 
journeys was, in all cases I believe, in light sloiges drawn by 
d(^» 

After such great success in similar enterprises by foreigners, 
it becomes a natural inquiry, why our adventurers, with all tbe 
advaDtages and admirable arrangtanents which tbe talent and 
■ liberality of the British Government could alTord, ^accomplished 
80 little P Why the different travellers alluded to accomplished 
a direct distance across the ice, one of 80 miles, another of 100, 
and afterwards of S40 miles ; another more than once of 70 or 
80 leagues, and another of between SOO and 400 mites, whilst 
our expedition completed only, ttpon the ice, a direct route of 
7S miles P When most of the above adventurers accomplished 
mam/ leagues a-day on ice, travelling without difliculty, why 
was it that our expedition, assisted by all that natural ardour so 
peculiar to Briti^ seamen, could seldom complete more than 
four or five miles a-day, directly across the ice (independ«it of 
currents), and smnedmes, after the most laboriouB enertions, 
why were they able to advance oa\y two or three nules within the 
twenty-four hoursf ? Surely it was not that our adventurers 
were less capable, less hardy, less enierprizing than others P To 
suppose it, would be to prove myself ignorant of tbe exertions 
that were made, unjust to the merits of the travellers, or preju- 
diced against an expedition that has &iled of success. But there 

' Th« authorities from which these particulars, reipecting jouTneys across 
the ice, were derived, are MUller'a " Tayages," Coz'a " Russian Discove- 
riet," BurDe7''s " VoTages to the North-Eaat," Csptain Knisenatern's ** No- 
tice suT let Uh Tecemment deeouvertea dans le Met Glactole," &«• 

fItiM mentioned in Captain Pany's Narratire of the e^edit^tm, that, on 
nne oooadon, after nx hours of hard labour, they im\j got a mile and a quar- 
ter, and in the course of the day made but two and a-half miles northing t 
On another day they made but three and 8<faalf miles N. N.W. in eleven hours! 
On another occasion they were two hours in getting 100 yards, and afler a la- 
borious day's woii, made good only two miles and a quarter. Including a lane 
of water of a mile and a quarter,— so that almost a whole day was occupied in 
punng over one mile of ke, independent of the action of the current t~ 
(P- 70.) 



3.n.iized by Google 



^ reaMng the North Pole. 41 

miut have been Bome other cauw os causes that affected' the re- 
sult, and these, I huiobly submit, have been pointed out in the 
preceding remarks, as consisting chieflj in the too great weight 
«f the beau, — in the- latemtta ^ the leaum aiheti t/ie enterprize 
DKM attempted, and, in another particular, wliich could not 
have been anticipated, that is, the eatterly meridian on wfuch 
the experiment waa made*. 

Captiun Parry, with whom I have the honour of being ac- 
quainted, having made respectaltle mention of my name and 
publications, in bis " Narrative of an Attempt to reach the 
Pole," I felt considerable hesitation in offenng these remarke, 
especially as there was no possibility of vindicating the plan ori- 
ginally submitted to the Werneriaii Society, for approaching 
the PtAe, without comparing it with the plan of the regent expe- 
dition. And I regret that these remarks have assumed (unin- 
tentionally and unavoidably indeed) the appearance of a.criti^ 
cism on Captain Parry''a attempt ; but it must be obvious to 
any one, that the object of this paper could not have been sufB- 
oently accomplished without it. And that I ought, with the 
views I still hold of the practicability of the pn^ect, to attempt 
its vindication, 1 trust the introductory remarks to this paper, 
which were written some months ago, will justify ; for it might 
naturally be said, that I considered ihe project of reaching the 
Pole, by a trans^acial journey, as feasable, and proposed a plan 
fot carrying it into effect ; but as Captain Parry has attempted 
the project, and, on a plan in many respects umilar, has failed, 
it must therefore be inferred that the undertaking is not prac- 
ticable. Hence I am driven to the necessity, if I speak at all 
in my own vindication, of criticising the defects of the plan of 
the late expedition. And that I refer onhf to the plan, 1 con- 
ceive it justice to my own feelings, as well as to the persevering 
adventurers, explicitly to state ; for I give full praise to the great 

■ It might be objected, at aflecting tbii ronclueton, that the \es» success of 
Captain Panj, tiun the other sdTenturers alluded to, mlgfat be owing to a 
J6ffatiice In the state of the ice ; but It ma; be suflident to answer, that the 
difference in the season of the year, and state of the weather, were probably 
qfiite sufficient to account for any diflerence that might exist in the lurfacei 
■croM which the parties respectively travelled. 



3.n.iized by Google 



4S Mr 6a]braiAV Tahiti fiir Bmvinttru Metuuremsnt. 
and kborious, I may n.y t^mimiaog, exertMOB that, wsm: made. 
And the surprise to me, eonaderiag the disailvwitageft under 
irtiidi tbej laboured, vas, liot thai they anxxapliriicd so Iktie, 
but iJwt they < 
and to do so much. 



TaMesJbr Barometric Measurement. By Mr William Gai^ 
BXAiTH, A. M. (Communicated by (he Author.) 

SIR, Edinburgh, 3d April 18S8. 

JM.Y attention has lately been directed to draw up and collect 
a commodious set of tables for the barometric measurement of 
altitudes, as well as for the ordinary purposes of reducing the 
oButd observations with the barometer. I need not inform 
you how rudely these are frequently made with the common 
barometer. This arises both from a bad state of the instruments 
^nployed, and the inadequacy of the correctjons generally 
applied to reduce them to a standard point of temperature and 
level. 

The accompanying tables, from winch the necessary correc- 
tions, in all ordinary cases, may be taken out by inspection, are 
intoided partly to remedy this inconvenience ; and if you think 
than worth attention, perhaps you may give them a place in 
your useful and extensively rarculated journal, so that they may 
be more generally known. I have carefully computed the first 
table from a formula of our distinguished countryman, Mr 
Ivory ; and, of course, I have no other merit than the labour 
of computation. This I have executed for tu^s varying in 
ffiameter from one-tenth of an inch to seven-tenths, to every 
hundredth of an inch, thereby including every variety of bore 
likely to be used. The second is merely an abridgment of tate 
given by Schumacher in his Hulfstafeln. The ap^ication dF 
those two will therefore give the absolute h«ght of the mercury 
in the barometer reduced to the freezing pcnnt. 



.:i.v Google 



Mr eattinuth''s TMeaJbr Barmnetrie Mtmmrtmtm. 46 
Example. — The height of the mercury of a barometH*, with 
Ml a^utitatAe chtnn st a diffclienf bore (roM the tube, or with 
the usual c&Et4rdD dsberA corrected for capacity, and of 0.ft6 
iucb in diameter, was observed to be 29.564 inches, and the 
tefltpetdtaiv 76° Ftlbrenb^ what is the height whtsr reduced 
to the freeziug point, or SS? Fahrenheit, when the expaonmi 
of the mercury only i« applied, and when allowance fear the bmra 
scale, vtiose standari] Is 6^ F«hrenh«t, also is applied ? 

39.664 mJSi 

I. Ca^tttrily to «i36 indies +.H1 +.0U 

II. ixf. for mercurr mAj to 7^— ~13» E^ for taneary uhl bnaa, -~r» 

Trae hel^ - =3 39.47* Tnw beigfat, aftUi 

I am, SiB, yout «ost obedient servant, 

William 6AE.>«AlTit. 
To Professor J^nescm. 



TABLE I.-^CapiUarity, or t>q>reaaion <^ Meratry in Gkaa 
Tvbei, to be t^ded to the obaened Height of tfu Mercury in 
th^ Sarometer. 



3??r 


cipmMt. 


'^ 


S'TSr 


CKimakr. 


DUte- 


swr 


c,,^ 


tHAr- 


!«*. 


£:^ 




ma. 


.Minwy. 




luA. 


£^. 




aio 


0.UV4 


146 


0.30 


0.0298 


18 


0.00 


0.0082 




0.11 


0.1 ess 


133 


0.31 


a0276 


18 


0.61 


0.0077 




<kI9 


0.1 1B6 


103 


0.32 


0.0367 


16 


0.53 


0J)073 




au 


aiaaa 


90 


0.38 


0.0241 


16 


0.63 


0.0063 




«.14 


0.0943 


78 


0.34 


0.0226 


14 


0.64 


0.0064 




0.10 


a0866 


70 


0.36 


0.0213 


13 


aoo 


0.006O 




0.16 


a0795 


63 


0.36 


0.019S 


13 


0.56 


0.0056 




0.17 


0.0733 


05 


0.87 


«i01S6 


11 


a67 


0.0008 




all 


&0678 


SO 


0.38 


0.0176 


11 


0.08 


0.0040 




0.19 


0.0638 


45 


0.39 


0.0164 


10 


0.09 


0.0046 




aso 


aosas 


41 


a40 


a0I64 


9 


0.60 


aoo43 


~r~ 


a2i 


0.0543 


SB 


0.41 


aoi46 


8 


0.61 


0.0041 




aas 


0.0004 


34 


0.42 


6.0136 


9 


0.63 


0.0038 




0>23 


0.0470 


33 


0.48 


0.0127 


8 


0.63 


0.0036 




0.34 


0.0436 


29 


a44 


aoii9 


7 


0.64 


0.0034 




0.96 


A0409 


27 


0.45 


0.0113 


7 


a65 


0.0031 




0.26 


0.0388 


34 


0.46 


0.0106 


6 


0.66 


0.0020 




0.37 


0.0308 


34 


0.47 


a0099 


e 


0.67 


0.0037 




Oisa 


0.0834 


31 


0.46 


aooos 


6 


0.68 


0^0035 




ass 


aosis 


30 


a49 


aoos? 


6 


aoo 


a0094 






.:i.v Google 



44 Mr Galbntith's ToiAes Jbr Barometric Measurement, 



TABLE //.-^Redaction oftfie Ev^h Barometer to 82° Fahren- 
heit, or to the Freexing Point. Subtractive. 





Fnt l—Foi ManoDBi <nri,v. 


P«rtII.-F»M« 


ICUK AID 


■- 1 


Hdiibt of the Bumneta in ladio. 


Hd^t of tba Buomnei In lodicb 


«!»»«. 


i»I«*-. 


»/«*« 


«!«*.. 


«/«*• 


»!«*«. 


a>i«<«. 


ijr«*«. 


S3° 


ojwoa 


ooooo 


0.0000 


0.0000 


0.0088 


0.0091 


0.0094 


0.0097 


34 


D.O0G6 


0.0068 


0.0060 


aoo62 


O0I38 


a0143 


0.0148 


0.0152 


36 


0.0112 


0.0116 


0.0120 


0.0124 


00188 


0.0194 


OOSOl 


O0208 


S8 


aoiss 


0.0174 


0.0180 


0.0166 


0.0238 


00246 


O0256 


ao2e3 


40 


0.0224 


a0232 


0.0240 


a0248 


0.0288 


0.0298 


0.030B 


0.0318 


43 


0.0290 


0,0290 


00300 


0.0310 


0.0338 


0.0360 


0.0362 


0.0374 


44 


0.0336 


0.03J9 


O.030O 


0.0372 


a0388 


0.0402 


0.0416 


ao4so 


46 


O0392 


0.0406 


O.O420 


0.0434 


0.0438 


00454 


0,0470 


O0M5 


40 


0.0448 


0.0464 


0.0480 


0.0496 


0.0488 


0.0606 


0.0583 


a0541 


60 


aoso4 


0.0622 


0.0540 


0.OS58 


0.O638 


0.0G58 


0.0577 


0.0596 


&3 


0.0669 


0.0579 


0.0699 


0.0619 


0.0588 


O0609 


0.0630 


00692 


S4 


00616 


0.0637 


O0659 


0.0681 


O06S8 


0.0661 


0.068* 


0.0707 


66 


0.067i 


0.06S6 


0.0T1B 


0.0743 


0.0688 


00713 


0.0738 


0.0762 


6S 


a0727 


0.0753 


0.0779 


0.0806 


00738 


00766 


0.0791 


ft0818 


60 


0.07B3 


0.08II 


0.0839 


00867 


00788 


0081 T 


0.0848 


0,0873 


«8 


0.0898 


0,0888 


0.0898 


0.0928 


0.0838 


0.0868 


O0888 


0.0928 


64 


0.0894 


0.0926 


0.0958 


0.0990 


0888 


0.0920 


00961 


O09B3 


60 


0.0950 


0.0984 


0.1018 


01061 


0.0938 


00971 


0,1005 


O1039 


68 


0.1006 


0.1041 


0.1077 


aiii3 


0.0988 


0.1023 


0.1068 


01094 


70 


01061 


0.1099 


0.1137 


01175 


0.1037 


0.1075 


ai112 


0.1149 


72 


0.1117 


a 1166 


0.1l9fi 


01236 


aiDfi? 


01 126 


0.1166 


0.1204 


74 


0.1172 


0.1214 


0.125H 


0.1298 


0.1137 


0.1178 


0.1218 


0.1259 


76 


0.12SB 


0.1271 


ai3i6 


01369 


01 187 


0.1229 


0.1272 


01314 


78 


0.1283 


0.1329 


0.I37S 


01431 


0.1237 


0.1281 


0.1335 


0.1369 


80 


0.1339 


0.1387 


0.1434 


OU82 


ai2B6 


0.1332 


0.1378 


a 1 424 


82 


0.1394 


01444 


0.1494 


0.1644 


01336 


0.1381 




0.1479 


84 


0.U50 


0.IS02 


01653 


al606 


01386 


0.1435 


01485 


0.1534 


86 


O1506 


0.1569 


0.1613 


0.1667 


01436 


0.M86 


0,1938 


0.1589 


8B 


aieei 


0.1616 


0.1672 


0.1728 


0.1486 


0.1538 


0.1991 


0.1644 


90 


0.1617 


0.1674 


0.1731 


0,1790 


0.1635 


0.1689 


01644 


ftl699 


P.P. 


o'.4 op.» i'.2 r.e 


0°,4 


0°.8 


r.2 


l.*6 


'r 


12 24 35 47 


10 


SI 


31 


42 



.:i.v Google 



{ 45 ) 

A Short Sketch of the GetAogy ofNithidale, chiefly in an Eco- 
nomical Povntof Viae, and contrasted with that of the Neigft- 
bouring ValUys. By Jahks Stewakt Menteatii, Seq. 
Younger of Closeburn, Member of the Werneriaii Natural 
History Society. (Concluded from page SSS of last Number). 

X HE strata of the limeworke at Closebum, are divided by the 
workmen into upper and lower posts ; and, in considering them, 
it may not be improper to reCun these names. 

The upper post of limestone is 14 feel thick, being contained 
between two impure strata of limestuie, called by the workmm 
dogger. The lower post is about 18 feet thick. The upper 
post, with strata of sandstone and clay, overlies the lower post. 
Both these two posts of limestone seem, from appearances, to 
extend from the present workings of Closebum across the 
southern raid of the Basin of Closebum to Barjarg, on the 
west side of the Nith. But the uniformity of their continued 
inctination is interrupted by a throw-down of dislocatitxi of the 
strata. This is to be observed at the New Kiln, situated at the 
south-west of the present fr<»kinga. 

In consequence of the great expence of removing the cover 
from the upper post of limestone, and likewise from a quantity 
of magne^a which it ccmtains, little of this post is used. About 
forty years ago, specimens of this, and of the lower post, were 
analysed by the late celebrated Dr Black of Edinburgh ; but 
from the imperfect method of analyns then known, the presence 
of magneua was not detected in the upper post. But when this 
upper post was analysed a few years ago by the late ingenious 
Dr Murray, it was found to contain in 100 parts, 43 parts <^ 
carbonate of magnesia, and 54 of carbonate of Ume. When it 
is calaned, it makes an excellent cement. 

Occasionally in this upper post cavities are observed, and axe 
often found filled with the black oxide of manganese. 

The lower post is nearly 18 feet below the upper, and sepa- 
rated from it by strata of sandstone and clay, having, however, 
the same dip as the upper. It is about 18 feet thick, and is 
the pure carbonate of lime, ascertained by Br Murray's analysis 
to con»st in 100 parts of 91 of carbonate (^ lime, equivalott 

Djt.:?:l.« Google 



46 Mr Menteath on the GetAagy of NitHadale. 

to 50 of pure lime. In this lower post, are several small beds 
of clay or stmie marl, containing )0 per cent, of carbonate of 
lime, withimpresdonBof shells, and alternating widi beds of lime- 
stone, which have imbedded in them some very interesting organic 
remiuns, several of which have been drawn and dest^bed by 
Sowerby in his Mineral Conchology. The fallowing are the 
most curious :— Orthocerte, nautili, some sjnrai shells, prtv 
dueti, tnlobites, and corals. The knowledge of eu^ peUi- 
faetions has become more interesting, nnce H has been aecer- 
tuned by Mr Smith, the ingenious author of a Mioendo^ca) 
Itbip of England, that ihey may be often a meam of identifying 
■tiata. Advantage has be^i taken <^ these clay-beds to mine 
the lower post of hmestone. For some yeta^ the operationa ef 
this mining have been exlensively carried on, and these exeavft- 
tioBS now exceed many hundred square yards. In proceedir^ 
■Mhlbese exoavations, strong pilars of nearly 6 square yatds in 
(Sickness are left standing, as supports for the roof of Uie mine, 
»bkh is high enough to admit Uie miner to stand erect at his 
menV. ; md between the pillars the space of 30-ieet is excavated, 
Tbis limeHone, which k of a reddish colour, being extremely 
compact, requires the aid of |i>npowder in wtnking k. Wie 
heart of these excavations is penetrated by an iron xatlway, iud 
upon an incliBed frfane, up which, to the tag of the kiln, Ute 
luBMstoae is iwed by a water-wheel ; and this way of waking 
has been for aeveral yeare adopted at Closebum Lime Quarry. 

The gnaat. advantage of a connnand of water in carrying on 
tbe ^letationst^-an extensive wwk, is here strikingly exempli- 
fitd. Having put in motion tbe maditnery which dr^rs the 
•nggoBs loaded with limestone up the inclined plane, the water 
is nude to pass on in a channel «xcavated in a clay bed, and de> 
Mending to a lower level, is mode to fall upon another ittteel, 
which puU in motion the pumps that drain (be mine, and at 
Uie same time a mill for sawing timbo-. Tbe water, after these 
useful applications, is next conveyed away for inigatiiHi. 

It is worthy <3£ remark, that the clay^bed, in ^ich the 
Kat«'-chanDel is cut, is well adapted ffx making tire-lHiebB, 
TheJdlns at Closebum W^c^ks for burning' lime, are lined mth 
tbe faricks siade of this day ; and they resist, without injuty, 
for A Im^ tine, the great heat to which they are exposed. 

. TOOglc 



Mt Mcwtcalh «n 4he Gedhgff <^Ni4ludtde. 49 

On aceeuDt'of the -diatance from caal, gK«t puns 4ms baeR 
taken in econoiniziog fuel at these lime-wmics, by flontmTing 
guch a form of Jciln that will <produoe in a g^ven time the great- 
est quantity of veil calcined lime, with the smallest possible 
quantity of fuel. 

The kilns employed at Closeburo Works are built on the side 
of a hill, and they are of two forms, die circular and the oval. 

The drciilar kiln has cast-iron doors to the fuel chamber utA 
ashpit, and a cast-ir^n capor cover, which, turning on a pivot, 
raid Testing on a curb-ring fixed on the Xaip of the masoury of 
the kiln, can be put tn or off the top of the kiln when requmd. 
This iron cover, having a chimney 19 inches in diameter, fitted 
up 'with a damper, prevents the escape dS heat at i^ times ; and 
wbea the xountiy sale is irc^ulac, kcep^ die fire from gwog out, 
by-beng'kept close, as well as the doors below. One of thcM 
cinuW irpD-topped-kilns will deliver daily, of well calcined -lime, 
fths of its contents.* 

Closebum lime-work receiving its fuel from a gwat distanee, 
ft6 'miles or more, it is found to be a considerable saving of oar* 
riage to-eoke or char the coal at the pit. A measure of tMs 
C4^e burns as much as the same measure of -coal, b»t ts used 
only in thb kind of kiln. 

The- ovfil kiln varies somewhat in its proportioos &om'tbe c^- 
cular. Theoval form has been found pr^r^e, when coal-k 
the ^el employed. It is built in a similar situation with the 
cireukr. It has windows to the fuel i^iamber, and ash-pit aiiid 
an mrhed cover formed of an iron irame filled up with .brick, 
with •a cbtmney, the Whole moving with wheels on a railway ; 
and by means of'windlasseB,.it canbe-drswnoffor on the top of 
the kiln.t 

From this oval -kiln fths of its contents may be drawn out 

■ Of the circular, tfae fiiUowiOK are the proportions t^It is cticular within, 
33 feet hi^ from the funiBces, 3 feet lUameter at top and bottom, and 7 feet 
diAmeter at 18 feet from the bottom. 

t The height of this oval kiln U SS'feet, the Bhort diameter at the fuel 
chamber la 23 inchea ; and, at the height of SO feel, the short diameter is gnu 
dually extended to e fMt,«nd Is so continued toUie top, whnethe oval )• 
feet b^B feet And havtag,abroAd flwl dumber. It rsqulret tltreeaffonMs 
doors or openings more speedllj to dnw out the Ipio. 



3.n.iized by Google 



i 



48 Mr Menteath on the GtcHogy of Niihtdak. 

(liuly ; and when it is closed at top and bottom, the Sre will not 

go out for five or six days. 

The lime-quarry at Barjarg, on the other side of the Nith, 
is worked, not by mining, but by removing the cover from the 
rock ; and is of course done at more expence. The kilns are 
here of the common kind, without iron-covers or iron-doors for 
the grates. The lime-quarry at Closebum has been opened 
and worked for above fifty years. 

It is curious to observe bow much prejudice often opposes 
useful improvements. When these limeworks were op«ied in 
1773, sageneral was the opinion of the injurious consequences of 
Ume laid on land for agricultural purposes, that the proprietor, 
in order to introduce its use, obliged his tenants, in their leases, 
to lime a certain quantity of land yearly, he furnishing the Ume, 
and even paying for the carriage ; and the tenants on their 
parts, were bound to pay 5a. addidonal rent for every 80 mea- 
sures of lime, the quantity considered sufficient for an acre. 
Kotwithstanding, however, this liberal encouragement to the 
tenant, the greatest quantity of ground he would be induced to 
lipe, was only two acres in the year; and some could hardly 
be prevailed on at all to make the experiment. But experience 
has surmounted this prejudice, and no inducement is any longer 
required. Its effects on the appearance of the country are most 
striking. When Uie present proprietor of Closebum came into 
possesfaon little more than SO years ago, the country around 
* these lime-works, to a considerable distance, was covered with 
heath, barren, and unproductive. By judiciously, however, ap- 
plying lime as a top-dresang, the heather has gradually disap- 
peared, and has been replaced by good herbage. The effects of 
this lime-quarry, and that of Barjarg, tnay be seen all over the 
Bafln <X Closebum, and io the adjoining Bafdns of Sanquhar, 
Glencfurn, and Dumfries ; and even much farther, as into some 
parts of Galloway, distant 40 miles from these works, for in 
n«tber of the districts of Galloway has lime hitherto been 
found. 

Not far distant from Closebum lime-works, on the same side 
of the Nith, are two small barans of limestone, which appear 
unconnected with it. That which is found at the Shielgreen is 
interesting, as it presents a vitrified appearance. It is not a 
pure limestone, but contains a portion of sand. The other 



Mr Menteath tm the Gedlogy o/Nitfudak. 49 

occurs at the Linbuni ; and though also very impure, differs 
from that of the Shielgreen. 

The soil of the batdn of Cloaehurn varies very much, par- 
uking somewhat of the character of the strata which it covers. 
The soil nearest to the greywacke is clayey and tenacious, re- 
quiring much drainage, and much lime. Its improvement, after 
these operations, is rapid and astonishing. Much of the inte^ 
rior of the surface of the ba^n is thrown up into small ri^ngs 
(H* eminences, and the soil of all these is invariably of a water- 
worn, rounded, pebbly gravel. This kind of schI requires no 
little expcnce and exertion to render it productive. But the nu- 
merous hollows intervening between these gravelly hillocks, are 
frequently filled with peat-moss, of which tfac industrious hus- 
bandman has availed himself, in many instances, to make into 
compost with lime, and strew over Jhose gravelly grounds. 
And by these means, and by cultivating the turnip, and feed- 
ing them off with sheep, he is enabled to reap heavy crc^ of 
grain from these light gravelly tracts of this basin. 

There is a narrow tract of soil, thou^ pt^ty extensive, moor- 
ish, and filled with white round pebbly stones, which is the 
very worst of all tlie soils in the basin of.CIoseburn, and is with 
great difficulty rendered productive. 

There is a considerable extent of land in this basin covered 
pretty de^ly with peat. In reclaming this soil cm the estate 
of Closebum, the improvements have been attended with the 
most gratifying success. A variety of grasses have been culti- 
vated on these peat soils, but non have succeeded so well as the 
Holata lonahis, or soft grass, or Yorkshire fog. Its seeds 
being produced in immwse quantities, can be procured at a 
cheap rate. The peat land in the course of cultivation is gene- 
rally found to be too little tenacious, and is apt, if sown with 
grtun crops, to injure much the succeeding grass. In these im- 
provements on the estate of Ck>sebum, all grain cultivation has 
therefore been moat carefully avoided. As soon as the peat-soil 
is prepared by pi»per pulverization, by ploughing and harrow- 
ing, it is then sown with the Holcus lanattu, whose innumerable 
mots and far-spreading leaves, soon cover over and restorea 
tenacity to the soil. With this grass the clover grows admi- 
rably well. 

AP«I1 JUNK 1828. D ^ I 

D.n.llzedbyGOOglC 



All the varietieB of soil, bowever, of the doseburn basin uc 
improved by lime ; and whenever lai^er doeee of it are laid oa 
the s«m1, and a better Byatem of husbandry generally pursued, 
very great improvementB may be expected in the g^ieral aspect 
of the whole surface of the district. 

It may be worth while, as connected with the subject of sinl, 
to mention some curious facts respecting the growth, toughnesi, 
and durability of different kinds of wood in the basin of Cknc'- 
bum, and which may perhaps be looked for in other districts ttf 
Scotland similarly circumstanced. 

The Scotch fir, Pmus sylveatris, thrives well, but does not 
grow fast <m the soil over the sandstone. 1\& wood, however, is 
lough and very durable. But when this same tree is planted 
on the greywacke, though it grows more rapidly, and arrives 
sooner at maturity, yet being softer and fuller of white wood 
than that grown upon the sandstone, the builder, to his cost, 
finds that it is soon attacked by the worm, and decays*. 

The reverse of this ha[^ns with the Larch, I^nui Larur, 
when growing on the greywacke. Its wood is sound and good, 
and, when cut down, is at heart quite perfect. But on the sand^ 
Stones and gravels of this basin, it seems to be at maturity at an 
earlier age than that growing on the greywacke, and, in many 
instances, when cut down on these soils, the larch presents a 
tubed, decayed heart. Under twenty years old such instances 
of internal decay appear. And the remarkable thing is, that 
externally to the eye the larch seems healthy and vigorous. 

We may here state that the larch grows naturally only on the 
primitive mountains, as the granite, gneiss, and the like rocks of 

■ Some remukiible facts respecting the durabilitj that may be given to 
timber bj artificial means, Lave been observed at Closeburn. The proprie- 
tor of that estate has for thirty years been in the constant practice of soaking 
alt fir wid larch timber, after H is wired into ^juik, in a pond or cistern of 
vat«r, strongly iiapr^nated with Uioe. In coosequenoe cf this SDaJdng, thiB 
MGcharine matter in the wood, od which the votm is believed to live, ia luther 
alti^thet changed, or completely destroyed. Scotch fir wood, employed in 
roofing of houses, aod other indoor work, treated in this manner, has stood 
In such Rtuationn fiir thirty years, sound, and without the vestige of a worm, 
lu » very fev years, fa IJDiber so employed, without nick preparatloa, would 
be eaten through and through by that ioAect. It might perh^s be adFiiabk, 
in all timber used for ship-building, to soak it for some days In lime-water. 

D.n.llzedbyGOOg[C 



Mr UcoteaUi m ike Geology ^Ifithtdak. SI 

tkat (daas of Uw Alps, in SiriUerUnd. And it ia most curious 
to obaerfe, that, on the whole range of the Jura mountuns, te- 
{Miatiiig thkt couBtiy from France, and being a limestone for- 
natim, rising to an elevation of several thousand feet, not a 
n^le sd£«owR larch can be discovered. 

AdvsncBBg, however, from this range into Switzerland, it may 
b« observed, that, ui those places, as at Chamounie, Mount Ce- 
nis, the Simpion, and the lofty Alps, which partly inclose the 
baaubful ]ake of Thun, in the canton of Berne, wha^ the 
pnmitive formation, consisting of granite, gnems, mica-slate, and 
similar rocks, abounds, the larch is indigenous, growing luxuri. 
antly, and attaining to a g^at size. Almost at the summit of 
the Simpkxi, upwards of 6000 feet of elevation above the sea* 
instances are met with of larches of \6 feet in circumference at 
■omB distance from the ground. 

Connected with the same formation, are the largest larches 
found in Scotland, as at Dunkeld. One of the largest of these 
trace measures 18 feet in circumference ; and they iu« of no 
g^eat age, for it was only in 1738 that they were brou^t from 
the Alps, and planted at Dunkeld. From the prc^;ress they 
lutve made, and their present thriving appeenuice, it is proba- 
ble they will attain a great age. 

The durability of the larch tbrou^out Switzerland is prover- 
bia) ; and in all situations where exposure to weather must be 
encountered, such as roofing of houses and the like, veoourse is 
always had to lart^. It is said that the piles on whiicJt Venice 
ia built are of larch wood. It would thus a|^iu-, that the 
greywacke approaefaii^ very near in qualities to the pnmitive 
mountain soil, is the best qualified to grow the larch ; and in 
Nltixdal* the larch ought only to he planted on the ^eywacke, 
as is evidently proved by experience in the Basui of Closebum. 

While enumerating the mineral productions of this basin, we 
must not tc^get to mention its mineral flings, although theae 
an neither Dumerous nor important. In some places, chidy- 
btate waters are ^JM^d, and have been used, to oon«derable 
advantage. Near the Castle of Closebum, issuing from a peat- 
moss, now improved, is a sulphuretted hydrogen spring, and 
another at no greM distance, which have sometimes been rraort- 
ed to with good effect in cutaneous complaints. 

»*. 

r, ..i.,X700gIc 



Si Mr Menteath on the Geology ^XUhadale. 

. Baain of Dumfries. — The Basin of DumfrieB, the last of 
those that form Nithadale, is separated from that of Closebum, 
by a considerable ridge of grey wacke, aearly five miles in breaddi. 
Through this ridge the Nith finds itself a passage, and enters 
the Basin of Dumfries. This Basin is (^>en on the south, and 
is there bounded by the Solway Frith ; but on the east, nortli, 
and west, is encircled by the grey wacke, except at the south-east, 
near Mousewald Kirk, where it unites itself to Annaiidale. 

The greywacke hills, which partly surround the Basin of 
Duipfries on the east, north, and west, are of lower eleyadon than 
those of Closebum, and of much less pleasing forms. They are 
green, and cultivUed to their summits; but produce fewer 
streams than the three preceding Basins. Of these, the only mk 
of any note falling into the Nith below Lincluden Abbey is the 
Cluden. In its loog, pleasing, and winding course, it passes 
through the parish of Glencaim, a pretty wooded sequestered 
baan. The whole of it, as well as its encircling mountains, are 
greywacke, separaUng it from those of New Cumnock, Sanquhar, 
and Closebum.^ The Lochar, a detached and independent 
stream, in its way to join the Solway at Carlaverock, passes 
through an extenuve peaUmoss,* which, by its broken, black, 
swampy appearance, casts a gloom on all the beautiful scenery 
ot the lower part of the Ba^n of Dumfries. 

The interi<M- of the ba«n of Dumfries is filled entirely with 
the New red sandstone, for as yet no traces of the white or grey 
have been observed. This red sandstone is much softer, and 
decays more rapidly by exposure to the weather than that of 
Closeburn. At Lochar Bridge, and at Castle Dyke quarries, 
when this red sandstone is raised, proofs may be seen of its de- 
composing nature f. On the west side of the Nitli in Gallow- 
way, to-the south of Griffel, which is aenite, near Arbigland, the 
coal formation appears ; but the strata are so much on thdr 
edge, and so inagnificant in their thidiness, that they are of no 
value. It is very probable that the Solway Firth is a great coal 
basin, for coal is worked on the English sid^, as between Work- 

* In it oftcD are found the bones and faonu of s ta:^ fipedes of deer. 

t At the latter place, the miueralagiat will find imbedded in the red Mud- 
stone, curious Bpecimeiu of basalt, and other rocks of that kind, tome of Uwm 
exceeding the «ize of a man's head. 

Djt.:?:l.« Google 



Mr Meot/ath on Ike Geohgy ^ NiAadaie. 5i) 

. ingitoii and Whitdiaven ; and on the Sooted ode the strata of 
the coal formation (coal metals) shew themselTee. 

No litnestone has been discovered in the basin of Dumfriei. 
A litUe beyond its south-eastern extremity, aa at CamlcngaB, 
the limestone appears, but coarse and bad in quality. The 
farther, however, we penetrate into Annandale, in its lower dis> 
trict, it becomes better and more abunduit. 

Of the ores, no traces have hitherto been met with in the 
baan of Dumfries. 

Here, as in the valiey of Closebum, the greywacke decays 
into a sinl which is a cold and stiff clay, r^uiring lime to loosm, 
pulverise, and fit it for the growth of herbage. Not much, 
however, of this kind of soil occurs in this basin, for the greater 
part of it resting on the red sandstone, partakes of those quali- 
ties that are usually observed in red sandstone districts. The 
ami is generally light and gravelly. It requires much manure 
atid good husbandry to make such a soil productive. On the 
western slope of the Tinwald greywacke hills, the soil is ridi, 
deep, and loamy, and may perhaps be conudered the best tract 
of soil in the baan of Dumlries. 

It is a great hindrance to the more improved cidtivation of 
the basin of Dumfries, that no limestone has been found in it ; 
all that is required for agricultural and building purposes being 
either imported from Cumberland, or brought from Closeburn 
or Baijarg liweworks, or Kellhead, in Annandale. 

Thus we have pointed out a few of the most striking minera- 
logical appearances, including those of soil, in the four bauns of 
Nithsdale, and we have found that each has some peculiarity. 
The bann of New Cumnock, abounding in coal and limestone, 
though at a conaderable elevation, and with a strong, cold, ad- 
hesive clay bcmI, is cultivated almost to the summits of the hills, 
and inbatated by an industrious, active peculation, who have 
availed themselves of their natural advant^es, and have turned 
their attention and capital to collect large dairies, which yield 
them ample retiuns in butter and cheese. It cannot be doubted 
that these improvements have, in a great measure, resulted from, 
and been fostered by, the abundance and cheapness of Hme, in 
which this basin abounds. While, on the other hand, the San- 
quliar bano, although it is lower, and consequently with a more 

D.n.iized by Google 



54 Mr Mciiteatli m tie Qtaiagy »f NUktdait. 

favountlde climate, md in poMestmn of coal tWr oD its oecMri^s, 
yet, being d^nived of linKMonp, and obliged^ at tnutli expencc, 
to import It from other quarters, it hae been retarded in its im- 
{RttvementB, and is inferior, in respect to extent cultivated, a&d 
its condition, to that of New Cumnock. 

But tbe basin cX Chnebum, without a particle of coal, yet 
having within itself at its southern evtreuity, aa at Oosdmm 
and Baijarg, an ample deposit of excellent Htnestoite, has made 
rapid strides in the improvement of its soil, and tmist and wfU 
proceed much farther. Many and most striking evidenoes on 
the eEtate of ClosebttMi are before the eye, of the astoiri^ing 
and cheering alterations which lime, laid on to great quantiitMSf 
makes on the face of a heathery and barren tract of country. 

Even the bamn of Dumfries, deprived of either coal or &De- 
Hone, has, by good communications by land, and by improve- 
ments in its river navigation, been enabled to remedy, in some 
degree, its want of a limestone depotut ; and will not be outdme 
by the natural advantages of the three higher basins of tbe Nith. 

It may not here be nnworthy of remark, and may appear not 
a little extraordinary, that, in ntuations so similar as the b^ns 
of New Cumnock, Sanquhar, and CtoBebum, we find coal and 
litne in abundance in one, coal only in another, and lime aloae 
in a third. What process could be going on in these diffeitint 
basins, so as to a^rd this difference of products, geology has 
not yet perhaps advanced sufficiently far to enable us to attempt 
any satisfactory explanation. 

Having now, as far as we have been able, given an acoaUQt 
of a few of the remarkaUe geological ^pearancts of the fbur 
basinsd' the Nith, or of Nithsdale, it may not be uninteresting 
to take a hasty glanoe of the other two districts into which 
Dumfriesshire is naturally divided, vis. Annandale and Esk. 
dole, in order that we may be able to draw a comparative view 
of (he natural advantages of the three great districts of this 
county. 

Banimofthe Annan. — The first of these, AnitondaJ^, maybe 
divided into the Upper and Lower Basins. The Upper is d^>a- 
ntted from the lower basin by a narrow ridge of amygdaloid 

D.n.iized by Google 



If r MenteAth an Ik* Gtblegt/ ofNiiktMe. U 

MKk, which irons across thd Annaa at the Maine of 8t Mungo, 
uniting the 'Hnwald greywacke range of lulls with those on the 
eastern banlT of the Annan, and may be traced skirting the 
greywacke mountains from Burnswark to Lan^iolm. This took 
seems to Cut off the new red suidstone of Uie Upper and Lower 
Basins ; but as it has been bored in seraal jJaces, and the 
red sandstone always found under it, we may infer that the red 
sandstone extends from the one basin to the other, and is mere- 
ly covered by this formation, or probably the amygdaloid inter- 
sects the sandstone. 

The greywacke moimtains whidi shut in this upper bnun of 
the Annan are lofty, aod to the ninth present a Md [ucturesque 
oudine. Their ndes slope to the Annan, and afford good pas- 
turage to numerous flocks of sheep. In this upper basin, the 
wood, from something unfavourable in the soil, is scanty, and 
does not appear to grow luxuriantly. About Baehills, the 
qjruoe fir is that which grows best. On the west, the Annan is 
. jmned by the streams of Evan, Ae, and Einnel ; on the east, by 
the Moffat, Whamphry, Dryfe, and the Milk, all proving, by 
the number of the streams issuing from these mountains, their 
great elevation. 

The interifv erf* this upper baain <j( the Annan is filled with 
the new red sandstone^ This red sandstone is well fitted, from 
Its compact texture, for all icinds of building. 

Neither limestone mn* ores of any kind have hitherto been 
met with. 

A mile froia the town of Moffat, resorted to for its medicinal 
waters, there is a sulphuretted hydrogen spring, issuing from a 
gi^wadie rock, craitaining iron pyrites, and passing through 
a peit4x^, where it is probably still more impregnated with 
aulfriiur. 

Ab(Hit five miles ftt>m Moffat is Hartfell Spa, which is a 
strong dudybeate. It issues irom a rock of alum-slate on the 
side of the mountaia of Hartfell. 

These ^rings have caused great resort to this district, and 
have thus as it were created the intwesting village of Moffat, 
and contributed to the improvement of the neighbouring coun- 
tiy. 

The soil of this upper haain of the Annan, consists in part of a 

D:it.:f:l.vG00glc 



46 Mr Menteath on tke Geoi^j/ of NiauilOe. 

stiff, teoacious day, which may be probably owing to the num- 
ber of streams constantly wearing away the greywackc mouB- _ 
tune, and carrying their debris into the basin. 'The seal on 
some of the more level parts, as on the banks of the Annan, is a 
-fine rich alluvial loam, productive of all kinds of grain. 

To the south of the Manse of St Mungo, the lower basin of 
the Annan commences, and expands itself a considerate way 
towards the Solway Firth. On the west it unites itself to the 
Jtaaln of Dumfries ; and to the east, to the lower basin of the 
£sk. The Milk and the Mein are the prindpal streams that 
join the Annan in its course southwards. 

The sandstone which prevails is the new red, which appears 
nearly to cover oil the other strata, except in some places, as at 
Cove Quarry, on the banks of the Kirtle, where the Ught ochry 
sandstone bursts up from under it. At Kilhead, the limestone, 
being in some places overlaid by an impure limestone, c^ 30 feet 
thick, and upwards, Is quarried and burned. Its thickncsH is 
about 30 feet, and it is s^d to yield 95 parts out of 1 00, of car- 
bonate of lime, 

From.sev4H«l appearances of the strata, where sections con be 
hod (as in several places of the Kirtle, a beautiful wooded stream, 
which flows into the Solway, m(n% to the south than the Annan), 
indicating strongly the presence of coal, it is probable that that 
valuable mineral may be discovered ; but whether in beds cf suf- 
ficient thickness to repay ^e expencc of working, cannot be as- 
certained till farther triob be made ; and, indeed, from iate at^ 
tempts that have been undertaken in this quarter, it seems very 
doubtful *, 

The s(h1 of this lower basin aS tlie Annan partakes very much 
of the characters of that usually occurring in coal districts. It 
is a stiff, adhesive clay ; has great tendency, from its retentive- 
nesa of moisture, to produce the rush ; but, as this basin abounds 
in limestone, die means are at band to obviate some iA the de- 
fects of a clay soil. 

Baain of the Eak. — The river Esk, in iu course from its 
source to the Solway Frith, flows throu|^ two basins, an upper 
and a lower. It is difficult to distinguish the lower basin of the 
Esk from that of the Annan. They run so much into one an- 

■ From Ihe favourable appearancoa, however, of the strata, it seems pro- 
bable that coal msy be found in the Springkell estate. 



:!.« Google 



Mr Mententb /m Ae GtOagy ^NiOudaU. m 

otfaer, tbat a, bettef divigton of tlus lower distnct of Dumfneu 
shire would be, to consider the two as one large bftsin. The 
mouDtainfl which form the odes <£ the hig^wr puts of Eskdale 
are high, having e&UHNTe graasy elopes, that yield to large flocks 
of sheep an excelleot pasturage. Fnxn its source to LangfairfDi, 
i\M Esk, joined by the Meggot and the Kwes, nins in a very 
straitened beun, which may be called the U{^r Basin of the 
Eek. This basin costtuns neither coal, lime, nor sandstoiie 
throughout its whole extent, the prevuling rock being gr^- 
wacke. At Glradinning, the grey wacke rock ocmtains grey anH- 
monff-g^Ke, or aulplmret of antimony. Some years ago it was 
mined to advantage, but the workings are now obandraied. In 
tbe saoie neighbourhood, aoKHig the mountains, there are traces 
otgi^ma or iead-glatux. 

Below Lon^KJm, the basin of the Esk expands ; and, (o the 
west, unites itself with the Ixiwer Budn of the Awian, wtadi 
may be called the I^iwer Basin of the £sk. This baMn contaios 
iDOUDtaio limestone, the coal ftmnation, and the new redsan^ 
stone. These deports, according to Professor Jameson, are ar- 
ranged in tbe usual order, the mountain limesttme being the 
lowest ; next the coal ; and, resting upon the coal, in several 
places, the new red sandstone. On the Byrebum, below Lang- 
bdm, the cool is wwked, tbou^ no seam exceeding 3 feet has 
heai discovevd. 

From Langholm, in the directicHi of Ecdefechan and Brown- 
muir, limesttme is found in all that range ; and beyond, to the 
north of this line, the greywacke. 

The sml of the lower baton of the Esk is similar, in all Its cha> 
racter and qualities, to that of the lower basin of the Annan. 

Having thus hastily and ra[»dly sketched the districts of An- ' 
nandale and Eskdale, and, as briefly as ve could, enumerated 
ibeir mineral deposits, it may not be uninteresdng to contrast 
them with Nithsdale, whit^ forms the principal sul^ect o( this 
^etch. 

In the upper basin of the Annan, we have observed that there 
is neither coal nor lime ; that its distance from those districts 
wbtte these minerals abound, has checked its advancement in 
improv^ement. The upper baun of the Esk, without coal, lime> 
stone, or sandstone, is still more unfavourably situated than that 

. ...Coosic 



a MrMflueath on At GeOog^ ef Ifkhididt. 

at tbe AnOmi, atid JM imprOTement muH be iKcodRrily more 
ntarded. But m the lower banns of the Annan and the SA, 
ibe kriaer mXxsandiag m limestone, md the latter with both 
litnefltoBC laid etMl, though hitherto sufficient advantage hw not 
bees token of these things ; yet it is to be expected that tbe stiff 
c^ toncioiu cU^s that cover so large a tract of these basins, 
will be nlutnatelj improved and rendered mucb more produc- 
tm, wbm greater quantities of lime are employed in agriculture. 
Although tbe uj^r basiDs of the Esk and the Annan are 
behind those of the Nitfa in mineral treasures, and in improve- 
ments, yet, if the local advantages of wat«-, every where so abun- 
dant in these two distriots, were embraced, it may be presumed 
that tbe want of limestone might, in some degree, be compen- 
sated : For these two basins, shut in on all ^des by lofty grey- 
wm^ ibauntains, (dxHind in streams which oSer great fa<^tiea 
&r irrigating the flat lands of the basins. By this irrigatioa, 
ud.lhe raiaing of great additional quantities of hay, the nu- 
mmius 6ooks fed in these districts, which are often, in the se< 
vsre Btorms oS winter, and in the dry coU springs, driven to 
great extremities for food, would be abundantly supported ; and 
h is probable that, by these means, the stock might be greatly 
increased. Tbe ejKciency and successful application of water in 
flooding meadow or low lands, and thereby augmenting their an- 
nual produce in either grass or hay, has beeu cleariy d«Qon- 
strated by what has been done on the Closebum estate in Niths- 
dale *. Its proprietor, sensiUe of tbe infinite value of water for 
meadow lands, has, at much cost, engineered a water-course of 
■eitai miles in length from the greywacke hills cm tbe east of the 
basin of Closebum ; and, in another direction, another course of 
equal length, which collects, in their passage, every rivulet that 
dMcende from tbe hills. These two canals are made to irrigate 
&n tttteflsive trtCt, producing a large increase of food, often up- 
•*wib oi 400 stones of hay per acre, b^ng nearly twice as much 
as these gttJUnds formerly yielded. These successful applica^ 
lions of water-flooding for meadow lands, afford a strong pre- 
sumption, where the cHmate and soil are very similar, that this 

■ Tlus taUauM of the advant^e of iirlKatioti ha0 beeo given aa moit U~ 
miliar to the author, though many otben are to be found in Scotland. 



3.n.iized by Google 



Mr McRtnth m M» Gnlog^ ^mihtdaU. W 

^bm Bngtrt be applioi with advutage in the ilpp«r bMhn of tihe 
Annan and th« Eak. 

But the great sdvantagea whtdi NithHtale derivM fhnn ft* 
Bibienb may be more full; weo, by odtnparing it with tbe 
aeighbouritig valley of tbe ]>*, which fonna th« greater part of 
tbe oodnty of Kirkcudbright. This valley, in ttt longest btandt, 
that of the Deugh, cbmtnencei nearly at the sottfee of the Ntth, 
riBM flbnoM paialiri to that (Ustrict, and is oiueh of th« wHtae 
ktogtb. It does not riie to a graUer height above the level of 
the Ma, and mi^ therefore be Happosed not to differ mich fti 
eUmate ; and the am] ig, we bdieve, not infenor. 

But when we oompare the two i^stiicts with csdi other, we 
find « itriking difitr«nce. Nithadale, as we have seen, hoB abun- 
daooe at Hmestone, coal, and tandatone, eitending almost to the 
source of the Nith, adoiittiDg of houses beiog built wril soA 
cheaply, fuel being had at a trifling espence, and the land cul- 
tivated almoBt to the tops of the hills. But in the Valley of the 
Dee, in Kiritcudbrightshire, there is neither coal, lime, nor aand- 
atotie; and We flttd hi that trut, nearly the whole upper part of 
it, almost waste. No village occurs ei:ceed>t^ a few houses, and 
these indifFerenlly built ; the land, from want of lime, is uncnl- 
tivated, and laid out mostly in extensive sheep farms; and there 
. is litde hay except what is naturally produced for rearing of cat- 
tle,— «n evil which might probably be, in some degree, reme- 
died by the use of irrigation, as already suggested in regard to 
the upper districts of DumfKesshire. There are, however, none 
of those mineral substances which pve employment, and create 
s population to consume the produce of the sraJ, and promote 
the industry of the farmer. 

Thus are these two districts in Galloway and Dumfriesshire, 
in several respects, similar as to situation, soil, climate, and ex- 
tent, but widely (Ufi^rent in improvement and population ; and 
this difference arises chiefly fi'om the superiority rf the one over 
the other In mineral treasures. Nor is it to be thought that 
Nithsdale has, from its minerals, yet derived all the advantages 
of wMch it is «tpable. 

It is not much above half a century since the roads bx Niths- 
dale were paeuble for heavy carriages. Many of iJiem were 
little better than horse-tracks ; nor arc they yet, in the buiil of 

D.n.iized by Google 



60 Capt. M'Kmodiie on the mott effixtioe Me of 

New CuiDDOck, at all good, and fitted finr the (XHiTeyance of 
great weights, even for the ungle horse cart It may therefore 
be expected, that great improvements will atill be made, whoi 
the roads are better directed, or railways, which are now pro- 
posed, and even actually surveyed *, have been introduced, bo as 
to render communication easy, and the resources of the different 
parts of Nithsdale available for the general use. 

And when mineralogy, a science so interesting to the philoso- 
pb^, comes to be more generally understood and applied to the 
discovery <^ useful mineral substances, we may expect that this 
tract will furnish products not yet brought to light, which may 
contribute to promote agricultural and manufacturing industry; 
and that the Valley oi the Nith, though not the most extennve, 
may become one of the most important that is any where to be 
met widi in Scotland. 



On the most effective Employmeni of Steam Pouter in ntoifi- 
taining a Ferry. By Captain Alexamdsr McKonochir, 
R. N. Communicated by the Author. 

X HE superiority of steam over wind as aprime-mover, is suf- 
ficiently rect^ised in almost every department of art ; and 
wherever the manufacture will defray the additional expence, 
almost without exception the first has driv^i out the last. In 
maintaining ferries, however, this superiority has lieen more fuUy 
admitted, p^haps, than in any thing beHdes ; — ^the uncertainty 
at sailing boats, now ten minutes and now an hour in m^ing 
the same passage — the number of piers to which they must ply, 
according to circumstances of wind and tide with winch the 
puUic cannot be acquainted — and the coid, wet, alarm, and even 
pomtive danger, to which passengers cm board of tbem must OC' 
casicHially be subjected, — being all evils which no perfection of 
management can even palliate ; and which have be^i so mudi 
mote impatiently brane as a better means of transport has be- 
come better known, that in modem phraseology, the improve- 
metU of a ferry, and the substitutiMi of steam for sailing boats 

• Keport lelative to the proposed Rulira; from Dumfriec to Sanquhar, 
b; Boliertson Sucbuun, nude in 1811. 



3.n.iized by Google 



Steam Power tn mmniaimng^a Ferry. 61 

on it, tuve becrane nearly aynonimouB and convertiUe termg. 
There are two ways, however, in which steam may be thus etD> 
[Joyed, and it would be interesting to detemune which of them 
is the best An engine may be embarked in a lai^ boat, fitted 
to rec^ve passengers and goods ; and this method has ezdusiv^ 
ly been adt^ted, as yet, in this country. Or it may be embuk- 
ed in a tug-boat, and employed to tow over large passage ves- 
sels, given up entirely to the reception of frights. It is be^ 
Ueved that this last is very much the better way ; and it may 
be observed, as presumptive evidence of this, that it has latdr 
been introduced on a great scale, and as a great improvement, 
in America. All the reasons, however, for thinking so, have 
not yet been brought together nn paper ; nor the subject, con- 
sequently, beco considered in the detail which its importance 
seems to meriL And an attempt to do this will now dieref(H« 
be made. 

It may be proper to premise, that the precise system thus 
brought under consideration is the following: Two tug-boats 
of great power to be kept ; and several, perhaps tm a principal 
ferry as many as six, decked passage vessels of different azea, 
but all properly equif^ied for the comfortable accommodatitm of 
passengers, horsea, carriages, &c. The first to be plied, one at 
a time, unless when extrmwdinary circumstances of weather or 
pasBi^ require both ; the last to be used, wie or mdiie, 
large or small, as the same circumstances may direct. And 
the fc^wing are the pindpal reasons which at present occur 
in favour of such an esublishntent. 

1. Its supericu' ecoBomy to any thing yet devised is very 
striking. A large st«un-boat, with a powerful engine, caonot 
be constructed much under L. 4000 ; the Dundee boats cost 
L. 4600 ; the Buintislaod ones, I believe, above L. 5000 ; and, 
if one is kept umstaatly plying, there must be two ; if two, 
there must be three, to consUtut« on efEdent establishment any- 
where. But the best steam-tugs need not cost above L. SOOO, 
tux passage vessels above L. 300 each ; so that two of the first, 
and several of the last, would not, all together, much exceed 
one of any of the above boats. And that they would be more 

D.n.iized by Google 



Capt. M'Souoclue as dc mart tfietive ute of 
tlun noB a fall flttoblisfaipeiit aS them, ean, it ii be 
Jined, be m MtiBfMtwily ihBini. 

8. The syBtem imder cooadcivlioQ wsald om^ tlie maMu 
gen of ft terry to pnapoction their aeeomanodatiflii, at all timet, 
to the nut demaodB of the pusage. One ate«iii.biMta M 
usually constructed and e«{doyed, is too little for vay fer- 
ry. £vea two may be ocoanonally iasufficient ; while, in g«- 
oeral, they may be more than ii wanted, and thp expellee of 
plying thetn may not tfaua be defrayed. A ateaai4ug, howevn, 
vill totr over (Hie, two, or mare paasa^ veweU in opdtnaiy c«- 
cuBtstanceg ; and if, at my partirailar time, the work ex«eed itt 
povers, the passage muet then be so frequent as to detiny the 
esffgvKx pf working a second tug. And it should be ebswved, 
that two ooroUaries Sow ttcxa this quality in tha new ^stnn, 
each in its wi^ intecesting, if not both sqonny so. 1. Unneee»- 
Bary wear and tear would be thus avoided. 3. Managers being 
thus enabled to extend tbnr aocomtnpdation, a]taoet at will, 
without additional ezpence, would al«obe«Mdded to favour any 
particular local inta«st without Eacri6ve. Agnrulturcl ])nv 
duoe, for example, of which the chief articles *r» bulky, and 
yield but a small profit, while their free cfMulatitxi ut at impoH* 
UMe to all classes, might well claim to ha thus every whendiatiR- 
guidied. And most locahties have Mmetbiag at other besides, 
which tbey might desire in like manner to encourage. 

3. By enabling managers to dimini^ thw incumlMances, ac- 
cording to the state of the weather, this system would also vir- 
tvalk/ enable them to increase Uwir power, aeeording tA the 
same state. In moderate weather, a powerful tug may tow over 
i^reral passage vessels ; when it is more bmstefou^ one only ; 
sod vhen aept alone, aa mi^t be done in estipnue eases, aoaioe- 
ly any maUier sfaould atc^ her. In tfaia wwy, the paesagc may 
he Iwpt «pen in nuoh worse arcunMaooeB than ore suffietent to 
shut it, vhen plied in any of the usu^l waye. 

4l The speed of a stoam-boat does not alti^ether depend en 
tbe absolute power of her engine, nor on the «|ualilieB of her 
figure i bet in a very eonsideraUe degree also, on the psaportioa 
vUoh the breadth of hor paddles bears to her power, and that 
yhiah both bear to the resistance made to her impuJsioa by wa- 
rious circumstances of weather, and of size and build in her 

Google 



Sttam Power in m ai nt a mi ag a Ftrry. 6B 

own coutruction. The water oppoMcl to ber ponies is tbt 
Julcrum sgaiast vhid her power net*, to cuty her {ontnA i 
it luu bem found, fay experiiBent, that them paddlei ongfal not 
to (Up aboTe 18 or SO inches in the waUc; conKqamtly, tfaa 
eflidency of the Jhicrum is in the direct ratio of their breatlth ; 
and, all that it comes ^lort of balandng the oppaalim made to 
the boats passing through the water, is just kwt power,—- power 
employed in displacing the water, not in moviag tiw boat. 
This loss, too, is more considerable thaa may be periiapt tma* 
gined. In rowing-boats, even in ordinary drcumstancea, it ia 
considered equal lo one-thiid of the whole eiFort ; and is not 
probably less in any steam-boat. While in some it must be « 
great deal more,— ^is witness the quantJIy of water which they 
throw up behind them ; and the absolute tfand still to whidi 
they are brought even in very ordinary circumstances of wind 
and sea,— their power at the Home time still adequate to its 
work, Btill turning the paddles at the UMiol rate. 

It must next be observed, however, that steam-boats, which 
are intended to embark carriages and psaaengcrs aloagside a 
pier, are necesaarily much limited as to the breadth of their ptd' 
dies ; they are thus limited for the sake o£ omveBienoe ; and 
also, tor a still more a^nt reason. They cany their cargo on 
deck, — 4heir ceittre of gravity, when laden, is ooosequently 
high, they r<dl deqi, and iheir paddles must be light in propor- 
tifHi. Twin-boats also, like those on the Dundee Ferry, ply 
th^r paddles at best to great disadvantage, in the dead vottf 
betweeo the two boats ; for the aake of strength in their own vat- 
structicm, they must have them comparatively narn>v; aodthaur 
bulk is «iorinous,and must encounter much oppositicHi in passing 
through the water, porticulu^y mlh a head wind. An estmroe 
cate may, therefore, cosily be conceived, with respect lo eofh of 
these descriptions of boats, in which s deficient^ of moving 
powier may be the d^eet, and yet an increaae of it in the anguM 
be no improvement; aad steam-tugs alone eeem to have no u- 
toilar diaadvantagcfi to encounter. They may work their pad- 
dkt fp the best Kay -, they may have them of any tv^th for 
coavenieoce ; and, oltheugb there is no dpufat a limit, beyead 
whidi a variety of carcuoMtanees c^ weather and sea will not al- 
low then), 1^ any mesas, to be carried. Mill tugi, the ontrs «f 

I ., ..I . C;ooqIc 



64 Capt. M^^Konochie on the most endive tue of 

gravity of which may be kept low and immov^e, may, under 
all circumstances, ply them wider, and with the axle lower, thaa 
any oth» description of steam-boat : this last drcumstance being 
also of importance, as shortening the lever by which the waler 
is displaced. 

5. It bss just been observed, that steam-paddles ought not to 
£p in the water above ^ghteen or twenty inches : — beyond this 
pcnnt tbey are found rather to force it down and lave it up, 
than press agiunst it horizontally ; besides which, a disadvan- 
tageous difference is made to exist between the velocity of the 
upper and under edges of each paddle. Steam-boats, however, 
plied on the usual principle on a ferry, must every trip plunge 
them to a diflferent depth according to thar lading, and in par- 
ocular, when they have a heavy cargo on board must sink theoi 
greatly toodeepfor their most beneficial employment. They must 
thus lose power precisely as they gain incumbrance, lighting the 
candle, as it were, at both ends ; and the disadvantage of this 
is now so ^stinctly recognized in steain-navigaUcxi, that the 
most improved boats, some of the Irish packets for examplej 
have a contrivance for raising and lowering their paddles, acoord^ 
ing to tnrcumMances. The objection to this on a ferry, arises 
diiefly &om the trouble of the adjustment, and the little chwice 
there is, that in short trips and ordinary drcumstances it would 
be suflidently attended to, although not merely the speed of the 
boat, but also her wear and tear, will depend upon it. Steam- 
tugs, however, which would never embark above a few foot- 
passengers, and that coly occasionally, would be exempt from 
the inoonveni^ice altogether. 

6. It has been ascertained by actual experiment in Amwica, 
" lliat, to enaUe a vessel to stem a current with an absolute ve- 
locity, equal to half the velocity of the current, it requires Mn» 
^mea the motive power, if that power acts on boud the vesset, 
that would be necessary, if the pown were applied to a ntfa 
hauling her." The details <^ the experiment are not given in 
the wMk from which I quote (Papers on Naval Architecture, 
edited by Messrs Morgan and Creuze, Naval Architects, Ports- 
mouth Yard, vol. i. p. 309., Article, Analysis of Report made 
to the French Government on the Steam Navigation of Ameri- 
ca) ; and it evidently related to the different powers required to 



steam Power m mamUamng a Ferry. 65 

force a vessel up a rapid stream by Bteani-paddles, and by 
tracking. But the cases are, to a certain extent, the same. A 
steam-tug, by herself, will acquire a momefUvm proportionate to 
her qualities, and this momentum, applied to a rope towing ano- 
ther vessel, will have the same superior efficacy with that above 
stated, to what her power would have, were it embarked on board 
at that vessd, — at least, not much less in any case, — in this 
poaubly a great deal more ; — and for the following reasons. 1. 
A steam-tug, not being thrown out to receive a cargo, having 
her paddles, as we have just seen, of the best form, and work- 
ing Ihem in the best way, may be expected to be a cleverer ves- 
sel than one in which these points are subordinate to other and 
contradictory qualities \ — she will thus be well fitted to form the 
entrance, as it were, of the whole load to be moved, the sharp 
end of the wedge to be employed in cleaving the waters. As 
she must have substance also as well as power (bone as well aa 
Uood) to fit her for a draught, the weight of her en^e, which, 
in ordinary cases, is only necessary incumbrance, will be pon- 
tively benefidal to her ; — she will even probably require more 
wei^t, which may be judiciously disposed as ballast; and a 
counterpoise being thus provided agtunst the top-weight of her 
engine, its several parts may be made stronger, and in some re- 
spects even disposed more beneficially than in ordinary boats. 
Lastly, she will deliver her power in the same straigbt line with 
the direction in which the passage-vessel is to be impelled, where- 
as the power in tracking acts obliquely. %. The passage-ves- 
sel will be absolutely smaller than a steam-boat of the same ca- 
pacity, because the room occupied by the machinery wiU be 
saved ; she will draw less water, as will presently be shewn, 
than would be posnble were she constructed to carry an en^^ne ; 
she will be built expressly to tow easily ; will ply in the smooth 
water of her tug, which will cut the waves before her, and in 
scnne degree prevent that accumulation of water under her 
bows, which, increasing in ordinary cases as the square of the 
vetodty, is the greatest obstacle to easy and rapid sailing ; and 
the power applied to her will, if properly led, tend to liA her ^ 
and, at all events, will act in one forward direction,— whereas a 
rotatory impulse on board of her would act in a circle, only one 
- APaiL JD^TB 1828. I 

D.n.iized by Google 



9 Cap*. M^Koimhie m Mc moat tgi/ctiKt ttte «f 

at tKt> pMfite of which would be direct}; bencficiirf. It ia thia 
iMt oomideMtiMi, i apprehend, which chiefly accolunts for tbg 
ginerai Biii{iM4ority of tax mternal drag- over as intern^ nttfr- 
tory intpulse ; and the di^rsion of power thus contemplated 
MuM etid«Dtty be proportionate to the weight of the veeael in 
wltit^ a stmm-eBgine is embarked, and to the ccnscqueot mo- 
mentwn with wl»eh she scends vS\ in a head-sea. It must be 
greater oonaequentlj in h large boat than in a ti^. JBot the 
otbeis are interesting also, as jKurticularty apjdying to the cafle 
under review ; and it is satisfactory to find the ctmcluaon to 
winch they lead, supported by analogous results in cases too 
difftretit, it is true, to be conadered poFstively corrobcHvtive, 
bitt from which a general principle may not with stan&ng be in- 
tVPteA. A horse will draw considerably more than three times 
as mueh as he will carry ; and locomotive engines of dx ot 
eight horse power, and we^hing, carri^;e and all, n<A above 
fifteen tone, will draw ninety tons, at the rate of nine miles an 
hour after them, when >t is very certua that thirty tons [nled 
tihove them, with the friction of one<fourth oi the superincum. 
bent wMght (which is that of iron upon iron) would go fur to 
anchor them at onee. These engines, indeed, are usually eal* 
ctdated to hare seven-eighths of thdr power disposable for ibe 
purposes of draught ; and with this, as above, to draw six tinea 
thcJr own w«ghton a dead level, with conNderable speed. While 
stem^boats, as usually constructed and employed, cannttf era- 
bark albo«e the odd eighth part of th^r own wdght and bulk ; 
and, IB eircumsbuieei of very ordinary difficulty, are ahnoet unU 
ftrmlly complained of as deficient of power, e\'en for iJieir own 
ttnpolsion. 

Waiving, however, these presumptions for the presoit, thus 
ttet ttaty be eonsidered certain. A smaller power will move a 
greater weight en the tug' than on the carrying ^Mem ; the diC- 
ttteaee is, ^ a fair induction from actual eixpcriment, not less 
dian as three to one ; and there ie much in the eittire circom- 
stmoea ot the ease to make it probaUe that it is evtn a great 
deal more. 

7. Wherever there is shoal water to eoatmd with, the tog 
sjFVtam seems peculiarly appKcaUe. A large stoam-boat, with a 
powwM en^ne, necessarily swims deep ; and, acewdiogly, the 

D.n.iized by Google 



V . Stehm PtaatrimmMmtaimmiga Ferry'.' '87 

I>u»dee beat's draw tlban five feel, aad time at BurotiBlaiid 
and Queensferry towsrdB six fee* respectivety, when Inden. A 
very powerfnP eogiiM, however, wheii embarfced by itseO', i^y, 
I tea coafidciit, be nude to swim in four feel or less ; smd « 
pBssa^vesse), which is otAy to be towed, is in fact the lighter, 
tht drierj and tbe safer, the lower and flatter she is kept. A leg 
of Wood wit) drag heavy and upset in the water, but a pknk . 
wilt not. The Yarmouth E^ls, which bring stores and provi- 
^mis out to the Roads, are open boats, sunk to the gunwale 
when "Hteir cargo is on board ; yet no accident ever occurs to 
them. The €ani]^he Dn^uers are in like manner square 
boxes, with scarce a sharp end to go foremost ; yet tliey too, kiad 
gunw^ decp^ bring cargoes out through heavy rollers to ships 
four teagues off, and survive all the apparent dangers of their 
passage. And men-of-war's flats are currently loaded with 
troops tQI scarce a few inches are ^x>ve the water, and with- 
out risk. The truth is, that flat-bottomed boats are bo buoy- 
ant, that to superSeial observers, who see them move with every 
surface vavc, they appear dangeroas craft ; but in the smooth 
wafce of a* tBg they would be steady ; in all drcuihstances they 
are steady relatively to the water in which they float ; and Uiey 
«e tbe ^afesr of all boats : — imd all for the best reasons. Their 
bearingg are so low, and if their centre of gravity is low also, 
tfie lever which acts on them is so short, that scarcely any impulse 
can sink one aide or raise the other. They cover so much 
water also relatively to the materials employed in their construc- 
tion, that their specific gravity is small, and scarcely any cargo 
at any accident can carry them down. And they are by far the 
beet boats to take the ground, as every seaman knows. 

8. Where open piers are to be approached, on which occasioa- 
dly a h^ wind and sea directly beat, this system seems also 
peculiarly to. apply. In such circumstances, and within certain 
hmits, ssffing-boats may approach the piers, and land one cargo; 
but they cannot receive anodier, becauae th^ cannot easily re- 
ttim. Steam-boats, on the other hand, cuinot approach at all, 
so great is the danger of the piers catching under thdr padcBe- 
boxes, and causing f^eat damage. Paftsf^^vesiels alone, which 
have been towed across by powerful steatn-tugs, may be veered 
in MvAvt ahnoBt any circuniBtaneeB, and again towed off with au. 

I . . Google 



68 Capt. M^Kooochie on the molt effet^ve nte of 

other cai^,— th«r tugs remaining outnde, and taking up what- 
ever position may suit the occasion. 

9- On ferries, where either time is not attended to, or whne, 
frDtn the state of the weather, delay is occasionally experienced 
in effecting the passage, it must frequently be of importance to 
detain the steam-power as short a time as possihle alongside the 
> piers, after it does arrive. Large steam-boats, however, as usu* 
ally employed, have first to discharge one cargo, and then to 
embaric another, before they can poeeibly depart ; and the delay 
thus occasioned must be directly proportionate to their oth«- 
good qualities^their size and capacity. Where an establish- 
ment of passage-vessels, however, is kept, one might be loading, 
while another was crossing; and, with a little arrangement and 
address, the tug need hardly lose a minute in effecting the ex- 
change. 

10. Passengers would be greatly safer and more comfortable 
in a vessel by themselves, than ihey can posably be when em- 
barked with a steam-engine. However constructed, a steam- 
boat can never be altc^ther safe or comfortable as a conveyance. 
A small neglect of the machinery may at any time cause a great 
calamity ; the chances of such n^lect are greatly multiplied 
by the presence of passengers on board, and by their occasional 
curiosity ; in the event of collision with any external object, 
the w«ght of the engine a^^i;ravates the shock ; and if a hole is 
made in the boat, she goes down like a stone. On the other 
band, the very nature of the engine makes a steam-boat roll; if 
she carries a cargo on deck, this effect is increased — her funnel 
is all additional top-weight ; and the heat, smeU, smoke, dirt, 
and jarring, caused by the engine, ore all evils in their way, 
and at least aggravate in no small degree the pains of sea- 
sickness. Not any one of these circumstances, however, would 
operate in passage- vessels. With the means on board ctf anchor- 
ing, passengers would be safe in them, whatever happened; 
and wb«% every comer is given up toaccommodation, a thousand 
conveniences might be introduced, which are at present un- 
thought of. 

11. The convenient transport and safety of a great many 
bulky articles which there is frequent occauon to convey across 
a ferry, would thus, also, be much more consulted than at pre- 

D.n.iized by Google 



Steam Power in makUaining a Ferry. 69 

sent. At Queenaferry, it is a very proper regulation that hay 
and strav shall not be embarked at all in the steam-boat ; and 
yet the iDconTenieDce of htnsdng carts of dther into the sailiug- 
boats is very great. At Dundee, without perhaps its appearing 
as a matter of spedfic regulation, the practice b the same ; and 
almost the only use to which sainng4x>atB are still applied oa 
that highly improved ferry, is to convey flax-yam, and oUiec 
sudi goods, across. Were the steam-power, however, at either 
place, embarked in a separate boat, and merdy employed in 
towing, such practice might easily be discontinued ; and suling- 
boats, with ih&t uncertainty and discomforts, be almost entirely 
disused. 

in. Upon the tug-system, high-pressure engines might be 
again introduced into steam-navigation, and their advantages 
secured, without alarm to passengers. These advantages are 
greatly undervalued in this country ;^tbey conost chiefly in 
original cheapness of construction, diminished expence of work- 
ing, superior lightness (nearly as 4 tb 5) ; but, above all, in com- 
mand of high power, not for current use, but in reserve agiunst 
occasions when it may be required. In low-pressure enpaea 
there is no sudi reserve ;-^)eyond a certain limited pcxnt, an 
increased fire only fatigues the madiinery, without adding one 
jot to the useful efiect : yet in every species of navigation, it i> 
important to have it ; in ordinary cases it is furnished by the 
morale of the seamen, — and in steam-navigation, it ou^t, if 
posable, to be within the fhysiqae of the en^e *. All these 
advantages are, however, at present sacriJiced to the apprehen- 
coons of the public, — apprehensions in a con^derable degree 
overcmne in America, where the subject is more studied, and 
the value of modem improvements is consequently more exact- 
ly appreciated; but which it would be very unwise, and even 
criminal, as yet to neglect here. The first step might, how- 

* To meet this occadonal addition to tlie working power of tlie engine, it 
would not probably be dtScult to contrive paddles whldi should expand and 
contract at will ) it Ig not unlikelj, indeed, tliat the? are already contrived. 
Xileutenant Skene, of the Navy, has lately patented a form of paddles, of 
which I have not seen the specification ; but the praise given them by tlie 
B^wspapera, when they 'were tried lately on tlie Thames, seems unintelligible 
ra any other mippwitton. 

D.n.iized by Google 



A 



^ Capt. iyi*-'K<}pochie on ^ rnott efbctive use of' 

ewer, well be tajtsB iB.tt^-bscts^ « is Icncnrai to all wfao satAy 
the subject, that it might be tdces Anyw^re now with safety *, 
and tbepr^ddice tn^ht in time be entirely ovenxHue.' 

13. And, lastly, it may be observed, that in a oavij^ble river 
an eatabliehment of steam-tugs, of which &e iohercat pnad^ 
of ' oiaoagetnent was that one ^Ktuld always be to spare, 
tn^t lie a most interesting acqui^don in nutny ways, besides 
tiik iuere maintenance of the ferry to which it was attached. On 
many occaacHis togs might most essentially serve mercanlile 
gitercsts^ in cases of rfiipwreck in particular, from their, grett 
power, and comparative lightness oS draught and constructiao, 
they might be invaluable in laying out anchors, and in savmg 
life ^d prop^ty ; and although such views are not so properly 
addressed to public bodies of triistees, incorporated fortmepur- 
ixuse, and for no other, as to private speculators, yet tb^ may 
not be without their value too. A great public acquisition Hwdd 
tbus obviously be made ; — an establishmnit organized with this 
Jarther view, together with & ferry (purticularLy if bound to up- 
hoid that ferry under a pecuniary obligatitMi), VMild probably 
consist of three or more tugs, instead of two only ; — on many 
occasions the ferry would itfielf reap the ben^t of this additional 
strength : — and if any, or alt, of these considerations would fix 
the attention of trustees generally on the superiority, in aorae re- 
^>ect8, of a private, over their own public management of sudi 
concerns, a great st(^ it is contidently believed, would thus 
alone be made towards their improvement. The very circum~ 

■ The iraproveif aafet; bigfa-pressuie boiler is composed of « number of 
^dbU separate tubes or pipes, little otherwise connected than aa they all dls- 
cha}]ge their steam into one cotnmon receiver, tovroFds the production of one 
cMDiBon effect. From their small aize, they are stronger than a larger vessel 
CMdd w^ be made; and if even one of tbem does burst, it has no momMAffis 
can de no mischie:^ and the engine is in no d^ree deranged, as it only loses 
the steam generated in the one pipe. The whole apparatus is in fitct saier 
than an ordinary low-pressure boiler ; the security of which does not coaaiit 
in its strength, relatively to the pressure to which it is exposed, but in what 
is above adverted to as the radical defect of the engine jpr the }»uiposm of 
navigation. It has no power in reserve, consequently holds out no tem{i(»- 
tion to the engineer to subject the boiler lo a severe trial. But if that upO' 
glected, it will buist lite the worst construction of high pressure bcrilert, «ad 
do nearly as much harm ; as whs proved by the exploBon of tbt finhtm 
aloDgmde the United Kingdom, two years ago. ' 

r:i (.:?:!.; Google 



■Slam Ptmer m mni ntm mimg a ferry. t\. 

«WKe tlM K public ■unagtBKDt cin Inn but ana object, is 
Gtmngly agMiKt it: tlfings which have but «i« K^ybortiott, are 
alvMiys ex|M«mv*, -aiad seldom vwy useful. But, beeides this, 
^■rMe qwo^jaaBiite aatundly aocooiiiKxWte tbenudvet ta tfa« 
eircuiAstances in which Uttey ue plsoed ; sad readily adc^t im- 
pTOvemeots, bftoMise th^ have a direct intereBt in dnng lO^ 
aad bacauae, st tJw $nd trf' every shrat lene, what ono iiii£yi- 
dual wiU not dkt, another mil f'^-niriule it b of the very natare of 
{mblic managaiienta to be stiff and unbending, to disregard prt 
■rata ipterfs^ the aggr^^e of which is notwithstanding that «f 
the public, and in the toad to improvement to have a mi •i»tef^ 
IWB, exactfyin proportian as the rank, distance, independent sta- 
tion, and disintsrestedDess af the tnembera txnnpasing them, ae- 
dude them from the knowledge of, and sympadiy with, humUe 
wants. On the other band, it is true that in the esaential qua- 
lities of public sfMiit and pCTmanence of intereM, the puUic 
naanagement has the advantage ; but this only proves that a 
giei£uin between both systems would be better than either :-— 
and this medium, it is not the least praise of that plan which 
bas now been conadered in so many other favourable pcnnts of 
view, tliat it furnishes it with angular security and ease. If 
trustees were to find th«r own passage-vessels, they might let 
them, with their privileges, bi whatever individuals would pro- 
vide the power with whidi to ply them : and if they secured 
the perfonnance of the conditions which they chose to annex to 
liieir leases, by pecuniary penalties graduating from entire for- 
future down to a smart fine for every single intracdon of them, 
they need no more scruple at allowing th«r lessee to make oth^ 
use of his tugs at the same ume, than a coach proprietor thinks 
{^preventing the innkeeper who horses his coach, &om keeping 
irtiat furtha establishment he pleases, and using it as he Likes. 
On xhe contrary, if the system were well understood, it wouM be- 
come the greatest recommendation of a. lessee, that he had aqntal 
and enterprize sufficient thus to fit several strings to his bow ; and 
it may be confidently added, that it is thus (reducing the expence 
of employing steam, dwtvii^ a greater efiTect from a snaaUer powtf 
(^ it, and permitting establishments of it to serve a variety of 
purposes), — and thus only, that high rents can ever be got 
fratn ferries, — rents, in some degree, corresponding to the bur- 



7% Capt. McKonochie on the mott ^ictive ate ^ 

deD which they impose on the coniinumty, and to the Bomfices 
which have been already made in some places, and, in othen 
are yet to make, to place them on an effideot footing. Nntber 
need any body of trustees, be^nning such a system, apprdiead 
that they would thus deliver themselves, or thrir ferry, into the 
hands of an individual. If even a half of what has been ami- 
buted to this tug plan really belong to it, (and it is not bdieved 
to be over-stated in a »ngle particular), it requires only to be 
seen, to be exten^vely acted on. When the present race of 
steam-boats shall be worn out, they will be universally replaced 
upon this principle ; steatn-tugs, for every purpose at least of 
domestic navigation, and for much also which may be called 
foreign, will be on the water what horses are ashore ; and tba& 
will be the same competition for their supply. 

In opposition to so many advantages, I can conceive no ob- 
jection to the system whatever, except eome supposed difficulty 
in managing two boats together in cert^n drcumstances of tide, 
current, weather, &c. To this I would answer, Ist, The thing 
has been already done, on the American livra^ at least as rapid 
and stormy as any of ours. Sdly, Where there are thus great 
advantages to be attained, and only one small physical difficulty 
to be overcome, with common talent and energy, if there is a 
will there will be found many ways. One at present occurs to 
myself as very feasible. Let the two boats be connected by an 
inflesible rod, say of iron, broad, flat, and of sufficient strength, 
pivoted on the tafi-rail of the tug, and extending out^e 6 or 8 
feet to the passage vessel, and 10 or 12 feet inside, till it can be 
easily commanded by a wheel like a ship's lilier. Immediately 
outfflde the tug let it be jointed so as to play up and down, but 
have no lateral motion except what may be given it by the 
wheel; and next the passage vessel, let it be fitted with jaws 
to embrace her stem and be loosely confined to it by a chain. 
With the Iresh way which a powerful tug would give a passage 
vessel, and which would insure her towing in a right line with 
this rod, the whole apparatus would, I apprehend, just convert 
her into a very delicate and powerful rudder in nearly all cir- 
cumstances; while it would also communicate to her any glow or 



3.n.iized by Google 



Steam Power in vtamtaimt^ a Ferry. 73 

backward movement of the eogioe with certainty and ease.* At 
all events, it might be tried or somethiog b^ter proposed. 

And I nuy add, that the subject would be a very interesting 
coe to experiment on ; and it might well become scnne public 
trust to gire the system a trial, even thou^ not altogether con> 
vinced of its paramount advMitages. The expence would be 
trifling, and the risk none ; for the stesm-power emp1(^ed in the 
experiment might be hired ; and a good passage-vessel, were it 
even only to be used in fine weather, would be a dearable ac- 
quisiticm on any ferry. On the other hand, if the views here 
contemplated are in any degree correct, they will apply to many 
other branches of steam-navigation, bendes the mere munte- 
nance of ferries ;^-the several establishments of these are at the 
same time rapidly wearing out, and it would be desirable to as- 
certain meanwhile how best to replace them, without, if pos- 
uUe, again incurring the enormous expence which already in 
many places presses heavy on local and individual resources. 
And ihoe is a third application of the subject, which, to some 
minds, may be more interesting still. It is not probable that a 
steam-engine can ever be onbarked to advantage in a man-of. 
war; the nxMn it would occupy, and the casualties to which it 
would be there exposed, seem to lorbid this. But in every future 
war, steam-towing mutt enter largely into naval tactics ; and a 
new interest is thus thrown over the arts of peace, when im- 
[wovements in them may be made to conduce to the maturing 
of prindplea and practice on which the defence of ail they give 
us may yet in tiome degree depend. " Ixirsqu^un nouveau 
genre de forces mecaniques s'introduit d'une manidre utile dans 

' The American method ia eUU simpler. Two iron rods am secured, one 
to each bow of thepasMge-vessel,Hi as easllj to pisj up and dawn; and thdr 
other extremities are brought together, as in a tiiangle, and are jointed and 
pivoted on the taffrail of Uie tug. This does not impede, but does not assist 
her steering ; and in so fiu' onlj maj be considered inferior to the above me. 
thod, — but it la a^ to answer very well notwithstanding. 

As general principlea, the nearer the two boats are kept together, the 
sraootbo', the lighter, and the more manageable will be the draught. And 
inOeubk rods, besides their conrsnience for backing and keepii^ Ube boats 
apart, will transmit the impulse undiminished j whereas ropes act like iprlnga, 
and a considerable portion of the power is expended in merely stretching 
them. Hawsers, however, may be well employed as preventers, to take away 
even the posgibUity of acddental separation. 

L-|t.:f:l.v Google 



74 Dr Geo. JtAmtimV BemaHet on Urn -dats MoButca, 
sftelqvs beaadbe de l^iadniuie tnimaiiie, U donne »u pcupk qai 
s^en empare le -pmuier, mi qui Tespknte sur la iplut ' graada 
et^lle, ua puiasaatinoycB -de sHp^orit^ nir let autm peu{]leB. 
S»UY»tt vDfin, ie renvovement des rapportB de pnnpent^ d> 
riebeeae, et de puisBaaoe entre )ea nadoas^ est la suite Tirrwifiwrr 
de.l*9d<^tion et du pragr^ des t^if^icatioHt dSine Apdce oounib 
de f(H<ccs mecaoiqa0t.''—Dupin. 



A few Remarki on tbt e^oM M<diusca, in Dt Fixtiis^t Wot^ 
on British Animait; wiih descriptions ofsomB nem Sp^iet. 
Uy Geoboe Johiuton, M. B. Fellow erf the Boyal Odiej^ 
of Surgeons of Edinburgh. — (Coaimutiicated by ^e Author.) 

1_FUB pn^ress in the study of invertel»ate animals, has hei«- 
toTcnre beeu much retarded by the lid)ouT of oonsultiDg many ua- 
ooonected volumes, through which our kaowledge lay scattered ; 
and still more by the imperfecdoas ai the system which ib^r au- 
thMV had adopted. Beings of the most dissimilar stmcture, and 
of die most oppo^te habits, were associated under one oonmnt 
name ; and the learner went on, puzzled md perplexed, until 
repeated failures had taught bim, that, in considting th^ books, 
he was to be guided neither by adberence to the oharactws th^ 
choose to assign to their divisions and genera, nor by attenlioM 
to nature, but by random, or a certain tact only acquired t^er 
much fruitless labour. The pertinacity with which the system 
of LimueuE has in this country been adhered to, is indeed r^ 
narkable- His System of Botiuty was confeesedly left in a mas 
finished and perfect state than his System of Zoology ; and yet 
botamsts have not ceased, irom the day of his death to the pre- 
sent time, to alter and amend that system. On the coatraiy> 
<Rir leading zocdc^ists bmiod themselves in irilting fetters^ depr^ 
eated any alteration, however obvious, and pleased themselves 
with laudatory peans. Happily those days are past ; and, 
though foreigDers have led the way to better systons, aod coo- 
icquently to a more accurate and e^^idfld knowledge o£ mU 
mated beings, yet the examine of our ptesent saturdists jusdfies ' 
the belief that we shall not long be second In this race of science. 
The system which Dr Fleming has adi^ed u a modificodoo 



.:i.v Google 



in t>r Fkmtltg'* fforfc on BrilM. Mnimatt. 99 

of Ottvier^ sad is faunded on Ak buia d' M l »y c tu re sad fiMic> 

tJ0D. It is comnie Mm ' A te with the present state of the acienoe ; 
and, ki ftiktwfi^ it, the ntndent wiU aat meet vith, as in pre- 
ceding works, a.ny very unnatural or ridiculous associadora ; 
tbou^, at the aune time, we wish not to conceal oar ofiuuDa, 
tfaaft tbe tamatgexaeat here developed will not, we fear, be gene- 
rally iSsseMed M. Hex is this a matter to be lamented ; fWtherc 
can DO barm Briae trtan a multitude of systems, provided we can 
only vgree in a uniforniity of nomenclature, so far as r^ards Uie 
goient and q>ecie8. A diange in theae is a poative Cvil, md 
Dnv«r to be made without sufficient reason ; but a new system, 
by presenting the objects under various aspects, and placing, in 
a more or less pnxninent view, the organs of di^iWent functions, 
is in foct boiefidal to the progress of knowledge. 

But we have no intention to enter into a review of Dr Flaning's 
work ; we wish merely to submit a few remarks, as they present- 
ed themselves, cm examining that portion of it which is devoted 
to the elucidation of Molluscous Animals. 

And first it seems to us, that Dr Fleming would have done 
well to have quoted more frequently than be has d<H>^ the 
" Histcnre Naturelie'' of Lamarck. That work is in general use 
amongst the naturalists of i^ie country ; and it is necessary that 
the student should be acquainted with its language or sytto- 
nymes, whether he may choose to adc^t them or not. This con- 
sideration should have prevailed with Dr Fleming, in opposition 
to any private o[niiion be may have formed of the merits of -that 
production : and it is surdy worth quoting; for the systematio 
part is both ably and ingenioudy executed, though we are free 
to admit, that the changes in the nomenclature ars not to be vin- 
dicated, and the physiological speculations are puerile and ab- 
Hifd, and have none of that originality appareuUy claimed. 

Spirula auatrdUs was first added to our Fauna by Mr Stewart, 
the auth(» of Elements of Natural History. His spedmen was 
procured from Aberlady Bay. 

Lfdligo aepiola we have Ircnn the coast of Ninth Durham ; and 
from the same coast we procured the Octopus octopodia, a fine 
specimen of which was sent some months tance to the conductm^ 
of the Zook^cal Journal, under the impressiim of its not ha- 
ving been [H^viouidy observed. The Lol. aepiola was brought 

D.n.iized by Google 



76 Dr Gea Johnstone's Hemarikt on M# cIum MoUtoca 
to us alive, though in a. languid state, and it continued bo for 
about twelve hours, yet it never diaduu'ged any ioky fluid, 
not was the s|nrit in which it was preserved tinged in the ^gbt- 

est d^^ree. 

. In ^rion and Limaa, the nxNith is a short retractile probosciB, 
onned on the upper lip with a saniluoar horny plate, the conca- 
vity turned downwards, and a blunt tooth pn^ecting from its 
centre. In the first genus, the margin of the shield is entire ; in 
the latter, it is cleft below the puhnonary aperture. Id giving . 
*' black tentacula'' to Lhnax agrettiSf as a specific character, Dr 
Fleming has incautiously echoed his predecesamv ; for, in truth, 
they are not black, but like to the body in colour, as an exami- 
nation of the first individual that crawls across his path will con. 
viuce him. We add a descriptiiHi of what we consider a new 
species of Jrion. 

1. A. < 



Rodj greTuh-bUck, spotted, with ■ black faicia round the shield and body ; 
tbe lea^ntOTj iperture uiteriw. 

i. L 8. £ 1, i. — L. mar^naiiat 

Haf— -Hidat mndowi, hedge-bonka, Ac— Conunoii. 
- One, I Body 1 or 1 1 hidi long, not keeled, nor mudi luurowed *t the tail ; 
f(i«;Uh blade, nwibkd, wUh » naiTcnr fitKta ninwuidtiig the bMk utd shield ; 
■ldeiblui*b.gteyt foot white, opaque; tentacula nthei sbMt, black; topira- 
tory ipettute [daeed very forward on tbedileld, which Uentirei mucous pore 
very distinct, abore the tul; the young are white or straw-coloured, with 
bladclih head and tentscula. — This spedea has probably been passed over as a 
TttiAy at Limm agmUi, We have found it very uniform and constant in it* 
character, though it nwy possibly be the At. attr ia an immatuie atata 

In the genus Hdia, we find two species which Lamarck has, 
perhaps with greater propriety, placed in the genus CarocoUa, 
These are the H. aSxSa and eUgans of Drapamaud. The H. 
mtida and nitidvla of the Isst author, and the H. aBAaria f^ 
Mr Miller are brought tt^tber as synonymous ; and, in confir- 
mat«»i of this arrangement, we may mention an experiment 
which we lately made. Four specimetiB of equal use, and alike 
in colour, and in the number of their whorls, were taken from 
beneath one stone. None of them had any smell while alive ; 
but, on immersing them, one by one, in hot water, two emitted 



.:i.v Google 



•M Dr Flemings Work m BrItUK AnhuUt. T7 

a very Mrong alHacemia Boiell, in one it was faint, and in the 
other it was not perceptible. It would appear, therefore, that 
the animal has the power of retaining of emitting its peculiar 
odour at pleasure ; and that, in death, its emisnon may be pre- 
vented by accidental (nrcumstances. I could not satisfactorily 
ascertain its source; but it appeared to arise from a yellowish 
fluid pressed out from above the head. I cannot so unhesitating- 
ly assent with Dr Fleming, in conndering the H. caperata of 
Montagu as synonymous with the H. striata of Draparnaud. 
The latter is the most ctwnmon of all shells in the vicinity of 
Berwick, and the white rib within the outer lip is a ccmstant 
character. Now, Montagu takes no notice of this in his descrip- 
Uon ; and we all know how minute his descriptions are ; while 
Dr Turton expressly states, that the H. caperata is to be dis- 
tinguished from H. virgata, " in wanting the thread-like rib 
round the inside of the lip." Moreover, the figure of Montagu 
b not at all like to the H. striata. 

Though the ccMistruction of the genera of the remaining land 
and aquatic Pubmmi/era might alTord occauon for remark, we 
shall now pass on to the naked Branchtfera. tn Tritonia, we 
observe, that the T. conmata which is a native of the Frith 
of Forth, was not known to the Doctor ; and the two species 
which follow do not appear to have been yet described. 



1. Tkitomu p] 

Bodj oval, narrowed behind, greyish ; superior teatacula multipartite, i^lin- 
dzicAl t brMDcfais uaiHenal, dendroidaL 
^ok— Tbe tea. near Berwick. 

thK.—'BoAy one Inch long, 4 lines broad, truncate before, tapered to a nar- 
row point behind, linuMlfbrm, grejiahf^irregularlj speckled and blotched with 
brown. Back allghtl; conrex; ^et> abruptlj flattened with the markings of a 
deeper colour; foot white. The anierior margin' of the cloak, above the 
mouUi, is cut Into 6 or 7 short conical fltaments, partly retractile. A little be. 
hind are the two short cylindrical abeaths Ihim which the tentacula issue. 
Thexeconmst of a iaadde of filamenta united at the base) and arranged appa- 
rently round a central pillar of whiter colour ; and are onlj displayed when 
(he animal Is active and In motion. Along the mar^a of the back 
there are fi or 6 branchial processes, gradually decreasing towards the tail, and 
having an apt ^militude to an old and leafless tree in mmlature. 



3.n.iized by Google 



78 Dr G«ot J<Aflston'» Smiariti m Urn eU*s MUbuca^ 

2. Tritohia pvlchba. 
"BoAy ublong, led with 3 vhitiih tnuisverse bands, and marked with minute 



ffa&— The sea near Berwick. 
Ttem. — Bodj rather more than | inch long, oblong, ofequal breadth tbroug^- 
oiit, of a fine red colour with dark spots, and 3 narrow white trBBtTerse bBDdK 
Tbc bad when ndaatelr examiaed is obMrred to ba natted aB WMr 
with acellatad spotB, of »hicb the rii^ ia white and the eje rad. AnWrior 
ma^fin of the cdoak white, rouoded and emarginated in front, and the rides 
tuberculated. Superior tentacula exactly like those of the preccdii^ spedea. 
. On the margins of the back an; several branchial processes or taberdes, some 
nf which are branched. I have had 9 specimens oif the TtV. f lm n a ^ Uk from 

I cannot agree with Dr Fleming in considering the Doris pa- 
pUlosa of Mont^u, and the D. vermigera of Dr Turton as the 
same species. Id the former the superior tentacuU are sud to 
be annulated, a structure which we did not observe in specimens 
erf the latter which we found on the neighbouring coast ; in the 
D. papulosa, the lateral papillae or branchial filaments are stated 
to be subclavate, in the vermigera they are linear, or conical ; 
and the latter wants the bare triangular space on the anterior 
part of the back, as represented in Montagu's figure, ai>d taken 
notice of in the description. The E(Ms peregritia is said by 
Dr Grant to inhabit the Frith of Forth, though not described 
either by him or Dr Fleming. 

The Valvata cristata is mentioned as a native of England 
rally. It occurs in abundance in the Whitadder, a river which 
runs through Berwickshire, and is therefore to be added to the 
Scottish Fauna. Though wc have kept it by us days and weeks, 
we have not yet had the pleasure of seeing it protrude its beauti- 
ful plumose branchia:. 

We feel indebted to Dr Fleming for his elucidation of the 
j^nus C'Aiton, which was getting iiito coofu^m, and chiefly &oai 
a neglect cS what he bad done many years ago, in the article 
« Conchology * in the Edinburgh Encyclopsedia. That ex- 
cellent article has been strangely overlooked by subsequent con- 
chokf^ts. It is true Dr Turtou, in his Conch(^o^cal Diction- 
ary, has once tur twice referred to it, but so inaccuratriy as to 
•tatisfy ufl that he had not consulted it, a drcumstance rather 



3.n.iized by Google 



•» Hf yiemm^'t Work m BritM Animalt. 79 

wrfHUM^ in sft author who has dwelt wMi muB«al Bcmrity on 
lim^ iiUKVuracies in others. Dr Fleming has omitted the 
Ch. funciatm of Turton, in the probable bdicF t)Mt it is merety 
an imperfect q>ecii»cn oS some other (qicciM. On the const <^ 
North Diuham wc hwve collected the Ch, marginatutf rtAer, 
anereHs, asd lasvigatuA, — the first verj commixi, and of a k^ 
noe, the three latter all very rare. 

The grain Bulla is left much as our author fiiund it, nid 
there is p«-haps no one in the sytem itf which so little is known. 
We add the dewripbon of a ^tetnes which appears to be new, 

1. Bdila vmrcrmu. 
SMI obtoog-OTsI, opake, white, marked with numeroua dow trravrtne 
puBcbued atree. 

Bab. — Sea coait near Berwick- 
Awn — Shell 4 line* long, thickiih ; apex with a Ttxj narrow perforstloo. It 
resemblea tjie B. an^xilia of Montagu in sliape, but Is ttiatinguisbed hj hav- 
ing the whole aur&ce punctured, and these punctures are arranged in r^ular 
Btri«. Only one ^pedmen has occurred, and a part of the outer lip appears 
to have been broken off during the animal's life, and again renaweAi TUs 
pntion is smooth. 

In the Hoiogtomata we could have wished that Dr Fleming 
had adopted the genus Lacuna of Dr Turton, instituted for the 
reeeptiffli of some closely allied species which we find placed in 
the genera Turbo and Natica. The Nerita palUdida of Biitish 
authors, and its allies, are certainly not Natkie^ for the perfora- 
tion is (w the pillar and not behind it, and the eyes of the ani- 
mal are inserted on a bulging part of the base of the tentacukt,, 
and not elevated on peduncles. The Tttrbo margarita also af- 
fords a good instance of the empiricism which we think we ob- 
serve to prevail in the establishm^t of genera ; and of which 
other illustrations might readily be adduced *. Captain Laskey, 
its discoverer, and Mr Montagu, made it a Helix ; Dr Leach con- 
sidered it sui generis, and called it Margarita ; Dr Turton and 

' We cannot, for example, coigeeture on what prinriplea the estaMisli- 
ment of such genera as lUontagua, AplMa, JVynu, BiUea, ftc. can be justtfleAi: 
Tbe dass ConcAiAra will aflbrd, we think, eimfUr examples ) and we may ra. 

tank that in that ehm too much importance has been atlachwt tit the I'ardlasl 

teeth as ttimiaUiig generic characters. 



3.n.)ized by Google 



80 Dr Geo. Jt^aatao'e Remarks on the datt MoUuko 
Mr Lowe removed it to Turbo, and fur dmng so the latter was 
rebuked by Mr Gray, who maintained, that, with LiniueuB, it 
could be nothing but a Trocbta, and in this opinion Mr Lowe 
afterwards coincided, though on grounds which are uniateltigible 
to ua. In face of the censures of Mr Gray, however, here we 
have it agwn a legal Turbo, — and if the student asks a reastm 
for these changes, there is none to ^ve, unless the whim of eadi 
naturalist is to be considered as reasonable. If we conrnder the 
genus Margarita as unnecessary, and in our humble judgment 
it is so, then we submit the species in question is a Trochua, and 
we rest our ojnnion, not so much on the general contour of the 
shell, as on the structure of the animal. No true Turbo, so far 
as we are aware, has the sides furnished with tentacular filaments; 
but these organs are general in the Trochi. Now, the animal of 
T. margarita has four of these filaments on each ode, and the 
jnar^n of the cloak between the tentacula is beautifully cre- 
nutate ; and further, the eyes are on pedicels, a character in 
which il likewse agrees with Trochus, and differs from Turbo. 
The spedes which Dr Fleming has admitted into the genus 
PhatianeBa have a very doubtful claim to thdr place ; and none 
at all, if we agree with Mr Sowerby in restricting it to such as 
have a calcareous operculum. The CmgvUa ptUla, ini^ts view, 
is a true Pfiasianella ; and there is, moreover, sufficient in the 
structure of the animal to induce us to remove it from the 
CingttUa, for these, if we are entitled to form a ccMiclusion &om 
the recent spedes common on our shores, have no additional 
tentaeula, and a very thin homy operculum. The PhaaianeUeB 
of Dr Fleming might perhaps constitute a new genus 
The follovring species appears to be nondescript. 

1. ClHQULLA rVLCHRA. 

Shell conical, white, with two rows of brown Bpota on the whorls, which are 
Bpirall; striate. 

Ha& — Sea diore near Berwick. 

i}Mc^_Shell II line long, conical, ^os»j, spiially striate, white, with two 
Towa of obking reddish spots on the body and second whorls: striEe n^ular, 
impresaed. Whorls 6, rounded and well defined. Aperture roundidi, 
narrowed above, with even mai^», ftnd a slight perforation behind the 
pUUr. 



D.n.iized by Google 



in Dr Flemm^i Work on Brituk Animalt. 81 

Ott. — A much prettier ahell than the C. intorrnfito, firom »11 the Ttrietlei of 
wUch It iB readily diaUnguishcd bj ita q>lial alris. Prom the C. ek^Ulu It 
dlfilov in fbnn and in markiDgB. 

Of the pretty and rare shell named Vdutina ihfKfera we 
have a q>eciiDen in our small collection from the coast <^ North 
Durham, and uken, as Dr Turton'a spetamens also were, from 
amongst the sjnnes of the Echinus eicuUntu*. We can confirm 
the as8«-U(m cS Dr Turton of its having no operculum, hut uo- 
fortunately at the period it occurred to us, we were more intent 
on collecting species than observing th«r habits and structure, 
and can at present add nothing more to its imperfect histcny. 

It was my intention to have reviewed in a uniilar mantter the 
remaiiung orders and families, but as our remarks consist, we 
find, in mere differences of opinion, we shall not extend a paper 
which has already exceeded the limits at first pn^>osed. So far 
as we are aware the enumeration of the spedes seems most com- 
plete, nor do we observe an omistaon except that of Pltmaxii 
moUu and a nondescript latithina, which, it is said, have been 
added to our Fauna by Dr Leach. We may be allowed also 
to express a regret that Dr Fleming should have followed Tur- 
ton in affixing the name of the learned Dr Goodall to a genus 
of bivalve shells, which future observations may prove have no 
clum to a place in the system. Mr Sowerby has already pro- 
nounced one of the species to be the young of an Attarte, and it 
seems insinuated that the other species has no better claims to be 
conudered distinct. 
Jpril 1. 18S8. 

De^mx of Christianity/, or Cof^erences on Religion ; (Defense 
du Christianisme, ou Conferences sur la Religion.) By 
M. de Fit ATS SI NODS, Bishop of Hermopolts, First Almoner 
to the King of France, Minister for Ecclesiastic Affairs and 
Public Instruction. 3 vols. 8»a Paris. 

Motet contidered at a Historian of the Earfy Aget, t. ii. p. 4&. 

iVl. FaArssiNocs, in his Ccmferences, considering Moses as 
a historian of the early ages, examines his narrative, with refer- 
ence to the two principal facts recorded, in Genesis, namely, the 
iraiL — JVNB 1888. f 



3.n.iized by Google 



89 M.. FrayafiiiiOoe's D^^Hwe of CAritHatti^ 

Crvation wad>tbe Deibge,^ Ir.vill be.ue^l to el^*, iheu, how 
the explanattbns of the learned prelate have rendered allrational 
disputation between science and orthodoxy henceforth impos- 
able; it will also eerve to convince religious men that they need 
not now, from scruples of conscience, refuse to give their assent 
to the sound t1ie<»ies of science ; and^ lastly, it is of importance 
in giving a more extenuve diffusion to accurate ideas respecting 
the book c^ Geoene, and theprincipal geological focte related 
in it, that the useless discussions which frequently arise in the 
world may hn avoided ; — «uch, for example, as, disputes vrith 
regard to the age of the w(»-ld — the universal deluge — whether 
the foBul sh^s were produced by the Mosaic deluge, &c. 

By distingui^ing, in the language of MoseS, the expressionfi 
m common use, which it was necessary for him to en^ioy, in 
order to he understood, and by making altowance for the difler- 
ence of times and of nations, and for the genius of the Hebrew 
hu^age, and' by adhering, at the same time, to the nurative 
c^ the historian, M. de Frayssinous has consecrated, by his suf- 
frage, interpretations which have been elidted by a consdentious 
judgment. Henceforth the cosntogony of Moses, assuming in 
some degree a different character, presents only an assemblage 
of facts, which enter, without effort, under the dominioa of the 
natural laws, imposed from the beginning by the Creator of the 
umverse, and which, therefore, harmoniae with the enhghtened 
opinions that may be fiinned regarding the origin of the globe. 
For this important observation must not be overlooked : Moses 
lays down his cosmt^^ony in few words, and in very general 
terms ; and the meaning of the word day being once fixed, we 
have only to consider the order and succession of creations there 
recorded. M. de Frayssinous shews the agreement thus subsist- 
ing between scientific facts and the Mosaic record, viewed in its 
true light, and in this respect he renders ao eminent service to 
reli^on, to science, and geology. 

When, in fact, we call to mind the lamentable disputes which 
have taken place, in these latter ages, on the subject of the 
Book of Gene«s; when, on the one hand, geolc^, formerly 
so theoretical, appeared to encourage the attacks of infidel plii- 
losophers, and, on the other, religious men, possessed sometimes 
of more zeal than science, denounced, with so much heat, opi- 



3.n.iizedb,G00g[c 



Mi Frayssinous's Be/Snce of Chrittidni^. 88 

nions which, al' the present day, give nooffence tq theHg^t^ t^' 
the church, — wcare constrained to hold fbrth to pfabltc appro- 
bation the spiiit vilh which the Bishop of Hennopolia has con- 
sidered this book, and toexlend the' knowledge of the <giioioij8 
which he adopts.tHi the fundamental poJnts which it contaifls, — 
as thereby furnishing the friends of religion, science, and geo- 
logy, who might Btill find themselves exposed to attacks similar 
to those to which we have been alluding, with victorious arme 
for repelling them. 

If, however, there is at the presoit day one truth more than 
another to which general assent is given,' it is this — that the pro- 
gress of all kinds of rcnl knowledge has entirely banished from 
us that spurious philosophical ^irit, of which so mudi If still 
said, as if it oould be renewed. What geologist is there, in our 
days, who, while be admireB the eitalted genius of Voltiure, is 
not moved with pity at his scientific arguments against the 
bo<^ of Genesis? And do we now see a single dissertati<wi of 
a similar nature, by any writer, enjoying the smallest degree of 
reputation in the scientiBc world ? Were a work of this de^ 
scription to appear at the present day, would not the silence 
and dissatisfaction of the learned consign it to neglect, more 
prompdy, and with more effect, than the Index of the Sorbonne 
could ever have done ? In vain do some interested, or' too cre- 
dulous, individuals attempt lo revive the terror of such philbso 
ph^rs; there is nothing to justify their alarniB: and did not 
every thing aiauod us testify, that science is always the surest 
guide for man, geology (whlcb* after having in its infancy fur- 
nished weapons against the sacred writings, may now be ren- 
dered subservient to the support of the Mosaic cosmogony) 
would furnish & iuemorable example. In truth, setting aude 
the condderations and Bentiments which command belief, it is 
upon M. Cuvier^s reseatvbes that the most important fact in the 
MoBfuc record, namely, the order of the creation t^ living 
beings,' resti ; it is the investigations, of MM. CliampoUion and 
Letronnc, which M- .de.Erayssinous adduces in support of his 
historical relations \. and, lastly, it is the discoveries of Dr Youn^ 
and M. Fresnel that afford the learned prelate the means of 
explfuning the passage of Genesis, which refers to the creaticHi 
of li^t. 'We are therefore authorized to repd with indignation 

D.a.t,zsd by Google 



84 M, FraysunouB^s Defence ^Chrittianilif. 

the perfidious and calumnioiis ii^nuationB which a dix^ered 
mind would endeavour to propagate against men of science in 
general, and geolc^sts in particular. All that the learned now 
request, is, that they may be allowed to enjoy in peace the fruit 
of their labours, and that the cause of religion may not be in- 
considerately blended with the results of their inquiries. 

We must observe, that, with respect to ourselves, we only 
consider the Book of Geneva here as an historical monument of 
the highest antiquity ; in other wurds, umply in a scientific 
point of view : any other mode would be out of place in the 
bulletin *. Bufibn, De Luc, Bucklaod, Webster, &c. have given 
great interest to this examination ; and it is time that the con- 

■ venlional ridicule which some learned men attach to the study 
of this valuable monument should be done away with, when so 
much labour is every day applied to the scniUny of the cosmo- 
gonies of the Chinese, Hindoos, and Egyptians ; when history 
does not even disdain to interrogate the dumb monuments of 
the remotest dates, or the most extravagant allegories of the na. 
tions of antiquity. Without seeking to support an opinion or 
particular mode of thinking, one may take cognizance of a fact, 
and intolerance would be as blameable on the one nde as on the 

" other. 

The Bishop of Hermopolts, resting on St Augustine^s opinion 
with regard to the meaning of the word d/i^, expresses himself 
in the following manner, on this fundamental question. " The 
chronology of Moses dates less from the moment of the creation 
of matter than Irom that of tbe creation of man, which only took 
place on the sxth day. The sacred writer computes the num- 
ber of years of the first man and his descendants, and the chro- 
nology of the Holy Books, therefore, is made up by the com. 
putation of the years of the succesave patriarchs ; so that it de- 
fends less to the ori^n of the globe itself, than to the <»igin of 
the human species. Henceforward we can say to geol<^sta, 
dig as much as you please into the bowels of the earth, if 
your observations do not require that the days of creation 
should have been longer than our ordinary days, we shall coo. 
tinue to follow the common opinion respecting the extent of 
these days ; but if, on tbe contrary, you discover that the ter- 
■ Bulletin de* Sdenccf Nftturelles. 

D.n.iized by Google 



M. FntyauDous's Dejenct of ChrittianUjf. 85 

restrial giobe, with its plants and animals, must be much older 
than the human race, the Book of Genesis will have nothing to 
say against such a discoveiy ; fw in each of the ax days you 
are permitted to see so many indeterminate periods of time, and 
then your discoTeiies will be the explanatory commencement of 
a passage the meaning of which is not perfectly determined.^ 

Now, observatiiHi shews, that a long period of time elapsed, 
lat, between the conaolidatiOD of the primitive strata of the globe 
and the appearance of life at its surface ; 2d, between the crea- 
tion of the different species of plants, and the various races of 
animals ; Sdly, between the latter and the creation of man. The 
proofs of these facts are undeniable, as these strata are the pro- 
duct of a succession of slow effects, and the remains of plants and 
animals which some of th«ii cont^n, suppose a prodigious suc- 
cession of distinct generations. The idea, therefore, of days like 
ours is repelled by facts ; and we do not even yet possess any 
means of estimating the duration of the epochs in question. It 
is a calculation of the same nature, as that of the distance of the 
fixed stars from the earth, and nothing is more ridiculous in the 
eyes of one who is occupied in such investigations, than to hear 
people speaking of the age of the world, the antiquity *^ the 
world. Sic. 

As it is equally certun that the human species is the last in 
tJie order of creation, ^nce its remains do not occur among those 
of the other living beings which abound in the solid strata, 
even the most superficial, of the globe, it may be said that all 
the phenomena, whatever they may be, to which the forma- 
tions of these strata may be referred, belong to the scientific his- 
tory of the epochs, antecedent to the existence of man. From 
this may be seen the emptiness of the expression which wc every 
day hear repeated, that the revoltdiona to which the globe bean 
te»^mony are a proof g/* the universcd deluge. It is evident, 
from what has been already siud, that it is at the surface of the 
earth only, that we can look for, with some English geologists, 
the -traces of this great cataclysm ; and that the ^ells, the bones 
cX animals, and the impressions of plants, which are found in 
the solid strata of the globe, have no connection with the deluge, 
dnce the object for which it was produced was the destruction of 
the human race, and as all these strata, as welt as the pheno- 



86 M. FT&yesmoas^s Defittce ^ Ckrittianjii/. 

Uena which have changed their order or inclination, are anterior 
to the existence of man. 

God, as M. de Frajssinous has observed, could certainly, by 
an act of his will, have created at once the whole consolidated 
earth, and all the beings which embellish -it ; but as tiothing pre- 
vents us from thinking that the will of the Creatoi' might have 
rec^ved its accompli shm«it by a copcatenatioD or succesucm of 
effects, inore or less rapid, or slow, with refereiKe tothe duration 
of human life, and as orthodoxy makes no oppoaitioD to die six 
days' work being considered as six indeterminate periods ofHme; 
and, moreover, as Mosies has not entered into a detail of tbe first 
causes by which Grod determined this succeEsiinl of effects, and 
as the only circumstances which he relates agree with observa- 
tion, or with the inference which'^tbe laws of nature authcHise, 
we can without difficulty admit this succession or concatenation 
of effects, dependentupon first and pre-existing causfes, which has 
successively, and in the way of consequence, brought about the 
formation of the earth, and the modificatjcms whid Its surface 
has undergone. 

Following, according to the Bishop of Hermopolis, the series 
of the six days' wmk, we shall briefly make known the rest of 
this conference. 

On the fi[rst day, God created the fteavens and the earth. At 
^rst ^ earik icas covered wkh water, presenting the appear- 
ance o^ a dark abyss ,- but God said, let there be light, and 
there was Ught. With regard to the creation of light before the 
sun shone in the firmanient, M. de Fraysainous demonstrates 
that the objections which have been madeon this subject are of 
no validity ; admitting, always with the learned prelate, that 
Moses meant less to say viable and produced light, than the 
creation of the subst^ce which may develope light. He fdiinds 
his opinion on the reseiuYhes of Dr Young, and those vf M. 
Fresnel, which have made the theory of vibrations firevtul over 
that oi nnission, which Newton supported. Acconkng to the first 
o( these theories, the creation of the fluid whkh was to become lu- 
minous, was independent of the creation of the sun, that star 
being even considered, nnce the time of Hwschel, as an opaque 
body, and therefore light may have been in. fact produced frnn 
the beginning. 

D.n.iized by Google 



By the cimtUoo of the heavrai we can only, however, under- 
Btand space, aad the bodies vhich compoae the universe, all which 
might then have been, as is now, comprehended in that tn- 
tletenninate acceptation. But this creation does not absolutely 
suppose the existence of stars in the state in which we now see 
them. The eun might form part (^ the creation of the heaven, 
without having yet that luminous lustre by which it is now dis- 
tinguished ; nor do scientific theories oppose the admission of 
such a hypothesis. Thus there is nothing to prevent us from sup- 
posing that the manifestation of the stars took place only on the 
fourth day, or at the fourth epoch. The author has not even 
tbought it necessary to mention this observation. 

He gives an account of the opinions of geologists or natural 
f^iloaophers, respecting the original fluidity of the globe, to 
shew that, in fact, the earth was covered with- water. This 
ojnnion is at the present day one of the most incontestible facts. 
At the same time, observations leave no doubt with regard to 
the igneous nature of the fluidity of the globe at the beginning ; 
but scarcely had the coaling of its surface permitted the gases 
of the immense atmosphere which surrounded it to condense, 
when in fact the surface of the earth was entirely covered with 
water. Thus the account of the first day's work must be con- 
sidered by every mind, not led away with prejudice, and not 
seeking in it for that strictness of expresaon with which the 
very general terms in which it is delivered are incompatible, as 
being in perfect accordance with the &cts and theories ad- 
mitted by science. 

On the second day, the waters which enveloped our planet, 
were divided m ntcb a manrter, that a portion rose inio the up- 
per r^iont. On the third day, the dry land began to appear; 
flania sprung Jrom ii* botom, verdure and Jlowera etnAeUiah- 
ed U. On the fourth, the sun, the moon, and the stars slume tn 
AeprrMmmi. On the fifth, fishes swam in the teaieTS, birds 
fiOB in Af mr, r^tiies crept in the dust, and quadrupeds tealked 
on the Mr/ace of the earth. Lastly, on the sixth, Tium appeared. 
The Bishop passes rapidly over all the facts contiuned in this 
port of the Mosaic record, with the exception of the work 
df the nxth day ; be has not judged it expedioit or neces. 
sary, it would appear, to explain each of. these facts in detail, 

':hm;Ic 



88 M. Frayssinous^B Deface of Christianity. 

but confines himgelf to some general reflecdtxis, with the viev of 
ahewing that this succeauve furmation of beinge is not opposed by 
any authenticated observation. In fact, the second period desig- 
nates the time when an equihbrium must have been established be- 
tween the waters of the sea and those which are contained in the 
atmosphere ; the third, that when the successive diminution of the 
waters uncovered the first surfaces of the earth, which hence- 
forth were enabled to invest themselves with that primitive ve- 
getation, the remains of which are found in the oldest secon- 
dary rocks ; but here it is necessary to clear up a difiiculty which 
has frequCTitly been adduced as a very embarrassing argument, 
and to which recent observalJons enable us to give a satisfactory 
explanation. How could plants have grown and propagated at 
a time when the sun did not yet shine in the firmament P The 
proper heat acquired by the terrestrial globe from its original 
incandescence, was sufficient to develope and support this v^e- 
tadon, and may explain the apparent difficulty in question. 
The central heat of Buffiin, which has thrown so much discredit 
on the theory of Uiat illustrious naturalist, is now among the 
number of the most accredited facts, and is supported by all the 
observations in geology and physics. The phenomena of volca- 
noes, earthquakes, and hot springs, can only be accounted for 
by this hypothesis ; all the circumstances of which are moreover 
in accordance, as M. Fourier has shewn, with the mathematical 
theories respecting the coohog id bodies submitted to the in- 
fluence of a high temperature. We were the first who, in these 
latter times, endeavoured to revive the memory of Buffon with 
regard to the fundamental ideas of his theory of the earth, 
and to explain all the changes which the animal and vegetaUe 
kingdoms have undergone at the surface of the globe, principally 
on the ground of the reduction of temperature. Our theory tm 
this subject was even extended by a learned Englishman, Dr 
CrichttRi, who proved the independence which the ori^oal cli- 
mate of the terrestrial globe must have maintuned with respect 
to the solar heat. All the proofs which he adduces form a blaze 
of light which leaves no doubt regarding this subject ; so that, 
proceeding from this important datum, we not only can conceive 
how the primitive vegetation of the earth's surface could have 
existed independently of the solar beat, but the same observations 



M. FrayBBinous's D^bnce qfChrittianil^. 89 

pro?e that the prc^ter temperature of the glob^ and a uniform 
mean temperature much nxire elevated than that which now 
reigns at its surface, may of themBelves have pvea rise to the 
▼egetaUon of that period. In fact, the remains of this vegeta- 
tioD occurring near the Pole, and under the Line, §hew that it 
was equally uniform, — that it was analogous to that which now 
covers the equatorial sones, — and that thus the differences with 
n^fd to the vegetable productions of the globe, arising at the 
present day from difivrences of latitude, did not then exist. 
£very thing proves that, in this original climate, the periodical 
seasooB of our present climates, depending upon the obliquity ot 
the ecliptic, and the preponderance acquired by the sdar heat, 
had no existence. The proper heat of the earth^s surface ha- 
vbg a great elevation, the influence of the sun^s heat, admit- 
ting its atmosphere Co have been already in a state of combus- 
tion, would have been scarcely, if at all perceptible. What we 
have said renders all explanation unnecessary respecting the 
fourth day, the period when the stars became virable, and shone 
in the finnamenL With r^;ard to the fiHth, ihe order of crea- 
tions therdn enumerated is in perfect accordance with the 
order in which the fosul remuns of the various races of animals 
occur. Animal life was first developed in the bosom of the seas, 
then in the air, reptiles followed, quadrupeds next, and lastly 
man. This succession, besides being proved by direct facts, is 
confonnable with the various jdiases through which the earth*s 
surface must have passed, to be successively 'adapted for rec^v- 
ing the different races of living beings. We long ago proved, 
lit. That the analogy of station and destination, in other words, 
of the conditions of existence, and of the office to be be fulfilled, 
is the iteneral law which has presided over the distribution of life 
upon the globe. S,d, That the changes which life has undergone 
on its surface have be^ graduated, but that life itself has not been 
renewed ; that the races have not been modified, but that, in pro- 
portion as the conditions of existence changed, or as new ones 
were f<Hmed, new species occujued the place of those which were 
no longer able to exist, and which had no longer an object to ful- 
fil ; and that they went on, up to the period when, with respect to 
each part of the surface in succession, an equihhrium was esta- 
blished between the influenong causes. The animals of these 



90 M. Frayssinous's^^fuvo/'CAriMuim^. 

times were profKfftioned 'to the original veg^ation^ andthisiis 
-the reaeoD why we find everywhere rfetnains of depbiutts, rhi- 
. .noceroses, lioDs, &c. Animal and vegetable Hfe has been modi- 
, iied in the same points, by the causes which we have just pcanted 
out, the dintinuticHi of temperature at the surface of the globe, 
and the estabUshment of terrestrial cUmatea. 

AL de Frayssinous then discusses the question, Wh^er the 
stars are inhabited ? *' FoDteneUe's Plurality of Worlds may 
perhaps, he says, be nothing iMit an ingenious romance, but you 
are free to see a reality in it," He i next examines the quesUon 
so much agitated at the pres«it day, Whether the^ hnniMi race 
constitute a single species P All the moral reasons which he 
.adduces, in support of the ofHiiiontiiat men are derived from the 
.same source, are of great validity ; and he adnntB Buffim^s ideas 
.regu^ling the difTerencee which the influence of climate, food, 
and other causes, cnay have operated upon the original stock, in 
its successive generati<Mis, and which liave produced the modifi- 
oati(Hi& now observed in the different races. We have put it be- 
.yond doubt, that, with regard to animals and plants, it is neces- 
sary to admit particular centres or batans of production, just as 
we admit in phyucal geography, basins and hydrographic masses 
recurring over various parts of a great surface, or in oppodte 
continents, and bein^ affected among thems^ves by a variable 
number of diflerencee and analogies. At the same time, the 
ba^Ds and centres of productions present ^milar, equivalent, or 
different productions, according to the places ; and the animal 
creation, like the v^;etable, has been subjected to certain ctntdi- 
tjons dependent upmi the form and natiu% of the soil, and the state 
of the air and waters, so that certain genera, and even certun spe- 
cies, are reproduced at great distances, and even upon oppoate 
continents, without the possilnlity of supposing that they have 
-arrived there by diffusion, or by proceeding from a simple cm- 
Ure, or from several distinct centres of production. But these 
observations, which we believe it itbpoBsUite to refute, may yet 
prove nothing with regard to the human epecK^ and new facta 
are required, before sdenoe can adopt a niti(»ial bfaiuni on the 
subject 

The bishop now passes on to the examination of the traditions 
respecting the deluge, and brings together all die hjatorical evi- 

L-|t.:f:l.v Google 



M. FraysuDous's De/e>ux t^f Ckrlstianitjf. 91 

deuces tranaimtted b; the moA mnote antiquity, which tend to 
nipport the tnidifitMis of that great fivenl. He examinea it, in 
die last place, with, ref^^nce to its chronolo^cal relalions. On 
this subject, we have to observe, that MM. Cbampo]ltoa have 
shewn that the chronok^ of the Seveoty, adopted by the fa- 
dwEB of th« chun^i is fiufficient to accouot for all the facta re- 
corded in history. As to the means wbich God employed Id 
producing the deluge, tbi^ although treated by the Bishop at 
great fength, is a sul^ect of little importance in itself; the figu- 
ratiTe language of the. sacred historian affords no precise infor- 
matitxi on this point, except that he speaks of extraordinary 
raiiu^ which be must mean by the cataract^ of heaven. God 
oonld undoubtedly have diqx>sed of the elements at his will ; but 
without having reooulrse to incomprehenuble means, and viewing 
the deluge as it ought to be viewed, that is to say, as confined to 
the part of the earth then inhabited, some less general phenome- 
ncHi will suffice to account for it. ' 

The coly ptant of importance to be eBtablished is, that the 
ddi^wBSDot universal. Respectable authorities are not awant- 
ing in support of diis opinitm ; we might, among others, ad^ 
dace the teBtimtmy of Malnllon, who maintained this opinion at 
a meeting of the Ccogregation of the /ndeo! at Rome, where it 
waa admitted by the nine cardinals who assisted. The object 
of the deluge was the destruction of the human race ; it was 
therefore unnecessary to bring a general cataclysm over the parts 
<rf the earth that were not yet inhabited. Moses calls it univer- 
sal merely with reference to the then lutown earth ; but he did 
not cert^nly comprehend under it America and New Holland. 
Tbis interpretatirai, while it is more amnstent with reason, and 
more accordant itith geological observatitms, which formally re- 
pel the idea of cataclysms and perturbations of all kinds, cannot 
be conadered as contradictory to the ^rit of the sacred text. 

FerruMc. 



Semarlti on fAe NiOure (;f Sound m Water. By MM. Colla- 
DON and Stusm. 

IT £ shall now offer a few remarks on the nature of sound in 
water. The first relates to the duraHim ^totmd in wttier. 



9S Remarkt on the Nature ^ Sound m Water. 

wliidi difiWrs in a r^narkable degree from its darstiMi in air. 
The sound of a bell struck under water, sod heard at Bome dis- 
tance, has no resemblance to that of a bell struck in the air. 
Instead of a prolonged sound, there is only heard under water 
a short and sharp noise, , which I can compare to nothing bet- 
ter than to that of two blades of knives struck against each 
other. On retiring indefinitely from llie bell, the sound always 
preserves this character, only diminishing in intennty. The 
perception of a sound so sharp and short coming from a <Uetaace 
of several leagues, causes a fe^Dg similar to that which <Hie 
experiences on sedng distant ol^ects through a telescope with 
the clearness which that instrument ^ves to them. In makii^ 
the espetiment at intermediate chstances, the sound always ap- 
peared to me the same in nature, insomuch that I found it im- 
possible to distinguish whether it came Frora a strong and distant 
stroke, or a weak and near one. It is only at a distance of about 
200 metres, that the rin^Dg of the bell b^ns to be distinguish- 
aUe after each stroke. In the air we observe a pbenomoion al- 
most entirely the reverse. The strokes applied to a bell are 
more distinctly heard at hand, whereas at a distance there is 
only heard a continued and almost uniform tingling. The re- 
nstance which the water opposes to the vibrations of the beltj 
does not afford a sufficient explanation of this fact, for the saint 
sound heard out of the water was much more prolonged ; the 
sound of a bell was very well recognized, which would have been 
impossible, in listening at a distance to the same noise transmitted 
in.water. This phenomenon is explained by the nature ot the vi- 
brations of sound in water. It is known, in fact, that, in the vibra- 
tory motion of a fluid, the duration of agitation of a particle is 
equal to the radius of the spherical porUon of the fluid which is 
originally shaken at the commencement of the motion, divided by 
the velodty of transmission of the sound. The first of these 
two qualities is necessarily smaller in water than in air ; the 
second, on the contrary, is greater ; whence it follows that the 
duratioa of sound ought to be much less when it is transmitted 
through water, than when propagated in the air. 

The second remark relates to the 7ion4ratumission of the found 
Jrom leater into air, wheu the vibrations which are propagated 
in the water arrive at its surface under a very small angle. Thus, 



Rentarks on the Nature ^ Sound in iVater. 93 

as I have stud, at a diataoce of less than SOO metres, the sound 
(tf the bdl struck under water is easily heard in the air ; but, 
•t s greater distance, ita intensity diminishes very rapidly, until 
at length, at the distance of 400 or 500 metres, it is imposuble 
to distinguish the slightest sound, even very near the surface of 
the water. However, on immer«ng the head a few centimetres, 
or by putung down a tube filled with air, as I did, the sound 
of each blow is heard strongly and distinctly, and in ^his man- 
ner it is heard at a distance from ten to twenty times greater. 
It is evident, that, at a distance of 500 metres, the vibrations ar- 
rived at the surface under a sensible angle^ which was further in- 
creased by the curvature of tbe earth. The vibrations which 
take place in water, do not therefore communicate with the air, 
when their direction meets the surface at a small angle, — a pheno- 
menon analc^us to that presented by the surface of separation 
of two mediums of different densities. 

The agitation produced by the waves does not alter the du^ 
ration of sound nor its velocnty, when a tube is used for hearing. 
The last of iJie three experiments mentioned above was made in 
stormy weather. The wind, which at first was weak, increased 
to such a degree, that several anchors were necessary to hold the 
vesseL Notwithstanding the noise of the waves, I could still 
distinguish pretty well the sound of each stroke, and the dura- 
tion of its transmission was not altered. 

The last observation which I have to make, relates to the 
i^uence of screens on the intensi^ t^ sound. Having chosen 
two stations, at no great distance from each other, and so situat> 
ed that the straight line which joined them grazed the extremity 
of a thick wall which rose above the level of the water, I had 
the bell struck r^ularly, and with strokes of equal intensity. 
Hearing them with the tube alternately on nther side of the 
line which grazed the extremity of this wall, it appeared to me 
that there was a very marked difference of inten^ty, according 
as this extremity was or was not interposed between the bell 
and the tube. The transmission of sound in water, tberefc^re, 
differs in this respect from what takes place in air, and ap- 
proaches to the mode of the propagation of light. This influence 
of a etseeen inseuEdbly diminishing the intensity of sound, deserves 
to be remarked, and affords a new point of approximatimi be- 

D.n.iizedbyGoOQ[c 



94 Mr W. Nicol on Hie FMds 

weM the phenomena of the propagation 'of souticl in liquids^ 
and those observed in the propagation of light. 

Obaervations on the Fluids contained in Crystallized Minerals. 

By William Nicol, Esq. Lecturer on Natural Philosophy. 

Communicated by the Author. 

To PK^easot Jamesqij. 
Dear Sib, 
Xjeing under the necessity of going into the country, I can- 
not at present continue the investigation I was engaged In, con- 
cerning the fluids contained in the cavities of crystallized mine- 
rals. I shall therefore now give you the result of the observa- 
tions I have already made. 

About two years ago, when polishing a fragment of a 6rysial 
of sulphat of barytes, having a cavity containing a fluid and a 
small moveable globule of air, u partial rent took place from the 
surface into the cavity. The consequence was, that the globule of 
mr immediately began to expand, and continued to do so until the 
whole of the fluid was expelled from the cavity. The fluid did not' 
form a continuous line along the rent, but appeared in the form 
of three or four distinct globules, one of which was considerably 
larger than all the rest After inspecting these globules for some 
time, and seeing no change in their appearance, the fragment 
was laid aside. On examining it next day, each globule was 
found to be a solid crystal, having the primitive form of sul- 
phate of barytes, namely, a right prism with a rhombic base. 
The waste by evaporation, if any had taken place, must have 
been very little, for the crystals seemed to be nearly as large as 
the globules from which they resulted. 

Some time ago, I found in my cabinet a crystal of sulphat of 
barytes, containing several cavities, in each of which there was 
a fluid, and a moveable globule of air. With several of these I 
have succeeded in getting the fluids to the surface through par- 
tial rents, in consequence of the expansive foi ce of the air. The' 
fluid always oozed out in the form of distinct globules, of differ- 
ent magnitudes, one of which was generally larger than all the 
rest. The globules, however, from diflerent cavities, assumed 
different appearances. Those from one cavity, for instance, 



.:i.v Google 



conlMfted t» crgfliaUiiitd Minerala. 93 

irsxe neuljr h^nupberical, md seemed of coosiderable deiiaty.- 
tboee fnMn other csvitiea spread out to a ooa^dentbte extent, io- 
dicadug less tenacity, and a greater attractioo, between the par-i 
tides of the fluid and the surface on vhit^ thej spread. The 
globules, too^ form dilFerent cavities, ory^lized with very dif- 
ferent decrees of rapidity. Several minutes elapaed before the 
dense hemispberical globules of one cavity b^;ui to crystallize. 
The crystallization then went on slowly, and was not com- 
pleted until after the lapse of twenty-four hours ; whereas most 
of the thin flattened globules from other cavities, crystallized al- 
most the instant after they reached the surface. The dense he- 
mispherical globules seemed to lose very little by evaporation ; 
but the thin flattened globules seaoed to suetun a very consU 
derable loss by that process. 

In the instance first menUoned, each globule of the fluid 
formed only one crystal ; but in all the others, each globule gave 
forth a eonaderable number of crystals. These were always 
arranged in a curve, immediately within the circumference of 
the globule. Sometimes the crystals were aggregated together, 
sometimes they were more or less detached, and sometimes a 
detached crystal or two formed within the curve. The whole 
of the crystals had the same form, that of a right prism with 
a rhombic base. 

£ince, therefore, the cavities, in sulphat of barytes, evidently 
contain the matter of that substance in a fluid state, it seems 
fair to infer, that the cavities in other crystallized minerals may 
contain their own matter in a nmilar state. This I have late- 
ly ascertained to be the case with fluor-spar. About two months 
ago, I succeeded in forming a partial rent in a crystal of that 
mineral, containing a cavity with a fluid and moveable globule 
of ajr. The instant the rent took place, the air beg^i to ex- 
pand, and continued to do so, until the whole of the fluid was 
expelled from the cavity. The fluid appeared on the line of the 
rent, in the form of twelve distinct globules. These were tena- 
dous, and of a hemispherical form. One of them was much 
larger than alt the rest put together. For several hours after 
the fluid came out, there was no appearance of crystallization ; 
but, next morning, a number of cubical crystals, aggregated in a 
curve within the margin of the Urgest globule, were distinctly 



3.n.iized by Google 



J 



96 On the Fluids contained in ctyttaSixed Mitterah. 
viable. The crystals were completely immersed in the fluid, 
together witJi a few minute globules of air, which had come out 
of the cavity. The crystals daily increased in bulk, with a 
corresponding diminution of the fluid ; but a fortnight elapsed 
before the crystallization of the fluid was complete. Even then 
a slight degree of moisture could be observed on the surface 
of the crystals, and aJ«o on the space included within them, and 
this moisture still remains. Some of the globules, which are ex- 
tremely small, still remain in a fluid state. When the crystals 
attained such a size as to come near the surface of the fluid, the 
edges of the upper surface of some of them gradually rose above 
it, and these have now the form of an inverted four-sided pyra- 
mid, a form which is oft^t assumed by muriate of soda, when 
slowly crystallizing. 

The elasticity of the globule of air in the cavities of all the 
crystals I have yet examined, is evidently great, for whenever 
a rent was formed, the globule, however small before, always ex- 
panded to such a degree, as to expel the whole of the fluid. In 
the cavity of fluor-spar above mentioned, the globule of air ex- 
panded to more than the size of the cavity, for a part of it even 
escaped along with the last portions of the fluid. Indeed I 
have repeatedly found the elasticity of the mr to be so great, 
that when a direct opening was suddenly formed into some ca- 
vities of sulphat of Irarytes, the whole of the fluid was blown out 
in an instant, not a trace of it being left behind. 

I have observed a very curious property of the globule of air 
in the fluid cavities of various minerals, These globules, when- 
ever they are moveable, always occupy the upper part of the ca- 
vity in which they occur ; but if the end of a heated wire be 
made to touch the surface of a crystal next the under side or 
end of a cavity, the globule of air immediately descends to it, 
and that, too, with a rapidly accelerating motion. On removing 
the wire, the globule immediately ascends to its former posi- 
tion, but with a uniform motion. Perhaps you can aflxird an 
explanation of this phenomenon. I am, &c. 

EmiTBirRaB, / 

4A Jtfav 182a T 



3.n.iized by Google 



( 97 ) 

On covering the Rot^s <>f Houtes vnth Plata ^Iron. By 
M. E. Caktek, In a ktter to the Editor. 
Sir, ExeUr, AprU 8. 1SS8. 

My attention has been recently directed to some observationa 
in the last December number of the JBdinburgh New Philoet^bi- 
cal Journal, upon my scheme for coveiing the roofs of build- 
ings with plates of cast-iron. Your principal ot^ection is found- 
ed on an apparent imperfection at the junction of four of the 
plates, which does certtunly, at first sight, appear as an obstacle 
to the success of the scheq)e, and is what in truth occa^oned me 
to he^tate, before I determined to adventure any thing upt»i 
the matter ; but, satis6ed upon more mature r^ection, that 
wliatever water might be driven into that comer, must ulumate- 
ly be conducted to, and fall into, the lower plate, and from ihat 
plate to another in the like position, until finally led to the eaves 
or gutters, I determined to try the experiment, and had a set of 
plates cast and put upon a roof, the result of whit^ was com- 
pletely satisfactory ; the experiment roof having, besides with 
odiers (since erected) withstood the violent hurricanes of last 
Wbruary, without the displai^ment of a single plate, or the ad- 
mts^on of a drop of water. 

The diagram here ^ven, is a vertical section, at full size. 



made parallel with the side of one <^ the upper plates, through 
the lower ; by exanunation of this, and the transverse section, I 

AFBIL — JtTNE 1888. 6 

D.n.iized by Google 



98 Mr Carter on aycering Houses with Plates ^cast Iron. 
think you will be satisfied of the impossibility of forcing any wa- 
ter over the corner of the lower plate. 

In point of taste, nothing can be worse than the roofs of our 
modem dwellings, which, with what are termed hips and val- 
leys, ju«s«)t a series of irregular pyramidal forms, intersecting 
each other in a most incongruous variety, indescribitbly disa- 
greeable to the eye. The valleys also cau«Dg, in many cases, 
the nuisance of smoky chimneys, and sometimes an inundauon 
of the dwelling, upon the breaking up of snow. 

In the application of this prefect to the covering of dwelling- 
houses, the upper parts of which are usually divided into rooms - 
of moderate dimensions, it will be found that no trussing is re- 
quired, and consequently there is a considerable saving in timber 
and labour, the partitions being sufficient support for the raft- 
ers whereon this covering is laid. I am. Sec. 

Notice regarding some extraordinary Lusus Naturee in the 
East Indies. Communicated by Lieutenant Jahbs Edwabd 
Alsxakd£», 16th l4&ncers, M. R. A. S. Cot. Mem. S- A. £. 
&c. With a Plate. 

AT has often been remarked by travellers, that, in eastern 
countries, deformed individuals are seldom or never met with. 
This circumstance is attributed to a variety of causes, as par- 
turition being less difficult between the Tropics, the temperate 
halnts of the people, &c. ; but, if those who assign these reasons 
for abortions b^ng of unfrequent occurrence in the East, were 
to inquire a little more carefully, they would find that imper- 
fectly formed beings occur a^ often in eastern countries as in our 
own. Why, then, it will be asked, are they not met with ? The 
answer to this is short. They are destroyed immediately after 
birth by tbdr unnatural mothers, and commonly by placing a 
small opium piU in the mouth of the infant. Some of these 
unhappy beings, however, are occaaonally preserved ; and, as it 
fell to my lot, during my peregrinations in the East, to meet 
with several singular instances of Lusus Naturse, I now pro- 
pose shortly to describe some of the most remarkable. 

I. During a march from Jaulnah to Arcot, I halted one day 
at the town of Hachootee, in the Ballaghat ceded districts. 1 



PUiTK 1. ££n-n^I^L^^^^m.y.B. 




2^.4. 




|.:,trf:|.v.C00l^lc 



3.n.iiffid by Google 



Lieut. Al»and«- on Lutua Natura, 99 

wu Bitting at the door of my tent, whidt was jntched in a man- 
goe tope or grove, and was enjoying the cool erening breese, 
(after the nice diyiog temperature of 105° and 110° during the 
day), when I saw a. singular being of about three feet in hei^t 
approaching tne. He came up to where I sat, and, with a low sa^ 
laam, asked mj pardon, and solicited charity. On a cursory 
glance, he seemed to have hia arms tied behind his back, but, 
upon desiring him to turn round, I found that he had been de- 
prived of these members by the hand of Nature. 

This singular httle man was arrayed in a pur of loose white 
long drawers, with a sash ; his body was naked to the waist ; 
over the left shoulder he wore the zunar (the sacred cord of the 
Hindoos), and on his head was an ample turban. His age 
seemed to be about thirty ; his head was of the usual size of an 
adult, and fully developed, and well formed in every req)ect. 
The scapula or shoulder-blade of the rig^t arm was in its pro- 
per place, but the arm itself was wantii^. The left arm was 
entire, including the os humerus, fore^arm and hand i but, what 
was most extraordinary, the whole tum was enrdoped in the 
skin of the trunk, no part of it b^g viuble, escept the third 
{^alanges of the fingers, which protruded dose to the left pap. 
This arm (the left) was doubled back, so that the elbow touch- 
ed the vertebree. No dcatrix was perceptible on any part of 
the external cuticle, and the motions of the incarcerated arm at 
Uie will of the abortion were most wonderful. The thorax was 
very considerably distmled, and the abdomen was scarcely ob- 
servable, as the short ribs rested on the pelvis. The left 1^ 
was four inches shorter than the right ; and, to sum up the p^ 
culiarities of this dngular being, theses were the rudiments ottt 
rixth toe on both his feet. Deprived of the use of his arms, be 
was obliged to feed like a brute, by thrusting his head into the 
vessel which contiuned his food ; and, unlike some individuals 
of a nearly similar malformation, he derived no asastance {ram 
his feet in performing any function, except in bdng able to run 
with tolerable speed, but in a most ludicrous and surprinng 
manner. — Plate I. Fig. 1. 

II. In the Basar at Arcot, there was a boy who, at a little 
dt8tatKe> might easily have been mistaken for a dc^ ; in faetj he 



100 Lieut. Alexander oti Lutue Naturte 

was comnuMily called by the Musselmans cholera »ug la, or the 
dog-like boy. He walked on his hands and feet with his head 
thrust forward, and waa unable, without considerable pain, to 
erect his body to an upright posture. The cause of bis extraor- 
dinary gait was, that the pelvis being much distorted, the femo- 
ral bones were so placed in conjunction with it, as to cause bis 
legs to be at right angles to his body. His kne&goinu brang 
stiff, and his legs being much shorter than usual, his body is 
quite horizontal, and he walks about with seeming ease to him- 
self. He is iJx)ut fifteen years of age. — Plate I. Fig. 2. 

III. There was also at Arcot a little mat-maker, the forma- 
tion of whose hands and feet was very peculiar. They were 
like the forceps of a crab, the skin covering three and two of 
his fingers and toes, and causing them to resemble claws. He 
plied his vocatitm with hands and feet, and produced as neat 
work as bis brother mat>makere. Plate I. Fig. 3. 

IV. I have frequently seen in India four legged chickens, 
double-headed pups, Sec. but these mtHisters sinL into insignifi- 
cance when cmnpared with the one I am going to describe, 
which is a quadruped, the pxiduce of a sow, and littered at Kur- 
nou) not long ago. The mother brought forth a fitter of pigs, 
all of which were naturally formed, with the exception of tbe 
monster in question, which came into the world alive, but sur- 
vived only a i^rt time after its birth ; and is now preserved in 
^rits, and in the possessioa oi Capttun Wallace of the Staff of 
the Madras Army. It exhibits the following extraordinary 
appearances in its confOTmaUon. 

It is half a sow and half an elephant. In addition to the or- 
dinary rostrum or snout of a hog, a prdieofflle proboscis pro- 
j^s from the bottom of the forehead ; tbe monster has likewise 
got the pendulous ears peculiar to the elephant; and the n<»- 
trils are seated at the extremity of the ele^antine proboscis. 
Thift noo-descript is a Cyiilops, for, upon raising the prehensile 
trunk, a single and well formed eye- is observed,, the aze of 
which is considerable in proportion to the bulk of the monstn* ; 
tbe lower eyelid is fiunished .with ciha ; the eye is concealed by 
the trunk, and b not perceived until the proboscis is raised, 
which forms as it were tbe upper ey^d. The length of the 



3.n.iiffid by Google 



^L.1TE ij. 







^i(» 



■■■■■■^^■■■■r 

"-•■;::;::•' 



Diciiti^eclbvCoOl^lc 



3.n.iiffid by Google 



. .hsU-Afi-Jh/^ ,/, 



j^i/.'^ArJ iy AJt/^,^ Aw;^ r/.fj.y. 



Mr BM Dti the Fires that take piaoe m CoBieries. TOl 
body of the mooster is upnrds of s f<x>t, and is thinly set with 
hair ; the tail is that of an ele}4umt, there being setK or biistles 
at its extremi^ ; in the uppo* jaw are a couple of cantne tscth : 
the testes, as in the genus Ekphaa, do not protrude from the ab- 
d<»nen ; but this is no distinctive mark, as the young cf most 
ammals have them simikrly ratuated. — Plate I. fig. 4. 4^ 

The (xily way of accounting for the production of a monster 
like the foregfHng, is the almost inexplicable doctrine of sympa- 
thy,— the imagination of the mother may have been fearfully 
excited when in a sute of gestation, by being nearly trodden 
upon, or injured, by-an elephant, of which there are several at 
the birth-place of the mtmster. 

BOTAL HlLITAkV COLLBOE, ) 

Sahdrumt, \1 May 1838. | 

On the Fires Outi lake piace in CoiHeriei ; and parttcularb/ ott 
the Recent Fires in the Whitehilt and PoUon Collieries, in 
Mid-Lothian ; and South Sauchie CoUiery, in Clackmannan- 
shire. By RoBEBT Balo, Esq. Mining Engineer, F. R.S. E. 
M. W. S. 8ec. • Communicated by the Author. 

J. N the ordinary and arduous operations of collieries, there daily 
occur many difficulties ; such as, an escessive extra quantity of 
water which requires to be drawn to the surface ; bad roofs, 
which must be constantly guarded and secured, for the safety of 
the adventurers and miners ; and crushes of the coal pillars, and 
of the whole superincumbent strata, which frequently resist every 
attempt to stop their progress. 

Bemdes these, there are others, such as the constant Sow of 
carbonic acid gas common to every colliery, by which many lives 
are lost, and the production of carburetted hydrogen, peculiar to 
collieries in particular districts. In Scotland, the carburetted 
hydrogen is most abundant in the Ayrshire and Glasgow Col- 
lieries ; in England, in the districts of the rivers Tyne and Wear, 
in the counties of Northumberland and Durham. The first of 
these gates is named by the miners in Scotland, Choke-damp, 
Black damp, and Styff; the latter is generally named Fire, or 
Fire-damp. 

* Bend before the WeroeruD Natural Ulstorj' Societj of Ediaburgb, 19Ui 
April 162B. 



IM Mr Bald on the Firea tiuU take place m ColReriia. 

The fiFBt species of gas is comparatively eanly guarded agaiDBt 
and aT(»ded ; the latts is subtile, — the very pestilence and bane 
of the miners, — springs into action as instantly as the lightning 
of heavcsi, producing the most feaiful destruction, and the most 
appalling catastrophes, sweeping before it men, horses, and ma- 
terials, like chaff before the wind, in one mingled mass of horri- 
ble ruin. 

These disasters, though Tiolent and dreadful, are happily of 
short duration ; and the bold, unyielding, and persevering spirit 
of the miner, in a short time repairs the wreck ; the labours are 
resumed as if no such disaster had taken place, and that with a 
degree of cbeerfulneBs which has greatly surprised every one. 

There is, however, an accident of a different kind from these 
before mentioned, which, though in general very dow in its pro- 
gress, is most difficult to overcofne, because, though slow in 
progress, it goes on unremittingly, gains strength hour after 
hour, and day after day, and, in many instances, puts the skill 
and persevering exertions of the miner to defiance ;^this is, 
comtn<»i burning fire in the coal mines, the ignition c^ the coal. 

This fire arises from three causes : Is*, From the flame of a 
blower in the coal, from which the carburetted hydrogen issues 
with such violence, and in such quantity, that the noise is fully 
louder than the noise of steam issuing from the valve of a steam- 
engine boiler, when fully opened, and steam in abundance with- 
in the boiler ; or, by tbe blast of an explosion, which is a maga- 
zine of blue and white flame, of intense heat, which sets fire to 
the small coal-dust of the roads in the mines ; for this fiery blast 
never sets on fire the soUd coal, though the blower does so in 
some instances ; 9dly, From spontaneous ignition, which is the 
most common, arising from the decomposition of pyrites amongst 
the coal rubbish ; for, however abundant the pyrites be among the 
solid strata, and though in contact with water, no decomposition 
takes place, but, in the loose rubbish, the contact of air will soon 
produce fire, particularly if aided by the contact of water or 
moisture ; Sd^, From accident and inadvertency by the contact 
of common fire with the solid coal, or with the coal rubbish. 

For the extinguishing of these fires several methods are in 
practice. In some instances, the fire, if not of great extent, or 
only very recent, can be put out by throwing water upon the 
burning mass ; but if pyrites abound, tbe apphcation of waler 



Mr B«)d on thf Fir€$ that Ptkepltice in CciUeritt. 103 
will, to « eaUanty, iDcreaBe ^ «vti. JVeverthelei^ it U 4^^ 
necMMty to run tfaia liak ; and, when the 6ie ia extinguished, 
to take meiBsures for preventing a recurrence of the acddent 

If the 6re can be approschedt th« e&ctual plan is to shovel 
it out, and send the burning materials up the pit to the surface. 
In this service die miners are sometimes dreadfully scorched ; 
but what is more dangerous are the deleterious vapourB arising 
from the fire, which are very much mixed with the fumes of sul- 
phur: these oflten so much overcome them, that they drop 
down, and they are then dragged, like dead men, to the fresh 
ur, where gener^ly they soon recover ; but the effects are such, 
that they t^^^ suffer in their health for years after. If, how- 
ever, the miners lie, for any considerable time, in such air, very 
few of tbem can be, 1^ any means, reanimated. 

The next plan b to choice the fire, as it is termed, by shutting 
up, with clay-puddle, every pit and mine connected with the 
burning mass. This, in many instances, succeeds ; but we have 
seep instances where such means were ineffectual, and Uie fire 
continued to increase, by drawing a supply of air to support com- 
bustiop through cracks and crevices, which are sometimes c^n 
fnw) the surface, and are unseen. 

When the fire exists near the dip part of a cfdliery, where the 
draoMge is performed by machinery, the fire is easily extinguished 
by stoi^Mng the maiduimy, and allowing the water to grow up. 
If the lire is toward the rise or out-crop, this circumstance sus- 
pends all the colliery operations, until the water is again drawn 
off by the machinery. On the other band, if the rubbish is full 
pf pyrites, the spimtiuieous ignition is greatly increased by the 
water hastening the decompoution of the pyrites. Hence there 
is, at best, but a chince <^ evils. 

If poaU on fire have a level free drainage, it is, in most cases, 
impovaUe to dam up the water ; and the only resort is, to extin- 
'gvisb the fire by amotheringj and preventing the access of air. 

In the collieries in StafKirdshire, particularly in rhe coal named 
the Ten Yards Coal, actually thirty feet thick, and which I 
have frequently examined, spontaneous ignition is very frequent. 
The miners term it, in that district, the Breeding Fire, because, 
without any vinble contact of actual fire, the coal rubbish be- 
umesred hot. 

D.n.iized by Google 



104 Mr Bald on A« Fira ^at faJce plact m CotHeries. 

Fires in the mines there have been for long an every-day oo- 
currence ; and Bometimes such la the intennty of the fire in 90 
thidc a coal, that near the surface it bums with a white heat, 
melts the argillaceous achistus into gtass, and converts the pure 
ar^laceous earth, or fireclay, into a substance amilar to the 
hardest porcelain. But what is mc»« remarkable, the common 
argillaceous ironstone frequently assumes the appearance of re* 
gular basaltic columns, of about an eighth pari of an inch in 
diameter. This a^regate mass is ao hard, that it is found 
equal to any material for making turnpike roads, and is so ap^ied. 

At ffilston and Dudley, in Staffordshire, these fires at pre- 
sent exist. At the latter place, I Tinted a garden of connder- 
able extent, where I saw, from the influence of the subterraneous 
fires, the snow melting as it fell upon it ; and not only very early 
crops of T^tables are raised there, but no less than three crops 
of them in the year. Of this garden there is an account in 
the Caledonian Horticultural Society's Transactions, sent by me 
to my friend Mr Neill, our secretary ; and it is worthy of my 
particular remark, that although the fire is near the surface of 
the eardi, all the beneficial effects of moderately increased tem- 
perature are found, and no detriment results to the growth of 
vegetables. From this drcumstance Intimate oonclusiona may 
be drawn, as to the existence of central fire in the earth. This 
^eory I have long supported, md I thiitk it «an be substantiated 
by sound and philosophic arguments. 

In the early periods of working this coal, the spontaneous ig- 
nition very much vexed the miners. They had no proper system 
then of working so thick a eoal, on which Bc«>unt they sunk a 
great number of pits within a few yards of e&cfa other ; they then 
wrought the coal from the top of the bed to the pavement, like 
the frustum of a cone, very wide at bottom ; they made no ex- 
tended worka, as they were so liable to take fire, but, abandoning 
one pit, instantly commenced another ; and over the top of each 
deserted pit, they built a cone of brick- work, like a bee^ve, to 
prevent the (ur having access to the coal. Many of these pits are 
to be seen near Dudley, in a circumscribed area, very close to 
eadi other, not unlike the ant-hills found in forests. 

In the progress of mining, the working of this celebrated coal 
has been much improved, and extenuve workings are car- 

Djt.:?:l.« Google 



Mr BM on Ae Fires that take place m Col&Mriet. 100 
ried <Ni l^ one pit This reguUr and Kientific mode U rqwe- 
sented by tfae^isgiwn, fig. 1. Plate II. 

When a jHt is sunk to the cools, minea, termed Headwaytf 
are run from both ddes of the pit, in a level course diiecticKi as 
a main road a, a, for brining the coais frcnn the miners to the 
bottom of the pit, and at regular distances, according to the 
system pursued by the mining en^neer who directs the colliery 
operations ; openings are made in the coal, next to the pave- 
ment, or rock, on which the coal-bed rests, which openings are 
about eight feet wide, and seven feet hi^ : these are termed 
boU-hciie», and are marked b ; from these bolt-holes the wtvking 
of the coal is extended, and by these the excavations, marked c, 
are made of from two to three hundred feet in width and 
breadth, and there is left around each excavation a strong bar- 
rier of coal, as represented in the figure, to insulate the excava^ 
tion. 

As much small-coal rubbish, mixed with pyrites, is left within 
the excavated area, if the free access of air were permitted 
thereto, spontaneous ignition would soon take place ; but this is 
commonly e&ctually prevented by placing a stop^nng, as it is 
termed, in die bolt-hole. At first this was done by atones 
and common rubbish, but iJiis was in many instances found to 
be ineffectual, and the most secure method is proved to be, by 
building two walls across the bolt-hole, composed of loose stones, 
at some distance from eadi other, and filling up the space be- 
twixt them with mine dust, that is, with the dust of calcined 
iwostaae, produced at iron works. Tins, aided by the mois- 
ture of the mines, becomes a sohd mass, quite impervious to 
air, and is not injured by the crushing of the strata, as is the 
case with stone walls, whit^ are crushed mto a loose powder, 
through which air will pa^. By this ample method, sponta- 
neous ignition is now generally prevented in the Dudley district 

In the north of England collieries, namely, those on the 
rivers Tyne and Vfear districts, wh«e the coal occasiooally 
takes fire, the danger is exceedingly increased by the presence 
of hydrogen goa, which sometimes accumulates, then fires and 
explo4es at the burning mass ; accumulates again, and goes off 
at r^;ular intervds, loud as the thunder of heaven, when the 
bright blaze of conflagration is succeeded by a darkness so 



106 Ml- BaM <mihg Fire* that take piaee in CaOkriei. 
interne, Hut, in fignrabye language, it may be fdt. This sioguUr 
feeling is quite familiar to those who traverse miwR. In this 
oaae then is no alternative but to choke the fire, by MeaHng up, 
M it vrm, the shafts or pits. Thw b no ea^ matter, for the 
shaft, in nuiny otses, dare not be entered by any living ravature, 
witliout almost instant deslJi, and to cover the mouth of the {Mt 
would be quite ineffectual ; the jdan, thereftn^, is to lower a 
stroog wooden sesffi^ by c&bles or cbain^ to a cooadenble 
depth down the shaft, and then to throw many leoB (^ pjtriic 
day down upon it at randen, which in the fall mokes a stdid 
puddle ; but if there is water in the shaft, a precaution is necei^ 
sary, otherwise the water accumulated above the scaffold would 
in all [KobabiUty break the chains or cables. To obviate this, a 
long pipe requires to be put through the seaffi>ld, recurved like 
a shepherd's cnxAi at the top, in ord» to allow the w^er to 
descend, without the admission of air. 

In other cases, where the fire is in the coal-dust fit the roads, 
wu) flamiDg, and no hydnogen gas is apprehended to exist near 
the Are, small extinguisfaiag engines, fitted for ijie mines, are 
used, and frequently with good effect ; but whw the Agiiies 
camot be applied, the flame has been in some instances extin* 
guished by the power of sudden cancussiiin, produced by the 
filing of cannon as close to the flames as possible. This ^ect 
is wdl known, and this method has been again and again pn^o- 
aed fcr extinguiahing fires m buildings. 

Such is a very brief account of the j^ans pursued for extio^iafa- 
ing fires in coal-minesy^i-^subjectof deepintenestto the pix^Hie- 
tors ef mines, and, in particular to the mining engineer, who is 
id£n cidled, in such cases, upon duty, has to nA his ]t&,flnd the 
lives of his assistants, and to use every means which science and 
pcBotice can suggest, to extinguish the ^re. This sutgect is not 
only very iatererting to the inhatntaots of Great %itmn, but to - 
the world at large ; for, in such trying ^nations, men meet on 
ooDunmi ground, and, with kindred feelings, are ready to afford 
every aid in th^ power, as in the storm and the shipwreck, 
when natitmal distinction ceases bo «ust. 

Of the fires which have existed in the cosUminee of SevtlfUtd, 
the chief are, those of Kilkerraa in Ayrshire, the property of 
Sir James Ferguson, Baronet ; JiAnstooe ceUiery, near Pusley, 

I . ..: . C;ooqIc 



Mr Bdd on the Fires that take place i» CoUieriei. 107 
^e pK^>«1y of Ludnvick Houston, Esquire ; Dysart, in the 
county of Tite, the property of the Earl c^ Hoeelyn ; Alloa, die 
|irop«ty of the Earl of Mar, in the county of Clacknuumui ; 
HallheatJi, in the county of Fife, the property of John Scott, 
Esquire ; Bridge of Orr, the pn^ierty of Lord Rothes ; Weroyse 
colliery, the property of James Wemyss, Esquire, M. P. in the 
county at Fife. Many others, leE« remarkable, were compar»' 
tively eafdly overcome and extinguished. 

Kilkeiran Colliery is situated on a hill ; and the drainage is 
effected by a day level, which lays dry several beds of coal. It 
is said this colliery was set on fire by some herd boys, who were 
amunng themselves with a fire they had kindled at the moutb 
of the pit. This fire is reported to have existed for more than a 
cratury ; far it a)^)ears, in some of the oldest maps of Ayrshire, 
publi^ed in the banning of the last century, that this c^Kit is 
named the Burning HiS, which iiatne it fctcuns to the present 
day. 

Every attempt to extinguish this fire has proved ineffectual, 
w both water and choking by bed air has failed. 
' The fire was for aome time confined to one bed of coal, the 
working of which had to be abandtmed ; but, in order to have 
tlie jvoduce of oo^ from tlus colliery, the workings were pur- 
sued in a ooel under the one which was burning, and I was in- 
fimoed by my frigid, the late William Dixon, £squii«, of the 
Calder Iron-workfi, one of the most experienced and suocessfut 
nifl«'a of his day, that he surveyed the co^ which was working 
under the burning otaes, where he found the miners in a heated 
atmosfAere like an oven ; Utat the drops of water which fell from 
the roof were seizing hot, and die candles were melted by the 
heat in the mine. In aome phcee, at the surface, the argidace- 
ous sdiistus had been m^ted into a glass or slag. This diews 
with what resolute and fearless determination mankind at times 
pursue their labours, and with what danger they oftea earn 
Uieir bread. This burning district of the colliery has been loi^ 
^Mndooed, and the mining operations are now carrying on in 
the valley of the Biver Girvan to the south, clear of the burh- 
ing. From the heat which existed in this hill, and its diffuting 
itself equally at the surface, it was observed during the winter, 
that the snow which fell melted immediately over a consideraUe 



108 Mr Bald m (he Fire$ ffiat take place in C<^iuria. 
extent of the surface, and that the herbage in winter was of a 
lively green. This induced the proprietor to convert part of this 
ground into a nursery, for the rearing of forest trees ; and it 
succeeded admirably, as the trees grew vigorously, and very 
quickly ; but when they were removed from this genial clime, 
produced by the subterraneous fire, to exposed atuatloDs, the 
severity of the climate killed the plautB, from the suddentiess of 
the change of temperature. 

This circumstance also shews how the internal heat of the 
globe may diffuse itself in high latitudes, near the surface, and 
produce in some d^ree the favourable effects of the climate of 
the equatorial regions, in pUce of injuring vegetation, as we 
would very naturally imagine. 

The Johnstone Colliery took ffre by spontaneous ignition 
above twenty years ago. It consisu of five distinct beds of cool 
lying close to each other, forming as it were one bed of coal, 
constituting a thickness of above forty feel ; and in one place, 
these five seams are overlapped, and constitute a thickness of 
about ei^ty feet, which is an anomaly in the British coal for- 
mation. It is also remarkable, that it is in a district abound- 
ing with h^ compact greenstone ; and the engio^-pit, where the . 
drainage of the colliery is effected, commences in a bed of green- 
stone at the sur&ce, which is no less than 108 feet in thickness. 

When this coal-mine took fire, it instantly burst into flame, 
and there being an open lur-course betwixt two {uts, it gained 
strength, and burned with uncommon fury. Figure 7th, Plate 
III. represents the situadon of this mine with the two pits. 
The fire commenced at the pmnt a, betwixt the two pits ; the 
atmospheric air descended the pit £, and passing through the 
burning mass, carried with it an immense volume of smoke, 
which ascended the shaft c, and issued at its mouth, forming a 
ct^umn of pitchy blackness, which rose to a great height 
into the atmosphere, the air bdng calm. This had a terrific ap- 
pearance : it continued in this state for some time, until this 
dense vapour was heated to the igniting point, when it suddenly 
bunt into flame with a very loud explouon. This biifj^t aa- 
pinng flame, as thick as the volume of the jnt, was at least se- 
venty feet in height, and produced a very fearful but sublime 
object. It instantly burnt down the machinery for drawing the 



Mr Bald oh the Firea that take place *n CoKeriet. 109 
coals at d. This flame could have been immediately suppressed, 
by covering over the [uts b and c with baulks of wood and wet 
clay ; but there were horses at the bottom of the shaft b, bo that 
if they had shut the pts, the horses would have been instantly 
suffocated ; on which account, the minds of all concerned were 
turned to the saving of the poor horses. The men, therefore, 
went resolutely down with the descending air at the jat b, slung 
the horses in succesnon, and sent every one of them separately 
to the surface, and then they themselves ascended. The two 
jnts were then covered over -, but as all hope <^ extinguishing 
the fire, either by water or by contaminated air, was hopeless, 
exertions were made to confine the fire to its <nreuni scribed 
place, and stone-walls w^« built in all the openings betwixt the 
pillars and around the fire ; which walls were made air-tight by a 
Uitck coating of lime-plaster. This has had the desired effect, 
and the burning has been confined within these bounds. This 
fire still continues, and an opening is kept at one of the pits, to 
allow the sufibcating v^wur to escape, otherwise it would con> 
taminate the fresh air where the miners are working. When I 
viated this colliery a few years ago, I found (he heal still very 
strong, as it issued from the opening left in the pit ; and when 
examining the mines, I found the plaster upon the walls had 
very little warmth. I have no doubt this fire will continue (o 
bum within these bounds for a long p«iod of years. 

I examined tbe wastings of another pit in diis colliery some 
years after, where the process of decompoution had commenced. 
There I found the heat so great, that the nmrns were all d 
them working naked above the girdle, as the beat was to them 
exceedingly oppresnve. 

Dysart Colliery has been frequently on fire in the main coal, 
which is fully eighteen feet thick. One part of this coal coa- 
t^s pyrites, existing rather in a comlnned state with the coal, 
and not very visible to the eye. Many years ago it burnt with 
violence, and extended progressively to the outcrop near the 
surface, where the common blue schistus has been converted into 
a brick-red colour by the heat. This burning created much 
trouble and expence, attd it was extinguished by insulating the 
burning coal from the main body of the coal-field, till the fire 
. exhausted itself. It has now heea extinct for a considenble 

D.n.iized by Google 



110 Mr Bald on the Firtx Oiat take jOace in CtmerHi. 
number of years ; yet, at the present time, when the co«l~rid>- 
Uah ii allowed to lie in heaps of considerable thickness below 
ground, the incipient ignition is detected, and the TubUsh has 
either to be drawn up the shaft, or spread very thin along the 
pavement of the mines. Great caution is diul; necessary there, 
to prevent spontaneous ignition, which is soon discovered by a 
peculiar smell (well known to the miners), difTusing itself through 
the wralcings. 

The Alloa Colliery took fire about twenty^four years ago, in 
the nine iWet coal at Collyland. This was an accidental &e, oc- 
casioned by a. candle igniting dry rotten prop-wood, which was 
in an old part of the mines, and of the nature of touchwood. 
It took place while I was traversing the wastes with my ofr- 
ustant. We made a very narrow escape from sufibcation, as 
the ignition took place rapidly, and the etadke ascended the pit 
very soon after we came to the surface. Every effiirt was made 
to extinguish the fire, by closing up the pits and preventing the 
access of the air, but all attempts were iueffectua], and the burn- 
ing continued for upwards of ei^teen months. 

As it was necessary to cairy on the colliery, the miners were 
ODployed in a coal immediately above that whidi was burning ; 
but it frequendy happened, that, while they were working, and 
while their candles shewed no sign of bad or vitiated air, they 
dro[^)ed down lifeless, and had to be carried to the Acsh tax 
ere they revived. This was an anomaly as to the test of pure 
air familiar to the miners, and ^ws ^t this vitiated air mising 
(vxa. the burning, when mixed with the common air of the mine, 
will support the flame of a candle, but not anim^ life. This 
circumstance indicates what extreme caution is necessu-y when 
men enter mines where a fire exists, as their utuation, in this 
case, is extremdy dangerous, and therefore no person ought to 
.enter such a mine alone, or even with a ^ngle assistant. A 
number should always go tt^ther, and keep at a short ^stance 
from each other, in order that immediate asastance may be ^ven 
to the front men in case they drop down. In this colliery, I 
passed through a quantity of this deleterious air, not knowing 
tlut it was there. I had only one assistant, and we very nar- 
rowly escaped. Upon our coming to the surface, I found no 
bad tSfeO* ; my assistant, however, sulbvd much, but recov»- 

D.n.iized by Google 



MtBMmaeFirti&attaieeptactinCoaiiria. Ill 
cd. I found, M is always the caw, ihat the mutcuUr energy of 
ttu knee-juDt finrt fails ; this feeling waa very senfible, in this 
instance, with both of u& 

The wastes or excavations of this coal were coonocted with 
the wastes in an adjtnning estate. The subtile effluvium passed 
into this estate, and, at about a mile distant, ascended a pit, and 
Icilled the birds which were near its mouth. 

After eighteen months, the fire became tenously alamuog, 
and we then had no alternative but «ther to allow the buroing 
to go <Hi, or to drawn the colliery, and render it us^se until 
some after-period. This last was resolved on ; the pumfnng 
mgjne Was stopt, and as the growth of min&-wat^ was compa- 
ratively slow, we brought a brook along the surface, and allow- 
ed the water to pour down the engine pit, where it felt in a cas- 
cade of about SOO feet in depth. By this plan the fire was ex- 
tinguished, but the colliery remains drowned and useless to the 
present day. 

The Hallheath C<^iery took fire in a acAid bed of coal, which 
was level-free, hut had not been wrought. The crop of the 
coal was on a bank near one of the great pumping en^^nes, and 
the red-hot ashes from the furnaces of the en^e-boilers wer« 
inadvertently laid ag^nst this bank ; these set on fire the coal, 
and the fire extended by slow degrees in a amjde state of incatt- 
descence, and continued in this state for years. Its progress was 
only arrested by a slip of the strata, which acted as a barrier 
against the farther jHogresa of the burning. This shews how 
easily, in some cases, even a bed of solid coal may be set on fin;. 

The Bridge of Orr Colliery was set on fire by spontaneous ig- 
nition, duiing the severe winter of the year 181S. It is a con- 
tinuation of tije thick co^ of Dysart before mentioned. During 
this severe winter, many rivers in Scotland iroise to their bed^- 
The water of Orr, which passes the colliery, froze in this taao. 
ner ; and when a sudden rain and tliaw succeeded the froat, the 
accumulated waters dowed on the top of the ice, and a cwside- 
raUe quantity ran down the colliery pits. This water caused 
a decomposition of the pyrites, the consequence of whicb was, 
that fire and flame were very soon generated. I was called up- 
on this occaaon ; taid as the burning was con&ied Ut a oarrov 



3.n.iized by Google 



lit Mr Bsld on ^ Firet Otat take place in CotHerUt. 

space, the workmeti, at great riak of life, sfaorelled together the 
bumiDg coals, and sent them up the pits ; and when thej were 
unable to do any more from the extreme heat, and suffocatii^ 
vapours, the remaning hurning mass was smothered by cover- 
ing it over with very wet puddle ; after whidti the colliery ope- 
rations were resumed. 

The Wemyss Colliery was set on fire, a few years ago, by a 
quantity of small coal being accidentally Itud over a brick-flue of 
an underground high-pressure en^ae. This fire rapidly extend- 
ed, and has occasioned much trouble and expence. It has burn- 
ed for at least three years ; and as the burning mass was iosu- 
lated, I think it very questionable if the fire is altogether ex- 
tinct. 

I was sent for upon this occasion, and was able to get very 
close to the burning mass. I found the men, who were attend- 
ing and giving their assistance below ground, very much affect- 
ed by the deleterious vapour ; their faces were pale, and thar 
eyes had a glazed or varnished-like appearance, — a drcumstance 
I have frequently noticed in similar cases. Upon my returning 
to the bottom of the engine pit, I found the sulphurous vapours 
very much affecting my head ; so much so, that I requested the 
men to tie me to the rope, in case I should have fallen during 
my ascent. The effects of this vapour produced a most violent 
headache, which continued three days. During this burning, 
many narrow escapes were made ; and two unfortunate young 
women, who were carrying breakfast to their relations in the 
mines, fell victims to this most insidious vapour. 

Having thus given a summary view and account of the chirf 
fires which have taken place in the Scotch Collieries, I have now 
to state the particularB of the three recent fires, which have taken 
place in Clackmannanshire, and in the collieries of Mid-LothisD. 

The fire which has taken place in the South Sauchic Colliery 
is in the old workings of the nine feet coal ; which are of very 
great extent, and very ancient. 

About three months ago, this coal was discovered to be on 
fire ; and the susjudon arose from smoke issuing irom the sur- 
face of the earth. This coal is not liable to spontaneous igni- 
tion, as it is very free trom sulphur ; and many conjectures were 

D.n.iized by Google 



Mr Bold tm the Fire* that take place m CoUUriet. 113 
formed, as to the caune <^ the fire. But, after many minute in- 
veslJgationB, particulaHy by examiDing titose vbo last wrouf^t 
. in this district of the colliery, we found, that the fire had com- 
tnenced not lew than ten years ago ;~a circumstance pecutiariy 
singular, and which shews bow very slowly this state of iocaA- 
descMice may go on without b«ng discovered. Fig. St. Plate II. 
reiN-esents the situati<»iof the mines where the fire is. Althouf^ 
it was observed by stxne of the miners, that the snow, dunog 
last winter, soon melted at this place, they never once suspected 
diat fire was the cause. 

In the tool of this nine feet coal is a very valuable argillaceous 
ironstone, wrou^t by the Devon Iron Company, for thrir fur- 
naces. Vat the wmHcing of this ironstone, they sunk a [»t of 
about three fathoms deep, at the pcnnt a. Fig. H. Plate II ; 
and, in the course of working, they l^d an. accumulation of mine 
rubbish, as represented at b, by the side of the pit, and over the 
crop of the coaL This mine-ruhbidi took fire, from the smalt 
fires kindled by the miners upon it, and burned for some months, 
as is commonly the case with sucli heaps, without the least dan- 
g^ bnog apfvehended fnun it ; but it is certain that this was 
the cause of the present very alarming fire, which is now of con- 
siderable extent, and, if not extinguished, may extend over a 
foSf of excavated coal ; and not only so, but by making t^e 
rocks red-hot, may extend to the upper beds of coal, and occa- 
sion. an excessive loss to the district There is also a risk of it 
burning the coal-pillars in the middle of the pit d, and rendering 
the machinery erected upon it useless for dnuning the five fert 
coal-seam, which is situated thirty-nine fathoms iinder the said 
nine-feet coal. 

This very hazardous situation of matters required instant and 
very detnded action for extinguishing the fire -, and, after all cir- 
cumstances were w^j^ied, it was found that water could not be 
tilled, nor could it be effifcted by drowning, as the water would 
neva rewb this pert of the colli«y, ^en aldiough the engjaes 
for dnumng the water were stopped. It was therefore resolved 
to run a mine all around llie burning mass, to insulate it from 
^ other parts of the colliery, and to allow the fire to exhaust 
ilielf within these limits. Tbis operation b now in progress, 
and is represented by a plan of the colIiCTy, Fig. S. Plate II, 
Arkii^—JONE 1838. B 

L3t.z.dcy Google 



114 Hr S^ od Hie Fire* 'fftat Antep&Ku; m OMents. 
The rectaogalar lines represent Uk flaine wluch ia ts be cMrried 
Arauad du buknii^ ibasa, dioog the paTcnent of the cod. In 
tlm taiUe, a piiddk of day, of firom nx to eight feet thidc, is to 
he oanied sHi round from the roof to the pavement of the ooal ; 
thai, there is to be left an i^jen «ir^«ourse, of about five feet 
iride wound ; and uptm the other itde of thin mine or air- 
BOurae, a clay-puddle, rimilar to the former, and parallel with 
it, 16 also to be carried round i and the object m this :■— wboi the 
biiiving extends to the inner elay^uddb, it may become heat- 
ed ; but the caloric, as fast as it is generaCed, will ascend to ^ 
aurfaee by the mines a and b; and the lother -clay-poddle wiH, it 
ia expected, eiifectuelly prerent the heat iroak esteH^g to the 
eoal-pill^B on the other sid& Besides, the air<cotirse gim a 
ready access to Uie miners around the burning mass, to repair 
any breacbee in the puddle ; and if need be, wMer can be intro- 
duced, in Uie exti^nity of the esse, betwixt the two puddle-walls. 
The small ddts repreaott the fire <v burning mass, which exists 
abiedy in the rubl^ of the mine. 

This is a very hazardous operaticFn &r the wwknien, oa to- 
count of tbedelet«-ious vapours ; and, for their security, a {Ht has 
been sunk to ^ coal at c, in order that, as soon as the mine 
conununicateB with the pit, the tnsh atmoqiheric air may de- 
iOend the pit, and ascend by the mines to the sHrface ; uid we 
know that this deiermination of the air will take pUce, both tmm 
^ydcsl principles, and from experience. The woricmen w^ 
then always descend by the pit, where the fnA air is gtHng 
down, and thvs secure to themselvei^ at all times, a safb retreat. ' 
Without thu pEeoBution tJbe miners could not porsoe tlwH- wni^ 
in the mme. Hitherto the mine has gone on suocessfiiUy, al- 
thou^ with danger ; and we have every hope that the enemy 
will be ev»itaaUy subdued. 

The PoUoB Colltei^ was discovered to be als» tm fire, in No- 
vember last^ in the waMes of the eight &et coal. 

The air in thia coal having stagnated, and become u^t for (he 
res^mtioo of thfi nuoers, a lai^ oircnlar iion- grate was, (pn- 
viuus to the fire taking ^ace,) suspended from the tc^ of the 
pit containing btinuog coals, in order b> rarify the air m the 
shafi, and ppoduce a ciEculation, which iiad die desired efivet, 
3ec Fig. 4 Plate III ; but one day, some misoUeveus boys (Ba- 



Mr Bald on Ou Fira thai *ake place •» Vamerits. HI 
eigaged tha mtehine at the top, from wkich the gnite w«8 aus- 
peiNted) il Ms aiJMua, tmd set on fire some smili oob] baalret- 
iti^, A the bbttooi of the pit. 'Hns ooBMnunicMed fire to the 
dry tioU-rabbMi adjoimilg, and the biiming haa gone an slowly 
eivc ffiMtt. WHler bad been Applied, but with little efibet. 
iHlaay attMUpu were made to riior^ out the burning mattAials, 
tad AlflB to imulate the fire ( but it increased to the extent i^ 
■fabat Attj f«t (tiameter, and was nakhtg Buch progrees, that 
iha dirflGktn ctf the wot^s rew^Ted to attMk it boldly, whidi 
ttey fidf by Btnvdlii^ out the burning co^ «id sending them 
Co the {Hb-lofi. By perseveranee, uncentsten exertions, ajid the 
oeeaiMonid ftpfilicatioB of water, they at lafit extinguished dte 
fife, and tkk oelliery is now in perfect safety. This Was a ntoat 
danguttus Arrke, and very trying tor the miners, Irom Uie 
nMcfaii^ beat and suffoeating ntpoura. HappHy in this serete 
duty no lives wet« kwti There are mimy instimoes of fires ha- 
vi&f; libMtiteneeid in the bottom of eottl.^t8, fttttu Af, hot Mhet 
st the gtate falUng dewn and accuUmlMiDg, on whi«h iiccoutit 
* bc^ itttn pan sboald be hung utider die pfktCy to [MVeht thn) 
dit]^ct, or the pit bottom ihould be cleiMMd of ih HtbbMi, And 
« hnr ««U «tf stone or day built AMuik^ itl shof^ i*e cAHMot te 
too emtamaB where the ha»rd is m i^^^n* 

1 tetlfet, however, to tnetttian, that t4» MhMTB Hfetl vibtinis to 
the BDK*Mifl vapours, about tbiree moMUs Xgek 1%e!*' Hit&iU 
WGK Ken- and Davidaod' They bftd gone dowtl hi A nlcfriHilgj 
to View the bumitig dieyiei; bvt hft*^ tMn^ed loti^, tW 
snfecw of tlifl voUiery) Jbhb Sem mcKt Het became alarmed (at 
their safety, and descended with two abstMBMt, bf the names of 
Ymgiima «Uid BrbVni in settivh of thein. The pit by wMch 
tiMf dentendMl is S0O ya«ds f*»ta ^ pt in whi<^ the bntidn^ 
*H i and {u g^g tsWal^s thit last pif, tiMy foiUld DiaVidton^ 
hady, whil^ WM y^ vrarm, hit all aigna of MSfe Were eirtibet; 
They ttlt ^fUtrMve^ gtHwing feebte, froit^ the infliiene« o{ Ae 
MMaMiAtted ^^ Md after deliberating, they t«(dvGd to Rtnra 
fw more asaatance ; but they had not r ctun Wd (tb&vK fiVe yartlA, 
#b£B the bod fit tK^igvMAied the lights ; they then Atade etpery 
eMH^ft Vi Mte the^HeWedyAHMl Fel^UKM made good hh M«y, 
aAd MoK^>l!d. fiebilhervilld Aod Brown went onward, m the 
MdM Vif (IM MMt H<«^ ;<taAnMs aB^ soflb^^tii^ vo^if ; AlM 

CtOo^Ic 



116 Mr Bald on the Fires that take place in ColRerks. 
as they proceeded, they came lo the bcMly of Kerr, whitdi, 
frmi feeling, they found to be hfeless. Sommerville instantly 
concluded that they bad deviated from the direct path by winch 
alone escape could be made, as they had not found Kerr in that 
pn^iresB inward ; they resolved, therefore, to retrace tb^ steps, 
but they had scarcely determined to do so, when SommerviUe's 
remainii^ cooipanion Brown, said to him, " Vm gone !" and 
instantly fell down. Sommervilie, for some while, crept on his 
knees and bands, but the muscular energy of the arms soon fail- 
ed ; he then crept on his knees and elbows, but made very little 
progress, from the extreme feebleness and relaxadtm of the. sya. 
tem. He, however, resolved, as a (M-indpleof self-preservejion, 
to keep in motion, as be was yet sensible that if he lay down 
he would Id all likelihood perish. In this way he ctmtinued for 
ftbout an hour and a half, and made only a very few yards pro- 
gKBB. While in this most trying situation, such was bis intense 
•Qxiety for the appearance of men foi his relief, that he fre- 
quently imagined he saw the lights of candles, like twinkling 
stars ; but his senses were such, that he reasoned with himself 
th^ this was all delusion. At last relief came to him, and he 
was carried out quite exhausted, by two of his componioflB. 
The four others who had come down, boldly and determioBtely 
went (Xiward, and found Brown apparently lifeless. With great 
difficulty tbey carried him towards the pit, and. immediately 
upon their copiing to good and fresh air. Brown shewed signs 
of reanimaiion ; and upMi being drawn up to the pit top, he, 
in a shwt tiuke, so far recovered as to be al^e to walk home, sup- 
ported by two ci his compamons. 

As there were medical gentlemen in attendance, the ordinary 
methods for resuscitation were tried with Kerr and Davidson, 
but without effect, and they found that Kerr bad been smed 
with a locked jaw. The others who escaped were attacked with 
vomiting, which is a common consequence in such caaes, and the 
cmly other bad efiect tbey felt was violent headach,— 'whicb also 
is a common cuisequence. 

Whitehill Collieiy took fire from spcmtaneous ignition ; and it 
is supposed, from investigations made, that this ht^pened about 
three years ago, by water deecending from a sand-bed in the al- 
luvial covCT, and minstcning the mioe-rubbisb, which produced 

D:it.:f:l'.vG00gIc 



Mr Bald on the Firm that tdkepiace in CoOieries. IIT 
deeompoBitioii of the pyrites. About three months ago the 
burniDg became strong, and the mamiger of the colliery, Mr 
Deww, having ascertained wher? the mass of burning materials 
Was, with much prompdtude and decision perforated the ma- 
sonry of an adjtBning pit, where he knew there was s Band>bed 
with much wat«r, and having made wooden pipes, conveyed this 
water down the shaft to the pit>botlom : from that point he 
carried the pipes with the water horizontally through the wind- 
ings and turnings of the mine, and poured the water upon the 
verge of the burning materials. This very dangerous service 
he accomplished in xhe most expeditious manner, and it does 
credit to his sprit and zeal. He saw, however, that although 
the water was poured upon the burning mass, night and day, it 
was impos^ble to throw it upon the great body of the fire. At 
this crisis I was sent for, and 1 was able, by keeping close to 
the fallen roof, to approach within a few yards of the fire, which I 
found burning like a furaace, and the superincumbent rock strata 
red hot. The hot air immediately above our heads floated tall 
of smoke, and was insnlFerahly hot, so that it was dangerous to 
nuae up our heads, and we felt that the roof above us was ooa- 
aderably heated. 

Ait^ crmsidering all the circumstances (^ the case, we re$oi~ 
ved to cut a mine, if posnble, around the burning area ; but af- 
Ux CMiadarable exertion, we found tbb impracticable ; and we 
saw in the course of this trial, that the roof had fallen to a con- 
nderable height, and that die fire had communicated itself to an 
upper bed i^ coal. The case then became critical and alarm- 
ing ; every circumstance of the mines was considered, in order to 
devise the best plan for extinguishing the fire. 

The coal was level free, and the colliery had a drainage 
through other adjoining collieries ; from this circumstance the 
discharge of the water could not be stopped by ordinary means. 

The eight feet coal, in which the burning was, is situated 
^ven fathoms above the splint coal ; and the water of the eight 
feet coal descended the pits to the splint coal, and there dis- 
diarged itself. To this lower coal, five pts communicated. 
We therefOTO resolved upon the following process to extinguish 
tfie fire. At each of the five jrits, and at nine feet below the 
pavement of the eight feet coal, grooves were cut in the rock, 



lis Mr BaU m iheWirfAat takeplttee in Cotterm. 
two feet doe^ in the c^poaite sides of the pit, aad iatq these 
gvoovei legs of nood tbiFteen iachefl upon the mLb irarq hid u 
afiooraoTQistheTolumeof thefMt; these were oarered tnu»verB&- 
iy with boards, and Dve> this was laid a weil wrought olay pud^ 
die ^ht feet thiek ; and in order that the aeciunulatcd water of 
tile raises might be dmwa off at pleasure, oastonm pipes with 
■nive* t^ tsf) opening upwards, were inserted through the scaf- 
ftdding aud puddle, in two of the pits toward the dip, and a 
Npe from eadi of the valves was secured near Ut^ mouth of each 
pit. These pipes had a collar cast ufx>n them, so as the pipe 
mig^t ivst upon the faoe of the scaflolding. 

Tha seeAoa of the colliery is represented figure 5, Plate III ; 
and the tbober scaffolding with the oky puddle, pipe and valw, 
are reprssmted figure 6, Plate III. 

While the bunung was gnng on progresavely, the Srai\ air 
descended the pit a, figure 8, paEsed through the bunung mass 
at c, and the vapour and smiJce osoended the pit 6, in a mode, 
rate volume and slowly. In this pit b, there was a stair fiw the 
nen descendnig to the mines, and as this was the pit to the 
nw, or crop, the air, as a natural consee[ueoGe, always aaceqded by 
that [Ht. But as the communication below thei aght feat coal 
at the pt b had to be stt^iped, it was altt^flteF impossible to 
Bocomplifl) this while the stair reeiained ib it, teoA no man durst 
venture down one fathom without losing his life. It therdbre !)»• 
came necessary U> reverse the currant of air, so that the fresh 
ur might descend the ^t b, and ascend by the dip pit a, 
eiontrary to its natural course. IV) eifect this, a laiige ifi^n 
grate, capal^e of hi^ng nearly a too of burning coats, was sus- 
pended by a chain in die shafi a ; the fut b wfta then covered 
over at the t<^, until the shaiY a became heated by the fire in 
the grate ; then the scafiUding was quickly removed from the 
Biouth of the pit b, and the reverse circulation inMaatly took 
place. The miners then with perfect safety removed the st^r— ■ 
cut olf the communioation to the sp^nt ooal at the pavement of 
the ^ght feet coal, — and this being accomplished, the grate 
with the fire, was removed ftnm the pit a, and the (»rcu)atiati 
retunied to its ordinary course. Me^time, the watei- being 
prevented tmrn descraiding to the splint coal bf means of the 
cafibldingB and clay-puddles, it accumulated in the waslei 

L3t.z.dcy Google 



Jix1Udo» the Fimi/iaikilifi pirn MGimrim^ U9 
afii at Ua tame is rontaet wiUi th« bunuiif ootds utA red U^ 
rocks. This iwocKioed a v^ ntHaeked for [dienomenpD ; Ittf 
tbe ateMD, of very high t^w^imtture, rushed with impettwHty 
directly to the pit b, where it rapidly aacended, and at ^ ipwtb 
(onmeA a dense doudof eteun vhich roae to s great height, and v^ 
scmatmwyauleBdlataDt. Thiasteaoibydegrecaheatedtltedirect 
ur^counei vtMch, at last, became aa a heated atesni-tulie ; and 
not otdy the steam, hut free and disengaged caloric, issued trom 
the mouth of the pit, pure and inviuble at the aurfaoe, tbe steam 
only becmuag visible after oooiing in contact with the atmos- 
pheric ait, at aome distance from tbe pit mouth : so hot were 
the st««m and ait that they lioged the baira <m the back of tbe 
woT^mte^s bands ; — tbe ooRsequence of tb^ was, that this sud- 
den Uanait of the steam and caloric encreased the fury <^ tbe 
burning nuus, by ibrawing to it a great quantity of atmo^h^c 
air> frran the dip part of the ooUiery ; and far some days the 
S/n eneieaaed in fioeeneae. 

In order to try tbe tanperature ot the steam and caloric, \ 
hiing dmna the pit ft, a thermometer, of Falireob^t*s scale, tbe 
hi^fKflt range of wfaish waa !!3SI°; and upot^ drawing it up, I was 
aatotusbed to find the merouiy up at the ta|» of the tube ; so that 
Ihe iJonlute t«(D|Kniture' I could Qot ascertain. This baj^i^ned 
upDB the 8th day of March 18SS. I requested Mr Devar, the nia- 
nager, to try the temperature frequently ; and, upon tbe ISth <ff 
that mtmtb, the temperatuie had au^lt toth? bdliqg pmnt; 913°. 
The water nonr began Xa i^ierate e$«ctuaUy, and we b«d tbe 
B^s&)jticHt of findmg, iqwntbelitbof themfu^tb, ^ttbeteipo- 
peratuie was reduced to l£)5f. These tn^U were made jp an 
opeomg of the {Htroovenngi of about eight tpchee square. 
The temperature gradually decreased to the 7th of May *, when 
it 9Bf 86*. We then threw off tbe oovering fpum the jrit, which 
gave a flee ifsue to tbe steam, conceiviiBg that tbe cooling pro- 
cess would go oo more expeditipUBly, but to our great surprise 
tbe tcq^ierature encreased rapidly to 108°, and on the 13th it 
rose to lOO**. On Ihe 141th, we f^^ain covered the pit, and left 
a smaU apemng as before, when the temperature was suddenly 
rediwad tp 97°> It h«s sinpe that day progres^vely gone down- 

* I bave adde^ tbe rMUllB dow|] to tbeSIrt uf Miy, vhen this piper weit 



.:l .; GOOg.IC 



IW Mr Baidm the Fires that taktpiact in Cotkeria, 
wtwds, aqd, on the Slst May, the ■ last day on which I have a 
r&piM of the tempetature, the themiometcr stood at 84°. 

As this sufcjject is vety interesbng, tite r^pster of the tem- 
perature as taken by Mr Devar is annexed. 

We therefore condude, that the fire is about extinguished, 
and that our labours wii) be sucoessfuL We now expect that 
the temperature will progreadvely lower by slow degrees, be* 
cause there is a vast mass of heated rock, onniderably above - 
the immediate contact of either water or steam. 

It has been a matter of phymcal investigation to show by what 
chemical action spontaneous ignition is generated in those coals' 
where pyrites abound. Air and mmsture aeetn to be indisprasa-' 
bly necessary ; and it it also requi«te that the coal rubbish be of 
considerable thickness,— for, if it is only a foot or two in thick- ' 
ness, the decompo^tion.will lake place with a very small degree 
of heat, but fire will nM be the consequence. In this case, it 
appears that the heat is disupated the instant it is formed ; 
whereas, when the he^ is of several feet in thickness, there is 
a certain degree d {wessure, and the heat, as it is formed, accu- 
mulatee. Tins accumulation ef caloric hastens the more ra|Hd ■ 
decomposition, when beat is also move nq»dly generated, and 
that to the point when actual ignition ctxnmences. The beat . 
and fire which are generated in wet hay, se^n to depend on at- 
milar circumstances ; for, without accumulation and pressure, 
actud fire w91 not take place. As to the chemical action, seve. 
nd prindfdes may be acbng, namely, the decomposition of at- 
mospheric air, when the iron of the pyrites seizes the oxygen of 
the air, and sets the iatent caloric free ; the oiygen and hydro- , 
gen of the water may highly contribute to encrease the tempe- 
rature ; and we know that it is a conHnon occurrence for the 
cotd rubbish, which is mixed with pyrites, at the mouth of pits, 
to take fire from the sune causes ; hut depth and pressure are 
(dways necessary to produce the result. 

What I have thus narrated, and explained by dif^frams, 
(diews the risk to whidi mines of coal and miners are exposed ; 
in particidar the latter, who are brought into the most tryii^ 
situations, surrounded with darimess and the pestilence,— when 
the mind has full time to CQnten^tlate the danger, and the 
approach of death ; and when the thought of home, of a wife, 
and of children, touch the heart with the most painful^ and 



Mr BakI on the Firu Oat take place in CoOieriet, IM 
most intraae soliatucle: a situation altogether differeot fnm ' 
tbat of our brethren who are Burrounded with death, in the Any 
of battle, <Mr in the overwbdmiiig stonn of the uplifted ocean. 
In these last cases, the hurry of action, and the neceiSBiy con- 
tinued ezertitx), give but little time for the mind reflectbg on 
^iproaching fate, or on the ties of friendship, or of home, and 
Us endearments. 

Such casualties in coal-mines as I have described, shew the 
necesfflty of great watchfulness to prevent the generating of fire; 
or, if generated, of {wevcmting its becoming irresistibly power- 
ful ; and also, how necessary it is to act in all cases with prudent 
dedsion, having, at the same time, in view a due care for the 
Jives of the workmen, who, in evety instance, when required, go 
with cheerful alacrity into danger with those who conduct the 
necessary op^vtions. 

To the laborious and hardy miner we owe mudi ; not only, 
as r^^arding many of the comforts of life, but also as regud- 
ing ihfai direct influence in increasing our national prosperity 
as the greatest manufacturing country in the world. 

BDiiraliKeH, Mat 32- I83& 
JUgitkr nf the THtrmom^r, uAttt at WMthill CaOerp, ig Mr Dtnar, Ot JH.' 

mtaro/Ae Work*. 
183& 
Mtr. & Above the reach of tiie Ther. 
IT Scmle of Fahr. 



IS. Tlui dsj the Pit « 



Same d*7 covering n 
•d from Pit, . . 



14.Tbfida7theFlt>r 



.:i.v Google 



( 1« » 

Jhslraet of a Memoir read befin-e the Wemerkm Society, gi- 
■ ving an account of Experiments directed to aicertain the 
■ Prtncipks tif Attraction and Sepubion m the Lunar Rays, 
4-c. ,- a Descriplion of severdt Varieties g^ the Instruments 
canetmctedjor that purpose ; and some JppHcaiions of the 
(Nervations made, as Hktstrative of other Subjects. By 
Maex Watt, E^. Member of the Wemeriati Sodety, 8ic 

X HIS pfiper commenced by 8om,e remarks op tfae unsuccjesrfnl 
attempts Aat h%d been made, to determine whether the (wW 
beam had any crforific properties or nou And, l9ying| this sufe- 
iect altogether aside, the author considered it more probable, 
that he might succeed in exhibiting, with sufficient certainty, 
th¥ atlpictive influence of the moon ; a principle nhich it was 
generally acknowledged to possess^ froRi the coincidence of its 
rapnlhly reyoluti,ons with the flux and reflux of the se?. The 
received calcyla^on «l*? '^•"S^ ^^^ ^^^ attractive power of the 
moon upon our globe, when contrasted with that of the aim, was 
a^ IQ to 3, frsp her gTM«^ {ijn>roximatipo (p thp «Hll(. 

The (liferent forms of the iastrmiwint used for making ob- 
servations on the attracting «id repelling powers of diiFerem de- 
srees of light, were constructed on the same plan, vri^ a view to 
^e greatest spedfic ligHtJiess, and the least pogable friction, 
:riiat ff«rf»Q« niigllt be pwduced by the most delicate impulses 
«f light. 

About 6 inches of the opac|^u? part of the quill erf any feather 
gf a suitable Hze, was used as a baiandng bar, which was iqade 
(D revolve on a fine steel ptrint, by means of a small agate cap- 
■ule inserted into an aperture n^ada in the quill, at about Jd <rf 
the length of the l^r from the pohit to which the cGscs were aU 
^hed. No fixture was ^sed for (he "cap, the elastidty of the 
inedullary part, of the quill hol<^g it with spfl^cient firouiess. 
The diaos bfJiig agbted to one «tfemity of the quill, were ba- 
lanced by any small weight at t^ie other, and they traversed like 
t( compass-needle. 

The following substances were tried : A circular pioee of 
dark coloured velvet, about 4 or 5 inches diameter, stretched on 

D.a.t,zsdt>yGOOg[C 



Ml Wiitt »H the P vi m ifif » ^Mrae^tmy kc. 198 
■will quUh } bivikg a& giMba TNgfct of niipvtit MhwLfiliii^a 
nibbed over it« niffKe. Twaot fourof tiM.iU<mBiw>td tpf* 
of the smaller caudal feathers of the pmcaek. (Piim (lhtlitw)t 
witfi t^Mir^utg]' Hd» (vluch a» Ultl« KWrneted b> ^^) q»- 
{diad l» cmIi «lhef, formed sn^er lund »f <&«. Their [^mm 
vcffe j^acod pei|Nodwubal]r. wd >Jwy wmk 9lu«k iot« tbt> eaj; 
of tfatr rewA^og qwli. Tfae^ were fiaraod iMa » ttmvvman 
am>, hj QuU*Dg off the Mn^g^ng fibfltnito of ibe fi^WH- 
Qp« ^ «»s vade of gtjct qod oootliw of alvcr leaf. Xb^ 
inre fbrjnad by bePidiQ^ a piact) of very fae nlver-vbw, fi| Kbwjit 
tba tbwIueM c^ ft hair, uitD • mle of three w four Iwihea divwh 
ter. The wire, after being attached bj Ha edge to the ewj 9f 
Ait qiuUi vat wetted bjr s bttlo water, iit vbkh * iimII pwtjon 
qf' gun v4hio ma dinolved. The cirole wm jtlw^ upon (t 
leiif ^ the geld wr kUyot which adhered to ibe wirtv Wd |lw 
conwrs' tt the leaf ware then cat off. 

The other aufaetances were gold-better*^ leaf; very tkin p4-' 
pw^ ca»ted with lamp-hlnclc i and thod huww of mioh. 

All these were succesuvdy put luder a henwpliwnnl g|«Mh 
oeive*, planed upon a msiUt ilaU and wevFed frota Mycmtfot 
of Mr, by belDg surriHuided at the edge by n layer flf wn; « 
putty. The effaet tS light ww also triqd iq)on thefo under the 
exhayrtqd received of an an-pamft. 

^Mm ef tke Light of a Orndk^Tha first expmnietlM 
made upoB tfaeae budiea, to ■apartiua hi aonte neMuae how jbr 
tbey were afieoted by ^he attencting or repeUtbg laflueasM of 
UglM^ were by the fleoie eS i^ caiwUe ) a{l Qlher boutocei af pwiv 
^ l^td or beat bnng axsluded. 

The velvet diao, with the ate^^ingi, lenderad maigneUo, 
moved to the light af a eewlle at the distaace (^ 1 foot fton 
Ae edge of the c^yev. It tuma ita edge to the Hiuror of i^ht^ 
and oDDiequeDdy its plane neariy parallel kei the r«ys. 

The discs made o£ the thatiieiis veve mfiAiad by the candle at 
the dirtanee of S and 4 feet, waaaunag frotQ ^ QMloft ta the 
pctnt of Euip^Mon. A broad caudal feather pf my of the gaJ- 
Itnaceous tribe, If siupanded by a fine filamrot d wlk front, the 
tapti At axveec, and bakoced horiionlitlly, with it^ fet v^ 
of^VKite to the ndn el* t^e ooveri wilt IndiMte the fijtnetivfl 
power of the light at the distance of froia 4 t« 6 {e«t, Tbay- 

Da.t,zsdbyGOOg[C 



194 iiTVftdtonOePrincipkt^Jtlracium, 

sbo travened S* ather way to thi influence of a powerful horse- 
dioe magDet, when placed bo as to rest against the gUtM, the 
hand being quickly withdrawn. 

The festhen generally be^ to move slowly ; in a few se- 
conds th^ uniformly turn the pmnts of their filaments toward 
the source of Ught, and tbdr ades beang parallel to the direction 
of the rays ; imd whenever they assume this relative position 
tbey rest. If the flame is placed opposite to the lips of the fea- 
thera at once, they move little, <»- not at at). If the rays <^ 
Kght are made to fall upon dieir planes, at angles of 40", 90°, or 
150°, they will traverse only to the extent of these degrees, and* 
then remain stationary. 

The gdd-leaf, fat the first hour ot two after it is fenned into 
a disc, and put under the cover, ^ews extraordinaiy sennUlity 
to the influence of light. It indicates the efltets of the light of 
a candle at the distance of fimn 15 to SO feet from the flame. 
If not kept in the dark, and in vacuo, it soon loses this suscep- 
tibility ; and, in six or raght hours, will not move at a greater 
distance frtmi the flame than two feet. 

The gM leaf always turns the edge of its disc to the light, in 
whatever pontion the cuidlc may be placed. 

The niver leaf is equally senntive to the impulses of light, 
and never loses this property to the same extent as the gdd. If 
thonniglily dry, and placed in vacuo, it indicates the influence 
at light, wh«t 90 and ft6 feet lUstant fixHn Uie flame of a candle. 
-Sevml of the leaves tried, whether kept m vacuo or not (if 
preserved from the U^t), when exposed to the attnuitive and 
repulsive properties of the rays issuing from the flame of a can- 
dle, always moved toward the light, at a distmce of nght and 
ten feet. The «lver leaf has a movemoit pecuhar to itself. It 
first turns the front of its disc, and then its edge ; and this move- 
ment is often so constant that it will osdilate for hours io an arc 
of 90*. When it has lost part of its susceptibility to the im- 
pressions <d light, it is so attracted as to move till its disc con~ 
fiiMtti the source of the light In this state, it Ujks its vibratoiy 
motion, and takes a minute or two to traverse 46°. 

The gidd'beaters' leaf moves at the distance <€ m feet from 
the flame. It turns its edge to the point from wbidi the ti^t 
flnanates, and then rests. 

D.n.iized by Google 



and Rtpuiiion m the Lunar RaffB, &c. . 195 

Very thin pt^ier, coated with lamp-black, or ^Ided mth gold 
or utver-leaf, and Tarnished with apirit t£ turpentine, when the 
disc ia about five iiu^es diameter, move, by the influence of the 
light of a candle, at the distance of three and four feet. 

As the light passed through the glass of the cover, whkti 
would intercept any degree of heat, whilst it admitted the hgbt, 
and as the movements beg^n generally in a few seconds, th«e is 
no reason to believe that any incremmt of heat can have any 
^lare in producing the motions. 

All these bodies, however, nwve to the influeuce of he^ when 
it proceeds from a given point, at various distances. Yet the ef- 
fect of heat ia evidently Tery ioferbr, in point of power, to the 
influence of light. 

A jnece of coal, for example, two inches square, ijpiited to red 
heat, when presented to the velvet disc with the filings, only »- 
cites it to move towards it, though held close to the cover ; but 
if it is exposed to the clear rays of the sun, during summer, as 
EooQ as it has absorbed a certiua quantity of the rays, it is stroog- 
ly replied, and will continue, when first made, to r^olve fbr 
hours without intenoisnon, performing each revolution in about 
5". They all turn their edges to the point from which the heat 
proceeds. 

Effects of the Lunar 3eam.-^Ai the candle used in trying the 
effects of light on these bodies was of a moderate uze, and as 
there appeared to be little di&r^ice between ita illuminating 
powex, at 15 or 40 feet from the flame, wod the light afforded 
by the moon, when nearly full, it did not appeat to the author 
unreasonable to expect, or surpiinng to find, that the discs were 
afiected by the influaKe of the lunar rays, m nearly a similar 
manner. They were mode the subjects of expmment both in 
the open air, under the cover, and in a room with the windows 
shut. When tried in en apartment, Uie window was darkened, 
and they were made to rest (by moving the stand a little), in 
sudi a position that the raya of the moon, when admitted, fell 
upon the discs nearly at right angles to their planes. They all 
turned their edges toward the luminary, and their planes nearly 
parallel to the incidental beams ; and they frequently miuntained 
this reUtive poatitNi fbr hours, moving slowly and r^^ularly, by 



3.n.iized by Google 



■Mfottitig riM Siaotfs AfipMWM UMlMe, Ww tfce shidow Krf the 

gtkMWi of A dbd. 

l^e *wMerf only o«iia«u«* i ♦fttwory moTBrteirt, l»t die 
arcs of vilMMk* WW* ffridttiUy ng^xted hf tbe pnatieii of Uie 

tl» taMV^SMMe ef the feattwts, wd af the discB mide of tbe 
geM and «ihw Imif, «» the moK twwtaat and d«adad. The 
lA^ »f the feftthW* bm always «iir*aed W Ihe m^D. AB^ th*Jr 
have frequently been olwerved tia OMHttetKfc th«r «MiM a ft* 
atOntdA «ftM' ^e bMM (Ms bdM blh>«i?i4 to fall open IhdM, in 
WbBtertr Hi^ lh^^ plBtta* may hifK been teBtii^, in ftlatidn 
4» Ihe ittcMttit ray. They have t*Bw*sed, occariobi*y» 170" in 
a minute ; and when the tips of the feathers came nnriy o^ib- 
Ate to th« tetellite, they Btt^Ftficd, It is bnly ihoAe fMAars of 
(he pwicodi that have a greenish htte wh«i w* towk dflWa up- 
oa thek aurfiice^ that seem w bci Mort a»ni««d to the %ht of 
the MOOB. tboNe fekthefs WhWf Ihe b^i^ pm^ih Cotour 
|H««^l8, evince a itioM uMetUia «Abtt. Thwe inM%dte«ts viH 
WMd Ibt hours in a rodm without fficVfte^, tf ^taied f«i a itflu^ 
fbn where the beams do net iupbigeUpBA the». 

fhese experiBftefltft have beefl ofteit WpSAtedj H« OppoMuniUte 
occurred, for the last mx months, and with every poseMb^ pW- 
OAiUMt, And tkoK appears ta^bothe ^^MMt po«eft itf dtttac^ 
(ion and repulttoo in the wKtuo't mdvmatB, fK>tn tjhe tiAe ste 
bw completed her first oCUntT tlU sba ii ki (}aadMtiif« or gi^ 
tnds. There senM 1«b ttttntMiMi tth«» sh« k ftdl, and t&% 
May ariM lihna ihs 4»»on's h^i^ tliea fo^ltt^oBirioni bfili tfte 
l%fat mtHit be i«fl«Hed frMA h at tltat tiHlfi? -ilmioBt d^wiH9y 
«gMtMt the l%itt df dM Buft; whitet, wh«w ipMrti^ thrAUgft het 

tHiUlt fhMlS, M l^fiected ^t «4)l tWHH the ligbl ^ the AUH M 
wuM or ngt4-«(i^Bft 

]| U AM meW nOtibA that httb hem trt)«»r<^ iit ^«le inMVh 
melhM) buft a MSwWeM eVtdetttly fi^uMted ¥^ t)M toiit^ fMRB 
ttkiah llM SghC ia «iHlted> 

IB ^orsmtg ibeK «kpiHrin»ril% btterttiob tnusl be f>^W 
thtt folbwiAf fflt«u«HtBnieM j The tbtm mtA iteuM ^ Itlf^ 
«MiH mi fioviy vnospUvK i a lOrd sho^M be fSaeii iH tm 
e«ui« of the umd, divided iMo qif«#iilite Mdi p*iit«i W inliA 
the progress oi the revolving bar ; r^ard must be-^d to great 

L-|t.:f:l.v Google 



ipnifio li^MeM, awl the cKbbs nnM be kqK ^tat<Ktly flM Otmi 
damp. Cire anat be take*, alw, Uutt (hi T»|iiirfi is AMy 
[iiued<]B UwjHvttt, vhMbm^^ltalMvfttyfiBtt. fifurjr beWKc 
of porbal light and heat ought, as far as posnble, ta he RXcbad- 
<d. And the insmiaieMB mart btt ktipt cofered IStwta ^ bght 
MOM hwuv before they wee owed, as tlwy will Ml mere to a 
■ubdned tchtgree of Kgfat if they hove be«i «xpoMd w b ft«rit». 
l^eu- a»aibilitieB are coBGi^nbly Uanted S» ft ikDie> tf ei^ 
led to powerful %ht. We nmt aho kaep U gckm dicniite 
frcAB the iariUument when makiog the iriale^ lU thie heat Mid 
eleetncit^ that eaei^ fnaa our bodies arfe a BoilrM at atUbe- 
tioo. All tfaeae bodiea are nadi it^ucocKd; by the wAif- bUtri. 
But DOtUi^ yet obsoiTBd, if used w ^^tM/ RV^Afs, Moves BoN- 
guhu-ly as the iiiag;betie Meel to the sun's iBftwenee, «hicb is «f- 
Ceeted ju a way pecniiar to hself. 

Two causes are assigiied for the phenomenon, that all bchSus 
^ Mifficient ^lecifio lightnebs, baring tws iM Hides appmaefaing 
t» planes, and free to more, turn alw«ys the edige* of thnif [duties 
to Uie souree of li^t, aad their planes p«%llel to the liae ef la. 
«denee. Oat i^ the Causes appesn to be a Sort of ^eetiw M< 
traction, which light, lUce electricity, has ft>r the points <m- edges of 
bpdi«B. The other reUon it, thatall bodies k«pt excluded fVoin 
hgfat, are, when exposed to it, fimt attracted by it ; and when, 
ftom their eolouf or OpMity, Aey httve abeorbed A- certaih qium. 
Ijty of the rays, ate then repelled by it. The rays of the 
SHB evidently floon rep^ all tlie subrttweee mentiiMted i Mtl 
when tbey turn thrir edges, th^ftte ia cbai ^Mtiition wh^re they 
receive the least possible impulse fMlli the Mys. Ail a taae ib 
turned by ^ mecfcaiweel fi>rae of a earfeat df air, tbeoe 'aiBttu. 
m^Aa are (unied by the ivpellhig power of Ae betmU of ItgM. 
Bo^es, quite auispateat, are not taken ftttfrtlw AcMMbt;. Ttte 
silver leaf is a half enceptioB to this getteWt k#; l«t it i4 ii. 
»DSt eolourieas and pcdished> and therefore absorWbg; but a Miall 
portioa of the light, and quickly piutiAg wkfr it ; it ftsAuaes k 
vite>attiiy motiost ^«t tUTBittgits pbuie, and thefl Hs e«^ to k 
itVM^ light, and thus cMitiatwIly moving in the eW ttf »«|iib- 
&MM. To a fleeble light it etwkds wM» iH plMe emrrblttiflg if. 

The motiotl of the ieaiiters seens ^eiy t>A he oeMfeiohed by 
attraetisti. And as eaeb Siameat «t a pesMtk^ fettthef, tif the 
nze used, has about 4000 piles upon It, ea^ dtbe, at a ttbdeWrte 



1S8 Mr Watt on tki Principles ^ JttraeHon. 

calrailattDii, would present about a millimi t^ ptnats to the l^K. 
These facts agree with some priiunplee generally received, as 
estaUishiag mwiy' crancideaces betweoi the [:Jieito[neiia of light 
.and electridty. 

Some farther obs^vadaiiB were made on the effects of the 
rays of light on hodies of different forms. While bodies 
hAving planes, turned their edges towards the source of the 
. light, and their flat udes parallel to the lipe of iocideiice, bodies 
of a concave shape vacillated continually in an arc of from 5° to 
45", according to the inteputy of the beam of light. Bodies of 
a cylindrical form, crossed the line of incidence at an angle of 
about 25°. Transparent lenses (as of amber) keep their , axes 
parallel with the incidental rays. And spherical opacjue bodies, 
when mcely suspended or balanced, have the tendency to re- 
volve continually when the b^ms of the sun fall clearly upop 
.them. 

Some aj^Iicaticma were made of the phenomeiia described, af 
farther elucidating facts already known, as the attraction of the 
kiaves and petals of plants to the light,-~-the formation of crys- 
tals, — the knowledge that birds and quadrupeds seem tp possess 
of the fwvtiiHil points, as probably arising from the sensilulity of 
tbw hairs and feathers to the impressions of light, ele^icity, 
and magnetism, and through them to the na'vous system and 
sensorium. As farther explanatory of the ptdarity d the neecUe, 
if any current of magnetism is allowed to exist, and of the diur- 
nal variation of the punting and dip, as dependent on the mo- 
tions of the sun: And from the principle that Ught attracts bodies 
ot the parts of bodies that have been in the shade, and repels 
.that wluch has been for some time exposed to its inguence, pro- 
dudng by this means a ccHiUnual revolution in bodies of a sphe- 
roid form ; it b thought probable that this may be one cause 
of the diurnal rotation of the earth and the planets. 

It has not been observed that any of these bodies indicate 
the electrical changes of the atmosphere ; because the chai^;efl 
in respect to them must be genial, or affecting each part ot 
tbm equ«Uy> l^e ulver-leaf, indeed, has someUmes a curious 
vibratory mo(j<Mi ; but these vibrotioos are evidently regulated 
by any beam of light &lling on (he disc. Two of the discs 
suspended aa two pivots, and opposed tQ each other, would no 
doubt act as an electroscope. ... 

D:it.:f:l.vG00gIc 



( 1S9 ) 



On the Hiaiory and ConatilutUm of Benefit or Friendhf Socie- 
ties. By Mr William Fbaske. (Concluded frwn ftHuier 
Number, p. 3)3.) 

OiNCE the publication of the former number of this Journal, 
Mr Courtenay lias brought into Parliament the bill which we 
then alluded to, for consolidating atid amending the lawB rela- 
tive to Friendly Societies. The benefits offered to these sodetics 
in Eftgtand, by this statute, are (except the power of settling dis- 
putes by arbitration, wbich is to be repealed) nearly the same as 
those which they formerly enjoyed ; namely, that thdr money 
may be p^d into the Bank of England, to account of the oHicers of 
the National Debt Office, at a cert^n high rate of interest, — that 
both principal and interest shall always be at the command of 
the office-bearers of the sodebes,— that they may sue and be sued, 
and their property invested, in the name of thdr office-bearers, 
in the same way as is done by incorporated bodies,— and that 
no bond or other security given to or on account of any socie- 
ty, ^all be chargeaWe with stamp^]uty. It is further pro- 
posed, that all former acts regarding these institutions shall be 
repealed, — that before any new society, or any old one re- 
quiring alterations in its rules, shall be hereafter entitled to the 
. benefits of this act, its reguladons and tables must have been 
submitted to, and approved of by, the officers of the National 
Debt Office, and the Quarter Sessions of the Justices of the 
Peace of the county wherein the society is situate, or intended 
to be established, — that persons, assessed to a certiun extent for 
the rehef of the poor, must be nominated trustees, in whom all the 
society's property shall be vested, who shall not be removeable, 
nor obliged to find security for thrar intromissions, without 
thdr own consent, and who shall have the sole appointment 
<^ the treasurer, — that societies shall periodically tran^nit to 
the National Debt Office, through the clerks of the Peace, 
returns of their accounts and afiairs,— that no alterations on the 
rules or tables of any society shall be lawful without the consent 
of the trustees and approval of the Justices,^ — that the Quartn* 
Sesdras shall have liberty to make such alterations as they may 
APEIL — JUNE 18S8. I 

. ...Coosic 



■ 810 Mr W. Fraser on ihe History and ConHihitum of 
think pn^MT, — aoA that the Justices in Petty Seseioiis shall 
alone be c(Hnpet«it to dedde every question that may arise b^ 
tvreen societies and thrir members, without the powei; of any 
appeal whatever. 

These extram-dinary enactments have be«i thought neces- 
sary, not atiy to secure conl^butions adequate to the pnHnised 
benefits, bat also to putan end to the penuraom system of- Aia- 
nagement which at present obtains among Friendly Societies 
in Ei^land. The meetings there are ccMnnitHiIy held in public 
houses, the publicans are in general the treasurers, peculation 
to a great extent is siud to Jirerail, and the menbers are laid 
under the necessity of spnu^g a large sum anntudly at the 
monthly and anniversary meetings. - 

This is very different from the manner in which Friendly So- 
^eties in Scotland are condocted. The most rigid economy, 
and, in general, fidelity exist m tbdr mant^ment; the ser- 
vices of all the office-bearers, with the exception of the clerk, 
have be«i hitherto mtirely gratnttous ; and their meetings are 
held in schotJ-rooms, or other ^milar places, quite unconnected 
with public-housefi. It may be therefore saf<£4y said, that not 
mismanagement, but miscdculation, has been the cause of fu\- 
ure with Friendly Societies in Scotland ; and it is gratifying to 
be also able to state, that active measures are now every where 
taking to rectify this important defect, and place societies upon 
the most secure baas. Owing to these circumstances, itisb&- 
Heved, the |»t)posed tnll was not intended to apply to Scotland. 
' So long, however, as the above pernicious mode of 'manage<- 
ment prevails among sodeties in Ikiglabd, it is naturally cott- 
eluded, that any rules or tables, ^wever accurately framed at 
first, will be ultimately rendered of no' avail ; and it has tlm«- 
t&K been conceived that an end should be put 16 Uiis system by 
the Legislature it^f. But sbcieties, On the other 'tetiH}, c<»i- 
sidersuch interference as an infringement of the rights of ih- 
fividuah to manage tb^r own affiiirs, and- a^ totally subver- 
sive of the independence oftb^ institutien?. ■ The clauses re- 
quiring the appointment of irre^pbnfSble adfd imimoveable- trns^ 
lees, depriving the members of the right toajipciint'thEnr own 
fi«asurers, and annulling the powel- to s^le disputes' by arbi- 
tration, granted by former stattites, bave|iimv«df)art^bi-]yoK 

CJoogIc 



Benefit or Friend^ Societu» 1^1 

i; — and. the cODBequences have been, that very gsHeral 
dissati&factitm and abmnbave bees excited throagbout Eoglaod ; 
petitioDs against the bill have been poured into Parliament from 
every, quartfti:,. and ithas been ultimately found neceoaary, not 
-only «ooaderaifly to oiodify it, but even to delay any fartlier 
fMuce«ding8 durivg the present aeasoo. 

It cannot be deitted, that the objects proposed tt> be atttaned 
by this statute arc highly laudable, and that some measurfV 
should be taken to remedy the evils ooinj^aHied of i but it is to 
be reg^tlad,. ttwt the mirans which have at present been resolved 
oo, are perhaps imoog the most objtetiondsle which could 
have been devised. No body of' men, aseodated for harmless 
and useful purpoeea, however in^iuficant these pnrpoMB 
Diigbt be, would Bubmit to be imperativdy dictated to, and to be 
pWed Hlkl»r die entire oontroul of the inferior magistracy, with 
r^ard U> the msBogement of their own funds and concerns. It 
i4 Dot Uteivfore surprinng, that Friendly Sooetics, wtuch coip- 
prise 8o great a part of the popul^on,' and whose 'ol;yectB are 
Hot dbly hi^ily boiefiinal to th^nselvaSy bat t^eo to the whole 
community, should oppose such an attempt agains^then; rightq, 
and claim a continuance of those privileges which they have so 
long enjoyed. • ■ , . H 

Thf cnly way, it if ooocaved, in.:wbieh Frieodly Socie- 
ties may be speedily aod effectually . impipve^, la by in- 
struction and advice i and these, too, ^ven iq a cimcilia^ry, 
not iq;a compulsory moaner. .Ff<opei tables and fundamen- 
tal rules, with eiq^anatocy remarks, . could , easily be kept.qt 
all the ofiSees of the Clerks to the Peaee,' and exhibi^d to such 
BodetieQ a^ might at jmy tnqe present th«r r^;ulations foren- 
rolnKnU . Many would..ne doubt refuse atfirst to adopt -them, 
but' then such rtf ue^ (q»tld tw stated fn the certi^cates of enrol- 
msnt, wid the members . thus be made aware of the insecurity of 
^inr^anes. Doubts and .anxiety would be thereby created 
in th^r mintb, the subject would be investigated, they would 
soon become .convinced of their errors, and new societies would 
be inmiediMely instituted upon improved principles, and under 
proper management. Soci^fy m^mb^^ would soon perceive it 
to be their interest to join these new institutions in preference to 
the old ones, notwithstanding every influence that publicans and 



132 Mr W. Praser oti the History and Corutitvtion of 
others, intereated in their schemes, might possess ; and the sup- 
jdj of entrants being thus cut off from them, they would very 
speedily alt cease to exist. 

The success of such simple but effectual measures has been 
already completely exemplified in Scotland. As soon as the 
Highland Society of Scotland published thar Report on Fiiend- 
ly Societies in 1824, copies were sent to the head magistrates of 
burghs, to the convener of each county, for the use of the clerk 
of the Feac«, and to all the persons who had sent in Returns, 
with a request to the ma^strates and conveners, that the «»- 
tents might be made known to any sodeties in the vicinity. 
By these means, a spirit of inquiry was soon excited, sodeties 
became convinced of the erroneous prindples on which they had 
been instituted, new sodeties immediately began to be founded 
upon more secure bases, these are now rapidly increa^ng, ani^ 
although their contributions are higher, they are universally pre- 
ferred to the old institutions, whose schemes it has generally 
been found impracticable to improve. Let these or similar 
memis be resorted to in England, and the same effects will un- 
doubtedly follow. 

We formerly gave a brief detail of the investigations in- 
to the rate of mortality among mankind, and endeavoured to 
shew, from various sources, that the Northampton tables xk 
unfit for the practical purposes of health and life assurance. 
Thb has been since completely put beyond doubt, by Mr John 
Finhuson, actuary to the Nati(»ial Debt Office, who has shewn, 
to the satisfaction of Government, that the country has for 
some time been losing about L. 6000 a-week, or upwards of 
L. S00,000 annually, by the state annuitants, in consequence (^ 
the value of their lives having been calculated by these tables. 
A ImI! has therefore been brought into Parliament this sea. 
non, and passed, few repealing the statute by which such an- 
nuities were granted, -and which annuities must still, for a long 
time, remain a heavy burden on the country. It is now evident, 
as was formerly i-emarked, that the premiums calculated by 
the Northampton tables^ mid demanded by life assurance com- 
panies, for sums payable at death, must have been very mudi 
in excess, since those for annuities were so far deficient ; and 
hence the propriety of the lower rate of mortality adt^ted by 



Benefit or Fneniiy Societks. \S& 

the Highluid Society of Scotland in cidculaUng tables for 
Friendly Societies. Having already given some of these tables, 
we shall now proceed to illustrate more fully the principles up- 
on which they were framed, and the mode of u»ng them, for 
the purpose of investigating the state of societies' affairs. 

As b^re fVequently observed, it is esseuti&l to the permuieiice of every 
sodety, tliat there should be calculated ai the commencement, the amount of 
coDttibution which will be required to defray the contemplated benefits, so 
that all the members, the last as well as the first, shall be innired of al- 
lowances corretponding to their payments, and to their ages at entry. At 
first u^t such a calculation may appear very difficult, if not altogether im- 
ptBcticable, owing to a Friendly Society being a body conrasting uf all ages, 
varying In numbers from time to time, and the demands for uckness and death 
also varying in propoitioD to the number and ages of the members. But, to 
simplify the procests instead of viewing a society some time after its com- 
meDcement, let one be supposed to bave just commenced, and to be compowd 
vi infividuala cjtber of the same or of various ages, who are to contribute cer- 
tain sums annually on the one hand, and to receive certain sllowances on the 
other, till a hl^n* age, or till all are dead. Were the pcc^reaa of suet a so- 
ciety to be traced, and a distinct account kept of the contributions and allow- 
ances of the original members till all bad died ; and wen^ It found, that all 
they had paid in during life, with accruing interest, was ei^uivalent to the 
whole they bad drawn out, also with interest, it might be inferred, that, so &r 
as these persons were concerned, their contributions and Bllovaticee bad been 
properly adapted to each other. Were the progreJjs of a second, a third, and 
afburtb body of members to be noted, and the same results obtained, it might 
then be safely concluded, that that sodety was established upon se^-ure prin- 
ciples. There would lliuH be ascertained, lit, the total amount of contribu- 
tiona; 2il, the rate or number of weeks' uckness which bad occurred at each 
age, and lor which allowances had been paid; 3d, the number of deaths, the 
ages at which they had occurred, and the disbursements on their account ; 4|A, 
the interest which bod been received for the capital: B<A, the interest which 
bad been lost on the allowancest and, iatUg, the total amount of the expendt- 

Again, were a number of societies to be conducted in the same way, and 
their whole results found to lead, although not exactly, to the some general 
cmclusions, an average of the whole could he taken, and such an averse 
might with safety be adopted as a standard for the guidance of societies in 
future. It may be observed, that it would not be even necessary for all 
these socleUes to have had the same rale& of contributions and benefits. The 
only things requisite to be ascertained, would be the number of weeks' akk- 
nesa, and the number of deaths that had happened at eaoh age or class of 
ages; for these being known, any given contribution could be accurately cal- 
culated tor any spedfted allowance. 

Now, although Friendly Societies, so ftr as is known, have never kept any 
such records of their transactions as are here alluded to, yet the results of the 



3.n.iized by Google 



1S4 Mr W. FrsKT on the HUtory and Conttitation q 

Ute inTMtigitlon of tlie Holland Bodetj have serred the m 
but fiir aacerUiiiing the rtte of ilcfcntai. The return of Uie 73 lodetiM n. 
ported, Bbew how Hum; weeka of akknesii occurred uDOngtbe free membera 
i^each Bodetj in everj decade or period often yearB, from about twentj to 
upwards of sevent; years of age; and taJdng the avenge slcknew of each de- 
cade (which we gave Id a fbnner munber), and aBsumiiig the aUowauce to be 
L.I per wedc, the total expenditure to die ^ek would be die eame ai if each 
bee member had been euUtled to a jearly allowance or 



Commencing at any age at which he had entered the 
EOdetj under SO 

And In lieu thereof^ ivhen he came to be 20, (or if) 
he had entered the aodetj at anjr age tbave iO, > 
and under SO) - ) 

And ita lieu of thir lut, when be came to be 30, (orl 
if be had entered the locietj at any age above \ 
30 Mid under M> ) 

And again, in lieu of thia lart, *hen be came to be't 
40, (or If he had ratered the locietj at aoy age ^ 
abore 60 and under GO) ) 

And again, in lieu of this laat, when he came to bel 
60, (ur If he had entered the society at anj age > 
above 60 and under 70} ) 

And, lastly, in lieu of the latter, when be came to I 
be 70 f 



£0.97«73ft' 

0.591569 



6.033664 
1&M17M 



Such fa the view of the value of the annual sick allowances, or rather of a 
onntingent tmnulty, acc<»-ding to the rate of sidraess in each decade, as reported 
to tbe Highland Society of Scotland, given by Mr Finlaison In his Beport to 
the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Friendly Sodeties in 
IS2B ; and be has aim given tbtIoub rules and tables Jbr ascertaining the re- 
quldte contributions from members entering at any age to defray these at. 
lowances, nmilar to those given previously in the appen^z tn the Highland 
Society's Beport But as space will not admit of entering here into that pro- 
cess of calculation, and as, at any rate. It would not perhaps be easily under- 
stood by the class of readers fbr wbjch these observationB are intended, the 
method adopted In the body of the Report of tbe Committee of the Highland 
Bodety, which was considered simpler than that in the appendix shall alone 
he adverted to. 

The late of sldtnesa bedng iinind In the way already mentioned, and the 
rate of mortality fVom an average of the Northampton, Swedish, and Carlisle 
tables, it was calculated what L.i of annual contributions (or fifty years from 




dactaul on Iba i^l «f Um pdM 

LumbKby llf It toBbmpis. tmA 

ly be oeglKUd.''— K'sA. Set. lUpmi 



3.n.iized by Google 



Ben^ or FrUmB;/ Societies. 135 

memben entering m societ; at 31 yew-gof age, would amount to with int«re*t, 
when tba aurvivon anlred at the age of 70. Ud aba at thb deUh ttf the last 
memlteri aadllkewiaewtwt L.l of weekly ilckallowauce paid to each of theae 
tneatben during dckneM, wo.uld amount to with interest at ?0 ; also, what an 
allowance itf L. 1 for each death would amount to with Interest, at the death 
of the tact member. Frem comparing these, it was finind, 1st, that if each 
inenUjer wne to paj an annual contribution of L.l, trom coDunencing his 
Slat till concluding hU ^(Ml year of age, should he live so long, and then to 
cease contributing, muA umual contribution would afford a weekly allowance 
during mckneas&om 91 to 70, of L.1: ft: 7; Sd, that a like contribution would 
■fibrd to each surriTing raembei, during li&, after bis 70th year, a life annui- 
ty ar peraMUtent ^uu^ allowance of I,S8 : : 2} Sterling ; and, 3d, that a 
lUce annual contributioa would a£Fard a sum p«yable at the death of each 
member of 1.39 : 19 : 2. 

In order to Illustrate these calculations, and to exhibit, in the simplest 
fonn, a. view of the course of aflairs in a Friendly Society, it was rasolved to 
" adopt the tuj^ioBltiint of a aodcty of pCTBons entering in the Slst year ot 
tb^ sge, and continuing united till oU the mcmbn^ may be supposed [o be 
dead, the iDdety M commence with 1006 peTsons, and to admit no future en- 
trants. In tracing the progresa of tide society year by year, till all Its mem- 
bers, according to the tahle of mortality, may be supposed to be deni, there 
is saen the accumulation of its stock fbr a long period, then its diminution, 
and at the death of the last member, lt« final extinction. Hence the means 
ate given to draw coiSJurians applicable to all Friendly Societies at what- 
ever age entrants are admitted; for the same terms of contribution and al- 
lawanoe eakulated for a society which adntita no new members, are applicable 
to a society which is continually recruited by new members of the age for 
which the calculations are made, or to a Bocief:y adinittiiig members at later 
ages, upon payment of a (oiiperfine orregolstlng payment,"" With a view, 
also, t« accommodate the payments tp the circumstances of every individual, 
the contributions were contemplated under three difierent aspects : " Ist, as 
paid and accumulated uinually ; td, as supeneded by a single paymtst made 
at the commencement of the sdieme, in lieu of all annual oantributi<mE ; and, 
: 3d, as Biperseded at ai^ later age, between 20 and 70, by a un^ payment 
Ihea made in lieu of all contribution afier such later age. -I''* As explanatory 
«f these caltnilatioDE, uumemus tables and rubs we given for all the four 
schemes, and from which there .njaj likewise he deduced, by the ordinaiy 
rules of Propottion or Rule .«£ Three, the necessaiy coDtributions fbr any 
other allowances than those therein assumed. As the tabular fona, however, 
will illustrate to trdinary readers tjie operations of a Friendly Society more 
distinct^ than any brief set of nilea which could here be given, we have 
compiled the following tatile from those of the Slckiiesi Scheme given in the 
Beport, 



3.n.iized by Google 



Mr W. Fraaer on the Higtofy and Comlttution of 



TABULAR yiEW o^ the Commencemait, Progrett, and Tenmniaim <^ a 
and AUowancMfor Sicknesifrom 21 to ^\ yeart of age, when the Siekneis 



1. 


3. 


3. 


4. 


6. 


6. 


7. 


S. 


0. 


10. 


y^ 




n™! 


Anniul 


ToUlConlrl- 




Amwiit 


W«lu 




ToolDWri. 


orso- 


Ao. 




CooW- 


bucknwltb- 






0* 




bmloawttli- 


detr. 




■Un. 




outlntiiM. 


cnt 


iBMtat. 


"*~ 


tton, , 


outtutnvu 


T 


SL 


lOOO 


£1000 








675.000 


£603.092 




a 


33 


990 


990 


£1900.000 


£40.000 


£1040.000 


670.240 


587-190 


£598.003 


3 


23 


980 


980 


203ft000 


81-200 


2111.200 


866.440 


583.277 


1302.966 


4 


94 


970 


970 


3091.300 


123.648 


3214.848 


683.570 


580.322 


1834.361 


6 


26 


960 


960 


4184.848 


167-394 


4362.243 


661.600 


67&394 


348a0A8 


6 


36 


960 


sse 


0312.243 


919.490 


6524-733 




577.161 


3169.874 


7 


27 


940 


940 


6474.739 


25a989 


6733,721 


560-240 


576.803 


3ffS&e70 


8 


88 


930 


930 


7673.721 


306.949 


7980,670 


560-790 


677.460 


4601.350 


9 


sa 


920 


920 


8910.670 


366496 


9967.098 


563.120 


078.829 


6362.864 


10 


39 


910 


910 


10187.096 


407.484 


10694.580 


660.110 


581.908 


6166.207 


11 


3t 


900 


900 


11604.680 


460.183 


11964.763 


587.900 


6B4.781 


6984.363 


13 


32 


890 


890 


12884-763 


514,691 


13379.364 


670.490 


587-448 


7648.519 


13 


S3 


879 


879 


I4269..S54 


670.774 


14840.128 


873.100 


590-144 


6740.908 


14 


34 


868 


'868 


16719-128 


63a766 


16347.893 


675.484 


599.690 


9090.648 


16 


3S 


867 


857 


1731B.893 


088.636 


17904.699 


878.476 


595-670 


10870.340 


Iff 


36 


846 


eifi 


18761.629 


750.461 


10011.990 


682.046 


599.349 


11692-720 


17 


37 


B35 


83d 


203o7.9SO 


UU.320 


21172.310 


58G.170 


603.694 


12759-778 


la 


38 


824 


834 


92007310 


880.992 


22887-802 


891-632 


609.218 


13873-763 


i» 


39 


813 


812 


23711.602 


948.464 


24660.066 


698.444 


616.933 


15037.031 


90 


40 


800 


800 


95472068 


1018.883 


26490.949 


606.400 


624.436 


16266-681 


21 


41 


788 


788 


27290.949 


1001.638 


28382.887 


617.792 


636.156 


17530.334 


aa 


42 


776 


778 


29170,887 


1166.823 


30337-410 


631.664 


650.440 


18867.703 


33 


43 


784 


76J 


31113.410 


1 244.-537 


323,^7-047 


660 938 


670.277 


20272-861 


24 


44 


762 


762 


33121,947 


I324.B7B 


34446.828 


678.804 


698.467 




20 


4S 


740 


740 


36198.826 


1407.983 


36606-778 


711.880 


733-041 


23339.671 


26 


4C 


727 


727 


37340.778 


1493.871 


38840.649 


750.264 


772.5G6 


2498S-019 


97 


47 


714 


714 


39667.649 


1583.706 


41I50 3,".S 


791.113 


814.028 


31:760.790 


2H 


4f! 


701 


701 


41804.365 


167^.574 


43538929 


831,386 


856-09!) 


28645-787 


39 


4S 


eae 


688 


44930-029 


1709 697 


46000-626 


876.136 


901.160 


30647-717 


30 


«l 


676 


676 


40697.696 


1867,901 


48568.427 


018.678 


945.983 


32774.776 


31 


61 


601 


66) 


49340.427 


1969.617 


61210-044 


989.111 


9E7-62I 


35031.760 


39 


63 


647 


647 


81871.044 


3074.842 


03946.886 


997027 


1038.664 


37430.641 


S3 


63 


633 


633 


64692.888 


2183.716 


66776.601 




1064.418 


39944.131 


34 


64 


619 


619 


67409.601 


3990.384 


69706.986 




1100.163 


48606.3)2 


36 




606 


606 


60324.986 


2413.000 


62737.986 


IIOI.7O6 


1134454 


45410.717 


36 


66 


690 


690 


63342.986 


2633.719 


6687&704 


1131.620 


1165.257 


48361.600 


37 


67 


575 


676 


66466.704 


3668.668 


69196.372 


I160.S6O 


1194.843 


01 461.331 


36 


68 


660 


660 


moo.372 


3788.016 


72488.387 


1)8&330 


13SS-644 


04714.616 


39 


69 


644 


644 


73048^67 


2931.936 


78970.323 


1213.120 


1249.181 


58136.844 


40 


60 


S28 


628 


76514383 


3060.673 


70674.896 


1238.638 


1276.608 


61701.000 


41 


6t 


612 


612 


80102.896 


3204,110 


83307.012 


1280.000 


1318.046 


65444.661 


43 


62 


496 


496 


83819.013 


3363-760 


87171.772 


1367.086 


1397.3B0 


69380.486 


43 


63 


479 


479 


87667.772 


S6O6.7II 


91174.4S3 


1484.900 


1629.03S 


7S66S.100 


44 


64 


481 


461 


91663.483 


3666.139 


95319.682 


1766.700 


1786^03 


78084.863 


46 


66 


443 


443 


96780.622 


3831.236 


99611.847 




3007.UI 


82901.S96 


4« 


66 


423 


433 


100064.847 


4008.194 


104067.041 


3S84!300 


8363.090 


88SS4.849 


47 


67 


408 


403 


104480.041 


117B.802 


108659.243 


3669.800 


2788.864 


04100.036 


48 


68 


381 


381 


109062.243 


4362.490 


113484.793 


SOO9M0 


3099.371 


I00609l037 


40 


C» 


369 


369 


113806.733 


4663-830 


118387.962 


333a 700 


3437046 


107738-760 


60 


70 


336 


336 


118716.962 


4748-678 


123466.640 


3690,636 


3702.414 


11648a086 


II 


71 


313 




12^801.64(1 


4962.066 


128763.706 






183801.640 



.:i.v Google 



Sen^ or Fritn^ Societiea. 



Friendig Socitty upon proper principUt, Mb far a* regardt the CimtrihmAm* 
Sclume it mppated to lertmnale. 



11. 


18. 


13. 


14. 


16. 


la 


17. 


IS. 










■ilS" 




\tlmel 




DlndmlUoB 








NMtStoA 


FituinCim- 


FiuunDI^ 




DtAunut 




ox. 


Inum*. 


rfSodW,. 


Mwtlm, 


tritntkn. 


Mbuttoo. 














£iail73 


£1&1173 


£1.09000 


£ljn97SA 


SI 


^83.684 


£616.770 


£424.224 


£ .4286 


17.9818 


1&4103 


1.08383 


1.006766 


as 


4ail8 


1261.084 


860.116 


■8777 


17.8413 


I8.7IOO 


1.04919 


.981443 


23 


73.376 


1907736 


1307.112 


1.3475 


17.6966 


ia0430 


1.07616 


.966860 


84 


Qftsas 


8687.680 


1764.068 


1.8382 


17-6448 


19-3834 


1-10477 


.933067 


86 


136. 6» 


3298S09 


2232.823 


2.3497 


17.3871 


18.7368 


1-13614 


.907136 


86 


164.787 


4D24.467 


2709.264 


2.8833 


173838 


3a)060 


1.18734 


.883114 


87 


IS4.0IM 


4786.404 


3196-286 


3.4367 


17.0542 


30.4699 


1.20146 


.857083 


38 


814.614 


0677.378 


3688.718 


4.0108 


18.8779 


30 8885 


1-23762 


-832017 


39 


S40.S48 


6403.466 


4198.186 


4^067 


160944 


91.S011 


1.37594 


.807031 


30 


279.376 


7263.738 


4701.026 


6.3234 


186036 


21.7270 


1-31 G60 


-783168 


31 


313.041 


0162.460 


6316.894 


5.0617 


ie.3049 


22.1668 


1.35950 


.767426 


33 


34ftS»n 


9099.304 


5740.224 


6.6304 


1C.1183 


23.8467 


1.40630 


-733794 


33 


387.60i 


10077.660 


6270.343 


7.2238 


15.9302 


83.1440 


1.46375 


.708323 


34 


4!a8IO 


11097.060 


6807.479 


7.9433 


16.7161 


23.6694 


1.50643 


.684010 


36 


487.709 


12160,429 


7361.561 


aG896 


16.6037 


34.1836 


1.56050 


.659889 


36 


elO.391 


13270.169 


7903.141 


9.4636 


15.2826 


24.7482 


1.61924 


-636931 


37 


664.960 


14428-713 


84Sa809 


la2C60 


15.0633 


36-3178 


1.88300 


-612203 


36 


601.517 


15639.448 


9080.618 


11.1091 


14.8303 


36-9394 


I.74&O8 


.688793 


39 


66a238 


16905.909 


9586.040 


11.9813 


14.5993 


2&6606 


1.82068 


.665673 


40 


701.213 


IB231.547 


10161.040 


138820 


14.3586 


27-3406 


1.89709 


.842771 


41 


764.708 


19622.411 


10714.999 


13.8080 


14.1078 


37.9156 


1.97876 


.530392 


48 


810.014 


2I88a766 


11374.182 


14-7668 


138462 


2a6030 


2.06676 


.498471 


43 


S70.IS2 


32624.204 


11822.681 


16-7216 


1^6733 


30-3949 


3.15027 


.477106 


44 


932.807 


242B6.67B 


13351.200 


16.6908 


113683 


29.9790 


2.35606 


.466436 


46 


989.546 


26908.164 


12862.48S 


178788 


13.0083 


30.6871 


2.36904 


.436603 


48 


I07O-420 


87831.169 


13310.196 


1&0643 


13.7180 


31-3703 


2-48898 


-417401 


47 


1146.831 


39791.616 


13747.811 


19.6110 


12.4106 


33.0316 


3.68018 


.309000 


48 


1225.S09 


31873.626 


14136-900 




12.0913 


83.6377 


8 69027 


.381488 


49 


I3ia991 


34085.767 


14478.860 


21.4613 


11.7571 


33.2084 


3.82464 


.364664 


60 


1401.270 


38433.020 


14777-034 


22.3656 


11-4243 


33-7799 


2.96686 


.348251 


61 


1490.820 


38917.467 


16038.418 


23.2279 


1 1^760 


34.3038 


3.09716 


.338474 


68 


1697.766 


41541.696 


16334.706 


24.0676 


1*7107 


34.7762 


3-24705 


.317136 


63 


1704.262 


44310.664 


16396.431 


24.8714 


ia3276 


36.1889 


3.40837 


.302135 


54 


I8la429 


47227.1W 


15510.839 


26.6378 


9-9261 


36-6629 


3.58313 


.867382 


66 


1934.464 


60296.OC4 


15680.840 


3a4079 


9.5180 


35.9269 


3.77452 


.278809 


56 


a0fi&463 


63619.774 


15606.698 


27-1401 


0.0899 


3a3300 


3.98674 


.266358 


67 


2I8&684 


66903.800 


16686.187 


27-8307 


a63B8 


3a 4895 


4.22159 


.243918 


66 


832S.074 


60451.910 


15616.405 


3a 6265 


a 1781 


3a704e 


4.46616 


.229432 


59 


8468.044 


64169.143 


16406.763 


29.1775 


7.6914 


3aB6a9 


4.79352 


.314816 


60 


«17.78e 


68062.437 


15244.575 


29.7746 


7.1785 


3a95ii 


5.14890 


.199089 


61 


8776.380 


73166.766 


16016.087 


30.3743 


&6308 


36^61 


6.56671 


.186013 


62 


3942.124 


76496.334 


14679.269 




aa639 


3a7095 


8.05378 


.170096 


63 


3l2a070 


81146.233 


14174.389 


30.7470 


5.4720 


3a2l90 


a618!l7 


.155672 


64 


33la066 


86217-70 1 


13394.148 


3^2361 


48399 


36.0760 


7.24705 


.142089 


66 


S628.994 


01763.636 


13303.206 


20.0656 


4.1833 


33.2679 


7-96445 


.139463 


66 


3764.888 


97879.173 


10780.070 


26.7719 


3 473(1 


30-3468 


a70668 




67 


40S4.361 


104633.398 


8791.336 


230743 


2.7214 


26.7957 


9 47883 




68 


4309.311 


112042.080 


6316-882 


17-6930 


1.8999 


19-4939 


10.88996 




6S 


4019.801 


120099.826 


33e&414 


IO.01O1 


1.0000 


11.0191 


11.01910 




70 


4962.060 


188753.706 














71 



3.n.iized by Google 



188 Mr W. Fraaer Oft Ae iUitorgi and ConttUtttioti qf 

By tliifl taUe it vriU b« perceived, thU, with Uu! advwice of ige, the mem. 
bWB (eolmnnS.) arteT<iyycar<WmWiiM^bydetth, tnd the actnw (cola) 
in every year Increadiig ' ; hence, vhUe the annual Income (coL 4.) decreases, 
the eip«i4itiire.UoLfl.)-iacreBaea. It will be likewise perceived, however, 
that when 4 per cent interert tcoL 6.) is added to the contributiona (coL 8.), 
■ and also 4 per cent interest (coL II.) to the dlfltributions (col. 10.), and when 
tlte totAl Btnount of the two iatler (col. 12.) ia deducted Ironi the amount of 
the two fiirmer (coL 7->, a large balance (cols. 13. and 14.) will for many years 
be left in&vour<rfthe aohfH-ing membere ;— that Ibis balance will accumulate 
Bt first very rapidly, but afterwarda more slowly until the age of 64, when it 
will b^n to decrwise »--that at the age of 71 (in the middle of which year of 
see, both contributions and alhwancei for sickness were calculated to cease), 
It will be wboUy exhausted j— and thst then both the amount (coL 7.) of the 
contribution with interest, and the amount (col. 11.) of the distribution, with 
Interest, will be found exactly to equal each other. 

This society, it has been stated, ia supposed to have begun with lOOA man. 
bers, all atthe commencement of Ibeir 3l8t year of age, or rather, owing to 
the contributions and allowances being considered as payable at various times 
in the year, with 1009 manbers, bring the average number alive in the swdifis 
ofthat year ofage,-aud to have admitted no new entrants from its cnmmence- 
ment till its termination i_circum»tance«, however, which are not likely ever 
to occur in actual practice, and the conclutions msy therefore perhaps at first 
right appear to be in^qiliiable to the q>enition8 of real societies. This large 
number of members was assumed for the sake of avoiding the awkward and 
unnatural appearance of firactional parts in the annual mortality, which would 
necessarily have resulted, had a smaller number been taken ; and, with re. 
said to no new members being supposed to be admitted, it will be obvious 
that it matters not whether the oripnal entrants had remiuned the sole mem. 
bera, or new ones been admitted at aU ages, provided each new member of a 
hidierage than 21, had paid— either * sum equal to the stock which the ori. 
gtnal membwB had in the sodety, after defiwying aU their allowances, when 
Hiey arrived at his age,— ^)r adngle or increased annual contribution that 
would ultimately amount to lt,.;-or should have only been entitled to a lower 
ntc of allowance than the earlier entrant, making the same payment 

For example, the standard annual contribution of the ori^nal members be- 
ii^ L. I, and the weekly wck allowance L. 1 : : 7, when the society has been 
tffli yeers in existence, and these members have reached the middle of their 
Slst year ofage, they would then have a total capital of L. 4701.048 (Table, 
CoL IS.) or L. S.SSU each (coL 14.), and this sum, it has been shewn, would, 
along with thdr future contributions, be all required to defiray thdr future 
allomnces. Now, a* a memb^ just entering at that age, has, with a very 
slight difference (owing to his being then in health which some of the first 
members may not now be), tlie same chances of rickness and death in time to 
cmte, with the original entrants still alive,— and as iiis future contributions 
are of less value (coL 16.) while hU future diatribuUons are of more value 

• BTthlia*uinB.th»«Mi^»W«numBto( ildtBMi «K«ii to b. «very y«i ■i l nH a t i M ng. frm 
ft. IIW 10 lb. MA wu o( •«* b^ •l<l™«t' thi. 1. du, e-6 -ilh regud to Ih. toeUty ■• . bod,. It 
X b. ft««d. «p« dl.Hi.« .h. -d>™ by Ih. numta o( i™h« ,J1« -^^. ™ to to ^ 
ctf#. to thon •• InOlildiuU i-Sse the l^ile e* Hie U« ot SidUKM, iilft irfto«M tosn Indliliiul, 
^tH> m tin NunAei ofthit Journal f« July ia»7. 

D.n.iized by Google 



Benefit or Friend^ Soctetiea. 139 

(cot. 16.) to the Bodety than thej would have been at 31, — it in erldent, that, 

to receive equal benefit with tbose tnembers who entered at that age, he should 

either pay upcrn entry an equalizing sum of L.8.2M4 (coL H.), which each of 

the others has already accumulated, aud the standard yearly contribution of 

Z>.1 afterwards,— or an increased annual contribution oTJ^'lSlBSO (col. I?.), 

—of receive a reduced allowance of only L. 0-782168 (coL 18.) 

.... AaionaeTly remaiiced, it waa resolred by the' Committee of the Highland 

ftxiety, ftom the retums afibrding no proper daCa for calculatinf^, with any 

^^ree «f accuracy,' the rate of slckneea ' above 70, to tenhlnate the slckneas 

Mbeme at tlut age, and to provide for ah annuity to nidi'membersaaBhouId 

survive.its .Sy colgmn 9. it will be perceived, that, according to the rate of 

inert^ty Bd^qited, no leu than 31 3 of the orl^al lOOO mombers would aUll 

' renlain alive at the age of 71i and whn cunaequently would be lefl unprovided 

, .fotl'VDld age and infirjnity, li^d they not aba contributed to the annuity 

fGh^e. This is wished to be particulariy remarked, aa.very considerable dlf- 

' fleulty has lieen experienced in att^napUng tn.conTioce sodety memtiers of 

'■fheiteceB^ty of contributing f(ir ah Mnuitj', to commence eten at 'the earlier 

),,Hges (if 60 or 6fi,— at the longer of which agee t^ere would 1>e alivd out of the 

. , 1900 who cqmmenced contritni tiiig at 21 no less than 628, and at the latter 

age 443. Thla reluctance to contribute for an amAiity, arises f^om its being 

_ 'Supposed thatfew,if any,' tf the working classes i*iU survive- these advanced 

/ ^es i but^ in refutation of this erroiiebus idea, and in confirmation of the ac- 

^; cum:7 of the taUe; we need only refer to the great nui9t>er of old pensionen 

froin ttieanriyand navy, notwitliAabding the innUhierable dangers i^seaand 

'far ; and of others, both' inales' and fbinilei, who annually become irimates and 

. Qut-pennoners of the woik-hoUses'-ahd oth» public chaiides. 

, . . : JSavii^ tlius endeavoured to ezliibit the operations of the Siukness Scheme, 

we nright peU proceed -to tratx in the wme manner thoee of the Annuity and 

Funeral Schemes, but asthis would be tediOud, and perhaps also unnecessary, 

^ t|ie ataitributions finr each of these ben^ts being the same as the cme for aick- 

. . nefM, there thall be merely shewn the pn^rew'of the total and individual capi. 

' (al of each'of Uieseftindt.-' i < ~ ~ 

Jt may be premised, that the number of members stated to be annually 
' alive in the Annuity and Funertd Schemes, Is somewhat different from that 
pven In the Sickness Scheme. This arises fh>m the nuaiber alive la thb lat- 
■,ter scheme being tatAiin the middle of the year, as was done by'the'CJom. 
■'niiltee,oftheHlglilandSD6iety foraDtheschemtsi while here, thenulnber 
'*)ive in tt)e Annuity and Funeral Schemes Is calculated for the h^;Jnning of 
.each year, after the 3l*t year of age. This bu been doner wiUii^atd to the 
IVmeral allowance, -to ' avoid t&e dlAre^ancy alluded tb in the note ^ p. SS3. 
of the Report of the Highland Society, where it is said, " tliat the difi*erence 
betwixt the result by the common mode of calculation, and the one adopted 
- in the Report, is owing to tbe mftnBef In whidi the average number of Uving 
throuf^out tlie year is taken, 1^ VUch it h^tpena that tlie number of deaths 
la not always the exact iStFeteatx ttetween die BUccead.ve numt)erB of the 11> 
Vlng." The efiect of this is to taUke tbe Indivlduia values less in the earlier 
ages, and greater iii the higher ones. The following Tables, with these divi- 
sors, were found among the-papeni of the late Mr Skirving, accountant, itKlch 
have been kindly comniuuicated to us by bis widow. 



.:i.v Google 



Mr W. Fniser on the Hittory and Constituium of 



TABLE •heiaiag Hit AtumoI Avaimndatbin or Vaim nf tilt Total oi 

A* AnnuUn and Funeral Sehmeijrim 81 to 96 neara ufage, artnnjr/rom a Yearly Con- 
tr^uHan to tach Sohtmt qf£\/roia 21 Ai 71 peart qfapt, «haiBte ContTibiMau eetae. 



1. 


t. 


„..„. 


FosmiUi. 1 


1. 


8. 


*""— 


F.«^. 1 


3. 


4. 


6. 


6. 


3. 


4. 


5. 


6. 


i 


k 


S,-A- 


Stock of 


UlMT«Ch 


JS 


1 


h 


StoAfrftbe 
SodMTSKb 


h; 


St«kofth> 
SudB,«tl 


JS 


jfi. 


y«lj. 


■mi- 


y™l,. 


g| 


y«r. 


y«.l,. 


T«r. 


1^. 


tl 


lOOS 


£. d«. 


£ ia. 


£ dK. 


£ da:. 






£ d«. 


£ iK. 


£ d«. 


£ dw. 


1! 


«9S 


10*0.000 


1.046 


416.433 


.418 


69 


652 


76970.383 


137.687 


15589.137 


88.841 


13 


»SS 


8111.800 


8.143 


839.183 


.868 


60 


536 


7957*.896 


1*8.461 


15780.754 


29,448 


>4 


BTS 


3814.848 


3.297 


126^319 


1.301 


61 


620 


93307.012 


160,806 


1.5963.396 


saegg 


ts 


S6S 


4368.848 


4.510 


1704.895 


1.766 


62 


504 


87171.772 


178959 


16136.703 


31017 


M 


SA5 


5584.738 


6.785 


2147.299 


8.8*8 


63 


487 


91174.483 


187.816 


16837.047 


33.343 


(T 


94£ 


fl7.'«.781 


7.186 


8597.613 


2.749 


64 


470 


95319.622 


808.909 


163SS.S60 


34.735 


(8 


936 


7990.670 


8.635 


3065.549 


3.868 


66 


468 


99611.64T 


220-380 


16326.600 


36.141 


B9 


9!fi 


9867.096 


10.018 


3521.403 


3.907 


66 


433 


104057.041 


840.316 


168S4.966 


37,563 


30 


915 


10694.590 


1I.57S 


3995.492 


4.366 


67 


413 


108669.8*3 


863097 


16108.360 


39.003 


SI 


905 


11964.763 


ia8ii 


44TS.144 


4.919 


68 


398 


113424.733 


889.349 


15868.318 


40.465 


Si 


895 


13STB.361 


14.949 


4969.703 


5.553 


69 


370 


118357.968 


319.896 


15681.196 


41.M9 


3S 


BS4 


1484a 188 


16.797 


540ai66 


6.I1B 


70 


3*7 


183466.6*0 


366.609 


15091.198 


43.468 


M 


873 


I6S47.893 


ia786 


6868.789 


&T04 


71 


324 


188763.706 


397.388 


14699.661 


45.061 


» 


U2 


17904.689 


80.771 


6303.63* 


7-313 


78 


301 


115020188 


388.127 


137*9.468 


45.67* 


se 


851 


19611.990 


22.988 


6761.134 


7-945 


73 


278 


102184,829 


367.398 


18665.835 


*«.8TB 


ST 


SW) 


81178.310 


85.206 


7225.496 


9.608 


74 


856 


90101.3*1 


3SI.96B 


18007.996 


*«.»oe 


S8 


889 


88897.608 


87.609 


7696.991 


9.885 


75 


231 


7898*.803 


337.883 


11116.*67 


47.506 


S9 


818 


84660.066 


sauT 


8175.906 


9.995 


76 


213 


69666,939 


321.910 


10851.63* 


48.1S9 


10 


8oe 


8649aS49 


S8.867 


9699.148 


10.669 


77 


198 


69068 34* 


307.611 


9368.807 


48.701 


41 


T9* 


86S8S.597 


S5.746 


9026.926 


n.369 


76 


178 


504*4 623 


293.288 


8*79.160 


49-897 


U 


79! 


30337.410 


39.795 


9459.139 


18.096 


79 


163 


42686.869 


8T8.616 


7633.649 


49.891 


u 


T70 


38367.947 


48.083 


9896.263 


18.858 


90 


135 


36646.698 


8640*8 


6616.468 


5a*98 


*i 


Tse 


34446.885 


45.4U 


I033a398 


13.639 


61 


116 


89409.439 


8*9.832 


6089.068 


Sl.(»l 


u 


746 


36606 779 


49.071 


10786.787 


14.469 


68 


108 


23949.se* 


834.798 


5878,517 


51.691 


M 


733 


38840.649 


68.997 


11176.118 


15.247 


83 


97 


19175666 


880.418 


45*9.067 


5S.8T7 


vt 


TIO 


41160.356 


67.163 


11568.605 


16-068 


8* 


73 


15116.379 


80T,OT4 


3656.995 


52,8» 


48 


707 


4363ag89 


61.588 


11963.871 


16.921 


95 


60 


11679830 


194.6*7 


3200,637 


63,3*4 


49 


694 


46009.586 


86.296 


1836a 804 


17.910 


86 


49 


8987.768 


190.168 


86*2.738 


63,93! 


SO 


6B1 


48565.487 


71.316 


18759.49* 


1R736 


97 


39 


6626,867 


167,341 


2124.980 


64,390 


SI 


66S 


61210.044 


76.662 


13161.836 


19.708 




30 


46T6.739 


166,668 


1648.664 


54.95J 


S! 


654 


5394S.8S6 


92.486 


13508.131 


80.64« 


61 


23 


3833.881 


14a 601 


1878.U3 


55.570 


S3 


640 


58776'601 


88.713 


136*2.101 


21.688 


90 


17 


21*6.646 


186 860 


955.097 


56.182 


S4 


626 


5970S.9B5 


96.377 


14181.110 


82.663 


91 


18 


1337.83T 


111.489 


681.518 


56.793 


U 


618 


68737.986 


102.613 


14619.121 


83.784 


98 


8 


788,036 


98 50* 


469.351 


67.419 


S6 


fisr 


65976.704 


110.346 


14793.734 


84.760 






397.336 


T9.*4T 


890.655 


58.131 


W 


S88 


6918&S78 


118.778 


16063.732 


25.893 


9* 


S 


171-801 


67.267 


177.568 


59.189 


58 


667 


T8488.397 


187.669 


1632a930 


8T.035 


96 


1 


68.011 


saoii 


59.958 


69.958 



It maj be mentioned, that the rapid accumulation of total and individual 
capital which takes place in the Annuitj Scheme, not onlj arises from the an~ 
nual addition of Interest upon the capital, but aiao from the aurviving mem- 
bers acqulrii^ right to both the contributions and accruing interest of those 
who have died. The accumulation of capital in the Sickness Scheme is also 
owing, in a certain degree, to the same cause ; hut in the Funeral Scheme, 
tiie fluil is diminiBheil to the survivors \>y those who die in early life. The 



3.n.iized by Google 



Bettefit or Friendly Societies. 141 

paymCntt fbr thu Rllomnce are calcul»t«d more direetlj than Uie otben, 
upon Uie " probaUlity of > person at an; given age liTing to a certain 
h^er a^, or upon the number of ;rean whicb, Uking liTes of the aame 
«ge, one witli another, an; one (rf* thne lives ma; be conildeTed a* raw of 
(mjojisg, — those who live bejond that period enjojing as much more, In 
proportion to their number, as those who fail short of it eqjoy leva." It 
will therefore be obvioue, that, as no disbuiBemeot ia made from the An- 
ntlitj Scheme till each mrviTing member reachea the 71at year of hia age, 
the capital of this fund must accumulate very rapidly for a number of yeara 
after the commencement of the society, and that the niTvlvorg muH be 
very great guneni by every death which has previously taken place. On 
the other hand, it will likewiae be obvioua, that, as the djabursementa of 
the Funeral Scheme are calculated to commence with the very initltutioD of 
the Bocietj, the cajntal nf that fund must accumulate much more slowly, 
and that a loss will be sustained to the society by Uiose who die early, which 
must be again compeuMted by those who live to old age. Hence it follow*, 
that, in the Annuity Sdteme, those who die soon are great losets, and those 
who live long are a« much gainers ; while in the Funeral Scheme, ou the con. 
trai7, the representatives of those who die early are gainers, and those who 
Hve long are luserSf— the younger dan in this scheme receiving more than 
they pay, and the older class paying mori! than they receive. 

Sudi bring the nature of the operations of these two schemes, and to a 
certain degree also of that for rickness, it would be of great advantage, both to 
the members individually and to the society as a hod;, that, alongst with any 
benefit during sickness or at death, there should likewise be aasured an annui^ 
in old age. In this way the members who should be &voured with long 
health and Ufe, and consequently be losers by the sickness and ftineral 
schemes, would be as great gainers by the annuity scheme t and Um society 
would also be in a great measure protected against the admisdoa of bad Uvea 
and premature allowances during sickness and at death, aa none such wonld 
choose to pa; tOr an annnl^ which there was no probability of their ever en- 
jDyii^. This comUnatlon of benefits, too, would greatly tend to diminMi 
that spedea <^ ImpodtltHi so frequently pnctised upcai societies, of understs. 
ting ages at entry, and which there is Grequently no possibUity of detecting t 
for few insuring for an annuity would imderstate tlwdr ages for the purpose 
of at first saving a trifle on their annual contributdona, wliile they would ulti- 
mately run the risk of loss b; thrir annuity bring so much longer deferred. 
Laying, therefore, entirely out of view the necessit; for providing for old 
age, it will be seen that it is only by having an annuity combined with the 
other benefits that a society will be safe from imposition, and that tlie mem. 
bers themselves will be hum^ of an adequate return for their contributions 
to the sickness and fiwend schemes. 

It is trusted that enoo^ has now been stated to convince the members of 
Friendly Societies tiuA the rales of both ddness and mortality are mudi lets 
In the earlier than In the more advanced periods of life, and that the eontri- 
buliona at the commencement must therefore be eithei greatly more than is 
necessary at first to defray the allowances, or that Uie former must be Ineraaaed, 



14a Mr W. Eraser tm tht Jiutory aadCpnstUuthn of 

noMmbeiiBd, th«t,if » wda^'B weekly «ckallo«aiicpmn tifaetunEigHmu 
tlwuunialcoBtiitHitlHfc ttaMHiiuM'li|bWwwU.))«)wwu«VyiiequlT«dhy«B.|j^ 
lidctDembcn beUr«Mi U ABd^ft, ji)ub otfgtt would b« '•'•■' Ti-ni" "—^ "—- 
ber in die wdetj betwMii tbtmageawve W receive nearfy iMi<^ tb« (mOUAt 
^ofhbyeariycaatrilNitlMi&MBWitoUit.would.batiieBameBiifeatdvwei^to 
i^cdveacmeiriutf iMi«tiHt>jb«tunei theBiiK)unt).«Ddabov(t39.it^wwMibe 
tiie Mme u tf each pf Che tnenbera d tAat dMi wa«: t0 im:^v:e loofM llHmiiir- 
l*MtlBMatliemaiintafltift(umualp»7fiienU lliiawm^ieirFiie&Jla^gflke 
Ofdidon alwrnyahUlwrto beM( thai as «ne member beixmetdd BWrtJMT ye«ii0«ie 
would enterfKitdlnthlivaytbealtowAKel.tothefiwTnMwiHiMbe Aefirayed-lip 
tba MntribntfaHu of Ike latter. It wlUbeseMfeom tb» atmye.aver^jsa, Hw 
iudtber.^nor Im.meaibOTaof thedsMEt bdlMi'40 jeanof age, .caninippiMt 
Mw member <^ each of tJudasieafitAn M h>abOTe:7QyearKcf agti),JbriitB 
the avenge annual nctaflu of tbe wh(de.iD«i&ben bet ireep w wd M 9^n. of 
q^ U equal to 4. days 8 hpun to eatihs and the ftwq^ anviMlL,pi<itoM* of 
thorn brtwwn 30 and 4» yean of age ia equal tg 4 dayttil^ibMURMMok, ^UK 
can only remain a bi^anne of the yearly c«titrUM^(Ua.«f ttwh ofi tfae'&nMf 
elaia equal to 2 days 21 houra* siCk-moD^, Mid a b«Im«f:«&lhp.Cop|Ril:9iti»aa 
ofeacbofthelattaT dan equal to 3 dayefi,JNiUTsracl^maBi^<. .Hpvt t^en, 
can then small balanccfi de^y the atek <^i;f^KK« jof ,DQe «e^ ,ii««.frarit«, 
and dxteen weeks, required bycaebrf th^m^bwajn.the rtre^^tbBWKrfwTe 
,«> ytera of age? Itwill thtu be seenbav Mtit(ierwlu>h^)^)jmul»ted 
little or. no cqiital have goneao n^t^dj^toiviiirMleTU tttQycwnB.tftlwre 
.BBimberof oU meaahwi .wdoeaaed to o^alnjywng'^i^W^ .,,T>liM(«f- 
tain what the accumida^ui diiiuld be, it is only^.p^ceswiiy, wtth Jh^^lftw'ind 
tftat erttiy, either tofylklratf.iifcentTiiaiiimy9Jii^rate<if.atloilMBfeCy>i^i' 
the aodety wiabea to BwtabJIsh, and to calculat«. vh^ther {ha^.wiU be.e^iu- 
.valent to eedi other during the whole ofLife; tlMieliandard.mtc^ oC;.»tBl!neH 
beli^ taken) or an; other rale which experience inAyjMye'.sh^fm.4«t<l>e;,.i^ 
.plicaUe to their own circunut«ac«a. It'willtbuii.'bciiliMOiirn.ifliat bplajieerHf 
ttuckeadimemberat every age jbouIdbaselDithAWdAyt and'by oihiriar; 
ting every three, five, or seven yeam, wfaait:tb« b>tti.f^Ata6 balaaim ahouU 
Awotuit to, and ccmparingrthem wjth.the aodet/tl hctbatfnnda in pMfesnot^ 
it would alvtya be accurately known how ftr tWiateck Kaal^iag pace wlA 
■tfaa, number and ages of tiMniembera.. .^TbeinqmttaBBitwld.nietiKid of.pte, 
fimw^ noh an inveatigataon we ahaU.now *ttNnpt biMly to tiqdain. 

. , Ba^anctofa FTundh/Soadift Affaut- -_ 

.- ISlalweUhunnitobel>diapaaahly,needsHiTythatprepBr.biit4»AdiiUte 
kcptii^* dreryindiviAial or compan^.cariTing on-budneM^fex-raoadlngtlxit 
tranaactions, and periodically aacertaining the atate cf tii^r affidiK Wi^nut 
auch bookanodc^reeof accuracy or chance of aucceta can be expected by those 
'am^m^ed in mtn the moat ordbury meseontile^tjmnnctiMia^ and as Httle, if 
BOt erenleaa, by a cen^iany engai^in dtO' traffic of lift^'^dMaai and deML 
9mh a ecm^any ia a Friendly Soo^y, and Om biajaeat.iniist Us conducted on 
theBa>negaieralprliicipMaaaliioae.Qf Miyatbcrconcemi thatiate say,fir«^ 
th< tme.Tal«iaafthe commodltifia wlvdiare.to faepnirilaaedElnd'Sold pn^ier- 



..tOoi;5Ic 



Beti^ or Friendlff Sodttbai. . 148 

ly^woHtaiiMd I iMKt, the receipt* ud the ckfato due bitiicaaipAayetxnpwed 
wkfa the exjiendiUire Mid tbedeUBdueby titettaafnji and Ikes the pro- 
fit or kM on the vttrioui ttmmeOtmt |iiii>iii1lrillj ■■mil ilimil Sfo patw iu 
budocM could. iMaui >|>ni{Mr Imowledge.of.hM aOdnftom inHd)r loKnrii^ 
the matiBj and gooda he bad at anj Ume qb hwd,. t og«tfaCT «ith the defate 
that might be due to faim, without alu taUig inta -aecoiHrt- tb« ate^ irfth 
wUch he commenced, and the dehti whkhhe.vurtUl ta>be«dkd'dpea'to 
pay. Budi, bmrerer, hai beAn the method hibboW adqaled.bf Piindlr So. 
detiea— the reoeipt and expendituTe of the pml i^ag menij- oam pu f*d trith 
each oUier, and tbe bdiance in hand ascertainad, hMtw^^out^any ragMd to 
the {ffobsble inccaue and demand* of tiieflituiei Henceilt inalmposdUe 
that todetiea could at any time knew the real state of their.afiUHv' with le. 
gaid to the probable ammmt of the elalou arhlch weee to come agilint tfaem, 
or when they had too much or too Uttle capital to meet them. 

Inonkz that Friend^ Societktmay be able to.aacertahi^theae' pattlcu- 
lam, it ia necetniy that the lelationi in whkh a lociety and its menbsa 
(twid to each other ibould be rightly under*t«Dd,aBd<tiuit both ahonbl be tiA- 
J^awaie.of the intefeat which Bvezy IndiTiduAlbaa, or.ought 1* hare, at any 
time in the c^ntaL For money received, aocletieaundertita ta pay nmaaf. 
bBTwaidi to a giMter amonnt ; and therefore a (ociety Jmut ^wayB be driitor 
to the membecB, and tliey of coune creditors, till the.tio^snd eraott cniVe 
when tbe beuefita beccoue payable, and the men^ieE* cease to ba» anyftrtber 
intereat in tbe Moiety, or .particular department to.wlilch they, belonged. : A 
Friendly Society cuuequentiy differa front every other cwnpaoy in du im. 
jMTtant reapact, that it never can loae by bad debta (tf the membexa; theatock 
In hand being alwaye of necesrity more than the amount of any'Centilbutioife 
which are ever allowed by the Tegulatlooa to run in acrear. A society, kair. 
era; may fidl behind in its capital from other drciuhstancaai.sMiiaa.iDae 
nckueM uid mortftllty occurriog, and a lover rate of intereat Sviaoaey be. 
ii^( obtained, than were originally calculated on ; and benoe it in -nniaasi^ 
that proper books be kept, and periodical ioTeaUgatlwiB.niad^.tD naaarkam 
whether or not the stock be keeinng up to the requiMte amounL ,<• 

.Id endeavourii^ to exhibit tlie nature of such aa iniettigatiantim«hall 
merely take the Sicfcneaa Schenie as an euuiqile, in tb» Bntt place,, and ^aln 
have recourse to the TaUe at p. la&i ud we.&idthal tbutfTahle « 
better expliOned far tbe piupgee in view, than by a^sM 
ten fiw a difibrent ptupoaa, by Mr Patrick Oockbnmt a 
bu^k To his.atat^nent we shall merely add tbe.jColiUnn9':af:our-.t^^''M> 
which hia leniaifa are aM>Uaable: - 

"It only ranain«toiu(iuire wAoJii A«>to*i:(i/'iA«.««aMni/«aulTSdutlrMf 
mMmu of each membei in that stuck At Rny.|$iyeq.time> Nowlhe Umbdf 
the •Dciety, at anygivmi tiipe, comuts of two .pUtSLi^n^'Of 4e^fiiMs 
' which bare accumulated ftom the past cootributioiu (aal> 'ia-)i . aAs <pffril^ 
thecUms which haTttentdgedj and, S4lih Of tJM_<Mie»tiBMaiiif-ae.finu- 
ban foe their iitture (untdMitFions (col. !&• mubtpLiitd 1^ She nunbiar.o&iUdH- 
baaJn.OQl. 3.) Thefi>pMiraf4i«wnu7beMU«d ' TbeFundinhandv'airi'lte 
. ^^tter ' The Fund in tixpectation.' The fund in, hiiod, added-to-Ihe pieaent 
ralue ftf tbe funds in. iwipesttftion). calculated i»G|M>cdVRg.'ta tWii ilahUn) i^wH- 



144 Mr W. Fnuer on the Hittoty and ConaiUtiiion (^ 
tutn ' The Gran Fund or Stock of the Society.' Agiin, if we attend Xa the 
nature of the contract, it will appear erident that the vahie of each mranber'a 
•intartU tn Otefmd a measured bj the bat^ for loUcA As it attiaad, nwdified 
hj the different clrcumitances under which the benefit become! pajable ; and 
it is easy to nee, that the aggregate amount of the values of the individual 
intereatof the members,— supposing there sliould be no deriatloii from the as- 
sumed law (of dckness or) mortality, or rate of interest upon vhlch the ratea 
.of contributianlisTe been calculated, — will be always ei^uivalent to the smonnt 
(f the gross fiind. The benefit assured to each individual is that according 
tu which his contributions are made, and which he or his heiis or nomineea 
will be entitled to clsim as ■ d^t upon the tiinds, whenever the event ar- 
rives upon which it becomes payable, or, in other words, it is Ms share of 
the stock which, upon his death or other contingency, is withdrawn from Uie 

" After the society has existed for any time, the share of stock held by 
eodi member, coniddered in relation to the mode of its being cmtributed, 
maybe contemplated as conKUting of two parts, viz. .Avf, Hit than af A* find 
m Aond (coL 14.), arising from hia former contributionB, whidi is equal lo the 
present value of his benefit, miniu the present value of bis liiture contribu- 
tions; and, itoondlf. The value of hi* future oanMbuUoiu (col. tS.) The sum 
of these two is evidently equal to the present value r^ his benefit assured 
(col. 1(L> If it be said that, in estimating the value of the member's intarcsts, 
his future contributions ought not to be taken into account, the answer is, 
that they are as eSectusl); secured as any obligation In lavour of the Mciety, 
because the non-payment voids the policy ; and, therefi»e, as welt in respect 
to the individual as to the society, it is the same thing whether the stock con- 
slita uf money paid down, and vested in securities granted by strangers, or in 
the obligations of the members. In short, the benefit assured, modified by 
the circumstances under which it is payable, may, to use a mercuitlie pbraw, 
be considered as the amount due lo the member upon iiis ' aeeeunl in eoapamt,' 
and his future contributions as the amount of what is due bg him upon hfa 



" Thus it follows, that th« Meretl of every member In the pro*) fund or 
tloeir qf Ibe ueieljf, at any Idme, is equivalent to Oie preeeiti vabie of his benefit 
assured, or, in other words, it may be expressed by Haying, that it is ' Oieben^ 
amtrml f9fMe in tk» maU «r under &t tircvnukmeet eantained in fA«poJiqr*." 

I^ therefitre, a Friendly Society has proper tables, shewing the amount 
of d^tal which It should be possessed of fbr eadi member at every age, ade- 
quate with their fiiture contributlraiB to defray thdr fUtuie allowance*, and 
if a proper record be kept of the number and ages of thoM insured far each 
Iwnefii, it will be easy fin such a society to ascertain the re^ amoimt of cai^tal 
which it should at any time be possessed of. For example, let it be supposed 
that a society has existed Iot some length of time — Uiat the calculations ibr 
the SUkDCM and Funeral Schemes have proceeded upon the same data as those 
of the T^dea st p.l36> and 140, — that new members of various sges-hsdbera 
from time to time admitted, upon paying a fine or entry-money equid to the 



:!.« Google 



Benefit or Frieti^ Societies. 145 

■uiu whi(4i Dwmben who entered at 21 bad at tlieir ages accumulated in the 
Docietj, and that the preeent numher and ages of the meiobera ia as stated in 
the fbllowinf; Table. It is requinid to know what stock the society should at 
{vesent be in posseasion of, to be adequate, along with the future contribu- 
tions, to defraj the future allowances. 

TABLE nf a Se^^'i SMii,-~^ Annual Contribution fir fiotruwi being L. 1, 
and WeMji Skk AUowamX L. 1.029726, or L.l:0:T; and the Anmiat 
Ftaural Cantrilmtim being IHmnm L. 1, and the Sum paynUe at Death 
L. 6g.S6S4a06, or i» Sg : I& : 2. 



Aeaa. 


Sf^ 


S.C.»HCAP.»X 


,..„..c„,.„ 1 














Mante, 


Monibn. 


Mnnbtr. 


MmbBi. 


22 




£<i 8 «j 


£4 14 21 


£0 B 4 


£4 n lOJ 


2S 




17 6} 


ID 10 9 


17 


10 4 6 


24 




1 6 11* 


17 10 6i 


1 6 


16 18 8 


26 




1 16 9\ 


2G 14 91 


1 16 3 


24 14 4 


26 




2 7 


35 6 


2 4 11 


33 14 4 


87 




2 17 7} 


46 2 4 


2 14 11 


43 19 8 


as 




3 B si 


58 8 0* 


3 5 4 


65 11 01 


29 




4 21 


76 3 11 


3 16 1 


72 e 94 


30 




4 18 14 


78 6 1 


4 7 3 


74 4 33 


32 




8 17 2} 


87 le 5 




S3 6 llj 


34 




7 i SJ 


93 18 2 


6 14 1 


87 3 1 


36 




8 13 9k 


86 17 9 


7 18 lOJ 


79 8 Hi 


38 




10 6 3j 


82 2 6 


9 10 01 


76 4 a 


40 




11 19 7i 


68 17 9 


10 13 4j 


64 3 


42 




13 16 2 


55 4 8 


12 1 It 


48 7 8 


a 




16 13 9 


50 1 5J| 


14 9 2i 


43 7 6| 


48 




19 12 2 


39 4 6i 


16 18 5 


33 16 10 


50 




21 9 


42 18 «t 


IB 14 8} 


37 9 6i 


62 


2 


23 4 6 


46 a 1} 


20 12 11 


41 6 10 


65 
Total, 


' 


•25 12 9 


26 12 9 


23 14 6j 


23 14 6J 


200 


£1032 9j 


£964 9 5 



Total estimated Capital, 



Suppose, again, the fiinds In possession to be 
Quarterly accounts and fines due, .... 
Value of copies of Eegulations on hand. 

Sum of capital actually in poasession and in arrear. 
Therefore, by deducting the above estimated capital of 

There would remain, for defraying iuddental expences and 

meeting any unforeseen contingencies, a surplus of j£173 16 1 
APRIL — JUME 1828. K OOolc 



^1986 10 


2i 


£2104 17 
46 12 
10 15 


6i 
3 ' 
« 


£2161 5 
1986 10 


3i 

2i 



146 Mr W. Fraser on the History and Constitution of 

The meUiod adopted in the fbiegolng table, however, vuuld not >lbi);elJiez 
answer lor socieliea who admitted memben at all ages without an equalizing eu- 
trj-monej, but merelj upon payment of an increased annual contribution. In 
t&at case, one way of islculating the stock of each individual in the slcknesa 
■cheme, for example, is aa fbllowa : — 

It is wished to be kDown what litudt a societj riioutd be posaessed of for a 
member who entered at 31 years of age, who is now 30, and who has paid the 
Handard annual coDtribution of L. 1, in the interv^ ofThese ages. 
The value of the future distributions to a member aged 30, (by the table, 
[>. 136. coL IS.) is - - - L. 31.3011 

If be entered at 21, and ia paying ui annual contribution of 1. 1, 

the value at 30, (coL 16.) of his whole future umtributiona, ia 16.6944 

And the difierence (coL 14.) is his slock or interest in that fund, of L 4.6067 

AgUD, tt is wished to be known what diould be the stock for a member who 
entered at 30 years of age, who is now 40, and who has paid the increased ann 
Buat contribution of L. I.2TSS4 (coL 17) in the interval of these ages. 
The value of the future diatributions (coL 16.> to a member - 

aged 40, ia - . . - I,8«,M06 

The value at 40 of a future payment of L. 1, (coL 16.) Is L. 14.0893 
The annual contribution payable by a member enter- 
ing at 30, (coL 17.) ia - - - l.37»»* 

The one being multiplied by the other gives the value 
of this member's future contribution at the age of 40, 
which U ..... ia6278 

And this last being subtracted from the value of bis future aUsw- 
ances at that age, the difference, or his interest in the cajrital at 
the age of 40, is ■ - - - 1. 7.M9B 

Having, in this way, ascertained the estimated stock of each member at 
every age in the society, and added the whole sums t'other, the total amount 
would of course be the capital required. 

But it is very probable that neither of the above methods may be entirely 
a^Jkable to every. aociety, as the requisite amount of capital mast alwayn de- 
pend, more or less, upon a variety of circnmstonces, with regard to the value of 
the future contributions and allowances, which it is impossible here to enume- 
rate or fbieaee, but which must be taken into account at the time of balancing. 
Our olgect at present is not so much to give rules for performing these ope- 
fations aa to shew their expediency ; and if societies <mi^ become convinced 
tf the necessity of entering into periodical investigations of thdr afihirs, they 
will have recourse far directions to some of the works on annuities *, or to per- 
•ana pracllcally acquainted with the snlyect. It ia to be particulariy observed, 
bewerer, that, In performing such operations, it will not do to take the average 
age of off the members c^a society, and hence conclude that the rickness and 
consequently the demands, wilt be the same as if each member were of that 
age. For example, take one member at SS years of age, oae at 36, one at 46, 
■ See the wnki or Price, BiUer. MUh. Ac 

. r:it.:f:i.vG00gIc 



Benefit or Friend^ Societies. 14'!' 

one at 5S, and one at 65, the avenge a^e of each pr these fire members will 
then be 4ft, but tbeir average «Mn«n will be much more tbaii if each of them 
had been in reality 4S jears of age. Thus, the average sickness of a member 
at aSyearaofage, is 4 days 3 hours; of one at 35, 4 days 19 houru ; of one at 
40, 1 week 4 houra; of oneat 55, 1 week 6 daya Shours; and of one at 6a, S 
weeks 4 days 10 hours, being in all 9 weeks 6 days I hour; which being di- 
vided among these five memhers, ^ve to each 1 week 2 days 6 hours, while 
the average sickness to a member at 4ft ymra of age is only 1 week 4 hours, 
OX about one-third less. This will shew how the sicknesB and clmms againat 
a society may increase, although the averse age of the menAere, when taken 
as a whole, may continue nearly the same for a long series of years. 

It may only &rther be remained, with regard to fines and payments in ar. 
rear, and calculated on above as stock, that such debts are really as beneficial 
and secure as if the money were actually In the society's possession ; for tbey 
must be either all pud within a limited time, and that, too. In general, with 
hlf^ intecaat in the shape oF additional fines, or forfeiture of the whole [ȴ- 
Tiinu pigments Is incurred. These debts are therefore equal to the same sum 
In poasesaion, and as they will always form a con^derable part of a society's 
ca^tal, the strictest attention would require to be paid to the book-keeping. 
Indeed, it will be now obvious, from what has been stated, that this is at any 
' rate indispennble, for no Friendly Society can ultimately succeed whose books 
do not afford nteans of ascertaining the amount of the engagements to the 
members by the society, and its ability or inability to meet them. Forvanr 
BU^estions in this departifient, as well as for much useful information on other 
matters connected with Health and Life Assurance, we have been indebted to 
Mr James Cl^iom, accountant in Edinburgli, whose practical acquaint- 
ance ¥rith all that relates to such sul^iects baa been likewise of the greatest 
service to several sodeties lately established. 

But highly important as proper books and periodical investigations are for 
securing the permanency of societies and the due ftilfilment of their obliga.^ 
dons, such books and investigations are no less important in another point of 
view. By th^ means members will be always made aware of their real inl«- . 
rest at any age in the capital, and will thus often be prevented fitim allowing 
themselves to &11 Into arrear in their contributions, and he expelled for 
non-payment, which might have otherwise been the caae, had they not knitwn 
the value of the right they were sacrificing. And here we must take noUce 
of what is conndered a most oppresrive measure, wlilch has of late been exten. 
sively resorted to by societies agfunst fbrfeited members, and sanctioned by 
the inferior judicatories, — we mean prosecution fbr arrears. In order to ena- 
ble the reader to form a proper conception of this matter. It will be neceasary 
to pve, first, a brief summary of some proceedings which have lately taken 
placet and then to state what is conceived to be the real meiiti of the 
question. 

Proceedings of the Justices of Ike Peace in the case* of Forfeited 

Members of Friendlif Societies. 

A few months ago there appeared In the newspapers the report of a suit' 

raised by a Friendly Societv at Ellon, In the county of Aberdeen, agailst 

-' ...Coodc 



148 Mr W. Prflaer on the History and Constitution of 

lome of itB meniben, for pajnneat of no less than fourteen yean alleged ar- 
rears, and in which it was stated, that the circuit court, upon on appeal, had 
decided againet the members to the extent of the first two years' dues, bejjig 
the period during which they were entitled to benefit. For some considerable 
time previous to thie decision, simUarcaseg had frequently occurred In the Jus. 
Uceof Peace Courts, but the judgments were often so inconsistent and contra- 
dictory, that no fixed rule of deduon could be sidd to e^ust, and prosecutions 
were by no means generaL In consequence of the report of the above decision, 
however, the question was considered to be settled in favour of the societies ; 
and, therefore, several of these institutions in Edinburgh immediately came to 
the resolution of demanding &om all who had been at any time connected vritli 
them, payment of whatever sum appeared from the books to have been un. 
pfdd at the time thej ceased to be members, and for the non-payment of which 
they had suffered the stipulated penalty of expulsion and forfeiture of all pre- 
vious ccHltributions to their respective societies. 

Numerous prosecutions having next been threatened for non-compUance 
with these demands, — which were c<msidered to be both iniquitous and ille- 
gal, and which, if successfiil, would be productive of the most serious conse- 
quences to great numbers of working people, — application was made for infor- 
mation as to the particular grounds of dedsion on the circuit. From the infor- 
mation thus obtained, it appeared that thecaseat Ellon bad been decided under 
particular circumstances, and that it could not therefore be held as a precedent ; 
■nd, at any rate, that the equitable principles of accounting appUcable to such 
cases, had never in any question been taken into consideration, but that both 
societies and judges had acted merely upon the principle, that as long as a 
member is entitled to claim benefit, so long is a society entitled to compel 
payment of his dues. It being evident that this general rule had been adopt- 
ed and indiscriminately applied, without any regard to the pHrticulHr circum- 
stances in which each society might be placed, — the conditions upon which 
the members had entered, — the peculiar nature of societies' operations, — or to 
their own printed r^ulations, — a case explajiatory of the whole was drawn 
up and circulated among the gentlemen composing the Law Committee of the 
Justices of the .Peace for the county of Edinburgh. In this statement it 
was shewn. It/, That the contributions of members are always piud in ad- 
vance ; 2d, That each member has always a greater interest in the stock than 
any sum of contribution he is ever allowed to run in arrear, and hence that 
every society is greatly benefited by each forfeiture that occurs ; Srf, That 
such forfeiture was in general the only penalty for nun-payment, either sti- 
pulated or enforced by the regulations or practice of Friendly Societies ; and, 
Vh, That their former members could not therefore be now called upon, at 
the distance of months and years, to pay what neither the one party nor the 
other ever before conceived to be due. The Justices, however, stated,— upon 
a special case being brought to try the question, and to which the above ob- 
jections [larticulariy applied, — that they could not coincide with the state- 
ments which bad been made, as they held, that when a man became a consti- 
tuent member of a Friendly Society, his contributions could no longer be 
considered his individual property ; that, as long as a member was entiUed to 
b^efit, he was bound to pay all the Mated contributions ; and that having 



:!.« Google 



Benefit or Friendlif Societies. 119 

Ibe decinon of a Judge of a supreme court before them, they cuulil not ilo 
otherwise tbui take his opiniua as their guide. 

The result of this case having also been made jmblic through the medium 
of the newspajiem, prosecutions Immediately became general throughout the 
whole of Scotland, but more especially in the capital and its vicinity. In the 
Justice of Peace Court of Edinburgh, there were sometimes thirty and forty 
such cases in a day ; and the extent of oppres^on and injustice to which these 
measures led can hardly be imagined. Numbers of poor people, after having 
contributed to these societies for a long series of years, became unable, in the 
late distressing times, to continue their payments, and were consequently not 
only forced to aucrcnder the whole that tbey had provided for sickness and 
old age, but also subjected to imprisonment for non-payment of what waa called 
arrears. Othen, again, who had contributed for as long a time from mere 
tbelings of benevolence, who had never received, nor intended to receive, any 
benefit, and who had left the sodeties fi^im inadvertence or otherwise, were 
no w,dragged before these courts, and decerned against fur whatever sumswere 
demanded as arrears. By the statute 6th Geo. IV. cap. 18, under which the 
Justices act as a small debt court, it is ordered, that " a copy of the account, 
document of debt, or state of the demand, shall be delivered by a constable or 
peace-officer, to the defender personally, or left at his dwelling place;" and 
in the very summonses issued from the Justice of Peace Court, there is the 
following " N, B. The Justices strictly enforce the provision of the act which 
requires a copy of the account, document of debt, or state of the demaud to 
be delivered to the defender, at the time he is summoned." When such ac- 
counts were called for, however, the act of Parliament produced, and the note 
in the summons referred to, the court decided, in no fewer than six different 
cases, that such objections were irivolous, and intimated that they were deter- 
mined toenforce payment of these arrears, and to support Friendly Societies 
by every means in thinr power, as they considered them most valuable insti- 
tutions. But the defenders having threatened actions before the Supreme 
Court, if these decisions were enforced, a farther hearing took place, and 
several of the Justices at length b^an to express doubts of the equity of 
such decisions. With regard to this particular society, it was found that 
the question ought to have been tried in another court ; and the cases were 
accordingly remitted to that of the city Magistrates ; but with regard to nu- 
merous other cases, it was deemed prudent, in the mean lime, to delay decid- 
ing them, until their merits should be farther considered, and proper advice 
obtained. The city Ma^trates having followed the same course, tbe matter 
remains for the present unsettled *. 

Such, then, being the nature and supposed difficulties of these questions, it 
is trusted that the following additional detail will not be considered as alto- 
gether superfluous for their farther elucidation. 

At the commencement of every Friendly Society, a number of individuals 
agree to contribute each a sum as entry-money, and afterwards a quarterly 
contribution for one, two,-three, or more years, before any of Ihem shall claim 
or be entitled to benefit ; and should any one die or withdraw before the ex< 

* FricDdly Sodetin in E ng la nd on now pumilng the tame mcaHint. OiH ndety In London 
vay lately aummoned tventy-Bevoi ot its late memben for anean ] but the KigiMtraiet, frmi ffu 
taDportance of the qucatloni alio ddayed gMng any dedilaa- See t!ie London Tra^ei Ftte Pntt 
tiamrmpa, Mlh Ma; 182a 



'50 Mr W. Fraser on (lie Hlslortf and Constitution of 

[dralion of the stipulated tersi, all his contributions become the property of the 
Mdetj. It a also agreed, that each member shall be allowed an indulgence 
of fbur or five quaiters before he can be expelled for non-pajment ; and such 
Doit-pajment has been uoifbnnly the onlj intimatioa ever ^ven or required. 
Then any member intended or was obliged to leave the aocietj. These are 
usually all the stipuUtions with regard to contributions, resignation, or espul- 
sioa, and of course apply equally to the future as to the original memberB. 

Before a member, thercfbre, can become free, or entitled to benefit, he 
must have paid, besides entry-money, one, two, or three years' contributions 
in advance ; and it is out of these, that the society afterwards de&ays the 
allowances, in the first place, until tbey be again replaced, and generally more 
than replaced, nith the interest uflhe remaining capital, and the future contri- 
butions as each quaiter-day srriveB. (See table p. 136, cols. 13, U, &c) Should 
any member fall to pay regularly, he is charged high interest, in the shape of 
a fine, for each neglect, until the period of forieiture ( and should he Ml nek 
or die before forfeiture, the arrears and interest are deducted off the first of 
his allowances- 
It will thus be seen that no society can ever run any risk uf loss by mem- 
bers in arrear, it being out of the advajiced or past contributions thai all thtax 
claims fall to be defVayed, — that the current contributions, or those in arrear, 
are deducted by the society off the first of their allowances, should any such 
be required, — and that, should a member be ultimately expelled for non-pay- 
ment, the tosietj is much more than repaid, by retaining the whole of his 
subscribed catnlal before be became tVee, together with his share of any accu- 
mulation wbicfa may have aflerwards taVen place. 

If any farther proof of the accuracy of these remarks were wanting than that 
afforded, by the tables and explanatory observations onp. 136, efte;. we would 
particularly refer to Mr Cockbum'e lucid statement, as quoted on p. 143-4. 

It is said, however, that as a society has the risk of a member's sickness 
and death during the period he is in arrear, so it is but equity ttiat he should 
make payment of such arrears, and then, if he chooses, withdraw IVom the so- 
ciety. In a propritlory assurance company, where the assured have no inte- 
rest in the capital, were an insurer indulged with a delay in payment of bis 
premium, at the same time that the company held themselves bound to him 
during the interval in benefit, such a rule would be just ; but if^ on the other 
hand, this same person held a share in the concern to a far greater amount 
than the sum be fell in arrear, it would not surely be attempted, upon his 
ultimate &ilure in payment, both to seize his capital, and also to prosecute 
him fbr his premium. But this is exactly the course which is now proposed 
to be adopted by Friendly Societies, fbr as these institutions are mutual as- 
surance companies, every member has a share in the capital ; and before any 
one can be entitled to claim benefit, liis share must exceed the amount of 
any arrears which he can ever be due. This stock arises, as before stated, 
first from his contributions before becoming free, and next from the progres- 
sive increase of the fund. (Table, p. 13« & 140.) He, therefore, at the be- 
ginning, advances money on the &ith of the society, while the society, on 
the other hand, allows him to run In arrears on tbesecurily of his stockj and, 
as already mentioned, a forfeiture of such stock is incurred, if these arrears 
are not paid irithin a spedfied time. 



Sffiefii or Friendly Sodetiet. 151 

Sut il has likewise been said, that were a member to fidi sick while in aiv 
rear, he might soon draw out from the society a great deelmoiethan hlssluu«af 
the capitaL This a^ment, however, might ai well be applied to member* wba 
arer^ularasto thosewhoarenot ngularin thdr payments. Itiatfae veiyin. 
tention and use of such societies, that some members shall receive much more 
than others; and it will not surely be pretaided, that, without tome apedal 
agreement, those on whom sickness has &lleu would not have the same right, 
ages and payments alone being considered, to an equal share of the stock, i» 
the event of a subsequent division, as those who had never rec^ved a &ctUllg. 
As all the tnembera, tberefiire, csntinne to have an equal right to the cajrita), 
<in the old Bodetles at least), so Ibng as they are connected with the instl- 
tution, and as Uie managers cui always retain payment of all arreaTB off the 
allowances in the event of sickness or death, a society, even in this pdnt <£ 
view, runs no greater risk with a member in arrear, tlian with one who li not. 
Every Society, tberefiwe, is grertly benefited by every surrender or i(«lbi- 
ture tliat occurs ; and this is so well known by all the higher classes of Hu. 
tual Assurance Associations, thai very considerable benefits are always calcu- 
lated upon, and do arise, from such forfeitures, although with them no entry- 
money, and only iu year's contribution, is paid in advance- 
But, &rtber, the practice of retaining all the stock of a member who wisfaea 
or is obliged to withdraw, has been even acknowledged by the more respect- 
able assurance aasociattans to be uqjust ; and, accordio^y, the greats; num- 
ber of tbem are now in the habit of purchasing the polkies (i. e. retumii^ so 
much of the past coatributious) of such members as may find it inconveniant 
or unnecessary to remain any longer In the institution. 

In the Beport, too, of the Hi^land Society, while it is stated that for&ituia 
appear to be indispensable in Friendly Societies, being the only practicaUe 
means of enforcing rt^lar payments of small contributions, it is added, ** were 
Friendly Societies once established upon correct principles, and accustomed te 
ascertain perlodicaUy the value of the individual stock of their members, it 
might deserve consideration whether it would be expedient tliat the diractMB 
should have a discretionary power to purchase up, underaome regulated abate- 
ment, the interest of members who are going abroad, or who have becmne 
permanently established at such a distimce as renders inconvenient the maiis 
tenance of thdr accustomed reJatlons with the socie^. An arrai^ement irf 
this kind would obviate a general objection which frequently leads young 
men to pottptme to a more advanced age their entering into aoclel^*." 

Several Frioidly SodeUes lately oi;ganizcd have accordingly adopted this 
r^ulation. Herlot's Benefit Sodety, for example, (whoae rules ware sane- 
UtMied by the Qoarter-Bessions of the Peace for the county of Edinhui^ 
Slst November 1836), give a table, shewing the pecuniary interest of each 
member at evoy age in the society ; which is ibr one at thirty !.• 3 : 5 1 1 ; 
at forty, L. 8 1 8 : 6 ; at fifty, L.14iie:ft, ftci and, should circumstances rea- 
der it necessary for any one to leave Scotland, he may either contittue a 
member, or, upcm relinquishing all fiiture claim, receive threeJburtlis of his 
stock at the time, after deducting all arrears. 

The Edinburgh School of Arts Friendly Society, an Institution Just esta- 
blished upon the most accurate and scientific principles, luu also staled i» 
• Reporl, p. K. 



152 Mr W. Fraser on the Hintory and Constitution of 

their r^ulations, thai, if anj member satiEfj the committee that he ia tuuSJV 
to Eonlinue his cuntributioiis, or Is about to leave Scotland, and wUbei on that 
account to dissolve his connection wltb the Societj, " the committee ihall 
be authorized lo purchase the interest of anj such member for a sum not ex- 
ceeding two-thiids of the value thereof, according to the age of the party at 
the time, the state of the Aiudi at the last period of investigntioD, and the 
tablra of the SocietT." For example, an individual who entered at 31 yean 
of age, and who has two shares in the Sickness Fund, three tn the Annuity, 
and five in the Life Assurance or Funeral Fund (the annual contributims 
being payable till the age of 6S), wilU at the age of 36, have an interest in 
the stock of the society to the extent of Ii.34 : 16: 10 j, and should he then 
withdraw, under either of the above circumstances, he will be entitled 
to two-thirds of thie sum, after deduction of arrears. 

But, supposing that no part of the capital were to be returned by either 
of these societies tu niembers unable tn continue their payments, would it not 
be must iniquitous to prosecute, alter forfeiture, 6uch members for arrears, 
while there had been confessedly retained by the society a sum more than 
equal to air times the amount P Now, although old societies have no books or 
tables by which they can exhibit tbe interest of their members so clearly as 
the abnve two 8odetie>^ yet it may, to a certain extent, be shewn otherwise ; 
and the case of the society already alluded to, as having been brought before 
t^ Justices to try the question of arrears, may be taken as an illustration. 
This society was instituted in 1750; and by the last edition of its articles, 
printed in 18S2, a man entering at the age of 31, would pay, before the socie- 
ty ran any risk with him, entry.money, L.Jj r^ular contributions for three 
years at is. 6d. per quarter, L. 1, lOs. ; six funerals annually ■ (the average 
for some years) at ed. each, fbr three years, 93. ; fines, gay at least Is. : in all, 
L. 4. Here, then, the advanced capital of this member is no less than Iw 4 
sterling, besides interest, at the end of three years ; and this sum ought also 
to increase, by the unappropriated balances of the subsequent contribuUons 
and accruing interest, fbr at least ten years afUrwanls. But supposing this 
member, from want of employmait, or any other cause, to run in arrear du- 
ring the tburth year, — to be unable to pay within the limited period, — and to 
be expelled tor non-payment of L. I, — would it not only be excesuvdy unjust, 
but cruel in the extreme, to oppress him for payment of this sum also, while 
he had been obliged lo surrender fbur times the amount ? And supposing 
that he had fiiUen sick or died while in arrear, the society could in oo poud- 
Ue view have been in a worse situation with him than if he had paid his dues 
at the previous quarter day ; since, as formerly remarked, they had his past 
contributions in their own hands, and also the power of retaining his arrean 
off the first of the allowances. Above all, had this member t>een struck off 
the roll tor non-payment, before he became Itee, but afler he had paid his 
entry-money, and periiaps eighteen months' contributions, upon what pre- 
tence could the society prosecute him for arrears, while tbey held these sums 
in their possession, and bad never in any shape been liable to him in baiefit? 



3.n.iized by Google 



Benefit or Friendly Sot:ieties. 16S 

But without entering moie into detail as to the equitj of the case, it maj> 
be remarked in geneml, that were it an established rule of amy society, that 
members could only resign by written intimation, and upon paying all arrears, 
tt would be proper, whether such law was equitable or not, that all should be 
made to comply with it, until regularly altered. But where no such regula- 
Ijon has at any time existed, and where the only notice of resignation ever 
given or required, during a long series of years, has been that of non-payment, 
surely no society ought to be authoiized tu enact, or at least to enforce, a law, 
which is not only to operate against members in liiture, but also against persona 
who have ceased — and some of them for many years ceaaed — to have any voice 
or interest in its concerns. It is a well known maiim, that practice is held 
to explain any law already enacted, and that every new law can only have a 
prospective not retrosjieotive effect, without the consent of ali interested. 

In short, if questions i>etween Friendly Societies and their members are 

not to be decided by their own regulations and practice, all their calculationa 

nil the parliamentary enactments and late inquiries — as well as all the 

trouble which the Justices themsdves are put to in revising and sanctioning 

such regulations, will be rendered of no avaiL' 

We now conclude these desultory remarks on Friendly Socie. 
ties, and the object in submitting them will be attained, should 
they in any degree tend to direct more general attention to 
the utility and principles of these institutions. The works where- 
in the subject is more ably treated liave been referred to ; and it 
is with pleasure we have to add, that another treatise on it will 
soon appear, through the medium of a well known work, The 
LiBHARY OF Useful Knowledge. 

• since Ihb iheel wu put to pmi, the cues Bated on p. M»> to hns ben reDdltal br Uw JoMfca 
of [he Peace for the iDunty of Edinbuigh u the HagiUiUet (or the city, hive been deciiled. Up- 
mglvlnc tadgment, tb* ll^[litnta aid thu<hc;«ovld candidly a»A« tlut they were now of ■ 
quite dlfl^nnt oplnkn ftom nhit til*; mn nhcn the oica wen iBt befiae tbeni. Cmcdviis the 
■tMaUontobeofleofinuch bnpoitimce, (heyhadilDU [hu Ehne paid osuldenMg uceDtloa to tba 
svlijsct, ud had (akn the oplnlmi of Hrenl ■pnttmioati gentlsDoi, ind iddte eipediiUy thow of 
"le right of Uie esdety CO enforce peymait of mem fton 
Jib oHitt bid now no hnltUlon In agieelog with ill thoie 
ch n^u, u tUcn wu no ankle la Ibetc n«ukiUoim neUier h»d 
' "le iDclety for Kventf yean. autboiWog mcfa dcnumdi. 




[Mr Eraser's Memoir on Friendly Societies, now lirought to a 
ooncIusioD, we consider one of the best views of this highly in- 
teresting and important subject hitherto published. Already 
it has ezoited mnch attention, and we dtnibt not will materially 
assist in extending these very excellent institutions thronghout 
the country.— Ed.] 



( 164 ) 

0« ifte Velocity ^ Sound. In a Letter from G-Ton Moi.L, 
F. R. S., Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University 
of Utrecht, to Professor Jah£son. 



XN the Number for October of your valuable Journal, Mr H. 
Meikle notices the observations on velocity of sound, which were 
made by Mr Van Beek and myself, and an account of which 
was published in the PbiiosojJiical Transactions of 18^ Mr 
Meikle very justly states his apprehenuon that some of these 
observations are erroneously mentioaed, as having been made in 
January instead of June. 

On receiving your Journal, I immediately turned to the 
Transactions, and found, to my no small mortification, that 
Mr Meikle is perfectly correct. The error which be points out 
really exists in the Transactions, by whose fault I am unable to 
tell. Whether I, or the printer, is guilty, is impossible for me 
to investigate. If the fault lies with me, I cannot plead in ex- 
cuse the cause which Mr Meikle kindly suggests. Il cannot 
have arisen out cS ignorance of the language, ance Jum/ and 
January belong alike to both idioms. It is therefore a blunder ; 
and I must request you to correct the e^ct of it as much as 
posmble, by infonning both Mr Meikle and the public, that all 
the experiments alluded to were niade in June, and none in 
Jamuuy. 

If I were in possesnon of the apparatus pmnted out by your, 
able correspondent, I should be very anxious to try its efficiency ; 
and if Mr Meikle has had one made, I should be very much 
obliged to that gentleman for the information where a similar 
MK- could be procured. I am, &c. 

G. Moll, F. R. S., 
UmcRT, Profemor of Natural ndlosophj in 

irl82S. the nniverdtj of Utrecht 



Mr Meikle apprehends that the cause why the interval was 
longer in the experiments of S5th June, than the mean of both 
directions on the S7th and S8th, must lie in the difference of the 
guns, or of the mode <£ charing and firing them. In turning 
to tibe diary of these observatioos, I god that the 35th, S7th, 



On the VelocUy <f Sound. 165 

ami S8th of June, the long metal twelve-pounders have been 
used OR both stations, loaded with six pounds of gunpowder. 
The cartridges had been carefully prepared by Sergeant- Major, 
now Captain or Lieutenant Essen ? ; the gunpowder, if not 
from the sanie barrel, was from the same magazine. The 
propriety of trying its strength did not then occur to us. The 
guns were constantly discharged, loaded, primed, and managed, 
by the same persons, either non-commisMoned officers or cadets. 
The cartridge-bags were of -fustian, and not of paper. Instead of 
wadding, a sod was rammed down on the charge as strongly as 
poe»ble. I cannot therefore see any of the differences pointed 
out by Mr Meikle. I had the observations of Captain Parry 
and Lieutenant Foster in high latitudes, and low temperature, 
reduced to the same pressure and temperature with our own 
experiments. The results agree strikingly : an account of this 
will be shortly published in the Transactions. 

Mr Mbikle, in reply to this communication, has sent us the 
following remarks. 

With regard to tbe propooed appsratiM, it hat not yet been con- 
structed ; bat I have bad some correapontlence with Proressor Moll on 
die subject, and It is probable that an arrangement will be made for 
(blowing tip the scheme; npecnaHy at 1 hare ei^^;ested some ma- 
terial NmpIt6cations on tbe Atfginal pn^MMi^ — putleolBriy that, instead 
(rf'pkfjng nob an apparaVas or dofk, at each end of the range, 
it would be preCenMe to hare onty one in the middle, or somewhere 
DO tbe line between die (riHerrers. By this menu, the ear wonM not 
be ao overpowered by tbe prodigiensly loader «nmd of the bell beside 
it, dun of that it was meant to bear. By placing obeerrers, too, on 
opponte ndea of the machine, both in die line of 'the direction of die 
(rind, and tdaa in anodier at right angles to it, tbe effect of tbe wind 
eould be ascertmned ; and that, perhaps, even when the sound coiHd 
not be beard to windward ; — a method whic^, fer several reasons, conld 
scarcely be niflde'avwlable in the case of Ctmnon. 

As to the conjectures, which I formerly tfareir out, to account for - 
some slight anomalies in Prefessor Moll's experiments, it iwtot oe- 
curred to me that t^e two guns, so judiciottsly employed' by that ^- 
dngnisbed pbilosopber and bis sble associates, were snCb as woildd ei- 
ther be accounted of different sizes, or reckoned to be differently 
Rharged, he. What [ aUuded to, was merely small or acri^ental (Its- 



156 On the Velocity ofSmmd. 

crepandes in their dinMnsioni, and in the modes of operating peculiar 
to different indiriddftls. For, though Dr Moll says the guns were con- 
Btantlf <liacharged, loaded, ftc by the same persona, yet he must mean 
only the BSme rank or description of persons — not the same individuals ; 
becanse the guns were fully nine miles from each other, and dischat^ed 
nearly at the same time. Besides, if the sods, strongly rammed down 
instead of wadding, presented the same resistaQce to the powder in 
both gnna, I should rather deem it an accidental coincidence. At the 
same lime, I am perfectly ready to admit, that I do not see how the 
mode of experimenting with gnne could have been better managed than 
was done by Dr Moll and his associates; and I consider their results 
among the most valuable we possess. 

In experimenting with cannon over great ranges, the intensity or 
loudness of the sound must at first be very great, and then gradually 
decrease toward the ferther end of the range, where it has in some in- 
stances been so faint as to be quite inaudible, when opposed by a very 
slight wind. But since the results so obtuned are only the mean of the 
velocities over the whole range, they throw no light on the qaestion, 
whether, or how far, loudness affects the velocity. It is, besides, high- 
ly probable, that such a mean velocity from cannon may often happen 
nearly to agree with the mean from a bell, and yet, for all thai, sound 
be really moving with a retarded velocity, or slower as it gets fainter. 
If, during experiments with cannon, additional observations were made 
eomewbete intermediate between the extremities of the range, poaaibly 
a solution of the question might, *■> ^ certEuo extent, be obtained, by 
comparing the tiroes with the corresponding portions of the range. But 
die difficulty of measuring these minnte intervals of eltpaed time with 
sufficient exactness would here come into pUy, unless eomething like 
the ^>par«tnB f(»merly suf^^ted were adopted. By means of that me- 
thod, the nuDute intervals may be ascartuned with snch facility, that 
■evenl observras could be raided at varione distances from die sonorous 
body, which could scarcely bil to shew whether tbe velocity be uni- 
form or retarded. 

Guns with percussion locks, it is true, could be set off in succession, 
by means of clock-work ; bnt it would be nearly impossible to make 
one and the same gun fire at sufficiently short equal intervala ; and I 
iMher doubt if two guns be often of precisely equal dimensions. To be 
Hire, this might be examined and rectified if necessary, thou^ not 
without considerable trouble. However, granting that any inequality 
tiS uze were obviated, or did not exist, a more insuperable uncertainty 
remains ; for we cannot be sure that two charges, even those naed anc- 



On the Velocily of Sound. 157 

ceaurely in the aame gun, are bo perfectly alike, so equally igoited, aoil 
80 equally resisted by the wadding, or nbat«ver ebe is nsed for the 
putpose, as to give extctly equd reports. It is true, that, in the late 
experimeaia in France, the Telocity of sound was tbe same, whether 
two or three pounds of powder were used ; but where powder has no- 
thing to propel, a great part, especially of a larger charge, escapes 
unbumt. For such reasons, the method of striking a bell at short 
equal intervals by clock-work, though confined to a smaller range, pOB~ 
sesses a precision of principle which can scarcely be looked for with guns. 
Perhaps to the sources of acceleration formerly suggested, should be 
added, the sudden gust of wind caused by tbe great burst of flame, &c. 
from the mouth of the piece. H. M. 



Some Remarks Ofi the Bushmen of Orange River. By Louis 
Leslie, Esq. Assistant Surgeon, 45th Regiment. Com- 
municated by Sir James M'Grigob, Director-General of 
the Army Medical Board. 

-L HE military post at Orange River being abandoned, the 
same opportunities may not again be afforded to another, of ob- 
serving the manners of the Busiimen, and giving to the Medical 
Board some account of their poisoned arrows. In that neigfa. 
bourhood, and along the Hornberg P, purer examples of that ex- 
U-aordinary race are perhaps nowhere to be found ; and whatever 
follows, regards only them, and may differ from any accoimt of 
other portions of the tribe along the African frontier. Small in 
stature as the Hottentot race is, they arc, in the quarter' men- 
tJoned, less than any where else, seldom exceeding live feet, but 
cS the raosX. perfect symmetry ; they are active in their tnove- 
m^its, but indolent in disposition ; their colour is dark, but is 
rendered still darker by filth ; tbdr features are peculiarly for- 
bidding, on account of the great distortion of the bones of the 
face ; and the facial angle approaches considerably to that of tbe 
monkey. The Bushman will seldom submit to coercion and 
restraint, — if he does, he becomes the Boor's most wretched me- 
nial, and perhaps is worse treated than any slave in the world. In 
the state of liberty, they dwell in craals, under the authority of a 
chief, whose rank is among them hereditary. The numbor in one 
craal seldom exceeds thirty— men, women, and children. Tb^r 



158 Mr Louis Leslie's RemarJea oh the 

dwellings are formed of mats, if in the fUmn, just large eooHgii 
to creep into ; but they often reside in a high and ridgy moun- 
tain, under some projecting ledge of rock, the approach to wlticli 
is narrow and difficult. If attacked there, they seldom flee. They 
have no fear of death ; and, if possessed of a more powerful wea- 
pon, might defy the attacks of the Boors, make them less IVe- 
quent, and more fatal. Nothing but the privations they suffer 
would make any one of them submit to the cruelty of the far- 
mers; and, living as they do on locusts, ants, and some &in- 
naceous roots, there can be no better proof of the insufficiency 
of tbeir dny bow, and of the general inertness of their celebrated 
poison ; yet they are themselves impressed with the conviclion 
of its strength, and they have been able to impress their enemies 
with a dread of its effects, if not of its fatality. I have never been 
able to procure oae well authenticated relation of death produced 
by it in man. I have known some cases of horses and d<^ 
dying from the insertion of the arrow into the leg ; but some of 
them seemed to die rather from the effect of violent inflammation 
in the limb, than Irom any specific power in the poison itself. 
In cue instance of a dog, howev«, the animal became stupid 
and inscnsilde in a few minutes, end died in twenty. Some co- 
looisti who have been wounded, assert that they are subject to 
periodical attacks of insanity, under certain states of atmosphe- 
rical influence; but I believe this to be, like most of their tales, 
quite unworthy of credit. The poison of the Bushman of the 
Hm^berg ? is extracted from plants, and from [dants only, so far 
aa I have been able to learn. In that quarter, they use no mi- 
neral poison, nor the venom of snakes. Two q>ecimensof jdante 
used by them accompany this ; the bulb is a species ot the 
Hamanihug ; but never having seen the other plant in flower, 
I have been unable to leam its name. Its leaf exudes a milky 
juice, and, cut up and bcHled, forms a tenacious extract, which is 
spread upon the arrow, to some thickness. There is another 
(rfant which they use likewise, either above or with the other 
two ; which, bother, forms the strongest they jvocure ; its mune 
is " mountun poison." Growing on the stony hiUs, and very 
rarely to be found, I have never got a apecimm of it. 

Their dexterity in the use of their bow is remarkable, and the 
distance they can shoot, with such a light arrow, is astoniAiBg. 



Bushmen of Orange Biver, 150 

't'bey will throw the arrow upwards of an faundFed yards, and 
with great correctness ; but, as might be expected, it will st^dom 
wound at such a distance ; and I have known a cavalry cloak 
protect a soldier at twenty paces. The bow is not brought to 
the eye in shooting. They fix their eye upon the object, grasp- 
ing the bow with the left hand, while the arrow passes through 
the fingers on the right nde, — a mode of shooting I believe 
peculiar to them. 

Their treatment of a wound made by a pmsoncd arrow is 
truly scientific. It is hud freely open, the poison cleaned out, 
and a horn applied in the manner of a cupping-glass, exhausted 
l^ siicbon at the small extremity. This, as far as I could learn, 
is the only treatment they adopt, never making' use of any herb 
as a spetnfic The Boors consider gunpowder and urine as very 
efficient, and prescnbe those in every arrow wound, and in every 
case of snake-lHte. Cupjnng would seem to be the Bushmen's 
favourite treatment of every complunt accompanied with p^, 
and so frequently do they resort to this, that by the time they 
are full grown they appear scars all over. 

The length of time a Bushman can live without food is sur- 
jMising, often living for three and four days without a mouth- 
ful ; and the quantity they can devour after such abstinence is 
equally remarkable, one man having been known to eat an Af- 
rican sheep (30 lb.) in a ^ngle nighl. When unable to pro- 
cure food, a belt round the body is tightened as the craving in- 
creases, and they resort to the smoking of dakica (a species of 
chanvre, or hemp), which produces intoxication. The narcotic 
efifects <^ this plant no doubt fxoduce much of that shrivelled 
appearance which is observable in all of any age. When posseft- 
fflng plenty of their daidca, they can anoke and sleep for several 
days and nights without eating. 

A Bushman has no idea of the perpetuation <^ property ; I 
might say, no notions of a prospective existence^ He is wholly 
dependent on nature or on man : he will nether imitate the 
Caffer new the Boor, will neith^ grow ccffn nor breed cattle. 

The figures drawn 1^ them on the rocks are often remarkable 
for the correctness of the outlines; they hit the attitude of the 
animal, but seldom care about truth in colmiring : speaking phre> 
Qolc^cally, they have the organ of fonn, but not of colour. I 



leO ■ Ur Davy on the Structure of the Heart 

liavc never seen aay animal resembling the unicorn among their 
puntings, but such an animal is aaid to exist beyond the Orange 
River. They are fond of music and dancing, but their musical 
instrument is rude, and without power or variety, consisting cS 
one string stretched upon s bow, whose vibrations are produced 
by the breath, with great exertion. 

The Bushman's conception of a Supreme Being is, that he is 
an evil deity, and their notion of futurity, that there will be an 
eternity of darkness, in which they will live for ever, and feed 
on grass alone. They imagine that the sun sends rain, and 
when he is clouded, they hold up burning wood, in token of dis- 
approbation. They believe that the sun and moon will disap- 
pear, to produce the darkness they anticipate. 

The Budimau's bow is made of a peculiar tree, called the 
Blue Bud), whose branches are^ almost moulded by nature to 
the artificial form. The sinews of the quagga yield power- 
ful bow-strings, and the arrow is formed of a slender reed, head- 
ed with antelope''s horn, and pointed with a small triangular 
piece of metal, which they procure from the CaSers. 



(Nervations on the Structure qf the Heart g/" Jnimah of the 
genus Rana. By John Davy, M. D., F. B. S. Communi- 
cated by Sir James M'^Gkigob, Director-General of tJie 
Army Medical Board. 

XT is commonly asserted by the highest authwities in compa- 
rative anatomy, and generally believed, th^ the animals be- 
lon^Dg to the genus Raoa, and indeed all the animals included 
in the natural order ' Batraciens' of M. Cuvier, have a single 
hetut like fishes, composed of one auricle only and one ventricle. 

Many observations which I have made on the common toad, 
have led me to a different conclusion, and have sRtjsfied me to 
demonstration that the heart of this animal has two auricles. 

This structure is displayed without much diflicully by minute 
dissection. It is best exhibited by making a transverse incision 
into the ventricle, close to its base, and inflating the cavities with 
the blowfnpe. In this way, and using fine probes, it may be 



, C;oonK 



of Animus of' (he genus Rana. 161 

demonetrated clearly that the heart has two auricles, divided hy 
a tran^jarent membraoous septum, possessing fibres that appear 
to be muscular; that these auricles communicate with the ven- 
tricle by a common and very short passage, provided with three 
semilunar valves ; and that they have no pos^ble communication 
with each other, excepting through the passage above the valves 
common to both of tliem. 

The same fact as to structure may also be demonstrated, by 
blowing air through either of the two pulmonary veins, which 
return the blood from the lungs to the heart. The pulmonic 
auricle, the smallest of the two, is thus distended, and not the 
systemic ; or, by blowing air into the large sinuses into which 
the vense cavse terminate, when the reverse of the preceding ex- 
periment takes place ; and this, at the same time, shews that the 
margin of the septum acts as a valve, and must prevent the 
blood of one auricle passing into the other. 

But, even did not the margin of the septum perform the func- 
tion of a valve, the blood from one auricle could not pass into 
the other, the contraction of the two l)eiiig synchronous; the 
auricles first contracting, next the body of the ventricle, and, 
lastly, that part of the ventricle of a conical sliape, which may 
be conudered almost as a second ventricle *. 

I have observed the same kind of structure of heart in the 
hull-frog and the common frog. Whether it exists in all the 
other spedes of the genus, I have not ascertained, but most 
probably it does ; and, reasoning from analogy, the probability 
is very strong thai ^1 the other genera of the order ' Batraciens' 
have a amilar conformation, both of this vital organ and of the 

■ I am almost induced to consider this part as a »econd ventricle, &om its 
pecuUiritieB, which I ant not aware have liitherto be«i noticed. It ia sepa- 
rated fVonv the body of the ventricle bj' three valves, of a semilunar fbrm. 
To the siAe of its cavitj is attached a flesh; projection, or moveable septum, 
above which it gives orif^n to four arterial trunks, viz. two aortte aild two 
pulmonary arteries, the tanner considerably lai^r than the latter, each pro- 
vided with its own semilunar valve; and the action of this part seems to me 
to be as peculiar as its structure. When I have watched it, it did not appear 
to contract simultaneously, but first one-half and then the other ; as if in- 
tended, in conjunction with the various anastomoses of the arterial system, to 
preserve a conttant, though small, current of blood, to supply all the parts of 
the body according tu their various demands. 

APKII. JUNE 18S8. L 

D.n.iized by Google 



I6S Notice m regard to tfu Jactdaior Fish. 

sanguiferous syi^m id general *. %ouId the inference prove 
' correct, and its truth established by obs^vation, these animals, 
in thdr mature state, wilt no longer be an anomaly in the cla^^- 
iication of reptiles, on account of their heart ; and they will sull 
eontinue as a link connecting the reptiles with iishea, by the pe- 
Guliaiities of their respiratory organs in the first stage €tf their 



CoBFn, J^y 3. TS2&. 



Notice in regard to the Jactdaior Fitk of Java, or Chatodoii 
rostratam, Lin. By Jahks Mxtcheii., Esq. Surgeon, 
A. N. Communicated by the Author. 

tV hilst residing in the Island of Java, in December 18SS, I 
heard of an extraordinary species of iish, in the possession of 
a Javanese Chief, who lived within a mile of the town of Ba- 
tavia. 

Accordingly I went to see it, in company with Mr John- 
son, the cMmnander of the ship Guildford, in which I was a 
passenger, and with an interpreter. 

On our arrival at the chief's villa, we were treated by him 
with great courtesy. After converGong with him some time he 
permitted us to visit his gardens to see these fish, upon which 
he placed a high value, and would on no account part with one 
of them. 

The fish were placed in a small circular pond, from the centre 
of which prcgected a pole upwards of two feet in height. At 
the top of this pole were inserted small pieces of wood, sharp 
pointed, and on each of these were placed insects of the beeUe 
tribe. The placing of this pole and insects by the slaves had 
disturbed the tranquillity of the fish, so we bad to w^t some coo- 
aiderable time before they b^an tb^r (^>erationB ; but this da, 
lay was amjdy recompensed by the amusement they afla-wnrdt 
afibrded UE. When all had been tranquil for a long time, they 

* It i« a miataken notioo that the puluiiniary BFteries.lB the tokd. a&d 
fiog- are derived fr<Hiit)ie aorta- Whea.given oflTfiMuthelieait, and alitUf 
above it, the pulmonaiy arteries ai» danHj attached to the aorta, so u not 
to be diBduguiihable till tNj quit thdr Juxtapoaitien t a&d hence probahlj 
the error In question originated. 



Notice in regard ta the Jaculator J-'ish. 163 

came out of their holes, and swam round and round the pond. 
One (^'them came to the surface of the water, rested there, and 
after steadily fixing its eyes for some time on an insect, it dis- 
diarged from its mouth a small quantity of wat^y fluid, with 
such force and predsicm of aim, as to force it <^ the twig into 
the water, and in an instant swallowed it. 

After this another fish came and performed a similar feat, and 
was fcJlowed by the others, till they had secured all the insects. 
I observed, that, i f a fish failed in brining down its prey ait the 
ficst shot, that it swam- round the pc»id, till it came oppo^te to 
the same object, and fired again. In one instance I observed 
one of these animals return three times to the attack b^ore it 
secured its prey ; but, in general, they seemed to be expert gun- 
WEB, brining down their prey at the first shot. 

I was informed that these fish were originally imported ixota 
China, and are now the only specimena alive in Java, although, 
about fifty years ago, they were in possession of several of the 
Javaoew clue&. I could not learn thcii; proper name ; the on- 
ly one that I heard was the u^ual tern» for fish made use of by 
the Javanese, viz. * Icon.' 

From the view we had of them, which was only in the 
water, they appeared ahtftt, about five or ^x inches in length, 
nUba- tlait ia th^ body, with bL^ckisb stripes variously inter- 
spersed. 

The slaves of this chief fed the fish with insects regularly 
twice 9 day in the manner I have described. 

This appears to me a novel species of instinct implanted into 
these animals by the wise Author of Natitte» enabling thiem to 
secure their prey, by shooting in this manner those taseots thttt 
should happen to rest on any of the aquatic plants growing in 
tjie poods th^ iohabitj a,nd placed by their height out of their 
i>eaoh. 

When they eject the water from th«F mouths, it is oUended 
by a noise like one spitting or squirting with a syringe. 

As I hwd no opportunity of examining these fi^fa, I could not 
say whether the fluid they squirted tsom their mouths was the 
product t>f secretion, or merely the water fiK»n the pond*. 

* The first account of thli.fi^ wu publiibed In tbe Tranaactioni of thu 
lloyal Socletj of London, voL llv. p. 89< It is contained in a letter to Hr P. 
Collins, F. R. B. from J. A. Schloner, H. D. F: B. 8. The fbllowing is an 
1.8 



( 1«4 ) 
On the Spontaneous Combustion of the Human Body. 



On 



JN the 12th May 1828, M. Julia Fontenelle read, in the 
academy of sciences at Paris, a memoir entitled, Recherckea 
Chimiques el Medicales aur lea Combustions Humaines Spon- 
tmUes. 

The observatioDs which form the subject of this memoir are 
highly deserving of attention. In fact, beudes the interest 
extract &om the letter : " Governor Hommell * gives the fbllowuig account 
of the jaculitor or shooting-fish, a nitne Blluiliiig to its nature. It ftequeats 
the ahorea and mdes of the sea and rivere in search of food. When it spies a 
tly diting on the plants that grow in shallow water, it swims on to the dis- 
tsoce of four, five, or aji feet, and then, with a surprising dexteritj, it gects 
out uf its tubular mouth a single drop of water, which oever bits gtrikiogithe 
fly into the sea, where it soon becomes its prey- 

" The relation of this uncommon action of this cunning fish raised the gover- 
nor's curiosity; though it came well attested, yet he was determined, if possi- 
ble, tu be convinced of the truth, by ocular demonstration. 

" For that purpose, he ordered a large wide tun to be filled with sea-water ; 
then had some of the^ie fish caught, and put Into it, which was changed every 
other day. In a while they seemed reconciled to thrir confinement ; then he 
determined to try the experiment. 

" A_slencler stick, with a fiypluned on at its end, was placed in such a tUrec- 
tion, on the aide of the vessel, as the fish should strike it. 

" It was with inexpressible delight that he dally saw these fish exerciaiiig 
their skill in shaotiDg at the fiy with an amazing velocity, and never missed 
the mark." 

Then fbUova Unneus's description, taken from his work of the Museum 
of the King of Sweden, printed in 17S4, where it bears the name of CAafodon 



In voL Ivi. p. 18S, there is abrther account of the habits of this fish, in a 
lett«r ftom Mr Hommel : " When the jaculator fish," he says, " intends to 
catch a fly, or any other insect, which is seen at a distance, it apprracbes very 
slowly and cautiously, and comes, as much as possible, perpendicularly under 
the otgect : then, the body being put in an olilique position, and the mouth 
and eyes bong near the- surfact of the water, the jaculator stays a moment 
quite immoveable, having its eyes directly fixed on the insect, and then 
Im^b to skooi, without ever shewing its mouth above the aur&ce of the 
water, out uf which the single drop, shot at the object, seems to rise. No 
more than two difierent species of this fish are found here." The first is that 
already mentioned, as described by Linnieus under the name Ciictodon roa. 
tratum, and to which all the above refers. The other is described by Dr 
Pallas, under the name of SMinu^mifaM*, p. 187 of the same volume. Both 
species are figured — Ediiob. 

• Hi Honnid. Oonnur o( Om HovH*! u BUaila- 



.:i.v Google 



On ike Spontaneous Combustion of the Human Body. 165 
which they are capable of exciting from their very nature, they 
afford a new example of one of those phenomena, the existence 
of which has, in these later times, been questioned, solely be- 
cause, while they are very «ngukr and difficult to be accouDted 
for, they are also of such rare occurrence, that they can only be 
authenticated by an aggregate mass of evidence, which evidence, 
although sufficient to induce conviction, may always be reject- - 
ed by those who are prejudiced, or who do not give themselves 
the trouble of duly estimating their value. 

Are there really spontaneous combustions of the human body ? 
Such is the first question which the author examines, and he re- 
solves it by the affirmative. Fifteen observations of spontane- 
ous combustions, which he successively relates, enable him not 
only to establish the incontestible reality of the phenomenon, 
but also to make known the principal circumstances which ac- 
company its manifestation. In summing up these circumstan- 
ces, he remarks : 

1. That persons, who have been destroyed by spontaneous 
combustion, have, for the mOst part, been immoderately addict- 
ed to the use of spirituous liquors. 

S. That this combustion is almost always general, but that it 
may be only partial. 

3. That it is much rarer in men than in women, and that the 
women in which it has been manifested, have almost all been 
aged ; one woman only was seventeen years of age, and in her 
Uie combustion was but partial. 

4. That the body and viscera have always been burnt, while 
the feet, the hands, and the top of the head, have almost always 
escaped. 

5. Although it is demonstrated that several loads of wood are 
necessary for reducing a dead body to ashes by ordinary com- 
bustion, incineration is effected in spontaneous combustions with- 
out the most combustible objects placed in the vicinity being 
burnt. In one case there was a very singular coincidence of 
two persons being consumed at the same time, in the same apart- 
ment, without the apartment or the furniture being burnt. 

6. It is not demonstrated that the presence of a burning 
body is necessary for prcxlucing spontaneous combustion of the 
human body ; on the contrary there is every reason to believe 
the reverse. 



1^ On the Spantaneout Cambuatioa ofUte Human Boc^. 

7- Water, so far from extinguishing the flame, seems to 
render it more active ^ and after the flmne has disappeared, the 
intimate combustion continues to be effected. 

8. Spontaneous combustions have appeared more frequently 
in winter than in summer. 

9- No remedy has been found for general combustion, but 
only for parUal. 

30. Those who undergo spontaneous combuBtio>n, are the prey 
of a violent internal heat. 

11. Spontaneous combustion developes itself suddenly, and 
consumes the body in a few hours. 

12. The parts of the body which are not consumed by it, are 
attacked with sphaoelus. 

13. In individuals affected by 'q)ontaneouB combustion, there 
supervenes a putrid deteriora^on, which presently brii^ on 
gangrene. 

14. The residuum of spontaneous combustion consists of greasy 
a^es, and an unctuous soot, both having a fetid odour, which 
(Uffuses itself equally through the t^uutment, imprecating the 
furniture, and extending to a great distance. 

The author then explains the two theories of combustion be- 
tween which the learned world is at present divided ; Lavoisier's, 
and that lately proposed by Berzelius. He then gives an ac- 
coimt of the theories proposed for the ex.planat!on of the pheno- 
menon in question. 

Most authors, who have spoken of spontaneous combustions, 
have imagined they discovered an intimate relation between their 
manifestation and the immoderate use of spirituous liquors in 
the individuals attacked. They suppose that these Jiquors, be- 
ing continually in contact with the stomach, penetrate through 
the tissues, and fill them up to saturalJCHi, in such a manner that 
the approach of a burmng body is sufficient to induce com^bus- 
tion in them. 

M. Julia Fontenelle does not condder this explanation satis- 
factory. He founds his opinion, 1st, On the circumstance that 
there is no proof of this alleged saturation of the organs in ,per- 
Bons addicted to the use of spirits ; ^ly, On the circumstwice 
tiutt this saturation itself would not suffice to render the body 
combustible, — and, to demonstrate this assertion, he gives the 

D.n.iized by Google 



On ihe Sponioneous Comimition of the Suman Body. l67 
result of several experiments, in which he in vain tried to len- 
<der ox-flesh inflammable by ateepii^ it for several months in 
brandy, and even in alcohol and ether. 

Another explanation has been proposed. Ur Marc, and with 
him several other physicians, Irom the development of hydro- 
gen gas which takes place in greater or less quantity in the in- 
testines, have been led to imagine that a similar development 
may take place in other parts of the body, and tliat the gas 
might take fire on the approach of a burning body, m: by go 
electrical acti<m produced by the electric fluid, whioh might be 
developed in the individuals thus burnt. According to this 
tbemy, MM. Lecat, Kopp, and Marc, gu|^se, in subjects af- 
fected by spontaneous combustion, 1. An idio-electric state; & 
The development of hydrogen gas ; 3. Its accumulatioti in the 
eellul&r tissue. 

This latter explanation would appear to be confirmed by a 
very curious observati<m of M. Ba'illy's. That physician, <»i 
opening, in the presence of twenty pupils, a dead body, over the 
whole of which there was an emphysema, which was greyer in 
the lower extremities than any where else, remarked, that, whea- 
ever a Itmgitudinal incision was made, a gas escaped, which 
burned with a blue flame. The puncture of the abdomen yield- 
ed a stream of it more than ax. inches high. What was v^ re- 
markable, was, that the gases contained in the intestines, so &r 
from increasing the flame, extinguished it. 

M. Julia Footenelle, for reasons similar to those which in- 
dufied him to reject the first hypothesis, is of opinion that the 
presence of hydrogen gas cannot be admitted as the cause <^ 
^xmtaneous combustion. He founds this opnion more particu- 
larly upon experiments in which he in vain tried to render very 
thin slices of flesh combustible, by keeping them for three days 
immersed in pure hydn^n gas, in percarburetted hydrogen 
gas, and in oxygen gas. 

Lastly, He considers the opinion equaUy untenable, that spc»i- 
timeouB combustion of the human body is owing to a ccunbina- 
tion of animal matter with the oxygen of the air, whatever mvf 
be the altaatjons which this matter may undergo: 1. Because 
a suffident len^perature is not developed ; 8. Because, admiuiog 
this combuBboD as refd, the readuum would be a charcoal, which 

D.n.iized by Google 



168 On the Spontaneous Combuttion of'tlie Human Body. 
could only be incinerated at a red heat, while, on the contrary, 
there is nothing l)ut ashes; 3. Because one of the products (^ 
spontaneous combustion of the human body is an unctuous sub- 
stance, which the combustion of animal substances never yields ; 
4. Because it scarcely yields any amnuHiiocal products, while such 
are always produced by animal combusttou. 

After thus rejecting all the hypotheses hitherto proposed, M. 
Julia Fontendle concludes that this phenomenon is the result 
of an internal decompo^tion, and is altogether independent of 
the influence of external agents. We give his own words : 

" We coD^der," says he, " what are called spontaneous com- 
bustions of the human body, not as true combustionB, but as 
intimate and spontaneous reactions, which depend upon new 
products originating from a. degeneration of the muscles, t«i- 
dons, viscera, 8(C. These products, on uniting, present the 
same phenomena as combustion, without losing any of the in- 
fluence of external agents, whether by admitting the effect of 
the opposite electridties of fierzelius, or by adducing in ex- 
ample the inflammaticm of hydrogen, by its contact with chlo- 
rine, arsenic, w pulverized antimony, projected into this latter 
gas, 6tc 

It may be objected, however, that whatever may be the cause 
which induces this combustion, the caloric disengaged ought to 
be considerable, and consequently should ignite all the objects 
in the neighbourhood. We reply to this, that all combustible 
substances do not hy any means disengage an equal quantity of 
caloric by combustion. Davy has shewn, that a metalhc 
gauze, having 160 holes in the square inch, and made of wire, 
one-^xtietli of an inch in diameter, is penetrated at the ordinary 
temperature by the flarae of hydrogen gas, while it is imperme- 
able to that of alcohol, unless the gauze be very much heated. 
According to the same chemist, gauze of this kind, raised to 
a red heat, allows the flame of hydrogen gas to pass through it, 
without being permeable to percarbu retted hydrogen gas. It 
is probable from this, that the products arising from the dege- 
neration of the body, may be very combustible, without, how- 
ever, disengaging as much caloric as the other combustible 
bodies known, and without leaving a residuum as the two latter 
gases ; and, in fine, we are of opinicui, that, in some subjects, 

D:it.:f:l.v Google 



On the Spontaneous CombuaHon of the Human Body. . 169 

and chiefly in women, there exists a particular diathesis, which, 
coojcsned with the asthenia occasioned by age, a Ufe of little ac- 
tivity, and the abuse of spirituous liquors, may give rise to a 
spontaneous combustion. But we are far from considering as 
the material cause of this combustion, either alcohol, or hydro- 
gen, or a superabundance of fat. If alcohol plays a prominent 
part in this combustion, it is by contributing to its production ; 
that is to say, it produces, along with the other causes mention- 
ed, the degeneration tf which we have spoken, which gives rise 
to new products of a highly combustible nature, the reaction of 
which determines the combustion of the body. 

It is to be regretted that the observations hitherto published 
are not more complete. We propose to ourselves to collect all 
that may fend to throw light upon a subject so important in 
anthropology and medical jurisprudence. 



Description (^ several New or Rare Plantt which hat>eJU)7S)ered 
in the n£i^bourhood<^ Ediftiburgh, and ckie/hfinthe Royal 
Botanic Garden, during the last three months. By Dr 
Gbaham. 
^ IQth June 1828. 

Begonia dipetala. '' 

B. dipetala i iruticosa, erecta ; tbliis gemicurdatis, ocutis, aubangulatis, 
dupUcato serratrMienUtis, aupra glabriusculis maculatU, inlra aaugui- 
nels ad venas Bubbirsutis ; stipulis semicordatis, Hub{«llucidis, mu- 
cronulatjs, int^^errimis; fioribiu dipetalis, fcetrdneiB iiuequaUbuB, cap. 
sul« alis EubKqualibus, rolundatis. 
Deickiptiov — stem erect, tapering, srevish-brown, with a few amaU 
louud vermUion spota, scarcelj braiicbed in our specimenB, which are 
amali Leavet half heart-ahaped, acute, somewhat bbed, without any 
callosity on the edge, unequallj and doubly serratojleiitate, aligbtly 
bullale, crisped at the edge when young, above green, with white spots, 
and baring a pelludil short awl-sbaped hair rlsuig Jrom the centre of a 
few of the spots, t>elow blood coloured, but when old blaiw^hed, smooth, 
except at the veins, where there are a few hairs ; veins prominent, espe- 
dall^ below j petioles diatlchous, at first suberect, afterwards spreadW 
or divaricated, nearly as long as the leaves, round, flattened a little and 
slightly ehanliellBd above. CgtM aiillary, peduncled, drooping, rather 
longer tlian tlie petioles and Inivea, dichotomous, peduncles and pedicels 
flattened, two otoolete'nearly opposite bractem in the middle^of tlie female 
pedicel, none on the male. Flowers pint, dipetaloua, handsome, large (fe. 
male 1 inch broad by \ inch long, male 1 inch in either diameter) ; malea 
in the cleftsof the tyme, and on the outside of ita subdivision s ; those in 
the clefts expand first, the others nearly at the same time with the cor. 
responding females. Petais in the males subrotund, io the females more 
cordate, in both, but especially the latter, subacuminate. Slamtni nu- 
merous, filaments wedge.8hape<l at the top, an anther cell being fixed 



.:i.«Gooi;5lc 



no Dr Graham's Description of New or Mare Plants. 

along each side. Cofuub, wings Toimded, eubequal. SOfam pale jel- 
low, revolute, angled, pubescent along the edge. 
Tbii species flowered at the Boyal BoUmic Garden, Edinbui^h, In April 
1828, having been raised in 1826 from seed sent bj Dr Johnston from 
/^ Bombay. £ilie all the other speciea, it requires the heat of the stove, f/ 

Begonia papillosa. *^ 

B. pajnBoia ; caule rotundflto, erecto j foliis ineequnliter cordatU, acinni- 
natis, incequaliter dentato-clliatis, supra albo maculatis, papillisq^ue 
acuininatis raria, inihi ad venas pubCTcentibus ; stipulis ovatia, acu- 
nunatis, integerrimis ; capsule alia subECqualibus, obtusangulis. 

Descbiptiov. — Stem erect, 14 inches high, scarcely branched in our spe- 
cimens tUl after being cut down, but probably more when in a vigo- 
rous state, somewhat tumid at the joints, round, brown. Petioiei alter. 
Date, spreading, round, channelled above, pubescent, I^ inch long. 
Leaca three and a half timea as long as the petiole, very unequally cor- 
date, acuminate, somewhat undulate and bullate, crisped, on the upper 
auriace bright green and shining, occasionally spotted with white, and 
having distant papilbe, of which each is teniunated with a curved, ra- 
ther harsh hair, red and glabrous below, except at the veins, which are 
sparingly pubescent, unequally tooth-ciliated, and somewhat angled. 
SUpvitt ovate, acuminate, smooth, entire, marcescent. Cjimet axillary, 
longer than the leaves, turned to one aide of the stem, druoping, (thrice?) 
dichotomous, peduncles and pedicels flattened. Bractea opposite, ovate, 
coloured, deciduous, placed in jiairs at each division of the cyme, and at 
the base of each female flower, but awantiag in the males. Male flowers 
placed in the angle of the bifurcationa, and, as it would appear, always 
along with a female at the ultimate divisions of the cjrme, wliere they 
haiK on the outside of the female flowera in the two lateral, and on the 
iosiae in the two middle divirions of the cyme, each always- e3f>iiidB be- 
fore the corresponding fbmale flower; this distribution and premature 
evolution of the male flowers are common in the Renus. Corolla tetrapeta. 
lous, very unequal, large, rather moreaoln the female flowers, where the 
external petals are retuse, liilly three quarters of an inch broad by half 
ta inch long; in the male cordato-subrolund. j'fontfnf numerous; fila- 
ments slender ; anthers large, wedge-shaped. Pialils yellow, aomeirhat 
spreading ; styles channelled, enlarging upwards ; stigmata large, lobed, 
revolute, crisped and pubescent ; germen nearly equally winged, angles 
blunt, and upper edges at right angles to the axis of the flower. 
This speciea flowerea in the stove of the Royal Botanic Garden, Ediu- 
buigb, in April thia aeason, and about the same time in the three last 
years. We received the plant fi-om Kew in 1824, hut without specific 
, name, or an intimation regarding its native country. " 

■ ^ Cattleya intermedia.* 

C. intermedia I perianthio subiequali, aubacuto; lob^o trilobo, lobo medio 
Cordato rotimdat<>i spatha obtusa, subherbacea, lata, compressa, peduu- 
cuIutD eubtequanti ; caule orticUlato, ctavato, vis bulboso, compresso. 

lAsckiprciox._-PJant p^MsiticaL Root of strong, cylindrical, branching, 
fibres, green Ahere exposed. S'femi numerous, Jointed, 3-0 inchea high, 
-enluf|iiig apwarda, liiit tearcely bulbous, smooth when in vigour, but 
«tten Aee^ limoved, covered with gr^, withered, blunt, adpressed 
shest]is,neteWkei¥ exnnaed,tenninated by two leaves. Z^ODO 6 inches 
Ist^i suDioppente, neaAy equal, spreading, fiat, ovBtn-ligutate, flesbv, 
»ei*veless, very slightly notchefl, and mucronate at the apex, yellowisb- 
gi*en whbn young, jrfterwSrds duiker. Spathe subftiBmbranouB, blunt, 
■Nftniiraas^ biOsd, green, uaited at its edges, open otoly At its extre- 
dilty, Sihdbea long., iWnuli tcsrcely exierted, round, smooth, sup- 
portihg at its ifieE Ahc flowerlnour spedittetus'blitiu there is also an 
■borbive bi^d, it aoehts jwoInMb that the natural Inflorescence la S-'flower- 
ed. PerkmAnBvrly' equal, of TUnibrm, delicate, tUnt HIac colour, ino> 
doiUUB ; upper Segment S^ Inches long, llm«r-^%ttdal, reflexed on the 
edges, and terminated by a greenish point, the four others 2 inches long, 



]> Gfaham's Description of New or Rare Plants. 171 

f^cate, undulate, nnd more nesrlj lanceolate, the tito inner rather the 
nanonest. Lateilun as long ae the perianth, and of rather paler colouT, 
having many erect papUlfe within the edges of the eoluHin, curved down. 
wa^d^ flattened, its edges entire, and overlappii^ above, terminated by 
three lobea, of which the middle is the Urgest, projecting forwards, cor- 
dato-subrutund, Haddle-shaped, all the three ragged at th^> edee, and un- 
dulated, but the lateral lobes leas ao, and not spreading ; middle lobe of 
deep purple, mottled with the general coluur of the labeltum or perianth. 
Cofuffln half the lei^b of the labellum, shaped like a boat, blunt in the 
keel, and inverted upon the floor of the labellum, a round notch at Its 
extremity, with a projecting tooth ia the middle bent over the snther- 
caae ! the mdes of tlua noteh (Mvgect, are truncated, and edged with 
; general colour of the cohimn the same aa the upper put of the 



LhFll! 



[helium, but beantiAilly streaked wUh pui^, especkUy on Its lower 
ride. AtdheTtttM attached at the l)ue of the terminal tooth of the co- 
lumn, !■■«, nearly white, bilobular, hemispfaerical, Dattened on both its 
Bides, applied by its bwer aur&ce to the top of the itigma, each lobe bi- 
locular, loculuaents linear, open towards the itigma, and having brown, 
dry, crisped, lomewhat ra^ed edget i PoUen matm 4, in pairs, my, bard, 
obscurely granular, yellow, ovate, subacute, flattened, each convex on 
the aide next its &^w, attached by one side of its bate to a flattened 
yellow filament, the n^t of aiticulati(»i b^ng brown. These fikmenta 
cohereslightlyinpafrsby thedr edges,areliiflA;ted, and paasiDg between 
the poUen-masoea and the sterna, become agun inflected at their termi- 
nations, In fbur distinct points, at the ori^ of the antiier-case. Stigma 
large, occupying nearly the upper half of the lower side of the column, 
flat, and prqjectuig along the loner surfiKeof the anther.case, concave be- 
low, and subacute downwards. Goraun about 1} inch long, club-ahaped, 
erect, slightly curved, browuisb-greeil, slightly (potted wini purple, and 
hating three longitudinal double furrows. 

It is wiUi much pleasure Uiat 1 add a fltth species of CatOeya to the lour 
already in cultivation. Its nearest affinity certainly is to C. Forbem, 
bat the general appearance of the flower more nearly resembles C. la- 
biata, and it is almost as handsome. C. Fortaii could not be distinguieh- 
ed from this by the essential character nven by Lindley in Bot. Reg. 
foL 953., to which, therefore, must be added the acuminate membranous 
spathe, closely embracing the peduncle, and much shorter than it. The 
habit, as shown in Bot. Keg. is predsely the same as C. inlermei&a. i 

C. iniermedia has the 3.1obed lip and the stem of C. Loddigesii and C. For- 
beta, the approiim sting penanth of C. forJwij and C. Idbiata, the form 
of perianth and sharply jagged lip of C. Forheai, the colours and spathe 
of C. labiata, only that the spathe is united at its edges, in which dr- 
cnmstanoe there is an agreement with C. LodHgesii, but in this, again, 
the spathe la pointed, and much shorter than the peduncle. 

We received our specimens, along with many other valuable plants, from 
Hr Harris of Bio Janoro, by Captain Graham of his Majesty's Packet 
Service, in 1824. They have been kept in the stove In pots of decayed 
\bA, and the spedmen now described flowered for the first time in apring 
1SS6, but met with an acddent before it could be figured or described 
It fur the second time flowered last April, and remained in perfection 
several days. Another plant has blossomed while this sheet was at the 
press. Other Upechnens, subjected to precisely the same treatment, have 
remained without the least alteration in their sppearance since they were 
Imported. The suly'ect of the present article is now pushing its roots 
iVee^ over the pieces of bark. A figure taken from it will be )j^ven by 
Bt Hooker in an early number of the Botanical Magazine. '^ 
•^Conospermum ericifolium. *- 

C fnet/oJiiMN ; fbliis Hneare-Hlifiirmibus, utrinque«ubcanBliculBtis,Bv«iiist 

EeduntniUa elongatb, i^cis subcagtitatls [ calyce exttw pabeaceitti, Vaa- 
a tubfHn vix aequante. 
Cononct^aAm eri<tfdiuBi, Brvwn, Trans. Lin. Sue -vol. x. p. 164.— • 
Ridge, ibid. p. 292, t. 17, f. !■ 



172 Dr Graham's Description of New or Sure Plofits. 

Debcbiption — Shrub erect; stem round, btown; bnmehet erect, green 
when young. Leavet linear, and very slender, slightly twiated, mucro- 
nate, obscurely channelled on Ijoth sides, veinless, slightly scabroua, im- 
bricated, persisting, veiy numerous. fnAincfei axiUsTy, crowded at the 
eltremltieg of the bmnches, erect, elongated, slightly scabrous, and 
having a few scattered, ovato-acuminate, bluiah bractee, but no flowers 
except at the top, wli«^ they support a short spike. Fioatrt in the bud 
slightly tinged purple, ailerwards white, epieading, each sessile in the 
axS of a bractea, which is larger thaji those below. Caiyi pubescent ; 
tube curved outwards, and obscurely tetragonous, limb inflated, bi-la- 
blatei upper lip pointed, reflected ; lower Up of three straight erect teeth 
of equal length, but the two outer are rather broader than that in the 
middle. Stamen* 4, inserted into the throat of the cslyx ; tilaments 
short, double, the two portions of that under the acute segment of the 
perianth, adhering to each other throughout Iheir whole length, the 
other three clefl; ; anthers brown, cordate, that on the first filament hi. 
locular, those at the sides unilocular, and adheringtoone-half of the fila- 
ment imlj J there is no appearance of anther on either of the pointed ter- 
minations of the filament on the lower side of the calyx ; pollen white. 
Gormen obversely conical, silky, and crowned with a long tuft of unequal 
hwrs ; oouiei few, green, pear-shaped, flattened ; ityle passing out between 
the segments of the barren filamentf, reaches beyond the stamens, en- 
larging upwards ; ttmna hooked. 

Our plant was raised from seed sent by Mr Alton from the Botanic Gar- 
den, Kew, in 1823, under the name of C. ereclrtm, and has finwered in 
spring for several years. It Is kept in the greenhouse, and remains a 
lung while in flower. The leaves are longer, and less crowded than in 
Mr Kudge's figure, no doubt from our plant being more vigorous. The 
, ^ singular connection of the anthers in the bud, will be detailed by Dr 
Hooker In dissections accompanying a figure in the Botanical Magazine. 
■^ Uraba gracilis.*'' 

D. gratUU ; caule folioso, erecto, ramoso, pubescenti ; foliis ovatia scr- 
ratis, stellatim pilosis, pllis Tamosis ; pedunculo oppositifolio, ad basin 
piloso, supra cumque^Micellis et silicula obtonga glabro ; calydbus pllo- 
siusculis ; pedicetJis flore longioribus. 

D. lutea, ^lon^pes, RicAon&on'g Botanical Appendix to Franklin's Nar- 
rative, 267. — Decand. System, vol. ii p. 351 ? 

Debceiptiox — Annual or biennial £^m more or less leafy, branched, 
clothed with loose hairs ; branches spreading, having pubescence like 
that on the stem. Leavet ovute (the root-leaves sometimes nbovate), 
flat, seriated, velnless, but with a strong middle rib pr<uecting be- 
hind, hispid with tutled, branched, spreading hairc. Fedunclei slen- 
der, many-flowered, oppodte to the leaves, erect, about three inches 
long when half the flowers have been expanded, slightly Tiairy as for as 
the lowest pedicel, above this smooth and shining, haiis simple or 
branched : Pedioeli corymbose, crowded, erect, longer than the flnweis, 
when in fruit spreading, strsight, filiform, shining, elongated to more 
than half an inch, andloosely scattered over the lengthened peduncle. 
Calgx yellowish^^en, cup-shaped, segments ovate concave, unequal, 
and havins a few long, spreading, branSied or simple hairs. Cmalia mi- 
nute, but longer than the calyx, yellow ; petals unguiculate, linear-ob- 
cordate, epreoding in the upper hal^ obscurely veined. Longer alarnaa 
projecting b little way above the plain of the spreading part of the pe- 
tals, the shorterj scarcely as much below it ; anihen l^lobular, yellow ; 
filoBienli pale. Germen green, ovate ; tij/le very short ; sligma large, and 
reaching to the anthers of the long stamens. Silicle naked, a little irre- 
gular on its surface. Seede numerous. 

Seeds of this plant were received trom Dr Richardson in November 1887, 
along with an extensive collection made by Mr Brummond and him in 
the expedition to the northern coast of America, from which they had 
just returned. It was raised under a cold frame in the Royal Botanic 

ooqIc 



Dr Graham's Description ofNetc or Rare Plants. 179 

GnrdeD, Edinburgh, and flowtred in Maj. I understand fiom Mr 
Drummond tiiat it ia exceedingly connion all over the district the ex- 



pedition Tisit«d. Comparison with a specimen in the collection » 
Professor Jameson bj Dr Richardson, after bis first expedition, leavcti 
tio doubt about this being the plant mentioned by him ; but I question 
the correctness of the synonjme from De Candolle, which Ur Richardson 
quotes with doubt. This I should think distinguished, among other marks, 
, by its oral, subacute leaves, and by the petals being nearly elLi[iticaI. ^ 
' Eriostemoti salicifolius. ""^ 

E. talUifolnis ; iVutex foliis sparsis lineare-oblongia sub&lcatis, coriaceis, 
acabris, aTeniis, apice callosis muticis, nervo intermedio obaoletoi ftorl- 
bus axillaribus, solitariis, palUdis, a.ntheris );l:ibria, filamentis cilia tis. 

DescbifTioh — Shrub erect. Stem nearly round. Braacltes little angu- 
lar. Leaves scattered and adpreaged, linear^blong, somewhat talcate, 
coriaceous, quite entire, rather hollow In front, rough, veinlesa, middle 
rib obscurely marked behind, awanting in fronL Flaaert axilUry, soli- 
tary, pale lilac, on short, scaly pedicels. Calyx yellowish- white, ciliated. 
Pebdi ovato-ubtong. Siaiaem eierl ; fitamenti reaching to the top of the 
Style, strongly ciliated : anthers cordate, smooth, appendage small, white, 
recurved, naked ; pollen orange. Genaen uf five tnltculi, united to each 
other below the middle. Style single, dipping down between the apices 
of the lobes of the germen. 

The rough leaves and scarcely aneular stems of this plant would have 
made me consider it as specifically distinct from Erioslemon talici/olita of 
Smith (Crowea sali^na of Sieber. not of Smith], had it not been for its 
identity with what Dr Hooker believes to be authentic specimens of 
this in bis herbarium. It was raised at the Royal Botanic Giaden, Edin- 
burgh, fi'om seed sent from New Holland by Mr Fraser in 1823, under 
the generic name otCreuxa, It has tloweied in April last year and this, 
has received the ordinary treatment of New Holland plants, and does 
- not seem of free growth.' 
V Hedysarum nutans, i 

H. Hutarut i frulei ramosus, racemia compositia, terminalibus alillaribue- 
que, ramisque pendulis, floribus geminatis; bracteis acutis; foliis ter- 
natis, pendulis, foliolia rhomboideis, int«gerrimis, utrinque tomentosis, 
stipulis subulatis. 
Descbiftioh — With us a low slender jArui, much branched; branches long, 
atrajgling, drooping; baiic brown, much cracked, desquamating. Leacea 
scattered, temate, leafets rotundato-rhomboldal, undiAate, mucronulate, 
reticulate, soft with dense short tomentum on both sides, the terminal 
one twice the size of the others, [three inches in either diameter,) and on 
a petiol half its own length, the lateral ones just above the middle of the 
common petiol, on short partial petiols ; common petiol from its base to 
the terminal leatet fully tliree inches long, slightly cliannelled above. Sti- 
ptUa lateral, subulate. ItacfmesK foot long, terminal or axillary, branched. 
Floueri in pairs, on pedicels nearly as long as themselves, the panicle 
branching from between them, but many of the branches shewing no more 
than their terminal llower.bud. Calgx 4.cleft, opposite segments equal, 
ovate, subacute, concave, spreading, and on the outside, as well as the 
l>eduncle and pedicels, hairy. CoraUa of uniform delicate lilac, gaping ; 
vexllluiD erect, flattish, subrhombold, notched, &intly striated, and 
marked in the middle with a deeper purple spot, the lower part of which 
is green ; unguis inversely conical; al» depressed, about as long as the 
vexilium, and nearly forming a right angle with it, lower edges in con- 
tact in the anterior hal^ open beiiind, abruptly cut down to narrow, 
flattened, linear claws, which are continuous with their lower edges; 
keel rather paler than the rest of the fiower, and somewhat more dis- 
tinctly striated, shorter than the abe, notched at its apex, and split traxn 
the ijase to nearly half its length, having two linear claws, above which 
it is gibbous on both sides, and adheres there to correspmidliig depres- 
^ons of the al«e. It shuts the openinfj )>etween the claws of these, so 



174 Dr Graham's Descriptum of New or Hare PlanU. 

as with them to mvs the form of a boat to the lower half of the Sower. 
Stamtru monsdelphouB, atnu^t, beins scarcel; curved at their apices ; 
anthem yellow. Genaen long, linear, slightly hairy, IndiBtiDctlj bbed ; 
atgle bent at ri^bt an^es to toe germen, conical, smooth ; tUgma termi* 
nal, BKiall, cleft, iii contact with the TexiUiim. 
Tbin plant was brought to the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinbur^ in 1823, 
under the name bere adopted, from the Botanic Garden, Calcutta, by 
Dr Macwhirter, and haa flowered in the atove every ninuner since. 
Were it not that its flowers drop very early, so that a few only are ex- 
panded at a time, it would be very ornamental, as the raceme is large, 
the colour of the flowers beautiful, and the drooping branches graceniL 
It has never formed fruit. ' ' 
Iris lutescens. ^ 

1. litteacena j caule simpllci unifloro fiitioso, foliusi ioferius mjuanti ; flore 
barbato, breve pedunculato, Cubo corollffi gmnen superanti, laciniia un. 
dulatis, crenulatis, obtusis, usvuiciilatia, interioribus latioribua inflexis, 
laciniis lahii auperioris atigmatis acutis, spatba erecta, eicedente et val- 
vula interiora viz inflata in vol vent e tubum. 

I. lutescens, IFiBrf. Sp. PL vol. i. p. 225.— Hort. Kew. ed. 3. vol. L p. Ua 
Lamarck, Tableau Encyclop. voL L p. 1 23. — Ibid. Encyclop. Uethod. 
voL iii. p 297. 

Desckiptiok SUm leafy, flexuose, about seven inches high, nearly 

round, one-flowered. Leanea acymitar-shaped, and a little turned fsrwanl 
at the point, partially glaucous or subpruinoae, ribiied, the le vest equal in 
length to the stem, the others shorter, sheathing the stem, sbeatM com- 
pressed and bordered. Spallie bivalvular, longur than the tube of the 
corolla ; valves pointed, herbaceous, green, membranous and withered to- 
wards their spices ; outer valve rather the broadest, but scarcely longer 
thsn the other, erect, the inner eheHthine the tube of the corolla, and 
slightly inflated. Peduncle about three-eightha of an inch long, nearly 

■■' - '--* --' ' '-— ■— L- -..- aide within the spatlw 

representation of a se- 
lewly the whole of the 
faked with pale brown } 
MfpMcnts undulate, crenulate, especially towards their extremities, near- 
ly of equal length ; outer rolled bacl^warda, bearded with yellow hairs, 
i^atluihte, tapenng ^^ually towards tb«r base ; inner the broadest, 
bent across the centre of the flower above the stigmata, obkn^^ and de- 
current upon long winged claws, which are more aiender Uian those of 
the outer a^ments. All the segments wben decaying have their claws 
adpreaaed to the stvle, and their laminK folded across the centre of the 
flower, so as entirely to dose it. Tube above I inch long, limb inclu. 
dlitg the daws about 2i inches. Slomeiu shorter than the stigmat* ; fi- 
lamenCa auhulate, adheiins to the corolla as high as the base ca the hairy 
line ; snipers white, eij^ual in length to the free portion of the fiJomentg. 
Stiffoiala broader than the portion of the reflected segments of the co- 
rolla which they cover, about H inch long, upper lip erect, its a^ments 
pointed, incisa-seiiated. Sljilti S.sided, free for nearly half an ii^, be- 
low which, it is liiiibed to the tube of the corolla. Cernvn half an inch 
Long, giceiS trigonous, marked along the middle of each side bj a alight- 
ly prominent line oppoaite t«. the inserCion of the dissepiments. Omilei 
obovate, attached to the central column. 
This is certainly the Irit ivleKerm of the authorities quoted above, thougb 
Steudel(NonieQclatorBotanicue)saysitis.not that of Lomaicfc, and be 
refers the /. UiiaBait oi Willd. and Hort. K«w. ix> I. vtnsnaa of Decand. 
which wain Sprengel coosiderB /. varitgaia ; but this species, as %ured 
in Bot. Hag. 1. 1& is held distinct from «ur pWil^ by its many-flowered 
stem, and by the appeaxaacei^lta spathe. The I.hitetctnt of Sprengel, 
erroneously Btti:U>uted to Lamtack, is ijuite different from our plant, and 
is at oiic« diatintniishcd by the obtuse upper Up of its stigma, snd by its 
tdiOTt stem. It Is probably one of tbe modi&vtioqig of Frit pumi i a, var. 
iulm, Bot. Mag. t. 1209. 



Dr Graham's Descriptiun of New or Hare Plants. 175 

The subject of the present nrticle was given Co us by David Falconar, Esq. 
in whose garden at Carlotrrie, near Edinburgh, (diatinguUhed especiall/ 
for being rich in this genus) it flowered in May 1820 ; and a second sne- 
cimen was sent hy him from the garden of Heasra Dickson and Co. 
seedsmen, Edinburgh. A 6gure fnim this last will appear in the Botani- 
cal ftligaeine. Acv^ording to Lamarck It is a native of hillj, stony places 
in Franca and Germany. '"' 
t* Nicotiana glauca. *^ 

H.glaaca; caute suffruticoso erecta.ramoso; foliis in^ualiter cordato- 
ovatis, acutia, obsolete ainuatis, nudia, gLaticis, longe petiolatis ; flori- 
huB paniculatis, terminalibus ; calyce quinque denhtto ; coroUu limbo 
r^ulari, laciniis acutis, brerisaimis. 
Description — Plant .probably short-lived. Slem erect, round, branched, 
of great height — native specimenB said to be SO feet higb-^urs above 
ten, and still (trowing fieeiy. Braiteliu ascending obliquely. Leaw pe- 
tioled, somewhat unequal at the baae, cordato-ovate, obscurely sinuate, 
acuminate, smooth, soft, naked, veined (S inches long, 3 broad), middle 
rib strong; petiole round, spreading, shorter than the leaf (3 inches long). 
Panide terminal, secund, lax j pedicels rising from the axils of minute 
subulate bract«Ee, which, however, are often awanting. Calyx persist- 
ing, as long as the pedicel, tubular, obscurely ajiglrd, with five sharp, 
unequal, erect, ciliated teeth. Corolla green in bud, afterwards of uni- 
form yellow colour, covered with close, while, sufl pubescence on the 
outside; tube slightly curved downwarda, thrice an long as the calyx, 
within which it is contracted, and five-fiirrowed, beyond this five-sided, 
and of nearly unifonn diameter, till neax the &ux, where it is slightly 
inflated, and again contracted Immediately below the limb ; limb small, 
cup-shaped, aegmenta sliort, acute, erect. Slamtm unequal ; filaments 
slender, incurved from the sides of the corolla at their apices, also ap- 
proaching each other above their insertioa into the corolla at the extre- 
mity of the calyx, below this adhering to the inside of the tube, in the 
atructurs of wliich they are lost downwards ; anthers short, oblong, 
pendulou^ bilobular, lobes unconnected at their apices, green beibre 
bursting, immediately afterwards reflected apd brown, on the longer Q. 
lameuta subexserted ; pollen light yellow. SUpna dark green, aubex- 
sorted bifid, segments short, sprea^g ; slyte ^Iform, somewhat com- 
pressed ; germe» ovate, bilocular ; mrala very numerous, oblong, crowded 
along a large columnar receptacle. Whole plant to (be baseitf the pedl. 
eels of beautiful glaucous hue, and pruinose ; at this point, at the base 
of the petioles, and on the youno leaves, by the sides of the middle rib 
near the. petiole, the colour is dark purple. T!he bloom is easily rubbed 



fh>m every part but the leaves (wbere it is more fixed), leaving the cu- 
ticle of live^green, as on the pedicels and calyx, where the bloom is 
■wanting. Whole plant inodorous. In the arrangement of the specie* 



lould follow X: cennlhaiden. 

The plant was raised in 1827 from seeds communicated without specific 

name, to the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, by Mr Smith at Monk. 

wood, whose son smt them from Buenos Ayrps. It was kept in the 

stove, but, on coming into flower in the middle of March last, was re 

moved to the greenhouse. It will bear flowers for several weeks yet to 

^ come. A small plant still in the stove is ripening ita soedi there. '' 

' F<^gala paucifoli^ • 

P. tmuoiMM ,■ cau&bus simjdidbus erectis, infeme squauiis vice folioruiD ; 
niliis alternis petiolatis ovatis; lloribus bexandiis subtemis, sublermina- 
libus, cristatia. 
P. paucifolia, WUM. vol. iii. p. SSO — Fernon, voL iL p. 372 — Deeand. 

Prodr. E^. V^iet. pars L p. 33 1 P^ih, voL il. p. 464. — NuttaO, 

vol. IL p. S.l.-rrBveku>, Flora BostoniensiB, f.,i9}.—ESMiM Potany of 
South Carolina and Georgia, roL iL p. 180. 
Triclispenna grandiflora, BaSneegHe, Speech, i. p. 117- 



CtOo^Ic 



176 Dr Graham's Description of New or Rare Plants. 

DEacRiFTiotr. — Ravi slender, creeping near tbe aurStce, perenniaJ. Slaa 
herbaceous, erect, angular, shining, 3 ar 4 inches high. Leavei cnllect- 
ed near the top, petioled, ovate, acjte at both ends, shining, nearly 
naked, impecfectly ciliated, sparingly veined, green, red when young. 
In the lower part of the stem d^enerating into ovate, pointed, sesaile 
scales. Pedutiele generally terininal, though In a few instances the stem 
is extended beyond it, when it is apposite to the leafj 1, 2, or 3.fluw- 
ered, very short ; pediceb loose, half as long as the flowers, angular, 
red, naked, and shining. Calyx, two lowest segments small, lanceolato- 
ovate, tipper segmeiit tumid, ovalo-concave ; wings spreading, obovate, 
as lung as the wuigsof the corolla. CorD/(ohandsome,three-(burthBof an 
inch long, nectariferous at the base i petals 3, coalescing below for above 
half of their length, compressed, wings overlapping above, slightly 
arched towards their apices ; keel, after separating from the wings, in- 
flated, rounded, edges in contact above, terminated by a puiple-tipped 
beard, forming a tun nearly as large as the inflated portion of the keel : 
whole flower of beautiful purple, indistinctly veined, pale, almost white, 
on its lower side. Stamens six ; filaments united to the Inside of the 
petals at the point where these separate from each other, after which 
they project forwards in two equal opposite bundles, smooth, flattened, 
colourless ; anthers terminal, obscurely bilobed, yellow. Stigma trunca. 
ted, ubscurelj bordered, bilabiate, lips diverging, the upper largest and 

C'nted ; ttyle clavate, bent, colourless towards the stigma, purjile be- 
' i gennen unequally obcordate, green, compressed. 

Nuttall quotes, though with doubt, the P. imtjtora of Michaux as a syno- 
nyme of this species, but as it is beardless, which no imperfect spe- 
dinen even of^ this ever is, and as the inflorescence is quite different, 
they certainly are distinct, .though P. paut!^filSa has often one flower on- 
ly. The ^)ecies is altoirether overlooked by Michaux. De Candolle, 
in his ProdromuB, and Don, in Bortus Canlabn^nsis, 8th edit, quote 
M a synonyme for P. pavrijolia, P. purpurea of Hortus Kewends. 

Mr Lindley, in the 10th edition of Hort. Cantab, considers these dis- 
tinct ; and if there Is no mistake in P. ptirpurea being called a shrub in 
Hort. Kew. they must be so, but by others it is described as herbaceous. 
This doubt can only be removed by a reference to the specimen, which 
probably exists in the Banksian herbarium. Our plant is altwether dif- 
ferent &om P. purpurea of Nuttall, which is P. lonjruinea of Michaux 
and Pursh. 

This beautiful plant flowered spadnely last year in the nursery^garden of 
Mr Cunninghame, at Comely Bank near Edinhuigh, having been intro- 
duced f^nm Canada by Mr Bltdr. Duiing the month of May 182S it 
has flowered abundantly, and formed one of the pleasing objects In Mr 
Cunnin^iame's extensive collection. It has spread itself wldelv among 
loose vegetable soil, in a cold frame, under the shade of the garden-wall. 



H. 




D. 


H. , „ 




2 9' 2 " 


ges 


6. 


6 8 


( Last Quarter 


7 Sfi to 


dii*«a 


8. 


7 66 S9 


d DiJ « 


11 R 46 


d J- K 


S. 


8 27 


d J2' B 


16 32 7 


d Si M 


8. 


10 ei 10 


.ooqIc 



V 



Celestial Phenomena from Jvhf 1. to October I. 1828, caku- 
lated Jirr the Meridian of Edinburgh, Mean Time. By 
Mr Geobge Ixmeb, Aberdeen. 

Th* Unis in tnHrtad ucordlng to lbs ClvQ miaiing, tbe diy baglmilng it mldnlgfat. 
— Tba ConJuocUom of ttis ModB wtth Uie Stm in given In Klgil AmniMim, 

JULY. 



CdetHai Phenoitunajrom Jubf 1. to Oct. 1. 



ISO 17 


• New Moon. 


3a 


18 16'37" 


dUT/ 


a 53 3S 


dDb 


21. 


863 23 


rfd-^ J 


U 4 4 


dJ9 


32. 


1 62 51 


dMt=2= 


19 57 8 


dt i-au 


33. 


10 38SS 


dP*^ 


31 4 50 


(i53.aB 


33. 


22 56 46 


©enteMfi. 


2S 3 sa 


<i J? 


33. 


7 51 20 


SOH 


18 38 33 


dJofl, 


24. 


V8 20 - 


IiiEd ©(? 


4 SI 37 


rfS-fl, 


34. 


22 1 26 


dPJ 


12S4 40 


d©b 


2a 


16 36 21 


dE¥ 


21 19 59 


Em. I. Mt. V 


26. 


18 63 22 


d5J>« 


8 30 20 


6))«Sl 


aa 


22 21 9 


O FuU Moon. 


U 51 15 


69^'SB 


2& 


8 9 30 


In£dO? 


31 58 51 


Em. III. nt. Tf 


28. 


16 65 S6 


d J)*«t 


91 27 39 


6 ? 1 « iEJ 


31. 


IB 16 48 


d>. K 


* 4.37 


JFimQi-rtet. 


31. 


23 32 53 


dDCM 


17 15 58 


AUG 


rsT. 






B. , . 










12 36 66 


(JB-K 


17- 


11 5S' s" 


d<jA t 


IS 40 3 


( UMQmnmr. 


18. 


9 14 51 


61i*i^ 


13 37 16 


d>ii B 


18. 


14 46 31 


]) First Qiurt«r. 


14 8 9 


d J3/ B 


18. 


18 8 32 


d5^=2= 


18 33 8 


d t' B 


21. 


9 54 18 


dE5 


SO 38 6 


Im. III. sat. V 


33. 


I 32 32 


dD¥ 


21 67 7 


dPb 


23. 


5 36 39 


0«it«snj 


1 15 42 


d59 


33. 


5 31 60 


dj^v^ 


1 50 69 


dj? 


34. 


19 SO 63 


Em. I. Mt V 


12 3 « 


6'iS 


26. 


3 43 15 


d5»=s 


I 63 61 


dM-OB 


36. 


6 2S 15 


O Full Moot. 


3 36 


d53-22 


28. 


3 30 IS 


dE. K 


16 43 6 


• N» Moon. 


38. 


7 30 


dUrK 




1} giMteft doDg. 


38. 


31 17 4S 


6t»K 


14 16 S7 


dE"il 


28. 


93 36 96 


6>i'Sl 


14 61 49 


d? Ft 


31. 


4 1 


69h 


M47 36 


dJxnj 


31. 


30 36 41 


dDi* a 


3 46 66 


dS'ta 


31. 


20 57 1 


dM' a 


4 58 11 


dUV 









SEPTBUBUB. 



4 34 24 ( Last Quuter. 



18 WW 


d Jh 


u ei 11 


•1 H? 


8 7 41 


<J Ili.m 


8 14 37 


Tjji.au 


14 88 00 


cijl- t 


PHIL— JCN« 1828. 



15 - 

1 as 19 

6 46 47 
17 66 16 
38 94 29 

8 36 7 



Sup. d © 9 

dE'fl, 
#New Mooi. 

.dcy Google 



VJ8 eOatialPkenomefmJrom July i.MOtt. nan. 



SEFTBUBEK. 



U' 4'90" 
8 49 4 
S 1« 30 
fl'a 4S 
18 63 35 
U Be 2 
23 »7 8 
33 16 34 
6 61 
12' 47 40 
13 41 39 
16 3S 39 
10 M 61 



d])9 

6Sr t 

6)lV 

5 First Quarter. 

d9.Ti5 

d(J+ J 



11 13 30 


6lJf. 


14' 33 «l 


dD^v^ 


14 1 7 


.6 D»5SS 


1 S9 36 


©enters^ 


U 7 


O Full Moon. 


13 58 1 


d S'H 


18 3 27 


<SHK 


728 38 


d JoM 


22 4 23 


69%Sl 


4 56 19 


d J w B 


6 26 66 


rf S2/ tf 


6 1 41 


dy2,.^ 


20 S3 44 


( Last ausrter. 



TimeM tfihe Planets passing the Meridian. 



1 




Hvoty. 


Ymm. 


Km 


JuiOa. 


sma. 


Oa.(l«i. 


n. 


a. 


a. 


H. 


H. 


H. 


H. 


I 


13 37 


14 9 


38 48' 


1»1» 


12 44' 


1 26* 




13 38 


IS 66 




19 3 


12 32 


1 9 


Id 


13 12 


13 33 


23 1 


18 4S 


12 14 




16 


12 48 


13 7 


22 3ff 


18 24 


13 


28 


2(1 


12 17 


13 38 


22 » 


18 6 


11 40 






12 « 


21 47 


17 4» 


11 33 


23 48 


1 




II^OffT. 


Vmb. 


Mm. 


J-I^. 


smio. 


G<«|taD. 


i>. 


a. 


a. , 


B. * 


H. , 


B. J 


H. ' 


1 


11 9 


11 9D 


21 17 


17 92 


10 6t 


23 14 


h 


10 40 


10 66 


21 » 


17 8 


10 46 


22 58 


Kl 




10 28 


20 44 


18 60 




22 37 


ir 


!SS 


10 4 


20 27 


16 S9 












16 15 


64 


31 68 


2S 


11 14 


B 27 


19 57 


16 <e 


9 37 


21 36 . 


Juke, 1 




U«a^ 


y™. 


m™. 


jDplUr. 


St™ 


Gn^B. 


71. 


B. , 


H. , 


l»4(/ 


11. 




H 


1 


11 SI 


9 


16 36 




ai 8 


6 


ll 49 


9 3 


19 31 


16 i^ 


9 


30 52 


1(1 


12 


8 66 


IS 20 


16 5 


8 41 


M32 


16 


13 12 


8 W 


19 10 


14 49 


8 24 




w 


12 M 


G 47 


19 1 


14 33 


8 9 


18 61 


26 


13 31 


8 46 


18 62 


14 17 


, ' * , , 


19 31 



D.n.iized by Google 



Proceedings t^&e JVernerian Natural History Socie^. Con- 
taiued fEom former Volume, p. 398. 

1888, Feb. 23. — Robert Jameson, Esq. President, in the 
chair.— The Secretary read a notice r^arding a living Ocelot, 
or Felis Pardalis, from South America, communicated by James 
Wilson, Esq. The animal was a female, nearly of full aze; 
had been almost two years at Liverpool, and had lately been 
transferred to the menagerie of the Zoological Sodety in Re- 
gent's Park. 

Dr R. E. Grant then read the second part of his account of 
the anatomy of the Perameles nasuta of New South Wales, 
treating particularly of the organs of generation. 

March 8. — David Faiconek, Esq. V. P. in the chur.— 
The Secretary read a notice of the wasting effects of the sea, 
which have exposed a submarine forest on the shores of Che- 
shire, between the rivers Mersey and Dee, by Robert Stevenson, 
£sq. (nvil en^neer. 

Mr G. A. W. Amott read two memoirs : 1. On the Mines 
of the Higher Pyrenees ; !!. On the Marbles of the Higher Py-- 
renees. — The Secretary read a cunmunication from the Rev. 
John Macvicar, A. M. of St Andrew's, describing a rare fish, 
the Forked Hake of Pennant, which had been cast ashore near 
St Andrew's in a storm, A drawing of the fish, made by Mr 
Macvicar, was exhibited to the meeting.-^-Mr Deuchar, lectu- 
rer on chemistry, then read a notice of keeping entire the crys. 
tale of efflorescent and also of deliquescent salts, by means of 
surrounding them with an atmosphere, formed from an essendal 
ml, such as oil of turpentine. 

March 22. — David Falconar, Esq. V. P. in the chair. — 
The Rev. Dr Scot of Corstorphine read a paper on the great 
fish that swallowed up Jonah, and, after three days and nights,' 
cast him out on dry land ; shewing that it could not be a whale, 
as often supposed, but was probably a Squalus Carchariais, or 
white sharii. 

At this meeting was also read the first part of a Memoir on 
the Lunar Compass, &c, by Mark Watt, Esq, (For an ac-' 
count (rf this interesting paper, see supra, p. 100. et seq.) 

. C^ooglc 



180 Scientific InteUigeiKe. — Jatrtyiuymy. 

AprU 5. — Patrick Shall Keik, Esq. formerly V. P. in the 
chair. — Mr Mark Watt read the remiunder of his paper on the 
lunar compass. The Rev. Dr Scot read a memoir on the sbefi- 
fon of Moses, Gen, xlix. 17, or the adder of the English tran»> 
tators ; and the Secretary read a notice by Thomas Johnston, 
Esq, Hill Top, near Wetherby, of the great oak of Cowthorpe, 
in Yorkshire, iliuslrated by a drawing. 



SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. 



1. On the Comet of 1832, which some predict is to destroy 
our Earth. — Some German journals predict the appearance of a 
comet in 183S, which must destroy our globe, and this has been 
cojned and commented on by the joumtdists of other countries. 
In a letter dated May 13. 18S8, addressed to the French 
Academy of Sci^ces, the author, M. G***, a professor in Paris, 
ventures to put the question to the Academy, whether it does not 
consider itself bound in duty to refute as speedily as possible this 
ridiculous assertion. ** Popular terrors," he observes, " are pro- 
ductive (^serious consequences. Several members of the Academy 
may still remember the actudents and disorders which followed a 
tamilar threat, imprudently communicated to the Academie des 
Sciences, by M. deLalonde, inMaylTTS- Persons of week minds 
died of fright, and women miscarried. There were not wanting 
people who knew too well the art of turning to thar advantage 
the alarm inspired by the approachmg comet, and places in Para- 
dise were sold at a very high rate. The announcement of the co- 
met of 1832 may produce »milar effects, unless the authority of 
the Academy applies a prompt remedy, and this salutary inter- 
venliou is at this moment implored by many benevolent persons. 
As it is extremely probable that the Academy will make no re- 
ply to this letter, we shall here enter into some det^ls which 
will shew how destitute of foundation these popular errors are, 
which M. G " * • dreads. The comet which is to appear in 
183S, is the comet of six years and ibree quarters, of which the 
(H-bit waR colcul^ied in France^ by one of our most disdngui^ied 

D:it.:f:l.vG00gIC 



Scienii/ic IntelRgence. — Astronomy. 181 

astroDomerB, M. Damtnaeau, member d the Academie ika 
Sciences. All that has been sold id Grennany respecting this 
comet, is founded oq the results obttuned at Paris. Now, t^ese 
results are so far from being terrifjing, that they do not even 
leave the smallest possilrility of an accident. The comet of 18S2, 
in its shortest distance from the earth, will remain more than 
dxteen millions of leagues from it. It might come a thousand 
times nearer before any danger could be apprehended. In 
1770, a comet came so near as 750,000 leagues (about nine 
times nearer than the moon). Lalande estimates the distance at 
which a comet might produce sellable ef^ts on the earth, at 
18,000 leagues. Whence, then, comes the error of the journalists, 
of whom the author of the letter speaks P Without doubt, solely 
from the circumstance, that the comet in question will pass very 
near the earth^s orbit (at 4J diameters, from 13000 to 14000 
leagues); so that, in fact, were the earth to be at the time in the 
part of its orbit nearest the comet, some alarming disturbances 
might ensue. It is unnecessary to say that so gross a misappre- 
hension as that wbidi we have just pointed out, was not com- 
mitted by any astnmom^. The only respectable publication in 
Germany on tiie subject is a letter of M. Olden, in which that 
astronomer gives an account of the results obtained by M. Da- 
mcnseau ; and it is without doubt, because ignorant persons have 
seen in this letter that a comet will approach very near the 
earth''s orbit in 183S, that they have persuaded themselves of its 
collision with the earth. M. 6 * * *'s letter contains an assntion 
with reference to Lalande, winch we think it our duty to refute. 
That astronomer was but the very innocent cause of the general 
toror which pervaded the public mind in 1773. The following 
is the real case :— Newton, in q)eaking of the consequences that 
might result fnrni a comet's coming in contact with the earth, 
had said that Providence had so arranged as to render such a 
colhnon imposable. Lalande thought differently. No orbit, it 
13 true, was known that might interfere with that of the earth ; 
but the orbits might be sensibly altered by the planetary attrac- 
tions. Besides, the orbits of all the comets were very far from 
being known. Was it not rash to pronounce it certain, that 
none of the orbits hitherto not calculated, could come into con- 
tact with that of the earth, and that, of those known, none could 

D3t.z.dcy Google 



18S Sdeiiiific Intdligejice.—Aiiiroaomjf. 

ever be disarranged, so as to intersect it ? There was nothing 
but what was very Justin these remarks. Time has coofirnwd 
them, BiDce the orbit of the comet of six years and three quar- 
ters passes so near that of the earth, that the smallest distur- 
bance might cause their iutersecticHi. But before a disaster could 
happeo, it would not only be necessary that the (»-luts should 
tueet, but also that the bodies tbemselTes should liappen to be 
at the p<tint of' intersection, and the probabilities of such a coa- 
cunence are infinitely small. This was M. Lalapde^s opiaton. 
He drew up a memoir on'the subject for a pubUc meeting of the 
4cademy ; but, happenii^ to be last in the order of readers, the 
time passed away, and it was not read. The title Reflexions ntr 
Us cmniles qid peuVint apjnvchea de la teiTe, annoiuiced a sub- 
ject calculated to interest the greater nutnber of hearers. It was 
asked. What the memoir contuned P and the answer was, that it 
contained an account of the effects which a comet stnking the 
earth might produce. A noise went abroad that the comet was 
to come, and that it was predicted by Lalande. Maupertuis, in 
his letterson the same subject, speketin a much mcae positive 
and terrifying ilianner, and yet nobody took notice of them ; but 
Maupertuis was sot pOntively kn6wn as an astrommier ; he had 
not made almanacks ; he had not the power of inserti^ in the 
journals accounts of all the astrcmomical phenomena. The alarm 
exdted by this alleged prediction was so general, that the heu- 
tenant of police wished to see the memoir ; he found nothing in 
it to authorise the terrors that had arisen, and orderird its speedy 
publication. When it was printed, nobody would believe it. 
It was pretMded that the author had suppressed the fatal pre- 
diction, not to Xetnfy by the announcement of a catastrophe from 
which he bad no means of witbdrawii^ himself. The same ter- 
rors were renewed at vuious epochs, but with less vit^ence, and 
the blame was always laid upon Lalande, who had not said a 
single word on the subject. At the {»%sent day, comets are not 
so general an object of terror. In proportion as the mass of the 
population becomes more enligbteited, superstitious terrors of all 
kinds are less to be dreaded. The conjunctions of the planets, 
which were formerly the cause of much more violent, and still 
more unreasonable fears ; and evlipses, which so long divided 
with comets the right of terrifying the nations of the earth, have 

D.n.iized by Google 



beieiLdiaQOvei:^ to be ipc^qiatileof pcodacingiany.pf t^e effwH 
. tbat were, attiibuted to tli«n>. (X aII these to-rorp, tbwe w^ 
iSQUUDS, irith reelect, to oHnets, a.poasil^Ul^^^lttietaely.mi- 
G«rtwii> tbgt no r^MPtial pereon could conoeive any apprdwnsion 
qn the sut^ect. One thing whjiph .we must not oait to mentioii, 
v^th, respect to cometiB, is, thfU: the new clala c^laioed reapectJn^ 
thtgr cojiBtitution, ore of such a nature as to modify, in a great 
degree, the ideas suggested by the poseihle occurrence (tf acci- 
dents resulting from their striking aguast the eacth' Tbeae 
bodies, in &ct, which were supposed ta have a denpity kmimj ihw*- 
sands of 1 times, ^C^er ^an t^ fKth, are in g^i^al fisnned <tf 
such sli^tmatenalstiiatstais.or the first and second magnitudes 
igay be stien through them. The rajndity <^ their motion is 
another circ>iaist»Dce calculate to t^jord assurance against the 
disastn^.wtuch they tqight. occasion, abce there results from it, 
that the time during which they m%ht act upon us, would ne- 
cesBarilj be very sIuHt, and would never exceed two or three 
hours, as Dionis Dusegour, M. X). has dnnoiiBtrated. F. G. 

UEIBOaOLOGY. 

a. An Account rf the Accident to ike Packet Sh^ the New 
York, Jiwn lAghtm^tg. By T. Stbwakt Tbaill, M, D. of 
IJverpool. -Communicated'by Henry Brougham, Esq. ALP. 
F. B. S *,-^The ship which met with the acdldent, of wtuoh 
llW'cActs are the subject of this oiHUUMation, was the Ame- 
aao padi^ the New Yoik, ^ 696 tons, -oommadded by Cap- 
tun Beonet. She siuled' frxxn New York for Liverpool, on the 
li6th of last April ; and, on the mormngof the 19th, was struck 
by lightmng, which shattered the main royal mast, and, gliding 
down the iron chtun nwn-top-sul tie, burst the iron bands on 
die mainmast bead. It was thence conducted by the iron main- 
t«p-sail sheets, to the iron wwk of the pumps. It then entered 
between decks, demoHshing the bulk heads that formed the 
8t(H«-roflm, in its way to a small leaden cist^ni ; whence it was 
oondueted, \fj a leaden pipe, through the starboard side of the 
flhip, wh«re it started three five-inch planks, ten feet in length, 
at the lower part of the bends. Many oth^ parts of the ^ip, 

* The above ia a notice of Dr TraiU's paper, wUch will appear in the next 
volume ot' the PhiloHophical TnuBactions. 



3.n.iized by Google 



184 Scient^ hddRgence.—Meteor(iogy. 

not in the direct line of its passage, were also shattered, sppa.- 
rently from the effects of a lateral explosion ; several doon and 
partitions were thrown down, a large mirror in the cabin was 
shivered into small Jragments, and a pianoforte was thrown 
down, its top blown off, and broken in peces. The loudness of 
the exploson was appalting, and spread universal consternation. 
A sulphureous smoke, which had issued with a bluish flame 
from the batches, filled the cabins, and at first inspired alarm, 
lest the cargo in the hold, consisting chiefiy of cotton and tur- 
pentine, had taken lire ; but, on clearing the main hatch, it was 
soon ascertained that no dang«: from fire existed. The ship, 
however, had sprung a leak, which made four inches of water 
every hour, but which, on working the pumps, was found to be ' 
under command, and would not prevent her proceeding on her 
voyage to England. When the first terror created by the ac- 
cident had somewhat subsided, it was found that none of the 
passengers or crew bad sustained any injury. The chief mate 
was sleeping in the birth oppodte to the main hatch, near the 
spot where the lightning entered the store-room, the lock of 
which was forcibly driven into his cabin ; hut he was not him- 
self affected by the shock, and a quantity of gunpowder which 
was keptainder bis bed, was fortunately notignited by the light- 
ning. An ewer and a basin, placed in a stand over a cfaild*s 
bed, were thrown down by the explosion, but the child had es- 
caped unhurt. A remarkable eflect was, however, produced on 
an elderly gentleman, who for the last five years had not been 
able to walk lialf a-mile at a time ; terrified by the crash, he 
fi>rgot his delnUty, and, springing from his bed, rushed on deck 
with Angular quickness and agility. He has retained, ever 
mvx the event, the pow^r over the muscles of his limbs, deri- 
ved from this sudden motion. The threatening aspect of the 
heavens, the appearance of numerous water-spouts on the sur- 
face of the sea, and other electrical indications, gave rise to 
apprebenatms of further danger, and induced the capt^n to put 
up the conductor, with which he was provided, but which had 
not been previously applied. It was made of iron links eigh- 
teen inches long, connected by iron rings, one inch in diameter ; 
and was furnished at the top with an iron rod, four feet long, 
and half an inch in diameter, tapering to a fine point This 
rpd was fixed so as to rise three feet above the main royal mast- 



SdeiUific Inference. — MeleortJogy. 185 

he«d ; and the chain was made to descend along the back-stay, 
and below vas kept at a distance of ten feet from the starboard 
bulwarks, by a light vooden outrider, or spar. Its whde 
loigth was 145 feet, of which about nine feet of its tower part 
descended into the sea- The wisdom of adopting this precau- 
tion was soon apparent, &r, in the course of the same morning, 
the ship was struck by a second explofion, which is stated by 
the unanimous testimony of all on board to have far exceeded . 
in violence the first. It melted a great part of the conductcH-, 
producing a vivid combustion of many of the links, which 
burned Uke so many tapers ; and, descending into the sea, dart- 
ed <^ to a considerable distance along the surface of the waves. 
The reastance to its passage was so great, aa to cause the ship 
to reonl with a sudden and violott shock, so as to throw down 
sevraal of the crew. The melted inm of the conductor fell in 
large drops on the deck, which, although already strewed with 
hailstones that had previously fallen, intermixed with rain, was 
set fire to in many places by the ignited metal. No damage, 
however, was done to the masts or rigging, nor the least injury 
to any of Uie crew, with the exception of a carpenter, who being 
at work with an iron auger in his hand, recaved a smart shack 
through the wrists, which occa»oned a livid tumour which was 
still viaUe dz weeks aAer the accident. Soon after the arrival 
of die vessel in Liverpool, she was docked, in order to ascertain 
what dum^ she had sustained. Some oS her planks were found 
to have started, but her timbers were uninjured. Every instru- 
ment made of steel, such as the carpenter's tools, and the knives 
and folks, and also those made of soft iron, even to the very 
noils in every part of the ship, has been rendered perman^tly 
magnetic. All the watches and chronometers were either stop- 
ped or rendered useless, by the magnetism imparted to the ba- 
lance-wheels and other parts of their works that were made of 
steel. Contrary to what usually happens from shocks of arti- 
fioal electndty, the lightning had given a strong northern po- 
larity to the upper part of the conductor. Many parts of the 
iron work, indeed, had acquired magnetism corresponding to 
-their position with respect to the magnetic direction ; but in 
others, no relation of this kind could be traced. Great changes 
were produced on the magnetism of the compass needles, in many 
of which were found several sets of poles, and thor indicatims 



could tluKfive jio.loqgsrJjerelted.aD. The orcumstaiicea «U 
tBudiiig.tbfl.BcddeDt'KbiGb is tbesul^ect of tlus pa{ier,-MK-cwir- 
sad«ad by tbe -author ju-etrongly coafiraung the wtUie lof 
oanduebKS' to ship»ia absiatit^. the .destiuctiire effects ni light- 
nii^. Fnm tbe Jaquinee he has eiade, be is led to tbe belief, 
that iiiiiiric»ifomiightai^at.aea,are much more frequent than 
is.gaiccally.nDffpaed. .Onesoucoe of increaced dan^r o( late 
yean, is to,be&uadiii.-lhe giaatcr proportion. of raetalroadupar- 
ticularly iron, which is einployed in the ligguij;; nuHe eepa> 
gially as the metallk: tnasees ate tb«% nearly inaylated, ta bbo- 
oeoted only by vo'y jmpeefect conductors. In the instanoe he- 
fore us, it is Intbehi^teBt.degieefMvbable, that if the New 
York had been without tbe ptotectkn of the coodui^or, ^e 
must ioavilaUy have been 4eilroyed by the second treraendous 
explooian, 'which,t^us guarded, ^le sustained -without the digbt- 
est injury. The authi» remarks, that cc^qter is a better mate- 
rial for such a coaduetOT than irm, from its beug lew liable 
either to fusion or «orro»on ; and also that a rod is^ fiom its 
oootiDUHy) > a better torm of conductor then a chain. In tbe 
Gase.of'Shipt^: however, ^q .greyer convenience, of. a chain, aria- 
iog fiom ita flexi^ity, will generally raisure it the preference. 
The atfdwr:Decqiwna)ds that, imtead of carryuig the amduc- 
tor through the deokrto.the keels, as suggested by Mr Hortia, 
ihe iowcT end <rf the chun ^ould be bept aX a distanoe from 
tbe«de»of Jheihip, by means of a^ght outjigger ot epai, a» 
waSidoneinthe New.York. 

.S. On tie Dtfitnal Course tf the Thermometer. — 1. The 
rnnan rlmlj fffiimr rf thelemp«ittnre=of .the^atmospbaKis the 
snaeat-aU hoursj.aa isproved by the observalMiB made by the 
Officers of Arttllety.at X<«i^FcHt, thoseof Chimenelloin F«- 
dua, of DrNeuberin-A^nrade, and of B. S. DorlaaiRio.de 
Saatao. St. Aocoidiig to<an yearly mera, the coldest hour of 
tbe'dayin.£uropeiisd«r''ciockinthemoTBiing. 3. The wannest 
bMiTiof-thedayyaoGording-to the Leith observations, is S o'clock 
in the<aAemoon, but tite Padua obseryatiinia make it 2 o'clei^ 
ID theiaitaaaoo. r4. The< progress of the heat is iotanrupted 
near -to the maximmn and minimum: the rise is most oxudde- 
rdile' some houFft after the mmimum, the falLamnelioursaAer 
themaximnm. 5. Theheat inowases £H&-10JM)urB,>decreMW8 
fixT4^15 hanrBi <^. The greatest dafly rao^ of tempemturc 



ID ^ur^e is about 13° 'Fi^r. 7. At Padua die daily me- 
<Uum is at S houn 41 minutes a. h., and 7 hours ^inimitcs 
p. K. ; at Ldth'at 9 hours IS mnutes -a. il, awiShounflT 
niuufies p. ». 8. The gieMue&t daily range of Icaiiperature ia 
Iiuropc takes place hi July, bad. the least in •DeconbM'. -^ciom. 

4. iJompnHaon ^ Wimda, arid thed^erent heightt^.tie 
Seaat<:opeii/t9gen.-^\. The N., N.W., W. and S.W., ^ves 
Ingh'.ivrter io the Souod, but S., S.E. and N.E. low-nater; 
N.W. the h%hest, E. the lowest medium level. 3. The oecil- 
lalions hi -the height of the sea depend prinrapolly on the winds. 

6. Compariaon'of Wbtda with the Currentt in the Sea nsar 
ioGepen/mgen. — 1. The southerly current is most irequeBt du- 
ring -the floudi wind, the northern during the uorth wind, -be. 
% The priiH^pal cause of the oumnts in tlie Sound is the wind. 
■^^chow. 

6. Ten^ietature^commonPermmalSprinffs. — Itisageoe- 
ral o^nion, that these sjmags derive their temperature from the 
stTota'tiiey traverse, which 'sti^a, it is ^ninntained, obtain othw 
heat dnvctly by traBsnisnoD (row the atuKwpbere. It is nuoh 
ra«« ]H>obaUe, that suchspringsdenTe thdrteaipwaturecUefly 
from the psvolatipg atmotpheric water. The eitpcarimf nts- made 
at Rai<h in Fifeshire, do not prove any thinjf in favour of the 
iiFst ofHoion, axkA axe opposed io the latter. Thelieatof-the 
acti, bnd' 8up»fioiiJ strata hi the north, and the c(HaparatiT»-lov 
t«ibpenihire of spri^ from the south of Europe to Ihetiapic 
fif Cancer, are to be traced to tk^ p^cel^ing tvat^. 

7. Account ^aHurrieane.^—Wh&i the Aif^ were ready-to 
depart, a terrible Btono ew&pt the ifdattd. It was one of those 
awful whirlwinds which occasionally rage within the tropics, and 
which were called by the- Indians fturieana or uricana, a name 
which tliey shU retain with tdflkig vaiiation. About- mid-day 
a furious wind sprang up from the east, driving before it dense 
vtdumes of cloud and vapour. Encounteriag another tempest 
of wind from the west, it appeared as if a violent conflict en- 
sued. The clouds w«e rent by iDcessaat hashes,- or rather 
i9ti«ai]na of li^tni^. At one time they were piled- up hi^ in 
the ^y; at-UKfther they-desoraided to the earth,-Allii)g the-air 
wKh a baleful -darkmes, mere ioaq^etraUc than-^eobaounty <^ 
RBcbiigtit Whereto the wtwlwuid passed, whole tntets >of . fi>- 

D.n.iized by Google 



'^86 Sdeniiftc iHtdkgence—Natural PkUosoj^. 

rests were shivered and stripped of th^ leavei and bnuiches : 
^ose <^ gigantic ^ze, which resisted the blast, were torn up by 
the roots, and harled to a great distance. Groves were torn 
from the mountain precipices ; and vast masEes of earth and 
rock precipitated into the valleys with terrific iHMse, choking the 
course of the rivers. The fearful sounds in the air and on the 
earth ; the peaUng thunder ; the vivid lightning : the howling of 
Ihe wind ; the crash of falling trees and rocks, filled every one 
-with affright ; and many thought that the end of the world was 
at hand. Some fled to caverns for safety, for their frul houses 
were blown down, and the air was filled with the trunks and 
iiranches of trees, and even with fragments of rocks, carried 
akmg by the fury of the tempest. When the hurricane reached 
the harbour, it whirled the ships round as they lay at anchor ; 
snapped thdr cables, and sank three of them to the bottom, with 
all who were oa board. Others were driven about, dashed 
against each other, and tossed mere wrecks upon the shore, by 
the swelling surges of the sea, which, in some places, rolled for 
three or four miles upon the land. The tempest lasted for three 
hoars. When it had passed away, and the sun again i^tpeared, 
Uie Indians regarded each other in mute astonishment and dis- 
' may. Never in th«r memory, uor in the traditions of their an- 
cestors, had their island been vi»ted by such a tremendous 
storm. They believed that the Deity had sent this fearful ruin 
to pum^ the cruelties and crimes of the white men ; and dedar- 
ed that this people had moved rfie very air, the water, and the 
earth, to disturb their tranquil Hfe, and to desolate th«r isluid. 
— Irvin^a lAfi ^Cohtmbta, vol. ii. p. 806. 

NATOBAL PHILOSOFBr. 

8. RehHoni bettoeen EledriciU/ and ffeat^M. Becquerel 
read a memoir on the relations that may exist between electri- 
city and heat. The author conceived, tliat, in order to ascend 
to the origin of electrical phenomena produced by heat, it was 
nece^ry to seek in the bodies which are bad conductors of elec- 
tridty, properties having some analt^ with those which heat 
developes in tourmaline. The experiments whit^ he made with 
this ol^ect afforded him the fbllowing results :— A small cylin- 
der of gkss <M- gum lac, suspended by a mlk thread in the into. 

D.n.iized by Google 



Scientific InteUigence. — Natural PMoeophy. 189 

rior of a bell heated to !!d°, is attracsted by a stick of. gum lac, 
the moment it begins to cool. The.attxactJ(ni ctHitinues bo long 
as the cooling lasts. If the small cylinder has been raised to 
S0°, it will acquire, during refrigeration, be«des the property of 
attracting, two electrical polesj which disappear when the, tem- 
perature rises. At 100'' and 150°, the phenomena are the same. 
Thus, under the influence of an electrified body, a small ^ass 
cylinder acquires, at the moment of cooling, two electrical poles, 
which vanish rapidly when the temperature is raised. These 
efiects are analogous to those which tounnsline presents in the 
sune circumstances, with this difference, that the development 
of electriuty in the latter is produced by circumstances of crys- 
tallisation. Whence it may be concluded, that, in the expan- 
«on of bodies, there is an absorption of electricity, and probably 
an emission during ocmtraction. M. Ampere's ingenious theory 
regarding the electrical nature of atoms, accounts in a sadsfac- 
Uxj manner for these imp(atant facts. M. Becquerel then gave 
an account of the new researches which he has made with re- 
spect to tourmalines, from which there results, that tliese mine- 
rals, when of a certain length, are not electrified by any of the 
means of exrating that power with the as^tance of heat ; that, 
in ptoportioa as they diminish in sze, they become more elec- 
trical ; and that, admitting this law to continue to the smallest 
particles of bodies, these must assume a considerable electrical 
intensity on the application of weak variations of temperature. 
The facts contuned in this memoir appear to have thrown much 
tight upon the electrical state of atoms. M. Becquerel is of opi- 
nicm, that they are capable of leading to accurate ideas respect- 
ing the cause of the great phenomena of nature. All kinds of 
glass are not adapted for the experiment. Those which are 
highly alkaline (and almmt all that are made at present ate of 
this kind) are too bad ctmductors to allow the phenomena, an- 
nounced by M. Becquerel, to be observed. That learned gen- 
tleman owed the discovery of the remarkable facts which he 
made known to a fortunate chance, which led him to make use 
of glasses manufactured fifty years ago. When he used glass 
of the present day, all the f^enomena disappeared. He soqd 
discovered that this was owing to the great quantity of soda em- 
[doyed in the manufacture of glass at present. 



190 ^icitnti^ IntaHgeiue.^Ned^al Phtipeiqt^ ■ 

9. Cnvier'B expianation^ o/*' acddettial CoiourA. — M. Q. Cu- 
vier thinkB, thftt-tbe [voduetieD of all the accidental coloimmay 
be exf^ned by thismy simple &ct, that the retina, wlucb Ihm 
JHst beoR sul^ected' to the im^nKfiHon of » colour, becomes, from 
this- very arcimnta«ee, mc^aUe of unnediatetj receiving' the 
im|»«asioii^ ei a fm^r- txAoui c^ the saine kind^ A very siiaple 
aiperiment, and'oae whidi every body ha» made, widiout reflect- 
ing vpoD k, ctmfirms-thiB trutli. When toward eiraaisg, oae 
looks to window, he sees the wood surroundi^ the panes-of a 
dark colour^ wfaile the latter are still light If, after looking 
steadily for some ti«M at the window, he-turns toward tbe.of^K>- 
ate ddb of the room, which ift darker, be sees these an image of 
the window. This phenom^ion caq^ only be expl^ned by ad- 
mtting, that the part of the r^iia oa whi«li Ae image of the 
window is painted, becomes, in tease^aoaeoi' the vivanity <^ 
the ookiiirs of wiuch the inage wa» (opned, incapable of rec^iT. 
ing any impreswMi on the part o$ the dark pcanta of the oppo. 
ale side of the room ; wbeoee POM^ts the image eeen on the 
wall. The phenom^Hxi which th* rttina pmicnta- in this cage 
exists more or less with respeet to aU our soues ; each of which, 
after being »ibmitted to s rather vivid iupressioQ, beccues, 
from that very mcumstance, inoapaiU»of'«^periaicitig a weaker 
impression of the same nature. It iq enough to eat a bit of su- 
gar immechately b^bre taking one's ooffiw, to find that the cofie« 
is not sufficiently sweet. Whet takea place in this. c«se, with 
reference to the sense of tafte, is aiwlagoua to w^at was dba»ved 
with respect to the soise of ngbt in the. caia of the window. 
The api^iestion of this to the phenomanofi of accidental ooloucs 
is easy. If, for esuaple, an ace of diano^dabe 6xed on a caid, 
one can cmty look at it for a very short time, without letting h^ 
eyes vacillate to either nde. From thk moment, tbe eye^ h«t- 
ving become inien^ble to the red rays, will only seo IQ thfi wiiite 
of the card, the green of the band of that colour vbii4i sur- 
rounds the red. What proves the accuracy of this explamtim 
Is, that if, after looking at the red aoe, one direata bis eye U} a 
distant part of the card, he sees a figure af the same fwrn, and 
of a green colour, the percqition of i^ch is owing to ^e cause 
already pointed out. 

10. Motions of the Jifagne*U JEgmte^.-^U. Mocellet a4- 

uioglc 



dreseed a memcar to the Academy on the motions of the mag- 
neOc equator, ISth May 1828. In Ae letter accompftnying H, 
tfaeauAcff, i^tcr atentkmitfg' tfast fak [sevious labmn, oD-the 
ssBie §ubject, Tcre btHKniied' with tbeajqnobetiMi' of' tb« Acs- 
demy, e^^owa the new reeuHs wbtefa be has-' obtained The 
(UsGusam of the' obsernrtioas taa^ bf Ct^taia Dupnrey has 
omfirmedhimiathet^Duxi wbiohbeb^': Itf, That theimg- 
netic equator is not fixed : 9dt^, That it is- not sniraated by atiy 
regular motioii, whether from- west to east, of ia any other dt 
KBctioD : 3c%, That it shifts in an t^iparmdy iiregulm; maimer, 
cfaangiBg fonn accofding to laws wbkfa it woaid be impDrbmf to 
know. Theae laws, the audtor at«empta topreaeBt m his me- 
moir, and ta determine beforehaiKl tba poeiticn which the equa- 
t(»' will assume in a given time. £i^)eneBce, be says, has a^ 
Kady confimied soma of his views in this respect. 

11. CompreatibiiU^ ^Watir.~-OeiiAeA finds, in csnfonaity 
with the (werioiw experiments of Canton, riiat water is more 
compresnble at the freemng pmit than al a higher temperature. 
At SS° Fahrenheit the oompresability «rf water is about a tenth 
greater than at S44° Fahfenhrit. At higher temperatures it h 
still less, but not in so high a (m^rtioo. 

CBEMISTBY. 

ISi MtOtod tf detectitiff the presence <f AtfoM befbre ^ 
bkmpipe, bg meant of Oxide ^Ni^L—'JAr Harkort, the dis- 
eovCTcr of tlss test, directs it to be used in the foDowiag man- 
ner : Dissidve the oxide of nickel in borax, add to the gbss a 
Httle aatiTe fel^iar, or any othtf body containing potash, and 
we obtain by fnsitHi a hitue^ass. The presence of nstroo does 
not prevent this reaction. Of the nickdiferous preparatioas wa 
may emjdojr «th» nitrate or oxalate of oxide of nidcel. Tlw 
latter is more earily obtained in a solid ftmn, rad deserves, in 
this respect, the preference. It is, however, necessary that tfie 
oixide of nickd be free of oxide of cobalt, ahhoug^ it yields with 
borax a brown in place of a blue glass. The blue colour which 
the oxide of nidcel afibrds with the pota^, is different Irom that 
aflWded by oxide of cobalt 



3.n.iized by Google 



199 Scient^ IfUeBigmce,-r-MitUTalogy. 

UIMEBALOGT. 

13. Strontian in Aphrite. — Breithaupt has proved) by expe- 
ritnent, the accuracy of his hypothesis r^arding the existence 
of strontiaD earth in apkriie, by detecting it in that mineral. 

14. Calcareous ^satf^i^^r, or Curved Lamellar Heavy Spar, 
which, is by Breithaupt, arranged aa a distinct species, exhibits 
the following characters ; Prevailing colour white, sometimes 
^so red, grey and brown. Same primit>ve form, as common 
heavy spar. Crystals are reniformly or globularly grouped. 
Lustre of princip^ cleavage pearly, of others vitreous. Translu- 
cent. It decays more readily than common heavy spar, and in 
lustre and structure resembles anhydrite. From a series of 
experiments with heavy spar, celestine, and calc-h^vy spar, 
it results, in r^ard to specific gravity, that celestine = 3.93 to 
3,96 ; calc-heavy spar = 4.02. to 4.29, and heavy spar =: 4.30 
to 4.58. It af^ars that all straight lamellar heavy spars are 
not true heavy spar, and that no curved lamellar heavy spar is 
really common heavy spar. . The calc-heavy spar is a compound 
of sulphate of barytes and sulphate of lime. 

15. Calaik or Mineral Turguois discovered m Loieer Sileaia. 
— The prindpal rock from the village of VdscfuoiK to Sieine 
is flinty slate. In rents of that rock there occur quartz, asbes- 
tus, talc, and caiaiie. The calaite either fills up small veins, or 
incrusts their walls in small reniform masses. 

16. Crjftopraae and Chromate of Iron. — The sei^i^ilJne of 
Sile^a, which is associated with gabbro, (as at Ballantrae in 
Ayrshire), is traversed with numerous veins, in which there oc- 
cur quartz, calcedony, homstone, aemiopai, cachoiong, crysa- 
prase, magnetite, pitnelite, asbestus, t^c, and keroUte. In some 
[daces there are v^ns of chromate of iron, three feet thick. 
Semi(^>al has been found in the serpentine of Scotland, but no 
one baa hitherto discovered in it the more valuable and more 
beautiful mineral the crysopntse, although we are confident that 
it occurs in thb country. 

17. DcOdite discovered at Andreaaberg. — Since the discovery 
of datolite at Arendal, in Norway, it has been found in the Ty- 
rol, and a few other places. Lately fine crystals of this rare mi- 
neral have been met with in the veins, along with quartz in 



Scientific Intelligence. — Mmertdogy. 198 

greenstone, subordinate to clay-slate, in the district of Andreas- 
berg, ib the Hartz. It is worthy of notice, that the same green- 
stone contains axinite, another species which, also like datolite, 
contains boradc acid. Stromeyer finds its specifii^ravity to be 
Si8541 ; and its constituent parts, lime S6.67 ; silica 37.86 ; bo- 
racic acid 21.S6; water 5.71. 

18. HaytorUe. — This mineral, which appears to be a variety 
of rhomboidal quartz, according to Wohler, is composed of nli- 
ca, 98.5, and iron oxide O.Z. In the analysis a loss of 0.5. 

19- On the Electritity disengaged by tke cleavage of regu- 
larly ctyatallixed bodies ; by M. Bec^uerel.— Many facts shew, 
that when adhesion takes place between two bodies, in conse- 
quence of a reciprocal attraction between the surfaces, and one 
of them is not a good conductor of electricity, they each assume 
an excess of oppoate eiectridty at the moment of their separa- 
tion. For example, glass, gum-lac, &c. immersed in mercury, 
exercise a certain adhesion to it ; and, on being withdrawn, are 
found to have acquired an excess of electricity, the species of 
which depends upon particular circumstances, which M. Des- 
saignes lias carefully desL'ribcd. Gum-lac, melted and poured 
upon glass, contracts an adherence to it, as is known ; on being 
separated, they each assume an excess of opposite electricity. 
It is extremely probable that glass, gum-lac, and other bodies 
immersed in water, would come out electrified, did not the mo- 
lecules of the liquid stick to their surface, that is to say, did not 
the affinity of water for these bodies exceed that of the mole- 
cules for each other. In like manner, in the electrical experi- 
ments of pressure, there is always obtained a development of 
electricity, so inuch the greater the stronger the adhesion be- 
tween the compressed bodies. For example, on withdrawing 
from pressure two Ints of cork, a slight re^stance is sometimes 
experienced ; the disengagement of electricity is then more con- 
Nderable than if there had been no adhesion. Similar effects 
are especially observed, when cork or elder pith is pressed against 
a perfectly polished diamond facet. Some natural philosophers 
have attributed them to the friction which the molecules expe- 
rience at the moment of separation of the two bodies. This ex. 
plsnation does not appear to be correct, for the above cxpcri- 
ment evidently proves, that the partial frictions which the mole- 

APEIL — jnSE 1888. M 



1^ Scientific IntcUif^we. — Miiurtdagy. 

cities undet^ whai the pressure k diminidKdt have no inf 
in modifying the disengagement of electricity. Ekstidty is 
therefOTe a prindpat cause of the effects. The dectrical phe- 
Twmena of pressure and those c^ cleavage haye strong relations 
to each odier; for, When plates uf mica or seknite are quickly 
separated, each of them bears an excess of opposite electricity. 
If they are brought together again, and placed in the position 
which they originally occupied, a slight pressure b^ng at the 
same time applied, the same electrical ph«)omena are obtained 
as when they were separated. We therefore see, that pressure, 
which effects a mechanical appro^mation of the molecules, 
produces the same effects as the force of aggregation, which only 
determines a more immediate contact of the same molecules. 
These phenomena do not take place indefinitely ; fc»- the ex- 
posure to the air of newly cleft laminie deprives them pretty 
rapidly of their electrical prc^nsity, perhaps oo account of 
the hygrometric water which they absorb. All regularly crys- 
tallized substances possess the same property as miea and sul- 
{Aate cS lime. I hare proved it with respect to Iceland qnr, 
Burphate of barytes, fluate of lime, topaz, &c It is essMituJ 
that the crystal be regularly split, for when it is fractured, 
it manifests no dectrical effect. It may, in fact, be easily 
conceived, that, if the cleavage is not distinct, there' may be 
lamins which assume one electricity, and others a contrary 
electricity. It then happens that the sum of all these electrid. 
ties may be nothing, which is most commonly the case. Topaz 
presaits only one direction of cleavage, perpendicular to the 
axis of the crystal, according to which the distribution of the 
dectridty takes place, when the t^nperature of this substance 
is raised to a certain degree. The most natural supposition 
whidi suggests itself is, that the lamioee being in two difflecait 
states of e^tricity at the moment of tbeu* separation, may be 
conndered as the elements of a pile. Now, this is not the cas^ 
for it would be necessary that the Iwnioffi similarly situated with 
relation to one of the summits c^ the crystal, should always a»> 
sume the same electricity by cleav^;e ; which does not hi^ 
pen, as one electricity is sometimes obtained, and sometimes 
another. Thus the kind of dectrieity depends upon escuni> 
B peculiar to the cleavage, and not upon the pouticn i£ 



Sckn^c Intelligence. — Mineralogy. 195 

the iMninc Tfaere takes place, therefore, «t the moment friicii 
h i» produced, a movement in the molecolca, wMch detcmunet 
each surface to atniine the one or otiier electricity. — Anmale^i dt 
CUm. et de Phyi., Nao. 1887. 

fiO. Botryogeny a new MauraiSpeciea.-~G. Rose has pubH^ied 
deMTTptions uf some new varieties t£ farm observed by him in 
(he ttfsRilar system of cxyat^zation ; Mr Haidioger, a descHp- 
ten, with figures, of the different forms of red sulpbat of iron, 
which he munes, from its botryoidal form^ Bohyogen; and 
M. F. Tamnau, an account of the prismatic farms of Dichroiie. 
These nmnoin are contained in No. 3. tor 1828, of Poggen- 
dorTs Journal. 

^>. Octahedral Borax. — It is well known that common borax, 
which occurs in tetarlo-pHsmatic cryitats, contains 10 atoms of 
waierofcryatalHzaliaR, wkb a specificgmvityttf 1.740. Accord- 
ing to Fayen {Joum. de Chim. Med. 18S8, No. 1. p. 153), it is 
capaUe of assuming acotber fonA, the octahedral, and then it 
conlaiiia only 5 atoms of water, has a specific gravity of l.Slff, 
and is harder than common boras. 

S2. Blue cahur of Die&roUe, not ckaracterisiiti ^ it. — The 
blue colour of dii^raite docs not ^^ar to be charactcrtatic, far 
M. Tainnau says, he has aeen raamy crystals which were neoiy 
tnmqwrent, of a pure white colour, in whatevea direction in re- 
^;ard to the axis they were newed. When in this state, ami if 
the planes at the cryst^ are impcrfacUy seen^ k b difficult to 
distkigiRsh them ttom cpiartz-crystal, with whieh they occur 
imbedded on magneCic pyrites.— F. TtmmMt, Ptiggendorfs 
Jntnuii, No. 3. 1838. 

9A. BorcUe ofBttryte*.. — When tins substance is melted, and 
tbea ent aoA polished, it exhibits a l^h degree of hntre, and 
eloBtlj resembles the topaz of Saxony. 

SBOSaAfBT. 

24. Union of ike AUantic and Pacific. — It appears by let- 
ters from Amsterdam, that the prcject of cutting a canal, to 
inute the Qnlf of Mexico with the Pacific Ocean, is idiout to 
be reviTed under the au^nces of the Netherlands goTemnwnt, 
which baa entered into communication with the government of 
Guatemata, or Central America, for that purpose. General Van 
n8 



196 Scienl^ biteUigence. — Geography. 

Veer, who was deputed on that miesion, has just returned to 
Europe, and it is stated that several persons are on thdr -wsj to 
the Netherlands from Guatemala, who are authorized to carry 
into efiect the arrangements connected with the undertaking. 
ScHne exclu^ve advantages, as an inducement to engage in the 
project, have been offered to the I>u(ch government ; and it is 
said that the king himself has entered into it with so much ear- 
nestness, that he has composed a liHig memoir, to point out its 
probability of success, and the benefits with which it will be at- 
tended. A vessel has been ordered to be in readiness to cany 
out to Guatemala the engineers and persons appointed to sur- 
vey the ground through which the proposed caoal is to pass. 
. S5. Island ofLingga, re^dence of the primitive Malm/s.-r-In 
the last volume of the Transactions of the Batavian Society of 
Arts and Sciences, is on interesting paper by M. Van Angel- 
beck,, on the Island of Liogga. It is divided into three parts. 
In the first, he connders the island in a geolc^cal point of view ; 
the second he devotes to tbe history and moral condition of the 
Malays ; and in the third he describes their government, trade, 
and occupations. The island ofLingga ia the actual residence 
t^the primitive Malaya. Its capital, called Kwala Dai, is the 
ordinary place of abode of the Sultan. Its climate is healthy ; 
and there are but few diseases, the principal of which are cuta- 
neous. This island is very moimtainous, and is covered with 
wood. In its forests grows the fine tree called Chakas panicu- 
lata, and the soil indicates the presence of rich tin mines. It is . 
also sud that there is some gold. M. V^an Angelbeck observes 
that the country is magnificent ; that nature fdiews herself there 
in all her force ; but that it is vexatious to see that the natives 
benefit only partially ftvim its fetility. They devote tliemselvea 
but little to agriculture, which is held in disesteem. Fishing is 
almost th^r sole occupation, and the fish are abundant and ex- 
cellent — Asiatic Journal, December 1897. 



S6. On ^ Phenomena of Volcanoes ; by Sir H. Davy, Bert. 
F. R. S. * — In a paper on the Decomposition of the Earths, 

■ The above is ■ notice of a HHQoii Utelj read before the Bojsl Society of 
Loodon. 

.D.n.iized by Google 



■ Scientific IntdSgence. — Geology. 197 

published in the Philoeophical Transactions for 181S, the au*' 
thor tiered it aa a tnnjectiire, that the metals of the alkalies 
and earths might exist in the interior of the globe ; and, on be- 
ing reposed to the action tS air and water, give rise to vcdcanic 
fires, and to the production of lavas, by the slow cooling of 
which, basaltic and other crystalline rocks might subsequently 
be formed. Vesuvius, &om local circumstances, presents pecu- 
XiBi advantages for investigating the truth of this hypothecs; 
and of these the author availed himself during his residence at 
Naples, in the months of December 1819) and o! January and 
February 18!H). A small eruption had taken place a few days 
before he visited that mountain, and a stream of lava was then 
flowing, with considerable activity, from an aperture in the 
mountain a little bdow the crater, which was throwing up 
showers of red hot stones every two or three minutes. On its 
issuing &om the mountains it was perfectly fluid, and n^rly 
white hot ; its surface appeared to be in violent agitation from 
the bursting of numerous bubbles, which emitted clouds of 
white smoke. There was no appearance of vivid ignition in the 
lava wheirit was raised, and poured out by an iron ladle. A 
portion was thrown into a glass bottle, which was then closed 
with a ground stopper, and, on examining the air in the bottle 
some time afterwards, it was found not to have lost any of its 
oxygen. Nitre thrown upon the surface of the lava did not 
produce such an increase of igiution, as would have attended the 
presence of combustible matter. The gas disengaged from the 
lava proved, on examinaticm, to be, common air. When the 
white vapours were condensed on a cold tin plate, the deposit 
was found to con^t of very pure common salt ; and the va- 
pours themselves contained nine per cent, of oxygen, the rest 
bedng asote, without any notable jH'oportioB of carbonic acid or 
sulphurous acid gases; although the fumes of the latter of these 
gases WM« exceedingly pungent in the smoke from the crater of 
the volcano. On another occasion, the author examined the sa- 
line incrustrations in the rocks near the ancient bocca of Vesu- 
vius ; and found them to consist principally of common salt, 
with some chloride of iron, — a little sulphate of soda, — and a 
still smaller quantity oi sulphate or muriate of potassa, with a 
minute portion of oxide of oopper. In one instance, in which 



19^ Scientific InteUigence.~—Geoiogy. 

the crystals hada purfJish tint, a trace of muriiite of ctdttlt mu 
detected. From tlie observatiitms made l>y the author at di&. 
rent periods, he coacludes, diat the dense white wnoke which 
rote in immense columns from the strcaca of la*a, and which re- 
flected the morning and evening light of the purest tints of nd 
and orange, waa produced by the »alts which were subJimed 
with the steam. It presented a etrikiog cootrait to the Uack 
smoke arinng from the crater, which w«s loaded with earthy 
particles, and which, in the night, was highly luminous at the 
moment of the exploauni. The phenomena observed by the 
author afford a sufficient refutation of all the ancient hypoUteses, 
in whidi volcanic fires were ascribed to such chemical causes, as 
the combustion of mineral ooal, or the action of sulphur upon 
iron ; and are perfectly consistent with the auppoution of their 
depending upon the oxidation of the metals itf the earths upon 
wi extenuve scale, in immense subterranean cavities, to which 
water, or atmospheric air, may occasionally have access. The 
subterranean thunder heard at great distances under Vesuvius, 
prior to an eruptiiHi, indicates the vast extent of these cavities; 
and the existence of a subterranean communication between tlie 
Solfatara and Vesuvius, is established by the fact that, wtmt- 
eva the latter is in an active state, the former is comparatively 
tranquil. In confirmation of these views the author remarks, 
that almost all volcanoes c^ considerable magnitude in the old 
world are in the vicinity of the s^; and, in those where the sea 
is more distant, as in the volcanoes of South America, the wa- 
ter may be supplied from great subterranean lakes' ; for Hum- 
bolt Mates, that some of them throw up quantities of fish. The 
authm- acknowledges, however, that the hypothesis of the nu- 
cleus of the globe being composed of matter liqu^ed by h«st, 
offers a still more simple sqJution of the phenomena of volcanic 
fires. 

S7' Fossii Hib of a Whale, dueovtrtd in DUwmum near Kemp 
Tcwth Brigftton. — -A short time unce, a man employed in c(d- 
lecting stones from the beach, near Black-Rock, observed a huge 
body projecting fr<Hn the base of the cliff; after satufying him- 
self of its nature, by breaking off a large mass of it, he covored 
the spot with a heap of sand, and informed the Rev. Mr Wal- 
lace of Brixton of the discovwy. Mr W. transmitted xhe in- 
telligence to Mr Mantetl of Castle Place, in this town (a gentle- 



Somnific InddUgmce. — Gtolagt/. 190 

Mmd «iU known, id the soientif c world), who went over on Moiv 
day last, end prDcecded with Mr WaUaoe (o exwame thig axtca- 
ordiaary nik. After Bevend hours inoesBant IsboUr, aa excit* 
VatioD was nuda in ihe cliff to the extait of nearly four yatda^ 
and the Btoae and sand which sunvunded the bone wete care- 
fully cleared away, aad the latter completely exposed to view 
unii^ured ; but Hicii was the fragile state at the f|)ecini«ij that) 
upon atUmpting to remove it, the whole niasB fell to pieces. 
The length of the bone (including the porUon broken off by 
the labours) was about twelve feet, bdng upwards of thirty in- 
ches in drcamferenoe at the latest extrmtity ; when perfect, it 
must have exceeded twenty feet in length. From the structure, 
form, and mat %d the bone, there can be no doubt that it was a 
portim of a rib of totoe apecies of whale ; and we believe it is 
(he only instaoce of the remains of this animal having been 
found in the diluvial depoutes of England. The stratum in 
which it occmred is stated in Mr Mantell's Geology of Sussex, 
to contain the bones and teeth of the elephant, horse, ox, and 
de^; an assaab1ag« of organic remains not uncommon in simi- 
lar gtnt* in other parts of England. These beds lie above the 
chalk : and the plain on which part of Brighton, the Palace, 
New Church, S(C. are situated, is formed by the alluvial detritus 
or rubbish, which has filled up'a valley in the chalk. Some of 
the largest fragments of the bone are removed to Mr ManteFs 
museum in this town i others are in the possession of the labour- 
er who made the discovery, 

S8. Fosail DidelpMg. — Baron Cuvter presented to the French 
Academy of Soencee, a portion of the fossil jaw-bone of a car- 
nivorous animal lately discovered in the gypsum quarries of 
M<M]tmartre, which cau only be compared with the Didelphis 
Ofnoc^htda of Van Dieman's Land. — Globe. 

29. Artificial Lightning Tabes. — M. Beudant communicated 
to the ^cad»nt«de«>^ci«nce« the resultewhichhehas obtained, con- 
jointly with MM. Hachette and Savart, reelecting the formation 
of artificial lightning tubes. Natural philosophers have, for a con- 
siderable time, been satisfied as to the cause to which the forma- 
tion of the vitreous tubes occurring in elevated sandy districts 
ought to be refnred. The name of lightning tubes that hag been 
given them, sufficiently indicates their being regarded as pro 
duced by lightning, which melts the sand to a considerable depth, 
so as to form a tube^ commonly sinuous, with solids and mooth 



ftOO SdetOyk Intdligence.—Zoob^. 

imi\a internally, and rou^ on the outside. Our read^s will 
recollect, that very lately a young German naturalist presented 
to the Academy some of these tubes, the lengUi of whidi extend- 
ed to serenteen feet. Without harbouring any doubt respecting 
the mode of formation of. these tubes, it has been asked, how 
dectndty could produce effects so intense, and iriiich have been 
conndered so different from those obtained from artificial electri- 
city. The authors of the experiments, the results of which M. 
Beudant communicated to the Academy, formed the idea of at- 
tempUng to produce li^tning tubes by artifidal electricity. 
They employed, for this purpose, CharWs batttoy, at jHresent 
in the CoU^e of France, and actually succeeded in forming 
fragments of tubes perfectly resembling the natural Hgfatning 
tubes, only that their walls were less sohd, and thar length did 
not exceed a few centimeters. 

ZOOLOGY. 

30. Cuckoo kept alive in confinement for nearly a year past. 
—This specimen was taken from the nest of a titlark, near the 
village of Currie, in the end of July 18S7. It was then apptu 
rently about a fortnight old, and was not fully fledged until six 
weeks after. At first it was fed with bread and raw eggs made 
up into a paste. AAer this, it was fed with roasted meat cut 
Xpto smalt pieces; and ulumately with raw meat, which it pre- 
fers, but will not take unless perfectly fresh. At present it eats 
about a pound of meat weekly. It is very fond of insects of all 
kinds, and in autumn seemed to prefer the larvae of butterflies. 
Its first moult commenced in the end of March last. Previous 
to this, the colour of the upper parts was deep brown, spotted 
with reddish-brown ; the breast and belly greyish-white, with 
transverse bars of brown. During winter, it was dull through 
the day, and restless at night, flapjnng its wings for hours to- 
gether. At present, it is active through the day, and quiet at 
night. About the beginning of March it was first heard to ut- 
t«r its peculiar cry, which it has repeated many times since; and 
one morning in the end of April it continued crying for a whole 
hour. Itschirpingcry was given upitbout January. At present' 

' The spedmeii was ibewn at a meetiiig of the Wemerian Sodetv IStb 
Ajuil 1828: but, unfortuDatel;, at the beKinnlng of this month, June 1838, 
it nas choked, in altcmptin); to swallow some njoss which chanced to be in its 



ScientifU IniOSgence^Zcelegjf. 901 

it has a sharp weak BCTeam, which it utters on beog fnghtcned 
or irritated. It did not eat of itself uotil nearly three months 
after it was ftnind. It has always be«i veiy fond of heat, and 
is extremely sensible to caid, shivering intensely when the tem- 
perature is low. When the sun shines upcHi it, it expands all 
ite feathers, eq)eciaUy those of the tail and wings, turning its 
back to the heat. When eating, it holds the piece of meat 
about three or four seconds, squeeang it with the points of its 
mandibles, which is supposed to he an instinctive action, the ob- 
ject c^ which is to deprive its prey of life, previous to swallow- 
ing it.-— The late Mr Terapleton of Belfast succeeded in keep- 
ing a cuckoo over mnter, but it died in March, whoi the first 
moult commenced. 

31. Respiration of the Crvalaeea, — MM. Audouin and 
Milne Edwards, read lately to the French Academy of Sciences 
a fourth memoir " on the Anatomy and Fhysiolc^ of the Crus- 
tacea.^ The following is the title of thear new memoir : De ia 
Respiration afrienne dea Crustacisy et dea modificationa que 
FappareU branchial Sprouve dans lea crabea terrestres. There 
result irom the observations and experiments ctmtained in this 
memoir, 1. That, in all the Crustacea, the branchite are fitted to 
perform the functions of respiratory oi^ans, in the air as well as 
in water ; S. That the more or less rapid death of the aquatic 
species exposed to the air depends uprai vuious causes, of which 
one of the most direct is the evaporation from the branchic, 
which produces their desiccation ; 3. That, consequently, one of 
the conditions necessary for the support of life in animals, which 
have branchiae, and live ia the air, is the having these organs de> 
fended against desiccation ; and, lastly, That these indispensable 
dispoeitioDs are actually met with in the touriouroux and other 
land crabs, which all possess various organs destined faMabsorb- 
ing and ke^ng in reserve the quantity of water necessary for 
maintuning a suitable decree of moisture in the branchise. 

SX. STtake-catchers. — The secret of rendering docile, and 
handling with impunity, the most venomous serpents, which has 
■o long been in the possesion of the inhabitants of Western In* 
dia, is not unknown in China. It is observed that the native 
snake-catchers here rub their hands, previously to taking bold 
of the snake, with an antidote compoeed of pounded herbs. The 
virtue of the preparation is such, that they hold with the naked 



hand, md ptovolce fearleaelj tlw deadly nrf»a-di-«ii(]dlo, or 
■p«iA*de viper, a serpent wludi, next to the rattle-snake ni 
North America, is pertiaps one of the moBt dangerous reptiles 
in existence. This serpent, in common with others of a similar 
nature, are not unfrequently met with in Canton in the poBses- 
HOQ of these men, who, fbr a trifling gratuity, exhibit them to 
the curious q)ectalior.— Cmiton Jtjsgitter. 

83. SiUctpaa Spicaia in Akyetiium cydoniumj and A. i^»- 
eetaa. — Done Nardo of Cbic^a finds that the sjnculse of tbeae 
qiecies are not corneoUB or cakareous, as some maintain, but 
sitioeous,— an observation, however, which had been previoualy 
made in tbb country by Dr Grant 

ANTUBO»U.OOr. 

M. Origin^ Country qfthe Car^u. — ^That many of the pic- 
tures given us of this extraordinary race of peof^ have been 
ooktitred by the fears of the Indians, and the prejudices of the 
Spaniards, is highly probable. They were amstantly the temr 
of the former, and the brave and obstinate opponents of the iat^ 
ter. The evidences adduced ti th^r cannibal prt^iensitifis, must 
be considered widi laige allowances iat the careless and inaccu- 
rate observations of seafaring men, and the [Heconc^ved belief 
of the fact, whicii existed in the aiiida c^ the ^wiiarda. It waa 
• custom «nong the natives of many of the idands, and of tAhev 
puts of the New World, to preserve the remains of th^ de> 
ceased relatives and friends ; s(»netimes the entire body ; soto^ 
times only the head, or some cX the limbs, dried at the fire; 
sometinieB the mere bones. These, wh^ found in the dwellings 
of the natives of Hi^xmu^ against whom no prejudice of the 
kuid existed, were correctly regarded as rdics of the deceased, 
preserved tlirough ^fection or reverence ; but any remains oS 
the kind found among the Caribs, were looked upon with hwrw 
as proofs of cannibalism. The warlike and unyielding charac- 
ter of these people, so different from that of the pusillanimous 
nations around tboi, and the wide scope of thar enterprises and 
wandnings, like those of the Nomade tribes of the Old Wtnrld, 
entitle ^m to distinguished attrition. They wore trwned to 
war from their infancy. As soon as they could walk, tbdr in- 
tn^nd mothers put in their hands the bow and arrow, and pre- 
pared them to take an eariy part in the hardy eatoprises ei 
.. , C;cio>;lc 



Seient^ InteUigtau — Ana»itvp»lagtf. 908 

tbdr iiMiiere. Their disUnt iwuranga by tea cnsde ttwm oboer- 
vuitand intelligent. The natives of the other islands only 
knew how to divide time by day and night, by Uie eun and 
moon ; whereas these had acquired some knowledge of the st^s, 
by which to calculate the times and seasons. The traditional 
accounts of their origin, though, of course, extremely vupte, are 
yet capable of being verified, to a great d^ee, by geographical 
facta, and open one of the lich v^a of curious intjuirj and ape- 
culation which abound in the New World. They are stud to 
have migrated from the remote valleys embosomed in the Apa- 
lachian Mountains. The earliest accounts we have of them, le- 
present them with thdr weapons in theu* hands, continually ea- 
gaged in w«^, winning their way, and shiftbg their abode, 
until, in the course of time, they found themselves at the extrC' 
mity of Flmida. Here, abandoning the northern continent, 
they passed over to the Lucayos, and from thence gradually, in 
the process of years, from island to island of that vast and vet> 
dant chain, which links, as it were, the end of Fkirida to the 
coast of Faria, on the southern continent The Archipelago, 
extending from Porto Bioo to Tobago, was tbor stronghi^d, 
and the Island of Guadalot^pe, in a manner, thdr dtadel. 
Hence they, made tbdr expeditions, and spread the terrcr of 
tl)^ name through all the aurrounding countries. Swanns of 
them landed uptm the southem continent, and overnui some 
parts of Terra Firma. Traces t^ them have been discovered 
far in Uie interior of the country throu^ which flovs the OroO' 
nofca The Dutch found oolcHues of tbem cm the banks of ^e 
Uumtefca, which empties into the Surinam, dong the Ssqtabi, 
the Maroni, and other riwrs of Guayana, and in the countty 
watered by the windings of the Cayenne ; and it would appaw 
that they have extended their wanderings to the diores of the 
Southern Ocean, where, among the s^Mrigin^ of Bradlj 
were some who called themselves Caribi, diednguished from the 
surrounding Indians by their superior hardihood, subtlety, and 
mterpriw. To trace the footsteps of this roving tribe throu^. 
out its wide migrations, from the Apalachian Mountains of the 
Northern Omtiaent, akmg the clustMv of islands which stnd 
the Ottlf of Meuoo and the Caribbean Sea, to the dtores t^ 
Paria, and so aokms the vast r^;ions of Guayana and Amazo- 
nia, to the ronote coast of BraaJ, would be one of the most cu- 



9(M Seiml^ ln^Uigence.—BoUiity. 

nous res(»rches in aborigisal history, and might throw mudi 
light upon the mysteiiouB question of the popuUitioD of the 
New World. — Irving'* L^h t^CoUimbui- 

BOTANY. 

85. Temperature tf Plffittta. — Schutzer and Haider have pub- 
lished, at Tfllnngen, an account of some experiments on this 
subject. They inserted thermomet^^ into the stems of trees, 
and so deep that the bulb reached the centre of the tree. The 
same was done into a dead stem. It results from these experi- 
ments, that vegetables appear to retain a certain medium tem- 
perature, which cannot however be considered as originating 
from heat evolved by the functions of the plant, as the dead 
stem affi>rded the same temperature as the living, but can be sa- 
tiabctorily explained by a reference to the bad conducting 
powo- of the vegetable fibre and the wood, by which the tem- 
perature of the surrounding aerial strata penetrates but slowly 
into the interior of the plant. 

AETS. 

36. On preiervmg Wine in DraugJa. By M. Imery. — 
M. Imery of Toulouse has given us the following simple means 
vi pr^erving wine in draught for a con^derahle time ; it is suf- 
ficimt to pour into the cask a AaA of fine olive ml. The wine 
may thus continue in draught for more than a-year. It is by a 
smilar process, that they preserve wine in Tuecany, which they 
are accustomed to keep in large bottles, the glass of which is too 
tlun to resist the «fiect of corking them tight. The oil, spread 
in a tlun layer upon the sur&ce of the wine, hinders the eva- 
pwirtim oS its ahxJidic part, as well as prevents it from ccHnlun- 
iug with the atmosfdieric air, wbicb would not only turn the wine 
SDiur, but also change its consutuent parts. — GilTa Technoiogicai 
Btporitoiy, May 1828. 

37. On an ^ectual care Jbr Smalctf Chtmnet/t. By Mr S. 
Mordant—Mr Mordan, the patentee of the ever pointed pencils, 
shewed the editor lately his contrivance for preventing his kitchen 
chimney from smoking, and also for quickly exciting bis fire, 
vidMut the aid of bellows. This fir&-place, Uke many others, 
had a wide open chimney to it, and was (x>ntinually annoying 
his family by sm<^ing. He determined, therefore, to con- 

D.n.iized by Google 



Scientific Intelligence. — Jrlt. 205 

tract the tiiroat of his chimney in the following judidous man- 
ner. He caused the entire opening at the bottom or throat of 
the chimney to be closed up, with the exception of on upright 
flue, just above the top of the grate, about a foot wide and hi^, 
and which led into the chimney. To the face of this flue he 
applied a. square flat frame of wrought iron, having upi^t 
grooves made on each side of it, in which a sort of hood, made 
of sheet4r(m, could slide up and down. Thia hood is open be> 
hind ; it projects about a foot square in front of the diimney 
back, over the flre-place or grate ; it is alibied off at its top, to- 
wards tbe back of the chimney, and It has a handle in front of 
it to raise and lower it by. When the hood is elevated, it serves 
to guide tbe smc^e and heated air into the upright op^iuig 
leading into the chimney, its sides being closed to fit the up- 
right back of the fire-f^ace ; and the fire then burns in the usu- 
al manner, but the chimney never smokes. When, however, 
be wishes to excite the fire at any time, he lowers the hood un- 
til its bottom nearly reaches down to the tops of the cheeks, or 
two keepers of the grate, and the fire, by the drai^t thus 
caused, instantly revives. In addition to this hood, he likewise 
occasitmally hangs upon ledges, formed upon each side of it, an 
appendage made of sheet-iron, which lengthens it so that its 
sides fit close upon the tops of the keepers, and thus the air can 
only giun access to the fire through the front and bottom bars of 
the grate, and then, indeed, the fire burns most vehemently. — 
GilFi TecJmological Repositwy, May \89». 



list qfP^efOi granted in England from \tt February to 19tt 
AprU 1828. 
1898. 
Feb. L To ROUKT Baklow, of Jubilee Place, Chelsea, county of Middle. 
■ex t fbr " a new motion for supeneding the uecemty of the w- 
dinary Crank in Steam-Engtnee." 
To John Fmxdbrici Bakiel, Esq. of Gower Street, Bedftod 
Square, London ; for " improvementa In the manufacture of Gas." 
To JoHV OLTfOAM, of the Cit; of DubUn, gentleman i fbr " iminne- 
menta in Wheels for driving nuchlneij, to be impelled by water 
or wind, also aj^iUcable to boats and other vCMcla." 
To BAirH HixDuARiH, NewcMtle-upon-Tjne, Harter-muiitert fer 
" an Improvement in Capitans and Windlawei." 



106 Lift ofETtgU^ Pattmtt. 

ToRoanT SitM.i«a, MitUter i^ OdKon, AyrsUtv; Mid 3»mMa 
Stiklims, En^neer in Glugow, [<aiiadiihlr«i fiir " improve- 
meats in Air-Engines for moving nuchinery." 

To JoHM White of Soutbunpton, count^of Hants, engineer and iron- 
fbander,- Gir " improvements In Pistons or Bucfceti ft>T pumpft" 

To Samvei. Paueb of Argyll Pt*M, Argyll Street, WeMintauUr, 
bcoBidn;fbr '' inpToremeiita in tbeconMIuctkiDaf Lamp*." 
3. To Antoike Adolphe Mabcellim HiRBOTT, Norfolt Street, 
Stiani], London, merchant; Ibr ■' improrenients In Machinery for 
Cutting Wood into Moulding, Kebates, fti;. cotmnunicata) Awn 
abroad," 
a.T«8tr WiLUAM CnsBEre, of Ccrit Streei, Stniid,IiOBdan,B«rU| 
for* " new Motive power." 
12. To W11.LUU Strattoh of Limeliouse, county of Middlesex, en^neer; 

for " an Improved apparatus tbr Heating Air by Steam.** 
14. To Josv Geoksz Cbkibt, Old City Chnnben^ Lendta ; Bar "In- 
pMrenenta in C^per and otker Plate Prmtiflg, MauDunkated 
from abroad." 
20. To Pbilip Jacob Heisch, of America Square, London, merchant 1 
far ■' improvements in Machinery fin- Spinning Cotton, cmDmn 
nicaled fh>m abnttd** 

To Ckau,e* Babwkll Cotxev 1M« si Suke Streal, Manchcater 
Square, Lottdtw, Bsq. ; and Vu.i.itat NtcvocaoK of Manches- 
ter, In ^k.e county of Lancaihir*, dvil-^igineert for "^a new me- 
thod of contructlng Gasometers, or machines for holiSog and 
distributing Gas,— communicated from ahroad." 

To WitLTAM Bexxceb of Doptfind, Snt, geMlsiBit; fin a.tm^ 
cUbb bt Odndi^ Seeds An* the «xlnwtloB e£ oil, fomiaunka- 
ted froan tdiToad. 

To William Jeffbiei of London Street, BadcUffe, Middlesex ; 
brass-manufikcturer ; for " imptnvements in Caldnteff, Hoottli^, 
Slc. Ores-" 

To PiBUiB Ekard, of Great Harlborough Street, county of Middle- 
sex, muucal-instrument maker ; for " improrementa in Plano- 
fbrteSj-^-comBiunicated frvrn abroad." 

To ADflttsTns, Count de la Gabue, of St Jame«* Square, Landon ; 
for '■ a method of making Paper (rom the ligneous parts of cer- 
t^n teitJle plant*, — communicated from abroad." 

To^ W1T.MAV Bmvtb rfSheffieU, esuMy of Ymt, iiimiIihiI | fiii '^■n 
liBpn»T«d method of mmafictariif Cutlery, itf qmbbb ol|Roller«." 
31. To Caleb Hitcu the TouBger, nf Wwe^ in tbc MUBty of Hert- 
ford, Mc^.maker; ftT^''MiMpnn^WrilfW tuitA)|r purposes." 
To GxoBeE DicKEir9»v, of BucKUttd BtiU, ne^ Da*»r, county t£ 
Kent, paper mamftcturer; for "^ imppovenentslnBuking Paper 
by BfcdrinMy." 
To A««no BBiraDB«*o Vjimhxk*, otC h wa iMmtr Hace, Fitzroy 
Sqntr^ London, p ro ftss p i of murig ; fa- " topW wwc Bf on the 
Harp, Lute, and SpaniA Guitor." 



.:i.v Google 



List rfEnghth Patents. Wt 

T« DkviD BniTi-XT, of PeBdkton, county c^' IjUcHter, bleacher ; 
fbr " an improved method of bleaching, and inqmwcment in nia- 
ckioerj ioT bkeadniig and finiddnf Llom or Cotton." 
To WtiLMK Bbvxtov, of LiwtdemlaB MneA, Lmdon, civil en^- 
netr i for " impravemeDta on Fumacea for the cakination, &c of 
Ores, Metali and other gubgUncea" 
MaKh 3. To Johv Lkvxks, of Nottin^iam, machine makE*; fbf " inprove- 
toenta in MachiDei7, {ot the mann&ctuiie of BoUn-oet Lace." 
6. To William Powxali., of Manchester, county of Lancaster, 
weaver ; for ■' improvements Id making Healds, for weaving pur- 

To BERHAan Hbkbt BaooK, of Huddersfield, county or York, 
civil en^neer ; fbr " improvements in Ovens or Retorta, fbr car- 
bonizing cooL" 
13. To WiLLiAu RooEBa, of Norfolk Street, Strand, London, Lieute- 
nant in the Royal Navy ; for " improvements on Anchors." 
To BoBXBT Gbiffith Johcb, of Brewer Street, Golden Square, 
London, gentleman, for " a method of onuunenting China, com< 
municated from abroad." 
15. To Gkdbok ScHOLEFiEiJi, of Lecda, county of York, mechanic ; 

fbr " improvements in Looms." 
SO. To Nathan Gouoh, of Satford, county of Lancaster, civil engineer; 
fbr " an improved method of propelling Cairiagea or Vessels, by 
Steam or other power." 
To Sahuei. Clxqq, of Chapel Walks, Liverpool, county of Lan- 
caster i for " improvements in Steam-en^es, and Steam-boilers, 
and Generators." 
Mar. 2&< To Jame Behtlkt Lowht, city of Exet^v atraw-hat mauu&ctu- 
rer ; fiir " improvementa in the manufacture of Hats and Bonnets." 
2S. To EnwABD CowPER, of Clapham Road, pariah of St Mary, Ijuta- 
beth, county of Surrey, gentleman j for " improvements in cut- 
ting Paper." 
To pEKniHA}!!! OB ToDBviLLE, of Piccadilly, Londoo, merchant ; 
for " improvements on Filtering Apparatus." 
29. To Thouas Laweb, of the Strand, London, lace manu&ctuireT ; fin- 
" an improved Thread, to be used in the manuftaure of bobln- 
net lace." 
To Hekbt Marbiott, of Fleet Street, city of Xiondon, iron. 
monger, and Adodstus Siebe, of Prince's Street, Leicestw 
Square, county of Middlesex, mechanist; for "Improvements In 
Hydraulic Machines." 
ToPETEnTATi-OSiOf Holmwood, in the county ofLancaater, flax- 
drewer; fbr " improvements in machinery for Heckling, Dress, 
ing, or Combing flax, hemp, tow, and other fibrous materials." 
To JoHM Davis, of Iiemon Street, Goodman's Fields, county of 
Middlesex, sugar-refiner ; fbr " improvements in healing or evapo> 
racing solutions of Sugar and other Qquids, communicated from 
abroad." 
April 3. To Chakles Habslebbk, of New Ormond Street, county ofHid. 
dleeex, Esq- ; &t " improvements In machinery, to be uied in Na- 



) List ^Scottith PatenU. 

vigatldti, diieflj appUckble to the propelliag of BbipA wnd other 
floating bodies." 

16. To Sahdei. WeLi.MAN WusBT, of Webber Street, Ijunbeth, 
county of Surrey, engineer ; for " improvements in the constiuc- 
tlon of Wheel Carriages ; Mtd in the machinery employed for pro. 
pelling, drawing, or moriug vheel-carrli^^" 

19. To JoHir OoasLtix Ut-Ricx, of ComhilL, city of London, chrono- 
meter maker ; fbr " improrements on Chronometers." 



lAit <^ Patents granted m Scotland from 23d February io 

19^ May 18S8. 
1838, 
Har. 10> To Faux Stkenbtutp of Bwing Lane in the city of London, £sc|. 
for " certain impravementt in machiuery for Propelling Vessela, 
vhich improTementa are applicable to other purposes." 
19. To John Habvet Sadler of Hnxton, la the county of Middlesex, 
merchant, for " certain improvements on Fower-Looms fbr die 
weaving of silk, cotton, linen, wool, flax and hemp, and all mixr 
tures thereof." 
86. To William Powmall of Manchester, in the county of Lancaster, 
weaver, for ' improvements in making Healds for weaving purposes.' 
To Thomas Tthdall of Blrmingbam, in the county of Warwick, 
gentleman, for an invention communicated to him by a foreigner 
residing abroad, for " the improvement In the manufacture of 
Buttons, and In the machinery or apparatus for manufacturing the 

To John Lxe Steveits of Plymouth, merchant, for " a new or im. 
proved method or methods of Propelling Vessels through or on the 
water, by the aid of steam or other means or power, and which 
may also be applied to other purpnses." 
April 3. To Jork Levxss of the town of Nottingham, machine-maker, for 
" certain improvements in machinery for the manu&cture of Bob- 
binnet Lace." 
May «. To Tbohas Botfield of Hopton Coiirt, in the county of Salop, 
coal and iron master, for " certain improvements in making iron, or 
in the method or methods of smelting and making of Iron." 
19. To Count de la Gakoe of St James's Square, Pall Mall, in the 
county of Middlesex, for an invention communicated to him by a 
certain foreigner residing abroad, " of certain improved machinery 
for breaking or preparing hemp, flax, and other fibrous materials, 
which he denominates the " Rural Mechanical Brake." 
To Thomas Killmam of Mill Wall, Poplar, in the county of Middle- 
sex, mast-maker, for " certain improvements in the constructimi 
and fostening of made Masts." 
To EnwAKD CowFEE of Clapham Road Place, in the parish of St 
Mary, LambeUi, in the county of Surrey, gentleman, (br " certain 
ts in Cutting Paper." 



:!.« Google 



EDINBURGH NEW 
PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL, 



Biographical Memoir o/Hejiry Cavksdish, Esq. F. R. S. ^c. 
By Baron Cufieb*. 

J\.uosii those whom we have been accustomed to celebrate in 
this assembly, there are but too many who have had to stru^e 
against the obstacles which misfortune opposed to them : He of 
whom we are now to speak, had the much rarer, and probably 
much greater merit, of not allowiug himself to be overcome by 
Uiose of prosperity. Neither could his birth, which opened to 
him an easy path to houours, nor great riches, which came sud- 
deoly to lure him to pleasures of all kinds, turn him aside from 
bis ol^ect i even applause and distinction had no charms for 
him ; the disinterested love of truth was bis only prindple of 
action. But if he made a sacrifice of ail that men in general 
bo)d dearest, he was recompensed by a magnificence proportion- 
ate to the pureness of the sacrifice. All that sdence revealed to 
him seems to have something of the sublime and marvellous' 
He wdghed the Earth, prepared the means of navigating the 
air, despcnled the water of its' elementary quality ; and these 
doctrines so new and so much opposed to received t^iwons, 
be estabUshed by evidence' still mwe astonishing than even ^dE 
discovery. The memoirs in which they are contained) are 
so many masterpieces of sagadty and method, jferfect in 
whole as in detail, in which no other band has ever found, any 
thing to improve, imd whose lustre time has but increased ; so 
* It«ad to the Institute of France. 

JULY SEPTEMBER 1828. >-0?>OqIc 



210 Biographical Memoir ^ Henry Cavendi«h. 

that there is no temerity in predktiiig, that he wiU shed as much 
lustre on his house as he received from it ; mid that his re- 
searehes, which perhaps excited the pdty and dislike of Home of 
his relatives, will make his name be transmitted to a peiiod to 
wluch'his rank and (uicestry could scarcely have bome it. The 
hi^toy of thirty cmturies, in fact, teaches us very clearly, that 
great and useful truths are, after all, the cmly lasting heritage 
that men can leave. 

Mem of 4^ pider do sot, iBtleeJ, nqere the need of 
praise ; but it is necessary to point them out &s examples ; and 
such will be our object in retradng the life, » rather in present- 
ing an abridged account of the lat»urs, of Henry Cavendish, 
Esquire, Member of the Royal Society of London, and Foraga. 
Amoaate of the Institate of France. We say ui abtidged 
account of his labours ; for he was so happy or so wise, that 
scarcely any thing else is known of him; and in his liistiny 
Act* are no other incidents than discoveries. In the fdhnrisg- 
fnemmr, let not, t h errfare, that kind <tf iat^est be sou^t 6x 
wbidi arises firora sir^^ular or varied adventures ; but, at ^c 
same time, let not the mtfoRnity of his life kad us to reg»d 
it whh indifierence. To be Me at once to enlighten bis cotem- 
poraries, and g^n tliar love; to possess gemus, nd to disarm 
by criticism its virulence ; to be ricli and honoared, without 
exciting envy ; to retain bis powos unimpiured, aftra"tbe most 
assiduous labours, — aic qualities so rare, as Co renda* it euriotu 
to know thar,deta3s, and study tb^r causes. 

Mr Cavesdieh was bom at Londm, on the 10th Octebtr 
ITSl. His father. Lord Charles Cavendish, was « member of 
the Royal Society, and adniniitmor of tbe British Miiseum. 

His feiwly, descended &Mn iraeof tbe«ompanktisof WiUian 
the C(»iqueror, is among the most Ulustrioos in Great Britaia f 
it is nnre Ibaa two centuries since it was insoibed in the liA «f 
the peerage; and WUliaM IIL ia 16M, gave ^ title of I^ke 
of Devon Aite to its head. 

It has been remarked, that in £ngland there «• mon people 
tff rank who devote themsi^es to aaeaee and literatuveT than 
ia any other country ; and the reason is this, because, from the 
form of government in that cou^xy, lurth, and even richer can 



BiogrofAiMl Memoir ef Jteiuy Caiien^h^ S(l\ 

only gire eatitnatioD to ibosc poMested of them, in so far as th«y 
are BaaEttined t^ talent. It ia tbcMforv neocsauy to jrepiFe tb« 
jodRj^ nobility fer business by a liberal edimtioii ; and omoi^ 
ta many youths nbose miods have be«i stored with useful 
kaofrledge, there hxe always fiwnd sotm who prefo' devo(> 
ing thdr energies to the reeearch of ctemai truths, than in pur- 
suing rateredts of the tnoment. Mr Ctnaadaia, thnHighout 
the Whflle t^ his We^ shewed that this preference was the result 
ef a natural taste ; but it was neoesnry for him that it should 
be confirmed at an early age by ^nestic examples. Lord 
Chftrlee, Ins father, was also fond aS scienoe, and has left good 
observsUona in natural philosophy. It is probable that he 
directed the eivly studies of his son ; although we hare ilo infor- 
mation respecting the mecliod winch he followed in educating 
him, nor even of the first attempt of the young Henry in the 
career of science. He appeared suddenly in it, bat in such a 
maffli«', as to shew that it was already fimitisr to him. The 
first step whidi he mode, opened up a path b^ore ^knoi^ 
and gave the signal of a new epoch. We allude to the ManiHr 
on Aira, which he presented to the Royal Soci^y in 1766* j 
find in which he turned at nothii^ less than the estaUiahment 
sf these proportions, till then unheard of: Air is not an eU* 
tneta ; there etciat aeveral kinds of air eMentialhf d^ereni. 

From the time c^ Van Helaumt, philosc^hera kaew that vari> 
Ms bedles exhde iuids, which reseioble air in thear permanent 
elas^ty. Boyle discovered at an early period, that they we 
unfit for re^pirt^on ; Hales conoeivcd the means (^ measuriDg 
^em ; Btownrigg and Venel shewed that the sharp taste oif 
eertun mineral watnrs is owing to them ; Black discovered, that 
it is by their presence that luaestone is disUnguiahed trom quiek- 
lime, and the comnMm alkalies from caustic alkali ; lastly, Mao< 
btide directed the atteetioa of medical men to them, by employ.' 
mg them against putreHactitHi. But their various kinds had not 
been dis^ngtdshed with sUftdent aecnracy t it was not generally 
believed iJiat they were specificfdly distent i and n)ore than one 
[thlloeojiher of celebrity sJways msantmned, that these varietifia 
ir&e Bothmg bat eommoo ur ^tered by the enanations «f Che 



• pbu. tmm. I'm. P. ui. 



.:i.«ifiooi;5lc 



913 Biogra^icai Memoir of Henry Cavendith. 

' bodies which furnished them, allhough do one was able to pmnt 
out, with pret^iMi, in what these alleged emanatioos consisted. 
Mr Cavendish presented his Memoir; and, iil^a few pages, 
cleared up the subject. He compared, with each other, the 
elastic fluids extracted from lime and alkalieH, that produced by 
fermentation and putrefaction, and that which occupies the bot- 
toms of wells, caves, and mines ; and shewed that they have all 
the same prq>enies, and form but one and the same fluid, to 
which the name fA fixed air was from that time restricted. He 
determined the spedfic wdght of this air, and found it always 
the same, and greater by a third, than that of common air ; 
which accounts fcM* the low ponti<Hi it occupies, and the delete- 
rious effects to which it gives rise in the bottom of cavities. He 
discoTsred that tbis kind fA m possesses the property of com- 
bining with water, and then disserving limestone and iron ; 
which explains the eflects of incrusting waters, the formation of 
stalactites, and the presence of iron in mineral springs. Lastly^ 
be asserted, that it is precisely the same air that is developed 
in the combustion of charcoal, and which rendn^ that substance 
so dangerous as an article of fuel. 

His experiments <mi inflammable air were still newer and more 
striking. This fluid, which was only known by the explo^ons 
scnnettmes produced by it in mines, bad scarcely begun to 
occupy the attention of philosophers at the time when he under* 
took its investigation. Treating it in the same manner as the 
former, he shewed that it is identical, ^d possesses the same 
jffoperlies, whether it be obtained from the solution of iron, or 
from that of zinc, or of copper ; and of these properties, be 
more especially pcnnted out its. specific lightness, which is about 
ten times greater than that of commcm air ; and <^ which our 
fellow member, M. Charles, afterwards made such a happy ap- 
plication for rendering the navigation of the air by balloons 
sure and easy. It may, in fact, be said, that without Uie dis- 
covery of Mr Cavendish, and M. Charles's appUcation of it, that 
of Mr:Montg(^er would scarcely have been practicable, so 
nany dangers and inconveniences did the fire, necessary for 
keeping the air in his balloons expanded, occasion to the 
aeronaut. 

But Mr Cavendish's investigation i^as followed by otlier Te» 



BiogrojAkat ifemoir of Henry Cavendith. %iS ' 

suits, and the importaDce of his discoveries was soon evipced by 
their fecundity. The fact once ascertained, that there might 
exist various elastic fluids, ctmstant in th«r properties and spe- 
dfically different in their nature, first gave rise to Priestley's r&; 
searches, vhlch led to the discovery of two new kinds .<^ those 
fluids, the phlogisticated and nitrous airs. It was then begun 
to be seen how far the different kinds of tur might exercise 
their influence upon the phenomena c^ nature, and how little 
solidity systems of phyucs and <A chemistry could have, which 
were formed without any regard to agents so powerful and uni- 
versal. The intellectual faculties agitated by that impatience 
of doubt whk^ forms their chief spring, entered into a. sort t& 
fermentation, and each endeavoured to supply what he saw to be 
wanting in these theories. Bergman^s introducti<n of fixed mr 
among the acids, while it amplified chembtry a UtUe, ftxmed 
but a slight palliative to the radical defect which had been per- 
ceived in it. This stale of things had existed for seven years, when 
Lavoi^et was struck as with the first dawn of his famous theory. 
Finding a great quantity of fixed air evolved during tbe.reduc- 
tion of the metals by charcoal, he concluded that the calcina- 
tion of these substances was nothing but their combination with 
fixed air. A year after, Bayen reduced calxes of mercury with* 
out charcoal in close vessels, and sapped the chief foundation oi 
the phlogistic theory. Lavoisier theu examined the lur pro- 
duced by these reductions without charcoal, and found it re- 
(pirable; and, shout the same lime, Priestley discovered that it 
was precisely the part of the atmosphere necessary at once for 
respiration and combustion. It was then that Lavoisier made a 
second step. Respiration, the cakunation of metals wd combus- 
tion, said he, are similar operations, combinations of respirable 
lur ; fixed air is the peculiar produce of the ' combustion of 
charcoal. 

But the phenomena of solutions, the infiammable ^r which 
manifests itself in them, were not yet explained. Other six 
years were required for the acoompli^ment of this, and it was 
Mr Cavendish for whom the honour was reserved. 

Scheele had observed that, in burning ioflammable air, neither 
fixed nor phlogisticated air was obtained ; all seemed to disap- 
pear. Macquer, while trying to arrest the vapour ariang from 



ftl4 BiogrofMcatldaMAr afHtmy Cavenduh. 

tfais eoBibustion, remarked, with gurpiise, seffie moisture on 
the Tcsidd which be employed ; but he vent no further. Mr 
CKTeodish, who in some measure introduced inflamBtable air 
into chemical expaimeiUs, was also the first who aQtwunced the 
great iaflueDce vhidi it exerted over the comUiMtim (^ bodiee *. 
Cajiying, OB in his first iD¥e^JgiUion, the prerasfw for which 
be was distinguished, to a subject hitherto but superfioally exa- 
mined, he burnt inflammable mr in dose vessels by the elecljic 
spark, su[^lying it by degrees with the inflammable air neces- 
sHfy for its combustion. He (aw that the former of these airs 
absOTbed a determinate portion of the other, and that the wh^ 
resolved itself into a quantity at water equal to the wdght of 
the gases that had disappeared. This great pbenoiowon, which 
Mr Cavendi^ Uxk three years to establish, was announced to 
tbeBoyal Societyon the 14th Jaiu]aryl784 Our fellow mem- 
ber, Count Monge, who had fonned the same idea, and made 
the same expaiments as Mr Cavmdish, communicated their 
result about the same time to Lavoiraer and M. de Idi Place. 

If the combination of these airs yields water, ,8vd M. de la 
Place, it is because they reaidt from its decomposition. At- , 

tenets were therefore made to decompose water in the stune man' I 

ner as it had been composed, and they were suceessftil. These I 

experimmts became the key-stone to the arch of his new theory, 
and explained almost every thing that had previously puzzled 
him. In fact, water being but a combination of the two airs, 
wherever it exists, it can furnish th«n on being decomposed ; 
raid wherever they are framed, it may anse in>m tbdr union. 

The solutione of metals were at first deduced from inflam- 
ro^e air; and, by a numerous suite of othfif consequences, the 
deoompp^tion of organized beings, and the most complicated 
tranETormaticm of their principles. In a woffd, the theory of 
chemistry was henceforth seated on its basis. Thus it may be 
said that this new theory, which produced so great a Devolution 
in science, owed its origin to a discovery made fay Mr Cavep- 
dish, and that it was a second discovery of the same f^loso- 
pher which gave it its final completion. He made a third dtS' 
covery, whicli would sufllce to immortalize him, bad the others 

■ Fbil. Troiw. 1734, Fart 1. p. 1)9; Joum. d« Vhys. 17B4, (• xxt. 
p. 417. I 

I ., ..I . C;ooqIc I 



Bicgra^ieal Maaoir ^Htmy Caom^ih. XLS 

jtev9t existed : it w«s that of the compodtion of nitrouB acid, a 
a^batance of great utility in the arts, and vary extennvely £f- 
ftieed in natiue, re^ectii^ whidi, hefiwe Mr Cavendish's time, 
dieiDista had only vague and hypothetical ideas*. Ever since 
hia first ezpmin«[ita at the combustion of inflammahle air, he 
bad pacared that nitrous acid was fbmed, and that it was 
th« more abundant in proportion to the quantity of wbat vas 
then called dephlogisticated air, and afterwanla named azote. 

UpcHi examining the product of the detonation of nitre by 
ch«coal, be,fouad it conpoeed of this same phlogisticated or, . 
jutd fixed air. Now it was the diartxial that yielded the latter ; 
dw former, therefore, eould be furnished only by the acid of the 
nitre. Mr Cavendish quickly proved, by direct experiments, 
the accuracy of his cecgerture. By bunuog a mixture of re- 
(qiirabk air and phlogiBticated air, by meass of the dcctric spark, 
he converted it into nitrous air, which was itself changed into 
acid by a new adiStion of respirable mr. Thus the c^menu of 
nitrous acid were found to be the same as dioee of the atmos- 
phere, hat in diffixent proportioDs ; and frtmi henceforth clear 
ideas were cAttained of the universa], and hitherto incomprehen* 
attle, generatiDn of that add. 

The history o£ this ef)och, the most hriUiaDt that chemistry 
ever had, caonot be read witiMmt exciting a sc^t of enthunasm. 
SisGOTeiies seemed to prees upon each other. Mr Cavendish, 
having communicated that whidi he had just made respecting 
lutric add to our fellow-member M. Berthcllet, received from 
him in return, that of the decixnposition of amraooia into in- 
flammable. air and phlogisticated air. What men and what 
timee must those have been ! 

Mr Cavendish at length undertook the examination of the 
»tmo^]liere itself. It produced such vaned effects upon tiving 
bangs, that it was natural to si:q>po8e that it must be highty 
variable in the proportion c^ its ekmeoits. Priestley, who dis- 
cavered pure or res{Hrabie mr, hod also ascertmned the means 
cf estimating ' the lespiralnlity of any ^ven air ; all that iras 
for this purpoae necessary, was to measure the proportion et it 
whidi waa absorbed, when it was nuxed with nitrous air ; but 
Ins iDSIruments were still imperfect, notwithstan^g the oor- 
■ FhiL TmtH. 17S5 ; Jour, de Fhys. t. xxviL p. lO?. 

CtOo^Ic 



S16 Biographical Memoir of Henry CavendiA. 

recdoDB made upon them by Fontana. Mr Cavendiah, by a 
ri^t difTerence in the manual process, gare them a very supe- 
,twt \treaaoB *, and, having employed them for txitnparing air 
taken in different places and at different times, arrived at the 
unexpected result, that the portion of lespirable air is the same 
everywhere, and that the smells which bo perceptibly afect 
our senses, and the miasmata which so cruelly attack our 
healU), cannot be investigated by any chemical means — a result 
wbid), although at first ^ght almost discouraging, presents an 
immense perq>ective to the reflecting mind, and already shews 
in the distance sdences which have not yet been called into 
exist^ice, and for which alone is perhaps reserved the secret 
of those nhich we possess. M. de Humboldt has confirmed this 
fact, in the most distant regions, by means of the inflammable 
tar eudiometer, M^f. Biot and Gay-Lussac found it not less 
true in the highest parts of the atmosphere which man has been 
able to attdn by means of the balloon, than in its lowest strata. 
Thus it was -still an agent discovered by Mr Cavendish, that 
these adventurous philosophers employed to verify another o( 
bis discoveries. 

Such are the labours that have asngned to Mr Cavendish 
■o distinguished a place among the cultivators <tf chemistry ; 
they occupy but a few pages of print, yet they will survive many 
lai^ books ( but we must not estimate, the difficulties which 
attended them by the space which they fill. To have untied 
the secret knot that bound together so many comj^icated phe- 
nomena, to have pursued die same principle through so many 
windings and metamorphoses, and especially to have explain- 
ed with such precision what had for ages eluded the most 
expnt [^ilosophers was, in a few minutes, rendered evident to 
every c«e,' could be nothing but the effect of meditations, not 
only the best directed, but tJie moat obstinately persevering. 
Mr Cavendish was a living pnxtf of the truth of the adage of 
one of hie most illustrious cotemporaries, that genius is but a 
greato- aptitude for patience ; a maxim strictly true, if we add 
to it, that it must be the patience of a man c^ intdlect 

Another not less valuable quality which be possessed was his 
severity in the matter of demonstration. Nothing doubtful was 

* PfalL Tram. 17S3, Part I. p. 106. 

I ., ..I ...Google 



Mt^apMeai Mmtoir qfJtmty Cavendui. S17 

lutoitted by him, nor could any sopbism pass unperceivedl 
HiB character, in this respect, was such, that his friends hasten- 
ed to lay their researches before him, assured that if he ap. 
^proved of them, no one could find occa^ou to contradict them. 
He treated himself more severely than any other; and thus he 
was etiaU^ to pve his works such a degree of perfection, that 
even now nothing can be added to them, nor can any alteratitm 
be made in them, although xhe first of them appeared more than 
forty years ago, and although the science to which they refw 
has in that interval undergone a complete revolution. They 
are, perha[», the only sdentific productions in existence that can 
boast of such a merit. This severity, introduced by Mr Caven- 
dish into chemical inquiries, was as beneficial to the sdence as 
his discoveries themselves ; for it is to his method that we are, 
in a great measure, indebted for the discoveries which were 
made by others. Until about the middle of the eigbteenth cen-' 
tury, chemisiry seemed to have become an asylum for the gra- 
tuitous suppositions and baseless theories which Newton had 
expelled ih>m phyucs. Cavendish and Bergman pursued them 
thither ; they cleared that Augean stable, still overspread with 
the rublush of the hermetical {^lilosophy. Since th«r time no 
one has dared to operate but on determinate quantities, and by 
keepng a strict account of all the kinds of [nxiductii ; and it is 
this which forms the disdnctive character of the modem chemi- 
stry, much more than its theories, which, beautiful as they 
iqjpear to us, will not perhaps be unimpeachable, should the 
substances, which have hitherto boffied our research, be aoe 
day mastered. Mr Cavendish owed this steictness to a. profound 
study of geometry, of which be has also made direct applic&' 
tiona, sometimes as happy as his chemical researches. Such, 
in parliculsr, is his determination <^ the mean datsity, ch*, 
which comes to the same thing, of the total weight- of the 
globe * ; an idea whic^ at first had something frightful in it, 
but which, nevertheless, reduces itself to a simple law of me- 
chanics. Archimedes asked a point of suf^rt for moving the 
earth, but Mr Cavendish required none for weighing it. 

Another member of the Boyal Society, who died some time 
previously, Mr Mitchell, conceived the means of accamj^i^ing 
• PhU. Trans. 1798, Part II. p. 169. 

r:i (.:?:!.; Google 



this olgect, «iid had coDstnictod, for the {turpoM^ an aj^iata t m 
which was uetaij Ihe earns u that alread; eaiplcjed by our 
deceased fellow member M. Coulixab, for measurtqg the power 
of ekcaiatjf and that of the magnet. A lever, ux feet lon^ 
bearing at each extremity b small lead ball, was suqwoded bori- 
»«talljr, by the middle, to a vertical thread This lever oDce 
at rest, a large mam of lead of a givra diameter and wei^it, waa 
brought near each of its extreimtiet in a Weral direction. The 
attracdoD, exerted by the masses upon the balls, put the lever 
in motion. The thread became twisted in acoommqdating itself 
to this action, and tending to return to, its first state, made tbe 
lever describe small horizontal arcs, that is to aay, the attrac- 
fioD of the earth made it describe arcs perpendicular to the pen- 
dulum ; and, by comparing the extent and duration of these 
oscillations and those of the pendulum, tbe rdaticHi of their 
causes was obtained, or, in other words, the relaticm of the attrac- 
tive power of the masses of lead, and of that c^ tbe terrestrial 
globe. But this presmted only a rude idea of the apparatus, and 
of the precautitms and calcuiatjoos which the experimoit required. 
The mobility of the lever was such, that the slightest di&rence 
<)f beat between the two balls, or only between the di&rent 
parts of the air, ocoafflooed a current strong enou^ to m^e it 
vibr^e. It was even necessary to estitnate the attraction td tJbe 
walls of the wooden case in which it was contained ; and the at 
tention required in measuring the extent of its vibratti»% and 
even in observing it without altering them by approat^ii^ too 
near, was almost infinite. All these difficulties becimie ^pa- 
rent only at the moment of pnfomuDg tbe expaiment ; and 
the ddicate means which procured tbeir removal, and t^ which 
die necesnty had not even bem foreseen by Mitchell, beko^ 
entirely to Mr Cavendi^ The result waa singular ; the mean 
deurity of the gk^ was found to be Cj^d times, or scanediing 
less than 5^ times that of water. According to this result, it 
would be necesaaiy not only that the ^obe dmuld have no 
vacuities in it, but also that tbe materials of its intnior should 
be heavier than those of the surface ; for the substances, at whidi 
the Qomnon rocks are composed, are only about three, or rarely 
lour, times the weight of water, and no known stone has a ^>ecific 
gravity so high as five. It might therefijre be imagined that tbe 

D:it.:f:l.v Google 



Biographieal Memoir efHtnty CaaeHiuh. 1H9 
metals an nine ^Mndant toward the oeotre. lliui tbis new 
cKperiment (Viniislwd quite new vivwi i^h mspeci to the thearj 
of the eufth. It appeared, at fint, to dijngrae with tboMr ma^ 
by Maikelyoe in Scotland, in whidi the deviation, produced 
by the vicinity of a mountain in the plumb-line of bit inatnif 
ments, made him infer a mean density of mly four and a half 
times that of Water ; but it is anerted, that, after a more accu- 
rate calculation of Haskelyne's expenments, their result was 
found to come very near that obtained by Mr Cavendidi. 

He was also «te of the first who applied calculation to the 
theory of dectiicity. His inii«stig«6oa was pafcnoed before 
Mpna9\ woric on the same subject appeared, but {t was nitf 
communicated to the pubUc until after. He set out upon the 
same hypothecs, namely, that there is but one kind of dlectrical 
matt^j Ae molecules of which mutually repel taA other, and 
are attracted by other bodies ; but Mr Cavoidisb shews, that, 
«uppo«ng this action to be exercised in a proporticMi lesa than 
the inverse of ^e cube of the distance, it may be proredj 
by means of Newton's theory respeeting the attractioa of a 
qohere, that all the electrical matter of a body of that form 
ought to come toits surface *. It ia well known that our fellow 
member the late M. Coulomb, afiarwards demonstrated, by di. 
rect experiments, that the action of dectricity is exercised in 
the reverse ratio of the square f^ the distance, and that he proved, 
io a much more general manna:, the neceadty of this distribu- 
tion at the surface of bodies, whatever their figure may be. 

When Walsh announced the analogy betwe^ the shock wlu^ 
the torpedo gives, and that of the Leydm Tphui\., it was ol^ected 
that the fidi in question does not produce sparks. Mr Cavm. 
dish immediately endeavoured to explain the reason of this dif- 
fiH-encef. He even constructed, after the prineiple of bis expla- 
sa^oD, a. sort of ta^fioal ttspcdo, whicb presented tbe same pbo- 
nomena when it was electrified. Tbe true cause of animal elco< 
tiicity, however, escaped him ; and it was for M. VcAta that it 
was reserved to discover as apparatus calculated to mgender 
this wonderful fluid without intermismon, and to deotrify itself 
tacessantly, — an apparatus very probably analogous, in its ea~ 
sence, to those with which nature has supplied the electrical 
fisbea. 

■ Phil. Trani. )7TI, p. 548. * Ibid. 1776, p. 196. 



2X0 Biographicai Memoir c^ Henry CovenduA. 

It IB also known that the same Widsh saw sparks in the elec- 
tric eel of South America, a fish which posseBses that property 
in a much higher d^;ree than our European torpedoes, and 
whidi, according to M. Humboldt, is capable of stunning horses 
by its shocks. 

We have also observations by Mr Cavendish on the height at 
luminous meteors *, which mi^t have led to the suppotdtion, 
now so well verified, of the falling of stones from the atmosphere. 
He wrote a very learned memoir on the means of improving 
ineteorologtca] instruments "f-, and made ingenious remaHcs on 
the effects of frigorific mixtures, and their limits^. He even 
occupied himself with the calendar of the Hindoos, and endea- 
youred to compare their confused cycles with our mode of reckon- 
ing time {. But the limits of a public discourse do not permit 
us to enter into an analysis of all his writings ; we only m«ition 
them, to add the examfde of Mr Cavendish to so many others, 
which prove that great discoveries are reserved for men habitual- 
ly given to contemplation. 

, Toward the end of his life, he busied himself with regulating 
more accurately the division of the great astronomical instru- 
ments ; and it was assuredly carrying to the extreme the love of 
accuracy, to be dissatisfied with the art which, of all others, has 
carried that quality to the highest pitch. 

After this long enumeration of Mr Cavendish's labours, it 
will readily be cotnpi^hended that a life so productive could not 
have been an agitated one ; but what would not so readily occur, 
was the extreme uniformity of his life, and the scrupulous exact- 
ness with which he fulfilled the view which had induced him to 
devote it to study. The most austere anchorites were not more 
faithful to theirs. Among the numerous problems which he 
Bolred, he placed in the first rank that of not losing a nunute or 
a word ; and he found. In fact, so conTplete a solution of it, that 
it will astonish those who are most economical of time and words. 
His people knew from his signs whatever be wanted ; and, as he 
scarcely ever asked any thing from them, this sort of dictionary 
was hut brief. He had onlyone dress at a time, which was renewed 

• PhiL Trans. 1790, p. 101. t Ibid. 1776, p. 375. 

i Ibid. 1763, p. 303, and 1736, p. 241. § Ibid. llSt, p. 383. 



Biographictd Memoir of Henry Cavendiah. £S1 

at fixed periods, the new suit being of the same cloth and colour 
as the former. Lastly, it has even been swd, that, when he went 
to ride, fae had to find his boots always ready in the same place, 
and the whip placed ip one of them j and always in the same one. 

The occa«on <^ assisting at some new experiment, or of con- 
versing with scnne one who might afford him instruction, or had 
need of his advice, was the only thing capable of interrupting 
the established order, or rather this sort of intemipticHi itsdf 
formed part of his order : then he indulged himself in the {Mea- 
sure of talking ; and his conversation, which was entirely Socra- 
tic, did not end until all was cleared up. 

In every thing else, his mode of life had all the regularity and 
predion of his experiments. It could not even be altered by-an 
. incident which, of a certainty, would have produced a great 
change in that of any other. Bdng a younger member of a 
younger branch, he was rather poor in his youth, and his pa- 
rents, it is said, treated him as a man who, to all appearance, 
would never become rich. Chance or his real merit decided 
otherwise. 

One of his uncles who had served in die army in India, umI 
who had made a great fortune there, conceived a strong attach- 
m«it for him, and left him the whole. Being now the poe- 
sesBor of many thousands of pounds, Mr Cavendish had toi 
use a few additional signs, to shew what was to be done with 
the excess of his income ; but to obtain them, it was still 
necessary for him to be repeatedly ui|^ by his banker. It 
is said that the banker came one day to tell Mr CavendiA 
that he had allowed L. 75,000 Sterling to accumulate in his 
hands, and that be was ashamed to keep so large a sum lon^r, 
without being r^ularly settled, — a circumstance which assured- 
ly proves as much delicacy on the one nde, as carelessness on 
the'other. It is said, however, that he ultimately left about 
L. 1,250,000 Sterling. Few philost^ers have been so rich, 
and few rich peo[de have become so like him, without caring 
about riches. This cause of the greatness of his fortune is also 
its excuse ;. for we must allow that one almost needs to be «x- 
cused when he has acquired so much ; yet he did not omit seek- 
ing opportunities of diminishing it : he supported and carried 
forward several young persons who gave promise of talent; he 



aSX Skgrof^ical Memoir t^Henry CavendUh. 
fimoed a great library, and a T«y ridh natuial {AilcBoptiy cdn. 
net, which he devoted ao o(Hii[dete]y to the use of the piiUk, 
aa to reanre no priTileges tar hiiBsdf, bcMTowing his owli 
books with the lame fonnality as strangers, Mid, like thenir 
potting his iiami into the hbraiian's register. One day the 
keeper 4^ hia inatruments tdd him, with anger, that a young 
man had broken a rery vahiable mat^oe. " Youi^ people,^ b* 
relied, ** must break machines to ieam how to use them ; get 
aoodier made.^ 

The regularity of Mr Carendish'a life procured him long days 
exempt from infirmity. To the i^ of seTeoty-nine he retained 
the activity of his body and the powers of his mind. He owed 
probaUy to his raaerved nanoers, and the modest tone of his 
most impartant wribo^, another not less great advaDtage, and 
one which men of geniu* seldom enjt^, that of nevo' having his 
repose dialarbed by the jeaknisy of rivals, or the aenmony of 
critica. Like Newton, his great couotryotan, whom he reeem-^ 
Ued in other rei^tecle, he died full of years and of renown, dw- 
rished by his coiemporaries, respected by the generatioB which 
he had instructed, celebrated aaioDg all the learned of Europe, 
preaenting at once to tbe world the aocomfdiahed model of what 
aU men of acienoe ought to be, and an affecting example of the 
happiaeat wtedi they ought to enjoy. 

His decease toc^ place on the 24th FdNruary 1810. 

His plaoe in the InsUtute was ^ven to M. Alexan^r da 
Humbfddt, whose extensive acquiremmts, nultipiied labours, 
and adventuraus eaterpnses, whi^ have obtained for him tba 
estimatioD of the teamed of both hemispheres, have long entitled 
bin to t^ distinctkm, in the opinioa of all who have a right to 
form one (m sndt a subject 



EtMff An- Ae StrMiwe amd Actitm cf Voktmoet in di^mt re- 
giorU'Of^ Eioih. By Baron HnHaaLBT *. 

W HEN we r^ect upon the influence wMeb, for many age»t 
ha> been exerdsed upm the study of natare, by the -imjgo'y a * 
naents of geography, and by sdeetific journeys made into dia^ 
tant n^gas, we quickly pnonve how di£»rent this iflflmma 
" TrMMUt«d fimn the Tableaux de la Nature, par Humboldt, t. ii. 



Baron Humbddt on ihe Structure of Vfiamoea. SSS 
has been, according as dte resotrches have been directed toirard 
the f<Bins of the organic woiM, or tovard the inanimate mans 
of the earth. DiJiWent forms c^ t^ants and animals enliven the 
earth's surface in «ach zone, however much tlie heat of the at* 
mosphere may change, whether according to the geographical 
ladtiide, or the nudierDus curves of the isothermal Hnes, in the 
extended plains, level as the surface of the sea, or in an almost 
vertical direction on iJie steep slopes of the monntaio diains. 
Organic natore ^ves to each region of the earth the peculiar 
frfiysiognomy by which it is distinguished. The case is difierent 
with inorganic nature in tfte places where the solid enrdope of 
the earth is deprived of v^tation. The same species of ro^s, 
attracting and repdlii^ each other by groups, disclose them- 
selves in the two hemispheres, from die equator to the poles. 
In a distant isle, surrounded by onknoivn plants, in a clime 
where the stars to which his eye is hi^tuated no longer shine, 
the voyager often recognises widi joy the granite of his native 
country, and the rocks whidi he has been accustomed to see. 

This independence upon the present conttitation of climates, 
winch is peculiar to inorganic nature, ijoes not diminish the be- 
nefiml influence whicii numerous observadons, made in distanf 
countries, have upon the progress of geognosy ; it only ^es 
them a particular directitHi. Eac^ succeeding tepedition en- 
riches natural histcoy with new spedes of animals and ^aitts. 
Sometimes organic forms are discovered i^idi comiect them- 
selves with types long known, and which present in its or^nal 
perfection the regularly woven, and often apparently iotemipt- 
ed, get-wor4[ of animated natural forms. ' Somettmes the As- 
coveties consist of forms which present themselves isolated, Bke 
the remains of extinct races ; sometimes of members of yet uft. 
known groups. The examination of die sdid crust of die eardt 
exhibits no such diversty. On the contrary, it discloses, in the 
constituent parts, in the rdative pontion, and- in the periodical 
recnrrence of die di^rent masses, a nmilarity which strikes die 
gefJogist with astoniahmrat In the diun of the Andes, as in 
the central mountains of Europe, one formatian seems, as it 
Were, to recal another. Masses of tbe same name assume ami. 
lar forms ; the bas^t and greenstone form twin motmtains ; 
dirfomite, white sandstMie and porphyry, form manes bnAcn 



2S4 . Baron Humboldt on the Structure and Action ^ 
into difis ; trachyte, rich in vitreous felspar, rixes into domes^ 
In the mogl distant zones, lai^ crystals separate ^ilarly, 
as by an internal development, from the compact texture of 
the primitive mass, form themsdves into groups, appear as 
subordinate masses, and often announce the vicinity of indepen- 
dent new formations. In this manner the whole inorganic world 
is evidently pictured in every mouHain chmn of any extent. 
To become perfectly acquainted, however, with the most, im- 
pcMliant phenomena of the composition, relative age, and origin 
of the formations, it b necessary to compare, with each o^r, 
observations made in countries the most widely separated, [»t>- 
blems which have long seemed enigmatical to geologists Uving in 
the north, find tbeir solutiim near the equatm*. If, as has beat 
observed, the distant zones do not fumi^ us with new forma- 
tiorn, that is to say, unknown groups of simple substances, they 
yet enable us to understand the uniform bws of nature, by 
which the vaiious strata support each other, penetrate into each 
other''s substance in the f<^m of veins, or raise each other in 
obedience to elastic powers. > 

If it be true that our geo^ostical knowledge derives the 
greatest advantage from researches made over vast expanses of 
. country, it ought not to excite surprise that the class of pheno- 
mena which forms the principal object of this memoir should, 
till lately, have been examined in a very imperfect manner, be- 
cause the points of comparison ore very difficult, and may even 
be said lahcnious, to Gad. Until the end of ihe eighteenth 
century, all that was known of the form of volcanoes, and of the 
action of their suhtfirronean powers, was derived from two moun- 
tains in the south of Italy, Vesuvius . and Etna. The former 
being the most acces»ble, and, like all volcanoes of inferior el^ 
vatiiMi, having more frequent eruptions, a small hill became, in 
some measure, the type according to which a whole distant 
worid was represented, containing the great volcanoes of Mexi- 
co, South America, and the A«atic Isles. This nude of rea- 
soning might naturally bring to our recollection Virgil's sh^ 
herd, who, in bis humble cabin, imagined he saw the image of 
the etemai cUy. 

An attentive ecanuDation of the whole Mediterranean, espe- 
mlly its islands and eastern ^res, wh^% tbe: hunuu race haa 



Vekotioes tn the diffireM regiom of the Earth. M9 

begun to nee in the ivogress of intdect, and in. the cultivatidD 
of generous. feelings, mi^t, however, reform this imperfect man- 
ner of studying nature. Among Uie Sporades, trachyte roeks 
have risen from the bottom of the sea, and f<Hiued islands, like 
that among the Azores, which, in the space of three centuries, 
bas shewn itself at nearly equal intervals. Between Epidaunis 
and Trez^e, near Methone, in the Peleponneaus, there occurs 
a Monte Nuovo, which was described by Strabo, and has been- 
seen agmn by Dodwell. It is higher than the Monte Nuovo of 
the Fhlegrean Fidds, near B^se, perhaps even higher than tbe 
Dew Volcano of JoruUo, in the Pluns of Mexieo, which I found, 
surrounded with many thousands of small basaltic oones, that 
had issued from the ground, and were still , smoking. In the 
basin of the Mediterranean, not only does the volcanic fire es-: 
cape from permanent craters of isolated mountuns, which have 
~ a constant communication with the interi(H- o£ the earth, a» 
Stromboli, Vesuvius, and Etna ; but at Ischia, on Mount Epo- 
m^ ; and, according to the accounts <^ the ancients, in the Plains 
of Lclantis, near Chalds, lavas have flowed from fissures which 
have suddenly opened at the surface of tbe ground. 

Independently of these phenomena which belong to historical, 
times, to the liaiited domain of sure tradition, the shores of the 
Mediterranean contain numerous remains of more ancient effects 
(rf the action of fire. Tbe south of Fraqce, in Auvergne, dis- 
^ys a particular and entire system <^ volcanoes, arranged in 
saies, of trachytic domes, altemaUng with cones p^forsted withL 
craters, from which torrenu of lava have flowed in narrow 
stripes. The Fhun of Lcmibardy, which, smooth as tbe surface 
of the waters, forms the most remote gulf of the AdriaUe Sea,-, 
surrounds the trachyte of the Euganean Hills, in which there 
rise domes ot granular trachyte, ob»dian, and perhte^ forming 
three masses proceeding fra|» each other, which have f(»aed 
tb^r way through the Juraic bmestone, filled with flints, but 
which bave never run in narrow torrents^ Similar evidences of 
andent revolutioDs of the t^rth oecur in various parts of tbe 
Continent of Greece and of Asia Minor, a country whidi will 
(Hie day present rich materials for geological research, when 
light shall have returned to these countries whence it began t» 

JULY— SEFT2HBEB 18^ T 

D.n.iized by Google 



tm Bwm Hudiboldt oo t/u Strvelur* and Aetiott of 
lUoc on ihe west, when mlCraged humaoit; ^all no loeger 
gSMQ beneath tbe uv^ie barbaiity of the OttoaiBDB. 

I bring forward the geogr^ihical proximity of these Bumennu 
jrflHunnetia, to shew that the basin of the MediteiTBnean, with 
ita itlands, is capable of presentiitg to the attentive obaerver all 
that haa rtcently been diicorered, lUid^ variouB forms, in South 
America, in Tmeri&, or in the Aleutian Isles, in the vicinitj 
of the polar irgioDs. The objects to be observed were united 
ti^ether ; but travda into distant r^ons, and comparisons of 
estenaive countries in Europe and out of it, were necessu-y for 
dearly shewing the mutual resemblance of vtJcuiic phenomena, 
and their dependence up(»i chic another. 

Common language, which often gives connstency and dura- 
tion to ideas ariong from the most erroneous views of things, 
but which also frequently indicates the truth instinctivelyr 
pves the name of Volcanic to all the eruptions of subterranean 
fires and melted substances ; to the columns of snwke and va- 
pour which issue from the heart of rocks, as at Colares, after the 
great earthquake at Lisbon ; to the salses or cones of clay which 
vomit mud, as{^altes, and hydrogen, as at Girgenti, in Sicily^ 
and at Turbaco, in South America ; to the hot spriogs of the 
Geyser, whidi, impelled by elastic vapours, rise to an immense 
height ; in a word, to all the effects of the mighty powers a( na- 
ture, whidi have their seat in the interior of out pUnet. In 
central America, or in the country of G-uatemala, and in the 
FhilipfMOe I ale*, the natires make an essential difierencc between 
water voknnoea and fire voleanoes (voicanet de agua y dejbego). 
By the former name they designate the mountaJns, from which, 
amid rit^ent earthquakes, subterranean waters issue from time 
to time. 

Without denying the comiecticm at the j^nomena just men- 
tnmtd, it would yet appear expedient to ^e a more precise lan- 
guage bo the f^yrical and OTyct^^nostical department of geo- 
gnosy, in order to jwevent the apj^calicAi of the name of VcJcano, 
sometimes to a mountain which is terminated by a permanent 
fimiaee, and sometimes tn each subterranean cause of vtJcai^ 
fbenoraena. In the present state of the terrestrial globe, &e 
molt omnmon fatm of volcanoes, in all purts of tJie world, is 
that of an isolated cone, such as Vesuvius, Etna, the Peak oi 



Voiamdet in the diffrretU regions ofUte Earih. CST 

Teyde, Tunguragua, and Cotopaxi. I have observed tfaeni 
riang from the size of the lowest hills to 17,700 feet above the' 
level of the sea. But close to these conical mountains, there al- 
so occur perniaRent apertures, forming regular communications 
with the interior of the earth, on long serrated chtuns, not at thtf 
middle of thnr mural summit, but at their extremity, and near 
the declivity. Of this kind is Pichincha, which rises between 
the great ocean and the city of Quito, and which Bouguer's ba,' 
rometrical formulae have long rendered celebrated. Such also 
are the volcanoes which rise on the Steppe de los Pastes, which 
b 10,000 feet high. All these summits, of varied forms, are 
composed of trachyte, formerly named trap porphyry, a granii' 
lar fissured rock, formed of glassy felspar and hornblende, and 
in which augitc, mica, laminar felspar, and quartz, also occur. 
In places where the evidences of the first eruption I might say 
of the ancient volcanic scaffolding, are preserved entire, the iso- 
lated conical mountain is surrounded, in the form of an amphi- 
theatre, with a great wall, constructed of rocky strata, super- 
imposed upon each other. These walls or dreumvallations are 
tfie remains of craters o^ elevation, a phenomenon worthy of 
attention, respecting which the first geologist of our times, M, 
Leopold Von Buch, in his writings, irom which I have borrowed 
several ideas stated in the present memcHT, has presetited such 
interesting views. 

The volcanoes which communicate with the atmosphere by 
permanent apertures, the basaltic cones or domes of trachyte, 
destitute of crater, sometimes low like Sarcouy, and sometimes 
elevated like Chimborazo, form various groups. Comparative 
geography shews us, on the one hand, small archipelagoes, and 
entire systems of volcanic mountains, with their craters and cur- 
rents of lava, resembling those of the Canary Islands, and the' 
Azores ; and, on the other, mountains without craters, atid with- 
out currents of lava, properly so called, as the Euganeans, and 
the {Siebengebirge) seven mountains of Bonn. Moreover, it 
shews us voJcanoes arranged in ^ngle or double lines, and extend- 
ing to several hundreds of leagues, sometimes parallel to the axis 
of the diain, as in Guatemala, Peru, and Java; sometimes cutting 
it perpendicularly, as in the country of the Azteques, where tra- 
ehytic momttains, which vomit -Are, alone attaiil the height ai 

i>3 



9S8 Baron Humboldt on the Strvcturc and Action of 
perpetual snow, and are probably situated upoD a crevice trs- 
versing the whole cootineut, over an extent of 106 get^aphical 
leagues frora the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic. 

This association of volcanoes, whether in isolated and rounded 
groups, or in lon^tudint^ bands, demonstrates, in the most de- 
cisive manner, that volcanic e£^£ts do not depend upon slight 
causes existing near the surface of the earth, hut are phenomena 
whose origin is to be found at a great depth in the interior of 
the globe. The whole eastern part of the American continent, 
which is poor in metals, is, in its present state, destitute of vol- 
canic mountains, of masses of trachyte, and probably even basalt,, 
with olivine. All the American volcanoes are collected together 
in the chain of the Andes, which is situated in the part of that 
ctmtinent opposite to Asia, and which extends, in the direction 
of the meridians, over a ^ce of 1800 leagues. The whole 
plain of Quito, of which Pichincha, Cotopaxi, and Tunguraqua 
' form the cymes, is a volcanic focus. The subterranean Gre 
escapes, sometimes by one, sometimes by another, of those aper- 
tures which it has been customary to consider as distinct vol- 
canoes. The progressive march of the fire in them has, for the 
last three centuries, been irom north to south. The very earth- 
quakes, which produce such terrible ravages in this part of the 
world, afford remarkable proofs of the existence of subterraneaB 
communications, not only with countries destitute of volcano^ 
which has been long known, but also between ignivomous 
mountains placed at very great distances from each other. 
Thi», in 1797, die volcano of Pasto, to the east of the course of 
the Guaytara, vomited, unremittingly, for three months, a high 
column of smoke. This column disappeared at the very mo- 
ment, when, at a distance of rixty leagues, the great earthquake 
of Riobamba, and the muddy eruption of Moya, destroyed 
about forty thousand Indians. The sudden appearance of the 
Island of Sabrina, to the east of the Azores, on the 30th Janu- 
ary 1811, was announced by the dreadful earthquake, which, 
at a mudi greater distance to the west, from May 1811 to June 
1812, shook, almost without intermission, first the West India 
Islands, then the plains of the Ohio and Misrisip[», and, lastly, 
the coasts of Venezuela, utuated on the opposite side. Thirty 
days after the total destruction of the city of Caraccas, the ex- 



Volcanoes in the d^h-ent regions of the Earth. SS9 
plosion of the volcano of St Vincent, in the Lesaer Antilles, 
took place at a distance of ISO leagues. At the same moment 
when this eruptioa happ«ied, on the SOth April 1811, a sub* 
■teiranean noise was propagated, and carried terror over an ex- 
tent of country of S200 square leagues. The inhabitants of the 
-banks of the Apur^, at the confluence of the Rio Nula, as well 
as Uiose of the sea coast, compared the noise to that produced 
by the discharge of large pieces trf artillery. Now, from the 
confluence trf the BJo Nula and Apure, by wWch I arrived at the 
-Oronocco, to the volcano of St Vincent, the distance is 157 
leagues in a straight line. This ntuse, which assuredly was not 
propagated by the air, must have had its cause deep in the earth. 
Its intensity was scarcely greater on the shores of the Antilles, 
near the volcano in action, than in the interior of the country. 

It would be useless to multiply examples; but in order to 
-recall to mind a phenomenon which has acquired a historical 
importancd with reference to Europe, I shall now mention the 
famous earthquake of Lisbon. It took place on the 1st Novem- 
ber 1755. Not only were the waters of the Swiss Lakes, and 
of the sea on the coasts' of Sweden, violently a^tated ; but also 
those of the sea around the eastern Antilles. At Martinique, 
Antigua, and Barbadoes, where the tide does not commonly rise 
more than eighteen inches, it suddenly rose twenty feet. All 
these phenomena prove, that the subterranean powers manifest 
themselves, either dynamically, by earthquakes, oi chemically, 
by occasioning changeg in the form of volcanic eruptions. They 
also demonstrate, that these powers act, not superficiaEy in the 
outer crust of the earth, but at immense depths in the interior 
of our planet, by crevices and unfilled veins, which lead to points 
of the earth's surface, at the greatest distances from each other. 

The more numerous the diver^tjes in the structure of volca> 
noes, or in other words, of the elevations surrounding the canals 
by which the mdted masses of the interior of the globe arrive 
at its surface, so much the more important is it to submit this 
structure to accurate measurements. The interest of these mea- 
surements, which, in another part of the world, have formed 
the object of my researches, increases if we consider that the 
magmtude to be measured varies in several points. The phi- 
loBi^ical examination of nature applies itself, in the viassitude 



S30 Baron Humbokk on tfie Stmcturt and Ae^on tf 
of jAeDomena, to connect the present with Ae pakt. To eata- 
blisG a periodic^ return, or to fix the laws of pn^reMtve aod 
▼aiiable phenomena, it is necessary \o have some vrll detennined 
points of departure, observations made with csre, and wbicb, 
bdng doanected with drtermined epochs, may furnish numeri- 
cal compuifiODS. Had only the mean temperature of the stiD»- 
qihere, and of the earth in difierent latitudes, m- the mean tempe- 
rature of tbe barometer on the edge of the aea, been determined 
from <me century to another, ve should have known in what pro- 
portion the heat of climates has increased or diminished, and 
whether or not tbe height of the atmosphere has uDdi«goi)e 
changes. These points of comparison are required for tbe deeli- 
Bation and inclioatioii of the magnetic needle, as w^ as for the 
intensity of the electio-magnetic foives. If it be a praiseworthy 
occupation for societies to follow, with assiduity, tbe cosuiic vicis- 
eitudea of heat, of the pressure of the ur, and of tbe magnetic 
directitm and intensity ; it is, oo tbe other hand, tbe duty of the 
geok^Et, in determining the inequalities of the earUi'e sur&ce, to 
take into consderation die change of he^ht of voL^iioes. What 
I attempted at the time, in the mountaina of Mexico, at To- 
lues, Nalihamput^^ and JoruUo, and in the Andes c^ Quito at 
Fichincha, I have had an oj^rtnnity, since my return to En- 
rope, of repeating several times at Vesuvius. 

In 1779, Saussure measured that mountain at a period when 
die two edges of the crater, die nwth-west and south-west, ap. 
peared to him <^ equal height. He found their (^atton 609 
toises above tbe level of the sea. The eruption <^ 1794 occs- 
tdoned a filing in of tbe southern part, and au inequf^ty of iJk 
edges of tbe crater which the most inexperienced eye dtrtin* 
guisbes at a considerable distance. In 1805, M. von Buch, M. 
Gay Lussac and myself, measured Vesuvius diree times. The 
result of our operations was, that the heighi of the oerth 
edge, the Bocea del Palo, which is of^site the Somma, i^eed 
widi Saussure's measurement, but that the south edge was 75 
toises lower than in 1773- The total elevation of the volcano, 
towards tbe Torre del Greco, the «de towards wbicb tbe fin 
had priocipalty directed its actioa for thirty years, had diminidi- 
ed an eighth part. The cone of ashes is, to the total hei^ of 
die mountaiB, on Vesuvius, as one to ten ; on tbe Petdc of Te> 



Viiiemo*0 i» ike 4^-ent ngwnw ^ih4 Smitk m 
narifie as one to twoaty-two. Vesunus, dicrefcre, hu die eooe 
of aabes pn^rtionally better, probably becaute, as a vd^wiio sf 
■little beigbt, it has acted prmcipolly by it£ eummiL I suoceed- 
ed lately not only in repeating my barometrical measurementa mi 
Vesuvius, but also in ascending that mountain three times, in 
order to take a cwnplete survey of all the edges of tbe taoter. 
This undertaking is perhaps deserving of some interest, because 
it dabmaes the period (^ the great eruptioDB from 1805 to 16S!i ; 
W>d because it afibrds, perhaps, the only measurement of the 
vtdcano, made with reference to all its parts, that has hilb«to 
been published. It thews that the edges of the inmter, not only 
in the places where tbey are vMbly composed of trachyte, as in 
the Peak of Teneriffe, and io all the volcanoes of the chain of 
tile Andes, but also every where else, present a phenomenon 
much jncwe oonsbmt than had previously been supposed from olv 
serva^DS hastily made. Simple angles of height, determined from 
the same pcriat, answer much better for researches c^ this kind 
than tiigonometiical and barometrical measurements, otherwise 
nety coi]^>lete. According to (ny last determination, the north- 
west edge <^ Vesuvius has not perhaps undergone any diminu. 
tion of bdght «nce the lime of Saussure, that is to say for the 
last f<«ty-nine years, and the south-east edge, on the Bosche Tr«. 
Case side, which, in 1794, was 400 feet lower than the preced* 
iog, has undergone a diminution of 10 toiset. 

If the public journals, in describing the great eruptions, very 
frequently relate that the form o£ Vesuvius has totdly changed, 
and if these assertbns are oonfinned by the picturesque views 
of that mountun which are punted at Naj^es, the cause of 
error exists in the circumstance that the contour (^ the edges of 
the crater is confounded with those of the heaps of scoriae which 
are accidentally formed in the centre of the crater, on the bc^ 
tfna of the ignivomous mouth raised up by vapours. One of 
these heaps, conaistiog of rapilli and scoriae, became gradually 
visible in 1816 and 1818, above the south<east edge of the 
crater. The eruption of FelH-uary 18£S iocreased it to such a 
4^;ree, that it even exceeded the Rocca del Palo, or the north- 
west edge of the crater, by 100 or 110 feet. In the last eru|>- 
tioD, the remarkid^ cone, which was usually considered as the 
true summit j^ Vesuvius, (eM down with a terriUe noise, so that 

HI Ogle 



3S» Baron Humboldt m Ae Strueture and Jetion <f 
thebottoni of the enter, wluch, since 1811, was alwajs aeces- 
' ^ble, is now 750 feet lower than the northern edge of the vot- 
-cano, and SOO feet lower than the BOutbem. The variable 
fonn and rdaUve position of the cones (A oiiption, whose aper- 
. ture ou^t not, aa is too often done, to be confounded with the 
. crater of the volcano, give a particular aspect to Vesuvius at 
diSerent periods, and the historiographer of this volcano might, 
from the contours of the summit, and from the simple inspection 
of the landscapes pointed by Hackert, which are at Portjd, ac- 
cording as the northern or southern side of the inounUin is re- 
presented higher or lower, guess the year in which the artist 
made, the drawing from which he composed hu picture. 
. A day after the cone of scorise, 400 feet bi^, bad fallen in, 
when already small but numerous torrents of lava had flowed, 
in the night of the S3d October, commenced the luminous ^up- 
tion of ashes and rapilli. It lasted twelve days without inter- 
ruption ; but it was more intense during the first four. All this 
time, the detonations in the interior of the volcano were so vio- 
lent, that the mere concussion of the air (for no commotion was 
observed in the earth), cracked the ceilingj of the apartments in 
the palace of Fortici. The villages of Uesina, Tone-del-Gfeco, 
Torre d^l Anunziata, and Bosche-Tre-Case, whidi are close up. 
on the mouDtaio, witnessed a remarkable phenomenon. The 
atmosphere was so filled with ashes, that the wbole district woa 
for several hours in the middle of the day enveloped in profouod 
darkness. People used lanterns in the streets, as ofW) hi^)- 
pens at Quito, during the eruptions of I^diincha. The inhabi- 
tants never fled in such numbers. The torrents of lava were 
much less dreaded than an eruption of ashes,— ^ phenomancm 
which had not before been known to such a degree, and which, 
from the obscure . tradition of the manner in which Heroula- 
neum, Pompeii and Stabiie were destroyed, filled the imagination 
of men with terrifying images. 

The watery and hot vapour which shot up from the crater 
during the eruption, and diffused itself in the atmo^here, fcM-m- 
ed, on cooling, a thick cloud round the column of ashes and 
flame which rose to liie height of 9000 feet. So rapid a «»- 
densation of the vapours, and, as M. Gay Lussac has shewn, the 
very formation of the cloud, augmented the electrical inten^y. 



Veicanoea m the d^trent regiow of the Earth. 2S8 

FUsbes issued from the column of ashes ia all direcUons, and 
the thunder, which was eaaly distinguished fMm the notses of 
the vdcano, was distinctly heard. In no other eruption was 
the mamiescation of the electric powers so astonishing. 

On the morning of the 26th October, a surprising noise was 
heard, which seemed to arise from a torrent of boiling water thst 
was ejected from the crater, and descended along the declivity of 
the cone of the ashes. Mondcdli, the learned and zealous ob> 
servn of the volcano, immediately discovered that an optical i1- 
laaon had occasioned this erroneous rumour. The supposed 
tcarent was a great heap of dry ashes, which issued from a 
crevice in the upper edge of the crater. A drought which 
^)read desolation in the fields, had preceded the eruption of Ve- 
suvius. Toward the end of this phenomenon, the volcanic 
thunder abarm which we have just been descritnng, occanoned an 
extremely heavy and long continued rain. In all countries, the 
cessation of an eruption is characterized by a similar -meteor. 
So long as the present one lasted, the cone of ashes being gene- 
rally enveloped with clouds, and the rain being heaviest in its 
vicinity, torrents of mud were seen flowing aa all sides. -The 
affrighted husbandman thought it was water, that, after ascend- 
ing fi-om the bottom of the volcano, issued by the crater. The 
gecJogist thought he discovered in it' sea water, or muddy 
productions of the volcano, cm", to use the expression of the 
French old systematic writers, products of an igno-aqueous li- 
quefaction. 

When the summit of the volcano, as is almost always the case 
io the Andes, rises above the re^on of snow, or attains a hdght 
double that of Etna, the snow, by melting and flowing toward 
the lower regions, produces frequent and disastrous inunda- 
dons. These are phenomena which the meteors connect with 
the eruptions of volcanoes, and which are variously modified by 
the height of the mountain, the extent of its summit covered with 
perpetual snows, and the heating of the walls of the cone of 
canders. They cannot at all be regarded as true volcanic phe- 
nomena, being merely the effects, of such phenomena. In vast 
cavities, sometimes on the declivity, somedmes at the foot of 
volcanoes, are found subterranean lakes which communicate in 
various ways with the alpine torrents. When the commotions 



of the fluth wliidi always pnoede aU tie igBMOVerupciaiW IB dw 
ftuaa of the Andfits bave ¥ii^cDUy shaken the wlK^e mats <nF the 
volcano, tbea the gubtemBean gulfs open, and there iuue at the 
same time water, fishes, aod clay tub. Such is the singiUa^ phe< 
pomenon which brings to Hght the Pimdodet c^iopum, a fish to 
which th« inh^itants of the plain of Quito gave the name d 
PrenadUki, and which I deaciihed shortly after my return. 
When to the nordi of Chimborazo, in the night of the 19tfa 
June 1698, the suniHiit of Carguaraizo, a mountain of the h«gb 
of 18,000 fiaet, broke dowq, the whole oountry numd, to the ex- 
tent of nearly two square leaguges, was covered with mud 
and fishes- Seven years h^ote, a pernicious fever, v^ich d^ 
{Kdated the city of Iburra, was attiibiiled to a umilar eruption 
of fishes from the volcano of Imbaburu. 

I mention these iajcXA, because they throw some light oia the 
diference which exists between the eruptions of dry ashes u)d 
those of mud, wood, charcoal, or shells, serving to explain the 
IbriBatioo of tufa and trass. The quantity of ashes throw* 
out by Vesuvius td late y<faTs, like all the circumstances cob. 
Qtcted with volcanoes, and other great pfaeniHaeoa of nature 
calculated to inspire terror, has been excessively exa^|erated io 
the public jaumals. Two chemists of Naples, Vicmzo Pepe 
and Giuseppe di Nobili, have even affirmed, notwithBtandiu^ 
the contrary assertions of Monticelli and Covelli, that the ashes 
contain gold and nlver. According to my inquiries, the bed fit 
ashes that fell during twelve days on the Bosch-Tre-Case sidc^ 
en the declivity of the cone, in the places where rapillo was 
mingled with them, was only three feet deep, and in the plain, 
did pot rise higher than from fifteen to eighteen inches. Mea- 
surements of this kind should not be taken io places where the 
ashes are heaped up, like snow or sand, by the wind, or ocouf 
mul^fid by water in the form of mud. The times are gooc 
wJku wonders only were looked for in vtJcaoic ^enom^ut, or 
when the ashes of £tna were represented as being cariiad by 
tha winds as far as the peninsula of India. Some of thjg gp^ 
and ulver veins of Mexico certunly occur io a trachytic po^T 
phyry ; but the a^ies of Vesuvius, which I carried aloiig with 
me, and which were analysed by an excellent chemist M. II«uiy 
Aco^ a&rd not the sliglitest traces of ^d or silver. 

I . ..: ..Google 



Altbough the reculu of w)neili I f|)eak, and T^ch ere in p«r* 
feet coeoFdmce with ihe accurate obierv»tit)iu of MootieeUi, 
diffo* tnueh from tboie publisbad fone monthe ago, the emptiaa 
of «^)eflfrDDi Ve«ivit» which took [Jaee on the 31th and SSthof 
October 1822, is undoubtedly the most wmaritnUe of which w« 
have Kay authentic aoooaDte aiooe tha death of the eider Pliny 
is the year 70. Tbe quantity of ashet ffhicb then fitU was Tpes~ 
heift three times as great ai any that has been obaerved mKo 
vdcanie phenomena lirat began to be itudied with attention. 
A layer of fifty w eigbty iachee appears at first si^t in«gnifi, 
cant in comparison of the oibh which covered Fiompeii; but, 
without ipeaking of torrents of run, and of the effecU of detri- 
tion, which* in the course of ages, may have accunmhited this 
masa, and without nevivii^ the icecn discus^on which arose fa». 
yoad the Alps, and which waa conducted wi^ a great degree 
of BcepticieiD, respecting die causes at the deatraetion of the oliei 
(^ Csmpania, it is perhaps to 1^ putpooe lo -meittion here, that 
the eruptions <^ a volcuw at periods very mnote froai each 
othw, c&n hy no means be compared together with reference td 
thmintennty. All the ctMieequenees fonnded upon Bsalt^es 
are icBufficieot, when the (d>}eatE to be compared are such as the' 
nsas of lava and ctnd^^ the b«ght of the ocdumns <^ tsmokc, 
and the loudness of the detooalions- 

The geographical desoiptiou of Vesnrius by Straho, and 
VJtniviuB's (^nion respecting the volcaitic oi^^n of pumiee, 
riiew, that, until the year of Ve^tanan's death, that is to aay, 
until the ea^ption which overwhelmed Forapeti, Chat mounUan 
resemUed more an extinct volcano tbmi n atl&tieiTa. AS^xr a 
kng repose, tJie subterranean ioKe* opened up new paths, and 
poKtrated through the strata (^ primitive rocks and trachyte. 
Then muM have been manifested effects of »bieh those tlMt' 
have edUDce followed could fumiih no idea. The celdirated let- 
ter, in which the younger Pliny relates to T«i»tU8 the death of 
his un(^ cleaily ^ws that the renewal of the avptions, and it 
mi^t even be eaid the awak«aing cf the dormant voleano, ochU' 
menced with an exploBion of adiea. The same thing was ob- 
served II JdtuUd, when, iu September 17S01, the new valraoo, 
}nBnnDg through the strata of v^cnite and traehyte, rose sudden, 
ly in the phtin. The country people flod, because they found 



286 Baron Humbert on the Structure and Action if 
on their huts ashes wluch the earth had vomited by t^ioiin^ up 
OD ^ odes. On the contrary, in the periodical and ordinary 
«xpk«i(HiB of volcanoes, the ashes terminate each parUal erup> 
tion. Bendes, the younger Pliny's letter contains a passage, 
which clearly shews, that, from the commencement, without the 
influence of any cause that could have heaped them up, the dry 
ashes thet fell directly from above, had attuned a height of four 
or five feet. " The court," says he ia. the course of hb narra- 
tive, ^hich had to be passed in order to enter the chamber 
in which Pliny reposed, " was so filled with ashes and pumice, 
that, if he had delayed bis ocnning out any longer, he would 
have found the entrance shut up." In an inclosed space, like 
that of a court, the action of the wind, by which the ashes are 
collected, could not by any means have been very considerable. 

I have ventured to interrupt my comparative examination of 
volcanoes by particular observations made on Vesuvius, both on 
account of the great interest which the last eruption has extuU 
ed, and cm account of the remembrance of the catastrophe of 
Pompeii and Herculaneum, which every con»derable fall of 
■^es involuntarily brings to the mind. I have brought toge> 
tber, in a supplement, all the elements of the barometrical mea- 
suroneuts and notices respecting geological collections that I 
have had an opportunity of making, towards the end of 162S, at 
Vesuvius and in the Phlegrean fields, near Fouzzuola This small 
collection, tc^ther with the rocks which I brought from the 
£uganean mountains, and those which M. von Buch collected on 
a journey to the valley of Flemme, betiveen Cavalere and Pre- 
daszo, in the southern Tyrol, are deponted in the Royal Mu- 
seum of Berlin, an establishment which, by its utility, perfectly 
GorrespcradB to the noble intentions of the monarch, and of which, 
the ge<^DOstical department, containiDg specimens Jrom the most 
remote re^ns, is, in this re^>ect, superior to any collection of 
this kind in existence. 

We bftve been considering the form and acuon of those vol- 
oanoes whi(^ keep uparegular communication with the interior 
of the earth, by means of craters. Their summits are masses of 
trachyte and lava, raised up by clastic powers, and traversed by 
veins. The permanence of their action ^ves rise to the conclu- 
sion, that thar structure is very complicated. They have, so 



VdkoROet in the differmi regioM oftite Earth. 887 
to speak, an iodividual cbsmcter, which remsins always the 
same through long poiods. The neighbouring mountuns 
most commonly afford entirely different products, lavaa of 
leucite and felspar, obsidian and pumice, and basaltic masses 
containing olivine. They belong to the most recent forma- 
tions of the globe, and traverse nearly all the strata of the 
secondary mountains. Their eruptions and their torrents of la- 
va are of a more recent origin than our valleys. Their life, if 
we may be permitted to make use of such an expression, de- 
■ pends upon the mode and duration of their communication with 
the interior of the earth. They frequently remain quiet for 
ages, suddenly kindle again, and end with bnng solfaterras, es- , 
haling aqueous vapours, gases and acids. Sometimes, as in the 
Peak of Teneriffe, ihrir summit has already become a laborato- 
ry of regenerated sulphur ; while from their wdes there yet flow 
great torrents of lava, basaltic and lithoid iu th«r lower parts, 
vitreous, in the form of obsidian and pumice, in their upper 
port, where the pressure is less. 

Independently of these volcanoes provided with permanent 
craters, there is another species of volcanic phenomena, which is 
more rarely observed, but which is peculiarly calculated to throw 
tight on gedogy, because it recalls the primitive world, or, in 
other words, the most ancient revolutions of our globe. Moun- 
tains of trachyte, opening of a sudden, vomit forth lava and 
ashes, and ag^n shut perhaps for ever. Thisis what took place in 
the gigantic Antisana, in the Chun of the Andes, and at Mount 
Epomeus in the island of Ischia, in 1302. An eruption of this 
kind sometimes takes place in the plains ; for example, on the 
[Jain of Quito ; in Iceland, at a distance from Hecla ; in £u- 
beus, in the fields of Lelant^. Many islands, suddenly ele- 
vated from the bottom of the sea, belong to these transitory 
phenom^ia. In these cases, the annmunication with the inte- 
rior of the earth is not permanent ; the action ceases as soon as 
the aperture of the canal of communication is closed anew. 
Vans of basalt, greenstone, and porphyry, which in the diffamt 
zones of the earth traverse almost all the formaUons, masses 
of syenite, augite, porphyry and amygdaloid, which characte- 
rize the newest strata of the tranulion, and the oldest strata of 
the secondary rocks, have probably been formed in thia manner. 



SSfi fianm Htnaboldt on the Strtietttra and .Action tf 

bi the early stages of oue planet, tW lubstance* of the htaior, 
■till in a itate of ftuidi^, penetrated through Ifae eavslope of tbe 
Mrth which was fiffiured ia all pftrts ; eometimeB condenang^ aa 
BMssea of veins with a graDulal«d texture, sometimes epreading 
fiBi mlo sbe^s Sad stratified torrents. The volcanic rocks whi(di 
the primitive wotid has tranemitted to us, have nowhere flowed 
ki narrow bands like the lavas that issue from the volcaDic cones 
existing at present The nuxtures of augite, titanitic iron, 
glassy felspar, and hornblanie, may have been the same at differ- 
ent periodsj sometimes mote alUcd to basalt, and sometimes to 
trachyte. The chemical substances, as we leam from the im- 
portant labours of M. Mitscheiiich, and the similarity of the 
products of high furnaces, may have been united under a cry&. 
taUine fntn, acctn^ing to definite proportions. It >i not the lefs 
tfue, that substances, composed in the same manner, have ar- 
nvcd by very different ways at the earth's surface, whethCT by 
being rfuwd up by elastic forces, on by b^g insinuated through 
crevices into the strata of the <Jder rocks; in other words, 
through the already oxidieed envekipe of our planet, or by issu- 
ing under the form of lava from conical mountains, which have 
a permanent crater. If phmomena ho different as these be con- 
founded togellter, the geognosy of volcanoes is thrown back in- 
to the darkness, A>om whidi numerous comparative experiments 
have b^un gradually to rescue it 

The queation liae ol^ been asked, What is it that burns in 
volcanoes i' What is it that produces the heat in them by whicli 
the earth and melais are mehed and intermingled p The new 
cfaemistry repliea : What burns is the earth, the metals, and even 
the aUialiest that is to lay, the meteloids of these subEtances. 
The dready oxidised envelope of the earth separates the atBUi>> 
^bere, rioh in dx^^cb^ from the unoxidised inflammable prrna- 
fdes which rende in the interior of our |Janet. Observatiom 
made in aU coiintriei, in mines, and caves, uid which, in cosceit 
with M. Arago, I have detailed in a oaemoir on the subject, 
p!Dve that, even at a small depth, ^ earth's heat is much au* 
portiw (u the Dieaa tsmpravbire of tbe aurroundii^ atmot^iere. 
A fact lo iwnarkAbls, and dieked &om nbatrvaticm made in al- 
BMMt «Yery part ^ thd globe, eanneeta itadf whk what we kant 
' ,- I 



FoJwww io the d^Slrtnt regiom ^tht Earth. XB9 

ftom the phMwrmwiH v£ volcanoes. La f^ace has even attempted 
to detemnne the depth at irbidi the oath may be conndered as 
ft melted maM. Whatever doubts may be enterlMtied, notwith- 
standing the re^Kct due to so great a name, as to the numerical 
accuracy of such a calculation, it is not the less probable, that 
all volcanic phenomena arise from a ^gle cause, vhich is the 
communication, constant or interrupted, that exists between the 
interior of our planet and the external atmosphere. Elastic va- 
pours, by thdr pressure, nuse through deep crevices the sub- 
stances which are in a state of fusion, and which are oxidized. 
Volcanoes are, so to speak, intermittent springs of earthy mat- 
ters. The fiuid mixtures of metals, alkalies and earths, which 
condense into currents of lava, flow gently and slowly, when, 
on being reused up, they once find au issue. It was in this man- 
ner that, according to Plato's Pfuedoa, the ancients represented 
all the torrents of iire as emanations of the Pyriphlegeton. 

To these comaderations may I be permitted to add another of 
a bolder character. It is perhaps in the internal heat oS the 
earth, a beat which is mdicated by experiments made with the 
thermometer, and the phenomena of volcanoes, that the cause of 
one of the most astonishing phenomena which the knowledge of 
petrifactions presents to ua resides. Tropical forms of animals, 
arborescent ferns, p^ms and bamboos, occur imbedded in the 
frasen regions of the nor^. The primitive world every where 
discloses to us a distribution of organic forms, which is in oppo- 
ution to the presently existing state of climates. To solve so im- 
portant a problem, recourte has be»i had to a great number of 
hypotheses, such as the approach of a comet, the change of ob- 
liquity of tha ecliptic, Uie increase of intensity of the solar heat. 
Nene of these hypoUieses has been able to satisfy at the same 
time the aMxooomer, the natur^ philosopher and the getJt^st, 
As to my own oiuinon on the subject, I leave the earths axis in 
its position, I admit no change in the iiadjation of the solar disk, 
a (^nge by which a celebrated astronomy thought he could ex- 
jdaiQ the good and had harvests of our fields; hut I itaa>- 
gine Uiat in eaidi i^anet, independently of ita retations to a cen- 
tnl body, and indepeiidently of its astronomioat position, tha« 
exist numerous causes of developement of heat, whetfara by ^le 
chenucal processes of oxidation, or by the precipitation and 
changes of capacity of bodies, or by the augmentation of the 



MO. BaroD Humboldt on the Sirttciure aad Action of Vdkaawet. 
dectro-magnetic intenNty, or the comniuiiicatJOD betwe^i the 
internal and external parts of the globe. 

When, in Uie primitive wqrld, tbe deeply fissured crust of ihe 
earth exhaled heat by these apertures, perhaps during many 
centuries, palms, arborescent ferns, and the animals of warm cli- 
mates, lived in vast expanses f£ country. According to this sys- 
tem of things, which I have already indicated in my work en- 
titled KssM Geognoatigue sur le Gttement des Roches dans l^ 
deux Hemifpkeres, the temperature of volcanoes is the same as 
that of the interior of the earth, and the same cause which now 
produces such frightful ravages, would formerly have made the 
richest vegetation to spring in every zone, from the newly oxi- 
dised envelope of the earth, and from the deeply fissured strata 
of rocks. 

If, in order to account for the distribution of the tropical 
(arms that occur buried in the northern regions of tbe globe, it 
is assumed that elephants covered with long hair, now immersed 
in the polar ice, were oii^nally natives of those climates, and 
that forms resembling the same principal type, such as that of 
lions and lynxes, may have lived at the same time in very dif^ 
ferenc climates, such a mode of explanation would yet be inap- 
plicable to the vegetable productions. For reasons which ve- 
getable phy»ology discloses, palms, bananas, and arborescent ' 
monocotyledonous plants, are unable to support the cold of tbe 
northern countries ; and in the geognostical problem which we 
are here examining, it appears to me difficult to separate the 
plants from the animals ; the same explanation ought to embrace 
the two forms. 

At the end id this memcnr, I have added to the facts coQected 
in countries the most remote from each other, some purely hypo- 
thetical suppositions *. Tbe philosophical study of nature rises 
above the wants of descriptive natural history ; it does not conaat 
of the mere accumulation of isolated observations. May it one 
day be permitted to tbe curious and active mind of man, to dart 
from the present into the future, to interpret what cannot yet be 
known with preduon, and amuse itself with the geognostical 
faUes of antiquity, which are in our days reproduced under va- 
rious f<Hins. 

■ The ftcts illuded to do not appesr in the Appendix to tbe Memoir. 



( Wl ) 

On the Aurora Borealia. ' By John Richardson, M; D., 
F. R. S., F. L. S., M. W. 8. Surgeon and Natura&a to the 
Arctic Land Expedition. * 

J. HK results of the observations of this pbeaooiaion made du- 
ring the jwesent espedidon, coinciding with the remarks on the 
same subject, given at much length in the Appendix to my for- 
mer Narrative, I shall here confine myself to the mention of a 
few hiief deductions from a careful examination of our registers 
at Bear Lake. 

The observations were made without intermisEion for six soo- 
cessive months, in the years 1835-6, and again in 1826-7. 

My opinion, recorded in my former Narrative "f-, that the dif- 
ferent positionsof the Aurora have a con^derable influence upon 
the directioD of the magnetic needle, has been repeatedly con- 
firmed during our residence at Bear Lake. It was also remark- 
ed, that, from whatever p(nnt the ilow of light, or, in other words, 
the motion of the aurora proceeded, if that motion was rapid, 
the nearest end of the needle was drawn towards that point, 
almost simultaneously with the commencement of the motion. 

A careful review of the daily registers of the appearance of 
the aurora has led me to form the following general conclu- 
sions: 1st, That brilliant and active coiruscadons of the aurora 
borealis cause a deflection of the needle almost invariably, if 
they appear through a hazy atmosphere, and if the prismatic 
colours are exhibited in the beams or arches. When, on the 
contrary, the atmosphere is clear, and the aurora presents a 
steady dense light, of a yellow colour, and without motion, the 
needle is often unaffected by its appearance. 

2(?, That the aurora is generally most active when it seems to 
have emerged from a cloud near the earth. 

3d, When the aurora is very active, a haziness is very gene- 
rally perceptible about the corruscations, though the other parts 
of the sky may be free from haze or cloud. 

• The disturbing effects of the Aurora Borealis on the Magnetic Needle 
having been denied in some late publicationa, we now lav before our readers, 
ftom Franklin and Itichardeon'a interesting work, observaUona by Dr Richard- 
son, which prove the powerfiil effect of the Polar Lights on the Magnetic 
Needle. t Appendix, p. 661. 

JULY SEFTEMBKK 1828. \-ft")o|c 



mSl Dr Rkbardson on the Aurora Borealis. 

iffi. That the nearest end of the needle is drawn towards the 
punt from whence the motion of the aurora proceeds, and that 
its deflectionB are greatest when the motion is most n(pid,— the 
effect being the some whether the aoticm flows along a low arch 
at one that crosses the zenith. 

Bth, That a low state of temperature seems faTourahle for the 
production of brilliant and active corruscations, it being seldom 
that we witnessed any that were much agitated,< or that the pris- 
matic tints w^e very apparent when the temperature was above 
zero. 

Bth, That the comiscations were less frequently visible be- 
tween the first quarter day, and the full mocNQ, than in any other 
period of the lumination, and that they were most Dumerous be- 
tween the third quarter and the new moon •, 

7th, That the appearance of the aurora was registered at 
Bear Lake in 18S5-S6, 343 times, without any sound having 
been heard to att^id its motions. 

8^ The height of the aurora was not determined by actual 
observation, but its having been seen mi several occasions to il- 
luminate the under surface of some dense clouds, is conclusive 
that its elevation could not have been very great. When Dr 
Richardson and Mr Kendall made their excursion on Bear 
Lake, in the spring of 1896, the former saw the aurora very 
bTilliant and active, displaying prismatic colours in a cloudless 
sky (on S3d April) ; while Mr Kendall, who was watching at 
the time, by agreement, for its appearance, did not see any 
corruscation, though he was only twenty miles distant from Dr 
Richardson. 

9tt, The gold-leaf electrometer, which was kept in the obser- 
vatory, ;was never affected by the appearance of the aurora. 

\Otk, On four occatdons, the corruscations of the aurora were 
seen very distinctly before the day-light had dis^peared, and 
we often perceived the clouds in the day-time disposed in streams 
and arches, such as the aurora assumes. 

* The proportion of comiscations seea at these periods, from the month 
(^'October 1825 to April 1826, was 38 to 129. The mnonligbt b«dng «trong 
between the first quarter and the tiill mooD at those hours when we mcae 
paiticutarlj watched fur the Aurora, may, perhaps, account for our not hav- 
ing seen its corruscations so otten during this part of the lunation. 

.tOoqIc 



Dr Richardson on the Aurora Borealia. S4S 

The opinions I have ventured to advance above, are at va- 
riance with the conclusi(m8 drawn by Captains Parry and Fos- 
ter, irom their observations at Port Bowen, — those officers in- 
ferring that the aurora does not influence the motion of the 
needle : but the discrepancy may be perhaps explained by the 
difference in activity and altitude of the aurora in the two places. 
I have stated that the needle is most affected when the aurora is 
very active, and displays the prismatic colours. Captains Parry 
and Foster have informed me, that the aurora seen at Pent 
Bowen was generally at a low altitude, without much motion in 
its parts, and never exhibiting the vivid prismatic colours, or the 
rapid streams of light, which are so ft^uently recorded in our 
renters, of its appearance at Fort Enterprise and Fort Frank- 
lin. At both these places, we as often witnessed the corrusca^ 
Uons crossing the zenith, as at any other altitude, and under 
such a variety bf forms, and in such rapid motion, as to baffle 
description. 

From the difference in the appearance and activity of the au- 
lota at Port Bowen, and Forts Enterprise and Franklin, an in- 
- ference may be deduced that the parallel of 66° N. is more &• 
vourable for observing this phenomenon, and its eflect on the 
needle, than a higher northern latitude. 



A Sketch of the Climate of the Mediterranean, with Remarks on 
its Medical Topography ; being the result of Five Yeari 
Observation. By the late William Black, Esq. Surgeon, 
Royal Navy; and communicated by Dr Black of Bolton 
in Lancashire. 

J. HE great basin of the Mediterranean, from its lying between 
countries differing so remarkably in their several localities and 
productions, has its general climate impressed with a mixed cha- 
racter, which it is as interesting to study, as it is important to 
analyse. Though the average climate for twelve months maybe 
called equable, which is the character it has in England, yet 
there is, perhaps, no similar extent of water and coast where 
great climatorial vicissitudes are so plentifully produced by dif- 






S44 Mr Black on the CUmate 

ferences of situation and changes of wind. The Father of Me- 
teorology, as well as of Physic, in his treatise on Airs, Watos, 
and Localities, has fmthfully recorded the influence of winds 
aad situation on the constitution of the atmosphere ; and, from 
every observaticHi which I have been enabled to make, it ap- 
pears, that, amidst the wrecks and changes which the face of 
every country on the shores of this sea has experienced, the 
same characteristic climate, general and particular, exists, as it 
did, upwards of twenty-two centuries ago; and that the obsa- 
vations of Hippocrates may still be considered the best synopMs 
of the meteorology of this part of the world. 
' Equable as the general climate has been remained to be; yet, 
if one day is compared often with another, or one part even with 
another of the same day, the atmospheric vicissitude is some- 
times very considerable ; and particulaiiy as respects the humi- 
dity of the air. Such changes are most sen^bly felt on the 
shores of Europe, and on tKe south coasts of Greece and Tur- 
key in Asia -, and it is on a line, equally distant fi-om Africa and 
Europe, that such variable states <^ the atmos[di^« are least 
perceptible. Malta is, therefiire, thought to be most out a( the 
sphere of this vicissitude, yet a great change of wind at this 
place is attended with.vcry sensible changes of its climate; and 
it is by no means that desirable residence for an invalid whidi it 
is thought by many to be. 

A moist or damp atmosphere is certiunly to be avmded by 
the majority of invalids ; and that of England is so much blam- 
ed in this respect, as to be accounted the chief cause of the pul- 
monary complaints prevalent in the kingdom. The moisture 
. of the English atmosphere, except under-the influence of rare 
localities, is perhaps less than that of Malta ; for Humboldt has 
found, by hydrometrica! observations, the superior humidity of 
the atmosphere as we approach the equator. Invalids who ge- 
nerally resort to Malta and Italy, are of relaxed fibred of body ; 
and one argument against the salubrity of the last mentioned 
place for them, is, that, in removing from England, they avoid 
little, if any, atmospheric humidity ; added to which, they re- 
move to an increased temperature, which must'stilt farther in- 
crease the relaxing effects derived from humidity. In corrobo- 
ration of this, we every day see people who, by chronic disease, 



tfthe Mediterranean. S45 

have been reduced to an oifeebled and very relaxed state of bo- 
dy, sent from the Mediterranean to England with the bappieat 
effect ; while it is an eatablisbed rule in the fleet, to remove every . 
one immediately from the climate who betrays any indjnent 
symptoms of (AtbiEds. I have also seen cases of chronic and sy- 
phiUtic rheumadsm deriving, particularly, the gr^test beieflt 
' from a return to England. But, to resume the natural history 
of tbe subject, — Though the exteomve surface of this mid- 
land' sea, lying between tbe 3lBt and 45th degrees of north lati- 
tude, and embradng about 40° of longitude, has a general cli- 
mate, constituted by the regular succession of seasons, like alt 
other ge<^aphical surfaces which have a marked summer aod 
winter ; yet the several places bordering on and within its am[de 
circuit, have climates peculiar to themselves. These peculiari- 
ties are compounded of the general Mediterranean climate at any 
given season of the year, and of the apteral influence <J the 
winds prevailing at tbe time, conjoined ^tb the nature of the 
land which surrounds the place, - and over which these winds 
pre^ously blow ; whether the sea, and what extent of it, lies in 
the course of the winds ; and-wbether it is situated on the north 
or south shore of the mainland or island. Before, however, no- 
ticing the few remarks which I have personally made on the 
particular topography of the climate, I shall flrst give a sum- 
mary view of the great modifying, if not elementary, principles 
ot Heat or Temperalure, Humidity, the Winds, and Electri- 
dtjf, as observed in tbe Mediterranean, for the space of more 
than five years, 

Tefoperature. — It will be seen, from the table annexed, that 
the average temperature of the year at noon is considerably 
above what is called temperate in England, b^i^ forthree years 
very near &f; and from the thermometer being re^stered al- 
ways on board in an airy and shaded fdtuation, it may correctly 
be inferred that the temperature on land is a few dorses high- 
er. Equable and mild as this annual heat is, yet the changes 
from day to day, or from morning to night, are sometimes as 
great as they occur in England, during tbe same space of time. 
The average heat for the summer of three years never exceeded 
81°, nor was it below 74° ; and, in the winter months, it never 



S46 Mr Bkck ore the Climate 

descended below 54.6," which is iC above the mean annual tempe- 
rature at GoqMTt, as observed by Dr Burney *. This extreme 
monthly temperature of 54.6° In February 18!i4, was attiibuted 
to the strong niHrtberly winds which for ten days prevailed at 
Smyrna ; and as the average for the same season in the other 
two years was nearly two degrees higher, I ^ould conuder that 
tbey best expressed the corresponding temperature in the two 
years in which my daily raster was not kept The highest 
range observed at noon was 86°, winch was off Algiers, in Au- 
gust 182^ and tlie lowest was 41°, at Smyrna, in the evening 
at eight, in January 18S7. The range of the summer nHHitbs 
never exceeded 11°, while that of the other nnrnths wasof)«i as 
much as S6°. For three months after the summer scdstice. the 
beat on board was steady above 76° ; and when the winds at this 
season are scanty, the thermometer is sometimes above 90" ffli 
shore. If it were not that the great heats of summer exhaust 
the sources of humidity, the atmosphere would be felt the mmst- 
est during the greatest heat. We should, also, have the hea- 
viest dews at night; but the reverberation from the heated sur- 
face of the earth often keeps the vapour suspended tjirough tile 
night, though clouds may be precifntated in the higher and cooler 
regions. 

Be«des the characteristic temperature of the season, the heat 
' -at any place is moreover greatly afiected by the winds at the 
Ume ; thus, the westerly winds will not disturb much the regu- 
lar increase or fall for the season, and the easterly but little; 
while the winds from the north, before the melting of the snows 
on the Appenines and on the Chain of Pindus, in May and 
June, will lower the temperature many degrees on the south 
coasts of Italy and the Morea. The south and south-east winds 
will, on the other hand, as remarkably elevate the thermometer; 
especially if they have blown steadily for a few days, and not 
over a widely intervening extent of sea. The effect of warm 
winds, immediately succeeding those from the north or a cold 
quarter, has often been observed \o be productive of severe ca- 

* From registering themiometei'B kept for several years at London, it ap- 
peara in calculated in the British AlotEUiac for 1S28, that the mean tempera- 
tuce of the /ear, b; ni^t and da;, is 19°4. The mean da^ff temperature of 
the year in the •outb of Scotland has been verified to be about 54% aod that 
of Devonshire to be a degree or two higher.— J. B. 

I. ..:.. Google 



^Oe Mtditerraa6(m. !t47' 

iarAi ; and to elidt thoce afBKtimu, it aeana oeceetiarj that the. 
warm and moiBt winds diould be preceded by cold aaes ;— having 
tome analogy to the drcum^tance of iDdiTiduab oatchiiig cold, 
or a catarrh, not from being exposed to cold alone, but fioin 
coming into a warm room immediatdy after ezpoture to the 
. cold air, 

Hwmidi^. — The hy^tnnetrical conditioa of the atmosphere 
is an important oligect of attention in any dimate, and it exerts 
a great modifying influence in that of the Mediterranean. Thu 
state of the lur is very mudi affected by the direction of the 
winds, as well as by the temperature at the time ; it also nearly 
observes variati<His corresponding with the temperature, being 
generally, in its sensible qualities, drier as the air is warmer, and 
moister as it is cooler. An exception to this concomitancy, how- 
ever, exists in the currents of air over an extent of sea being al- 
ways mtnat, whether in summer or winter ; thou^, it must also 
be added, that the Sirocco, if felt moist at first on the northern 
shores of the Mediterranean, becomes drier if it continues for 
some days ; and it sometimes will arrive there in aU that arid 
state which is experienced 6n the coasts of Barbary and Egypt. 
Winds off land free from marshes, are dry in summer ; and 
they are steadily moist, if they blow from snowy surfaces in the 
advanced part of the cold seascm. They are therefore moist, 
from moist places, in winter, under many changes of the wind; 
jbr the temperature never descends so low as to reduce the evs.. 
poration to a nullity, but ranges between those degrees on the 
scale where the dew fcaat is very near the point of saturation. 

At Modon, in the south of the Morea, the humidity in aunw 
mer is much influenced by the prevailing winds. After the 
snow has melted on Pindus, Olympus, and Mount Taygetus, 
the land winds are dry, and the south winds are mrast. If these 
last have blown for a length of time, they become drier, etipB- 
cially if they are of the Sirocco, and even if tbey have blown 
over the sea long in any direction ; fcv it appears the longer 
winds blow over the sea, if it does not get agitated, the evapora- 
tion becomes less, and it is much greater after rains or heavy 
dews, which seem to form a thin stratum of fresh water on the 
surface, liable to be instantly evaporated on the first increase of 



240 Mr Black on the CUtnate 

hjgrometrical capaaty. At Patrasso and Lapanto, the rmm* 
tiasu in the atroosf^erical humidity' are veiy trifling, from the 
winds, in most direcbone, sweejMng over the land, which in- 
fluences the proximate effect of th^ previous condition. Many 
other examples ought illustrate the efiect that surfaces, over 
which the winds blow, have on the humidity of the atmo6|diere. 
Thus I have found, in coasting round the Morea in summer, 
when the wind was from a great extent of sea, that the air was 
always damp. Off Navarino, it was extremely so, when it hlew 
from any otJier point but over the Morea. In the course of a 
voyage, the same winds will be felt changing their hygrcmetri- 
cal cooditioa with the different localities over which they travd. 
Off Navarino, a north-west wind will be moist, while, under the 
lee of Zante, it will be found dry. In running from Cape An- 
gdo to the d'Oro Passage, a northerly wind has been found diy, 
mth all the arid and bare Cyclades to windward ; while, after 
getting through the Passage, the same wind has become exces- 
ravely damp, and continued bo until the Gulf of Smyrna has 
been made, when it again became dry,-— it blowing over Mi- ' 
tyletw, aiter having previously traversed an unknown extent of 
terra'flrma. 

Temperature, d^iends not so much on surrounding localities, 
aa on the seaaon ; while humidity is move affected by the surface 
over which the wind blows than by the season. Even in the 
taUer part of summer, whrai the land becomes a great reverbe- 
rator of heat, arising, in a ^»o^derable d^ee, from the decay of 
its verdant vegetation, the temperature of the air sufe^ no great 
change from a change of wind ; yet its aqueous condition will be 
muoh aflected. In calculating, then, on the dryness or musture 
of the air, the point of the compass from which the wind blows 
is not so mud) to be conadered, as the surface, land or sea, over 
whidi it travels, and the extent of that surface, with the inter- 
vening locality, if any exist. At Malta, I have observed tlie 
hygrometer stand tlie highest, with the wind from the north ; 
and the lowest, with a wind varying from S. to ^. in the months 
of July and August. From the Meteorolo^cal Table, it will 
be observed that the proportion of f^r weather is much ^cater 
than it is in Britain ; and that the rainy and showery days 
(which were registered rainjf, when rain fell even for a few 
houis, and showery, if one shower happened during the 24), do 



^Qit MedUerraaean. !I49 

uot amouDt to ax veAn on an annual avecf^ for three years. 
It must be added, however, that the rains, when they do occur, 
are generally veiy heavy ; and Uiat the dews, in fiue unclouded 
weatb^, are cojnous *. 

Wwids.— From the observations of fi^e years, I have found 
\ik prevailing winds to be from tiie northward ; and particularly 
when the weather assumes a steady constitution, and the sum- 
mer season has fairly set in. In the winter, the winds do not 
appear to blow particularly from any quarter of the compass, 
but veer very much between the NE. and S. In the ^r 
weather <^ summer, variahle and light winds mostly prevail, 
and in winter they are less frequent. After the hilly country 
in Greece is covered with snow, if the winds blow from any di- 
rection more than another, it is from the S. and SE. ; but, when 
the snow is dissolving in the spring, the vicissitudes of both 
wind and temperature are very great. The Sirocoo, at this last 
period, though it seldom blows long at a time, is not so warm as 
it is in the beginning of winter, and differs very little from a 
moderate breeze from any other pdnt, in consequence of its not 
Uowisg kmg enough to bring on its wings the milder tempe- 
rature of the south ; and therefore it is moist, cold, and relaxing. 

The greatest number of cases of fever which I have witnessed 
on board ship on this station, followed the prevalence <rf S.SE. 
or light varuble winds in May and June, at Corfu ; niule, in 
October of the same year, when diarrhcea prevailed, the winds 
were northerly. At Nspoli di Romania, I found cynanche and 
other affecticms of the mucous membranes particularly prevail, 
after keen ncvdierly winds, with a clear sky, had been preceded 
by occaoonal light Sirocco winds. 

To diew how localities will at times affect the temperature of 
the mnde, in opposition to the r^ular effects of the season, I 
have found the north wind off the coast of Calabria to be hot 
and dry in the latter end of September ; while the wind, the 
next day, fixim the S.SK. or SW. was excessively damp, and 
accompanied with a cloudy sky. This anomaly arose from the 

* Tile average of nunj, snowy, and showery days in Britain, during the ' 
year, compose about one-third of the 3G5, as may be seen by referring, to va- 
rious roisters reported from time to time lii the AnttaU <^ FhUoitpkf. 



!K)0 Mr Black on the CKwtate 

•mall quantity of rain that had yet fallen in Italy, not being 
auffiflient to cool tbe surface of the land ; while, on the other 
hand, this hot and dry wind had acquired much humidity iitHn 
the sea, before it retrograded and was repelled by the succeed- 
ing southerly currents. The Sirocco or SE. wind ia ao imput- 
ant one in any part of tbe Mediterranean ; and di£fer^it opi- 
nions have been formed as to its dryness and moisture. . The 
fact is, that these qualities are entirdy governed by the surfaces 
over which it blows, before reaching the place of observatjcm. 
Thus it is m<nst and warm, as felt on the coasts of Greece and 
Italy; because its exalted temperature imbibes much vapour 
from the sea, after it leaves the northern ^ores of Africa, where 
it is hot and dry. Nowhere can such a wind be felt in the inte- 
rior or the northward of Europe ; for there is nowhere in Eu- 
rope such a country as the Lybian and Arabian deserts, so fiat, 
■0 dry, and eo little capable of imparting to its winds any thing 
like tbe electric condition of the land and atmosphere of other 
countries •. 

Electridhf. — This is a modifying element in the constitution 
of every chmate ; and, though less appreciated than beat or bu> 
midity, it no doubt performs a most important part in all aU 
moepbaic changes ; if it is not an essential agent in every modi- 
fication of cloud, dew, and vapour. The infiuences at heat and 
humidity are much more easUy defined than those of electricity ; 
which, though in constant operation, only ensiles us to draw 
any satisfactory induction from its great and palpable phenome- 
na. Evaporation was long thought to be a fertile source of elec- 
triaty ; and Fouillet ■)■ has lately proved this t^nion to be well 
founded, as well as that chemical and v^etable change is ac- 
companied by electrical disturbance. 

* To 4hew the different directioiu of tbe winds at Londtoi, from those of 
tbe MedttenBDean, m tefpaUxed in the Table, the Hverage winds fur the yeai, 
at the metropolis are here extracted &om the Sritith Ahnanae for ISiie. The 
difference between the northerly winds ia very remarkable, 

N. 30J days. E. 25i S. 281 W. TO; 

NE. 441 BE- ^ SW- 7>i NW. 64{ 

■f- M- Fouillet, in liifl Menioira read before the Academj of Sciences, on 
30th "May and 4th July 1826, has shewn that the absorption of carbonic add 
\>j vegetables, and the evaporation of all liquids, pure or impure, are iccoin- 
p«nied with the developement of electrieity. 

L.jt.:?:l.« Google 



^ihe Meditemmean. %&\ 

Of the grand pheDomena of Uiis subtle yet mighty agent, the 
Meditemmean exhilnts every year biaay coqs[»cuoub examples ; 
and especially when the sumniei- caiiadtulicm of the weathor 
breaks up for the season. During the winter and spring months, 
tiiunder and lightning do not often occur ; but I have never 
observed the Geason to change during the decrement of tempera- 
ture, without more or less of electrical phenomena taking place, 
and of^ to a frequent and great extent In the months of 
August and September, when the temperature thus be^ns to 
fall, and the winds have blown from the north, and over any ex- 
tent of sea, for some days, the atmosphere wiU become oft^n ob- 
scured with irr^ularly formed clouds to leeward, — the wind 
iwill next change or abate, and, during the evening and night, 
succesnve evolutions of electricity will be se«i on the upper 
part of the newly deposited clouds, which are precipitated, one 
after another, from the muddy and misty atmosphere above. 
Rain next succeeds without thunder ; and in twenty-four hours 
the wind will again change steadily to the northward, with a 
dear sky, fine weather, and a permanent fall of the thermome- 
ter. If tliese phenomena are witnessed on the coasts of Italy 
asxA Greece, the depo^Uon of clouds takes place over the bi^ 
lands ; and the electrical tranHtions are accompanied with thun- 
der and forked lightning, — often exhilHting the sublimest in- 
stances of elem^atal commotion. 

I always remarked Uie develop«n»it of electric light to be 
from the upper outline ofthe newly precipitated strata <tf clouds; 
and where these fresh charges of electric light were successively 
transmitted from cloud to vapour, they, no doubt, were accom- - 
panied with mudi evolution of caloric, from the vapour parting 
with its latent or constituent heat. The direct preliminary con- 
dition of such pbentunena ^eemed to be a wind from' the sea, or 
fnHn Uie south. Such winds as the Sirocco are always attended 
with imperfectly formed clouds, or a hazy atmo^here ; and, on 
the converse, I have often seen a change of wind to the south and 
east from the northward, completely dissolve the r^ular clouds, 
and render the air muddy and hazy. These remarkable elec- 
tric phenomena will more particularly happen, if these south- 
east or south winds have blown for some time, and have been 
immediately preceded by northerly winds, or winds off the 



SSa Mr Black on the Climate . 

land. The reason of such phenomena not occurring at once, on 
a change of wind to the southward, arises, it seems, from the 
iirst of the southerly wind bang only that body of the air which 
had lately blown from the oppodte or northerly quarter, and 
wluch must precede the true current of the south, with its cha^ 
racteristic properties. It ia for this reason, that we often found 
a cold southerly or south-east wind at sea, where no localities 
could have immediately influenced the -temperature, such as at 
Malta and off' Ci^ Spartinento. From this cause, also, - the 
longer a Sirocco blows, the drier it becomes ; and, in the vicinity 
of such devated land as the Albanian ridge of mounttuns, this 
partial change to warmth with mmsture, in the Sirocco or south 
wind, may be considered indicative, in the fall of the year, of a 
thunder storm, or the lesser electrical phenomena, with a fall of 
rain, and a change of wind. 

It is evident,' also, that besides the humidity and heat, which 
form a great difference between winds proceeding from the op- 
posite points of north and south, there is something else con- 
nected with the air and the surfaces over which its currents 
pass, that affects the animal system in that remarkable man- 
ner whicli is witnessed during a Sirocco or southerly wind. 
On a change taking place to this direction, the inhabitants of a 
place, and those who have lived but a short time in it,. sennUy 
experience a languor and relaxation of both the mental and phy- 
sical energies ; while diseases, depending on laxity of fibre or 
emunctory, become at the same time, aggravated. Thus dys- 
peptic complaints, chrtmic catarrh, and cynanche, mtdce no pro- 
gress towards recovery ; and if the Sirocco blows immediately 
after a cool northerly breeze, it often proves the cause of de- 
veloping such diseases. 

What this depr«geing something is, it may at present be pre- 
mature to dogmatize about. There is an era, however, to which 
medical science is fast hastenit^, when this will no doubt beex- 
plmned ;. since the progress, which all the auxiliary sciences are 
making, point out to us that such a consummation will h^pen. 
To ducidate siHnewhat this intricate portion of our subject, we 
shall make the best use of the data we possessj and the observa- 
tioDs we have made. 

As far back as 1770, it was conjectured by Brydon the tou^ 



i^the Medifetranean. 258 

list, that what has since been called the nervous energy, must be 
■nalogoUB to the electric fluid ; and that the nerves served for 
the transmission of birth. He illustrated his theory by the ef- 
fects produced on the animal system by the Sirocco, or winds 
flther partially or wholly deficient of their natural electricity. 
By the researches of Abemethy, Phillips, Bichat and Le G^- 
Ims, this conjecture of Brydon's has been much supported, so 
far as the analogy between the nervous enei^ and the galTanic 
fluid is concerned. It is well ascertained, that in damp or hazy 
weather none of the electric fluid can be collected ; and, as the 
air of the Sirocco can receive no electrical im[H^gnation, 1:^: 
sweeping over a dry and flat desert of sand ; so the mcnsture,' 
which it acquires in its passage subsequently over the sea, nitist 
give it a strong absorbing and conducting power for electricity. 
The consequence is, that this moist wind, coming in contact 
with bodies possessed of more electricity, will rob them of part 
of thdr electric fluid, until an equilibrium is effected between 
the earth and the lur,— the grand final cause of all electrical 
phenomena. Now, as the human body readily parts with and 
receives electricity, and as an object, on the surface of the earth, 
must be a ready point for the transmission of the fluid, it can- 
not be supposed that it is phyucally exempt irom those electrical 
influences which such winds produce on the rest of matter, but 
must lose a portion of tho constituent fluid it previously posses- 
Bed, — which loss is followed by all those Byni]|)toms of depressed 
energy already noticed. 

The animal body, then, inay be deprived by the atmosphere]; 
in a series of degrees, of that energy which, if it is not the pro- 
duce of the living functions, is at least the natural portion of 
electricity which the body possesses in common with surround- 
ing objects at the time. Life may even be extinguished from 
the highest operation of this cause, as often happens during 
thunder storms, when no marks of physical injury can be de- 
tected. 

The diflerent electric states of the difler^it winds are pretty 
well ascertwned by stationary declrometers ; and, though I had 
none r^ularly in my possei^ion, I found natural phenomena 
themselves to aflbrd both excellent and beautiful proofs of this 
quality in the several winds. The summer of 1835 presented 



354 Mr Black on the CUmate 

very sati^ctory examples of the important part wliich the elec- 
tric fluid performs in meteorological jAenomena, espemlly when 
the coDBtitutioD of the cloudless sky of summer b^;ati to be de- 
ranged. As this change happened on the coasts of Albania 
and the Morea, it commenced by the north-east winds gettbg 
stronger, and \eering more about from one point to another, 
with corresponding variations of temperatura A calm, alter- 
nated with faint southerly breezes, succeeded, which was fol- 
lowed by a thick atmosphere at sunset, lightning over the Mo- 
rea, and rain after which it cleared up, and a north-west wind 
steadily prevailed. A few days afterwards off the Bay of Pre- 
vesa, the northerly wind fell, the fitmosphere thickened, and the 
wind agiun sprang up from the south-east, light at first, and 

' freshed through the night. About the following sunrise, in- 
side the Corfu Channel, one of the most (errific tliunder storms 
commenced that can well be imagined ; which, after floods of 
rain, lasting, with slight intermissions, for several hours, termi- 
nated by a sudden change of wind to the northward, and sooa 
afierwards a dear, cool atmosphere succeeded, with the wind 
from the north-west for some days. 

Though more or less varied, the summer seasons, as I have 
before remarked, always break up in the above manner, and sub- 
^de into a cool temperature. Whatever occaaons the change 
of wind, whether it be from the land becoming a greater rever- 
berator of the solar heat, arinng from the decay of its verdure 
and f<Jiage, and so rarefying greatly the superincumbent stra- 
tum of air, by which the cooler currents from the sea are elidted, 
it is very evident that the phenomena, described as attending 
such changes of weather, result proximately from the collision 
of clouds or strata of vapour differently electrified as to each 
other, or from the electric condition of the clouds being in' a mi- 
nut or pius state, as respects the subjacent land and mountains. 
For the better under^anding of what takes place during these 
electric collJsioDS, it is necessary to ascertain what respective 
body of clouds is pbu or minus electrified ; or whether it is the 
hi^ land, or the atmospheric stratum impinged against it by 

' the Sirocco, which gives or receives electricity during the resto>. 
ratton of that equilibrium which ensues. The experiments 
which have shewn the negative electric state of the Sirocco, are 



i^ihe Mediterranean. Xfifi 

lughly corroborated by the following .connderatitHis. In the 
first place, as the earth is the centre and source of electricity, as 
well as of gravitiUion, and over which the former flaid must be 
<Ustributed nearly in an equal manner, it b not pn^ble that 
any of the prominent parts of the earth can ever be lf»ig in a 
minus state, compared with the incumbent atmosphere, when 
not in much motion ; although the land rem^ing in its natural 
electric state may present, in certain places, points of attraction 
for the discharge of any clouds or vapour passing over it, and 
being in a posiuve state of impregnation. The winds from the 
sea and the southward seem, however, not to contain sufficient 
electridty to balance that of the land, which they meet with on 
the northern shores of the Mediterranean, or that of the winds, 
which blow £rom any extent of hilly land to the norlhvard ; for 
they travel over a surface of water, through which they can re- 
ceive little electric impregilation ; while they become charged 
with mudi humidity, which renders them very susceptible of re- 
ceiving electricity, wherever it is presented in a comjKwatively 
positive condition. In tracing these winds to the S. and SE., 
they are found traversing boundless plains, hot, sandy, and arid, 
wh^ice no electric fluid can be extricated, nor can they be held 
to contain more than keeps their constituent gases together. 
Arriving in a dry and non-conducting state on the northern 
coasts of Africa, these southerly currents afterwards sweep over 
the intermediate sea, and soon, from their high temperature, be- 
come charged with humidity, which, from want of electric fluid, 
never gets embodied into regular clouds, but the atmosphere 
k>oks thick, hazy, and muddy ; the sudden appearance of which 
during a northeriy wind, is always a sure indication of a change 
to the southward in a Bhort time. Having reached the coasts 
of Italy and Greece, and coming in contact with the elevated 
mount^ns, these currunts of vapour assume the form of regular 
clouds; and, collecting, exhibit the transmission of electric fluid 
to the succeeding currents of humid air ; which, often suddenly 
condensing into rain, rapidly increase the south-easterly influx 
towards the same points, and create such a mass of negative at. 
mospbere, that all the grander phenomena of thunder, lightning, 
and torrents of rain, are developed. 

Besides these illustrative instances of the relative electric states 



356 Mr Block on the CUmale 

of the opposite winds above mentioned, analogous phenomeoa 
ai-e scaneQoies observed at sea, and out of the immediate influ- 
ence of the land. Thus a wind, blowing from the Dorthem 
.shores of the Mediterranean, may be in perfect equilibrium with 
the land it leaves ; yet, when it encounters the southerly current 
at sea, will be in a relatively positive state of electtiaty. The 
c<Hisequence of this collision will be, a transference of the fluid 
from the north to the south curr^t ; and according to the ex~ 
tent of the electric difference between them, will be the amount 
of the resulting phenomena. From the observations of five 
years, I have always found, that, when electrical phenomena ap- 
peared, a change of wind from N. to S., or from oppo»te points 
near to the meridional line, invariably occurred. One diflerence 
has been noticed in the character of these phenomena, that, when 
they were developed in the vicinity of high land, thunder ac- 
companied them ; but, at sea, it seldom or never occurred, — the 
transfer of the electric fluid, in this last eituation, appearing to 
take place in a more gradual and less violent manner, than when 
the peaks of mountains facilitated those local accumulations, 
whose disturbance creates such intense results. 

As a general observation on this port of the meteta^l^^ of 
U>e Mediterranean, it may be inferred, that winds or currents of 
, vi^UT, of some continuance, from an extent of sea, are nega- 
tively charged with electricity ; and those from the land, and 
especially from hilly countries, are relatively in apositive condi- 
tion. 

During the period in which I have been in the eastern section 
of the Mediterranean, abundant opportunities have occurred of 
witnessing the effects of localities on the temperature and humi- 
dity of the winds, even when they continued to blow ftom the 
same quarter of the horizon ; as well as of observing how the 
climates of particular places are affected liy the nature and direc- 
tion of the winds, and the atmospherical impregnations prevail- 
ing at the time. These opportunities have resulted from being 
often one day to the northward, and the next to the southward, 
of Iftnd, with the continuance of the same wind ; at anotli^ day, 
with a great sci^ of sea, and on the following one with an ex- 
tent of land, in the direction of the same wind ; while frequent 
visits to different places and anchorages, in different seasons of 



ofQK MeSUmmean. 257 

the year, have furnished me with some personal observations on 
their respective climates. I shall therefore conclude this sketch 
with a few climatorial notices of such places as may he more fre- 
quently visited by the traveller, and by ships of war and com- 
merce, reserving to a future opportunity a more ample detail of 
this department of Mediterranean topography. 

Zonte.— Of all the anchorages in the Ionian seas, that of 
Zante Roads seems to be the most eligible in point of salubrity ; 
as the moisture and relaxing qualities of the Sirocco are there 
greatly qualified by the wind first passing over the east end of 
the island. There is also no great extent of land or sea in im- 
mediate cotmectim with the port ; from which circumstance, the 
shifting of the wind from one point to another is not attended 
with very sensible changes of heat or mcnsture ; and, unless the 
calms are prevalent at night in summer, which they seldom are, 
there is very little humidity or dew precipitated: The breezes 
Jrom the N. and NE. are very firequent and refreshing, and ge- 
nerally set in early in the forenoon, as the sea-breeze, and Bub- 
ade at night during the warm season of the yetu*. This ancho- 
rage is also free from any malaria. 

Sta. Maura. — The next anchorage tu that of the Roads of 
Zante, in pcnnt of healthiness in the hot season of the year, is 
the south anchorage of this island, the andent I^ucadia. Being 
bounded by the high land of the island on the west^ and by that 
of the Acamanian hills to the eastward, this aDc)ionige baa the 
winds dry from these opposite directions ; while the currents of 
air in the direction of the channel, whether they are N. or S., 
are more moist. Even when the wind blows from the S. and 
SE., it is moderate ; and, from the lands and islands, whi(^ 
lock in the anchorage, and are devoid of wood and sources of 
humidity, the place is never very damp, or pernicious by night. 
The winds, however, blow seldomer from these last directicms 
than from the opposite points, whence they are cool, dry, and 
refreshing, in the hot months. In the direction of N. and N£., 
these is mudi low land, and even stagnant water ; but such an 
e(t^it of sea and dry land intervenes, that their influence is not 
much to be dreaded. 



JTTLY — SBPTEUBEB i 



.:l .; Google 



SS8 Mr Black on the Chmate 

In the north anchorage, however, of this uland, I should 
think the effluvia from the lake near the town would prove in- 
■alubtiouS] It being extensive, and also near to the port. This 
anchorage is seldom visited by any of our fleet. 

Fouquevilte relates, that, on the approach of those appear- 
ances in the ur, and the fiery colour of the sun, which precede 
the earthquakes to which this island is subject, the female inha- 
. faitants are seized with a species of hysteric convuluons, called 
miterico ; but I have no personal knowledge of such affec- 
tions *. 

Cephabmia.- — Judging from the ntuation of the extensive 
harbour of this island, I am inclined to think it a rather healthy 
anchorage. The great height and extent c£ sun burnt surface 
aa the one ^de, over which the wind oomes as if from an oven, 
when it blows in that direction, the low and small extent of land 
across which tlie Sirocco has only to ptus before it reaches the 
port, and the great scc^ of sea over which the southerly winds 
previously travel, constitute, however, some demerits worthy of 
consideration, and counterbalance the other presumable advan- 
tages. The stagnant head of the harbour, beyond the long 
bridge, must, be^des, prove a source of miasmatic effluvia to 
the crews of those vessels of a smaller class that refit there and 
carera. I have seen the first onset of the Sirocco down the har- 
bour ruse the thermometer ten degrees. The south-east wind 
in pasang over the island of Zante, is much intsvased in tem- 
perature and dryness during the summer seaaon ; and in the 
vint^* it is thereby rendered colder, if not more moist. These 
rdaxing SE. winds very t^ten produce severe catarrhs, espe> 
dally if cold winds have previoudy prev^ed. 

Corfu. — This is an tmchorage where a gtxKl deal of fever oc- 
curs in the hot mtmths; and \ have witnessed its prevalence for 
sever^ yeara. In this season the winds are l^t, or calms pre- 
via ; and at nig^t, the dews are g^oerally -vtxj heavy. When 
the winds Uow, it may eamly be observed, from the nature of 
the sunouoding localities, tluit they wil nnbihe febrific exhak- 
tions. To the NW., and in ihe line of the greatest extent of 



' Pouqueville, Voyages en Grece, torn. lii. chap- lOI. 



^the itediterraawm. 'itSi 

tb* alaad, tlMte it s gwd defd of wevil, many jwad* oC stag- 
nant water, fmd sone nanlie% the exhalations fiDm which, in 
■ hot weather, must ^ve a malancMiB influence to the winds pA>- 
sing over their surfaces. The above is also the direction whence 
the land breeze in the night reaches the aRchorsge ; and I have 
often perceived the same fetid smell accompanying the lirat of 
the evening breeze, nhich I have expenenced at Port Boyaj, 
Jamuca, at MeauBa, and off the Italian ^mared. 

As to the mcdus operandi of these land breeiws, impregnated 
with marsh vapour, it is difficult to say whether they act by 
suddenly repreesing the perspiration, from tbw bong charged 
with humidity, and of a relatively low temperature, or by d&- 
prassiog OF impuring the nervous ener^es in the same manner 
as the SiroCco does ; or whether tiiey may even operate ' in 
both ways on the animal syston. It is, moreovei*, wcil known, 
that fever is more often devekiped in the n^t time, . or in the 
evening, when the energiei of the body are most exhausted ffom 
labour, fatigue, and the excitement of a hot day i vlule I have 
particularly remarked, that its invasion in this climate is always 
declared by symptoms of exhaustion and depression. These aw 
syncope, sudden failure of muscular strength, and dbturbance 
of the reparative funcUons, with the expuluon upwards or down- 
wards, ftx)m the primK vik, of what the argans cannot digest or 
assimilate. The adynamic state of the moving powera is ob- 
served in the pallor of the surface, and the depressed state of 
the pulse. During the summers in which I have seen fevers 
preval«it at this anchorage, southerly and g£. winds occurred 
by day, and at night it was either calm with heavy dewi, or 
else it was a land breeze possessed of the qualities above men- 
tioned. The other localities of Corfu, if not so un&vourable, 
possess no entire exception from the unhealthy impregnaiianE 
which they impart to winds arriving tU the anchorage. From 
the eastward, there cannot be any cool sea breeze by day in 
the summer months ; as the expanse of sea n only aevan mUes 
between the island and the bwe and parched land of Alboaia, 
while the greatest sur&ce of sea is down the chamiel, which lies 
in a SE. and southerly direction, whence the breezes are wvm, 
moist, and relaxing. 

The change of the seaaon, however, changes the infiucnoe of 
a2 

CtOo^Ic 



360 Mr BUck on the Climate 

locality on the winds of the place, as it does on those of other 
places. For six months in the year, the snow on the gigantic 
mountains of Albania is a fruitful source of cold and moisture 
to the winds sweeping over them ; and, therefore, in the early 
part of summer (in April and May] a change of wind from the 
S.SE. or SW., to the direction of these mountiuns, b attended 
with a sudden and great decrement of temperature ; wh'Je a 
contrary effect as remarkably obt^ns on s reverse of the prior 
phenomena. The chief complaints, resulting from such changes 
of wind, are catarrhal and mucous affections, which are qiiite 
endemical in such seasons. When the snow is melted, the 
breeze from the mountains would be not only warm, hut dry ; 
but as seven miles of water int^vene, the breeze always gains a 
degree of humidity before it arrives at the anchorage. These 
easterly winds are, however, not frequent during the hot months; 
but if they gently prevtul, in the evening a haze generally settles 
down on the tops and shoulders of these mount^ns, occaeduned 
by the reverberation from their heated surfaces preventing the 
deposition of dew fn^ the humid strata of the incumbent at- 
mosphere. 

Ithaai. — This is a good anchorage in the hot season ; for 
though the island is sterile, it is dry, and possesses few or no 
sources of hurtful exhalations. 

Acamimia. — The whole coast about Missolonghi, and the>' 
mouth of the ancient Achelous, is very unhealtJiy, especially 
during the autumnal months ; as the marshy and low lands in 
this diluvial re^n are an extennve bed for the production 
of noxious exhalations ; and I would recommend no vessels to 
anchor by night near this coast in that season of the year. In 
May 18S6, a good deal of fever made its appearance on this 
coast, and which was declared to be of the typhoid variety. It 
was communicated to one of our vesaeie of war. Whether the 
disease was solely to be attributed to the marsh exhalations, or 
partly to the destitution and misery which were spread over the 
neighbourhood after the fall of Missolonghi, I have not been 
able to determine. 

The high land of Albania moderates the sultry and oppres- 

D:it.:f:l.vG00gIc 



x^the MedUerranean. 361 

sive qualitgr of the Sirocco at Corfu; though, while it blows, 
the atmosphere by day is hazy, streaked, and disturbed; and 
by night, it is often clear from the deposition of dew, if calm, 
or the mr is beset with light and regular clouds, wbich are agtun 
converted into haze, by the next day's sun. It is late in the 
spring before the high land in northern Greece gets sufficiently 
heated to make the land breeze feel warm, or even temperate ; 
and I have seen from Corfu, in the beginning of June, the 
whole range of Findus deeply coated with snow. As summer 
advances, the winds get light and variabie, and are accompanied 
by a warm and sultry sky in the day time, followed by heavy 
dews at night. 

In the Gwlf of Koioky^ia, ancieutly Loconia, duiing the 
summer, the breeze sets up the gulf in the morning, and dies 
away towards night; and I have never veiified the effects of (my 
malarious winds at night, even when they regularly set in from 
the land,'in the months of August and September. One of our 
sloops of war, however, experienced a good deal of fever in thisi 
gulf in the autumn of 18S5. 

The inhabitants of the naghbouring parts of Laconia are 
much subject to boils and ulcers at this reason of the year, and 
they generally looked unhealthy. 

Cerigo is a high lying island, and is well exposed to the winds 
in all directions. I found fevers, however, here very preva- 
lent in August 18S5; but the disease was principally amraig 
the Greek soldiers. The inhabitants, in the absence of all ma- 
larious ground, attribute their attacks of fever to changes of 
wind, from the north to the southward. In Fort St Nicolo the 
temp^ature was 86°, and the breeze followed the course of the 
sun in the middle of the above month ; though at sea the winds 
were more fixed to one point. Remittents and agues continued 
to prevail here in the latter part of the above year, even towards 
the interior of the island. This ^ckness was more remark- 
able, as there is no observable source of miasma, the surface be- 
ing dry, and free from wood, and the above changes of wind 
from one point Opposite to another, being the only concomitant 



3.n.iized by Google 



36s Mr filock on tlte CRmate 

meteorologic phenomenon. The season broke up rather e^tiy 

this year by thuoder storms. 

I have observed, on arriving in the Gulf of Napoli di Ro~ 
mania, in the winter and spring settsonB, from Malta, a great de- 
pression of temperature, with a continuance of the same north«- 
]y winds, owing in same meamre to the anchorage being com- 
pletdy surrounded with snowy mountains. The winds passing 
over theee in the day-time, become saturated with humitSty, 
' and the air being at that tempa'ature in wliich the range ffl>in 
the point ai saturation to the dew pcnnt is very limited, viz. be- 
tween 45° to 54° : this humidity is easily precipitated. 

Though I have visited the site of the famous lake of Lema, 
on the western side of the gulf, I cannot say whether the Hy- 
dn Boake, whose namerous heads Hercules repeatiedly cut off, 
yet exists under the less palpable form of th« no less venomous 
miasma; but I ^ould think, from looal appearances, tbatev«a 
Hercules himsdf might yet find enou^ to combat with the de- 
mon of the place. 

At JUUo there are many sources of Febrific miasnata ; but 
when the winds bknv from the northward, they only traverse 
the pranontary of the high and dry land, which forms the east 
shore of the harbour. To the south of the anchorage, however, 
there is a good deal of low and marshy land, over which a {6g, 
inomti^ and evening, in c^m weadier , geoemlly rests ; and 
from wlocfa the occastonaj breezes must arrive, charged nidi 
BODch exhibikin. In the same southerly directions there are 
aome hot aulj^ureous springs, which, whatever their influence 
may roAy be, are eareftilly avoided, as hot-beds cf ^c&ness, by 
the inhatutantB. It is well known that nckness has raged at 
times severely in this Jsbaid ; and the andents seemed to have 
been aware of the insidubrity of the pait mentioned, ^ all the 
rams of antiquity are found to the northward, or on the eKire 
devaCed luid. In the autumn of 18S4, a fever broke out, *nd 
carried off a ^^«t m wy of the inhabitWAB. It was said to have 
been brought fnun Candia by some Gretk i^iugees, wbo ptin- 
apti&y fell a 8«rifioe to it. I was told by a Miliote, for tbey 
have BO medical man on the island, that those whoBe slcltne» 
was followed by an ague generally recovered. 

r:i (.:?:!.; Google 



ofAe MedUerrcmean. 36S 

In May 18S6, 1 found a good deal of fever amoog Uie Greek 
troops at Athens; but there were sufficient causes productive of 
such distempers among them, without the lud of any oialariouB 
breezes from the marshy Cephiseus, or the swamps in the course 
of the IlysBUB, towards the Pireus. 

At Sm^jyia the winters are generally temperate, and Uie low. 
est point of the Uiermometer observed by me, during the seasm 
of 18S&-7, bynight as well ss by day, in the open air, on board, 
was not below 41° ; between which and the highest 72° ; there 
were, however, many vicissitudes, both as to himiidity and tem- 
perature. The changes of weather are not so suddenly marked 
here as among the Ionian islwids, or on the coasts of Greece. 
The influence of locality is also rematkable ; the south-east 
wind having not much of the character of the Sirocco, and the 
Btmo^here, at the time, not being bazy, nor accompanied by 
those sensations, which are felt during a Sirpcco on the coasts of 
Italy and Greece. As a general observation on the winter sea- 
son of the year, there is less variation in the tempemtuie and 
hy^vmetry of the air than to tiie westvrard. The wet points 
are south-west and west, and the difference of temperature be- 
tween south-east and north is at limes considetahte. At the 
greatest depresMon of temperature, catarrhal qomplaiDts prevail- 
ed much <Hi shore, as well as on board, and were tUteoded, in 
many cases, with mudi fever. The winds v&k then oorth-east 
and east, in which direction the land in the diatasce was covered 
with snow. 

Id tlie UMxuh of October 1824, while visiting the coasts of 
Asia Minor, and being off the Troades, some intermittents made 
their appearance among the crew <^ the Euryalus, and I was 
led to attribute them to local influences. The plains of old 
Ilium are low and e&tenuve, and at a abort distance ftom the 
beach is the marshy course of the Scamander ; and ia the vita- 
njty of the ruins, and moFe to the int^jor, is the wider and pcu 
ludal course of the Smou; both of which ore very probable •ourecB 
of febriflc exhalations. The average temperature in the above 
numth on ihii port f£ the coast w«s (69° 00 the mun deck, aid 
the w^ber was in geq«a^ pleasant. 

The Boutb vxA Bouth>eaA ehoree of SU^ tfe liable to gnat 

I ., ..i.,.Gooi;5lc 



364 Mr Biack on tke CUmate 

vidsatudes; and the Sirocco there is touch comjdwued of l^ all 

travellers. 

It IB needless to speak of the beautiful and breezy Bay of 
Naples, the refreshing salubrity of which is proTerbial ; but re- 
markable vicissitudes of clinate nevertheless occur on changes 
of wind from off the sea to the land ; which are again materially 
modlSed by the winds sweeping over the Appenines, when co- 
vered with snow, or reverberating the heat of an autumnal sun. 
* •- • • 

Malta is perhaps as free as any ^tua^n in the Mediterra- 
nean from terrestrial sources of unhealthiness ; and Valetta en- 
joys a happy immunity from the injurious effects resulting from 
changes of wind, being utuated to the north side, and having its 
Sirocco winds ameliorated by their first traversing the surface of 
the island. In winter the northerly winds are always rendered 
more temperate, by their previous passage over the intervening 
sea, after they leave the cdd surface of Europe ; white along 
the southward of Greece, those winds are then felt in all thar 
raiginal fri^dity. The opposite results obtain in the latter part 
of summer ; the northerly winds are cool at Malta, and hot and 
dry on the south shores of Greece. I have seen, in March, a 
fall of hail stones on the island, about an inch in depth ; and at 
this time of the year, the winds often, from their great and fre~ 
quent changes, lose their distinctive characters ; thus, the south- 
east, or Sirocco, has been found cloudy, cold and wet ; and the 
westerly and gouth-westerly winds neither mild nor warm,^all 
these amnnalies arising from the frequent changes, tossing back- 
wards and forwards the same mass of atmosphere and clouds. 

Atgiera. — Though the plague rages siMDetiines at this place, 
yet its natural situation keeps it free from any endemial causes 
<^ sickness ; and it may be reckoned a healthy place ; owing to 
the hi^ land to the southward tempering the heat and dry- 
ness of the winds of the desert. All winds here frran east, 
through north to west, are damp or foggy in the summw sea- 
son. 

In August 1834, an interesUng crancidence, between the ap- 
pearance of nineteen cases of febrile commotion and a sudden' 
change of wind, took place off Bona, in the Euiyalus frigate. 

D:it.:f:l.v Google 



i^tke MedUerranean. , 965 

The previous winds for some days bad been moist, and from the 
northward, when they were interrupted for two hours by a strong 
Sirocco, accompanied by a great rise of temperature ; and so arid 
was the wind, that any thing moist or damp dried in it as quick- 
ly as if it had been exposed to the fife. The marked attacks of 
fever were simultaneous almost with the Sirocco, and the}' dis- 
appeared in a short time, from the use of gentle depletion, and 
with the quickly succeeding change of weather. 
Towards the east point of the northern coast of Africa, the 
■ sand from the desert often reaches the Mediterranean, and gives 
a light yellowish hazy tint to the atmosphere. At Alexandria, 
with the breeze at SW. by S., warm and dry, I have seen the 
finely pulverulent sands create a complete haze, and partially 
obecure the sun. I first supposed the haze arose from the hu- 
midity evaporated from the small extent of sea, and the course 
d the Nile ; but finding portions of yellow sand collected on se- 
veral exposed places of the ship, I was soon convinced of the true 
nature of the pbeaomenoQ. Achangeof wind, at Alexandria, in 
February 1883, from the NE. to SW. by S., produced an in- 
craase of the temperature from 56° to 76*, being SO d^;rees in 
cmeday. * • » 

Conclusion by Dr B. . 

To g^ve a complete history and estimate of the climate of the 
Mediterranean, as connected with health and the developement 
vS disease, it would be necessary to refer to an extenave set of 
good rasters, and to bring forward an outline of the diseases 
which afiect the various natums inhabiting its shores, as well as 
those which seafaring people and strangers experience. But as 
this was an extent of inquiry beyond the opportunities of the late 
author, the preceding sketch professes only to detiul the ample 
meteorological phenomena whidi came under his observation ; 
and the few inductions which be has drawn, may serve to illus- 
trate the more obvious connections between health and climate. 
In giving the sketch to the public, the editor has thought to 
contribute some facts to meteorok^cal kksux, as well as to ful- 
fil the supposed wishes of one, of whom afiection might truly 
say 

" Nee canu xque, nee auptntea 

L.:it.:f:l.vG00gIc 



Mr Black on the Climate 



i 
1 

s 

1 
I 

\ 
I 


h iii ■ i 

mil iiiisi A 


mn 


-'■-■:■: -MMMM-^, 


I 


i 


.«««« -qie-qiM ;-M . .C4»-<H 


if 


,■*«« « .mt ;■* ; :- — BS 


It 


n«<6«,<o OOOWP..-W :"222 


Hi 


S22Sg 23SSS2S3S222 




^11 


i. 


^»*C : W,t-«t-«B2»<B«B' 


» 




■ :-"-"~ "■■•::::'" :"'■ 


9 




««»«« o^ :»-»»-*»-«« _ 


i 




• :" :" i ;"- ■" : • ■•*-- 








^ 


i : i- • ! W-- ■— ■ :- • 


A 


. .rfo . «M . iS*"" : :» 


t 


„« . .M -..,.;;«. .-*— « 


IB 


g^aS* «2««J2«»«««-. 


m 


glils liiilllilils 


\ 


1823. 

October, 

November, 

December, 

1824. 
January, 
February, 

March, 

October, 
December, 



, Gooi;5lc 



of lite Medhterranean. 





m\ 


:- 1 ;=" :" -•»-» -:;:;-! 


s ^-tr 2 




i 
\ 


■1 


"•" : :- i ; ■-.■'-' •• i ; ; r i 


3 ss « 




If 


!-'-;•" " •"■:•.-:: 


s aaj 


1 




"■"""^S- :-E23- S-2 = = S" 


SS8| 


G 


n 


assRsss as»»2 isagsss 


S HI 




i 


fssi 


,,„,.. 2 -SS"- ••"-—•= 


g B8 g 


ra 
^ 




— ««-«» „«,„ ^ ;«,,_,, 


2g=| 






««.«,«_ , ;«^^„ «««„«.,, 


S S3 1 






«n .- ^ ; ;-. .« . a^ ;„ ;, ^ 


= S§J 






. .-^HMM.e . .-«« »-«_* , 


8SS| 








a =s s 






- : :"- ;" , ~ : ■> =■ --«-=. ,. 


— =s 








-SS| 








S BR S 




rill 




illi 






=lllM|-||||Pl!llllt 





( 268 ) 



Obiervaiions on the Arborisationa in Dendrite Caicedontf, or 
Mocha Stone. By A». Bbomgmiabt *. 

FOR a long time, those irregular filaments observed in the 
Vftiieties of agate commonly called Mobs Agates, were believed to 
be confervce. Daubenton was the first who made known his 
opinion on ttds subject -f- ; and while he admitted the arboriza- 
tions of agates to be mere infiltrations, he thought he distin- 
guished ia certfun moss agates real vegetables, and in particular 
confervee and mosses. The figures which he has published of 
these objects are too imperfect to enable us to form any idea 
respecting the forms which he intended to represent, nor have 
I been able to find any thing resembling them amimg the speci- 
mens preserved either in the old collection of the Jardin des 

* The tbllowing obaervatioti on moclu' stone occur in mj System of Mine- 
niogf. 

" The dendritic calcedonies, or mochs-Btonefl, are much prized at ornuoen- 
Ul Btonea. The arborizatioiiB, as already mentioned, are black, brown, or 
oreai. The blade as the most common, and most distinct : the red, on the 
contisiy, ue rarer, and arc leas distinct, and are named aaraSinu, from theie- 
sunblance ot the dendritic delineations to coral ; and the green are rare, and 
much esteemed. These arborizations appear in some cases to be owing to 
iron, in others to manganese, iron, and mineral olL Ueutens, Von MoU, 
Daubenton, and latelj Lens, Blunenboch, and Dr MacCulloch, malnfaitn 
Uiat many of them are of a true vegetable nature. Deutena says, that If the 
plants contained in calcedon; aie extracted, and the fragments thrown on 
burning chaivoal, a bituminous smell ia exhaled t aadTonA!olImaintainB,,that 
calcedonj sometimes conti^s browa and green moss. 

" Jjeaz afBrma, that the calcedony fbund in the imjgdalMd of Deuxponts 
coat^na musd of dlfierent Idnds, such as Lichen mngifetinus, Con&rrEe, Byssi, 
and Brjia. And Blumenbach sa/s, in a letter to Baron Von Holl, that thou^ 
he had hitherto diabellered the occurrence of v^^table bodies in the dendritic 
▼arietj of calcedony named mocha-stone, he must now admit that it doea 
(ometimee contain plants, appaiently of the nature of conferva. He observed 
tbeae in spedmens from Iceland and Catharinenburg. The same celebrated 
natundist malntaina, that he found, ,in the interior of an agate, the fhictifica- 
Uoa of an unknown plant, somewhat lesembUng the Sparfrndmrn arettvnt. Dr 
HacCullocb, after Mtamining sereral hundred spedniens of mocha-stone. Is of 
o[dnfou that tbej contain crypb^amous planta. This ofdnioo, however, still 
remd» very improbable."-_/ain«nn'i MinenUogn, voL iL 
f Memdres de TAcademie des Science* 1783, p. 667- 



by Google 



M. Brongniart^s Obaervationt on Ai-borizations, 4-c. S69 
FknteB, (M* in that of the Academie dea Sciences. Ab (o the 
conferroid filamentB, a great number of specimens pnaent them, 
which have the appearance of those figured by Daubenton ; but 
we shall presently see what opinion is to be formed respecting 
those alleged conferee. After Daubenton, Blumenbach, in a 
letter to the Baron de Moll, of which an extract is inserted in 
the Annals of Philosc^hy *, admits, that, although he bad until 
then rejected the presence of vegetables in calcedonies, he was 
persuaded that these stones sometimes contain actual vegetables, 
p^bably of the nature of confervse. He says he observed some 
in specimens from IcelandandCatharinenhurg, andadds, that, in 
an agate which had belonged to a Japanese prin^, he hkd re- 
cogmsed the fructificatitm of an unknown plant, having a consi- 
derable resemblance to that of Sporganium erectum. This o^ 
nion, to which the name of so celebrated a naturalist might give 
authority, has unfortunately never been farther developed by its 
author, who has neither published a detailed description nor 
figures of the vegetables which he thought he had distinguished 
in these calcedonies. 

The same ppinion has been supported by Dr AlacCulloch -f*, 
who allies that calcedonies contain arborizations c^ two kinds, 
the <«ie arising from the presence of vegetables, the other formed 
by mineral infiltrations. He asserts that these two kinds may 
be distinguished both by their external characters and by their 
chemical nature, the former always becoming black when boiled 
in sulphuric acid, while the others retain th^r ori^ual charact«', 
and produce a slight effervesceace. The same naturalist says he 
sometimes observed articulations in these filaments ; but unfor- 
tunately the figures which he has ^ven of these objects are not 
sufficiently enlarged, and are consequently insuffici^t. If re- 
ference be made to tbese figures, it b certainly difficult to refuse 
admitting in some of them portions of vegetables even more com. 
plicated than conferve, such as Jungermannise. But these in- 
filtrations sometimes emulate the external forms of a vegetable 
to such a degree, that one must be well acquainted with the 
plants of these families not to be deceived with respect to tbem. 

■ Annala of Fhilosopbj, 1814,'voL L p. 217. 

-f- Qeological TransBCtionB, Ist series, roL ij. p. 510. 



3.n.iized by Google 



S70 M. Brongniart^s Obaervationt oa the Arborhuiiioni in 

Anxious, therefore, to assure myself of the nature of these al- 
1^^ v^etables, I examiDed a considerable number of moss 
agates, beWging either to public collections or to those of pri- 
vate individuals in Paris. I observed them not with a nmple 
lens, but with Amici's excellent microscope ; of which, however, 
I only employed the lov minifying powers of from 50 to about 
100 diameters. In mtHV cases, the traDBparency of these agates 
enabled me to see distinctly, at least in certain points, the dis. 
potation of the filaments, and I wax enabled to assure myself, 
not only that they had nune c^ die characters of plants of the 
family of Confervte, or of any other plant, but that they even 
presented characters whit^ proved them to be mere infiltrations, 
and not v^etables. I have represented, in figs. 7 and 8 of 
Plate I. of my work on Fossil Plants, the two forms under 
which these infiltrati<xis most commonly presmted themselves. 
Fig. 7 shews the disposition which the brown infiltratuHis of the 
nearly c^Mque moss agates generally adopt. The filaments, 
which are very irregular as to their size and mode of diviatw, 
are variously bulged. They are pretty distinctly defined, with> 
out any nebulonty around them, and appear formed by knotty 
matter, of a dark-brown colour, filling numerous filiform and 
irr^ular canals, distributed without order in the calcedcmy. 
These infiltrations are very often irregularly anastomosed, whidi 
precludes all idea of a oonfervcud plant, unce in the only cases in 
which similar anastomoses exist among the confervs, they 
give rise to a very irregular neUworit, as in the Sj/drodgfction, 
or to a mode of reticulation, irr^ulat it is true, but very dis. 
tincl from that of these infiltrations, and such as is observed in 
the coDJugata, particularly in the Z^^tema gem^amm. The . 
only plants I know, whose irregular onastonuMes resemble, in 
same respects, those presented by the infiltration in qtiestiou, are 
in the genus Rhizomorpha, a geoui which, in no other reelect, 
has any resemblance to the infiltration of agates. 

These brown infiltrations are the most frequent, but the most 
Ksnarkable, oa account of their agreeable appearance, and their 
resemUance, at first «ght, to confervse, are the green infitera- 
tions. The matter, which forms them, appears much thinner 
than that of the brown infiltrations, so that it has, as it were, 
tinged the calcedooy to some distance from the small canals in 

D.n.llzedbyGOOg[C 



Dendritic Cakedomf, or MochaSbme. 371 

wfakh the infiltration has been fonned. There is also always 
seen, in the middle of the filaments, a more opaque line jmw- 
duced by a matter of a deeper green. This line appears to rp- 
preaent the small canal itself which traverses the calcedony. It 
is irregularly bulged at intervals, and the greenish nebulosity, 
formed by the infiltration of the colouring substance in the 
■tone itself, has followed all the irregularities of this can^. 

The more or less linear or stron^y mammillated form of these 
. infiltratioiu^ and their greater or less opacity, appear to depend 
upon the extent of these canals, and the quantity of colouring 
matter which was contuned by them. The aspect of these in- 
filirations also, the frequent anastomoses which they form, and 
thar irregularity, preclude all idea of vegetable origin. Some 
gelatinous aaA tremdloid plants, such as the Linckite, Meso- 
gbHa, &c. have somewhat of this i^pearance, but they never af- 
fect this filamentary and anastomosing disposition, nor does ex- 
anunation with the microsn^ enable us to detect any analogy ; 
'for, with a magnifying power such as that which we employed, 
these plants presented characters of structure which immedtale- 
ly distinguished them. 

These two forme of infiltration nre those which are of most 
frequent occurrence in moss agates. I have observed another 
in a part at a slice filled with brown infiltrations, f^ich left 
srane doubts on my mind as to its origin. It presents a regu- 
larity in the filaments of which it is ccnnposed, and in their anode 
of divicdon, which' pretty distinctly su^jests the idea of several 
confervK, and, in particular, of certain species of the genus 
Bangia, such as B. atrtmrens *. It is, however, possible, that 
it may be nothing ^se than a more r^ular infiltratioD, produ- 
ced by very minute and regularly ramified canals. What would 
induce me to think so, is the mode of distributian of the opaque 
nutter toward the centre of the filaments. In the coafervmd 
plants, to which these filaments nught be compared, the gra- 
nular and coloured opaque matter fills the whole cavity of a thin 
and membranous tube. The transparent part, which is desti- 
tute of this granular matter, thoefore forms on the edges bat a 
narrow border, produced by the wall of the tube. Here, aa the 

' hjo^je. Tent Hjdioph. DuicK, tab. xxv. fig. B- 

D.n.iizedj,y Google 



2791 M. BroDgniart^s Obaervatims on the Arborixatums m 
contrary, the opaque matter occupies a narrow c«tnJ line, 
which appears to be th* canal itself by which the ccmunag 
substance has penetrated ; and all round this centml thread 
there occurs a senutransparent layer, much thicker than s metD- 
branous tube would be, and which appears, as in the green in- 
filtratioiis, to be the resiilt of die infiltration <A the cdouring 
matter into the very substance of the stone. Notwithstanding 
its greater reseml^nce to a plant, I therefore am still of ojh- 
. nioD that it is a mere infiltration. Thus the inquiries whidi t 
have made, hare not, as yet, enabled roe to discover in odoe- 
dimies well characterized pUnts, whether belonging to the 
group <^ Conferva: car to any other family. 

As to tbe mode of formation of these infiltratioi» in the inte- 
rior of calcedony, it forms no part of my object to account for 
it; aoA I leave to mineralc^;iata to discuss the manner in which 
the small canals which are filled by the colouring matter tax 
formed, the solid or gelatinous state of the stone at this period, 
and the nature of the niatter introduced into it. My only object 
was to shew, that, iu most cases, if not in all, the vegetable kiog^ 
dom has nothing to do with these infiltrations ; in other jwords, 
that they do not represent vt^tables, and that the'ir mode of 
Iwanching even proves that the canals which occupy their axis, 
do not owe th«r origin to conf»Toid filaments, whidi these infil- 
tratitms may afterwards have envdoped, and caused to disap- 
pear. I know that the presence of confervoid vegetables in hot 
spra^, whidb generally oontwn mlica in solutim, might have 
accounted iar their presence in these straies ; but the v^etablev 
<^ hot springs are ostnllatoriss, a kind of confeme, which, mors- 
than any other, differs from the infiltraticms (tf calcedony, in 
having its filaments always simple, and most commonly straight, 
or only sH^tly flexuous.*— ^Tut. des Vegetaux Foaniet, \en 
lioraiaon, p. 29> 

' We have observed vq;etablei jn siliceaiia iiliiter frum tcelud. Such spe- 
dmens, wben cut and poUdied, might, with the wexperienced, pass for c&Ice- 
doniefl { and we believe such siliceous stnters are preserved In some aUnet*, 



3.n.iized by Google 



( 273 ) 

On the Occurrence of Fossil Remains <^ Mammalia in the Coal 
Formation of the Canton of Zurich. 

JU. ScHiNTz, M. D., in August 1827, gave a. general ac* 
count to the Helvetic Society of Natural Science, of the foaal 
remains of mammifera discovered in the coel mines of the Can- 
ton of Zurich, and described the rocks in which the coal occurs.. 
Bones have already been found in five places in the Canton it- 
self, or near its frontiers, viz. at Ht^nach, on the Ltdie of 
Zurich ; at El^ near Buchberg, in the Canton of Schaffhausen ; 
neac Sedmatten on the frontiers of Thurgau and near Sprei- 
taiboch in Argau. A considerable quantity of the rematng 
of mammifera have been found at Kopfnacfa, in the course of the 
kst nx years. They consist of two kinds of teeth of the 
narrow-toothed mastodon, of which three fore-teeth, and one' 
from the bottom of the mouth, were presented to the Sodety ; 
beavers teetli*, and those of two ruminaung animals, of which 
one is scarcely larger than the teeth of the small musk, and 
another belongs to a species of deer, were also exhibited. The 
whole country of Kopfoach belongs to the tertiary formation. 
A regular series of sandstone, with limestone, containing much 
clsy, gives to the whole a marly and eaaly decomposable 
property. This molasse formation occupies neariy the wh<^ qf 
the great basin lying between the Alps and Jura, extending 
about 100 miles in length from the Lake of Constance to the 
I^e of Annecy, and from 10 to 30 in breadth, and presents 
mountain chains from 1000 to 2000 feet high, and sometimes 
1000 in breadth. Its depth may be about 3000 feet It is in 
this formation that all the coal mines that are woriced occur; 
and in these mines the uiimal remains have been found. 

In the coal mine of Elgg, which has been worked about forty 
years, and of which the gallery is about 300 fathoms long, there 
have been found &agments of another species of mastodon, 
which does not correspond to any of those described by Cuvier, 
and which has only a distant resemblance in form to the great 
mastodon. The upper part of the gallery consists of a fine 
granular brecaa, the lower part or floor of a soft sandstone, con- 
' In there not Home miatake here F— Edit. 
JULY— SKPTEMBEE 1828. Gi'I'OqIc 



%74i M. Schintz on tfie Fossil Remains of Mammalia, d[c. 
taining a considerable quantity of quartz, united by a calcareous 
base. The bed of coal i^ from eight to twelve feet thick, 
and the coal is often impregnated with bitumen. The carbonized 
bones occur near this bitumen, and are Iragile. The large teeth 
have always three rows of tubercles, the small two. There have 
afao been found the jaw of a rlunoeeros, which belongs to the 
Ukittoceros cla%ttu» of Cuvier, and two long teeth of a singular 
tarm, which are certainly the &»eteeth of an animal reaenibliDg 
the hogs and tapirs. These fragments w^e also presented. 

Near Seehnatten, oa the frontiers of the- Canton of Thurgau, 
4 bed of coal has been diBcovered, at a bei^t of 600 feet above 
the valley ; and since it has b^un to be worked, tiiere have been 
found a tooth of the small species of palteotberium, and 
another entirely unknown, without doubt the fore tooth of a pa- 
t^ydomatoua animaL The two teeth were presented, but none 
1^ the members present knew the latter. The presence of the 
pakeotheriuni proves, in Cuvier^s opinion, that this coal forroa- 
tion is older than has hitherto been supposed ; for he considers 
the palfeotheriuins as animals of very ancient creations. 

There were also presented a jaw and some bones of an unde- 
temUDed E^iecies of mostodoo, taken from a coUiery near Buch- 
berg, and a small unknowQ boDe from the Spreitenbach mines. 
Bear Dietikon, on the frontiers of the Canton of Argau. 

It follows ftrom the preceding details, that in all the collieries 
<xf the Canton t£ Zurich, there are found remains of antediluvian 
animals, much more raiely remuns of v^tables. Trunks o£ 
luge trees are di^nctly seen only at Buchberg. At Eopfnach 
there is nothing but drcular leaver and at Elgg aatas indistinct 
fibres of ro<4a. The state of earbtmization, however, may be the 
cause that the v^;etable substances are less distinct, since even 
the hardest bones are so easily iHvken. 



3.n.iized by Google 



( 975 ) 

jkxottMef the sup and Breaking Up of avast Mats of Stmlit, 
on the Bar^s of the W/UUi^r in Berwickshirt. In a Let- 
ter ftota I>*vrii MiLNR, Esq. A.M. St. to Profesor Jame- 



My Dear Sir, 

x\. PUEHOUBDON occurred in tins neighbourhood, a few days 
since, of which perhaps the following short account may not be 
uoaoceptable to you. Having yourself visited a jurt of the 
banks of the river Whitadder, you are probably aware that 
t^y consist entirely of the new red sandstone, with its marl and 
gypsum. From the peculiar nature of this formation, as well 
as the very prevailing abundance of clay, the soil is in general 
extremely friable^ and readily crumbles to pieces by the united 
action of the weather and the river. The strata rise towards 
tiie north ; and as the course of the Whitadder is from west to 
east, its banks, from this circumstance, are, on the south nde, 
generally very steep, often perpendicular : while aa the north 
saABf they ^ope towards its edge with a much less precipitous 
and more regular descent. It is owing to the same geological 
conformation of the strata, that, with hardly any exception, dl 
the rivulets, which flow into the Whitadder, are to be found on 
the north side, as the rains which fall upon the land on the op- 
posite banks, taking their direction from the inclination of the 
strata, h«ve rather a tendency to retire from the rirer. These 
rivulets have, in many places, worn away the friable soil com- 
po^ng the banks, to such an extent, that deep and narrow ra- 
vines have been formed, and consequently long and lofty ridges, 
connsting entirely of marl strata. Opposite to a small' mill, 
atuated on the south bank of the Whitadder, called HuttOB' 
Mill, there wse one of these ridges which owes its origin to the 
cauee just mentioned, ona side of it being watered by a little 
brook usually dry in the summer, and the other side partly run- 
ning, along the edge of the river Whitadder. 

This ridge rose to a height of about 120 feet almve the level 
of the river j its length at the top may have been about 60 feet, 
and at the base 300 feet. Upcm Tuesday last, 9SA July, at 
s3 

•D:it.:Kl.v,G00glc 



S76 Mr D. Milne on the Slip and Breaking up 

three o'clock in the afternoon, this immense mass separated from 
its basis. The greatest part was impelled forward about 150 
feet, and the whole hill was reot and broken asunder into a 
thousand pieces. Not a vestige remains of the former arrange- 
ment of the strata, and the channel of the river lias been entire- 
ly choked with the aggregated ruins. 

From the account which I have ^ven of the ^tuation of 
this hill or ridge, it is easy to discover the cause of the 
slip. During the dry and warm months of the early part of 
summer, large fissures had been formed in the clay and 
marly soil of which it is composed. During the .late nun, 
which fell in such abundance throughout every part of the 
country, these cracks or fissures were, of course, suddenly fill- 
ed with water ; and all who are aware of the immense force 
with which a column of water acts, where it is of any consider- 
able height, will understand how it may have contributed to 
loosen the friable texture of the strata. But the chief cause of 
this extraordinary slip I conceive to have been the rivulet al- 
ready mentioned, which skirts the north side of the ridge, and 
by which, in fact, the ridge has in the course of time been form- 
ed. When this stream became swollen into a rapid torrent by 
the rains, and overflowed its narrow channel, the dry state of 
the soil allowed the water to percolate down freely through the 
marl strata, dipping towards the Whitadder ; and thus, both by 
means of its physical force, and by rendering slippery the sur- 
face of the mari rock on which the ridge rested, it caused the 
superincumbent mass to slide down the declivity. The conse- 
quences of the operation of this very simple agent were incon- 
ceivably tremendous. An entire hill, consisting of solid strata, 
propelled forward from its basis, and severed into fragments, 
must have formed a spectacle of the most appalling grandeur. 
The noise of the crash must have been very considerable ; as a 
young woman, working in the garden of the mill on the oppo- 
site mde of the river, was so terrified that she sought her safety 
in-flight, and attracted the neighbours to the spot by her screams. 
About eighteen months ago a small slip took place also upon 
this side of the river, very near the spot I am now describing, 
and arisingfrom the same cause. And I may remark, that, from 
the peculiar nature and position of the strata compo^ng the 

Googk 



of Strata on Me Banks oflhe Wkitadder. 9^'t 

north banka of the Whitadder, it is probable that this neigh- 
bourhood will very frequently witness a repetition of the phe- 
nomena similar to the one which has so recently occurred. I 
remtun, my dear sir, yours very faithfully, 

D. Milne. 

MlLHE^BADXir, C0LD8TSEAM, \ 

39a JuJt 182& i 



EwamiitatKm ^ the Experiments hitherto puhlUhed on Subter- 
ranean Temperature, together with Experwients and Ittqui- 
riea relative to this Examination. By M. L. Cokdies, 
Member of the Royal Academy of Sciences, and Professor 
of Geology in the Garden of Plants". 

J. HIS expeiiments that have been hitherto published on sub- 
terranean temperature are of two kinds. 

Some of them have for their object to examine the tempera- 
ture of common springs, of rivers which issue directly trtym the 
earth in cert^n countries, of artificial fountains, of waters issuing 
from caves or galleries of dnunage, intended for the drying of 
great mining works. These experiments are not numerous, nor, 
as we shall afterwards shew, do they furnish any other than ^ 
proximattve data. 

* The object of the other experiments has been to determine the 
temperature of natural or artificial cavities, by means of which 
we are enabled to penetrate into the bowels of the earth. These 
experiments are numerous, and lead to results which have been 
r^arded as precise. They have been pushed as far as from 1300 
to I6OO feet. The following is a brief account of them : 

In France, we have the experiments made in the caves of the 
Observatory of Paris, which were commenced about 150 years 
ago, and which have been perfected by M. Arago ; those made 
by Gensanne f, in the metallic mines of Giromagny, about the 
middle of the last century ; and those in 1806 by M, Daubui»^ 

* Bead to tbe Aeadetaj of Sdences, IsC June 1827- 

t DissertaUon but la Glace, par M>iniD { Vtaia, 1749, In l^mo. p. 60. 



Google 



3T8 M. L- Cordier, Exaniination of recent Experiments 
saa *, in the Wd aad silver muies of FoullEtouen and Huelgoet 
in Bretsgoe. In Switzerland, we bave the fxperimentB made 
about forty years ago by De Saussure f, in the salt mines <^ Bax, 
In Saxony, those of MM. Freiesleben and HumbtiJdt X, ve^iite^ 
ed in 1791 ; of M. Daubuisson ||, made in 1802 ; and especially 
those of M. de Tr^ra, in 1805, 1806, 1807, and 181/t§. In 
Great Britain, we have to mention numerous expmments made 
from 1815 to the present day, by Mr Lean, MrRede, and especial- 
ly Mr W. Fox, in the copper and lead mines of Cornwall and De- 
vobshire ; and by Messrs Bald, Dunn, and Fenwick, in the coal 
mines of the north of England %. Lastly, we must also include 
into the number those made by M. de Humboldt in several mines 
in Peru and Mexico •*, 

The number of mines in which these different observations have 
been made is upwards of forty ; that of the individual markings 
of temperature is about three hundred. 

Nearly two thirds of these markings of temperature have be«n 
wade from the ur contained in subterranean eavitMS, w)d most 
of the others frcffis the water which pree^its itself in so many 
wsya ia these cavities. A very few are from experiments mads 
with the view of diFectly daterauniqg (he tranperatufe of the rook 
surrounding the excavations; but aev^ral of these letter mark* 
inga have the advantage <£ being mean temperaturea tak^ from 
a groat number of sedentary observations. With regard to the 
farmer, they all result from observations made on descending into 
the mines for a short time. 

I take no notice of some less impfirtaqt observations which hsv^ 
been made in the mines, quarries, and caves of various other oquot 
tries, because they have been made singly and almost acddeqtaU 
ly. They refer, in general, to the temperature of the air of €»• 

* Journal des Hinex, t. ziL p. 110. 

f Voyages dans let Atpes, sect. 1D88. 

t Annales de Chinue et de Fhjsique, t. ziiL p. 210. 

II Desciiption de Mine* de Frejberg, tit. iii. pp. lai, 186, 300 ; Jouraal 
del Mines, ttt zi. p. 017 ; andiUi. p. 113. 

g Annidec des Hines, tit. i. p. 3T7, and tit. iiL p. 59- 
% Annalei de Cbimie et de P^ijuque, t. xiii, p. 200 ; t. xvi, p. 78 ; t. xU, 
p. 4Se ; t izi. p. 308 ; and Geogr. Distrib. of Plants, by N. J. Wlncb, p. 61. 
" Annalee de Cbimie et de Phjsique, t xlil. p. 307. 



.:i.v Google 



on Subterranean TenvpertUure. 879 

vities i and, as the results have been similar to those vbich I am 
about to examine, the inferences at which I shall arrive aM 
equally applicable to them. 

Such are the experiments whose merits we have to appreciate ; 
and in doing tliis criucism has nothing to n^ect. As it is pro- 
posed definitively to ^ply to the great the inferences deduced 
from the small, it is obvious that the lightest errors will have a 
pnidt^ous influence upon what is to be inferred regarding tb« 
entire maas of the globe. Thus, for example, proceeding from 
the approximate law which is deduced from the experiments hi- 
therto published, one degree of Fahrenheit of emv more for a 
depth of 160 feet, in a given country, will raise to 1 ,600 feet (nearly 
half a qiuner of a let^ue), the point at which it is to be presumed 
that the temperature of boiling water exists under the place of 
observation. These oonsidc»itioti9 will be a BufBdent apcdogy 
for the details into which I shall sometimes be obliged to'enter. 

By means of the precsuticms to which I have bad recourse, I 
trust that my own experimentB may be regarded as sufficiently 
accurate. Most of them were made in three coal mines in France, 
very distant from one another, which I selected as presenting the 
most favourable circum stances, and which are : 1st, the mine of 
Littry, situated eight miles W. SW. of Bayeux, in the Departs 
ment of the Calvados, and of which the openings have an eleva- 
tion of about 200 feet above the sea ; Sdly, the mine of Ded«e, 
situated seven and a half miles to the north of the city of that 
name, and of the banks of the Loire, in the Department of the 
Nievre, and of which the elevatitm ^x>ve the sea is about 490 
feet ; ddly, the mine of Carmeaux, utuated in the Department of 
the Tarn, eight miles to the north <^ Alby, and nearly 890 feel 
above the sea. 1 shall revert to the local circumstances of these 
mines as I proceed. At present it is sufficient to add, that my 
experiments took place, in the first in August 1823, in the second 
in September 1825, and in November 1822 and Bqitranbtt 1825 
in the third. In all, I made use of mercurial thermometers, wfai«^ 
Icarefully proredand compared withoneanother, and which, inall 
caaes, wh«re I shall not mention the contrary, were applied with 
the ball naked. With the kind asnstance of MM. Arrago and 
Mathf eu, I have been enabled to reduce all my reaulta to the gnu 
dufttion of the normal thermometer of the Observatory of Paris, 



SSO M. L. COTdter, Emamination of recent Experiments 
centigrade division. Thia diviaioa is also that which I have used 
in all parts of this memoir. 

With these explanations, I now proceed to the examination 
of the experiments which have been made on the tempenUure <^ 
the air contained in mines. 

1. Temperature of the Air in Mines. — The expetiments on 
the temperature of the air of mines would be unobjectionable, 
and we would have reason to suppose that they give the exact 
temperature of the zone of rock in which they have been made, 
had their circumstances been smilar to those of the caves of 
the Observatory of Paris, that is to say, had they been made in 
excavations of small extent, and especially of little height, ^tu- 
ated in the ori^nal rock, defended by a suflicieat closure 
from all foreign influence, such as the passage of workmen, 
the access of water, the introduction of estemal ur, and ^ul up 
fcH* a length of time sufficient to allow the original temperature of 
the walls to be completely re-established. But none of these ob- 
servations have been made in such favourable circumstances. 

To appreoate the various kinds and degrees of inaccuracy to 
#hich they have all been subjected, we shall first consider what 
might take place in a mine, which we shall suppose of some ex- 
tent, composed of several stages, free of titrations, and whidi has 
been kept hermetically shut since the period at which it wasaban. 
doned. The air in each stage would assume the temperature of 
the surrounding rock. This air, upon the hypothecs which we 
maintain of a heat increasing in the earth as the depth increases, 
would continually circulate from the lower to the upper stages, 
and vice versa, on account of the differences of specific gravity, 
arising from the inequality of the heat which would take place at 
each leveL These continual motions would be the more lively, 
the wider and less uououb the subterraaeon canals were, and the 
greater the number of thar communicaUons. In the opposite 
case, the displacement of the ur would be produced slowly, eft- 
pedally at the most remote extremities of each stage ; and it 
would ha{^n, that, towards these extremities, the temperature 
cS the lur would not differ much &om that of tbe surrounding 
rock. In this case, and still m<H:« in the former, the temperature 
of the air would never exactly represent in any point the tempera, 
ture of the rock in contact with it, 3 

D.n.iized by Google 



on Suiterranean Temperature. 281 

If the identity of the temperaturee in question cannot occur In 
such a mine as we have imaged, still less possible is it in com- 
mon mines, to which the air has continual access, in which the 
filtering waters incessantly act as a cause of variatioD, and where 
the lights and workmen daily disengage large quantities of heat. 
Let us examine the efiects which these three disturbing causes 
produce upon the temperature of the air contained in mines. 

Theextemal air, by continuallymixing' with the air contained in 
a mine, acts in the ratio of the temperature which it brings to each 
point, and of the mtiss which is introduced at this point in a given 
time. Now, these two elements arecontiniuUy varying, and their 
influence necessarily extends to the most distant excavations. I 
estimate the velocity of the draught which lakes place by means 
of the shaf^ that serve for ventilating mines, as being sometimes 
four times and even six Umes as great when it is very cold as it is 
in ordinu^ weather. The t^nperature of the air which enters 
vaiies every day, every hour, or it may be said every moment. 
Thb temperature is lowered more or less, from the effect of the 
more or less abundant cvapwation which the air produces, by rea- 
son of its dryness and original heat, in proportion as it circulates 
along the humid surface of the excavBtions. At the same time 
it u subjected to a very feeble cause of augmentati<Hi, which sel- 
dom compensates the preceding, and which depends upon the in- 
crearing influence of the atmospherical pressure, in proporticHi as 
the air introduced penetrates into deeper cavities. This cause, 
the ^ect of which has been exa^erated by some persms, could 
oa\j augment the temperature of the introduced air, about five 
or six tenths of a degree of Fahrenheit for a depth of 160 feet. 
These data justify the proposition which precedes them. Fur- 
ther, there results from them a curious fact, which it is of import- 
aoce to establish ; namely, that the mean temperature of the nuug 
<fakr which has been intro<luced into a mine in the course of a 
year, is cntunly inferior to the mean temperature of the country 
for the same year. According to various researches, which it 
woidd occupy too much time to relate, I estimate the difference 
as being from three to five d^rees Fahrenhnt, in most of the 
mines of our dimates. Thus, not only does the introduction of 
external air into a mine increase and dimtni^ incessantly, and in 

D.n.iized by Google 



38S M. L. Cor&sT, Examination t^recent Experiments 
a, more or less aendUe manner, the temperature of the ur eon- 
ttuDed in the diffeimt perte of each stage, but it also tends ulti- 
mately to lower the proper temperature of the whole excavaiioBs, 
and this in a necessarily unequal manner in the difierent ports 
utuated at the same leveL 

The second disturbing cause, the filterii^ water, acts in a uni- 
form manner, whether we OMidder its action in a very short, (» 
in a very long peiiod. It also tends to diminish the temperature 
of the air contained in the excavations in which it occurs. 
It depends uprai the influence of the proper heat of the affluait 
waters. Now, it will be seen hereafter, that these wata*s arrive 
at the pmnt where they make thdr exit, with a temperature ac- 
quired in more elevated Kones of rocks ; ccMisequently, the sur. 
faces which they cov» in each excavatioo, communicate to the 
air in contact a temperature lower than that cd the Burround- 
ing rock. 

The third disturlung cause, viz. the heat disengaged by the 
workmen and the Hghts they use, exennses an influence the re- 
vase of the preceding, an influence oftai poweifid, and which 
has not yet been calculated, altbou^ it has served as a basis to 
several peracms for denying the consequ^ices deduced bom ex- 
perJmente made upon subterranean temperatures. It is essential 
to value its eSects approximatively by numbers. 

According to the intarsting researches at M. Despretz on a- 
nimal heat, a middle wzed man disengages, m twenty-four hours, 
by respiratifMi, a quantity of heat equal to that which would 
raise 1 ounce ofwater to 805,709° Fahr«iheit,aDdthis heat is only 
three-fourths of the total heat produced in the same period, by 
the same incUvidual. Whence it follows, that the total beat 
which is dis^gaged in an hour, is equivalent to what would 
raise 4640 pounds of water (in round numbers), to 1° Fahreu- 
heit. Making use of die proporUon (1,0000 : 2,669) which, ac- 
ccadii^ to MM. de La Roche and Berard, expresses the difler- 
ence (^ the specnfic heats of water and air, and setting out from 
thespecific gravity which air poesesses at 54>° Fahr. of temperature, 
it is definitively &uDd, that a miner disengages hourly a quan. 
tttj oS heat capable of rusing 1° Fahr. 34,466 Gul»o feet of air, 
taken at SV F^.'of cHiginal taaparature. 



3.n.iized by Google 



on Svbterrmam Temperature. ^88 

Th« b«Bt produced by the lighting preswte two caaea, ac* 
oord>i>g as oil or mndWi are emplojed. 

I Domptire the ml of the miners'' lamps to linaeed oil, in re- 
gard to its manner o( burniog- Now, accrurding to Couat 
Kum^ordi the cmnbustioa of 1 ounce of linseedioilj^raiaes the tem- 
perature of 1 ouiu^ of water to I6°.S8 Fahr^ibeiL Making use 
of the same data as the above, we find that in aoe hour, the 
prf Benoe of a lamp burning 15 grammes of oil (ae at Carroeaux, 
for example, where coarse walnut oil is employed), incFeasee, by 
V Fahrenheit, the tetapwature (di a maas of air of 86,000 cubic 
feet, taken at an original temperature of 64° Fahrenh«t. Thus 
four of theae lamps jauduce about as mu^ heat as three work- 
nian. 

Count Rumford found, that the heat furnished by the com- 
bustion of 1 ounee (gramme) aS tallow, raised 1 ouDce of vsttx to 
13.064° Fahrenheit ; whence it follows, that in one hour the 
Ugbt obtained (as at Lattry, where the candles are from twenty- 
Mght to thirty-two in the pound) by the cousumpUOTi of Ti 
gnmxoeB ot cilndleB, raises 1° 13,0l£ cubic feet ot sir, taken at 
the original temperature of £4>° Fahrenheit. 

Aceording to ibeae data, the presence of two hundred miners, 
and two hundred lamps suitably distributed, would suffice U> 
raise 1° Ftthraibat in an hour, the temperature of a mass of sir 
equal to that which a gallery of $ feet by 6 feet, and 606,900 
fcet (about 124 English nules] in length, would (x»tain. It is 
Dot without reason, tberrfore, that the jffeaence of worikmen and 
lights has been alleged necessarily to exerdsea great influeooeup- 
on the temperature of tbe air of miner. In geoenil this ioflunice 
lends, during tbe greater part of the year, to counterbalance more 
oc less completely the effect of causes which might keep tbe tempe- 
rature of the air ctmtained in wa excavation, beneath the propw 
temperature of the surrounding rock. Duringthe rest of the tjioe 
it augutents tbe ^oess of Ute t^nperature of tbe air, over that id 
the rock with which it is in contact at each stage. It acts, be- 
tides, in the most variable manner, according to tfaenumbw and 
distribution of the lights and workmen, tbe capacity and dqith 
of the wmrks, and tbe manner in which it oombines with tbe two 
first causes, of disturbance which we have e^ilained. There is 
QOtlung more changeable than these combinations. There en- 

uiogic 



98^ M. L. Conber, Examination ^recent Experimentt 
destly results from them a multitude of motirais, of pttrticuliir 
Currents, oimI counter currents, almost always unperoeived by the 
miner, which extend into all the parts of the excavations, and with- 
out which, I DOW believe, that the ventilation of mines would be 
very impwfect. I calculate, besides, that, in more than one im- 
portant mine, when the external temperature is from 66° to 77° 
Fahrenheit, the air which is introduced in thecourse of an hour 
is not equivalent to the hundredth part of that which fills the 
excavations. 

To support the observations wUch I have just expressed, I 
1^11 relate the result of some experimentH. 

On the 9th November 18^, at seven in the roonung, when 
I descended into the wcurking called the Havin, in the mine 
of Canneaux, the external air six feet above the surface of 
the ground was 66^.1 Fahrenheit. Five hours after, wh«i I re- 
turned, it was 68°.8 Fahrenheit. 

A single shaft which, not including the ptmardy was 48S 
fbet deep, dewed the whole works. At the middle of the 
entrance of this shaft, the air entering at the same hours as above 
marked 2*.S Fahrenheit more than vithout. Thus it was al- 
ready mixed with the warm air, which arrived in an insensible 
manner from the bottom of the works. 

The works were intended to prepare the extraction of two thick 
beds of coal, nearly horiztmtal and parallel, and at an average 
98 feet distant from one another. They consequently consisted 
of two stages, formed each of wide galleries, crossed at right 
angles, and traversed by a principal waggon way. These ex- 
cavations, the digging of which had been pursued with constant 
activity for seven years and a half, were then very nearly 558,450 
cubic feet in extent. The ventilation was ^ected in the usuid 
manner. From the surface of the section of the ventilating chim- 
ney, and the velocity c^ the air which issued from it, I found 
that the quantity of air introduced into the mine in an hour 
was only 3705 cubic feel, that is to say, it was not equivalent 
to the twelve thousandth part ol the mass contwned in the ex- 
cavaQons. 

Nineteen lamps and twenty-four workmen distributed in the 
two stages, were constantly employed during sx days of the 
week, and produced hourly a heat capable of nu^g 2°.99 Fah- 

r., ..I ..■-Google 



on Subterranean Temperature. £8S 

renheit the temperature of a mais of sir equal to that niiich fil- 
led the whole of the galleries. 

At the upper stage, the tempert^ure of the air taken in the 
waggon-way, at an equal distance from the ndes, the ball of 
the thermometer being suspended at a height of one foot fn»B 
the rcx;k forming the roof, was as follows : 6d°.3 FahreiAdt 
near the shaft ; 7S° Fahrenheit, a hundred and forty metres 
farther on, that is to say, near a shaft forming a communica- 
don for ventilation between the two stages; and 7S°.8 Fah- 
reohdt at the extremity of the gallery, that is to say, at a dis- 
tance of 790 feet fnxn the shaft. Froceetting in the same man- 
ner, I found at the extremity of several galleries, whether paral- 
lel or cross, a temperature varying from 78° to T^.S Fahren- 
heiL The workmen, besides, had not entered the galleries for 
some time ; the iur was perfectly stagnant, at least to appear- 
ance ; and, accordiog to the commonly received ideas, th^ tem- 
perature seemed calculated to ^ve that of the surrounding rock. 

At the lower stage, proceeding in the same manner as above, 
I found that the air at the bottom of die' principal waggon- 
way, thi^ is to say 920 feet from the shaft, marked 74°.! 
Fahrenheit. At the extremities of the other galleries into which 
I entered, the temperature was only fnmi four to five tenths 
lower than the above. At the roc^ of the canal ending in the 
ventilatiDg chimney, the ascending air was 73°.6 Fahrenheit, 
and consequently issued with a temperature m<n-e than 14° 
Fahrenhat, above the external air. 

Lastly, having determined in a direct manner, which I con- 
uder a« accurate, and of which I shall give b description after- 
wards, the proper and original temperature of the rock which 
surrounded the bottom of the lower waggon-way, I found 
it 62°.8. Thus I would have committed an error of nearly 11° 
loo high, had I, in imitation of most observers, given the tem- 
perature of the air of the unfrequented gall^ies of the lower 
stage of the Bavin mine, as representing the real temperature 
of the zone of rock, which is rituated in the same horizontal 
plane. 

The example which I have just adduced, is so striking that 
I believe it useless to relate the numerous facts of the same na- 
ture, which I have collected at Littry and Decise. 

I ., ..I ...Google 



286 M. L. Cordier, Examination ofraxiU ExperimenU 

In the course of my iavectigatioQs in the nuoes jiwt mention- 
ed, as well as in several others to which I have extended my re- 
sear^es within these six years, I determined another not less 
iBteresting fact, namely that, at the sdme time, the tempenUure 
ai the air is scarcely ever the same at the tower and upper puts 
of a gallery, or any other work of the Eame kind. In a heiglit 
of less than &ix feet, I sometimes found differences d Sf m even 
7°. At . the Bavin mine, for exunple, in the whcde extent, end 
at the extremities of the uofrequented galleries, the themome- 
ter, placed at a distance (A S iniJies from the floor, marked i>om 
16 to 2S tenths Fahraibnt less than near the roef. At the 
extremity of the wi^^n-way of the lower stage, the difier- 
enee was 3°.4. This remarkaUe diference prevailed o*er a 
great extent, and as a considerable slope favoured the passage c£ 
the coded air toward the ventilating chimney, there cesuhed 
at the floor of the gallery, a current which couUt be mi'- 
dered sen^bla by means of a little smoke *, and wfaioh su^ 
piied the defect <A communication between the estremities of 
the twei stages. The warm ^r which oeeu^ned the upper pan 
of the gallery had a motiori in the contrary direetion^ dod flowed 
to undergo the effect of cooling which die fresdiLy expneA sut- 
facea at the extremity of the perforation operated upon it. The 
sane dfects took plaee at the upper stage, which made the 
workmen entertain the apparently ^urd <^nion, that the Mr 
came from the bottom of the works. 

The last mentioned experiments axe aiio those which have 
contributed the most to make me discover that the inftneiace of 
die causes which occauon the temperature c^ the air in mines to 
vapy incessantly, assuredly extends to the bottom of the msat 
distant wcwks. The consequence^ which are to be deduced from 
them wilji reference to the merit of the cdMervatione under di:»- 
caswon,ai«tooevIdenttoiiec{uireanyparticularexposidoD. Thiu^ 

* To appreciate Ijie direction md Telocity of tlie currents of air in nunei, 
liiere maj lie employed with great succen, Ibe smofce produced bj the defla- 
gration of a mixture formed of well pulverizad metallic antimoay and gun- 
powder, in the proportions of two to five. This mixture, which waa pointed 
out to me by M. S'Arcet, was put to the proof bj the commiMiiHi of which 
we finnri part in 1836, for the eurinf of the sewers of the Cltj of Paris. It 
will be almost always sufficient in mines to bum a very smsU quantity of it 



, OK Subterranean Temperalwe. 287 

for example, b^ore attributing, as baa been Ao^e, an abeoJute 
vfdiie to these observationa, h w«% necessary to solve tbig first 
i^pestion. In a. gallery, w in any other excavatioD, what is the 
stratum of ^r irhose teoip«ature is thought to represent that of 
the surrounding ro^ 7 

From all that ve have hitherto related, it may be concluded 
widi certiuDty, that none of the observations collected on the 
temperature of the mr in mines, exactly represent the proper tem- 
perature of the zone of rock at whose level it was made. Sup- 
po^ng that, by a concurrence of extremely improbable compen- 
sationa, some of these observationB having taken place at the n>o- 
m^t wh^ there existed an identity of temperature, nothing 
cotildapprizeusof so fortuitous an accuracy. None of them, there- 
fore, is capable of being compared with the mean temperature of 
the country in which it has been made. Those which have been 
obtained at different levels in the same mine, on the same day, 
and at not many minutes distance, are not more capable of being 
compared with one wwtWr, although in general tbey are more 
useful to be consulted than alltheothers. No other use, therdbre, 
can be made of thk mas* of observations than as mere documeatt. 

It must be confessed, that, even in this view, most of them 
leave a cfmsideFable degree of uncertainty, for, in publishing them, 
th^ authms have only made known a small part of the detaila 
which would have been necessary fot the establishment of th«r 
resl value. There is but a small number whidi, after being sub- 
mitted to the soutiny resulting from the principles exposed above, 
oonld be regarded as givii^ a temperature either uesrly the same, 
or certainly infericv to that of the level to whidi they refor. Tb« 
ohservatifHM of this kind are those which have been made' dunag 
cold weather, or in circumstanoas entirdy exceptionable^ for exam- 
ple, in excavatioDsof small extent, although deep, dry, and long 
deserted. Now, these obses'vatkxis all proceeded intheEamedtrec 
Uon, and although they can only be considered as approxima- 
tive, yet they positively indicate the existence of a certun in-' 
crease of heat proportional to the depths. 

We connder it useless to mention these latter observations ia 
detiul, because it will be easy to dininguisb them in the midst 
of all the others of the sune kind that have been published, and 
becauK we shall presenUy discover the existenceof better proofs. 
These conclusions certainly aoe not without interest; but they 



988 M. L. Cordier, Examination of recent Experiments 

are far fnna being so Batisfactory as there was reason to expect 
from the number of experiments that have been made, and the 
perseverance which several observers have applied to them. We . 
are iudemniHed to a certain decree by the exception which is to 
be made in favour of the experiments of the same kind, but 
sedentary, which have been carried on for so long a time in the 
old quarries called the Caves of the Observatory of Paris. These 
are conclurave, and are capable of yi^ding a numerical and ab- 
solute result. Their accuracy affords a compensation for the 
small depth which they embrace. They incontestibly announce 
a pretty rapid increase of the subterranean heat. At (he level 
of 92 feet, the mean temperature of a thennometer immersed 
in a recipient filled with sand, and supported by a pillar, keeps 
at 1°^ beneath the mean external temperature. In the course 
of a year, the variations of the thermometer do not exceed ,*,d of 
a centigrade de^^e. 

Such is, in fine, the merit of the experiments that have been 
made upon the temperature of the air in the cavities, by means of 
which we can penetrate into the bowels of the earth. We shall 
now examine whedier the results that have been obtained by 
proceeding in a different manner, and especially by consulting the 
temperature of the waters which exist in mines, present more 
numerous or more certain resources, with reference to the object 
which we have in view. 

2. Temperature of the Water in Mines. — Water presents 
itself in various ways in mines. Here it issues from the rock 
under the form of filtrations, more or less copious ; there it tra- 
verses the bottom of the excBvatJMis in small brooks. Elsewhoe 
it is stagnant, and constitutes pods or true subterranean lakes. 

Not viewing the observations which have been made on the 
vater thus contained in mines, otherwise than as merely forming 
a mass of approximative documents, we may yet, without he«- 
tatjon, conclude from them that there exists a notable increase 
in the subterranean heat. In fact, the experiments were made 
at Afferent seasons, and the results are all higher than the mean 
temperature of the country where they were performed. The 
differences increase rapidly as the depth increases. Whatever 
inSuence may be attributed to the summer rains, with reference 
to the temperature of springs and filtrations, to the air during 
warm weather, or to the lights and the presence of the work- 



on Subterranean Temperatures. S89 

men, wiUi re^>ect to the running or stagmmt waters, there is yet 
remaining a great number of obaervationB, whose testimony can- 
not be refused. The consequence above stated appears there- 
fore inconteslible ; but it is all that con be drawn from the expe- 
riments. . Thus, as we shall presently see, the numbers which 
they furnish cannot be regarded as sufSdently accurate to en- 
able us to deduce from them, in a certain and absolute muiner, 
the law of the increase of temperature in depth ; some of them 
would make it too high, and others too low. 

As it is, however, a great step gained to be assured that there 
is an increase, and that this increase is probably rapid, it is es- 
sentrnl to take in here the result of an experiment of Mr ,W. 
Fox's, which is much more important than it seems at first sight, 
and which would have had much more interest, had not the au- 
thor omitted to relate sevaral circumstances which he had done 
well to have mode known. 

The waters which issue from most of the numerous tin and 
ct^per mines of Cornwall, are led by means of various branch- 
ings into a great adit, which conducts them above the valley of 
Carnoo, and which, at its termination, pours forth 1400 cubic 
feet of water pec minute, amounting to about 60,000 tons in the 
day. In one of the branches leading to the great adit, the wa- 
ter of six mines, from 900 to 960 feet deep, Mr Fox, at half a 
mile-from its mouth, found the water at 7<t° 4' Fahr. In a second 
brancli, leading off the waUr of ten mines, having a mean depth 
of frdm 660 to 7S0 feet, the temperature was 66° 6' Fahr. at a 
third of a mile. In a third branch, which drains sevenmines, 
whose mean depth is frmn 600 to 660 feet, the water marked 
64° 9'- Lastly, the temperature of the united streams, taken at 
the mouth of the great canal or adit, was found to be 69° 3' 
which is 10° 7' cent above the mean temperature of the coun^ 
try. In the second place, it may easily be proved, by meaiis 
«^ the data which we have already enumerated, that it is indepen- 
dent of the influence which might, in other cases, be attiibu- 
ted to tiie hghts and the presence of the workmen. In fact, if 
H be admitted that the working of the mine requires the con- 
stant employment of 3000 workmen, and 3000 lamps, burning 
each one-half ounce of oil in the hour, it will be found, that, in 
one hour, the heat produced by the ligbts and workmen will 

JULY SEFTEHBEB 1828. T 



tSO ExanriHation of recent Ei^iertmenta 

acareeXy stiflice to rwe oDeJudf a cl^iGe Fabr. the tempecature 
of a mass of water equal to that which has flowed off in the eanie 
period. In short, whatever may have been the temperature of 
the air which nray have been for an hour in contact mth the 
waters drained off, it is not possible that it could have commuoi- 
eated to tltem a quantity of heat so supenor to that of wbicb. 
th^wouldhave been deprived, in consequence of their fihxation- 
Uirougfa the rocks covering the raines, were there no central 
heat. 

These data bang laid down, I come now to the examination 
^ tbe different experiments con«dered under the point of vKw 
<^ the assistance which may be derived from them in determia- 
ing the law wfaic^ the increase of the subtenanean temperature 
follows. 

There is an infinity of dsmcea- against the water of filtraUona 
and springs manifesting a temperature perfectly equal to that of 
die Tock from which they issue. In fact, the original heat tS 
the nciD.wata' which paietratcs inlo the soil continually varies, 
bdng sometimes superior and sometimes inferior to the mean 
temperature of the country. These <^%rences are often very 
great during a whole season. M<H-eover, the ori^nal heat is 
subjected to many modificatioiis, which depend i^ioa the depth 
to which the waters descend, tbe number and length of the ca- 
nals, the slowness <A the cinmlation, the length of time that it 
hasbeenestablidted, and the number and extmt <^ the masses of 
water traversed, if there be any sudi in the lines of pouage. 
These elemoits are very complicated, and it would be neceasny 
to possess their ffl:pression, in order to ^^jweciate the merit of their 
nsnlt which each experimeot furmsbes. This, howaver, we can- 
not have. AU that we aie permitted to conclude is, thart most of 
the experinKDts are fwobebty very af^nozimetive, and that tbey 
give in general temperatures lower than those of the zones of 
rack at whose level they have been made, espemlly when the 
depths are considerable. I say in general, fw, in strictness, it 
might be posnUe that the water of a spring, or filtration is a 
mine, had passed along canals descending much more deeply 
than the orifice from which it issues, and had time to acquire the 
temperature of these canals ; it might also he the case that it had 
passed through old works, in which the rubbish had undergone 



on Subterranean Temperatures. 291 

decomposiliuQS capable of producing a certiun degree of Iieat ; 
but these cases must be very rare. According to the above, the 
following table, containing thirteen observations made in Saxony, 
France, England, and Mexico, may be consulted, as presenting 
useful documents, although no absolute result can be dedut^ 
from them, with reference to the subject in question. 

TABUS of ObiervaHons made on the Temperature of Puis- 
ards (or waste weUg) in Mines. 



DrntoofOtHrFUIoH. 


■m^. 


if 




It? 


<^ 


s 


End of Winter in 

Brit T ANY. 
5th September 

Co HK WALL, 

MrFoi:, 
Pub. in 1821, 

Hezico, 
Humboldt, 


Lead and Silver Mine ( 
of JuDKhohe-Birke, ( 

Lend anfSilyer Mine f 
ofBeaehertslilck, 1 

Do. of Huelgoet, 

Silver-mine of GuMiwtua- 
ato, 


2hS 
712 
840 
755 

128 
346 
4S9 
IB7 
368 
304 
758 

1440 

i;i3 


48° 9- 
54 5 

56 8 

57 9 
53 4 

63 4 

58 3 

64 

59 
59 
67 6 

82 
98 2 


48" 4' 
46 4 
46 4 
46 4 

52 7 

59 7 
62 7 
61 8 
51 8 
61 8 
Gl 8 

60 
60 8 


F«(. 
102.4 
87.9 
80.7 

eaa 

182.0 
351.0 
82.0 
89.5 
36.4 
54.7 
4a 1 

46.0 
45.8 



AcoOTdJng to this table, the depth corresponding to the in- 
crease of 1° Fahr. of tranperature would be in round numbers as 
follows : By four observations made in three mines in Saxony, 
from 108 to 64 feet, meao 83 feet ; by three observations al 
FouUaouen, from 351 to 83 feet, mean 206 feet ; by four obser- 
vations at Huelgoet, from 90 to 36 feet, mean 57 feet ; by one 
observation at Dolcoath, 45 feet ; and by one observaUon made 
at Guanaxuato, 46 feet 

(To be concluded in next Number.) 

t!8 

Da.t,zsd by Google 



, . ( 292 )■ 

Sketches of the Meteiyrohgy, Geology, JgricuUure, Botany 
and Zoology, of the Southern Mahratia Country. With a 
Map. By Albxandbb Tubnedlt, Chuistie, M. D. Com- 
municated bj the Author. 

Getteral Description. 

X HE district of Darwar, in the southern Mahratta country, is 
of an irr^ular triangular ^ape ; the apex erf the triangle being 
towards the south, in north latitude 14° 9ff, and its base to- 
wai'ds the north, on an average, in 16° ^. Its most westerly 
point, towards the Goa territory, and which forms one of the 
angles at the base, is about ^¥ 5' east longitude ; and its most 
easterly point, which is the remaining angle, is in east longitude 
76° S9:. It is bounded on the north by the Kolapore country, 
and the river Kistnah ; on the east by the Hydrabad country, 
and the Honourable Company's district of Bellary ; on the 
eouth by Mysore ; and on the west by Soonda, (a district of 
Canara), and by the Western Gauts, which divide it from the 
Goa territories. Within these boundaries, besides the Briti^ 
possessions, are many separate tracts^ belonging to independent 
Ja^eerdars, and tributary chieftains of different denominations ; 
but 30 subdivided and varied in their outline, that it would be 
nearly impossible, and of little use, to give a description of 
them. 

The following observations are not exclusively confined to the 
Darwar district ; but sometimes extend to that of Canara, and 
to the Portuguese territory of Goa, and thus occasionally em- 
brace the whole tract of country from the Tumboodra to the 
coast. / 

The Darwar district is very generally known in India by the 
name of the Southern Mahratta Dooab ; which name it has re- 
ceived, from the circumstance of its extending between the rivers 
' Kistnah and Tumboodra. But this term properly includes the 
whole tract of country eastward, to the junction of these two 
rivers, and thus embraces a considerable portion of the Nizam's 
dominions. When this term occurs, therefore, in the course of 

' The observationa on the Southern Mahratta country were made during 
Biy residence in that part of ]n<1i«, 




by Google 



3.n.iiffid by Google 



Mr Christie on Meteorology, Geology, S^c. 993 

the followiog observations, it is to be understood in the above 
extended sense. 

The Gauts above 6oa, and which form part of the western 
boundary of the district, have an elevation of S600 or S600 
feet; above the level of the sea, whence the country gradually 
slopes to the Tumboodra, which is about IfiOO feet above the 
level of the sea*. In this part of India, there is nothing Hki" 
mountainous scenery, except immediately under the western face 
of the Gauts ; for as soon as you attain their summits in pro- 
ceeding eastward, you are on the inclined plun which shelves to 
the eastern coast ; and the general declination of which, is only 
interrupted' by gentle hills, which seldom attain a height of above 
t#o or three hundred feet. 

Immediately to the east of the Gauts, the country continues 
hiDy for about thirty or forty miles ; the hills being covered with 
wood, which becomes gradually thinner, and more stunted, to- 
wards the east. Beyond this hilly tract, as far as the eastern 
frontier of the district, the country consists of exten»ve plains, 
intersected in different places by long narrow ranges of sandstone 
hills, with even summits. 

This particular configuration of the country, gives rise to 
striking peculiarities in its climate ; and, consequently, in the 
vegetable and animal productions of its different parts. This 
circumstance renders it susceptible of a very natural division into 
three distincf parts ; viz. into the western or hilly part, the 
plains which occupy all the central and eastern parts of the dis- 
trict, and the ranges of sandstone hills, which intersect these 
^ains. 

The summits and western face of the Gauts afford, in many 
places, the most savage, and, at the same time, beautiful scenery. 
A boundless forest of gigantic trees, with the utmost variety of 
foliage, covers the highest hills, and penetrates into the deepest re- 
cesses of the valleys. In some places, enormous masses of black 
rock, which appear to have been rent from the neighbouring 
hills, rise high over the tops of the woods, and form a fine con- 
trrat to the rich green of the surrounding foliage. Wherever 

■ The different altitudes which are stated in the foUoving obBeivatioiu, 
were ascertained by MbJot Cullen of the Madras Artillery, by baromctm'al 



3.n.iized by Google 



aOi Mr^Chnatie on the Meteoralogj/, Geologtf, 4-c. 
theforest opens a little, so as toadmitof the grotrth of humbler 
plants, the ground is covered with the most luxuiiant grasses, 
and flowers of the richest hues. The atiliness of this wilderness 
is only inierrupted by the sleepy sound of a mountiuQ stream, 
or occasionally by the harsh cry of some solitary birds, or the 
loud hollow roioe of u mcMikey. Animals are seldom met with .; 
and often an your journey, nothing is to be seen for hours but 
an endless luxuriant vegetatiof). 

Some very beautiful waterfalls are met with in the western 
Gauts, but many of these are completely dried up in the hot 
season. There are very fine falls in the Gauts above Hoooor, 
which^ for sublimity and magnitude, will probably yield to few 
in the world. They have hitherto been little known even to 
£ucopeans in India; and it; is, I believe, only within the last 
ten or twelve years that they have received a name. They are 
situated on the river Shervutty, about fifteen miles up the Gauts, 
from the town of Gar^pa. They are now known to Europeans by 
the name <^ the Falls of Garsipa. I visited them in the month 
(^ October 18S5. • 

The country in the neighbourhood of the falls is extremely 
beautiful, combining the majestic appearance of a tro^cal forest 
with the softer characters of an English park. Hill and dale 
are covered with a soft green, which is finely contrasted with a 
border of dark forest, with numerous clumps of majestic trees, 
and thickets of accacias, the carunda, and other flowering 
shrubs. 

Upon approaching the Falls, you emcfge from a thick wood, 
and come suddenly upon the river, ghding gently among con- 
fused masses of rock. A few steps more, over huge blocks of 
granite, bring you to the brink of a fearful chasm, ro(^y, bare, 
and black; down into which you look to the depth of a thou- 
sand feet ! Over its sides rush the different branches of the 
river, the largest stretching in one huge curling pillar of white 
foam, without interruption to the bottom. The waters are, at 
the bottom, by the force of their fall, projected far out in 
strught Unes ; and at some distance below the falls, form a thjn 
cloud of white vapour, which rises high above the surrounding 
forest. The sides of the chasm are formed by slanting strata of 
rock, the r^ularity of which forms a striking contrast to th? 

D.n.llzedbyGdOg[C 



of the iSouthem MahnOta Country. sgs 

disorder of the tumultuous waters, the broken detached masses 
of stone, and the soft tint of the crowning woods. 

The eflect of all these objects ruling at once upon the eight, 
is awfully sublime. The spectator is genorally ibtced to retire 
After the first view <^ them, in order gradually to familiarize 
himself with their features ; for the feeling which he experi- 
ences upon th^r sudden coDtempktioD, amounts almost to pmn. 
After their lirst impression has somewhat subsided, and he has 
beccHUe accustomed to their view, he can then lesurely aoalyze 
their parts, and become acquainted with their details. 

The chasm is somewhat of an elhptical form. At its narrow- 
est and deepest part is the prindpal fall ; and over its fddea . 
smaller bnuiches of the river and little rills are predfutated, 
anA are almost all disnpated in spray before they reach the 
bottom. The prindpal branch of the river is much contracted 
in breadth, before it reaches the brink of the predpiee, where it 
pcobaUy does not exceed fifty or axty feet, but it contains a 
TCTy lai^ body of water. 

The Falls can only be seen fA>m above, for the predpices, on 
both sides of the river, afford no path to admit of a descent. 
Some g^tlemen have attempted to reach the bottom by haviag 
themselves lowered by rc^s ; but no one, to my kiiowIe%e, 
has hitherto succeeded. A view of the Falls from below would, 
I am convinced, exceed in grandeur every tlung of the kind m 
the world. The spectator can very eaaly, and with great safe- 
ty, look down into the chasm to its very bottom. Some large 
plates of gneiss project, in an inclined position, from its edge ; 
so that by laying himadf flat upon one of these, he can stret^ 
his bead conaideraUy beyond the brink of the precipice. 

No accui'ate measurement has yet been made of the height 
of these Falls. Some who have seen them declare, that thdr 
haght reaches at least 1100 feet ; others, that it does not readi 
1000. I preparsd a rope 900 feet long, attached a stone to <Me 
end of it, and let it slip over the edge v/t a rock, which projects 
several feet beyond the side of the predfMce. When 500 feet 
of n^ had been let out, the stone was fordbly drawn towards 
the prindpal cascade, which soon involved it among its watov, 
and snapped the rope. The stone at this time appeared to be 
about 300 feet from a small ledge of rock, which might be be- 



296 Mr Christie on the Mekorolt^y, (k(diigy, 4^. - 
tween SOO and 300 feet from the bottom. It is not improbable, 
therefore, that the height of the fall is Dot much short of 1000 
feet. 

We shall now return to the description of the Darwar diatriet. 
It has been stated above, that it may be divided into three parts, 
viz. the western or hilly part :, the great pluns in the central and 
eastern parts of the district ; and the sandsttxie hills which inter- 
sect these plains. 

The boundary between the plains and hilly tract is very irr&- 
gular. Proceeding from the east, a few insulated, low ranges 
ore first met with, having a general direction of north-west and 
floutb-east. The bills continue in parallel ranges with the some 
direction, for many miles to the . westward. But when within 
nx or eight miles of the summit of the Gauts, the scenery as- 
sumes a more irregular character, the hills being heaped more 
together, with steeper sides, and more irregular forms. The 
rugged and wild features of mount^nous scenery are nowhere 
met with ; for the hills are generally somewhat rounded, are 
softened with a rich vc^tation, an& resemble, Jn their general 
character, the hills of Cumberland, or those between Geneva 
and Lyons, 

The second divi^on, or the plains in the central and eastern 
parts of the district, are precisely similar to the exten^ve plains 
■ of cotton ground met with in every part of India. They are al- 
most entirely in a state of cultivation. During the rainy and 
fxAA seasons they are covered with luxuriant crops. The regu- 
larity in which these are planted ; the great variety of colours 
produced by the numerous kinds of grains, pulses, oil and cot- 
ton plants, and the great extent over which they are spread, af- 
ford an appearance of riches and prosperity. In the hot months 
the scene is entirely changed ; you then look around on an arid 
plain, whose deep black soil is every where intersected by wide 
fissures. Not a patch of verdure, not a tree or shrub, is to be 
seen. Clouds of dust are swept along by the parching wind, or 
huge pillars of ii, raised up by whirlwinds to the height of a hun- 
dred feet, are seen stalking across the plain; or (if the atmo- 
sphere be calm) fixed for a length of time to one spot. This , 
cheerless view is only terminated at a distance by a line of saiid- 
stone hUls, whose even summits give them the appearance of a 

D.n.iized by Google- 



ofVte Southern Maitratia Country. 207 

jgreativall. . The sun, noir nearly verti&al, produces a painful, 
glare, aoA every living thing is overcome by the oppresuve heat, 
not even the hum of an insect being heard. 

The sandstone tract occupies all the northern parts of the dis- 
trict. It commences to the east of Gudjuuderghur ; whence it 
extends north to the Kistnah. Its southern boundary runs frmn 
Gudjuoderghur through Jullesl and Eonoor to Pursghur ; 
whence this tract extends, with some interruptions, dorth to the 
Kistnah, and north-west to Gokauk, Padahopore, and into d>e 
Kolapore country. Within this tract, however, are many ex- 
tenfuve plains of cottoii ground. The sandstone hills are inva- 
riabty in long ranges, the general direction of which appears to 
be north-west and.sonth-east. Many of tlie valleys betWeai 
these ranges possess a soil of pure sand, the debris of the neigh- 
bouring hills. The hills are generally bare; and where they 
possess a slight covering of stnl, produce only a few stunted 
shrubs, conusting jHindpally of cacti, mimosas^ and the cassia 
auriculata. 

Anotfaer range of hills of much less estent than the sandstone 
bills, and which could not be included in any of the above di- 
vin<His, deserves to be noticed in the physical get^raphy of the 
district.. It is called the Kupput-Grood- Range. It consiBts of 
^MDte and schists ; and extends from near Guduk, id a south- 
east direction, as far as the Tumboodra. Were it not for this 
rai^ of hills, the cotton ground plains would extmd uninter- 
rufrtedly from the "aouthem extremity of the district to Gudjun- 
derj^ur and Konoor. 

Five rivers water this district, viz. the Kistnah, the Tumboo- 
dra, the Gutpurba, the Mulpurbah, and the Wurdah. The 
two first are by far the most condderable, and form the northern 
And southern boundaries of the district. The three others are 
reduced to comparatively small streams in the hot season. They 
-aU take their rise in the Western Gauts. Besides these, there 
are num^us streams, or nullahs, as they are called, the most 
considerable of which is the Beyny nullah, which has its source 
among the hills in the neighbourhood of Miscrecottah, flows 
northward through the black plains, and falls into the Mulpur- 
ba. Most of these nullahs arc dried up in the hot season. 

These rivers and nullahs, except in the western parts, ore 



296 Mr Christie on Oe Meteorologs, G&Jogy, ^c. 
devoid of beauty ; bong shiggish and muddy. They cat that 
waf through the deep cotton groiind, which, in the dry aeaflon, 
fcurms precipitoua banks, deep, black, and bare ; and thus, in 
nurny [Jaees, the river has more the appearance of a great arti- 
fioa) (Utch, than of a aalural ttreaot. The banks, wbidi in 
many phuxs are irom tweoty to thirty feet de^ are often over- 
floired durii^ the rains. . Nowhere are to be seen the slopi^ 
banks covered with rerdure, with trees and Amen, wfaid] make 
river Kxntxy so beautiful in temperate ditnates. 

Meteorology ^the Southern Mahratta CottfUry. 

The most oppomte ciimates are met with "in diffiomt parts of 
the southent Mahratta country ; for the western parts, towaids 
the Gauts, may be redumed among the wettest ports of the In- 
dian peninsula ; and the eastern among the driest. The aver- 
age quantity of rain in the latter may be reckoned st fium 90 
to 26 inches ; in the former, a lai^;er quantity than this oft«i 
falls within one month *. The dimate becomes gradually drier 
as we ^wooeed eastward, itam the chain of the western Gauts ; 
and as this cfaun runs N.NW. and S.SE. we have consequently 
a drier chmate in the northern parts of di£ district, than in the 
southern, en thftsame meridian. Thus, at Soondah, the di- 
mate is rainy and cool ; at Gi^auk, on the other hood, whidi 
is in the same longitude, it is dry md hot 

A considerable quanti^ of ram falls as far eastward as the 
cmintry omtinues hilly ; but beyond this the supply is scanty 
and precarious. In August 1824, a good deal of ,rain fell at 
]i>arwar ; while, at the same time, not a dn^ bad fallen fifteen 
miles to the east, and the wells there were nearly dried up. 
For three weeks in July and August this year (18S7), neariy 
ii^essant rain fell at Darwar, and dining die same ^me not a 
Amp fell in the eastern parts of the district. 

The difference in the balnts and mode of life of the inhaln- 
tants of the western and eastern parts of the district, abundantly 
testifies bow very oppodte are tbdr respective climates. In 
many fdaces, the former are often for weeks durii^ the mon- 

■ Vide SUtittical Seport of part of the Southem Mahratta Country, bj 
the late I>r Marehall. < 

. " . D:it.:f:l.vG00glc 



{^the Southern MtAraOa Country. 999 

soon oonfinad to their own Tillages or huts, not only by the se. 
verity of the raios, but in many instances by the aUipptge of 
iheir oommunicatioD by the svollen nullahs. During tlds dreary 
period, (in anticipation of which a stock of prorifflODS is. always 
laid in as a ship is supplied for a voyage), the inhalntants git rou^ 
a fire in the ceiitre of th^r miserable dwellings, which are thns 
constantly filled with smoke. When they do venture out in 
this weather, they wr^i themselves in a cumly *, and over this 
they place " a sort of thatched case or shell, made of the leaves 
of the jar f , or some other of the paltn tribe. It is broad over 
the whole back and shoulders, narrowing to a peak immediate- 
ly over the bead, and coming down the front over the face, just 
sp far as is necessary to give it a firm hold, with a slc^ suffi- 
dent to carry the water that falls on it clear of the body ^.^ 

In the eastern parts, it is yery different The rain is sel- 
dom so severe as to prevent the inhabitants from going out for 
four and twenty hours at one time: — and ther^ precautions 
against heat, not agunst cold, are necessary. 

The villages in the western parts consist of thatched huts, 
whose steep sloping roofs nearly reach tbe ground, the walls 
bong only a few feet hig^, that they may he effectually pt<t- 
tected from the tm. Every spot is covered with vegetation. 
H^ges and trees covered with twining plants line the roads, 
and the thatched roofs are often concealed by creepers, general- 
ly cucumbers, pumpkins, &c. 

The villages in the eastern parts present a curious contrast to 
the above. Generally not^ spot of green, for many months in 
the year, relieves the horrid glare. All is parched and brown. 
No protection bdng required against heavy rain, the houses ace 
built entirely of clay, which one heavy shower, such as the west^ 
em inhabitants constantly experience, would completely level to 
the groimd. The walls of tbe houses are formed of- sun-baked 
clay, and are from eight to ten feet high. Upon these is sup- 
ported a terrace roof, composed of branches of trees or bamboos, 
covered with clay. Nothing can be conceived more ugly than 
these villages. On every «de square masses of dry clay, give 

■ A native bUnket t Bonsaus flBbeUifbmia. 

( Msrsball, op. dtat. 



300 Mr Christie on tht MeUoroiogjf, Geology, Sfc. 
<ODe more the idea of Jiuge anuhiUs than of human habitations. 
In these places, wood being found in too small quantity to 
serve as fuel, oow-dung is used for this purpose; vfaicb being 
made into small cakes, b thus plastered on tfae .walls of the 
houses to dry in the sun. When dry, it is collected into stacks, 
like peat-stadcB in a Scotch village. 

Darwar, which is situated on the eastern edge of the hilly 
tract, enjoys a tolerably cool and agreeable climate. The only 
time at which the heat is very oppresnve is in March, Ajnil, 
and part of May ; and even then a cool refreshing westerly 
breeze sets in every afternoon, and continues during the whole 
night. The luxury of this breeze is duly appreciated by those 
who come either from the interior, or from the eastern or west- 
em coast, where the nights, during the hot season, are close and 
of^resive, preventing sound sleep from refreshing the languid 
frame, overcome by the heat of the day. This cool breeze is 
felt but a very shmt way to the east of Darwar, for it soon be- 
comes heated, by passing over the arid pl^ns of that part of the 
country,. 

Speaking generally, it may be said, that, at Darwar, as in 
other parts of India, the wind blows' during six months, viz. 
from the middle of April to the middle of October, from the 
Bouth-west, and during the remtuning months from the north- 
east. But it has been already mentioned, that, during the hot 
months, a cool wind blows all night from the west ; and it must 
be added, that, for several weeks, at both equinoxes, the wind 
is variable. 

Heavy thunder-showers fall at Darwar in April and May. 
The weather then continues cloudy ; and the steady rain of the 
monsoon generally begins in June or the banning of July. It 
is a curious circumstance, that the first heavy showers that fall 
do not come from the west, but are accompanied by the follow- 
ing phenomena. During the day the wind blows steadily from 
the south-west Between three and five in the afbrtHwo, black 
clouds are seen accumulating in the east. Cloud rises over 
cloud, until the whde eastern sky is covered with one dense 
black mass, which, now pierced every where by forked light- 
jiing, and accompanied by constant peals of thunder, slowly ap. 
proaches agunst the western breeze. When it has approached ' 



t^the Southern Mahralta Country. ^1 

very near, the wind suddenly changes, blows strongly rrom the 
east, and brings along with it heavy battmng rain, and some- 
times large hail. The wind changes frequently, blowing from 
all quarters of the compass, until at length it again beonnes 
steady from the west, and the tempest ceases. This is repeated 
every day for some days, after which the wind (xxitinues to blow 
constantly from the west for five or six nuHiths. Storms also 
occur at the autumnal equinox, but not so regularly nor so 
violently as those just described. 

Although there is a good deal of runy weather at Darwar, 
yet there are seldom such deluges of nun as frequently occur on 
the coasts ; and the total annual quantity of rain is certainly 
less than that which falls either on the western coast or on the 
Gauts. 

It is a curious circumstance, that, while a cool breeze blows 
during the nights of the hot months in the southern Mahratta 
country, there is often at the same time a most perfect.calm on 
the western coast ; proving. that this is not a sea-breeze, as. sup- 
posed by many. It is probably owing to the peculiar surface of 
the country, and produced in the following manner. The Gauts 
and western parts of the country being covered with wood; and 
nutre plentifully supplied with moisture than the interior, must 
consequently be always cooler; but more especially at night, 
for the arid plains retain the heat of the day longer than the 
moist woods. The hotwr of the interior, therefore, will ascend, 
and be replaced by the cool air from the western jungles, and. 
thus g^ve rise to a refreshing breeze, which will continue all 
night, and as long as it is not counteracted by the prevalent 
north-east wind, which, being always more powerful during the^ 
heat of the day, then gains the ascendancy. Now, as the west- 
ern parts of the country are 2500 feet above the western coast, 
the wind which blows over them does not ascend from the coast 
below ; for it has been already stated that the atmosphere on the 
coast continues calm: it must therefore be supplied from the, 
same altitude ; and we may accordingly conclude, that a mass 
of ^r above 2000 feet in height rests undisturbed on the coast, 
while that immediately above it, viz. on a level with the summit, 
of the Gauts, is in rapid motion towards the interior. 

The following remarkable and interesting appearance^ which 

.. , C;ooqIc 



SOS Mr Christie ott tlie Meteoro^f, Geohgy, S[c. 
I observed at Goa on the 6th of October last year, ^w, in a 
strikuig manner, what a great influence the Gauts have on the 
meteorolo^cal phenomena of this part of India, and also con- 
firm the above observations regarding the western In'eezes of the 
aoudiem Mafaratta country. I>arge masses of clouds, with 
Ughtnk^ and thunder, were observed oa the Gauts about mid- 
day. The clouds gradually proceeded westward, but at a very 
great altitude ; and, in the evening, they completely concealed 
the blue sky, stretching far to the west over the sea. The air 
hejow continued close and oppressive, and thunder waa heard, 
h^;h over our head, among the clouds that had proceeded from 
the Gauts. Thus the air, resting on the low country, continu- 
ed uocfisturbed, while great hygrometric and electric changes 
occurred in the atmosphere, only on a level with the summit of 
t^ Gants. 

Fogs in the morning are very common at Darwar, and often 
present a very remarkable appearance. They invariably pro- 
ceed ftom the west, and, about sun-rise, are seen rolling, in dense 
tmsaes, over the hills. They sometimes appear black, at other 
times perfectly white, according to the spectator's iutuation in 
respect to the light They are generally not v^ high, and 
vary much in their form and extent ; sometimes covering a great 
tract <rf country, at other times being very partial, and stretch- 
ing oat, as it were, into long bands. When riding out in the 
mwiung, I have frequently observed a thick mass of log on 
eech nde of me, while the intermediate space was clear; one of 
the masses having a black, the other a white ct^ur, arising 
from their different situaticxi in regard to the rising sun. These 
fogs nevOT last longer than a few hours. 

Having been ordered, by the Bombay government, to keep a 
register of the weather at Darwar, the following was commenced 
in January 18S7. There ought also to have been a register of 
die barometo- xoA hygrometer, but the Ibrmer of these instru- 
ments was broken in its carriage to Darwar, and the latter 
could not be fancured in India. 

The thranometer was kept in a broad open virandah, at a 
distance ftom any wall, and, at the same time, completely in 
the shade. The spring-water, the temperature of which was 
taken, was from a well about ^xty feet deep. 

r:i (.:?:!.; Google 



of tlte SotUhetn Mahratta CounUry. SOS 

In the following table the mean of two obserrations, made at 
10 A. H. and 10 p. u., is gneHf aa probably aficaxliog a very 
near approximatioo to the true mean of the twenty-four hours. 
In order to ascertain how far this rule held good at Darwar, I 
observed the thermometer every two honrs, day and night, du- 
ring two Buccessive days in Februaiy and two in March 18S7| 
and found that the mean of all these observations was within 
jg^ths of a degree of the two observatJons made at 10^ a. h. and 

10 p. M. 

It will be seen by the following table, that the mean tempe- 
rature c^ the first ten months of 1827 was 75.31S, and of qtring- 
water 75.635. This will probably be a little too high for the 
mean of the whole year; for November and December are 
among the coolest of the twelve months : 75 therefore is, per- 
haps, a very near approximation to the true mean temperature 
of Darwar. The total quantity of rain which fell, from the 
otunmencement of the runs in Ajnil up to November, was 26,'^ 
inches. The rain which fell in January, was quite unusual, 
aiul,^ indeed, such a (ircumstance was lot remembered by the 
oldest inhabitant to have ever happened before. A few showers 
sometimes fall in November and December, but never at^ heavy 
rains. The supply of rain at Darwar, in 1827, was oonsider- 
ably less than usual. 

Belgium, which is the military head quartwa of the divisioa, 
has a much cooler climate, and a much lai^^ supply of rain 
than Darwar, omng to iu vidnity to the Crauts. 

The mean temperature of Darwar is probably about t^i de- 
grees below that of Madras. 



3.n.iized by Google 



i 



( 304 ) 

DARWAS— North Latitudt IP SS"; Ealt LonfUudt 75* 11'. 
Height abtytx the level qfthe tea iVSfifeet. 



18»7- 


Tsxpsunias. 


Rlia. 


OENEHAL RBHABK& 


JWUIJ 


70.18 


7I.I2 






&. good deal of rain feU between the 13tb 
and tSth,whichiruacircunutaDce quite 

general over the peninsula j and occur. 
red on the same day at Madras, here, 
and at Bombay. The rest of the month 
was generaUy dear. Wind JS. and N.E. 


Frfrua.7 


74.71 


74.12 






during the nigfit. Wind generally E. 
andU.E.j and, from the 15th to the 
30th, irettorly winds durii^ the night. 


March 


77.22 


74-70 






the morning. Wind in the b^inning 
of the month S.E. ; in the end of the 
month rather changeable. Westerly 

whole month. 


AprU 


8M2 


76.41 




30 


and yghtning. Wind changeable; Uk 


May 


ea27 


77.49 




38 


GeneiaUy cloudy. Oecaaiaiu] abowera, 
with thunder and lightning. Wind W. 


June 


74.78 


76.95 




4g 


Cloudy. Rain. A little liriitning mi 
the 2d, 3d, and OLh. WindS.W. 


July 


73.00 


7&16 




20 


Esther ckmdy. Showera. WindS.W. 


August 


72.65 


76.28 




39 


Bather cloudy. Showers, WindS.W. 


Septembe. 


73.88 


7&34 


2 


88 




October 

Meuia 
Total quan- 
tity of rain 


7&13 


74.7B 


2 


63 


and sometimes fog in the moming- 
Wind changeable. 


6.81 


76.83 


36 


16 



• The actual quantity of rain which fell in January could not be aac( 
tained ; tor 1 had not then recdved the hyetometer. 

(Tohtvnt&ioiai.) _^ "3 

L.jt.:?:l.« Google 



( 805 ) 

On tie Regions of Perpetual Snow in Norxeay and Su>eden. 
By Lieuteiuuit-ColoQel Hagblstam. 

He^t of the perpetual snow re^n, or line of congelation, reckoned in feet 
from the level of the set. Latitude where the principal trees, plants, and 
cuItiTated T^etablei cease general!/ to grow. 

I. Nor'way. 
The snow region at the North Cape is SlOO feet. Cloudbeiv 
rieg (Rvbua Chamamonu) on the summit of the Stappen Rocks, 
and islands adjacent. The dwarf bindi at Hammerfest, Lat. 70° 
40' &". From recent experiments made at the instance of the 
HordcuLtural Society of London, the following v^etables suc- 
ceed, viz. cabbages, tunipB, carrots, spinage, lettuces. From 
the two latter a second crop. English peas produce in favour- 
. able summers. 

From 70° to 69°. — Juniper bushes at Alten, near Lat. 70° 
The Scotch fir attuns 60 feet and upwards. The suow r^on 
is here 3600 feet. Blaeberries (Yaixinium myrHUui). Bar- 
ley succeeds sometimes in the valleys. Currants. Strawber- 
ries. Raspberries. Arctic raspberry (Rubus arcHcua). 

Fram 69^ to 68°.— North of Lat. 67° no other natural wood is 
found in Norway tban die birch and Scotch fir, and these acAj 
along the deeper tuxA* and conaderaUe streams. The eztraw. 
dinarily productive fishery of stOT, tor^ or cabeljo (stoc^fidi 
ttadus callarias and G. morkua) takes place in February in the 
Vestfiord. 

From 68° to 67°. — Whales and herrings abundant along the 
whole of the coast of Nordland. The inhabitants are entirely 
dependent on the fishery for their support. The snow r^jkm 
over the coast is 3800 feet ; upon mountiuns 3900. 

From 67° to 66°. — General limits of the apruce-fir. Rye 
ceaaes. 

FnMn 66° to 65°.— Oysters. Ash. Hranp. Spring rye suc- 
ceeds more frequently than autumn rye, and in these latitudes 
rvp&oB in from »x to seven weeks. Cole cabbage. 

From 66° to 64°.— Oats. Flax. Peas. Beans. Hopi. 
Wheat in small quantity. 

, JULY — SBPTEUBEE 1838. V. : 

D3t.z.dcyGOOg[C 



806 Lieut.-Col. Hagelstam on the Segiona of 

From 64° to 68°. — Ciooeeberries. The snow regioD to t^ west 
<tf themountun noige (FjSllrygg) is 4800 feet. Ma^de, Appl&. 
.trees. Cherry and plum trees in the valleys sear tiie coast. 

Fran 68° to 62°.— Pear-trees. Hazle. The oak found 
mid «)ly akKig the coast, and moet between Holmestrand and 
Mandal. It is planted as high as Dnwtheim, although very 
thinly. The snow region is 5300 feet above the Domfield. 
The walnut is planted, though it does not produce any fruit. 
Elm »id linden. 

From ftp to 61°. — The snow region upon iJie Langfi^ i« 
5410 feet. Aeparagus. Between the Latitude of 58^° and ^, 
the sur&ce of the principal mountain chain' is nearly altt^th^ 
flat. 

From 61° to 60°. — At 61° the snow r^on upon the FiHefield 
is 5600. The perpetual glacier upon the Sneebran and the 
Folgefonden has now increased downwards to 1000 feet above 
the level c^ the sea in several places. ' 

Frran 60° to 59°. — The snow region upon the mountmn dialn 
is 5800 feet ; upon the Folgefonden it is 5000 feet. A wat^- 
fkll of 946 feet perpendicular has been hitety discovered, by 
Frofessor Esmark, in a valley in Bradsbei^ Amt ; it is called 
Bauken&issen. Beech wood is found only in the country be- 
tween Laurvig and Tonsberg. 

From 59* to {^. — Wild rein-dear upcn the chMn of moun- 
tains. The constant t^nperature of the earth along the Nor- 
way coast is, at Vadsoe, in East Finmark, 84° 7' ; at Alteft- 
gaard, in Finmark, 35° t'b ; about Drontheim, 40° ; at Lyster, 
in the northern part of Bergen's Amt, 4S° 8" ; at Laurvig, 
about 46°S'; at Chmtiana, about 44°6'; (at Paris it is 58° 8^. 

The above observations were made before 1810. In the 
coitre of the Senodinavian pnunsula, and on eadi side of the 
dpine ndge, in round numbo^ 500 perpendicular feet above 
the level of the ocean, cause as great a change and decrease in 
dte climate and v^etadon, as from ISO to 150 miles hOTizcmtal 
^stance towards the ntHlh ; 1000 feet in perpendicular height, 
equal fnun S6 to 825 miles ; and fiOOO perpendiculu' feet, about 
985 miles. To the northward of Drootbeira, up to Lat. 67° N- 
600 feet in perpendicular h^ht are equal only to frun ISO to 
ISO miles» and 1000 perpendicular feet fixim 226 to 260 miles, 



perp^uai iSfnoa in Noneag/^ and Sweden. 80? 

ID' buisofital diitaiioe ncvthwards. In the same prc^xxtioa as 
the SDOW Une sinks, or the temperature decreases more suddenly 
further north, the distaoce hetween chmates near the sea, and 
those in height, i. e. on the mountains, becomes bUU more triflings 
until at last the climates of both nearly meet at the North C^ie. 
Although the prtmapal part of vegetatiaii diminishes, as above 
stated, according to the altitude, or in horizontal distance to- 
wards the norUi, a great variety of j^ants are nevertheless found 
in L^laad, and along the alfnitie chiun, which do not grow in 
the lowlands of Norway and Sweden. 

II. Sweden. 

At the North Cape, neither the ocean nor quicksilver ever 
freeze. The greatest degree of cold duiing the winter there is 
from + 14° to + 10" 4/, seldom + 6° 8', and commanly only 
+ 31° to + S3°. The average temperature of the air through- 
out the year is, however, nearly 30°, or two degrees below the 
freezing point. At Upsala it is 4S° ; at Christiana 43* S* ; at 
Paris 5S° 4'. The sun at the North Cape is never visible from 
the midtUe of November until the end of January ; but, on the 
other hand, it never dnks below the horizon, or is out of sight, 
from the middle of May to the end of July. 

The snow r^on at the North Cape is S400 feet. At Lat. 
70°, the shooting forth of the leaves takes place six or seven 
weeks later than at Upsala, and three weeks later than at Tor- 
nea. The small dwarf birch, mountain willows, small aspen, 
bird-cherry, and mountun-ash, as also the dwarf grey alder, are 
found only in the valleys and sheltered situations. 

From 70° to 69°. — Turnips and potatoes. General limits of 
the birch-woods. General Umits of the [une^woods. Barley 
raadlies almost to the boundaries of the pine-woods, that is early 
barley. 

From 69° to 68. — Bears in abundance. The gena^ boun> 
daries of the spruce 6r to the north and east of the niountun 
chain. Currants. Remdeer, wild and tame. 

FrcHn 68° to 67°. — Turnip cabbages. Cattle the prindpal 
means of subastence. Horse-radish. 

From 67° to 66°.— At 6T the snow r^on 4400 feet. North 
ir8 

D:it.:f:l.vC00glc 



308 On the Regiont ^perpetual Sfioa> in Noneay, ^-c. 
of this latitude the sun is visible the nhtAe ni^t Kt the time of 
the summer solstice. 

(North FoUr Circle.) Hye ceases to recompense the labour 
bestowed, on account c^ the frost. CarroU and parsnips. 

From 6e° to 66°. — Hemp does not ripen to seed every year. 
Garden peas. Com igrows, and ripens in &om six to seven 
weeks. 

From 65° to G**.— At 65^ the snow r^on is 4800 feet. The 
medium of the simuner heat at Uteaborg has been observed to 
be twice as great as at the Ntwth Cape. - Gardens of rruit-trees ; 
they do not, however, succeed. Gooseberries. Oats to the 
north of this very seldom npeo. 

From 64° to 63°. — Cabbages cease to come to a head. Flax 
does not ripen to seed to the north of this. The snow rq;ion is 
here 5S00 feeL Peas, vetches, and beans ; north of tbis they 
are found in inconaderable quantity, and do not ripen every 
year. 

From 63° to GSF. — Cherries. Alder (Almus ^iutinota). 
Maple. Wheat succeeds as far as Angermanland, but does not 
ripra in West Bothnia. Tobacco. Apple and pear trees can 
be planted with success as far as SandswalL Ash and willow. 

From 6S° to 61°. — Hops. Vines in the hot-house, Hazle. 

From 61° to 60°.— At 61* the snow re^n is 5800 feet Elm 
and lindoi. The oak is planted as far as Sundswall. Asparagus 
in botJ!>eds. The plum bears as &r as Gefle. 

From 60° to 39^. — Buckwheat on dry heaths : it abounds in 
Scania. Fumj^ns and melons in hot-beds. Apricots and 
peadi-trees in the hot-house. 

From 69° to 58°.— At 59° the snow r^on is about 6000 
feet. The walnut and mulberry ripen in Gothland (when plant- 
ed), the first even upon Kinnekulle in Scaraborg's Government 
upon chalky g^uitd. Beech woods cease. This tree grows wild 
nevertheless, but in inconsiderable quantities north of Lat. 57°. 



iiized by Google 



( 809 ) 

The supposed recent Origin of America refitted. 

A VARY ingenious naturalist, Mr Smith Barton, has said, 
with moch justice, " I can only connder as puerile, ee\A in no 
way proved by natural evidence, the suppontion that a great 
part of America has emerged ttom the bosom of the wa- 
ters at a later period than the other continents *." May I be 
permitted lo quote a passage from a memdr whidi I composed, 
on the Native Tribes of America f . " Justly celebrated wri- 
ters have often repeated, that America is, in every sense of the 
word, a New Continent. That richness of v^;etation, that mass . 
of immense rivers, those great volcanoes, always in actitHi, an- 
nounce, say they, that the earth, incessantly trembling and not 
entirely dry, is iess removed from the original chaotic state than 
in the c^d world. Long before my voyage, audi ideas iqipeared 
to me as unphilosc^ical as o{q)oaed to the generally known 
laws of phyncB. These images of youth and disorder, as well 
as of dryness and pn^pvssive loss <^ vigour in the Earth, as it 
grows old, could only orig^ate with those who amuse them- 
selves with seeking out contrasts between the two hemispheres, 
and do not comprdend under a geaeral view the constitudoo 
of our planet Will it be sEud that the southern part of Italy 
is a newer country than Lombardy, because it is almost conti- 
nually shaken by earthquakes and vdcanic »uptioDs P Beades, 
our (present volcanoes and earthquakes ore 4ight phenomena 
compal^ with those revolutions of nature which the geott^pst 
must suppose to have taken place in the days of the melting and 
cooling of the masses which have formed the mountains, when 
the Earth was yet in a state of chaos. Different causes must 
make the effects of the energy of nature vary in different cli. 
mates. In the New World, the volcanoes, to the number of 
fifty.J'our, may perhaps have burnt longer, because the chain of 
lofty mountains in which they are situated is nearer the sea, and 
because this circumstance, and the perpetual snow which covers 
them, appear to modify the subterranean fire, in a manner as 
yet little appreciated. Earthquakes and eruptions act there pe- 

• Fn^eota of the Natursl History of PennB^lvania, voC i. p. 4. 
t Berliner MonatKtuift, t xv. p. 190. 

L.:it.:f:l.vG00gIc 



310 ' The supposed recent Origin lof America refitted. 
riodically. At present physcal disorder and political tranquili- 
ty reign in the New Continent, while in the Old, the discords vS. 
the nstiong drive men to seek for rest in the boaom of nature. 
Peihaps a time will come when one part of the world will take 
the place of the other in this sdngular contrast between |^;iacal 
and moral enei^. Volcanoes rest fac ages, before they are 
ifiain lighted up. The opinion that, in the older regitxis, th«% 
ou^t to t-eign a certain peace in nature, is founded merely up- 
on a play of our imagination. One side of our planet can never 
be older than the oth». The idands produced by vtJcanoes, 
«uoh as the Aaores, or gradually formed by moll usca, like many 
if^ds of the Pacific Ocean, are in general more recent than the 
panite masses of the coitral chain of Europe. A country i£ 
small extent, like Boh^nia, and several valleys of the mocm, 
circularly inclosed by mouDtainB, may long remain covered with 
water, in consequence of partial inundations, and form a lake. 
AAer the waters hwre been endrdy drained off, the name of 
newly-formed land mi^t by metaphor be given to this, wh«« 
vegetatioo would establish itself by degrees. But an aquatic 
envelope, such as the geologist 6gures to himself at the period 
a£ the formatiim <A the secondary mountiuas, can only be sup- 
posed, confflstratly with the laws of hydrostatics, as existing at 
Mice in fdl patts of the world, and in all climates. Tfae sea 
could not remtun on the vast plains (A the Oronocco and Ama- 
zon, without, at the same time, rava^og the countries situated 
around Uie Baltic. The concatenation and idehtity rf the se- 
condary stnUa near Carracas, in Thuringia, and in Lower 
Egypt, prove, as I have shewn in my Geol(^caI Picture of 
South America, that this great operation of nature has been per- 
fimned at the same period over the whole earth — Humi^dt, 
TiMemt. de la Nature, torn. i. p. 133-139. 



.:i.v Google 



( 311 ) 

JceoufU of a Deposite t^ Fossil Plants, discovered *n ike Coal 
Formation of the Third Secondary Litaetkme, near Scar- 
borough. With a Plate. By Petbk Hubrav, M. D. Com- 
municated by the Autbco' *. 

aN interesting geological discovery has lately been made ne^ 
Scarborough, io Yorkshire, in Gristhorpe Bay, of a large depo- 
site (^fossil plants of the coal fonnation, presenting maoy varie- 
ties hitherto undescribed. 

They occur in the strata called Coaly Grit by Mr William 
Smith, a pseudo coal-field below the corn-brash, but far shove 
the coal measures of any moment, being Buperior even to the 
Oxford clay, mart-stone and liaa. The thin seams of coal wludi 
accompany these plants are the highest in this vicinity, overtop- 
ping the Bath or inferior oolite ; which agwii is above the other 
veins of bad coal which rise over the lias beds to the north, and 
contun similar v^;etable remans, along witJi a singular mindi- 
' naceous stem, called by Mr Merchison Oncylogonattim carbona- 
rium. 

The Gristhorpe petrifactions appear in a fis^e indurated day, 
passing into a soft grit, and occasionally ^temating with clay 
iron-stone, which is replete with nodules, intersected with veins 
of calcareous !^>ar. and generally io the'centre contahitng s(»ne 
vegetable impresraons, for the most part varying irom those in 
the day ; and, on account of the hardness of the stone itself, of 
^■eater sharpness and preservation. The plants lie layer above 
layer horizontally, and those of the same Bpedes (with some ex< 
ceptions) occurring together, asif the localities of each had been 
extremely limited, and apparently as they had been swept down 
by a great and sudden torrent of water, many being laid, the 
one crossing the other ; or bent partly underneath one branch, 
and then thrown over another, and some of the leaflets, as it 
were, squeezed together : Some very small and young ; others 
large ; others again even in fructification ; and several of the spe- 
dmens of considerable magnitude and b«iuty, and in admirable 
preservation. 

* The Mcondarj limestonet at present known are the following ; ], First 
or Magnesian Limestone; 2. Second or Shell Limeitone; 8. Third, induding 
Ubb, Oolite, Ac ; 4. Fourth or Chalk— Edit. 

L.^fz^dcy Google 



Slit Dr Murray oh a Deponte of FottU I^attts, 

Tbe plants are prindpaDy ferns, and are decidedly differept 
fitHn those of our other coal-fields ; and most nearly reaembling 
the spedmens from Bomholm in the Baltic, but congeneric with 
many now existing in tn^ical regions. 

Addiliooal spedes are detected almost daily ; and those al- 
ready distinguished must exceed fifty. This prodi^us varie. 
ty of fossil Alices, compared with those now vegetating in our 
climate, must strike the most casual observer. Here, in one 
narrow spot, not exceeding two or three acres in extent, we 
have already found fifty species ; and, in a smilar, but mbk- 
vibai lower formation, within ten miles distance, at Clou^tcm, 
several other kinds, totally distinct, ofiering a number exceed- 
ing that of those now living in the whole island of Great Bri- 
tain. So that these northern r^ons must, in those early ages, 
have presented as numerous and divernfied a display of ferns, 
many most specious and luxuriant, as the wilds of Southero 
Africa now do of the heaths ; although we must not presume to 
ctxnpore the dark unvarying hue of fern clad wastes, with the 
splendour and endless tints of the heathy plains of the Cape. 

The interesting d^wnte at Gristhorpe Bay may be omudered 
as a vast herbarium, of whidi the leaves opening to the readiest 
ofaaervation, offer every bcility and pleasure in the examinatioti; 
and not, as is the case with the generality of coal plants, sur- 
rounded with dirt, and darkness, and perils, imbedded in the 
FQofs atid sides of mines ; and they resemble so many fine draw- 
ings in Indian ink, or the shadows of delicate foliage by moon- 
light cast upon a smooth and white ground or wall. 

Tbe v^table nature of these curious imfvesuons is remark- 
ably shewn by the scarcely fossilized state of one of tbe varie- 
ties, apparently a fern allied to the genus Isoetes, which, when 
detached from the imbedding stony mass, still retains elasticity 
and flexiUlity, and burns like a piece of charred wood. Others 
yet preserve, even in their clay bed, much of their original co- 
lour, a dull red resembling that of some fuci ; and porticns of 
such leafiets may be peeled away, — are perfectly flexible and com- 
bustible, — and are actually semi-transparent and striated, and 
afford most pleaung and curious objects for a microscope. They 
are, however, so completely carbonized, as not to yield either 
tannin or re^nous matter, in the experimenu which I have in- 
stituted. ^ ,,j„ 



diacmxred in Gristhorpe Bay, Yorkshire. 313 

Several of these ferns apparently range under well known 
genera ; and one espetnalty is characterized as a polypodium, by 
ks tines of round seeds along the back of the leaf, parallel to 
the central vein or mid rib ; and another, as an equisetun), by 
the ^ike of cr3rptogamous flowers, and verticillatc leaves. 

Olhers, again, deficient in fructification, can only be guesaed 
at by the general habit ; and of such, we seem to detect exam- 
ples of the genera of Asplenium, Scolopen'dnum, Isoetes, and 
more abundantly of the Folypodium, comprising the Aspidium, 
Cyathea and true Folypodium. The fact is, the genera of ferns 
axe sufficiently obscure and difficult to arrange, even in a recent 
state ; but, when fossilized, nearly impossible sadsfactorily so to 
do, as species in a state of fructification are rarely to be met 
with, and even then the involucre, upon which so much de? 
pends, is, and must be, indistinguishable. Some specimens i^ 
pearof species now unknovm in Eun^; and of those, many i^ 
pear to be varieties of the tree ferns, wbieh constitute such nU' 
meroua and splendid ornaments of trofncal forests. And there 
can be little doubt but some of the luxuriant fronds, belon^ng 
to this class, when detached from the parent stem, and found 
thus petrified, may p«atly mislead an observer ; and, by being 
regarded as separate plants, needlessly multi{dy the number of 
^lecies. These arborescent filices must have been very abun- 
dant, as numberless stems, of ciHisidecable magnitude, are to be 
seen interspersed^ with the other small plants ; sometimes in- 
deed so compressed, as to present nothing but a mere impres- 
sion; but, occasionally, retaining a stalky rotundity, cX whitdi 
the interior is converted into the enclosing stony matter, while 
the cortical part is completely carbonised. 

In the superior strata, which constitute these pseudo coal de- 
posites, we observe, with only a few scattered exceptions, the re- 
mains of the softer or herbaceous vegetables, as the Cydidefe, 
Filiceaand Graminese ; while, at greater depths,, we find a dense 
consolidated mass of vegetable matter in the true coal-fields : 
From what cause can such undemating difference arise ? Can, 
indeed, the latter be the trunks, — the timber of the primaeval fo- 
rest overwhelmed under that enormous pressure; and the for. 
mer, the surrounding herbaceous plants, prindpally growing in 
loo^ and marsby ground along the outskirts of these woods P 

That difierence of structure in the same vegetable may be 



S14 Sr Mm I II J- m » Dtfnrite ofFottil Pkmtt, 

fallowed by differenoe in petri&cden, eren undo' omilar or- 
cunutances, we have iDDumoable iaetaacea. The cxmuiMm le- 
fiidodendniBfl of ereiy cool meaaure are coDi{detely <^«i^d, «s 
to the mun trunk, into undttoiie ; while the cortical envdk^ is 
only ctffbomzed. The soft succulent interior is wholly gme, 
and iu place supfdied by the stony matter vi the investiDg 
Bt»U ; but the firmer harder bark stUt exhibits traces <i its <m- 
gio, sufficiently distinct to designate the natural (»der, if not 
even the Tery genus. 

Id the immediate vinnity of these fosol plants, mudi iater- 
ruption, and consequrait ambiguity, takes fdace in the n^gular 
arrangemeDt of the strata^ by frequent and extensive slides or 
slips tX the rocky beds; bo that, to any casual observer, the 
higher line seems occaacnally to lie beneath one> in reality, iar 
ita inferior in order ; and this especiaUy happens, whenever a 
slide of the ^avelly diluvium has deicmded, so as also to cover 
the intermediate deposites. And, in similar instances, where any 
resemblance exists between the upper and lower strata, the coo- 
iuaon will be yet greater, and will demand no little stnctaeas <^ 



Evm stratificatimis dmilar in relative position, and in proba» 
Ue anbquity, and undisturbed in tb^ ratuations, vary so very 
much ia ctdour, structure, and chnnical onnposition, a^ to de- 
fy all dasaficatiop by any sensible qualities ; while their predse 
ponUm is oftentimee so perplexed and obscured, as to render 
the difficulty not removeable by that resource. 

But here it is, that the vast excellency and usefulness are 
shewn of the plan,laid down by M. Brongniart, in France, wvl 
Mr William Smith, iu England, who shew that similar fossils 
chancteriae similar formations, and thus give us the means of 
determining the nature and place c^ any strata. By noting the 
fxRUaioed petrifactions, an observer may thus readily pronounce 
whether a mass, however displaced, belong to the highest oolite 
or the lowest, or to the undeooniposed mivlstone. Another in- 
dance in prant may be dted in the green sand, so frequently, if 
we may be allowed so to ^leak, oi all colourB but grecm, and 
Varying also exceedingly in structure, yet is weU and deddedly 
marked by ita numerous and beautiful foeul shel^ 

It is one of the many advantages of geologiGal knowledge. 



discovered in Gristhorpe Bay, YbrkMre. S15 

that, ID siimlar circtimBtances, both disappointnieDt and ku atKf 
bearmdedfay^ttm&glodKabMlMnaf tfae itnlM «■ wM di 
cenain nHDeralt, gobI for example, make their oppeacuMe. Tons 
(tf UiongandB of pounds have been hopelessly wasted in the vain 
expectation erf* finding coal in the coaly grit, and the dduded ad- 
venturer lured on to ruin by the igmajbiuta of these inognifi- 
cant c^bonaceouE seams acctHnpanied by fosni v^etable re- 
mains, reseoibling, in many respects, those vhich actually ovcr- 
i^ead the true coal-field. 

Many of the futile attempts in mining vill be done airi^ by 
the difi^inon <^ sound geolt^cal principles, since an acqumnt- 
ance with the strata will afford a tcderably correct notion as to 
what ores, if indeed any, lie undemeath. 

Even in arts evidently less closely allied, as in that <^ plant- 
ing, wiU the science of geology be useful. The subsoil is often 
of Ua more importance to the growth of particular classes of 
trees than the mere s(m1 ; and diis can only be learned by an 
accurate knowledge of the uature and bearings of tfae rocky 
strata. 

Had geol<^ conferred no other benefit upon society tlian this, 
of gui(&ig the miner in the true and right path to his subteREt. 
nean treasures, and warning tfae enthusiastic speculate from 
pursuing a fleeting shadow, it would have been oititled to a 
place among those sciences which danand the attention and re- 
spect of mankind. But of a far higher character is the strong 
confirming light wfaich it reflects upon the historical recMds of 
Holy Writ, which t^l of a sudden and universal flow of waters 
overwhelming the whole surface of tfae earth. 

Geology demonstrates, by many irrefragable marks, every 
where to be seen, that a mighty inundatiiMi has actually passed 
aver all lands, apparently from north to south, at no very re- 
nKri£ period, and covering the more solid beds of rock with a 
varied depouljon of clay and sand, intermmgled with rounded 
poeces of stcne detached froai masses at vast distances, and of 
a very different nature &om any in the immediate vicimty. 

In the diluvial depouta, for instance, of the coast of Yn^- 
Aaie, may be found the granites of Cumberland and Scotland, 
particularly that of Shap Fell ; the botiyoidal magnesian time. 
sfane of Sunderland ; metalliferous limeUone, widi galena, com- 



S16 Dr Murray <m a DepdtUe (^Foreign Plants, 

pact prebnite, and even the serpentine of BmSshire ; and occa- 
sicmallylxnieB of extinct quadrupeds, aa Uie tinlEB«Ad tOdamsof 
the fosal d^hant ; while rounded nodules of agate, mocha sttxie, 
and jasper, also abound in the same ^veliy beds, bndcen' up 
by Uie tides and wintry storms. 

But in viewing such dilunal coverings of andent date and 
extenave range, we miist be careful not to confound with them, 
local and fwt later depoations, the e&cts of partial and general- 
ly of fre^ water inundations. The bursting of s lake, the 
change in the course of a riTcr, or the transitory passage of 
some wintry torrent, leave a wreck behind them of gravel, mud, 
and fraginents of stony masses swept from distant hills, which 
may locally cover the strata for a short distance, and contain 
hemes and shells far more recent thau those occurring in that 
universally diffused gravel every where to be met with. 

As in all sciences, so in geology, it is hard to say whether 
more harm, more hinderance, have arisen from too great a spi- 
rit <£ generalisation, or from views too partial and narrow. 
Thus in the " Theory of the Earth,^ the first writers, led away 
fay the fascinatioB of the subject, built up their cobweb reveries, 
thar gilded dreams, upon a few isolated and doubtJul facta. 
More recent geologists have perhaps erred on the other hand ; 
and, dreading the ridicule and reproach attadied to their pre- 
cursors, have amassed numerous and valuable materials, without 
cm attempt to compare or to combine. The survey and obser- 
vation of one district, or evenof one kingdom, will never suf- 
fice ; the united and judicious comparison of many and distant 
countries con alone lead to any thing like a grand, comprehen- 
sive, and accurate map of the rocky structure of the earth. Par- 
ticular hnks in the great series of strata may be lost or observed 
in one country ; but this must be recufied by attentive surveys 
of tbe order of poffltitm in another, and by what shades one ibr-' 
mation passes into another. 

When such enlaced views, such connected investigations of 
tbe rocky bases of difierent countries shall have been made, we 
may not still indeed possess a full and incontrovertible system of 
all the changes which this planet has undergone, but we shall 
have more precise and philosophical terms, whereby to denomi- 
nate the strata and depositee originating from these changes ; and' 



D.q.tizecl by Google 



..Google 



t&aanered im Grittkorpe Ba^, YorkaJure. 317 

we shall, with tcJmJjle certainty, be endiled to pronounce as to 
their relative age. Nether shall we any longer be perplexed 
and obstructed by the local or harsh sounding names, as of Jura 
Limestone or Coral Rag, of Kimmeridge Clay or Combrasb, of 
Kelloway Rock or of Crag, names confined to one ungle district, 
or to a few naturalists, without r^ard to one unirorni consist- 
, ent noQiHicIature. 

EXPLANATION OF PLATE V. 

Fig' !• A Fern, ^splaying a moat curiotu and Hogular diversity of form 
I in the laina leaf. In the geoeni AcroaUcliuin and Onodea^ 

the fertile fronds conbact arunnd the fructifications, and give 
to one leaf a very difierent form from another : mid the same 
thing i* teen in the Bledumm spicant, which indeed bears 
much resemblance to our coal-plant in general habit, bat which 
Tariei in this biform leaf, tongued at tbe extremity, and pin- 
nated towards the base. 

2. A Polypodinm, characterised by its capsules disposed doisslly, 

in round spotSi parallel to tlie midrib. Drawn one-third of 
Miginal size. 

3. A very beautifid and delicate fern, occaaioiially met with in ftuc- 

tifica^on, so nearly obliterated as hardly to allow of its das- 
sification. Froltably aa Aspidium. 

4. Drawn about a fourth of the natntal aice, and presenting « 

phot neariy allied, by its terminal ^uke of crypt^jaaMiu 
flowers, to the genus Eqnisetnm. 



On the connection between the Phases of the Moon and Rainy 
Days. By M. FLAOGEBstrfis. 

T^HEai exists between the phaises of the moon and the rainy 
days which coincide with these phases a constant relation, which 
would appear very Angular, did not what we have observed of 
the thermometer afford an explanation of it. From the calcu- 
lation which I have made of the rainy days that have ccancided 
with the days of the moon^s phases, and with those of the peri- 
gee and apogee, during the period of nineteen years (froaa tbe 



3.n.iized by Google 



SIS Conatmon of the Mam vUh Bam. 

19tb October 1808 to the ISth Oetober 18S7), I have found the 

foUowiog Qiunhera of days. 





PHiSKB OF THB MOON. . | 


£S. 


is. 


£i 


A 




5SJ 


Number of Rmiit fiiys cmn. ) 
ddent with the Daja of the J- 
Moon's PhasLi, - j 


77 


82 


79 


60 


»3 


,. 



It ia seen by this table, that the numbers of rainy days which 
coincide with the days of the moon's phases, and of the perigee 
and apogee, follow the same progress as the mean heights of the 
barometer corresponding to these phasra, but in the inverse ra- 
tio. Thus the number of days of new moon on which it rained 
is lesstthan the number of days of full moon on which it r^ned ; 
and the mean height of the barometer, the day of the moon's 
conjunction, is, on the contrary, greater than on the day of her 
opposition. Inlikemanner, the number of rainy days that agreed 
with the first quarter, much exceeds the aumb« of rainy days that 
aoiDcided with the last quarter, and the mean height of the ba- 
rometer is much less in the first quarter than in the last quar- 
ter. Lasdy, the number of rwny days that have coincided with 
the days on which the moon was perigee, is much greater than 
the number of rainy days that corresponded with the days on 
which she was apogee ; and, on the contrary, the mean height 
of the barometer when the moon is perigee, is much less than 
the mean height of that instrument when the moon is api^ee. 

All this is perfectly explained, by the constant observation, 
which has long been made, that it rains more frequently when 
it is high. Thus, the superiority of the number of rainy days 
corresponding to the full moon, in the first quarter and perigee, 
over the number of rainy days that coincide with the new moon, 
the last quarter and the apogee, arises from the circumstance 
that the barometer is lower and the pressure of the atmosphere 
less in these three fitst lunar periods, than in the three Ust. 
Thus, all that can be concluded from our remark is, that the 
diminution of the atmospheric pressure, caused by the moon's 
attraction, must be reckoned among the causes that determine 
the fall of nun. * 

D.n.iized by Google 



( «19 ) 

A Tour to the AmA of Prance and the Pyreneegy tn the year 
less. By G. A. Walkek Akhotit, £sq. M. W. S. (Ccm- 
tinned from a former Number). 

Bdt it may be interesting to the botanist to have a marK par- 
ticulsF account of these plaida ; oA in attonpting to do Rt, I 
shall &Uo« aa neoily as poaable the rout*. 

Near tbe entrance of the valley is situated the village of 
Eynes, about an hour's w^ from the Cabanasse ; and socm af- 
ter pasang it, We observed by tbe wAe of the path tbe beautiliil 
Eryngium Bourga^ : the season was, however, acarcely enough 
advanced for it. At the raouth of the valley, the meadows were 
eavexed with NigrUdla anguttifbUa and PhaUtriffium tiUag- 
tntm. Thb last, so often confounded in the heiharia with Ph. U~ 
Kago, is extremely distinct in the live state, the stamina being 
declinate and curved, as in HemerocaiiUa, a circumstance which 
has induced De Candolle to place it in that genus ; but the pe^ 

,rianth is divided to the base, which has induced Andryjosky to 
make of it the new genus Cxackia. Few will, however, agree 
to this : indeed, I do not see how it can be placed in a different 
genus Irom Phalangium {Anthericum of Sprengel, whose genus 
BvJbino contains the true Ajitherica, among which are A. plani- 

JbHufn mid sefotinum). Having entered the valley, we passed 
through a small wood, and ere long procured Vicia pyrenaica, 
Pourr. (V. Fagonii, Lapeyr.), Lychnis alpma, DiAfmodon gtau- 
cescena, and a. few others ; but we afterwards regretted our de- 
lay there, as all these were much more abundant higher up the 
valley. ' Leaving the wood, we found among some rocks a few 
spetumens of Pedicularu cofiuaa, a beautiful species, widi fua- 
culated roots and yellow flowers. From this to the Jasse de 
Delmau (a shej^erd's hut in ruins), we kept alongrade of the 
stream, and observed Cardtau carlinoidea and Stucyraga ad- 
tcendena, {S. aquaHca, Lap.) in the water ; and on the nx:ks se- 
veral other species of Sax^-agOy among which were no doubt 
S. muacoidea, moichata, exarata, pubeacmt, mtertewta, mucta, and 
several oth^^ of authors, but between which here, there were so 
many hybrids or intermediate states, that we fouad it imposdble 
Ml the spot to group them into species. Opponte to the Jawe 



390 Mr Amott's Tou^ to the Sotak ^France 

on the bulks of the stream, was the splendid GetUiana pyre- 
notco, coming a ctHiaida^ble spac« with its deep blue lidofuonn. 
This {jast was to me of extreme interest, as I had Wnved a 
commkiDtcation ijpon it from my friend M. Guillemin of Paris, a 
few days before I had left M ontpellier. *' The structure of the 
fruit," says he, " is very remarkable : it is truly club-shaped 
(dmMB/brmis) ; that is to aay, the ovary is upon a long pedicel, 
and the capsule, tolerably ehort tuid round, sf^ts and forms two 
refleetcd ktbes at the summit of the pedicel. This strui^ure al- 
so ensts in G. aquatica from Caucasus, and in G. ae^blia &om 
the Andes of Peru. ' M. Kunth, in his splendid work, figures 
the latter, but is singularly mbtakeu in regarding the reflected 
valves of the capsule as monstrous stigmas." Thou^ we saw 
so much of this species in flower, and were able to see that the 
ovary wa pedicellated, we oould not procure one plant with ma- 
ture fruit. 

Farther up the bank, but still oppomte to the Jasse de Tki. 
mui, were OnonU rotimd^oUa, Linn. (Spec. PI. ed. 1. not ed. S. 
which De Candolle has named O. tribracteata, and is perhaps 
«itber a monsb-oaty or an ima^nary plant), Luxuia luUa, iStuA- 
Jraga media, Veronka ophyUa, and thousands of Adonis pyre- 
fudca. On this plant much discussion has taken place between 
De CandoUe and Lapeyrouse ; the latter insisling on its being 
the true A. ofimna, L., while the fanner declares that the plaat 
of Limieeus is a variety of A. ventaiM, and that the A. pgre- 
naica b not found in the Apenninet. But lately Professor Mori- 
caud (Dec. PI. ItaL 6. p. 5. No. 58.) has actually met with a plant 
on Monte Velino, which he calls A. apenina ; this is. also the A. 
j^^uacaot Broccbi (Cent. 18S3), and scarcely difiers from the 
plant of the Pyrenees : in both, the radical leaves are on long 
petioles ; but in the Italian plant the petiole is not trifidj but 
simple, and is dilated at the base into a sheaUi. In it, the pe- 
tals are from 12 to 16, obovate and entire, and the carpels are 
scabrous, not smooth, as in A. pyrenaica. I believe the Italiui 
piant to he that of LinCEeus. . 

Ft^lowing the course of the river, Phaca aatragtdiMt, Oxjf- 
tropit monAma, and Htitckituia alpina, were every where abun- 
dant. Papaver pgrawicum was also met with, but sparingly. 
>The valley hegui now to contract, and w^ crossed the stream 



and the Pyrenees, in 18S5. S21 

(we had hitherto kept it on our left). Dicranum lalifblium 
{Didt/truxbm apicuUitum, nob.), vas of cximmon occurrence ; but 
what we valued more, were a few specunens of PotentiUa pros'- 
irata. Lap. (a mere dwarf state, bowerer, of P.Jruticosa), aad 
of a cruoferous fiaat that we had little hesitatioo in thinking 
might be Thltupi hetert^yUum, DC. Although the fruit was 
not suiHaently advanced to allow us to examine the structure 
of the ^eeds, we referred it to the genus Ijepidium : it is indeed 
aa intermediate spedes between L. campeatre and L. Airtwn *. 
Here, too, we met with Draba aizoides, Linn, (not Dr. brachy- 
stemoitt, DC. which alone is cultivated in Bntain as Dr. aisoi- 
des'W Dr. mviUia and Dr. ItEvipes, DC. which, though per- 
haps a variety, we at first ^ght distinguished from Dr.ftellata, 
that also occurred here. 

■ It is £• helfrapltgUttm, Benth. Cat- 'What we here found hud the leaves 
^broufb Mr Bentham even state* that the nlicule* are ^brous : thej 
ore certunly tree &om hairlDesa, but there eiitta on them rei; minute ictlea, 
much smaller than those that' occur in L. campeaire ; the stjle is .filiform and 
elongated, as in £■ Urfum. From L. Airfum, Linn, such as ia found at Mont- 
pellier, having the ailicules free from scales, and very pilose, it ia surely 
veij distinct ; but I Eeai it is identical with L. Krivm of Smith, and <bs &r as 
I have seen specimens) of all British botanists. Under Thlaipi Mrivoi, £iig. 
BoU t. IB03, Sir James says, " This species differs &om T. eampettre, t. 1386. 
in having a perennial woody root, more oblong and leas tumid pouches, whose 
tidet are tiflen very Anirir, and, when destitute of hMrs, are but obscurely dot- 
ted, naver so scaly aa in that Bpedes. But £» a new and decinve character, 
I am obliged to Mr Leatfaes, who justly observes, that the elongated style 
pny'ecting far beyond the lobes of the pouch, will always distinguish this spe- 
cies from the campeatre, whose short style is just equal to those lobes." With 
the exception of the words above in Italics, which refer to the MontpeUier 
plant, the whole of this applies most admiishly to our L. hetenjAj/Bum. The 
L. Mrfum of Smith, however, has always, I believe, the leaves more or less 
hairy, while that from the ValUe d'Eynes is quite glabrous. I am not, how- 

- ever, inclined to think that a sufficient mark of difference, as we afterwards 
met with the same plant in the TalUe d'Andorre with the leaves glabrous, 
but the stem pilose, and at Mont Louis spedmens agreeing with those of 
En^Mid in every retpect. 

t This is also Dr. airoidei, Don, HoTt. BnU No. 186., and which Smith 
(Eng. Flora, iii. p. 158.) says is the samewith that found in Wales. One spe- 
cimen, indeed, I possess from M. Winch, and sufiposed to be native, is cer- 
tainly identical with that cultivated, and seems to show that Wales is the pa- 
Iria of our garden plant ; but unfortunately specimens in Dr Hooker's rich 

■ herbarium prove that the Welsh and continental ones are the same. 

JULY SEPTSMBEK 1828. ^ 

.TOOglC 



822 Mr Artott's Tow to the South of France 

The river now soon forked, and we ascended the mauntaio 
between the Inanohes. Here the v^etation was scan^, but a^ 
tiidy al[ttn& Sammadua pamaanfiHius, GaSium ViBars^, 
Seq. and Iberia camoaa, wexe in every debris till we reached 
the adnimit. Here the mist and rain came on ua ao thick, that 
wexould scarcely see twenty feet before us, and cooaequently 
ootild lUiTe no view, or have any idea how the road was to turn. 
We, however, took the more prudent plan, and tracked the mule 
that carried our lu^age, and which, with onr guide, had gmie 
on long before us. AiiN a long and winding deeoent, in which 
we only procured Jretia camea, Ljfc/mi» a^nmt, . Sanunctdus 
pamasiifijinti, Jxalea procumbenef Featuca eakia, aod variai 
^dugnodofvs apadiceiis, Trichodiumt tdpinum, and some othras, 
most of which we had already gathered, we arrived at the river 
in the valley, and, cros^ng it^ soon came in sight of oiH* reating- 
place. 

■ As we botanized the f<^lowing day in the valley of Querals, 
we again saw profn^n of Gentiana pyrenaica ; we also fell in 
with a few large tufts or cushions of Galium pyrenakum. 
DaphoK coUkta, NigriteUa anguMi/blia, PediadaTtaJbliosa, and 
Uanuncuhia aconitifbRua were observed ; and on a rock between 
the Hermitage and the head of the valley, we got Lecanora 
chr^sqleuca «, Ach. (with which L. Uparia fi, Ach. is identical), 
and Androaace imbricata, DC. Much confu^^in has of late 
arisen regardmg this species, and in their elaborate Systema, 
Rcemer and Schultes seem to have increased it ; but the charac- 
ters proposed by De Candolle are alone entitled to any r^ard ; 
those ^ven by Lapeyrouse, and adopted by Sprengel, dp not 
^pear to exist at all. At all events, the A, argtHiea, GtsxL 
and Lapeyr. is the A. imbrieata, DC. and what we found at 
Noun : it is covered with a close, white, starry pubesceace. Of 
it I possess Swiss specimens, under various erroneous names, aa 
Aretia helvetica, tomentosa, pubescens, &c. The A. brymdetr 
DC. has the leaves, espe<nally towards th^r point, fumisbed 
with umple, diaphanous, reflexed hiurs, which are apparently 
gluunous. This, (^ which I have never seen a Pyrenean ^- 
dmen, may be A. aretia, Lapeyr., though I confess I suspect 
with De Candolle, that Lapeyrouse's plant is only a state of 

4 

L-|t.:f:l.v Google 



A. imbricala. As io ihe true J. bryoides, Hcemer and Schultea 
seeui toliaveit in view in th«r, descriptionpT^, helvetica. 

LapeyrouK says tKat Sarcoeapjioi mifieapfafila grows <»i the 
valls'of Ndtre Dame de Nouri : we saw no such plant. Rumew ' 
pyreikticua also indicated here^ is merely S. aceioaeBa. 

On Uie' 8Sth, as I have already inentioned, we. reiucended 
the Cuoillade, and followed our old track pretty closely Utl we, 
got to'the Jasse de Dehnau, kee^nng the riv«r on our left." we 
tbcRi ascended a ravibd tD our right, wfaidi in fiiet constituted a 
part of the mountain of Camhredazes ; and here we soon found 
Daphne toUma, uid Ahfaxum* diffuawn, DC- How tax this 
\vek really diffitrs frtan A. montamtm, I cannot pmot oat: it is 
certitinly, to use a favourite phrase among sudi modern, bota- 
nists as seem afraid of iininng too much, " nimiaaffinis^ We 
^mn met with Androsace imbrkata upon the rocks, as well as 
Privtula viscota, Androsace mUoaa^ and J'ediculdriB eomom. 
Returning to the Cabanasse by the villt^ of £ynes, we found 
in a meadow Angelica pyr^ncea, Spr, {SeMli pyrenaum, L.), 
a)}d Pkleiim commutatum. 

These, with a fewothers, as Salix retusa, S. p^ertaica (with 
which S- ovata, Ser. is identical), BUcutella lucida, Tri/vHtaii 
caspitosum, Pedieidairvi rostrata, PotentUla HaUeri, Ser., At- 
temiaia vmklima, Ormthogolum httevm, and Pyretkrum tdpi- 
nwm, of each of which we only procured at, most one or two spe- 
cimens, and whtise predse localiti^ I do not remember, formed 
the most tntenesting part of our three days' herborization. 

With the eHcepCicm of a walk round Mont Louis, to search 
for Nepteta latj^bUti and violacea (which, however, we did not 
see), we Were principally engaged till the 90th in drying our 
plants. That day, however, we resolved to ascend the moun- 
tain of Cambredazes. ' 

This mountmn, at least what fronted us, is in the ^ape of a, 
horse shoe, with an immense valley in the centre, towards which. 
On all sides, but particularly at the farther end, the rocks were 

" I intended here to h«ve made & few remarks on Mr Brown's paper on 
jf^lWiMi, published in the Af^mlix tp Denbam and Clapperton's Narrative, 
which I for the first time saw in Glasgow, at Dr Hooker's. I took no notes 
of it, trusting t«Beeitin£dinbuqhj but I now find no copj has as yet reached 
this quarter. 



D.n.llzed,by^Og[C 



3^ Mr Amott's Tour to ^ SouA ofFnawe 

Tcry precipitous. We left the Cabfuiasse about four in the 
morning, and, passing St Pierre, we kept to the right, in order 
to examine that side of the great valley. A dense fog, however, 
came on, so that, had we not studied well our course yest^day 
from the windows of the inn, it is not [Hvbable we riiould have 
attiuned our object ; and ailer, indeed, we did arrive in the vol- 
ley,' we found the rocks so very shelving and nigged, that for 
some time we gave up all Uioughts of attempting the summit. 
We here sought with great attention for Globularia nudicaulist 
which we did find, and Gl. punctata. Lap. indicated here, but 
of which we saw no traces. Indeed, we were inclined to sus- 
pect, from no botanist having sint^ met wi^ it, that it might be 
either a variety of, or a hybrid between, Gl. cordifi)Ra and vtd- 
garis *. At the head of the valley we saw Adonis pyrenaica, 
Drifaa octopetala, and Saxifi-aga c^vgoefiilAa: SUene ciHata, 
Veronica bellidifoliaf and CerasHum ^aberrimum. Lap. (pro- 
bably a variety of C. o^ptRum), were occs^onally also observed. 
About this time the weather cleared up a little, and we agiun 
formed the resolution of scrambling to the top, which we finally 
accomplished, not without difficulty and danger. We were, 
however, reptud by finding on the summit of the ridge Saxi- 
Jraga retuaa in abundance. This is generally esteemed a plant 
of rarity, nor has this statitm been given for it : it can never 
surely be mistaken for S. opposiii^ia, though at first m^t may 
be overlooked for Jzalea procumbens, so glossy and compact 
are its leaves. Passing the summit, and descending a little on 

■ M.LBpeyraiuesajs that he himself found it here. If that were the cue, 
it Is Btrange that in his own herbarium, which we had alterwardB an opportu- 
nit; of examining at Tfaoulouse, there is but one miserable specimen, with- 
out even the radical leases, and without any localilj. Lapejroose says that 
he had since seen it in the herbarium of VaUlant, with the denomination 
" B^iiai^na JianimaOTigani folia, Toum." a plant which is universallj allow- 
ed to be GI.incDnetD«iu,Vlv. I see no reason why this plant maj not be found 
in the warmer parts of the Pyrenees, as well as in Tuscany ; but I caimut 
help suspecting that Lapeyrouse's specimen come firom Vaillaut's herbaiium, 
and not from the mountain of Cambredazes. His long description evidently 
belongs to Gt. moamaBena, and must have been taken from bett«T Efiedmens 
than he himself was possessed o£ I think it also not Improbable, that, in 
looking over Vaillant's herbarium, he conceived that he recognized a plant he 
had formeri; seen at Cambredazes, but not gathered {supposing it at the time, 
what I still believe it to be, a variety of Gl eor^fotUih and fi'om till* the 
whole error may have arisen. . - . 



and ^ Pyreneea, in 18S5. S%5 

the other ude, we saw as much as we could deure of Androtace 
vitaRana, a plant whose Dame is not derived from the Latin 
word vUaHg, but, as Li^yrouse remarks, from Vitaliano Do- 
natio ia htmour of whom Sesler had ccmstituted it into a genus. 
We got nothing wtnlh recording in our descent, although we 
changed our course. 

(To be continued. J 



Discovery of a Fossil Walrus or Sea-Horse, in Vlr^mka ; of 
the Fossil Sktdl qf an extinct species of Boa (0<r), Jrom the 
Banks of the Mississippi ; and of Fossil Bones, identical mith 
those of the Megatherium qfParaguia/, in Georgia, Untied 
States. 

I. Dimovery of a Fofsil Walrut or Sea-Hor»e, t« Virginia. 

In ihe Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York 
(No. 9. November 1827), there is a Beport by Messrs' MitchiU, 
J. A. Smith, and Cooper, oa a portion of a fos^ skull sent to 
Dr Mitchill, by Mr Cropper, of Accomac County, Virginia. 
They found it to be the anterior part of the cranium of a spe- 
cies of walrus. It compnses the entire sockets of the two great 
tusks, the palatine and maxillary bones, with the sockets of eight 
molar teeth ; and the bony isthmus, which, in this animal, con- 
nects the tusks, remiuns, though much muuiated. Four of the 
molares are also left, and one other has but recently dropped 
out. From the appearance of the three remuning sockets, the 
teeth must have been lost out of them at a very distant period, 
and probably during the life of the animal. The tusk is re- 
markably hiud and heavy, and no sutures are visible, except 
between the palatal bones. The tusks have become almost 
aga^sed, and th^r fracture is conchoidal, presenting a very 
smooth surface, and a flinty colour and connstence. The frag- 
ment bears the greatest resemblance to the analogous part of the 
existing species, Trickecua rosmarvs. Dr Mitchill hopes yet 
to succeed in obtaining an exact descripUon of the locality where 
it was discovered. It bears marks of having been in salt water, 
and IS «ajd to have been found on the sea-beach, where it has 



3.n.iized by Google 



8S6 On a Fog^ Ox from ^ MissigiippL 

prabiiiy^heea washed (tut of its bed by the waves. That it is 
fiidtal', anil not recent, the authors have no doubt.: The change 
which the substance «f the teeth has undergone, and ;die appear- 
uice which the whole bears, of having : long ' Imn buriedindie 
earth, are sufficient proofs of this. Moreovett the coantrj in 
the vicinity whence it was sent, is known to belong to a marine 
formaUon ; and ribs, and other parts of a vertebrated animal, 
have been dug up there, which were supposed to be those of a 
species of Lamanttn or Maiiatus, an animal related to the walrus. 
Fosul bones of this g^ius are exceedingly rare. Cuvier men- 
tions only a few molar teeth and pieces <^ bone di«nterred in 
France. The existing species inhabits the northern parts of the 
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Whether or not the fossil head 
in question is to be referred to this species, the authors are un- 
able to decide with certdnty ; but they are more inclined to 
consider it as beltaiging to another species now extinct. 

II. 0» a Fosiil Ox from the MUtissipjn. By Mr J. E. Dekay. 

In an interesting paper by Mr' J, £, Dekay, in the Annals of 
the Lyceum of Katural History of New York, November 1827, 
on a fragment of a fossil skull of the genus Bos, from the banks 
of the Mississippi, he shews that it, in all probability, is part of 
an extinct species, and the same as that found by Pallas in 1^- 
beria. He concludes his memoir, which we reg^l our limits 
will not allowus to give at full length at present, with the fol- 
lowing inferences : 

" That there formerly existed within the actual limits of the 
iTnited Stiites, four, and probably five, species of the genus Bos.' 
Of these, cmly one is at the present day found in our country 
in a livii^ state. The Boa amer'uxmus, or bison, formerly ex-' 
isting in great numbers in the states bordering on the Atlanuc, 
is now driven to the boundless regions of the wesfj and ere long 
will probably share the fate of the former companions of bis 
race. 

The second and third species (S. bominfroiu, and B. lattfrons) 
have long since ce^ed to exist. Their specific diHerencee are 
not yet completely ascertained ; but the animals seem to have 
l)een numerous, if one may judge from the accounts of travel- 

D3t.z.dcy Google 



Oh a Fossil Oxjrom the Muaiti^tpi. SS7 

lers, who «peak of their reouins as occurring in great abundanos. 
From tfae fact of their having been found associated with to- 
msiiu of the mastodon and deer, it is presumed that they were 
«o-«(iBtent with those speciea. 

The fourth spedes is the Btu mo9chaius> From the teati- 
moay of traveUers already cited, it has been ^ewn Uiat this spe^ 
cdes farmerly lived in Uie latitude of 40°, and even lower. It is 
now confiaed witbio the limits of the Arctic Circle. They live 
in berdsj feed on lichens, leaves of the willow, and are food of 
mountainous rocky regions. The horns of the male, which are 
lai^£f than those of the female, sometimes weigh sixty poutidl. 
This Bpeiaes has been recently s^uirated by Blainville, from the 
genus Bos, and forms the new genua Ovibos ; a divi^on which 
does Dot seem to be gmeraUy adopted by subsequent natural- 
ists. 

U nder the name of Boa PaUasii, we would propose to desig- 
nate the species to which we refer the fosEul crania of Pallas and 
Ozeretskovsky, and proviuonally, the specimen from the banks 
of the MisNssippi, whidi has given rige to the preceding remarks. 

This animal was, as far as we know, an inhabitant of the ex- 
treme northern regions of Europe and America. In the latter 
country, its remains have been found as tow as 37° north, as tbe 
locality of our specimen indicates. It was, doubtless, allied in 
many parUculars to the musk-ox ; but from this, the observa^ 
tioos of Cuvier, and the imperfect notices contained in the pre- 
ceding remarks, shew the great probability of its b^ng specifi- 
cally distinct. 

III. On the identity of Ike Fostii Bones Jimnd in Georgia, United 
State*, with those of the Megatherium of Paraguay. 

Mr Cooper, in a paper read to the Lyceum of Natural His- 
tory oS New York, January 18S7, informs us, Uiat, »nce a for- 
mer communication on the subject of the Fosal Bones of Skida- 
way I^nd, he had obtained, through the kindness of Dr Ha- 
bersham, several other parts of the skeleton of the megatherium. 
The collection last received consisted of numerous pieces, naariy 
all fragments of the large bones of the extremities. They had 
all marine shells adhering to them on the fractured surfaces, as 
well as the others. Of these fragments, the author coafines his 

L.:it.:f:l.v Google 



SS6 On the IdenHttf of the Fosml Boneifmnd in Georgia, 
remarks t^ a few, whose pecuTior coafortnatkHi renden than of 
the greatest utility for comparison with the daaiptwiu and 
figures of Cuvier and others. The first bone which he notiees, 
is the united tibia and fibula. It was brtAeu into three {Heces, 
which, when brought tt^tber, fonned neariy the entire bone. 
On comparing it with the minute description of bone, and with 
the figures recently published by Pander and D'Alten, the re- 
stanbUnce was found to he,neflrly perfect This bone belonged 
to the left ude. The following are its principal dimennons : 

From the anterior border of the upper extremity to the 

anterior border of the lower 84.1 

From the posterior border of the upper extremity to the 

podtenor point of the lower, 85.6 

Breadth at its widest part, including the fibula, . . . 18L5 

Breadth at its narrowest part, just below the foramen, . 10.4 

These dimensions, he observes, agree sufficiently with thoeewbicb 
Cuvier assists to the corresponding bcme of the megatherium. 
The other portion, which he particularly notices, is one of the 
metacarpal-bones, and quite perfect. On comparing it with the 
bones of the megalonyx, of which there are good casts in the 
Lyceum, he was immediately struck with its great itsemblaoce 
to thiU which Cuvier considers as the metacarpal-boiie of the 
middle-toe of the left fore-foot ; and a furUier examinatlaa satis- 
fied him, that it was in fact the corresponding bone. Cuvier 
speaks of the enormous size of the metacarpal-bones of the me> 
galonyx ; but, enormous as they are, this of the m^atherium is 
at least ten times as large. In other respects there is a great 
general resemblance, though the bone irom Georgia is shorter 
in prt^xirtion to its thickness and height ; and, from the appear- 
ance of the vertical ridge at the lower extremity, could not have 
admitted of as much motion as the articulation with the first 
jdialanx. There is also in this ridge a pretty deep notch, which 
is not found in the megalonyx. The author concludes with 
stating, that a gentleman of Savannah is said to have in his pos- 
session, from the same island, an entire lower maxillary-bcMie, 
agreeing in ail respects with the description of the megatherium, 
which, he remarks, must have belonged to a different individual ' 

D.n.llzedbyGOOg[C 



f/nited Stata, with the Megaffterium tf Paraguay. 339 
from that whose remains are now in ihe cabinet of the Lyceum ; 
thua shewing, that porta of at least two different skeletons of 
this animal have been discovered in the United States. 



On'^ Luminoumest of the Ocean. 

. M. HE luminouaoess of Uie ocean is one of the most beautiful 
phenomena of nature, which excites surprise, althoi^^, for*^ 
months together, it may be seen evny night. The sea is pho^ 
phorescent in all latitudes ; but he who has not witnessed thu 
f^ienomenon in the torrid zone, and e^tecially in the Pad£c 
Ocean, can iona hut an imperfect idea of the magnificence of 
such a spectacle. When a vessel of war, impelled by a iresh' 
breeze, cleaves v the foamy waves, and one is stationed near the 
shrouds, he cannot be satisfied with viewing the beautiful jdie- 
nomenon which pres^its itself. Every time that the mde of the 
ship, as she rolls, emerges from the water, flashes of reddish 
light seem to issue from the keel, and dart toward the surface 
aS the sea. X^ Geotil * and the elder Forster +,^explmned the 
appearance of these flakes by the electrical friction of the water 
against the body of the advancing ship^ But in the present 
state c^ our knowledge, this explanation is no longer admissible. 
There are few points of natural history respectjog which there 
have been so many disputes as the light emitted by the waters 
of the ocean. What we know with predsion on the sabject, re- 
duces its^ to the following facts. There are various shining 
molluBea which, during their life, emit at pleasure a rather weak 
phosphoric light, generally of a bluish colour. This is observed 
in the Nereis noctiiuca, the Medusa pelagica, var. fi I, and the 
Monophora noctHuca, discovered during Captain Baudin's expe- 
dition ||. Of this number aie also the microscopic animals, 
which have not as yet been determined, and which Forster saw> 
swimming in the sea in innumerable multitudes, near the C^)e 

■ VojBge BUI Indcs, t. i. p. 686-698. 

+ Observations made during a voyage round the world, 16«3, p. 67. In 
Gennan. 

t FoiAoe, Fauna ^gyptiaco-Arabica, p. lOS. 

'll Bm7 St Vincent, Voyage aux Ik« d'Afiri^ue, t.'L p- 107, pi- S. 



3.n.iized by Google 



380 On Ae Limiiiouaniess qfUu Oaan. 

of Good Hope. The lummouHieis of sea water is KNuetimes 
eccaaoiied by these living lanterns. I say sometimes ; for, in 
most cases, notvitfastanditig the use of magiufying glasses^ no 
animal is perceived in luminous water ; and yet, whenever the 
wave happens to strike a hard ixxly and breaks, producing foam, 
and whenever the water is strongly a^tated, a li(^t is produced 
resembling a flash of lightning. This phenomentxi probably 
originates ftom the decomposed fibrils of dead m<^usca whidi 
exist in infinite quantity in the d^iths of the sea. When this 
luminous water is passed throu^ a pece of d^ise cloth, these 
fibrils are sometimes detached frmn it under the form t^ lumi- 
nous points. When we bathed in the evening in the Gulf (rf* 
Cariaco, near Cumana, some ports of our boi^es remained lumi- 
nous on ooming out of the water. The luminous fibres stuck to 
the skin. From the immense quantity of molLusca dupersed 
through all the seas of the torrid zone, it need not be surpnsing 
that the water of the sea is luminous, even when no (H-gamc 
matter can be sepunted from it. The infinite division of all the 
dead bodies of dagyses * and medusce may render the entire sea 
capable of being conadered as a gelatinous fluid, uid which is in 
consequence luminous, has a nauseous taste, cannot be drunk by 
man, but affords nouiishment to many fishes. If a board be 
rubbed with a pan of the body of the Medusa hysocella, the 
place rubbed becomes luminous whenever the finger, well dried, 
is passed over it. During my passage to South America, I 
sometimes put a medusa on a tin plate. If I struck the plate 
with another metal, the smallest vibrations of the tin were sut 
fident to make the animal shine. How did the blow and the 
vibration act in this case P Was the temperature instanlaneous- 
iy raised F Were new surfaces uncovered, or did the blow 
make the pbosphuretted hydrogen gas escape, so that, craning 
into contact with the oxygen of the atmosphere, or with the wa- 
ter of the sea, it produced combustion P This effect of the blow 
which exdtes the light is particularly striking in a jumbling sea, 
when tJie waves dash against each other in all directions. Be- 
tween the tropics, I have seen the sea luminous at all tempera- 
tures; but it was more so before storms, or when the sky was 

* The genus Dagysa bekingi to the Salji> tribe of Cttvier. 

D.n.iized by Google 



On the Lvmihoameaa ofihe Octitn. SSI 

loweriog, cloudy, and much orercast. Cold and heat seem to have 
litde influence upon this pheoomenon ; for, on the Bank of New- 
foundltmd, the f^oephoresceoce is often very strong at the se- 
ye^^t time of the winter. Sometimes, all other drcumstances 
af^eanng to be the same, the phosphorescence is very dbtinct 
on one mght, and the following night there is scarcely any. 
Does the atmo^here &vour this disengagemrait of l^t, this 
combustioD of pbospliuretted hydtxigen 't Or do not these dif- 
ferences depend merely upon chauce, which leads the navigator 
into a sea miXe or leS^ filled with mdlusca ? Perhaps, also, the 
luminous animus only come to the surface of the sea when the 
atmos^iere is in a certiun state. M. Bory St. Vincent, asks 
with reason, why our fresh marsh-water, which is filled with po- 
lypi, is not luminous P It would appear in fact, that a particu- 
lar mixture of orgauic particles is necessary to favour this dis- 
engagement of light. Willow^wood is more phospboivsc^it 
than oak. In England, salt-water has been rendered luminous 
by casting herring brine into it. Galvanic experiments shew 
that the luminous state of living animals depends upon an irri-. 
tatioa of the nerves. I, have seen an Elater noctilucus, which 
died, diffuse a strong glow when I touched its ailterior extremi- 
Ues with tin or «lver. Sometimes, also, the medusse give out a 
stronger light at the moment when the galvanic chain is closed. 
Humboldt, Tableaux de la Nature, tom. ii. p. 80-87. 



Observatums on &e Structure t^ Feathers and Hair. 

I. ObtervatwM on the Structure and Detielopment of Feathert ; by 
Fbbd. Covieb. (Mem. du Museum d'Hist. Nat. t. xiii. 
p. 327.) — Inquiries into tke Structure and Development o^ 
the Prickles of Ike Porcupine, Jblloived by Observations on 
Hair in general, and on its Zoological' Characters ; by the 
some. (Read to the Academie des Sciences, Oct. 1827.) 

In the first of these Essays M. F. Cuvier explained the struc- 
tiu% and development of feathers; and ima^ned that he had 
discovered difference between their development and that of 
hiUrs, which bad been con^dered as analc^us ; but in the se- 
cond be has compared qnd united the modes of forilaatitm t£ 



:!.« Google 



3SA Observationi on the SUtatwe ^Feathert and Hair. 

these organs, to which he was led by new observatioas, difiereitt 
from any previously made on the subject. 

The differences which the author establides in his first me- 
Wfox betireeD hairs and feathers, were founded on the circum- 
stance, that hairs are produced by the exhatation of the matter 
which is secreted by the nervous papillse, which serve successivdy 
as a mould to each of their parts, while the formation of feathers 
was more complicated, acceding to his idea:^ and the presence of 
a pulicular organ rendered necessary, which he named the Pro- 
ducktgCapmle(Cap3uieprodti€trice.) This capsule is the result 
of a spontaneous and transitory creation, analogous to that which 
gives rise to the horns of the stag, of whose future forms, or 
even existence, no indication is presented previous to their ap- 
pearance. The producing capsule of the feathers is farmed ab- 
solutely in the same manner on the dermic papilla, which in- 
deed furnishes it with a base, and contributes to its development 
by the enlargement of its proper vessels ; but, without the cap- 
sule having more connection with the papilla thau any parts of 
organized bodies have which assumed their points of departure 
from those which have preceded them. A circumstance which 
has undoubtedly prevented naturalists hitherto from being ac- 
quainted with the producing oigan of the lieathers, is, that it 
continually varies, and that only a small pc»lion of it can he ob- 
served at once. The part which has secreted the first pcation 
of a feather is obliterated, in fact, the moment this portion U 
formed, and the part which is to follow makes its appearance. 
This, again, which will produce the second portion, is obliterat- 
ed in its turn, as soon as it has answered its purpose ; and this 
process continues until the feather is completed. It is therefore 
seen, that the producing capsule, could the parts of which it is 
successively formed be united, would necessarily equal the fea- 
ther itself in length. If we now reflect that there are Inrds in 
whidi the feathers are renewed every year, in a few days as it 
were, and that, of these feathers, there are some which have a 
length of several feet, an idea will be formed of the importance 
which at this period the twofold formation of the capsule and 
^ther acquires ; and hence the most satisfactory explanation 
of the accidents which in birds accompany the casting aad de- - 
velopmmt of the feathers at the period of moulting. 

Djt.:?:l.«G00g[c 



Observatvms on the Strudure of feathers and Hair. SSS- 

M. Frederick Cuvier, in his seccmd memoir, has commenced 
his inquiries respecting the devek^nnent of hairs with the quills 
ot the porcupine, which are, in reality, nothing but \oag bain, 
but whose structure is more apparent, and their producing or- 
gan mca« eanly examined. 

He here establishes a perfect anaic^ between prii^les and 
feathers. Both are produced by the same organs, and are sub- 
jected to the same mode of growth. In the pricldes, as in fea^ 
thers, the homy matter is produced by the membrane of a 
sheath, and the spongy matter by the surface of a bulb ; and it 
is exctuavdy irom the form of these same orgaos that the form 
at the prickles result, which, like the feathers, are produced in 
a real mould. 

Hairs do not, as was hitherto supposed, form an essential part 
of. the skin. They have a principle of existence of their own, 
and belong to a system of organs not less remarkable, sometimes, 
for its complexity than for its development. This system may 
he associated, with the dermis, and be developed in different 
jXHDts of its substance ; but even then, it is not confounded with 
that organ, but preserves its peculiar nature. 

M. Cuvier concludes from this, that the hair has never hither- 
to occujned the rank which is due to it in zoolo^cal systems. 

He confers the organic system which produces the hairs as 
analt^us to that of the senses, and even as forming port of it ; 
fin- in a great number of animals the hairs are a v^ deUcate 
organ of touch. The slightest touch, even that produced by a 
hair of the human head, is sufHdent to make certain animals, 
cats for example, contract their skin and make it tremble, as 
they always do to rid it of light bodies which stick to it, and of 
whose presence they are apprised by this peculiar sense of 
touch. 

M. Cuvier concludes bis interesting memoir with explaining 
a disease, the nature of which has hitherto been involved in the 
greatest obscurity. We mean the Plica. The two singular 
^uid distinct affection^ which are de^gnated by this name, oon- 
fflst, the one, of on excessive development of the hair ; the other, 
of a bloody matter which flows from it when it is cut, it being 
also even alleged to possess sensibiUty. A greater activity in tbe 

3 

CTOOgIc 



384 (^ervaiions on the Sh-udure of Human Hair. 

generative oi^an c^ the tuura is sufficient to produce the first of 
theae symptMDS ; and a disefifled state of the bulb of the central 
part, which produces the epongy matter of Uie hair, and whidi 
gntnra as wdl as it, su&^ntty accounts for the second. 

n. Ob*ervatumt on the Ejntkrmis, the Sebaceoiu foUicUi, and their 
- augmentaiion in Cancerous Tumoari, and ott the Human HAir ; 
by PiofeeaOT Wsbbk of Leip^. {Arckiv. tur die Pla/mii^ie, 
1897.) 

Althodgh the memoir refers, in a great measure to Dr Eich- 
hom^s work od the skin, it contains, besides, much curious infor- 
mation. M. Weber first remarks, that the infundibulifomi 
fossEe on tht5 prominent lines of the palm of the hand, were de- 
scribed and figured as being the pores of the sweat, by the cele- 
brated Grew, in the Philosophical Transactions for ]684i, p. 566. 
M; Eichhom cannot, therefore, claim to himself the merit of 
their first discovery. 

On raising horizontally from the palm of the hand, with a 
sharp razor, a layer of epidermis, more or less thick, we find the 
inner surface of this layer, not smooth, but traversed by furrows 
and elevated lines, resembling those of the outer surface, and 
corresponding exactly to them, so that a prominent line at the 
outer surface answers to a furrow on the inner, and vice versa ; 
while to the infundibuliform pits of the outer surface there cor- 
respond internally, small rounded oval or convex prominences, 
arranged in rows along the furrows. As the same thing. is ob- 
served,, whatever may be the thickness of the layer of epidermis 
raised, the author concludes that the epidermis is composed of 
an assemblage of thin layers, superimposed upon each other, 
and agglutinated leather, — a. structure which many anatomists 
have already admitted as the most probable. 

Passing to the examination of the Sebaceotis Ji^cles, the 
author maintains, contrary to Dr Eichhom''s opinion, that these 
follicles form organs distinct from the bulbs of the h^rs, and 
that they exist in the whole extent of the skin, with the excep- 
tion of the palms and soles. The bulbs of lat^ h^rs have their 
seat in the deepest layer of the dermis, and penetrate as far as 
the subcutaneous adipose tissue. The sebaceous follicles, on the 
contrary, are placed nearer the surface of the skin, and are ne- 



(Atervatiant on thf Structure of Human Hair. 3d5 
ver found in the adipose layer ; nor can they be confounded with 
Hoe bulb» of the hairs, th^ az& being much larger thui thtars. 
Lastly, the structure of these organs is very difiereut. In new- 
ly born children, the. sebaceouB ft^cles may be dJscorered on 
all parts of the body, excepting >he tw> mendcHied. They are 
particularly lai^ in the skin of the scrotum. Each of these 
follicles is composed of four or five compartments, or cellules, 
a^^omerated tt^ether. Their tranaverse diametet: is greater 
thiui that which extends from the bottom of the excretory ori- 
fice. The greatest transverse diameter observed by the author 
was three-fourths of a line. 

The great develt^ment which the sebaceous follicles assume 
in the parts of the skin which are affected with cancer or fun- 
gus, also fumishes a proof of their existing over the whtJe ex- 
tent of the skin. 

In microscopical researches respecting the structure of hairs, 
it is of advantage to make use of a single lens, with a very small 
focus (from one-fourth of a hne to a line), in place of the com- 
pound microscope, which often gives rise to error, in making 
mere inequalities existing at the surface of the skin to be con~ 
founded with internal cellules. The transverse section of the 
hairs should also be carefully examined. For this purpose, the 
hair is placed on a piece of smooth paper, on which several pa- 
rallel lines cut each other at right angles. The hair is fixed by 
its two extremities with wax, and is cut with a very sharp razor, 
placed in the direction of one of the lines which fall perpendi- 
cularly on the hair, and with the edge directed vertically toward 
the paper. Thus prepared, the hair presents its transverse sec- 
tioii in a very distinct manner. From inquiries made in this 
manner, the author concludes, that the human hair has neither 
a canal in its interi(»:, nor a cellular structure ; an opmion al- 
ready pven out by Rudolphi, but contradicted by M. Henun- 
ger. It is otherwise with the hairs of the roe, they presenting, 
in whatever manner they are examined, hexagonal cells, whose 
diameter is placed transversely. But this hak difiWs&om that 
of man in many other pn^rties. There are no cellules in the 
woolly hur of the sheep. 

The form of the human hair is rarely cylindrical. It appears 
to be BO only iq the straight hairs. In the curled hairs, the sec- 



SS6 Observations on the Structure of Humam Hair. 
don is elliptical or oval. The flattened form appears to be ne- 
cessary to the curling of the hairs, and the cylindrical figure 
seems to rorm an obstacle to it In Negroes, the hurs present 
a very marked flattening. In the wool of the sheep, wfatcb ap- 
pears to be cylindtical, another cause probably gives rise to the 
phenomenon of curling ; namely, the transverse inequalities with 
wbkh the surface of the hairs is furrowed. 

The author gives four tables of micrometrical measuroiients 
of the hairs of the white man and Negro. In the numerous ob- 
servations which he made, he sometimes found these parts ul- 
cerated, as it were, at their surface, like carious teeth. The 
hairs of the back of the hand frequently break at some distance 
from their pcnnt. This rupture appears to be a normal pheno- 
menon, which nature employs to prevent these hairs from be- 
coming elongated beyond measure. At the place of rupture, 
there are observed small interlaced fibrils, which for some time 
retain, in contact, the two ends placed tt^ether at a ri^t ui^, 
until their detached extremity at lengdi falb. 

The author has also made some experimenta on the' etastidty 
of the human h^r. It may be elongated about a third of it& 
length. The ccotractjon which follows is somewhat less ; the 
hair of the roe has scarcely any extensibility, and breaks with 
the greatest ease. It has more anak^ to the feather of alnrd 
than to human hair. 



On the Level of the Sea. 

It is well known that the ocean retains the same tevd in the* 
de^ banBE of the sea, and that its vast surface preserves a 
permanent form all around the globe. If it be raised by ten- 
pests it is reduced by equilibrium within the limits which are- 
aaiigned to it. If the earth, as Fouillet remarks *, were im- 
moveaUe, and formed of homcgeneous strata, the surface of the 
sea would be strictly sphericaL The navigators who pass under 
the line, those who traverse unknown seas in ^ther hemisphere, 
and those who viut the coasts of Greenland, or the seas still nearer 
* Pouillet'g Elmms dt Phj/nqne, t. i. p. 137. 

CtOO^Ic 



On the Level of Ike Sea. 3S7 

the pole, would all be at the same distance from the earth's centre. 
This would be the state of things in ctOTsequence of the laws of 
hydrostatics, and the structure of the solid parts of the globe, 
which presents trilling inequalities at the surface. Greatinequa- 
lities in the solid parts would disturb the sphericity of the liquid 
surfaces. Were the chain of the Cordilleras only a hundred 
times hi^er, the waters would rise on the coasts of America, on 
the eastern as well as the western side; and would occupy a 
lower level on the opposite coasts, leaving the ports of France 
dry, as well as those of Japan. 

If the earth were stationary, and formed externally of hetero- 
geneous partsof very unequal density ; if, for example, under the 
Atlantic Ocean, between the crust which forms its bottom, and 
the centre of the earth, there should occur vast cavities, empty^ 
or filled with substances of small density, it is evident that the 
intensity of the attraction of gravitation would be much less on 
the waters of the Atlantic, than those of the other seas, and that 
then the general surface of the waters, instead of being every- 
where spherical, would be raised in some parts, and depressed in 
others. Thus, a helen^neousness of substances might of itself 
produce irregularities of form, and if to this cause there be add- 
ed the influence of the centrifugal force, it will be seen that the 
question becomes still more complicated. In our present state 
of ignorance respecting the internal structure of the globe, in- 
to which', with all our power, we are only able to penetrate to a 
very trifling depth, the only means which we have of finding 
the true form of the surface of the seas, are geodesical operations, 
and observations with the pendulum. By the first of these 
means we arrive at a knowledge of the fact, independently of 
all hypothesis and of all explanation ; and by the other we shall 
perhaps be able to discover some general laws of the internal 
structure of the earth, or at least some of the local causes that 
may alter the regularity of its surface. The equilibrium of the 
waters depends upon the direction of gravity, and the oscilla- 
tions of the pendulum depend upon the intensity of the same force. 
It is difficult to discover a priori in what degree these two ele- 
ments are connected together, and to what extent they may be 
determined by each other ; and it is this that gives still more im- 

JOLY— BEPTEMBER 1828. T 



338 On ^ Level rf the Sea. 

poitance to the inquiries whose object is to determine them with 

Accuracy. 

Almost alt the bauns of the sea communicate in various ways, 
i^wther by wide canala, or by more or less contracted straits ; 
and the waters in these different basins are subjected to the con- 
ditimta of equilibrium of communicating vessels. Only it must 
be observed that the water of the sea is not a homogeneous liquid 
in the whole extent of the mass: the temperature changes with the 
latitude; anditalsochanges with the depth; thed^reeof saltness 
changes in like manner ; and all these causes make the dendty to 
vary in the different places, and from this there results a multitude 
of moti(H)s, by which the equilibiium tends to be kept up. The 
water of the Atlantic flows into the Mediterranean by the Strmts 
of Gibraltar, as is proved by the rapid current existing there; 
but it is not known whether, by an opposite current existing at 
a greater depth, the water of the Mediterranean may not pass 
into the ocean. If this second current exists, they are both with.- 
out doubt produced by the difference of density in the layers of 
water. If it does not exist, it must be supposed that the Me^ 
diterranean loses by evaporation, or by other causes, more water 
than it receives by the Nile, the Rhone, the Danube, and all the 
rivers that empty themselves into it, and that the Atlantic Ocean 
makes up the loss, in order to keep it at the height required 
for equilibrium. 

The following are the results that have hitherto been obtained 
respecting the level of the seas. During the French Expedition 
to Egypt, a commission of engineers, under the direction of M, 
Le Pere, determined the relative heights of the Red Sea, and 
Mediterranean. This operation is worthy of great confidence ; 
and, for result, it gives a very remarkable difference of level be- 
tween these two seas, which are so near each other at the Isth- 
iniis of Suez, and which, beades, communicate with the Ocean. 
At low water theRed Seals Smetres 12'' above the Mediterranean, 
and at high water its excess of height rises to 9 metres 9". Thus is 
confirmed the opinion of the ancients respecting the danger of 
npening up a communication between the two seas. At the pre- 
sent day, a great part of Egypt would be submersed by the 
Eed Sea ; and yet the bed of the Nile and the soil of Egypt are 
constantly raised by the deposit of m_ud which every succeeding 
inundation leaves. M. Girard has made very curious inquiries 



On the Level of the Sea. 389 

into ihis »ul>ject. By taking the present hei^t of the floods, 
at the Nilometere of £le[Aantina, and of the Isltmd of Roodfth, 
and comparing it with what it formerly was, he found the mea- 
sure of the elevation of the ground, which he estimates at 136 
millimetres in- the century. Considering it as such, it would 
still require many centuries to bring Lower £gypt merely to the 
level of the Bed Sea *. 

In the course of the operaticms for measuriug the meridian in . 
France, M. Delambre calculated the h^ht of Rodez above the 
level of the Mediterranean Sea at Barcelona, and its height above 
the ocean, which waslies the foot of the tower of Dunkirk. These 
two heights are equal to a fraction of a metre ; whence it follows 
that if there does exist some difference of level between the Me- 
diterranean Sea at Barcelona, and the Atlanuc Ocean at Dun- 
kirk, the difference is at least very small. 

M. de Humboldt, in his journey in America, made barotne- 
'trical observations on the shores of ihe Atlantic Ocean, and on 
those of the South Sea, from which some knowledge may be de- 
rived respecting the relative height of these two seas. From ba- 
rometrical means taken on the one hand at Carthagena, Cumana, 
and Vera Cruz, on the east coast of Mexico, and on the other 
hand, at Callao and Acapulco, on the shores of the South Sea, 
it would result that the South Sea is about seven metres higher 
than the Atlantic. Other observations made by M. Humboldt 
would give a somewhat greater difference ; but that celebrated 
traveller gives the above results only as a first approximation, 
supposing that the unequal heights of the tides, the difi'erent 
.hours in harbours, and the greater or less extent of the horary 
variations of the barometer, are so many causes which may have 
an influence upon such delicate measurements. 

The level of the Caspian Sea has been the object of several 

recent inquiries. It was deleriiiined in 1818, by MM. d'Engle- 

, hardt and Parrot, in their curious journey to Caucasus and in 

the Crimea; by M. Pansner, in 1816; and about the same time 

by M. Wisniewski, who published, in the Petersburg Memoirs, 

' In a former Dumber of tbi? Journal, theie is an interesting view of the 
French obiiervations on the comparative level of the Red Sea, and the Medi- 
terranean Sen. 

1 , yS 



340 Ott the Level of the Sea. 

the series of observations which he made with the same ohject 
in 181S. All these measurements agree in pladng the level of 
the Caspian Sea much henesth the level of the Black Sea. Ac- 
cording to the mean result, this difference may be estimated at 
100 metres, or about 3S5 feet. Yet along the shoces of the Cas- 
pian Sea, and to a great distance from its present banks, there 
are striking proofs to be seen of the abode of salt water. The 
nature of the. ^ound, its form and chemical composition, the 
remains of shells, and the skeletons ofRshes, with which it is fil- 
led, seem to leave no doubt remEuning, that the sea formerly 
covered all these steppes to a distance uf several hundred leagues. 
How has the depres^on of level which is now observed been pro- 
duced ? What is become of the mass of water which is wanting, 
and. which may be estimated as a volume of 30,000 square leagues 
of surface by a metre of height P These are problems, the solution 
of which it will take a long time to efiFect ; for they are cpnnocted 
with general geology, and perhaps with the great catastrophes 
of which Caucasus has been the theatre. 

- The mixture of the water of rivers with that of the sea, 
also presents some hydrostaticat phenomena, which it is curious 
enough to observe. Fresh water being lighter, ought to keep 
at the surface, while the salt water, from its weight, should form 
the deepest strata. This,. in fact, is what Mr Stevenson obser- 
ved in 1818, in the harbour of Aberdeen, at the mouth of the 
Dee, and also in the Thames near London and Woolwich. By 
taking up water from different depths, with an instrument in- 
vented for the purpose, Mr Stevenson found that, at a certain 
distance from the mouth, the water is fresh in the whole depth, 
even during the flow of the tide, hut that a little nearer the sea, 
fresh water is found at the surface, while the lower strata con- 
sists of sea water. According to his observations, it is between 
London and Woolwich, that the saitness of the bottom begins 
to be perceptible. Thus, below Woolwich, the Thames, in place 
of flowing upon a solid bottom really flows upon the liquid bottom 
formed by the water of the sea, with which it is no doubt more or 
less mixed. Mr Stevenson, however, is of opinion, that, at the 
flow of the tide, the fresh water is raised, as it were, in a single 
mass, by the salt water which flows in, and which ascends the bed 
of the river, while the fresh water continues to flow toward the setf. 



On the Levei qfilie Sea. . 3il 

These experiments tend to confirm the ojnnion given out by 
Franklin on this subject, in 1761. " If some rivers," says he, " 
empty themselves into lakes, without the latter ever overflowing 
their banks, it is because the water is then spread out under so 
large a surface, that there is d^ly removed by evaporation a mass 
of liquid about equal to that which flows in. But there are rivers 
which, from the extent of their course, and the In'eadth of th^ 
mouth, may be compared to lakes. To ccHnplele the .resem- 
blance, it would only be necessary that a dike should stt^ : the 
course of the water, and prevent it from being emptied into the 
sea. There would then occur some diflerences of level, accord- 
ing to the seasons ; but in general, under certain <»rcumstances, 
these differaices would be confined widiin narrow limits. Al- 
though the ccHUinunicatioD between the river and the sea be 
open, it may be supposed that the dike d! which we have been 
speaking, really esists in the surfoce of junction of the fresh 
water and salt water. Only this dike would be moveable ; it 
would ascend a certain number' of miles with the tide, and after- 
wards descend. The extent of the excuruons would vary with 
the v(Jume of the water. In some cases, we might also ex- 
pect to find the sea water, and that of the river, minted 
together on meeting, and this to a greater or less extent, from 
the twofold e£Eect of their modons, and of the difference <^ their 
specific gravities ; but at a certiun distance from the mouth, the 
fresh water, first carried down by the current, and again thrown 
back by the Ude, would oscillate nearly within the same lunits, 
without even reaching the sea. An ignorant person would inta- 
ke that the water flowed off, and, was partly lost through 
some crevices in the earth, while in reality it is by the air that 
it escapes. 



On the Rocks that c^ord the GM l)ust or Gold Siaid met with 
in Rivers. 

J^S gold-dust or sand is met with in several of the river- 
districts in ScotUnd, we think the. following observations will 
interest those who may amuse themselves in search of gold ia 
this country. 

D.n.iized by Google 



StS On the Rocks thai afford Gold Du*t 

Mr Rengger some time ago gave an account of the auriferous 
sand of the Aar, the Emme, and the Ilsis, in Switzerland, which 
he had an opportunity of observing himself. It occurs diffused in 
the sand and gravel of the bottom of the valleys watered by these 
rivers. When the height of the water occasions the river to 
carry off part of its banks, the auriferous sand is deposited at 
the first place where the rapidity of the current finds an <^ 
stacle. The sand, after it has been deprived of the lifter 
parts, such as clay, calcareous earth, &c. consists of small grains 
or plates of gold, magnetic iron, zircon, garnet, s]:anelle, &c. 
The Aar, from its exit from the Lake of Thun to its arrival 
at Jura, flows only through sandstone mountains, as is also the 
case with the streiuns which it recrives in its course. The 
Beuss and the Limmat have deported the debris of the Alps 
in the bottom of a lake The only exceptions are the Saune, 
the two Emmes, and the Sihl, which rise in the alpine limestone. 
The sandstone and coal d^iosits appear, therefore, to be the beds 
from whence the different parts of the auriferous sand have been 
carried into the basin of the Aar, 

The author has analyzed varieties of sandstone from different 
countries, as from Stieffelhacb, Me^enwyl, and Bollingen, and 
found magnetic iron in them. He presented to the meeting 
of Naturalists in Zurich grains of iron taken from pulverieed 
sandstone from the latter place. If the proportion of the gold 
to the iron be taken as a scale, the former must occur in this 
standstone in so small quantity, that a trial made on the large 
scale alone could succeed in extracting it. 

H. Ronlein, howev^, some years ago, found gold in the 
sandy marl which belongs to this formation ; uid smalt aoales 
of gold have been observed in the pebbles of nagelfieh quwtz 
of the same formation. The constituent parts of the auri- 
ferous sand seem to have been brought together from sand- 
stone mountiuns, and deposited by natural washing. This 
washing had undoubtedly commenced during the excavation of 
the valleys. The heavy parts of the broken-down matrix re- 
mained, the light parts were carried farther, and the parts of 
Oie auriferous sand, after traverring large tracks of ground, 
and after a long series of ages, were gradually compacted, until 
at last they appeared under the form of mud. The opiraon 



or Gold Sand met tffUh in Rivert. 343 

generally ratertained by goLd-hunters is, that it is only in the 
andenc bottcans of valleyB that auriferous sands occur, and that 
the recently submersed countries never furnish any. 

From all that we have siud, it follows that the sandstone for- 
mation is the immediate source of the auriferous saod of the 
Aar. Toward the Rhine, on the other hand, where gold-wash- 
ing was formerly vigorous, espedally near Coire and Mayen- 
feld, there are no traces of sandstone mountains, at least in this 
part of the basin of the Rhine. The gold must here have been 
immediately derived from its ori^nal site, the trancition lime- 
aUme mounbuns of the Alps. There is seen, among others, a 
place of this kind toward the eastern declivity of the Galanda, • 
at the foot of which the Rhine flows, and where, at Tarious pe- 
riods, attempts were made to form establishments for the extrac- 
tion of gold. 



Eatmf on Comets, wMch gained the Ju-tt <^ Dr F^oweit 
Prizes, proposed to those xeho had attended the Uftiverniy tf 
Edinburgh within the last Twelve Years. By David Milne, 
Esq. A. M. F. R. S. £. Edinburgh, 18SS. 

jja Fellowes, in October 182€, proposed, for the encourage- 
ment of science, the following Frizes : — " The sum of L. SO, 
with a Gold Medal, for the best Essay on Comets, and L. SS 
for the next best in merit ; to be composed of those candidates 
who, within the laat twdve years, have finished their philosophi- 
cal studies in the University of Edinburgh.^ 

Several Essays were sent in. These were examined by a 
Committee of the Senatus Academicus, who reported, in March 
1828, as follows: 

" Copy uf a Minnte of the Seiiatus Acaclemicus of the University of 
Edinburgh, of date 4tli March 1838. 

" Professor Leialie laid before the Senatus Academicus a Report at> 
to the Fellowes' Prize ; of which the Senatus unauimousiy appiored- 

" The Report was as followa ; — With the aaaiatance of my learned 
colleague Professor Wallace, I bare cai-efully examined the Essays on 
Comets received by me since the enlarged prc^^rammc wu issued, and 
fiad that the Discourse written by Mr David Milae' is very far superior 



344 Mr Milne's Prize Essay on Cornels. 

to the rest, and fully entitled to the first of Dr Fellowes' Prizes. We 
also find, that, though the other Essays evince ingenuity, and considera- 
ble extent of reading, yet wn do not tbink ourseWei tvarranted to be- 
stow the Second Prize on any of tbem. We liope, therefore, that the 
Seimtus Academicus will sanction this decision ; and u'e farther propose 
that our body sbonld testify their regard for so estimable an alumnus as 
Mr Da?id Milne, by desiring him to print tlie Essay. Mr Milne has 
already obtained tbe honour of A. M. 

(Signed) " John Leslie. 

" William Wali^cb." 
" Extracted from tbe Minutes of the Senatus Academicus by 

" Amsbew Duncan, jun." 

Having obtained a sight of Mr Milne's elegant menKnr, (about 
to be published), which coutuns the most complete descriptiiHi 
Mid history of Comets in our language, we now lay before our 
readers its Table of Contents, and an Extract, with the view <^ 
enabling those interested in this very curious and importaiit part 
of tbe natural history of the heavens, to judge of its extent and 
style of execution. 

" CONTENTS. 

PAHT I. — Physical constitution of Couets — 1. Nucleos of 
Comets; 2. Eiirelope of Comets ; 3. Tails of Comets ; i. Light of 
Comets; 5. Examptes of these Phenomena; 6. Opinions respecting 
their Nature. 

PART II. — Movements op Comets. — I. Opinions relative thereto; 
2. Orbits of Comet», Conic Sections ; 3. Orbits most iTrobabty El- 
liptic; 4. Dtfiiculty of finding the Elliptic Orbit; 5. Parabolic Me- 
thod of Investigation ; 6. Elliptic Method of Investigation. 

PART IIL — Influence ofComets and Planets f>N each other. 
— 1. Perturbations in their Molionii, occasioned by proximity ; 2. 
Physical Changes caused by Proximity ; 3. Perturbations in their 
Motiong occasioned by a Collision ; 4. Physical Changes caused by 
a Collision; 5. Has such a Collision ever happened to the Earth? 
6. Will it ever happen to the Earth. 

PART. IV. — Com£ts in various btaobb of matueity. — 1. Dimi- 
uution of tbe Substance of Comets ; 2. Herschel's Theory of Conso- 
lidation ; 3. Are Comets habitable bodies, 



.:i.v Google 



Mr Milne's Prhe Essay on Comets. 345 

PART V. — Views besfectind the avexEM in obnebal — 1. 
Theories respecting the Origin of Planela snd Cometa ; 2. An Ob- 
jection to La Place's theory removed ; 3. Olbei's theory as to the 
Extent of the Planetary System, erroneous ; 4. The eiisteDce of an 
Ethereal Medium proretl by Comets ; d. Comets iadicate the uni- 
versality vf Gravitation ; G. Conclosion." 

The extract is. Comets in various stages of Maturity. 

" 1. From a carefal examination of those Comeu n-hose motions are 
exactly known, on their aucceBaive returna to the perihelion, much va* 
luable inforination of a different nature may be obtained ; For, if they 
happen to have undei^one any change in their physical constitution, 
during the period of Uieir shsence, that change will probably be indica- 
ted by a corresponding Tariation in their appearance. Since the ef- 
fect of the Holar power is so great (whatever be the mode of its opera- 
tion) in pushing away the nebulonx matter of the Comet, into the form 
of a tail, it has been supposed that some of this nebnlous matter may 
even be alh^ether detached from the attraction of the nucleus, so as to 
cause a gradual diminution in the Comet's substance ; and this effect, it 
ia obvious, will be the more easily produced, if the graritaliun of the ne- 
holous particles to the nucleus be weakened by a rotatory motion of the 
Comet. Now, an attentive examination of those Comets, whose ap- 
proaches to the sun at the perihelion are near in respect of distance, and 
frequent in respect of time, may enable us to judge whether or not this 
supposition be well founded. But this ia a point to which the attention 
of astronoinera has been too recently directed, to be yet very satisfacto- 
rily fixed. Numeroua data are requisite, which a constant and careful 
observation can alone supply, before any decisive result can be obtained. 
But certainly the observations of astronomers, as far as thev have been 
made, with regard both to the diminished size of the nucleus of all co- 
mets atier a perihelion passage, and the inferior brilliancy of Honey's in 
particular, at its last appearance *, aeema to confirm what other consi- 
derations abundantly suggest, that a partial abstraction of nebulous mat- 
ter does take place at every approximation of a comet to the sun. 

" The qnestion, therefore, very naturally occurs, whether a Comet, 
after a long succession of revolutions, will not be liable to become alto- 
gether annihilated by tliia dispersion of its nebulous matter? Herscbel's 
opinion respecting the constitution and formation of comets, here de- 
9 it satisftictorily resolves the difficulty which is 

■ Brande'i Jutno. iL 08. 

r:i (.:?:!.; Google 



846 Mr Milne's Prize Eisa^ on Comets, 

now propoied. There is no indiridual perhaps in the unrials or astrono- 
my who has cootribiited more to our knowledge of the lipaveiia than Sir 
William Herachel, both by extending the limits of our Tision into the 
most distaDt parts of the universe, and by iDresIipting the laws which 
goTem the more cotnplirated phenomena of natnre. But of all hie con- 
tribuuons to the scieace, none are so important in themselTes, or so well 
calculated to disclose to us the secret and marTellons operations going 
on in the workshop of Nature, as the discoTeries which he has nrnde 
concerning nebnln. Thew Debnlee, it is snppoeed, are formed by the 
partial condensa^on of matter, proltably the etherial medium itself dif- 
fused- ibronghoiit theT nnirerse ; enil chat their number must be prodi- 
gious, is sufficiently proved by the &ct, that Herachel, by bis own ef> 
fort* alone, discovered 200O of them. Some of the nebuin are found 
to have so strong a resemblance tu many comets, which, on account of 
their distance from the sun, can just be discerned from the earth, that 
they are n»t unfrequestly confounded * ; and it is only by a nearer ap- 
proach, or by an intimate acquaintance with all the nebuUa in the same 
quarter of the heavens, tiiat astronomers are able to distinguish them. 
Now, it is the opinion of Herachel, and his opinion is strongly sup- 
ported by the authority of La Place f , that Comets are originally minute 
nebulffi, which, by the continual approximation of their particles, have 
at lengtli acquired such a degree of density, as to be capable of being 
attracted by the sun, and of describing an orbit of their own. As the 
nebulous mass approaches the sun, one result, as we have seen, is the 
ej^nsiou of its parts, and their prolongation into what has been termed 
the Tail : But, another result, according to HersrJiel, and one no less 
imporlalit, isa gradual consolidation of the nebulous matter by the agency 
of the solar heat, " It is admitted ou all hands," says he, " that the act of 
" shining denotes m decomposition, in which at least light is given out; 
but that many other elastic volatile subetancea escape at the same time, 
especially in so high a d^ree of rarefaction, is tar from improh^le. 
Since light then, certainly, and very likely other subtile fluids alto, 
escape in great abnadaace during a cAnsideiable time before and ttui a 
comet'a nearest approach lo the sun, 1 look," says Herachel, '■ iqton a 
perihelion passage in some d^ee as an act of consolidation ^." 

■ " By the gradual increase of the distance of our Comet," says Herschel, 
speaking of the Comet of IS07, " we have seen that it assumed the eemhiance 
of a nebula ( and it is certtuo, thai had I met with it in one of tn j eveeps of 
the zones of Uie heavens, as it appeared on eitlier of the days betwem the 
8th December and the 8Ut Frtruary, it would have been put down in the 
list I bave given of uebulie." 

t Comiois^ance dea Tens, 181«. i FhiL Trans. IB13-14 

.tOoqIc 



Mr Milne's Prvie Essay on Comets. 347 

" II. This procesH of ronBolidation will eri<tend}' be the more power- 
ful, the more that the Comet is «nb|ected to the enn'ii calorific actioD; 
a cooditioD which depends upon two circumsEancea ; one, the perihelion 
distance of the Comet, the other, the time in which it completes its re- 
volution. It folloWB from thia CDnsideration, that we may be able eveo 
to estimate the degree of solidity which Comets have attnioed, (imply 
by taking into account these two circnmaianws ; htkI a reference to ob- 
servatJoD will at once shew whether or Dot the theory be correct. But 
before attempting to apply this test, one remarlc must be made, which 
abews that the application of it may not in all cases be coDclnsive.- If 
all Comets during ibeir successive revolutions round the sun, leere to 
remain totally exempt from the possibility of receiving any accession of 
foreign matter, tending to enlarge their hulk, then we might expect that 
the consideration of their perihelion distance and their period of I'evolu- 
tioD should always correspond with the amount of their solidity, or, in 
other words, the actual size of their nucleus. But if we suppose with 
Herscbel, Lb Place, and other eminent asUonomera, that there exist 
multitudes of nebula throughout space in every different stage of matu- 
rity, from those whose formation has just commenced, to those whose 
condensatioa by the attraction of the particles has already so far ad- 
vanced, as will Boon render them capable of gravitating towards the smi, 
we nuBt reckon it not impossible that Comets, in the extensive range of 
their orbtta, may occasionally meet with some of these nebulce, and thus 
cany with them a new supply of uuperibelioned matter in their next 
approach to the centre of the system. Id this manner, the loss of sub- 
stance to which, as we have above remarked, comets are exposed, bv vo- 
iHtilieaticHi, may possibly be restored ; white, in process of time, they may 
aeqnire a magDitude and solidity conBiderably enrpassing what could have 
ariaeu from the primitive quantity of their nebulotn matter. Certainly 
wie are not at liberty to suppotM, tW this fortuitout junction of a comet 
with nebnlw takes place frequently ; btit, in estimating the consolidation 
of difierent Cnmeta, in order to find whether die result correspoods wiA 
what the frequency and neameaa of their approach to the sun wovU 
lead us to expect, we ought to recollect that the test is not infelliUe, 
from the poesibility of an aoeeseion of nebulous matter Inrnng occurred 
in the mannw we have dow deaOribed. 

" HWsobel'e tlieary, with reapect to the agency of die Mtar heu, in 
promoting the coDsotidation of comets, necessarily implies, that the en- 
velope and tul gradually become less extensive, and that the nucleus, 
upon whose snrfece the nebulous matter consolidates, gradually in- 
creases in magnitude. In these respects, therefore, some difference 
ought to be indicated by the physical appearance of those comets whose 



348 Mr Milne's Prize Essay on Comets. 

perihelion distances end periods of revolution are not the Mme ; a con- 
dition confirmed by the exaninaticm of eeveral, that hare been the most 
attentively observed. The second Comet of 1811 had a nucleus, which, 
acconling to the continental astronomers, amounted to 570 miles * ; 
while its tail was 500,000 miles in length. The Comet of 1807 poe- 
seBsed a nucleus of less size, bnt a tail of greater brilliancy ; the diame- 
ter of the one being only 538 miles, the length of the other ^,000,000. 
The first Comet of 1811, which, from its splendid appearance, has been 
termed the great Comet of 1811, was observed to have a smaller nu- 
cleus ; but, on the otber hand, its envelope and tail were far more ex- 
tensive : the diameter of its nucleus was 4SS miles, and its tail stretched 
out nt> less than 133,000,000 of miles. The first of these three comets, 
then, according to Herschel's theory, must have been subjected in a 
mncli greater degree to the consolidating influence of the sun's teat 
than udier of the other two, seeing that it had the largest nucleus, and 
the least quantity of nebnlous matter: and the like result ought to be 
indicated with respect to sll the three comets, on a comparison of their 
respective periods and perihelion distances. The periodical revolution 
of the great Comet of 1811 is found to be 3383 years, and it approaches 
1.55 nearer the sun at ite perihelion, than the other Comet of 1811 : 
the product of these two numbers is 5243. The periodical revolution 
-of the Comet of 1807 is 1713 years, and its perihelion distance is 3.4<6 
times less than that of the seiMind Comet of 181 1 : the product of these 
two numbers is 4213. The periodical revolution of the second Comet 
of 1811, whose perihelion distance we have taken equal to 1 as the 
standard of comparison, is 875 yews. These numbers, then, 5243, 
4213, 875, representing inversely the result of the sun's long continaed 
action upon. the nebulous matt« of the three comets, correspond T«y 
nearly with the relative magnitudes of their nuclei, as indicated by ob- 
servation ; and hence the confirmation of Herschel's theory is complete. 
If thb comparative view of comets be verified by more extended obser- 
vations, it will serve to give some insight into the origin and arrange- 
mient of these bodies, and inform us of the true place which they occu- 
py in the planetary system. Nor will it be the least important reeah 
of the establishment of this theory, that it will enable astronomers to 
arrange comets according to the various stages of maturity at which, in 

■ Braode'B Astron- li 31. I maj here ^un advert to the difierence in 
the measurements of this comec, made by ShrJJter and HerscbeL If we as- 
sume the measurement given by the ktter, it becomes even more &vourable 
to the theory subletted in the test. 3 



3.n.iized by Google 



Mr Milne's Prize Essay on Comets. 349 

the progreaB of coasolidation, they have arriTed. Obserration has, in 
tact, already forniebed na with an eitensiTe scale of comets, which are 
: diatinguisbable by meaiiB of this important criterion. Several have been 
seen which had no nucleus at all, presenting ooly a gradnal thickening 
towards the middle parts, which were neariy translucent; while, on the 
other hand, there are many whose condensation has proceeded so far, 
by having been moTe subjected to the action of the solar heat, aa to 
have a nucleus 100, 1000, or even 2000 miles in diameter. Those of 
iha latter descrip^on approach, in alt the circumstances of their physical 
diararter, to the nature of planetary bodies ; and particularly, like them, 
are less exposed to those eadden chaogee from the violent action of the 
sun's heat near their perihelion, which comets of a smaller size and a 
looser texture are observed to undei^o. 

" 111. From these observations, we shall be the better able to esti- 
mate the probftbility of a aupposiuon, perhaps it may be said more spe- 
culative than Qseful, but nevertheless founded on philosophical princi- 
ples, whether or not comets be habitable bodies? It is very evident 
that such a supposition can never apply to tbe generality of comets ; 
for, with regard to those whose consolidation is stilt only partial, the 
violent changes wbich take place in their constitution and structure, 
both at the perihelion and at the aphelion, are totally incompatible with 
all OUT ideas of either animal or vegetable existence. Bat with respect 
to those comets, whose advanced state of maturity renders the sun's 
influence incapable of mBterislly affecting the sur&ce of the nucleus, 
there seems to be no physical impossibility why many of them may not 
be the abode of living creatures, as well as the Earth and the other pla- 
nets of the system. 

" Yet considering tbe extremes of distance from the sun, at which 
the comets are placed in different parts of their eccentric orbits, it has 
been concmved, that the prodi^ous variation* of heat and cold to which 
dte inhabitants of a comet must be exposed, render the above supposi- 
tion quite untenable. This, however, is on objection, wbich, though 
applicable to all comets, whatever be their state of consolidation, is truly 
more specious than substantial. Newton, indeed, calculated that the 
great Comet of 1680, which passed within 150,000 miles of the sun's 
aurftce, mnst have been heated to a temperature SOOO times greater 
than red hot iron. Bnt the simple &ct, that the comet, even if its den- 
sity had exceeded that of iron itself, was not instantly dissipated by the 
violence of such a combustion, indicates some error in the data on which 
thi* calculation is founded. Still, though it should be allowed that the 



350 Mr Milne*s Prize Essay on ComeU. 

heat is not m great as MnvtiHi was inclined to eetimate, it ma^ be sup* 
posed that the variatiaiis of temperature to which a comet is sabiected, 
are yet much too considerable for the esiateoce and abode of bang«i 
powessing coDititntions at all aaalogoui to drose upon the Eardi. Bst 
an application of the Uw« of dwDiical science to this aubject, denon* 
atrstee that these extremes of be«t and cold m by no means so execs* 
aive, as the mere alterations in the cmnet's distance from dw sut might 
perfa^ lead ns to imagine. 

" In the first place, it is well knoim, that, in the heating of bodies, 
when the compresaion to which they are subjected remaina the same, 
there ii a certain point, beyond which, whatever be the means employed, 
their temperature can never be elevated. Water, for instance, nnder 
the common atmoxpherical pressure, may be beated up as far as 212° 
of Falirenheit; but all the heat which we employ in the endeavour to 
raise this temperature higher, is only dissipated in the ensuing erapoia- 
tion. In like manner, the substance constituting a comet must have a 
certain point of its own, which, however near it may qtproach die nid, 
its mean temperature can never exceed. The tail of the comet may be 
expanded t« a prodigions length, tbe nebulous envelope may become 
enlarged to an equal extent; even the materials on tbe surface of tbe 
nncleoB, by volatilization, may pass into a gaseous or aerial form ; but 
the planetary or solid body itself will experience no accession of heal 
beyond that point of maximum temperature, which its own nature and 
coBstitution detenu ine. 

" In the second place, we may observe, that wlien, by any means, 
tbe denuty of bodies ia made to i^aDge, by a process, whether of rare- 
faction, on tbe one hand, or of condensauon, on the other, they are al< 
ways found to undergo a corresponding diminntioD or increase of tem- 
perature. When, therefore, in the approach of a comet to tbe sua, all 
the parte of its nebulous envelope and tail, which in the remoter regions 
of its course had been gathered close about the head, become expanded 
and attenuated, a very hu^ proportion of the solar tieat, which would 
otherwise have passed into the nucleus, and contributed to raise its tern- 
pOTature to a certain point, is carried off by the envelope and tul, in 
order Xo preserve an equilibrium among the several parts. Let us at- 
tempt to form some estimate of the actual loss of temperature thus sus- 
tained by tbe rarefaction. If we assume that tbe nebulous maUer 
ia elevated about 30 times its former height, the diminution <^ dea- 
sity, corresponding with the increase of volume, will amount to 
(30)^, or 27,000; and employing the fiH-mula given in the Supple- 
ment to ibe Encyclopedia Britannica, article ' Climate,' we have 



Mr Milne's Prize Essay on Comets. 351 

45° X {37,000 — -^;3oo}> "' "^'^'y l,215,0p0 degreM of Fahrenbeit, 
iat die tpnntity of caloric abtracted. Noir, Newtoo, jutting from tbe 
proximity of th» Comet of 1680 to tbe smi at its perihefion, aliewa 
that its temperatnre ought to be about 2000 times greater than the 
temperatare of iron red bot, or about 9000 times greater than the beat 
of boiHng water; the botKng point of water being 212° of Fahrenheit, 
the smi commnaicated to this comet a supi^y of calonc amounting to 
1.908,000°. Bat the loss, wbich, as we bare jost seen, must have been 
BUatuned by the rarefaction above supposed, amounted to two-thirds of 
thia qnantity ; so that the actual influence of tbe sun, in raising the tem- 
perature of the comet, will undoubtedly be diminishei) in the same pro- 
portion. In a corresponding manner, when the comet retires towards 
its aphelion, where the heat of the sun becomes so much weakened on 
account of the distance, the coudenSHtion of the nebulous matter form< 
tng the tul and envelc^ serres not only to furnish the ifucteDS with 
continual supplies ^m the heat acquired at the perihelion, but even to 
render the warming influence of the solsr rays much more efficacious 
than at a less remote part of the comet's orbit. 

" It appears, tiien, that tbe variations of heat and cold, to which 
comets are exposed in the oppoute points of their course, oie by no ■ 
means so great as to be incompatible with the supposition of their being 
fit abodes far animated beings : and if we recollect the fiicility with 
which our own bodies can adapt themselves to great and sudden ex- 
tremes of temperature, as exempjilied by Tarious experiments, we may 
even conjecture these beings to possess a constitution not very dissi- 
milar to that of the human species. Individuals, we know, have often 
dlowed themselves to be confiued for a considerable time in apartments 
heated to 260° and 280° of Fahrenheit, without feeling much inconve- 
nience; and though we cannot as easily ascertun the extent to wbich 
, cold may be endured by the human frame, we know that it is frequent- 
ly exposed, without any injurious effects, to an intensity for surpassing 
what is necessary for the congelation of mercury '. In order, then, to 
4)e capable of sustaining those variations of temperature to which a 
comet may be subjected, it is not necessary that the constitution of its 
supposed inhabitants should be very different from tbe constitntion of 
the beings belonging to the Earth. And when we recollect that these 
variattiHis proceed in a gradual manner, not by the rapid transitions 

* Guy Lusiu mentions, that natural cold has been observed, and thetv- 
fore sustaineil Iv the human frame, so severe as — n8° of Fahrenheit. Bna- 
iter's Journal, iij. 181. 



3.n.iized by Google 



352 Mr Milne^s Prize Essay on Comets. 

whicb we often experience on our own globe, Uie progreM from one 
degree of temperature to anotber, as tfae comet jonnieyB onwaid in its 
cam«e, may be little perceived by its inbabitanta. 

% " It ia true tbat the atinospbere respired by these beings, wbile it ia 
at one place a highly attenuated gaa, ia at another converted into a me- 
dium extremely dense ; and therefore it may be difficult to ccncMve 
how animation can be supported in theae 0[q»o8ite situations. But 
when Halley was able to breathe freely in a diving-bell, in which the 
compressed air was twelve times more dense than that on the tops of 
EDOuntuns, — and when the lungs, with all the other bodily M-gans, can 
so readily accommodate themselvee to the most variable and trying cir- 
camstancea, we do perceive how it is 'possible for respiration to be 
carried on, notwithstanding these chaoges in a comet's atmo^hece, 
which, though undoubtedly extensive, yet take place in a slow, and 
thwefbre hannleas, manner. Another objection has been started to the 
existence of living beings on cometa, on account of the alternations of 
light and darkness to which, in the opposite portions of theii orbit, they 
ai« thought Xa be exposed. But 1 find it remariced by Bailly, that the 
Comet of 1680, suppoiiog it at the aphelion to be 136 times more dis- 
tant from t^e sun than the Earth, ought for this reason to receive five 
times as much light from the sun as we do from the full moon ; and 
when, we add to this the superior density of the comet's atmospbere at 
this distant part of its orbit, tt is capable of obtaining a still greater 
qnanuty of light by refraction *. 

" These esptaaatioos, then, if they be deemed correct, make it ap- 
pear that the several changes which are produced upon th«> cona^tution 
of a comet, in coneeqaence of its varying distances from the sun, are 
not incompatible with our ideas of Emimated existence, and go so ^ as 
to render it not improbable, that the beings which inhabit cornels may 
even possess bo«li]y frames resembling those of terrestrial beings. But 
why, it may be asked, are we so solicitous to es^blisb this r^emblance 
between ourselves and the inhabitants of a colnet, as if that were a 
condition which alone could render their existence possible ? When 
we survey the wide field of animal organization Which lies within the 
scope of oiu own experience, from Man, the proud lord of creation, to 
those tribes of zoopbytca which we place lowest in the scale, do we not 
behold « contianal snccesuon of beings, as infinite in variety as in 
extent P If, then, upon the surface of onr awa little planet, we behold 
■o divenified a picture of animal life, why should we deem it as either 

• BaiUy, Hist. d'Astron. iii. 867. 

L-|t.:f:l.v Google 



Mr Milne's Prize Essay on Comets. 353 

aanBturat or unlikely, tbat Coraeta nmy bo t1ie resideoce of beings wide- 
ly different from those wbich ftill within tba Tiarrov sphere of human 
obHerratinn. What though these beings, from the pecaliarities of their 
Nituation, be endoired with neither lunga, nor eyps, nor the feelings 
which afford the sensatioim of heat and cold, tike unto our bodily or- 
gans? Does lAiis u'ant imply either any tin probability aa to their exist- 
ence, or eren any inferioritv, compared with oureelres, in the scale of 
creation? Moat cert»nly not: For, if we estimate the intelligence of 
beings bv the knowledge which their place iri the univeme is fitted to 
impart, we are compelled to regard the Cometary inhabitants as of an 
order even superior to the creatures of the Earth. When, for example, 
they find themselves passing through the midst of the satellites, those 
small bodies which we can scarcely discern with telescopesv— or when 
they are brought so close to the planet Saturn, that they can examine 
the wonderful plienomenon of his rings even witli the naked eye, — or 
when at the perihelion passage, they are able to observe every thing on 
the surface of the Sun, that great luminary, the mysterious source of 
life, and light, and energy to the system ; — what spectBCles of delightful 
contemplation must they enjoy, and what means of attaining an acquaint- 
ance with the works of Nature, infinitely greater than any which we 
shall ever command 1 Traversing, as they do, the whole extent of that 
system uf which the Earth forms so insignificant a member, and direct- 
ing their course far beyond its known limits into those regions o£ space, 
whose dark and unfathomable nature it will for ever baffle human pe- 
netration to explore, the beings who have their abode on Comets moat 
be fiimiliar with many important truth?, of which we can obtain only a 
few casual glimpses, and wibiess such glorious and sublime displaya of 
the manifold wonders of creation, aa must afford to them the noblest 
conception of that Almighty Being, by whose wisdooi they were con- 
stniet«d, and by whose power they are stjii rostained. 



Or ike Use qflAgatures arid Bleeding in Casea of Poisoning: 

J.N a memoir, read lately by Cr Vemi^ to the Frmch Aca- 
demy of Sciences, od Certmn Methods of treating all Cases of 
Foisraiing, the author commenced with mentioning the expeai- 
mentB in which Magendie succeeded in completely su^Mnding 
absorption in a dog, by producing an artitidal plethcmiTtiy 
means <^ the injection of tejnd water into the veins. Proceed. 

JULT — SEPTEMBEB 18S8. X 

D.n.iized by Google 



354 On the Use oflAgaiures and Bleeding 

ing on this important fact, he made the following experiment. Af- 
ter putting three grains of alcoholic extract of nux vomica upon a 
wound made in the foot of a young dog, he applied a ligature 
above the humero-cubital articulation of the wounded limb. He 
then slowly injected, by the jugular vein, as much water as the 
animal could bear, without suffering much. After this, he open- 
ed the vein of the poisoned limb, below the l^ture, and, ta- 
king away a few ounces of blood, injected them into the jugu- 
lar vein of another dog. This dog died in convuMons at the 
very moment of injection. The wound of the first dog, how- 
ever, having been carefully cleaned, a litde blood was allowed' 
to Sow, and the animal was put at liberty. It exhibited no- 
^mptoms of poisoning, and eight days after was perfectly wdl, 
when it was sacrificed for other experiments. 

The result of this experiment is eanly accounted for. It be- 
ing known that plethora stops absorption ; the blood which flow. 
ed from the vein that was opened could alone be impregnated 
with poison, for that vein and its afferents were the only vessels 
that did not participate in the general plethora. 

This experiment appeared decisive to M. Vemi^re. But the 
means of applying the principle which it affords to practice pre- 
sents a great inconvenience, — the necessity of infusing water in- 
to the veins. This infu^on, the author thinks, may be avoid- 
ed, and that it is sufficient to induce a local plethora.in the p(n- 
soned limb. Now, nothing is more easy than this, as it may be 
■ done by a moderately tight ligature. This ligature applied, it 
would be sufficient to open one of the veins of the engorged 
part, to determine the flow of the poisoned blood. 

The author adduced two experiments in support of Uiis me- 
thod. In the first, three grains of extract of nux vomica were 
spread upon a wound made on the cheek of a small-sized Aog. 
After an application of six minutes, during which the experi- 
menter kept the two jugular v^na compressed with his thumbs, 
that of the poiscmed side was largely opened with a lancet, the 
-blood Bowed abundantly, and the animal, when restored to its 
feet, experienced only a little weakness. 

In the other expoiment, the author inserted under the skin of 
he BDtenor surface of the fore-1^ of a young dog, three gruns 

i 

D3t.z.dcyGOOg[C 



in coats qfPmsoning. 25S 

of the SAme extract. A tight ligature was, at the same time, 
applied to the limb. Five minutes ai^r the application, the 
poison was removed by repeated washings ; the ligature was re- 
moved, and the animal, being let loose, walked peaceably about. 
It was, however, soon seized with very violent convulsions. A 
laige qUanuty of blood was immediately taken from the jugular 
vein, and the convulsions ceased. The animal, on being set at 
liberty, walked as before ; only a few rattling inspirations were 
heard from time to time, which presently ceased. The author 
thought that, in this experimait, the ligature having been too 
tight, the artery bad been compressed along with the vein, so 
that plethora could not have been produced. , 

From this e.xperiment M. Verniere concludes, \8t. The inu- 
tility of too tight a ligature ; ^icUy, That, even after the poison 
has penetrated far into the torrent of the drculation, the evil is 
not beyond the resources of art, and that it is still posable, by 
means of large general bleedings, to expel the pcusrai from the 
system. 

It may, in fact, be easily conceived, and experiment proves 
it, that if bleeding is practised at an early period, when the poi- 
son is still contained in the large veins, the lungs, and the heart, 
it will pass, by preference, through the path where it finds less 
resistance ; and consequently, the portion destined for the other 
organs must be diminished in the proportion of the blood that 
passes through the veins opened. 

Hitherto the treatment of al) cases of poisoning has been al- 
most exclusively confined to removing the poison frbtn the surface 
where it was deposited. No person ever dreamed of pursuing 
it into the veins, and still less of arresting it in the depths of the 
circulation. The experiments mentioned, reduce the treatment 
of all cases of poisoning, hydrophobia included, to a few pre- 
cepts, so simple and so easily executed, that the most ordinary 
practitioner cannot fiul to apprehend it. 



3.n.iized by Google 



On the Temperature ^ Sprirtffg in the vieiniit/ cf CoBniotK, 
near Edinburgh, in Latitude 66° 54* 49^ N. ^ Long. 3° 16 
8*W. 

X BE foDowing obMrvstioiis were continued frtmi August 
1827 to August 1^8. 

The springs issue fran alluvium on the ^es of the water oC 
L«th, close to the village <^ Colinton : the spring A, from gra- 
vel ; the spring B, from clay. Their hei^t above the level ot 
the high-water at spring-tides was accurately determined : spring 
A, was S66.8 feet, and spring B, 264.8 above the level men- 
tioned. I'he observations aa the temperature of the atmosphere- 
vere made some yards above the level of the spring A. 

Detail of Obgervaiiona. 



M, .„ A, 4fti* 



1827, 




laaa. 






Aog.as. 


SpringA,48":8iirijigB,49i° 


Mer. 2. 


Spring A, 4ef 




sa 


... A. Mi" ... B,60' 


9. 


... A,461- 


.. B,4ei- 


Sept. 6. 


... A, Ml- ... B,10- 


18. 


... A,47- 


. B,461' 


M. 


... A,4r ... B,iol- 


38. 


... A, 48i° 


.. B.43J- 


Oct. 1 


... A, 461- ... B,a»(- 


Aprtl4. 


... A, 481- 




10. 


... A,4r ... B,48- 


11. 


... A, 46" 




l& 


... A,46i- ... B,40- 


24. 


... A,48- 


B,46l' 




(wet weather). 


SO. 


... A, 48" 


.. B,481' 


94. 


... A,4«r ... B,40- 


Her IS. 


... A, 4ir 


.. B,4r 




tafier greet reiDi> 


21. 


... A,48i- 


. B,47»' 


Not. 1. 


... A,4r .. B,4»- 


28. 


... A,47r 


.. B,4«l' 


9. 


... A, 48? ... B,471° 


June 11. 


... A,47i- 


.. B,60' 


16. 


... A,4«- .. B,461- 


16. 


... A,48' 


.. B,60' 


H. 


... A.47r ... B,46' 


24. 


... A,49- 


.. B,61J' 


Dec 0. 


... A,47r -. B,4r 


30. 


-. A,4>r 


.. B,61' 


16. 


... A, 471- ... B,4r 


Julj 10. 


... A, 49r . 


.. B,611' 


26. 


... A, 471' ... B,454' 


17. 


... A,49- 


.. B,ll' 


ms. 




23. 


... A,40i- 


.. B,6»l' 


Jen. 6. 


... A, 47° 


2a 


... A, 42' 


.. B,6U' 


19. 


... A, 471- ... B,4»J- 


A.«. 1 


.,. A. 49' 


.. B,61l' 


S7. 


... A,4r ... B,4«- 


11. 


.;. A,494' 


.. B,621' 


Feb. 10. 


... A. 48- ... 8,43' 




(efterheevyreine). 


»7. 


... A,46- 


la. 


.- A,4tl' 


. B,6ir 



3.n.iized by Google 



t>» the Temperature ^Sprmgt. 
Reduction ^the ObtervaHom. 









SirtKA. 


SpriogB. 


Air. 




Hmb. 




1898, 












Jmm^ 


SpriagA, 


n-.tik-.tr. . 


47JW 




4l!l6 




... B, 


Ml, 48, 




46-75 




f,br<tmf. 


SpttogA, 


18, 48, 4»1, . 


46^4 




4aai 




... B, 


43,434, 




43.36 




««A 


SpmgA, 


46 , 461, 47, 4C1, 


4&31 




4S.14 




... B, 


48i,48t,43i, . 
46 , 48, 46, 46, - 
46 , 48i, 
46,461, 47k - 




46.33 




Jp-H 


SprtnBA,' 


45.88 


46J7 


46.10 


"-, 


48.86 


63.6S 




... B, 


47, 47i, 491, - 




47.91 




JK", 


SprtojA, 


471,48,49,491, 


48.44 




«ao6 




... B, 


60, 66, 611, 81, 




60.66 




'A*, 


Spring A, 


491, 49, 491, 49, 


MM 








..7 b, 


611, 61, 631, 611, 




6IJM 


83.81 


1838 A 1837, 










^w* 


SprtigA, 


49, 481, 491; 46, 461, 


48.8S 




67.82 




.- B, 


611,611,611.491,60, 




61.00 




ia«. 












Svllml^ 


Spring A, 
Spring A,' 




4&Sfi 


60.16 


64.78 


Owto-, 


1, 48'l, 


48.31 




61.13 




".. B, 


',49, 




48.S7 




iTtMmttr 


Spring A, 


471, 


47.81 




42JW 




... B, 


1.48, 




48^ 




Dtcimiti, 


Spring A, 


71, 


47.68 




43L40 


... - B, 


Sunu, 




46.84 




S70.« 


673.19 


696.46 


Mean Results, 


47.62 

iHoth 


47-78 


49.62 


re»p.U8..i(.«id«r 


leMMa 


+ 0.44 






TrueS 


leanTei 


ip. 60.08 1 



With r^ard to the hut column, it nuy be remarked that it 
coDtuns the mean result of obnervatioDs made daily at 8 a. h. 
and 8 p.m. fVom August 16.1827 to August Id. 18S8, both in- 
cluave. It exhibits clearly the extraordinary mildness of the 
season, which appears to have raised the temperature of the air 
more than two degrees above that of the earth, as shewn by the 
springs. The reducbon of the annual temperature, as observed 
at 8 A. K- and 8 r. 11. is taken frcm the Report of the hourly 
obaervatioos at Leith. The difference of (f .S4 between the two 
springs is attributable to their difference of level, to which it 
nearly corresponds. The atmos[^eric temperature for August 
b a mean of the first half o! that month in 18S8, and the se- 
cond in 1827. J. D. F. 

D.n.iized by Google 



( 368 ) 

A Brief Accouni ^ Murotcopieal Obiervations maAe in the 
MonthatfJune, Ji%, and August 1827, on the PartkUs 
contained in t/te PcJleh of Plants ; atid mi the General 
Existence of active Molecvles in Organic and Inorganic 
Bodies. By Hobert Bbown, P.R.S, Hon. M.R.9.E. and 
R.I. Acad.V.P.LS. &c &c* 

A HE observations, of which it is my object to give a summary 
in the following pages, have all been made witli a simple mi- 
croscope, and indeed with one and the same lens, the focal 
length of which is about ,'gd of an incht. 

The examination of the unimpregnated vegetable ovulum, 
an account of which was pubUshed early in 182(i J, led me to 
attend more minutely than 1 liad done before to the structure 
of the pollen, and to inquire into its mode of action on the pis- 
tillum in phtenogamous plants 

In the essay referred to, it was shown that the apex of the 
nucleus of the ovulum, the point which is universally the seat of 
t|ic future embryo, was very generally brought into contact 
with the terminations of the probable channels of fecundation ; 
these b«ng either the surface of the placenta, the extremity of 
the descending processes of the style, or more rarely, a part of 
the surface of the umbilical cord. It also appeared, however, 
from some of the facts noticed in the same essay, that there 

* ThU impnrtBnt and highly InteTMling Memoir «a« »ent u» hj our Mem] 
Mr Brown, and, altbougb not publiahed, we believe we are not acting con- 
trarj to tbe wishes of the author in ){iving il an early place in the Edinbur^ 
Philosophical JoumaL 

i' This double convex lens, which has been several jean in ray possesion, 
I obtained from Mr Bancka, oplidan in the Stisnd. After I had mode con- 
siderable progress in tbe inquirj, I explained the nature of mj lulyect to Mr 
Dollond, who obligingly made for me a simple pocket microscope, having 
very delicate adjustment, and furnished with excellent lenses, two of which 
are of much higher power than that above mentioned. To these I have often 
had Tecourae, and with great advantage, in Investigating several minute points. 
But to give greater GDnslttmcy to my atatements, and to bring the autgject as 
much as possible wltbin the reach of geueial observatian, I continued to em- 
ploy throughout the whole of the inquiry the same lens with which it was 
commenced. 

t In the Botanical Appendix to Captain King's Voyages to Australia, 
voL ii. p. 634, ft seg. 

D.n.iized by Google 



OnJJie Exiitence <^ Active Molecukt. 35D 

were cases in which the particles cantaiaed in the grains of pd. 
len could hardly be conveyed to that pinnt of the ovulum 
through the vessels or cellular tissue of the ovarium ; and the 
knowledge of these cases, as well as of the structure aod eco- 
nomy of the anthene .in AscIepiadeK, hod led me to doubt the 
correctness of observations made by Stiles and Gl^cheo upwards 
<!f mty years ago, as well as of some very recent stat^nents, re- 
specting the mode of action of the pollen in the process of im- 
pregnation. 

It was not until late in the autumn of 1826 that I could at- 
tend to this subject ; and the season was too far advanced to 
enable me to pursue the investigation. Finding, however, in 
one of the few plants then examined, the figure of the particles 
- contained in the grains of pollen clearly discernible, and that 
figure not spherical but oblong, I expected, with some c<mfi- 
dence, to meet with [dants in other respects more favourable to 
the inquiry, in which those particles, from peculiarity of form, 
mi^t be traced through th«r whole course : and thus, per- 
haps, the question determined whether they in any case reach 
the apex of the ovulum, or whether their direct action is limit- 
ed to other parts of the female organ. 

My inquiry on this point was commenced in June 18^, and 
the first plant examined proved in some respects remarkaWy 
well adapted to the object in view. 

This plant was Clarchia piddteUa, of which the grains of 
pollen, taken from anthers full grown, hut before bursting, were 
filled with particles or granules of unusually large size, varying 
from nearly lo'ogth to about ^o'ijDth of an inch in length, and 
of a iigure between cylindrical and oblong, perhaps slightly 
flattened, and having rounded and equal extremities. While 
examining the form of these parades immersed in water, I ob- 
served many of them very evidently in motion ; their motion 
connsting not only of a change of place in the fluid, manifested 
by alteraUons in their relative portions, but also not unlre- 
quently of a change of form in the particle itself ; a contraction 
or curvature taking place repeatedly about the middle of one 
side, accompanied by a ccHresponding swelUng or convexity on 
the oppoOTte side of the particle. In a few instances the particle 
was seen to turn on its longer axis. These motions were such 



860 Mr Brown on the Exuteace of Active Malecviet 
as to satisfy me, after frequently repeated observatioD, that tliey 
arofie nather from currents in the fluid, nor from its gradual 
evi^wratioo, but bekAged to the particle itself. 

Grains of pollen of the same plant taken from anthers imme- 
diately after bursUng, ccmtained siinilar subcylindrical particle^ 
in reduced numbers, however, and mixed with other particlea, 
at least as numaxtua, of much smaller size, ^^nrratly spherical, 
and in rapid osciUatory tnotiMi. 

These smaller particles, or molecules, as I shall term them, 
when first seen, I considered to be some of the cylindrical par- 
ticles swimming vertically in the fluid. But frequent and care- 
ful examination lessened my confidence in this suppoaiticD ; 
and on continuing to observe them until the water had entirely 
evaporated, both the cylindrical particles and spherical auAe- 
cutes were found on the stage of the microscope. 

In extending my observations to many other [dants of the 
same natural family, namely Onagrarise, the same geaeral form 
and similar motitxis of particles were ascertained to exist, espe- 
dally in the various species of (Enothera, which I examined. 
I fomid also in their gnuns of pollen taken from the anthers 
immediately after bursting, a manifest reduction in the prapor- 
tim of the cylindrical or oblong particles, and a ctKTesponding 
increase in that of the molecules, in a less remarkable dc^rec^ 
however, than in Clarckia. 

TiiK appearance, cm- rather the great increase in the number 
of the molecules, and the reduction in that of the cylindrical 
partides, before the groin of pollen could poe^bly have come in 
contact with the sdgma, — were perplexing circiimstancea in this 
stage of the inquiry, and rertainly not favourable to the suppo- 
sition of the cylindrical particles acting directly on the ovulum ; 
an opinion which I was inclined to adopt, when I first saw them 
ID motion. These circumstances, however, induced me to mid- 
tipiy my observations, and I accordingly examined numerous 
species of many of the more important and remarkable families 
of the two ^eat jH-imary divisions of ph«»K)gamous plants. 

In all thete plants panicles were found, which in the diflerent 
families or geaen varied in form frcnn obl<xig to spherical, ha- 
ving manifest motions similar to those already .described ; ex- 
cept that the change of Conn in the oval and oblong f)articles was 

Djt.:?:l.«G00g[c 



in Organic and Inorganic Bodies. 361 

generally lew obvious than in Onagraiue, and in the spherical 
particle was in no degree observable*. In a great proportion 
of these ^iaats I also remarked the same reduction of the larger 
particles, and a corresponding increase of the molecules after 
the hurating of tbe anthene ; the molecule, of apparently ubi- 
tona size and form, being then always present ; and in some 
caaes indeed, no other particles were ol»erved, eklher in this or 
in any early stage of the secreting oi^an. 

In many plants belonging to several difierent families, but 
especially to Graminese, the membrane of the grain of pollen is 
ao transparent, that the motum of the larger particles within the 
entire grain was distinctly viable ; and it was manifest also at 
the more transparent angles, and in some cases even in the body 
of the grain in Onagrarise. 

In Asclepiadeas, strictly so called, the mass of pollen filling 
each celt of the anthera is in no stage separable into distinct 
gnuds ; but within, its tesselated or cellular membrane is filled 
wi^ spherical panicles, commonly of two sizes. Both these kinds 
of particles, when immersed in water, ore generally seen in vivid 
motian ; but the apparent motions of the larger particle cught 
. in these cases periiaps be caused by the rapid oscillauon of the 
more numerous molecules. The mass of pollen in this tribe <^ 
plants never bursts, but merely connects itsdf by a determinate 
pmnt, which is not unfrequently semitransparent, to a process 
of nearly nmilar consistence, derived from the gland of the cor- 
responding angle of the stigma. 

In Periploceas, and in a few Apocinete, the pollen, which in 
these plants is separable into compound grains filled with sphe- 
rical moving particles, is applied to processes of the sljgma, ana- 
logous to those of AsclefHadese. A similar economy exists 
in Orchidese, in which the pollen masses are always, at least in 
the early stage, granular ; the grains, whether simple or com- 
pound, contfuning minute, nearly spherical particles, but the 
whole mass being, with a very few exceptions, connecled by a 

* In LoliuDi pereime, hnwever, which I hBve more reeantlj examined, 
tbough the particle was oval ^ of BOialler eize than In OtugraiiK, this 
change of form was at least as remarkable, conaiiting in an equal coDtractioo 
in the middle of each side, ao as to divide it into two ae*x\y orbicular por- 
tions- 

D.n.llzedbyGOOg[C 



S6S Mr OvwD OB the Existence of Active Molecules 
detenninate point of its surface with the stigma or glandular 
process of that org;an. 

Having found motion in the particles of the pdllea of all the 
liTing plants which I had examined, I was led next to inquire 
whether this property continued after the dteth of the plant, 
and for what length of time it was retained. 

In plants, either dried or immersed in spirit for a few days 
only, the particles of pollen of both kinds were found in motion 
equally evident with that observed in the living plant ; ^>eci- 
mens of several plants, some of which had been dried and pre- 
served in an h^barium for upwards of twenty years, and 
others not less than a century, still exhibited the molecules or 
smaller spherical partJdes in considerable numbers, and in evi- 
dent motion, along with a few of the larger particles, whose 
motions were much less manifest, and in some cases not olraerv- 
able*. 

In this stage of the investigation, having found, as I be- 
lieved, a peculiar character in the motions of the particles of 
pollen in water, it occurred to me to appeal to this peculiarity 
as a test in certain families of Cryptogamoua plants, namely. 
Mosses, and the genus Equisetum, in which the existence of 
sexual organs had not been universally admitted. 

In the supposed stamina of both these families, namely, in 
the cylindrical antha*se or pollen of Mosses, and on the surface 
of the four spathulate bodies surrounding the naked ovulum, as 
it may be considered, of Equisetum, I found minute spheric^ 
particles, a]^)arently of the same size with the molecule de- 
scribed in Onagrarise, and having equally vivid motion on im- 
mersion in water; and this motion was still observable in speci- 
mens both of Mosses and of Equiseta, which had been dried 
upwards of one hundred years. 

* While this sheet was paFsing throu^ the press, I luiTe examined tiie 
pollen of Beveml flowers which bare been immersed in weak sjdiit alMnit ele- 
veit months, particularly of fiala tricolor, ZimnJa aqmitiea, and Zea Mayi ,■ 
and in all these plants the peculiar particles of the pollen, which are oval or 
short oblong, thou^ somewhat reduced in number, retain their form perfect- 
ly, and exhibit evident motion, though, I think, not »> vivid us in those be- 
longing to the living plitnt. In Viola Mcofor, in which, as well as in other 
species of the same natural section of the genua, the pollen has a very re- 
marlcabte form, the grun nn immersion in nitric acid still discharged its con- 
tents bj its fbuT angles, though with less force than in the recent plant. 

.. , C;oo>;lc- 



in Organic and Inorganic Bodies. 363 

The very uoexpected fact of seeming vitality rettuned by 
these minute particles so long after the death of the plant, 
vouJd not perhaps have materially lessened my confidence in 
the supposed peculiarity. But I at the same time observed, 
that, on bruising the ovula or seeds of Equisetum, which at 
first happened accidentally, I so greatly increased the number 
of moving particles, that the source of the added quantity could 
not be doubted. I found also, that, on bruiang first the floral 
leaves of Mosses, and then all other parts of those plants that I 
readily obtained similar particles, not in equal quantity indeed, 
but equally in motion. My supposed test of the male organ 
was therefore necessarily abandoned. 

Reflecting on all the facts vith which I had now become ac- 
quainted, I was disposed to believe that the minute spherical 
particles or molecules of apparently uniform size, first se^i in 
the advanced state of the pollen of Onagrarioi, and most other 
Phsenogamous plants, — then in the antherse of Mosses, and on 
the surface of the bodies regarded as the stamina of Equise- 
tum, — and, lastly, in bruised portions of other parts of the 
same plants, were in reality the supposed constituent or ele- 
mentary molecules of organic bodies, first so considered by 
Bufibn and Needham, then by Wrisberg with greater preci- 
sion, soon after and sdll more particularly by MOller, and, 
vCTy recendy, by Dr Milne Edwards, who has revived the 
doctrine, and supported it with much interesting detail. I 
now, therefore, expected to find these molecules in all organic 
bodies; and, accordingly, on examining the various animal and 
vegetable tissues, whether living or dead, they were always 
found to exist; and merely by brui^ng these substances in wa- 
ter, I never fuled to disengage the molecules in suffident num- 
bers to ascertun their apparent identity in dze, form, and nto- 
tion, with the smaller particles of the griuns of pollen. 

I examined also various products of organic bodies, particu- 
larly the gum resins, and substances of vegetable origin, ex- 
tending my inquiry even to pit-coal; and in all these bodies 
molecules were found in abundance. I remark here also, part- 
ly as a caution to those who may hereafter engage in the same 
inquiry, that the dust or soot deponted on all bodies in such 

D.n.llzedbyGOOg[C 



964 Mr Brown on the Exiatenu <^ Active Mokcules 
quantity, e^ietnally in London, is entirely oompoeed <^ these 
molecules. 

One of llie substances examined, was a Bpedmen of fossil 
wood, found in Wiltdiire odite, in a state to bum witb flame ; 
and as I fouttd these molecules abundantly, and in xdoUihi in 
this qwdmen, I supposed that th^ existence, though in smaller 
quantity, might be ascertained in nuaendized ve^table remains. 
With this view a minute portion of silkified wood, which ex- 
hibited the structure ot Conifers, was bruised, and spherical 
particles, or molecules in all respects like those so frequently 
mentioned, were readily obtained from it ; in such quanti^, 
however, that the whole substance of the petrifaction seemed U> 
be formed of tbem. But hence I inferred that these molecules 
were not limited to organic bodies, nor even to thdr products. 

To establish the correctness of the inference, and to asoertun 
to what extent tiie molecules eusted in mineral bodies, became 
the next obje<4 of inquiry. The first substance examined was 
a minute fragment of mndow-f^lass, from which, when m»riy 
bruised on the stage of the microscope, I readily and cc^ously 
obtained molecules ^re^ng in size, form, and motion with those 
which I had already seen. 

I then proceeded to examine, and with similar results, such 
Hunerals as I either had at hand or could .readily obtwi, inclu- 
ding several of the simple earths and metals, with many of thar 
combinations. 

Rocks of all ages, including tiioee in which organic rem^s , 
have never been found, yielded the molecules in abundance. 
Their existence was ascertained in each of the constituent mi- 
nerals of granite, a fragment of the Splunx bdng one of the ^le^ 
cimens examined. 

To mention all the mineral substances iu which I have found 
these molecules, would be tedious ; and I ^all confine myself 
in this summary to an enumeration of a few of the most re- 
markable. These were both of aqueous and igneous origin, 
as travertine, stalactites, lava, obsidian, pumice, volcanic ashes, 
and meteorites from various localities*. - Of metals I may 
mention manganese, nickel, plumbago, bismuth, antimony, and 

' I fa&ve rince found the molecules in the und-tubM, fiamed b^ U^ttiiD);, 
from Diig In Cumberland. 



3.q.l,zed by Google 



tn Organk and Inorganic Bo^g. 36& 

anenic. In a word, in every mineral which I could reduce to 
a powder, sufBdently fine tobe tempwarily suspended in water, 
I found these molecules more or less copiously ; and in some 
cases, more particularly in silidous crystals, the whole body 
submitted to examinaticm appeared to be composed of them. 

In many of the substances examiDed, especially those of a 
fibrous structure, as asbestos, actinolite, tremolite, zeolite, and 
evfQ steatite, along with the spherical molecules, other ,corpuscu les 
were found, like short fibres somewhat monilifcHin, whose trans- 
rerse diameter appeared not to exceed that of the molecule of 
which they seemed to be primary comlnnations. These fibrils, 
when of such length as to be probably composed of not more 
than four or fire molecules, and still more evidently when formed 
of two or three only, were gaierally in motion, at least as vivid 
as that of the simple molecule itself; and which from the fibril 
oflen changing its portion in the fluid, and from its occasional 
bending, might be sud to be somewhat vermicular. 

In other bodies whidi did not exhibit these fibrils, oval par- 
ticles of a fflze about equal to two molecules, and which were , 
also conjectured to be primary comlnnations of these, were not 
unfrequeoUy met with, and in motion generally more vivid 
than that of the nmple mcdecule ; their motion consisting in 
turning usually on their longer axis, and then often appearing 
to be flattened. Such oval particles were found to be nume* 
rous and extremely active in white arsenic. 

As mineral bocties which had been fused contained the movii^ 
molecules as abundantly as those of alluvial deposits, I was de- 
nrous of aacertaining i^ether the mobility vi the particles ex- 
istit^ in orgamc bodies was in any degree aflected by the ap- 
plication of intense beat to the containing substance. With 
this view small portions of wood, both living and dead, linen, 
pi^r, cotton, wool, mlk, hair, andmuscular fibres, were exposed 
to the flame of a candle, or burned in platina forceps, heated by 
the blow[npe ; and in all these bodies so heated, quenched in 
mter, and immediately submitted to examination, the molecules 
were Jbund, and in as evident motion as those obtained from tbe 
same substances before burning. 

In srane of the v^etable bodies bunted in this manner, in 
addition to the simple molecules, primary comUnatiofls of these 



366 Mr Brown on the Existence ^Active Mdtadea 
were observed, consistiDg of fibrils having transversa coUtrac- 
tioDs, corre^Koding in number, as I omjectured, with that of 
the molecules componng them ; and Uiose filnils, when not con- 
sistiDg cJ a greater number than four or five molecules, exhibit- 
ed motion, resembling in kind and vivadty that of the mineral 
fibrils already described, while longer fibrils of the same appa- 
rent diameter were at rest. 

The substance found to yield these active fibnls in the largest 
proportion and in the most vivid motion, was the mucous coat 
interposed between the skin and muscles of the haddock, espe- 
cially after coagulation by heat. 

The fine powder produced on the under surface of the fronds 
of several ferns, particularly of AchroHichum cahmekmos, and 
the spe<nes nearly related to it, was found to be entirely com- 
posed of simple molecules, and their primary fibre-like com- 
pounds, both of them being evidendy in motion. 

There are three points of great importance which I was an- 
xious to ascertain respecting these molecules, namely, tbeir form, 
whether they are of uniform size, and.th^r absolute magnitude. 
I am not, however, entirely satisfied with what I have been able 
to determine on any of these points. 

As to form, I have stated the molecule to be spherical, and 
this I have done with some confidence ; the apparent exceptions 
which occurred admitting, as it seems to me, of being explained 
by supposing such particles to be compounds. This supposition 
in some of the cases is indeed hardly reconcileable with their ap- 
parent size, and requires for its support the further admis^on, 
that, in combination, the figuie of the molecule may be altered. 
In the particles formeriy considered as pnmary combinations of 
molecules, a cectain change of form must also be allowed ; and 
even the simple molecule itself has sometimes a}q)eared to me 
when in motion to have been slighdy modified in this respect 

My manner of estimating the absolute magnitude and unifor- 
mity in size of the molecules, found in the various bodies sub* 
mitted to examination, was by placing them on a micrtMneter di- 
vided to five-thousandths of on indt, the lines of which were 
VOTy distinct ; or more rarely on one divided to ten thousandliifi, 
with fainter lines, not readily viable without the application of 
plumbago, as employed by Dr Wollaston, but which in my sub- 
ject was inadmissible. 



in Organic and Inorganic Bodkg. 367 

The results so obtuned can only be regarded as approxima- 
tions, OD which perhaps, for an obvious reason, much reliance 
will not be placed. From the number and degree of accord- 
ance of my observations, however, I am upon the whole dispos- 
ed to believe the cdmple molecide to be of uniform size, though, 
as exisdng in various substances and examined in circumstances 
more or less favourable, it is necessary to state that ita diameter 
appeared to vary from ttiocc^^ ^ BBiinot^ of an inch *. 

I shall not at present enter into additional details, nor shall 
I hazard any. conjectures whatever respecting these molecules, 
whi(^ appear to be of such general existence in inorganic as 
well as in organic bodies ; and it is only farther necessary to 
mention the principal substances from which I have not been 
able to obtain them. These are oil, rean, wax, and sulphur, 
such of the metals as I could not reduce to that minut« state of 
divisiim necessary for their separation, and 6nB]ly, bodies so- 
luble in water. 

In returning to the subject with which my investigation com- 
menced, and which was indeed the only object I originally 
had itv view, I had still to examine into the probable mode of 
action of the' Urger or peculiar particles of the pollen, which, 
though in many cases diminished in number before the grain 
could possibly have been applied to the stigma, and particularly 
in Clarckia, the plant first examined, were yet in many other 
plants found in less diminished proportion, and might in nearly 
all eases be supposed to exist in sufficient quantity to form tho 
essaitial agents in the process of fecundation. 

I was now therefore to inquire, whether their action was con- 
fined to the exteriial organ, or whether it were possible to follow 
theni to the nucleus of the ovulum itself. My endeavours, how- 
ever, to trace them trough the tissue of the style in plants well 
suited for this investigation, both from the ^ze and form of the 
particles, and the development of the female parts, particularly 
Onagrarise, was not attended with success ; uid natha- in this 

■ While this sheet was passing through the press, Mr Dolhind, at my re- 
quest, obli^nglj examined the auppoaed pollen of Eqiaietum mrgatum witb 
hia compound achromatic microscope, having In its focus a glass divided bito 
lOiOOOths of an inch, upon which the olyect was placed; and althourii the 
greater number of particles or molecules seen were about imisii, jet the 
smaller ^d no exceed sutgith of an inch. 

ooglc 



368 Mr Brown on the Existence of Active Moltctdet 
nor in any other tribe exatnined, have I ever been able to find 
them in any part of the female oi^an, except the stigma. Eren 
in ibose families in which I have supposed the ovulum to be 
naked, namely, Cjcadete and Conifers, I am inclined to think 
that the direct action of these partides, or of the pollen contain- 
ing them, is exerted ratfaer on the orifice of the proper mem- 
brane than cm the apex of the included nucleus -, an opinion 
which is in part founded on the partial withering confined to one 
«de of the orifice of that membrane in the larch,— an appearance 
which I have remarked for several years. 

To observers not aware of the existence of the elementary 
active molecules, so easily separated by pressure from all y^e- 
table tissues, and which are diaaigaged and become more or less 
manifest in the incipient decay of eemitransparent parts, it would 
not be difficult to trace granules through the whole length of the 
style: and as these granules are not always visible in the early 
and entire state of the organ, they would naturally be supposed 
■ to be derived from the pollen, in those cases at least in which 
its contuned particles are not remarkably different in ^ze and 
form from the molecule. 

It is necessary also to observe, that in many, perhaps I might 
say in most plants, in addition to the molecules separable from 
the stigma and style before the application of the pollen, other 
granules of greater size are obtmned by pressure, which in some 
cases closely resemble the particles of the pollen in the same 
plants, and in a few cases even exceed them in «ze : these par- 
ticles may be conndered as primary combinations of the mol&- 
cules, analogous to those already noticed in mineral bodies and 
in various organic tissues. 

From the account fbrmetly ^ven of Ascle[nades, Ferlplqces, 
and Orcbideie, and particularly from what was observed of As- 
depiadese, it is difficult to imagine, in this family at least, that 
there can be an actual transmisnon of particles from the mass of 
pollen, which does not burst, through the process of the stigma; 
and even in these processes I have never been able to ot»erve 
them, though they are in general sufficiently transparent to show 
the particles, were they present. But if this be a correct state- 
ment of the structure of the sexual organs in Asclepiadeee, the 
question respecting this family would no longer be, whether the 
particles in the pollen were trwsmitted through the stigma and 



in Organic and Inorganic Bodies. 369 

style to the ovula, but rather whether even actual contact of 
these particles with the sur&ce of the stigma were necesaary to 
impr^nation. 

Finally, it may be remarked, that those cases already adverted 
to, in which the apex of the nucleus of the ovulum, the sup- 
posed point of impregnation, is never brought into contact with 
the probable channels of fecundation, are more unfavountUe to 
the opinion of the transmis«on of the particles of the pcdlen to 
the ovulumj than to that which considers the direct action of 
these particles as confined to the external parts of the female 
organ. 

The observations, of which I have now given a brief account, 
were made in the months of June, July, and August, 18S7- 
Those relating merely to the form and motion of the peeuliar 
pafticlesof the pollen were stated, and several of the injects, 
shown, during these months, to many of my friends, parUculariy 
to Messrs Bauer and Bicheno, Br Bostock, Dr Fitton, Mr E. 
' Forster, Dr Henderson, Sir Everard Home, Captain Home, Dr 
Horsfield, Mr Koenig, M. Lagasca, Mr Lindley, Dr Maton, 
Mr Menzies, Dr Prout, Mr Renourd, Dr Roget, Mr Stt^es, 
and Dr Wollaston ; and the general existence of the active mol^ 
cules in inorganic as well as organic bodies, their apparent inde- 
structilnlity by heat ; and several of the facts respecting the 
primary combinations of the molecules, were communicated to 
Dr Wollaston and Mr Stokes in the last week of August 

None of these gentlemen are here appealed to for the correct- 
ness of any of the statements made ; my sole object in citing 
them being to prove from the period and general extent of the 
commmii cation, that my observations were made within the dates 
g^ven in the title of the present summary. 

The facts ascertiuned respecting the motion of the particles of 
the pollen, were never considered by me as wholly original ; 
this motion having, as I knew, been obscurely seen by Need- 
ham, and distinctly by Gleichcn, who not only observed the mo- 
tion of the particles in water after the bursting of the pollen, 
but in several cases remarked their change of place within the 
entire grain. He has not, however, given any satisfactory ac- 
count either of the forms or of the motions of these particles, 
and in some cases appears to have confounded them widi the 
elementary molecule, whose existence he was not aware of. 

JULY — SEPTEMBER 1828, A a 



Ei70 Mr Brown on t/ie Existence ^JcHve Molecuks 

Before I engaged in the inquiry in 18S7, 1 was acqutunted only 
with the abstract gven by M. AdcJphe Brongniart himeelf, of 
a very elaborate and valuable memoir, entitled " Mecherche* 
stir la Ghiiralion et le Devehppement de VEmbryon dans Ut 
VigOaua: Phanerogames,'" which he bad then read before the 
Acad^ny of Sciences of Paris, and has since published in the 
Jinnales des Sciences Naturelles. 

Neither in the abstract referred to, nor in the body of the 
meoioir, which M. Brongniart has, with great candour, given in 
its ori^nal slate, are there any observations, appearing of im- 
portance even to the author himself, on the motion or form of 
the particles ; and the attempt to trace these particles to the 
ovulum with so imperfect a knowledge of their dtstingiiishing 
characters, could hardly be expected to prove satisfactory. Late 
in the autumn of 18^, however, M. Brongniart having atrhis 
command a microsci^ constructed by Amici, the celebrated Pro- 
fessor of Modcna, he was enabled to ascertMn many important 
facts OD both these points, the result of which he has given in 
the notes annexed to his memoir. On the general accuracy of 
his observations on the motions, form, and size of the granules, 
a» he terms the particles, I place great reliance. But, in at- 
tempting to trace these particles through thdr whole course, he 
has overlooked two points of the greatest importance in the in- 
vestigatJon. 

For, in the first place, he was evidently unacquunted with 
the fact, that the active spherical molecules generally exbt in 
the grain of pollen along with its proper particles ; nor does it 
af^ar from any part of his memoir that he was aware of the 
existence of molecules haying spontaneous or inherent motitni, 
and distinct from the peculiar particles of the pollen, though he 
has doubtless seen them, and in some cases, as it seems to me, 
described them as those particles. 

Secondl^f He has been Batis6ed with the external appearance 
of the parte in coming to his conclusion, that no particles capa- 
ble of motion exist in the style or stigma before impr^piation. 

That both umple molecules and larger particles of different 
f<»in, and equally capable of motion, do exist in these parts, be- 
fore the ^iplicalion of the pollen to tbe stigma can possibly take 
place, in mai^ of the plants submitted by him to examination, 
may easily be ascertained; particularly in Antirrhmum mfffia. 



in Organic and Inorganic Bodies. 371 

of which he has ^ven a figure in a more advanced state, repre- 
senting these molecules or particles, which he supposes to have 
been derived from the grains of pollen, adhering to the stig- 
ma. 

There are some other points respecting the grains of pollen 
and their contained particles, in which I also differ from M. 
■ Brongniart, namely, in his supposition that the particles are not 
formed in the grain itself, but in the cavity of the anthera; in 
his assertion respecting the presence of pores on the surface of 
the grain in its early state through which the particles formed 
in the anthera, pass into its cavity ; and, lastly, on the existence 
of a membrane forming the coat of his boyau or mass of cylin- 
drical form ejected from the grain of pollen. 

I reserve, however, my observations on these and several 
other topics connected with the subject of ihe present inquiry, 
for the more detailed account which it is my intention to give. 
Jtdy 30. iei& 



Description (^several New or Rare Plants which have powered 
in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, and chiefly in tlte Royal 
Botemic Garden, during the last three numths. By Dr 
Graham. 
, \itt Sept. 1828. 

Calceolaria arachnoidea. *" 

C. arachnmdea! caule herbsceo, ranioso, patulo, foliisque lingulatfMiblnn- 
f^ subdetitatis, oppnaitis. lanatn ; pedunculig terminalibus, gemins. 
tls, elongatia, dichotomis ; i^jclbua pedicelHsque BrachnoiileiB. 
Descbtption— 5(nn herbajeoua, round, much branched, spn^dine, succU' 
lent, woollj, huTB adpreased. Braachei opposite, spreading, similar to the 
stem. Leaves (with their petioles about S inches long,> opposite, lingu- 
litto.obl<>ng, narroving downwards into long petioles over which they are 
decurrent, stem clasping, oba(;urel;r toothed, wrinliled, wooUj on both 
sides, middle rib and branching veins prominent on the lower side ; two 
uppermost leaves smaller thaji the others, sessile, cordato-ovate, undu- 
late, and placed at the origin of the peduncles. PedvneUs termiiial, ge- 
minate (6 inches long), dicbotomous, branches spreading, and bearing 
the pedicels in pairs. Pe^aU round, undivided, and wiu) the caljx in- 
volved in a cobveb-lilce tomentum. Braetea 2, opposite, at the bifiirca- 
tion of the peduade, like the uppermost leaves, hut smaller. Perhaps 
It would be more correct to consider the peduncle as beginning a jwnt 
lower (8 inches lower) Chan I have done, when it must be looked upon 
as single, bifid, and t^e two upper leavet must be held as bracteie. Co- 
lyx B^ments equal, cv^te, pointed, spreading, wooll; on the outside. 
Corolla of uniform dml purple colour, sul^lobular, flattened below, gla- 
brous within, upper lip verj small, lower crenated, its neck white. Sla- 
ntiu riang from the base of the corolla at its sides ; filaments straight. 



372 Dr Graham's Description of New or Rare Plants. 

Gtmen conical, grooved in its sides. Stf/U str&ight, fillfbrm, euerted. 
Sligma simple, small. Otraies ver)' Dumerous, attached to a lai^ central 
receptacle, the transverfe section of which in each loculament is eraar. 
j^nate. Sur&ce of the germen, outside of the corolla and inside of the 
lilyt, covered with short, obscure, glandular pubescence. 

We recdved the seeds of this plant from our invaluable correBpondent Dr 
UUUes at Mendoza in Januarjr last, having been collected b; him in 
Chili. It has been treated like all the other species of the senus, and 
hitherto kept in the greenhouse. There is great probability that it may 
not produce seed ; but it strikes very readUy by cultlngs, the branches 
even pushing down roots as they lie along the ground. 

We fear it wiU be more difficult to preserve the only other purple Cakeo- 
laria in cultivation {CaleeiAana purjniTea, Edin. New PhiL Joucn. 1827, 
Bot Mag. t. 2775.), also introduced through the Botanic Garden, Edin. 
burgh, by seeds sent from our other excellent correspondent Mr Cruck- 
shanks. It has hitherto produced very few seeds, but there is at pre- 
sent a better promise than has before been observed. An entirely 
new aspect has been given to our greenhouses within these few years, 
by the kindness of Dr Gillies and Mr Cruckshank, particularly in the 
most interesting additions froji the genera FttoWa, Cakeolana, Stdpi- 
ghtiii, Schiaanlhia, and Zoata. ^ 

^ Calceolaria eonnata. V 

C. oonnata ; caule erectc, herbaceo, ramoso, pubescent! ; foliis c^ipodti^ 
utrinijue pubescentibus, mferioribus in petiolos attenuatis, dupUcato 
dentatu-serrstia, superioribus ovatis, sessilibus, ctHmatis, dentato.«ni- 
ratis, floralibuB integerrimis ; corollie labiia oblongis, compressls, pa- 
rallellB. 
Calceolaria eonnata, H<ieli. MS. 
Description — Boat perennial- Stem <3 feet high) herbaceous, erect, 
much branched, pubescent : the pubescence is glutinous,, and ' 
upwards on the plant to the calyx and germen, where it is ^ 
Ijoaer leavet (7 inches long, i broad,) ovate, subacute, attenuated al 
base, and broadly decurrent along petioles half their own lengtii, un. 
equally and occasionally doubly, tooth serrated, membranous, veined, 
aUghtly pubescent on both siiW, veins oblique and branched ; vpper 
leanet opposite, gradually becoming cordate and sessile towards the top, 
connate, in other respects similar to the lower leaves. Kaeaaet solitary 
and axillary, or terminal and semlnate, (6-16 inches long). Cmhbm 
peduaclei bifid below the middle, spreading, flexuose, and frequently 
each'branch is again clefl. PedictU secund, simple, in pairs, (about 
1 inch long), shorter upwards, filiform, two remote tiom the others in 
the biiiircation of the jieduncle. Bractea 3 at each biliircation of the 
' peduncle, rimilar to the upper leaves, but entire in their edge, and 
smaller. Ct^yx segments ovate, acute, indistinctly S-nerved, spreading, 
revolute in the edges. Corolla pale uniform yellow, shortly pubescent 
externally, hps obToiig, compressed, parallel, the upper more than half 
the length of the lower, and its edge slightly involute, edge of the lower 
lip folded even to its base, and there again involute.thickened, and green- 
ish. Stamena arising ftom the corolla at the sides of its base, included ; 
filaments straight, smooth, and bearing the incumbent, oblique, whitish, 
anthera in contact with the edge of the upper Up; pollen nearly white. 
Gtrmen bilocular, conical, acuminate, tetrugonous. Slj/la longer than the 
stamens, subexserted, and projecting from the centre of Uie anthers, 
marcesceni. Sligma small, blunt. Ovula numerous, attached to a cen- 
tral receptacle, the transverse section of which is bifid in each locula- 

We received this species Irom the Royal Botanic Garden, Gksgaw, where 
it was raised from seed; but through what channel it was lec^ved 
there, or from what distnct in South America, I do not know- In the 
arrangement of the species, it should stand next to C. petiolarit. 



Dr Graham's Descriptwn of New or Hare Planta. 973 

Calceolaria thyrsillora. ^ 

C. th^i^ioras frutJcsu, rBmasa, fbliia oppositis, linearibiu, basl atCenu- 

atu, lineatis, senatCMlenUtlB, gUbrU, viscQsis, MEsUibus, thytria tet- 

minalibuB, confertli, pedicellis oecompoeitij, umbelUtis. 
Descbiptiok — Slrmb, erect ; ttem round, bark brovn, cracked ; bnmdtei 
apreadlnj; at their ori^n, aftenraTclB erect, when youiif; aomeviiBt rough 
and obBcurel; glandmar. Leatet (2 inches long, 2 UBes broad), oppo- 
^te, sessile, Bpreodins, linear, subacute, becoming narrower towards 
their base, channelled, lineate, keeled b^ind, rather distantlj serrato- 
deotate, whole edse but particularly the teeth reflected, without hairs, 
as well as the peduncles and pedicels shining on both surfaces &oin a 
viscid exudation. Common pedunelet terminal, elongated, nearlj naked 
below, the upper leaves paasinf; into bradea, and becoming entire i pedi- 
oeb rise from the oiils of these, and are once, twice, or dtener divided 
in form of little umtiels, having at each subdivision a pair of bractete, 
Bimilor, but Hucce?sively smaller ; ultimate diriuon of the pedicels 
longer than the flowers. Flmcen yellow, crowded in fbrm of a hand* 
some thyrsus at the extremity of each branch. Calsi yellowisb-green 
4-parted, s^nents (Jth of an inch long) ovato-Ianceolate, slandular, 
on both sur&ces,' unequal, slightly dlvaiicated, but oAer the corolla 
fills closing over the germen, obscurely nerved. CoroBa subglobular, 
nearly twice as long as tlie calyx, glabrous on the outside, except a 
slight pubescence where the closed lips touch, pubescent witiiin, espe- 
clulj towards the base, obscurely striated, depressed at Its base, closed, 
lower lip larger than the upper; stamens projecting into a depression in 
the toirer lip ; filaments rising from the base of the lower lip, hairy, 
stout, slightly curved upwards, pitted on their lower side near to the 
anthers. Antiieri pale yellow, plowed transverselv on the filaments, bi- 
lobular, lobes corinected to each other longitudinally, and furrowed along 
their anterior sur&ce, where they hurst and diiicharge white pollen. 
G«rnt^ conical, furrowed on two sides, hilocular, green, viscid. Stgit G. 
liibrm, straight, longer than the stamens ; stigma small ; oaJa very du- 
meroua, attached to a lai^ central receptacle, the transverse section of 
which is kidney-slwped and entire in eacn loculament. 
Thli very handsome and nondescript rpecies was raised both at the Botanic 
Garden and in the collection of F. S&Q, Esq. Canonmilk, Edinbu^b, in 
1827, Irom seeds received from Dr Gillies, Mendosa ; but our only plant 
was lost during winter. With Mr Neill, several specimens have flower' 
ed&eelyln July IBSa The flowers hav^^ a slight JVagrance, not unlike 
' ^-the scent of the blossoms of laburnum. 
C Collomia grandiflora. i^ 

C. ffrojuHfiora ; (bliis sessilibus, tanceolatis, ciliatis, int^rerrimis serratis- 

ve, patulia, nitidis, superiorlbus utrinque pubescentibus; floribus ca- 

pltBtls terminalibus. 
Collomia grandiflora, Ilimirl''ii Joum. ined. — £in(&y, in Bot. R^. foL 1166. 

DcscBirTioM Boat tapering, with many lateral branching fibres, annual. 

Slem (18 inches high) erect, somewhat woody, very slightly flexuose, fur- 
rowed, red, pubescent, especially towards tlie top, brandieil ; branchei 
axillary. Lmeei (above 8 inches lone, 1 inch broad,) scattered, spreading, 
lanceolate, undulate, reflected and entire on the edges, or with a few 
laive, sharp serratures, glabrous 'and shining, except the upper ones, 
wfakb are ovate and pubescent on both sides; middle rib strong and 
preminent behind, veins lew and inconsiderable. Floatrs in terminal, 

obe- 



• Slnathli ihHt «u In typa, I hin lenlnd the number of the BoUnkal Rfslitei fat thl> 
mcmli, itlth ui DueUenC Bgure of thli lilBU, t- 1174. 



374 Dr Graham's Descriptioti of New or Rare Phtnts. 

a (above 1 inch long) inferior, fleab-coloured, funnel-shaped, twice 

... leiii ■■ " -' 

reflectei 



the length of the calyx, tbroal inflated, limb 6-clett, upper sennent 
"ecled, lower Buberect, blunt, tube very slender, sli^tlj dilatM at it 



r the germeo. Stameta 5 ; filaments unequal, adhering to 
the inaide uf the tube, but fur a considerable way ftee, exserted from the 
throat ; anthers incumbent, bilocular, oblong, lilac ; pollen of the same 
colour, granules large- Pistil sine'e ; germen small, oval ;, style fiUfbrm, 
reaching nearly to the anthers of the longest stamen ( stigma 3-cleft, 
revolute. Capinde tiilocular, trivalvular, loculaments monospenuous, 
valves furrowed in the middle on the uutside, and opposite to this the 
inner membrane projects to meet the wings of a central column, and 
thus complete the dissepiments. Unripe ieeda covered with mucilagi- 
nous matter, albumen large and white, embryo central, straight, and 
deep green- Ripe seeds obteng, triquetrous, hrown, inner angle acute- 
The phenomenon regarding the action of the seed of the next species with 
water is very beautiful here also. When the dry seed ia thrown on the 
surface of water, it for a time only partly sinks, and the vessels being 
liberated on the lower half oUly, it seems to float on a cushion of cotton. 
The pubescence every where upon the plant is glandular, and ia parti- 
cularly abundant and glutinous on the calyx. 
This is a, very pretty plimt, and being cultivated with the greatest ease, 
ripening abundance of seed, it very well deserves a place among hardy 
annuals. The seeds were collected by Mr Douglas on the NW. coast 
of America, and were presented to us by Mr Sabine. The plants 
' <• flowered in the iUiyal Botanic Garden in July and August. 

Collomia linearis. ( 

C. Uneaiis; inte^rrimis, reflexis, superioribus ovato-acuminatis, utrin- 

que pubescentibus, inferioribus lineare lanccolatis, glabriusculis ; flo- 

ribus capitatis; caule ramoso, pubescente. 
Collomia linearis, NtMaU, Gen. of N. American Plants, i. 126— Bot. Reg- 

t. 1166. 
DEsCHimoK — Root annual. Stem somewhat woody, branched above, pu- 
bescent, grooved- B™n«A« axillary, spreading, pubescent, tenuei scatter- 
ed, sessile, entire, recurved, the lower linear-lanceolate, subglabrous, the 
upper pubescent on both sides, ovato-acuminate, crowded neai the top 
of the stem. Floaera capitate, on very short, terminal pedicels, closely 
surrounded by the leaves, viscid. Catg* jiersisling, 5-cleft, hairy, with 
5 projecting angles, funnel-shaped ; segment)! 3-nerved, ovate, acute, 
connivent green and thickened at their apices. Corolla infe-ior, funnel, 
shaped, with a long, slender, linear, yellow tube, inflated at the base, 
and slightly at the faux, 5-clefl, two or three times longer than the ca- 
lyx; segments obtuse, rose coloured, spreading- Stametiab; filaments 
slender, unequally adbering to the tube ; anthers oblong, small, bilocu- 
lar, incumbent, projecting into the &ux. Germen smdl, oblong, deep 
green, surrounded at its base by a paler, somewhat membranous, cup- 
shaped disk, of 5 rounded lobes. Style filifbrra, equal to the tube of the 
corolla. Stigma 3-clett, exserted, revolute and hairy above. Capntle 
shorter than the calyx, trilocular, trivalvular, 3-aeeded, valves obcor- 
date, externally channelled in the centre- Seeds oblong, covered with a 
mucous coat ; albumen large and white ; embryo central, atraigbt, dark 
green. Disaepimenlt formed by projectiofls from the middle of the valves 
meeting the 3.winged columnar receptacle of the seeds. 
Phlox linearis, CatiaTiiliea, Icones, 6. p. 17' t. 927. is quoted doubtfiilly as a 
synonyme for this plant. It seems, however, tn be another species of 
the genus, distinguished especially by its smaller capitulse, and more li- 
near, less crowded, suberect leaves. 
The seeds of this plant were received from Dr Richardson on his return 
from his second journey to the arctic coast of America. It bears culti- 
vation easUy as an annual, but can scarcely be esteemed for beautv. 
The chief interest it can excite is in the structure of its seed, and the 



Dr Graham's Description of New or Rare I^ants. 375 

remaiirable cause, observed b? Mr Lindley, of a phmomenon they pre- 
sent whea thrown into water. In titese t^uQutince*, the mucus which 
envelopes them " instantly dilates and forms around them titea chiud, 
and in a ahi»1. time acquires a vnlunte greater than the aeoi ltari£ Up- 
on examlmng the cause of ibis singular phenomenon, it will be fbuBd to 
depend upon the presence of an infinite multitude of exceedingly deli- 
cate and mmute spiral vessels, lying coiled up, spire within spire, Ml the 
outside of the testa. This observation," adds Mr Umdley, "- 1b puticu- 
larly intwe»ting, inasmuch as spiral vessels are, we believe, now fcr die 
first time seen upon the external gur&ce of a vegetable organ." ^ 

'■^ CrotaJaria angulosa. 

C. angulma ; subUgnosft, erecta, ramis patulis, acutanguUs, flexuosis, 
adpresse pilosis, racemis oppoutifoliis terminalibusque, ibUis petiola- 
tis, ovatis, obtusis, mucronulatls, atlpulis lunatis retlesis, petiolo Ion- 

Crotalaria, fbliis solita.rii4, ovato-acutis, caule sukato, Bwrm, ZayL 81. 

t.34. 
Fee-tandal4«otti, Bheede, Malab. pars 9. p. 63. t. 29. 
Crolalaria verrucosa, Linn. Sp. PL 2. p. 1006.— PTiflci Sp. PL 3. p. »77. 

Sprang. Syst. Veget. 3. p. 337- 
Crutalaria ccerulea, Jaeq. Icones PL isrior. 

Crotalaria angulosa, Lmn. Encyclop. Method. 2. p. 197 — Cavanillei, Icon. 
4. p. 10. t. 321. 
Description — Aoofannual. 5fe<n erect, round, somewhat woody. Brmteh6i 
spreading wide, acute- angled, green or purplish, hairy, haira adpressed. 
Lemiet simple (I toSintfaes long, j toS inches broad), blight ^een, paler 
behind, alternate, distichous, petiuied, ovate, entire on their edges, blunt 
or retuse, mucronulate, somewhat concave, slightly undulate, especially 
when young, thick, sofi, hairy, hairs adpresGed, and by far most nume- 
rous and most conspicuous behind, middle rib strong, and as well as tlie 
oblique branched veins, channelled, in A'ont, and very prominent be- 
hind ; petioles (2-3 lines long), compressed laterally. SHptilei broadly 
lunate, acuminate, reflexed, persisting, smaller upwards, same colour 
and texture as the leaves. Racemet terminal, or opposite to the leaves, 
many-flowered ; common footstalk resembling the branches, without 
flowers for about half its length ; pedicels (3 lines long) drooping, round, 
slightly swollen towards the flowers, purplish, haiiy, hairs white, shin- 
ing, odpressed ; bractese small, subulate, erne under the origin of the pe- 
dicel, half its length, two, very minute but otherwise similar, suboppo* 
site, nearly half way up the pedicel. Calyx with few adpressed hairs, 
d-parted, augments pointed, the two upper ^read wide upon the back of 
the vexillum, the three others fiequenuy adhering at their ^ices. Co- 
nSa pale lilac, streaked with dorlier lines deepest at their origin, mor- 
cescent ; veiillum more than twice the length of the calyi, broad, 
reflected, retuae, keeled towards its apex, pale behind ; aLe blunt, spread- 
ing below, shorter than the vexillum ; carina pointed, rather shorter 
than the alie, greenish. Filamenli 10, G longer than'the others, pubescent, 
free for about naif their length, tube cleft above, ribbed. Anffiers orange- 
yellow, bursting along their sides, on the longer filaments small, round, 
on the shorter, lai«e-, cordato-oblong, broadly fiirrowed between the 
lobes ; pollen veiy abundant, orange-yellow. Germen woolly, equal to 
the filamenUil tube. Sfyle longer than the stamens, bent to a smaller 
angle as the germen lengthens, and then its knee Is thrust through the 
carina, hairy on the upper side for two-thirda of its length, persisting 
and laid along the upper suture of the pod. Stigraa ovate, flattened 
blunt, oblique. Pod inflated, oblong, compressed above and below, wide- 
ly channelled along the upper suture, bniadesl towards the style, pen- 
^t, sprinkled wiui adpressed halts- Seeda wbea unripe kidney- shaped, 
flattened. 
The specific name of Linnteus is singularly inapplicable. In the smooth, 



376 ' DtGrabasa'iDescr^ahnqflfeKOrRanPianU. 

Btndked, bad figure of CsvaniUes, the an^es ue not niSd^illj iluip, 
and tbe slipuln ue bj much too uarrDw -. In Bii«ede*B figure, the edges 
of the leave* are too mudi criaped, tbe tUpulte not lufficientl; lunated, 
are waved butoad at bdi^ flat, the angle* of the bnmchea arc Ul-de- 
fined, and the legume* fiu too qireading. 

Hheede adds to many &nciedmedkal pnipertieaofthupUntj'that Its root, 
when brulaed and applied to the ejea, has the power of reataring and 
strengthening the memoiy. 

We rec^ved the seed* of this plant, with other* from India, bma Mr 
Curtis, in July 1837- It has lowc^ in the stove of the Royal Bota- 
luc Qvden in July and August 

*^Eutoca Fnmldiiiii. *■ 

£. FraniUim ; erectB, &lii> jnnnalifidis pUoaia, petiolatia, ladniis lanceo- 
lato-eUipticIa, integris incisisve, spids coufertis, necuudis, deflexia, 
ovulis placentK singulie vigintl pturibus. 
Eutoca Franklinii, R. Snum, in Botanical Appendix tu Captain Fnnlc- 
lln'a Narrative of the First Journey to the Arctic Sea, with a Ggure. 
DxacBiFTioH — Root perennial ? ^tm hertnceous, with us 7 inches hi^ 
round, slightly flesuose, oiK^asioDally branclied, green, pubescent, hairs 
rather harsh tad spreading. Rool-leinm (nearly 2 inches lone) nuDieroua, 
green on both sides, but paler lielow, suberect, lanceolate, pinnatifid, pe- 
tioled, tliiok, covered witb pubescence ■boititr and less hai^ than that 
on the stem, scsments varying in shape, lanceolate or oblong, entire or 
indaed, specially on their lower edge, alternate or opposite, channelled 
in front, and each with a central rib, prominent behind, but without veins; 
petiole half the length of the leaf, cliaunelled. Stfmieanet scattered, si- 
milar to the others, but un shorter petioles, half embracing the stem, 
iimaller, the segments more pointed, less frequently incised, and tbe lower 
generally the longeaL Spiixi crowded towards the top of the stem, ter- 
minsl or axillary, many-flowered, recurved. Bowers secund. Co^ 
green, persisting, li-parted, segments linear-awl-ahaped, flat, obscul^y 
S-nerved, hairy, strongly ciliated, looselv applied to tlie corolla, and 
subsequently to tbe capsule. CorvUa inferior, longer than the calyx, 
campanulate, S-clelt, wlute far half its length, and aMve this of uniform 
lilac, pubesc^it on the outside of the lipjib, every where else glabrous, 



it subtly w 
le Umbequa 



nkled, front the branching ol' obscure veins ; segmen 



h equal, rounded, spreadinE ; tube with ten longitudinal project- 
ing membranes, conrdvent along meir inner edges in pairs which ^ter- 
nate with tbe stamens. Slaaietu 6 ; lllanients winng from tbe base of 
the corolla, and falUng with it, alternating with the s^menta, scaicdy 
^xserLed, colourless, fllifumi, slightly flattened at the base, qiaringly 
covered with long lax hairs; anthers incumbent, oblong, orange-yellow, 
bilocular, ioculamente bursting along their sides i pollen nhltiah.' FittU 
single, at first rather shorter than the stamens, afterwards longer than 
them ; gennen ovate, less than half the length of the calyx, green, co- 
vered with long erect white hairs, surrounded by a white zig-zag diet ; 
Bt^le fUiform, slightly flattened, morcescent, dinded to above a jjuarter 
of its length, segments diverging ; stigmata small, rounded. Capmit 
ovate, acuminate, rather longer than the calyx, aumewhat compressed, 
uneveu from elevations occasioned by the seeds, and distinctly marked 
by a suture ajong each aide, unilocuhir, bivalvular, bursting from the 
apes, their pointed extremities diverging receptacle of the f«eds along 
the middle of each, and prqiecting into the loculament. Seedt numerous 
upon each receptacle, dork drown, ovate, dotted, trigonous, acutely 
angled on their belly, flat, or slightly convex on their sides. 
This pretty plant has been raised in a cold frame in the Botanic Caitlen, 
Edinburgh, from seeds presented by Dr Richardsoo. The species grows 
abundantly between J,at. Hi" and 64° N, among trees tbat have been de. 
Btroyed by fire. f. 



i.n.iized by Google 



Dr Graham's Deitriftion of New or Rare Plants. Sll 

'Geranium Corolinianum. *" 

O. CoroflniimTni ; cnule procumbente, tereti, dichotnmo, ublque pubes- 

cente : foliia piloiriusculis, triputitis, indxi'piimatifidis, lactnlii mu- 

cronuUtla, basi cuneatis, lateralibus blfiilu; peduncuUs spaniB btfloria, 

pediceUos Eequantlbus ; petalia obcordatli, vix olycem pilDsum mu- 

cronatuni superanlibus. 
Genmlum columbinum Carolinum, capautis nlgtia hinutls, DiUtn. Hon. 

Elthun, t. 13B. 
Oennium pedunculis biflorig, fbllU multifiiUs peiiorpiiB hinutis, Gronoe. 

PL Vl^n. p. 101. 
Geranium Canitiniaiiiim, Lmn. Sp. PL toL U. p. 996 — Capanilki, DUsert. 

iv. p. 206. t. 124. e 2. and t. B4. £ 1. P— ITt^ Sp. PL toL ilL p. 7U. 

—MiU. Diet. ed. 1807, No. 36 — Pta-th, 2. p. 4W. 
Geranium Carolinianum ? No. 364. Ruhanhon't BoUnlcal Appendix to 

Captain Franklin's Narrative of his Rret Jaumey to the Polar Sea. 
Debcbiftion — Sboi aonusL Sleta procutnbent, round, hairy, spreading, 
dichotomous, flezuose, svellltif{ at the jointi, ^i^een or reddish. Ltana 
(about 2 inches across) green, but red when fiding, oppolite, petiolate, 
renifbrm, tripartite, inciso-plnnatifld, two side lobei bipartite, Begments 
mucronate, rmned, hairy on both ddes, the hairs being soft, longer 
and more ifiaUnct on the back of the vdns ; petioles (2 inches lung), 
round, hairy, spreading wide or divaricated t tOptilet awl-ahaped, strongly 
(dilated and hairy, one on each side of the petiole. Pedundti (1 Inch 
lon^ 2.llowered, in the bifiircationsof the etem belov, but in the axils of 
tiie leaves above, round, covered Hilh soft glandular hairs. PediatU un- 
equal, a» long as the peduncles, and resembling them, curved upwards, 
enlai^og near the calyx. Braelea 4, at the bifurcation of the peduncle, 
^milar to the Bti|iules. Fimovr-Aurfi nodding ;.Aiuwn nearly erect. Co- 
Igt hairy on the outside, but glabrous within, segmrata 3-rlbbed, flattish 
or allghtly concave externally, mucronate, mucro blunt and hairy. Co- 
roOa rose-coloured, petals obcordate, veined, rather longer than the ca- 
lyx ; onfAfTi lilac, subrotund t filanenti flat, amooth, tapering towards 
Uie apex, where they are spreading. Captales h^ry, sUghtlv wrinkled 
transversely, at first green, aHerwards dark leaden cidoured, Wlr« long, 
coarse, spreading, of the some colour aa the capsules t beaks green, when 
ripening aoproachlng th« colour of the itapsules, equal to two-thirds the 
lengthnfthc Btyle, covered with soft, shoA, glandular pubescence. 5fyfe 
balry, green. Stigmata 6, glandular, red, at nnt revolute and afterwards 
erect. Seedt dotted, oblong, block. 
1 have ascerUuned thU to be Dr Richardson's plant, by comparison with a 
speclnien pre^sented by him to Pro&s:or Jameson, after his return from 
his first journey. I think there js no doubt tliat it is the plant figured 
by Cayanilles at t }84. If t. 84. be the same, it Is a young plant, which 
had not acquired Its characteristic habit. There seems nearly as little 
doubt of the identity of the plant figured by Dilleuius ; but the de- 
scriptions of the other authon quoted, and several others which mJ^ht 
have been mentioned, are so Imperfect, that my chief reliance on them 
arises fVom thmr having referred to the figure of Dlllenius. Jacquin, 
Hco'L Schcenbr. referred to in Hort. Kew. I have not an opportunity of 
consulting. 
We received the seeds at the ])otanic Garden fVom Dr Richardson on bis 
return tram his second journey, and have treated the plant as a hardy 

' Liparis Correana. •■ 

L. Correana ; Iblils hinis, ovato-oblongia ; scapo angulato i floribus api- 
catia ; sepalJa margine revolutis, Inf^rioribua contortis ; labeilo lineaii- 
spathulato, sepalis breviori, medio recurvo, apicc cordato. 

Malaxis Correana, Bart Prodr. Fior. PhUadelph. p. 66 Nattall, Genera 

of N. American Plants, v. ii. p. 196. 
Halaxis longifolla, Bart. Flora of N. Amoica, t. 73. 
Liparis Correana, Sprtngel, Syit. V^et. v. Ul. p. 740. 



378 Dr Graham's Description ^New tn- Rare PUttUs. 

Debceiptiomj — Root bulbous. Stem erect, rarioiis in heij^t (about 7 
incbes), (B ?)-aii^ed, winged. Lemiei opposite, at the base of the stem, 
•Mnetimet shorter wMnetimefl longer lluui it, erect, ellipti[:o-luiceolate, 
iharpl; keeled bdiind, obscurely neired, especiallj ia front. Spike 
many-flowered, bracteate ; bractcK single, at the base of each flower, 
pointed. Perianik 6-cleil, three out«r segments linear, rerotute, in 
their edges, the upper erect, two lower parallel, nrojectiog forwards, 
twisted ; the two inner filiform, spreading, and finally reflected : X-uM- 
lum shorter than the perianth, linear^pathulate, channelled, bent in the 
middle towards the lower segments of the peritnth. notched at its eX' 
tremity, with a point in the notch. CuJUam erect, winged above, con- 
tracted in its middle, htlf as long as the Ubellum. A^figr-cate termi- 
nal, keeled above, 3-celled ; cells round, with white, membranous edges. 
i^affen-noMW 2, one in each cell, ovate, seesile, bright yellow. Sl^ma 
rounded, white, prqectise under the pollen-DUSSes. Gtrmea short, 
partly superior, angled, davsle, winged, •fterwMds eilarging very 
greatly, but retaining the same form, wings crenate. Whole plant, ex- 
cept the pollen-masses, of uniform green. 
This plant was introduced into the collection of Mr Cunninghame at 
Comely Bank, near Edinbur^, in 1^6, by Mr Blair, who Ibund it grow- 
ing in Upper Canada. It bears cultivation well, has been kept by Mr 
Cunnin^ame in pots with peat soil, in the stove, and flowered very 
abundantly in June IB3S. It flowered in the open air at the Boyal Bo- 
tanic Oarden in the same month. We owe the plant to the Countess 
of Dalhousie, who introduced it from Canada. Dr Barton appears first 
to have discovered the species in rich soil, under damp shady woods, 
along the banks of the Schuylkill, near Philadelphia, in 181.1. It has 
probably, therefore, a pretty wide range in North America, though not 
mentioned by any American botanist except the two I have quoted. 
Its period of flowering in Pennsylvania is precisely the same (June) as 
in cultivation with ug, either in the stove, or expoaed to the open air- 
It has neither size nor cdour to make it attractive. 
The great resemblance between this plant and Ltporis Lotteln of Kurope, 
caused them to be considered the same in America, but Or Barton very 
properly points out the distinction in the tiiaooular stem of L. LoeieSi, 
and the different direction of the perianth i ana I may add, that depend- 
ing on the lip being entire, and longer than the perianth in the Euro- 
pean species. The comparative length of the scape and leaves varies go 
much that it deserves no attention. /? 
Petunia acuminata. > 

P. aaimnaiai fijlils ovato-acuminatis, sub^uatis, tubo corollie llmbum 
quadrupio superante. 
DescBiFTloH. — Stem herbaceous, erect, round, bnuiched, as well as the 
branches covered with short, colourless, inconspicuous, soil hairs. Leavea 
(i inches long, 1) broad) scattered, petioled:, ovate, acuminate, subsinuate, 
flat or very slightly undulate, erect harsh pubescence diflused over then: 
upper surface, but below chiefly confined to the middle rib and veins ( be- 
tween these the pubescence is much softer, and less conspicuous. Middle 
rib and veins very prominent below, petiole (about 1 J inch long) very 
slightly bordered by the decurrent lea^ flat on its upper aur&ce, round 
on the lower. Pedaade (jth inch long) solitary, sin^e-flowered, round, 
Bubopposite to the leaves, erect. Calyx (jth inch long) 6-parted, un- 
equal, linear, blunt, subappressed, s^pnents keeled, and connected to 
^>out their middle by a colourless membrane. Corolla white, striated 
with green ; tube (2 inches long) cylindrical, with 6 pits rather under its 
middle, and below this somewhat contracted; limb (Ij: inch across) 
aboutafburth partof the length of the tube, 5-cleft, lobes blunt, sightly 
ema^;inate, pUcate, with a du'k ereen branched line along the middle of 
leach externally. Slamau unequd, two lunger subexsert^ three others 
:included ; filaments arising from the base of the corolla, flat, hairy, and 
adhedug to the tube as &r aa the pits, above whidi they are iree, filo- 



Dr Graham's Description of New or Bare Plants. 379 

mentouB, and smooth, except fur a little wa^ at the bottom, inserted in. 
to the back of the anthen, which are short, Hmooth, oval, bilobular, 
ereen, bursting laterally, after which they are reflected, and become 
brovn ; pollen nearly white. Germm bilocular, green, conical, tetra- 
valvular, surrounded at ita base bj a RlabrnuB, Bhinino, tumid diat, 
of a deep orange colour, sutures marked by a deep f^reen line. 5<ylB fi- 
liform, equal in length to the HhurteBt stamen. SSffma deep green, cleft, 
segments short, blunt, revolute. OinJei very numerous, fixed to a cen- 
tral receptacle, whose transverse section ia kidney-sbaped in each locu- 
lament. The whole plant, excluding only the pistil, the upper part of 
the stamens, and the inside of the corolk, is covered with a clutinous 

Subescence, which is most harsh and least elutinous upon the baves. 
i plant was raised in the Royal Botanic Garden, Ediubuigh, in 1820, 
from seed tnmimitted to us from Mendoza by Dr Gillies. It will no 
doabt attain a much lai^r size with more pot room, or in the open bor- 
der ; but with us, in a small pot in the greenhouse, does not exceed two 
feet. Has flowered freely in July, anifpromises to ripen seed, f 

^ Podolepis gracilis. *" 

P. ffracUu ; herba erecta gracilis ramosa, tbliis sparsis, int^errimia, gla- 
bria, inferiorlbus ovato.obloogiB, superioribus ovato-acuminatis. 
Descbiftion — Rial descending, tapering, having short, lateral, branch- 
ing fibres, annual Stem erect, slender, very sti^tly compresited, smooth 
and shining, slightly flexuose, branched i branches suberect, resembling 
the stem. Leaves 3-nerved, central nerve keeled behind, glabrous, 
shininfF, somewhat succulent, quite entire, sessile and stem clasping, the 
lower (si inches long, }th trf' an inch broad) ovato-oblong, with a short 
central point, the upper ovato-acuminate, and gradually becoming smaller 
towards tbe fluwern. Floaeri radiate, terminal or axilUry. Peduruikt 
(3-4 inches) Ion?, filiform, and resemhiing the branches, which, indeed, 
they should perhaps be considered, as they have distantly scattered along 
them abortive flower-buds, each covered with an inconspicuous leaf re- 
sembling a bractea. Anthodiiuii ovate, imbricated, dry, membranous, 
shining, greenish, when withered pale brown; scales ovate, entire, ha- 
ving a dialinct middle rib occasionally projecting at the apex in form of 
a little mucro, on rough footstalks, in the inner scales as long as them- 
selves, but shorter in the outer, which are loose, and extended a little way 
on the peduncle. Secep/oofe naked, tubercled- Florets of the disk (near- 
ly Jths of an inch long) hermaphrodite, rose-coloured, espedally at their . 
apices, divaricated, and projecting outwards between the tubes of tiie 
ray, regular, S-cleft, st^ments spreading. Anilter-tiibe included, bunrt^ 
ingat its apex, and discharging white pollen; jHommii nearly as long as 
the anthers, inserted into the corolla above the middle of the tube- 
Any at first rose coloured, but soon fading to white, spreading, (1 ^ Inch 
across,) coTollulse ligulate; tube (j|ths of an inch long) fili&rm; limb 
equal in length to the tube, linear- oblong, cordate at the apex, bi-nerred. 
JW< small, leaden coloured, lanceolate-oblong, dotted, slightly tomen- 
tose, haying at the base an umbilicus, which is circular, white, slightly 



The seeds of this plant were sent to us fi-om New South Wales in No- 
vember last by Mr Fraser, as a species of Centaarea. The plants have 
been kept in tbe greenhouse of the Royal Botanic Garden, and will pro- 
duce very few seMs. ' ' 



Sisymbrium bnichycarpon. 



fbliis sesrilibus, Ijrrato-pinnatis, fbUolis profimde plnnatifio 
lis patentlbus, vix nliquam suberectam, glabram, subctava 

quantlbus ; petalis calycem superantibus. 



Google 



380 Dr Graham's Deacr^Hon ^New or Rare PlanU. 

SisjmbTium brach/carpna. No. 260. Riehardxm, BdU Append, to Frank- 
Un'fl Narrative of Fint Jouraej. 

BsscKiPTtOK — {toet fibrous, annuA Sten erect, slender, simple at raised 
from seed in a pot, s.aA crowded, (native specimen irnm Dr RiclianlBon 
branched,} a foot bish, leafy. Iicavei erect, nearl; glsbrouB, ]jt»U>-^An- 
nate, pinme on the lower deeply incised, somewhat biunt, on the upper 
Untiar, «carcelj toothed, channelled. Floaert very small, in terminal 
corymbs, but rachia fp^ually elongating (to 3 inches>, and, as well as 
the upper part of the stem, slightly tIeKUose. CoreSa yellow, petals 
longer than the calyx. -Slpfe very shore Stigma bilobular, subcapitate- 
Pe&xls of the fruit elongated (to about 4 lines), spreading. SiRJue ra- 
ther longer than the pedicel, uneven iVom the seeds within. StedM ovale, 
auflpended by slender stalks. 

The plant vas raised in a cold frame at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edin- 
burgh, from seeds collected by Dr Richardson in bia last arctic journey, 
and flowered in June. /' 

V Sisymbrium canescens ? 

S. eaaeacetui caule terele, ramoso, erecto, foliisque pinnatis flubpubes- 
centibuE, pilis adpressia, tuliolis lanceolatis, semito4nci«is; floribus ca- 
rymbosli, racemis fruvtus elongatis ; siliquis suba^ectia, ellipliciB, pedi- 
cello longioribus, petalis calycem viic su|ierantibus. 
Sisymbrium canescens, Ridiardnoa'a Bot. App. to Franklin's Narrative 
of First Journey.— fle Coni Syat 2. p. 474 ? — Nutbdl, Gen. of N. 
Amer. Plants, 2. )'. 66. ? 
Desckiption. — AnnuaL Stem erect, round. I-eanet pinnated, leaflets 
serrato-incised, elliptico-lanceolate. Fhmers corymbMe, small. Co/gu 
subhispid, concave, nearly as long as the corolla. Pelalt yellow, entire, 
limb rounded, equiil in length to the ckw. Filammta slender, rather 
longer than the calyx ; anthers small. SHgma large, its lobes diverting. 
Style distinct, though short SUigtiei in racemes, longer than the peiU- 
cehi, elliptical, smuoth, obscurely winged along the back of the valves. 
Seedi oblong, brown, about 14 in each siliciue. Whole plant to the base 
of the Biliiiues of a glaucous appearance, from a close, dense, short, salt 
tomentum. Lower part of the stem purple. 
The plant was raised at the Aoyal Botanic Garden iron the same collec- 
tion of seeds, and under the same treatment, a.i the last species. It pro- 
duced its flowers in Uay. The seeds were only marked with the gene- 
ric name by Dr Richardson, but the species seems the same with thaf 
given by him to Protessor Jameson under the name I have adopted. I 
cannot, however, persuade myself that it is the same with the plant of 
Nuttall, or De CandoUe. The diiferent comparative length of the pe- 
dicels and siliques, which never varies in our specimens, and other 
marks, seem to keep them distinct, r" 

r Trachymene crerulea. i 

T. caruitoi herbacea, foliis palmatis, tripartitis, laciniis incisis, mucrona- 
tis t umbella mmplici ; petala obovata-subrolunda, stamina squantia. 

DescsiPTiDK AnnuaL Satanal leantt, carried two inches above ground, 

and bearing upon th^r summits the tunic of the seed, elliptical, gla- 
brous, green on their upper, deep purple on their lower side. Herb 
erect, and on every part, even to the outer sur&ce of the petals, cover- 
ed with spreading, unequal, glandular pubescence, from which exudes a 
subviscid J nice. Stem round, erect, branching, green. Leavei alternate, 
thnse from the root supported on petioles about as Ions as themselves, 
palmate, 3-parted, the lateral portions cleft, and all the s^ments in- 
cised and mucronate, the stem leaves more entire and mM-e sesaile up- 
wards. Umbeli terminal or aziUary towards the top of the stem, on 
very long peduncles (aliout 7 inches), simple, many-rayed, flattish (above 
2 inches across). Inooluere many-leaved, (|ths of an Inch long,) linear- 
awl.«haped, mucronate, and strongly ciliated, reflected along the pe- 
duncle while the flowers are expanded, brown. Itagi white, flUfimn- - 



Dr Graham's Description of New or Rare Plants. 381 

Bubulate, unequal, the outer in general nearly twii^e the length of the 
involucre, and alwara more than tvice as long rb those in the centre, 
sprBoding or divaHcated, and after flowering erect, bending aciots 
each other, collected as in the bud, and isTested by the tuvolucre, 
which alue becomes erect. Floven handsome, manj. of them abor. 
tive, (always so In the rav F) Caig* obanlete, segments minute paints 
on the outnde of the filaments, and alternate with the petals. Ce- 
TuBa lilac ; petals 6, nearly equal, spreading, oborato^ubro^md, entire, 
undulate, glabrous on their inner sur&ce, paler on their outer, veins 
obscure. Stamau bt fiUmenta erect, equal to the petals; anthers bi- 
loculir, oval. Incumbent, white, marked while in the bud by a purple 
line along their edges, at which place they afterwards hurst ; pollen 
white. German inferior, cordatu-kldnejr-sbBped, flat, the commissure of 
the seeds being in the shorteat diameter, rugolose, pubescent, crowned 
bj a thin, colourless, spreading, entire, flat, membranous border above 
the insertion of the petals, each lobe marked towards its inner edge by 
a crescent-shaped rib, so that the two tc^ther inclose an ovate space, 
extending from the base to the apex of the fruit. Stgla 2, diverging, 
shorter than the filaments. Sliffmata capitate. Fruii when ripe brown, 
undulate, verrucose, seed considerably narrower than its covering. 

We received the seeds of this unusually beautifril umbelliferous plant from 
Mr Froser, colonial botanist. New South Wales, in November I8S7, un- 
der the generic name firunooia. Thej were marked " native of tiie 
Island olBaTBcha." 

The plants were raised in a cold frame, and have been in fiower In the Bo- 
tanic Garden during August. Tbeyappear to belong to the genua TVs- . 
Aymen$ of Rudge, hut the root-teaves at the specie* figured by him are 
more divided, and on much longer petioles than in any of our spedmens ; 
his plant is much smaller, the rays of the umbel much shorter, the pe- 
tals (^ a verr different shape, and shorter than the stamens, and, above 
all, the fruit Is said to be sut^lobular, instead of fiat, as with us. Yet 
the habit is so much alike, that a fear of multiplying names, without a 
certainty of a difference of Epedes, had led me tu adopt his specific name 
with doubt, while 1 at the same time pointed out the above distinctions, 
and thou^t it difficult to supixiBe that su verv beautiful a flower should 
have been so long overlooked, if it grows, as he statea his to have done, 
near Fort Jackson. On showing the proof-Hheet, however, to JvT. Al- 
phonse De Condole, I was informed by him, that Us &ther conmdeis It 
certainly distinct, and will call it T. earvlea. Such authority confirmed 
my own doubts, and I willingly adopted this designation. I have since 
heard from Dr Hooker that he too itupecU Rudge's plant may be dis- 

Villar^a lacunosa ? y* 

V. laeanotat acaulis, iol^ corlaceis, ovato-reniformlbus, subpeltatia, cre- 
natia, aubtus concavis maculato-punctatis obsolete venoels, petiolis ra- 
dicantibus floriferia, llorlbus bsdculatis, corollis lateribua glabris a(d' 
dbus obtusis, cicnulatis, calycibus acutis. 



Tillarsia lacunosa, Vent. Choix^. 9. ? 
VUlarsia aquatlca, G«e£ Syst. veg. I. p. 447 
Menyanthea trachysperma, jtfioA. FL fior. Amer. 1 



VUlarsia aquatlca, G«e£ Syst. TW I. p. «7.?— flmi. * Sofl. 4. p. 18a F 



DescBiPTioN. — Without ttem. Leave* all ntdical, floating, ovate, deep- 
ly cloven at the base, lobes little separated, crenated, subpeltate, upner 
aur&ce slightly convex, bright green, veinless, lower alightly concave, paler, 
obscurely marked with broad flattened vein^ aj)d many irregular red apota, 
and Innumerable points of the same colour; petiole round, greatly elon- 
gated 0-3 feet), about half an inch below t^e ieaf bearing a bsciculus 
of flowers, and a cluster of slender, rigid, conical tubers, from which pro. 
ceed other petioles, bearing fhiwera and roots in the same manner, and 
these ag^n others, in endSss succession. These tubers fr^ueutly be- 
come black, and decay, in which case another cluster Is produced ia coa* 



389 Dr Graham's Description of New or Rare Plants. 

tact with tbeln. Pedicels single-flowered, bent so as to carry the flowers 
above water, but after this is passed, atraight or curved downwards. Ca- 
lyx 5-partite, acute, spreading, f^reeu and dotted sporselj' with red, persist- 
iitg, and then closed, and s^ments approximating at the apices. Corolla 
pure whitf, rotate, 6'parted, segments obovate, slightl; notched, and 
crenulate at the apices, divided lon^tudinally into three nearly equal 
parts, ofwhlch the two lateral are transparent, undulated and glabrous, 
the centre elevated, more opaque, bearded in longitudinal lines at tlie 
anex, and more slightly so at the base ; throat yellow, gUuidular, the 
glands yellow, alternate with tbe stamens, stipitate, shaggy, granular. 
Slmnena 6, yellow ; filaments as long as tbe gernien, anl-^apeo, arigiDg 
from the base of the corolla, and. adhering to it throughout the whole 
length of the short tutie, above which they are connivent j anther? cor- 
date, bursting along their edges ; pollen deep yellow. Gormen green, 
ovate, slightly compressed, crowned by the bifid stigma, unilocular. 
OmJes obovate, about 20, attached to tbe inside of the germen on each 
side at the sutures, whnJi are obscurely marked within, and inriaible on 
the outside of the germen. 
This very pretty little aquatic was found by Mr Blair in lakes in Upper 
Canada, and introduced by him into Mr Cunninghame'a garden in 1826. 
It is Qo doubt ({uite hardy, but, from the diiBcully of preventiuK it from 
floating about, and being accidentally removed with the weeds m clean, 
ing the pond, it has been kept in the Botanic Garden in a tub which 
stands in the stove, and there flowers very Ireely during a great part of 



I have considerable doubt about t^e correctness of the specific name and 
the synonyms quoted; but not at present having an opportunity of con- 
suiting Venteoat, I think it right lo adopt bis nauie till I have. The 
genus Vitlania is probably naturally distmci from MenyanOia, but this 
species shows that the essential generic character requires revision./^ 

Note In the last Number of this Journal, I described, under tbe name 

of CatUeya intermedia, a beautiAll plant which flowered at the Botanic Garden, 
and an admirable and most correct figure of the specimen has appeared under 
the same name in the Botanical Magazine, t. 2SS1., the thin, grey,, membrs' 
nous sheath of the stem only having been neglected in the colouring. I 
pointed out its near affinity to C. Forbem (BoL Keg. t. 953.), but considered 
it certainly distinct, especially on account of the very diflerent appearance of 
the spathe. Subsequently, however, I began to doubt whether I was right, 
ibr a apedmen flowered with ua having the colour, and in some other re- 
spects the appearance, of C ForhetH, stlU, however, retaining the spathe of 
C. inMrnudiii. Within these few days, I have seen In the possession of Mr 
Neill a specimen of C. Forlieni from ue Chiswick Garden. It has the spathe 
of our plant ; and as I consider it authority for ascertaining the species of Mr 
Ijndley's, I must believe the figure m Botanical Regiater faulty, or the plant 
liable to great variation, and therefore I take the eorUest opportunity to state 
my belief, that ours is only a beautiful variety of the same. 

Tbe original specimen has again flowered with us. It retained all its 
splendid colouring, and produced two floweiG, with one or more abortive buds, 
BO that probably ft may yet assume a much more munificent appeaisnce. Is 
there not some reason to fear, that, in Ihis splendia genus, forms vary very 
considerably, and that this may nut be the only instance in which species aM 
varieties have been confounded F /J 



D.n.iized by Google 



( 



1 



CeleatuU PJtenometia from October 1. 1828 to January 1. 1829, 
caictUated firr the Meridum of Edmburgk, Mean Time. 
By Mr George Ikneg, Aberdeen. 

Tlu tiioave irHerted ufcrdlng lothe Civil nckoolDg, tlie day besliuLiDg at midnight. 
— ThB CaaJuncUona ot the Moon wllb Iha Sun an glim In Rl^l AKttiiim, 

OCTOBER. NOVEHBEK. 



1. 16 fl'so" 


6 B i-as 


l" 


7 55 36 


dE'fl, 


3. 16 16 66 


d])2-2B 


1. 


13 50 48 


69»W 


4. 13 50 6 


ds-n 


2. 


2 49 21 


6i^v% 


4. 31 1 


d))2 


3. 


1! 14 58 


dE-ft. 


B. 2 


dD-a 


3. 


19 41 19 


i S5 


B. 18 29 37 


■i S^ I 


6. 


19 3 4 


d VTIf 


6. 23 3& 41 


d?-U' 


7. 


14 34 38 


9 New Moon. 


7- 


$ greatest elong. 


8. 


3 44 7 


d5U=2= 


7. 3 12 M 


dE-U 


8. 


11 36 16 


? very near, m 


7- 12 42 38 


69'Sl 


8. 


19 50 - 


dE9 


8. 23 62 43 


# New Moon. 


& 


12 27 1 


dE*^ 


8. !1 17 25 


d r^w 


9. 


4 26 46 


dj V 


0. 19 46 as 


d59 


11. 


4 16 61 


dy)-=^ 


1. 10 16 17 


dSV 


12. 


20 12 38 


dB¥ 


1. 19 37 51 


Im. III. sat. V 


12. 


32 42 - 


6>iy 


1. SO 33 IS 


dl)n=2: 


la 


2 34 IS 


dEen 


2. 5 27 2S 


dB*^ 


13. 


13 37 64 


d??iip 


2. 21 22 41 


cjnoph. 


13. 


20 39 - 


Inf. d 9 


S. 17 14 41 


d?'fl, 


14. 


8 6 37 


dS)(J 


6. 6 19 57 


EFuBtQuaitcr- 


14. 


13 20 36 


5 First Quarter. 


6. 15 46 33 


d])¥ 


16. 


2 36 6 


6iyY% 


S. 19 33 47 


d))(J 


16. 


4 8 48 


d ))»=s 


S. 21 13 20 


dS^il 


17. 


8 16 - 


dOV 


a. 7 33 34 


d5V 


17- 


18 32 46 


6i i A 


B. 22 13 37 


d5»as 


17. 


22 37 49 


dVx'^ 


S. 23 36 60 


Im. HI. Bftt. y 


18. 


7 48 66 


d ])' H 


i. S 27 


dE-H 


18. 


12 3 18 


dDf K 


2. 4 3 27 


dHK 


19. 


1 61 39 


d E»H 


1 17 34 6 


dD-K 


20. 


31 49 


d?»Tip 


S. 


§ greatest elong. 


21. 


14 13 26 


O Full Moon. 


k 44 5 


O Full Moon. 


21. 


23 39 44 


d 111' a 


3. 10 6 2 


© enters TH_ 


22. 


8 60 


rf T,2t B 


I. 13 12 17 


d?'fl, 


22. 


6 29 10 


©Miters J 


i. 14 39 26 


d El' B 


23. 


iO 36 IS 


d¥-Trp 


14 S8 31 


d E2* 8 


36. 


18 16 18 


d Hb 


4 28 20 


di-Sl 


37. 


7 16 21 


d E1-2B 


>. 9 43 39 


d Ef? 


27. 


8 23 3 


di)2"no 


». 16 6 30 


(LanOuaitcr. 


88. 


43 24 


dHil 


». 23 2 69 


dJl^OB 


2& 


6 66 26 


d])»ft 


a 63 


dES'OD 


2a 


16 8 24 


dD'fl, 


21 43 66 


dE-ft 


29. 


13 20 6 


< Lwt QuHter. 






30. 


8 48 29 


dV* = 






30. 


10 63 


dpvJi 



38+ Celestial Phenomenafroru Oct. 1. 1828 to Jan. 1. 1829. 

DECEMBER. 



1. 




5 greatest ebng. 


16. 


13 34 37 


d'i'V. 


4. 


034 87 


dS9 


16. 


17 63 8 


rf IHK 


4. 


4 98 41 


(JJxIIp 


la 


7 69 24 


A'i'^'H 


4. 


17 26 - 


l?n«u-4i- 


IS- 


7 10 21 


d J 1 / a 


S. 


10 St 16 


rf?xnf 


IS. 


739 63 


dM' B 


6. 


13 43 


6))*<in 


20. 


17 69 


5?*i;^ 


6. 


16 17 26 


rf J? 


21. 


4 8 49 


dv.m. 


5. 


81 37 46 


rflia=£= 


21. 


8 14 11 


O Full Mood, 


6. 


38 43 


dM 


21. 


10 62 10 


d5#SM 


7. 


a 62 63 


# Nev Moon. 


21. 


19 7 68 


©Mterart 


9. 


21 47 - 


d9V 


23. 


13 32 38 


Em. III. ttt. If 


la 


S 42 26 


cSDW 


22. 


14 48 - 


6if-^A 


10. 


» 1 29 


6)>^v^ 


23. 


23 45 22 


dBI? 


10. 


17 28 - 


d9UnL 


34. 


IS 6 29 


dJi-ffij 


iti. 


17 63 - 


6^'i^n. 


34. 


16 12 41 


d>2-fla 


12. 


9 38 37 


cJUSas 


26. 


8 30 16 


6\iSl 


1%. 


23 6 13 


rf Tli 


26. 


13 41 3S 


VBofl. 


la. 


33 13 


6i^^ 


26. 


23 64 


Vl'Sl 


13. 


1« 57 58 


iltmrts 


27- 


6 21 33 


dsuin. 


IS. 


18 18 33 


dV2^TIf 


27. 


6 37 14 


d$2*in. 


13. 


21 21 30 


]} First Quarter. 


28. 


12 60 41 


$n«a,IIl 


16. 


933 60 


Em. III. Bftt. % 


39. 


10 28 68 


( Last Quarter. 




Timea of the PlaneU patting the Meridian. 



OCIOBEI. 1 




UmuiT. 


V««.. 


Mo.. 


J^IU.. 


SMum. 


GeoTfiw. 


i> 














1 


12 64 


8 65 


18 66 


14 to 




19 30 


5 


IS 


8 S6 




13 5» 






It 


13 6 


8 S4 


IB 41 


13 42 


7 6 


18 44 


1.' 


13 12 


8 66 


18 34 


13 26 


6 48 


18 25 


21 


13 16 


8 68 


18 27 


13 n 


6 30 




26 


13 16 


, 8 67 


18 20 


12 55 


6 11 


17 « 


MOVEMBEB. j 




Ubcuit. 


V««M. 


Mm. 


JuplWr. 


— 


Oragta.. 


T, 


H. 




u. ' 


H. , 


B. , 


H. ' 


1 


13 6 


8 59 


18 12 


12 39 


A 45 


17 20 


1 


12 48 




18 7 


12 33 


6 39 


17 A 


III 


12 14 




18 1 


12 4 


S 9 


16 46 


in 


11 37 




17 54 


11 64 


4 49 


16 20 


n 








11 37 


430 


W 7 


26 


10 36 


9 8 


17 40 


11 22 


4 10 


IS 48 


DECEMBER. | 




Hooiry. 


VniH. 


Mw. 


JuplMl. 


Sotont. 


Q«.g.M. 


I>. 


H. 


B. 




H 


B. 


H. 




10 26 


11 


17 33 


11 3 


3 46 


16 26 


6 


10 30 


9 13 




10 61 


3 SO 


16 11 


Id 


10 37 


9 17 


17 20 


10 36 


8 10 


14 62 


16 


10 48 


9 SI 


17 11 


to 21 


2 49 


14 3S 


2)1 


10 68 


26 




10 9 


2 28 


14 14 


25 




9 SI 


17 


960 


2 7 


13 36 



( 885 ) 

Proceedings of the Wenienan Natural History Society. Con- 
tinued from p. 180. 

18S8, April\9. — RoBiKT, Jamesom, Esq. Premdent in die 
cliair.— Count Vargas Bedemar, keeper of the ininend(^;ical ca- 
binet of the Crown Prince of Denmark, was elected a foreign 
member, and the Ber, John Gibson Macvicar, A. M. was ad- 
mitted an ordinary member. 

Mr Blackadder's communication on poW lights, illustrated 
with drawings, was laid before the meeting. 

Mr Bald, mining-engineer, read a memtur on the fires that 
take place in collieries, and particuhtrly <m the recent fires in 
the collieries of Whitehill and Polton, in Mid-Lothian, and of 
South Sauchie, in Clackmananshire. (This important paper is 
printed in this Journal, supra, p. 101, et seq.) 

The Secretary read a notice communicated by Mr MacgilU- 
vray, regarding a cuckoo, which had been kept in a cage rioce 
it was taken from a btlark's nest, in the end of July 18S7; and 
the Inrd was communicated to the meeting. (See supra, p. 
200.) 

Mr Falconab, Vice-President, having taken the chair. Pro- 
fessor Jameson communicated a notice in regard to the opaline 
wood found in New South Wales, and exhibited a magnificent 
qiedmen presented to the Museum by Sir Thomas M. Bris- 
bane, Bart. 

June 21. — David Falconak, Esq. Vice-Preudent, in the 
chair. — At this meeting his Excellency Count Platen, vice-lieu- 
tenant of Norway, and Professor S. Nillstxi, of the University 
of Lund, were elected foreign members. 

The Secretary read a paper by the Rev. William Scoresby of 
Liverpool, entitled, Bemarks on the Probability of reaching the 
North Pole ; being an examination of the recent expedition un^ 
der Captain Parry, in order to the inquiry how ioi that experi-. 
ment affects the pracucability of the enterprize. (This inte- 
resUng communication is printed in this Journal, ut suproy 
p. as, c( seq.) 

The Socnety then adjourned till Novauber. 

jui-y — SEFT£UBEK 1828. ab 

D.n.iized by Google 



SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. 

NATURAL FHILOaOPHY. 

1. Proposed Impravemmi of the Air-Pump. — There is rea- 
son to think that something like Mr Watt's principle of the 
double stroke in the BKam^engine, might be advantageously ap- 
plied to the air-pump By this means one barrel could do the 
work of two, which would both lessen the cost and greatly di- 
minish friction. At first it might^be supposed that, by this ar- 
rangement, the management of the valves would be rend»«d 
rather complicated ; but, instead of that, they wduM admit of 
considerate amplification, by ad<^ting another prinraple often 
employed about steam-engines, under the name of the ooffer- 
slide valve. Suppose the barrel to be provided with a solid pis- 
ton, moved by a rod passing through an tur-tight collar. Let 
there be two holes in the side of tiie barrel, one adjtnning each 
Old; and let these be cova«d by a sliding bar furnished with 
four holes on its ^de, two being near to each end, and the whole 
so arranged, that two of them at a time, but taken in an alter- 
nate order, can, by a slight motion of the bar, be brought oppo- 
site the holes of the barrel, while the other two are not, and 
vice versa. Suppose two of the four holes, say the middle ones, 
to be the ends of two tubes which unite in one slender wind- 
ing and slightly flexible tube, communicating with the receiver ; 
and let the other two be merely perfm-ations, which may have 
thrir extmor ends «ther quite open, or, to prevent any return 
of air into the barrel, they might be covered with alipa of blad- 
der or oiled silk. If, then, the bar be moved up and down alter- 
nately about the third of an inch, so as to have two of its bides, 
one of each sort, remaining over these in the barrel, while the 
-piston moves in the one direction, and the other two renuuiHi^ 
over those of the barrel, while the {nston returns in the c^tpo^le 
directiffli, it is evident that we shall have, in this ample arrange- 
ment, all the security of four metallic valves, and a nngle barret 
and piston dtnng the work of two. The obvious design of tfae 
long fiexible tube is to permit the compound valve to more 
without any other joints. It might, indeed, remain fixed, while- 



ScietUyU IntelUgence. — Meteorology. 387 

the barrel itself moved a little, but this would hftve its inconve- 
niences. I intend having an air-pump made aa these principles, 
and then to give a more particular descripticHi of its several 
parts. H. Meiklb. 

UBTXOHOLOGY. 

Prognoses of ike Weather. — Red clouds in the west, at sun- 
set, .especially when they have a tint of purple, portend fine 
weather. The reason of which is, that the air, when dry, re- 
fracts more red or heat-making rays ; and as dry air is not per- 
fectly transparent, they are again reflected in the horizon. A 
coppery or yellow sunset generally foretels r^n ; but as an in- 
dication of wet weather approaching, nothing is more certain 
than the halo around the moon, which is produced by the pre- 
cipitated water ; and the larger the circle the nearer the clouds, 
and consequendy the more ready to fall. The old proverb is 
often correct : 

A rainbow In the morning is the shepherd's warning ; 

A rainbow at night U the shepherd's delight 
A rainbow can only occur when the clouds, cont^ning or de- 
poating the rain, are opposite to the sun ; and in the evening 
the rainbow is in the east, and in the morning in the west ; and 
as our heavy rains in this climate are usually brought 1^' the 
westerly wind, a rainbow in the west indicates that the bad 
weather ison the road, by the wind, to us ; whereas the rainbow 
in the east proves that the rmn in these clouds is pas^g from 
us. When the swallows fly high, fine weather is to be expected 
or continued ; hut when they fly low, and close to the ground, 
jaia is almost surely approaching*. This is explained as fol- 
lows : Swallows pursue the flies and gnats, and ffies and gnats 
usually delight in warm strata of air ; and as warm mr is lighter, 
and usually moister, than cold wc, when the warm strata of our 
air are high, there is less chance of racnsture b^ng thrown down 
from them by the mixture with cold air ; but when the warm 
and moist ^r is close to the surface, it is almost certain that, as 
the cold air flows down into it, a deposition of water will take 
place. When sea-gulls assemble on the Und, stormy and rainy 

■ Immediately' bdbre a thunder-storm this sammei, and in the intervals of 
■ the showers, swifts and martins were observed to fly veiy high :— and so uf 
many other prognostics-^M. 

B bs , CooqIc 



S88 Saentyic InUUa^nee. — Meteorolegy. 

weather is almost always approaching * ; the reason of which 
might he thought to be that these animals, sendhle of a curreot 
of lur approaching from the oceani retire to tfae land to shelter 
themsetyes fh>m the storm- This is not the case however. The 
stOTm is thdr element ; and the little petrel enjoys the heaviest 
gate, because, living on the smaller sea-insects, he is sure to 
find his food in the spray of a heavy wave, and she may be seen 
flitting above the edge of the highest surge. The reason of 
this'roigratioD of gulls, and other sea-birds, to the land, is their 
secunty of finding food ; and they may be observed, at this 
time, feeding greedily on the earlh-wonns and larvse driven out 
of the ground by severe floods ; and the fish, on which they 
prey in fine weather mi the sea, leave the surface, and go deeper 
, in storms. The search after food is the prindpal cause why 
animals change their places. The difilerent tribes of the wading 
birds always Tmigrate when rain is about to take place. The 
vulture, upon the same principle, follows armies; and there i» 
no doubt that the augury of the ancients was a good deal found- 
ed upon the observation of the instincts of birds. There are 
many superstitions of the vulgar owing to the same source. For 
anglers, in spring, it is always unlucky to see single mag- 
[nes, but two may be always regarded as a favourable omen ; 
and the reason is, that, in cold and stormy weather, one magpie 
alone leaves the nest in search of food, the other remuning sit. 
ting upon the eggs or the young ones ; but if two go out tc^e> 
tber, it is only when the weather is warm and mild, and favour- 
able for fishing. — Sir H. Davy in Sahnonia. 

3. Disturbance of the Magnetic Needle by Polar Li^ta. — 
Various natural causes act upon the magnetic needle, so as to 
occasion a sudden change in its portion, or at least to disturb 
the regularity of its diurnal variations. Of all these causes, the 
aurora boreahs appears to be the most energetic and infallible. 
When this meteor rises ia the northern r^ons, the sky is re- 
splendent with light ; and during its whole continuance, which 
sometimes lasts for ten or twelve hours, the magnetic needle ex- 
periences a continued agitation, and a considerable deviation. 
The summit of the arch of the aurora is in general in the mag- 

■ Gulls genenllj betake themselves to the lud, not befi>re, but after, 
stonns-— H. 

r:it,:Ki.«G00i;5lc 



ScuntyU Intelligence. — Meteorologt/. 38g 

netic meridian, and its crown, that is to say, the focus toward 
which the rays of fltune, which seem to proceed from the hori- 
zon, or from the arch itself, dart, always occurB nesrly in the 
prolongation of the indination of the needle. The compass is 
not only agitated in the places where the aurora is vigibie, but 
eJso at great distances, at Paris and Wiliia, for exaiBple, even 
when there are no traces of the meteor to he perceived in the 
sky. But, in genenil, the agitatitm is greater the nearer the 
phenomenon is, and the greater intensity it displays. Thus 
we are told that the compass of the Paris Observatory of- 
ten experiences, in the day or in the night, a sudden deviation, 
which occarionally extends to one degree, without any appa- 
rent cause being discoveraUe ; and it is afterwards learned that 
the compasses of London and Petersburgh have at the same 
time experienced similar motions, and that in the northern 
countries some briUiant aurora has been observed. An observer 
in his cabinet, says Pouiilet, is therefore appized by his com- 
pass, of what is taking place in the polar ic^^ns, just as he 
learns, from his barometer, what is taking place in the higher 
r^OQS of the atmosphere. 

4. Effects o/" Ranged Air of Mountains on the Puiae. — Dr 
Brunner of Berne, read last year to the Helvetic Society of 
Natural Sciences, the second part of the account of his journey to 
Etna, in the year 18S6, in which, after describing the mountain, 
and speaking of its volcanic phenomena, he entered into minute 
detfuls respecting the limits of the «iow upon it, the circum- 
stances of which he did not well know bow to explain. He then 
spoke particularly of the phenomenon of the acceleration of the 
pulse, and of the changes in the beatings of the pulse, {n^uced 
by ascending hi^ mountains. He mentioned the more remark- 
able examples of the two phewmiena, and related what he had oc- 
casion to observe himself with reelect to them. He did not him- 
self suffer at the summit, which is 10,1 5S feet above the sea, 
and in an extremely rarefied lur. At the edge of the sea his 
pulse beat from 6S to 6S times in the minute ; at Nicolod, si- 
tuated at the height of 3S00 feet, TS ; in the Casa Glemellara, 
9300 feet high, 80 ; and at the summit, 84. He concluded bis 
narrative with expregaiog the wish that, in order to acquire more 
correct ideas regarding the height of moi^ntains, these observa-i 



300. Scientific Intdligeace. — Meleorciogy. 

yxtm might be repeated by m^ing water boil at difierent bights ; 
and ha^eA that die iin|voveineiit8 made in natural {diilosophy, 
mi^t eoable the Society of Catania to obtain a mote accurate 
knowledge of the volcano. 

5. Meteor (fa Green Co&mr.— On the night of the 11th of 
February \%StS, between eleven and twelve o'clock, as I was 
crossing the East River, between this city and Long Island, X 
observed a beautiful meteor, which was viable Ew about the 
space of two seconds. Its course was from a point perhaps ff* 
below the zenith, toward the horizon in a N.E. direction. It 
described an arc of perhaps S0°, when it apparently exploded, 
without any report that I could hear. Its colour was a singu- 
larly pure graaa green, of a light shade ; the tail which it left 
was of the same colour, and so were the scintillations which ac- 
companied its apparent explosion. The latter were distinct, 
like those accompanying the bursting of a rocket, but by no 
means ao numerous. Two gentlemen who were in the boat 
with me at the time also saw it. — SUliman's Joumtdy vol. xiv. 
No. I. April, 1828. 

6. On Tkermo-Barometrical Ottservations. — M. HOTtier pre- 
sented last year, to the Helvetic Society of Natural Science, the 
results of observations made in January ISST, by M. Escb- 
mann of Zurich, during an abode of fourteen days on the sum- 
mit of Rigi, 5530 feet above the level of the sea, for the im- 
provement of thermo-baFometncal observations. There results, 
irom a hundred and twenty observations made every bour, from 
seven in the morning to nine in the evening, and ctnnpared with 
simultaneous observatJcms made at Zurich, that the height of 
Ri^ above Zurich (which is 708 toise«), is without any doubt 
ten toises greater by- the observations made at noon, than by 
those made in the mtnuing or evening. This resiilts still more 
evidently &om a series of a hundred and eighty-«x observattona 
made in June of the same year, only the Utter give two toises 
more for the height. It appears that this augmentation of 
h^g^t, from one hour to another, is connected with the increase 
of temperature. The evening heights, however^ diminish even 
when the heat still increases. The maximum of hei^t cran- 
tndes pretty well with noon. The summer obpervations give a 
height about seven toises greater than those n>ade in winter. It 



appe&rs from this that s difin'rait height may be obtained for 
each seascHi and each hour of the day. The authw does oA 
venture to o9er an (^nnioo respectii^ the causes of this ancmaly, 
but he thiuks that there is wanting a Beries <^ such obaerviubna, 
BufEcirait to en^e us to discover the causes of these difiereoccs, 
as well as that d the co>efficieDts of the hd^ts in our barome- 
trical finrmutse, and of the corrections rendered necewsry by the - 
changes dS temperature. The correction necesauy fat the heat 
in a vertical direction, is exactly 9T tinses fw 1 degree of Reau- 
mur, by the summer observations. The winter observations are 
of no use in this respect, on account of the southerly winds 
which prevail at these heights at that season. The daily oscil- 
laticne of t^e barcuneter whieh, according to fourteen observa- 
tions made duly at Zurich, appear very r^ular, cease entirely 
to exist at the summit of Bigi. — BHAioth. Univert. Dec. 18S7. 

HYDBOaaAFHT. 

7. Blowing a River out. — The southern miul ftuled at 
Washington on Tuesday last, in cousequmceof the gale, which 
was so l(Big imd so violent, as to blow the waters out of the 
Potomac to such a degree as to render it unnavigable.— JVinr 
York Paper, 

8. Chemical Reeearckes respecting the Mineral Waters of 
Geilnau, Fachingen, and SeUera. By G, Bischof 8vo. Bonn, 
1826.— Professor Bischof ''s interesting work on springs, entitled 
" Cbemische Untersuchungen," &c. contains much curious and 
valuable inform'atiMi. The first chapter contmns the analysis 
of three springs, and the second their geognostical relations. 
They issue Irom clayaUte, and are in the vicinity of dolomites 
and igneous rocks. In the third chapter, the author treats of 
the rdation of the composition and temperature of the springs to 
the surrounding rocks. The springs that are strongly impreg- 
nated with carbonic add, imd contain soda, are connected with 
the volcanic lines. They are scattered in seven volcanic groups, 
from tiie Eiffel to the Riesengehirge. He enumerates these 
groups, and connects with them the Pyrenees, Auvergne, and 
the Vivarais. In- Switzerhind, on account of the absence of ba- 
salt, there are none of these springs. The soda is fiimished by 
the volcanic rocks. As all the springs contain more or less car- 



S0St Scientific IrUdUgemx. — HydrogrofJty. 

biHiic. scid, the author suppooes that this gas is gcneralty pro- 
duced in the intoior of the earth, but this chemical process is 
only more active in votcanic or volcanised places. Mtfriatic 
add and sulpburic aad exist only in spring that are in the vi- 
caatj of volcanoes in a state of activity. All the saliferous de- 
posits are of volcanic origin. The fur, acting upcm the beds of 
sulphur, produces sulphurous add and sulphuretted hydn^en. 
Sulphuric add niay be ftwmed of sulphurous add or pyrites. 
Muriatic acid is formed by the action of sulphuric add upon 
salt The carbonic add circulating in all the volcanic rocks de- 
composes the alkalies and salts, and impr^nates the springs 
with them. The two other volcanic adds also act ; and thus is 
explained the formation of mineral springs. In the fourth 
chapter, the author con^ders the compoation of mineral waters, 
the merit of tbdr analysis, and of thdr artificial recomposition, 
ihdr imponderable parts, die existence of mutually decomposing 
salts, &c. The following are the results of the imalyses of these 
, springs. 

Id 1000 parts there were found : 



Carbontte of Soda 



Sulphate of Soda, ■ 


0.1173 


a2198 


03239 


Muriate of Soda, 


<K3e76 


e.6146 


21.2061 


PbwphateofSoda, 


0.3660 


0.009! 


0.3579 


CarbonaieofUme, 


0.6872 


3.2506 


S.4313 


CartMUteofMagneda, ■ 


2,9073 


E.2943 


2.07T2 


Carbmateoflnm, 


0.2094 


0.1161 


ftSOOS 


m^ 


0.14M 


0.1137 


0376S 










bonic Acid, 


3a958S 


26.6347 


20.2762 



9- Petrifying gualU^ of the Ira^ead^.—l formerly noticed the 
petrifying qualities of the water of the river Irawaddy : I now saw 
a strong proof of the rapidity with which it converts fordgn bo- 
dies into stone. The pioneers were ordered to remove a house, 
which would have interfered with the defence of the stockade, if 
the enemy had assailed it. Upon endeavouring to cut down the 
massive teak-pillars on which it was raised, they found that the 
edges of thdr hatchets were all turned. On examining into the 
cause of this, tbey found that the pillars were petrified through- 
out, though the house had only been built ten years, and the 



Scietiiific Inteiligence. — Miagralogy, S9S 

pillars were under water three montha.iD the year during the 
Taonioaa.'—Alexandef's Travels m Persia, ^c. p. 34. 

10. Phoephorescence of the Sea. — Bory St Vincent miuntains 
that luminaus Bea-water conuuns no wfuaory animals, and that 
the phosphoric hght which it frequently exhibits is not a product 
of vitality. 



1 1 . Infktence ^Organic on Inorganic Bodies. — Mr Hessle, in 
a memoir entitled *' Influence of Organic on Inorganic Bodies," 
{ Einflaens des Organischen Knrpers auf den Ijiorganischen, 
Marburg, 18^), proves, in the introduction or preface, by ex- 
amples, that organic remains have exerosed an influence upon 
their mode of petrifying, and that the axes of the organized bo- 
dies have determined the axis of crystalline petrifying sub- 
stances. The petrifactions of the radiaria present crystallizations 
of the rborabohedron, the regular Hx-sided prism, and the 
straight cylinder. The author enumerates their various posi- 
tions in petrifactions. He gives an idea of the nature and form 
of the encrinites. The flrat chapter of this article contains the 
' mechanical divinon of the stems of encrini, and the demonstra- 
tion that the axis of the rhombohedron of the calcareous spar 
corresponds with that of the stem, and the rhmnbohedron is 
placed in it in four different waysj &c. The seoond chapter is 
devoted to craisiderations respecting the positions of the rhombo- 
hedrons in the aggregations of several pieces of encrinites. The 
author enumerates all the possible comhinaticHis at the meeting 
of two [Heces, and presents a table of them. He oon^ders the 
double pyramid with three faces and turned, which results from 
it, and describes the manner of observing these cases of meeting^. 
In the third chapter he describes all the specimens which he has 
collected, and which appear so numerous that they present a 
large proportion of the possdhle combinations enumerated. Last- 
ly, in the fourth chapter, he begins with otwerviog, that, in eac^ 
member of a branch of encrinus, the calcareous matter is placed 
in different geometrical relations; he enumerates encrini par- 
tially converted into pyrites and fluor; he asks of M., who 
mentions the latter, to detennine the poation of the octahedron 
of tlie fluor, &c. s 

r:it.:f:i.vG00glc 



394 iScientific InteU^mce. — MinercUogy. 

IS. On AnlAracitefOr GloMX-Coal. By A.. Basithaupt. — 
It has beea long known that anthradte, or glance-co^, occurs 
chi^y in the intermediary ibnnationB ; but opinions vary as to 
its mode of existence in these formadrais. In all the localities 
in which M. Breithaupt had an i^iportunity of observing it, 
such as Wezzelstein and Saalfeld, Lischiuiz near Gerz, &c, it 
presented itself in veins, never in beds. la the autumn of 1826, 
M. de Wamsdorf discovered in the slate quarries of Wurzbach, 
near Lobenstein, in VoigtJand, several quartzose v^s, one of 
which amtained a very interesting variety of anthracite. It oc- 
curs in isolated rods, which, like all the crystalline forms of 
this species, go from rate of the sides to the other in a nearly 
perpendicular direction. These flakes are surrounded by 
quartzy fibres, po'pendicular to their lateral surfaces, and cmae- 
quently parallel to the plane of the vein, which seems to jtfove 
that th^ formation is posterior to that of the anthracite- M. 
Breithaupt enumerates all the reasons which induce him to 
cwisider these flakes as being really crystallized, and to refer the 
anthracite crystals to the system of crystaUizatitHi of the prism, 
ot rbomboidal octahedrbn. 

13. On the probabie Oixurrence tftke Diamond in Siberia. — 
It is expected that diamonds will be found in Siberia. A leUer 
wiitten by a travelling naturalist to the rector of the Univ»«itj 
of Dorpat, contains the following details : — The platiniferous 
sand <^ Nischni Toura bears a striking resemblance to that o£ 
Brazil, in which diaBwnds are ccxnmonly met with. According 
to the descripti(»i ^ven of it by M. Eschw^e, this sand is 
prineipslly composed of rolled fra^ents of hydrate of iron and 
jasper, and contains moce plaUna than gold. The Xischni Toura 
saiid is visibly formed of the same component parts ; and the 
presence of hydrate of iron in it is so much the more remarkable, 
that it is in a conglomerate of the same kind that the Braailian 
diamonds occur, that these two min^iJs are not associated 
merely by accident, but are the debris of one and the same iot- 
maUon. The author of this letter exphuns the reason why he 
could not engage in the search for diamonds, in a place where 
he is convinced they will be found. He communicated his ob~ 
servatioDB to the director of Nischai Toura, who appeared dis- 
posed to commence operations.— -ZCTiwArj^? _/Mr Minerahgiet 
F^ruary, 1827. 



Sdew^fic J»tdKgmix.~Geohgg. 



14. Fossil Bones in tke Cave o/" Miremont.—'M. Brongniart, 
in July 18S8, at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences, 
gave an account of a letter which he had received (torn M. Jules 
Delanoue, dated Souffignac, near Miremrait, 15th July 1836. 
The author of the letter bad discovered in the Cave of Mire- 
moat, in the Department of the Dordogne, fossil bones in gene- 
ral resemblii^ those whibh have been found in the caves of Ger- 
many and England, and latterly in several of those of France. 
In the description of this cave, inserted in the Annates des 
Mmes (t. vii. p. 597, 18SS), it was remarked that no fossil bone 
had been discovered in it; but at that period MrBuckland had 
not published his inquiries respecting the position which these 
organic remains commonly have in all the caves in which they 
have been aucceasiTely (bscovered. M. Delanoue gives the fol- 
lowing statements with respect to this new example of tbe sur- 
prising constancy of this geological jdienomenoD : — The cave, 
which is very large, is formed in a depont whii^ appears to be>- 
long to the chalk, or to the formations intermediate between the 
chalk and the jura limestone. It is of much greater dimenuons 
than the plan inserted in the Annales des Mines indicates. The 
galleries are so much the narrower the moke they are branched, 
and are prolonged without any very remarkahLe ccmtraction or 
(Natation, for 9000 yards or mote. All the galleries end in a 
multitude of narrow and low ramifications, which may he com- 
pared to the springs and brooks that feed k river. It was in 
these parts that M. Delanoue found most of the bones. Tbe 
floor b of red tenacious clay, containing ftagmenta of flint and 
shells. Bones are not fouod either in the white mud, or in tbe 
eaith. resulung from the cnin^ling of the walls, but in the red 
cUy alone. The bones occur at all depths, as well as at tbe sur- 
face. In the latter case they are friable and tffoken. They are 
chiefly teeth and bones, which M. Delanoue supposes to belcmg 
to the Ursus bombifrons, whose fosful remains are found at Iser- 
lohn, and in other caves in Germany. M. Delanoue observes 
that the Miremont cave presents no stalactites. This drcum- 
stance, which had been already pointed out, is. rather rare in 



CJoogIc 



306 ScietUific lHteUigtnce.—Geolagy, 

vayeSf and especially in those containing bones, where these in- 
crustations often cover the organic remains. By digging at the 
diatances of SOO and 400 yards from the entrance, there have 
been discovered, beneath Bereral layers of mar), which appear to 
be of a much more recent fonnadon than that of the red clay, 
the remains of pottery, which, in its colour and nature, presents 
the greatest resemblance to the pottenea which are found, 
though rarely, in some ruins, and in some depoata of modern 
alluvia, and which, from the nature of thdr paste, th^r colour, 
form, and other tnrcumstances, are referred to the times prece- 
ding the introduction of Roman arts unong the Gauls. 

14 On Coral Islands. — According to Linnaeus and Ellis, 
the calcareous zoophytes, such as the tubipores, millepores, and 
madrepores, are inhabited by animalcules, which have some af- 
finity to the nereids, medusse, and hydrse; but more recent in- 
vestigations have shewn, that all the corals which form rocks, 
or Saxigenotis tithoph^es of the French zocdogists, and even 
the Pavonia Caryophjfilea and the NuiUpora of Lamarck, serve 
as a habitation to gelatinous mollusca of a particular kind, ot 
are surrounded by them. Since Cook's voyage, Forster'a ob- 
servations have given occa^n to geologists to think that many 
islands and entire countries have owed thor origin to the coral 
produced by these animalcules. I have seen stnne of these co- 
ral islands covered with a pitiful vegetation, and. I have no 
doubt that many of those of the Pacific Ocean have been form- 
ed in this manner. It appears to me, however, that too much 
importance has been attributed to this theory, on which M. 
Adelbert de Chamisso, an excellent obso^er, has thrown much 
light. In the West Indies, for example, hmestone rocks of ter- 
tiary formation, which ^conttun petrified madrepores and tubi- 
pores, have been taken for recent works of coral animals, mere- 
ly because they ocxur in places where similar animals are still 
observed. But when we penetrate into the interior of the large 
Antilles, there occur mountains of primitive formation, which to 
a great height are surrounded by the same madrepore rocks. 
These rocks have, consequently, emei^ed from the chaos of an 
ancient world. Between the tropics, on the shores- of the 
Gulf of Mexico, the traveller runs the risk of confounding with 

L.jt.:?:l.« Google 



Scitnlific Intelligence. — Geoloffjf. 397 

old coral beds, strata of tertiary limestone, which are placed 
above chalk, and filled with coral petrifactions. — Humboldt, Ta- 
bleaux de la Nature, t. i. p. 90. 

\5. On Brown Coal, or Lignite, and Oolite, sv^erimpoaed 
on Chalk ,- ditamered m Seaaarabia by M. Eic^M. — In a 
geological point of view, this l»own coal or lignite is chiefly 
worthy of attention from the circumstance of lU fadlitating the 
study of the tertiary rocks, which have hitherto been so little 
examined. According to the commonly received geological opi- 
nions, founded on the examination of mountains in Germany, 
France, England, Switzerkmd, Italy and part of Scandinavia, 
and confirmed by Humboldt^s observations in the mountains of 
Anienca, lignites ought to occur with the plastic clay, above a 
formation of chalk. In Bessarabia, the chalk formation ap- 
pears at the surface, in the neighbourhood of Mohilef, on the 
Dniester, and extends into Moldavia, in the north-east direction. 
The formations »tuated between this chain of chalk mountains 
and the sea preset no analogy to the tertiary formation q£ 
France. Here, above the chalk, there occur, 1st, To a fathom 
and a half, a coarse sand ; id. An argillaceous rock, containing 
some lime, and of which the lower part is somewhat silicious, 
eig^t inches; 3d, A cretaceous limestone, five feet thick, end- 
ing in oolite in its upper ports.; ith. Then a thin bed c^sand 
and compact limestone ; 5^, Lastly, the whole pU'm to the sea 
and the Danube is solely composed of horizontal limestone, filled 
widi shells. In the cavities of this piindpal formation, and ge- 
nerally between the territory of Brender and the sea, in the di- 
rection of north-west, there occurs silicious limestone, with re- 
mains of shells, among which pinnitea are also seen. At a 
great distance from the sea, on the banks of the Bouik, the 
Ueoute, the Eoula, and other rivers, this limestone is covered 
with soft marls containing crystals of selenite. From the line of 
Brender to Boudjak, immediately over the sand, hes a trans- 
ported limestone (Cidcaire meuble), otMnposed almost entirely 
of shells, and more or less mixed with iron ochre. Large beda 
ofaciitic iimeatonejbrm the diatin£live character of thisjbrma- 
Hon which Uea above the chalk, and to uhieh geologists give the 
name of tertian/, although fre<ptenUy the oolite limeaUme pre- 
aettta itadf under that of Jura Hmeatone, aa one of the prittcytal 

D.n.iized by Google 



898 Scientific InteJUgence.— Botany. 

demenUqfiheaecaniaryfirmatums. — BuUetat. Vnivert., JprU 



16. Inquiries retpeeUng the PoUen of Vegetaiiet. — Oa the 
Slat July 18S8, there wa§ read, to the Academie des Sciences, 
a letter from M. Baspail, respecting the spermatic animalcules 
which M. Adolpbe Brongniart thought he had discovered in the 
pollen <^ veget^les, and whose existence M . Raspail persiels in 
denying. The author, whose object was particularly to reply 
to M. Brongniart's last memoir, mentitHied, that this young ob- 
server having presented the poUm of the Mahacea, as that in 
which be had met with the largest animalcules; it was toward this 
same pollen that his own inquiries were naturally directed. The 
result of these inquiries was the convictitm, that the alleged ani- 
malcules were nothing but minute drops of substances soluble 
in alcohol. M. Adolphe BrcHigniart admits, in his new work, 
that resinous drops are emitted, in great numbers, during the 
explosion of the pollen, a circumstance of which he took no no- 
tice in his first memoir. Faithful to his first opinion, he how- 
ever asserts, that these drops have nothing to do with his ani- 
malcules; " but, in order to prove it to us," says M. Baqiail, 
" in place of making the experiment upon the pollen of the 
malvacese, he has recourse, all of a sudden, to the pollen of 
other families, and finds, that, in these, the animalcules do not 
dissolve in alcohol, but only lose their motion in it." As rean, 
wax, and essential ml, do not, by any means, exist in Uie same 
proportions in the pollen of difFerent plants, as M. Raspail has 
proved in a former memmr, it is not surprising that M. Brong- 
niart should not find, in the pollen of the graminete, so great an 
abundance of reranous drops as in the pollen of the malvocese ; 
or that he should see round bodies in it, which did not dissdve 
in alcohol. But it is obviously on the malvacee that die expe- 
riments in question ought to have been repeated. M. BrcHigniart's 
mode of operating, also, is so inaccurate, that M. Rat^I is 
compelled to doubt whether he employed his process in the 
manner which he points out. He says he poured alcohol onthe 
animalcules in motion ; in other words, and by consequence, 
into the drop of water in which they were moving, and yet did 



Ogle 



ScknHfic InUM^mcc—Btoany. 999 

not see them dissolve. " Now, alcohol poured upon water can- 
not dissolve, at least instantaneously, drops of reain, as every 
one knows who has been arcustomed to make experiments of 
this kind. Moreover, it then produces so violent a microscofnc 
tempest, that it becomes impossible for the observer to disdn- 
guish any thing. In another experiment, the author covered, 
with a plate of mica, the drop of water in which he had broken 
a 'grain of pollen ; but, the plate of mica, at the moment when 
he placed it upon the drop of water, must have renooved from 
his view the bodies which it fixed ; and, besides, the edges <if a 
plate of mica, which are always itl apphed ag»nst the object- 
bearer, cannot, by any means, prevent the evaporation of the 
fluid, which becomes a powerful cause of automatic motion. 
We advise the author, when he proceeds anew with suc^ expe- 
riments, to place a suffident quantity of wat^ and grains of pol- 
len in the cavity of a plate of glass, and cover it with another, 
making the latter slide over the former, without allowing the 
air to indnuate itself into the cavity. The pollen will burst. 
The explosion will indeed put the whole in motion, but, in a 
few moments after, our little automatons will resume the immo- 
bility of all inert globules. I have repeated these experiments 
a hundred times. Many others have repeated them since ; and 
M. Brongniart is hitherto the only perscMi who pernsts ft hold- 
ing so ill-founded an opinion." The vague and indeterminate 
motion, which aj^>ear9 to M. Brongniart so peremptory a proof 
of the spontaneousness of the corpuscules in questitm, seems, to 
M. Raspail, a proof of the contriu^ opinion ; for any globules 
of albumen, gluten, starch, and still more of essential oil, sus- 
pended in water, will prraent traces of a vague and indetermi- 
nate motimi. '* I therefore," says M. Raspail in conclusion, 
" persist in asserting, that GHeichen's pretended animalcules are 
nothing, in the malvaces espedally, but resinous drops; and, in 
other poDens, but inert globules of tissues mixed with these 
drops.'' M. Raspail concludes bis letter with observations res- 
pecting the comparative value of different microscopes. In his 
opinion, JmicPs Microscope (which M. Brongniart employs, and 
for this reason considers his experiments as peculiarly valuable), 
is, other things equal, inferior to every other microscope. Any 
one having the least knowledge of optics, might convince him- 

. ...Coosic 



400 Saentijic InieUigence.'^Botani/. 

sdfof thn a priori; and what theory pcMnts oat in this mat- 
ter, experience confirms. The most expert observers of Patis 
have long remarked, that objects which are distiiictly seen with 
the vertical adiromatic microscope, are not perceptible with 
Amid's microecc^, and more than one observer has already re- 
peated of having sacrificed the former, for the expenrave agate 
of the laUer. — Le Globe. 

18. On Ike Ch-gaHtzation of the genus CAora.— There waa 
read to the Academie des Sciences of Pans, on the Slst July 
18S8, a letter frtm M. Rasptul, respecting the organizatioD of 
the genus Chora. Botanists and Natural Philosophers have 
lutherto been much puzzled by the existence of two opponte 
currents of green matter, in the interior o[ the tubes of this ge- 
nus, which never intermingle, although there is no partition be- 
tween th^D. M. Baspful gives a very ample explanation of this 
singular phenomenon. " Having brought near the flame of a. 
lamp," says he, " a tube closed at one end, and filled with alco- 
hol, holding a multitude of ^obules of fat in suspension, I sotxi 
observed a current of globules proceeding upwards on one ade, 
and again descending on the other, to coatinue the same naotirai 
without intemussion. So long as I kept the tube at the same 
temperature, the two currents never mingled ; and, during the 
whole oontinuance of the experimmit, th&K existed a viable line 
of demarcation between them. In a word, my glass-tube waa 
an exact representation of the tube of a chara, which is, in fact, 
notlilng but a transparent tube closed at both ends, lined with a 
layer of green matter, and in which there are distingui^ied an 
ascending and descending ciurent." M. Raspul produced a 
glass-tube contaming sawings of wood, of which it was sufficient 
to heat the base with the hand, to produce the pbetunnenon. 
The two currents were quidcly established after a few osdlla- 
don& Then followed, in the letter, the physical explanation 
of the {Aenopienon. In reality, in the chara, it is not the heat 
that determines the twofold motion, but the aspiration and ex- 
pration <^ water operated by the tube, as M. Baspail has al- 
ready demonstrated. The phenomenon in question has also 
been produced by him in glass-tubes, by means of an artifitaal 
aspiration and expiration. — Le Ghbe, S6. JuiUet 18S8. 

19- Account of a new Speciet ijf P^ita, a native qfCa^br- • 

L.jt.:?:l.« Google 



SdenUfie IntelSgence. — Botany. ' 401 

nto, disccKjered by Mr David Douglaa. — In Vol. xv. of the 
Transactions of the Linnean Sodety, there is an account of a 
new and interesting spedes of pine, from California, hy Mr 
Douglas, vho proposes to name it Pinta Lambertina, and gives 
the following as its specific character. P. fohis quinis ri^dis 
scabrusculia, va^nis brevissimis, strabiUs crassis longissimis cy- 
lindricis ; squamis iaxis rotundatis. It covers large districts in 
Northern CaUfomia, about a hundred miles from the ocean, in 
Lat 43° north, extending as far to the south as 4°. It grows 
epariDgly upon low hills, and the undulating country east of a 
range of mountains, running in a south-western direction from 
the Rocky Mountains towards the sea, where the soil consists En- 
tirely of pure sand. The trees do not form dense forests, like 
most of the other pines which cover the face of North- West 
America, but, like those of Pinua resivoia, are scattered HDgly 
over the plains. The trunk attains a height of from 150 to 
SOO feet, varying from 20 to near 60 feet in drcumference. 
The trunk is unusually str^ght, and destitute of brandies 
about two-thirds of the hei^t. The bark is uncommonly 
smooth for such large timber, of a light brown colour on the 
south, and bleached on the north side. The branches are ra- 
ther pendulous, and form an open pjrramidal head, with that 
appearance which is peculiar to the Abies tribe. The leaves 
are ti^d, from 4 to 5 inches long, of a bri^^t green colour, and 
grow in fives. The cones are pendulous from the' extremities 
of the branches, and, when ripe, are about 11 inches in cireiun- 
ference at the thickest part, and from IS to 16 indies in length. 
The scales are lax, rounder, and destitute of ^nes. The seeds 
are large, eight Unes long, and four broad, and of an oval form. 
Their kernel is sweet and pleasant to the taste. The embryo 
has twelve or thirteen cotyledons. The timber is white, soft, and 
]ight. It abounds in turpentine reservoirs, and its specific gra- 
vity is 0.463. The whole tree produces an abundance of am- 
ber coloured rean. That which esudes from the trees, when 
they are partly burned, loses its usual flavour, and acquires a 
sweet taste, in which state it is used by the nauves as sugar, 
being mixed with their food. The seeds are eaten roasted, or 
are pounded into coarse cakes for their winter store. The ver- 

JOLY— SErTEMBEU 18S8. C C 

D.n.iized by Google 



naeular name, in the language t^the TJinpiqii^ Indiane, is Nat- 
deb- 

20- NutrUhui Stibstance tramported bg the Wind. — M. Tbe- 
nard presented to the French Academy of Sciences, in Augu&t 
\S£tS, a substance, which was communicated to him by the Mi- 
ntster for Foreign Affairs. This substance was sent to the Mi- 
nister, as having fallen from the sky, in Fer^a, at the com- 
mencement of the present year. It occurred in such abundance 
that the ground was of a sudden entirely covered by it over a 
great extent. In some spots it was five or six inches deep. It 
was eaten by cattle, and particularly sheep; and bread was 
made of it, which afforded nourishment to man. Such were the 
accounts furnished to the French Consul in Fersia, by a Rus- 
sian general, who was an eye-witness. M. Thenard bad first 
presented the specimens to M. Desfontaines, who realized in 
them a species of lichen described by botanists. These lichens, 
which, it would appear, occur in very great abundance, bad 
been transported by the wind to the jdaces where tbBr sudden 
appearance was observed. A similar phenomenon occurred in 
the same parts of Fersia in 18S4< *. 

SI. On the Fecvndaium ofFlawert. — FtHmerly the fecunda- 
tion of flowers, in which the sexes are separated, was almost 
wholly attributed to the wind. Kohlreuter and Spr»igel have 
proved, with an astonishing sagacity, that bees, wasps, and a 
great number of small winged insects, perform the principal 
part in this operation. I say the principal part ; for to assert 
that the fecundation of the germen absolutely cwinot take {Jace 
without the intervention of these litde anjmals, does not seem 
to me in conformity with the genius of nature, as Wildenow 
has demonstrated at length-f-. But, on the other hand, it must 
be observed, that dichogamy, the coloured spots of die petals, 
which indicate the vessels in which the honey is cont^ned, and 
fecundation by the contact of insects, are three circumstaoces 
almost inseparable. — Humboldt, Tabl. de la Nat. t. i. p. 78. 

22- Erica cUuiriSy L. — This beautiful species of heath was 
added to the British Flora a short time ago, by the Rev. Mr 

■ Spedmms of this substance were sent to us, from Persia, bj Mrs Mac- 
neill, ladj of the phyBieian to the embnasy in Persia. — Edit. 
t Elements of Botany Cu GerauiJ), p. 405. 

8 

r:i (.:?:!.; Google 



Tozer, who observed U m severaj ha^ xv, the nd^bowhood 
of Truro» Cornwall. The corolla is ovate, resembling that of 
E. cinerea va. colour, but u much larger, aod the anthers are 
neilher homed nor created. 



S3. Nta method qfqmckU/ destro^ng the Ufe qf huects. By 
H. A. Bjcobd, traveller to the Royal Museum of Natural Hie> 
tory at Fttri^ &c.-^The insect is fastened to a bit of cork, and 
placed under a belt with a httle suljAuric ether, which is either 
poured into a vessel, (»r iq>on the floor of the bell. The latter 
must be perfectly fitted to the plane on which it rests, to fre- 
vent the escape of the ether when it evaporates. The insect im- 
mersed in tbu atmosphere dies instantly^ beftwe it has had time 
to struggle, and thus retains all the freshness of its colouring. — 
BulleHn Universel. 

24. On the Tj^rian Purple. By M. Lesson. — Pliny has describ- 
ed two kinds of sbells, in the 4th Book of his Natural History, as 
furnishing the celebrated purple with which the robes of the Ro- 
man nobles was dyed. He names the one Buccinum, the other 
Murex. There has been much disagreement respecting the 
bucdnum. On comparing Pony's description, however, with 
tbe spedea of mollusoa which inbidHt the Mediterranean, there 
can remain no doubt that it is the Janlfuna fragUis of modem 
naturalists. This shell is pelade, and floats on the see in pro- 
digious quantiues. It b supported at the surface by air veucles, 
which Pliny calls a glutinous wax ; and the moment it retires 
unda- the water allows to escape a very pure and bright reddish- 
purple colour. Each animal contmns a con^derable quantity of 
it in a dorsal vessel. With alkalies, this colour readily assumes 
a green tint, and confirms what Pliny says cm this subject. What 
is taken for a long tongue is the head of the animal, which is in 
fact rounded, and of firm consistence. The Jonthina is ex- 
tremely common in the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic, for 
tbe shores of St Helena and the Island of Ascension are, at cer- 
tain seasons, entirely covered with them. The second species 
of purple appears to be really the Murex of the ancients, or the 
shell named Chicoree, and not that called Purpura. Some im- 
perfect trials that we have made with the colour <^ the Janthina 



3.n.iized by Google 



404 Sdeniific InteVigmce. — Zoology. 

have satisfied us that it would form a very valuable reagent ; 
for it passes very readily to red under the action of acids, and 
returns to blue under that of alkidies. With the oxalate of am- 
nunia, it gives a, precipitate of a deep blue colour, and with ni- 
trate of ^ver a very pleasant grc^ish-blue c(Jour, which fur- 
nishes a very good colour for drawing. 

26. Microxopkal ObaervaUont on Fresh-Water Sftasela. — 
M. Baspail read to the Academie des Sciences, on the 14th 
July 1828, a letter, in which he detailed the results obtained 
by him from new microscopical observations made on fretih-wa- 
ter mussels. " Having placed,^ says the author, " on the Ist 
July, two fresh-water mussels in a glass jar, I c^served that the 
^ccrementilial extremity expelled at certun intervals a small 
parcel of a yellowish-white colour, and about half a centimetre 
long. This granular parcel, when torn asunder on the object- 
bearer, gave out a number of small Invalvea, which opened and 
shut thdr shells in a lively manner. Each of the valves was of 
a triangular form, the binge forming the hypoth^use. When 
open, they were one-third of a millimetre in length, and one- 
sixth when closed. This triangular form disappeared when the 
two valves ceased to be parallel to the object-bearer ; the animal 
was scarcely distinguishable from the granulations of the shell. 
In another parcel, I found bivalves furnished with an umbilical 
cord, the commencement of which proceeded from one of the 
notches formed by the commissure of the two valves.^ Lastly, 
when these bivalves were placed on the edges of their sbeU, it 
was easy to distinguish, on the umbo of each valve, an apex, 
turned inwards, nearly at a right angle, formed by a rib, ri- 
milar to that wbich in this potation surrounds each valve tike 
a rim. But this apex was accompanied on each «de by a mem- 
branous prolongation, which was attached to the edges of the 
valves. M. B&spml mentioned the esperimenu which led him 
to conclude that the apex of the young shells observed by him 
is at that period formed solely of phosphate of lime, and that 
there is scarcely any carbonate in it. Hb new observations con- 
firm, Isf, What M. Jacobson has s^d respecting the two urn- 
bones, which that author, however, has not, in bis opinion, de- 
scribed with accuracy ; and, 3d, The existence of the umbilical 
cord described by Koslreuter. But these observations invalidate: 

3 



ScierUi^ InteUigence. — Anthropolegi/. 405 

M. Jacobaon^s opiiuon respecting the paramtic nature of the | 
young sbelle, for how can it be concaved that paraates should 
be contained in a parcel, like the e^s of the moUusca, and 
ejected by the animal itself ? They also invalidate what M. de 
Blainville has mentioned respecting a parcel of ^gs expelled by 
the animal. As to M. Jacobson's argument, derived from the 
presence of umbones in these young bivalves, in favour of the 
opinion which consaders them as parasites, it does not appear to 
me citable of bang adopted ; for, might it not be the case, that 
these small umbones were already the rudiments of all those 
protuberances which form on each edge of the valves on the 
two sides of the hinge, and which are destined to give so great 
a solidity to the two valves when they are appUed to each other f 
These umbones are rather appendages inserted upon the rim of 
the valves than a portion of the valves themselves." 



ANTHROPOLOGY. 



86. DvDtr^tjf of taste respecting Food. — We have many ex- 
amples of the partiality of comparatively civilized races of men 
to a diet which to us appears loathsome and offensive, and which 
these nations, from balnt, or naturally depraved taste, would 
prefer to the choicest dishes at an alderman^ dinner in G-uild- 
hall. The Pariahs of Hindostan (it is observed in a recent 
work), attracted by the stench of rotten carcases, fly in crowds 
to dispute the infectious carrion with the dogs, and other birds 
of prey. They share the mass of corruption, and return to 
their dens to devour it without rice, seasoning, or any other ac- 
companiment. Little do they care of what disease the animal 
may have died, for they make no scruple to poison secretly thdr 
n^hbo'urs' oxen and cows to provide a savage repast for thdr 
ravenous appetites. The bushmen of gouthem Africa generally 
eat the flesh raw ; and when they cook it, they only warm it, 
and apply their teeth to it the moment it is taken from the ashes. 
The inh^tants of the Kurulean Isles are very partial to beards 
liver. Chinese are not particular in their choice of animal food ; 
cats, dogB, rats, and almost every species of animids, serpents, 
&c. ; and which have rither been killed or died a natural death. 
It was a practice in China, at one ume, for tavern keepers to 
put to death a fat guest, when opportunity served, and to make 



4(K 'S^ent^ lattSigetice. — AtAhrapology. 

tnes, &C. of the flerfi, for the eDtertainmetit of th^r other gnesta, 
who vere not so foTtiinate bs to be so well fed. Bears' paws, 
Urds^ TKsts, and Aea-slug, are conadered great delicacies. The 
lliibedans •prt^er rav to roasted mutton. The Cochin Chmesc 
pt&fer rotten ^^ to fre^ ; potrid eggs cost more than the lat- 
ter hy SO per cent — Chmese Chmaicle of Malacca. 

27. 'A Woman delivered cfFit^Cluldren.— 'KteinE^eYieasaaxl 
dS the ■vBlage of Loakin, district of BalakhtiiTi, in the govern- 
ment of Nij^tn^, aged twenty-^re years, of small stature, but 
robust constitution, was married at seventeen. The second year 
of her marriage she was brought to-bed of a girl, which died at 
the end of fifteen days. The fourth year she was delivered, af- 
ter a gestation of eight months, of twins. The first, which was 
a boy, lived only five days ; the other, a girl, died after mx days 
of the most cruel sufferings. In the month of November 1824, 
the same woman won delivered of five children, brining succes- 
sively into the world a §^rl on the 9th, 10th, 12th, and 13th, 
and a dead boy on the l6th. Each of these infants was only 
about eight inches long. The four girls died on ihe sixth day 
after' birth. The mother was restored to perfect health in a 
month after parturition. Nothing particular had been remarked 
either by herself or by the midwife, with Ae exception of an tsL- 
traordinsay tumefadion of the abdomen, tt^ctber with swelling 
of the feet, violent headaches, deafness, and Sequent hemor- 
rhages hy the mouth and nose, during the second month <^ ges- 
tation. Nather her own imt her hudwnd's family had ever pre- 
sented a similar example. 

98. PoptdatioK of ff^jnnd— The United Eiogdom c^ Bri- 
tain and Ireland ctHitains 74 millions of acres, of which, at least, 
64 milHons of acres may be considered capable of oultivatiwi. 
Half an acre, with ordinary cultivation, is sufficient to supply an 
individual with com, and one acre is sufficient to maintain a 
hcwse ; consequently, Ae United Kingdmn contains land enough 
ten the sustenance of 190 millions c^ pe<^e, and 4 mtltions of 
liorees. — Ednmndg on PoUikal Ecofton^. 

9Q. MeAad t^ TaUooing. — The men are tattooed very doee- 
ly from the moM to below the knee, with diftrent figures 
of animals, charms, &c. I saw a woman with the oMe qf one 
^her eyes taUooed. The process is'perfonned with a Iwig steel 



Seient^ fnteUiffmce. — AnUirt^aology- 407 

needte, loaded at one end, and divided at the other to contiun 
the liquor, which is rithCT red or blue : it dmws blood at 
every stroke. — AUaumder's Travels. 

30. On ^predominance^ the R^htJrmfmer the Lefi. — M 
le Comte, in a meaxHr relative to the predominance of the right 
arm over rtie left, in the Journal de Phyeiolo^e Experimentale 
for January 18^ commences with refuting the opinion of those 
who have attributed this predominance to habit. He then 
passes under review the different hypotheses of phyaologista, 
who have, hitherto looked for the cause of this phenomenon in 
tlie normal organization of man, and finds all that has been pro- 
posed inadequate. He at length conies to his own hypothesis. 
In his ojHnion, the difference between the right and the left sys- 
tem has its source in the portion which the human fetus affects 
in the uterus during the last months of gestation. In by &r 
the greater number of cases, the portion is such that its left 
arm and shoulder, as well as the left side in genera), are pres- 
sed against the bone of the pelvis. From this pressure there 
results a (jontraction of the bloodvessels, a sort of atrophy com- 
mencing in the whole left system. The weakness of that side, 
therefore, results from this congenital disposition. M. Comte, 
with the view of obt^ning a verification of his theory, compared 
the cases in which the fetus occurs in the poution which he con- 
siders as calculated to determine the weakening of the left sys- 
tem, with those in which it assumes a contrary position ; and he 
has found a number which expresses the proportion of right- 
handed and left-handed p^^ons. Having been for several years 
a resident pupl in the Maison Royale d'Aocouchemens, M. 
Comte occupied himself in observing the habits of the children 
which, at the moment of their birth, he had supposed would be 
left-handed, and he found his prognostications verified. He pro- 
poses to make a further trial on the children placed in the Hos- 
pice de Orphelins, with respect to whom it would be possible to 
ascertain the peculiar circumstances that attended their hirUi. 
He concludes with condderaljons respecting the means of eor- 
abling children to use both sides freely. To ensure this hap- 
py result, it is not enough to make children use both hands 
aUke after they are two or three years old. To compensate the 
defective condilion of the left system at the momait of Inrtb, 



408 Scientific IfOeUigence. — ArU. 

they must be forced to use it solely, leaving the right system id 
a state of inactivity. The reverse of this is generally what takes 
place. Nurses, in fact, usually carry children on the right arm. 
In this position the child has the whole left side pressed against 
the breast of the nurse, which cannot but increase the disposi- 
tion acquired at birth. — BuUetm Universely April 1823. 



SI. ArtificUd UUramarine. — M. Gay Lussac presented, at a 
late meeting of the French Academy of Sciences, a specimen of 
artificial ultramarine, manufactured by M. Guimet. He ob- 
served, that this ultramarine, which ia of a quality superior to 
that of the finest specimens hitherto sold, has been employed by 
several painters, who have expressed their satisfaction with its 
numerous excellent qualities. He menticaied also, that M. Gui- 
met^s ultramarine may be delivered to the consumers at the rate 
of 25 francs per ounce, or at two-thirds of the price of natural 
ultramarine of good quality. As soon as M. Guimet's discovery 
was announced by the public journals, a fOTeign chemist, M. 
Gmelin of Tubingen, gave out that he also possessed a process 
for the manufacture of artificial ultramarine. He even published 
his recipe. M. Guimet, who keeps his a secret, is doubtful whe- 
tfier ultramarine can be obuuned by M. GmeliD*s process at the 
price at which he himself delivers it to commerce. 

STATrsTICS. 

32. Cidlure of Turnips. — Until the be^nning of the eighteenth 
century, this valuable root was cultivated among us only in gar- 
dens or other small spots for culinary purposes ; but Lord 
Townshend, attending King George the First in one of his ex- 
cursi(^s to Germany, in the quality of Secretary of State, ob- 
served the turnips cultivated in open and extensive fields, as 
fodder for cattle, and spreading fertility over lands naturally 
barren ; and, on his return to England, he brought over with 
him some of the seed, and strongly recommended the practice 
which he had witnessed to the adoption of his own tenants, who 
occupied a soil similar to that of Hanover, The experiment 
succeeded ; the cultivation of field turnips gradually spread 
over the whole county of Norfolk ; and, iti the course of time, 



Seien^fic Inteliigejtce. — SiatitUct. 409 

it has made its way into every other district of England. The 
rqnitation of -the county as an agricultural dbtrict, dates from 
the vast improvements of heaths, wastes, sheep-walks and war- 
rens, hy enclosing and manuring — the fruit of the zealous exer- 
bons of Lord Townshend, and a few neighbouring land-owners 
— which were ere long happily imitated by others. Since these 
improvements were effected, rents have risen in that county from 
one or two shillings to fifteen or twenty shillings per acre ; a coun- 
try of sheep-walks and rabbit-warrens has been rendered hi^ly 
productive; and, by dint of management, what was thus gained 
has been preserved and improved even to the present moment. 
Some of the finest com crops in the world are now growing up- 
on lands which, before the introduction of the turnip husban- 
dry, produced a very scanty supply of grass for a few lean and 
half-starved rabbits. Mr Colquhoun, in his " Statistical Re- 
searches,^ estimated the value of the turnip crop annually 
growing in this country at fourteen millbns ; but, when we fur- 
ther recollect that it enables the agriculturist to reclaim and cul- 
tivate land which, without its aid, would remmn in a hopeless 
state of natural barrenness ; that it leaves the land so clean and 
in such fine condition, as almost to insure a good crop of bar- 
ley and a kind plant of clover, and that this clover is found a 
most excellent preparative for wheat, it will appear that the sub- 
sequent advantages derived from a crop of turnips must in- 
finitely exceed its estimated value as fodder for cattle. If we 
were, therefore, asked to punt out the individual who, in mo- 
dem times, has proved the greatest benefactor to the communi- 
ty, we should not be^tate to fix upon the ingenious nobleman, 
whom the wits and courtiers of his own day were pleased to 
laugh at as " Turnip Townshend." In something less than one 
hundred years, the agricultural practice which he introduced 
from Hanover has spread itself throughout this country, and 
now yields an annual return which probably exceeds the inte- 
rest of our national debt. — Sir Walter Scott, in the QMorter^ 
Review, 



3.n.iized by Google 



s 



r 410 ) 

List of Patents granted in Scotland Jrom April 26. to Jubf 22. 



Apr. 96. To Williak Hamsbali. of Fountun Grove, patlBh of Hudders- 
field, countj of ITor^, sbear-iiuuiutkctureT, for " improvoiMllts in 
iDBclaiierj for cutting or ahesiing, cropping, and finishing cloth, 
and other articles manu&ctured from wool, or other raw mate- 
To Thomas Bxzidebbiach of Binniiif^iam, count; of Warwick, 
merchant, for " a machine, or improved mode bj use of machlne- 
TT, for fot^ng or manufacturing tubes or rodes, ot ibr other pur. 

To James Gkiffix of Whitlej Moor Works, near Dudlej, Wor- 
cettershire, scjthsJDanu&cturer, for " va improvement in the 
manu&cturing of scjtheJncks, chaffJaiUe bad:a, and luij-knife 
backs." 
29. To John James Wait of Stacj Street, Stepaej, Middlesex, sur- 
geon, G)r " the application of a certun chemical tgent, b; which 
animal pcoson may be destroyed, and the disease conaequent thei»> 
on be effectually prevented." 
To Chabteb CAiPzxixm Bohiai of the Inner Temple, Esq. 6>r 
*^ fanprprementi in the propelling of locomotlTe carriages and ma- 
chines, and boats, and other vemels." 
May 1. To Tbomas HiLLMAH of Millwall,PopIar, Middlesex, mast-maker, 
fiir " certain improvement in the construction and ftstening of 
nude masts." 
To JovjtTHAH Bkownill of ShcfGeld, Yorlcsblre, cutler, for " an 
improved method of ti&nsfeniiig vessels from a higher lo a lower 
level, or from a lower to a hi^iel level, on canals ; also for the 
more dKiTeniently ralmng or lowering of wd^ts, carriages, or 
goods on rail-roads, and for other purpoeeB." 
6. To Jamxs FaIiMEK of Gkb&jDad, Mile-end, Middlesex, paper-nu- 
ks, for " improvements in the moulds, machinery, or apparatus 
fbr making paper." 
To Thomas Adams of Oldbury, county of Salop, manu&cturer, for 
« improvements on instruinenta, tnisaee, or appantUB fbr the re- 
lief or cure of hernia or rupture." 
To Fkakcib WxstBt of Leicester, cutler, for " certain improved 
apparatus to be used for the whetting or sharpening the edges of 
tiie blades of knives, or otiier cutting initruments." 
To Samvei. Bsooximo, Esq. of Plymouth, Devonshire, a zeu'^d- 
miral in the royal navy, ibr " a cert^ turning or slipping fid, 
£][ securing and releaMng tiie upper masts of ships and vessels." 
To Maiihkw FuLLwooDJun. of Stratford, Essex, gentleman, fbr 
" a cement, mastic, or cuapoBitlon, whkb he intends to denomi- 



3.a.t,zsd by Google 



List ^EvgMi PtdaUa. 411 

1/ltj I. To Jom BEx.r*xiw MAcvm. of Fobhill, Covrntrj, en^eer, tbr 
" ceitalu loprovenHnta In pTepariiig and sppljlng materiala for 
Uie matliig, canstructitig, or rendering more durable, roadu and 
other wajB ; wHch materials are appKcable to other purposes." 
13. To Thohas Jackson of Red Lion Street, Bcdborn, MiddloKZ, 
vatch-mate', £)t " a new metal stud, to be iqipttad to boota and 
dwes, and other lite articles ormanufkcture." 

To JoHir Fou> of Wandaworth Road, Vauxhall, Surrey, machine- 
mat^, for " certain improvementa in machinery for cleanlag, 
opening, scribbling, carding, combing, slabbing, and spinning wool, 
and for cording and roving, or slivering and spinning, cotton, Aort- 
fltafded flax, faAmp, and ttlk, citber sepafatelj or combined." 

To THOiua BoKaon C&oicfton of Tamworth, Stafibrdshlre, pa. 
permaker, and EirocH Tati-os of Uaraden, Yorkshire, mill- 
wri^t, tor " improvementa in tliat port of the proceaa of paper, 
mating wtiich relates to the cuHJng." 
17. To Chaki,es CaOBB of St Paul's Church-jard, London, patent- 
loct mauu&cturer, for " eert^n Improvements in the construction 
of btches, which may be used for &8teniug doort or gates." 

To Thokas, WiLUAU, and Jobx Powbll, of the dtj uf Bristol, 
^■esAttnchanta and stimewaie mantt&cturers, for " improvements 
in the process, machinery, or apparatus, tbr forming, mating, or 
producing moulds or vessels 1st le&iing sugar; and in the appli. 
cation of materials hitherto unused In making the aud mouJda.' 
JuneZfi. To Samsxl Pbait of New Bond Street, Hanover Square, Middle 
sex, camp eqi^page-mater, for " improvements In elastic beds, 
cushions, seats, pads, and other articles of that kind." 
July 3. To JoBK Bakimo of Broad Street Buildings, in the dty of London, 
raercbant, fiir " an improved me^iod of mating or manu&cturins 
mwithinwt for cutting hair from stin, tbr the use of hatters, to be 
called ' Tfae Cant-twlst Blades Fur Cutter;' communicated from 
abroad." 
S. To JoBV JoaxsTOV Isaac of Star Street, Edgirare Road, county 
of Middlesex, engineer, fi>r '* improvements In propelling vessels, 
boats, and other floating bodies." 
10. To Thomas Rbvib of Kennngton Street, Walworth, county of Sur- 
rey, vatobmater, for " an improved method of lifting weights." 

To JoBir Hawks of Weymouth Street, Portland Place, county of 
MidiUesez, iron-manu&cturer, for " an Improvemoit in the con. 
structlon of ships* cable and hawser chains." 

To Joan Hzmr Akthomt Gdnthks of Camden Town, county 
of Middlesex, piano-forte manu&cturer, fi^ " Improvementa on 
{dano-fbrtes." 

To WiLLiAH M111.KXK of Doi^ty Stxeet, Bedfbrd Bow, county of 
Middlesex, captain in the Qerman Legion, fiir " an apparatus fer 
the purpose of teaching in the mathematjcs, gec^r^by, astronomy, 
and other sdences; and &r resolving probleuu In navigation, 
spherics, and other scieocea." 



.:i.v Google 



412 tMt ofScottiih PaimU. 

Jul7 i1- To BixJANiH Bioam of Bedcrou Street, Soutkwaik, county of 
Surrey, for " iiupnivNDentt In the minuftcture of hata.'' 
To Joseph Jokes of Aaluch, Ang^eseo, Nprtii Wales, gentlenuui, 
lot an " improTement in the process of roaelting, or obtaining me- 
talljc ctq^r from co]:^«T>oTe. 



List ^Patents granted in Scotiandjrom June 9ii. to AuguH B. 
1838. 

1828, 

JuneSO. To William Rodoeb of Norfolk BUeet, Strand, In tbe count; of 
Uiddlesex, Lieutenant in the Kojal Nftvj, fbr '* certain improre- 
ments on anchors." 
To JoHH Ditvis of Leman Street, Goodman's Fields, in the county 
of Middlesex, sugar-refliier, for an invention c<Hninunicated to 
him bj a foreigner residing abro«d, of " an improvement in boil, 
ing or evaporating solutions of sugar and other liquors." 

Julj 11. To Tbouas Stahope Hollojid of the dty of London, Esquire, 
fer " cert^n combinations of machinery for generating and com' 
municating power and motion t^plicaUe to liie propelling fixed 
machinery, as also floating bodies, carriages, and other loctnnotive 
ma^unes *rt*l Instnunttits.** 
16. To HEHRr PiNKUs of Philaddphia, in tbe Sute of Pennsylvania, 
non' redding in Hegent Street, in the Parish of St James's, West. 
minster, gentleman, for *■ certain improvements in tbe method or 
qiparatus &r generating carburetted h jdrogen gas, and In purify* 
ing tbe same." 

Aug. 5. 'To Mauuce DC Jokoh of Manchester, in the countj of Lancas- 
ter, machinist, &r " an Improvement or improvements in mi- 
dlines adapted fbr spinning, doubling, twisting, loring, or pre- 
paring cotton, and other fibrous substances." 



UST OF PLATES. 

PlATB I. Lnsus Naturae observed in India by Lieut Alexander. 
11. & III. Illiutrative of Mr Bald's Account of tbe Fires in CoUieriea. 
IV. Map of tbe Soutbem Mahratta CounOy. 
V. Figures of Fossil Plant*, illustrative of Dr P. Mumy'a Me- 
moir on Fossil Plants. 



D.n.iized by Google 



( «8 ) 



INDEX. 

AiR-PUMF, proposed iroproTement in the, 386 

Alcf onium, silicioug epicula discovered in, 302 

Alexander, Lieatenant, bis account of certain Insna natura, 96 

Anthracite, M. Breitfaanpt'a remarks on, 385 

Anthropology, notices in, 202, 105 

Araott, Mr, his Tour in the Sonth of France, 319. 

Arts, notices in, 204, 408 
' Astronomy, notices in, ISO 

Atlantic and Pacific Oceans proposed to be united by a canid, 195 

Aurora borealis, Dr Richardson's observations on the, 241 

Bald, Robert, Esq. bis acconnt of 6res. in collieries, 101 

Barometric Measurement, Mr Galbruth's tables for, 42 

Black, W. Esq. his sketch of the climate of the Mediterrauean, 243 

Bleeding with ligature employed in cases of poisoning, 353 

Bona, octahedrd, notice respecting, 195 

Blowing a river out, 391 

Borate of barytes, 195 

Bos, fossil skoll of a species of, found in North America, 325 

Botany notices io, 304, 398 

Botryogen, notice respecting, 1 95 

Brongniart, M. A> hia observation on arborizations contained in calcedony* 
268 

Brown, Robert, Esq. his microscopical obserrations on the existence of 
active molecules in bodies, 358 

Bushmen of Orange River, 157 

Calute, found in Lower Silesia, 193 

Cslcedony, M. A. Brongniart's obaerrations on the arborizations in, 36S 

Caribs, original country of the, 302 

Cavendish, Henry, Eaq. M. Cuvier'a bit^rapfaical memmr of, 210 

Celestial phenomena for the mendiaa of Edinborgfai from July 1, to Oc- 
tober 1, 1828, 17&— from October 1, 1828, to January 1, 1839, 383 

Cfaara, M. Raspail's observations on the organisation of the genus, 400 

Christie, Dr A. T. his account of die southern Mahratta country, 292 

Christianity, M. de Frayssinou's defence of, SI 

Chrysoprase in serpentine, 193 

Climates of Norway and Sweden, 305 

Colours, accidental, Cuvier's explanation of, 190 

Comet of 1832, notice respecting it, 180 

Comets, account of Mr Milne's Essay on, 343 

Combustion, spontaneous, of the human body, 164 

Cordier, M. L. his examination of experiments on suhtenanean tempera- 
ture, 277 

Coral Islands, remariis on, 396 

Cmstacwa, notice respecting the respiration of, 301 

Cuckoo, notice respecting one kept alive in winter, 300, 

Cuvier, M. Fred, his observations on the structure of feathers and hair, S3 1 



414 INDEX. 

D&nbenUm, Buon Cnvier's ftiiiyj^hii il nMBcnr of, 1 
Davy, Dr John, hie remarka on the heart of to^ 160 

Sir H., hii obsemtiona on the pbenonmM ef «!■■■«, 196 

Dstolite, diicoveredat ADdieaaberg, IdS 

Diamond in Siberia, 394 

Dichroite, ito Une colonr not diancteristic, 195 

Electrical pfaenomeiia caused hy the rubbings of aw W i , 377 

Electricity discharged by ibe deavage of ciTetalliaed bediea, IflS 

Electricity and heat, relations between, 1S8 

Erica dliaris discorered in Cotnwall, 402 

FcUben, M. F. Cnvier's obsemtiona on the structure of, 331 

Fecondation of flowers, 402 

Flaagefgues, M. his remarics on the connection of the moon's phases wHb 

latny days, 317 
Plaids contuued in tryalaniBed mmenb, Mr NictJ.'a ubim oiiui tm, M. 
Food, dirennty of taste reipecting, 405 
Fossil bones, found in America, 325 

-— lately discorded in Uta cava of Miremout, S9& 

didelpbis, 199 

— - plants, Dr P. Mansy's acconnt of a deposit of, discMnnAaaar. 

Scarborou)^, 31 1 

remUDB of mammifera, in the coal formation, ia Zorieb, 2T3 

— I ribs of a whale, found at Brighton, i 99 

Viwaat, Mr W., his aeeovM of beaefit or Maadly sooetiM, 12d 

Fraysnuon, M^ his defence ttf Christianity, 81 

n«h-wB(er mnesels, M. Raapail's obserratMos on tb«r snuetHief 404 

Galbraitii, Mr W., his tables for barometrical measurement, 42 

Geoh^, notices in, 196, 395 

Geography, notices in, 195 

Glance-coal, M. Breithanpt's remarks on, 394 

Gold, remarks on the rocks that afford it, 341 

Graham, Dr, bis descriptions of new sod rare plaaia flowering in the 

Edinburgh Botanic Garden, 169, 371 
Hur, M. Weber's obserpationa on, 334 
' M. Curier's obserratione on the structure of, 331 
Haytorite, composition of, 193 
HeaTyspar, calcareous, its characters, 192 

Humboldt, Baron, bis essay on the structure and action of volcanoes, 822 
Hurricane, description of <me, 187 
Hydrt^^phy, notices in, 391 
Innes, Mr George, bis calculations of cdestial phenomena from Jnly 1, to 

October 1. 1828, 176 irom October 1. 1826 to January 1. 1829,383 

buecls, new mode of killing, 403 

Jaculator Ssh, Mr Mitchell's account of the, 162 

Johnston, Dr George, hie remarks on Dr Fleming's moUusca, 74 

Leslie, Mr L., his rentadca on the baabioen of Orange Birar, 157 

Level (rf the sea, 336 



3.n.iized by Google 



INDEIC. 41 ft 

Ligbming, acetdeot bf, 183 

Lightning; tabes, artilida], 199 

Lignite «m( oolite raMing up«» etwlk ia BeasaralMBt 386 

Laminousnees of the oceui, 329 

Lriuus naturffi, aingnlar cases of, 9B 

Lnnsr rays, Mr Watt's espaniMnts otif ISS 

Mahnitla country, Dr Christie's acccnnt of the, 29i 

MslayS) Liugga the primiure residesce <f the, 196 

Magnetic eqo&tor, motions of the, 190 

Magnetic needle, diaturhed by the polar Gghts, S88 

Mi^Konocbie, Capt. Alex., hia remariu on the most effectual employment 

of steam power in maintaining a ferry, 60 
Meditemneas, Mr Black's sketch of its climMe, 243 
Menteath, James Stewart, Esq.rbia sketch of the geoli^ of Nithsdale, 45 
M^;«^riuni, bones of it fonnd in Geoqp^ 325 
MetetH" of a green colour, 390 
Meteorolt^, notices in, 183, 387 
Microscc^ical obserratjons on the pollen of plants, 358 

on ire^-water mussels, 404 

Mihe, Darid, Esq. his account of the slip of a mass of strata in Berwick- 

ahire, 275 account of his essay on comets, 343 

Mineisl waters in Gennany, analysis of, 391 

Mineralogy, notice in, 192, 384 

Moll, G. Von, his remarks on the velocity of sound, 154 

Mollmca, Dr Johnston's remailis oa Dr Fleming's, 74 

Moon, conneciion of its pbaaes with lainy days, 317 

Mnnay, Dr P^ his account of fossil plants occurring near Scarbonmg^,31 1 

Hatural Philosi^by, notices in, 188, 386 

Nicol, W. Esq. bis observations on fiuida contained in crystaUiMd mine- 

nls,94 
NubitiTe substance transported by the wind, 402> 

Ocean, luminousness of the, 329 

Organic bodies, their influence on inoi^anic, 384 

Parry, Captain, Mr Scoreiby's examination of his recent expedition. 22 
Patents, English, from Ist February to 19th April, 205 — from 26th April 

to 22d Jnly, 410 
Scotch, from 23d February to 19tb May, 208— from 20th Jnne 

to 5^ August, 412 
Phosphorescence of the sea, 393 
Plants, temperature of, 204 

Pinus, Mr Douglas's description of a new species of, 400 
Poisoning, Dr Venule's method of treating cases of, 353 
Pole, North, Mr Scoreaby's remarks on the probability of reaching the, 22 
Pollen of vegetables, the exisUnce of animalcules in h denied, 299 
Papulation of England, 406 
Potash, method of detecting its presence, 191 
Prc^nostics of the weather, 387 
Pulse, effects of rarified ur upon the, 389 



.:i.v Google 



4l« INDEX. 

Rant, Dr Dtry't obaemtioDi on the atnietitrs d th» heart of anknab of 

the genus, 160 
BMpul, M. his remariu on the orgsnizatioii of ibe chsra, 400— «n tho 

pollen of regvtablM, 399 
RennnUon of the crustsce*, 201 

RicuKlBon, Dr, his obMurstioiu on the Bnroni bonaha, 841 
Right arm, csubm of its predominance over the left, 407 
Rirer, petrifying qualities of one, 390 

Roob, Mr Carter's remariu on corering them with iron plates, 97 
Schiatz, M. his accooot of remains of mammifera in the coal formation 

of Zurich, 273 
Scoreshy, Rev. W., his rMoarics on the probabihtf of reaching the n<Hth 

pole, 22 
Sea, remarics oi] the level of the, 336 
Slip of a mass of strata in Berwickshire, 275 
Smokjr diimneys, cure of, 304 
Snake catchers in China, 201 

Sodetjr, Wemerian Natural History, pToceedinga of, 179, 386 
Societies, Friendly, Mr Fraser's account of, 129 
Sound in *rat«T, MM. Colladon and Sturm's remarks on, Bl 
Statisucs, notices in, 408 
Strontian in aphrite, 192 

Subterranean temperature, M. Cordier's remarks on, 277 
Tattooing, method of, 406 
Tranperature of plants, 204 — of springs, 187-4f springs near Edinborgfa, 

356 
_— — ^-— < M. Corder's examination of esperimenta on sabtemnean, S77 
Tbennometer, diunial course of the, 186 

Tbenoo-barometrical observatioa, M. Eachmann'a remarks on, 390 
Turnips, culture of, 408 
Tyrian purple, M. Lesson's remarks on, 403 
Ultmnarine, artiBcial, 408 
Velocity of sound, 154 
Volcanoes, Sir H. Davy on the phenomena of, 196 

Baron Hnmboldt's essay on their etmctnre and action, 222 

Walms, fossil hone of one, found in Vii^nia, 335 
Water, compressibility of, 191 

Watt, Mark, Esq. his experiments on lunar rays, 122 
Weber, Professor, his observations on the epidermis, &c. 33* 
Wemerian Natural History Society, proceedings of, 179, S86 
Whale, fossil rib of one, found near Brighton, 198 
Winds, comparison of, with the height of the sea, 187 

.^ with the currents of the sea at Copenhagen, 187 

Wive, method of preserving it in draught, 204 

Woman, notice respecting one delivered of five children, 406 

Zoolt^, notices m, 200, 403 

r. NEILL, FStMTEH- 

■ D:it.:f:l.v Google 



3.n.iiffid by Google 



3.n.iiffid by Google